Or, more appropriately, “Up and Not Running.”
The fact that various species of animal are walking down the road in pairs towards a large wooden boat parked on the Shrub End playing fields is probably a fair indication that the rain has set in for a while.
Being “flaming June” this is very much par for the course but has rather scuppered my Saturday morning jog around the avenues and alleyways of old Colchester town.
The upside to this is that I now have a window of opportunity to launch further ramblings into cyberspace regarding “matters rugby.”
The fact that it is peeing down today may, also, mean that the rain gods have screwed up and that we are now getting the rain that they had planned for the Clacton beach rugby tournament next weekend!
On that note, if you have never experienced a beach rugby tournament, get ye to Martello Beach next Saturday, 2nd July.
I have taken part in the tournament for the last five years and, come rain or shine, have never failed to have a fantastic day. I have, in the past, suffered sunburn, hypothermia and have strained muscles I didn’t know existed (running around on the sand does that to you!) but I have always ended the day looking forward to the following year’s event.
As they say “fun for all the family.”
Full details can be found at
http://clubs.rfu.com/Clubs/portals/clactonrugby/BeachRugby8531.aspx
So, what has happened during my first month as President of Colchester RFC?
To start with, I was reminded that I need to start thinking about who to invite to the club lunches. There are those who are worthy of sharing bread with me and who I really should ask to come along; a couple of M.Ps and local dignitaries, some chaps from the game’s governing body and maybe the odd sponsor or two. I am sure that I will come up with a few more. If anyone out there fancies a free lunch, just give me a call.
My attendance at club lunches will, necessarily, mean that turning out for the 4ths on a Saturday afternoon may have to take a back seat for a while. This will leave the 4ths Captain, Dave Rhymes, with a major selection problem but one which, I am sure, he will be able to cope with (when he has stopped laughing.)
Also, I am going to miss the smell of damp shirts, mud, sweat and low-odour Ralgex all of which will be replaced by the more delicate aroma of chef Gary “Don’t Call Me Marco-Pierre” Potter’s wonderful cuisine.
The upsides to the lunches, according to Mrs P, are manifold.
For example:
1. I will have to learn to eat with both a knife and a fork.
2. As I will not be playing on a Saturday, I will not spend until the following Wednesday unable to move having damaged yet another part of my anatomy that 50-somethings should be taking more care of. (My gain is A&E’s loss.).
3. I may acquire some social graces (e.g. not using a dessert spoon to eat my peas.)
4. I may meet some important people (who, by the same token, will be fortunate enough to meet me!)
5. My public speaking will improve. I have already learned two more jokes thus doubling my repertoire.
Should anyone from any of the clubs where I may be dining next season be reading this and wondering what they have let themselves in for, I can reassure them that I do scrub up fairly well, can be very polite and that I can “do gravitas” as and when necessary.
Also, as a non-drinker, you will find me incredibly cheap to entertain but you must remember that, when you are going through the “oh my God what did I say / do phase” the following day, I will be able to fill in those gaps in your memory for you. (Whether or not I include them in a subsequent blog may well depend on how much you are prepared to donate to a rugby-related charity!)
The second major event of the month has been the first meeting of the new CRFC Executive Committee.
New members of the committee include Maggie Whiteman and Bill Anslow who have agreed to share the role of Secretary. The club is such a size that for one person to be able to manage the “admin” is a task of Herculean proportion. The Maggie and Bill dream team look ready and raring to go and I am looking forward to working with them.
In fact, such is the enthusiasm with which Maggie has grasped her role, she was able to produce minutes of the first meeting the following day! I am thinking of asking for the next set of minutes to be illuminated and written in Engravers Old English on papyrus using a goose feather quill. That should add a few days to their production!
Another change to “the established way of things” was the appointment of Brian Borges (“Borges?” name rings a bell) as the Chairman of the club’s Mini Section.
Following Andy Wadling’s decision to stand down as Minis Chairman in order to concentrate on managing the club’s Under 14 group (which itself has more personnel than the average South American country), the club advertised for a replacement.
Two gentlemen stepped up being Brian and Richard Pugh.
I was a member of the panel which interviewed both gentlemen and was very much taken aback by the depth of knowledge and commitment that both displayed. On the basis that we did not want to lose either of them, and in view of the size and requirements of the Minis section going forward, we decided to divide the role and appoint both Brian and Richard. Brian will be the “Chairman of Operations” and will sit on the Executive Committee, and Richard will be the chairman of “Playing and Coaching” and will act as a link between the senior coaching co-ordinator and the minis section.
This arrangement will ensure that both Brian and Richard will be able to maximise the effort that time permits them to devote to their specific role. An arrangement which will benefit all.
Anyway, the next Executive Committee meeting will be chaired by “yours truly” as Chairman Powell has declared himself unavailable.
I have already drafted the agenda as follows:
1. Apologies
2. Approval of Minutes of last meeting
3. Any other business
This should see us all home after about 10 minutes; maybe less if we can gag the Youth Chairman (only joking Ross!)
Up and coming events include myself and immediate past President Dave attending a presentation by 16 Air Assault Brigade.
CRFC has always been proud of its links with the military in Colchester. Many club members derive from the Army and we are keen to maintain the links that exist between our organisations.
Our support is always there especially at the present time when fatalities among members of the armed forces appear to be a weekly event. I read this morning of the death of a Corporal Lloyd Newell of the Parachute Regiment a Special Forces soldier who had spent some time in Colchester.
He was married with a nine week old daughter who will grow up never knowing her father but to whom she was probably the most important thing in the World.
War is cruel. Our soldiers have no say in the rights and wrongs of the conflicts in which they become involved. They do their job and they do it well. They are more than worthy of everything that can be done to support them.
As for “The Jon Steele Affair” let us move on. The enquiry team will work out what went wrong so that the appropriate lessons may be learned. Nobody should try and gain “political mileage” out of this. We are all one team and should play for each other. Weakness in the RFU should, and will, be identified and the game will continue to improve from the bottom up.
The fact that various species of animal are walking down the road in pairs towards a large wooden boat parked on the Shrub End playing fields is probably a fair indication that the rain has set in for a while.
Being “flaming June” this is very much par for the course but has rather scuppered my Saturday morning jog around the avenues and alleyways of old Colchester town.
The upside to this is that I now have a window of opportunity to launch further ramblings into cyberspace regarding “matters rugby.”
The fact that it is peeing down today may, also, mean that the rain gods have screwed up and that we are now getting the rain that they had planned for the Clacton beach rugby tournament next weekend!
On that note, if you have never experienced a beach rugby tournament, get ye to Martello Beach next Saturday, 2nd July.
I have taken part in the tournament for the last five years and, come rain or shine, have never failed to have a fantastic day. I have, in the past, suffered sunburn, hypothermia and have strained muscles I didn’t know existed (running around on the sand does that to you!) but I have always ended the day looking forward to the following year’s event.
As they say “fun for all the family.”
Full details can be found at
http://clubs.rfu.com/Clubs/portals/clactonrugby/BeachRugby8531.aspx
So, what has happened during my first month as President of Colchester RFC?
To start with, I was reminded that I need to start thinking about who to invite to the club lunches. There are those who are worthy of sharing bread with me and who I really should ask to come along; a couple of M.Ps and local dignitaries, some chaps from the game’s governing body and maybe the odd sponsor or two. I am sure that I will come up with a few more. If anyone out there fancies a free lunch, just give me a call.
My attendance at club lunches will, necessarily, mean that turning out for the 4ths on a Saturday afternoon may have to take a back seat for a while. This will leave the 4ths Captain, Dave Rhymes, with a major selection problem but one which, I am sure, he will be able to cope with (when he has stopped laughing.)
Also, I am going to miss the smell of damp shirts, mud, sweat and low-odour Ralgex all of which will be replaced by the more delicate aroma of chef Gary “Don’t Call Me Marco-Pierre” Potter’s wonderful cuisine.
The upsides to the lunches, according to Mrs P, are manifold.
For example:
1. I will have to learn to eat with both a knife and a fork.
2. As I will not be playing on a Saturday, I will not spend until the following Wednesday unable to move having damaged yet another part of my anatomy that 50-somethings should be taking more care of. (My gain is A&E’s loss.).
3. I may acquire some social graces (e.g. not using a dessert spoon to eat my peas.)
4. I may meet some important people (who, by the same token, will be fortunate enough to meet me!)
5. My public speaking will improve. I have already learned two more jokes thus doubling my repertoire.
Should anyone from any of the clubs where I may be dining next season be reading this and wondering what they have let themselves in for, I can reassure them that I do scrub up fairly well, can be very polite and that I can “do gravitas” as and when necessary.
Also, as a non-drinker, you will find me incredibly cheap to entertain but you must remember that, when you are going through the “oh my God what did I say / do phase” the following day, I will be able to fill in those gaps in your memory for you. (Whether or not I include them in a subsequent blog may well depend on how much you are prepared to donate to a rugby-related charity!)
The second major event of the month has been the first meeting of the new CRFC Executive Committee.
New members of the committee include Maggie Whiteman and Bill Anslow who have agreed to share the role of Secretary. The club is such a size that for one person to be able to manage the “admin” is a task of Herculean proportion. The Maggie and Bill dream team look ready and raring to go and I am looking forward to working with them.
In fact, such is the enthusiasm with which Maggie has grasped her role, she was able to produce minutes of the first meeting the following day! I am thinking of asking for the next set of minutes to be illuminated and written in Engravers Old English on papyrus using a goose feather quill. That should add a few days to their production!
Another change to “the established way of things” was the appointment of Brian Borges (“Borges?” name rings a bell) as the Chairman of the club’s Mini Section.
Following Andy Wadling’s decision to stand down as Minis Chairman in order to concentrate on managing the club’s Under 14 group (which itself has more personnel than the average South American country), the club advertised for a replacement.
Two gentlemen stepped up being Brian and Richard Pugh.
I was a member of the panel which interviewed both gentlemen and was very much taken aback by the depth of knowledge and commitment that both displayed. On the basis that we did not want to lose either of them, and in view of the size and requirements of the Minis section going forward, we decided to divide the role and appoint both Brian and Richard. Brian will be the “Chairman of Operations” and will sit on the Executive Committee, and Richard will be the chairman of “Playing and Coaching” and will act as a link between the senior coaching co-ordinator and the minis section.
This arrangement will ensure that both Brian and Richard will be able to maximise the effort that time permits them to devote to their specific role. An arrangement which will benefit all.
Anyway, the next Executive Committee meeting will be chaired by “yours truly” as Chairman Powell has declared himself unavailable.
I have already drafted the agenda as follows:
1. Apologies
2. Approval of Minutes of last meeting
3. Any other business
This should see us all home after about 10 minutes; maybe less if we can gag the Youth Chairman (only joking Ross!)
Up and coming events include myself and immediate past President Dave attending a presentation by 16 Air Assault Brigade.
CRFC has always been proud of its links with the military in Colchester. Many club members derive from the Army and we are keen to maintain the links that exist between our organisations.
Our support is always there especially at the present time when fatalities among members of the armed forces appear to be a weekly event. I read this morning of the death of a Corporal Lloyd Newell of the Parachute Regiment a Special Forces soldier who had spent some time in Colchester.
He was married with a nine week old daughter who will grow up never knowing her father but to whom she was probably the most important thing in the World.
War is cruel. Our soldiers have no say in the rights and wrongs of the conflicts in which they become involved. They do their job and they do it well. They are more than worthy of everything that can be done to support them.
As for “The Jon Steele Affair” let us move on. The enquiry team will work out what went wrong so that the appropriate lessons may be learned. Nobody should try and gain “political mileage” out of this. We are all one team and should play for each other. Weakness in the RFU should, and will, be identified and the game will continue to improve from the bottom up.
Anyone who still wants to finger point and whinge can, IMHO, seek an alternative sport. Rugby is better than that.
Anyway, the skies have cleared and I can see a dove carrying what looks like an olive branch.
Trainers on………………………………
Martin
P.S. My thanks to my faithful band of followers (two Andrews and Ian.) Feel free to spread the word; the more the merrier!
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