Essex Munch II Accounts and Discussion

8 Jun 2005

Quote by tallnhairy
Sorry to hear about your bad xp nwc There is a whole other thread there but I think the new guidelines outlaw such activity now.

Thanks TnH but I am not sure which new guidelines you mean, but the Wigan Munch only happended a few weeks ago!
However any ideas you can come up with which will help people who organise munches will definately be appreciated, and maybe the idea you suggest would work!

8 Jun 2005

Quote by PoloLady
Point 3 - collecting deposits in advance would be really tricky if you think about it - would you want to give out your address to all and sundry?

Something I can add to the debate at last, which may come in useful to preserve anonymity of your home address is this link

Basically, if you wanted to set up a Mobile Letterbox, you can use a thing called "Post Restante". The rules are on the webpage link above, but basically you get the mail with the deposit sent to a Post Office of your choice, it doesn't even have to be the one near your house. All it has to have is your name - which still may be a problem for some with anonymity issues - and the address of the PO you wish it to be sent to with the words "Poste Restante" written on it... with a return address on the reverse. (always sensible anyway)
It is far simpler than setting up a PayPal account though it could easily run in conjuction with it...
Hope thats useful.... and if anyone wants to test out this idea why not spend 21p on a second class stamp and send yourself an item. I know it works as I live in a coastal town and see "Post Restante" items for sailors away from home a couple of times a week..
Any questions about this , please feel free to PM me....

8 Jun 2005

Never know NWC, but then again I great at complex ideas that never see light of day smile

As to the guidlines it was this bit I meant:

Afters Parties
Any Munch organised on this site is for Swingers who occasionally like to 'play' with each other, although this is not what Munches are about, they are just for meeting people in a relaxed, no pressure environment. So, while it's perfectly reasonable that people might want to arrange for something else to happen afterwards, this is NOT to be part of the Munch and must NOT be arranged in the same thread as the Munch - nor can the separate threads be hyper-linked to each other. Any afters party will most likely be private, and therefore entrance is not guaranteed and groups can be restricted, for example, only a few single males. There may be an entrance fee involved and it may be held in a sex club, which newbies may not feel comfortable about. A Munch and any afters parties that may be organised are totally different to each other by their very nature and intent, which is why we want to keep an element of separation between the two on the site also. Munches should not just be treated as 'feeders' to afters parties!

For starters an 'After' munch party should start actually after the said munch, I hate when things get organised over the top of the munch (happened to me with my mini munch and I was pissed).
Maybe as well as a clarification on the rules for monies at a munch, this text could be beefed up to cover parties starting during a munch? (where published times exist) Not so much banning them (as tis a free world), but frowning on such behaviour? Obviously you can hold your party where you like, but openly competing with munches (where munch came first) or doing as was done to you and using the munch simply as a meet for the real party should be avoided.
End of the day as you say it is rude to be using up spaces others may have wanted when you have no intention of seeing the night through...

8 Jun 2005

Personally I would piss on paypal if they were on fire
I had my account hacked last year and both my bank account and credit card account cleared out.
and to date I still havent had the money back....
How a bout a SH account held by one of the senior members of the group where all deposits could be paid and then distributed to the organiser.
I for one have to admit that I was a no show at a recent event due to a burst appendix. I did ask a friend to txt a message to one of the people, but the silly moo sent a txt to the wrong person redface

Thats my 2p

8 Jun 2005

why not have list ( not published ) where non attendance with or without excuse is logged. One non attendance can be forgiven....but if anyone does it twice then I think a decision to not allow them to attend for a year should be imposed. This way people may think twice before just putting there name down for everything.

8 Jun 2005

I'm with ya Voddy.
Sorry we pulled out of this Munch and several others this year so far, but we did inform you, not just failed to turn up.
We had intended to attend everything but it's always "time, money, babysitters" allowing.
Kinkyluton attended a party without me and that was fine but it's not something we'd make a habit of. I'd hate to go anywhere without him. We can't make the Yorks Munch which should be agreat laugh but we're at opposite ends of the country and for us both to travel up and find a hotel (thanks for the offers of sofa/bed/.floor space but we like our privacy) when neither of us drive, is not only expensive but, frankly, a rigth feckin chew on. As ot happens, YET AGAIN I do not have a babysitter anyway rolleyes

I don't know the answer but this thing of charging in advance is a bit worrying. No one wants the organiser to be out of pocket but this is supposed to be a free event isn't it? the fact that I've been literally chased through a pub for my "donation" suggest otherwise, as does this thread.
Don't get me wrong, I and no one else I'm sure, resents chipping in a fiver for the room hire or whatever but it's all getting a bit business-like. I thought this was supposed to be fun?
How did the other Munch organisers manage ... the NW Munches for example? Don't meant to drag people in, but just trying to see how things have worked in the past.
Some of these events are organised so far in advance I don't think anyone really knows for sure whether they can attend or not.
I wish I had some answers for you. This is just my tuppence worth. Sorry!

8 Jun 2005

Well Marya, if you change your mind and get a babysitter.... I can give you a lift down... open offer.... just let me know... and get KL with his thumb out on the M1....

8 Jun 2005

I cancelled a week or so before.
Feel a bit guilty as sometimes you dont think about the overall impact of cancelling...as long as your own needs are met at the time.
More than happy to meet some of the cost...let me know where I need to send it.
No-one who gives their time to organise a munch should be out of pocket.
wink

8 Jun 2005

Considering we pay up to Â£10 to go to the cinema, the same or more to go to a club seems to me the charges for a munch is way too cheap! I'd be more than happy to pay a tenner to attend a munch.
Derek

8 Jun 2005

you had a 79 this time and on the last one you had loads as well
you think how much drinks that pub sold them two night....
i wasnt at this one..but at the last i remember someone saying that the bar man had said the night was good as there was no trouble...and im guessing there was no trouble at this one...
landlords love partys like this...no trouble..crowds who drink loads....
im sure you could get the price of the pub down by loads with a friendly talk in his ear...

9 Jun 2005

Personal i think that
1) I would have been happy to pay more for the munch to cover all the costs and i would ahve happily gave a donation to Alex.
2) Munchs should NOT leave the organising out of pocket its not fair and i would have donated money if marcuso had organised a wip round.
3) Regarding munch list closurs, i do think that this is contributing to people pulling out. For example people could make it 2 months in advance then what happens if work calls them in on an emergency - i am on call so it could happen to me. I think that lists should close about 3 weeks before the munch this gives people to reorganise.
4) If people cant make it the least they can do is contact the munch organisers either by pm or telephone them.
MikeC

9 Jun 2005

i don't think anyone is ever going to have a go at the people who pm and say they are not coming....people will always have genuine reasons for pulling out but then at least we then know...
i think it is the people who confirm, don't come and then don't even have the common curtosy afterwards to send you a pm saying "sorry for not showing up, i couldn't because blah blah blah" that any efforts should aimed at stopping....
i do like the idea of maybe keeping a file on those type of people (given to a mod by the munch organisors) and then possible action being taken against them to stop them from going to further munches, i am not saying after just one...possibly after 2 or 3...or do you think that may be open to abuse as well?
sean xxxxxxx

9 Jun 2005

After discussing this matter with a couple of other SH members today .....
What happened to original concept of the Munch? The idea that like-minded, experienced or curious people could get together socially in a vanilla environment. Is this room-hire, DJ, fund-raising malarkey really necessary?
We now have mini-munches that are the equivalent of what the original Munch was, and the Munch itself is some almighty event that's sprouted wings and flown. Yes, I know there's more members now and therefore more room is required but when you think your average pub probably holds at least 200 people anyway, is a private venue really necessary? Particularly if it's going to cause so much hassle about blummin money.
Maybe getting back to basics would avoid all the inappropriate behaviour that was the hot topic on the Cafe recently??
As for stopping people going to munches, sending lists to the Mods etc ... jesus! I thought we'd done all this to death by now, with the verification thing and "this is not a clique" thread after thread rolleyes

I'm all for the much smaller. relaxed and unassuming "lets meet up for a drink in the pub" munch rather than all the "ooh we got a posh bar, own loos etc" stuff that seems to just raise people's expectations of what a Munch is about.
apologies to the SH members whose ideas I hav etotally stole and made my own, for this thread biggrin

9 Jun 2005

Having been to a few mini-munches, we'd agree that they are more in the spirit of a munch too. One of our thoughts on a couple of munches is that the music has been a bit too loud to allow people to actually chat. It's more a case of shouting to one another, over the music. Which then means that others close by can hear your conversation, too.

9 Jun 2005

Then again I still feel horses for courses... some people like the mini munch, some like the bigger ones, some like both smile

I don't think that because we have bigger munches that need a private venue, and this has financial risks that they are somehow bad...
While the mini munch (ok thats what the original munch was) is nice, I would be very sad to see the end of the large gathering because of the guidlines being tied to the small gathering... does that make sense?
IMHO It is no solution to the problems of having larger munches to just say lets just have small ones then... that said I love the so called 'mini munch' that has risen to fill the gap that a munch was originally targeted at. I think they compliment each other nicely, whatever we call them...

9 Jun 2005

It is a kicker if you pay for a big room and there are alot of no shows, it can be heart breaking for the organisers, but one possible solution that has probably been mentioned above is to charge for the room working on a 50% turn out then give any profits to charity. :thumbup:
Or use it to pay for Dambusters bar tab lol

Me and Marcuso are arranging the Burton on Trent munch on the 15th of July and we expect nothing in return except that you all have a good time if you attend. biggrin

If you dont then your missing out not us. :2fingers:

9 Jun 2005

midlands man i would love to come to burton
but its my younger brother's birthday and i HAVE to be around to watch him enjoy himself.
bloody great sad

MikeC