A group of us go ballroom/latin American dancing every Thursday. This month there is a social dance taking place at Bilborough Sports Hall from 7.30pm to 11.00pm on Saturday 31st. Tickets cost £10 and include live music and a light buffet. BYOB. You are welcome to come along to either practice your steps or just socialise and listen to the music. Please contact me for further information.
First Thursday is at our regular venue of Jurys Inn on Midsummer Boulevard, on 1st October, from 8.00pm. 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 to get in across the road then walk through the underpass.
Meet at 8.15pm on Thursday 1st for our regular FThOTM meeting. As always, we're at the Millstream, Cambridge Road, Hitchin. Good food and good beer both available! Call me for more details and encouragement. The pub is about ten minutes' walk from the railway station.
We kick off the Northants events on Thursday 1st with a return to The Fox & Hounds at Harlestone. 9.00pm onwards will find the Northampton regulars ensconced in the bar, so pop in and join us.
Again Christine is hosting the regular meeting this month on Saturday 3rd, 12 noon (details below). (If you have received your October magazine early, may I also remind you of the opportunity to join Christine for tea and free pick-your-own apples on the last Sunday in September 3.00pm.
Christine writes: Usual FSaOTM jaunt to the Armoury Cafe at the Drill Hall, do come and join us for lunch/snack, or just partake of drinks and conversation. I try for the table furthest away from the jazz guitar duo, so we can talk as well as listen, spot the magazine. All very welcome; for more info, ring me on [Phone Number], or e-mail [Email]
Join us at the Vat & Fiddle pub from 8.00pm on Monday 5th as some of us recover from the Annual Gathering in Bristol. If you weren't able to attend then come and hear what you missed and tell us how you spent the weekend. Look for the yellow Mblem on the table, usually to the left of the bar. The pub is on Queensbridge Road near Nottingham railway station, a stroll from Broad Marsh bus station and has free parking right outside. New faces are always welcome.
If, like me, you love 80s music then join me for "80s Mania" at the Royal Concert Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday 10th. The high energy show includes singing and dancing and features tributes to Duran Duran, Human League, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Culture Club, Wham, Madonna and many more. Tickets cost £19.50, although we'll get a 10% discount if there are 10 or more of us. Please contact me as soon as possible if interested.
An invitation from our East Anglian neighbours to their East Midlands neighbours: Steve and Ann Ashby are planning a visit to the National Space Centre at Leicester on Saturday 10th. Ring them on [Phone Number] for time and meeting arrangements. All are welcome.
Time for another walk, this time back in Milton Keynes. We will do the Campbell Park Art Walk on Sunday 11th, leaving from outside the theatre at 2.00pm. The walk is basically a circuit of Campbell Park, taking in the various sculptures and artworks en route, with a self-guided leaflet. We may go on for dinner in the theatre district afterwards.
On Sunday 11th we are going to visit two exhibitions at Wycombe Museum. One is of High Wycombe prints created from etchings done by Lorna Cassidy over the last fifty years. The second exhibition is of printed work by Robert Gibbings and Eric Gill, including book illustrations. Meet at 2.30pm. Free admission to both exhibitions. Afterwards we'll walk into Eden for afternoon tea, patisserie and chat at Café Richoux.
Please contact me by Saturday 10th October to let me know you are coming to Wycombe Museum.
Our "chicks & flicks" event falls on Wednesday 14th. Meet us at 7.00pm inside the doors to the Cornerhouse in the city centre from where we'll go to eat at Nando's restaurant and over dinner argue which film to see at Cineworld later. The whole night out can cost under a tenner as there are offers at both venues. To help table reservation, for cinema listings or further information, contact Paul [Phone Number] or [Email]
Two weeks later and it's the turn of the Roadshow. This month it's on Thursday 15th and you will find us in the bar of the Barley Mow, High Street, Paulerspury. We should be at one of the tables to the right of the main bar from 8.00pm. Will they be serving Hobgoblin? Come along and find out.
Finally, it's our Autumn Amble on Saturday 17th. Meet outside the Saracen's Head in Little Brington at 11.00am for a 3½ mile circular walk through the Northamptonshire countryside, followed by a pub lunch. Bring a change of footwear.
At 7.30pm on Sunday 18th join Mark Sandford for a concert by the City of London Sinfonia and London Symphony Chorus at Wycombe Swan theatre. The programme includes Britten's Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Mendelssohn's fifth symphony and The Music Makers by Elgar. For full details see www.wycombeswan.co.uk Tickets are available on line or direct from the Box Office at the theatre.
Our Third Wednesday meeting at the Old Beams in Shenley Lodge is on 21st October. If you're definitely planning to come, please let me know as it will help us to grab the right sized table, but don't let that put you off deciding on the spur of the moment - you'll still be welcome. See www.mcmullens.co.uk for location and menu details. You can eat or not, as you wish - their food is quite good and reasonably priced. Look around for the Mblem as we don't always get the same table, though we are often through in the end room on the right.
This month our regular 3WotM meeting at the Standing Order in Derby falls on Wednesday 21st. Join us for a meal or just a drink and some great conversation from 7.30pm. Look out for the yellow Mblem on a long table in the area just beyond the bar. Contact me as above for more details/directions.
Ilkeston Charter Fair has been going since 1252 and now takes place throughout the Market Square, Bath Street, South Street and Pimlico in the town. The rides and attractions are usually the same as the more famous Goose Fair which takes place earlier in the month. A group of us will be visiting the fair at 8.30pm on Friday 23rd so whether you want to brave the white knuckle rides, eat mushy peas and candy floss, or just soak up the atmosphere why not join us? Please phone Maxine on [Phone Number] for meeting point and in case of inclement weather.
We will be visiting Big Wok on Upper Parliament Street at 7.30pm on Tuesday 27th. This Chinese buffet restaurant is hugely popular with both British and Chinese and at £9.99 for eat-as-much-as-youlike is excellent value. This includes a large selection of soup, starters, curry, Chinese dishes, rice, noodles, salad, vegetables, Japanese sushi and teppanyaki, desserts and chocolate fountain. The full menu is at www.bigwok.co.uk. Please contact me by 23rd if you would like to join us at this "eating meeting" as I'll need to reserve a table.
Around 7.45pm on Wednesday 28th we will meet for LWotM at the Three Horseshoes on the canal side, over the swing bridge down the little lane beside the Texaco petrol station at Bourne End, on the London/Hemel Hempstead Road, just after the A41 roundabout. All members, young and adult, very welcome. It may be too cold to sit outside but inside in the canal side there is plenty of room and it is cosy. There are two car parking areas across the road from the pub. Hoping to see you all there,
Join Gwen and me for LFotM on Friday 30th from 8.00pm at the White Horse, Hertingfordbury village (about one mile west of Hertford town centre, just off the A414). A warm welcome and stimulating conversation guaranteed! Look for the Mag/Mblem. Hertingfordbury is about 20 minutes' walk from Hertford North station. Contact me, or Gwen on [Phone Number] for more details.
Back to the skittle alley - it's years since we've been. This time we're using the alley at The Blue Bell, 36 Main Street, Hoby, and we're meeting there at 7.30pm on the very last day of October, Saturday 31st, for skittles followed by a meal. Hoby is very approximately halfway between Melton and Leicester, 2-3 miles off the A607. I think since we last went to Hoby it has suffered a bad fire and changed hands several times, but now enjoys a decent reputation. They are sending a copy of the menu, so if you'd like to know what's on offer I will be able to let you know. Numbers would be useful sometime early in that week, please.