MESSAGE FROM THE HWEUCSC
What is the HWEUCSC? Well there's a marvellously redacted history of the club in the aptly named Club History page, so I'll not deal with that but instead give you some information on the club today. As you may or may not know, the HWEUCSC is a home not just for the students and ex-students of the three Edinburgh universities, but also anyone who wishes to join in the fun, so let me tell you something about the club.
Firstly unique amongst modern supporters clubs we are a university club that has actually managed, through no little effort and determination, to keep true to our original roots. We retain our links with all three universities and have representatives at each. Currently we have several students on the HWEUSC committee including Hamish Munro our president and Edinburgh University rep, Danny McCourt the club secretary, Stuart MacBeath the newsletter editor and Napier rep and Kieran Lafferty the Heriot Watt rep (contact details for the committee members can be found on the Club Contacts page). To encourage student particpation in the club we have discounts for match tickets and bus travel, and the occasional social event where committee and club members turn up to show what can happen to someone if they don't look after themselves.
Theoretically the committee is elected at the end of very season when the HWEUCSC holds its Annual General Meeting. At the AGM, chaired by the President, proposals are put forward, debated amongst the attendees and then voted on or booed off. It is the duty of the newly elected Committee to ensure that all agreed proposals are implemented during the following season, as well as running the Club as per the Club Constitution (we have one somewhere, God knows where though). At present there are eleven positions on the Committee of the HWEUCSC. The envy of all other Celtic Supporters Clubs throughout Britain is our inimitable, irreplaceable ticket Convenor, Nick Wood. No matter the game or the venue Nick has an uncanny ability more times than not to come up trumps and deliver the goods. We live in constant fear that he will get a life.
At the moment the club is experiencing a period of considerable change having left our home for more than 20 years, the International Bar in Tollcross, and found a new refuge at Dropkick Murphys in Merchant Street off Candlemaker Row. We are hoping that this very positive move will reinvigorate the club as a social entity, and that the equally reinvigorated committee will usher in an era of milk and honey guzzling. All the signs are pointing to a very successful year for the club, and I would break into a rendition of Tomorrow Belongs to Me, but its fascist connections would mean that I was beaten up and thrown out the bus emergency door next time we're whizzing along the M8.
As you may have gathered from that, that the bus is a radical hotbed of revolutionary fervour, only marred by those who don't give a crap and Paddy Kelliher who claims to be a Libertarian Anarchist but suspicions are that translates as "I'm a tory but I'm buggered if I'm going to admit that to you sods". This revolutionary fervour is ably demonstrated by club founder Paul Reilly, who occasionally travels on the bus when not being chauffered from his plush Dunbar mansion. Paul loves to bawl out little known Irish republican songs from the equally little known Donegal uprising of 1523, as well as the rather quaint Andorran socialist party anthem that was briefly sung during their participation in the Spanish Civil War (Monday 12 June 1937, 2.35pm to 4.30pm). Just humour him and pretend to mumble along, we all do.
The HWEUCSC has had its ups and downs, great years and merely good ones, and we are confident that the dedication shown by the club members to keep the HWEUCSC unique and flourishing will mean that success continues far, far into the future or at least next Thursday. It is that dedication that will allow us to ride out this very difficult time for supporters clubs, caused of course by the recession and unfortunately Celtic's apparent determination to make life as difficult as it can be for the poor CSCs. Come the revolution the whole board is against the wall.
Just a reminder again that we do have discounts for club tickets, memberships and bus travel for students so look out for our stall at the Freshers Fairs. So if all of the above hasn't put you off, get in touch and help the HWEUCSC have a great 2011-2012 season. If you don't and we don't then its your fault.. you'll probably have really crap Karma and be reincarnated as a piece of fecal-chewing bacteria in David Cameron's septic tank. So why take the chance?
Hail Hail
Steve Clarke