HISTORY:
In November 2003 a brain storming session took place following
the meeting of an ex Tabler from Sweden and another from
Denmark who then decided to advertise to see if they could
find any interest in forming a 41 Club in Nerja, Costa del
Sol, Andalucia. This was followed by the first meeting of
potential members on 22 January 2004. Seven
meetings were held before the Club was chartered on
28 October 2004.
In April 2004 one of our most important moves was made and we acquired
the domain www.41clubnerja.org and the homepage was established. This
has proved to be the most useful tool for information, booking into meetings
and other events events as well as advertising the Club.
MEMBERSHIP PROFILE:
We had ten founder members of whom only three remain. The club has
fourty to fivty members with very few being resident in Spain whereas in the
early days of the club a much higher percentage of members were resident
and only absent to return to their home countries for relatively short periods
of time.
As many of our founder members had tabled in different countries as well
as Great Britain and Ireland an early decision was made to try to keep the
Club as International as possible. We now have members from twelve
different countries namely Spain, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Sweden,
Denmark, Netherlands, Norway as well as England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales.
We also decided to make our ladies an important part of our club scene. In
our third year it was decided that our Club would meet twice per month.
The first Thursday of the month sees members and their ladies enjoying a
Menu del Dia usually at lunch time which is known as 'The Munch Bunch'!
This event is kept as inexpensive as possible to accommodate
and keep everyone happy. It is very
successful and ensures that the ladies get to
know each other. In October 2016 we
celebrated our 100th Munch Bunch and
maximised our press coverage to promote
our Club. The third Thursday is when the
normal 41 Club meeting takes place and also
when the ladies who wish join us at the bar at
the start of the evening and then have a meal
at a restaurant of their choice. This can
provide a handy lift home for many of us but
the ladies
definitely enjoy their evening too!!!
We decided to extend membership to Non Ex Tablers about four years ago
with a limit of 10% of the membership. Two like minded gentlemen joined
us in the first year and continue to support us with great enthusiasm and
both are attending the Cluster of Spanish and Portugese Clubs again this
year. As our membership is now forty five, two more Non Ex Tablers have
joined us recently having satisfied our admission rules .
Our membership profile has changed greatly in the last five years with only
few of the members being resident hence many of our members are now
only in Spain for two to six months per year and so we are becoming more
of a drop in Club.
ADVERTISING:
This works very well as we continually advertise emphasizing that short/part
time members are most welcome. We are advertising in magasines and
papers read by our international members. Naturally, we make sure that we
have regular articles in the press with photographs to cover events. Our
advertising, be it the paid for advertisements or the free press coverage, is
our main source of finding new members.
CLUB WEB SITE: www.41clubnerja.org
Please look at our website which covers - HOMEPAGE - CALENDAR - VENUE
- MEMBERS PHOTOGRAPHS - CLUB EVENT PHOTO
ARCHIVE - CONTACT - LINKS - PRIVATE MEMBERS
SECTION
In the Private Members Section we have -
DIRECTORY - MINUTES - BOOKING IN FOR 41
MEETINGS + LIST OF THOSE BOOKED IN -
BOOKING IN FOR MUNCH BUNCH+ LIST OF THOSE
BOOKED IN
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES:
Handover Night, BBQ, boat trips, joint meetings
with Costa del Sol 41 Club, Chairman's Drinks
event, bowls and boules, Cluster and any other
excitement our Chairman throws at us. Our
events calendar is our first line of attracting
new members. We have forty five members
with an average of eighteen to twenty an
attendance at any one time throughout the
year. We do not have Club meetings in
August or December as numbers are too low
but a Munch Bunch usually takes place even
if only for a few people! Some of our 41 Club
meetings are with the ladies if we feel that we can entertain them in
a suitable manner. We have a Membership Officer who looks after new
members and keeps an eye on members and their wives who maybe unwell
and any who may have missed some meetings. Our website is also
important means of keeping in touch as photographs of every event are
added to the site so that members can check on activities anytime.
CLUSTER:
Cluster which is the annual gathering of the 41 Clubs in Spain, Portugal and
Majorca has become a large part of our activities.
Alfie Fornear