Open Days - open to the public?

[Graeme Dunbar]

I guess it is a silly question though I thought I'd better check - are open days are open to the public and not just for 'out of area' members?

I have a friend in the Welsh borders who has been thinking about 009 (he has an LGB garden railway). I thought I'd sent him information about Statfold, but I hear WhatsApp stopped working on his phone.

[JulienW]

With Statfold it was open to Members (and 1 guest who may not have been a member - we did sign 2 people up on the Saturday!) and non-members (who bought their tickets through the Statfold website) on the Sunday.

When it comes to 'Members' Days' put on by our area groups it's up to those groups what they decide to do, but in general I suspect if a member of the public turned up wanting to pay to get in I'd like to think we as a Society wouldn't turn them away! Certainly we let them in when the West Mids group did our open days (offering a discounted entry to members).

Perhaps a better rule of thumb is that if it is advertised in Railway Modeller, etc. then it's likely non-members would be admitted, but to avoid any doubt it may be worth contacting the organisers before making a (potentially long) trip.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Thanks Julien.

What caught my eye was the SWOONS one (as it is probably the closest one to him).

I see it is advertised on this forum as an Open Day and not as a Members Day. I'm not sure if the descriptions are being used interchangeably or whether using the two are used separately to mean exactly what they say.

[MickT]

It's very simple really - Statfold was very different to "routine" events organised by Society area groups, the arrangement that was put out to all members via 009 News and online was very clear - members plus partner if relevant on Saturday and open to non-members ie the public on Sunday - but it still caused confusion because some people simply did not read the pre-notices. It was also amazing that, despite notices being published about the postcode for Statfold being a farm half a mile up a track on the other side of the road, and there were 3 VERY large signs at the farm track junction and 50 yards up the road in front of the real entrance on the other side of the road, as well as a large diesel loco that could be seen from some distance at the gate, there were still a number of people who turned up stating that they had ended up at the farm!

Anyway - Area Group events : If they are advertised as "Group name - Members Open Day" or simply "Group Name - Open Day" then the clue is in the word "Open" - it would be open to the public/non-members. From my experience this form of description is used by far the majority of Society area groups.

If an event is described simply as "Group Name - Members Day" then one must assume that it is what is says - a members day, not a public event. I can't think offhand of any Area Group event that is "closed" that has been advertised to the public - what would be the point?

That's my sixpennyworth, I'm off to check that the front door is locked as I am not open to the public today...........

Mick

[Graeme Dunbar]

Thanks Mick. Sorry to hear you need to keep your door locked where you live.

[Andy Cundick]

For what its worth the Wiltshire Group has run an Open Day (Pewsey) for the last 36 odd years and are open to anyone even 7mm modellers.Andy.

[Stan Williams]

Its the same with the Merseyside &SWest Lancs Group, we actively advertise for visitors to come along and the reason we have between
60 and 80 people coming along, nearly every month.
They like what they see and keep returning, many becoming friends.

Stan.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Thanks Andy and Stan.

My friend lives in Wales not far from the border. He travels regularly to the Cheltenham area where he flies model aeroplanes and visits a friend who is in a care home. I'm guessing Open Days on locations from Bristol to Birmingham might be 'doable' as a day trip, so if there are any Open Days within that sort of range I'd like pass them on.

(I thought I'd passed on information about the Sunday at Statfold but I'd forgotten WhatsApp has stopped working on his phone. Really annoyed, because he said we could have met up.)

[JulienW]

For what its worth the Wiltshire Group has run an Open Day (Pewsey) for the last 36 odd years and are open to anyone even 7mm modellers.Andy.

And very odd years they have been.... ;D