October News

Wildings

Starting on a positive note, seven members turned up to repair the damage to the track at Wildings and although the weather threatened we managed to get the mesh laid down before the rains came. The benefit of using the ground reinforcement mesh is that over time the grass grows through and it is invisible. For this reason the track will remain closed until next Spring but this is no different to the usual winter closure. I would like to pass on thanks to all those who came along to help out.

Annual General Meeting

On a less positive note there was an extremely low turnout for the Annual General Meeting on 20 October. Only 20 members turned up which is pretty poor bearing in mind we have in excess of 600. Not only is this disappointing but it does have practical implications because under the current club constitution we need to have at least 30 people present (a quorum) in order to pass any rule changes etc  In view of the lack of interest in the past we were proposing to change the Quorum from 30 to 20 but as there were insufficient present this was not possible. 

There are a number of matters which need to be put to the members including the future of one of our more popular waters so we propose calling an Extraordinary General Meeting to try and resolve some of these issues. We also need to be able to manage the club in a meaningful way. Unless events force us to do things earlier the meeting will be in Spring of next year and all members will receive a prior notification of the proposed date and venue. There are a number of difficult decisions to be made so your presence is vital.

The Changing of the Guard

One thing that did come out at the AGM is that the Committee is desperately in need of some young blood. For health and other personal reasons the Club President, Head Bailiff and Maintenance Officer are standing down with immediate effect so if you would like to take on these roles please contact the Club Chairman or any other Committee member. 

An alternative option suggested at the meeting was that rather than have one person with overall responsibility each water or waters have a team who manage the lakes which would include taking on the Bailiff duties and maintenance. Lakes and ponds in the same location would be grouped together. We have received an offer to manage George Cragg and Badgers Wood and the same could be done for “Decoy and Oldmans” and “Masons and Wildings”.

If you are interested please contact anyone on the committee.

We do not propose replacing the Club President and at some time we will are also looking for a successor to Greg Brown, the Club Treasurer. Greg will be happy to show anyone who is interested what is involved and will also act as a mentor until the new treasurer feels comfortable to take on the role full time.

And Finally

We will be at Badgers Wood on Saturday 18 November for the annual mega strim and the plan is to strim three sides of the lake and mow the surrounds. This gives the trees a bit of breathing space so they can have a good start in Spring. It is quite a job so we would appreciate any help that is available. We have a limited number of strimmers and protective equipment so if you have a machine of your own this this would be useful.  Otherwise there is plenty of clearing up to do so all you need is a rake. We also have some hedge trimmings to burn so if it is not chucking it down we will get a bonfire going.

As an incentive the gastronomic skills of Malcom York (the sausage and bacon king) will once again be on display. That means free food and drink for anyone who comes along. Please let Tony Elkins know if you will be attending so there are enough sausages to go round. (Plus bring a mug !).

Start time is 9 o’clock so we hope to see you then.