Meeting Minutes (2008)                                                                                                    Click here for 2007 Minutes

Cuddly Council Meeting July 20th, 2008

In Attendence: The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Pretty Boy Sullivan, Worc, Sidney, Mendelson, Tweak, Nyulaska, Snuffy the Great

New Business:

Item 1: Tweak has decided not to wear any clothes as a protest against the coffee machine being broken at the office. Servant ineptitude caused the breakage and Tweak has been suffering withdrawal. Snuffy reported that he has taken to standing on his head and quivering for long periods. The male servant tried to settle him down with promise of a new racing car, but consistent with silly servant behavior, he bought a car that was too small and Tweak couldn’t get his foot under the wheel to reach the brake-pedal. He is using a coffee bean poultice on the back of the neck to diminish withdrawal symptoms, but this only helps a little bit. Delivery of a new part for the coffee machine will take 3 weeks.

Item 2: Pretty Boy Sullivan had to intervene between his female servant and Sidney after she threatened to poke him in the eye. Sidney is practicing his interviewing skills and has been following the female around giving descriptions of her activities. The main problem is, however, is that he keeps referring to her as the ‘Old Croc’ or describing her as ‘A bit of a snapper’ which seems to irritate her. Pretty Boy used his negotiation skills to settle the situation down, at least for the time being.

Item 3: Snuffy reported that the cats at his house have become quite militant after the July 1st meeting when they talked with Pretty Boy about their problems with the servants. They have demanded cat tents similar to Snuffy and Tweak’s tent. If one is not forthcoming they are planning to band together and sing all night outside the servants’ bedroom window.

Item 4: The weather was a little overcast and humid so Mendelson and Snuffy were reluctant to go outside, as they were concerned it might cause their fur to ‘frizz up’
Nyulaska is considering a trip to the Hungarian Embassy and telling them he was kidnapped by his servants. He is hopeful that this might move along his plans to get home.
JB suggested a honey break and all assembled agreed with that. The rest of the evening was spent watching re-runs of ‘Little Britain’ on the television.

Respectfully Submitted
Bilbo
(secretary to the council)


Cuddly Council Meeting July 1st, 2008

In Attendence: The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Tweak, Nyulaska, Sullivan, Snuffy the Great

New Business:

Item 1: The Don addressed an issue of concern relating to security and discipline. At Easter Jimmy the Rabbit had suffered a strange case of benevolence leaving the servants under no threat of discipline for almost a week. The Don has therefore asked Sullivan to assume a role relating to servant discipline, should Jimmy suffer another attack of goodwill. Sullivan has now assumed the name ‘Pretty Boy Sullivan’ for matters relating to discipline.
Sullivan does not have Jimmy’s enthusiasm for physical intervention and will restrict his interventions to verbal persuasion.

Item 2: The bear’s picnic will go ahead in August, all being well. JB has been in communication with Mother Bear via b-mail (bird mail – courtesy of Worc). Bilbo is being considered for inclusion in the Royal Order of Bears for his work done on the Bear’s Book of Wisdom and Lore.
http://www.cuddlycouncil.com/lore.pdf

Item 3: Snuffy, Tweak and Nyulaska reported quiet times at home. They had been eagerly looking forward to their servants going away this month on business. Unfortunately, there has been a delay and they will be around for the summer. Tweak is stocking up on coffee and red wine in preparation for the picnic.

Item 4: As the weather was beautiful outside and there was no other pressing business English suggested we adjourn to the garden and play some games. Photos are on the web-site.
http://www.cuddlycouncil.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=249&g2_page=2

Respectfully Submitted
Bilbo
(secretary to the council)

Cuddly Council Meeting June 13th, 2008

In Attendence: The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Mendelson, Worc, Tweak, Hendricks, Buffy and Sidney.
Absent: Nyulaska, Gilbert and Sullivan, Snuffy the Great

New Business:

Item 1: Tweak offered apologies for the absence of Snuffy. Needless to say servant incompetence was at the root of his absence. Nyaulaska was also absent. He is upset that his male servant is still doing nothing about getting him a new passport and has become somewhat reclusive in recent weeks.

Item 2: Bilbo has completed the translation of the bear's manuscript, called the Bear's Book of Lore. It can be found on the website at cuddlycouncil.com/lore.pdf.

Item 3: The bear's picnic is tentatively scheduled for August. It will be an informal affair and bears are expected to bring their own honey. Great Mother Bear will preside over the meeting prior to the picnic and is expected to offer thanks to Bilbo for his work on translating the Book of Lore.

Item 4:Buffy and Hendricks continue to enjoy their new tent and have been camping in the woods behind the house in Stewiacke since the weather improved from absolutely horrible to bearly tolerable. They called on the council to apply subtle pressure on the servants who promised them a picnic table, which has not been forthcoming. Jimmy has been put on the case.

Item 5: Tweak and Snuffy are planning to host the next meeting. Their servants will be busy in July so it could be toward the end of the month, or even early August.

Item 6: The Don has suggested a committee to address global warming. He feels strongly that if it is left up to humans we are all going to end up baked. His article on ‘Endangering Species’ appears in July’s newsletter.
All members present thought this would be a good idea. JB said it was such a good idea that he would definitely drink to it. Tweak seconded this and the pair of them disappeared into the kitchen in search of wine.

Item 7: Sidney reported that he had tried to make a promotional video for the council, but that the woman servant kept interrupting him and he would have to redo it. Things have not been running smoothly between Sidney and the woman ever since he referred to her as "The Old Croc".

Respectfully Submitted
Bilbo
(secretary to the council)

Cuddly Council Meeting May 2th, 2008

In Attendence: Snuffy the Great, The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Mendelson, Worc, Tweak, Hendricks, Buffy and Sidney.
Absent: Nyulaska, Gilbert and Sullivan

New Business:

Item 1: The female servants have actually been busy over the last month and there were new tents made. Some of these tents are going to be offered for sale, under the banner of the Cuddly Council. Also, the council, meaning me, has been asked to prepare a membership package for any new members who purchase council products. This means that there will be honey money in our future. That is, if the servants can actually sell the product. This is not a guarantee as the servants do not exactly have what one could call winning personalities. There was some discussion as to whether a council member should be designated to administer this venture. Opinions were mixed on this issue as pretty much everyone agreed it could interfere with napping. English moved, seconded by Snuffy, that we give the servants a chance to screw up before we take control.

Item 2: JB modeled his new outfit. English felt that the leaf design could be considered in bad taste by some, but JB responded: “The threads are fine my English dude, The servant did the deed, She sewed my rags and they look good, especially the weed. Heh! Heh!”

Item 3: Tweak seemed a little strung out and the Don took him to the side for a little one on one. The Don did not confide details of their conversation, but he will be talking with Tweak's manservant again, so needless to say servant incompetence is at the root of Tweak's problem. JB sneaked Tweak a glass of wine and this seemed to help him.

Item 4: Snuffy reported that his female servant has promised an online photo gallery. This has not been forthcoming (gasps of mock surprise from all assembled). Tweak finished his wine and began shouting “Send in the rabbit! Send in the rabbit!” Before Jimmy could be summoned I pointed out that maybe she deserved some leniency as she had actually done some work for the council recently. The group reluctantly agreed even though the Don did advocate a minor intervention, as Jimmy was in need of a little practice following his Easter sojourn in his happy place.

The meeting was concluded with tea and honey.
Respectfully Submitted
Bilbo (secretary to the council)

Cuddly Council Meeting April 12th, 2008

In Attendence: Snuffy the Great, The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Mendelson, Worc, Tweak, Hendricks, Buffy, Sidney and Nyulacska.
Absent: Gilbert and Sullivan (Listening to Iolanthe on the radio)

New Business:

Item 1: The Don reported that Jimmy the Rabbit was back to his old ways. It seems that Easter is a time when most rabbits get these feelings of goodwill and heap gifts upon everyone. He is pleased to be back to his old self and looks forward to a Spring of maiming and mayhem.

Item 2: Tweak and Snuffy are very pleased with their new tent. The female servants have excelled in providing two new tents prior to the meeting and Hendricks and Buffy are installed in one. In fact they are so taken with it they refused to come to the meeting proper and ended up shouting their input from their location in the new tent.

Item 3: Mendelson was officially recognized as a new member. His bio is on the web-site. Also joining the group was Sidney, his bio is also listed on the web-site.

Special Report:
JB has returned from his trek to visit the mythical Great Mother Bear. Details are trickling out about his adventure but he did table a document reputedly containing the words of the wise one, and directed to the council. A copy of this report is now posted on the web site. (click here) He also has some pics that he will be sharing through the web-site in due course.
All the bears expressed their happiness at JB’s return, not to mention a few who were secretly relieved he did not come to any harm.
The manservant tried to seek restitution from the council for Visa bills run up by JB while he was away, but English refused to entertain the motion and cited the charter article on vacations as justification for his refusal.
The group finished the meeting with a round of honey scones. Hendricks and Buffy did agree to come out of their tent for this snack.

Respectfully Submitted
Bilbo
(secretary to the council)

Cuddly Council meeting February 28th, 2008

In Attendence: Snuffy the Great, The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Mendelson, Worc, Tweak, Hendricks, Buffy, Nyulacska and Theodore

Minutes arising from January 17th Meeting:

Item 1: Theodore was welcomed to the meeting. Concerns expressed by The Don last meeting about Theodore being left behind by his servant Nancy are settled now and Jimmy the Rabbit has been told to step down.
Item 2: Tweak has had a bit of an up and down month. Snuffy reported that he is working hard to address his caffeine habit but when he is at the office with the servants they are always drinking strong coffee, and the smell is enough to raise his heart rate 10 beats a minute. Nyulacska is still waiting for his servant to organize a trip home, but it looks as though this is not going to happen anytime soon.
Item 3: Bilbo reported that Gilbert and Sullivan would not be at the meeting as they were in deep hibernation. Gilbert gets very grumpy if he is awakened and can only be pacified with beef curry. As there was no curry in sight Bilbo felt that waking him up was not an option.

New Business:

Item 1: A security message for Cuddly Council emails was introduced by The Don. The idea was that the message, which asked for donations of honey, could help build up a supply of honey for next winter. As the message was directed only to emails received in error it was felt that this would not be a good source for obtaining honey. Plus, it would place an additional burden on Jimmy the Rabbit to enforce compliance. English said he felt Jimmy may be under some kind of stress as it had been noticed that he had been showing signs of compassion recently and was sending everyone carrots as gifts. The Don will speak to Jimmy and report back next time

JB arrived late to the meeting as he too had been sleeping. He had been awakened by the smell of pizza and raucous laughing from the kitchen where the servants were cooking. By the time he arrived there was only a small amount of red wine remaining, so he had to be satisfied with honey along with the rest of the group. Some remnants of pizza were left after supper, which the group readily agreed were quite superb and asked Snuffy to congratulate his manservant on a job well done.

The meeting was concluded by a reading of the charter.

Respectfully submitted
Bilbo
(Secretary to the council)

Cuddly Council meeting January 17th, 2008

In Attendence: Snuffy the Great, Gilbert, Sullivan, The Don, Bilbo, JB, English, Mendelson, Worc, Tweak and Nyulacska.
Left behind by incompetent servants: Hendriks, Buffy and Theodore.

Minutes arising from September 7th Meeting:

Item 1: Sullivan agreed to attend the meeting and his frustration at being left out of the meeting in December seems to be resolved. The Don welcomed Sullivan back to the family.
Item 2: Snuffy reported that it had been a quiet Christmas for him and Nyulaska. The exception to this sedate atmosphere had been the arrival of Tweak, on Christmas day. Tweak went through several name changes during Christmas week and seemed a bit confused most of the time. It turned out that the manservant had been feeding him coffee that he is very sensitive to, and this had temporarily caused hyperactivity and disorientation. Tweak is keen on becoming a member of the council, if only to gain some protection from the manservant. The council voted quickly to enroll him and The Don had a few words with his manservant to ensure there would not be a repeat of the coffee incident. Tweaks bio will be posted on the web site in the near future.
Item 3: Rupert and Cheeky were voted in as new members. Their biographies are now posted on the web-site. Rupert has indicated that he has aspirations to be a scientist, although he has not said which branch of science he will pursue.
Mendelson has decided to stay on in Stewiacke with his cousins Gilbert and Sullivan. He will be providing information for his biography soon, which will be posted on the web-site.

New Business:

Item 1: A new human joined the group for supper. Nancy was overheard talking about her bear Theodore but had neglected to bring him to the meeting. Her behaviour is to be monitored to see if this omission was just a temporary aberration or whether corrective action will be required.
Item 2: Apparently making mead is not a simple process, and as the servants are working at full capacity just getting dressed in the morning, their help cannot be relied upon. This matter will need further thought.
Item 3: English reported that there had been no word from Vincent regarding European developments. The council voted to send Vincent a new-year greeting by way of these minutes. It is hoped that Vincent can visit again soon.

JB asked if it would be okay to cut the meeting short as he had spied a half-full bottle of wine in the kitchen.
English closed the meeting and Snuffy led the group into the kitchen for tea and honey.

Respectfully submitted
Bilbo
(Secretary to the council)