Latest News

Good morning all. I have not given an update for a few weeks, but I am pleased to see things are going well in the Centre. Marion and I hosted Love the Lambeth walk which went very well. I have written an article which Beverley Walker has sent to the CAMC magazine, so hopefully we will get this published in a future edition. The following week was the Barn Dance Hop run by past chairmen’Sue and Paul Maran, assisted by our most recent past Chair Will Thursby and Penny, which by all accounts was another great rally. Then Marion and I attended St David’s day rally run by Aubrey and Linda Thomas, this was very enlightening, entertaining and enjoyable. Steve and Angie Thomas took ralliers for another Walk around the Water this weekend, with hospitalities at the White Horse. I have kept in touch with several members, and attended the funeral of Edna Jewell on Friday. Hopefully Spring is now just around the corner, and we can look forward to getting out onto some rally fields and enjoy the Sun. Our next big event is the Dinner Dance on 13th April, once again being held at the County Hotel in Chelmsford. We have live entertainment from ‘Lovely’, who performed for us and was enjoyed by many at last years Chairman’s rally. The dinner dance is a great event and gives us a chance to dress up and enjoy a more formal evening. You can either come onto the rally, where transport is arranged to and from the venue, or join us at the County Hotel on the Saturday. It would be great to have a few more bookings to see members enjoying yourselves and supporting your Centre. There is a link on the front page of our Web site. Either log on, or give me a call. Remember, as your proud Chairman, I am always here for anybody who wishes to discuss anything. Looking forward to seeing you on a rally soon.
DAVID

We have received notification from FM Tags of their upcoming holiday. The closure dates are as follows:

Friday 26th April until Tuesday 7th May 2024.

If you have rallies around these dates you will need to order plaques sooner than expected. Please allow extra time for deliveries and ordering times may be longer too.

I expect they will be very busy before and after their holiday.

Janice

Good Afternoon all,
As you may be aware, Ian Carter is going to produce the Rally Book for us this year. Can I please ask that all those who have kindly agreed to run Rally events for the Centre next year, ensure that you have sent in your Planning Sheets. If you have not done so can you please send them to the ‘rallysec@secc-online.org.uk’ e.mail address, from where Ian will be able to pick them up.
In addition, should anybody running a big rally wish to publicise it in a grander way, please feel free to design an advert which we will aim to put in the book on a page adjacent to your rally details. We may also be able to use this to promote your rally elsewhere. One of my aims for the coming year is to reach out to a wider audience, to showcase what we do in the Centre, and the fun that we have.
Once again, I would like to thank Ian for offering to look after our 2024 Rally Programme.

It is a pleasure to be able to bring you some positive news. Having assessed the Centre’s funds, and current costs, the committee has come to the decision that at least for the time being, we are able to reduce the Admin cost charged on each rally. As from 1st January 2024 the Admin charge will reduce from £2.50 to £2.00. However, the cost of buying plaques from the suppliers continues to increase, and for several years now the Centre has incurred a loss in respect of plaques, the difference between what we are charged by FM Tags and what we collect in from those who have plaques. We have in the past looked at alternative suppliers and types of plaques, but feedback has suggested that members would like to retain the traditional type and style. As a result it is necessary to increase the charge for a plaque from 85p to £1.20 and this is just to cover the cost being incurred. I personally like to have a plaque at each rally, although I know this view is not shared by all, however I do hope that more people will not dispense with having plaques, as I think it would be a shame for the Centre to loose this tradition. For those taking a plaque, the additional 45p is more than off set by the reduction in admin (just). We did consider leaving things as they were, but in reality this could be perceived that those who do not take a plaque would effectively be subsidizing those who do. I realise that we are only talking about a few pence, here or there, but in the past these type of things have become emotive. I hope this will be taken in a positive manner . . . and those who, to date, have taken a plaque at each rally, will continue to do so.
There you are, at least that was not sad news.
DAVID

As secretary for the South Essex Centre, at the beginning of every month I receive a spreadsheet from the CAMC with a list of members that have not renewed their membership in the previous month. This month I have 51 members whose membership has lapsed. I will now email all members from that list to remind them to re-register with South Essex. Some will, some won’t. I may get 10 from this list that do so. This month alone we may lose 40 South Essex members! This is not a one off either. This happens every month.

Our rally booking slips for 2024 will soon have a section to add your membership end date. Hopefully this will remind members to re-register with us.

Unfortunately this will not help the South Essex members that do not attend rallies at all.

So, if you are a member of this page and you receive the email from me, Please, Please renew your membership with South Essex. Hopefully we can then keep the centre running for another 60 years.

Thank you

Janice

We now have a new company to order our South Essex Centre clothing from. The company is called Stitchprint and they are based in Burnham on Crouch.

At present our webshop includes the following items, all with the South Essex Centre logo embroidered onto it:

Polo shirts, Soft Shell Jackets, Beanie Hats, Caps, T Shirts, Polo Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Hoodies, Fleeces, Fleece Gilets.

These are available in many different colours with some items available from XS to 6XL. If there is something else that you would like to see added to our webshop, please let me know and I will find out if it is available.

We are looking to add an order to save on the postage of just one item. If you would like to find out about any of the items that we have available, take a look at the Stitchprint website at www.stitchprint.co.uk.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like to add anything to the order. We would like to have an order ready in the next few weeks.

Thank you

Janice

At the most recent Regional Meeting we were asked to remind all members that they should carry their CAMC Membership Cards with them when attending a Rally, to show to the Marshals upon arrival. Also, any Marshal can TEXT the following number to check that ralliers are registered with the Club.

• 01342 477080. Text only the Membership Number, and send. – It will respond with “Current Member” or “Unknown”

The exemption certificate, that we rally under, is subject to all ralliers, having current membership with the Caravan & Motorhome Club.

Many Thanks

DAVID

There is now a Food Intolerance and Allergy disclaimer that we are recommended to have on display if there is food being served on rallies. This is available to download and print in the “Rally Marshals Documents” section in the members area of the website. If anyone has any problems downloading this please let me know and I can email you a copy. Thank you.