Great Western Coffee Shop

Venue now set - the Great Western Hotel, Taunton.    This has been in the diary for quite a while ... I'm afraid I got rather tired of chasing venues (and have felt sh***y the last three weeks, so please don't be too annoyed with me for not having done the agenda yet) and booked the above when I was there today.  Room from 10:30 for an 11:00 start. Agenda to be posted here tomorrow, and emailed on Saturday all voting members. Noting the concerns.  Update motions (if any) next week ... all welcome, though members who are not frequent posters don't get a vote.  Expect to be finished around 3 p.m.   Plenty of daylight left to take pictures of Taunton Station for "where is this" quizzes.   Opportunity to plough down to The Plough afterwards.

Yes, but, voting closes AFTER date of meeting ?

Sorry - I moved a bit to the right (on my keyboard).   Made it run for 28 days not 17.   Now adjusted.   As the setting if an integer number of days, I need to go in tomorrow morning to have it end in the morning ...

Modified to close an hour before the meeting starts.

I really must break my duck on attending Coffee Shop events at some stage but it is my more glamourous half's birthday weekend then and the consequences of missing that are unmentionable. Lovely though Taunton is, I doubt a "get away from it all" weekend there would go down too well.  :o

Grahame, what constitutes a “frequent poster” to qualify to vote?

A member who has posted at least 10 times in total (you are well qualified) and has been logged in at least once in the last 12 months and still have the ability to log in (clearly you are well qualified as you've just posted).

It's (deep) in the draft constitution - see http://gwr.passenger.chat/1761 - and that's something that comes up for ratification / adjustment at the AGM and we'll be voting to formalise and adopt.  The admins will be asking for any proposals for change over the next week - getting them in a week before the actual meeting so that people can chew them over. 

A weekend away for you both in Taunton; unlimited spending in shops therein for good lady & a day in the forum for yourself.
Still time to yourselves before and after?

Just a thought.......

I shall express my apologies here, as this will be my second day on this year's All Line Rail Rover ticket. If all goes according to plan, at 1030 that morning I will be half way from St Pancras to Nottingham to "do" Nottingham - Lincoln - Barnetby, another line I've never used before.

It is indeed - it's just that some parts of it (mainly in and around the railway station) I can't seem to remember.  ::)

However, I do remember having many excellent pints in The Plough, with members of the Coffee Shop forum, after various previous meetings, so I look forward to meeting as many of you as are able to attend on 8th June.  ;)

I expect to visit the Plough and hope to attend the meeting also.
At about what time is the meeting expected to conclude and how many of us expect to visit the plough ?

We have the room booked to 3 p.m; my train back (last of day) is 16:28 and I will partake of a brief pint.

Here is (http://gwr.passenger.chat/cs_agmagenda_20190608.pdf) the Agenda and Calling Notice for the AGM on the 8th June.

Please remember to "vote" to say if you are planning to attend.

I'll be travelling down on the first through train of the day from Westbury which will get me there in time for the 1100 start.  Yes the first train is really that late (0959 ex WSB). I can stay for a pint afterwards and will probably travel home on the same train as Grahame

The timing has been somewhat selected to allow that down train.  The venue is literally across the forecourt from the southern station exit on the platform that most trains headed west arrive at.    I was minded to travel down on that train too, but as one of the significant players at the meeting I had better stick with defensive scheduling and travel the long and more expensive way round.

I hope to attend

(BTW Last train from Taunton to Melksham is 16:12 via Westbury or 16:50 via Bristol and Trowbridge)

Formal notice sent out by email ... to the 275 of you who are voting members.  Five have bounced straight away ... if you would have expected to be a voting member (in "Frequent posters" and visited the forum recently) and have NOT received an email, please check that your registered address with the forum is current and correctly spelled!

Bump - for NEXT Saturday (8th June 2019) - Coffee Shop AGM, Taunton.   ALL welcome. If you haven't done so already, please sign up via the poll on this thread / tell us is you're coming or not.

For the AGM, I have taken a look through all the suggestions made during earlier discussions and rolled them into this set of changes to address the various points raised.   Reference copy at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/constitution .

... I am proposing the following changes

1. Email wording "has not reached that member" to "is no longer valid"

2. Add "or voting by proxy"

3. Add to definitions "all moderators and administrators are considered to be members of the committee"

4. Add "for the purposes of accounting and budget reporting, our year shall be considered to be the calendar year"

5. Change notice period for proposals to change the constitution from 14 to 7 days

6. Once the above are done, number sections for easier future reference

... and I am proposing that the following be left unchanged

a. No reference to GDPR (Constitution is written so that we must follow GDPR and I am reluctant to add in reference to something who's name may change)

b. No adding in appeals procedure - see threads 1761 and 21191 as they cover it

c. Two signatories on bank account, structure of organisation, insurance all discussed and confirmed in thread 21184 - no need to change constitution

To help readers, I have cut the changes into the constitution (though I have not yet numbered the sections) to highlight the suggested changes.

---

Constitution

* Constitutions have been around a long time, and tend to be written around groups / organisations which physically meet at their core.  We don't, so some parallels have been drawn (to help traditional-minded readers) and abstraction and changes to modernise are necessary.

* There is a tendency for some of the constitutions we have read to get very detailed, and that is something we're looking to avoid.

Identity

The name of the Group is the Great Western Coffee Shop Forum

The operating name of the internet forum shall be Great Western Coffee Shop as of the date of adoption of this constitution. This may be changed by a vote of a simple majority of the moderators, described in paragraphs following, in (for example) the light of changes in the operation or name of the Great Western Railway.

Objectives

The purposes of the Group are:
* providing a voice for the community
* promoting sustainable, healthy and accessible travel
* bringing communities together, supporting diversity & inclusion
* supporting social and economic development

To work towards these aims, the Group will operate an internet forum for discussion of matters relating to the Great Western Railway primarily, railways and public transport generally and connected topics.
The forum works on a partnership ethos and aims to fulfil its aims through the pillars of community rail as laid down by organisations such as the Department for Transport and ACoRP.

The Forum plans to be a permanent contributor to its aims, updating as appropriate through other avenues of technology.  It may also arrange and join events that may be of interest to current and potential members and publish information about relevant events arranged by third parties.

Membership

Organisations typically have members, committee and officers, and often a mailing list of interested parties that goes beyond members, and welcome guests to their meetings. For the Coffee Shop:

Guests are welcome to read any public pages, all of which contain links to allow them to email the administrators, and to the registration page if they want to move on to the next stage.

Members are people who've agreed to the forum agreement and who's registration has been accepted by an admin - checked with the moderator team if in doubt.

Voting Members are members who have posted at least 10 times or are otherwise in frequent posters. To be a voting member you are required to have logged in at least once in the last 12 months, and still have the ability to log in (so if you're banned, you're not a voting member)

This threshold of 10 posts ensures that we have active and confirmed genuine people taking part in any votes outlined in the constitution.  The forum has some members who, whilst logged on and reading (sometimes with many days of presence to their credit) haven't even introduced themselves and without physical meetings, phone calls, email exchanges, we really don't know them; the "10 posts" rule closes what could be a loophole in our ongoing purpose and security. 

You may wonder about "or otherwise in frequent posters". On one occasion I can think over in the 10 years since Frequent Posters was set up, we have promoted someone we knew very well into a moderator role just shy of the 10 posts - and an excellent decision it was too. We also have a technical admin who we can ask for help in an emergency; never had the emergency, but that person should have a vote.

Moderators are members who have been invited to, and agreed, to take on a watching brief when they're on the forum - to greet and assist.  And on the rare occasions where something's seriously needing attention in a more negative way to help deal with that.

Administrators are the handful of members who are deeply involved with daily operations of the forum.  The Webmaster is a technical administrator with admin authority and the ability to take backups, upgrade software, reconfigure server parameters, etc as appropriate for the continued running of the forum.

all moderators and administrators are considered to be members of the committee

For the purpose of these rules, all administrators are also moderators and all moderators are also voting members.

A comparison to a regular group may be useful but does not form part of the constitution

The moderators shall be responsible for the overall operation of the Group, including but not limited to:
* raising funds, including receiving grants and donations
* procurement of technology services to facilitate operation of the internet forum
* preparation maintenance and application of the forum agreement and a code of conduct for members
* admission of members to the group, maintenance of a membership list, and reviewing membership
* protection of members’ data in accordance with legislation.

Membership is open to any individual who agrees to the forum agreement and demonstrates adherence to it and the code of conduct through their activities. The forum was set up by passengers, for passengers, but welcomes members from the rail industry and local and central government too. Employees of the rail industry or local and central government which relate to the topics discussed on the Coffee Shop will not normally be considered for appointment as moderators or administrators.

New moderators and administrators are appointed by the current administrators based on a discussion and a vote there if the outcome of these discussions is not clear, requiring a two thirds majority of those voting in a poll that's open for at least 7 days to be carried.  The process of appointing a new moderator or administrator can be instigated at any time by any existing administrator or moderator. The agreement of the proposed new moderator or administrator much be obtained before their appointment and before any vote is taken or before any change of status is applied.

Membership may be withdrawn from any person who does not adhere to the forum agreement and code of conduct. The decision shall be confirmed by a simple majority of the moderators. The member shall have the right to submit a statement to the Committee before a final or permanent decision is made, and shall be informed of the reason for any such decision. The nature of the forum is such that a withdrawal of membership as described here will normally be as a last resort.

Moderator or admin rights may be withdrawn from a moderator or admin following the same guidelines as withdrawal of membership.

Annual General Meeting

An Annual General Meeting shall be held to which all voting members will be invited at least 21 days before the meeting takes place. The meeting will take place between 31st March and 31st October and will be held at a location within the geographic area covered by the forum and accessible by public transport.  The meeting will be free of charge to members, but it will be up to individual members wishing to attend to meet their own costs of getting to the meeting unless prior agreement from the moderators.

Notice of meetings will be sent to the registered email address of voting members. Members will not be considered to be a voting member if it comes to the attention of the moderator team that an email sent from the forum to the member's registered address has not reached that member is no longer valid, and the moderator team will not be responsible for taking further steps to try to deliver the email. A public post will also be made on the forum to alert all readers to the meeting. Those two steps will be deemed sufficient notice of meeting.

The purpose of the AGM will be to receive reports from the webmaster, the treasurer, and others and to consider any changes to the constitution which have been proposed.  Such proposals must be notified to the admin team at least 14 7 days prior to the meeting, and indicate the support of at least 5 voting members.

The meeting will also confirm the appointment of the moderator and admin team 'en block', with a two thirds majority of those present or votng by proxy and at least 30 votes required to block the confirmation.  In the event of the re-appointment failing, an extraordinary general meeting will be called within three months; procedures will be agreed on the forum under such circumstances, or if procedures cannot be agreed the webmaster(s) has/have the final say on outcome.

The AGM will be minuted and the minutes circulated via the forum, with a vote to approve them as being an accurate record within 4 weeks of the meeting.

As well as formal business, the AGM will be an opportunity for furthering the aims of the forum via networking sessions and speakers.

Financial and operational

To date (financial year 2018/19) the Coffee Shop has been funded by the webmaster / founder with all activities undertaken the members (at all levels) on an unpaid voluntary basis. From the acceptance of this constitution, the forum will move to a financial and operational model which is designed to be sustainable and scaleable in the future.

Income streams may include (but not be limited to) corporate members, advertising revenue, marketing and sales of promotional and other products, donations and grants applied for. Income streams will only be accepted where they are in line with the objectives set out in this constitution. Membership at the levels set out in the constitution is and will remain free of charge and this can only change by resolution at an Annual General or extraordinary general meeting.

Expenditure may include (but not be limited to) web hosting and domains, software licenses and specialist programming and support services, marketing and advertising, insurance and covering voting member's reasonable expenses incurred for activities undertaken on behalf of the forum. It shall also the cost of the AGM and any EGMs.

The forum shall insure its members and volunteers against risks incurred in their duties undertaken for the forum. Volunteers will be required to consider safety and risk in their activate for the forum

A Treasurer shall be appointed from amongst the moderator and admin team who shall look after the finances and operations and work on authorisations voted on or otherwise agreed "Behind the Counter". The treasurer shall be appointed for a period of one year.  The treasurer is also authorised to operate a bank account on behalf of the forum with transactions confirmed by another moderator.  The treasurer may hold other roles within the admin and moderator team and will be appointed by that team and from within it.

A set of unaudited accounts and a budget / forecast for the following year and years shall be produced by the treasurer. It will be the responsibility of the whole moderator and admin team to ensure that the forum's financial position is secure.

For the purose of accounting and budgetting , our year shall be considered to be the calendar year"

Winding up

Should the Coffee Shop forum vote at an AGM or EGM to disband (by a majority of two thirds of those present and at least 30 votes), the remaining team will undertake as orderly wind down as practical. The remaining team will distribute any residuary funds amongst community organisations with the geographic area which have similar aims to the forum as they see fit.

Should the number of voting members be less than 45, a simple majority of those attending the AGM or EGM will suffice for a decision.

AK/GE - 2019-03-10, updates 2019-03-12 and 2019-06-02

I'll be there.....need to catch the 1534 back towards Reading though

Look forward to seeing you, Chris!

Others / all - please take part in the poll so we can keep track of an ideas of numbers.

Note to all- be thinking of which of the elements of the various menus you make use of, and which elements are important to you (not necessarily the same thing) ... planning a session to help inform, though there may be difference between what you would like, what other members would like, what's possible without silly-+++ work on non-standard software changes, what's nit going to put. huge load on the moderator team, what's accessible for all, what's secure and perhaps other considerations  ;D ;D

An unadvertised express from Guildford to Kingswear calls from 11:11 to 11:23 and is shown on Real Time Trains as being a diesel hauled thing, but other sources suggest something more ancient.  Should a quick straw poll as people arrive suggest a brief adjournment would be welcome by more than 1 or 2, I'm sure would could drop the formalities back by half an hour and have useful but none critical networking up to that point.   Knowing how the specials tend to run a bit off schedule, we'll see how it's going on the day.

Looks as though it's this (http://www.railwaytouring.net/uk-day-trips/the-dartmouth-express)


You'll need a mass jumping-over-the-barriers to see it properly though

With my sincere apologies. I had expected to join the AGM on Saturday, but other commitments have intervened.Will make every effort to attend next meeting

Just a couple of comments on the constitution (probably already covered previously):

• typo in financial 'activate' should be activities.
• there is no comments re how a vote is handled except for choice of officers and winding up

Otherwise if you need a vote, 'yes' to constitution.

I dont think that I will atend the meeting.
No disrespect is intended thereby, but as the meeting is primariliy about administrative matters I rather doubt that I could contribute much of relevance or of use.
Whilst the subject is important, I am pleased to leave it those already innvolved.

I DO intend to visit the Plough afterwards and look forward to meeting others for a glass or two of beer.
I would be pleased to purchase beer, within reason, for those who have worked by attending the meeting.

What time should I get to the Plough ? I understand that the meeting room is booked until 15-00, but is in the expectation that the meeting will continue until 14-59, or is it likely to be over earlier than that.

I'm flattered by you faith but hugely disappointed.    After the admin formalities, there will be so much opportunity to take a look at the forum and discuss future developement.    For sure, most of that will continue here online but the meeting will be a valuable feeder:
* What is important on the menus and what do people not use / could do without?
* What is missing that you would like?
* Are any board splits / joins / additions / removals wanted?
* Does the forum want at any point to have a list of generally supported policies
* Wider activities / memberships etc - merchandising for promotion? or effective campaign training? Social meets??  Award Entries?


Having got people all that way it's intended to make it utter useful to 14:59 and 59 seconds.   ;D. ... seriously, may break up a little earlier, but not much I wouldn't expect.   We have decided to go without guest speakers to ensure we have plenty of time for those discussions noted and it would be really good if you could join us from lunchtime onwards, even if not the whole day ... your inputs would be so valuable.

Having confirmed the meeting room is dog friendly I'm pleased to say Finn will also be attending the AGM!

He won't have a vote though.   ;D

Delighted to see him ... we'll be counting attendees by counting legs and dividing by two  ;D so his presence will be doubly welcome.  However, as he has not yet posted enough to be in frequents posters, he'll have a voice but no formal vote.


Oh my goodness ... we have a hot admin team  :D :D ...

Blast! And I can't come! In-law side of family, three line whip and threatened withdrawal of, er, goodwill have been hinted at, in the way a charging rhinoceros might hint. It could be subject to a late call-off though, in which case I will be there.

I live in hope. I've been to funnier funerals.

One word of warning should anyone be driving to the AGM.

The roads through Taunton town centre are closed all day Saturday for the Cricket World Cup match at the County Ground.

Access to the station on the north side of Taunton shouldn't be too problematical as the closure doesn't start until nearer the town centre, but if you are coming from the south of Taunton you'll need to avoid driving through the centre.

Traffic on Station Road (which remains open) is likely to be very busy and car parking may also be an issue on the station side of town.

The above is the reason I've decided to drive to Castle Cary and get the train to the meeting. Train all the way is possible from Templecombe, but its a huge dogleg via Exeter and would take 2 hours each way. 15 minute drive to Castle Cary and 20 minutes on the train is infinitely preferable.

The match - Afghanistan v New Zealand - starts at 13:30 (weather permitting).

Hope the weather is kinder than todays, the Bristol match was rained off so I understand. without a ball being bowled.

Have a good ( and I'm sure constructive) first AGM. A lot of good work has gone into the coffee shop in recent years. Well done.

It was indeed - Pakistan v Sri Lanka.

A very good morning session.  Thank you for all the contributions.

(http://www.mbob.co.uk/rforum/csagm.jpg)

A productive day. The future of the forum is taking shape. Great input from all those there, bar Finn. But he didn't have voting rights anyway. :D

Finn had a good run around Wincanton recreation ground before I picked up my take-away. He's now flaked out.
(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/rps20190608_182454_zps1ubgkgcq.jpg)

Wonderful to see everyone today ... I have posted the various sessions I projected on the forum:

History:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21725.0

Personal:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21727.0
(this one in "Frequent Posters" so established members only)

Constitution changes:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/constitution <-- Original
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21641.msg266418#msg266418 <-- Change suggested

Finance:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/agm19_finance.pdf

Future:
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21728.0
and
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=21729.0

CCIF (reprise):
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/ccif

Minutes will follow from Bobm.    More notes from me perhaps tomorrow - got home exhausted.   But really happy with how it went!

Lovely to meet you all.

Many thanks to Grahame and bobm (and partner) for very good venue and meeting.  Plus of course all the planning that went into it behind the scenes to ensure all was ready for presentation.

Wow - that was quick, Bob ... minutes (and excellent ones too!) at http://www.passenger.chat/2019_AGM_Minutes.pdf

THANK YOU for taking those and writing things up - great reference point back.  Good to see so many names active on various elements.

Glad to hear this all went well. As it would! I had vaguely planned to attend but got tempted into other, non-rail related, activities – which did nevertheless involve the 8.58 from Temple Meads to Taunton (but got off at Bridgwater, and didn't notice anyone obviously Coffee-Shoppish on the train) and a call at the former Catcott level crossing on the once-S&D (apparently still marked as such on Google maps!?!?!?).

Have to write up minutes sharpish or I forget what my notes mean!   There is another school of thought that you take a while to produce minutes and then no one can remember the detail of what happened and so whatever you write is less likely to be challenged....