Greetings to all.

The July Branch meeting saw a change in venue aboard the Belfast. Due to the locker on the upper deck being so full that we could not reach sound equipment and tea making things without a lot of humping, and in view of the fact that attendance was below normal, Allan Phillips suggested that we adjourn to his retreat where he would make a few cups of tea, we could have the meeting and we would be ready there on site for slightly stronger refreshment at the close.
The outcome was a quite successful... Charlie Smorthit took the Chair and being on good form was soon digressing away from the agenda. The Secretary drew Charlie's attention to the fact that he was digressing and Charlie appealed to the audience to witness that the Secretary was 'getting at him'. It was all good stuff. We did in the end, manage to get through enough normal business to allow for the minutes to be compiled, without too much trouble, on another day.

Our thanks to Allan for the accommodation and to Charlie for providing the lighter touch.

The replies that followed would undoubtedly have assured the questioner that "The Gut" - or at any rate the area covered by the Gut, does still exist under its official name of Straight Street. But gone are the bars and no longer do the girls call out their invitations from the windows above. Devoid of traffic because of the cobblestones and steps, the street has an air almost of abandonment with no sign of habitation.