Solo guitar vocalist Tracy Jane Sullivan makes her first appearance at the Club on Saturday, January 28, bringing her style of songwriting that weaves together reggae, jazz, country and soul. As well as some well known covers, she’ll be performing new song arrangements from her album Absolutely Nothing.

Popular guitar vocalist

Karl Bashford

Karl Bashford

Returns to the Club on Saturday, January 7

Music Score Image

To the sounds of

Andy Lane’s Disco

Christmas Eve (until midnight)

and New Year’s Eve (until 1am)

Tickets still available for New Year’s Eve:

£5 for Members, £10 for guests (including food)

Well where do I start?

2011/12 is certainly proving to be a challenging year. Half a committee and no secretary for most of the year, resignations aplenty and nearly 100 fewer membership applications so 20% less money to work with from day 1.

But I feel things are changing.

By December 2011 we have nearly a full committee (still need a secretary) so there are more people to help with the running of the Club. Recently, we’ve seen a marked change, in that people are wanting and willing to come onto committee. With such dedicated members I am sure the Club will move forward. The new committee members have already committed time and introduced new ideas that can only benefit us all – watch this space!

We have changed the brewery. Welcome back Heineken, you should never have left us!, It was a difficult process in the end, but we got there. I’m sure you’ll agree that the products we now offer are a vast improvement. Heineken have already offered far better incentives for the Club which will really help us in moving forward. They are also helping us to arrange events in the future. We, as a committee, are only too willing to utilise their vast experience and knowledge in the area of selling alcohol.

You will probably be aware that Heineken have recently gone through a re-branding process. They now advertise themselves as a premium product, not the Heineken of the past that was seen in the hands of teenagers and street dwellers! As such, they are heavily involved in sponsorship of massive sporting events. They will, therefore, be of huge assistance when these types of events come along – watch out for discounted drinks and future promotions.

Really makes me wonder why we lost them in the first place!

The bar steward is no longer with us and former steward Doug Wells has now returned as Club Manager in a consultancy role, initially for 3 months. I for one am very happy he is back and I’ve received lots of positive feedback regarding his return. He is an asset and has already implemented systems and controls to ensure the smooth running of the Club.

I am only too aware that the rumour mill has been grinding on full power. The removal of the bar steward has been a long drawn out process with an incredible amount of work going on behind the scenes. It was a difficult decision to make as a committee but one that had to be made.

Cash flow has been a worry, it has to be said – believe me when I say I’ve had sleepless nights over it. But recently we’ve seen big improvements. I sincerely hope we continue with this trend and see the Club progress.

At the AGM there were a couple of main points that kept coming up, mainly concerning the drinks we sell and staffing issues. I’m sure you will see that the committee has listened and has acted.

Now that some difficult processes have come to a conclusion, I’m hoping that we can concentrate on the core business of the Club – that is to provide a welcoming environment to our members, so that more people use it, so that we can pay our bills, so that we can continue to improve the services we provide.

Social events are key to this business. We have set up a social committee that now has approximately eight members and associate members involved, meeting once a month. If you’re interested in joining or even just have a few ideas you’d like to tell us about, please let me know.

Thank you

I have heard various criticisms of the committee this year but I’m heartened that there has been praise too for a band of people who give their time to do their best to protect and enhance your Club. I am indebted to them – and to the non committee members who either organise events or provide professional services to the Club for free. Last but not least, I must applaud the commitment and support demonstrated by our brilliant staff throughout what has been a difficult transitional period.

There have been some really popular events in the Club this year. We have more planned for next year so please use your Club as much as you can. I for one think it’s a great place.

Regards,

Alistair Morrison
Chairman

17^th DECEMBER

 KID’S CHRISTMAS PARTY

2PM TILL 4PM

DISCO AND TRADITIONAL GAMES

MEMBERS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN ONLY