The Radcliffe Meeting

We had our first meeting at The Radcliffe Arms this morning. Fourteen members attended. The Radcliffe staff had set up a table for 12 in the main restaurant. There had obviously been a breakdown in communication as the arrangement agreed with Stuart (that we would meet in the Conservatory Room) had not been passed to the staff on duty. The noise level was way out of my (and others') comfort zone and I was pleased when We de-camped to the Conservatory.

Although I, personally, found sitting at smaller tables much more comfortable than at one large table (wearing hearing aids has a lot to do with this), some felt isolated, particularly as a couple of the tables are out of view of the others.

In summary - today was a learning experience. With a larger group (potentially 16 -20) than we are used to at Tim's, it will take some trial and error to devise seating arrangements that suit us all. In response to members' requests, I will approach the manager about the possibility of using of the upstairs conference room.

The group did agree that we cannot meet at Tim's when such large numbers are involved. No one wanted the group to split into an Upstairs/Downstairs arrangement. Phillipa is still actively searching for alternative venues.

Some members would like to meet at Tim's once a month. So far, six of us have agreed to meet on a date outside the scheduled fortnightly meetings.I propose that this 'ad hoc' group's maximum number be ten.