Phab, the national charity, which Oxford Phab is affiliated to, celebrated its 60th birthday this year.
Part of the celebration was a Tea Party at Avon Tyrrell, particularly significant as Phab started in 1957, following a National Association of Youth Clubs camp where one of the participants said he wanted “Opportunity, not pity”.
The marquee, decorated for a 60th party, ready for tea.
John Corless, OBE, giving a speech, and review of Phab, past and present.
He presented awards to people who had been working with Phab for many years,
It was a great opportunity to get together with Phab people from all over the country and have a reminder of the things that other clubs are doing.
Also being back in Avon Tyrrell gave us a chance to look at the water activities which we did not have a chance to do on our holiday earlier this year, or last year, or in 2015.
Barbecue at Simon and Sarah's
Simon and Sarah kindly invited us to a barbecue at their house. Unfortunately the warmth of the weather did not match the warmth of the welcome, and we sheltered under gazebos from the showers.
We enjoyed burgers, chicken legs, hot dogs (and vegetarian options).
If you look at the right of the picture, you may recognise the keg of beer.
It came from the Captains Day at Hinksey Heights,
and this was a chance to put it to good use.
Darren and Maria Hen and Stag party at Hinksey Heights Golf Club.
Darren and Maria, who are getting married later this year, had a combined Hen and Stag party at Hinksey Heights Golf Club.
We had an abundance of Hen and/or Stag party themed drinking straws, ice cubes, pasta ! There was also plentiful and tasty meal.
There was fancy dress – here are some of the Pink Ladies
There was singing
and presents for the bride and groom to be
We also, sadly, said farewell to Mary, who had been making us welcome at Hinksey Heights Golf Club since we started being their Captain’s charity, but is moving on to pastures new. She had put a lot of effort into making this party very special, and we hope she will stay in touch.
Wheelchair Dancing with George Martini
Instead of the Zumba we usually do with him, we had a session of Wheelchair Dance led by George Martini.
Unfortunately the only pictures look much more static than the actual dancing, which took us forward and back, and round in circles, with clapping and changes of direction.
Normal Club with Crafts
We had a crafts night at Wesley Memorial Church, with a wide variety of activities, and some beautiful results to treasure.
Hinksey Heights Golf Club – Captain's Day
We are very fortunate to be the Captain’s Charity of Hinksey Heights Golf Club this year, and were invited to the Captain’s Day.
They had a raffle, with generously donated prizes.
We enjoyed the pleasant weather
and the barbecue
and thanked Hinskey Heights Golf Club for their support.
As on previous occasions, our members were lucky in the raffle !
We very much enjoyed the day, and the company of the Golf Club members and staff.
Film Night at Wesley Memorial
Sometimes we like to look back on holidays, weddings and other memorable times.
We spent the evening, with popcorn, looking at old movies and pictures.
Normal Club with Hama Beads
It had been a while since we had the Hama Beads out, so members had an opportunity to make decorative items with them.
Normal Club
After all the excitement of our club holiday at Avon Tyrrell, we had a quiet evening at Wesley Memorial Church, chatting and telling those who were unable to participate in the holiday all about it.
Unfortunately we came out from the club night to find that our minibus had been boxed in, with cars (without Blue Badges) very close, both front and rear. They obviously did not read the sign on the back of the minibus, which asks for a 3 metres behind the bus so we can get the lift out and load the bus. It took some skilful manoeuvring to extract the minibus before we could load.
Not a lazy Sunday at Avon Tyrrell – breakfast, more activities, and packing to go home
Breakfast was not as elaborate as the Full English we had on Saturday, we had a tasty continental breakfast instead.
We followed this with more activities. People who had not had a chance to do the High Ropes on Saturday now had a chance.
Kelly ready for lift off 
All this activity gave us a good appetite for Chicken Casserole for lunch.
We packed out bags, loaded the minibus and cleaned the chalets.
Finally we had the group photography – always an activity in itself !
Here Helen and Simon are setting up cameras on auto timers to take the picture of the group gathered outside the cabin.