Tabler Magazine Winter 2022 / Spring 2023

DAVID COULTHARD MBE:

talks business, parenting, charity and motivation DRAKE AND TAYLOR SWIFT: still dominating, but for how long?

WHY THE METAVERSE NEEDS TO SYNC WITH REALITY

OFFICER

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

DEPUTY EDITOR Tom Hall (www.newwordorder.org.uk)

DESIGNER

Clare Ferris (clar3ferris@gmail.com)

Gents,

Welcome to the 2022/2023 winter/ spring edition. It’s another bumper crop of fantastic and inspiring Tabling stories as well as some fascinating external content.

January is always a fantastic time to reflect on the excellent work undertaken at fireworks and on sleighs across the country. Huge amounts have been raised - not to mention all the smiles created. Well done for all your amazing work. Enjoy this issue and keep an eye on Tuesday Tabler as there were a few stories we simply didn’t have time to include.

Rubbernecking 2022

and present members to celebrate recent successes and compare how things were done differently in their day…

RTBI were the proud hosts of CEETM in Nottingham in October which brought Tablers from across Europe together against a backdrop of medieval fun and games. Ray and his committee did an epic job with a number of National Presidents commenting to me that they would have been proud to have hosted the event.

King’s first remembrance day.

Santa sleigh a number of Tables on the streets as we did what we do best in our communities; bringing people together and fundraising.

As I reflect on the last 6 months, I know January to May 2023 has a lot to live up to!

There have been so many events to reflect upon I’m sure I’ll forget some! Raz and his team did an epic job in organising an NSW in Lancaster which was the first since Aberdeen in 2019.

I attended the RTI World Meeting in Copenhagen with an RTBI delegation of around 22 which was the biggest in many years. I also attended a number of Charter dinners in Surrey, Bournemouth and Bristol, which are always fantastic as they allow past

A number of Tablers across the country took part in the Lost Hours Walk on behalf of CALM to further raise awareness of mental health. A notable mention must be extended to Daniel White, Andrew Norris and others who walked from Marchesi House to the National Arboretum in Lichfield to raise funds. They smashed their target and battered their feet!

Fireworks season was back with a bang (sorry). A number of Tables were able to put on their first event since pre COVID and they were warmly welcomed back into their communities. At the last count we had 110 events with over 716,000 attendees and raised in excess of £2.5 million. A truly awesome amount of money. I was privileged to provide the countdown at Mendip’s display which was really well organised and supported by the local towns.

I had the huge honour of leading a RTBI group at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday to lay a wreath alongside members from 41 Club, Ladies Circle and Tangent. A truly humbling day to walk alongside veterans and be part of history on the

And just like that, the first half of the Table year has passed and what a six months it has been.

Inspiring individuals

About David Coulthard

David Marshall Coulthard MBE (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland (competing 1994-2008). His first season at Williams saw him succeeding the late Ayrton Senna. In his 15 seasons of Formula 1 he took 13 Grand Prix victories and 62 podium finishes. He was runner-up in the 2001 championship, driving for McLaren.

Coulthard later turned presenter, commentator, journalist and businessman. He co-founded television production company Whisper TV as well as Velocity Experience in 2017 with Guy Horner: a motorsportsfocused events agency that delivers live event productions for the likes of Formula 1, W Series, Extreme E amongst other motorsport brands. In 2019, he was elected president of the British Racing Drivers' Club (owner of Silverstone Circuit).

DAVID COULTHARD MBE: MOTIVATION, THE METAVERSE, AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Despite a stellar Formula 1 career, David Coulthard MBE tells Tabler that his business ventures – which span events, television and recently the metaverse – have been his real life challenge

Was forging a career in business part of your plan early on?

I knew at 14 I’d be a Formula 1 driver, and that after that I’d work in television, and I knew that because my dad told me so. I was watching the BBC greats from an early age talking Formula 1: James Hunt, Murray Walker, for example.

My father, who was a Scottish karting champion, was always looking ahead, and told me that I should move to Monaco when

I get out of F1 as I’d only have a ten-year career as a driver.

How did you get into the world of events and television?

I knew that television could be done better, and my broadcasting company Whisper was born out of that desire. Meanwhile, I’d been going to events all my life. Some were good, some were average, and I was motivated to do things better, with a motorsport focus in mind – which is how Velocity was born. Initially I was looking to handle events as a division of Whisper, but I realised we were television people, not events and that wouldn’t be a good route.

I knew (Velocity Experience’s parent company) TBA Group director Guy Horner

through his brother ex-driver Christian Horner OBE. So I knew of TBA’s work in events and we decided to partner and focus on motorsports and start Velocity.

TV and motorsport were the world that I lived in throughout my life. I did some filming recently and it was everything I hate about the process: too many faffers, inefficient and costly for the client. It reminded me of my approach to not just improving television, but business.

At Velocity we’re like an F1 team, but for events. Our client services director Camilla Hessey has an F1 background, with over 15 years’ experience in global activation programme management for organisations including Williams F1 and Red Bull. We’re all hands on deck at all times. No one says “it’s not my role”, it’s all of our role to deliver to the client.

As I know from my family business’ background running a 107-year-old transport company, the business kept growing because we focused on the client first. In the end, delivery is about understanding client needs and demands, nothing is off the radar. It’s about time and focus.

Keeping up with innovation is also vital, but at the same time, at Velocity, we’re bringing experiences with real value and resonance. It's about working with the right people, and a perfect example of this is TBA Group’s recent partnership with Virtual Brand Group (VBG) to offer our clients the opportunity to extend their experience beyond the physical and into the metaverse. It’s about broadening the options for fan zone experiences and it’s going to be fascinating to see Velocity’s brand experiences with VBG in the future, thanks to this incredible partnership.

Your father was a big influence on you, how do you motivate others?

I recently did a talk in Berlin for an investment firm, and mentioned how sport teaches us the continual pursuit of marginal gains. But ultimately people can quote as many cliches as they like, but you also have to get on and actually do it.

It’s about being useful. In my Whisper role in Montreal, as well as my management duties, I'll happily put the kettle on and make tea for everyone. While they’re busy creating things using video and design software, I realise I can’t do those aspects.

I’ve come to realise, in business, you can have a group of intelligent individuals, but that’s not a team. You need people who will be able to get on with a job in hand and support each other.

I was at McLaren for nine seasons. The car wasn’t as competitive, which meant I had to dig deep, and my teammates did too, but I just cannot take it overly seriously today. It was only sport, but I was being paid millions to do it. Today I find business much more rewarding. F1 was the most important thing in my life, it had my full focus and no matter what team you have, you have to overcome things yourself. You have psychologists around you, but it all stops with the individual when it comes to the role of actually driving the car itself.

Do you pass these lessons on to your son?

It’s about work ethic, I tell my son – who is involved in karting – we can’t drive the car for you. How you deal with disappointment, and position the kart is up to him. He still needs to go out and do it.

You either have the commitment or you don’t, and that’s regardless of the era you’re in. You can always train harder, that’s just the reality.

There are certain realities to any role, whether in sport of business. The Formula 1 season runs from March until September, so anyone looking to work in this industry must be prepared to commit their time during this period, just like a professional Olympian must focus intently around and during the period of their competition.

Round Table is deeply involved in charitable pursuits, as you know. Tell us about your third sector work?

I’m an ambassador for Wings For Life: a spinal research foundation. My opportunity came from the founder of Williams, quadriplegic Frank Williams. I spent a lot of time with him seeing first-hand the amount of resources it took to support his life, but fortunately he had the financial capability to afford this.

I knew at 14 I’d be a Formula 1 driver, and that after that I’d work in television, and I knew that because my dad told me so.

I can now announce a new initiative, >= More Than Equal, which is run by myself and Czech philanthropist Karel Komarek. We’re creating a platform to encourage girls around the ages of six, seven and eight years old to get into F1 and develop the key skills for success so by the time they reach their teenage years, they have the talent to go far. We hope to encourage, more young girls who will go on to become women in racing. It’s about skill though, and you must be more talented than Lewis or Max, but there must be equal opportunity.

We have a number of key people in everything from fitness, driver coaching, and psychology to sponsorship and talent

spotters and we’re purely not for profit. My drive in all this is that boys don’t need any more help in motor racing. My sister, Lynsay, who passed away, had the talent at a young age and missed the opportunity because of me. I say ‘because of me’ because back then the whole family was focused on me because I was signed by Jackie Stewart and became the Williams test driver and it meant our family was always focussed on my success instead of supporting her, and I’ve always regretted that. This initiative devotes my time, money and effort to try and put a smile on the face of people like my sister in future.

The more women we have as professionals in motorsport, the better. Look at the results of

[all-female single-seater racing championship] W Series so far. We have Naomi Schiff working in broadcasting as a direct result of W, and Alice Power working with Channel 4. Elsewhere Jess Hopkins is an ambassador for Aston Martin.

Velocity has been working with W Series down the years too, delivering the new touring structure for its hospitality for guests, drivers and their teams.

It’s been great supporting women in F1, and we certainly put our money where our mouth is, but there have been critics.

Michael Masi didn’t support W and said it was ‘discrimination’. I said: “You continue to do what you do and, like the boys, if they are not good enough, they won’t get chosen.”

Are there any bugbears in F1 that you’d like to see change?

F1 inevitably lays down technical regulations, which through creative energy or good luck some will exploit better than others. It’s now Mercedes, and before that McLaren, before that Williams. Motor

Focus: Coulhard’s agency Velocity

For the much-anticipated Formula 1 British Grand Prix, the Velocity Experience team delivered a huge variety of fan, guest and sponsor experiences at Silverstone Circuits Ltd.

The agency created a multi-purpose hospitality experience on the front lawn of the Aston Martin F1 Team factory, and hosted seven different events across three days connecting

racing has taught me that you can be successful in any industry if you have the right group of people.

F1 is trying to engage differently nowadays. The ‘Netflix effect’ has helped. When Liberty took over, they looked to drive down the age of the average fan, and looked at how to bring the teams together to be more sustainable and cost effective. The Concorde Agreement [which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races] distributed finances better, bringing in a cost cap not available in the past. It made the paddock a lot more accessible and improved fan engagement.

F1 must remain the fastest form of close circuit racing. The public want the best. People want good and close racing, but don’t want to see domination. We need a

fans, sponsors, partners and drivers.

For MATCH Hospitality AG and The BRDC, Velocity curated each of the hospitality spaces with a full entertainment programme containing a mix of driver appearances, interviews and music. Each of the programmes was designed to provide guests with the ultimate on-track experience.

Over in the Support Paddock, partners, guests, teams, and drivers immersed themselves in the world of W Series.

meritocracy, but it needs to be accessible.

What I would change, however, is tyre manufacturer domination. We have chassis competition, fuel competition, driver competition and yet we have a single tyre manufacturer. I admire Pirelli, but it takes away one element of variability. They can already write the press release about winning the tyre crown today.

When I was in the business you had circuits that suit Bridgestone, Michelin etc, but right now we can predict a lot because the basics of the competition is decided, but tyre competition would change that. It would increase costs for tyre manufacturers, but that would push innovation and with limited testing you wouldn’t drive up the competition for teams.

Alongside Velocity’s European WHQ, the agency had a full hospitality offering where guests could relax in front of the big screen, take a photo in front of the podium with championship trophy, or jump on the simulators and set their fastest lap of Silverstone Circuit.

The atmosphere at Silverstone was unbeatable and what a race to end a fantastic weekend!

What’s your background?

I grew up in Mumbai and when I came to the UK, I did my postgraduate in Hospitality and Communication and studied for five years, learning everything from nutrition to the more practical uses of food.

How did you get into cooking?

My mum got me into cooking, and from an early age I was enjoying the atmosphere of the kitchen and the fire. Coming from India, you have 29 states with different ingredients and spices and flavours, so when I came over to the UK, I met different people, learnt about new cuisines, and started working in restaurants.

ADVENTUROUS CUISINE

Searcys

My biggest dream was to travel on the ships and the shipping lines, but I had a fear of water, so took a step back and thought ‘what if I go to the UK and get a higher education?’. The UK seemed like a great place, and when I got here, the cultures were all new to me – it was a whole new start.

My first job was at the Wolsey doing large numbers. It was very different from what I was used to. We had 72 chefs in the kitchen, and a constant buzz. Then

I moved to hotels, with Hilton Group and Principal London. I went up to demi chef level and understood how the same recipes can be made into different blends.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt?

The most important thing I learnt whilst working around people it to understanding them, as everyone has a different way of presenting themselves. It’s vital to work well with people around you and learn from them. I trained at the Le Meridien hotel, front and back of house, so I understood how the whole place operates. That helps me understand every purpose and perspective. It helped me be the person I am today.

How did you start working for Searcys?

I started working for Searcys after a call from a respected colleague offering me the role of sous chef. I trained, moved

Meet Clifton Desouza from

up to senior sous chef and wanted to continue to make strides in The Barbican. Then, when the head chef left, I was the ideal person for the job.

I’m now executive chef, but the pressure is the same. I have a bigger overview of the team and have learnt about the management and financial side. As a head chef you get stuck in one place, whereas an executive you see everything.

In the Barbican's Bonfire restaurant, on a busy day you can do 180 covers, at Osteria (our fine-dining option) you might do 100. Bonfire is more hipster and casual, whereas upstairs it’s all different now and its had a great refurbishment.

Long term I want to work with my team and people, learning stories and helping them deal with the pressure in the kitchen. I want to help others step up and provide opportunities in chef development. Inspiration keeps me going.

What do you cook when alone?

My personal style of cooking is simple, fresh and the food must speak for itself. Yes, I do love Michelin style presentation, but sometimes simple is better. My favourite food is Chinese. I love noodles, dim sum etc. If I get an opportunity to go to Japan and China and see the street food that would be great.

table news

Remembrance Service at the Arboretum

Each year, whilst the Round Table Family Presidents collectively represent our movement at the National Cenotaph in London for the annual Remembrance Day service, the Immediate Past Presidents attend the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, in particular the area of the Round Table Family Memorial to pay similar respects.

Many Tablers are unaware that the Round Table Family Memorial even exists nor that this special occasion takes place here every year, organised by members of 41 Club, locally and nationally.

‘Suited and booted’, I met my fellow RT Family IPP’s in the breath-taking grounds of

the Arboretum to take part in the initial, and much larger, service.

We stood alongside thousands of veterans, serving personnel and members of the public eager to pay their respects at the base of the Armed Forces Memorial. As the time approached 11am, without anyone asking or making a gesture, we all fell silent to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in service of our country.

As the service proceeded, it struck me how beautiful and different this was from any other Remembrance service I have ever attended. Whilst surrounded by hundreds of individual memorials to regiments, squadrons, fleets and campaigns, we were also in attendance with an amazing eclectic mix of others.

Biker leathers, mums and dads with children on their shoulders, family members honouring lost ones with historic medals, joggers fresh from their morning run – everyone welcome, everyone joined in unison to show their respects.

As the initial service concluded, those with a connection to the Round Table Family, moved on to the RT Family obelisk. My confession being it was the first time I had visited the impressive memorial. An intimate service was presided over by 41 Club VP, Stephen James, with all 4 IPPs making their contribution.

For me, this part of the day, allowed me to take some time to remember those Tablers who I have met over the years who are no longer with us and those who lost their lives last year during my Presidential time. The peace and tranquillity of the environment created a perfect atmosphere for appropriate reflection and solace.

There were a number of Tablers who had likewise made the journey along with Circlers, 41 Club and Tangent members. I sincerely hope that that this is a start of a new Round Table tradition and each year more and more members attend as it is genuinely worth the trip. I will definitely be back.

All fore! A good course

So there I was, an Eighteen Stone early thirty-year-old Tabler taking part in the Children’s Wish Golf day two years ago when I was approached by the team to see if I fancied getting involved in more challenges. I said why not ... so they offered me a place for the London Marathon. (note: I have run London twice before and this would be my ninth maratahon).

A few days later I was sent the registration form and that was it - let the training and fundraising commence.

The easiest part of the challenge was the fundraising as I simply put my JustGiving page on the bottom of my emails at work and seeing as I send on average over 150 emails a day the donations started coming in from colleagues, clients and third parties.

Safe in the knowledge that I was going to achieve my fundraising target my attention turned to my training. I was already a member of the local gym and thought I had plenty

of time to shed some weight and build up some miles. I had every good intention and started well - to the point where I entered a 10km.

After the 10km I had an influx of work and being self employed training went on the back burner and before I knew it we were at the start of the 16 week training programme, which I managed to follow for about ten days again, training went on the back foot.

The next thing I realised, it was the weekend of the main event – of sh!t.

At the start we had our photos and that was it off we went to our respective start areas. I was full of nerves, excitement and many other emotions... and thinking it is to late to back out now. Too many people have supported me including my fellow Table Members of 133 New Milton who sponsored me £863… I have to get this done.

Sean Reeves from New Milton 133 reflects on a race well run - but

questions whether a little more training would have helped.

I finally crossed that start line and I felt good, all my training or lack thereof was paying off. I decided I was simply going to sit back and enjoy the moment and whatever happens I will be getting to that finish line. After a moment of inspiration I decided every three miles or so I would do a Facebook live as I was not going to be doing a PB. As the race went on you can see from the Facebook lives the many different emotions I went through.

Yes, I made Tower Bridge an iconic mark and stopped for a couple of cheeky photos and then BANG that was it, at the half way point I hit the wall! I was like - "holy cow I am done for". My pace dropped off, my legs felt like I was carrying a ton on each but I kept going. One foot in front of the other I got to the cheer station and saw the team which was a huge boost.

Then back to the grind, one foot in front of the other and the crowds were slowly disappearing so by the time I got to the grandstand and the finish lines there were no crowds but I made it in 7 hours 30. Granted it was not a blistering pace but that does not matter I completed the London Marathon with little to no training weighing eighteen stone and at last count I have raised over £3,000 for the Children’s Wish Charity.

CALM's lost hours walk

presentations online

and face to face.

During an online workshop, myself and Andrew Norris (Redditch 181) asked what campaigns or events CALM had that we could get involved in. They mentioned that in a little under three weeks' time they were hosting their campaign called the Lost Hours Walk.

After the workshop myself and Andrew Norris put our heads together and started to plan two small walks around Lichfield and Redditch. A few days later and we had an idea. Following on from Ash and Emily Gardner's inspirational walk we decided to do the same and start at Marchesi

House.

All that was left was to decide where we were going. I had a thought. When I first moved to Lichfield, I visited the National Memorial Arboretum where we have a RT family Remembrance Garden. Perfect! Only 18 miles in the car. Can't be that much further to walk we thought...... How wrong was I?

After a quick discussion with Mr President, Matt Fallon, we had the backing to push it out to all Tables. And team Round Table Great Britain and Ireland landed on CALM’s JustGiving page. 5 Round Table members and my partner Harriet Raymont of Lichfield LC

106 signed up for the Marchesi House - National Memorial Arboretum walk... Members of Penkridge Roundtable undertook a family orientated, Lost Hours Walk on their Fun Run route. And Mr President walked with his family in and around Bath. We reached out to Fiona Bull, President of Ladies Circle and Jim Conway, 41 Club President to Assist. Fiona jumped on board and provided a support car full of blister packs, water and snack , Jim pledged to join us along the route.

The day arrived and we drove to Marchesi House at 04:30 to find ourselves strapping our feet ready to embark on the “22-mile”

Journey at 5am.

Point 1 - approx. Mile 5, Our first stop came and went. A little sketchy under the spaghetti junction but we were on our way in good spirits even if the rain had come and drenched us all.

Point 4 and a much-needed sock swap and re strapping of feet. Who knew walking on flat ground would start to give you blisters? Well, we were prepared.

By point 7, we had walked over 12 miles and, approaching the half way point the weather had stayed dry and cool. Moral and team spirit was still high. Why wouldn’t they be when we realised we had just hit Over £1,000 in donations and had been joined by Tablers and Circlers to help us along the way.

Approaching Lichfield a stop at McDonalds was needed. Greeted By Jim Conway, “Burgers were on Jim”.

A vital stop awaited us at a Tabler owned pub where we were greeted by even more support from Tablers, Circlers, Jim Conway and Past RTBI President Richard Holland. A last change of strapping and socks and we hit the road once again.

By Dan White.. Matt Fallon’s chosen charity this year is CALM (Campaign

Against Living Miserably) who are supporting RTBI with

6.8 miles to the National Memorial Arboretum and Google had got it wrong. We were going to be walking closer to 26 miles (plus some).

Approaching the junction for the Arboretum Paul Rhodes was greeted by his wife and children who all day had been texting him messages of support and implied that they would see him at home. We turned into the car park to be met with eager awaiting family members, Tablers, Circlers, a round of applause and a quick photo at the entrance. We consoled and congratulated each other on walking 27.72 miles.

We all walked Side by Side, with Andrew Norris proudly carrying a wreath to the 41 Club Garden within the National Memorial Arboretum. We were clapped and cheered by staff and members of the public on our way to the finish. At the Memorial. Andrew Norris approached me and said I should have the honour of laying the wreath on behalf of all of us.

After 27.72 miles, 55,340 steps, 5,489 calories burnt, sore legs, blistered feet and over £1,200 raised it echoed the whole reason why we joined this campaign.

Every year we lose on average three members of Table, past and present to suicide. And every year over 50 families within the RT family associations are affected either directly or indirectly through losing someone to suicide.

We laid a yellow flowered wreath that symbolises Suicide Awareness. A wreath we collectively carried with us through the journey. A wreath that reminded us of why we were doing this walk for CALM.

On behalf of the six of us, I would like to publicly thank everyone who donated, offered kind words of encouragement, met us along the way and who walked with us. United we stand against suicide.

Daniel White (Barry 516), Andrew Norris (Redditch 181), Paul Rhodes (Redditch 181) Chris Albutt (Lichfield 250), Pete Biggins (City of Newport 15) and Harriet Raymont (Lichfield Ladies Circle 106).

125 people take their own lives every week in the UK. We walked to send the message that that’s not okay. We walked for the brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, partners, and friends we’ve lost. We walked against suicide.

CALM’S helpline took 157,310 calls and webchats in 2021. Taking on the Lost Hours Walk will help CALM continue to be there, for anyone who’s struggling. Every walk raises vital funds for their life-saving helpline and webchat, helping them to be there for anyone who needs them.

CALM’S Helpline is open 365 days a year from 5pm to Midnight

0800 58 58 58 www.thecalmzone.net

Hike & BikeHaworth 2023

March 24-26, 2023 is a big date for Tablers, here’s why?

Hike & Bike is a great event, which sees 100+ competitors across 25 teams taking part in a weekend of hiking, biking, socialising, and a few beers along the way. It is organised by Area 9 Round Tables from Yorkshire and is open to teams from all clubs of the Round Table Family.

After a great event in Castleton in 2021 we're heading to a brand-new destination - HAWORTH in West Yorkshire, in the heart of Area 9.

Accommodation will be provided at the spacious and 4 star rated YHA Haworth and we will have exclusive use of the site for the weekend.

At just £130 for your accommodation and all meals as a competitor (or £99 to come and marshal) all you need to remember are your walking boots, a bike (or hire one locally) and some beer money. It really is great value and always a memorable weekend.

Tickets are ON SALE now and can be purchased from: https://yorkshireroundtable. co.uk/hike-and-bike/ Be quick, as there is a strict limit on numbers!

Racing Times

success

A charity race night is an event where all attendees can experience the thrill of being at the races without having to set foot on a racecourse.

Dublin Round Table's Charity Race Night was organised in aid of the St, John Cancer Ward at Crumlin Children's Hospital. Over 110 people attended the event on Thursday 17th November, at McGrattan's Pub.

Through generous contributions and donations from sponsors, donors, and attendees, we raised €10,000 for the cause. The Attendance included six visiting international Tablers, all who enthusiastically took part in the event. It was a huge success, and each and every one of us had a great time, while improving our relationship and trust with the community.

CHI, Crumlin receives on-going support under the

Children's Health Foundation umbrella and what better way to collect funds than to host a fun activity that gets the community around us involved, where everyone comes together to have fun and also donate to charity. The Table was proud to organise such an event and is already working on the next one!

Round Table 203 Dublin got together and organised a charity race night, and it was another Table

story...

Ashby de la Zouch –remembered after 43 years

Meet the Roundtable getting themselves heard?

Recently we received an enquiry from a lady who lives in Ashby de la Zouch. Her friend was the 50th child to be given a hearing aid in 1980 by the Sounds out of Silence committee.

Ashby Round Table worked with the Sounds of Silence Committee and were directly responsible for raising £1,200 (equivalent to £5,719.48 today) to give one 8-year-old girl the gift of hearing. At the time the average weekly earning for a man over 21 was £101.30 / week, so this technology would have been out of reach for most families.

After 43 years, that little girl (now 51!) remembers the kindness and hard work those men put into supporting her in increasing her quality of life.

Tony York, the Table Chairman, pictured, is no longer with us but the memory of what he did to help his

community resonates today. Never forget, small acts of kindness can have a lifelong impact on someone. The people we help today are the potential Circlers and Tablers of the future.

What is a hearing aid and how does it work?

A hearing aid has three basic parts: a microphone, amplifier, and speaker. The hearing aid receives sound through a microphone, which converts the sound waves to electrical signals

and sends them to an amplifier. The amplifier increases the power of the signals and then sends them to the ear through a speaker.

FIREWORKS 2022

Cheltenham

The 2022 Cheltenham Round Table Fireworks Extravaganza was a great success as the event sold out.

A total of 12,000 tickets were sold and they managed to raise over £50,000 for local charities. This is a testament to all of the hard work from the members of Cheltenham Round Table and all of the volunteers that helped on the evening from 41 Club, Rotary, Samaritans and Scouts. They are rightfully e are incredibly proud of what we have achieved and they hope their success continues in 2023.

Downham market

Downham Market

542 put on an amazing display this year, with fire breathers, a new stage and lighting setup, and the best fireworks display they ever produced. They put in all the hard work and effort making their online presence more visible, and pushed as hard as they could before the event. This resulted in record attendances with an estimated 5,000 plus people and they smashed their profits, raising almost 22k after all costs. That is unbelievable, as their previous best was 10k. They have already started planning for 2023 to keep the trend going upwards. Thanks to those from Area 6 who came and helped on the night.

exeter

Exeter Round Table's fireworks display (the 39th) was held at Westpoint Arena display and the theme was a celebration of the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2. The stunning display was held in front of a sold out crowd of 6,000 people with profits of circa £35,000 with half of those profits to be donated to their event partner Devon Air Ambulance Trust.

Nuneaton & bedworth

Once again Nuneaton 136 with the help of Bedworth Lions, delivered two fantastic bonfire and firework displays in the boroughs of Nuneaton & Bedworth.

Despite the weather, false reports of event cancellations and advertising banners being removed, this year saw high attendance at both events and promoted Nuneaton Round Table for what it does best!

They received lots of positive feedback on the night and managed to raise just over £24,000. This much needed money will be donated to charities and organisations across the Nuneaton and Bedworth area.

A great achievement from all involved, this was the first large event for a number of their newer tablers and it’s left them with a real sense of accomplishment!

They can’t wait to start making next year’s event ever better!

Watch this space.

SSFAA, putting mental health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do

Why do our Armed Forces and veterans need a little extra help? Well, whilst it is every individual’s choice to serve their country in this way, being part of the Forces can sometimes throw some pretty big curveballs.

Families are often moved, either to a different part of the country, or even abroad every couple of years, meaning a physical disconnect from family and friends’ support networks. Because of the physical nature of many roles, the likelihood of injury and even death is higher than a ‘normal’ job. And there is no denying the mental health challenges faced by service people who have been on tour (seen active service).

There are also long

periods of separation for families even when there are not active campaigns; Units regularly go away on training exercises and don’t see their families for months at a time. It’s not an easy life… but someone has to do it, and often issues manifest after a serving person has left, so supporting veterans is equally vital to supporting

those currently in service.

SSAFA’s structure is much the same as the Round Table. We have a national network of branches who support service people and veterans in their local areas.

Local branches have their own requirements,

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, assists all service persons, veterans and their families in their times of need.

SSAFA beneficiary children on a Short Break in the Lake District 2022

depending on regional need. For example, some areas currently have a particular high need for food vouchers because of the increase in the cost of living. Other areas have serving families with extra childcare needs, or young single soldiers suffering depression because they are a long way from home for the first time in their lives.

SSAFA is a much larger charity than you might think and, nationally, SSAFA has many different remits – from assisting service families in adopting a child, to support groups; our ‘Bereaved Support Group’ is for anyone in the family unit who has suffered a bereavement of a veteran or serving Armed Forces person.

The ‘Military Families Affected by Suicide’ support group is for anyone in the family unit who have been affected by the loss of a loved one through suicide and the ‘Injured and Sick Personnel Support Group’ is for the spouse/partner/parent or carer of Armed Forces personnel who have been wounded or suffered an injury, or sickness.

We send military families who have children with additional needs on group activity holidays, giving them the chance to meet friends and have a supported holiday together as a family. We support Veterans in the Criminal Justice System and their families with in-reach workers.

Every local branch throughout the UK requires financial support and also volunteers. SSAFA, along with most charities, lost many volunteers throughout Covid and is struggling to replace them. From Mentoring (assisting service persons through their journey out of the Armed Forces) to Case Working (looking after veterans in the community), volunteering for SSAFA is a fulfilling way of spending some free time.

As you can see, SSAFA looks after all Armed Forces families in their time of need. If you would like to assist in any way, please contact Simon McNeillRitchie, who will be able to advise you on the best way to do so: simon.mcneill-ritchie@ssafa.org.uk

SSAFA Mentors recently attended the SSAFA Mentoring Wellbeing Conference in Oxford. Wellbeing and resilience, for both mentors and their clients are the very top priority for SSAFA.

Jack and Darren – Case Worker and Client

“Families are often moved, either to a different part of the country, or even abroad every couple of years, meaning a physical disconnect from family and friends’ support networks.”

Announcement

:: You guys are awesome!

RTCW

Table!!

Firstly, we have more ‘wish’ stories to share that have only been made possible from the fantastic efforts of Round Table and the wider family.

First up meet Amber, a happy little girl who loves shopping and makeup. She was originally diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumour, at the age of just 5. This meant she went through surgery, proton beam therapy in Germany and then chemotherapy.

Sadly, Amber has relapsed with a new tumour following a routine MRI and unfortunately this in inoperable.

Amber wished for an iPad as her current one had seen better days. She has a real love for art, drawing and colouring so the iPad is well suited to her needs.

Unfortunately, Amber has deteriorated quite quickly

since the granting of the wish, the family are taking things day by day and spending time together making memories.

It’s stories like these that make what you do so vital!

Things like one of our main fundraisers, the London Marathon! And just like past London Marathon Events, Round Table members past and

present stood up to the 26.2 mile challenge to complete the iconic route and smash fundraising targets!

This year we had Sean Reeves of New Milton 133, Glen Perkins of Hunstanton 615 plus international Tabler from Round Table 199 Wijchen The Netherlands, Bart Verploegen. As well as past Round Table members

Chris Hoyle and Ian Folks-Smith. Once again it was a fantastic event in our capital where our runners started the weekend as strangers, and left as a team.

Fancy joining us? Join #TeamRTCW for either the 2023 or 2024 event! It’s a quick turnaround for the 2023 marathon with it being moved back to its usual April date however we do have limited spaces available if you are ready to go! Or register your details now for the 2024 race! Contact our fundraising team for more information by emailing fundraising@rtcw.org

If running isn’t your thing, then how about following in the footsteps of New Milton 133 and Melton Mowbray 479 and drive?! Round Table Children’s Wish was recently presented with a cheque after Melton Mowbray not only competed in the Skinflint Rally, but also won!

It’s been a busy few months for

and once again we have to say a massive thank you to Round

With New Milton also wanting in on the rally action, they completed Porto or Bust. Both teams selecting Round Table Children’s Wish as their chosen charity and both raising a fantastic amount to help some very poorly children.

Interested in being a rally team on behalf of RTCW next year? Check out the fundraising section on our website or get in touch today www.rtcw.org

Now let’s introduce Jasmine! Jasmine was diagnosed with Metastic Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer. Jasmine was originally referred in 2019, she had undergone treatment and things were very up and down. However everything seemed to become stable for quite a while. Then Covid hit the world, causing a delay to her wish. Now 15, Jasmine

has become poorly again and is having to undergo further treatment. We felt that now was the right time to get this wish granted.

Jasmine has a passionate love of literature, and her wish was to visit the famous Mr B’s Emporium book shop in Bath. Jasmine and her family spent 4 days enjoying everything Bath had to offer, with the highlight for Jasmine being her visit to Mr B’s Emporium where she enjoyed their personal Reading Spa experience. The staff spent a lot of time with Jasmine discussing books and helping her discover new authors and books she would enjoy. This was of course accompanied by coffee and cake!

She enjoyed Mr B’s so much that she went back a second time during her trip!

Still need ideas of how you can help? Invite us along to one of your meetings to hear more about what Round Table Children's Wish does and how you can get involved. Or help us by setting yourself a challenge! From Treks to skydives, the London Marathon or a Great Run, visit our website for more details, or our fundraising team are on hand to discuss more!

Thank you once again for your continued support

Glenn

Sean

Marathon startline team meet

Bart

IMPACT REPORT Stories

Simon from Isle of Wight’s Story - The Great Pie Off

It started so innocently, we’re told, but in true Tabler style, things got competitive

The first meeting of the new year would involve Tablers bringing any interactive or game like Christmas gifts to show and share. Wouldn’t some food be a good idea? A couple of Tablers made pies for everyone to share and as Simon said, “before you know it, it’s got competitive, but in the nicest and funniest way.”

So now, every year when January rolls round it’s oven gloves on and time to push the Tabler’s culinary talents to the limit at the Great Isle of Wight Round Table Pie Off. I was interested to know what the “Pie Off” rules might be as I have noticed a very open and flexible approach to much of the things Table does. “To qualify as a pie it has to have both a pastry top and base, yeah, that’s about it, that’s the only rule”

The Pies are laid out across the tables and all carefully viewed before being cut, shared and tasted. Past pies have included Full English Breakfast, Baked Bean, Curry and even a pie that included Rustlers Burgers!

“Depending on the year and what is going on for people they will have more or less time to spend on their creations, but everyone joins in, it’s really inclusive.”

“It’s probably the funniest night of the year, there is so much banter and though some pies would be best not repeated, others are amazing. Every member has two votes, one for the look of the pie, and one for the taste and eventually, after a lot of fun and laughter we end up with a winner.”

This seems to me to be an excellent example of the “playfulness” that seems central to

the character of RTBI. The ability of Table members to take on tasks and develop activities that are about having fun together.

They are often also about doing good for others, supporting or encouraging other people but they recognise and value fun and laughter, sharing their triumphs and failures and recognising that an ability to find laughter in even the darkest moments can be enough to lift them.

I asked Simon about his involvement with Table and he explained that his uncle had previously been a Table member so when his job moved him to Malton and he didn’t know anyone he reached out to the local Table and quickly got involved.

When work brought him to the Isle of Wight he was able to transfer and once again

“It has made a huge difference to me, joining Round Table was one of the best things I have ever done.”

As part of our ongoing series here are two more of the interviews conducted by Ruth for the Impact Report.

benefited from a ready-made group of friends, a real sense of community and a brilliant space for personal and professional development.

Members are able to learn from the tasks and activities they are involved in but also from each other, sharing experience, understanding and practical skills from communication and presentation to planning and logistics.

“Members are from all walks of life but there is a huge level of trust, respect and generosity. Tablers are able to really rely on each other.”

And that extends to other national and international Tables. “We host our equivalent German Table every other year, and they us. We stay in each other’s homes and learn so much from this experience.

James from Ringwood’s Story - Saving Christmas

Food poverty in the UK is increasing: but together we can make a difference

More children living in poverty and rising costs mean more and more families are under pressure. Christmas coming and the impact of lock-downs and restrictions just made these things worse and there was a very real sense of loss around the things that just would not be possible last Christmas.

Many, many Tables recognised this challenge and did amazing things to support their communities – as you can see, we are picking out a few examples of the work that was done to demonstrate RTBI Clubs’ impact in this important area.

Ringwood Table were very aware of the struggles of individuals and families around them, they knew Sleigh would have to be different because of restrictions so they put their collective heads together and redesigned their plans in an effort to Save Christmas!

“We knew many children just wouldn’t get to see or visit Santa at all this Christmas and that

seemed terrible. We just had to find a way to get the Sleigh out, but do it safely. It wouldn’t be the same as other years, but we believed we could definitely do it.”

“Various options were discussed but in the end we created something that worked brilliantly.

We couldn’t have children coming right up to the Sleigh but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see Santa, or catch a glimpse of his Elf helpers. We took lots of tips and inspiration from Winchester Table and we put out our route on Facebook (Meta) and used the Glimpse tracking app so families would know when we were coming close and could get the children to their windows, doorsteps or to the end of drives. But the question remained, what could we collect and how could we collect? The answer was food.

We could share information about Santa alongside safety instructions and food collection details. We would take anything but we also liaised with the local food bank for what was

needed and gave examples and shopping lists for what would be ideal.”

We are quite a new Table and every Sleigh year has been special but this last year was extraordinary. It felt like everywhere we looked there were bags and bags of shopping. There are some very affluent areas near us and they were brilliant but it was just the same in poorer areas, everyone gave what they could and it was just so moving.

“Seeing everyone pulling together to help each other. In the end, we collected over 2.8 tonnes of food, the equivalent of around 2,500 meals. We completely filled our local food bank and then moved on to help others nearby. The Food Bank confirmed it was the biggest donation they had ever received and would make a massive difference to so many families in our community that Christmas.”

Serious Play!

Sleigh is completely brilliant” is the kind of quote I see and have heard repeatedly in this piece of research. It seems to combine some essential elements of the magic that make Round Table special in the community and support landscape, elements that should not be underestimated.

Humour and playfulness seem to be so rich within Table, deep camaraderie (caring for the welfare and wellbeing of each other) and wide spread care for community, and all the other people living and working around the Tablers.

"Doing

“In the end, we collected over 2.8 tonnes of food, the equivalent of around 2,500 meals. We completely filled our local food bank and then moved on to help others nearby. The Food Bank confirmed it was the biggest donation they had ever received and would make a massive difference to so many families in our community that Christmas.”

Getting ready to “Do More ” in 2023

other International Associations, to develop a new bespoke prospect system integrated into Tabler World, this will provide a streamlined system directly feeding prospects to your individual Table management area.

Through reaching out and engaging in activities to focus for future growth, Tables can ensure their survival and a positive future.

Those that follow the RTBI Tabler World Dashboard will see that new member registrations are steadily growing and we are receiving an encouraging number of external enquiries. Andrew Thorne tell us more...

The latest Round Table interest is off the back of individual Table events and activities within local communities and the wider interest created from ongoing local and national social media campaigns. Work continues with the Tabler World Team and

The Cost of Living Crisis will not only hit the communities we serve and activities we undertake, but also our own members and prospective new members. We need to remember our current members at this time, and those we look to attract into our Tables as we plan ahead.

We must remain mindful of the impact individual finances can have on our prospects and member's ability to fully engage with Table activities. Careful planning of activities and local solutions to find ways of allowing all members to fully engage is a must.

Our organisation's roots were forged in the time of the great depression of the 1930s, hard times need not become a reason not to “Do More” and we have a large percentage of Tables that need to act now on recruitment.

It is with this we are about to start a new challenge in reviewing our area structures to make sure they are the required support structures, fit for RTBI in 2023. We must make efforts to fill the gaps on the maps, support struggling Tables and return to a period of more rapid growth across our areas, regions and nations.

Having been in Nottingham at CEETM it was wonderful to see the new Charter of Todwick & Anston RT and the Re-charter of Ryde RT No.16, a Table which first appeared out of the Depression of the 1930s. New Tables and targeted support is the “Do More” way. Nottingham at CEETM a presentation on the work in Founders Area, highlighted their approach and the successes they have achieved and their desire to share more widely, to help others succeed.

As we have continued to emphasise and key to the current Founders Area

approach, is the need for a consistent, organised and exciting programme available for current members and prospects to engage with. Adam Baggs has also been working on some print ready adaptable media assets to support your Table to promote and help deliver the message of Round Table and your programme, to your local audiences.

As always we are a national association but now more than ever we need local champions to take on responsibilities and ownership. Inspirational young men, sending out the message to all our Tables and Tablers that change can be achieved through working together, with a commitment to make positive changes.

So hard times ahead, but Table always is at its best when we face a challenge and work together to “Do More”, so let’s put our shoulder collectively to the wheel for 2023!

Well it’s that time of the year again!!

I’d like to start by congratulating you all for some incredible fireworks displays. The number of people attending our events is mind blowing and I know there have been some record breaking funds raised too!

I was delighted to attend the Kenilworth Round Table display, set against the stunning backdrop of Historic Kenilworth Castle. It was an incredible display and they even had a frickin laser beam!!

It was fantastic to be able to announce that at least 718,000 people attended our 110 displays and we raised over £2.5million for some incredible causes across the

nation! This is unreal and just serves to remind us of the impact we have on our communities

Quickly following our Fireworks we had Children in Need and arguably the best event of all, our Santa sleighs.

It was great to get out and about helping on some sleighs around the country this year, watching you guys at work is inspirational, no amount of snow, ice, rain or any other kind of precipitation stopped Santa, Rudolph and The Grinch hitting the streets!

The work we do over this period really showcases how incredible our organisation is, also in these current times the money we raise will help some of the

most vulnerable people in our communities with thousands being donated to food banks and other causes. All I ask is that you remember to tell people. This is our opportunity to talk to the Tabling age parents of those kids who are waving at the sleigh as it goes past. Strike up conversations about the stuff we do all year round.

After Christmas I sent out the community survey. I’ve tried to keep this as simple as possible on a Tabler World form for you. The data from this really does help to build a view of our impact on society which gives you the tools to talk to people about our organisation. We aren’t just a curry club, we are a group of

like-minded guys from all walks of life who have a great time and give back to our communities. The more responses we receive to these surveys, the more accurate we can be with our data. This has gone out to Table chairs, VC, secretaries and treasurers. I’d love to not have to extrapolate the data this year if possible, so please do complete the form as best you can. I promise I’ll stop nagging when I get loads of responses.

I look forward to seeing you all in the next couple of months leading up to AGM when I hand over the reigns of this awesome role.

YIT Al Collins

Call for CALM

Rocco Cerullo National Programme and Retention Officer outlines plans to benefit

people’s mental health

Bristol. General feedback has highlighted that they have been very useful.

The workshops aim cover the following:

• Table roles and responsibilities

• Planning a varied programme for members

• Planning a new event

• Media/social media/ Communication

Good day gents, Much has happened since the last entry in Tabler. As a Board member, my plan is to bring opportunities for members to network, plan, develop and improve the member experience for their Tables. These opportunities include face to face workshops, online talks by representatives from CALM, Question time, and offers for members.

Over the past two months, the face-to-face workshops have been rolled out. The first two held in Chelmsford and

• Table identity

• Impact Report - what next

• CALM: Supporting our members

Working through the agenda, Members in attendance shared ideas and worked through possible actions to take away. Jo from CALM was in attendance and provided a very useful and productive section to the main workshop. Engagement was high, which led to a 45-minute session lasting one and a half hours.

With that in mind, these workshops have been put together and rolled out in response to the membership asking for them. They are being

taken on the road, setting up hubs for areas and regions to bring member along and get involved. So, what next?

The next workshop will be: Workshop 4: Cambridge 25 February

following link, you can obtain up to a 10% discount on various holiday booking: http://www.holidayextras. com/?agent=BE972

FEB 25

These workshops have been set up for you, the membership. Why not come along and get involved?

In other news, QQT is back online and the first took place on 28 September. Thank you to those who submitted questions.

As for other online sessions, CALM have agreed to host short bitesize sessions on myth busting suicide, warning signs and more. These sessions will also be online and will aim to be short 20-to-30-minute sessions.

Moving away from workshop related content, I recently had a conversation with Kelly Clarke, 41 Cub Fellowship Officer. He was able to obtain a discount link for a holiday website that may be of interest to you. The instruction is as long as you access the website using the

Look and see what you think. As long as you access it via this link it will automatically process the discount on the bookings you make.

In the meantime, Much love and peace.

A whirlwind of activity

Chris Bush brings up to date with a flurry of RT activity

RTBI (on that day anyway) as a third generation Tabler and to rightly celebrate his 18th Birthday. It was a suburb evening, and you could feel the excitement around the Table, it was a pleasure to witness their encouragement of their newest member to get involved and #DoMore.

I met up with the National President of Zimbabwe Desmond Lyle and soon to be RTBI Tabler Mark Wilson both currently Harare 23. We met up in Portsmouth and opened conversations about the future RTI World Meeting in South Africa as well as the creation of new Tables in the UK (Guildford and Aldershot).

further from the truth. You are hosted by CIN at the festival so get to camp for free with all meals included. Every evening you get to enjoy the banter and bands from the event itself, all for the low, low cost of having to walk around all day and promote Round Table and sell tickets (which people really want to buy). Give it a try next year, you won’t be disappointed.

Where to start? it has been a whirlwind of activity since our last magazine. Since then, I have had the pleasure of reaching out and connecting with the Board from Andy’s Man Club. We had discussed at length the progress that AMC had been making across the UK and felt as a Board and Council that it was only right that an official line of communication was opened between our two associations.

I had the pleasure of joining our President as we travelled to Troon RT to welcome in and induct the youngest member of

Mark personally wants to re-charter one of these Tables and with his experience and guidance I am sure we will see the recreation of a thriving Table soon.

After that I took an extremely overdue visit to see Dublin RT in their hometown and I finally had the opportunity to see just what kind of members made up DRT. They are an incredibly diverse Table of members from all backgrounds, nationalities, and professions, truly a Table of the future.

In true Table spirit, (and ex Community Officer) I then took an opportunity to represent Round Table at CarFest South as an official Children in Need raffle ticket seller to raise money for CIN and develop my working relationship with 41 Club, Tangent and Ladies Circle.

A splendid weekend of community engagement and fundraising was enjoyed by all, and we brought the running total of combined funds raised by the Round Table family to c.£67,000. If you have never volunteered to sell at CarFest and think it sounds like hard work, you couldn’t be

Typically, these fundraising events work well in attracting young families, and where there are young families, there are normally dads of Table age who can be potentially recruited to join our awesome organisation. Speak to Al Collins, our current National Community Officer to find out more.

CEETM came and went in a blur, and it was an incredible chance for our region to get to know each other better. My highlight, (beyond getting not only our own RTB&I National President buffaloed but the 41 Club National President too) was absolutely getting the chance to see our association hosting an international event again and making waves in RTI. A special mention to Ray Carr our National Events Officer for being awarded an RTI Star for his efforts in organising the event, well done mate.

And more recently of course has been the epic display of Tabling Spirit that is the 5th of November and fireworks, followed by all your incredible sleigh activity.

I look forward to getting out and seeing even more of you over the months ahead.members of Winchester RT, well done gents.

Wait, What! Tomo doesn't like curry?

During my travels last year, I found myself in a packed curry house in York with three Hartlepool Tablers, my wife, my daughter and four of her uni friends. This was to attend a fundraiser organised by the great York Round Table

I am one of those strange people in life, which to some raises the question “are you actually a real Tabler” because... I don’t enjoy a curry! This often leads to me being ‘that guy’ who orders an omelette if everyone fancies some late-night sustenance.

Undeterred by my poor palate, I wanted to show my support for a Table (relatively) close to home. I was rewarded by meeting a top bunch of guys with a passion for their local community and could not help but be moved by their efforts to immortalise the memory of their recently departed Chairman, Charlie, and raise funds for the newly established Charlie Dallas Lancaster Foundation.

So, struck by the message that Oli, John and others

conveyed that night, I committed to use the weekend of my Presidential Ball to raise further funds and was thrilled when we were able to donate a further £2,100 in March.

All of that aside, since this time I have encountered, socialised and had some great laughs with the guys from this Table over the past 12 months. So, when I received a text from Oli that said “Curry and Quiz Night, are you in ???”. The answer was a quick “ABSOLUTELY!!!”

This time, York Round Table were combining their fundraising force with the established Three Bears Foundation to raise awareness around, and importantly research funds for, pancreatic cancer. This time, the Jaipur Curry house

seemed even busier than it was last year, something which felt impossible. The team there did an awesome job to serve a gargantuan and mammoth food-athon to the assembled hungry diners.

It’s fair to say that the concept is uncomplicated: a curry, quiz and great banter. But it’s the guys at the Table who make it special. Their joyous enthusiasm is palpable with every member of the team playing their part and getting on the microphone at times.

If you ever visit the great Northern City of York, send these guys a message on TablerWorld and there will undoubtedly be several of them who will give you the same warm welcome they have given me, my family and the travelling ‘Monkey Hangers’. I will defo be back for next year’s thrilling

instalment... despite not winning this time.

Why am I sharing this story ??

Well, it’s not because the York team bribed me with one of their new shiny badges. It’s to encourage more Tablers to do things which they would ordinarily not do: step outside of their comfort zone and do more outside of their own local Round Table. We have this wonderful movement but you only experience part of it if you stay local.

I have created an abundance of memories, had great times and met awesome people by doing just this. Do it, you’ll not regret it, and you will start to wonder why you never did it sooner.

Much love, Tomo.

At your leisure

GADGET SEASON

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The virtual paradox:

Metaverses must improve our real-world interaction

Virtual experiences that bring us closer to the real world could paradoxically be the missing link to metaverse adoption, and truly revolutionize business, events, and tourism, says Studio Giggle’s managing director Jonathan Brigden

Your peak cultural experiences probably involve taking in the awe-inspiring attractions our increasingly small planet has to offer: the pyramids, Rome, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge.

Inspired by the experience, you take photos, talk to locals, text your friends, and no doubt head to the attraction’s museum or visitor centre where you’ll try to imagine the site in its original glory. Alongside enjoying better weather, or visiting friends and family, this time-proven ritual is pretty much the foundation of global tourism. But what if, while staring at the Great Pyramid, you could raise your phone and see an overlaid

vision of the site as it looked in 1,300BC, bustling with life as its shining limestone facade illuminates King Tut’s initiation ceremony. It’s not a time machine, but it might be the next best thing?!

Studio Giggle are experts in creating moments of greatness during live experiences. They used XR and projection mapping to enhance historical sites and venues, but more recently, they are being asked to create virtual stadium tours and metaverses that allow access to unexplored territories for fans and consumers.

Metaverses are providing a chance to extend the live experience during, and long after events, introducing permanent interaction and networking opportunities.

Indeed, as metaverses struggle to find enticing hooks to gain an audience, maybe integrating them into the real world, and our events, will add the value and meaning metaverses need to get off the ground.

It might sound niche, but the technology is literally in all our hands, right now to open up a literal world of possibilities. And let’s face it, is there a single visitor to the Pompeii ruins who wouldn’t have their experience enhanced by being able to overlay a real-time rendition of what the World Heritage site looked like before the volcano blast of 79AD?

The events industry knows more than any about the power of ‘now’, and how technology at its best enhances our lives and deepens our understanding of the world.

It’s time to not only start reimagining our historical sites with greater lucidity, but also our venues, exhibitions, conferences and festivals. It’s about enhancing what we love doing already, and in doing so, we’ll create a world filled with ‘instant events’ accessible anytime.

Music Review

In 2023, however, both artists face a career conundrum: Taylor – now settled happily with long-term boyfriend Joe Alwyn – can no longer authentically mine her recent history for juicy gossip. Drake’s ‘unlucky in love’ persona, meanwhile, is stretching credulity, and his reliance on gaining clout through decidedly-petty ‘beefs’ is growing tiresome.

Both artists, however, have pulled off commercially successful musical curveballs, achieving total dominance of the charts with Midnights and Her Loss. But do these releases build on, or merely string out their legacies?

Taylor Swift, Midnights/Drake, Her Loss

Tom

Hall and Nathalia Legora

Having a girlfriend (Nathalia, my co-author here) who’s a confirmed ‘Swiftie’, I’m privy to storied insight on Taylor Swift’s complicated love life, typically involving Hollywood heartthrobs of questionable intent.

Likewise, on the rare occasion that I get to commandeer the car Bluetooth, Nathalia is treated to my own musical musings – learning for example how Noah 40 Shebib’s nocturnal production on Drake’s early work provided a thematically-ambiguous counterpoint to his bravado: leading the listener to question whether the rapper’s high life is merely wallpapering his deeper loss of self.

Nerdy though our fanboy/girl-ing may be, it’s also vital to the longevity of Audrey ‘Drake’ Graham and Swift’s careers – which rely on carefully curated mythologies on fan favourite ‘deep cuts’ that add back story to the instant pop appeal of their hit singles.

Taylor’s effort, a collaboration with acclaimed hit writer Jack Antanoff, is pitched midway between the adult contemporary Folklore/Evermore albums and the glossier Reputation era. Its vintage synth aesthetic evokes M83 and The Weeknd’s recent albums, but still feels uniquely ‘Swiftian’.

Maroon, Bejeweled and Anti Hero scratch the anthemic highs of Taylor’s earlier work. The former satisfyingly calls back the colour-based wordplay seen throughout her Red album, evoking ‘rubies’, ‘wine’, ‘cheeks’ and ‘lips’ while playing out a doomed love affair. But which unnamed lothario is she drinking ‘cheap-ass, screw-top rose’ with, hmm? Nathalia and her legion of Swifties are no doubt on Reddit to solve the mystery as I type.

While, for me, this self-mythologising treads water a little, Taylor impresses on tracks including Labyrinth where crescendoing synths pair with paranoid lyrics about crashing planes and broken elevators – a metaphor for her fame-weary, pensive persona. On Snow on The Beach , meanwhile Lana Del Rey’s vocals are used sparingly but tastefully atop plucked strings, and it’s an album highlight.

But, while Taylor employs smart production choices that complement her lyrical prowess, there’s something missing: her unique gift for pure pop. Despite our car Bluetooth squabbles, Nathalia and I agree: Taylor’s recent albums deserved their indie respectability, but her peakpop era was artistically superior.

2022, however, sees pop in a state of crisis, corrupted by meme-baiting musical gestures, of which Midnights is guilty. While Anti-Hero’s “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me” refrain is cute and catchy, it’s too cynically engineered for the TikTok generation to touch timeless pop masterpieces like Blank Space or Shake It Off. Drake, meanwhile, is also vying to return to his core skillsets. His last effort – the dancefloorinspired Honestly, Nevermind – failed to take off critically or commercially, but the Canadian megastar has moved on, and sounds hungry to impress again, dropping cold flows and smart wordplay throughout Her Loss, which sees him teaming up with 21 Savage, a younger, more relevant rapper in a symbiotic arrangement.

On the best tracks (Rich Flex , Middle of the Ocean, and On BS) we get Drake in peak kingpin mode, obsessed to borderline sociopathic levels with women, money and his empire. But while this alter ego that makes for addictive rap music to accompany gym workouts and car journeys (on my own usually) it’s clear that Drake, in 2022, can’t build a persona beyond the surface level. Just as Taylor’s fans miss the whirlwind days of her dating adventures that gave rise to pop perfection, Drake fans miss the vulnerable upstart who left regrettable voicemails during a late-night existential crisis on Marvin’s Room. Midnights and Her Loss both cater to meme culture, but, while for Taylor it’s a ploy, used only on occasion, 2022’s Drake is now a pure Instagram-simulacra who left his underdog persona behind long before he got the keys to his $100m mansion. Relatability isn’t everything however, and on a perverse level, Drake is painting an authentic vista of where he’s at ‘IRL’, much like Taylor is, albeit in a very different way. But while both artists’ albums make the cut for my car stereo in 2022, their earlier work will endure long after my next MOT. “That’s a real fucking legacy, to leave,” as Taylor might’ve put it on Maroon.

Beers of the year

Tabler’s Tom Hall had his head held in a barrel until he whittled down his top three beers of the year. After rather enjoying the experience, he agreed to name them, regardless. And so, after much international craft quaffing, here are the results:

Runner up:

Necessary Evil, Bourbon Aged Stout, 13% ABV

Best sour

Calypso Dry Hopped Sour, Siren Brewing Company, 4% ABV

Best stout

Goose Island’s Bourbon County

The stuff of legend, and the reason many brewers enter the trade, this barrel-aged stout goes through rigorous quality controls to ensure it spends the perfect time (8-14 months) in specially chosen bourbon whisky casks in a mix of bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill and Wild Turkey distilleries.

Unlike a lot of stouts, which taste flavoursome on first sip, then lose all subtlety upon further inspection, Bourbon County will have you picking out its finer notes, from the first sip to the last. Treacle, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, molasses, almond, oak, caramel, and berry will all pop up on the palate throughout your drinking experience.

Tabler recommends pairing this tipple with cheese and sourdough crackers, and leaving it to warm to room temperature. It’s decidedly-pokey 14.4% ABV meanwhile, lends itself to a lengthy movie viewing while you savour its nuances. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood ’s somewhat self-indulgent run time was a pleasure, not a chore –thanks in part to this beverage.

It’s high praise that this stout, aged with speciality malts, can be talked of in the same breath as the above. Its orangey undertone, and ‘tingly’ feel on the tongue make this an undoubtedly premium fare, and well worth your time. Compare and contrast, I say.

Best lager:

Lost and Grounded, Helles, 4.4%

Entering the scene in 2021, Helles is a real crowd pleaser. Crafted in the rolling hills and around Bristol, it uses the same pilsner malt blend as Keller Pils, and is gently hopped with Magnum, Perle and Tettnang.

Put this soft, bready, floral masterpiece on your ‘to drink list’ for 2023.

In a category close to my heart (which admittedly suffers burning sensations if I drink too many sours)

I was torn between two fine examples of the genre this year. However, I lean (Delboy style) towards Siren’s, just because its lower ABV makes it more leisurely, and I’m a huge fan of dry hopping this year.

Siren get the balance just perfect on this one, with its balanced, never overpowering tropical fruit flavour, and lack of acidic aftertaste.

Runner up:

Omnipollo, Bianca Dark Berries Marshmallow Lassi Gose, 6% ABV

My brewery of the year, Omnipollo, mixes Willy Wonka-style zaniness with the deft of touch of a Renaissance artist. Its reassuringly-expensive sours (this one being a punchy blend of blueberries, strawberries, marshmallow and milk sugar) are worth every penny, if just for the vibrant hues alone.

CEE Meeting 2022, Nottingham

CEE Meeting is back! And the feedback is glowing

-

And so for the first time since 2013 and for many of our current members it was our turn to host the RTI Central and Eastern European Tablers Meeting and the destination was Nottingham.

Although delayed by two years due to Covid and some rather close proximity to the World Meeting I think it is safe to say we absolutely smashed it. The feedback I personally have received from many of my international colleagues was really positive.

Being on RTBI soil we also had quite a strong home contingent although as per usual everyone was outnumbered by the Dutch who continue to bring the Orange Army and the associated party wherever they go, a particular highlight being their confetti cannons at the Gala Dinner.

The meeting itself was a friendly and productive meeting and I look forward to a really positive year working with our neighbour associations in continuing to try and grow Round Table and

be the best we can be. The next CEE Meeting will take place in Hungary between March and May 2024 so a bit of a gap to the next one but I will have a small announcement for this in due course so keep your eyes peeled.

Group Photo credit - Sharneigh Brown, Ladies Circle

by Adam Fitt

I've caught the international bug!”

Sam Wyss attends his first international event

Nations Night where we dressed in themed attire and showcased our ‘excellent British cuisine’ of spam, biscuits, marmite, and whiskey!

The meet as usual, concluded with a black-tie gala dinner, with all nights ending up with the entire group dancing the night away with a DJ – the Dutch are very proud to show their famous dance to ‘Links Rechts’ by Snollebollekes!

the theme being centred around Robin Hood and King Richard III. It started off with the merry men and women of CEE meeting and registering at the main Hotel, followed by a ‘Welcometh Party’ at the grand Council House that overlooks the centre of Nottingham. The night finished with an after party at a local club.

After five years in table, I decided to take the plunge and attend my first international event at the Round Table International World Meet held in Copenhagen, Denmark. RTIWM is basically the international version of RTBI’s national conference, where representatives attend meetings and talk all things RTI related.

Whilst officials did their meetings, other attendees, like myself were spoilt for choice with 3 days’ worth of activities, including open-top bus tours, boat tours, a visit to Tivoli gardens (an exciting theme park right in the middle of the city) and a visit to Kronborg castle where the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based.

The itinerary for the evenings started off with a relatively tame welcome party at the main hotel – later nights included an aptly themed fancy dress Viking Night, a

As well as the great activities, the overall experience was amplified by the amazing company of existing friends and new friends, both national and international! Imagine being in a room with over a thousand brothers and sisters – you haven’t met them yet but they’re your best mates before you know it! The atmosphere and sense of camaraderie that I felt was simply amazing.

This was by far the best experience I’ve had to date with Round Table and I’ve made some incredible memories with some incredible people, and I’d recommend that everyone attends a RTI meet!

I enjoyed it so much, that I decided to join the International Relations Officer’s committee.

It was also astounding to see the Round Table Deutschland turn up with 4 coaches full of people and although we only had roughly 25 Brits attend, it would be fantastic for one day, RTBI to match this level of attendance.

Sam heads to Nottingham to attend CEETM

Following an incredible first international

experience

at the RTI World Meet in Copenhagen, I learnt about the 5 international regions that make up RTI, one of which being Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Every year, CEE holds a meet, like national conference and the RTIWM and it was RTBI’s time to pick up the mantle and show the rest of the region how it’s done!

The CEE Tablers Meet was held in Nottingham, with

The next day, with sore heads, visitors explored the delights of Nottingham on a guided tour and castle tour, not to mention the brewery tour at the Vat and Fiddle! Meanwhile, the region held their annual meet with interesting reports about what’s happening in the world of European tabling!

After a hard days’ work of meetings and touring the city, Tablers gathered, once again at the main hotel to attend a gala dinner, with presentations and a three-course dinner, followed by a DJ, socialising and a subsequent after-party at yet another club in the centre of Nottingham.

Like the RTIWM that was held a month prior, CEETM had a great turnout, especially with the representation RTBI, proving to be a great host to all. I look forward to the next international event and I thoroughly recommend everyone to attend!

A long build up to a great weekend!

the bottom of the slides was the deadline for bidding for CEETM. My eyes were drawn to this wondering what exactly this event was.

It was a few months later when I messaged Derek and asked if he could let me know a bit more about CEETM. Derek sent over the bidding criteria which was very detailed. After reading through that I had a greater understanding of what a CEETM weekend was all about I was more interested and started planning in my head.

Ray Carr National Events Officer

“Well that’s it for me Simon, I’ve helped organise NSW and a National Conference, that’s me done, no more national events for me”. Those were pretty much my words to Simon Riley when sitting next to him at Leicester Conference in May 2019 and relaxing with a coffee. That view changed less than an hour later when Derek Collie stood up to deliver the National Events Officer report to the Tablers at in the room for the AGM.

Derek had a slide which listed the future NSW and Conference bids and deadlines for submitting them, but at

After making some notes over a week or 2 and looking around myself at hosting Cities, I decided that I really wanted this to be Robin Hood themed in Nottingham.

I put the feelers out to Tablers and Circlers who had helped organise Loughborough NSW in 2017 and Leicester Conference 2019. I also asked some of our new Loughborough Tablers to see if they would be interested in helping to organise too.

The thing with CEETM is that most of the weekend is paid for, like accommodation, food, travel, entertainment, AGM meeting and most of the alcohol! We just could not make this event work on paper it was going to be a massive loss.

We quickly organised two of us to attend CEETM in Belgium 2019 to

find out as much as possible, make plenty of notes and report back to everyone else on the team.

On the Sunday’s 11-hour long drive back we decided to scrap all of the plans already made. We got the drawing board back out and started to re-plan what we wanted to do with a blank canvas.

We took inspiration from the Belgium CEETM team as they didn’t do what was on the original criteria. We didn’t realise that we could do this so the event planning started all over again. We changed venues and started to redraw budgets - now we were starting to get excited as we might actually be able to pull this event off.

Over the next few weeks our team met with the new venues and started to pull together more

detailed budgets and the Robin Hood idea’s started to increase.

We then let Derek know that we were bidding to host CEETM for Nottingham 2021 – this now got real!

Over the next few months we started to flesh out our plans and started the next task, which was to bring our outline bid to present to the RTBI National Council in May 2020.

Before we got to that meeting, in March 2020, the world changed, Coronavirus was a new word and our bid plans all changed – now we had to prepare a bid for Zoom. We put all potential venue contracts on hold and needed to understand the finer points of what cancellation clauses were open to us.

In May 2020, we presented our bid

and video in front of the National Council (on Zoom and in Robin Hood and King Richard fancy dress of course) and we won the bid! There were a few follow up questions – but we were a go! Off we went to start speaking to venues about contracts etc, but in the world we were in, we just couldn’t commit fully to anything. Venues and other contacts had all disappeared and trying to get answers was proving difficult. We needed to get ready to launch our CEETM at CEETM Germany 2020 a few months later.

As the Germany 2020 CEETM event edged closer, it became apparent that this wouldn’t happen. We agreed to delay our event by 12 months to October 2022 so that Germany could host 2021 instead. Then everything fell silent. In late Spring 2021, the team got back together as we knew we had a few months to get ready for Germany 2021 to launch. We had done so much work before, picking everything back up was easy.

As Germany 2021 came closer, myself and Jonezy from Loughborough Round Table bought our tickets to attend, packed our bags, got our fancy dress costumes ready and made sure we sent our presentations etc over a week before to the German organising team. We were ready to launch our bid.

Germany’s CEETM was a fantastic weekend, lots more note taking from us and we somehow didn’t get fined for wearing our Robin Hood and Minstrel outfits during the AGM. We were there to promote CEETM in Nottingham 2022

Three years in the making and what a weekend!

and try to sell tickets. Promoting the event was really easy and there was lots of positive feedback and excitement, trouble was that we hardly sold any tickets. We learned that our friends from abroad do like to wait until their other big events are over before buying tickets for the next event!

After Germany ticket sales were painfully slow and we were still in very low sales numbers when it came to the March 2022 National Council meeting.

There were various discussions over the next few months about whether this event was going to be viable and potentially cancelled. We eventually agreed a deadline for attendees who wanted their accommodation included, after this we would sell only party pass tickets. This reduced the financial exposure of this event to RTBI, we were a go once more!

Over the next few months ticket sales started to pick up and as the event got closer the tickets started to reach the breakeven position we needed.

There was a frantic final two weeks where we picked up all of the Robin Hood hats, met with all of the venues and suppliers to put the finishing touches to the weekend. Goodie bags, attendee lists, Last Man Standing tankard arrived, the minute by minute timing schedules for the weekend all finalised and ready before the first guest arrived. Heading off to the main hotel venue on Thursday morning knowing that you can plan no more, is a fantastic feeling.

All of the 3 years of planning paid off! The organising team really wanted to show off what Nottingham was all about, we felt that we were representing RTBI and want to show our overseas friends how we can put on a party weekend we can be proud of and for them to remember.

From the Friday night welcometh party to an unusual CEE meeting in a grand setting and a Saturday night Banquet with a great band to close. What an event, and on budget! Yes, things do go awry at times behind the scenes, as there are so many moving elements (and you can’t prepare for Tablers) but the planning ahead was worth the effort. A non-stop Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon, always running around, being on hand to answer questions, sorting issues, grabbing what food you can and making sure that you also party and enjoy the weekend!

There was a lot of positive feedback throughout the weekend and it has all been very well received since too, we hope that the event has ignited some tablers to go to Hungary for the next CEETM!

CEETM in the land of RTBI is now over and a future RTBI hosted CEETM should be returning to our shores in around 10-years time. This one will go down in the memory as a great event.

Robin Hood (Ray Carr) raises his beer glass to his organising team for one last time, cheers guys, we did it!

From York to Heidelberg to Seigen, and the world:

The road to finding international Tabling was truly a wonderful one for myself and truly represents all that Round Table is about: “Old friends meeting for the first time,” says John Newland, York 65

It all started when Table, York 65 were contacted by one of the Round Table Seigen members Jesco, who was visiting York with a friend and who subsequently came to our AGM. This was followed by a couple of nights out on the town in true Table fashion and as a result I was invited to the German 2022 AGM in Heidelberg just a couple of months later.

I was chauffeured from Frankfurt airport, with a

locally sourced ice cold pint of German beer in hand from my host. I met the Seigen Tablers and we partied in Castles and Stadiums by night and enjoyed the beautiful city of Heidelberg by day, almost always searching for a glass of my favourite tipple - a glass of Cider (Which I did find in the end).

It was all topped off as well with an unexpected trip to Seigen to meet my new German brothers, families at an impromptu Pool party and BBQ.

I even managed to squeeze a group fitness session in their local gym before being dropped off at the train station to travel home. A truly great experience meeting amazing people and I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my Table about what was out there in the world of international Tabling.

I hosted a BBQ for our next meeting and armed with a slideshow of pictures from my German adventure I pitched the idea of the World Meeting in Copenhagen. I was delighted when five other Tablers agreed to join the trip.

Having met more of my English brothers in Copenhagen including Adam our IRO as well as our new National President Matt, we knew we had to also get to the CEETM in Nottingham and ensure we too could host all the visiting Tablers. Meeting old friends (Not for the first time) from both the German AGM and Copenhagen it was truly a great time.

We have also kindly been invited to the President's ball next year in Bath and have Germany, Sweden, South Africa and Iceland on the radar for future trips.

Onward and upwards for us at York RT and international travelling is an experience of a lifetime in the most amazing places with the most amazing people and I couldn’t recommend it enough!

Round Table Family

Round Table to 41 Club membership - from distilling new spirit to quality maturation!

For Tablers, there is an awesome range of opportunities to continue their Round Table Family journey once they reach 40 and beyond. At this magical age Tablers can become joint members of both Associations and 41 Club annual capitation is waivered until a Tabler is 45 – after this it’s only £14.50 – bargain!

As I said to the RTBI Council in Nottingham in October, my simple role is to raise awareness of the Continued Tabling opportunities for Tablers within 41 Club and increase the number of our members.

This is being progressed through our 41 Club ‘R&R’ Membership strategy – a joint approach of Recruitment of new members - being very much focused on you guys, whose passion is not only the life blood of RTBI but also the future of 41 Club - and the Retention of our existing members through encouraging great meetings and programmes.

One of my other passionate hobbies is a love of the ‘water of life’ – Uisge Beatha – AKA whisky. And as everyone knows, what whisky cannot cure, there is no cure for…

I run a whisky club in my 41 Club, known as the Wallington A nd Carshalton W hisky Appreciation Club – or WACWAC for short (our logo is a duck, for obvious reasons). We also have a number of enthusiastic Round Tablers amongst our members and over the past six years we’ve imbibed around 120 different whiskies from around the globe!

I’ve always considered the production of quality whisky, as being similar to the production of quality Round Tables and 41 Clubs – including the transition from one to the other. Both are a direct result of a small number of key components, carefully nurtured over time.

In the production of whisky, these are quality barley, crystal clear water, robust yeast, mature oak casks and of course the precious gift of time (at least three years). These alone aren’t enough however – it also requires passion, enthusiasm and the occasional creative idea.

In the production of Tablers and 41ers, it’s the quality of the meetings, the warm welcome for existing and new members and good leadership. Again, these alone are the only ingredients – it also requires passion, enthusiasm and a creative approach to new ideas.

The next three years may be the most important in the history of both our associations and there is much to do. If you haven’t reached out to your local 41 Club – why not give it a try? Your local 41 Club is there to support your Round Table – so if you don’t know who or where they are, what they do or don’t have a local 41 Club – please let me know on membership@41club.org.

Also I’m available to give Whisky and Membership talks for Round Table meetings, Area and Regional dinners, Bar Mitzvahs, Christenings and Weddings.. Yours in Continued Tabling!

Tis’ the season to get in the spirit, says Peter McBride, 41 Club National Membership Officer & Round Table Liaison Officer

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