Black Canon Collective

Category: News

  • AGM

    We’re extremely proud to announce the details of our very first AGM! Aside from the necessary undertakings this will be a great opportunity to all meet up, have a drink, some food and celebrate our first whole year as the BCC, something we should all be proud of!

    The full details of the meeting are below:

    AGM Agenda – Year 1 (2009)

    Time:        19:00 hrs
    Date:        29/03/2009
    Location:   Horse & Groom, East Woodlands, BA11 5LY
                    (The club has been given full use of the conservatory for the evening).

    Meeting to commence at 19:15hrs

    1.Welcome – General welcome and explanation of the purpose of the meeting.
    2.Apologies for absence – Notable absentees
    3.Treasurers Report + Accounts – Presentation of previous years accounts + proposal of forthcoming years budget.
    4.Chairman’s report – Summary of the year including plans for the coming year
    5.15 Minute Break – Refreshments + time to vote (see item 6).
    6.Election of the Trustees and Committee – Conducted via ballet box on the day, only full members being able to vote. 
    7.Proposed changes to the Rules of the Club and Constitution – Changes voted in by way of an open vote.
    8.A.O.B. – Anything from the floor / committee

    The meeting will be followed by Drinks, Food (to be provided by the club) and fund raising raffle / or similar.

    Approximate duration 1-2 hrs (allowing for A.O.B of approx 1/2 hr)

    We will announce the finer details of the committee election process by the 20th of February. 

    Please all come along, it will be a great evening and an opportunity to have your say on any club issue plus voting will only be open to those who attend.

    Thanks

  • Big Air Contest

    When not able to ride their mountain bikes our members still try to push the boundaries of any and all extreme sorts ….cough, cough, OK, perhaps not.  looks fun, though I’m not sure that a sledge “no-hander” carries quite the same kudos as it does on a bike. Good work Tom!

  • Tweet Tweet!

     

    OK I know that this may well be a passing fad for many people BUT having an embedded twitter feed on the front page of the website allows me to easily upload news, images and general information from practically anywhere. Although limited to 140 characters this is great and will mean that night rides, dig days, club trips etc can all be shared as they happen. So check out the feed on the front page, or if you’d like follow us see http://twitter.com/BlackCanon, username @BlackCanon.

  • STOLEN BIKES!

    A friend in need is a friend indeed!

    Just had a text from friend and club member Finlay Paton (ATB) who’s van has been broken into…

    “Just had my van broken into. They’ve nicked 30 grands worth of Marin and Whyte bikes. 4 X Wolf Ridge 6.9, 3 X Mount Vision 5.8, 2 X E120’s and my personal Four cross bike and Attack Trail, both very distinctive machines. Please keep an eye out for me. Fin“

    Please contact us if you have any info on these missing bikes (there’s a reward being offered for their safe return)..

    Andrew

    07870609871

    andrew.denham@blackcanoncollective.co.uk

    More details inluding photos here

  • Help needed…

    Many members ask how they can help work on the allotment outside of dig days. Understandably people are often reluctant to just get stuck in without a little direction. We were obviously thrilled and very keen to embrace this enthusiasm and enable people to join in whenever they can.  So, Ian came up with the idea of making some “pile rocks here”, “rake from here”, “…to here” signs to place around the allotment. After a couple of hours of dodgy jig saw skills (that’s skill with a dodgy jig saw) and some inspired paint brush control we’ve made some “help needed” signs.
    So look out for them around the allotment and when you get a moment or two in between a bit of riding, well, see signs for further info…. 

  • Small steps…

    One of our targets has been to get a permanent XC trail implemented in the area . The benefits of this, if done right, are huge and so it’s been no secret that we’ve been pushing hard (behind the scenes) to make it happen. We’re not there yet, in fact we’re barely at the start of this project but I can now say that we’ve passed a couple of key mile stones: 

     

    1. We now have a verbal agreement (from Longleat) to route a trail through the surrounding woodland, pending a detailed review of our plans.
    2. We are in talks with an expert trail builder who is wiling to be involved in the design and construction of such a trail.

     

    These may seem to be small steps, especially seeing as neither is more than a promise to consider our plans. But I can’t emphasise enough how many pitfalls there are to realising such a project  – so any hint of good news is good news in my book.

    By securing the input of someone who really knows what makes a good trail we can be sure that no matter how big the area, or small the hill we can build something to be proud of.  So a few months back we contacted Russell Burton who agreed to meet up for a walk around the allotment and a chat. Russell, who lives local to the area, seemed excited by what we were attempting and happy to help out. At this stage we had nothing but a pipe dream, no commitment from Longleat just an idea. But now that Longleat have agreed with our plans in principle, now we’re cooking!

    So, since speaking with Longleat we’ve sourced a detailed map of the woodland, marked up the area we intend to use and sent Russell an e-mail outlining a basic brief (click here: Dear Russell… to see the e-mail) to get the ball rolling. Nothing is confirmed nor is any one’s involvement guaranteed but we’re making progress and must attempt to maintain this momentum.

    We’ll be detailing the progress of this, and all our other projects, here on the website so check back to see how we’re getting on.  If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to help then please contact me via phone or e-mail.

  • New Donation!

    Fantastic news! I’m thrilled to announce that only days after receiving the invoice from Longleat, we have already been pledged the full £250 needed from the Elizabethan Evening, Corsley.

    Each year the owners of the grade I listed Elizabethan Manor Farm in Corsley put on a professional Shakespeare play in their fabulous grounds to raise money for local charities. Charities / projects which have benefited to date include the Playing Field in Corsley,  Little Cuckoos Nursery, The Old School Field, St Margaret’s Church and now the Black Canon Collective!.

    Random Fact: Manor Farm was lived in by Sir John Thynne while Longleat House was being rebuilt after the fire of 1567. It is believed that some of the doors from the Farmhouse are now in Longleat House. 

    Marion Liquorice, Head of Advertising of the Elizabethan Evening (and Robins mum) contacted the club a few months ago to see how she could help. Marion has been incredibly helpful in securing this donation which will make a massive difference to the club so THANK YOU from all of us here at the BCC!

  • Licence fee

    Longleat have now sent the invoice for our licence fee. Due to an extended period of felling and general disruption to our activities they have very generously discounted the fee to £250 for this first year!

    The licence will be renewed from June the 1st this year but crucially will be a 3 year licence, this commitment from Longleat is a really good sign of how well we’ve worked together and their confidence in us. Well done everyone involved!

  • Club Car Park

    That’s right we’ve now got a club car park! Longleat have let us use one of their concrete pads (normally used to store felled timber) for BCC member parking. No longer do we have to worry about being able to find a parking spot on a busy Sunday afternoon.

    Ian and I cleared the area (see below) and I’m sure you’ll agree it looks super! Our next step is to convince the ice cream van (normally found at heavens gate car park) to relocate……

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