LAST CHOIR STANDING - taken from The Guardian (21.08.08)
The City of Bath Male Choir, which was awarded a place in the final round of the BBC1 show Last Choir Standing, was sent home on Sunday following a head-to-head with gospel choir Revelation.
The group performed three songs which included Can't Take My Eyes Off You which the judges Russell Watson, Sharon D Clarke and Suzi Dibgy noted was an improvement on the previous week's performance and that there was a great sound. Suzi was pleased to hear a 'new depth of sound and subtleties' and Russell said they had 'clear dedication' but Sharon still wanted more passion.
They then performed Wonderful World which Suzi felt was flat and that the bad arrangement meant tuning suffered. Sharon agreed with Suzi and Russell told them 'don't let your wall of sound crumble'. After an agonising wait it was announced that Bath Male Choir would go head-to-head in a clash of the choirs with Revelation. Bath performed Something while Revelation sang Love The One You're With.
Sharon was the first to vote and chose Revelation, followed by Suzi so with the East London choir getting two of the three votes it meant that the City of Bath Male Choir were out of the competition.
Only four choirs now remain in the entertainment show which received thousands of entries and ends this month.
......................................
CONGRATULATONS TO BATH MALE CHOIR
Look out for our entertainment manager Mr John Leahy, not at the social club, but on prime time Saturday night television. John is a member of the Bath Male Choir, who have successfully made it through all of the heats and on Saturday night (09.08.2008) passed through the first round of live shows with their performance of 'Desperado'. Look out for them next week, and remember to vote!!!
......................................
ENJOY THE SUMMER - OR AT LEAST MAKE THE BEST OF IT!
Despite the disheartening British weather, we are determined to enjoy at least one barbecue at the social club this year. Why not join us on Saturday 16th August to dance to the music of the terrificaly popular Sneakers and have something from the barbecue provided by 2R's Carnival Club.
......................................
THE NEW BENEFITS OF AN ALCAN MARDON SOCIAL CLUB MEMBERSHIP CARD
As always members will continue to gain discounted entry to the clubs entertainment on Saturday nights, but there is a new incentive to becoming a member of the club that will benefit anyone using the club both at weekends and throughout the week.
There is shortly due to be a slight rise in bar prices, which will coincide with the introduction of a new till.
Members of the social club who show their current valid membership card when purchasing their drinks will not pay the increase and can continue to enjoy the current prices.
Membership cards must be shown in order to take advantage of this offer, if you do not show your card, you will be asked to pay full price (whether you are a member or not).
Visiting skittles teams who are given temporary membership when visiting the club, will have a temporary membership card issued to their captain for the use of the team during that evening.
We would expect all regular visitors to the social club to support the club and become a member of it. Please do not abuse the use of the membership cards.
......................................
ALCAN MARDON SOCIAL CLUB - PRESS RELEASE
The club has just secured another 12 months lease with a special provision to allow Alcan to dispose of the factory and land in an appropriate timescale.
Our thanks go out to the local media and particularly the Somerset Guardian who have given us excellent support.
Also Thatcher and Hallam for their advice on the lease, MP Dan Norris and former Managing Director now Global Finance Director of Alcan Packaging Simon Swann for his considerable support in recent weeks.
So it is business as usual, please see your local press for more information on membership and club events.
Brian Nairn - Club spokesman
......................................
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW
Membership renewals are now due, Membership to Non Alcan/Mardon people is £5. Leave your money and your name address and telephone number behind the bar. Membership cards will be issued allowing discounted entry on Saturday Nights and exclusive access to drink promotions and offers. All new membership cards must be carried and shown to take advantage of offers!
......................................
BIG-HEARTED SINGER RECORDS CDS IN SUPPORT OF HOSPICE
Guardian article - 29 May 2008
Big-hearted musician Barry Dell has raised more than £500 for the hospice that cared for his late mother-in-law during her battle against cancer.The 59-year-old singer from Radstock decided to raise money for Dorothy House Hospice by creating and selling two CDs of songs from the '50s and '60s. The sale of the CDs raised £515.
He said: "I wanted to help Dorothy House as they had been ever so supportive during my mother-in-law's battle with cancer 12 years ago. "I thought I would combine my love of music with helping to generate a bit of cash for them. "The CDs are a good mix of ballads, including songs from Cliff Richard and Elvis, and have been so popular I am planning to do a few more, all in aid of Dorothy House." The two CDs, entitled Memories and Welcome To My World, were recorded around Christmas with help from his son-in-law Mark Pearce, who produced the CDs and sold them for £4.
This isn't Mr Dell's first brush with fame. Two years ago, while on holiday, the former Alcan Packaging employee found himself singing on stage in Las Vegas, at The Stardust and The Imperial Palace - an experience he described as "unbelievable".
......................................
NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS
THIS YEARS A.G.M. WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CLUB AT 6.00PM ON MONDAY 23RD JUNE.
ALL NOMINATIONS AND PROPOSALS MUST BE IN 2 WEEKS BEFORE AND GIVEN TO A COMMITTEE MEMBER DULY SIGNED
BY THE PROPOSER AND SECONDER
.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP IS DUE ON JULY 1ST AT £5 FOR NON ALCAN PEOPLE, £10 FOR NEW MEMBERS. NEW CARDS WILL BE ISSUED.
THE COMMITTEE IS IN THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING AN EXTENDED LEASE FOR 12 MONTHS, THIS WILL BE DONE BY THE END OF JUNE, DETAILS TO FOLLOW.
Brian Nairn May 20th 2008
.......................................
ALCAN / DAN NORRIS / COMITTEE MEETING
The meeting was rescheduled after it's cancellation and held just one week later. Simon Swann and Kate Anthony-Wilkinson attended with committee chairman Brian Nairn, committee treasurer David Metcalfe, pensioners representative Keith Ball and MP Dan Norris. The presentation was made and talks held between the two parties. After some discussion a possible way forward was suggested and it was left to Alcan to return with a proposal in two weeks which would be taken forward to the next committee meeting.
.......................................
ALCAN CANCEL CRUCIAL MEETING
The meeting on the 25th of April, between the Alcan representatives, Dan Norris and the Social Club Committee was cancelled one week before it was due to take place. Despite the meeting having been planned months ago, Alcan representatives pulled out of the meeting, due to their representative Kate Anthony-Wilkinson having other commitments - fellow representative Mr Simon Swann was unwilling to attend this important meeting by himself.
This comes as a huge blow to the people wanting to see the club continue, we are hoping to reschedule the meeting at the earliest time when all parties are available - but with the lease expiring at the end of June, time is of the essence. Alcan have offered other dates for the meeting (one in July - after the lease expires in which case we were advised that the meeting would be held elsewhere as the Club would be closed). Obviously Mr Norris MP is a busy man, but we are hopefully that the meeting will be rearranged and that Alcan can be presented with the strong case for the Club's future.
.......................................
THE CASE FOR KEEPING THE CLUB OPEN
A meeting with Alcan representatives and Dan Norris has been arranged, with a multimedia presentation demonstrating the reasons for the need to keep the club going. Read the Somerset Guardian article here.
.......................................
RADIO SOMERSET INTERVIEW
On Wednesday 2nd April Mr Brian Nairn discussed the Social Club's current situation on Radio Somerset. Appearing on the Somerset's Big Breakfast show Mr Nairn spoke of the importance of the club's continuation and told presenter Adam Thomas of his continued optimism for a successful agreement between the club and Alcan.
There is constant speculation and rumour regarding the sale of the factory site, but as far as we are aware the company have yet to find a buyer. In response to suggestions that the land has been or will be purchased and developed for housing, the information below would suggest that this is highly unlikely.
Key B&NES Local Plan policies are ET 2 and ET.3. The Local Plan was adopted in October 2007 and will be saved for at least three years until 2010.
Basically, the Alcan /Mardon Flexible Packaging Factory site is safeguarded for industrial use as a core employment area under policy ET.3. However, a proposal for office development will be supported in principle under policy ET.2(3)(b). Proposals for housing development will be contrary to the current Local Plan.
Information sourced from the Planning Officer, Bath & North East Somerset Council
.......................................
MENDIP TIMES ARTICLE
The Mendip Times carries an article concerning the Social Club's future in its April issue. Read the article here.
Visit the website of the Mendip Times and catch up with other local issues here.
.......................................
LONG AND FAITHFUL SERVICE HONOURED - as reported in the Guardian
Pensioners from Midsomer Norton's Alcan Packaging company have marked their annual meeting with a presentation to an old friend.Brian Woodland, who has given long and faithful service as a committee member, received a retirement gift at the Alcan Pensioners' Association.
The presentation was made by association president Brian Nairn, who also presented Mr Woodland's wife, Jean, with a bouquet.
The Alcan pensioners held their annual meeting in Mardons Social Club, which they are fighting to keep open.
The Alcan company closed its local factory at the end of 2006 but the pensioners said the social club is still providing a valuable community and social service.
.......................................
Cabaret Night was a huge success, not only were the acts particularly good but the night also raised funds for our local charity of choice Dorothy House Hospice Care. A prize raffle was held and was very well supported by all who attended. With over thirty prizes donated from local businesses, the sum of £230 was raised. Local artist Roger Jones donated one of his superb prints which was autioned and raised a further £100.
"With regard to the raffle I was delighted that my print of The Five Arches helped to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.
It would be a tremendous loss to the community should Mardons have to close and I would like to think that I could donate more pictures in the future." Roger Jones
The Alcan/Mardon pensioners made their feelings clear as they supported the appeal to save Mardons Social Club from closure. The protest was staged as a public show of their discontent at the unfair way they are being treated. The huge company is refusing to accept that the club was a gift to workers of the factory. Director of Alcan Legal Services, Kate Anthony-Wilkinson, agreed the club provided a social benefit but said it had no legal or moral responsibility to retain the club after its lease expired on June 30.. Read the front page article here!
.......................................
On the night of the Cabaret we will be raising funds for our chosen charity, Dorothy House Hospice Care. Some of the donations we have received so far include:
A print of the Five Arches by local artist Roger Jones, £120 valeting gift voucher from Somer Valet, Bottle of champagne from Barons, Vase and candle holder from Out of Asia, CD wallet from Reflections, £15 gift voucher from Headlines, 2 x £10 gift vouchers from James Christopher, £10 gift voucher from Pierre, Teddy Bear from Paul Bond, Paperweight from Serenity, The Works Health Club gift voucher, £10 gift voucher from Performance Sports, Aqua detox gift voucher from The Positive Living Centre, Flowers from Bluebells Florist, Football from Norton Sports and Camping, £5 gift voucher from Midsummer Tanning Salon, £10 gift voucher from Cabellos, DVD from Channel 5, Costume necklace from Island Clothing...and lots more.
We hope you will all give generously and support this worthy charity.
.......................................
The plight of the social club has been highlighted once again in this weeks Guardian, this time from the perspective of the pensioners who face having what they see as their club taken away from them. Read the Guardian article here, and check back soon to see the public protest from the pensioners
.......................................
Tickets for the cabaret night are selling well, the Guardian and Journal both carried the press release we sent out. Tickets are available from the bar at £8 in advance and can also be bought on the night for £10. Read the Guardian article here
.......................................
Happy New Year to everyone, if you joined us for any of the Christmas period events, we hope you had a great time. The new year started well, with a Birthday party on Friday 11th which was extremely well attended. Music came from Sneakers and their guests and we'd like to wish Paul congratulations and thank him for choosing to hold his party with us.
Unfortunately, due to illness, Julie Marie and Alan were unable to perform on the following Saturday night and a replacement had to be found. 'Ruby Tuesday' proved to be a revelation, In their first appearance at the social club, the duo performed music from all era's right up to the massive hit 'Bleeding Love' by Leona Lewis. The singers voice was stunning and all who attended were impressed by the consistently high standard of performance.
.......................................
Congratulations to the Eastville Club who are celebrating their victoryoverIkea who attempted to shut them down.
.......................................
With a new lease, extending the club's future to June 2008, about to be signed, Alcan has now stated in writing that it will not renew the lease again.
"Clearly, this is unacceptable to the pensioners, whose salary sacrifice funded the club in the first place and to the members who have fought for the retention of what they know was a gift from the original owners."
Brian Nairn, former managing director of the factory and now club chairman
Wansdyke MP Dan Norris (Labour) has agreed to meet with committee officers. It's hoped that with such a large demographic of locals keen to see the club saved, he will look favourably on our fight and be able to offer his backing. Mr Norris has recently negotiated with Cadbury in order to ensure they save the social club and grounds of their Keynsham factory which is due to close in three years time.
.......................................
Halloween Night was a great success, lots of strange costumes and superb entertainment from 'Cover To Cover'. Thank you for supporting both the event and the charity. Click HERE for the photos.
.......................................
As agreed by the committee an interview was recently scheduled with Wendy Walker of the Somerset Guardian as a first step in raising awareness of the Social Club's ongoing efforts to establish a secure long term future. The article was published in this week's edition, you can read thefull story here.
.......................................
With news that the Cadbury plant facing closure in Keynsham, is to have it's social club (which occupies a much larger percentage of the factory site) saved for the workers and neighbourhood, the committee is hopeful that a similar generosity of spirit may save our club. Read the full story here
.......................................
The Rugby final will now be shown on the Big Screen!
Unfortunately, due to Englands success in reaching the final of the rugby it has been decided that the Quiz night should be cancelled in order to accommodate the requests for the game to be shown on Saturday evening.
We hope that the Halloween Fancy Dress Party will be well supported - again it's in aid of Dorothy House Hospice Care. Entertainment comes from 'Cover To Cover'. They have appeared once before at the club and if you didn't see them, you missed a great night. Covering all styles and eras (even including today's top chart groups), they were one of the most talented new acts to appear at the club for a very long time.
.......................................
The Quiz Night is fast approaching - if you haven't already entered your team, please do so as soon as possible so that we have an idea of numbers in order to arrange printing and food requirements.
In the meantime why not test your knowledge. You will find 25 questions online and the answers can be found on the notice board at Mardons Social Club. Also there are 25 more questions on the notice board and their answers can be found online. Follow the links below to go to the relevant page.
There has been a lot of talk and general complaints that the members of our social club are not kept informed of the developments regarding their club's future. In some ways this was largely due to the fact that negotiations were slow and other than getting the lease extended by 6 months at a time, there was little to report. We understand the importance of the club to the members, ex-employees, pensioners and the general community, and have been trying to achieve an agreement to allow the Social Club to continue. We have devised and presented a sound business plan and are confident that given the opportunity the Social club could prosper. We believe that the investment members and their families have made in this Club deserves to be recognised and preserved. We have an agreement that gives us short term extensions to our lease and whilst this is not an ideal way to proceed it does give us time to explore other options.
After negotiating with the European Packaging Management for over 12 months we are in a position where communication from Paris and our designated contact has ceased. Our last three communications have been ignored, We are now pursuing the matter at a higher level, hoping that this intervention may return more positive results, but as yet there has been no response from the top directors in Montreal. This is very disappointing as we believe we have a valid claim for the continuation of the Social Club.
We have legal options to explore, dealing with our solicitors FDC Law and the use of Pro Bono lawyers who work with the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law. We are actively pursuing these paths. Along side this we have spoken to our local member of parliament (Dan Norris) and presented him with an outline of our cause, another meeting is due once he has digested the information and initial impressions seem favourable. We have also decided to make our fight to keep the club open public and enlist the power of the press. Initially we have arranged to meet with Wendy Walker of the Somerset Guardian, who seems keen to take an interest.
With this huge company's track record and their claims of community and social responsibility, we are all at a loss why they are unable to look more favourably on our plight.
.......................................
For some years now the social club has offered top sporting events on the big screen, both terrestrial and Sky broadcasts. Recently you may have seen the advertising campaign for the new subscription channel Setanta Sports. Setanta will be showing major sporting events throughout the year including 46 Exclusively Live Barclays Premier League games and golf's USA PGA Tour. We are pleased to announce that we now have a years subscription to this service - we hope you enjoy this addition.
.......................................
Although contact with the company has been limited of late, we are confident of their extended goodwill. We are therefore continuing to take bookings and arrange events until mid 2008, whilst looking for a mutual arrangement for the long term. This will allow the completion of the winter sports leagues. This year has so far been very successful, attendance has been good and the summer skittles and snooker leagues have proved to be very popular. Look out for some special events coming in October, including the cabaret and the charity quiz and also the charity Halloween party.
......................................
With the smoking ban coming into force on July 1st, the social club has allocated a place to be the designated 'Smoking Area'. This area is at the rear of the club accessed by the doors between the skittle alley and the snooker rooms. Smoking will not be permitted anywhere else on the social club's grounds, including the front of the club and the patio/barbecue area.
...................................
The committee is working hard to secure a long term future for the Social Club and it's members, talks continue with the company and we hope to achieve an acceptable result. The continued support of all members and guests is very important, making the social club financially secure is essential. Entertainment has been booked, including the Christmas and New Year period and we hope to maintain or even improve the club's high standard of acts.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mardons Social Club claim no rights to images used on this site. If your image is used and you wish it to be removed please email with a request and the image will be deleted.
