Challenges Like This Bring Our Communities Together

It’s only a week since I posted my last blog but a lot has happened in that time. As a nation we have quite rightly moved into ‘lockdown’ as along with the rest of the world we try to minimise the spread and impact of coronavirus.  Suddenly lots of those things which we thought important became less important as we focus on the health and well-being of our loved ones, appreciate all of those NHS workers who care for us all whilst putting themselves at risk and think about the impact for t...
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Looking Beyond Coronavirus

The global impact of coronavirus is so devastating that it understandably dominates our daily news and is it now beginning to dominate our daily lives. Each news update seems to bring with it a new set of challenges and restrictions as well as depressing statistics about the spread of the virus and the increasing number of deaths left in its wake. This diet of misery is no good for any of us and can easily damage our sense of well-being particularly as we are forced to be isolated from our socia...
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It’s All About Playing

In the next couple of weeks we will be sharing the detail of what came out of our member survey which has been independently analysed by Sheffield Hallam University. One message we already know is that Members would like more competition, which I totally get. We all play sport for similar reasons; we enjoy having a good time with friends; it makes us feel better in ourselves both physically and mentally; we like to compete and we like it when we win; there is also something very special about be...
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2020: A Year to Look Forward to

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had fun over Christmas. This year Ed, my 11 year old son, shamed me into taking part in the Christmas morning swim. It was a beautiful sunny day in Cornwall, but it was the hot mulled wine courtesy of Dawn and Jerome, owners of the Devonport Inn, our beachside pub, that provided the warmth rather than the winter sun. Once in the sea was enough for me, so when Ed and his mates decided to go surfing on New Year’s Day I stood on the beach and watched! We ...
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A Special Time… Thank You!

The final of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ is over – congratulations to Kelvin Fletcher on his win, Ben Stokes has been voted the BBC Sports Personality of 2019 – a great choice after an amazing year for him, we have a new government led by a wheelchair rugby playing Prime Minister! and we will soon know who Alan Sugar’s next Apprentice is – it must be Christmas! As I reflect on our work over the year the thing I am most grateful for is the continued enthusiasm and commitment of all our st...
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Still Some Way to Go for GB

The bronze medal match ended in a second defeat for GB at the hands of Japan. After such a spirited performance against the USA in the semi-final, GB again struggled to exert any pressure at all on the host nation who was cheered on by an exuberant crowd. GB started poorly calling a time out within the first minute, winning an early turnover, before losing it through their own error, and then being penalised for not getting across the centre line in time. The team began to settle and at Q1 were ...
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