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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

FF-UK: North @ Collectormania Manchester G-Mex - Sat 18th & Sun 19th Nov '06

Discussion in 'Archive: North' started by timbolton, Jun 21, 2006.

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  1. Lord-Tice

    Lord-Tice Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2001
    Sadly I wont be able to make it but I send all my best wishes and luck to you all and make sure you have a GREAT weekend!! :D :D

    I hope the table cloth works out too, me and Tim have poured our blood and sweat into that :p

    And remember to take plenty of pics ;)
     
  2. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Table cloth (the design by Matt) looks great. I think I just positioned it a little too high on the cloth, but should be still fine. I am a little shattered so I just made a mistake on where I ironed it lol.

    Will see you all tomorrow. If people need my mobile for meet purposes, please ask Jase (edge) to PM you it, as I won't be able to check PMs tomorrow.
     
  3. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Hope you all have a great time.

    Sorry I can't go, but I have to deal with masses of people who want to see the new Bond movie :p
     
  4. spike_thmid

    spike_thmid Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    Right people,

    Well I've been a good little Jedi and ironed my tunic & packet my lightsaber O:)

    I'll see you all at GMEX tomorrow :D

    and for those who can't make it - I've marked the alcohol levels on all the bottles in the bar, so no sneaky drinks whilst we are away [face_shame_on_you] and NO parties, the neighbours have been informed (I sound like my parents when I was 15)
     
  5. DewbackRider88

    DewbackRider88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2004
    Right, im all sorted, getting into manchester at about 11:10am. Never been to manchester before, so anyone getting into piccadilly station around that time want to meet up and go together?

     
  6. edgejedi88

    edgejedi88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 13, 2005
    as you walk in to the main entrance and through the ticket area, our stand is in a 'fan area' to the far left area....see you there!
     
  7. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    And you'll see me, with my totally smooth clean-shaven face :D
     
  8. DewbackRider88

    DewbackRider88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2004
    lol ok guys, ill see you at the event. Ill probably get the metro to the event, saves me getting lost on foot lol

    Better be off to bed soon, have to be up at 5:45 [face_tired]
     
  9. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Me too.
     
  10. edgejedi88

    edgejedi88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 13, 2005
    See y'all there! Be sure to come by the FanForce and Rebel Legion stand during the weekend - even if its just to say hi and meet us! [:D]

    Manchester GMEX - do - or do not! [face_shame_on_you]
     
  11. ForceGhostOfCozmic

    ForceGhostOfCozmic Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2005
    I had a really great time this weekend and can't wait to see you all again, and it was a pleasure to finally meet some of you :)




    Roll on March and July :p
     
  12. To_Mega_Therion

    To_Mega_Therion Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 9, 2005
    That convention was pretty good, although I only popped over to the table to say "hi!" I saw some of you wandering about in costume though, pretty cool. (Except that Jedi outside sucking away on a deathstick [face_shame_on_you])

    I couldn't see anything I wanted to buy. But I did spend about 3 minutes staring at Dirk Benedict and comparing him to a picture of Starbuck on the box of a BSG puzzle. His hair has changed colour!

    If I has tried, I don't think the security would have been adequate enought to stop me from charging and licking any of the guests.





     
  13. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Well, they didn't stop me with Young Beru ;)
     
  14. ForceGhostOfCozmic

    ForceGhostOfCozmic Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2005
    Yeah but she whinked at Tim ;)
     
  15. suzijedi

    suzijedi Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2006
    I had a fab time and it was great to meet a few more people and put faces to names [face_peace]
     
  16. spike_thmid

    spike_thmid Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    a truly awesome weekend :D

    couldn't believe how friendly the celeb's were, there are going to be some excellent pic's put up here in the days to come !!

    it was really good to put face's to those I hadn't met, Cozmic & Dewback and others [face_peace]

    hopefully some of us may even be in the Manchester Evening News [face_dancing]
     
  17. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Tim says :p
     
  18. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    ;)

    Thank you for everyone who made the effort to come to Manchester, thanks to those who visited us and chatted with us. Thanks to the costumers and costuming/table support, you all put in a great effort. We still have things to iron out, organisational wise, as you all know. I tried to be real slack on timetable this time, with so many new-to-convention people being onboard and wanting them to have as much enjoyment, but we need to have a better situation, where everyone considers the well being of others when it comes to all aspects of the convention. We made mistakes, we now have to make sure we don't get a repeat. Or do we not have any timetable/crew organisation at all? It's up to the chapter as a whole on this, but you know my personal feelings.

    Display-wise I am already looking to improve stuff I personally feel needs to be better. But I think I'll step back next time, and let everyone have a lot more input and others actually doing the pre-organisational stuff and the actual event - promotional, display, etc.

    We also need to decide the future of how we go about getting a table for convention events. We are greatful to Showmasters for their generosity and hospitality, but there are things we need next time that may not be offered under the current arrangement. I know the costumers would appreciate a changing area (at least one group at Manchester had one, would have been nice to see resources such as that shared), we did need some sort of power supply for the multimedia aspect of our display, and there are other things. This is again down to the chapter to decide how we proceed.

    Costumers did brilliantly, table support were great, so well done =D=
    Hopefully working with Rebel Legion and 99th Imperials next time, since all three groups have the same attitude to fandom - it's about fun and friendship. Our motto is most apt lmao!
     
  19. Whim_of_the_Whills

    Whim_of_the_Whills Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2006
    Great to see us getting more connected with other groups :)

    Tim - you know my view on organisation surrounding this type of event, etc. ;)
     
  20. suzijedi

    suzijedi Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2006
    For my 10p's worth, I think it'd be nice to have some music going on, so I'm happy to bring a CD player and the Star Wars soundtracks to play in the background....Jase mentioned using an iPod, but I'm happy to bring a CD player rather than risking using an iPod which may be easier for someone to nick.

    I thought it went really well though and I'm sure between us we can think of more ways to improve/enhance our stand in the future [face_peace]
     
  21. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Thanks Suzi and Whills.

    I think the table setup was fine (though the table cloth needs reworking and I am coming up with ideas about what other things we have on it now). It's more organisation of what members do at a con - who we have on the table (support and costume) and what they do whilst on the table. It's also what we do about arranging breaks and lunch - some people are on the table whilst others are having breaks, we should have a group agreement on who goes on breaks and not one or a few individuals deciding they can and so leave the people who have already been working for an hour plus to wait even more for relief. I think that was where we can do better. It's consideration for everyone, not just yourselves

    A few big questions (please all FF-UK: N members post answers below). I'd like to see opinions on where we stand.

    1) Do we need a table at all?

    2) If so, how do we fund it? Not just the table, but the stuff (promotional and otherwise that goes on there. It should not be on just one person's head).

    3) Where do we get the balance of costumer versus what FF-UK is - a social club. We are not a costuming club, are we giving the public the wrong impression?

    4) If we have a timetable, how do we get people to stick to it? Where does fun and professionalism meet and end? The worst thing for me this weekend was having to tell people what went wrong, and since that I have had a lot of self doubt over where we stand on how the leadership of all groups support each other when things go wrong (on a member level), because tbh I had one very bad birthday yesterday feeling quite crap about me having to comment on some things which everyone should have been kind enough to realise from start.

    Car pool / hotel pool - please can everyone remember, if someone is driving you somewhere, please give them some money for that - petrol is not free. Don't take advantage of people's goodwill. And when it comes to hotels, please remember to have enough with you to pay the people who booked rooms.

    Think that is enough for now, as you may pick up I am not so happy right now, so I may go quite on the boards itself aside for modding for a while.
     
  22. Whim_of_the_Whills

    Whim_of_the_Whills Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2006
    1) Do we need a table at all?

    No - we don't. We can handout leaflets if need be but a table is not needed by the FF.

    2) If so, how do we fund it? Not just the table, but the stuff (promotional and otherwise that goes on there. It should not be on just one person's head).

    If we do have a table, then everyone should chip in who wants it.

    3) Where do we get the balance of costumer versus what FF-UK is - a social club. We are not a costuming club, are we giving the public the wrong impression.

    Yes, we are giving the public the wrong impression. The FF table should focus on social meets, not costuming events or even costumers. That doesn't mean we can't support costumers, but the FF is about meeting not costumes. Imho, costumers should get their own table to promote their own agendas and fund raising. We FF non-costume society members can always offer support in terms of can holding, kid chasing, costume protection, etc. along side any FF promotion we do, but they must be separate because the FF is not about costumes and should stay that way. I know you like costumers at the table, but why promote what we are not? Nah, RL, etc. need to get their own table - it would be better for them, and better for us. I mean no insult to anyone by this - I'm prepared to support however I can, but I think we have to either promote FF related things with costuming on a same level, or promote the FF whilst supporting costumers. Hope this makes sense - no offence is made, especially to you Jase. You wanna clarify, ask me on MSN :) Better in person tbh though - my writing skills are crap!

    4) If we have a timetable, how do we get people to stick to it? Where does fun and professionalism meet and end? The worst thing for me this weekend was having to tell people what went wrong, and since that I have had a lot of self doubt over where we stand on how the leadership of all groups support each other when things go wrong (on a member level), because tbh I had one very bad birthday yesterday feeling quite crap about me having to comment on some things which everyone should have been kind enough to realise from start.

    You know my opinion on this, Tim. Rota - not a "you do this then" type, but a well discussed organised one based around people's plans and hopefully flexible enough to allow for last minute changes due to family, cancellations, etc.
    With a rota, people will at least know to come to the table and check in. They may or may not be needed but at least they know to come and see. If people won't stick to a rota, then our hopes for a big event like CE should be trashed. GMEX is our practice ground!

    Tim - Don't go quiet :) I know you don't like "telling" - you are way too nice for voicing strong opinions :) Good job I'm not lol ;)

    Oh, re hotels - let people book their own ;) They don't book or organise their own room share, that's just too bad. Re GMEX this time round, I've seen and heard some very sad tales of "I'm not coming because I haven't got a room", "I'm not coming cos so and so hasn't got a room" - well, don't come, or get your own room! Please, no more of this lameness in March.

    (Another rather brash, Seasonal Affective Disorder driven post by Whim)- now you know why I don't post much in the Winter ;)
     
  23. suzijedi

    suzijedi Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2006
    1) Do we need a table at all?
    It?s handy to have a table so we can keep our belongings there and have some sort of a ?base?, rather than people having nowhere to sit and having to carry stuff around all of the time. Tbh though, I?d rather not pay for a table if we can help it!

    2) If so, how do we fund it? Not just the table, but the stuff (promotional and otherwise that goes on there. It should not be on just one person's head).
    I was wondering who had paid for the autographs for the memory book. I certainly don?t think it should be coming out of one persons pocket- we should all chip in and I?m happy to do that (providing the charges for autographs aren?t stupidly high!). There has to be an equal share with regards to the effort being made for the stand and money being spent, however we have to bear in mind that people?s personal finances/resources aren?t all the same??We also have to think about how many people actually turn up too. For example, if a table cost say £100 and only 5 people attended, that?d be £20 each plus their travel/accommodation costs.

    3) Where do we get the balance of costumer versus what FF-UK is - a social club. We are not a costuming club, are we giving the public the wrong impression? I think it?s nice to have some people in costume as it seems to attract attention and brings people over to the table. If it is felt that costumers should be separate, perhaps RL could have a table next to FFUK?? Please don?t take this the wrong way, but if I were a member of the general public, I?d be more likely to go to a table where there were people in costume (that is by no means me saying that the table wasn't good on it's own- it's just I felt that the costuming went well with the stand). Perhaps we agree to only have costuming at big events?? I don't want to tread on toes with this, as I think Jase has done a great job with RL and costumers have spent time and money on their outfits and have a lot of enthusiasm for it.

    4) If we have a timetable, how do we get people to stick to it? Where does fun and professionalism meet and end? The worst thing for me this weekend was having to tell people what went wrong, and since that I have had a lot of self doubt over where we stand on how the leadership of all groups support each other when things go wrong (on a member level), because tbh I had one very bad birthday yesterday feeling quite crap about me having to comment on some things which everyone should have been kind enough to realise from start.
    It may be an idea to organise breaks for people and perhaps we can get together beforehand to organise some sort of rota, taking into account event timings such as photo opps and talks. I guess this also depends on what happens with the issue re costumers. However, we are all adults and maybe we can be mature enough just to deal with timings on the day? Perhaps people could take on different responsibilities so you didn?t feel that it was all on your shoulders, Tim??

    Car pool / hotel pool - please can everyone remember, if someone is driving you somewhere, please give them some money for that - petrol is not free. Don't take advantage of people's goodwill. And when it comes to hotels, please remember to have enough with you to pay the people who booked rooms
    Fair point re cars and hotels. Another point re the meal- I felt bad that those who didn?t have alcohol ended up paying for those who did when we split the bill. It?s no-one?s fault, but I think that those who want to drink should pay for their drinks separately (and that included me!). This was partly the restaurant just adding the drinks to the main bill, so next time we should be more careful and insist that alcoholic drinks are paid either at the bar or are separate from the food bill.

    I don?t quite know how qualified I am to comment on these things, as I haven?t been around that long and had never attended an event like this before, so I hope I haven?t annoyed anyone! I do think we did really well and I hope we can use the experience to m
     
  24. spike_thmid

    spike_thmid Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    As a costumer I don't know if I should be answering this - but here goes !!

    1) Do we need a table at all?
    I agree with Suzi - I like the idea of a somewhere to keep belongings, and so far we've had at least one new poster though the "base of operations" so I think a table is a good idea

    2) If so, how do we fund it? Not just the table, but the stuff (promotional and otherwise that goes on there. It should not be on just one person's head).
    I'd be happy to split funding for stuff as long as a budget is agreed prior to an event

    3) Where do we get the balance of costumer versus what FF-UK is - a social club. We are not a costuming club, are we giving the public the wrong impression?
    all I can say on that, is when people approached me I kept FFUK & RL separate - I explained that RL was a costuming organisation and FFUK was a messageboard, with social meets. But to be honest any event I go to I WILL costume if that means I have to distance myself from FFUK when attending future events (which for the record is something I don't want to do) then so be it - but I think isolating the costumers from FFUK would be to the detriment of FFUK. That wasn't meant to sound snotty - I'm not picking a fight, I suppose I can see Tim's point of view but more importantly what about those who costumed at this event who aren't at present members of RL or 99th??

    I suppose all of this is something you need to discuss with our CR first (if you haven't already done so) Tim to see what direction he is wanting us to go. I know when I stood for CR, I openly said that I was keen to help those who wanted to costume (on a purly voluntary basis to add another dimension to the boards) I honestly can't remember Sie's views

    4) If we have a timetable, how do we get people to stick to it? Where does fun and professionalism meet and end? The worst thing for me this weekend was having to tell people what went wrong, and since that I have had a lot of self doubt over where we stand on how the leadership of all groups support each other when things go wrong (on a member level), because tbh I had one very bad birthday yesterday feeling quite crap about me having to comment on some things which everyone should have been kind enough to realise from start.
    I have already admitted & apologised to Tim that I got a bit carried away with wandering off - what can I say I became a whore to the camera [face_blush]

    Car pool / hotel pool - please can everyone remember, if someone is driving you somewhere, please give them some money for that - petrol is not free. Don't take advantage of people's goodwill. And when it comes to hotels, please remember to have enough with you to pay the people who booked rooms.
    I didn't carpool or hotelpool, so it's not fair for me to comment - but from past experience it's nothing that can't be sorted out by a quick stop at an ATM machine - must say thanks to Tim for allowing us to gatecrash his room to get changed =D=






     
  25. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 4, 2002
    1) Do we need a table at all?

    I'd like us to continue having a table at conventions. It gives us a base of operations, as pointed out earlier, and also many people came past and browsed through what we had on display. I think a table is also more attractive to people than just people going around handing out leaflets. Speaking as a student, I get leaflets shoved in my face almost every day outside the Student's Union and usually I just crumple it up and put it in the bin without reading it. At least with a table they come to us.

    2) If so, how do we fund it? Not just the table, but the stuff (promotional and otherwise that goes on there. It should not be on just one person's head).

    I'm perfectly willing to contribute financially to any future tables, but I'm not a millionaire, I'm a student, so I don't have a bottomless bank balance. I'd like everyone who wants to use our table to contribute to it. As for the promotional stuff, I'm willing to put some money towards that.

    3) Where do we get the balance of costumer versus what FF-UK is - a social club. We are not a costuming club, are we giving the public the wrong impression?

    Why would we be giving the public the wrong impression? Sure we had some people in costume, but that's what we get when we have Rebel Legion and FanForce on the same table. Our leaflets and promotional stuff makes it clear that we're a social group, which, understandably for Star Wars fans, has some costumers in it. Costumers brought a lot of attention during GMEX, and not just at the table, but all over the building. We had a lot of material telling everyone about how we're a social group, but we also have costumers in it, and a costuming element to it. Though, if I must point out, FFUK: North members have only donned costumes when they're doing something for charity. Is that a bad thing?

    If no-one minds me saying so, I think I value costumers a lot more than any of the other FFUK CRs. Why? Because the North is the flagship chapter in raising money for charity. We've raised over £600 this year, and this has only been a success, and will only continue to be a success because of our links with Rebel Legion and now the 99th. You want Fan Force more involved in charity, Tim. The best way in doing that is by using costumers doing what they do best. We can't have it both ways.


    4) If we have a timetable, how do we get people to stick to it? Where does fun and professionalism meet and end? The worst thing for me this weekend was having to tell people what went wrong, and since that I have had a lot of self doubt over where we stand on how the leadership of all groups support each other when things go wrong (on a member level), because tbh I had one very bad birthday yesterday feeling quite crap about me having to comment on some things which everyone should have been kind enough to realise from start.

    Yes, I'm the first to admit that things weren't perfect on the weekend. But, you have to remember, this was my first convention, and to be honest, I hadn't a clue on what I was supposed to be doing. I just made it up as I went along, and, in my own humble opinion, I think I muddled through. Yes, there was a lot of disappearing from the tables, and people wandering off to lunch without telling everyone else, but seriously, how many people apart from Jase, Leigh and Ogli have been to a convention before? It's natural that we're going to wander around and check things out, and we didn't have any rules laid out about what we were supposed to be doing, so we didn't know we were supposed to be doing this at this time. Sunday I suppose there was a less of a excuse, because we'd been through the issue on Saturday, but those of us that went to lunch first came straight back with our lunches and manned the table. Perhaps next time if we sort out a rota and a timetable before the event, our members will have a more clear idea of what we're meant to be doing so the rest of the group aren't left at the table. Like I said, for the majority
     
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