STRIVE MIGHTILY, BUT EAT AND DRINK AS FRIENDS
Fence Club
ANNUAL REVIEW 2022/23
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Contents 3 - Chairman’s address 4 - List of members and Wall members 5 - New Members 6 - Treasury Accounts 8 - AGM 10 - Chairman’s Curry Night 11 - Wall Members Lunch 12 - Christmas Ball 16 - Toy Fair Party 18 - Wall Members Walk 19 - Donation Guidelines 20 - Spring Dinner 22 - Fence Club Golf 24 - Autumn Dinner 26 - Chairman’s Walk 28 - Donations in Action
Diary Dates 2023/24 2023
Wall Members Lunch: (non-official function) Friday 1st December. Da Mario Restaurant, Covent Garden Christmas Ball: (official function) Saturday 2nd December. Hilton London Metropole Hotel, Edgeware Road.
2024
Toy Fair Party: (official function) Wednesday 24th January. The Ricco Lounge, Kensington Spring Dinner: (official function) Thursday 2nd May Location TBA
Golf Day: (official function) Thursday 13th June. Oakdale Golf Club, Harrogate. Chairmans Autumn Curry Night: (official function) Thursday 3rd October. Roti Chai. AGM and AGM Dinner: (official function) Thursday 7th November. The Army and Navy Club
Special thanks to Michael Angel for the photography and Toys ‘n’ Playthings for the production of this review
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CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS
Gone in a flash! (When Joe called me boss!!) Current Chairman Mr. Simon Anslow end of year Address
W
ell, there you go, the year has come and gone in a flash! It has been an Honour and Privilege to serve as your Chairman of the Fence Club in 2022/2023. Work begins well before you become chairman and for me it started in the April as we were potentially looking for a new venue as costs were starting to escalate at the Marriotts Grosvenor Square Hotel, we didn’t get it over the line for my term. July arrives and you get a call from Ian Dayus to arrange a date for menu tasting for the Christmas Ball which we did in early August, sampling a selection of starters, mains and puddings washed down with some nice wine. Ian then gives you a list of what was needed for the Christmas ball including themes, etc, and what entertainment do we require. We chose We will Rock you and the Marching band. Love them or hate them but my 40 guests loved them! A big thank you to my dad, Robert Anslow, who has been a member for 41 years, and who I work for, as he funded the Christmas Ball. It was a fantastic night in my opinion. The weekend starts on the Thursday with the Chairmans Curry night, and the Friday is the Wall members lunch which is a special lunch and get the chance to meet up with members who have worked in the toy industry for many decades, to either meet them for the first time or to have a catch up since you last saw them.
The workload thankfully drops off for me at Toy Fair time after working away for 19 days for the Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair, but unfortunately it turned into a headache for Ian Dayus as the band booked for the Toy Fair Party cancelled at the last minute and poor Ian had to try and find a replacement which he did. In the Spring workload starts to increase for me and the golf sub-committee as we start to prepare for the Fence Club Golf Day, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. And what a day and night it was, once again raising over £30,000 for children’s charities.
“We visited Moor Park for the Spring Dinner, an excellent night, fantastic food and a brilliant after dinner speaker in John McCarthy who gave us a detailed account of being a hostage in Lebanon for over 5 years” Before the Golf we visited Moor Park for the Spring Dinner, an excellent night, fantastic food and a brilliant after dinner speaker in John McCarthy who gave us a detailed account of being a hostage in Lebanon for over 5 years. My final event for an official function as Chairman was onboard HMS Belfast for the Autumn Dinner
Unfortunately, both Spring and Autumn events failed to attract the numbers that the Fence Club needs to at least break even, and what is a shame is there are only 6 official events in the Fence Club’s year and there’s a growing number of members who didn’t make it to at least 3 of these (50%) that is required as per what we all agreed to when joining the Fence Club. Hopefully in the coming years we can find more attractive events that members look forward to attending and to keep this great club going forward, and in turn, raise more money for the children. Finally, I would like to thank the committee for their tireless work throughout the year who go above and beyond, making the Fence Club year the best it can be. Only a few weeks ago I completed my last event as Chairman, my Chairmans Challenge. A group of members, friends and family, including my son, joined me to walk a stretch of the Normandy Landing Beaches. I couldn’t have finished my year on a bigger high. It was simply the best. The camaraderie, fun, laughs, and effort put in was what the Fence Club is all about, and what makes us so special. It’s now time to pass the baton from the Black Country to a Yorkshireman and have all that weight around his neck wearing the Chairmans Chain, it might need a new hinge and bracket! Good luck Jon and have fun!
A Welcome from incoming Chairman Jon Gregory
F
irst of all a big thanks to Simon for his fabulous work this year in his reign as Chairman. We’ve had some amazing functions, starting with the Christmas ball & running right through to the Autumn dinner at HMS Belfast. As I now move into the “Chair”, a real honor following the footsteps of many
legendary industry figures. As we move into 2024, the world as we all know is a changing place. We at the Fence club are aiming to move with the times & see some changes to forthcoming events, this said its important we keep traditions, starting with the Christmas Ball in December. The only true Toy Industry event, a chance to get dressed up & dance the night away, perfect event to spend fun time with Colleagues, business partners, family & friends.
Thanks to all members for your anticipated support at the events planned in 2024. Then to all members of the committee who put in a great deal of time, effort & expense to bring to us all a fantastic, all inclusive & prestigious club. Who deliver many thousands of pounds to Children & their families who are in need of support in the challenging times we all live through. Lets make 2024 a rip roarer & raise as much as we can “For the Children”.
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Members List Amy Saunders Andrea Gornall Becky Matthews Dave Martin David Martin David Bramford Dawn Lavalette Derek Scott Francesca Lisle Gerald McKay Graham Gardner Ian Faulkner Jacqueline Taylor-Foo James Triptree John Baulch John Hutt Jon Gregory Jonathan Nurse Linda Osborne Lisa Morgan Marc Sivner Marianne James
New Member PC Asst Charity Secretary & immediate past Chairman New Member Assistant Secretary Commitee Member
Committee Member PC Vice Chairman
New Member
Mark Naish Mary Wood Michele Bates Mitch Levene Nic Adridge Nick Saunders Nicola Bergot Paul Fogerty Paul Reader Peter Cassidy Richard Keel Roger Robinson Sara Taylor Sarah Dayus Simon Anslow Simon Cox Simon Pilkington Steve Ireland Steve Wells Stuart Grant Sue Barratt Will Collinson
Committee Member
Committee Member
PC New Member New Member Chairman
PC Secretary
Wall Members Alan Baxter Alan Munn Andrew Laughton Bill Cornelius Bill Dowle Brian Gray Ciaran Fitzpatrick Clive Crouch Clive Jones David Bottomley David Bowman David Howard David Lipman David Welsh Denis Horton Gary Grant Geoff Smith Graham Canning Ian Dayus Ian Edmunds Jim Andrews Joe Kissane John Athwal OBE John Howson
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PC PC PC
PC PC
Honorary Member
PC PC PC PC PC
Social Secretary Honorary Member Charity Secretary Treasurer
Jon Salisbury Keith Elmer Ken Wallman Kevin Jones Malcolm Cook Malcolm Naish Mark Collinson Michael Angel Mike Redfearn Nigel Seary Peter Brennan Peter Otley Peter Brown Philip Morris Philip Richardson Richard Body Richard Levy Robert Anslow Roger Dyson Ronnie Yaffe Sir Torquil Norman Steve Wilks Terry Padgett
PC PC PC
Honorary Member
PC
Honorary Member
PC PC PC
Honorary Member
PC PC PC
Honorary Member Honorary Member Honorary Member
PC
PC = Past Chairman Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends
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New Members Marianne James Marianne has spent 15 years in licensing and consumer products with Viacom/Paramount and now Hasbro where she heads up Licensing for EMEA and Asia. Marianne loves to travel and experience, and embrace, new cultures and diversities. Mum to two little boys, aged 2 and 4 so life is constantly full on!
Sarah Dayus Started career at Harrods on the graduate scheme, learning the ropes of retail management in a fast paced fashion environment. Joined the toy industry in 2012, working for Great Gizmos, a Dayus family business. The company sources fun and educational toys and gifts and supplies to all different types of retail outlets. Became the Sales Director of the business in 2020 and thoroughly enjoys being part of the toy industry.
Becky Matthews My experience in the toy industry began with my own online toy business. I sold that business in 2007 but I loved the industry too much to walk away from it. That’s when I joined Golden Bear as a Digital Executive, working my way into the sales department where I had a variety of exciting roles. This led to me recruiting our own inhouse digital marketing team in 2019. My current role is Sales and Marketing Director; overseeing the brand, marketing, and sales departments who have recently transitioned into one team.
Dawn Lavalette After graduating from Birmingham University, I rose through the ranks across 2 of the biggest UK Grocers (Sainsbury’s and Tesco) Holding senior roles heading up different functions that included buying, merchandising, and supply chain across a broad category base including meat and fish, electrical, stationery, and where my heart lay, in toys and nursery. I joined Wow! Stuff as commercial Director in 2018 moving to become Managing Director in 2023. A business that thrives on innovation with boundless energy, it’s been a wonderful transition. I also hold a second position (the most important one!) as a full-time mum to a crazy, loveable six year old, Harry.
Sara Taylor I Joined the toy industry late 1990 as a Field Rep for Kenner Parker Tonka and I’m still here 33 years later! Held various sales, licensing, marketing and international distribution roles at Mattel, Funrise, Spin Master and more latterly as UK MD at MGA Entertainment. Fluent in German and French, I hold a Private Pilot’s License, and love skiing and sailing holidays with husband Pierre and his two grown up “children”.
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2022 AGM
First Covid stopped us getting together for the AGM and then thanks to the train drivers strike we had to have the AGM remotely for the second time in three years! Still a good time was had by all
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Chairmans Curry Night With the trains finally running again the Chairman’s Curry night kicked off the Christmas events in style
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Wall members lunch Honouring the Wall Members which saw a surprise appearance of the missing in action David Lipman!
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The Christmas Ball
The last Christmas Ball at the Marriott was a great success with a lot of money raised and possibly the shortest Chairmans address in the clubs history, something many would probably like to see repeated!
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Toy Fair Party Despite the band letting us down the day before requiring a last minute replacement, 180 members and guests partied into the night showing no sign of having worked a long day at the Toy Fair. A raffle and some unexpected entertainment from some of our guests raised over £5,000 for the charity.
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There’s Still Life in The Old Dog Yet! Inspired by last year’s Chairmans Walk around Windsor, five of our young Wall members wanted to represent the more experienced members amongst us and repeat last year’s performance. Keith Elmer, Kevin Jones, Graham Canning, Lordy Laughton, and Michael Angel pulled on their walking boots to tackle the 25km course,
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complete with hills and lots of puddles. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t quite as bad as forecast, which probably means after a few pub stops, they managed to get wetter inside than out, but it was very wet under foot. Well done gents. After 25km and £10k for charity you should make this, or something similar, an annual event!
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Guidelines for financial donations The Fence Club will support the following:• Helping ‘disadvantaged’ children up to the age of 16 and their families • Projects where the Fence Club can make a big difference, with a small amount of investment, including building projects to enhance the environment for the children • Applications from organisations based in the UK & Ireland • Requests that come via or on behalf of a registered charity or community organisation • Recomendations from Fence Club Members subject to an audit from a GPC member • Donations to an individual not registered as a charity which are specific to a life enhancing need e.g. Converted tricycle for a severely handicapped child will be subject to an audit by a member of the GPC before the application is presented to the GPC The Fence Club will not support the following;• Donations to organisations concerned with animals • Donations to fund-raising charities • Overseas applications • Any form of advertising in souvenir brochures for a charity dinner or any goodwill advertising messages in any other sort of publication • Scout/Guide/Playgroup fund-raising activities as they are not specific to children with either disability or disadvantaged needs • Funds for adult charities • Salaries for charity employees or care assistants
All donations must be supported by the majority of the GPC. All applications will be considered at the Quarterly GPC Meetings.
Charity Mission Statement ‘To raise money predominantly from, but not limited to, Fence Club Members, their associated companies and others and to distribute the money raised to disadvantaged & disabled children’s charities.’
Methodology A limited number of events and other fund-raising activities will be held annually to include, but are not limited to, the following:• Fence Club Golf Day • Christmas Ball • Various Raffles & Auctions
The allocation of funds The role of the General Purposes Committee is to allocate money to the most deserving charities and to coordinate the fund-raising events with assistance from the Fence Club Membership.
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Spring Dinner at Moor Park... If you wanted a special night that you couldn’t get without being a member, then the Spring dinner didn’t disappoint. Moor Park Mansion, the historic building that was used in planning of Operation Market Garden (battle of Arnhem) was a fabulous venue. A big thanks has to go to Denis Horton member and treasurer of Moor Park for helping secure this amazing venue. We were also treated to a moving and powerful speaker Mr John McCarthy CBE, the UK’s longestheld hostage in Lebanon. He was kidnaped and held prisoner by Islamic Jihad for more than five years. His positivity in the face of terrible adversity captivated us all.
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In true fence club style we showed respect to John, however his fun relaxed style ensured the Q&A’s were both fun and moving. In a cheeky exchange with Mr Bowman we even found out about his relationship with Jill Morell. Jill was a real tabloid favourite in the day. A fun night, some great member banter including Mr Lordy Laughton, claims and protests about being the youngest of all Wall members. It can be a hard life in toys.
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Fence Club Golf
Over £30,000 raised for Fence Club’s charities The 50th anniversary of the Fence Club golf day could not have wished for better weather, that saw over 60 industry golfers taking part. This was the biggest amount raised for the golf day and fitting that it was our 50th anniversary of the golf day. With Jon Gregory organizing the fines, Chairman Simon Anslow organizing the raffle and Steve Wells most expertly handling the auction, this amazing amount was the result.
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Our thanks to all those generous souls for giving the various auction prizes, although as Joe Kissane said “They weren’t really prizes, as people paid for them”. Fence Club Chairman Simon Anslow headed up the sub-committee that organised a fantastic day.
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All ‘aboard’ the Fence Club Autumn Dinner The Fence club are happy to share on Thursday 7th September, a group of 40 members and their guests gathered to join another successful Fence Club event at a very special venue, The HMS Belfast. One of London’s iconic venues located on the river Thames. Everyone enjoyed stunning views, unique to the location including the beautiful Tower Bridge. Dinner was held in the private Morgan Giles Room, with predrinks on the deck watching the busy bustle of the south bank on a gorgeous summer evening,
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followed by much laughter and frivolity and a chance to catch up with many industry friends and family. Simon Anslow, Chairman of the Fence club said, ‘another memorable Fence club function on Board the HMS Belfast, a great night had by all and a chance to network whilst enjoying good food and company at a location you don’t experience very often’. Thanks to Ian Dayus once again for organising and to all those members who were able to support and helped make it such a fun evening!
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Chairman’s Walk The Normandy Walk
The team included the Chairman, Vice Chairman, next year’s Vice Chair and three past Chairman headed out to Normandy for this year’s Fence Club Chairmans Challenge, walking The Normandy Landing Beaches. The route started at Omaha Beach American Cemetery and finished 29km later at the New British Memorial at Gold Beach. Over the whole weekend many historical sites were also visited, and much respect was paid to those who made the ultimate
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sacrifice for our freedom. “We may not have conquered the beaches with the impact of 79 years ago, but we certainly felt the history and camaraderie”. A huge thank you to all those who donated in support and raising funds for the charity. Chairman Simon Anslow commented “My year as Chairman is almost at an end. I couldn’t have thought of a better way of completing my term. Thank you for everyone’s support”.
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Donations in action A few of the kind words from those charity’s that benefited by the actions of the Fence Club. Money raised making a real difference!
In September 2022, we were delighted to receive tion costs of duc pro our s ard tow 0 £2,00 lti-sensory mu a st’, Bea the ‘Beauty and young and n pantomime for childre and ties cul diffi g rnin lea h people wit s. physical disabilitie know what I am writing to let you made and n atio don the a difference oyed the how much everyone enj performance. make our Donations such as yours special needs’ the hin wit le sib pos rk wo like to convey community and would everyone at The our heartfelt thanks to b. Fence Clu
THANK YOU fo r your generous grant of £2,500 which will allow us to move forward with the Common Fl ora Project – THAN K YOU. We are truly grateful for the confidence that you have shown in work that we do the and appreciate your support.
getting in so much for THANK YOU from you eat to hear touch, it’s gr onderful w ch with su – especially ANK YOU t begin to TH news. I can’ gh for ou en ee mitt and the Com we are t, ued suppor your contin this news ith w ed ht lig forward absolutely de ok lo d an the g in tt to pu od £3,087 to go next e th er ov use s. th few mon once THANK YOU ur yo r fo again pport. generous su
On behalf of the young people The Fence Club has supported, we would like to say a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU AGAIN! Your 2022 grant donation of £2,200 turned apprehension into confidence and sadness into smiles, helping young people who went on a Go Beyond break from JanuaryMarch 2023 to believe in a bigger, brighter future. The holiday breaks provided them with the opportunity to laugh, play and conquer their fears for the confidence to take on the world. Go Beyond has had a very rewarding partnership with The Fence Club and we are extremely grateful. You make it possible to give children and young people a break that lasts a lifetime.
Your 2022 donation of £4,026 made a significan t impact on the developm ent of our accessible play park, providing a safe and inclusive space where children with life-limitin g conditions can engage in stimulating play activit ies that promote their phy sical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. Your contribution goes beyond the tangible materials. It is a testam ent to the unwavering support and dedication of organisations like The Fence Club that enable s us to provide these invalu able experiences and create cherished memories for our children and families. Your support has brough t immeasurable joy and countless smiles to the faces of the children and fam ilies in our care. THANK YO U.
THANK YOU for t of your generous gif r ou s rd wa to 4 £1,29 Unity Sunday Club s of indoor activitie for the purchase me ur he yo Sc r fo ity ful Un d an so grate uipment. We are entertainment eq ly appreciated as support! e Trustees is huge th m fro ilies t or pp su The of children and fam nsform the lives g and lin ab en as it allows us to tra ll we ng challenges, as y or facing life impacti learning disabilit g people with a un yo g rin empowe le nerosity of peop autism. thanks to the ge is th t do or ly pp on su n to ca We continuing THANK YOU for like you – a huge our work.
THANK YOU so much for your recent grant of £3,000 towards the purchase of an Acheeva Learning Station Chair. The generosity of charities like The Fence Club means we can provide specialist care and vital support to over 150 babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and their families. Your support is invaluable.
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