National Winter Ales Festival 2005

Short answer - no! We don't sell tickets for NWAF, it's strictly pay as you enter (and no smoking, no spitting and no standing on the top deck).

In the past this has been a problem for some people because of the size of our old venue. Our fire limit was much lower than the number of people who wanted to attend, so there were long queues on Friday night in particular.

The next festival (January) will take place at a different venue which has considerably greater capacity. Although there may be some queuing at peak times (e.g. 7 pm on a Friday night), we don't expect to be turning anyone away this time.

Keep an eye on the CAMRA website for more details - .

(BTW, I'm not joking about the no smoking bit - the venue (New Century Hall) is strictly no smoking.)

Thanks for the information Neil.

I'm looking forward to it already.

Cheers johnnysaint

Further to my previous post: we've now had another meeting to discuss this event, and it seems that the fire limit for the venue will not be quite as high as we had hoped. It will still be better than at our previous venue (Upper Campfield Market) but it probably means that there will be queues on the Friday night.

Obviously I've no idea how long they'll be, but I do recommend that visitors come to an earlier session if at all possible. This time round we'll be opening on the Wednesday evening as well as Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A change too on the smoking policy - it's not zero tolerance as we'd thought at first, the Co-op does allow smoking in its exhibition hall. The organising committee is thinking of allowing smoking, /except/ within three feet or so of the bar (and obviously not behind the bar in any circumstances).

Check this page nearer the time for full details:

Thanks for the update Neil.

Living out of the area and due to work on the Saturday afternoon, the only real opportunity to attend will be the Saturday evening session, with an overnight stay (hotel already booked).

Personally, I would feel much better if I had an advance ticket in my hand so that I could concentrate on drinking, not queuing.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Cheers johnnysaint

Three feet? Pointless, if you ask me. Why not do it properly and ban it completely. Is the reduced fire limit, as I've heard, due to there being less floor space available than was opriginally planned?

[snip]

I shall put your views on smoking to t'Committee. It does strike me as being difficult to police, but then that's a problem for the stewards.

Yes, apparently there is another event taking place elsewhere in the building. (I've heard mention of a record fair - might be of interest to some drinkers?)

I did raise this with t'Committee. They're very anti-tickets, on the grounds that you have to keep space available in the hall for people who may or may not show up later.

If someone buys a ticket in advance, OK, that helps our cash flow, but it may mean that we turn people away at 8 pm because we're still expecting 24 people with tickets. And if they don't then show their faces until 10 pm, they're not going to drink anything like as much of our beer as people who've been there since 8.

Anyway, if there /is/ queuing this time round, it will be in much more comfortable circumstances compared with our old venue - you'll be queuing under cover and in the relative warmth of the New Century Hall foyer.

[OT] Why is it called a foyer anyway? It's a French word meaning fireplace or hearth, but I've never seen a fire in a British foyer.

Search for..Re Smoking/Non smoking, the Oldham BF has a special area for non smokers, I wondered if this would work at New Century Hall???

Peter

A "problem" for the stewards? Yeah, trying to keep clouds of tobacco smoke to stay three feet away from the bar is the sort of problem King Canute knew all about.

d.

I think he was referring to the problem of ejecting "offenders".

At Stockport we take the view that enforcement of the hall's smoking ban is not the responsibility of the CAMRA stewards. A quiet word may be had in the occasional ear, but no more than that. Few smoke, though.

--

"The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of civilisation in any country." (Winston Churchill)

It is making unnecessary difficulties for the stewards if smoking is allowed except within three feet of the bar. As in pubs, demarcation doesn't work. What exactly have the organisers got against a smoke free hall? Better for punters and staff. Bury have successfully run one for two years. If the NWAF wants more volunteers, as apparently it does, it should show more concern about the welfare of its staff.

Dunno mate, come along to the next committee meeting and find out. Sunday 5th December - 1.00 pm at the Crescent, Salford. Any card carrying CAMRA member can show up and say their piece.

Well, I don't normally need much of an excuse to go to the Crescent. So, I will!

OT, but what an interesting idea - committee mtgs on Sunday afternoons.

The latest news on smoking and NWAF is that "it is entirely a NO SMOKING venue" (quote from minutes of the last meeting of the organising committee). My understanding is that it's a condition imposed by the venue owner (Co-operative Group).

I had a quick look at the venue today, on a tour of inspection with some of t'Committay. It's hard to imagine how it will look when it's full of beer, but my gut feeling is that there will be more room for the drinking public. This is not so much because the hall itself is larger, it may not be much bigger than our old venue. But we have access to a number of smaller rooms for things like glass storage and staff rooms, so they don't take up space in the main hall. (The staff room in the past was behind the bars.)