We Are All Connected

5th May 2020

We are into week 6 of the COVID-19 lockdown and I am wondering whether our behaviour and our thinking has changed for good? The impact of the virus will have caused many of us to re-evaluate what is really important in our lives – what are the things that mean the most to us? What are the values we cherish? One of the things which I hope will emerge from this is a recognition that humanity is connected. You may be thinking ‘well that’s not new, everyone knows that’ but if we do all know,...

Chief Exec’s Video Blog

17th April 2020

David Pond delivers today's blog by video, and focuses on the importance of keeping in contact, and how we're looking to support our Members during these difficult times. ...

Challenges Like This Bring Our Communities Together

27th March 2020

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...

Looking Beyond Coronavirus

19th March 2020

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...

It’s All About Playing

7th February 2020

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...

2020: A Year to Look Forward to

9th January 2020

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 ...