RBS 6 Nations Kicks Off!

RBS 6 NATIONS! - It is less than a week now until the 2012 RBS 6 Nations fixtures kick off.

We will be showing ALL the games live in the clubhouse starting with France v Italy, then Scotland v England at Murrayfield (1700hrs KO)...

A Guinness promotion will run throughout every live game so MAKE SURE you put the dates in your diary!

Ryan

Selection E-Mail

SELECTION

If you haven't replied to selection this week and you want a game, please reply or e-mail selection@millwallrugby.com

We are aware that some of our selection e-mails might not get through to your inbox, however, you can always send an e-mail to the above address to let us know you are available.

Thank you.
Randall Powell
Men's Chair

Training - 26th January 2012

WE NEED NUMBERS

We have a couple of big games this weekend and we need numbers down to training to prepare. Training is from 7:30 to 9pm on the lower paddock at Mudchute farms.

Can we please make every effort to attend training tonight.

Thanks,
Randall Powell
Men's Chair

Enter the RFU Grand Draw now ONLINE - you could win £10,000

Each year, the RFU presents club with an amazing way to print cash.
It's called the RFU Grand Draw and clubs get to keep 90% of all the revenue they get from ticket sales.

If everyone on our club mailing list bought just 2 x £5 books of tickets, then the club would make over £7,000!

But most importantly, here are the prizes you can win - the top prize is £10,000!


Chris Copping has kindly agreed to manage the draw for us this year and will be selling tickets ONLINE for the first time.  There are no credit card fees or postage charges - the club will cover that in our share of the revenue.

Buying online is EASY - just use the form below, check out with PayPal and Chris will post you the tickets (retaining the stubs for entry in the draw).  Please ensure your address on your PayPal account is correct at the checkout.

Buy Here Using PayPal

Choose quanity

1 book £5.00 GBP 2 books £10.00 GBP 5 books £25.00 GBP 10 books £50.00 GBP 20 books £100.00 GBP

Your full name

Your contact phone number

If any of you can help sell tickets for Chris - perhaps at work or in a local pub or shop, please email him at granddraw@millwallrugby.com urgently so we can get you some books of tickets in time.

But HURRY!  You ONLY have until 15th February to buy online to give us time to get the tickets out to you and entered into the draw by 5th March.

Important reminder - approved bar volunteers list

Please be reminded that as per the notice of 23rd November 2011 there is a clear policy in place that limits the people allowed to "duty manage" the bar to a set list of approved bar volunteers.  This permanent list remains unchanged as follows:

• All CMC members (currently Dave, Andrew, Edna, Randall, Louise, Scott and Ryan)
• Martin (Wiggy) Ward
• Sheridan Cryer
• Gareth Parkhill
• Sophie Buckman
• Mike Beech
• Andrea Bielska
• Paul Fisher

These people are all responsible for a range of tasks which include unlocking and locking correctly, ensuring non-members are signed in, ensuring U18s are not served alcohol, cashing up properly, cleaning bar area, cleaning glasses, wiping down tables and seating, clearing up breakages, changing barrels correctly in the correct order, restocking fridges and are overall responsible for the operation of the premises. These people are expected to use their judgement to ensure that the clubhouse code of conduct is observed at all times. This list is not exhaustive. All of the above are responsible for obtaining the correct training from Edna and Ryan to carry out these duties properly.

Only people on this list are authorised to open the bar door, raise the bar shutters or access the safe.  Other club volunteers, team managers, coaches etc needing access to the upstairs office, may unlock the kitchen and upstairs office but not the bar.  Any breach of this will be treated by the club seriously and may invoke club disciplinary procedures.

Any handover during a shift from one approved duty manager/volunteer to another must be clearly agreed between them to ensure the bar will be closed up properly.

Other bar volunteers

Other club members may serve on the bar provided that one of the people on the above list is present at all times.  Members are asked to be understanding if it becomes necessary to close the bar if the duty manager is not able to remain open.

Any deviation from this policy (such as appointment of a temporary duty manager to take responsibility for all the usual tasks) may only be authorised in at the Chairman or Secretary and permission must be given explicitly for each and every occasion.  Any permanent additions to this list must be agreed by the Chairman or Secretary and may be revoked at any time.

These rules may appear onerous, but are intended to protect the club's assets and the good operation of the clubhouse facility for the good of all members.

Secretary
22nd January 2012

Training on Paddock Thursday 19th January 2012

Training is on the paddock from 7:30 - 9pm tonight.
Please visit the following link if you don't know where the paddock is.

http://www.millwallrugby.com/play/whenwhere.html

If you feel like you need a pint afterwards come down to the clubhouse - it's open!

Training Tonight 17th Jan at Tiller Road Gym

Training will take place at the Tiller's Gym tonight from 7:30 to 9pm

The address of the gym is:
Tiller Rd, London E14 8PX

If you take the bus (D7, D3, 135) the stop you would have to get off on Westferry Road is: Sir John McDougal Gardens.

Hope to see you at the gym tonight.

Edna Schweizer
Posted on behalf of Randall Powell (Men's Chair)

38-10 Win for Millwall 1st XV vs Pegasus

Millwall 1st XV vs Pegasus at home on Millwall Park 38-10 win for Millwall!

Committee Vacancies

Regrettably due to other committments, Kerry Attwood has decided to step down from her role as General Committee Member.  She also has decided to relinquish her duties as Social Secretary and Safeguarding Officer at the same time.

The club's management committee would like to thank Kerry for all of her hard work and contributions to date.

This means that we have a number of vacancies on the committee for anyone interested in getting more involved:

These are:

• General Committee Member - this is a management committee role that requires attendance at monthly meetings and full involvement in the running of the club.  The role is intended to appeal to people who have specific skills to contribute to the decision making and management of the club, but that perhaps don't fit neatly into one of the other management committee roles

• Social Secretary - this is a wider committee role and involves close liaison with the bar team, club committees, secretary, communication officer, but does not necessarily involve attending regular meetings. The ideal social secretary enjoys socialising, is commercial in approach, is a good fundraiser and creates events that people love.  This role would normally, but does not have to involve organising the end of season dinner at the Houses of Parliament.
  
• Safeguarding Officer - this important role can be done at times to suit you. There is more information here.

Please contact a member of the committee if you are interested in taking on any of these roles.

In addition, we still have a vacancy for a Development Officer, left over from our AGM, although we do now have someone interested in possibly taking on that role.... Her name is Sophie Morris and she is new to the club but brings a wealth of experience in marketing.  Unless we hear of any other interest in the role, it is likely that CMC will coopt her to the role at its February meeting as we feel she has a lot to offer the club.

A note on electronic door access cards for members

Some of you have asked about electronic door access cards.

The system we have, supplied by Tensor, is quite "expensive" to maintain for the club.  We need to:

• Keep the locks in working order
• Make and issue cards
• Deactivate lost cards and members who've left
• Pay for cards (approx £5 each)
• Recognise your membership payment, issue you with a discount card for local discounts and then locate your tensor card (if you have one) on the system and activate it.

All of this is either costly in terms of money or in terms of someone's time to do it.  

So...

The committee decided in August not to issue Tensor cards as standard, but only to issue them to people who ask for them.  Instead a paper laminated membership card will be issued bearing the membership type and expiry date.  The theory is that anyone wanting a tensor electronic door access card will be able to show their paper laminated card at the bar.  Then a bar duty manager will be able to to make electronic door cards instantly with access that matches the expiry date on the paper laminated membership card.  This is the theory, but in practice not everyone knows how to do this yet.

In view of the fact that the door is generally open, or the door is willingly opened for people who do not have cards, and some of our members live away, it was decided to continue to issue Tensor door access cards for free, but only to those who specifically ask for or specifically need them.

Although our clubhouse is completely secure with the roller shutters when we are closed, when we are open we felt we needed a degree of protection at the back door for the benefit of bar staff, so the tensor lock has now been refitted to the back door.  We have also entered into a maintenance contract to help us keep it in working order. It is not designed for heavy usage, SO the back door is now ONLY to be used by committee and suppliers.  We would also appreciate the cooperation of general members in not using the back door to leave the club.  

Members who already have tensor door access cards will find over the coming weeks that their cards begin to work again on the main door (providing their membership is paid and current).... but this won't happen until "someone".... probably one of your long suffering committee members.... actually takes the time to do it.  The validity will be set to the same date as your 12 month club membership.... or for life, for life members.  The database has been neglected during the period the system has been out of use, so it will take us a little time to train people and bring the records up to date.

Kind regards

Andrew

Secretary

Key Amnesty

We will shortly be changing the locks on the clubhouse shutters, and anyone requiring a key should contact secretary@millwallrugby.com to make arrangements to exchange your key.

Cost of cutting keys

Replacing keys that have not been handed in costs the club a lot of your membership money - typically £3 per key.

If you have any club keys (for doors, portakabin, gates, cupboards) that you no longer require, could you please hand them in at the bar in a sealed envelope marked for my attention so the bar staff can place them in my pigeon hole.  We have envelopes in the clubhouse if you need one.

In particular we are looking for the following keys which have been lost:

• Lions cupboard 1
• Lions cupboard 2
• 194 Confiscations
• 525 CMT 2

If we are unable to locate these keys we will need to break and change the locks at further time, effort and cost.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Regards
Andrew Hesselden
Club Secretary

Clubhouse Door Access

Please be advised the smaller kitchen/back door of the clubhouse has had a new lock fitted and is only for the use of suppliers and certain committee members.


All other club members should now use the main double entrance doors at all times. If they are closed/locked and you don't have an electronic access card, there is a bell you can press.

We will be making further announcements in due course about reintroducing the electronic card access system for members, so please retain your old access cards.

Andrew
Secretary

Reminder about selection process

Please remember that in order to be selected for a team you should be emailing selection@millwallrugby.com no later than 5pm on a Wednesday. 

Selection priority will be given in line with the selection guidelines published in December. Players who are members and players who attend training in the 7 days prior to the teams being selected are advantaged by these. 

The teams will be selected on Wednesday night and the team lists published on Thursday morning. 

After this time if gaps remain team managers will attempt to fill spots with other players.

With the exception of our 1st XV, all players are guaranteed at least 20 minutes on the pitch. This does mean that you may be asked to sub-off to let everyone get a game. 

The decision of you team manager is final.  If you have any complaints about the team selection you should discuss it with your team manager. 

In the interests of demonstrating good Sportsmanship and Respect we do not expect Millwall players to be complaining about team selections publicly on Facebook. 

Andrew

Secretary

TGIF (French edition) Friday 20th January 2012

Another TGIF hosted by Venus. 


Friday, January 20, 2012 19:30 - Late


The night has a French theme so be sure to bring your moustaches, bagets and stripy shirts!
The last Polish themed night was a massive success.  So make sure you let everybody know!


As always; good company and CHEAP DRINKS!!! 


See you there.

6 repair jobs we need someone to do for us

One of our new white leather sofas is missing a foot and the frame is broken - we think it could be repaired by someone who is handy with wood. Can you do this for us?  You can do it any time the clubhouse is open and we have tools upstairs in the office.  Please... is this something you can help us with? ---Antonia Branston has kindly offered to do this for us! - thanks!

URGENT! Men's cubicles..... It's now completely damaged and will now be a more expensive job to put right.  It needs taking to pieces and then filling with some wood filler or something like that and reattaching.  It's been like this for some time but will probably take someone less than an hour to fix.  It's already got worse and if we have to buy new cubicles, it could cost upwards of £500.  Is this the job for you?   --- Both Jack Cooper and Antonia Branston have kindly offered to do this for us! - thanks! ---- 

Next, we have an URGENT job in the left men's cubicle.  When the toilet blocks, water comes out from behind the toilet and leaks over the floor.  The waste pipe needs sealing back onto the toilet.  Probably some silicon sealant will do the job.

Next... the door frame as you enter the men's toilets has split and need repair or replacement.  The screws are loose and the frame moves every time the door moves.

Next, we've found someone has broken the lock on the disabled toilet (little black turner thingy is broken) - there is a risk now of someone getting trapped in there.  Can you replace the handle and bolt for us?  We can reimburse you for materials as with all of these jobs.

Lastly, there is a job in the ladies' loo - the left hand sink leaks if water is left in the sink (ie if the plug is left in).  This is because there is a leak around the waste where it joins the ceramic sink.  Can you spare 30 mins to take the waste trap/pipe to pieces and re-seal this for us?  ---Jake reckons all it needs is some "plumbers' mait"

New Year Reminder - Club maintenance tasks that need doing

We currently need people to:

• Remainder of floor needs scrubbing - that's in the men's toilet and the corridor leading to it.  It we don't have volunteers, we will pay our cleaner to do it - this will be spending YOUR money.
• Take wooden dressers and pool table to tip - we think it's harbouring a mouse somewhere
• Repair picture frames (naughty people have broken the glass in some)
• Set up a wifi network that can share a USB broadband dongle - Leigh Taylor kindly dealing with
• Declutter
• Clear out the office upstairs
• Deep clean the nooks and crannies
• Scrub the remaining parts of our floor - all it needs is some water, fairy liquid and a stiff brush and it comes up nice and clean - cleaner making progress on this
• Deep clean the bar area
• Remove the broken big toilet roll holders and replace with two simple domestic ones in each cubicle
• Repair the cubicles in the men's toilets - Antonia Branston has volunteered! Thanks!
• Repair sofa foot - Antonia Branston has volunteered! Thanks!
• Replace the mirror in the men's toilets
• Take some big bits of furniture and a broken toilet to the tip
• Clean the big barbecue
• Clean the portakabin
• Replace the shelving and seating in the portakabin - Randall Powell is dealing with this - thanks!
• Construct a new storage room/cupboard in the clubhouse alongside the cleaners' room
• Relabel keys and identify locks that have missing keys
• Repaint/touch up the paintwork
• Clean the fridge (monthly - Sheridan dealing with - thanks!)
• Clean the oven ( monthly - Sheridan dealing with - thanks!)
• Someone to donate (or buy cheaply) speakers, an amplifier, microphone and wires to replace the ones we borrowed.
• Someone set up the audio equipment (Gareth Parkhill dealing with - thanks!)
• Scrape chewing gum off the bottom of the tables
• Scrape chewing gum off the floors
• Repair the mirror in the ladies' toilets
• Replace 21 lightbulbs
• Clean the glasswasher
• Be available to receive new bar furniture at 11pm on Fri 19th Nov.
• Help carry new bar furniture at 11pm on Fri 19th Nov.
• Clear out the cleaners' room
• Deep clean the kitchen and remove anything the club doesn't really need in a kitchen (done by Sophie & Sarah and Brigitte - thanks!)

...and probably much more.

PLUS... here is a second list of repair jobs we currently need help with: click here.

So if you can help with any of these tasks, please get in touch.  We can't afford to spend your membership money on anyone to do them, but we can cover the cost of raw materials etc.

Thanks

Andrew

We're almost at 200 members!

We've almost reached 200 members!  As of today, the count is 198 fully paid up members which is brilliant and a big improvement on previous years.

Thank you all for your support - and here's to a great 2012 for Millwall Rugby Club.

See you at training soon!

(If you've yet to show your support for the club by paying your membership, you can do so easily now at http://www.millwallrugby.com/club/membership.html)