RMC Social Section Review 2022
The Covid pandemic and lockdowns has been especially hard for everyone, and as part of the “Get Risca Singing Again” campaign, it was decided to energise the social side of choir activities. As we are a registered charity, we had to separate any social activities from the business of the Choir.
In early 2022 Mike Sullivan and several of the lads established a social section that is open to all members, ex-members, dependants and friends of the Choir.
Since its inception the social side of RMC has gone from strength to strength as an all-inclusive group. It was agreed to pay 50p a week into a fund, with an initial joining fee of £5, with all monies accrued to support transport costs of an annual trip.
Over the last year we have been running a group of events including ladies’ dinner nights out, regular curry evenings (see photo opposite) for guys and gals, and several successful group dinners, during which we have taken the opportunity to raise monies in support of our chosen local charities via raffles and voluntary donations.
This year’s summer outing was an educational visit to Weston’s brewery nr Hereford, where we learnt about the art of cider making, culminating in sampling some of the local produce, then onto Malvern and a steam fayre to study the workings of all kinds of mechanical vehicles. The trip was finished off with dinner by the river in Upton on Severn, where we had a few “ teas “ and a little sing along before returning home. (For more details, this event has already had a revue on our website)
Our most recent Christmas social event was held on Dec 6th at the Ridgeway Bistro, Newport. (See photo opposite) So successful was this event, we occupied the entire restaurant, with 59 bookings. As always the food and service was excellent. For social events we highly recommend the venue. A raffle and collection was held raising £435 for our current chosen charity Tŷ Hafan.
At the end of December we held a social sing along at the Prince of Wales Risca. It’s always an event to look forward to with its mince pies, mulled wine and a real kick off to Christmas. It’s also well supported, and presented an opportunity for us to share our community spirit whilst being on the lookout for some potential choristers.
None of this would have been possible without the drive and commitment from several members of the team, specifically Mike Sullivan for corralling the team together, and Wyn Cable for organising the collection of social subs.
We look forward to more events, gatherings and adventures in 2023. We aim to continue and improve the social section of RMC for the benefit of everybody involved with our great choir.
Let’s “Keep Risca Singing”
Sarah Williams
Andrew Williams
Mike Sullivan
There will be regular monthly updates on social events on the web, beginning at the end of January and going forward through the year.
