The list of UK dives booked for 2006 so far are now on the website. Booking forms will be available from 1st January 2006.

GLUG meeting agenda 2 August

1. Apologies for absence
2. Welcome to new members
3. Notes of last meeting
4. Matters arising:
• Summer BBQ
• Membership questionnaire
5. Officers’ reports:
• UK dive coordinator
• Equipment coordinator
• Overseas dive coordinator
• Treasurer
• Membership secretary
• Publicity officer
• Newsletter/Website maestro
• Dorothy Divers
6. Other dives
7. AOB
8. Date of next meeting – 6 September 2005

Not a single person has emailed me to say they’re planning on coming to the BBQ on August 20th, let alone sent any money.

Unless I get a rush of emails before next week’s monthly meeting, it looks like we’ll have to call it off.

You can view the original post about the GLUG Summer BBQ here.

Is anyone interested in getting away for New Year and diving the relatively unspoilt waters off Sudan from a liveaboard? There is something for everyone: reefs, wrecks, and the remains of the famous Jacques Cousteau Conshelf II experiment in underwater living. The weather/water is temperate - 25C to 30C (although I understand that the nights can be cooler).

Now is probably the time to go to Sudan to beat the crowds; more dive tour operators are now going there and it won’t be long before it is just another place on everyone’s itinerary. The upside of increasing popularity is that the boats are becoming more comfortable!

Tony Backhurst Scuba have a trip that departs on Friday 30 Dec 05 and returns on Sunday 8 January 06. Cost is £1,295 (plus a Sudanese dive tax of $155) and includes 6 days diving plus an overnight in Cairo on the way there and back (B&B and transfers are included in the cost) as you don’t seem to be able to fly direct to Port Sudan.

Check it out at www.scuba.co.uk - it is the Sudan Discovery trip on Royal Emperor. I am willing to coordinate a GLUG trip for several people, or I’m just looking for someone else who fancies going. Drop me an email if you are interested by clicking on the icon at the top of the page (you have to log in first).

By now all GLUG members, and many past members should have received an email inviting them to take part in the GLUG Members Survey.

We want to know whether there’s anything we can do to improve the club, and so as well as asking you about your dive experience, how long you’ve been a member for, etc., we’ll also be asking you what you think of the trips we organise, the meeting venue, the Newsletter, and the Website, as well as whether there are any other locations we should be going to, or other services we should be providing.

We’ll also be asking past members to tell us their reasons for not re-joining, and what might persuade them to rejoin.

If you haven’t found the Survey invitation in your Inbox, then please check your Spam folder if you have one, and if you still can’t find it, but would like to complete the survey, please email me (members can log in and click the envelope at the top of the post, past members can use the “Contact Us” button on the left).

It would be great if everyone could complete the survey before the closing date of July 30th - the more people that respond, the better picture we’ll have of what the club’s members want.

Neil.

East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust have started a national campaign to encourage people to store emergency contact details in their mobiles.

Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the Trust, hatched the plan last year after struggling to get contact details from shocked or injured patients. “It’s difficult to know who to call. Someone might have ‘mum’ in their phone book but that doesn’t mean they’d want them contacted in an emergency. ”

The idea is that everyone should store the phone number of their emergency contact under a entry titled “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) in their mobile phone. If the worst happens, and the person is involved in an accident, the emergency services will immediately know who to call.

This is such a simple idea, I’m surprised no-one has thought of it before.

Neil.

I’m posting this again, because the website threw a fit and deleted the previous one!

Gerhard is taking a well-earned break from hosting this year’s GLUG Summer BBQ, having organised the event for goodness knows how many years. He’s been very busy with the opening of a new Konditor & Cook at the Curzon, Soho, and we wish him every success with it.

So, we decided it would be fun to go to the seaside for our BBQ this year, and Martin CB has kindly agreed to host it at his house in Hove.

We can’t guarantee that the catering will be up to the usual fine standard provided by Gerhard, but we do guarantee that it won’t be just sausages and burgers!

As usual, any profits from the day will be donated to The Food Chain. The cost of the BBQ will be £20 per person, but we’ll also be encouraging everyone to donate a little extra.

We’ll be collecting money in advance this year. You can either bring the money along to a GLUG meeting, or send a cheque (made out to GLUG) to:
GLUG Summer BBQ
49 McDermott Close,
Battersea,
London SW11 2LY

Alternatively, you can transfer the money directly to my account - please email me for details (login, then click on the envelope at the top of this post).

Finally, if you have a PayPal account, you can pay by clicking the button below. Please Note: PayPal charge 3.4% +20p per transaction, which we have to pass on to you (this means that you’ll pay £20.91 for using this method). Some people may feel the convenience is worth the extra expense, so the option’s there if you want to use it.

If anyone wanted to go to Diving for Life, but found it was already full, it’s not too late!

I received this message today from one of the organisers:

Hello DFL (Diving for Life) particpants,
Due to recent cancellations, we have three available slots open: one Garden room bed, and a Lanai Twin (two twin beds) which adjoins with a Lanai Queen. Sorry, the twins beds do not push together, but there is a private bathroom. The one Garden room bed is $1,300 and the Lanai Twin is $1050, each person. If you know someone who is interested in joining us in Curacao, have them submit a registration form ASAP. I’m certain it won’t take long to fill these three spaces.

Watch your email boxes for more DFL 2005 updates. We are working on the pre-trip information package, which we will hopefully be sending out via email this year. If you plan to change your email address, please send us new contact information.

Anita Floyd

If anyone is interested, I suggest you send an email to DFL at once, to tell them an Application form is on its way.

I believe we already have 5 GLUG members attending - would be nice to have another one or two.

Neil.

GLUG meeting agenda 5 July

1. Apologies for absence

2. Welcome to new members

3. Notes of last meeting

4. Matters arising:
o Summer BBQ
o Membership questionnaire

5. Officers’ reports:
o UK dive coordinator
o Equipment coordinator
o Overseas dive coordinator
o Treasurer
o Membership secretary
o Publicity officer
o Newsletter/Website maestro

6. Other dives

7. AOB

8. Date of next meeting – 2 August 2005

Hi Everyone, I guess I shouldn’t abuse the GLUG site for advertising, but I hope you’ll forgive me.

At this time of year for the last five years, I’ve been busy planning the GLUG BBQ. This year I haven”t been in a position to offer the garden or my time for this successfull social event. It usually brings together a large group of divers and their friends, but also provided an opportunity to collect money for the Food Chain. (£900+ last year)

Some of you may also re-collect that GLUG used to meet in the Konditor & Cook Cafe/Bar @ the Young Vic Theatre, until it was closed for last year.The good news is that this Friday sees the opening of a very differernt Bar/Cafe at the Curzon Soho , 99 Shaftesbury Avenue.

To celebrate the opening Konditor & Cook will donate all of the first nights takings to the Food Chain. (this should at least financially make up for the lack of a BBQ)

I hereby would like to invite all GLUG members to join me and the Konditor & Cook team this Friday (after 4.30pm) for the opening and to give support to the Food Chain in doing so.
Come along and make it a very special evening. The Curzon is screening a ‘Short Film Summer School’ this weekend and for those unfamiliar with Soho, other forms of entertainment await in the streets adjacent to the Curzon. I hope to see you all on Friday.

Gerhard

Andrew has asked me to point out a typo which snuck into the original Newsletter - I’ve put the location of the Lye Torng Thai as 66 St Georges Road, but it should be 35 St Georges Road.

If you’re looking for it online, the postcode is SE1 6EW

The newsletter has now been updated, so if you download it now, it has the correct address.

Neil.