For our last meeting before we break for Summer we took advantage of having a talented chef amongst our members. Maria made cookie dough, to which we could add a variety of toppings of our choice.
Maria baked them, assisted by Darren, and they emerged from the oven transformed! (and with a delicious aroma)
… and were eagerly eaten!
It was a great night, and we look forward to resuming in September.
We had a quiet evening, as holidays and other commitments meant that several members were unable to come. Sarah was unable to come in person as she was in hospital, but we were able to have a video chat with her.
Once again the sun shone on the Annual Wesley Memorial Church Garden Party. Many scones were made, and consumed with clotted cream and strawberry jam. In the interests of science both the Cornish method (jam first, cream on top) and the Devon method (cream first and then jam) were tested, and the conclusion ? – More research needed!
The swimming pool was available, as well as impromptu games of football and badminton, and to top off the event a choir sang madrigals.
It was a welcome opportunity for Phab and church members to mingle and chat.
Thanks to many generous donations the event also raised over £500 for Oxford Phab.
We had a very tasty meal at Hinksey Heights Golf Club. Although we were in a marquee the last time we went the weather was unsettled so we ate and chatted in The 19th Hole.
Conversations ranged from Tall Ships to Tall (and not so tall) People, and we got to catch up with some old friends.
We had a quiet evening, chatting in small groups, as well as looking forward to some activities to look forward to. The church was open so that we could go in there for a quiet reflective moment, if we wanted and remember Wendy, a longstanding member who died recently. Some of us lit candles.
Wendy, who had been a member of Oxford Phab for over 20 years, died on the morning of Monday 5th June 2023.
She was keen on craft activities, Zumba and Phab Discos, and our regular club nights where we get together and chat.
She also performed, as a backing Chicken in ‘We are poultry’ – part of our Phabulous Evening of Entertainment in June 2003, and as part of the hairy bunch of Ishmaelites in a Wesley Memorial Church production of Joseph, in October 2003.
She came on holiday with us to Alton Towers and enjoyed the more sedate rides there.
She will be missed, particularly for her concern for others and her bursts of enthusiasm for the simple pleasures in life – often shared in the car on the way to or from Phab.
Tom and Martha teamed up to give us another interesting and well-balanced quiz. Questions included recognizing biscuits and board games from pictures, some of only a part of the subject – enough for the teams to know they have seen it, but not always enough to be able to identify it.
We play in teams, and it is helpful to have a range of interests on the team, and surprising to find out what members know. We also learnt some things that none of us knew, such as that a sloth takes two weeks to digest a meal, and that the animal which produces cuboid poo is the wombat. We also played a couple of Rebus games, which some members had not encountered, and enjoyed once they caught on to the format.
Although Helen was announced as this year’s winner of the Paul Hope Award in December, as the announcement was done remotely via a video link, she could not receive the certificate which accompanies the award. This was presented to her tonight
We also had a small Coronation Party, in anticipation of tomorrows ceremonies.
Wesley Memorial Church is also a venue for Oxfordshire Art Weeks – with people who use the buildings being invited to create or submit works on a theme of ‘Special Places, Holy Spaces’. This sparked inspiration in some of our members –
It also kicked off some interesting discussion about what made Phab special to its members.
As it was our first meeting since Easter we had a lot of catching up to do, and sat around chatting in small groups. We also suggested subject areas for our next quiz, and in the process discovered that the game we know as Dingbats is known in other countries, and historically, as Rebus.
Helen had brought with her a Jigsaw puzzle version of Beetle, familiar to us in the drawing version, but in this variant came with four different coloured Beetle Jigsaws, each piece with a number, and needed a 1 to start the body. It provided similar fun and frustration to the pencil and paper version, if fewer opportunities for displays of artistic talent.
Once again, as we like to do in the run up to Easter, we asked member to bring in prizes, and played Bingo to redistribute them.
This year the prizes included some home grown chilies, which the winners turned into a tasty meal, with sea bass and ginger.
Initially we used traditional Bingo calls, such as ’59 – Brighton Line’, but moved on to our own variant, using Hymns from Singing the Faith, thus ‘59 – Lord the light of your love is shining‘ – with audience participation for the catchy ones.
