Enid Pamment, organiser for Shefford Leisure Group, shares her upcoming travel plans, the essential skills required to be a successful organiser and the occasions when those skills have been put to the test.
Enid’s group at a glance…
Group Name: Shefford Leisure Group
No. of members: more than 120
Based: Befordshire
Time organising: 30 years +
It wasn’t a deliberate action on my part, I kind of fell into it. I would take some of my husband’s business clients away on small trips and they enjoyed it so much that it developed from there. I would also travel all over with my children to dance competitions; we even went to New York for one which was the first trip that I took these clients on, too. It was just a hobby that grew. When my children were at school, I’d be asked to help sort out on school trips and things like that. I was always thrown in the deep end. Whatever is thrown at me, I cope with it and approach it calmly even if I’m going hot and cold on the inside.
We’re doing an October short break to Gunton Hall in Suffolk, which is a Warner Leisure hotel. We didn’t want to go too far because people will say they want to go somewhere but then feel too nervous with Covid still being prominent. We’ve got Thursford Christmas Spectacular booked too, which is always a very popular trip – my members absolutely love it. Unfortunately, I did have to cancel a trip Lavenham and Tower Bridge but hopefully we can reschedule for next year. In a normal year we usually like to do a range of day trips and holidays.
“It really is lovely in Liverpool where the water surrounds the harbour and there are little handy-craft shops, close to The Beatles statue.”
To understand different situations and people. You’ve got to be reasonable with people and you can’t dictate. You also have to be trustworthy. My members trust me, and I would go to the end of the Earth than to misplace that trust. I’m so thankful to have that, it means the world to me.
My group enjoys visiting a broad range of places, they quite often come to me with ideas and then I look out for it or something similar. I try to choose somewhere they wouldn’t necessarily visit on their own. I use Group Leisure & Travel magazine for inspiration too – I’ve been getting it ever since it first published all those years ago. I will also be attending the Group Leisure & Travel Show this October in Milton Keynes.
Trustworthy. Just the other day one of my members saw me having a cup of coffee out with my daughter and trusted me enough to give me their deposit in cash for an upcoming trip. It reminded me how much trust there is between us all and it’s nice to know that people appreciate what you do.
GTO Allison Udy on the uniqueness of her group and how a coach driver can make or break a trip.
Andrea Golder on 45 years of taking groups around the world, how she comes up with new ideas, what her ‘musts’ are, and where’s still left on the bucket list.
GTO Derek Hoskins, Solihull U3A, tells us how he ensures best value for money for his members and what makes all the hard work worthwhile.
What GTO Lin Wilson doesn’t know about group organising isn’t worth knowing. Having celebrated 31 years, we caught up with her to find out why she still loves what she does.
