[Fwd: Re: [Nelug] Rowing Club]

[Dougie Nisbet]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [Nelug] Rowing Club
Date: 	Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:11:05 +0100
From: 	Geof Cox <geofcox at ukfsn.org>
Reply-To: 	geofcox at ukfsn.org
To: 	Dougie Nisbet <dougie at highmoor.co.uk>



Dougie,
Thought I'd try sending this to you as the nailing list rejected it!
GEOF



> You are not allowed to post to this mailing list, and your message has
> been automatically rejected.  If you think that your messages are
> being rejected in error, contact the mailing list owner at
> nelug-owner at mailman.lug.org.uk.
>
>   
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject:
> Re: [Nelug] Rowing Club
> From:
> Geof Cox <geofcox at ukfsn.org>
> Date:
> Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:56:40 +0100
>
> To:
> North East Linux User Group mailing list <nelug at mailman.lug.org.uk>
>
>
> I'm happy to make a £120 donation to give you a year's grace.  Just let
> me know who to send to.
> I've just in fact been asked to write something on the links between
> open source and social enterprise for the new newsletter of the North
> East Social Enterprise Partnership (NESEP).  Can I suggest that you
> start looking for another venue hosted by a social enterprise or social
> enterprise support body?  They're likely to be more 'open' than
> conventional businesses.
> You can get an insight into the open source / social enterprise linkages
> by reading an old piece of mine at:
>
>     http://www.geofcox.info/index.php?q=Knowledge_For_Free_Page
>
> For contacts with local social enterprises try NESEP
>
>     http://www.nesep.co.uk/
>
> Or if you want to start looking in Durham maybe
>
>     http://www.durhamsocialenterprise.co.uk
>
> (though I don't know them personally).
> GEOF
>
>
>
> Brian Ronald wrote:
>   
>> > On Tue, 2007-09-04 at 06:44 +0100, Dougie Nisbet wrote:
>> >   
>>     
>>> >> It sounds like the Tyneside LUG has already been down this road. So
>>> >> have 
>>> >> NELUG to a certain extent, during the 6 months when the rowing club
>>> >> was 
>>> >> closed. 
>>> >>     
>>>       
>> >
>> > Yes, and it's a road full of frustrating obstacles.  Whilst we always
>> > gave each venue a decent chance (it was better for members if we didn't
>> > move every month) we were often prepared to uproot ourselves.  We spent
>> > a lot of time meeting in various coffee shops, which is how we came to
>> > the museum in the first place.  The museum approached us when they
>> > outsourced the cafeteria, to provide us with a new home.  This was a
>> > big, unexpected break.
>> >
>> > One thing we did try was approaching various businesses in the city
>> > centre.  There are lots of them, so this approach might have paid off
>> > eventually, but those who did actually respond were sympathetic but
>> > unwilling to trust a bunch of computer guys to use a room in their
>> > premises.  They assumed, in every case, that we'd want to use their
>> > network.
>> >
>> > It's possibly an approach that could be used, certainly if handled with
>> > a bit more finesse than I could muster.  The rowing club is just another
>> > business, and might not be the only place with a suitable room.
>> >
>> > The biggest problem you have, and possibly the only problem you have, is
>> > raising at least £10 on average every month.  Talking to one of the guys
>> > from our LUG last night, he said he'd be prepared to pay £1 to £1.50
>> > just to attend a social LUG meeting, so it's not like you'd scare
>> > everybody away.  Only thing is how many you're going to get turning up,
>> > and how much the organisers are prepared to subsidise low attendance.
>> > On the up side, you're being charged a lot less than we were for some of
>> > our rooms.  £9 per hour was what the City Council charged for any
>> > conference room, and we'd have to decide whether we thought we'd want
>> > two or three hours long beforehand.  Unsustainable.  £120 a year is an
>> > inexpensive offer.
>> >   
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Nelug mailing list   -   Nelug at mailman.lug.org.uk
>> > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/nelug
>> > http://www.nelug.org.uk/
>>     
>
> 	
> Geof Cox <http://www.geofcox.info> <geofcox at ukfsn.org
> <mailto:geofcox at ukfsn.org>>
> Director
> The Common Cause Foundation & Economic Partnerships Limited
>