Merry Christmas

My Christmas email 2007

Hello all,

I'd just like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. 2007 has been a challenging year for Coventry St John and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's effort and commitment have ensured that despite difficult times, duties have been covered and our obligations forfilled. There have however been many positives that we can take from the year.

Once again Allesley & Radford and Jaguar Daimler divisions put on an annual presentation that went down well with county staff. The annual presentation is one of the key dates in the year of any division, so put those thinking caps on and come up with some ideas of what we can do for '08. For those of you who are new to St John, the annual presentation is where the division gets 'inspected' to ensure that every thing is running ok. It's also an opportunity for everyone to get involved and shout about the best divisions in Coventry.

One of the personal highlights of the year for me has been the number of new members that have joined in 2007. Encouraging new members and getting them out of the training room and in to the field is one of the priorities of the divisions. I'm sure most of us would agree that duties are the fun bit of St John and in the West Midlands we are extremely lucky to have so many different duties on our doorstep. So whether your interests are Football, Cricket, Speedway, American football, concerts, theater or whatever, there's bound to be something you'll like.

On the subject of duties, there have been many that we can look back on in '07. Who can forget playing Frisbee in the rain at canine capers! The rain had a part to play in 2007, with many duties being canceled. Fingers crossed that 2008 will be drier.

So on to 2008. Those of you who were there on Friday will of heard me mention plans to do a 'Year in the Life'. This is going to be no small undertaking if it's going to work. The aim is to record the activities of the division throughout the entire year, January-December. We can do this with Photos, videos, reports, articles, anything really. At the end of the year we can bring all the bits together into a record that we can be proud of, something that shows what we do, and why we do it.Something that shows what it's like to be part of the divisions and what it means.

This is going to take a lot input from everyone, so get typing and snapping. Once I've worked out details of how to collate all the info, I'll pass it on. Remember it can be about anything vaguely St John related, but try and keep the photos in focus!

Before I head off for a mince pie, don't forget the football matches over the Christmas period, Crystal Palace on boxing day, KO 15:00. Also Ipswich on Saturday 29th KO 17:20, think this must be a televised game. Transport from Holyhead road will leave at 13:30 on 26th and 15:45 on the 29th. Don't forget to wrap up warm!

Merry Christmas everyone, and Thank You for your help this year. Lets make 2008 a great one!

Jeremy Hodierne
Divisional Officer (Transport)
Allesley & Radford Combined Adult Division.