South West Area

[edmondo]

Peeps

as some of you may notice that despite the proliferation of Scoobies in the region this part of the Forum is not as busy as it once was..........question is why?...............so peeps is it cos of the "recession".........is it because of the Forum or what?

so please can you let us know what you think and how we can get the traffic back............what would you like to see changed?..........if you was in charge of the SIDC Forum what would you do differently.

cheers for your time / support on this

[kevlorn]

because we kept on getting bollockings from whoring it up..

[frenchy]

LOL Parker. There is a difference between being active on the forums and whoring to increase post counts

What changes would you like to see?

[kevlorn]

joking aside, well that was true ................not sure what has happened,obviously since selling my scoob ive not been on much,but the banter had stopped long before that, tbh it only took a few peeps back then to keep the southwest buzzing, (you know who you are),no-one has the commitment these days, i'm always up for banter and those that know me know that..hope things get better again on here....fingers crossed eh.

[kevlorn]

just had a thought..every fu**ers on facebook instead

[monkip1]

Well my lil 2pence.

I havent been on the forum much my self mainly due to not having internet access in work, and when I get home I dont fancy sitting in front of the pc.

I would go to monthly meets but Its a good £20 just to get there and back plus the 40miles each way. Having meets in different locations I think would benefit all members from across the region

Im not a paid up member either so I am unable to go to car shows with the Sidc, I understand paid up members have priority in the paddock stand but I think two weeks before the show any available tickes could go up first come first serve to entice people more to be a paid member ect for member benefits. But I can go to shows with other clubs.

I think that is all I can think of off the top of my head.

Monki.

[pezza_no1]

just had a thought..every fu**ers on facebook instead

You know there could be some truth behind that :S

Not sure what to suggest, it just seems deadly quiet all over lately

[rae_sti]

agree with monkip1 about being a member to be able to buy tickets for shows etc.i understand that you need money to keep the forum etc going

i gained nothing from being a member except a place on the stand .yes you get discounts at subaru garages etc but not all of us can afford to take our cars there in the first place . and i guess even more will be getting jobs done done privately in todays climate .

perhaps a 2 tier system might work where for say half normal membership price you can get tickets and stand passes but not the discounts .

as for this region well beside jaqs and eds doing swindon meets theres nothing else .what about track days like we used to do at haynes .surely in todays climate we could find somewhere who isnt going to charge shed loads and would be interested in making a bit of ££££, eg bbs have got kemble days which as far as i know are a great success.

[edmondo]

agree with monkip1 about being a member to be able to buy tickets for shows etc.i understand that you need money to keep the forum etc going

i gained nothing from being a member except a place on the stand .yes you get discounts at subaru garages etc but not all of us can afford to take our cars there in the first place . and i guess even more will be getting jobs done done privately in todays climate .

perhaps a 2 tier system might work where for say half normal membership price you can get tickets and stand passes but not the discounts .

as for this region well beside jaqs and eds doing swindon meets theres nothing else .what about track days like we used to do at haynes .surely in todays climate we could find somewhere who isnt going to charge shed loads and would be interested in making a bit of ££££, eg bbs have got kemble days which as far as i know are a great success.

thanks peeps - keep em coming

Thanks Rae - track days was a cracking laugh but that is something we can look at in 2010

Rolling Road days as well however once you done one - unless you do more work - then anymore seems a bit pointless

As you said there does not seem to be any action further down west so perhaps powers that be can look at trying to recruit peope to take it on.

e

I am gonna try and do extra drive outs which was a real laugh but again we need people to put there names down rather then trying to fit it in aroud other clubs activities to get the numbers up.

also as a side issue are we all happy with the way the south west area is managed Forum wise or is there any changes you would love to see.........bearing in mind we would want people to use it if we can persuade the Forum Masters to change it

Cheers

[pezza_no1]

I think I also have to agree with the chaps about not being allowed on the SIDC stand at shows. I know this isn't really a regional thing and more of a national issue but surely people such as Rae and Monki who post on here reqularly and are a active forum member should be allowed (at SIDC's disgretion) to purchase a ticket for such an a event???

Forum wise I can't really think of anything more you can do, perhaps more drive outs or organise a rolling road day but also invite other forums along so you get SIDC out there some more to try and attract more members?

I have to say I was slightly suprised that a 'local' scooby forum had the same if not more cars on their stand then SIDC at Summer Action Day when SIDC is meant to be a national forum!

Just my thoughts... Doesn't happen very often, hurts my brain cell too much! Lol

[monkip1]

Regarding track days ect Launch Motorsport do brilliant days out at Kemble race track in Glochester! But mind you day out to Dawlish warren and other sea side resort places are good also for family and kids friendly too

Not saying no effort have been made in doing this, It just down to the member also to participate, as Iv noticed lack of interest in some shows down in Devon and cornwall. Shame all the major shows are around somerset wiltshire and the north ect .

Edited September 15, 2009 by MonkiP1

[edmondo]

I think I also have to agree with the chaps about not being allowed on the SIDC stand at shows. I know this isn't really a regional thing and more of a national issue but surely people such as Rae and Monki who post on here reqularly and are a active forum member should be allowed (at SIDC's disgretion) to purchase a ticket for such an a event???

Forum wise I can't really think of anything more you can do, perhaps more drive outs or organise a rolling road day but also invite other forums along so you get SIDC out there some more to try and attract more members?

I have to say I was slightly suprised that a 'local' scooby forum had the same if not more cars on their stand then SIDC at Summer Action Day when SIDC is meant to be a national forum!

Just my thoughts... Doesn't happen very often, hurts my brain cell too much! Lol

thanks Pez............you go and have a lie down in a dark room now lol

regards Action Day - we do try and make it a rule that it is members only however with the likes of Rae and Ben we will ALWAYS accomodate.

also if it was not for the support of Kev and the Welsh Lads then Action Day - Both - would have looked a mite poorer so yes we need more people from the locale to make the effort.

[edmondo]

Regarding track days ect Launch Motorsport do brilliant days out at Kemble race track in Glochester! But mind you day out to Dawlish warren and other sea side resort places are good also for family and kids friendly too

Not saying no effort have been made in doing this, It just down to the member also to participate, as Iv noticed lack of interest in some shows down in Devon and cornwall. Shame all the major shows are around somerset wiltshire and the north ect .

agree Ben - SIDC do track days but it seems always to be in the week so perhaps they could look at staging these at the weekends instead..........Tatsu also arrange Airfield days.............we would do the same but as we have to front the cash then its a gamble when loads say yes but nearer the time pull - there has been more than 1 occasion in the last 4 years we have lost out.

SWMS is a prime example.......2005 - 35 cars........2006 - 25 cars.......2007 - 10 cars..........2008 - 6 cars..........in 05 and 06 we was the Best Club Stand..........this year we was gutted that the SIDC was not represented so its down to people to commit not just locally but like in 05 where we had cars from all over the region and beyond who came.

cheers

[edmondo]

as a passing thought as we try and move this forward into 2010

we also need t be seen as proactive.........i.e - going to other Club meets.........Oxford for instance - its just up the road............one person from further down said to me that those in the Swindon area do not seem to be wanting to do anything outside the area so it would be nice if we all tried and supported others more..................not a criticism - just an observation........so we would then benefit ourselves.

cheers

[frenchy]

Can I just clarify the stand pass issue you've raised guys

The reason that unpaid members are not offered stand passes is down to the Club's Insurance Scheme.

If your car was damaged at a show, that was caused by... lets say that club marquee blowing into it and denting a door. The insurance would only be valid if you were a paid member. That's only of the clauses I'm afraid and that's why established users don't get offered a stand pass I'm afraid.

As for the lack of attendance of the summer action day, just a suggestion, but are these events posts outside of your regions? You might increase your exposure at these shows in they're listed in the national events section

[edmondo]

Spring Action Day was and the attendence was very good however it was mentioned about the Summer one on that thread iirc..........however we only posted it in here and Oxon so next time round we will

by the way the front page is looking good

[kevlorn]

some constructive coments, have to agree with not being able to attend a show without membership.........seems a strange insurance,what happens if something happens to a car parked next to the sidc stand,ummmmmmmmmmm sorry mate your not covered because you aint a member,,,,,,,,,,yh but i own a ford etc

[Guest sti3_lewak]

Well apart from walking around and driving a round with a big SIDC SOUTHWEST REGION Flag or banner on you at all times i guess i'm out of options.

The Drive outs that Ed is organising is a brilliant way of getting us out and our familys. Myself and better half enjoyed the last one with BBS lads and lasses too. I would defo go to the next one.

Meets in different places would be good but again can be more expensive for some people if they have to travel far to get there.

If in the mean time i think of anything in the war office i shall let you know.

P.s I'm know back from afghan so look out for me around the south area.

[edmondo]

welcome back Dave...............Thanks for the comments mate

[edmondo]

ok Troops

Sorry for bringing this back up again but:-

1. Curry Night - dont seem to be a lot of interest - Please discuss

2. Dave organised Karting - again lack of interest - why - please discuss?

3. Oxford meet - again looks like me and Jacqui going only

To be honest we are trying to organise more stuff but it needs people to actually come

The meets are always well attended however it seems some people come for a month or 2 and then dissappear into the ether

Is there something Jacqui and I are doing wrong?

can someone please enlighten us

Cheers

Edited November 29, 2009 by Edmondo

[Guest sti3_lewak]

Not to sure why this is ed.

Like most of the meets (the last one i attended) most people say they are coming and then even more people tip up.

I must admit due to being back at work there lack of listening i have missed a meet here and their but do make an effort to attend what i can afford. The drive out that ed organised and only 3 cars..........COME ON PEEPS Let see if we can impove things in 2010 new year new start.

[stinger]

Hello all and my thoughts, such as they are.

As a person who has spent less time on here over the last few months I know that people like me have not helped. Jaqs and Ed I know how much effort you put in and to a large extent you are never going to please everybody and at times its going to be nobody.

The events you have lined up are good but i think a lot of the problem is the size of area you are trying to cover. Swindon to Torquay is approximately the same distance as Glasgow to Aberdeen (if my expensive education in geography wasn't wasted) but the south west has one southwest section in the forums yet in bonny Scotland they have a number of subsections. I think a few more sections in the forum might help activity.. sales, banter section (so enabling the poxy forum limits on the chat thread to be avoided), events section. It might help to make the various events stand out a tad more.

On the same note the choice of venue for meets isn't ideal, Swindon being the northeastern most point of the area almost, i suspect even moving it to Chippenham might help. Or even going onto a moving venue for each month. What about not necessarily have the monthly meet on a Friday night? Especially in the winter, last Friday, personally, I was home from work, 5.30, dog walking for an hour, 6.50, scoff down dinner, wash up, change, leave the house 7.30. I arrive at the meet feeling guilty i'm late but i haven't stopped! Do a poll for winter meets, they could even be combined with a quick hour or 2 run out on a Saturday or Sunday with everyone stopping for a sandwich and a cup of tea at the end . Or for me, a meet at 3pm on the Sunday would be so much easier and less fraught to attend.

As a thought, instead of trying to do everything yourself, why not try and get some help, maybe appoint an "events coordinator", "newbie support worker" etc etc. I'm thinking someone to bend ears, twist arms etc etc to get people to commit to going or otherwise to events so they can be planned better. Someone to help new members, you know the drill, pm them when they join, hold their hand at their first meet, maybe tell them best people to approach for help depending on the issue and so on. That way you could be free-er (ewwwww) to drum up fresh meat in the first place.

Personally i think its down to everyone to help try and kick start (remember that program ED?) the area and i will try and help!

[kevlorn]

ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt's STINGER welcome back me old fruit,glad your ok.............some very good coments there bud.

[edmondo]

Hello all and my thoughts, such as they are.

As a person who has spent less time on here over the last few months I know that people like me have not helped. Jaqs and Ed I know how much effort you put in and to a large extent you are never going to please everybody and at times its going to be nobody.

The events you have lined up are good but i think a lot of the problem is the size of area you are trying to cover. Swindon to Torquay is approximately the same distance as Glasgow to Aberdeen (if my expensive education in geography wasn't wasted) but the south west has one southwest section in the forums yet in bonny Scotland they have a number of subsections. I think a few more sections in the forum might help activity.. sales, banter section (so enabling the poxy forum limits on the chat thread to be avoided), events section. It might help to make the various events stand out a tad more.

On the same note the choice of venue for meets isn't ideal, Swindon being the northeastern most point of the area almost, i suspect even moving it to Chippenham might help. Or even going onto a moving venue for each month. What about not necessarily have the monthly meet on a Friday night? Especially in the winter, last Friday, personally, I was home from work, 5.30, dog walking for an hour, 6.50, scoff down dinner, wash up, change, leave the house 7.30. I arrive at the meet feeling guilty i'm late but i haven't stopped! Do a poll for winter meets, they could even be combined with a quick hour or 2 run out on a Saturday or Sunday with everyone stopping for a sandwich and a cup of tea at the end . Or for me, a meet at 3pm on the Sunday would be so much easier and less fraught to attend.

As a thought, instead of trying to do everything yourself, why not try and get some help, maybe appoint an "events coordinator", "newbie support worker" etc etc. I'm thinking someone to bend ears, twist arms etc etc to get people to commit to going or otherwise to events so they can be planned better. Someone to help new members, you know the drill, pm them when they join, hold their hand at their first meet, maybe tell them best people to approach for help depending on the issue and so on. That way you could be free-er (ewwwww) to drum up fresh meat in the first place.

Personally i think its down to everyone to help try and kick start (remember that program ED?) the area and i will try and help!

Paul

There was once a Devon and a Cornwall R/O's however as there is not we do try and encourage membership from that way but as you point out we are in the far North Eastern Corner then it is difficult. Really in Devon and Cornwall as there is no proper SIDC Prescence then at the mo it is tied up between SWS and RIP.

Friday Nights - In 2007 when we started the Swindon meets we tried Friday nights as an expiriment and it took off brilliantly however when the Winter came round and we switched to Sundays and guess what - we would get 1-2 cars if we was lucky. We then put it back to Friday Nights in Jan 08 and we 15 cars turn up so we have kept it to Friday nights. Sundays now clash with either Oxford / BBS / SWS meets.

Doing Everything ourselves - We would like nothing more then to pass stuff over but to be honest ( not a swipe at you DC ) but we need someone who can have the time to take stuff on.

Summer meets 09 - Hot sun - light nights then you would have thought lots would come out but we lost all our service guys training or being in Affie.........then theres holidays , Sulks , BBQ's etc.

Newbie co-ordinator - yep I try my hand at that but not very good to be honest so yes thats a good idea - any voluteers?

Kick start - yes I do thanks pmsl

Thanks for your thoughts so perhaps we might hold a war council again in January.........had one in 08 - good laugh and paved the way for a good year so will look to do that in 2010.

[scooby princess]

Hello all and my thoughts, such as they are.

As a person who has spent less time on here over the last few months I know that people like me have not helped. Jaqs and Ed I know how much effort you put in and to a large extent you are never going to please everybody and at times its going to be nobody.

Paul - I know to well that we will never please everyone and it has to be said that we don't try! We are who we are and people take us as they find us.

The events you have lined up are good but i think a lot of the problem is the size of area you are trying to cover. Swindon to Torquay is approximately the same distance as Glasgow to Aberdeen (if my expensive education in geography wasn't wasted) but the south west has one southwest section in the forums yet in bonny Scotland they have a number of subsections. I think a few more sections in the forum might help activity.. sales, banter section (so enabling the poxy forum limits on the chat thread to be avoided), events section. It might help to make the various events stand out a tad more.

My position as Regional Organiser with Ed as my Co Organiser is not the area you have described - We are actually only the Somerset and Wiltshire Regional Organisers and as Ed has said we used to have a cornish R/O but no longer. As for Devon, JD was and as far as i am aware still is Regional Organiser BUT due to work commitments there is not much being organised by him at present. As for dividing the regional headings up this has in the past caused major issues to which i will not talk about as its very old news.

On the same note the choice of venue for meets isn't ideal, Swindon being the northeastern most point of the area almost, i suspect even moving it to Chippenham might help. Or even going onto a moving venue for each month. What about not necessarily have the monthly meet on a Friday night? Especially in the winter, last Friday, personally, I was home from work, 5.30, dog walking for an hour, 6.50, scoff down dinner, wash up, change, leave the house 7.30. I arrive at the meet feeling guilty i'm late but i haven't stopped! Do a poll for winter meets, they could even be combined with a quick hour or 2 run out on a Saturday or Sunday with everyone stopping for a sandwich and a cup of tea at the end . Or for me, a meet at 3pm on the Sunday would be so much easier and less fraught to attend.

As Ed has said we have tried to change things and got a bad response but something you have raised was tried once before and i think it would be good to try it again - It might be every other month not every month but I will put a idea together and opost for members to have their say.

As a thought, instead of trying to do everything yourself, why not try and get some help, maybe appoint an "events coordinator", "newbie support worker" etc etc. I'm thinking someone to bend ears, twist arms etc etc to get people to commit to going or otherwise to events so they can be planned better. Someone to help new members, you know the drill, pm them when they join, hold their hand at their first meet, maybe tell them best people to approach for help depending on the issue and so on. That way you could be free-er (ewwwww) to drum up fresh meat in the first place.

This for me personally is a delicate matter - again old news, not to be unearthed! - Whilst I agree with you on this I personally have to admit that due to old issues I find it hard to ' let people in to help ' and this is my own fault. For me I need to feel comfortable with those who offer to help and with how much they help - I do not mean this in any disrespectful way to any member and older members (Rae STI) will understand why. I like your idea though and it would help - maybe 2010 I need to try and accept offers of help.

Personally i think its down to everyone to help try and kick start (remember that program ED?) the area and i will try and help!

Thank you for your views Paul, this has been extremely helpful and I hope we can implement positive changes for 2010.