Posted By Les Welling I would truely love to attend branch meetings but sadly they seem to be held so far away from where I live. I.e. Branch meeting for the South West in Exeter, I live in Devizes, Wilts. I do understand that Branch meetings are held all over the region to accommodate everyone, if possible. In addition I haven't got time to drive there after leaving work, as they seem to be held on weekdays. Can anyone tell me if any are held or due to be held my way? Or shall I join another region?

Posted By Dave McIness Les I agree totally. I'm also a member in the South west and with most of the SW meetings in either Exeter or Plymouth (or somewhere in-between on the A38) it means a minimum 3 hour round trip to get to a local branch meeting. Dave

Posted By Max Bancroft Have you thought of going to your Branch and offering to set-up/assist in setting up a local District. Lots of Branches which cover large geographical areas have done this to help members who can't get to the main Branch meeting so easily and provide an alternative locus. Of course, this does require a group of committed members in the locality who will ensure that a programme with suitable topics is drawn up, venue is found and booked, suitable speakers are obtained, etc etc and sustain the effort thereafter. Hard work but worth it. Max Bancroft Secretary Edinburgh Branch (which has a Forth & Tay District in the north)

Posted By Les Welling Thank you Hazel. I was "put into" the SW Branch on joining, so I assumed that that was the one I was allocated. I will look at the Bristol alternative. Assume = Makes an Ass-U-Me!!! Thank you everyone for your responses.

Posted By Hazel Harvey Max, To answer your question, when a new member joins IOSH we give them the choice of which branch they want to be in (they tick a box)if they are not sure we will allocate a branch for them, we normally do this from their postcode. However, we realise this is not accurate as for many reasons an alternative branch may be better (timings,location etc). When someone moves we also usually point out to them that they can move branch, if they want to. However anyone can change branches at any time. The actual allocation of a branch to each individual member is really for administrative purposes only as the funding for the branch is based on a pro-rata payment for the numbers in the branch.This is currently 10% of the annual subscription.Members can attend whichever branch they want irrespective of which one they are registered to, I can't imagine any branch turning anyone away! If a person likes a branch and attends then they should change to this one so that the funding can follow them. Hazel Harvey

Posted By Hazel Harvey Max, It should be part of the MyIOSH contact details currently in development. We could bring the change of branch into the membership subscription but as it is an infrequent occurance that tends to happen only when someone moves it may not be worth it. Hazel

Posted By Max Bancroft They have a website http://www.ioshbristolandwest.co.uk/ or, if you are interested in other Branches, go to the Branch Section of the IOSH website - all the Branches are listed with their programme & location of meetings.

Posted By Mike Herbert Sheila, Next South Downs meeting is sept 5th in Burgess Hill. The venue is about 10 mins off A23. Check branches link to the left for directions maps etc. Usually turn up at 1830 for tea/coffee and meeting commences at 1900 with guest speaker following usual business. Generally a friendly bunch of folks. See you then if you can make it best regards mike