Llama Karma
Maxine's extra 'L' Event in December was for 'Llamas'. It was fully attended and was highly enjoyed by those who went. Read Susan Beverley's review with more pictures below.
Regional News
Do we have any Mensa Games competitors in the East Midlands? It's not too late to enter. Choose from backgammon, brain of Mensa, chess, connections, cribbage, heads-up poker, mastermind, monopoly, pool, scrabble, settlers, snooker or trivial pursuit. Go to www.mensa.org.uk to sign up or phone Diane at the Mensa office on 01902-772771. It costs £5 per game to enter and there are cash prizes for the winners.
Are you enjoying our "alphabet events"? The intention of these is to offer something different to the usual events involving eating and drinking. The Framework Knitters Museum in Notts and the llama experience in Derbys certainly did that with hands-on activities. I hope you enjoy the review and photos of the cute llamas in this issue of Empress.
Do you know anyone who may be interested in joining Mensa or just finding out their IQ? There are test sessions planned at The Y in Leicester on 11th February and 22nd April, Lincoln University on 25th March, The Quaker Centre in Milton Keynes on 18th February and 13th May, Northampton Central Library on 22nd April, and Oaklands College in St Albans on 18th February. Contact the Mensa office or log onto the Mensa website to book a place.
I'm on [Phone Number] or [Email] if you'd like to get in touch.
Maxine Bates
Regional Officer
Editorial
Welcome to the February Edition of Empress. Now we should be starting to look forward to spring and the days getting longer again. One of the best things I have got out of my membership is the socialising and making new friends. It is a source of surprise and disappointment that so many of our members don't seem to want to come to any events. If you are one of those members, you really are missing out on the best part of being in Mensa. You're welcome to bring a friend or family member along if you're nervous about meeting new people. It's not all small groups in pubs, as you can see with the Llama Trek event which happened in December and the Nature Trail event this month. If there's something you'd like to do as an activity and you think it might make a good group event, why not suggest it to your locsec. Any suggestions will be truly welcome.
Mark Sloan
Member's profile - Susan Graves
Name?
Susan Graves.
Location?
Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
When did you join Mensa?
1988.
Why did you join?
I took the test to see if it explained why I was a bit different from others at school.
Have you attended any events?
Loads. Local events in the East Midlands, Leeds (where I work), and wherever there has been a meeting where I have happened to be. All friendly, ranging in size from 2 to 20. Also a variety of weekend events which have been great fun.
Do you belong to any SIGs?
May technically be a member of Party SIG if it still exists.
Occupation?
Project Manager.
Hobbies?
Singing, particularly in big choirs
doing choral works.
Anything else?
Recently married, to Mark, who I met in Mensa after much matchmaking effort from friends.
Events and Meetings
More or Leicester
On Sun 12th Feb at 6:00pm - Leicester Comedy Festival
The Leicester Comedy Festival began life back in 1994, and is now one of the highlights of the year. From big names to the just-starting-outs, there are comediens and comediennes to suit all tasts. Normally, we wander round with a programme in hand to one of the many pop-up venues and see if there's spaces. If not, we head to the next and so on and so on. We'll meet up at The Corn Exchange in Leicester Market Place at 6:00pm (note: there are acts going on all day. so feel free to start early!) and decide where to go from there.
On Mon 27th Feb at 6:30pm - 4MOTM
After that randomness of the Comedy Festival, we'll head back to the normality (if you can call it that) of our regular Fourth Monday combined eating meeting at The Stamford Arms in Groby from 6:30pm and pub social from 8:00pm. Whatever you do, don't forget to leave room for the pud at just a quid. Connoisseurs of all things Dessert recommend the hot chocolate fudge cake with ice cream (guaranteed by the serving staff not to contain any calories at all, so there's no reason not to!)
For both items, please don't forget to let me know you're coming so we can look out for you, and grab a big enough table in Groby.
Paul Coulson
Lively Lincs
On Sat 11th Feb at 12:00pm - Pub discussion
Our monthly pub discussion is on Saturday 11 February at the Adam and Eve on Lindum Hill. We start gathering at about 12 for general socialising and start our low key discussion at about 12.30. This month we are wondering, "When does handing out unsolicited advice become interference rather than help?" I still wonder whether I should have suggested to that burly workman that it's not a good idea merely to lean a stepladder against a wall without any support ....basic physics methinks ..... would it be partly my responsibility if he slid down the wall and broke his wrists? I'd feel obliged to warn a child of a riptide or quicksand, what's the difference, where is the boundary to responsibility? There is pub food available to feed the brain cells whilst cogitating. Free parking.
On Tue 28th Feb at 7:00pm - Eating meeting
Our monthly eating meeting is just about food, drink and socialising, no ethical conundrums intended, at Thai No. 1 on the Bailgate in Lincoln on Tuesday 28th February at 19:00. All welcome but please book with me by 24th if possible, thanks.
Christine Howells
Contact [Email] for details
Notts News
On Fri 3rd Feb at 6:00pm - Greyhound racing
On Friday 3rd we're taking part in another charity tournament at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium in Colwick. Gates open 6.00pm, first race 6.28pm and last race finished by 10.30pm. You can arrive/leave any time during the evening. Food and drink are available at the venue as well as ample free parking. Tickets are a bargain £3 (half normal price of admission and race card) with all that money going to Cancer Research UK. Accompanied under 18s admitted free of charge. So if you've never been greyhound racing before why not give it a try and come and cheer on our allocated dog? Feel free to invite friends, family and work colleagues as I've kindly been donated 100 tickets by the stadium so the more the merrier.
On Sun 5th Feb at 8:00pm - 5OTM
Round off the weekend with a drink and chat at the Vat & Fiddle pub from 8.00pm on Sunday 5th. We're usually on the first table in the Goldings Room to the left of the bar and a yellow Mblem will be on display. The pub is on Queensbridge Road not far from Nottingham railway station and also adjacent to Castle Rock Brewery.
On Thu 9th Feb at 7:30pm - Eating meeting
Thursday 9th sees us at the Cadland pub/restaurant in Chilwell (NG9 5EG). We meet from 7.30pm on tables 20-24 at the far side of the bar. Menu at www.emberinns.co.uk but you are welcome to join us later for just a drink.
On Sat 18th Feb at 10:30am - N is for Nature Trail
Alphabet Event - N is for Nature Trail
Our "N" alphabet event takes place at 10.30am on Saturday 18th and will be a nature trail at Attenborough Nature Reserve (NG9 6DY). Meet in the car park (£2 donation requested for parking) and there will be a choice of three routes. The shortest is 3km and goes around the pond which should be full of ducks in the winter. The middle distance is 4.2km and should take around an hour at a comfortable pace. It heads towards Long Eaton and back along the River Trent whilst spotting jack snipes, stonechats or even short eared owls. The longest trail is 5.9km around the perimeter of the entire nature reserve. Will you spot all three species of British woodpecker? All walks are free and include the chance to sit in one of their hides and are suitable for all ages. Why not bring the family? Please contact Maxine to express interest in case this event needs to be postponed due to inclement weather. It could be doing anything in February!
We are already planning summer events so keep an eye out for our Eurovision party on 20th May, a real ale trail around Newark on 10th June and a 24 hour Relay For Life event 15th/16th July. Suggestions of other events always welcome!
Ciao for now!
Maxine Bates
Contact [Email] or [Phone Number] for details
Hertfordshire Happenings
On Thu 2nd Feb at 8:00pm - FThOTM
What better way to forget about February, the most depressing month of the year, than to join us for a drink and a meal? As ever, we are at the Three Magnets, Leys Avenue, Letchworth. Thursday nights are curry nights but other food (standard Wetherspoons' fare) is available as well. Leys Avenue is the main shopping street in Letchworth and is a few minutes' walk from the station (Kings Cross to Cambridge line). Call me on [Phone Number] for more details and encouragement.
On Fri 24th Feb at 8:00pm - LFOTM
Last Friday is at our usual venue of the Cowper Arms, Digswell. The pub is next to Welwyn North station and is served by stopping trains from Kings Cross to Peterborough and Cambridge. Good food, beer and conversation guaranteed! Please call me on [Phone Number] for more details and encouragement.
Richard Allen
Contact [Email] or [Phone Number] for details
Mensans in MK & Bedford
Look out for a yellow Mblem on the table at our events.
On Sat 11th Feb at 3:00pm - T@3
We like T@3 so much we've decided to take it on tour! So our first event in February is a foray over the border into Northamptonshire on Saturday 11th for tea, coffee & cakes from 3pm in Podington Garden Centre restaurant. All members welcome as usual, but Northants members particularly so.
On Mon 20th Feb at 8:30pm - Quiz
Our monthly visit to the Barge in Woolstone for the quiz is on Monday 20th. Meet from 8.30 - the quiz starts at 9pm and costs £1 per person. Please let me know beforehand if you're coming so I can bag a large enough table.
On Sun 26th Feb at 10:00am - Sunday breakfast
We return to Brown's, next to Jury's Inn on Midsummer Boulevard, for breakfast on Sunday 26th. Join us from 10am for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink.
Just a reminder about our M-MK & Bedford Facebook group - if you would like to join please search for the group and send me a request. I also keep an email distribution list for meeting reminders and any last-minute changes, so if you would like to be added to this please let me know.
We hope to see as many of you as possible at one or other of our events in February. Do remember that you're welcome to bring a guest with you, so if you've never been to a Mensa event and are a little nervous about coming along on your own, just bring a friend.
Jo Sidebottom
Contact [Email] or [Phone Number] / [Mobile Number] for details
Mid Bucks
On Mon 13th Feb at 8:00pm - Indoor games
Join Dave and Alison at their home in Flackwell Heath for a relaxed evening of indoor board games. Arrive for an 8pm start on Monday 13th February. Please contact Dave on [Email] or [Phone Number] for directions and to let him know which games you would like to play.
On Wed 15th Feb at 7:30pm - Eating meeting
Chutney, at 27, Easton Street, High Wycombe, HP11 1NT always gets excellent reviews. Join Mark there for a meal at half past seven on the evening of Wednesday, February 15th. Menu details are at: http://chutneywycombe.co.uk/index.php/menu/ Please let Mark know you are coming on [Phone Number] or by e-mail at [Email].
Val Hinkins
Contact [Email] or [Phone Number] for details
Derby Diary
On Wed 15th Feb at 7:30pm - 3WOTM
We return to the Standing Order on Irongate in the city centre from 7.30pm on 15th for our "3rd Wednesday" event, the earliest date it could fall. Join us at any point during the evening for good value food and/or drink and a variety of conversation. Look for yellow Mblem on a long table in the rear section of the pub. There are usually 15-20 of us.
On Tue 28th Feb at 7:30pm - Eating meeting
At 7.30pm on Tuesday 28th our "eating meeting" takes place at Kathmandu Nepalese restaurant on Church Street in Ripley (DE5 3BU). See menu at ripley.kathmandugurkha.co.uk and reserve your place with Maxine by 24th latest please. A little bit of trivia from their website. Gurkhas have been part of the British Army since 1815. The name Gurkha comes from the town of Gorkha, a western region of Nepal. During World War II nearly 112,000 Gurkhas fought for the British. Currently there are about 3,500 Gurkha soldiers serving in the British Army in a variety of roles, mainly in the infantry but with significant numbers of engineers, logisticians and signals specialists. During the two world wars 43,000 men lost their lives. The soldiers are still selected from young men living in the hills of Nepal with more than 28,000 youths tackling the selection procedure for just over 200 places each year.
Maxine Bates
Contact [Email] or [Phone Number] for details
Lakes Party Weekend 3rd-6th November 2017
A weekend based at Whinfell Forest CenterParcs in the beautiful Lake District. Package includes 3 nights accommodation in a twin/double room, 3 parties (2 with optional fancy dress), some buffet meals, help-yourself bar, cocktail of the day, unlimited access to the sub-tropical swimming paradise, walks, quizzes, tastings, board games, firework display and much more.
Join in as much or as little as you like. All ages welcome!
Cost from £150 per person.
Sole occupancy, en suite and executive rooms available for a supplement.
Contact organiser Maxine on [Phone Number] or [Email] for full details.
National Forest Llama Trek
You know how it goes, you get one llama and before you know it, you've got eight of them. This is what Dave from the National Forest Llama Trek told me as I walked around their lovely facility while holding on to Mustard, a small, friendly yellow coloured llama.
Thanks to the creative alphabet themed Mensa meetings organized by our lovely LocSec, Maxine Bates, L is for Llama
The Saturday morning meeting was an educational and social delight. The hosts, Dave and Anna, started by introducing us to the llamas by name and told us bit about their individual personalities and about llamas in general.
Next, we were invited into their enclosure where we were handed brushes and given instructions on how to groom them. It seems llamas are not too happy about having their faces or feet messed with, but we were good to go along their necks and backs.
Intense excitement followed, not so much from us, but the llamas. I got the feeling that they had done this before and they knew what was coming up next, it was time for food. A bucket of llama food was on hand for us to scoop up using both hands and offer it up to hungry, eager mouths. Mouths with only one row of teeth on the bottom which reassuringly means it's impossible for llamas to bite.
Snack time over with, it was time to go for a short trek. Yes, really, we were going to take the llamas for a walk. Llamas are social animals with a pecking order and place within the file. Interestingly, the leader of the pack takes a middle place, not the front or the rear because a mid-file place is the safest.
Fifteen minutes or so later and we were back where we started. Now it was our turn to get excited at the prospect of coffee and cake. The venue for this was a charming round building constructed from wood with a lovely logburning stove to warm the place up nicely. Coffee or tea was available to go with a selection of yummy homemade cakes.
This was a great opportunity to get to know other members a bit better and talk about how spending a morning with llamas in such a great location was a much better option than doing housework.
20 Questions (No. 184)
The answers to our December competition were Buddy, UK, White Christmas, Australia, 6, Cliff Richard, holly, Jingle Bells, 1957, Coca Cola, The Snowman, advocaat, silver, ladies dancing, Home Alone, 1814, saunas, Norway, Tom Smith and Maine. Thank you to everyone who entered - and for the festive greetings some of you included - but well done to Nigel Bryant of Bedford who wins the £10 book token.
This month's quiz is compiled by Kerrin Tarr and is on the subject of mathematics. Send your answers to arrive by 20th February to '20 Questions (No. 184)', [Address] or [Email]. Don't forget to include your name and address!
1. To the nearest integer, what's the value of 3root7?
2. How many sides does an icosikaitetragon have?
3. In statistics, which letter of the Greek alphabet is used to represent 'the sum of'?
4. If you differentiate the equation, '7x - 4', what do you get?
5. What is the first prime number above a hundred?
6. What is the sum of the internal angles of a hexagon?
7. Using the short scale, how many zeros are in the figure for a decillion?
8. What is -2 cubed?
9. What are all of the factors of 36?
10. If you multiply the numbers from -3 through to +3 inclusive, what answer would you get?
11. If you faced north and cycled five miles, then turned east and cycled another twelve miles, how far would you be from your starting point?
12. What is the probability of rolling a five with one die and flipping heads with one coin?
13. 3 is the first digit of pi. What is its tenth digit?
14. In trigonometry, cosec is the inverse function of which of the following - sine, cosine, or tangent?
15. What is the name of the imaginary line that the line on a graph never touches?
16. What is the smallest number (four digits) that has the numbers one through ten as factors?
17. Which part of the quadratic formula is square rooted?
18. What is the formula to find the volume of a sphere?
19. How is the number 73 represented in binary?
20. Following BIDMAS, what is 4 + 5 x 2 - 14 / 7?