Page 5 - NMRA Roundhouse March-April 2020

You’ll see in this issue photos and reports from our NMRA Winter Meet at Benson, Oxfordshire hosted by Mick Moignard and Keith Webb, among others. It was very encouraging to see so many mem- bers there, and non-members too, a few of whom joined that day.Your directors held a Board Meeting in the morning, cov- ering virtually everything that is happening in the Region at the moment.We were very pleased to hear that renewals are healthy for the coming year, and that we are able to welcome at least 6 new mem- bers for January alone. Renewal season is now upon us, so please stay with your Re- gion, friends: we all need each other, and there are very exciting times ahead.
After the meeting I was able to talk to
a number of you, and to make progress setting up the event you see in the panel below.Thanks to some quick joined-up thinking we are thrilled to be able to hold a 2020 NMRA Spring Meet.As you see this will be a two-day event, and I would like to encourage as many members as possible to support it, if you possibly can.
In my last FTHE I talked about what I see as the two biggest benefits of NMRA membership: fellowship and the AP. How might we define fellowship? I’d start
with friendship and support from other members, advice and encouragement, the social stimulation from sharing our enthusiasm, knowledge and skills, and
much more. It is perfectly possible to be a solitary model railroader, and I’m sure this works well for some, but there is so much more to be gained from joining with others, isn’t there?
We have 13 Divisions in the BR, and I hope to get in touch with all our Division leaders in the coming months. It’s clear to me that first contact for new members, in particular, needs to come from their local Division and getting them involved in Division activity.Then there are our Re- gional events, like Benson and the coming Spring Meet.
We only benefit from something if we invest in it, so may I encourage you all to consider how you interact with the
Region and your fellow members, and how perhaps you might invest a little more? Attending the next event near you could be a start, or maybe just calling or e-mailing a colleague?
Speaking of Division leaders and fellow- ship, I recall warmly my friendship with the late Geoff Meek of Calder Northern. Geoff and his wife Joan befriended me and my family, and would on occasion act as short-term child minders at Conven- tions, and entertain my sons Michael and Edward, so that I could go look at layouts, traders etc. I would come back after an hour, and they’d all be laughing, the boys guzzling cans of pop and bags of crisps. They would phone us on Boxing Day, just to speak to “the boys”. Lovely people indeed, and much missed.
When times are busy, I try to get up into my layout room at the end of the day and run something. I’ve found that just running my Doodlebug, with a flat car and caboose, from the timber railhead
at Medicine Lake up to the sawmill at Winton, a journey of about 5 minutes, is enough to give me a broad railroading smile as I head for bed.As Geoff always used to say at the end of his newsletters – Don’t forget, folks, Keep ‘em rolling!
Jonathan Small
Vice President NMRA British Region
vicepresident@nmrabr.org.uk
FROM THE HEAD END
NMRA Spring Meet
Saturday 18th April and Sunday 19th April 10am to 4pm
Sponsored and hosted by Mech Models
in conjunction with Black Diamonds
• Layouts
• Traders
• Members Bring and Buy Tables
• Hot and Cold Refreshments
• Free Parking
• £3 entry includes free tea or coffee
Mech Models
Unit 9, Lancaster Park, Newborough Road, Burton on Trent DE13 9PD Members Bring and Buy tables cost £10 for a single 4-foot table contact admin@mech.co.uk
Contributing to Roundhouse
If you have an idea for an article or have a story to tell then please, please, please send your comments, ideas, club or division news and announcements to editor@nmraroundhouse.co.uk
ROUNDHOUSE - March/April 2020
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NEW NMRA EVENT FOR 2020