On Sunday 2nd at 3.00pm there will be a harp recital in the lounge at Bradenham Manor, a rare opportunity to see inside a house not usually open to the public. After the concert the manor grounds will be open to visitors. Tickets are £10, including a cream tea, and can be obtained from the Tourist Information Centres in High Wycombe, Princes Risborough & Marlow or via www.wycombeartsfestival.org. Space will be limited and last year's concert sold out, so please buy your tickets in advance, but let me know you are coming and I will look out for you.
Just two events for members in the Northants area this month; one at a new venue and one at an old favourite. Our Northampton area meeting is on Monday 3rd at 8.00pm and a visit to the village of Milton Malsor beckons (or Milton Malzor if you insist). You will find us at The Globe in Green Street (NN7 3AT). As it's a one room pub it won't be too hard to find us. The pub doesn't have a car park and on-street parking in Green Street can be a bit tight so you may have to leave your car a couple of minutes' walk away but don't let that put you off!
Given that June 4th is the birthday of Christopher Cockerell, I thought what better way of celebrating than hovering around the servings at one of the buffet restaurants in Leicester! Given the wide range of options we have, drop me a line on [Email] to let me know whether you fancy Zuccheros on Charles Street, More on London Road, or one of the Chinese buffets. Whichever one we choose, we'll be meeting up for dinner at 8.00pm.
This month we have four events that include food and drink and one event that involves testing your brain cells! Join us from 8.00pm until late in the Golding's Room at the Vat & Fiddle on Wednesday 5th. New faces, males or females, any age, always welcome to come along and join in our variety of conversations. The pub is near Nottingham railway station, close to Broad Marsh bus station and there's free parking in bays outside.
Restaurant 101 in Amersham on the Hill has been recommended by one of our members. Join me there for relaxed coffee and conversation on Thursday 6th from 10.30am onwards. If you let me know you are coming I will save you a seat.
Thursday 6th from 8.15 pm: FThOTM - at the Millstream, Hitchin. Good food and good beer both available! Call for details/encouragement. The pub is about ten minutes' walk from the railway station.
Our first get-together this month is T@3 at Dobbie's Garden Centre restaurant on Saturday 8th. Dobbie's is in Fenny Stratford, just south of Milton Keynes. We will probably be in the conservatory out behind the restaurant, so look for the Mblem on a table.
For this month's pub discussion at the 'Adam and Eve' on Lindum Hill, Lincoln, Saturday 8th, 12.05pm onwards, we are going to try to justify our gut instincts in deliberating as to exactly why taboos like cannibalism and incest are wrong. Free car park, food available.
On Thursday 13th at 7.00pm Cineworld in the Eden Centre in High Wycombe has a live broadcast of The Audience from the National Theatre. Helen Mirren, Robert Hardy, Haydn Gwynne and Rufus Wright are among the stars in this dramatisation of the weekly audiences granted by the Queen to the many and varied Prime Ministers over the course of her reign. This event is likely to be very popular, so please buy your own tickets in advance, but let me know you are coming so we can keep seats for everyone. Meet in the foyer of the cinema at 6.30pm for the play or contact me to arrange an earlier rendezvous in town to eat first.
On Thursday 13th we'll be at the Beekeeper on Meadow Lane in Beeston. Come along any time from 7.30pm until closing for a meal, snack or just a drink. We should be at the first long table in the family dining area just beyond the food order point at the end of the bar. A yellow Mblem will be on display.
We have an unusual event this month hosted by Janine and Sandy at their home on Mackworth Estate. Please arrive 7.30pm for 8.00pm on Saturday 15th to be welcomed and seated for a talk on different aspects of the tarot by two readers. Afterwards there will be socialising plus the opportunity for a private reading, the charge paid directly to the readers. Hot and cold non-alcoholic drinks and snacks provided or BYOB. Please call Janine and Sandy on [Phone Number] for directions and to say you'll be there.
Hopefully we will manage several beach hut days this year; it must be time for a good summer. The first will be on Saturday 15th, from 10.30am, all welcome to join us for any part of the day thereafter. I provide tea and cake, other food available close by. We will be at the quiet end of Mablethorpe's long sandy beach, backing onto Queen's Park. As well as the usual chat and camaraderie, there may be paddling, boules, crazy golf played . . .
Bring your children / grandchildren with you to Bekonscot Model Village on the afternoon of Sunday 16th. We will meet at the entrance at 2.00pm. Bekonscot claims to be the world's oldest model village - building started in 1929. More recently the TalkTalk TV adverts set to Annie's Song were filmed there. There are six miniature towns from the 1930s to explore, over 200 buildings, 3,000 inhabitants and 1,000 animals. All these are set in 1.5 acres of gardens. Additional attractions include a ride-on light railway, children's playground and model boats. A complex model railway system links them all. Refreshments are available inside the village. Bekonscot is also easily reached on foot from the railway station at Beaconsfield. Admission is £9.50 for adults; various concessions including family tickets are available and 2-for-1 offers if travelling by train. Children under two are free. Details: www.bekonscot.co.uk.
On Monday 17th we continue our Third Monday of the Month quiz meetings at The Barge at Woolstone. However, please note that we will only be arriving from 8.30pm in time for the quiz at 9.00pm - we are no longer meeting earlier to eat first. The quiz costs £1 per person - there is no limit on team size, although if we have a large group we can always split into two. See www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebargewoolstone/ for location and menu details. If possible, please let me know beforehand if you're coming so we can reserve a big enough table.
Then it's the turn of the Roadshow on Thursday 19th at 8.00pm. The Barley Mow, High Street, Paulerspury, NN12 7NA, gets our trade this month and we can usually be found at the far end of the bar, to the right as you walk in the front door. The village lies to the west of the A5, just a short distance north of the Buckinghamshire border. If it's a clear night the car park provides a good viewpoint for star spotting when the sun goes down. For both meetings a copy of the Mensa mag on the table will identify the usual suspects.
On Wednesday 19th we have our regular get together at the Standing Order on Irongate in the city centre from 7.30pm. All welcome to join us for food and/or a drink whether that's five pints of real ale or one glass of diet Coke. There are usually 10-16 of us so a variety of conversations should be on offer and you can arrive/leave when you like.
Neil Matthews will be Mensa's host at the annual cricket match between the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and the PG Wodehouse Society. This will take place at West Wycombe on Sunday 23rd between 11.30 am and 6.00pm and 1895 rules apply! Entry is free, but take your own food, drink and deckchairs. Contact Neil for more information at sigsofficer@btopenworld.com or [Phone Number].
Monday 24th at 8.00pm: Pub meeting King's Head, Bridge Road, Hunton Bridge WD4 8RE. We usually meet upstairs in the 'gallery' area furthest from the bar. The pub is easy to find from the dual carriageway (A41 Watford Road). From Watford turn right at the traffic lights, over the small bridge and then it's on the right. Look for the magazine or ask at the bar. New members are warmly welcomed.
For our "eating meeting" at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25th we're going to Gurkha Kitchen on Glaisdale Drive West (NG8 4GY) to sample their Nepalese and Indian cuisine. See menu at www.gurkhakitchen.org and book your place with me by 21st please so a table can be reserved.
Wednesday 26th at 7.45pm: our regular meeting at The Old Mill, London Rd, Berkhamsted. Have a drink only or eat with us. Pub does good meals. New members, partners etc. always welcome. Free car parking.
The fourth Thursday means it's time to head to The Craddock so that's where we'll be at 8.00pm on the 27th. I'll be trying to bring along an activity or two again to get things moving and to stimulate the occasional brain cell, so why not come along for the ride? The place sometimes gets crowded in parts, so look out for the magazine or yellow mBlem (usually in the lower bit), or give me a call to find me.
Friday 28th from 8.00pm: LFOTM with Peter Best. Richard's on holiday so I'm standing in; we'll be at the Cowper Arms, Digswell, Herts (by Welwyn North station, which is served by stopping trains from Kings Cross to Cambridge and Peterborough). Call me on 01992-581-928 for more details and encouragement.
We have two events on Friday 28th both taking place in the upstairs private function room at the Horse & Groom pub in Moorgreen (NG16 2FE). Join us from 7.30pm for a meal that can be ordered at the bar and served in our own room followed by a general knowledge quiz starting at 9.00pm. You are welcome to attend just one or both events. The meal is pay-as-you-go and the quiz is £2 per person to enter. Play individually or as part of a team. There will be prizes for the winner(s) and all proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK. Friends and family are welcome to support this charity event and hopefully gain some trivia at the same time. An idea of expected numbers would be much appreciated to help the pub and room set up.
Sunday breakfast will be at 10.30am (please note the slightly later time!) on Sunday 30th at Wetherspoons on Midsummer Boulevard West, next to Chiquito's and not far up from the railway station (NOT the other Lloyds/Wetherspoons nearer the shopping centre and next to Jurys Inn). Come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink - look for the Mblem on a table.
Teatime Thinking at my house near Alford on Sunday 30th will encompass the wide-ranging subject of 'Quality of Life'. Tea and lots of cake, 3.00-5.00pm, parking available, we may even sit in the garden.