The County Durham Wandering Event

[+Bambi&Thumper]

Hello,

 

Just to let cachers in the North East know, we have set up a recurring event that will take place on the last Sunday evening of every month somewhere in County Durham.

 

The events will be an informal opportunity for a chat and a bit of R&R before heading back to work on Monday morning. Everyone is welcome, whether you are visiting the area or are a local. We now have a cache page for it, so if you are interested please feel free to keep an eye or ask the monthly organiser for more details (this month it's Jerryo).

 

Cheers,

 

Bambi.

[+Pengy&Tigger]

Having them on a Sunday evening makes it practically impossible for weekend visitors to attend. We sometimes visit the North East to stay at my parents house, but usually Friday evening to Sunday. Having to be back at work on Mondays would make it hard to attend a Sunday evening do.

 

T

 

Edit to add: However we will probably be able to make the May one, as it is a bank holiday the next day, and we were planning on being in the area anyway.

Edited May 4, 2006 by Pengy&Tigger

[Moss Trooper]

To be honest I don't think this should be set up as a recurring cache, the whole idea was just to get together for a drink, not to turn it into a monthly cache event.

 

I for one will attend but will not be logging it as a attended/found it.

 

Just my opinion.

[alistair_uk]

I have a couple of queries.

 

First, is when did it become the "County Durham" event? The first was in County Durham because that is where Mandy held it, but it was never intended to be a County Durham event to my knowledge. The idea was to try and be inclusive to all around the North East, hence the decision to have the draw and have it move. I strongly believe we need to change the name to "The County Durham Wandering Event" by the "North East Cachers" reflect this.

 

Second, can we change the cache listing coordinates with the events. I know it will be a hassle with the new restrictions to prevent abuse, but with the cache being listed dozens of miles away from the actual event is likely to cause confusion and defeats the whole point of the listing in the first place.

 

As you know I was keen on the listing, but if we can not keep the cache coordinates up to date then I believe we should just forget the listing and set up a web page.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

Before the proverbial hits the fan, can I please make it clear that none of this was my idea!!!

 

I do not want our local monthly meet up to become an event, and I have emailed 2 local caches stating this, but to be fair when I posted out the emails for this month I asked everyones opinions, and the replies I have had so far have stated they want to keep it informal.

 

I know a group of Southern caches meet up informally on a monthly basis for a drink and a natter and a group of Yorkshire caches meet up weekly.

 

It was meant to be just a dozen or so of the local cachers having a drink and a natter.

 

M

 

I personally think this thread should be closed and we should communicate amongst ourselves, and take it off a national website.

Edited May 5, 2006 by Us 4 and Jess

[+Pharisee]

I know a group of Southern caches meet up informally on a monthly basis for a drink and a natter and a group of Yorkshire caches meet up weekly.

 

Some local cachers and I meet up once a month for an informal, loosely geocaching related (very loosely when HoB eventually turn up ) natter and a pint or three of excellent ale (not a shandy in sight, Mandy ). It was tentatively suggested (by me) that this became a 'rolling event' but the overwhelming response was to keep it as it is... a friendly, informal mates night out. And very happy about that I am, too

Edited May 5, 2006 by Pharisee

[+Us 4 and Jess]

I know a group of Southern caches meet up informally on a monthly basis for a drink and a natter and a group of Yorkshire caches meet up weekly.

 

Some local cachers and I meet up once a month for an informal, loosely geocaching related (very loosely when HoB eventually turn up ) natter and a pint or three of excellent ale. It was tentatively suggested (by me) that this became a 'rolling event' but the overwhelming response was to keep it as it is... a friendly, informal mates night out. And very happy about that I am, too

 

Yes it was you John I was thinking about, but I did not mention names, I can remember you telling me about it, when you were up in Durham. I agree totally with your above statement.

 

M

Edited May 5, 2006 by Us 4 and Jess

[+Bambi&Thumper]

Much has been said here and these are my thoughts...

 

If an event is "open" then however informal it is, we MUST be open about it and advertise, otherwise it becomes a clique. If it's a private event, then that's fine, but then you are excluding people, and the opposite was stated as the initial aim. The reason for the page was simply to make it open (which was agreed), as it might encourage a few cachers (like us) who are shy and don't do the event thing much and/or are not known personally to the movers and shakers. The presence of a page simply gives everyone who might be interested a base, a central place to keep an eye on and was in no way intended to "formalise things". Nothing says you MUST log it if you attend, quite the opposite, fewer logs means fewer emails and people are more likely to watch a page if there are only a few important emails sent round.

 

Of course, if people just want to have a private meeting with only select people invited then a cache page is in no way appropriate.

 

Bambi.

[+Moote]

Having them on a Sunday evening makes it practically impossible for weekend visitors to attend. We sometimes visit the North East to stay at my parents house, but usually Friday evening to Sunday. Having to be back at work on Mondays would make it hard to attend a Sunday evening do.

 

T

Well said T, I have always wondered why any event is held on a Sunday, why not Saturdays? It would give most of us a better travelling window

 

M

[+rutson]

And why are London events always during the week?

 

(I know someone is looking into recifying this....)

[+mongoose39uk]

Looks like some want a clique and some don't.

 

However if its a regular meet why not make it an event then its open and the smiley grabbers get a smiley.

 

Just my thoughts

[+Sandiway Searchers]

oops

Edited May 5, 2006 by Sandiway Searchers

[+rutson]

I agree Tony, if it's an advertised gathering of cachers, it may as well be an event for the sake of the 5 minutes it takes to organise such an 'event'.

 

c.f. "Meet + Drink = Smily" & "Northern Invaders Morning-after Meet"

 

If some cachers want to have a quiet pint and not publicise it, also fair enough.

[+HazelS]

Here in cheshire Chas from the Kelsboroow Wayfinders organises a quarterly INFORMAL meet up in a pub in Chester (nice and central for Cheshire, Wirral and N Wales Cachers) It is held in the week as I believe it was hard to get a venue that did not have some form of noisy entertainment, or noisy drinkers in during the weekend.

 

The fact is that the event is publicised on the forum each time, and a couple of us nudge local cachers who we know don't read the forums.

 

Everyone is happy with it being during the week, and afterall... it's not a caching expedition, it's just a chance to meet and have a few beers in the week! In fact - previous to the last meet up in November, everyone was asked if they would like to make it a formal event or not, and most people said no.

 

I think whether you want to meet up informally, or make it official, it's up to you - If it's informal it doesn't matter when it's held, so long as people know when and where it is, but if it's formal, and there are new caches placed etc then it should be at weekends.

 

On saying that, I'm hosting a formal event that will be held in the week but there's no new caches, and it's not about going out caching - it's purely about meeting up for a beer and a natter.

 

Here endeth todays sermon.

[+Alibags]

Surely a bunch of mates can go and have a drink, and if they happen to be cachers they don't actually have to throw their meet open to everybody? That's just silly. If it's an official event, that's a different matter.

 

By the same token, all events should not be on Saturday lunchtimes just to ensure that everybody can attend. I accept that I cannot do every cache in the UK, no matter how much I may want to, so I cannot physically attend every event.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

Surely a bunch of mates can go and have a drink, and if they happen to be cachers they don't actually have to throw their meet open to everybody? That's just silly. If it's an official event, that's a different matter.

 

This is exactly what I intended our meet up to be, a drink and a natter with a few friends I have made through geocaching.

 

The way my emails are looking at the minute you are going to have a group who will meet up officially and a group who will meet up unoficially which is going to split the North East cachers, which is something we really don't want to do

 

Of course, if people just want to have a private meeting with only select people invited then a cache page is in no way appropriate. EXACTLY

 

And I agree with Hazel too.

Everyone is happy with it being during the week, and afterall... it's not a caching expedition, it's just a chance to meet and have a few beers in the week! In fact - previous to the last meet up in November, everyone was asked if they would like to make it a formal event or not, and most people said no.

 

 

M

Edited May 5, 2006 by Us 4 and Jess

[+Bambi&Thumper]

The way my emails are looking at the minute you are going to have a group who will meet up officially and a group who will meet up unoficially which is going to split the North East cachers, which is something we really don't want to do

 

I agree entirely, but I still don't see how having a page that has a note added once a month makes an "informal" meeting "formal". All it is is a method for emails to be sent round without having to saddle one person with the duty of sending individual emails round via the website and means that people who are in the area or visit occasionally (like P&T) will fall over it and maybe get come along.

 

I really don't see what all the fuss is about.

 

Bambi.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

There is no fuss.

 

The concensus from the emails I have received is the North East cachers do not want the monthly meet up advertising as an open event, and they want to go for a quiet drink, informally, on a monthly basis, as many other cachers around the country do every week/month ect

 

You took it upon yourself to make a page we do not want, and do not need, as I am quite happy to email each cacher with the details of the next month, and wait for a reply.

 

I will email back the cachers who have emailed me, and ask them if I can forward their emails to you to show I am not being biased.

 

I still do not think this conversation should be taking place on this thread.

 

M

Edited May 5, 2006 by Us 4 and Jess

[+Bambi&Thumper]

You took it upon yourself to make a page we do not want, and do not need, as I am quite happy to email each cacher with the details of the next month, and wait for a reply.

 

I was under the impression that it was agreed by the people there at the time, some of whom were very enthusiastic. Sorry, if I got the wrong end of the stick, but you invited us and we gratefully accepted. We were under the impression that this was an "open" event, not a private party, otherwise we'd have viewed it very differently. It's either a private event, or a caching event and if it's the latter it needs proper publicity to stop the bad feeling that this is now obviously causing.

 

I still do not think this conversation should be taking place on this thread.

 

I wasn't really aware that it was a conversation, I have simply replied to the comments made (not only by you) and as such don't feel that I've done anything wrong. I am usually one of the lurkers refered to in one of the other threads and generally don't get involved. This sort of bad feeling is one of the reason that a lot of people don't like to get involved in forums (and also one of the reasons we've not made a huge amount of effort to attend events) - it's so easy to misunderstand people through this impersonal medium, especially when you feel you know people, but don't.

 

I'm returning to lurking and consider the matter closed, so I'm closing this thread to try to prevent any further ill feeling.

 

Bambi.