A large gathering of members, spouses and friends took place over a splendid Christmas lunch at The Pheasant to celebrate another successful year of cycling and raising over £1,000 for charity. John (Sticky Toffee) Tarrington relayed the good wishes of Kell Ryan, who unfortunately was unable to be present, and summarised the achievements of The Windmill Club over the past year and thanked our leader Maurice Warner for all his hard work.
John was followed by Maurice who presented a cheque for £600 to Bridget Gough who received it on behalf of the Khandel Light charity. This charity works to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Rajasthan, India, and has achieved great success in recent years. It is also supported by Simon and Ollie at The Pheasant, and Simon is running a marathon in 2016 to raise further funds. Well done Simon, who also plans more cycling in 2016 too. Another cheque for £400 will be presented to the East Anglia Children’s Hospice in Milton, the patron of which is the Duchess of Cambridge.
Maurice then introduced a first time award for the club person of the year and presented it to Deputy Dawg Andrew Rusack for all his assistance in arranging rides and communications with members. Well deserved! He also presented a large bouquet of roses to Ollie with thanks for her hospitality and support over the year.
Then came Deputy Dawg Andrew Rusack himself, also known as Dirty Dawg, Wee Willie Dawg and various other names, who said it had been a year of developing nicknames as we pedalled along, including Two Scones Keith, Moley Martin and Sticky Toffee Tarrington. More to come in 2016! Andrew then gave Simon a smartly wrapped Christmas present of a large tyre pump and thanked Simon and Ollie for their wonderful hospitality and friendship over the year, greeted with much applause from all present.
Here are some photos of the happy occasion:
The Windmill Cycle Club 