fun

Bristol

Last weekend we held our Annual General Meeting in Bristol and it was a very successful weekend. Over forty members attended from various parts of the country and on the Friday evening we had our welcome get together in the function suite of the Radisson hotel.   The happy chatter and smiling faces from that night set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Our first get together of the weekend is always an informal evening where we get the chance to meet new friends and catch up with everyone.
Saturday morning was our AGM and at this meeting we said farewell and thank you to our outgoing National Chairman, Chris Rankin, and also to our Treasurer Helen Rendle.   Chris handed over to Sue Williams who will be our National Chairman for the next three years. We also had a Vice Chairman appointed, Christine Payne, and a new Treasurer, Sandra Walker.
A change to our Annual Dinner was that this year we had it in a venue away from the hotel.   We went to Avery’s Wine Cellars where we had a very generous (hic) tasting of wine followed by a superb meal supplied by Cherry Picked Catering.   In true Watch Ashore style it was an evening full of fun and laughter.
Sunday morning was our outing and this was slightly overshadowed because of the rain but it didn’t dampen our spirits! We had a tour around the Bristol waterways; passing Brunel’s SS Great Britain and admired all the fancy yachts moored in the Marina.

All too soon it was time to head back to the hotel and say our farewells.
A few words from Chris Rankin
…after last night’s great evening catching up with so many Watch Ashore friends – and of course enjoying a few cocktails, it's time for some coffee whilst preparing for my final AGM as National Chairman when I will hand over to the new Chairman Mrs Sue Williams. It's been an amazing 7 years, 3 as Vice Chairman and then the last 4 as Chairman. I've enjoyed working with so many Maritime charities and learned so much from you all so I'd like to thank Merchant Navy Welfare Board (MNWB) Seafarers' Advice and Information Line (SAIL)
Mission to Seafarers the Fishermen's Mission Seafarers Awareness Week Trinity House Sailors Childrens Society Sailors' Society Apostleship of the Sea AMB Marketing Limited the Merchant Navy Association.
I wanted to thank the hardworking Executive committee, Sue Williams, Suzanne Spencer and Helen Rendle for their amazing support. All their hard work has paid off and our AGM weekend has started in its normal fashion -renewing friendships and a spot of retail therapy as we gather together at the Radisson Blue Hotel Bristol. Some of our members have been unable to join us through illness and we wish them all a speedy recovery and look forward to meeting up with them at our 2017 AGM wherever it may be!

Fashion Show

The Watch Ashore, Plymouth Branch, organised a Fashion Show last week and had a brilliant morning looking at some very glamorous clothes, and raising much needed funds for the Merchant Navy Monument planned for Plymouth Hoe, and the Fisherman's Mission.
It was good to welcome Gina Moore and publicity about the Mission to our Fashion Show. Spreading the word to those not connected with the sea. Many thanks to our hard working Chairman, Christine, Jenny, owner of Intrigue Fashions at Saltash, and Wendy who ably did the commentary.

Annual Meeting

This weekend fifty of our members will be in York for our Annual National meeting.   It is always a great weekend full of fun and laughter meeting up with old friends and catching up with each others' news.   It is amazing how quickly you pick up from when you last met and soon the room is filled with chatter and laughter. It is a very informal evening and a nice way to start our weekend as many of us have travelled that day from various parts of the UK.
Saturday morning we have our general meeting when we hear about all the things that the various branches have done in the past year. We also get a report from the National Chairman telling us about the various events that she has represented us at.   All the ladies love a bit of shopping and sightseeing so we make sure that we have plenty of “free time” to enjoy the local attractions and do your own thing.   The dinner on the Saturday evening is a bit more formal in as much as we have a wine reception beforehand and usually a guest speaker. The formality doesn’t stop the fun and laughter and the comments we always get from guests is that they have never met such a happy group.
We do enjoy getting together and these annual weekends are such an important part of maintaining this friendship and support for each other. We are all very individual with different likes and dislikes but what we have in common is the seafaring bond and it is just lovely to be with people who are in a similar situation. It is like having “me time” where you can just relax in nice surroundings with good company – not forgetting a bottle of wine or two!
If you think this circle of friendship and support is for you then please get in touch we would be delighted to meet you.   You can send in the enquiry/contact form and we will respond within 24hrs and if you are near York this weekend why not come and meet us.