Yes, I see what you mean, Rico. If and when it does happen, it would be fair to have it open only to members and their guests. But I can see this is not going to happen anytime soon.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 at 2:17 PM, Frederick Noronha<[email protected]> wrote: Hi Patsy, I'm not being unduly pessimistic, but we are in a kind of Catch 22 situation: To have a nice cafe, we'd need to sustain it with enough people (potential buyers). And it cannot be just about anyone, because one doesn't want to make a membership-based organisation into a purely commercial endeavour like just about any public restaurant... After my friends' book release in Mumbai last year, I'd been to the Bandra Gymkhana, which is open to only members and their guests. And to have potential members, we need to give them good enough reason to come there! That too, on a regular basis. Hence, Catch 22. To my mind, what could really work is a two-fold approach. That would be to (i) step up activity level -- and this can only happen with members taking the initiative to organise at least one event of their choice, in a field they see as important. (The committee is open to a wide range of themes and ideas, anything that would help build the wider community and the village, directly or otherwise.) and (ii) to push up the number of life members, so that even if people are far away, they do feel a sense of belonging and ownership of a historic and vital 90-year-old institution. Now is the time for all Saligaokars to come to the aid of the SI :-) Unfortunately (;-)), the SI does have a bar license. This is used currently for parties, like it's 90th anniversary celebration on the last feast day of St Cajetan's (Aug 11, 2019) and if the Institute can revive its dance, I guess. I personally agree with your implied suggestion that the basic organisational structure of the SI should be kept the same, and if at all it is changed, it should be changed for the better. Not the worse. In the past, we have known it primarily as a place for socialisation (dances, card games) and sports (indoors, some outdoors sports). It would be great if members could help the SI grow into the field of music, song, academics (we had a little of this by way of a few quizzes, even the odd debate, and I remember a just-a-minute BBC-style contest!), reading, career-guidance, occasional tech events, art, life-long learning initiatives, senior citizen-focussed events, and more. I wish we could have tapped more of the skills of people like Edwin Saldanha when you all returned in the 1960s. But we need to live in the present and look at the future. These are my personal views, of course. But if any useful suggestions are made, and members launch the initiative, I don't see why all support can't be given in making those dreams come true. We have already received some very useful and concrete solutions. For now, we're just waiting for the weather to clear a little; it has been a particularly harsh monsoon, but things are already looking up. Regards and best wishes, and do stay in touch, Words breed action, so every idea counts! Rico/FN. On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 at 23:27, 'Patricia Nazareth' via Saligao-Net <[email protected]> wrote: Have been a bit busy over the past few weeks. (When are we not??!!!😜) One of the suggestions I read about a short while ago, was the plan to have some sort of café on the club premises? (I'm pretty sure I saw this somewhere.) Personally, I think this is a great idea because nothing attracts people like a nice little hub where folks can hang out and catch up on the local gossip 😜 while enjoying a nice cup of tea/coffee (+ suitable beverages for kids) and some delightful snacks. ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL. I think there are enough places in the village that people can go to if they want a swig. The café idea is bound to bring people together on a regular basis....may even serve as a catalyst for some good ideas for keeping the club going/thriving, over a cup of ☕ Patsy -- FN* फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا +91-9822122436 AUDIO: https://archive.org/details/goa1556 TEXT: http://bit.ly/2SBx41G PIX: http://bit.ly/2Rs1xhl -- -- Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe email [email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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