3cheersApril 2012 - Issue 4

The Magazine for Ladies Circle in Area 3a o a a w n

n ti n l aw rd i ning

Celebrating anotherGreat Year in Area 3!

Diary Dates... ...and Handover

Tuesday 1st MayRock & Rolling (Not Bowling!) -Dancing Night at Ritz Ballroom, Brighouse

9th-13th MayNational Conference in Torquay

Sunday 20th MayIndoor Street Party, Blackburn Hall, Rothwell

Saturday 26th MayJubilee Tea Party in Elland

Wednesday 13th JuneChairman’s & Vice Chairman’s Evening

Thursday 21st June 2012Area Handover Dinner

Monday 2nd JulyArea Meeting at Drighlington

JOIN US FOR

JO TINKER’SPASSING OUT PARADE

Thursday 21st June

Crystal Ballroom, Berties, EllandDelicious three course meal and all theusual fun of Handover for just £27.50

Please return your booking forms to Helen Shiggins by 1st June

Wow... so this is my last 3 Cheers!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the last eight editions of our all-digital magazine. I’ve certainly enjoyed finding out more about what you all get up to. We really are having a lot of fun and raising thousands of pounds for good causes. In fact, take a moment and give yourself a pat on the back - go on, you deserve it. As an Area 3 Circler, you are making the world a better place! You’re also contributing to your own happiness. In his 2011 book The Social Animal, the author David Brooks states that:

“Joining a club that meets once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income.”

And let’s face it, we’re more likely to meet with our friends; whether it’s in posh frocks, fancy dress or outdoor gear; than get that kind of pay rise!

I just want to thank you all again for sending me your photos and articles. It’s stating the obvious I know, but I couldn’t put 3 Cheers together without you.

As things stand, I’ll probably be Area Vice Chairman (eek!) when the next 3 Cheers is published so you haven’t seen the last of me. I know that Jo Machon will have a fun-packed year as Area Chairman so keep reading 3 Cheers for all the best pictures of Circlers doing silly things!

Remember to share 3 Cheers with all your friends - especially those who aren’t in Circle yet. It’s easy to do via facebook or email.

Keep having fun and spread the word!

Yours in Friendship

Victoria x

Porritt’s Ponderings...

Welcome...

business was quickly done, Janine Kaye and Julie Clayton took to the floor to auction all your unwanted Christmas presents.

Thank you so much for all your donations, many of which will be used in the May fundraiser, and a special thanks must go to Julie and Jazz for kindly agreeing to be the auctioneers...no other couple could have done it so well!

This is a great part of being your Area Chairman, as you get to see just how different Circles are in Area 3. You are all unique and I will definitely take your success back to my own Circle!

January saw Rothwell Circle heading out for a relaxing meal and a catch up. Then in February, I travelled down to Birmingham with Jo Machon and Judith Patrick to the National Council Meeting.

On Friday night, we met up with Alex Roberts, our very own National Treasurer, and friends from around the country. After the meal and the competition we sat in the bar and chatted with Circlers from Scotland to Cornwall and found how much we had in common but we also shared ideas and advice about Circle and particularly attracting new members!

Competition for the rounders trophy was tough at our Winter Olympics night in February.

of David, Lucy & Isobel and of course the fabulous Team Tinker. Never have such a group of girls laughed so much whilst sorting so much out!

This was the first Area Meeting of the New Year and what a hilarious one! After the

As I'm writing this, I can't believe it is my last edition of 3 Cheers as your Area Chairman! Where has the time gone? Seriously though, it has been (and still is and will b e u n t i l J u n e ) brilliant. What a way to celebrate my 40th Year by doing so many different things, jumping out of my comfort zone and enjoying all that Circle has to offer. I couldn't do it though without the support

he was but he saved my evening as Isobel and her friend skated around the rink with the penguin very happily. Well done to Baildon Circle for organising such a popular event and also unfortunately, their last one as sadly they are closing this year.

Another exciting March Circle event was our Singalonga Dirty Dancing Night! I promised not to watch the film and didn't! It was lovely to see so many Circles there with their guests and Rothwell did us proud with 22 girls coming along. The funniest part for me was watching people's reactions to different points in the film, the cheering when they kissed, the booing and of course the singing. I took some video of this, which you can look at on the Area 3 Facebook page.

Finally, in March I travelled to Elland to join in with their Ceilidh. Again there were so many people there and lots who were getting confused with their left and right so it was a good job Martin and Audrey Gunson were there to guide them along!

AGM season is in April and unfortunately I couldn't make Brighouse or Colne Valley's. I did go along to Batley's and at Halifax's I inducted 5 new members who are all very excited about joining Circle. Rothwell's AGM was my last one. It was a lovely night and I'd like to thank them for their generous donation to Help For Heroes.

Then in March I took my daughters, Isobel and Lucy and some friends to Bradford Ice Rink for family skating with Baildon Ladies Circle. The place was packed and it was also great to see how the Area 3 supported the event. There was also one very polite and kind boy who skated up to me with a penguin for Isobel. I don't know who

Batley...

...Halifax...

...and Rothwell

I have certainly done lots of this over the last few months! In January, Dave and I went for the 'Full Romance' package at the Area Ladies Night. In the afternoon, we chilled out with Katie Jagger and Karen Hirst and their other halves in the jacuzzi whilst watching the other guests arrive! Later on, we met up with Halifax Ladies Circle for a little 'fizz' outside Jo Machon's room, before meeting up with lots of friends and dancing the night away.

Malc Coton did a brilliant job of organising the event and I must apologise for spilling water from my beautiful bouquet of flowers on the dance floor! It was a fantastic night and another chance to catch up with Team Tinker too.

The end of March was another chance to party, as it was Team Tinker's weekend away in Harrogate. Friday night saw us squeeze into Karen and Denise's room for a meeting. Nibbles were eaten, fizz was drunk (and spilled) lots of laughs were had and many things were discussed! Then we got onto Circle business! It was early to bed that night, as we were booked into Harrogate Spa at 9.30am. You'll hear more of what went on as you read this magazine BUT I was so pleased that we braved the plunge pool (even though we were told to stop screaming as it would disturb those who were having relaxing treatments) and managed to get up to the hottest room!

In the afternoon, we strolled to have a late lunch at Betty's, wandered around Harrogate and then changed for the evening meal. The

food was gorgeous and the fizz plentiful and then it was onto our V.I.P. booth at The Viper Rooms. On the way we bumped into various 80's icons who had become separated and were staggering about. Adam Ant was slouched in Wetherspoons, Michael Jackson popped up in a car park but fell down again, Slash from Guns and Roses was dancing in another bar whilst Angus Young from AC/DC bumped into walls coming out of the toilets in Revolution!

We finally left at silly o'clock in the morning, walking tentatively uphill to the hotel. Many thanks have to go to Jo Machon for organising the whole thing and to Helen K for her 'outstanding' knowledge of Harrogate!

Not content with that, I dressed up as The Queen, with Jimmy Saville as my partner for Rothwell Circle's annual Safari Supper. You'll read more later but many thanks go to Hannah Armitage who singlehandedly organised the lot...and had the party in her house afterwards!

Yes there are still lots of things to look forward to from Team Tinker, until my Passing Out Parade in June! Hopefully, there will be more visits to Circles, the Rosebowl final, my main fundraiser and Rock and Roll with Area 3. It's been a blast this year...I've loved it and thank you all so much for your support, fun and friendship.

See you on the other side!

Jo x

Vice Chairman...

Hi ladies

Hope you are all well, I have like most of us in Circle been kept busy since our last meeting and 3 cheers in January. I had a great time at Round Table Ladies Night. Making in it a weekend away was lovely (even though we only live 5 miles away from the venue!!!). I have been busy with my own circle (Halifax) attending our safari supper dressed as Jayne Torvill ( my husband was Christopher Dean of course); and I’ve Javlingo’d at our local Mecca bingo hall, now that was an experience for me, you have to concentrate and not speak!!! Very difficult thing to do.

I attended my first National council meeting in February and enjoyed the experience, met new Circlers, caught up with old ones, got to know a few more things about our Area Chair & Treasurer (all good I might add). I came out inspired and ready to get things sorted for my coming year, and I’ve been sorting ever since. I enjoyed the Winter Olympics although I was a little poor at the events, I did best drinking hot chocolate and eating snowballs in the apres-ski area! A weekend away in Harrogate with the exec team was fabulous; we laughed, drank, and ate, danced and

relaxed. What a time we had ladies, definitely worth joining exec if only for the annual weekend away.

On the membership front I have nothing new to report to you regarding Area 3, remember ladies we are losing Baildon and Holme Valley at the end of this Circle year, leaving us with 12 active circles. Those who replied to my text re. numbers (I’m afraid only 5 did so thanks if you replied) report no change since I last updated you. On a National level we have 35 active areas, 1,200 current members, 219 new this year which is fab but we will lose 132 due to the age rule. Our area have introduced 5 new members this year so far and I do know Jo has been out there at your AGMs where I am sure we will be introducing new Circlers

What still remains and always will is those involved have a fabulous time, and it is sometimes hard for us to understand why other women don’t want to be part of this great organisation. I know there has been lots of hard work on recruiting in our Area so far and for some Circles this has been a real success and for others a challenge.

Keep spreading the word, sharing your ideas, and advertising at every opportunity. We now have the LC banners and the postcards to help you promote our organisation.

Well ladies next time I do a report for you I will be your Area Chair (how exciting) so remember if you want a fabulous time please come and join me!!!

Jo MachonArea 3 Vice Chairman

Fundraiser...

Area 3 Needs You for the final push!!!

The final fundraiser for Help For Heroes will take place on Sunday 20th May,1-4pm at The Blackburn Hall, Rothwell.

The flyer tells you the basics but here are a few more details to tempt you.

There will be lots for everyone to do at our family fun day. You may want to try your luck on the teddy bear stall or chocolate tombola. You could have a guess at how many sweets there are in a jar or let the kids be creative on the craft stall. Relax in the café or licensed bar whilst the rest of the family have a go at playing traditional games, peruse the book stall, buy pocket money toys or Help For Heroes merchandise. Then wander around the other stalls to see what takes your fancy!

This is an afternoon for all friends and family members of all ages with all profits going towards Help For Heroes. A special thanks must also go to Elland Ladies Circle for allowing me to book the hall using their charity number as it was only with this that I was able to have the hall at a reduced rate!

So thanks for all your support and donations towards this worthy cause and lets see if we can have one last push.

Hope to see you all and your families on the 20th May.

Jo x

Huddersfield Pendragon Ladies Circle have had another fantastic year fundraising for our nominated charities, the Alzheimers Society and the Joe Bingley Memorial Foundation (a postnatal depression charity setup and based in Huddersfield) We have raised a massive £10,000 and are obviously very pleased with ourselves! Our final fundraiser of the year was our annual ball, A Night at the Oscars which was held on Saturday 10th March at the Crystal Ballroom at Berties in Elland (which will be covered by Yorkshire Life) and raised just over £4000!

Other events we have held throughout the year were: A raffle of beauty products at our local, The Cask; Cake and tombola stall at Holmfirth duck race; Sponsored 100 mile bike ride by my sales rep; Wine & cheese

tasting event; ‘Eyes Without Sparkle’ talk hosted by Elaine Hanzak; Cake stall at Crossland Moor bonfire hosted by Huddesfield Round Table; Christmas hamper which raised a fabulous £750.00; Psyshic night and the ball!!! Obviously we have had a few socials along the way and really enjoyed ourselves and we are looking forward to doing it all again this next year!

Yours in friendship

Rachael SmithHuddersfield Pendragon Ladies Circle

Busy Pendragon...

Show & Tell with Sari......my year as a Sitlington Circler

Spring Season

Once again I've had a pretty quiet few months unlike the girls. Off they went to Area Ladies Night without me and then had a silly games party without me!

They made up for it big time though by taking me to see Dirty Dancing - I had the time of my life and as for Patrick Swayze oooh yum yum! Didn't last for long though as I had to go home while the girlies wined and dined in a hotel. Then it was Paddy’s Night - was I invited to the party - No , I had my leprechaun outfit all ready too. I thought my luck might be in when I heard about the Inaugural Tangent lunch at Bagden Hall but once again I was left at home. Sine promises to take me to the Area AGM but I think I'll have to put the peach monstrosity of a dress back on - woe is me!

On a final note I'd just like to say well done to Jo and Team Tinker for a fabulous Circling year and I'm looking forward to meeting my new Circle soon at Handover Dinner.

See you all soon

Sari x

Batley Race the Night Away...

Elland fundraiser with lots of cake...

On 24th February 2012, Batley Ladies Circle hosted a Race Night at Morley Rugby Club to raise funds for the Stroke Association, the chosen charity of our Chairman, Claire Clish.

Lots of Circlers and guests joined us for this evening of fun, spending money on

raffles and of course betting on the horses to win a few quid.

Serving the pie & peas was ok too and added to the friendship of our Circle as we all mucked in to help make the evening a success.

Sadly, I did not have a winner all night but it was all good fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. We raised £700 so well done to all the girls of Batley Ladies Circle for your support.

Yours in Friendship

Karen FlattersBatley Ladies Chair - 2012-2013

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Yorkshire Mixtures Charter...

Area 3 Yorkshire Mixtures Tangent Club was formed in late 2011 by former Area 3 Circlers who wanted to keep in touch with friends made from other Circles during their time in Circle.

After lots of wine at the Past Chairman's Lunch last year Helena Housley took up the gauntlet and has been the driving force behind this new Tangent Club.

It's open to all former Area 3 Circlers from across Yorkshire - North, South and West, hence the name Yorkshire Mixtures and we have 19 members already - after just 6 months!!

It's very informal - the aim is to meet 4 times a year with Lunch as the main activity and maybe the odd theatre trip and weekend away and the subs are £5 - yes £5 !!

Some people are already members of thriving Tangent Clubs but others like Helena and myself were not ready to join our local Tangent just yet so this provides us with an alternative and the chance to continue some of those friendships made whilst a member of Area 3.

So far we've had 3 meetings and 2 lunches including our very first outing to Todmorden Tangent's 40th Anniversary Lunch and our very own Tangent Charter Lunch.

The Charter Lunch was held at Bagden Hall on 31st March 2011 - an exclusive affair with just 13 of us plus Tangent President Jan Dowling who presented us with our Charter and a beautiful bowl to keep those Yorkshire Mixtures in. We raised £ 54 from a small

raffle for Jan's Charity - Ovarian Cancer Action a charity very special to her.

I have to report Ladies that the fizz & friendship & laughter were as good (and bountiful) as any Circle do so if that's what putting you off joining us there's no need to worry !! Just drop Helena Housley a line if you want to continue the friendship - you are all very welcome!

Claire Cunnington

A Social Whirl...

I have to say what a fabulous year I have had with Team Tinker.

Having never done an area post before and I was a little nervous about going onto exec, but I have to say it was the best decision ever! It has been great fun to work with Jo and everyone else who has organized Area 3 for the last twelve months, a real privilege!

I have organised a couple of events at area meetings for various trophies, we are all now are better informed about the hits of 1971 than before (I think!) for the Non Sporting Trophy and in true Circle style we had plenty of fun with a game of Crackerjack!

For the October meeting it was the Jolly Sausage Trophy and name the famous female heroes from history and I must say I was very impressed by the high scores achieved! Great women who have made their mark on the world! I think we too have made our own mark in Circle history this year, from a staggering number of shoeboxes for our soldiers to

dreaming of Dirty Dancing with the late Patrick Swayze. Each Circle I'm sure have their own special memories of the year and have made their own unique mark, however small or large.

My highlight to date was our Girls Night Out at No 1 Brook Street for a revamped Friendship Evening. I hope you all enjoyed the evening as much as I did and I think everyone enjoyed the new format for the evening. It was so great to share everyone's memories from Circling, and the number of albums and memorabilia was amazing. You always wonder when you organise events if people will get into the spirit of the evening and partake in the fun! I should know better than that when it comes to a Circle event, everyone always get into the swing of it!

I hope that the Handover Dinner is just as much a success as our Girls Night Out, I am currently in the process of getting things organised so we can have another fantastic evening in Area 3 and create many more lasting memories.

As you can tell I have many memories of a great year on Team Tinker, from Harrogate to Huddersfield and Penistone to Pole dancing! with more still to come! It's been that great I even plan to stay on exec for next year if you will have me! So if you are wondering what its like to be on exec, give it a go, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Keep calm and carry on Circling

Helen Shiggins

Batley go for Gold! Jo Tinker from Area Three Ladies Circle lit the Olympic Flame to get the Area 3 Winter Olympics off to a start, the athletes have been training for months and the atmosphere was charged with expectation.

This years games were full of excitement and the new Penguin Slide event proved an exciting addition to the Olympic calendar. Competitors faced freezing conditions and used their skills to grab a selection of fish, whilst precariously balancing on an ice platform. Carol Hardy and Denise Armstrong from Batley took Silver and Bronze, but their skill was not enough to hold off Clare Clish, who came out on top to take Gold, she is nothing short of a natural at this event.

Not far away on the slopes, conditions on the ski jump caused difficulty for the athletes and the competition was intense. Kay Tinker was in line for Gold when Armstrong put in a phenomenal effort to go in front and set a new world record, putting Team Batley firmly at the top of the podium with a second Gold medal.

Winter Olympics...

Stewards Lucy Tinker and Esme Armitage ensured that the games went smoothly and a recreational game of curling in the Great Hall was popular, providing stress relief for the teams. Off piste refreshments were enjoyed, before the medal ceremony ended a fabulous day at the Area Three Winter Olympics. Gold Medal winners Clish and Armstrong will be awarded the Area Three Rounder's Trophy for their achievement.

Denise Armstrong x

A Year in Hebden Bridge...

It was November, our annual fundraising stall at the bonfire had gone well, we'd raised around £700 and we were ready for our next event. The Hebden Bridge Picture House was hired, as was the classic movie, Grease. We featured in the monthly programme, we’d had a piece in the Hebden Bridge Times and had spread the word (Grease is the word!) throughout the Calder Valley.

We started the evening off with a display of jive dancing (nope, not from us, we had a local jive class volunteer their services) and all got into the spirit of things with our outfits. We even had our very own Olivia Newton-John in the shape of our Chairman, Katrina. This year our Katrina's chosen charity is Rainbows, who are based at The Noah’s Ark Centre in Halifax and work to support children who have been bereaved. Following our cinema night we are able to present a cheque to them for £800.

February arrived and we were catching up with each other after the busy Christmas break and pitting our wits against some of our fellow Hebden Bridge residents, with a curry thrown in for good measure. We were up against teams including "Quiz team Aguilera", "Freezing Nads" (it was jolly cold out!),"Craig smacks kids" (you need to live round here to get that and have read the local newspaper that week!) amongst others.

We split into Team Circle and Team Tangent and after a little while and a few snidey comments about other political parties it became clear that we had unwittingly turned up at the local Labour Party’s Political Party Broadcast!! Much to our embarrassment at the end of each round we had to shout out our scores and the losing team (which was Team Circle on more than one occasion) got to pick the topic for the next round. Worth mentioning is Team Tangent’s most impressive knowledge of our country’s prisons and there whereabouts and history!!

April now and following the success of our previous Sex and The City Cocktail Night where we drank several cocktails (some classic, some JD creations!) whilst watching Sex and The City (the movie) we repeated the evening with our Sex and The City 2 Cocktail Night where we did much the same but whilst watching Sex and The City 2 (the movie). We had enjoyed a week of quite tropical weather recently which had got us in the mood for quaffing cocktails of an evening.

However on the morning of our arranged evening most of us woke up to a blanket of snow, snow drifts and a fairly energetic blizzard making the hill up to the house inaccessible. By teatime the road was clear and most of the snow had disappeared so everything was back on again!

Cocktails were made and served to us by my resident cocktail waiter/barman JD (he always wears his DJ on a Wednesday night and I do insist on it when he's serving me drinks!).

There were a selection of non alcoholic cocktails as well as alcoholic cocktails (we must cater for and not discriminate against those of us who aren't alcoholics!) on offer

along with The JD Spesh which was resurrected after the first night. It is like having a royal "taster", my cocktail waiter will not let a drink out of his bar unless he has tested it himself and made sure it is worthy.

We had a fab Girlie Night together and as we sipped (yes, sipped!) our cocktails and watched the Movie we pondered whether we could get away with a Circle trip to Abu Dhabi and if so how long would we get away with and also which of us would get ourselves into bother first!! It was a lovely way to spend an evening, if only they were planning Sex and The City 3 (the movie). You can't beat a trilogy!!

Helen Swift xHebden Bridge Ladies Circle

Wine & Chocolate in Penistone...What could be better than an evening of chocolate making washed down with a little wine? Very little, as we found out at our recent social event in Penistone!

Our brave chocolatiers Mel and Jimmy from Melanie's cakes and Chocolates in Cudworth, arrived with sacks of chocolate that can only be described as the stuff of dreams. They melted, shaped and teased the chocolate into such delights as strawberry creams, white chocolate creations and rochers.

Penistone Circle was in chocolate heaven! After tasting all these delights (it was a hard job, but we managed) we were able to purchase some of Mel and Jimmy's chocolate selection to enjoy at home; needless to say plenty of chocolate made it in to our handbags! An excellent buffet and a little more wine rounded off what was an excellent night of fun, laughter and chocolate.

We followed this social by attending Area 3's 'Dirty Dancing Sing-a-long' night. A fantastic time was had by all; singing our way through the night, as well as all the way home (thank you to our very patient and sober driver Helen Shiggins for putting up with that!)

So, what could possibly be better than a night of chocolate followed by a night of Patrick Swayze?! Well, perhaps a combination of the two…Patrick Swayze dipped in chocolate might be good…

Louise McInnes xPenistone Ladies Circle

Rothwell on Safari...

Yes, it was that time of year again. The night that everyone in Rothwell Circle looks forward to... our annual Safari Supper. During previous years, themes have been as varied as: Christmas - how expensive are sprouts in June! Safari - following a tipsy ostrich across fields at 3am! Holidays - lots of fake tan on women and men! Heroes & Villains - with a memorable Jesus and his 6ft cross that came to every house.

This year, Chairman Hannah picked a very topical one; The London Olympics. So, during our starter Dave (Jimmy Saville) and myself (The Queen) met a rugby player, a couple of horse riders and Mario and Luigi. At our main course we had Torvill & Dean and two Olympic supporters, then at dessert we met a man in a morph suit, more supporters and horse riders. The final party was hosted by Rich and Hannah who did a brilliant job with the décor, food and of course the alcohol. A great night was had by all. Here's to next year!

Jo TinkerRothwell Ladies Circle

National Council...So….what goes on at a National Council

Meeting……Quite a bit actually!

As an Area Chairman, you are also a member of the National Exec, which means that I get to represent your views to the National Board. For this meeting in February, Jo 'Sparkles' Machon and Judith 'Figures' Patrick also came down to see what it was all about. We also got chance to catch up with Alex Roberts, our very own National Treasurer from Area 3!

Our competitive spirit was very much in evidence on the Friday night meal when we were put into teams and competed in lots of 'silly' games…or 'serious' challenges as we saw it. There was Connect 4, Jenga, Pairs and Twister to win! Before the games commenced, I learnt a new skill in napkin folding. Can you guess from the picture what it was?

Soon after the games commenced! Jo and I were, by fluke, placed in the same team whilst Judith was now in a rival one! Connect 4 was

a disaster as National President Vicky trounced us. However, Jo Machon held her nerve, showed her flexibility and won the game of Twister and I managed to remember where all the pairs of different vehicles from the Cars movie were to win the memory game.

Still, it was not enough as our table managed to win the second prize of bags of lovely chocolate things. Meanwhile Judith, who was quietly confident, was on the winning team and won fizz!

After chatting and comparing notes about how to attract, support and keep members with the girls from Wales, Cornwall, Devon, Blackburn, London and Scotland, we retired to bed so that we could be ready for the early start the next morning.

At 8.00am we met for breakfast, checked out and were ready for the 9.00am meeting to commence. It was really interesting, once again, to see how Ladies Circle works and communicates on a National and International level, as well as its links with the 4 groups, Round Table, Tangent and 41 Club. Lots and lots went on but here are the main points.

General stuff:?The Duchess of Cambridge was

approached to be a Patron on Ladies Circle. She was very interested but declined. Someone suggested that she should be an Honorary Member instead.?So far National President Vicky's charity

had raised about £11,000 for Parkinsons.?Vicky asked if Circles could have a 'Party

for Parkinsons' to raise more money.

Secretary Stuff:Nominations for National Posts are:?Vice - Ruth Curry?Vice -Karen Johnson (Turiff LC)?Treasurer -Judith Scott (Holtbeach)

?Media -Roshni Latham(Cheadle & Gatley)

?Exec Admin -Steph Smith (Turiff)?The regional lunches have been

updated on the website to 2016. Check out when ours is!?The new publicity pop-up banners have

been collected by the Area Chairs for use by any Circle and they are good!?New membership pins have been sent to

Circle Chairmen to distribute.?Milford Haven, Colwyn Bay and

Stamford Circles have closed.

Treasurer Stuff:?Treasurer Alex has saved £1000 on

insurance cover and the new insurance schedule is available to download from the website.?Treasurer's accounts will also be

available in the AGM pack.?At present we have £253,000 in reserves

but require £138,749. We have a buffer of about £140,000, which we as members can suggest how we can use it to take the organisation forward.

Vice Stuff:?CRUK- Marj, Vice President would like to

open this discussion. Should we keep supporting CRUK as our National Charity? CRUK are now a massive charity and the money we raise is small in comparison. Would it be better for Circle to support a smaller charity where we can really make a difference? Bring your thoughts to the September Council meeting.

Membership Stuff:?Trophy season is upon us. Circlers will be

receiving an e-flash. If you don't get one, the forms to fill in for trophies are on the website and need to be completed by the 31st March.?There is a new trophy called 'Thinking

Outside the Box' and it applies to Circlers who have a unique way to attract new members.?The database cleanse is underway so

please let National Membership Officer Josie know of any changes to addresses and email.?New publicity postcards and Area

banners were handed out.?Enquiries about Circle have been 682 in

total so far this year whereas it was 267 at this point last year.?Of the people that contact there is

usually a 60% capture rate and a 20% drop off rate so don't worry!?Statistics show it usually takes 6 months

to sign a new member so keep in touch with all membership enquiries.?New members this year-219 so far?Current membership -1200?Those gone to age rule-132?52 members have registered no date of

birthThe age profile of membership enquiries is:?30-34=24%?25-29=21%?18-24=9%?42% of enquiries had surfed in and 28%

came from Round Table.?I asked that mobile phone numbers be

included for membership enquiries as it is more personal than an email.?A National Directory would be good

after the database cleanse and when a system for updating details is much quicker.

Media & PR:?Someone asked that the Club finder bit

be on the home page of the website so that people could find individual Circler quickly.?Please go on the website and update

your own Circle info to attract new members. Examples to look at are Turiff and Blackburn. Your Circle Chairman has the password to change things so find out what it is, get a group together and add things you would like

to showcase about your Circle.?There is a trial so that honorary

members can subscribe to the Circler magazine and this will cost £5 in advance. If you know of anyone who would like this then let Jacqui know so she can put in details of address etc before September.?Why not have a Gmail email address for

interested people to log into, or Twitter account or Facebook Page where you can post events onto?An e-flash will be sent out to Circlers on

the database so please pass onto other people.?Please click on Ladies Circle UK

Facebook Page by finding it and pressing like, this increases the flow of traffic and makes us more accessible to the public.?Please send Jacqui copies of media

successes for a trophy.

Website:?Some people said that it wasn't user

friendly.?Your individual micro sites are to be used

to attract new members primarily. If you need to contact exiting members, then set up a closed group on Facebook??If sending any photos to Jacqui, please

make them high quality photos for publicity and press releases.?It costs £15 a month to host and manage

the whole Ladies Circle Website.?If there are any additional updates then

it would cost £50.

IPP Stuff:The annual return process for Circle will be

streamlined and be more efficient.

Items for discussion:There were two items that caused lots of

discussion.

1. That the National Executive should consult members to a change of our name and logo etc.

Discussions centred around how Area Chairman would have like some sort of communication prior to the October Council meeting when the new logo was unveiled. A substantive motion was passed that: National Exec are not empowered to change the logo and brand ing w i thou t consu l t i ng membership. This will now be on the National AGM agenda.

2. National President’s out of pocket expenses to be increased to £5,000 per year.

Discussions were about cost cutting e.g. not expecting a gift from Nat. President as she goes on her travels and is home hosted. Giving the Nat. President a free raffle ticket at events, paying for companion's meals etc.

In the end a substantive motion was passed that it should increase to £3000 and this will be going forward to the National AGM agenda.

?National Capitation will be set at £45 per member.

And finally…True to form…I was fined! Once for looking

for an owl in my bra (a lost earring) and for describing myself as the Naked Waiter Lady!

Jo x

St. Patrick’s Night in Elland...

Elland Ladies Circle and Elland Round Table organised a St Patrick’s Night celebration at Elland Cricket Club. The night was a charity fund-raiser for the Alzheimer's Society and The Stroke Association, the chosen charities of the two Chairmen, Katie Jagger and Sean Pearce.

A Ceilidh band called The Fusspots provided the music and dancing. This was a special night for The Fusspots as this was to be their last gig. 120 Circlers, Tablers and guests attempted to dance the night away with guidance from May, the bands MC. Both Area Chairmen Jo Tinker and Karl Ashford managed to master the dances but others were not as successful!

The night raised £650 which was split evenly between the two charities. A big thank you goes out to all those that attended and made it a brilliant night.

Judith Pearce xElland Ladies Circle

MC Mayof the Fusspots

Full of excitement, Judith, Helen S. and I set off for Harrogate, intent on being there before wine o’clock. At 6pm exactly we pulled in to the hotel car park and after a quick check-in and deposit of luggage, we set off for a quick bite to eat. We honestly did just intend to get a burger or similar but were quickly led astray. After two courses of Italian food and a couple of glasses of wine each, (all served by very cute waiters) our weekend was well underway.

We returned to our hotel and met up with the rest of Team Tinker for our meeting. With enough alcohol and snacks to satisfy a rugby team, we got down to a bit of AGM preparation and discussions about Jo’s fundraiser. We did of course go off on too many tangents and stayed up rather later than intended but that was always going to happen!

Bright and early the next morning we set off to the Turkish Baths. I really didn’t know what to expect but it was a fantastic place. Recently restored to it’s Victorian glory, it boasts a steam room, three dry hot rooms of increasing temperature and the infamous plunge pool! Our guide told us about the history of the place and in what order we should visit the rooms. We showered, had a few minutes of steam and a bit of heat but then plunge pool awaited us. The only way to brave it was to walk purposefully down the steps into the cold water and, well, plunge in. Karen Flatters was having none of it however, and squealed with each tentative step! She wasn’t alone as we were making so much

Ten Go Mad in Harrogate...

noise, we had to be asked to pipe down like a gaggle of schoolgirls! After a relaxing morning in the Baths, re-hydration was required so it was next door to Wetherspoons for soft drinks (for the time being!)

A short saunter up the hill took us to that great Harrogate establishment, Betty’s Tea Rooms. As we were a big group, queueing was inevitable but it gave us more time to peruse the menu and change our minds numerous times - it all looked delicious - how were we supposed to choose? Helen S. and Hannah both opted for the famous afternoon tea which looked spectacular and apparently didn’t taste too bad either!

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with a wander around the shops and, of course, a nap in preparation for our big night out. We all met in Denise and Karen’s room to drink some of the wine we hadn’t managed the previous night and then it was off to the Restaurant Bar and Grill. Helen K. needed a little bit of help getting down the hill in her skyscraper heels but we took it in turns during the evening to be her ‘totter buddy’! Thanks to Jo Machon’s famous charm (should that be cheek?) we were each treated to a free glass of Prosecco.

Readyfor the

meeting!

The meal was delicious and the waiters even better looking than the previous night’s. After our meal, we wandered (or tottered) over the road to Wetherspoons for a few mojitos and our first sighting of a drunk eighties pop star. Adam Ant was sitting on his own, looking a little confused and very much the worse for drink while other punters tried on his tricorn hat!

On our way to Bar Republic and Michael Jackson appeared, in full Thriller costume, from behind some parked cars and staggered into the distance. Our refusal to pay for entry got us into Bar Republic for free (it pays to be cheeky!) Inside we spotted Slash (from Guns n Roses) and then Angus Young (of AC/DC) staggered sideways out of the gents.

The time had come for us to go to the Viper Rooms where our champagne booth was booked for 11pm.Walking straight to the front of the queue, we were led downstairs to

the Guilty Pleasures Lounge and we settled down to a few bottles of fizz.

We drank a bit and danced a bit but then Jo Machon started to sing, picked up one end of the rope that kept the hoi-poloi out of our booth and kara-rope-ey was born.

Jo and I performed a particularly stirring rendition of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ by Whitney Houston. At far-too-late-o’clock, we staggered back to the hotel on sore feet.

Breakfast was had not quite as bright and early the following morning but a wander around town cleared the hangovers and then it was time to pack up and get back on the road towards home.

I can guarantee that a good time was had by all, in fact, I’m laughing at the memories as I write this. Thanks Team Tinker for one of the best weekends away I’ve ever had!

Victoria x

Rose Bowl Semi-Final...

Much to our surprise, Elland had beaten Sitlington in the previous round of the Rose Bowl competition. We now faced Penistone and were poised with a selection of silly games to challenge them.

Louise, Anna and Helen from Penistone made their way to my house. We chatted for a while but then it was time to get down to business. The first round was a game of Lego Creator, a board game that involves collecting bricks and building a little model. Elland took the first round with Judith really getting into the Lego building as her husband always played Lego with their son when he was small and she never got the chance!

Next was a fiercely contested game of ‘Pizza Topple’ which can only be described as being a bit like Jenga, but with pepperoni and mushrooms! Penistone won this game so for the decider we played Pictureka, a game of looking for silly pictures on big cards which is a lot trickier and more infuriating than it looks!

Luckily, my nine year old daughter, Rose, had been on hand all evening to help us with the rules of these very complex and challenging games as otherwise we would have struggled even more than we did! It was close but Elland won the last game and face Brighouse in the final.

Victoria xElland Ladies Circle

Judith concentratingintently on herLego model

Anna’s disappointed face asPenistone lose the first round

Area 3 have the time of their lives...

As we all know our Area Chair, Jo, turned 40 this year and she started to think about what she still had to do with her life - now that it had really begun. This became the theme of her Chair and Vice night, where she confessed to a group of Circlers that she had never seen the film Dirty Dancing! The rest of us gasped in dismay; she had no idea about the embarrassment of carrying a watermelon, that God had given her maracas because he wanted her to shake them and why no one should ever put Baby in a corner. I vowed as her CSLO, that Jo too would swoon over Swayze before her year was up!

So on the 9th March at the Shay Stadium, Halifax, almost one hundred eager women gathered for 'Sing-a-long-a Dirty Dancing'; a cheap and cheerful chance to get together with the girls, sing and be silly. Although looking around the room I knew some of them needed no excuse to do that!We watched the film whilst eating movie munchies, enjoyed pie and peas, bought raffle tickets, witnessed a fancy dress competition - all in support of the tremendous work that our troops do for us around the world.

Apart from a few technical glitches along the way... I think a good time was had by all and by the end of the night Jo knew how it was important to have hungry eyes but not spaghetti arms! Many thanks to all those who attended and raised a total of £260 for Help for Heroes.

Helen KitsonArea CSLO

KEEPCALM

AND

FINISHTHE

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