November Newsletter

Dear Members Your Committee recently reviewed the Club’s 2020 year and were pleased to note a significant number of positive developments. Clearly, there were always going to be problems in a year with very few corridas and where next to no travel or face to face social contact was possible. However, the new-look La Divisa has now settled down and feedback we have received has been very positive indeed. We have continued to hold monthly meetings via video conference, with at least 30 people having joined each of these meetings. More significantly, attendance has broadened beyond our traditional London-centric catchment and for the attendees have been able to join the meetings for the first time from all parts of the UK and from 9 other countries around the world! Given the circumstances, we are also very pleased to have seen a net increase in the Club’s membership for the first time in quite a while. We are very confident that an exciting future awaits your Club once the current restrictions are removed. November Club meeting The November Club meeting will be held on Thursday 12 November at 7.30 PM (London time) via Zoom. This month we will be joined by Philippe Grudet of the Peña Les Amis de Pablo Romero in Nîmes. Members who have visited Nîmes will know the Peña both for its impressive shrine to the iconic ganaderia and for its rather lively post-corrida bar. Philippe leads the guided tours of the Pena’s premises and collections and will speak to us in English about the Peña, its history and its activities. Could members who wish to join the meeting please let me know and I will send login details on 10 November. November Anniversary lunch The latest salvo of regulatory restrictions mean that we will not be able to hold the traditional Anniversary lunch this November. This is very disappointing and very many thanks to those members who told me that they wanted to support this event and to attend. I’m afraid we have been left with no options. We will be reinstating our usual social programmes once circumstances permit. AGM We postponed the Club’s AGM during the UK lockdown earlier this year in the hope that restrictions would be eased sufficiently to enable us to hold it later in the year. It is now clear that this will not be possible so we will instead hold the meeting via Zoom on January 14 2021 at 7.30pm. Copies of the Club’s financial statements for 2019 were distributed with La Divisa earlier this year and I will send other paperwork via email nearer the time. If any members would like to stand for election to any of the Committee posts you are very welcome and please let me know as soon as possible. With all best wishes Richard