CSSC Sports & Leisure
Presents:
The Pudding Club – Saturday 4th February 2017
A Pudding Club Meeting is a novel and fun event - something a bit different and more than a little indulgent too!!
Pudding Club Meetings start at 7.00pm (earlier following several requests at our last event) with an aperitif, an explanation of the Rules of the club and introduction by your host for the evening. A choice of three main courses is then served (inc. a vegetarian option), after which a parade of seven traditional puddings is made through the room! Please note that any suet based puds. are made with vegetarian suet and those with other dietary needs can be accommodated if notified to me in advance (diabetic; gluten allergy, etc – the hotel will make up to three special puddings just for such people).
Much applause is made whilst the tastebuds enliven at the thought of Squidgy Chocolate and Nut or Ginger Syrup Sponge Pudding and all with lashings of custard (not to mention the other tantalising sauces)!! Perhaps you’re more into the Sticky Toffee and Date pudding or a rich bread and butter pudding? – both regulars on the menu. Once you have sampled as many portions of puds. as you can, a vote for Best Pudding of the Meeting is made over coffee.
February 2016 saw our landmark 31stevent in our 21stbirthday year – with 55 attending. Maybe not quite full, but everyone stayed at least one night with 29 staying two or more nights!
Many people return year after year for this unique CSSC event - it's very popular! Remember, it's first come, first served and each evening is limited to just 70 people.
The evening will be held (as always) at The Three Ways House set in the heart of Mickleton, Gloucestershire's most northerly village on the Gloucestershire / Worcestershire / Warwickshire borders. It's only a 15 minute drive into Stratford-upon-Avon and just half an hour to Warwick Castle. The hotel is renowned world wide as the Home of the Pudding Club...... its only forays further afield have been to Fortnum and Mason in London – and several extremely successful trips to Japan! Apparently the Japanese are loving our traditional British puds!
Your choices - enjoy an evening with a difference - or better still, make a night or even a weekend of it! Most stay one night and many stay two nights or even three as the hotel offer us an excellent discount on the usual accommodation prices. If you want to stay two nights – but Saturday & Sunday (instead of the Friday), then please make it clear on the booking form.
Over the years, several people decided to take up the great rate for an upgraded room – either a Superior room or a Pudding themed room (the latter being something you won’t find anywhere else!!). If you want to do this, you need to book through me to get these great rates. However, please get in touch in advance if you want a Pudding room – I’ll need to know your preferred room (with reserves) so that I can get in touch with the hotel first. If you just want a Superior room or know the room number you want, then please make that clear in your booking form. The cost of these upgrades is an additional £36.50 per room per night if staying 2 or more nights and £43 per room if just for the Saturday night. These supplements will apply to most Superior rooms and all the Pudding rooms except the Chocolate Suite (will need to get a separate price for that one) and the Spotted Dick Room
(usually kept in case it’s needed as a Family room). The hotel’s website shows many of these rooms, but if you want advice, just get in touch with me – I’ve stayed in most of them over the years!
Are you a CSSC member yet? If not, then why not join us and get a whole host of benefits, including for Pudding Club. In 2011, many of you will know that CSSC voted to make big changes to who can be a CSSC member. Firstly, anyone that now works in the Public Service can become a member – so that includes all NHS, emergency services, teachers, local authorities, etc as well as all military personnel. These are called Qualifying Members (QMs), as are all current Civil Service, BT & PO members. In addition, each QM can now join up to three Linked Members (LMs). These can be anyone – friends or family members, so long as they’re over 18. It is the LM that pay their own subs, so you’re not landed with paying them for them. And it’s not just an annual lump sum, they too can pay by monthly direct debit. They get all the same great benefits you do – from a huge range of discounts with My Savings+ (inc. 5% discount on a whole range of supermarkets and pages and pages of other discounted services, shops, etc); CSSC On Line Shopping (cheap cinema tickets for all types of cinema and heavily discounted tokens to a wide range of tourist attractions across the UK), etc to taking part in all local, Regional and National events. The only hitch is if you, as a QM, leave CSSC, your LMs can no longer remain members either (though there are exceptions). So if someone you know is thinking of joining, check whether they’re eligible to now be a QM and choose that option ahead of Linked Membership.
CSSC are obviously keen for as many people to join as possible and why wouldn’t you? For example, I probably use £50 per month on my M&S gift card; £50 per month with my Sainsburys card and at least £200 per month of Morrisons vouchers which I can also use for fuel – and I save about £15-£20 per month on those alone! My subs are less than £4 per month and the same would apply to you. There are hundreds more benefits...... including free entry to all English Heritage sites as Corporate members (just have to show your CSSC membership card). And that’s not just for you...... take along one adult guest and up to 6 kids and you all get in free on just the one CSSC membership!
As a result, CSSC have introduced a practice of only allowing the member to attend more social events. Where guests are allowed (including partners) – i.e. Pudding Club - they will have to pay the non member rate. However, the member now receives a bigger subsidy to attend resulting in a lower price than in the past. Non members will see a slightly higher rise than usual to encourage them to join CSSC to take advantage of the great member rates. So why not encourage your partner, family members and friends to join now. More than 35 of you have done this since our 2012 Pudding Club when the system changed - and hopefully several more of you will this time round. I’m more than happy to answer any questions you may have, as will anyone in the membership section at CSSC HO. Application forms and further info can be downloaded from the CSSC website as well
Each Pudding Club booking form must contain at least one CSSC member, though all CSSC membership numbers should be quoted as a membership check against the database has to be made. Please make sure you complete the application form correctly and if in doubt, again, do get in touch with me first. For my information, could you please make it clear whether any of those attending have joined CSSC as a result of wishing to attend Pudding Club.
Prices held for 2016 for CSSC members!
The prices agreed for 2017 are as set out on the attached application form and are only slightly up on this year’s rates.The price increase in the two years between 2015 and 2017 is tiny.And it’s an even bigger saving if you stay two or more nights.
Please note that dinner on the Friday (or Sunday) night is not included, but I can strongly recommend the excellent hotel restaurant if you are staying for two or three nights. Anyone that wants to Mike and I for dinner on the Friday night is welcome and this has meant from 4 and up to 27 of us getting together for a very special dinner in the restaurant each time. The cost in 2016 was £39 per head for a set three course meal with several options at each course, plus coffee and homemade fudge, though you could just have two courses at about £33 per head. Alternatively, the bar menu in Randall’s Brasserie at the hotel is also well worth trying if you only want one course or something more casual.
Unfortunately, as with most hotels, a single room supplement is payable and this is charged at £18.50 per person per night. If you are on your own, but would prefer single occupancy use of a double or twin room, I can negotiate this slightly higher supplement for you – just get in touch with me first please. Again, should you want a family room, that can be arranged at a good price. Babysitting can be arranged on request. Whilst the evening is not exclusively adult, several people have asked about the attendance of children. The youngest child to attend our event so far was 7 though we’ve had several teenagers along the way. Bottom line is, are they comfortable in all adult company? The Pudding Club dinner and any accommodation will have to be paid for when booking as there are rarely rooms left to book nearer the time.
To secure a place, please return the booking form and your cheque as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can make full payment by debit / credit card to CSSC HO – about 2/3 of you did for this year’s event. To do this, you will have to ring the Event Team at CSSC HO on 01494 888439. Tell them the event code which is 3854, what it’s for and how much you want to pay. If you could let me know you’ve paid this way when sending / e-mailing me your form, that would be very helpful. I can then chase HO for confirmation, though they usually let me know anyway. Following difficulties in the past, please note that if you don't receive a booking acknowledgment from me within 2 weeks of sending your application, please contact me to make sure I've received it. It would be really helpful if you could also just send me a quick e-mail if you want me to reserve any places for a few days while you get others cheques together – how many and which event please. Given the current financial constraints on all of us, if it would help to pay the amount in two halves or post date a cheque to an agreed date ahead, then do get in touch with me to see what we can agree.
If you’re interested in the evaluation report from 2016 with all the comments attendees made, then please e-mail me for a copy. More information on the hotel and Pudding Club evenings is available on the hotel website – For more information, please contact me at home on the e-mail address or telephone number at the top of this letter. Please note that whilst an e-mailed booking form is OK, I still need payment confirm your booking.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Audrey Haskell
Organiser
Telephone: 01494 888427 Fax: 01494 888437 Email: Website:
Compton Court, 20-24 Temple End, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP13 5DR
Patron: H.R.H. THE DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER GCVO Chairman:ROBERT DEVEREUX KCB Chief Executive: SIMON LEE
Civil Service Sports Council Ltd. Registration Number 9685R. Established 1921