Dear Member

Membership

As of 28^th February anyone who did not pay their full fees has been deemed to have let their membership lapse.

This has left the Club with 190 fully paid up members- this was pretty much as expected as we have not allowed any new full members to join this year.

The Club now has some 800 associate members all of whom are now about to be required to pay an annual subscription of £15. Associates who are proposed and seconded by full members will have the chance to apply for full membership, although their numbers will be strictly limited.

Once this batch of renewals is processed and the amount of associates who join is finalised then the future of the associate membership scheme will be reconsidered. Ultimately the Club can only prosper if it generates realistic revenue over the bar- we still believe that this can only happen if the Club has 1000 members.

Committee

We have been unable to progress as quickly as we would have like owing to lack of manpower on the Committee- to remedy this we have co-opted on Ken Adams, Graham Duguid and Alan Bolton with possible others to follow. These are people who use the Club on a regular basis and can be trusted to act in the Club‘s best interests.

The new website is up and running - www.sportsmansclub.org.uk - it‘s basic format appears prominently on major search engines and will be expanded and updated on a regular basis.

Work on the top floor is progressing- we hope to have it finished at the same time as the building warrant to convert the middle floor into additional bar/conference areas becomes available. The completion of these two areas will clear the way for an upgrading of the gymnasium and old solarium into a viable and clean exercise room.

Quotes and permission for a new door entry system and car parking barrier at the side of the building are currently being studied and will be implemented as soon as possible.

Smoking ban

The smoking ban comes into force on 26^th March and the hoped for exemption for private clubs has not been allowed. There still appears to be some confusion as to what will or will not be permissible in the way of outdoor smoking facilities. We are currently investigating the possibility of building an outside drinking area at the side and back of the Alex Cowie bar which could double as a smoking area.

Events

Recent themed nights for members were a great success- the Chinese and Indian evenings proving particularily popular with as many as 55 diners turning up, and the Club being full of members. At the moment we simply we cannot afford to refuse functions where we are guaranteed several thousand pounds over the bar, but the additional upstairs facilities should allow members evenings at least once a week.

The Alex Cowie Memorial Evening will be held on Friday 7^th April. This will be a ceilidh evening with a Scottish band and piper. Hopefully all members and friends who knew Alex will turn up and sink a few in memory of a true Sportsman and character!

See you soon

The Committee