Newslink March 2008

This newsletter was created (free of charge) for mudeford Men's club by Lware Limited. Please note that images and formatting are absent. NEWSLINK The Newsletter of the Mudeford Men’s Club March 2008 Annual Dinner Dance 2008 Friday March 7th saw the Club’s 80th anniversary dinner dance and fittingly, most agreed it was the best one for years. Both the food and the entertainment were excellent. President Laurie Wilkinson opened the event with a letter from former President John Bachelor who wished all the members well. It is worth noting that John will have been a member for 50 years on March 29th. The President was going to take the mickey out of Honoured Guest Gordon Nash but decided against it for reasons of personal safety, having watched the scene in The Untouchables where Al Capone bludgeons a fellow dinner guest to death with a baseball bat. So instead, he kindly asked me to do it right here … Guest of Honour, Gordon “The Godfather” Nash and his moll Penny. As you may know, Gordon’s name was recently cleared after a Coventry gang were arrested for the infamous Total garage hold up – you remember – the one in which Gordy appeared in the Echo swearing that he hadn’t seen a thing as he was too busy Hoovering. A mere coincidence that the getaway car had been parked at his house all day … Luckily, none of the gang have grassed yet … Also in the news … Laurie Wilkinson and Cllr Ray Nottage present a cheque to the Mayor Cllr Josephine Spencer and Dina Godwin of Ward 10, RBH Read all about the money you raised for charity over Christmas and how it will be spent. Denney’s double-double delight as he receives the Over 60s singles trophy (runner up Roy Dupree) Not only did Charles Denney (right) become the first player to retain the Over 60s snooker title, he, along with Ken Ellwood also became the first pair to retain the doubles title! Congratulations on a remarkable achievement. Yes, it’s the “Fill John Oliver’s garden with balloons” competition again. Club Entertainment March Sat 15th The Word Sun 16th Paul Hammond - Lunchtime Sat 22nd Coroma Disco. Extension Sat 29th Odessa April Sat 5th DJ Langer Sat 12th Shoestring Blues Band Sat 19th Disco TBA Sun 20th Paul Hammond - Lunchtime Sat 26th Brian Moon and the Satellites May Sat 3rd Cookie Roadshow Sat 10th Coroma Disco & Football Club Presentation. Extension Fri 16th Gold Disco & Darts Presentation Night. Extension Sat 17th Filmed Race Night Sun 18th Paul Hammond - Lunchtime Sat 24th Disco TBA Sat 31st Blowin' Free June Sat 7th Lucky Sat 14th Gem Roadshow Sat 21st Band TBA Sun 22nd Paul Hammond - Lunchtime Sat 28th Pussyfoot Dinner with Gil Morris. Extension Charity fundraising 2007/8 The annual Charity Presentation was held on Sunday 24th February where the club gave away cheques to the value of £4,000 thanks to the generosity of you, the members. All the usual events took place, raffles and draws, balloon race, Boxing Day Auction etc. This year, the latter raised over £1,500 – an excellent total. The Club would like to thank not only those local businesses who donated items but also to Clive and Mark Vassie who assisted the Entertainments Committee in collecting donations. The President would also like to specially thank Roger Masterman and Sharon Morgan for all their hard work over the whole Christmas period, given that they had just lost their father, Stan. Special thanks also to Joey Hastings for donating his gorilla costume to be auctioned. Apparently, Roger Masterman did model it, but unfortunately, we only got a picture of him in his normal state … Roger Masterman who later put on a gorilla costume. This year’s recipients were as follows: The Mayor of Christchurch Cllr Josephine Spencer accepted a cheque (£500) towards improvements to facilities in the Oncology Department at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital as this is one of her nominated charities for her year in office. She was accompanied by Dina Godwin who works on the ward and was a familiar face to many members who have been touched by the effects of cancer. Alison Smith, Headmistress of Christchurch Junior School accepted a donation of £1,000 towards the £200,000 cost of providing a roof for the swimming pool. From the Forest Dene Unit of Christchurch Hospital, Sister Sue Farndon accepted a cheque for £1,000 towards the cost of blood pressure recording equipment. Representing Mudeford Phoenix Girls and Ladies Football Club, Frank Hunt (Chairman) thanked the club for the donation of £1,000 toward kit and training equipment. In three years the club has grown from 11 girls to 70, plus the adult players. For Mudeford RNLI Andy Hack accepted a donation of £250 and explained that 85p in every pound raised is used directly to fund lifeboat operations with the remaining 15p used for fundraising promotions. He pointed out that in the UK, an RNLI lifeboat is launched an average of 23 times a day and they receive no government funding. Finally, another organisation that receives no official funding is Julia’s House. This was not one of our original charities this year, but, due to the generosity of the members there was a little “spare” cash and so it was decided that Julia’s House should benefit. Accepting a cheque for £250, Chairman Mike Wise, who was himself recently honoured with an MBE for charity work, explained that the unit must raise the entire £1.9m annual budget despite the fact that they save the NHS around £3m through the work they do. Finally, keep an eye out for the new Charity Notice board in the Lounge. This will allow members will to see more clearly what we raise and how the money is spent. Sports, games and competitions Over 60s snooker 19/20 Dec 2007 - Chas and Ken ride again Singles: Chas Denney beat Roy Dupree in the final to retain the title – a first. Promising whippersnapper Dave Ashby displayed some early form but lost in semi final. Doubles: Chas & Ken Ellwood beat Steve Hill & Paul Mead to retain the doubles title – another first. Ken Ellwood and Charles Denney receive their Doubles trophy from Roger Masterman and Bernie Pitcher. Finals Night Thanks from Laurie Wilkinson go to Phil Marchi for his work to make Finals Night such a success. Crib singles Winner: R Stickland Runner up: J Warner Crib doubles Winners: J Sheppard & A Mathews Runners up: G Needs & A Jeffers Dominoes singles Winner: G Needs Runner up: D Tomkins Dominoes doubles Winners: J Warner & D Tomkins Runners up: B Glasspool & A Goodman Darts singles Winner: Gary Howlett Runner up: Martin Wood Darts doubles Winners: Gary Howlett & Matt Ramsier Runners up: Simon Richards & Dan Walker Billiards Winner: L Millington Runner up: D Sheppeard Snooker Winner: I Wooley Runner up: J Challen Sloe Gin Competition – 23 Dec 2007 Won by Eric Jesty Football'We are nearing the end of the season and are still in with a shout of promotion to Division 1. We currently lay 6th but with games in hand over all the teams above us. We obviously need to win those games but we are more than capable of doing that. There are 9 games left at the time of writing this, so fingers crossed. As far as the team go, Lee Moss (15) and Max Edgell (12) lead the goal scoring tally at the moment - congratulations to both of them and I am sure they will be fighting it out for the coveted leading goal scorer trophy. But everybody has contributed, as ever, to what has been a pretty good first year in Division 2 (W8 D1 L4), so well done. On the social side, our presentation evening is booked at the club on Saturday May 10th for anybody wishing to come along and buy the team a beer / join us for a beer (delete as applicable). Lottery Bingo update: Congratulations to the winners over the last few months - Nathan Farrant (keeping the traditional Farrant win going), Dick Thorpe, Doreen Davies, Wendy Kearley and our Xmas winner Richard Thomas. Rob Smith Chairman MMC Golf Society – by John Oliver The Golf Society held their annual inaugural meeting at the Club on Wednesday 27 Feb. Initial requests from the members attending are: April (**) – Knighton Heath G.C. May 23rd– Highcliffe G.C. – Buffet Presentation at MMC June (**) Barton on Sea July (**) Moors Valley August 23rd – Dudsbury – Comp versus Southbourne Ex-Servicemens September (**) – High Post Salisbury Day out with coach (**) = dates to be confirmed. Anyone seeking further information please contact the Secretary, John Oliver. Your letters & emails All of them, in full. Ta. Upcoming events Grand Easter Egg draw (Sunday 16 March) has probably already happened by the time you read this! Club website Neville Mickelwright has been working hard on the Club website which now boasts an improved Sports area and several new sections including Lottery Bingo (updated weekly) and Entertainments. There’s even a link for you to send items for Newslink. I won’t hold my breath. Visit www.mudefordmens.co.uk to see for yourself what he has achieved. Last of the sports commentator quotes "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father" (Greg Norman) "Sure there have been injuries and deaths in boxing - but none of them serious" (Alan Minter) "Watch the time - it gives you an indication of how fast they are running" (Ron Pickering) "Just under 10 seconds for Nigel Mansel. Call it 9.5 seconds in round numbers" (Murray Walker) "Playing with wingers is more effective against European sides like Brazil than English sides like Wales" (Ron Greenwood) "A brain scan revealed that Andrew Caddick is not suffering from stress fracture of the shin" (Jo Sheldon) "The French are not normally a Nordic Skiing Nation" (Ron Pickering) "That's inches away from being millimetre perfect" (Ted Lowe) "Bobby Gould thinks I'm trying to stab him in the back. In fact I'm right behind him" (Stuart Pearson) "I'll fight Lloyd Honeyghan for nothing if the price is right" (Marlon Starling) "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again" (Terry Venables) "I can't tell who's leading - It's either Oxford or Cambridge" (John Snagge - Boat Race) "The Queen's Park Oval, exactly as its name suggests - absolutely round." (Tony Crozier) Contact info: (Why do I bother?) Write to Newslink via the Club. E-mail xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or via the Club web site.Or call Rich Leyshon on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx