November Meeting
In contrast to the October gathering and
without a United Nations Peacekeeper within a mile of the pub, the November meeting was a
very upbeat affair with 15 good spirited members in attendance. Lots of positive topics
were up for discussion and we welcomed one of our new members, Martin Galloway along to
his first meeting. I will cover each topic in more detail later, but over the last 6
weeks:
- We have had 7 new members join the club
– and they have paid their subs!
- With support from Mike Prior, we have
produced an excellent new range of London Hibs merchandise!.
- We have held another excellent Player of the
Year presentation in Edinburgh and a brilliant football team Dinner and Dance that raised
�800 towards the team.
- Pat Stanton has confirmed that he will be
our guest of honour at the club’s Burns evening on 30 January in London.
- The football team hammered Manchester United
10 – 1 (yes 10 - 1) in the APFSCIL cup – Up until this game, Man United
were unbeaten in the league.
- We are on track to produce our first Hibees
Here, Hibees There fanzine in over 18 months!
I could give some more examples, but I have
to save some good news for the December newsletter!
POTY Presentation
Once again, our Player of the Year
Presentation in Edinburgh on 14 November was a massive success, despite the game against
St Mirren being called off at the last moment!. I’m pretty sure that the day will be
well documented in the fanzine but for the benefit of those members who couldn’t make
the journey, you will be pleased to know that we didn’t let the postponement get us
too depressed. Tom O'Malley thanked the branch for our support and explained the reason or
the game being called off. Alex McLeish then spent an hour or so talking with our members
and helped us with the raffle which was won by Jimmy Lindsay, Martin Longland and Pat
Stanton
London Hibs Merchandise
– the ultimate Christmas present
Enclosed with this letter are some
photographs of the new club Merchandise or the ‘autumn collection’, which
has been produced with the help of Mike Prior. Whilst I cannot guarantee that you will
look anywhere near as stylish and sophisticated as the skinny little model in the photos,
I’m sure you’ll agree the new designs look good and that the prices are very
reasonable. If you would like to purchase any of the range in time for Christmas, then can
you please ensure that you bring additional cash with you to the December meeting.
Alternatively, if you are unable to make the meeting, then can you please complete the
enclosed order form and return it, with cheque, to the above address - I will then ensure
that it is despatched to you within 2 days of receiving your payment. Since last months
letter, we have ordered a further 60 items due to the initial stock we purchased selling
out within a week. I would expect these items to go very quickly also so please send in
your order without delay, as our limited stock will be sold on a first come, first served
basis.
Football Team
The 15th of September 1952 has
gone down in the Hibs history books for our famous 7-3 win against Matt Busby’s
Manchester United in a testimonial for Gordon Smith! Well Sunday 15th
November 1998 will no doubt go down in the London Hibs history books, for this was the
day that football team thumped the Manchester United London Supporters’ club by 10
goals to 1 in the APFSCIL CUP. This was a fantastic result for the team who are
enjoying their first season back in the top division and to win so convincingly, only goes
to prove that our supporters’ club really is back on track.. London Hibs took the
lead in fifteen minutes but United struck back almost instantly, a goal, which was
deflected past the normally unbeatable John Leslie. This goal just encouraged the men in
green to try even harder and it was not long before they netted another three. Half time,
Hibs 4 Man Utd 1. The second half started where the first had ended and the Man U' keeper
had to pick the ball out of the back of the net a further six times. The team is now into
the quarterfinals of the APFSCIL cup for the first time. The team is always on the look
out for new talent and support, so if you are interested in playing or just going
along to watch, then contact Kevin Robertson who will give you details of the venue
and kick-off time.
Membership Information
I have enclosed a copy of the personal
detail list, which contains the very latest information that we have on our current
members. Can you please check your personal details and let either Andrew Murray or myself
know if any of the information is incorrect or out of date! This includes your E-mail
address and telephone numbers.
As a few of our long standing members have
not renewed their annual subscriptions this season, it is possible that some of the
addresses that we have are out of date and that the monthly newsletter is not being
forwarded on to them. Can I ask you to check the personal information of those members
that you are friendly with and, if you know of any changes to their details, then please
let Andrew or myself know.
If you have not already sent in your
subscription for the 98/99 season then can you please do so by Wednesday 16 December.
It costs the club just over �4 a season for each member to send out our monthly
newsletters. This cost has to be covered by club funds so unless you have paid your subs,
then I’m afraid this will have to be the last newsletter you will receive until we
hear from you.
Burns Night Supper
Next year’s Burns Night Supper will
take place in the Holyrood on Saturday 30 January starting at 7.30pm. Tickets will
cost �15 each and for the benefit of those members who have not been along to one of
these evenings before, they will include a traditional meal of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties,
live music and a wee drink or two throughout the evening.
Pat Stanton will be our guest of honour at
the supper, but we will also have both George Stewart and Jimmy O’Rourke coming down
from Edinburgh. Arrangements for the evening will be discussed at the December meeting and
covered in a lot more detail in the next newsletter. Tickets will go on sale at the
December meeting but you can order them in advance using the enclosed form..
Fanzine
You will be pleased to know that we are on
track to produce our first issue of HHHT in over 18 months. All going well, this will go
on sale in time for the first of our 3 consecutive home games starting on 19 December. If
you are in Edinburgh for any of these games and are able to help sell the fanzine then
please let me know.
London Hibs Season
Tickets
The club’s Season tickets are still
available for the Falkirk and Clydebank games on 12/19th December. They are
also available for the Hamilton game on 16 January. If you would like to reserve
these tickets then you should reserve them with Andrew Murray. For those people who will
be using the tickets for the Ayr United game (Tim and Andree Upton), the Raith
game (Steph Tymkewcz and Ewan Hunter) you should collect them from the Hibs shop before
the game and return them immediately afterwards. If anyone has any questions to ask about
the use of the tickets then you should contact Andrew.
Press Snippets
As a result of the game against St Mirren
being called off, our club did manage to receive a little bit of interest from the local
press with articles in the Edinburgh Evening News and in the following week’s Pink
News. We also had a good write up in the programme but I’m afraid I don’t have a
copy of it!
December Meeting
Our next meeting will take place in the
Holyrood Public House on Tuesday 8 December. As this will be our final get together
for the year, we have laid on a little bit of food to soak up some of the alcohol after
the meeting. For those new members who have not yet attended a meeting then it would be
really good if you could make it along! You never know, our treasurer may be into the
spirit of Christmas and buy you your first drink for the evening!!
Mike
McSherry
Club Secretary
3 December 1998 |