May 2016 – Oxford Phab

Please Donate to Oxford Phab at Heartbeat Hike 2016

Heartbeat Hike – which we have been participating in for many years – is at Wicksteed Park this year.
We will taking a group in our minibus, and a couple of cars, and members will be walking and helping on the checkpoint/reception area.
The club receives no funding except the money we raise ourselves, and our present priority is the expense of keeping our Minibus running so we can bring members to club on a Friday night and go on trips, like our recent holiday at Avon Tyrrell.
Please make a donation via BT Mydonate, by clicking on one of the links below:

Oriental Buffet at Oxy at the Kassam Stadium

Oxy Oriental do a very varied buffet at the Kassam, and had reserved a large area near the buffet for us, which we needed as there were about 30 of us there. Unfortunately I was too busy chatting and eating to take a picture until very near the end. Since not all of our group had been able to go to Avon Tyrrell there was a lot of catching up to do.
Replete after our meals !

Oxford Phab Holiday at Avon Tyrrell 2016 – Highlights

We had such a good holiday at Avon Tyrrell in 2015 that we decided to return, doing some of the same activities, and trying some different ones.
We booked the same chalet, with its large communal area for cooking, eating and socialising.

Travel to Avon Tyrrell in the Silver Minibus, and a couple of cars.
The first thing we did when we got there was to go swimming
In the evening we had a Campfire
On Saturday, after a leisurely brunch, we did Archery
Then we went on the High Ropes
We ended the day with a Eurovision Party
On Sunday we returned home via Mudeford, where we ate a picnic and went crabbing

We hope our next holiday will be as good as this one !
We now have a video, made by Patti, of the highlights of the holiday.
https://vimeo.com/172919607

We also have a PeerTube Playlist of videos from the holiday at https://peertube.paladyn.org/videos/watch/playlist/fe4d9703-76d7-4763-8968-cafa9486fc02 – more videos will be added as I get round to them

Error : Peertube playlist id 1 not found !

Lunch and Crabbing at Mudeford

On Sunday, our last day at Avon Tyrrell, we made a picnic lunch, packed the minibus and cars, and set off to Mudeford.
We ate our picnic on the quay.

We threw lines baited with bacon into the water…

and caught several crabs – which we threw back.
We then returned to Oxford, tired but happy.

Eurovision Party at Avon Tyrrell

We rounded off the day with a Birthday party, and a Eurovision Party, it being the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.
We played Eurovision Bingo, and did our own voting – though sadly we did not receive a call to ask us what the Oxford Phab results were. We also had a sweepstake for the winning country.

High Ropes at Avon Tyrrell 2016

After our Archery session we moved on to the High Ropes. These are allowed us to get high up into the trees !
In the middle of this picture Maria is climbing a tree, watched by Tom and some of the Avon Tyrrell instructors.
I am walking along a log above the forest.
https://vimeo.com/167383472
I do make it to the end !
Trisha climbing.
Trisha has climbed even higher, while, in the background, Helen has climbed up to the horizontal log.
https://vimeo.com/167383748
Kelly going for a swing !
Sarah on the High Ropes – heading up,
and has enjoyed the experience !

This short clip of Tom is hosted on this PeerTube server.

Note that PeerTube takes privacy very very seriously – accessing YouTube or Vimeo videos also shares your IP address, but does not warn you.

Archery at Avon Tyrrell 2016

We enjoyed the Archery when we went to Avon Tyrrell last year, so we wanted to do it again.
You can find your dominant eye – the one you want to sight along the arrow with – buy making a small peep-hole with your hands and finding out which eye you use to look through it at some object.
They still have their clever device to allow everyone to participate.

Campfire at Avon Tyrrell

In the evening we had a camp fire, where we cooked hot dogs, courgettes, sweetcorn and other camp fire delicacies.
Campfire successfully lit !
Hungry diners waiting for food.
We toasted marshmallows
We also toasted cherry tomatoes, which do not contain gelatin, as a vegetarian alternative.

Swimming at Avon Tyrrell

Avon Tyrrell had (in 2016 when this was posted) a swimming pool, which although it is outdoor, is heated to be comfortably warm – which is great for those of us who lose heat easily.

Unfortunately the swimming pool is no longer in use, possibly due to a combination of rising energy costs and the need to make best use of their trained staff.

They had a hoist, which can be used with a chair or a sling.
https://vimeo.com/167105277
The hoist in action !

This page was updated in November 2021 to reflect that the pool is no longer available. We enjoyed using it, and are grateful to the support we received from the staff. We still look forward to our next Phab holiday at Avon Tyrrell to enjoy the other activities on their site.

Going back to Avon Tyrrell

After our very successful holiday in Avon Tyrrell last year we know we had to go back.
We loaded up the minibus
and a couple of cars
We needed plenty of luggage!
Here we are parked outside our chalet in Avon Tyrrell !