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My memories of this year's conference are by no means an exhaustive account of the minutes. There are others better equipped than I to record these. These are merely personal reflections and observations of my own experience of the occasion. If I have forgotten any detail that others might remember, it was not intended and I had no wish to cause offence.
Whatever you may have heard about Virgin Trains, it's all true. My journey was increased by nearly an hour and a half because of a broken down train and malfunctioning level crossing. This meant that once I'd arrived in Manchester the short walk to the Conference centre accommodation on a warm evening was indeed merciful. I was greeted by members of Eccles RA, Conference hosts, before I got to my room - purpose built accommodation for the many conference suites on site which adjoined student rooms for the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Because of the travel delay, I had only a little time to unpack and change for the civic reception in Manchester Town Hall. A large and very fine Victorian building of Gothic Revival architecture. The reception was held in a suitably capacious hall with murals painted by Ford Madox Brown of the Arts and Crafts Movement depicting various scenes in Manchester history. If you've ever read about this movement, other leading lights include William Morris of wallpaper and textile designs, some of which are still made today by Sanderson. We were entertained by firstly, a string quartet as we arrived, thereafter a group of flautists and then a female voice choir during the evening. We were greeted with customary warmth and humour by the Lord Mayor of the City of Manchester, Hugh Barrett, who to my mind and others, was a dead ringer for the comedian and actor, Roy Barraclough. This was followed by the response from the RA President, Peter Willis, in his own inimitable style of dignity, sincerity and dry humour. We were then assaulted by a shockwave, otherwise known as the wit of the Eccles RA Chairman, Neil Midgely (ex Football League), who made us welcome on behalf of Eccles RA as well as making presentations of miner's lamps to the Lord Mayor and Peter Willis, amongst others (Eccles being a former mining area), and flowers to their wives.
I made contact with other members from Surrey:- Vic Rolland, Chairman of the Surrey County RA and his wife; Vic Skilton, RA delegate to Surrey FA; Ray Mallery, Surrey RA Executive Member to the Southern Division and his wife; Cyril West, of Guildford Society and his wife. There was also a group from Woking Society, Conference regulars I understand, which included Brian le Breton. It was good to meet up with friends from Dartford RA which John Martin and myself had visited earlier this year. After much talking and eating (and drinking, in moderation I hasten to add) we retired for the business on Saturday.
Without dwelling too much on the formalities and procedures of Conference, opened by the Lord Mayor, before business, due respect was shown to members who had died during the past year. This included Roy Capey of Croydon of whom Peter Willis had fond memories.
Awards for Life Membership and Long and Meritorious Service were presented near the beginning of the Conference. This was to allow wives of the recipients to attend before they parted for the ladies' trips organised for the day. These were either an excursion to the Trafford Centre or to the town of Holmfirth, home of "Last of the Summer Wine".
It was indeed an honour to receive from Peter Willis my Meritorious Service Award at Conference. The room was quite warm, so I had left my jacket in my room. As a result, Peter pinned my badge onto my new RA tie and then upside down! Peter said at least I could read it! Other recipients had remembered to wear their jackets. After the presentations, photographs were taken and we were warmly applauded by Conference. (You'll see from the photograph that I stick out like a sore thumb!) Personal congratulations came from Jim Jenkinson, Vice President, Southern Division. As I returned to my seat, Ray Mallery said I should have worn my jacket and Vic Skilton apologised for forgetting to tell me to wear it. I shall remember that moment with all sorts of emotions!
The Conference business then got under way, and it wasn't long before members from the floor wanted to have their say. It began with amendments to the minutes of last
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