AGM and Lunch

The Club's 38th Annual General Meeting was held in the Spen Cama Pavilion at Sussex County Cricket Club in Hove and was attended by 52 members.

Our Chairman, Roger Francis lead the proceedings and in his report mentioned that it had been another successful year that had been well supported by our members. He welcomed those members who had only just joined the Club. Roger then gave a vote of thanks to all the committee members for their contributions with a special mention to Don Semmons who had produced a DVD of the Club's activities over the last 15 years that had been sold to members for £5 and had raised £320 for Macmillan Nurses. This, in turn, had been matched by Barclays on the £ for £ scheme, so a total of £640 was made to this worthwhile charity.

Chairman:	Roger Francis
Deputy Chairman:	Graham Clark
Secretary:	Jean Clarke
Treasurer	Don Semmons
Social Secretary	Don Semmons
Assistant Social Secretary	Norma Pontin
Chief Welfare Officer	Tony Comber
Committee Member	Rosemary Singyard
Committee Member	Buster Ashdown
Committee Member	Gill Hill
Committee Member	Justine Hamilton

The AGM was followed by a splendid buffet lunch that was thoroughly enjoyed by all the attendees and many commented on how lovely the venue was and the friendliness and efficiency of the staff who looked after us so well.

The sky was a bit grey when we boarded the coach on our way to London to embark on a guided tour around various locations in London infamous for their connection with crime or the solving of crime during the last 250 years.

39 members and their guests were 'brave' enough to join us on this trip to see the secrets of Scotland Yard and The Black Museum. We arrived at the Admiralty Public House to enjoy an excellent chicken pie lunch and a cup of tea or coffee. We had picked up our Blue Badge Guide, Owen, at Tate Britain just before the lunch and we were soon on our way for a short walking tour to the National Police Memorial in St.James's Park and across Horse Guards Parade and into Whitehall to see the Horse Guards. Owen, who was absolutely marvellous, gave us a commentary during the walk and then continued his amusing and informative talk during the afternoon when we travelled around parts of London seeing sights such as Scotland Yard, the Old Bailey and New Scotland Yard.

Owen told us about the history of the police going back to the 'Thief Takers', the Bow Street Runners and the first 'Bobbies' formed in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. We finished our afternoon at the Museum of London, Docklands to see the 'Scotland Yard Black Museum' where exhibits were on display that have never seen before by members of the public. These objects that have been collected by Scotland Yard detectives since 1875 and included all sorts of artefacts from the mobile generator used by the Kray twins to torture people to the gun used by Ruth Ellis, who was the last woman to be executed for murdering her lover David Blakely. There were hundreds of other items all with a story to tell and of great interest.

Whilst at the Museum we had the chance to see the Olympic Torch and the Lord Mayor of London's State Coach. After browsing through the Museum, we had a short timer for a quick snack and a drink before making our way back to the coach for the journey back home after a fascinating day out.

The photo showing a trunk is the hangman's mobile kit for taking around the country to hang people!!!!!

The sky was looking a bit ominous as 25 golf society members gathered in the Hassocks Golf Club bar for the customary bacon rolls and coffee. Wintery showers had been forecast and the temperature set to plummet!

The golfers set off in twos and threes and whilst at one point it did sleet and was rather dark, the day was generally fine with a bit of a North wind. Scoring was very good and the condition of the course was excellent. This was the first time that we have played this course as a society and it was well received.

After the golf, we were treated to en excellent two course meal followed by the presentations, with our 'Master of Ceremonies' John Jago doing the honours. John also thanked Chris Hudson for his hard work in organising the event. John announced the winners to the 'Nearest the Pin' awards with Barry Davis winning the first and after a brief explanation of how close the second award was, John pronounced himself as the winner by 'about an inch!!'.

Prizes were awarded for the best score for the first nine holes and that went to John Crane and for the last nine holes was awarded to Bob Russell. John then announced the winners of the competition in reverse order with Barry Davis third, John Charlton second and the winner Richard Wright.

It was interesting to note that playing on the day were 6 'John's' and 3 'Elliott's'.

A few photos showing Chris Hudson, Peter Elliott and Don Semmons playing their drives at the 5th hole and the winner Richard Wright with his trophy.

43 Members and their Guests enjoyed an afternoon at the Coral Greyhound Stadium in Hove.

An excellent three course meal was served and 14 greyhound races that gave our members a chance to win some money with some astute betting. As usual, Don organised a syndicate betting service and as usual we didn't win our money back!, but this year a dividend was paid of 60p in the £1, so the cost to members was only 40p per race!!!

It was a cloudy day when 32 members and their guests boarded the coach for the journey across Sussex and into Hampshire to visit the Gin Distillery and Silk Mill. We had time on arrival to grab a coffee and have a sit down for a few minutes before commencing our tour.

The history of the mill itself goes back several hundred years and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book 1086, but only became a gin distillery in 2010 when purchased by the Bombay Sapphire Gin company who have been producing gin since 1761.

We were welcomed to the distillery by Carol who gave us a brief talk about the history of the Mill and took us through to the 'Dry Room' where we spent some time 'sniffing' various botanicals, which are the ingredients that go into the gin production to make various varieties of gin. We then went through the processing plant and was given a detailed talk on how gin is produced and stored. We were able to smell and taste the gin as it came from the still, but as at that stage the alcoholic content was in the region of 87%, we could only dip our fingers into the glass and lick them!!!

After the tour we were treated to a gin cocktail or non alcoholic cocktail followed by a marvellous buffet meal that everyone agreed was superb.

We then got back on the coach for the 5 minute journey to the Whitchurch Silk Mill where again we had the opportunity to rest for while before being taken in two groups around the mill by two young ladies who were both exceedingly knowledgeable and gave us an in depth insight into the workings of the mill that has been there since 1815. This is the oldest working silk mill in the country producing fine high quality silk for its customers.

If you were unable to go on the trip, but wish to know mare about these fascinating places, they both have web sites that you can visit.

As usual here are a few pictures from the day: (Incidentally at the distillery there was a photo shoot going on with a McLaren 570 GT Sports Car, but as I didn't have £200,000 with me, I didn't buy one!)

It was a warm summers day when 66 members and their guests arrived at Hove for the annual Mid Summer Lunch that this year was held at the lovely Sussex Cricket Club ground at Eaton Road. This was our third visit to this venue for this event and the first time since 2010

As we have become accustomed with our other events at this venue, the food and service was excellent and the friendly surroundings lent itself to a relaxed atmosphere. There was actually a cricket match in progress, with Sussex Under 17's playing against Essex Under 17's and quite a few members took the opportunity to sit outside a watch a few overs.

The wonderful buffet lunch was followed by coffee and mints and then the highlight of the day, when we were again entertained by the remarkable and amusing 'Lady Crabtree'. Back by popular demand after last years performance, we were treated to her take on it being 'Good to be Grey!' A good number of our members were seen to be nodding when she spoke about the things that now tend not to go according to plan and her dislike of barcodes and answer phones.

After her talk, our Chairman, Roger Francis, took the opportunity of thanking Lady Crabtree for her amusing anecdotes and also thanked Don and Norma for organising another successful event.

Described by our Chairman, Roger Francis as "Hot Stuff", this event must have been the warmest that we have undertaken, with temperatures up into the 30's for this local trip to Sheffield Park and Gardens followed by a journey on the Bluebell Railway.

There were 42 members and their guests who boarded the coach for the short journey into Mid Sussex and to the wonderfully scenic park and gardens of Sheffield Park. it was indeed a lovely day when we were greeted by three guides that took us round the gardens and provided us with lots of information about how the gardens were first designed by 'Capability Brown' some 300 years ago and also the changes that had occurred since then. Many questions were asked on various matters, mainly 'What is this tree called?' and the guides were able to answer them all. The photos below will give you an idea of what the scenery was like around the gardens.

We then moved onto the Bluebell Railway by returning to the coach and taking the 5 minute ride to Sheffield Park Station where we arrived in good time to grab a drink or go shopping in the excellent (and very cool) gift shop. We were met by our guide for the afternoon, David, and had soon boarded the train for the 1.30pm departure. With the carriage we were in being made in the 1950's, there was no air conditioning, of course, so it was a little warm when we set off with the little sliding windows not bringing in much needed cool air! However, the cheese ploughman's lunch with a refreshing cup of tea kept us from being too British and complaining about the weather!! Several members took the opportunity at the changeover, at East Grinstead, to take a closer look at the steam engine, with one of our members, the ever youthful, Phyllis Webb, offering her assistance to 'Stoke the Boiler', as you can see in the photos below.

It was a wonderful late summers day when 34 members and their guests boarded the coach for the hour long journey to Penshurst Place that sits between Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge in Kent. Penshurst Place is a 14th century defended manor house that is one of England's oldest family homes.

When we arrived we were able to relax in their restaurant with a cup of tea or coffee and a rather tasty cookie. After a few minutes were were greeted by two ladies, Martha and Sue, who would be our house guides for the morning tour around this fascinating house that has been owned by royalty and nobles for more than 6 centuries, including Henry VIII. Both of these ladies were superb guides and gave us an insight into how the house had expanded over the years and in particular how the 'Barons Hall', built in 1341 may have been used. This is still a family home and is now occupied by Viscount De L'Isle MBE.

Our tour around the house continued into many adjoining staterooms and we saw a wonderful collection of paintings, tapestries and furniture. The armoury was very impressive with flintlock rifles, armour and swords. including one rather gruesome exhibit 'The Executioners Sword' that unusually was flat across the end, but as someone mentioned, there was 'no point'!!

After thanking our guides we returned to the restaurant and were treated to a two course lunch that was excellent. After relaxing for a while, we were met by Ann Bell who was to be our guide for a walk around the formal gardens that had been first created in 1346. There were over 11 acres of walled and yew tree hedged gardens each created for a purpose and our guide, who was brilliant, enhanced our walk with her many explanations and descriptions. A very worth while walk and many members said they would be returning to see the gardens in full bloom a little earlier in the season next year.

After the garden tour, many members took the opportunity of popping into the 'Toy Museum' showing a collection of toys from bygone eras.

Finally, to complete a wonderful day, we returned to the restaurant for a traditional cream tea, which like the rest of the day, was faultless. If nothing else, we all probably all put on a bit of weight and topped up our sun tans as added bonuses on a superb day.

It was just a little damp when 17 members of the golf society met at Pyecombe Golf Club for the now customary bacon rolls prior to embarking on 18 holes of golf in the Autumn Competition.

The course was in excellent condition, but a persistent wind and some drizzle, made the scoring a bit lower that it might have been. Nevertheless, some excellent rounds of golf were played, none better than the winner on the day, Peter Elliott who won the Mike Barrett Trophy. Runners up were announced as Keith Pike and John Charlton. The two prizes for 'nearest the pin' went to Mel Sims and Barry Davis. It was interesting to note that at the Spring Meeting one of the nearest the pin prizes went to John Jago - by about an inch - from Barry Davis. At this meeting the roles were reversed with Barry's ball being about an inch nearer the hole John's !!

The Bob Russell Trophy is awarded to the player with the highest aggregate score in both the Spring and Autumn Meetings and this year the award went John Charlton closely followed by Richard Wright and Barry Davis. John Charlton thanked the organisers for their hard work and making these meetings a joy to play in.

It was a sunny October afternoon when 48 members and their guests arrived at the Theatre Royal in Brighton for the production of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and without going into any great deal of detail, most were disappointed with the play which was a great shame as this was the highest number of members that we had attending a local theatre show.

I am not a theatre critic, so feel it is best summed up by the review in the Chichester Observer that states

Thankfully the day was partially recovered by the visit to the Brighton Royal Pavilion for a Cream Tea that was most welcome. The scones were freshly cooked and the tea was fine, especially when they remembered to put a tea bag into the pot!!!

Anyway, as always everyone put on a smiley face and enjoyed each others company.

It was a bright morning when the 47 members and their guests boarded the coach for the journey up to London where we arrived in good time to grab a bite to eat and drink before making our way to the Aldwych Theatre for the production of 'Beautiful'.

We had chosen to see this show as our original choice of 'Showboat' had been withdrawn during the summer, so a number of our members were not certain what to expect, but their concerns were soon dispersed with a fabulous show that had an easy to follow story line with lots of well known hit songs from the 1960's. The production was slick and the sound excellent,

This show told the story of Carole King's rise to stardom and the ups and downs of her personal life. Her biggest hits included the Locomotion, It Might as Well Rain Until September and Take Good Care of My Baby and there were many more.

After the show we took a short stroll along the Strand to the Strand Palace Hotel where we enjoyed an excellent two course carvary meal before returning to the coach for the return trip to Hove after another successful outing.

We again went to Deans Place Hotel in Alfriston for our annual Christmas Lunch and 134 members and their guests enjoyed another wonderful occasion. This is the twelfth year that we have been welcomed at Deans Place and it appears to get better every year. This was the highest number of members ever attending this lunch, so thanks to all those who attended.

The main room was beautifully decorated with festive adornments and the 13 tables looking very Christmassy and neatly laid out. Screaming balloons again filled the air as our youthful members, at least those who had enough puff to blow them up, again let there hair down! The food was excellent and the service was even better. There was certainly plenty of food and it was well cooked. This number of guests is the most that Deans Place have entertained at this type of function and they worked very hard to make sure that it was a success.

The afternoon continued with the usual games of 'Irish Bingo' and the much awaited raffle and everyone agreed it was a wonderful event and we will be back at Deans Place next year on Thursday 7th December. Thanks to Peter, our driver, for helping with the raffle, ably assisted by Norma and Christmas Lunch newcomer, Mr John Brownbridge, who also helped to deliver all the raffle prizes, walking miles in the process!!