Held at 6 Grange Road, in the garden.
Present: Ben, Jon, Vicky (in a hammock), Stephen, and Helen and Gemma (sort of), who live there.
Apologies: Sarah, Claire, Andrew.

1. Though I say it myself, the residents of 6 Grange Road have gone to town on the preparations for this meeting. We are all sat round a table in the garden, there are two pots of tea (one China, one Indian), there is cake, sweets (including fizzy Cola bottles!) and cookies too! Hurrah!
   


2. Despite this largess the turn-out is so poor that we think of reclassifying it as an Executive Meeting.
   


3. Vicky reads the minutes of the last meeting.
   


4. Ben wishes it to be recorded that "Jon has braced Tapani about it."
   


5. Ben fails to realise what's wrong with having a pager.
   


6. Jon's minutes are Thucydidean, apparently. Vicky announces, "I'm just having trouble with this."
   


7. Ben reads some e-mail that he has received from a random American called Jacintha, who had seen our web-page. Jon thinks we should ask her to start a chapter, and we vote on the idea: F., 3, Ag., 0, Abs., 1; motion carried. Ben will contact the lucky correspondent.
   


8. Helen materialises: she has brought cherries!
   


9. Apparently Jon wouldn't do what Helen wanted him to do last night.
   


10. Jon announces the sad news that Michelle, the leader of our Australian chapter (which he admits has only one member) has contracted chronic fatigue syndrome, otherwise known as M. E. and asks the Society to sign a card which he is going to send her. Everyone does so, in their own particular style.
    


11. War breaks out between Ben and Helen.
    


12. Helen says that she's quite a demanding companion today, whereupon Jon exclaims, "Today!" much to everyone's curiosity. Ben tries to start rumours about Jon and Helen, and Helen helps.
    


13. Vicky proposes that we have a Pooh-be-que, possibly followed by a Woozle hunt. Jon agrees that the chance of there being a woozle in the Hat & Feathers or the Red Bull, both close by, needs to be investigated. Ben asks what Vicky's like drunk: Jon says she giggles more. Vicky however claims that all charges of giggling are unfounded.
    


14. Helen, now in the hammock (Vicky having got out, obviously), wants someone to make it swing for her, because she can't reach the ground with her arms; she discovers that, as Ben so charmingly put sit, "It's easier to get your leg over". Helen misses the original James.
    


15. There follows a brief discussion about whether men are attracted by large behinds on women. This is what comes of allowing Helen to sit in at a meeting (well, in a hammock actually. Wait a minute, can you sit in a hammock? Oh, never mind).
    


16. The reading is: "In Which Piglet Meets A Heffalump", read by Stephen.
    


17. It starts to rain - Ben tries to fall into a very deep pit as would the heffalump, but cannot find one deep enough. We move indoors where we find a Gemma! Vicky is however detained by a caterpillar which she brings in with her and names in Gemma's honour. Ben cannot understand Vicky's entomological bent.
    


18. There is a tea-towel full of rice on the fridge.
    


19. Helen reads us Dorothy Parker's review of `The House at Pooh Corner'. Miss Parker was not kind to it, we discover. She was even more scathing about a play by A. A. Milne, which it must be said is more than a little bit on the cute side. Ben attempts to censure Dorothy Parker for disrespect, but no-one will second him.
    


20. We propose a motion of censure of all non-apologetics for their not being at such a splendid meeting: F., 3, Ag., 0, Abs., 1; they are all censured, and justly so.
    


21. Stephen takes the precaution of apologising in advance for not being at next week's meeting, and indeed, dear reader, as you look around is he anywhere to be seen? So you see, he was right, wasn't he?
    


22. Jon will test Rob's gentlemanliness by seeing whether he congratulates Jon on the electoral success of the Liberal Democrats. We will have to ensure Rob doesn't read the minutes before Jon carries this out. Since someone else brought up the subject of politics, Jon escapes the normal censure.
    


23. Vote to close: F., 3, Ag., 0, Abs., 1; the meeting is closed; we have still not needed to use Sibylle's vote to close left over from last week.
    


24. We reopen the meeting to decide on a Coastguard. We propose Vicky again, and she gets three votes for, none against and one abstention, and is thus confirmed in the post for the second week running. Vote to close: F., 1, Ag., 2, Abs., 1; the meeting remains open. This is clearly silly, so we use Sibylle's vote at last, and since this hangs the motion, we go and look for some visitors to decide it. We can only find Tom, who is on the phone to his mother, so we ask him to ask her, and she says we should close, so we do. This is the first time Tom has been to a Poohsoc meeting, despite being on the mailing list; if the member won't come to us, we must go to the members.
    

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