Events which take place at Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford
After the high energy excitement of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie‘, some of us moved to the more tranquil setting of Wesley Memorial Church, were we listened to and participated in a mixture of tradition and modern Christmas Carols.
It has been a difficult year for many, so it was good to have the last opportunity of 2023 for Phab member to gather together as a time of uplifting music and words of hope.
Many people beyond our regular member help to keep Phab operating, and our annual Christmas Dinner gives us an opportunity to thank some them by inviting them to eat with us. We had our turkey and all the trimmings, with a tasty vegetarian alternative.
After a eating and chatting there was enough for those who still had room to go back for second helpings.
Wesley Memorial has been running a Wednesday Coffee morning for many years, welcoming regulars and newcomers alike. As not all Phab members can make it into town on a Friday night we have some Wednesday mornings when some of the committee make a special effort to be there to meet up with any members who are able to come.
The members who came enjoyed their coffee (or tea) and biscuits, and a relaxed chat, amongst ourselves and with friendly members of the public.
Our first club night since the summer break was largely taken up with catching up with what everyone had done since we last saw each other. We did admire the display which Mary had put up in the Church Hall, showing our holiday at Avon Tyrrell.
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.
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.
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.
Pancakes are always popular, and Mary made sure we had plenty to enjoy.
We had a variety of fillings available, though the traditional lemon and sugar was the most popular.
We were also joined by a musical friend of one of our members, who played the guitar and sung a number of songs for us. Their kindness was appreciated by our members.
With some members off sick with various winter bugs, and others unable to come our numbers were a little low, but we still enjoyed getting together for a chat and cup of tea or coffee. We did not do an organised activity this evening, but talked about books, politics, family and social history, and a multitude of other topics.
As we are now meeting fortnightly we are all looking forward to our next meeting, on February 17th where we hope to see more of our members, and eat pancakes !
