From The Chair

Dear Derby CAMRA Members,

It has been a while since I last wrote you to inform you of what is going on. As the state of play changes almost by the hour it was difficult to get anything written down meaningful that was not out of date shortly after. With this in mind I want to assure you of one thing – your Chairman and Elected Committee are continuing to execute their responsibilities fully and now I can bring you up to date on matters. This will be a lengthy Comms but I assure you it has a wealth of information that you will find useful moving forward.

ELECTED COMMITTEE HOLD VIRTUAL MEETING THIS PAST MONDAY
As we are in uncharted waters we must adapt the way we do things. The Elected Committee held its first “virtual” meeting this past Monday on Zoom. It only lasted a half hour but was very productive. Several things came out of it that were positive. Whilst it was a new experience for most of us it was very nice to see and talk to everyone again.

a) Pubs Open For Takeaway: This has been an issue bothering most members from emails I have been receiving. According to government guidelines pubs that are licensed for off---license sales can remain open to sell takeaway. To date we only have two pubs that we know about doing off---sales in the Derby CAMRA patch and they are; The Hole In The Wall (Mickleover) and The Cross Keys (Ockbrook). As Chair I am in contact with the Derby Telegraph and will be help promoting these pubs work On off-sales.

b) Virtual Meeting for Members: It was decided we should have a virtual meeting for members on Zoom. Gillian suggested rightly that instead of a boring virtual meeting let us make it into a virtual pub gathering that happens to have discussions on matters of the Branch in a less formal way. We were all in favour of this great idea and as details become set I will inform you via another Comms and on our Social Media platforms.

c) Virtual Pub Awards: I asked Mark Fletcher and the Committee what the possibility was of some virtual pub awards. Mark was very much for it and said he would be able to help organise… and it had the full support of the Committee. What we need you to do is come out with reasons why your favourite pub is your favourite pub and then have a bit of a vote on those reasons. An example would be Best Pub Bar, Best Pub Flooring, Best Pub Lights… Any and all award categories you may think of can be sent to our Secretary or to me. We will then conduct a vote and have a virtual awards ceremony possibly with the landlords of the pubs involved.

d) Derby Drinker Moves To Online Only: Quite obviously we don’t have access to Derby Drinker whilst the pubs are closed. So we decided that DD will move to an online format one our website and each issue’s link will be posted on our social Medial platforms when it is due to come out. Please contact DD via email if you would like to contribute to the online edition. I am sure any and all articles will be welcome.

e) Derby Drinker Prepaid Adverts Refunded: It was decided that we as a Branch should without delay refund monies to those that advertisers that have prepaid. Our Treasurer and myself will be contacting the advertisers affected and pay them by BACS or cheque. The choice will be theirs on how they would like their refund issued. We have more than enough money in the bank to do this and it is only morally right to do so without delay.

f) #PullingTogether Initiative: This is a national CAMRA campaign that can help us to promote pubs and breweries through this time. The Elected Committee will discuss this as a priority at our next virtual meeting. We will then come back to you as to how we would like to proceed.

g) REMINDER OF RESCHEDULED AGM: It was announced in a previous Comms that the AGM was postponed until October circumstances permitting. Fingers crossed that we will be able to hold our AGM at that time. Until the next AGM I will remain as Chair and the current Elected Committee has remains in place as well.

h) Next Virtual Elected Committee Meeting: This will take place on Monday 13th April 2020 at 9pm on Zoom. I know you will be in agreement that when the time comes that pubs can reopen we at Derby CAMRA must be there and I am sure the pubs will be full to capacity. In the meantime we need to keep pubs on the minds of everyone because once things disappear for a while they can easily be forgotten. That is our main focus right now and any help or advice would be welcome. Once again you can email our Secretary or me. Thank you for your time on reading this lengthy Comms. It is much appreciated and all of us on the Elected Committee look forward to seeing you in a virtual pub gathering soon. Details on the way!

Yours in Derby CAMRA

Greg Maskalick / CHAIR