PEMBROKE COLLEGE WINNIE-THE-POOH SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ELEVENSES MEETING, 26/10/96

Held in the sitting room of 6 Grange Road.
Present: Vicky, Stephen, Jon
Apologies: Tapani, Angela, Sarah.


  1. Some bastard has nicked Jon's milk! The actual bottle, right out of the fridge! Cor, you turn your back for a minute and if it's not nailed down they'll have it away on their toes with it before you can say, "Buttered-toast"!

  2. Vicky starts to read the minutes from the last meeting, but s interrupted by Jon, and insists on waiting for silence before resuming.

  3. Jon has again failed to hyphenate the word 'no-one', despite being castigated at the last meeting.

  4. The semantics of Jon's minutes are universally decried.

  5. And their spelling.

  6. Vicky has as mandated purchased copies of both the Old and the New Testaments of Winnie-the-Pooh, but failed to get them from Heffers as stipulated; for this she begs forgiveness.

  7. Vicky and Jon try to guess who the Milk Thief is.

  8. We pay Stephen for his photocopying expenses (£10.00) and Vicky for the testaments (£3.00).

  9. The Constitution is discussed: Jon says it's basically the same bar a bit of clearing-up and a clause allowing us to ignore any clause for the duration of any meeting. Vicky doesn't like this, but Jon says we can vote to ignore it.

  10. Vicky lights upon an original clause which says that in the event of an Officer of the Society refusing his office, the next person in the ballot should receive the office. She wonders if this could be applied to Tim's case, but unfortunately there were, the minutes reveal, no other contenders, so no way out there.

  11. The problem of how to divide the last bit of cake arises: Stephen, as a top-class Mathmo, is delegated to cut it in three, and does so with great precision.

  12. Jon is delegated to find out whether Tim still wants to come to meetings, and to tell him that Vicky will cry over him if he doesn't.

  13. We need an attraction to up the really rather ridiculous attendance. The meeting is turned into an Executive one in the hope of getting something done about this.

  14. First off, we decide to approve the Constitution, which is carried unanimously. Since we don't have a constitution, this is perfectly valid and now makes us constitutional.

  15. Now we have a constitution, we need a membership, which means a Levy. Jon proposes that we have an immediate levy to be carried on over subsequent meetings until everyone has paid: For, 3, Against, 0, Abstentions, 0. Motion carried, and we all pay up, making us the only members. Jon creates a list of paid-up members.

  16. Vicky apparently only has passive recall, so that she can't for example remember the name 'Tarquin Fintin-Limbin Wimbin-Limbin Bus-stop Fertang-Fertang Olé Biscuit-Barrel' until someone says it. Happily, Jon just did.

  17. A brief debate ensues on how to spell 'Fertang'. Funnily enough, Jon has a friend in Oxford called Francis Tang, which could be rendered 'F. Tang'. Interesting... or, is it?

  18. It is observed that at the moment, according to the Constitution, Vicky could hold an AGM by herself.

  19. The next meeting will have to be in College: Jon will contact Ben M. Parker about using his room.

  20. Jon will design a new and exciting flyer for this meeting intended to entice and cajole lots of people who signed up but haven't materialised into coming along and showing themselves. There will be 52 copies needed. Out of whom 3 are here, and 3 apologised: you see the problem.

  21. Vicky's Knees in Faculty Embarrassment Shock!

  22. Tapani will have to be told that we've become constitutional: this is not going to please him.

  23. Jon must write to Tim regretting his resignation and urging him to consider being Christopher Robin.

  24. These are the Wilderness Weeks of the PoohSoc, proclaims Jon, from which it will emerge leaner and tougher. And more fluffy, insists Vicky.

  25. For the first time this term, we have a reading. The first chapter is read by Jon to symbolise our fresh start: "In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh, and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin".

  26. There is a reference to 'the wrong sort of bees': could this be a veiled reference to British Rail? Is Winnie-the-Pooh a prophetic text as well as a sacred one?

  27. After this, we feel at peace and decide to close the meeting: votes for, 3, against, 0, abstentions, 0. Meeting closed.


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©The Pembroke College Winnie-The-Pooh Society 1996.

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