THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

COLSTON BASSETT, OWTHORPE AND COTGRAVE BRANCH

www.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/colston-bassett

Chairman, Trowell Stud, Owthorpe Road, Cotgrave, Nottingham, NG12 3PU.    0115 9899094

Dear Member,

I last wrote to you in January telling you what the Branch had done in the latter part of 2011 and what we hoped to do in 2012. It seems that a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then and we have had a very active time, which I summed up in the article in the 1 June edition of Cotgrave Connections and which is at page 3 of this letter. Today I write to give you more information on the future events and to ask you once again for your help.

Cotgrave Festival of Sport.(25 to 30 June)        I hope that most of you are aware of the Cotgrave festival of Sport taking place during the evenings of Monday 25 to Friday 29 June and culminating in a Grand Finale fun day for all the family on Saturday 30 Jun. I hope that you will be able to come and enjoy yourselves at what promises to be a good event; you can see the full program by visiting www.cotgravecommunity.com. Your Branch will be running the Wellie Wanging on Wednesday and Friday evenings stating at 6 pm and will have a stand on the Saturday alongside the Army Cadets. The stand will include a Tombola and may I thank those who have provided me with prizes and offered help so far. It almost goes without saying that I need more prizes and more help so anyone who is free that day please see if you can manage an hour or so on the playing fields of the Cotgrave Welfare and give me a ring (0115 9899094).

Branch Summer BBQ.(14 July)  Hot on the heels of the Festival of Sport comes the Branch Summer BBQ on Saturday 14 July at the Village Hall in Colston Bassett. After a cold and rainy Jubilee weekend we hope that the sun will shine on us from 6pm when we open the doors. This is the main Branch fundraising event this year outside the Poppy appeal and many members put in a lot of effort to make it memorable. I need every member of the Branch to come to the BBQ and bring a pile of family and friends. The flyer for the BBQ is at page 4 and Bert Wragg (01949 81532) and I (0115 9899094) look forward to getting loads of requests for tickets.

Visit to The National Memorial Arboretum.(15 September) The Branch last visited the NMA (www.thenma.org.uk) some years ago and there have since then been many requests to make the journey once again. We are planning to join forces with the Bingham Branch and visit Arlewas on Saturday 15 September. We expect to set off in a luxury coach from Cotgrave Welfare at about 0930 and return to the Welfare by 1530. The cost will be about £10 per head and this will include £1 for the RBL welfare funds. Quite obviously I need to know numbers and would be grateful if you would let me know if you would like to come. Guests will be welcome but members will take priority if it becomes necessary.

New Standard to All Saints Church.(16 September)  On Sunday 16 September the day after our visit to Arlewas the new Branch standard will be mounted on the wall inside All Saints church, Cotgrave. In my last e mail I said that the Standard would be ‘laid up’ but that will not be the case. Our older standard, when not in use, rests in Saint John the Devine church in Colston Bassett and after 16 September our new Standard will do the same in All Saints church. Hopefully there will be a great turnout from Branch members.

Festival of Remembrance.            Bryan Tansley has received this year’s letter concerning attendance at the Festival of Remembrance in London on Saturday 10 th November. The Branch has a small allocation of tickets and anyone wishing to attend should contact him. (0115 9894416).

The Earl of Chesterfield.  Last but certainly not least we congratulate Jodie McCabe, one of our members, and her husband Steve on taking over and renovating so well the Earl of Chesterfield pub in Shelford. You can see the result of their magnificent efforts on www.theearlofchesterfiel.co.uk. Shelford is a beautiful village close to the river Trent and has many lovely walks nearby. Steve is an outstanding chef and the whole project has a splendid future. Both Jodie and Steve welcome members of the RBL and particularly Branch members. (0115 9332227)

Timetable of Future Events.                    Below I show a timetable of future events.

COLSON BASSETT, OWTHORPE AND COTGRAVE BRANCH

THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

CBOC Branch members now number 108 and we have significantly exceeded our recruiting targets for the last 3 years. Also on the increase is our activity, particularly in the task areas of Welfare and Comradeship.

We are actively helping with many and varied welfare requirements and receiving great support from the RBL County Welfare Organisation. Our fundraising has allowed us to donate £500 to County Welfare funds and a further £500 to support the RBL Battle Back Centre, a project costing £30M over the next 5 years. Well done and thank you to all those that have helped us.

Over 50 members attended our splendid Spring Supper at the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club in March and raised over £100 from the raffle. Following our successful evening Fish and Chip supper before Christmas last year we returned to the Lime Kiln, Cropwell Bishop in April for a Pie Supper. 44 of us enjoyed a slap up meal and a clever quiz.

A couple of weeks later we paid a visit to Loughborough University. We had been invited to spend an excellent day in the Aeronautical and Automotive Department viewing and learning about planes and cars. The lucky ones amongst us were allowed to try out the university flight simulator but, try as we may, no one would trust us with the student racing car.

In the future we will be playing a full part in the Cotgrave Festival of Sport during the week 25^th to 30^th June.

On 14 July the Branch will be holding its summer BBQ at Colston Bassett Village Hall starting at 6pm. This promises to be a splendid event so why not come along. You don’t need to be a member.

Later in the year we hope to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and the next day lay up our new Branch Standard in All Saints Church. After that it will be all stops out for the Poppy Appeal, looking to raise over £5000 for this very this worthy cause.