Policies

Trader Policy at SoGgies Events

All Traders wishing to trade at our events must;

State what they are trading in;

This is because some venues like Churches may have different requirements. And we do not allow traders in certain items, such as “Adult” ephemera.

State clearly who will be the Designated Trader and who else will be assisting/accompanying them;

Only one designated Trader and one assistant, per stall. Under 18’s do not count but we do need to know who they are.  Any Trader requiring additional help will have to get permission from both the SoG and the Venue manager.

This is because our events are getting bigger and we need to know who is allowed to access the Venue and Trading areas outside of Trading Times. If your name is not on our list, you will not be allowed in outside of trading hours.

Policy on Children at SoGgies Events

Policy on Children at SoGgies Events

The Steampunks of Gloucestershire DO NOT run events for Children.

Our events are family-friendly; they have activities in which children are welcome to join in. However, these are not kid’s events, and children will take their turn with adults on a first-come, first-served basis.

Some of our activities, such as Tea Duelling, will have an age restriction. This is because of the Risk Assessment that hot tea is involved, making it unsuitable for anyone under 16.

We do not encourage unaccompanied children to attend our events or allow them to take part in activities.

For activities such as the Parades, Saunters and Boxing the Foxx children under 18 must be accompanied and supervised by an parent or guardian at all times.

Our definition of Children is anyone under 18 years of age

Well, I guessed one day it would come to it;

A POLIOCY ON PHOTOGRAPHY AT SoG EVENTS

"All SoG and Folk events are FREE to attend during the day."

That's with or without a camera.

That means there is no set time slot for photographers.

Some photographers may be invited by the SoG as quasi-official photographers for the events; Nikki McCall, Gareth Jayne, Richard Say and Martin Adams, specifically. These will have access to ‘behind the scenes’ opportunities.

All other photographers are normal attendees.

ALL photographers are required to follow these simple rules;

1, Participate, be part of the event, not observers.

2, Be polite and check if people are okay with you taking their pictures. If people are avoiding your camera like the plague, don't snap them. The very best pics - like the one of Marcus J. Brookes, (above) The Santa in Green, the Spirit of Christmases to Come. Photo by Mark Halling. - are often candid snaps taken at opportune moments during our events. Please ask, wave, or catch their eye, because sometimes even the most fabulously dressed of us, just want to sit quietly, and have a cup of tea. Remember no thank you, means, NO.

3, Do not take pictures of Coglings or other children attending the events without the parent’s/guardian’s express permission. You must not post or publish images of Coglings or other children attending the events without  specific permission from a parent or guardian.

4, Within the aforementioned rules; Post and share your pics on our Facebook Page, so that people can tag them.

5, Be willing to email copies of your pics to the subjects who posed for FREE if they ask for them. Photographers who intend to charge the subjects who pose for them are not welcome, unless they make that explicitly clear before taking the pictures. This does not apply to Trader Photographers, such as Dark Box, etc.

6, Be polite, be kind and be splendid in all things at all times.

If you have problems or there is an issue regarding photography or photographer’s behaviour, please bring it to our attention, or the venue staff's attention, immediately.

Failure to follow our rules will mean you will be told to leave the location, banned from the group, and refused entry to further events.

Misuse of images, such as claiming others work, or not gaining the subject’s permission to use the image for public/publication purposes, may result in further action.

Complaints Policy

Any complaint can be raised verbally with a member of the  Committee.

The Committee member should note the name and details of the complainant and the nature/details of the complaint.   

The Committee member will then attempt to triage the issue as soon as possible. And then raise the issue with the full committee at the next committee meeting. Any further decision will be noted in the committee notes and shared with the complainant.

All triage actions or decisions must be in line with the Standing Policies of the SoG.

Complaints made outside of events or by other methods such as email, will be considered by the committee at the following full committee meeting or a Special Meeting*

A *Special Meeting can be called by any Committee member who feels it is necessary to deal with as a Priority Issue. A Priority Issue is something deemed so by two committee members.

There need only be 5 committee members present to form a Quorum of a Special Meeting. A Special Meeting can only be called to discuss and consider action on a single agenda topic.

Proposed decisions of the Special Meeting have to be circulated to all Committee members for them to agree, they must be given 10 working days to respond, no response will be considered an agreement by Nod. The decision will then be published or communicated to the Complainant.

Complaints about a non-member, individual member or member of the committee are automatically deemed ‘Serious’ and must be presented to the whole Committee at the next meeting.

A Serious Complaint about a member or committee member will automatically be the responsibility of the Chair. The Chair must gather all relevant information and present it to the committee.

If a complaint is made about the Chair, or the Chair is unavailable, then the Vice Chair must step in.

Motions to ban members, traders or other individuals can only be made by a member of the Committee, seconded by a committee member and must receive a 60% majority vote.

A decision to exclude a member, trader or other person cannot be appealed for at least 24 months.

Decisions leading to proposed addendums or reviews of Policies must be moved to the published agenda of the next full committee meeting.

The CiC Directors have legal and administrative powers, an official decision made by the CiC can only be challenged at a full AGM.