there was no set format to the out of town meetings, which were originally held over a single day, but during the 1960s some lasted three days. they were often limited in topical scope. ken pounds, the president of the ras from 1990-2, proposed expanding their remit into a more general meeting, inspired by the large meetings of the british association and the american astronomical society. the goal was to attract a broad section of the uk astronomy research community and provide a focus for media attention on the discipline. to reflect this newly expanded format, the series was re-named the 'national astronomy meeting' (nam) from 1992 onwards.