Cardiff – a five day break from 6th or 7th August 2012 A unique mixture of rich heritage, architecture and historic buildings, including Cardiff castle and cathedral, with entertainment for everyone. We will have a day to explore this wonderful city, a full day through the valleys to the Brecon Beacons national park and the Usk valley. More details in Newsletter.
Brittany – Early May 2013 8 days/7 nights Cost in the region of £599.
We will visit Pont l’Eveque or Lisieux on the way down followed by Bayeux to see the tapestry and a tour of the town before getting to our hotel in Rennes.
Excursions will include trips to: Vannes, Carnac and Quiberon; Pont Aven and Quimper; the historic walled town of St. Malo and nearby Cancale; Dinan/Dinard and possibly Cap Frehel. On our return journey we will visit Mont St Michel, on the Normandy coast before our overnight stop at either Pont l’Evêque or Honfleur. Final day wil include a short visit to Boulougne sur Mer. Accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis with four evening meals included.
Contact Jane Jones 526 2530
Constable Country September 2012
7th – 14th September 2012
£460.00 per person £70.00 Single Supplement
Non– refundable deposit of £50.00 required on booking.
Holiday Overview
Join us for a eight day/seven night stay on a half board basis in rural Suffolk, an area that inspired Constable and Gainsborough. Our stay will be at the Holiday Inn just outside Ipswich. Travel will be by luxury coach (Ashtons) with onboard toilet with tea/coffee and possible snack making facilities.
The Hotel
Within the hotel all rooms are provided with air conditioning, en-suite facilities, tea/coffee making facilities, satellite t.v., internet access, toiletries, hairdryer , personal fridge and 24 hour room service. The hotel boasts an indoor pool, sauna, & a fitness facility
Excursions
All excursions are included in the holiday price.
On our journey down we will call at Ely, we’ll have time to visit the magnificent Cathedral and Oliver Cromwell’s home, the only one still surviving outside London.
During our stay we will visit Cambridge (guided tour included).
We plan to see Dedham, Flatford Mill and East Bergholt the heart of Constable Country (in the company of a Constable Guide) and pay a visit to Sudbury the birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough.
Enjoy a boat trip to Woodbridge before paying a visit to the Anglo-Saxon site at Sutton Hoo.
There will be the opportunity to enjoy the pretty market town of Saffron Walden before visiting Audley End House one of England’s grandest stately homes.
Enjoy the Roman town of Colchester and delve into Suffolk’s and Kent’s smuggling history with visits to Frinton on Sea and Walton on the Naze. Wander around Bury St Edmunds before going back in time in delightful Lavenham.
Our return trip will be via Rutland Water, Oakhampton and Stamford with plenty of time to enjoy the sights before arriving back in Maghull.
Jane Jones
There was many a member who was secretly worried about our ‘Fun Night’. Some who worried they might not be able to join in the singing, some who thought their art work would let them down when it came to the illustrating a proverb, some who worried that their Laurence Olivier gene would fail to kick in when it was their turn to have ago at the improvised drama and many who thought that their knowledge of welsh History wouldn’t stand up to close scrutiny …….. but!
In the end everyone had a brilliant time. No embarrassing moments, no being tongue tied and no worrying about saying it in Welsh as saying it in English did just as well.
We began with a ‘Who am I?’ round. Clues were given and the team who guessed the name of the famous Welshman or woman (yes we do have quite a few) won points. If it was guessed correctly after only one clue or if a few more were needed the points varied accordingly. It was amazing watching the teams drag pieces of information back from their primary school days and the debates and discussions as to what exactly was Twm Sion Cati’s real name, where did Betsi Cadwalader live and when did Madoc discover America. Bet you didn’t know it was a Welshman that landed first on the shores of the USA.
For the artists amongst us we had a proverbs round where a team member illustrate a common Welsh proverb and the rest of the team had to decide what it was. For the beginners amongst us we had English equivalents but as no proverb totally matched that just added to the mayhem and the fun.
In between the rounds came the challenge!! Could anyone read the piece without punctuation and get it right all in one go. Several tried and indeed tried valiantly but ….. all failed. Trust me it’s not as easy as it might sound.
Next came our attempt at choral singing. Each team were given the words of a very well known Welsh song and had to sing along to a CD. Unfortunately when the sound was turned down they had to carry on alone. Points were awarded for being as close as possible when the sound was re-instated. Some were not at all bad but others seemed to have changed song in mid-stream! Possibly the heckling (good natured obviously) from the opposition confused them.
Our final round was the dreaded improvised drama. Pairs were given scenarios to act out with not a single moment of preparation time and to quote a certain someone -didn’t they do well. We were all holding our sides to stop them splitting as we laughed heartily at the drama pieces. I’ll never forget Jan’s very stern doctor’s receptionist when dealing with Ron’s very peculiar problem, or John and Lynne’s argument over a football and the realisation that Lynne’s children don’t possess fingerprints! Work that one out!
We ended with a rousing version of Hen Wlad fy Nahadau and left with high expectations of the next Noson Lawen. Maybe you’ll join us next time???
Jane Jones
