Secretary’s Report:

Within 2 weeks of the 2020 AGM on 11th March, the Coronavirus pandemic had hit the UK and the government to introduce a National Lock down. This immediately affected MBLA activity both on and off the water. Normal Committee Meetings could no longer take place thus only two Conference Calls and one outdoor, socially distanced meeting during the less-restricted period.

Conference Calls were somewhat difficult to follow, so were not formally minuted. Instead, similar informal notes were recorded where possible. Given those difficulties, Conference Calls had to focus on high-priority, urgent, or expensive matters.

The restrictions also meant that there were no social or fundraising events, no Winter Talks, and no Annual Dinner.

The Committee has therefore decided to operate this AGM online, nominating new committee members and voting via the website and email. The system has been tested and I am confident that all will go well. Time will tell. Members without online facilities would be contacted by post as usual.

John Diston

Secretary