Aus7 Members,

In the process of organizing the financial accounts for 2019/20 we’ve done calculations for the 2020/21 year and discovered that only about 50% of members from the previous year have renewed. We were aware that this was likely to be a result from Covid-19, however it’s a little concerning that on the basis of current renewals the Aus7 Modellers Group is not financially viable beyond our current resources to fund production of 7th Heaven. Looking at the books we have enough cash in hand for two more issues and we have one about to be printed.

So to be clear: All memberships for the 2019/20 financial year lapsed as of the end of June 2020. You need to renew if you wish to continue to receive 7th Heaven.

As a side issue if you want to see the group continue in its present form could I please appeal to you and either renew your membership or sign up if you’ve never been a member before.

You can get a membership form here  https://aus7.org/join/ or by contacting the Secretary Chris Lord direct at chrislord4401@yahoo.com.au.
—
Trevor Hodges
President – Aus7 Modedllers Group
Why settle for half when you can have the whole O?
My blog at https://7mmaussie.wordpress.com/author/7mmaussie/

Currently the Forums are suspended and we hope to be back with a program for 2021 Covid 19 permitting.

Members,

The executive committee of the Aus7 Modellers Group and I have had discussions over the weekend about the ongoing Covid19 crisis and its impact on the upcoming Forum. As a result of these discussions we have come to the unanimous decision that the Aus7 Modellers Group Forum on April 4 will be cancelled.

While technically the event falls well below the current guideline for events with 500 or more attendees, we have been mindful that the majority of people who are likely to attend the the Forum will be in the highest risk group for the virus. A number of members have made contact with the executive expressing  concerns and questioning whether they would attend. A range of other factors were also considered in our discussions.

This decision has not been taken lightly. On behalf of the executive I would like to apologize for any loss or inconvenience this may cause members and the group’s friends, however for the safety of all concerned we feel that cancellation is the best option.

At this stage we have no plans to reschedule the event simply because we have no way of knowing how this health crisis will play out. This decision has no impact on the October Forum: it will be going ahead as planned most probably at the new venue of the Carnarvon Golf Club.

We would like to express our best wishes to all members and modelling friends and ask you to stay safe and look after your own health. You can best support the executive and the Aus7 Modellers Group by coming along to the October Forum and making it a roaring success.

President

Aus7 Modellers Group

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I’ve just posted another batch of past issues of 7th Heaven in the Past Issues page. This takes the past issues posted on our web site up to issue #48. You can find an index of all issues on the site if you’re looking for a particular issue. The intention is to add 4 issues a year at approximately the end of each financial year so the PDFs will always lag about 3 years behind. Back issues in paper form for the most recent three years will be kept for sale in small quantities. Contact the Secretary Chris Lord to inquire about these back issues.

Having gone back myself and looked at a few past issues I see a number of people who have written articles but I can’t remember ever seeing a follow-up. If you’ve written something (perhaps 3 or 4 years ago) and have progressed beyond that point think about a follow-up. We are all interested in what our far flung membership is up to.

Aus7 Members and Friends,

After quite a wait and more than a few requests from members I’m happy to announce that the Index of past issues of 7th Heaven has been uploaded to the web site on the page 7th Heaven Index where you will find a locked XL spreadsheet of every issue of 7th Heaven up to #64. The spreadsheet has a search capability which you can use on the home page of the spread sheet. Look for the binoculars icon labelled find and select.

But that’s not all….

On the page 7th Heaven Past Issues you will find PDF files for the first 39 issues of 7th Heaven which are available to anyone visiting the site. These PDFs are very high quality and are the same files we send to the printers. I will be progressively uploading more back issues as time permits however there will always be a lag between what is available as a PDF from the web site and the printed editions available for purchase from our Secretary Chris Lord.

I’d like to thank the exec team for their helping to make this resource available: Anthony for his work on the index in the past and for his efforts in supplying back issues, Paul for providing me with more recent issues, testing the uploads and of course for editing 7th Heaven for the past 12 years, Lionel for taking on the job of keeping the Index up to date and Chris for always being there and going above and beyond in every job I throw at him.

Members, the most recent issue of 7th Heaven was posted about 10 days ago. If you haven’t yet received your copy this is either because it’s gone missing in the mail or your membership has lapsed. All memberships lapse on June 30 of the previous year but you will continue getting the next two issues past this date to provide some leeway. We have had this process in place for over 14 years. An oversight in the issue published in the middle of last year meant that no reminder was published. We have never sent out individual reminders to lapsed members, we have neither the time nor the resources. Please contact Chris Lord if you have a query and please write on your diary/calendar that all memberships are again due this June 30 for the 2020/2021 year. His email is available in any recent issue of 7th Heaven or you can contact him via the Groupsio group or on Facebook. Please try to keep in mind that it is not Chris’ responsibility for your lapsed membership. If you have a concern or a complaint contact me.

Trevor Hodges

President

trevorchodges@gmail.com

Aus7 Modellers Group Membership Application Form

Forum Bring & Buy

North Sydney Leagues Club, Saturday the 26^th of Oct 2019

The Bring & Buy will allow attendees at the Forum to sell excess model railway items to others at the Forum. The conditions of selling or buying are detailed in full in the document “Selling and Buying Guidelines” available from the Aus7 Modellers Group web site. The following are the main details:

• Registration should occur before 9.30am with selling concluding at 12.45pm.
• Selling on the Bring and Buy table is free to all members.
• All sale items should be of general relevance and interest to O-scale modellers (1:43.5 & 1:48, SG or NG)
• Security for items placed on the table are the responsibility of the owner. The Aus7 Modellers Group will take all reasonable steps to keep the items safe however will accept no financial responsibility for items lost or misplaced.

Please contact the President with any queries.