The 2008 AGM was held on Wednesday 12 th March. With the exception of Christine MacFarlane, whose place will be taken by John Wittleton, all the remaining Officers and Committee members will continue for another year.

On behalf of the Club the Chairman thanked Christine for her input and hard work over the last two years. She was one of its most active members. Officially she was responsible for ‘Housekeeping' which involved organising any catering needs (she arranged a fantastic spread of food for the last two Christmas parties!). But apart from that she looked after many other things, for example the pre-programming and storing of hands on the computer, she made sure the duplimating machine was serviced and in good working order and she often came in during the day to do some of the duplimating that for one reason or another could not be done in the evening. She was always keen to get involved with other club activities and became a fully qualified Director and Bridgemate Manager when we were short of volunteers. It is very much hoped that she might feel able to continue with some of these activities, and perhaps re-join the Committee in the near future.

The Chairman presented trophies to the winners of various club competitions. The Fred Newell Cup for most master points gained during the year and the Arthur Jost Plate for the best ten scores over the year both went to Paul Keightley. Christine Moore was awarded the Committee Prize for being the most improved player.

The AGM agreed two rule changes: one was to simplify the Appeals Procedure and the other was to limit the time of service for Club Officers to a maximum of 5 years. There was also discussion of a similar time limit for other Committee Members. This, however, would have to be put to the vote at the next AGM.

A new member raised the question whether it was possible to have biscuits with coffee and in reply it was pointed out that a) the football club supplies the coffee and b) that cards may get sticky which could cause the duplimator to jam up.

It was requested and agreed that Butler scoring nights should also show normal scoring results for comparison. There still seemed to be some lack of understanding about the difference between the two scoring methods. It was suggested that a card showing four main points about Butler scoring could be produced and be put on tables during Butler sessions.

Rita James