Outings Report - Soiree Hidden Northumbria Holiday 12 Nov 2013  

Holiday travellers gathered in the Garden Room at St Pauls Church to recall the five

days in July when the group visited Hidden Northumbria. The evening sought to

remind travellers of the events of those days, using photos of locations, happenings and

people, plus videos and prompting from fellow travellers to remember what happened

there.  Travellers were invited to look at each others photos, chat to fellow-travellers

over a drink and buffet, then see the new 2013 Holiday video.

Travellers were presented with an excellent buffet, with a wide selection to suit all tastes.  Vol au vents, Quiche Bites, Canapes, Blinis and oriental dips. Pizza  squares,  Sausage rolls,  Dips plus a splendid Variety of English cheeses, Sandwiches - lots of variety. And a dessert.of Lemon and Ricotta Cheesecake.  But the organiser couldn’t find any suitable keynote Northumbrian Specialities to include in the buffet.

Overall, a splendid layout - special thanks were due to all the ladies who spent a lot of time achieving the table effects to create the right atmosphere and  contributed their  time and skill to the preparation and cooking of the food. - Barbara B, Barbara S,   Stella P and Connie R, and thanks also to the others who provided logistic support for the evening.

The buffet was complemented by Shiraz and Chardonnay and soft drinks, which helped regenerate the holiday recollections and created animated conversations.

After the buffet, the group moved into the church for the Mike Reed video diary of the Northumbrian Holiday – this being the tenth such Holiday video (wow!)-  The video combined Mikes own inimitable photos plus those contributed by travellers.  As usual, Mike produced something unique, and very enjoyable, and travellers had the opportunity to order a copy of the video.

After the filmshow, guests wandered back into the Garden Room and restarted their animated conversations, and continued, and continued.  After the call of ‘Time,  Gentlemen Please’, there was general agreement that the soiree is the most informal, friendly and enjoyable event in the social calendar.

But the Soiree and filmshow would not have been possible without Peter Whattam who organises our use of this location. We can’t really thank Peter enough for his help. The location is ideal and admirably meets our needs.

Outings Report page 5