"It's great to see the halls buzzing." So said Nick Darking, Charterhouse Turf Machinery's sales manager, shortly before receiving a surprise presentation for 25 years service at BTME last week

And in those couple of moments BIGGA's Harrogate show was summed up for me. For on Tuesday and Wednesday last week the halls were indeed buzzing. There was a real atmosphere of vibrancy and upbeatness around the stands, with very decent crowds making it tricky to walk from one place to the next on occasion.

This buzz was replicated with the hoards of greenkeepers making their way up the escalators to the Continue To Learn sessions at the International Centre. A incredibly wide and very valuable spread of seminars was laid on and taken advantage of from Sunday to Wednesday.

And with Nick receiving his prize and a friendly slap on the back, that encapsulated the other, more intangible, element which makes BTME work so well - the camaraderie and networking side. The halls last week, in general, seemed to have a smile on their face. This must be in no short part thanks to the town of Harrogate. The appeal of the exhibition is without a doubt aided immensely by its location.

Judging by the town's bars, restaurants and hotels of an evening, the majority of visitors must stay over for a night, making the opportunities for networking and catching up with colleagues easy and fun. This is one element which Saltex being located at the NEC will never be able to replicate.

However, one change which I would say Saltex has got right with its recent upheaval, is the move to a two-day exhibition. The Tuesday and Wednesday genuinely were buzzing last week at BTME - but Thursday felt unnecessary. The exhibitors and visitors were rattling about the halls somewhat, waiting for the official close time of 2.30 to start their journey home.

To be fair, BIGGA say there were actually 1606 through the doors which is 10% up on the final day last year. But it is a massive drop-off from the day before when there were 3,330 in.

Three show days is a big commitment for a lot a people - a lot of days away from the workplace, what with set-up and travel days factored in. If visitors knew it was two-day show I'm sure those 1600-odd could've made one of the previous days. Two days certainly seems enough to get round a show of BTME's size.

This is just the exhibition itself I'm talking about here. The education side seems to be working great with its Sunday to Wednesday format - it just seems when that ends, so does the atmosphere in the halls to a degree.

So a good show once again, lots of interesting new product on display, a wonderful opportunity to meet up with colleagues and friends and discuss in person the issues of the day, just maybe a tad too long and, as discussed last week, with a somewhat unfortunate scheduling clash.