At best we were 26 today, all sporting various types of Christmas clobber. The Mayor of Gants Hill wore a turkey on his head, removing it promptly without many of us noticing. Rising above the myriad of jumpers was Sarah Steel with a facial combination of glasses, red nose, and neat little antlers which she kept on throughout the meeting. As much for her powers of endurance as the quality of her disguise, she wins the virtual prize of best festive get up although Mason’s hat, full Santa moustache and beard is worthy of mention.
The Performance League
Kevin Radford is currently out front. Although there is not another meeting this month, point scoring will continue until the end of the month.
The 60(45) Second Round
In anticipation of Scott’s quiz, we tried to keep our presentations down to 45 seconds. Most of us managed.
The round largely comprised thanks for the year gone by and best wishes for Christmas and New Year. Only two members were on-topic for their businesses. Dean Caldon brought us up to date on the Stamps Duty situation and Terry Maylin wondered if anybody could provide him through a referral with the opportunity of serving someone with something on Christmas Eve.
Kevin Radford and Vincent Goode both “sang”, Mercifully both cut their renditions short.
Howard Bullock poured himself a cocktail and drank it and Tina is carrying on working to assist business owners to better celebrate the Season.
Matt Barry was adjudicating the Oscar and awarded it to all the new members who have joined us this year and what they have brought to the table.
Please remember, for the first meeting in January the theme will be 60 second round will be New Year’s resolutions
Scott’s Murder-Mystery
We were entertained by a murder mystery that was solved by groups of us breaking out and dealing with various clues to arrive (or not as the case may be) at the murderer.
Some of us were time-constrained, some of us got it right and some of us got it wrong. Which is reminiscent of the human condition. Thanks for arranging this Scott.
Referrals and Testimonials Round
Most of us had used out 45 second to give our thanks and contemplate the future but there was none the less a reasonable lively exchange of referrals and testimonials
Chairman’s thoughts at the end of the year
Most of our meetings this year have been virtual and I think everyone is to be commended for adapting to the Zoom method. The meetings got slicker, the presentations more effectively electronic and the Ed Slot emerged, also with the assistance of technology, as a prominent section of the meeting of really high quality.
Thanks to Vince for his unprompted quiz which engaged many of us, the effort was appreciated.
The straightened times that we have experienced this has brought the group together even more and however long we remain away from our “normal” meetings I am confident that the group will become even more effective.
Finally whilst feeling optimistic and upbeat we should all pause to remember the sad loss of Marcell Saad at the very beginning of the onset of the virus. She was a warm and generous friend to many of us and she has been sorely missed both for these qualities and as a member. We will all continue to remember her fondly.
It has been my privilege to chair our meetings and I look forward to continuing next year.
What a lovely way to end the EBF year, well done all for your attendance and participation and looking forward to building the group and getting back into things in the New Year!
Great festive meeting and it made me all warm and glowing inside! Merry Christmas everyone
I really enjoyed this meeting, I’m so blessed to have met you all at what is the best networking group I have been a part of. A great bunch of welcoming, positive, supportive and genuine people. And we do business between ourselves too! What’s not to like? I’m yearning for a return to the physical meetings, which will mean so much to us all, especially the newer members. Well done Aiden for your chairing this year, and to Scott for keeping the whole thing running smoothly. And of course we should have a few moments’ contemplation for the loss of the lovely Marcelle. There are no words x
Lovey to see everyone this morning and for the fun and festivities. Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable Christmas, see you all back on zoom in January and, hopefully, in person some time in 2021. This year has been tough in many regards, but EBF has been a constant and I have found it a huge help being a member for a whole host or reasons. Thank you one and all, for making me so welcome and for helping me leave 2020 a better business owner than I started it. Love and best wishes to you all.
Thanks to all for the business but more importantly your support and friendship during what has been a difficult year. Like many of you I also miss Marcelle who was a good friend to my family . Have a great Christmas and New Year. I hope in some way that my dulcet tones this morning helped to soothe your fevered brows..
Great quiz Vince and thank you Scott for organizing the murder mystery which was great fun.
I look forward to seeing you all in person next year especially after I have had my jab – Another benefit of being at the older end of the scale.
Our last EBF of the year and a jolly affair it was for us all. My thanks to each of you for the support and positive words that you have given and these combined with our meetings have meant much.
Like many of us the loss of Marcelle was a shock and my thoughts go to her family, she was a truly lovely person.
Have a Wonderful Christmas and an extremely Happy New Year everyone xxx
Thanks to Scott for organising a great game. Have a great Christmas everyone!
As a new(ish) member to EBF, I feel privileged to have been accepted into this group.
Great meeting this morning, lovely to hear all the thank yous and although I never met Marcel, the respect for her from the group is obvious.
Scott’s parlour game was great … did the team I was in win? … Hmm, it’s the taking that counts, shall we say!
Looking forward to 2021 and hopefully I will get to meet everyone far to face for the first time.
Good fun meeting this morning, well done Scott on the murder mystery. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all.
A fun meeting to end the year. A special thank you to the new members, you have enhanced our group. Have a wonderful Christmas and most of all keep safe
Thanks for joining in my sing along . x Love to mum and dad from your adopted son.
Sorry I missed the meeting looks like it was a great meeting from the video. Wishing you all a happy Christmas
What a great way to end this weird year off – thank you Scott of the quiz which was fun – Kevin I have spoken to Simon Cowell who said he would love to see you on Britain’s got talent LOL xx Have a great Christmas everyone and I will be thinking of Marcelle’s family at this time too! Stay safe see you in 2021 x
Good idea Tina . Perhaps we should start the EBF choir !