[PyroPDC]

phildunford, on 16 May 2010 - 07:55 PM, said:

We are trying to make it a bit easier, but the reasons for the way we do it are very valid. We need to know exactly who our members are - M. Mouse esquire need not apply! It shows the authorities we are serious. All our members are real people, traceable and commit to behave in a responsible way. If a member got into trouble, it is possible that the society would be liable, as we are a properly constituted company. In theory we have fixed liability, but none of the directors want to loose their houses because of an out of control member!

There seem to be two reasons to me why people do not join.

1) They are afraid to put their head above the parapet and give out their real names.
2) They are too mean to part with £20 - the price of a round of drinks.

Having said that, the membership is growing steadily - we are never going to be a huge organisation, we are just too specialist.

it took me 6 months to get my ass in gear to send all my details via post (really it was sat on my desk because i didnt have a photo on hand lol)
if i could have sent via email it would have been sent next day) (if interested i have converted version of your form which you can fill in via the computer and have it sent via email)

money £20 is nothing, with that i got piroty (over non members) to go to the kimbolton factory tour. about 4 issues of ukps magazine (lots of good info), about £15 discount off my cat 4 training. (i think iv got a good deal last year)

hummm come to think of it i think my subs are due (do we get sent reminders when subs are due ?

if the mi5 or feds wanted to round us all up they would have done it a long time ago they are more interested in the ones making a nuisance of them self and buying chemicals that have no place in pyro. by joining you are saying that you want to support the the ukps in legalising this hobby if we can prove to the HSE we can do it safely.

[Arthur Brown]

"able to say "Mr Minister, we have 70 full members and 700 associates" -Peret

Which is one benefit to the society of having members who have trained formally in using fireworks - courses in cat3, cat4 etc. The society needs members, but the society needs quality members too. then it becomes
"we have 500 members trained for cat3, 300 members trained for cat4 100 members trained for SFX etc."

[crystal palace fireworks]

I think a `Youtube` presence is a must have for our society in terms of attracting new members, but is it possible to have two accounts for one internet service provider?,.....are there any paid up members (who do not have a youtube account) who would be willing to create a site for us in the UKPS name?

I think the firework stand we have had at the display competitions is really good, but can we not consider having a stand at other types of events (county shows, steam rallys etc)?,...in other words the UKPS can put on a display and charge for it to raise funds.

We also need more volunteers within our society who would be willing to get involved in a campaign drive in other ways,.....for example, how many of you or your families would be willing to parade at the Lord Mayor`s Show or New Years Day parade in london in UKPS tee shirts?,......in theory we could dress up a old classic car (Amberley might help us) in past firework adverts/memorabilia, and then have a SFX show along the way, we could give out badges/key rings and shake tins to collect money to raise funds for Amberley,...I think this would be attract publicity and then more members.

I would like to see more arranged get togethers,...can we not organise more pyro holidays around displays abroad?,...we could give discounts to paid up members, but make profits from forum members who want to go,...this will hopefully induce more membership!

[chrismdunford]

PyroPDC, on 16 May 2010 - 08:58 PM, said:

it took me 6 months to get my ass in gear to send all my details via post (really it was sat on my desk because i didnt have a photo on hand lol)
if i could have sent via email it would have been sent next day) (if interested i have converted version of your form which you can fill in via the computer and have it sent via email)

money £20 is nothing, with that i got piroty (over non members) to go to the kimbolton factory tour. about 4 issues of ukps magazine (lots of good info), about £15 discount off my cat 4 training. (i think iv got a good deal last year)

hummm come to think of it i think my subs are due (do we get sent reminders when subs are due ?

if the mi5 or feds wanted to round us all up they would have done it a long time ago they are more interested in the ones making a nuisance of them self and buying chemicals that have no place in pyro. by joining you are saying that you want to support the the ukps in legalising this hobby if we can prove to the HSE we can do it safely.

Yes reminders do go out, usually a couple of weeks before they are due (I am just doing June renewal letters now). We are looking at ways to make the process easier, including trying to encourage people to pay by standing order.

[Peret]

Arthur Brown, on 16 May 2010 - 09:04 PM, said:

Which is one benefit to the society of having members who have trained formally in using fireworks - courses in cat3, cat4 etc. The society needs members, but the society needs quality members too. then it becomes
"we have 500 members trained for cat3, 300 members trained for cat4 100 members trained for SFX etc."

True. But at present you don't have even 100 members, let alone 100 who are trained. There must be many people who support the Society's aims but don't have sufficient interest or reason to become professionally trained. However, they have voices, and they vote. Perhaps this is not the right Society for them, but in the absence of any other, why not get them on board?

As a matter of interest, what proportion of the 70 do have formal training and qualification? I imagine it's fairly high.

Yeah, I know - I should probably wait until I become a member before telling you how to run your Society.

[pyrotechnist]

Not everyone will train to become a pro either as it seems to cost a lot of money that people dont have in these struggling times. I dont believe CAT 4 training is going to train you in how to keep your life when handling explosive compounds and finished goods as only reading, research and experience will give you that. Now CAT 4 training is good at teaching you how to fire CAT 4 and safety etc but differs compared to manufacture in which most of us do or want to do.

[PyroPDC]

pyrotechnist, on 17 May 2010 - 02:52 AM, said:

Not everyone will train to become a pro either as it seems to cost a lot of money that people dont have in these struggling times. I dont believe CAT 4 training is going to train you in how to keep your life when handling explosive compounds and finished goods as only reading, research and experience will give you that. Now CAT 4 training is good at teaching you how to fire CAT 4 and safety etc but differs compared to manufacture in which most of us do or want to do.

what we need as a society to show we mean business is if the ukps could make or find a course on the Health & safety side of things in manufacturing and storage. this would show the HSE that we can prove its members are competent in manufacturing. as pyrotechnist says cat4 training is a good part of safety but it hasn't got anything to do with the manufacture side of things.

i do wish the ukps could find a place to make a small micro factory, i know its hard finding a central location (where members can get to it every week) but even if it was used more for once a month large meet ups / manufacturing days. i would easy pay a yearly fee to meet up every month and legally manufacture and test fireworks.

This post has been edited by PyroPDC: 17 May 2010 - 05:58 PM

[c.brad]

i am in hampshire if any1 wants to know

but sounds awsome idea as i am only using class c fireworks but want to get in to the bigger stuff

[whoof]

Only just noticed this topic.

I am in london but have an isolated property in Oxfordshire which might fit the bill.
There are a couple of outbuildings protected by a natural slope (rebutment ?).

Has anyone considered a hook-up with the UKRA ?
It seems that there may be some common interest which may increase member nos.

My primary interest is rockets although i used to be a pyromaniac (mums term not mine) as a youngster.

Have to say though when i saw that girondel i was hooked again.
I have spent the last couple of months trying to build a mathematical model for an n stage one.
I know - i need to get out more.
Need to know a lot more about BP motors though,they would need to have reliably reproducible burn characteristics.

[Mortartube]

I think we need to look amongst our members here and find out who has professional manufacturing experience (i.e who has actually worked in a bona fide factory or made up SFX compositions on site) I have factory experience, I know Spectrum does. Anyone else?

[exat808]

Mortartube, on 19 November 2010 - 02:21 PM, said:

I think we need to look amongst our members here and find out who has professional manufacturing experience (i.e who has actually worked in a bona fide factory or made up SFX compositions on site) I have factory experience, I know Spectrum does. Anyone else?

I have experience of preparing and submitting HSE explosive site license applications (HE only to date), happy to advise at any point.

[whoof]

Thanks.

Experience would be extremely helpful.
Having said that how did Rev Lancaster get started ?

It would be useful to know also why the previous attempts failed.

What needs to be considered ?

PP (This is classed as amenity land so i am hoping that a Club would not constitute a change of use)?

Environmental (chlorate ?)

Security ?
As an ad hoc site i would expect BP / oxidisers would need secure storage though this could be accomadated
nearby.

What would it be used for exactly ?
I Assume fireworks construction but no BP mill.

Have any of the previous attempts generated a 'spec' ?

[Mortartube]

I was thinking that if the HSE knew that we had members with specific manufacturing experience that they might consider that in our favour and not think we consist entirely of amateur (no disrespect intended) firework makers.

[phildunford]

snert, on 20 November 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:

Thanks.

Experience would be extremely helpful.
Having said that how did Rev Lancaster get started ?

It would be useful to know also why the previous attempts failed.

Have any of the previous attempts generated a 'spec' ?

Ron got started, because he applied for a 'small factory license'. If conditions (distance quantity etc) were met, this license could not be refused. Unfortunately MSER did away with this option. Times were very different back then & it's unlikely we will ever see a return to this commonsense approach.

All I can really say about the failure of the previous attempt was that it was down to problems between particular personalities which proved insoluble. It was not due to any technical, legal or financial problems.

Very detailed paperwork & contracts were produced, I will see if these still exist (I was not involved) & if they would have any more general application.