Natalie Hawkes

Natalie Hawkes was Chair of the society from 1993-94, presiding over main show 'Iolanthe'. This is her Chair's Report from the AGM, copied from the original in the Archive.


Well, thank you all for coming tonight- as far as I've gathered it seems traditional at this point for the Chair to recap over the last year's events, with witty asides if possible! Those of us who were treated to Brennan's speeches will perhaps question the 'witty' factor!

Anyway, without further ado- this time last year I was left thrilled after the success of 'Ida' get wondering what on earth I'd let myself in for as the new Chair. Eleanor told me it was a doddle and handed over a box containing videos, tapes past programmes and a very handy file containing "101 Things A Chair Needs To Know" which as proved most useful to someone as vague as me!

The Summer Term seems to have been busier than most (we were such a keen committee!). Those of us at the Osbaldwick concert will fondly remember Laurence's rendition of the Sentry's Song- (I've since wondered if Graham based himself on Florence?) and the never-ending wine and fruit cake…

The sponsored sing was once again a success and thanks go to Berry for organising that. It was the first time I'd actually gone the whole 24 hours and I was so brainwashed I thought to the tunes of G&S for the next two days- although I'm told you can get the same effect with certain substances…

Much against my better judgement we embarked on organising a 21st reunion, with Trial By Jury from scratch as the centrepiece. To my immense surprise the whole shebang came off- shame we didn't have an audience to watch it- but never mind.

We "quaffed and scoffed" at the Cross Keys, Stillingfleet for our dinner meal and possibly a first in society history, managed to avoid singing for the whole evening.

Well the summer holidays stretched ahead as I became increasingly panicked by the thought of all the people that had left and worried that the society would be a crumpled heap when we returned.

However the Freshers Mart was encouraging and we signed up 100s (the majority never to be seen again, I admit) but there you go- I wasn't unduly worried by the fact we had about 3 men on the male chorus- NOT!

The concert at Goole certainly threw up some 'surprising things' with Christine virtually ripping Jonathan's clothes off, and Matt, Graham and Hugh managing to look very silly indeed. For me the best part was the fab meal afterwards at Liz's house- thanks Liz's mum!

The Autumn term trailed to a close with busking in town and singing at the Retreat, it all seemed calm but certain people were quietly panicking about the prospect of putting on a show in approximately 6 weeks time. "Of course the set will be built in time- Dave assured me at every opportunity" "Of course we'll have blocked everything" Yes Hugh- I trust you implicitly!

Since Christmas my life seems to have revolved around 'Iolanthe' but I know we'll all agree that the amount of time spent on the show has been well worth it. Once again this society has produced a successful, entertaining and (most of all) enjoyable show of which everyone involved should feel proud.

Much of the societies' success is due to the hard work of the committee,on whom I have delegated shamelessly and often. On behalf of Hugh, Sarah and myself I should like to thank:

Tara, Caroline, Joy, Belinda, Steve, Liz, Lindsay and Graham.

Particular thanks go to Kevin and Matt Tatt for, as the erstwhile Dan Jenkins said, "We can do without a chairperson but we can't do without a secretary or treasurer".

I now get the lovely job of giving out the pressies: firstly to 4 people who worked behind the scenes so hard to ensure the society continued its excellent technical reputation.

Thanks to Dave, for his incredible set design and the endless hours he put in, organising the construction of it.

Thanks to martin for once again doing a great lighting job- I particularly liked the leaves and the windows.

Thanks to Guy- all the girlies enjoyed his calming 'come-to-bed' voice over the tannoy and also thanks to John Stoneham who is a bit of an unsung hero and has turned up for set building virtually every week of his 3 years here, and proved an invaluable assistant to dave this year especially.

PENS

And now, finally, the two people who are most responsible for the success of the show- flighty Hugh and sheep-farming Sarah- thank you and come on down…

GOBLETS

Any Q's on the way things have been run?

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