Minutes of the committee meeting held in the Victoria Club Skittle Alley.
Wednesday 22nd May 2019.
The meeting started at 7.30 pm.

1. Welcome, introductions and apologies for absence
   PRESENT: David Brunt (chairman) DB, Marina Richards MR, Jacqui Knight JK, Tom Winn TW, Peter Fry PF, Barbara Fry BF, Trevor Skinner TS, Francis Knight FK, Kay Strain KS, Gabbie Butler GB, Catherine Atkins Ca.A, David Atkins DA, Barbara Cowell BC, Rebecca Wells RW, Sally Wood SW, Paul Badman PB
   APOLOGIES: Claire Axten Cl.A, Katrina Dumontrotty KD
   
2. Minutes of the April meeting:
   DB checked that everyone had read the minutes from the previous meeting and signed them as a true record
3. Matters Arising:
   a) New venue for meetings as from June: Upstairs Parish room £8.50per hour but no lift. Strode Theatre £30per hour and not suitable during holidays as extra cost. Members houses discussed but not favoured. United Reform Church £15 for 3hrs and 10% off if 5 sessions booked. Mullions Hotel breakfast room is free if some bought drinks. It was agreed that TS would book the Mullions for the 4th Wednesday of the month from 7.30pm.
   b) Investiture: A very enjoyable evening and Nina Swift mentioned how wonderful Street Twinning is in her speech.
   c) Twinning Greeting Card: KS showed a draft A5 size folded card with the possibility of Street Twinning and logo on the front and blank inside costing 10-15p per copy. JK was keen for the email, website and Facebook address to be included and SW suggested a collage of 3 photos. KS agreed to get some quotes for different designs.
   
4. Treasurers Report: Current account £3,389.11. Reserve account £8,040.76
   MR stated that a BACS payment of £1000 had been paid into the account but she does not know who it is from.
   Cheese and Wine Report: Please see attached report. Profit £373.67
   A well-attended event with lots of wine and food including many different cheeses. Thank you to Tina and Tony for their great hospitality and also to Gabbie and Martyn Butler for providing the games. TW said what a lovely evening it had been and was very happy to see Hazel and Ivor Russel at the event. It was agreed that JK will keep a Supporters email list so as non-members can be informed of any future fundraising events. If anyone knows of any non-members who would like to support such events please contact Jacqui with their email address so as they can be added to the list.
   
5. Record of wine:
   DB has stock of 12 red and 3 white wine for future events
   
6. Visit to Gravenchon: Wed 15th April to Sun 19th April 2020 (provisional until booked)
   KD contacted Brittany Ferries reference sailing from Portsmouth to Caen. They don’t have pricing yet and we can’t book until late Aug/Sept. A discussion followed about other possible crossings. Key points were time of travel and availability of day time cabins. An overnight crossing and a Dover to Calais crossing was not favoured. Other possible options of New Haven to Dieppe and Portsmouth to Le Harve were discussed and so JK will contact KD to see if she would be happy to look into these other options. MR had contacted some coach companies for quotes:
   Taylors Coaches 55 seater executive coach £3,450.00 (£3,300.00 last year), Bakers Coaches £2,250.00, SMC coach hire £3,000.00 Coach and Ferry travel carried over to the next meeting.
   
7. Visit to Isny:
   Mon 28th Oct to Fri 1st Nov 2019 (booked) nothing further to report.
   Since the meeting it has been confirmed that the new family travelling to Isny now have a host family.
   
8. Publicity / recruitment of new members:
   FK said it is important to follow up with people who show interest in the twinning. He mentioned a parish councillor who had attended a previous meeting as a potential new member. DA offered to contact him.
   Since the meeting we are in the June edition of Local Reach.
   
9. Fundraising for 2019:
   a) Quiz: Fri 8TH Nov at the Victoria Club. More details will follow nearer the time.
   b) Bric a brac market stall: Val Appleby asked if we would help do a stall on Thurs 23rd May and split the profit 50/50. JK, FK, DB, GB volunteered.
   c) Strawberry Tea: Sunday 23rd June from 3pm at Avril and William Berry’s in Street. Cake and raffle prize donations please but no strawberry and cream cakes. Tickets are available from any committee member £7 adult £4 child (aged 5-14) Raffle and possibly a game of boule. Please take own chairs and picnic table if needed. Payments by BACS or cash/cheque to DB.
   d) Choir: DA is working on this idea. Carried over.
   
10. Website / Facebook /Twitter:
    All being kept up to date
    
11. Congratulations to the May lottery winners
    1st no. 56 Sandy Baird £20
    2nd no. 8 Tina Della Valle £10
    3rd no.14 Martyn Butler £5
    
12. AOB
    RW asked if there could be a thank you letter sent to Millfield Security for allowing us to park the French Coach at Millfield during their stay. DB is happy to do this along with sending a thank you to Tina and Tony for hosting the Cheese and Wine.

1. Welcome, introductions and apologies for absence
   
2. PRESENT: David Brunt (chairman) DB, Marina Richards MR, Jacqui Knight JK, Tom Winn TW, Peter Fry PF, Barbara Fry BF, Claire Axten Cl.A, Francis Knight FK, Kay Strain KS, Catherine Atkins Ca.A, David Atkins DA, Paul Badman PB, Sally Wood SW, Katrina Dumontroty KD
   APOLOGIES: Gabbie Butler, Barbara Cowell and Trevor Skinner. Since the meeting Rebecca has sent her apologies
   
3. Minutes of the January meeting
   DB checked that everyone had read the minutes from the previous meeting and signed them as a true record
   
4. Matters Arising
   a) Numbers for the Investiture: David and Veronica Brunt, Jacqui and Francis Knight, Barbara and Martin Cowell, Tom Winn, Gabbie and Martyn Butler. Since the meeting the numbers have been confirmed with the Street Parish Council.
   b) New Venue for meeting as from May: DA reported that The Bear charge £100. TW reported that there would be no charge for The Victoria Club. It is not available on a Wed but we could use the skittle alley short term. DB reported that the community centre charge £12 an hour and it is available every Wed. KD suggested Brookside School and will enquire. The Legion may charge but are booked every Wed. Ca.A asked if we could meet on a different night, the committee would be happy but not on Tues. TW will book the Victoria Club skittle alley for our May meeting.
   Since the meeting TW has booked the skittle alley for Wed 22nd May but the function room is now booked every night and so The Victoria Club is not an option for future meetings.
   
5. Treasurers Report See attachment.
   Current account balance £1,283.25
   Reserve account balance £8,039.35
   DB questioned the refunds. A few hosts due to unforeseen circumstances either couldn’t host at the last minute or couldn’t attend the trip. As the visit had come in under budget it was felt by the subcommittee that it was possible to refund moneys paid by these members.
   DA pointed out that this year for various reasons the visit had been very good value for money but in the future the costs could be higher.
   TW formally thanked Cl.A and her team for such a great meal and service at the Dinner Dance. Cl.A replied saying she had enjoyed the event and that it had ran very smoothly.
   
6. Visit from Gravenchon 2019
   JK read out the report for the Visit from Gravenchon. See attachment.
   Along with the agenda JK had asked hosts for any constructive feedback. William and Avril Berry had sent DB an email thanking everyone for their hard work and especially thanking Claire and her team. Sharon had sent an email from France, which DB had forwarded onto all members thanking everyone and said how much the French had enjoyed this year’s visit.
   JK reported that she has sent great reviews to Sally Vinyl, the Hairy Dog, West Somerset Railway, Dunster Castle and Taylors Coaches on behalf of Street Twinning.
   JK has sent a report along with a couple of photos to Local Reach and Central Somerset Gazette. Since the meeting JK has sent a report to the Mendip Times. We hope all of these reports will be printed soon.
   TW asked if a letter of thanks will be sent to the Parish Council for their event and it was agreed that DB will do this.
   
7. Visit to Gravenchon 2020: Wed 15th April to Sun 19th April
   The dates which would suit the French are from Wed 15th April to Sunday 19th April 2020. Both French and English children are on school holidays during these dates which will enable hosts and guests to spend time together. Last year many families couldn’t travel to Paris as their children were at school.
   The dates were agreed by the committee with no objections.
   KD offered to look at ferry dates and prices with Brittany Ferries including the possibility of sailing to Le Harve. MR offered to contact Taylors coaches.
   Sharon has suggested a friendly boule match when we visit Gravenchon. DB suggested we could invite the U3A boule team. The committee then discussed the idea. Some concerns were raised i.e. extra travel arrangements and extra costs plus finding accommodation. DA said that this could attract more members and with carful budgeting it shouldn’t affect the overall cost to members. DB said that Sharon was keen for this to happen and would arrange accommodation and if possible find hosts. It was agreed that it would be a fun activity that all ages would enjoy and there is plenty of time to make arrangements before the next visit. DB will write to Peter Lander of the U3A boule team with an idea of cost and what the trip would involve. It would be nice if the team joined us for the whole exchange including the Dinner and Dance and any trips.
   
8. Visit to Isny 2019: Mon 28th October to Fri 1st November
   BF reported that all members travelling to Isny have been contacted by email. Flights have been booked with Easy Jet from Bristol on Mon 28th Oct to Basel with a return flight on Fri 1st Nov 2019. The group of 30 people include a couple of new twinners and their two daughters. BF has received a lovely email from Isny stating that the town of Isny support the twinning which makes it possible to pick the group up from any airport no matter the distance. This made it easier to book the most convenient flights at a good price.
   
9. Publicity / recruitment of new members
   With the new family travelling to Isny we are slowly gaining more members but there still needs to be a drive for new members as for various reasons quite a few members have left in recent years.
   JK asked DA for his assistance in coordinating a membership drive at local schools, as discussed at a previous meeting. It was agreed they would meet and formulate a plan.
   
10. Fundraising for 2019
    a) Quiz: CHANGE OF DATE TO FRI 8TH NOV at the Victoria Club. More details will follow nearer the time.
    b) Bric a Brac market stall: BF and PF stated they were misquoted and would be happy to do the stall again. DA had checked with the Merriman Park Committee group and they have said yes to a joint event and for the proceeds to be split down the middle. PB asked for best sellers so as we can start collecting items, BF stated that children’s items and china sells well.
    c) Cheese and Wine: Fri 17th May at Tina and Tony Della Valle’s house from 7pm. Tickets £8.50 under 18’s £4.00. DA has 20 red and 6 white bottles of wine from France. Tina will organise food and put in expenses. The twinning glasses can be used. DB will liaise with Tina to see what is needed and will check if she needs raffle donations. Tickets are available from any committee member and payments should be sent to DB or paid by BACS.
    d) Strawberry TEA: Sunday 23rd June at Avril and William Berry’s house. MR will liaise with Avril to see what is needed. Ticket prices to follow shortly.
    (For both the above events JK will check with hosts before posting on FB. The twinning has enough raffle tickets in stock for both events.)
    e) Choir No update.
    
11. Website / Facebook /Twitter
    JK reported that the Gravenchon posts have been very popular with lots of likes and shares. We have 118 followers including people in Isny and Gravenchon. The #sallyvinyl post reached 3500 people.
    
12. Lottery winners this month
    1st prize no.25 Yvonne Jones
    2nd prize no.13 Tony Della Valle
    3rd prize no.21 Catherine Atkins
    
13. AOB
    a) Notre Dame Cathedral: DB had received a suggestion from a member that the Association should give a cash donation to the fund for repairs to the Cathedral. He stated that having looked into the matter our constitution doesn’t allow us to make such donations. He suggested that those members who wish to donate can go online. There is a donation website don.fondation-patrimoine.org or members can google Notre Dame Cathedral for more details.
    b) JK and FK suggested a greeting card for Street Twinning which can be sent to say thank you or for condolences etc. There could be photos on the front with the Street Twinning logo and our contact details and it could be signed by the Chairman. This was agreed by the committee and JK and KS will work together to design one and get a quote for printing.
    

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held in the United Reform Church Hall on Wednesday 3rd October 2018.

PRESENT:
Veronica and David Brunt, Claire Axten, Marina Richards, Tom Winn, Barbara and Martin Cowell, Gabbie and Martyn Butler, Jacqui and Francis Knight, Reg Alford, Helen Phillips, Shirley Gunter, Maureen and John Parfitt,Catherine Atkins, Gill Davey, Brian Read,Yvonne and Denys Jones, Trevor Skinner, Sally Wood, Mark Lewis, Viv Squires Tina Della Valle and Fiona White.

APOLOGIES:
Kay Strain, Paul Badman, Kay Winn, Avril and William Berry, David and Hilary Mozley, Jenny Lewis, Rebecca and Stuart Wells.

David welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Minutes of the September Committee Meeting
David checked that everyone had read the minutes and he signed them as a true record.

Matters arising
There were no matters arising.

Chairman’s Report
David began by thanking members of the committee for their support and hard work throughout the past year. Special mention was for Claire, who is standing down as vice chair, but will remain a committee member and for Dianne, Reg, Grace and Bernard, who are leaving the committee but will remain members of the association.
He continued with a review of events of the past year, the Christmas Cracker, Christmas Party, assisting with the Barbeque at Elmhurst School, the Strawberry Tea at Avril and William Berry’s house, Merriman Park Fun Day and the recent Bric a Brac stall in Street Market. All were successful as fundraising events, as well as social gatherings.
He suggested highlights of the year were the day trip to Paris, during our visit to Gravenchon and the trips to Bristol for the SS Great Britain and to Lyme Regis with our friends from Isny.

Treasurers Report
Marina presented the accounts for the financial year to 31st August, as checked by the accountant.
There were a number of complaints from the floor with regard to lack of dates and clarity and there seemed to be inaccuracies, especially in the case of expenditure for the visit from Isny. This was listed as £905, when the true figure was £2434.90.
Marina presented an income/expenditure sheet, prepared for this meeting, showing the true costs. She explained that the confusion is due to the accounts being closed on 31st August, when some bills for the visit had not yet been processed. Unfortunately this situation may always occur for events which take place close to the year end.
Specific questions were:
Q: Why was the cost of the Merriman Park stall so high.
A: Included in this figure was the wine purchased for a number of events, not only that particular Water/Wine stall. Q: Why were insurance costs so high this year and what was being insured.
A: This was a result of the change in the accounting year and this figure represented insurance for the years 2017 and 2018

Election of officers for 2018/19
The following nominations were received by the deadline of 19th September:
David Brunt for Chairman
Jacqui Knight for Secretary
Marina Richards for Treasurer
Tom Winn for Vice Chairman
As there was only one nominee for each position, candidates were asked to leave the room and the vote taken by a show of hands. All were elected. There had been no votes by e-mail.

Review of Financial Procedures and end of year statement.
It was queried why, in view of the confusion expressed earlier, did we employ an accountant at a cost of £50? Marina explained that this was a nominal fee to check the accounts as they were at the year end date. She said an audit by the same firm, would cost in the region of £1000.
She was asked why it was necessary and could they not be checked by any independent person. The answer was that it was necessary in order to apply for the annual grant from Street Parish Council.
It was agreed that an itemised income/expenditure sheet would be produced for each event. This could be circulated to members together with the minutes of that month’s committee meeting.
It was noted that the accountant recommended that the committee should recommend a policy on cash payments for inclusion in the constitution.

The future of Street Twinning Association
David pointed out that, should the full Isny costs have been included in the accounts, they would have shown a deficit of approximately £1000 and this reflects similar losses over the last 4 or 5 years. Our current bank balance is approximately £10000, but if these losses are sustained, the association will soon cease to function. This is hardly the legacy we would wish to leave to future twinners.
The solution is to raise more funds or spend less, or possibly even both. Our fund raising events are not as well supported as they used to be and support does not mean just attending, but encouraging friends and family to come too. Some members always give their full and generous support whenever they are able. Sad to say, there are some we seldom see.
Our membership fees are quite modest and may have to increase
Would members please give us their views with regard to raising funds or saving money. This can be done by mail or via any committee member.

Management committee
Members volunteering to serve on the committee for the coming year are:
Claire Axten, Barbara Cowell, Sally Wood, Trevor Skinner, Catherine Atkins, Gabbie Butler, Barbara and Peter Fry, Francis Knight, Kay Strain, Katrina Dumontroty and Paul Badman.
The next meeting will be at 7.30 on Wednesday 7th November in the Parish Rooms

Lottery
Invitation letters will be sent at the end of October. Lucky winners in the October draw are:
£20 No 52 Catherine Atkins
£10 No 32 Grace Squire
£5 No 10 Catherine Atkins

A.O.B.
“Discovering Your Community” is an event promoted by Street Parish Council, to be held in the Crispin Hall on Saturday 27th October, to which local organisations have been invited to take part. This is an ideal opportunity to showcase our association and possibly recruit new members. Jacqui and Francis Knight have volunteered to organise our input and Jacqui will be asking members to help during the day. The event will be from 9.30 to 4.00.
The Bric a Brac stall in the market was considered to be successful and will be repeated on Thursday 8th November. Once again, help will be requested.
The twinners from both Gravenchon and Isny have new members who would like to host/visit. If you know anyone prepared to accommodate them, please contact a committee member.
It was proposed that the membership fee should increase to £15, effective from the next AGM. This received unanimous support.
Street Twinning flyers have been sent to local schools and Strode theatre.

Minutes of the committee meeting held in the John Webster room, Wednesday 5th September 2018

The meeting started at 7.30 pm.

PRESENT: David Brunt (Chairman), Claire Axten, Tom Winn, Reg Alford, Marina Richards, Paul Badman, Gabbie Butler, Barbara Cowell, Sally Wood, Barbara Fry, Peter Fry, Katrina Dumontroty, Jenny Lewis, Jacqui Knight, Stuart Wells, Catherine Atkins, Kay Strain

APOLOGIES: Dianne Baker

1. David welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. David checked that everyone had read the minutes from the August meeting ad signed them as a true record.

3. Matters Arising
No items were raised.

4. Treasurer’s Report
Marina reported that the bank accounts were favourable. However, fund raising is always very important and support from members of the association is very much needed.
Receipts – for accounting purposes please can it be noted that full receipts will now only be accepted and any other non detailed receipts must be agreed at the committee meetings before payments can be made. This refers to any purchases you may make on behalf of the association and need to claim the money back.

5. Visit from Isny
Barbara read out a comprehensive report on the recent visit of our guests from Isny.
(report can be found at the bottom of this page)

6. Planning for AGM
AGM is on Wednesday 3rd October, 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church, Street. Parking is available in the Cranhill Road car park. We would like as many members as possible to attend.
The calling notice has been sent out and some replies have been received.
At the moment David Brunt has been nominated as Chairman and Jacqui Knight as Secretary.

7. Merriman Park Fun Day
A very successful day. We raised just over £300 with the Water or Wine and the card game for children. A huge thank you to everyone who helped on the day, with special thanks to the Knight family!

8. Cheese & Wine Evening
Sadly, this event has been cancelled due to lack of numbers.

9. Street Christmas Cracker
Saturday 1st December. More details to follow.

10. Christmas Party
After much discussion it was decided to cancel this event. Unfortunately, due to lack of numbers.

11. Visit from Gravenchon Twinners 2019
Dates to be confirmed.
If anyone has any suggestions of places we could visit with our guests please let one of the committee members know.

12. Publicity/Recruitment of new members
Some new fliers have been produced and these have gone to some local schools, Strode Theatre – if any members would like some to hand out to friends and family they will be available at the AGM or we can post some to you.
Publicity is very important for the continuing success of the Twinning Association. Please encourage your friends and family to think about joining.

13. Website & Facebook
Both are being kept up to date.

14. Lottery
Winners this month:
1st Prize – Fiona White
2nd Prize – Gabbie Butler
3rd Prize – Shirley Gunter

15. AOB
We have applied to Street Parish Council for a grant of £1000.
Reg told everyone how much the Isny visitors had enjoyed their trip, saying it was the best they could remember and wanted to pass on their thanks to everyone involved.
It’s possible that the Twinning Association may have a market stall in Street on Thursday 27th September – to be confirmed. If you are in the area please check out our Bric a Brac stall!

16. Date of next meeting
Wednesday 3rd October, 7.30pm at the United Reformed Church, Street. Parking is available in the Cranhill Road car park

Report on the Twinning visit from Isny August 23rd to 29th 2018

This has been the longest Twinning visit to date, our visitors having arrived on Thursday 23rd August and departed on the following Wednesday the 29th.

Seventeen German guests made the trip. Sixteen of them were met at Heathrow and, to make the most of the coach hire and journey, we made a short stop at Windsor on the way home. There was time to walk around the town and to serve tea and cake in the park by the river before continuing to Street. The Seventeenth person flew to Bristol and was met by his hosts.

We have written to the Parish Council to thank them for the warm welcome and excellent lunch that they provided on the first day following a guided tour of points of interest in Street given by Cathy and Dave Atkins. We stopped at the Quaker meeting house where Sheila James showed us round and gave a short talk about the Friends and their impact on the development of our town. We hadn’t expected longstanding twinners to join this tour but it turned out that none of them had done it before and found it interesting.

After lunch in the council chamber decorated with flags and flowers, and to complete our local Somerset day, we drove ourselves to the Willows and Wetlands centre where our visitors were shown a short film about the growing of withies and given a guided tour of the workshops showing how the willow is stripped and dried and woven into baskets, fences, coffins etc. A low key but informative and enjoyable day following a day spent travelling.

The next day was a busy one spent in Bristol firstly visiting the SS Great Britain, a resounding success enjoyed by all ages (8 to 75) and followed by buffet style lunch at Za Za Bazaar which our visitors really enjoyed. The coach then picked us up and drove to the Clifton suspension bridge with time to walk across it for those who wanted. To finish the day we drove up onto the Downs and parked and served tea and cake before returning home.

The following two days were left to the hosts to decide how they spent them because it was a Bank Holiday weekend. Several groups went to Wells on the Monday where the Moat Race was taking place others visited various local National Trust properties. But we did organise evening events for these two days. On the Sunday evening we hired the United Reform Church and had an excellent buffet supper catered by Claire and team followed by a beetle drive and quiz organised by Dave, Cathy and Trevor suitable for all ages and with the express purpose of mixing people up. On the Monday evening we had a voluntary bring and share supper at Barbara and Peter’s house followed by a film of the Sea Dragon fossil discovery at Lyme Regis in preparation for the following day’s visit. Most people decided to come so we squeezed in 34 people for a ‘sit where you can find a space supper’. Both these low cost events had the desired effect of bringing people together and were enjoyed by our German visitors as we learnt that they didn’t all know each other well before the trip. We heard them discussing copying the idea when we go to Isny.

Our last day was spent at Lyme Regis, the sea being particularly attractive to our land bound visitors. We included visits to both the fossil and dinosaur museums, a fish and chip lunch and time to stroll along the Cobb, look for fossils or swim as one intrepid German lady did which inspired our youngest visitor also to plunge in.

The weather obviously makes some difference to the success of a day trip and we were lucky in having good conditions for both days out. The only really bad day was the Sunday family day when we had torrential rain in the morning.

It has been a bonus this year having younger people as part of the group. The enthusiasm of Thierno, the 8 year old German boy and his older sister Nina, rubbed off on us all. Seeing their reactions reminded us of the purpose of Twinning in broadening our minds by meeting new people, observing a different culture, listening to a different language and tasting some different food. It was great having a mix of ages and also important for the future of Twinning and I believe we have another family interested in joining the German exchange alongside some other new people.

Having put together a proposed itinerary and budget early this year we are very pleased to report that the cost of this visit has come in under budget and we have attached detailed accounts to this report for future reference. We used both Taylor’s and Aston’s coach companies, going for the cheapest quotes for each occasion and were happy with both. The cost of coach hire for 4 days was clearly a major part of the total cost and our other costs were very reasonable in relation to the amount of social activity offered because we provided and shared the catering ourselves. We said goodbye to an enthusiastic group of twinners all saying that they would be back.

We don’t have a date yet for our return visit to Isny next year. It is likely to be during the school summer holidays or the end of October holiday week. One challenge for the German Twinning is finding reasonably priced travel particularly if we want to encourage families to join. No one seems to want a long coach journey with overnight stop so we have to investigate all flight options.

We have also been asked about the possibility of finding extra accommodation if the Isny brass band comes to Street with the Twinning group in 2020.

Barbara Fry on behalf of the German exchange organising committee.
Sept 5th 2018

Minutes of the committee meeting held in the John Webster room, Wednesday 4th July 2018

PRESENT: David Brunt (Chairman), Claire Axten, Tom Winn, Reg Alford, Marina Richards, Paul Badman, Gabbie Butler, Barbara Cowell, Martin Cowell, Dianne Baker, Rebecca Wells, Doreen Nicholls, Kay Strain, Sally Wood

APOLOGIES: Peter Fry, Barbara Fry, Bernard Squire, Katrina Dumontroty, Jacqui Knight

1. David welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Proposed Revision of the constitution
The Chairman proposed to accept the modifications and all present were in favour.

3. David checked that everyone had read the minutes from the June meeting and signed them as a true record.

4. Matters Arising
No items were raised.

5. Treasurers Report
The Strawberry Tea raised £274 and the raffle raised £86. Income from the Gravenchon trip was £5378 and the costs incurred were £5957.

6. Visit to Gravenchon
The visit was very successful and everyone had a great time. David received thank you notes from Liz & Jim Lidgate and also from Tina Della Valle.

7. Visit from Isny 2018
All arrangements are in hand, all transport, trips booked. There will be a further meeting on 30th July.

8. Website and Facebook
Both are being kept up to date.

9. Elmhurst School Barbecue
This went very well. David received a thank you from Rachel Prime.

10. Strawberry Tea
This was a great success. David has written on behalf of the Association to thank Avril and William for hosting the event.

11. Merriman Park Fun Day
The Fun Day is Saturday 1st September and we will be running the Water or Wine stall. Donations of bottles of wine would be very much appreciated and any screw top wine bottles (filled with water) are also needed. These can be left at Claire’s – 25 Clockhouse View, Street, thank you.

12. Cheese & Wine Evening
15th September, 7pm at the United Reformed Church, Street. Tickets available from any Committee Member. Ticket prices: £8.50 for adults and £3.50 for children. Adult ticket includes a glass of wine, further glasses will be available on a donation basis. If you have anything you could give for the raffle, please bring this on the night.

13. Street Christmas Cracker
Saturday 1st December.

14. Christmas Party
Friday 7th December – more details in due course.

15. Visit from Gravenchon 2019
Proposed dates are Easter next year; arriving on Wednesday 17th April and departing on Sunday 21st April. New members are needed, couples and a French family with two boys aged 10 & 8 are looking for an English family. Rebecca mentioned that Brookside School will be having an assembly about the twinning next week. Kay to update and forward fliers to Rebecca.

16. Lottery
Winners this month:
1st Prize David Mozley
2nd Prize Gill Davey
3rd Prize David Atkins

17. AOB
No points were raised.