This issue of FSN is devoted entirely to the subject of a very informal meeting of folding and separating enthusiasts in May. It is also being posted on this occasion to the Moulton and Brompton-Talk mailing lists, as a follow up to an earlier posting there on the subject - I hope that subscribers to those lists will not object to this, and apologies to those of you who get two, or even three, copies as a result. Future issue of FSN will only go to those who have registered an interest in The Folding Society.
Many thanks to all those who replied to my email regarding an informal gathering of folding and separable cycle enthusiasts. I'm sorry that setting a date and location had to be done in such a rush, but with a deadline to meet for inclusion in the next issue of A to B, and the proposed May date itself not all that far away, time was of the essence.
Most people seem to like the idea, and the date of 15/16th May was also suitable for most of those who responded. Lots of different possible locations were mentioned, and deciding which of these would be most suitable was not easy. It is important that it should be easily accessible by rail, have plenty of eating and drinking places, accommodation, camping nearby for those who want it, opportunities for rides and some attractions for families or for those wanting some evening entertainment. Also, in view of the fact that the proposed date is really quite close, and that there aren't the resources to do any planning and organisation, somewhere with which we have some familiarity is an advantage. Weymouth generally meets these criteria, and was the single place that seemed to be most acceptable to those who replied to the original email.
So the date is the weekend of 15/16th May, and the place is Weymouth.
There will be no trade show, no organised dinner, and no organised rides, but undoubtedly people will get together and make their own arrangements for eating and drinking together, and for going out on rides. We need to identify a place where people can meet, and the area around the Pavilion at the end of the Esplanade, where the first two Folder Forums were held, would seem a good location. Meeting there in the morning before rides and in the early evening to discuss eating arrangements would seem good times.
We must stress again that this is an informal affair, with no registration and booking, and no administration - just a suggestion of a date and place where individuals with shared interests could get together. Some people may go down on the Friday, so there may be opportunities to meet then as well, and others may only go down for a day - it's all up to you to do what you want and enjoy yourselves.
Although there will be no formally organised activities, I'll collect any ideas that you may have of what people might like to do while they are there, and a bit nearer the time I'll post a list of possible local rides, places to visit and other attractions. Please let me know your thoughts on this.
Amongst the responses to my original email there were a number of interesting alternative locations mentioned, although some of these would probably be more suited to smaller groups due to the location, and others placed a stronger emphasis on riding. There is absolutely no reason why these shouldn't be the basis for events in the future, and I do hope that at least some of those who made these proposals will develop them so that they can take place in the future. At least one suggestion would be a good basis for a future May event, and if time had not been rather short it would have been a good choice for this year. A group of Brompton enthusiasts in the San Francisco area have also been spurred into action by my original email, and are talking of arranging an event in their area, although nothing had been finalised when we went to press.
As Weymouth will be an entirely informal gathering, it doesn't really matter how many or how few people turn up, but I do hope that many of you will be able to get there sometime at the weekend and/or the Friday.
Watch the web pages , Folding Society News and the next couple of issues of A to B for updates on what will be going on.
See you at Weymouth in May.
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inclusion in the web pages, to The Folding Society at the address given
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Copyright (C)1999 Ferrets Anonymous
Last updated: 6 February 1999
URL: http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/foldsoc/fsn/fsn018.html