The Arena The Autumn 2005 convention was held in the magnificent surroundings of the Arena within the Winter Gardens. We have used this room once before but this was quite a few years ago so it would be a new venue to most of the attending members. To my mind this is the best venue for our conventions within the Winter Gardens complex. Members (as usual) travelled from far and wide with Kevin Garner and his son Nathan probably claiming the furthest distance as they had made their way from New Zealand to attend, “We’ve been members for some time now and we love The Vellum,” said Kevin. “We just had to come and see what it was like. I’m learning to play the uke and hope to come back soon.” The Uke Raffle The main even of the weekend had to be the 2005 George Formby Society Raffle. Tickets had been on sale to members throughout the past year and this was the weekend when the lucky winner would be announced. David Dopson from Wallaston in North Hants won the Gibson UB2 in a tense draw. David: “I’m thrilled. I’m a new player and new to the society so this is a real incentive to learn. The sound is beautiful – even with my playing. My wife no longer leaves the room. I’m a professional clown and hope to play for the children. My father would have loved all this. He was a great George Formby fan. John Walley drew the winning ticket aided by raffle organiser Kathryn Pollard A New Committee The executive committee was re-elected en bloc except for one position. Peter Smith stepped down after five years as treasurer. This is an onerous task that Peter executed with alacrity and we thank him for maintaining our accounts in such good order. His financial duties have been gradually taken over by Andrew Gatherer. For the last few years, Peter has also produced the song page for The Vellum. This is a lengthy procedure and was a big help to the editor. Most of the songs are copyright so Peter had to get permission from the owner to reproduce them. Then he constructed the chord boxes and made up the page. He collaborated with musical director Dickie Speake to ensure the accuracy before sending the document to be included in The Vellum. Peter also worked closely with subscription secretary Peter Pollard who said: “I would like to thank Pete for the help he gave me. He was (and still is) there to help me when things got difficult and can be relied upon for help and advice.” The committee members were unanimous in praising Peter’s sense of fair play and level-headed decision making at committee meetings. The vacant position is now occupied by Gerry Mawdsley who was elected as committee member. Gerry has been a willing worker for the GFS. He organised the placement of the plaque in Wigan denoting the birthplace of George Formby, and is now liaising with Wigan Council on the erection of a statue to George. Gerry is an accomplished artist with a long history of professional entertainment – and one of our favourite MCs. At the AGM he said: “I’ve been a member for 31 years on the outside. Now it’s time for me to do something from within.” EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2005 - 2006 Following the AGM, the new members are as follows: President: Dennis Taylor Vice President: Peter Pollard Chairman: Ian Walker Vice Chairman: Neil Forshaw Secretary: Pam Walker Assistant Secretary: Kathryn Pollard Treasurer: Andrew Gatherer Assistant Treasurer: Tony Kenny Editor: Tony Thornton Committee Member: Pat Taylor Committee Member: Gerry Mawdsley Society Membership At the latest count there are 1,200 members - 70 of them overseas. If you wish to join us please go here.