It was a cold night outside in Oxford, but there was plenty of warm and energy in the New Theatre, where we saw The Band – a musical featuring a group of teenage girls, fans of the boy band Take That, and their re-union twenty five years later.
The audience responded with enthusiasm to the performance, and we would like to particularly thank the people in the row in front of Tricia and Kelly. They realised that our members, being in wheelchairs, could not see if people were standing in front of them, so made a gap so Kelly and Tricia could still see the rousing finale.
The staff at the theatre were very helpful, producing a ramp to help us get out, when it looked as if a technical hitch with the lift might have prevented us leaving after the show !
Author: john
Halloween Disco at Banbury Phab
Wow, what a night ! Banbury Phab invited us to their Halloween Disco, which they do in style – we were greeted with a spooky door bell, the hall were they meet was decorated with Halloween table cloths, and there were flying ghosts and witches.
We ate from the plentiful supply of hot dogs, and then Barry, club leader at Banbury Phab for many years had an announcement to make.
He had been to the House of Lords, and been presented with the Paul Hope Award, which is given for outstanding contributions to furthering the aims of PHAB. As he had travelled by coach he did not have the award with him,
but it looks like this.
We know because there were three Paul Hope Award winners in Banbury that night,
Mary was awarded the Paul Hope Award in 2015 and Simon was presented with the Award for 2005.
As if that was not enough excitement for one night, we celebrated a birthday, and then on to the (or another) highlight of the night, the fancy dress competition.
Unfortunately, as I was one of the judges, this does not show the full range of entries, and does not show the winning Pumpkin Patch Kids entry.
Thank you, Banbury Phab, for a memorable evening.
Zumba with rehearsal for Children in Need Zumba night
Zumba is always popular, and tonight we had a real crowd.
After a chance to chat and a cup of tea we moved through into the Hall, where George Martini took us through the Zumba routine which we will be performing at the Zumbathon to raise money for Children in Need.
If you are an Oxford Phab member, and have access to Facebook you can find the video for rehearsal purposes on the Oxford Phab Facebook Group page.
After our rehearsal we moved on to a more general Zumba session
Traditional Zumba with George and assistants leading the session.
Also some more rock style circle dances.
Club Night with Boccia
We played Boccia in the Hall, as well as our usual conversation and cups of tea or coffee in the John Wesley Room.
We are fortunate to have an experienced player who knows the rules, and who acted as our adjudicator, here checking that blue is now the closest to the jack.
A wedding video and hockey
Kelly’s brother, Lee, who has been running Discos for Oxford Phab for many years (as well as much other support), brought in the video of his wedding for us to watch.
Some of us also played hockey in the Hall.
Bowling at Hollywood Bowl
Another exciting night of Bowling, including this exciting strike on the last bowl, which did not quite allow Tom to steal victory from Chris
Club Night with Film
When we have a Film Night we do it properly, with Popcorn and drinks.
Getting set up for projection.
Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Sunday – Climbing wall, High Ropes and home
On Sunday morning the day started bright and early and, not quite so early, we made our way to the Climbing Wall and High Ropes.
The instructors are very good, and rope in anyone in the area not actually climbing to hold the rope, which means they know were everybody is, but also means there are fewer pictures.
As with last year and the year before, the High Ropes were a great success.
Finally it was time to have some lunch, check the chalets, load up and go home.
Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Saturday – Poole Boat Trip and Fish and Chips
Our little convoy set off for Poole, where we found somewhere to park near the Quay.
Half our group boarded the Dolphin III, an accessible boat operated by the Friends of the Dolphin. The other half explored Poole, including a stop for ice cream, and for some a visit to Poole Museum.
Both groups met up to eat our sandwiches on the Quay, and then the afternoon boat party set off for our nautical adventure !
We all enjoyed our trip.
They even laid on a Optimist Dingy race for us !
Some of us even had a chance to take the helm !
Finally we had to return to rejoin the other group.
We all dined on fish and chips
and had our traditional group photograph on the Quay
Can you spot the difference ?
Finally we returned to Avon Tyrrell to eat cake, chat and play games.
Phab Holiday in Avon Tyrrell – Friday – Travelling, Archery and Campfire
So many people (24) went this year that we used 5 cars. as well as our trusty minibus.
The weather was lovely, so the journey was dreadful ! As well as the normal attraction of a day at the seaside the Bournemouth Air Festival was in progress. Since its formation in 2009 the festival claims to have entertained over nine-million people, and they were all on the roads between Oxford and Avon Tyrrell that day !
We arrived, only a little late for the Archery session we had booked, hastily ate our sandwiches and unleashed our inner toxopholite (shoot arrows in the general direction of the target).
After archery we unloaded our luggage, and our valiant kitchen team cooked the choices we had selected of spaghetti bolognaise, pasta carbonara, or a vegetarian pasta option.
Another keen group of forest foragers had been gathering wood and pine cones, and we had another campfire in the fire pit next to the cabin.
We also had cherry tomatoes and baby sweetcorn as a vegetarian option, but delicious for everybody.