Great Western Coffee Shop

http://www.railfuture.org.uk/conferences/

15th16th May - AGM  {corrected - Grahame - 27 Jan}

20th June - Conference in Newark
Speakers:
David Horne, Managing Director, East Midlands Trains
Andy Sparks, Bid Director for East Coast franchise, Stagecoach Rail
Roger Blaney, Chairman, Newark and Sherwood District Council
Steve Barber, Broxtowe Borough Council (talking about NET2 Nottingham Tramway Extension)
He was awarded Campaigner of the year for his success in gaining government approval for NET2
Representative from Great Central Railway (talking about Reunification project at Loughborough)
Additional speakers are still being sought

7th November - Conference in Bristol
Details yet to be confirmed

Some other upcoming events from Rail Express - Railfuture's electronic newsletter - and other sources

21 March 2015 - Railfuture Wessex Branch AGM in Fareham.
11th April 2015 - Railfuture Severnside AGM.
16 May 2015- AGM of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group at the WI Hall in Moreton-in-Marsh from 1030

Grahame -

The Railfuture national AGM is also on May 16, not as you list in the post before last. Hugely annoying for those that want to artend both

Corrected - thanks for noting that.

The 7th November meeting hosts the presentation of Railfuture's Rail User Group awards - deadline for submission of entries is for them to arrive by the end of next Tuesday (see the RailFuture website for details of where they must arrive!).

I used to look at these award ceremonies as a cross between self-congratulatory narcissism and a fund raising racket by the organisers of the oft-associated event - and that was a view firstly from the outside and secondly founded on experience when we (that's Well House Consultants) entered such a competition a few years back.  It proved to be a very expensive way of getting a paperweight.   But may I be allowed a "U" turn on certain of the awards - and in that I'm going to include both the RailFuture ones in this thread, and the ACoRP ones for which entries were submitted a while back, with presentations on 1st October.

Why have I turned?

Firstly, because the very act of entering the competition has you look at yourself / your nominations, analyse and document them and learn from so doing.

Secondly, because it gives the nominator a really good and public chance to say THANK YOU to those nominated or helping with the nominated project - and in RailFuture and ACoRP cases they are almost inevitably people who volunteer / help far beyond any call of duty, and often unseen.

Thirdly, because the events provide a really useful networking opportunity to meet up with others who are involved in similar activities, and at a time when they're thinking about those other activities.

Fourthly, because you see the presentation of best practise in the price summaries and presentations of others

Fifthly, because there are excellent spinoffs in terms of publicity for the groups / projects involved which help forward those groups / projects.

Sixthly (am I allowed a selfish one?), it's a busman's holiday - I get a chance to observe how events are run by others, sometimes to see how they run their hotels, etc.

Next Saturday - 7th November - Bristol - "Rail Resurgence in the West of England"

Speakers include
Matthew Golton, Bid Director, Great Western Railway
James White, Transport and Rail Co-ordinator, West of England Local Enterprise Partnership
James Freeman, FirstBus
Charlotte Leslie MP, Bristol North West constituency
John Parry, Parry People Movers
Peter Wakefield, Chairman, East Anglia branch, Railfuture
Gerard Duddridge, Chairman, Devon & Cornwall branch, Railfuture

I am advised that there's still a limited number of places available at ^30 a pop - visit
http://www.railfuture.org.uk/conferences/#2015_bristol
for details.

Starts at 10:45 (coffee from 10 a.m.), finished by 17:00 - lunch included - venue just a short(isn) walk from Temple Meads Station.

I'm going - are you??

yup.....~I'm last on the morning agenda, just before lunch :-)

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