Scarborough 41 Club held its 58th AGM at the Crown Spa Hotel on Thursday, 18 April 2013.

Now the one meeting of the year that the Chairman is of actual use, is the AGM. Where, apart from giving his annual report, thanking his hard working committee, (who do all the work) and giving them all a gift of gratitude, he has to hand over the chairman’s office to the incoming chairman.

So why did our Richard Frank decide to go on a holiday that week?

Was it to avoid any embarrassing heckling from the members?

Was it that he was hoping to save the cost of the meal by apologising ?………which in the end he didn’t, as he didn’t apologise until the day before the meeting!

Or was it that he had in fact lost the plot?

Draw your own conclusions gentlemen.

However all was not lost as our illustrious, hardworking and modest secretary Mike Shingler was persuaded to stand in. (In return for a free evening meal for himself and his first wife Lesley).

The resultant meeting therefore ran smoothly and efficiently culminating in the handover to Tom Cathcart who then inducted two new members into our little club.

For those of you who were not there, they were:

Mike Rought-Brooks and Darren Kellet. Both of whose details will be included to the new directory which is being prepared my your hard working secretary.

So all in all the meeting was a great success. It’s just a pity that so many of our members did not attend and that only Gordon Hayes was properly dressed in a diner jacket.

Your anonymous reporter.

(No prizes for guessing who the anonymous reporter is !, Ed)

New Chairman, new members

Round Table guests

Henderson chops his finger off whilst asleep

Be afraid, be very afraid …

The evening got off to a good start as we were greeted by Jo, our host for the evening in the bar. My own evening started slightly late, but was particularly well timed as I caught Miker Shingler at the bar just as he was ordering a drink …thank you for the beer Mike, though the dust from your wallet did make my eyes water slightly.

Grace was said by Ed. What followed was a super meal of ample portions and very good quality.

The chef came round and asked us ‘how was the food?’ to which my table mate Ian Costello very quickly replied ..the chicken was fantastic! very good Ian, though the apple sauce and crackling should really have been the clue that this wasn’t actually chicken!

Mike Shingler then nagged our Chairman with the request for comfort break, during which Richard told us a very interesting story about the Crown Hotel having a reputation for the best ‘Muffins’ in town.

The Chairman then led us through the usual formalities of the evening and reports were presented from attending committee members:

• Secretary Mike expressed concern re apologies. Non-apologies might be considered too high tech via the web site, possibly reflected in the evening’s low turnout which was clearly nothing to do with venue. Having said that, for anyone who has access to email and internet, the apology system really is very easy to use. Mike also requested info for the members directory. We have a potential new member – Darren Kellet will be invited to join if no objections….first job for Tom C…possibly the only thing he’ll do according to Mike!
• Entertainments – Simon W mentioned the barbeque….potential with partners seams to have broad appeal amongst those at the meeting.
• No Wilko or Simon Lockley, so nothing to report in those areas.
• Stuart…nothing to report.
• Richard Grunell flagged up 26 people going to Aalten this time, please could we do our best to sign the poster that is being taken over there by our group.

Our Chairman then introduced our speaker for the evening and reminded us (with a tear in his eye!) that this was his second to last evening as chairman. thanks to all 19 members who turned up and 10 who’s non apols ensured we enjoyed an excellent feast on a teriffic qty of food.

Jo from Sheffield International Venues then delivered a very interesting presentation on how SIV is planning to develop the Spa venue, and how it works in conjunction with other venues within the group. Exciting times ahead for the Scarborough Spa, and all to the wider benefit of our town as well.

A very pleasant evening was had by all.

Dale

Can I get out of here before I get asked to do the meeting report?

The ghosts in the machine

No sign of a written report as yet

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Ian blows his nose in his napkin, hoping no one has noticed

Iain prays that new sewerage pipe doesn’t go under his house

Ear ere

“Why am I only on the edge of this photo?

The Chairman does a great impersonation of someone who knows what he is doing and has everything under control

Malcolm sketches a pretty flower for his needlework classes

Mike starts to nod off after trying to drink the rst of the table under it.

Mike takes the pichet

find the foillicle 1

Find the follicle 2

No sign of it here, either

The Chairman pretends to be in charge whilst somebody snaffles his wine

Costello/ Lockley productions bring you the Burns Night Report – the event having being held at Beiderbecke’s on Thursday 24/01/13

– As Burn’s Night is a traditional night and therefore more formal than usual members were told it would be a DJ event. Unfortunately TC, our Vice-Chairman, thought this meant there was going to be a ‘Disco’ and turned up in a lounge suit. Could have been worse – he could have dusted off his 70’s flares and stripey shirt – those were the days eh Tommy?

– Brian Davison – our esteemed organiser for the event – made the fundamental mistake of not turning up. To be fair, his arrangements did run like clockwork, and he did phone in to say he was trapped in Lincoln or somewhere, although he declined to give the lady’s name.

– Confusingly we were served some very tasty ‘Neeps’ and Tatties’ before the haggis was addressed – an excellent dramatic performance by guest Andy by the way, who was also played a mean set of bagpipes – and after the address we were then given a chicken dish?? The haggis did make an appearance again later in the evening though, and that’s not a euphemism (look it up Mr Secretary) for a technicolour yawn.

– Round Table fielded Tim for the traditional reading of Tam O’Shanter. Despite having to plough through about 47 verses, the boy done good, although English subtitles should have been mandatory, and indeed one or two of his fellow members did try adding some sign language.

– RT88 continues to go from strength to strength, and Jim McCann inducted two new members, who were really not humiliated enough for my taste but then I am a bit of a traditionalist. Tarring and feathering never hurt anyone in the good old days. Even hard to say if they aired from North of the Border – which would have made it a particularly appropriate night to enlist them. Jim was assisted by Wilko whose only job was to attach a badge onto the lapel of each new boy – what could go wrong?? (Quite a lot apparently although at least he missed any vital organs).

– Alex Jowett received a gold medal for enticing 7 new members into RT88 – well done that man! If Round Tables across the country all had a Mr Jowett then membership would cease to be a problem. Maybe we could send replicas of him out? On second thoughts one of the replicas might get upset at being sent away, and we really don’t want to end up with the ‘tears of a clone!!’ (Oh please yourselves – it’s not easy writing these reports). Not that the real AJ is easily moved to tears unless it’s his round of course, which is true of most of us.

– All in all a good night with good food, good company, and two more prospective 41 Club members in the frame. Well done to all involved.

Thanks to Simon Lockley (Ed)

Simon falls asleep with a pint on his lips

Yes, Ian confirms he has really nodded off.

Assorted pics:

Round Table’s first gay marriage?

A wee chieftain o’ the puddin’ race

Richard doesn’t realise that you don’t wear your sporran on your head.

Have I told you about my hernia operation?

Rick emerges from the shadows

Do you think if I squeeze back enough the camera will miss me?

For the December meeting we were treated to a festive South Indian and Sri Lankan meal, visiting the Curry Leaf on Pavilion Terrace.

It seemed like stepping into someone’s front room as we entered, but our enthusiastic host soon had everyone organised and seated. Plate after plate appeared, all fairly spicy, and some slightly odd – do they have salmon curry in India? Do they have cheese in the curry? Your humble correspondent simply does not know, and has entirely predictably forgotten most other food related details with which to pad out this report other than all seemed to enjoy it, and the staff seemed very attentive.

For afters we were treated to another now legendary Simon Ward quiz, which was clearly rigged in favour of those members who were personally acquainted with George V. In a shock move, Simon’s geographical knowledge was questioned by a local well known pedant, which resulted in points being deducted and the quiz being lost.

Business was minimal, with Mike Shingler mentioning the success of the Movember campaign, and thanking those taking part in the Round Table sleigh pull.

Chairman Richard reminded us of the upcoming Aalten visit.

Next meeting is to be a Burns night dinner at Beiderbecke’s on January 24th.

Thanks to Peter Calow (Ed)

All I want for Christmas is ….

Better get a load of this before Henderson scoffs it

There’s that bloke with the camera. Pretend we’re enjoying ourselves.

When does the banjo player come on?

Chairman Richard welcomed a large turnout of 41 Club Members to Fledglings’ Restaurant on 15 November 2012 who enjoyed good food prepared by the students of Yorkshire Coast College, copious amounts of Beaujolais nouveau, lively conversation (Richard Coulson was on the table where I was sitting) and an entertaining and informative after dinner talk by Mike Holliday ranging from his early days as a hotelier to his lifelong appreciation of good wine.
There was a good turnout from Round Table and several people sporting a range of strange growths above their upper lips. First prize would have gone to Martin Tetley for his impersonation of Private Walker from Dad’s Army!
Following a heartfelt appeal by David Henderson on behalf of Secretary Mike endorsed by Chairman Richard and Franklyn Garvey members were unanimous in resolving to donate the sum of £500 to National Chairman David Smith’s Charity for 2012/13 The Prostrate Cancer Charity supplementing the money in the charity account from the Club’s general funds as required. Gordon Hayes also promised a personal donation to the Charity.
As Chairman Richard said when closing the meeting it had been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding meetings he had had the privilege to Chair in his 2 years in the position.

Ian Brabbs

No words this month, just pics. First, our speaker.

Then, the usual reprobates:

Dazzled?

Scarborough 41 Club meeting – Thursday 13 September 2012 – Beiderbecke’s Hotel

Following the summer recess, the first meeting of Chairman Frank’s second term of office was held in the familiar surroundings of Beiderbecke’s Hotel. It was a pleasure to be joined by members of Scarborough Round Table 88, albeit in an extremely casually dressed manner. Chairman McCann, who looked as though he had just left work in a cow byre, tried to explain his misunderstanding of the word ‘casual’ – although frankly in my experience I’ve never seen him look so smart.

Following a unique version of grace from Ed Nesley, we enjoyed a stuffed chicken main course, during which Simon Lockley explained to anyone who would listen (and many who wouldn’t) why Peter Calow was now known internationally as ‘Bunny Boy’. For anyone who doesn’t understand this, I refer them to a recent article in the Scarborough News. Our pear and almond tart dessert was, for some, unknowingly and apparently unappreciatively further seasoned to taste.

Our guest speaker for the evening was Gareth Edwards [are we sure about his surname? – Wed Dev] – not, however, the former Welsh scrum-half wizard, but the Head of Communications at York Potash. Gareth very expertly and eloquently described the developing project to mine for potash on the North York Moors, roughly between Sleights and Robin Hoods Bay. We learnt that potash is a source of potassium which, along with nitrogen and phosphorus, is a key requirement for plant growth and therefore an essential component of fertilisers. The area to be mined would access the world’s largest potash deposits, with shafts being drilled down to 1500 metres. The extracted potash would be crushed and transported via an underground pipeline to Teesside for processing and distribution. Most of the mining works are planned to be built below ground level, therefore minimising the effect on the local environment, and workings above ground will be screened behind woodland and cunningly disguised as farm buildings. With production anticipated to commence in 2016/7, the benefits of the project for the local community would include upward of 1000 direct jobs, apprenticeships and graduate recruitment prospects, a significant input to the local economy, and the establishment of the York Potash Foundation, a local community fund to benefit from 0.5% of annual revenue.

Following his informative presentation and a question and answer session (during which Franklyn Garvey demonstrated a remarkable knowledge of local fauna), a vote of thanks was extended to Gareth from Jim Hughes.

Committee reports were mercifully brief, although Dave Henderson quite rightly received tumultuous applause for his sterling efforts in setting up the superb new 41 Club website. As Table chairman, Jim ‘Sartorial’ McCann offered his thanks to 41 Club for inviting Round Table to the meeting, adding that he hoped there would be further joint meetings ahead.

The meeting concluded with a toast to RTBI.

Gordon Hayes

Image of Bix courtesy Wikipedia

During the long summer recess when 41 Club goes into hibernation, although some of us carried on working, an increasing number of 41 Clubbers now enjoy the all year round life of stress free relaxation having retired from their day to day working commitments.

During May, I attended Richard Frank’s stag weekend (Canal boat trip near Keighley) and subsequent wedding and wish Richard and Daphne a long and happy marriage. Although this photo of Richard late at night on a street corner looking for any kind of gay boy action, shows that Daphne has her work cut out.

Going my way. sailor?

In June, Scarborough Round Table hosted the European 8’s weekend for the first time in many years and I know a number of you attended the Saturday night party at Beiderbecke’s and we all had a great time.

I am sure that we will have another enjoyable 41 Club year under Richard Frank’s second year as Chairman (wish he would let someone else have a go) and look forward to seeing you all soon.

Stephen Slade