SMSN Meeting

15-09-2021

Click the image to step through the pictures.

Well it went off extremely well considering. Thanks go to Steve Redrup, Graham Gowman and Gerry Johnson for all their efforts.

We had representatives from Fareham, Nursling, Southampton, Lewes, Havant, Alton, Church Crookham & Fleet, Portsea, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Liss, Andover, Mayfield, Wilton, Wecock farm, Nursling and Littlehampton East. In all 22 members from other sheds supported by 17 of our own members. So they came from 40 miles north, 77 miles to the east and 40 miles to the west. That's a large catchment area.

It was a beautiful venue and the weather was absolutely perfect but we really did find one or two snags that we need to bear in mind if we do it again:
* It needs sound amplification - the theatre side of the barn has totally the opposite effect to normal when it comes to sound projection - it kills it stone dead.
* We must find the light switch
Because of these two problems the video failed miserably and unfortunately I didn't get much chance to take any pictures myself, so if anybody else managed to get a few please let me have copies.

The food and amount of it, far exceeded expectations, thank you all so much for creating such a spread. Seriously I don't know how many of you managed to grab a slice of Mary Bell's sponge but I reckon she needs to enter for the Great British Bake Off - that sponge would make Mary Berry take notice.

About the two biggest things to come out of the meeting were that the current SMSN will, in future, concentrate on Sheds within Hampshire as more ambassadors are found and appointed hopefully similar area networks will start to appear across the counties. That is not to say that we will become parochial. When the next meeting is held ALL Sheds will be welcome to attend - let's keep the Shedders ethos in mind.

The other one was that catering for future meetings will be limited to tea, coffee and biscuits. It is so hard to cater for an unknown number of attendees and would be almost impossible for smaller sheds.

Tez Cook from the HCC Men's Activity Networks was there and the point was made because of the physical size of the smaller sheds they would find it impossible to host a meeting so the idea was put to him that if HCC could put some actions to the fine words that they throw our way and make one of their venues available occasionally when they are not in use - unfortunately he didn't seem to hold out much hope.

Well I think that just about wraps the meeting up, if anybody has any other points that need commenting on, if they let me have them I shall add to this post.

Author: Chris Nixon