Bath Beer Festival 2011 - Corruption afoot

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Tim Swallow
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Location: Bristol

Bath Beer Festival 2011 - Corruption afoot

Post by Tim Swallow »

Looks like their is some corruption afoot in the Bath Pavilion concerning the Camra run Bath Beer Festival which has been cancelled this year and replaced by one run by ..... the catering manager there!

read about it here - page 23
http://www.camrabristol.org.uk/PW91.pdf

"The Bath & Borders branch of CAMRA has reluctantly
decided to cancel the beer festival which was to have
been held at the Pavilion in Bath this October. After 33
years at the venue, the decision was not taken lightly, but,
due to a combination of factors, the branch members felt
they had no alternative.
The decision was prompted by the decision of the management of
the Pavilion to impose a ban on the use of glasses at this year’s festival
and insist that plastic glasses be used instead. The branch was notified of
this in June. Apart from going very much against the grain as far as any
red-blooded CAMRA member is concerned, this had serious financial
implications.
First, it was felt that there would be a drop in attendance because
some people would simply refuse to drink out of plastic glasses. It was
agreed that, if the festival went ahead, it was only fair that any publicity
should highlight the use of plastic glasses, as they are not only virtually
unknown at CAMRA beer festivals, but go against the whole ethos of
the organisation. It was also felt that this would avoid the problem of
people asking for their money back once they got into the festival and
realised they would have to drink out of plastic glasses.
Second, it was considered unlikely that many people would want
to keep plastic glasses as a souvenir of the festival. If they returned the
glasses and asked for a refund at the end of the sessions, this would not
only reduce profits but also leave the organisers with boxes of unwanted
plastic glasses thus creating problems of how to dispose of them.
Third, the price of suitably robust plastic glasses (ie not the squidgy
ones that end up with half your drink over the floor) was significantly
higher than for similar ones made of glass.
Where the use of plastic glasses has been imposed elsewhere, it has
generally been because of health & safety or public order issues. Neither
issue was relevant in this case, as the Bath Beer Festival had run successfully
for 33 years with no concerns on either score. When pressed
on this, the management replied that the ban on glasses was necessary
because of the number of breakages in the past. It was pointed out that
the number of breakages had always been low, and that there had always
been CAMRA volunteers on hand with dustpan and brush to clear up
any breakages. Unfortunately, this seemed to cut no ice.
Faced with this, it was felt that a likely but unquantifiable fall in
attendance, combined with a rise in costs as a result of implementing the
diktat, posed a serious threat to the viability of the festival. As a result, it
was decided that there was no option but to cancel the event.
This was, however, not the first issue to have raised concerns over
the suitability of the Pavilion as a venue for future beer festivals. It was
in fact the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. There had been
concerns for some time about the escalating cost of hiring the Pavilion,
especially in light of the facilities available and the general ambience of
the building. The high level of security was another issue. Some volunteers
felt that security was heavy-handed at times, especially in dealing
with customers after sessions had ended. For years, volunteers had
provided perfectly adequate and appropriate levels of security as they
still do at other festivals but this option was not made available by the
current management at the pavilion.
Health and safety issues had also been an irritant in the past,
particularly at the 2010 festival. Not only did all electrical equipment
including that used by the bands have to be checked, it was decreed
that matting should be laid in front of the trestle tables where beer and
cider were served. It was explained that this was to prevent people slipping.
The Pavilion has a concrete floor, and there had never been any
concerns over customers slipping in the past. Addressing a non-existent
slip hazard actually created a potential trip hazard, as some customers
discovered when their feet caught the edges of these ‘safety mats’.
In 1954, John Betjeman called the Pavilion an ‘unworthy little building’,
comparing it to ‘an outsize army hut’. Fifty-seven years on, time
has not been kind to it. It was thrown up quickly over a century ago to
cash in on the roller-skating craze that was sweeping the country. When
it opened as a roller-skating rink on 17 September 1910, it had a sprung
wooden floor, which was later ripped out and replaced by concrete after
the building flooded. Its builders would probably be astonished to see
the Pavilion still in use as one of the city’s top entertainment venues.
The lack of alternative large venues in Bath (apart from the upmarket
Guildhall and Assembly Rooms) has, however, ensured its survival. In
1930, it was acquired by Bath City Council and it is still owned by Bath
& North East Somerset Council. It is managed, however, by Aquaterra,
who also run the adjacent sports centre and other sports facilities in and
around the city.
Readers of Pints West may be aware that the Pavilion has since
February 2007 also been the venue for the Bath Cider Festival. This
has no connection with CAMRA but is organised by Chris Lilley, the
catering manager at the Pavilion. Since 2008 he has also run a cider
festival at Temple Meads in Bristol. 2008 also saw the launch of Lilley’s
Cider Barn on a trading estate in Frome. This supplies cider to pubs and
other outlets across the south west. Mr Lilley recently announced plans
to open a microbrewery in the unit at Frome. He also runs a catering
company providing dinners, hog roasts, corporate events, etc. You will
doubtless have seen his hogs roasting if you have been to the Bath Beer
Festival in recent years as catering manager he has a monopoly on
catering at the venue.
The decision to cancel the 34th Bath Beer Festival is not one that has
been taken lightly. It was, however, a unanimous and indeed an unavoidable
one. The local branch is actively looking at alternative venues for
future festivals, and, while it has been considered advisable not to rush
into organising a festival at a new venue this year, there will be a festival
in 2012.
This story has a postscript.
Earlier this month, Charles Lilley contacted the local CAMRA
branch to inform them that he would be running his own beer festival at
the Pavilion and asking if he could have last year’s trading figures.
After CAMRA had cancelled the festival, the management of the
Pavilion which had previously indicated that the glass ban was nonnegotiable
said that there was a possibility it could be rescinded. It is
not known whether Mr Lilley will be using plastic glasses at his event.
As you may well see posters advertising the Bath Beer Festival over
the coming weeks, please be aware that CAMRA has no involvement
whatsoever either directly or indirectly with any beer festival to be
held at the Pavilion this autumn. There will be no CAMRA Bath Beer
Festival in 2011 it will, however, be back, revamped and raring to go
next year. The organisers are already looking for another venue, and as
soon as a festival is arranged, details will appear in Pints West and on
the Bath & Borders website. The organisers thank you for your support
over the last 33 years and look forward to seeing you at the Bath Beer
Festival in 2012."
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Taz Ales
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Re: Bath Beer Festival 2011 - Corruption afoot

Post by Taz Ales »

Dammit! I was wondering why there weren't any details on their website.

Looks like one big fucking con. I trust everybody will be boycotting Lilley's festival?
Taz... or Chris. It's up to you.
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Tim Swallow
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:17 pm
Location: Bristol

Re: Bath Beer Festival 2011 - Corruption afoot

Post by Tim Swallow »

strange how they were trying to enforce plastic glasses on the CAMRA organised event and then seemed to have agreed to allow glasses for the alternative one run by the catering manager...
mountain_cat
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Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2011 2:06 pm

Re: Bath Beer Festival 2011 - Corruption afoot

Post by mountain_cat »

Blimey! I wish I'd known about this before now.

For many, many years now a small party of us has made the pilgrimage from Berkshire to the Bath Beer Festival and this year as usual I had to go to the Pavilion web site to confirm the dates. Bath and Borders never have been very good at this internet thing have they? Anyway, I thought it was a bit odd that I could get some tickets direct from the Pavilion but it was more convenient than the usual snail mail method so went ahead and got them. We don't intend to boycott the event now that we've paid for it and the train fare and I dare say many others will be in the same position.

Why on earth didn't Bath and Borders CAMRA give us a heads up on all this some time back?
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