I just feel I have to say something. I’m not complaining about the effort that people put into the event as I realise how difficult it is to organise these things. We arrived at 10am after a nearly 3 hour drive. We were parked on the runway and walked across the grass towards the tents we could see, no signs or advice where to go. The first thing we see when we get to the show area was a massive queue for the portaloos. We looked for the OC tent and it was hidden behind a portakabin and was difficult to find. We did eventually find where to register. We then looked at getting a coffee. Absolutely impossible so went back to our car where we luckily had drinks with us. We then decided to stay by the car ready for the record attempt. We then sat around for more than an hour with no updates. Even the yellow jackets helpers knew nothing. By the time the record event was over it was gone 1.30. We then went to the museum which we enjoyed. As we couldn’t get into the OC tent or MX5parts tent we thought it should be easier now. Well Mx5parts had packed up and left. For a big anniversary rally the trader village was poor compared to others. The fact that most people spent 2 hours away from the trader village for the record attempt must have hit the turnover of the small traders. The food and drink outlets were woefully inadequate. Compared to recent events it was poor. The record attempt should have been a separate event. Was there a Rally plaque and gift for this as I saw nor received anything. So we were happy to be part of the attempt but driving 6 hours to drive around the track for another 2 hours and then a short museum visit was disappointing.
I agree, very valid points.
Pity we don’t have a LIKE or AGREE button to press on threads.
.
Was it expensive to get in ?
I think the club would be the first to admit it possibly wasn’t perfect, but in their defence this event massively massively exceeded any expectations! It’s a thankless task organising events such as this (l know from experience) it was kind of a victim of its own success!
Bru
FREE!
Could have been worse…I could have spent £300 on getting a ferry from here to GB !!
Was it really ??? Errrrr. Stop moaning then
why does the cost of entry have any relevance ?? its an mx5 owners club event not some chimps first tea party
I do agree with the valid points ,and unless people speak up the organisers cannot improve on things ,and i also realise it must be a massive task to organise such an event ,
i did enjoy the day though it was great to see so many MXs
read it, every point appreciated and understood and will be taken on board, please see here.
https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/yaf_postst114029_Another-thank-you-thread.aspx
I commented because nobody can make changes if you don’t know anything is wrong. Like I said it was great to be part of it and I appreciate all the effort. The club can do and have done better. Thank you for your comments.
While they were valid points raised I think it’s a bit harsh on the organisers who, lets face it, have a thankless task estimating the size of the turnout to a free event. I think I read somewhere approximately 4x more people turned up? You couldn’t ask a caterer to pitch up “just in case” or any other business for that matter. I regularly attend Glastonbury music festival and with all their knowledge including the number of attendees via ticket sales, you’d be amazed how long the queues for the loos and food stalls get! All I’m saying is sometimes it’s easy to point stuff out but not so easy to come up with practical solutions. Maybe Admin could set up a thread asking for ideas or the regional areas could make it an agenda discussion point?
it’s not an issue, as per my other thread we all shared the experience, all feedback gratefully received.
there was also a theory by one wag, that the long queues which i think were all in earshot of the tannoy were just to make sure everyone stood still long enough to hear all the briefing messages…
Someone else also suggested that as it seemed we had about 2500 people all arriving together we would need 2500 toilets to avoid any queues!
I wonder if the OP would allow me to lock this thread?
A free event is something quite rare. It should be enjoyed for what it is a free event… Hells teeth what do folk expect ??
Give some folk a Gold bar and they would complain it ain’t shiny enough…
Why is it every year the organisers get slagged off???
They do one hell of a good job and give up hours and hours of their own time.
Could or would you do better?
Give it a go yourself, put up or shut up.
No apologies.
Dave.
Is it a free event though? I’ve just renewed my membership a few minutes ago, part of this will go towards events such as the bi-annual rallies.
To be fair to the OP he was raising a concern, nothing can be made to remedy any problems if we all keep quiet.
And he does have a point about the toilets. There were something like 8 portaloo’s and a portakabin style toilet in total, people were queueing for 45 minutes to use a toilet.
I nearly bought a secondhand washer bottle so I could have a pee in the car!!!
The number of cars coming to these events is in excess of 1500 nowadays, at Gaydon in 2017 it was closer to 2500!
It doesn’t take too much thinking to work out the figures don’t work out and you need more than one loo per approx 300 people (assuming a lot of the cars had 2 occupants).
Personally did I have a good time at the rally? Yes I did as I caught up with loads of club members and friends who I don’t get to see too often, and I enjoyed the record attempt.
Would I be being ungrateful by pointing out the above issue so hopefully it won’t be an issue next time? I don’t think so, and I’d like to think it wouldn’t appear that was the case.
Next time I may have a modified boot lid on my car though, just in case.
All opinions welcomed and considered. Points made and acknowledged - good to have a healthy debate.
Mods - time to lock this thread down as Martin suggested. Let’s move on please.
Point made, I think. Here’s a positive post to end on.
On a practical note, I am told this device comes in handy during a long haul flight. Issued to the Special Forces.