AWGB International Seminar

[Paul Hannaby]

Paul,
These were the options for attendance listed on the website as part of the online booking. The same list was in Revolutions and on the paper booking form.

A - Full attendance at seminar including campus accommodation
(en suite room), all meals and seminar banquet   £ 388.00   £ 40.00   £ 348.00
B - Full attendance at seminar including dinner on Friday and Saturday
but NO overnight campus accommodation   £ 301.00   £ 40.00   £ 261.00
C - Friday attendance (includes lunch but not dinner)   £ 62.25      
D - Saturday attendance (includes lunch but not dinner)   £ 93.25      
E - Sunday attendance (includes lunch)   £ 93.25      
F - Add Dinner Friday   £ 21.00      
G - Add Dinner Saturday   £ 31.25      
H - Companion coffee/tea and lunch per day   £ 33.70   

I'm not sure what you are referring to about the clique but from the responses here, I would say all those who attended were made to feel welcome and without exception enjoyed the experience.

[PaulH]

.....as part of the online booking....

I hate to point this out, but you're wrong about that.
Even when going into the online booking page there were no options about daily attendance, only what food choice you wanted.
Look at the archive of the pages concerned;
https://web.archive.org/web/20150221053341/http://www.awgb.co.uk/seminar-2015/
https://web.archive.org/web/20150221053230/http://www.awgb.co.uk/seminar-booking/

The same list was in Revolutions and on the paper booking form

Which only AWGB members see.
If the AWGB would like to attract non-members to attend the event, they need to consider how to ensure that potential attendees get enough information to make sure they're aware of all the options available to them.

[Dave Atkinson]

The options were on the payment page which followed the booking page and with hindsight (that wonderful tool!) we should have listed them on the first page.  Getting the word out to a wider audience is of course something we were keen to do although we did publish the event in Woodturning.

Something for us to consider next time is publicity and it is at the top of our list)

And can I re-iterate Paul's point - there isn't a clique.  We do our best to welcome everyone, which included people from around the world.  People do come on their own and one or two found it difficult to integrate with people who came with their pals.  But that's nothing we can affect as organisers although I do appreciate it can be difficult sometimes to get talking to people when you don't know anyone. 

Cheers Dave

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

I always found luchtime was a good time to talk to people and make new friends. Sit at a table of strangers and ask who they saw this morning or who they will see this afternoon and leave the table as friends.
     It really is a friendly event, in fact there can be so many friends there you just don't have time to speak to all of them.

[bodrighywood]

Breakfast, lunchtime or in the bar at dinner time. I am not the type of person who easily talks to strangers but as we all had one thing in common it was easy to strike up conversations at these times as well as in between demos. Even those that some may see as elite such as the better known turners were approachable and easy to talk to.

Pete

[edbanger]

I have to say I've only been woodturning for just under two years, so this was my first seminar I took my wife along as she wanted to see what it was all about I met lots of people some from the forum other form the committee and some of the better known turners and no body seem to be cliquey. In fact quite the opposite.

I asked Mark Sanger about some punches that had used and he made a point of finding me later in the day tool box in hand to show me what he used and gave me details of where to get them.

So much can be learnt when you have so many woodturners in one place all with the common interest.

I will without doubt be going to all future seminars and would recommend anyone that has not attended one to date too take the time to go along you won't be disappointed.

Ed   

[Paul Hannaby]

Paul,
All the options were there on the booking pages and as I said before, they were on the paper form too, which was also on the website for anyone to download and use.

[bodrighywood]

Perhaps one thing to really focus on is as said the publicity. To some extent I don't think that this need be just the role of the organisers either, many of us use the social media and have contacts with many turners all over the world who probably have no connection to the AWGB but either turn or are interested in turning. I personally can think of a number of turners in this country I am in contact with who don't belong to clubs and have no affilliation with the AWGB. We can all make noises about what could be done and then sit back and expect the committee to do it but after talking with some of them I was amazed at the amount of work that they put into keeping the AWGB afloat and functioning. Perhaps the solution doesn't lie so much with them as with all of us to promote and advertise these things as much as we can. Same problem as mentioned in another thread regarding participation in clubs. We all (and I am generalising so don't shout at me LOL) can be guilty of talking more than doing.

Pete

[PaulH]

All the options were there on the booking pages and as I said before,

and you're still wrong.
Have you looked at the actual pages served, as I linked to above ?
There is absolutely no mention of being able to attend on a daily basis.

I'm trying to help you here. Maybe someone should have put the options on the site, but they simply weren't there.

[rick_dobney]

PaulH....why, when you had the opportunity beforehand, did you leave it until now to voice these issues? Surely if your intentions are to be supportive they should have been raised BEFORE the event.
Rick

[PaulH]

.why, when you had the opportunity beforehand, did you leave it until now to voice these issues?

Because Dave asked for comments.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

         On the cost of the seminar  surely as others have said it not just about the money. I choose not to stay in the pre arranged accomadation I choose to stay in the hotels, this means I take the other half and we have a mini break, I go to the seminar and she spends my money then we meet up for dinner and discuss our day. Wizardry in wood is next year in October, I will book my train seats and hotel as soon as I can (Trowbridge to London £11 each way earlier this year).
           We sometimes take in a show or save up and eat somewhere nice, sometimes we just go for a wander but the who;e thing is it is an enjoyable time. You can't put a value on that.

[John D Smith]

 Hi PaulH,
             I find your comments most offensive and unnecessary it's the ones who do NOTHING that call the ones that do all the work a Clique the easy answer is join the clique and work your socks off which the members who organise the Seminar do. As some one said why wait until now to make these comments if you was interested in a days attendance why didn't you ask but it has been proven you didn't understand the booking form so get off your high horse and crawl back into your shaving.
                                                                                 John

[TWiG]

Earlier in the year I thought about going to the seminar , however as it got nearer to the time I started to consider how much it would cost .... travel from Devon , attendance fees , accommodation , time away from work and other interests etc and after realising it would cost about the same as a new chainsaw I just could not justify it to myself so I did not go .  When you consider how many turners there are in the UK then consider how  many are serious about turning ( most I would guess are retired and  hobby turners ) and for reasons others have said ... holidays etc  .. unfortunately  it would appear not  many are willing to pay the subsequent costs just to watch  demos  etc .  

[Graham]

As I remember it there were 200 delegates at the seminar, can I ask how many you actually needed to break even ?

From my point of view as a retired hobby turner the weekend was most enjoyable and instructive but in view of the distance and hills involved from accommodation to lecture hall ( for most, luckily I got lifts ) thank God it wasn't raining !!

Was it worth the money ? Well...... I remember the pleasure of being there rather than the cost so yes, it was worth it.... but that doesn't stop it being a lot of money for a weekend and the question of whether I would be prepared to pay £450 next time made me frown a bit.

I have 3 enduring memories of the weekend. I got to see and learn from several 'famous' turners, Everyone was extraordinarily friendly and cheerful, and I made 1 or 2 new friends. Cliques ? Neah, no sign of that.