@Ílt @orrtßponùent July 1985
The "Not the Food and Beverage Committee" AT the first meeting of the new Board of the club on June 6, it was decided that a Management Liaison Committee should be set up to act as a sort of channel between members, the management
and the Board for members'views positive as well as negative - on the facilities and services of the club. The temptation to call this a Food
and Beverage Committee was resisted, since its brief will be wider than that and the last thing anybody on the Board wants to impose on itself or the management is a "recipe reception point." It is the view of the Board that the manager and staff, who are paid officials of the club, must be left to carry out
their duties in providing menus
and meals, as well as other services, without constant interference from the members
and the Board. Having said that, of course, the Board recognises the abso-
lute necessity for the consideration of constructive ideas as well as of complaints.
The Board had a long and at times reasonably heated debate on how the new committee was to function, what its duties would be and how it should start going about its business. The longest debate was over a suggestion that the committee, once it was constituted,
should seek, through the form
of
a
questionaire, the views of all members Committee Chairman, Graham
Hillier
on what was needed to improve the
club's services. The upshot of this was that is was decided that the committee would with some professionâl advice from Chris Minter, prepare a question-
aire
to
establish
the memberçhip's
attitude to the club and its facililios. It is hoped that it will be ready to $o out with the September issue of Thé Co¡respondent and all members oooperation will be much appreciated. f; , Possibly the most unrewarding job on the board - heading this Management Liaison Comittee - has been bravely undertaken by towering Graham Hillier of Reuters, who is just starting his second term as a governor. Recognising that he will need help, it was decided to add to the committee fiery Ian Findlay-
Brown, diplomatic David Miller and matinee-idol Russell Cawthorne. For their protection, it was decided that complaints/suggestions/praise etc from members should only be submitted in writing, and no members of the Board will discuss such matters at the bar. Cheers!
Sir Philip serves vinegar at lunch THE packed house that turned out to hear the wit and wisdom of Sir Philip
"There is a limit to the amount of
Haddon-Cave at the FCC on May 30 came away instead with a lesson in the powers and privileges of a luncheon
derogatory sarcasm and negative criticism that the system can withstand without partially disintegrating before the conversion process gets under wa¡" he
speaker.
said.
For the former Chief Secretary added an extra measure of vinegar to the mealtime fare by using what was billed as a lighthearted valedictory to his years in
government to throw more than a few barbs at the press, After pleading "Don't take me too seriousl¡" Sir Philip quickly moved into a lecture on the responsibilities or journalists reporting on a system in the midst of profound political transition.
To Sir Philip, journalists were often a muddlesome lot, happiest at "government bashing" and following the dictum (neatly laid to Cicero) that "If you have no news, write the f,rrst thing that comes into your head." He accused the press of putting two and two together to make seven, of in-
consistenc¡
of wanton
disregard for
cause/effect relationships and historical context, and of preferring semantics to
substance.
His remarks drew predictable rejoinders from the media establishment, including fhe Far Eastern Economic Review's Derek Davies who mused that enough "authoritarian straws" seemed to be wafting through Hong Kong these days to make "a communal haystack or two." But any club member intent on seiz-
ing the official bull by the horns and challenging Sir Philip directþ at the luncheon was to be disappointed: the ground rules ofhis appearance stipulated no questions.
After all, it
was
just in fun.