At last I am sitting here on the boat in glorious sunshine writing this letter to you. We have waited such a long time for this, I just hope it lasts. It has been another busy month since my last letter with the following events taking place.

This was well attended with 26 boats decked out in bunting for our opening cruise. Things started so well for me but unfortunately we had problems with the fuel pump on Hirondelle so Steve kindly took me onto Black Pearl. Thanks to Ron and Eric for getting Hirondelle going. Keith eventually picked me up on the way back and we were able to make it back to the club house where we were served hot food by the Social Committee and other helpers. A big thank you to Kath and Estelle for manning the kitchen while we were out sailing. The room looked lovely decked out in club colours and it was good to see over 80 people there. The winners of the decorated boat were Chris and Denise Hill

Next came the Easter Cruise to Bugsworth. It started on Thursday afternoon with 19 club members turning up by boat/car to erect the Marquee. What a good turn out for a cold damp day. During Friday lots of boats appeared and there was more activity in the Marquee, erecting lights and sorting out the heating for the evening’s entertainment. What a good evening that was. Thank you to Ian, Alan, Roy, Keith, Richard and not least the members for making it a brilliant evening. I will never forget doing the ‘Strip the Willow’. I was worried how we would follow that on Saturday night but Braunston Pickle were excellent and kept us well entertained with their tales of the Canals and all their local songs. Once again the Marquee was full and there was plenty of audience participation. It was good to see so many participating in the Easter Bonnet, Decorated Ties and Windlass Competitions. How inventive you all are! Another great night! Sunday, was Keith’s birthday so Keith and I went up to the ‘Navvy’ for breakfast with our son Jamie. On our return we walked past the Marquee and all we could hear was chop, chop, chop. We went in to see a big group of members busy preparing veg and potatoes for the hot pot for Keith’s birthday. A big thank you to you all. The evening was another great night as we were entertained by DD Disco. There were people dancing at the front and back of the Marquee and even people doing actions to the songs in their seats. Keith said it was the best birthday he has had and it was all down to the members. Monday came all too soon and it was time to dismantle the Marquee and I could not believe the number of club members who turned up to help. It was down and packed into the pontoon in record time. The atmosphere over the weekend was great and there was a real buzz in the Marquee. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I have been blown away with the support I have received over the last few months and would like to thank you all as you can‘t do this job on your own. The raffle held on Saturday night raised £79 but I will make it up to £100 as they do such a good job at Bugsworth and it made the weekend being able to put up the Marquee. Thirty two club boats were at Bugsworth along with three motor caravans. A great turnout especially as the weather forecast was awful, but unlike Keith’s Easter Cruise in 1986 we did not have snow.

Denise and Keith

Well another month has been and gone and hopefully the bad weather is behind us and we can start enjoying our boating.

By the time you read this we will have had the opening cruise. I just hope the weather is kind to us, I did put my order in for sunshine and blue skies!!

The following week is Easter Cruise weekend to Bugsworth where we have arranged for us all to be moored together. We will be having the Big Marquee up where there will be entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday will be a chance for you musicians to bring along your instruments or any singers to sing a song or lead us in a good old fashioned sing song. We would also love to hear anyone who can recite a poem or rhyme or entertain us in any way. On Saturday we will be entertained by Braunston Pickle. The Easter Bonnets, Decorated Ties and Decorated Windlasses will be judged on Saturday night. Please note there will be no bar in the marquee so bring along your own supplies. Sunday is Keith’s 60th birthday and you are all invited to come along and have a drink and hot pot with us. We will be entertained by Double D Disco who entertained us so well at New Year.

1st - 3rd May we are holding a Pirates Weekend at Whitely Green and hope to see lots of pirates on the field. Bring along your burgers and sausages as the big BBQ will be lit on Saturday and Sunday for everyone to use. We will be having a Treasure Hunt during the weekend with a prize for the winner. We will put up the gazebos and hopefully have a sing song.

The late May bank holiday is the Commodore’s weeks cruise on the Caldon. I hope to have an itinerary soon. Please add your name to the list on the Commodore’s Board in the club house or ring me if you wish to join us.

Revised dates for your Diary

12th June World Cup BBQ

31st July Wine Cruise

15/17th October Pantomime

That’s all for now - hope to see you all soon, happy cruising.

Denise and Keith

I was hoping to start this letter with good news about the weather, but how wrong I was. The canal seems to be freezing over every other day. The poor bulbs in the tubs don’t know whether to wake up or go back to sleep again. Never mind, the nights are getting lighter and we have the spring to look forward to. The sooner it comes the better we will all feel.

That’s it for now; here‘s to a brilliant sailing season with lots of sunshine.

The next event makes me think winer is coming to an end as it is the Fitting Out Supper which this year is to be a Hoedown. We would like to see as many of you as possible entering into the spirit of it by dressing up as cow-boys and cow-girls. The Hoedown Band Fiddlestix will be on hand to help us with the dancing so get practising your "yippee’s".

If you wish to attend either of these events please contact myself or any of the

Sailing Officers or if you are in the club add your name to the lists.

Due to the continuing bad weather and possibly more to come, we have decided to re-schedule the Pantomime for later in the year, possibly October, but will keep you all informed.

Finally, we are getting names together for the Amsterdam trip in September. If you are interested we have a list on the Commodore’s Board or phone Keith or myself to put your names down. We need to know approximately how many of you are interested so we can negotiate the best deal. When I have a draft itinerary I will call a meeting with every one interested to discuss it. It would be helpful if we could have all names by the end of February.

That’s all for now folks, looking forward to seeing you on the canal or at the club.

Keith, Michelle and I went up to Glasgow on Christmas Eve to be with Jamie and his girl-friend Nikki. It was lovely having Christmas dinner with Nikki’s parents and family. It did mean a very early start at 6am to get back to Marple for the Boxing Day Cruise - well, Car Cruise, as the canal was frozen. We arrived at the Forces Club just as Pam, John, Brian, Hazel, Jean and Shep arrived with the soup and sandwiches. We were not expecting to see a lot of members because of the dreadful weather but were wrong as between 45 and 50 members came along. It was lovely to see you all and especially Steve and Margaret after Steve’s operation.

We saw the end of 2009 with a Hogmanay Party. The room looked lovely with its tartan theme. I hope you ladies liked your tartan sash and the gentlemen your sprig of heather. We were entertained by Double D Disco. He was great as he had Scottish pipe music when the guests arrived to set the scene. He provided music for every taste including ballroom dancing, Scottish dancing and disco. We were even entertained with golden oldie music while we ate our picnics with people singing along to them. Just before midnight we heard the sound of the pipes and in came a mad piper and his equally mad assistant who entertained us with the pipes and a sword-dance. Don’t know where they had escaped from but they did get us onto the dance floor, jigging about and ready to bring in the New Year. I have been assured they have been securely confined to a steel boat on the canal somewhere.

I would like to thank Keith, my Sailing Officers, the Social Committee and everyone who has helped me in any way during this very busy period, as we couldn’t have done it without you.

Dates for your Diary :

Lastly Keith and I wish you all a brilliant 2010 with many blessings and plenty of sailing.

Denise and Keith

Dear Friends and Fellow Members, It’s hard to believe a month has gone by since taking over as Commodore. It has been a busy month with a Bonfire Weekend at Whiteley Green attended by Hirondelle, Fleur Denise, Taylor Maid, Quantum, Gralyn, Columbus, Moonlight Shadow, Aquarius, La Vie en Rose, Sarah, Tat, Ellie, Ganda, Wild Rose, and Altonian. We also had Malcolm and Barbara Bridge attending in their motor caravan and John Fenton and Pam Russell came by car. It was a great evening with a bonfire, hotpot, parkin, treacle toffee and even a few fireworks. After supper we were entertained by Ian Bruce and Barbara Bridge. Even the weather was kind to us and we sailed back on Sunday in the sunshine. Many thanks to everyone who helped to set it up and to everyone for coming and making it such a success.

Don’t forget the Boxing Day Cruise to Marple Forces Club. Soup and sandwiches will be available. We will be leaving the arm about 11 am. That’s all for now folks. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to make the first month so much fun.

Keith and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Look forward to seeing you all soon.

Denise, Commodore.