A long established club that has been served by so many stalwarts over the years.

We are currently served by a very small band of fanciers, some of which, have now given up keeping rabbits, but continue out of loyalty to the club and to the people that are involved now and in the past.

The club is renowned for its friendliness and the great atmosphere that is evident at every one of our shows. The Show Hall facilities are superb and is perhaps the envy of many clubs. Expensive to hire, but as our secretary reminds us all, is worth it.

We continue to prosper with entries steadily rising. Our financial position is sound and we continue to make a small profit on all of our shows. Thanks mainly to the contribution made from the both the kitchen and the raffle.

Tony has remarked on our desire to host and include a Stock Show. It is remarkable that this offer has yet to be taken up bearing in mind our central location and the easy access from the M6. We will wait and see what happens.

We are always looking to recruit new committee members and helpers. Anyone interested should make themselves known to Tony, Prim,  Roy, Michael or Phil. Most Clubs at the moment are crying out for help and unless fanciers “adopt” a club to help, then there are sure to be more clubs going under due to the lack of committee members.

We can all, perhaps, in our own way, help to keep the hobby going by offering to carry out various tasks within the Club.

We hold two shows every year in March and October. Dates for 2010 are Sunday the 21st March and Sunday  31st October. The October Show is what we call our Members Cup Show when we present trophies to the winners of the Members Points competition.

At every show we have two judges—one for the Fancy Rabbits and the other for the Fur and Rex Rabbits. Sometimes we invite a third judge to look after the Junior Com Show but more often than not we ask the judge with the fewest rabbits in their section to judge the junior section. Judges are jointly appointed by Roy Gouldsmith and Tony Cannell.

Our kitchen is second to none, and we are very fortunate to have Prim Cannell to look after our exhibitors and judges. Superb food and always served with a friendly smile. Our visiting judges are always very complementary about our lunches.

We are very fortunate to have Tony and Prim Cannell involved with our club—what an excellent team they make. Our previous secretaries were Mick and Lynne Bennett who again served the club so very well. We have been very fortunate with our secretaries over the years.

We have a lovely rural venue, the show hall a little small but the atmosphere at our show is second to none. Roy Gouldsmith (Show Manager - pictured below) is well supported, in the main, by Michael and Lynne Bennett, Phil Stonier, Brian and Anne Preece, Ron Moore, Heather and Bill Pollard and other members in preparing the show hall so that all is ready and waiting for the judges and exhibitors. An experienced team who have been involved at the club for many years. Plenty of car parking is available next to the show hall and getting to the show cannot be easier. Directions are given in our  “How to find us”  web page.

Mick Bennett (pictured right) organises a splendid raffle show after show and has raised many hundreds of pounds to keep the club running. The show hall is expensive compared to what is paid by other clubs but we feel that the extra cost is well worth while.  Mick is one of our longest serving members and has been a “rock” for the stability of this club.

The website has been designed and constructed by Phil Stonier. Phil is always happy to receive information and ideas on what fanciers and members would like to see on the website. We hope it will help to improve communication and contribute towards modernising the rabbit fancy. Publicity and marketing our hobby is perhaps the most important item on every club’s agenda.

So, it is now up to exhibitors to visit our show and sample the Stoke and Stone atmosphere. If your not exhibiting or just want to know more about keeping and showing rabbits then why not just come along for a good old gossip about your hobby.

It would be remiss of  us not to mention all our members and friends that have helped to establish the club but have passed away over the years. They will not be forgotten.

So, looking forward to enjoying this great hobby of ours,  we all look forward to seeing you at one of our shows.

OFFICERS
PRESIDENT:
Tony Sherwin

VICE PRESIDENT;
Linda Bennett

CHAIRMAN:
Roy Gouldsmith

SECRETARY:
Tony Cannell

TREASURER:
Mick Bennett

COMMITTEE:
Prim Cannell
Carl Cooper
Betty Orpe
Phil Stonier

LIFE MEMBERS:
Michael Bennett
Roy Gouldsmith
Alan Norbury
Betty Orpe
Tony Sherwin

All elected at an extraordinary General meeting held on Sunday 2nd November 1997

QUOTE FROM TOP JUDGE ALBERT ALDRED
“A lovely friendly club. This is what the hobby is all about”.