Newslink Christmas 2006 by Lware Limited

This newsletter was produced (free of charge by Lware Limited www.lware.co.uk for Mudeford Men's Club, Christchurch. Images are not included. NEWSLINK The periodic Newsletter of the Mudeford Mens’ Club December 2006 Welcome to the Christmas 2006 edition of Newslink! Inside, you’ll find all the important information you need about entertainment, bar opening times, subscriptions and plenty more. And if there’s anything else that you think ought to be included then please drop a note into the letterbox addressed to “Newslink” … Your generous donations improving lives … Silverways Matron Marie Madders gratefully accepts a cheque from MMC Secretary John Oliver On Wednesday 29th November, Silverways home for the elderly (Highcliffe) again used the Club to host a fundraising darts evening. They ran a similar event last year and so it was that we became aware of the fundraising they do to purchase equipment for the residents. As a result, they became one of last year’s Christmas charity fund recipients and with our donation, they purchased a special therapeutic chair. Matron Marie Madders thanked the Club for the donation and explained “Many of our residents have conditions which prevent them from sitting in a normal chair. This kind gift allows them to leave their rooms and socialise with their friends or enjoy some fresh air in the garden.” This sum was raised by YOU the members last Christmas, during our annual charity fundraising month. Other donations were made to: · Christchurch Town Scouts for a re-vamp of their HQ · The Scout & Guide Band for musical instruments · The RNLI · The Mayor’s Fund to provide essential minibus travel for needy local residents · Other deserving individual cases See more about this year’s charity fundraising later in this issue of Newslink. Club Entertainment There’s been plenty happening on the entertainment front lately. It was decided to have some live music for the Marrow Competition in September. Colin Lann played and sang and even got the members dancing on a Sunday lunchtime! The experiment has been repeated since and seems to be very popular. Keep an eye on the notice board to see when future live Sundays are planned. New bands on Saturday nights have included The Word (subsequently booked for Dinner Dance), Taste of the Shadows and Outrage – all of whom went down very well with the enthusiastic audiences. Another new band, Brian Moon and the Satellites is booked for February. So, get your glad rags on and support the club on a Saturday. After all, where else will you get FREE live entertainment? Sat 25th November saw another Jam Night. As ever, a certain Mr. Ashby was the star contributor with five songs – thanks Dave, your efforts are appreciated. Alas, not all the expected guest singers could make it on the night but we must say special thanks to Liz Westall for her Dusty Springfield impression and a young lady called Michelle who got up and performed a fine version of Stuck In The Middle With You, without even knowing what key it was going to be in. Well done! Jam night – Sat 25th November featuring invisible drummer Pete Dorey! He’s there somewhere, honest! Mark Roper, our hard working Activities Co-ordinator is always happy to listen to any feedback you care to give him, so, if you’ve got a view on Saturday entertainments, he’d be pleased to hear from you. And just to prove the point, some members have said that they would like a quiet Saturday occasionally. As a result, it has been decided to give this a trial run with a “Social Evening” with nothing more obtrusive than some quiet background music. Another request has been for the return of the “In-house disco.” So if you fancy a go behind the decks and think you can amaze us all with your witty banter and your record collection, have a word with Mark. December Sat 2nd All Sounds Disco Sat 9th Lucky Sat 16th Xmas draw Sat 23rd Alpine Disco Xmas eve lunchtime Sloe gin comp & Paul Hammond Xmas eve night Coroma Disco Boxing day Ltd Edition Thu 28th Filmed race night New years eve Mista Beat – your Jam Night band January 6th Bluebird Disco 13th Ocean Drive 20th Filmed Race Night 27th Social Evening February 3rd Brian Moon & the Satellites 10th Disco 17th Mista Beat 24th Disco Bingo caller urgently required! One/two bingo callers required for Sunday evenings. Hours: About 1.5, once every few weeks Wages: Your reward will come in Heaven (i.e. naff all) No experience necessary as training will be provided. Please, if you feel you might fancy having a go, contact Roger Masterman, Chairman, Entertainments Committee. Tuesday night quiz The Tuesday evening quiz night always creates a good atmosphere and a laugh or two when, just occasionally, it all goes “pear shaped” for DJ Ian Woolley. The evening is open to all, in teams of any size, starting at 9pm. At the time of writing, the cost is £1 per person but this is likely to increase to £1.50 in the near future to reduce the amount of subsidy the Club provides for the event. Prizes range from a box of chocolates right up to the rolling prize for Play Your Cards Right (prepare your lawsuit now Mr. Forsyth!) which is currently around £400. Charity fundraising - Christmas 2006 This year’s events are looming large and your generosity will allow us to focus on youth this year: · Assistance to Mudeford Cricket Club towards the cost of ground improvements required after their excellent promotion this summer. This was thought most appropriate due to the strong links between the two clubs and the excellent work they do with their many junior teams · Helping a local charity that provides “shoe boxes” of simple but life changing gifts for some of the world’s poorest children · Donation towards equipment for Mudeford Swans junior football team · Our usual contribution to the RNLI So what can I do? Well, any offers of assistance are always welcomed whether it’s selling tickets or collecting auction lots from donors. Maybe you work for a local business that might be in a position to donate a gift for a good cause. We will ensure that donors get as much publicity as possible, so go on – twist the boss’s arm! Christmas opening times Date From To From To Fri 22 Dec 11am 2:30pm 6pm Midnight Sat 23 Dec 11am 3pm 6pm Midnight Sun 24 Dec 12noon 3pm 7pm Midnight Mon 25 Dec 11am 1pm Closed Tue 26 Dec 11am 4pm Closed Wed 27 Dec 11am 3pm 6pm 11pm Thu 28 Dec 11am 3pm 6pm 11pm Fri 29 Dec 11am 3pm 6pm Midnight Sat 30 Dec 11am 3pm 6pm Midnight Sun 31 Dec Noon 3pm 7pm 1am Mon 01 Jan 11am 4pm Closed Recent events Recent events organised by the Club include: Ascot races – another very popular and successful trip Wincanton races – always sells out quickly. A must for anyone who doesn’t want the crowds of Ascot Marrow Competition – the men cleaned up with five out of six prizes in the chutney and jam – come on ladies! A new category of Mr. Potato Head was introduced and won by Starkers! (well, by her potato, I should say). Ladies night – a trip to see Buddy in the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton was thoroughly enjoyed. Turkey & Tinsel - 17-21 November Eastbourne Another very successful event was enjoyed by all. Upcoming events Childrens’ Xmas party – Sat 09 December. Food, games and puppets from 3-6pm. Christmas draw – evenings, 13-16 December. The choir will be performing from 8:30pm on the Saturday and there will be a bar extension. Collect your prizes on the Saturday night and the Sunday lunchtime as there isn’t room to store them all! Finals night – Fri 22 December. The Xmas competitions being concluded plus midnight extension. Sloe gin competition – lunchtime, Christmas Eve With live music from Paul Hammond. Boxing day charity auction – 1pm start. Come down to get some bargains and support our nominated charities. Popular duo Limited Edition provide the live music. New Year’s Eve – Live music from Mista Beat (the Jam Night band) and disco music to keep you dancing during the breaks. Childrens’ Pantomime – Wednesday 10th January Cinderella at the Lighthouse, Poole for members’ children aged 8 – 12. See notice board for details.. Annual Dinner Dance, Hoburne Park - Friday 2nd March The 2007 Dinner Dance will once again be held locally at Hoburne. For a heavily subsidised ticket price you get your meal, wine, live band, variety act and disco. Not to be missed. In 2008, the Club will be celebrating its 80th anniversary. We would welcome views from the members as to what they would like in terms of the dinner dance and more generally, any other events you think might be suitable to mark the occasion. The Entertainments Committee would welcome your views as to whether you would want to use another venue which would probably involve coach travel, or are you happy to keep things local to the area? Please drop a line to Newslink with your thoughts and post it in the mail rack in the foyer. Sports news Cricket Mudeford CC 1st XI gained promotion in a dramatic last game of the season. The Club required one more wicket to secure a point for automatic promotion but the fielding side had only a handful of runs to play with. In a tense finish, MMC member Ben Walker remained calm under a spinning lofted edge and took the catch which secured promotion. Many of you may have seen the effect of the dry summer on the cricket field. It was turned into a dustbowl. In order for their promotion to be ratified, the club was told that major improvements had to be made to the playing surface. The field is, of course, used as a valuable resource by many people. Apart from all the senior and junior teams of Mudeford CC, it is filled with kids in the school holidays and dog walkers every day. The Council however, did not consider that the maintenance of this asset to the community was important enough for them to share the burden. The players have therefore used their own money to finance the work and are now fundraising to try and recoup this cash. Also, they have done a great deal of hard work themselves, planting new grass seed and re-laying turf. The results are easy to see with new grass replacing what was sand and, thankfully, the League was suitably impressed and has approved the team’s promotion. We wish them every success in the coming season. However, we couldn’t let the opportunity pass of mentioning the end of season friendly between the cricketers and the footballers. Now, what was the result again lads? Snooker The Xmas knockout competition is ongoing. If you missed the entry date, keep an eye on the notice boards in Autumn next year! This year’s Eddie Carr Trophy was won by Trevor Broome with Rob Boulton finishing runner up. The competition involves a single frame knockout with just three reds and was played over two evenings in November with the winner of each night contesting the final. MMC President Laurie Wilkinson presented Trevor with his prize and expressed his delight that a relatively recent member to the club was not only getting involved but also winning. Hopefully, this will encourage more members to take part in events. Meanwhile, the annual over 60s competition will take place on 13th and 14th December (lunchtimes). For those not participating, this event is always fascinating to watch and provides a great atmosphere as well as fierce competition. This year, Ken Elwood will be defending his singles title whilst in the pairs, Geoff Morgan and Barry Chaston. will be looking to lift the trophy (and the scotch!) again. Why not come and support? Crib and dominoes The Christmas Crib began in November. For those that want to take part, a new club league will no doubt begin in the New Year. See the notice boards for details. Ladies: the crib and dominoes competitions are open to you too – and the men would welcome you into the fold (just don’t beat them too often!!!) Your sport not mentioned? Well, we’re not psychic, so if you want to tell everyone how well you’ve done, or generate some supporters for a crunch match then drop a line to Newslink or e-mail the Club at mudeford@btconnect.com and let us know what’s happening.! Membership subscriptions Subs payment times and dates: Date From To From To Mon 1st Jan 12:00 1:30 Wed 3rd Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Fri 5th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Sat 6th Jan 12:00 1:30 Wed 10th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Fri 12th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Sat 13th Jan 12:00 1:30 Wed 17th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Fri 19th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Sat 20th Jan 12:00 1:30 Wed 24th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Fri 26th Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Sat 27th Jan 12:00 1:30 Wed 31st Jan 12:00 1:30 7:00 9:00 Subscription charges As those of you who actually read the notice boards will know, it has been agreed that subscriptions will increase next year. The new fees are still very modest compared to most establishments and the increase, as ever, will help to maintain our very low prices for the benefit of the active membership. From January 2007 Members £15 Lady Affilliate Members £7.50 OAP members £15/£7.50* New members joining fee £30 *Note that the discounted price will be available for new 2007 OAP members only after 5 years paying a full membership fee. New this year, for those who are lucky enough to emigrate for the whole of January, is an improved system for paying subs. The old method of queuing up in January will still be running but envelopes will be available in the club during December for members to post their subscriptions in the safe. Mark Stride Naturally, we feel a great sense of loss whenever a member passes away but there was particular sadness at news of the tragic and untimely passing of Mark Stride in November after a valiant battle against illness. The Stride family has a strong and very long standing association with Club and we would like to pass on our sincerest condolences all his family and friends for their loss. A seasonal tale … Santa had been having a bad day. Mrs Claus had been bending his ear about every Christmas being the same as the last. Why couldn’t they go away somewhere for a change? The elves had been moaning about rates of pay and claiming that they were being exploited due to their minority status. Meanwhile, animal rights activists were threatening direct action against Santa’s treatment of the reindeer, especially as they were expected to travel tens of thousands of miles in one night with inadequate rest periods. The Post Office had just delivered a truck load of late letters which would push the Production Department to the wire. Various religious groups were complaining that they were being discriminated against as the old boy deals only with Christmas and not Diwali, Yom Kippur etc. He tried to explain that the clue was in the name “Father Christmas” but to no avail. It was at this point that the Fairy Queen popped in to complain about the blatant sexism in assuming that all the little girls would all like dolls and wendy houses for Christmas. She might have got away with it, had she not chosen that precise moment to bend over and tie a shoe lace. This explains why to this day, it is traditional to see a fairy sitting on the sharp end of a Christmas tree … That’s all folks! Finally, from everyone associated with Newslink and your Club Committees, may we wish you all a fantastic Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. See you in 2007!