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THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PEWSEY MEMBERS' DAY
It is announced today (elsewhere on this forum and in the Diary section of the Society web-site) that the bi-annual Pewsey Members' Day to be held next year will be the last.
This is a tragedy that as I understand it arises from the traditional mid-August date being taken in 2017 by the Society for a proposed second convention.
To be clear I express my concern in the matter for the following reasons.
(a) As a society member.
(b) As one who has had the privilege of exhibiting at Pewsey on a number of occasions since 1999.
(It is incidental that since 2005 the event has also hosted MOMING which I co-ordinate.)
The idea of another Convention is an excellent one and has my full support. I can fully understand that the costs of hiring a suitable venue may well be advantageous in the month of August. The problem therefore is caused by the choice of the year.
I therefore ask three questions.
[1] Why was the year 2017 chosen when the 45th anniversary year of the Society is 2018?
[2] Does the Society think that a Members' Day that has been running bi-annually since 1987 is of no worth and thus can be destroyed?
[3] Is this not a gross injustice that can (at this distance in time) and should be put right?
Christopher Payne
Membership No 3393
I learned of this from another Wiltshire Group member recently and am very saddened that Pewsey is to terminate as a result of the Convention being held in August 2017.
Pewsey is an established and respected feature in the narrow gauge calendar and has been held biennially for, I believe, nearly 30 years, or it would be 30 years for the 2017 event, which tragically will not now take place.
I also understand why the Convention will take place during an August weekend due to availabilty and cost of hiring the venue, and I also know the reason why 2017 was chosen. However, I am very shocked to learn that when this was announced at the AGM, it had been done without prior negotiation and liaison with the Wiltshire Group, with an implication that the fact that Pewsey takes place biennially in August, on odd dated years, has been ignored.
I can personally see no reason why the Convention could not be planned for 2016 or 2018 (Wouldn't 2018 be a more accurate date to celebrate the Society's 45th anniversary anyway?), and as the other reason for deciding on 2017 is most likely to have already taken place by that time then I personally consider that to alienate one of the longest established Groups in the Society and effectively destroy the longest running and one of the largest Members Open day type events in the calendar for the sake of a single event that does not have to take place in 2017 anyway, is a very poor show indeed, unless there are very good reasons why this decision was taken and announced to the membership without prior discussion with the Group that will be most affected by this.
I intend to lodge my feelings officially and in the proper procedural manner to the Secretary for attention of the Board of Directors but in the meantime, I hope that a reasonable explanation or a re-consideration decision will be posted on here by one of the Elected Directors as soon as possible.
Mick
I am saddened to read of this matter. Whilst we know the Society Committee/Board (what DO we call them now?) can be insensitive in these matters, I find it surprising that the Wessex Group should decide not to hold subsequent open days as a consequence of the 2017 clash of dates. Is there more to this matter than we are being told? Cancel your 2017 Members' Day if you must, but I see no reason to cancel any subsequent ones. Is there any reason except pride why you cannot rearrange the 2017 do for the week before or after? Or to another date altogether? In the case of the proposed Convention, for which I think I know the reason, it may be that a block-booking of the venue cannot be changed, if so that is a pity. But I doubt the Pewsey venue is so heavily subscribed. Can I suggest a rethink?It would be a shame to lose the Pewsey do for ever, it is, indeed, one of the best in the calender.
Rod
Quote from: rod335 on June 01, 2014, 18:04
I am saddened to read of this matter. Whilst we know the Society Committee/Board (what DO we call them now?) can be insensitive in these matters, I find it surprising that the Wessex Group should decide not to hold subsequent open days as a consequence of the 2017 clash of dates. Is there more to this matter than we are being told? Cancel your 2017 Members' Day if you must, but I see no reason to cancel any subsequent ones. Is there any reason except pride why you cannot rearrange the 2017 do for the week before or after? Or to another date altogether? In the case of the proposed Convention, for which I think I know the reason, it may be that a block-booking of the venue cannot be changed, if so that is a pity. But I doubt the Pewsey venue is so heavily subscribed. Can I suggest a rethink?It would be a shame to lose the Pewsey do for ever, it is, indeed, one of the best in the calender.
Rod
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[1] The Pewsey Members' Day is run by the Wiltshire Group of the Society.
[2] To describe the matter as a "clash of dates" is inappropriate. As I understand the matter it is not a question of the 2017 event being cancelled by the organisers. Rather it will not be possible for them to run it if a Society Convention is held in the same month.
[3] I repeat that I support the idea of another Convention. I am in no way opposing it. The problem is the choice of date - specifically the year.
[4] Part of the ongoing success of Pewsey has been the presence of the trade - the Society Sales stand and Parkside Dundas to name two. Without these a Members' Day held in the same month as a Convention would not be viable.
[5] I also understand that other suitable dates for the Pewsey venue are not that easily found.
[6] I very much agree that a rethink is called for.
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Was not the moral ownership of a mid-August 2017 date with the organisers of the Pewsey Members' Day?
Should not the Society therefore rethink AND respect the considerable contribution to narrow gauge modelling that the Pewsey event would by then have been making over a period of thirty years?
Christopher Payne
Membership No 3393
If I understand correctly, the cancellation of not only the 2017 but also subsequent Wessex member's days is a 'done deal' there is no point in the Society rethinking it's dates. As for an area group 'intellectually owning' a calender date, with respect I think that is a touch extreme. The Committee have maybe been inconsiderate in setting the Convention date, I would not attempt to defend them over this issue, but I cannot agree that the Convention, which is of course national would preclude an area event in the same month. And even then, this does not, to my mind, justify cancelling the area event for good. As I suggested in my previous post, is it perhaps that there is more behind this decision than just a clash of dates? If that is ALL it is, there would appear on the face of it to be a considerable over-reaction here.
Rod
THESE COMMENTS RELATE TO MY CAPACITY AS A MEMBER OF THE WESSEX NG MODELLERS
Please note that this event is NOT organised with the Wessex NGM but by our friends in the Wiltshire group. I, for one, will be extremely sad if the 2015 event is the last such event as I always found it to be one of the most relaxed and friendly of the Members' Days and typifies everything that the Society should be doing.
Dear Members,
The committee is urgently looking at this unfortunate clash of dates and we hope to resolve matters so that the Wiltshire Group can run their much-valued and highly regarded members' day in the summer of 2017 should they wish. We sincerely hope that 2015 is NOT the last Wiltshire group/Pewsey show.
Charles Insley
Secretary
On behalf of the Directors of the Society
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It being more than twenty-four hours since I initiated this matter on the forum, I would like now to make two further comments.
[1] I thank Charles Insley (Society Secretary) for his positive comments and assurance that the Committee are looking for a way to resolve this matter.
[2] Further to that I understand that today Andy Cundick (Pewsey Members' Day organiser) has had a personal e-mail from David Gander the Society Chairman in a similar spirit. Andy tells me that this specifically indicates the possibility of rescheduling the Convention so that it and the 2017 Pewsey Members' Day can both take place. Apparently the matter is to be discussed in detail at a meeting of the Society Committee to be held on 19 July 2014.
In view of this I am happy to let the matter rest for the moment and hope others will join me in waiting to hear of a resolution of the issue in seven weeks time.
Christopher Payne
Membership No 3393
Quote from: CharlieI on June 01, 2014, 23:23
Dear Members,
The committee is urgently looking at this unfortunate clash of dates and we hope to resolve matters so that the Wiltshire Group can run their much-valued and highly regarded members' day in the summer of 2017 should they wish. We sincerely hope that 2015 is NOT the last Wiltshire group/Pewsey show.
Charles Insley
Secretary
On behalf of the Directors of the Society
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Now that the Committee has met can I ask what is proposed to resolve matters?
Christopher Payne
Membership No 3393
May I suggest that any such announcement would be placed in 009 News so as to reach 100% of the Society's membership, rather than on this forum that only reaches about 20% of the Society's members? Certainly that would have been my preferred method of communicating with the membership during my tenure as Secretary.
Equally during my tenure as Secretary I always preferred such requests to be directed at me personally rather than metaphorically shouted at me from across the room. There is an 'official' e-mail address for such matters which is published in 009 News, which is more likely to get a rapid response given that the Committee do not monitor this forum 24/7.
Dear Members
After further discussion, the Directors have agreed that the next 009 Convention will not be held in August 2017 - nor in the July or September of 2017 - which will avoid the clash of dates with the Pewsey members
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This is a Red Letter Day.
I thank Geoff Bowyer for making public the above announcement on behalf of the Directors of the Society.
After several months the threatened and proposed destruction of the Pewsey Members' Day in 2017 has eventually been lifted.
Whilst I hope that lessons will be learned and heeded from this sorry chapter of events, I also believe that we need to move on. Therefore, without dictating to others, I would be pleased to regard this correspondence as having reached a happy end.
Christopher Payne
Membership No 3393
Sorry Christopher but I have to say that your terminology,'The destruction of the Pewsey Members Day' is rather melodramatic. Whilst I am pleased that there has been a resolution of this problem I still find the concept of 'intellectual ownership' of a calender date to be bizarre to say the least.
But all's well that ends well.
Rod
Tail wags dog. Regrettable. As a fairly new member, second year, greatly inspired by the first Convention, I find the attitudes prevailing in this matter very strange. Also interesting to note in this context the scales listed as modelled by the complainer.
George S.
Have to agree with George S. I am pleased an answer found but will be disappointed to say the least if it has meant delaying another convention. The first was truly inspirational and whilst annual may lose that effect I cannot wait for another.
Sometimes there is no harm in the tail wagging the dog but this to me implied that the Directors dont act in the overall interests of the members and fortunately so far I have not found this to be the case. I do like, and attend, Pewsey meets by the way
Peter Smith
Just to counter the 'delay to the convention' argument my understanding was that the convention was to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the 009 Society which started in 1973. I've just checked with my calculator and 1973 plus 45 = 2018, so am a little confused as to why we were celebrating it in 2017 in any case. Perhaps it just goes to show that the directors are just like normal human beings (i.e. the rest of us) and occasionally make mistakes.
And just in case the convention ends up being in August 2018 then please do not start a campaign about the 'destruction of Narrow Gauge Midlands 2018'. Unlike Pewsey we have more than one suitable venue to chose from and can move the date if needs be to have a nice little members' day as a come down a week or so after the convention, much like the M5-M50-NGM event just after the last convention.
Equally I might take that year off! ::)
Julien Webb - 1720 (in case it matters)