I'm hosting a "girls night in" at my home in Langley Mill from 7.30pm on Friday 1st. A friend will be showcasing her Tropic skincare, bodycare and make up range including the new sun products. You can try and buy though not compulsory. There will also be jewellery, chick lit and lingerie for sale at bargain prices with money going to Cancer Research UK. Plus chance to win a bottle of champagne with the raffle sheet. I'll provide hot drinks, soft drinks, some wine and nibbles or BYOB. Please let me know if you're able to come along or need directions.
As usual we'll be at the Vat & Fiddle pub from 8.00pm on Tuesday 5th. Usually in the Goldings Room to left of bar but a yellow Mblem will be on display. New faces always welcome!
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.
Meet me from 10:30am onwards on Friday 8th July for a morning of informal conversation, cakes and coffee at Barracuda Café, 96 Sycamore Road, Amersham, HP6 5EN. I've eaten there before and can recommend it. No need to book, but it will help me get the right size table if you let me know you are coming on [Phone Number] or email me as above.
Meet at 'Adam and Eve' on Lindum Hill, hopefully, in the garden, otherwise in the alcove, look for MBlem. Discussion on a topical issue starts at around 12.30, food available, free parking.
Another Sunday brunch with Marianne Kendal is happening on 10 July at 10.30, at the Rendezvous Coffee Shop in Market Walk in the town centre. We'll be the noisy ones on the left of the entrance. Do join us for some chat, coffee and possibly munching.
Marianne can be contacted on [Phone Number] or email [Email]
Then on Sunday 10th July join me for an underground adventure in the West Wycombe caves. Built by Sir Francis Dashwood in the 1740's they are reputed to have been the meeting place for the notorious Hell Fire Club. Chalk from their construction was used to form the road to High Wycombe and the project provided local employment after a series of years with poor harvests. See www.hellfirecaves.co.uk for details. Meet at the cave entrance at 11:30am. Afterwards we will enjoy lunch in the nice café at the cave entrance. Admission is £7.50 for adults, £6.00 for concessions and NT members. After lunch we will walk down to West Wycombe Park for 2pm.
West Wycombe Park: You may recognise the house if you have watched Cranford or Downton Abbey. Depending on the weather, we will walk around the landscaped park created by Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Dilettanti Society and the Hellfire Club and also go into the house to see the sumptuous decoration. Admission to both house and garden is £9.00, children £4.50. Family tickets also available and National Trust members are free. Don't forget your membership card! Details of the property can be found at www.nationaltrust.org.uk
WALKIES!! I thought we'd celebrate the glorious English Summer by taking the dog for a walk in Bradgate Park. Even if you've not got a pooch and you're unable to borrow one for the morning, you're more than welcome to come along and throw a frisby or two (or a hundred and twenty two in the case of my dog!). Meet up at the car park in Newtown Linford on Sunday 10th at 11:00, but let me know you're coming in case of a change of plan due to weather, etc.
Our "natter & nosh" event on Thursday 14th has changed venue. We tried the new look Beekeeper for a couple of months and have had issues with table reservations, loud music and slow service. So we are moving to the nearby Cadland on High Road in Chilwell. See menu at www.emberinns.co.uk. We have a large table reserved from 7.30pm so why not join us for a meal or just a drink plus good conversation?
Our monthly visit to the Barge in Woolstone for the quiz is on Monday 18th. We're away, so David has kindly volunteered to host. Meet from 8.30 - the quiz starts at 9pm and costs £1 per person. Please let David know beforehand if you're coming so he can bag a large enough table for us all - [Email] / [Phone Number] / [Phone Number].
Just our regular event at the Standing Order on Irongate in the city centre from 7.30pm until late on Wednesday 20th. Look for a yellow Mblem on a long table in the rear section of the pub. This is usually a well attended event so chance to meet lots of new friends over a meal or just a drink Pop in briefly or stay all evening. All welcome!
Would anyone be interested in a walk in Derbyshire on Sunday 24th July? I haven't listed as an event because outdoor events plus me usually equal rain! If the weather is looking good and you fancy a stroll please do get in touch.
Do come and enjoy a Sunday afternoon in our garden. Conversation, cake, home-made jam and home-grown fruit for tea! We do need to know in advance who will be coming, so please telephone [Phone Number] or email [Email] by Friday evening (22 July), and please include your phone number so we can contact you if bad weather obliges us to cancel. We look forward to seeing you.
Enthusiastic games players Dave and Alison invite you to their home in Flackwell Heath for an evening of indoor games - possibilities available include Boggle, Enigma, Sherlock Holmes, Mid-Life Crisis and many others. Arrive for an 8pm start on Monday 25th July. Space is limited, so please contact Dave on [Email] or [Phone Number] for directions and to let him know which games you would like to play.
After the amazing success of last month's visit to The Stamford Arms in Groby, we're back there again for our Fourth Monday of the Month at 20:00. (http://www.stamfordarms.co.uk/), As we've only been there once before we won't have a usual table yet, so just walk the pub around yelling "Oi!!" at the top of your voice and we'll find you.
On Tuesday 26th the regional A-Z series reaches G so it's G is for Going to the Dogs"; On Tuesday 26th we will be visiting Towcester Racecourse for an evening's Greyhound Racing. The racecourse is on the A5 just south of Towcester, and entry and car parking are both free. See http://www.towcester-racecourse.co.uk/ for more details. Look out for the Mblem on a table in the bar from 7pm - let us know if you're coming, so we can look out for you.
Finally our "eating meeting" at 7.30pm on Tuesday 26th will be a Mexican meal at Chiquito's on Redfield Way in Lenton (near QMC and Showcase Cinema). See menu at www.chiquito.co.uk and please reserve your place with me by 22nd so a table can be reserved.
We're returning to a summer favourite, the Pyewipe Inn, hopefully to sit in the garden and watch the boats go by. All welcome but please book with me by 21st if possible, thanks.
Finally, something different to entertain a visitor we'll have from Hong Kong. We'll start off at The Wetherspoons on High Street at 19:30 for a quick bite or just a pint before taking a walk off around the city to explore some of Leicester's ghosts. It's perhaps worth noting that one or two of Leicester's pubs are haunted, so it'd be rude not to....
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.
Sunday breakfast will be on 31st at 10am at Carluccio's in the Centre MK. You will probably find us in one of the red booths just in front of the restaurant. Come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink.