How are your clubs responding to Coronavirus

[John Billard 1Participant @johnbillard1]

Reading SME has decided to defer collecting 2020/21 subscriptions, due on 1 April, until activities can be resumed at the club. Members can then pay pro rata. Should they choose to pay for a full year then the balance can be gift aided.

With kind regards to all.

John B.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Thank you for that list, Oldiron.

I had tried to find out if the Tewkesbury show (MSRVS) is on or not but now see its web-site carries a full notice of all the Society events being off, including the internal ones.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

This thread has been rather quiet.
EDMES secretary has been sending out daily communications with some snippets of members activities and jokes. Tonight would have been a club night so we had a zoom quiz with several people submitting 6 questions. Unlike my work meetings where nobody puts on the video we all did to remind us who we were talking to. Limited on time we were just about to hear the last answer when it timed out.

Here are my questions – after answering them you can google the answers.

1 Which traction engine manufacturer was based in Thetford
2 Who wrote 'Trustee from the toolroom'
3 What significant machine tool did he have apart from a lathe
4 Famous westcountryman Richard Trevithick made possibly the forerunner of all club tracks. What was the name of his first loco.
5 What was the first useful product of the Leyland company that eventually became British Leyland

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Everything is very quiet in Sydney.

The model steam locomotive club that I belong to is closed. Also my other club at Maitland (north of Sydney) where we run 12" : foot engines.

April was to be our annual Steamfest rally which we hold in conjunction with the town council and other clubs, attracting up to 50,000 visitors. Two full size steam trains were coming and we had ~15 full size traction and stationary engines and 100+ vintage and modified cars.

Disappointed that I could not go to Steamfest, I attended Homefest to get my fix of steam. **LINK**

Paul

 

Edited By Paul Lousick on 15/05/2020 23:19:12

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Great Dorset Steam Fair has been cancelled.

The Press release said "postponed" to 2021 – odd euphemism!

+

Here in Weymouth we tick over on members posting round-robins of their activities. Most are photos from the garden-scale owners so at least we do see locos in steam!

Including 2 in Standard-Gauge form, which seems rather unusual in 16mm scale. Good to see anyway, both SG and NG outline locos and trains.

[Old SchoolParticipant @oldschool]

I have heard nothing from from my local ME club since lock down, not much from the BMFA. The good news is my local fishing club has opened its lakes and the field archery club has opened its wood.

Guess what I am going to be doing it will make a change from the workshop.

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

The local branch of a one make motorcycle club I belong to has set up an "in the workshop" thing. Write about some aspect of the bikes and the secretary emails it to the members. Was supposed to be a once a week thing, so popular that its up to 4 articles a week!

John

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

As well as two model-engineering society I am in a local geology society and two major caving-clubs. These all have web-sites and four of them print Newsletters or Journals a few times a year.

The geology group is circulating various topics of interest found in the literature, but of course all its field-trips are cancelled..

The caving-clubs have practically fallen silent, since we can't go caving! One club publishes occasional e-mail announcements for itself or from relevant associations, and relayed two yesterday. One was a link to a web-site so readable to anyone on-line. The other, from elsewhere, was on Facebook – so excluding we non-FB users. Why do Facebook subscribers assume everyone else is too?

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Our club at Grandchester (west of Brisbane, Qld, Australia) has been closed since the restrictions were imposed, although a couple of members have been going out to the grounds individually to carry out essential maintenance so that the terms of our lease are met (mowing and general tidy up) while a couple of others have taken the opportunity to carry out alterations to the main station shelter and the signal systems without the interruption of passenger hauling, all working independently at different times with no more than 2 people on site at any time. We had our first committee meeting today now that some of the restrictions have been eased, but no idea when public running might resume, probably not until August provided there is no 'second wave'. We don't have clubrooms as such or club meetings other than for public running and working bees, so there has been very little other 'club' activity.

[VicParticipant @vic]

My local Woodturning club has cancelled all meetings until further notice. They do have a website though and have invited members to submit pictures of what they’re currently working on wood turning related. There is also an online competition currently running although it only has about a dozen entries so far.

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

My club (Erewash Valley M.E. Soc or EVMES) closed the clubroom and track at the start of all this but keeps members updated via email.

Brian

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

All Peterborough Society of Model Engineers meetings were cancelled some time ago, but our webmaster does a splendid job, updating the website every week, at least, with some snippet, so that we are kept in touch.

Howard.

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Just to update the Grandchester club activities following my original post, we had to suspend all activities the following week in order to meet the Governments recommended restrictions. To maintain compliance with our lease agreement some working bees were held to mow the grass and trim around the fence lines, but with a maximum of 2 people on site at a time. Now that the Qld Government is starting to relax the restrictions, we have been able to hold our first 'proper' working bee last weekend along with our first committee meeting since early March. We hope to have a 'members only' running day in July and to return to public running for our birthday/anniversary day in August, provided that the progressive relaxations proposed by the Qld Govt happen as planned. Fortunately our ongoing costs at this time of the year are relatively small, so the loss of income from running days has not affected us too much.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

At EDMES earlier this evening we held our second Zoom club gathering even though some of us got together earlier in the day for the usual club coffee zoom every Friday. Since all participants enjoy the chance to chat we are wondering about continuing them when regualr meetings get underway again perhaps on alternate fortnights.
We are also wondering if a group whatsapp would go down well with people, not sure how it operates as I've only used that for 1:1 video calls. Since distance becomes no object we would like to attract more distant non-members to participate.
Our Secretary is still producing daily emails to all members that's nearly 4 months he's kept it going. I can't believe anyone has put in more effort than that at any club.
We heard an event will take place in late August that we usually attend with the portable track but obviously giving rides is not on so we will have to see what if anything we can do.

At St Albans the committee used the relaxation on outdoor group meetings to hold a committee meeting at the tracksite. Luckily it was a fine day and with some not able to make it they were able to keep to the rules. No running has been taking place but some maintenance has been possible but now some major work is going to be required on the tunnel so having thought running could recommence it has to be closed again (this is private running as we don't do public rides). Our big source of income the famous September two day exhibition will not be possible this year which is a big disappointment.

Hearing Melbourne has gone back into lockdown. They have a lot of clubs around the city some of which I have visited so I wonder how they have been fairing.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The astro club I'm in has had two meetings a month on Google hangouts, now added an imaging group as well. So successful these are going to be continued alongside real meeetings.

We can now have an observing meeting outside (but not in) our observatory, but no loos yet and restricted to 'bubbles' of six, so waiting for loos to become available. Alas 'contribute to the hedge fund' has been rejected …

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

SADMES had our first club-wide zoom meeting last Wednesday with 24 people attending. You could say it was a professional hosted meeting as one of our members is does this as a day job and so we were abe to go on longer than the free version of 40 minutes and initially had breakout rooms with a few members in each to enable more people to chat at once. After this initial phase we had two presentations, one about significant works on a new tunnel at the track that has been going on in the last couple of weeks, and a second about someone's boiler refurbishment. Generally well recieved the next queston is how often and whether to continue them after normal services are resumed.
While we had resumed private running at the track this has had to be suspended for the tunnel works.

EDMES has been able to restart track building at the club site and even make the first live steam loco run on it. Meanwhile the daily emials from the secretary continue.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

A few months with no updates – got so used to just being at home the time just rolls by, For readers in the far future we got locked down again in early November after some easing then tightening of retrictions with a target end date of 2 December.

EDMES had been getting going on track building again when the students having freshers parties made the local rate soar and our track-working parties had to be kept small instead of expanding. Then we stopped for lockdown but the weekly zooms continue, plus the monthly one and committee. We have recruited another member despite this. Ces still gets out a daily email with a variety of engineering and other snippets.

In SADMES we too have a new recruit despite the limitations but he is getting the newsletters though yet to appear on the fortnightly zooms. After ringing round a lot of members who hadn't tried zooming I held one on a Saturday afternoon which worked for a couple of extra people who couldn't make weekdays. So we are now at 4 video chats a month in this phase but after cutting the newsletter back to its normal once a month we weren't quite ready to take that back to fortnightly. Plus committee is by video so that is 5 and then the G1 track planning session makes 6 this month.

So I've done 12 club related zoom meetings this month. Just as well the family only want one a month. Work is several meetings a day but I get paid for them. I think I need a return to normality to get some rest.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Bazyle on 25/11/2020 23:00:56:

A few months with no updates – got so used to just being at home the time just rolls by, For readers in the far future we got locked down again in early November after some easing then tightening of retrictions with a target end date of 2

….

… I think I need a return to normality to get some rest.

Perhaps it would have been better to state that the national lockdown will end on 02 Dec. Local restrictions will then be re-instated, as deemed necessary.

Normality will only resume when one or more of the three promising vaccines are hopefully used to greatly reduce the risk of infection/death.

[Anthony KendallParticipant @anthonykendall53479]

I think, in general and the vulnerable apart, those who want to do things are finding ways to do them. Those who can't be bothered are sitting with their thumbs up their bum making excuses and waiting for the government to tell them what to do.

There's not much leeway in level 3 but the current lockdown and proposed levels 1 and 2 allow for meetings outside. Enterprising ME clubs are using this and organising themselves within the rules to maintain their assets.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

judging from comments made elsewhere I doubt if ‘normality’ will be returned before midsummer 2021 and even then I suspect mask wearing will still be compulsory – the only way to get back to the old normality is to follow New Zealand – compulsory 14 days quarantine in state managed facilities for every one who enters the country (as several of the Pakistani cricket team have tested positive within a day of arrival even tho officially clear on departure it demonstrates the real problems in keeping it out) – tho we are an Island the cost of a NZ approach will be too great yet as no vaccine will offer 100% protection we will still have significant re-infections if foreign holidays are allowed or overseas visitors allowed back in

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

What's happening with your club over the 'festive' period? Boxing Day runs not on the cards for many. At SADMES For a few days we had our track in Tier 4 but the approach road in Tier 3 so you could go there but not leave
But then things got werse and we were fully stuffed. Our club zooms have continued with informal chats on Saturdays and one Wednesday a month and a formal talk once a month. The talks have covered boat building, the history of Basset-Lowke's house (national trust) and design of a dynamometer car.
Works up at the track are outside the permitted activitie so a week lost for potential maintenance though a coupleof days have been dry enough to have got up there. Just hope that storm didn't bring any trees down. Not had a report from anyone walking their dog on location.

EDMES have continued the weekly zoom calls even of Friday 25th though for some reason that wasn't well attended. We had a really good talk from a member of another club earlier this month about his 7 1/4 broad gauge loco. Although in tier 2 work on the track building has been halted for this year as people concentrate on macihining mince pies as we don't want to get adverse reaction from the public seeing groups of people doing things on site.

The zoom calls with presentations have brough up an intersting advantage – people don't have to be local to either attend or do a talk at a club night, and we all save travel expenses.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Well, it is now almost a year on since Bazyle's post…..

Here in Weymouth we returned to something like a "new normal" over the 2021 Summer and Autumn but hired a hall for the AGM to spread the seating, rather than use our bijou and in the situation, too-cosy, club-room. Or freezing cold with the doors open. Unsurprisingly attendance seemed lower this time, but still over half the membership.

Now though, with the virus learning another Greek letter, we have felt it necessary to suspend Tuesday evening use of the club-room. (The toilet is available, in a separate building.)

It will be open on Saturdays, but members and their guests are asked to use sense and not crowd it. At least in daylight the ground-level and garden-scale tracks are available, and there is plenty of room for road-steam.

How things will play out is of course anyone's guess; but we are crossing our fingers for a good Society and individual contribution to the miniatures-friendly Chickerell Steam Rally, local to us; and for members to visit the Midlands show in the Autumn.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Both my clubs transitioned from zoom back to actual meetings over the summer though still some people have been reluctant to return. A core led by the committee came back straight away and gradually more of the long term members have been arriving but not back to the same levels as 2019.
We have spaced the chairs out and on top of that reduced numbers mean plenty of space per member, doors open in summer and periodically in winter as per guidelines but have not made masks mandatory. People are forgetting their precautions outside of the formal parts of the meeting.

SADMES continued the monthly Saturday call but attendance plummeted once football got going again. Might pick up next week for the final one of the year. It had been intended as the final final one but maybe not now.

Both committees will be reviewing the situation in the new year but have no more significant activities planned for the rest of this month.

[Perko7Participant @perko7]

Here in sunny Queensland Australia we have been able to operate our public running days for the last couple of months following relaxations in the requirements for masks and social distancing on the proviso that people check in using a Govt-supplied app on their phone.

Since then the Govt has stipulated some significant restrictions on attendance at gatherings for people who have not had 2 doses of an approved vaccine, but has placed the policing of these to the organisers involved, which includes entertainment venues, clubs, social organisations and sporting groups!

So, we are now required to request evidence from our visitors on their vaccination status, and decline entry to those not meeting the requirement. Not sure how we are going to manage that with 4 entry gates onto the property! We usually only have just enough members to man all the required positions on our normal running days.

On the positive side, Queensland has today relaxed it's border restrictions so visitors from other States can now legally enter provided they are vaccinated and have proof of a negative Covid test within the last 72 hours. With vaccination rates exceeding 80% in most States it seems like movement throughout Australia might be a bit easier this Christmas.

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