Penkridge Round Table: Chairman's Blog

Penkridge Fun Run Sunday 27th June

2010-06-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Penkridge Fun Run 2010 is this Sunday - June 27th. Entry forms can be downloaded at:
www.penkridgeroundtable.org.uk. If you're quick you can still regsiter in advance - if not then turn up before 10am on Sunday.

Thursday 1st April (no joke)

2010-04-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

The night of the Penkridge & District Round Table AGM, and after a swift pint or two at The Cross Keys, we head to The Barns at Cannock for a meal, and the AGM.
A good attendance – the AGM is always a highlight of the table year. After the meal each of the officers gives a report that reviews their role for the year. Following this I give a short address as outgoing Chairman, then I resign my post and hand over to the Secretary. The Secretary appoints a new Chairman – there was only one person standing (as with all posts, this year) so there is no voting. So Richard Bisiker takes over, states what he hopes to achieve in his year, and elects his officers for the year. There is plenty of discussion, a fair amount of heckling and banter – all in all a good balance between formality and jovial leg pulling. The meeting concluded just after 1am, then afterwards we retired back to the new chairman’s house for drinks into the small hours – and a new Table year begins!

Friday 26th March: Ladies Night

2010-03-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ladies Night at The Chase Golf Club, a black-tie dinner with partners, as a thank-you for their support / tolerance of our Round Table activities. After the meal I do a speech on behalf of the gents, and this is followed by a response on behalf of the Ladies (from the wife of the Penkridge 41 Club chairman). This year instead of a singer, we then have Nick Owen from Midlands Today as a guest speaker. He’s very good, entertaining and funny. The evening rounds of with a disco. It’s a good showing and between Table and 41 Club, with guests, we have around 110 people.

Thursday 18th March: Quiz Night

2010-03-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last night's table meeting was a Quiz night, compiled by Pete D (or in fact his wife and daughters) it was up to the usual fiendishly difficult standards. With teams of two it got highly competitive, with some excellent banter and barracking of the quiz master. Enjoyed with a few beers and an interval take-away - a thoroughly entertaining evening.

Wednesday 17th March

2010-03-19T07:10:00.002-07:00

A brief meeting at The Star (very busy on St Patrick's Day) to finalise plans for Ladies Night, taking place a week on Friday. Almost everything done in preparation, and a decent number of people coming along.

Thursday 11th March

2010-03-19T07:10:00.001-07:00

Today I attended the West Midlands Ambulance Authority award ceremony. Penkridge Round Table were nominated for an award by the Penkridge Community First Responders in recognition of our assistance in getting the group up and running. Listening to the roll call of award winners – mainly Community First Responders; it really brought home the significance of their role and the challenging, harrowing and life threatening situations that they deal with. I was truly honoured to collect the award on behalf of PRT.
As always with things PRT connected the presentation didn’t go smoothly; when we arrived the PRT Chairman’s Chain mislead the reception team into thinking we were dignitaries, so having been whisked to one side our attendance was not registered. This would have resulted in us not getting the award at all (since the organisers assumed we’d not turned up) were it not for the intervention of our Secretary, who escaped from the hall to alert organisers. So I managed to get the award (presented by the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Ambulance Service) at the end of the proceedings.

Thursday 4th March: New Members Night

2010-03-06T02:51:00.001-08:00

New Members Night – a meeting arranged by New Members for the whole of PRT. This year it’s ten-pin bowling in Stafford; sadly I can’t make this as I’m travelling back from Zurich. Good turn out from tablers.

Sunday 28th February

2010-03-06T02:50:00.002-08:00

Get a catch-up email out to members to remind them of the activities coming up during the remaining month of the current table year.

Friday 26th February: Wine and Whisky tasting.

2010-03-06T02:50:00.001-08:00

Wine and Whisky tasting. A social event with partners, this an event that we first held two years ago – this time moved to a Friday to negate the impact of hangovers. We sample 3 white wines, 3 red wines, then 3 whisky’s. Each with and without food, a bit of a quiz challenge to guess origin, age, cost. All in all an entertaining evening, with a background of music with dubious links to wine and whisky tasting.

Saturday 20th Feb: RTBI Workshops

2010-03-06T02:48:00.001-08:00

Workshops in Birmingham on a variety of topics to help individual tables understand more about Round Table, get more out of their membership, develop new skills and learn how to do more to promote their own Table through web sites and effective PR. Richard Bisiker the current Vice-Chairman, attends on behalf of PRT.

Thursday 18th Feb: Business Meeting

2010-03-06T02:47:00.002-08:00

Business Meeting at the Hatherton Country House Hotel. It’s been a while since we met formally so there are a fair few things to cover, and this will be the last business meeting in the table year, so I have a few items to wrap up. Some good news on the funds we have raised from Community Service events – funds that we distribute to charities and local good causes. Also we have a National Council Meeting coming up and we have some good discussions on the views of PRT to some of the proposals being put forward. As always these create some lively and entertaining debate – with me attempting to do my best at chairing the meeting and keeping order!

Thursday 11th February

2010-03-06T02:47:00.001-08:00

Get together with Rich Bisiker, who will be the incoming Chairman in April. He’s busy planning his year, his programme, committee and activities. So we meet up to talk through some of his ideas, and so we can have a smooth hand-over for the new table year.

Sportsmans Dinner Friday 5th February

2010-03-06T02:46:00.000-08:00

A fund raising dinner at the Stafford Showground with three top-quality speakers: Steve Daley, Pat Murphy and Alan Minter. A cracking night, very entertaining, with around 140 guys; with good support from Cannock ad Stafford Tables. We round the evening with a memorabilia auction and a raffle of some decent prizes.

Wednesday 27th January

2010-03-06T00:33:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately can’t make the Area Meeting due to work commitments; however Pete Machin attends in my place, and hands over a cheque for £250 in support of Children’s Wish; the National Charity of Round Table.

Marchesi Night Thursday 21st January

2010-03-06T00:32:00.002-08:00

An annual fixture in the Table diary this is the celebration of the birth of Round Table by Louis Marcheshi in March 1927 – Marchesi Night celebrates the birth of Louis Marchesi in January 1898. Louis set up round table because he felt there was a need for a club for the young men of Norwich to gather on a regular basis. At their meetings they could exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of their colleagues and play a collective part in the civic life of Norwich. Norwich round table was the first (and is hence no 1), the second was formed in Portsmouth. And Penkridge & District is number 1178.
This is one of the occasions in the year when we gather with former Round Tabler’s (41 club), this year for a meal and a speaker at The Barns in Cannock. The speaker is Chris Mitchell, from the Rodbaston College of South Staffordshire College. Chris is a primate expert and gave an informative, entertainingly but also quite shocking talk on the plight of primates in Cameroon, where he spent a number of years running a zoo.
The evening concludes with the induction of Mick Swift, as a new member of Penkridge Round Table.

New Year, Bad Habits: Thursday 7th January

2010-03-06T00:32:00.001-08:00

Another table tradition: after the excesses of Christmas what better than to brave the cold, head down to Monmore Green and loose my shirt on a dog.

Wednesday January 6th

2010-03-06T00:29:00.002-08:00

Receive an email from Leigh Rogers from the Penkridge & District Community First Responders, with an update of their activity over the Christmas period. Quite an extensive list, and it really shows how much value PCFR are bringing to the village and surrounds. http://www.padcfr.com/pContent.php?C=News

Friday December 25th: Christmas Day Drinks

2010-03-06T00:29:00.001-08:00

A fair gathering of tablers and families (grandchildren included) converge at The Cross Keys for a few festive drinks whilst the Turkey cooks.

Friday 18th December: Christmas Party

2010-03-06T00:28:00.000-08:00

The festivities continue with the Table Christmas party, this year at the Hatherton Hotel – all that was missing was The Bee Gees! Excellent choice Ian. And the desert was fab, excellent hair mousse.

December 17th: Curry with Santa

2010-01-20T11:35:00.001-08:00

A tradition in Penkridge Table. Part way through the tour Santa stops off a bit longer and joins the Tablers for a curry. Except this year…..when he didn’t……. [but the curry was good anyway: Merry Christmas!]

December: Santa on Tour!

2010-01-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

December is a busy time for table, and for many the highlight of the table year. Starting with the Penkridge Victorian Market we host Santa on his tour of Penkridge and surrounding villages, with additional visits to supermarkets, schools, pubs and the occasional special visit. There is nothing quite so uplifting as the sheer excitement of children meeting Santa, (and a fair proportion of the old, the middle aged, parents, the young at heart), or just getting a “ho,ho,ho” and a hearty wave and dance as he cruises through the village.

Thursday 19th November

2009-12-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

Tonight should have been a visit to the German Market in Birmingham; train in from Penkridge, few beers a bratwurst and some sauerkraut, perhaps a gluehwein or two, few more beers and then a train home – perhaps with a curry at a suitable venue en route. But sadly not, as good an idea as I thought this was, it obviously wasn’t an exciting proposition for members and low numbers (e.g. 3!) meant that we abandoned the idea. So tonight no meeting!

Sunday 8th November

2009-12-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Remembrance Sunday. For many years Penkridge Round Table has been asked to take part in the Remembrance Parade. So I felt very proud, and honoured, as Chairman to take part this year and lay a wreath at the war memorial. We had eight Tablers in the parade, followed by a Church service; where due to numbers we were seated opposite the choir – not that it did much to improve our singing.
This was one of the occasions when I was able to wear the Table Chairman chain of office (a ribbon with the name of each of the past Chairmen); so when leaving the church and shaking the vicar’s hand I was surprised to be asked if I was the Mayor!
With the Parade over we rejoined our wives and families, for a few drinks in The Star.
Sunday evening had a meeting in The Keys to continue planning for the Sportsmans Dinner. As always this is a charity event, and will be at the County Showground, Stafford on Friday 5th February. It will feature Alan Minter, the voice of cricket Pat Murphy and Wolves' Steve Daley. Cost £35, dress code - lounge suits.

Saturday 7th November

2009-12-18T10:49:00.002-08:00

Tonight was the annual village bonfire and firework display, organised by the Scouts. Round Table run the BBQ; setting up and getting the coals lit as soon as the market starts packing up. This year seemed busier than ever, and we had a queue formed ready for this first off the BBQ just after the gates opened at 6pm. And the queue continued right through the evening until close to 9pm. Even with big crowds we didn’t run out, and sold several hundred burgers and hot dogs, and raising over £500 for the scouts. Once tidied up we retired to The Keys.

Thursday 5th November

2009-12-18T10:49:00.001-08:00

Tonight’s meeting was a joint event with 41 Club; where Round Tablers go when they are beyond the age limit for Table. The age limit is now 45, but the club is still known by the more historic boundary. So tonight around 16 of us held to Aldesley Stadium and the shooting club. Here we get a chance to try out rifles and hand guns, together with turning targets. All the guns are now air pellets, but it’s a good night, and we round off with a bit of a competition.
Back to the village and to Flames to round the evening off with a curry and a few beers.

Penkridge Pub Treasure Hunt: Thursday 22nd October

2009-10-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

A decent showing of tablers for an entertaining, budget night out. Wandering the streets and pubs of Penkridge, irritating the regulars by looking for bizarre objects, based on spurious clues, which no amount of mobile Googling can solve. Sounds like an excuse for a pub crawl, and my consumption of Guinness certainly backed that up. Ending up at The Keys for the biggest spread of sandwiches and chips that Penkridge Round Table has ever seen. Rounded of the evening by appointing a new Vice-Chairman, who’ll now busy himself with planning the next year.

Take That Tribute Night: Saturday 10th October

2009-10-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

A Saturday night in October at Penkridge Peace Memorial hall can only mean one thing: Tribute bands. This time Take That Tribute band Back 4 Good. Despite some misgivings from the gents of Penkridge Table it’s a sell-out evening. After a fab first set, there’s a fish ‘n chip supper (and no fire this time) washed down by more lager. The second set sees Back 4 good morph into Westlife, and the evening rounded of by a disco and some traditionally wild dancing from the chairman. A fab night and a decent amount of cash raised for local good causes.

Dave’s wedding (and stag do)

2009-10-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately missed out on both stag do and wedding of 41 club chairman, and veteran tabler Dave, to (the ever patient) Beth.
Both the stag do and reception sounded like good events, but as this growing list of activities testifies, it’s impossible to do everything.

Presidents Golf Weekend: Saturday 26th / Sunday 27th September

2009-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

A weekend of Golf at Carden Park in Cheshire, amidst some serious drinking into the small hours of Saturday night. Sounds like it was a good weekend, shame I couldn’t make it. I’m not much of a golfer, but I’ve heard that wouldn’t have been an obstacle!

Thursday 24th September

2009-09-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Penkridge and District Round Table Charter Night. This is a celebration of the anniversary of the formation of Penkridge Round Table, this year the 34th anniversary. Penkridge Table had its inaugural meeting on 16th January 1975, and was then officially given it’s charter by the national association of round tablers (Round Table Britain and Ireland: http://www.roundtable.org.uk/) on 23rd September 1975. Since then we have celebrated each anniversary of the charter night. This year with a meal at the Barns Cannock and speaker; Robert Maddocks talking about local history.

Thursday 10th September

2009-09-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

I missed this because I’ve been on holiday but Thursday was Mud Buggy racing in Saltley, Birmingham. This is the second year we’ve been, and I’m told better because the karts are new, and faster! A good showing of members meant an exciting night of racing.

Thursday 27th August

2009-09-27T00:37:00.000-07:00

Met at the Keys for a swift pint before heading to Birmingham and the Glee Club. Cracking night of stand-up comedy with a good compare (Kevin McCarthy) and the usual mixed bag of performers. One outstanding (Paul Thorne), one really painful and one good. All accompanied by the Glee club buffet and a few jugs of beer (other than the mini-bus driver!). Swift couple of pints in Broad Street then back to Penkridge.

Penkridge First Responders

2009-08-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

The initial requirement that the Penkridge First Community Responders have is to ensure they have all the equipment they need. I've been in contact with Leigh following the business meeting to find out the detail of what they need to get started. They have most equipment, but are missing a few essentials; so Penkridge Round Table will fund the purchase of the additional items.

Business Meeting: Thursday 12th August

2009-08-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Entertaining and interesting Business Meeting at the Hatherton Hotel. Interesting because we had a talk from Penkridge Community First Responders. I'd been contacted a few weeks ago to see if Round Table could help to support the set-up of PCFR, so I asked them to come along and explain what they do.
A Community First Responder, is a person available to be dispatched by an ambulance control centre to attend medical emergencies in their local area; they are trained by West Midlands Ambulance Service. First Responders are there to start and maintain the chain of survival until an Ambulance arrives. They do not replace the Ambulance service but augment and assist.
Leigh and Duncan gave us a good overview of the objectives of First Responders and the current status of the Penkridge group and the support they need to get fully functional. What First Responders do is of huge significance to the local community, and I'm hopeful that Penkridge Round Table can help them get up and running.
After their presentation we had a lengthy business meeting. This was productive, and entertaining in parts; initially discussing PCFR, then a whole raft of other topics. After much discussion and debate we concluded the evening at 12:30.

Return of the Cyclists: Sunday 2nd August

2009-08-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon sees the return of the intrepid cyclists. As always they had an entertaining and eventful weekend. Day one was a lengthy affair at around 80 miles, and ending in a punishing (and unplanned!) hill-climb. Day two was a shorter length but 'typical' cycling weather with heavy downpours. And day three a gentle meander back to Penkridge with stops en-route for puncture repairs. Accommodation was much improved over previous years, with hotels featuring jacuzzi baths.
The welcome party at the Cross Keys saw all 10 safely over the line, preceded by the support team. The cyclists had aching limbs, and a few with cuts and bruises from tumbles en-route, but smiling faces to reach the end, and a celebratory drink (or two).

Thursday 30th July: Beer & Curry

2009-08-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight the cyclists head to Blackpool ready to push off on the 2009 Cycle venture; a three day, 160 mile, cycle ride from Blackpool back to Penkridge, with overnight stops at High Peak and Ashbourne in Derbyshire. This year we have 10 cyclists and a support driver (with a white van full of lycra).
So whilst they head north, the remainder of Penkridge Table do the sensible thing and head to the pub. We have a social night in the village, a few beers, a stroll around a few pubs and round it off with a curry. Staying in the village means less pressure on timing, so we end up with eleven of us, and a good (and entertaining night is had). Not least when we leave one of our honorary members asleep in Flames (the restaurant - setting fire to him would not be in the spirit of Table). He's rather surprised to wake and find the restaurant empty and the bill in front of him!

Monday 20th July

2009-07-27T00:32:00.001-07:00

Tonight a brief meeting (at the Keys) to talk about membership. We’re always interested in new people joining Table, and try and keep a varied programme of activity to encourage new membership. So tonight we had a discussion about a few ways that we can make people more aware of Penkridge Round Table: what we do, and how easy it is to join. It’s funny how people have an image of Round Table, that is often far detached from what we really are. We’re not formal or stuffy, there are no funny handshakes. We’re just a bunch of guys who enjoy have a beer and a laugh, getting out and doing stuff socially, and doing our bit for community and charity – whilst having a good time.

Thursday 16th July: Quartz Brewery

2009-07-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

Meet up at the Keys for a swift pint before a three-car convoy heads to the Heart of the Country Village at Swinfen and the Quartz Microbrewery, for a tour, a talk and a beer tasting. If you’ve not visited the Quartz brewery (it’s open to the public) then it is small. They also have a larger brewery at Kings Bromley, that does cask brew – here it’s all bottled beers (800 at a time), though bottles and draft was available at the bar. The bar area is right next to the brewing area, so there’s not much walking involved in the tour. We sniffed and tasted some examples of the malted barley, then sampled the four beers that Quartz brew: Blonde, Extra Blonde, Crystal and Heart. Then we moved upstairs for some food and some extra beers. Also tonight we presented Pete with a caricature we’d had done for him as an end-of-year gift, depicting various scenes and exploits from his year as Chairman. Then it was back to the village for a final pint (or two) in the keys.

Sunday 5th July: Cycle Tour Planning

2009-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Quick meeting up at the Cross Keys to finalise the plans for this year's cycle expedition taking place later this month. It’s a 3-day excursion, starting from Blackpool (after a train journey from Penkridge), and heading back to Penkridge; ending up at the Cross Keys. This year there should be 12 cyclists, with a couple of support drivers most, but not all, are tablers with a couple of extras and WAGs. This will be the 5th year we’ve done a cycle tour, and it’s always an entertaining and sociable weekend. It’s more of an outdoor social than a competitive sport – though we do like to ensure that people have done enough cycling in advance to get home!

Saturday 4th July: Party, Party

2009-07-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Back to Penkridge in time for birthday celebrations at Elliot’s. When we arrive the party is in full flow, the garden crammed with Tablers, WAGs and families – and most of the pig roast has gone! Several beers later and the dancing gets wilder [This Charming Man: The Smiths!].
Before too long numbers are thinning out to the sounds of Elliot playing his guitar. A stroll home, with the last few standing, and a final few drinks in the garden, before retiring to bed in the small hours.

Thursday 2nd July Orienteering

2009-07-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight’s event is an evening of Orienteering. First ‘control’ point is the Cross Keys, and once we’re all gathered and had a swift pint we have a short car journey to Cannock Chase, where we meet up with our hosts from the Walton Chasers orienteering club. It’s many years since I did Orienteering as a student so I was keen to have this as an event this year. Not to be confused with pure navigation, Orienteering is a family of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain (Wikipedia!).
We start with a simple trial exercise to get used to the map & compass, the meaning of the symbols and what the orange and white control points look like. Then we have a course to navigate with 6 controls, over around 2.5km (if done point-to-point). However gone are the old clicky devices at each control, here it’s all electronic, with a sensor to show you reached each control, and the time you took to get there. The guys have set us a good course with some varied terrain and I’ve worked up quite a sweat by the time I finish – in what turns out to be the winning time of the evening (at 14 minutes).
Once the guys are all in we pack up and head back to the village for a well deserved pint and joined by a few others a visit to Wing Fat's.

Sportsman's Dinner Planning

2009-06-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Having just packed away from the fun run (I spent lunchtime today cleaning barbecue trays) tonight I’m back at the Cross Keys (hello Mary!) for a planning meeting for our Annual Sportsman’s Dinner. This will be in February next year, but we have to plan early. Ian’s already mythering that we may be too late to get the best speakers.

It’s a short meeting to get the initial actions sorted: we’ll have a short list of speakers over the next few days for members to make a selection. The date is set for Friday 5^th February, venue is provisionally booked and the catering sorted. Book now!

Sunday 28th June: Penkridge Fun Run & Fun Day

2009-06-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Despite it being a Sunday I’m at the Haling Dene Centre just after 7:30am to set-up for the Penkridge Fun Run and Fun Day. We know it’s going to be a busy day, before the day starts there are over 500 registered runners and we can only allow 550 to run. So there are only a few places left for on the day registrants.

First tasks are to get the grounds ready, the scaffolding suppliers arrive and build the start - finish gantry. The outside broadcast unit from TheWolf arrives and establishes connectivity back to the studios in Wolverhamption. The start-finish straight is marked out and taped off and the drinks station positioned, and the finishing medals unboxed. St John’s Ambulance arrive and take their position at the first aid point. Round the course direction signs are temporarily erected, and marshals from Penkridge ATC positioned ready to guide the runners.

Meanwhile the Fun Day team have delivered and distributed the tables for all the stalls. This year there are over 30 stalls, from a wide range of local groups. Each team’s volunteers arrives with various games, gadgetry, goods for sale and goodies to win. Round Table has it’s infamous mega-barbecue on the go, whilst tabler’s wives are already busy on the face painting stall.

Back inside the first runners are arriving for their race numbers. By ten-to-eleven the grounds are heaving with people. The pre-race warm up is in full flow with music via the TheWolf unit, and 550 runners are almost ready. The final two runners emerge from the building: Father Christmas on holiday (in his shorts and sun glasses), and Pitman Pete (the Hednesford Town mascot). After a few photo’s of the runners with local MP David Kidney (the Official Race Starter), it’s 11am. There’s no time to wait for the horn, the runners are ready the countdown starts and they’re off!

This year we’ve changed the route to accommodate more runners, by easing the areas of congestion. The distance is unchanged, but the route must be a little harder, and its 14 minutes 22 before we see the first runner, Ian Milner, cross the finish line. Then there is a constant stream of runners, joggers, and amblers – some in fancy dress, some with pushchairs crossing the line. Santa and Pitman Pete, cross the line around an hour after the (silent) starter horn was blown, followed by the final pair – in a three-legged combination, collapsing in a heap at the finish line.

The race may be over but the results team hide away inside the Haling Dene Centre, cross checking the two sets of computer records of finishers and times, the manual record of sequence, and validating any differences against the video recording. Outside the Fun Day continues in full swing. The course tape is all down and the grounds are a mass of runners and spectators enjoying the sunshine and stalls; a refreshing beer and a fresh-cooked burger in hand. Just after 2pm race coordinator Malcolm mounts TheWolf FM podium, takes over the microphone from Dicky Dodd to announce the results and hand-out the prizes.

It’s late afternoon before the last of the crowds disperse, but its still warm and sunny; quite fortunate since I have the final stint in the stocks: pelted with wet sponges. All the stalls pack up, and then we ensure the building and grounds are clear, the tables chairs packed away, the cooled barbecue removed. Then it’s time for a couple of pints at the Cross Keys to end a very enjoyable, and very successful (fun) day.

Friday 26th June

2009-06-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Friday evening and I head to Stafford, to catch up with the celebration of Ian’s 40^th birthday. I find a good showing of Tablers and a leisurely pub tour around Stafford, ending in the small hours with some chips and curry sauce and a taxi back to Penkridge.

Countdown to Sunday's Fun Run and Fun Day

2009-06-24T14:41:00.001-07:00

Just back from a week's holiday and catching up with emails and activity whilst I've been away.
Last week's meeting was a golf evening at the Three Hammers short-course at Coven. This was a joint event with Penkridge 41 club, so had a good showing, with a total of 24 teeing off during the long June evening. This was followed up by a meal at the Gold Club Bistro.
Last Saturday was the Penkridge Church Fete, and Penkridge Round Table hosted their (now legendary) luck-dip stall. As always this was a popular fete attraction, and we raised £104.20 for St Michaels Church.
This week is final preparation for Sunday's Fun Run. We currently have almost 350 runners registered, so there is a fair chance we will reach our capacity of 500 runners. If you haven't yet registered then don't delay. There is a fair chance that we won't be able to accept registrations on the day.
Stafford MP David Kidney has confirmed he'll be our race starter: and hopes to feature in one of our stalls in the Fun Day. Come along on Sunday and see for yourself!
Plans for the Fun Day are well advanced, with many local groups and organisations finalising their stalls and attractions for Sunday. All we need now is for the good weather to continue!

Friday 6th June: PADS

2009-06-08T00:48:00.001-07:00

I speak to one of the members of the Penkridge Amateur Dramatic Society, to let them know that we’ll be giving them a donation. It’s their 50th anniversary this year, and this weekend they’ll be holding an outdoor performance of the Railway Children at the Haling Dene centre, in Penkridge. I’m hoping to get along to the Sunday performance. They'd been looking for sponsors for the production, and we're very keen to support them. Since I've lived in Penkridge I've been to quite a number of PADS productions, which have always been enjoyable. To me PADS are a key part of the community of Penkridge and I'm keen that we help them.

Business Meeting: Thursday 4th June

2009-06-08T00:45:00.000-07:00

Another rush day! Early morning finished off the DIY cards (just as many as I need for tonight), and printed the AGM's.
This evening we had a business meeting. I’ve brought this forward in the programme as there are a number of events coming up, a few potential charity donations, and plenty of other topics and issues that we need to discuss, so there is plenty to cover. We’re at the Hatherton Country House hotel. I arrive, fresh from voting, just as the church is chiming 8:30, so grab a pint and sit down to dinner. I kick things off by getting some additional ideas of what we might do this year: what new activities people want to do, and what they’d like to see change. This is done via post-its splattered across two walls of the Penkridge Suite, a fair amount of running (and jumping) around, and a good amount of hilarity. We have 14 at dinner, and Paul joins later just for the business part.
In Penkridge I believe we have a reasonable balance between formal and informal events. Most meetings are informal activity type events (like the tobogganing). However for business meetings we generally have a meal, have an agenda, and ask that members wear suits. The agenda gives things structure, and the meal means that we’re all seated, so it’s easier to get things discussed in an orderly manner. Many issues are discussed then voted on, so we have a secretary to keep notes of the key issues and to keep a record of voting and outcomes, that get distributed as minutes after the meeting. I’ve always enjoyed business meetings, partly because this is the focussed part of table that ensures things get done, and decisions made, but also because they’re also good fun – just getting 15 guys together over a meal and a few beers is always entertaining. The challenge I have this year as chairman is keeping some order to these proceedings.
We manage to get through virtually everything I wanted to cover, and get a decisions made on everything, and end the meeting at 12:04 – with the traditional end-toast: RTBI!
[Round Table Britain & Ireland]

Broadband issues: Google Street in Penkridge

2009-06-08T00:42:00.000-07:00

Delay to these postings due to broadband issues at home; perhaps the exchange is overloaded by people trying to look at Penkridge on Google Streetview?
http://penkridgecrier.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-car-in-penkridge-before.html

Area Meeting: Wednesday 3rd June

2009-06-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

This evening to Cannock, and The Barns, for an Area Meeting. This is an informal meeting for table chairman and vice-chairman of individual Tables in Area 5 (there are 16 in total). I'd been asked to host this evening's meeting, and chose The Barns as we've had a fair few meetings there in the past. Tonight, as always the food was very good. Because it was an informal meeting, we had tables of 4, and I sat with Walsall and Lichfield. I think all Round Tables have similar things to focus on: how to attract new members, how to keep the programme interesting and varied so members stay invovled, how to raise funds for charities etc. The 'business' part of this evening was informal, with a short intro from the area chairman (Chris James - from Stourbridge & Brierley Hill), followed by a few words from the president (Dave Townsend) about his table experiences over the years, followed by an open forum for tables to give an update of what they are up to. This gives lots of insight into what other tables are doing, events that we can tag along to and some ideas of what Penkridge could do. I came away with several pages of ideas.

Fun Run Leaflets

2009-05-25T10:53:00.001-07:00

Strolled round in the evening sunshine last night, delivering Fun Run leaflets and application forms to my designated sector of the village. Normal balance between yapping dogs who try and grab the leaflets through the letter box, and curious cats.
It's now just five weeks to go to the Fun Run.

Thursday 21st May

2009-05-23T01:07:00.001-07:00

Bit of a rush for meeting tonight night as I was in London, so I met up with the other guys at our venue – the Tamworth Snow Dome, for an evening of tobogganing (just as the days are getting longer and the evening’s lighter and warmer what more could you want than snow!). After a quick change out of my suit, and the addition of scarf and gloves, we have a safety briefing – Penkridge Round Table, and a school party of about 50 – though they are very nice to us: “let these gents go first, one shouts to his friends who try pushing in!!”.
Then it’s onto the slope via the travelator. And it’s fab, racing down real snow, there’s a decent slope, and a steeper section to the left – which toppled Paul and Andy on one of their first runs. The first couple of runs are busy with some queuing, but then things naturally spread out and it flows quite nicely. And after a few goes the steering-by-braking becomes more natural and I get up a decent speed. Really was an entertaining evening. Back to the village a swift pint at a busy Littleton Arms, then over the road for a very decent meal at Wing Fat’s.

Monday 18th May

2009-05-23T01:03:00.000-07:00

See this link (via an RSS feed) from the Penkridge.org website. Wonder if Pete has seen this:
http://penkridgecrier.blogspot.com/2009/05/bats-in-penkridge.html
apparently there are more bats in Penkridge than the Wyre Forest !

Saturday 16th May

2009-05-23T01:02:00.000-07:00

I find a carrier bag on my doorstep of fun run leaflets and application forms. We hand deliver these to all houses in Penkridge, with each tabler taking a designated area of the village, to spread the load. I’ll aim to get mine delivered over the bank-holiday weekend, at walking pace, not running!

Monday 11th

2009-05-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

Fun Run planning meeting. The Fun Run is just 7 weeks away (June 28th) and there’s a fair amount of prep to get things done. Veteran tabler Malc Newman’s been involved for a good few years so things are pretty slick, but as with last week’s comedy night there’s still plenty of tasks to be shared out. Tonight 5 of us meet up to see where we are with planning, and what’s still to be done. This year we are offering 250 free places to children. This is in support of the Government’s ‘Change 4 life’ campaign, and has been possible through sponsorship from Stafford and Surrounds Commissioning Group and South Staffordshire PCT. The front page of the web-site (www.penkridgeroundtable.co.uk) shows how many free places are left – so don’t delay if you’ve not registered!
This year we also have a minor change to the route; instead of running down by the brook we will divert off New Road earlier, into Croydon Drive. The good news is that we’ve checked, and the route is still the same distance. We’ve had to make the change due to the numbers of runners; the narrow path by the brook meant that runners were bunching and unable to keep their pace. Time to get in training.

Penkridge Comedy Night

2009-05-18T23:38:00.001-07:00

Saturday 9th May
Comedy Night at the Peace Memorial, and our first fund raising event of the year. This has become a bit of a fixture in the calendar, though slightly earlier in the year than previously. We have a good showing, with around 160 tickets sold. The evening takes the same format as usual: the disco gets the atmosphere going as the halls fills up, whilst the bar dishes out jugs of beer etc. First act is on at 8pm; it’s Martin Gold and he’s very funny. Then we have a break and dish out fish and chips, sourced from Oysters in the village. Serving fish and chips for 160 is a slight logistical challenge, so we make use of the food warmers in the kitchen to keep the first batch warm whilst Andy (who’s chaired the committee for tonight) fetches the second batch. Unfortunately the chip paper in the base of the fully-stuffed warmer ignites, and flames emerge from the food warmer. A rapid response, assisted by the fire extinguisher, means the fire is quickly out, and it’s back to the comedy business (whilst the Tablers clean up the dry powered from the kitchen area!). Second act is Oliver, well known on the comedy circuit having been a professional entertainer for over 30 years.
All too soon the comedy is over and the disco kicks in; and with the kegs of lager sold out the audience is on top form. Around 12:30 we manage to get the last stragglers out and clear up the hall, with a return trip in the morning to cart everything away. A thoroughly entertaining evening, and a decent amount raised for charity.

Rodbaston Visit

2009-05-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday 7th May
I catch up with the car convey heading to Rodbaston from the Cross Keys. This evening we have a tour around the Rodbaston Campus of South Staffordshire College. The college is on the doorstep of Penkridge, and yet I’ve never visited. The 10 of us our met by Chris Mitchell, Animal Centre Manager, who acts as a guide for the evening, and I’m genuinely surprised by what we find. I’d expected a few sheep, the odd goat and a cow or two, but it’s radically different. Over recent years the college has been transformed into a Zoological centre; Chris tells us that they are both licenced for zoo animals and firearms – the two are a necessary combination!. We start with an aviary area, and some noisy birds. Into the nocturnal area we see bats (and a comment that we’d already seen more in 10 minutes than an entire, wet, evening in the Wyre forest last year!). Continuing around the visitor centre (much of which is in the old pig farm) we see exotic fish, meerkats, snakes, spiders, lizards, porcupines, rabbits – housed with plenty of space in the old pig sties!, sheep, turkeys and lemurs. It’s a fascinating tour and Chris is a knowledgeable guide.
It’s getting dark by the time we leave the centre, but a short trip back to the village, and a couple of beers over a curry whilst Chris tells us tales of life amongst primates (his old Zoo experiences – not the students at Staffordshire college!
The Animal Centre is open to the public at weekend and during school holidays from 10am to 5pm.

2009 Programme

2009-05-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 5th May
Bit more planning on the 2009 programme of activities. Pete’s got some good ideas of activities for the year; all I need do is find some time to take a look at the details and work out some dates.

Table Programme Ideas

2009-05-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday 26th April
Life as chairman never stops!
Whilst out with our programme secretary at the Shugborough Food Show we discover there is a micro-brewery not far from us, and a lager specialist (should keep Ian happy). And as the proverb says: If we can’t organise a visit to a micro-brewery then ……..............

ATC Dining-In Evening

2009-05-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday 25th April
This evening a party of us (5 tablers and partners) attend a formal dinner at the Hatherton Hotel. This is the annual ‘dining-in’ evening for the 2415 (Penkridge) Squadron Air Training Corps, attended by senior staff of the Staffordshire Wing and Honorary President David Kidney (Stafford MP), and includes their annual awards ceremony, to thank and reward the ATC cadets for the hard work they put in during their time at the squadron; two of the cadets have been shortlisted for national awards. Like many other local organisations the ATC is a core part of the Penkridge Community and we are pleased to be able to support their activities. The achievements of these young people is outstanding, and deserves real recognition. I’m also very grateful of the support that the ATC provide to Round Table at many of our community events, such as marshalling at the Annual Penkridge Fun Run. In support of this I present a cheque to the ATC’s Commanding Officer Steve Lewis.It’s a good evening, and we attended last year and had a good time. After the meal, the awards and presentations, there’s a disco and the cadets are transformed (after changing out of their uniforms). Penkridge Round Table also take to the dance floor, with the chairman demonstrating his ‘unique’ style of dance. David Kidney has a chat with me at the bar to understand more of what community activities we’re doing this year. He’s been involved in the Penkridge Fun Run in the past – both as the official starter, and as a runner. It would be good if he can get along again this year. He kindly invites us visit him in Westminster for a tour of Parliament.

St Michaels School

2009-05-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

Friday 24th April.
A busy Table week! Tonight we’ve been asked by a fund-raising committee at St Michaels School to help out. They need to raise £80,000 as part of a major building project (the remainder being provided by grants etc). So they are holding a Silent Auction at the Peace Memorial Hall in the village, and Table has been asked to assist by cooking and serving burgers and hot-dogs. So shortly after 5pm I start burger flipping, accompanied by around 7 other tablers and Mrs Chairman. We have an entertaining time, and seem to sell a decent number of burgers and sausages. The silent auction is well attended, so hopefully this adds a good amount to their funds.

Business Meeting

2009-05-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday 23rd April
Business Meeting tonight. We have this in the Haling Dene Centre, with a modest showing of members. This is a good but vocal meeting. We discuss the planned changes proposed at National, and also some changes to Members accounts. We constantly strive to ensure that Table is as affordable as possible, and keep a balance of events that are interesting but don’t break the bank. Nights involving more expensive activity such as mud-buggies, go-karting, or microlight flying have to be offset in the programme with quiz nights and pub tours to keep costs for members manageable.So it’s good to discuss these issues, and we had 10 members at the meeting. We vote to accept the structural changes proposed at national level, but against the increases in capitation. Two of our tablers plan to travel to Eastbourne to vote at the AGM on May 8thWe’ve recently given money to fund sailing lessons for pupils at Sherbrook Primary School in Cannock, an all age Special School. Peter visited them, at Gailey Sailing School, and has brought a DVD with him.

Area AGM

2009-05-18T23:29:00.001-07:00

Wednesday 22nd AprilArea AGM. Penkridge Round Table is part of a larger Area, and each Area has its own committee, so they also have an AGM. So this evening five of us from Penkridge squeeze into Richard M’s car and shimmy down to Stourport for the Area 5 AGM. I’ve not been to an Area AGM before, but it’s not dissimilar to our own. Tonight there are around 50 tablers from the 16 individual tables across the area. This includes Steve Glaister, the outgoing Area Chairman; also here is Peter Manley the National president of Round Table Britain and Ireland (RTBI). Round Table is fairly sizeable, there are over 600 individual ‘tables’ with a total of around 7,000 members. But in the last few years membership, in general has declined, and the National Council is proposing some fairly innovative ways to tackle this decline. So when we get around to the speeches, Peter has a chance to say a few words about these changes, why they are necessary and what benefit it will bring to table.The rest of the ‘formal’ part of the meeting is more comical than our own table; we have no minutes from the last AGM - both incoming and outgoing secretary have denied responsibility for the lost minutes. There’s also a presentation of sports trophies: there are quite a number of Area sports competitions. Penkridge won the football competition this year;. but the football trophy is missing, so we come away with the squash trophy - maybe by next year someone will have returned the football trophy.The new chairman, Chris James, takes over (curiously dressed as a chicken, and with non-opposable thumbs this makes holding his speech a bit tricky, though amusing to watch), and he appoints his officers for the year.

AGM - End of the old Year / Start of a New

2009-05-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8th April.Penkridge Round Table AGM; the end of one year and the start of a new year for Penkridge Round Table. We meet at the (newly renamed) Hatherton Country Hotel, Penkridge. A swift pint then settle down to quite a decent meal three-course meal. As always there is a good attendance for the AGM, with 22 tablers, including Steve Glaister, the current Area Chairman.The AGM isn’t overly formal, there is structure and an agenda to the meeting, but lots of good humour and barracking. Each of the table officers gives a report on what they’ve done during the year. In most cases they give up their role, but often then take on a new role. For the community events that we organise we have committees, which helps share out the workload. We have a few traditional elements to the AGM, that I think help reinforce the long history of Round Table.We also have some new elements, and I’m the second in-coming Chairman to be faced with Richard Biskier’s mind-over-matter challenge of smashing my fist through a thick piece of wood (which he bravely hold aloft). I achieve this, on second attempt, with much applause - and much hilarity when it doesn’t break the first time.I then take over from Pete, the out-going chairman, and he relinquishes his chain of office. This looks ominous but is quite simply a ribbon with a small badge for each of the past chairman, adding Pete’s makes 34 past Chairman of Round Table - that’s quite a history! I see my role as Chairman as being a custodian of Penkridge Round Table, to keep it going, encourage our members and attract new members - through having a good social programme and continuing to have community events that raise money for charities and local good causes. Ensuring that they provide fun and entertainment for our members, their families and the wider community. So I read a short speech to the AGM telling the members what I want to do in the year ahead, then I introduce the officers for the coming year. We have a swift drink at the bar, then retire back to Pete’s house for a post AGM party!