Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – February 2012
Thank you for your support over the season, which is now rapidly coming to an end! Since our last Newsletter in October, we have held three Hunt Breakfasts, the Fork Supper, the Team Chase, a Carol Concert and the Coach House has been opened on numerous occasions before hunting (when we meet at the Kennels or on Ham Green) for bacon rolls and tea/coffee etc. Thanks to all who have come along or helped at these events.
We held our AGM in October, at which Reg Hopkins retired as Chairperson. On behalf of the Supporters Club Committee and Members, I would like to thank Reg for all his hard work, time and effort put into Chairing a Committee which raised in excess of £180,000 over the ten years Reg was in the Chair. A new Chairperson will be appointed in due course and in the meanwhile, myself and Lou Purvis are temporarily sharing the post.
Since our financial year began on 1st November, we have donated in excess of £9000 to the Hunt, either through direct donations or indirectly, such as paying for hunt teas when we have had visiting packs etc.
Enclosed is the ‘Yellow Card’ which has a Calendar of Events for the forthcoming year. Please check the website for up-to-date details of events and for any events which may be added to the Calendar - www.berkeleyhunt.co.uk.
Tumble Club Party – Friday 9th March
The Annual Tumble Club Party will take place in The Coach House on Friday 9th March from 7.30 p.m. As usual, we will be making a donation to The Air Ambulance. All of you in the Tumble Club should be receiving your invitations after the end of hunting in the Vale, with a note of how much you owe!! For those of you fortunate enough not to be a member of the Tumble Club, you are more than welcome to come along and pay a donation of £5. Light supper & bar, photos of the season and the usual presentations included!
Next season, the Tumble Club will start from the beginning of Autumn Hunting, so there will be no getting away with ‘practise’ falls before Opening Meet!
Hound Sponsorship
If you would like to become a hound sponsor or are already one and would like to renew your sponsorship, please complete the enclosed form. The money raised through the sponsorship scheme goes towards inoculations for the hounds.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming events and wish you all the best for the forthcoming season.
*********************************************************************************************************
Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – October 2011
I’d like to welcome you back to the Hunting season and it has been great to see some of you out and about in these early Autumn Hunting mornings. Since my Newsletter in June, BHSC has organised and run the Open day at The Kennels, a very successful and enjoyable Clay Shoot at Duckhole, two Fun Rides, Hound Exercise on bikes followed by breakfast plus representing the Hunt at Berkeley Show and Frampton Country Fair. Thanks to everyone who has supported these events in anyway and especially to all those people who turn up to help on the gates at Frampton Fair. We very much appreciate it.
We have now donated over £28,245 to the Hunt since 1st November last year, either through direct donations or indirectly, such as fencing materials, chairs for the coach house etc.
There are several events planned for before Christmas (see below). Please check the website for up-to-date details of events - www.berkeleyhunt.co.uk.
AGM – Wednesday 9th November 2011
The Hunt Supporters Club Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday November 9th in The Coach House (see attached for details and Agenda). All welcome.
Fork Supper – The Wool Barn, Frampton – Saturday 22nd October 2011
The Fork Supper this year will be at The Wool Barn, Manor Farm, Frampton-on-Severn 7.30 p.m. for 8 p.m. Tony Malpass is organising this event and tickets can be purchased from him on 01452 740618 or by completing and returning the reply slip at the end of this letter. Tickets are £15 and numbers are limited. Please book early so that we have an idea of numbers for catering. Please, please do not leave it to the last minute!! The speaker is to be confirmed. This event will take place on the same day as the National Hedge Laying Championships at Arlingham.
Berkeley Hunt Team Chase – Sunday 16th October 2011
The Team Chase will take place at New Park Farm, Hystfield. There will be a pairs Hunter Trial (2’6”), a Fun & Easy class (2’6”), Intermediate class (3’3”) and a Gate Jumping Competition (starting at 2’9”). The Gate Jumping competition has a first prize of £250!! Further details and an entry form can be downloaded from the Hunt website. It’s a great viewing course, so even if you’re not competing why not come along to watch the fun!
We rely on many volunteers to make the event a success and run smoothly. If you can help in any way, even if only for a couple of hours, please contact me.
Christmas Carols – Oldbury (The Pavillion, Westmarsh Lane) – 17th December 2011
Join us for some festive carol singing followed by mince pies and mulled wine at The Pavillion (the hall in playing fields car park). There will also be a band to accompany us all! No need to book, just come along on the night. £5 per person.
Sponsor a Newsletter!
The printing & postage of these newsletters are paid for out of Hunt Supporters funds. However, if you would like to ‘sponsor’ an edition, we would be happy for you to advertise your business in return. This month, we’d like to thank Dan Sellens (Cotswold Construction) and Dan Moss (Hurst Haylage) for their sponsorship.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming events and wish you all the best for the forthcoming season.
*********************************************************************************************************
Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – June 2011
It’s been a busy time for the Supporters Club since the last Newsletter in January. We have held the Whitminster Dinner Dance, a Quiz Night, Hunt Breakfasts (they seem a long time ago now!), the Tumble Club Party, Frampton Fun Ride and the Chairman’s Cheese & Wine evening. Thanks to all who have organised, helped and attended. Your support is crucial to the success of these events.
We have already donated over £16,500 to the Hunt since 1st November, either through direct donations or indirectly, such as renovations to the Coach House. The improvements to the Coach House mean that it is now far more useable and we will be able to hold more Supporters Club and Hunt events there. In addition, we have also donated £1000 to the Great Western Air Ambulance, most of which was raised through the Tumble Club and the end of season party.
Don’t forget that there are many more events to come this year, some of which are mentioned below. You can keep up-to-date with these by logging onto the Hunt website www.berkeleyhunt.co.uk.
Membership Renewal
Membership is due from 1st November each year. However, we have had very few renewal payments in since 1/11/10. The cost of renewal is £10 per person or £20 for family membership (living at same address). If you have not paid your renewal for this year (2010/11), please can you complete the enclosed slip, make a cheque payable to BHSC and send it to Caroline Newman, BHSC Membership Secretary, Bevington Farm Cottage, Bevington, Berkeley, Glos GL13 9RB. Thank you. If you are not sure whether you have paid your renewal or not, please contact Caroline, preferable by email carolinerjames@hotmail.co.uk or if not, on 01453 511442.
Kennels Open Day & Cream Teas – Sunday 26th June
We are holding a Kennels Open Day on Sunday 26th June when the historic Berkeley Hunt kennels will be open to the public. Come along and meet the hounds and learn about the history behind them. You can even have a go at hound judging! Henry Berkeley will be conducting tours at 2.15 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. Cream teas will also be served in the Coach House. Entrance is FREE. All welcome, whether or not they are BHSC members.
Clay Shoot and BBQ – Saturday 2nd July
We are organising a Clay Shoot and BBQ which will take place on Saturday 2nd July from 6 p.m. at Home Farm, Gaunts Earthcott (BS32 4JR). You do not have to be experienced or even to have shot before! Come along and simply ‘have a go’ at shooting some clays (guns and guidance provided!), or if you are more experienced and have your own gun, then you can participate in the competition section. There will be a Bar and BBQ during the evening and these will continue after the shooting has finished at around 8.30ish. All ages welcome and it should be an entertaining evening. Entrance is FREE. Please note that this may be subject to change so do keep an eye on the website for any updates.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming summer events and thank you for your on-going support. Don’t forget, we are always looking for help, so if you can spare any time, please do get in touch!
*********************************************************************************************************
Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – January 2011
Once again, thanks must go to all of you who have attended & supported our events since the summer. The Team Chase in October raised over £2,250 and the Fork Supper over £1,000. Our financial year ended on 31st October 2010 and during that year £36,471 was donated to the Hunt plus an amount was carried forward to this financial year, making the total raised to around £40,000. This is an unprecedented amount and would not have been possible without all your support and the hard work of the BHSC Committee. It is very much appreciated and was acknowledged by the Masters at our AGM in November. Thank you.
We have already donated £10,000 to the Hunt since 1st November, mainly made possible by the donation from Frampton Country Fair as a result of the help it gets from our Supporters. Our fundraising continues and a Diary of Events is enclosed. Please note that more events may be added to these and you will can subscribe to our email communications (see below) or refer to the website www.berkeleyhunt.co.uk for up to date details.
Membership Renewal
Membership is due from 1st November each year. The cost of renewal is £10 per person or £20 for family membership (living at same address). If you have not paid your renewal for this year 2010/11, please can you make a cheque payable to BHSC and send it to Caroline Newman, BHSC Membership Secretary, Bevington Farm Cottage, Bevington, Berkeley, Glos GL13 9RB.
Hound Sponsorship
The Supporters Club runs a scheme whereby you can sponsor a hound for £15 per year. Proceeds from the scheme go towards injections for the cough. If you would like to renew your existing sponsorship or would like to join the scheme, please complete and return the enclosed form to Ann Reeves. There is a draw at our AGM each year and prizes are awarded to sponsors of the first hound drawn out and also the Best Working Hound selected by our Huntsman.
Email Communication
We are very keen to obtain the email addresses for our members who have them. Each communication we send out by post costs us around £150 and if we can send them by email in future we can communicate more frequently and reduce our costs throughout the year. If you are happy to receive future Newsletters etc. by email, please would you send your email address to carolinerjames@hotmail.co.uk (Caroline Newman). We will, of course, continue to post newletters should you not have an email address or sign up for this but we cannot guarantee that you will receive every piece of communication issued as email will enable us to send information more often which would not be cost effective to post every time (e.g. date changes etc.). You can also refer to the website for up-to-date information.
The Coach House
The Supporters Club has recently organised and paid for some refurbishment in The Coach House. A new kitchen and bar area has been fitted and some remedial & redecoration work has been carried out. This was essential if we are to continue to use the building for Hunt Breakfasts and other events. The work has now been completed and the first Hunt Breakfast to be held in there will be on Saturday 5th February. Please come along, have breakfast and see what we’ve done!
Hunt Breakfasts – Wednesday 2nd & Saturday 5th February
There will be Hunt Breakfasts on Wednesday 2nd February at The Anchor, Epney & Saturday 5th February at The Coach House. £8 pay on the door.
BHSC Quiz Night – Friday 11th February
There will be a Quiz Night in The Coach House on Friday 11th February, kindly organised on behalf of the BHSC by Bea Harford. Teams of up to 6. £7 per person to include a light supper. Cash Bar. Please pay on the night but contact Lou Purvis before then to reserve place(s) on 07770 546030 or email info@louisapurvisphoto.co.uk.
Tumble Club Party – Saturday 5th March
Once again, the Tumble Club has been running since Opening Meet. Some of us will be acutely aware of this and are already members! Last year, we donated £1000 to the Air Ambulance and a great night was had by all who came. This year’s ‘Awards’ party will be on Saturday 5th March at The Coach House. Further details will be issued in due course.
Frampton Fun Ride – Sunday 3rd April
The annual BHSC Fun Ride at Frampton will take place on Sunday 3rd April. Details will be posted on the website nearer the time.
BHSC Trailer – Volunteers required!
Is there anyone who would be willing to organise and run the BHSC trailer at events such as the Point to Point, Berkeley Show and Frampton Country Fair? You do not have to join the Committee to do this and would not even have to attend any meetings! It would mean organising the set up/dismantling of the trailer on the day and organising a rota of people to man it. We have volunteers who are happy to help but we just need someone to co-ordinate it all. If you are able to help in anyway, please speak to me or Lou Purvis. A great deal of thanks must go to Ann Reeves and Roy Wood who have organised and run the BHSC trailer for many years up until now.
BHSC Merchandise
The Supporters Club has had a new, updated map of the Berkeley Country printed, with a number of additional coverts added. They are available to purchase at £18.
Finally, I look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming events and wish you all the very best for the remainder of the hunting season.
*********************************************************************************************************
Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – September 2010
Thanks to all of you who have attended & supported our events over the summer months – Fun Rides, Open Day, the Summer Ball, Hound exercise on bikes & horses and Sheep Racing as well as Berkeley Show and Frampton Fair. It would be impossible to run these events without our hard working committee members and the many other volunteers who give up their time. So far this year, the Supporters Club has donated over £27,400 to the Hunt and we are heading for a record breaking year of fundraising by the time our year ends on 31st October. Thank you.
BHSC Fork Supper – Friday 15th October 2010
The annual Fork Supper will be held at Olveston Parish Hall (in Tockington, South Glos) on Friday 15th October. Tickets are £15 and are available from Committee members. Numbers are limited, so please book early.
Team Chase – Sunday 17th October 2010
As announced in the last newsletter, we will be running an autumn Team Chase on Sunday 17th October at New Park Farm, Hystfield. There will be Pairs, Fun & Easy (both do not exceed 2’6”) and Intermediate classes. Schedules and entry forms are available to download from www.teamchasing.co.uk or contact me if you do not have access to the internet.
There will be a bar, BBQ and great viewing on the day. As usual, we rely heavily on volunteers to help fence judge etc. If you are able to give up a few hours of your time to help, please let me know.
BHSC Annual General Meeting – November 2010
The AGM will take place at the Berkeley Arms on Weds 10th November at 8 p.m. The Secretary (Lou Purvis) would be pleased to receive nominations for Committee Members and Officers by Monday 1st November. An Agenda is given overleaf.
BHSC Merchandise
The Supporters Club has had a new, updated map of the Berkeley Country printed, with a number of additional coverts added. They are available to purchase at £18.
BHSC Christmas Cards will be available to purchase at sometime in November. Please contact Ann Reeves on 01453 810362 if you would like some.
The Berkeley Hunt – A Season in Photographs 2009 - 2010
Louisa Purvis has had her 2nd book of photographs printed which records the 2009/10 season from the Hound Parade at Badminton in early May 2009 through to the Point to Point in April 2010. The 50 page hardback book is packed with over 250 photographs and is available from Lou at a price of £40 (less 10%
for orders of 2 or more). Books are generally printed to order although some stock copies are available at the current time. The ideal Christmas present!!
Finally, may I wish you all a very safe and enjoyable hunting season in 2010/11.
*********************************************************************************************************
Thanks to all who attended or helped out at the Kennels Open Day on Sunday 4th July. The Hound 'judging', Kennel tours and cream teas once again proved very popular and we raised about £800. Thanks must also go to the Wick & District Beagles who brought along 3 couples for people to meet and also to Bea Harford for bringing along two Alpacas for the afternoon.
Many thanks to all of you who attended & supported the Chairman's Cheese & Wine Evening at Home Farm on 21st May. The evening was very enjoyable, helped by the lovely warm evening and superb food prepared by Sue Hopkins and her helpers. The evening raised over £900 which will be put towards the purchase of a new hunt horse. Thanks must go to our hosts Reg & Sue Hopkins and to all who helped make the evening such a success.
*********************************************************************************************************
Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club Newsletter – May 2010
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who has helped us in any way at our events so far this year. The Supporters Club has donated over £20,000 to the Hunt since the start of its financial year at the beginning of November 2009. This is a tremendous amount of money and it would not have been possible to raise it without the help and support of our members, volunteers and the farmers whose land we use/cross.
Since Christmas, we have held a Dinner Dance at the Whitminster Inn, two Hunt Breakfasts, a Quiz Night (kindly organised by James and Sarah Witchell), the Tumble Club Party (in aid of the Air Ambulance, to which we donated £1000), the Team Chase and a Fun Ride at Frampton. All events have been a great success, despite the bad weather leading up to the Team Chase and Fun Ride during March.
We now have a group of young and enthusiastic members on the Hunt Supporters Committee but we still need your help at the events we organise. If you are willing to volunteer, please let me or Lou Purvis (our Secretary) know. It can be FUN!!
Team Chase
As you will be aware, we ran an Open Qualifier Team Chase at New Park Farm on March 21st this year. This was a huge success and raised £7000 for the Hunt, despite a significant amount of money being spent on new fences and a re-routed course. However, it is likely that another large part of the course will be ploughed in the Autumn and this means that if we wish to run another Team Chase, we will have to do so before the end of October. We have decided to hold one on Sunday 17th October and whilst this will not be an Open Qualifying event, we will be running the Pairs Hunter Trial, the Fun & Easy and Intermediate classes.
We are fully aware that this is only six months after the Team Chase in March and that we will again be asking for sponsors and fence judges/volunteers. However, the event raises a significant amount for the Hunt so please do your best to support us in any way you can.
Chairman's Cheese & Wine Evening – Friday 21st May
We are again holding the Chairman’s Evening at Home Farm, Gaunts Earthcott (BS32 4JR) on Friday 21st May from 7.30 p.m. This will be a good chance to get together and catch up with friends over a glass of wine and some food. There are no advance tickets on sale – just turn up on the night. Everyone is welcome – bring along friends if you like! £10 to include your first drink & supper. All money raised from the evening will go towards the purchase of a new horse for the Hunt.
Kennels Open Day – Sunday July 4th
The Kennels Open Day will be on Sunday 4th July from 2 p.m. It was great fun last year with plenty of things going on. Please do your best to come along. Henry will be conducting kennel tours where you can meet the hounds and there will be will the usual teas, side stalls, terrier racing, dog show etc.