At the 'Brache' Beefeater, Osborne Road, opposite the Vauxhall Design Building from 7.00pm. There is parking on site. Come along for a drink and a chat, or just the chat. Food is available at the bar or in the restaurant from the same menu. New faces will be welcome to join our group. Contact me for directions or more details.
We start the month with an event aimed at the ladies. It's a fashion show at Underwood Miners Welfare (NG16 5GA) on Thursday 3rd. Doors open at 7.00pm with the show starting at 7.30pm. It will feature lots of high street brands such as M&S, Top Shop, Next, Wallis, New Look, Oasis and many more. After the show there will be opportunity to browse the clothes rails and try before you buy at heavily discounted prices. Tickets cost £3 including the show and nibbles with money raised going to Cancer Research UK. There will also be a raffle, other stalls and a cash bar. Please invite your friends and contact me for tickets.
We are back at the Millstream in Hitchin, which is expected to have reopened by now. The venue is about ten minutes' walk from Hitchin station. Good food and good beer both available! Call me on [Phone Number] for more details and encouragement.
On Saturday 5th we'll be combining our regular "5th of the month" get together at the Vat & Fiddle pub with a private tour of the adjacent Castle Rock Brewery. You are welcome to join in one or both of these events starting at 8.00pm. The tour costs £12 per person and includes chance to pull your own drink behind the bar in their visitor centre and sample three real ales. Please let me know by 1st September latest if you would like a place on the tour as I need to confirm numbers in advance. Alternatively just turn up for a drink on the night and look for a yellow Mblem on the table. As I already have some members from outside the East Midlands region signed up for the brewery tour and staying in Nottingham for the weekend there may be other ad hoc events nearer the time. Please get in touch if you fancy a mini pub crawl in the city centre the evening of Friday 4th or maybe a visit to the Green Festival from 11.00am on Sunday 6th. The latter takes place at Nottingham Arboretum and promises a fun event for the whole family with over 100 stalls with an environmental/ethical/natural/sustainable theme, food, live music, kids rides, workshops and entertainment. Admission is free.
Our first event in September was advertised last month but you may still be in time to book if you're quick! We will be cruising the river in Bedford on the John Bunyan boat on Sunday 6th. Arrive at Priory Marina 1.15pm for 1.30 departure - please book your own places in advance at http://www.johnbunyanboat.org/book-a-public-cruise/sunday-cruises/. We will be doing Route 1 to Kempston via Sovereigns Quay, £14 adults/£10 children/£12 concessions. Add a cream tea for £5 if you wish. The return trip is around 4 hours and there is a small bar on board but it's cash only, no cards. Contact me to let me know you're coming, so we can co-ordinate beforehand.
On return from the river cruise on Sunday 6th, we will have dinner at the Priory Marina Beefeater in Bedford, around 5.30pm. Come just for the meal if you don't want to cruise but either way please let me know by Friday 4th so I can book a table - [Email], or [Phone Number] / [Phone Number]. Look out for the Mblem on a table. Please let me know if you plan to come so I can bag a large enough table.
We start off September with something a bit different - a morning spent clay pigeon shooting followed by prize giving at a local hostelry for the least useless! The morning will include gun hire, tuition and cartridges. Sorry, but you'll have to supply your own wax jacket and wellies! The morning is perfect for absolute beginners, but I take no responsibility for arguments if your partner turns out to be better at it than you! All of this take place at 11:00am on Sunday 6th, and the cost for the shooting is just £45 per person. I'd need a £15 deposit by Aug 9th to secure your place (please call/email me for details of how to send it), so why not give something different a go...?
Our "natter & nosh" event takes place at the Beekeeper pub in Beeston from 7.30pm on Thursday 10th. Many thanks to all the staff at the pub as well as my fundraising team for supporting our extra event there in July. Alongside their regular pub quiz we organised a raffle, lucky dip and toy stall and raised £242 for Cancer Research UK. The Mensa team also walked away with three prizes having won all three rounds of their quiz! Thanks also to the families who joined us for this family friendly night out. It was great to see the youngsters getting stuck into the colouring whilst awaiting dinner!
Well, so much for trying to sit outside for meetings this season, dismal failure so far but perhaps we'll have an Indian summer. Just in case, look for us in the garden at the Adam and Eve on Lindum Hill on Sat 12th Sept for our monthly pub discussion meeting. If inclement, we'll probably be in the usual alcove, look for the MBlem. This month's topic: ' Is interest, [financial], a good thing?' - maybe related a bit to Mark Carney's lecture in Lincoln in July. We're a small-ish, friendly, welcoming group, so if you've been thinking about coming but not sure about risking it, do give us a try, most of us felt like that about our first meeting. So, we know what it's like for some and you will be as bright as the rest, we're all pretty relaxed, the discussion will not be too academic. To tempt you further, pub food available, free car park.
On Monday September 14th we will be going to the Swan Theatre in High Wycombe to watch GK Chesterton's famous detective, Father Brown, unmask the killer in "The Curse of the Invisible Man". The action takes place in an archaeologist's country house - are the multiple deaths caused by a malevolent ancient curse?
Please buy your own tickets for the theatre, but let me know you are coming so we can look out for you. It may also be possible to meet up and eat before the performance which starts at 7:30pm.
Our "3rd Wednesday" get together falls on 16th so you'll find a bunch of friendly faces on a long table in the rear section of the Standing Order on Irongate in the city centre. Join us any time from 7.30pm until 10.30ish for a meal or just a drink. A yellow Mblem will be on the table.
Yes, it's that time of year again as the Bedfordshire Steam and Country Fayre comes back to Old Warden Park. I plan to be there on Saturday 19th and hope to see some of you there. There's plenty to see and do. I can pick up from nearby stations (Bedford or Biggleswade) if required. Call me on [Phone Number] for more details and encouragement.
Our monthly visit to the Barge in Woolstone for the quiz is on Monday 21st. Meet from 8.30 - the quiz starts at 9pm and costs £1 per person. Look out for the Mblem on a table. Your host for this month is Becky Cave, as we will still be in Glasgow after the AG weekend. Please let her know if you plan to come so she can bag a large enough table - rebecca.cave@taxwriter.co.uk / 01908 295645 (landline & mobile).
If you prefer a purely social event, then how about our midweek eating meeting on Thursday 24 Sept 7pm at the Pizzahut near Waitrose. All welcome, helps if you let me know you want to come but ok just to turn up on the night, thanks. [Email]
We're back to The Cradock in Leicester for our normal Fourth Thursday pub chat, starting at 8:00pm on the 24th. If you've not been before, the format of the evening is to sit round the table with a drink, and see where the conversation takes us! Different perspectives and influences mean you'll often come away with food for thought, and you'll have a very friendly and pleasant evening to boot! What's not to like? Please feel free to call/email me for more information, or just a chat.
As always, we're at the Cowper Arms, Digswell, which is by Welwyn North railway station, which is served by stopping trains from Kings Cross to Cambridge and Peterborough. Good food and good beer both available! Call me on [Phone Number] for more details and encouragement.
Meet me from 10:30am onwards on Friday 25th September for a morning of informal conversation and coffee. This month we are making an excursion to the Cedars Coffee Shop, 28, West Street, Marlow, Bucks.. The café serves a delicious range of fresh food and can get very busy, so if you can, please let me know in advance that you are coming so I can choose a sutable table. You will still be welcome if you just turn up on the day.
Sunday breakfast will be on 27th 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 - look for the Mblem on a table. Come for a full breakfast, a snack, or just a drink.
On Tuesday 29th we're heading to Castle Donington for our "eating meeting". The town seems to be full of Indian restaurants but we've never tried Curry2Night at 43 Borough Street. See menu at www.currytonightdonington.co.uk and let me know by 25th latest if you'd like a place reserving. I'll be booking a table for 7.30pm.