To find out more about Greater Bristol Branch please contact Roger Gamlin by completing the form below. Scroll down for photographs and reports on events.

 

The Greater Bristol Branch encompasses Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, part of Wiltshire and an area of Wales around the Severn Bridge. It is a friendly and welcoming branch which meets four times a year. The usual attendance is between 20 and 30 on each occasion. Members are kept in touch with both emails and mailings and with local updates by the publication Chatterbox, sent three times a year and which updates those members unable to come to meet up with their colleagues.
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The gatherings which normally include a lunch have included canal boat trips, tours of the BBC Bristol and the Theatre Royal, also garden visits to Bristol University Botanic and Yeo Valley Organic gardens. There have also been several meetings in the coastal town of Clevedon.

 

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The Gt. Bristol Branch held its Christmas lunch earlier this year on Tuesday, November 30th 2021, once again at Henbury Golf Club and organized by our Chair and Event Organiser, Roger Gamlin. 

We were 25 in number and the Golf Club had arranged an excellent Christmas spread for us. Maurice Husbands masterminded the raffle which raised £160 for our Branch funds and there were plenty of prizes. 
 
Roger proposed a toast to absent/lost friends. Richard Coffin responded, thanking the Committee for organizing yet another excellent event. 
 
There was no AGM this time. The current  committee members agreed to continue for another year. If anyone else wishes to join the committee they will be most welcome. Subject to COVID, three or four events will be arranged for 2022.
 
Maurice Husbands  

Christmas Lunch 2021

Christmas Lunch 2021

Once again, our Chair and Events Organiser, Roger Gamlin, had arranged both an excellent venue and good weather for our second 2021 event on 29th September.

The luncheon meeting was held at the Failand Inn which is just a few miles south of Bristol on a lovely sunny day. We were 19 in number, a few up on our first 2021 event, and despite the motor fuel panic buying. Special mention of Geoff. and Barbara Clemens needs to be made as they travelled up from Plymouth to join us. 

The food and service were both very good. There was as ever, plenty to chat about and to reminisce over. Roger was congratulated on organising the event. We all came away with a smile on our faces and having remembered absent friends.
 
 Roger will now be arranging a committee meeting to organise a Christmas lunch and a very brief AGM - COVID permitting. Plus raffle! Please do take a look at the SMBP 44 Association web site, Greater Bristol branch section, to enjoy the photos of our Branch events. Plenty of ex-colleagues faces to admire and recognise!
 
                                          Maurice Husbands

Our  first event for 2021 was a return visit to the Woodford Lodge restaurant, situated on the side of Chew Lake, held on 24th June.  This was our first event for 18 months. We were just 15 in number but a start.

The weather was reasonable so we able to sit at one table and move around. We met for coffee from 11.00am which gave us plenty of time for chat. There was a lot of catching up to do!

The food was excellent as was the service. No staff shortages at the Woodford!  Our Chairperson and Event Organiser, Roger Gamlin was congratulated for remembering how to organise such an event. We all went away with a smile on our faces.
 
Roger will now be arranging a committee meeting to organise an Autumn Lunch meeting and to start preparing for a Christmas lunch and AGM. COVID permitting. 
 
                      Maurice Husbands

Roger Gamlin (third on the left – blue shirt, big smile!) and Liz Gamlin on his right.

Lunch at Woodford Lodge 24 June 2021

​The Greater. Bristol Branch held its AGM and Christmas Lunch on Tuesday, 3rd December 2019 at the Henbury Golf Club in Bristol. Our Chairman and Event Organiser, Roger Gamlin, had once again arranged a beautiful sunny day for us. We were pleased to welcome Richard Coffin and we have been able to persuade him to finally join the 44 Association. Bernard Amos, our bobsleigh man, also attended, between running training courses for Shell and others.

We were 27 in total, a bit down on last year. There was plenty of time to chat with ex colleagues and to peruse various items on display. The food was excellent, as was the service and the dining room. The raffle was, as usual, run by Bert and Maureen Baseley, and contributed £130 to our branch funds.

​There being no new nominations for the committee the current four members were voted en block to continue for yet another year. It is the intention to again arrange four events during 2020.

​Roger proposed a toast to absent/ lost friends. He was warmly thanked for arranging another excellent event.

Christmas Lunch 2019

Our autumn pub lunch event took place on Tuesday, 10th September 2019 – yet another return visit to “The Salthouse” in Clevedon. We met at 11.00am for coffee/tea and there was plenty of time to put the world to rights. We were 21 in number. Our chairperson, Roger Gamlin, had again arranged good weather for us. We again sat down for lunch in a reserved area and ordered from the extensive menu. We were well looked after by the staff. Roger was once again thanked for his efforts in arranging the day.
  
Our next event will be our Christmas Lunch (and our very brief AGM) which will take place on Tuesday, December 3rd  at the Henbury Golf Club in Bristol. Please record in your diary now! 

Our Summer event took place on Thursday, 4th July 2019 - a return visit to "The Woodford", a restaurant built on the banks of the beautiful Chew Valley Lake, just outside the village of Chew Stoke, a few miles south of Bristol. Our Chairman and Event Organiser, Roger Gamlin, arranged another glorious day for us. We met for coffee at 11-30 and sat outside admiring the views and reminiscing as you do at these events.

We were delighted to welcome Geoff, and Jen Smith who were passing through on their way back to Cornwall. Geoff, is the new South West Regional Coordinator in the BP Pensioners Society and came to say hello. We hope to see more of him and Jen. in the future. We were also delighted to welcome Pat and Ruth Moxey who travelled up from Bridgewater, their first visit to one of our events.

27 of us sat down inside the restaurant having chosen food from a very varied menu. The meals were excellent and very well presented. Service was great. Roger was warmly thanked for his efforts.

​Our next event will be a pub lunch some time during September. Contact Roger for details. (Scroll down to bottom of page for the contact form.)

Group photograph from the Summer Lunch on 4th July 2019

​Our Spring event was a return lunch time visit to The Failand Inn, Failand on Thursday, 11th April. The venue is situated just a few miles south of Bristol.

We were only 16 in number this time, no doubt due to schools being closed for Easter and grandparents being otherwise involved. Our chairman, Roger Gamlin, had organised the event and had once again arranged for the sun to shine down on us. It really was a beautiful day.

Plenty of choices on the menu and the food was delicious. There was plenty of time for a chat and to reminisce. Hardly a mention of Brexit! Roger  was “warmly” thanked for his efforts.

Our next event will take place on Thursday, 4th July - a return trip to the “The Woodford Lodge”, situated on the banks of Chew Lake just outside of Chew Stoke. For details please contact Roger - just scroll down to the contact form.

The Greater Bristol Branch held its AGM and Christmas Lunch on Tuesday, 4 December 2018. Once again the venue was The Henbury Golf Club in Bristol. Our chairman/event organiser, Roger Gamlin, had again arranged a beautiful day for us, slight frost but very sunny.

Our guests of honour this year were Roy and John Weedon, all the way from Camborne. Roy is an honourable member of the 44 Club and is chairman of Mitchell and Webber Ltd. His son, John, is Chief Executive. We were delighted to see them. We were also pleased to welcome back Geoff and Barbara Clemens who had travelled up from Plymouth to be with us, Richard Coffin who we had not seen for many a long year, plus Bernard Amos, our bobsleigh man, recently back from running a Shell training course in the Hague. The remainders were the usual suspects from around the Bristol area who loyally support all our events.

There was plenty of time to chat with colleagues of yesteryear and wander down memory lane. Many photos were on display plus a published book on the history of Mitchell and Webber Ltd and a few other items of memorabilia. The food, the service and the room were excellent. The raffle organised by Bert and Maureen Baseley contributed £118 to our branch funds.

The current committee members were once again  voted en block to continue for another year under the leadership of Roger Gamlin. It is our intention to hold another 4 events during 2019. Roger was warmly thanked for arranging an excellent event.

                                                                                                               Maurice Husbands    07/12/18

Our Chairman, Roger Gamlin, organised another lovely day for our Autumn Pub Lunch event which took place on Thursday, 13 September 2018 – a return visit to “The Salthouse” in Clevedon. We met at 11.00am for coffee and there was  plenty of time to reminisce. We were only 16 in number but we were very pleased to welcome a new member – Bernard Amos, who still does some training work for Shell.

We sat down for lunch in a reserved area and ordered from the extensive menu. Roger was again thanked for his efforts in arranging the day.  
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Our next event will be our Christmas Lunch (and our very brief AGM) which will take place on Tuesday, 4 December at the Henbury Golf Club in Bristol. Please record in your diary now!

Greater Bristol Branch Summer event  took place on Thursday, 19th July 2018 – a visit to “The Woodford”, a restaurant built on the banks of the Chew Valley Lake, just outside the village of Chew Stoke, a few miles south of Bristol. It was a glorious day (as can be seen in the photograph above), not a ripple on the lake. 23 attended and sat outside for morning coffee (paid for by branch funds) which gave time for reminiscing. Lunch was taken inside –  very varied lunch choices which were excellent and very well presented. The event was organised by the Chairman, Roger Gamlin, who was again warmly thanked for his efforts.

The next event will be a pub lunch on 13th September at the Salthouse, Clevedon. Contact Roger for details.

Photographs taken at previous events are shown below.