You Can't Get There From Here

Experiences

 Was it ever going to end any other way?  One of the major bugbears of anyone travelling to a major event is "Why are they all in London?  It's a long way from me!" (of course, the rail network is specifically designed for no other reason than to get from Anywhere to London quickly).  CAMRA have found out why the big stuff happens in London.  In moving the Great British Beer Festival to the NEC in Birmingham, they turned a moderately unprofitable event into a six-figure loss-maker.  And based on the attendance figures, it will likely be the last of its kind.

That sound you're hearing right now is the CAMRA National Executive tightening its belt.  The £320k shortfall at the GBBF has no doubt resulted in it being pulled a few more notches than otherwise intended at the start of this financial year.  The savings targets are what you'd expect - moving printed matter to digital, and vague talk of "being leaner", "streamlining" and ending "nice to haves".

If we're being honest here, the financial climate in the UK has not been great for a long time, so it's surprising CAMRA hasn't seen this looming over the horizon for a while.  Discretionary spending is down, and prices in pubs have only been going up.  But CAMRA's main enemy is simply the passing of time.

CAMRA's membership, despite the impression you'd get from the literature and posters, has skewed to the elderly for some considerable time.  I've heard I'm in the youngest 20% of members - and I'm 50 in three months.  There's always been churn as the older members, well, die off.  The problem in recent years is they're not being replaced.  The org's traditional recruitment method was to get people into beer festivals and sign them up to a direct debit (a practice frowned upon by even the rapacious Street Fundraising companies, but I'll let that slide for now), but as Beer Fest numbers decline, so do the potential new members.

Average cask ale drinkers

The "Young People" (by which I mean the under-40s) CAMRA want to attract rarely go to things like Beer Fests.  They have a reputation as being infested with middle-aged, drunken, bigoted and sexist dinosaurs.  If the Millennials drink at all, it's either at home or quiet times where they can use their phones in a corner.  And as for CAMRA's offer?  If you become one of the desperately-needed "active volunteers", the activities offered are a combination of an OAP's charabanc and a 70s trade union branch meeting.  As a result, CAMRA will likely be moribund within the next decade.

I did joke on X yesterday that maybe CAMRA could make up the losses by sending membership forms to the UK's retirement homes and sheltered housing schemes.  But on consideration, I think these are the only people who would seriously consider joining now.