VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby VampireTigger » Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:27 am

lord13 wrote:The food vans were very sparse, there were really no trade stands to speak of, my daughter was looking for the sweet stand and the slush puppy stand from previous years. She was pretty disappointed when I told her that those were only at Billing and she'd have to wait for Vauxfest for those.


Or you could have just gone to the ones near the burger van on site ;)

The sweets were from a dark green Dodge mocked up to look like a Bedford, large awning with various sweets signage and jars of sweets on display. The slush puppy I think was a light grey HA van rear doors open to display the machine.

I do agree the amount of roping off was very uninviting in nature to me, frankly I just kept
Stepping over it in the end.
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby lord13 » Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:51 am

She didn't like those ones, they were in 'smelly vans and would stink of petrol' , her words not mine.. she wanted the stall that's always at Billing :)

It was a CF, a LWB 350 that the bloke has fitted out for shows. He lives near me, I've been to his place, Cf's everywhere..plus tonnes of Fiat Puntos oddly enough, he deals in them. In fact the rear arches on that particular CF are built from four Punto front wings! He sends his wife out to shows in it to sell sweets as a sideline to the Punto breakers business. Funny chap, pleasant enough, bit of a talker, I went to pick up a gearbox and was there half the day :)
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby 1972nail » Mon Jul 08, 2019 4:57 pm

Well Mitch, thank you for the kind words about our own club's efforts, much appreciated. To be able to sustain the quality we need willing workers and committee members to carry it on to the next generation, maybe you would consider that instead of making an unannounced flying visit?

As far as the other comments, weren't the stands always roped off with bunting at Billing? Weren't the tents mixed amongst the stands at Billing too? I certainly remember trying to fight my way through the Cav Owner's club stand/campsite at Billing, just as I did at Sywell this weekend. One of the main complaints about MH was that the camping area was divorced from cars with the associated feeling of lack of security of the car at night.

Roping off is a necessity when setting up stands of this type to avoid arguments but I do agree it is very inconvenient for those who are browsing between stands, I remember falling flat on my face into a muddy puddle at Billing while trying to straddle some of the bunting, at least MH and Sywell don't flood!

Totally free movement of people (not Brexit related) also means free movement of vehicles and that cannot be safe in a show like this. Most shows do not allow access after a designated time and no movement of vehicles until the show is over. The VBOA have decided to allow us move our cars about quite freely and very safely all day because of the restrictions made by the bunting. If it were not there, yes, people could walk freely in all directions but vehicles could also drive across stands in all directions too, without regard to any modicum of manner, respect or safety....and they would!. That is exactly what happens when we are clearing up on Sunday afternoon when the bunting is removed, thankfully there are much fewer cars and pedestrians around.

My understanding is that the layout of the club stands within their designated areas and where they decide to set up camp was the responsibility of each individual club, maybe your comments should be directed at the clubs that offended you rather than the VBOA on that one. However, if a stand is bounded on 3 out of the 4 sides with other clubs areas there will always be at least one boundary with tents pitched on it and causing obstruction to those who want to take the shortest route. Our's this year had only one adjoining boundary and our layout worked better than most because of that fact.

Trade stands? Well you can invite all and sundry but cannot compel them to attend. I don't know what arrangements and demands were made or what invitations were sent out but I do think the reduction in costs for autojumblers made for a very good mix of pre-owned parts and new tat that was absent from the last 2 Billings and both MH events. By that you can guess that I much prefer rummaging through greasy boxes rather than buying new stuff that I will never need.

My own thoughts on the weekend are a well prepared event that addressed many of the complaints that arose from the MH site. The entrance could have been better sign posted and embellished, and that can easily be addressed, however, I don't remember any elaborate embellishment at Billing or MH either.

As far as finding a venue where there is an already made public audience like Billing.... there probably isn't one within the reach of most attendees apart from Billing and that now seems to have been deemed unsuitable because of the new layout of the site and the reduction in space. There are a couple of ones here in N Ireland which would be fantastic and if you watch the British Open Golf Championship in a week or so you will see one of the best in the UK. The total number of people in the whole of N Ireland is expected to increase by almost almost 75% during the Open championship and most of the additional bodies staying in the immediate area! The venue has been used by F@#d, VW and Mini clubs for years with many overseas visitors.....but how many Vauxhall owners from the mainland would come? Move the VBOA venue from the Midlands and few will attend.

From talking to and gauging the response from many people who were there all weekend, rather than just a short flying visit, I think Sywell has been very well accepted across the piste and will attract a lot of support for a future permanent venue.
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby cooperman » Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:49 pm

I second that David, well said!
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby 1972nail » Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:20 pm

One other thing I forgot to mention was a comment from a wheel chair user. He had got to see most of the show this year over the 3 days he was there, whereas at both Billing and MH the ground was so rough and rutted he couldn't move around easily, MH being far worse than Billing in that respect.
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby 1972nail » Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:24 pm



https://youtu.be/J8ugkwmY-rg

For those who missed it here's a great video. Our stand is about half way through.

If the Play button doesn't work the link should
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby lord13 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:44 am

I feel as if I have upset people (again :( ) This was not my aim, I merely aired my views, I apologise for that, I can't say it won't happen again, but i'll try to keep my witterings at a minimum in future ....I may have said that before also....

As for the making a flying visit and why don't i become more active and take on a committee role...I'd love to, but can't, family health issues mean I cannot commit to anything as we do not know for sure what we can and can't do from one day to the next. As for not coming over and saying 'hi' ... without going into too much detail, you are all strangers to someone, and someone can't deal with that, which is why we made a flying visit as someone kindly put themselves out for as long as they could just so that I could attend the show.

That all said and done, the show was ok, I shouldn't have said anything, I just hope it's better next year and that we can attend for a short while again...possibly
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby droopsnoot » Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:40 am

lord13 wrote:I shouldn't have said anything


No, no, no. It's always good to hear what people think about stuff, it's a forum for discussion, not necessarily for agreement.
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby 1972nail » Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:40 am

Mitch, we are all entitled to air our opinions and let them be judged by others. I didn't take offence, it takes a lot more than that to offend me! I was just airing my opinion in response and hope others judge it against their experience.

I understand how difficult it can be in unfamiliar situations and how thankful you can be to get a precious hour or two away to do something you want to do, so you can ignore about my general rant about involvement. However, we do need new people to step up and get involved so that everyone can continue to enjoy the same good experience you've had on our stand in the future.

Strangers or not we are all friends on the forum with a common denominator - Vivas and all other car things! We can all talk about what we know and have in common for a few minutes as an introduction and take our forum relationship outside the typed page.

Moving on, if we are going back to Sywell, or any other location in a similar location next year I'll probably be there on the VVOC stand for quite a bit of the time, so please take time to introduce yourself and speak to me next time.
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Re: VBOA Nation Rally 2019 6th 7th July Sywell

Postby Fred Dukes » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:44 pm

Thanks to Marcus and his band of helpers for setting out the VVOC stand and providing a well presented layout for all to enjoy.
I have to agree with Mitch on the failure of some Clubs to understand that this is not only a gathering of Club Membership for a "bonding" it is also an opportunity to present the Club in its best light to the rest of the world so as to attract new membership. Layouts which looked like a camping holiday park gathering I am afraid do nothing to attract my attention or make the public feel welcome.
Don't seem to have taken any pics on the Sunday but one ore two on Saturday - I have to say I enjoyed the weekend even though it all got to be a bit of a blurr :roll: - we had some good group outings ( food at the Aviator Friday and the Horseshoe on Saturday ) - sorry I missed the quiz on Saturday but had run out of brain power so retired to the Hotel :lol:
Thanks for those who managed to attend the AGM on Saturday - this was your time to influence the direction of the future of the Club and should maybe given more consideration for making your input in the future ( there was no new volunteers for Club Committee post either for filled or vacant positions) AOB was greeted with silence which was somewhat disappointing.
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