Monday 29 September 2014

Mobile Phones and Business Conferences

As you might expect of a first-class business conference venue, here at the Belair Park Country Club we provide access to all the latest technical connectivity channels such as wireless routers and so on.

If anything a little out of the ordinary is required, perhaps such as extra-large videoconferencing screens, our conference venue administrators will be happy to assist with the provision of such if you provide appropriate notice.

Although our remit is to make available exemplary business conference venues, rather than necessarily to offer advice on how you should structure your individual conference, we do sometimes get asked to comment on the subject of Mobile Phones, Laptops, PDAs, Tablets and Smart Phones being used during conferences etc.



This must of course be a matter for the conference organiser. There may be some delegates who, for reasons of business risk management, cannot be entirely cut off from outside world communications in the event a crisis arises requiring their personal urgent attention.

However, in some cases delegates may exaggerate the necessity to stay connected during conferences simply because they are uncomfortable with the thought of being disconnected from the virtual world.
In our experience, many conference organisers request that delegates switch off their electronic devices other than at lunchtime or in the evenings.  Whether that becomes a matter of voluntary compliance or a firm requirement is a matter for each individual conference organiser to decide.

It is the case that in many business forums, including conferences, one sees delegates constantly texting and browsing the net whilst at the same time ostensibly participating in the conference or apparently trying to concentrate on something such as a presentation etc.  It might seem intuitively unlikely that somebody can efficiently segment their attention across multiple channels at the same time while still being able to give quality thought to any one of them.

There is no one set answer to this dilemma for business conference organisers. The correct approach may vary from one situation to another.

Sunday 14 September 2014

Top Tips for your Wedding Day Attire

We should declare openly that at Belair Park Country Club we are experts in hosting weddings rather than necessarily bridal gown design etc.
Even so, our extensive experience in luxury weddings means that we have learned a few things over the years when talking to brides, grooms and sometimes their families.
So, here a few basic reminders in terms of those little things you may need to think about with your wedding day clothes:


1. Most brides understandably love to keep their wedding dress on as long as they can.  Remember though that if you are planning to spend quite a few hours in your dress, it needs to be practical and comfortable.

2. This isn’t just a female issue!  Grooms in tight-fitting formal suits that feel bearable in the morning, may need to remember that they might be spending an entire day so dressed and doing a fair bit of eating, drinking and dancing.

3. Keep a pair of dancing shoes to hand if you are wearing particularly adventurous heels on your bridal shoes.  If you don’t, you may find you need to use either bare feet or dance with your heart in your mouth!

4. Remember the heat when selecting your clothes.  Of course, all our internal spaces are fully equipped with air-conditioning but you’ll want to take advantage of some of our beautiful vistas outside for your photographs etc.  Overly-heavy, even if beautiful, clothes outside at certain times of the year may make you feel very uncomfortable very quickly.

5. Think about recommending to your guests that they bring a change of clothes for younger children.  However strong the parental warnings to the contrary might be, most young children will be running around and doing their own thing at the earliest opportunity. It might be a pity if those pristine wedding day suites and dresses quickly get covered in various forms of ‘detritus’.
We hope the above proves helpful!