Staffing at GBBF

[Rob Carroll]

Dear Young Members,

     I put off staffing at the GBBF for years because I'd never been
to it before and I knew it was a large festival, so I felt that I
wouldn't know anyone else that staffed there. In 2001 I plucked up the
courage to staff and plunged in with both feet by volunteering for the
whole week. At the end of the week I had trouble wondering why I'd put
it off for so long and I've staffed every year since.

     There were about 1000 volunteer staff last year, from CAMRA and
other similar groups from overseas, many of whom were Young Members.
Most of the Young Members socialised together at the staff bar (the
Volunteers Arms) once the festival closed each evening and were
billeted at the same halls where socialising was also the order of the
day.

     You don't have to commit to staffing all week; a couple of hours
or a few days are just as greatly appreciated by all the other
volunteer staff.

       Staffing at the GBBF won't cost an awful amount of money, the
main expenses you'll have all week are your travelling expenses to
Earl's Court from home (and back), beer money for the staff pub-crawl
on Monday evening, your travel fare to Earl's Court each morning,
money for your Staff Beer at £1 per pint last year (subsidised by
CAMRA) - if you'd like a Beer from the Festival rather than the Staff
Bar, money for your lunch and dinner (subsidised by CAMRA), spending
money for anything you'd like to buy, and a deposit of £50 for your
accommodation - which won't be cashed unless you trash your room or
lose your key.

     CAMRA provide the following benefits to all members who staff -
FREE breakfast each morning, FREE accommodation in University Halls of
Residence each evening, FREE staff T-shirt, FREE beer at the staff bar
(the staff bar is open from 12 noon until the last staff bus leaves in
the evening), FREE staff bus back to your accommodation each evening
and the FREE staff party on Saturday evening.

     To get started on the road to staffing at the GBBF, fill out a
staffing form by logging on to the CAMRA web-site at www.camra.org.uk
and sign in to the members area by entering your membership number
(without the initial zeros) in the 'Member's site login' field, e.g.
123456, and then enter your postcode, in upper-case with no gap, in
the 'password' field, e.g. AL14LW. Then, click on "Great British Beer
Festival", "Volunteering at the Great British Beer Festival" and
"here" for the on-line staffing form.

     There is a section on the Staffing Form which asks you to
indicate your preferred areas of work, please remember to enter the
Young Persons Bar Crawls and Young Members Cider Bar Training Course
if you'd like to attend them as well as entering your preferred areas
of work. Question 5 asks you who you'd like to be near in the
accommodation halls, just answer 'Other Young Members'.

See you at Earl's Court!

Cheers!

Gus Manning
Chairman
Young Members Group