Dearly beloved choristes (September 21)

Your newly formed Conseil is already beavering away to make your chorale life smoother and easier (no, we don’t do ironing) and held a meeting last night to decide ‘who’ does ‘what’ so you know who to go to.  As of next week we will try to have badges ready for most people so that should help you identify further who can help you with any problems you might have….we only aim to please!! Here is what we talked about:

• 1. Health.  Roger Harding is in charge of the health side of the chorale and supplies us with hand sanitiser, masks (if needed) as well as checking our Pass Sanitaires.  This is of course a new position…..we’ve never had to worry about this before but he is very au fait with Government regulations and is ably assisted by Egbert Brunnekreef ….they provide a formidable team which will send any viruses packing…..Covid 19 or otherwise! 
• 2. Sophie Latappy is our Publicity specialist and is in charge of producing all notices and flyers for forthcoming events.  She may well need some help in distributing these so if you live a little further afield than Salviac or Cazals please offer to help letting our adoring public know we are performing again. Sophie will be helped by Jos van Winden…..our esteemed Vice President, and Ralph Robbins, retiring publicity member.
• 3. New people turn up on a regular basis and we now have members appointed to ‘meet and greet’ them and lend them a folder of song sheets until such times as they have become paid up members and can download music for themselves.  They also have enrolement forms for newcomers to sign in if they wish to join…..we hope they do !! So if you see someone new looking a little lost please refer them to Maggi Walker if they are English speaking or Martine Lamy if they are French speaking…..they will make them feel at home.
• 4. We have a fund raising group set up to help boost our funds.  Several things are currently in the pipeline and will be revealed to you shortly but if you have any bright ideas please talk to Hanneke Sprong or Pippa Maytham who may co-opt your help.  Sadly the Cazals to Buenos Airies air-race has been turned down by the Bureau, and not just because of the pandemic! Spoil-sports!
• 5. On the question of fund raising another brain-wave has come from the razor-sharp mind of Egbert Brunnekreef…..that of sponsorship for any concerts or events to help defray the cost of production.  Sponsors would have their names and logo on notices, flyers and programmes as well as receiving the undying gratitude of all members including our Goddess of Song, Anke.  Should you think of anyone who would be up for this much adulation Egbert is the one to contact.
• 6. Before the pandemic began we had started singing on a regular basis with members of the EHPAD Arc-en-Ciel in Cazals and they really loved it.  We will be starting this again once we get the go-ahead from them so if you feel you would like to spend an hour occasionally making some residents very happy indeed please contact Pam Cummings who as well as being our excellent translator is co-ordinating this rewarding project.
• 7.  Lastly, but by no means least….and in fact importantly this week…..it is our intention to have a slightly shorter repetition on the first Monday of every month and finish by sharing a drink and nibbles with other members of the chorale.  This way altos can actually speak to sopranos and baritones instead of just gazing at them.  Of course next week is the first Monday of the month so you can remain seated but move you chairs into friendly socially distanced groups while Roger Harding pours the drinks…..he has global experience in this area…..and you are served by members of the Bureau. 

Please stay ….we are a friendly lot!

Very best wishes to you all

Judi Harding

President

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Note: Please can you pass on this PDF to new members as they may not have the website links nor receive the chorale newsletters.

Thanks in-advance,
Terry « Treasurer »