Mark will be hosting our first event of the year. Do join him from 8.00pm on Wednesday 5th at the Vat & Fiddle pub on Queensbridge Road in Nottingham city centre. The Mensa group can usually be found to the left of the bar. At our recent get together staff from Glenfiddich were training some of the bar staff and once finished they offered our group an impromptu free whisky tasting!
We start the year with our regular First Thursday meeting at 8.00pm on 6th at Jurys Inn Hotel on Midsummer Boulevard. Look out for the Mblem on one of the tables to the right in the foyer. Parking is a bit busy around Jurys and The Hub, so we usually try and get in across the road and then walk through the underpass.
Our regular first FThOTM meeting will be on Thursday 6th. Feeling a bit down after the New Year celebrations? Come and join us from 8.15pm! We'll be around for our usual mix of lively conversation and a good atmosphere at the Millstream, Hitchin. Good food and good beer available! The pub is about ten minutes' walk from the railway station.
We have our 2SaOTM meeting in central Lincoln in the coffee bar at The Collection, Danes Terrace, on the 8th. Join us anytime between 12.00 - 2.00 for lunch/snack or just a quick coffee. Usually we're at the far end of the room, spot the yellow Mblem.
Please note there are two pub meetings this month:
Monday 10th : Essex Arms Watford 8.00pm
Monday 24th : Essex Arms Watford 8.00pm
The format for 2011 will be meetings on the 2nd and 4th Monday in each month.
We will try and arrange a social event for the 2nd Monday of the month (house meeting or event) The 4th Monday will always be a pub meeting. Look forward to seeing you all at some of the events throughout 2011.
At 7.00pm on Wednesday 12th why not join us for our monthly "chicks & flicks" event? We meet inside the doors to the Cornerhouse in the city centre then dine at Nando's whilst debating which film to watch later at Cineworld. This is a very informal and cheap night out as both venues offer discounts - the Cornerhouse card and Orange Wednesday 2-4-1 deal. You are welcome to join us for either or both parts of the evening.
From 8.00pm on Friday 14th I'm opening my doors to members for an evening of boardgames and/or socialising. I have a selection of games but feel free to bring your own. I live in Langley Mill on the Notts/Derbys border and five minutes drive from M1 J26. 'At home' events are usually popular and I'm hoping to arrange one each month around the county. If you'd be willing to play host for a party, soiree, boardgames evening or just a sit and chat I'd be delighted to hear from you! There would be minimal cost to yourself as guests can be requested to bring food/drink contributions and we're usually housetrained!
New year, new meeting! We've been to several very successful Sunday breakfast meetings in other areas recently, and we think they're a great idea. We are therefore bringing them to Milton Keynes. Our inaugural meeting will be at 10.00am in Café Rouge in The Hub (not the Centre:MK/Destination Dining branch) on Sunday 16th. Feel free to come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink, but if possible please let me know by Saturday 15th so we have an idea what size table to grab when we arrive.
A busy month for Derby Mensa. We will have our usual meeting in the Standing Order in Irongate on Wednesday 19th.
Finally, last January's Open Meeting in Milton Keynes was so successful that we are repeating the format in Bedford on 22nd January. Please see the separate item for full details, but do feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I have had a number of people asking for meetings on other days and so I am hosting an eating meeting on Saturday 22nd at the Pizza Express in Irongate, Derby.
It would be helpful if you could confirm your attendance by Wednesday 19th at the pub meeting or by phone/email.
We have something a little special for this month's "eating meeting". As it falls on Tuesday 25th, which is Burns Night, I've found a restaurant that will offer us a specially devised Scottish menu cooked by their Scottish owner/chef. The venue is The Larder On Goosegate in the Hockley area of the city. It's featured in the 2011 Good Food Guide and gets excellent reviews. As it's on the first floor of a listed building, which was also the site of the first Boots pharmacy store, unfortunately there is no disabled access. The cost will be £20 per head for a three course meal, much reduced from their usual prices. Please contact me for the full menu and to book by 18th January. New faces and tartan most welcome!
A little bit "less" rather than "more" this month as travel commitments (and finding time to finish up the turkey!) mean that there's no rolling-roadshow of eating meetings in January, just leaving the regular third-Thursday of the month meeting at The Old Horse on London Road . . . which is taking place on the fourth Thursday! A special note to those that have never quite got around to coming along: Make a New Year's resolution to pop in at 8:00pm on the 27th even if it's just to say "hi"! (You can always deny knowledge of us later!). Feel free to drop me a line at [Email], or give me a call on [Phone Number], for directions, reassurances that most of us don't bite, or just to get your "Hi"'s in early!!
Join us at the Cowper Arms, Digswell (near Welwyn village) for LFOTM on Friday 28th from 8.00pm. Good food and good beer available to suit all tastes! The venue is next to Welwyn North railway station (Kings Cross - Cambridge and Peterborough line with trains every 30 minutes). Call me for more details and encouragement on either of the above events.
Finally, again at the request of a member, I am planning a visit to the Ritz Cinema in Belper on Friday 28th. This cinema is a real gem and is run as a club which allows alcohol in the theatre. There is also a wide range of other beverages and snacks available. I will know what is being shown at the New Year and will let interested parties know. There will be an option of a drink or a meal. If you wish to attend please let me know by Friday 21st.
On Saturday 29th come and visit one of the last working furniture factories in High Wycombe. Luxury goods are not often associated with High Wycombe but Stewart Linford makes high quality bespoke furniture, special limited edition pieces and traditional Windsor chairs. His clients include royalty and local celebrities. The factory is housed in workshops built during the reign of Queen Victoria and also features a chair making museum and exhibition of antique chairs.
Stewart has offered to conduct us around the factory himself. He is well known in the town and is a regular speaker with a fund of stories and anecdotes about the history of the traditional furniture industry. The early start will let us watch his craftsmen at work. Refreshments will be provided in the main showroom after the factory tour. Meet at the factory on Kitchener Road, High Wycombe, HP11 2SJ at 9:30am. See www.stewartlinford.com for further information.
If coming, please let me know by Sunday 22nd.
Then on Sunday 30th, 2.00-5.00pm, there's the opportunity to show your skills with a cue on our bar billiards table. If that's not your game, how about table skittles or shove ha'penny; or just come along to watch the fun and indulge in tea and chocolate cake. There's ample parking.