Thread: SRP mini-convention (Down Under)

Im pleased to report that today saw the first SRP (Australian Division) mini convention, held in Brisbane Australia... the city of sundays... on a saturday.

Let me brief you...

I don't live in brisbane, actually i live some distance away, but circumstance had me visiting today and i thought it would be a good idea to contact the members i knew in the brisbane area and organise a get together for the purposes of exchanging ideas and a bit of show and tell.

Jimbo was the only one I could think of so I pm'd him and suggested the idea... no worries he said... lets meet up town at the razor shop (great name for a shop) and take it from there... as far as it goes here in australia, this is considered "fully organised".

www.therazorshop.com

I arrived early... I always do... when meeting someone for the first time I like to case them out a bit as they arrive to try and get the cut of their jib... you can tell a lot about a man by watching the way he carries himself... whether he has the confident swagger of an oxford man or the apologetic shuffle of someone from cambridge... little did i know...

Like a blade on the feather... Jimbo whistled into the shop... bang on time... and we could get things under way.

Just quietly... I dont think the girl in the shop was used to dealing with people of our calibre... she seemed a little overwhelmed at the demands being placed on her... whats this? where did it come from? can you get any more of it? They seem a little more geared toward the DE and Mach3 inclined, but they do keep a modest selection of straights on hand. A handful of nice dovos and a couple of Fromm's... a selection of badger hair brushes and a very good variety of soaps, creams and lotions... pretty good really.

Pretty soon we had the shop inventoried and assessed... yes, yes... good... must try this... must try that... no no no that product/thing has no earthly business being in any self respecting shavers den... and so on

One thing that must be mentioned by itself is strops... or lack thereof.

All the young lady could show us was one tiny little dovo stop... well made and nice to look at but ultimately unsuitable for the job. Tony Miller... we said... you have to go and check out his website and see what he can do to help you... the dovo is cute, but it just wont do. I actually thought it was a miniature strop... for shop display purposes. But i am assured by my learned colleague that you can strop razors on it.

Lunch !

We left the shop to find something to eat... down onto the mall to Jimmy's outdoor eatery. Great food, cold beer and an opportunity to watch the city pass by. Over fish and pasta we exchanged thoughts on steel and metalurgy... ivory and wood... belgian and japanese... soaps and creams... sources foreign and domestic... all great stuff.

Then it was time for the afternoon session... off to the Paddington Tavern

For those who've never heard of it, "The Paddo" is a bit of a landmark here in brisbane. It's been here since before anyone can remember and visited on more than one occasion by almost every regular visitor to Brisbane. Its just around the corner from the Claxton Hotel and Lang Park... which are to queenslanders what yankee stadium and maddison square are to New Yorkers (holy sites). Lang Park is home to the "Emperor" Wally Lewis and the rugby league State of Origin trophy, the hardest fought and most bitterly contested trophy in australian sport.

Here we drank cold beer and hammered out the really important issues...

And then it was time for show and tell... Jimbo had with him some very impressive pieces including a really nice Papabull handled friodur which i had not seen in person before... very very nice. Definately a must have if the opportunity presents itself. I brought along some pieces I was particularly pleased with... and a couple that Im not very happy with at all... for comparitive purposes. Soon the table was covered in steel... sheffield and solingen... new and vintage... off the rack and custom made... a beautiful thing.

But... my rather obtuse sense of humour to one side...

It was the best day out Ive had in a little while... I feel like learned a lot and made a new friend...

I'd recommend in the strongest terms throwing what support you can behind the organisation of the real SRP convention and then finding a way to get there... you can pick up more in 5mins of face to face than you ever will from hours of typing and reading.

The very least you should do is add your location to the google map, as has already been suggested, and find out who lives near to you. Its a good way to spend your time off.

Greg Frazer.

I am very happy for you, i would have love to be there with you guys very much, thanks for sharing this story, i also had a few meetings with a member very knowledgeable about all this stuff and it was def. great moments...
It is true that you learn so much by face to face show and tell...
I also agree and would like to encourage to members to put this thing together (convention) even though i know it must be hard and time consuming to organize.
Its funny...i know that like cigar smoking...wherever you go...if you find a fellow straight razor shaver ...there is instant friendship,respect and conexion....
I am glad you had a great time.
Sergio.

That's a fantastic write up Greg!

It really was an excellent day. And I must say that I learned far more from Greg than I think he did from me. He's a very modest gentleman - he has skills and knowledge that I can only dream of. And some beautiful razors too.

And, of course, we had the best shaves of anyone at the cafe. And pub. In fact, we were clearly exuding an air of debonair ruggedness that comes only from using straights, as several young women asked if they could "get a light" in thinly veiled efforts to attract our attention. But, being the gentlemen we are, we politely ignored their admiring stares and got on with the business of the day.

It probably would have had a few of you laughing to see us huddled over a table in a dark little back room of the pub furtively exchanging straights with each other, glancing over our shoulders every time someone passed through....

But I can't say it any better than Greg has already done - I learned heaps, had a brilliant time, and have made a new friend. If you do have the opportunity to get to the convention, do it. We are a great bunch of people - as I think we already know - and we are even better in person

James.

That must have been a great day. I am middle of planning a meeting on the sixth of next month. Hope we have as god a day.

Phil

Cool beans ----great little story there ---- But why does The Razor Shop sell pressure cookers .



Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Cool beans ----great little story there ---- But why does The Razor Shop sell pressure cookers .



Justin

I don't know.... Greg?

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I don't know.... Greg?

James.

Maybe for a hot towel treatment or something ---- (damn you Aussies are tough)

Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Maybe for a hot towel treatment or something ---- (damn you Aussies are tough)

Justin

Not hot towels - beard softening.

James.

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

(damn you Aussies are tough)

Tough enough mate... but only just enough

Actually that's a good question and one that deserves and answer, maybe next week I'll ask the girl by email the reason for it. I'll give it a couple of days because I think she felt like she'd worked pretty hard for her money by the time Jimbo and I were finished with her yesterday.

A lot of effort to shift some soap and brushes...

Jimbo... I did notice those girls hanging around a little while after getting "a light"... problem was mine looked cute as a button but yours was a little ordinary... didnt seem fair

Greg Frazer

Originally Posted by Greg Frazer

...
Jimbo... I did notice those girls hanging around a little while after getting "a light"... problem was mine looked cute as a button but yours was a little ordinary... didnt seem fair

Greg Frazer

True, but her dad owns the XXXX brewery....

James.