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'Fest '14 - 'The Shakedown'

Some of the tone here really irks me.

I, and Barbora, really wanted to come. We talked about and missed you guys throughout the weekend.

If I'm supposed to feel bad, that I let the club down, because we have prioritised the preparations for, not to mention the financial cost of, our wedding; well it seems unlikely.

We were gutted not to be there, to not see a whole bunch of folks we care about, and to have a break which I dearly need.
We will be there next year and we'll continue to support the club as best we can. I don't need to make excuses.
 
Jim, I don't think that's what's intended. You were there last year and many of us know genuinely that you wanted to be there. Those things just happen. The point lies more with the vast majority of non attendees. Let's say out of 1000 people, as a plucked out of thin air number, were the total number of registered users of the OC, that it is perfectly reasonable that a percentage of those people will be unable to attend due to last minute circumstances etc, a percentage will be tied into working i.e people in the forces, a certain percentage is those that talk the talk every year, have an opinion on everything, praise all the pictures and mingle in to the after chat like they were there but never have and never will go, a certain percentage of people being non campers etc etc. Surely, in any which way you look at it, that does not leave roughly 20-30 people from 1000 that could do Fest?

Other clubs have huge turnouts for their annual campouts.

Maybe it's a generational thing perhaps? Maybe our primary age range is above that of other clubs who do similar?

As I said above, you're an exception as those who were there last year and those who speak to you individually know that you wouldn't have missed it unless absolutely necessary.

So let's take the 11 Cougars, 6 non Cougars and the exception like yourself Jim, take that off the 1000...that's where we're at.

Whilst it's never gonna be everyone's bag, it surely deserves a better turn out than it does. The club attends shows like Ford Fair, as an example, where the Cougar isn't really bothered about and this year wasn't even included! They're now going to be dumped on a disused part of the track. Yet the only Cougar specific event of the year gets squat? Even the one dayers aren't coming any more!

The die hard fans of Fest will always go if possible lol, you included Jim.
 
scunnycougar said:
Could we possibly get away from it being labelled as excuses?
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No not really, I've not labelled anybody in particular but after 9 years and 10 Cougarfests, I have seen my fair share of excuses from people in that time. I don't see why it could possibly needle you when you have already given your reason for not attending.
There are people that were coming this year that, frankly came out with ******** when the time drew closer, if you want names, they are neil, stewart and Alan Pollard, his car hasn't just suddenly eaten it's tyres, so his excuse is weak at best.
 
It came across rather differently to me and clearly to others (Jim/Rich Elliott)

There is a distance between good reason/excuses but that seemingly got rather blurred.

And Cougarfest is not exclusive in the regard of people having to drop out with good reason/excuses even at the last minute.

As much as it would be great to diarise all cougar club related events and plan around them, its not that simple.
 
What the hell happened to this thread!

Like dogs chasing tails. Is there actually any point in all of this? the end result is self injury. We have cougarfest, we have members who will attend, we have even more members who will not attend. Reasons why we do or why we don't, needs no justification at all to anybody imo. I have attended since 2007 every year, why! because i love it. If/when i decide not to for what ever reason will be my business to share or not to share if i see fit.
All we ever need to do is let members know, about fest, like this thread, if they want to attend they will, it's simple enough. Push people and the majority will back off. Everyone who ever attended CF repeats that attendance for one reason, and that is because of the friendship/comradeship/social and the odd drop of alcohol :) and somewhere in the reasoning is the cougar that gets us there.
Let's just continue to enjoy fest for what it is, regardless of numbers.
Just about to click SUBMIT, then thought, well, the numbers at this fest were small in comparison to previous years, but the enjoyment levels for me personally were no different to any other years, and next year will be just as enjoyable. We just need some snow for a change :rolleyes:
 
You're always going to get a number of people who genuinely intend to attend these sorts of things but as the date draws near they find themselves just not feeling like it. No reason is perhaps apparent, but an 'excuse' is given because in our culture it's rude to just say it like it is and state "I really can't be arsed with this". Maybe stress from work, maybe a strong desire to do something else that weekend. Who knows.

It's going to happen. Being pragmatic, is it better or worse if those that develop a desire not to go just excuse themselves or go under duress and resent being there?

As most know, I'm quite blunt at times. I just can't be bothered. There are loads of things I'd rather do than commit a long weekend to a car meet. Infact I'm the opposite to some in that because my working life is so schedule and commitment orientated I simply avoid committing to virtually anything in my own time. I'm not going to make any effort to pencil a date in to a diary because I want to keep my options open. I'm a fragile creature and am not good at making good of situations I don't want to be in. Perhaps Stewart, Neil and Alan just need to keep their diaries clear too rather than saying they'll go to things they may not want to nearer the time.

If it's any consolation, Pistonheads is huge and gets miniscule turnouts for regional meets and runs. I don't bother to attend those either - I just read the similar frustrations on there. Jaguarforums is a similar story.

I believe expectations need to be adjusted. It simply doesn't appeal to the vast majority of people. Those who aren't 110% sure should probably not lead people to believe they're going though.

I suppose, and it wont be any more appealing to newcomers, that older members may only want to go if they think they'll be there with old acquaintences - i.e. there may be less motivation to turn up when you're likely going to be back to square 1 in a field full of strangers - particularly those who no longer even have the car as something in common.

I'm waffling again. Live with it though - it ain't gonna change unless burlesque dancers are added to the entertainment.
 
The days of 30-40 cars at Fest are long gone and I seriously doubt they will ever return. To be honest, I enjoy Fest more now than I did on our first when it was 'bigger'. To hark back to a point made earlier - when there are larger groups of people who know eachother it's more intimidating for newer attendees (we didn't leave the front of the tent on our first Fest in 2010 on the first night!).

I think now it's more relaxed - a tighter knit group of people. This year's Fest has been the most enjoyable since the year on the lake front. We will attend year on year because we love it. We tend not to have a summer holiday as we go away out of season for Kathy and my own birthdays so Fest is kind of a short summer getaway for us. Fest is a unique event and long may it continue :beer:

As for some other shows, we've tended to walk away from them - Ford Fair being the main one. FF to me is just the same thing every year - wall to wall Focae and the 'forgotten' Fords (i.e. Cougars) condemned to the outer reaches near the gates never to be seen.

We tend to enjoy the 'sleepover' events more than the others - Fest, Blackpool, Combe (and this year the hotel stopover before Harewood). They offer a better social experience to us where you can relax, have a few beers and a jolly good laugh. Yes the fuel bills can be expensive but these tend to be spread out over the year and can also be helped by missing some other shows.

Fest - not to be missed (IMO) :)
 
Fest has changed dramatically for me over the years, when I started cougar ownership I wanted to learn about the car, people modifying their cars were an inspiration because everyone was so passionate about there cougar. I used to attend cougarfest to learn about my car and see how to do repairs or modification's and basically to get advice. Gradually as the years have rolled by its the same faces that you see at shows with the odd new face here and there, the cars don't change much, the emphasis moves from the car to the friendships you have made and the people you may only see once or twice a year.
I don't think anyone can play down my passion and determination to keep my cougar on the road even if the V8 plans have been shelved. I have had several occasions recently where logic would have said give up and move on, even the issues I have with the club pale into insignificance when it comes to it. I like to think I offer sound advice and there are only a couple of jobs I haven't yet tackled so I have a wealth of experience that I don't mind sharing. I have made a lot of friends on this forum over the years and solidified that friendship at annual meets, yes I would like to see 30+ cougars at cougarfest in the future but realism tells me that will never happen. Once you realise that it doesn't actually matter if you have people down south who wont travel above the Watford gap, people up north that wont come south of the M62 or people in the midlands who wont travel anywhere, just enjoy your cougar, enjoy your forum and if you want to attend enjoy a show or 2 (y)
 
One thing that has been lost here is that when we have a fixed price fee for the ground rent, if payments are taken based on the people that say that they are attending, then people pull out at the last minute, it means inconvenience for the person that sorts out the event, more cost to those that have already paid or worse, the possibility that the organiser or the club will have to make up the shortfall.
Nothing has really changed in respect of people dropping out of shows in the last 10 years regardless of what show the booking is for, I have known people pay from their own pocket and lose money due to this issue, including myself, I even paid for ford fair in 2007 and was subsequently given a club cheque to reimburse me and it bounced. I still had the correspondence from the bank up to a few weeks ago.
You may wonder what my interest is, after all, I don't even own a Cougar now, I had spent a lot of money on the car that I had, upwards of £18,000 excluding maintenance and the purchase price, I have spent many hours on here and I believe that I have been a good ambassador for the club at the shows that I attended between 2005 and 2012 with my car. I enjoyed every minute of it too. Despite having a different car, I still love this club and the good friends that have been made from us being part of it.
Some of us can't 'enjoy our Cougar' due to events beyond our control, but we still enjoy the time that we spend with our friends, can't help being a little disappointed that more people never gave it a chance though.
 
I won't take sides, but I do think that Rich makes some excellent points. Paul is also right in that yes, this is a car club and that's where our common interest lies, but that friendships are more enduring than metal could ever hope to be.

The time will probably come where Cougars at Cougarfest are a near minority. Maybe in 10 years' time we'll fondly remember that 'Fest where we got to thrap Jamie's V8, and wonder when it was that our cars started to only make an electrical whining noise.

It'll be what ever it is. But I have made friends here - some of whom don't even have Cougars anymore - who make my life richer for them being part of it. I hope that runs both ways.

Yes, it's all about the car to start with.

No, that's not where it ends.
 
I will be there unless I am physically prevented from doing so. Seriously, I've got this bloody tent now. Needs to be used.

How's that for commitment?
 
As far as I can possibly see, we will be there in cars other than Cougars. I can't lie, it wasn't quite the same as attending with a Cougar, but I still felt as welcome as if I had one there.

Let's do it!

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Just as a thought for Ford fair next year, why not hire Grendan for that weekend if possible, have a mad friday, sedate Saturday and do the show on sunday? Just a thought.
 
I say it every year. Barring war, earthquake, natural disasters of national proportions ;) act of God, erm, did i miss anything? I'll be there, in fact, on experience of doing something i really want to do, i'm sure i'd find a way even with a broken leg.........:LOL:.
Regarding members car model ownerships, not once over the long weekend did i distiguish one person from any other on their car type except when we were actually discussing it, so for me even now, fest is all about the people there, having a fun weekend.

Roll the calendar......................(y)
 
Richb said:
As far as I can possibly see, we will be there in cars other than Cougars. I can't lie, it wasn't quite the same as attending with a Cougar, but I still felt as welcome as if I had one there.

Let's do it!

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Just as a thought for Ford fair next year, why not hire Grendan for that weekend if possible, have a mad friday, sedate Saturday and do the show on sunday? Just a thought.
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Now that would be good :beer:
 
Richb said:
As far as I can possibly see, we will be there in cars other than Cougars.
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It wasn't a problem for me to see different blue ovals, and it wasn't a problem for me to see the winged 'M' Mazda logo, (come to think of it, that's similar in spirit to the Mercury logo that many of our Cougars wear. Huh.).

As far as I'm concerned - possibly not the admin message but I'm allowed my own opinion - turn up in whatever you've got.
 
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