Centenary question

[Nick Salmon]

daveg, the answers are as follows:

The Fire Service College requires to know who is on site.

As a volunteer group we knew we would not have the capacity to be dealing with months and months of changes to bookings, ticket swaps, refunds etc. So from the outset we made it absolutely crystal clear to everyone that there was no possibility of changing the booking or getting a refund.

That message was repeated and heavily emphasised during the booking process right up to the point of payment.  If someone did not like that requirement then they did not have to book. Some 2,500 people decided that they would accept the requirement, and with it the consequences.

We really are genuinely sorry that there will be some people who cannot use their tickets and others who would like to use them but that is not, and never has been, possible.

[flywheel1935]

JonE, as you must have noted in my recent post, my original plans to attend a Graduation Event at Cardiff University (booked over 1 year ago) have been put on hold until next year, hence I am now 'free to attend other events'. Nick implies that the venue has reached "human capacity', not vehicle capacity ????!!!!!
But as we all know in life, plans change, so why cannot somebody not attending give/sell there ticket ? or are names being taken on the gate ( Don't tell em your name Pike !!!) as daveg has posted.

In the time taken to write this post I see other posters have explained the capacity limit, fair enough,but still a shame that the chosen venue actually had such a low limit and a no dog policy. **it happens.

[Tony Betts]

The thing that I don't understand is why someone who bought a ticket 10 months ago but now cannot attend is not allowed to give/sell their ticket to someone like flywheel1935.

hi dave,

some of it i get and some i dont.

from many of nicks replies, it sounds like the committee has simplified things for themselves. as "volunteers" time is given freely, so although id like to see as many people attend as possible, i can understand they dont want to get bogged down with refunds and transfers. or at least volunteers dont want to give even more time. so its easier to say no. that i get.

what i dont get  is, reading what has been sent to me. i have not be asked to take any ID with me to proove who i am at the gate. just my proof of payment slip downloaded from an email. as nick points out once signed in you can come and go as you please.

so what stops flywheel useing someone elses proof of payment slip to gain entry. how would you know if his name was flywheel or dipstick.

ive seen at least 6 people asking for a ticket across the internet, and have 4 people ask me on the phone if i can get them a ticket. (sorry i cant by the way). but what actually stops them useing someone elses ticket.

also if this place is so worried about security, once signed in you can come and go freely. i take it this is with my ticket displayed. but what stops fred exiting, and woodstock coming back in with the same ticket displayed.

or am i missing something. tony.

[flywheel1935]

Hi Tony B, I may well change my name from Flywheel to Dipstick ??? I spend a lot of my time in the dark & covered in oil !!!!!! :-)
On a more serious note, as in another post, If entries are having to prove their credentials at the entrance, on the hottest day of the year they may be a bit fried by the time they park up.

[daveg]

Nick Salmon,
Thanks for the reply - I am not having a go at the organisers

"The Fire Service College requires to know who is on site." This is what I do not understand -are they doing background checks on the entrants?
If I had booked in the name of Joe Soap would my application have been rejected? If I had a ticket and gave it to a mate how would they know?


"As a volunteer group we knew we would not have the capacity to be dealing with months and months of changes to bookings, ticket swaps, refunds etc. So from the outset we made it absolutely crystal clear to everyone that there was no possibility of changing the booking or getting a refund."

I appreciate this but why can people not swap tickets privately?

"That message was repeated and heavily emphasised during the booking process right up to the point of payment. If someone did not like that requirement then they did not have to book. Some 2,500 people decided that they would accept the requirement, and with it the consequences.
We really are genuinely sorry that there will be some people who cannot use their tickets and others who would like to use them but that is not, and never has been, possible."

That is the reason I, sadly, will not be there next week - last September I could not be 100% certain I could attend and knowing how limited the numbers were and that I couldn't transfer a ticket I decided not to apply.

Ian Dunford
"It is not possible to change the situation,and I think that those of us intelligent enough to understand the terms of entry,would be happy to be left to enjoy the event,without this perpetual carping."

i really hope you enjoy a great event next week. I did not buy my A7 recently - it must be nearly 25 years ago you did a great job refurbishing my A7 wheels and I have a lovely handwritten letter from you from about 1982 when I enquired about a replacement crankshaft. I have never been the sharpest tool in the box but I was intelligent to understand the terms of entry which is why I decided not to apply. I am sorry you find some genuine posts "perpetual carping"

[Bob Olive]

This is all very sad.

My thoughts, for what worth, are with the many willing volunteers who have given very freely of their time and talents over the last two years or so to organise this mammoth event ( which will probably prove to be unmatched by any other marque) and  who must be wondering “Why do we bother.”.

They will continue with their time-consuming responsibilities throughout the Rally, ensuring that we all have a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining time, free of the duties which will restrict their Rally activities and enjoyment.

If I were a volunteer I think all this last minute questioning of ‘this possibility’ and ‘that option’ would leave me with a sour taste in my mouth, and inevitably spoil the whole Rally for me.

I think the current phrase is ‘Let’s give a big shout-out ‘ to the whole of the organising committee - they deserve nothing but our thanks.

So, on behalf of all us, a huge THANK YOU - TO ALL OF YOU.

[Ian Dunford]

Hello Daveg.
I'm afraid I don't recollect working on your wheels,but I⁶am flattered, not to say say astonished to hear that you had an apparently polite hand written letter from me some 40 years ago about a crankshaft.
That must have been my good day.
Ten years before that,at the Golden Jubilee Rally,after the event at Longbridge(,rather than the luxurious Fire College,into which I an booked next week)many of us took our tiny old fashioned tents to stay the night in Cofton Park,a very open public park nearby,in which I recall I felt very unsafe.
At the time we did in fact own 5 Austin Sevens,four of which we still have.
These cars cost a total of approximately £750 and were all used as daily transport with cannibalism rife in the middle of the nights to ensure that my wife could get to her teaching job in Bristol, and me to my crane building work in Nailsworth.
Times have definitely changed,but I don't recall any massed whingeing about either the rally site,nor the camping.
I suppose that many of the cars coming next week cost a good deal more than our £750 ,but it doesn't give anyone the right to berate the volunteer,unpaid and as far as I know expenses free organisers.
We should count ourselves very lucky that anyone would take on the task,and as I am now 50 years older,and slightly more wealthy I am delighted to be tucked up safely in a cosy room.
For those of you unhappy with the current
situation,or perhaps stuck in tents next week,plan ahead for the onehundredand fiftyith and make sure you don't make any mistakes.
After all, you can see what will be expected of you.

[Steve kay]

Competitors in motor sport should always take a turn as a Marshall, or steward. Event participants will always benefit from the experience of being an organiser from time to time, whether for sporting or social activities.  What we learn is that different venues have different requirements. When it comes to the detail of organising events with sections on public roads, different RLOs provide different hoops to jump through. Differing sites have differing fire, security or insurance regulations. Just saying. And incidentally Ian, if you worked building cranes at Nailsworth, did you use a Ladder to get to the top?

[Ian Dunford]

No Steve ,but I did get Jen's Opal to carry me to the top in one lunch hour.

[daveg]

Hi Ian,
You must of had a good day when you wrote the letter but don't worry you made up for it a couple of times when I picked up parts from you in Bradford upon Avon.

I have fond memories of Cofton Park from attending the Austin centenary and the Birmingham club rallies. Quite often at the Birmingham club event we were the only people staying in a tent (S&P had the luxury of a campervan) but I never felt unsafe despite one time waking up to find several of the locals on a nearby bench tucking into cans of Tenants super.

Perhaps the moaning is an age thing like Victor Meldrew.