Hi everyone
As you know I was very vocal in my disappointment in the reaction from the club/RFL/SKY to the way the Catalans game was changed. I still feel it is disgusting but now realise that the only blame the club need to hold their hands up to is the fact that they issued a two line statement and no apology until six days later. I have been in prolonged discussions with Paul Blanchard and believe the club were not the people at fault for the movement of the game and the fact it was out of their hands.
Paul would like to see me come back to the club as volunteer organiser and fill the position I vacated. I have said I am prepared to do this if a number of things are taken into consideration.
These points are :
The club consult volunteers about issues that really affect fans and ask for some help and guidance in the things which we understand better than they do – as fans we have had the rough with the smooth and probably understand some issues better than they do.
Volunteers are on a rotation for Saturdays giving everyone the chance to watch the reserve games and use the Jester bar for lunch if they want to
Include volunteers in more than just raffles etc.
The club have offered compensation in the form of paid coach travel and entry ticket on a trip to Warrington, as the club had their hands tied by the RFL I feel this goes a little way to knowing they care
The club should still badger the RFL to make sure there is some form of compensation from them to Quins fans. I know they won’t want to in case it sets precedence but I feel it should be something given by way of compensation and apology to the fans. SKY will do nothing – they do not even think we have been inconvenienced too much.
We should be included in brainstorming sessions on how best to draw crowds, we all have ideas and these should be listened to, they may well be the ideas that need acting upon.
Discussion is still going on between Paul and I and I will not retract what I have said or written to the Club/SKY/RFL and Paul understands this and the reasons I will not retract anything. He has given me support with this.
The RFL and SKY have not even bothered to answer my emails, at least the club have interacted with fans when they have sent mails. Not always what we want to hear but at least we have not been ignored.
A few of you have said you do not want the volunteer movement to fold and would like it to go forward. I will ask you all to reply do you think it should, would you still like me to co-ordinate it? If you want to move things forward then we should hold a meeting and Paul and Petra should be in attendance so that everyone knows exactly what is happening, why we give our time to the club and what we expect from the club and vice versa.
I will be honest and say the main thing in wanting to carry on is the fact that Petra with the help of Brian and I has completed a lot of work for the London Wheelchair Rugby Club BBQ and without the help of the volunteer movement it probably won’t go ahead. I don’t think LWRC should be the people to miss out due to the decisions of the Catalan game and don’t think our team deserve to see the few fans we have dwindle further. If we can all meet and talk and be included by the club in major events, maybe we can make a difference. We have ideas and would like to have them listened to and in some cases acted on. It is over to you all to make the decision do we move forward or do we disband?

Great news Alison.

IMO the volunteers would eventually come un-stuck without you and the work you do (this is not to diminish the work done last week by those that helped out BTW).
I am glad that the club have taken everything on board and I am sure that I speak for the majority in saying WELCOME BACK!

Thanks

As GF has said great news and welcome back.



In some strange way all this aggro over the Cats game with Sky and RFL and reading your message here, has made the Club reliese just what hard work you and the other volunteers do and from the sound of it are going to help or take more notice of yours and the Volunteers needs and ideas in the future.



I do hope any ongoing meetings with PB are as helpful as this one has been

A rare example of a blazing row doing good in the end. Perhaps there'll now be a realisation by not just the club but the RFL and perhaps SKY that open-ness is a good thing where possible (I think that we all appreciate that it isn't possible to be told everything).

Hope you're back Alison.

Our club needs people like you.

Bluddy femanists

Not a volunteer per se but did hand out some flyers re Manly and The Bulls
proposed game at the RU fixture versus Northampton along with Sogspurs
earlier on in the year.

Personally feel that the club will benefit from the continuation of this initiative.

Well done Alison. Yes, I would like you back in your coordinator role, expanded as you've proposed, though I'm no longer a volunteer.

Don't let them get away with a thing!!!

At last we have someone the club listens to. Good on 'yer!

Happy to be involved and well done

I hope you do decide to continue helping the club, as you do put in a lot of effort for the club that must help them out immensely.

I saw some proof that leafleting/ Public advertising works when I was in Paris at the weekend, I met an American student in Paris who decided to give rugby a try becasue she saw a poster for the France V England test, on the metro system, and the tickets were only €6. she wouldnt have known without being told.

I am willing to help out with some volunteering, that is leafleting, and some matchday stuff too.

I think having a meeting of potential volunteers is a good idea to discuss how we should go forward, how about saturday before the reserves? or is that too short notice for some people who can't make saturdays game?

I am pleased that Alison is carrying on, what a choice of words! The club needs volunteers and we need a fans champion and I can't think of a better person to do it.

You didn't happen to be out drinking in Bastilles at 2am, did you?

Yep, Friday and saturday nights I believe

That American bird of yours did well to spot that poster on the Metro by the way as it was the only one I saw all weekend - just wished I hadn't got the hangover flight home yesterday morning in time to see Leigh get their s handed to them by Gateshead

We saw 8 posters in total, she loved it, she had a photo taken with Peter Fox, and she still talks about him.



You two have to sort out coming down to The Stoop for a game, in your Leigh shirts. I don't want to jinx it but maybe make it one of the home play off games we get

I doubt we'll have any play-off commitments this year so it's a definite possibility