John spans the ages
Kerry Bailey talks to John Weir, Secretary of the Doncaster Post Office Sports and Social Club, about his methods of finding a balance for young and old members.
John Weir started his working life as a telegram delivery boy for the Doncaster Post Office at the age of 16. “Obviously, telegrams were eventually phased out so, as the years went by, I ultimately became a post office delivery driver,” he says.
A loyal employee, John loved his job but admits that in 1972 another position within the Post Office had caught his eye.
He divulges, “I had always been keen on being involved with the Doncaster Post Office Sports and Social Club and had been a committee member for a couple of years when the Secretary announced he was retiring.”
John was amongst the first to put his name down for the role and, to his surprise, found himself quickly elected. “Although it’s a voluntary position and meant more work on top of my normal duties, I was chuffed,” he enthuses. So ‘chuffed’ that even when John began his own retirement 15 years ago, he decided to maintain his group travel organising role as Secretary. “It’s a big part of my life and I certainly didn’t want to give it up.”
The sorting office
Explaining how it all works, John says, “The Club is open to anyone who works for the Post Office and its sub-offices in Doncaster from the folks in the sorting office and the drivers to the people who work on the counters with the public. Some are retired employees too.”
It’s not compulsory for Post Office employees to join but those who do pay a five pence membership fee per week, which is taken out of their bank account by standing order. “I also run a weekly lottery,” John explains. “It’s 15 pence per ticket and prizes range from bottles of whisky to cash.”
Funds raised from the lottery – along with the membership fee – allow John to subsidise trips by 30%, not just for members but also for their immediate family. “It also pays for the posters that I put up every week in the sorting offices and cafeterias promoting forthcoming events and trips.”
He doesn’t do all of this single-handedly however. “I work with a committee of eight people – from different Post Office departments – and we meet once a month to discuss Club business. They help with everything from recruiting new members to selling lottery tickets and I also have an all-important Treasurer who deals with the money side of things. The trip organising is solely my department though,” he says.
There are around 550 members in total ranging from 18 to 80 year olds and John admits that it takes a lot of work finding activities to suit everyone. “Talking to your members is the best method of finding out what they want,” he advises. “Although I’m retired now, I make an effort to drop into the offices daily and have a natter with people young and old to listen to their ideas and suggestions. You have to be approachable and you have to find a balance. GTO is also a good resource for finding out about new attractions and packages and it gives me lots of fresh ideas.”
Daytime deliveries
The majority of John’s programme is made up of day trips and he always uses the services of Laser Travel, the coach operator based in Rotherham, for all of his coach travel. “I’ve used Laser for years,” remarks John. “It’s an excellent company to deal with and the staff look after us really well.”
He continues with a chuckle, “A little tip for groups that travel by coach often; before we set off on a long journey, I always appoint a ‘trolley dolly’ to serve the sandwiches and hot chocolate that my wife and I make the night before. I find that keeps members happy until we arrive!”
A trip that John especially recommends for GTOs with members of varying ages is the Tales of Robin Hood Medieval Banquet in Nottingham, which entertained 50 of his members last September. “It’s real good fun and, because there’s lots of audience participation, everyone can join in,” he says enthusiastically. “While you’re eating your meal, there’s all kinds of medieval-styled entertainment including an archery competition for audience members and an amazing falconry display. The venue dealt with our booking very well too; one simple phone call and it was all sorted.”
The month before, John took 45 of his members to Party in the Park, held in the grounds of the National Trust’s Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. “This is a superb event,” he remarks. “There is live music and dancing and, because the weather was so good, I asked the ladies in the sorting office cafeteria to make a picnic for us to enjoy and I arranged bottles of wine. It was even more enjoyable last year as it was a fancy dress event; I think we had spotted 30 Elvis lookalikes by the time we set off home!”
Another universal trip, John finds, is a day out at the races. “In 2005, I secured 50 tickets for Royal Ascot at York Racecourse in June, a really worthwhile event. Again, I asked our lovely catering team to make a picnic and I also pre-booked a group package that included discounted admission to the event, a racecard and a betting voucher.”
During the same month, a more family orientated trip to celebrate Father’s Day was declared a real success by all. “I took around 50 people for a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which departed from Grosmont in Yorkshire. The company dealt with my booking very easily and provided a hearty Sunday lunch for us in its Pullman style dining car. We changed trains on our return to Grosmont, to alight in the coastal town of Whitby, and enjoyed some time sightseeing before our return journey home. It was lovely to have lots of members’ families with us,” he comments.
Annually in July, meanwhile, John takes 100 people to Drayton Manor, the theme park based in Staffordshire. “I pre-book two coaches from Laser Travel as I know they will fill up easily,” he remarks. “It’s such a popular trip for all ages as, not only does Drayton have lots of fast rides for those brave enough, but it also has a small zoo, which the younger members of families really enjoy.”
More recently, in April, John took 40 of his members for an evening at the Doncaster Greyhound Stadium, where he had pre-booked a carvery meal. “I arranged the coach and admission but everyone organised their bets individually,” he says. “When the racing was over, I had also pre-booked a room for a disco, which went on into the small hours! It was a really good evening.”
Organising Christmas outings can sometimes prove a struggle for John, but as he explains, the Club still manages to have some festive fun. “Because Christmas is such a busy time for postal workers, I usually arrange an outing at the very beginning of December,” he says. “Last year, I took 45 members to the Lake District, where I had pre-booked a cruise of Lake Windermere with Windermere Lake Cruises, which everyone really enjoyed. We docked in the town of Bowness and spent the afternoon there sightseeing and shopping.”
The Club also looks forward to its annual family pantomime at the Doncaster Civic Theatre, which always takes place in the few days between Christmas and New Year. “The Theatre gives me a good group rate on tickets and members bring their whole families,” enthuses John. “As an added extra, I make up goody bags and hand them out as people take their seats and then we make our own ice creams during the interval. When the pantomime finishes, it’s so lovely having the children running up to you with their parents in tow to say thank you. It makes it all worthwhile!”
Over the festive period, John also arranges an annual Christmas dance at the Parklands Club in Doncaster where members are encouraged to dress up.
Overnight packages
John also arranges a selection of overnight breaks in the UK for his members to take advantage of.
In March, he used the services of Success Tours, the tour operator based in Wiltshire, for a three-day break to Loch Lomond in Scotland for 30 people. “Success is a really good company to deal with and its breaks are always very well organised and enjoyable,” he comments. “On this particular trip, Success arranged everything from the coach travel to the accommodation at the excellent Winnock Hotel. There was a free bar every evening and during the day we enjoyed excursions to Edinburgh and the Glengoyne Distillery in Glasgow, where we saw how malt whisky is produced. The whole trip was really well received.”
The month before in February, meanwhile, John had organised a two-day Valentines Weekend in London for 200 members. “This was a really popular break and I booked several Laser coaches to transport us to the city,” he recalls. “I chose the Thistle Marble Arch hotel for accommodation as it’s very central and a lovely establishment but, as I had such a large group, I made the decision not to pre-book any shows or excursions; I just let members do their own thing.”
The previous November saw 90 members join John on a weekend shopping spree in the north of England before Christmas. “As I mentioned, the life of a postal worker can become very hectic around the festive period so I decided to lay on a Christmas shopping spree for the Club. Our two Laser coaches dropped us off at the MetroCentre shopping centre in Gateshead on our arrival on Saturday morning, which certainly had enough shops to keep us busy. When we’d had enough of shopping the coaches took us to the beautiful Ramside Hall hotel in Durham, where I had pre-booked our accommodation and a lovely carvery lunch the next day.”
Sending abroad
Many of the Club members have a penchant for overseas travel and John tries to accommodate by arranging four or five overseas trips a year.
“Everyone had a blast in Dublin in June 2004, where I organised a two-day city break for 48 people myself,” remembers John. “We travelled by ferry from Liverpool to Dublin as I wanted to take a coach and so I pre-booked the crossing with Stena Line. I was actually very impressed with the facilities onboard; there were lots of restaurants and I would use the service again.” The group checked in at the Camden Court Hotel in the centre of Dublin on their arrival, which according to John was ‘really very nice and central’, before setting out to explore Dublin’s sights. “The real highlight for us all was our evening at Johnny Foxes pub, where I had pre-booked a meal and the owners laid on a Gaelic live band complete with traditional Irish dancing. Again, this was something that appealed to young and old and I would certainly recommend Johnny Foxes to other groups.”
A three-day break in New York in November 2004 also proved a hit with 22 of the Club’s members. “I organised this break via Bob Cole Travel, the tour operator, which was based in Kent but that no longer trades,” John recalls. “We stayed at the wonderful Roosevelt Hotel, which is located close to Central Station, and visited the Empire State Building, Times Square, the Rockefeller Centre and Central Park, where one of our younger members proposed to his girlfriend on the ice-skating rink!” A highlight for the group was the ‘Christmas Spectacular’ live show at Radio City Hall. “I don’t usually like live shows,” chuckles John. “But this one was amazing!”
In January this year, meanwhile, John accompanied 30 members on an 11-day cruise of the Caribbean. “Another excellent holiday organised by Success Tours,” says John. “The trip began with a flight from London to Miami where, on arrival, we checked in at the superb Best Western at South Beach hotel for the night. The following morning, we boarded the NCL cruise liner Norwegian Pearl, which was really beautiful. We stopped at destinations such as Barbados, where we enjoyed a guided tour of an underground cave that is filled with streams and cascading waterfalls. It was a really lovely holiday and, as Success organised it so well, I’ve booked another cruise with the company next year.”
Another popular overseas break with members of varying ages is one that John arranges himself to coicide with the Belgian Beer Festival in Ostend. “This takes place every September and is really good fun,” he chuckles. “I arrange the coach travel, as always, with Laser for around 50 people and I use P&O Ferries’ for the crossing from Dover to Calais. We stay for two nights at the excellent Hotel Westminster in Ostend. The Beer Festival is such a laugh with its OomPah Band and singing and another great trip for all ages.”
Looking forward
So, is John planning on retiring from his post as Secretary any time soon? Not likely. “I really enjoy what I do,” he explains. “The Club is like a community in its own right and I love knowing so many people. I especially like the feeling when everyone thanks me after a trip and having my drinks bought for me in the pub is quite nice too!” he chuckles.
And his plans for forthcoming trips? “I think our biggest trip in the future is going to be the 12-day cruise in January taking in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Hawaii,” he says. “I have pre-booked this with Success Tours and I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant!”