I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Chairman of the Robert Dover’s Games Society, following on from the stewardship of Graham Greenall who has been a loyal servant of the games for many years. I thank him greatly for all he has done and continues to do for The Games. Graham will continue to be a historical ambassador for the society. (That’s me with my family in the picture)
After their postponement in 2017, it is a transitional time for The Games as we look at every facet of how it is run and staged and what needs to change to ensure that the tradition is kept alive for generations to come. We hope to build closer relationships with the businesses and institutions in the town and I will be visiting as many as I can in the coming months.
We have a great group of people working closely together on The Games, but there is always room for more. Whatever your skill sets, age, or abilities, you will always be most welcome to join the growing family of Gamesmakers. We will continue to meet on the third Tuesday of each month at The Lygon Arms in Chipping Campden at 7.30pm.
The mood in the camp is very positive and our priority is to be in a position to stage the event in 2018. To do this, we will be fundraising throughout the year, following on from the heroic effort of The Volunteer Inn & Toke’s who between them raised nearly £1500.00 through hosting the musical event in June – a truly fantastic benchmark. We already have some great events planned throughout the year so keep your eyes on the website and Facebook pages for further details of these.
Lastly and arguably tantamount in importance to putting the games on…… We need some talented Horse-Folk! Each year, Robert Dover and Endymion Porter are represented – on horseback – at the games and we hope to find a new pair to take over these roles. You’ll need to be an experienced rider and have your own steed – A penchant for fancy dress and general jollity is also desirable! While the two gentlemen in question were indeed men, it’s now 2017 and 405 years on, so men & women are both invited to apply for these prestigious positions.
I welcome your suggestions and comments on the games and if you have something which you would like considered by the committee, please email me at info@olimpickgames.co.uk and I will put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Better still, come and tell us your thoughts in person at the next meeting.
That’s it for now. I look forward to serving the games as chairman and helping to get them back up and running for 2018. I’ll be writing on the website each month to keep you up-to-date with what is happening.
Heigh for Cotswold!
Tom Threadgill
Chairman
Robert Dover’s Games Society