Hello Everyone
I hope you’re all keeping safe and well.
I’d like to begin by thanking Julie and Rob N for the excellent barbecue we had after the guest day last Saturday. It was really well organised and the food was great. They did all the work for this themselves; all I had to do was a bit of advertising. It was equally pleasing to see the event so well supported by the members, who were so generous with their donations that the amount received almost exactly covered the costs involved. Here’s hoping that the next event is as successful as this one.
Secondly, last Thursday we had a medical emergency at the range. This required an ambulance and a hospital visit. Very thankfully, the member concerned has recovered well and we hope to see them back at the range soon. There were two key lessons from this incident though. The first is the importance of the emergency number on the back of the membership card. So many members forget to put this on their forms, or put it incorrectly. This wastes time processing the form, but also leaves the member vulnerable should an accident happen. Second, the members present at the incident dealt with it in a manner that can only be described as exemplary. John and the Thursday regulars did a great job of doing all the right things and avoiding making a drama out of a crisis.
Thirdly, for information, the sand on the back stop has been completely replaced, some 24 tonnes of it! This was a long overdue job but now its done that should be it for at least the next ten years. In case anyone’s interested, the total cost of the sand, machinery hire and labour was just over 6K, which we had no problem meeting. Our next area of attention is the access road to the range, which as we all know is in need of some serious repair work. I’d like to thank Neil, our groundsman, for his efforts in managing all this. Mentions are also due to Pat and Martin for their work repainting the woodwork on the fence and backstop, all of which means the range is in as good a condition as it possibly can be.
Next, a bit about renewals. In the next few days I will be submitting a list of FAC holders who have not renewed their club membership this year to the firearms departments in Leicester and Northampton. This is a statutory duty that I have to do every year. If I know why the member hasn’t renewed – often I do – then I will include the information on the list. The departments tend to be quick to chase up names, so if you hold an FAC and haven’t yet renewed your membership, you need to do so PDQ.
Finally, another reminder about the 25m competitions. There are new sets of cards for both the off-elbows and benchrest comps in the black shed. Your RO can get them for you when requested. You have until the end of August to get them done, but don’t leave it too late!
Best regards for now.
Peter F
Secretary