Hi Tony,
As far as I understand it you can still turn up at the door with your fiver on the day but, given the numbers, there is no guarantee that you will get in. That is why the strong recommendation is to register in advance.
I think you are being a bit unfair about this. There was ample opportunity to register for free as a member and, even if you weren’t 100% sure of being able to make it you could have released the place later if you couldn’t come.
Charging members to come to our main meetings is always a contentious subject but, because of its popularity, the Christmas Meeting is special and we have to put special arrangements in place to manage numbers and the charge did only arise after a long free period. I’m sure we will consider this aspect and look at how it worked this year.
Nick.