Chairman’s Comments • Allan Stevenson that farming is shielded from the worst of it as the nation ‘needs its food’. But some sectors have been badly hit and the added threats of a hard Brexit and a failure by the Government to support amendments from the House of Lords on the Agriculture Bill add more risks and worries to the list. At least it’s all ok in the USA! I also feel sorry for all our members who have been denied access to the many Farmers Club events and the camaraderie that we get from being in the Club with family, friends and colleagues; the networking and meeting new people. Staff You will see from the reports from our management team how tough this has been for those running the Club on our behalf and the financial impact on it. The experience of staying at the Club and its continuing hospitality remains excellent; I heard reports yesterday of some new members who have just had their first experience at the Club and loved every moment of it.
Chairman’s Comments “I must reach out to all our members and appeal to you to continue to support the Farmers Club. We need your membership and would welcome some new members too.”
WITH the continuing global pandemic dominating our lives daily, the contents of this Chairman’s Comments after six months of disruption and three months of complete closure of the Club, are necessarily and unfortunately very different from usual. Optimists Beware The last time I wrote to you was in July only two days after we had re-opened the Club to members, on a restricted basis, and I had a marvellous few days at the Club in the summer weather. I have managed two further visits since then, with an optimistic view of the way forward for the second half of the year. After the cancellation of the New Year Party, Harvest Festival service and so on at least we had one last set of meetings of the General Committee and our Committee Dinner to finally meet up and enjoy together after only Zoom calls since January; until this morning! London’s new restrictions have today forced a retreat to another dreaded Zoom meeting to discuss Club business and set a budget for 2021. Fortunately, some small events have been possible, and some are still in the calendar. But day to day changes in Government policy have made it very hard to make secure plans. At least we can still visit in a ‘family bubble’ as I understand it, so please do. By the time you read this no doubt London will be free from the Tier 2 chokehold and the bars and restaurants in my area in rural East Lothian will be open again. Trouble in the Country My heart goes out to you all as the level of restrictions on our liberty is increasing and causing terrible stress and pain to individual Club members and damage to many businesses. I’ve heard it said
Follow us on-line:
www.thefarmersclub.com
My thanks to all the staff under the leadership of Andrei and Virginia who have coped with everything so well, and to them in particular for addressing the continuing overcapacity and allied costs of the Club. They conducted the necessary operational restructuring and took the opportunity to build on the strengths of some key team members by creating new and different roles and I congratulate those who have stepped up to their new positions with cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Membership As we approach 2021 and I prepare to hand over the baton of the Club Chairman role to my friend Keith Redpath, from Kelso, I must reach out to all our members and appeal to you to continue to support the Farmers Club. We need your membership and would welcome some new members too. Please nominate someone from the farming community for 2021 and also keep the Under 30s membership growing from strength to strength. They are our future. Looking Forward It would seem that our challenges with COVID will continue into next year, to some degree, and without any certainty in our operating environment we can only keep close to and support the strong team at the Farmers Club and visit as much as we are able to. At home we can all find comfort from nature in our rural environments. Walking with dogs in the countryside can be a wonderful respite from the daily news from the miserable media and Alison and I are fortunate to have amazing beaches and golf clubs at the door at home. Even in a Scottish winter there is much to enjoy in our natural world. #Comeback2021
@thefarmersclub
The Farmers Club Page
www.thefarmersclub.com • 03
