Gloucestershire Wildfowlers Association News
Newsletter Nov 2021
Hello, I trust that this finds you all well and enjoying the season and the recent change in weather... far better to have a colder snap and some wind! The committee has added a rule in. " No cartridges containing lead shot are to be taken onto any Marsh or other ground owned by or controlled by GWCA for any flight." This will be ratified at the next AGM but is in effect from NOW. Junior Day: The Juniors from GWCA as well as visitors from other clubs in the South West enjoyed an interesting and enjoyable day at Poulton Court. some clays were shot , along with displays/talks regarding a variety of wildfowling subjects. The day was then ended with a flight on that marsh. These Junior Days see to be so good that we are looking at running a similar day in the close season for Associates from next summer. Another change for Associates for next season is how we run/organise the marsh walks and Associate flights. A committee member will be allocated to each of the main marshes to sort out dates etc for both the walk and the flight. They will then be…
Newslette Oct 2021
Hello, I hope that you have all had a better start to the season than I have. Managed to get out but not had much above me at all. Do not think that the weather is helping, Insect repellant and suncream seem to be more needed than waterproofs and a gun! Just a couple of things to keep you updated on. Poulton Court: The work there is basically completed (almost) and we are now waiting for the ditches to fill and the ground to re seed regrow. The spoil has already begun to break down and weather into flatter areas. The ditches are probably 60% full now, just from rain and the lower tides we have been having. No real big tides are expected this year! One of the Trustees from the people that gave us the grant had a site visit the other week and to say he was impressed is an understatement! There is also the availability to put a tarp up at the front of the hut now as well. This is useful for when we have larger groups there such as the ladies days, Junior days & try wildfowling days we have hosted previously, as it doubles the covered area in…
GWCA - Covid 19 and Associate Flights
Due to the current situation with Covid restrictions, the Associate Flights at Arlingham, Lydney and Poulton Court are now postponed and will be rearranged as soon as Covid regulations allow. . Obviously this makes it harder for the Associates to cover the marshes they need to. Therefore we would request that Full members make a concerted effort to try and help the associates by contacting them and taking them out individually when they can. Obviously for the information of the Associates this may also cause plans to change for the Bird ID course and test.... we will let you know as soon as we do.
GWCA Newsletter June 2020
Hello, I hope that all of you are keeping well and that Covid has not caused you too many heartaches. I am just taking this opportunity to keep you updated with what has been happening. The Club's committee has still been active, keeping contact via the joys of email and telephone. It was good to see that what we do every year to assist our members with paying the subs is more than a lot of clubs managed in these circumstances. We also have agreed to match where BASC are giving extra credit to assist people. We had already taken subs from over ½ of the club when BASC announced that they were cancelling this years subscription rise. Therefore rather than trying to refund, we will keep our subs static for a couple of seasons. A vast majority of the club has now paid their subs, but just a reminder for those still to do so..... although GWCA has extended the cut off to 31 July, your BASC still expires on that date. BASC are currently working from home and this can cause delays in getting your renewal with them. Therefore if you do not pay until…
Newsletter re Subs
To all club members. I hope that you are all keeping well in the current situation and that you and your families are safe. As many of you are aware, BASC has now stopped their proposed price increase for this season. (eg £2.00 more for full membership). Club Subs were proposed to be increased at the AGM to cover BASC increases. This is the price that people have paid this season. We have had well over half of the club already paid or already set up their standing orders, so the admin to refund people the £2 would be onerous. Therefore, it will be proposed that the club subs be held at this rate until 2022 to recompense members. BASC has also said that it will reduce the fees for this year by £10 for anyone who has lost their job due to Covid19. The individual member would need to contact BASC, who then send the rebate directly to the member. In line with that, the Committee is proposing to assist members that have lost their jobs and therefore suffering hardship. Any member that obtains the reduction from BASC will also receive a refund of £20 from…
Newsletter re Frampton Fair
Dear members I do hope that my email finds you well in what can only be described as 'unprecedented times'. With a 35 year history, even in 2001 when faced with Foot and Mouth, the Frampton Country Fair has always put on a fabulous show and attracted many thousands of visitors. We are still working towards another great year, although following Government guidelines. The success of the Fair relies on many different components and one of the most critical is our volunteer workforce of which GWCA members play a key part. So although it may seem premature, I am contacting you early to ask for your help at this years fair Of course, if the Government guidelines are such that it is clear it cannot go ahead in September, the organizers will reluctantly and sadly cancel the Fair for this year. However at the moment there is no certainty or clarity on what the situation will be then but we feel that it is best to prepare to make sure that things are in the best shape possible should we be fortunate enough to be able to go ahead. Would you please therefore let me know if you are able to help on…
March 2020 Newsletter
Gloucestershire Wildfowling and Conservation Association Newsletter - March 2020 Bag Returns Now that the season has finished could everyone please remember to fill in their bag returns and send them to George as soon as possible. It is a mandatory requirement of our membership of the GWCA that we all complete bag returns, even if we didn't shoot at all during the season so please fill in yours. Contact details for completed returns is as follows ************* Or by post to George Downing ************************************************************* Poulton Court Cleaning Fairies Contrary to the beliefs seemingly held by some members of this club I would like to assure everyone that there are no cleaning Fairies at Poulton Court. Several times during the course of last season the club hut has been left in a disgraceful state by people who have had an overnight stay there. It really isn't asking much to expect everyone who books the hut for an overnight stay to ensure that it is left clean and tidy when you pack up to leave the following day. Recently the club hosted an event attended by senior members of Natural England as an awareness exercise to enable them to gain a greater understanding of all the good work we do in terms of conservation…
Jan 2020 Newsletter
Gloucestershire Wildfowling and Conservation Association Newsletter - January 2020 Frampton Associate Flight Many thanks to all the full members who turned up on the 4th January for the clubs organised associate flight at Frampton marsh, your assistance was greatly appreciated. There was a high turnout of full members on the evening which meant a good full member to associate ratio, It was good to see so many full members giving their time to guide our newest club members on the start of their own journey with the GWCA, so once again many thanks to everyone for all your help on the flight. AGM Date The date for the clubs AGM has now been set for Wednesday 25th March, the venue will once again be the Anchor Inn, Epney The meeting will start at 7.30 prompt. Please come along if you can and hear what your committee has been doing for you all as members of the club over the past twelve months and the plans which we have in place for the coming year. If you want to ask any questions regarding how the club is run on your behalf or have any suggestions then please feel free to speak on the…