Shed Notices

The Board met yesterday between 10:00 and 13:00 via Microsoft Teams.  We were joined by George Sheppard, who has joined the management team as Web Content Editor.  George has a background in IT and we’re confident that he will be an asset to the team and that his support will enable us to move various initiatives forward.  And at a stroke we reduced the average age of the management team by a significant number of years!  It’s good to have new, younger blood in our ranks, thanks and welcome George.

Preparation for the National Show on Saturday 26^th June was of course a topic for discussion.  We’d like to make members aware of the following:

• Starting Monday 1^st March, we will be contacting all who hold a paper ticket for the 2020 show, to ascertain which of the two sessions they’d like to attend at the 2021 show. This will be by email for most, but by letter for the few for whom we have no email address.
• Starting Monday 8^th March, we’ll do the same for those who bought tickets online for the 2020 show. Contact will be by email only.
• Starting Monday 29^th March, we will open for online ticket sales for the 2021 show, making available as many tickets as are left after allocation based on the two points above.
• A form to request show entry and/or shuttle bus tickets will be included in the May 2021 issue of Bulletin, scheduled for publication on Saturday 15^th May.

If you already hold a ticket for the 2020 show, please respond to our request as soon as you receive it, so that you can secure the session of your choice.  We anticipate that there will still be Government restrictions in place at the time of the show, so if you want to be sure of attending the show at the session of your choice, buy your ticket as soon as they go on sale.  If you are subsequently unable to attend the show because you have been asked by NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate as part of prevailing Covid-19 measures, you will be offered a full refund of the entry ticket price paid.

A further Shed Notice will be made the day before online ticket sales open.

Alan Regan, Chairman and Membership Secretary

Further to the UK government’s announcement yesterday and the publication of its COVID-19 RESPONSE− SPRING 2021 plan, the Board would like to confirm that our 26th June National Show is permitted under Step 3 of the plan.  This has been confirmed with the Arena, who are in discussion with Public Health England, who will still need to scrutinise our plan.  The show will take place on the basis previously announced, of morning and afternoon sessions with limits on the number of visitors, in a Covid-19 Secure manner, observing government guidelines and restrictions in force at the time.

Speculation that the show cannot proceed until Step 4 in the government’s plan is inaccurate and incorrect.

The Board will meet on Saturday 27th February to discuss next steps, amongst which will be resumption of online ticket sales.  A further announcement will be made via Shed Notices in advance of online ticket sales reopening.  Those who have already bought tickets will be contacted in advance of reopening, to select a session to attend, or to be provided with a refund, as they so choose.

Further information on the plan for the show can be found on here our Show Web Site.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

I’m pleased to advise that the problem with our account has been resolved.  Royal Mail have the complete mailing at their sorting office in Peterborough and it should now be processed today.  This being the case, I’d expect it to start arriving with UK addresses from tomorrow and with overseas addresses from late this week.  I can’t guarantee that arrival will be tomorrow because we have no experience of a slight delay such as this, but I am satisfied that normal processing of the mailing has resumed.

Alan Regan, Chairman and Membership Secretary

I regret to advise that this mailing is held within Royal Mail due to a problem with our account.  We cannot rectify this until Monday, so it will be Tuesday 16th February at the earliest before our magazines start to arrive at UK addresses.  Those being sent overseas are expected to distribute at the same time.

SMT and Bulletin are available on our Members Only web site.  If you haven’t received an invitation to activate your account on the site, or can’t find it, please email members.site@16mm.org.uk providing your surname, membership number and post code and we’ll send an invitation as soon as we can.

I’m disappointed not to have heard the resounding thud of my magazines arriving and I’m sure that this feeling will be shared by many of you who were probably looking forward to a good read this weekend.  It’s also a great disappointment to all who contributed to what we thought had been another successful mailing.  There is nothing more that we can do until Monday.  I will provide a further update on Shed Notices as soon as the problem has been resolved.

Alan Regan, Chairman and Membership Secretary

Invitations to renew your subscription for the membership year commencing 1st March 2021 will be sent by email this afternoon.  You will be sent an invitation unless:

• You have joined the Association since 1st December 2020, have already renewed your subscription or pay your subscription by Direct Debit
• You have indicated that you do not wish to renew your subscription
• We do not have a valid email address stored against your membership record

If you wish to act on the invitation, please take time to read the instructions provided, which are divided into three sections.  The first is for members who have joined online or renewed online in the past, the second is for those who haven’t used the online renewal system in the past, and the last is for members who wish to renew over the phone number.  If you want to renew by cheque please wait for the paperwork that will accompany February SMT, due for publication on Friday 12th February.

Please pay particular attention to the renewal option you select.  If you see a NEW subscription in your shopping basket as opposed to a subscription RENEWAL, you are about to pay £3 extra to renew for the coming year.  Please go back, empty your basket and start again.  This will not happen if you follow the instructions, but every year a small number of new subscriptions are taken out which were intended as renewals.  This creates extra work for me and the renewals team at Warners.  Remember also that you can change the type of membership subscription if what you’ve had in the past no longer meets your needs.  You can also take out a Direct Debit to renew your subscription if you wish.

If you have queries or difficulty, please contact Warners at 16mmNGM@warnersgroup.co.uk or at the phone number in the email.  Likewise, if you expect to but don’t receive an invitation, please contact Warners.  I am unable to send out invitations myself.  If after two working days you haven’t received or aren’t satisfied with the response, please contact me at membership@16mm.org.uk.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

We are very pleased to announce the winners of the Association 2020 Christmas Quiz, set by Laurence Smith:

Well done to all of you. We would like to take the opportunity to thank Chris Bird of Summerlands Chuffers for kindly donating two of his ‘Chuffers’ as prizes again this year. You can view the complete range of Chuffers at www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk.

The answers to the quiz have also been published.

Richard Huss, IT Officer

What could brighten up the closing days of 2020? The Association Christmas Quiz, of course! We’re delighted that Laurence Smith has again set the quiz this year.

The quiz can be found at https://www.16mm.org.uk/christmas-quiz/ and is open to both members and non-members of the Association. Even if you only know one or two answers you stand a chance of winning 16mm Association membership for 2021.

The following prizes will be awarded:

• Entry with the most correct answers: A Summerlands Chuffer for your locomotive and a year’s Association membership
• 2nd place: A Summerlands Chuffer
• Randomly selected entry: A year’s Association membership

Many thanks to Chris Bird of Summerlands Chuffers for kindly donating two of his ‘Chuffers’ as prizes again this year.

Entries must be submitted by midnight on December 31st 2020.

Richard Huss, IT Officer

I explained in my Membership Column on page three of November 2020 Bulletin that I was preparing to release digital subscriptions for Overseas membership categories.  This work is almost complete and launch is scheduled for Tuesday 1st December 2020.  There will be a single rate for all overseas geographies and this same subscription will be available to existing Overseas members at renewal time in early 2021.

The digital subscription will be limited to Overseas members for the time being.  I explained in Bulletin that providing new members with access to their digital subscription is at present a manual process which I execute.  I risk overload if I open up the new subscription to all membership categories.  Having now done this for some weeks, I know that delays in provision of access causes concern and tarnish the experience of joining.  As soon as an automatic process has been developed, I’ll open it up to all categories.

I also referred in Bulletin to the expected need to increase the cost of subscription rates outside the UK and continental Europe.  This will now occur on 1st December concurrent with the launch of the Overseas Digital subscription rate.  The new rates will apply to renewals in 2021.  Please wait for your invitation, which will be sent in late January 2021, to renew your subscription for the coming year.  It is not possible to renew until the invitation has been sent out.  Finally and for the avoidance of doubt, the subscription rates within the UK and continental Europe will not change for 2021.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary