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20/06/19 – Ok all the votes have been cast, are now in, and have been counted … and I am pleased to confirm after the first round of voting that the Brie Tartlet will be eliminated together with the Chick Pea Burger and surprisingly the Crisp Falafels … having not received the minimum no of required votes!!
But it looks like it’s going to be a close race between Boris ‘ Potted Salmon’ Johnson and Jeremy’ Fish & Chips’ Hunt for the leading snack of the tour!!!
Only joking folks … before somebody shouts … nothing has actually been eliminated …a ll your choices will be passed on to the hotel and yes Jo, I will have a list of all the candidates with their first round selections !!! Nick Burnett, Hon Returning Officer Aardvarks Tour 2019
19/06/19 – Possibly yes….’ buffalo chickens go round the outside!..’ – Nick
19/06/19 – Hmmm – ‘Buffalo Chicken Sliders’… Is that a food option or the ‘Country and Western’ musical entertainment? – Niall
15/06/19 – Good Afternoon All … I trust that we’re all enjoying the splendid summer weather at the moment. What a splendid 3 wet days the Aardvarks have just had, golfing down in sunny Stratford.Albeit it could have been a lot worse. Anyway Mr Taylor tells me that he’s had a word with Boris … and that we have been promised some fine BLUE skies in 2 weeks’ time. So I hope all your final preparations are well under way….but I do need one last thing off you all…….that’s your TAPAS MENU choices for Sat evening in the Hotel. I’ve attached the main list again but there are a couple of additional vegetarian options also now available…see below….a Tartlet by the name of Brie and another type of Pea Burger for you smaller chicks with Harrisson Mayo…..Harry is that another relation of yours ?? So I know some of you have already sent me their choices but for those of you who haven’t…please can you pick 3 options and let me have them by next Friday 21st JUNE at the latest … … A simple email or text with the 3 options will do. Many thanks, Nick.
PS REMINDER for Kato and Mel……Ref the overpayment a couple of weeks ago….please confirm your bank details back to me so that I can transfer funds back to your accounts…
27/05/19 – Sorry folks … Missed off the menu…..so now attached. Nick Galway Dinner Group Menu – April 2019 (pdf Document)
27/05/19 – Attached you will find the agreed room list and next to it the amount that you now need to pay me in ENGLISH STERLING….not EUROs. THE FIGURE YOU NEED IS IN YELLOW IN THE LAST COLUMN ON THE RHS OF THE SHEET. This also includes the cost of the meal we are having in the hotel on Saturday evening at approx. 7.30pm (time to be confirmed ). In addition I enclose the menu for Saturday evening which I understand will be something of a Tapas extravaganza………choose any 3 from 6 ……..as I say, this is included in your balance so there will only be your drinks bill to find !!!!

02/04/19 – Hi all. 90% of the kit is with me but they did make a couple of errors with the order, the missing items will be with me by the weekend. This means I have the following items, the t/shirt man said we can have at reduced rate but I will need to know if you want anything ASAP as I will return unwanted items when he delivers the others on Friday.
Men’s XL plum polo, men’s L short sleeve t/shirt with embroidery.
Womens polos L orange and XL in Burgundy and Royal Blue.
Price for these Polos is £8 each and the t/shirt is £7. Aptar

08/03/19 – Morning! The orders have been coming in at a steady pace, thank you. This is just a reminder to the half a dozen people who have not sent their order in yet that the deadline for all orders is next Friday. Even if you just want a playing shirt, I do need your size and payment needs to be made to Nick. Many thanks. Aptar

27/02/19 – Greetings. While you are making your choice selections from Mrs Taylor’s boutique, you may wish to pursue this short clip illustrating how quality sports broadcasting was undertaken in Ireland in the not so distant past. https://twitter.com/irish_pics/status/1100135026254143488?s=08. Niall

24/02/19 – Towel Logo. Aptar.

24/02/19 – Hi All. It’s time to order your merchandise for the Aardvarks 2019 tour! Your playing shirt is the only compulsory purchase, lots of optional extras are available to order so you can be part of the tour team 🙂 If you could let me have your orders by 15 March at the latest, please pay the amount you owe directly to Nick when you place your order (you must put your name as a reference when you pay Nick). Think that’s all for now, please shout if you have any questions. Many thanks, Aptar.

2019 Kit List (Word Document)

28/05/19 – Ok Folks…here we go again…and this time I hope my brackets are right…….sincere apologies for those that overpaid be it their own mistake ( Ropes and Gaz ) or mine ( Dave M, Harry and Richard ) … I will repay all in the morning or as soon as I get confirmation of your account details…thanks Dave M and Gaz…got yours. So please find attached revised accommodation sheet 4 which does show the correct balances outstanding…end column in yellow. I do need this money BY RETURN folks so that the hotel account can be settled by THURSDAY…….Please action ASAP !!!! Gaz, I note your double dinner payment, and Dave Roper…..you’ve also paid for Fozzy as well…so I will be correcting these overpayments as well. For the avoidance of doubt…..Kato and Foz…your calcs include repayment of your IoM balances, and Neil and Mr Wilks….your calcs include the over/non payment of your Kit monies. Despite the addition of the boy Tipler, I also have to report the sad news that Owen, Paulette and Kezia have now had to withdraw from the Tour due to illness. I know I speak on behalf of everybody , that we all wish them well and we will certainly have a drink on you thanks to your deposit…..(only joking Owen !!) So thank you all in advance of your understanding over this slight hiccup…..nobody is more shocked than I am that I made such a mistake !!! Speak soon and ring me as I said before if you have problems making the payments. Nick Galway Room List&Bals-Rev4-28May19 (Excel Spreadsheet)
27/05/19 – Evening again all…… Ok…extreme apologies, but working on the figures late last night was a mistake as I’ve missed a bracket out of the ‘total,’ formula….too late and too tired! I will correct when I get back home tomorrow..so please hold your payment if you’ve not yet made it……I will re-issue the correct version tomorrow. For those of you hot off the mark…..sincere apologies and many thanks……and I will repay the overpayment by return….but please send me your account details so that I get it right. I will get in touch again asap. Thanks, Nick
27/05/19 – Sorry folks … Missed off the menu…..so now attached. Nick Galway Dinner Group Menu – April 2019 (pdf Document)
27/05/19 – Good evening all … Well as I said last week it’s now time to cough up those Irish euros you’ve all had stored away since Cork…..but to save time I’ve worked out a wonderful conversion rate so as to completely annul the Brexit factor that has been threatening the tour for the past 2 years !! Attached you will find the agreed room list and next to it the amount that you now need to pay me in ENGLISH STERLING….not EUROs. THE FIGURE YOU NEED IS IN YELLOW IN THE LAST COLUMN ON THE RHS OF THE SHEET. This also includes the cost of the meal we are having in the hotel on Saturday evening at approx. 7.30pm (time to be confirmed ). In addition I enclose the menu for Saturday evening which I understand will be something of a Tapas extravaganza………choose any 3 from 6 ……..as I say, this is included in your balance so there will only be your drinks bill to find !!!! Please note the hotel info and link about car-parking:
‘ For parking, our guests can use an offsite parking garage called Hynes Yard Parking. The rate is €8 per every 24hrs from the moment you drive in and get your ticket. Its 2 minute walk from the hotel….see ref below
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hynes+Car+Park/@53.2707363,-9.0519161,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x485b96e4df31d399:0x4c2abe3fb24839b6!8m2!3d53.2713861!4d-9.0511472
PLEASE NOTE : I do have to pay the hotel without fail by THURSDAY 30th MAY……so sorry folks, I NEED YOUR CASH TRANSFER NOW BY RETURN…..to the usual Nationwide account of course……….
Please also send me a confirmatory text/email when you have made the payment. This does save me time.
Name : N I BURNETT – AVKS A/C Sort Code : 07-10-40 A/C No: 65119360
It is most important that everybody makes this payment now as we have no surplus funds in the account……..please let me know if this causes anybody any problems thro’ being away etc….
No doubt, our leader,Col ( The Taybot) will be issuing a full tour itinerary in due course, even though rumours of his resignation are a bit premature, and no doubt he will hang on until the 1st July…….but until then, I wish you all well……
Speak soon or sooner if you have any questions.
Nick – PS…..NOTE we welcome the latest addition to the party in the form of former Aardvarks and Veteran keeper……Jon ‘Tip-Top’ Tipler !!…………..or is he the new ‘ Stalking Horse’ ??  Galway Room List&Bals-Rev3-26May19 (Excel Spreadsheet)
11/05/19 – Afternoon All … Well Galway is galloping towards us at the pace of an Aardvarks centre-forward!!! So … ATTENTION PLEASE … MOST IMPORTANT … … a final chance to confirm any hotel requirement changes, from the attached list. Though most responded to my previous email sent on 4th Feb some of you didn’t … and we can all guess who they were can’t we Mr Wilks? … though he wasn’t alone. Attached is the updated sheet with your requirements noted … if you didn’t tell me anything before like the aforementioned Mr W then you have defaulted to the STANDARD 3 Nights at 555 euros … or 525 for single occupancy … thats for FRI-SAT-SUN. This is the list I’m submitting early next week, so this is your last chance as I shall then be chasing you for your money in the next 10 days. SO … ANY CHANGES … PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY RETURN !!! Any questions I’m around all w/e, so give me a call on 07703-784911. Speak soon, Nick. Galway Room List-Rev2-30Apr19 (Excel Spreadsheet)
04/02/19 – Story of your life! – Kato.
04/02/19 – Hi Nick. I can’t find any attachment mate – Gaz.
04/02/19 – Good Afternoon All. Ok, further to Col’s last missive … just to advise that we have now confirmed our standard booking at The House Hotel in Galway based on 3 nights for all together with a meal on Saturday night in their adjoining bistro on the evening of Sat 29th June. 25% deposits have been made as per the attached sheet.
Galway Room List-Rev1-4Feb19 (Excel Spreadsheet)
They are well aware that people may have different requirements for more or less nights but we do need to try and get a rough idea of these initially asap. That’s not to say that other minor changes can’t be made at a later date, but we have to pay the full balance 1 month before arrival.
So … IF any of you are considering adding extra nights for a holiday or have to get back early for work on Monday (hence leaving Sunday) … please can you advise by return or certainly within the next 14 days.
The attached sheet shows what I mean … as you can see that Tim, Gary, and myself have made our decisions already. I have yet to discuss rates for other nights and will advise as soon as I get them. Many thanks, Nick.
27/01/19 – Evening all. Just back in one piece. Please confirm if you’ve paid BUT haven’t told me already by email … I’ve only had approx 20 confirmations so far. Nick
27/01/19 – Hi all, last call for Galway!  Nick and I will be having a count up over numbers in the next day or so… but from those I’m aware of… we’ve got a team.  Until I check in with Nick, who is back later today from a weeks ‘skiing’ in Davos, I’m not precisely sure who has / hasn’t – so you’ve still got time.
Hotel.
Its not been easy to find a hotel at a reasonable price. Galway is a honey pot for tourists visiting Ireland and so they charge top-euro, especially in June/July and we’ve also been looking for something in the city so we’re right in the action.  We found this place…  https://www.thehousehotel.ie/ and they have quoted 555 euros for 3 nights for a double room (480 GBP) , taking into account quality, location etc etc … it looks the best deal, certainly that I can find.  When we get the main 3-night booking in place, we can start to amend for those arriving or leaving early, twin/single rooms etc… It has what looks like a reasonable bistro on site for the Sat eve group meal following which, we can easily step out into the giddy Galway atmosphere outside..
Hope that’s all sounds ok. Col
17/01/19 – This is your ‘almost on the deadline’ reminder
04/01/19 – This is your new year reminder … pay up.

Somewhere between the Queen’s and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Christmas message sits Col’s traditional ‘we’ll have to move sharpish…’ call to arms. Reminding us that Spring will return and then Summer. Hurrah!
Sadly this year’s message has been somewhat spoilt by his misuse of the old Gaelic. Carelessly transposing Donegal idioms with Galway dialect, his message roughly translates as ‘My turf cutting machine has failed it’s MOT, again.’ I can’t imagine he meant to say that. Anyway, seasonal greetings to one and all. Niall

Aardvarks Hockey Tour 2019.

Right then … it looks like Fri Jun 28th until Mon 1st July for Galway. Dermot Nolan, El Presidente of Connacht Masters Hockey is our host and is arranging a couple of game against local oppo on the Sat & Sunday. Usual format … organise you own travel to/from. Meet in the Hotel Bar on Fri eve. Blah blah.

On the subject of Hotels, Dermot has advised that they get booked up very early … And so we’ll have to move sharpish. I’ve just sent out about a dozen speculative emails to the main ones, to find out if they have the rooms and if so… what the cost is likely to be. But we may be required to put down a deposit … so we’ll need you to lob £100 per person into Nick’s Central Slush Fund …

NI Burnett-Avks … Nationwide, 07-10-40, 65119360

Transfers only please, (as opposed to cheques), and MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS THE REFERENCE.

Can you try to do this by Fri 19th Jan LATEST. Although I will try to send out reminders.

Once we have a firm deposit, then we know it’s all happening, and Dermot can book pitches/hotels etc … you know how it works. All that remains for me is to give you a sage-like seasonal suggestion … ‘Ná bíodh ró-smacht ag na Nollag’ – Col

19/09/18 – Excellent news! I hear that the Galway Hookers are a great source of enjoyment for both locals and visitors https://www.galwayhookers.ie – Niall
18/09/18 – It’s Galway for the Aardvarks! Oh, what joy for the local residents!
….. C’est Galway pour les Aardvarks! quelle joie pour les riverains!
….. Es ist Galway für die Aardvarks! Was für eine Freude für die Anwohner!
….. Është Galway për aardvarkët! çfarë gëzimi për banorët vendas!
…..這是土豚的戈爾韋！對當地居民來說是多麼的快樂！
I have just contacted the local hockey fraternity suggesting a weekend in late June/early July and await their responses.
18/09/18 – Now that the list of contestants for this years ‘Strictly …’ have been revealed, the BBC have un-embargoed the results of our recent Ard-poll. Based on those preferences expressed the winning location is…………….. . . . . . . . . . .
07/09/18 – We just enjoy the company and the time. We will go with the flow. Harry and Chris
06/09/18 – Galway or Jersey for me but will go anywhere – Neil
05/09/18 – I could paddle round Herm on a Lilo? – Col
05/09/18 – And for that reason I’m out – Gaz
05/09/18 – It’s ok Will – it’s a relay team of 4 so (selection permitting of course) it’s only 13.75k. You run that far round the hockey pitch in the first 15 minutes – you’ll be fine 🙂 – Iain
05/09/18 – 55k – I can’t even count that high, let alone swim that far! – Will
05/09/18 – Stokes vote is Galway, Ayr or Jersey. If Jersey, the ANAL members could consider taking on the Round Jersey swim relay and be the 58th team to have done so since 1991. It’s about 55k and par time looks to be 10.5hrs! http://www.jerseyseaswims.org/round-island-jersey-relay.html – Iain
05/09/18 – Hi. And here is a Galway Jersey – two worlds combined! Thank You. Niall
04/09/18 – The Burnett’s vote goes to Jersey or Galway – Brenda
01/09/18 – Jersey or Galway for us … or any other option would work as well. – D&J.
01/09/18 – I’ll go to the ends of the earth to be with my fellow aardvarks. Otherwise A B C or jersey ,with a slight lean towards B or jersey because as Will says the water should be a little warmer for the Anal activities – Gaz
31/08/18 – Hi Col, F – Jersey or E – Europe or whatever the consensus but Not D, 😎 – Mel
31/08/18 – Probably not up for a full European tour (although the early morning swims might be more pleasurable) but any of the other options work for me – Will
30/08/18 – Last played in Jersey in 1980, so would be great to go back. But, happy to go anywhere. Cheers – Tim
30/08/18 – Tol and I. Both of us would like to go for Ayr. So that is our strong preference – Gurdy
30/08/18 – I agree Stuart . I am Happy with any option. – Roper
30/08/18 – Stokesey has just reminded that another option is Jersey, easy flights and ‘much nicer people than the Guerners’, he says. Lets call that Option F… – Col
30/08/18 – Galway or Europe – Kato
30/08/18 – Col all sound good to me, but avoiding school hols. – Stu Nic
30/08/18 – Hi Col. Thanks for the lovely verse … Our preference would be for a long weekend at the moment – A to D all sound good, or anywhere else. Cheers – Laura and Dick
30/08/18 – ‘It was the end of summer. A chilly north wind wafted across my flowing mane in the early morning light and I woke in a sweat. In my dreams someone had said that the last glory-filled trip to the Isle of Man in celebration of our 35th anniversary was the final tour…’
certainement pas mes petites poules !!
It was always written that accolade should be in our 36th year … check out our your Plato! And so we must decide which locality shall have the economic benefit and boost to jobs. There were several options growled about over the IOM weekend with no conclusive outcome … so let’s have a little poll.
Option A … Ayr, west coast of Scotland. Probably the usual format of a 3-nighter (Fri-Sat-Sun) with two games on the Sat and Sun. The fair maid, Laura, knows the bus shelters well and is a frequent flyer at the local Ladbrooke’s. Flight to Prestwick and rail options via Glasgow.
Option B … Kent. Again, the usual format of a 3-nighter (Fri-Sat-Sun) with two games on the Sat and Sun. That rakish lad, Wil Reynolds, recently of that parish, has connections with many fruit farmers in the area and has offered to sort things out if we so wish.
Option C … Galway, Ireland. Still probably a 3-nighter (Fri-Sat-Sun) with two games on the Sat and Sun, but has possibilities for extra days around the West Coast of Ireland for those that want it.
Option D … A quiet year. Re-charge the batteries and wallet. Possibly just arrange a one-night stopover with a meal on a Sat eve, and maybe a game around Sun lunch. Probably in the Midlands area to enable reasonable travel for all.
Option E … A week in Europe. Not sure of the destination … but just asking if people fancied a slightly longer option, now that kids are on the grow. Spain, Brittany, Italy spring to mind as possible venues that I know we can find hockey teams to play against.
So … your thoughts please; A, B, C, D or E … or a combo of either if you’re not fussed.  In terms of dates … Probably sometime in late June or early July.
Can you let me know your preferences by say …. 14th Sept and we’ll try to go with the most popular option. Col