Easter Egg Hunt 2012 - Good Friday - 6th April 2012
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
April 6th saw the branch put on its Second Easter Egg Hunt and saw us taking over £700 - this was very good seeing that a lot of Branch committee members were not available and we called on neighbours, friends and family to help. With over 400 people coming along to take part is was quite an achievement that it all went off so well.
The crowds that were there can be seen on the pictures - the car park was full - all lined up like soldiers by Richard and Julie in such good order that everything from start to finish flowed well. The canteen were cooking bacon rolls and making tea and coffee solid at the end for over 2 hours non stop and those selling tickets never stopped from trying to clear the queues. It was another great effort by all concerned and our thanks go to all. Well done.
Haverhill Late Night Shopping - December 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Before I started to think about writing about this years efforts in the Haverhill late night shopping event, I went back and looked at last years write up - believe it or not I could have rewritten it and just headed it 2010, It dealt with the same people, the same problems filling the coach and making it pay, and the same problems with current football results which also made it difficult for us.
So instead I will take it that you have read last years write up and deal with another side. To make a success of any event you need a lot of work and effort put in prior to the night. It is correct therefore to thank all those unnamed people who donated prizes for the tombola and barrow of booze, Richards mum for making us a cake, Laura for her work in setting up the tombola stand and prize, her mum for transporting everything to the pitch site and Richard for delivering the booze prize to Linton.
This year we made on a much colder night £273 compared with £346 the year before with a drop in the booze side but increase in the tombola. The winner of the booze was with ticket No 883 White a Mr Jacobs from Chalklands, Linton and the correct weight of the cake - 7lbs - Kirsty King from Haverhill.
Thanks to all those that supported us in any kind of way especially those who stood out in the cold for 4 hours on the pitches. Considering the current climate on both finance and weather in all a very good effort by all.
Christmas get-together 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Haverhill branch held its Christmas get together on Friday 2nd December at the Hundon Plough, but this time with no sign of a normal Christmas dinner.
The evening was organised by Stuart and his good wife again to their very high standard but this time they decided that they would give everybody a choice from a normal menu - the result a very good meal enjoyed by all. Just to add a little of the Christmas cheer to the evening Stuart, being Stuart and a bit crackers bought some along himself. Again these were different and good - all the jokes seemed to be new ones.
Once again the youngsters came out trumps with their energy and enthusiam in running around helped run a first class raffle to help towards club funds and ended up with a profit of over £50 - our thanks must go to Julie, Laura and Chloe.
A very good and enjoyable evening with our thanks to Stuart, Paula, and The Hundon Plough
A day out for some of our younger branch members - Watford match, 3rd December 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Three of our younger members had a day out at the Watford game - coming with us on the branch coach - on the training pitch for a small game, under the watchful eyes of Ipswich coaches and then in to see the game itself. Not the result we would have liked to show them but at least the team put in a lot more fight for this game. It was good to see that Kieron,
Eden and Georgina managed to enjoy them selves - a tray of chips at half time possibly added to the pleasure.
Are these to be stars or members of our committee for the future? - lets hope so.
Brown is the colour
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Must say that Brown was not one of my favourite colours but recently that have made such an impact - I would not be without them. It does not matter what we do there is always a Brown around - one of the six in the family - mum, dad, two sons and two daughters.
Recently at the Doncaster game Julie won on a lucky seat number a ticket for 4 for a guided tour of the Stadium, this week the eldest son Andrew took part in a shoot out on the pitch, he did not sadly win it although I think he did hit it, and then back on the coach Peter the youngest son, who had just taken over a 100 club number the Monday before won £5 - I need to find out how he does it - some of us have been in it for years and got to the stage where we are beginning to wonder if our number has got lost! I think if the Late Maurice Dale whose ticket it ad been was around he also would wonder how he did it but knowing Maurice he would be up there saying "Well done son"
It is truly a case that the Browns are there at all events. They have been running car boot sales for us all through the
season. They will be at the late night shopping evening, the Christmas meal, the Easter Egg Hunt, on the coach for both the home and away games and responsible for collecting some of the 100 club members money and on out committee - you name it - what ever we do there is always some of the family there,
We are now look to recruit new family members with the names of Black, Green, Blue etc in the hope that they will all blend in together and perhaps create a master-piece!
Haverhill Big Bash 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
31st July 2011 saw the branch once again taking part in the Haverhill Bash to raise funds towards the cost of our coaches. This year the public turn out for this event seemed to have dropped considerably by nearly 50% - but the amount we made, whilst well down on previous years, in proportion was a healthy amount.
The old favourite - the barrow full of wines, spirits, beers etc. raised £225, whilst the signed football shirt raised £37 and the car boot sale nearly £40. In total we made approximately £300.
Thanks must go to Stuart, David, Sue, Derrick, Betty and all the Brown family. Also a special thanks to all who contributed prizes.
The winner of the barrow full of booze was ticket number 598 - Debbie McCormack, and the winner of the signed shirt was John Linge with ticket number 601. John had the choice of a signed photo of Arsenal or Leeds, or a signed shirt of PSV Eindhoven or Ipswich. He obviously knew what he wanted and chose the Ipswich shirt!
Pictures from the event (below) give emphasize the work that was put in by all concerned.
Car Boot Sales
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
We are very lucky to have a family of six - Dad - Richard, wife, two daughters and two sons who support us in all that we do to raise money for our branch and who also obviously support Ipswich Town F.C.
Besides doing all this they also run car boot sales within their family for the Branch - so far this year they have put on three with plans for another 7.
One of the problems is that they need more items for the car boot sale, so if you have any items that they might be able to use please email Richard on - richardpaulbrown@yahoo.co.uk to arrange collection. Thank you.
It should be pointed out that besides the Brown family the Branch has a hard core of about 14 other people who give up lots of their own time to help in fundraising. Thanks to them all.
Easter Egg Hunt 2011 - Good Friday - 22nd April 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Branch went into the hunting of Easter Eggs on Good Friday 2011 !
For 31 years this has been carried out on Kedington Great Meadow by the Kedington Radio Club but at their request it is now the time for ITFC Supporters Haverhill Branch to take on this task.
We have been very lucky by having the help of a very knowledgeable crew from Kedington to show us the ropes and to get off on a good footing in our first year.
Turn out from our Branch to tackle this event was first class and every one worked very hard to make it all work out well.
In great weather a return of well over £700 was achieved - £351 from the hunt, £134 from the raffle and £261 from the refreshments.
Sincere thanks go out to all those who helped and all who took part. Being our first experience we look forward to comments of what is needed by us to improve. We ourselves will also be looking into how we performed.
We are very grateful to the Radio Club for their help and we hope we can work together again on this project.
Below are some pictures from a very busy day.
Inter-Branch Quiz - Monday 18th April 2011
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Over 40 people met at the Rose and Crown Hotel in Haverhill to take part in the Inter Branch Quiz. 9 teams took part representing Haverhill, Long Melford, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, and Kedington. This time they were fighting for a new shield - The Maurice Dale Shield in memory of one of our late committee member, at a new venue - the Rose and Crown Hotel in Haverhill which is now the Haverhill Branch base.
The evening was a very good occassion with Barry once again in the chair delivering the questions, with Maurices widow Lynn scoring. It was a very close run affair with the Haverhill team captained by David Grimster ending up the worthy winners.
With a good buffet and a large number of raffle prizes, the Branch came out with a profit of over £100 to go towards the Branch coach running costs.
Thanks to all who supported us to make this event another success. Here are some photographs taken during the evening.
Haverhill late night shopping - Friday 10th December 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Friday 10th December evening saw 11 brave members from the Branch descend in freezing weather onto the High Street in Haverhill, joining in Haverhill's late night shopping, in an effort to raise funds towards our coach costs. Running three money makers were Richard and Rosemary Brown and family making a total of six, Father Stuart Christmas, Derek, Barry, Alan and Iain.
All of these had already committed to be there in the very cold weather but it was good to find that the weather had warmed up a little to make our job more bearable.
It is a shame that this fund raising has to be done as a long term thing with no let up - it does not help that the Towns results are not as we would have liked. This in turn affects us with the numbers turning up to get the coach to Ipswich to support them. There are a lot of empty seats at the moment which means we have to raise more to help pay our way.
With Stuart dressed up as Father Christmas - he seemed to attract them all - kids asking for presents and all the ladies, young and old, asking for kisses - Stuart seemed to enjoy this which probably helps explain why he offered to do this job. It was a great night and all present enjoyed themselves so much that already they have started planing for next year.
We raised £89 on Tombola, £79 on a signed football and £178 on the wheel barrow full of booze.
There is a solid core on our committee who continue to help raise money to keep our bus going - both in small and large amounts.
We thank all past and present for their various activities large or small - all of which are appreciated. Here are some 'photos taken during the evening.
2010 Christmas Meal - Friday 3rd December 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Once again the Haverhill Branch celebrated their end of year with a Christmas dinner - this year at the Plough in Hundon. 27 gathered for a very enjoyable evening which included 6 from the Kedington Phone Club - this being the club that we are working with on the Easter Egg Hunt Good Friday 2011. Sadly the event was hit by the weather and 6 had to call off at the due to bad road conditions.
The organisation was carried out by Stuart and Paula and the standard of the food laid on by the Hundon Plough led to a very good event. It was also a good money raiser where we were able to raise £105 on the raffles from prizes donated by members and £55 towards the signed football donated by ITFC. Thanks must go to those who donated towards the raffle prizes and those who sold all the tickets for both events. Well done.
Here are some photographs taken during the evening:
Branch Quiz - Monday 15th November 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
On Monday 15th Nov the Branch held its first ever quiz at the Rose and Crown.
Although there were not many attendees due to various reasons the Quiz went down very well with three teams competing for the coveted shield. Questions asked by Max covered all aspects and caused a few problems! The shield was won by the team of Sue, Martin and David. Thanks to all those who donated prizes for the raffle which in the end led to the evening showing a profit of £60 towards club funds.
Thanks go to Chloe for her assistance with the raffle.
Meal for Betty Cooper - Friday 15th October 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
On Friday 15th Oct 2010, Hundon Plough was the venue for a meal put on for Betty as a thank you for all the work she has put into the Branch for over 25 years until forced to retire as secretary because of health problems - although thankfully she is staying on the committee in an advisory capacity. 29 people joined together to make this a night that Betty would not forget. As well as Branch members we were also joined by Simon Clegg from Ipswich Town FC and Liz Edwards representing the Clubs Supporters Branches with her husband Tim.
As we all settled down for coffee the Branch Chairman - Eddie - collected a bouquet of flowers and a Rose Plant from out of the air and presented it to her on behalf of the Branch - it was nice to note that the rose itself was named Elizabeth. Eddie told a few stories about Betty and how many years she and he had worked together and how much she had enjoyed it. As he sat down up came Liz Edwards and presented Betty with a large bunch of flowers to go into the very beautiful engraved glass vase she also had on behalf of all the Supporters Club - this Vase was also beautifully engraved to Betty. Was that it thought Betty - No - Up stepped Simon Clegg and in front of all present he praised and thanked Betty on behalf of Ipswich Town Football Club for all the work she had put in on behalf of the club.
He then presented Betty with a picture on a shin of Ipswich Town football stands, pitch and players framed with a plaque on it for Betty.
This must be it thought Betty - but no - having returned to his seat he came back to Betty "saying over 25 years’ service is worth more than a picture so what I suggest you do is that tomorrow you give your Season ticket away to somebody and bringing a friend along - you both join me in the Directors Box for the game as my guest."
Betty had a great time along with Eddie Last for the afternoon under the wings of John Wark, meeting several players from the past and being treated like Royalty - in fact as she entered the stand she was greeted with a tannoy message welcoming her to the game and congratulating her on her service and efforts. It was good to see she even managed a Royal Wave to the 19000 people there who had turned up to greet her.
Betty was a very happy person after the weekend’s events.
Here are some photograhs taken during the evening;
Here is Betty and Eddie in the Directors Box on Saturday 16th October:
Haverhill Branch at the Haverhill Bash - Sunday 25th July 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Sunday 25th July 2010 was the third time that we as a Branch had taken part in the fund raising and entertainment laid on by the Haverhill Council - Shortly after 8am, 5 cars turned up at the Recreation Ground holding members of the branch and all their goodies. We were due to have four fund raising events going on - A Car Boot Sale, A raffle for a Barrel of Booze, A Tombola Stand, and a Raffle for a dolls house supplied by Eddie.
It must be recorded that although the turn out from the public for the event was well down on previous years- we as a Branch did very well. In the past we have very often suffered for help - not this time - we had nine people from the committee on hand to help our cause and though I do not want to pick out any body in particular it must be said that the arrival of the Brown family of Richard and his wife Rosemary and children Peter, Laura and later Julie proved to be a great help.
What was good was the way that everybody helped and worked - nobody had to tell anybody what to do and we always had at least three people for every stall which we spread around the ground - if one got fed up and moved on to another stall this person was always replaced with a new face. There was always a chance for other to have a rest considering most of us were there for eight hours.
Another person due special thanks was Stuarts wife Paula who, although she was not able to attend the day, provided the complete contents for the tombola stand - tickets, prizes etc, which proved to be another money maker. In the end as a branch we raised just under £500 for the branch - in some way helped by the fact that the barrel of booze was won by Derek who said he did not want it and therefore was put up for auction. With five people bidding, in the end it was taken by Cllr Elaine McManus - Mayor of Haverhill - with a bid of £75 with an assurance that it was going to be put to good use.
I must say that the way everybody worked together was great. I had a chair bought over for me to sit on - I am not sure if out of kindness or to keep me out of the way - I think though that the result was I did far less than the rest.
Thanks to all for a very good and enjoyable day.
David and Peter, with the dolls house................................Dressing one of the stalls
Sue, Rosemary, and Laura - with the dolls house...............Stuart - putting his back into it!
Richard and Derek, with the car boot sale.........................Where am I going to put this!
Come on, Buy it ! - She did !............................................I know, I'll put that there!
David, Martin, and Peter - with the barrow........................Eddie getting all the attention!
Eddie getting more attention!...........................................Richard, Rosemary, Eddie, Derek
Can't go home yet - still a bit to do!..................................Got it after the auction!
Trust you to get in it Stuart! - at least we got Alan in it - can you see him?!
Annual General Meeting 2010
The Official Haverhill Branch of the Ipswich Town Supporters Club Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 15th July 2010 at The Rose Tavern, Camps Road, Haverhill.
Branch Meal - held at Hundon Plough on Friday 7th May 2010
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Over 20 members of the branch, and 3 of our friends from the Bury Branch, visited The Plough at Hundon for an end of season dinner on Friday 7th May 2010.
This was the first time at Hundon Plough as a Branch and we can report that both the service and the standard of food was first class. Thanks go to committee member Stuart Isaacs for arranging the evening.
Stuart also organised a raffle which rose over £50 for Branch Funds.
A very good evening was enjoyed by all.
Captions to these pictures taken at the meal can be read by hovering your mouse over them:-
HAVERHILL BRANCH 6th ANNUAL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE QUIZ
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Once again another successful Inter Branch Quiz took place in Haverhill on the 12th of April 2010 with 9 teams taking part - 6 from Haverhill, 2 from Long Melford and one from Bury St Edmunds.
We are glad to be able to report that one of the Haverhill Teams won the night - the winning team captained by David Grimster.
Again the questions were well put together by Barry, with Max keeping an eye on the scores. An excellent buffet was provided by the Snooker Club and help with the raffle was given by two of our younger branch members.
Thanks to all who provided prizes and took part in what was a very enjoyable evening. Over a £100 was raised for Branch funds.
Here are some pictures taken at the event:-
The Bury St Edmunds team - very studious
Quiz teams concentrating very hard!
David Grimster's winning team
Stuart's team in the background - conferring
OFFICIAL HAVERHILL BRANCH - Christmas Meal at Great Wratting Red Lion on Friday 11th Dec 2009
Report by Barry Miller – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Haverhill Branch returned to the Wratting Red Lion to enjoy its annual Christmas meal / function. Organised by Committee member, Stuart Isaccs, the event was once again fully booked with branch members including friends from Bury branch enjoying a lovely meal and festive fun!
Here are some 'photo's taken at the meal.
Branch Quiz - Monday 2nd November 2009
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Haverhill Branch held one of our quizzes at the Rose Tavern in Haverhill on what was a very wet and windy night.
At first, in fact right up to the last seconds before the start, it looked as if it was going to be a non event - the room that we normally use was being used for a wake after a funeral and obviously we were not going to try and lay our claim there so me moved into the back room with the company of pool players and drinkers - which did not look like a good option - but in the end the tables filled up annd the quiz started.
It was well run by Max who kept it interesting (where did he get those questions from?), with scores being kept by Iain.
A raffle was also held and sandwiches were supplied by the Cherry Tree.
Approximately £50.00 was raised in the raffle - for the branch.
Thanks go to all who attended and all who helped make it a great evening.
Branch Meal - held at Rede Plough on Friday 16th October 2009
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Haverhill Branch were very pleased to entertain Simon Clegg at one of our dinners at the Rede Plough. After a very good dinner of the normal high standard Simon Clegg addressed all present and gave details of what bought him in to football, his thoughts on the club, what his job involves, and what he is looking for in the future.
He was well aware about the concern being felt by supporters in respect of the position in the league of the club but said he was sure that it would not be long before this would improve. He then spent time answering member’s questions and concerns. He promised to look into a couple of issues brought up by the Branch committee members.
Even though the dinner and the question & answer session ended well into the evening, he still found time to go round all present, to say goodnight and thank all attendees for their support.
A great night was enjoyed by all. Here are some photographs taken during the evening.
.......Derek and Joan - enjoying their evening........................................Stuart and Paula......................................
...........................Betty, and Chloe............................................................Eddie Last and Nick Keeble ...
.............................
..........Simon Clegg - answering questions............
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Ipswich Town v Newcastle United - 26th September 2009 - Remember and Honouring Sir Bobby Robson
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Like every other branch, the Haverhill Branch turned up to see the naming of the North Stand as the Sir Bobby Robson Stand. As we walked to the ground we saw legends from the past and the various events such as the laying of flowers and wreaths at the statue of the late Sir Bobby Robson.
Players from the past including Eric Gates. Alan Brazil, Mick Mills and Laurie Sivell mingled with the crowd as they walked round the ground.
The main event at half time, the naming of the North Stand in honour of Sir Bobby was a very emotional event. With the ground full of Ipswich and Newcastle supporters the atmosphere was electric. The singing of “I'll Do It My Way” must have brought a few tears to the eyes and it was great that those at the game joined the singing in such a respectful way. Balloons were released on the pitch representing the number of games that Sir Bobby Robson had been in charge at Ipswich. All the players past and present showed their appreciation of Sir Bobby and I am sure that it must have been a very moving and heart warming experience for his wife and two of his sons who were present who officially opened the newly named stand.
This was a fitting tribute to such a great ambassador for the club.
Here are some pictures I took during the afternoon / evening;
.......................Suffolk Punch Horse......................................................................Mick Mills......................................
............................Old ITFC players......................................................................The UEFA Cup................................
.......................Balloons released...................................................Alan Shearer - BBC commentary team........
Car Boot Sale at Little Wratting
Below are two photos of branch members at a car boot held at Little Wratting on Sunday 16th August 2009. From left to right, members are Stuart, David, Barry and Derek. Approximately £40.00 was raised for branch funds.
...........................Car Boot Sale at Little Wratting
...............Branch members Stuart, David, Barry and Derek
Sir Bobby Robson
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
At the first home game of the 2009/10 season, members of the Haverhill Branch joined many other Supporters in paying their respects to the late Sir Bobby Robson by firstly visiting the Statue of him and looking at all the shirts, flowers, and scarves which had been left as a remark of respect - we then joined the queue to sign the Condolence book before making our way into the ground.
On behalf of the Branch we say thank you Sir Bobby for so many wonderful memories, thank you for being such a great ambassador to Ipswich Town, and thank you for being so assessable. God bless you, Rest In Peace, you will never be forgotten.
.
Fundraising - Haverhill Big Bash - July 2009
The branch fundraising stall at the July 2009 Haverhill Bash raised over £350 for branch funds - thanks to the hard work of our branch members.
OFFICIAL HAVERHILL BRANCH 2009 A.G.M
Our 2009 A.G.M was held on Thursday July 16th at 8.00 p.m. at The Rose Tavern Pub, Haverhill.
CONCERT AT THE HAVERHILL ARTS THEATRE - FRIDAY 29th MAY 2009
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
The Official Haverhill Branch of the Ipswich Town F.C. Supporters Club were proud to be able to present a fantastic concert in Haverhill on 29th May 2009. The concert was headed by the son of the late great Matt Munro - Matt Munro Junior.
He was supported by Ian Stephens who did a tribute to Jim Reeves and by Zak who has toured professionally for many years - as well as our very own Moggie.
Also helping out was Richard on the Guitar, from Haverhill.
It was a fabulous concert, throughly enjoyed by the 100+ audience.
The event raised over £800 for the branch.
The Haverhill Branch were proud to be able to present Honorary Life Membership Certificates to Matt Monro Junior (even if he is a QPR supporter), Ian Stephens and Zak.
The amount of work that Zak and Moggie put in to make this such a great evening is hugely appreciated. Our thanks are unlimited. It must be said that Matt Monro Junior was so down to earth and was willing to spend a lot of time talking to the fans - well done Matt and many thanks.
It is also very important to inform you all that all these people did this job for nothing and even when they were offered expenses they turned it down. It is so easy to say thank you but it is very difficult to say anything else but I must admit I was overwhelmed by their generosity - so much so that I am willing to forgive Matt for his connections with QPR.
I hope that he will keep his promise of coming with us to see the Ipswich v QPR game, however he might shy out as he has a bet on the result with me and I might feel guilty in taking his money!
Here are some photographs taken during the evening;
Matt, enjoying a pre-concert break
Matt performing on stage
The Haverhill audience
The five performers, receiving and giving applause
Our Chairman Eddie, handing Honorary Life Membership Certificates to Zak and Ian
Eddie thanking his team for organising the show, and thanking the performers and audience
CAR BOOT SALE - MAY 2009
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
Early in May 2009, Iain, Max, Stuart, Sue and Eddie ran a car boot sale. We set up by 8.00am on a Sunday, however within half an hour we were covering up due to rain and we all took shelter in our cars. A half an hour later we were out again selling like mad. Stuart showed his usual flair with the door mats - he said at times he felt like one!
Silly prices were being charged just to clear stock. At 10.30 it started to pour down and by 11.00 it turned very wet and cold so we packed up and went home to a nice warm and dry house. Within an hour and a half the sun came out and everything dried up. Unfortunately, we had all pulled our curtains and failed to notice this.
In bad conditions and in a short time we still managed to raise approximately £80 pounds. A good effort by all!
Stuart, Sue, and Max - Car Boot Sale 2009 - waiting for customers
Door mats sold well - Stuart reckoned that he felt like a door mat!
PRESENTATION EVENING - AT REDE PLOUGH - FRIDAY 8th MAY 2009
Report by Iain Ross – Haverhill Branch committee member.
22 members of our branch arrived at Rede Plough to celebrate 25 years service from 4 of our committee members where each was presented with a trophy in appreciation from the branch.
Our secretary Betty Cooper was presented with an engraved silver tray by Derek Ling. Our Chairman Eddie Last was presented with an engraved clock by Max Eason.
Our Vice Chairman Martin Thulbourne was presented with an engraved clock by Sue Shepherd. Committee Member Julie Cooper was also presented with an engraved clock by Barry Miller.
The recipients of the awards were unaware that this was going to happen - so for all of them it came as a complete, but nice, surprise.
(A collection towards the cost of the trophies was made on the Branch Coach).
Betty and Julie were presented with flowers by Chloe Cooper and Thomas Miller, and were also they were all informed that their meal was being paid for by the branch.
Iain then presented Jean and Nigel from the Bury Branch framed certificates confirming their honorary life membership of the branch as appreciation for their help with the promoting of the branch.
Joyce, the Landlady of the Plough was presented with a signed picture of herself with Jim Magilton (photo’ taken at a previous meal) in appreciation for the way she has looked after us on our regular visits.
The final presentation of the night was to Betty who also received a signed picture of her hero Mick Mills, congratulating her on 25 years service to the branch.
As usual, the food at The Plough and the service was of very high calibre.
Here are some photographs taken during the evening (hover your mouse over the pictures for captions) :-
TRAINING GROUND VISIT - 19th March 2009
On 19th March 2009 several branch members made a visit to the Training ground at Ipswich and were able to watch the town squad in training for nearly two hours. Whilst is was an experience it was a shock that having left Haverhill in warm weather members found that they were standing watching the players in very cold and bitter weather. At times I think some of them wished that they were on the pitch running about! (report by Iain Ross).
Inter Branch Quiz - held on Monday 6th April 2009
Sue, with her Haverhill Team - The Winners of the quiz
Betty and Julie
The Isaacs Haverhill Team
Max and Barry - deep in concentration
OFFICIAL HAVERHILL BRANCH - Christmas Meal at Great Wratting Red Lion on Friday 5th Dec 2008
21 of our members and 3 of our friends from the Bury Branch tucked into three courses of excellent food at our Christmas meal held at Great Wratting Red Lion on Friday 5th December 2008.
A hugely enjoyable time was had by all - a really friendly and happy evening, at a SUPERB venue.
Here are some photographs taken during the evening;
Max tucking into his meal, and Lynn in a YELLOW! hat
The pub was superbly decorated, outside and inside - a great venue
All concentrating on our meals
Betty, Julie, Chloe, Jean L, Nigel, and Jean W - the food soon disappeared!
Smiling faces after enjoying a delicious meal
OFFICIAL HAVERHILL BRANCH - Dinner held on Thursday 13th November 2008
The Haverhill Branch found that the 13th was a lucky day when they held a dinner for members at The Plough, Rede, on the 13th November 2008 when the guest for the night was Jim Magilton. After enjoying a first class meal, Jim delighted and amused members with his various stories and quotes about football. All were very impressed with his passion for Ipswich Town Football Club and his willingness to answer questions.
We took some photographs during the evening:-
Committee member Iain Ross, with Jim Magilton
Haverhill committee members, with their better halves
All attendees enjoyed Jim's company
Chairman Eddie Last, in conversation with Jim
ZAK, and MOGGAR - Friday 15th August 2008
Although not intended as a money maker - more as a social event - the evening went on to make well over £150 profit for club funds. Zak went down very well with a great singing voice and when joined with Moggar (our own Maurice) the two of them kept the audience attention spellbound. Playing to a packed house it ended up going down very well with a great deal of calls for more - so much so permission was granted by the Rugby Club for the evening to run late and resulted with an extra half hour being played. Thanks must go to all those who helped, the BBQ staff, raffle prize donors, ticket sellers, bar staff and the committee of the Supporters club for their support.
We look forward to holding a repeat performance at the end of the season.
Here are some photographs taken during the evening:
Fundraising - Haverhill Big Bash - Sunday 27th July 2008
A lovely sunny and enjoyable day saw the crowds turn out in huge numbers to support local organisations on the town's recreation ground. We were there with our now traditional Barrow of Booze together with a pitch on the Car Boot Sale and a raffle for a signed ITFC shirt. The efforts, dedication and support of committee and branch members saw the branch make a superb total of £540.50 towards their funds and running costs. Although just £25 short of last year's total this was the second successive year that we had made over £500.00 profit from the event.
The breakdown of the fundraising was as follows:-
| Barrow of Booze: | £308.00 |
| Car Boot Sale: | £162.50 |
| Raffle for signed ITFC shirt: | £70.00 |
The Barrow of Booze was won by a delighted Mrs Betty Walker from Haverhill with the signed shirt won by Mr Doug Chambers from Haverhill.
Many thanks to everybody that helped or contributed to making the day such a success.
Official Haverhill Branch 2008 A.G.M
Our A.G.M was held on Thursday 24th July 2008 at 8.00pm, at the Rose Tavern in Haverhill.
Great News regarding membership of our branch!
Our supporters branch continues to thrive with membership continuing to grow and bus numbers increasing. Another three new members joining and traveling with us on the coach to last seasons Plymouth home match night saw our active membership grow to over 60 members - the highest for several seasons!
More great news!
Despite the indifferent current Town form the Branch members and numbers on the coach have steadily been increasing all season which culminated in the coach for last seasons Cardiff and Norwich matches being fully booked. Great news for the branch!
Car Boot Sale
We raised over £200 for branch funds through a car-boot sale in May.
Here are are couple of 'photos taken at the event;
Inter Branch Quiz - held on Monday 7th April 2008
The annual Haverhill inter branch quiz night was a huge success with a full house at Haverhill Snooker & Bowl with nine teams enjoying a fun packed evening.
There were five teams from the Haverhill Supporters Branch which were superbly supported with teams from Bury St Edmunds, Long Melford and Ipswich branches.
After the unique and infamous 'Deal or No Deal' game which saw the lucky contestant discard the £50 envelope to win just £3 from the banker the quiz started.
Ten tense but light hearted rounds which included general knowledge, taped TV themes, name the face, who am I (accidentally ruined by an over enthusiastic member of the Ipswich Branch who gave the answer away after the first clue to the amusement of all present!), famous deaths, the ever unpopular spelling test, and much more the quiz finished with a three way tie between Haverhill 'B' and the two Long Melford teams. The first tie breaker knocked out Haverhill with the decider resulting in Long Melford 'A' winning the quiz.
There was then a raffle and auction for a signed ITFC shirt before a sumptuous and over generous buffet!
The evening, which is always planned more as a social event rather than a major fundraiser, saw a profit on the evening of £201 for Branch funds.
Organiser - Iain Ross
Quiz Master - Barry Miller
Scorer - Max Eason
Raffle - Maurice Dale
With thanks to the rest of the Committee for their help and, of course, all those that took part, attended and contributed on the night.
The quiz in now a permanent fixture in the calendar and plans are already in progress to get the trophy back from Long Melford in 2009. We are in the process of discussing a bowling night for all members young and old - date to be advised.
Here are some photographs taken during the quiz evening;
A very studious looking Long Melford team
A more relaxing second Long Melford team - the winners of the quiz
Iain, and Barry - Organiser and Quiz Master - Iain is about to make an announcement !
Max checking the scores and Barry on the Microphone
Junior True Blue of the Month for October 2007 - Tommy Portman Miller
Committee member Barry Miller's son Tom (above) has been named the Junior True Blue of the Month for October (The E-on competition featured in the programme and on the club website), and as a result he was mascot for Ipswich Town for their match against Bristol City on Saturday 10th November 2007 as well as going on the shortlist for the main prize at the end of the season.
He inspired Ipswich to their 6-0 victory - nice one Tom!
He was basically nominated because he has been a season ticket holder since he was 3 yrs old and due to his unusual middle name and famous namesake . . . . . . . . Tommy Portman Miller!
Here are some more pictures, taken on Tommy's big day;
Branch Quiz
On Thursday 1st November 2007 our branch held a quiz at The Rose Tavern, to raise money to cover the losses incurred on home coaches. While it was intended to be a local, Haverhill quiz, we were very pleased to welcome a team from Bury.
Questions were set by Max Eason, and ranged from Dr. Who to Shakespeare, from famous people with David as a christian name to identifying bald women!
Question master was Max and he was assisted by Iain Ross, who kept an expert eye on proceedings and also kept score.
After a tense struggle, the winning team was The Dream Team, consisting of Joan and Derek Ling, Martin Thulbourne and Caroline Drew.
The Branch would like to thank the landlady of The Rose Tavern for allowing us to use the pub.
ITFC Programme book, and Programme & Memorabilia club
Alasdair Ross has had a book published called Ipswich Town F.C. Programme guide.
It lists all Ipswich Town programmes from 1936 to the present day.
It costs £9.00 including postage.
To obtain a copy, send a cheque for £9.00 made payable to A Ross, to:-
Alasdair Ross
58 Lonsdale Close
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP4 4HD
Alasdair also runs an Ipswich Programme and Memorabilia club, which has over 100 members.
It is
£5 to join and for that you get 4 issues of club magazine- "Town Collectables"
Please contact Alasdair on the address above for further details.
Here is the front cover of the book:
