There are three opportunities for everyone in Northamptonshire to socialise this month. Our 1st Thursday meeting is on 5th at the Bold Dragoon, High Street, Weston Favell, Northampton. Find us in the Lounge from 9.00pm.
FThOTM meeting and what better way to start the Easter weekend? Join us for our usual mix of lively conversation / good atmosphere. We'll be at the Millstream, Hitchin. The pub is about ten minutes' walk from the railway station. Good food/good beer available!
Please join us on the 5th from 8.00pm for informal First Thursday chat. However, note that we have moved back to The Old Beams at Shenley Lodge. We will try to get a table in the small room at the right hand end - look out for the Mblem or mag. For location see http://www.mcmullens.co.uk/oldbeams, menu etc. Feel free to join us for a meal or just a drink.
Start the Easter break with a drink and chat at the Vat & Fiddle pub from 8.00pm on Thursday 5th. Find us in the Golding's Room to the left of the bar with a yellow Mblem on display. New and old faces of all ages welcome. Pop in briefly or stay all evening. The pub is on Queensbridge Road near Nottingham railway station.
Two days later, on Saturday 7th, it's a chance to brush up on local history. Last year we visited the Abington Park Museum - this time it's the Central Museum & Art Gallery. Meet outside the main entrance in Guildhall Road, Northampton, at 11.00am, followed by a bite to eat at a venue to be decided on the day.
Ahhh . . . Spring! Daffodils, bunny rabbits and Easter Cake! Why not join me to possibly tick off one of the boxes at Brucciani's Restaurant in Churchgate, Leicester, to see if they've any Simnal Cake on the menu? I'll be there on Saturday 7th at about 11.00am. More details at www.brucciani.co.uk, but let me know you're coming as I'll need to know how big a table to grab (look for the magazine or yellow mBlem on a table).
Mike Hargreave Mawson continues to host meetings at his home in Bedford this month, with "My Favourite Things" on Sunday 8th at 8.00pm. This month's theme for My Favourite Things is "poems", so bring along some memories and/or sample(s) to share with others.
Monday 9th at 8.00pm: Lateral Thinking & Puzzle evening - hosted by Ros Groves. Please let me know if you plan to attend as spaces may be limited! Also we will be bringing the usual nibbles.
We're starting a new regular "natter & nosh" event on the 2nd Thursday of the month. The venue is the Beekeeper pub, Meadow Lane, Beeston, and we'll have a reserved table - the first long table near the food order point - from 7.30pm. We tried this as an impromptu event earlier in the year and it attracted 15 members so I think this will be a successful event format. You are welcome to come along for a meal or just a drink. It's a Hungry Horse venue so prices are very reasonable and we often have discount vouchers too. Why not join us on Thursday 12th?
2SaOTM, Saturday 14th, 12.05pm, nominally until 2.00pm but we are often there for longer. Do join us at the Adam & Eve on Lindum Hill, Lincoln, for lunch or just a drink. At about 12.30pm our discussion will start on, 'When is it acceptable to interfere in another country's internal affairs?', then we'll undoubtedly wander off onto other topics.
Sunday breakfast will be at 10.15am on Sunday 15th, back at Carluccio's in the Centre:MK. Feel free to come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink, but if possible please let me know by Saturday 14th so we have an idea what size table to grab when we arrive. We will probably be in one of the red booths just outside the restaurant.
It's a while since we've held a sheep racing night so there will be one from 8.30pm on Tuesday 17th in the function room of the Horse & Groom pub, Radford Road, Basford. £2.50 gets you a wad of sheepy money for gambling. Watch six battery operated sheep in racing silks stagger and bleat their way to the finish line. Hilarious fun! All proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK with prize for the winner with the most sheepy money at the end of the night. All ages welcome.
Join us for a meal or just a drink at the Standing Order on Irongate from 7.30pm on Wednesday 18th. This is a Wetherspoon venue so good value plus there's 20% discount off food if you have a Cathedral Quarter card. Find us in the low ceiling area at the rear of the pub. A yellow Mblem will be on display.
This month's Roadshow is on Thursday 19th and the location is Chapel Road, Weldon, to pay a visit to the Shoulder of Mutton. We'll be there from 8.00pm and it should be fairly easy to get to for members in the Kettering and Corby areas - or even from over the border in Leicestershire and Rutland.
On the Third Thursday of the Month, 19th, at 8.00pm, we'll be back at The Craddock (http://tinyurl.com/leicsMensaTTOTMfor) where the topic of conversation will be, "Simnal cake - you don't see that much around these days, do you?". Look for the magazine or yellow mBlem on the table (it's been busy in there the past couple of times, so you may need to search around a bit).
Come and join us at Oaklands for a nice cup of tea and a bun, and we'll celebrate the imminent arrival of Spring. No doubt it will be snowing again.
From 7.30pm on Saturday 21st Melvyn Blake is opening his home in Grantham to members for an evening of socialising with possibly a board game or two. Tea, coffee, juice and snacks provided but feel free to bring whatever else you wish to drink or a buffet contribution. Contact Mel on 01476-407-393 or melvyn.blake@ntlworld.com for directions and to say you'll be there please.
Do come and stretch your brain at my house near Alford on Sunday 22nd from 3.00-5.00pm with a bit of 'Teatime Thinking'. General discussion over tea and cakes on ideas of the main philosophers but no previous knowledge required; anyone and everyone can join in. This month: Descartes: can we trust our senses?
Monday 23rd at 8.00pm: Pub meeting at Essex Arms, Langley Way, Watford, WD17 3EG. Please look for the Magazine on the table. New members always warmly welcomed.
The School House, Church Street, South Normanton, has been highly recommended so we're going for a meal at this fine dining restaurant at 7.30pm on Tuesday 24th. They have a special deal of three courses for £11.50. The menu changes weekly but examples can be found at www.theschoolhouserestaurant.co.uk. It looks rather yummy! A table has already been reserved as this is a popular restaurant, but please let me know by 20th if you would like a place so I can adjust numbers if necessary.
On Wednesday 25th we will meet as usual at the Old Mill at 7.45pm-ish; the pub is set back from the London road, next door to the Esso petrol station on Berkhamsted's High Street (the old A 41 before they built the by-pass). Come and chat / drink/ eat and meet. New members welcome.
Our final event in April, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th, is an Indian meal at Verandah Talk, just opposite Tesco in Wolverton. This is not a typical Indian restaurant and offers some Middle Eastern dishes as well. There is parking behind the restaurant, or it's just up the hill from Wolverton station. See verandahtalk.co.uk for details. Please let me know by Monday 23rd if you are coming, so that I can book a table.
Digswell on Friday 27th from 8.00pm. LFOTM. We end the month in the usual way with good food and drink at the Cowper Arms, Digswell, Herts (by Welwyn North station). Call me for more details and encouragement. The pub is next to the railway station, which is served by stopping trains from Kings Cross to Cambridge and Peterborough.
Join us on the afternoon of Saturday 28th for our first visit to the award-winning Aylesbury Waterside Theatre. The production is "The Lady in the Van" - a play by Alan Bennett that starts at 2.30pm.
The lady in the van is Miss Shepherd. She used to drive ambulances in the war, might have been a nun, sells pencils and pamphlets, and has an unexplained aversion to piano music. She also lives in Alan Bennett's garden and has done for years! The production stars Nichola McAuliffe and is directed by Sarah Esdaile.
Please buy your own tickets for the performance; see the theatre's web site at http://www.atgtickets.com/venue/Aylesbury-Waterside-Theatre/128/ but ring or e-mail me so that I can look out for you.
After enjoying the play we will find somewhere to eat in the town centre. You are welcome to join us for food and a chat without going to the theatre first. If you prefer this, please contact me a few days beforehand and we can arrange a time and place to meet.