----- Original Message ----- From: "Tarquin Mills" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [ql-users] QL 2000
Roy Brereton wrote: >> Dear All, > >For those with short memories, QL 2000 was organised by Roy Brereton > >with financial backing from Quanta. A subgroup was never involved in the > >event purely because that event was the first of its kind and it evolved > >very much on a 'business' approach as can be seen by the Quanta accounts > >for that period. The cost was in the region of �2,250.00 if I remember > >correctly. >As a matter of interest what made up the that large cost? This was a very sensible question and illustrates the businesslike way we should approach QL2004. I do not know why QL2000 cost so much, but it was worth every penny because of the great morale boost it gave to us all when the QL was a bit in the doldrums. What I had not known until now was that Roy Brereton had organised the show almost single handed. He really deserves our thanks. I remember one incident quite well. He had booked a show dinner for over 30 people, but the restaurant forgot to tell him they were closing for renovation. With only 24 hours to go he was able to find a new venue! Roy is right to remind us of the cost of these shows. QL2000 cost about �2,500, which is almost half of QUANTA's current income. We have to stop thinking of QUANTA as being a bottomless pit filled with money, and that means we cannot have QL2000 type shows willy-nilly. It surprises me in the circumstances that Roy then insists that if QL2004 is in the UK it must be at the Horizon Centre, the most expensive venue that QUANTA has used in recent years. (It is a requirement of the Horizon Centre that when you book them, you also have to book their catering team - think of the cost of two days wages for about 4 people.) Roy has also given the strongest hint possible that we cannot expect QUANTA to organise the event for us. If then we are really serious about QL2004, who is going to organise it? We no longer have a local user group in Portsmouth. It was for these purely practical reasons that I suggested the best way of achieving something like a QL2004 would be a souped-up (or is the correct terminology nowadays "sexed up") AGM. It is a two day event with a dinner. Most of the organisation is already in place. John Gilpin has promised to look for another venue if necessary. Dilwyn has already suggested items for an activity programme. And if QUANTA wants to play silly sods and not allow us to call it "QL2004", then we can hijack it and get our own back by calling it the "The not-QL2004 show". Geoff Wicks.
