Fareham
Wallington is a small Hampshire village, located approximately one mile North of Fareham town centre. The village hall is situated adjacent to the Sainsbury's retail park and is easily located after leaving the M27 motorway at Junction 11. Free parking is available outside of the hall, which is a modern building with all typical facilities available. We hire the 'Upper Hall' for the WAGs meetings, which is capable of holding a medium sized party.
The meetings have a structured approach, with tables laid out in a 'U' shape, on which members put their Macs. We normally start with a presentation on software, which then opens up to a general question session. The meeting organizer runs this session, hopefully, keeping everyone interested and involved. If there are particular specialized questions then small groups get together a little later.
We then break for refreshments, which include our ‘famous’ donuts and a lot of chat, which goes down very well. As time allows we sometimes run another demo, or just work through various problems, or indeed 'good ideas' that members bring along. The three hours tend to go very quickly, some members arriving and staying to the end, others arrive part way through with some departing before the end.
The meetings are friendly, and informal, as with all WAGs meetings, with the emphasis put on friendship and mutual support which we all tend to need from time to time. Please feel free to come along, if nothing else to listen eat the donuts and have a chat. We look forward to seeing you there.
Dorchester
The Colliton Club is in a large Country House in the centre of the County town near the County Hall. In the evening there is plenty of parking round about. We hire the Dorset Room, one of its fairly large & grand rooms, for our meetings and various members bring along the equipment we need to add to the standard furniture.
One of our members is also a member of the Colliton Club & by complying with the Club’s licensing arrangements by supplying them with a list of WAGs members attending each meeting we are able to make use of their well stocked & reasonably priced bar for drinks & snacks.
Meetings are a mixture of demonstrations of software by members or tips & ideas and often wide ranging discussions. Everyone is most welcome to arrange to demonstrate whatever interests them & our presentations range from the slick to the frankly laid-back! It’s the enthusiasm that makes the evenings so interesting & informative.
Sockets & tables are available around the room where members set up their machines, if they have brought them, to share their enthusiasms or ask for informal help with problems & queries both great & small. Members have a wide range of experience from beginners to professionals but all of us are there to share our friendship & support. If you have any kit you would like to sell do bring it along & donate 10% of your takings to WAGs!
The meeting organiser moves the evening along and there is always a break to visit the bar downstairs. Often after the meeting & computers are packed away discussion continues in the bar. Do come along to see what is going on and have a chat.
Bournemouth
The meetings in Bournemouth are held right in the centre of the town, immediately opposite the pedestrian entrance to the Richmond Gardens car park. We meet in the presentation room below the Solutions shop, where we have full use of a projector and a big screen, a speakers podium and of course where we are able to see and play with the latest Apple products in the shop above.
The venue is very convenient in that it is central, with easy parking - and that need not be expensive, as we have been told that the barrier at the exit is lifted every night from between 9.30 and 10.00. Solutions kindly provide us with tea, coffee and biscuits, and we follow the usual WAGs meeting structure - starting with a Question & Answer session, which can prove invaluable for anyone with a problem, or just a query about how to do something.
Then there is a presentation, after which we chat and swap ideas and information — always worthwhile because most people come away with ideas for new programs or new ways of doing things. We also have a raffle each month for a small but useful prize. Meetings are held mid-month on a Tuesday, starting at 6:30pm.
Salisbury
Salisbury meetings are held at the Rugby Football Club which is in Castle Road. We meet on the first Wednesday of each month starting at 7:30pm and finishing around 10pm. After this, several of us adjourn to a local Italian restaurant to continue a social evening over anything from a cup of coffee to a full meal for those who've either come straight from work or are just plain hungry!
The content of the meeting is fairly fluid but does attempt to follow a format. We always start with an open session where members can ask the assembled crowd about any problems or issues they may have. If the answer is a simple and quick one, it's dealt with there and then, but for more detailed explanations, there is always time after the main body of the meeting for questioner and answer provider to get together, hopefully over a Mac.
The meeting then proceeds with one or sometimes two presentations of software. They range from explanations aimed at the total beginner to "How I mastered my film on white rhinos for the BBC Natural History Unit". In truth, I live in hope of someone offering the latter but we have a broad range of experience and try to cater for all levels of knowledge. So, if you're a seasoned Mac user or are even just toying with the idea of buying your first Mac we'd love to see you at our next meeting.
