Medway

Chairman's Chatter As the current season draw to close, it is time for me to reflect on how the Branch has progressed since September. Our new venue has been appreciated by most that have attended, the room we have is spacious and sufficient for our needs and has on most meetings been relatively unaffected by the bar next door. I accept there is the ongoing parking issue, but now that your Chairman is a member and entitled to a parking space, I have no trouble in that regard! Seriously though, I know that car sharing has helped as well as parking in adjacent streets and I am pleased to say that I do not believe this has adversely affected the numbers of you that have made it to Branch. I have to say that the range of guest speakers this term has been tremendous, we have enjoyed everyone from our own Ian Cooper through to Steve Bennett and Neale Barry from the FA, Andrew Crofts, David Dixon, Ed Stone and who present will ever forget Richie Davies from the world of boxing? A warm thank you to all our guests and to Peter Curran and other members who have made their visits possible. This season for me has been a steep learning curve (steeper than previous years!). As you know I have been trying my hand at Senior football in the Kent Football League and in this first season have been used as an assistant referee. The main difference is the fitness levels of the players and officials and that all three officials are assessed at every (Premier) game. This has been very useful to develop my skills as an assistant referee and to work with experienced and newly promoted Level 4 referees has really helped my skills when I am in the middle of a match between two Met Police Boroughs I can tell you! I have also been fortunate to referee at the WestHamAcademy on several occasions, taking control of Under 16 fixtures. For those of you who know their Hammers, I've seen John Moncur and Steve Potts watching their son's going through their paces. Whilst I'm name dropping, Clive Allen's son played in goal for BrentwoodSchool at the last game I did there! Very hard not to ask for their autographs in your ref's kit!! Finally, thanks to all of you for your ongoing support as members of the Branch and I hope to see as many of you as possible at the next meeting on the 19th May and then the AGM in June. Kind regards,

Andy Francis. Chairman.

Membership Fees 2008/09

Members are reminded that membership fees for 2008/09 fall due on the 1 April 2008.

The membership fee is £23.00 (£13.50 under 18). The increase of £2.00 is wholly due to the increase set by the RAE.

Any member wishing to renew their membership can forward payment to the treasurer, Peter Curran, at 296 The Tideway, Rochester, Kent ME1 3PS, when a receipt will be sent in due course.

I would remind members that any member who has not re-registered will not be covered by the RAE insurance until their fees have been received by head office.