When we first heard of Covid-19 at the end of 2019, nobody could have guessed the devastating effect it would have on all our lives.  Within our rallying community alone, many members have seen first-hand what this virus can do to family and friends, and unfortunately several of us have lost dear friends and family members during this difficult time.  Some are still battling the effects of this disease, and both Eileen and I have you all in our thoughts and prayers.
The rallying programme of 2020 has been all but erased, with only 18 rallies running and 75 being cancelled due to the pandemic.  One of the rallies cancelled was our Centre’s 50th Celebration Rally – it was going to be a fantastic weekend, and our committee had all worked extremely hard on it to mark such a momentous occasion.  We were all so extremely disappointed it could not go ahead as planned; though of course this was ultimately the best decision to make.
With the release of our 2021 Rally Handbook, emailed to all our registered members on the 12th December 2020 – nearly 2,500 copies were sent – we are looking forward to a new year and hopefully with the arrival of the vaccine we will be able to begin to prepare to see old friends who we may not have seen for such a long period of time; not to mention welcoming any new members to our Centre with the usual Cheshire Centre warmth.
Eileen and I would both like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very safe Christmas, and a healthy, happy New Year wherever you are to spend it.  I do hope we can meet again soon on the rally field when it is safe to do so once more.

Paul Bedworth
Chairman
Cheshire Centre
Caravan and Motorhome Club

With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic continuing to affect us all, we continue to receive constantly changing guidance from the government and the Caravan and Motorhome Club.  We have recently been informed that the Caravan and Motorhome Club National has been cancelled for 2021, along with many other large public events.
At our Committee meeting in October, after much discussion it was decided to cancel the centre’s 50th Celebration Rally planned for 30th April to 3rd May 2021 due to the ongoing uncertainties.
We would like to thank all those members who had offered their assistance in running the rally, also our sponsors and traders who had planned to attend the event.
Whilst this is very disappointing, we as a Committee hope you all agree this is the correct decision to be made.
Our Treasurer will begin making refunds to those who had booked the rally and will contact them by email or phone (for those without an email address) in the near future.  With over 200 refunds to be processed this will take some time to complete, please be patient whilst our Treasurer works through the list of bookings.
For those of you who have asked about the prize draw raffle, we are pleased to announce that the draw will still take place.  A date and confirmation of prizes will be announced after the next committee meeting in November.  Please send a photo of your Prize draw raffle forms to sports.officer@cheshirecentre.co.uk by 1 December to be entered into the draw.
Paul Bedworth
Cheshire Centre Chairman
Caravan and Motorhome Club

Hi all,
I hope you are all safe and well.  
I am now in my last few days of my 13 years of serving you on committee; I have undertaken many roles in my time and enjoyed helping many ralliers during that time.  It is now time to move on and pass the reins to the next generation of committee members, I have organised my hand overs, prepared for the ‘new style’ AGM and packed the Land Rover boot full of ‘stuff’ ready to hand back to the centre this weekend. 
Building and then updating the centre’s web site most days, starting the Chairman’s Blog, sending out the electronic rally brochure after building 5 of them.   E-mailing the Newsletter and the Weekly Updates has been rewarding knowing that I have done my bit in keeping ralliers informed.  My days will seem quite empty but I am sure Andrea has something planned for me, LOL. 
I would like to thank you all for your support during my time on committee, but in particular, since I have been your Chairman.  It has been a privilege serving you all, thank you and good night. 
P.S. Don’t forget to vote for your new Vice Chairmen and Secretary. 
P.P.S. See you all on the rally field.  

CAMC guidance as of 11 September 2020 has confirmed that following the Government announcement of the 'Rule of Six'  we are still able to continue rallying in accordance with each rally's Covid-19 Risk Assessment, providing that individual groups obey the Rule of Six.  Our AGM is classed as a business meeting and so will go ahead as planned please read the News Page.

Hi all,
With our AGM being forced to use a different format this year, the documents that you would normally receive at the AGM are now on the centre’s web site (Committee Meeting Minutes Page) for you to read.  Please take the time to read last year’s AGM minutes, accounts and the 2020 Chairman’s Report (Treasurers and Rally Secretary’s Reports will be published soon) so you can ask any questions* you may have about the running of the centre.

* Any question ralliers may have concerning last year’s AGM, accounts or the running of the centre, need to be submitted to the Secretary by 16th September 2020.  They will then be read out and answered at the appropriate time during the meeting.  No 'live' questions will be accepted during either meeting.

Hi all,
 
I hope those of you who have been lucky enough to get away have enjoyed your trips, and for the rest of you, I hope you have something planned in the near future.
 
I would like to announce a centre trial; on line booking.  Following the success and feedback from the first trial which allowed ralliers to book and pay for the Celebration Rally on line (123 booked on line out of the 240 bookings we received).  The centre is now trialling online bookings for the Bonfire Rally.  The centre has been in communications with the CAMC since March about our system, which they have approved.  
 
The CAMC are now actively encouraging centres to use on line payments, see the News Page.
 
Just to remind ralliers, the on line booking trial is an option, as it will be if the trial is successful.  If you prefer, you can still send a cheque and the booking slip via surface mail as you have done in the past and continue to in the future.  This is just an option for Rally Officers and ralliers.  Exciting times.
 
A quick reminder for the Rally Officers who, last year planned to organise rallies for the centre, but unfortunately had to cancel or postpone them because of Covid-19, as a thank you the committee plan to present you with your Rally Officer gift the next time you are out on the rally field.
 
Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you on the rally field soon. 

Hi everyone,

I hope this message finds you all safe and well.  

Just a quick reminder for those Rally Officers who elected to receive vouchers last year as their Rally Officer gifts.  If you haven’t already used them, the committee have extended their life by 12 months to allow for the break in rallying due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hopefully by this time next week, the CAMC will have updated centres on whether we can rally again 

Stay safe everyone.

Hi all,

The CAMC have this evening sent an e-mail out to all centres stating that we can’t organise any rallies during July.  The Executive Committee have changed their interpretation of the new rules that will come into force on the 4 July from “a rally was only for the siting / parking of leisure vehicles and that no social aspects of a rally could take place.  However, there is now a very strong concern that by the manner in which a rally is organised through a Centre to enable a group to come together for a common cause, it is much more difficult to argue that a rally is not a gathering”.  (It would be illegal for gatherings of more than 30 people to take place).

The CAMC will review the situation on 20 July 2020.

I am sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news but, we must comply with the CAMC rules to be legal ourselves.  Hopefully we can get back out there in August.  You can always use their club sites………….

Stay safe everyone.

Hi all

I hope this message finds you all safe and well.

Finally some good news, the resumption of Cheshire Centre rallies.

Now the Government have confirmed that sites can re-open on the 4th July 2020 in England that means we can now rally again.  The first Cheshire Centre rally will be at Holmston Hall during 17 – 19 July followed two weeks later by the Swanley House rally.  Please support these rallies if you can; thank you.

So that Rally Officers and you, the rallier, can start making preparations and changes to the practices involved in organising and attending a rally, guidance has been issued from the CAMC, click here to read it.

I look forward to seeing you soon, but PLEASE read the guidance below, taking special note of the paragraph of individual’s responsibility; thanks.

Stay safe.

​I feel very humbled having read the Facebook campaign to keep me as your Centre Chairman for another year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.  The comments were lovely and made me feel very proud that you think so highly of me. 
 
However, due to the ongoing issues Andrea and I still continue to face on the rally field from a very small number of ralliers, following the suspension of a centre member, I don’t feel it is possible for me to continue as your Chairman and, quite frankly, I don’t feel the need to suffer any longer.  Hopefully, with a new leader things will change.
 
I will continue leading this great centre to the best of my ability until September when my three year term will end.  Again, thank you for your lovely comments and I remain one incredibly proud Centre Chairman.
 
Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I hope this message finds you all safe and well.  

With the lock down measures being relaxed a little in certain areas, and Nick Lomas, Director General of the CAMC, campaigning to the Chief Medical Officer to allow the CAMC sites to open its sites it’s time for us, as a centre, to look ahead.  Each month, during our virtual committee meetings, we have been discussing the viability of our current year’s rallies, obviously we can’t do anything until the government and CAMC give us authority but Rally Officers should start reviewing their plans for autumn rallies*.  

We also need to think about the 2021 rally programme.  Currently we only have 33 rallies in the proposed programme, so those of you with time on your hands, get planning those weekends away and contact the Rally Sec to get them in the calendar.  It would be a shame not to hit the 100 rallies target.

*I do not have a crystal ball or a direct line to the Prime Minister, just an optimistic view on life, LOL.

Stay safe.

Hi all, 

I hope you are all still safe and well.

Dave Howarth’s funeral details are now available: it will take place next Monday 11th May at 3.15 p.m. at Stockport Crematorium.  Unfortunately, the crematorium will only take 10 mourners, places that understandably will be for his immediate family. 

The family just want their own floral arrangement but donations may be sent to Guide Dogs For The Blind for those who wish to do so.  Anyone who knew Dave, will remember how passionate he was about Guide Dogs, having spent lots of his own time assisting in puppy training.  His Remembrance Book on the Centre’s web site will be removed on Monday and the comments sent to Sheila, so if you want to upload a message for her and the family, please do so before then.

Last Saturday night, on what would have been the Saturday evening at the 50th Celebration Rally, Freddie Fantastic, who was booked for the rally, gave a very successful virtual performance to the centre’s children via Zoom (on line video conferencing).  The best comment I heard was “it was so nice to hear the kids laughing together”, so it was really great to hear that the committee’s efforts had been appreciated; well done team.

Stay safe.

​Hi, I trust you are all safe and well.  

I have read that some of our centre members have lost loved ones to this dreadful covid-19 epidemic.  My heart goes out to you and your families as, I am sure, the rest of the centre also feel for you in your ‘hour of need’; much love to you all.

It was interesting reading what you had got up to during the Easter weekend, very imaginative!  There was play your cards right, whisky tasting, stair climbing, magic shows, singing, van cleaning, sun bathing, BBQ’s but best of all was the reminiscing.  There were some great photos.  It also seems that there will be a lot of fit ralliers when we finally all get back out in our vans!

On Tuesday evening, we held our virtual committee meeting; the good thing about the virtual meetings is I don’t have to go shopping for the ingredients to make the brews half way through the meeting, LOL.  It was suggested that we present Rally Officers who have had their rallies cancelled due to Covi-19 with their Rally Officer gifts which are different style drinking glasses with the 50th Celebration motif engraved on them.  This was unanimously agreed as it was felt they have already done a lot of prep work and when the rallies were cancelled they have had additional work.  So, at a suitable time after the lock down has been lifted, we will get the presentations organised.  Thanks again Rally Officers.

To finish I would just like to say how impressed I am of Captain Tom Moore, if he can raise that incredible amount of money, £12,000,000, for the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his back garden at his age, we, Cheshire ralliers, can surely survive a bit longer with lock down.  You can’t keep a Military Vet down.

Stay safe.

Hi fellow ralliers,

​I hope you, your family and friends are all safe and well in these troubling times.  From what I have heard and seen you are all pulling together to enable us all to get through these terrible days, some of you by some very ingenious methods; well done.

Some of you may have heard that two of our Easter rallies had already purchased the chocolate eggs for their rallies.  Following the Rally Officers’ suggestions, your committee paid for the Easter Eggs and let the RO’s donate them to local charities.  The eggs have gone to a local food bank in Widnes and the Children’s Ward at Macclesfield General Hospital.   I appreciate it is only a small gesture but, as one famous store states “every little helps”.  Again well done all.

The Easter Newsletter has been completed and will be sent out via e-mail to you all on Monday, so keep an eye on your inbox, if you don’t see it please check your Junk or Spam box; thanks.

Enjoy your Easter celebrations, as much as you can, and I look forward to hearing or reading about your exploits under lock down.  

Stay safe.

Oh, one last thing if I may; As a former Royal Air Force aircraft engineer, when a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off.  You sit still and trust the engineer.  Stay on the train.