PEMBROKE COLLEGE WINNIE-THE-POOH SOCIETY: MINUTES OF THE ELEVENSES MEETING, 4/5/96

Started in The Lady Foundress's room at 63 Lensfield Road.
Present: Tim, Jon, Tapani, Helen, Vicky, Sarah. Daisy's sort of around in the background.
Apologies: Tor, who has New Zealand friends up at the moment.


  1. Helen provides tea as we all try fit into her room.

  2. James arrives with Gavin, both visiting: total chaos ensues, and James steals the Secretary's chair and minutes. After unsuccessfully trying to fit everyone in to Helen's rooms the minutes are recovered and we move next door to Daisy's room, trying to ignore Jake and Gavin, who are wrestling on the floor with cries of 'Take me! Take met!'

  3. Jon proposes a vote of thanks to Daisy for the impromptu use of her room: For, 4, Against, O, Abstentions 1 (from James who is acting James in Tor's absence). Motion carried.

  4. Alternative uses for Helen's tea-strainer axe discussed.

  5. The largesse of the Lady Foundress includes tea, bread and homemade jam and chocolate Swiss Roll. The Secretary gets jam all over himself, but saves the minutes from harm.

  6. Jon asks who is Under-Secretary: it's Alex.

  7. James is wearing a red and white scarf, the purpose of which is discussed: the general opinion is that it is being used to hide lovebites.

  8. Tim reserves a slice of Chocolate Swiss Roll for later by having it marked with a 'T': this causes problems because Tapani now lays claim to it.

  9. Jon and Helen discuss, the blending of her rather fine tea.

  10. A piece of chocolate cake is dedicated to the memory of Christopher Robin: Helen then eats it. After all, he didn't like the books.

  11. Vicky says that someone she used to know knew Christopher Robin. Helen,says she once sat next to someone in Hall who lived next-door to him, Helen is declared the winner.

  12. Huw arrives in full Technicolour, complete with frog patch on his jeans.

  13. The Secretary goes out to wash the jam off his hands and returns in the middle of a conversation about vacuum cleaners. Noone is too clear about how it got that way, but it continues anyway.

  14. More lovebite cracks are made about James's scarf.

  15. The Secretary is delegated to prepare bread and jam for James and hands, minutes to Tim.

  16. James reads in his own unique style. The reading is 'In which Piglet does a very grand thing.'

  17. The Secretary repossesses the minutes, having proffered James his bread and jam. Daisy drops in for the reading, which is the Secretary's favourite.

  18. The line, "I'm face down under something and that's a bad position for looking at ceilings," gets past with barely a snicker.

  19. Huw has Flinstones socks on: the many references to his Scooby-Doo socks in the old minutes are embarrassingly brought up.

  20. The whereabouts of the old minutes becomes a matter for concern: Jon has left them in Helen's room under a coat and goes to retrieve them.

  21. Last week's minutes are read by Helen.

  22. Apparently Dr. Hickson is a druggy.

  23. Someone has the idea of displaying selections from the old minutes at the Freshers' Squash: other exhibits could include material from the archives such as the original constitution, the manuscript of the Society anthem, Tor, preferably in a glass case, or a cucumber...

  24. James has started burrowing in the Society archive and keeps producing old letters.

  25. Huw is spotted waving at himself in the mirror.

  26. It is decided that all the Honorary Members are to be invited. The task is given to the Secretary (although without a date that'll be tricky... Ed.)

  27. A Hungarian Poohsong is found in the archive, which Tapani as Foreign Secretary reads some of with impressive clarity.

  28. Large numbers of the Society's earliest minutes are apparently missings: it is feared that they probably went with Paul Smith, the first Secretary.

  29. A clause must be inserted in Jon's revision of the Constitution to allow for amendments: Jon feels rather silly for forgetting this.

  30. Jon is castigated for not retaining the old constitution's single split infinitive.

  31. Tapani proposes an amendment forbidding discussion of work in meeting: For 1, Against 3, Abstentions 2. Motion defeated: this is a Free Speech Society, proclaims James.

  32. Daisy comes in to get a biscuit: James tears her off a strip fot butting in to her own room like this.

  33. Jon thinks the Constitution should be read, so people know what they're adopting, but is forced to agree that for the most part this will be insanely boring. The President brilliantly suggests putting it on displav for a week preferably at the bottom of a locked filing cabinet marked 'Beware of the leopard'. After all, it's not as if we paid any attention to the constitution when it was last in force. After some deliberation Jon's room at 2 Selwyn Gardens is chosen for the display as being the nearest equivalent to a locked filing cabinet the Society has. Anyone who really wants to see just what he's done to it can see it there.

  34. Tim leaves.

  35. Tim comes back.

  36. Next week's meeting will be held in Tim's room, W10.

  37. Tim and Tapani leave.

  38. Daisy asks Sarah for news of Dan Carroll: as Helen says, "Daisy is in seurch of perfection, and she finds... Dan Carroll." James makes vomiting noises.

  39. Sarah alleges that Katie Roberts ia another Dan Carroll fan.

  40. Huw leaves to get ready for the Medics Dinner.

  41. Sarah jumps up and down twice for no clear reason, other than that 'it's fun.'

  42. Tim comes back again.

  43. Tim and James get into a discussion about watches: analogue or digital? Sarah proclaims, "Hands are fun!" "Well, yes, I know," responds James.

  44. Dominic's old letters to the Queen and the Bishop of Durham, to say nothing of the Cambridgeshire County Council, are found and read with glee. The Secretary's heart sinks: perhaps we can get Dominic to do them again?

  45. It is remembered that Bishop David was accused of child-molesting: Helen pronounces the Society in favour of child-molesting.

  46. A complaint is raised about Fiona Savage's absence from the pigeonholing list, Jon promises to take it up with Stephen.

  47. Daisy returns, as if she expected us to be out of her room by now.

  48. The list of honorary members is founds the presence of Thomas Gray on it causes a motion to make Lucky, the current College cat, an honorary member too. For, 4, Against l, Abstentions l: Motion carried. Lucky's name will be added to the list.

  49. The meeting is closed by Presidential Diktat.


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