This is the email I have sent to all our members attending the dinner on September 9th.
I know. You're sick of hearing from me. Well this is important news and affects all of us who are prospective alcoholics.
Here is the news.!!
As you are aware, in the past the hotel has been kind enough to let us bring our own wine into the dinner and pay corkage on it. This has been £7 a bottle. Now as most of us know, we tended to abuse the offer and though we brought wine into dinner we did not register it. It should have been labelled and reception informed so that it could be charged to our rooms.
It did mean though that at £7 corkage, the cheapest wine you can get costs at the very least £6 a bottle. That meant we were paying £13 per bottle after corkage. Roger so far?
This year as prices rise everywhere this corkage was going to go up to possibly £10 per bottle and if you pay the corkage it would be at least £16 a bottle...are you still with me.?
What we have decided with the hotel is this. The privilege of corkage on a bottle will be removed. It is too difficult to control and administer and is too open to abuse...and the hotel is aware of this and we don't want anybody to get caught out and embarrassed.
The hotel will therefore sell their wine at almost half price and only charge us £14 per bottle. I haven't finished yet. We will then put a bottle of red and a bottle of white on each table free of charge. In fact the committee has agreed that the association will pay for this. That's 2 bottles and eight tables. Nearly there......If you require more wine they will only charge £14 per bottle (on your room) unless you want one of the top of the range bottles and they will then give you 20 % off the price.
On top of that, there will be a wine waiter at the dinner who will look after your drinks needs including soft drinks and beers so you don't have to leave the table and queue at the bar for more drinks. This will give the dinner a more professional ambiance.
Thats it... so please don't bring your own wine to the dinner this year. I would have to ask you to take it back to your room.
I think that all good news. At present 43 of us are going to Gloucester so that looks like a good choice. The coach is booked and it looks like the association will again pay for the coach.
The quiz is ready and the cane is ready for anybody caught Googling the answers this year. Individual menu cards have been printed.
It's all systems go. Please go to the website occasionally for updates. Hope to have a group photo taken this year. .
It should be a great occasion. JH+
