Merry Christmas Everyone!

A very Merry Christmas to everyone in FoCM!

Our second Xmas party went well and 15 to 20 people attended. I have to say that John Agar, our Treasurer, put on a fantastic spread - thank you very much, John!

I don't know about you but I've had a wonderful 2008. I've learned lots of interesting things about the environment, enjoyed lots of healthy exercise and fresh air and met so many great people.

Thanks to Alex Krause of MVCWS for all of her hard work (much of it 'behind the scenes') and to the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) and the Sale & Altrincham Volunteers (SACV) for training, tools, expertise and so much else. For example, Nick Martin of the BTCV gave us some wonderful training courses on Natural History. Those of us who attended these courses are all so much better informed now about everything from Woodland Ecology to Water Plants and Dragonflies. It says a lot about the richness of our local environment that Nick was able to find so many of the organisms, featured in his courses, within walking distance of the venue (Sale Visitors' Centre).

So, thanks to all of you for your help and support in 2008. If you were able to find the time to join us, on one or more of our tasks, it was great to see you and we hope that you enjoyed working with us. If not, your support is still appreciated and maybe you'll find a 'window in your diary' (sorry - what a stupid expression!) in 2009.