IBM Retirees Club (Midlands)  

                                  (www.retireesmidclub.org.uk)

 

May 2008 Newsletter 

 

Editorial 

The day out to Cirencester and Rodmarton has proved very popular but there may still be space, particularly if you can go in your own car - ring Alan Palmer for latest information.  Alan tells me that the Norfolk trip has just two seats remaining on the coach - contact him on email aandapalmer@tiscali.co.uk or telephone  01789 741908 if you are interested.

You can still book tickets for the Upton Jazz Festival on 28th June (details in April Newsletter); the booking deadline is Monday 9th June.  Don't forget to enclose a SAE with your cheque and booking form so that the organiser can send you your tickets and other information.   - Go to Booking Form

For those going to Blenheim Palace, please see the latest from Carole Robertson later in this Newsletter.  There are a couple of seats on the coach and you can of course use your own car if this is more convenient.

Due to illness, Ken Hope has two seats available on the trip to Liverpool for the Tall Ships (18 -21 July). Ring him on 01926 624203.

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You will see an announcement and booking form later in this Newsletter for the weekend in Yorkshire organised by Alan Bridgman and Roger Goodman of the PC and Technology Group.  There is something for everybody and who could resist a meal at the real Harry Ramsden's!

There is also an announcement and booking form for the Tennerfest in Jersey and Guernsey.  Simon Barratt explains all and the trip certainly offers something different.  As well as Jersey and Guernsey, don't forget you could visit the smaller islands such as Sark which offer plenty of interest.

Having enjoyed IBM Club trips to the Peninsula Hotel in Guernsey at New Year it seems a good idea to go again, particularly as it has been some years since our last visit.  See later in the Newsletter for what's on offer.    

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Further to my note regarding the Committee Contact List, you will notice that the link at the end of the Newsletter has been removed. The reason for this is that we need to protect members from the attentions of spammers and after one of the Committee found what you could obtain with a Google search we decided to suspend availability for the moment.  It is possible to mask real email addresses and we may decide to go down this route. 

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There is some confusion amongst members regarding our Yahoogroups distribution list and the following attempts to explain matters.  I must first emphasise that Yahoogroups is nothing to do with the Newsletter which is located on a web site known as Easyspace and to which I upload files from my PC.

Yahoogroups is a facility on the main Yahoo web site and provides what is in effect a mass mailing facility.   Go to http://www.yahoogroups.com and you will be offered the choice of signing in to the site or signing up if you are a new user.  Get yourself a userid and password and you will then be able to sign in.

Having signed in you will see a panel entitled 'Mygroups' on the left of the page which will list the groups which you have joined e.g. 'retireesmidclub' (a new user will not of course have any groups listed).  You have the opportunity to search for groups you might like to join (there are thousands of them) but in any event you must apply to the moderator of the group to be  approved as a member and thus get circulated with messages that are posted.

Part of the process of becoming a member of any group is to supply your email address and any group message will then be sent to that email address.  It follows that if you change your email address you will effectively be disenfranchised from the group.  All is not lost however as you can change your email address within Yahoogroups - sign in, go to 'my account' and under 'Member Information' you will see your email address against 'Alternate Email 1', change to your new email address and once that is saved you are back in business.

Now to the current problem.  It seems that in the past some members were improperly registered and it has meant that the list is effectively unavailable to new members.  However, IF YOU ARE CORRECTLY REGISTERED to Yahoogroups you can sign on and change your email address as detailed above.  Much time has been spent trying to resolve this problem, assisted by Yahoo themselves but so far no fix has been found.  We will keep you updated but in the meantime please email me with any questions.

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Brian Wilson, Newsletter Editor. Telephone: 01926-777710 e-mail: brian_h_wilson@msn.com    

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Blenheim Palace - Wednesday 9th July 2008 (organiser Carole Robertson)

We have 40 for Blenheim Palace on 9th July but there is still room for more - we plan to meet at the Flag Staff Kiosk on the car park at Blenheim at 10.15 where I will distribute tickets and luncheon vouchers. [Blenheim Palace do not issue tickets in advance - strange but true]. Those taking the coach from Johnson's garage on the A34 north of Henley in Arden, we will leave at 9.00am

During our refreshments at 10.30 we will have the talk "Ladies of Blenheim" then splitting into two groups we will have a tour of the palace. You are then free to have lunch at a time convenient to yourselves and/or visit the gardens. If the weather is kind the coach will leave at 4.00pm but earlier if appropriate/

Carole Robertson

Tele: 0121 704 9677 - Email: carole.robertson@talktalk.net

- Go to Booking Form

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Trip to West Yorkshire & the National Media Museum Friday 5th - Monday 8th September 2008

(Organiser - Alan Bridgman)

Flushed with the success of last year's trip to Bletchley Park, Roger Goodman and I are planning a trip to the National Media Museum (Photography, Television, Cinema, Radio and Web) in Bradford as well as some other treasures in West Yorkshire.

The National Media Museum is a huge museum spread over seven floors and includes three cinemas (one of these is an IMAX cinema). But we shall also have the opportunity of visiting Bronte Country (Haworth Village), the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.

We shall be staying in a superior 3* or 4* hotel in the centre of Leeds. Leeds centre has a large traffic-free shopping area, as well as some beautiful Victorian arcades and markets. Three waterways thread their way through Leeds - the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the Aire and Calder Navigation and the River Aire - take a peaceful walk along their banks and towpath.

No trip to Yorkshire would be complete without fish 'n' chips, so we are including a meal at the original Harry Ramsdens (not to be confused with the countless franchise outlets!); and as our main museum is in Bradford, we have booked another meal in the best curry house in the city - Mumtaz.

Itinerary

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Provisional Cost

We hope to be able to reduce this price, depending on the take-up of places. So please send in your booking forms as soon as possible.

Alan Bridgman     Email   abri@waitrose.com

- Go to Booking Form

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Tennerfest - Thursday 16 October to Monday 20 October 2008  (organiser Simon Barratt)

The main reason for going to Jersey at this time of year is to indulge in eating out for £10 a head (hence "Tennerfest") at any of the 100 restaurants offering gourmet 2- and 3-course lunch and dinner menus from £10 to £15.

However, there's more to a visit to Jersey than just waiting for the next mealtime.

The plan is for you to make your own way to Birmingham International Airport, where you will board a scheduled flight to Jersey.  On arrival at Jersey, you will collect your hire car, if you have ordered one (approximately £50 for the duration of your stay), or board the transit transport that will be waiting for you. You will be staying at the Apollo Hotel in St Helier on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Your journey from the airport to the hotel will take approximately 20 minutes.

The Jersey website (http://www.jersey.com/) gives details of more than one hundred attractions.

For transport enthusiasts, there's the Pallot Steam, Motor & General Museum, Rue de Bechet, Trinity (http://www.pallotmuseum.co.uk/), with its excellent museum, and what must be the smallest standard gauge round trip railway in the northern hemisphere!

A visit to any of its heritage attractions will show that Jersey knows exactly what history is really about - people. From the superb medieval castle of Mont Orgueil, to Hamptonne Country Life Museum where you will be greeted by the "Good Wyf" with all the latest gossip from the 17th Century farming community, Jersey's attractions are very much about allowing visitors a glimpse of what island life was like in the past and immersing them in the experiences of their ancestors.

At Mount Orgeuil Castle at Gorey, there is a daily series of talks by characters from the distant past. Find out more at http://www.jerseyheritagetrust.org.

Then there are the relics of the German Occupation during World War 2, such as the Jersey War Tunnels (http:// www.jerseywartunnels.com). Known as Höhlgangsanlage 8 (Ho8), it consisted of a network of tunnels first created to protect arms and troops from bomb attacks by the Allies. It was then converted into an elaborate hospital to deal with casualties from any counter-invasion. In 2001, a superb multi-million pound interactive exhibition was built, telling the true-life stories of the islanders and foreign prisoners who were involved in the hospital's construction, as well as the families who lived through the trying years of occupation.

You'll find it difficult to miss the various German Observation Posts scattered around the coast.

If you choose not to hire a car, there's still lots to see in St Helier, all within walking distance of your hotel, including the Occupation Tapestry in the Maritime Museum and the Steam Clock in Liberation Square.

Cost of Package for Members and First Guest, £227 per person.

A deposit of £150 per person is required by 13 June 2008. The number of places is limited, so application forms will be accepted on a First Come/First Served basis. The balance of £77, plus any flight supplements that might be imposed, must be received by me no later than 14 August 2008, please.

Please send your completed booking form and cheque for £………………… made payable to 'IBM Retirees Club Midlands' and an SAE  (or two SAE if you want tickets sent by surface mail rather than by email) to:

Simon Barratt, Laurel House, The Green, Tredington, Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire CV36 4NJ

Telephone: 01608 661996 Email: sjbarratt@btinternet.com

- Go to Booking Form

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New Year in Guernsey -  30/12/08 to 02/01/09   (organiser Brian Wilson)    

We organised a party to Guernsey for New Year in 2003 and again in 2004 which was enjoyed by those who attended and I am thinking of organising another trip this year.   The offer from the Peninsula Hotel is as follows:-

The cost for all this is £240 per person and I am happy to liase with the hotel to reserve rooms, etc. You will need to make your own way there but there are convenient flights from Birmingham or Southampton.   If you want to have a look at the Peninsula Hotel, they have a web site at http://www.peninsulahotelguernsey.co.uk. 

Please contact me if you are interested.  I should emphasise that there is not a subsidy for this event at the moment but this could change if our finanaces look healthy nearer the time.  

Brian Wilson      01926 777710  email brian_h_wilson@msn.com

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