Club Night without Zumba

We had been looking forward to another of George Martini’s energetic Zumba sessions, but unfortunately he was unwell, and Zumba is not the kind of activity you can lead if you are not really fit – as George normally is.

We had an evening of chatting instead, discussing recent holidays, books and the alarming movement away from compassion and empathy in politics at present. Not a cheerful subject, but talking it through was a reminder that although selfish, narrow minded people dominate the news we are surrounded by kind caring people.

Wesley Memorial Church Party

The Stewards of Wesley Memorial Church invited us to their Annual Church Party – a joyous occasion and an opportunity to mingle with members of the congregation.

There was an icebreaker quiz – featuring pictures of church members as children, and more recent images and we were challenged to match them up.

This was followed by a ploughman’s supper with plentiful bread, cheese, salads etc, followed by deserts which had been contributed by church members. It was another chance to chat with people from the church, either renewing acquaintances or making new friends.

The evening was rounded off with a Barn Dance, where we worked off some of calories taken on due to too many tempting treats during the meal.

A hybrid AGM

For various reasons quite a few of our key members found it difficult to come to Wesley Memorial Church for out Annual General Meeting, however we were able to run it as a hybrid meeting.

Tom, our Chair conducted the meeting, as we accepted the minutes of the last meeting, and elected a new committee from the nominations which had been submitted earlier. His review of the year reminded us of all the good times we have had together.

We postponed a decision on the Roy Lewis Award, the recipient of which will be decided by the committee, rather than the full meeting.

We accepted an updated Safeguarding Policy, and are grateful to Mary for her Safeguarding expertise in creating it to fit our needs. We will schedule Safeguarding training into our next programme.

The Treasurers report showed that, although we have sufficient reserves, we are running at a deficit, and we discussed fundraising options.

Although not the most exciting of Club Nights, it is an opportunity for the whole membership to see the more administrative side of the way the club works, and to provide ideas on where we should be going.

We look forward to what next year will bring.

Normal Club, plans and politics

With summer events, particularly Parallel Windsor and our holiday at Avon Tyrrell fast approaching, a lot of planning was needed, and Mary was very busy sorting out the details for these forthcoming events.

We will also be performing a signed song at at PhabFest, and Helen taught us the British Sign Language signs we needed for this.

For those of us with an interest in politics, such as Tom, who is not only interested by knowledgeable – there was plenty to discuss. Oxford Phab is a place where people can hold a wide range of beliefs and still listen to each other and discuss our opinions in a (fairly) civil manner – even if they are wrong!

Looking forward to Spring and Summer

Having had a break for Easter we had plenty to talk about, but the main focus of the evening was looking forward to the events of the Spring and Summer.

Particular highlights of the Summer will be our return to Avon Tyrrell for another holiday there, and PhabFest at Parallel Windsor , where we hope to meet up with friends from other clubs, and also arrange to be sponsored as individuals or groups as a fundraising activity.

We are also looking forward to our trip to see 42 Balloons, at the Lowry Theatre in Salford. This musical by Jack Godfrey is based on the story of Larry Walters, who really did use a cluster of weather balloons to fly high into the air in a lawnchair. The musical has received very positive reviews, and an article on the BBC website. This is particularly exciting news for us as although 42 Balloons is performed by a very talented professional cast Phab members have appeared in some of Jack Godfrey’s earlier musicals, including Amazing Love.

Easter Bingo

Once again members were very generous in the prizes they brought to our Easter Bingo – the beautifully wrapped mugs with cute teddies and bunnies made by Tom’s mum were particularly admired and eagerly sought as prizes.

As we usually do, we play a rule that people who have already won a big prize pick a small prize if/when they win again and we play until all the prizes have been won, so nobody goes home empty handed (unless they ate their prizes on the night!)

Tom did out bingo calling, with assistance from Libby, who informed us of notable events from the twentieth century which the number which had been called, such as 14 – 1914 – Start of the First World War.

Eyes Down for a First Line