The current Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a number of cancellations and postponements for COVGOG including its AGM, a trip by members to the East Lancashire Railway and the club’s Spring open day.
The club’s usual Tuesday evening meetings have also been suspended since March. However, COVGOG is not a club to simply lay down and go into hibernation. Shortly after the close down commenced we set up a Googlegroup email account for club members thus enabling us to easily keep in touch and share our news and experiences. This, for those members who have used it, has been a lifesaver. Photos of projects and builds are regularly shared, advice sought and club news distributed. There is no substitute to meeting up with friends but this has helped enormously. Thank you Justin for sorting that.
The cancellation of the Spring Open Day prompted thoughts of a virtual open day to enable club members and guests to share our layout and other projects. This proved to be a success attracting contributions of all types from lots of our members. Please do have a look. Thanks go to Matt H for that
A slight reduction in restrictions has enabled members to (safely) meet each other on a one to one basis in their gardens. Again this has been a life saver for many mimicking albeit on a small scale the friendly interaction to be found at the club. Future plans for the club are uncertain. It has a strong membership that will ensure that after the current crisis it will be able to pick up where it left off. The principal question is when this will be possible. For now though COVGOG remains a strong, viable and friendly club that is making the very best of a difficult situation. Paul W.