PRESENT: P.F, C.M, M.C, K.S, M.M, C.D, F.B, B.Y, D.G-M, A.B-W, L.W, M.S, B.D.

APOLOGIES: Bumpers and the Prof apologised for having to leave before the meeting started.

RESULTS: Delivered by Shagpile due to the absence of the Comp. Sec., as well as his trusty deputy. There were 3 x 2’s, posted by Crocs, Shagpile and Dewey. D’soD were the  Straggler and Bumpers with a miserly 31 points apiece. DDoD was Johnnie with 32 points. The runner up with 44 points was Shotgun. This week’s winner with a massive 45 points was the ever popular and virtually pain free Shagpile.

FINANCE: Swears—£2.80. Geezers cards—£3.60. The cash is in the safe hands of Crocs.

The Chair apropos nothing, announced that having listened avidly to the recent Brexit shenanigans in Parliament, he is convinced that the rubbish we MOHGS discuss each week, is far superior in quality and content.

TOASTS: To Rory McIlroy who won the Players Championship.

LAST WEEKS MINUTES WERE ACCEPTED.

MATTERS ARISING: Shagpile reminded the group that the game at Newbiggin in aid of the Lifeboat appeal, is on Friday 3 May. Prospective players should inform him of their availability asap.

There being no further business, the meeting closed amicably and promptly at 12.55.

Burt Kwok.

PRESENT: F.B, C.D, P.L, D.G-M, D.F, B.Y, T.M, A.B-W, P.B, P.F, T.H, C.C, K.S, J.G, M.M, M.C.

RESULTS: 1 x 2 on the 4th by Shagpile and 1 x 2 on the 17 by the Straggler who generously shared his poke with the Laird(kerching). D’soD were the unfortunate pairing of Shagpile and Brains who underperformed with a meagre 38 points. DD’soD were Bumpers and Soapy with a slightly better total of 39 points. Runners up were the Geezer and the Cardinal and 2Beers and Kwok, with 43 points apiece. The winners with a magnificent 45 points, were the Straggler and the Laird(kerching).

FINANCE: Geezers cards—–£3.40. Swears——£5.50.

The Laird appealed for Summer H/caps from those not present today and asked that they contact either him or his deputy, Brains, before 1 April.

TOASTS: To Francesco Molinari who won the Arnold Palmer invitational.
To the Magpies who won on Saturday under great duress.
To the Falcons who beat the Wasps and keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation.

LAST WEEKS MINUTES WERE ACCEPTED IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

MATTERS ARISING:
The Cardinal revealed that the forthcoming trip to Slaley Hall has been cancelled due to lack of support. Only 10 members responded to the invitation which was short of the required number to trigger the deal on offer.

BUSINESS:
There was a certain amount of consternation and and deliberation about starting times on Mondays. It is imperative that the MOHGS begin their matches as quickly as possible after 8.30 in order to ensure that other club members are not disadvantaged by late play. With this in mind, it was decided by a majority of 8-6, with 2 abstentions, that:

a) The MOHGS continue to muster 8.15-8.30. b) The draw is made at 8.30 on the dot. c) Anyone not present for the draw will be unable to join the competition unless it is a singles Competition.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 1.10pm.

Burt K.

PRESENT: T.M, B.Y, D.F, J.G, P.F, K.S, D.G-M, M.C, B.D, M.M, C.M, T.H, P.L, L.W, C.D.

FINANCE: Geezers Cards–£3.60, Fines—£1, 2’s—£3, Swears–£5.60.

After much deliberation, the Geezer manfully stepped into the breech and agreed to Chair the meeting.

RESULTS: There were two 2’s, both posted by the Laird, who claimed the whole pot of £3. After all his recent successes and the cash safely stashed, the Laird is giving serious thought to going professional on a full time basis. Crocs, Soapy and Johnnie were the unfortunate D’soD with a paltry 75 points. DD’soD were Bumpers, the Geezer and Brains with 79 points. Runners up were Dewy, Scuttler and the Rabbi with 82 points. The winners and this week’s undisputed champines were the Prof, the Laird(kerching) and Wellen with a magnificent 93 points.

TOASTS: To Laura Muir who won 2 golds in the recent European indoor Championships.
To the winning MOHGS team, Kwok, Prof, Straggler and Laird(kerching), who were successful in last week’s Seniors.

LAST WEEKS MINUTES WERE ACCEPTED IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

MATTERS ARISING: No further updates on the Slaley Hall trip.

AOB:
* Shagpile announced that this year’s Lifeboat Appeal at Newbiggin will be on Fri. 3 May. The entrance fee is £10. He would like to know the names of prospective participants at least two weeks before the game.

There being no further business, the meeting closed amicably at 12.32pm.

Burt K.

PRESENT: P.L, D.F(left early), G.W, D.G-M, T.M, C.M, P.F, M.C(l/e), J.G, M.M, C.C, A.B-W, B.D, F.B, K.S, L.W(l/e), T.H, B.Y.

Before the meeting started the Geezer confessed that he believed he had infringed the rules of golf because of advice given, in good faith, as a result of losing his ball in the rough on two occasions. The Hon. Comp. Sec. was noticeable by his absence therefore Brains and the Chair offered positive suggestions as to what the Geezer should do to rectify the situation. As a result he was pulled by 4 shots. The ruling was that the Geezer should have dropped a ball, where he thought the first was lost and accept a 2 shot penalty.

RESULTS: Delivered impeccably by the resourceful Brains. There were 3×2’s by Bumpers and the Rabbi on 17th and the Geezer on the 14th. DoD’s were Kwok and the Geezer with 28 points apiece. DDoD was 2Beers with 31 points. In third place was Wellen with 42 points. The runner up with 44 points was Brains. The winner with a massive 47 points was the ever popular Shotgun.

TOASTS: The birth of Scuttlers granddaughter was unfortunately overlooked last week, therefore glasses were raised and whooping and hollering to greet the birth of baby Poppy.

To a glut or flurry or gaggle of MOHGS who came second and third in last week’s Seniors Comp.

Last week’s minutes were accepted in their entirety.

MATTERS ARISING:

* Today’s game was a singles competition. There was slight consternation from some members that the Comp was unfair in that, due to greens being prepared by the green keepers and volunteers, the pin positions were constantly being changed therefore some competitors were forced to play what was essentially a different course. Brains took complete control of the situation and announced in a measured tone that —-” We play the course as presented.” This announcement cut immediately through the Gordian Knot and silenced the baying mob.

* The Chair spoke eloquently about the forthcoming executive trip to St. Boswells on the  bank of the mighty Tweed. He revealed that the perception by some members was that the trip was an exclusive jaunt for the Executive only and that this was certainly not the case. He insisted that other less privileged individuals were free to join the party and furthermore that he and the President would welcome participants with open arms.

* There was no update on the forthcoming trip to Slaley Hall. Questions were asked about the recuperation of the Social Sec. Someone suggested he may be on holiday. Best wishes were expressed for his recovery.

* Shagpile revealed that the Percy House competition would take place at Whitley Bay G.C on Mon. 3 June. The Comp. would consist of 4 man teams and the cost would be £100/team. Interested parties should contact Shagpile asap.

There being no further business, the meeting closed amicably at 1.07pm.

Burt K.

PRESENT: D.G-M, M.S, D.F, P.F, G.W, B.Y, T.M, J.G, C.M, M.M, A.B-W, C.C, L.W, K.S.

The President agreed to Chair the meeting but unfortunately was forced to relinquish the position and invited Kwok to take over, whilst he tucked into a plate of eggs accompanied by lightly browned toast.

RESULTS: No 2’s were recorded therefore £2.80 is carried forward. The DoD with a miserable 29 points was the unfortunate Crocs. DDoD was Brains with 31 points. Runners up were the Geezer and the Prof with 41 points apiece. The winner and champine was the ever cheerful and enthusiastic Shagpile with a magnificent 43 points.

FINANCE: £4.60 in swears and £3.80 in Geezers cards.

TOASTS: To the Geezer and the Chair who became grandparents to a new granddaughter and grandson respectively.To Herbie and 2Beers who won last week’s Seniors with a majestic 59 points.
To Gordon Banks and Gene Littler RIP.

* The Rabbi and Prof were thanked for their efforts in booking the tees for Mondays games and to the Geezer who sorted out the block booking for future games.

* The Comp. Sec. was invited to clarify the rules for two Geezers cards. He very confidently decreed that the double bogey card should be awarded to a player who doesn’t complete a hole. He further stated that if a ball lands amid branches and twigs, it does not deserve the ‘under the tree’ card.

* The President revealed that his proposed game at Boswells may be held on 15 June.

There being no further business, the meeting closed amicably at 1.12pm.

Burt Kwok.

PRESENT:P.F, A.B-W, M.C, B.D, B.Y, F.B, T.M, J.G, D.F, P.B(n/p), M.M, D.G-M, C.M, P.L, C.D, T.H, K.S.

> RESULTS: There were 3×2’s—Shotgun, Crocs and the Geezer who shared a shedload of cash, £8.40, which included unclaimed cash from previous weeks. Today’s game was played in pairs, with the best score recorded on odd holes and both scores recorded on even holes. The D’soD were Dewy and 2Beers with a paltry 53 points. Runners up were Shotgun and Wellen as well as the Scuttler and the Laird, with 66 points apiece. The winning duo were the ever popular Prof and Straggler with a stupendous 68 points.

> The Chair began the meeting by ringing a rather charming little bell. The President revealed that bell was the new trophy to be played for on the day of the AGM and then promptly presented it to this year’s champ, the esteemed Prof. Thanks were expressed to the President for his generous donation.

> A glut of small denomination coins were discovered in today’s collection which the Chair declared was totally unacceptable. NO MORE SHRAPNEL, he screamed and stood tall to give greater emphasis to his outburst. The President nodded sagely.

> TOASTS: To David Law who secured his first professional win on the circuit in Oz.
> To the victorious England RU team.
> To the Laird and Rabbi who won the Seniors Comp, two weeks ago.

> THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING WERE ACCEPTED.

> MATTERS ARISING:
> SLALEY HALL: The Cardinal had risen from his sick bed to be present at the meeting. He was thanked for his attendance and wished well in his recuperation. He revealed that he is short of one member for the forthcoming trip to Slaley Hall which means that he is unable to fulfil the requirements for the deal on offer. He decided to renegotiate with Slaley and apply for a date later in the year.

> *Shagpile is willing to organise a team to enter the Lifeboat Appeal Invitation at Newbiggin on Friday 3 May. More information will follow.

> *Soapy declared that he and the Chair are planning an executive trip to St. Boswells golf club which is situated on the south bank of the river Tweed. He suggested that the event would take place on a Friday in mid June and that other members could join the exalted couple upon application. The fees are £10/round and deposited in an honesty box.

> *Crocs was perturbed by the number of MOHGS attending on Monday mornings and suggested that a maximum of 26 could possibly attend. He remarked that it was difficult to gauge how many tees to book, without incurring the wrath of other club members. The Geezer proposed that he would speak to the manager to ask if it was possible to make a block booking for five tee times each Monday. It was agreed to follow this course of action. The Geezer will report at the next meeting.

> There being no further business, the meeting closed amiably at 1.15pm.

Burt E. Kwok.

PRESENT: P.F, M.S, M.M, J.G, B.Y, G.A, L.W, D.G-M, B.D.

Today’s game was played in groups of three with the best 2 scores counting.

RESULTS: D’soD were Kwok, Herbie and Shagpile with a miserly 58 points. The winners with a more respectable 66 points were Brains, Wellen and 2Beers. Winners will lose one shot each whilst the duffers gain a shot apiece.

BUSINESS: Winscale was thanked for organising the event. Sympathy was expressed for the Cardinal who was absent today with suspected broken ribs after a recent fall during a bus journey to Newcastle.

It was generally accepted that the course was in good condition but the temperature at the beginning of the round was icy cold.

Burt.

PRESENT: G.A, T.H, P.L, M.S, C.M, F..B(left early), P.F, K.S, C.D, T.M, L.W, D.G-M, J.G.

The Rabbi accepted the role of Chair due to Chair being forced to leave early with an upset tummy.

RESULTS: The results were delivered by Brains. Today’s game was a singles competition. There were 3×2’s by Soapy, Johnnie and Crocs. DoD with a miserable 32 points was the unfortunate Geezer. DDoD was Kwok with a more reasonable 36 points. The runner up with a magnificent 47 points was the indefatigable Soapy. Today’s winner with an incredible score of 48 points was the canny and hirsute Brains.

FINANCE: There were no Geezers cards in operation. £2.30 was collected in swears.

LAST WEEKS MINUTES WERE ACCEPTED IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

MATTERS ARISING:

The thorny question of the forthcoming trip to Foxton was top of the agenda. Winscales had spoken to the manager of Foxton and had agreed in principle a deal to take a group to play on 28th. However he was conscious of the controversial issues involved and left the deal on ice pending the outcome of today’s meeting.

The Chair asked for an indication of how many members were interested in playing at Foxton and the majority signified that they were. There were however a significant group who indicated that they would prefer to play at Morpeth.

The President opined that each individual should be free to decide their venue of choice as this has always been the MOHGS way.

It was observed that in a previous meeting there was a motion that Monday should be reserved for playing exclusively at Morpeth and that away days should be organised on another day. This argument was countered by another member who ventured that he reserved Mondays for golf and if away days were played on another day, he may not be available.

Winscales then cut through the Gordian knot and proposed that he booked the course at Foxton on 28th January. The proposal was seconded by Herbie and passed by a majority decision. Members who wish to play should email Winscales asap.

The Rabbi will need to know who intends to play at Morpeth on 28th so that he can book the appropriate number of tee times. Please contact him asap. Those who are playing at Morpeth are expected to muster at 8.15-8.30.

The President congratulated the Rabbi for his efficient chairing of today’s meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 1pm.

Kwok.

PRESENT: F.B, P.B, T.M, D.G-M, P.F, C.M, T.H, M.S, J.G, C.D, G.A, M.M, B.D, K.S.  —M.C, L.W & G.W left before meeting.

> RESULTS: Only one 2 posted by Burt, who also claimed the rollover from last week. D’soD were the unfortunate pairing of El Mat and Bumpers with a derisory 35 points. The runners up were Shagpile and 2Beers with 46 points. This week’s winners with a magnificent score of 48 points were the dream team pairing of the Rabbi and Brains who racked up a magnificent score of 48 points. Today’s Comp was a 4Ball Betterball.

The Chair began the meeting by toasting the group with a half empty pint of Guinness and wishing all a happy and prosperous 2019.

TOASTS: To the Geezer who announced that he is to become a g/father for the second time on 29 June.

BUSINESS: The Chair introduced a new word into the MOHGS vocabulary when he announced that in future the group must MUSTER at 8.15-8.30 on Mondays in order to make a prompt start and avoid alienating the groups which follow.

There followed a lively debate about the use of Geezers cards which was eventually brought to a conclusion by the sage old President who reminded the group that they are gentlemen and should politely and sensibly come to a mutual agreement without rancour or resentment. These wise words were endorsed by the Fin. Sec. who opined that common sense should prevail in all matters.

The Chair officially welcomed Wellen to the MOHGS brotherhood.

Herbie had been looking into the possibility of organising an Escape Room evening, however the Chair urged a note of caution when he announced that a group of 5 Polish girls had been killed at a similar event whilst trying to escape. Crocs immediately said, “I’m out!” and Herbie agreed to postpone the activity.

The AGM will be held in two weeks time.

Crocs announced with near certainty that the eclectic information will be available at the AGM.

The Rabbi has gleaned some information about away days at Chester-le-Street which he will pass on to the Cardinal.

Winscales is looking into the possibility of organising a game at Foxton.

The Cardinal is checking the possibilities of away days at courses with a reciprocal arrangement with Morpeth.

There being no further business, the meeting closed amicably at 1.15.

Burt E. Kwok.

MOHGS:  31.12.2018

Present – L.W., B.D., T.H., D.G-M., C.M., F.B.

Abbreviated notes.

Results –

D of D  =  L.W.

Dep D of D  =  B.D.

2^nd  =  C.M.

Winner  =  F.B.

4 x 2’s  B.D.  =  2,  C.M. and F.B.  =  1 each.

Last minutes – taken as read.

Matters arising – none.

Toasts – none.

Swears – some, ? amount and ? who has it.

AOB – best wishes to all from the Rabbi on behalf of those present.

For what it’s worth – until 1599 the New Year began on 25 March but King James VI changed this to 1 January from 1600 onwards. In the Scots language New Year’s Eve has been known as ‘Hogmanay’ since at least the 17th century. It is thought to derive from the French for a New Year’s Eve gift,  –  even now the French keep on giving!!!!

Lang may your lum reek.

C.R. o’ Codile.