THE MOTORCARAVANNERS’ CLUB - NENE VALLEY GROUP

MINUTES OF THE 40TH AGM HELD 12TH OCTOBER  2024 AT COGENHOE BOWLS CLUB

A 14.00 the Chairman, Tony Daniels, welcomed all those present and thanked them for attending despite all the changes caused by the weather conditions. He then asked the Secretary, Peter Moore, to formally convene the 40th Annual General Meeting of the Nene Valley Group of the Motor Caravanners’ Club. A minutes silence was then held to remember absent friends. Apologies had been received from Tony & Carol Parkes, John & Karen Haines, Peter & Sandra Holland, Terry & Carol Simister, Michael Midgley. Members present had been given a copy of the minutes of the 2023 AGM prior to the meeting and were asked by the Chairman whether these were a true record. Those present at last years meeting were then asked to vote to accept them as a true record, this was proposed by Anita Phillips, Seconded by John Harris and approved unanimously. There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Chairmans Report

Well ladies and gentlemen, another AGM, which means 12 months have whizzed by since the last one, hard to believe isn’t it? This year has been quite challenging, with our wet weather playing a starring role. Just one rally out of the first four went ahead, that was Wrenn School, no heating, and then they hit us by adding VAT to our invoice. Concerned by the lack of Meets we managed to insert Cardington, this worked well, but torrential rain brought this to a close early on the Sunday morning.  The Farmer at Holt campsite admitted that the ground was not as firm as he had thought, but he was very willing to come and help some of us off the field with the tractor. The Canal and River Trust got in touch with me, and advised us not to hold the rally at Foxton Locks, because Market Harborough Showground had organised an event on the same dates as our rally. The previous year the Trust had suffered from vandalism during the nights , by some of the showgoers  to the same event. We did enjoy some nice weather with Delapre Abbey proving to be a well-liked Meet. The Bubble Car Museum was a bit different venue, and Cranford Steam was going well, until it was closed down by the organisers on the Sunday morning, due to the torrential rain during Saturday night, and on into Sunday.

Whilst all this was going on, a lot of time was spent trying to find a suitable venue for the Christmas Dinner, several Halls were contacted with some of them being visited, hard-standing being a crucial requirement. A friend of ours suggested we try Pattishall, and after visits and negotiations all was settled. At the same time, we were looking for a new Caterer, as the previous lady didn’t travel to our new area. This too was a struggle, as most were already completely booked for Christmas, but fortunately we found the Caterer that could come to Pattishall for our weekend.

To all of you that have supported our rallies, and especially those that offer their services by stewarding a Meet, I offer my sincere thanks. As not everything runs like clockwork, things happen, situations change, but this Committee work together at trying to bring about a suitable solution to any problems, so to them and their partners you have my grateful thanks for your commitment, and the work you have put in over the past year, and I hope Members also appreciate this. What about next year, well we’ll see how things go very shortly.

Tony Daniels - Chairman

Secretarys Report

Currently we have 68 vans in the Group which equates to 125 people. Last year we had 70 vans.

Members leaving the Group have been replaced in part by those recruited by the MCC at motorhome shows, however the loss of our local Peterborough Show will affect the level of recruitment from our area by this route.

We continue to have members choosing to transfer to Nene from neighbouring groups usually because our rallies are closer to their home than those of their own Group.

Peter Moore – Secretary

 

Treasurers Report for the Nene Valley Group Year Ending 31st July 2024

It will not have escaped your notice I’m sure, that we are in deficit this year and I shall look forward to your usual searching questions!

Our year started off disastrously with several cancelled meets due to the waterlogged conditions. With the difficulty in finding locations with hard standings we took a gamble - and we lost. The financial situation early on was beginning to cause me some concern.

Some of our locations lost a lot of money. Naseby for instance was poorly attended and with hall hire etc we made over a £190 loss, not helped by £72 in Loyalty Cards being exchanged. The AGM made another loss with hall hire and food (£348)

Another fact is that we only had the one Temporary Holiday Site this year at Reydon and the attendance numbers were even down for that on previous years, again, the weather forecast not helping.

I know that Margaret has been working hard and secured additional and new temporary holiday sites for us next year so let us hope the sun shines and the visitors flock to us !

Also, another matter that I would draw to your attention to is that already in this accountable financial year we have had to pay 50% of our camping fees and meal costs up front, with no income as yet for our Christmas Meet at Pattishall. However, the good news recently received is that the Parish Council have now reduced our hire fees. Every little helps!

Another thing you should be aware of is that increasingly, sites are becoming ever more expensive and we as a committee have tried to absorb some of those costs to our members or even declined to go to the venue because of those costs. At some venues, we charge you the cost price to us as a Group, and we probably don’t even get free stewards, so that cost falls to the Group. Stewarding is a little more than just parking a few vans up and probably the stewards could consider putting on a raffle to help cover the stewards costs? There is no problem with reimbursement for the cost of raffle prizes.

Having said all that, we are still a very financially viable Group and I thank you for you for placing your trust in me and my integrity as your Treasurer. Thankyou. Paul Betts -Treasurer

There were no questions on the accounts which had been circulated prior to the meeting so the Chairmen asked for a vote to accept the accounts this was proposed by Alan Lawrence, seconded by Martin Bolter and approved unanimously.

Election of Committee

Prior to the meeting the secretary had received completed nomination forms from the following candidates:

Paul Betts

Peter Moore

Margaret Harris

John Harris

Pat Betts

 

The Chairman read out each nomination form and asked for approval from the floor. In each case the candidate was approved unanimously.

Election of the Accounts Examiner

The Treasurer proposed that Emma Leeke be the accounts examiner, this was seconded by Jane Rappitt and approved unanimously.

Review of Supplementary Document

The Chairman reported that the committee had reviewed the supplementary document and determined that no changes were needed at this time.

Tony finished by saying a little about the history of the group and his long association with it from its formation 41 years ago when it broke away from East Midlands Group. He recalled the many changes that had taken place and the many characters he had met. He derived great satisfaction from seeing how the group had thrived over the years to become such a successful and popular entity.  He thanked all those who had supported him in the past along with the current committee and their partners.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 14.36

THE MOTORCARAVANNERS’ CLUB - NENE VALLEY GROUP

MINUTES OF MEMBERS MEETING  HELD 12TH OCTOBER  2024 AT COGENHOE BOWLS CLUB

Paul Betts as the new Chairman opened the members meeting. After thanking the ladies for supplying Teas in the recess he introduced the new committee, Peter would continue as Secretary, Margaret would take over as Treasurer, John would become Rally Officer and also look after booking, Pat will organise raffles and also formulate documents for Kathleen to put on our website, Kathleen having kindly offered to continue in that capacity. We are retaining our current system of bookings and there will be a new telephone number for bookings.

Paul said that he and Pat had joined the Nene Group in 1995 and had formed a close friendship with Tony and Kathleen, joining them on holidays at home and abroad. He had seen their dedication and hard work over many years to build a successful group and had appreciated the sound advice they offered. The last two years had been challenging but they had remained in post until sure that a new committee could be formed to take the group forward. Tony Daniels will remain as the groups Honorary President.       

Paul then presented Tony and Kathleen with a gift from the group in appreciation of their service to the group.

There were to be three THS in 2025 and it had been decided that for logistical reasons these would be stewarded by the committee. It was hoped to provide more activities on site and advertise the events to attract more visitors.

Questions were then invited from the floor.

Ken asked if it was necessary to hold such a large financial balance and should some be used to subsidise events such as the Christmas dinner.

It was explained that last year’s dinner was subsidised to the tune of £630. Paul went on to say that price for camping and hire of halls is rising with many sites and venues requiring payment up to 12 months in advance. Advanced payments had already had to be made to both the hall and caterers for this Christmas. This year to try and absorb rising costs some rally camping is being offered to members at cost price.

Margaret gave a run down of the rallies that she had booked for 2025. We have a new venue, Chester House, in January. There’s an artisan shopping area, cafe, museum and plenty of space for walking. In February the rally is at the Fun Farm near Spalding. It’s next to a large garden centre with restaurant, cafe and owl centre. There’s a bus stop to Springfields and Spalding. There will be some road noise. March will see us at the Cock at Broome. In April we are at a new venue, Prince William School at Oundle. It’s a short walk from the school into Oundle. All those venues are on hard standing except for Broome which is sandy soil, so the weather shouldn’t cause us difficulties.

In May we are going to Wainfleet St Mary where you can visit the brewery. The tour is £14.95 but you need to book early for the tour. Our site is on the edge of this market town where there are pubs, shops and fish and chips. There are buses to Boston and Skegness. We then go to Cheddar for three nights and follow start our three holiday rallies, those being Exmouth, Rye and Reydon. Rye has plenty of history, old buildings, antique shops, and numerous eating and drinking places. The first rally in August is at Lyndon Top with an invite to East Midlands. The site is next to the Lyndon Visitor Centre and the path to walk or cycle round Rutland Water. It’s near a garden centre, the Golf Club that serves meals, bird hides and a bus stop to Oakham. That’s followed by the Stoke Bruerne rally. Delapre Abbey has been booked for late August as it’s a great venue. I am looking at organising a tour of the Abbey, it’s only £5 and well worth it. Also, the Model Railway Society will put something on for us. Rallies booked for September are the Scarecrow rally at Harpole and Home Farm at Cardington. Then it will be back here for next year’s AGM.

Members asked for details of the Pattershall site. It was explained despite an extensive search that it was the only suitable site found. The rally is confined to a weekend as it is recognised that there is little in the area to keep members entertained for a longer period. Members will be parked on the carpark with dog owners parked at the edge of the site enable them to comply with the no dogs on site rule.

This year the competition for the Snail Award was a tie between Paul & Pat Betts and Michael Midgley, in view of all Micks help to the Group this year he will be this year’s recipient of the award.