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The Club Committee and volunteers have been very busy during the past three months with village activities and promotional events.
Firstly the Village Gala at the end of August proved a success despite the adverse weather and shortage of exhibits in the vegetable categories. The other sections more than made up for this with entries showing an increase in nearly all sections. Kate Goldsmith, the Committee Chair, ably supported by the Gala Committee, put together a well presented programme for exhibitors and the public which produced an excellent financial of £1700 which was divided equally between St. Mary’s Church and the Club.
The entertainment programme continues to flourish with a ‘Freddie Mercury Tribute’ attracting a full house. There were also some good groups during the recent programme with Added Attraction, Crusaders and the Vague bringing in many members and their guests on a Saturday night. The Crusaders have been booked for New Year’s Eve with tickets priced at £6 (members) and £10 (Guests). Last year many people were disappointed at not getting a ticket as a sell-out was recorded by the middle of December. This year do not make the same mistake and get your tickets early.
There are two other important dates for your diary. The Children’s Christmas Party on 15th December and the Pensioners Party on 12th January. Lists inviting members to put their names down for each event, which are organised by the Committee, will appear on the notice boards in November/December.
The Committee is delighted to announce that all interest free loans, which certain members so kindly gave to the Club in 2009, have all been repaid. The Club have experienced some difficult times over the past three years but are now debt free and anticipating a brighter future. It cannot be underestimated what the loans did to support the Club at a difficult time and the Committee would like to say a big thank you to those who answered our plea for help.
In the summer edition of the Rollestonian it was mentioned that the Coffee Shop needed more support or there was a possibility it could close. During the past three months we are pleased to report that Kim and her team are to continue with their excellent menu. The facility is providing a much needed addition to the village with the full breakfast, panini’s and specials proving very successful. Why not give it a try? (if not doing so already), and ensure its continued future.
Improvements to the Club continue at a pace. The four toilets have been refurbished, the car park completely resurfaced, new wall lights installed in the hall as well as a baby changing unit being installed in the disabled toilet. The major improvements to the Club have now been completed, with a lump sum from the sale of the surplus land being invested for the future. The Club needs the support of its members and guests to survive in this difficult economic climate so please continue to use its facilities.
At the last Committee Meeting various ideas were suggested to use the Club to provide activities for both the young and old. Children’s discos on a Saturday, Tea Dances, carpet bowls and movie afternoons were all put forward. However, at present we have a shortage of Committee Members or volunteers to assist, so, if you have the time and inclination to join the Committee or just to help with an activity, speak to the Secretary or any Committee Member who will be delighted to discuss your participation.
We would like to remind all members that the renewal of subscriptions for 2013 is due from 1st January. The cost of being a member of Rolleston Club for the year is £12 (joint members £17) with Pensioners £6 (joint membership £8). New members are also welcome and the Committee would be delighted to discuss the details with anyone wishing to join. One important issue is that only members of the Club are eligible to book the Main Hall for parties, wedding receptions, children’s parties and many more functions at what we consider is a very competitive rate.
Finally the Committee would like to wish all our members a Very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
Forthcoming Entertainment
1st December - Ant Hill Mob
15th December - Kinda Groovey Going Back
31st December - Crusaders (Ticketted event)
During the last three months the Club has been very active in supporting village activities including the Queens Diamond Jubilee, Gardens Sunday and Archives, a heritage Rolleston rural roadshow.
On the Sunday of the ‘Jubilee Weekend’ the Club held a sell-out ticketed screening of the River Pageant accompanied by a cream tea. This was followed on the Monday by Transport Day when the Club provided refreshments and its facilities to a record attendance of visitors. A big thank you must go to Committee members and volunteers for making the day very memorable.
Gardens Sunday saw the Club open their bowling green to public viewing with the lady bowlers serving refreshments. Feed back received indicated that many people from the village were not aware of the excellent facilities available for both lady and gentlemen bowlers. The green is in excellent condition with flower beds and hanging baskets making it a very attractive setting.
We now look forward to Gala Day on Monday 27th August when the village hosts the Horticultural Show on the Croft and in the Club. Entry forms are available in various locations with 92 classes in total. A registration evening will be held on Monday 20th 7pm onwards in the lounge, register early to beat the queues. There will be a children’s section with 7 separate classes as well as a wide choice of classes to ensure that anyone can enter; be it a limerick, painting, photography, cookery, home made wines, vegetables, fruit, flowers, pot plants, floral art, craft etc. The day concludes with the auction in the Main Hall under the careful eye of Len Torr, our President.
A great deal of work has taken place in the Club since my previous report. A new gas boiler has been installed with new pipework and thermostats fitted to radiators. Bench seating has been re-upholstered placed in the Main Hall and a new fire door fitted. In addition all four toilets have been modernised and this much needed work has been met with member’s approval
Further projects on the horizon, which have been approved by the Committee, are 50 stacking chairs for the Main Hall, baby changing facilities in the disabled toilet, a disabled ramp for the Lounge entrance and the re-surfacing of the car park when the new houses at the rear of the Club have been completed. This will conclude the major projects for the immediate future but once finance is available future improvements will be considered.
Entertainment continues to feature twice a month on a Saturday evening. Recently the Club held a Freddie Mercury Tribute evening with a sell-out audience enjoying music from the group ’Queen’ accompanied by an excellent guitarist. Other groups booked for September and October are Charitable Thieves, Reflections, Crusaders and Platinum.
The Coffee Shop has now been open since April with favourable feedback being received from the majority of customers. The variety of drinks, cakes and snacks have proved excellent value but unfortunately the number of customers using the facilities has not met our expectations. The drinks machine will be purchased but the future of the café is under review. If you wish for the village to have a Coffee Shop your support is needed to ensure it has a future.
The Club has improved its web page and is linked to Google. It can be located by inputting www.rollestonclub.org.uk. Details of Club activities, membership forms and room hire booking forms, coffee shop information, history of the club and entertainment details can all be found by visiting the site. Give it a try !!
The next report will feature Christmas activities – another year gone –how time flies
Rolleston Club Forthcoming Entertainment
Monday 27th August Country Gala 12 – 5pm
followed byAuction and Grand Raffle 7 pm
Saturday 8th September Charitable Thieves
Saturday 22nd September Reflections
Saturday 29th September Skittles Evening
Saturday 6th October Crusaders
Saturday 20th October Platinum
Saturday 27th October The Vague
Saturday 3rd November Red Sky High
Saturday 17th November Silicone Taxis
Saturday 24th November Royal British Legion evening with Tommy T
New Years Eve tickets will be on sale in November.
The Club is now looking forward to the summer. The bowling green officially opened at the end of March. Work has continued throughout the winter and spring to provide excellent facilities for our members. The green is in very good condition despite the lack of rain and the Club’s teams, both Ladies and Gents, will play their matches Monday to Saturday with also occasional use on a Sunday. Members can also use the facilities when matches are not scheduled, as long as the proper footwear is used, so if you are interested why not give it a try.
The Annual General Meeting took place at the end of March when the Club reported a surplus during the previous twelve months trading. The Committee re-invest the surplus back into the Club and members will be aware that a new boiler and improvements to the heating have been authorised together with a complete modernisation and décor in all four toilets. There have been other improvements in the Main Hall and as and when finances allow the Committee will endeavour to further update the building and contents for the benefit of the membership.
At the AGM the following appointments were made:- President – Len Torr; Vice President –Clive Ashton; Secretary – John Brandon; Treasurer – Kate Arnold. Committee members – Zoe Bradbury; Mike Halstead; Roy Hickman; Andrew Kendrick; Kim Owen; John Owen; Keith Norris; Stacey Rushton and Dave Woolley. All the Officers and Committee members give their time and services voluntarily and hopefully the membership will support them in an endeavour to keep the Club viable for the future. We are still short of one committee member and if someone is interested in this role please contact the Secretary who will be pleased to discuss what is involved.
A Coffee Shop in the Club’s Lounge is proposed for April. In Rolleston we do not have this facility and the Club have agreed a franchise to try and make the venture a success. It is proposed to open the Coffee Shop from early morning and until late afternoon to provide speciality coffee/tea, cakes, snacks and light lunches. If you are in the area please give it a try and see what is on offer.
Latest news is that in April the Club has been booked for two new ventures. A Children’s Cheerleading Class and a Legs, Bums and Tums session have been scheduled for Wednesday afternoons between 4pm and 6pm. The initial period is for 4 weeks so please support these activities if you wish them to continue.
Entertainment is another important part of Rolleston Club’s activities and two Saturdays are scheduled each month for live groups/duos etc. The Entertainments Committee have booked a Freddie Mercury Tribute for 16th June for a ticketed event. This is a special occasion and tickets will be priced at £2.50 (members) and £4 (guests) so make sure you do not miss this event by buying your ticket(s) early. The other groups/artistes which have been booked for May, June and July are listed at the end of this article. You can pay at the door for all of these live events where a nominal charge is made for admission.
Forthcoming Entertainment
Saturday 5th May - Covered in Dust
A four piece pop and rock covers band includes Beatles, Killers, Rolling Stones,
Queen, Lady Gaga etc.
Saturday 26th May – Front Page
Four piece 60’s covers band includes Searchers, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Dusty
Springfield together with hits of the 80’s and 90’s.
Saturday 16th June – Freddie Mercury Tribute
Relive Queens greatest hits with this superb tribute act and guest lead
guitarist – not to be missed.
Saturday 30th June - Gerry & Jive Stars
Formed from the famous TRand & the Rockets rock’n’roll band.
Saturday 14th July – Dark Horses
Four piece middle of the road rock & blues cover band.
Saturday 21st July – Reflections
Three piece 60’s covers band.
In June the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee takes centre stage and Rolleston Club plans to support the village activities at this important time.
Saturday 2nd June
There has only been one other British Diamond Jubilee which was Queen Victoria’s
and for that occasion a collection in the village was made towards the cost of
providing the village with a hall. Sir Oswald Mosley donated the land and
doubled the money collected and the Commemoration Club was born. In tribute to
that, the opening ceremony of this Jubilee Weekend includes a recreation of the
laying of the foundation stone of the Club. After you have watched that come
inside the Club and see how times have changed.
The Bowling Green was added in 1950 with a new Lounge opened in 1965. The Main Room was redeveloped during 1973/1974 and officially opened in 1974 with the original coat of arms of the Mosley family remaining in the Main Hall to the present day.
Saturday afternoon is all fun and games, skittles and jenga are available in the Main Hall, together with dominoes, cribbage, darts, snooker and you can also play on the Wii so come along and join in the fun. The evening entertainment will be a Karaoke suitable for all ages.
Sunday 3rd June
On Sunday the Queen will lead the spectacular 1,000 ship Jubilee Flotilla
travelling down the Thames. The Jubilee Flotilla will comprise a myriad of
vessels from steam boats to tall ships, from cruisers to kayaks and from Dunkirk
little ships to dragon boats. Come and watch the whole of the afternoon’s events
on the big screen while enjoying a cream tea. It will be a wonderful street
party atmosphere with dainty sandwiches and cakes fit for a queen to eat.
Children welcome. Dress up in your party clothes. Tickets are just £3 (inc.cream
tea) for this and are available from the Club or Starbucks.
Bank Holiday Monday (June 4th) is Transport Day with the Main Hall used for exhibits/photographs of varying forms of transport. This exhibition supplements the main display of vehicles on the Croft and refreshments are also catered for throughout the day starting with bacon baps and tea/coffee available from early morning.
Sunday 8th July Gardens Sunday
We will be opening our bowling area for Gardens Sunday afternoon so do come
along and look at the flowering baskets and scarecrows. We have an excellent
playing surface for the Club’s bowlers and this is an opportunity to see the
excellent facilities which are not often on show.
Gala Day Monday 27th August
Another event in the calendar, when the ‘Horticultural Day’ has been scheduled.
This is another important day for the village and the Gala Committee is already
making plans for the Bank Holiday Monday. The show is on similar lines to last
year where a marquee and the Club rooms will be used for the exhibits. A
schedule of classes is issued with the Rollestonian so check the details and
prepare your exhibits or put plans in place to enter into various classes. Don’t
forget the auction in the evening when Len Torr will use his unique personality
to auctioneer the produce to the highest bidder. If you have not been to the
auction in previous years it is well worth the experience to see Len in action.
Any proceeds from the event will be shared equally between St. Mary’s Church and
the Club.
It is with regret that we received notification that Tim James had resigned his position as President of the Club. Tim’s work and family commitments have put a strain on his time and after a great deal of consideration he decided he could not continue in this key role. In recognition of his Village and Club activities it was with reluctance that the Committee had to accept the decision.
As one door closes another opens and Kate Arnold has joined the Club’s Committee. She has been elected to act as representative on the various Village Committees including the Village Gala. Kate has already made her mark in the Village with the Doveside W.I. and has readily accepted to continue with Tim’s good work. At the first meeting of the Gala Committee in January Kate was elected to chair the meetings and set the agenda for the third Gala Day on the 27th August. It was agreed that the Gala would be organised on similar lines to last year’s successful event and more details will follow in the next Rollestonian.
December/January was a very busy time at the Club with the Children’s Party attracting 29 members’ children. They marvelled at J.D’s Magic, ate chicken nuggets and chips followed by cake/biscuits and concluded with a visit from Santa Claus who gave each child a present. Many parents also enjoyed the party by sitting in a convivial atmosphere having a drink and watching the fun.
The New Years Eve Party was a sell out with Front Page providing a lively evening of music and dance. In January there was the Pensioners Party with 48 members sitting down to a three-course meal, games of bingo and entertainment. Reflection – a 3-piece group provided the music which concluded another evening to be remembered by those present.
The Committee finally received notification that the surplus land at the rear of the car park had been sold. The Trustees of the Club have met and agreed to invest for the future the majority of the finance received. Some money will be spent on improving the four toilets and re-surfacing the car park but the Trustee’s/Committee’s aim is to keep the Club viable for future generations.
Line Dancing is now established on a Monday evening and has been joined by Zumba on a Wednesday evening. This modern type of movement attracted massive interest and two sessions had to be implemented on the first evening.
One idea that has been put forward is to have a Tea Dance in an afternoon. The Main Hall is available on most week days so if anyone is interested in organising a Tea Dance, or has contacts, give the Secretary a call to discuss the possibilities.
Another suggestion is to open a Coffee Shop with light snacks available in the Lounge of the Club. There is a distinct lack of this type of facility in the Village and the Committee are looking at the possibilities. Watch this space for future developments. At the present time members are renewing their annual membership and the Club is also endeavouring to recruit new members. There are opportunities for family and single membership at £17 and £12 respectively. If you are interested in taking part in Club activities come along and ask the Staff for a form and become part of the Rolleston Club.
The Clubs accounts are with our Auditors and the AGM is scheduled for the last Tuesday in March. That is the time when new Officers/Committee members are re-elected or appointed. We are aware that there is to be one major change to the current structure of the Committee with our Secretary, David Sharratt, retiring. David, in approximately 3 years in office has overseen massive improvements to the Clubs infrastructure and viability in the Clubs finances. In September 2009 Rolleston Club was likely to close and had to seek three- year interest free loans from members who wished to support our efforts to keep the Club alive. These loans will be repaid in September 2012 and the Committee can report that it has steadied the ship for the foreseeable future. David Sharratt’s contribution to these efforts cannot be understated in both time and presence and it will be a tremendous loss to lose his services. We wish David and Jill all the best for the future and give a big thank you to him on behalf of Rolleston Club.
The Committee are always looking for new ideas and welcome any constructive suggestions to use the Clubs facilities. The function room and kitchen are available for hire by members for parties, children’s activities, etc. at reasonable prices and can be booked by contacting the Club on 01283 812072. Live entertainment takes place on alternate Saturday evenings with a mix of bands, groups and duos taking centre stage. The Committee advertise these activities on their notice boards as well as the Entertainments Section in the Burton Mail. Come along and enjoy live acts as this opportunity is not as readily available in the area as it was some years ago.
In conclusion it is intended that Rolleston Club will continue to support all village activities and be at the Heart of the Village. Faces may change but the Committee feel that in Rolleston Club we have something special and wish to see it having a viable future for many years to come.
Forthcoming Entertainment
7th April - Silicon Taxis
21st April – Errol Cole
Return to Club Main Page
Last updated: 26 December 2012