Minutes

All your decisions and plans can fall apart if there is no record of them. We are guilty of that from time to time, when the arguments and discussions of a meeting resolve that "something must be done" and everyone leaves with the impression that "something will be done" but no-one has decided what will be done and who should do it. Something decided in November can't be clearly remembered in March and so is a potential cause of argument.

Of course there are those who will say that this makes the whole process bureaucratic and tedious when all they want is a good chat, a few decisions and a drink. Fair enough, but the consequences are almost certain arguments. The least you need from every meeting is a list of decisions made - who said they would do this, what we all agreed on, what will have to be deferred to a later meeting.

And if you want to chat over a drink, why not have a meeting in someone's house and finish off in the pub. That will be an incentive to finish the meeting promptly! (actually that was my wife's suggestion and I'm inclined to think it's a bit too sensible...)

Communication

Minutes. Formal Minutes are an obvious means of communication between the organisers. They summarise decisions for those present as well as absent. They also form the basis of any action lists you may need or any letters you may want to send to others.

Thanks. Personal thanks and letters of thanks to the helpers advertisers and local traders who have assisted you are always welcome. Be careful that you cover everyone - the people who will be most offended are those who are left out. We send a Christmas card with an insert showing where our money raised has been spent and hoping people will continue to support us with their help in the coming year.

Publicity. Publicising the Feast is dealt with elsewhere but make sure you also tell everyone how much you raised and where the money is to be spent. Posters in public places, perhaps read out at school or at Parish Council meetings, posted in pubs, will show the community that their efforts were a success and remind them of how worthwhile it was. Our Christmas card contributes towards that. We always have articles in the Village Magazine which include pleas for help, thanks for help, announcements of disbursement of funds, publicity for events etc. Most village magazine editors are delighted to have relevant copy.

There is scope for personal messages asking for help before the event - in our view not usually successful, but possibly worthwhile in that it heads off those who complain they weren't asked.

Accounts. Don't forget also the publishing of accounts. You certainly don't want anyone to claim you are not using the profits effectively. A public demonstration of giving out cheques to the worthy organisations is one ostentatious but effective piece of publicity which tells the community what you are doing.

Finally we always proclaim that our meetings are public. We ostentatiously hold them in one or more local pubs (public houses). While few people ever take advantage of that to attend, we believe this is an answer to anyone who tries to criticise our decisions. "You can always come along and state your case."

Organisation

A good framework for organising a Feast is for a core group to make the major decisions and be responsible for planning throughout the year, then a secondary group to assist when called upon, especially nearer the event. A final list of willing helpers on the day completes the three ring system. This allows people to help without long term commitment and allows the organisers to organise without having to do all the donkey work. Expertise is shared and the event benefits from cooperation and participation. The Feast, in other words, becomes a real community event.

That's the theory. In practice, though it really is worth working towards the three ring theory, people do get landed with work because no-one else will do it. Frequently we have held meetings to encourage wider participation but the people who sign up are those who take part in community activities already. The first time you hear about some people's "interest" is when they moan "well, nobody asked me..."

What's the solution? The best results seem to come via personal contacts. Let's say one of the organisers knows someone who is an expert welder. Instead of asking him to join our group we ask his advice on how to weld this barbecue or that frame. We will certainly offer him a beer on Feast Day. With luck he'll see what a good time is being had and will be happy give his services freely for a good cause.

Perhaps we'll offer free advertising in the programme for his business. In the end he's been very helpful, he's enjoyed participating in the community event, he's likely to come along and see how his creation is being used, but he's not made a limitless commitment to future Feasts.

Then there are the folk who are willing to serve on the bar for a few hours or cook a few burgers. They don't want the commitment of meetings through the winter, but they're happy to turn up to be at the centre of things for the day. You can't tie them down, but you can jog their elbows and say "looking forward to seeing you at the Feast on Sunday. Any chance you could help out on the barbecue? About 12-ish? Just for a couple of hours ...."

Don't forget the time these people have put in and send them a letter of thanks, perhaps at the same time as you announce the profits you made, so they know they are appreciated and linked to a successful day. You might think of sending a Christmas card, or even a postcard a few weeks before the event to jog their memory.

We also have a curry evening in February, mid way through the year, as a way of keeping The Feast in people's minds and thanking those who've made a significant contribution.Even the invitation is a form of thanks and those who can come enjoy a sociable evening.

While the three ring model has great advantages, another model alongside it is the "area manager" model of sub committees.
In this, every member of the core group has responsibilities for a particular area of the Feast and when the whole group makes a decision it is up to the chairman of the subcommittee to implement it and report back.

This definitely makes things look more formal than it appears on the ground but it does mean that certain subjects are covered by particular people who develop an expertise in that area. You know that John will arrange the spit, Graham the stalls and Jock the barbecues - and if you have faith in them (we do!) the system should work. These managers naturally co-opt others from the outer circle and so the work proceeds, passing back to the centre for revision and discussion.

With luck the groups will accumulate a mixture of practical and organising people with a mixture of expertises and further contacts so the tasks are in the hands of people who know what they're doing. I do think it's a weakness if the organising group has an uneven balance of skills (too many managers, not enough carpenters or whatever) although having a rich mix can sometimes make it harder to get along together. Which leads us back to first principles in Chapter 1 where the organisers themselves are a mixture of a people with a single common aim - to help the community by organising a money-raising and entertaining event for the community.

List of Tasks

The list of tasks for these helpers to do comes naturally from the minutes of your meetings on the one hand and the timetable of events (see Appendix iv) on the other. The task list should list everything you want or need to have done, with a deadline and the name of the person responsible for that task completion.

It becomes clear that a wide range of people are required with a wide range of skills and there are limitless opportunities for everyone to help. It's hard to conceive of anyone whose skills would be wasted, and certainly the organisers should be looking to take advantage of any offers of help.

Remember particularly people with vans, trailers, or large estate cars or pickups. These are the people you may need to fetch and carry your piles of gear and you should ingratiate yourselves with them well in advance! A couple of beers afterwards always helps, we find ....

Rubbish and Clearing Up

Clearing out the rubbish needs just as much preparation as anything else.

You'll need bin bags, bins, a skip, a known collection time for that skip, trailers and trolleys, people with gloves and maybe rubbish picking rods. There's also stuff that may look like rubbish but is an essential part of the cooking machine or will be re-used in the marquee next year.

That needs coordination, with a single person who makes decisions of where everything goes. Remember also that if you've been on the go since the early hours this is the time you at at your lowest. You need folks who are keen, fit and willing to clear up. People who may have had a good day and want to give something back. Include some people with trailers and vans too.

Consider also recycling this rubbish if you can. The skip in this picture is over-filled and the company may not be willing to take it away. The contents haven't been compressed (how could you do that?) but nor has it been sorted into plastic, cans, and glass. Think about having boxes behind the bar for plastic, cans and bottles and encouraging bar staff to use them. You could do the same on the field and in the marquee but you'd need clear labelling (colours and pictures probably) and separate bins for food and paper. Sturdy plastic bin bags can be hooked over sticks but strong bins lined with bin bags are better. Then you need to empty them regularly or you defeat the object.

Also you have all the scaffolding poles, bits of machinery, rope, cables, wiring, piping, boards, tables, chairs, pans, cutlery, straw bales, fencing, tenting, tape, barrels, broken fridges, unsold food .... etc which has somehow to be tidied away to somewhere before it begins to pose a hazard. Having someone in charge of this and a band of merry helpers will make light work of a massive job.

A job that's just as important as any of the cooking, serving and entertaining.

So give it some thought, and some prestige if you can.

Identifiable shirts with an ironic message or logo?

Bright yellow gloves?