11th September 2023

Present: John Long, Sean McGhee, Eddie Haughey, John Sutton, Steve Graham, Felix Martin, Martin Relton and Stuart Jones

Apologies: None

Meeting was held at the Legh Arms, started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

• John Long to speak to Knutsford Golf Club re the Charter and Clergy Dinner.
• Stuart to propose the idea for a book club at the October meeting and to suggest an appropriate book to council.
• Sean to organise a visit to the Avro Heritage museum at Woodford – now agreed to be done in 2024.
• John Sutton to organise a ‘mass’ visit to Warrington or Wilmslow Circle.

New Actions

• Stuart to invite widows to the Mass for deceased brothers and afterwards at the Angel.
• John Long to confirm that we can go to the Angel after the Mass for deceased brothers.
• Stuart to include agenda item for next Circle meeting to confirm that as a matter of principle we will not charge for children U12 for events.
• John Long to contact Peter Lowe to check all is OK and if we can do anything to help.
• John Long to look at organising a brunch event in October.
• John Long to talk to Father David about having a wine tasting parish event rather than a meal at the Golf Club
• Stuart to print out leaflets for use at the masses on Sunday 17th September.
• Stuart to write to Mike Diver to ask if he wishes to be kept notified of circle business. Sean to follow up with a phone call.
• Stuart to send a message to the Circle about the Christmas dinner at the end of September.
• Stuart to confirm date of Mass for deceased Brothers with Father David (and invite him to the Angel).
• Stuart/John/Eddie to check whether there is a loop system at Cottons, to get 3 microphones and to be vigorous about their use. We also need to ask for a sign pointing people in the right direction when they arrive at the hotel.

Completed Actions

• Sean to follow up the payment of subs by Mike Diver. Completed – see notes below
• Stuart to put in a reminder to review our Zoom account in March 2024. Completed
• John Long to confirm the arrangements for President’s Sunday and Stuart to then send out the invitation. Completed
• Stuart to ensure Lello is added to all the circle distribution lists once he has been transferred to our circle. Completed
• John Long to confirm the date for the Christmas dinner – probably Monday 4th Dec unless a better date is offered. Completed
• John Long to ask Father David if he can do the Pulpit Pitch on Sunday 10th Sep. Completed
• Stuart to ask Father David if we can do the Mass for deceased brothers on Sat Nov 4th. Completed
• John Long to confirm the funding and pledge arrangements for JustDropIn before making a proposal to Circle. Completed
• Stuart to ensure brothers are reminded that the next meeting will have a raffle and that there will be no Zoom access. Completed

Decisions

1. None

Matters arising from the last Circle Meeting

We discussed the issue of affordability of events raised by Alfonso at the meeting and agreed to propose that children under 12 would be free at events.

Welfare

Damian’s surgery was successful, his treatment continues.

Fran Gore is now recuperating and is believed to be in a nursing home.

We were sad to hear of Mike Diver’s diagnosis of dementia. Though he has resigned we will ensure that (assuming he wishes us to) he will continue to invited to events (in the same way that widows are).

We noted that Peter Lowe continues to need our support following his recent bereavement.

There were no more updates to those received at the Circle meeting.

Our sick list is: Damian Grieves, Fran Gore, James O’Dude, Tony Weir, Joan Shaw (wife of Brother John), Tony Andrews, Also Wendy Hurst, Bro Jim Flood’s niece’s child Finn, Margaret and Peter Phillips (former President of the Circle, Michelle Skidmore (wife of David – a good friend of the Circle) and George Moon (great grandson of former brother Peter Kerr)

Social Events

Upcoming events – the name/s in brackets are the organisers.

• Presidents at Home – Sunday, 17^th September (John Long)
• Recollection at Thorneycroft Hall – Wednesday 27th Sep (Felix Martin)
• Brunch, possibly at the Lambing Shed – date in October TBC (John Long)
• Wine Tasting (as a joint event with the parish) – TBA in November, probably Friday 17^th (Tom Hughes)
• Mass for deceased brothers – Saturday Nov 4th at noon (John Long/Stuart Jones)
• Christmas Dinner at Cottons – Monday 4th December (John Long/Eddie Haughey)
• Christmas Crib – Saturday 9th Dec (John Long)
• Beer and Curry night – Thursday 17th Dec (John Long)
• Children’s New Year Party ‘To Infinity and beyond’ – Sunday 14th Jan (Martin Relton)
• Charter and Clergy Dinner at Knutsford Golf Club – Date TBC (John Long plus ?)
• Book Club first meeting – date TBC (Stuart Jones)
• Avro Heritage Museum visit – Date TBC in 2024 (Sean McGhee)
• Peover Hall visit followed by meal at the Dog – Date TBC in 2024 (Martin Relton)
• Beartown Brewery visit – Date TBC in 2024 (Steve Graham)

We agreed to plan for a ‘Ladies After’ possibly inviting a lady from Cheshire East who helps people manage charitable donations. No progress on this yet.

Christmas dinner dress code will be Formal with option of Black Tie

Membership

• Membership continues to be a strong focus in the coming year. Gerard McCreesh and John Long’s future son-in-law are interested and will be invited to our next social event.
• The pulpit presentation will take place on Sunday 17th September
• We noted, with sadness, the resignations of Martin Roberts and Mike Diver.
• We also noted that Lello Morelle is now back as a member of our Circle

Finance

The Circle’s finances are healthy with over £6K in the bank. Three brothers have not yet paid their subs but we expect this to addressed very quickly.

Province

There was no news from Province. The next meeting is on 12th September.

Other notes

We discussed how to ensure that those with hearing difficulties can be fully engaged in Circle meetings

21st August 2023

Present: John Long, Sean McGhee, Eddie Haughey, John Sutton, Steve Graham, Felix Martin, Martin Relton and Stuart Jones

Apologies: None

Meeting was held at the Legh Arms, started at 19:30 and finished at 21:30

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

• None

New Actions

• Sean to follow up the payment of subs by Mike Diver.
• Stuart to put in a reminder to review our Zoom account in March 2024.
• John Long to confirm the arrnagements for President’s Sunday and Stuart to then send out the invitation.
• Stuart to ensure Lello is added to all the circle distribution lists once he has been transferred to our circle.
• John Long to confirm the date for the Christmas dinner – probably Monday 4th Dec unless a better date is offered.
• John Long to ask Father David if he can do the Pulpit Pitch on Sunday 10th Sep.
• John Long to speak to Knutsford Golf Club re the Charter abd Clergy Dinner (and a parish meal).
• Stuart to propose the idea for a book club at the October meeting and to suggest an appropriate book to council.
• Sean to organise a visit to the Avro Heritage museum at Woodford
• Stuart to ask Father David if we can do the Mass for deceased brothers on Sat Nov 4th
• John Long to confirm the funding and pledge arrangements for JustDropIn before making a proposal to Circle.
• Stuart to ensure brothers are reminded that the next meeting will have a raffle and that there will be no Zoom access.
• John Sutton to organise a ‘mass’ visit to Warrington Circle.

Completed Actions

• Martin to bring along the contactless card machine to the next circle meeting to support the raffle. Completed
• Stuart to ask Tom Hughes to put in his claim for the Zoom account to Eddie. Completed, but nothing received yet
• Stuart to stop the auto payment of Zoom. Not yet possible.
• Stuart to ensure that a an advert is put in the church newsletter for the parish walk on the 12th August. Completed
• Steve to get an advert for gardeners question time into the School Newsletter. Completed
• Stuart to ask Tom to confirm the date for the wine tasting in October. Completed – date tbc
• John Long and Eddie to get in touch with Cottons to agree a Christmas event. Completed
• Eddie to send a reminder to brothers about payment of subs.
• Martin Relton to speak to Mike Chidgey about transferring Leilo to our Circle. Completed
• Martin Relton to speak to Province about the possibility of a Provincial Zoom account. Completed – will not happen.
• John Long to book the Crazy Golf for President’s Sunday. Completed
•  Stuart to send a letter requesting subscriptions from those brothers who do not use email (including Mike Diver). Completed
• Stuart to remind brothers about the raffle and the need to bring cash for the next circle meeting. Completed
• John Long to speak to Tony Andrews re options for supporting Alfonso. Action now closed.
• John Long to ask Nick Johnson to check on Leilo’s intentions about joining the circle. No update on status of Leilo, though he has been seen around town. There is some urgency from Province to resolve the situation. Completed – Leilo is being transferred to the circle.

Decisions

1. Felix will cover for John Long as acting president at the next Circle Meeting
2. Sean will cover for Stuart as acting Secretary at the next Circle Meeting

Matters arising from the last Circle Meeting

Eddie confirmed that the Circle has made a donation of £200 to the Knutsford Stroke Society.

Welfare

Damian’s surgery was successful, his treatment continues.

Fran Gore was rushed back into hospital at the weekend, we understand she needs a pacemaker.

Eddie bumped into James O’Dude recently and James was in good form, his heart condition continues to constrain his activities

Our sick list is: Damian Grieves, Fran Gore, James O’Dude, Tony Weir, Joan Shaw (wife of Brother John), Tony Andrews, Also Wendy Hurst, Bro Jim Flood’s niece’s child Finn, Margaret and Peter Phillips (former President of the Circle and George Moon (great grandson of former brother Peter Kerr)

Updates on welfare were reviewed and no additional actions were needed

Social Events

Upcoming events – the name/s in brackets are the organisers

• Presidents at Home – Sunday, 17^th September (John Long)
• Recollection at Thorneycroft Hall – Wednesday 27th Sep (Felix Martin)
• Wine Tasting (as a joint event with the parish) – TBA in October, probably the 14^th (Tom Hughes)
• Mass for deceased brothers – Saturday Nov 4th at noon (John Long/Stuart Jones)
• Parish Meal at Knutsford Glof Club – date tbc (John Long)
• Christmas Dinner at Cottons – Monday 4th December (John Long/Eddie Haughey)
• Christmas Crib – Saturday 9th Dec (John Long)
• Children’s New Year Party ‘To Infinity and beyond’ – Sunday 14th Jan (Martin Relton)
• Charter and Clergy Dinner at Knutsford Golf Club – Date TBC (John Long plus ?)
• Avro Heritage Museum visit – Date TBC (Sean McGhee)
• Book Club first meeting – date TBC (Stuart Jones)

We agreed to plan for a ‘Ladies After’ possibly inviting a lady from Cheshire East who helps people manage charitable donations. No progress on this yet.

Membership

• Membership continues to be a strong focus in the coming year. Gerard McCreesh and John Long’s future son-in-law are interested and will be invited to our next social event.
• The pulpit presentation was delayed due to the death of Fran Lowe, John will ask Father Davidfor a new date, probably Sunday 10th Sep.

Finance

After known expenses, balance will be 5.7K, with £1120 of subs still outstanding.

Seven people have yet to pay their subs – of these we are pretty confident that at least six will pay.

Province

There was no news from Province.

We did discuss the letter sent to province from John Ross and Bill Gore. It was noted that no-one in Council had been consulted before the letter was sent, which was disappointing.

Council supported the key messages in the letter about increasing levels of visiting. We did note that whilst encouragement was important it was not possible, or desirable, to mandate levels of visiting. We also recognised the sterling work done by John Sutton to encourage visiting in our Circle.

Other notes

We noted that we need to ask someone to be the new Marketing Officer (with Felix now being VP).

We discussed Felix’s proposals for managing events next year and agreed that we needed to encourage a wider cadre of people to volunteer to lead on organising social events. More people volunteering means more events, fewer people – fewer events. There will be more of an emphasis on family events and Felix was hopeful that Alfonso will take an active role.

10^th July 2023

Present: John Long, Sean McGhee, Eddie Haughey, John Sutton, Steve Graham and Stuart Jones

Apologies: Felix Martin, Martin Relton

Meeting started on Zoom at 19:30 and finished at 21:00

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

• John Long to ask Nick Johnson to check on Leilo’s intentions about joining the circle. No update on status of Leilo, though he has been seen around town. There is some urgency from Province to resolve the situation. Ongoing.
• Sean to follow up the payment of subs by Mike Diver. Sean has spoken to Mike and offered him to be a country member yesterday, need to check whether Mike has paid. Ongoing.
• John Long to speak to Tony Andrews re options for supporting Alfonso. Ongoing.
•  Stuart to send a letter requesting subscriptions from those brothers who do not use email (including Mike Diver)
• Stuart to remind brothers about the raffle and the need to bring cash for the next circle meeting
• Martin Relton to speak to Mike Chidgey about transferring Leilo to our Circle
• Martin Relton to speak to Province about the possibility of a Provincial Zoom account.
• John Long to book the Crazy Golf for President’s Sunday.

New Actions

• Martin to bring along the contactless card machine to the next circle meeting to support the raffle.
• Stuart to ask Tom Hughes to put in his claim for the Zoom account to Eddie.
• Stuart to stop the auto payment of Zoom.
• Stuart to ensure that a an advert is put in the church newsletter for the parish walk on the 12th August.
• Steve to get an advert for gardeners question time into the School Newsletter.
• Stuart to ask Tom to confirm the date for the wine tasting in October.
• John Long and Eddie to get in touch with Cottons to agree a Christmas event.
• Eddie to send a reminder to brothers about payment of subs.
• John Long to liaise with James Power on an article about our work with Just Drop In (also mentioning our Best Circle Award)

Completed Actions

• Stuart to ask for volunteers to help at the Tombola stall at the PTA cinema event on 8^th July. Completed
• Stuart to print out 20 Catenian flyers for the JDI event on Wednesday. Completed
• Stuart to talk to Tom about not renewing the Zoom account. Completed – renewal date is May!
• John Long to speak to the Rose and Crown about arrangements for a drinks/meal event on the 30^th June. Completed

Decisions

1. None

Welfare

We noted, with sadness, the recent death of Fran Lowe (wife of Brother Peter). Funeral arrangements are not available yet.

Our sick list is: Damian Grieves, Tony Andrews, James O’Dude, Tony Weir, Joan Shaw (wife of Brother John), Tony Andrews, Also Wendy Hurst, Bro Jim Flood’s niece’s child Finn, Margaret and Peter Phillips (former President of the Circle and George Moon (great grandson of former brother Peter Kerr)

Updates on welfare were reviewed and no additional actions were needed

Social Events

Upcoming events

• Gardeners Question Time – Sunday 23^rd July
• Social Meal – 28^th July at the Lambing Shed
• Parish Walk – Saturday, 12th August
• Presidents at Home – Sunday, 17^th September
• Wine Tasting (as a joint event with the parish) – TBA in October (probably the 14^th)

We agreed to plan for a ‘Ladies After’ possibly inviting a lady from Cheshire East who helps people manage charitable donations.

We also agreed to start the planning for a Christmas do at Cottons.

Membership

• Membership continues to be a strong focus in the coming year. Gerard McCreesh and John Long’s future son-in-law are interested and will be invited to our next social event.
• The pulpit presentation was delayed due to the death of Fran Lowe, John will ask Father Davidfor a new date, probably the weekend of the 29^th July.
• Our support to the school summer fair/film event was noted and appreciated. The tombola stall sold out.

Finance

We have about £6k in the bank, after known debts this will be about £3k.

24 people have paid their subs so far with 15 outstanding.

John Sutton has recently purchased a holiday through Riviera Travel which has resulted in a £656 donation to circle funds – for which we are very grateful.

Province

Seven Knutsford brothers attended the Provincial Convention.

In a new award Knutsford Circle was selected as the ‘Best Circle in Province’. This was based on three criteria 1) the events the Provincial President enjoyed the most 2) the most impact had with charitable work 3) the support from Martin Relton and Stuart Jones on development of the Province web-site.

Macclesfield won the award for best increase in membership and Brooklands the award for visiting.

Stuart will be attending Crewe Circle on 26th July and Brooklands Circle on the 21^st Sep to present the new web-site.

The next Provincial Council Meeting is on 11th July

Warrington has its 1,000 meeting on the 19th September. It was agreed that we should support this as best we can and promote it at our next Circle meeting.

Other notes

We noted that we need to ask someone to be the new Marketing Officer (with Felix now being VP).

Stuart reported briefly on the recent Parish Meeting. Catenians were mentioned positively in relation to support for parish events.

Sean will cover for Stuart as secretary at the next Circle meeting as he will be away on holiday.