AGM and Lunch

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The Club's 41st Annual General Meeting was held in the Spen Cama Pavilion at Sussex County Cricket Club in Hove and was attended by 60 members.

The retiring Chairman, Roger Francis, lead the proceedings and welcomed all members and guests and was delighted to report another year of stability, progress, fellowship and enjoyment, thanks to the support of the Club officials, committee members and our membership. At the year-end our total membership numbered 365, a slight reduction from the previous year, and our eligible membership, on which we received the Social Grant of £32.50 per head from the Bank, stood at 184. This stability, coupled with support for Don Semmons’ excursions enabling us to fill, or nearly fill a 49 seater coach, and some events, the Christmas lunch in particular are marginally over-subscribed. Roger also referred to our 9 monthly coffee mornings at Café Quench in George Street, Hove, which provide a useful conduit for members’ ideas and suggestions.

Turning to the committee, he welcomed David Stedman who was elected at the 2018 AGM, and gave thanks also to Buster Ashdown, Gill Hill, Rosemary Singyard and Justine Hamilton for their continuing support. He then thanked Graham Clark for his long experience as Deputy chairman and for his administration of the Cricket Club tickets. He further thanked Jean Clarke for her 100% efficiency in all areas and Don Semmons, under both his hats as Social Secretary and Treasurer for his organisation of our successful outings. He further made special mention to Norma Pontin who has retired from the committee having served for a quarter of a century, and presented her with a bouquet of flowers as a token of our appreciation, for which she gave thanks and said it had been a pleasure. His remarks were greeted with applause and Graham Clarke proposed a vote of thanks for his report which was seconded by Joy Huntley. Finally Roger asked for a moment of silence in memory of those members, colleagues and loved ones who have passed away during the year. .

The Election of Officers followed Roger's report and a new Chairman, Graham Clark was elected. He thanked Roger for all his hard work and dedication over the last 11 years and presented Roger with an engraved silver salver to mark the occasion. Graham also presented a bouquet of flowers to Norma Pontin in recognition for over 25years involvement with our Club. (See below for Photos)

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

The full minutes may be viewed on our web site: CLICK HERE

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.

49 Members and their guests boarded the coach in bright sunshine and relaxed on the journey up to the Royal Albert Hall in London for our first visit to this venue and our first Sunday trip organised for the Club for many years.

When first considered as a possible event for our Club, we were uncertain how many members may be interested in attending....well we needed have been concerned as 49 members put their names down to attend the Classical Spectacular and they were rewarded with an amazing afternoon that will be remembered for some time.

The sun was still shining as some members walked across the road to Hyde Park to sit on the steps of the Prince Albert Memorial to eat their sandwiches. Others went into the RAH and found a bar or café for their refreshments. It was then time to take our seats to be treated to two and a half hours of classical music with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Choral Society, The British Imperial Military Band with the Muskets and Cannons of the Moscow Militia.

It is not easy to find the correct words to describe the show, but it was truly remarkable and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended. The solo performances by Thomas Gould on Violin, Anna Patalong, soprano and Alexander Edwards tenor were perfection.

I have received a number of comments about the event that I repeat below to briefly give you an indication of how much the show was enjoyed.

After the show we took a few minutes to locate the coach in the rush, but we were soon all on board for the return trip to Brighton.

Below the reviews are some photographs and some videos that give a flavour of the show.

Thank you for arranging the outing to the Classical Spectacular. It was a wonderful afternoon, the seats you managed to secure for us were excellent. The orchestra, the solo artists, the spectacle of it all was fantastic. I so enjoyed the outing, many thanks for all your efforts in making it possible for us to attend such a splendid concert.

51 members and their guests enjoyed an excellent three course meal and watched live greyhound racing at the Coral Stadium in Hove.

It was a bit damp outside and not exactly dry inside with plenty of drinks keeping the members and their guests in a good mood!

As usual Don organised a voluntary betting syndicate that got off to a slow start, a slow middle and a slow finish, but somehow we managed to give back the grand sum of £5 to each of the members of the syndicate, which meant with an outlay of £10, it had only cost a fiver for the afternoon. Not too bad eh!!!!

It was a bright, but sometimes chilly day, as 17 members of the Spread Eagles Golfing Society, teed off for the Spring Meeting, held this year at the Mid-Sussex Golf Club near to Ditchling.

As usual, there were some good rounds of golf played, some average rounds and a few ....Oh Dear!!!

Never mind, everyone enjoyed the company and the lovely meal after the golf and thanks go to Chris Hudson and John Jago for organising the event.

The winner of the R.T. Box Memorial Cup was Chris Hudson and he was presented with the trophy by Richard Box, son of Mr R.T. Box. Second in the competition was David Pitts, third was Graham Clark and in fourth place, Mel Sims. There were also prizes awarded for the best scores on the first nine holes and the last nine holes and these went to Brian Haite and Mike Aitcheson respectively.

During the round, on the shortest holes, and additional competition is held to see who can hit their tee shot nearest to the pin. Unfortunately on hole 5, just 134 yards long, no-one managed to find the green!! On the 13th hole, this one 141 yards long, the eventual winner, Chris Hudson, was the closest and won a bottle of wine for his efforts.

Chris Hudson about to receive the trophy from Richard Box Mel Sims receiving his award from Chris Hudson

It was warm and sunny as 47 members and their guests boarded the coach for the hour long journey across to Scotney Castle in Kent and am pleased to report that it remained sunny for the remainder of the day. This helped to make this a really lovely day out and everyone enjoyed both venues.

Our first venue was Scotney Castle, a National Trust Property, is an English country house with formal gardens south-east of Lamberhurst in the valley of the River Bewl in Kent. The gardens, were amazing with the central feature being the ruins of a medieval, moated manor house, Scotney Old Castle, which is on an island on a small lake. The lake is surrounded with fine collections of rhododendrons, azaleas and kalmia giving wonderful spring colours.

At the top of the garden stands a house which was built to replace the Old Castle between 1835 and 1843. This, known as Scotney New Castle, was designed by Anthony Salvin. It is an early example of Tudor Revival architectural style in 19th-century Britain. Following the death of the resident, Elizabeth Hussey, in 2006, this house was bequeathed to the National Trust and has been opened to the public ever since. The rooms, mainly designed and created in the early 1950's bought back some old memories. especially for our 'more senior' members!

Members enjoyed a snack and a drink before making the short trip from Scotney Castle to our second venue, Bewl Water, which is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl (which is a tributary of the River Teise), straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the area. It supplies not only Southern Water’s customers in the Medway towns, Thanet and Hastings, but is also used by other water companies in the area.

Work began to construct the reservoir in 1973 by damming and then flooding a valley. It was completed in 1975 having been filled with over 31,300 million litres of water. The project cost £11 million to build and it is now the largest body of inland water in south east England.

At Bewl we were treated to a marvellous cream tea, with freshly baked scones, cakes, sandwiches and unlimited cups of tea or coffee. We were scheduled to have a 30 minute boat ride on the Bewl Belle, but unfortunately it was out of action having failed the marine version of an MOT. In its place we went out onto Bewl water on their Water Taxi, taking 12 passengers at a time and this proved just as good, if not better, than the larger boat.

All in all a great day and as usual here are some of the photos taken during the day - with thanks to Philip Cheesman for his contributions:

On a wonderfully warm and sunny day, 34 members & their guests boarded the coach (driven by Peter) for the 90 minute journey into Kent and to Pashley Manor Gardens.

At Pashley we discovered 11 acres of beautiful borders and vistas and a traditional English Country garden. We received a short introductory talk from the co-owner, Angela, who explained how the gardens came into being and that for the tulip festival they plant over 35,000 tulips (and dig them up afterwards!!) These award winning gardens, on the border of Sussex and Kent, are family owned and maintained, with lakes and a number of sculptures and statues, it was an intriguing and spectacular place to spend a few hours. The members enjoyed some lunch with most of the salad ingredients fresh from their own gardens.

We then left Pashley and made our way, via a rather long road diversion, to Great Dixter House & Gardens where there was a stark contrast from the well maintained lawns and borders of Pashley, to rather overgrown. but nevertheless interesting and fascinating garden. The variety of different plants and shrubs was quite staggering. Great Dixter was the family home of gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd – it was the focus of his energy and enthusiasm and fuelled over 40 years of books and articles. Now under the stewardship of Fergus Garrett and the Great Dixter Charitable Trust, Great Dixter is an historic house, a garden, a centre of education, and a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world. With a cafe close at hand, our members could relax and enjoy the summer sunshine in some quiet corner.....

Pashley Manor:............................................................................................................................................

Great Dixter: ............................................................................................................................................................

88 members and their guests attended the 15th annual Mid-Summer Lunch and the sixth time it had been held at Hove.

After dodging a couple of heavy showers and finding somewhere to park, we were treated to both an excellent meal and even better entertainment from the Silhouette Show. Between courses the three young ladies, Karen, Olivia and Jodie treated us to some nostalgic war time songs that would have undoubtedly brought back memories for many of those attending. Dressed in army style costumes, they performed to perfection and with their encouragement, soon everyone was joining in helped a little by the song sheets that had been handed out. Jodie, who had entertained us so well last year was her usual bubbly sparkly self and proceeded to go around the room giving each of the male members of the audience a peck on the cheek which bought a smile onto everyone's faces.

Following on from the dessert course, the girls reappeared in different costumes to perform a variety of popular songs and again encouraged the audience to join in, with certain individuals, namely David Titcomb, receiving special attention along with Mick Funnell, Tony Comber and Dave Stedman.

In a week when the weather could best be described as 'changeable', Tuesday the 13th proved to be lucky for the 37 members and their guests as we boarded the coach for the 2 hour drive down to the New Forest and to Exbury Gardens. After a very brief shower shortly after we arrived, the rest of the day was sunny and warm.

After entering the gardens, we were met by Theo, the Head Gardner, who took us for a guided tour of the main features of the gardens. He was clear, very knowledgeable about the gardens and mixed facts with amusing anecdotes and yarns. Some members chose to make their own way around these intriguing gardens and enjoyed the ride on the steam train, pulled by Rosemary...that's the steam engine, not my wife!, or by electric buggy.

Whichever way you looked around the gardens, there was something of interest for everyone, with the vast array of trees, shrubs and flowers. The garden was inspired by Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, who created one of the finest woodland gardens in the country. Lionel was born in 1882 into the famous banking family. The House and gardens were commissioned as a ‘stone frigate’, during World War 11 and acted as a headquarters responsible for the training of the crews of many of the types of landing craft that were moored in the Beaulieu River before use in the planning of the assaults against occupied Europe on D-Day. When the forces left Exbury after the war, Lionel's son, Edmund, began the enormous task of restoring the gardens to their former glory, and when he had achieved this, he decided to open them to the public.

We finished our day with a delicious cream tea in Mr Eddy's restaurant and then made our way back home after another wonderful day out.

The traffic was fairly heavy as the 45 members and their guests boarded the coach for the journey down to Town Quay in Southampton, but even with road works and red traffic lights, we made the departure time for the sailing of the Blue Funnel Ship, Ocean Scene, for the Four Rivers Cruise.

The weather was amazing and with just a slight breeze, the sea was flat calm which made the cruise most relaxing. We also had an interesting commentary from a very knowledgeable and humorous captain, as we were taken to the Rivers Test, Hamble, Itchen and Beaulieu.

As we approached Bucklers Hard on the River Beaulieu we had sight of Exbury House and Gardens that the Club had visited last month. A number of other sights of particular interest were pointed out by the captain as well as some historical facts concerning the part played by the South Coast during the war.

Added to the wonderful scenery was a splendid ploughman's lunch and to round off the day, a naughty slice of cake and cup of tea/coffee.

So another successful excursion as can be seen on the following photographs, with thanks to Dave Stedman for his contributions:

The weather forecast suggested that we had picked a bad day for the Autumn Golf Meeting this year with the likelihood of thunder & lightening and heavy rain predicted for the afternoon. So the 17 members of the Spread Eagles Golf Society prepared for the worst and after consuming the now mandatory bacon roll and coffee, made their way onto the course, wet weather gear at the ready. But wait, is that the sun coming out, with those dark grey clouds passing to the north.......it was and the sun stayed out for the entire afternoon and although parts of the course were a bit damp, the afternoon was dry and warm.

A number of good scores were recorded and after the customary evening meal, the organisers, Chris Hudson and John Jago handed out the prizes to the worthy winners.

Winning the Mike Barrett Trophy for the best score on the day was Barry Davis, closely followed by Ian Massbery and Graham Clark.

Closest the pin on the 5th hole was Graham Clark and on the 8th hole, John Jago.

Prizes were also awarded for the best front nine and best back nine holes and these went to Barry Davis and Ian Massbery respectively.

Winner of the Bob Russell for the highest combined score for the Spring and Autumn Meetings was Graham Clark with 67 points, with Chris Hudson second on 65 points and a close third was Barry Davis with 61 points.

Chris concluded the evening by thanking those who had helped during the day and asked for any suggestions for courses to play our matches at next year and Seaford Head and Ham Manor were mentioned as possibilities.

On a cloudy and dull day. the 31 members and their guests boarded the coach for the trip up to London Docklands and the Docklands Museum.

We arrived in good time for a bite to eat and a drink before meeting up with our Blue Badge Guide for the day, Owen. This is the second trip on which Owen has accompanied us and he is an excellent guide with a vast knowledge of the Docklands area specifically as he was bought up in that part of the world.

Following an introductory talk from Owen, we went into The Museum of London Docklands that is on the Isle of Dogs in East London and it tells the history of London's River Thames and the growth of Docklands. In addition there were exhibitions relating to the Docklands connections with the slave trade and also a 'Secret Rivers' display showing the amazing number of tributaries of the River Thames in the Docklands area and how they contributed to the City's history.

After spending 90 minutes in the Museum, which was probably too short a time to fully appreciate the enormous number of artefacts on display and the abundance of interesting information boards and video clips, we returned to the coach for a 90 minute coach ride around Docklands including Canary Wharf, the Isle of Dogs and various docks and buildings. During this time, Owen gave us information about how the docks prospered up until the mid 1960's when the birth of container ships meant a rapid decline in the number of ships visiting London Docks and therefore the local authorities decided to use the available land for dwellings and business development etc.

We then said goodbye to Owen and arrived at the Tereza Joanne, which is in fact a converted barge, to see the Don't Panic Vintage Comedy Show, paying tribute to the Home Guard by way of familiar Dad's Army characters, Captain Manwaring, Privates Pike and Godfrey and an additional character, Sergeant Whittlesnake, whose name appeared to escape Captain Manwaring during the evening. The theme of the show was that somewhere in the venue was a German SPY and it was only at the very end of the show that the spy as uncovered....you will need to look at the photos below to see who it was!!!! (Clue - look for the red stockings!!) Before the show started we had good old fashioned pie and mash and during the interval had tea or coffee and an optioned dessert of apple pie & custard or cheesecake.

The show was funny, corny, predictable and made everyone laugh or groan and with a number of our members, some voluntarily, getting involved in the show, it made for an amusing and very enjoyable spectacle that was well worth the brisk walk through the rain to get into the venue!

As usual, below are just a small sample of the photographs that I took on the day, that I hope you will enjoy:

47 members and their guests to make the journey up to London to see the musical comedy, Waitress.

We arrived in good time, in spite of the roadworks around Westminster Bridge, and many found a local snack bar or cafe to catch a bite to eat and drink before making their way to the theatre.

Having received rave reviews since it debuted in January, and with Sara Barrieles, and Gavin Creel in the leading roles, the show was slick and funny and loud. With an unusual theme and with songs and music not being familiar to our members, the show was met with mixed feelings. Some parts were extremely funny, if a bit risqué, and some parts hard to follow, but overall the show was enjoyed by everyone in differing degrees.

The show told the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker for a diner and her trials and tribulations with her personal life and her pregnancy. As to be expected, all ended happily with Jenna giving birth to daughter and then being gifted the diner by a former customer. Most of the funniest scenes involved Ogie, played by Strictly Come Dancing runner-up 2018, Joe Sugg whose thin frame and rubber joints made him one of the stars of the show.

After the show, we made our way, by coach, to a new venue, The President Hotel for a three course carvery with tea or coffee, which was agreed by all that this was an excellent choice of venue with attentive staff and excellent food.

We again went to Deans Place Hotel in Alfriston for our annual Christmas Lunch and 128 members and their guests enjoyed another wonderful occasion. This is the 15th year that we have been welcomed at Deans Place and it appears to get better every year, and as mentioned by our Chairman, Graham Clark, this was also the 40th lunch following the Club's inauguration in 1978.

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 much awaited raffle and the usual game of 'Irish Bingo' which we reduced to just one game this year as we had been a bit late starting the lunch due to traffic problems. Everyone agreed it was a wonderful event and we will be back at Deans Place next year on Thursday 3rd December. Thanks to Rose Semmons. Dave Stedman and Tim Kent for helping with the raffle.

The Chairman thanked Deans Place for their hard work and also thanked the members for attending. Graham finished by thanking Don for all his efforts during the year and for putting on another successful Christmas Lunch.


Barry Davis receiving the Mike Barrett Trophy from Chris Hudson	Graham Clark receiving the Bob Russell Trophy from Bob Russell