Dear Skålleagues,

 

I am writing this as another month is nearly at an end. Where is this year going?

 

I am sorry that I have not written earlier but time just flies by and I wish to thank everyone who attended the National on the Isle of Wight at the end of April. Various newsletters have circulated and it was a real pleasure to see so many people enjoying themselves in the excellent Isle of Wight weather. I must congratulate the President of Southampton and his team for putting on such a great weekend and also providing the weather. Most of the work was in fact done by Shirley Winn and her team and to me they left no stone unturned in making sure everyone had a great weekend and were always in attendance to answer all the needs of the delegates. Thank you Shirley and Vanessa.

 

It was a real pity that ‘Ash’ didn’t help the event and it did stop a few people from getting there but in the end 130 sat down with the Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight for the Gala dinner and all clubs apart from one were represented. 8 people managed to get from foreign parts the furthest being Phil and Joy Sims from New Zealand. Once again thank you all for your support. Now we prepare ourselves for a visit to the Learning Capital Oxford and I am sure you will look to support the Oxford Club in 2011.

 

Since the National I have made a visit to Jersey for their Presidents Night which was a very good meal at the Hotel de France and a speaker who was talking about his working experiences as Sales Manager for a Hotel in Tibet. It is good to see the Channel Island clubs doing well and I am sure if anyone wants a trip out to Guernsey or Jersey I am sure that they will always find a warm welcome.

 

A note for your diary the Guernsey Presidents weekend will be in May in 2011 and not the traditional month of February. The planned dates are Friday 13^th to Sunday 15^th May 2011. Watch out for Flybe opening their 2011 spring bookings as they usually open with some cheaper fares.

 

At the National Diane Toner made an excellent presentation as to what she is doing in Northern Ireland and I am pleased to see that her efforts are working as she tells me that she has managed to get some new members from her recent functions. Well done Northern Ireland lets hope her presentation has been of help to other clubs.

 

With regard to visiting Sydney for the International I have been informed that Emirates will not be offering any special fares for Europeans to visit Sydney but it is hoped that Qantas will come up with a revised offer and anyone interested in making the trip should refer to the Skål International Website where you will find an email address for the contact point at Qantas.

 

Let’s hope the current period of good weather will continue and to those Presidents who are having Garden Parties during the summer months, I hope you have a good time and the weather is kind to you.

 

If I do get any further information on the International I will make sure that Peter circulates it by email. The currency exchange rate is getting a bit better but don’t forget if you pay by credit card to Torremolinos then Jim Power will first of all take your payment in Euros then transfer to Aus$ so it may be best to look at paying by bankers draft in Aus$ made payable to Skål International

 

That’s all for this month

 

Yours in Skål  John M Bright National President. 27^th May 2010