May U B Active
Following the national Choc Fest and Omniscience in 2003, East Midlands Mensa decided to host a series of activity events during May 2004 to prove that there's more to the Mensa social scene than just pubs. The LocSecs pulled out all the stops to host an array of events hopefully suitable for all ages, budgets and fitness levels. We had everything from a scenic walk in the Peak District to a skiing lesson for beginners at XScape in Milton Keynes.
The events started with low attendance; possibly due to the late arrival of the May Mensa Magazine and most of the East Midlands meeting announcements missing! However, the walk departing from Maidenhead and led by Alistair Blackett was pleasant and whilst participants went prepared for rain - well, it was a bank holiday weekend! - suncream was actually required. The pitch and putt event in Leicestershire the following week was a little soggier!
Thanks go to outgoing Milton Keynes LocSec, Colin Zealley, and incoming LocSec, Jo Sidebottom, for hosting seven events between them. Two lively games of ten pin bowling and a very good basket supper were enjoyed at XScape though Colin trounced the opposition! On the Art Walk in central Milton Keynes participants followed a self-guided tour with leaflets and discovered a lot more about the provenance and meaning of many of the statues and sculptures that they regularly walk past. This included a clock complete with a bubble-blowing frog to chime the hours which, needless to say, had the group of Mensans spellbound. Only three people braved the ski slope, whilst Jo watched from the safety of the café! Learning to ski looked like hard work but everyone managed to slide down a few feet of snow and stay upright by the end of the lesson. On the spring bank holiday a group of Mensans cycled ten miles along the canal towpath in glorious sunshine to Stoke Bruerne, which is a well-known canalside beauty spot just south of Northampton. At the end knees and arms were tired and bottoms were sore, but everyone felt extremely noble for having cycled so far.
Some of us dared to take up the challenge of an aerial assault course in Sherwood Forest. After being fitted with our safety harnesses and having a brief talk and trial at clipping and unclipping ourselves onto the safety wires we were led out to the course. There were five sections. The first involved a rope ladder, tightrope walk and zip slide. This was scary at first but nothing in comparison to what was still to come! Each obstacle was rated for difficulty with the hardest route having an easier option for the chickens! For the next 2 1/2 hours we traversed wooden bridges, trapeze swings, poles, cargo nets and more high up in the tree canopy. The best bit was the final zip slide. Not because that was the end of the course but because it was the longest, highest and fastest zip slide and by that time we'd got the hang of landing on our feet rather than our bottoms and sliding down 'hands free' rather than clinging on for dear life! We had a fantastic afternoon in the sunshine. Watch out for this event on the 2006 Annual Gathering programme.....
New Luton LocSec, Tara Morgan, led an exhilarating walk on the Dunstable Downs for 12 adults, two children and one dog. The walk took in all terrains, gorselands, grasslands, ploughed fields and woods. The walkers enjoyed sweeping views across the picturesque Downs and the rugged beauty of the quarry which was the focal point of this circular walk. They were able to indulge in a lot of nature spotting with plenty of butterflies and hedgerow plants. Above gliders from the London Gliding Club twisted and turned (maybe a possible future activity for us!). By the end of the 90 minute walk strangers had become good friends and over bacon and sausage butties and hot drinks discussions were well underway with ideas for future outdoor events.
Our "May U B Active" series of events were a success. If we didn't see you at one of our events - why not!?
Maxine Bates