2026 DAWNS - JANUARY

A nice bite of buffet and a sketch artist in a dive bar in Chatham..... What a way to kick off the new year..........

Organised by John, a man who in the past has single headedly kept the annual GASS budget on track by producing excellent meetings for well under the allowed level of expenditure, keep up the good work!

So (as I am reliably informed, I was not present, I am writing this drivel from a beach bar in Zanzibar) the meeting was held in fire trap of a cellar under a micro brewery in the less salubrious part of good old Medway, which is already well under the normal salub levels for The Garden of England. One way in, one way out. Could have been the end of GASS if the buffet had included sparklers in a cake setting afire the ceiling!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I am reliably informed there was an excellent buffet, and a welcome opportunity for members to circulate and converse, as opposed to rush to sit at a big long table and talk only to the person unlucky enough to have sat next to them.

Plus a sketch artist.......................... Who sketched this.....................

The sketch was then auctioned and a stand off not dissimilar to when Brian bought the 'massive wooden cock' for a small fortune, JB was tricked into overbidding an apparently keen Nick by £1, and ended up with it for £41.

In grateful amazement that his work had sold for more than the value of the paper it was scribbled on - the sketch artist then knocked off his take on John's perplexed visage on having to cough up an extra £41 towards GASS funds thus reducing the meeting costs yet further.

It is always worth meeting organisers considering the buffet option as it does lead to more circulating and chatting which can make a nice change and certainly cuts cost.

Judging from the comments on WhatsApp I see the meeting was a great success and was a good way to kick off the year. Well done JB.

2025 was a good year for meetings and a bad year for the membership, losing Ollie, Keith and Phil R, and none to the grim reaper! All to getting fed up with one or more of us, or in some cases depositing substances on one of us. Let's try harder this year chaps!! Be nice!!