IBM Retirees Club (Midlands)
(www.retireesmidclub.org.uk)
April 2011 Newsletter
Editorial
Our thanks to Carole for organising the AGM and to Alan for obtaining two interesting and informative speakers. The buffet was excellent - it certainly disappeared very rapidly!
I have collated all the information which members sent regarding the sale of IBM shares and you will see the result later in this Newsletter. If any of you have any additions/amendments to suggest I will incorporate them in a final version which can be acessed via a permanent link.
Included in this Newsletter is an advert for a special offer on the 2011 membership rates which might interest those of you who were thinking about joining the National Trust. Here is the ideal opportunity to join at a bargain price but note that the offer closes on 29th April. Our thanks to Rachel Kelly (IBM Club London West Administrator) for letting us know about this.
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Events Status
9-12 May Forest of Bowland. Fully booked - further requests will be waitlisted.
26th May Day trip to Cambridge.
17 June Trip to Three Counties Show at Malvern. Announcement and booking form in this Newsletter.
27th July Blists Hill. Details in this Newsletter.
10th August Summer Lunch at Henley Golf Club.
20th August Train trip to North Wales. Fully booked.
19-25 September Trip to Alsace.
5th October Trip to Windsor. Further details and booking form in this Newsletter.
12th October Visit to Olympic site - details later.
We are hoping to arrange another skittles evening, sometime mid-November on a date to be confirmed.
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Brian Wilson, Newsletter Editor. Telephone: 01926-777710 e-mail: brian_h_wilson@msn.com
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Chairman's Notes
My thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Club's AGM in March. Our attendance this year was better than last year. And the general impression was that most people enjoyed the two IBM speakers - Chris Wynne and Evan Grant - even if we didn't understand the current acronyms and marketing campaigns completely!
At our Committee meeting in April, we very reluctantly had to cancel the trip to Yorkshire in June that Dave Compton had worked so hard on. The low numbers just did not make the trip viable. The worrying thing is that this was the second multi-day trip we have had to cancel this year - the first being the Arras trip because of a clash with a certain Royal Wedding. We then found that Simon Barratt & Tony Mancell's trip to Alsace, scheduled for September, also had lower than the planned numbers. As we really didn't want to cancel a third multi-day and second overseas trip, we asked Phil Dalton to increase the IBM subsidy to minimise the overall increase in cost (now £499 versus the original cost of £476). We hope that this action will allow the Alsace trip to go ahead.
Finally, a word about Dave Compton. Dave is still in Warwick Hospital, but seems to get more mobile by the day. He is hoping that the hospital will allow him to return home very soon and continue his convalescence there. His eyesight is also improving but not yet good enough to read or use computers.
Alan Bridgman, Chairman, IBM Retirees Group (Midlands)
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THREE COUNTIES SHOW - MALVERN - 17TH June 2011 (organiser - Tony Mancell)
THE REGION'S PREMIER AGRICULTURAL SHOW OFFERING EXCELLENT ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL THE FAMILY AND SHOWCASING THE BEST OF BRITISH FOOD, FARMING AND RURAL LIFE.
Do you want a fun day out in the Worcestershire countryside with family and friends? Do you like to see magnificent animals, rural crafts and even a bit of stickmaking? Or maybe some food sampling from the finest producers washed down with a cool glass of cider? Or how about watching a stunt motorcycle team jump over a lorry? Well it's all here.
Have a look at their website, which is where I copied the above write-up from!! http://www.threecounties.co.uk/threecounties/
Places are available now, for members and first guest on the coach the price is £27.00 each, we can also take second guests on the coach and in this case the price will be £32.50 each.
We plan to leave the top car park at IBM Warwick at 08:30 and leave the show at approx 17:00. A pick-up (and drop-off) at Johnson Coaches, Henley-in-Arden is possible if you live that way, times to be confirmed.
To book your place, please complete the booking form and send your cheque to:
Tony Mancell, 73 Mill Street, Harbury, Warwickshire, CV33 9HS.
Telephone: 01926-613313 Email: Tony@Mancell.com
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Blists Hill (Ironbridge) Wednesday July 27th (organiser Dave Dagley)
There will be a one day coach trip to Ironbridge visiting Blists Hill Victorian Town, Iron Bridge itself and the Coalport China museum. As with any living museum there is a fair amount of walking involved. The coach will drop us at the 'top end' of the town and meet us after lunch at the 'bottom end'.
The cost will be between £31.50 and £36.50 per person for Members and First Guests, (£45 for Second and subsequent guests), and includes:
· Coach from Warwick departing 8.30am.
· Passport ticket* for entrance to Blists Hill Victorian town
· Lunch.
· Visit to "the bridge" itself
· Visit to Coalport China Museum
· Coach departs Ironbridge arriving back at Warwick approx 6.30pm
The coach will transport us between each of the museum sites.
*The "Passport Ticket" which you will receive entitles you to free access to all of the 10 museum sites in the Ironbridge group. On this trip we have chosen to visit just 3 of the sites; your ticket is valid for 12 months so you may return at your leisure on any future date(s) to look at any/all of the remaining sites free of entrance charge.
To reserve your place on this trip, please send a cheque payable to IBM Retirees Club (Midlands) for £10 deposit for each person, by 27th May 2011, to David Dagley, 47 Hanbury Road, Dorridge, Solihull, B93 8DW, email david.dagley@lineone.net, telephone 01564 230020.
The balance will be due by 24th June 2011.
A more detailed announcement and booking form will appear in next month's newsletter but for further information look at www.ironbridge.org.uk/our_attractions/blists_hill_victorian_town
Dave Dagley
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A Day Trip to Windsor Castle - Wednesday 5th October 2011 (organiser Peter Barnes)
Cost of the trip will range from £38 for member and first guest to £45 for additional guests.
We will leave IBM Warwick, by coach, between 7.00 - 8.00 am (exact time to be confirmed nearer the date). The trip includes a private tour of the Royal Kitchens, beginning at 10.00 am, followed by the magnificent State Apartments, regularly used for entertaining and State occasions.
Lunch - there is no restaurant on site, so it is recommended that you take the short walk into Windsor to avail yourselves of the local pubs and restaurants.
After lunch, return to the Castle for a self guided tour. You will be provided with an audio guide to use for the rest of the tour, at your own pace. It is estimated that this will take about 2 hours.
The coach will depart no later than 5.00 pm to return to Warwick.
If you wish to travel independently to Windsor, please let me know and I will adjust the cost accordingly and let you know where and when you can meet up with us.
Please note there are no steps, but there are hilly areas to negotiate from the coach park to the castle.
Please return your booking form and cheque, to me, no later than the 30th April - also note that there is a limit of 30 people on this trip so, first come, first served!
Peter Barnes
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IBM Shares
I promised in the March Newsletter that I would produce some further information to assist members who are unsure as to how to go about selling their IBM shares. What follows is a distillation of the input received from the 20+ members who responded to my original note - my thanks to them for taking the trouble to respond. If anybody has any further comment, please feel free to send it to me.
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IBM employee program shares can be:-
ESPP+
ESPP
ESPP+ (managed by Computershare UK)
Contact details (see also back page of IBM Pensions Trust information booklet:-
The Pavilions, PO Box 82, Bridgwater Road, BRISTOL, BS99 6AP.
Telephone:- 0870 703 6267 Email:- ibm@computershare.co.uk
ESPP (managed by Computershare US)
Dividends paid in US dollars and there is a choice of taking the dividend or re-investing. If taking the dividend, there are charges for cashing the dollar cheque which could be more than the dividend is worth and there is also the issue of US taxation and UK foreign income taxation. Faced with this, one member decided to sell his holdings and was sent two cheques (!) which then cost £25 each to pass through the bank, taking several weeks to do so. Other members have reported that online transaction have gone very smoothly.
Contact details (see also back page of IBM Pensions Trust information booklet:-
Computershare Trust Company, N.A., 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.
Telephone:- +1 781 575 2727 Email:- ibm@computershare.com Web:- www.computershare.com
To access your account:-
Go to www.computershare.com
When presented with a map of the world you will see the option 'select country'. From the drop-down menu select US-english - this is the country where the shares are held, not your contry of residence.
Go to 'Employee Plans'
Enter 'IBM'
From the drop-down menu, select 'Computershare Account' then Userid and Password. If you have forgotten your password, there is a standard retrieval facility but if you don't have your userid, then you might have to email to get that. Perhaps worth noting is that when the administration of the shares scheme was transferred from UK to US, you should have received details of how to access your IBM Stockholder account on the internet along with an access password.
You can also go via www.ibm.com/investor/services and select 'Registered Stockholder Access' - this will take you to the Computershare login page.
Brian Wilson
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Sub-Groups of IBM Club and Retirees Club
IBM Retirees PC and Technology Group (founded by Harry Green)
The IBM Retirees PC and Technology Group meets every alternate month for a lively discussion on PC and technology topics in the digital age. There are usually one or two specific presentations given by members or by outside speakers, which the members of the Group have requested. We try to provide a reasonable balance between PC "techie" topics, new technology, and topics of a more general nature such as digital television, Internet telephony and digital photography . So whether you are a newcomer to the PC or a more experienced user, we hope you will find something of interest. You are very welcome to join us.
Contacts:- Roger Goodman email:- ladevie@dsl.pipex.com Alan Bridgman email:- abri@waitrose.com
- Go to meeting dates and other information
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IBM Midlands Golf Society
IBM Retirees and spouses/partners are eligible to play, the events being subsidised by IBM. The fixture list for 2011 is attached, together with proposals for 2012.
Please contact one of the undersigned with any queries.
Contacts:- Graham Seal email:- gaseal@sky.com Michael Davies email:- enosmd@ntlworld.com
- Go to Fixture List and contacts
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Click on the links below for specific information. Links to booking forms are from the event announcement.
2011 Diary Booking Conditions for Events Photographs from Past Events
IBM Midlands Retiree Club Constitution Committee Contacts AGM Minutes
Newsletter Archives Newsletter Production
IBM Club Warwick IBM Alumni Programme
IBM Pensions Trust (includes EPP, Rewards, IBM Contacts and other useful information)
Parking at Bedfont Lakes and Harrow
- Return to Current Newsletter