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July 2011 Newsletter ‘The Flying Paperclip’

CLUB OPENING TIMES Monday 1900-2300 (subject to the Quiz League playing)

Tuesday 1900-2300 (subject to the Quiz League playing)

Wednesday 1930-2200 (Only on the 1st and 3

rd Wednesdays of the month)

Thursday 1900-2300 Friday 1900 – 2300 Saturday 1200-1400 and 1900 – 0000 Sunday 1200 – 1400

Grimsby & Cleethorpes Branch Registered Charity No 501145

5 Alexandra Road Cleethorpes

North East Lincs DN35 8LQ

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The Dickie Collins Trophy – amendment Sorry, I made a mistake…the Dickie Collins Trophy is awarded for the most efficient

CLUB and not Branch. We still won it though….. Saturday 4th June – Visit by the Doncaster RAFA Branch by Cyril Monks Members from the RAFA Doncaster Branch came over to visit the Club and were met by some of our members. They arrived at about 11am and had refreshments before having a walk and shop around Cleethorpes. The weather was very good and a traditional fish and chip lunch was thoroughly enjoyed. After returning to the Club at about 2.30, the members were treated to some great entertainment by Jeanette, who was fabulous as usual. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed the day and thanked the Branch for their hospitality. Friday 17th June - SWING WING CONCERT by Pat Howard The light gleamed and reflected off the highly-polished musical instruments of the Royal Air Force Swing Wing Band. The musicians looked immaculate in their dress uniforms on the 3rd- year concert at the Central Hall in Grimsby. The dignitaries and guests were ushered in by the excellent lone bag-pipe player, John Best.

The band-leader, Warrant Officer Gary Stevens, began the concert with a rousing tune, „Swing Wing‟, which heralded a wonderful evening of varied music, with solo artists on instruments and singers as well. A trio of ladies called „The Blue Belles‟ sang in perfect harmony and sounded very much like The Andrew‟s Sisters from the war period. SAC Walker sang songs of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles.

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There was a joyous rendering of „On the Street Where You Live‟ from „My Fair Lady‟ and „Route 66‟ had us all tapping our feet. Cpl. Bev Kirk gave a sensuous version of Peggy Lee‟s „Fever‟ and we were given a wonderful rendition of melodies from „West Side Story‟ which gave SAC Matt Walker the opportunity to show his prowess on the drums. There was a surprise for Branch Standard Bearer, Steve Flint. When it was announced that it was his birthday, the band played „Happy Birthday‟ and the audience sang to him. My, was his face red! After a rousing ending of „Flying Home‟, the band played an encore of „The Lincolnshire Poacher‟ which brought an end to a lovely evening of many different melodies from a group of extremely talented players, singers and solo artists. Saturday 25 June ARMED FORCES DAY by Bill McCann, Chairman

“Now that the dust has settled and after writing a myriad of letters, I have had a few moments to sit and write and say a big thank you to all the Committee Members and members for their invaluable and outstanding support on such a busy day. I don‟t think any of us realised how many people would turn up for the event, either to march or just come and watch. In fact, I have never seen Cleethorpes so busy. We had excellent support from RAF Coningsby, from the Station Warrant Officer Peter Hainsworth; he was a very helpful point of contact and had numerous practical suggestions to offer me.

Then there was Sergeant Whelan, the Typhoon Engineering Display Manager and Corporal McArthur from the Survival Equipment Display, both of whom I spoke to on the day and who seemed delighted with the amount of interest they had attracted from those many visitors and townsfolk supporting Armed Forces Day. Trish and Mark played an excellent role as hosts to the dignitaries – well done to you both. A big thank you as well to Pat and Colin Howard for all the hard work in making our garden look impressive and for supplying all the flowers! It was nice to see our Wings Team in their new marquee, certainly attracting the general public. Well done Donna and Andrea. A big thank you to all those who worked so hard in the Club to give us record breaking takings, a magnificent effort, and individual letters have been sent out to show the importance of the work. An extremely big thank you to Councillor Alex Baxter who really came on board and supported us (Ex Royal Navy!!).

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Finally I must thank my alter ego Graham Malster, who though busy with his Guest House and his job still took the time to support me as the Deputy Organiser. His partner, Cheryl, said he is morphing into me!! But that‟s this year – Graham, Alex and I have already moved on to next year‟s event and the planning has already started. I will update you as the year moves on but I can tell you that it will be a two day event - the Saturday being the Parade and Flying etc. and on the Sunday there will be a full Military Tattoo in the Meridian Showground and Arena, with possibly a visit by a Royal! We have been promised 100% support from NELC, which is really encouraging. So to end, a big thank you to you all; thanks for your support without which none of

this would be possible.” Bill McCann

“On Saturday June 25th I witnessed larger than usual number of pedestrians walking past my house towards Cleethorpes. With the dog, Julie‟s daughter and baby in pram we joined them. As soon as we joined the Kingsway it was evident that the RAFA Club, its Committee and specifically Bill McCann had filled Cleethorpes with visitors. We arrived just in time to see The Blades enact a perfect air display over the seafront. We then hurried on to the RAFA Club, expecting to get soft drinks and a seat as we had done last year. Not a chance! I was making mobile calls to friends on the inside just to check if it was worth persevering to the bar. We continued down Alexandra Road, every cafe full. Then through the throngs in the Pier Gardens, all enjoying the military stalls, back to Ross Castle to stand at the back of another crowd to listen to the band. Another check to see if we could gain entry into the RAFA Club. We would have had more

chance getting into a Wembley Cup Final without a ticket! Onwards home past another heaving pub (Willy's) and we struck gold on the Kingsway, three chairs and a table free. Coffee and a seat at last! After an evening meal and a nap we returned to the RAFA Club around 9.00 pm, expecting to see only a few regular faces. How wrong we were. The club was still full! The entertainment

was brilliant. Ian Carroll had the audience in the palm of his hand. Encore after encore. Julie and I left at near midnight and I am sure the last bar order had not been taken.

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This turned out to be Cleethorpes‟ finest day thanks to Bill McCann and his hard working committee members, some of whom had been up since the crack of dawn in preparation for the big day. Fortunes have been spent getting visitors to Cleethorpes but the RAFA Club and its volunteers have set a standard others will be

pushed to follow. Well done.” Kevin Bryant

“A wonderful day and evening was had by one and all! Cleethorpes was crammed full – the clubs, bars, shops all did a roaring trade thanks to the efforts of our chairman, Bill, and the wonderful Committee members. People did a fantastic job to give everyone who visited

the RAFA Club a great day and evening.” Pat Howard

“May I say what a grand day out I had on Armed Forces Day. This was my first one and I didn‟t know what to expect. As the day unfolded you could feel the excitement of what was to come. The parade was great and the service too. The flying display was followed by a

great evening‟s entertainment. A special thanks must go to our Chairman, Bill McCann, for all the work and effort he put in to organise all this once again. Bill,

thank you. Alex Elrick

“This year was my second Armed Forces Day and as well as being Standard Bearer for the Branch in the Parade, Bill asked me to look after the 2 bars and cellar for the day. The bar was open from 10am until well after 1am on Sunday and whilst the day started slowly, once it picked up we were flat out until well into the evening. I would like to thank everyone who helped on the bar - George Rollo, Shelle Green, Mark Jones and Richard Brock, as well as Margaret Rollo for making teas and coffees (although she ended up doing more glass washing than drinks!) Also Brian Green, Graham Robinson and Rowena Brock for collecting and washing the hundreds of glasses we got through. The upstairs bar was looked after excellently throughout the day by Catherine Aldred, Anne Prowse and Phil Massen. It was a fantastic effort by all of you, thanks for the excellent teamwork and your hours of hard graft, see you

again next year?” Steve Flint

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Donna Flint would like also like to say a big thank you to Rowena Brock, Andrea Shepherd and Jen Brock for all their hard work at the Wings marquee. We collected £790 on the day, which is absolutely fantastic. Thanks also go to Chris Osborne, who came with the RAFA Mobile Events Trailer, for all his hard work, support and advice on the day and Baz and Karen who worked on the MET. What a lovely team and really supportive of all that we try to do. They collected £1936, which goes towards our Branch yearly total, so all in all a great day for Wings. Thank you everyone who came to see us! Thanks go as well to Simon Hodge, who took lots of photos for the newsletter. The Branch benefitted by gaining some new members that day, too. Welcome to everyone who joined the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Branch of the RAFA Association and we hope to see you soon! Wings We now have our own Branch Wings marquee for use at events. You may have seen it on Armed Forces Day in the Pier Gardens. It will help us raise the profile of Wings and the RAF Association in our area and hopefully collect more money, as well as providing shelter (from wind, rain, snow or even on odd occasions, the sun!) It looks very professional and gives us a base to work from at events. If you know of an event in the future where we could use it to promote Wings and the Branch, please let me know. Anyway, we have lots of events already coming up and if you are able to help at any (or all!) of these events, please let me know. It would be really nice to see some new faces getting involved. So far we have: Friday 8th July – collecting in Sainsbury, Grimsby Saturday 16th July – Help For Heroes Villages Unite event on Keelby Village Green. This was very popular last year with loads of entertainment and stalls this year. Help is needed in the Wings marquee please. Saturday 23rd July – Laceby Summer Festival. From 2pm onwards there will be a „summer fair‟ event and from 5pm, local bands will be appearing on the Butt Lane Playing fields. Again, help needed in the marquee please. Thursday 28th July – Fireman‟s Fete, Grimsby Fire Station. Help needed to run the Wings stall in the marquee please. Saturday 30th July – Cleethorpes Carnival. We are walking with the Pink BeretsHelp4Heroes float and collecting money for our own Wings Appeal. We need

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to have at least 10 walkers to be able to get a share of all the money collected. We have 4 so far, thank you to them. If anyone would like to walk with the RAFA Wings group, please let me know asap. Friday 19th and Saturday 20th August – collecting in Grimsby Tesco. PLEASE give an hour or two over these 2 days to help collect. Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd November – Collecting in Asda, Grimsby We now have 12 Wings Collecting tins out in the community for people to put any spare change in! I still have some more if anyone else would like one. Thank you to everyone who supports Wings. It really is much appreciated! Branch website If you go to http://rafassociationgrimsbyandcleethorpes.webs.com, you can see what‟s going on. There are various sections on there to do with events, news and photos, including lots from Armed Forces Day. Have a look and see what it‟s all about. There are also videos of Armed Forces Day as well as comments from people. It‟s having new things added every day still and there will be links to other sites of interest coming soon.

Welfare Services Do you need help? The RAFA is there to help serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their dependants, providing friendship, advice and support, respite care, general welfare and signposting. Contact details for our Branch reps are at the end of the newsletter. Thursday nights There is always something going on every Thursday night – usually and quiz and other entertainment and it‟s great to see this night becoming more popular. It‟s also the night of the Membership draw and numbers drawn out this month were: Thurs 2nd - Ron Chegwin - would have won £65 if he had been in the Club Thurs 9th - Brian Green - would have won £70 if he had been in the Club Thurs 16th - Dave Raper - would have won £75 if he had been in the Club Thurs 23rd - Mr. T Roberts would have won £80 if they had been in the Club Thurs 30th - Brian Lazarus would have won £85 if they had been in the Club We now start July with £90 to be won on Thursday 7th July and the prize money will increase by £5 every week until it is won. So just a reminder about the rules: You have to be on the Club premises at 9.30pm on a Thursday night and produce your membership card if your number is drawn out. Simples!

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Quizzing at the RAFA Club by Andy Alcock From the ashes of the once renowned Darley‟s Hotel in Cleethorpes, there arose in 2009 the Quiz Team that is now proud to play in the Grimsby and District League as the „RAFA Dipsos”. The Club has a long association with the League and is now one of only two venues to stage matches. It was the late and lamented Dave Briant, himself an early quiz-leaguer, who suggested that the former Darley‟s team relocate to the RAFA Club, and he made several appearances for the team in 2009. The 2009/2010 season saw promotion to Division One, thanks in part to Pat and Colin Howard, and Julie Goodhand who stepped into the breach with great effect when the team was short –handed. The 2010/11 season finished with the Dipsos taking third place in Division One and Pete Sinclair and Andy Alcock retaining their title in the pair‟s knockout tournament. For those who prefer quizzes of a more light-hearted nature, why not drop in on Thursday nights when Willy and Pat present their themed quizzes, and Graham Malster challenges us to perform feats of cerebral gymnastics with his fiendish „connections‟ quiz. For the brain-weary, the evening is interspersed with big-money bingo*! Join us and make the RAFA Club the CLEVEREST CLUB IN CLEETHORPES. *The term „big-money‟ applies only to people who remember having a night out and a fish and chip supper for ten bob! Five Star Club!

The Club had a surprise inspection by the Council‟s Environmental Health officer in June and awarded FIVE STARS for health and hygiene. They inspected the beer cellar, bar, kitchen, the toilets, pool room, kitchen upstairs, sinks...everywhere! It has been about 18 years since it was inspected and they were very impressed. The certificate is now proudly displayed in the window.

Wings Lotto

I‟ve joined online! It was really easy to do and the Branch will benefit from 10% of everything spent on the Lotto. Just go to http://www.wingslotto.org.uk/ and click „Join

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online‟. Fill in the form and in the box marked „Branch‟ put the numbers 0552. This is the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Branch number and will ensure that the Branch will get the 10% in November. Anyone can join it, not just RAFA members, so please encourage your family and friends to support this as well. All our 10%‟s will add up over the year and so as well as benefitting the RAFA Welfare, we will also help support the Branch and Club. If you would like to join by post, there are leaflets to do this in the Club or contact me anytime for any more help or information.

Airshows in August on Cleethorpes Seafront

Every Saturday in August at approximately 4pm, there will be an airshow on Cleethorpes Seafront. There will be different aircraft flying each week and it‟s FREE!

Wings Wristbands now on sale We now have Wings wristbands on sale at the Branch as well as RAFA teddies. They‟re new this year and are selling very well. They are behind the bar and cost £2 each. We also have aircraft pin badges if anyone would like some. Just ask at the bar. All the money goes to the Wings Appeal.

Staying in Cleethorpes? The Jedburgh Guest House is owned and run by membership secretary Graham Malster and his partner, Cheryl. Situated at 26 Albert Road, this lovely 7-bedroomed B&B is a 3 minute walk from the RAFA Club and an ideal place to stay if visiting the local area or coming to a Club event. Some rooms are en suite and Graham and Cheryl can be contacted bookings@jedburghguesthouse.co.uk or phone 01472 508092.

More information can be found on their website or see Graham and Cheryl at the Club. South East & Eastern Area News The South East and Eastern Area newsletter can be downloaded from www.rafa.org.uk/areas-southeast.asp or there are some copies in the Club for you to look at. These snippets may be of interest to you:

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Area Accommodation at National Conference 2012 Branches and RAFALOs will wish to be aware that I have reserved an Area Hotel for National Conference 2012 in Blackpool. The hotel is the Park House Hotel which we used in 2010 and has been used by many members previously. I am pleased to say, that despite rising inflation, the hotel has agreed to maintain the same rates as they charged in 2011. Costs for two nights Dinner, Bed and Breakfast will be: Single Room £88 Double Room £176 Twin Room £176 Additional nights (Thursday or Sunday) the rate will be £25.00 per person per night for Dinner, Bed & Breakfast. Further details and a booking form will be sent out to all Branches later in the year.

Branch Closure I regret to inform you that the Woburn Sands Branch closed with effect from 1st June 2011.

Battle of Britain Service Westminster Abbey Sunday 18th September 2011 As is customary the Association has been allocated a quantity of admission tickets for the Battle of Britain Service at Westminster Abbey. 20 Branch Standard Bearers are invited to form a Lining Party. Applications for admission tickets and Standard Bearers wishing to attend are to contact Peter Stockdale at South East Office Tel: 020 8286 6667 no later than Friday the 19th August.

They Will Rock You! Kerry Ellis And Brian May: Anthems In The Park At RAF Cranwell Saturday 16th July 2011 Queen guitarist Brian May and West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis are to top the bill at a prestigious outdoor concert at Royal Air Force Cranwell in Lincolnshire this summer. Following their successful ANTHEMS tour Kerry and Brian will perform outside the historic College Hall on Saturday 16 July in aid of charities including the RAF Association‟s Wings Appeal and the RAF Benevolent Fund. Also appearing on the night is the Band of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell under the baton of their Director of Music, Flight Lieutenant Matt Little, as well as the Salon Orchestra of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. Gates will open at 4.30 p.m. and at 6.40 p.m. (weather permitting) there will be flypast by a Hurricane and Spitfire as well as a flying display by the world famous aerobatic team The Blades. The concert will start at 7.30 p.m. and will end with a firework display at approximately 10 p.m. Concert goers are asked to provide their own seating and for those who do not wish to bring picnics there will be a number of food and drink concessions available on the night including champagne, Pimms and beer tents as well as a hog roast and ice cream vendors. Tickets for ANTHEMS in the PARK are now available at www.ticketline.co.uk or go to www.raf.mod.uk/cranwell The ticket sales hotline is 0844 888 9991and tickets are priced as follows: Adult £25 Child ticket (5-17) £15 Under 5s free Family ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children 5-17) £65

Battle of Britain TV request I have had a request from a television company for help in finding the names of plotters during the BofB who have subsequently died for a programme they are making. The idea of the programme series is to combine genealogy with history and they are now looking at the Battle of Britain. They would require as much information as possible about the deceased such as full names, place of birth, date of birth if known, maiden name if applicable, date of death, etc although they appreciate that they are unlikely to get all the information but would appreciate any details anyone can provide. The idea is that their genealogists would then trace the descendants of the deceased to see if they were aware of what an important role their grandmother/great grandmother played during WWII. If any addressee is able to help with this request please send details to me. Ken Clarke Tel: 0116 2688780 Mobile: 07931 346146 EMail: ken.clarke@rafa.org.uk

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e-Bay and Fundraising People can sell items (though not Wings Appeal products) in a personal capacity and then, through an eBay partner system called Missionfish, they can allocate a % of the sale to the charity. This can range from 10% up to 100%. The money is paid automatically to the Association centrally. There are a number of sellers that donate a percentage of their proceeds to us on a regular basis; at the time of writing there are currently 217 live listings benefiting the Wings Appeal on eBay and, to date, we have benefited from 1353 of a total of 4359 total listings (some did not sell!). An example of one such listing can be found at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RAF-Gibraltar-Coffee-Mug-Personalised-/200575871189?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item2eb340e8d5 The best place to find instructions on how to set up listings so that a percentage is donated to the Wings Appeal is to visit http://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebayforcharity/sell.html It would be great if our members would encourage their friends and families to sign up to supporting us in this way so please do feel free to disseminate at will!

RAFA Day – Flixton – 14 August 2011

An invitation is extended to all RAFA members to attend the fourth special RAFA day at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, near Bungay (Postcode NR35 1NZ) on August 14th. The museum is home to some 50 aircraft. There will be an opportunity to meet Air Crew and Ground Crew and, weather permitting, flypasts will take place. Admission and car parking are free. The gates open at 11.00hrs and there will be plenty to see and do until 17.00 hrs. For further information please contact Herbert Websdell on 01379 853967.

RAF Swinderby

Emma Greenfield Dakiniewicz is organising an information day/event on the afternoon of Sunday 21st August at Witham St Hughs village hall to inform the local residents of the importance of the nearby former RAF Swinderby site during the period 1940-1993. The event will also be open to all, such as aviation enthusiasts, former personnel etc. Entrance is free and refreshments will be on sale. There will be displays from Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire about the Polish Air Force in Lincolnshire, in particular 300 and 301 squadrons. Keith Allen the Chairman of the RAF Swinderby Association will be speaking about the history of the station‟s use as a Training Centre and providing videos about its history. There will be photographs and memorabilia covering the history of the base from 1940-1993 from various sources including Newark Air Museum, Down To Earth Promotions, Newark Cemetary, 300 and 301 Polish Squadrons. The ATC will be teaching Parade Drills for those that want to get a taste of what it was like during training. Emma would be grateful for any information/photographs/display boards that could be supplied for the event relating to RAF Swinderby in particular its use in WW2. If any member is able to supply photos, etc or requires further information on the day then they are asked to contact Emma on Tel 07876 560346 or by e-mail to emma@absoluteelectricalgroup.co.uk

Hangar Dance – RAF Molesworth

RAF Alconbury which hosts the USVF (United States Visiting Forces) are holding a Hangar Dance on Saturday 30th July at RAF Molesworth and have extended an invitation for Veterans to come along free of charge and also take part in the opening ceremony. However, tickets will have to be obtained beforehand. Branch Standards are also welcome to take part in the opening ceremony. If any member or Standard Bearer wishes to attend, would they please contact Jacqui Ireland, Community Relations Adviser, RAF Alconbury on 01480843762 or by e-mail to Jacqui.Ireland@alconbury.af.mil

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Caption competition

Lots of entries commenting on Cheryl‟s antics, so thank you everyone who contributed. Here are the best ones: Bill McCann “I see Cheryl is bearing all, as usual!” and “Pay up or the bear gets it!” Graham Robinson “I hope that’s his arm!” and “It’s Baloo!” “Which one?” Ken Clark “This little piggy went to market...!” Graham Malster “Wet nose, furry, whiskers and cuddly. The other one’s a bear!” Vic Cook “Will Goldilocks leave me alone!” Pat Howard “She can’t BEAR to let go!” Shelle Green “Just a little bit more...there! It’s on!”

Karen Hughes “You should see her bear behind!” Well done, everyone....very good! This is July‟s picture for you to comment on. It‟s Bill and Graham Robinson at the Area Conference, earlier in the year…

As usual, captions by email or leave them at the Club for me to collect please.

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New Committee members Welcome to the new Club Committee members Colin Howard, Pat Howard and Mark Jones. Mark will also serve on the Branch Committee. Royal Garden Party invitation Life members, Brian and Myra Cunliffe have been invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on the 19th July. This is in recognition of all their Military charity work for both the Royal British Legion and the RAF Wings Appeal. Well done, Brian and Myra, and we hope that you have a lovely day! Need a carpet?

For a prompt and reliable service in choosing and fitting your carpets, contact Kevin

Bryant on Home: 01472 235704, Mobile: 07980 286663, Other: 0845 6122250 or email kevin@carpet-fitter.co.uk. He also has a website, www.carpet-fitter.co.uk Kevin is a regular RAFA Club member; please mention you read this advert in the Branch newsletter when you contact him.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS All the usual meetings and some different events that you might like. Thank you everyone who sent in their suggestions! Keep them coming…. Club Committee meeting - Every 1st Wednesday in the month at 2000hrs. The bar is open for the evening and everyone is welcome. Branch Committee meeting Every 3rd Wednesday in the month is the Branch Committee meeting at 2000hrs. The bar is open for the evening and everyone is welcome. Humber Branch of the Air Sea Rescue Association meet at the Club every 1st Friday in the month. Contact Secretary, Graham Chaters, for any further information on 01354 694825 or email grchaters@btinternet.com The Parachute Regiment Association Branch have a meeting at the Club every 3rd Friday in the month. More information from Brian Dingley or www.pragrimsby.co.uk The Veterans-in-Humberside RAF Regiment group have a meeting at the Club every 3rd Friday in the month, 8-10pm. All serving or ex-serving Regiment are invited. Contact Graham Smith on rocksreunion@hotmail.co.uk or 01472 505030. North Lincs. Air Crew Association meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month Any serving or ex-serving Air Crew are invited to attend meetings of the North Lincs. Air Crew Association, chaired by Air-Vice Marshal Martyn Gardiner. They meet at

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the Louth Indoor Bowling Club, off St. Bernard‟s Avenue, Louth at 11am for lunch. For any further information, please contact Tony Anderson on 01507 606398 or by email haselbury124@tiscali.co.uk First Friday in every month – Children are welcome to stay later on this Friday. Come and play the games here or bring your own. Pool and darts available. Friday 8th July – collecting in Sainsbury, Grimsby. Can anyone spare an hour please? Saturday 9th July – Mike Winn, singer. Mike appeared here recently and there were lots of requests for him to come back as he was so good. Saturday 16th July 2011 – Keelby „Help for Heroes – Villages Unite‟ are holding a fair on the village green in Keelby. There are games, sideshows, entertainment and all sorts going on! We are having a Wings stand there to promote the Branch, give out stickers, balloons etc and of course, collect money for the Wings Appeal. If anyone would like to help with this, please let me know. Thank you. Saturday 23rd July 2011 – Laceby Village Summer Festival. This will be held on the Butt Lane Playing Fields in Laceby, from 2pm until 7pm. We are having the Wings marquee there to promote the Branch and of course, collect money for the Wings Appeal again. If anyone would like to help with this, please let me know. Thank you. Saturday 23rd July 2011 – Live entertainment! Come early for a good seat! Thursday 28th July 2011 – Fireman‟s Fete, Grimsby Fire Station, Peaks Lane. Collecting for Wings, promoting the Branch and maybe running a game. Any help gratefully accepted as ever! Saturday 30th July – Cleethorpes Carnival. Come and watch the Carnival from the Club or use it as a base to meet others. If you would like to walk with the float and collect money for Wings, you will be MORE than welcome. Please let me know asap! Saturday 6th August – Live entertainment will be on tonight. Come early for a good seat! Friday 19th and Saturday 20th August – Collecting for Wings in Tesco, Victoria Street, Grimsby. Just an hour or two of your time over these two days would be brilliant! We are always short of help for all our Wings Collections, so please volunteer if you can.

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Saturday 20th August – Branch 65th Anniversary/Reunion at the Branch. A chance to see and hear how things started and meet friends. Have you got any old photos or memories to bring along and share? Tuesday 11th October at 7.30pm – Phoenix Trading are coming in and bringing cards, wrapping paper, notebooks, gifts, jewellery, handbags – for Christmas, birthdays and all occasions throughout the year. They were extremely popular last year and this was a very busy night. Please spread the word and come and support this evening as the Club will benefit from all sales made on the night. Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 28th November - Collecting for Wings in Asda, Grimsby. Same as before, if you can spare an hour or two to stand and collect and promote the Branch, it would be really appreciated. Armed Forces Day 2012 Put the date in your diary, it‟s Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1st July 2012. More details as and when we get them ourselves. Does anyone know of any party-plan ideas or contacts for future fund-raising evenings? CONTACTS If you would like anything included in the next newsletter or would like it emailed free of charge, please contact Donna Flint on either 01472 596745 or by email donnaflint2@ntlworld.com. If you would like it posted out to you, please send an SAE (or several to cover several months) to the Club, marked for the attention of Donna Flint. The printed newsletter can be collected from the Club around the 5th of each month. For any comments or enquiries about the Club or Branch, contact Bill McCann (Chairman) on mobile 07904228477 or you can email bill.mccann2@virginmedia.com. You can also contact any Committee member. Membership enquiries to Graham Malster on mobile 07703067733 or email graham.malster@ntlworld.com please. Welfare enquiries to Bill McCann, details above, Andrea Shepherd on 07963975650 or Trish Fisher 07717028941. Wings Appeal enquiries or suggestions to Donna Flint on the above numbers, thank you.

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More pictures from Armed Forces Day

The RAFA Wings Mobile Events Trailer The Big Parade

Some of the huge crowds! The Club was busy!

An emotional service at the Strike Wing Memorial The fabulous and talented Blades!

If you have any pictures or memories of Armed Forces Day, please let me have them and I‟ll try and put them in next month‟s newsletter.