Letter from the Chairman

From the Chairman

Members

Here we are at the end of another calendar year. We approach it with enormous gratitude but also with some trepidation.

Gratitude for the fact that the Club is in remarkably good shape. The finances are on a sure footing and usage is very healthy. As Chairman I am grateful to every member of staff, to the management and of course to each of you as Members for that fact. I am also very grateful for all the time put in by our many committees at all levels: a very worthy band of volunteers with nothing but the Club’s interests at their hearts.

Trepidation because the blight of Covid still hangs over us globally. I do not want to rehash here everything we read about or watch on the news on a daily basis, other than to say that as a Club we will comply with our legal obligations to ensure that the Club is able to continue to offer the Membership what it wants. Given the fact that Covid still looms over us I would just ask you all to be respectful and vigilant towards it. So, in the Club context, please continue to comply with the protocols and the reality is, regardless of where you might stand on this highly emotive and divisive subject, that we are moving towards an era of vaccination certificates.

You may have read the announcement I made recently about the fact that we will not be renewing Christian Vater’s contract, which ends on 15th March 2022. We are extraordinarily grateful to Christian for the way that he has managed and led the Club through the most trying period in its 108 year history. He has done that with great aplomb, panache and very evident passion and enthusiasm. However, we have decided that we need to look for a person who is a specialist in hospitality to take the Club forward. Christian will continue to be the Club Secretary until 15th March 2022. Please continue to support him and his team.

So, in closing, I ask you to look back on this past year and reflect on the enjoyment you may have derived from the Club – it might be a memorable function you attended, a wonderful lunch you enjoyed in the finest company, or even a particular dish you enjoyed on a particular day. It might be a serve delivered on the tennis courts that demolished your opponent or a joke delivered in the bar that left the assembled throng in stitches, or a friendship or relationship that burgeoned because of the exquisite environment you found yourselves in or, at the other end of the spectrum, a sombre gathering to remember departed friends. All of these experiences come together to create the wonderful Club that is so dear to all of us.

Warmest compliments of the Season. Please enjoy yourselves, the Club has laid in its usual festive fayre for us all to enjoy, but also stay safe, particularly for those travelling on the roads that become so treacherous at this time of year.

My best wishes to you and your families.

Philip Coulson, Chairman, Muthaiga Country Club