[Rakey]

I think cost was the real killer for a lot of people as it has already been mentioned, I know that is the reason some didn't come, as its not just Ball tickets, then all the hotel, petrol mileage etc.. Its the reason I almost didn't come. Well that and location, but I felt that if others could make the effort from overseas then a three and half hour drive was the least I could do to get there, and by not doing the run, it helped to reduce the driving and mileage.

The food was good, but was it £35 ahead good? I know that this fee also included the hire of the venue and DJ etc.. But still think those were only average compared to the fact that it was a black tie do, and was to be glamourous

I felt the organisation of the event and evening was the thing that really stood out, it couldn't have been any better, the raffle and auction were the highlight for me, executed really well, then it felt as though we were contributing to the cause freely. But there were other points that felt forced that you had to give to the Charity, and that the fact that it was also the first annual MINI2 ball seemed to slip into the background of raising money. Don't get me wrong I am all for raising money for good causes, but when it feels like there is pressure to give, then some people resent this.

[RVW]

I thought the location was just about right.
Not because we were only about an hour away but it seemed to be reasonable central and it needed an organizer relatively close by.

The bar would have been better in the ballroom, does not split people up so much.
The ticket price was ok as was the food. If you try to make the food too grand you increase the risk of upsetting peoples expectations.

Photographer was a good idea( still waiting for mine to arrive).

Auction and raffle outstanding even if it did appear to go on a bit too long.

Dicso> probably I am a bit out of touch on this one but to me it was a bit wooden.
The DJ was not very interactive and the range of dance-able music was to say the least wanting. If the mix had been from the 60`s through to present day then probably more people would have gone on the dance floor.

These comments are in no way derogative in fact we enjoyed the whole weekend.
Nobody cannot expect perfection. I think a FANTASTIC job was done especially when you consider it very nearly did not happen. POWER to your elbows

If improvements can be made to what was well organized event it can only be for the better

Remember

You can please some of the people some of the time.
You can please some of the people all of the time.
BUT
You CANNOT please ALL of the people ALL of the time.

End of my soapbox

[Shamster]

The 'disco' part was a bit short - I agree. We could've danced til 3.00.

[Harpo]

My 2p worth:

The raffle and auction did not flow that well, it proceeded with some hesitation.
Both ought to be conducted by someone with a strong voice, David Dickinson perhaps.

[Harpo]

OK, so I'll spend another 2p.

I liked the idea of the bar outside of the ballroom, and perhaps that could have been occupied by a jazz trio, for a place to really chill.

And it was a shame that further migration was necessary when the ballroom bar closed the shutters.

[Vicki2]

heres my say

..... The location was fab!!! easy to get to and its a hotel most of us are familiar with so we know what we are gunna get and know our way around (and how to work the lift lol)

I like the bar area of the moat house.

I thought the disco should have gone on for quite a bit longer- although i was up dancing all nite i felt that we could have had loads more tunes going on- the DJ wasnt that good i must admit- i did feel he could of played quite a few more newer songs for the younger ones- he had his fair share of oldies songs which i think was great.

I really enjoyed my food- i ate all of mine but i know a few people on my table werent too impressed with the main course- the lamb wasnt nice tasting and was extremely fatty. Im sure that person will have their say sometime soon in the thread.

I LOVED the set up of the room- the tables were gorgeous and the minis on each side of dancefloor really set it off nicely- although i do think next year we need a yellow one there aswell HAHA

I would of like to have seen a few more things in the auction like chrome sets for cars and also some smaller things what wouldnt go as high in prize as some of the items there.

The photography stand bit- i didnt dare have my photo taken by that guy cos i knew so many people were looking- maybe next year it could be somewhere not so in the middle of the standing/drinking area???

Please dont think im moaning .... at the end of the day u make the most of what u got ..... and i DID!!!! thank you everyone who made it great (again)

ermmmmmmmm, anything else? .........

I also kinda agree with Rakey on the pressure bit what he said- sometimes i just wanted to get on with the nite and have a good laugh knowing ive done my bit for the charity- nothing wrong with pushing the charity a little further but sometimes got a little much.

P.S Next year i want another snog with sham!!!!

[ButtonIt]

I think the location is ideal. Everyone has an equal chance to get to it, much better than being in the deep south or grim north

Grub was good and ticket price was in accordance with most balls.

I don't agree with the idea of fines being dished out though. A lot of people spent a lot of money on raffle tickets and auctions etc.. it's inapropriate to bully them for more cash IMO.

Fantastic organistation. Can;t fault that at all. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

I think the bar should be in the ballroom too, keeps all the sheep in the penn and encourages more dancing

[Lorri]

I have to agree with what some have said about lots of people disappearing into the bar area meaning the very large dance floor looked empty.
As for the music... well you'll never please everyone... I'm so pleased he didn't play a lot of Motown
Auction & raffle a bit too long.

Everything else was great (though I did hear someone say that the food could have done with being a bit hotter... difficult with so many people to serve) the food was tasty, nicely cooked & presented. Everything else was very well organised, and I don't think there's ever a good time of year... yes a lot are skint after Christmas but then there's always something to pay out for throughout the year. And yes it was an expensive weekend (though we've spent as much on MINI run weekends away) but it was great fun spent with great people for a very good cause.

[Lorri]

Quote: Originally Posted by ButtonIt

I don't agree with the idea of fines being dished out though. A lot of people spent a lot of money on raffle tickets and auctions etc.. it's inapropriate to bully them for more cash IMO.

I agree Chris

[Jeep-2-mini]

As a regular ball attender & somtimes organiser with another group, my thought are:

1) Price, about right. About the minimum you can go & still break even is £20-25, but that gives a very limited menu option (basically Chicken or veg), so £35 with several meal optins is not so bad.

2) Location - whever you chose will be difficult for some, and unless its in your home town an overnight stay is essential. Some hotels will give you a price that includes a room & breakfast as well as the function, so it can be sold that way, rather than everyone having to book their rooms seperatly.

3) Time of year - the main thing is to avoid the peak wedding season, since the price of function rooms rockets, and the availibility plumets, so winter is probably the best season for a ball. DJs and dancing are also a bad mix in the summer.

4) Bar out of function room - depends on the layout of the hotel, most seem to be seperate.

5) Auction/Raffle - have the auction before, and the raffle mid way through the dancing, this will get people down earlier & to stay around later. Have more, cheaper silly competitions rather than the fines - I can supply a few ideas.

6) Location of late bar - again thats up to the hotel, and isn't rearly under the organisers controll. The bar at the Northampton Moat House suffers from a lack of seating, but otherwise seemed OK.

All my own opinions

Mark

[Beastmaster]

Basically this was an excellent effort and for a first attempt truly fantastic.

The following observations are therefore only made because you guys are clearly perfectionists trying very hard to please. The auction went on and on and left everyone stuck at their tables for too long. When the dancing eventually got started it was 11ish which was way too late. The separate bar meant some of the intimacy was lost as we all got spread too thinly, especially as everyone was desperate for a drink and a stretch of the legs after a long haul at the tables.

In the bigger scheme of things though, these are minor criticisms, so thanks again for an excellent night.

Moving on to next year - first, there must be an event next year and secondly, the black tie set up should stay as it really gives the event a sense of occasion, setting it apart from other mini get togethers.

Cheers Ady and Chrissie

[Shamster]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vicki2

heres my say

..... The location was fab!!! easy to get to and its a hotel most of us are familiar with so we know what we are gunna get and know our way around (and how to work the lift lol)

I like the bar area of the moat house.

I thought the disco should have gone on for quite a bit longer- although i was up dancing all nite i felt that we could have had loads more tunes going on- the DJ wasnt that good i must admit- i did feel he could of played quite a few more newer songs for the younger ones- he had his fair share of oldies songs which i think was great.

I really enjoyed my food- i ate all of mine but i know a few people on my table werent too impressed with the main course- the lamb wasnt nice tasting and was extremely fatty. Im sure that person will have their say sometime soon in the thread.

I LOVED the set up of the room- the tables were gorgeous and the minis on each side of dancefloor really set it off nicely- although i do think next year we need a yellow one there aswell HAHA

I would of like to have seen a few more things in the auction like chrome sets for cars and also some smaller things what wouldnt go as high in prize as some of the items there.

The photography stand bit- i didnt dare have my photo taken by that guy cos i knew so many people were looking- maybe next year it could be somewhere not so in the middle of the standing/drinking area???

Please dont think im moaning .... at the end of the day u make the most of what u got ..... and i DID!!!! thank you everyone who made it great (again)

ermmmmmmmm, anything else? .........

I also kinda agree with Rakey on the pressure bit what he said- sometimes i just wanted to get on with the nite and have a good laugh knowing ive done my bit for the charity- nothing wrong with pushing the charity a little further but sometimes got a little much.

P.S Next year i want another snog with sham!!!!

I might as well add some of the feedback I got from people on the night and also the following morning which echoes a lot of the sentiments here:

DJ - could've been better.
Food - lamb was fatty and food could've been warmer when served.
Vegetables for the main courses could've been placed on the table allowing people to choose as they please.
Bar - inside the main room was preferred.

[LMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by Minnie Mouse

Heres my 5 bobs worth!

The location I thought was about right, more or less central for most folks who wanted to attend....from Cornwall to Scotland, it seemed to be a middle ish area of the UK.

It's not central for me and I wanted to attend. It's defo not central for those in Scotland.

Somewhere like Manchester is about equal distance for all.

[LMB]

Quote: Originally Posted by ButtonIt

I think the location is ideal. Everyone has an equal chance to get to it, much better than being in the deep south or grim north

Typical Londoner.

[Rakey]

Lamb is always going to be fatty, thats why I went for the chicken

1 thing that hasn't been mentioned, the PC with MINI2 access was a great idea, hats off to who thought of that and set it up. Some more promotion for site, photos of runs etc would have been good to show why we were there

[KPKalle]

More comments from me :

- Location. This will never be convenient for everyone. And some consideration must be given to those coming from abroad even if they are the minority. Heathrow/London is good for me as regards flights. Northampton is also good since I have family there and also it's a short hop up the M1 to get there from London. Were the location Manchester I don't think I would come since that would mean flying in, possible Run (therefore car rental), attend Ball then fly home. That would be too expensive. At least further south I can make the trip worthwhile by making it last a week and seeing friends and family. Of course this is my personal feeling. I don't know what the other "foreign" attendees think or how they arranged their trip around the Ball.

- Music. No problem. We'll never satisfy everyone's taste. I like all sorts but we have such a mix of age groups, backgrounds and so on that mainly middle-of-the-road music would generally be best.

- Timing. As regards starting the meal earlier, I think that would be a good idea. But not at the expense of the pre-dinner drink. As Brummie said, it was good to have that relax/social time. Especially when this is one of the few times a year people from all corners of the UK and Ireland can actually meet face to face. And perhaps the only time ever people from further afield will get to meet.

But everything was well organised and I think everyone had a really great time Looking forward to the next one ....

Karl.

[scooperman_uk]

firstly outstanding job in organising the whole event.

feedback. this is not critisism.

food
Food was adeqaute, but not brilliant
Soup wasnt the one that was advertised on the menu? understand it was the chefs choice?

Drink

Welcome drinks at the start?
ordering wine advance of the day would have stopped the huge jam of people trying to get into the ball
bar inside the ball room too?

venue

thought it was no-smoking in the ball room. eventually became smoking after the meal. would have preferred to have remained non smoking. but thats just my preference

Location

Centrally based not ideally located for foreign visitors and airports.
Heathrow better situated for european visitors that drive / fly / eurostar to the UK
Hotel was fine, cost ok, room was fine, breakfast fine.
carparking a bit of a squeeze?
main bar too small and not enough seating.

the ball

disco wasnt my cup of tea, DJ seemed rather lifeless.
auction seemed to run on too long and didnt seem to fit in well, perhaps have the auction mid afternoon?
computer link to MINI2 was a great idea. perhaps a webcam next year?
charity collections during the ball?
more fund raising opportunities during the ball evening?
competitions that raise money for charity?


The whole weekend

Friday night out was great organised by MINI2ers
run on saturday was perhaps a little too long? i chose to do only upto lunch time for this reason, perhaps make it shorter.
Charge folks a donation cost to go on the run?
sunday - late checkout should me mandatory on the room price?

dont get me wrong i really enjoyed the whole weekend.

[Harpo]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rakey

...Some more promotion for site, photos of runs etc would have been good to show why we were there

Good thinking Rakey - I'll second that.

[*Hels*]

My go!!

Food was lovely with good options, price seemed okay for the area.

I quite liked having the bar area outside the ballroom as it was nicer to chat in, instead of shouting over music.

Web access was a fab idea, though not many people seemed to use it, maybe they didnt notice it was there for their use?

Photos were a great idea, though I agree that I felt a bit self concious having them taken surrounded by everyone! Would be nice to have a more private area.

Hotel was an excellent price with a great discount, we had a look how much our room was supposed to cost!

The run was brilliant and gave us plenty of time on our return to have a drink afterwards before getting ready.

I must admit that we felt a little pressured, we spent a lot of money to go to the Ball and gave what we could, but didnt have alot more money to spare for everything else. The raffle was fairly priced with great prizes, the auction had great lots. The fines were not really a fair idea, if people didnt wear the right suit maybe there was a reason for that, should they really be fined? And am I right in believing that the dirty car fine was originally £50 before it went down to £20? Some people cannot afford to pay out that much just because they have enjoyed the run, got their car filthy and then didnt have chance to wash it! Maybe a minimum donation of £5 to do the run would have been a fairer option.

Looking forward to the next one!!!!

[Hickster]

I agree about the fines - having already bought raffle tickets and wine I was left with very little cash for anything else and I certainly didn't have £20 lying around to pay the dirty car fine. I would guess the whole weekend was on average £150 per person (and that's for those who already had suits/dresses).

Other than that I can't really fault the event - well done all involved