TRAFFIC is gone, LONG QUEUES are gone.
Petrol/diesel is affordable, BILLS extended.
KIDS are at home with their FAMILIES, PARENTS are home taking care of their CHILDREN.
FAST FOOD replaced by HOME COOKED MEALS, hectic SCHEDULES replaced by NAPS.
The AIR seems CLEANER, the WORLD QUIETER.
PEOPLE are conscious about HYGIENE and HEALTH again.
MONEY doesn't seem to make the WORLD GO ROUND anymore.
And WE now have TIME, finally, to STOP and SMELL the ROSES.
It seems like this COVID-19 is a RESET BUTTON for HUMANITY!!!

Anyway at the club we have not stood still and taken the opportunity to tidy up matters now that the season has finally been brought to a complete end for 2019-2020, as our financial year ends now.

Playing Front
The premature end was a great shame given the first XV held their own in London 2 South East. Confirmation was received on Friday 3 April from the RFU that the 1st XV will remain in London 2 South East, joined next season by Beckenham and Dartfordians from LSE1, and Ashford and Folkestone from LSE3.

The Ladies won their league with an unbeaten record yet are not allowed to compete in the pay off for promotion so richly deserved. However again confirmation received on 3rd April, that the Ladies have now been promoted to National Challenge 1 South East for next season.

While the 2nd XV won their Kent Shield semi final 13-0 against Gravesend and then were denied the opportunity to play in the final against Ashford 2nd XV at the end of April due to COVID 19.

Club Financial Situation
We are unlikely to receive some financial assistance from the rugby governing bodies to cover some of the issues and losses the club will incur from cancelled events as we are in a stable financial position at our financial year end albeit the current restrictions will impact our overall operating profit this year.
Just to put people’s minds at rest and provide transparency here are the some of the things we will lose out on but we hope our exposure will be minimal.

Bar takings and catering – Bar takings are always a big source of revenue for the club so we will most definitely miss out on those plus any perished stock. You may not be aware, but we also receive a good financial kick-back from anything sold via the pitch & putt cafe on any playing weekend (both Sat & Sun takings) so lack of weekend activity impacts this too.
CJ Festival – We will lose out on forecasted gate money and catering kick-back that weekend and we will also need to refund entry fees to participating clubs, pay St John’s Ambulance, and a few sundry expenses as RFU constraints came into operation during the week before the event.
Festivals – We expect to have entry fees refunded for all outstanding tournaments where we have paid an entry fee. Kent RFU has already refunded the Mini Rugby Festival, others to follow.
Sundry - Other areas include hall hire fees, match fees from Senior Men / Ladies matches and possibly some clothing or merchandise sales, but at this time of year they are minimal.

Overall we are forecasting a potential loss of income of ~£12,000 from mid-March to the end of April (where current restrictions have been imposed). We will be making an insurance claim via the club house insurance policy for the loss of income, but this is likely to take some time to resolve.

Conclusion
The club can cope at the current time with this enforced way of living both financially and physically.
The playing members are staying fit and well by regularly communicating with each other via conference calls and undertaking the fitness programmes put in place by Head Coach David Sia, coupled with their own individual fitness programmes. Link to the programmes can be found here:

Beccehamian Isolation Work
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ojz3swz2mmu57vm/AACFqBdGChYKSxuq4BrYkXbEa?dl=0

All events scheduled for April 2020 are either cancelled or postponed as previously advised, while we will look for guidance on what events beyond that can be held but it is highly likely anything scheduled for May and June will also be subject to change including the AGM and players dinners.

It is also with great sadness that I have to report that Beccs long serving stalwart Peter Mitchell passed away recently and our condolences are with his family and friends at this time.

We are looking forward to welcoming everybody back at the Den once this situation has improved and we are all allowed to go about our daily lives again as before. We are one big family club and at this time we should all be looking out for our fellow members and friends and neighbours.

Just think of all that money you are saving by not going out, you will need to spend it at the club in due course when you catch up with your friends again.

Nick Brooks
Beccehamian RFC Chair

Ramblings of an Alickadoo

Alickadoo
noun: 1. A non-playing member of a rugby union club who helps in the running of the club by performing various roles, usually on match days.
2. A former rugby player who, despite their own past incompetence and lack of ability on the pitch, sees fit to berate current players on their lack of courage and commitment.

“In my day….” That’s how they begin. Usually leaning on the bar with a club-half of flat bitter in their hand (“proper drink lad, not like that lager muck kids drink these days”), they proceed to tell you how you went wrong in the game just finished. Despite the bruised shoulder from constantly trying to stop an eight the size of a small JCB, they tell you that you should have tackled lower,” get ‘em round the shins lad, they all come down”. They miss nothing and have an opinion on everything; you should have passed here, kicked there, rucked there. They then go all misty eyed, dribble a mouthful of beer and tell you the game was harder in their day; no spray on shirts and slippers instead of boots, the balls were leather with laces and rucks left you with scars on your back for life.

I still tremble to remember some of the rollockings I got as a young player from alickadoos with pipes puffing Craven A into my eyes telling me the 1st XV wasn’t what it used to be. How would they know, I often wondered, given they played no higher than the 5th team. Still, I vowed then I would never become an alickadoo. As I said to some of the boys before the lock-down, “In my day….”

An alickadoo