Month: November 2022

Phab South East Fun Weekend 2022

After a longer than usual interval, caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic, we returned to Chichester Park Hotel, who had made us so welcome in 2019 (and 2017 and 2015).

As on previous occasions the staff were very helpful with things like given out extra room key cards for some of our members who might need to give easy access to someone to let them in without the room occupant needing to come to the door.

Friday

Once again we used a combination of our minibus and two cars pick up members from various places and take them from Oxford to Chichester – the journey being complicated this time by the dual-carriageway Chichester bypass being closed – so all traffic was being routed through the town centre, and an alarming warning light on one of the cars which required an unscheduled stop to investigate. Despite this we all arrived safely at the hotel and were able to unpack and relax until it was time for the evening buffet meal. This was accompanied, and followed, by entertainment from DJ Lee. When everyone had eaten there was space for a disco and Karaoke.

Saturday

The morning and afternoon activities were similar to previous years, featuring Amazing Animals, Zumba, Crafts and Laughter Yoga.

The Boccia session was very popular, with some skilled and tactical players

There is nothing like an exciting and close fought match to work up a thirst for coffee in the bar afterwards to discuss the game.

After the activities there was plenty of time to socialise and prepare for the evening dinner.

Sunday

For some members, Sunday morning was an opportunity for a lie-in and a late breakfast, but for some Phab members, from all over the South East, there was an act of worship. We reflected on how much the world had changed since we last gathered in 2019, the friends we had lost, the things we had gained, such as online meetings, and the things which have remained the same, such as our friendships within Phab.

Then we had a Sunday Lunch

Packed up the minibus, and went home – for a rest !

Oxford Light Night and Games

Oxford celebrates turning on its Christmas lights with an evening of activities at various venues, one of those being Wesley Memorial Church,

We started the evening in the Sanctuary – the main part of the church, where we chatted amongst ourselves and with church people and members of the public. We also ate Pizza, Stollen and Mince Pies. Amongst other activities one of church member was drawing caricatures of people, including some of our members.

We then moved through to the hall, and worked off some of the pizza with some hockey and boccia.

Annual General Meeting 2022

Like last year, our Annual General meeting was hybrid, with the physical part of the meeting at Wesley Memorial Church. As Covid is still with us, having an online connection allowed members who could not come in person, through testing positive or other reasons, to join in. Using automatically generated subtitles allowed the chair and club co-ordinator’s words to be displayed, although some BSL signing was still needed.

Our AGMs are fairly routine, we approved the minutes from last year’s AGM, our treasurer presented the accounts, and our chair presented her annual report.

We did not present the Roy Lewis award at the AGM, but hope to do so at the Christmas dinner, which we are all looking forward to.

Pizza Night !

Activities involving food are always popular, and tonight was no exception ! With a team in the kitchen making pizza bases our members could add toppings of their choice and return them to the kitchen for cooking.

We had a wide selection of toppings to choose from so each one came out different. Almost a metaphor for Phab, in that they are all different at first sight, but built from the same base, and all valued as individuals !