PLYMOUTH

30 Oct 2005

Oi DD hun

Get down off the high horse. I can see no one blaming you in any way so stay coooool babe xxx
As for "Vanilla" people comming into a munch ?? The munch itself is a "Vanilla" meeting if you get the gist. lol Do we now have two flavours of Vanilla ?????.
Glad to read you are still comming up to the Pie & Gravy land lol xxxx
phredd :love:

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Fred aka Medic 1
Oi DD hun
Glad to read you are still comming up to the Pie & Gravy land lol xxxx
phredd :love:

Tis cool Fred just didn't want Devon1's good work spoilt by a mis understanding.
As for keeping me out of Pie and Gravy country .. you will have to build a new hadian's wall south of Birmingham to keep me out ... just fetching my ladder to reach the black puddings off the black pudding trees so I can take a good stack of them back home with me when I return to civilisation ;)
DD

30 Oct 2005

I cannot believe that Devon1 has had to post here to defend himself FFS. There's a lot of 'concern' being expressed by people who were not there. Call it what you will - it was a great night. The rest is just semantics really.
It is for those who attend to make their feelings known to Devon1 about preferences - that was done and Devon1 has said he's intending to make it a private venue next time (glad he's prepared to do it quite frankly).
I was speaking to Devondelight at length and I mentioned that the place was heaving and that there were a lot of non-site members there (I repeated this to Devon1). That did make it different to other 'munches' but we're all capable of dealing with it and it was not a problem. Next time I'm sure it will be better and I'm looking forward to it - I for one will be there.

30 Oct 2005

Quote by westerross
I cannot believe that Devon1 has had to post here to defend himself FFS. There's a lot of 'concern' being expressed by people who were not there. Call it what you will - it was a great night. The rest is just semantics really.
.

So if we weren't there then we dont have an opinion worth listening to?
Okey Dokey...

30 Oct 2005

Quote by devondelight
Oi DD hun
Glad to read you are still comming up to the Pie & Gravy land lol xxxx
phredd :love:

.. you will have to build a new hadian's wall south of Birmingham to keep me out
DD
lol

We have one only they call it theWatford Gap.
me

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Fred aka Medic 1
just to say devon 1 (the organiser one of the munch) said last night that any future devon munch will be at a booked venue.
and of course that is what you expect
remember this was only the second devon munch to be fair

If it wasnt in a private venue/room should it not have been termed as a social ?
Steve I am going to stick my neck out now mate >>>
As you seem to be the only room op/mod on line are all the others in conflab/meeting about this.
It is unusual for so many mods to be silent over such a serious matter.
153 users on line and not a Mod showing.
Fred aka medic 1 (full title for this)
I have no idea Fred..
As a chatroom op I have no dealings whatsoever with forum matters...
My interest is purely as a member of SH and my Op status has no bearing or carries no weight as it were in the forum..
Steve your explanation is taken in good faith and with respect.
In no way did I think you may be involved. Sorry if I gave that impression.
But to a "long time" member I tend to read silence as well as between the lines. wink

phredd
phredd,
I for one find your references to 'silence' as very provocative and unjust - mods have lives on Sundays too you know!

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Kit
mods have lives on Sundays too you know!

Do they??? :shock: :shock: :shock:
Makes a note to try and remember that we are allowed lives away from SH
Shireen
xxx

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Fred aka Medic 1
We have one only they call it the Watford Gap.
me

Oh no never go near the Watford Gap .. my cousin went over there fell in and it took 6months, 4 donkeys and a rope tied with a reef knot to get her out :shock:
No siree .. go near the Watford Gap at your own peril I say ... why you think I live so far West FFS :thumbup:
DD

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Kit
just to say devon 1 (the organiser one of the munch) said last night that any future devon munch will be at a booked venue.
and of course that is what you expect
remember this was only the second devon munch to be fair

If it wasnt in a private venue/room should it not have been termed as a social ?
Steve I am going to stick my neck out now mate >>>
As you seem to be the only room op/mod on line are all the others in conflab/meeting about this.
It is unusual for so many mods to be silent over such a serious matter.
153 users on line and not a Mod showing.
Fred aka medic 1 (full title for this)
I have no idea Fred..
As a chatroom op I have no dealings whatsoever with forum matters...
My interest is purely as a member of SH and my Op status has no bearing or carries no weight as it were in the forum..
Steve your explanation is taken in good faith and with respect.
In no way did I think you may be involved. Sorry if I gave that impression.
But to a "long time" member I tend to read silence as well as between the lines. wink

phredd
phredd,
I for one find your references to 'silence' as very provocative and unjust - mods have lives on Sundays too you know!
Kit
In no way was it meant to be provacative. It was said as an observation.
However if you wish to take it as provocative there is sod all I can do about it.
Sorry sad

and I mean that in the nicest way )
phredd (shall I shut up)

30 Oct 2005

please do

30 Oct 2005

where's Plymouth ??? rolleyes

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Jewcy_Joanne
where's Plymouth ???

America .. or could be Australia ...... Perhaps South West of the Watford Gap lol

DD

30 Oct 2005

*Kat rushes in after being summoned by Kit*
Storm in a blooming teacup! rolleyes

Plymouth had a munch, during that munch, the general public ended up mixing with the site members.
This is not a desirable state of affairs. . However, it must always be remembered that EVERY munch requires the involvement of non-site members - the bar staff. Many munches are held at public venues, you cannot expect the public not to take an interest, in the same way they would a wedding, a birthday party or an xmas party.
There is ALWAYS a chance that mixing with the general public is something that will happen, as adults, it is reasonable to expect you to consider this before you agree to go.
Munch organisers are expected to think about this when they choose the venue, and site members attending the munch are expected NEVER to invite a member of the public into the munch.
However, on this occasion, the worst that can be said is that it is a warning to all about what could happen.
Kat

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Devon1
I'm sure Dambuster, et al, will pass on their points of view when they get home.

Purley in response to the above, as I don't normally do "politics" wink

When is a Munch not a Munch ????
We have Munches.
We have Mini Munches.
We have Social Drinks Evenings.
There are "guidelines" written for members and organisers in the oft quoted and "linked to" "What is a Munch ?" page.
Clearly, I have an opinion as to how I differentiate between one and the other, as I'm sure many will have.
I personally use that opinion as part of my decision as to whether or not to attend.
I remember only too well the the hooha following a previous munch/afters party and some of the guidelines being re-written after both were "infiltrated" by non SH members. Albeit under very different circumstances with very different results.
Having expressed my concerns, both last night and during today to a "4 month old" site member and attendee of 5 munches (already ! ! ! ! ! ) about the validity of calling the Plymouth gathering a "Munch" she pointed out glaring differences between our understanding of what is a munch and the information given in the Help Pages.
I am guilty, like so many other alleged "long standing, respected members" of making a very bad assumption.
I made the assumption that a "Munch" was held in a private room/venue, segregated from the "vanilla" population. Own bar. Own toilets and facilities etc etc, in order for it to be stickied and therefore "sanctioned" by SH (possibly another assumption there)
HOWEVER . . . . . .
On reading the help page again tonight (this time with more diligence redface

) I see where I have made the assumptions.
Do you ?
Or do you accept "custom and practice" as gospel ?
I had a thoroughly good time last night, and can see nowhere that the organisers have not complied with and followed the guidelines of the help pages.
Maybe there is still a grey area regarding "When is a munch not a munch"

30 Oct 2005

From the guidelines:

We have a strict rule that anyone organising a Munch on here is doing so solely for Swinging Heaven members, and is not promoting, colluding or otherwise involving any other website, club or group. Only people from Swinging Heaven who have been specifically invited are allowed to attend the Munches that are advertised on here.

30 Oct 2005

As Kat says - storm in a teacup. We're not dealing with just anybody here - we're dealing with munch organisers, who are some of the most selfless, constructive people we have hereabouts and I reckon Devon1 has done the most difficult task in starting a regular munch from scratch - credit to him fer that. So the issue can be developed privately under the watchful eye of the Mods. This really isn't a problem.
Love you all - let's allow it to rest there now FFS!

30 Oct 2005

A munch is a purely social event held in a totally neutral environment, often somewhere like a pub, where members of Swinging Heaven get to meet each other. As there's no play involved everyone can relax which gives newbies a chance to ask questions of the more experienced without any fear of getting jumped on, and gives the regulars time to catch-up with old friends and make new ones

.
This was the guidelines that we (I'm Devon1's other half) used when organising the event. Although a private venue would be better this was not possible at the time, although all future events will be held in a private room. lol

There were no non-members invited to the munch but as previously stated, there where non-members in the pub. We didn't think this would have been a problem as the last event was in the same place under the same conditions and we had no problems then.
When organising this we had no intention of upsetting anybody the whole idea was supposed to be to have fun. This was only my 2nd munch the first one being the last Plymouth event. As a newbie i personally felt a lot happier going to a pub where i knew non-members would be as i felt it would be easier to slip away if i felt too uncomfortable, but then as anybody who has since met me will know i'm extremely shy and quiet. wink

30 Oct 2005

Quote by plymgal
hi all....i was in the pub on saturday night with my daughter and niece..postie made us badges lol..just want to say what a great bunch you are xxxx

Are you the lady who "don't know what the fcuk is going on"? :lol2:
I'm the one with the wet trousers and the poofy cravat. rotflmao

30 Oct 2005

I had a fab time last night.
Sure there were quite a few questions from some non SH members about our badges etc but nothing untoward happened in my view.
It was made clear that the munch would be held in a public venue, I personally have no problem with that as I was aware of it when I put my name down.
I think Devon1 did a brilliant job of organising the event - everyone I spoke to had a fantastic time even though there were non SH folk there.
Some of the comments made on this thread are a bit harsh especially as those writing them weren't even there! Sure everyone has an opinion but you can't really comment on the actual event itself unless you were there. Yeah, you can argue or express your opinion about what exactly a munch is and where it should be held etc but I personally think it's all got a bit out of proportion.
Well done Devon1, thank you for organising the "event".
biggrin

30 Oct 2005

This wasn't the first Munch held at a non-exclusive venue, and personally I don't have a problem with it. The people who approached us were charming and OK, we were lucky... people could have been given more information than they were prepared for and may have taken offence... in the event, that didn't happen, but it's a possibility, and I think it should always be made absolutely clear if a venue is not exclusive to the group. I for one was not aware, but I arranged to be at this one very late on so I may have missed some details in the run up.
Ice

30 Oct 2005

Quote by onlyme1981
Some of the comments made on this thread are a bit harsh especially as those writing them weren't even there! Sure everyone has an opinion but you can't really comment on the actual event itself unless you were there. Yeah, you can argue or express your opinion about what exactly a munch is and where it should be held etc but I personally think it's all got a bit out of proportion.

Whereas I don't disagree with you about people actually being there and making comments, it does and can affect us all. My understanding is that anything named a "munch" was exclusively for SH members. Those organising it are responsible for booking, invites and security. Think how you would have felt if someon you know had turned up out of the blue, or the regualrs kicked off to the landlord, as we have seen it only takes one phonecall to the local paper and everything is blown out of proportion (I'm not implying that this ever would have been the case in this instance).
Discussing this things as they occur, may feel like they are being blown out of proportion but we can all learn from mistakes and talking about such things will prevent future oversights or problems.
C x

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Ice Pie
This wasn't the first Munch held at a non-exclusive venue, and personally I don't have a problem with it. The people who approached us were charming and OK, we were lucky... people could have been given more information than they were prepared for and may have taken offence...
Ice

Half of those who asked think we were stamp collectors (tm Cuddlybunny) and the other half think we are a Yoghourt Appreciation Society (tm Marcuso) rotflmao

Can't imagine what sort of Googling's going on tonight!!

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Calista
Some of the comments made on this thread are a bit harsh especially as those writing them weren't even there! Sure everyone has an opinion but you can't really comment on the actual event itself unless you were there. Yeah, you can argue or express your opinion about what exactly a munch is and where it should be held etc but I personally think it's all got a bit out of proportion.

Whereas I don't disagree with you about people actually being there and making comments, it does and can affect us all. My understanding is that anything named a "munch" was exclusively for SH members. Those organising it are responsible for booking, invites and security. Think how you would have felt if someon you know had turned up out of the blue, or the regualrs kicked off to the landlord, as we have seen it only takes one phonecall to the local paper and everything is blown out of proportion (I'm not implying that this ever would have been the case in this instance).
Discussing this things as they occur, may feel like they are being blown out of proportion but we can all learn from mistakes and talking about such things will prevent future oversights or problems.
C x
I can see both sides of it Calista and normally I'd keep out of it but Devon1 did a good job of organising the event and I don't think he deserves all of what was being aimed at him.
I know what could have happened, there's always a risk with any munch you go to - there is an aspect of risk in everything we do.
I'm not saying it's right or wrong that there were so many non SH folk there - as it was, nothing bad did happen but I can see the concern that is being shown is probably a good thing. We all learn from experiences so I guess the discussion is needed.
I guess I'll shut up now lol

:D

30 Oct 2005

Quote by Sexysteph
Am really glad everyone had a smashing time - well done Devon1.
I am gonna put something to the masses tho. Cast minds back to the very very successful Burton On Trent munch. This was NOT held in an exclusive facility and like the plymouth munch had vanilla people in the place who did ask questions. They never minded us invading their space but neither was there this form of uproar either following it.
At Notts we had the upstairs private area but hands up those of us who went into the technically vanilla area to get get drinks - I know I did and I chatted to vanilla people. Yes we explained that it was a private party so we could not invite them up to join in but people were curious .
At Leicester we had a couple of nosy guys wanting to know what it was all about and we just laughed and said we were a chess club dawn where that came from :lol2:
My point is no matter where we go - whatever venue we are going to have curious people. We get our own areas as often as we can but with the Munch ethos being a vanilla atmosphere there should be nothing to draw attention to the group.
Yes Munches are arranged for SH people but unless we start paying extortionate rates we will not be able to get the venues in central locations. The going rate for a city centre venue in Leicester is on average Â£200 God knows what it is down south or up north and I will bet its even more in London. It is only when we pay these sort of prices can we Stop the minglement with vanilla people other than bar staff.
OK they are my observations feel free to pull them apart but I say WAY TO GO Devon1 and his team - WELL DONE.

:thumbup:
Mind you someone, who shall remain nameless but is obviously very enthuisiastic PMd me this morning to say that a suitable venue in Cardiff could be had for Â£25! I know it well and concur.
Sarah!!

31 Oct 2005

Hello and welcome to PlymGal!
Firstly, I hope that you, a new member, and if I'm right in thinking that you are the person that was wearing the "What the FCUK is going on?" badge, then I think you will be an enthusiastic contributor, and I hope you haven't been scared away by people concerned about Munch security, hope to see you posting again biggrin

Chris...
Now, to contribute to the hi-jack (any chance of splitting of the hi-jack to a seperate thread and leave the new members post seperate for people to welcome her as is customary?)
This munch was held in a public bar, not seperated at all from members of the public, as has been said, the people that were invited knew that and made their own choices. There was no door security as we did not have exclusive access to the area, but it's not the first munch to have been like that.
If PlymGal was who I think she is, then it was me, and not Postie that wrote up the badge for her, and told her the name of this website. There was a lot of socialising going on beween site members and the 'normals', and a great time was had by all, I think.
In answer to Emily, I don't think these people were in the scene, and they were all over 18.

31 Oct 2005

Quote by plymgal
hi all....i was in the pub on saturday night with my daughter and niece..postie made us badges lol..just want to say what a great bunch you are xxxx

Hiya and welcome!
can't claim credit for the badges unfortunatley, though nice to see you posting here and nice to meet you last night!
And while i am here..... yep, it was mixed, it was a bit wierd, but it turned out ok, Devon1 did a fantastic job in geting it up and running, especially as he doesn't live in Plymouth, but chose Plymouth as it was a central location for EVERYONE in the South West Devon/ Cornwall/ Zummerzet/ Bristol etc. Top notch fella ! :thumbup:
(although for the rest of us it seemed like it was a million miles away) :D

31 Oct 2005

Quote by postie
(although for the rest of us it seemed like it was a million miles away)

Ooooh you fibber... you told me it was a 886 mile round trip and it wasn't even that.
And how the HELL did your postman's shorts end up in my bag pray tell? :shock:

31 Oct 2005

Organising any Munch is bloody hard work,we all know that.
Everyone makes errors in judgement,cockups etc.I can hold my hands up to that.
It sounds to me like this should perhaps have been termed a mini munch,purely for the public nature of the reading what some have said,it seems the PM's for the event established it was not an exclusive venue.
I wouldn't dream to say I/we were experts on munches,but,my one alarm bell is this.......
Most Munches are held on "someones" doorstep,chatting to vanillas,having a laugh,is all well and good,but what if the organiser or one of the munch attendees bumped into said vanilla in the supermarkket or at the local nightclub or even at their kids school!.Said vanilla decides to get stroppy/take the piss,people can be all for the fun of meeting a bunch of swingers :giggle: ..........But in sober light of day,may find it more amusing to do said swingers harm..........
Maybe this is a bit too much of a rant,no munch is 100% secure,but shouldnt we all try to do our best that they are at least 90%?

31 Oct 2005

Quote by Ice Pie
(although for the rest of us it seemed like it was a million miles away)

Ooooh you fibber... you told me it was a 886 mile round trip and it wasn't even that.
And how the HELL did your postman's shorts end up in my bag pray tell? :shock:
You know what..... i have been wondering that myself.... I wasn't even wearing them at any point! Bizarre....
Fair point on the miles thing, 879 miles, nowhere near 886 miles.... lol

31 Oct 2005

Quote by postie
chose Plymouth as it was a central location for EVERYONE in the South West Devon/ Cornwall/ Zummerzet/ Bristol etc. Top notch fella ! :thumbup:
(although for the rest of us it seemed like it was a million miles away)

Agreed! Plymouth is such a long, long way away. At least us 'northerners' had the sense to put everywhere about 1.5 hours away from everywhere else, you southern muppets have to put everywhere 3 bloody hours away from anywhere!