Exhibition cancellations (not much to do with that anymore!)

[Guest Half-full]

9 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

Sorry, didn't mean to cause offence. However it is an inevitability that every year there are modellers who decide to retire their layouts from the exhibition circuit because they feel their days of exhibiting are behind them. They may still be perfectly capable of moving the layout and setting it up, but there comes a point where the effort of doing so outweighs the enjoyment derived from exhibiting.

Yes there are many who decide their exhibiting days are over, but not because they are older, but because priorities change.

 

 

[Guest Half-full]

15 minutes ago, stan williams said:

Cambridge University have just announced that there will be no face to face lectures/lessons until

the Summer of 2021, possibly not until October next year.

Manchester University have just announced the above but until the end of 2020.

There will now be a whole host of other Universities doing the same.

 

This puts in to perspective the situation this virus has created.

There will not be  any model railway shows  for some considerable time and possibly far fewer

when they return.

Some who miss out this year may look at it more deeply and convince themselves that putting on 

an exhibition is hardwork and may decide not to comeback ?

 

Stan.

God almighty

 

Heaven forbid they take a positive spin on it and see how they can change the format to make it more accessible to non-modellers, the curious and the die-hards?

Edited May 22, 2020 by Half-full

[Phil Parker]

8 minutes ago, stan williams said:

Cambridge University have just announced that there will be no face to face lectures/lessons until

the Summer of 2021, possibly not until October next year.

Manchester University have just announced the above but until the end of 2020.

There will now be a whole host of other Universities doing the same.

 

This puts in to perspective the situation this virus has created.

There will not be  any model railway shows  for some considerable time and possibly far fewer

when they return.

Some who miss out this year may look at it more deeply and convince themselves that putting on 

an exhibition is hardwork and may decide not to comeback ?

 

Stan.

 

Running a university with large numbers of students living and working and socialising in tight confines is a different prospect to running a show with a few hundred people coming through the door. You have to plan for a full year that the students have paid handsomely for, the planning for which takes rather longer than organising even the largest exhibition. People with proper qualifications in the area have questioned the wisdom of their decision too. I'm assuming you work in the sector and have inside knowledge when you say "There will now be a whole host of other Universities doing the same.".

 

This is a very fluid situation. Cases in London, which was previously a hotbed, have fallen dramatically. Denmark dropped its lockdown and cases have still fallen. Even the largest show can probably afford to wait a few months before making decisions.

[Pete the Elaner]

1 minute ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Running a university with large numbers of students living and working and socialising in tight confines is a different prospect to running a show with a few hundred people coming through the door. You have to plan for a full year that the students have paid handsomely for, the planning for which takes rather longer than organising even the largest exhibition. People with proper qualifications in the area have questioned the wisdom of their decision too. I'm assuming you work in the sector and have inside knowledge when you say "There will now be a whole host of other Universities doing the same.".

 

This is a very fluid situation. Cases in London, which was previously a hotbed, have fallen dramatically. Denmark dropped its lockdown and cases have still fallen. Even the largest show can probably afford to wait a few months before making decisions.

 

The statement referred to Lectures & lessons, not tutorials.

Open University have been broadcasting lectures on BBC2 for as long as I can remember & these would still be perfectly acceptable with social distancing.

Some of the lectures when I was at University were over subscribed, so they also broadcast these on monitors in overflow rooms. What is the difference between this & a podcast?

 

Tutorials were the time & place we could get things explained & ask questions. Video conferencing/collaboration tools have provided a modern alternative for these.

 

As Phil mentioned, Exhibitions have different requirements & do not need to be planned so far in advance.

 

There seems to be a lot of negativity on this thread. We are only 3 months into the issue & there are plenty of scientists working hard at several ways of addressing the problem. Nobody really knows how the situation will develop in the next 3 months, so any further should really be a matter left for company directors of events organisers.

For the rest of us, there is little we can do about the future so why bother worrying about it?

 

I am finding that scratchbuilding is a very slow process but now is the right time to be giving it a try & I am finding it very rewarding.

[Pete the Elaner]

Is anyone else finding it quite pleasant to have a break from exhibitions?

Although it is a hobby which I enjoy, I have a couple of others too & found I was being drawn in to getting a little too involved.

Weekends at home had become uncommon & progress on the layout had become very slow.

[MarkSG]

9 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

Exhibitions are a great place to show off our hobby to each other and the wider public but for  many modellers they seem to have become the hobby itself with layouts built only with a view to exhibiting them. That's fine for those who want to do that but how many of us I wonder build layouts that are far smaller and simpler than we really want just because they're the largest we can comfortably transport to an exhibition and handle ourselves or perhaps with one other helper.

 

I think its a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Another big motivation for the smaller, portable layout is simply the fact that, on average, houses are smaller now than they used to be and people move house more often. So, for a lot of people, railway modelling means building something that can fit in a space which is also used for other things (eg, a study or garage) and can be taken with them when they next move. Very few people have either the space or the permanence that's needed for the likes of Buckingham Great Central or Craig and Mertonford.

 

But, if you are building a portable layout primarily for your own convenience, then it's also a potential exhibition layout. And, if it is a potential exhibition layout, then getting it up to exhibition standards is itself a challenge that a lot of people willingly accept because of the satisfaction that comes from achieving it. So the pool of small or moderate size exhibition layouts is a pretty big one, which in turn means that there are plenty on the circuit and nearly every decent show will always have a few that most visitors have never seen before. And that in turn inspires visitors to think "I could do that", in a way that the big centre-piece layouts, however stunning they are to view, can't. So they're then seen as suitable for the average enthusiast, to borrow a well-known phrase. So "building a small exhibition layout" becomes normalised as a typical project.

 

Not that this has anything to do with exhibition cancellations, of course, and I apologise for going off topic. But one silver lining of the lockdown is that it may give a bit of a boost to projects that a lot of people have been working on, so maybe when things do start to return to normal we'll have a new batch of layouts ready to join the circuit. One of them might even be mine, although I have to admit that progress during the lockdown has not been noticeably quicker than normal (although that's partly because I'm still working from home, so I don't have huge amounts of additional time). Even if it's not ready for when exhibition managers start booking layouts again, though, it's still my ultimate goal.

[Chris M]

I thought the whole point of exhibitions was that you pay a fiver or so to spend a day chatting with people you haven't seen since the last exhibition.

[snitchthebudgie]

Thank goodness so many people are taking a negative - or should I say realistic - view of the situation.  Things have got a lot better over the past month, but we're not out of this pandemic yet.  Some of the best articles that I have read on COVID are clear that the high risk areas are places where people are close together - for example restaurants, family gatherings and religious meetings.  Although railway modelling doesn't require hugs and kisses, and it's not religious (except perhaps P4) the scrum around traders stalls and the best layouts in show - even in quite small exhibitions - must be a high risk situation.

 

Please let's stay fluid in our response to COVID, and keep these discussions going.  Perhaps some good ideas may come up as to how to stage a show in future?

[snitchthebudgie]

1 minute ago, Chris M said:

I thought the whole point of exhibitions was that you pay a fiver or so to spend a day chatting with people you haven't seen since the last exhibition.

Perhaps we could cut out the trains and just have a Zoom exhibition? 

[Phil Parker]

3 minutes ago, snitchthebudgie said:

Thank goodness so many people are taking a negative - or should I say realistic - view of the situation.

 

Good point. We're all going to die. Everyone. If you are reading this you'll be dead by summer. "Realistic" enough for you? I promise not to exhibit any hint of optimism in the future.

 

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

The statement referred to Lectures & lessons, not tutorials.

Open University have been broadcasting lectures on BBC2 for as long as I can remember & these would still be perfectly acceptable with social distancing.

Some of the lectures when I was at University were over subscribed, so they also broadcast these on monitors in overflow rooms. What is the difference between this & a podcast?

A student looking at this might take a different opinion, that perhaps you have missed the point of why many go to university

 

Open university and distance learning is a perfectly suitable means of education for many people.  But for many when attending university, the living away from home and developing social skills are a very important part of the experience.  How do you develop the bonds and friends for life when you're not even leaving your bedroom in your parents home.

 

I don't disagree necessarily with the stance the universities have taken because for the very reason people go to university is also the very reason why they could be hotbeds for spreading covid in those environments and not everyone at univerisity is a fit 18-21 year old.  But I can imagine a lot of people deferring their attendance until they can go back, this could be disastrous for the local economies around the universities - rental sector, shops, pubs, clubs, venues and the universities themselves.

[John M Upton]

One thing I think will happen is that there will come a point, possibly quite soon where the UK Government will no longer be in charge of saying when social distancing is dropped as there will be a certain sector of the UK population who will simply make the decision for themselves and effectively cancel it for them.

 

On a more positive note, I predict small exhibitions may recommence around September or October and the first large one to go ahead will hopefully be Peterborough.  Not so sure about Warley though,

[snitchthebudgie]

2 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Good point. We're all going to die. Everyone. If you are reading this you'll be dead by summer. "Realistic" enough for you? I promise not to exhibit any hint of optimism in the future.

 

 

So that was you I saw on the news, sardined on the beach at Southend?  

[caradoc]

37 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

One thing I think will happen is that there will come a point, possibly quite soon where the UK Government will no longer be in charge of saying when social distancing is dropped as there will be a certain sector of the UK population who will simply make the decision for themselves and effectively cancel it for them.

 

I have to agree with that: So far I have observed religiously the lockdown restrictions here in Scotland, so I was pleased with the relaxation announced yesterday, ie from next week we can visit another household if we stay outside. So I made plans to go and see my daughter, who lives only 25 miles away but who I have not seen since early March. However it is now clarified that we can only go 5 miles from home, so that idea is knocked on the head ! And my Mum lives 400 miles away, plans to bring her up here next month to celebrate her 90th Birthday have been cancelled, and who knows when, or even if, I will get to see her again ?

 

Personally I will be happy to attend exhibitions, not right away but later in the year, when the 'R' rate is very low and everyone has got used to basic protection such as face masks in enclosed public spaces (which must be mandatory), hand sanitiser, etc. Plus I've already bought and paid for my Warley ticket !

 

 

[woodenhead]

54 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

One thing I think will happen is that there will come a point, possibly quite soon where the UK Government will no longer be in charge of saying when social distancing is dropped as there will be a certain sector of the UK population who will simply make the decision for themselves and effectively cancel it for them.

 

On a more positive note, I predict small exhibitions may recommence around September or October and the first large one to go ahead will hopefully be Peterborough.  Not so sure about Warley though,

I am hopeful for Warley - I guess this may depend on what sort of money earner it is for the NEC - they are probably going to need to have less on at the same time to improve spacing - the actual hall is usually only two thirds used so it could actually spread out to deliver excellent social distancing.  However getting to and around the NEC may be the kicker, but we can wait and see. 

 

Peterborough is a stretch for me, I wouldn't drive and that leaves just the East Midlands service from Manchester, the time spent on the train being the issue.

 

It will be nice to be able to travel again, but equally I am enjoying the fact there are less people out and about, can't last forever though can it.

[woodenhead]

15 minutes ago, snitchthebudgie said:

 

So that was you I saw on the news, sardined on the beach at Southend?  

I think Phil wants to spend less time on the pessimistic side of the street, we all do, if you watch the news it is wall to wall Covid, just like last three years were wall to wall Brexit.  I think the media has found itself in a place where it has to have one thing to talk about - the complexities of life are now lost on news media and it needs one beast to poke, eat and regurgitate.

 

We're not all at an imminent risk of death, Covid is not like that, we are living in a world distancing to keep our health service & society functioning.   Hopefully, we are over the worst and as time goes by things will continue to improve, it may probably never go back to how it was in all areas but we will get used to it and adjust, that is nature.

 

Anyway, blimey, isn't it windy today, I've got a queue to go stand in shortly

[stan williams]

People mention Warley and other large shows fall into the problem of accommodation.

How many people do Warley provide accommodation for, do you allow exhibitors from the same club

to share a room or do you have to provide single rooms for every exhibitor.?

If its the latter. look at the costs and would there be enough hotels, Premier Inns, Travel Lodges within

easy driving distance ?

In my neck of the woods there is restricted parking in carparks around businesses ie one bay left empty

between vehicles.

How many people would be prepared to pay double the price of entry, to cover the extra costs ?

 

Stan.

[Leander]

At the risk of being 'negative', under the current circumstances I prefer to call it realistic, there follows a notification regarding expoEM Autumn this year.

 

"It is with great regret that the EMGS Board has decided to cancel expoEM Autumn this September. We have taken this decision after following developments regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures that are currently in place to control the spread of the disease. We are very mindful of our members’ and other visitors’ health and would wish to do nothing to endanger them. Social distancing restrictions within the context of an expo would make holding the event almost impossible. By making this decision now we should incur no foreseeable costs to the Society.

We have severe misgivings whether our exhibitors would feel comfortable in attending and whether visitors would feel the same. We trust that traders, exhibitors, demonstrators, members and others who regularly attend our expoEms will understand these reasons, particularly in these uncertain times.

We look forward to seeing you when some normality returns to our lives. In the meantime, stay safe and well so we can resume our regular programme of events once again in 2021."

 

Please feel free to share.

 

Pete Rigby

 

[Chris M]

Warley isn't until the end of November and a lot can happen. Nobody can predict where we will be by November so there is not much point in discussion. I believe hall 5 is currently an unused Nightingale Hospital. 

 

If new Covid-19 cases are very low across the country by then social distancing will not be required. If new cases are high then social distancing will be with us and mass meetings of any kind won't be happening.

 

With new cases in London being so low at the moment there is hope that the whole country will be in good shape later in the year. 

 

This latest thinking on T-cells may mean we are very close to a treatment which will help to cure 80% of very ill patients. Another cause for hope.

[MarcD]

I have just been given he news that Workington Model railway show. (Nov 20-21) has been cancelled. We were going to be there with our micro layout W C Boggs. We have been invited back for 2021.

Marc

[great central]

1 hour ago, snitchthebudgie said:

 

So that was you I saw on the news, sardined on the beach at Southend?  

 

I've only seen the one picture in a newspaper, I very rarely watch television, but that seemed to be taken from a low angle possibly to accentuate the apparent crowding?

I decided that as a relief from the last few weeks, we would go to Cleethorpes for a few hours. It was my rest day, the weather forecast was favourable and although unable to stay overnight we are now allowed to visit somewhere else.

It was busy but not overcrowded, a few of the seafront cafes were open takeaway only and everyone seemed to be pretty sensible in their distancing.

What was noticable was how people clustered around the access points to the beach from the promenade, something I've always noted. If they'd walked even 50 or so yards further there was much more space!

We have a static caravan on the coast in Norfolk which we're unable to use even though still paying site fees around £350 each month!

As a key worker, I feel lucky as I have been at work all through this and am getting heartily sick of the media trying to make everyone into some sort of pariah just for wanting to get out into the fresh air.

If I'm not careful I can easily fall into the negativity and then think why bother doing anything cos it's going to kill us all anyway. I had promised myself that I'd get more modelling done, to date that has barely happened.

As soon as the site says we can go to our caravan again we will be off, perfectly socially distant and almost self isolated but no doubt that will be wrong in some people's eyes as well!

Enough of the negativity please!

[pete_mcfarlane]

Think positive - the increased numbers of people wearing facemasks in public means that you'll be able to wear a VOC mask to the bigger shows to protect against smelly people, and nobody will bat an eyelid. 

[Pete the Elaner]

56 minutes ago, Chris M said:

 

This latest thinking on T-cells may mean we are very close to a treatment which will help to cure 80% of very ill patients. Another cause for hope.

 

Nice to hear someone saying something a little different from a vaccine.

I warned a while back that a vaccine may not be the answer & alternatives need to be considered.

I seemed to upset a few people by daring to say something different.

 

A treatment is exactly that...an alternative. The same small percentage may require a quick jab, which is much easier on resources than a week in intensive care.

The virus does not kill directly. It tricks the immune system into a false reaction. Can this reaction be contained?

I am absolutely certain that scientists are investigating all of these possibilities.

[PaulRhB]

5 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Good point. We're all going to die.

 

Speak for yourself I’m going for immortal and you’ll never be able to tell me otherwise cos I won’t be listening  

 

so far while not exhibiting I’ve 

weathered a load of G scale

 

built a 1-11

 

an On30 bridge

 

repainted, regauged and weathered some Om stuff

 

played tinplate toy trains and made a lighthouse and pillbox to go with it!

 

 

Now I need to get on with one of my layouts!

The one day pile has massively dropped and I’ve got stuff ready for at least two future projects that were years away at the normal rate. 
 

Stop fretting and build something  If you don’t think your skills are up to it have a go, there’s plenty of time to learn at the mo and even involve the family like several others have, (and yes I’m working still, in fact lots of overtime due to isolating cover so this is in downtime).

oh and I’m working on another idea in the planning stage!

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

A treatment is exactly that...an alternative. The same small percentage may require a quick jab, which is much easier on resources than a week in intensive care.

The virus does not kill directly. It tricks the immune system into a false reaction. Can this reaction be contained?

I am absolutely certain that scientists are investigating all of these possibilities.

I was reading today that the Oxford vaccine didn't work on monkeys, they still got and passed on the infection.

 

However, what they were pleased with was that it stopped the damage to the lungs and pneumonia.  So whilst they are still looking at it as a vaccine it appears perhaps it won't be, but it may stave off the worst impacts of the virus.