Maidenhead Conservative Club January/February 2015 December/January Review th On 6 December we were entertained by Caught in the Act, new to the Club 4-piece band with wide range of music old and new On 13th December the Christmas Meat Raffle was well attended with a bumper amount of chickens, capons and various meat joints for Christmas lunch for those fortunate to win. This was followed by a visit from Santa & his Helpers. th The Triple Tote, which was in excess of £4,000, was won on the 13 December, a welcome present at this time of year! th th On Thursday 18 and Friday 19 December Sue provided Christmas Lunches and Dinners, both of which proved to be a tremendous success! A ‘sell out’ nearly as soon as the notices went up. The feedback from all participants was excellent. For those attending ‘thank you’ for the support and a well done to our cheffete, Sue, for all her hard work as well as Linda and Jade for their help. As an aside I would appreciate members’ views as to whether they would participate and support Sunday Lunches. (You know the ‘e’ mail address or a mention to staff or Committee would be appreciated.) On 20th December the Christmas Draw had in excess of 30 prizes. It was a joy to see so many members supporting all these events. The Draw was followed in the evening by Out of Order, a very popular 7-piece band with wide range of music. th On 24 December Brads Disco played on Christmas Eve st On 31 December we saw in the new year with Nikki King, a talented solo artist singing all the old favourites and some new. New Members this year The following new members have joined the Club since the last Newsletter. Paul Dapp - Elizabeth Dapp - Andrew Wilson We have had considerable interest about membership of the Club. It is apparent that people are now noticing the building for what it is and we believe that this is assisting in encouraging new members. We are still interviewing candidates and the standards employed in the past are not slipping! Please encourage your friends and family to join. Member deaths since last Newsletter Arnold Harries Funeral Tuesday January 27 – 1230 at Slough Crematorium; afterwards at the Club Secretary Comment nd Membership renewals commenced on Friday 2 January 2015 and the team have been kept busy st with members keen to renew. Remember, you have until the 31 January to renew. Applications after this date and up to the end of February will be subject to a £10 penalty charge. As much as we would welcome the additional £10 to our funds, I would urge you to avoid this by adhering to the January timetable. If for any reason you are unable to attend during the allotted times, simple leave your details and monies in an envelope behind the bar. It will be gratefully received and dealt with. We couldn’t make it more simple and effortless! The new Membership cards are not quite ready. In any event, do not worry, the door entrance number will stay until the end of January, by which time I assure you the new cards will be in your possession. Please note that for various reasons the Christmas Club will not be operating in 2015. Refurbishment The windows at the front of the building are scheduled to be replaced early February along with the driveway being resurfaced. The front door and window surround will also be repainted and, once the tiles on the steps have been replaced, the building will look far more presentable and more importantly inviting. In line with the card entry system, you will soon notice the installation of touch screen cash registers. This in conjunction with the cards will give greater flexibility to operate drink and food promotions, a loyalty points system and much, much more. From an administration point it will also mean that little pots of monies behind the bar for oddities (book club, raffles of all descriptions, etc., etc.) will disappear with everything being dealt with through the tills. Progress indeed. Sports and Games As previously reported our selected Quiz team attended the BBC studios in Glasgow where they took part in the BBC 2 programme, ‘Eggheads’. For those waiting to view the programme, we I have now learnt that the filming was for the next series. In short, we will have to wait until the later part of the year before our team get a viewing. No-one can accuse the BBC of not having a ‘forward planning’ strategy. We will advise on the viewing date when eventually known. Eggheads team: Ray, Nigel, Alex, Ken, Adam. The Snooker table refurbishment has been extremely well received, and it is heartening to receive so much positive feedback on a Committee decision. Apart from the new cushions, new scoreboards and balls, the most favourable comments have been about the new lighting. Previous comment about the use of the table covers seemed to have had some effect. The covers are being treated properly and put on the tables at the end of the days play. Thank you. On a broader sports front nothing to report again. Come on – please let us have your results or anything interesting. Entertainment Calendar 2014 Saturday 24th January Burns Night and Whisky Tasting. Please add your name to the list that is up in the Club. Saturday 31st January A new act, Joanne Day Hits from the 70s and onwards; also country to Irish songs. Saturday 21st February A popular duo to the Club, Inside Out. Saturday 7th March Johnny Cash Tribute night - ticket event As always if there is something you would like to see at the Club and feel it would be supported adequately please do let me know: [email protected]