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I originally created most of the posts on this website during the 2004-2005 season at Launceston rugby club. This was my first year as senior chairman and the beginning of an unbelievable journey for me and the club. Five years later and 14 months after my exit from the club, I thought that it was time to reveal the rollercoaster ride of those first 12 months, using the notes that I took at the time.

Why did I make the effort and spend the time to record the events of those first 12 months? It began because I was so exasperated with the level of misinformation and mean spirited vitriol being directed at myself and other newer committee members by an old guard that had been in control for far too long and saw Launceston RFC as their own personal fiefdom.

These were my opening thoughts in September 2005,

"I've created this virtual diary and memo pad to add more transparency to what goes on at Launceston RFC during a season. As Chairman of any club, but particularly a local, community based club such as Launceston RFC, you can take a lot of flak for almost everything that happens. Clubs by their very nature can become mysterious entities full of rumour and speculation that can undo some fabulous work carried out by very willing and able volunteers. Launceston RFC is a members club and the Chairman and committee are elected by those members. Some people would prefer to keep everything at the club closed and outside of the public domain, but I don't see that as a way to move forward. Hopefully these notes should provide a true and frank account of what I do, how I do it and why this is a great club, but sometimes a frustrating organisation to head-up. Hopefully, it will also give some insight into those mysterious general committee meetings and explain why things happen as they do."

Here is a little snippet,

"Well here goes. First week in the new job and the treasurer tells me that we’ve extended over and above our initial bank limit and until the deeds are sorted, the bank are struggling to sort any extension to the overdraft out. Finally get to speak to the bank, get an appraisal of the situation and establish that we are over our limit and being monitored???

After speaking to the bank, decide that the easiest resolution to this is for me to find £3500 and get it into the bank to ensure that the club remains within agreed funding limits. Duly do so and phone bank to ensure they have received notification of the transfer. It really makes you wonder what the previous chairman Colin Venton had been doing and why he hadn't communicated the extent of the situation to me? To make it quite clear, the money that I found, merely dealt with keeping the club accounts within the overdraft limit of £20,000....just. What a great start!"