Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party. Show all posts
Friday, July 23
Wednesday, June 23
865th Meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Also available as for download and scribbling all over with groovy action points at this link.
Held at Astcote High Street Station 2pm, Sunday 13 June 2010
Present:
Graeme (Chairman), Maggie, Steve, SarahD, Kathie, Amy, Richard, Penny, Sue, Andrew (Minutes Secretary)
Apologies:
Members were informed that SarahB is still writing an essay which has now become such a vast and authoritative tome that Adrian had been lassoed on his way out in order to assist with what all students seem to want to do, namely place each sheet in a ruddy plastic wallet, much to the later annoyance of tutors who moan like mad at having to extract every sheet in order to correct them. Members were divided on the subject of this remarkable three month effort, the majority concluding that it was The Life And Times Of A Garden Gnome. Steve quietly hoped that she wouldn’t insist on grabbing the microphone and reading it out at the party. The Minutes Secretary had serious doubts about whether she would have completed it by then.
Minutes of the previous meeting
These were approved after Maggie had run across the road to check the dog. Richard disappeared to get some port which prompted Stationmaster Steve to explain that Late Bottled Vintage, like Vintage Port, is a wine of a single year but it is not a “declared” Vintage Port. Whereas Vintage Port spends only two years in casks and then matures in bottle, LBV is aged in casks and then bottled with a light filtration at between four and six years old. At the time of bottling it has completed its maturation and is ready for drinking without the need for decanting.
The Chairman asked whether the Minutes Secretary could add action points to them. Seeing the expression on the latter member’s face, he added that it probably wouldn’t be necessary to add action points to all the previous minutes, just from here forward. The Minutes Secretary looked quite relieved.
Date and time
7 August, 6:30pm as last year
Chairs and tables
Cold Higham would be supplying a good quantity which Peter would collect. Sue was reminded yet again that she needed to check whether the Methodist Church furniture was available. Not the pews, though, and she should ensure the items we removed were not in use at the time.
Tickets
Adrian and the Minutes Secretary had spent a great deal of time viewing images on the internet but needed to check a few more before selecting those that were likely to be appropriate. Bearing in mind that there would be children present and some guests shouldn’t be subjected to sudden shock the Minutes Secretary agreed to advise Adrian that none of the predominantly pink images he had come up with were likely to be approved, even allowing for the close and lengthy consideration that Richard and Stationmaster Steve seemed willing to give to them. It was agreed that a range of samples with a PG certificate would be supplied to the Chairman by 22 June (which by sheer chance happens to be the date today and I’ve just e-mailed them to him).
Licence
The Chairman admitted to having completely forgotten about requesting a licence from the local Council in order that music can be played. Kathie said that if he didn’t get it in time then everyone had an iPod these days and so they could listen to their own. Penny pointed out, though, that no-one would then be able to hear SarahB screeching “Aretha! We must have some Aretha!” Richard assured her that SarahB would not be ignored, especially if she were hurtling towards an unsuspecting Minutes Secretary at the time as would be her wont and steps would be taken to avoid a collision.
Tents
Members agreed to keep an eye out for any special offer tents. Whilst it was believed that the one held together with duck tape and with a pole up one of its tubes would serve another event without enveloping guests below during the evening, should any of them experience a sudden and massive gust of wind from an unfortunate angle then disaster might strike and it was good to be prepared.
Raffle
Kathie kindly agreed to make a hamper for the main raffle prize this year. She reckoned that she had a suitable basket and Sue would give her some ideas as to what to put in it.
It was agreed that, in return for hampering, Kathie and her family would be provided with free tickets.
Ticket sales
The Chairman then broached the thorny subject of who would cover which areas to get tickets out to the people to be invited. Traditionally, he reminded members, the Paddock Party invitations were offered to Shoemaker Close residents, even if we didn’t know them particularly well, because we were likely to keep them awake and were, after all, conducting the whole thing either on the other side of their fences or within a stone’s throw of their TVs which could be quite a nuisance, especially once guests had had a few beers or glasses of wine and for more reasons than one.
Kathie agreed to do Shoemaker Close in its entirety
SarahD and Stationmaster Steve would do School Road and Suttons Walk
Penny would do next door, Suzanne up there and invite her line dancing friends
SarahB, would do the Cold Higham mob, or Adrian if she hadn’t finished her essay
Maggie & Graeme would attend to Pattishall friends and all stations East
Tickets would be distributed just as soon as Adrian and the Minutes Secretary got their act together and produced the damn things and the Chairman would ask for an update on sales at regular intervals.
Committee members could invite as many of their own friends as they wished but we did need to know numbers to ensure the pig was the right size.
Music
The jazz quartet, Matt and Grace and Amy were confirmed as performing. Amy would do a welcoming intro on Graeme’s keyboard. She had indicated coyly that she would prefer not to play on his organ but the Chairman insisted that it was a piano that he would make available.
The Rock School had not been asked to perform.
In addition to the live acts we should also have some groovy tracks available, not just to satisfy SarahB’s Arethaic demands but also to have something to play as and when there were breaks and probably later when the performers were likely to be suffering from an excess of alcohol and liable to render versions of numbers that a mathematician might be inclined to describe as imaginary.
Food
Penny would take the role once again of Chief Saladeer with Sue, Sarahs D and B, Kathie and Maggie as individual saladeers under her command. A request should be made to anyone offering to bring food that they bring salads rather than puddings as the saladeers took the view that there’d be more than enough excellent desserts being provided.
Penny would arrange a shopping trip at an opportune moment to ensure all the appropriate goodies and gallon tubs of salad cream and mayonnaise were purchased. Stationmaster Steve reminded the Committee that he had six drums of each in his garage already but they may be past their ‘use by’ dates. He was finding the salad cream, in particular the Crosse & Blackwell one, to be an excellent lubricant for his train. The Aldi variety was nothing like as effective, though, but had great binding properties for the gravel on the new slopes he had been building for the Eastern extension.
Any other business
Sue would produce candles and flowers to add a touch of class to the formica-topped tables. Everyone agreed that she always made a splendid job of these and it was fun watching people trying to figure out why they didn’t fall over when tables were wobbled.
The Minutes Secretary would produce a range of signs as usual. Any special requests to him as he always seems to be doing them a few minutes before people arrive and there’s nothing more embarrassing than bending over to hammer in a sign that reads ‘Please put your forks in here’
A slide show projected onto Kathie’s wall or the side of the food tent was agreed to be something that we should try this year. Shows at early Paddock Parties had been a popular distraction and the format of the evening, without a band at the end, might allow the show to be more effective as well as being seen without massive silhouettes of Tom and friends looming over them. The Minutes Secretary would see if he could acquire a decent projector and work with Adrian to set up something suitable.
The Chairman reminded members that we had agreed to have a quiz this year to keep people amused during the lighter hours. This would take the form of their attempting to identify images of things or views around the locality. He and Maggie had been taking pictures but others were welcome too and the Minutes Secretary offered to put the whole shooting match into some semblance of order and print the images and some answer sheets.
Date of next meeting
Sunday 18 July 2010 at Penny & Richard’s 3pm
Held at Astcote High Street Station 2pm, Sunday 13 June 2010
Present:
Graeme (Chairman), Maggie, Steve, SarahD, Kathie, Amy, Richard, Penny, Sue, Andrew (Minutes Secretary)
Apologies:
Members were informed that SarahB is still writing an essay which has now become such a vast and authoritative tome that Adrian had been lassoed on his way out in order to assist with what all students seem to want to do, namely place each sheet in a ruddy plastic wallet, much to the later annoyance of tutors who moan like mad at having to extract every sheet in order to correct them. Members were divided on the subject of this remarkable three month effort, the majority concluding that it was The Life And Times Of A Garden Gnome. Steve quietly hoped that she wouldn’t insist on grabbing the microphone and reading it out at the party. The Minutes Secretary had serious doubts about whether she would have completed it by then.
Minutes of the previous meeting
These were approved after Maggie had run across the road to check the dog. Richard disappeared to get some port which prompted Stationmaster Steve to explain that Late Bottled Vintage, like Vintage Port, is a wine of a single year but it is not a “declared” Vintage Port. Whereas Vintage Port spends only two years in casks and then matures in bottle, LBV is aged in casks and then bottled with a light filtration at between four and six years old. At the time of bottling it has completed its maturation and is ready for drinking without the need for decanting.
The Chairman asked whether the Minutes Secretary could add action points to them. Seeing the expression on the latter member’s face, he added that it probably wouldn’t be necessary to add action points to all the previous minutes, just from here forward. The Minutes Secretary looked quite relieved.
Date and time
7 August, 6:30pm as last year
Chairs and tables
Cold Higham would be supplying a good quantity which Peter would collect. Sue was reminded yet again that she needed to check whether the Methodist Church furniture was available. Not the pews, though, and she should ensure the items we removed were not in use at the time.
Tickets
Adrian and the Minutes Secretary had spent a great deal of time viewing images on the internet but needed to check a few more before selecting those that were likely to be appropriate. Bearing in mind that there would be children present and some guests shouldn’t be subjected to sudden shock the Minutes Secretary agreed to advise Adrian that none of the predominantly pink images he had come up with were likely to be approved, even allowing for the close and lengthy consideration that Richard and Stationmaster Steve seemed willing to give to them. It was agreed that a range of samples with a PG certificate would be supplied to the Chairman by 22 June (which by sheer chance happens to be the date today and I’ve just e-mailed them to him).
Licence
The Chairman admitted to having completely forgotten about requesting a licence from the local Council in order that music can be played. Kathie said that if he didn’t get it in time then everyone had an iPod these days and so they could listen to their own. Penny pointed out, though, that no-one would then be able to hear SarahB screeching “Aretha! We must have some Aretha!” Richard assured her that SarahB would not be ignored, especially if she were hurtling towards an unsuspecting Minutes Secretary at the time as would be her wont and steps would be taken to avoid a collision.
Tents
Members agreed to keep an eye out for any special offer tents. Whilst it was believed that the one held together with duck tape and with a pole up one of its tubes would serve another event without enveloping guests below during the evening, should any of them experience a sudden and massive gust of wind from an unfortunate angle then disaster might strike and it was good to be prepared.
Raffle
Kathie kindly agreed to make a hamper for the main raffle prize this year. She reckoned that she had a suitable basket and Sue would give her some ideas as to what to put in it.
It was agreed that, in return for hampering, Kathie and her family would be provided with free tickets.
Ticket sales
The Chairman then broached the thorny subject of who would cover which areas to get tickets out to the people to be invited. Traditionally, he reminded members, the Paddock Party invitations were offered to Shoemaker Close residents, even if we didn’t know them particularly well, because we were likely to keep them awake and were, after all, conducting the whole thing either on the other side of their fences or within a stone’s throw of their TVs which could be quite a nuisance, especially once guests had had a few beers or glasses of wine and for more reasons than one.
Kathie agreed to do Shoemaker Close in its entirety
SarahD and Stationmaster Steve would do School Road and Suttons Walk
Penny would do next door, Suzanne up there and invite her line dancing friends
SarahB, would do the Cold Higham mob, or Adrian if she hadn’t finished her essay
Maggie & Graeme would attend to Pattishall friends and all stations East
Tickets would be distributed just as soon as Adrian and the Minutes Secretary got their act together and produced the damn things and the Chairman would ask for an update on sales at regular intervals.
Committee members could invite as many of their own friends as they wished but we did need to know numbers to ensure the pig was the right size.
Music
The jazz quartet, Matt and Grace and Amy were confirmed as performing. Amy would do a welcoming intro on Graeme’s keyboard. She had indicated coyly that she would prefer not to play on his organ but the Chairman insisted that it was a piano that he would make available.
The Rock School had not been asked to perform.
In addition to the live acts we should also have some groovy tracks available, not just to satisfy SarahB’s Arethaic demands but also to have something to play as and when there were breaks and probably later when the performers were likely to be suffering from an excess of alcohol and liable to render versions of numbers that a mathematician might be inclined to describe as imaginary.
Food
Penny would take the role once again of Chief Saladeer with Sue, Sarahs D and B, Kathie and Maggie as individual saladeers under her command. A request should be made to anyone offering to bring food that they bring salads rather than puddings as the saladeers took the view that there’d be more than enough excellent desserts being provided.
Penny would arrange a shopping trip at an opportune moment to ensure all the appropriate goodies and gallon tubs of salad cream and mayonnaise were purchased. Stationmaster Steve reminded the Committee that he had six drums of each in his garage already but they may be past their ‘use by’ dates. He was finding the salad cream, in particular the Crosse & Blackwell one, to be an excellent lubricant for his train. The Aldi variety was nothing like as effective, though, but had great binding properties for the gravel on the new slopes he had been building for the Eastern extension.
Any other business
Sue would produce candles and flowers to add a touch of class to the formica-topped tables. Everyone agreed that she always made a splendid job of these and it was fun watching people trying to figure out why they didn’t fall over when tables were wobbled.
The Minutes Secretary would produce a range of signs as usual. Any special requests to him as he always seems to be doing them a few minutes before people arrive and there’s nothing more embarrassing than bending over to hammer in a sign that reads ‘Please put your forks in here’
A slide show projected onto Kathie’s wall or the side of the food tent was agreed to be something that we should try this year. Shows at early Paddock Parties had been a popular distraction and the format of the evening, without a band at the end, might allow the show to be more effective as well as being seen without massive silhouettes of Tom and friends looming over them. The Minutes Secretary would see if he could acquire a decent projector and work with Adrian to set up something suitable.
The Chairman reminded members that we had agreed to have a quiz this year to keep people amused during the lighter hours. This would take the form of their attempting to identify images of things or views around the locality. He and Maggie had been taking pictures but others were welcome too and the Minutes Secretary offered to put the whole shooting match into some semblance of order and print the images and some answer sheets.
Date of next meeting
Sunday 18 July 2010 at Penny & Richard’s 3pm
Friday, May 14
861st Meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
[PDF version available for download here]
861st Meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Present:
Apologies:
Minutes of the previous meeting
Date
Time
Format of event
Food
Drink
Weather
Seating and tables
Music
Tickets
Any other business
Date of next meeting
861st Meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Held at the Fuller Residence 2pm, Monday 3rd May 2010
Present:
Graeme (Chairman), Maggie, Adrian, Steve, SarahD, Kathie, Amy, Richard, Penny, Sue, Andrew
Apologies:
SarahB, apparently either swimming in a curious fashion or making a model of a monster, Adrian informing the Committee that she was doing a Nessie and couldn’t, therefore, be with us.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Running to over 50 odd, very odd, pages it was suggested that these were taken as read which, indeed, they were and had been, often to the bewilderment of various family friends over Christmas and New Year.
Date
It was confirmed that the 7th event would take place on 7 August, hopefully a Saturday.
Time
Discussion of the time for the event to start was distracted when Penny and Richard realised that they hadn’t adjusted their watches since returning to the village from its antipodean twin in Woollybumma and were 9 hours ahead of themselves, possibly explaining why they were still in pyjamas. Stationmaster Steve took an early opportunity to mention that some members of the Committee may not have been aware that the National Library of Australia had on display an extract from a 1771 bill for dividing and inclosing the open and common fields, common meadows, common pastures, and other commonable lands and grounds within the parish and liberties of Pattishall with the hamlets of Eastcote, Astcote, and Darlescote, in the county of Northampton.
Once Penny and Richard had corrected themselves, apart from their hats, it was agreed that a 6:30pm start would be appropriate.
Format of event
After the success of the previous six parties it was not exactly something that needed a great deal of discussion. However, some members did feel inclined to mention some possible additions for the amusement of guests, mostly including sheep. Richard announced that sheep wee a lot for some reason. This prompted Sue to recall playing Poohsticks and Penny to remark that she had had great trouble with Richard’s because it kept blowing off.
The Chairman muttered something to the effect that the effects of age upon the Committee members was beginning to become apparent and urged that we move on before dementure requires that the Minutes Secretary reads the minutes of the current meeting so far lest some forget that we’re merely on item 3.
Food
The pig was already ordered which prevented suggestions that we have a ewe roast instead. The usual queries about vegetarians were raised and the Committee reassured each other that there would be plenty of vegetables provided on the day. Sue remembered that we used to provide an alternative dish for those who didn’t like pork but agreed that everyone seemed more than happy with the food and, with all the other bits and pieces available in the tent, there would be plenty for everyone without needing any additional main course.
Drink
It was agreed that an abundant supply of Frog island would be supplied, this having been well appreciated last year. Adrian reminded members of Party 7s which set off fond memories amongst many of turning up at parties with the once ubiquitous yellow and red cans containing seven pints of beer. The Party 7 theme may be something worth thinking about for the PP7 tickets and promotional material. The Minutes Secretary said he might see if we could get some sponsorship or even free samples from Watneys. The Chairman said something about his being damn lucky as Watneys closed in 1979. He did, though, still have a Watneys red barrel keyring.
Stationmaster Steve decided to announce that he had had a Teacher of The Year Medal which momentarily stunned the members and discussion of drink and sheep halted. Even the corks on Richard’s hat seemed to be less animated than usual. “Congratulations” said someone and “Jolly good show” another. “You got an award?” boomed the Chairman, “who voted for you?!” Unfortunately, the Chairman was struck by wind towards the end of the phrase, resulting in some emphasis of the last word lending his genuine enquiry a somewhat different shade of meaning. Glasses were, though, duly raised in recognition of Stationmaster’s achievement and the Minutes Secretary reassured him that he wouldn’t forget to include this in the minutes.
Weather
“Something the Committee does need to consider . . .” started Stationmaster Steve.
“. . . INCLEMENT WEATHER!!!” sang everyone else except Amy who was too young to remember it ever raining at a Paddock Party.
“They’ll get wet.” boomed the Chairman.
Seating and tables
PP6 had seen a slightly expanded square formation of the tents in comparison to the close arrangement of PP5. Earlier events had seen tents thrown up in pretty random places and it was clear that the erection team were getting ever more organised but not to the point of getting their set squares and theodolites out. Sue and Kathie were quite interested in the men getting their theodolites out but accepted that erections were essentially in the hands of the men who turned up on the day.
Music
The Chairman was particularly keen to get his organ out. Adrian and the Minutes Secretary groaned, not at the old joke but at the memory of PP4 when they happened to be in the right place at the wrong time and were obliged to assist in heaving Graeme’s massive organ through gaps a mere few millimetres wider than it was and then across what seemed to be the ¼ mile trek from conservatory to paddock on a steamy August afternoon. Their expressions changed to delight akin to those of schoolboys who discover that there isn’t going to be a History test in period 2 after all and they were on the verge of dancing together had Archie not given them one of those looks that said he wouldn’t be having any of that queer stuff here.
In fact, it was a distinctly portable keyboard to which the Chairman was referring and Amy was enthusiastic about adding some performance with that to the evening.
She went on to agree that she could provide some music which could be playing as people arrive, something we haven’t had before, and agreed to be a nice new idea. Contact would be made with all who had performed previously, notably the Jazz Quartet, Gracie and her man, Matt and someone else who played guitar and is apparently called Rocky. Amy also reckoned that a covers band from the Towcester Rock School might be persuaded to join in.
Tickets
Adrian and the Minutes Secretary would produce the tickets again this year. Adrian had collected some sample designs from telephone kiosks around St Pancras Station in London on a recent visit which the two men decided to take a long hard look at one evening. The other information to be displayed would be largely the same as for last year which would save a lot of time checking how to spell the words. Largely was also an apt word for the way the price would increase this year, from £8 to £10 which was agreed on the basis that (a) 10 was a round number and (b) there would be no need to mess around with tins of coins for change at the gate. It was also the case that every year guests had been accosting members of the Committee demanding to know how on earth we managed to lay on such a great evening at the price. It was hoped that a 25% increase at a time of economic hardship might finally put a stop to such behaviour.
All profits from the event would go to WNAA, with the Rugby Cement Group kindly offering to match the profit, effectively doubling the dosh that could be contributed to the Air Ambulance cause.
Any other business
Penny informed the Committee that, despite having been on the other side of the planet, she had noticed that gazebos were on special offer at Homebase. There was some discussion about the condition of one of the large gazebos following it being blown half-way to Tiffield by winds prior to PP5. It had been repaired with yards of gaffer tape for PP6 and might just make it through PP7 but there was also a missing pole in the set for the other large one so perhaps, if Penny spots a suitable bargain, an addition to stock may be a good idea.
Other activities were considered, some clearly having been mused over for some time as little encouragement was needed for their airing.
The Minutes Secretary suggested bell-ringing which slightly worried most other members as it later did the Minutes Secretary himself who completely failed to understand why on earth he had suggested it.
Sarah D suggested the far more sensible Know Your Parish which would involve a number of pictures of local things being stuck up around the tents and gazebos. Adrian said that we had tried that with last year’s rasterbated images of Committee members which had proved fascinating and caused several guests to bump into each other when walking backwards to attempt to figure out who was who which in turn resulted in several new relationships developing. Sarah D advised that by ‘local things’ she hadn’t actually meant Committee members. The idea, though, was approved and Adrian and the Minutes Secretary instructed to go forth with their cameras and snap odd things before the next meeting so that the Committee could have a look at what they’d got. Adrian made another attempt to get out his telephone box cards on the grounds that the Minutes Secretary might need something to remind him when he was recollecting the discussion.
Whilst Sarah B wasn’t there in person there was a distinct sense of her being nevertheless being in the room and Adrian hurriedly stuffed the errant items back in his pocket, looking around nervously and occasionally up and the ceiling which wasn’t what Committee members did very often, the only memorable other occasion being Stationmaster Steve’s struggling ladybird impression from the very early years of Paddock Party business.
Displaying the images would require yet another erection of some sort for which young Peter Fuller’s wonderful carpentry expertise would be called upon by Maggie when she next sees him and remembers (the two not necessarily being coincident).
Date of next meeting
13 June 2010 at Steve & Sarah D’s 2pm
Saturday, September 26
Minutes of the 802nd meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Held at several venues in or not far from the paddock on 8th 9th and probably 10th August, at various times when sufficient members were in the same place at the same time.
Present
Graeme, chairman, tractor and trailer driver, charred accountant, iPod & beer advisor
Maggie, diary, hostess, trolley and plastic box management
Penny, chief saladeer, beachware and food jettison advisor
Richard, senior photographer and advisor on steroids,
Sarah D, mother of the band and cutlery accountant
Steve, father of the band and dim view weather consultant
Kathie, additional seating and potato supplies
Sue, floral display and assistant social secretary
Minutes Secretary, plate miscounter and dotty image scribe
Sarah B, social secretary and cheersleader
and Adrian, quick flash and production manager
Apologies
Only for occasional wind
Minutes of the previous meeting
There had, of course been the AGM on 8 August itself and several meetings thereafter but few of the members stood or sat still for long enough for any purposeful decisions other than which plastic container should be used for what and which pole might have fitted better where. These, therefore, are as best a recollection of matters covered whilst transporting chimerae or having one’s chestnuts roasted whilst munching through the large piles of pork and desserts remaining.
Tickets
The Chairman had managed to knock a draft set of accounts together and circulated a table of figures. Unfortunately it was not easy to read these by moonlight so he took a good guess at what he’d written and informed the group that there had been a little over 170 in attendance.
The net profit from the event appeared to be of the order of £500. In addition a specific donation of £100 had been received for the WNAA. It is expected that the Rugby Group Benevolent Fund will be agree to repeat earlier years’ doubling of funds raised with the result being a possible final donation of £1200, divided £500 to PDSA and £700 WNAA.
It was agreed that this represented a quite remarkable figure, achieved through both the increased ticket price and raffle success, as attached figures show.
How was it for us, darlings?
Another jolly good show in all respects, in short.
Food
ALDI got several mentions in between swishes with the J cloths and one or two members felt that stronger plates might be required to support any further editions of Penny’s quintuple chocolate concoction which, we gathered, possibly cost as much by way of ingredients as a modest gazebo.
Steve reported a near miss when attempting to stab an incalcitrant slice of pastry and the plastic fork shot through the dish and into whichever part of his anatomy lurked immediately below. Suggestions that metal forks be provided that had been mooted previously were not further discussed.
The hog was very tasty and gave off a suitable aroma at the outset. The Minutes Secretary had specifically wandered around the drive at 6:30 to test this and reported that the sniffometer levels were in good shape and the roast indeed hog-like. The Chairman commented that it had been cracking good crackling.
Drink
The two barrels of Frog Island had proved a wise decision, if only to ensure that there had been a reasonable supply rather than mere dregs for the meeting the following day. The Chairman despatched Richard to check whether a second beaker-full could be drained from the keg.
Tents
Steve had tested the wind direction in the scout tent. Erections had been magnificent and virtually trouble-free. Nevertheless, Sue insisted that members be supervised next year and would be checking to see whether a set of instructions had been packed with the various packages as she preferred a more organised affair.
The positioning of a green auto-fold-up gazebo at the exit end of the scout tent had been a little unfortunate in that its cross members had made cross guests as they bashed their heads on them. The green covering disguised the metal beneath and what they might have anticipated as being a mere gentle brush of fabric across the follicles turned into a thud and scrape which, remarkably, seemed not to have caused any food to have been dropped nor casualties requiring medication. Many guests may have prepared by taking ample medication in advance but it was agreed that next year a higher, white gazebo would be positioned there.
There was some discussion of whether further funds should be retained for the purchase of another tent. It was decided, though, that the existing £50 was adequate and any further cost would be taken into account in the next event budget.
Some felt that the arrangement was almost too neat this year and there was a proposal that the layout be reversed so that the moon could be clearly visible. No conclusion was reached – something for another day, it was getting late by then.
Facilities
The loo was pretty much fully occupied for much of the later part of the evening, mainly as a result of the rapid process through the system of some of the desserts being accelerated by copious amounts of alcohol and some jumping up and down. Those who had stuck to the heavy chocolate seemed to be firmly wedged in their chairs and less inclined to attempt the long trek.
Andrew had assisted by escorting one or two people, most frequently Adrian, closely followed by Sarah, to the overflow facility in the cottage. Guidance was necessary, however, due to the internet cable being draped across the foot of the stairs and to divert attention away from the generally unkempt state of the Minutes Secretary’s accommodation, especially the pink pillow which he had really wished he’d changed beforehand as well as dusting some of the horizontal surfaces.
Electrics all worked well and Richard, Steve and Karl were duly thanked for their efforts again in keeping the flash lights burning.
Music
The jazz band were particularly good this year by common consent and seemed to play for such a long time without a drink that some members felt obliged to swing glasses of suitable lubricant in front of them to remind them that they did need to stop occasionally.
A couple of lads performed some pleasant ditties in a relaxed style and went down well.
The Outsiders cleared the field of the over 65s quite quickly then settled into a solid rendition of their greatest hits. The youngsters clearly enjoyed them and quite a few older members were seen to be tapping their toes, slapping thighs and mostly in time. Steve had provided a running commentary for anyone within earshot. There was little or no daddy dancing this year and neither Aretha nor Bruce emerged from the Chairman’s iPod selection.
Numbers
There were a goodly number in attendance, upwards of 170 but they seemed more sedentary and kind of organised this year so the numbers moving around the place were less and, apart from a few more tables and bales being a good idea next time, it wasn’t felt that any real issues were presented by the larger number.
The age mix appeared to be decidedly older this year, and that isn’t just because everyone is a year older. There were noticeably fewer under 25s, possibly due to Matt’s friends and several children not being there this year.
Gate
The Chairman and Minutes Secretary had managed the gate and relieved guests of as much money as possible and were pretty confident that no-one had got in without a ticket.
Signs
The Minutes Secretary had produced a range of signs, mostly telling people where to place their plates and cutlery, cans and bottles but had forgotten that it gets dark at night so most went unnoticed, as it were. However, aided and abetted by Adrian, several others offering useful advice and warnings to be heeded were constructed and, in particular some dotty images of the Committee were popular attractions. Well, certainly for the Committee members anxious to figure out who was who. Interestingly, all but the larger ones went missing after the event and it is possible that they are now being purveyed on eBay at vast prices. Pity we hadn’t signed them or they would have been worth even more.
Tidying up
The morning after the night before, extended as traditionally the case, to the morning, lunch and evening after the night before and the morning and lunch after the night before the night before, went smoothly with all bits and pieces swept up, washed up, packed up and the field restored to its former glory and ready for inspection by the geese.
The Minutes Secretary was under the impression that he had rinsed over 400 plates but appeared to be in a minority of one in debating the accuracy of his calculations. Nevertheless he did wish to point out that he probably had got as wet as he would have done if it had been 400 plates.
Raffle
Despite tickets being sold in almost entirely strips of 5 for £1, the Chairman reported that the raffle income had totalled £293.09, an odd sort of figure which would imply that someone had sold 45% of one ticket. The Minutes Secretary proposed that each Committee member contribute 1p to make up the missing 55% but an alternative proposal that they carry 9p forward to the next year was preferred.
A full breakdown of the draft figures is included as what is the very first ever Appendix to the Minutes.
Photos
Richard, and to a notably fuzzier or lesser extent, Adrian and the Minutes Secretary had taken snaps at various times and the results, including a remarkable pair featuring Adrian being attended to in the drinks tent, are now available on both the In The Village blog and the Minutes Secretary’s Facebook pages. Links: http://astcote.blogspot.com and http://facebook.com/andrewx respectively.
Next party
After consulting his diary, the Chairman decreed that 7 August 2010 be a good day for Paddock Party 7 and those present heartily backed the idea. His diary wondered whether anyone would like some pork as there was still rather a lot left.
Sue fancied the idea of dressing up which prompted a range of proposals for themes from the gentlemen present, none of which, however, were deemed entirely suitable for the event. She may well, though, be prepared to give some of them a whirl at a future meeting. Sarah B was quite taken with the vicar and Adrian was particularly keen on tarts.
Next meeting
Steve wondered whether we might have a good old-fashioned British food session in the near future. The Minutes Secretary would consult his mother to see whether she could be persuaded to knock up one of her excellent shepherd’s pies. Graeme’s diary was expert in the Beef Wellington department. Steve D and the Minutes Secretary both drooled helplessly at the mention of suet puddings and Penny said she would look up how to make a jam roly poly or a spotted dick.
Sue offered her premises for the next meeting, date and time to be advised.
Appendix
Event account summary over PP2-6
Present
Graeme, chairman, tractor and trailer driver, charred accountant, iPod & beer advisor
Maggie, diary, hostess, trolley and plastic box management
Penny, chief saladeer, beachware and food jettison advisor
Richard, senior photographer and advisor on steroids,
Sarah D, mother of the band and cutlery accountant
Steve, father of the band and dim view weather consultant
Kathie, additional seating and potato supplies
Sue, floral display and assistant social secretary
Minutes Secretary, plate miscounter and dotty image scribe
Sarah B, social secretary and cheersleader
and Adrian, quick flash and production manager
Apologies
Only for occasional wind
Minutes of the previous meeting
There had, of course been the AGM on 8 August itself and several meetings thereafter but few of the members stood or sat still for long enough for any purposeful decisions other than which plastic container should be used for what and which pole might have fitted better where. These, therefore, are as best a recollection of matters covered whilst transporting chimerae or having one’s chestnuts roasted whilst munching through the large piles of pork and desserts remaining.
Tickets
The Chairman had managed to knock a draft set of accounts together and circulated a table of figures. Unfortunately it was not easy to read these by moonlight so he took a good guess at what he’d written and informed the group that there had been a little over 170 in attendance.
The net profit from the event appeared to be of the order of £500. In addition a specific donation of £100 had been received for the WNAA. It is expected that the Rugby Group Benevolent Fund will be agree to repeat earlier years’ doubling of funds raised with the result being a possible final donation of £1200, divided £500 to PDSA and £700 WNAA.
It was agreed that this represented a quite remarkable figure, achieved through both the increased ticket price and raffle success, as attached figures show.
How was it for us, darlings?
Another jolly good show in all respects, in short.
Food
ALDI got several mentions in between swishes with the J cloths and one or two members felt that stronger plates might be required to support any further editions of Penny’s quintuple chocolate concoction which, we gathered, possibly cost as much by way of ingredients as a modest gazebo.
Steve reported a near miss when attempting to stab an incalcitrant slice of pastry and the plastic fork shot through the dish and into whichever part of his anatomy lurked immediately below. Suggestions that metal forks be provided that had been mooted previously were not further discussed.
The hog was very tasty and gave off a suitable aroma at the outset. The Minutes Secretary had specifically wandered around the drive at 6:30 to test this and reported that the sniffometer levels were in good shape and the roast indeed hog-like. The Chairman commented that it had been cracking good crackling.
Drink
The two barrels of Frog Island had proved a wise decision, if only to ensure that there had been a reasonable supply rather than mere dregs for the meeting the following day. The Chairman despatched Richard to check whether a second beaker-full could be drained from the keg.
Tents
Steve had tested the wind direction in the scout tent. Erections had been magnificent and virtually trouble-free. Nevertheless, Sue insisted that members be supervised next year and would be checking to see whether a set of instructions had been packed with the various packages as she preferred a more organised affair.
The positioning of a green auto-fold-up gazebo at the exit end of the scout tent had been a little unfortunate in that its cross members had made cross guests as they bashed their heads on them. The green covering disguised the metal beneath and what they might have anticipated as being a mere gentle brush of fabric across the follicles turned into a thud and scrape which, remarkably, seemed not to have caused any food to have been dropped nor casualties requiring medication. Many guests may have prepared by taking ample medication in advance but it was agreed that next year a higher, white gazebo would be positioned there.
There was some discussion of whether further funds should be retained for the purchase of another tent. It was decided, though, that the existing £50 was adequate and any further cost would be taken into account in the next event budget.
Some felt that the arrangement was almost too neat this year and there was a proposal that the layout be reversed so that the moon could be clearly visible. No conclusion was reached – something for another day, it was getting late by then.
Facilities
The loo was pretty much fully occupied for much of the later part of the evening, mainly as a result of the rapid process through the system of some of the desserts being accelerated by copious amounts of alcohol and some jumping up and down. Those who had stuck to the heavy chocolate seemed to be firmly wedged in their chairs and less inclined to attempt the long trek.
Andrew had assisted by escorting one or two people, most frequently Adrian, closely followed by Sarah, to the overflow facility in the cottage. Guidance was necessary, however, due to the internet cable being draped across the foot of the stairs and to divert attention away from the generally unkempt state of the Minutes Secretary’s accommodation, especially the pink pillow which he had really wished he’d changed beforehand as well as dusting some of the horizontal surfaces.
Electrics all worked well and Richard, Steve and Karl were duly thanked for their efforts again in keeping the flash lights burning.
Music
The jazz band were particularly good this year by common consent and seemed to play for such a long time without a drink that some members felt obliged to swing glasses of suitable lubricant in front of them to remind them that they did need to stop occasionally.
A couple of lads performed some pleasant ditties in a relaxed style and went down well.
The Outsiders cleared the field of the over 65s quite quickly then settled into a solid rendition of their greatest hits. The youngsters clearly enjoyed them and quite a few older members were seen to be tapping their toes, slapping thighs and mostly in time. Steve had provided a running commentary for anyone within earshot. There was little or no daddy dancing this year and neither Aretha nor Bruce emerged from the Chairman’s iPod selection.
Numbers
There were a goodly number in attendance, upwards of 170 but they seemed more sedentary and kind of organised this year so the numbers moving around the place were less and, apart from a few more tables and bales being a good idea next time, it wasn’t felt that any real issues were presented by the larger number.
The age mix appeared to be decidedly older this year, and that isn’t just because everyone is a year older. There were noticeably fewer under 25s, possibly due to Matt’s friends and several children not being there this year.
Gate
The Chairman and Minutes Secretary had managed the gate and relieved guests of as much money as possible and were pretty confident that no-one had got in without a ticket.
Signs
The Minutes Secretary had produced a range of signs, mostly telling people where to place their plates and cutlery, cans and bottles but had forgotten that it gets dark at night so most went unnoticed, as it were. However, aided and abetted by Adrian, several others offering useful advice and warnings to be heeded were constructed and, in particular some dotty images of the Committee were popular attractions. Well, certainly for the Committee members anxious to figure out who was who. Interestingly, all but the larger ones went missing after the event and it is possible that they are now being purveyed on eBay at vast prices. Pity we hadn’t signed them or they would have been worth even more.
Tidying up
The morning after the night before, extended as traditionally the case, to the morning, lunch and evening after the night before and the morning and lunch after the night before the night before, went smoothly with all bits and pieces swept up, washed up, packed up and the field restored to its former glory and ready for inspection by the geese.
The Minutes Secretary was under the impression that he had rinsed over 400 plates but appeared to be in a minority of one in debating the accuracy of his calculations. Nevertheless he did wish to point out that he probably had got as wet as he would have done if it had been 400 plates.
Raffle
Despite tickets being sold in almost entirely strips of 5 for £1, the Chairman reported that the raffle income had totalled £293.09, an odd sort of figure which would imply that someone had sold 45% of one ticket. The Minutes Secretary proposed that each Committee member contribute 1p to make up the missing 55% but an alternative proposal that they carry 9p forward to the next year was preferred.
A full breakdown of the draft figures is included as what is the very first ever Appendix to the Minutes.
Photos
Richard, and to a notably fuzzier or lesser extent, Adrian and the Minutes Secretary had taken snaps at various times and the results, including a remarkable pair featuring Adrian being attended to in the drinks tent, are now available on both the In The Village blog and the Minutes Secretary’s Facebook pages. Links: http://astcote.blogspot.com and http://facebook.com/andrewx respectively.
Next party
After consulting his diary, the Chairman decreed that 7 August 2010 be a good day for Paddock Party 7 and those present heartily backed the idea. His diary wondered whether anyone would like some pork as there was still rather a lot left.
Sue fancied the idea of dressing up which prompted a range of proposals for themes from the gentlemen present, none of which, however, were deemed entirely suitable for the event. She may well, though, be prepared to give some of them a whirl at a future meeting. Sarah B was quite taken with the vicar and Adrian was particularly keen on tarts.
Next meeting
Steve wondered whether we might have a good old-fashioned British food session in the near future. The Minutes Secretary would consult his mother to see whether she could be persuaded to knock up one of her excellent shepherd’s pies. Graeme’s diary was expert in the Beef Wellington department. Steve D and the Minutes Secretary both drooled helplessly at the mention of suet puddings and Penny said she would look up how to make a jam roly poly or a spotted dick.
Sue offered her premises for the next meeting, date and time to be advised.
Appendix
Event account summary over PP2-6
Wednesday, August 12
That's all folks . . . until next year!
Monday, July 27
Minutes of the 801st meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
With the event date of 8 August looming, it was felt that a further meeting was necessary. This also proved to be the first of many celebrations of the Minutes Secretary's birthday, from which he has only now recovered sufficiently to make an attempt at interpreting notes made at the time.
It should be noted that Adrian acted up as acting Minutes Secretray on several occasions during the meeting and, as a consequence, the interpretation of notes has been somewhat more tricky than on other occasions.
Readers are reminded that these are best read in a horizontal position and definitely not whilst driving or after a mouthful of rice which can be a pain to pick up afterwards.
OK. Here they are.
It should be noted that Adrian acted up as acting Minutes Secretray on several occasions during the meeting and, as a consequence, the interpretation of notes has been somewhat more tricky than on other occasions.
Readers are reminded that these are best read in a horizontal position and definitely not whilst driving or after a mouthful of rice which can be a pain to pick up afterwards.
OK. Here they are.
Thursday, July 23
Minutes of the 796th meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
As a result of being totally occupied with getting the epic 3hr, 2TB video file to squeeze into a YouTube slot for Little Train: Big People 2 video I completely forgot to circulate the minutes. Our worldwide fans won't have been concerned because they didn't even know another set were due but, bearing in mind that the next meeting is tomorrow, members should check out the Action Points!
Download a spare copy here. I should warn that these do contain reference to male members, tents and suchlike, but no pictures. Having said that I have just been told that someone did take some snaps at the last meeting so watch this space, or not, depending upon your inclination.
Download a spare copy here. I should warn that these do contain reference to male members, tents and suchlike, but no pictures. Having said that I have just been told that someone did take some snaps at the last meeting so watch this space, or not, depending upon your inclination.
Sunday, May 17
Minutes of the 795th meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Here they are. You may wish to ensure that you are seated, not in desperate need of the loo and have a suitably credible excuse for anyone who might enquire why you are giggling at a set of ruddy minutes before downloading them.
Available at this link.
Available at this link.
Saturday, January 24
Paddock Party 6: maybe 200 days to go
That depends on the date chosen - 8/8 or 15/8. I should mention that there was a meeting of the Paddock Party Committee to determine which dates to offer. Here is an extract from the minutes:
. . . burped loudly and apologised.
The Chairman asked whether we were quorate. "Ah Begorrah, there be two turds 'ere to be sure", he said which the Minutes Secretary took to mean that the required two-thirds were present in some way or another, probably mostly in spirit.
"So when should we have the next Paddock Party?" asked the Minutes Secretary.
"Ah! Good question!" boomed the Chairman, not because he was particularly fond of booming but he was standing in one doorway and the Minutes Secretary was standing in another. Between them was a great deal of wind and rain and assorted other weather so booming aided communication.
"Sometime in August?" suggested the Minutes Secretary, hoping that the Chairman wouldn't ask what dates the Saturdays fell on.
"What dates do the Saturdays fall on?" boomed the Chairman.
"Dunno." was the reply from across the great gravel divide.
"Bloody useless secretary that doesn't know the dates of Saturdays this year. . ." mumbled the Chairman
"Pardon?" said the Minutes Secretary.
"Oh, er. . . use less celery - add dozen or so plates of battered crayfish here!" re-boomed the Chairman. "I was reading a recipe to, er, Bruno or someone . . . sorry . . . right. So that's agreed, then!?"
"Yes."
So that's all right then.
. . . burped loudly and apologised.
The Chairman asked whether we were quorate. "Ah Begorrah, there be two turds 'ere to be sure", he said which the Minutes Secretary took to mean that the required two-thirds were present in some way or another, probably mostly in spirit.
"So when should we have the next Paddock Party?" asked the Minutes Secretary.
"Ah! Good question!" boomed the Chairman, not because he was particularly fond of booming but he was standing in one doorway and the Minutes Secretary was standing in another. Between them was a great deal of wind and rain and assorted other weather so booming aided communication.
"Sometime in August?" suggested the Minutes Secretary, hoping that the Chairman wouldn't ask what dates the Saturdays fell on.
"What dates do the Saturdays fall on?" boomed the Chairman.
"Dunno." was the reply from across the great gravel divide.
"Bloody useless secretary that doesn't know the dates of Saturdays this year. . ." mumbled the Chairman
"Pardon?" said the Minutes Secretary.
"Oh, er. . . use less celery - add dozen or so plates of battered crayfish here!" re-boomed the Chairman. "I was reading a recipe to, er, Bruno or someone . . . sorry . . . right. So that's agreed, then!?"
"Yes."
So that's all right then.
Saturday, August 16
Saturday, August 2
Monday, July 21
Tuesday, July 15
Sunday, June 29
Minutes of the 724th meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Held at Ascote Central Station on 27 June at the kind invitation of Stationmaster Steve and the Understanding Sarah, accompanied by vast quantities of cheese and wine but members were anxious to point out that this was not the Cheese & Wine of yesteryear and there were no pineapple cubes on sticks in sight.
Present
The usual suspects with the exception of Sue who was wondering where all the water had gone in Cyprus.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Few members appeared to have read these and even fewer with any degree of thoroughness but that's life and it was agreed that the Show must go on anyway.
Matters arising
Basically all the matters arose as a result of even those who had read them thoroughly having since forgotten what they were supposed to do with the notable exception of Maggie who was permitted to sit back with a smug expression and tuck into Penny's loaves while they were still warm.
Food
Graeme confirmed that he had ordered the pig and that we'd be catering for 140-150. It was agreed that there would be no chicken course available. There was some concern that friends of a Jewish persuasion may be a little stuck for choice when confronted by a large hog on a Saturday and the Committee agreed to think of ways to alleviate the situation. Penny was quite enthusiastic about this and hoped that the saladeers may get the job of checking the likely religion of male attendees where appropriate.
Apart from this possible additional role, the Saladeers would perform as on previous occasions, led by the Chief Saladeer in all her glory who would also circulate a list of tasks so that the saladeers would not find themselves creating seventeen large bowls of potato salad.
The formation of a Tub Committee was suggested and there was a further idea that we might actually invite the freezers to the party for a purpose that the Minutes Secretary rather seems to have missed, possibly due to being heavily thrown by wind at the time.
There was, however, a request that sensible size tumblers be acquired for wine this year. SarahB had found it rather tiresome to have to refill them so often and was of the view that one good hearty slug of the old Plonko Bianco on arrival should both add to the merriment and, on two grounds, lessen the frequency of their return.
Resources
Graeme agreed to dust off the bales and took great lengths to reassure the committee that most rodents and beasts currently resident amongst them will have scattered to pastures new by the time any buttocks approach the straw.
Maggie would ask Farmer Evans to provide a few more too.
Cath should be invited to the next meeting as we need to check her sockets will be in good shape for the occasion.
The Minutes Secretary will produce appropriate signs along similar lines to previous years. He intended to commence work on these rather earlier than 6pm on the day as was the unfortunate case last year, resulting in several spelling errors and a misleading Toilet sign that, whilst providing the lady at No22 with a constant flow of male guests during the evening, should have pointed in a different direction, as, perhaps, some of the male guests might have done too.
Tickets
Adrian's samples were approved and congratulations extended on yet another marvellous work of art and top hole printing. An alternative offering just bearing the word Ticket was rejected but the Committee were keen to express that it had some merit, just not enough.
Adrian would get the old John Bull outfit out and knock off 200, circulating them to the appropriate members.
SarahD and Steve would do Sutton Walk and the High Street
Chairman and Minutes Sec would do Shoemaker Close
Adrian and SarahB would do Cold Higham and all stations west of the A5 and the Meths Group, whoever they may be.
Steve offered to do Milton Keynes. The Committee thanked him and moved on.
This did, however, prompt some discussion of, and may even lead to being a standing agenda item on the subject of, what the point of the whole thing was, raffles, how good a departed member was at flogging tickets and the length of various items displayed or spoken in that connection. Just to make things absolutely clear the Chairman boomed in a splendid Chairman-like manner that it was a bleedin' party and not a fund-raising exercise, glorified charity event or whatever and that we really only needed to invite those other than friends out of courtesy for bombarding them with noise and various shrieks during the preparation for, the day of and the wonderful celebrations of success of the event afterwards.
It was agreed that we should make every effort to post Chris at the gate again and the Minutes Secretary and Richard agreed to chat to her on the subject.
Music
The jazz sextet may be a trio but will be present in some shape or form.
Maggie agreed to try and persuade Sue to try and persuade Amy and Laura to perform, presumably with instruments of some description.
Tom may, or Tom may not. But we reckon he will.
The chairman, Minutes Secretary and Richard will put some CDs together for the evening to play during gaps
Steve was anxious to ensure that for an event of this genre there was a suitable ambience. Members gave him a quizzical look and nodded sagely. There was some discussion about which was the longer word, too and various impressions of vacuuming which may be the first double u in minutes other than Hoover AGMs.
Next meeting
Friday 18 July at Primrose Cottage and environs, depending on whether the kitchen was functioning, sometime around 7:30pm.
Present
The usual suspects with the exception of Sue who was wondering where all the water had gone in Cyprus.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Few members appeared to have read these and even fewer with any degree of thoroughness but that's life and it was agreed that the Show must go on anyway.
Matters arising
Basically all the matters arose as a result of even those who had read them thoroughly having since forgotten what they were supposed to do with the notable exception of Maggie who was permitted to sit back with a smug expression and tuck into Penny's loaves while they were still warm.
Food
Graeme confirmed that he had ordered the pig and that we'd be catering for 140-150. It was agreed that there would be no chicken course available. There was some concern that friends of a Jewish persuasion may be a little stuck for choice when confronted by a large hog on a Saturday and the Committee agreed to think of ways to alleviate the situation. Penny was quite enthusiastic about this and hoped that the saladeers may get the job of checking the likely religion of male attendees where appropriate.
Apart from this possible additional role, the Saladeers would perform as on previous occasions, led by the Chief Saladeer in all her glory who would also circulate a list of tasks so that the saladeers would not find themselves creating seventeen large bowls of potato salad.
The formation of a Tub Committee was suggested and there was a further idea that we might actually invite the freezers to the party for a purpose that the Minutes Secretary rather seems to have missed, possibly due to being heavily thrown by wind at the time.
There was, however, a request that sensible size tumblers be acquired for wine this year. SarahB had found it rather tiresome to have to refill them so often and was of the view that one good hearty slug of the old Plonko Bianco on arrival should both add to the merriment and, on two grounds, lessen the frequency of their return.
Resources
Graeme agreed to dust off the bales and took great lengths to reassure the committee that most rodents and beasts currently resident amongst them will have scattered to pastures new by the time any buttocks approach the straw.
Maggie would ask Farmer Evans to provide a few more too.
Cath should be invited to the next meeting as we need to check her sockets will be in good shape for the occasion.
The Minutes Secretary will produce appropriate signs along similar lines to previous years. He intended to commence work on these rather earlier than 6pm on the day as was the unfortunate case last year, resulting in several spelling errors and a misleading Toilet sign that, whilst providing the lady at No22 with a constant flow of male guests during the evening, should have pointed in a different direction, as, perhaps, some of the male guests might have done too.
Tickets
Adrian's samples were approved and congratulations extended on yet another marvellous work of art and top hole printing. An alternative offering just bearing the word Ticket was rejected but the Committee were keen to express that it had some merit, just not enough.
Adrian would get the old John Bull outfit out and knock off 200, circulating them to the appropriate members.
SarahD and Steve would do Sutton Walk and the High Street
Chairman and Minutes Sec would do Shoemaker Close
Adrian and SarahB would do Cold Higham and all stations west of the A5 and the Meths Group, whoever they may be.
Steve offered to do Milton Keynes. The Committee thanked him and moved on.
This did, however, prompt some discussion of, and may even lead to being a standing agenda item on the subject of, what the point of the whole thing was, raffles, how good a departed member was at flogging tickets and the length of various items displayed or spoken in that connection. Just to make things absolutely clear the Chairman boomed in a splendid Chairman-like manner that it was a bleedin' party and not a fund-raising exercise, glorified charity event or whatever and that we really only needed to invite those other than friends out of courtesy for bombarding them with noise and various shrieks during the preparation for, the day of and the wonderful celebrations of success of the event afterwards.
It was agreed that we should make every effort to post Chris at the gate again and the Minutes Secretary and Richard agreed to chat to her on the subject.
Music
The jazz sextet may be a trio but will be present in some shape or form.
Maggie agreed to try and persuade Sue to try and persuade Amy and Laura to perform, presumably with instruments of some description.
Tom may, or Tom may not. But we reckon he will.
The chairman, Minutes Secretary and Richard will put some CDs together for the evening to play during gaps
Steve was anxious to ensure that for an event of this genre there was a suitable ambience. Members gave him a quizzical look and nodded sagely. There was some discussion about which was the longer word, too and various impressions of vacuuming which may be the first double u in minutes other than Hoover AGMs.
Next meeting
Friday 18 July at Primrose Cottage and environs, depending on whether the kitchen was functioning, sometime around 7:30pm.
Monday, May 26
Minutes of the 723rd meeting of the Paddock Party Committee
Present
Everyone except the Chairman who'd decided that this was a fine time to visit Cyprus
Minutes of the previous meeting
No-one could quite remember the previous meeting and, as the Minutes Secretary was Acting Chairman and struggling to do one job never mind two, these were going to be dispensed with when various members suddenly thought of something really important but sadly lacking in context. These are listed under Matters arising.
Matters arising
Serving wine from boxes may require bending over more than from bottles.
Penny's got a big one in the garage
There was a request for no nudity on tickets
Men in tights might be considered
Either Graeme fancied a big barrel of beer or a ventriloquist was discussed
One member didn't want their nose bitten again.
At this point the Acting Chairman thought it might be a good idea to call some sort of order to the proceedings before the discussion of a meeting no-one could recall anyway turned to things like trains and Aretha Franklin from which, having arisen, matters may never descend again.
Decisions and action
Date: 16 August 2008
Graeme will organise the pig and the scout tent
There should be plenty of tents and things as we'd acquired some last year
Adrian & SarahB will enquire about the Cold Higham tables
Richard will take care of all things electrical, within reason, and Cathy needs to come home to enable us to plug in to her socket.
We'll run a raffle with just a main prize and a few others. Raffle proceeds and profits would go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare as suggested by SarahB. (Should there be a large number of donated 'prizes' then we'll have to think of a plan to distribute them but it was agreed that the long awards ceremony and huge prize list board production would be dropped this year.)
Cater for 140
Ticket price £7.50. Children 11 and under free
Music
The Jazz trio or quartet (they kept moving) will be available and it was agreed they'd been a great addition to the day, not least because we could use their sound kit for other things.
Maggie would contact the Two Girls who'd been excellent a couple of years back
Sue would find out about the haybale band, Apricot Pie
Adrian would find out what Los Sombreros would need by way of money or other recompense to provide a little entertainment
Maggie mentioned "Dylan", presumably not Bob, but someone who might be willing to come along and strum tunefully for a while
Steve didn't think that Tom's Band would necessarily be Tom's Band any more but would see whether he could persuade bits of Tom's Band to perform later in the evening
Saladeers
Penny would, as Chief Saladeer, take care of all things filling. The saladeers agreed that there wouldn't be a chicken dish this year.
Tickets
Adrian would submit a suitably whacky draft for this year's tickets (previous years' tickets now becoming collectors' pieces and even exchanging hands at more than face value).
Text, times etc as last year. We'd think about how to sell them next time.
Next meeting
SarahD said we could meet at her house and Steve may be willing to provide a conducted tour of developments on The Astcote Line sometime in July.
Thanks to Sue for food, wine, refreshments and seats this time.
Everyone except the Chairman who'd decided that this was a fine time to visit Cyprus
Minutes of the previous meeting
No-one could quite remember the previous meeting and, as the Minutes Secretary was Acting Chairman and struggling to do one job never mind two, these were going to be dispensed with when various members suddenly thought of something really important but sadly lacking in context. These are listed under Matters arising.
Matters arising
Serving wine from boxes may require bending over more than from bottles.
Penny's got a big one in the garage
There was a request for no nudity on tickets
Men in tights might be considered
Either Graeme fancied a big barrel of beer or a ventriloquist was discussed
One member didn't want their nose bitten again.
At this point the Acting Chairman thought it might be a good idea to call some sort of order to the proceedings before the discussion of a meeting no-one could recall anyway turned to things like trains and Aretha Franklin from which, having arisen, matters may never descend again.
Decisions and action
Date: 16 August 2008
Graeme will organise the pig and the scout tent
There should be plenty of tents and things as we'd acquired some last year
Adrian & SarahB will enquire about the Cold Higham tables
Richard will take care of all things electrical, within reason, and Cathy needs to come home to enable us to plug in to her socket.
We'll run a raffle with just a main prize and a few others. Raffle proceeds and profits would go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare as suggested by SarahB. (Should there be a large number of donated 'prizes' then we'll have to think of a plan to distribute them but it was agreed that the long awards ceremony and huge prize list board production would be dropped this year.)
Cater for 140
Ticket price £7.50. Children 11 and under free
Music
The Jazz trio or quartet (they kept moving) will be available and it was agreed they'd been a great addition to the day, not least because we could use their sound kit for other things.
Maggie would contact the Two Girls who'd been excellent a couple of years back
Sue would find out about the haybale band, Apricot Pie
Adrian would find out what Los Sombreros would need by way of money or other recompense to provide a little entertainment
Maggie mentioned "Dylan", presumably not Bob, but someone who might be willing to come along and strum tunefully for a while
Steve didn't think that Tom's Band would necessarily be Tom's Band any more but would see whether he could persuade bits of Tom's Band to perform later in the evening
Saladeers
Penny would, as Chief Saladeer, take care of all things filling. The saladeers agreed that there wouldn't be a chicken dish this year.
Tickets
Adrian would submit a suitably whacky draft for this year's tickets (previous years' tickets now becoming collectors' pieces and even exchanging hands at more than face value).
Text, times etc as last year. We'd think about how to sell them next time.
Next meeting
SarahD said we could meet at her house and Steve may be willing to provide a conducted tour of developments on The Astcote Line sometime in July.
Thanks to Sue for food, wine, refreshments and seats this time.
Thursday, January 3
Lithuanian Aphrodisiac and other dishes
The 943rd meeting of the Paddock Party Committee was held at a number of venues on 1 January 2008. This wasn't as a direct result of the Committee being unable to agree where to meet at the last meeting but more a matter of members agreeing to meet in different places. It helps if you're somewhat inebriated when attempting that sentence.
The Chairman asked whether we were quorate. No-one said much to that being either unsure of what the current choir rate was or whether to admit to having been quarantined recently.
A rather large number of starters, appetisers and the like were on display at the residence of the Chief Saladeer where most of the Committee commenced their deliberations. An even greater number of pistacchio nuts, however, lurked near bottles of wine in another room so they were duly dispensed with. One member tried to confuse things by replacing the opened shells in the same bowl as the unopened ones.
Dishes included one entitled Lithuanian Aphrodisiac prepared moments before by the Minutes Secretary who appeared not to have succeeded in resigning after all and a wide variety of vegetables in varying degrees of dressing.
Staggering across the road to the Chairman's domain in twos and threes took about twenty minutes where further supplies of fine wine and champagne were available and limited quantities of non-alcoholic beverages. Here members were treated to vast quantities of slow-cooked chicken, beef and other dishes plus another range of vegetables.
A new member of the Committee created something of a stir when greeting a lady with the remark You've got legs! Now, normally this might have been perceived as bad form but he uttered the word legs! with such relish that the owner of the aforementioned blushed and appeared quite pleased and business resumed.
It was noted that the owner of the legs had just reached a Notable Golden Age and there were several points of order, punctuated with Cheers, Toosoo! and request that the Member give a speech for she was a jolly good fellow or a similar combination of those words. Thanks were recorded for the super efforts of the Member for Arts in providing suitably irreverent and immensely entertaining posters to mark the Leg Member's achievement.
Presents were opened at the first venue and cake candles lit at the second. The procedures for cutting the cake had to be dispensed with on this occasion as the device for said cutting, which might have resembled a slice did in fact bear more resemblance to a substantially different type of device for which totally new instructions would need to be consulted. The handle bore several buttons. Pressing one produced a noticeable vibration accompanied by an approximation to the Happy Birthday tune only one of which was particularly pleasurable. Other button-pressing brought further vibration and variations on the celebratory theme. Some twenty minutes passed while Members regained their composure and witnessed the obligatory destruction of a delightfully decorated gateau.
There was some discussion as to exactly how the Member with Telescope had assisted the Chief Saladeer with the creation of an extract from the sheet music for Happy Birthday (fortunately now out of copyright) including accurate treble clefs.
During consumption of the main course the Member with a Maths GCSE assisted the Minutes Secretary and the Member with Telescope in their impression of Bookends.
There then followed a batch of quizzes designed to assess members' knowledge of carol titles, new year around the world, pirate actors and their ability to listen. It was unanimously agreed that the Chairman's Wife had excelled herself not only in the production quality of the handouts but also in the amalgamation of such a bizarre group of topics.
The Station Master excelled himself by recognising 100% of the pirates but other members failed miserably in the tests of their knowledge. Particular noteworthy was the performance of the Member with a Maths GCSE who proceeded to ask Can you read that again? on each occasion that the QuizMeister announced Listen carefully - I shall say this only once. No-one thought to mention 'Allo 'Allo but the occasion was almost as funny.
The Member with Legs asked whether any Committee Member wished to share their New Year's Resolutions. Being late on January 1st all Members succeeded in pretending to have forgotten them, fearing it being found out that they had failed to honour commitments of about 22 hours earlier. Whilst some Members feigned inebriation and others deafness, all were relieved that the Member with Legs didn't press them further.
The highlight of the meeting was the switching on of The Chocolate Fountain. There was some mumbling about something being smaller than some had expected which may or may not have been a reference to the device but all conversation ceased abruptly as the moment of switch-on arrived. Consulting the instruction manual, the Chief Saladeer pressed the electric switch and immediately there was a tremendous whirring and wobbling as the structure of the device rotated in a decidely dodgy fashion for a minute of two. White chocolate and brown chocolate were drawn up the central tube and for a moment it was thought that this might be the very first sighting of striped chocolate in England. However, a slightly lighter brown sludge appeared at the top, courstesy of Mr Archimedes and his screw, and splodged pleasantly down three dishes that formed the fountain platters.
Mercifully, at this point the wobblying ceased and chocolate flowed evenly and the thing stabilised. Members grabbed their melons and other accoutrements and approached the descending choc with their prongs outstrectched. After a quick twirl in the mixture and leaving a trail of melting Belgian across the tablecloth there was much yumming and generally approving noises made.
2008 had well and truly begun in style. Well, we wouldn't have had it any other way, now, would we!
The Chairman asked whether we were quorate. No-one said much to that being either unsure of what the current choir rate was or whether to admit to having been quarantined recently.
A rather large number of starters, appetisers and the like were on display at the residence of the Chief Saladeer where most of the Committee commenced their deliberations. An even greater number of pistacchio nuts, however, lurked near bottles of wine in another room so they were duly dispensed with. One member tried to confuse things by replacing the opened shells in the same bowl as the unopened ones.
Dishes included one entitled Lithuanian Aphrodisiac prepared moments before by the Minutes Secretary who appeared not to have succeeded in resigning after all and a wide variety of vegetables in varying degrees of dressing.
Staggering across the road to the Chairman's domain in twos and threes took about twenty minutes where further supplies of fine wine and champagne were available and limited quantities of non-alcoholic beverages. Here members were treated to vast quantities of slow-cooked chicken, beef and other dishes plus another range of vegetables.
A new member of the Committee created something of a stir when greeting a lady with the remark You've got legs! Now, normally this might have been perceived as bad form but he uttered the word legs! with such relish that the owner of the aforementioned blushed and appeared quite pleased and business resumed.
It was noted that the owner of the legs had just reached a Notable Golden Age and there were several points of order, punctuated with Cheers, Toosoo! and request that the Member give a speech for she was a jolly good fellow or a similar combination of those words. Thanks were recorded for the super efforts of the Member for Arts in providing suitably irreverent and immensely entertaining posters to mark the Leg Member's achievement.
Presents were opened at the first venue and cake candles lit at the second. The procedures for cutting the cake had to be dispensed with on this occasion as the device for said cutting, which might have resembled a slice did in fact bear more resemblance to a substantially different type of device for which totally new instructions would need to be consulted. The handle bore several buttons. Pressing one produced a noticeable vibration accompanied by an approximation to the Happy Birthday tune only one of which was particularly pleasurable. Other button-pressing brought further vibration and variations on the celebratory theme. Some twenty minutes passed while Members regained their composure and witnessed the obligatory destruction of a delightfully decorated gateau.
There was some discussion as to exactly how the Member with Telescope had assisted the Chief Saladeer with the creation of an extract from the sheet music for Happy Birthday (fortunately now out of copyright) including accurate treble clefs.
During consumption of the main course the Member with a Maths GCSE assisted the Minutes Secretary and the Member with Telescope in their impression of Bookends.
There then followed a batch of quizzes designed to assess members' knowledge of carol titles, new year around the world, pirate actors and their ability to listen. It was unanimously agreed that the Chairman's Wife had excelled herself not only in the production quality of the handouts but also in the amalgamation of such a bizarre group of topics.
The Station Master excelled himself by recognising 100% of the pirates but other members failed miserably in the tests of their knowledge. Particular noteworthy was the performance of the Member with a Maths GCSE who proceeded to ask Can you read that again? on each occasion that the QuizMeister announced Listen carefully - I shall say this only once. No-one thought to mention 'Allo 'Allo but the occasion was almost as funny.
The Member with Legs asked whether any Committee Member wished to share their New Year's Resolutions. Being late on January 1st all Members succeeded in pretending to have forgotten them, fearing it being found out that they had failed to honour commitments of about 22 hours earlier. Whilst some Members feigned inebriation and others deafness, all were relieved that the Member with Legs didn't press them further.
The highlight of the meeting was the switching on of The Chocolate Fountain. There was some mumbling about something being smaller than some had expected which may or may not have been a reference to the device but all conversation ceased abruptly as the moment of switch-on arrived. Consulting the instruction manual, the Chief Saladeer pressed the electric switch and immediately there was a tremendous whirring and wobbling as the structure of the device rotated in a decidely dodgy fashion for a minute of two. White chocolate and brown chocolate were drawn up the central tube and for a moment it was thought that this might be the very first sighting of striped chocolate in England. However, a slightly lighter brown sludge appeared at the top, courstesy of Mr Archimedes and his screw, and splodged pleasantly down three dishes that formed the fountain platters.
Mercifully, at this point the wobblying ceased and chocolate flowed evenly and the thing stabilised. Members grabbed their melons and other accoutrements and approached the descending choc with their prongs outstrectched. After a quick twirl in the mixture and leaving a trail of melting Belgian across the tablecloth there was much yumming and generally approving noises made.
2008 had well and truly begun in style. Well, we wouldn't have had it any other way, now, would we!
Monday, August 13
Paddock Party 4 review
Highlights of the final review of the Paddock Party:
- £820 cheque for the Northampton & Warwickshire Air Ambulance charity.
- If invited to Sarah & Steve's for nibbles do not eat during the preceding 24hrs.
- Inaugural run of some remarkable trains on a track running round the garden - if not a pretty cool site alone, the idea of putting a video camera on one of the carriages produced an amazing video [hopefully to be available shortly on-line!]
- Shooting stars galore seen from the darkness of the paddock around midnight.
- Yet more pictures now added to the gallery, thanks to Richard.
- 16 August 2008 agreed as the date for next year's PP5!
Thursday, August 9
Sunday, August 5
Party In the Padock 4 Picture Gallery
Follow this link to see the collection available so far from Adrian and myself.
http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewx.com/Paddock4
More will be added once the others have recovered! Suitable captions will, in due course, also appear.
You can see the winning raffle tickets and prize list at http://andrewx.com/paddock4
http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewx.com/Paddock4
More will be added once the others have recovered! Suitable captions will, in due course, also appear.
You can see the winning raffle tickets and prize list at http://andrewx.com/paddock4
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