It is frustrating that we still cannot row. At the moment the river is flowing at 122m³/s at Reading Bridge, but it was just over 200m³/s a week ago. When it goes under 100m³/s we can start to think about rowing again, but with the river temperature approaching freezing we have to be extra careful. Last Monday a man fell into the river and was swept three miles, from Sonning to Wargrave, in 45 minutes. Amazingly he only had mild hypothermia, but it could easily have been far worse. Once conditions improve, Richard will send out an email.
It was especially annoying that we had to call off our mini-head race to replace our annual Santa Row social. Hopefully this year we can have the Santa Row as normal.
Club AGM
Thanks to everyone who attended the club’s first online AGM.
The main news is that the membership proposal was agreed. In summary, we have new membership categories and fees from this month:
- Full – £150
- Junior – £75
- Student -£75
- Discounted – £75 (Available for members in receipt of a means-tested state benefit.)
- Fun boats – £75 (All social events and use of fun boats)
- Visitor fee – £10 (Visiting clubs)
- Guest fee – £5 (Accompanied by members.)
We are also asking that members pay by an annual direct debit, in order to reduce the workload of the membership secretary. You will always be notified in advance of a direct debit payment.
Flooding
On 27th December the club was almost flooded.
Social
Since the last newsletter we have had a general knowledge online quiz, run by Sheila Forde, a music quiz organised by Richard Berkley and a cooking lesson run by Joy Skipper. The online rowing machine sessions are also continuing as they have been since March. Big thanks to them for helping to keep our spirits up in these strange times.