Junius on Exeter: The attendance figures and the Supreme Genius of Bob Feal-Martinez

The Hope: Farage, Nuttall and their sycophants had claimed that over a 1000 members would attend the big launch of UKIP’s Euro campaign in Exeter.

The Reality: I personally - yes I was there - counted between 500 and 600. By the afternoon this number had diminished considerably.

I was quite amused to see both Bob Feal-Martinez (drawing of Bob kindly supplied by Lisa Duffy) and Michael 'don't mention Harlow' McGough claiming - via the British Democracy Forum - that there were between 700 and 800 members in attendance.

Were they counting every other person twice just to be on the safe side?

The official figure has now been given as 617. This was confirmed by one of the organisers - posting as 'Monger' - on the British Democracy Forum:

As a member of the team that organised the event, and as one of the head counters I can give you the definitive number....it was 617.

I am happy to accept this figure as I was not in the hall for the whole day.

But Bob would not let it go:

I'm not going to argue your figure however I counted the number of seats which amounted to 720, there were lots of people standing at the back and some were on the balcony, admittedly not many. There were few empty seats in the main block, I am therefore surprised at your number.

A now slightly miffed 'Monger' replied:

Glad you don't want to argue with me Bob....as you are incorrect. There were not, repeat not 720 seats. Your counting is wrong. Either you are wrong or if you are correct then I, the other counter, the University staff and the University management are all wrong. Maybe we are all wrong; perhaps I should bow to your obviously superior knowledge. I shall call the University forthwith and explain to them that they are morons, idiots and buffoons and that they should bow their stupid heads in the presence of one such as you, who can so obviously count better than every one else involved. I mean, after all, why would you be wrong? Why ever would all of us, including the staff be correct? We are naturally lower down the mathematical food chain to you, and so in future I shall expect your unerring eye on all things of this nature.

The figure I have given is the figure agreed by 2 independent counters. Perhaps we are both deliberately reducing it for some odd and out worldly reason. Maybe we are reducing the figure just so we can make you all look as though you are unable to count...maybe we are reducing the figure because we are carrying out a massive number reducing attack on ukip from the inside, insidiously spreading our number reducing gossip, trying to infect the wholesome membership with a strange perverse squeezing of figures. After all, we have every reason to do this and naturally would persist in this in the face of such sonorous tones as someone telling us, we and all those around us are wrong whilst they are right.

Or maybe the figures being bandied around the member’s forum are correct and we, the organisers who actually counted each person individually are wrong. This must be it, after all we are only a bunch of second rate idiots down here in the south west, added to which we are completely inept when it comes to figures as was proven by our shoddy management of things so far.

But Bob - never one to realise he has lost the argument - resorted to his usual tactic of insults and suggestions that 'Monger' was part a sinister plot to undermine UKIP:

What this post clearly indicates to me is that whoever you are you clearly are antagonistic to the party as it stands. The aggression in your post leads me to conclude that you perhaps are a supporter of the 'old' SW guard, and objected to the Spring Rally becoming the Spring Conference. Your post merely gives ammunition, as has been seen here to the party knockers. I concede I may have been wrong but others clearly have independently seem also to have reached a similar wrong conclusion.

Monger replied:

Your leap of logic leaves me breathless.

In the SW we were quite happy to have the SW Spring Rally become the National Spring Rally; we welcomed the idea and were able to try out some new ideas which we intend using more in the future. To talk about the 'old' SW guard, as you quaintly put it, only serves to add to the impression already gained by reading your posts. The figure given was the result of not 1 but 2 counters, using both head count and vacant seat count as different methodologies to arrive at the number given.

I am not aware of previous forecasts, but we in the SW are very happy with the turnout, the support received and the way the whole event went off. We fully expected to top 600 and those of us involved in the booking and processing agreed it would not be too many greater than that.

Bob replied in his usual Manglish style:

Just for the record, unless I've missed something, I am also part of the South West. The predictions actually came from HQ and other sources. I am now even more confused, according comments re past rallies 600 plus was the norm, you have said if I read you correctly that representation from the SW was up. Well if the SW was up what happened to the few hundred that were not from the SW. I am not trying to be difficult but something is clearly amiss.

So ONCE AGAIN Bob FM makes himself look foolish. But I suppose we should all be grateful that he has finally realised that he is a somewhat confused individual.

Bob, I hate to point this out, but the rest of us noticed that years ago!