A big Thank You to Alistair over on HooverLand for hosting a mini-meet at his home in South London, it was attended by a number of guys from the club here, including Jack (VintageHoover), Simon (74 Simon) Seamus (Seamus UK) and Rob, (Turbomaster 1894)... I travelled down with Rob and of course as we pass the famous Hoover Perivale Head Office, (now Tesco`s) we just had to stop and take a tour, also into the supermarket for a pack of Persil just to get the receipt which says "Hoover Building" on the top, arriving at Al`s we met up with Stephen Smith as well, a newbie, who had travelled even further than us from Manchester!!!
So we spent the weekend pushing the vacs around, scanning new literature, (always better when you havnt seen it before) as well as sampling Al`s home made cuisine, such as chorizo soup, Prawn pillaf, vegetable lasagne and delicious muffins and cakes!!!also the Sunday brunch which did a fine job after the copious amounts of alchohol whilst watching a selection of vintage soap powder, washing machines n vac adds, Bewitched,as well as The Secret Life of the Vacuum Cleaner...AND the designing of Appliance Icons such as the Kenwood Chef.....Fabulous
As well as the UK vacs, Stephen had brought a number of US models as well as Seamus so we where able to use and compare which was great!!!
We`re working on Al & Stephen to join us here, so watch this space , from the left: Jack, Simon, Al, Seamus, Stephen & Rob
BTW and off topic to Stephen Smith from Manchester... you don't happen to live anywhere near Burton Rd in Withington do you? Why you ask? Just that that's where my gran lived and I spent a summer there with her back in 72. So it's always what I think about when I think of Manchester. That and when I would take the bus downtown I think it was All Saints where you told the conductor you were headed. Seems like a million years ago now. :(
I was so made up that I could attend. It truely was a great weekend, BIG thanks to Al as our perfect host with the most. Great food, great folk with plenty of stories to tell. Best of all we got to know eachother better outside of the vac theme. Im glad I met everyone of you all, I hope we can arrange something again cos everyone of ya is the best! , also many thanks to Mike who very very kindly drove the 20 miles to Crewe, picked me up and drove us safely down there and safely back. Cheers Mike for making it a goer for myself. Even the vacs were great. I learnt so much stuff again and saw things I never knew existed. Great Stuff! -Speaking of which, Clark - sorry you couldnt make it to the meet (if couldnt make it is the phrase to use LOL!) , however I do hope your big day went well and wish you all the best in your new marriage. Rob
...the sentiments already posted here by the others who attended! What a great weekend! It was brilliant to spend some proper time with like-minded people. Maybe a little less wine for me next time, though :P
You can find my pictures in my Vacuumland album on this site, and below is a link to the video I put together using the clips I took:
It looks like you guys had lots of fun!! Mini meets are so much fun. Loved the video, thanks so much for sharing. Terry
Post# 25009-11/21/2007-02:57 ||| SeamusUK(Dover Kent UK)
And from Me.......
Hey Guys
It goes down as the best weekend ive had in a VERY long time!.
It was absolutly amazing to meet up with so many likeminded ppl and to finally meet guys id been talking to for ages(Rob and Mike) as well as Al and Stephen who I really should have chatted to more before lol!. I already knew Si and Jack :).
Charles
As we have yet to get Al over here I will answer on his behalf :).
Its a US machine thats been fitted with a UK motor, also the cable/cord connection has been modified and now exits from under the rear filter- none of us thought to get a pic unfortunatly!.
David
Thanks for the compliment - yup most of us are what ya might class as "folically challenged" lol.
Ive not got an album hrere yet but will sort one today or tomorrow- anyone whos a member of Hooverland can see my pics there until then ;)
Seamus
Post# 25010-11/21/2007-02:58 ||| SeamusUK(Dover Kent UK)
Brummies...
Ian
We didnt have any there as it goes- not for want of trying tho!
Terry, I think that this was the largest gathering of vacuum collectors the UK has ever seen! hehehe. We're getting there.
I only regret not staying for longer, looks like the festivities carried on long after dark! All the same, I had a great time. The sharing of knowledge was great, and it's great to see cleaners you'd only ever seen in photos before. I gotta get me a Hotpoint Mastercleaner, the handle so reminds me of 60s architecture!
Mike - thanks again for the service manual, I'm so glad to finally get one! Rob, good luck with getting that 6525C, they are such elegant machines to use! I always sneak things in and then promise to get rid of them... which I rarely manage!
Seamus, that was a sterling effort to carry that 707 discreetly on the train! Jack, I hope you felt OK the next day...
I hope Al and Stephen do both come onto here, and what else can I say but bring on the next one!
I’m really glad you all had a good time. :) The photos certainly say it all. :) How will I get through all those?! hehe :)
I must say the Hoover Building just astounds me whenever I see photos of it – a very smart building. :)
Anyway, I should be focusing on the all-important vacuum cleaners! :) I have to say that, looking at all the photos and speaking to Seamus, Rob and Mike, I love them all! :) No, not Seamus, Rob and Mike! hehe :) I can’t pick out any favourites! I may be one of the calmest people around – apparently! – but I would struggle to contain myself when faced with an avalanche of machines that suck! hehe :)
My little collection is pretty modern – a Henry Plus, Kirby G4 (Anniversary thingy model!), Dyson DC04 De Stijl (sorry, Rob! :)) and a Sebo X5 Automatic X5 Extra. All are in regular use. :) There’s also a Vax canister (1996 model) in the loft, along with a Vax upright carpet shampooer (2005).
Finally, I must say to members here, especially those who do not know me particularly well, I am sorry I have not posted very often since joining a few months ago. This is not intentional and is certainly not through lack of interest – just ask any AW.org member and they’ll hopefully tell you that I often badger Seamus on MSN for information on vacuum cleaners! Seamus has given me a crash course in ‘real’ Hoovers! :)
As for Lord Stubbs of Crewe, well… if I told him I had a Hoover Turbopower Junior in my house… twice… recently… well, I don’t know what he’d say! ;) Rob, I forgot to tell you – sorry! :) Dad and I fixed it for my great aunt, and it’s happily working as new! :) It’s in great condition, but it needed a few minor repairs, and we freshened the bag and generally gave it a little clean-up. I also replaced the plug, but I couldn’t find a genuine MK Safety Plug to match its age, so I’m afraid I had to go for a modern MK Safety Plug, which sort of ruined the effect, but at least it was safer than the original plug, which did not have any plastic safety sleeves! Also, some naughty person had put the wrong fuse in it – not us! – so I had that replaced with a brand-new one.
Once the Hoover had been checked, we tested it, which is the first time we’ve ever had a ‘real’ Hoover in this house! Seeing as I was terrified of ‘real’ Hoovers as a child, I was somewhat apprehensive at first, but it didn’t scare me now at the tender age of 28! hehe :)
Anyway, I’ll rapidly filling this up with ‘me’, so I’ll end in saying that I hope you guys have further great meets – and the more the merrier! :) If I was invited and well enough, I’d love to have met up, too. :) I find appliances and cleaners as interesting as each other, but given my circumstances, it’s somewhat difficult to maintain a decent presence on both forums, I’m afraid, so I’m best found on MSN.
I’ll end in saying that if anyone wants to chat with me – say, on MSN – please do so by adding my e-mail address in my profile to your MSN contacts. :) That is also my contact e-mail address. I’d really like to make more friends here, and you can ask Rob, Seamus and Mike what I’m like! hehe :) I know that may seem a little ‘forward’, but it’s a bit difficult for me to start off conversations on here on a regular basis, and I tend to be much better on MSN, which I’m on fairly regularly – usually every day, especially in the evenings. This has worked pretty well with other friends on AW.org, where I tend to focus attention on ‘live’ MSN chats, with the occasional message on AW.org where I can. :)
Mike – I will get back to you after you asked for information on my Dad’s experiences of retail and some servicing in the 1970s. :)
Anyway, I shall leave it there for now. :) I just thought I would combine some of my concerns at not being particularly active on here – certainly not as much as I would like – along with my expression of goodwill about your meet. :)
Hi Si, As I said before it sure looks like you guys had a great time. I have a feeling that you are right, others will see what fun you had and your "mini" meets with grow. I think it would be so fun for us to be able to have a combined meet sometime!! A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and all our friends across the pond!! Terry
Now that would be fun, you`d better get booking those tickets...lol, we had a great selection of US vacs as well from other collectors, I think once everyone starts to meet up then things start to happen, which then lead to bigger things as well..
Stephen also gave a quick lesson in how he had re-bristled the hoover baby, sounded easy, but I`m sure you need patience...
Simon, yep that Hotpoint was definately a looker, very 60`s, love that colour, and the full length handle.
Seamus, at least your convertable folded up into your bag, that would have been to much like those extreme ironing guys taking it on the train!!!
Carl, never say never, its such fun, and hope you can get there to the next one...but there will always be pics to join in the fun and ask questions etc...
Ian, any vacs you liked, want to ask any questions other than the hair follicles!!!
Rob, was glad of your company driving there & back especially after that snow blizzard in Brum....we stopped off at John Danks in Brum for Chicken & Chips..Hhmmm, got outside to go home and found ourselves in a blizzard"""
Hey , Thats a thought "Extreme Hoovering"The Challenge Is On!!!
Thanks, Mike. :) I shall be asking lots and lots of questions over time. :) SEAMUS! Where are you?! LOL ;)
As for this:
"Extreme Hoovering"The Challenge Is On!!!
LOL!!! :)
Now, the floors and carpets need to be cleaned today – Dad’s job today for when he gets back! :) – and I am going to work out which machine to use! I shall just do my usual thing of watching and, in the case of the Kirby G4, jamming my fingers in my ears and sitting in a chair with my feet off the ground in order to avoid the vibrations that completely freak me out!!! LOL :)
Just noticed I'd missed Mikes photo's. Love that Hoover building, now that's real art deco at its finest. Plus it's always nice to get reaffirmation that I'm not the only soul living with and tripping over vacuums in the house.
Great pics, looks like everyone had a good time. I'll make it over there one of these days, guess I have a lot of shirtail relatives over there. It was great meeting you at the convention Mike, and look forward to seeing you again in '08. Looks like mini-meets are taking off, they're so much fun!
Post# 25157-11/22/2007-17:17 ||| SeamusUK(Dover Kent UK)
Well actually, as we discovered last weekend, a US cleaner accidently plugged into 240v doesn't explode or burst into flames, it just runs at double the speed! It didn't sound very happy, though...wouldn't have liked to run it like that for long!
Heres the Hotpoint 1960`s vac, this was produced the same year as the Hoover Harlequin and the ends are very similar, the handle is very radical , the full length of the vac, love the "Hotpoint Blue"
Lol that looks VERY nice, that's just what I expect in a 1970s Cylinder, and from a Company I for one don't normally expect Vacuums from...found a Hotpoint Light and Easy in a Garage near me once..just left, still had the bag in it..should have took it :P
I think i've seen diagrams or w/e of that Cylinder but never an actual one, very nice mate :)
Looks like it was a wonderful weekend for all who attended. Rob, Thanks for the best wishes. Myself and Sally are still flaoting from the wedding day, and honeymoon.
Seamus, Jack, Si, Stephen, Al and Rob, Methinks a UK convention ought to be an annual event. Why should our stateside cousins be the only ones to have all the fun! :D
Jack, I am looking forward at some point next year to getting down to see you again and having a play with the 543!
Seamus, Your box is almost sorted and should be with you before Christmas, that should keep you happy over the holiday period.
To everyone,
HAPPY HOOVERING, I will add some pics of the wedding as soon as I am able.
