Hi all,
I believe it’s time to clear a few things up, at least from my perspective if not, yourselves, as I know comments and questions are being asked….
As you are aware, the forum has become quieter and quieter as the days go by with less and less posts from members. I myself am guilty of such action and I understand that any and all members have individual, adult lives to lead so I’d like to clarify I am not speaking in the direction or singling out ANYONE! Please do not take offense to anything I say.
Traveling back in time 4 years to when I purchased my car, the forum was a happy active lively environment with great characters, albeit I might have made a fool of myself through comments I made due to my inexperience of the Subaru Marque and general anxiety of trying to fit in, however I was warmly welcomed as part of the club regardless… the club that sported the proud “Essex Scooby Crew” name.
As many of you are aware I own a ‘Hawkeye’ Impreza so have naturally suffered the expected issues that the car has reputation for… multiple times I might add… feel free to chuckle to yourselves I won’t snap at you as I too laugh about it too During my time of having the car off the road, back on the road momentarily then back off for repairs/rebuilds etc… I have watched and taken note of how the activity of the club had dwindled dramatically. I understand that many owners have sold up and moved onto other things so I imply ‘zero’ blame to anyone for such action. However, I recall 2013…Ish; if I am wrong please correct me, a vote was taken to change the well known “Essex Scooby Crew” name to the current “Essex Subaru Owners Club” as a more professional and grown up approach to the club. Something of which I supported greatly. I was more than happy to oblige exchanging club name stickers on my car (when I got it back from repairs) and contributing to fund the clubs new flag etc….
It is here I believe the real Damage took effect…. Sadly I was in a dark patch of my own ownership trying to decide whether to pursue the dream or just give up completely, in doing so, I myself became near completely inactive and feel I may have missed something of some significance….
On my return to the forum and new found facebook page I found both club names still in use, quite to my surprise, the “crew” name had taken a considerable bump of fresh members and owners and activeness via facebook including a substantial revival of the monthly Southend cruise runs (to my recollection, the highest number of cars would reach 10 on a good day…. It now exceeds the 40/50 mark with ease and the numbers continue to grow as summer is peaking… yet the facebook and forum “ESOC” pages are derelict… Why?
Now, Im sure you all are asking the same questions as I have and still do… Why are both names still in use? In my own words, I haven’t a clue!
However it seems to me there is a very clear divide between both groups. Something of which I find myself feeling under constant strain of getting caught between. My only thoughts and explanation to this is a) a different class of owners and their cars between each of the club names and b) The convenience of using facebook far outweighs the aggravation of logging onto the forum and/or its app… Maybe other plausible explanations aswell??
For me at least, I understand the use of facebook is far more convenient, technology sadly in this day and age controls this, people adapt and it is clearly part of everyday life and as far as my first guess is considered…. We all have different tastes, budgets and ideas of ‘our own’ perfects cars… they all bare the Subaru Emblem at the end of each day.

Now then, I sit here typing this in full acceptance that for my vision… the forum page for Essex Subaru Owners club has nigh on come to a halt. Or, more to the point… Fallen Flat on it’s a*se!
As a brief example, the regular monthly Pub meets (the last remaining active meets) using a venue very kindly provided from a member have suffered considerable lack of members as the months have gone by… to the point that I decided to skip the most recent one as the monthly meet that I attended before managed a mere 4/5 members…. Now, as a reminder, I have mentioned I accept anyone and everyone has full blown adult, family orientated lives to lead but as a comparison of the clubs divide I have mentioned… the difference in attending numbers is quite considerable. As far as I know, the most recent monthly pub meet managed a massive 1 car attendance…. YES.. 1!
Another example of which I have in my mind is the yearly Brighton Run originally planned, organised, controlled via the ‘ESC’ name… IIRC the 2013 run was planned during the time of the club name change, a whopping 2 cars attended!!! 2!
Last year a Brighton run was organised via a new upcoming facebook national club (although is dominated by Essex and Kent members) of which 30-40 cars attended. This year (the first year I was ever able to attend a Brighton run) over 100 cars was counted… quite a difference in numbers right??

To conclude my thoughts on the situation that seems to be occurring here…. From my personal point of view, I have battled many repair bills to keep my car, my passion, my dream alive. Part of this enjoyment is being in an active club meeting people who enjoy the same passion, dreams… The Scoobynet forum page for Essex Subaru owners Club does not provide that for me anymore. However, the past and present owners I have met via here are brilliant, I have made some great friends and I have absolutely no objection in continuing further relation and contact with you all. Many of you I have as Facebook friends and my personal phone number, it is here that I may be reached from as I would be more than happy to attend any future get togethers that may possibly be organised (providing im not having a new engine built)
I sincerely hope that somehow the forum does revive as I do not wish a situation such as this to be the cause of its end.

Goodnight Essex Subaru Owners Club x


P.s. If you at least do not agree with my opinion at least give me some credit for managing to type all of that and only using 1 swear

 

Reading that has nearly brought a tear to my eye Daniel, so much writing and just 1 swear word!
You are right in what you say though, the club has fallen very flat and I know from my point of view at least with a promotion at work and the addition of a little boy it has made it much harder to attend meets even including the pub meet which I organise. Unfortunately it has been a very busy year.
While I have no intention of selling my car, it has very much become something a lot less high on my priority list.
This brings us a long to the subject of the monthly pub meet and what we truly are going to do with organising it.
Do we continue or not?

 

Like anything in life you only get out what you put in,but saying that a few members cannot carry the weight of a whole club on there shoulders without the help of other supporting members,and that will always be the rub to things,unless every member that is associated with these meets put in and contribute in one way or another it can only be destined to fail as the numbers dwindle.SJ.

 

Well said Dan.As a Scooby Newbie,I have come on to the scene and find it slightly odd that there seems to be a divide in an otherwise warm and welcoming community.All I want to do is drive around,park up and talk cars with like minded people.Different people have different tastes.....at the end of the day we are all Scooby owners and proud to be.

 

Reading that certainly brought a tear to my eye! Still, a very well written piece there Dan and I do believe you have hit the nail on the head there. It is certainly something that a lot of people have spoken/thought about and it’s a difficult subject to convey without unintentionally stepping on people’s toes…something I think I probably inadvertently achieved back in my ‘And then there were two’ thread. (Apologies again)

I kick myself really as I bought my car back in 2011 but it took me another 2 years to pluck up the courage to actually come down to the pub meet and introduce myself to everyone. It was a big step for me as I’m a naturally anxious person and I wasn’t sure how I would be received, especially being new to the area too.
Needless to say, my fears were unfounded as you all turned out to be a wonderful bunch and I look back on my first pub meet in August 2013 with fondness. Granted my heart was in mouth for the duration thanks to Google Maps taking me down the narrowest and scariest back road in my life to get there, but the turnout was fantastic and the people- even more so.

The turnout was so impressive, people were having to park along the main road! The car park was a purely Subaru turnout with 2 additional rows of cars down the middle. It was an amazing sight to behold and the weather only added to the enjoyment. Good times.

I regret that I didn’t play more of an active role from that point on. I should have joined in with the Southend Runs and the upcoming Tunnel Run of that year, but it was my own nerves that held me back. I didn’t know the roads very well (and still don’t really) and I was scared to death of getting lost and making a twonk of myself. Had I have gone back then, I would have encountered all the same faces and met many more and been a part of the Club in its entirety before the apparent divide that would happen a mere few months later.
I have only myself to blame for that. The opportunities were there, but I let them slip by.

I should have been more active at the Pub Meets too…but sometimes I couldn’t and sometimes I just didn’t and I regret that too as now there is a chance they may end up stopping altogether. Whatever happens on that front, I just want to say a massive thank you to Paul and his family for taking time out to organise and host these monthly get-togethers’. It’s a lovely little pub in a beautiful little area and one I intend to frequent time and time again regardless of the meet’s future. I’d recommend it to anyone!

I’m not on Facebook…and I don’t ever intend to be. It just doesn’t appeal. (I doubt I’m alone) As a result, I have no idea what happens on the Facebook pages but from what I’ve come to understand they are a real hive of activity. I wish I could have a little nosey around on there just to check it out but as with most FB pages, you need to log in. You can view the ESOC page without an account, but I don’t know if maybe I’m just viewing a ‘sample’ view of it or something and I would need to log in to see more, but it doesn’t seem very active from what I’ve seen. So, as I am limited to Scoobynet only, it would appear that this side of the club at least has suffered a death. I hope that one day it will rally, as sometimes these pages can fluctuate in popularity- but as mentioned, Facebook is just a more convenient medium for the majority and I think the main mass of activity will always inhabit that side of the internet.

I can only apologise for not playing a more active role. I feel I have contributed to this forums' demise in a way.

Essex is such a small county really- as Dan rightly said, we are all united under the Subaru emblem at the end of the day, regardless of our individual tastes and passions. I just wish we could all be united under one group name like some of the other larger national owners clubs.

I’ve always been intrigued and driven by the Subaru marque. And I know in my heart of hearts I will probably own a number over the coming years. (I’d like to think so anyway) I still get the odd wave in mine now and again and it makes me feel a real sense of community spirit and ‘belonging’ >ha, gaaaay< but I like it. It’s what draws me to these cars aside from their awesomeness.
Maybe by the time I get to car No. 2, I will have the confidence to try a few more things and contribute more than I can now.

I for one hope this isn't the end.

~Z

 

^^^^this^^^^

...is a lot more straight forward and to the point than the novel I just wrote...what he said lol

 

LOL.Shame you dont like FB mate,theres a lot of activity on there.Maybe make an account put all privacy settings on and just use it for Scooby stuff? Agree with what you say though,I love the Scooby community,Im always waving at other Scoob drivers(even if they dont always wave back!!!),I have had a beemer and leon(vag) and those communities are nothing like the Scooby one.

 

Not a member of esoc, but tbh i think its become common among most clubs now, i know at least 3 that have closed and even the bigger ones seem to be struggling.

Things seem to be switching to FB, which given the amount of crap clubs on there like SIOC etc then tis a real shame.


Just the current trend now

 

Such a sad thread. I missed the last meet and felt rather guilty even though I had a perfectly good excuse (going back in time to the 1950's at a rock'nroll weekend!)
Although I would if there was no alternative, I have little interest in conversing on FB and cruises and tunnel runs are not really my thing now. I love the 'mechanical' aspect of performance car ownership and it's this that keeps me going.
I find the relaxed atmosphere of the Rodney meets enjoyable and attendance, as a group, at shows equally so. I've been a member of a number of car and model aero clubs in the past, holding committee and organisational positions in some, and one thing has been clear in all of them - you need a person or persons keen enough and with the wherewithal to take on administration and organising roles. At the Rodney we had Frayz but his various commitments have had a noticeable effect on the enthusiasm of the group(?)
I'm not sure I know the answer with the club in it's current form but I do know there are some very nice cars and equally nice people within the group - it would be a dreadful shame to let it simply die.

JohnD

 

While I'm not a member of ESOC I often look at this forum as I am just across the border in Suffolk, I've been on SN (older user names) and in scoobies for 15 years, 10-15 years ago the Essex section was massive and I used to attend the Southend meets as you get 60/70/80 cars and was worth the trip down south, even 3/4/5 years ago I attended the Essex tunnel runs as they were large events and were worth the trip. I don't use Facebook that much so don't see the Scooby event on there, the Brighton run was posted up on the Essex section of SN but only a few days before the event If I had had know about it sooner I would of attended It's fine that a lot of members are moving to FB but if the events can still be posted here for all to see otherwise the SN Essex forum will die. (Just take a look at the East Anglian part )

It's not just the Essex section, all the Scooby forums seem to be dead to what they were say 5-10 years ago. I guess the subaru brand is dieting off to what it was.

Gary

 

Although I only joined in 2014 I tried to make some meets, but working nights always got in the way as well as repairs

Must admit when I first joined I thought the ESC and ESOC were two completely different clubs!

I now live in Margate but will happily drive up for meets at the Pub and join the cruises when I can

 

Chavved out of existence... just look at YouScoob it's embarrassing even by old ESC standards. Makes me pmsl that we changed the name to look sophicticated lol when you are catering to neons stickers and STi tatoos Great if that's your thing but it's as far away from being a petrol head and motorsport as you can get. ESC member 10 years

 

Would it help attendance if a meet was held on a Sunday, unfortunately I have to work Saturdays (as do others i'm sure) so have never met up with you guys and don't really want to hang around basildon, each to their own but thats not my scene (christ, I've turned in to my dad)! Would be a terrible shame if it were to fold, just a thought.

 

A lot of valid comments and opinions in here and a thread well worth writing Dan, I'm glad you have.

When it was voted to change the name the club had lots of new found momentum and new decals were made as was clothing etc. I paid out for stickers out of my own pocket and Nathan Murray paid out for the domain names. I've been paying for these for the last few years out of my own pocket too. Not a lot of money, but still money all the same.
All the stickers got sold and we used the money to buy more, most of which I still have here as after the initial sell, hardly any more were sold. Many members clubbed together to get the club flag and there was the core few putting in the effort.

I organised the Rallyday passes for another year after it was requested and seemingly almost everyone dropped out of that at the last minute for one reason or other.

I too have had a job change which has seen me take on a role with far greater responsibility, bought a house, planning a wedding, not to mention my car has been off the road since September and a bare shell since February. All these commitments have taken their toll on my time and enthusiasm for it. I've been here for over 10 years now and I'll admit that seeing a load of Subarus in a carpark really isn't my thing, I went to the meets for the social, as it was the people who made it worthwhile for me.

People whom many of which are close friends of mine and will be for many years to come.

I'm not interested in the neon lights and bolt on tat and never have been. Unfortunately that's what the masses of Subaru owners seem to be into so I guess the ESOC just wasn't their thing.
Which is fine, each to their own I guess. However that's not something I personally am interested in.

If anyone wants to take up the baton of running the ESOC and doing something with it then I am all for it. It needs someone with time and enthusiasm and that's always been a struggle since Tiny and Karen gave it up years ago.
It has the potential to be something once more, however I am not that person. As my personal circumstances have changed too much to accommodate it.

The rise of social media has been amazing and the many Facebook groups dedicated to Subarus and other marques of car have almost rendered the common forums useless.
That's just how it is, times have changed and so have the clientele of owner of the Subaru brand in general.

If people continue to want a more purist type club then great, if not then that's fine. However the people I've met may still wish to meet up and go to events together and I will continue to support them where I can.

 

I remember when the ESC was "The Club" - Tiny, Phil Stephens et al and that's what we had hoped for in the South West......Politics and people with agendas took over so we stopped back in 2009......just resurrecting meets in Swindon and there are still people who want to meet rather than drive like twonks up and down the road. We are combining Faecesbook and S/Net to arrange meets. Stick at it there will always want to be people who will come to your meets.....we had 6 cars at our first meet back in April and up to 11 at the last one.

 

I've not been the most active of members since purchasing my 5 in Feb 2010, however I can see there is now a clear divide in the Essex Subaru community as such.

I agree with all that has been mentioned and couldn't agree more that we all share the same Subaru emblem, however everyone is each to their own. Some like driving up and down roads making lots of noise, some like meeting in car parks and chatting where as some like a combination of both (Southend run for example). I did the Southend a couple of times and the numbers were around 15 at the most and they would park up on the seafront, grab a coffee and have a chat about car related topics - now they sit outside McDonalds at the airport ... not my kind of thing. The divide I see is that the members of ESC and YouScoob via FB prefer to do tunnel runs, cruises, etc.. Which I have nothing against and enjoy the odd tunnel run - who doesn't - Where as a lot of the guys with ESOC enjoy the feel of attending and participating in a show. Why do they guys of ESC not want to attend a show with ESOC? Is it because the numbers are low on ESOC part? (Rallyday '14 and pub meets for example) is there a rivalry that exists between the 2 clubs, and if so why? Should we try to organise a meet where ESOC and ESC are joined and ignite a patch up? - just thoughts.

My honest opinion is we need to brainstorm some ideas on how we can reignite the momentum of what used to run ESOC/ESC and get the National Subaru community talking about Essex again.

Perhaps we should look at a quarterly meet instead of monthly? This would give people the time and to plan ahead with their day to day lives, but also bring back the novelty of a meet? - just a thought

Wardy

 

Ha Dan, I just reed you thoughts about the club meets at the Rodney inn every month and I'm sure lots of people thoughts are the same, cos I was the one that you mentioned that turned up and I was every surprise that no others did as it was a lovely hot day even Paul's dad made a comment saying he can't remember knowing it to be dead like it was, i belong to other groups outside this car club and I have found when strong leaders take a back step the group either fulls apart or they regroup and take the club forward, I hope the club meets do continue as it would be ashame to see it fold!!! I have made some good friends and meet loads of nice people, who had advice me with my car problems over the last year,