The President, Committee and Members of Shirley Social Club wish to express to the Family of Martin Gannon, his Wife Bridget and Daughter Dearbhla all our sincere sorrow at the sad loss of their beloved Martin who died so suddenly after such a short illness.
It is difficult to quantify the effect Martins short life had on all our Members, the excellent work he did while on the Committee and his willingness to always “lend a hand”. He was fun loving and always gave more than he took out. We are aware that the Family’s loss is far greater than ours and that “invisible wounds take longer to heal”, however, we will always be there for you Bridget and Dearbhla and wish to feel we were all part of Martins extended Family.
I am sure also that it would be remiss of us not to thank all the Doctors and Nursing Staff who cared for Martin in Worcester over the past few weeks in a desperate attempt to return him safely to his Family and friends.
May you rest in peace in Galway, your Irish home.
“may his sweet soul rest on the right side of God”
“Ar dheis De raibh a h-anam dilis”
With only half way through March I am pleased to inform you that Bar turnover for the first 2 months of 2008 are about £8000.00 up the same time last year. If we combine this with fewer defaulters this year from that of previous years the Committee is cautiously optimistic on the future of the Club. The smoking ban appears not to have affected the hardened smoker, in which I include myself and significantly improved the atmosphere in the Club for the non - smoker. The gross profit of the Bar continues to rise as our buying power improves with purchases from Coors Brewery who are supporting us in all manner of ways. It would be remiss of me not to thank The Stewardess Bella and her team for all their hard work, well done girls!
For Members wishing to organize functions utilizing the Clubs facilities we now have a booking form behind the Bar, there is no charge for hiring the room, however, all entertainment, food etc is the responsibility of the Member. The form also clarifies the need for the Member to inform their guest on our dress code and the high standards we expect from those attending.
With Easter coming at the end of March the AGM /Committee Elections will be in early April (date to be agreed) however, there will be a number of vacancies to be filled on the Committee and sincerely hope this year to have many new faces apply to seek election. Applications will be sought for any Member who has been a Member for over 2 years to join and should they wish for any information please do not hesitate to ask me any questions of what is expected of you.
As is customary in Shirley Social Club, it is the normal practise for the present Committee to propose for Life Membership the previous President, this being the case.
“The Committee will propose at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 2nd April that for his work spent on Committee and his two years as President Mr Adrian Kent be granted Life Membership”
We are pleased to announce that the accounts for 2007 are now in the process of being printed and will be posted to you very soon. The AGM will be held in the lounge at the Club at 8.00 pm on Wednesday 2nd,April. We realise that this is slightly later than normal but with Easter being early this year and the accounts being a little behind schedule we thought it wise not to rush hence the delay. It is the right of all Members to attend and in my own humble opinion almost an obligation. We work hard on the Committee for the benefit of the Club and wish to hear any comments about the accounts and where the Club is going from the Members. There will be a small buffet laid on for any Member coming straight from work. As the AGM is only for Members any guest’s will have to sit in the front lounge during the meeting with the Bar staff. The Bar will be closed during the meeting.
Please attend we want to see you.
As regular Members are aware we have re-introduced Sky Satellite TV and are now able to show all the Premiership games on Sky. This is very expensive for the Club, however, for those of you who read the notice board you will know that Coors Brewery have helped with the funding. Like all things to do with entertainment we need “bums on seats” to warrant the expenditure, please support it’s re-introduction.
As we have tried to introduce a premium lager it has become clear that it is not selling and therefore will be discontinued from our Bar. Whilst stocks last there will be a slight reduction in price to bring it inline with Carling Extra Cold.
Hopefully now you have all received and paid your subscriptions for 2008, it is requested that any Member wishing to resign will have already done this, however, subscriptions will be closed on Friday 29th February.
It is Tony’s 50th Birthday on 9th January and he is having a Disco Party at the Club on 12th January. There are many people who deserve recognition for the work they do for the Club and no one deserves our thanks more than Tony. Currently not only is he Vice-President but also Chairman of Entertainment and Chairman of The Bar Committee. Sincere thanks Tony and many happy returns for your 50th.
Children’s Christmas PartyEven though he is very busy this time of year Santa found time to visit The Club on Sunday
16th December to hand out gifts and find out what was required for the big day!!!!!
This is held every year for Members children and close relatives.
There were 40 odd 4-11 year olds and many well over 50 in the Club to greet him. We must thank a number of Members Wives especially, Jan Ames, Denise Burke and Hazel Hill plus many more who kept them fed. The children’s entertainer spent 2 hours in performing magic and well-organised dance routines. It was difficult to keep our Stewardess Bella off Santa’s lap and lets hope she gets all she asked for, even though Santa did not know what a “leopard skin body stocking” was he promised he would do his best. Had she, have wanted, a Nintendo or Barbie Doll he was well stocked on those.
The roll of Santa was given to Alf Mayall because at the
last minute the Santa outfit shrunk and the expected
Santa, Paul Fitter was unable to fit in it, alas these imported costumes are not what they used to be. Many thanks
Alf you were a great substitute and I am sure Sunday was a day that will be treasured by you for years to come.
We were even privileged to have a have a visit from Councillor Gary Allport, Mayor of Solihull, he wants a “Sony Walkman” for Christmas and also requested a “leopard skin body stocking” for his Wife Gail, who was unable to attend.
Employer of ExcellenceWe are pleased to announce that Shirley Social Club Limited has been awarded “Employer of Excellence” from Peninsula Business Services Limited. This award is for our work done in Human Resources and Health & Safety issues.
Peninsula are the leading Company in this field and have advised us on all of the HR and H&S work that has been ongoing since June of this year. We receive countless benefits from our association with them including a 24/7 help line to guide us through Employment Law and Health and Safety issues for not only the Staff but also the Membership and their Guests. Since our association with them we should see a reduction in our insurance, as all the major insurance companies now understand how seriously we take these matters.
We are now entitled to use this emblem on all our stationery and on future adverts.
to wish Freddie Wasbourne a happy 89th Birthday on Friday 26th October. Freddie only joined the Club 10-years ago and proves that a good social life improves life expectancy; he has had an exemplary war record serving in North Africa and Europe. He enjoys a game of cards and dominos and can be seen and heard telling all the Premiership football managers where they are going wrong. Only another 11 more years to go now Freddie before the big one.
We are unsure if Freddie is our oldest Member in the Club and would be grateful if some one could make us aware of any older Member.
We are pleased to announce Bella Doyle has been made our new Stewardess from 1st, November 07 and takes over from Lee Barker who is leaving to take over as Bar Manager in a new venture in Birmingham, we all wish Lee well.
Bella has many years of management skills, having worked for British Gas for 20 odd years, her bubbly approach will enhance the Bar she and Sheila have some great ideas for a new style lunch menu, at least we know if we have problems with the gas cooker or boiler Bella is on hand.
We all welcome Bella in her permanent roll as Stewardess and are sure you will all wish her well.
We are now up and running with the new Media Computer, which will give us greater access for sport, music and entertainment in general. The addition of this system opens up many more avenues in entertainment. The Committee would wish to thank Richard Moore (Dick) not particularly for his choice in Hawaiian shirts but for his efforts to push this idea through and his un-paid time in seeing it completed. Dick is not on the Committee, which makes his efforts even more gratifying. Any chance Dick is seeking election next year?
It is good to see Ted Wilson back in the Club after a long illness which has forced Ted to have all his toe’s amputated. I even watched him play Snooker last week long may his recovery continue. Ted has been a Member for 40 years and has served on the Committee and we all wish him well.
The Newsletter has now gone out to all the Membership (Royal Mail strike permitting) and the Committee would value any comments to it.
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