I thought I would include for everyones information all of the text of a letter I put out last Thursday to all the Hedsor Jazz club people. We announced on that night our need to increase for the first time in 3 years our admission charge from £3 to £5.

JAZZ AT THE HEDSOR SOCIAL CLUB

Following on from some discussions with both band and Angel members, we have decided that we would make some changes in how we run things here at Hedsor, in order to, not only maintain the current position, but to enable it to improve.

We are dedicated to ensuring, to the best of our ability, that the Jazz does continue here, and we would also like to be able to put on the occasional “Big Show” in the larger room at Hedsor. Some of the inspiration for this has been this years Cancer Research Concert, and “My” Birthday Party.

We also have a vision of perhaps helping the Hedsor Social Club itself by arranging with them some joint ventures. We would be helping Hedsor Club with their income by bringing in more people on those “big” nights.

Bigger names or the same big names more often is one of our objectives, and sometimes that will mean paying more for that privilege.

We are not going to reduce either the frequency of our meeting, it will still be every week, or the quality of our players and guest artists. So do watch this space for who is coming. In the next few weeks it will be mostly the regular band, featuring Mike Wills alongside Clive, but we will be adding in the occasional additional player to enlarge the sound.

If you have any ideas regarding the jazz clubs operation that you think we can accommodate, then let either Clive Burton or Martin Hart know.

One sad bit of news is that owing to the Hedsor Club deciding that they will not open on a Monday at all, my Monday Jazz session with James Fenn and guests will not be able to recommence in September as I had hoped.

I myself don’t want to carry on with quite the level of activity as in the last 2 or 3 years. I will still be involved as an angel scribe. I’m going to carry on with nagging and blogging, but I don’t want to carry on the responsibilities of deputy treasurer, or advertising manager. We are looking for volunteers to take on both these rolls.

We need someone to be responsible for collecting the Red Box money and for paying the band every week that John Dutton is away. We also need someone to help improve our advertising and public image in a proactive way. It is something I am not very good at, and we do need to improve in this area. Not just doing my bits of paper, but liaising with newspapers and local radio.

Like Clive, I am very proud of the band, and I am very proud of the friendly atmosphere that we have at our jazz sessions. I just want it all to carry on.

Geoff C

Scribing Angel


Tuesday, 12 August 2008