NEWSLETTER 2008
READ ALL ABOUT
OUR ADVENTURES AND THE FUN TIMES
New
Year’s Party - Article by Pauline Ashby
Thirty
three revellers gathered
at the Carriage House in Higham Ferrers for our annual knees-up. This
year the theme was “A Masked Ball”, and 9 partygoers turned up in masks
all worthy of a prize. Richard Stanley was declared the winner in a
huge
pair of sunglasses and a sexy silver cap – only he could have carried
this off! After a lovely meal with lots of jovial banter, we got down
to the serious business –
PARTY
GAMES! First up was
a game involving a bucket and
several long, thin balloons. The game was hilarious and Jane Tromans
ended up with a bucket full of money – Well, a few 10 pence pieces in
the bottom. After a couple of Rock ‘n Rolls we opted for the all-time
favourite – Musical Chairs. 50+ers are known for their competitive
spirit,
and Musical Chairs is no exception. After a fierce battle one winner
emerged
and everyone then refilled their glasses and took a breather. Next came
the dreaded “Quiz”. Amid groans of “It’s as hard as last years”,
everyone settled down for a few minutes to try and answer 27 questions
which I didn’t think were as hard as last years (Mind you – I always
have the answers).
Somebody else has offered to do next years quiz – Hoorah! By now it was
getting on for midnight, so after a couple of slow dances, the tired
but
happy revellers donned their coats and headed for home. A superb
evening,
one of my favourites, thank-you to everyone for making it so much fun!
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Delicious
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Best mask winner
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DJ Pauline
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Greyhound
racing at Peterborough – Article by Linda Vickerman
It
was
my first time!! On a cold and draughty evening accompanied by 15 other
intrepid dog fanciers I set off for a Greyhound Racing evening in
Peterborough. Luckily it was warm and dry in the viewing stadium, but
the dogs and their handlers were out in the cold and wet! We collected
our drinks, ordered food, found our tables by the finishing post and
studied form. I have never placed a bet before, but was soon introduced
to, and totally confused by, odds, places, wins, trios, forecasts etc
and other useful info by the expert on our table - Cecil! After a few
races it was obvious to me that the best system was to use a pin, pick
a funny name or just go for the dog with a waggy tail! We proceeded to
use our preferred methods for 13 races with varying amounts of success!
On our table of 4 we all had a few wins with one exception. No
names mentioned but it begins with C and ends with L!! The largest win
in
the group was £9 + so no-one made a fortune, but great fun was had
by one and all. Many thanks to Ann for organising the evening.
P.S.
It
will not be my last time!!
Ten
Pin Bowling at Wellingborough –
Article by Hilary Connon
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It was a wild and rainy night
as we set off to Wellingborough to try our hand at bowling. Personally,
it has been many years since I had attempted the sport, and I have a
strong
memory of winning the booby prize for the most consistently low score
at
a charity event. (I still got a souvenir t-shirt despite letting down
my
team). There were 39 members present, some were ‘newbies’ like me, and
others
just enjoying the beginning of the new season and swapping stories.
After
sorting out the business of getting the right shoes, we divided up into
5 teams and started to punch in our names to set up the score board.
Strategically
we all chose the balls that most matched our hand size and strength. (I
noticed
some ladies clutching their favourite ball protectively between throws
in
the same way a small dog will guard its dinner). Since I had little
hands
I thought it would be a good idea to choose SMALL – big mistake! When
my
turn came to hurl the ball down the lane it jammed firmly on my thumb
and
fingers and nearly took me with
it. Apparently
our fingers expand with the
heat and mine got stuck! Our team played two very good rounds, and I
surprised
myself by having a healthy hit rate too. It was very sportsmanlike and
there
was lots of encouragement given. We did get a little more casual in
play
after a few wines on an empty stomach, but it was great fun and very
sociable.
I did hear that one of the other teams actually ‘broke’ their lane and
had
to move to another one and if anyone commented that our own computer
sometimes
gave extra goes to a certain person, we won’t confirm or deny it…….
After
the two games we sat down to eat and chat, which gave us a chance to
mingle
with some of the other teams. The printouts were distributed and prizes
awarded
to Celia Curtis (149) and Richard Amos (155) for the highest scores of
the
evening.
Thank you so
much to Pauline for organising this fun event.
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Tobogganing
and Extreme Tubing at
Tamworth Snowdome. - Article by Lucy Oliver-Carton
What
a wonderful welcome I received from the 50+ Club after such a long
absence. After meeting in the foyer
of the cavernous Snowdome we all filtered through to Aspen’s bar
talking
excitedly about our prospective adventure. Here we got our first
glimpse
of the ominously huge snow covered slope that stretched high into the
distance
and out of sight. It was then that our excitement mounted coupled with
a
little apprehension.
After a brief and video we were
ushered out into the icy atmosphere
with our toboggans. We travelled up the steep gradient on a heavily
vibrating
travelator into the rarefied atmosphere where coloured lights were
flashing
and music playing. With heart beating fast I gingerly sat on my little
toboggan
and I was away with twin jets of snow spraying out behind and screaming
all
the way down. It was brilliant. We returned again and again witnessing
a
few spills and thrills.
That was not an end of it. Oh no!
After donning coloured helmets and
collecting our inflated tubes it was on to another area of two channels
which were
much faster. I found the prospect absolutely terrifying. I sat in the
middle
of my ‘doughnut’ and screaming loudly hurtled down the slope hanging on
but being buffeted against safety cushions, spinning backwards and
forwards
with no control at all. At the bottom as you hit the safety barrier it
hurtled
you up into the air and then a quick scramble out of the way of the
next
traveller. However, undeterred we again went back for more.
We all
gathered together afterwards and everyone agreed a wonderful time was
had
by all.
Thank you so much everyone for your
company and to Jane for her
sterling organisation.
Laser
Maze -
Article by Cheryl Mossop
Other
than a drink in a pub this was the first event we have
attended. So on Thursday the 13th we set off (at least it
wasn’t Friday 13th) and waited in the car park until we saw some
people of our maturity going in. Inside we received a warm
welcome before
the 16 of us were divided into three teams by Pauline – Red, Yellow and
Blue.
After a pep talk on
how to use the
equipment and play the game
properly, we donned a heavy vest with lights showing our team colours
and bearing the name that we would be known by on the score
sheets. My new name was Cyberman and my husband’s feminine
side was underlined by being called Catwoman. Each team had a
base area which gave an extra score of 2,000 points if you shot your
opponents’ base in the right place. I thought that this was a
brilliant idea until I saw my score afterwards – I had
managed to shoot the Blue Base twice but it had shot me four times
! My competitive spirit was absent initially as I was shot by
Caroline and just stood there bent double with laughter.
Caroline waited patiently for my 6 second wipe out to be over and
promptly shot me again.
Despite my poor
efforts my team,
Yellow, won all three games because
Pauline (aka Davros) made up for my scores and in fact was the overall
individual winner. Similarly the Red Team was supported by Pam Bailey
(Superman!) who was the most accurate achieving 35 per cent
accuracy. The team needed this to come second as my husband
Alan’s contribution over the three games was less than 10 per cent
accuracy.
As “the new kids on
the block” we
had a fantastic evening and look
forward to the rest of the year.
Orienteering
(Version 1) - Article
by Mary Frost
This
was my first outing with the
group having only joined this month! Pauline rang me to ask if I could
pick
up another member in Kettering,”no problem” says I,except that I have
only
been in Kettering since December,luckily I managed to pick up Hilary
without
getting lost so first part of orienteering over, then off to find the
country
park. Slight de-tour, (must visit Brigstock again!), we arrived!!
Couldn't miss the start point.......lots of people suitably dressed
ready
for the off.....teams put together, maps and instructions given out and
we
set off at the given time by Pauline.My team aptly named
'Lost' consisted
of Sandra, Dave, Keith, Hilary and of course me! The only one of us
that
had 'Orienteered' before was Keith,that was not going to put us off so
off
we trotted.......on our hunt for the lettered post to show the way
round
and the 'luggage labels' containing the quiz questions.......the 'boys'
went
ahead eager to forge the way, Sandra, Hilary and I enjoyed the
countryside,
slipped and slid over the mud, sorry, paths, chatting as we went,
actually
there was a lot of giggling and laughing especially by me! We passed
the
other teams who were also rather muddy but in good spirits, then Nigel,
on
a very muddy bike found us, if only we had listened to the
instructions........we
had been doing the whole route not just the letters we had been given.
Two hours later saw us back at base camp, coffee, snack and”
post-Orienteering”
chat with our fellow club members. We never did remember to find out
what
the fantastic bird that soared over our heads was. It was a great fun,
everyone
very friendly and I can't wait for the next 'do'....to our amazement we
the
'Lost Team' didn't come last. Now which way is home....hopefully will
see
you at 'the Redwell' on the 8th.
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Who said it might be a little damp in places !! |
All back
and still smiling !! |
Orienteering
(Version 2) - Article
by Carol Pullen
I
am
brand new to the 50+ Adventure
Club and had two worries before the day. Firstly the weather forecast
all
the previous week had been for rain and gales and I was not sure if I
would
enjoy it in wet weather and secondly I had never been orienteering and
thought
it was usually run with compasses and maps, by very athletic looking
people!!
I need not have worried on either score – the weather was a glorious
spring
morning and if the members of the Club are athletic it didn’t show and
the
course was not covered at a run!
We were divided into
6 teams, with each group being given a map and an
answer
sheet. Each team came up with its own name and I was in Almost
Desborough.
It wasn’t until nearly the end that I realised that we were not
expected
to answer all the 19 questions, We had to find the lettered posts
indicated
on our maps and somewhere close by would be a luggage label with a
general
knowledge question to answer. Though the walking was mostly on solid
paths
there were some areas of very muddy and quite deep puddles so stout
boots
and Wellingtons were the footwear. After about two hours of very
pleasant
walking, chatting, searching and map reading we arrived back at the
start
to have a reviving snack in the cafeteria. The results of the quiz were
read
out and the winning team received their prizes in the Club’s new
‘gazebo’.
Times would only be taken into account if there had been a tie on the
quiz.
Thanks to Pauline Ashby and Nigel Cross for all their hard work in
organising
a very enjoyable, and not too athletic, activity
Local
walk around the
Raunds Area – Article by Maggie Marshall
My
second outing with the 50+ club,
on the first I
learnt Club rule No.1 - All activities involve getting wet, dirty or
muddy”!
But no-one mentioned snow!!!
We woke up on Sunday
morning to a
white world – 2-3 inches of snow in
Wellingborough!
However, we were not deterred and duly arrived at the meeting point in
Raunds
along with another 17 hardy walkers. Linda checked us in and we chose
our
lunch (for several hours later). We set off at a steady pace following
Dave
our walk leader through the byways of Raunds, which were full of quirky
buildings
and old cottages in interesting streets like ‘Rotten Row’.
Emerging into the
countryside we
crossed fields to the small industrial
estate
and then the splendid views towards Ringstead and Stanwick lakes opened
up.
Bravely we crossed the A45 and went down through Ringstead village,
then
onto Kinewell lake. Round the lake and we saw the first swallows of
summer
skimming across the water. Halfway and we stopped briefly by Willy
Watts
marina enough time for us to have look at the Mill Race and the boats.
We
then turned back towards Ringstead picking up the Nene way across the
fields
back to Raunds. This was the prettiest bit of the walk round Mile Field
and
along the stream (after we passed the sewage works).
Arriving safely back
at Raunds we
hastened to the Globe, the promise of
lunch,
a drink and of course the loos. We were made very welcome, the food
soon
appeared - a delicious Sunday roast for most of us and some were
tempted by a dessert
to follow.
All were agreed it
was a good walk
with excellent views, the snow
disappeared
early, the pace was nice and gentle and we finished off with a sociable
Sunday
lunch. Thanks to Linda and Dave for organising this.
Cycle
ride at
Ferry Meadows Country Park, Peterborough – Article by Les Carter
Having
arrived at the Watersports Centre
car park, we were a total of 18 cyclists, 7 of which hired their bikes
from
the hire shop. Whilst some of us were regular cyclists others were a
little
apprehensive as it had been a long time since they had ridden a bike.
At 11.15 with the
weather overcast and thundery showers forecast off we
went
18 cyclists on 17 bikes (Nigel and Pauline on a tandem).Run by the NENE
CHARITY
TRUST, the park has lakes, woodland and vast open play areas it is an
ideal
site for whole family orientated enjoyment(as well as the over 50s).
The
route took us past these areas and a golf course and the Nene Valley
Railway,
then over the river and into a pedestrian part of town, down an
underpass
past the Key Theatre and back to the riverbank path, we continued along
this
path until it joined a new tarmac path that led to Whittlesea (4 miles
away).
At this point we
turned round and made our way back to town, a good
view
of the Cathedral was seen (so were the dark rain clouds). On leaving
the
town we cycled a different route along the riverbank towards our lunch
destination,
the Boathouse pub. Along the way the rain clouds decided it was time we
got
a bit wet. Some of the group stopped to put on waterproofs the rest
continued
and within about 5 minutes we had arrived at the pub and the rain had
stopped.
As we had pre-booked lunch we had reserved tables so seating was not a
problem.
At this point we were joined by 3 members who had walked, Grace, Ann
and
Peta. Whilst we were enjoying our lunch the heavens opened up and it
poured,
fortunately by the time we were ready to resume our ride it had stopped
raining.
It was then a
leisurely 3 ½ mile ride back to the car park passing
the rowing course and Sculpture park on the way. Total mileage was
approx
12 miles.
Many
thanks to Paul for organising a very
enjoying bike ride
P.S.
I
hope all you riders were not
too saddle sore.
Derbyshire
Walk - Article by Marilyn Hill
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| Welcome
break |
Nearly
there |
Hurray the
summit!! |
They
called the activity a Derbyshire
Walk of about 7/8 miles…..no problem we thought - let’s give it a go!
Up
at the break of dawn, we met up with the others and 14 of us set off in
the
mini bus to Edale the start of the Pennine Way. Weather was overcast
and
a little on the chilly side, but once we got walking we soon warmed up.
Tony and I were thinking this is a
nice pleasant ramble then the climb
to
the top started. We really turned int mountain goats at this point, and
my
little legs had to stretch in angles that I never knew were possible.
Victory….
we made it to the top of Kinder Scout and the view was
spectacular…..because
of the 60 m.p.h. winds which kept the clouds away we had a good view
all
round, it did not matter that we could hardly stand without being blown
over!
Our trusty guides turned to the map ready for our descent down (I was
very
pleased we were not going down the way we came up!) We found some large
rocks
and stopped for our lunch, but the central heating was not very good
and
with frozen fingers we set off on our next challenge…the Bogs. Tony,
Mike
and Les led the path, although I had to look twice when one of our
party
decided to suddenly change from a nice blue jacket, to a black and blue
one,
or maybe this person has been told how good mud is for the skin.
Eventually we got back onto the
Pennine Way and the final leg of our
trek
where the men were starting to smell the beer, and by now, we were all
starting
to feel rather weary and in need of sustenance. One member of our group
just
could not wait her turn to go over the last stile and decided to charge
at
the wall instead, we think it was the two nice young men who were
coming
in the opposite direction that caught her eye…..they just happened to
be
two male nurses. At any rate, bless her…she had a few good cuts and
bruises
to show for her effort and still had a great sense of humour.
This was our first activity with the
50+ Adventure Club and we enjoyed
every
minute of it…just looking at what we can do next.
Thanks to all for making us feel very
welcome
and making it a very memorable day!
Thrapston
Street Rally – Article by Sandra Turner
 | On arrival Ann asked us to
form
teams and choose a name. The six teams departed at ten minute intervals
armed with quiz paper and pen. Our team “Lost & Found” got of
to a
fine start working well together. As the evening
progressed we passed
other members clutching their pens and question papers and friendly
exchanges took place. Sadly, it did start to rain lightly but
it
didn't seem to dampen anyone spirits. We
did receive a few funny
looks from the locals, I
suppose it must have seemed
strange
seeing various
groups
of people walking up
and down the High
Street with puzzled
looks on their
faces!! After completing
the 30 questions we
returned to the hall
where there were lots of
happy
chattering people. We then
tucked into piping hot fish and
chips
that went down well with everyone. Then
the moment of truth
was
upon us: who had the
most correct answers? There was lots of
lively banter but Ann stood her ground and her decision was final even
though at times she was doubled up in laughter with some of the
answers. The team with the most points was "The Infamous 5", well done
to them
Thank you Ann
for arranging an enjoyable evening. |
| The
winners ! | |
Go Kart
Racing – Article by Alan Mossop
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| The race
team |
Go for it
!! |
On the
podium |
Everyone
turned up early for the event and had a picnic under a shady tree on a
beautiful sunny day. Having chosen
helmets,
overalls and gloves we
were given
our safety instructions and
the
track layout was explained. We each had a
few
practice laps and then the real fun began! We each took part
in 6
heats (the right word for them bundled up as we
were in the hot
sun) and the competitive spirits came to the fore.
Great fun,
with one or two bumps and slides, and then on to the semi
finals
and of course the final.
Just
as in Formula 1 racing there was a podium and a bottle of champers for
the first three – the winner also got a T shirt.
Ann was
the winner followed by Tony second and Dennis third – who says women
can’t drive? Mike, Pauline and Les were 4th,
5th and
6th respectively.
Well done and thank
you to Richard and Janette for organising a really great day out and we
are looking forward to it again next year.
Wherry Trip - Article by Richard Coles
 | It was threatening rain as we set
off on our morning walk from Potter Heigham bridge along the river
Thurne to Womack water and returning across the fields. It was a good
walk, especially for any budding “twitchers” as we watched a barn owl
hunting across the fields and marshes for his lunch only to be outdone
by a sparrow hawk which caught a small vole very close to us, we could
almost hear its cries for help as it was whisked skywards! Then we saw
a small deer roaming the fields - a very rare sighting in this area
according to our skipper. Then the inevitable happened - it rained, so
it was time for a pub lunch. The afternoon walk was long but
interesting; however we did not see much wildlife until just before the
end when we were lucky to see a pair of Marsh harriers flying over the
wetlands next to the bird hide. The next morning found us all at the
quayside having our safety talk before boarding the Wherry Albion.
Having quanted out into the mainstream we then sailed along the river
to one of the Broads where we had our lunch. Some of the more
adventurous among us walked to the nearby church and climbed the 100
steps to the top of the tower, where good views over Broadland could be
found.Our return to Womack
water was faster because the wind had freshened and we had taken out
two reefs from the black loose footed sail. A very enjoyable day and
perhaps next time a few of us might like to stay overnight on the
wherry so that we can sail further down the Broads. |
Canoeing – Article by Peta Jellis
It
was windy – very windy. But we were
canoeing, so why should that concern
us? We soon found out!
It is extremely difficult to paddle into a headwind where the
water had little crests of white. Blissfully unaware, we paired
up and got into our canoe. I chose John West as I knew him to be
a good sailor and delegated him the job of helm. Getting in and
out of a canoe is really tricky as they are horrid, tippy things close
to the water but in order to try to avoid the headwind, we had to do
this 4 times. This I thought was pushing our luck a bit but each
time, it was achieved without mishap. I was ill prepared to find
myself swimming after being stuck broadside in a narrow part of the
river and negotiating bushes backwards. I still don’t know how it
happened, one minute I was holding onto a bush wondering how we
were going to get out of this
predicament, and the next, I was
wallowing in very cold water! We all struggled with the
headwind and eventually, Rich – one of
the Frontier Instructors – got the
motor boat to tow us ignominiously
back to the quay. This was not
without its adventure! We all had
to hold on to each others’
boats so that we were 7 abreast
and then went whizzing down the river
only to be met by a canal boat coming in the opposite
direction round a bend! I don’t think they were expecting to find
that! It is lovely canoeing along the Nene normally and at
least the sun did shine. But oh, how my arms hurt the
following day through using muscles
that I didn’t know I had. It’s funny you know, I walked out
the front door without taking a change of clothes, but then turned
round to get some. I must have had some sort of sixth
sense! .
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