EMPRESS

Regional News

As the year draws to an end I would like to take the opportunity to thank the officers of East Midlands Mensa for the time and effort they put into the society. That's the Local Secretaries, Empress Editors, Meeting Co-ordinator and Web Master which are all voluntary roles. And, of course, to every member who participates by attending events or contributing to our newsletter. It wouldn't be the same without you! Personally 2010 has not been a good year for me so I would like to thank my Mensa friends for getting me through the bad times and also for making the good times better.

Wishing all Empress readers a fun festive season and health and happiness in 2011.

Maxine Bates

Regional Officer

Forthcoming Mensa weekends in 2011:

• 11th - 14th March Portmeiron Weekend
• 9th - 11th April Think at Oxford
• 21st - 24th July Mensa at Cambridge
• 16th - 19th September British Mensa Annual Gathering (Coventry)

WANTED!

Members to join our team and participate in
Relay For Life
at Harvey Hadden Stadium, Bilborough, Nottingham
on 2nd/3rd July 2011
in aid of Cancer Research UK.
For full details please see www.cancerresearchuk.org/relay
or contact Maxine on [Phone Number] or [Email]

Editor's bit at the Bottom

Last month I asked that if anyone knew a cheerful November poem would they please send it in to cheer us up. David Addison responded very quickly with not only a beautifully evocative poem, but one that he had written himself. (See below.) Many thanks, David. If anyone else has any self-penned poems they¡¦d like to share with Empress readers, on any subject, please send them in. Copy deadline for every issue is always shown on the back page but is usually the 23rd of the month except for December when it is a week earlier because of Christmas.

If you receive any unusual presents or have any funny anecdotes arise from Christmas 2010, please send them in too and give us all a laugh in early 2011.

Also an article about your town of course - we've had a couple of towns in the south of our area, are there any interesting towns in the north of it? (Not that I'm trying to stir up any north/south competition you understand but the south is ahead 2:0)

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Rosie Jefferson

NOVEMBER NIGHT

November night - the sky is clear, the stars
Shine brightly, winking at the autumn moon;
A warm breeze from the sea caresses leaves
Of trees, green nesting-points of sparrows, doves,
And others, silent now, awaiting dawn,
When golden sunrise signs the morning song.
All's quiet now, but for a reveller
Returning full of cheer, no coat or cap,
To bedroom with the windows open wide
Where blanketless he'll sleep the night away
And wake to find the sun high in the sky.
November night, in England? - Lanzarote!

David Addison

Christmas Quotations

• "Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered." Phyllis Diller
• "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph." Shirley Temple
• "Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we'll be seeing six or seven." W. C. Fields
• "Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year." Victor Borge
• "Christmas is the season when you buy this year's gifts with next year's money." Author Unknown
• "Merry Christmas, Nearly Everybody!" Ogden Nash

Bedford

St Paul's Church

The Swan Hotel beside the River Ouse

Although I don't currently live in Bedford, it is within my LocSec area and, more importantly, it's the town I call home. I grew up near Bedford from the age of three, and lived there for thirty-five years, until work required me to move away in 1995.

I can't pretend it's a particularly beautiful town. It didn't escape the 1960s multi-storey car park-style architectural monstrosities (County Hall, the Park Inn Hotel...). And yet it has its redeeming features. The jewel in Bedford's crown has to be its riverside embankment, with manicured gardens alongside the calm tranquillity of the Ouse (at least when the numerous rowing clubs aren't out training energetically!).

Behind the Georgian Swan Hotel, just on the north side of the town bridge, is the newly revitalised Cultural Quarter, with the museum and art gallery, and the castle mound, the last remnants of Bedford's Norman castle. There's been a settlement in Bedford for over 1200 years, and it was on the boundary between Wessex and the Danelaw. It gained its borough charter in 1166, and I remember the 800th anniversary celebrations in 1966. There's also the town's central parish church in the middle of the market square, and the façade of the old Bedford Modern School (one of the boys' grammar schools which moved to the edge of town in the mid 70s) which hides a modern shopping centre.

Another jewel, almost rivalling the embankment, is Bedford Park, which retains many of its splendid Victorian features such as the bandstand and cricket pavilion. In recent years it has been the venue for open air concerts and "proms in the park".

The town's most famous son is undoubtedly John Bunyan, though I confess to being somewhat weary of everything being called either "Bunyan" or "Pilgrim". However, we now have Paula Radcliffe to boast about, and a new stretch of the A6 north of Bedford (bypassing the village of Clapham) has been designated "Paula Radcliffe Way".

Bedford is a very multi-cultural town, with various ethnic communities all co-existing happily together. There is a large Italian community, dating from the post-war era when men were encouraged to move from the Italian town of Busso to work in the brickworks at Stewartby. As well as supplementing the local labour force, they were also better able to withstand the enormous heat of the brickworks. Other local industries include the Charles Wells brewery.

My mother still lives in Bedford, so I visit regularly. She now lives in the town centre, but I actually grew up in an idyllic village a few miles outside the town. Some of the north Bedfordshire villages are beautiful, and have retained their traditional character and charm (not that I'm biased!)

The only thing that's missing from Bedford is Mensa activity! Where are you all? I'd like to organise more events in Bedford but when I do, most of the participants have come over from Milton Keynes. There are one or two Bedford members who come along to things but I'd love to see more locals participating. There are a couple of new restaurants I have my eye on for eating meetings, so watch this space and I hope to meet more of you soon.

by Jo Sidebottom

20 Questions (No. 111)

The answers to the October quiz were Lake Baikal, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Krupp, Temple Emanu-El in New York, Kingda Ka, Canada, Sultan Of Brunei, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, North Korea, Airbus A380, Hershey's in Pennsylvania, Zhejiang Young Man Vehicle Group, Windsor Castle, Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Christ The Redeemer, Boeing, Redwood National Park, Akashi Kaikyo, Ramoji Film City in India, and Greenland. Entries were received from Chris Newbold of Quorn, Tony Dodd of Belvoir, Chris Benger of Bedfordshire, Pamela Covey of Woburn, Michael Warren of Derby, Philip Abbott of Watford, Lynn Cooper of Stevenage, Carol Wheatcroft of Derby, Chris Impey of Tring, T Hamilton of Sleaford and Anne Favier-Townsend of Luton. Congratulations to Chris Benger whose name was picked at random from all correct entries and wins the £10 book token.

A team of Mensans took part in a competition organised by the bmibaby airline. Unfortunately we didn't win the free flights but we did learn a lot of trivia about European destinations. Answer these questions and see how you compare!

Send your entries to '20 Questions (No. 111)', [Address], to arrive by 15th December. Note earlier closing date due to Christmas printing deadlines.