Friday 5th September 2008
Sissinghurst Castle Gardens
Park in the visitors car park (£2) and follow a woodland or lake walk - stretch your legs after a long journey, enjoy some fresh air - free of charge. Or meet up in the Coffee Shop for a drink/snack - Tina will be there from 2.30pm onwards (closes at 5pm). Visit the Castle Gardens and Mansion - admission £9 (NT members – free)

Tiffins of Cranbrook (restaurant upstairs)
7.00 for 7.30pm - Evening meal in Cranbrook, overlooking the floodlit windmill (pay for our own drinks/meal - set menu & prices to be sent later)  

Saturday 6th September 2008 
8.30am onwards - Bring your displays, archives, photos and family trees, to set up in function room.
10.00am - coffee/tea and biscuits  
10.30am - Annual General Meeting
12 noon - free time to do more research, swap family trees etc
1.00pm - lunch (soup and sandwiches, with summer desserts)
2.00pm - walk up the lane to the museum garden, for a group photograph
2.30pm - introductory talk by a member of Cranbrook History Group,
followed by free time to study museum archives (especially put out for IRS) or to look around the museum and visit the windmill and Parish Church near-by,
 4 - 4.30pm - return to Vestry Hall for afternoon tea
  5.00pm - farewell time

See you there

The AGM and Reunion is on Friday & Saturday 5/6th of September and is being held at Cranbrook in Kent. Full details and forms, if you wish to attend, are included in this issue. Tina would appreciate a prompt return of the form, including money. We are looking forward to an International gathering once more with some members from Canada and Australia joining us.

For those unable to attend proxy voting forms are included and I am also happy to receive votes via email. We have only had one enquiry about the Treasurer's position this year, from Jan Whamond #159 in Australia. Thanks, Jan, for your thoughts. Ideally we are looking for a UK member who can manage our UK bank account and where we have the majority of our members – this has not happened and Ruth, our long-standing treasurer has volunteered to stand for a further year – thank you, Ruth.

If we do not receive any new nominations for the committee then this means that the existing committee members will have to shoulder extra responsibilities in order for the society to remain in existence in the future, which is not the ideal solution. So, if any member feels they would like to join the committee, please contact me.

Yvonne Relf #033, our New Zealand co-ordinator, is moving to Australia later this year. Thanks, Yvonne for your support from New Zealand over the years. I have asked the only other New Zealand member, Keith Relf #042, if he will become our new co-ordinator.

Steve Chapman #003 also steps down as our GOONS representative but has agreed to retain the Members' Interests and, subject to ratification at the AGM, hopefully Cliff Kemball will step into his shoes, as he is closely involved with the GOONS already.

We will have been going for 20 years in 2010 and Tina is already planning for this special milestone achievement.

We hope to kick off the DNA project later this year and I will be putting forward a proposal at the AGM that we allocate a sum of money, to be agreed, from our funds to help with the cost, which individual members taking part will have to bear.

If any member not attending the AGM has any strong views on this subject then please contact me before the September meeting.

Our Editor, Helen, is running short of articles for The Wolfpack, so please find time to drop her a note or email (long or short – we don't mind). There would not be an issue of The Wolfpack with out your input – please keep them coming.

I am sure you will join me in thanking all the existing committee members for their hard work this year and I thank them for supporting me.

Finally, I look forward to seeing many of you in September in Cranbrook, Kent.

Chris Relf, Chairman.

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Page last revised September 2008.