Will modellers return to clubs when we can safely return?

[muddy water]

We are now past a year when a lot of clubs have had to shut their doors due to covid.

Some have kept up weekly online meetings with members showing their modelling efforts to webcams. Others have given lectures and photo shows.

This week marks the point where some clubs have been able to have physical meetings, governed by the rule of six and bringing their own tea and biscuits.

 

The question is how will clubs adapt?

Exhibitions are not guaranteed for this year.

Modellers have been working on home projects.

Some people will not return as they have drifted away from club actives.

 

What are your thoughts for how clubs can come out of this dip with a lot of people now part of online groups?

[w124bob]

MMRS reopened last Monday, I was more or less first through the door(I'm the librarian)  as we've decide Monday afternoon is a library session, pre book a time slot for the library room but we can have a max of 6 total in the building. Different groups are meeting through the week, but it's a max of 6, I've decide not to go on OO night as I'm already in on Monday afternoon so it seems a bit selfish (nothing to stop me running something whilst the library is occupied)to take up limited number of spots.

I don't get the rule of 6, I've spent Saturday caretaking at a large community centre, two groups in separate rooms both larger than 6, a TV workshop group, and a dance group. I assume numbers are based on room size and the number of toilets, we have enough to allow each group to have a designated loo. Group organisers are responsible for all their own members track&trace. Monday I've just set up for 2 first aid courses, about 12 per class 2 meter table spacing.

Oh and we've had the kitchen in constant use since the autumn by a charity doing 200 meals a day for the homeless, i'ts winding down. 

Edited May 22, 2021 by w124bob

[andyman7]

Ours reopened this week....I was there, a pleasant session

[Dagworth]

I would if we had a club here!

 

Andi

[Pete the Elaner]

Our club plans to return on June 30th.

If face coverings are still expected then, we will insist on members wearing one. There is no reason to grant exceptions for a 2 hour meet once a week at what should be a social club.

Members will be expected to have taken a home Covid test earlier in the day & of course be negative (although they will be trusted to not lie about this.)

We will have a policy of sanitising hands every 30 minutes.

We normally have refreshments halfway through the evening. We will skip this for the time being.

Social distancing will be a little tricky... It is hard to stay 2m apart when carrying a 4x2 board between 2 of you.

[Mike Bellamy]

10 hours ago, w124bob said:

Different groups are meeting through the week, but it's a max of 6, 

I don't get the rule of 6, I've spent Saturday caretaking at a large community centre, two groups in separate rooms both larger than 6, a TV workshop group, and a dance group. I assume numbers are based on room size and the number of toilets, we have enough to allow each group to have a designated loo. Group organisers are responsible for all their own members track&trace. 

 

I have already posted this elsewhere on RMweb but as this is a specific topic about clubs reopening, it seems appropriate to post it again here

 

 

As well as being involved with the Mickleover (Derby) Club, I am also Chairman of the local Community Centre. Derby City Council have told the Centre to follow the guidelines issued by ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) as they produce a lot of information for Village Halls which are of course the same as Community Centres.

 

In their guidance, it says that indoor activities are still covered by 'The Rule of Six' but that there can be any number of groups of six in the building provided that they are distanced from each other and there are no interactions between the groups. So my understanding of this is that if you have enough space in your clubrooms, you could have six members on each layout as long as they are nowhere near any other groups.

 

At the Mickleover club we have limited space and the four layouts (N, OO, OO, O) are all very close and so we have decided to have a maximum of four on each layout, and to only have two layouts operating each night so that the groups are a good distance apart. There is also a night time supervisor responsible for the keys, checking they stay apart and ensuring that all surfaces etc are wiped clean ready for the next open night (so far just Tues & Fri but we hope to add Mon & Weds later in the year).

 

The ACRE guidance can be found on this link - 50 pages (!!) but see page 6 for example. There are also useful risk assessments etc that you may find helpful as well

 

Click Here for Link to ACRE Guidance

 

Quote

Different “rule of 6” groups should be separated by 2m so that social distancing is maintained between them and they do not mix or mingle. People in groups of one, i.e., individuals not in a group, may need to be socially distanced from other groups. 

 

Hope that's helpful and another step to returning to more normal activities - even if all 'restrictions' are removed at the next stage of the release from lockdown, we will still continue to operate a pre-booking system and limit numbers until the Committee feel that it is safe to allow more into the limited space we have available.

 

[Mike Bellamy]

10 hours ago, w124bob said:

 I've spent Saturday caretaking at a large community centre, two groups in separate rooms both larger than 6, a TV workshop group, and a dance group. I assume numbers are based on room size and the number of toilets, we have enough to allow each group to have a designated loo. Group organisers are responsible for all their own members track&trace. Monday I've just set up for 2 first aid courses, about 12 per class 2 meter table spacing.

Oh and we've had the kitchen in constant use since the autumn by a charity doing 200 meals a day for the homeless, i'ts winding down. 

 

Firstly a commendation to your Centre for using the kitchen to feed the homeless. In the guidelines quoted in my post above, there are lists of what is and isn't permitted - and 'Education' isn't covered by the rule of 6 so your First Aid class can go ahead following all of the other guidelines. We reopened our Centre back in April for after school club, dance lessons, and private Maths/English tuition as children are exempt from most of the rules and the guidelines said those sort of activities were permitted at that stage of lockdown. Other activities at the Centre has now started up again and the Tea Rooms will reopen early June after a major refurbishment.

 

The whole of that ACRE site is very helpful and if they don't know about it already, I would bring this to the attention of the Management Committee at your Community Centre - that is the guidance Derby City Council told us to use.

.

[Mike Bellamy]

8 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

Social distancing will be a little tricky... It is hard to stay 2m apart when carrying a 4x2 board between 2 of you.

 

You do not have to 'social distance' if you are part of a group of 6 . . . . . . . . . and in any case the distance is 2m without mask and 1m with mask - so your 4ft board would give the necessary distance if you were bother wearing a mask.

 

Again to quote from the 50 pages of guidance linked above

 

Quote

social distancing of 2 metres or 1 metre with risk mitigation (where 2m is not viable), such as face coverings, good hygiene, and ventilation.

 

[Pete the Elaner]

11 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said:

 

You do not have to 'social distance' if you are part of a group of 6 . . . . . . . . . and in any case the distance is 2m without mask and 1m with mask - so your 4ft board would give the necessary distance if you were bother wearing a mask.

 

Again to quote from the 50 pages of guidance linked above

 

 

 

The recommendations you refer to are minimums.

If any organisation feels that they should be more cautious then surely it is their choice to do so?

The club committee discussed it a few weeks ago & the first intended club night is still over 5 weeks away. It was mentioned that we could revise things a little in the mean time.

[Mike Bellamy]

47 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

The recommendations you refer to are minimums.

If any organisation feels that they should be more cautious then surely it is their choice to do so?

 

I agree - I was just pointing out that with the right precautions you could move the 4x2 board used in your example.

 

Of course it is your choice - that's why we didn't open in between lockdowns last year and are only opening two nights a week with limited numbers instead of the usual four nights a week.

.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

Yes we will I expect eventually all go back to our clubs. We are after all a sociable  bunch. We like talking trains and layouts. Passing hints and tips. Hard to do on your own. Forums like this help but it is not the same.

Edited May 25, 2021 by cypherman

[Ian Morgan]

Basingstoke club has also re-opened its doors. We have different groups meeting on different evenings, so the rule of 6 should not be a problem. No refreshments of course, and we have no toilets to worry about (a strong bladder is a pre-requisite of membership). Also the average age of our members means that most of us have had 2 jabs already. Attending the club is not mandatory, so members can decide for themselves if it is worth the risk. There were 4 of us attending last night.

 

Hoping for a small step on the path to normality (when we find out what is normal anyway) and, of course, subject to alteration if circumstances change.

 

 

[johndon]

Whilst ours is an informal club, we have re-opened and every member has put in at least one appearance so far.

[great central]

Been there this evening, moving books out of the library ready for replacement of the roof towards the end of next week. Work stopped when we found a bee's nest after pulling down most of the ceiling.

Member looking into getting someone to move them

[kipford]

SHMRC reopened on 17th May. We are not having general club nights, but as per the last relaxation each layout group has nominated times it would like to meet with no more than 6 present. We are planning for the possibility we can still hold our club exhibition in November, but who knows what will be happening!

[signalnorth]

On 23/05/2021 at 00:06, Pete the Elaner said:

Our club plans to return on June 30th.

If face coverings are still expected then, we will insist on members wearing one. There is no reason to grant exceptions for a 2 hour meet once a week at what should be a social club.

Members will be expected to have taken a home Covid test earlier in the day & of course be negative (although they will be trusted to not lie about this.)

We will have a policy of sanitising hands every 30 minutes.

We normally have refreshments halfway through the evening. We will skip this for the time being.

Social distancing will be a little tricky... It is hard to stay 2m apart when carrying a 4x2 board between 2 of you.

 

[Nearholmer]

Yes.

 

There are few pleasures in life as great as partaking of a hobby in company with a load of fellow addicts.

 

The cycling group I belong to has been progressively re-starting, and every group ride, from a local bimble, to the hundred-miles-up-steep-hills-all-the-way ones (that I don't go on!), is over-subscribed, such is the pent-up longing to do hobby stuff with others.