Hi folks,
local BBC Radio Merseyside has just reminded me that Southport's CAMRA-
run Sandgrounder Beer Fest starts today - I've never been, I'm afraid,
but my Dad's enjoyed it the past few years.

http://www.southportcamra.org.uk/beerfest.htm

"Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
too).

According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
£10
http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254

Very odd.

Can someone remind me how much the Direct Debit GBG subscription price
is?

Cheers,
MikeMcG

On 11 Sep, 07:28, MikeMcG  wrote:
> Hi folks,
> local BBC Radio Merseyside has just reminded me that Southport's CAMRA-
> run Sandgrounder Beer Fest starts today - I've never been, I'm afraid,
> but my Dad's enjoyed it the past few years.
>
> http://www.southportcamra.org.uk/beerfest.htm
>
> "Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
> day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
> GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
> too).
>
> According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
> £10http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254
>
> Very odd.
>
> Can someone remind me how much the Direct Debit GBG subscription price
> is?
>
> Cheers,
> MikeMcG

Hi Mike,
according to . . .
http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=gbgdirectdebit
. . . it was £10.
Cheers,
Mike
________________________
Oh OK, thanks Mike.
Mike
________________________
No problem,
cheers,
Mike
________________________

In message 
, 
MikeMcG  wrote
>Hi folks,
>local BBC Radio Merseyside has just reminded me that Southport's CAMRA-
>run Sandgrounder Beer Fest starts today - I've never been, I'm afraid,
>but my Dad's enjoyed it the past few years.
>
>http://www.southportcamra.org.uk/beerfest.htm
>
>"Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
>day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
>GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
>too).
>
>According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
>£10
>http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254
>
>Very odd.
>
>Can someone remind me how much the Direct Debit GBG subscription price
>is?
>

The current special price for CAMRA members £13.50 (£11 plus £2.50 p&p). 
The £10 price is the pre-order, pay by direct debit, subscription..

The Amazon price has fluctuated between £7.50 and £9.50 - if you want 
the cheapest price you may have to check on a daily basis with the 
cheaper offers often being at the weekends.  We are expecting 3 GBGs to 
be delivered today or tomorrow,  ordered from Amazon at £7.49 each 
(including postage) .  Some of this money will go to a local CAMRA 
branch as it was ordered via their site as a  click-through  Amazon 
shop.
-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

On 11 Sep, 08:04, Alan  wrote:
> In message
> ,
> MikeMcG  wrote
>
>
>
> >Hi folks,
> >local BBC Radio Merseyside has just reminded me that Southport's CAMRA-
> >run Sandgrounder Beer Fest starts today - I've never been, I'm afraid,
> >but my Dad's enjoyed it the past few years.
>
> >http://www.southportcamra.org.uk/beerfest.htm
>
> >"Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
> >day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
> >GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
> >too).
>
> >According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
> >£10
> >http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254
>
> >Very odd.
>
> >Can someone remind me how much the Direct Debit GBG subscription price
> >is?
>
> The current special price for CAMRA members £13.50 (£11 plus £2.50 p&p).
> The £10 price is the pre-order, pay by direct debit, subscription..
>
> The Amazon price has fluctuated between £7.50 and £9.50 - if you want
> the cheapest price you may have to check on a daily basis with the
> cheaper offers often being at the weekends.  We are expecting 3 GBGs to
> be delivered today or tomorrow,  ordered from Amazon at £7.49 each
> (including postage) .  Some of this money will go to a local CAMRA
> branch as it was ordered via their site as a  click-through  Amazon
> shop.
> --
> Alan
> news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

I just bought a copy for £7.49 ( a CD I wanted, to bump it above the
free delivery minimum - I didn't fancy the "Amazon Prime" thing, in
case I forgot to cancel it & they stung me for the £49!)

Interesting about the local CAMRA branch having the click-through &
getting some cash from it - if I'd known I would have done that too.

Out if interest - which branch(es) are doing this? - great idea, but I
thought the DD-subscription prices were supposed to be the cheapest
way - seems a little unfair that Amazon can undercut by so much.
cheers
MikeMcG

In message 
, 
MikeMcG  wrote

>Out if interest - which branch(es) are doing this? - great idea,

http://www.colchestercamra.org.uk/amazonshop.htm

Amazon price currently £7.49 on this site

-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

In message 
, 
MikeMcG  wrote
>
>I just bought a copy for £7.49

If you have a Sat Nav you may want to check the CAMRA HQ site as they 
are soon to release a companion Points Of Interest (POI) file for around 
£5. You still need the GBG 2009 for the details of the pubs but the POI 
file will tell your Sat Nav how to find them.


-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

In message <mq$q23FdjOyIFwNv@amac.f2s.com>, Alan 
 wrote
>In message 
>, 
>MikeMcG  wrote
>>
>>I just bought a copy for £7.49
>
>If you have a Sat Nav you may want to check the CAMRA HQ site as they 
>are soon to release a companion Points Of Interest (POI) file for 
>around £5. You still need the GBG 2009 for the details of the pubs but 
>the POI file will tell your Sat Nav how to find them.
>

http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=285178

-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

"MikeMcG"  wrote in message 
news:c3b1ed08-0e89-470f-b8a5-3ec14b7e33d3@25g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
Hi folks,
local BBC Radio Merseyside has just reminded me that Southport's CAMRA-
run Sandgrounder Beer Fest starts today - I've never been, I'm afraid,
but my Dad's enjoyed it the past few years.

http://www.southportcamra.org.uk/beerfest.htm

"Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
too).

According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
£10
http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254

Very odd.

Can someone remind me how much the Direct Debit GBG subscription price
is?

Cheers,
MikeMcG

I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's 
even printed! I'll get me coat......

On 11 Sep, 12:00, "gavin" 
wrote:
> "MikeMcG"  wrote in message
<snipped>
> I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's
> even printed! I'll get me coat......

By & large I've almost always had good experiences in pubs I've found
via the GBG. Obviously, by their nature  guide books are going to be
somewhat out of date, but as I say, I've found the GBG very reliable.

What's the other options - pot luck? pub websites? (unbiased? up-to-
date?)

IIRC I think there was an updates page for the GBG too?
cheers
MikeMcG

On Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:28:13 -0700 (PDT), MikeMcG
 wrote:


>"Snelly" also mentioned that the GBG was launched today - the other
>day I had an email from Amazon.co.uk telling me I coiuld pre-order the
>GBG for £7.49 (my past custom made me eligible for free next day p&p
>too).
>
>According to the CAMRA site, the members' special pre-order price is
>£10
>http://shop.camra.org.uk/DisplayDetail.aspx?prodid=254

We had a discussion about this at a branch social on Tuesday evening.
It's further complicated by the fact that pubs can buy theirs in bulk
from CAMRA HQ for less than the branch charge them, so we've probably
over-ordered this time.

The whole thing's a dog's dinner and it needs sorting out, quickly.

I paid £10 for my copy, rather than wait for spamazon to deliver me a
cheaper one, and to make sure the £10 went to CAMRA funds.

In message , Mike Roebuck 
 wrote

>I paid £10 for my copy, rather than wait for spamazon to deliver me a
>cheaper one, and to make sure the £10 went to CAMRA funds.

You may find that CAMRA make more from an Amazon sale at £7.49 than they 
do with a £10 sale directly to a member.

-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:06:30 +0100, Alan 
wrote:

>In message , Mike Roebuck 
> wrote
>
>>I paid £10 for my copy, rather than wait for spamazon to deliver me a
>>cheaper one, and to make sure the £10 went to CAMRA funds.
>
>You may find that CAMRA make more from an Amazon sale at £7.49 than they 
>do with a £10 sale directly to a member.

Sorry, I can't see the logic in that statement.

Care to explain?

In message , Mike Roebuck 
 wrote
>On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:06:30 +0100, Alan 
>wrote:
>
>>In message , Mike Roebuck
>> wrote
>>
>>>I paid £10 for my copy, rather than wait for spamazon to deliver me a
>>>cheaper one, and to make sure the £10 went to CAMRA funds.
>>
>>You may find that CAMRA make more from an Amazon sale at £7.49 than they
>>do with a £10 sale directly to a member.
>
>Sorry, I can't see the logic in that statement.
>
>Care to explain?
>


For any book distribution organisation to be highly efficient they would 
need to sending out large number of book 365 days a year and not just 
for the month of September. It may cost more in administration or for 
inexperienced part time staff for CAMRA to send books to individual 
members or branches than the discount they give to a bulk seller.
-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:42:38 +0100, Alan 
wrote:

>In message , Mike Roebuck 
> wrote
>>On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:06:30 +0100, Alan 
>>wrote:
>>
>>>In message , Mike Roebuck
>>> wrote
>>>
>>>>I paid £10 for my copy, rather than wait for spamazon to deliver me a
>>>>cheaper one, and to make sure the £10 went to CAMRA funds.
>>>
>>>You may find that CAMRA make more from an Amazon sale at £7.49 than they
>>>do with a £10 sale directly to a member.
>>
>>Sorry, I can't see the logic in that statement.
>>
>>Care to explain?
>>
>
>
>For any book distribution organisation to be highly efficient they would 
>need to sending out large number of book 365 days a year and not just 
>for the month of September. It may cost more in administration or for 
>inexperienced part time staff for CAMRA to send books to individual 
>members or branches than the discount they give to a bulk seller.

Hmmm.

We get a large order at once in September, and distribute it to pubs
and members in our own time, at no cost to CAMRA other than initial
transport/distribution (and production, obviously).

Spread it over the year, and how many times does CAMRA have to pay
transport costs to cover amazon sales? Surely that increases the
amount of admin, too? (AFAIUI amazon is not a stockholder).

Of course, if future sales are only via intermediaries such as amazon,
the equation might change, but I for one prefer to get my copy at a
meeting or social, when it's fresh off the press, and without
unnecessary additional postage costs added.

In message , Mike Roebuck 
 wrote

>We get a large order at once in September, and distribute it to pubs
>and members in our own time, at no cost to CAMRA other than initial
>transport/distribution (and production, obviously).

Do you pay for the books at the time when you pick-up or is there 
administration involved where CAMRA keeps a record of how many books you 
have taken and then matches this to a single payment later, or even 
multiple payments later?

I would guess in some branches that the person collecting the books 
would charge the collection costs to expenses which may be the  'hidden' 
administration cost.

The majority of members don't attend meetings and so they must obtain 
their copies elsewhere, either directly from CAMRA which must involve 
paid staff and not volunteers, or from a third party.

>
>Spread it over the year, and how many times does CAMRA have to pay
>transport costs to cover amazon sales? Surely that increases the
>amount of admin, too? (AFAIUI amazon is not a stockholder).

This must have been factored into the price negotiated with a third 
party distributor and reflected in the price that Amazon charge/

>Of course, if future sales are only via intermediaries such as amazon,
>the equation might change, but I for one prefer to get my copy at a
>meeting or social, when it's fresh off the press, and without
>unnecessary additional postage costs added.

But are you paying £7.49 that Amazon are charging today or something 
more? Sales to members at meetings must be an insignificant percentage 
of the total sales for the publication.

In some respects it may be better to have a cheap price from Amazon  as 
it could result in a lot more sales.  After all the GBG is a campaigning 
tool to persuade people to drink real ale and to find decent pubs and 
not necessarily a tool for the self promotion of CAMRA.

-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

"MikeMcG"  wrote in message 
news:3077fc1b-a37b-4367-afee-207de7607ab8@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> On 11 Sep, 12:00, "gavin" 
> wrote:
>> "MikeMcG"  wrote in message
> <snipped>
>> I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's
>> even printed! I'll get me coat......
>
> By & large I've almost always had good experiences in pubs I've found
> via the GBG. Obviously, by their nature  guide books are going to be
> somewhat out of date, but as I say, I've found the GBG very reliable.
>
> What's the other options - pot luck? pub websites? (unbiased? up-to-
> date?)

An up to date online version of the GBG?

MikeMcG wrote:
> On 11 Sep, 12:00, "gavin" 
> wrote:
>> "MikeMcG"  wrote in message
> <snipped>
>> I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's
>> even printed! I'll get me coat......
> 
> By & large I've almost always had good experiences in pubs I've found
> via the GBG. Obviously, by their nature  guide books are going to be
> somewhat out of date, but as I say, I've found the GBG very reliable.
> 
> What's the other options - pot luck? pub websites? (unbiased? up-to-
> date?)
> 
> IIRC I think there was an updates page for the GBG too?
> cheers
> MikeMcG

You could try the good pub guide.

www.goodguides.co.uk

-- 
Brian

BrianW wrote:
> MikeMcG wrote:
>> On 11 Sep, 12:00, "gavin" 
>> wrote:
>>> "MikeMcG"  wrote in message
>> <snipped>
>>> I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's
>>> even printed! I'll get me coat......
>> By & large I've almost always had good experiences in pubs I've found
>> via the GBG. Obviously, by their nature  guide books are going to be
>> somewhat out of date, but as I say, I've found the GBG very reliable.
>>
>> What's the other options - pot luck? pub websites? (unbiased? up-to-
>> date?)
>>
>> IIRC I think there was an updates page for the GBG too?
>> cheers
>> MikeMcG
> 
> You could try the good pub guide.
> 
> www.goodguides.co.uk
> 
It does still mention the odd real ale pub, but it' mostly focuses on 
more up-market rural dining inns.

In article <yEgyk.6723$t_1.2709@newsfe30.ams2>,
   BrianW  wrote:
> MikeMcG wrote:
> > On 11 Sep, 12:00, "gavin" 
> > wrote:
> >> "MikeMcG"  wrote in message
> > <snipped>
> >> I don't understand why anyone would buy a book so out of date before it's
> >> even printed! I'll get me coat......
> > 
> > By & large I've almost always had good experiences in pubs I've found
> > via the GBG. Obviously, by their nature  guide books are going to be
> > somewhat out of date, but as I say, I've found the GBG very reliable.
> > 
> > What's the other options - pot luck? pub websites? (unbiased? up-to-
> > date?)
> > 
> > IIRC I think there was an updates page for the GBG too?
> > cheers
> > MikeMcG

> You could try the good pub guide.

Only if you like things that a more out of date than the year before lasts
Good Beer Guide

Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are visiting.
Most of the time you not only get the "didn't quite make it into this
years guide" pubs you also get the "this is going into the next years
guide entries" pubs.

-- 

Steve Pampling

"Steven Pampling"  wrote in message 
news:4fdd8784e6steve.pampling@dsl.pipex.com...

> Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are visiting.

That's what I do - with the best will in the world the GBG is out of date 
before it gets to print. An online version would be the solution surely?

In message , Steven Pampling 
 wrote
>
>Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are visiting.
>Most of the time you not only get the "didn't quite make it into this
>years guide" pubs you also get the "this is going into the next years
>guide entries" pubs.
>

If pubs relied solely on the custom of CAMRA members they would all go 
bust within a week. What's the membership/pub ratio? 1.25 members per 
pub?

The general public may want places that are clean, well run and where 
you can get a decent meal at not necessarily that the s******e 
back-street local in the dodgy area that may serve a decent ale.

In my experience the Good Pub Guide often has many of the same pubs as 
the Good Beer Guide but is a bit more critical (by omission) of the pubs 
where a CAMRA guide should have perhaps said 'avoid the toilets' or 'the 
locals don't like strangers' or 'the landlord only serves people who 
know his name' or 'the beer is great but only on the nights of the CAMRA 
socials and where the publican has been forewarned of the meeting' :)


-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

I just got an email from Amazon -
_______________________________________
Dear Customer,

We wanted to give you an update on the status of your order

We now have the delivery date(s) for the order you placed on 11
September 2008, 09:35 MEST
We have listed the item(s) below with
the expected delivery date(s):

Roger Protz (Author) "Good Beer Guide 2009" [Paperback]
Estimated arrival date: 03/10/08 - 17/10/08
________________________________________

Hmmm - I reckon this slow delivery is due more to my choosing the free
delivery (on orders over £15 ) option than anything else.

But possibly a month or more to deliver a bleeding book!

Had they told me how long it would take, I might have got a copy from
my local branch!

Harumph & ho hum.
cheers
MikeMcG

On Sep 12, 11:13 am, Alan  wrote:
> In message , Steven Pampling
>  wrote
>
>
>
> >Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are visiting.
> >Most of the time you not only get the "didn't quite make it into this
> >years guide" pubs you also get the "this is going into the next years
> >guide entries" pubs.
>
> If pubs relied solely on the custom of CAMRA members they would all go
> bust within a week. What's the membership/pub ratio? 1.25 members per
> pub?
>
> The general public may want places that are clean, well run and where
> you can get a decent meal at not necessarily that the s******e
> back-street local in the dodgy area that may serve a decent ale.

which expletive was that? - my vocabulary's pretty good, but one with
8 letters starting with S ending with E - nope :~)


> In my experience the Good Pub Guide often has many of the same pubs as
> the Good Beer Guide but is a bit more critical (by omission) of the pubs
> where a CAMRA guide should have perhaps said 'avoid the toilets' or 'the
> locals don't like strangers' or 'the landlord only serves people who
> know his name' or 'the beer is great but only on the nights of the CAMRA
> socials and where the publican has been forewarned of the meeting' :)

Personally that the GBG contains more rustic, rough, plain & simple
pubs is fine by me (from back street boozers, bikers' pubs, rock pubs,
rural rough-ish places) but maybe the entry should be clearer about
that (& if you've been unwittingly guided to really dodgy pubs by the
GBG, then that's not good at all - IIRC I've not had this happen to
me).

Agreed that the 2 (GPG & GBG) share a lot of entries, but The Good Pub
Guide seemed mostly rural-based & a bit too twee, middle-class &
gastro-pub food-led for me - but I'm happy that the 2 guides have
separate functions & know which suits me better.
Cheers
MikeMcG

MikeMcG wrote:
> On Sep 12, 11:13 am, Alan  wrote:
>> In message , Steven Pampling
>>  wrote
>>
>>
>>
>>> Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are visiting.
>>> Most of the time you not only get the "didn't quite make it into this
>>> years guide" pubs you also get the "this is going into the next years
>>> guide entries" pubs.
>> If pubs relied solely on the custom of CAMRA members they would all go
>> bust within a week. What's the membership/pub ratio? 1.25 members per
>> pub?
>>
>> The general public may want places that are clean, well run and where
>> you can get a decent meal at not necessarily that the s******e
>> back-street local in the dodgy area that may serve a decent ale.
> 
> which expletive was that? - my vocabulary's pretty good, but one with
> 8 letters starting with S ending with E - nope :~)
> 
> 
>> In my experience the Good Pub Guide often has many of the same pubs as
>> the Good Beer Guide but is a bit more critical (by omission) of the pubs
>> where a CAMRA guide should have perhaps said 'avoid the toilets' or 'the
>> locals don't like strangers' or 'the landlord only serves people who
>> know his name' or 'the beer is great but only on the nights of the CAMRA
>> socials and where the publican has been forewarned of the meeting' :)
> 
> Personally that the GBG contains more rustic, rough, plain & simple
> pubs is fine by me (from back street boozers, bikers' pubs, rock pubs,
> rural rough-ish places) but maybe the entry should be clearer about
> that (& if you've been unwittingly guided to really dodgy pubs by the
> GBG, then that's not good at all - IIRC I've not had this happen to
> me).
> 
> Agreed that the 2 (GPG & GBG) share a lot of entries, but The Good Pub
> Guide seemed mostly rural-based & a bit too twee, middle-class &
> gastro-pub food-led for me - but I'm happy that the 2 guides have
> separate functions & know which suits me better.
> Cheers
> MikeMcG

I've been a CAMRA member for 20 years, but for 20 years have also
regularly submitted reports to the GPG. Whilst the GBG tends to focus on
real ale, the GPG takes many other factors into account. I have seldom
been disappointed when visiting GPG recommended pubs. They make it clear
whether the pub has real ale (and if not, I wouldn't go there) and if so
whether it's well kept, and in my experience they get it pretty well
spot on. And as for "mostly focuses on more up-market rural dining
inns", that wouldn't explain why the splendid, basic and rustic Yew Tree
in Cauldon, Staffs is considered worth the ultimate accolade of two
stars. Yes, many pubs are in both guides, but only if, as well as
selling well kept real ale, they are worth a visit for other reasons.
Myself I always take both guides, but tend to use the GBG only if the
GPG has nothing to offer in the area. Because as an overall indicator of
 the pub, the GPG tends to be more informative.

Brian


-- 
Brian

MikeMcG wrote:
> I just got an email from Amazon -
> _______________________________________
> Dear Customer,
> 
> We wanted to give you an update on the status of your order
> 
> We now have the delivery date(s) for the order you placed on 11
> September 2008, 09:35 MEST
> We have listed the item(s) below with
> the expected delivery date(s):
> 
> Roger Protz (Author) "Good Beer Guide 2009" [Paperback]
> Estimated arrival date: 03/10/08 - 17/10/08
> ________________________________________
> 
> Hmmm - I reckon this slow delivery is due more to my choosing the free
> delivery (on orders over £15 ) option than anything else.
> 
> But possibly a month or more to deliver a bleeding book!
> 
> Had they told me how long it would take, I might have got a copy from
> my local branch!
> 
> Harumph & ho hum.
> cheers
> MikeMcG

Two comments.

1. The delivery date doesn't depend on whether you have selected free
delivery. I can say that as I've used Amazon many times (including to
order the GBG).

2. They often quote a delivery time of several weeks, then deliver it
almost immediately. Probably because they prefer to err on the safe side.-- 
Brian

In message <mUAyk.3641$Jv3.1983@newsfe23.ams2>, BrianW 
 wrote
>
>Two comments.
>
>1. The delivery date doesn't depend on whether you have selected free
>delivery. I can say that as I've used Amazon many times (including to
>order the GBG).
>
>2. They often quote a delivery time of several weeks, then deliver it
>almost immediately. Probably because they prefer to err on the safe side.
>


As someone else has pointed out, it's CAMRA that keep the stock of the 
books so if Amazon are quoting long delivery dates for the GBG then 
surely it is the normal inefficiency of CAMRA that is to blame?

Albeit 15 years ago, I went to a CAMRA HQ open day and was somewhat 
disappointed to be told that the 'allow 28 days for delivery' was fairly 
typical . In those days next day delivery was becoming common place.  I 
suspect things are not much better judging by the length of time a new 
member waits for his card to arrive through the post.
-- 
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com

"WM"  wrote in message 
news:Xns9B19D01AB39766AD265@news-1.octanews.net...
> On Fri 12 Sep08 10:22, gavin
>  wrote in
> <news:uxqyk.70418$DI2.35718@fe02.news.easynews.com>:
>
>>
>> "Steven Pampling"  wrote in
>> message news:4fdd8784e6steve.pampling@dsl.pipex.com...
>>
>>> Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are
>>> visiting.
>>
>> That's what I do - with the best will in the world the GBG is
>> out of date before it gets to print. An online version would be
>> the solution surely?
>>
>
> Gavin, you have to give these things some thought. How would you
> carry that around with you if you only had a PC?

Of course, I have given it thought - you need to!!! Why would I want to 
carry the whole of the GBG around with me? Ever heard of a new fangled 
device called a "printer"?

gavin wrote:
> "WM"  wrote in message 
> news:Xns9B19D01AB39766AD265@news-1.octanews.net...
>> On Fri 12 Sep08 10:22, gavin
>>  wrote in
>> <news:uxqyk.70418$DI2.35718@fe02.news.easynews.com>:
>>
>>> "Steven Pampling"  wrote in
>>> message news:4fdd8784e6steve.pampling@dsl.pipex.com...
>>>
>>>> Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are
>>>> visiting.
>>> That's what I do - with the best will in the world the GBG is
>>> out of date before it gets to print. An online version would be
>>> the solution surely?
>>>
>> Gavin, you have to give these things some thought. How would you
>> carry that around with you if you only had a PC?
> 
> Of course, I have given it thought - you need to!!! Why would I want to 
> carry the whole of the GBG around with me? Ever heard of a new fangled 
> device called a "printer"? 
> 
> 
I belive there is also newfangled stuff such as Pendrives, SD cards and 
Hard disks. also Wireless networking is increasingly available (in 
wetherspoons and many other pubs).  I don't see this as a realistic 
objection. The real reason, IMO, is that CAMRA would lose a valuable 
income stream.

"Esra Sdrawkcab"  wrote in message 
news:_inzk.57856$E41.12858@text.news.virginmedia.com...
> gavin wrote:
>> "WM"  wrote in message 
>> news:Xns9B19D01AB39766AD265@news-1.octanews.net...
>>> On Fri 12 Sep08 10:22, gavin
>>>  wrote in
>>> <news:uxqyk.70418$DI2.35718@fe02.news.easynews.com>:
>>>
>>>> "Steven Pampling"  wrote in
>>>> message news:4fdd8784e6steve.pampling@dsl.pipex.com...
>>>>
>>>>> Contact the branch or branches local to the area you are
>>>>> visiting.
>>>> That's what I do - with the best will in the world the GBG is
>>>> out of date before it gets to print. An online version would be
>>>> the solution surely?
>>>>
>>> Gavin, you have to give these things some thought. How would you
>>> carry that around with you if you only had a PC?
>>
>> Of course, I have given it thought - you need to!!! Why would I want to 
>> carry the whole of the GBG around with me? Ever heard of a new fangled 
>> device called a "printer"?
> I belive there is also newfangled stuff such as Pendrives, SD cards and 
> Hard disks. also Wireless networking is increasingly available (in 
> wetherspoons and many other pubs).  I don't see this as a realistic 
> objection. The real reason, IMO, is that CAMRA would lose a valuable 
> income stream.

That of course is a completely different argument. I wonder how much profit 
is derived from the GBG and whether this could be realised via online 
advertising?