AV News 190 - Novembert 2012
The Last ‘Great Northern’ ?
Life is full of milestones and watersheds. We've just had a watershed
moment. We were trying to find a time when we could get married. This
highlighted that our life somewhat resembled a conveyor belt of
commitments which we couldn't stop. We are going to have to give up
something. Howard is occupied more and more at the Guild, we don't want
to give up WGAVG or our lecturing, dayschool and writing activities, so, with
a great sense of reluctance, but a massive sigh of relief, we have decided
that 2013 will be the last Great Northern that we will organise.
We only took over the GN, at relatively short notice, and in the absence of
any other volunteers, to prevent it being lost when the previous
administration retired. 2013 will be the 14th that we have organised. AV has
changed dramatically in that time. It used to be regarded as an art form.
Nowadays more and more people seem to regard it as a technological arms
race - all expecting sequences to run 'just like they do on my equipment at
home' possibly without realising that their equipment may be set up quite
differently from that of another entrant who nevertheless has the same
expectations. Much of our learning seems to be directed towards what we
need to know in order to run a festival. We'd prefer to be learning what we
need to know to make better sequences.
Next year Suzanne will be seventy so we feel that this is the right time to
cut back on organisation and concentrate a bit more on going out, taking
pictures and making sequences whilst we still can.
We sincerely hope that a new committee will take over the reins, either at
Wilmslow or at some other location. We have given more than 12 months'
notice so that, hopefully, we can arrange an orderly handover.
Howard & Suzanne Gregory.
18th Great Northern Festival
Wilmslow Guild, Cheshire SK9 5HD
Closing Date for Entries 10th November
Last Date for Booking Lunches 17th November
Friday 30th November 7.30 pm
Andy Lound - Pale Blue Dot
Saturday 1st December 10.00 am
The Great Northern AV Competition
Sunday 2nd December 10.00 am
RPS North West AV Day
More details & booking forms available on
www.wilmslowguildav.org.uk & www.avnews.org.uk
Page 40