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Issue 177 • Summer 2014 The Association of Ex-Round Tablers’ Clubs Great Britain and Ireland
A member of the Round Table Family of Clubs
THE MAGAZINE
Harrogate 2015
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features...... THE MAGAZINE
Summer 2014
Harrogate 2015
Showtime 2014
page 15 The Association of ex-Round Tablers’ Clubs great Britain and Ireland A member of the Round Table Family of Clubs
page 22
LOTS Big Anniversary
Pray Silence
page 8
page 19
www.41club.org
oTHeR pAgeS - 4. The Presidential Year; 5. Tangent President; 6. Messages from Round Table and Ladies Circle; 7. Frank Bull...; 9. Your National Board; 10. International News; 12. Club News; 20. Your New Vice President; 21. Anthony Nolan and 41 Club; 24. Mens Health; 25. National Photographic Competition 2014; 26. Why Would I Ever Use Social Media?; 27. Coffee Time; 28. Looking for a Flexible Meeting Space?; 29. Vive l’entente cordiale!; 30. Obituaries
ADMINISTRATION 41 Club, Marchesi House 4 Embassy Drive Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1TP Tel: 0121 456 4402 email: admin@41club.org
Front Cover Winners of the Best Small Group fancy dress competition were Hugh and Shan Milward of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Even after all these years Ex-Tablers still have the art of walking in high heels. See a full photo report on pages 22 to 23.
Although 41 Club makes every effort to ensure accuracy, we can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, or guarantee an advertising insertion, date, position, or special promotion. © All information in this publication is copyright of 41 Club. Views expressed by advertisers are their own.
It is Friday the 6th June and as I write this editorial the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of D Day are drawing to a close. A day described by many as the ‘beginning of the end of the war’ and the start of the Europe we know today. We are all aware that just eleven months later, on the 8th May 1945, the war ended with VE Day, but how many know that just four days later a meeting of a small group of men in Wakefield would see the foundation of our organisation. History shows that the first group of ‘old Tablers’ met in Liverpool in 1936. A few other groups sprang up around the country, not knowing that others were in existance. In 1939 The London Old Tablers Society (LOTS) was formed and it was suggested that perhaps they should form some sort of association nationally. But thoughts turned to other more important matters when the war intervened. Even so informal discussions did continue and at a meeting between Freddie Firth (Wakefield) and John Shuter (LOTS) in January 1945 it was agreed to hold the ‘First National Conference of Old Tablers Associations’ in early May. The rest is history. LOTS held a very successful 75th anniversary dinner at the National Liberal Club on the 8th April and you can read all about it in this magazine.
COPY DATE FOR NOVEMBER MAGAZINE 1st October 2014
2015 will be the 70th anniversary of that first Conference and plans are already well advanced to celebrate the event. Keep an eye on the newsletter for detailed information as it becomes available.
Ray Hill NATIONAL COMMuNICATIONS OFFICER comms@41club.org
The Purposes and Objects of the Association of Ex-Round Tablers’ Clubs (41 Club) To promote amongst the constituent clubs and those eligible for membership, the following objects: • To continue to promote opportunities for fellowship amongst former members of Round Table • To encourage active involvement in the Community • To use our experience in support of the Round Table Family • To encourage international relationships These objects to be promoted through regular meetings and other activities.
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The Presidential Year What a great start to the year. Thank you to all those who came to the AGM and I hope you’ve recovered from the shock of your President in Rocky Horror costume thanks to my team of ‘friends’ from Bishop’s Stortford, Haverhill and Potters Bar clubs. It was as much as a surprise to me as it was to you. Since Bournemouth Chris and I have been very busy attending the International conference in Denmark, the Round Table conference in Birmingham and the Italian AGM in Livorno. All excellent events and it gave us the opportunity to meet many new people along with some old friends. In between I’ve also had the opportunity to do some great fun events and visits. It started with the firewalk with Round Table in Nottingham. That was an experience I’m pretty sure I would never have done if I hadn’t been in Round Table. I had a fun night with Lichfield Spires club playing Frisbee golf, what an excellent summer event. I’ve also played under water golf with Billericay although that was due to the torrential storm that hit us whilst we were out on the pitch and putt course. I also had a great informative walk through a local 4,000 year old wood with my own club being shown round by the local warden. In the next couple of weeks I will be doing parts of the Millennium Way walk thanks to Chris Taylor of the Solihull club and attending the Classic Car rally in Hinckley plus a couple of Regional golf days.
I hope you enjoyed the first of the Anthony Nolan newsletters last month. We plan to do one every quarter but if you want to see up to date news on our work and events with the charity have a look at their web site and our own pages on it at www.anthonynolan.org/41club. Obviously we are looking to help them this year and I do hope your club will do an event or something to raise money and awareness of this charity which really was made in Round Table. There are plenty of ideas for events on the pages including our own 40/40 challenge which was detailed in the last newsletter. Last Saturday I went along to the Harpenden carnival which is organised by Round Table with assistance from Circle, Tangent and 41 Club members. They ran a successful 40/40 challenge there and I know there are many other clubs who will be running these events throughout the year. There’s still room for more though.
These events all go to prove that there is, or can be, an active life in 41 Club. It’s one thing I said at the AGM that if you want to attract new younger members to your club sitting on your rear end in the same restaurant every month with or without a speaker is not the way to do it. Having said that there is a place for it on occasions and I managed to catch up with the Bushey & Oxhey club the other week in one of their very infrequent speaker meetings where we were entertained by none other than our own Tom Abbott, the Regional Councillor for Region 19, who talked about his experiences as a Toastmaster.
As always in addition to the fun, fellowship and community events we hold there is also the business of the Association to continue to work hard on. You will see some information in this magazine about our major recruitment project from my colleague Duncan Kennedy and we will keep you up to date with that as it progresses. We will also keep you up to date on the progress of our exciting new web site which we should have up and running in the autumn. Probably the major item that came out of the AGM is the requirement from the members to undertake a thorough review of our structure and governance. As with all major forward looking projects we deal with that will be run through the Forward Planning Committee under the very capable chairmanship of Vice President Terry Cooper. The intention though is to ensure we have the membership views and the committee will be made up of some members not on Council from clubs across the country.
Next week I am due to visit the Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Margate clubs which in the light of Anthony Nolan being my charity is a poignant visit. For those who aren’t aware it was a member of Broadstairs Round Table, George Hawkes, who first met Shirley Nolan in 1974. He was visiting his local pub and saw a hand written poster from Shirley asking for help to find donors and raise money. Being interested and a member of Round Table, George visited her and invited her to come to speak to his Round Table and the rest as they say is history. On the subject of Broadstairs we also came across Brian Johnson who was Broadstairs’ Table chairman at the time. Whilst George is still a member of Broadstairs 41 club Brian moved away and has now settled in Wales and is a member of Lampeter 41 Club. A report of this visit will be in the next Anthony Nolan newsletter.
I hope you have a great summer. Keep a look out in the newsletter or on the National calendar for events near you and I hope to see you at some of them.
Jim Smith National President president@41club.org
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N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F
CLUBS
Hi Guys. This is my first communication to you all in 41 Club. I am not going to get all shy and say I don’t know what to say as anyone knowing me would laugh their socks off and say ‘I wish she would shut up’. So for my first missive, I will keep this short and say how thrilled I am at becoming Tangent President this year. Having accepted the position in April, first of all I felt overwhelmed, daunted, scared and ‘why did I do this?’ But two months in and I think I might have the idea of it. I have made mistakes along the way forgetting hard copies of speeches and then being unable to open them on my Tablet, stumbling over the wording when lighting the Candle of Friendship, not checking about a coffee morning after a fellowship evening, not checking dress code was another mistake, not one gentlemen would worry about but ooh, the ladies do! The serious stuff: My chosen charity is Breast Cancer Care. I have five friends suffering from this dreadful disease so it was not a difficult choice for me. I hope all the Tangent Clubs will raise lots of money by holding strawberry tea parties this summer as well as other fundraising ideas. My aim for the year is firstly to help Circlers cross the bridge into Tangent. Like 41 Club and Round Table, I bet there are hundreds of ex Circlers who have never joined Tangent. They need to see we still have fun and more importantly continuation of friendship. I know you are trying hard with exTablers so we will talk strategy at the next Family meeting. Secondly I want to work really hard to get the Round Table Family working together. We’ve had so much fun in Table and Circle we need to keep this magical club going strong. I’m asking all Tangent Clubs to contact their nearest Circle and between them arrange a 4 club event during the year. We (well some members) enjoyed ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ as Tablers and Circlers and hopefully most of us still are although the drugs are different and it takes a bit longer to recover from the rock and roll. Talking of which I hope you will consider coming to the Tangent Masked Ball on November 22nd. If you come suitably masked, you can even bring your mask to the National Conference Gala Dinner in Harrogate in April next year, another brilliant event. I would like to say congratulations and thank you to your very own President Jim Smith. As Vice Presidents last year we talked frequently about how we wanted to manage our year as Presidents together. He has so much experience having been part of the Exec team for several years, he exudes calmness, vision and integrity and is an incredible President for you all. Our Tangent Exec Team is wonderful and is working exceptionally hard behind the scenes to support and improve processes and bring new ideas to the forum as well as visiting clubs at home and abroad. I am proud to be part of ‘the team’.
Janice O’Neill National President 2014-2015
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Messages from Round Table and Ladies Circle A freelance book-keeper by day and a dedicated fundraiser in my free time, when l finish work my evenings will now be spent leading at the helm of one of the country’s largest growing women’s groups.
I am literally beaming with pride after being made President of Round Table Great Britain and Ireland. There has been no shock, no sudden movements, just a firm hand at the tiller, pushing this oil tanker of an organisation forward into unchartered waters.
Elected as uK National President of the Ladies’ Circle organisation on 10 May, I will be spending the next year encouraging more women to join this nationwide network whose aims are to make new friends, try new experiences and raise money for charity.
I spoke at your AGM in Bournemouth and I would like to ask the same favour. Every speech I do, I address the audience "....Guests, Tablers past and present." There is a reason for this. That reason is that someone who is or has been a Tabler has discovered Round Table. They have been on that journey. They are, and possibly because of it, a different person to what they would have been. We are wired slightly differently. We have empathy for others in a different way than we did before. We have shared experiences, which are then a bond. We have a trust in others who we may never have met that is unrivalled. We have a true understanding of what fellowship is.
I have been a member of Liskeard & Looe Ladies Circle for many years. We focus on helping our communities, doing voluntary and service work, and raising money for lots of local projects. But it’s also about fun and friendship, letting your hair down and having a good time within a supportive environment. During my time in Circle I have made lots of new friends. It’s like being part of a big family. As President, my chosen charity for the year is “SKCIN” - The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity. http://www.skcin.org/. As well as taking every opportunity to raise funds for the charity, l am also helping to raise awareness about sun safety, promoting prevention methods and identifying early detection of skin cancer in the bid to help save lives.
This brings me to my favour. This is a personal favour from me to you. I need your work colleagues, your sons, your neighbours, your nephews and the people you know down the pub. I want them to discover Round Table. I want to take them on that personal journey. I want to expand their lives and for them to start thinking in a different way.
Having lived in Cornwall all my life, I relish my role as National President and want to use this term to encourage members to spread the word. “My motto is ‘One & All’ which is taken from the Cornish crest and represents the essence of Ladies Circle in its inclusive outlook. We are an open group and all our members feel a sense of pride about what we collectively manage to achieve. We make a real difference to our local communities and have an amazing time doing so. My social calendar has never been so busy!”
I promise we will look after them, and when we are done with them, you can have them and they can enrich 41 Club, in your area and beyond. It is quite a favour, because I am aware that no matter how much you up Round Table they will have to discover it for themselves and you cannot do that for them. So, even if you have tried to ask someone to come along, please ask them to come along again. It maybe the right time for them.
I am delighted this year to work alongside 41 Club President Jim Smith as part of our 4 Club Family. Ladies Circle is open to all women aged 18-45 so please recommend us to your daughters, nieces and friends and encourage them to get in touch with their local Circle and find out how they can get involved. Most Ladies Circle groups meet every two weeks during a week-night. If they’d like to join in the fun with their local Circle please visit our website at www.ladiescircle.co.uk or contact us at membership@ladiescircle.co.uk.
Round Table has moved forward massively the past five years. It has a very bright future. Please help me to make it better. Yours In Table (Past & Present)
Steve Glaister
Round Table National President 2014-15
Claire Wevell
NALC President 2014/15
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Do you love Round Table? Has it had an amazing impact on your life and your community?
Frank Bull …. Honorary Life Member At the Banquet in Bournemouth President Martin made several presentations to round off his year, but he kept one very special award until last. 2014 is a very special year for Frank Bull with several anniversaries and a conference in the town where he became National President in 1987. Martin therefore took this opportunity to present Frank with Life Honorary Membership. The following is a transcript of the presentation:
Round Table relies on its members and supporters to keep the clubs going. If you want to be a Round Table Supporter, membership costs from as little as £25 per year. 41 Club National is a Platinum Supporter – what can you or your 41 Club do to help? All money generated from the Supporters Scheme is used to help recruit new Round Table members, also future 41 Club members.
“The final award that I am presenting tonight, is to an exceptional and very special 41’er. This person if you cut him in half he would have 41Club throughout every part of his body. This person was made National President of this Association in 1987 here in Bournemouth.
Bronze membership £25 A free subscription to Tabler magazine and an annual update on Round Table's progress and how your donation is helping.
A founder member of his Round Table in 1954, (I was only 4 years old then and Sproddy wasn’t even born!) and since then a Table and 41Club career that has spanned 60 years.
Silver membership £75 As above plus access to our members benefit scheme, offering you hundreds of pounds off supermarkets, major high street stores and big leisure brands.
Someone who is also known throughout the International world of 41Club with contacts and friends in France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Gibraltar, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. A man who trained in the Second World War as a radio operator at Bletchley Park, and who was involved in secret missions for his country in the eastern Mediterranean.
Gold membership £1,000 Perfect for businesses. A free subscription to our magazine and one free page advert for your organisation inside; one free posting in our monthly e-newsletter to members, and one free posting on our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages. Bought separately, these items are worth almost £1,300.
I am told of a mission he was involved in where a German boat was captured and, at his insistence, the Germans were not shot but held to be prisoners of war. Later he met one of them on a holiday in France – a 41’er from Germany - and he has kept in touch ever since.
Platinum membership £5,000 The ultimate business package. A dedicated page in the Support section on our public website for the whole year; an exhibition stand at our National Conference in May; a full page advert in all three editions of Tabler magazine; two postings in our monthly newsletter to members and our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages. Plus a subscription to Tabler magazine. Bought separately, these items are worth over £12,000.
This man has attended 44 National Conferences, been a National Councillor, National Sales Officer, National President and now life honorary member of his own 41 Club. Ladies and Gentlemen it gives me enormous pleasure to confer the highest award that that the Association can bestow on an individual. An award that is given for exceptional and meritorious service to the Association. A man who has given 60 years of his life to the Round Table movement. Ladies and gentlemen please rise to recognise the recipient of our new Life Honorary Membership of the Association - FRANK BULL.”
To find out more, email chiefexec@roundtable.org.uk
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On 9th April London Old Tablers' Society (aka LOTS) celebrated their 75th anniversary at the prestigious National Liberal Club, a spectacular Grade 2* listed building overlooking the River Thames, just off Whitehall in central London. Given that LOTS pre-dates the founding of the National Association and the granting of Charters, by 6 years LOTS members were determined to recognise the 75th anniversary in style. A total of 98, 41 Club and Round Table members and guests from over 40 different Clubs across the uK and Ireland, made the evening memorable. The guests included visitors from Wakefield 41 Club, so representatives of two of the founding clubs of the National Association were present on the night. A black tie, four-course dinner was interspersed with a welcome from current LOTS Chairman Martin White and speeches from National President of 41 Club Martin Green and Round Table National President Stephen Sprod. The night was rounded off by magnificent entertainment from Past RTBI National President and Past President Round Table International Gerald O’Herlihy. Well, not quite “rounded off” given that there was still time for a final drink in the National Liberal Club bar or on the terrace overlooking the Thames. Thank you to all those that attended and made it the celebration we had hoped for. Please come and see us again at one of our meetings at The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL on the second Tuesday of each month.
Dave Leon - Social Secretary, LOTS No 2 8.
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1 10
2
9 3
8 4 7
6
Position Name
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
President
Vice President
IP President
Secretary
Treasurer
International
Fellowship
Membership
Communications
National Councillors Liaison
Jim Smith
Terry Cooper
Martin Green
Manny Martins
Mark Fairchild
Dave Campbell
Barry Durman
Duncan Kennedy
Ray Hill
Phill Ellis
Local Government Officer
Television technical director - ITV
Interim credit manager
Business Intelligence Consultant
Lecturer Electronics &
Occupation
Retired Director Chairman, of a recruitment 4Networking company Ltd.
Semi-retired Health & Safety consultant Isis Area, Abingdon and Showtime
Hamble Valley Stick and Kingston
Exeter
Westerham & District and Riff Raff
Shirley Late Knights and Dragons
Barry
Northwich, Dragons and TSB
Bangor, County Down
Clubs
Bishop's Clevedon, Isis Stortford and Area and Party Eastern Promise Tyne Sport in general but Rugby and Golf in particular
Manchester United, freemasonry and annoying the President
DIY, youth football and gardening
Gardening, fishing, volleyball, cycling, quizzing, board games and Glastonbury
Canal boating, travel, video editing and DIY
No time for hobbies other than running and cycling
Watching sport - mainly rugby and football
Aviation photography, British sports cars and model railways
Rugby, motorbiking, road racing (Watching) and Travel
Hobbies
Classic motorcycles and cars
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Solicitor
Telecommunications
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INTERNATIONAL
Romania On 15th March Brasov No1 41 Club celebrated their 20th Charter. A group from the uK attended the charter including Past National Presidents Alan Reynolds and Geoff King, National IRO Dave Campbell accompanied by members of Riff Raff 41 Club. Romania now have ten 41 Clubs with around 150 members.
20th Charter Meeting
The same weekend saw the charter of a new Romanian Round Table, Bucharest No 16. Tablers from Hartlepool Round Table were present to support the new club.
Presentation to Brasov 1
Past Presidents Alan Reynolds and Jeff King with Dave Campbell
Day visit to monastery / orphanage supported by 41 Club Romania
Presentation to Bucharest 16 Round Table Riff Raff Lads
In early May over 50 members from 41 Clubs and Tangents GB&I attended the Danish National AGMs. The highlight of the visit for the ladies was the formation of Tangent Clubs International (TCI). Tangent GB&I is one of the four founder members along with the clubs from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Susanne Norager is the first international president and she is pictured here with Jim Smith and Gill Preston at the inaugural meeting.
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INTERNATIONAL
41 International AGM
Transmanche 2014 This year’s Transmanche meeting took place in Calais over the weekend 22nd – 23rd February. It was the fourth year the gathering between 41 Clubs from Region 1 France and clubs from the South of England has taken place and has now become an annual event.
The 38th Annual General Meeting of 41 International was held in Korsor, Denmark on Saturday 3rd May 2014. Malta were officially welcomed as the 21st member of 41 International and three new countries have submitted their applications to become full members – those being The Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Poland. The following amendments to rules were approved by member countries :-
Previous meetings were only between France and the uK, but this year friends from Belgium joined the group. These included Past National President Jan Van Hoe and National Vice President Luc Trigaux.
Rule 3.2(g) – existing Rule A decision to expel or reinstate a member association shall require a two-thirds majority of the delegates present and voting
In total 80 people attended the event including 30 from the uK. Clubs represented were Abingdon, Hamble Valley, Westerham & District, Maidstone, Weald of Kent, Medway, Hastings, Rye & Romney and Ashford & District.
This rule was changed to a 75% majority being required.
The visit started with brunch and a formal reception at the Salons de la Sole Meuniere, Calais, where guests were greeted, speeches made and banners exchanged. There then followed a trip to Gravelines to view a full size replica of the 18th century sailing ship Jean Bart which is under construction. Numbers for this popular event have increased every year and it is now an established annual event in the 41 calendar. The next meeting will be held in February 2015 and be hosted in Kent.
Rule 9(h) – existing rule The quorum of a meeting shall be 50% of the members of the International Council. The business shall not commence until a quorum is present and shall be adjourned at the time if it is not maintained. If there is no quorum present one hour after the time appointed for the meeting, the meeting shall take place with the International persons present. An addition to this rule was approved this being: Apart from rule change all other decisions shall require a simple majority of the International Councillors present. Rule 12(a) – existing rule These rules shall not be altered other than by a two-thirds majority of the delegates present and voting at an annual general meeting. Details of any proposed modification or additions must be submitted to the secretary by 1st February in any year for circulation with the notice of the next AGM. During a Half-Yearly meeting all questions regarding 41 International can be discussed and all questions that are not specially reserved to the Annual General Meting can be decided. This rule was changed to a 75% majority being required. The newly appointed International President is Carsten Flink from Denmark, the Vice President is Makarios Charalambides from Cyprus, the Vice-President elect is Englebert Friedsam from Germany and 2nd Vice-President Elect is Bruce McKay from South Africa Andy Waite (National Councillor Region 6) was appointed 41 International Editor. 41 Club Great Britain & Ireland will be hosting the Half Yearly meeting in October 2015, planned to be held in Birmingham.
Dave Campbell
International Officer
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Expansion at Llandrindod During Lawrence Bamber's visit to the Llandrindod 41 Club for their annual general meeting of 2014, he was given the privilege of installing two new members from Llandrindod Round Table into membership of the 41 Club and presenting them with their lapel badges. This was the first time for many years that the club has had the privilege of welcoming new entrants into the club and the members pictured below are Keith Jones and Ian Lewis. Also in the photograph is the new Club Chairman for 2014 Victor Morgan. Since this time the Llandrindod Club members have had the privilege of welcoming a further two members from the local Table into the Club making a total of four new members this year.
Bedworth 41 Club kick off to a great start …
Ernie Husson
Llandrindod 41 Club
… with the new chairman Alan griffiths at the helm. Bedworth is situated in Warwickshire, squashed from the south by Coventry City and from the north by Nuneaton Town. Bedworth is a busy, old, friendly town and recently came to fame when a local company won the honour to produce the GB Olympic torch. It is also Nigel Vines, Chris Dean and Kevin Elliot's home base. Our first evening was built around great fun and fellowship when chairman Alan arranged a tour of a nearby museum in Lutterworth. Manager Geoff Smith treated us to a wonder world of items. Aladdin’s cave had nothing on this experience with Geoff making it all come alive. Geoff had arranged to open the evening with coffee on arrival and we presented him with a cheque as a donation to the museum. (Anyone interested in taking a group along do contact him at the museum sure you to will enjoy the experience.) In the usual tradition we made our way to the local pub (The Pig in Muck) enjoyed a special grill night offering good meal and value for money, while re-capping our evening. Not a club for taking it easy, we have a few young at heart guys planning the next meeting, a country cycle ride in June (again followed by another pub meal). July we will be out sailing on a local reservoir.
Weald of Kent 41 Club 2014 is our 40th Anniversary year and we were very fortunate to start it off with a visit from the National President Martin Green in February. At our AGM, which happened to coincide with the first meeting date in 1974, our four founders members were presented with their Service Awards by Chairman Nick Hayward, his final act before handing over to Roy Salt. The members had agreed that it was a fitting tribute and a permanent recognition of their continuing contribution and support of Weald of Kent 41 Club.
For December 2014 Mr Kevin Elliot has again pulled of a brilliant venue to hold our pre Christmas Ladies Night at Coventry’s famous St Mary’s Guild Hall. It is the best Guild Hall outside of London and houses a priceless piece of tapestry, You are invited to join us for a great evening on Saturday 6th Dec 2014. (Tel Alan G. 024 7663 7850) Starting with pre dinner drinks in the Crypt then a three course meal, entertainment plus dance till the midnight hour. Wishing you all the best for your 41 Club year.
It hasn’t finished yet as our next celebration will be in November which is the anniversary of our Affiliation to the National Association.
Roy Salt
Weald of Kent 41 Club
Alan Griffiths
Chairman, Bedworth 41 Club
L to R: - seated Tom Jinks & Colin Marshall Standing: - Peter Stovell Nick Hayward Roy Salt Peter Newens
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News From the Algarve The Algarve 41Club, which has been established for 27 years, is based in the centre of the Algarve, on the coast near Carvoeiro. It recently learned of a charity founded by an English lady, “The Peta Birch Community Foundation” which Peta set up to try and look after some of the children who found themselves without parents for whatever reason some years ago now. Peta Birch has since died but her husband and daughter have carried on with her work. Peta and her husband donated part of their land to create a residence for these children and have, with cooperation from the Portuguese Social Service, to grow and look after their needs from a very early age. They call the home ”The Amigos da Criancas” They were desperately short of money and were very pleased when Mike Smith of the Algarve 41Club offered to try and raise money for them. He and his wife Lindy enlisted the help of their local Letchworth Garden City 41 Club and Tangent members, as well as the Algarve 41Club and the result was presented to the Foundation this February. The picture shows Chairman John with Treasurer Keith and Mike himself making the second of three donations to Samantha Birch and Dr. Ana Calado who manage the Foundation. The Algarve 41 Club has both resident and itinerant members who are there for parts of the year with local holiday homes. All members of ALL 41Clubs are welcome at their meetings which are held twice a month, a luncheon business meeting on the first Tuesday of the month in Carvoeiro and an evening social meeting on the third Tuesday of each month which is held elsewhere. All meetings are joint with wives and we all have great fun, as you might expect in the land of sun and fun that is the Algarve. For information as to how to visit or join the club, please call or email Michael Brown, the club secretary, for details (00351 282 762 176 - vicenteandbrown@gmail.com).
John Knott
Chairman – Algarve 41Club 2013-14
Doing their bit for The Round Table Family, Dad Mac Welsh, Mum Lynda and son Ian became Chairmen of their respective clubs at the beginning of May. First off the mark was Mac, celebrating with his Mumbles 41 Club mates at The Bristol Channel Yacht Club. Joining in with the festivities were members of Tours 41 Club No 170, over from France for the event. Mac was one of many Mumbles 41ers at the inaugural meeting of the Euro 3 link up between France, Denmark, Germany and GB&I. The next night, all decamped to Swansea to see Ian installed as Swansea RT 57 Chairman. But, the highlight of this week of celebration was Lynda becoming the Chairman of Mumbles Tangent 852 and a good time was had by all. The photo’ show all three of them in party mood.
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ARE YOU READY FOR NEW MEMBERS?
ERIC BLACK – 41 CLUB MEMBER EXTRAORDINAIRE
You may well be aware that earlier in the year we signed an historic agreement with Round Table. Part of this agreement will enable us to have access to their historic data of past Tablers who are still on their database but are over the age of 45. However, I’m afraid that this is not just a matter of receiving the data and passing it on. There are certain processes that need to be gone through and the purpose of this article is to let you know the process and approximate timescale.
our featured member Eric was 100 years old in May. 2014. As a newish member of Tiverton and District 41 Club, I met him only a couple of times in 2010 during his final days as Treasurer, a post that he held for some 40 years or more. At that time the age range of the club ranged from 50 to 96! Eric joined Tiverton Round Table in the 1940’s, at just the second meeting of the club. Eric, who never became Round Table Chairman, was invited to be the inaugural Chairman of Tiverton 41 Club in 1959. After that he was Treasurer for more than 40 years, and often Secretary as well. It is believed that he had 100% attendance over all that time – being fetched from holiday (he never drove) in order to attend. The meeting day was sometimes changed for him.
Having reached an agreement the next stage was to produce a letter to be sent by Round Table to all those on the database with an email address. This letter must include an opt out allowing those who do not wish their details to be passed on to 41 to opt out of the process. The letter has been approved by the 41 Club Board and is being sent to Round Table so that it can be agreed by their Board. Once agreed, the letter will be sent giving all recipients 28 days to opt out. After the end of that period the relevant data will be passed to 41 Club.
Eric received two awards from two National Presidents. The first was at the Club Christmas Dinner on 11th December, 2000 at a since demolished pub in Sampford Peverell (variously called The Green Headlands and the Parkway Hotel) from National President Gordon McNab in the presence of the club, led by our then President Fred Leach. Fred remembers that it was for "long service".
It is our current intention to contact all relevant people personally by telephone to discuss potential membership of 41 Club. As I am sure you will appreciate this will be a long job and we are investigating the possibility of using a call service to facilitate this. The cost will be covered by the existing membership budget.
The second was at a garden party on 12th July, 2009 at Cracklehayes, Halberton, near Tiverton, the home of our then President Andrew Butler. The award was presented by National President Richard Matthews and was a 50 year Service award.
The next stage of the process will be to pass on the “hot” leads to the relevant National Councillors and Clubs to make contact to invite them to a meeting. Perhaps you can make arrangements to pick them up to take them along.
Eric is remembered for his little black book, in which he wrote, always in pencil, in tiny writing. As Treasurer he built up a large positive balance which we are only now seeing reduced. A true stalwart of the Club and of the organization.
In addition there are likely to be opportunities for new clubs to spring up from the people who have been contacted.
Tiverton & Disrtict 41 Club
I am sure you will appreciate that with the above process this is likely to take most of this Club year. It has always been felt that this is not a quick exercise but if handled professionally I do believe will assist us all with potential new members in the medium to long term. I really hope that you all embrace this project as it roles out. It is my intention to let our current members know when we proceed to the next stage. Exciting times!
Duncan Kennedy National Membership & Round Table Liaison Officer
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(Part two)
The Wedding Breakfast Weddings are meant to be the happiest day of your life, which is fine unless you are one of the team of people who are charged with the responsibility of delivering the same. I have helped organise self-written, ‘barefoot in the park’ ceremonies and celebrations; officiated in marquees in the back gardens of bungalows and pub car parks, in stately homes, hotels of every description and even a castle. All have their challenges and all are equally important. Like any event its not just how much you spend but success depends on realising the most important thing is the ceremony itself and then having time to spend with friends and family afterwards in an environment that can cater for their different needs. You must expect it to rain but hope it doesn’t, you must hope that all will be in good health come the day and not have celebrated too long and too late the night before. Lastly that your guests will realise that the focus must be on the happy couple and not on settling old scores and airing grievances. Throw in a lot of stress and a bit of alcohol and you have a potentially explosive situation that at times needs delicate handling and planning to defuse. I have had a bride who spent so long getting up her courage with her bridesmaids and a bottle of vodka in her suite that I had to convey the message to her that unless we arrived at the ceremony in 5 minutes then the registrar would have to leave as they had to travel to their next wedding. Rather than a stately progress we managed it with her on my arm at a semi trot. Parents are also very important at weddings. Fathers of the bride invariably say apologetically that they will not speak for too long. I often have to reassure them that people love to hear the old anecdotes about their daughter from times gone by and how they have now come to like, if not completely trust, her new husband. One of the funniest remarks I have heard was when a dad announced that not only was he handing over responsibility for his lovely daughter to his new son-in-law but also the upkeep of her 3 horses, we all laughed but looking at the bridegrooms face I’m not so sure that this had occurred to him! Mothers can also have their moments especially with the rise of the divided or split family following divorce with new wives, husbands and partners to be considered. Mostly this goes off very well especially if everyone is consulted and considered and there are a number of ways in which all the principles, past and present can play a role. A year or two ago I was a little challenged when told at the meeting I like to hold a few weeks before the wedding that the groom’s divorced American mother, who had not brought him up, was very likely to want to make an impromptu speech that might be very embarrassing for all concerned and could I advise on ways of blocking her. Instead I suggested that she be asked to read a prepared grace, as it would take a very brave woman to make 150 guests stand while she launched off into a monologue. In the event she was more than happy with this and everyone behaved very well. There are sadder stories of course as you might expect in such a high-risk situation. These include a number of urban myths concerning bridegrooms revealing prior knowledge of their new wife’s infidelities as an act of revenge and then storming out of the reception and the marriage. One such event I do know to be true although it happened to a colleague in the Guild and not, I’m very grateful to say, to me. Another colleague did have to deal with the sudden collapse and tragically the death of the father of the bride following the ceremony but before the reception had begun. Some disasters you can see and hear happening but be powerless to do anything about, I mean of course speeches and not just the long and boring ones which we have all suffered and sometimes perpetrated in our Table and even 41 Club careers, but the absolute, 100% train smash disaster of a speech. The very worse I have ever had the misfortune to observe was carried out by a very young and nervous best man, unfitted in almost everyway for this onerous job but he had steeled himself, planned and written it and once started nothing could deflect him as he sped like an out of control juggernaut towards the climax.
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After a slow and boring start he moved on to the stag weekend in Latvia which I expected he would touch on lightly and then draw a veil over as any sensible man would do to spare the blushes of the ‘lads’ but no, we had every detail of the drinking, fancy dress etc. attendant on these occasions nowadays and then with a mounting sense of dread some of us realised there was still more to come as he ploughed on to describe the strip club where they had finish up and the girls who worked there as ‘dancers’. I could see there was only one way that this was going to end so I tried moving back into his line of sight, looking tactfully at my fob watch as a hint as I did so but to no avail. The male half of the audience and a good part of the female could see clearly where this was going but we were powerless and he was completely unaware that even the nervous laughter had almost dried up. Then he called upon one of the young men to stand and revealed to us all how much he had spent on ‘dancers’ that night, again there was some laughter but the majority of it was his alone. Turning to another victim he did it again and then again with the same results although now there was a slight note of hysteria creeping his voice and the audiences reaction. Not only did he not know that what goes on on tour stays on tour but he lacked any real understanding that some things just are not funny. As he turned towards the groom who by now had a look on his face like a hedgehog caught in the headlights I did the only thing I could, I stepped foreword picking up his glass as I went and said firmly in his ear “Well done and now its time to toast the bride and groom!”, which to everyone’s delight , he did and got a good cheer at the end. To this day he probably believes it was a great success, bless him. In my Guild’s Toastmasters Training Manual it says “ In the case of larger functions where a Toastmaster is required anyone with the following attributes would be an asset, dignified appearance, the ability to ‘control’ large numbers without being too authoritarian, good personality, a strong voice and clarity of diction and an intelligent approach to all engagements on which he officiates”. Well I don’t know how I add up on all those admirable targets, very much a work in progress I’m afraid but I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that it goes on to voice as do all the colleagues that I have been honoured to learn from and work with. “Let all who profess to be toastmasters be proud of our heritage, uphold the traditions and above all treat it with the seriousness that it deserves.” Tom Abbott is Regional Councillor for Region 19, London Chilterns and is also the current president of the Alliance of Toastmasters guild
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One thing many of you won’t know about me is as well as a passion for Round Table and 41 Club the other love of my life, along with Lin of course, is my life long involvement with the classic motorcycle movement. This started from the age of four when my uncle used to take me in his BSA sidecar outfit to see my cousins in a small Oxfordshire village. I’ve included a picture of me with one of my bikes just to prepare you as I think motorcycles are bound to feature in my Presidential year somewhere.
Hi Everyone, I’m Terry Cooper and delighted to be your National Vice President for this year and your President elect for next which is the 70th Charter of our Association, but more of that later. A bit about me. I’m married to the lovely Lin and we have two sons and live in the charming coastal town of Clevedon which is just north of Weston Super Mare and 11 miles south west of Bristol. We’ve lived there 22 years but prior to that we lived in Oxford, which is my home city and where I did my Tabling with Oxford 144.
Through this page, on the Website and with regular updates via the Newsletter I’ll keep you posted on progress on everything I’ve mentioned above. However the sun’s come out now so it’s time to fire up the Norton and head for the hills.
The first month for me has been a something of a blur, less than a week after the AGM in Bournemouth Lin and I were off to the International AGM at Korsor in Denmark for our first taste of international fellowship. We had a great weekend in spite of the fact that Lin had her case stolen from the train between the airport and our destination, a common occurrence we discovered when we reported it to the Danish Police, losing all of her clothes for the trip.
Terry Cooper Vice President
If you attended our AGM or you’ve watched the recording on the 41 Club Website one of the most passionate debates of the day was over whether the National Council should undertake a review of its current structure and effectiveness or just abolish National Councillors altogether! The review process won the day and National Council agreed to report back to the Harrogate AGM next year with recommendations that would be implemented at that meeting. At our Board and Forward Planning Meetings recently it was decided that a small committee of six would be appointed immediately to undertake this review. This committee would be “broad church”, which was one of the recommendations that came out of the debate at the AGM. It will consist of myself as Chairman, the National Councillors Liaison Officer Phil Ellis, a recent retiree from Round Table who has joined one of our Clubs and a “grass roots” 41 Club member. A member of the Club that proposed the original motion that sparked the debate and a past National Councillor who had been off of Council for a while but has still retained an interest in the Association. We have ideas of who we might ask to fill these roles but we have not spoken to anyone as yet so I will report back on this committee once we have a full team. Moving on to the 70th Charter year we discussed exciting plans yesterday to give you a full year of events to celebrate this important milestone in the Associations history. This most significant, I suggest, will be the 70th Charter Lunch in September 2015 and plans are well advanced with this event, watch this space for more details as they emerge. If the 70th Charter was not enough we’re also hosting the International Half Yearly Meeting in November 2015 in Birmingham. So again there’ll be an opportunity to attend a special event which will have a great party atmosphere as one thing I quickly learnt about of International friends they sure know how to party!
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Royal Bath Hotel
Arrival Wecome to Showtime Checking In On to Registration
Meeting Old Friends Time to Browse the Sales And Book In Early for Harrogate Preparing for the Welcome
Evening Entertainment
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Men’s Health
Common symptoms of GORD include: • •
heartburn – burning chest pain or discomfort that occurs after eating an unpleasant sour taste in the mouth – caused by stomach acid coming back up into the mouth (known as regurgitation) dysphagia – pain and difficulty swallowing
•
Many people experience occasional episodes of GORD, but if people have persistent and reoccurring symptoms it is normally regarded as a condition that needs treatment. TREATMENT A step-by-step approach is usually recommended for GORD. This means that relatively uncomplicated treatments, such as changing your diet, will be tried first. If this fails to help control symptoms then a person can be 'stepped up' to more complex treatments such as antacids, which help neutralise the effects of stomach acid. In cases where medication fails to control symptoms, surgery may be required.
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a common condition where stomach acid leaks out of the stomach and into the oesophagus (gullet). The oesophagus is a long tube of muscle than runs from the mouth to the stomach.
CAUSES It is thought that GORD is caused by a combination of factors. The most important factor is the lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) muscle not working properly. The LOS acts like a valve, opening to let food fall into the stomach and closing to prevent acid leaking out of the stomach and into the oesophagus. In cases of GORD, the LOS does not close properly, allowing acid to leak up, out of the stomach. Known risk factors for GORD include: • being overweight or obese • being pregnant • eating a high-fat diet COMPLICATIONS A common complication of GORD is that the stomach acid can irritate and inflame the lining of the oesophagus, which is known as oesophagitis. In severe cases of oesophagitis, ulcers (open sores) can form which can cause pain and make swallowing difficult. A rarer and more serious complication of GORD is cancer developing inside the oesophagus (oesophageal cancer). WHO IS AFFECTED GORD is a common digestive condition. It is estimated that one in five people will experience at least one episode of GORD a week, and that 1 in 10 people experience symptoms of GORD on a daily basis. GORD can affect people of all ages, including children. However, most cases affect adults aged 40 or over. GORD is thought to affect both sexes equally, but males are more likely to develop complications. OUTLOOK The outlook for GORD is generally good, and most people respond well to treatment with medication. However, relapses are common, with around half of people experiencing a return of symptoms after a year. As a result, some people may require a long-term course of medication to control their symptoms.
Source: NHS Direct
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With 120 entries the delegates at Bournemouth had a very varied selection of photographs to choose from this year. Many thanks to all those that entered, the standard was very high and selecting the final 13 for the charity calendar will be a very difficult job.
1st Place Sitting On Top Of The World Chris Kean (Ringwood)
2nd Place Letting Off Steam David Brown (Northampton Nene)
Joint 3rd Place
Go Guys Go ...... Red Arrows Bill Miller (Larbert & Falkirk)
Busy Bee Clive Rees (Merthyr Tydfil) 25.
Relaxing Alan Foster (Shepshed)
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Social media has become a phenomenon that is putting people in contact in ways that we would never have imagined possible even as recently as ten years ago. Some would say that it is altering the behaviour of the younger generations in a way that is detracting from social interaction in the real world and is therefore a bad influence. Others will say that it only does so as much as we are prepared to let it do and is therefore only bad if we allow it to take over our lives. Regardless of everyone's individual position, we have to recognise the fact that social media is here to stay and that it can be and is used as a productive tool for bringing people together through common specific interests, including clubs such as Round Table, Ladies' Circle, Tangent and 41 Club. There are many social media websites in existence. Some were born and failed to become as popular as others (who remembers Bebo and MySpace?). Some remained popular and have continued to grow throughout their lives (Facebook and Twitter are heavyweights in that area).
“Facebook, that's that funny website the kids mess about on, talk about what they ate and put pictures of cats on, right?” “Why would I want to have anything to do with that?” Well.... The possibilities of Facebook are vast. Yes, you can share pictures of pets and your friends' dinner should you be that way inclined, but do you have to? No. You can post whatever you want as long as it doesn't fall foul of Facebook's rules, which basically boil down to common sense. In 41 Club we see Facebook as a potential means of circulating information around the organisation and, more significantly, of letting the other organisations in the Round Table family know what we're doing and of finding out what they're doing as well. The majority of Tablers who use Facebook use it as a communications tool, so if we can get them to view content that we publish on the 41 Club page, and thus see that 41 Club really is an extension of Round Table rather than a stuffy dining club, then this is an opportunity to recruit Tablers into 41 Club as they leave Table, and also to entice recent retirees from Table to come to 41 Club instead of sitting at home. This can only be a good thing. What we would like to encourage 41 Club members to do is firstly to join Facebook if they haven't done so already, then "like" the 41 Club page, which is located here: https://www.facebook.com/41Club If you do that then postings about 41 Club will appear on your timeline when you log on, and you will also be able to comment on articles posted to that page and give us your feedback. It may give you ideas for activities for your own club, it can certainly raise your profile amongst other nearby Clubs and Tables whose members use Facebook, it will encourage new members and it may energise some of your existing members. Doing nothing about membership is not an option. So please give it a go, and if you get stuck then ask a computer-literate friend or family member who already uses Facebook. Either that or get in touch with the 41 Club Media and Communications team at comms@41club.org, we're more than happy to help.
So, what to do once you've joined Facebook and, of course, started following 41 Club? You can do as little or as much as you want. Nothing's to stop you from simply choosing to "like" pages that deal with personal interests of yours and "friend" individuals that you know in real life and who also use Facebook. You will also inevitably end up becoming Facebook friends with people who share some of your own interests but whom you have never met because they live on the other side of the planet. Another perfectly plausible scenario is becoming Facebook friends with people who live nearby that you don't know otherwise and ending up meeting them in real life. Regardless of how you get to know these individuals and these pages that present ideas, tips, tricks and articles relating to your interests, information will start appearing before your eyes. You will have the opportunity to interact with these people and the ideas that they present to you. The opportunities are vast!
Duncan Baldwin and Godwin Stewart, 41 Club Media and Communications team.
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Sudoku
World Cup Word Search
Find 30 of the teams that competed in the 2014 World Cup. Which two countries are missing?
Pinna's Intertwining Illusion
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Vive l’entente cordiale! For as long as I can remember our RT in Lichfield and, for the last 30 years or so, Lichfield 41 Club, have been travelling to France on an annual basis as well as fitting in sunshine destinations too. The fellowship derived is wonderful. This year we are at it again and we have decided to resurrect the Beaujolais Run. We may all be a bit long in the tooth but as Tablers at heart we will do our best to reduce the French wine lake at source. The memories of these trips are wonderful and our member Ian Dempster has just shared one such memory with the Saturday Telegraph and won himself a couple of flights to boot. His article is below and at this time of English Soccer's World Cup dismay and a series thrashing by New Zealand with the mis-shaped ball it reminds us of a time when we won something and better still of the super friendships that can be struck up with our French neighbours. Vive l'entente cordiale!
Mac Cummmings Communications Lichfield 41 Club
In the Autumn edition … 41ers at play …. The inaugural 41 Club Classic Rally Entry details for the Photographic Competition 2015 The charity calendar for 2015 And much more .....
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Answers
The missing countries are Nigeria and Switzerland
Sudoku
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