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Hearty Happenings
Issue 4
A Message from the Editor
Welcome to the fourth Hearty Happenings. We hope to be able to keep you up to date with what’s on, happening or happened. If you have anything you would like included please get in touch by e-mail at maggieeathofe@waitrose.com, by telephone or to my home address, both of which are in your rally folder.
The next publication will be July, so items to me by the end of June please.
Margaret
Chairman’s Note
Having just come back from our Easter Rally at The Heart of the Country, I am reminded of the weather that we experienced on all too many of the rallies last year. However, March is early and we still have the whole summer (or what we get as a Summer) ahead of us with a great rally programme for the second Heart of England season. This year we have scheduled rallies on all the major Bank Holidays as well as the Holiday Rally to Gower and the Christmas hotel weekend / Heart of England Christmas Dinner in Bournemouth at the start of December. I am particularly grateful to those of you who are planning and marshalling rallies for us this year.
I am delighted to report that all bar one of the members who rallied with us during 2007 have renewed their membership for 2008. We also already have a number of new members this year, some of whom have already been on their first rally with us.
Details of the Gower rally are being finalised in April and we now have 20 units booked for this, our first Heart of England Holiday rally. We are not planning too many activities during this rally as the main attraction is the Gower itself and the wonderful selection of beaches, coastal walks and the pretty seaside villages like Mumbles. Those of you who have booked for this rally will be receiving more details towards the end of April.
Our first Annual Meeting is taking place on the 12th April. Please try to come to the meeting, even if you are not able to attend the rally as we have a number of decisions to take concerning the future running of the club and we very much want to take all of your views and thoughts into account so that we can take the club forward in a way that best meets the needs of our membership.
We are making good progress with work on the 2009 rally programme, with nearly half the weekends already booked and more planned. If you have any ideas of good rally fields or would like to arrange or Marshal a rally please do let one of the Founder Members know. Our first holiday rally to Europe will also be in 2009. Sue and Merv are arranging a rally on the Rhine river in Germany during the last two weeks in June 2009. More details are to be found later in Hearty Happenings.
Please remember to keep an eye on the club web site as we will publish all the latest news and updates there.
The web site address can be found at www.heartofenglandccclub.org.uk
Margaret and I are looking forward to the first Heart of England Annual Meeting and to seeing as many of you as possible at a rally before too long.
Steve
Future Happenings Bournemouth Christmas weekend
Christmas Hotel Weekend in Bournemouth 12 - 15 December 2008
A number of members have asked if we are planning to hold a Christmas Dinner again this year. Well, the answer is yes, but with a twist. We have decided to make a weekend of it by running a winter rally without caravans in sunny (well we can hope!) Bournemouth.
We will be staying at the New Westcliff Hotel in Bournemouth. This hotel is in the centre of the west cliff area of Bournemouth and it strikes a reasonable balance between quality and price. The hotel has 53 en-suite rooms and it has recently been voted the best 2 star hotel in Dorset. It has a swimming pool, sauna etc and is well places for the sea front and the attractions in the centre of Bournemouth. You can find out more about the hotel and view their brochure at www.newwestcliff.co.uk
Their rates for December are £109 for a two-night weekend break (Friday to Sunday) and £129 for a three-night break (Friday to Monday). This is per person for Dinner, Bed and Breakfast and includes entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. We have plans for some entertainment of our own on Sunday night. You will not want to miss this! There will be a rally fee of £5 per room to cover administration costs and to provide prizes for the draw.
The first weekend in December has been selected, as the Bournemouth Christmas market and the Christmas lights should both be in full swing by then. The majority of the weekend will be casual; however, Saturday night will be a “Posh” night, so the ladies can don their finery. The gentlemen can opt for either Black Tie or a lounge suit.
I have held an option on a number of rooms in the hotel, but need to confirm our requirements by the end of May 2008, as the options lapses then.
Any one else interested? If so, please complete the attached booking form and send it to me with a cheque for your deposit (£30 per person made payable to The New Westcliff Hotel). Bookings are strictly on an as available basis and cannot be guaranteed until you have paid your deposit and the hotel has confirmed availability. One point of note, the hotel does not accept any dogs.
Please remember that your booking will be a contract between you and the New Westcliff Hotel and the deposit is not refundable. You might wish to take out travel insurance if you want to secure your payments.
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to check availability before sending in your booking form.
Steve
Rally Happenings – 1st Annual Christmas Dinner by Graham Taylor
During the afternoon of Saturday 1st December 26 members started gathering at the very conveniently located Holiday Inn at Crick. Some of the earlier arrivals took advantage of the hotel swimming pool and spa before changing for the evening.
Around 7.00 pm we all gathered in the bar (where else?) for a pre-dinner drink and natter. Apparently another party had cancelled and we had the function room and entertainment all to ourselves. A very pleasant meal was consumed with much merriment being caused by balloons zooming all 'round the room at times (Nigel’s got a whopper!). An excellent disco followed with members dancing on until after midnight when sadly those not staying at the hotel bade their farewells
Those staying over were treated to a right royal Sunday breakfast. Some of had thought about visiting the Food Fair at the nearby Holdenby House but as the weather was so atrocious thought better of it and headed, sadly, for home. It had been a very enjoyable event and let's do it again next year.
Rally Happenings - Chinese New Year by Margaret Williams
Once again the weather was very kind to us as we arrived here to celebrate Chinese New Year and of course the first birthday of Heart of England C & C Club. Steve and Liz Turner joined us on their first rally, all the way from Somerset and Carol and Paul joined us for the evening as their caravan was not back from the makers. It was great to see so many members turn out.
We started out Friday night with the bar suitably decorated for a birthday party. Joan had done us proud, as always, with a lovely birthday cake decorated with snowdrops and acorns. We had a drink and toasted the success of our first year.
Saturday night saw the room transformed with lanterns and other Chinese items. It looked a treat. We had booked a Chinese meal to be delivered, it was a little late but there was plenty of it and enjoyed very much by those that chose it as their food option. I cooked a simple meal of chicken, jacket potatoes and salad for those that do not like Chinese food. Homemade desserts were also provided. I hadn’t realized there were so many people who do not like pineapple!
After dinner we played double jeopardy. Everybody paid a pound and their name was written on a lollipop stick (it should have been a chopstick but not enough room), if their name was chosen they had to go and see Steve who asked them a general knowledge question. If they answered it correctly another stick was chosen by them with a number on it. Everybody eventually had a stick with a number on it and there were a number of nervous people who were unsure as to what was going to happen next. All that happened was that they were given the prize which corresponded to their number! Everybody had a parcel to open. Eventually Steve let everyone open them, and revealed prized ranging from those that cost under a pound to some that cost up to ten pounds. It was fun.
The quiz was anagrams of items on a Chinese takeaway menu, with some heading off on Saturday to find a takeaway! Graham however found a stack of menus on site! Guess who won the quiz – Graham and Sheila. I’m sure they did it without the menu as it wasn’t too difficult.
Sunday was a glorious day and we were joined by Nigel, Lisa and Zoe for coffee. We took a photo to record our 1st Birthday.
Another great weekend at a super location.
Rally Happenings - Easter Rally at Heart of the Country by Margaret Williams
We arrived Thursday afternoon and it was cool but we set up, checked out the marquee and snuggled in for the night. During the night the wind howled and the awning flapped, and I lost count of the number of coffees we had!
Friday was dry but windy and the hardy ones who had said they were coming all turned up. We had a get together in the marquee (warmed by a massive space heater) and Merv toasted us hot cross buns and we had the boiler on so had plenty warm drinks to sustain us. There was a “bunny” recognition quiz which was won by Diane.
During the night the wind howled and the awning flapped, and I lost count of the number of cups of coffee we drank.
Saturday was cold and windy and some headed out to shop or walk.
We took down the blessed awning!!!!
Most of the ralliers joined me in the marquee to paint eggs, wow, what an artistic lot you all are! There were some great creations. It was fun. The egg competition was won by Linda.
Saturday evening and we were back in the marquee for an American supper. I cooked jacket potatoes and everybody else provided either a filling, salad or a dessert. It was lovely and there was plenty for everybody. We had intended to do “Battle of the Sexes” but we decided to keep it for another time.
Easter Sunday was a bright day and we had coffee morning in the marquee. The Easter-themed quiz was won by Ken and Margaret.
Most of us headed off after coffee to The Kings Head in Wellesbourne for a delicious lunch and time for a chinwag.
Sunday evening and we were back in the marquee by invitation of Sue and Merv to have a drink with them to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Linda and Dave were celebrating their Pearl Anniversary the same week and Sue had organised a cake with a wedding photo on the top. They were presented with a photo frame containing yet another wedding photo! Sorry, but my lips are sealed as to where I got the photo from. It was a very pleasant evening and a lovely end to a great weekend.
Sunday night was calm, we slept!!!
Monday we all headed off home.
Welcome to Terry and Barbara, out on their first rally with us.
Future Happenings - Holiday Rally June 2009
The rally on the beautiful Rhine is now taking firm bookings.
The price of £435.00 per couple is inclusive of all sites including daytime ferries whether you wish to have a 3 site stay or 2 site stay.
There will be provision for those who wish a 1 night stay on the Saturday evening on the way to Germany and a 2 night stay in France for all that last minute shopping you forgot to do, before catching the ferry home.
For those of you who haven’t put their names on the list and who wish to go please get in touch with Sue & Merv either by e-mail or telephone and we will post you a booking form.
Booking forms are available from Sue & Merv and will need to be returned to us with the deposit by 31st May 2008 We need to book this early to still get the best rates for the ferry. Thank-you
To express interest or get more information please contact Sue and Merv.
Amanda Cooke and Gareth Broom
It is with great pleasure that we announce the engagement of members Gareth and Amanda. With a wedding being planned for June 2009 I am sure you join me in sending them our Congratulations and Best Wishes for the future.
This event has been celebrated with gusto in the Williams household.
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