In October 2010 the Russian Blue Breeders Association had their 25th Championship Show. This was a great success and there was a reasonable entry and a positive gate. We congratulate Marlene Buckeridge the Show Manager and Dot Thomson the Assistant Show Manager and thank them for all their hard work.

They were aided by a team headed, as usual, by our President Trevor Turner and his wife Jean, and were backed by your hard working and dedicated Committee who are the core of this successful Club. Many Members also helped and created a family atmosphere.

I have to report that the GCCF is now a Limited Company, but is still in some financial difficulty. Governing Council has appealed for financial help from all the member clubs for updating, in particular, for a new computer. The Committee has agreed that we give limited help in the form of a £500 Bond, repayable in five years, because without the GCCF our cat world would disappear.

Maria Chapman has guided the BAC over the past year, and Steve Crow, Steve Parkin and Susan Luxford-Watts have become Full Judges of Russians; Charis White and Naomi Johnson are Probationer Judges and Elisabeth Stark has joined the BAC Section of the Stewarding Scheme.

This year has not been without welfare problems and these have been dealt with very efficiently by Jenny Fleming. ‘The Welfare’ requires a lot of work and diplomacy and a great love of the Cat, and we are very grateful to Jenny for providing all these things.

Russian Tails keeps the membership up to date with Club matters. Keith Anderson has both Russian Tails and the website under his efficient command. He is aided by Val Anderson and Amanda Roberts.

So that we can be seen to move with the times, the Kitten Register will be on the website with an e-mail contact address, starting after the AGM. We thank Rosemary Solman who has been Kitten Registrar for many years for help in the past.

From this report you can see that the Russian Blue Breeders Association is flourishing, and from the Treasurer’s Report from Val Anderson, you can see that financially we are solvent.

This will be my final report as Chairman. I have enjoyed the responsibility of the role and made many friends over the years. It is impossible to name them all and so to thank them, but there are three people I must mention. Marlene Buckeridge is a superb Vice Chairman, Show Manager, Secretary of the BAC and a Judge; Val Anderson is a brilliant Treasurer, Vice Chairman of the BAC, as well as a Judge; and Judith Armstrong as Secretary copes cheerfully and efficiently with mountains of paperwork. I am so grateful to these three Officers for all their help and support.

Finally, I would like to remind you of a Russian Prayer translated by Ian Deverit-Bennett:

“Hear our prayer, Lord, for all animals
May they be well fed, well treated and happy:
Protect them from hunger and fear and suffering:
And, we pray, protect specially, dear Lord,
The little blue Cat who is the companion of our home.
Keep her safe as she goes abroad
And bring her back to comfort us”

Jill Jackson March 2011