.... to the Club, and in response to Mr. Manson Esq. |
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Friends, I am deeply concerned that Mr Manson does not appear to know what he has written. His previous communication to this page clearly conveyed the opinion that it was not at present in the Club's power to formally help fellow members out financially - Quote "......putting it on a formal basis is not really viable". He now says that he would never put replacing beams in the college above the needs of fellow members, whereas previously he stated "often we are strapped for cash just to help out the Club or college in a small way". The use of the word "just" clearly implies to the meanest intellect that such help must supercede help to individual fellow members and constitutes a basic responsibility of the members. Consider this - in the last Connexion the members were given three choices and they were asked to mark their choice in one of three boxes. The choices were: 1)Going to the dinner and making a donation for the gift to the college
Are we to gather from this that if a member is unable to pay the £40 ticket with the various extras that such a weekend would inevitably entail then he is being directed to tick the third box - after all what other choice has he? Furthermore it appears that the organisers believe that if you don't attend this dinner you shouldn't be in the Club! In the Club that I envisage this would never happen. If a member could not come to a dinner discrete enquiries would be made to ensure that it was not because he couldn't afford it. If it was found that he couldn't then the ticket price would go up slightly and the member would be urged to come. Alas it appears that the present Club is not run on these lines at all. As one of the four men who jointly founded the Club I was so saddened and angered by what the inclusion of these choices said about the organisers that I felt it impossible for me to attend the dinner. I hope however that out of the forthcoming weekend a Returners Club will be born to which I will be proud to belong - a Club whose fellowship is not based totally on nostalgia but one based on a real and practical concern for its fellow members and one that rejoices in the present as well as the long past. Brendan Somers Mail Brendan Somers.
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