Tabler Magazine - Spring 2022 by RTBI

BLER DIXON BROTHERS How the KISS DJs took on the world of music and creativity

BOW SELECTOR Ella Gibson talks on her rapid ascent to the top of Britain’s archery rankings

Spring 2022 www.roundtable.co.uk

VP ELECTIONS Who will you vote for? NFTS: WHY SHOULD I CARE A Notorious trend

At his ball earlier this month our National President, Paul Thompson, said we are not a political organisation, but a humanitarian one.

EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR

Adam Baggs (Cirencester 286) region13@roundtable.org.uk

DEPUTY EDITOR

Tom Hall (www.newwordorder.org.uk)

NATIONAL COMMS OFFICER

Liam Bauckham media@roundtable.org.uk

DESIGNER

Clare Ferris (clar3ferris@gmail.com)

Contents What is Round Table?................................. 4

INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS

Dixon Brothers............................................ 6 Ella Gibson................................................ 10 Ash & Emily Gardner............................... 12

TABLE NEWS

Articles from the Table.............................. 15

GOING DIGITAL

At Table, we come together to support each other and our communities, and within living memory for those of us under 45, this has perhaps never been more important, or true.

Gadget Roundup....................................... 24 NFTs Why should I care?.......................... 26 RBTI E-Club.............................................. 27

This was demonstrated at the National Council Meeting when Round Table collectively supported RTI’s international humanitarian response to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis with a donation of £20,000.

Duck and Cover........................................ 29 Music Review............................................. 30

This was swiftly followed by a commitment to collectively donate a further £95,000 from Table throughout RTBI. This can be in the form of direct donations (info available from the Honorary National Treasurer) or by reporting back on local activity and funds raised. The weekend and ball also provided a great opportunity to make new friends and renew old acquaintances. It was a true reminder of the power of Tabling and also how much fun we have when we get together. So, if you haven’t already, why not come to the AGM in May; sign a team up for NSW in Lancaster at the end of the summer; or join us in Nottingham in October for CEETM? Yours In Table

Baggsie

AT YOUR LEISURE

TRAVEL & EVENTS

CEETM...................................................... 32 National Sports Weekend......................... 34

ROUND TABLE FAMILY

Dream Makers........................................... 37 Members Businesses'................................. 39 41 Club....................................................... 42 Gallery....................................................... 43

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From the editor

What is your elevator pitch? When I am travelling around or talking to people from outside the Round Table Family, I get asked a lot “What is Round Table?” message in a way that it excites and inspires new prospects as well as motivating and energising our current membership. All of that then changes depending on what community I am addressing or engaging with. You can therefore appreciate the challenge?

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PAUL THOMPSON

Previously, I found myself telling people what Table is not, and struggled to articulate what it is in 30 words or less – the elevator pitch – because it has so many facets. If asked, what would your 30-word pitch of Round Table be? Essentially, to quote a very well-known former RTBI President: “Round Table means different things to different people”. Yet, my job this year is to convey that

Our theme of Rooted in Community has underpinned those conversations this year and I am overwhelmed by how supportive members have been and how they have embraced the principles so wholeheartedly. It has certainly made my role much easier. I have been in awe at how our community has grasped every branch of the theme by: • Celebrating the impact of Round Table within our local community • Recognising and embracing the community of our own Tables • Sharing, learning and influencing within our Table community

As my time as your National President comes towards an end, I have started to rehearse for my role as IPP. I have already got the “it wasn’t like that in my day” speech off to a tee. And it is with great pride I will be able to say, as do other exTablers: “It wasn’t like that in my day”. Because it won’t be. And that is the absolute foundation of our movement. We adopt the movement from those who have come before us, we adapt it to how we think it should work for the now and we hope to improve it along with way, ready for the next cadre of young men. So, it’s not just a good thing that former Tablers quote this line, but it is essential as it reminds us that we must never stand still and continue to evolve. Our evolution over the past few years has continued, not despite of Covid19, but inspired and influenced by Covid19. Much of this will be showcased in a Community Impact Report which the National Board has recently commissioned. This

will tell the stories behind the millions raised each year, how Round Table makes a difference and how it enriches our lives and those we share it with. I am excited that we will be sharing this with you at our AGM in May. I am humbled by every Table I visit and motivated by every story I hear. I urge you all to persist in what you do and continue to redefine your communities, whatever they may look like, and improve our movement. I am reminded of something I have quoted before “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. Essentially, the summary of Round Table GB&I in 22 words. We are the committed citizens and we are changing the world. It has been an honour to serve as your National President. Thank you for the privilege, your support and your passion.

Inspiring individuals

HOW THE KISS DJS TOOK ON THE WORLD OF MUSIC AND CREATIVITY After ticking Glastonbury, Wembley, Vegas, and an Alicia Keys party off the bucket list, KISS DJs the Dixon Brothers are building a creative agency to seal their genre-bending legacy.

Fresh from “an absolutely insane afternoon of mayhem and all sorts”, DJ-ing at a KISS brunch party, the Dixon Brothers sat down to discuss their genre-bending career in DJ-ing, song writing, production, design, marketing, mentoring and promotion.

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Time for a rewind...

It all began in the early 90s, when a fresh-faced Justin Dixon celebrated his tenth birthday in Beddington, Croydon, where, along with caterpillar cakes and party rings, his uncle Michael rocked up with a pair of Technics 1200s. His brother, business partner, and co-DJ Adrian recalls: “Everyone was in their fresh shell suits, and it was the first time we’d witnessed a DJ playing the most banging tracks for ten year-olds. Pump Up The Jam and what not.” A few years later, Jungle Mania hit London,

introducing Adrian to the art of scratching for the first time. “Alex Reece would cut some scratches over a track Pulp Fiction, and it caught me off guard, like: ‘what is this?!’”. “Later on, in music class, I’d attempt my first ever mix by syncing two tapes together and holding a beat match for all of a second. Still, it was the greatest time, when MCs and DJs started popping up around me, and the girls seemed to like it.” While Adrian was getting into the scene, Justin was entering Birmingham University to study computer science and software engineering. Keen to carve an image for himself, Justin over-egged his DJ-ing skills a tad, taking to the Student Union decks woefully unprepared, having spent £30 on five records for a much-hyped set. “It was a chance to reinvent myself,” recalls

Justin. “I ran with being a DJ, and was booked into the May Ball at my Halls of Residence. I’d mixed in my friend’s bedroom, but never a proper performance. So I put on Love Bug, but I’d not listened to it all the way through. Turns out it slows down massively at the end, so I left the mix in, but the tempo shift flawed the whole mix and it was horrible. The crowd looked at me stunned. Then I put on Ramsey and Fen’s Desire, I’m back in the mix, but the tune I’m playing runs out, and the one playing runs out and I’m busy rocking to the next tune in my own headphones. Then, I took the headphones off and saw that the room was stood there in deadly silence.” Adrian was undeterred by tales of his brother’s calamitous start, and was getting obsessed with music at a deep level, integrating himself in Croydon’s burgeoning dance music scene. “I was touching the decks for the first time at

Swag Records in Croydon. There are levels to the privileges you get at record stores. You can be a regular punter, or someone who gets to go behind the counter and plays the music they’re serving up.” Swag Records, Big Apple Records and Surrey Street Market were at the time integral in birthing garage music, which would lead to dubstep. “I was inspired by the artists at Magnetic Man Records like Hatcha, Skream and Benga. If you got to go upstairs into the Main Room and felt like a made man!”

Despite their now inseparable double-act, the pair weren’t immediately aligned. While Justin DJd in Birmingham, Adrian was part of a clique of DJs and MCs, going up against So Solid Crew, and battling other genredefining teams. “I started to blend UK Garage with other styles, like Ludacris’ What’s Your Fantasy. I wasn’t going to go to University, but I went to see Justin DJ and I MC’d all of for two seconds. But, I managed to blag my way into DJ-ing at a set in Ministry of Sound, which went so well they had to shut down the Main Room, which had some legends playing!

The next week, they offered me a residency, which was my break, but because I’d decided to go to uni at this point, I had to give it up.” Adrian followed in Justin’s footsteps, attempting to take his University by storm. “I turned up to Freshers Week, put a flyer out and planned to turn up to a gig with a new mate. He phoned and said he couldn’t go, so I called the main promoter, and asked if I could play and he put me in as the warm up DJ, which turned into me doing the whole night. I quickly formed a duo with Michael Diaz, and we started storming the clubs in Birmingham 5-6 nights a week. I then transitioned into hip-hop and r’n’b at this point, and tried to balance that with having a 9-5. This half killed me, as I was living in London, and driving up to Birmingham at night.” Fortunately, Justin had by this time left University, and was DJ-ing at Play in Shoreditch. “I was getting traction but Adrian wasn’t embedded in the London scene, so we decided ‘we’re brothers, let’s form like Voltron and see what happens’.” A residency at Proud Galleries in Camden soon followed and the guys, now officially The Dixon brothers, used their multi-genre

experience to pioneer the emerging Mash-Up scene. “It worked against us at first. When we played at Plan B they couldn’t work out our style, we were turned down as no one knew where to place us. If you just do House music, you can get the House set. But Proud Camden gave us the opportunity to play whatever we want.” Spanning multiple genres, and merging unexpected tracks on top of one another, took a lot of club goers by surprise. “We were passing the queue into Proud, and a group of metal fans saw two black dudes coming into a club and automatically assumed we’d play r’n’b and hip-hop, but we relished the opportunity. We walked up to Proud with our backpacks on and said ‘right, let’s kill this!’, and we transitioned into a full blown metal/rock set that transitioned into hip-hop.” The brothers became some of the first DJs in Camden to pioneer the genre-bending MashUp style, that later caught on worldwide. “We were honing our craft and having a frikkin’ good time!,” says Adrian. Their next break came when and A&R from the popular and influential KISS 100 radio station came to Proud unannounced. He was

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“Doing work experience there, I was serving legends and hearing white labels of absolute bangers. I heard the first test pressing of Stardust The Music Sounds Better.... Meanwhile, Justin was going into the clubs, making a comeback from his first disastrous gig and I was inspired to keep up, persuading my dad to go out and get my first turntables: a pair of classic belt drive turntables, the Gemini BD10s. If you can mix on those, you can mix on anything. But that was it, I was obsessed.”

won over by the Dixon Brother’s line blurring set. “The A&R said: ‘I’m not sure how this is going to work, but you’re in’,” said Adrian. The brothers’ first mix on the station amalgamated Earth, Wind & Fire into N****s in Paris. “I look back now and think ‘I don’t know how well that went down’, but the world caught up and every show we did was now multi genre. We helped pushed that through,” says Adrian. KISS opened up the world to the Dixon Brothers, and a barrage of memorable gigs followed. The pair round up their top ten:

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Silverstone’s Formula One (2013)

“We’ve been fans since watching it with our dad in the late Eighties. So performing at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix is definitely a highlight.” Glastonbury 2015 “What more can you say?!” Vegas “We were blown away by the craziness, and DJ’d at the Mandalay Bay and Mirage.” Ibiza “As a DJ, who are you if you don’t have Ibiza on your bucket list?!”

DJ-ing my daughter’s tenth birthday party (Justin recalls) “I felt like, after first encountering DJ-ing at my tenth birthday, I’d come full circle.” Isle of Wight Festival “What can I say, we smashed that down in incredible fashion.” Proud Galleries New Years Eve “This was a comeback gig, and it was like when Thierry Henry returns to Arsenal.” Hong Kong “In a word, incredible. And we’ve been back on multiple occasions.” Wembley “We’ve played at Wembley in front of tens of thousands of people seven or eight times. Just a mind-blowing experience.” Getting an acknowledgment from DJ Jazzy Jeff “We met Jazzy Jeff as super fans at a gig in Croydon, then later performed with him at Proud 2 and he acknowleged us on Twitter. Nowadays we still DM occasionally. He’s the greatest.” Legacy building When they’re not playing the world’s top most gigs and venues, Adrian and Justin have forged

successful careers in design and marketing, and promotion and marketing respectively. Their clients include KISS, Sony, and Bacardi. With an enviable skill set between them, the pair recently decided to link up outside of their busy DJ-ing roster. The result? Dixon Brothers Media. How they got to this place is another story altogether. As Justin tells it: “After uni, I started work experience at Sony BMG where I used my data skills to reengineer their club mailout database. To be honest, it was light work, and I was keen to make a name for myself.” “My full-time spot at Sony was, I like to think, down to my athletic prowess. The chairman had been trying to sign Kasabian and it was (guitarist) Serge’s birthday, so he asked me to get a cake for him to celebrate. Let me tell you, I flew over that bridge to M&S so fast and came back in a light sweat. But, it meant I struck up a good relationship with him, and he told my boss to give me a shot. “As DJs, we were able to harness my new role to gain some great gigs. We did the Outkast album launch party where we DJ’d on a boat. Later, we were bought in to do a party for Alicia Keys. Because of my nerdiness,

Despite this success, Justin became disillusioned with the direction of the music industry: “Social media polluted the marketing world. It went from ‘how does music make you feel?’ to ‘how many numbers can you do?’. I was like, fuck numbers. People can buy numbers. I fell out of love with that whole world when it became too commercial.” It’s a learning curve that has influenced his direction with Dixon Brothers Media. “Just be pure – if you love music, go into the industry, but not if you just want to flex for the ‘Gram, you’re taking their spot. Be pure with your intentions.” For Adrian and Justin, Dixon Brothers Media is about creating a legacy, and giving back. “When people pass away, you always look at what they’ve left for the next generation. Just recently, RIP Jamal Edwards, we looked at what he achieved and thought: ‘He can hold his head high having built a pathway, providing a drawbridge to walk across’. We’re the eldest in our wider family, and we want to show our cousins what you can do if you stick together and graft. We live by that, and we’ve

been told ‘no’ many a time.” One aspect of Dixon Brothers Media is their DJ Academy, a mentoring scheme to ‘create the next generation of DJs’. “It came about when I helped setup KISS Freshers for student DJs,” says Adrian. “It’s about more than just DJ-ing, however. It draws on Justin and I’s journey to experience what it takes to get to where we’re at: everything from DJ-ing to how to pitch yourself professionally. Everything we’ve got today was achieved by us: our contracts or just going at someone to get the chance. DJs today often feel a sense of entitlement, or live off their followers on Instagram. And there’s often a lot of hype, without technical ability. We’ve seen many a celebrity DJ that doesn’t know what a cross fader is!” Like Justin, Adrian has also fought to carve a career among the top-level corporates. Working mainly as a freelance, Adrian found motivation by leading by example. “I’m always push myself to be as good as I can be. When I came into this space, there was no one that looked like me, and that annoyed me. You’d open Creative Review and it had the same looking people. I thought, fuck it I’ll do it myself.”

Adrian broke into design after making a mark during his work experience after uni for Japanese Soldier. “I walked straight in, but afterwards, I found myself going from agency to agency, working in marketing. Often the work wasn’t challenging, and I missed design. Dixon Brothers Media happened organically. It is me bringing my design and marketing experience, with huge clients, and Justin bringing what he learnt working at Sony BMG. His skillset matched with mine. We know how the industry works, so once again we careered back into each other.” The Dixon Brothers say they’re proud if they inspire people of diverse backgrounds to believe they can achieve more. From the beginning, as pioneers of the mash-up genre, they’ve been all about bringing down boundaries, and proving that music and creativity is about bringing people together. “No one can be pigeon-holed.” The pair have already bagged work for huge briefs for Bacardi, their work for which has been seen at the BRITS. This led to work within the group for the likes of Martini. Recently, however, Dixon Brothers Media put together a viral video that Bacardi commissioned for their official International Women’s Day video celebrating the amazing women behind their iconic rum brand. We leave the brothers’ journey then, not with an ending, but with a new beginning.

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my career always had a club/radio promo and marketing campaigns side to it. I was responsible for setting up the first ever artist page on Facebook for Ciara.”

BOW SELECTOR Ella Gibson, daughter of former Cirencester Round Table member Rob, talks to Tabler about her rapid ascent to the top of Britain’s archery rankings Words by Adam Baggs

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We have all faced that awkward silence in a Table business meeting when a member asks for a donation to their child’s sports team or school trip. What is the right response? Does charity start at home or will we be accused of nepotism by a community that has donated funds to good causes and might see it as us lining our own pockets?

We faced this situation just a few short years ago in Cirencester when former member Rob Gibson asked us to purchase a bow for his daughter’s early foray into competition archery. Was it the right decision? We think so - just this month she was crowned European Indoor Champion - and there can be no denying that age the age of 21 she has a world opportunity ahead of her.

How did you get into archery? I’m from Cirencester, and got into archery when coaches from my now club came to my school. It started as just an hour a week. I really enjoyed it, and joined Deer Park Archers, based in Shurdington. I started shooting recurve, then some members asked me if I wanted to shoot barebow. I said ‘sure’, and went to a competition and came second. I got the competition bug and afterwards told the coaches I wanted to shoot for GB. They suggested I try compound if I wanted to go national, as I was too old to do well in recurve. I got my first bow in December 2016, and a year later I competed for GB for the first time. My dad had been an active part of

Cirencester Round Table and I grew up around that – doing the sleigh at Christmas and fireworks. Table was really helpful with progressing my career, they supported the cost of a competition in the early days as well as buying a new compound bow, which really helped. The bow Cirencester funded was used in my first GB competition at the World Indoor Championships. I came 19th, but that exceeded all our expectations. It helped me get experience, and from there I went to a European Cup and gained silver individually. I now train almost every day, normally one or two days off a week. I cycle my arrow use, 250 some days, 400 other days, depends if I’m working on fitness or stamina. I also do gym with a strength

My advice is to work hard and do the practice. There is no magic pill. Your rise has been meteoric hasn’t it? From an objective point of view, yes it has happened quickly. I never spent a great deal of time doing it as a hobby, going straight into competitions instead when I was 16/17. I was very aware that many of my peers started at age nine or ten, so I felt I needed to mentally play catch-up. However, I found my groove and have continued to improve. At the end of 2019, I broke the World Record for the WA 18m indoor round. That’s one of the

main disciplines we compete in. It was totally unexpected, and I didn’t think I’d be shooting the score I did at that time. Since then, I’ve broken a few more British and European records but the real achievement was winning the European Indoor Championships in Slovenia last month. It makes me the first Brit to win an individual title at that level. The European Indoor Championships were really tough though. I was ill the week before so hadn’t prepared as I’d liked. I setup a whole different bow as I wasn’t happy with how things felt. In qualification I struggled but had a word with myself part way through to ensure I ranked 6th. This wasn’t great for me, but I felt like I had a place to improve from for the matches. My first match I shot 150, then a 146, followed by a 149 and a 148 in a really tight match, which put me through to gold. I had two days until my medal match, hit the practice range frequently and remained focused. I have never shaken so much in my life as I did in that final round - but I won, and it felt

like a long time coming. Afterwards my coach cried and then said ‘never do that to me again’, apparently my nerves got to him too! What are your ambitions? I want to be the best in the world, not world champion, but number one in the rankings and regularly winning and recognised as that. Covid19 really hit my ambitions, but last year I ranked nicely, more than expected. I want to be in the top ten this year, and hopefully top 5 by end of next year. What would you say to others looking to achieve success in any of their own goals? My advice is to work hard and do the practice. There is no magic pill. It’s really important to get a good coach. I like to collect opinions and talk to different people about what they think. I can then work things out based on more than just one piece of advice, and by making my own decisions I can be self-reliant. You won’t always have people with you. If you are out there and something goes wrong, it’s great to have support but sometimes you just have to look to your own strengths and abilities.

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coach, the amount of which varies according to my competitions. Outside of competition season, I do around three sessions a week.

WALKING SIDEBY-SIDE WITH UKRAINE Ash and Emily Gardner walked 126.8 miles from Marchesi House (Birmingham) to the Ukrainian Embassy (London) in early March.

What were you doing and why?

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On the way back from the National President’s ball in York we were reflecting on the challenge laid out by the Immediate Past President to raise £95k to support RT Germany’s Ukrainian relief convoys by the 95th anniversary of Round Table. We wanted to help practically.

We decided to walk from RTBI HQ in Birmingham to the Ukrainian Embassy in London to raise money and awareness of the humanitarian crisis. We wanted to make the event a four-club thing because we wanted every Tabler and Circler to feel some ownership of what we were doing and create something accessible which everyone could join in with.

We never expected the amount of support we received or the profile of the event to get so big but are absolutely made up that everyone got behind us and now have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Tabler/Circler. What was the hardest moment of the trip? On the last day Ash’s knee gave way mid-morning, and it became obvious he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the required pace. Ash had to bow out and sit in the safety car (with the awesome LC VP Fiona Bull), but it was heart-breaking to be so close and not make it. When we put the shout out on social media our wonderful friends from Emily’s

home circle got in their cars and drove 2.5 hours to walk with Emily to show her that she was not alone. What was the best moment of the trip? Being invited to take tea with the Deputy Ukrainian Ambassador and the Ambassador’s wife was one of the most special experiences of our lives, a memory we will treasure forever. However, we can’t get away from the fact that getting to meet so many wonderful people from our organisations was probably the ultimate highlight. The kindness and support we were shown by so many people we had never met before was humbling. Ash would also like to put on record that on seeing Adam Fitt he was

The kindness and support we were shown by so many people we had never met before was humbling. What have you learned? 30 miles in a day is further than you’d think! The first 20 was pleasant, next five getting challenging, last five was hell. Don’t plan for 30 in a day unless you’ve trained and are super fit and conditioned. More than this, we have learned a lot

about working outside of the immediate confines of Round Table. Ash’s home club is Beeston 573 and Emily is in Long Eaton 611 Circle, our clubs do a lot together anyway but we would encourage other Tables to build those links with your local circles. Any advice for those who want to ‘adapt, adopt or improve’ this idea? JFDI! This doesn’t need months of planning. Grab some talc, set up a Facebook page and get walking. Lots of time in Table we get bogged down in planning when sometimes you just need to trust your friends and hit the road. How much did you raise?? Money is still coming in and some people have donated directly to RT Germany but we are expecting to make a minimum

of £15k by the time donations close out. If you have managed to avoid the Facebook spam about this but still wish to contribute then please donate directly to RT Germany from now on: https:// tablerstiftung.de/konvoi/convoy/

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not crying, and his eyes had just sprung a leak.

table news

Sleigh tales

The towns covered by Mold & Buckley both have established Santa sleighs, run by other groups. However, some of the villages in-between aren’t covered, so the plan was to borrow a neighbouring Table’s sleigh, and perhaps do a few nights visiting these places. But, fast forward to October, and an excited phone call the local Rotary Club was sadly disbanding and were looking to sell their sleigh. Did we want it? Rather than the usual towing up and down streets, the sleigh had a prime location on a local shopping park. With a relatively small membership, and not many people who can tow, this seemed absolutely ideal for

FALKIRK FUNDING us. The stumbling block however was the price. Rotary wanted £1,700 for it. After a successful barbeque and raffle at a Summer Fete, we had a small amount in our charity fund, but not nearly enough to buy the sleigh. Rotary weren’t willing to take a deposit and let us pay the balance with money we raised on the float. None of us were in a position to purchase the float ourselves either. The excitement for the money we could raise and the things we could do with it meant that not buying the sleigh wasn't an option. It was then that Mark Sephton, Area 36 chairman, suggested applying to the National Board for seed funding. A few emails and phone calls later, and £1,500 was lent to us interest free, to purchase the sleigh. The last weekend in November we made our first appearance at the shopping park, and then every weekend until Christmas. We made the £1,500 back in next to no time, and promptly repaid the loan in January. The remaining funds we raised will enable us to expand our program and fundraising for next year and have undoubtedly increased our profile and awareness. Plans for next year are already well afoot. Any newly chartered Tables, or those looking to start a Santa sleigh, should certainly get in touch with Alan and the community team for support.

Tabler Gregor McDonald outlines his charity successes I’m writing to you as Chairman of Falkirk 268. This year our Santa Sleigh appeal raised an incredible £17,613,44! Our two chosen charities were Strathcarron Hospice, which provides specialist care, love and support to 1,400 people living with, and dying from, a terminal illness each year. Our second, and perhaps most personal to us is LiveLifeGiveLife. This is a small charity founded in 2008 to raise awareness of organ donation. Unfortunately, one of our members Rory Wilson, age 24, passed away this year having had to undergo a quadruple transplant (after several other transplants in previous years). He used this charity and they supported him throughout.

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When Mold & Buckley 399 got rechartered in March of last year, a chat took place about Christmas plans.

HOW WE ACHIEVED

OUR RECORDBREAKING COLLECTIOn IPSWICH GREYFRIARS 85 Written by Glenn Williamson, Chairman

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The Rudolph Xmas Sleigh has just completed its 51st annual tour of Ipswich, it’s a very popular tradition in Ipswich with huge public and local company support; this has enabled us to raise in excess of 23k (this includes corporate matched funding, corporate donations and a Justgiving/Text Line). The bucket collection itself was £19,321.24 a massive 42% increase on 2020.

This year we returned to door knocking which we were unable to do in 2020 due to COVID19 restrictions, we kept our fingers crossed we would be able to get through this December without Omicron affecting our plans and thank goodness we did (Apart from losing some collectors due to having to isolate). These are the key areas we focused on to help us achieve our best collection ever: •

•

Committee – start meeting from October, have a clear vision and divide the tasks out. Early Communication share route timetable using

social media & local paper •

Route Maps – Ensure they are easily accessible and easy to understand for the public

•

Start Points – We mostly use pubs, we deliver a poster in early November so they can start to promote the event, we often have 100 plus members of the public at the start points. Also the pubs will often provide refreshments/food at the end of the night for free

•

Technology – Tracker (Glympse) allows people to exactly follow the sleigh, so they don’t have to stand out in the cold for longer than needed and helps to reduce the chance of the public missing us. We also have a Text line, Just Giving Page and for the first time a Card Machine (SumUp) just in case they don’t have cash.

•

Rudolph’s V.I.C (Very Important Children) – We asked the public to nominate deserving children (criteria stated on website with application form) to receive a present (max 50), these were handed out by Santa; in total 15 children received these presents. As well as delighting these amazing children this helped with public engagement as the local press promoted this scheme.

•

Social Media – Regular posts, at least twice a day are done. Consistency in posting the tracking link, Textline details and thanking corporate support is important. Multiple messages daily come through social media (not all positive sadly), these are responded to promptly Corporate Support – to collect a route thoroughly we need a minimum of 15 collectors, without Corporate Support/local running clubs this would not have been possible. Therefore we make contact in Oct/Nov with local companies/groups and schedule in which route they will help with, we ensure each night is covered. Also, some companies will match fund the collection from that night or provide a donation, double benefit!

•

Tablers need to inspire – As well as a ‘Lead’ tabler covering all the safety issues/key information with all the volunteers (and COVID checks this year), all Tablers on the route need to lead by example and push all collectors to keep ahead of the sleigh and knock on every door. If Tablers just walk along at the back, all collectors will start to, and the positive tempo will be lost!

•

Great Sleigh – As our sleigh has been going for 51 years, we are very lucky to have an amazing sleigh which we ensure gets improved on each year; this year we had new speakers and a new sleigh seat for Santa all donated by local people and companies. The Ford Ranger, decals and insurance are all provided for free by local companies.

•

Santa calling out names – the public now knows Santa will do personal name shout outs, we get requests through social media as well as having Santa with an earpiece so names can be relayed through walkie talkies; this can be highly effective and amazes the children.

•

Compliance – Ensure all licences, risk assessments and procedures are all well documented

All that said, the most important factor in making the sleigh a success is the amazingly generous public, especially the children delighted by seeing the sleigh and Santa! As an Ipswich Round Tabler, our Rudolph Xmas Sleigh has become a local tradition spanning three generations now, so it is with great pride that our guys work tirelessly to bring Rudolph through rain, storms and pandemics to bring a lot of Christmas cheer to so many Ipswich families.

annual afternoon tea

is back with a bang the proceeds of the Santa Sleigh, which toured the town throughout December.

After a two-year hiatus Cirencester Round Table hosted 110 senior citizens for afternoon tea on Saturday, 12 March. Residents from around the town were collected in person by members of Round Table, friends, family and volunteers from Rotary. The afternoon included plenty of sandwiches, homemade cakes, Pimms and bucket loads of tea and coffee. Following entertainment by Cirencester Dance Club, Katrina from The Barn Theatre, bingo, a sing along and a raffle the guests were returned home in high spirits, already looking forward to the year ahead. The event is paid for from

Incoming chair, Sam Bates, said: “What an incredible event. Thanks to everyone that helped on the day. It was a real pleasure to see everyone again and we can’t wait to do it again next year”

TABLER DRIVES

UKRAINIAN FAMILY FROM POLAND TO SCOTLAND Tabler Trevor Geraghty has helped a Ukrainian family flee the war torn country. Hailing from Gorey, Co Wexford, Geraghty – who works as a tech entrepreneur – had been driving aid to the town of Przemy l, Poland, which is less than 20km from the border with Ukraine, when he decided to stick up a sign saying he was travelling back to Ireland, Scotland and the UK. By chance, a Ukrainian family of three (the husband/father of which stayed behind to fight) with relatives in Scotland flagged down the van, and Geraghty dropped them just 16km from his own house. By bringing the family to safety, Polina Shyshorina was able to celebrate her eighth birthday in Ireland this week instead of at home in Ukraine. The child travelled with her mother Elizaveta, brothers Oleksandr, 15, and Kyrylo, 13, after leaving the town of Zaporizhzhia when the Russian army started shelling in eastern Ukraine. The town has since made headlines following a Russian attack on its nuclear power station. Geraghty told the Irish Examiner: “I’m no adrenaline junkie, I thought if I can help one family to get out [it's worth it]. I’m glad I went. The Poles are doing their absolute best, the volume of people is off the scale. Buses are going into Ukraine, seats piled with aid and taking passengers back out. I saw young mums with a couple of kids each, under three, in buggys. That’s not unusual.”

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Cirencester Round Table's

All things new for 2022 coming through in the prospect enquiries, with guys looking to make a positive life change after the last two challenging years.

ANDREW THORNE

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NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP & EXTENSION OFFICER

CARRICK 1258 07786 735355 membership@ roundtable.org.uk What a start to 2022 for Round Table Great Britain and Ireland, we are off to a flyer having seen around 75 new guys join our movement in the last six weeks! Really strong interest is

It has been a long two years as Membership Officer, phoning leads and trying to tell some of them just to understand that Table is in a bit of weird place, and the Table you were looking to get involved with is just a bit stop/start due to Covid19, and to have some patience. Finally, though it feels like we might get a crack at putting on a sustained programme across RTBI to bring these prospects fully onboard. We also have new Tables and old Tables making a comeback, I have the whisperings of at least 10 new table projects, all at varying stages. In 2022 maximising and encouraging Tables to consider extensions is going to become an increasing focus. The list of the new and rechartered Tables of Keswick, Ringwood, Whitley Bay, Mold & Buckley, City of Newport and most recently at Framlingham are all exciting and full of engaged Tablers. We need to build on this

energy and I’m working with Mark Farrell at Keswick RT to review policies and the support network we offer to Tables such as Andover & North Shields as they move towards a re-charter.

for the next 13 months, Tabler World, new Tables coming online, the return of NSW and National Conference and most importantly Tables getting back Tabling!

We then have the 80 or so Tables in need of immediate care and attention and for this I am working with Marc Drury of Harleston RT who is working on a pilot with Wyre Forest RT, producing a simple social media strategy and programme design which we can look to replicate and support tables to take on.

All in all, a whole lot of New for 2022!

Tabler World I really think is a game changer and will allow Tables to forecast membership, increase inter-table relationships and most importantly improve our internal communications with our members. Moving forward I’m looking forward to working with our incoming media and communications officer Adam Baggs (Mr Editor) as we look towards improving our brand and external image to support Tables in recruiting and providing appropriate membership resources. Really exciting times ahead, no new member joining fee

Contact me about anything membership related or if you want to get involved.

AL COLLINS NATIONAL COMMUNITY OFFICER Fun facts about me… I have 4 kids?! I love Country Music I’m a huge rugby fan And did you know? Organiser of the newest and most awesome charity banger rally in the world (said in a very Jeremy Clarkson style)! Head over to Facebook.com/ SkinflintRally to find out more!

Gentlemen, I’ d like to start this report by congra tula I’m hearing of record-breaking collect ting you all on a fantastic Sleigh season. ion figures. This is obviously fantastic, please remember to capitalise on thi but s exposure and use it to grow member ship. How many of those Dads that were stood with their kids waving as you went past are of Tabling age? Were they inspire d by the work you did? Reach out to them, tell them about all the other awesome stu ff we do… Which leads me on nicely to our Com munity Impact Report. By the time this mag is published, the survey from our consult ant Ruth, will have been sent out. I’m hoping that by the next board meetin really g I can report that the response rat e been high and we have some fantas tic stories and numbers to reveal. Mo has re to come on this as we move ever closer to our AGM in Birmingham. Another aspect of the board plan for this year was based around helping Tables to come out of Covid19 and repurpose themselves and run community events . delighted to see that several Tables have embraced this idea and are look I am ing at new ways to thrive. Basildon being a goo d example with their new duck race! It’s awesome to see Tables getting bac k to normal and doing their bit to imp their communities. Remember our own rove internal community is important too , so share stories, use the Facebook affinity gro ups to network with like-minded guy s that you maybe wouldn’ t normally. I’m looking forward to joining some of you during the Summer for some awesome events Take it Easy Y’all! Al Collins National Community Officer 2021-2 023

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

Community OfFIcers Report

VP Elections We have two great guys who have put themselves forward for VP of our wonderful organisation and Tabler wanted to give each the chance to pitch themselves to you. In the interest of fairness they were given the same deadline, the same word count and advised that nothing they sent over would be edited. They were also asked to submit a recent picture taken on a phone and the order they appear here was decided on a coin toss.

CHRIS BUSH If you had one chance to make a difference, would you take it? Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I am Christopher Bush from Portsmouth & Southsea Round Table No.2, and I would like to be the next Vice-President of RTBI. Tabling has always been a passion of mine. Right from the start, some 13 years ago, I felt this incredible sensation of belonging within our association, this pull led me to #DoMore for Table in a variety of capacities, dedicating more and more until I ate, slept, and breathed Round Table. I hear you saying that’s nice but why should we vote for you? Well, I’ll tell you… I will make key changes to improve our experience. Statistically, we have recruited and then lost nearly the same number of members each year. I want to change that statistic! We have focused on recruiting new members year on year, which is critical, but I want to switch the focus onto membership retention. I want the lived member experience to gain value and I want to excite our current members to make the most of what we offer. I aim to do this in three ways: I want to create The Big Table Weekend, think team building, CPD and adrenaline combined. Secondly, the RTBI Benevolent Fund in case you ever need a helping hand and finally I would like to add member benefits for attendance at our AGM’s. While maximising our retention, equally, I will instigate a targeted market analysis to better understand who our consumers are and freely share the results for your recruitment.

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This approach will make RTBI grow! A vote for me will ensure you a dynamic and enthused President because I believe in Round Table, I only need you to believe in me.

MIKE ROUND Do you want to see the number of Tables increase? Do you want to see more high-quality members joining our association? Do you want to see Round Table go from strength to strength? If you answered, “Yes” to those three questions, you’ll agree it’s time to, “SECURE OUR FUTURE.” Paul Thompson has us thinking about Round Table being Rooted in Community, and it made me realise how Round Table is like a tree. Opening a few Tables puts out new roots into the earth of the community beneath us and a flurry of new leaves makes the tree look better for a while. But this shiny new growth can distract us from leaves that are withering or fading away in their Tabling "autumn" - making the whole tree less impressive. If we sit back and allow the roots that depend on those leaves to rot away, the whole tree is only one storm from disaster. In me you will have a leader that will not allow that to happen.

We will not stand by as we lose another hundred members and see Tables wither away. Together, we will work on our programmes, raise our profiles, build confidence to invite new members and encourage them to take active roles from day one. If we do this, I have no doubt, we will “SECURE OUR FUTURE…”. I look forward to laying out my plans for this when I address you all at the AGM.

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My track record over three years as our National Secretary and Chairman of Oxford’s National Sporting Weekend stands up to scrutiny and I am sure you would agree with me when I say, whenever I have stood up for Round Table, I have delivered. Now, my focus is to, “SECURE OUR FUTURE.” for the benefit of us all.

It's time As we approach our 95th birthday, I’m in a reflective mood and I wanted to share with you some thoughts on my 12 months ahead as President. • It’s time for us to get back in our communities after, for some, a two-year absence. • It’s time to have the confidence to raise our fundraising events and make a difference to the people who need us • It’s time to be adventurous and daring with our programmes and secure our legacy by attracting and recruiting new Tablers • It’s time for us to get back to caring for one another and recognise that, however bleak the outlook can seem, every man matters to Round Table

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MATT FALLON

As the dreaded 45 approaches, it’s hard to avoid the fact that the clock is ticking on my time in Table. It’s got me thinking... if each of us has a finite amount of time in this amazing family, we each need to embrace every single minute of every single day. We need to optimise our time together and truly make every moment count. I promise you that is what I will keep in focus in the coming year.

• It’s time we got talking and educate ourselves about where to seek support and guidance • It’s time we recognised that Round Table is the best support network we could possibly have... and I speak from experience My charity partner CALM will provide us with the tools and signposting to help us avoid losing three members per year to suicide. It’s a shocking statistic. Hard to read, I know. I believe we can change it together, because every man matters. We have a huge reach, it’s time to use it. To reach more diverse communities and embrace the ones we know. How does this translate into my brand? Well, I have dared to be different in an attempt to start a conversation about Round Table and Men’s Mental Health. The time on the clock signifies the start of a new day in which we all choose how to use the time it

affords us. The clock melting is a reminder that our Table journey will end at some point and we should make every second count. Many of you have been a tremendous help to me this year through my divorce and I just didn’t realise what I had here until I posted that I was struggling. I want to further develop a culture where men can share their feelings and do so in a safe environment. Table should be known for this. If my pin badge can start a conversation with someone that asks you what that badge is, and you can answer that it represents Round Table supporting men’s health, that’s a win for me. We’re at one minute past midnight… what does the next 24 hours hold? You know where I am if you have any questions. Matt

Going digital

GADGETS

Tom Hall rounds up the season's must-have gadgetry CAM MODEL

control box plugged directly into your TV. You just place the four speakers around you, and let the setup – which echolocates each speaker – calibrate to you and your living room. As well as tweeters, each unit contains a sub and an up-firing speaker to power the full Dolby Atmos experience. FROM CURRYS

The Opal camera may seem pricey, should you chose to import it from the US at $300, but the ‘DSLR quality’ it produces is comparable to units four times the price. With working from home being a mainstay on both sides of the pond, however, why not choose a stylish, high-quality product to look your finest, from a company headed by ex-members of Apple, Beats and Uber! Along with 4K quality, the camera also features intelligent noise cancellation and a lot of adjustable settings. The camera is only available by reservation and works exclusively on Apple devices, but Opal plans to open this up to Windows down the line.

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

OPALCAMERA.COM

$300

YOU’RE SURROUNDED! Tucking wires under the floor boards to achieve true surround sound used to be something of a faff. However, Sony’s new speaker system, the HT-A9 system comprises four wireless speakers that talk to a

£1,799

RETRO PLAY

80s kids will remember envying the classmate down the road whose parents forked out for an Amiga 500 gaming computer. Well, you can finally reach those heady heights of social acceptance thanks to the Amiga A500 Mini, which will be released soon, and emulates the Amiga 500, 600 & 120. It features 25 classics including Alien Breed 3D, Kick Off 2 and Pinball Dreams, with the option to add your own games. It comes with the original-style 2-button mouse as well as a newly engineered 8-button precision gamepad, for ultimate control over your play. Amiga A500 Mini

£119.99

AHEAD OF THE CURVE Some tech you experience once, and can’t go back. You can file curved monitors in this category. Great for improving your workflow and taking your gaming up a notch in equal measure, the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is a great example of the genre, and offers a truly immersive experience. Its curved, ultra-wide 49-inch display, and Quantum Matrix Technology aims to make dark areas darker and bright areas brighter. The physical display has a glossy white exterior, and features a rear infinity core lighting system which means you can personalise your set-up with 52 colours and five lighting effect options. Samsung Odyssey Neo G9

£1,099

THE FITBIT FINAL BOSS

WORLD IN MOTION Elon Musk is no stranger to throwing out tech curveballs, with the Boring Company’s flamethrowers and plans to plant a chip in your brain. His Cyberquads are the latest whimsical offering. These quadbikes borrow the design of the yet-to-be-released Cybertruck. However, the demographic changes here as the Tesla Cyberquads are being advertised to the best drivers – kids. These all-electric bikes feature a full steel frame and are powered by a lithium-ion battery with speeds up to 10mph. SHOP.TESLA.COM

£1,400

VR is set to be a key feature of nextgen consoles, and Sony has revealed what its motion controllers (which will translate your hand movements into the virtual world) will look like. Of particular interest is the finger-touch detection that senses where your digits are placed on the remote. This will enable you to pick up and manipulate objects in the virtual world in natural way. BLOG.PLAYSTATION.COM

£TBC

The Fitbit Sense represents the ultimate in FitBit feature tick-boxing, with its temperature, stress, blood oxygen, sleep and fitness trackers. The new heart rhythm sensor – an ECG app that helps to assess your ticker for atrial fibrillation – is impressive, and likewise the stress sensor (in which you place your palm over the face of the watch and track changes over time) and guided meditation features. It also takes blood oxygen levels while you sleep, and the fitness apps are as good as ever. Great for staying on top of your physical and mental health. AMAZON.CO.UK

£255.23

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

GADGETS

MUSK-HAVE TECH

NFTs. Why should I care? Last issue, Tabler covered cryptocurrencies, this issue we look at the sector’s most notorious and misunderstood trend, NFTs. Words by Tom Hall. Blockchain technology is what underpins all things crypto, and NFTs are no exception. But how can the technology’s unique possibilities for indelible ownership benefit you? Non-Fungible Tokens are digital items saved to your crypto wallet that guarantee proof of ownership of a unique digital item of interest, sealed permanently on a blockchain, therefore indelibly marking the item as ‘yours’.

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

NFTs reached the public’s consciousness ‘thanks’ to a host of blue check-marked celebrities flaunting their digital ownership of ‘art’ of often dubious quality. Sealing your ownership of a single Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, for example, could easily set you back £500,000 in ETH (Ethereum token) on Opensea (a popular trading platform for NFTs).

Collecting and trading art NFTs is a lot like traditional card collecting, but digital. Traders seek to purchase an item from an art collection they predict will blow up in popularity, thus allowing them to sell it on for monster profits. Artists including Banksy have sold digital items for eye-watering prices, and it’s a trend that doesn’t seem to be letting up, with Marvel, Disney, McDonald’s, etc all on board. Of course, a much-touted criticism is that the art people are claiming ownership of is technically indistinguishable from a JPEG

version of the image. But, just as you can photocopy a David Hockney print, having ‘the original’ or a specially commissioned print is what gives artwork its value. And, as we discussed last issue, ‘value’ is a subjective concept, much like beauty is in the eye of the beholder… or, in this case, the digital simian art work owner. NFT artwork is, however, only one use of the medium. NFTs are increasingly used in blockchain gaming, allowing gamers to own their in-game items (be it a magic axe in a fantasy game, or a plot of land in a metaverse), which have a guarantee of rarity. This may seem innocuous, but it’s part of a wider, multi-trillion dollar, movement broadly known as Web 3.0, which brings ownership of data back into the control of users, instead of multinationals. This is a revolution in that it allows users to trade their data to pre-approved apps, browsers and user-pre-approved digital entities. Meanwhile, music services such as Gala Music (launched by Snoop Dogg earlier this year), are emerging. These allow musicians to benefit by selling NFTs of their music, which the new owner (you if you choose to purchase it) can co-own the rights to, allowing you to profit from streams of said tracks. The future for NFT use is vast, and exciting. Your mortgage, marriage certificates, and

ownership of physical land might soon be stored on blockchains. Indeed, projects like Landshare and Bricks are currently giving crypto holders ownership of physical land via NFTs, allowing them to profit in crypto currency from the rental of real-life properties. In a sense then, the socialist dream of ‘worker co-ops’ is being realised in the most unfettered of capitalist markets, the Wild West of crypto. The indelibility and ‘trustless’ nature of NFTs, meanwhile, will likely, one day allow for seamless interoperability of various services, all while guaranteeing your data and privacy are safe from prying eyes, centralised controls, and corporate entities (again, unless you expressly give your permission). For example, your passport NFT might allow your crypto credit check NFT to be approved… which allows your crypto insurance NFT to be activated… which allows you to purchase a house in real-life, the ownership of which is proven via an NFT. Further down the line, a virtual plan of your new house (probably scanned via your iPhone), might highlight areas of your house that need work (fixing the boiler for example), in the form of NFTs that signify ‘actionable tasks’, which you approve only once the work is done. The currency (Bitcoin?) charged for this transaction would then leave your wallet once you approve the work is complete. So, you see, there’s a lot more to this market’s potential than obnoxious, over-priced apes

You're booked! RBTI E-Club is encouraging Tablers to turn a new page, and join them for a monthly book club

Okay, so reading’s not for everyone, but for those guys out there who have an ambition to up their reading rate and also discuss what they’ve read with like-minded guys (and how much more like minded can you get than a fellow Tabler?), we at RTBI E-Club decided to start an online book club. Every month, we’ll be selecting a category of book to discuss from classics to autobiographies to detective to fantasy to history to horror (maybe not so much romance…) and each month we’ll be circulating a list of books which guys can add to before they all go on a Google Form for guys to vote on, with the most popular being set for review

during a particular month. By doing this we hope to be able to appeal to a larger range of guys and it also means that if you’re just into a particular category you don’t have to stress about reading a whole book every month which, for some of us, can be a challenge. And we’re not paper snobs we’ll not criticise you for using a kindle or even listening to a book. For us, it’s all about the content and what you think about it… which brings me onto the monthly reviews. Given how a) we’re kinda limited by geography and b)

we’re an online club, we’ll be holding our monthly book reviews via an online video conference facility such as Zoom to click off with. And what about the reviews themselves? Worried they’ll just descend into Table catch-ups? Nah – you can join our E-Club for a bit of online banter… for the review session we have lined up a facilitator (in true Table style recommended to us by a fellow Tabler when he first heard about the initiative) who will be guiding us through the discussion. We’re currently running

everything through a Facebook Group at the moment although we’re acutely aware that not everyone is on, or enjoys, using social media so in due course we’ll be looking to post book titles, etc, on a webpage for easier access and we’ll continue to make sure the sessions are on a service such as Zoom, for which you’ll just need a link. We’re looking forward to hearing from you… Regards, Steve

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I dunno about you, but the closer I get to 41 Club age the more I realise I haven’t gotten through half the books I wanted to when I was eligible for Round Table age!

At your leisure

Duck and cover This issue, Tabler gives you the lowdown on cooking a Winter Duck Salad INGREDIENTS

2 duck breasts Small daikon radish 3 red radish 3 spring onions 2 red chillis Hoisin sauce. (You can use sweet and sour if you prefer) Salt Szechuan peppercorns

METHOD STEP 1. Season two duck breasts with crushed Szechuan pepper corns and salt. Place the duck skin side down in a cold frying pan and put on the stove at medium heat. This will render the fat and give us super crispy skin. Once the fat is rendered, turn the breast over for one minute then pop on the grease proof paper and place in the pre heated oven for six minutes, for pink, longer if you wish. STEP 2 Remove from the oven and rest covered in tinfoil for 10 mins. Slice daikon radish, red radish, red chilli, spring onion, and coriander leaves, warm the hoisin sauce over a low heat in a pan and arrange the marinaded Asian slaw on the plate. Once the duck has rested, pour any juice from the plate into the duck sauce and carve the duck into four equal parts and arrange on each plate. Spoon over warm sauce and enjoy.

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

WINTER DUCK SALAD

Smiles for miles THOM YORKE AND JONNY GREENWOOD, THE MUSICAL PIONEERS BEHIND RADIOHEAD, HAVE TEAMED UP WITH SONS OF KEMET DRUMMER TOM SKINNER TO FORM ‘SUPERBAND’, THE SMILE. THE RESULTS ARE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS

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Band: The Smile Venue: Magazine London Date: 30 January, 2022

The hunger for a revival of the UK music scene has been palpable, post-Covid19. The staggered opening of venues and the various restrictions have hampered crowd interaction. Radiohead, who boast universal critical acclaim across their multi-platinum albums over 30 years, would be well placed to usher audiences out of their pandemic slumber. However, following a spate of side projects, the band’s two most-lauded members have joined forces to find freedom outside the expectations their monolithic British rock outfit brings. The Smile’s 12-hour Magazine London

takeover saw three gigs played live and streamed to fans globally from the venue’s mini-amphitheatre, styled in TV-set format. Attendees had only glimpsed the band once, during a Glastonbury live stream. However, that was enough to familiarise gig-goers to the angular, looser arrangements the new band offers. The Smile’s sound harks back loosely to In Rainbows-era Radiohead, with its krautrock leanings, bluesy guitar licks and earworm basslines. It’s clever, catchy, snarling, and room-filling. It manages to be tight and precise, while giving space for indulgent jam-like deviations and tender moments. The musical pedigree of the members was a spectacle in itself, with Greenwood casually playing a harp and a keyboard simultaneously; Skinner doubling as an occasional synth player; and – perhaps most impressively – Yorke’s vocals sounding as if The Bends was recorded yesterday. Lead single You’ll Never Work in Television Again – a punky number that verbally slaps sleazy media industry letches across the chops – was delivered with a riotous energy and bombast that the crowd

and band relished in equal measure. Radiohead unreleased fan favourites Open The Floodgates and Skirting on The Surface, meanwhile, find a fitting home – the former with its world weary crooning, and the latter impressing with its tricky time signatures and haunting synths. Despite the dark themes, the tracks played often feature comical imagery and are delivered with a sense of elation, with tongues firmly in cheeks. The closing cover of Joe Jackson’s It’s Different For Girls, a bouncy pop track with an immediacy that belies its complex rhythms, was all the more enjoyable because it didn’t seem totally out of place. Words by Tom Hall

Travel & events

Time to welcome our overseas friends What is CEETM all about?

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

Well, probably best to start with the CEE bit! CEE stands for Central & Eastern European region, which we in RTBI are a part of. The TM stands for Tabler’s Meeting, a bit like the RTBI annual conference.

Currently, there are nine Round Table organisations in the CEE region, these are: • Austria • Belgium • Germany • Great Britain and Ireland • Hungary • Luxembourg • Moldova • Netherlands • Romania

Each year, these organisations meet to discuss issues surrounding Round Table on a European level. Such agenda items include number of new clubs, number of members, trends, recruiting programs, objectives, membership fees and finances. This meeting is mainly to share lessons learned and future ideas. At CEE meetings there are also discussions about venturing into new European countries where Round Table doesn’t already exist. Oh, and there is entertainment to be had throughout the whole weekend.

Each year, the CEE meeting is held in a different country and this is done in alphabetical order, so with Germany in October 2021, we as Great Britain and Ireland are hosting in October 2022. Where is CEETM 2022? This year, the CEE meeting is being held in Nottingham, from 21st October to 23rd October. Nottingham is pretty central to everyone in RTBI and is a great, famous city to attract our friends from all over Europe and the Rest of the World.

Robin Hood Theme? The theme of the weekend is Robin Hood and all venues are in Nottingham City centre, and why not! Robin Hood is famous all around the world, so why come along and be a merry man in October Should I attend CEETM 2022? Yes!

Please remember that RTBI is the home of Round Table, it is important that we put on a great event and show Round Table outside these shores what we are all about and welcome everyone in Nottingham. What happens on a CEETM weekend? First off, Friday night is a welcome party, this is being held in the Nottingham Council House in Nottingham City centre main square. Medieval theme, food included and most of the beer included. A thing that makes CEETM meetups different is that most food and drinks are included, so although the main ticket price might seem expensive at first glance, it does include a lot. The Friday night is a chance to meet everyone and make new Tabler buddies, then party the night away with live entertainment (and enjoy the thriving Nottingham City nightlife afterwards).

Saturday morning is the AGM, where everything is discussed. This year we have decided to host the CEE meeting in the courts for something a little different. Saturday afternoon, our aim is to keep most of the Tabler’s together and have live entertainment and some surprises. Saturday night is our Ceremonial Banquet (GALA Dinner), this will be a sit down meal with drinks and live entertainment included. During the Banquet, there will be an awards ceremony for the CEE Region Tabler of the Year, Club of the Year, Association of the Year and Service Project of the Year. Is that everything? No not at all, a CEETM has extra activities and tours you can book into during the weekend, these will be announced over the next few months and in the lead up to the event. We do have some surprises and lots of live

entertainment in store for the whole weekend, time to get booked in everyone! What next, International Tabling? This is a great weekend and something very different to the normal RTBI calendar of events, attending this event might expand your ideas as to how Round Table operates around the World, Why not come along and start the Round Table travel addiction from our own back yard, we welcome you to CEETM Nottingham 2022. Where can I learn more and book in? Get in touch with the CEETM team for Nottingham 2022 via Facebook - https:// www.facebook.com/ceetm2022 and book in via www.ceetm.com We look forward to seeing you in Notttingham!

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This will probably be a once in a tablers lifetime event, the next time CEETM will come to the UK will probably be in over 10 years time (as new countries join our CEE region and host CEE meetings). This is on our doorstep, on our patch, in our own backyard, so if you want to meet Tablers from around Europe and the Rest of the World, without having to spend on flights etc, then this event is definitely one for your Round Table experience bucket list.

A new Tabler will hear these magical words every now and again and they will wonder what is NSW?

The Comeback Games, set in the historic city of Lancaster where Northern grit defines the spirit and desire to win.

NSW is a long weekend where Tablers become warriors.

Hosted by Area 34, the upcoming extravaganza will take place in Lancaster between 2–4 September, and see teams battle it out in everything from golf and orienteering to table tennis. Importantly,

It’s a weekend full of friendship comradery and sports, and this year will be extra special as its returns two years as

there will also be plenty of opportunities for participants to enjoy a drink (or two) courtesy of the 'world’s earliest Oktoberfest event' on the Saturday night. Area 34 is also offering Tablers the chance to help out as a marshal – just email bookings@nsw2022.co.uk for information about how to apply.

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What is National Sporting Weekend AKA NSW?

· · · ·

Saturday 3rd September One night accommodation Sports and Games Beer Festival & Awards Night

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BLACK PUDDING PACKAGE · Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September · Two nights accommodation · Sports and Games · Beer Festival & Awards Night · Friday Events (Optional Extra)

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HOTPOT PACKAGE · Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd September · Three nights accommodation · Sports and Games · Beer Festival & Awards Night · Friday Events (Optional Extra)

FRIDAY OPTIONAL EVENTS

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Sports on offer vary

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£60

GOLF Golf is an NSW staple and this year is no different

BATTLEFIELD LIVE

SATURDAY NIGHT

Are you ready to take on the ultimate challenge? Battlefield Live is an authentic combat experience utilising military grade infra-red gaming guns – this is not your average ‘Laser-tag’ This is gaming evolved

Welcome to the world’s earliest Oktoberfest...

· All day (lunch included)

Set at the historic Heysham Golf Club

· All day (lunch included) K BOO

NOW

£60

FRIDAY NIGHT GRAND DAY OUT Located at the iconic Flowerbowl near Garstang, enjoy learning to curl on England’s only Olympic sized curling rink, play crazy golf and relax in the well appointed bar & games area

Once you’re back from your day events, grab yourself a bite to eat before being taken to the internationally renowned ‘Squires’ Snooker, Pool & Sports venue for some friendly competition before heading out to sample Lancaster’s nightlife

Sommer-Beirtag Sommer-Beirtag is a summer version of the world famous ‘Oktoberfest’ and is hosted at the fantastic Lancaster Brewery featuring entertainment from a genuine Oompah band; plenty of Bier; German style street food to line your stomachs & of course the NSW 2022 Awards Presentation. Don’t forget your Lederhosen!

· Entertainment from a genuine Oompah band · First Stein included · German Street Food · NSW 2022 Awards Presentation · Return Transport · Don’t forget your Lederhosen!

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

K BOO

Round Table Family

Dream makers Tabler details a special charity project that Round Table nobly assists, making the lives of poorly children more enjoyable In the late 80s a group of Round Table members decided to make a poorly child’s dream come true. After months of fundraising the first wish was granted, the wish of a trip to Disney! This spurred on more fundraising and more wishes and so Round Table Children’s Wish began. Today we maintain a strong bond with Round Table and its wider family and continue to be very proud to carry the Round Table name. Tablers have done some amazing things to support us, and we hope this continues for many years to come. One of our Wishes… Kaiden’s Wish For a Shopping Trip Kaiden, aged 12 years-old, suffered from relapsed Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects the bones

and surrounding tissues. Despite the regular hospital visits and painful treatments, Kaiden was always smiling. He remained a bubbly outgoing boy who didn’t let anything knock him down. For Kaiden’s wish, he asked for a shopping trip to Smyth’s Toys, Amazon and the Lego Store to buy himself some new toys and games. With Covid19 restrictions in place, we were not able to send Kaiden on an actual shopping trip. However, we were able to treat him to a virtual one! We sent him some vouchers to use online so that he could still have that much deserved shopping spree. We were saddened to recently hear of Kaiden’s passing. His parents have given us their blessing to share his story and show his smiling picture. You can really see just how much this wish meant. So how can you get involved.. Fundraise for us! Whatever you do, however big or small, it all helps, and we couldn’t continue the work we do without your support. As a Table, gather your group together for a Wolf Run! We are now a listed charity on the Wolf Run website so a perfect time to enter your table for the ultimate challenge while raising money for RTCW. We have also agreed that every fifth entry is free. Is your Table full of keen golfers? Enter as a team at our annual Golf Day! This year join us on Friday 5 August at Dudsbury Golf Club in

Ferndown, Dorset. Maybe driving is more your thing? We love it when Tables enter teams on behalf of RTCW for the Skinflint Rally. Or do you have your own event in mind such as hosting a Fun Day or even a Colour Run in your area. Get in touch to find out how we can work together to hold an amazing event all while raising vital funds for poorly children. As individual Tablers, how about asking your place of work or local school to get involved or maybe compete as an individual in run or challenge. Many of the Table family are unaware that we have charity spaces available each year for the UK’s largest events, including the world-

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

Did you know…

Skinflint Kenilw

orth

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Skinflint Metro

famous London Marathon. And with the Virtual London Marathon here to stay you can even complete the 26.2 miles in your area! Furthermore, the Round Table Family have priority on any available spaces!

us to spread awareness of our work as far and wide as possible. Members of Round Table, 41 Club, Ladies Circle and Tangent are often the first to take up this role and we are always looking for more members to add to our list.

Or if running isn’t for you, we have an extensive list of fundraising ideas and suggested events just like #WishWednesday. This is perfect for your place of work, or the local schools within your area. They just need to pick a Wednesday to do something different. Maybe a non-uniform day or fancy dress, or how about going to work in the clothes you really wore on a Zoom call during lockdown? We just ask that everyone who takes part makes a small donation, and don’t forget to include #WishWednesday if sharing your event online.

Thank you…

Become a Round Table Children’s Wish Ambassador Our ambassadors play a vital role in raising our profile by working in partnership with

Thank you to all Round Tables for your continued support. We would like to mention a special thank you to Harpenden Round Table on a fantastic Santa Sleigh total, and for our share of £3,788!! Get in touch… If you would like to discuss anything further, then please contact the fundraising team by emailing fundraising@rtcw.org Also please make sure you and your Tables are following us on our social channels to keep up to date with our latest wishes and fundraising campaigns, just search RTChildrensWish on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Tabler gives a voice to member businesses

www.adam-baggs.com 25% discount for Round Table Members Using Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, I help clients achieve the improvements, changes and goals they most desire in their personal and working lives. With a background in the commercial and corporate world, as well as a passion for endurance sport I work closely with individuals and teams looking to perform at their absolute best. I offer hypnotherapy in Cirencester and online I help with...

www.westnorfolkwebdesign.co.uk Our success comes from the successes we create for our customers. We offer every business an even playing field when it comes to getting online and promoting their services. With a range of affordable packages and 5 star ongoing customer support, if you're starting a new business or looking to grow your current one, speak to us!

www.blackstormbrewery.com/store/ Discount Code: Roundtable10

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The Venue Portfolio look after a number of beautiful outdoor event venues across the UK which work as a perfect blank canvas for weddings and events. We offer no corkage hire options as well as full support to coordinate suppliers and timings during the day so anyone that hires one of our spaces can sit back and take part in the party. Please visit our website to see our list of venues or to find out more about how we work with landowners to enable them to create an income as a host. www.venueportfolio.co.uk hello@venueportfolio.co.uk

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

The Telecoms Audit Bureau provides fixed line, mobile, broadband, leased lines, high definition telephone systems and inbound call solutions to business customers all over Great Britain & Ireland. Massive discounts are available to past and present members of Round Table and Ladies Circle. To find out more, check out www.tariffaudit.com, email sales@tariffaudit.com or call us on 0333 200 4011.

Black Storm Brewery, handcrafted craft beer from the North East, available Nationally. 10% Table Discount from our online Store.

www.skillsarena.com Founded in 2001, Skillsarena specialise in enabling the consistent measure of people’s skills, knowledge and personality. We provide you with access to a secure online platform that enables you to measure hundreds of skills, knowledge or personality. Anybody within an organisation can purchase access, from global HR teams, to individual managers of small businesses. You can use our prebuilt assessments or engage the team to create bespoke assessments or convert existing paperbased assessments to online. Skillsarena provide a effective way to verify and evidence a individual’s ability, giving you the confidence to employ, manage and train.

Makers of bespoke and personalised homewares, gifts and furniture. Delice Designs started with my partners obsession with Pinterest and finding things for me to make. After sharing these on social media I soon realised that there was a market for beautiful homemade items that are personal to every customer.

Enquiries: +44 203 693 2201

www.delicedesigns.co.uk

Specialising in using reclaimed timber we can create unique items that are as functional as they are exquisite and will be a talking point for any visitors. Some items are available on our Etsy shop but we can also work on commissions to suit your space and style.

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

Capture House

We attract more people to your business by making it look incredible and by creating powerful content that resonates with your ideal customers.

Hashtag Golf Travel www.hashtaggolftravel.com 01371 483444 Hashtag Travel Group www.hashtagtravelgroup.com 01371 483444 Hashtag Travel provides a straightforward, one-stop shop for luxury tailor-made holidays, golf breaks or corporate events. The team is highly experienced, knowledgeable, professional and friendly with the emphasis being on providing peerless personal service from start to finish, ensuring 100% satisfaction and an unbeatable holiday experience. Whether it’s a Eurotunnel crossing or an Around The World cruise, we have the expertise to guide you.

Capture House is proud to have worked with some of the largest brands in the world including Red Bull, Subway, Unilever, Silverstone Circuit and Cadbury delivering photography, videography, design and web design services. Our content creation helped Great Dunmow Round Table create the largest independent soapbox race in the UK in less than two years. If you want to grow your business and create something you’re proud of, we would love to help. Discover how we can help you here: www.capturehouse.co.uk

www.threatpoint.co.uk

www.badgerecologywales.co.uk Badger Ecology Wales LTD are experts in artificial sett construction and sett closures, and we work closely with numerous construction companies offering advice and project management in terms of wildlife and licenses as part of our role. We have a good understanding of project management methods and time planning in regards to the construction industry. My team is made up of highly experienced wildlife professionals who have a wide range of knowledge of badgers, their habitats, and relocation options. Our team also includes a Veterinary Surgeon with over ten years of experience in disease management, who is fully trained to provide biosecurity advice and advise on disease mitigation. All staff are fully trained and insured, and our badger vaccinators are LANTRA qualified.

Supplying all your favourite Wines and Prosecco at trade prices direct to your door locally and now all over the UK. Keep Dry January at bay or give yourself a treat to help you get through home schooling, say cheers with Hidden Vines UK. We also organise bespoke ONLINE Wine and Cheese tastings with Family & Friends thanks to the power of Zoom! For more details call 07870 890975 Find us on Facebook at Hidden Vines UK and read our customer reviews.

A corporate event company covering conferences, training days and incentives. We can take care of all elements of your event from venue finding to delegate management as well as being there on site to make sure everything runs to plan. With over 15 years experience in event management, we are able to walk the fine line between planning all details of the event to the smallest levels and dealing with any issues that crop up on the day. If you would like to know more about how we may be able to support your event, please email derek@ theeventsexecutive.com or call 07792 140311. www.theeventsexecutive.com

Cannon PR’s approach to public relations is all about delivering results. We are an unashamedly small, independent company, which benefits from significant experience of delivering PR support services to a range of organisations, ranging from ownermanaged businesses to some of Britain's best known brands. Whether utilising news-based websites, blogs, podcasts, broadcast media or traditional print media outlets, we apply fresh thinking to each client brief and every news story we put together, ensuring each press release produced helps to build credibility, authenticity and authority. We provide special rates for members of Round Table. Give us call find out how we can help your business to grow! For more details, call: 01709 321585 or email: matthew@cannonpr.co.uk

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

Give 2021 a taste of Italy with Hidden Vines UK

41 Club Glen Lyon - 41 Club National Membership & Round Table Liaison Officer It has been a busy couple of months on the 41 Club membership front, and I am trying to get round all the new 41 Clubs we have affiliated to the association over the past three years.

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I did find time, however, for fun and fellowship at the 41Club NSSW (National Sporting and Social Weekend) at the beginning of February. Here, 80 odd (some very odd) 41ers participating in Golf, Rifle & Pistol Shooting, 10 pin Bowling, go-karting, darts and other activities.

We were even joined on the Saturday evening by some Round Tablers from Okehampton, with whom we shared a beer or three, watched the rugby and had a good old chat. We also had some great news that another 41 club is looking at assisting some young guys in their town to phoenix their Round Table… hopefully more news on this next time.

As 41 Club AGM is in a few weeks this will probably be my last article... but then again maybe not. Yours in Continued Friendship

Glen

Paul's Ball

TABLER MAGAZINE * SPRING 2022

From The Knight Before The Ball in The Fossgate Tap to The Knight’s Knees Up Ball at the Merchant Adventurers Hall. The first weekend of March was an epic opportunity for Tablers to gather and reconnect in the beautiful city of York.

Tabler Magazine - Spring 2022

Articles inside

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