Last weekend I went to a convention down in Oxford with my girlfriend as she collects Japanese toy dolls that are very popular (and expensive). The convention had been in the offing for about a year, and there were stalls selling various bits, as well as guest speakers and workshops on how to customise the dolls etc... Visitors from the US and Europe attended, and we all had a belting day out.

I'm not a doll collector, but it got me thinking about whether we could do something similar in terms of a get together for 'Northern Beoworlders'. This subject has been mooted several times, but has come to nought. I know that a convention type event might not be the best format, but whenever I have visited other Beoworlders, or had them visit me, the first thing I have done is have a look at all their B&O bits that I've never had the chance to see. 

Could we do something similar to some girls with plastic dolls...?

j0hnbarker:

Could we do something similar to some girls with plastic dolls...?

Show them our bits?

...you are all so fortunate to have so many people near!

We've had 2 North gatherings in recent years at B&O's King Street store in Manchester. Not so much a convention as an informal get-together of "like minded saddo's" - that's my wifes words who nevertheless attended the first one & thoroughly enjoyed herself, right up until the point when Jandyt arrived

(Only joking Andy she luurves you really).

I think the free adult TV channels & ridculously huge measures of spirits (served by the barman who barely spoke English & his exotic girlfriend) in our hotel bar are memories we shall take to our graves.

The brutal truth is there is always a lot of interest right until the point where it is actually arranged & then for some reason apathy & other comittments seem to kick in & 100 possibles suddenly become half a dozen attendances. It is really difficult to arrange a convenient time for everyone.

Chris.

burantek:

 

...you are all so fortunate to have so many people near!

How many people do you think we could round up for a US meet?

Ah - I know Chris.

It's just a shame as we never seem to get anything off the ground. I was buoyed with enthusiasm when I came back from Oxford.

Perhaps the format of previous meets has been slightly off-beam?

What a good idea John!  Chris has a valid point though.
Not

Medogsfat:

Andy she luurves you really.

Medogsfat:

 apathy & other comittments seems to kick in

You know what I'm like, If I say I'll be there, I'll be there. Not everyone is like that.

Maybe you are right John, and a dealership isn't the perfect place.  I was sorry for Dave at King Street when all the hard work he went to for us was rewarded by just a mere handful of us stalwart Beoworlders turned up.
I was sorry for Lee last Christmas when he invited any members of Beoworld  (11,000+ at the time) to a Christmas do in a posh hotel in Eastbourne. Not counting LifestyleAv and family guests, Me, Jay and Tara turned up.
A couple of years ago, I heard that Dave Moulton was coming to UK from Massachusetts. What an opportunity!  I gave King Street Dave the heads up, and he arranged for Dave Moulton to visit. Lee even came up to do the prize draw live on the same night. Once again, only a handful of Beoworlders turned up. We still had a fantastic night. I will re-add the photos soon, I promise.

I don't know what can be done to make a Northern Meet happen.  How would you suggest it be formatted? 

I hope this happens.

Andy T.

Jandyt:

 

Maybe you are right John, and a dealership isn't the perfect place.  I was sorry for Dave at King Street when all the hard work he went to for us was rewarded by just a mere handful of us stalwart Beoworlders turned up.
I was sorry for Lee last Christmas when he invited any members of Beoworld  (11,000+ at the time) to a Christmas do in a posh hotel in Eastbourne. Not counting LifestyleAv and family guests, Me, Jay and Tara turned up.

We only invited beoworlders to the Dave Moulton event - and it was a bit surprising to get ( i think ) 12 people & Lee and his crew.  Given the influence Dave M has on the speaker range, it was a very unusual chance to get a personal perspective on the brand.

However, A while after that, I organised a gig in the store by UK guitarist Martin Simpson - playing through Beolab 5's..  12 places out of 80 were reserved for Beoworlders....but as I recall only a few of these were taken up. 

We had a full house that night, with mainly  (what Trip would call "retail") customers,  but with some B&O "addicts" and some guitar players.

To get enough people to attend anything nowadays, you probably need a reason over and above a shared interest....Dave M would, I'm sure, have filled the room if we had also invited our blab3/9/5 owners.....but it was a Beoworlders event, so we didn't.

Not my day job anymore, but I think a dealership is still, on the whole, a good venue.   There is space, access, understanding and some shiny Danish products to play with.

but...if its just a social event - well, perhaps I can help.

Mods - forgive the plug...but it would suit the needs, and it is a charity.....  so Northerners...have a peep here....

www.bandonthewall.org  We run jazz, folk, world, blues, rock & pop Gigs, Club nights, rooms to use during the day.... and there would be a VERY prefferential rate available  for a Beoworlders Convention.

With some forethought, you could have a get together in the afternoon/early evening, then a private drinks reception pre-gig, then a gig, then a club night to finish off ...all under one roof  !!!! I'll look at possible dates with a suitable running order and post a suggestion later.

j0hnbarker:

Last weekend I went to a convention down in Oxford with my girlfriend as she collects Japanese toy dolls that are very popular (and expensive). The convention had been in the offing for about a year, and there were stalls selling various bits, as well as guest speakers and workshops on how to customise the dolls etc... Visitors from the US and Europe attended, and we all had a belting day out.

I'm not a doll collector, but it got me thinking about whether we could do something similar in terms of a get together for 'Northern Beoworlders'. This subject has been mooted several times, but has come to nought. I know that a convention type event might not be the best format, but whenever I have visited other Beoworlders, or had them visit me, the first thing I have done is have a look at all their B&O bits that I've never had the chance to see. 

Could we do something similar to some girls with plastic dolls...?

There is a big difference between dolls and electronic equipment. (I know dolls, my wife is a doll freak) I would not put any of my older B&O in boxes, transport them to a place maybe 100dreds of miles away, connect it to a unknown power supply source, and then  take it all back home again, and maybe start repairing again.

Its a good thing to dream of, but not practical to realize.

folkdeejay:

 

However, A while after that, I organised a gig in the store by UK guitarist Martin Simpson - playing through Beolab 5's..  12 places out of 80 were reserved for Beoworlders....but as I recall only a few of these were taken up. 

We had a full house that night, with mainly  (what Trip would call "retail") customers,  but with some B&O "addicts" and some guitar players.

 

 

 

Martin Simpson was a great chance to see him perform. Also the previous night with the pupils from Chets was also very good.

Craig

I think all suggestions are welcome here, so if anyone has any bright ideas then go for it. Same too for expressions of interest - nothing that would set your commitment in stone of course :)

I think there's scope for bringing a limited amount of equipment for people to have a look at if that's what people are interested in. We're talking a northern England meet here, so distances are measured in the tens rather than hundreds of miles. The national grid up here is pretty stable too I for one would be happy to bring along three or four Beolits without batting an eyelid.

Anyhow, keep posting if there's some solid interest in the idea :)

The 'North' is not as small as suggested here, and travelling to London by plane or train can be a lot easier than say Liverpool or Newcastle to Sheffield. I'm inclined to think that you will tend to get a mostly 'local' crowd for most venues outside London unless the event coincides with something else like a jazz or music festival that happens to be going on and that might justify people booking a weekend away.

In some respects it might be easier for dealers to look at what is going on in their areas and offer a store event to match.

An event on a visiting cruise ship would suit me! (Might wake up mid-Atlantic!)

Graham

vikinger:

The 'North' is not as small as suggested here, and travelling to London by plane or train can be a lot easier than say Liverpool or Newcastle to Sheffield. I'm inclined to think that you will tend to get a mostly 'local' crowd for most venues outside London unless the event coincides with something else like a jazz or music festival that happens to be going on and that might justify people booking a weekend away.

In some respects it might be easier for dealers to look at what is going on in their areas and offer a store event to match.

An event on a visiting cruise ship would suit me! (Might wake up mid-Atlantic!)

Graham

Oh dear...

Leeds is in the centre of the north of England (and the universe, if you're a Leodian). Here are those massive distances to other northern cities:

Leeds to Newcastle: 97 miles

Leeds to Manchester: 41 miles

Leeds to Hull: 61 miles

Leeds to Sheffield: 35 miles

Leeds to Nottingham: 73 miles

and, for you Graham, Leeds to Liverpool: 72 miles (you could fly if you wanted to, but even the M62 would probably be quicker)

Now I understand why a northern meet has been so hard to achieve in the past :(

It isn't just a problem for the North John despite your cheap & very unneccessary digs at the distances involved - especially towards a fellow Beoworlder who left a very light hearted reply. Or is this your misjudged attempt at a rallying cry?

Beoworld is an internet led forum of like minded individuals sharing common interests & offering communal advice in a fairly detached environment. Organising any kind of gathering is extremely difficult as it really opposes the general principles of the anonimity of internet fora - ie:- the ease of making online friends & aquaintences without ever actually having to meet them in person. I have made many good friends on Beoworld & only met perhaps 10% of them in person, but all of them I consider to be true friends and meeting the other 90% in person would be very nice but not vital for me to think any differently.

The bottom line is that it is very hard to get bums on seats at such gatherings. It isn't just a matter of distance - time to spare for such things is also important. Logging onto the net for an hour a night is far removed from driving 50 odd miles and that's the truth of the matter.

BTW - try reading THIS before your next post, and while you're at it ask yourself where you were at the previous 2 (well publicised) Northern meets?

Chris.

No offence taken!

Nearer 90 miles to Leeds for me, plus the Mersey Tunnel. So that's four hours total driving time there and back before we start. (About 2.5-2.75 hours by train to London, inc local tube/underground each end!)

Andy's comments above about how other events have or haven't been supported give a good idea as to the likely turn-out for a future event. The Kensington Roof Gardens event worked for many people because they were able to combine it with other events in London (in my case also visiting relatives.)

Graham

EDIT

And before any of you ex colonials comment, yes we are aware that many of you drive ten times these distances to your local B&O store!

Blimey Chris

Is your posting coming in your capacity as a moderator, or as someone who has taken the hump with me? If it's the former, then you should know better! If it's the latter then drop me a PM and we can have a chat about what's up.

As far as my last posting goes, all I was trying to do was to suggest that my initial assertion that the distances in the north are measurable in the tens, rather than hundreds of miles, was correct. I think those matters of fact are hard to argue against, though I take the point that if you're outside of the major cities then it might be further. I worked in London three days per week and in Leeds the other two, for the four years I was at the Department of Health and still living in Sheffield. A 2.5 hour train journey each way to London, and a 1.5 hour drive to Leeds added up to approx 21 hours per week commuting time, so perhaps it's not so much of an issue for me.

All I would say is that just because something hasn't worked out as well as we would have liked in the past, it is not a reason for not attempting it again. It might just be a case that previous events didn't float enough boats at the time. As Chris points out - I didn't attend the previous meetings held in the north...

Meetings need to offer more than just a drink and a chat. I went to one of the Manchester meetings and it was excellent. But it did mean my taking a days holiday and cost a not insubstantial sum in train ticket and hotel expenses. I enjoyed meeting the other members and thoroughly enjoyed the jazz, but am aware that I could afford this and others might find themselves stretched. Despite living in the frozen North, I do feel that London meetings are the most sensible - it is just as quick to get there and a bigger audience will be catered for. Manchester has the advantage of a very friendly and helpful dealer.

j0hnbarker:

 It might just be a case that previous events didn't float enough boats at the time. As Chris points out - I didn't attend the previous meetings held in the north...

Fair comment.....although, in the case of the two previously mentioned events, one in particular should have floated a fair number of BeoBoats...hard to imagine how "An evening with..Dave Moulton" could fail to appeal to most B&O fans.  

Consider that he is US based, so its not something that happens monthly/annually in the UK.  Dave M  played a major role in the design of one of the worlds best Loudpseaker technologies, and indeed one of the best loudspeakers, so a real key "player" in recent B&O history.

This was also posted on here as a "Beoworlders only" event....because it was judged perhaps a bit too "geeky" (in a nice way) for your average Mr & Mrs Joe Public beo-owners.......more of a hobbyist interest.  So, Lee put on his thermals and headed North....and there was (the first ever) "live" Monthly prize draw. 

We also did a through-the-range speaker comparison for all the ALT speakers - again an interesting (if your a beofan) exercise, and also not that common/ easy to get to hear side by side repeated comparisons.

So, surely interesting enough.... yet, despite this, King Street was not overwhelmed by Beoworlders......which actually was OK- as we had a very pleasant evening and everyone who wanted to speak to Dave M got ample opportunity.

The other evening was a full house - and rightly so, with one of the worlds foremost guitarists (yes, he is THAT good)...  playing through a pair of the worlds foremost speakers.....and (if your guitar-minded) using a couple of the world best guitars...handmade UK beauties by Sobell.

Here is a clip of Martin just 6 weeks later,

A superb performance (although personally, I think he really cracked it at King Street ) as he is playing to a rapt (mainly southern) audience in a bijou little venue in London.....the Royal Albert Hall, no less.

AND....at King STreet, it was FOC....despite the fact he had just won a major BBC award, and regularly headlines festivals and fills gigs at £15 a pop. 

Yet the take up from BeoFans was lower than I expected....which was OK as we had a "reserve list" of customers to let in.

In fact....this TV add came out just after Martin played King Street!!

Ultimately, Peter is correct - there needs to be more on offer than a drink and a chat....but, as the above shows, sometimes even "more" isn't enough...

Final note...Martin described playing through the Beolab 5's as the best sound he had ever had - like "a warm bath of sound" was how he put it.