Clubs and societies - talks and presentations

Some ME clubs concentrate on a tracksite and small clubhouse and the focus of their activity is running that track for the public to help pay for the club's existance. Once basic running costs are covered they can then provide other services to the membership.

Many clubs do put on other activities including talks and presentations on topics relevant to modelling but this presents a problem. How to find visiting speakers or whether to rely on club members to do the presentations. Suitable speakers are difficult to find and then will have to travel - limitting the catchment area and adding travel costs to putting on the event. Also the attendence is restricted to the small number of club members and maybe people from other clubs if near enough. Sometimes clubs do an exchange with another club so each provides the other with a speaker but that person can be a bit reluctant to go off one cold evening to another unknown place.

However with more clubs currently operating online and running Zoom meetings the physical distance constraint has gone. My clubs have put on such events with the speaker 250 miles away. Could go international.

So could your club provide an online speaker to 'exchange' with another?
St Albans potentally have a talk on model boat building and another on Loco building. I know someone else who has given talks on Broad Gauge topics.

To see how it might work come along to the ME forum zoom tomorrow.
Details here

Hi Bazyle, CuP Alloys have for many years presented a talk to clubs and societies on brazing and soldering. It is something we have offered via zoom (for a smaller fee as we obviously wouldn't have any travelling expenses.)

As an example please see https://www.cupalloys.co.uk/society-presentations/

We could also offer sales of products via card payment after the talk at discounted prices, preferably sent to the club for collection from there.

If anyone is interested or would like to discuss options further please give me a call.

Shaun 01623 707955.

Thanks Shaun, that will be useful.

I have given many talks on foundry work in the context of the model maker probably to over 40 clubs in the last few years. From Leed in the north to Taunton in the west and all over the south. I'm still here, but unfortunatly so is the pox. I think I would need some training before I could do it on something like ZOOM. Casting is easy but I'm not very clever with computers ! Noel.

Noel, That sounds interesting. Several of us in EDMES would be interested in that so we need to train you up. You could try our forum zoom call tomorrow morning to get a feel of how it works.

If you go to this link and click where it says 'click here to go to zoom meeting' it should launch you into it. Even if you don't have a camera you can watch and listen on headphones.

I’ve just spotted this, a day too late🙁. It sounds like a brilliant idea.
Are zoom meetings available on “catch up”?

It's not too late - it's this morning Wedenesday

Drat! Spotted this at 10:30, too late to join.

I don’t suppose I’m the only one to be date disoriented by this lockdown lark but boy does it frustrate🙁.