December 2013 outing to London lights.

London was dressed in all it's glory for our visit, somebody must have told them we were coming (along with many thousands of others). The pavements were heaving with people everywhere the eye could see. 

After boarding the coach we set off to see the lights on our way to Master's Fish & Chip shop. The meal was delicious, with prawns, gherkins and crusty bread and butter, along with a welcome pot of tea to start with, followed by the very tasty fish & chips. It was cooked to perfection with crispy batter and lovely fat chips.

Nearing the end of the meal.

After the meal we re-boarded the coach and headed towards the West End to see the lights around Knightsbridge and from there towards Hyde Park for the Winter Wonderland. Here are some of the decorations:

Harrods in Knightsbridge.

A beautifully dressed store.

Down a side street.

We arrived at the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and were given an hour to look around. Some of the members elected to stay on the coach, as it was so busy. Unfortunately, it was so crowded the gates had been closed to further visitors for safety reasons. The estimated queuing time was nearly two hours, according to one of the security guards. Needless to say the area outside was heaving, I think they had transferred the crowd problem from inside to outside . There was no point in waiting around, so Loretta and I squeezed our way through the crowd and headed off to walk around the perimeter. At least I got some photos.

The fairground.

More brightly lit rides.

Can you see the swings on the tall blue tower?

The swings went up and down the tower, I don't think it would have been a good idea to have eaten for a while!

A spooky tree.

Father Christmas is arriving early.

The tall colourful ride on the left went round & round with the passengers on the car on the end. I was quite glad I didn't attempt it.

When we arrived back on the coach we  were each given a little goody box with a mince pie, some sweets and a small cracker. That was a really nice touch. The next port of call was Canary Wharf, here there were many more lights. We stopped where it was fairly quiet and the crew got off, re-appearing with a tray of sherry glasses. That was a very welcome gesture. From there we went back to Dagenham and home. It had been a really enjoyable trip.

November 2013 meeting

The November meeting, as usual, was a social event. Everybody brought contributions for the buffet and a good spread appeared. At the beginning of the evening Peter had a chat with us and gave out some notices, thanking the many helpers of the club, also stressing about the usual problem of getting the outing balances paid on time. They need to be in 3 weeks before the date of the outing. He also asked for members help in collecting items for the meetings and bringing them to the hall, as he and Kathy are no longer spring chickens!

The next years programme was given to all the members, together with the form for next years subs. These are staying the same, at £3 per month.

Peter doing his talk.

A presentation was made to he & Kathy from the members to thank them for all their hard work during the year.

The presentation to Peter & Kathy.

Following the more formal part of the evening the buffet was declared open and everybody headed for the food, of which there was a good selection. The tea makers had the evening off, as there were various selections of pop and squashes on hand.

Laura, the singer for the evening, had arrived and started her songs whilst people were eating. She ended up with "The twelve days of Christmas", complete with audience participation doing the actions. Here everybody is doing the pear tree:

A partridge in a pear tree!

Peter will be busy doing his horn playing,  carolling for the Salvation Army at various venues between now and Christmas. His favourite place is Marks & Spencers at Westfield, as it is inside in the warm, no standing on drafty street corners, and they keep all the band supplied with hot drinks.

The evening closed and everybody headed for home.

November visit to Van Hage nursery and Finchingfield, Essex.

The morning was cold and bright for the outing so we were all wrapped up well. The journey to Van Hage in Ware, was uneventful. As we entered the gates we saw the sign that said they had an ice skating rink there, the driver commented that he didn't do hospital visits so we had better leave well alone!

Betty & Cynthia with the massive reindeer at the entrance.

 It was a veritable winter wonderland inside, with almost every Christmas decoration, trees and lights you could imagine.

Just some of the Christmas figures.

Deer amongst the trees.

The ice skating ring was doing a roaring trade, with families out in force. There were several  young children doing really well on their ice skates.

Ice skating with Mum.

We all had a really interesting visit, many of us stocking up on food for the birds. They had massive suet balls there, reduced to 10p, as well as  seed and feeders. The range of things for sale was amazing, from plants, garden sundries, seeds, candles, decorations and gifts galore. There was also a large pet department with a very big resident moggy in it.

Jeannette peeping out from the giant reindeer.

At the allotted time we all boarded the coach again to make our way to Finchingfield and a tasty meal at Bosworths Tea Room, suitably decorated for the occasion.

Members await their meals.

Finchingfield is a village situated in the Braintree district of Essex. It is in the north-west of the county, which is a primarily rural area. It is situated approximately six miles from Thaxted and somewhat further from the larger towns of Saffron Walden & Braintree. 

Sign on the roadside.

 

Ducks hoping for dinner.

Finchingfield is often called the most beautiful village in England and it is regarded as a 'picture-postcard' village and one of the most photographed in England with a duck pond and village green surrounded by Georgian and medieval cottages; a church, St John the Baptist Church, which is on the hill; an 18th century windmill; three public houses; tea rooms; a hall; a primary school; and a doctor's surgery.

Some of the beautiful old cottages.

Finchingfield has often appeared in television programmes and films and in television and film commercials. Also it has been seen frequently adorning chocolate boxes, biscuit tins and other quality products.
Finchingfield was the later home and resting place of Dodie Smith, the author of several books including The Hundred and One Dalmations written in 1956. Dodie Smith lived in The Barretts at Howe Street, a hamlet in Finchingfield Parish.
We had a lovely lunch there, a carvery with a choice of 3 meats, lots of tasty vegetables and the biggest Yorkshire puddings I have ever seen, with all the appropriate sauces. This was followed by a choice of desserts and tea or coffee. Everything was delicious.

A close-up of some of the decorations.

Once we had finished the meal some of us strolled around the village until the coach came to pick us up. The drizzle started and the light began to fade, very quickly it was nearly dark, so it arrived just in time. There was much snoozing on the way home!

October 2013 meeting.

We had some really wild & windy weather for this meeting, but in spite of that, it was quite well attended. The forecasts were correct in that they foretold of  gales, with gusts of up to 100 miles an hour in places, on Sunday night & Monday morning.  Everybody was advised to "batten down the hatches" and move as much as possible to cover.  Luckily, it had calmed down a lot by the evening. Unfortunately, it was too late for the speaker, Steve Edney, who is the Head Gardener of the Secret Garden of Sandwich, to be able to attend. His small village was virtually cut off, also the Dartford Bridge was closed, leading to severe congestion on the roads. He rang Peter in the afternoon, when it was obvious he would not be able to make it, to express his regrets. That left Peter with some quick thinking to do as to how to fill the evening. He turned to his trusty computer to sort some photos to show us. 

The first ones were of Chenies Manor, where we will be returning to next year, as everybody enjoyed that visit.

Chenies Manor.

 Following that he showed us some photos of his favourite garden plants, here they are:

Magnolia Grandiflora

Tulbaghia

Daphne Odora

Hardy geranium.

Other plants he mentioned were Tradescantia "Maidens Blush", the Ladybird poppy, Alstromerias and, of course, Hucheras.

As well as speaking about his plants, he gave out general notices and information about the forthcoming visits. He asked everybody to ensure they paid the balance of the trips in good time, at least 3 weeks before, as the coach companies have to be paid ahead of time.

A list was passed around everybody for them to put on it what food they were bringing to the next meeting, as November has no outside speaker, it is an informal social evening with a buffet.

The meeting closed and everybody wended their ways home.

THE HANDMADE MARKET

ITS BACK FOR THE 3RD TIME               
                                                        THE HANDMADE MARKET
                                                       
                                                        AT THE FANSHAWE COMMUNITY HALL
                                                                   BARNMEAD ROAD
                                                                        DAGENHAM
                                                                            RM9 5DX       (behind fanshawe health centre

                                                       TIME OPENING AT 10 AM - 2 PM

                  
FREE ENTRY                                    REFRESHMENTS                                AMPLE PARKING 
 
          we have gathered together the best of our local crafters to put on the handmade market  
   

September 2013 meeting.

This months speaker was Tim Carter, from Longhouse Plants. He has a nursery which grows & sells hardy plants, it is situated in Noak Hill, Romford. They are now closed, and looking forward to a well earned holiday. They re-open in March.

 

The hall begins to fill up.

Tim speaking about one of his plants.

 

As you can see, he brought a lot of plants with him, all of which emphasized the amount of colour which can still be around at this time of the year. He gave a brief account of his career at the start of his talk.  A short introduction to each plant was given as he moved along the table.

A lot of plants.

During the interval the raffle was called and members were able to purchase the plants, still having time for their cuppas and biscuits. 

Before Tim continued with his talk, Peter reminded everybody about the outings and the necessity of paying the balance of the costs at least 3 weeks before, as the coach operators need their money earlier now.

After the break Tim continued with his talk, advising which plants go together to give the maximum impact, also telling us about how he uses the various grasses in his garden.

It was a most informative and entertaining evening, the time passed all too quickly and it was soon time to go home.

Waterperry Gardens, Oxford.

The weather was quite kind to us on Saturday, most of us came prepared for rain, but thankfully, only a few spots fell. 

 

The sign at the entrance.

It was a most enjoyable day, Waterperry is famous for it's late summer borders and Asters. They were certainly spectacular, the colours were mainly lavender & purple because of the abundance of the Asters, but really bright yellow, statuesque plants had been added at the back of the borders to create contrast and height.

Part of the  colourful border.

There was a small museum in the grounds which contained many quirky things, from Ronny Barker's till,  through an antique tricycle, a model steam train  and a hammock and rubber wellies for sheep!

Loretta about to open the till.

The till opened, showing the very old cash inside.

It did indeed nearly take your fingers off when opened, as was famously shown in the T.V. series.

The back of the till with Ronnie Barker's picture.

Apparently, Ronnie Barker used to have a small garden centre, which was where the till came from. He sold it on for £50 (at least that was what the man in the museum told us, but he was a bit of a joker, so could have been making it up). The sheep's wellies however, were genuine,there was an advert. for them from Dunlop displayed. They were used to try to prevent foot rot.

What all the best dressed sheep were wearing!

Here are some other interesting items:

The ancient tricycle & part of the dolls pram.

The model train.

There were numerous old farm implements and lots of curious looking tools, it was a most interesting place. The sheep's hammock was used when they needed their feet attending to, not to have a rest in. They were put into it upside-down.

Outside there were plants for sale, also home-made preserves and gorgeous looking cakes. A tombola stall was raising funds. There was an old church in the grounds with some of the oldest stained glass in it's windows known in the U.K.

The cafe in the grounds was not to be recommended if you were in a hurry, it took nearly one & a half hours to get lunch. Although the lunch was very nice, the serving staff were all new and seemed to be either falling over themselves or staring into space while the queue became longer and longer.

 

Part of the grounds.

When we returned to the coach we headed for Bicester garden centre and shopping complex. Here it had Hobbycraft and Lakeland stores amongst others, and most of us seemed to purchase some things from there.

We returned to the coach at the allotted time and headed for home. Thankfully, there were no holdups and we returned safely.