Minutes of meeting
10 January 2024
1.Present
Kate & Roger Woods, Toni & Christine Mündel, Jim Whitfield, Michèle Robillard, Martin Cox, Sheila Mullen,
Carol & Graham Tree
Apologies: Brigitte Bourderiat, John & Tricia Sharpe
2. Minutes of last meeting
Approved.
Matters arising
The tombola dates and booking will be decided at the March meeting.
The placement for a young person from Nogent or Fuccechio - Martin wrote to the Town Council. A young person from Fuccechio had replied but subsequently found a placement in Germany. Kate and Roger will ask Jacob’s Well if they would offer a placement. If JW agrees, Martin will write to Nogent and Fuccechio with the offer of the placement. Jim will investigate the possibility of Beverley Community Lift offering a placement.
3. Treasurer’s Report (Jim)
£1727.24p balance. Jim will query the web-site bill for £43 with Graham, as Toni reports only having to pay £10 to Google. Jim will also ask Graham how to transfer financial responsibility for the web-site from Graham to John Sharpe
4. Membership report (Michèle)
22, minus Carol and Graham who are leaving Beverley
5. Planning for visit from Nogent 2024
Dates are now 9 – 14th May 2024, confirmed when Martin spoke to Marie-Jo.
The guests are flying to Leeds Bradford. There will be approx. 24 visitors, including 4 tennis players. The visitors will consist of 11 from the Committee, who get preference, 6 Councillors, 4 Officers, including Marie-Jo (also on the Committee), plus a few members.
Those who can offer accommodation so far amount to possibly 11 households. Martin will ask Nancy if she can arrange accommodation for the tennis players. He will also ask Roger Day and the Berlusconi’s if they can accommodate any guests. Toni will ask Gill, his neighbour, and Michèle will ask if there is anyone from the Anglo-French Society who would be willing to host. Brigitte is co-ordinating the guest accommodation.
Martin will form a group with Kate & Roger and Jim to decide on the final programme. In addition to activities already discussed, they will consider the Ride the Waves Festival at Bridlington, and Paul Schofield’s Tour of Beverley. It is possible to apply for a grant for a specific activity.
Toni told the meeting about the last Lemgo visit. There were 16 visitors; some stayed at the Premier Inn and some with hosts. They met in the Minster for a visit to the Tower, then in Nellie’s where the upstairs room had been booked. They went to Hornsea for a fish and chip lunch, and to Wassand Hall and the beach.
The cost to the Association was £1285.
Jim will register the Beverley-Nogent Association as a Community Group with Beverley Community Lift in order to have the use of the minibus at a rate lower than the commercial one.
6. Reports from other Twinning groups
13 – 16th June is International Hansa weekend. A Hansa Youth Group (16 – 24 year olds) wish to visit Beverley before Hansa Day. Beverley has an invitation to visit Stendhal (an associate town) in September.
Toni expressed the view that it may be time to split the Hansa and the Lemgo Associations. This would involve finding an income stream for the Hansa group, and also a Constitution.
7. Social Activities and Fundraising
The film night is now on February 23rd. A group is needed to organise this on the night.
Dinner at Ellwell’s 1 Feb or 21 March.
8. and 9. Fuccechio and Associate Towns
Martin has asked the Town Clerk to produce a Friendship Agreement to be signed at the 10th Anniversary of the Fuccechio/ Nogent Twinning agreement.
10. Group links
Nothing to report
11. Planning for AGM in March 2024
It was proposed and accepted that the 2024 Subscription be raised to £15 for an individual, and £25 for a couple. Membership forms will be available at the AGM.
The name of the Association will need to be changed to include Fuccechio. This will involve a change of the Constitution.
Members are urged to join the Committee. The role of Secretary will become vacant.
12. AOB
Beverley Cultural Network
Martin will contact Mandy Alan to see if it might of interest to the Twinning Association.
Carol and Graham Tree
Christine proposed a vote of thanks to Carol and Graham for all their contributions to the Assocation. The meeting was happy to agree. It was also agreed to mark their departure with a card, and a gift.
The web-site
Thanks were voted on to John Sharp for taking on the web-site. It was suggested that there be links to and from the web-site to the Council, and to the Anglo-French Society web-site.
How to increase the membership of the Association
Kate expressed the need for a membership drive. It was agreed that this be a topic for discussion at the AGM in March.
13 Next meeting
AGM at Monks Walk upstairs room, 13th March 2024, 7pm