Motor Caravanners Club

[enrico]

Good to see some new names appearing.Lets keep the message going.The more people that read it the better. I`ve done the very same thread on Motorhomefacts and thats had a huge amount of people reading and replying.All good stuff. >:-) >:-) >:-)

[olley]

[QUOTE]roger s - 2006-08-10 9:26 AM On the subject of RVs, have never seen one on either a CC or a C&CC rally but you see see quite a few on MCC rallies[/QUOTE] Only been on one CC rally and that was at the Shepton show this year, we went with them because they had electric. B-) as did a lot of other MHF members. And your right we where the only RV in the CC section. Olley

[spykal]

Hi all A few thoughts about the MCC and why we are members. We never ever imagined ourselves as ralliers...how wrong could we be, after more or less acidentally going to our first rally a few years ago, every weekend that we can manage now finds us at a rally, usually an MCC rally (sometimes a C&CC meet). We have visited some really great places and events which we would have found difficult to be near ( as in walking distance) without the presence of a MCC rally:... Examples of rallies at events...the Balloon Fiesta at Bristol, Steam Fairs at Castle Coombe & Llandysul, Upton upon Severn Jazz Festival. Examples of some superb rally spots we have enjoyed:... York , St Davids, Tintern Abbey, Bangor, Bath, Caldecot Castle, Longleat House (parked up with the Hippos next to us in the lake), Cheddar Gorge, Fort Paull (yorks), Burford...and many more. Our other interest now, since buying a motorhome is leisure cycling; we don;t do hills (lol): by attending different rallies that have been located next to some of the best traffic free cycleways, we have managed to cycle hundreds of miles of them.... the Tarka trail, Camel Trail, Taff trail, Kennet and Avon Canal, Gloucester Ship Canal,....the list goes on and on and we still have more to do. We enjoy and choose the rallies for the place that they are held , we enjoy the social side but that is not our prime concern at the moment. I can envisage a time where I would not wish to drive quite so far each time and then maybe we will become more involved with our local group. Other members we have met at rallies attend for nothing more than the social side, enjoying the like minded company of friends made at the rallies and the activities that are arranged by the rally hosts. Some posters have commented on the age of the members...it is true there are many more older members than younger ones ...and the activities held reflect this predominance.....we have not come across any Beach Volleyball or Wet Tee Shirt contests but Boules, Bingo, Dance and Quizes are popular.....we sometimes have a go at the Boules and Quiz but usually duck out on the Bingo and Dancing ( I cannot keep up with either (lol) ). We have never felt that we were being pressured to join in any of the activities..but they were there if we wanted to take part. Finally in these days of ever increasing costs....the fees to go to a rally are always kept to a minimum. We regularily go to rallies where the total cost for a Friday, Saturday and Sunday (up sticks at 5pm ish) is around £12. mike P.S. sorry if you read this on another forum...it took so long to write I thought it worth posting [url=http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopicp-151138.html#151138]there too[/url]

[enrico]

Hi Spykal All good stuff.I thought I`d read this somewhere before but thought I was going daft until you pointed out in your last paragraph that it was on another forum. :-D :-D :-D

[Guest starspirit]

Absolutely Spykal, couldn't have put it better myself! No frills cost effective camping with like minded folk. Far superior to pompous prententious expensive 'club' sites.

[enrico]

Wow Just over 3400 viewings on this and motorhome facts website.Perhaps the message is getting through.I hope so. A club just for m/homers................great. :-D :-D :-D

[Basil]

We read what you are all saying, but the image is still a problem. After looking through some of the photographs on the sections we feel that we are not ready to join the 'Mobile Derby and Joan Club' yet. We knew when we bought our first motorhome that they were looked upon as only being owned by OAP's and weirdo's and the MCC site just reinforces the first part of that. Although not an OAP I am retired so I suppose we more or less qualify on both counts!! :-D :-D :-D :-D P.S. I am probably wrong here but do I recall reading somewhere that Warners had taken on the running of the club?? Not that that is a problem in itself but if that is correct perhaps they can bring the club into the 21st century and make it more appealing to a younger audience as they have done in leaps and bounds with the motorhome shows!!

[Mel B]

I emailed the MCC the other day, giving some good comments as well as offering to help with their web page etc (I have some experience of producing one). I received a response today thanking me for my comments and offer, and that they are "reviewing their website format and considering a modern cms structured one to allow development", so keep your eyes on their website it looks like it's going to get better soon. Mel B

[Don Madge]

[QUOTE]Basil - 2006-08-14 4:15 PM P.S. I am probably wrong here but do I recall reading somewhere that Warners had taken on the running of the club?? Not that that is a problem in itself but if that is correct perhaps they can bring the club into the 21st century and make it more appealing to a younger audience as they have done in leaps and bounds with the motorhome shows!![/QUOTE] Basil Warners bought the ACC Auto Camping Club. Don

[Basil]

Ahhh yes! Thanks for that correction Don, what does that organisation do for motorhomers if anything??

[saruman]

seems that subject has spread like a virus from motorhomefacts forum :-D all good debate makes for a better club. ray cc member/ mhf member/ c and c member / whats next mcc (?) :-D :-D

[david lloyd]

Hi everyone Further to my earlier postings Vic Lancaster of the Motorcaravanners Club has now been in touch via e-mail (as he promised) to give a fuller response to this thread. He has given permission for this e-mail to be reproduced here as it clarifies all the various points raised by the different contributors. Here is his response: David, I have now studied the thread in depth and thought I would drop you a simple response addressing some of the points raised. Please feel free to post my comments if you think it is appropriate. The age thing Yes, we have older members We also have some younger ones who are still in work Not sure that the CC is materially different (age) from us - having visited their sites The cost of MHs often precludes, by necessity, a younger age group I am 61; there are several younger members on the Council Of Management The issue is not physical, it is how young you think and act. You should have seen the teams we entered last weekend into a Yorkshire rally ?fun sheepdog trials.? ( the members taking the place of shepherd, sheep etc. ) The ale helped. Rivalling the CC and C&CC We are a non-profit motorhome dedicated club No we won't be setting up campsite facilities Our focus is ( cheap ) UK & Continental rallying and services for those that want them Usually no need to book for a rally - a few exceptions You do not need to belong to other clubs to get appropriate publications We also facilitate camping carnets, Aires & Stellplatz books and other membership services plus a free monthly magazine We are able to authorise CLs where required We have some listed CLs and Safe Knights sites We are a non-profit organisation trying to serve our members at minimum cost and to that end, about to promote a network of Motorhome Stopover points across the UK; The first are already up and running. The MCC Web Site All points are valid We have already recognised the need and started work on improvement A Makeover Required Of course, and we are currently reviewing and brainstorming requirements We are all unpaid volunteers without the resources of the major clubs so some things take more time Also, I would suggest that a leisurely pace is not a bad thing in some areas Clearly, however, we must by more dynamic in others, particularly marketing and promotion Membership We would love to have more members, young and old We are not concerned about being swamped with applications We are also experimenting with online membership applications A larger membership would clearly give a greater 'voice' The comment 'change from within' is clearly important Volunteers are often hard to come by - in any club or organisation The upshot is that irrespective of perceptions and what has gone before, we are determined to move forward and provide Motorhomers with cost-effective services and facilities in pursuit of their hobby. We may fail in this endeavour but not from a lack of desire and effort. We welcome any support that can come from the wider Motorhome community who will benefit from our activities. Regards Vic Lancaster I have thanked Vic for taking the time to read the comments and respond accordingly. It appears to me that the MCC is, at least, prepared to listen to a wider view and has started to change from the perception held by those who may have contemplated being a member some years ago. He is right in saying that change can be slow - especially for a wholly voluntary organisation - but some of the issues are being tackled. In particular, this thread was initially about whether the MCC could offer the same sort of membership facilities to rival the two major clubs. Vic is straightforward in his response that the club will not be setting up its own campsites - but, it has already started down the road of trying to lobby councils for overnight stopovers which many more of us would welcome. The club seems to accept the limitations of the past but is also optimistic about wanting to change the way it operates for the future. I leave each of you to make up your own mind but, personally, I feel they would benefit from a larger membership base and, given time, could push forward for more and better facilities in this country. Best regards, david

[enrico]

David Thanks for that and please thank Vic Lancaster for his honest appraisal. I think it lays out what the club is like and will be like in the future.I personally am happy with it,lets hope other people are and support them. I feel I have gone on long enough with this thread so thanks everyone for participating and/or taking the time to read it.It has been most entertaining (!) (!) (!)

[david lloyd]

enrico et al Just thought I would follow up on this thread to let people know my own decisions based on the discussion that took place. Following the information received from Vic Lancaster and a phone call from another member of the management committee, Anne Bond, I decided that The Motorcaravan Club were indeed trying to come up to date and were getting involved with serious issues such as campaigning for more motorhome stopovers in the UK - next month they are launching, together with the magazine Practical Motorhome, their new campaign to encourage local authorities to establish these stopovers. I believe this changes the face of the club and, although they will need time to effect all the changes they would like to make to how the club runs, I am sure it will be more appealing to more motorhome users. A wider membership base would better inform the debate they have within the club and also accelerate the pace of such developments. For this reason I have now officially joined the club (I will be with the Yorkshire group) and have my membership card and welcome pack here before me. I am now looking forward to trying it out for the next year. Quite a few of those who posted on the thread expressed a new interest in the club and I wonder just how many have done likewise and decided to give it a try? Best regards, david

[carolh]

Charles and I joined at the Lincoln Midsummer Show. we also belong to the the C&CC and the Motor Caravan Section. we don't use club sites - but go to DA meets with South Lincs District Association. Carol

[mansell]

Hi Don, Barrie Middleton here, long time no see. Hope you are both keeping well and see you are still motor caravanning - there can't be many more folks more experienced than you two. I am the proud owner of a Hobby 600 and am interested in joining the Motor Caravanners Club but having difficulty finding information. Can you please provide me with all the information I would require. More to the point, it would be really nice to talk to you after all these years and pick your brains like I often used to. We are thinking of going for an extended run to the sun and as I know you have done this more than once you could probably point me in several directions. I have looked in the phone book but it seems that you are ex-directory so this is our home number 01964 533607 at Hornsea and this is my mobile 07971414770. It would be very nice to hear from you. Regards, Barrie.

[Don Madge]

Hi Barrie, It's great to hear from you again, I will most certainly give you a bell. Where's all those MMM's you promised to return all those years ago :-D So you finally got round to getting a van, you spent enough time going over ours. The Hobby's are a very nice outfit. We are both well but are cutting back on the long distance touring a little bit, 42,000 miles on the Timberland in three years, the spirit is willing but the flesh is getting a bit weak. :'( Details on joining the MCC are at http://www.motorcaravanners.org.uk/joining/tojoin.htm I'll talk to you soon. Regards Don & Maureen

[Frank]

[QUOTE]mansell - 2006-08-24 5:20 PM [/QUOTE] Hi mansell, I hope that you do not mind my mentioning it but you may be better removing your personal information and sending it to specifiic people by PM. Just a security precaution. Best wishes Frank

[Down1]

I wouldn't bet on the MCC listening! We have had ''problems'' within the NI Group for over a year now. All the ''problems'' stemmed from one member and the NI Group committee suspended that member - resolving the 'problem'. The Council of Management sent over 4 members to 'sort it out' and only succeeded in making things worse, insisting hat the member should be allowed back. They have now suspended our committee AND the entire GROUP! - The same Group who won again this years trophies for both recruitment AND retention. When I posted on the MCC site agreeing with another member who was saying they were disgusted with the treatment of a brilliant committee and all our members and asking if they could have their membership money back - the post was deleted! The letter we got informing us of the Group Suspension is on the MCC General Discussion Forum.

[Viclanc]

The MCC Does not enter into open forum debate on matters which concern the club and it's individual members. This is an emotive subject and whilst everyone is entitled to their opinions, uninformed debate is not only unhelpful, it is pointless. Victor Lancaster Director The Motor Caravvaners' Club Ltd

[Down1]

As I said - don't bet on them listening or discussing anything. Still no word on whether we can have or membership money back!

[mccScotland]

Before reaching for your chequebook to join the MCC you probably also ought to know that in Scottish MCC Group two members are suspended because they disagreed with the way the group is being ran . They are suspended for dissent and because they talked to others about it. Their suspension includes a written instruction not to talk to any other member of the MCC while suspended. Doesn't sound very democratic. 8-)

[david lloyd]

[QUOTE]mccScotland - 2006-09-28 4:07 AM Before reaching for your chequebook to join the MCC you probably also ought to know that in Scottish MCC Group two members are suspended because they disagreed with the way the group is being ran . They are suspended for dissent and because they talked to others about it. Their suspension includes a written instruction not to talk to any other member of the MCC while suspended. Doesn't sound very democratic. 8-)[/QUOTE] Yes - and, rather disturbungly, the message board on the MCC site has now been taken off as it has suddenly caught a virus - no word on when members can start posting messages again although the club promise that those messages referring to the suspensions will still be on there...!!? It's a worry. Regards, david ps - just noticed on their site that the club appears to have taken the decision not to resurrect the old message boards but, as a new website is required anyway, go down the route of developing a new website which will take longer.

[HymerGeoff]

I posted the following message on the MMC message board last week: I am intrigued but a little confused about the CoM letter to our MCC friends in the NI Group. How can the CoM possibly say ".......as a result of these investigations Council have concluded that the Northern Ireland Group has been mismanaged." when the disciplinary hearing has not yet commenced? "Council intend to bring charges of misconduct against the individual members of the current Northern Ireland Group committee, with a view to taking as part of the normal disciplinary process, disciplinary action against them." Again there seems to be an implied outcome that some form of disciplinary action is inevitable. Are these rules being made up as we go along? It is a little unusual in a democracy to effectively give a finding of 'guilty' prior to the hearing or is the hearing just to award the punishment! Have any of the allegations been put to the individuals concerned yet, along with any evidence supporting the charges of misconduct? It does not seem to be the case reading the messages from those about to be charged. The CoM seem to be shooting themselves in the foot. Writing the letter in such a way was ill advised and it is hardly surprising that many see the actions of the CoM as being unfair to the NI Group. It would be interesting to see the CoM's disciplinary procedures to confirm that they are being adhered to in the interests of fairness and impartiality. Irrespective of any disciplinary hearing outcome, it would be right and proper for the CoM to apologise sincerely to those involved for misleading members to believe that mismanagement and misconduct were factual rather than just alleged. Reputations will undoubtedly have been tarnished by the letter. I would have thought that those responsible for its wording have made their positions on our CoM somewhat untenable. BTW (If anyone is out there) I am also confused about the message on the website saying this message board is not available!!! I managed to get on the MCC forum's message board by following the link from my initial registration confirmation email. A reply to my post was regarding a Council Member being in breach of Article 43 of the Club rules by selling motor caravan accessories from a business he runs at http://www.antennasystems.co.uk/ My message was viewed 60 times and then the message board mysteriously disappeared and I could no longer access it. Whilst Vic Lancaster (Director MCC) says uninformed debate is unhelpful, he should be made to understand that we are not concerned with what we do not know but we are concerned with what they have already said and the procedures they are adopting against the NI Group and its Committee. The webmaster says the discussion board has closed down because "A piece of malicious software found its way past the first level of security." How are they going to explain this when it all comes out into the open! The discipinary hearing for the NI Committee is tomorrow. Lets hope it is fair and the MCC show leadership and professionalism. It would be a pity to see the Club torn apart because the of the Council of Management making decisions like a bunch of corrupt amateurs!

[david lloyd]

Hi everyone It's some time since this thread was posted but I thought I would just make a final addition showing that the MCC has started to take some action on the points raised. Their new website is now up and running and can be found at: http://www.motorcaravanners.eu//index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 It certainly is an improvement on the previous one and I hope it is an indicator that the club is taking on some of the points raised. Regards, David