2009/2010 Remnants treasurer's report

The motto for 2009 was "steady as she goes". In a world of financial uncertainty and the borrowing of hundreds of billions of pounds, the finances of Remnants Cricket Club shines as brightly as the lamp on a Cambridge bicycle - er, they shine, and brightly enough for what we do. (Blah, blah, blah.) We made a modest surplus - great. A miraculous low rate of non-cancellations (luck and good weather last summer) has helped. An entire season's cricket with Remnants costs about the same as one ticket to a Premier League game or a family of five playing 18 holes of crazy gold on some manky plastic carpet at Center Parcs.

The club's expenditure in 2009 was GBP 2,235.94; the club's income was GBP 2,354.50. With this GBP 118.56 surplus we now have GBP 1,133.75 in the bank.

While not a treasuer's point specifically, I am delighted to say that in August the whole team helped recognise our substantial collective debt of gratitude to Geoff Hales by most generously to his retirement collection. Many thanks to all, particularly Les Collings for all his work in getting and having restored the very handsome and valuable volume of Edwardian literary cricketing recollections. For obvious reasons I am not publishing the finances here, but I am hoppy to go through the sums with anyone who wants to ask. Income and payments (in balance) were separate from Remnants funds proper.

Colin Anderson and Arnie Garside (not Sidebottom) are to be mentioned in dispatches and given the Jim Schwabe award for their altruism in paying a sub and not playing a single match. Their subs will be rolled over to this year.

After the disappointment of nets attendance in 2009, last year's AGM wisely opted to reudce our commitment to what has always been (sometimes substantially) been a loss-making activity. Members who have remembered to bring their reading glasses will see that 2009 nets lost nearly GBP 100.00; on GBP 288.00 income at GBP 3.00 per person (GBP 1.50 for students) we would need to increase the charge to GBP 5.00 to break even. By only starting nets in March we can keep losses down. After a slow first session this year, attendance is now picking up. If two nets cost GBP 30.00 (GBP 22.40 if Mike Sneyd, as a Hills Road member, can pay and we refund) we need nine people a week (plus a kit lugger/keeper who doesn't pay) at GBP 3.00 each to at least break even. Please turn up and enjoy the practie - 9pm on Tuesdays (but not March 23) at Hills Road Sixth Form College Sports Centre, Purbeck Road Many thanks to Joe White for storing/lugging the kit.

Kit: I have spent a total of GBP 75.00 repairing and renovating three of the bats, including fixing the split tow on one of the Choice Willows. They changes the stickers, no now you can't tell which was which. We have two sets of brand new pads, nearly new wicket-keeper's pads and gloves. The torn/old pads have been demoted to the nets bag. The gloves (the left-hand ones, funnily enough) and the boxes are the things that get lost the most - can people please put them back in the team kit tin after matches? On the whole I can't remember the kit looking better. On the minus side, two horrible nets bats made out of Kashmiri compressed rice pudding have diappeared from the nets bag while it was in the ladies' changing room. Fifteen old balls also vanished. While neither of these is a major loss for the club, I'm sorry about this - I should have left the bag in Dave's garage. A few more points:

Please tell me if anyone moves kit around (e.g., to/from the nets bag). At the very least please write it down on the list inside the kit tin.
Please continue to look after the kit - I am very pleased with the care that people put into looking after our stuff.
Many thanks to those who willingy put the kit away at the end of matches.

The two-tier system of charging differently for sub-paying members and non-subs-paying members now seems well enough established and accepted by consensus as fair. I propose:

All students/unemployed just pay GBP 1.50 - no sub, no two-tier rate. It gets too complicated communicating who is supposed to be on what rate. Let's support young people who want to play.
Some people seem to be playing matches without actually being members. While records could be wrong, can we talk about this? Money collectors don't know - or I forget - who has paid their sub. Like Cambridge Lawn Tennis Club, subs payers could have some kind of small tag, different for each year, on one of their boots - everybody without one pays the higher rate.
The "don't need to pay on first match" let-off gets confusing. People are nearly all very good, but a few aren't - it doesn't seem fair that they can effectively opt out, and make other people have to chase them.

All you stand-in money collectors, please continue to notify me as soon as possible if someone has paid their subs - it can be embarrassing to ask for the non-sub fee if someone has already paid. I would be grateful if occasional collectors give me the dosh as soon as possible, with a note about it and the date of the match. When I get to the end of the season and don't know who was collecting for a match in June it starts getting difficult to know who collected what when. Many thanks to all those who've taken on this job, particularly Daniel Mortlock, whose amazing accounts are a thing to gladden a treasurer's heart.

I am very grateful to all for benignly tolerating my many inefficiencies and charmless wheedling for your money. Many thanks to Dave Norman for his wonderful support for the club - it is much appreciated.

David Williams, March 2010