Bournemouth — Oct 14th 2008

The attendance at last night’s meeting was, to put it politely, dire. In view of the low turn out for the last few meetings, possibly explained in some part by the upsets for the April & May meetings, which did not take place, I have decided that unless the November meeting shows a marked increase, it will be the last Bournemouth meeting. It is not fair to expect our hosts, Solutions, to continue to keep their premises open in the evening (at a cost to them I understand of around £100 in terms of overtime, overheads and insurance) for such small attendances.

With over 80 Mac users known to us in the Bournemouth and Poole areas we had hopes of creating a busy buzzy meeting. It hasn’t happened.

To return to last evening, the presentations were both interesting and excellent. Bobby Barring ton-Smith, the Solutions manager gave us a look at the new Genius feature in iTunes 8 and also a preview of the brand new Macbooks released in the States yesterday -very exciting stuff! Then Clive Whaley gave a fascinating presentation showing how he uses Final Cut Pro to make documentary and corporate short films - some stunning camera-work and cutting demonstrated the strengths of the program, and also underlined the importance of sound in creating an effective film.

We hope to see you in November - at the Last Chance Saloon!

Comments

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John Surtees said…

This is very sad. So sorry we missed the meeting. Joy and myself had only just got back from a trip to the USA and what with jet lag and trying to catch up with work, this month was just impossible for us.

The Bournemouth meetings are really enjoyable. It would be such a shame to loose such an excellent venue for the sake of a few more people turning up. But with a round trip of over 60 miles and having to leave work early, it's not always possible for us to make it.

To hear that there are so many members in fairly close proximity, yet don't bother to take advantage of the meetings is very disappointing.

By the way, the we called into the refurbished Lloyds No 1 Bar around the corner from Solutions a few weeks back, and have to say the service, food and coffee were very good. Don't know what it's like in the evening though. Perhaps some of you locals could do a road test and report back.

Roy Rainford said…

It was certainly 'quality not quantity' last evening! Two interesting presentations & good discussion amongst the 'few'.
It would be sad to lose this venue. Excellent facilities in a central location with parking nearby. The shop itself is always worth a 'mooch' around & the staff are friendly & helpful. The lecture room below is comfortable with digital projection & audio available. ie. Everything needed for informative, enjoyable & successful meetings - everything that is except attendance!
So let's bring it back to life with interesting subjects & speakers on the agenda plus problem solving & general Mac discussions. One aspect that I personally don't support (Michael knows!) is early transfer to the nearby cafe. I would like to see all the available time allotted to discussion in the lecture room. I wonder what other members want/prefer?

John Surtees said…

On the subject of the cafe.

On the plus side, it's a nice atmosphere and it allows the staff of Solutions to get away a little earlier.

On the minus side, living so far away, it's not that often that we can spare the time anyway.

Don't like to say this, but if the attendance doesn't improve, it's all rather immaterial.

Eleanor Spenceley said…

I'm afraid I was in London on Tuesday or would have come to see the FCP demo. In the end I'm happy I did not attend, since my paranoia that I'm jinxing attendances would now in overtime! ;-)

Michael Corgan said…

In response to Roy's very valid point, I have moved to the restaurant as early as possible to allow the Solutions staff to get off home - they have been at the shop all day. Also I have had the feeling that we have been overstaying our welcome by being in the shop until 9.00 pm. In fact we had a complaint from their Head Office some time back on this very point when we were accused incorrectly of being there until 10.00, when it was pointed out quite sharply that the company is paying overtime rates to keep the venue open for us.

I have been constantly surprised that we have had such low turnouts after the initial interest that was evinced, when 30+ people turned up. More so given that we had 80-90 Mac users on our lists from the time prior to moving to annual subscription. Seems that we can't even lead these horses to water...

John Surtees said…

Come on people, if you are amongst the 30+ that turned out in the past. How about posting your reason for not attending lately. This is too good a venue to loose.

Mick Burrell said…

Whilst I appreciate Roy's comment with regard to the restaurant, I have to say that I support Michael's concern for the two Solutions staff who have to wait until we six(!!) have left. I also feel that it's nice that the meeting dissolves into a social, non-mac related evening, but…

If members would like more free discussion, perhaps at the expense of presentations, then as Roy says "I wonder what other members want/prefer?" From my experience at Salisbury and Lytchett, I'm absolutely sure Michael wonders that too. At the risk of sticking my neck out, I doubt many people have given him feedback or suggestions for future meetings.

Roy Rainford said…

Following the comment above from Mick, "suggestions for future meetings", I would be interested in 1.Methods of emailing/surfing from a MacBook/iPhone/Palmtop or similar whilst away in the UK. 2.The setup required to watch TV on an iMac. 3. Anything on imaging/Aperture/Lightroom/iPhoto. 4. How to setup for iChat/Skype from my MacBook to a PC & what is needed on the PC. No doubt it is difficult to get experienced & skilled presenters but this aspect is so important for successful meetings. My feedback is that generally I don't find sessions by Solutions sales staff particularly useful but someone like the last speaker, Clive Whaley, a professional user, a good communicator & discussion leader is the type of speaker who would surely help to increase attendance if advertised on this site 2/3 weeks beforehand & also notified as usual to members via the newsletter.

Roy Rainford said…

Thanks Mick, that's the next three meetings sorted!!

Terry Willis said…

I think a pragmatic approach needs to be taken, which based upon attendance records would seem to be to call it a day, at least for now. That does'nt mean we should not attempt to run meetings at Bournemouth again in the future, in fact one idea would be to drop occasional meetings after a short break, perhaps in the new year.

We also all need to consider that this is a user group, which should mean everyone plays an equal part and not rely on the same people to provide the presentations! Having said that, Bournemouth has probably had the most guest speakers thanks to Michael's contacts, but even that did not produce significant attendance numbers.

Terry Willis said…

Should have been "in fact one idea would be to drop TO occasional meetings..."

Mark Thompson said…

Hello everybody, having just joined the club, I am disappointed to hear that the B/mouth venue is to close. However, I was surprised at how early it starts and wonder if this has a lot to do with poor attendance? I will find a 6.30 start very difficult because of work, and in fact, I will not be able to make this Tuesday as I have to travel to South Wales and will not be home in time! Anyhow, I hope to meet you all soon.
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