Nifty50 Vol 2013-14, Issue 1

Vol 2013-14, Issue 1: Summer2013
For the members of Banbury, Bicester, Brackley, Oxford, Thame, Wantage & Witney Round Table clubs – Area 50 Isis
Welcome
to the first issue of
Nifty50 for the 20132014 Table Year. This is
the Summer edition, in
which you will be able
to read about what’s
been going on since
the Area AGM in April,
and some of the things
that you can get
involved in over the
months ahead.
This could well be
followed by Autumn,
Winter and Spring
editions. As such, the
Area Chairman won’t
be able to pin me
down to specific dates
for each issue since I
will be arguing that
publication will be
dependant
upon
seasonal variables like
the
weather,
the
moon, sunrise, sunset,
the tide and lighting-up
times.
Please email all your
photos, jokes, articles,
stories, letters, adverts
and
complaints to:
[email protected]
with ‘Nifty50’ in the
subject line.
Remember that if you
don’t send me any
copy I will have to
make it up, and that
even if you do send me
copy I will still make it
2013 Area AGM in pictures
up if it’s not good
enough.
By reading this far you
have committed to
accepting the terms
and conditions of
publication,
which
include the freedom to
misrepresent,
misquote, and misinform
anyone, and to use
freely any images or
other material found
on the internet or
elsewhere without any
copyright restrictions.
As such I thank you all
for your contributions
to this fine organ,
intended or otherwise
Yours in Table
The Editor
Getting ready for the bunfight
Thanks to last year’s Editor, Chris
Induction of new member Graham
Keith’s prize for best jacketless suit
Who’s Who? Do you remember that we had an Area 50 AGM in April? Do you remember who you elected? Here’s a reminder:
Area Chairman
Andy Layard
Brackley 1037
Vice Chairman
& Sports
Mike Round
Banbury 1179
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership
Richard Bartram
Bicester 684
Stuart Langston
Oxford 144
James Butler
Brackley 1037
Immediate Past
Chairman
AndyBennet
Bicester 684
Hon. President
& Editor
Andrew Hornby
Brackley 1037
Regional
Representative
Jason Watton
Brackley 1037
Voters, what were you thinking of?!
Those wishing to get elected to the Area Exec next year should first consider the need to comply with at least one of the necessary qualification criteria.
Do you wear glasses? Is your name Andrew? Do you come from Brackley? If you manage all 3 you could be in line for the top job!
Chairman’s Chat
Robin Bastrid
In an exclusive interview for
Nifty50 the current Area 50
Chairman, Andy Layard, shares
the love:
“I am very proud and honoured
to have the opportunity to be
Chairman of our Area this year.
I’ve visited a number of Tables
so far over the past few months,
and have had the privilege of
inducting a new member into
Witney Round Table. I hope to
get around each club at least
once during the year.
The thing that strikes me most is
that every Table is so very
different. Everywhere I go I pick
up an idea that I can take back
to my own and other Tables.
This is what Area is all about –
sharing and shaping best
practice across all of our clubs,
so I urge everyone to come to
Area 50 events and/or arrange
joint meetings with other Tables.
The event I’m most nervous
about is presenting the annual
‘state of the nation’ (well, Area)
speech to the annual Past Area
Chairman’s Dinner in November.
Every past Area 50 Chairman
says it was the highlight of their
year; I’ll let you know in a future
issue of Nifty50!
One of the conversations that
has got to be had this year is
about Area Capitation. It’s not
gone up for many years and,
while we continue to keep the
costs of running the Area
extremely low, our cost base
diminished over the years when
numbers went down. Even
though we’re getting new
members in,
we need to
seriously consider what each of
us is willing to pay. Let’s not wait
till the AGM to talk about it!
Please get in touch with me any
time to talk about this or any
other Tabling issues – I look
forward to seeing you soon”
Tree Fellers Wanted
Banbury Table answered the advert and sent
their best 3 fellows to shift barrow-loads of
muck around Frank Wise School until they
had created something resembling a
footpath. Not very straight but a good effort.
Postbag
National Board help to sink 10,000 pints!
If you’ve got something to say, get it off your chest here
Professional drinkers descended on Brackley Park from all corners of RTBI last month to help get
rid of around 10,000 pints of real ale, cider and lager along with cases of wine and Pimms.
Among the great and the good were the National
President Stephen Sprod, National Vice-President
Steve Glaister and National Secretary Tony Booth
and they were helped by has-beens past National
President Dave Barker, past National Membership
Officers Brad Parkes and Andrew Hornby, past
National Secretary Mark Newby, and Lifetime
Honorary Member and past General Secretary John
Handley. They were joined by various proper Tablers
(past and present) from Area 50 and further afield
and more than 3,000 members of the public. Live
music played all afternoon, and continued once the
evening rains came – turning the dance area into a
mini-Glastonbury
Local publican Nigel Wiles said “The Beer Festival,
organised by Brackley Round Table, raises thousands
of pounds for charity and we love it ! It’s a relaxed
and sociable day out. It gets bigger and bigger every
year as its excellent reputation grows”.
Brackley Tabler and Beer Festival manager Jess
‘Homebrew’ Breward said the event had turned over
more than £40k – not bad for an afternoon’s work!
He went on to explain, “We have yet to work out our
net profit on the event, and as always the final figure
will depend on whether we pay any of our
suppliers.” Previous employer, Postman Pat, said he
was very proud of his former cat’s achievements.
Dear Editor
Some years ago you ran an ill-judged
article which made disparaging
references to the farming community,
timed to coincide with an outbreak of
foot and mouth disease. I recall it
caused great consternation across some
quarters of our readership. However I
found it highly amusing and hope that
you return to this more offensive kind
of journalism in the coming year.
Yours in Table
Juan Kossof
Dear Editor,
My wife said we couldn’t afford to come
to either of this year’s beer festivals
in Brackley or Bicester. But I found
she’d spent £100 on make-up, so I
pointed out that the same amount would
cover entry, a commemorative glass,
about 10 pints, a pork roll, some chips
and a taxi home – twice over.
She said she needed to look pretty for
me; I explained that’s what the beer was
for. This enabled me to attend both beer
festivals alone, and got even better
value as I’ve no longer any need for the
taxi fare home as she’s kicked me out.
Cheers
A. Singleton
More Beer & Pimms
National President Stephen Sprod also attended
Bicester Round Table’s Beer Festival, saying “Another
weekend, another Round Table beer festival. What a
great life!”
As shown in the pictures above and
left, Bicester Tablers and Circlers
were offering 40 different real ales
and ciders – as well as wine and fruitbased drinks for the ladies – as part of
the town council’s ‘Best of British’
community event. There was live
music all afternoon and evening, and
food also available. And no rain.
Dry Banbury
Judging by the crowds (below),
Banbury’s Beer Festival was less of a
success! But a beer tent at the
Temperance Society’s garden party was
always going to be a bit of a gamble.
Perhaps they should have invited RTBI’s
National President. To show them how
to drink.
Can you help local young people engage with their global community?
If a young person in your town asks your Table for a donation to help sponsor them to undertake a voluntary service
project abroad, what is your response? Some Tablers say “Building a school in Borneo, or nursing AIDS patients in Ethiopia
isn’t local so we won’t support it.” Brackley Tabler Andrew Hornby asks us to think differently: “Yes, the people and
communities they are working with abroad will benefit, but so will yours when they come back. These overseas service
projects are character-building, and will help develop the Tablers and Circlers of tomorrow. Moreover you’ve got an
opportunity to give local young people a positive introduction to the world of Round Table. And if you pay them to go
abroad that’s potentially 8 weeks where they won’t be nicking your hubcaps or urinating on the war memorial!”
Andrew is Chairman of The Round Table Trust, a charity which grants travel awards to young people going abroad for
community service projects. “Even if your Table won’t offer financial support, please encourage these ypoungsters to
apply to the Round Table Trust. If you endorse their application the Trust will consider it,” says Andrew. Applicants must
be over 18 and the community service aspect of their trip must be at least 3 weeks.
Each application is considered on its own merits but longer periods of practical community service work are generally
regarded more favourably than ecological or environmental projects (such as counting turtles in the Maldives). However it
should be remembered that with a high volume of applicants competition for these awards is very strong, and so the
quality of the application is very important.
www.roundtable.co.uk/trust
www.facebook.com/roundtabletrust
International Pages
Page 3 Stunna
University Challenge: Oxford, Trinity
Don’t Mention The War!
its75th
40th
At the end of June Oxford 144 celebrated
Anniversary as well as the
Anniversary of
Quadrumelage with a weekend full of activities. Quadrumelage is Oxford Round Table’s twinning
with the other historic university towns of Heidelberg (Germany), Montpelier (France) and Padua
(Italy). Every year one of the university cities hosts the Quad meetings where friendship and
fellowship is had by all, along with fine food, wine, beer and a whole lot of fun.
The weekend kicked off on the Friday night with a sausage and mash evening at the Big Bang.
Saturday began with coffee's and pastries at The Oxford Union and a talk about the world famous
debating chambers, followed by a tour of the Universities and old streets and pubs of Oxford,
including another great tradition... afternoon tea. This was then followed up with an evening in the
Grand Dining Hall at Trinity College for our annual ladies night, with friends from around Area 50
joining the party with National Board members and the international guests. A thoroughly
entertaining evening was had by all. Sunday was a relaxing get together with a traditional farewell
brunch for the international guests where Tablers could look back over why Quadrumelage has
lasted 40 years.
Round Table International AGM Weekend
28-31 August Valence (France)
Round Table International (RTI)
World Meeting: the world of Round
Table all in one place – for any
oldies, this is what used to be called
WoCo. So far there are about 12
Tablers from RTBI booked in,
including Tony Booth (Wantage) and
Andrew Hornby (Brackley). The deal
for 3 days’ partying includes all your
drinks + food + entertainment +
hotel accommodation etc for £330;
you can go by either plane or train
for around £150. www.rti2013.fr
Stop Press:
2014 is the 40th Charter anniversary of Area 50 Isis.
Volunteers wanted to help organise a really special celebration
International jetsetter Andrew Hornby (Brackley 1037)
recently attended RT Germany’s National Conference in
Dresden along with other international Tablers from
Malta, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Israel, France, Nepal and
Romania.
Although parts of the city were 9m under water (due
flooding across central Europe) it didn’t affect the
weekend’s festivities. Entertainment included several
tours of Dresden (known as ‘the Florence of the Elbe’),
and a very interesting visit to VW’s Phaeton factory to
see the cars being hand-finished under the supervision of
robots – as opposed to being finished by robots under
human supervision.
2 excellent party nights followed with around 750 people
at each: Friday involved an all-night barbecue, a casino
and some fab dance music; Saturday night had an
international all-you-can-eat buffet and an absolutely
fantastic glam rock band, followed by dancing in the
Hardcore Hut till 5am There was also some excellent
food, beer and wine – and top quality bar staff (pictured
above) throughout the weekend.
About the same size as Manchester, Dresden is a
beautiful city with a very relaxed atmosphere; the ‘old’
part of the city is actually very new as it was only fully
rebuilt after the Berlin Wall came down, having been left
in ruins for decades after the war just to make a point.
The locals still seem to have a bit of an issue about the
fact that allied bombers left it till 2 weeks before the end
of WWII to kill 100,000 civilians over 2 nights with 3,300
tons of incendiary bombs. They mentioned it a few times,
but I let them get away with it.
Sports Page
Back of the net
Round Table' s infamous National Sporting Weekend 2013 will be held in stunning Ilfracombe, Devon
between Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th September 2013.
The Area 50 Team currently comprises 7 Tablers from Banbury, Brackley & Witney – but there’s room for
a couple more if you book in this week: go to www.nsw2013.co.uk
Friday Sports
Surfing - Sailing - Diving (At Sea! ) - Golf - Clay Pigeon Shooting - Speedboating - Sea Angling.
Friday Night Pub Crawl followed by a pool party with extras.
Saturday Sports
Cricket - Table Tennis - Pool - Darts - Swimming - Pilot Gig Boat Rowing - Tennis - Badminton Tug of War - Samba Soccer - Beach Volleyball - Cross Country - Squash - Novelty Sport - Surf
Life Saving - Boules (wine and cheese provided!).
Saturday Night Gala black tie sportsmen’s dinner + The Wurzels
RTBI Inter-Area National Sports Competitions
Yeah baby, Area 50 made it to the last leg of 2 of the RTBI 2012-13 National Sports competitions. This
meant we sent our teams to the finals in Harrogate (at National Conference) where they were able to
snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
But now it’s the new 2013-14 season and as it's the first round, we're still in all the competitions . We
need teams for Golf (2 people), 10 Pin Bowling (3 - 6 people), Pool (2 - 4 players) and a Quiz (3 - 4
players). The fixtures have to be played between now and 6th October. Contact Mike Round (Banbury)
and hope that he doesn’t pick you last to be in his team.
Tinternet
The whole of Area 50 is now online,
and on-brand, with every Table now
using RTBI’s standard web software.
Some clubs have gone further than
others and some are more up-todate . Have a look at what the
competition is doing so you can
develop your Table’s online
presence shape and share best
practise across the Area.
www.banbury.roundtable.co.uk
www.bicester.roundtable.co.uk
www.brackley.roundtable.co.uk
www.oxford.roundtable.co.uk
www.thame.roundtable.co.uk
www.wantage.roundtable.co.uk
www.witney.roundtable.co.uk
Floppy Disc
Not sure if it’s a sport but Banbury
Cross recently tried their hand at Disc
Golf near Leamington Spa; it clearly
isn’t, judging by the way Jupey and
Bready are doing it (above)!
Brackley went there next to show
everyone how it’s done. Hence poor
light stopped play after Coxy spent half
an hour looking for his frisbee up a tree
(below)
Many thanks to Area 50 Tablers for your support a
few Fridays ago at the 5-a-side, and a BIG thank you
again to Richard Bartram (Area Secretary) for his
work on the night and the planning of the event.
We had approximately 40 attend the whole night,
including Neal Lowe, National Events Officer, who
said a few words at the restaurant about National
Conference and NSW .
Area 50 Isis
Events for your diary
Sept 25th
– Aunt Sally, Thame
Congratulations again to Oxford for winning. And
commiserations to Brackley for fielding the 2
crappest teams.
Feb 19th
– Scalextric, Oxford
April 27th
– Area AGM, Banbury
May 10th
– National AGM, Nottingham
Classifieds
Wanted
A tall well-built woman with good
reputation, who can cook frogs’
legs, who appreciates a good fucschia garden, classical music and talking without getting too serious.
But please only read lines 1, 3 and 5
“I realise
I will never be a
decent footballer!!!”