Previous Events
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Day Conference in Birmingham with Gaynor Arnold - Saturday 3rd October
A Step Back in Time - a tour of King’s Norton’s wonderful buildings and a talk by Gaynor Arnold, an Edgbaston member who has had her first book published.
80 NWR members – 9 from Solihull, attended this very interesting day. We had a guided tour in the morning where we learned about the Restoration of Saint Nicholas Place, lunch and a look around the area followed by a talk by Gaynor Arnold, author of Girl in a Blue Dress, which has been nominated for a few prizes.
Angela Walker Quiz in Kenilworth - Thursday 24th September
The quiz was organised by Kenilworth this year. The questions were a good mix – not too easy or hard and including a Mr Men round which was different!
Solihull 1 were the winners.
National conference in Leeds - 11th to 13th September
This was a very successful and enjoyable annual conference with a theme of Leadership. Speakers included Ann Daniels, the Polar Explorer; Vanessa Lawrence, Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey; Liz Burnley , Chief Guide and a highlight was a group of young people from the Northern Royal Ballet performing to finish the weekend on a wonderful note. 8 Solihull members attended this year.
Trip to Priory Theatre, Kenilworth - Wednesday 13th May
To see Blood Relations - a drama by Sharon Pollock.
80 members from groups in our area enjoyed this play which finished with a very clever twist. It is a psychological murder mystery based on historical fact and speculation surrounding the life of Lizzie Borden.
Quiz - October 2nd 2008
Solihull hosted the annual Angela Walker Quiz.
Paris Trip – August 2008
In August 2008 nine of our members plus two relatives had a 3 day trip to Paris. We travelled on Eurostar from St Pancras and stayed in the Bercy area of Paris. It was a walking tour with 3 guided walks around “ Secret “ Paris – areas not always explored. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed many lovely meals , a cruise on the Seine and some of us even ventured up The Eiffel Tower at midnight to enjoy wonderful views over the city. We indulged ourselves with champagne on departure and on arrival back at St Pancras went to The Champagne Bar - the longest in Europe.We are already thinking of our next destination – maybe Bruges!
Theatre Trip – June 2008
Members from the MD04 area went to see "See How They Run", a comedy by Philip King at The Priory Theatre in Kenilworth on Tuesday 24th June. The evening included a buffet and drink after the performance.
Day Conference – November 2007
In November we held an Antiques Day in Warwick.Members from groups all round the country came to The Lord Leycester Hotel in Warwick for lunch and a fascinating talk by Mark Hannam from Bonhams in Knowle.He talked about his life as an Auctioneer and was able to tell members about the items that they had brought along.
National Conference at Keele - July 2007
Angela Walker Quiz - September 2007
Leicester Group hosted this event which was won by Dunchurch. Solihull will organise it next year.
Trip to Kenilworth's Priory Theatre - February 2007
Many of us from MD04 enjoyed "The Herbal Bed" by Peter Whelan. The play was based on the lives of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna and her husband John Hall. The buffet afterwards was delicious and the whole evening was great value for money.
Theatre Trip
Members from the MD04 area went to The Priory Theatre in Kenilworth to see “Funny Money“, a comedy by Ray Cooney. The play was followed by a buffet and a chance to chat with members of other groups in our area.
Literary Festival - July 2006
On a lovely sunny Saturday in July seventy three members attended a Literary Lunch organised by Warwickshire and West Midlands Area Committee. The venue was Fentham Hall in the pretty village of Hampton-in-Arden near Solihull where we had beautiful views over the countryside and members could drink their teas and coffees outside in the warm sunshine on arrival.
We had presentations from Mary and Eilis , our Membership and Marketing Co-ordinators followed by a 3 course lunch in The Beeches – a restaurant very conveniently next door to The Village Hall.
Our speaker for the afternoon was a local author, Clare Morrall ,who lives in Birmingham. Solihull group had already heard her speak after her first book “ Astonishing Splashes of Colour “ was published and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2004 . Her second book “Natural Flights of the Human Mind “ was published in January this year so we thought it would be very interesting to hear her again two years on . Everyone thoroughly enjoyed her talk.
Her talk was followed by a presentation to Jean Hamilton who was stepping down as Area Organiser of MD04 after thirteen years in the role .
Coach Trip - July 2005
Fifty members from local groups had a wonderful evening. The coach took us through Stratford and various picturesque villages of the Cotswolds with the addition of a very interesting commentary from Wendy Devlin, a Blue Badge Guide. It was a beautiful summer evening and we saw village cricket and bowls, lovely countryside and cottages with roses and hollyhocks. Our trip ended at a country pub for a delicious meal. An evening that we are very likely to repeat!
Angela Walker Quiz
This was hosted by Dunchurch in their smart new village hall. There were a good variety of questions and our traditional tea/coffee break with home made cakes. The winning team was Leicester.
2005 Telephone Treasure Trail
This annual event was organised by Rotherham and Aston and won by Ickenham. Check the main website for questions – and answers! br />
The Memory of Water
NWR groups from the Warwickshire and West Midlands area met in The Priory Theatre, Kenilworth to see the play.
Medieval Day
Theatre
Italian Evening
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