Our secretary, Jeff Lewis, has put together a timeline of the period leading up to the event, to give a bit of an insight into some of the work that goes on behind the scenes.
D-22 Beartown Brewery
So how much alcohol will be drunk in the afternoon? This was the question of the day. As Bach 95 did the bar last year we had no idea. So maybe a mix of 96 bottles which would be 2 to 3 per head. And soft drinks always sell well. So order is placed. Bit of faith required as at this stage only circa 45 confirmed bookings!
D-18 School Calling
Oops forgot to confirm all the details with the School caterers. Quick email to say the number should be 50 but we will confirm. That’s no problem as we have until D – 8. How many will we get? Great to have a number of new attendees but would be good to reach 50.
D-16 Reg’s Raffle
Accounts are sorted from much earlier. Steve will make sure we have copies, but we need to let all participants know what needs to be done. We have money for Raffle Prizes so let’s get the wine ordered. Really great of Andy Dunning and Eloise Williams to give money. This year we have 5 prizes of good value, between £30 and 40. Just hope we get a few extra. This normally falls to the committee but only some attending this year.
D-14 An “Oops” Moment
Attending the PE department’s Sportsman Dinner. Maybe we can get a few more attendees signed up. Wow, what a turnout! Incredible! Who is the one in an OSA tie? Andy Bird, and great he will be the Rugby Club rep on the committee next year. Chat to the organisers and assure Graeme of OSA report for all fundraisers. Pete, Chair of Governors says hello. Mark asks if he accepted his invitation for the lunch. Oops! Had it been sent? Turns out not, so needs immediate rectification. Still met a few people and got some input for future consideration.
D-11 How many can we get?
Time for one last push. After a long day in London, have the train journey to try and put ideas down. Some fresh FB posts and emails to members re Beartown Kodiak Club discounts. Few more booking forms so 50 should be minimum. Need to think about whether we ask to increase the number.
D-9 Grateful for the help
Decision made we will up to 55. Let the School catering team know. They always do such a good job. Quick check in with Simon Robertson, he is still working on a few ex-staff, so that should comfortably take us close to that number. Start thinking about letting people know the running order and events. Secretary & President need to get their reports synced so that they don’t say the same thing. Quick check with school that Head Student team are all OK to say a few words. Mrs Johnson confirms, so ready to go.
D-5 Where did all the people come from?
A flurry of new bookings – better than previous years! 56 now. Can the catering take an increase again? Yup, we actually have 2 more days to finalise. We may actually have to close bookings.
Have we ever had a “SOLD OUT” situation before? Bar payments next question. Can we take cards? School is very accommodating, but we need to set pricing. Quick discussion and come up with a 3-2-1 scheme, for beers and wines, premium soft drinks and soft drinks. Big effort in the evening to get all the details out to attendees. Tick!
D-4 A collegiate of teachers
More bookings! Simon comes up trumps with more than I had thought, plus several late bookings and we are at 65! Thankfully Tracy at the school again says it’s OK.
D-3 Looking ahead
Lots of email traffic to ensure all on track. Smarten up and get across to school for the senior awards ceremony. Opportunity to review a few details with Sarah Burns. In the background lots of work going on for the OSA / CCF Former Cadets’ Dining In Night. Can we get all the details up so we can announce and push on Saturday? Need to revise the costings now we have more details. Once agreed its over to Mark to create the payment page.
D-2 A big Surprise
Chester and the Local National Archives. A troll through the original 1898 Sandbachian,
Volume 1. – No. 1 (new Series) July 30th 1898
The opening words
“THE SANDBACHIAN again returns to life after a disappearance of 5 years.”
What is this? There are older versions. A mystery emerges, but that will have to wait.
Back to the brewery to pick up the last of the beer! Nope not ready for collection. Nothing else gets done today as too much of life going on!
D-1 So much still to do
13:50 – Collect the beer from the brewery and the portable PA system from New Life Church. OSA is blessed to have that connection and the help we get from them. Might as well load the car up with all the bar stock, and prizes.
19:00 – Back from hospital, now to get cracking. Minutes from last year need printing. Simples! Flip, what about the History presentation? Keith ahd provided some photos from Sandbach History Society. Bit of import, cut, paste edit, snip from here and there and – voila! Now the AGM approach, 30 mins later that is ready and printed! What else? Signs for the lunch.
1. Chapel & AGM
2. Lunch
3. “Reservered” sign (yup I really did do that and it did not go unnoticed by Mrs Burns, see below!!!!)
4. Membership Forms – printed
5. Dining In Forms – printed
22:00 – Mark’s got the Dining In booking form up on the website. Anything else? What about intros for the staff. Yup, we’ll definitely do that.. Flip took longer than thought.
22:45 – Finished. Wait! You are giving the message in chapel, you’ve written nothing down. Oh well, trust God and wing it!!
D Day – 13 July 2024
09:00 arrive at school and go over all the papers together. Claire, who is in charge of kitchen arrives 9:15 and we can start unloading. All doors are locked, strange. There’s the answer someone forgot to tell site team!
09:45 everything is out of the car. Claire and the team are stars, chiller is on, drinks displayed, spare boxes in big fridge. PA system eventually works, by which time Mark has already got tables sorted and we just need to put chairs up.
10:30 Steve is sorting chapel and people are arriving. Elinor arrives and we check through bar. Oh dear wine glasses are 125ml. We have to cut the price. Thankfully Elinor sorts. One last check in with Claire and then across to Steve to see if he has what he needs for the AGM.
10:45 Time to change
10:50 Time to start………..
15:15 What an awesome day. Incredible atmosphere, so many new faces. 1, 2, 3, and more first timers make a point of saying thanks and “I’ll be back.” Multiple bookings already for the Dining In Night.
15:30 The big tidy up. The catering staff are awesome. We just need to sort the excess drinks, gather all the papers and reload the cars. Takes longer than one would think. We leave the History pictures on the wall, thank the staff one last time and remember to collect the change of clothes.
16:15 A final nod to each other as we head for the cars. Mission accomplished. Ut Severis Seges!