Betta Gatherings?

[Fergus]

Is there a RSL club near someone's shop at all? They usually have cheap buffet lunches and down round here they let you use the function rooms for free if there's nothing else on... just a thought? It would be nice to have somewhere with some space if we are considering bringing fish/equipment to sell/swap.

[Bettarazzi]

But see, there should be plenty of fish for all if you organise things with Jodi well in advance. Then she can plan on bringing in the fish people are likely to be interested in.

RSL club sounds like a great idea. Then you won't have to do the swap and sell in Jodi's shop and get in the way of other customers.

[Fergus]

I was emailing someone about purchasing anyway and so asked her if there was a good date for her after a shipment comes out of quarantine, also sent the link to this thread. Hopefully she'll check in and get involved in the conversation :confused:

[Peta]

Mike's out - so we don't need to worry about planning around him

@ lisa... :anyone:

[agaff4]

so any further news about when, how and where?

im pretty keen to have this meeting

[Bender]

To put it bluntly, we need someone to take charge here. I'm more side-kick material as stress and I don't mesh well. I'll play secretary for a moment though.

Let's clarify a few things.

Are we all in agreement that this meeting is to take place on a Saturday in Brisbane so we can go to Fish-Chick Aquatics?

That would be the 13th, 20th or 27th of June, which weekend is preferable?

What time is suitable?

Assuming that it is to be held in Brisbane, how many would be coming?

[Fergus]

The 20th or the 27th would be best for me.

I guess it depends on how many people we will be getting as to whether we need to have a secondary venue or whether we can hold a fish car boot market in the carpark LOL

I will see if i can attach a poll to this thread....

Poll is up - vote away :scared:

[Bettarazzi]

Just some thoughts from my experience organising the Melbourne meeting. Don't rely entirely on this forum thread to get people to your meeting. Sometimes even regular forum visitors miss threads. Not suggesting you spam everyone on the forum that has Brisbane in their location but if you've noticed a regular poster who has said they're from Brisbane, it might be worthwhile sending them a PM directing them to this thread.

At the Melbourne meeting I asked everyone to complete a contact preference form. This was not to get all their contact details but to find out how they preferred to be contacted about meetings. They were given the choice of: forum thread, email or sms. Nearly everyone nominated a preference other than forum threads. I guess it's because threads are easy to miss especially when the forum gets busy and you haven't logged in for a while. Bear in mind that betta gatherings/meetings have not been held anywhere in Australia for a few years so it's something that's off people's radar. So when they're scanning the forum for threads to read they might not necessarily look out for a meeting. Although everyone at the Melbourne meeting was an AAQ member about half of them didn't notice the thread until someone else pointed it out to them.

The event doesn't have to be totally stress inducing. Keep it simple and casual for a first meeting and then go from there. The way you're heading so far sounds terrific. You can always crash the nearest McDonald's or pub if you need a place to talk after you do the shop thing.

[agaff4]

sounds like a good idea bettarazzi

i should be fine with any weekend in june as long as we are given enough forewarning to keep that date free

hopefully we can come to an arrangement soon then

[Bender]

Thanks for adding the poll Manda! I didn't know it was possible.

That's good advice Bettarazzi. I'm a relatively new member, and most of the people I know are in or near bris have already chimed in, but I'm sure there's more out there.

Now nobody shoot me, but I took a liking to Razzi's Macca's idea and made an enquiry. I rang MacDonnalds at Annerly, with this much notice they could give us a space in a party room to do the fish thing, and they have a McCaffe there so are happy for us to buy coffee and pastries instead of happy meals. They've taken my details and will get back too me, but it looks like the 27th would work best. Would this work do you think?

[Fergus]

Maca's sounds like a go - i love mcCafe LOL 27th is good for me.

[Bender]

Ok, so next question is what time? I was thinking 4.30 or 5, but only so those that work can get there, might be too late for those who travel.

[Bettarazzi]

I think you're underselling your leadership skills, Bender. Doing a great job organising this. What time does Jodi's shop shut for the day? That might have an impact on what time you have to have your get-together.

I'd be happy to send up a little package of goodies you guys can share amongst yourselves on the day. Should be able to come up with some cultures, plant trimmings etc. Might act as a little incentive for people to get along. :(

[agaff4]

well i just had a look at someone's website and it says on saturdays and sundays the shop opens at 10am and closes at 4pm so we are going to have to move the gethering to a bit earlier in the day?

if we were to have the gathering at maccas would they allow us to bring fishy stuff with, like plants and fish?

[Chuckie]

those of you who don't work on Saturdays can always meet at Jodi's earlier in the day before moving to Maccas and meeting up with those who were stuck at work til 5pm.

The plants and fish are in bags, so I can't see why they'd have a problem. They let kids wearing nappies in, after all. If you keep your stuff in boxes it will look just like a birthday party coming in . You could always give them a call and ask though. I am sure Julia would appreciate the help.

I second what razzi has said Julia, you're an unsung hero :D

[Fergus]

It's going to take me 4 hours to get there so about 1pm would be good for me, what is everyone else thinking?

If we get a date and time firmed up i will PM anyone i see with Brisbane or close to in their location. I'm sure there's someone here from Lismore too... i will be going through Ballina if they want to come.

[Bender]

They let kids wearing nappies in, after all

Thanks for the vote of confidence . That parcel is sure to pull a crowd, what a lovely idea!

I asked about the fish and stuff when I rang, the downstairs party room is set up for easy cleaning so it's not a problem. I was thinking it would be best to go to someone's shop first, then have the meet-up. What time will you be needing to head home again Manda?

[Fergus]

I'm pretty flexible on what time i have to leave. I actually prefer to drive at night than during the day, so as long as i get away by about 6pm at the latest i'll be home round 10pm.

[Bender]

The lady from Macdonalds just called, we can only get the room from 4.45 as they have a party booked before that. On the up side they are letting us have it for free, for as long as we like, and throwing in coffee vouchers for all! I went ahead and booked, but if someone can find something more suitable let me know and I'll cancel.

I was thinking, perhaps a fish shop crawl would fill the afternoon up for those who are travelling far? I wouldn't be up to it, but if there is some interest let me know and I'll map out a route. Then again, you can spend a good few hours just checking out the antique, speciality and second hand shops near someone's, or the city isn't far, and Southbank is nice for a wander too (will check if the markets will be on ) Then of course there is Stones Corner where, if you like shoes and clothes, you can pick up a bargain or two and have a nice coffee, or Thai lunch.

Let me know if you think this will be ok. Should I put a post in the announcement section?

[agaff4]

SO does this mean that we go to see someone's store before we go to maccas?

i have also read somewhere that someone does occassionally open for a lil longer then the set times, meaning that her opening hours are not set in concrete. i believe that if we ask her nicely and can prove that ther is enough interest to make it worth her while she can open the store for an extra half an hour or so to bring it to 4:30 which means that we can have a tour of jodis store from 4:00 to 4:30 and then go from there to maccas.

does that sound alright

[Bender]

I was thinking the same thing, but thought I'd wait and see if you guys were ok with the macca's part of the plan before I rang someone. If there is no objections by tomorrow afternoon I'll give her a call.

(It would probably be easier for her if the store wasn't already full of customers when we arrive, but I was also hoping she might be able to join us for coffee, in which case she'll need time to pack up.)

[Fergus]

Sounds pretty good to me Might even get Mum to have the kids and bring DH for a night away :D

[Bender]

Ok, just rang someone, and she has offered for us to have the meeting there after shop closes. She also offered to organise a BBQ/sausage sizzle, and we can have the meeting while she does all the fishy things. What do you think? Shall we go with this?

There is a shipment coming in that should be out of quarantine just before we visit, so that works out very nicely. If you have anything in particular your wanting to see, we can just let her know so she can bring some in.

[Fergus]

That sounds awesome!!!! Very cool :)

[agaff4]

that sounds exellent, im very happy with that idea

good on someone. hopefully its not too much work for her