It was 20 years ago today...(some bloke called McCartney nicked that line from me).
by N. Mon 10 Aug (Updated at Mon 10 Aug)I just wanted to say how brilliant it was to see so many people enjoying the Anniversary weekend - and a big thank you to Ian, Paul, Ed, Robin and everyone else involved for putting on such a great event.
Unfortunately, I could only attend on Saturday, and had to leave mid-afternoon because of prior commitments - but it was great to meet some new faces and catch up with some old friends.
I still can't quite believe that the club is 20 years old!
It seems a very long time ago that about six of us got together in the back room at The Cannon pub for a couple of beers and few games - and back then I never expected the club to still be here two decades later - and certainly never dreamed that it would have flourished and grown to the extent that it has.
This is, in no small measure, due to the efforts of many others. Every single person who has come along to the club over the last 20 years has played a part in its success, but there a few people who deserve a special mention...
Firstly, David Male, who kindly took over running the club when I had to step back because of family commitments. David, who joined the club very near the beginning, was the one who initiated the first website for the club, and while over the previous years the membership had slowly grown from the original half dozen to a total of about 20 members, it was David's website that helped publicise the club and started drawing in new members on a more regular basis.
Secondly, I am sure everyone who currently goes to the club will appreciate how much time and effort Ian, Paul, Ed and Robin have put in. When they took over from David a few years ago, they have built upon what he achieved and have taken the club on to a whole new level in terms of a new website (thanks to Dan), membership, events, etc, and even luxuries like carpets, blinds and swanky neoprene mats - none of which had even been invented back in 2006. :-)
When they took over from David, I did worry that Paul and Ian might be a bit too shy and quiet for the job, but I think they are starting to come out of their shell a little bit... ;-)
Seriously though, they have really turbo-charged the development of the club, while still keeping it a friendly, welcoming environment for new members. There have also been other unsung heroes in the background over the years, who have all helped the organisers in various ways. I won't name names because I don't want to risk missing anyone out, but they all also deserve a big thank you for their time and efforts.
Last of all, but certainly not least, any kind of club can only survive and flourish for this long if it has an enthusiastic and supportive membership -so all of the current members, together with everyone else that has been part of the club over the last 20 years, deserve huge credit for the ongoing success. The club probably wouldn't be here, and definitely wouldn't be what it is today, without all of you.
For various reasons, I have not managed to get to the club anywhere near as much as I would have liked to for the past few years, but it is heartwarming to see it doing so well, and to see so many people getting so much out of it - so a big thank you to David , Ian, Paul, Ed, Robin, Dan etc - and all of you - for making the club what it is.
…and thanks again to the current team for putting on a great Anniversary weekend.
Best wishes to all, and I hope to see you a week on Thursday.
Happy gaming,
Nigel
P.S. Steve - I think you still owe me your entry fee for that first session at The Cannon. ;-) (Ed - please make sure he coughs up!)
Comments
Agree totally Nigel, but you missed one person to thank.
If you hadn't setup the club 20 years ago, all the people you rightfully gave credit to above would not have had chance to develop and nurture it, so thany you very much. And you set up the club in my home town too, so I can walk there and enjoy a few beers :-). Top man!
Thanks Steve. Very kind of you.
P.S. Only another 5 years to go and you will qualify for the 'long service' medal. (And a free half-pint of shandy at the bar). ;-)
Excellent write up Nigel. Me and Dan first came along in either 2007 or 2008. My old brain can’t remember exactly, but we were made very welcome and I wouldn’t have imagined we’d still be coming all these years later.
We’ve met and played with so many great people and played countless different games and had some great laughs. One of our earliest sessions was a game of Agricola with Julian and his wife (whose name escapes me), but he was struggling to get the hang of it and ended up with a score of -13 😂.
So many thanks Nigel for founding the club 👏🏻.
Thanks John. Yes, you and Dan were there, and have supported the club, from very early on - so thank you.
I think Julian's wife was called Esther - but my memory is probably even worse than yours, so Esther was probably somebody else's wife! 😂
Ah yes Esther that was it. Well remembered 😁.
Great write up Nigel, although my circumstances have changed quite a bit some 6 years & I cannot make the weekly Thursdays like I used to I still enjoy the weekend games days when I can. I agree about the extent to which the group has grown & how the events, marketing, etc have accelerated over the years.
I think my first time coming was 2005 perhaps when the group was still quite young & we had old regulars like Damon & Baldyworth 🤣
Many thanks for the early years of getting me into gaming… you didn’t thank me for bankrolling your playboy lifestyle all those 20 years ago…? 🤣
Thanks Matt. And yes, I must apologise. Without you and Big Nick (Ed's dad) - who is sadly missed, and was a big part of the club for many years - buying all of those games from me, I would still be living in cardboard box on the M1. 😂
Oh, and one other thing Matt...the club didn't start until 2006, so not quite sure which club you were attending in 2005?😂
...Probably that one that got closed down by the Vice Squad.
Must’ve been later in 2006 or 2007 I joined then Nigel!
Huggy’s club is the one that got shut down by the vice squad!
Nigel, thanks for the write up and for founding the club. You have made this neck of the English woods more sociable and more fit, with all the table folding and carrying we must do :-) As playing on BGA during Covid showed, there's really no subsitute for face 2 face bantering, surprise findings of small pieces dropped a week ago, roaming around the other rooms to see what others are playing, etc. I can't remember if I joined late 2006 or early 2007 but I do know that I moved to the UK on the 10th of August 2004, which means the club has been a steady constant of my life in the UK. Many thanks to you and all those who have played with me, endured my analysis paralysis, and introduced me to great and rubbish games. (The latter are needed to form one's taste in games.) Long may this club continue and, for all the reasons you mention, I think it will.
Thanks Michel. The fact that the club has endured is oviously down to everyone, old and new, involved over the years - but without stalwarts like you in the early days, who attended nearly every week, even when in the we sometimes only had enough people for one table, I am sure that the club might have just fizzled out.
I have tried to avoid namechecking individuals as much as possible, partly to avoid offending anyone I don't mention, and partly because I might forget to mention someone important, but...I will risk it.
So I do want to say a special thank to you, Ian Jenkinson, David M, Paul B, Steve, John & Dan, Keith, Nick Bleech, Matt, Chris Tyler, Nick Butterworth, Andre, Manuela, Damen...and of course, the legend/myth that is Huggy...for helping to get the club off the ground and providing the solid foundation that the 'new management' and more recent members have been able to so successfully build upon.
...and although, when playing a game with you in those early days, your turn often gave the rest of us an opportunity to go the bar, read a book, or re-decorate our house, it has been a pleasure to get to know you and to have you at the club - and it is great that you (and some of the others mentioned above) are still enjoying it and very much a part of the current scene.
That last paragraph made me laugh out loud 😂. Good old Michel 😄.
