AGM

I am pleased to report that after the last three years that have been affected by the COVID pandemic, things were virtually back to normal with a full programme of events this year albeit that some members were not able to attend some of the events through illness or medical appointments. The rambling section continues to thrive with thanks to Peter Elliott, Dave Titcomb and Graham Clark for organising an event and hopefully other members will come forward to arrange a ramble next year in their area.

As in previous years, tickets were available to attend cricket matches at Hove to watch Sussex County Cricket Club and during this season 26 members took advantage of these free tickets. Thanks to Graham Clark for attending to the administration. Hopefully, we will be able to offer the same benefit next season.

Below are the reports for all the events that took place during the year and your Chairman Dave Stedman and the rest of the committee are looking forward to meeting up with you all during 2023.

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The Club's 44th Annual General Meeting was held at Tottington Manor, Edburton and was attended by 68 members.

The Chairman, David Stedman, welcomed all members and guests, and then asked the members to join him in a minutes silence for those who were no longer with us and also for the people in Ukraine who were suffering so much at present. He was delighted to report another year of fellowship and enjoyment, and thanked the Club officials for their continued hard work during the year and also to the members who had assisted by organising rambles during the year. A full copy of David's Report is included with AGM Minutes that are on the web site. Click here to access them.

Our Social Secretary and Treasurer, Don Semmons also gave his reports and these are included the AGM Minutes.

The Election of Officers followed and all of the Officials were re-elected en-bloc.

Chairman:	David Stedman
Deputy Chairman:	Bridget Westerman
Hon. Secretary:	Cyn Fleetwood
Hon. Treasurer:	Don Semmons
Social Secretary:	Don Semmons
Chief Welfare Officer:	Tony Comber
Committee Member:	Graham Clark
Committee Member:	Jean Clarke
Committee Member:	Robin Frost
Committee Member:	Gill Hill
Committee Member:	Colin Mockford
Committee Member:	Rosemary Singyard
Also elected, but not on the Committee:
Accounts Inspector:	Roger Francis

After the AGM, we were treated to a hot buffet meal that was enjoyed by all those present.

On a bright and breezy day, 28 members met at the Red Lyon Public House in Slinfold and had plenty of time for a coffee or tea and chat before setting of on our ramble that had been organised by Peter and Jackie Elliott. Peter gave us a quick resumé of where were going and what we might see and mentioned that one or two places may be a bit slippery due to the clay soil and the recent rains.

We set off through St Peters Church and then continued passed Slinfold Cricket ground and out into the countryside. With the virtually flat terrain, our members found it easy to walk and talk and catch up with their colleagues. The 'slippery ground' that Peter had refereed to before we left, then played a prominent part in the proceedings for a few hundred yards and a number of members ended up being a bit muddier than when they set out, but all was well, although no doubt some washing machines would have sprung into action upon their return home!!! A special thanks to Peter Elliott and Nigel Parsons for ensuring that no-one was lost whilst negotiating the muddy bits!!!

The ramble covered a very relaxing 4 miles and we all returned safely to the Red Lyon for our pre-ordered lunch that was enjoyed by everyone and served with a smile.

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On a bright and breezy day, 29 members and their guests boarded the coach for the short trip up to Denbies Wine Estate near Dorking in Surrey.

Our numbers were reduced a little by members still suffering from the Covid Virus, so we wish them all a speedy recovery and hopefully this will soon be behind us.

We started our visit with a trip around the estate on the 'land train' going up to the top of the vineyard at the North Downs Way looking across to Box Hill and the Surrey Weald. The gentleman looking after us, Jeff, had initially forgotten to put the wine 'on board' so had to pop back to collect a crate and rather fortuitously for us, picked up one of the most expensive sparkling white wines that they sell...it was rather nice...

After the tour of the vineyard, we made our way indoors and into the cinema room to watch a very interesting film and the history of Denbies going back to when it was founded by Sir Adrian White in 1984.The estate has since been owned and managed by the next generation White family. It is one of the largest wine producers in the UK. Denbies wine now competes on an international level, including multiple gold awards for both sparkling and still wine production, In order to test out these words. we then went through the processing plant to the wine cellar where we were able to taste three of the best wines, one white, one rosé and one red. Needless to say, each one tasted better than the one before...good job we didn't taste many more, otherwise the short walk up to the restaurant may have been somewhat difficult.

Just an additional comment about this, the lady that gave us the alk and served the wines was Mona, who has been at Denbies since the start and was the same lady that looked after us when we first went there in 2007. See photographs below...

To finish the day we had a one course ploughman's lunch with tea or coffee to end another excellent day out.

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It was a bright and breezy day when the club's golf society met for the spring meeting, that this year was held at the Dyke Golf Club in Brighton.

The course was in a good condition, but the greens were a little dry and quite quick (golfing term meaning the ball travels a long way without hitting it very hard!!!), so it was not too easy to accumulate points in the stableford competition. (Another golfing term whereby the fewer shots you take, the more points you get!!).

14 members enjoyed the coffee and bacon rolls before the round began and then were served with a splendid meal after the round had been completed.

Chris Hudson & John Jago, the joint organisers thanked everyone for supporting the society, and announced the winners of the days competition that were as follows:

As usual, here are some photos, including the winner Barry Davis receiving the R T Box Memorial Trophy from the joint organiser, Chris Hudson:

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It was a cloudy and slightly chilly day when 38 members and their guest boarded the coach for the short journey up to Mannings Heath, near Horsham. The route proved a little interesting when we reached a sign that said 'Weak Bridge - limit 3.5 tons', especially as the coach, even without it's passengers weighs in at 10 tons!! However, after receiving some fresh directions, linked with some fine driving, we soon arrived at Mannings Heath and were welcomed by Emma, who showed us to the dining room.

The first part of the morning was most interesting, with a talk from Emma, who told us the recent history of the Wine Estate and how the new owner had converted a part of the golf course into a vineyard and started producing the excellent wines that we had in front of us. The four varieties of wine were accompanied by four different cheeses and from the look on most peoples faces (see below), they were well received.

The next part of the morning was an excellent one course lunch during which members were also busy ordering their wine that they collected on their way back to the coach.

We then went on a bit of a mystery tour when our driver Dave, who hadn't been on the wine at lunch time, took a wrong turning and we ended up going round in quite large circle before finally arriving at Leonardslee Gardens. After some confusion regarding who wanted to go on which guided tour, whether the adventurous one or the sedate one, members made their way into the gardens to see not only the trees and bushes that Leonardslee is famous for, but the wallaby enclosure, the dolls house, some MG Morgan's and of course, the café, that all proved popular.

As an assistance to those less able to get round the quite hilly gardens, buggies were on hand to ferry people to and from the lakes and these were well used by our members. Two of our members, who shall remain nameless, did need to be 'rescued' from a seat near the 'middle pond', but all was well in the end and we returned to Brighton with the same number of members that we had left with.

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On a bright and warm day, 18 members met at the West Hove Golf Club and had plenty of time for a coffee or tea and chat before setting of on the ramble around this attractive part of the South Downs. Thanks go to Graham Clark who had organised this event on our behalf.

At the start of the ramble we were warned about keeping a look out for golf balls that may be close to where we were walking, but I am pleased to say we all returned safely!!. The circular walk took us through farmland and fields of wheat that looked wonderful in the bright sunshine and gentle breeze

After passing some sheep, horses and bulls (thankfully all in their own fields) we walked through the Benfield Valley Nature Reserve before arriving back at the Club house where we all enjoyed an excellent carvery meal with a delicious pudding!!

Here are some photographs and thanks to Val Figg for supplying a few of them......

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On a warm and sunny day, 28 members and their guests made the short journey to Borde Hill Gardens, near to Haywards Heath to visit the gardens that were created in the early 1900s with plants gathered by the great plant collectors from their travels to the Himalayas, China, Burma, Tasmania and the Andes. Borde Hill contains the best private collection of champion trees in Britain and one of the most comprehensive collections of trees and shrubs in the world.

We started our visit with a two course salad lunch that was served in a marquee on the lawns that proved to be nice and cool in the rather humid atmosphere. The lunch was excellent and we were due to have a guided tour of the gardens after lunch, but unfortunately the Head Gardner had fallen victim to COVID, so was unable to be with us. We were given a short talk by one of the reception ladies and she gave out additional pamphlets to help us find our way around the gardens/

Probably the two most popular areas that we visited, other than the cafe, was the Rose Garden and the Italian Garden. The roses were wonderful with such different aromas and scents from the different varieties. The Italian Garden, with the small pond and water features was also a popular choice in the warm weather.

The visit was enjoyed by all those that attended and the weather stayed kind to us all afternoon.

As usual, photographs tell a better story than my words, so here are some of those that I took on the day....

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On a bright and very warm day, 23 members met at the Castle Inn Hotel at Bramber and had plenty of time for a coffee or tea and chat before setting of on the ramble down the River Adur and through Beeding.

Our colleague David Titcomb had put a lot of work into planning this ramble and before the start handed out information sheets giving both directions and local facts that added to the enjoyment of the walk.

It was particularly warm, which made the ramble a little uncomfortable at times, but everyone made it back to the Hotel to enjoy a splendid two course lunch served by friendly catering staff. After the lunch Don thanked David & Rae for all their hard work in organising the event.

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In the week when the country had recoded it's hottest ever temperature, 75 members and their guests made their way to Tottington Manor for our Mid Summer Lunch. Luckily it had cooled down a little for our lunch, although was still pleasantly warm. Apart from some minor issues with a road closure, everyone arrived in good time for the two course meal and entertainment from 'The Vintage Trio'.

We were served the main salad course and then were splendidly entertained by the three young ladies known as 'The Vintage Trio', noting that the 'vintage' referred to the songs and not the singers!!!! We had previously booked these ladies in 2020, but were scuppered by the pandemic. We tried again in 2021 to go ahead with a picnic in Arundel where they would have preformed outside for us, but once again safety advice from the Government prevented that from going ahead, so it was third time lucky and it was certainly worth waiting for. In the first part of their performance they sung songs from Musicals and no doubt brought back many memories for our members.

We then were served with a delicious Eton Mess followed by coffee or tea and then had the second part of their performance with popular and party songs that everyone singing along or tapping their feet in time to the music. It was an excellent show, enjoyed by everyone as can be seen from the photographs at the end of this report.

It was nice to see everyone together again with many members catching up with news and gossip and no doubt putting the world to rights!!!

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On a warm. but cloudy day, 45 members and their guests left Hove, to make the two hour journey up to Henley Upon Thames where we boarded the Hibernia for a 3 hour cruise down the River Thames..

Soon after boarding the boat, we were served with a generously sized glass of Pimms, which went down rather well as the sun came out.

The trip was called the 'Midsomer' cruise as it passes many riverside properties that have appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders and we were joined by Rob Higginbotham, who gave us an amusing commentary about these properties, as well as the history of the River in that area, in particular the world famous Henley Regatta.

A short time later, the catering staff started to bring out the vintage cream tea and placed a three tiered cake stand on each table, then proceeded to place another three tiered cake stand on each table to give us a magnificent afternoon tea, with unlimited tea or coffee. The quality was superb and the quantity and the service could not be faulted.

Apart from a short shower, the weather stayed kind to us all day and helped to make it another enjoyable excursion.

As usual here are some photographs from the day, with one big difference, these were taken by Dave Stedman, Val Figg and Gill Hill, so thank you for sending them to me to publish.

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A party of 23 members left Withdean by coach at 9.45 am where we were pleased to welcome back Peter Head, our driver for the day who has accompanied us on many of our previous trips. Two other members drove direct to the venue making a total attendance 25, with two other members expected to arrive by the same method but unfortunately were absentees.

Dave Stedman, our chairman, was asked by Don to be our leader for the day as sadly he was unable to come being at home looking after Rose who has Covid at present.

Shortly after our arrival at 10.55am we had coffee/tea plus cookies served to us at the Moat Café after an initial mix up caused by a shortage of staff but all was well eventually and the refreshments' made a good start to the day. At 11.30 am followed a leisurely trip around the grounds, some visiting the castle, some enjoying the scenery by the lake and others enjoying the beautiful gardens and topiary in the grounds. At 12.30pm we all congregated in the Pavilion restaurant and we all thoroughly enjoyed a fish and chip lunch followed by ice cream sundae and tea/coffee. Some of us also enjoyed some alcoholic beverages at their own expense as well.

After lunch we made our way to the Information hut where we met up with our guides for the tour arranged for 2.30 pm. They were Michael and Felix. Their knowledge of the history of the Estate and gardens were outstanding. This included tips on how to improve plant growth, how to correctly prune roses and when not to prune as in the case of hydrangeas that prefer acidity in the soil. Adding a few coffee beans or granules to the soil makes this possible. One interesting fact about the lake was that Lord Astor employed 800 men to hand dig 35 acres of land over a number of years to create it and the excavated soil that was placed on either side now represents impressive landscapes. Other information the guides gave to us was enthralling to say the least and the Chairman will be writing to Hever Castle management to praise them for their efforts even though they were personally thanked at the time. A group photo appears below showing both Michael and Felix and they were only too pleased to participate.

We were also shown areas currently under development including a “dye” garden which was the idea of Felix (who was formerly in the fashion industry) explaining the various types of dye created for plants that will be a feature for a new educational establishment in the not too distant future. The tour took longer than the allotted hour mainly due to the enthusiasm of the guides and the questions asked by our members all of which were well answered and well received.

There followed an exodus to the Moat Café once again for refreshments before we made our way back to the coach which left at 5.00pm. We arrived back in Brighton at approximately 6.15pm.

It was pleasing to note that a number of members commented that the day exceeded their expectations and Dave thanked Don for organising it (in his absence) on behalf of members for a memorable day out.

Thanks to Dave Stedman, Valerie Figg and Jeanette Grant for supplying the photographs that appear below:

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In a week when the weather forecast didn't look too promising, it turned out to be warm and sunny as 18 society members met at the Mid Sussex Golf Course near Ditchling for the Autumn golf meeting. After the usual bacon rolls and coffee the golfers set out to play on the excellently kept course and also, as usual, the banter was almost better than the standard of the golf!!!

After the golf we had chicken and rice, which was delicious. The organisers, Chris Hudson and John Jago made the presentations which were as follows:

The competition on the day for the Mike Barrett Trophy was won by Terry Webb (See photo 1). Second was Chris Hudson (See photo 2) and in third place was Jim Snow (See photo 3) on his debut. There was also a 'nearest the pin' competition and the winners were Richard Wright (See Photo 4) and Peter Elliott (See photo 5). The prize for the best score on the first 9 holes went to Terry Webb and for the second nine holes, the bottle of wine went to Richard Box (See photo 6)

The Bob Russell Trophy, for the best combined score from the Autumn and Spring Meetings, was awarded to Chris Hudson (See photo 7) who by the narrowest of margins beat Barry Davis (See photo 8) into second place, Both are pictured with the presenter of the trophy Bob Russell.

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On a mild late October day, 56 members and their guests met outside the Theatre Royal in Brighton to see Agatha Christie’s, The Mousetrap, which in London is the world’s longest-running play., this year being it's 70th Anniversary year.

This thrilling West End production is THE genre-defining murder mystery from the best-selling novelist of all time…As news spread of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers found themselves snowed in at a remote countryside guesthouse. When a police sergeant arrived, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer was in their midst! Which one was the murderer? Who could be their next victim? Could you solve this world-famous mystery for yourself?....well. of course, those who attended now know who the killer was, but are sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone.

The play was performed perfectly with Todd Carty (EastEnders, The Bill), John Altman (Nasty Nick - EastEnders) and Gwyneth Strong (Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders) heading the cast.

After the show we took the short walk across to Al Duomo and after a short wait enjoyed an excellent cream tea, with loads to eat...... After tea, our Chairman, Dave Stedman thanked Don for all his hard work in arranging this event and also mentioned he was really pleased to see Don's wife, Rose, walking so well after her recent hip replacement surgery.

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As always, we have saved our best event until last with our Annual Christmas Lunch at Deans Place Hotel in Alfriston. This year there were 120 members in attendance with a number having to drop out through illness or medical appointments. Don wished them all well.

This was the 17th year that we have been to Dean's Place, apart from in 2020, and the afternoon was most enjoyable as always with a wonderful meal followed by the much awaited raffle and games of Irish Bingo.

It would be wrong to say that the afternoon went without a hitch as there were long delays for the food to arrive, Although Don make an announcement telling our guests that there was an issue in the kitchens, we didn't find until after the lunch that the head chef and his assistant were both taken poorly in the late morning and had tested positive for Covid which left them very short staffed and having to put in place additional precautions with regards to the sterilisation of the plates etc. That said, they coped very well and the meal was a marked improvement on last year and but for the delays, would have been perfect.

After the meal, our Chairman, Dave Stedman, thanked Don for all his hard work in organising the lunch, which was met by a warm round of applause, and he then wished everyone a safe journey home and a very Happy Christmas.

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2022	2007