I'm still in two minds about whether or not to organise an Airhead Weekend in 2012. I guess that's what comes of being schizophrenic.
I keep thinking of the various reasons for and against.
FOR:
I met up with the lady from the charity that we raised £650 for yesterday. She was on the phone to a profoundly disabled person's carer and was able to inform them that they had enough money to be able to subsidise the holiday for the person concerned. It made me very proud of the money that we had raised and how a little amount of money can go along way when it is directed well.
Secondly, I re-read the posts after this years event and realised that many people had a great time during the whole weekend.
Thirdly, despite the problems this year caused by my mental health and the actions of certain others, it was a unique event and it would be a shame to discontinue.
Fouthly, our efforts to move to Wales seem to have been unsuccessful and therefore it looks like we will still be here in Devon come next June.
Fifthly, I have the perfect set-up here, so it would be a waste not to share it with others.
AGAINST:
I make no excuse that I was seriously pissed off with the significant number of people who said "I'm In" but then cancelled at the last minute. Of course I accept that there were several very genuine reasons but I was nevertheless disappointed. Obviously one way to avoid this in future would be to collect an up-front deposit with a strict cut off deadline before the event.
Secondly, and much more sensitive, is the issue of Proff. As many of you were aware, we had a falling out two weeks before the event that made the event itself stressful for both of us. Since the event, I have made every effort to restore our relationship to where it was before. I rode down to his house prior to the East Mids event to clear the air. I accept that we both said various things that were hurtful to each other but we need to move on. I met up with Proff at the local market this Tuesday and whilst we spoke to each other, he made it plain that "things will never be as they were" so unfortunately it appears that he is unwilling to forget the past. However, the event is bigger than any one person, and there are numerous people who attended the event and I'm trying to think of the majority.
Conclusion.
To some extent it is over to you guys. If you think the event has run its course, then I won't lose any sleep if you think we should quit whilst we are ahead. Conversely, if you would like another event, then I would be willing to host an event again. Obviously there would need to be a few changes to ensure the smooth running and I'm sure that some would object to these proposals/suggestions but here are my ideas:
1. It would be run on a more "business like" basis. We had a slight conflict in previous years as Proff wanted to have the very best of everything in terms of quality but equally wanted to charge the lowest of prices. Combing this with "loss leaders" such as free tea/coffee/afternoon cream teas etc meant that we were on a hiding to nothing before we started. This meant that we had to rely on people donating an additional amount to cover these extra costs. I would rather budget the event correctly and price out everything correctly (I did used to be an accountant in a former life). I suspect that people don't realise the hidden costs that go into an event such as this.
2. The workshop jobs MUST be better organised. People must plan ahead exactly what jobs that are going to attempt and organise the required parts in advance. Don't expect James Sherlock to give up his weekend because you forgot to order something!
3. Perhaps most controvertially, it would be run according to MY rules as it is held at my house. This means that I and I alone would decide who could and could not attend. I won't have other people telling me who I can invite or not to my own house!
Well those are my initial thoughts so let me know what you think. I'm reasonably thick skinned so if you want to tell me to feck off then no Timmy's Rules apply to this thread.
We still seem to have a space available in June 2012 so it is up to you lot if you think it is worthwhile, subject to the above observations. There is no minimum number as I would be happy to run the event just for a select handful of friends but in the unlikely event of it being popular then we would of course need to limit the numbers as the logistics of my place mean that we can only cope with so many.
Over to you.
I keep thinking of the various reasons for and against.
FOR:
I met up with the lady from the charity that we raised £650 for yesterday. She was on the phone to a profoundly disabled person's carer and was able to inform them that they had enough money to be able to subsidise the holiday for the person concerned. It made me very proud of the money that we had raised and how a little amount of money can go along way when it is directed well.
Secondly, I re-read the posts after this years event and realised that many people had a great time during the whole weekend.
Thirdly, despite the problems this year caused by my mental health and the actions of certain others, it was a unique event and it would be a shame to discontinue.
Fouthly, our efforts to move to Wales seem to have been unsuccessful and therefore it looks like we will still be here in Devon come next June.
Fifthly, I have the perfect set-up here, so it would be a waste not to share it with others.
AGAINST:
I make no excuse that I was seriously pissed off with the significant number of people who said "I'm In" but then cancelled at the last minute. Of course I accept that there were several very genuine reasons but I was nevertheless disappointed. Obviously one way to avoid this in future would be to collect an up-front deposit with a strict cut off deadline before the event.
Secondly, and much more sensitive, is the issue of Proff. As many of you were aware, we had a falling out two weeks before the event that made the event itself stressful for both of us. Since the event, I have made every effort to restore our relationship to where it was before. I rode down to his house prior to the East Mids event to clear the air. I accept that we both said various things that were hurtful to each other but we need to move on. I met up with Proff at the local market this Tuesday and whilst we spoke to each other, he made it plain that "things will never be as they were" so unfortunately it appears that he is unwilling to forget the past. However, the event is bigger than any one person, and there are numerous people who attended the event and I'm trying to think of the majority.
Conclusion.
To some extent it is over to you guys. If you think the event has run its course, then I won't lose any sleep if you think we should quit whilst we are ahead. Conversely, if you would like another event, then I would be willing to host an event again. Obviously there would need to be a few changes to ensure the smooth running and I'm sure that some would object to these proposals/suggestions but here are my ideas:
1. It would be run on a more "business like" basis. We had a slight conflict in previous years as Proff wanted to have the very best of everything in terms of quality but equally wanted to charge the lowest of prices. Combing this with "loss leaders" such as free tea/coffee/afternoon cream teas etc meant that we were on a hiding to nothing before we started. This meant that we had to rely on people donating an additional amount to cover these extra costs. I would rather budget the event correctly and price out everything correctly (I did used to be an accountant in a former life
). I suspect that people don't realise the hidden costs that go into an event such as this.2. The workshop jobs MUST be better organised. People must plan ahead exactly what jobs that are going to attempt and organise the required parts in advance. Don't expect James Sherlock to give up his weekend because you forgot to order something!
3. Perhaps most controvertially, it would be run according to MY rules as it is held at my house. This means that I and I alone would decide who could and could not attend. I won't have other people telling me who I can invite or not to my own house!
Well those are my initial thoughts so let me know what you think. I'm reasonably thick skinned so if you want to tell me to feck off then no Timmy's Rules apply to this thread.
We still seem to have a space available in June 2012 so it is up to you lot if you think it is worthwhile, subject to the above observations. There is no minimum number as I would be happy to run the event just for a select handful of friends but in the unlikely event of it being popular then we would of course need to limit the numbers as the logistics of my place mean that we can only cope with so many.
Over to you.
