Council Minutes – 2021

Table of Contents

13th December, 2021

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

Apologies:

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 20:40

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for President, Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor, Registrar and Marketing officer. VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as ‘link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School, and look at Holmes Chapel and Northwich. Ongoing – asked at Circle but no volunteers yet
  3. John Long to check the ‘commit date’ for booking the Christmas dinner and options for the Charter Night dinner (via Nick).
  4. Sean to check with JWR on best way to check on John Beswick. If no response from John or John Hurst Martin will send letter about membership. JWR is going to contact John Beswick
  5. Sean to talk to Jim Flood about being a channel of communication with St. Nicholas e.g. public speaking, bursary fund and tickets for FLAME. President has spoken to Jim Flood, but neither he nor his daughter (a governor) will be link person.
  6. Stuart to draft a note about membership message to go into the Parish Newsletter. Will go in after Christmas.
  7. Sean and John Long to ask current officers if they wish to continue in office. Stuart will then ask for nominations.
  8. John Sutton to communicate with John Long and Nick Johnson about supporting a joint event with Wilmslow.
  9. John Long to invite Pat Wickham to the Beer and Curry night. See agenda item below.

New Actions

  1. Martin to send Sean a list of people who made IOUs for the charity at the Christmas Dinner and Sean to contact them.
  2. Martin to liaise with John Long to ensure payment in of the cash from the Christmas dinners
  3. John L and Sean to have a Zoom call with Chris Jones about membership officer role
  4. Sean to remind Tony Andrews about talk on benevolent fund in January
  5. Sean will check on Mike Diver (and his wife) and will ask Bill Gore about Matt Lynch.
  6. John L to draft a note about Beer and Nibbles which Stuart will the send out (Stuart to also update the diary)
  7. John L to check details for the Charter and Clergy Dinner with the golf club.
  8. Sean to invite priests once date and venue confirmed for the Charter dinner.
  9. Sean to send a letter to Cottons thanking them for what they did at the dinner (John L and Nick to draft a letter).

Completed Actions

  1. John Long to do a flyer for all events over the coming three months – this to included a dress code for the Christmas Dinner (Jacket and Tie/Smart). Completed
  2. Sean to check with John Hamilton at Brooklands Circle re what more is happening with Matt Lynch.
  3. Sean to organise nibbles for the mass for deceased brothers. Completed
  4. Sean to speak with Nick re the detailed logistics (e.g. seating plan, place cards) for the Christmas Dinner. Completed
  5. Martin Relton to produce a flyer for the Children’s Christmas party to be sent out to the Circle. Completed
  6. Stuart to invite Father David to the Christmas Dinner. Completed
  7. Stuart to include an agenda item on Officers for 2022/23 and which priests to invite to the charter dinner. Completed
  8. Sean to check with JWR on best way to check on John Beswick. If no response from John or John Hurst Martin will send letter about membership. JWR is going to contact John Beswick
  9. Sean to talk to Jim Flood about being a channel of communication with St. Nicholas e.g. public speaking, bursary fund and tickets for FLAME. President has spoken to Jim Flood, but neither he nor his daughter (a governor) will be link person.

Decisions

  1. TBA

Social Events

Planned events are:

  • 16th December – Recollection at Thorneycroft at 19:00
  • 22nd December – Beer and Nibbles night at the Legh Arms – following carol service at Church
  • 23rd January – Children’s Christmas Party – Big Top event
  • January (date tbc) – Charter Night

Recollection on 16th December. An invitation has gone out to the circle and province

Beer and Nibbles night:  Nick and John are arranging this for Wednesday 22nd Dec. This will be now be at the Sessions House (note that last orders for food is 8:30). We are keen this is a “friends of Catenians” and wives. We can go through this at the Circle meeting to get brothers involved.

Children’s Christmas Party on Jan 23rd: Will be a circus skills event at the Scout Hut on Blackhill Lane. Martin Relton will get an article in the school newsletter (after the invitation has gone out to the Circle). A flyer has been produced and will be sent out 7th December

Charter and Clergy Dinner: No update yet. Priests to invite: Father David, Father John, priest from Lynn, Father Michael Lowenthal

Other notes

  • We have the bill from Cottons, two people have not yet paid. The dinner has made a loss of £257 so far (not taking into account money we would normally spend on after dinner drinks).
  • People who wrote IOU’s for the raffle have not all paid (see action above).
  • John Hurst and John Beswick have not yet paid subs. JWR is going to contact John Beswick to confirm the current situation.

Topics for the Newsletter

  • Not discussed

Welfare

We received an email from Margaret Weir saying thanks for us keeping them up to date on Catenian matters.

We have no update on Lello Marello and his wife – John L to ask Nick to get in touch. Sean will check on Mike Diver (and his wife)

Matt Lynch is out of hospital and latest news was positive.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

The following actions are taken from the national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. Work in progress, we do have a plan of action.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progressed through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No progress so far – we asked for leads at a Circle meeting but none yet.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

8th November, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee, Martin Roberts, John Sutton, Steve Graham, Felix Martin, Martin Relton and Stuart Jones

Apologies: John Long

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:35

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for President, Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor, Registrar and Marketing officer. VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as ‘link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School, and look at Holmes Chapel and Northwich. Ongoing – asked at Circle but no volunteers yet
  3. John Long to check the ‘commit date’ for booking the Christmas dinner and options for the Charter Night dinner (via Nick).
  4. John Long to do a flyer for all events over the coming three months – this to included a dress code for the Christmas Dinner (Jacket and Tie/Smart)

New Actions

  1. Sean to check with John Hamilton at Brooklands Circle re what more is happening with Matt Lynch.
  2. Sean to organise nibbles for the mass for deceased brothers.
  3. Sean to speak with Nick re the detailed logistics (e.g. seating plan, place cards) for the Christmas Dinner
  4. Martin Relton to produce a flyer for the Children’s Christmas party to be sent out to the Circle.
  5. Sean to check with JWR on best way to check on John Beswick. If no response from John or John Hurst Martin will send letter about membership.
  6. Sean to talk to Jim Flood about being a channel of communication with St. Nicholas e.g. public speaking, bursary fund and tickets for FLAME.
  7. Stuart to draft a note about membership message to go into the Parish Newsletter.
  8. Stuart to invite Father David to the Christmas Dinner.
  9. Stuart to include an agenda item on Officers for 2022/23 and which priests to invite to the charter dinner.
  10. Sean and John Long to ask current officers if they wish to continue in office. Stuart will then ask for nominations.
  11. John Sutton to communicate with John Long and Nick Johnson about supporting a joint event with Wilmslow.
  12. John Long to invite Pat Wickham to the Beer and Curry night.

Completed Actions

  1. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle. Completed.
  2. Sean to ensure he activates his account for on-line banking. Completed.
  3. Sean to contact Mike Diver to check on him and his wife Josephine. Completed
  4. Stuart to send out emails asking about attendance at the Mass for deceased brothers (including volunteers to help with refreshments) and the recollection at Thorneycroft and to confirm payments for the Lambing Shed afternoon tea. Completed
  5. Stuart to add Margaret Weir to the same list as our widows so that she is invited to all relevant events. Completed – Margaret gets all emails sent to the Circle, but is not on the widows list to avoid any confusion.
  6. Martin Roberts to confirm that we can continue to have our meetings at Cottons. Completed
  7. Sean to contact JWR and Paul Yearsley to confirm arrangements for presenting them with their 40 year scrolls. JWR has asked Sean to present his scroll, Paul Yearlsey has been contacted, will pick up his certificate.
  8. Sean to ask Tom Hughes is he could help with procuring wine and nibbles for after the Mass for deceased brothers (assuming he is planning on attending). Completed
  9. Sean to talk to Tony Andrews to get guidance on what we need to do to make sure the Benevolent Fund committee works effectively. Main concern is publicity, and committee has not met for 3 years. Current board members happy to continue. Tony will do a talk at the January meeting.
  10. Martin Relton to raise with province the need to have a better way of sharing communications between circles (ideally a central web-site with information about events together with a provincial calendar). John Sutton is working with Mike Chidgey to set up such a web-site.
  11. Martin Roberts to check with John Sutton on how to make payment for the £100 donation to the Marion Shrine. Payment to be made via Mike Chidgey (Provincial Treasurer).
  12. Martin Relton to contact John Ross and see how we can best support James Power. Martin has spoken to John – no specific action agreed.

Decisions

  1. At the Christmas Dinner we will pay for the ladies drinks during the meeting.
  2. We agreed that we would be happy to hold a Valentines Day joint event with Knutsford.

Social Events

Planned events are:

  • 12th November at 19:00 – Mass for Deceased brothers
  • 5th December – Crib and NHS/Volunteer thank you
  • 6th December – Christmas Party after circle meeting
  • 16th December – Recollection at Thorneycroft at 19:00
  • 22nd December – Beer and Curry night at the Legh Arms
  • 23rd January – Children’s Christmas Party – Big Top event
  • January (date tbc) – Charter Night

Christmas Party:  John spoke to Nick this morning. This seems to have its own momentum now with people responding to menu email and starting to pay. Nick is going to give some through to any games/ light entertainment (e.g. raffles, auction, games) in lieu of no entertainment. He suggests we send out another email end of next week if people need a nudge.

Christmas Crib:  John is liaising with the council. Two things. 

  1. The Crib will be installed and hooked up the electric week commencing 22nd Nov. We have been asked to install the figures lunchtime on Friday the 26th Nov (The council don’t want anything happening on the Saturday and Sunday as this is the Christmas markets and town will be really busy). I am happy to coordinate volunteers through the Whatsapp group and Nick and John will be there with a likely beer afterwards.
  2. John is meeting Stewart Gardiner on Friday. Stewart is leading the event. We are agreeing his words re saying thank you to the NHS and volunteers and Catenians providing mulled wine and minced pies. John will coordinate this on the night but will need some volunteer helpers. it is 4 pm-6 pm on 5th December. John will do this through the whatsapp group also. John is happy to cover the cost of the mulled wine and minced pies.

Recollection on 16th December. An invitation has gone out to the circle and province

Beer and Curry night:  Nick and John are arranging this for Wednesday 22nd Dec. This will be at the Legh Arms (John is finalising this with them this week). We are keen this is a “friends of Catenians” event where will invite friends of the circle and new prospective members (e.g. through the church newsletter and the school newsletter. We can go through this at the Circle meeting to get brothers involved.

Children’s Christmas Party on Jan 23rd: Will be a circus skills event at the Scout Hut on Blackhill Lane. Martin Relton will get an article in the school newsletter (after the invitation has gone out to the Circle).

Charter and Clergy Dinner: No update yet.

Other notes

  • We have received £300 from Knutsford Medical Partnerships for the President’s Charity.
  • Two brothers have not yet paid their subscriptions.
  • All high schools will be getting a letter about the Public Speaking Contest and with details about the bursary fund.
  • No updates on membership
  • A brief discussion was held about officer roles for next year – to be a proper agenda item next month.
  • We need to agree which priests to invite to the charter dinner
  • It was noted that we need to start planning St. George’s Night Soon

Topics for the Newsletter

  • Not discussed

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting (see the minutes of that meeting and new actions above).

Bill Gore had raised a question about how we support Matt Lynch (who is going into hospital for an operation). See actions.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

The following actions are taken from the national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. Work in progress, we do have a plan of action.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progressed through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No progress so far – we asked for leads at a Circle meeting but none yet.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

11th October, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee, John Long, Martin Roberts, Felix Martin, Martin Relton and Stuart Jones

Apologies: John Sutton, Steve Graham, Nick Johnson

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:35

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for President, Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor, Registrar and Marketing officer. VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle. Completed.
  3. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as ‘link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School, and look at Holmes Chapel and Northwich. Ongoing – asked at Circle but no volunteers yet
  4. Sean to ensure he activates his account for on-line banking.
  5. Sean to contact JWR and Paul Yearsley to confirm arrangements for presenting them with their 40 year scrolls. JWR has asked Sean to present his scroll, Paul Yearlsey still to be contacted.

New Actions

  1. Sean to contact Mike Diver to check on him and his wife Josephine
  2. Martin Relton to contact John Ross and see how we can best support James Power.
  3. Stuart to send out emails asking about attendance at the Mass for deceased brothers (including volunteers to help with refreshments) and the recollection at Thorneycroft and to confirm payments for the Lambing Shed afternoon tea.
  4. Stuart to add Margaret Weir to the same list as our widows so that she is invited to all relevant events.
  5. Sean to ask Tom Hughes is he could help with procuring wine and nibbles for after the Mass for deceased brothers (assuming he is planning on attending)
  6. John Long to check the ‘commit date’ for booking the Christmas dinner and options for the Charter Night dinner (via Nick).
  7. John Long to do a flyer for all events over the coming three months – this to included a dress code for the Christmas Dinner (Jacket and Tie/Smart)
  8. Martin Roberts to confirm that we can continue to have our meetings at Cottons.
  9. Martin Roberts to check with john Sutton on how to make payment for the £100 donation to the Marion Shrine.
  10. Sean to talk to Tony Andrews to get guidance on what we need to do to make sure the Benevolent Fund committee works effectively.
  11. Martin Relton to raise with province the need to have a better way of sharing communications between circles (ideally a central web-site with information about events together with a provincial calendar)

Completed Actions

  1. Stuart to ask JWR for an welfare update prior to the next meeting – including a check on how Josephine Diver is doing. Completed
  2. Stuart to send out a reminder about the lunch on 26th September and the Membership event. Completed
  3. Stuart to update the diary on the web-site. Completed
  4. John Long to send out a flyer for the Tatton walk on 2nd Oct Completed
  5. Sean to speak to Father David to agree a date for the Mass for Deceased Brothers – aiming for 7:00 pm on Friday 12th Nov. Completed
  6. Stuart to check on communications to all widows. Completed
  7. Sean to invite Mike Guerin or David Arundel to a circle meeting to hand out long service certificates. Completed
  8. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle. Completed.
  9. Sean and Stuart to ensure that the Circle is asked to support a recommendation to donate £100 to the Marion Shrine (ask for objections only), and £200 for a lawn mower for the church. Completed and approved.
  10. John Long to speak to Stewart Gardiner about using the Christmas Crib dedication as a means of recognising local NHS and volunteers. John has spoken to the council via James Power and we have agreement to proceed with an ‘enhanced’ crib session including recognition of local NHS and volunteers.
  11. Stuart to send some of our circle photographs for possible use in the national Christmas magazine. Completed.

Decisions

  1. The new President’s charity will be Cheshire Young Carers

Social Events

Planned events are:

  • 20th October – lunch at the lambing shed
  • 12th November at 19:00 – Mass for Deceased brothers
  • 4th December – Crib and NHS/Volunteer thank you
  • 6th December – Christmas Party after circle meeting
  • 16th December – Recollection at Thorneycroft at 19:00
  • 22nd December – Beer and Curry night at the Legh Arms
  • 23rd January – Children’s Christmas Party – Big Top event
  • January (date tbc) – Charter Night

John Long is speaking to Michelle Bate (Knutsford Town Council) about arrangements for the Crib Night on October 12th.

It was agreed that the Circle would pay for any widows attending the Christmas Dinner.

The recollection at Thorneycroft will start with a Light Buffet (donations requested) at 19:00 with the recollection starting at 19:30.

Other notes

  • We discussed Bill Gore’s proposal to include Mary’s Meals as a charity to whom we could make a donation. It was agreed that, if the Circle did have surplus funds, we would use a similar approach to that used earlier in 2021 i.e. identify a list of charities and then allow Brothers to vote.
  • Our financial position remains healthy with a forecast year end balance of over £4k. Three brothers have not paid their subscriptions (for known reasons) – Martin will follow up.
  • We will wait for input from Tom for any contribution to a lawnmower for the Church following Neil Farmer’s offer to donate a lawnmower (which might need servicing).
  • We discussed how best to handle the many emails that come to use from other Circles/Province/National Council. There is no easy solution (in our hands) to address this and they will continue to be distributed. Martin Relton will raise the issue with Province together with a suggestion for improvement.
  • Sean has been contacted by Rick Dallimore. Organisations that helped with the vaccine programme hace been given £2k (in total) from Knutsford Medical Partnership to support local needs. We agreed to suggest that a contribution could be made to Knutsford (East Cheshire) Young Carers – the president’s charity.

Topics for the Newsletter

  • Not discussed

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting (see the minutes of that meeting and new actions above).

It was noted that we must get an update from John Williams-Rigby prior to Circle or Council meetings.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

The following actions are taken from the national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. Work in progress, we do have a plan of action.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progressed through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No progress so far – we asked for leads at a Circle meeting but none yet.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

13th September, 2021

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

Apologies: , Nick Johnson

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor, Registrar and Marketing officer. President, VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle.
  3. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as ‘link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School, and look at Holmes Chapel and Northwich. Ongoing – asked at Circle but no volunteers yet
  4. Sean and Stuart to ensure that the Circle is asked to support a recommendation to donate £100 to the Marion Shrine (ask for objections only), and £200 for a lawn mower for the church.
  5. John Long to speak to Stewart Gardiner about using the Christmas Crib dedication as a means of recognising local NHS and volunteers.

New Actions

  1. Stuart to ask JWR for an welfare update prior to the next meeting – including a check on how Josephine Diver is doing.
  2. Stuart to send out a reminder about the lunch on 26th September and the Membership event.
  3. Stuart to update the diary on the web-site
  4. John Long to send out a flyer for the Tatton walk on 2nd Oct
  5. Sean to speak to Father David to agree a date for the Mass for Deceased Brothers – aiming for 7:00 pm on Friday 12th Nov.
  6. Stuart to check on communications to all widows.
  7. Stuart to send some of our circle photographs for possible use in the national Christmas magazine.
  8. Sean to invite Mike Guerin or David Arundel to a circle meeting to hand out long service certificates.
  9. Sean to contact JWR and Paul Yearsley to confirm arrangements for presenting them with their 40 year scrolls.
  10. Sean to ensure he activates his account for on-line banking.

Completed Actions

  1. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year. Completed
  2. John Long to take a lead on Tatton Walks and to use Whats App to encourage brothers to attend. Completed – First walk taking place in early October
  3. Stuart to send a reminder to brothers about the Mass for Deceased brothers – with the correct date. Completed
  4. Stuart to ask Father David about holding a ‘fresher’s fair’ to help restart local societies including the Catenians. Completed – meetings to be held in October
  5. Martin Roberts to confirm arrangements with Cottons Hotel and to ask for time for us to do a dummy run to test hybrid meeting working arrangements. Completed
  6. Steve to ask Jim Flood to be registrar at the September meeting. Completed
  7. John Long to work with entertainments committee on proposals for a Christmas Event. See minutes
  8. John/Nick Johnson to check whether Patrick Wickham would like to have Helen remembered at the provincial mass for the deceased. Completed
  9. Stuart to share the names of people who responded to the survey on attending a F2F meeting and 24th September event. Completed

Decisions

  1. The new President’s charity will be Knutsford Young Carers
  2. Visitors will be welcomed in person at our next Circle Meeting
  3. The council agreed to recommend a donation of £100 to the Marion shrine as requested by National Council.

Social Events

It was agreed that we will not hold a Race Night on 15th Oct.

Planned events are:

  • 26th September – lunch at the Rose and Crown
  • 2nd October – Tatton Park walk
  • 20th October – lunch at the lambing shed
  • 12th November (to be confirmed) – Mass for Deceased brothers
  • 4th December (to be confirmed) – Crib and NHS/Volunteer thank you
  • December (date tbc) – Recollection at Thorneyholme
  • December (date tbc) – Christmas Party
  • December (date tbc) – Beer and Curry night
  • 23rd January – Children’s Christmas Party – Big Top event

Other notes

  • Subscriptions have been received from all but 3 brothers (all with extenuating circumstances)
  • Feedback from our recent hybrid meeting was very good. Just need to watch rapid movements of the camera.
  • Council felt we should be OK with a push (rather than powered) lawn mower and that the circle could donate up to £200 to buy one for the Church. To be proposed at the next Circle meeting.
  • The first membership event will take place at the Legh arms on 30th Sep – invitees will be people not fully engaged in circle activities.
  • There was no provincial report – the next meeting is 14th September.

Topics for the Newsletter

  • Dunham Massey Walk
  • Visit to Lion Salt Works

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting. It was suggested that we add Josephine Diver to the sick list – with agreement from Mike.

It was noted that we must get an update from John Williams-Rigby prior to Circle or Council meetings.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

The following actions are taken from the national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. Work in progress.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progresses through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

9th August, 2021

Present: John Long, (Acting President), John Sutton, Steve Graham, Martin Roberts, Martin Relton and Stuart Jones

Apologies: Sean McGhee (President), Felix Martin, Nick Johnson

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 20:45

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor and Marketing officer. President, VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  3. John Long to take a lead on Tatton Walks and to use Whats App to encourage brothers to attend.
  4. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle.
  5. John Long to work with entertainments committee on proposals for a Christmas Event.
  6. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as ‘link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish, St Winifred’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School. Ongoing – asked at Circle but no volunteers yet

New Actions

  1. Stuart to send a reminder to brothers about the Mass for Deceased brothers – with the correct date
  2. Sean and Stuart to ensure that the Circle is asked to support a recommendation to donate £100 to the Marion Shrine (ask for objections only).
  3. Stuart to ask Father David about holding a ‘fresher’s fair’ to help restart local societies including the Catenians.
  4. John Long to speak to Steward Gardiner about using the Christmas Crib dedication as a means of recognising local NHS and volunteers.
  5. John/Nick Johnson to check whether Patrick Wickham would like to have Helen remembered at the provincial mass for the deceased.
  6. Stuart to share the names of people who responded to the survey on attending a F2F meeting and 24th September event.
  7. Martin Roberts to confirm arrangements with Cottons Hotel and to ask for time for us to do a dummy run to test hybrid meeting working arrangements.
  8. Steve to ask Jim Flood to be registrar at the September meeting

Completed Actions

  1. Stuart to ask Brothers if they will be happy to return to a face to face meetings in September. Completed – 96% of respondents said they would be happy to attend (25 responses)
  2. Stuart to speak to Mark Jones to enquire about opportunities for an event to recognise local NHS staff (and volunteers). We have spoken to the Rotary club who feel that such an event is a great idea but should take place after the booster shots have been given and should involve volunteers.
  3. John Long to send a note out about the picnic on the 18th July and ask brothers to confirm who will be attending. Completed
  4. Stuart to check John Long’s email details on the website. Completed – all OK
  5. Sean to arrange a meeting to discuss membership with Chris Jones, Felix Martin and John Long. Completed.
  6. Stuart to act as registrar in August and Sep (unless Sep becomes a face to face meeting). Completed

Decisions

  1. We will restart face to face meetings in September at Cottons Hotel (as a hybrid meeting).
  2. The council agreed to recommend a donation of £100 to the Marion shrine as requested by National Council.

Notes

  1. The bank should be sending letters to new signatories on the Circle Account. Once received Martin can set up online banking. Note that Martin received his letter on 12th July.
  2. Subscriptions – 7 brothers still have not paid their subscriptions. Two brothers were discussed as being of concern and actions agreed to encourage them to pay and to get back involved in the Circle
  3. John Long suggested using the crib dedication ceremony as a means of recognising the local NHS with drinks available afterwards.
  4. Membership – John is now actively engaged. We noted that personal contact (not letters/emails or altar speaking) is by far the best way of getting new members. John will go ahead with some some social events to invite prospective new members and inactive current members.
  5. We will review how we do hybrid meetings following feedback from Brooklands (and Cottons Hotel).
  6. Province – the mass for deceased brothers is 17th September. At the moment two brothers have indicated they will attend. Deceased to be remembered so far are: Peter Craig, Bernard Fitzgibbon, Marie Hampton, Patrick McGhee. John/Nick Johnson to check whether Patrick Wickham would like to have Helen remembered.
  7. John Long noted that Mike Chidgey had been very complimentary about Martin Roberts at the last Circle meeting.
  8. Social Events – The diary is available on the web-site
    1. Friday 24th September – event at Toft Cricket Club – so far only 11 people have responded to a survey with 7 being abkle to attend. It may be better to do more ‘pop up event’s
    2. Christmas Party – the entertainments committee will review and confirm options
    3. Children’s Christmas event. 23rd Jan, Big Top event.
    4. The possibility of an event in late October/early November was mentioned but no decision made

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting. Stuart should be seeing James Power next week.

It was noted that we must get an update from John Williams-Rigby prior to Circle or Council meetings.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

The following actions are taken from the national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. Work in progress.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progresses through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

12th July, 2021

Present: John Long, (Acting President), John Sutton, Steve Graham, Martin Roberts, and Stuart Jones

Apologies: Sean McGhee (President), Felix Martin, Martin Relton, Nick Johnson

Not Present: Chris Jones

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

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor and Marketing officer. President, VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  3. John Long to take a lead on Tatton Walks and to use Whats App to encourage brothers to attend.
  4. Sean to arrange a meeting to discuss membership with Chris Jones, Felix Martin and John Long. Probably taking place in September.
  5. Stuart to act as registrar in August and Sep (unless Sep becomes a face to face meeting).
  6. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle.

New Actions

  1. Stuart to ask Brothers if they will be happy to return to a face to face meetings in September
  2. Stuart to speak to Mark Jones to enquire about opportunities for an event to recognise local NHS staff (and volunteers).
  3. John Long to send a note out about the picnic on the 18th July and ask brothers to confirm who will be attending.
  4. John Long to work with entertainments committee on proposals for a Christmas Event.
  5. Stuart to check John Long’s email details on the website
  6. The president to ask Circle for volunteers to act as l’link’ person for St. Vincents’s Parish, St Winifred’s Parish and St. Nicholas High School.

Completed Actions

  1. Stuart to chase Catenian Head office re improvements in the functionality of the Docusoft software. Completed – head office aware but any updates will be later in year.
  2. Sean to speak with Nick Johnson about him helping to get in touch with Lello. Completed
  3. Martin Roberts to contact Cottons Hotel (again) about when we can start meetings again (and at what cost). Completed
  4. Stuart to send out a message to brothers asked them to book mass for President’s Sunday at 11:00 on July 18th. Completed
  5. John Long to produce a flyer for the Tatton Park Picnic. Completed
  6. Sean to ask Father David if the mass on July 18th can be said for the Catenians. Completed
  7. Felix Martin to send out a reminder to brothers about the Goyt Valley Pilgrimages. Completed
  8. John Long to liaise with Nick Johnson on an event at Toft Cricket club for Saturday 25th September.
  9. Sean to tell Tom Hughes (Gardening coordinator) about the £150 budget for a new lawnmower for the church. Completed
  10. Stuart to share the strategy document with the circle. Completed
  11. Stuart to identify, from the strategy document, and actions required of Circles and to share these with Council. Completed
  12. John Sutton to contact Mike Guerin and make an introduction for Felix so that he can provide some input to the strategy.
  13. Stuart to check on getting a 50 year scroll for Peter Pozzoni. Completed
  14. Stuart to produce a list of brothers from the Docusoft database. Completed

Decisions

  1. No specific decisions made during the meeting

Notes

  1. The bank should be sending letters to new signatories on the Circle Account. Once received Martin can set up online banking. Note that Martin received his letter on 12th July.
  2. Subscriptions – 30 Brothers have paid, reminders have been sent to the remaining 12.
  3. We are still waiting for feedback from Cottons about whether we can have our meeting there in September and October. Martin will chase. We discussed the possibility of using the Church Hall as a back-up option.
  4. We reviewed Bill Gore’s proposal for an event to recognise the local NHS. Council felt that such an event needed to be done in conjunction with others (e.g. the Rotary and Knutsford Mayor). If such an event included volunteers as well as NHS staff it would be quite big and need considerable thought, and possibly budget.
  5. Sean will discuss the need to have a membership plan by September at the meeting already planned with Chris and John Long. Lello has indicated that he still does want to be a member once his personal circumstance are more stable.
  6. We will review how we do hybrid meetings following feedback from Brooklands (and Cottons Hotel).
  7. The next Provincial Council Meeting is 13th July and will be attended by the David Arundel (GB National President). The mass for deceased brothers is 17th September. Details to be sent out soon.
  8. Social Events – The diary is available on the web-site
    1. 18th July – President’s Sunday (picnic in Tatton Park)
    2. Friday 24th September – event at Toft Cricket Club – date has been booked, details of the type of event are under review
    3. Christmas Party – the entertainments committee will review and confirm options
    4. Children’s Christmas event. This is fully supported by Council. Martin Relton to update Council at the next meeting
    5. The possibility of an event in late October/early November was mentioned but no decision made

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting. Nick Johnson has spoken to Lello and offered our help – nothing has been asked of us yet. John Long is seeing James Power next week.

It was noted that we must get an update from John Williams-Rigby prior to Circle or Council meetings.

Strategy Development Plan – Circle Actions

Teh following actions are taken from teh national development plan. Progress will be tracked through Council Meetings.

  1. Circles to have a detailed plan for increasing membership within their circle. Completion by the end of September 2021. No action so far.
  2. Circles to re-establish (after the pandemic) their programme providing regular meetings and social events. Completion by the end of December 2021. On track – being progresses through normal Council business.
  3. Circle presidents to establish a contact list so that every parish has a person responsible for maintaining a Catenian contact with it. Completion by the end of September 2021. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.
  4. Circles to support the CYMfed FLAME convention by providing financial support to schools with the purchase of tickets so young people can attend. £20,000 available, measured by purchase of tickets. No action so far – will ask for leads at a Circle meeting.

14th June, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, John Long, Steve Graham, Felix Martin, Martin Relton, and Stuart Jones

Apologies: Nick Johnson

Not Present: Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor and Marketing officer. President, VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  3. John Long to take a lead on Tatton Walks and to use Whats App to encourage brothers to attend.
  4. Stuart to chase Catenian Head office re improvements in the functionality of the Docusoft software. They have been chased but we are waiting for a reply
  5. Sean to arrange a meeting to discuss membership with Chris Jones, Felix Martin and John Long.
  6. Stuart to act as registrar in August and Sep (unless Sep becomes a face to face meeting).

New Actions

  1. Sean to speak with Nick Johnson about him helping to get in touch with Lello.
  2. Martin Roberts to contact Cottons Hotel (again) about when we can start meetings again (and at what cost).
  3. Sean to contact John Ross regarding James Power to see if there is any support needed from the Circle.
  4. Stuart to send out a message to brothers asked them to book mass for President’s Sunday at 11:00 on July 18th.
  5. John Long to produce a flyer for the Tatton Park Picnic.
  6. Sean to ask Father David if the mass on July 18th can be said for the Catenians.
  7. Felix Martin to send out a reminder to brothers about the Goyt Valley Pilgrimages.
  8. John Long to liaise with Nick Johnson on an event at Toft Cricket club for Saturday 25th September.
  9. Sean to tell Tom Hughes (Gardening coordinator) about the £150 budget for a new lawnmower for the church.
  10. Stuart to share the strategy document with the circle.
  11. Stuart to identify, from the strategy document, and actions required of Circles and to share these with Council
  12. John Sutton to contact Mike Guerin and make an introduction for Felix so that he can provide some input to the strategy.
  13. Stuart to check on getting a 50 year scroll for Peter Pozzoni.
  14. Stuart to produce a list of brothers from the Docusoft database.

Completed Actions

  1. Stuart to confirm whether booking system can cope with third party bookings. Can only be done with the ‘pro’ version of the wordpress plugin. This would cost $39 a year.
  2. Stuart Jones to arrange another walk. Pilgrimage Walk set for 19th June
  3. Felix Martin to identify opportunities for a pilgrimage. Pilgrimage Walk set for 19th June
  4. Stuart to speak with Father David about us helping to set up a gardening rota for the church. Completed
  5. Martin Roberts to speak with Tony White to confirm his reasons for resigning and if there is anything else we can do. Completed, Tony confirmed his resignation.
  6. Martin Roberts to contact Cottons Hotel with a request to start face to face meetings again in September. No feedback yet.
  7. Felix to contact Chris Jones about how he can help with marketing to encourage new members. Awaiting feedback from Chris
  8. Council members to confirm to Steve Graham if we have missed recording any event in the past year. Specifically Stuart to confirm attendees at the Mass for deceased brothers. Completed
  9. John Long to see if he can get an update on James O’Dude’s status through his daughters contacts. Completed – no contacts available.
  10. Martin Roberts to find out the arrangements for the Summer Ball at Toft cricket club so we can work out if we should attend as a Circle. Completed – the summer balls have been cancelled. There may be a winter ball, to be confirmed.
  11. Sean to confirm arrangements for President’s Sunday with Nick. Completed
  12. Chris Jones to contact Lello and arrange a date for his enrolment. Action closed, new action agreed.

Decisions

  1. The Council agreed to provide up to £150 for a petrol lawnmower for the church.

Notes

  1. We are waiting for the bank to provided information about online banking. They have been provided with all required signatures.
  2. The strategy document was reviewed and it was agreed that Knutsford Circle should aim to support the specific actions as much as possible.
  3. Sean informed council that a copy of Catena containing the obituary for Peter Craig has been sent to his daughter Helena.
  4. Sean will discuss the need to have a membership plan by September at the meeting already planned with Chris and John Long.
  5. Warrington Circle are planning to be the first circle to start face to face meetings – August 17th at Statham Lodge, Lymm.
  6. Social Events – The diary is available on the web-site
    1. 17th June – Halle’ orchestra
    2. 19th June – Pilgrimage in Goyt Valley
    3. 18th July – President’s Sunday (picnic in Tatton Park)
    4. 25th Sep – possible event at Toft Cricket Club

Welfare

No updates were available on welfare since the last Circle Meeting.

17th May, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, Steve Graham, John Long, Felix Martin and Stuart Jones

Apologies: None received

Not Present: Martin Relton, Chris Jones, Nick Johnson

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page). Input given for Treasurer, Secretary, Provincial Councillor and Marketing officer. President, VP, Welfare officer and Membership Officer outstanding.
  2. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  3. Chris Jones to contact Lello and arrange a date for his enrolment.
  4. Felix to contact Chris Jones about how he can help with marketing to encourage new members. Awaiting feedback from Chris
  5. Stuart to confirm whether booking system can cope with third party bookings.

New Actions

  1. John Long to take a lead on Tatton Walks and to use Whats App to encourage brothers to attend.
  2. Stuart to chase Catenian Head office re improvements in the functionality of the Docusoft software.
  3. John Long to see if he can get an update on James O’Dude’s status through his daughters contacts.
  4. Martin Roberts to contact Cottons Hotel with a request to start face to face meetings again in September.
  5. Martin Roberts to find out the arrangements for the Summer Ball at Toft cricket club so we can work out if we should attend as a Circle.
  6. Stuart Jones to arrange another walk.
  7. Felix Martin to identify opportunities for a pilgrimage.
  8. Stuart to speak with Father David about us helping to set up a gardening rota for the church.
  9. Martin Roberts to speak with Tony White to confirm his reasons for resigning and if there is anything else we can do.
  10. Sean to arrange a meeting to discuss membership with Chris Jones, Felix Martin and John Long.
  11. Stuart to act as registrar in June, August and Sep (unless Sep becomes a face to face meeting).
  12. Sean to confirm arrangements for President’s Sunday with Nick
  13. Council members to confirm to Steve Graham if we have missed recording any event in the past year. Specifically Stuart to confirm attendees at the Mass for deceased brothers.

Decisions

  1. At the request of John Sutton we agreed that the Circle’s ‘signature’ event will be our St. Georges Day dinner.
  2. If Tony White does resign we agreed that we should refund his membership (already paid).
  3. John Long agreed to take lead on encouraging brothers to visit more

Notes

  1. The post of Marshall remains outstanding. It was agreed that this was not currently an issue and that any decision could be left until we reconvene face to face meetings.
  2. Cottons hotel have asked us when we would like to start meetings again. We agreed – September.
  3. There was a general discussion about how we could help Chris Jones with membership – see actions.
  4. John Sutton made a plea for the Circle to be more active in encouraging visiting – see actions. Brothers will be particularly encouraged to join Wilmslow Circle on 3rd June which will be followed by a talk.
  5. Social Events
    1. The diary is available on the web-site
    2. 17th June – Halle’ orchestra
    3. 18th July – President’s Sunday
    4. Other opportunities – Pilgrimage, Walk, Visit to another church on a Sunday (e.g. Shrewsbury Cathedral), Italian Night
    5. We recognised that we need a wide range of events so that all brothers have plenty of opportunity to mix socially
  6. Province are holding a mass for teh deceased for those who died during the pandemic. The mass will be at All Holy Angels in Hale Barns on Saturday 17th September

Welfare

The council noted reports that the health of David Perls continues to improve. The latest position of Tony and Margaret Weir was discussed at the May Circle meeting. No updates were available for James O’Dude.

Completed Actions

  1. Nick to establish his entertainments committee and confirm its membership back to council. Committee is Nick, Eddie Haughey and John Long.
  2. Nick to speak with Jim Meagher about being Vice-president. John long now VP.
  3. John to speak with Martin Relton about ensuring that we have some provincial representation at all Council meetings. Completed
  4. Sean and Martin to arrange for letters and cheques to be sent out to charities following the outcome of the charity survey. Completed.
  5. John to send copies of the latest Catenian posters and leaflets to Felix. Completed.
  6. Stuart to check whether Lynne Williams-Rigby should be added to our sick list. Not needed.
  7. Stuart to ensure that our sick list is sent to Eddie Haughey and to let Ken Lewis know that he is the new Circle secretary. Completed.
  8. Sean already has an action from the Circle meeting to get a copy of Peter Craig’s eulogy. This to be shared with Stuart and turned into an obituary. Completed.
  9. Stuart to send to Sean an updated flyer for the Tittesworth walks together with gpx files. Completed.
  10. Sean to send out Tittesworth Flyer. Completed.
  11. Sean to confirm to Martin Roberts the payees for the charity donations and to arrange for appropriate PR. All payments have been made and information has been sent to Knutsford Guardian – hopefully for publication.
  12. Martin Roberts to arrange for completion of forms related to change of signatories for cheques. Completed.
  13. Sean to contact Jim Flood about restarting the Tatton walks (and to also seek to involve Father David). Completed.
  14. Sean to encourage either JWR or James to attend meetings to ensure we are up to date on welfare. JWR has agreed to provide a report prior to a Circle meeting.
  15. Martin Roberts to confirm that Paul O’Brien is happy to remain as an auditor. Completed.
  16. Stuart to update the list of Circle Officers on the web-site. Completed.
  17. Felix to include an article in the newsletter encouraging brothers to attend the next Wilmslow meeting at Which John Sutton is speaking. Completed.

19th April, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, Steve Graham, Felix Martin and Stuart Jones

Apologies: Nick Johnson

Not Present: Martin Relton, Chris Jones

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Nick to establish his entertainments committee and confirm its membership back to council.
  2. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page.
  3. John to send copies of the latest Catenian posters and leaflets to Felix.
  4. Nick to speak with Jim Meagher about being Vice-president
  5. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  6. Sean and Martin to arrange for letters and cheques to be sent out to charities following the outcome of the charity survey

New Actions

  1. John to speak with Martin Relton about ensuring that we have some provincial representation at all Council meetings
  2. Sean to contact Nick Johnson and/or Chris Jones to confirm what arrangements have been made for Rafele Marelle (Lello) to be enrolled at a future meeting and to also confirm contact details and to then share these with Stuart so we can ensure all the records are up to date.
  3. Stuart to check whether Lynne Williams-Rigby should be added to our sick list
  4. Stuart to ensure that our sick list is sent to Eddie Haughey and to let Ken Lewis know that he is the new Circle secretary.
  5. Sean already has an action from the Circle meeting to get a copy of Peter Craig’s eulogy. This to be shared with Stuart and turned into an obituary.
  6. Stuart to send to Sean an updated flyer for the Tittesworth walks together with gpx files.
  7. Stuart to see if the web booking system can easily handle 3rd Party bookings.
  8. Sean to send out Tittesworth Flyer
  9. Martin Roberts to arrange for completion of forms related to change of signatories for cheques.
  10. Martin Roberts to confirm that Paul O’Brien is happy to remain as an auditor
  11. Sean to confirm to Martin Roberts the payees for the charity donations and to arrange for appropriate PR
  12. Sean to contact Jim Flood about restarting the Tatton walks (and to also seek to involve Father David).
  13. Felix to contact Chris Jones about how he can help with marketing to encourage new members
  14. Stuart to update the list of Circle Officers on the web-site.
  15. Sean to encourage either JWR or James to attend meetings to ensure we are up to date on welfare
  16. Felix to include an article in the newsletter encouraging brothers to attend the next Wilmslow meeting at Which John Sutton is speaking.

Decisions

  1. AGM Agenda will be: President’s Report, Financial Report, Vote on subscriptions, Vote to approve auditors
  2. Approved signatories for cheques to be: Sean McGhee, Martin Roberts and Stuart Jones

Notes

  1. Sean has spoken to John Long about him becoming Vice-President – no decision yet.
  2. Nominations for the position of Marshall are not needed until we start face to face meetings
  3. Stuart briefly covered the capability of the Catenian Docusoft system. It provides a good record of current brothers but an incomplete record of deceased brothers which Stuart will rectify. It does not have a reporting capability and cannot, for example, record attendance at meetings. Stuart has requested some changes but has not heard anything. Stuart will make downloads available on the Council Google Drive.
  4. The value of hybrid meetings (F2F and video) was discussed with a number of brothers indicating skepticism given experience of such meetings at work. we first need to check how many brothers are happy to come back to F2F meetings.
  5. John Sutton shared his view that the Circle should encourage attendance at the Macclesfield and Wilmslow Circle meetings (our mother and daughter circles).
  6. Steve raised a number of points about the information held in the attendance register spreadsheets. It was noted that we need a better system for recording visits. At future meetings Stuart will cover any notices and visits and ask brothers to indicate if they have made any additional visits.
  7. Planned social/entertainment events are
    1. Wine Tasting – April 23rd (this would be our St. George’s event)
    1. Desert Island Disks with Chris Jones – 5th May
    2. Tittesworth Walks – 15th May

Welfare

The council noted reports that the health of David Perls continues to improve. We will check with David at the next circle meeting he wants to be kept on the sick list. Updates were not available for Tony Weir or James O’Dude.

Completed Actions

  1. Stuart, with Steve, to review the capabilities of the new catenian database and see how it can be used to simplify administration (e.g. recording visitors). Done – see below.
  2. John Sutton to confirm what funding is available for a Membership Drive with Mike Guerin. Done.
  3. Martin to arrange a donation of £25 to the church for the mass for deceased brothers. Done
  4. Mike to arrange to get frames for the 40 year scrolls and to provide a copy of the the invoice for the scrolls to Martin Roberts. Done – frames are with Sean for presentation when we are back face to face
  5. Sean to speak to john Long about being Vice-president. Done – see below.
  6. Nick to check with Rafele Marelle (Lello) whether he will be attending the April Circle meeting for his enrolment. Done but Lello unable to attend because of work commitments
  7. Sean to talk to Tom about getting a note out about the Wine Tasting for April 23rd. Done
  8. Felix to talk to Chris Jones about the next episode of Desert Island Disks and to confirm the date (early May). Done – booked for 5th May.
  9. Martin to talk to Cotton’s Hotel to ask when they will be opening again for events like ours. Done – expected start date is September
  10. Stuart to add articles to the newsletter about the National Conference and payment of subscriptions. Done.

8th March, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, Steve Graham, Mike Hosker, Nick Johnson, Stuart Jones plus guest Felix Martin

Not Present: Martin Relton, Kevin Morgan

Meeting started at 19:30 and finished at 21:15

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Nick to establish his entertainments committee and confirm its membership back to council.
  2. Stuart, with Steve, to review the capabilities of the new catenian database and see how it can be used to simplify administration (e.g. recording visitors.
  3. Council members to provide details of ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers to Stuart (who will update the relevant web-page.
  4. John Sutton to confirm what funding is available for a Membership Drive with Mike Guerin.

Actions

  1. Martin to arrange a donation of £25 to the church for the mass for deceased brothers
  2. John to send copies of the latest Catenian posters and leaflets to Felix.
  3. Mike to arrange to get frames for the 40 year scrolls and to provide a copy of the the invoice for the scrolls to Martin Roberts
  4. Nick to speak with Jim Meagher about being Vice-president
  5. Sean to speak to john Long about being Vice-president
  6. Nick to check with Rafele Marelle (Lello) whether he will be attending the April Circle meeting for his enrolment.
  7. Sean to choose a new a charity for his 2021/22 presidential year
  8. Sean to talk to Tom about getting a note out about the Wine Tasting for April 23rd
  9. Felix to talk to Chris Jones about the next episode of Desert Island Disks and to confirm the date (early May)
  10. Martin to talk to Cotton’s Hotel to ask when they will be opening again for events like ours.
  11. Sean and Martin to arrange for letters and cheques to be sent out to charities following the outcome of the charity survey
  12. Stuart to add articles to the newsletter about the National Conference and payment of subscriptions

Decisions

  1. Subscriptions to be held at the same level as this year (subject to approval by Circle) and will be due in April.
  2. Surplus funds (£1,800) will be given to 7 charities – 2 will get £500; 2 £250; 3 £100. The ranking is shown below following the voting by brothers. The charities chosen are:
    1. £500 – UK Sepsis Trust (President’s Charity) and SVP
    2. £250 – Knutsford Scouts – furnishing the new building on the Moor and Benevolent Fund
    3. £100 – Re-varnishing of St. Vincents Church Pews, Shrewsbury Diocesan Youth Mission – Mobile base and Bursary Fund
  3. The Council reviewed whether a loan could be offered to the SVP. It was decided that we would not do this – the Circle needs to keep funds following the charity donations for contingencies.
  4. Rafele Marelle (Lello) should, hopefully, enrol to our Circle in April (ready for the new year).

Notes

  1. Volunteers to take on the role of Vice President are being cultivated, but no decisions yet.
  2. The Circle has been notified that there will no longer be a discount for Brothers receiving the on-line version of Catena.
  3. Sean has produced a calendar of events for the Circle which was well received. A copy of the calendar is now available on the web-site.
  4. Planned social/entertainment events are
    1. Evening of recollection – 11th March
    2. Fun Evening at 750th Meeting – April 7th
    3. Wine Tasting – April 23rd (this would be our St. George’s event)
    4. Desert Island Disks with Chris Jones – early May

Welfare

The council noted with pleasure that David Perls had been able to attend the Circle Meeting and Church. Updates were not available for Tony Weir, Peter Craig or James O’Dude.

8th February, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, Steve Graham, Stuart Jones

Not Present: Mike Hosker, Nick Johnson, Kevin Morgan

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Nick to establish his entertainments committee and confirm its membership back to council.

Actions

  1. Sean to speak to Tom Hughes regarding sending flowers (budget £35) to David and Angela Perls, and to John Williams-Rigby regarding arranging a Mass to be said for David’s recovery.
  2. Steve to contact Mike Dobson to ask about interest in being vice-president.
  3. Martin to arrange a donation of £50 to the church via Tony Andrews.
  4. Stuart to ask Bill Gore if he would be happy to have his Desert Island Disks session recorded.
  5. Sean and Stuart to liaise on the best way of holding the vote for charities to receive surplus funds.
  6. John to speak with Nick Johnson to confirm the arrangements for Lello to transfer to our circle and associated payment of capitation fees.
  7. John Sutton to arrange for the Circle to get hold of the latest Catenian posters.
  8. John Sutton to confirm what funding is available for a Membership Drive with Mike Guerin.
  9. Stuart to send out details of new ‘key responsibilities’ page for Circle Officers so that officers can add their input.
  10. Stuart, with Steve, to review the capabilities of the new catenian database and see how it can be used to simplify administration (e.g. recording visitors.

Decisions

  1. Subscriptions to be held at the same level as this year (subject to approval by Circle).
  2. Surplus funds (£1,800) will be given to 7 charities – 2 will get £500; 2 £250; 3 £100. The ranking will be voted on by brothers to determine which charity gets which funds. The charities chosen are:
    1. UK Sepsis Trust (President’s Charity)
    2. Shrewsbury Diocesan Youth Mission – Mobile base
    3. SVP
    4. Knutsford Scouts – furnishing the new building on the Moor
    5. Re-varnishing of St. Vincents Church Pews
    6. Benevolent Fund
    7. Bursary Fund
  3. Rafele Marelle (Lello) should transfer to our Circle in April (ready for the new year).
  4. Circle meeting attendance in Zoom meetings will be recorded on a spreadsheet. Once we start face to face meetings again a copy of the spreadsheet will be kept in the register book.

Notes

  1. The 40 year scrolls for John Williams-Rigby and Paul Yearsley will be ordered with the presentation date recorded as the date of their anniversary.
  2. Martin Relton has agreed to be Provincial Councillor but is not expected to attend Council Meetings.
  3. Sean raised the fact that not all members wanted to donate the surplus to charity, and that some were in favour of keeping the funds in the Circle account, but the majority of council thought that we should not include that as an option in the member survey.
  4. Volunteers to take on the role of Vice President are being cultivated, but no decisions yet.
  5. Cottons hotel remains unavailable for meetings, Martin receives an update on availability every month.
  6. Planned social/entertainment events are
    1. Desert Island Disks with Bill Gore – 25th Feb
    2. Charter and Clergy evening with Father David Long – March 1st
    3. Evening of recollection – 11th March
    4. Fun Evening at 750th Meeting – April 7th
    5. Wine Tasting – April 23rd (this would be our St. George’s event)

Welfare

The council noted with pleasure that David Perls is now home from hospital. Updates were not available for Tony Weir, Peter Craig or James O’Dude. We also agreed to remove Peter Doran from our sick list.

11th January, 2021

Present: Sean McGhee (President), John Sutton, Martin Roberts, Steve Graham, Nick Johnson, Stuart Jones

Not Present: Mike Hosker, Kevin Morgan

Outstanding Actions (from previous meetings)

  1. Sean to write a letter to Father David thanking him for his work over Christmas

Actions

  1. Sean to check with Mike Hosker whether we had received the 40 year scrolls for John Williams-Rigby and Paul Yearsley.
  2. Nick to liaise with John Long to set up a fun night on April 12th (750th Meeting)
  3. Sean to talk to Felix Martin about setting up an evening of recollection during Lent
  4. Sean to talk to Felix Martin about doing the Desert Island Disk session with Bill Gore on Feb 25th
  5. Nick to establish his entertainments committee and confirm its membership back to council
  6. Nick to propose ideas for an entertainments programme for review by council in February
  7. Sean to talk to Father David about the possibility of him doing and after Circle talk on March 1st (as our Charter and Clergy celebration)
  8. Nick to ensure a follow up with Rafele Marelle (Lelo) regarding his transfer to Knutsford Circle.
  9. John to speak with Mike Chidgey to ensure we have the latest available contact details for Lelo
  10. Stuart to contact Mike Hosker to start the transfer of secretarial duties.
  11. John to let Stuart know the details of any proposed visits for February

Notes

  • The requiem mass for Bernard Fitzgibbon will take place on 14th January at 11:00. It has been organised by Tony Andrews with help from Sean
  • Felix Martin will take on the role of marketing officer.
  • John Sutton is expected to be Provincial President
  • Chris Jones will be membership secretary
  • Nick Johnson will be entertainments secretary
  • The posts of vice-president and provincial councillor remain vacant

Welfare

The council noted positive progress of David Perls and Peter Doran following their recent operations. David remains very ill and in need of our prayers. Updates were not available for Tony Weir, Peter Craig or James O’Dude.