With committee members swanning off on extended holidays we were a little bit light on manpower so a huge thanks to those of you that stepped in to help set up and break down (You know who you are) and to Jenny and Alexis who stepped in to help in the Cafe.
Set up is a huge amount of work and it generally takes us an hour or more, but the work starts some time before with me sat in a darkened room trying to think of new ideas for the layout, presenting to the team, getting feedback and making tweaks. Then around a week before the layout is published and yard bookings start to be taken. Then on Sunday (or before) the trailer has to be collected, taken to site, site unlocked (that takes and age), hall emptied, trailer taken in unloaded and layout built to the plans (If I remembered to print them otherwise its plans from our FB site). Meanwhile the cafe and reception are set up. Around an hour later (09:30) we are hopefully ready to start allowing people with yards in to set them up and around the same time open the cafe to start welcoming drivers ready for 10:00. We do it this way as if people are trying to set up yards while we are trying to set things up then we just fall over each other, the same reasoning goes for yards. We are sorry if this seems harsh but it's necessary so that we retain our Sanity! So please bear with us.
The January layout received a great amount of praise, since we were running a bit light this month we decided to repeat it. I have to say that it opens the space up and makes it look really good. When we started the club we wanted it to have an extra dimension and so the idea of yards was born. Back then they were rudimentary but with time they have become sophisticated yards and look great, but please do remember we want the whole layout to be accessible so visiting trucks should be allowed in. Our digging area was a stab in the dark but it is starting to get some traction and we will be making some additions. Hands up who saw the office!
Alongside the quality of yards, the quality of trucks is also noticeable. Some of us enjoy building, some of us enjoy running trucks, some of us have a bit of cash to splash and some do not. They are all welcome at meets and I do prefer to see trucks that people have built and to see peoples ingenuity. All we ask is that everyone accepts and helps everyone else and enjoys themselves! If you know someone that would like to try a truck then bring them along as we can supply a truck to try.
If you do need some help then please do come see one of us, we will help or point you at someone who can.
On to the pics:
