UPDATE 23 June 2020
Dear All,
Now that it seems most likely that restrictions on the use of the Thames will soon be relaxed we are re-scheduling our Thames cruise for Tuesday 4th August through Friday 7th August.
For those of you who have expressed an interest in joining us for the resurrected Thames cruise we are endeavouring to secure bookings for moorings as follows.
Tuesday 4th August ~ Boveney Lock where we hope to use the BBQ there for a centrally cooked feast.
Wednesday 5th August ~ Cookham Lock where we may cook our own evening meal or perhaps enjoy a take-away.
Thursday 6th & 7th August ~ Hurley Lock Island where we may socialize and cook our own evening mealsone evening and perhaps eat in the Rising Sun garden the other evening.
All socially distanced according to rules at the time, of course.

This week I have left messages with each of the three lock keepers asking them to pencil in these dates and I will follow up with them to ensure that we secure these mooring dates.

The following members have previously expressed an interest:
Mark and Jackie (Boat already hired)
Ray & Elaina (Patti)
Mike& Ann (Quiet Waters)
Andrew & Celia (Wisecrack)
David & Diana (Severa)
Harvey & Joy (Harvey’s Joy)
Les & Sally (Enterprise V)
George & Janet (MV Saluki).

I will keep you posted on the moorings situation and in the meantime would those listed above please confirm that they can make the 4th to 7th August and If any other boat owners or hirers would like to join us please also let me know.

UPDATE: 4 MAY 2020: This is very unlikely to proceed but we will have to see what relaxations have been announced by then. If it is possible to organise and there is sufficient interest, we will consider a scaled back event with few if any off-site activities but with lots of quality riverside relaxation in the company of friends with suitable social distancing! Alternatively, we will consider rescheduling in September when restrictions may be fewer and the weather equally pleasant. As the finale of the June event, many members had booked for a show plus dinner at The Mill at Sonning. This will almost certainly be cancelled but the owners of this privately run theatre have asked whether those with bookings would accept credits rather than refunds to help with cash flow. This must be an individual decision. If you have bought tickets for this event please email Jackie at jackie.m@tscc.org.uk to let her know your preference.

UPDATE 18 March 2020.
“Dear TSCC Member,

If you have expressed an interest in joining us on our Thames Cruise and/or the Sonning Mill evening this coming June, please read on:

Current government Coronavirus guidance includes the following sentence: Avoid gatherings with friends and family. Keep in touch using remote technology such as phone, internet, and social media

Our Thames Cruise would clearly be just such a gathering.

In the circumstances we have decided to put on hold all planning for this event.

In the unlikely situation that things improve dramatically by the middle of June and government guidance changes we will be in touch again to see if you are interested to join us on what will then become a Celebration Cruise.

We will keep our fingers crossed but not with any great confidence.

Jackie will be contacting those who booked tickets for Sonning Mill with regard to refunds.

Meantime take care and do let us have any thoughts and feedback.”

Stay safe,
Sent on behalf of Mark Marriott

UPDATE 29 May 2020:
Everyone who booked this cruise should now have received a cancellation email direct from Viking.
Because Viking are introducing a new boat next year for the Danube cruise, costs have increased considerably.

Here are a couple of examples:

Standard cabin £2,145 vs £1,395 – an increase of £750
Balcony cabin from £2645 vs £1,695 – an increase of £950.

As a consequence this is not of interest to the TSCC.

If we organise a similar cruise in 2021 or the following year, based on these costs it will not be with Viking.

Our recommendation therefore is that you ask for a refund of your deposit as soon as possible and certainly before 12th June as detailed in Viking’s letter.

The only exception would be if you wish to take advantage of the 25% bonus for another cruise on a personal basis.

If you have not heard from Viking we suggest you contact them as soon as possible.

Remember that because everyone booked this cruise individually you need to contact Viking yourself. We cannot do this for you.

Don’t hesitate however to contact me if you have any queries.

With best regards

Mark

Hi All – Hope you are fit and well and beginning to adapt to the new normality.

At last we have a plan to meet again!

Our reunion event will be an informal picnic in the glorious surroundings of historic Runnymede.

Here are the details:

Date: Tuesday 28th July at 11.30 am – provided it’s not raining!

Meeting Point: The National Trust car park on the opposite side of the road to the NT tea shop. Parking is free to NT members and otherwise costs £1.50 per hour payable at a meter. Suggest you pay for two hours.

Picnic Site: This will either be in the car park field or across the road in the large Runnymede memorial field. Your committee will be there early and will direct you accordingly.

Food and Drink: Bring your own food and drink as well as garden chairs and anything else you need.

Toilets: The National Trust toilets inside the tea shop lobby are open although the tea shop itself is closed.

Social Distancing: We will maintain two metres social distancing. Those attending will be asked to form bubbles with a maximum of six members in a bubble and a three metre distance from adjacent bubbles. When moving around to chat with other members please maintain two metres social distance.

Face Coverings: At an outdoors event with social distancing there is no requirement to wear a face covering. However, if you feel more comfortable please do wear one. We are asking all those attending to bring a face covering and to wear this if they wish to chat to any other member who has chosen to wear one. We want this to be a safe, well managed event that everyone feels comfortable to attend.

Questions: If you have any queries please simply email me.

Confirmation: We really hope you will be attending and would appreciate an email to confirm.

All of us on your Committee greatly look forward to seeing you on 28th July.

Best regards

Mark

UPDATE: 26 July 2020
Dear TSCC members,
Having consulted with members who have recently cruised up river it seems very unlikely that we shall be able to moor at Boveney Lock and so we have revised the schedule so that the first meeting place will be at Cookham on Tuesday 4th August.
Please see the attached revised itinerary.
If you have not already indicated that you would like to join the BBQ at Cookham please let me know asap.

Dear TSCC members,

Further to my email of 23rd June the TSCC committee has convened to make the final arrangements for the “resurrected” 2020 Thames Cruise, the itinerary for which is in the attached Word file.

Please note that the cruise starts on Monday 3rd August and not Tuesday 4th August as previously advised.

We are not able to book moorings so the cruise will be on an un-booked moorings basis with fall-back mooring possibilities in the event that we are unable to obtain moorings for all of us at each location.

During the cruise we propose:

• at Cookham to have an organised BBQ for which we will charge £2.50 a head for half a chicken breast, a premium sausage, half a sirloin steak and some baby potatoes and everyone will prepare their own salads
• at Hurley to have a bring your own picnic lunch combined with the usual games
• at Sonning we are investigating the possibility of booking tables at the Coppa Club for a last night meal together. They have a covered eating section with roll up plastic sides that makes it a semi outside area. We shall come back to you with more details on this.

If you have already expressed an interest in joining us on this cruise would you please confirm that you will be coming, or otherwise let us know as soon as possible that you will be participating.

Please also let me know if you wish to join us for the BBQ at Cookham.

If you are joining us, when you send your confirmation please let me have the mobile phone numbers of all those on your boat for communications during the cruise including any urgent messages if we need to change our plans.

Best wishes,

George

Dear All

As you will most likely be aware, next Thursday we were planning a picnic and optional visit to Holly Lodge in Richmond Park.

Firstly the bad news!

Holly Lodge will not be holding an open day because of the current Covid situation.

And The Royal Parks are not allowing group gatherings for the time being.

And now the good news!

We have a plan B!

Our Picnic Get-Together will now take place at the National Trust Claremont Landscape Gardens on the A307 just south of Esher.

The current weather forecast is for temperatures of up to 21°C, sunny intervals all day, light winds and almost no chance of rain. Whilst things can of course change it looks like we are set fair for perfect picnic weather!

Our plan is to meet at Claremont at 12.00 noon as we did at Runnymede and for everyone to bring their own seats and picnic materials.

Entry and parking is free to National Trust members and £8.00 per person for non-members.

We will be picnicking in front of the amphitheatre by the lake and this is just a few steps from the car park as you will see from the attached map of the gardens.

We do hope you will be joining us and if you intend to do so, even if you are NT members, you will need to pre-book your tickets since these cannot be purchased on the day and entry is not permitted without tickets.

Tickets are bookable for the following week each Friday so YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS THIS FRIDAY!!

Online bookings can be made at midnight on Thursday and phone bookings on the Friday morning.

If you wish to join the party we suggest you secure your tickets as early as possible since there are only a limited number available for each 30 minute timed entry slot.

We suggest you book for the 11.30 am to 12.00 noon entry slot and drive into the gardens a few minutes before noon.

If that slot is already fully booked we suggest you book for the 12 noon to 12.30 slot and arrive at noon.

In the highly unlikely event that both these slots are fully booked then book for the 12.30 to 1.00 pm slot and arrive at 12.30.

Sorry it sounds complex but it isn’t really!

To book online here is the link: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/claremont-landscape-garden

To book by phone here is the number to ring: 0344 249 1895. The recorded message says they are very busy and wait times are long but on the two occasions that I called them I got through straight away.

If you are National Trust members you will need your membership numbers available when you make the booking.

Once you have booked your tickets please drop me an email so that we know you will be coming.

We really hope you will be joining us and look forward to seeing you next Thursday at noon.

Best regards

Mark

Dear TSCC Members,

Elaina has arranged for a volunteer speaker to give a talk on the Air Ambulance.
Please see the attached flyer which has the Zoom meeting ID and password.
It will be nice to re-aquaint ourselves with our friends in TSCC even if only on a small screen.

Best wishes,
George

Dear All

I am sure that by now you will be aware of the government’s new restriction limiting the size of any group meeting for social purposes to six people.

Sadly, in these circumstances we have had no alternative but to cancel our forthcoming Bath and Bristol Autumn Getaway.

Please let Pauline have your bank details and we will refund all monies paid.

The only good news here is that the event is now fully planned and ready to go at a future date as soon as the restrictions are lifted and people are again feeling comfortable about travelling as a group.

Keep safe and keep smiling.

Best regards

Mark

UPDATE 3 November 2020
It is with much regret that due to Covid 19 restrictions this event has been cancelled.
UPDATE 4 MAY 2020: We are currently assuming this will go ahead as planned. They have a large indoor space so, if necessary, with a little organisation, some social distancing could be managed.

Download Flyer: TSCC Celebration Christmas Quiz

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