Almondbury Casuals Cricket Club

 

Spring Committee Meeting 2002 Minutes

 

Royal Oak, Upperthong Feb 27^th 2002

 

 

Present:            Greg Smith                               David Pedley

                        Richard Ellis                             Marc Davis                             

                        Bill Crossland                           Will Ward                               

                        Mark Windale                          Tony Hirst

                        Alan Priestley                          

 

1. Apologies were received from Marcus Longbottom, Tim Beaumont, Marc Davis and Rupert Wilson.

 

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting were circulated. The secretary agreed to use shorter words and a larger font for subsequent gushings.

 

3. Matters Arising

 

The Autumn Dinner was voted a great success and a vote of thanks proposed to Sara and Will for their organisational skills. It was to be hoped that the skill shown by the latter would transfer onto the field of play.

 

In the search for the Casuals lost millions, Nigel Stevenson had been coerced into parting with three years membership fees, but the stock market was putting on a brave face.

 

The tie mountain, long since thought lost in the Beaumont transmogrification to Outer Nun Monckton, had briefly reappeared when the President reached depths of his underwear drawer rarely visited. Unfortunately they had disappeared again in the move down the hill to Honley. The Chairman reported that, though tieless, a further 12 copies of the priceless manuscript covering the Casuals early history had reappeared in a puff of dust during his own recent move. Caps, however, remained elusive. When ties and histories are reunited, they will be offered as an incentive for new members to part with some brass and join the inner sanctum.

 

 

 

4. Members List and New Members

 

The search for new members had continued unceasingly. Several more names were thrown into the hat, including Steve Booth, Steve DeWint, Hamish Platt, Rob Hunter, Tim Nield and Dave Knight. Initial enthusiasm from the Chairman, tasked with the persuasion of these lucky few, was tempered when his request for an open tab at the Royal Oak was unanimously refused.

 

Gordon Littlewood had been dropped from the mailing list on the basis that “he no longer lived there”, communicated in a rather peremptory fashion.

 

5. Fixtures

 

The appearance of a fixtures secretary was applauded. Will presented a draft list. There was a potential clash at the season end for the annual Casuals sledging competition, as Duncombe Park had offered to travel to the Holme Valley for an away fixture. It was agreed this match could host the sledging fixture, but since Duncombe Park have in recent years found it difficult to travel to their home games, we should stick with the time honoured traditions engendered in the Presidents XI vs Chairman’s XI. The ambulance service would be placed on standby as usual.

 

6. Allocation of Fixtures

 

It is difficult to imagine how nine grown men, well versed in the black business arts, can spend so much time over so little a thing. Match captains were finally allocated fixtures, in the full knowledge that last minute calls to unexpected test match tickets, away tiddleywink competitions in Reykavik, and near terminal attacks of athletes foot (feet?) would eventually make mock of this tortuous decision making process.

 

7. Equipment and Nets

 

Will reported that while playing with his router in the garage recently, he had noticed his equipment was rather dusty. Exploring farther, the balls were exhausted and the right hand glove position critical. The pimples on the keeper’s gloves were non existent, though it was claimed that Dave Walker had surgically removed these to make it easier to deflect catches behind to the waiting slip cordon (Greg). In the interests of the bowling averages it was agreed that Will had full authority to replace as he saw fit. 

 

8. AGM and Dinner     

 

Richard was well up to speed on this one. In the proper tradition, the menu remained unchanged and the speaker unfound. The usual culprits were paraded for consideration. Cec was rumoured to be still alive, John Major dismissed as not topical, and Nasser Hussain, while available, could probably add little to a learned cricketing gathering. The President was persuaded to approach Judge Arthur.

 

9. Any Other Business 

 

Last years attempts to gather some of the older Casuals was voted a great success by the younger ones who were forced to eat all the extra teas that Jean had so wonderfully produced. The Wealdstone Sunday fixture would again be host to the event – this years community singing would be hosted by Granny Beaumont with the Upperthong Concertina Band, while the bingo session, hosted by Smiling Jim Harris would be sponsored by Wella Hair Care.

 

Tim had suggested an evening raid on the Ben Rhydding clubhouse to regain the Mike Hallas Trophy. This was left in his capable hands.

 

Sara was congratulated on the arrangements and success of the Autumn Dinner Dance, on condition that she organised it again in 2002.

 

There being no further business that could be published without risk of libel action, the meeting descended ravenously on the assembled medley of sandwiches.

 

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