Newslink Feb 2007

This newsletter was produced (free of charge by Lware Limited for Mudeford Men's Club, Christchurch. Formatting and images are not included. NEWSLINK The Newsletter of the Mudeford Mens’ Club February 2007 Welcome to the Winter 2007 edition of Newslink! When it’s cold, wet and dark outside, you’ve blown all your money at Christmas and the family still aren’t talking to you after that incident with the frozen turkey, what could be better than another action packed Newslink? Well, plenty actually, but most of those things cost money, so this is what you’ve got. First donations made from Christmas Charity Crusade Representatives of The RNLI, Mudeford CC, Mudeford Swans and Operation Christmas Child receive cheques. Yes, once again, you’ve raised a fortune through your generosity. See inside for the full details … Murray Christmas Another massive Christmas draw run by Murray and his gang of little elves. Soon be time to start again … Balloon Race – Sunday 14th January Steve Hill had a miraculous escape after losing his grip on the balloons, 500 feet above Southampton. Sports news Yes, I know there isn’t much. Come on guys, many of your teams receive funding from the Club. It would be nice to know how you are getting on. If you have some news, send it in by early April or get in touch nearer the time to get a deadline date for the next issue. Crib The next crib doubles starts on March 7th. No doubt there will also be a singles competition so keep your eyes on the notice board or speak to Laurie. Gary Boyt on his way to the snooker title on Finals Night Finals night – Friday 22nd December As ever, there was strong competition for the many trophies available for the in-house competitions. We don’t have space to tell you about all the heroic do-or-die battles that took place but no doubt the winners will be happy to give you a very detailed description of their triumphs! Finals night results Crib singles Winner: Alan Jeffers Runner up: Gordon Wallace Crib doubles Winners: Don Tomkins & Robin Mills Runners up: Bernie Pitcher & Terry Parker Dominoes singles Winner: Don Tomkins Runner up: Robin Mills Dominoes doubles Winners: Terry Parker & Ken Elwood Runners up: Norman Grindley & Roger Holden Darts singles Winner: Gary Howlett Runner up: Mel Adey Darts doubles Winners: Gary Howlett & John Bradshaw Runners up Leon Ramsier & Matt Ramsier Billiards Winner: Lawrence Millington Runner up: Jonathan Beavis Snooker Winner: Gary Boyt Runner Up John Challen Over 60’s snooker tournament Double Denney Delight! A great year for Chas Denney as he claimed both titles. But it almost wasn’t to be as Paul Mead took him to the black ball in the first round of the singles. Singles Winner: Charles Denney Runner up: Duncan Turner Doubles Winners: Charles Denney & Ken Elwood Runners up: Bill Cleiff and Fred Buttifant Bill Cleiff demonstrated fine sportsmanship in the doubles final by “sledging” his own partner. The room was in total silence as Fred Buttifant tried to cue a very awkward white whilst stretching over several other balls. Just as he was about to play, his face a study of concentration, Bill exclaimed “Be careful!” to the great amusement of everyone except Fred! Charity Crusade ends in victory As you will no doubt be aware by now, it was yet another wonderful year for charity fundraising with you, the members putting your hands in your pockets to the tune of £3,717 (and still rising) – a figure well above what was expected. In a presentation on Sunday 11th February, the first batch of cheques was presented (see below). Both Laurie Wilkinson and Roger Masterman thanked the Entertainments Committee for their hard work and most especially YOU, the members, who dug so deeply into your pockets once again. Highlights included the Balloon Race with around 300 of your balloons heading East one Sunday lunchtime. At the time of writing, there are a few days left to run but Lily Ford is looking clear favourite with a balloon returned from Belgium! Special thanks to the person who returned a card complete with the cow pat in which he found it! The Boxing Day Auction was also very successful and raised no less than £1,156. Lots included TVs, DVD players, framed pictures, bikes, a large framed mirror, a football table and much more. Club regular Wayne Dodd correctly guessed that the giant teddy bear was called Pansy and won her for his efforts. Despite the fact that they made a lovely couple, Wayne kindly donated Pansy to the auction and raised £65 – that’ll teach Roger to bring his grandchildren into the Club! Well done Wayne. Popular duo Limited Edition provided the live music. Who got the money? Mudeford RNLI Roy Dix received the now traditional cheque for this excellent organisation. Mudeford Cricket Club To help with the costs of repairing the damage to the cricket ground caused by the water shortage last summer, for the benefit of junior and senior teams as well as the local residents. Collecting the cheque, Mark Lampert thanked the Club “for past and continuing support that is very much appreciated.” Mudeford Swans Football Club A non-profit making local group who in just 18 months have started up teams in the Under 7, 8, 10 and 12 age groups with an Under 6 team coming very soon. Players have represented Bournemouth and even been scouted by Southampton! But Richard Jordan and Rob Boughn from the Committee explained to Newslink, it’s not just about the stars – it’s about getting all the kids involved – especially those who couldn’t afford to buy kit themselves. On top of all the fun they have, there has also been a dramatic improvement to the childrens’ fitness. “Thank you very very much for your generosity.” Richard told the members. Operation Christmas Child After a few words from Peter Edwards and Peter Ivermee, nobody was left in any doubt as to why the decision had been taken to support this local branch of a national charity. The descriptions and images of children living in sewers and holes in the road, in temperatures of -30°C (IN EUROPE!) were stomach churning. The Christchurch branch of the organisation sent out 25,000 boxes to benefit these kids last year. In addition, they have used money to build “Street Shelters” where the kids can get a shower, receive food and medicine and get counselling and help.” Peter Edwards, himself a Club member said “We cannot thank you enough. All the money – every penny of it will be used to help these children.” No doubt, if anyone wished to help this local group of volunteers, Peter would be pleased to hear from them. Club Entertainment This year saw a change to the norm for New Year’s Eve as we were let down at short notice by the disco that had been booked for many months. With no other discos available, Mista Beat (your in-house Jam Night band) stepped in and played three 1 hour sets with recorded disco music in between. Feedback has been good, but for those of you who love your discos, rest assured, next year’s disco is booked, and this one tends to turn up as expected! Following the success of Colin Lann on piano on Sunday lunchtimes, Paul Hammond played on Christmas Eve – an event that looked more like the Last Night of the Proms as the whole room stood and sang along to Land Of Hope And Glory! Paul will be back on Sunday 4th March. Saturday 3rd February saw the debut at the Club for Brian Moon and the Satellites – one of the best bands we have ever had. Luckily, they have been booked for several more appearances – keep your eyes on the notice boards. March 24th sees another new band for the Club – Odessa – why not check them out? Monday night dancing Oops! Apology time. We forgot to mention the Monday night dancers in the last issue so let’s put that right straight away. Every Monday from 8:30 to 10:30 sees an evening of Modern, Sequence and Old Time dancing in the lounge. The mood is relaxed with the emphasis on fun – nobody minds if you don’t know all the moves. Harry and Win would be delighted to see some new faces for 2007. Requests are welcomed and there’s no charge. What are you waiting for? Saturday night entertainment February Sat 17th Mista Beat - your in-house band, as seen New Year’s Eve Sat 24th Gold Disco - New disco for the Club March Fri 2nd Dinner Dance Sat 3rd Social Evening – a night for a good old fashioned chat Sun 4th Paul Hammond – solo musical act, as seen Xmas Eve (lunch) Sat 10th Envy – one of the Club’s favourite groups Sat 17th Cookie Roadshow disco Sat 24th Odessa – New band for the Club Sat 31st Disco April Sat 7th Coroma Disco Sat 14th Disco Sat 21st Lucky –popular band with a new member and new material Sat 28th Filmed Race Night – lose the shirt off your back (again) Recent events Other recent events organised by the Club: Childrens’ Xmas party – get ‘em young! Christmas draw – what more needs t be said? Sloe gin comp – Christmas Eve. Joint winners: Murray Bacon/Terry Parker. Rumour has it that the President gave us a song. Any witnesses care to confirm or perhaps write a review? Childrens’ Pantomime trip Upcoming events Annual Dinner Dance, Hoburne Park - Friday 2nd March 2007 This year’s event will again be held at Hoburne. Reception will be at 6pm for 7pm and a 1am bar. Honoured guests this year are Gordon & Jacqui Wallace and Fred & Jenny Wood. After the three course meal, entertainment will be provided by The Word (band), Blitz (disco) and Robbie K (“Unusualist” – don’t ask me!) Demand for tickets has been high this year and the event is likely to be sold out by the time you read this. Anyone wanting a ticket should contact Sharon Morgan who may get some returns. 80th anniversary Dinner Dance, 2008 We asked you in the last issue for your views on whether this event should remain at Hoburn or move to another venue. Opinion was divided 50 – 50 in this matter with equal numbers of people on each side. Unfortunately, the numbers were equal at zero, indicating that if anyone actually cares, they are too idle to put a pen to paper and, as a result, will get what they are given. Feedback We want to hear from YOU (and there’s a drink in it!) Yes, your ever generous President was collared whilst somewhat drunk off guard and agreed to provide a bit of money for prizes. Have you got any great ideas to improve the Club? Got a view that you think needs to be expressed? Got a seriously funny story? Now’s your chance. Get on that soapbox. We would be happy to hear your ideas, opinions, questions or even just appreciation of the work someone does in the Club. Whatever. The floor is yours. Just keep it clean(ish) and inoffensive. Contact us (see below) and we’ll print a selection of your views in the next issue. The best letter will earn the writer £10 to spend over the bar. A drink will be provided for other worthy contributions that are used. Please bear in mind that we may not have space to print everything. Here’s a pretty un-controversial one to get the ball rolling. Please note that this is one member’s idea and in no way endorsed by the Committee or Officers of the Club. Suggestion: That, starting this year, any member standing for election to the Committee or as Officers of the Club has the right, if they wish, to display a 100 word summary, on the notice board, stating why they are standing for election, what they will try to achieve or what they have achieved in the previous term of office. I can feel an AGM motion coming on… A (not very) seasonal tale … Forget about the February wind, the rain and the cold and cast your mind back to the warm balmy summer evenings last year when England’s finest embarked on a mighty crusade to Germany to bring home the World Cup. If it were not for the minor oversight of not being as good at football as most of the other teams, this plan may have succeeded. You may remember the near hysteria as the world waited for news of the Rooney foot. Wayne and Sven had returned to England for scans and X-rays to see if he could take any part in the competition. His England team mates were waiting nervously in the hotel for news when Steve McLaren burst through the door, phone in hand, looking very animated. “Sven’s just called!” he announced. “The doctors have done the scans and X-rays and, they reckon Wayne will be able play as long as we give him a cortisone injection.” Most of the players clapped and cheered, except for David Beckham, who leapt to his feet and exclaimed “Well if he’s getting a car – I want one.” Contact info: Write to Newslink via the Club. E-mail xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or call Rich Leyshon on xxxxxxxxxxx.