When somebody locally makes the effort to organise a function at the Social Club then I believe that it deserves an equal effort on behalf of the locals to consider attending that function.

It was on that basis that this year we purchased 5 tickets for 3 adults and two children for Coltishall Social Club’s New Years Eve function. Mindful of the previous history of cancelled events we sought and obtained assurance that the event would definitely go ahead.

At 8.15pm on 31st December 2002 we duly arrive at the Village Hall car park. No cars parked there! As our car headlights moved round they illuminated a poster for the event with “cancelled” written across it. The person behind the bar at the club duly apologised, gave us our ticket money back and informed us that they had been let down by the band who had cancelled 4 days previously so they had to cancel the event. When I asked how many tickets had they sold he replied 29. At £5 a time it does not take a genius to work out that the income from ticket sales would not have even paid for the band and the possibility of a different reason for cancellation emerges.

A precautionary measure by the Social Club would have been to take a phone number for those who purchased tickets and this would have at least avoided our arrival, and that of others, for an event effectively cancelled 4 day previously. As it happens we were extremely fortunate to be able to find at very short notice an alternative and highly satisfactory new years eve event in Norwich.

Will we be purchasing tickets for any future 'events’ at Coltishall Social Club? Would you?

M D