[cbdbug] Social meetings

[Ian Lister]

Hi all,

I've been wondering if it would be a good idea to hold some less formal,
less time-constrained meetings (more of a social get-together and
chin-wag) than our current monthly lunchtime meetings.

Many members attending the current meetings can't stick around for the ~90
minutes they usually end up being, and even those who do are generally
pushing the limits of their work lunch "hour" and need to take off
promptly after the meeting end. However there's usually still plenty more
that people want to discuss, so at the end of the meeting we end up with
people hurriedly trying to grab each other and have a quick conversation
before everybody disappears. Often this means that things that could do
with a more in-depth discussion don't get it.

What I'm thinking of would be a more relaxed meeting at a some suitable
venue (perhaps a bar or cafe), probably on a weekday early evening
(although we could also mix it up and do it on weekends sometimes as
well). There'd be no formal meeting structure, just people getting
together and talking about anything they feel like (bike-related or not).
I'm not suggesting that it would in any way replace the existing meetings,
although it might help us avoid dwelling too long on individual issues
(particularly those that might not be of interest to everybody) in the
current meetings if there is another forum to talk about them in more
detail.

I realise people have different commitments and interests, and not
everybody would be able or willing to attend such a meeting, but I think
many would, at least a comparable number to those that attend our current
meetings. A different format, tone and time of day should also help
attract a different (but overlapping) subset of our membership to the
existing meetings, which I think would be beneficial in terms of being
more open and accessible to as much of the membership as possible. It
would also give more of an opportunity for less outspoken members to have
a say or put forward their own issues than they currently do.

As well as allowing more people to have a say, this would be a good way
for sufficiently interested members to get involved in the other
discussions that happen between the more active members outside of
meetings. As a volunteer organisation we need all the help we can get, and
I'm not convinced that we currently do enough to make it easy for willing
members to step up and get more involved.

So, what do people think? Who would be interested in attending and who
wouldn't? Who thinks it's a good idea and who thinks it's a bad idea (and
why)? Any other thoughts?

Cheers,

Ian

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[Leslie Martin]

Good idea. Cyclists love coffee. Pick a café, get everyone to ride there and
then chat over coffee. That kind of makes it a weekend though - Sunday
morning...... Bonus is that everyone will have bikes there and that is
another draw card as people like to see other people's bikes and equipment.
Café also means that there will be small groups talking together rather than
a meeting-like atmosphere.

Cheers! Les

[Tim Williams]

Excellent idea. Pick a time and place and I'll be there.

[Aaron Wray]

As a suggestion how about after work before the ride of silence on 19 May? I unfortunately cannot be there but I'm certainly not adverse to a weekend morning.
Cheers
Aaron

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