Chairmans Chat 2022

Hello all Country Linkers,

It's been a busy month. We had a successful Country Link National Weekend at the end of October, held at South Normanton in Derbyshire. 77 members attended for the whole weekend, with 3 additional people for dinner on Saturday night.

Some people had doubts about having no disco on Friday night, but it worked well by giving everyone the chance to catch up with each other over the buffet supper. It just goes to show that that not every weekend has to follow the same format. Something to think about if you're considering organising a weekend in your area. We still enjoyed the disco after the black-tie dinner on the Saturday evening.

I helped to organise the trips to The Workhouse (a National Trust property) and Bramley Apple Festival on the Saturday, both of which were in Southwell. For Sunday I had arranged a visit to Papplewick Pumping Station, this included a visit to the underground reservoir. The pumping station itself is a preserved Victorian building and is very ornate. A modern pumping station would just be a mass of reinforced concrete and grey steel pipes.

Other visits over the weekend included a farm visit, and a visit to see vintage tractors and steam engines with 2 of the engines in steam. There was also a circular walk around Southwell. On Sunday the other visits were to Hardwick Hall, another National Trust property, and to the Fire Museum at Mansfield Fire Station.

There was a variety of fundraising events which took place on Friday and Sunday nights. On Friday there was the usual fine for anyone not in fancy dress (theme red, white, and blue), a raffle, a heads and tails with the added element of correctly answering some general knowledge questions, and a quiz. On Sunday we had to guess the weight of the Pumpkin (a nod to Hallowe'en). This was won by Pat Guest who estimated the weight to be 15lbs 2oz with the actual weight being 15lbs 3oz. Well done Pat! There was also a coloured cocktail stick tombola, another quiz, and a number of sealed bags were passed around to guess what the objects were inside the bags.

The weekend was a joint effort. A big thank you to Derbyshire for organising the hotel and accommodation, and for preparing the welcome packs, to Nottinghamshire for organising the trips on Saturday and Sunday, and to Somerset and Warwickshire for sorting the fund-raising and entertainment.

I'm now looking forward to the next Weekend which is to be at Kings Lynn from Friday 12th to Monday 15th May 2023, to be organised by Essex Country Link with help from the Norfolk group as well. The National Weekends are such a good opportunity to explore different parts of the country, and to meet members from the other Country Link groups. I'm also hoping to get to visit some more Country Link groups over the winter months.

We are currently working on a national advertising campaign to be published in the NFU Countryside magazine. For people who prefer to enquire via the website please ensure your current programmes and correct contact details are on there. If you have any amendments, new programmes, or reports of your local events please send to Vicky at nottscountrylink@yahoo.co.uk so that all information can be updated. It's important that this is all maintained.

As National Chairman I was recently invited to represent Country Link at the Remembrance Day Service at the Vintage Tractor Show held at Newark showground, together with Pat Bosworth the Nottinghamshire Country Link programme organiser.

The tractor show is a large event, covering most of the showground. I don't think I've ever seen so many vintage tractors in one place before! As part of the service representatives from local organisations placed symbols on the altar representing the different aspects of war. I presented Thyme which represents Courage and Sacrifice, and Pat presented Oak Sprigs which represents Comradeship and Humour which brought Humanity into the Horrors of War. It was a very poignant service, especially with events this year in Ukraine, and the 40th anniversary of our own war in The Falklands.

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

I am sure we all feel sad about the Death of Queen Elizabeth II. As the only monarch, most of us will have known, she will remain in our thoughts for some time to come. The military has a massive role in the related ceremonies and as a reservist I spent a busy weekend last week issuing ceremonial kit to personnel at RAF Cosford.

On the Country Link front Nottinghamshire held a planning meeting at the beginning of the month and hope to have our new programme available soon, it will include a selection of talks, visits and meals out.

I have recently taken the opportunity to visit Warwickshire Country Link at their planning meeting at the Village Hall in Sharnford. Warwickshire is quite a large active group with over 12 members who are really friendly and easy to talk to. They have an exciting programme planned, to include a number of talks, visits, walks and meals. The talk on the women's land army sounds very interesting. I have arranged to add my picture quiz on to their programme, as a joint event with Nottinghamshire Country Link.

I really would encourage Clubs to hold joint events. This helps out the smaller clubs, and a large part of Country Link is about friendship and fellowship. Please send any suitably edited programmes to Vicky Hutton our website editor for inclusion on the website - email: nottscountrylink@yahoo.co.uk

The National Committee is also meeting in September. We hold two meetings a year, normally a month before each national weekend. This is to help plan for the members meeting or AGM (depending on the time of year) which are both held at the national weekends. The area reps help make up the National committee. So, it is important that you are able to identify the area rep for your club, and offer feedback.

I'm looking forward to the next national Country Link weekend at South Normanton, and hope to see many of you there.

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

It looks as if August is starting with yet another heatwave.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Derbyshire Country link and to join their walk to Middleton Top engine house, from the National Stone centre. Our walk incorporated a trip on the Wirksworth / Steeple Grange light railway on a line used for limestone mining. The trip included a talk by a geologist about the rock, the mining, and the many fossils contained in the limestone. The limestone is of very good quality, some of which was used for thousands of WWI headstones, as well as for decoration in many well-known buildings. Derbyshire Country link is a small but active club. They normally have numerous walks of various lengths across the scenic peak district throughout the summer, as well as many other activities.

I appreciate that for small clubs it can be difficult to publish a programme in advance, especially when working around members availability. However, I believe that having a programme and some photos of club events will help 'sell' Country Link to potential new members. If you do have any photos of your club events these can be sent via email to Vicky (email: website@country-link.org.uk). Even if you don't send a report, please add just a few lines to say what the pictures are / where they were taken / which group you are from. This will put the photos into context and a few words can be added to the website alongside the photos. I am no technical expert, but I am happy to share my limited knowledge if anyone needs any help with attaching photos to emails.

There's still a number of vacant posts on the National Committee:

Vice Chairman
Website Editor
Area Reps for the East Midlands area, and for the North of England

Members from the East Midlands area form a large part of the National Committee and I feel that members from other clubs would make the committee more representative of Country Link as a whole. We could also be missing out on some good ideas from other areas because of this.

If you are interested in any of the roles, please feel free to talk to any member of the National Committee to find out what it involves. The next committee meeting is in September, and it is an opportunity for you to see how Country Link works behind the scenes.

Please remember - enquiring about a role does not automatically commit you to taking it on. So don't be scared to ask!

Please feel free to print the Chairman's Chat and share with your members who don't have access to the internet or website.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and stay safe.

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

Hope you have all had the opportunity to enjoy the extended Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

This month I have had a very enjoyable holiday in the Isles of Scilly, just off the end of Cornwall. Lots of beautiful scenery, interesting wildlife and good walking.

I had the opportunity to visit Oxfordshire Country link during their recent pub night. A good chance to catch up with some old friends and look at their new program. They are a small, but very active club, who enjoy their quizzes. It is good the programmes on the website are current. Would encourage any club without a programme, on the site to send a copy to Maria Guest the current website editor at the earliest opportunity. Please remember to edit any details you don't want published on the website. I do intend to visit as many clubs and meet as many members as possible during my term as chairman. So don't be surprised to see me visiting your club at some point. Derbyshire Country link are organising the next weekend and Nottinghamshire Country link are assisting with organising the trips. We have had our first planning meeting and despite the number of previous weekends held around the east Midlands area we should have an exciting programme of original trips. Its nice to be able to showcase places in your county that you have enjoyed visiting. The Information for the autumn weekend will not be released util august/September.

How about show-casing your part of the country? Perhaps you have ideas you will like to see included in a weekend? Clubs can work together to put on a weekend. There is a lot of advice and support available if members are considering organising a weekend. This includes a very comprehensive handbook.

I am a bit disappointed that we have not had more interest in the vacant committee posts, Vice Chair, Website Editor and some area reps posts. A lot of the committee is made up of East Midlands members and I feel that members from other clubs would make it more representative of Country link as a whole. Also, that we could be missing out on some good ideas for the future as a result.

Please feel free to ask any member of the National committee about any of these roles. But remember, asking about a role is not an automatic commitment to undertake the role. I would like to thank Maria Guest for continuing with the website editor's role, until a volunteer is found.

Looking forward to a nice warm summer, hopefully?

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

Just to introduce myself. I am Peter Hunt, your new Chairman, voted in at the AGM during the recent Buxton weekend. Hopefully the election of Peter Hurt as President does not cause too much confusion? Especially as we are both members of Nottinghamshire Country link.

I have been a member of country link since 1999, first with Bucks and now with Nottinghamshire Country link. Having previously been the South East regional rep for a number of years. Then National vice Chairman for the last two years. I don't have a farming background, have always worked in Administration and Finance for the public sector, in Local Government/Civil service. In my spare time I am also a member of the Royal Auxiliary Airforce.

I feel that I should also thank my predecessor Charles Humby for his time as Chairman, and hope to be as successful at the role.

I would also like to thank Maria Guest, Phil Charles, Liz Goodwin, and rest of the team at Derbyshire Country link for organising the weekend at Buxton. Personally I, always enjoy a good barn dance, and the opportunity to learn more about the history of an area.

How about show-casing your part of the country? Perhaps you have ideas you will like to see included in a weekend? Clubs can work together to put on a weekend. There is a lot of advice and support available if members are considering organising a weekend. This includes a very comprehensive handbook.

As the Country moves out of the shadow of the pandemic, we will need to build up our membership. I am keen to make the most of the website, because this will help strengthen our efforts to recruit new members. We also need to further improve the contact between members and the National committee.

The National Committee also has a number of vacant posts including, Vice Chair, Website Editor and a number of area rep positions. Please feel free to ask any member of the National committee about any of these roles. But remember, asking about a role is not an automatic commitment to undertake the role. However my main priority is filling the website editors post.

We have an exciting year ahead for Country Link , and I hope to meet many of you in the coming months.

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

March has been a month of 2 halves coming in like a lamb with daytime temperatures reaching as high as 17 degrees celsius and then going out like a lion when temperatures dipped during the day to 2 degrees with very frosty nights. We have, however, managed to drill all of the spring barley which will be going for malting.

In mid March we had a National Committee meeting when it was decided to keep the annual subscriptions at £10 per member. We have raised the amount available for advertising from £300 to £500 per group. This money can be claimed back from National on production of a receipt.

We look forward to the Buxton weekend at the end of the month. We should all follow any government guidelines which are in place regarding covid and act responsibly regarding any health issues or symptoms to keep everybody safe. After all we are all responsible for ourselves and must think of others.

We are living in changing times with prices rising and conservation moving to the fore. On the farm we now have to leave a conservation area for wildlife either around the perimeter of the field or in the larger fields it can be right across the middle. The Ministry control this by satellite and if this is not carried out correctly an email is sent to the farmer.

If possible, we should try to socialise with other groups and join in with walks, trips and meals out, etc. I attach 2 photos of the South Wiltshire Group together with the East Somerset Group during a visit to a beautiful tiny church in the hamlet of Fisherton de la Mere near Warminster combined with a walk and lunch after on a lovely sunny Sunday in March, although the wind was keen.

Charles Humby - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

Firstly I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year and apologise for the mix up duplicating Novembers 2021 chat.

This coming year we have many events to look forward to which include the Winter Olympic Games in China, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July and the World Cup in Qatar in November. The most momentous event must surely be the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Year which commences on February 6th when she was ascended to the throne.

We have a weekend event to also look forward to which has been postponed from May 2020 to this coming May in Buxton. As yet we do not have an Autumn weekend 2022 organised so if any group wishes to put on a weekend please come forward and let the National Committee know.

Some groups have begun walking again. We have had some wonderful winter walks on the brighter days when we have encountered views and buildings which have been hidden during the summer due to the leaf cover on the trees. So there is something to be said for the bare winter trees, beautiful silhouettes against dramatic sun rises and sunsets, especially when the sky is clear and the moon and stars are also visible.

I am attaching a photograph of the cheque presentation of £1,000 to the Yewstock Special Needs School, Sturminster Newton made in December 2021 from the Weymouth weekend Autumn 2019, which has been delayed due to the covid pandemic.

Charles Humby - Chairman