Short version:

Not a lot of interest expressed even from the regulars, although that does not necessarily mean that no-one is interested :-0

BUT... is it worth spending money on hiring a room if few people are likely to be there? If we cannot get a free room at UEA for an ALUG 5th Birthday Bash, how about meeting up at the City Gate instead, maybe for meal during or afterwards, first w/e in May?

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Long Version:

Recently I asked for feedback on when the next Norwich w/e meeting should be held because the planned meeting is a week before ALUG's fifth anniversary and a few people had suggested that this should be marked.

I have had three responses.

Two preferred the first w/e in May (the 'birthday' w/e but also a bank holiday w/e) and one had no preference. So call it three for May.

Two preferred the idea of a saturday meeting at UEA if it could be arranged and one preferred a sunday meeting.

In retrospect my 'survey' should have distinguished between 'saturday' preference and 'UEA' preference. I suspect people were choosing UEA rather than 'saturday'.

I have no way of knowing if the other people who often come to w/e meetings but did not respond have no preference or are simply uninterested :-)

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Anyway, the preference from the tiny and possibly-unrepresentative sample is for a saturday meeting at the UEA on the first w/e in May i.e. May 1st.

If a free room can be booked at UEA then this can go ahead. Otherwise... well, it may be a bit of a problem. I will not be in Norwich that w/e but I can change the Billy Bluelight booking. I don't have time to search for an alternative. I'm concerned that very few people will turn up again and it is an expensive place if very few people attend.

Maybe an alternative, if a booking at UEA does not happen, would be to have a saturday or sunday birthday meet at the City Gate instead on May 1st or 2nd? Maybe meet up for a meal? OK, so it's not a place to take kit but is that so important this time?

That actually sounds like more fun to me than the Billy Bluelight or even UEA. I'll be sorry to miss it. If it works we can do it more often and keep a room-booked meeting for when there really is some activity worth booking a room for, such as a talk, demo etc. And there is always Syleham which is a great place for kit-bringing meetings: tables, chairs, beer, tea and coffee plus it's warm, inviting and (dah-dah!) free as well.

So - what do you say??? City Gate on the Bank Holiday w/e in May?

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The other thing is that I will be away for the next couple of weeks and really want to get this settled asap. I will (fingers crossed and keep the string pulled tight) have email though.

Finally, I think we have to question if the old-style unplanned bring-kit meetings are really fulfilling a need, at least in Norwich now there are regular monthly evening meets for face-to-face contacts. Most people seem to get the general tech support they need via the list.

Just a thought Syd