FORTHCOMING MEET WALTON HOLT- ORBY. SKEGNESS 12th - 14TH SEPTEMBER   Your Stewards for this meet are: Malcolm and Dorothy on 01522 809310

FORTHCOMING MEET DA FEAST OF LANTERNS - SUTTERTON PLAYING FIELDS. 19th - 21st SEPTEMBER This ever popular meet, is held this year at Sutterton Playing Fields, will be inclusive of a stir fry and pancakes evening. Therefore it is not one to be missed. Your stewards are:  Colin and Brenda on 01205 871019

FORTHCOMING MEET THE COUNTRY AND WESTERN WEEKEND INGOLDSBY PLAYING FIELDS 26TH - 28TH SEPTEMBER Want to shake off the cobwebs, from what has been a dull and wet summer? Then mosey on down to the Ingoldsby Corral for a weekend of C&W. Jeans, hats, checked shirts and a bootlace tie should do the trick. But don't forget that wide belt with a big brass buckle or you could show more than you bargained for! On Friday night in the hall there will be free entertainment in the form of a Comedy Group. Whilst on the Saturday night, the village will be hosting the Country and Western night, inclusive of buffet supper for the price of £5.00. Your stewards are:  Rodney and Peggy on 01780 762082.

FORTHCOMING MEET DA CHRISTMAS PARTY -GREAT HALE VILLAGE HALL. 12th - 14TH DECEMBER Tickets for this event are now on sale at £6.00 for adults and children over 16 years of age each. Children under 16 are free. These are available from the Treasurer Malcolm Smith on: 01529 302188.

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU Marion Foster and family would like to thank everyone who bought tombola tickets at the Tulip Rally in memory of Steve Townsend.   We raised £400 for the cancer ward where Steve was treated.

CAROL & CHARLES'S LETTRES FRANÇAISE As most SLDA members are aware Carol Hodgson and Charles are in France for the season  as couriers for Key Camps. Here will be published regular updates of their time on site, which I am sure will be of interest to everyone.Email Carol & Charles Friday 22nd August – 10pm Hello folks, We are even closer now to the frenzy of cleaning and packing up. We are even planning our exit strategy.  Even though the weather in August has been less than summery!! The families we have had are much more amenable than the ones earlier in the year, they seem to enjoy themselves much more and don’t complain much either – except about the weather of course. Mind you the sun did come out this evening, and the forecast for tomorrow is good too! We have been unfortunate in having lots and lots of one night stays – they are either travelling up or down and we are close to St Malo – so far this month we have had 20, all that cleaning for one night! We have been extremely busy the past week and yet more to come, but the bookings have dropped off now, and in our last week our accommodation is only about 2 thirds full, our last families leave on the 7th – then we put all the mobiles to bed and pack up all the stuff in the tents.  We had a day off last Saturday and visited the Barrage de Rance – the weather was cold, and wet and windy! But we had a good day, bit of retail therapy first and then onward. We were amazed to find that there is a hydroelectric power station below the barrage – which uses the incoming and outgoing tide to generate electricity. We thought it was just a barrage to control the level of water up the Rance estuary – but we were wrong! The visitor centre there is in the barrage and below the road. http://armorance.free.fr/barrage.htm  It has been an experience and we are now planning on doing it again next year – but where to go? Somewhere further south I think, maybe even the med – but at the end of the day it all depends on which sites have couple couriers…….  We have met some lovely people and some not so lovely! When people go home they sometimes leave bits of food etc, we have got masses of part full bottles of washing up liquid, mayonnaise, oil, and hundreds of toilet rolls – oh yes and plastic containers of salt!! Not forgetting sugar and ground coffee. But on our wages – all donations have been gratefully accepted……… We have been given several bottles of wine, a bottle of brandy and last night after Charles showed a late St Malo arrival into their mobile and 5 euro note was thrust into his hand! So there you go, onward and upward, it won’t be long before we are back in Blighty. A bientot.  Carol et Charles Sunday 26th August. The sun is shining and it's hot too, it was a miserable really dull morning, but it wasn't cold, and now the sun has come out and wow it's hot - it can stay like this till the end of the season - my tan is beginning to fade! All is quiet and all is well, we are full and just one family to come in and then nothing to do till another lot of scrubbing tomorrow! Getting bored with all this cleaning now............... even more bored than I was last month. I haven't been for a swim for ages, so I might just go and test the waters later. So there is nothing going on - we are trying to whittle down the list of places we might like to work in next year, but it's hard, and when it comes down to it - it's still a bit of luck if you actually get what you want.  So it's a short and sweet email for today - got to go and enjoy the sun whilst it is shining.     Eels perhaps A French family collecting eels. Buchot moules A polar bear El Guildo Info on El Guildo

MEETS WITHOUT STEWARDS. Once again we are faced with a shortage of Stewards. Please help us to help you by volunteering to steward a meet. Do not worry if you have not undertaken this job before, as every assistance will be given to ensure your meet is a success. If you are interested in stewarding any of the following, please contact Derek our Chairman. He can be contacted on: 01522 883844 / 0786 4511167 or by email:  CHAIRMAN Remember, no Stewards, no meet. 29 AUGUST - 01 SEPT GLEBE FARM FOR  WRAGBY SHOW. 05 - 07 SEPTEMBER LEGBOURNE VILLAGE HALL. LOUTH. 12 - 14 SEPTEMBER WALTON HOLT, ORBY, SKEGNESS.

THE DA CHARITY 2008 THE LINCOLNSHIRE and NOTTINGHAMSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE. Click on the helicopter to go to the Air Ambulance site. It was unanimously agreed our first committee meeting of the year that in 2008 we continue our fund raising and support of the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance. We took into account the sterling work carried out, that it was a local charity, and that every penny donated goes directly to the operation and maintenance of this deserving cause. The charity is a dedicated medical air service which first began operations in Lincolnshire in April 1994. Based at RAF Waddington, south of Lincoln, and unaffected by road congestion, country roads, heavy vehicles or road works the Helicopter can reach any destination in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire in 19 minutes.

IMPORTANT NOTICE THE USE OF GENERATORS AT SDLA MEETS The Committee of the SLDA advise the following guidelines / recommendations  on the use the use of generators: Use of generators is restricted to 09.00 to 13.00 hours. You should not leave running generators unattended. If a generator is required on medical grounds, please consult the Steward. Remember the Stewards decision is final. Thank you for your cooperation.

NOTICE TO ALL STEWARDS FROM THE WEB MASTER As discussed at the AGM, the Sites Officer and all Stewards can now email or call me with the latest updates regarding meets. Please give date and location of the meet, names of Stewards, contact numbers and any additional information to be posted. To email, click on the logo or call 01507 601123

THE POACHER'S PATCH Do not forget our own Poacher Magazine. Yes, Poacher's Patch Newsletter is alive and well. All those who went to the Christmas Party received the last issue. But our Editor, Bernie, needs more articles from you. So if you have any interesting articles, jokes, recipes, meet reports, or anything you think other members would be pleased to hear about, then post them off to: The Poacher 112 Horncastle Road, Woodhall Spa, LN10 6UX, or Email to:  davberniewilkinson@btinternet.com