[HLUG] Meeting venue thoughts

[Julian Robbins]

Hi

On Saturday in Leominster I got chatting to a chap who has
recently started his
own business in the town selling pc's, accessories, training,
with an
internet cafe, art galley and a training room upstairs.

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=comput
ers&sll=52.260593,-2.774048&sspn=0.126713,0.30899&ie=UTF8&radius=
6.54&jsv=160f&vps=2&latlng=52226515,-2740646,2580082804303326950&
ei=3mglSvGIIpvQjAf6grSsBA&sig2=-dmLw3VxYj8MlvfV7iT9dA&cd=4&dtab=0
&oi=&sa=X

He's interested in Linux and indeed supports his customers who
buy
Linux netbooks or older pc's he has installed linux on for them.
His internet cafe pc's also run Mint Linux too.

He is happy for us to use his shop/cafe as a meeting venue for
the LUG sometime,
which is enticing in many ways, as it has:-

Pro's
  * 4 net pc's connected up in the cafe section
  * Free hire for the meeting
  * Coffee's and teas available, but he would charge us for
    these.
  * Internet access (I guess for free)
  * In the middle of town, so near many pubs for afterwards
  * 1 mins walk from the bus station, and 10 mins for the train

Cons
  * It's in Leominster, which isn't great for our members in the
    south of the county. On the other hand, at our last meeting,
    we had no members from Hereford, but two from North
    Herefordshire, and one from Longtown.
  * Space may be a bit tight if we had lots of people turn up -
    but the extra room upstairs (which i didnt see) may be useful
    here


Altogether, I think we should support this guy one way or another
(I plan to add a blog post on our site) as he's providing much
required paid for support for Linux, which is something we can't
provide and seemed a decent helpful sort.

Our current main venue The Simpson Hall, at Burghill is ok, it
has good wifi, (although some ports are restricted, ie SSH and
VPN), is central in the county; but is a little difficult to
find, and we have yet to speak to the CAP, one of the original
reasons to meet there (!), as they meet on different nights than
us !

I am keen to keep things simple, as we had some regrettably had
some chopping and changing last month.

To help this I was considering 'block booking' the Simpson Hall
for three months ahead, so we can publicise the meeting dates
much further ahead which may help some people plan for the
meetings.

So what are your views on this ?
  * Should we try out the place in Leominster, as a one off?
  * Or should I just block book the Simpson Hall, for 3 - 4
    months, to give us some solidity ?

Please respond to this mail, with whatever thoughts preferences
you have so we can make an informed decision.

Julian