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Welcome
shipmates of the HMS Llandaff Association to your first newsletter of the
New Year. Well
where did last year disappear too???? Who knows time seems to go by so
quick or is it that we are not so young anymore. I am taking this opportunity of putting together this newsletter as I recover from my latest operation and short stay in Hospital , well on the mend now and should be fit for sea again in around about 6 weeks , thank you to all shipmates that have been keeping an eye on my health problems of late .I think all these problems started after meeting up with John Tommo Thompson again after 30 odd years |
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Reunion
went very well last year with a record attendance and it was great to see
Captain George Oxley looking so well and giving us his usual performance. This
year marks the 50th year since the old girl was first
commissioned into the Royal Navy so it’s a very special year for all of
us especially the very first commission boys so Birthday celebrations are
a must for this year. We still have around about 20 of the first
commission boys onboard so I expect all of you that can attend to do so. Eastbourne
is the new venue this year with a much better deal price wise that we have
ever had in the past and also making this year a 3 day event due to the
travelling that some members have to undertake. I
will be making a short visit to the Afton Hotel over the next month or so
and hope to meet up with John Holness who will look over all the
facilities that are on offer to us. It’s
very difficult having a change of venue after 7 years in one place but I
feel that in the end the Holiday Inn at Cardiff were not playing the game
especially on the price of the drinks etc anyway we will try out
Eastbourne this year and see how we do. The
one and only Shep Woolley will perform for us on the Friday Evening and we
will have a band of some sort for the main event on the Saturday evening,
On Sunday this year we have been invited down to the old Naval Comrades
club in Eastbourne for a Lunch time session with buffet. I’ve been to
the club once before and is well worth the visit. As
far as a Guest of honour for this years reunion Dinner I have searched
high and low for an officer who was serving onboard during the first
commission without any luck what so ever, I think age has caught up with
us on that issue so I have been in touch with a very young Lt David
Snelson who was onboard back in 1975. David
Snelson has attended Reunion once before and retired from The R.N about 18
months ago and finished up a Rear Admiral. David
now runs the Port of London and is a very busy man but has promised to
look into his work load and has promised to honour us all as guest of
honour if at all possible in October. David’s
Naval C.V stretches quite a distance and if my memory is correct I think
that he was in command of about 3 ships including the Ark Royal so I
personally think the Admiral will make it a very interesting after dinner
speech , lets hope he can get time off to attend our next reunion. Don’t
forget the dates for Reunion are the 10th of October through to
the 13th, bookings are going well, we have about 13 twin rooms
left to book and then we will be full. If
you have not booked yet please get the booking form back to me ASAP with a
£10 deposit per head then you have until August to pay the balance,
Please note deposits are non returnable as I have had to pay up front a
deposit to the hotel which also is non returnable. Sorry
about the date being so late this year it was the only weekend I could
get, the bride is a little bit upset as it’s our Wedding Anniversary and
I promised her a cruise so now I’ve had to pull all the stops out to
secure a room at the hotel with a sea view so that I can show her some
ships in the channel!!!!!! The
web site www.hmsllandaff.co.uk
seems to be going well and don’t forget if any of your personal
details on the crew list are wrong please contact Ian our webmaster direct
and he will correct them for you , if you are not listed then contact me
and I will pass on your details. Also on the web site Ian has created a
new page for Photos of yourselves past and present, it’s a bit of fun to
see how much we have all changed over the years so send yours in if you
haven’t already done so. A couple of months ago a couple of Llandaff items appeared up for sale by auction on the world’s famous web site E Bay. One item pictured below
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Its
a little shield to commemorate losing the tot issue in the R.N, well the
shield is now in my possession as an oppo of mine wanted to buy this item
for me for a Christmas present and he wishes to pass on a message to all
Llandaff members who bid against him on E Bay !!!! Please don’t do it
again as what started out as a £2 Bargain ended up costing him over £20
!!! And being an ex submariner he wasn’t too pleased at spending so much
money on a skimmer. Membership
is ticking along quite nicely and at present we have about 109 fully paid
up members and for those of you who have not yet paid membership for 2008
please do so , its only £3 a year to keep us afloat also all other
donations are gratefully received . We
have a new slops provider based down in Weymouth (ex R.N ) and we can now
provide most items of clothing with the ships crest on them and even your
name or nick name included if
so desired . Fleeces,
Pilot Shirts, Polo Shirts, Base ball caps etc etc Name your colour and
requirements and I will get our supplier to mail items directly to you,
most items range price wise between £10 - £20 plus £4 P&P per item,
I also have some ties in stock with the ships crest on them priced at £8
Each plus £2 P&P. Please
be reminded that all cheques are payable to The HMS Llandaff Association
and send to me at my usual address 178
Sutcliffe House, Addison Way , Hayes, Middlesex UB3 2DJ. The
Bank balance is looking good at around about £300 after all the latest
invoices are paid the only other funds in the account are reunion deposits
making us a little bit of interest until I have to pay out . Well
shipmates that’s about all for now, we now have calm waters ahead all
the way to this reunion. Yours aye Slinger & the Bride
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