Shed Notices

The November mailing of SMT and Bulletin is scheduled for collection by Royal Mail from Warners Midlands in Bourne today, 11^th November.  The entire mailing to UK and overseas members will be collected at the same time.

Mailing to UK members is First Class, so packages will start to arrive from Saturday 12^th.  There are no significant delays at the time of writing.  Information for the UK can be found here.

Mailing to overseas members is by Air Mail.  Delivery times may be affected by ongoing COVID-19 reduction measures and reduced air transport capacity.  Items to some EU destinations are also experiencing delays.  Further information regarding mailing to addresses outside the UK can be found here.

SMT and Bulletin will be available on our Members Only web site from 09:00 on Saturday 12^th November.  If you haven’t received an invitation to activate your account on the site, or can’t find it, please email members.site@16mm.org.uk providing your surname, membership number and post code and we’ll send an invitation as soon as we can.

Thanks to editors Gareth Jones (SMT) and Dave Gordon (Bulletin) for getting their magazines out on time, and to all the members who contributed to them.  Your input is as welcome as it is critical to the editors being able to present varied and interesting magazines.  I hope you enjoy what I’m sure will again be an enjoyable read.

Tom Rowland, Membership Secretary

To make our Public Liability Insurance clearer, as there are now two sub-policies, we have updated the Insurance page on the Members’ Only website.

You can now download your personalised document which will contain two policies:

• One is for you as an individual when running at a non club or group activity, such as a village fete, where the cover is for claims up to a maximum of £1m per claim and aggregated up to £2m per year.
• The second is for you when you are involved with other 16mm members in club or group activities, where the cover is up to a maximum of £5m in any one year.

Chris Trotman, Technical Director

Royal Mail have advised that The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take further national strike action on the following dates:

• Friday 30 September 2022 and Saturday 1 October 2022
• Thursday 13 October 2022
• Thursday 20 October 2022
• Tuesday 25 October 2022
• Monday 28 November 2022

Further dates have also been announced by the CWU for functional strike action which impacts parts of RM operation on the following:

• Processing, Distribution, International, Collections, Admin: 3, 9, 15, 24 November and 1 December 2022
• Delivery: 4, 10, 16, 25 November and 2 December 2022
• Network: 2, 8, 14, 23, 30 November 2022

More information on the industrial action can be found here.

If action goes ahead disruption is likely to mailings sent on the Association’s behalf by Warners Group Publications.  This will affect new member packs, replacement magazines, SMT back issues and special publications orders.

Warners will continue to prepare mailings as usual, however there may be a delay in them being delivered to recipients.

Tom Rowland, Membership Secretary

Royal Mail have advised that The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take strike action on 26 & 31 August and 8 & 9 September 2022.

More information on the industrial action can be found here.

If action goes ahead disruption is likely to mailings sent on the Association’s behalf by Warners Group Publications.  This will affect new member packs, replacement magazines, SMT back issues and special publications orders.

Warners will continue to prepare mailings as usual, however there may be a delay in them being delivered to recipients.

Tom Rowland, Membership Secretary

The August mailing of SMT and Bulletin is scheduled for collection by Royal Mail from Warners Midlands in Bourne today, 12^th August.  The entire mailing to UK and overseas members will be collected at the same time.

Mailing to UK members is First Class, so packages will start to arrive from Saturday 13^th.  There are no significant delays at the time of writing.  Information for the UK can be found here.

Mailing to overseas members is by Air Mail.  Delivery times may be affected by ongoing COVID-19 reduction measures and reduced air transport capacity.  Items to some EU destinations are also experiencing delays.  Further information regarding mailing to addresses outside the UK can be found here.

SMT and Bulletin will be available on our Members Only web site from 09:00 on Saturday 13^th August.  If you haven’t received an invitation to activate your account on the site, or can’t find it, please email members.site@16mm.org.uk providing your surname, membership number and post code and we’ll send an invitation as soon as we can.

Thanks to editors Gareth Jones (SMT) and Dave Gordon (Bulletin) for getting their magazines out on time, and to all the members who contributed to them.  Your input is as welcome as it is critical to the editors being able to present varied and interesting magazines.  I hope you enjoy what I’m sure will again be an enjoyable read.

Tom Rowland, Membership Secretary

The title isn’t a typo!  I’m pleased to announce that the National Garden Railway next year, in 2023, will return to being a spring event, which it always was prior to the Pandemic.  The date booked for the show is Saturday 15th April 2023, a little later than shows of the past, which were sometimes as early as the last week in March.  The return to April will remove the conflict with early summer holidays, something which the Association’s primary demographic is well placed to take advantage of.

The venue will again be the Peterborough Arena.  You may have noticed media reports that part of the East of England Showground, on which the Arena sits, will be the subject of an application for housing and a leasure resort.  This affects outdoor events only.  The Arena will continue as the vibrant and well used indoor exhibition venue that it’s always been.

Setup of the 2022 show is taking place in front of me and is well advanced.  The layouts and many of the traders are ready for visitors tomorrow.  You can still buy tickets on the day and the forecast tomorrow is dry with a high of 21 degrees.  If you haven’t made up your mind to visit the greatest garden railway show in the UK, it’s not too late!  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Show Director

I’m very sorry to advise that we have cancelled the Shuttle Bus Service on Saturday 25^th June between Peterborough Railway Station and the Arena.  This decision was taken earlier today in consultation with the company offering the service and after discussion by the Board of the Association.  The Train Operating Companies released their emergency timetables at the weekend and it is now clear that very few rail services will stop at Peterborough during the rail dispute, the third day of which is planned for Saturday 25^th June.  Review of the majority of the tickets sold at the time of cancelling the service showed that their holders are highly unlikely to be able conveniently to use rail as their basis of travel to the show and indeed some have already requested refunds.

All affected ticket holders have been contacted and refunds are in process.  Entry Tickets to the show itself remain valid and the show goes ahead as planned.  We very much regret having to take this action and we hope that it does not prevent people from attending the show.

Alan Regan, Chairman and Show Director

I’m pleased to advise that the onsite catering available at the Show has been extended to provide hot food in the restaurant in the Peterborough Suite, to the right of the Foyer as you come into the venue through the entry ticket booths.  The restaurant will offer a hot breakfast from 07:30 until 10:30 and a hot lunch from 12:30 to 14:30.  The restaurant will also offer rolls, sandwiches and sweets and will open early so that stewards, exhibitors and layout operators can eat before the venue opens to visitors at 09:00.

A further catering unit, outside the Atrium and accessible as soon as you pass through the entry ticket booths, will offer drinks, hot rolls and pastries.  A third catering unit, inside the Main Hall in the yellow zone and accessible once you’ve been admitted to the Show, will offer drinks and light refreshments.  Tables and chairs will be provided for the use of those taking advantage of the facility.

For the first time, the bar between the Foyer and the Peterborough Suite will also be open serving a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

We hope that this range of catering options covers most visitors’ needs and we look forward to seeing you at the show a week on Saturday.

Alan Regan, Show Director & Carol Regan, Venue co-ordination

The May mailing of SMT and Bulletin is scheduled for collection by Royal Mail from Warners Midlands in Bourne today, 13^th May.  The entire mailing to UK and overseas members will be collected at the same time.

Mailing to UK members is First Class, so packages will start to arrive from Saturday 14^th.  There are no delays at the time of writing.  Information for the UK can be found here.

Mailing to overseas members is by Air Mail.  Delivery times may be affected by ongoing COVID-19 reduction measures and reduced air transport capacity.  Items to some EU destinations are also experiencing customs delays.  Further information regarding mailing to addresses outside the UK can be found here.

SMT and Bulletin will be available on our Members Site from 09:00 on Saturday 14^th May.  If you haven’t received an invitation to activate your account on the site, or can’t find it, please email members.site@16mm.org.uk providing your surname, membership number and post code and we’ll send an invitation as soon as we can.

This mailing is unusually heavy, comprising SMT, Bulletin, the Show Guide, Annual Report and Draw Tickets, weighing just under 700 grams.  We’ve been unable to send the last three to members overseas, to keep the weight under 500 grams.  Customs arrangements arising from the UK’s exit from the EU require additional processes for overseas mailings exceeding 500 grams and due to the infrequency of such mailings, Warners don’t have these in place with Royal Mail.  The Annual Report and Show Guide will be published to our Members Site concurrent with SMT and Bulletin.  If any overseas member needs paper copies, please contact me at alan.regan@16mm.org.uk and I’ll get them to you.  We’re only able to accept payment for Draw Tickets by cheque or money order in Pounds Sterling drawn on a UK financial institution, but if you’re an overseas member with access to this facility and want to participate in the draw, please contact me for tickets.  This topic is discussed further in the Chairman’s Column in SMT.

Thanks to editors Gareth Jones (SMT), Dave Gordon (Bulletin and the Show Guide) and Mike Riley (Annual Report) for getting their publications out on time, and to all the members who contributed to both of them.  Your input as ever is very welcome and critical to the editors being able to present varied and interesting content.  I hope you enjoy what I’m sure will again be an enjoyable read.

Alan Regan, Chairman

Advance entry tickets for the National Garden Railway Show, which takes place on Saturday 25th June 2022 at the Peterborough Arena, are on sale in the Association ticket shop.  Adult entry tickets are £14 each and junior entry tickets are as in the past free.  We’re also able to offer a shuttle bus from Peterborough railway station to the venue.  The first departure to the Arena will be 09:00 from outside the railway station, the second at 09:45.  The full shuttle bus timetable will appear in the Show Guide which will accompany May’s issues of SMT and Bulletin and is here on our show web site.  Adult return tickets are £10 each, which is half the current price of a return journey using a taxi.  Junior return tickets are again free.

We plan to sell entry tickets and shuttle bus tickets on the day, but you may need to queue to buy your ticket and in the case of shuttle bus tickets, we’ll be selling them at the Arena as you arrive, which may delay you getting into the show.  Paper advance entry tickets will also be available via the May issues of Bulletin.

Online sales of advance entry tickets will end at 09:00 on Thursday 23rd June.  Requests for paper advance entry tickets must be received by Friday 17th June, to give time for them to be posted back to you.

Ticket holders may enter the site from 09:00 to take advantage of the toilets and catering facilities in the Peterborough Suite and outside immediately adjacent to the entrances to the Foyer.  Anyone who has bought a ticket in advance will be allowed into the Atrium and straight on into Main Hall of the show from 09:30.  Those who buy tickets on the day will be allowed into the Atrium and Main Hall from 10:00.  This differential is to encourage purchase in advance, which greatly eases the burden on the volunteers who run the show on the day.

When you buy your ticket online, we email your tickets to you there and then and ask that you print them out on receipt and store them safely for the day of the show.  Please don’t wait until the day before the show to print your tickets.  If you experience difficulty, the people who can help you will be busy setting up the show.  If you turn up on the day without having printed your ticket, your entry to the show risks being delayed whilst we swap you advance entry ticket for an on-the-day ticket.

This will be our first show since the Covid-19 pandemics of 2020 and 2021.  We want you to feel safe and to enjoy yourselves.  We’re organising the show to avoid indoor queues or massing of visitors, which is why we’re encouraging purchase of tickets in advance, and direct entry from the Atrium into the Main Hall, to avoid lots of people having to stand shoulder to shoulder waiting for entry into the Main Hall.  Almost all the hobby’s current traders will be present, plus preservation societies and over a dozen layout.  MotY and M2M will make a welcome return.  The show promises to be back to its pre-Covid vibrant self.

Alan Regan, Chairman and Acting Show Director