Present:

1. Absent

Rowena Austin (RA) apologised in advance for taking a holiday.

2. Confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the meeting of 23rd November 2021 were confirmed and the Chairman signed them.

3. To Report on the Actioning of Items from Previous Meetings

21-4Ⓐ1 JM to contact Dittons Bridge Club members to offer membership of Claygate. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ but no-one from Dittons has yet appeared...

21-4Ⓐ2 GW to investigate the Find-a-Friend app within Bridgewebs and activate it if feasible for the Club. ⓄⓅⒺⓃ. GW has changed the parameters within Bridgewebs, but has yet to discover how to make it work.

21-4Ⓐ3 RA to maintain a float of £5 notes to assist payment of table money.. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ4 PH to design 2022 Annual Subscription notice and send to RA & GW for comment. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ5 GW to construct the Host Roster and send to members. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ6 GW to ask the Day Centre Manager for access on the day at 1830. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ7 GW to buy a small gift for the caretaker. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ8 GW to buy wine and soft drinks and borrow glasses, largely from Majestic. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ9 RA to buy the food, probably from Waitrose or M&S. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ10 RA to provide table coverings for the party. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ11 RA to buy disposable cutlery, plates etc. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

21-4Ⓐ12 GW to speak to Day Centre Manager. ⓓⓞⓝⓔ

4. To Review the Resumption of Face-to-face Sessions

Table money was reintroduced from 6th December and briefly rescinded for the Xmas party on 13th December. Masks became compulsory from 20th December, and Boris released us from that discomfort from 27th January onwards. The average number of tables so far this year has been 7.2, which is below our break-even point of about nine. The club seems to be attracting some strong players, and the atmosphere is always pleasant. Calls for the director are, if anything, more for handset problems than for bridge errors.

The host is being underused, because few singletons are coming. We should advertise our weekly host more vigorously, because we are aware of former members who are staying away because their normal partner has moved or passed on.

The committee discussed former members who had yet to return to the Club.

22-1Ⓐ1 PH to draw up a list of these members, and draft an email to be sent to them to encourage their return.

5. Planning for the AGM on 14th March

• The committee agreed that the AGM would start at 7pm.
• There are no prizes, gifts or awards to be handed out.
• PH reviewed the annual accounts for 2021. Our cash holdings have dropped from about £3,200 in 2020 to about £2,000 at the end of 2021, entirely because of the pandemic. With Elmbridge Council likely to increase our rent from April onwards, we may have to increase table money from £2.50 to £3.00. Much depends on the new level of the rent and on the number of tables the Club achieves.
• We need to make two changes to the Constitution, which must be agreed by the membership:
  1. That the quorum for a committee meeting should be changed from two officers plus another committee member to one officer plus two committee members. Such a measure will make Claygate more like the Wyvern, and would avoid the difficulties encountered last year when two officers tendered their resignations simultaneously.
  2. That the Club recognise that some players (such as the director) are relieved of the requirement to pay table money for the sessions where they provide this service. The Club has been following this practice for many years while retaining a Constitution which states that every player must play table money.

22-1Ⓐ2 GW to draft an email to be sent to all members about these proposed changes.

6. Any Other Business

None.

7. Date of Next Meeting

The next committee meeting will be held at 6pm on Monday 16th May 2022 at Elm Road.