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| 29/03/18 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find enclosed our first programme of the New Year. As always we try our best to pick the shows at the best price, the best seats, the shows that you’ve told us you like, at the times that you’ve told us you prefer. I hope you are able to find and book some shows that appeal to you and that you have a happy year’s theatre going. A new year also means that it's membership renewal time. Your 2018 annual subscription to the South Hams Theatre & Concert Club was due on the 1st January, 2018. If you have set up a standing order for £10 or are a new member who joined since the 1st October you need do nothing more. Thank you! The club voted at the AGM last year for the subscription to be simplified and changed to £10, per address, per annum. If you wish to remain a member of the club please change your standing order to £10 per annum or send a cheque for £10 made out to SHTCC. If you don’t wish to remain a member we’ll be sorry to lose you but please let us know you’re leaving. The club’s fourth trip to Stratford upon Avon will be going ahead in September 5th this time to see Christopher Eccleston play Macbeth. There are seats available on the coach and rooms available at the hotel so you can join us if you can obtain tickets directly from the RSC. Check with me for further info. The agenda will be: If you are unable to attend the meeting but still wish to vote a proxy form is available on the club web site or from me by request. The minutes of last year’s AGM and the accounts for 2017 will be available in early March on the club web site (shtcc.uk) Copies will also be available at the AGM or if you would like me to post copies before the meeting e-mail me (nick@shtcc.uk). As specified in the Club's Constitution, all current officers of the club will stand down at the AGM. We we welcome new faces and new ideas on the committee. If any member would like to join us please send in your nomination to the Secretary (Jenny Arnold) by the 28th February. Similarly, if there is any business which you would like moved at the meeting please inform Jenny (jennyarnold368@gmail.com) by that same date. Best wishes, |
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| 29/01/18 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Is it Classical Music or Shakespeare that takes your fancy? Opera? Ballet? Musical? Or a Play? Take your pick from the new club programme - we’ve got it all! We have two opportunities to see two of Shakespeare’s greatest plays: Hamlet & Macbeth – both performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In one case, Hamlet, it’s right on our doorstep in Plymouth and the other, at the RSC’s home in Stratford upon Avon. If you’re a Shakespeare fan you can’t miss the opportunity to support them by booking their tour when it comes to Plymouth early next year. This time of year ushers in a new season of top class classical music performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. We have 3 concerts in this club programme, two being performed at the Great Hall, Exeter and one at the Guildhall, Plymouth. I get the BSO to jump through hoops to reserve us the seats we want - please support these concerts….tell your friends and book. If this doesn’t tick any boxes how about Birmingham Royal Ballet’s‘SleepingBeauty if you love ballet? If depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as listening to some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias appeal then Welsh National Opera performing ‘Tosca’ at the TRP will be right up your street. Headlong/National Theatre collaboration’s production of ‘This House’ will also be performed at the Lyric Theatre, TRP. ‘This House’ gives us a timely and often amusing insight into the workingsofBritishpolitics. You will notice that I have listened to those of you who have asked for more matinees. These tend to be cheaper and on Thursdays. Lets see how it goes. Some of you may have spotted that we have two events on the same day: Thursday 15 March. One is a BSO Concert in Exeter and the other is the ‘Sunset Boulevard’ matinee in Plymouth (from our last Club Programme). It’s an unfortunate clash but every now and again these things happen! Lorraine and I try to help offer tickets to other members at the last minute if they have a genuine issue with getting to the show. This obviously only works using email. I try to only use email for this purpose and for reminders about club deadlines and relevant club /local theatre news. If you don’t get these emails we don’t have your email address so please let meknow if you wish to remedy this. Finally, on a sad note, I have to report that Peter Mills passed away recently. Peter, along with his late wife June, ran the club for something like 8 years and helped provide a lot of pleasure to the membership of the club at the time. Condolences were sent by the club. Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 01/11/17 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find on the Programme page our latest and extensive programme which I hope you will enjoy and find some shows which take your fancy. National Theatre’s ‘Hedda Gabler’, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘Aladdin’, Glyndebourne’s ‘Cosi fan Tutte’ and Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘Matilda’ were all in the previous programme and are in the ‘last chance to book’ category. New on this programme but with a ‘short fuse’ is Matthew Bournes’s Cinderella. If any or all of these shows appeal to you please book now to avoid missing the club deadline. Also a reminder regarding the proposed trip to Cardiff next year to see RSC’s Matilda on the 10/11 December, 2018. Please see below for more information/booking slip. Best wishes, A trip to Cardiff, including a night at Jurys Inn, Cardiff, to see Matilda in December 2018 is being offered as follows. The price of £102 per person includes:
It excludes the cost of the theatre ticket which you need to order separately from the Club Programme, using the normal booking slip. We recommend you take out travel insurance since the club cannot make refunds once the event is confirmed If needed, please click newsletter to download and print a copy, cut off the slip at the bottom of the page and return with your deposit cheque of 10% of your booking amount made out to SHTCC, dated 5th October, 2017 and send to: Nick Alen, SHTCC, 14 Southville Gardens, Kingsbridge TQ7 1LE Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 29/07/17 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find here our new programme which I hope you will enjoy and find some shows which take your fancy. Those of you who have requested more matinées will be pleased to see that there are four in this programme! Please note that 'Crazy for You' which stars Tom Chambers and Caroline Flack (both featured on 'Strictly Come Dancing') is on 'a short booking fuse' and has a club deadline of 21st June. Also you will see some interesting plays: Ninagawa Macbeth and Hedda Gabler which has had rave reviews at the National Theatre. 'A Judgement in Stone' is a new production adapted from one of the most celebrated works of Ruth Rendell and I've booked it in the afternoon for a late summer treat, lunch and a stroll in the Torbay sunshine before the who dunnit! Please support these productions. Don't let recycled musicals take over the world!! A reminder that 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' which will be playing at the Bristol Hippodrome 23rd June, 2017 can be booked through Tally Ho! Holidays and SHTCC members receive £10 discount. In February a group of us went to the Cottage Hotel, Hope Cove to celebrate Jo Farrell's 10 year stint as Ticket Secretary and to acknowledge her dedication and commitment to the club. It was a surprise lunch, which also happened to coincide with Jo's big birthday. Jo was presented with a card and a TRP gift Token which she was delighted with. Jo asked me to thank all those who donated to the gift and card and who sent their good wishes. The Club's Annual General Meeting went well and the officers for 2017 were duly elected, accounts approved and simplified subscriptions of £10 per address were voted on and approved and will come into force in 2018. The minutes of the AGM are on the About Us page (Management section). There was a fair amount of discussion regarding longer distance events and some useful ideas have come forward which we are investigating. Our guest Brenda Loosemore, who is of the local amateur stage and has played various great comedy parts, gave a talk entitled 'Ladies of Laughter' which was quite hilarious. Because of the positive response we have re-booked her so that she can present more of her talk at our next AGM. I recently did an e-rnall poll to see what interest there was in a London theatre trip in October. 15 members showed interest for a trip in early October which doesn't appear enough to be viable. If you would be interested in going please drop me a line. Also of special note is the recently announced RSC's Matilda tour next year. The nearest venue to us is Cardiff and Hilary of Tally Ho! and I have come up with a trip there on the 10/11 December, 2018. Please see here for more information/booking slip. Last but not least Gill White has enclosed a form for you to complete and return to her to ensure that all our membership records are current. Thanks for you cooperation. Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 13/05/17 |
Dear SHTCC Member/s, Thank you to all those who have renewed their annual subscriptions. Those who have yet to pay their 2017 subs. will have received a reminder in with this mailing. This newsletter gives notice that the Annual General Meeting of the South Hams Theatre & Concert Club will take place at 10.15 for 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday 22nd March 2017 at the Crabshell Inn, Kingsbridge. Coffee or tea will be available. To help liven things up the we have organised some entertainment: Brenda Loosemore, who is of the local amateur stage and has played great comedy parts including Lady Bracknell and Madame Acarti, will give a talk entitled ‘Ladies of Laughter’ who include Pam Ayres, Joyce Grenfell, Victoria Wood and others. Please do come along. The formal part of the meeting beforehand usually goes quickly and any discussion following is of interest to all club members and can be continued over coffee. So please come down this year – the entertainment will be fun. It is anticipated that the meeting will be over by 12.30 and some members may choose to have lunch in the pub. Telephone the Crabshell Inn on 01548 852345 to book a table. The Agenda for the meeting is in the Management section of the About Us page and, if you are unable to attend the meeting and still wish to vote, a proxy form is available there. The minutes of last year’s AGM and the accounts for 2016 can also be viewed there and you can download any of these documents. Copies will also be available at the AGM or if you would like copies before the meeting phone me on 01548 852916 or better still e-mail me (nick@shtcc.uk) and I will get them to you. As specified in the Club's Constitution, all three present officers of the club will stand down at the AGM. Gill White and Lorraine Buckley are also proposed as officers for this year.. As always, we welcome 'new blood' on the committee. If any member would like to join the committee (the role need not be defined) please send in your nomination to the Secretary (Jenny Arnold) by the 1st March. Similarly, if there is any business which you would like moved at the meeting please inform Jenny (email jennyarnold368@gmail.com) by that same date. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then. Tally Ho! Holidays have organised a trip to Bristol to see ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’. The dates are 23/24 June and the price is £169 per person sharing. A discount of £10 p.p. is available to SHTCC members. There are very few single rooms available. Call Tally Ho! Holidays on 01548 854067 for further information and to book. Remember to tell them you’re SHTCC members to get the £10 per person discounts. The club is not handling this event – merely promoting it. Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 21/02/17 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find our first programme of the coming year on the Programme page. First things first though. It's Membership Renewal time. Your 2017 annual subscription to the South Hams Theatre & Concert Club is due on the 1st January, 2017. If you have set up a standing order or are a new member who joined since the 1st October you do not need to do anything further. Thank you! Otherwise, if you wish to remain a member of the club, please send a cheque for £6 (individual) or £10 (joint) made out to SHTCC, 14 Southville Gardens, Kingsbridge TQ7 1LE . If you don’t wish to remain a member please let us know. We’ll be sorry to see you go but it makes our life so much easier if we know not to chase you. This programme includes some shows from the last programme together with newly announced shows: a BSO concert in Plymouth, ‘Not Dead Enough’ a play based on Peter James’ (a great story teller) novel, the musical ‘Sister Act’ and ‘War Horse’ which is being performed in 2018 but the company want the booking confirmations and the money in 2017! The 34 members who went on the club’s third trip to Stratford upon Avon were blown away by the performance of 'The Tempest'. Ariel was fantastic and the hi-tec effects were spectacular. It was altogether a good trip which reminds me that I am still waiting for members suggestions for 2017’s venue for a ‘further afield’ trip. Let me know. Bristol, Bath? We were made aware of the sad news that June Mills, past chairman of the club, recently passed away. I believe that June and Peter Mills took over running the Club from Wendy Hammett and Dot Sloman in September 1991, Peter having been persuaded to become Treasurer a little earlier. They handed over to Dennis Bastin towards the end of 1998. The club acknowledges her wonderful contribution to its long term success. New recruits to the committee; Gill White and Lorraine Buckley have a good grip of their respective club jobs. Gill has the job of Membership Secretary and Lorraine is Ticket Secretary. Lorraine has requested that all envelopes used for bookings as SAE’s are DL size (220x110mm) so she doesn’t have to fold theatre tickets. Jenny and I have club postcards to give away to prospective members and put on public noticeboards to help with recruiting new members. Please ask either of us if you would like to distribute some. For a number of reasons the club will no longer accept ‘Theatre Tokens’ but we will continue to accept Theatre Royal Plymouth’s gift vouchers. TRP gift vouchers can be purchased online, over the phone or in person at the Box Office and used as a credit against any TRP production or in the restaurant. They are valid for four years from the date of purchase, gift vouchers can be used in part or whole and redeemed when booking online, over the telephone or in person. See you soon on a coach going to a theatre somewhere! Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 15/12/16 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find on the Programme page our third programme of this year. As always I try to put together a varied programme operating within the constraints of what the local theatres and concert halls put on. Some of the shows are new; going to or coming off London's West End. For example look out for 'The Commitments' which received universal critical acclaim following its London World Premiere and was quickly hailed as a smash hit musical sensation. With over 20 soul classics performed live on stage it should mean a fun night out. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra opens 2017's proceedings with their Viennese New Year Gala Concert and the orchestra are back in Exeter in March for a concert entitled 'Russian Fire'. Old favourites such as the ballet 'Cinderella', the opera 'La bohème' and the musical 'Funny Girl' appear on the programme too. I hope you enjoy it and are able to book some shows that appeal to you. The club's third trip to Stratford-upon-Avon is imminent when we go to see the RSC perform 'The Tempest'. I am listening to requests for 2017's venue for a 'further afield' trip. Let me know. Bristol, Bath? The Theatre Royal Plymouth and other theatres plan to publish their next season brochures around early December. This will mean that the next club programme will come out just before or soon after Christmas. Jo Farrell, who has done sterling work for the club as Ticket Secretary for the past ten years, has decided that the time is right to let someone else have a go. Jo will remain on the committee to help and advise. While the new Ticket Secretary is in training all bookings should be sent to me at the address below. We would like to recognise Jo's massive contribution to the club and say a big thank you. We will let you know the details soon but don't tell Jo! See you soon on a coach going to a theatre somewhere! Best wishes, Nick Alen Chairman SHTCC, 14 Southville Gardens, Kingsbridge, TQ7 1LE |
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| 22/10/16 |
Dear SHTCC Member/s, After quite a wait for the theatres to publish their programmes for the autumn (winter) season please find enclosed our second programme of the year. This is very much a musically orientated one-with classical concerts, big bands, military bands, ballets, opera and musicals! There is even a play. I wish there were more but unless members sign up for the plays at the Northcott we are likely to continue to see this problem. We held the club's AGM in April and the minutes have been published on the club website. A brief summary of the meeting follows: The club continues to be in a healthy state financially (accounts are on the web site) and the membership was standing at 330. The continuing challenge is to attract new members. A discussion followed on how we could do more to help with this. The existing committee members, helpers and coach hosts were thanked as was the Crabshell for providing the room at no cost to the club. Brian Hayden and Rodney Strong have both agreed to continue in their duties as Coach Organiser and Web Manager respectively. Jo Farrell was re-elected as Booking Secretary, Jenny Arnold was re-elected as Publicity Manager and minutes secretary and I was re-elected as Chairman and acting treasurer. The next AGM was scheduled for the Wednesday 22nd March. At the AGM both Lorraine Buckley and Gill White came forward and volunteered to help on the committee. Gill will take on the membership secretary's role and Lorraine will understudy Jo with a view to taking on the ticket secretary's job. We are looking forward to working with them both later in September when they join they join the committee and start their activities. The trip to Stratford upon Avon on Nov 30 to see the RSC perform 'The Tempest' was a sell out and we even had to turn away some members. As a consequence, for future away trips, we will give booking preference to members, so guests will only be accepted if there is availability at the trip's deadline. See you soon on a coach going to a theatre somewhere! Best wishes, |
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| 14/07/16 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Please find enclosed our first programme of the year now that the three principal theatres we deal with have published their summer programmes. I hope that you are able to find some shows which appeal to you. For those who have been wishing for more matinee shows there are three of them! The Club's Annual General Meeting was held on on Tuesday 5th April, at the Crabshell Inn, Kingsbridge. A full version of the minutes will be posted on the web site when they are ready. In the meantime a brief summary follows. I was able to report that Spring AGM's will be the norm going forward now that we are quick off the mark with our accounting and inspecting. The next one is scheduled for Wed 22 March 2017, 10.45 for 11.00 at the Crabshell Inn. By the time you receive this the club will be about to go to Bristol to see 'Mamma Mia'. Since we originally arranged this trip it has been announced that the 'Mamma Mia' tour will also be coming to Plymouth in early 2017. We have booked seats for this performance too in February 2017 but we won't be selling these seats until nearer the theatre’s deadline date. The club continues to be in a healthy state financially (accounts are on the web site, under Management on About Us page ) and the membership is at a healthy 330. The continuing challenge is to attract new members. A discussion followed on how we could do more to help with this. The existing committee members, helpers and coach hosts were thanked as was the Crabshell for providing the room at no cost to the club. Brian Hayden and Rodney Strong have both agreed to continue in their duties as Coach Organiser and Web Manager respectively. Jo Farrell was re-elected as Booking Secretary, Jenny Arnold was re-elected as Publicity Manager and minutes secretary and I was re-elected as Chairman and acting treasurer. The trip to Stratford upon Avon on Nov 30 to see the RSC perform 'The Tempest' has been a sell out. There are no decent seats available now in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and few hotel rooms so Stratford will be busy that night! See you soon on a coach going to a theatre somewhere! Best wishes, |
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| 10/04/16 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
No new programme yet I'm afraid but I needed to remind you of the AGM coming up, subscription renewals for those who wish to remain members but haven't as yet paid and lastly for the Shakespeare fans amongst us the opportunity to sign up for a trip to Stratford upon Avon to see the RSC doing 'The Tempest' on Nov 30th - for the letter and booking form click here. The Club's Annual General Meeting will be on Tuesday 5th April, upstairs at the Crabshell Inn, Embankment Road, Kingsbridge. Coffee or tea will be supplied from 10.45am and the meeting will start at 11.00. It is anticipated that the meeting will be over by noon and some members may choose to have lunch in the pub. Telephone the Crabshell Inn on 01548 852345 to book a table. If you are unable to attend the meeting and still wish to vote a proxy form is here for your use. The minutes of last year’s AGM and the accounts for 2015 can be viewed on the club web site (see the Management section of the About Us page)) where you can download any of these documents. Copies will also be available at the AGM or if you would like copies before the meeting phone me on 01548 852916 or better still e-mail me (nick@shtcc.uk) and I will get them to you. As specified in the Club's Constitution, all three present officers of the club will stand down at the AGM. We welcome 'new blood' on the committee. If any member would like to volunteer to join the committee (the role need not be defined) please send in your nomination to the Secretary (Jo Farrell) by the 22nd March. Similarly, if there is any business which you would like moved at the meeting please inform Jo or I by that same date. The agenda for the meeting is here. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then. Best wishes, |
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| 13/12/15 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Sadly Eric Brisley passed away in June. Eric was a great supporter of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and aided me in choosing the concerts we offered in the club programme. I will miss his assistance and his wonderful sense of humour. Our third programme of the year contains some fantastic, top flight shows including Alan Ayckbourn's 'Absent Friends', 'A Christmas Carol', various classical concerts by BSO, 'Mamma Mia', 'Billy Elliot' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' starring Pixie Lott (who, I thought, was unjustly booted off Strictly)....wow what a line-up! Can I please ask you to study the programme carefully and not just go by the performance dates. There are several shows where we have to finalise numbers and pay the theatre months before the date of the performance. So, please check the deadlines. There are several in September. These early deadlines are not imposed by the club or the theatre but the production company who, by the way, set the prices too. And yes the prices have been steadily going up over the past year or so! This year's 'long distance event' has been confirmed and we are going to see Tom Conti starring in 'Before the Party' at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on the 5th October. I hope that you will be able to attend the Club's Annual General Meeting Tuesday 13th October at 10.30am, upstairs at the Crabshell Inn, Embankment Road, Kingsbridge. Coffee or tea will be supplied (paid for by the club) from 10.15am and the meeting will start at 10.30am prompt. The meeting should be over by noon and some members may choose to have lunch in the pub. Telephone the Crabshell Inn on 01548 852345 to book a table. If you are unable to attend the meeting a proxy form is enclosed for your use. The minutes of last year’s AGM and the accounts for 2014 can be viewed on the club web site (shtcc.uk) where you can download any of these documents. Copies will also be available at the AGM or if you would like copies before the meeting phone me on 01548 852916 or better still e-mail me (nick@shtcc.uk) and I will get them to you. As specified in the Club's Constitution, all three present officers of the club will stand down at the AGM. We welcome 'new blood' on the committee to keep the club vital. If any member would like to volunteer to join the committee (the role need not be defined) please send in your seconded nomination to the Secretary (Jo Farrell) by the 29th September. Similarly, if there is any business which you would like moved at the meeting please inform Jo or me by that same date. The agenda for the meeting is overleaf. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then. Best wishes, |
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| 28/08/15 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Our second programme of the year contains a good variety of classical music, comedy, rock and roll, musicals, opera, ballet and a who-dunnit. Something to please everyone-I hope you enjoy it! There is little to report, other than a change of date for 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' to Thursday, 10th September, so I'll keep this newsletter brief. The AGM date has been set for Tuesday 13th October at the Crabshell Inn 1030 for 1100. Unfortunately the 'summer long distance event' has been delayed because of the difficulty in getting a hotel for one night for a group in Bath in their season. I have provisionally booked a trip to the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on the 5/6 October to see Tom Conti in 'Before the Party'. Please see the special newsletter/booking sheet here for more information. Update 21 June 2015:
Before the Party is Rodney Ackland's bitingly funny adaptation of a short story by Somerset Maugham. Tom Conti stars in this chic period comedy filled with sharp satire. The club's deadline for this unmissable trip is the 31st July. Please send the form in the newsletter opened by the link immediately above this update, completed together with a deposit cheque of £60 per person to me. Best wishes, Nick Alen, Chairman |
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| 01/06/15 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
Welcome! Especially to the many new members who have joined us in the past few months. It's good to see lots of new faces and I hope we will meet on the coach soon - on our way to some of the great productions on offer. Members who have referred friends to the club together with the regular articles by Jenny Arnold, published in the Gazette, have really helped us gain a good flow of new members. This is our first programme of the year and it provides an answer to those members who say we don't have enough musicals in the programme: we've got 7 musicals in this programme! We have recently had a good run with several excellent plays but now it's the turn of musical extravaganzas for the summer season. I hope you find some shows to please you. I'm afraid that members who do not renew their membership by the 31st March will receive no further mailings from the club. One of our members has asked the committee to review Health & Safety issues on board coaches going to club events. Tally Ho! now provide a safety briefing before we set off from the Quay. Members are reminded that they should not speak to the driver when the coach is in motion. The Coach Host may need to occasionally since he/she is the representative of the club for that event. Rodney Strong has set up the guest book on the club web site. This allows members to put up messages for other members to read on the web site if they wish. We believe that this will be helpful for car pooling to Kingsbridge (and other pick-up points) as well as organising car trips to events that the club isn't attending and saying how much they enjoyed a particular show, etc. etc. Thanks to Rodney for providing this facility. Thanks go also to Frances Raymond who completed the 2014 accounts and to Dick Lloyd who has independently examined them. The accounts will be available on the club web site shtcc.uk for your inspection soon (update 25th March: Management section of About Us now). You will note that we have reduced the bank balance, in line with the policy over the past 5 years. The bank balance is at a level which is sustainable for the future needs of the club. This does, however, mean that the club will no longer be subsidising events, as it has done to a limited extent, over the last few years. I am in the process of planning the 'summer long distance event' - but more on that later. I hope to see you soon at some of this season's great productions or even treading the boards during the Theatre Royal tour in July!. Best wishes, Nick Alen, Chairman |
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| 24/03/15 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
The AGM was held at the Crabshell Inn on the 12th November. There was a good turnout and the club's Constitution was updated. The revised version is available on the club's web-site as are the full AGM minutes. A unanimous vote was held to add Jenny Arnold to the Officers of the Club. Jenny has been acting as our Publicity Officer very successfully for the past year. The Reports of the Chairman and Treasurer were presented and the conclusion was that the club continued to be in a healthy position with respect to the membership and to the finances. Thanks were given to all the committee members, helpers and Coach Hosts who make the club run so smoothly. Special thanks went to Frances who will be leaving us, as treasurer, at the end of this year. We wish her well on her 3 month teaching voluntary work in Kenya next year. I hope you find some shows to entertain you in our fifth programme of the year. Several of them have come directly from London-it seems that we don't need to go to the West End – it comes to us! Rodney Strong has set up www.shtcc.uk as the club's new web site address. The old one will forward to the new one for a few more months. He is also setting up a guest book which will allow members to put up messages for other members to read (on the web site) if they choose to do so. We believe that this will be helpful for car pooling to Kingsbridge (and other pick-up points) as well as organising car trips to events that the club isn't going to. Thank you to those members who have referred friends to the club who have subsequently become members – keep it up please! Tally Ho have a brand new coach-it's a 53 seater and it will be available to us. It will however be more expensive. More on that next year. It's that time of year again! Christmas.....and club subscriptions are due on the 1st January. If you haven't already set up a standing order please ask me for a form, download a form from the web site or send me a cheque made out to SHTCC for £6 (individual) or £10 (two at same address). New members who joined since the 1st October 2014 will not need to pay their subscription until January 2016. All subscription cheques will only be banked in the New Year. Finally I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope to see you at some of next year's productions. Best wishes |
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| 04/11/14 | Dear SHTCC Member/s,
There is a lot to say in this newsletter, with the AGM fast approaching, so I will be as succinct as possible. I hope you enjoy the enclosed programme. After many requests from members for Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concerts the response has sadly been poor. Please book the concerts on offer or the club will not book any further BSO concerts. The club is owned by it's members. When we ask you to enclose stamped addressed envelopes with each booking that's what we mean. Also ensure, when sending in bookings, that you don't exceed the current post office weight and size rules for the correct postage rate otherwise the recipient has to pay the s hortfall together with a £1 fine and thus other members end up subsidising you! You'd be surprised how often this happens. The eagle eyed will have spotted that the web site and e-mail addresses above have subtly changed. Rodney Strong has set up shtcc.uk as the club's new web site address which is much easier to remember and to type. The old site will forward enquiries to the new one for another 11 months or so and then will no longer belong to our club. The current coach monitors met recently and come up with some ideas to modernise this important club role. In future they will be known as 'Club Hosts' and they will try to help new members and members on their own to feel comfortable and help get to know other folks. They will also take notes after the show so that comments from our attending members such as “dazzling” or “dull” - “rubbish” or “wonderful” or anything in between can be passed back to the committee via Jo. Jenny Arnold will then make sure our reports, which go in the Kingsbridge Gazette, reflect our members' experience. Thank you to all those who are and will be performing this vital role for the club. Also. thank you to those members who have referred friends to the club who have subsequently become members – keep up the good work! We always need new members. I hope that you will be able to attend the Club's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 12 November 2014 at The Crabshell Inn, Embankment Road, Kingsbridge. If you are unable to attend the meeting a proxy form can be downloaded from the Management page for your use. Coffee or tea will be supplied (paid for by the club) from 10.15am and the meeting will start at 10.30am prompt. The meeting should be over by noon and some members may choose to have lunch in the restaurant. Telephone the Crabshell Inn on 01548 852345 to book a table. The minutes of last year’s AGM and the accounts for 2013 can be viewed here on the Management page of the club web site (shtcc.uk) where you can download any of these documents. Copies will also be available at the AGM or if you would like copies before the meeting phone me on 01548 852916 and I will post them to you. At last year's AGM I said that it was felt that the club's Constitution should be amended. It currently calls for at least 20 members to be present at the AGM but does not specify whether they should be present or whether proxy votes can be included. It was agreed at last year's AGM that a resolution amending the constitution should be put forward at this year's AGM. This has been added to the agenda, as has a resolution to add the post of Publicity Officer and to elect Jenny Arnold who has done this job brilliantly for the past year (if you read the Gazette regularly you will already know this). As specified in the Club's Constitution, all three present officers of the club will stand down at the AGM. If any member would like to volunteer for the post of Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer please send in your seconded nomination to the Secretary (Jo Farrell) by the 29th October. Similarly, if there is any business which you would like moved at the meeting please inform Jo or me by that same date. The agenda for the meeting is on the Management page. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then.Best wishes, Nick Alen |
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| 10/10/14 | Dear SHTCC Member/s, Welcome to members who have recently joined us. Please say hi to the others on the coach who I'm sure will help make your outings with the club a pleasurable experience.Another three months has rolled round and here is the club's third programme of the year taking us into the winter months! A cool thought.As usual we've tried to offer the best of a variety of shows appealing to the majority of our member's tastes.You will notice that there are some Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concerts appearing in the programme. We have booked a total of 5 concerts from the BSO's new concert season.There are a couple of shows where the club deadline is imminent: Orwell's '1984' and Agatha Christies's 'Black Coffee'. Please send your bookings to Jo, our ticket secretary, to avoid missing these plays. Unfortunately Plymouth Pavilions have made it difficult for the club to book shows with them. They are no longer accepting group bookings without payment up-front which is not the way we work with other theatres and concert halls. Where possible we will use alternative venues. Again, a big thank you to those members who have referred friends to the club who have subsequently become members – keep it up please! I hope you find plenty to entertain you. See you on the coach or at the theatre soon! Best wishes Nick Alen |
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| 24/07/14 | Dear SHTCC Member/s
The club's second programme of the year is here on the Programme page. It's another full one with plenty of variety but a bit less of the young at heart musical stuff which sadly turned out not to have the wide appeal I'd hoped for. However, we do have 'The Full Monty' on offer this time. I couldn't get front row seats but we have booked seats with a good view! This comedy has had rave reviews in Sheffield and London. The club has for many years supported the amateur company 'TOADS' who are putting on 'Sister Act' in June. It's only £22 for a nice evening by the seaside at the Princess Theatre and it will be a great show. But remember -you do need to book now since the deadline is the 23rd May. We have two other musicals on offer in this programme: 'West Side Story' and 'Annie get your Gun', Glyndebourne opera, an Agatha Christie who-dunnit and dance and ballet from Ireland, Matthew Bourne and Birmingham Royal Ballet. Drama comes from Headlong's adaptation of George Orwell's '1984' which is coming to our town from London. Headlong, one of the UK's foremost theatre companies, make provocative, risk-taking productions (some of you may remember Six Characters in Search of an Author). Come along and see if 'big brother' is there watching you! Another contemporary company; Frantic Assembly will be offering thrilling and energetic theatre with their unique physical style when they perform 'Othello'. Thank you those members who have referred friends to the club who have since become members – keep it up please! I hope you find plenty to entertain you. See you on the coach or at the theatre soon! Best wishes Nick Alen PS. You will note that the much acclaimed 'Wicked' is coming to Plymouth early next year. As with all these big productions they request payment from the the theatre well in advance and thus we have to firm up our numbers and pay the theatre well in advance. Please note the club deadline is in September. Remember you can book now and cancel right up to the day before the club deadline. |
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| 12/05/14 | 1 March 2014
Dear SHTCC Member/s, Thank you to all those members who have paid their 2014 subscriptions. Members who haven't renewed yet will have already received reminders from me. Please find enclosed the first SHTCC programme of the year. It's a full one with plenty to excite the young at heart with 'Thriller', local musician Seth Lakeman and 'Abba Mania! As well as more classical concerts, musicals and plays. We always try to provide a wide choice of theatre, music, musicals, opera and comedy to suit most of the wide interests of members. Abba Mania is playing in Plymouth for one night only just before Christmas and because it will be very popular with the general public we have to finalise our numbers with the Pavilions next month. Similarly for the Seth Lakeman concert at the Theatre Royal. Please note that there are club deadlines also on the 25th March for 'The Comedy of Errors', 'Evita', 'Under Milk Wood' and BSO's 'Classical Extravaganza'. Please book early to avoid disappointment! I've done my bit now it's up to you to make use of your membership and book some shows! Coming soon -we have booked 'The Full Monty', and Glyndebourne performing 'La Traviata' later in the year and they will be included in the next club programme. Now that is variety! The club has had a good response to this year's trip to Stratford upon Avon. 33 members have signed up for this trip in September to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform the 'Two Gentlemen of Verona'. This will be the club's fourth long distance venture and I think it's safe it to say it will be an annual event. 2015 may well see another trip to London. Let me know of any preferences of shows to visit – no promises though! At the AGM last November we discussed ways the club can attract new members. It was felt that word of mouth by individual members was, by far, the most powerful method. So - can I ask you when you next speak to your neighbours, local friends and relatives or go to your local club that you help spread the word. If you need any materials to be sent to them please let me know. We always need new members so come on and do your bit to assure the club's long term survival. Another way we can seek attention to ourselves is by publicity in our 'Gazette'. Jenny Arnold kindly volunteered at the AGM to be the Club's Publicity Officer and you will probably have already read some of her submissions in the 'Clubs & Associations' section of the paper. Jenny would very much like your input on shows which she doesn't attend so that we can keep a steady stream of news flowing. Contact Jenny by e-mail: jenny.arnold@dsl.pipex.com. There are odd times when members miss the club deadlines but they still want to go to a particular production and are able to buy tickets directly from the the theatre. In these cases the 'Bus Only Option' comes into play if there are seats available on the coach (check with Jo Farrell or myself). The round trip cost per person is: £10 Plymouth or Torbay and £15 to Exeter. If you would like to use this facility please use the normal booking form and send with your cheque to Jo Farrell in the normal way but make sure you check availability first. Hopefully I will see you on the coach or at the theatre soon! Best wishes Nick Alen |
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| 01/03/14 | 19 December 2013
Dear SHTCC Member/s, Its that time of year again! Christmas.....and club subscriptions are due on the 1st January. If you haven't already set up a standing order please ask me for a form or send me a cheque made out to SHTCC for £6 (individual) or £10 (two at same address). Please find on the Programme page the fourth and last SHTCC programme of 2013. I hope you find some shows that you like the look of. There's plenty of variety: two classical concerts, two ballets, three plays, two musicals and one opera. It's been a challenging year, with the closure of the Theatre Royal for several months, but the club remained active going to some amazing shows such as War Horse and People, both of which required two coaches to get us there and back. The club and some individual members' support of the Theatre Royals' regeneration project has been rewarded with a star in the 'walk of fame' and a letter of thanks from the the CEO; Adrian Vinkin. The AGM was held at the Crabshell Inn on the 6th November. 20 members attended, with a further 33 members sending their apologies and 26 proxy forms were returned all giving their votes to the chair. A brief summary of the meeting follows: Nick reported on the progress of the club and that despite increased subscriptions and a reduced summer programme the club was healthy - in its 65th year of existence. The trip to Bath earlier this year had been a success and a repeat trip to the RSC in Stratford is planned for next year. Nick mentioned that we still have a vacancy on the club committee for a 'Club Promotion Officer' and Jenny Arnold kindly stepped forward to fill that role. Dick Lloyd offered to assist with putting up posters around the neighbourhood. It was also emphasised that all club members can help swell the membership by spreading the word to their friends and colleagues. The full AGM minutes can now be obtained from the Management page. I look forward to meeting more of you on the coach and at the various upcoming productions. Finally I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Nick Alen |
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| 20/12/13 | 23 October 2013LATEST
Hello SHTCC Member,
Best wishes 4 October 2013 NOTICE of AGM Dear SHTCC Member,The AGM will be held at the Crabshell Inn at 10.30am on Wed 6 November. We hope you will be able to attend when you will have the chance to get more involved with the club and its aspirations and plans. Documents in preparation for the meeting (e.g. minutes of last year's AGM) are available from the Management page. Following a recent club management meeting, where various cost savings measures were discussed, we wondered whether we could save the £300 we pay external accountants to do an independent examination of the club's books. With a turnover of over £30,000 a year we do need to appoint an independent examiner but he/she could be a member and do this work on a voluntary basis (as happens in the Kingsbridge Estuary Boat Club). There is no need for any formal financial qualification to take the job on. This is an important, but not especially time-consuming task (around 3/4 hours total I would guess). It would suit someone with some experience in book-keeping or accounting or financial planning or a general familiarity with accounts. The examiner cannot be a member of the club committee, or closely related to a committee member The examination should be completed before the end of July, so we need someone who can commit around 3/4 hours to suit them over a period of about 6 weeks. Best wishes Nick Alen, Chairman N.B. 18/10/2013 Peninsula Arts at Plymouth University have asked us to publicise their programme of music and performance art. You can click here to open their web site and then select 'music' or 'performance' to see the details. The web site is now included on our Links page. August 2013 This is a very short newsletter! Please find on the Programme page the third SHTCC programme of 2013. This has come in a hurry because of the Theatre Royal's recent release of tickets for shows which I thought might be of interest to members. A lot of deadlines are soon so please book now. I'm afraid that BSO's concert 'Worlds Old & New' only attracted 3 bookings so I have not included it in this programme. STOP PRESS 17 August: a late flood of bookings for BSO - Worlds Old & New means it is retained in the programme and we shall be going! Please note that the deadline for all three Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra visits has been brought forward to 27 August. We still have a vacancy on the club committee for a 'Club Promotion Officer'. This member would help us promote the club to the local public so that there is a steady influx of new members maintaining the vigour of the club. Contact me if interested. Nick Alen |
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| 18/08/13 | Dear SHTCC Member/s
Welcome to the second SHTCC programme of 2013. Although the summer has been fairly quiet so far, since the outing to 'Relative Values' in Bath, we are looking forward to 'resuming normal service' when the Theatre Royal re-opens in September. Can I point out that the ever popular Agatha Christie & Glen Miller deadlines are becoming imminent so please book now. The Lion King is also open for bookings. The theatre is requiring payment well in advance of the performance next year. You will also note that there is a Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concert back in the programme. Previously we have been unable to get the numbers to make going these concerts viable but an influx of new members from Dartmouth theatre-goers club may make a difference. I hope so! We have a vacancy on the club committee for a 'Club Promotion Officer'. This member would help us promote the club to the local public so that there is a steady influx of new members maintaining the vigour of the club. It requires knowledge of the use of IT, web based marketing and social media to be effective in reaching future members. Please let me or Jo know of your interest in this post. Can I ask that members who have recently acquired e-mail or changed their e-mail address please e-mail me at nick@shtcclub.co.uk with their details. The club received a letter from Adrian Vinken OBE, Chief Executive of the Theatre Royal, thanking us for our support of the theatre's regeneration project. The club purchased a Star in the walk of fame. It will say South Hams Theatre Club (no space for full name!). I have received several requests for plugs of local amateur productions. While I am happy to support these I do not have space to give much detail: The Unleashed Theatre Company presents 'Shadowlands' at Schiller Hall, Buckfast Abbey 26-31 Aug. Tel 01364 654506. KATS present 'Blithe Spirit' at Malborough Village Hall 4-7 Sept. Tickets from Kingsbridge Information Centre. Ex-SHTCC chairman, Dick Lloyd, dressed as Charles Dickens, will be doing two readings from Pickwick Papers, supported by music from the Victorian period at the Sherford Village Hall at 7.00 pm Friday, October 25th This will be be followed by a two course hot supper. All proceeds will be donated to the "Friends of St.Martins". Tickets at £10.00 from Dick Lloyd (Tel 531068) from mid September. The Stanborough Chorus announce their Festival of Vocal Music. Three concerts will take place at St Edmund's Church, Kingsbridge, Thursday 31 Oct to Saturday 2nd Nov. Tickets from May Crimp (tel 842361). By the way, Tally Ho have recently acquired a 32 seater coach which will be more comfortable and we intend using, from now on, rather than the 29 seater. Enjoy the rest of summer! Nick Alen |
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| 01/05/13 | Dear SHTCC Member/s
STOP PRESS It's booked for Thurs June 13 and the trip includes a stay at the Hilton Hotel which is centrally located in Bath. The cost is £135 per person sharing a double or twin room (£25 single supplement). A newsletter with more details and a special booking form is in the post and is downloadable by clicking HERE. The Club Deadline is 18 April. Bookings to Nick Alen please. Book early! Sadly the Imperial Ice Stars have decided not to come to Torquay and thus the show (Swan Lake) booked by the club for the 15th May is cancelled. Welcome to the first SHTCC programme of a special year - the club's 65th year! It has coincided with the Theatre Royal's spring/summer closure for improvements which is presenting some challenges. This has, of course, affected our programme (see Programme page) which is sparser than usual. We have tried to offer as much variety as possible with the shows on offer from the other local theatres - The Misanthrope, Swan Lake on Ice, Annie Get Your Gun, Glen Miller Orchestra and our annual Agatha Christie whodunnit. We look forward to the Theatre Royal, Plymouth re-opening in the autumn with 'War Horse'. The club has two large coach loads going on the 1st October. We are planning to put on a special event to celebrate our birthday later in the year at the Theatre Royal. I am in the process of putting together plans for a theatre visit and overnight stop in Bath. More information will follow as it becomes available. Thank you very much to the members who have renewed their subscriptions at the correct time and for the correct amount. The other members who have not paid the correct 2013 subscription amounts or have not paid for their partner or whose bank account has a different name from the Speaking of donations, individual members have generously donated a total of £185, which has been 'topped up' with club funds of £315, making a total of £500 towards the Theatre Royal Regeneration Project. Hopefully this will qualify us for a 'star'. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to the committee to Frances Raymond who is the new Club Treasurer and who I am sure will look after our finances Nick Alen |
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| 16/10/12 | Welcome to all our new members. We hope you enjoy being part of the South Hams Theatre & Concert Club as much as I do. I am always receptive to new ideas and suggestions – as with all members please e-mail or call me with your thoughts on where we should go or what you think we might like to see.
We've got it all in this our autumn programme! Drama, comedy, dancing, opera, panto, ballet, military bands, who dunnits etc. This programme takes us up to the end of the year and beyond. It may seem a long way away but some of the shows have quite imminent deadlines – please check and book early. Remember your cheque is only banked if the club has sufficient support for that event and it is banked on that club deadline date, not before. We've been to some fabulous shows: 'Julius Caesar' at Stratford upon Avon, 'South Pacific' and 'Sister Act' at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth and 'The Real Thing' at the Northcott, Exeter (it only took 20 minutes longer than going to the Theatre Royal!). A reminder from our friends at KATS: Come to Malborough Village Hall between Wednesday 29th August and 1st September and imagine yourself in the timeless glamour of the Beverley Hills Hotel, a famous Los Angeles landmark that’s been pampering Hollywood stars since 1912 – Chaplin, Monroe, Wells, Gabor, Dietrich – think of a name – they’ve all wallowed in BHH’s marble baths and used water closets that mortals only dream about. Six characters from KATS arrive. They dump their luggage and what have we got? A very important telephone, a giant bed, lost luggage, a semi-conscious hooker, scrawled telephone numbers, Oscar awards, a fight for custody, wrong clothes, wrong car, stolen lipstick, tears, laughter – what more do you want? This brilliant trilogy by Neil Simon, directed by dynamic KATS newcomer Shelley Sheppard is a “mark-your-diaries” must-see event. Book early* for your chance to ignore those “DO NOT DISTURB” notices and take a peep into what goes on behind the closed doors of this very posh hotel. 7.30pm nightly, all seats at £8 *Ticket sales at Kingsbridge Information Centre and online at www.kats-kingsbridge.co.uk from early August. And lastly a reminder from the committee: Seats are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis so don't risk disappointment waiting until the Club Deadline (the date when we confirm numbers, pay the theatre and bank your cheques) Best theatrical wishes for the late Summer / autumn Nick Alen |
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| 18/07/12 | Dear SHTCC Member,
Here on the Programme page is our second programme of the year, the May edition. This edition brings a selection of three different concerts of different types of music, two ballets, one opera, one comedy, one who-dunnit, one pantomime, one local play and three musicals. Something for everyone I hope! Please note that some of the club deadlines are this month. The smooth working of the club depends very much on the support given by our volunteer coach monitors. We held a meeting recently to discuss various practical issues, problems and opportunities for improvement in how we operate. The following conclusions were reached unanimously and will be standard policy from now on: • Coach monitors will arrive sooner and will stop members boarding until reserved seat signs are placed and the coach monitor is ready to start recording people as they board. • Only those with mobility problems will be provided with reserved front seating. This must be requested on the booking slip. In return for this convenience, we ask that those people wait for everyone else to disembark before leaving the coach themselves. This will speed up the process for everyone. • Reserved seats for those boarding at pick up points en-route will cease, except for those with mobility issues. • Reserved seats apply for the return trip. Please leave your 'reserved card' on the seat while you are in the theatre and hand it back to the coach monitor before you finally leave the coach. • SHTCC signs will be procured and placed in the front of the coach e.g. SHTCC Bus No. 1 (and SHTCC Bus No. 2 for those events where we have more than one bus) • The alternative Modbury pick-up (at the top of the hill) will be Church Lane rather than Palm Green. This is at Tally Ho's request. For the benefit of our new members there are a couple of other points regarding our 'system' which I would like to mention: • Tips for the driver are paid by the coach monitor when we return to Kingsbridge. This is £25 and comes out of club funds. • When booking shows please be careful about the dates you put on cheques. Use the current date or the club deadline date but not the performance date which will be too late. The club buys the tickets on the deadline date and needs to bank your cheque at that time. With increased costs, particularly stamps, we are having to raise annual subscriptions next year (2013) to £6 individual or £10 for two people sharing the same address. Best wishes for the rest of Spring and Summer Nick Alen |
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| 24/03/12 | I'm sorry for the amount of paperwork just before Christmas but there are some issues I would like you to take a look at in December:
1. 2012's subscriptions (£4 per person still!) are due on 1 January. If you have not already paid or arranged a standing order, a form is enclosed to be returned with your cheque or standing order instruction. Please send your subscription direct to Anne Rainbow. The AGM on the 16 November was very well attended and there was a lively, positive discussion. The draft minutes of the meeting are available here on the Management page. Those members who ventured to London to see Billy Elliot were rewarded with a fantastic show and a swish hotel with good proximity to the major sites of London. Tally Ho! also provided the club with a great service. Please note that, in addition to the Spring Programme enclosed, the club has booked for Cameron Mackintosh's brand new Oliver and the Diamond Anniversary Tour of Mousetrap, both coming to Plymouth later in 2012. Seats for these popular shows will be on sale later in the New Year. If you like Shakespeare but don't want to go to Stratford, don't miss the Propeller's Henry V. You won't regret it! Please don't risk disappointment waiting for the Club Deadline (the date when we must confirm numbers, pay the theatre, and bank your cheques). Tickets become your responsibility after the deadline when the club will not take further bookings or make refunds. Enclose a separate cheque and a separate stamped addressed envelope for each and every show being booked. No staples or paper clips please! Any non members must be recorded on the booking form and a £2 charge per guest included in your payment. This guest fee also applies when tickets are passed on to non members if you are unable to attend. Please carefully check your tickets when you receive them, and the slip which gives the time the coach leaves Kingsbridge bus station (or your designated pick up point) and the name and phone number of the coach monitor for the event who you must contact if there is any last minute change of plan. Finally, a reminder to act on the first five points of this newsletter please! Merry Christmas from Nick |
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| 21/12/11 | Here's our fourth programme of the year but first I want to let you know about a special event coming up very soon. Sarah Field (Group Booking Officer) and Robbie Kings (Marketing Manager) of Plymouth's Theatre Royal have both generously offered their time to come to talk the club about upcoming productions and to give some insight into how a modern theatre runs. I very much look forward to this and hope that you will attend and support us with this interesting talk put on specially for our theatregoers club.
The talk is is being held on Wednesday 16 November at the Mill Club (British Legion), Western Backway, Kingsbridge. Please arrive at 10 am (for complimentary tea or coffee) for 10.30 am when the AGM will commence. Following this the floor will be handed over to Sarah & Robbie for their talk. Reasonably priced refreshments and lunch will be available from the Mill Club's bar after the meeting. The minutes of last year's AGM are on the web site and will be available in hard copy at the meeting. If you are unable to attend the AGM and still wish to vote, proxy forms are available from the web site or from a committee member on request. The current committee are happy to continue in office for another year but anyone else willing to help the club by serving on the committee is welcome to put their name forward to Jo by 14 days before the AGM. After a quiet summer at the theatre, autumn arrived with Agatha Christie's Verdict at the Princess which was very well received. National Theatre's hilarious One Man, Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal earned a standing ovation and Top Hat, with its beautiful sets, lavish costumes and sensational dancing swept folks off their feet. And we've got Birmingham Royal Ballet, BSO, Legally Blonde, Glyndebourne Opera, Royal Marines Band, An Inspector Calls and Barbershopera to look forward to before Xmas. Our fourth programme of 2011 is on the Programme page. You will see that this programme has quite a musical bias. This is not because the programme committee has 'lost its balance' but that's what's available from the theatres and concert halls at the moment! We hope that Katherine Jenkins, the BBC Concert Orchestra, La Traviata as well as the BSO Concerts and the annual Ice Show are of widespread appeal. I am sure the next programme will make up for the lack of plays (once Xmas is behind us!). We have also included a newly 'packaged' behind the scenes offer from the Theatre Royal which includes lunch. We are assuming members will take their own transport so that they can combine this late morning event with shopping or another activity whilst in Plymouth. The ‘Coming soon’ section offers some really big productions: Sister Act and the highly entertaining Propeller theatre company returning to the Theatre Royal with an all-male production of Henry V. Don't miss these guys – they are amazing! Our special event, the coach trip to see Billy Elliot in London in November, has been very well supported. So well that we are thinking of putting on a similar event next year, this time attending the World Shakespeare Festival 2012 in Stratford upon Avon. We will choose one of the RSC performances such as Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night or The Tempest and will hope to go in mid summer. Finally, a reminder that 2012's subscriptions (£4 per person still!) are due on 1 January. If attending the AGM and haven't already paid, please bring a cheque or completed standing order form with you or send to Anne Rainbow at Highview, Bickerton, Devon TQ7 2EU. See you at the Mill Club! Best wishes |
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| 30/10/11 | 'Blue Haired Ladies sitting on a bench' didn't please many of you. It seems that I was lucky to miss that one! However, 'Last Night of the Spring Proms', 'Midnight Tango', 'Alarms & Excursions', 'King and I' and 'Pitmen Painters' appealed to many of us in many different ways. This reminds me - members with access to Facebook could help the club by reporting on the club page what you thought about a particular show soon after seeing it. Please feel free – that's what it's been set up for.
Our third programme of 2011 is now published (see the Programme page). Several events were on the previous programme and some have had their deadlines extended. Again, we are offering what members have said they want: drama, comedy, musicals, ballet, opera, classical concerts and other music. It continues to be top notch entertainment conveniently available through your local theatre and concert club. We've decided to print the programme and newsletter for everyone to avoid the risk of these documents being 'lost' in the morass of data on member's computers. This way you get a hard copy reminder which you can keep on the sideboard (or somewhere else convenient)! We will still be using e-mail and Facebook, for those members with access to the technology, as reminders when deadlines approach. November will be a busy month. As well as Legally Blonde on the 9th, the AGM will be held on the 16th at the Mill Club, Kingsbridge again (details will be sent to you nearer the time) and a coach load of us are eagerly anticipating our trip to see 'Billy Elliot' on the 21st November. As with all clubs, we are always wanting to recruit new members and we would like to elicit your help. Please mention us to your friends and neighbours, members of other local clubs etc. whenever possible. Also, we have a club poster for members to display on official noticeboards (with permission of course!) in your local community. Please let me know if you would like one. Most newsletters have an item about coaches and this one is no exception! For the safety of all members travelling to a show, you are reminded that no one may talk to the driver when the coach is in motion. This applies to coach monitors too, although they may need to point out a pick up to the driver. I hope you have a nice summer and I look forward to seeing you at the theatre in the autumn. |
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| 03/08/11 | In this, my June 2011 newsletter, I would first like to welcome all new and returning members. As with all members, please let me know of any shows you would like to see included in our programme and/or if you would like to help in aspects of running the club.
Recently we have been treated to a double dose of Shakespeare; National Theatre's Hamlet and the Propeller's Richard III. The Propeller company were so innovative, funny, musical and exciting that Jan and I went to see them do the Comedy of Errors at the Saturday matinee (where we met other club members doing the same thing). Yes Prime Minister was a hoot and those that went to Blood Brothers were not disappointed. BRB dazzled with their Cinderella (I saw it on TV and it was superb). Die Fledermaus was marvellous too. I am very excited about this our second 2011 programme (see the Programme page). There is so much absolutely top notch entertainment on offer that you will find it hard to decide what not to go to! I certainly would happily go to it all. We are very lucky having easy access to these treasure troves offering the highest quality music, theatre and dancing. I do encourage you to book early – you will notice that the club deadlines for several events are quite imminent. Remember that you can cancel a booking at any time before the club deadline if you need to. Also, even though you have missed a deadline it is always worth checking with Jo for cancellations if you have belatedly decided you would like to go to a show. We have a different type of event on offer which is a tour round backstage and the set and prop production facility of the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. The trip will include a light lunch and a talk by theatre staff. The charge is £20 per person and it covers the coach trip, tours, talk and a light bite to eat. The club has booked two West End block busters which are going on tour; Legally Blonde which is on in November at the Princess Theatre, Torquay and Sister Act which is on next summer at the Theatre Royal. Legally Blonde The Musical is on sale in this programme. It won three Olivier awards this year including Best New Musical – don't miss out!! Also, the play Pitmen Painters, which was in Plymouth last year before going to the National Theatre, is back. This highly acclaimed play was written by Lee Hall, who created the hit musical Billy Elliot, and is directed by Max Roberts. I have extended the club deadline to give everyone a chance to book it – don't miss this either! The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are back at the Great Hall, Exeter University this coming season and member Eric Brisley has helped us come up with an excellent winter programme of superb classical music. The Great Hall has a new reception area and entrance leading from an outside piazza area. We still have a few tickets for our London trip on Nov 21/22 when we are going to see Billy Elliot. If you would prefer to go to another London show or just go for the trip we can accommodate you. If you are interested in going please e-mail or call me now. The price is £155 per person for people sharing a twin or double room. The price includes transport, Bed & breakfast (Full English) in a four star hotel, based on a shared room (twin or double) and best available stalls seats for the evening performance of Billy Elliot. The price without the Billy Elliot ticket is £129 per person. You may have noticed some fine looking new 'Charabanc Outings' club posters round about. This was designed by the husband of one of our members, Neil White and our thanks go to him for this valuable contribution to the club. We do need some volunteers to get more posters up in Modbury, Totnes, Churchstow, AG, Harbertonford and other 'SHTCC poster-less' places. If anyone is willing to help please let me know. Thanks to those who have already helped placing them in other villages and towns in the area. As with any club of this nature there is a continuous change of membership – members come and go. It is important for us to try to keep club subscriptions down by spreading our administration costs down across as large a number of members as possible. Please try and do your bit and tell your friends and colleagues about the club. I'll be happy to hear from them. Every member has a part to play in this - it is after all a club! When I started as chairman all of our quarterly mailings were sent by post – since then nearly half of our membership accept these mailings electronically, almost halving our printing and postage costs. A brief reminder that after the club deadline the tickets are yours and then become your responsibility to sell or to pass on to others if you are unable to attend. Finally a couple of points about coaches: I look forward seeing you at the wonderful productions in this programme. Have a great summer. |
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| 30/05/11 | We now have the first of our programmes in 2011 (see Progrramme page) in which I hope you will find some shows which appeal to your taste. You can choose from comedies, straight plays, Latin dancing, classical music, opera and musicals.....and some different venues.
A gentle nudge, but if you have not already renewed your 2011 subscription (still only £4 a year!) or are not sure if you have already renewed, please contact our treasurer Anne (tel 842640) to arrange this, otherwise we have to assume your membership has lapsed. We have had an excellent response to our request for subscription payments to be made by standing order. This helps us gear up for the future when banks threaten to do away with cheques as well as reducing the work involved in membership administration. We have had an enjoyable time over the winter months despite the snow conditions forcing the cancellation of BSO's Messiah. The three ballets, Holiday on Ice, Spamalot, Chess, Lend me a Tenor, Jools Holland, Royal Marines Band and the National Theatre's production of Hamlet all entertained members of the club. As promised at the AGM we have booked a production in London's West End – Billy Elliot. You should have received the special mailing which requires you to send the special booking form and deposit cheque to me by the 26th March - after this we will lose our provisional booking of the theatre tickets. The club has made a £50 donation to the Simon Wellington memorial fund for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Simon and his family were a great help to the club during Dennis Bastin's time as club chairman and before that. Dennis attended the funeral as the club's representative. We have set up a 'Facebook presence'. We believe that this is an excellent way of informing members of new events etc. and for members to give their own feedback. It makes it easy to share information with production companies, theatres and concert halls, friends and other members. Of course we realise this is not for everyone – it's merely another opportunity if you choose to take it. Another reminder! Coach monitors are valuable and appreciated members of the club so please don't make their lives difficult by being late for the coach. They are quite justified in leaving on the dot of the declared departure time. I hope you are inspired to book up some of the shows in this Spring / Summer season and I look forward to sharing with you the experience of some of the wonderful productions we have on offer. |
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| 25/03/11 | We have now issued the fourth and last of our programmes in 2010 (see the Programme page). This time, thanks to the Theatre Royal, we can please the drama buffs with a super selection of plays; war stories, ghost stories, who-dunnits, Shakespeare and other classics. We are by no means ignoring our members' other tastes; we have a musical, an ice show, an opera, a classical music concert, a choral concert and a ballet in this programme. Can I point out that Holiday on Ice, the Strauss Gala Concert and Birmingham Royal Ballet need ordering now – before Christmas.
You will notice that the 'Order Form' has been replaced by a new 'Booking Form' with a reverse side for guest details. Please use these forms in future. If you need additional copies please request from me or download from the Programme page here. Please also note that guest fees have been increased to £2. If you have not already renewed your subscription for 2011 you should have received a renewal form and a standing order form in case you choose to use this payment method. The subs are still only £4 per person per year. Please send all paperwork, cheques, etc to me for the time being (address on Contact page). On the subject of memberships I have to report that Mick Salter has decided that it is now time to relax and pass on his membership secretary duties which I will do for the time being. The club is indebted to him for his reliable and thorough work in setting up and maintaining the membership records over the past five years. It has provided SHTCC with a great platform for us to base our future membership recording plans on. As I reported at the AGM, 2010 has been a successful year for the club taking 900 people to 35 shows. We have been to two Cinderellas and another is on the near horizon but all are hugely different from one another. It is worth noting that Birmingham Royal Ballet's glittering new production of Cinderella will be shown on Christmas day on BBC2 and BBC HD if you would like a preview. The AGM on 17 November at the Mill Club, Kingsbridge, went very well with many aspects of the club's progress, finances and future prospects being discussed. The new Constitution was approved as was the reappointment of the existing officers. More details later. |
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| 19/12/10 | We now have the third of our programmes in 2010 (issued late August) and I am sure you will find something of interest. We have all sorts of top flight shows; drama, comedy, ballets, opera, musicals, classical/choral music, Royal Marines band and boogie woogie! Once again I've booked two shows on the same evening, one in the Theatre Royal and the other in the Drum Theatre. This arrangement gives a good opportunity to those who are interested in seeing modern drama in the Drum, as an alternative to the main event in the Theatre Royal, whilst using the coach provided.
We have cancelled a few shows from the previous programme sadly because of lack of support e.g. Dinner Ladies, La Traviata, Oct 28 BSO concert and the Great British Country Fête. Some of us went independently to see the latter show which was brilliantly performed by three young actors to a packed Drum Theatre...great entertainment about Tesco's coming to a fictitious village! The programme is strong on fairy tales this time. We have two Cinderellas (an opera and a contemporary ballet) and one Sleeping Beauty ballet all performed by top class companies. However Rossini's La Cenerentola didn't gain enough support. |
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| 07/09/10 | The second of four programmes in 2010, issued 27 June, is slightly different from normal. It is divided into two sections; 'Normal club events' which excludes the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and 'BSO only'. The 'Normal' programme will operate with the usual club rules but the 'BSO only' one has special rules as shown on the relevant programme. View them both on the Programme page.Unfortunately, although we waited to the last minute, at the time of writing we have not received the new Theatre Royal brochure and we had to go to print because of the early July deadlines. If we do receive notification of any events which should be included in this July to October programme we will inform you of their inclusion via poster at the Kingsbridge Information Centre, on this website, by e-mail and via the Gazette.
It's always a juggling act/compromise to meet the dates of the various theatres and concert halls whilst offering a full and varied programme. Judging by the response in ticket bookings I think we achieved that with our last programme. A big thank you to Barbara Booth for performing the 'new member pack' duties for the club for the past two years. I have now centralised this function and have taken the function over. Please contact me for any new member enquiries. As you probably already know there is considerable disruption to traffic going into Plymouth from our side because of major road improvement works. This will affect us up to and including October. To allow for this, coaches to Plymouth will need to leave earlier – how much depends on the circumstances at the time but please carefully check the coach departure time on the slip which accompanies your tickets. That's the time the coach will leave! If you miss the club deadline please don't ask the club to buy more tickets...by all means ask to go on the waiting list or a new club innovation is to make any spare coach seats available to members if they wish to buy their own tickets directly from the theatre. We have agreed that £10 per person return or single regardless of venue will be applied and coach seats only should be ordered using the normal order slips. Newsletters and programmes have been e-mailed to those who are happy to receive electronic deliveries. Please let us know your e-mail address if you would like this facility in the future by e-mailing enquiries@shtcclub.co.uk. It is easier and cheaper for the club too. On Sunday 29th August 2010 at 3.00pm in the Town Square, Kingsbridge there will be a FREE concert - “TRADITIONS" - by eleven traditional Devon singers, including regulars from the monthly Folk Night at the Crabshell Inn, Kingsbridge. Preceded by the City of Plymouth Pipe Band, parading down Fore Street to the bandstand on the Town Square. Organised by Brenda Burnside and sponsored by Kingsbridge Town Council. We have been advised of a concert you may like to attend independently of the club. It is a Totnes Festival Concert by the Torbay Symphony Orchestra who are welcoming Artem Kotov, a talented young Russian violinist, to play Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The concert opens with Four Sea Studies by local composer Sam Richards and concludes with Dvorak`s Symphony No 9 'From The New World'. Ticket prices £10, accompanied children under 16 FREE, students £5. The Flavel Centre, Dartmouth have been in touch with us and would like us to consider the inclusion in our programme of some of their productions which we will do if suitable productions come along. If you you choose to go under your own steam the Flavel Centre have offered club members discounts of £2 per person (approx.). News from the Northcott: 'The University of Exeter has agreed to set up a new company to run the Exeter Northcott. The theatre will go ahead with both the Exeter Summer Festival events and is planning a winter programme, including a Christmas show. The Exeter Northcott is currently in administration and was transferred over to University ownership on 29 May'. The club is not currently contemplating attending any events at the Northcott. We will be mounting a membership drive this autumn which will include new posters being distributed around the area and a feature in the Gazette. Can I also ask members to do their bit in spreading the word to their friends and colleagues. Please suggest to them that they visit our web site or to call me for further details. Also any volunteers who are willing to put up club posters in their neighbourhood halls, etc. would they please let me know. Lastly, there are times when a production comes along at short notice which may be of interest to a particular segment of the membership. We would like to be able to let the right people know about these events when they occur. To do this we need to add some additional information to the membership list with, i.e. the preferences of individuals (partners may not have exactly the same preferences!). The choices will be: Drama, Comedy, Opera, Ballet, Musicals, Classical Concerts, Other Concerts. Please complete the form (copy here) and send it in with your bookings.
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| 09/06/10 | The special programme produced in late March has allowed us to take on board some of the plays from the Theatre Royal's Summer Programme. Included are two shows at the Drum Theatre; one of them a brand new play from the Royal Court, London, called The Empire and the other an amateur production of Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce.Witness for the Prosecution in Plymouth is not included in the current programme since it had already been booked at the Princess Theatre, Torquay, on Sept 14.
The quarterly schedule of programmes will be shifted back a month and so the next programme will be issued in late June. Unfortunately there have been further problems with the Carrivick Sisters concert and the SHTC Club has now withdrawn from this event entirely. We understand that Sherford Village Hall Association may take this on in November as an entirely independent event. The Flavel Centre, Dartmouth have been in touch with us and would like us to consider the inclusion in our programme of some of their productions which we will do when the programme committee meet in June. However, if you you choose to go under your own steam the Flavel Centre have offered club members discounts and certainly they have some interesting shows coming up, such as Romeo and Juliet on Wednesday 23 Jun 7.30pm : Announced since our current programme was issued is a concert entitled Best of British by the BBC Concert Orchestra on Sunday 13th June at the Plymouth Pavilions. If you can provide your own transport you might like to see the poster below on this page for details but, if not, you can hear it live on Radio 3. We have received news of a concert The Sounds of Music on Friday 18 June 7.30pm at the Palace Theatre, Palace Avenue, Paignton by the Cascade Singers. They are based in Torbay and since their formation in 1998 have raised many thousands of pounds for local charities. They specialise in performing light music from musical shows, films, operettas etc. See poster at the very bottom of this page. |
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| 18/05/10 | Mr David Gay, Secretary of the Torbay Symphony Orchestra (TSO), has written to us (17/05/10) drawing attention to a series of three talks on contemporary music which are being held in Totnes over the next few weeks. To see the poster with more information click here.
The first, titled 'Opening the Door to Contemporary Music' will be given by the TSO's Music Director, Richard Gonski and takes place on Friday, 21st May at 7.30pm at Bogan House, High Street, Totnes. (opposite the Civic Hall). The second talk, on 28th May will be given by composer and improviser Sam Richards, and the third, on 11th June by the renowned composer and pianist Frank Denyer. The talks are promoted by Totnes Music Now! (www.totnesmusicnow.org) a new organisation set up to provide a platform for contemporary music following the closure of Dartington College of Arts. |
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| 03/03/10 | 2010 subs are due by the end of March! (£4 per person still) please download the membership renewal form (click here) and send with your subscription cheque to our Membership Secretary. We will continue to actively support local amateur groups and have included the TOADS Stage Musical Company's Singin' in the Rain in the latest programme. Those of us that went to see the Hot Mikado recently were treated to a brilliant evening's entertainment in the lovely Palace Theatre in Paignton. We continue to support the classical concerts at the University of Plymouth, Sherwell Centre. We are now offering some venues we haven't used for a while such as the Corn Exchange in Exeter. The next KATS production; Musical World, is being performed on the 23rd to 27th March at Malborough Village Hall and that tickets are available from the Kingsbridge Information Centre. The Carrivick Sisters of Salcombe will be playing for us for one hour on Friday 11th June at Sherford Village Hall. The cost is only £5 per person or nothing if you paid for the previous, postponed event. Please note the inclusion in the programme of some exciting West End Musicals; Whistle Down the Wind and Hair Spray. If you would like seats for Whistle Down the Wind please book them now! The AGM, held in December 2009, was well attended and the officers and trustees were appointed. Since then Dick Lloyd has resigned his offices and Pat Adams has stepped down as Publicity Officer. Many thanks on behalf of all the members to Dick & Pat for all their help with the club. The club's previous chairman, Dennis Bastin, has agreed to be a club trustee. Eric Brisley has agreed to join the Programme Committee as the classical music adviser. |
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| 13/12/09 | On Saturday 5 December at Sherford Village Hall the club’s Annual General Meeting was held, chaired by our Coordinator Nick Alen. He introduced a proposed formal Constitution with which to apply to the Charities Commission for charitable status for the club, thereby making public its organization and financial affairs. The members approved the proposal and the following volunteers were duly elected as officers:
Chairman: Nick Alen The first three plus Val Burkitt will be the club’s Trustees and Val will join all four on the Management Committee. Presentations were made to Jo Farrell, Ticket Secretary, and Mick Salter, Membership Secretary, in recognition and appreciation of their long-standing and continuing service to the club. Thanks were expressed to the rest of the management team and the coach monitors for their contribution. The chairman mentioned that we are now including in our programme the ‘Musical World’ production by KATS (Kingsbridge Amateur Theatrical Society) on Saturday 27 March at 2.30pm in Malborough Village Hall - £11 including coach. We also hope to go to a concert by an ex-Marines band on Wednesday 31 March in Dartmouth. Then, as we tucked into an excellent buffet lunch, we were treated to a highly entertaining monologue by Dick Lloyd as a country bumpkin. The Carrivick Sisters who should have been playing for us were at the BBC where they have recently been declared runners-up in a nationwide folk music competition. We are delighted for them. They will come to entertain us now on Friday 18 June.
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SHTCC
South Hams Theatre & Concert Club
