 Collecting
for Children in Need 2005 |
 91
Club meeting in Sweden in 2005. Dressed up as knights, we went to the
welcome party. The different shields on the front of the "tabbards" show
the nationality of the wearers - at least until people swapping them. |
 Banner
lunch the next day at Varnamo. |
 A
speaker meeting in May 2004 at the Chequers Hotel. The talk was on
the new community hospital, its funding, what facilities are provided
and new ones planned.
|
 5-a-side
Human Table Football, competing against other tables in the Thames
Valley area. Newbury fielded two teams, and although we didn't win,
we didn't do too badly. A mini-league is drawn up on the night, and
games last five minutes, which is long enough-especially after the
burgers. The players hang onto loops attached to sleeves which slide
over the aluminium poles so that they can move sideways but not up
and down the pitch. The ball is made out of foam rubber so it does
not hurt if it hits you.
|
 The
Saturday night ball at the 2004 91 Club meeting in Grenaa, Denmark.
Taken just before the fish course. |
Henley
Round Table organise the Rowlock Rally boat race down the Thames
from near Oxford down to Henley every year, in which tables from
the Reading area compete. Although the course is around 25 miles
long, people take it in turns to row different segments so no-one
has to row the entire distance. This leaves them time to eat and
drink on the accompanying cruise boat. This is from the 2004 event. |
 Several
different boat races took place - this one was between a combined UK
team and members of a Swedish table who were visiting one of the tables
taking part. |
 2004
AGM Part 2. The second half of the AGM is a fortnight after the first,
and is a "black-tie" dinner with extra entertainment such
as a good comedian. Halfway through it the new office-holders formally
take over from their predecessors. There are often 50 or more people
at these dinners - as they are popular with people from other Round
Tables in the area, and from 41 Club. |
 Crafty
Craft is an important event in the Newbury Round Table year. A vast
army of people are needed to provide marshalls for the locks and Victoria
Park, which means that all tablers, ex-tablers, friends and relatives
are roped in. Best job is lazing in the sun on one of the quieter locks.
Worst job is cleaning up all of the litter in the park at the end of
the day. |
 It
takes a lot of planning though. There is a core Crafty Craft organisation
committee of about half a dozen volunteers who start work towards the
event in the previous October. This is some of the 2001 commitee looking
at the canal to examine alternative arrangements because of the Foot
and Mouth outbreak. There was a risk that competitors and people watching
the race might spread the disease as they moved along the canal tow
path. To prevent this, the race was took the form of a circuit between
the A339 bridge and the Parkway bridge. |
 2001
AGM Part 2 meeting. The bell was a gift from Basingstoke Round Table
when Newbury Table was formed. Suprisingly for something so large,
it has been surreptiously "borrowed" on several occasions
by members from other tables who come as guests to a meeting. This
demands a return visit to one of their meetings to collect it and ideally
purloin something of theirs.
|
 This
is the slot car racing at the 2003 Vice Chairman's Night Out, held
at Pinewood
Raceway in Wokingham. Vice Chairman's Night Out is organised annually
by that year's vice chairman and the details kept secret by him from
the other members until they arrive at the venue in the minibus. The
six people behind the green wall are competing in a heat.You can just
see a red car passing in front, controlled by the member in the black
and yellow sweat shirt at the end. The trick is to go fast on the straight
bits but not spin off the track on the bends.
|
 This
is the meal in a nearby pub which followed the event. |
 Brunch
on Sunday morning in Newbury Town Hall during the 2003 91 Club meeting.
Most of the people are hung over from the ball at the race course the
previous evening/early morning. |
 2002
Vice Chairman's Night Out was go-karting in Reading. The stearing wheel
is quite stiff and you mostly turn to the right as you go around the
figure-of-eight track, so you have an aching right arm at the end of
the evening. |
 Newbury
Round Table had a successful St Georges Dinner at Gordons Restaurant
on Monday 23rd April 2007. The guest speaker was Gladstone Small,
former England and Warwickshire cricketer. Organiser Rob Spalton
said "it
was a very successful event with over 70 people attending. Gladstone
was a very entertaining
speaker and on top of that we raised £1227 for local charities."; As
well as St Georges day the dinner was arranged to celebrate the handover to the
incoming chairman Alan Lane who works for local firm Kerridge. |
 Annual
cricket match in June with 41 Club at
Burghclere Cricket Club. Newbury Round Table has narrowly won for the
last two years, breaking a long run of victories by 41 Club. The match
is always followed by an enormous Chinese meal in the club house. |
