2013 national Saturday :((((

[theminorsite]

Not at all busman, I'm not irked . I'm very pleased you (and others) enjoyed it and that serves as more than ample reward for our efforts in getting it together. Trust me though, for next years catering we're going to have at least one credible reserve!!!

[lambrettalad]

I'm not saying any thing else on this topic but for an event of that size you need at least 5 food food out lets and 5 tea/coffee etc outlets with water tight contracts and controlled pricing e.g. max price tea =£1,20 ,plus sweet and chocolate etc sellers .

[seriesmm_1]

I would like to agree with busmanjohn second post,I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend,& full credit to all the organisers & marshals for working so hard
Well done & thanks,by the way I brought sandwiches & a flask both days-no problems
BrianR

[minor65]

Yes I believe the queue was quite long on Saturday. I made sure we arrived before 9.30 ( our accommodation was approx 8 miles away) and didn't see a queue on either days. When going to shows I always try to get there early to take every all eventualities into account. I don't drink tea so no problems there and the hot dogs where A1. We had a brilliant weekend at another brilliant national rally.

[MarkyB]

There definately needs to be more than one caterer for an event of this size, it isn't a Village Fête after all.
If there had been several there the queues would have been shorter and stress reduced all round.

[bmcecosse]

Surely when you sell a franchise to supply catering at an event you get the cash (at least £100 per van??) paid well upfront - so they have an incentive to turn up!! Any show I attend there are burger vans (several)/fish & chips/all-day-breakfast/smokies/game burgers etc etc and many ice cream vans!

[DaisyMayFozz]

If I am honest, I thought the event was a bit of a let down for an 'international event', but I still enjoyed it the same, and grabbed some bargains at the auto jumble!!
I was lucky enough to bring my portable stove and kettle, so I did not have to suffer the queues.
I will not moan about it because simply, I would not like to be organizing or running it, as it has already been said.
To the marshalls, volunteers etc, Thank You and well done.
I will moan about one thing though, the weather!!!!!!!! it was a bit of a shame when the heavy spell came on Saturday and half the rally field emptied Oh and can the next venue be a bit nearer to Yorkshire, and be in a less hilly area, A family of four in a Morris with all of the kit etc in the boot, does not cope well with hills !!!

[bmcecosse]

Must be about time for the 'National Event' to be held in Scotland I would think??

[theminorsite]

Oh and can the next venue be a bit nearer to Yorkshire, and be in a less hilly area, A family of four in a Morris with all of the kit etc in the boot, does not cope well with hills !!!

When I went for a site visit to Cornbury in February I thought the satnav had picked me a bad route, but going back at the beginning of last week it seems that the ONLY way to it is through tiny roads over big hills! Wasn't really helped that 48 hours before my Trav got to Cornbury it was starting the journey back from high on the Swiss alps. Limped in to Cornbury with a shock absorber on one side and a leaf spring on the other which occurred just outside Geneva and didn't have time to rectify before the rally

[moggyman64]

pleased you all appear to have enjoyed the event

keith

[Nutts]

just to add an opinion.

212 mile drive down, Son well impressed giving a lesson on what moggies can be like.......... why does the rain collect in patches ? because they polish the paint ?

However have to agree with most, food / coffee was at best an expence at worst not available.

Food although we brought a BBQ that was allowed/not depending on who or where you were.......

Dogs, not allowed on show ground...... then what was the display team that had 4 legs and furry coat ?

I have to say a bit of a disapoinment, however would do it again next weekend but now I know what to expect.

overall 6/10.
just don't want to wait another 100 years

Peter and Sam

[mrblue]

i'm just annoyed at not being able to attend,was looking forward to it. Sod the food i just wanted to see all the cars.

[pskipper]

We got there dead on 9:30 on the Saturday and had a 50 minute queue, okay it did give us time to put on all the police regalia to the car and do a bit more work tuning the carb but it did seem a little excessive. Having been given our rally stuff we started to drive off only to have a marshall run after us screaming STOP STOP because she hadn't seen that we had been booked in.

In spite of our frustration we approached someone in the know and offered to help out the next day if they needed us but heard no more. Things admittedly were a lot better on Sunday (although it has to be admitted that the marshalls were able to just wave through anyone who had already booked in on the Saturday) but perhaps for future events a list of names for emergency extra marshalls could be assembled.

Bins on the site were a big issue, while having a baby change facility was great there was nowhere to get rid of poo laden nappies other than right next to the burger van (sorry if bad smells put anyone off their food, it wasn't our little one though)

We also heard that some of the catering issues were down to the provider who had been told there were 1400 cars booked for the rally and decided there would only be one person per car.....

Shame about the weather but we had a good time meeting up with old friends and enjoying seeing the cars.

p.s. we blame the committee totally for the weather

[simmitc]

Lots of points made and answered; but I'll throw in my few pennies worth. Having seen the problems with entry on Saturday, Phillip did indeed offer help for the Sunday. He is the only person to have done so and we would love to take advantage of that offer next year, if it's still available. This year, learning from the situation on Saturday, the entry arrangements were changed for Sunday, and ran much better. If all the people who had promised help had been there, then Saturday would not have been a problem.

I think that we all agree about catering. I like the suggestion of getting local groups to offer the service, and will put that forward. Quite a few branches were offering refreshments to anyone visiting their stands. It was possible to get free tea, coffee, and cake. Agreed that it wasn't advertised, but being sociable is part of what rallying is all about, so try saying "hello" occasionally, and you might be surprised by how much friendship comes your way

Wearing a radio and a tag saying "steward" meant that wherever I went on the field I was approached by rally goers, and it was almost non-stop talking and doing - you'd be amazed at the hundreds of small things that get done on an event like this. Yes, I did get some complaints about the obvious, but overall the vast majority of people were telling me how well run it was, how impressive it was, how much they appreciated the work, how there was just sooo much to do.

As to value for money, it was £10 per CAR, not per person. OK, if you're on your own, then it was £10 each, but the majority of cars were carrying between 2 and 4 people. For that sum, you got two days of show, access to the full displays of cars, children's entertainment (2 shows of Punch and Judy, 4 shows of circus entertainment, face painting, etc), arena displays of cars with commentary, an engine rebuild demonstration, technical advice, a commemorative coin, a very good range of traders and spare parts, a large craft fair, two falconry displays, morris dancers, two dog displays, two different bands giving a total of four different displays, slot car racing, chainsaw carving, parrot display, air ambulance display (ground exhibition), live professional singing, regalia shopping, club services, a wartime re-enactment group, 1,500+ cars, insurance consultations, first aid cover "just in case", and a flying display. Edit: For those who could make it, there was also free entertainment on Friday evening.

An American visitor commented that they could not hope to organise anything on this scale, and that they had a lot to learn from us.

So, yes, there were problems, but solutions were sought, and the vast majority of people had a fantastic time - I've also taken several calls this evening saying how good it was. As Mike said, the advance party was on site on Tuesday, with more arriving on Wednesday and Thursday. We were still working Monday morning, and some much later than that, and didn't manage to see the shows ourselves. I'm not looking for sympathy, just explaining what's involved. We regularly appeal for new helpers, but rarely see any. I slipped into the team by accident (I was volunteered by our Branch Secretary) and have never regretted it. There are some wonderful people involved, and I have made some great friendships. If anyone can offer any help at any time (there's plenty to do during the year, not just at the rally - perhaps booking caterers?) then please drop a line to the club.

I'd like to express my thanks to those who have made positive comments about the event, and hope that next year we might, despite conventional wisdom, be able to please all of the people, all of the time

PS of course the weather was our fault

[cococola]

As a newbee I really enjoyed the show with so many Moggies there it was such a treat.
We took a flask and some goodies to eat as prices are always dear at events and considering the main event is to see the cars and celebrate 100 years of this iconic car I find it is such a shame that so much chat is about burger vans!!
A massive thank you to the organisers and volenteers that made the show as great as it was I enjoyed it and I can say I will certainly be back next year!

[les]

The bogs were first class, really smart. Not sure what state the human animal managed to leave them in by the end though but as for quality of fitments they were tops. Regarding food and drink don't people realize they're being ripped off at all these events? That's why you screw your loaf (no pun intended) and take your own!

[IaininTenbury]

No queues when I arrived at 7.45am on Saturday. No marshals either - funny Similarly quiet when family arrived at 3pm on Sunday just in time for the flying display and the rain to stop and the Sun coming out!
But seriously a really good do - twice the size of normal nataionals, just wish I'd had time to see more of it - stuck with stall single handed for most of the day. Next time I'll be doing mugs of tea, not moggy bits and make my fortune
Nice to have good loos too.

[ASL642]

The loos were certainly the best so far. We returned to the campsite to help take down a friend's tent and at 5pm on Sunday they were still as clean as they were on Friday lunchtime when we arrived.

[mike.perry]

£10 or £15 per car was cheap. I tried to get into the Morgan Centenary at Cheltenham Racecourse a couple of years ago, they wanted £40 EACH just to look around, needless to say I did not bother and was disappointed as I had attended the 60th Anniversary at Prescott for a small entry fee and had a great time watching the 3 wheelers on the hill climb

[MarkyB]

Maybe the Morgan Centenary was being run by a company who employed stewards?