Slimmed down magazine

Received ours yesterday, it must have floated down from the letterbox like a feather 

Down the years I have subscribed to a few special interest magazines. They are fine for the first year or so, but then by about 18 months in, articles start to get semi repetitive, as your own experience of something increases, you perhaps don’t find as much interest in certain aspects, and there’s often lack of “real life” input, from like minded individuals rather than paid journalists. Often way too much advertising padding as well (might be only thing that keeps Club Magazine going).  

Never found the Club mag particularly inspiring. As a Club magazine, it could do with much more input from actual Members, dedicated pages for the regions, local centres, and maybe some Site staff input as well. I find all the endless car reviews, outfit reviews a bit of a bore as well. Some unpaid, telling it like it really is after a few months of ownership would be of more benefit to the Membership generally. Everything is all too shiny, too perfect to be honest. And it definitely gives the impression that the Club has too close a relationship with some of the manufacturers.

Received mine today and thought it may be an extra addition as it was so small. Also Avtex add on back page with limited time promotion offer expired 31/07/2024. So expires before some receive the magazine which seemed pointless to me.

Just received our August magazine, what a disappointment. Like others have said it just about sums up the unfortunate road the club is going down.

My wife and I have been members for 30years but we will have to really think hard about renewing. In my view the club is quickly becoming just like Haven etc.

Haven? It couldn’t be more different.😂😂

I certainly wouldn’t base my Membership renewal upon the state of the Club Mag. As far as I’m concerned, it’s always been something additional that you got, and therefore take it, go digital, or just ignore it. Did used to like the letters page, always some fun in there, but CT covers most of that nowadays🤭

I was wondering what all the fuss was about as the magazine we got last week, still not opened, was not too thin.    However, just today we got something that OH was about to categorise as a junk mail delivery, but which turned out to be the August “magazine”…..pitiful!

Have tried to read ones on line, but , like K Brown, it just does not work for me.

I look at it online and it took me all of 3 to 5 minutes to glance through heyho  and glad I do not have to pay the postage to have it sent here. I used to have the French caravan magazine until this year and that was more interesting to look at and some bits I can read and have passed them onto a friend in UK which keeps him quiet for for some time.

We are thinking of cancelling our membership later this year as not used club sites this year and probably not next year either.

I got home and after a while I sat down to see what all the posts were about in this thread. I decided, as you would expect from me, to actually really look at what had really changed in terms of numbers. I used the July and August issues for comparison.

Now this is just me putting broad headings onto the various pages from one to the other to categorise them and then did a simple count. Now a very rough count and I'm sure others might get different results.

So no changes in Letters (still one page) and opinions. Club sites news and CLs news were the same and tail lights still the same'

Headlines down from two page to one page. Photos had gone down three.

Pages about touring and nature, sport...in the UK 12 pages in July while August had 14.

Abroad touring went from 6 to 4 (don't shoot me I'm just the messenger)

Archive and posts from CT had gone.

Crosswords and puzzles down to one page from 3.

Products seem to have gone.

But the biggest difference was adverts, down from 54 pages, (not a mistake 54) down to 15.

So is all these mainly negative posts about the slimmer magazine justified for me? No!

It had more or less as much editorial content as before and those are the parts that I actually read in previous issues. I never found the MH and tow cars at £60,000+ reviews relevant to me, although the caravans prices in my price band were.

I certainly never read the 54 pages of adverts.

Like I said, a very rough count and a very rough categories of the pages but hopefully useful and no one can dispute  where the main pages have gone - the adverts.

Also everyone is entitled to their views but basing touring with the club on the magazine just does not make sense. If it went I would still use club sites. And for the same reason I'm not bothered about being 'consulted' about the changes. As long as club sites remain at the same quality as they are.

So for me I quite like this new version, I wonder if it's here to stay?

Having got the magazine it looks to be little more than a leaflet advertising sites and holidays. To me the most interesting things are the articles on caravans cars and motorhomes. Without them it is just a travelogue and sites adverts. Frankly it was the worst publication I have ever received and if the club treat me with that contempt to suggest that was a useful special edition then I will have to seriously consider my membership. Frankly I learned nothing, it was a waste of paper. I have always tried to support the club but not this time.  

Looks like an own goal.