A Member of the Round Table Family
Number 45, December 2013
Of Clubs
Both Maria and I wish and hope that everyone in 41Club and their families have a very enjoyable and fantastic Christmas and that 2014 brings everyone health and happiness However as we say in our 41Club Grace let us during these festive celebrations take a short moment to be ever mindful of those less fortunate Click this link toView the Board's Christmas card to you: http://youtu.be/iFCJCa9wS5E
Editor Ray Hill National Communications Officer comms@41club.org
Copy Date for January Newsletter 22nd December 2013
Editorial It is that time of the year when thoughts turn to our families and we all make plans for what we will be doing over the Christmas period. Is it our turn to visit this year or will the hordes be descending upon us, expecting poor mum to prepare a dinner for fourteen? Have we remembered to buy the right number of presents and did soand-so send us a Christmas card last year?
May I take this opportunity to thank all those that have contributed to the Newsletter and/or the Magazine during 2013. Special thanks to those who entered the annual photographic competition, with you help we are raising much needed funds for Macmillan Cancer Support with sales of the 2014 calendar. Have you bought your copy yet? They are still available, so see the item below. Entries are now open for the 2014 photographic competition, together we can have some fun and raise money for the President's charity. Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and a very prosperous new year.
In the build up to Christmas many of you will be out helping Ray Hill Round Table with the santa sleigh and some will be actually comms@41club.org organising it, as you no longer have a Table to do it. Tradition is a very important part of our family lives and long may it be so, but we must also, at this time, plan for the future. 2014 is a whole new year with plenty of new opportunities and new challenges.
41 Club Calendar 2014
The 2014 Club Calendar is now on sale and features a selection of photographs from the National Photographic Competition. The price remains at ÂŁ5 with all profits being donated to Macmillan Cancer Support. For your copy please send a cheque for ÂŁ6.50p (including post and packaging) to Ray Hill, The Huntsmans Lodge, Wimboldsley, Cheshire, CW10 0LL Please make cheques payable to Ray Hill
The Day We Went To Derry/Londonderry a very significant flag (and you know we all love our flags over here). In itself it was just marvellous to see a 400 year old flag still hanging in a church, but this was a pre-union flag and was missing the Saint Patrick's cross. This said to me how important it is to try and maintain, grow and do whatever I can On arrival in Derry/Londonderry we travelled across the to keep the I in GB&I. Anyway I digress. Peace Bridge and although the rain was trying its best to spoil After the tour we went to a local bar to have lunch and thank the day it stayed dry enough for our tour of the walls. We met Tony who passed on the thanks of Round Table and 41 in up with our guide for the day, local historian, former National Derry/Londonderry. We had the chance to visit the Turner Councillor Region 3, current area 3 Chairman and vice Prize entries and, as this was the first time out of England, we Chairman of Londonderry 41 Club, Mr Tony Henderson. Tony all went in. This was a cultural day out and a bit of art seemed took no time in stating the route we would be taking. He gave to be appropriate. All I can say is if sending this stuff over here us a detailed and very informative tour of the Walls of hoping that we can dispose of it in an accident or other means Londonderry and all the history behind them. It is one of only won’t work, you can keep it as we all agreed it was not art for two walled cities in Europe that have never been broken, us. “hence the name maiden city”. I can recommend a visit and to On the way home we all gave thanks to Ronnie Browne for contact Tony for his tour. organising the day, reflecting on the tour and all we had I was invited to accompany Holywood 41 Club in Region 3 Ireland on a trip to Derry/Londonderry, UK City of Culture, on Wednesday 23rd October. It was an early start but meeting up with the 13 members of Holywood 41 Club, the chat and banter on the way was great.
The city’s cathedral was impressive and to be able to hold a 400 year old gold chalice in my hand, that is still in use today, was very special. I was a bit worried that old Table habits would return and the treasures would make their way to Holywood. They didn’t thanks to the fact that as we have all got older the hassle would be too much. Also hanging in the Cathedral was
learned about Derry/Londonderry. I can recommend this tour to everyone as a special day out and I for one will certainly go back. Phillip Ellis Region 3 Ireland National Councillor.
The Pre-Union Flag
Crossing the Peace Bridge The Tour Guide - Tony Henderson
View from the City Wall
Seasonal Quiz Jus
Just to get you into the spirit here are 12 questions about Christmas: 1. Who was the first ghost to appear to Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’? 2. Who wrote the song ‘White Christmas’? 3. Which date on the Christian calendar marks the Epiphany, when Jesus, Mary and Joseph met the three wise men? 4. What is the contribution of the eighth century priest St Boniface to Christmas? 5. From which mythology is the tradition of the mistletoe taken? 6. Alphabetically, which is the last of Santa’s reindeer? 7. To which country does Christmas Island belong? 8. Which Duke of Bohemia died in 935 AD? 9. On the twelfth day of Christmas, what did my true love give to me? 10. Who wrote ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ with Bob Geldof? 11. Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892? 12. Driving Home For Christmas was a 1988 hit single for which singer? Answers on the back page.
Euro 48s Weekend
For many years Northwich 348 Round Table has participated in the Euro 48's Weekend. It proved so popular that the 41ers also organised an annual gathering. But with declining Table numbers the event was getting smaller so this year The Euro Tables and 41s combined for a joint event which was organised by Northwich's twinned town of Dole in France. As the photos show a great time was had by all and joint number weekends certainly seem to be the future.
Having read the Editorial in the scrapyard I am sure you will agree. November newsletter I'd like to inform Thanks for the article and the lovely photo. you about our links with our local Paul Penfold., High Wycombe 41 Club Table. Regards your point on liaison with Round Table, we at Alloa and District 41 Club regularly assist Table with the Alloa Half Marathon and their increasingly successful fireworks evening. For our efforts this year we are being rewarded with a cheque from Table towards the Chairman's charity, MacMillan Nurses.
Stop whinging the Newsletter is great, if it wasn't you would get plenty of complaints. This edition was easy to read, interesting articles and good pictures.
However in this edition there was what turns me and probably everyone else off, the constant moaning from the editor, egged on no doubt by the National Executive, about declining There are also the occasional joint evenings. membership and we should be doing more to help the Round Our Membership has dwindled, like most 41 Clubs, as there Table Family. has been a growing reluctance of Tablers to make the move up. However we at Alloa will hopefully turn the tide in regards What is the Round Table Family? When did it materialise, did Tablers attitude in future years as we strive to put together David Cameron sneak it in via the Gay Marriage Act? Are we interesting programmes which show there's still life in the old still a male organisation, who knows anymore. Now I am boys. We have even discussed the possibility of introducing moaning, but then I am but a humble confused member, who joined 41 after Table, discovered it did nothing but meet once non-Tablers in an attempt to boost the numbers. a month. So like thousands of others joined other On a lighter note, responses to your newsletter will have organisations who were doing something. Perhaps therein achieved a substantial %age increase with this email. lays the answer, it’s a competitive world, give 41 a vision, a purpose, something so we can say to the world, that’s 41 club, Donnie McCartney, Secretary, Alloa & District 41 Club come and join us. For attention of Ray Hill, Nat Communications Officer and In haste, as ever others seriously interested in Declining Membership. Eugene Regan, Sutton 41 Club Hello Ray and Co., I'm getting a bit long in the tooth now but can't resist letting you Re raising membership: and our once universally popular club know what I think on this I wonder if we have lost sight of what we used to do in RT which subject. raised the local profile, apart from fund raising ventures such Adopt , adapt, improve is what I think! as Fireworks, Carol Waggon, etc ? I refer to actually doing things for people who need assistance, e.g. gardening, Nothing of what you say, nor indeed other contributors in this painting a room, transport, visiting, etc, in accordance with the Winter's edition of the 41 Club magazine, bears any second of the RT Aims and Objects. I realise that Children's' resemblance to dear old Louis Marchesi's club motto!! Wish Week goes a little way towards this, but perhaps it is I was fortunate to belong to a French 41 club for 10 years and insufficient in itself. was sorry to learn last year that the French have pulled out of If we ( by that I mean all the organisations in the RT family ) the International affiliation. Why? Well the French, being advertise our availability for such community service work, this much our junior in years, recognised the difficulty in retaining might have the following cumulative effect: an archaic rule which does not permit new members to join 41 club unless they were previously Tablers, so they changed the • raise the profile of RT and 41 Club in our localities. rules! More than 50% of the Chatellerault Club which I belonged to were none Tablers but boy are they committed, • create interest from ex-tablers who have lost interest and boy do they know what they missed not being in Table and because we don't do anything other than act as a dining club ( and maybe get more satisfaction from their membership of boy aren't they really good "like minded" men. other organisations such as Probus ). The message is as clear now as it was nearly a century ago, "Adopt and Adapt with all Like Minded men". By the way, quite • create interest in potential members of RT. un officially, but by no means discouraged, some clubs waive I know there is a reluctance by members in many 41 clubs to National rules and do let none Tablers join 41 club. Why not be doing anything other than assisting RT with their change the rules? fundraising events, perhaps inevitable in those clubs whose feeder RT closed down many years ago, and whose members are all in their late 60s, 70s or older, but maybe this could be I was very interested to read your article regarding the good the key to getting it all started again. ship Saga Ruby in the latest edition of the 41 Club Magazine. I would be interested to read about any clubs, both RT and 41, We have just returned from a wonderful fortnight’s cruise to the who have managed to increase their membership, and their Canary Islands aboard this beautiful ship. We have met so story. many who love her and will be sad that she is leaving the Saga fleet. Jack Maunders, Kingston Ex-Tablers' Club We were told that she has been sold and is to become a floating hotel in Rangoon of all places. Much better than a
Frank Moore,, Vale of Evesham 41Club
Dear colleagues from Great Britain,
with us ? Winsen is a small town located 35 kms south of Hamburg. Both our clubs are very active, actually, we have Since our British partners from Round Table 165 contact with the 165 er clubs in India, Denmark and the Kidderminster obviously have merged Netherlands. with another Round Table, we have no partners any more in Looking forward to your kind reply, I remain with best regards your country. from rainy Germany, We would like to change this situation and were pleased to get Yours in Old Table in contact with a new partner-club, especially in regard of our 25 th jubilee taking place in October 2014. Stephan Bausch, (IRO of Club 41, 165 Winsen) Could you help us to get re-connected to any round tablers and / or club41 ers in the UK being interested in a partnership
WENSUM & YARE 41 CLUB Annual Forecast Meeting, January 20th 2014 Will Andy Murray retain his All England Club Lawn Tennis Championship? Who will be Prime Minister / Chancellor / Leader of the Opposition on 31/12 /2014? What level will the FTSE index be on Dec 31st 2014? (up 9.3% since Jan 1st 2013) What will be the £ to Euro & to US Dollar exchange rates on Dec 31st 2014? What will be the total rainfall, max and min temperatures in Norfolk in 2014? If you can forecast the answers to these and other questions, why not join us and many other local and national 41 Clubbers and Tablers at our Annual Forecast Meeting on : Monday, January 20th 2014 at: The Wensum Valley Hotel, Beech Avenue, Taverham, NR8 6HP; 7.00pm for 7.30pm. Dress code: Suits or jackets and ties ( £25 per person* Please advise if vegetarian meal is required) At which our Guest of Honour will be the man at the heart of policing in Norfolk
Stephen Bett, Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk The Government’s controversial appointment of Police and Crime Commissioners saw Stephen Bett resign from Norfolk County Council and the Conservative Party to be elected as an independent Police and Crime Commissioner for the County. A farmer by background, he entered local politics in 1977 and was, immediately before his election, Chairman of the Norfolk Police Authority. We were overbooked for last January’s meeting and although we have a bigger venue this year we still have a finite capacity for the evening. First come, first served so please book your place early with: Martin Sexton preferably by email to martin.sexton1@btinternet.com or phone 01603 474449 or write to him at 7 The Crescent, Norwich, NR2 1SA *please make cheques payable to Norwich Wensum and Yare 41 Club
Do you shop in any of these stores?
Then you can save money using the new 41Club member benefit scheme called ‘Wider Wallet’ You can get discounts at wide variety of leading retailers and with a little forethought could save you a small fortune on your shopping. Discounts include... Argos 6% Boots 6% ITunes 5% B&Q 7% Asda 4% Sainsbury’s 4.5% Marks and Spencer 5% Goldsmiths 11% Plus many other major high street names The scheme uses the stores own gift cards. How you make a saving is that you get them at a wholesale rate, so in the simplest terms, you buy (or top up) the Gift Card with the discount knocked off. The cards are the equivalent of cash in these stores. Example: Sainsbury’s £100 on a card with a 4.5% discount will cost you £95.50.
FOR THE AVERAGE COUPLE, ‘WIDER WALLET’ CAN SAVE THE EQUIVALENT OF TWO WEEKS FREE SHOPPING A YEAR IN SAINSBURY’S. REGISTER FOR FREE AT www.41club.widerwallet.com USE ACCESS CODE: S424698A
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41 CLUB - EASTERN REGION CHARITY GOLF DAY TUESDAY 8TH JULY 2014 - CHANNELS GOLF CLUB, CHELMSFORD An invitation to enter a team for the best golf tournament in 41 club. 18 hole stableford format *teams of 3 or 4 players with best three scores to count *winners from each region to qualify for national final in september 2014 *main charity prizes donated to winners nominated charity *individual prizes and trophies * only open to members of affiliated 41 clubs *entries from individuals welcomed
It's nice to know that I am classic!
*Donations from clubs for charity fund and
What are you?
raffle are gratefully received ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Bacon Roll/Coffee on arrival - 18 holes of golf and a 3-course prize giving dinner - £49-50 Non playing guests just £20-00 for the dinner. Booking forms available soon further details from Nigel Davies 01353-721037 or e-mail : eastgolf2013@aol.com
I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. – Shirley Temple I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying
Quiz Answers: 1. Marley’s 2. Irving Berlin 3. January 6th 4. The Christmas tree 5. Norse 6. Vixen 7. Australia 8. Good King Wenceslas 9. Twelve drummers drumming 10. Midge Ure 11. Tchaikovsky 12. Chris Rea
"Toys not included". – Bernard Manning Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year. – Victor Borge What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day. – Phyllis Diller