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Minutes from meeting number 1227

Minutes of the 1227th Meeting of the Manchester Pickwick Club held at the Moorside Social Club on 19th November, 2014

Once again at the official start time for the November meeting of the Manchester Pickwick Club there were few members present although, again, the numbers increased to 8 shortly afterwards so that the meeting was able to commence by 8.08 p.m. Pickwick gavelled to commence the meeting but there was no response from the vice-chairman; a second gavel met with a similar silence and it was only after a third gavel that the vice-chairman woke up and returned the compliment.

Due to the sparsity of attendance it was difficult to follow the usual agenda so rule 8 was invoked from the start with the result that a splendid meeting followed. Dodson kicked off by announcing that a relative had produced a glass from Cyprus for Grummer who's tendency for kleptomania is well known to club members aand this was followed by Grummer himself who told the tale of how he had lost his wallet in Blackpool. The wallet had contained a variety of items including bank cards, bus pass and, most important of all, a reminder of his late wife. With the exception of the latter, all the other items could be replaced although much 'messing about' was necessary.

Grummer then told members about his trip to Guernsey with a company called Travelstyle where he was billeted in a hotel run along the lines of 'Faulty Towers' and Dodson then told about Grummer's recent trip to Bury Market where he purchased meat and a black pudding. On the return tram journey an evil smelling passenger chose to sit next to Grummer who was so anxious to get off the tram that he left his purchases behind! Jingle said it looked as though Grummer was becoming a serial victim.

The next story came from Dodson who recalled a hen party where the ladies were making cakes and pastries shaped like 'willies'. Weller suggested this might appear on the wedding breakfast menu as 'Coq au Vin'.

Dodson then reminisced about a holiday in Lanzarote which included a ride on a camel. When the owner was asked about the sex of the camels he said they were all either male or female which prompted Weller to ask what other sex was there.

Pickwick decided that because of the reduced number present, all members would pay a fine of £2.00 in lieu of the usual P.O.R & I and it appeared that this fine would also cover other discretions during the meeting.

The minutes were read and approved but Dodson complained that the reference to them being drunk when apprehended in Spain was imncorrect; he also pointed out that the policeman's gun was pointed at him rather than Tony Weller who was driving. Grummer who was in the rear seat said he didn't remember much about the incident except for being scared stiff because they had been drinking all afternoon! However, he thought that Tony Weller's denial that they had been drinking was very tongue in cheek, particularly as they had driven through a police stop light.

After a short discussion about the reduction in members attending, Jingle suggested that the club have an 'awayday' at the races to try and attract more members. This
was followed by further discussions which resulted in a suggestion that instead of racing followed by a meal, the two should be separated so that a meal could be arranged in February followed by the races in April when the weather would be better.

The raffle took place as usual and it was noted that Grummer's raffle prize was wrapped in Christmas paper which led to suggestions that he had won it at last year's Christmas dinner and simply saved it for this evening; naturally Grummer denied this.

Pickwick decided that on this occasion he would propose the vote of thanks to Pickwick and the Vice-chairman and proceeded to describe how well the meeting had been run and how the control had been excellent. This proposal was seconded by Weller who said it had been a good meeting, but perhaps not as good as Pickwick would have us believe.

'Good Neet Owd Friends' was sung by all and followed by the National Anthem after which Pickwick suggested that a few rehearsals might be advantagous.

The raffle raised £4.00 whilst the Fines Box contained £16.00.

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