SAVE WATER   -   DRINK BEER

                   

• Mike Williams (our local correspondent for the Bucks Free Press)
  has written an article referring to the Club. The following was published in the 12th December edition of the BFP:
  
  Christmas festivities started in earnest last weekend at The Barn Club.  Anyone who   might have had the impression that the Club exists only for private drinking and a quieter place to play pool than you can find in a pub, should think again.
  This Club serves meals, runs a variety of competitive sports teams, from football to darts.  The teams participate in local leagues, and generally do very well.  Obviously it also has copious space and facilities for just relaxing and lounging.
  What many people may not know, particularly those newly resident in the valley, is that the Barn Club is a significant supporter of social causes. They have a special lunch each Friday for pensioner members and the afternoon provides them with a bingo session.  Their annual charity quiz this October was for the well-known local Chilterns charity, the Iain Rennie Hospice at Home, at which they raised almost £700.
  Last Saturday they organised a Christmas dinner for 110 of the Club's senior citizens.  They enjoyed a three course meal, wine and drinks and a jazz band in the afternoon.  The Club has been organising this event for over 30 years.  It is complately free to the eligible guests and everyone had a very enjoyable afternoon.
  On Sunday it was the turn of the members' young children to be entertained.  Over 60 children accompanied by their parents watched a proffesional troupe performing the pantomime Dick Wittington.  Fruit drinks and crisps were enjoyed by the children during the interval followed by a traditional tea party afterwards of jam sandwiches, cakes and red jelly with cream.  At the very end they all received a box of sweets from Father Christmas.
  On Wednesday, December 17, the Barn Club is holding its Christmas Raffle.  There will be a host of raffle prizes with a free light buffet.
  The Clear message is that this rather special club is an essential part of the community (it's a trust, not a commercial operation, by the way) - (sic)
  Every resident and a very limited number of non-valley dwellers have the right to become members, on application.  For more details about membership either call into the Club, telephone the Steward, Andy, on 01628 484576 or visit the website: www.barnclub.co.uk.  This is a handsome and comprehensive website covering events, facilities and even details of the menus.
  
  
  ... a nice write up.  Thank you Mr. Williams !
  
  
  
• Don't forget to put your name on the Christmas Draw Board.
  It'll cost you of course, but only 25p per go.  The Draw is the be held on the evening of Wednesday 17th December.
  
  
  
• Website updates have been very limited recently, due to the web master having a busy social life and enjoying himself far too much.  The Committee decided that this decadent lifestyle must stop (they're only jealous), and he should spend more time doing the things he's not paid for. Which is funny, because my boss said something quite similar to me only the other day.
  
  
  
  
• The patio area has been upgraded from 1 star accommodation (for smokers) to 3 star accommodation with the erection of a covered pergola. There is still a little more windproofing to be done, and the heaters will need to be relocated, but we're on the way to making it nice and cosy for the winter evenings.
  
  
  
  
• The Pig Roast, Barbeque and Raffle on the open day raised a whopping £900 for MacMillan Cancer Support. Many thanks to Ann & Bill for organising the event, and thanks to John, who arrived at the Club at 6am to start cooking the pig,  eventually closing the grill at 9pm.
  Also thanks to Bernie Longhurst for donating the pig, and to Peter Emmett for donating the salad and potatoes.
  And finally, thanks to everyone who came along to support the event.
  
  
  
• Setanta Sports is under review.  The Club are able to subscribe on a month by month basis, so we will most likely sign up for the months when the more important matches are transmitted, in the hope of attracting more customers. Use it or lose it, is a phrase that comes to mind !
  
  
  
• The 2008 Barn Club Open (to anyone) Golf Championship will be held on Friday 22 August at Royal Bird Hills Golf Club.  See side menu, or click here, for details.
  
  
  
• I have added a space on some of the pages here (look left), to enable you to forward your e-mail address to us.  This will enable us to send you advance warning notice of what's happening here at the Club, so there is no excuse to forget a quiz night, or to miss out on a live band.
  Please fill this in, as it is you (the members, that is) who keep the Club going. The more you visit the Club, the more the Club can move onwards and upwards.
  
  
  
  
• The AGM has been and gone.  What ?  You missed it ?
  A quick transcript then... 
  
  The Chairman said a few words, commenting on the price rises (due to increased supplier costs, utility charges and the Budget), and thanked the Committee for all their hard work (if I had a trumpet, I'd blow it -Ed).  The Secretary said a few words about the smoking ban, the effects the credit crunch may have on the Club, the increased membership, etc, then he thanked the Committee for all their hard work (where's that trumpet? -Ed).  Then the Treasurer said a few words, about how much money we've spent last year, and how much money we're not going to spend this year (that's what he thinks), and divulged under pressure just how much we've got in the bank. He then he thanked... well, you can see where we're going with this..  Then the Committee all congratulated themselves, elected the Officers for the year, congratulated the Officers, who congratulated the rest of the Committee.  The meeting was closed shortly afterwards, when there were congratulations all round for holding such a short meeting.
  The Committee then retired to the Club, and proceeded to vigorously check the quality of the beer (and in one case, the Port).
                     (I'm not entirely convinced this is an accurate transcript - Ed)
  
  
  
• Andy and Annette are now settled in, and the menus are now finalised and are displayed in the Club and on here.
  To add variety, some of the dishes will change weekly, and there could be a roast available during the week as well.
  
  
  
  
• Bad language in the Club will not be tolerated.  Women and children and sensitive folk like me use the Club, and most likely they do not want to hear it.  There has been a recent incident which has been dealt with.  Anyone using foul language will be dealt with accordingly, and possibly banned from the Club.
  If you don't like our attitude to bad language, then you can   censored  well go somewhere else !
     (Calm down ! - Ed)
  
  
  
  
• Infra-Red Heaters have been installed on the patio. These will keep you warm during the chilly winter evenings whilst simultaneously frying moths, providing endless entertainment for you and your family.
  NB. If you're a keen lepidopterist, don't stand under the heaters when opening your wallet.
  
  The heaters don't really fry moths, as there is no fat or oil present.  They incinerate them.
  
  
  -- After numerous complaints about cruelty to moths, a visit from the nice man from the RSPCA ,a phone call from the Scottish Lepidoptery Society, and a letter from the heater manufacturers  I have investigated the situation and it transpires that moths are not attracted to infra-red light at all.
  
  
  PS. The evening entertainment on the patio has been cancelled.
  
  
  
  
  
• Parasols have now been installed on the patio area to keep all you smokers protected from the sun (are you serious ? - Ed), and also to assist NASA in locating the Barn Club from the International Space Station.
  Heaters will soon be installed for the winter.
  On the colder days & nights, please remember to close the doors behind you when using the patio.
  
  
  
  
  
• The Barn Club is a HotSpot!     We have a wireless access point, which enables you to check your e-mail and surf the net for free on your [wireless] laptop (or phone, for those of you with a N80 or N95) whilst visiting the Club.   Access via a regularly changing password, which is available from Terry behind the bar, or one or two of the more geeky members of the committee.   
  
  
   

• Barn Club Football Team fixtures and results can be found by clicking on the
  'Yellow Jersey' image below.   You will need to register (free) to access this site.
  

                                                                                                                     
  
  
  

• Please also insure that you sign your guests into the guest book.  
  This is a legal requirement, and a [very] strict  condition of the new licensing
  laws regarding private clubs.
  All those present in the Club should be members, and guests who have been signed in.
  
  
  
  
• Googling for the Barn Club (simply using the search term 'Barn Club') now finds us at the number 3 spot !!  That is a vast improvement on where we were a year ago. We are doing very well on other search engines as well, such as Lycos, MSN Search, Yahoo and Excite.
  And, we can be also found on Google Earth. 
  If you haven't seen this, then you don't know what you're missing.
  You need a broadband connection, and download Google Earth from
  http://www.earth.google.com/   You really should check it out.
  
  

• I hope those of you that are interested have noticed that not only do we serve a decent pint of Rebellion IPA (3.7 ABV), but we now rack up the Rebellion Seasonal or Monthly Ales.
  We are currently serving Mince Spy (4.2 ABV) on draught and also the Pils, Blonde, Red & White are all available in bottles from the cold shelf.