Annual Report 2024

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AGM & Lunch

Thursday 7th March 2024

On a warm and sunny day, 52 members and their guests attended the Club's 46th Annual General Meeting held at Tottington Manor Hotel, Small Dole.

Coffee and home made biscuits were waiting for us on arrival.

The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. 

In his report, Dave Stedman, our Chairman, mentioned that we had 167 'active' members who had attended an event in the last couple of years, for which we received the annual grant from Head Office. However this did leave 91 'inactive' members and he asked those present to try and encourage anyone they knew to come along to a coffee morning or other event. The full copy of the AGM Minutes is available in the AGM Minutes section of the web site. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THEM.

The meeting proceeded smoothly and the existing Committee were re-elected en-bloc.

Don mentioned the sad passing of our colleague Norma Pontin and Dave then asked everyone for a minutes silence to pay respect to Norma and other members that we had lost during the last year. This was adhered to impeccably and I am sure we all had our own thoughts of those that are no longer with us.

The Meeting was followed by an excellent two course meal that was served quickly by friendly catering staff.

As usual, just a few photographs of the members enjoying the occasion:

Visit to Coral Greyhound Stadium Hove

Wednesday 10th April 2024

We returned to the Hove dog stadium after a break of 5 years and the 45 club members had a wonderful afternoon watching the live greyhound racing and enjoying an excellent two course lunch.

With drinks included and with us all sitting together just by the finishing post, our day was complete....almost...the optional betting syndicate did not do particularly well for the first 8 races without picking up a single winner. Our luck did change with wins in races 9 and 10, which after a quick pole straw, we reinvested our winnings into race 11. We won again, but not enough to make it worthwhile dividing it up into individual amounts, so we reinvested into the final race and guess what.....we lost!!!!!

Never mind, everyone had a most enjoyable afternoon and I know a few members went home with more money than they came with...including me and the Chairman!!

Here are some photographs for you to enjoy...please take a special note of one of our members who shall remain nameless, getting his wallet out to make a bet!!!!

Spring Golf Meeting at Mid-Sussex Golf Course.

Wednesday 8th May 2024

Just 12 members arrived for the now traditional bacon roll and coffee at Mid-Sussex Golf Club, near Ditchling. Unusually for this year, it was a bright sunny day, and quite warm without any signs of rain.

The course was in excellent condition and there were no excuses as the golfers attempted to accumulate stableford points during their round.

Scoring was varied, ranging from just 9 points to an incredible 36 points as the heat took it's toll on the less fit (Mainly me!! and a bit of Chris Hudson and Bob Russell!)

Anyway after the most enjoyable round of golf and after a very filling meal of Chicken and Chips, our organisers announced the winners for the day.

They were:

Winner of the R T Box Memorial Trophy - Julie Webb with 36 points.     In second place was Steve Gault with 34 points

In equal third place were Peter Elliott and Jim Snow with 28 points.    Best front 9 went to Jim Snow and the best back 9 to Terry Webb

Nearest the pin prizes were won by Peter Elliott and Chris Hudson.

Here's a couple of photos from the day.

1. Julie receiving the cup from Richard Box (Son of R T Box)

2. Richard Box in action

3. The Organisers and Richard Box and Julie

Shuffleboard Competition with Tea

Shoreham Harbour Club

Thursday 23rd May 2024

On a lovely afternoon at the above venue a total of 35 members attended the above event. It was a fun afternoon with many members who had not played on a Shuffleboard before participating for the first time, I have to say, in the words of Mr. Grace of “Are you being Served?” They all did very well!

Shuffleboard, for the uninitiated, is a game played on a wooden base where you attempt to slide wooden discs through small gaps that score you points. This game has been in existence since the times of Henry VIII, who is reputed to have played the game  for money, unlike us, who just played for the fun of it.

The afternoon commenced around 2pm for part 1 of the tournament. Six groups of six which Don had kindly organised were split into two teams, A and B. The “A” teams played their rounds first with one member of the “B” team acting as scorer and vice versa. At the end of the first three rounds for all players the tournament paused to enable our members to enjoy a superb afternoon tea provided for us by the host club. After approximately 45 minutes the tournament resumed. Further fun and laughter evolved as the players tried to shuffle those wooden discs through the gaps to obtain as many points as they could.

At the end of the tournament, Adrian (accompanied by his assistant Colin) gathered and checked all the scores. Adrian announced that more than 500 points had been exceeded by many of the teams which he described as a splendid effort. So well done to you all!

The winning team known as “The Seagulls” (Graham and Christine Clark and Una Osmond) were declared the winners and “The Albion” (Dave and Jill Stedman and Chris Mockford) were the runners up.

The event proved very popular and all the members who attended wished to have another tournament organised soon. Watch this space!

The Chairman (Dave Stedman) and I took a few photos of the event which appear below:

Three Rivers Cruise

Blue Funnel Day Cruises Southampton

Wednesday 12th June 2024

44 Members and guests boarded the Spirit of Sussex coach to make their way to Southampton Docks and the Hythe Pier to board the 'Ocean Scene' Cruiser for the Three Rivers Cruise.

The weather was fine and with very little wind, so the cruise was calm and trouble free. The cruise took us round Southampton port and into the River Hamble, historic home of yacht building, the River Itchen and finally into the River Test where the large container ships berth.

During the cruise we were served with a super Fish & Chip Lunch followed by tea/coffee and many members also enjoyed an ice cream during the afternoon.

The cash bar was popular and the captains dialog giving details of local landmarks and historical facts was most interesting and on occasions amusing.

As usual, a few photographs for you to enjoy:

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Mid Summer Lunch

Held at Tottington Manor Hotel

Thursday 18th July 2024

This was the fourth year that we have held our Mid Summer Lunch at Tottington Manor Hotel and it gets better every year. The food and the service were excellent and the entertainment from our favourite trio, The Silhouette Show - Vintage Trio'  was first class.

The weather was warm and sunny as 58 members and their guests arrived for tea or coffee and some home made shortbreads and many joined in with the 'Western Theme' with a variety of hats and outfits that helped to make the event a huge success.

As always, photographs tell a far better story than words, so here are a few to give you a flavour of how the afternoon went.

Kent & East Sussex Railway, Tenterden

Tuesday 20th August 2024

It was a warm and sunny day as 38 members and their guests boarded the coach for the journey to Tenterden in Kent where we arrived in good time for boarding the 1.10pm steam train to Bodiam.

The Kent & East Sussex Railway is a renowned heritage railway built by Holman F Stephens, it was the first light passenger railway in Britain in the early 20th century and is today one of Britain’s most loved and original heritage lines which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of reopening in 2024. With a rich history spanning over 120 years, the K&ESR offers visitors an authentic steam and diesel-powered railway experience through 10½ miles of Wealden countryside in the beautiful Rother Valley, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Staffed almost entirely by volunteers, the railway prides itself on preserving railway heritage, operating a diverse range of locomotives, and providing a unique glimpse into the golden age of rail travel.

During the journey from Tenterden to Bodiam we were treated to a cream tea with fresh scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and to help it go down, cups of hot tea or coffee all served by cheerful and knowledgeable volunteers.

We also received a brief talk about the railway and how Barclays Bank had helped with the initial reconstruction of the line and it now had some 90,000 visitors each year.

At Bodiam Station, a carriage had been set up as a tribute to the WW1 nurse Edith Cavell and the Unknown Warrior whose bodies were repatriated to the UK in this actual carriage.

As usual, here are some photographs showing members enjoying the day.

Autumn Golf Meeting at West Hove Golf Course.

Tuesday 24th September 2024

In a week when we had the most atrocious weather forecast, luck was on our side as the 10 members arrived for the now traditional bacon roll and coffee at West Hove Golf Club. It was a cloudy but dry day, and the course was in excellent condition. Thanks go to our organiser, John Jago, for his solo efforts in arranging the day, especially as his co-organiser, Chris Hudson had decided to go to Malta to celebrate his 50th Wedding Anniversary........ Congrats Chris & Averil.

After the golf, we sat down to an excellent chicken meal following which, John presented the prizes to the winners.

For the Autumn competition, the Mike Barrett Trophy is awarded to the golfer scoring the most points and that was John Jago, with 40 points,  who presented himself with the trophy!!

Runner Up was Julie Webb, with 37 points and in third place, David Pitts with 36 points.

The golfer with the best score for the outward 9 holes was Steve Gault and for the inward 9 holes it was Peter Elliott

A further prize was awarded to the person whose shot finished nearest the pin on hole 7 and that was Don Semmons where a rather wayward tee shot took a remarkable deflection and ended up a few feet from the pin!!!

The Bob Russell Trophy is awarded to the person who has the highest combined score from the Spring & Autumn Meetings and this year the trophy was awarded to Julie Webb with a combined total of 73 points. Runner up was Steve Gault with 67 points and third was Peter Elliott on 63 Points.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for all those who participated.

Here is a photo showing Steve Gault, Julie Webb and John Jago with their well earned  prizes.

Dial M for Mayhem

16th October 2024

A total of 47 members took the coach to the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne to see the Middle Ground Theatre’s Company production at 2.30pm on the above date.

The play was based upon Dial M for Murder. It is fair to say that the play did not live up to its billing as a charming farcical comedy drama. It certainly was not a “laugh out loud” play. For one thing the actors didn’t wear microphones which didn’t help in coping with accents. The play comprised two halves with much bewilderment on the faces of our members in the first half rambling on about nothing in particular for the audience to (try to) follow. I think everyone looked forward to enjoying an ice cream or drink at the break it was that poor.

The second half was a little better than the first half with a bit more action and mayhem, the highlight (if any) was the AA man character talking in a scouse accent which was amusing but it didn’t seem to “rub off” on some of the others. Another, playing the flatulent character role and wearing a pair of red pants over his trousers pretending to iron a shirt (clearly, he couldn’t) spouting his words at the same time. Overall, the plot it was a bit disjointed and a number of us thought it was rubbish. Clearly there was little laughter from the audience and I am sure the actors would have observed as such.

Such a shame really. We all thought we would be witnessing and enjoying hilarity but it was the complete opposite, however the tea afterwards made up for it as we were treated to some fine sandwiches and huge scones with jam and cream and scrumptious cakes.

Whilst it was a disappointing watch, we all agreed that it was an afternoon out with good banter among members followed by an enjoyable tea!

I must make the point that it is extremely rare for an event organised by the Club that turns out to be a disappointing and poor experience and I know all those who attended appreciated that fact.

And here are some photograph with thanks to Phil Cheesman.

Christmas Lunch

Held at Oak Barn Restaurant Burgess Hill

Thursday 5th December 2024

Following the temporary closure of our usual venue at Deans Place for our Christmas Lunch, we had to find a new establishment that could take up to 130 people and provide good food and service. Well, we hit the nail on the head with choosing the Oak Barn Restaurant at Burgess Hill. They offered us a tremendous variety of food, with 6 selections for each course and all at a reasonable price.

So our hopes were high and 120 members attended the event which turned out to be a fantastic occasion with the food and the service provided by Oak Barn to be of the highest quality and enjoyed unanimously by all those who attended The service was exemplary and all dietary requirements met and any additional individual requests acted upon immediately. We will not hesitate in returning to this venue again next year.

The usual raffle was made a little difficult to conduct with the room split into three areas, but we managed and the 32 prizes were distributed to the lucky winners. Unfortunately we couldn't play our usual games of Irish Bingo due to the shape of the rooms, but this didn't impact on the overall enjoyment.

As usual, here are some photographs showing members enjoying the occasion.

Only Fools and Horses – the Musical

Brighton Dome Concert Hall

11th December 2024

A group of 47 members gathered at the Dome Brighton on a gloomy afternoon to witness and thoroughly enjoy the above musical. Based on John Sullivan’s legendary television show, this critically acclaimed home-grown musical spectacular featured cherished material from Britain’s best loved TV series. With a script and original score written by John’s son, Jim Sullivan, and comedy giant Paul Whitehouse, we were reacquainted with Britain’s most lovable rogues and experienced the classic comedy brought to life on stage through an ingenious script and 20 hilarious songs. While it’s all kicking off in Peckham, the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do’, and even Trigger is geared up for a date (with a person!).

Meanwhile, Boycie and Marlene gave parenthood one final shot and Grandad took stock of his life and decided the time had finally arrived to get his piles or (Farmer Giles as Grandad put it) sorted!!

With musical contributions from the iconic Chas & Dave, the beloved theme rang out, together with an array of brand-new songs full of character and cockney charm. Memories came flooding back with the sketches containing many references to the beloved TV series. The actors who played our cockney heroes were brilliant in every aspect and the show was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, many who stated it was the best comedy show they had seen in a very long time with many a laugh along the way.

The Chairman had purchased the tickets for this show on 23rd December 2023 before reimbursement by the Club knowing full well the show would be a sellout – and it was! It was well worth doing knowing the pleasure it gave our members.

After the show we all had a short walk to Al Duomos where Don had arranged for us to have a superb tea that rounded off the afternoon.

Here are just a few, rather poor photos (sorry!) of the members enjoying their tea!!

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Cineworld 2024

 VISIT TO SEE “ONE LIFE”

 17TH JANUARY 2024

On a bitterly cold morning a total of 36 members arrived at about 10.30am for warming refreshments before settling down in the cinema to watch an excellent film entitled “One Life”. The main character, Nicholas Winton played by Anthony Hopkins (in his later years) and Johnny Flynn in his younger days. Supporting actors/actresses amongst others included Helena Bonham-Carter, (Winton’s mother). Lena Olin, (his wife), Alex Sharp as Trevor Chadwick and Samantha Spiro as Esther Rantzen.

The film is a true story that evolves around Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker, who looks back over his life on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and flee in 1938-1939, just before the beginning of World War II to Britain. The operation that came to be known as the Kindertransport.

Winton overcomes bureaucratic hurdles, collects donations, and looks for foster families for the 669 children brought to England. Many of them are Jews who are at imminent risk of deportation. A race against time begins as it is unclear how long the borders will remain open before the inevitable Nazi invasion. Fifty years later, in 1988, Winton, now in his 70s, cleans up some of the clutter in his office and finds his old documents in which he recorded his work for the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC), with photos and lists of the children they wanted to bring to safety. Winton still blames himself for not being able to save more.

Winton’s story was eventually brought to the nation’s attention on a programme known as “That’s Life”televised on BBC1 and hosted by Esther Rantzen. The series was broadcast on BBC1 for 21 years, from 26 May 1973 until 19 June 1994. During that time Winton appeared on two consecutive shows in which his story was explained and on the first show two of the children that he saved were in their adult life sat either side of him without him knowing and was introduced to them by Esther Rantzen that brought him much joy and emotion. The following week after a massive public reaction to his cause, he was invited back again where he was overwhelmed to see the entire audience introduced to him that consisted of those “children” that he had saved. He was later knighted for his work.

It was an amazing film and the only regret I had was that I should have asked the members to bring a box of tissues – it was that moving

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VISIT TO SEE “ARGYLLE”

20TH FEBRUARY 2024

A total of 34 members attended Cineworld at Brighton Marina and now as part of our enjoyment on these visits enjoyed pre film coffees cakes and cookies before settling down to see “Argylle”.

The plot behind the film is as follows -

Bryce Dallas Howard is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which centre on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aiden, (Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to unfold.

This is an action-packed film completely different from the last series of films we have seen and had everything, comedy, a bit of romance, far-fetched sequences, clever cinematography and stunts plus glamour that resulted in a good watch.

Many members thought it was a great film, cleverly written and portrayed. It lasted for 2 hours 20 minutes, and some commented to me...... more of the same please!!

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VISIT TO SEE "TRAP”  

18th September 2024

A total of 17 members attended the screening of “Trap” on a lovely sunny morning with the usual coffee and cakes provided before entering the auditorium at 11.30.

The plot behind the film was as follows:

Trap (2024), directed by M. Night Shyamalan, follows Cooper Adams, a seemingly ordinary father who is secretly a notorious serial killer known as “The Butcher.” Cooper attends a concert with his daughter Riley, but his plans are derailed when the FBI closes in, suspecting him of being the killer they’ve been hunting. Cooper must find a way to evade capture while maintaining his facade as a loving father. Throughout the film, Cooper manipulates various people, including concert crew members and even popstar Lady Raven, to avoid getting caught. He uses threats and deception to gain access to restricted areas and escape security, even taking Lady Raven hostage at one point. However, Cooper’s wife, Rachel, ultimately betrays him, having set the FBI onto him after discovering his true identity. The climax unfolds with Cooper narrowly escaping several traps, but Rachel finally subdues him by drugging him. Despite being arrested, the film’s ambiguous ending shows Cooper picking his handcuffs, hinting at a possible escape and setting up tension for the future.

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VISIT TO SEE "Phantom of the Opera"  

3rd November 2024

A total of 22 members and guests attended this 25th Anniversary showing of the musical 'Phantom of the Opera' that was performed at the Royal Albert Hall earlier in the year.

The filming of the live musical was amazing and probably as good as actually being there, as we were able to see close ups of the actors and the sound was wonderful. Asd usual, after the show, members made their own way to the local restaurant of the their choice to complete another excellent visit to Cineworld.