MEETING ON 9 NOV 2006

Present: Phil (chair), Dave, Dave, Dan (late, see below), Charles, Eric, Martin, Lin, John

Apologies: Guy ‘too much to do, you can cope’, Di (‘doing the Guide run‘, an event I forgot to mention under ’future events’ last month), Richard and Lesley (decorating)

Mysterious absence: Stanley (Wilfy believes Stanley and Guy may have eloped) or could Guy’s absence really be connected to the upcoming libel battle (see below)?

Although Dan attended, he arrived late and then interrupted the meeting to register his excitement about an obscure musician, unknown outside of the Cantrell household, who is apparently booked to play a gig at The Chalk.

Minutes are now being received by all members, though none of them are any the wiser

Herald - It seems that Guy’s latest offering in the parish organ, a series of pen portraits of club members, otherwise known as character assassinations, may have gone one step too far. Charles advised the meeting that he is instructing a solicitor in respect of the disparaging comments made by our Chair, something to do with a ‘pantomime dame’. Charles would not disclose the other phrases that have so wounded him, and sadly Wilfy had no copy of the Herald to hand, not wanting to be held liable for circulating inflammatory or defamatory material.

Whilst I was asking Wilf for a copy of the offensive samizdat, my notes were hijacked as follows: ‘Dave unwisely left the table and was immediately replaced by a proper secretary…’ Happily I soon regained control of the secretarial pen and the unreliability of these minutes was re-established.

NewTen - there will now be no t-shirts for the race helpers, as they cannot be retrieved form the psychiatric ward in Plymouth where they were sent by Runners Imp, in an understandable mix-up about the true nature of our happy band. When Phil questioned Runners Imp he got an earful about problems in the family. The loss of the t-shirts does provide an extra £58 for club funds, which was immediately earmarked for the fighting fund to combat the Le Vay libel case. The mention of money prompted the treasurer to get out his advanced financial gadgetry (the back of an envelope) to calculate the current balance - approx £352.

Past Events - readers of the club blog will already have marvelled at the efforts of our doughty team in the Parrett Trail relay. We took 45 minutes off last year’s time, and 27 minutes off last year’s winning time for the mixed category, but unfortunately everyone else got quicker too and we finished 3rd. It was a good day though, with a good finish at the Wynyard’s Gap. We are now eyeing up the Wessex Ridgeway relay next May. I shall now indulge in a spot of informal tabulation: (Ed's note: The Blog doesn't like informal tabulation so we've had to indulge in some formal untabulation (?) (Lin's note: Who the hell is Ed?)

Martin: Stagger 2.16.35; Stickler 1.17.27; Drogo 10 1.15.58; Street 5K 20.31
Lin: Stagger 2.31.23; Stickler 1.24.57; Drogo 10 1.20.55 ; Street 5K 20.31
Richard: Stagger 2.29.44; Stickler 1.22.31; Drogo 10 1.20.04; Dartmoor Vale Marathon 3.47.14
Lesley: Stickler 1.50.18; Drogo 10 1.46.29; Dartmoor Vale Marathon ret’d (knee)
Richard’s Dartmoor Vale time includes the now traditional delayed start, as he burst out of the toilets 2 minutes after the race began, like Superman out of a phone box.
Charles has done the Alton Downland Challenge, a multi-terrain 10K aimed at sapping the strength of the toughest Gurkha. Charles slipped from 1st to 2nd place in the Le Vay brothers annual grudge match.
Phil and Dave C did the Ilminster 10K, Phil in a PB of 40.35, Dave in 41.27.

Future Events - Colyton 10K on 19 Nov, Bicton Blister on 26th, Full Monty on 3 Dec, Street 5K on 13 Dec.

Drink Break - this month Lin and Martin had enough money for them each to have a drink, so the meeting was suspended whilst they recharged their glasses.

London - FLM have written asking for various pieces of information, which I have supplied. Charles, Lesley and Phil all entered the ballot, so are prime candidates for the club place. NB anyone interested in getting the club’s London entry should attend next month’s meeting, when it will be allocated.

Website - Much admiration for our new blogspot, and some surprise at the alacrity with which Martin turned this from an idea into reality - normally such things take months of aimless discussion before anything happens. More contributors would be good. Eric suggested a link to relevant sites for future events.

Christmas Dinner - no objections have been raised about the date, 20 Jan.

Pub Run - as all members will no doubt have seen on the club blog, Lin is suggesting a pub run from the Saxon Arms. We agreed a date and time of 7pm on weds 29 Nov, all welcome. The route is likely to involve 5 miles of running in the darkness, including a speedy section past a pack of aggressive dogs, and then the chance of a pub meal for those who return.

Correspondence - there has been an ample supply of material for Wilfy’s fire this month, including some glossy and vacuous publications from England Athletics. We have also had a letter explaining the new club affiliation charges, to help them pay for these pointless extravagances. If we have read their obscure and lifeless prose correctly, it seems that clubs will have to pay a flat rate of £50 + £5.00 per ‘competing athlete’. There was some discussion about the definition of a ‘competing athlete’ and a consensus that few of this species are to be found in Maiden Newton Runners. But if we have to pay for each club member, it will be expensive, and if only for those who enter races it could be divisive. Phil and Dave undertook to make more enquiries.