EMPRESS

Regional News

It seems we're slowly creeping back to some normality. Hurrah! As you will see from photos in this issue we have been able to resume some 'in person' events in recent weeks and it's been so good to meet up again after over a year! I appreciate some members will be chomping at the bit to get out and about again whilst others who haven't been fully vaccinated are still being very cautious. Please take things at your own pace and join us when ready.

You are welcome to contact your Local Officer at any time with suggestions for future events. And if you fancy hosting something yourself you don't have to be an officer to do that as any member can host an event. It really is a case of many hands make light work so if you'd like to get involved please get in touch with me as there is always some way you can help including from your own home. If you're not fed up of seeing the same four walls by now!

This year sees British Mensa celebrate our 75th anniversary. Whilst the Annual Gathering is taking place 1st-4th October in Manchester, I would like to organise something for the end of the year within our region too. But what would you like to see ? A lunch or afternoon tea or evening meal? Casual or formal? A stand-alone event or with the option to join in other events as part of a mini-weekend? Your thoughts would be very welcome.

In the meantime, if you have your own special birthday, anniversary, engagement, wedding or baby arrival to announce please do drop the editors a line so we can all share your good news.

I'm on [Phone Number] or [Email]

Maxine Bates

Regional Officer

Editorial

Welcome to the July edition of Empress. Yes, there's nothing wrong with your eyes. It's still me as your editor. Carole Pollard will be taking over next month. It's finally looking like there's light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an ongoing train. If you're getting fed up with Zoom then there are going to be plenty of 'in person' events to choose from, as members emerge, blinking, into the daylight! If you have not already done so then please let the office (membership@mensa.org.uk) know your email address. The regional newsletters can be available electronically in the future, so it is vital that the office can contact you via email.

Mark Sloan

Events Happen!

One sunny April afternoon on Sunday 25th, a group of intrepid explorers gathered together in the ancient Hertfordshire market town of Hitchin; their mission to solve a number of fiendish clues and deduce the location of the Laughing Cavalier's missing head. Their search involved an encounter with crocodiles (carved wooden crocodiles), time travel (walking under a clock), a playwright and a quaker, as well as a few mathematical and word puzzles. We found at one point that a pub manager had placed a picnic table in front of one of the clues but, fortunately for us, had not completely obscured the essential text. One explorer finished the trail well ahead of the others, but missed out a clue! We discovered a number of interesting old buildings, and completed our quest in around 90 minutes, just in time for coffee and cakes. Other treasure trails are taking place throughout the East Midlands region during the year, and Hertfordshire will be holding another similar event in St Albans.

Steve Thomas

Six of us gathered for coffee and chat in Wycombe on the morning of Friday, 21st May. After a good if rather draughty coffee outside, we retreated to the revamped Wycombe "Pop-up" museum in the local shopping centre. As always, the model of the town centre produced in advance of redevelopment in the 1960/70's produced much interest and discussion.

Val Hinkins

Who crumbed the biscuit man? On Saturday May 22nd, a murder mystery treasure trail took place around Ashby de la Zouch. The event was organised by Pen Penny. There was a list of suspects and a number of possible murder weapons. The clues helped to eliminate either one of the suspects or one of the weapons until only one of each remained. Myself, Uzondu and her daughter Amaka were the first group to go out. Fortunately it was mostly dry and the sun came out as we followed the final clues.

Mark Sloan

For the second year I was unable to host my usual Eurovision party. However, a pandemic won't stop our fun so 100+ of us partied online via Facebook posting photos of our European buffets and costumes and commenting on each act as we watched live on BBC. I still put up the flags, wore my union flag dress, prepared a mini buffet, chilled the Buck's Fizz, toasted Sir Terry Wogan with Baileys at the 9th act, and due to easing of restrictions beforehand was able to invite a local friend to join me! Despite the UK entry scoring a dismal 'nul points' it was a wonderful evening. Hopefully normal service will be resumed in 2022!

Maxine Bates

Half a dozen members from Notts/Derbys/Leics met at Shipley Country Park for a five mile stroll around a pond, bluebell woods, historic buildings, trim track, a new plantation of trees and visitor centre. Luckily we only had a few spots of rain and didn't get drenched. We had a 'cake break' halfway where I was able to provide Swiss roll, Madeira cake and Viennese whirls left over from my Eurovision buffet the previous evening! The park was quiet as presumably a lot of people were taking advantage of recently opened pubs, restaurants and shops having done plenty of walking during lockdowns!

Maxine Bates

Wine Appreciation SIG

In December 2019 I took over as Secretary of the Wine Appreciation SIG, having been a member of the SIG for a couple of years. I have been an 'appreciator' of wine in an amateur capacity since the early 1980s, so hope that my experience of drinking wines at a usually moderate price level will help me in my role as SIG Sec.

My appreciation of wine really started during the 1980s, when it was quite in order to entertain business clients to lunch or dinner (with wine, of course), and I started taking the opportunity to try out different wines without having to pay for them myself!

In the 1970s and early 80s the selection of wines available to the average consumer outside of the better restaurants, specialist wine retailers, and more up market supermarkets, was fairly limited. A lot of it was quite inoffensive, if nondescript, and designed to sell to as many people as possible. It was more a lubricant to conversation than an object for appreciation or discussion. Some of these wines were brands that became well known through advertising, and this helped consumers decide which wines to take to friends for dinner parties. Brands such as Piat d'Or, Hirondelle, Capricci, Black Tower, Blue Nun, and Mateus Rosé come to mind, and some of them have made a reappearance, probably for nostalgia reasons in some cases.

It is more easy to taste different wines without paying for them now than it was then, as tastings are arranged by organisations such as Majestic, Laithwaites, and many local independent wine merchants. My local independent wine merchant, for example, holds a free tasting once a month, and it is usually attended by like minded people, so it is a bit of a regular social event to look forward to.

It doesn't take a big step to move from just drinking wine to appreciating the finer points. The first taste from a glass of wine usually indicates whether or not you like the wine. If then you question why you like that wine, what the taste reminds you of, what the smell reminds you of, you begin to appreciate that wine. The taste of the wine is also affected by the food you are consuming, or what you have drunk or eaten before tasting the wine. It may be that you are put off a wine you would have normally liked just because you tasted it straight after eating something sweet.

Many people always buy the same wines week after week because they know that they like them. That's fine, of course, but if you are interested in experimenting, there are some excellent wines out there without breaking the bank. A lot more people nowadays are experimenting and enjoying a wider range of wines, as they become more available in many more accessible outlets.

I have found that tasting wines along with others with a similar interest is much more enjoyable than just drinking them on your own. It provides the opportunity to discuss and evaluate the wines, and it becomes a social occasion as well. I live in a small market town in the north of England (population about 15000), and to my knowledge there are at least 3 wine tasing groups here, of which I am a member of one, and have been for over 25 years.

I am hoping that, as Wine Appreciation SIGSec, through the SIG newsletter, I can encourage SIG members to form local wine tasting groups, or at least to meet other members in the same locality, to enjoy the appreciation of wine together, and get more out of it. It is early days yet, and if any readers of Empress are interested in wine at any level, please consider joining the Wine Appreciation SIG, and if you would like to make a contribution to the SIG newsletter about your own wine experiences, about wines you like, or have tasted recently, please contact me at rvcolley@gmail.com. I will be happy to email a copy of my first newsletter on request.

RichardColley

20 Questions (No. 237)

The answers to the May quiz were Enderby, Captain Hastings, apples, nicotine poisoning, filing system, Cinders, Virginie Mesnard, in the handle of a tennis racket, Finnish, Jardin des Cygnes, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, Zephirine Drouhin, Bob a fox terrier, Edward Tressilian, epilepsy, hemlock, Veronica Cray, drinking hydrochloric acid, Karnak steamer and Rosemary. Congratulations to Nigel Bryant of Bedford who wins the £10 One4All gift card.

Rainbows have featured heavily during the pandemic so we have a colourful quiz for you this month! Send your entries to arrive by 20th July to '20 Questions (No. 237)', [Address] or [Email] for your chance to win. Don't forget to include your name and address or we won't know where to send the prize!