Area: GREATER LONDON
Town: VAUXHALL
Day: THURSDAY
Postcode: SW8
Time: 19.00
Group Name: VAUXHALL: LONDON BEGINNERS
Open or Closed: All mtgs 'open'.
Address: Ashmole Community Hall, 2 Meadow Rd SW8
This group is up to its old tricks again - yet another promotional event featuring named guest speakers and with a £7.00 charge for the privilege of listening to some "personalities" recycling the latest perversion of the AA message. The colourful, if not garish, flyer (see above) promoting this event helpfully points out that:
"There are many AA conferences/conventions held around the world. A common misconception of these gatherings is that they are regular AA Meetings. Conventions and Conferences are special events, which require a substantial amount of funding. This convention is self-supporting. Attendance is voluntary and as responsible AA members, we pay our own way".
Apparently this rationale is intended to justify charging for entry. Well they've got one thing right - this little shindig can by no stretch of the imagination be considered a "regular AA meeting" if an AA meeting at all! Again an attempt is made to blur the lines between what constitutes an AA meeting and what might be considered a business meeting or a purely social event. There is nothing to suggest in the promotional material that members are not in fact being charged to go to a meeting. In AA conventions there is a clear separation between the two, the cost of running the AA meeting met by "voluntary contributions", and any other charges (relating to the provision of entertainment, food, beverages etc) being separately itemised, and comprising a ticket price. In this fashion no AA member is excluded from attending an AA meeting per se for whatever financial reason. It is open then for each person to decide whether they wish to attend any accessory activities but these latter fall within the province of "outside issues" and therefore subject to the usual economic constraints.
Just for the hell of it we've listed the AA traditions this group has broken (and this purely on the basis of the flyer):
One, Two, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Ten, Eleven, Twelve
Not bad! Only 9 traditions out of 12 - must try harder!
Cheers
The Fellas
(our thanks to the AA member who drew our attention to this)
PS The good news - apparently attendance at this event is "voluntary" - Phew! What a relief!
