On Thursday 2nd from 8.15pm it's FThOTM and we'll be at the Millstream, Cambridge Road, Hitchin. Good food and good beer both available! The pub is about ten minutes' walk from the railway station.
Lots happening this month whether you enjoy food, drink, culture or fun times. Starting with our annual trip to Goose Fair at Forest Recreation Ground on the outskirts of the city centre. This will be on Friday 3rd with a meeting time of 8.00pm but please contact me in advance as the rendez-vous point will depend on who is coming and how we are all getting there and also may be cancelled if heavy rain. Come along to try the new white-knuckle rides or traditional 'cake walk', eat minted peas or 'cocks on sticks', play on the side stalls, or just take a stroll to soak up the fairground atmosphere.
No need to book, just join me from 10.30am onwards on Friday 3rd for a morning of informal conversation and coffee. This month we are returning to The Lido on The Rye in High Wycombe, HP11 1QX. Approached from the A40 via Bassetsbury Lane, this café does a range of food and a very good cappuccino. There is a public car park right outside, modest parking charges apply. Alternatively it is a pleasant walk along Easton Street past Pann Mill and across the Rye from the centre of High Wycombe. For information on the venue see http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/Wycombe_Rye_Lido/facility/Cafe
We're meeting again at the end of that weekend from 8.00pm on Sunday 5th. Find us in the Goldings Room to left of the bar at the Vat & Fiddle pub on Queensbridge Road (near Nottingham railway station). Our August event coincided with their quiz and we won. So free chips at half time and chocolates for winning. A fun but not very healthy night out!
Our FTuOTM get together has a new venue. Join us on Tuesday 7th from 7.30pm at The Brache Beefeater, Osborne Road, Luton, LU1 3HJ.
The venue is opposite the Vauxhall Design building, and there is free parking.
On Thursday 9th we'll be at the Beekeeper in Beeston for our ever popular 'natter & nosh' event. Come to eat or just drink and chat any time from 7.30pm. We'll be on the long table beyond the food order point at the end of the bar. Just look for the yellow Mblem on display. All welcome! 18 of us are already booked for the Nottingham Mensa Christmas meal there on 11th December. Let me know if you'd like adding to our booking, subject to availability of space. The cost is £9.99 for 2 courses or £12.99 for 3 courses.
Our pub debates are very civilised, which is just as well as this month's topic is 'Misogny lives?' It will be interesting to find whether there is a male/female divide on opinions. I doubt it, though - we're all pretty good at seeing things from other angles. If it's a topic that appeals to you, or you just fancy a Saturday lunchtime in the pub, do join us on the 11th from 12.05pm for as long or short as you like, just listen or join in, at the Adam and Eve on Lindum Hill. There's a free car park, it's on a bus route, there is food for those who want it. We meet from about 12ish and leave several hours later.
Sunday breakfast will be on 12th at 10.00am at Carluccio's in the Centre:MK. You will probably find us in one of the red booths just in front of the restaurant- look for the Mblem on a table. Come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink.
Then come to The Elaichi Restaurant at 188 Cressex Road, HP12 4UA (on the roundabout where Cressex Road and New Road meet) for a leisurely lunch on Sunday 12th at 12noon. Usually a quiet and relaxing venue, its walls are decorated with paintings copied from the Sistine Chapel. There is parking immediately outside or in nearby roads. This restaurant prides itself on preparing exquisite Bangladeshi dishes specially suited to the European palate. Despite the liberal sprinkling of chilli symbols on their menu, the food is milder than most local restaurants. However, all dishes can be made hot for those who prefer a more fiery experience! Check out the menu for yourself at http://www.elaichiofhighwycombe.co.uk/PDF/Elaichi-Eat-In-Menu.pdf I will need to make a booking, so please contact me by Friday 3rd to let me know you are coming.
Join us any time from 7.30pm on Wednesday 15th at the Standing Order on Irongate in the city centre. Being a Wetherspoon venue there is good value food and/or drink. Plus extra discount if you have a Cathedral Quarter card. Just look for the yellow Mblem on one of the long tables in the low-ceiling section at the rear of the pub. New faces always welcome and you can stay as long as you wish. The conversation was so enthralling at a recent event we were surprised to look at our watches and find it was nearly midnight!
On Monday 20th we continue our Third Monday of the Month quiz outings at The Barge at Woolstone. Meet from 8.30pm in time for the quiz at 9.00pm - cost is £1 per person. See www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebargewoolstone/ for location and, if possible, let me know beforehand if you're coming so I can reserve a big enough table. We don't always get the same table so look out for the Mblem.
Our popular midweek evening eating meetings continue with a return visit to Thai No.1 on the Bailgate, Tuesday 21st at 7.00pm. If you would like to join us, you'll be very welcome but please book with me by 16th, many thanks.
Come along to The Cradock Arms, Knighton Road, LE2 3TT, from 8.00pm on Thursday 23rd for an evening of chat and drink. We should be in the downstairs area with a yellow Mblem/Mensa magazine on display. New faces are always welcome! Suggestions for future events are most welcome too. Contact me (as above) for further info.
This month's 'eating meeting' will be a Nepalese meal at Mount Gurkha Village restaurant, Tamworth Road, Long Eaton, at 7.30pm on Tuesday 28th. See mountgurkhavillage.co.uk for their menu with a good selection of Nepalese as well as Indian and Chinese dishes or even a seven course set menu. Book your place with me by 24th please. Restaurant recommendations are always welcome!
Our final event in October is a Thai meal at 7.00pm on Tuesday 28th at Thai Modern on Upper Fourth St, CMK. See http://thaimodern.co.uk/ for details of menu and location. Please let me know by Sunday 26th if you plan to come, so I can book a table.
One of my favourite musicals returns to Nottingham Theatre Royal at 7.30pm on Wednesday 29th. Would anyone like to come and see Annie with me? What's not to like about this red-haired orphan girl with attitude!? Plus some great singing and dancing. Tickets range from £10 to £19.50. Please contact me and I'll try to arrange group booking and see if we can get discount too.
On Friday 31st I'm having a Halloween themed evening at my home in Langley Mill from 8.00pm. There may be some pumpkin carving or bobbing for apples or just some frightening food. Scary dress encouraged though not essential. Let me know if interested so we can decide the format of the evening. Unfortunately it won't be a full blown late night party as I'm organising and participating in a 12 hour 'gymathon' the following day!
On Friday 31st we'll be at Digswell (by Welwyn North Station) from 8.00pm at the Cowper Arms - could it be a bit spooky that night? The pub is next to the railway station, which is served by stopping trains from Kings Cross to Cambridge and Peterborough.