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Thread: Southport anyone

  1. #1
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    Southport anyone

    I know it's bit old hat now but anything to report from Southport.
    The content will be about the same but has the venue facilities improved at all.

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Given the weather, the chalet I was in did quite well. Clean, everything worked and kept the bedroom warm throughout for a total of £9 in electricity, hot water as needed, main room heater on while I was eating. I've been less comfortable in far more expensive accommodation before now.

    The dancing was excellent. Friday's main room music was fantastic and I was continually getting superb partners. Saturday/Sunday spent some time in the bar, including Sunday's Swing Hour, having lots of fun.

    My only regret was spending less time with the ladies that came over from Northern Ireland. All of them very friendly, fun to dance with and hopefully we'll see them again

    So no, nothing much to report. Heard nobody moaning, nothing visible went wrong, one of our forum admin appeared highly entertained watching one of Lucky's classes and generally I had a great time.

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by cederic View Post
    My only regret was spending less time with the ladies that came over from Northern Ireland. All of them very friendly, fun to dance with and hopefully we'll see them again
    I can vouch for this given that I dance with them every week! I'm glad you enjoyed their company, and there are definite plans for a delegation in June - I'll be with them if I can get my leave changed... (booked ages ago for May!)

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Southport anyone

    I had a fantastic time!

    I was seriously worried about it being too cold in the chalet but thankfully I was in club and they'd pre-warmed it and it was fine.
    The chalet was in the perfect place too, right near the Venue. The only time I suffered, was on Saturday night, when we were invited to friends in a budget chalet right over the back and I think I stepped in every puddle on the way, one in particular came up to my ankles And their chalet was FREEZING, even with a lot of us in there and the oven on full, it was still cold by the time we left... I couldn't have coped!

    Anyway, back to my chalet, new 'blackout' curtains, new fridge, new oven, new shower curtain, same stupid button for shower and guess what... no lock on the bathroom, as per usual. (I actually think it adds to the fun now... I've seen grown men cry lol)

    All the music I heard was superb and I particularly enjoyed a guy called Steve's set? Plus new kid on the block, Kieren Moore.

    The floor in the blues room, which has been a problem in the past, was mainly fine. We had a slight problem with stickiness at one point and I told Rocky, who immediately gave me some talc, which I shoved all over the place.. Sorted!

    The best bit about the weekend was the fact it was less crowded than its been of late and 'everyone' I spoke to, said how much more enjoyable it was because of this! And there's been a lot of facebook status updates to reflect this feeling!

    Lots of partying for me, including Princess Fi's Pancake party, my mate Sandy (non forumite) dinner party and Franck and Sheena's legendary waffle party, which never disappoints Thanks guys!

    It was lovely to meet up with old friends and also some wonderful new finds.. one being a Forum lerker.. you know who you are!

    Thanks to my lifts, Gerry and Mark

    And finally.. a little video clip of one of the sweetest weekend moments
    MODERATOR AT YOUR SERVICE
    "If you're going to do something tonight, that you know you'll be sorry for in the morning, plan a lie in." Lorraine

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Southport... for me was just what the doctor ordered.

    The weather wasn't as nearly as bad as i thought it would be. Was pleasantly surprised by my chalet having almost free electric. I think i spent a whole 2p while at southport. The heating was on full. It was nice and toasty. Was a done up one.

    Music was alright plenty of tunes to groove to. Rocky played my favourite tracks.... there wasn't much which made me go OHHHH TUNE this time round but I did get a few tracks from the DJs. Its always nice to say that was GREAT!!! Its normally when you nail a track and had so much fun.....great to have memories to a great track....

    I asked a couple of DJs "Please oh please can I get whos it by?".... There was only a few tracks that I couldn't get to the DJ in time.. guess i was dancing too much I made more of an effort to dance with more randoms cause I think i have a bad habit of dancing with just dancing with the friends that turn up.

    Didn't really take many pictures... and i did try and video a few friends but my phone was stuck on stop animation!!! DOH!!!!! So that was a waste of time.

    Bar food was good for £4... I couldn't stay all the way through the last night... was driving this time round...

    Still on southport time... no southport blues yet.... though it was a bit of a struggle to get into work for 7:15

    Anyway in summary good as any other... a few people missing... a few new friends made... loved it.... shame i had to leave early... still got my electric card for next southport....

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Hear hear to all the above. It was just such a fantastic weekend.
    Refurbished chalet - "wooden" look floor - no manky carpet & "leather" look sofa. £10 electricity kept us warm all weekend.
    Numbers were perfect - the lack of some regular faces meant discovering lots more new people to dance with - always a good thing.
    Weather was ok compared to the forecast - bit of drizzle, light snow and icy but still got a sunny sunday afternoon, which just makes southport!
    DJs - pretty wonderful. Made the smart move of looking at the schedule this time and went along earlier (10.30) on Friday to catch Tiggerbabe fb Garry Turner doing Blues lounge in the Cylone room - both stonking sets and a fabulous start to the weekend.
    Daryl Reid's sack the DJ slots were just divine and Keiren Moore on the Sunday just packed the bar with energy - it was tangible.. he really deserved his wooping and cheering!
    And thanks for that wonderful video Lory - everyone in the bar was just beaming with delight at those babies!

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    Omnipresent Administrator Franck's Avatar
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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by carollloyd View Post
    Hear hear to all the above. It was just such a fantastic weekend.
    Yeah, was definitely a wonderful week-end, felt just right.
    Thank you for my dances, I never manage to catch you, so was a treat to get a couple of dances!

    The week-end was perfect for me, I managed a good balance of teaching, dancing and partying... Discovered new dancers, rekindled with old favourites and generally had a fab time. Thanks to everyone I danced with and sorry to everyone I missed, will have to get you at Scorch in the Summer.

    I also managed to do a couple of classes (Lucky's Charleston class, which was very high energy and great fun - and his Slides class, which taught a slide I have been trying to perfect for years, thanks to his great technique and relaxed teaching style, I feel I got a bit closer).

    Already booked for Scorch, so now can't wait!
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Nice apartment new floor , curtains seatee etc not sure where the old woodlice went ?

    Numbers seem way down and prices keep going up. This was ok for room to dance but just felt a bit odd seeing the 'old blues room' empty at 11pm on a sunday and most going by 3am on saturday, have we lost the hard core ? for me the high tempo music at 3am in the chill out zone just doesn't do it for me

    Total lack of blues even though the mag suggested thats what people want, A early slot 9pm sunday and 2hr slot saturday not much really.

    Main room freezing during day and lessons.

    Booked Camber and thats coming to nearly £200 just for me , will see how that is and then look at others.

    ps this website keeps crashing ?

    There is no direct competition in this sector and it tells, cf a few yrs back caberat was fly someone over from USA now its unprepared teachers doing a poor routine.

    Prices have crept up 60% over 3yrs and thats what many were concerned about on here back then.

    I am tending to prefer the day time dance sessions as yoiu tend to know what your going to get swingers hr etc
    Last edited by stewart38; 11th-February-2012 at 11:46 AM.

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    Omnipresent Administrator Franck's Avatar
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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    Prices have crept up 60% over 3yrs and thats what many were concerned about on here back then.
    I don't know where you get the idea that prices keep going up, for reference, I just did a price comparison of prices in September 2007 vs Scorch 2012 (Summer) and the prices are much the same, which is amazing considering 5 years have passed and Pontins keep upgrading their chalets!
    For example (I have picked a few random examples that match the old brochure),
    a Budget 2 bedroom for 2 sharing is £126 this summer compared to £119 in 2007.
    A Classic 2 bedroom for 3 sharing (eg. 1 male 2 females) is £129 per person, compared to £129 in 2007.
    A Club 2 bedroom for 3 sharing same as above is £149 per person, compared to £139 in 2007.
    If you wanted a 1 bedroom Classic Chalet for 2 sharing (1 male, 1 female) the price is £136, compared to £129...

    So the idea that prices have crept up 60% in the last few years is just wrong. Some prices are about 7% higher, some are the same.

    Judging by the feedback at the event, here and on Facebook, the week-end was great, and looking at the booking rates for Scorch in the Summer, I think Ceroc offer amazing value for week-enders.
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by Franck View Post
    I don't know where you get the idea that prices keep going up, for reference, I just did a price comparison of prices in September 2007 vs Scorch 2012 (Summer) and the prices are much the same, which is amazing considering 5 years have passed and Pontins keep upgrading their chalets!
    For example (I have picked a few random examples that match the old brochure),
    a Budget 2 bedroom for 2 sharing is £126 this summer compared to £119 in 2007.
    A Classic 2 bedroom for 3 sharing (eg. 1 male 2 females) is £129 per person, compared to £129 in 2007.
    A Club 2 bedroom for 3 sharing same as above is £149 per person, compared to £139 in 2007.
    If you wanted a 1 bedroom Classic Chalet for 2 sharing (1 male, 1 female) the price is £136, compared to £129...

    So the idea that prices have crept up 60% in the last few years is just wrong. Some prices are about 7% higher, some are the same.

    Judging by the feedback at the event, here and on Facebook, the week-end was great, and looking at the booking rates for Scorch in the Summer, I think Ceroc offer amazing value for week-enders.
    Bit of cherry picking there and your looking at early booking rates

    Camber now is £188 for single male includes the £20 parking (use to be free then £10)

    It was £99 so that 100% up from 5 yrs ago. Its an observation rather then a complaint , ceroc are doing well nothing more.

    ps I never said the weekend wasn't good they always are (thats why I have been to 30+) just observations.
    Last edited by stewart38; 11th-February-2012 at 06:52 PM.

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    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by stewart38 View Post
    Camber now is £188 for single male includes the £20 parking (use to be free then £10)
    It's worse than that, it's £198 if you want a twin room rather than a single+bunkbed. So that's £198 - £200, as you say - for a minimal-quality-level chalet. Then factor in food, transport costs, etc., and you're talking about £300+ minimum. The cost is definitely a factor.

    Compared to the recent Rocklbottoms weekend, which was a comparable cost this year (£178), for a half-board room in a decent hotel with good facilities, and Camber just looks like relatively poor value for money.

    Similarly, an economy room in Hemsby is £145 - so significantly less than Camber.

    I know it's tricky drawing comparisons, but I think Stewart56 has a point about the pricing - it "feels" more expensive.

    It also sounds like numbers were down this time round?

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bailey View Post
    I know it's tricky drawing comparisons, but I think Stewart56 has a point about the pricing - it "feels" more expensive.
    I wasn't arguing that week-enders do not feel expensive, these days, most things do, just that the 60% increase claim was not based on reality. There might have been occasional special offers running for a while, but overall, prices have stayed the same over the last 5 or 6 years, substantially below inflation.
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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by Franck View Post
    I wasn't arguing that week-enders do not feel expensive, these days, most things do, just that the 60% increase claim was not based on reality. There might have been occasional special offers running for a while, but overall, prices have stayed the same over the last 5 or 6 years, substantially below inflation.
    Yeah - could be that there's more "hotel-based" weekenders around now, which probably look like better value in comparison.

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    Re: Southport anyone

    Quote Originally Posted by Franck View Post
    I don't know where you get the idea that prices keep going up, for reference, I just did a price comparison of prices in September 2007 vs Scorch 2012 (Summer) and the prices are much the same, which is amazing considering 5 years have passed and Pontins keep upgrading their chalets!
    For example (I have picked a few random examples that match the old brochure),
    a Budget 2 bedroom for 2 sharing is £126 this summer compared to £119 in 2007.
    A Classic 2 bedroom for 3 sharing (eg. 1 male 2 females) is £129 per person, compared to £129 in 2007.
    A Club 2 bedroom for 3 sharing same as above is £149 per person, compared to £139 in 2007.
    If you wanted a 1 bedroom Classic Chalet for 2 sharing (1 male, 1 female) the price is £136, compared to £129...

    So the idea that prices have crept up 60% in the last few years is just wrong. Some prices are about 7% higher, some are the same.
    My recollection was that there were some very special offers when Ceroc entered the weekender market. Weren't there early bird offers? I can't remember what they were exactly, but they were well under £100. How are the prices compared to the launch special offers?

    I think that weekender battle is well and truly over. Ceroc now have the lion's share of the holiday camp based weekender market. They no longer need to build their share of the market with special offers. Ceroc are in business and my guess is that they invested in the market early on by taking no/low profits. Now they're established they can start to harvest a decent return - I say it all makes sound business sense. And you should compare the price of Ceroc weekenders vs the alternatives from other companies, not their introductory price - just regard those prices as a one-off bonus.

    On the subject of teachers imported from the States, I'm not impressed with them for MJ weekenders. They are usually fabulous dancers, but they're not doing MJ, usually WCS. Why pay to have them teach you a dance you don't do and probably won't do outside the lesson - if you want a WCS weekender you can go to one. Of course you might want to try other dances. But once you start saying "let's give them the option of trying other dances at our weekender" there's no need to import expensive teachers. There's loads of fabulous dance teachers in the UK who teach a massive range of dances - and, being based in the UK, those dances are ones that are likely to be taught at a dance class near you.

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    Omnipresent Administrator Franck's Avatar
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    Re: Southport anyone

    All good points Andy!
    All dance organisers use occasional special offers, so it would not be fair to compare the cheapest promotion, with the current full price.

    On the top teachers from the US issue, I mostly agree, but it really depends on the teacher. When I have invited teachers to come to Scotland, I picked them, not based on their current fame and notoriety, but because they were specialist in a field I personally wanted to improve, or felt would benefit the dancers in Scotland.
    This is why we had Mario Robau Jr, Carla Heiney, Jennifer de lucca and Michael Kielbasa, etc... Sometimes the expertise you want / need is abroad, and worth bringing in.
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

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