Minutes 2012

January 2012

Minutes of the January 2012 GC Meeting, held at Ghazal in Sunninghill on Wednesday 11 January.

Present:               Mr Jones

                                Mr Wheels

Mr Spencer

Mr Sears

Mr Jackson Jnr

Mr Benade

Mr Irons

Mr Huggins

Mr Walsh

Mr Lawson

FIGJAM Stubbs

Apologies:           Mr Rouse, Mr Gibbs, Mr Bailey, Mr Nielsen, Mr Jackson Snr

And so it was without the usual fanfare that the GC entered its 15^th year.  It was the first meeting after the festive season and gave the members a chance to catch up and share some holiday stories.  It was, for some, also a time for some somber reflection.  Not for all though as Mr Stubbs (read FIGJAM), was sporting a new 2012 attitude of “goodwill towards all men”, in a last ditch and rather feeble attempt to win the coveted GC MOY award for 2011.  The GC quickly saw through this ploy and him arriving early and sending a few nice mails in the days leading up to the meeting were as feeble as his promises of a weekend away for the GC at the Vaal in 2011.

Not to be outdone, Mr Irons upstaged FIGJAM’s efforts by arriving on time and wearing a new outfit from the Investec tailors.  While at the same time Mr Spencer arrived wearing his tennis tekkies and chinos that we have become accustomed to.  If it wasn’t clear before, it certainly was clear now.  There is a rift in the GC-X after the dismal effort for the December 2011 meeting, perpetuated by Mr Spencer running off to Thailand to hook up with a she-male at the last minute and leaving Irons to rush around to arrange the meeting the last minute.  Like in all shady relationships that once seemed blood bonds, for example Schaik and Zuma, or Agliotti and Selebi, at the first signs of stress the cracks are clearly visible.  What we have learnt from the press on these matters is that the smarter rats just ship first and do deals with the PPA to get a lesser sentence, while the other is left to rot.  It seems that is exactly what Irons is up to, trying to win the GC over with his new kit and flashy smile.  Maybe now we will find out which one of the embezzled all the member’s contributions to the GC-X over the years.

The gents met up in the bar for welcome drink before heading off to the table.  I know that many were apprehensive about another Indian venue given all the terrible experiences in the past, but there was no need to worry.  The venue was handpicked, and so was the potion, which I am pretty sure, will stand the test of time.  The potion after all is meant to be served as a punishment for an offence or to remind a member that his conduct is unbecoming, and so should not be made to be pleasant.  This potion was a fine example, with a lingering taste on the pallet and very little alcohol so there are no worries about roadblocks or being incarcerated for drinking too much potion.  It was a rare treat, and the addition of a little Cream Soda was much appreciated.

After the necessary fines, a general discussion about the quality of the potion, and Irons had enjoyed a bowl of ice cream for his birthday, the gents got down to ordering dinner.  Some members in an act of total selfishness ordered themselves a plate of samosas to share while the rest were left with nothing.  This of course is exactly why there is a potion and was dealt with accordingly. 

The GC-X still battling to reconcile, decided not to start any pools for the Super 15 till the February meeting, and so all that was left to do was to vote on the GC MOY award.  It was a rather tight race with no clear performance deserving of the prize for 2011.  The end result being a 5 way 2 vote split.  Even the late vote from Mr Nielsen and Mr Rouse over e-mail could not determine a clear winner.  The general feeling at the time was then that the award could be decided later in the year or that it would be held over till 2013.  FIGJAM then tried to rally some support by announcing the Feb meeting would be at the house on the Vaal.  But this offer was promptly rescinded the following morning.  Exactly what we have become accustomed to when dealing with FIGJAM.  Mr Lawson around this time after backing FIGJAM in the voting was hastily trying to pass blame.  He again chose to pick on the once “good enough” partner that he has previously shared a tent with, and tried to blame Mr Huggins for backing FIGJAM in the vote.  Of course, Mr Huggins, being accustomed to these selfish acts by Mr Lawson, just laughed it off as a bad joke.  It was later revealed that Mr Lawson in a bold and even more stupid move than stealing the Potion Bottle, abandoned all his real friends and backed his old school pal in a hope that he would say yes to being his best man at the wedding.  This after realizing that quite frankly the rest of us might have other things we‘d rather be doing that night, like watching paint dry.

One notable absence from the January meeting was the GC Christmas wish list.  We all hope that this will be available in February.

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February 2012

Minutes of the February 2012 GC Meeting, held at Bellinis on Wednesday 1st February.

Present:          

Mr Jones

Mr Wheels

Mr Spencer

Mr Sears

Mr Jackson Jnr

Mr Benade

Mr Irons

Mr Huggins

Mr Walsh

Mr Lawson

Mr Stubbs

Mr Gibbs

Mr Jackson Snr

Exceptionally Late:

Mr. I'ons

Guest: Mr. Gingall

Apologies: None, we seemed to have a full house for all the members that currently reside in JHB.          

Following up from the Jan meeting held by Mr. Huggins and possibly 'the worst' ever potion mix the GC has encountered. Mr. Stubbs placed some feelers out there to gauge the interest in taking the Feb meeting to the Vaal.

Deciding against the meeting to be held at the Vaal, next best option would be to have the usual first Wednesday meeting followed up with a GC Family day at the Vaal on the Saturday. Something a few members have spoken about in the years gone by. Moving into the 21st century, Mr. Stubbs decided to send out a meeting request rather than getting the customary reply to all emails with the solitary in/out answer clogging the inbox.

A ressounding success for the wednesday meeting with the responses, but a very poor showing on the GC Family Day. Another opportunity Mr. Stubbs has placed forward for the Vaal that has gone a begging.

The Wednesday event would see the first GC visitor to the club since the Lions played the Lions at Ellis Park in 2009. Larry Gingall, a fellow work colleague of Mr. Walsh from JP Morgan. Unfortunately I didn't get to speak or hear from him during the eveing as he decided to leave early, but I am sure he is a nice guy!

The venue did not lend itself too well for a cummunal chat as the accoustics made for a noisy evening.

Some notable moments from the evening:

• Mr. I'ons in his attempt to make each meeting on time for the whole of 2012 had already failed at the first attempt.
• Mr. I'ons then trying to read his December minutes to the Gentleman(without the Chairmans consent). Yes, the minutes he had compiled at 7:00pm that evening when he should have been at the meeting.
• The arrival of the one and only Mr. Gibbs. A welcome sight for all the members and a time to catch up with him while he goes through these challenging times.
• The fines... mostly aimed at Mr. Lawson for splitting the club into 2, and of course not producing the GC bottle.
• The draw for the Super 15 took place and the visitor managed to pull the defending champions from the hat. Not sure if he will ever be able to claim his prize should his team win as the chances of him being invited to the meeting straight after the Super 15 final are pretty slim!
• Announcement of the 2012 version of GC weekend away - details have been supplied by Mr. Huggins and we are looking at spending a the weekend on the luxurious Shayamanzi II houseboat on the Jozini Dam.

Due to the nature of the Venue and the noise factor, it was decided that the GC MOY2012 voting be postponed to the March meeting.

The evening finished up and the potion bottle was handed to Mr. C Jackson for the March meeting. With events that have prescribed since this date, Mr. C Jackson has become a father and allowed Max to take the reins again with the invite to the Presidents box at Centurion Cricket ground. Let's hope Mr. Jackso still has the potion bottle.

 

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March 2012

      

GC Minutes of the March 2012 meeting

 

Venue:  Supersport Park Centurion

 

Present:  Franna, Monkey, DQ, Sears, Chubbs, Wheels, Spennie, Wellish, Laws,  Jonesie, IMM

 

Guest: Mr S Huggins

 

 

You are going to have to go a long way to find a more fitting place than the Presidents Suite at Supersport Park for a GC meeting north of the Juskei.  With the recent sponsorship deal, IMM managed to secure 14 tickets for the GC to a critical match in the local T20 series.  Jj who was to arrange the meeting pulled out at the last minute, and it was rather fortuitous that IMM could stand in for him at the last minute.

 

With the meeting starting earlier than usual, many of the members made a good effort to be in time.  Chubbs came early and those of us that were congregating in the car park at the time were wondering what the f#ck he is doing with a canoe roof rack on his car.  I mean this is a man that hasn't paddled properly in years??  DQ once again abused the fact that he is not drinking and not only arrived late but wore the wrong tie for the second meeting in a row.  Spennie abandoned his trust fund roots and took the public transport option to get there. Luckily the venue was on the public transport route and it was only short walk for the wee lad. 

 

After being warmly welcomed by the Chairman of the Northerns Cricket Union the gents settled in nicely to the kind of atmosphere to which they are accustomed.  One of the few meetings ever where the food and drinks were complimentary. Pity Rouse wasn't here to abuse it.

 

The cricket was not too much to talk about and the Titans after the support from the GC have since gone on win the MiWay T20 series for 2012.

 

Jonesie, pointed out that our "reach for a dream" member was with us and try as I might I couldn't arrange for him to face a few balls during the evening dinner break. It seems that unless you are Lance you really dont get special treatment.

 

The GC had a table specially organized for them, with 3 of the GC being requested to join Vincent S at his table. Although nice to rub shoulders with the 'manne' of Northerns Cricket I found out the chop on the other side of the table a litet full of himself.  DQ and Spennie later pointing out to me that he was indeed a huge chop and had previously screwed over Jj and the SA cricket team for a previous Olympic bid. I was so disgusted after hearing this that I have blanked his name out of my memory for good.

 

The rest of the meeting was rather uneventfull, but still good to spend some time with the GC.

 

The next meeting will once again be north of the juskei and is to be arranged by Wheels.

 

IMM

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April 2012

Minutes of the GC Meeting on Wednesday, 4^th of April 2012.

Venue: Crawdaddy’s Restaurant, Brooklyn, Pretoria

Present:

Mr. Roux (Chairing the meeting)

Mr. Jones

Mr. Huggins

Mr. Gibbs

Mr. Stubbs (Late)

Mr. I’Ons (Late)

Mr. Spencer (Late)

Mr. Lawson (Late)

Mr. D. Jackson (Late)

Absent with Apologies:

Mr. Benade

Mr. Walsh

Mr. C. Jackson

Mr. Sears

It was yet again, time for the gentlemen to get together for another Pretoria meeting. Yes, this time around, it was the second meeting in a row held in Pretoria, after a very successful evening at Supersport Park, Centurion which Mr. Huggins arranged on behalf of Mr. C. Jackson. The venue, this time round, was the very well known Crawdaddy’s restaurant in Brooklyn. As always, the gentlemen from across the Jukskei, complained about the fact of driving all the way to Pretoria again. We should not mention any names here, but again, it was Mr. Stubbs that complained this most! Luckily, we’ve noticed that Mr. Chubbs has now started a lift club for meetings held in Pretoria, so it should not be of any concern for any of the future meetings to be held in Pretoria again!!!

After the latecomers arrived, it was time to dish out a couple of fines. Just to minute this again, the original Potion bottle was still not present at the meeting and everyone was still looking at Mr. Lawson having to return this as a matter of urgency. Maybe it is time for Mr. Lawson to give a proper explanation of what really happened to the original Potion bottle! Some of the notable fines handed out, were the following:

• Mr. Roux for being closest to the venue. (Please note, about a minute 15 minute drive from home!)
• Mr. D. Jackson wearing the wrong tie for the second meeting in a row now.
• Still awaiting the outstanding minutes from Mr. D. Jackson
• Mr. Lawson for the missing Potion bottle.
• Mr. Huggins had to take fines on behalf of Mr. C. Jackson for not presenting us with the minutes of the previous meeting, as well as Mr. C. Jackson being absent for his own meeting!
• Mr. Chubbs for the starting of his own lift club. Mr. Chubbs complaining about the travelling to Pretoria.
• Mr. Chubbs after loosing to the Bully in the Duzi. Mr. Chubbs also admitted to doing the one-day Duzi which never materialized! (As we can see, Mr. Chubbs’ name featured quite a bit here during the fines, remember this when casting your vote for GC Man of the Year………….!!!)

After the fines meeting, the food orders were taken and it was time for the gentlemen to appreciate the good food as well as a couple of cold beers. It was great to see that the gentlemen, once again, enjoyed themselves. It was also good to see Mr. I’Ons attending a meeting again, although being late, he was still there, as we couldn’t handle another lame excuse of having to be at another Chiro anniversary meeting!!! Mr. Spencer should also be thanked for not wearing some old tekkies to a GC meeting again. Please keep it like this Mr. Spencer!

The meeting was adjourned after some coffee and all of the gents went back to their relevant destinations. Once again, thanks to all the gents who attended. The next meeting will be organized by Mr. Walsh.

Regards

Mr. W. Roux

April 2012

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May 2012

GC Meeting for May, Grand slam, Edenglen

 

Wednesday, 2^nd May 2012-05-03

Present – Mr Walsh

                D. Jackson

                G. Sears

                P. Spenser

                R. Stubbs

 

Late because of traffic accident

                C. Jackson

                G. Ions

                F. Benade

 

Guest – Flint McGregor – Mr Spenser’s brother in law

Absent – Mr Gibbs                         

                Mr Jones

                Mr Wheels

                Mr Huggins (cycling with Mr Nielson on the JHB2C

The venue was arranged by Mr Walsh to be in the East, and close to the highway. Mr Walsh’s earlier suggestion of a few casual beers and a prega roll at the Radium was scoffed at by the Northern gentleman particularly Mr Stubbs and Jones. Just one rat…and now there are issues with the default venue. Harden up people.

The gents met for pint of Guinness and Kilkenny at the bar and then proceeded to their table. The evening was a very relaxed affair with MR Dale Jackson constantly telling the members and other staff, that there was no ways he could live in NY, after hearing the horror stories of an average working day finishing at 11PM at night. Mr Flint McCregor gave the guys a 10 minute run down on what a day is like working in the US, especially NY. Most of us realised how lucky we were to be working in SA.

It was also good to hear about Mr Lawson’s wedding and the members were still laughing about some of the speeches, something about grapes being peeled in lunch boxes... Fines were given to Mr Stubbs for forcing through the venue change; Mr Walsh took Mr Jacksons for closet to venue.

 

The members relaxed and had a quiet evening. Mr D Jackson hoarded his ice crème pudding, and then the members headed off for an early night.

Mr Walsh, Stubbs and Sear hang around for another half an hour chatting about their kids and that life was good.

We look forward to seeing Mr Gibbs back in action after his 6 months of Chemo.

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June 2012

Gentleman’s Club Meeting Minutes

Wednesday 6 June 2012

VENUE: Polpetta Restaurant, Rivonia

TIME: 7pm

PRESENT: Mr Stubbs, Mr Spencer, The New Mr Gibbs, Mr Jacko Junior, Mr Metro Jackson; IMM; Mr Sears; Mr Wellish; Mr Jones; Mr I’Ons (in a new record arrival time!); Mr Lawson

SPECIAL GUEST: Mr Ryan Viljoen

APOLOGIES: Better Option Benade; Too sick to call Roux; The Cape Town Crew

An inspirational theme of getting the Gents to learn something manly and useful whilst sharing a proper meaty South African dinner in a private wine cellar was met with mixed feelings by the Gents from sheer excitement, to “what an awesome way to celebrate your engagement dinner Laws” to “ too expensive, why can’t we stick with pizza?!”

So, sadly, the inspirational and “something exciting and different for a change,” dinner, was put on hold, much to the disappointment of the PTA sector of the GC who were so disappointed that their immune systems failed them once again!

This has clearly prompted MJ (not of the Michael Jackson fame but more of the new found Metro Jackson fame) to step up to the plate and organise the Jeppe Master Chef All boy’s cook off! This is definitely different and if this doesn’t excite you.... well, we’ll have one resignation by the morning (Mr Nielsen has offered his resignation letter template for DQ)

The evening was a fairly casual affair as seems to be customary these days. So casual in fact that, wrong ties, Gucci loafers and forgotten minutes from members who should know better and should lead by example, were the order of the evening. The Chairman did try to salvage his almost certain Gary status by interestingly producing a magazine article about Mrs Stubbs!  

These are indeed worrying times for the GC as it’s founding members, who used to balk at and even ridicule any suggestion or inclination towards the inclusion or mention of the fairer sex, get more excited about a centre spread of one of the GC spouses than producing his minutes from the previous GC meeting and, organise metro cook-off evenings!

Gentlemen! This is a call for the real men of the GC to stand up and come forward! What has become of this once testosterone driven, flying pig capturing, jail dodging, joyriding, pistol duelling, Mad buzz drinking, Bully taming, metro cop taunting bunch of real men? Can you imagine what would’ve happened a mere few years ago if someone (other than a St John’s boy – obviously!) suggested we gather round, learn to cook a lovely dins and share a glass of wine one night!!?? Attempting to save I’Ons from an eternal life of celibacy or not... this is a step too far!

Mr Sears brought along a guest in Ryan Viljoen who regailed the Gentlemen with his tales of criminal Law. I’m still trying to work out if Mr Sears was working an angle with regards to getting some legal counsel within the ranks of the GC however, I fear Mr Viljoen won’t be retiring early with cases around kitchen burns and knitting needle injuries.

The GC welcomed back the ”New” Mr Gibbs! Awesome to have him back on form and fighting fit and even more special to see DQ ready to make up for his self enforced sabbatical. We all look forward to seeing him making amends for his absence over the past 8 months.

The IMM has chosen to spend his birthday with his “real” mates in London and will sadly miss his birthday dinner but, we all look forward to the Tour de France T-shirts that he’s organised for us on his return! Happy birthday maxi!

The potion bottle was safely delivered to DQ as was witnessed by all present.

The next meeting will be hosted by the All Gold Master Chef himself on Independence Day! Hope he will come up with something to excite the lads from across the Jukskei!

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July 2012

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August 2012   

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