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Commodore's Newsletter - March 2010.
Dear Friends and Fellow Members, I was hoping to start this letter with good news about the weather, but how wrong I was. The canal seems to be freezing over every other day. The poor bulbs in the tubs don’t know whether to wake up or go back to sleep again. Never mind, the nights are getting lighter and we have the spring to look forward to. The sooner it comes the better we will all feel. Since my last letter to you we have had the Auction which ran as smoothly as ever with Kath and Eric in charge. Thank you to all the helpers you did a grand job. February 13th was the Valentines Dance which saw the Club House transformed into romantic mode. Helped along by Frank Forde and his wonderful renditions of all the old crooner songs. The night seemed to be a great success. It makes the hard work the Sailing Officers and Social Committee put in worth while. Thank you all, not forgetting the bar staff, and Bob for his posters and tickets. Thursday 18th February saw the club house buzzing with anticipation as Keith, Janet and Margaret tossed the pancakes. Would they catch them or not? It was good to see so many of you. We have a few events coming up over the next month. The 6th March is the Quiz Night, 8 pm. Please come along and join us. It will be light hearted and a bit of fun. There will be different categories of question and I am sure there will be something for all. Hope you have all been practising your ‘yippees’ ready for the Fitting Out Supper Ho Down on 20th March. Tickets are going well so if you haven’t put your name down yet please contact myself or any of the Sailing Officers. You don’t have to dance - it will be fun watching other people doing the dancing and you can always help out with the ‘yippees’. We will be having Hot Pot and Apple Pie. If you require the vegetarian option of Vegetable Bake please let me know. Sunday the 28th March is the Opening Cruise. We will be sailing from the cill at 10.30 towards bridge 20 and then back to the club where hot food will be available. There will be a prize for the best dressed boat. April sees the Easter Weekend Cruise to Bugsworth. We will be erecting the big marquee and there will be entertainment on Saturday and Sunday. The club will not be providing a bar so bring along your own supplies. Sunday is Keith‘s 60th birthday. We will be providing food and entertainment and a drink to celebrate his birthday and we would like to invite you all along . There will be an Easter Bonnet and Tie competition and I would also like to test your ingenuity by dressing your windlass. Anything goes. That’s it for now; here‘s to a brilliant sailing season with lots of sunshine. Denise and Keith

Commodore's Newsletter - February 2010.
Hi Friends and Fellow Members, Well, at last the ice has gone and Keith and I were able to take Hirondelle for a cruise on Sunday. Let’s hope that is the last of it. It was lovely and we enjoyed the beauty of it when it first came, but then the novelty wears off. We missed seeing boats going past. By the time you read this the Race Night and Tea Dance will have been and gone. I am sure they will have gone down well. The next event is the Auction on 7th February run by Kath and her team. Please come along and support her. This is followed by the Valentines Dance on 13th February at 8pm. We will be entertained by Frank Forde who will be serenading us with romantic songs and we will be having a Ploughman’s Supper and a ‘naughty but nice’ cream cake.

Thursday 18th February is Pancake Night. Come along and indulge yourself and watch the lads tossing the pancakes. The next event makes me think winer is coming to an end as it is the Fitting Out Supper which this year is to be a Hoedown. We would like to see as many of you as possible entering into the spirit of it by dressing up as cow-boys and cow-girls. The Hoedown Band Fiddlestix will be on hand to help us with the dancing so get practising your "yippee’s". If you wish to attend either of these events please contact myself or any of the Sailing Officers or if you are in the club add your name to the lists. Due to the continuing bad weather and possibly more to come, we have decided to re-schedule the Pantomime for later in the year, possibly October, but will keep you all informed. Finally, we are getting names together for the Amsterdam trip in September. If you are interested we have a list on the Commodore’s Board or phone Keith or myself to put your names down. We need to know approximately how many of you are interested so we can negotiate the best deal. When I have a draft itinerary I will call a meeting with every one interested to discuss it. It would be helpful if we could have all names by the end of February. That’s all for now folks, looking forward to seeing you on the canal or at the club. Denise and Keith

Commodore's Newsletter - January 2010.
It has been a very busy time for all of us since the last newsletter. We started December by putting up the Christmas tree in time for the Floral Display organised by Sheila and her team. What a great night it was! If you have never attended it, I would strongly recommend you put it in your diary for next year. We held a Children’s Christmas Party on 5th December and 15 children came along with parents and grand-parents. It was a lovely afternoon and the children enjoyed watching Father Christmas coming along the towpath and up into the club-house. I must say how well behaved they were and they brought a lot of pleasure to us ‘oldies’ watching them enjoy themselves. The Adult Christmas Party was on the 12th December. We were served a three course meal by Chris and Rose Bosley and their team. I think they excelled themselves this year. I don’t know how they manage to do so well in our kitchen. Following the meal we had some excitement with Father Christmas arriving by boat to deliver presents to all our guests. I think Father Christmas had a twinkle in his eye when the ladies sat on his knee! Father Christmas and his helper then gave us a rendition of ‘The Pudding Song’ before setting off for Lapland. The music for the evening was by ‘Steal Duo’. After the initial problems with the sound and volume, they went on to entertain us well. Keith, Michelle and I went up to Glasgow on Christmas Eve to be with Jamie and his girl-friend Nikki. It was lovely having Christmas dinner with Nikki’s parents and family. It did mean a very early start at 6am to get back to Marple for the Boxing Day Cruise - well, Car Cruise, as the canal was frozen. We arrived at the Forces Club just as Pam, John, Brian, Hazel, Jean and Shep arrived with the soup and sandwiches. We were not expecting to see a lot of members because of the dreadful weather but were wrong as between 45 and 50 members came along. It was lovely to see you all and especially Steve and Margaret after Steve’s operation. We saw the end of 2009 with a Hogmanay Party. The room looked lovely with its tartan theme. I hope you ladies liked your tartan sash and the gentlemen your sprig of heather. We were entertained by Double D Disco. He was great as he had Scottish pipe music when the guests arrived to set the scene. He provided music for every taste including ballroom dancing, Scottish dancing and disco. We were even entertained with golden oldie music while we ate our picnics with people singing along to them. Just before midnight we heard the sound of the pipes and in came a mad piper and his equally mad assistant who entertained us with the pipes and a sword-dance. Don’t know where they had escaped from but they did get us onto the dance floor, jigging about and ready to bring in the New Year. I have been assured they have been securely confined to a steel boat on the canal somewhere. I would like to thank Keith, my Sailing Officers, the Social Committee and everyone who has helped me in any way during this very busy period, as we couldn’t have done it without you. An apology is due to the skipper and crew of Hakuna Matata for leaving you off the list of boats attending the Bonfire Weekend. Dates for your Diary : Games Night Friday 22nd January (Changed date) 8.00 pm Race Night Saturday 30th January 7.30 pm - Organised by Sheila and the Fund Raising Team Auction Sunday 7th February 2.00 pm Valentine’s Night Saturday 13th February Lastly Keith and I wish you all a brilliant 2010 with many blessings and plenty of sailing. Denise and Keith
Commodore's Newsletter - December 2009.
Dear Friends and Fellow Members, It’s hard to believe a month has gone by since taking over as Commodore. It has been a busy month with a Bonfire Weekend at Whiteley Green attended by Hirondelle, Fleur Denise, Taylor Maid, Quantum, Gralyn, Columbus, Moonlight Shadow, Aquarius, La Vie en Rose, Sarah, Tat, Ellie, Ganda, Wild Rose, and Altonian. We also had Malcolm and Barbara Bridge attending in their motor caravan and John Fenton and Pam Russell came by car. It was a great evening with a bonfire, hotpot, parkin, treacle toffee and even a few fireworks. After supper we were entertained by Ian Bruce and Barbara Bridge. Even the weather was kind to us and we sailed back on Sunday in the sunshine. Many thanks to everyone who helped to set it up and to everyone for coming and making it such a success. 21st November was the Sailing Officers’ Dance with ninety people attending. The evening started with the Sailing Officers being presented to everyone. This was followed by an excellent meal by Chris Bosley. After the meal we were entertained by ‘Elvis’ who gave us a great show. Following the raffle we had our second piece of entertainment, the ‘NCCC Strictly Come Dancing’ final.
I hope all of you who attended enjoyed the bit of fun and well done to Ian and Mo Spooner for winning the Glitter Ball. The next event is the Christmas Party on 12th December, 7 pm ‐ 7.30 pm start. It is a three course dinner with entertainment by ‘Steal Duo’ who perform hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Tickets: £15 for members (£17 for guests). New Year’s Eve this year will have a Hogmanay theme. It will be the same as previous years ‐ bring your own plate of food. Tea and coffee will be available. Double D’ will once again be entertaining us. 8 pm start. Tickets: £8 for members (£10 for guests). Don’t forget the Boxing Day Cruise to Marple Forces Club. Soup and sandwiches will be available. We will be leaving the arm about 11 am. That’s all for now folks. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to make the first month so much fun. Keith and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Look forward to seeing you all soon. *Denise, Commodore.*