19/04/2013 13:02:00

3 Cheers

April 2013

3 Cheers Final Fling

Area Bleatings

So here it is girls, our last 3 Cheers

edition! As I it here typing I have

mixed feelings, sad to see the last

edition going to print, but optimistic

that we will continue to share our

stories by other social media and the

National magazine. For anyone out

there who is not a member of the

Area 3 Facebook team please find us

and join. I hope that we can use this

to share our events, stories and

photos, and maybe in the future we

will be in a position to restore 3

Cheers.

This the last edition is jam packed

with stories, memories and lots and

lots of photos for you to remember,

some you may have forgotten all

about, We have thoughts from some

of our past Area Chairs, retelling

the tales and antics they got up to

during their year of office. I hope

you enjoy the read.

So may I take the opportunity to

thank everyone who has contributed

to the magazine over the last “I

don’t know how many years” , we

have all laughed along the way and

shared stories and ideas across the

Area. Also thank you to those this

year who have sent me your details,

I have been privileged to be the

first one to read all your Circle

gossip! I have had the luxury of

email, but to those who brought this

publication to life in earlier years

without the aid of t’internet, I really

do admire you! I appreciate all the

work that goes into the publication

and I must thank all those Circles

who have supplied me with the

articles and photos, without these

there wouldn’t have been a 3 Cheers.

Also to Victoria who has patiently

helped me out with technical issues

on the publishing side of things and

to my family for supporting me when

I have monopolized the computer for

several days at a time and pulled me

back from the brink of chucking it

through the window a couple of

occasions!

So sit back, read and enjoy your 3

Cheers and celebrate the

achievements of our Fabulous

Area 3!

Jo’s Report

Well well well ladies, I cannot

believe this is my last 3 Cheers

report and the very last 3 Cheers

ever!!! As ever we, a Forward

thinking area have to be realistic

to meet the needs of our members

and basically not many individual

circles contribute to the online mag

and each year it becomes a

challenge to recruit individuals to

the area exec (although it doesn't

appear that way this year!!). We

were the only remaining area to

have a magazine and we felt our

energy could be put into sharing

our good times with National in

the circle mag instead. So as

proposed & agreed at the last

meeting this will be our last 3

Cheers, I will give it my Fond

Farewell for the last copy. I do

urge you though to keep Area 3 in

the lime light and send your

articles to the national mag.

I do have some

very exciting news

for you all though,

Hallamshire Ladies Circle is to re

open on the 16th April 2013 and

will be part of Area 3. I have been

in email contact with Meg the new

chair and her team of 5 members

who are enthusiastic and want to

learn all about Area 3. I have a

prior engagement on the 16th so

exec member Judith will be

attending the opening and

celebrations on my behalf. (She

may give us a little update at the

meeting, even better we may meet

some of them at the meeting).

I have continued to have a

Fabulous, Fantastic, Fun time as

your area chair, organising my

main Fundraising event with the

exec has been my main Focus since

we last met. By the time you read

this the event Fizz and Fillies will

have taken place, I will be able to

report back to you at the April

meeting. I can for sure say now we

will have a Fabulous, Fun time

there is no doubt.

So ladies what have I been up to!!!

Well I joined weight watchers and

after a Flying start the recent

weeks of 'full on circling' are

proving to be a challenge!!! Did you

know there are 18.5 points in a

bottle of Fizz? I am only allowed

26 in a day, but my motto is Fat

Free For more Fizz. I also passed

my second assignment on the

course I told you about, only one

more to go now.

I want to thank Jazz and Julie

once again for their Fabulous

auctioneer skills and helping us

raise just over £100 for the YAA,

thanks also go to all of you who

had to change your plans due to

the weather, I really did

appreciate it, thank you. I was

originally on call the night we had

the meeting so arranged for a

colleague to cover me but she could

only do till midnight, so I arrived

back home after our auction

buzzing as usual, only to get into

bed for 45 minutes and was called!!!

That was me up working for the

rest of the night but the Fun we

had had at the meeting kept me

smiling till day break.

I attended Round Table Ladies

Evening with my husband and

plenty of you in February, it was

Fabulous to see so many of past

and present members of Area 3. As

ever we laughed and danced the

night away. February was also

the month of the National Council

meeting, please see my separate

report as we had so much Fun it

deserves it's own write up.

I have attended a NERL

committee meeting, the team are

well on their way to organising a

Fantastic do for everyone whilst

making Area 3 proud. Fun Fun

Fun!!!!!

As usual I have remained active

with my own circle, we have had 2

attempts to visit Boundary Mills

and each time the snow stopped

play!!!

I attended Batley AGM on the 23rd

March and witnessed our very

own exec member Kimberly

Thirkill become chairman for

2013/14, followed by a lovely meal

and some great conversation.

I along with Claire Cunnington,

Becky Stansfield from Halifax and

Victoria Porritt our VP attended

the NWIRL Saturday 5th April, we

had an early start at 9am to make

the train journey, the Fizz started

to Flow not long after that and it

continued for the rest of the day. I

will just tell you here before

anyone else does, I did Fail to keep

up the Fizz all day and had to take

coffee on the journey home, but

only because Claire had brought

some shortbread biscuits and they

went well with coffee!!! We also had

nibbles at the station with a Gin

and Tonic whilst waiting For the

train, all in all we had a Fabulous,

Fun day with Friends, Food, Fizz

and Frothy coffee, wearing a

Frock, Fancy shoes and a

Fascinator, that's what it's all

about ladies.

Marj our National President

reminded me in her speech that

stress is for work, Ladies Circle is

for Fun, so if you are Feeling tired

because its the end of your year as

chairman, remember someone else

is very excited as they start theirs,

if you Feeling Fed up because your

circle is loosing members then stop

your worries and put your energy

into the Fun of circle and make the

most of what you have, if we all

concentrate on making our own

Fun, sharing other people's and

supporting each other we will

continue to grow and strive well

into the Future.

By the time you read

this I will have attended

Rothwell, Sitlington,

Penistone and Halifax's

AGM and I am sure I

will have a Fantastic time at them

all. I am definitely not going to be

slimmer of the month am I???

I hope you will continue to support

me till my Final Farewell at the

handover dinner in June, which as

always will be a Fabulous Evening.

May I take this opportunity to

thank all the chairman For their

hardworking during the year and

their Fantastic Fundraising, and

wish all the new chairman For

2013/14 all the very best, enjoy

your year it goes so quickly.

Jo x

Vice Chairs Report

Firstly, with my ex publicity

officer hat on...

So, this is the final 3 Cheers? It

certainly feels like the end of an

era and I’m sure many of you, like

me, can remember reading it as a

black and white photocopied

pamphlet at Circle meetings. How

times have changed! With so many

of us sharing our photos and news

online, a magazine that comes out

just four times a year starts to look

rather quaint. I loved my two

years as publicity officer for Area

3 and I’m proud that our little

magazine was still going after all

the other area newsletters and

magazines had gone. I was the

person who turned 3 cheers digital

to save money and I know some of

you missed being able to read it in

the bath but it meant we could

hang on to it for a little while

longer. Of course, the Circler is still

going if we want to see ourselves in

print and we all have our little

corners of the National website.

Many, if not most, of our Circles

are on Facebook and we are

starting to take to twitter. If we

want to attract young members,

we have to go where they are and

engage with them on their terms so

‘share’, ‘like’ and ‘comment’ ‘follow’,

‘tweet’ and ‘retweet’ to spread the

news about your Circle!

Now, wearing my Membership

hat...

I wasn’t feeling thrilled about

reporting membership figures this

year. As ever, we have gained a

few new members across Area 3

but we have also lost some and

things were looking a bit flat really

but then..... exciting news!

We have a new Circle in Area 3!

Woohoo!!!

Hallamshire Ladies Circle in

Sheffield re-chartered on 16th April

and will be part of Area 3. I’m so

delighted to welcome them to our

happy corner of the Ladies Circle

world.

Finally, in my Vice Chairman’s

hat...

I’ve still got lots to do before Jo

hands that chain to me in June but

it’s really not long until I’m Area

Chairman...eek! Luckily it looks like

I’m going to have a brilliant team

around me so it should be a great

year of fun and friendship for all

of us... and after all, that’s what

Circle’s all about! Victoria

Ladies Evening

I've had the honour and privilege to be

Chair of Halifax Ladies Circle 3 times so

although the brief was a sentence on

what it meant to be Chair I reckon I get

at least 3 sentences!

Each time was totally different but

equally brilliant - the first time there

were only 5 of us (including honorarys)

and we helped Round Table host the

Euro Weekend (entertaining 50+

Europeans) and I was so exhausted

from cleaning my house we abandoned

any fundraising. In my second and third

years as Chair we raised money for the

Laura Crane Trust and Girl Guiding to

send "underprivileged" guides to the

World Jamboree in ....Leeds! In terms

of Fun my best memory has to be sat in

T's hot tub in Filey in the rain with Fizz

and our Guide Neckers on at our "Guide

Camp". However for me the best thing

about being Chair of Halifax Ladies

Circle has been the Friendship - always

unstinting and always there in

abundance whatever the task, the job,

the need. Claire

The photograph is of Sarah, Tracy and myself

in Feelay when I gained a vice and a vice vice

in one night!

I felt over the last few years we'd struggled for

a vice let alone a vice vice so I was particularly

delighted that Sarah and Tracy stepped up.

Hands up - I was a reluctant Chair and I

certainly wasn't a vice.

It was a fab moment for me as Chair as it

made me more enthusiastic in trying to recruit

and drive on to raise a good amount for my

year.

I'm really proud of

Halifax Ladies Circle

and what it has given

me during my time as a

member and although I feel I had a really good

year personally as Chair it would not have

been possible without all of Halifax supporting

me in one way or another.

YIF Carol

At the AGM which had me coming in as Chair,

Halifax Ladies became 'Bondettes'. Thankfully, this

didn't involve us throwing ourselves out of any

planes !! Our mission for the year was 'bonding'.

'ing' being eating, chatting, laughing, supporting,

walking, laughing, drinking and oh yes

laughing!! We tried shopping a couple of times but

alas it was 'snowing'.

Mission nearly accomplished. Sarah Chignell

Memories from Halifax Circle

I have loved being part of

ladies circle, where I have

been honoured to be Halifax

chair twice. My favourite

memories include numerous

balls and ladies lunches

where I was introduced to

lovely people,wine and food.

Family camping weekends have

been such fun, as has the

many 'races for life' and I

was deeply moved when

representing circle whilst

laying a wreath at the towns

cenotaph. I am so proud of

circle and the money we

raise, its good to

give 'something back' whilst

having such great

times. Sharron Manning

I was chair of Halifax Ladies Circle

2007-8 the year they were 60!!! that

made it extra special. We

celebrated with afternoon tea,

circlers old and new got together to

chat and remember. It also gave me

the opportuity to look back over the

old minutes and share some of the

activities Halifax LC got up to in the

early days. The whole experience of

being chair was

amazing, we had a

charity ball, a photo shoot, joined

round table in camping and raft

building. by the end of my year my

husband had decided to join table

and my best friend jioned ladies

circle and we have never looked back

since. Jo

When I announced as chair of Halifax

Ladies Circle that I was going to have a

musical theatre themed year, we almost

saw a sudden decline

in membership.

But with the help of a

strong supporting

cast, we managed to

raise enough money

to support a local

youngster who was

struggling to fund his

way through theatre

school in London.

Just like all good

musicals, my year

was full of so many magical moments –

and I didn’t even break a leg!

Helen

February Council Meeting 2013

The council meeting attended by

myself on your behalf, Jane

Walne from Penistone and my

very own fill fax friend Claire

Cunnington, gave us chance to

preview the national conference

hotel in Harrogate. Alex Roberts

our very own LCLC for conference

joined us for an hour at the end

of her National Conference

meeting.

January meeting we felt well

prepped for the event.

MMM or should I say FFFFFF didn't

help that Jane and I arrived just 2

seconds before the starter was

served, Claire already chilled from

her afternoon of shopping and

chillaxing. The meal was lovely and

we moved between courses to meet

new circlers and chat to different

people.

As you can see from the photo's we

entered the true spirit of our Area 3

Post Christmas auction, it should

come as no surprise to you we had

appropriate hat wear for the

occasion, well I was with

Claire who has something for every

occasion however this was not

necessarily my favourite Fascinator.

It is fair to say at this point there

was definitely some posh tat at the

national auction, but not to worry I

took a bag of area 3 left over tat

and we soon felt at home. As ever

there was those in the audience

who bought more tat than others.

There was also

In fact ladies Claire and I were

special guests!!!! The word has

got out!!! Area 3's very own tat

auction for charity is famous in

the world of Ladies Circle. We

were invited to do a tat auction

on the Friday evening to raise

money for the miscarriage

association. Unfortunately Jaz

and Julie were unable to attend

so it was left down to Claire and

myself. Having taken notes at

our

tat (well not really tat) that had been stolen from our National Presidents

home and put up for auction, having recognized this the biding became

exciting between LC and RT National Presidents, Jason did pay (notice I

didn't say won) the most but he did bring it to the meeting the next day as a

gift for Marj. We raised over £200 in less than an hour and put area 3 on the

circle map for auctioneers.

It was following the auction in the hotel bar where I found my new love for

Drambuie, introduced to

this marvelous after dinner drink by our very own Jane Walne just one was

not enough, in fact a few hours later with not many hours left till the meeting

started at 9am, I felt this was my new found love. Singing our way to bed,

feeling chillaxed I had no cares in the world. However, I woke shortly after in

a red hot room, feeling over heated, and fainted on the way to the bathroom

(now that's a new F), my room mate and Drambuie partner rushed up to help

and support me making sure I was okay!!! Oh sorry I got that bit slightly

mixed up, I meant to say my roommate Jane slept through the whole

incident, even the huge bang of my head on the wardrobe doors did not

awaken her!!! Anyway I spent the next hour sleeping on the bathroom floor

(a tip I learnt from my best friend aka

Halifax chair Sarah) woke up and climb back into bed.

It all felt like it happened in minutes as before we knew we were up for

breakfast (well I didn't feel like eating, just water!!!!) and a meeting that

started at 9am. However we did better than some, other circle friends from

across the Pennines didn't even make to bed till 6am so I reckon We were

quite well behaved, and if you think different I will just say I did it for Area 3.

The business from the council meeting I will bring to the area meeting

Elland Archery Evening

Every year, Elland Ladies Circle and Elland

Tangent indulge in a little friendly rivalry. We

take it in turns to challenge one another to all

manner of things, from giant Jenga or musical

quizzes to silly games or flower arranging. This

time it was Tangent’s turn to make the

arrangements and nobody knew quite what to

expect. We were simply told to wear

comfortable clothes and flat shoes and meet in

the big function room at Blackley Baptist

Church. Having battled our way past towering

snowdrifts, we were welcomed by the sight of

two archery targets and the smiling face of

Sohail, our instructor. Luckily, he is a very

patient man, and equally luckily, he had

brought a couple of ‘junior’ bows with him as

we struggled with the full size ones! After a

couple of shots to get the feel for what we were

doing, it was competition time. Six arrows each,

shot over two rounds, would decide the

victors. Anita was in charge of scoring and she

worked out the average score for Circle and

Tangent. As you can see from the scoring

sheet, it could hardly have been closer.

Tangent’s score was 26.06 but Circle just

pipped them with an average score of 26.66!

After the serious matter of the competition, we

attempted to burst balloons attached to the

targets. By now some of the girls were shooting

with

deadly

accuracy (not me, I hasten to add!) It was a

really enjoyable evening and all we have to do

now is decide what to challenge Tangent to

next year!.

Past Chairmans Report

Well, the time has come for me to fall of the end of the table. I can’t believe

how quickly my five years on Area Exec have gone!

From the time Sine Kidd asked me if I fancied being Area Secretary to being a

‘Past It’ this year, I have had a fantastic time. As Sine’s secretary, I found out

how Area and National works and also came out of my comfort zone when I was

chained to a friend and was dropped off in the middle of nowhere for her

‘Jailbreak’! As Helen’s secretary I tried to be more organized and followed her

around to various Area and National events. Karen Flatters and I made a pact on

a weekend away and so it was that I took photos, watched carefully and met

Vice Chairman from all over the country, ready for my year as Area Chair. Now

as a ‘Past It’ I’ve really enjoyed slowing down a bit but also supporting Jo and

being part of her Fabulous Flock!

Throughout the last five years there has been tons of laughter and I’ll miss

being part of another team outside of Rothwell-but I’ll also enjoy coming along

to support Victoria and the exciting things she has planned too.

I have to say, from travelling around and meeting other Area Chairman, Area 3

is special. We are close knit, have lots of fun, support each other in fundraising

and always have a good time no matter where we are! Believe me, there is no

Area quite like us and I’ve been proud to have been on Area 3 and most specially

as your Area Chairman!

So, if you are thinking about coming along and being

part of an Area team or even thinking about coming

to Area events then my advice is to do it! It’s just

like being in a wider Circle where you meet new

friends who soon become lifelong ones and you take

part in things you may never do in your own Circle!

Au Revoir

Jo x

Penistone Pie Night

As a Circle we always look to support

local businesses in the area where

possible. So when one of our

members found out a local business

was doing demonstration evenings to

showcase her renowned Pork Pies

how could we refuse!

Penistone Pies and Puddings is based

in the small Hamlet of Millhouse

Green just on the outskirts of

Penistone and is run from the family

home. So of we went, and arrived at

the house after maneuvering down

the off road rally course which was

called the drive! A warm welcome

greeted us with homemade biscuits

and warm drinks, (no wine I hear you

cry!, that bit comes later!) We

chatted for half an hour whilst

supping and munching away, and then

the demonstration began with the

pork pie machine “Little Champion” a

piece of equipment which had been in

the family for over 70years!

We all took turns to either measure

out the pastry or use the pie maker

and we chatted with Anne about her

pies and funny stories too. At the

end of the evening we all got our

pork pie to take home and with other

homemade items on sale we all took

the opportunity to fill our freezers

too.

However the night was still young

and little to early to be returning

home, so Jane kindly offered to

supply some liquid refreshments and

nibbles at hers, which was only 5

minutes away! We therefore retired

back to Jane’s to divvy up the pies

and other goodies and have a

further natter for a couple more

hours.

A great evening was had by all and

we all agreed that the pork pies

were the best we had tasted, and we

could definitely recommend it for

anyone interested.

A Few Fab Fotos from the last Few years!

The Old Cliche

‘It wasn’t like that in my day’

As always technology moves in and has its

effect on your Circle Life, maybe making 3

Cheers more cost effective, but the

responsibility for accessibility lies with the

member.

Gone are the days when you could not wait to

get home from an Area Meeting and read ‘3

Cheers’, before going to bed, and then being

able to leave the publication at work, or in a

waiting room at the Doctors or Dentists for

others to read. YOU have to sit at your

computer, tablet or Ipad and download it to

read.

Technology – Good, or maybe in this case, for

‘3 Cheers’ - Bad.

You now read all the Executive Officers

reports in the publication – So why even go to

an Area Meeting to find out what is

happening or even what has taken place?

Attending my first Area meeting, I took the

role of Sales Officer for the year 1996/1997.

‘3 Cheers’ was then also a successful

magazine, put together by photocopying the

articles sent in and the photographs,

published all in black and white,

Moving to Area Secretary in 1997 – 1998

Area Vice in 1998 -1999

Area Chairman in 1999 – 2000 – A great

honour to represent Area 3 in the millennium.

Where we ’Circle for Fun’.3 Cheers as ever

successful with computer produced articles

appearing in

‘3 Cheers’.

Enjoying Circle Life and the friendships made

2000 – 2001 saw me in the role of National

Sales Officer doing what all girls do best and

‘Shop’. Attending trade fairs and bringing

samples of merchandise to the National

Executive Meetings!

A break in 2001- 02 when my plight for

National Vice President did not come to

fruition, but not giving up I joined the then

Membership Team, working with local areas

on membership enquiries and helping to

encourage Areas to continue to flourish.

2002 - 2003 saw me elected to the role of

National Vice President of NALC and President

in 2003 – 2004 which was ‘Where the

Heart Is’.

My first involvement in Area came from the

attendance at an International Ladies Circle

Conference in Goteborg in September 1995.

After returning and taking time to think

about all the lovely women all over the

world doing exactly what we do, extending

the

hand of friendship, no matter what language

they spoke.

As Past National President at the National

AGM in 2005 I was awarded the

‘Nordic Hat Trophy’ for my lime green

creation

Rule 1 - To wear at every Ladies Circle Event

for 1 year, social or

business!

Attending my 13th

International

Conference in

Alkmaar with Area 3 Chairman Janine Kaye,

saw the resignation of the International Vice

President, and YES I stood from the floor and

was successfully elected as International

President with an inherited theme of

‘You’re Special’.

Quote –‘3 Cheers ‘October 2006

edition

‘I went as a virgin, slept with the

International President, became a mole,

almost had my head knocked off by a

bridge, seriously damaged my livers and

all because I wanted to accompany Janine

in her special year. If I go again what

could happen next…..!’ Jill Dyson –

Hebden Bridge LC Chairman

Travelling the world spreading the word of

Ladies Circle, extending the hand of friendship

and having fun whilst raising funds for

charitable causes, locally, nationally and

internationally.

It will be sad

to see the

loss of a

great

magazine and

publication.

How will

stories be

shared?

A tool used for communication and

networking, and not forgetting a successful

National Trophy winning publication.

(‘3 Cheers’ publication June 2001)

Area 3 have always been a great team of

ladies, so let’s not let what we have and have

achieved over the years go.

SUPPORT AREA!!!!!!

Raise your glass and say ‘3 Cheers ‘

As we: Circle for Fun

Knowing: Where the Heart Is

Because: You’re Special

T x Tracey Wilkinson

Past Everything!!!!!!!!!!!

Past Area Chairs Fondest Foughts!

Gill Milner 2004/05

I was Area Chairman in 2004-

2005 and had a thoroughly

enjoyable year. What an

honour to represent Area 3 both

Nationally and Internationally.

I never thought when joined

Penistone Ladies Circle in 1990

that I would ever be Area

Chairman. My visit to Romania

to International Conference will

stay with me forever. What a

wonderful experience to meet

Circlers from all corners of the

world, in a country with so much

history. I can't pick a particular

highlight to the year as it was

all so special. I attended

several Charters. AGM's as well as

business meetings, including

Osset and Horbury's 500th

meeting. Thank you Area 3 for

allowing me to be your Area

Chairman.

Claire Cunnington 2007/08

I had the privilege to be Area

Chair in 2007/2008 sandwiched

between the equally wonderful

Jaz "Carry on Circling" and Sine

"Never Forget". I can certainly

say my year was a real Carry On

and one I'll Never Forget. My

Theme was Survive, Thrive &

Celebrate.

I could tell you about the

Fundraising:

*Nearly £10,000 raised for the

Laura Crane Trust

*6 tables at their Ball and a

raffle for free tickets ( on the

promise of seeing Catherine

Tate!!!!) - we were bovered!

*46 friends joining me on the

Yorkshire 3 Peaks,

*Unwanted Christmas Present

Auction (1st one!!)

*Selling programmes at Leeds

Rhino match

*£1500 raised throughout the

Area for SARIS

*£70 for Cancer Research UK

through the Think Pink Guess the

Baby competition

I could tell you about the Fun

*My Radio Leeds Debut,

*Finding out about the eclectic

mix of Chairs & Vice Chairs

*The Charters & AGMs (maybe

not Penistone's who told me I

wasn't speaking then introduced

me as the 1st

Speaker on the night!!!!)

*My trip to Tallinn with some

very "Special" (in all senses of the

word) people !

*Rally 2008 -

aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!! (Pirate

theme! with moving pirate ship

such was the standard of the

decor!)

*The National President's Ball -

Viva Las Vegas and Elvis was

there (several of them!!)

*The 3 Peaks - it was fun!! Despite

the snow, hail, wind rain and 27

miles (to avoid the bogs), the cut

feet, the damaged, knees......the

13 hours of walking.

I could tell you about the

Friendship:

My wonderful Exec -organising

Golf, Bowling, Survival Quiz,

Musical Chairs, Cheerleading,

the wonderful Friendship Night

at Vanilla in Lindley where

Helen Paterson actually saved a

life (someone choking!)

*My wonderful Halifax Circle

supporting all the events and me

*Conference Leeds team and all

the Circlers who rallied to help

at the AGM when I found myself

LCLC at the last minute when

Kathy Roche decided to have a

baby!

*The people I met across Area,

National and International

*The Past Area Chairs who gave

me their support and advice

which has continued

Particular Highlights for me

were:

*the opportunity to go to LCI in a

very Special Year with Tracey as

International President

*the honour of having all the

International Board and most

of the GB&I Board at my

handover dinner

*Seeing Karen Flatters coming

into the Pub at the end of the 3

Peaks - last and in the dark but

she did it!!

*The most hilarious 3 City, 2

Centre,1 Luncheon, No Nudity,

Top Weekend with my lovely Exec

(and our BFF DAME Tanni Grey

Thompson!!!)

And my legacy............SARI

(although there is a rumour

she's been lost!!!!!) and 2 of my

Exec virgins going on to show

Friendship Makes the difference

(Karen) and be Fabulous (Jo)

Area Chairs !!

Claire Cunnington

Sine Kidd 2008-2009 Never

Forget

Being Area 3 Chair is a fantastic

experience , I had an amazing

year that I will certainly “Never

Forget”

During my year we raised funds

for The West Yorkshire Forget Me

Not Trust, and I’m sure many of

you will not forget my main

fundraiser- The Jailbreak!

We were taken in a blacked out

coach and “dumped” in the

middle of nowhere somewhere

north of York - chained to our

partner with the mission to get

back to Horbury with no money

and no transport - it was quite

an experience .

During my year I was also Chair

of Area 3 NERL committee, and

I’ll Never Forget , Tess our

Labrador guide puppy that we

were puppy walking at the time,

eating the gifts that I had

carefully chosen and wrapped

for my NERL committee 2 days

before the event!

Representing Area 3 at LCI was a

great honour, of all the places in

the world where LCI is held, in

my year I went back home to

Scotland . We had a great

weekend in Aberdeen , and for

once the weather up north was

amazing , which wasn’t so good

considering that instead of

Tshirts we thought we’d be better

off with fleeces.

Over the years I have loved

reading 3 Cheers, I used to really

enjoy coming home from The

Area meeting and settling down

for a good read and catch up

with all the other Circles news,

It’s sad that it’s going but I

suppose we have to move with the

times.

A big thank you to all the girls

over the years who have put so

much time and effort into

making 3 cheers the award

winning magazine that it is .

Sine x

Helen Paterson

2009/10

When asked for copy

about my year as Area 3 Chair, I

went straight to my photo album

– and spent a happy hour

wallowing in memories. The

most important theme running

through the year was the warm

welcome from Circlers

throughout Area 3.

It is almost impossible to choose

just one or two moments from a

whirlwind year packed with

special memories. Highlights

include NERL, Friendship

Evening (where a bra themed

talk made me discover that I was

wearing the wrong size bra!)

and my Charity Ceilidh. I won

flights to Prague at Batley’s

Masquerade Ball – the first time

in my life that I have won a

major prize! I also enjoyed my

first ventures into National

events, meeting Circlers from all

over the country and feeling

proud to represent Area 3.

I think the low point must be

losing the ‘dangly bit’ of the

Area 3 regalia at National

Conference (although the new

one is much shinier and doesn’t

need to be held together with

blutack!).

The whole year was exhausting,

exhilarating, full of fun and

friendship. Ladies Circle has

given me so many opportunities

to do things that I would never

had done had I not been a

member, not to mention so many

friends.

Helen x

Karen Flatters 2012/11

What can I say about Area 3 and

the fantastic Girls which were

members of my exec during my

year as Area 3 Chair.

You could say I naturally fell

into this role as I have the

personality and passion for

Ladies Circle, which originally I

hated because like everyone else

I thought of the Jam brigade

and how wrong could I be as the

friends I have made along my

circle journey have made a

different to me.

This was how my theme of

Friendship Makes a Difference

came to be and really is what

Ladies Circle stands for and I

truly believe if you need a friend

then Area 3 is the place to start.

In my year, I celebrated my own

Circles 60th

Year as well as Area 3

60th

Year so you could say it was

six’s all round. I was delighted

to meet so many past members of

Area 3 at our Afternoon Tea

celebrations and the feeling of

belong to a wonderful

organisation of so many

likeminded ladies who were

enjoying themselves and having

fun stood out for me.

We have a fantastic bunch of

girls in Area 3 and special

memories will be cherished as

with all organisations you only

get out what you put in.

At times, it’s hard to attract new

members and tell them exactly

what circle is all about and

people think automatically WI.

As Circle groups, we need to

embrace change and make sure

we not becoming stale in our

approach to circle which we all

need to keep evolving so Ladies

Circle will be their for future

generations to enjoy just like we

all do.

In the name of Circle, I have

danced, drank countless pints

and laughed, gained new

friends & of course, eaten lots of

meals but do you know what

girls I would not of had it any

other way but best of all I’m a

member of Area 3 who hopes my

friendship has made a difference

to you all during my year as

Jo Tinker 2011/12

What a way to celebrate my 40th

year! Yep being your Area

Chairman with the brilliant

Team Tinker on side, certainly

was the icing on the cake on a

year of fun, friendship and

fundraising!

‘Area 3 Needs You’ was my theme,

along with a good dose of Keep

Calm and Carry On! I managed

to keep quite calm in a very busy

year and had a brilliant time

doing something different,

meeting Circlers from our Area

and all over the world and of

course raising lots of money for

my designated charity- Help For

Heroes!

So what were the highlights? Too

many to mention, but here are a

few:

At the Chair/Vice night when we

found out shocking things that

Circlers had never done,

your Area

Chairman.

Karen x

including my admission that I

had never seen Dirty Dancing

which made Louise from

Penistone spill her wine!

At Ladies Circle International in

Hamburg where I swapped pin

badges, had fizz for breakfast,

found out what an ‘amuse in

Hamburg’ was, met tons of lovely

people and played ‘Celebrity

Lookie-Like’ with Past Area

Chairman, Sine, Claire and

Helen.

At the National Presidents ball

where we tried to steal the

National Presidents candle and

my memory book went around

the tables and ended up with a

story to rival 50 Shades of Grey

written in it.

At National Council meetings

where the new National logo

and website was unveiled and we

found out how good Jo Machon

was at Twister!

At lots of Circle events, meetings

and AGM’s oh and not forgetting

slowly skating on ice with

Baildon and winning the Anne

Summers prize at Colne Valley’s

pamper evening.

By balancing cups ‘Crackerjack’

style or throwing a javelin at the

Summer Olympics. Where Elland

won the Rosebowl by playing

Pictionary and I just couldn’t

keep a penguin on a block of ice

for the Winter Olympics!

By sending 68 shoeboxes full of

Christmas goodies for our brave

soldiers.

By Making Do & Mend or

auctioning unwanted Xmas

presents-where did some of them

come from?

At the Sing-a-longa Dirty

Dancing night where I finally

found out the significance of the

water melon and why Baby

wouldn’t be put in a corner!

At the family fun day where

Team Tinker slaved away

making tons of cream teas and

Karen Flatters enjoyed

playing...or being in charge of

hook a duck and Penny made

crowns full of glitter and

sequins!

At Charter lunches in Rothwell

(discussing how to turn a breech

baby), Brighouse (finding out

what soldiers do need in their

shoebox presents), Sitlington

(fabulous memory books),

Penistone (inducted 5 new

members and also nearly walked

away with some very interesting

Ancient Greek cards showing

different... ahem... positions)

With those Naked Waiters, at the

Friendship evening full of

memories and memorabilia,

and whilst dancing at Elland’s

Ceilidh.

On the Team Tinker weekend

away in Harrogate with various

80’s drunken icons, including

Michael Jackson, oh and the

latest in enterntainment...the

kara-rope-ey at the Guilty

Pleasures Lounge!

At The Handover Dinner, one of

the best nights of the year and

where at the end of the evening

Halifax Table welcomed Jo

Machon in as Area Chair in

brilliant style and I could take

off my chain but also take away

tons of happy memories!

Thank you Area 3. I did have the

Time of My Life...and I owe it all

to you..ho.ho (see I still

remember!)

Jo x

Fab Fotos

Rallies

Fond Farewell