BRANCH NEWSLETTER OCTOBER
2008.
Dear Members,
As always there have been a few changes in our membership since
the last Newsletter: we have been joined by six new members and we
warmly welcome to our ranks Mr & Mrs Lilly and Donald
Lilly, Mrs V Fitzwilliams, and Mr D Eddleston.But sadly we have to
record the passing of three long standing members, Mr K
Weightman, Mr R Wade, and Mr O Knowles,all of whom have recently
passed away. Ken Weightman served in the 8th Army
as a tank commander before being taken prisoner in Italy; Richard
Wade served in the RAF, and Oliver Knowles was in India and the Far
East with the RIASC ending the war in the rank of Lt Colonel. The
Branch was represented at all three funerals, and we extend our
condolences to all their friends and families, and hope that all
three may Rest in Peace.
It's Subscription time again!
As all members will know there is no increase in the Affiliation
Fee this year and it remains at £11.00pp, but it is due
on 1st October. Those of you who pay by
Direct Debit should already have received your 2008/9 cards and the
money will have been collected automatically from your bank
account. If you are aCash payer all we ask is that
you Please pay promptly and save the officers and the
Branch a lot of time and expense chasing. As always there
are 3 ways to pay:-
- by cash or cheque payable to the Royal British Legion to any
committee member or at a Branch meeting.
- by cheque through the post to the Secretary at the address at
the top of this Newsletter.
- at Watlington Post Office. Once again we are indebted
to our Postmistress and her staff for this service, and in case
anyone is unaware of the details all you have to do is leave your
£11.00 (cash or cheque) in an envelope clearly marked with your
name and "Royal British Legion subscription" It will be
collected and your new card will be sent or delivered to you. It
couldn't be any easier so if you haven't done it yet, Please
do it NOW. Thank you.
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The "winds of change" have been blowing through
the Memorial Club since Q-Tass pulled out at the end
of July, and we understand that the Bar is about to reopen under
new management any day now. Meanwhile our monthly meetings in the
Town Hall continue to be very well attended and we have enjoyed
listening to talks on a wide variety of subjects by guest speakers.
A few dates for your diaries include the AGM on November
4th, and a social evening on December
2nd which we hope will be attended by Group Captain
Paul Lyall, Station Commander RAF Benson, before leaving Benson for
his next posting; then next year Professor Neville Brown, an
ex-Watlington boy well known to many of you, will be visiting us in
March '09.
Remembrance time will soon be with us once again and our
new Poppy Appeal organiser, Julie Polkinghorne, will
be hoping to improve on last year's collection total. We are very
grateful to the Parish Council who have allowed us to use some loft
space over their office for the storage of Poppy material, and
hopefully this will enable us to dispense the boxes and trays in an
orderly fashion. Our new MP, John Howell, has kindly
agreed to "launch" the Appeal fortnight at the War Memorial
onFriday 24th October at 11am. All members and
friends will be welcome to attend this small ceremony which will
involve John "buying" the first Poppy, and a photo shoot for the
Press. If you can spare a little time to help with the collection
in any way please don't hesitate to give Julie or the secretary a
call on 613917 or 612288, we would love to hear from you.
The Legion's latest campaign called "Return to
Rationing" is aiming to draw attention to and improve the
financial situation of thousands of ex-Service pensioners by
telling the public about the hardships suffered by many older
veterans. For the first time the Legion will be campaigning
alongside Age Concern who as we all know is a National charity
dealing specifically with the needs and interests of older people.
We should all have received by now a postcard to be filled in and
returned (Freepost) and these will be delivered in bulk to the
Government. If you have not received such a postcard and would like
one in order to show your support for the campaign, please phone
the Secretary. The last Legion campaign,"Honour the
Covenant" was incidentally highly successful in focussing on
compensation, medical treatment, and support for bereaved
families.
Following the success of the first Windsor Castle
Tattoo last May from which all profits went to the Legion it
has been confirmed that next year's event will be held on 13-16
May, and once again all profits will go to the Legion.
And finally here are a few crazy labels which might help to
raise a smile in these grim times:-
On a bag of crisps; "you could be a winner, no purchase
necessary (details inside)."
On a Tesco dessert pudding - printed on the bottom "do not turn
upside down"
On an M&S pudding - "product will be hot after heating".
On a Rowenta ironing machine - "do not iron clothes while on
body"
On Nytol sleep aid - "may cause drowsiness".
On Virgin Airline packet of nuts - "instructions- open packet,
discard, and eat nuts".
On Boots children's cough medicine - "do not drive your car or
operate machinery".
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