Group Meetings and Venues 2024
Happy New Year! This letter is being circulated for us by HQ and has news for both existing and potential members of our Group. if you have friends you would like to invite to our activities, please do.
1. About the Group
The Group is run by retired members for all CSPA members, their current or surviving spouses and partners (or you can bring a friend). The Group meets monthly (except January) in Southend-on-Sea. Normally on the second Monday. (We may, of course, have to make an exception from the second Monday, e.g. if our chosen activity is only available another day. For example, our October outing on Southend Pier to lunch at the end, was enjoyed by all, but was on a different Monday so that we could enjoy the view at high tide. About four times a year we meet at the SAVS Centre, 29-31, Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1BW at 2pm for 2:15 to about 4 pm. Refreshments are available. The SAVS Centre is the HQ of Southend Association of Voluntary Services, of which our Group is a member. Meetings at SAVs may include an illustrated talk on a subject of general interest, news about pensions and other matters, or short discussions about organisation and activities. Lunches, coach outings, or other activities, will be held on intervening months when separate venues or pick-up points are announced.
2. Programme for 2024
As usual, the Group will not meet in January. For February and March, we give full details in sections 3 and 4 below. We give a shorter summary for April and May in sections 5 and 6. Later months we will be looking at: one or two coach outings or other trips out of Southend, a stroll around the old Garrison Estate at Shoebury with a good lunch at the restaurant mid-way through our walk, a summer lunch in August or September, a Christmas lunch in December, and one or two more talks at SAVs on subjects of general interest, or maybe a visit to Southend Museum or the Planetarium.
3. Monday 12 February: Meet at Patisserie Valerie
We meet at 2.15 pm to 3.30pm at Southend café Patisserie Valerie (near Marks & Spencers) for a scrumptious choice of cakes, with tea, coffee, and chat. (For those who prefer less sugar rich fare, their menu has about ten choices of sandwiches and bagels (from £7.95 to 10.95). We have opted for this café in preference to an alternative we mentioned to some members last month because we have found the alternative did not have such easy access for those with mobility aids. If you plan to come, please let Betty Anderson, our Membership Secretary, know by phone or email by 30 January so that she can let the café know the likely number coming. Her contact details are at the end of this letter.
4. Monday 11 March: Spring lunch at Tomassi’s
Time and Venue: We will meet at 12.00 noon at Tomassi’s, 7-9 High Street, Southend–on-Sea, SS1 1JE, opposite the Royals shopping centre.
To book a seat: There is a detachable booking form on page 3 for you to give us your details. But there is no need to choose what to eat or pay anything in advance of the day. However, please return the booking form to make or confirm your booking so we can pass numbers to the restaurant. For a summary of the menu see below, for other information please get in touch with Betty Anderson (email, and phone details below). If possible, the booking form should be returned at our meeting on 12 February, or to Betty (at 15 Cromer Road, Southend–on-Sea, Essex, SS1 2DU), preferably by 4 March. (If very close to the lunch, please email or phone – Tel: (01702) 466335 Email: iandbanderson@btinternet.com
The menu: We have opted for Tomassi’s for this year’s Spring lunch, because it offers a wide selection of traditional meals. Examples from the menu are:
Starters: Chicken bites, soup, prawn cocktail, and 3 others (priced at £4.65 – £7.45)
Mains: Fish: Grilled Fillet of Plaice, Grilled salmon, and 6 others (priced £12.45 – £ 13.45); Italian: Spaghetti Bolognese, and 4 others (£9.65 – £10.95); Chicken: choice of 7 (£9.95 – £11.25); Meat & Grills: All Day Breakfasts, Sirloin Steak, and 5 others (£9.95 – £16.95); Salads: Quiche and about 10 others (£10.45 – £13.95).
Desserts: Big choice of ice cream-based treats, also apple pie, and sticky toffee pudding (£6.65 – £7.45 each).
5. Group AGM – Monday 8 April 2024
(The Group AGM will be held in SAVS conference room (see item 1 above for the address) arriving at 2 pm for a 2.15 start. You can, if you wish, simply turn up on the day. The conference room is on the 1st floor, which can be reached by a small lift near the reception desk, or you can ask reception to let you use the staircase. At SAVs there is a separate entrance fee of £2 to help with the rent. Optional items are tea and coffee at £2 per person (refills free), and a raffle at £0.50. These should be paid for on the day. by cash or cheque). (See item 7 for the Local Group subscription.) The actual agenda will be circulated in late February or early March, meanwhile the draft agenda is included for information on the back page of this letter.
6. Monday 13 May: Perhaps visit to the Old House in historic Rochford, and lunch after
We may meet in Rochford for a morning visit of about an hour, then perhaps go to lunch at the Marlborough Head nearby. Confirmation and more details will be circulated nearer the time, or an alternative outing.
7. Renewing Group Membership or becoming a new member:
The annual Group membership subscription for 2024 is £6.00 (the same as last year). This Group subscription is for those Group expenses not met from subscriptions to HQ, e.g. the occasional rent of a local conference room. It can be paid at a Group meeting or send a cheque – payable to CSPA (Southend & District) – to our Membership Secretary: Betty Anderson (15 Cromer Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 2DU). Please include your address, phone number and email address (if you have one). By providing these, you confirm your wish
to be a Group member, and agree to the Group officers contacting you, when appropriate, about Group activities or other CSPA matters. (Note: when we meet at the SAVS Centre, there is a separate entrance fee of £2 each meeting to help further with the rent. Tea, coffee, etc, are always optional extras!)
8. Information from HQ
HQ have sent out a copy of three CSPA guides, each about seven pages long, on How to choose a care home, What happens to your pension in a divorce?, and What to do when someone dies?, respectively. Some of you may have received a copy already. We will have a copy of these with us at our February and March meetings which you can glance at to see if you would like a copy for your own use. We will also have copies HQ’s latest general circular, to groups, GC947, which includes information on pension increases this year and other news from HQ.
Contact details:
We hope that you will remain safe and well. If we may be able to help with further information, or you would just like to chat, our contact details are:
Chair and Secretary: Mary King Tel: (01268) 794790
Secretary: Betty Anderson Tel: (01702) 466335 Email: iandbanderson@btinternet.com
Committee member: Richard Rubin Tel: (01702) 529712
Yours sincerely
Mary King (Group Chair and Secretary)
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Detachable Booking Form for Monday 11 March 2024 CSPA SPRING LUNCH
Please complete and return so that it arrives preferably by 4 March to, Betty Anderson at the address in section 4 (If later, please email or phone – see section 4 on previous page or contact details above).
Names No of seats ________
Any special dietary requirements? What for how many ________
Phone Numbers (s) Home Mobile______________________
| DRAFT AGM AGENDA 1. Chair to read the notice of the Meeting and report any apologies. 2. Minutes of the AGM of 7th April 2023 and matters arising. 3. Chair’s Report. 4. Financial Statement in 2023 by the Acting Treasurer. 5. Thanking the Accounts Examiners – Mr. M Jardine and Ms. B McCarthy 6. Election of Accounts Examiners for the next year. 7. Election of Officers and Committee Members: Nominations to be with Mary King* By 1st April 24. 8. Any other business of which notice has been given to Mary* by 1st April 2024. * Address: Miss M King, 130 Essex Way, Benfleet, Essex SS7 1LP |
