Listen up folks, we're still doing FIRST Saturday for July. So, Saturday 1 July 12:00 at the 'Adam and Eve' on Lindum Hill, to ask ourselves, from about 12.30, "In a democracy, are you responsible for what your Government does?". Hopefully, we will be in the garden, if not look in the alcove, MBlem on the table. Food available, free parking. [Email]
Alphabet Event - S is for Sheep Racing Our "5th of the month" get together features sheep racing from 8.00pm on Wednesday 5th. We have the Goldings Room at the Vat & Fiddle pub for exclusive use. Pay £2.50 for a wad of sheepy money then bet on six battery operated Shaun The Sheep in racing silks staggering and bleating their way to the finish line. It's hilarious fun and ewe would be baarmy to miss it! All money will go to Cancer Research UK with a prize hamper for the winner at the end of the night. If you want to arrive earlier and make a whole evening out then the pub serve food until 8.00pm so please order at the bar and dine in the Goldings Room.
Our first July meeting is a canalside art walk and lunch on Wednesday 5th. We will meet at 11.00am at the north end of the Peace Pagoda car park on the eastern side of Brickhill St (V10), and cross over to the canal. The walk will take us between Portway and Monks Way and back, taking in various artworks on the way, and we'll finish up at Camphill Café for lunch. Look out for the Mblem, or let me know you're coming so we can look out for you.
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.
Our usual breakfast/brunch meeting will be at the Rendezvous Coffee Shop in Northampton town centre on Sunday 9 July at 10:30. Attendees will be invited to recite one or two of their favourite limericks - all the better if self-penned. Polite refusals will be tolerated. Contact Marianne on [Phone Number] or email: [Email] for extra encouragement.
On Thursday 13th we meet at The Cadland pub/restaurant on High Street in Chilwell. Come along from 7.30pm for a meal (we often get discount offers by signing up to their email list) or later for just a drink. Look for yellow Mblem on tables 20-24 pushed together at the far side of the bar. There's ample free parking at the venue.
From 1.00pm Saturday 15th to 1.00pm Sunday 16th a Mensa team will be taking part in Cancer Research UK's Relay For Life at Harvey Hadden Stadium in Bilborough. We'll be taking it in turns to walk around the track for the duration of the event to signify that cancer never sleeps. The event will be opened by cancer survivors walking the first lap before they head off to a tea party. So if you or anyone you know has ever had a cancer diagnosis, please get in touch if you'd like to come along as a special guest. There will be themed fancy dress laps and as darkness falls a 'candle of hope' ceremony. All this against a backdrop of live music, demonstrations, food stalls, fundraising activities and more. It's free entry so pop along and find us in the Cocktail Crew marquee at the front of the stage selling fruity cocktails!
Our regular Third Monday visit to the Barge in Woolstone for the quiz is on Monday 17th. Meet from 8.15 - the quiz starts at 8.30pm (note the earlier start time) and costs £1 per person. Please let me know beforehand if you're coming - the maximum team size is 6 people so it helps to know whether we'll be one team or two, or somewhere in between.
Now, I am writing this months in advance, so I don't know whether it will be a quiz night but we will go to The Carpenters at Fiskerton, (the Fiskerton that is east of Lincoln, please don't go to the wrong one, you'll be many miles away and we will miss you) on Tuesday 18th July at 18:45. If there is a quiz, we will stay for it, if not, then we'll probably stay chatting all evening instead. As usual, all welcome, so feel free to bring partner/friend/et al, but please book with me by 13th if possible, thanks. [Email] Christine
Just one event in the county this month at the Standing Order on Iron Gate in the city centre from 7.30pm until late on Wednesday 19th. Find us on a long table in the rear section of this Wetherspoon pub with a yellow Mblem on display. We had a record turn out in May with a new family, a former LocSec and a visiting member from Swansea joining us on top of all the regular faces. Why not give us a try?
Join us on Saturday 22 July at 14:00 for a visit to the largest English Saxon church, All Saints at Brixworth, NN6 9DF and other heritage sites in the village. There is plenty of parking adjacent to the church. If the weather's awful, we can judiciously adjourn to the Coach & Horses! Friends and partners welcome. Contact Marianne on [Phone Number] or email: [Email] for more information.
Sunday breakfast returns to Carluccio's in the Centre:MK. Join us from 10am on Sunday 23rd for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink. We will probably be in one of the red booths in front of the restaurant.
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 24th July. Please contact Dave on mensagames@ divenal.plus.com or [Phone Number] for directions and to let him know which games you would like to play.
It's a couple of years since we dined at Emilio's Greek restaurant on High Street in Arnold so we're returning at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25th. Choose from their a la carte or mezze menus or opt for their midweek special of 2 courses for £13.95 or 3 courses for £16.95. Menu is available on their website www.emiliosgreekrestaurant.co.uk but book your place with me by 21st please.
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.
On Saturday 29th July, join me for a relaxed stroll from Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station along the River Thame and then into the town centre. There we can indulge in an ice cream if it is sunny or warm up with a hot drink if the weather is less clement, before catching a train back to our starting point. We will meet outside Parkway station just after 2pm, when the train from London arrives. This riverside pathway is well surfaced and suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. We will see if we can identify any of the rare black poplar trees which grow along the banks. Total walking distance is about three and a half miles.