Any Views?

[eve]

Anyone got any views ???

[Rshep]

I would like to wish the club all the best for this years show. It should be bigger and better this year with all the support it got at the EGM !!!

[eve]

[eve]

The thing is, nobody minds doing a couple of hours work on the day itself.
But when you have spent years when from January to July you are expected to be concentrating on the car show, then spent from lunchtime on Saturday till Sunday evening on the Green, you tend to become sick of it.
It also causes bickering and fallings-out amongst members, and a car show is not worth losing friends over.
That is the problem really. Most of the people who have done this do not want to do it again.
It will be nice this year to pop along for a while, watch what is going on, sit down and have a cuppa and a chat with friends, then pootle off home again.

[Rshep]

My views on the MGCSCC car show are that for those who attend it is a really great show, but for those members who put on the show it is a lot of hard work.
For a club of this size (60 members of which less than half are active members) the show is too big. The decision this year to cut out some of the stalls and pay outsiders to do some of the work may help with the running of the show but will affect the income and therefore the club could lose money.
The show is taking up to much of the committee member’s time, which is having an effect on other events that the club should be doing.
I like several other members did not join the club to spend all year working towards putting on a car show. I joined a club that 12 years ago had an event every month, which mostly involved going out in our classic cars on day tours and weekends away. Over that 12 year period the car show has got bigger and the events fewer. I know that I am partly to blame for the show size as I was a very active member of the committee and did all I could to help put on the show. This was fine when the committee had the support of the members but as time as gone on the members are not willing to help put on the show and want outsiders to do the work.

[Megan]

Ever since we joined the club which is probably about 10 years ago we have helped at the car show and more recently run a stall by ourselves for the whole day. I find it absolutely knackering and very stressful. I've decided not to do a stall this year as I want a break (not sure what Richard has decided to do!) The reason I don't like our car show is that it doesn't seem like OUR car show. Those people running stalls, putting up tents, serving teas, and helping have no fun at all. Lots of our members have lovely cars and I'm sure they would like to display THEIR car and go in to the arena and then perhaps go off and chat to people and have a relaxing time. The visiting car clubs get their moment of glory by going in to the arena and us lot hardly have time to grab a sarnie and cup of tea let alone drive their car in to the arena! If we are going to promote our club and get new members we need to be SEEN as a club not event organisers. I do charity work and that is very rewarding but The Car Show is not a charity event. There are two conflicting things going on here and we have to decide whether the show is a fund raising event or is it OUR club's show where we gather together, socialise and look at OUR cars. I agree with Richard Shephard - the event has got too big.

[eve]

It will be very interesting to see what happens this year. On the one hand we don't want to spend the exhausting six months arranging things, on the other hand if we don't get involved will we bother going?
At the start we just used to all take our cars, park them on the green or outside the pub, have a raffle and have a really good, relaxing afternoon.
There is too much emphasis on getting good write-ups in the local paper and classic car magazines. The actual club is hardly mentioned at all.
If the WI can raise £000's on their bi-annual Flower Festival and we raise about £800 on all our work there is something very wrong.

[jonrome]

MGCSCC Sow 2009.
What a success! The weather was near enough perfect & whilst for some of us it had been an intensive run up, on the day most things went smoothly & easily. The experience gained over the years has paid dividends in that the organisation through the year is now relatively painless. There's always more that can be done to simplify & improve things and any suggestions would be welcomed by the sub-committee I'm sure.
The biggest problem was not the sheer number of visitors but that they started arriving so early.
There have already been ideas put forward for next year. So good in fact that I'm looking forward to it. Not always the case in the days after a show.

One relatively recent club member was heard to say several times 'how can a club this small put on a show as good as this?'. Exactly the reason I joined years ago when it was much smaller.

[jonrome]

Other shows.
Does anyone else get annoyed at clubs that impose draconian rules on their guests? Such as if you don't arrive before 0930 you wont get in & won't get a refund & you cant go before 1630.
I wouldn't give these people the pleasure of my company.
I do realise that in some instances it is the fault of the elfin saftey nannies (should that be ninnies).

[Admin]

Other shows.
Does anyone else get annoyed at clubs that impose draconian rules on their guests? Such as if you don't arrive before 0930 you wont get in & won't get a refund & you cant go before 1630.
I wouldn't give these people the pleasure of my company.
I do realise that in some instances it is the fault of the elfin saftey nannies (should that be ninnies).

I know what you mean Jon. Getting the newly invented square wheel in before 930 and the horse and cart out by 1630. Its hard work!!!!! They just don't realise. Global warming will be here before you know it and then we'll have wet summers to contend with. Square wheels, horse and carts, they'll all get stuck somewhere on a giant causeway around Londinium.....oh, I could rant on like this for milleniums!!!!!!!

[jonrome]

Just think of the pollution caused by all those horses. It will never work. How will they get across the river? Maybe some sort of horseless carriage powered by a Hero' s wheel is the answer. I expect the king will impose some sort of tythe on it all anyway. Then, just when we all think we underatand it, the wizards will start putting boxes full of magic inside the carts so we can't make them work without 'forbidden' knowledge.

[Admin]

Just think of the pollution caused by all those horses. It will never work. How will they get across the river? Maybe some sort of horseless carriage powered by a Hero' s wheel is the answer. I expect the king will impose some sort of tythe on it all anyway. Then, just when we all think we underatand it, the wizards will start putting boxes full of magic inside the carts so we can't make them work without 'forbidden' knowledge.

I've a feeling cows might be a bigger problem. Hows a river got into this. Next you'll be adding chickens, foxes and boats. For tythe see 'TAX', for king see 'Chancellor of the Exchequor', for Hero's wheel see 'London Eye', for wizard see 'Paul Daniels', for boxes full of magic see 'The Price is Right', for forbidden knowledge see 'How to pass you're driving test' or at least it should be now. Have I digressed??????

[jonrome]

And I just thought the box of forbiden knowledge just meant something that made it all work. I expect some oriental magic will make it all more reliable. Never mind, at least the country roads with all their potholes will be a thing of the past. There will be smooth paved roads so that the passage of the carriages will be swift & comfortable.

[Admin]

There will be smooth paved roads so that the passage of the carriages will be swift & comfortable.

That has a sort of 'Glasshopper' feel to it...........kungfoo my flend!!!