Well, here we are again in Octobers Union Article. The unions site has been growing a bit more then usual. Last month till today we've added hundreds of images for you to enjoy and take a peek at. Just recently we've added images from the Manchester union in Amsterdam where people had a great time.

A new addition to the site is a Safety page, dedicated to keeping you feeling comfortable and protected during your visits to the unions. This page is located under Misc, have a peek in there so you know what your getting into when you visit across country.

When and where it was: September 14-15, 2002 Manchester

Who was there: Commodore Tail-Kinker, Captain Babel, Commander Demon Slayer, Commander Logan, Lt Cmdr Romana, Lt Cmdr Dan, Lt Cmdr Lee, Martin, Naomi

What they did together:Demon Slayer Writes: Saturday: We met up and then went around the shops. Later in the day we went to FAB (sci-fi theme bar) to drink, talk about outpost 10f and other stuff, and a Dr Who trivia between Babel and Martin(the two Dr Who buffs). To the end of the evening we returned to our hotel for a few more drinks (at the pub opposite as our hotel had the worst cabaret singer), and to say goodbye to Romana and Martin.

Sunday: We had our breakfast at a food court in town. We met up with Dan and Babel at Easy Everything Internet Café for the traditional hour in 10F (you can’t get rid of us, even on Unions :P ). We then went to the Star Trek Experience at the science museum. We also went around the space and aviation sections of the museum. To end the day we had a meal at Weatherspoons before returning to the hotel and saying our farewells.

Web pictures: members.

Planning of a Union:

Organising a union is not as easy as it may seem. After organising ten unions so far in London, I still have problems and headaches. So here is a few pointers for wanna-be union organisers.

1. Decide on a date (most of my unions are on a Saturday. But I do have extras on Friday nights and Sundays). You may want to advertise a few dates on the notice board to find a suitable date that the biggest amount can attend.

2. Make a list activities and sites to visit (The more that cost nothing the better)

3. Always make sure you have enough to do, i.e. give your attendees enough choice for the day (Give them enough to fill a day and a half for each day you plan for - not everyone has the same taste in activities to do)

4. Make sure that points one and two have plenty of activities and places that under 18’s can visit (We do have some).

5. Make a list of cheap accommodation in the area, and any special deals for hotel/bed & breakfast, and Travel.

6. Create a HTML page with all the above stuff, to let potential attendees know what could be happening, and with useful information (make sure it’s on one page and easy to follow)

7. Bring along on the day a list of the places that you going to visit, and in what order (this normally changes as the day goes on), because if you don’t then you’ll most likely spend 15 minutes or more after each activity trying to get the group to decide on what next to do (this does get annoying at times)

8. Try to get someone else from the area to help out, as looking after 33 people (the biggest union I have run so far) does wear you out.

9. Try to get everyone’s mobile number who is attending (I’ve lost a few people, but luckily found them later on), and regularly chose a rendezvous point and time, just in case you do lose some one, or they want to visit something that no one else does.

At the moment that is all I can remember, but I can guarantee I have forgotten something. All I can say now after handing out my wisdom of union organising, is that you’re always learning and that you won’t be able to fully relax till the last person is on their way home. Enjoy!

Commander Demon Slayer

Upcoming Details: Future Unions taking place in London and Australia

For more information please visit the unions page located at http://communications.outpost10f.com/~unions/
Till Next Month