IBM Retirees Club (Midlands)
IBM Retirees Club (Midlands)
November 2013 Newsletter
Editorial
As we reach the end of the year, we have only a brief newsletter this month. See below for the final details and booking form for the Christmas Lunch to be held at Wroxall Abbey on Tuesday 17th December. At the lunch you can expect to get details of next year’s programme as usual, but we have information about a January Lebanese meal in Warwick, the annual Newman Street reunion and the next IBM PC Group meeting below.
Michael Fabianski, Newsletter Editor. E-mail: ibmmidretnews@gmail.com
*********************************************************************
IBM Midlands Retirees Club AGM 2014
Please put the date of next year’s AGM in your diaries. The Midlands IBM Retirees Club AGM will take place on Monday 17th March 2014. It will be held at the Royal British Legion premises in Knowle (the same location as this year). There have been a lot of changes made this year that have an impact on the way our Club operates and we must have a quorum of Club members to ratify these changes. So please make every attempt to come along. I will make every attempt to enlist some outside speakers to make the agenda more interesting. And there is also a free lunch for everyone as an final incentive!
Alan Bridgman
Chairman
*********************************************************************
Newman Street Reunion
The annual Newman Street reunion will take place on Friday, 6th December at the One Tun, 58 Goodge Street W1T4ND, starting around noon. About 5:00, it will be time to soak up the liquid intake with a curry, around the corner in the Curry Leaf, 18 Charlotte Street. Carriages about eight o’clock for those incapable, or unwilling to partake, of public transport. Anybody associated with Newman Street will be welcomed, especially if they buy a round!
PC Group meeting
There is a meeting of the IBM Retirees PC and Technology Group which might be of interest to members (see below for more information about the group).
*********************************************************************
Event Report: Tapas meal — Tuesday 22nd October 2013
After the success of the first Tapas meal in January, the Committee decided to approve a second event to allow those waitlisted in January to attend. To my surprise, we ended up with 28 people booked out of a maximum of 30 that the Catalan Restaurant in Warwick could accommodate — a total of 58 attendees in the same year! The October meal was a great success, although sadly six people had to drop out at the last minute for various health reasons. But the restaurant kept their word and still allowed us the whole restaurant to ourselves. Again, we had a choice of 10 tapas, plus wine, desserts and coffee.
Alan Bridgman
Organiser
*********************************************************************
Events
Click here to see the list of the events which are planned for the current year. The following is the status of those which have been announced.Booking Conditions. Click here to read the terms and conditions.
Photographs from Past Events. Click here or here to view a selection of photographs from past events.
*********************************************************************
Christmas Lunch
Tuesday 17th December 2013
WROXALL ABBEY ESTATE, Birmingham Road, Wroxall, Warwickshire CV35 7NB
We now have 95 places booked, so thanks to everyone for such a great effort. There are still places available, but please get your booking forms and cheques in to me asap. The cut-off date is the end of November.
Several people have asked for directions to Wroxall Abbey. It is situated between Solihull and Warwick on the A4141. It is just minutes from Junction 5 on the M42, or Junction 15 on the M40.
We have decided to choose a new location this year. We shall be dining in The Mansion, a magnificent Grade II listed building, which is part of the Wroxall Abbey Estate. We shall be having pre-lunch drinks in the Boadwood Bar and Garden Lounge and lunch will be served in the Sonnets and Wedgewood dining rooms.
We have managed to keep the cost down to below £20 per member and first guest. The cost will include a welcome drink on arrival, wine with the meal and coffee and mince pies afterwards.
Directions to Wroxall Abbey Estate and a complete list of attendees will be sent nearer the time of the event.
Those of you with access to the internet can view details of the Wroxall Abbey Estate at www.wroxall.com.
MENU
Coffee with Mince Pies
To book a place, fill in the booking form and send it with your cheque for £19.50 for member and first guest, £38 for each second guest - made payable to IBM Retirees Club [Midlands], to:-
Alan Bridgman, 101 Albany Road, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6PQ
Email: abri@waitrose.com, Telephone: 01789-267134
Refer to the document Event Booking Conditions for terms and conditions.
*********************************************************************
Lebanese Meal Wednesday 15 January 2014
The ethnic meal for 2014 will be, by popular request, a return to the Lebanese restaurant in Jury Street that was such a success a few years ago. After an initial welcome drink, the meal will consist of a variety of cold Mezze; warm Mezze; with a meat main course (vegetarian option available) followed by a sweet. To cater for individual tastes, drinks with the meal and coffee are NOT included but you will be given a £5 voucher per person to spend towards the tipple of your choice (balance payable in cash on the night). The likely cost will be in the region of £20 per member and first guest. Second guests may be accommodated if there is space but cannot be confirmed until after Christmas. Please use the attached booking form and send a deposit of £10 per person to Dave Compton to arrive by 21st December 2013.
To book a place, fill in the booking form and send it with your deposit cheque for £10.00 for member and first guest, made payable to IBM Retirees Club [Midlands], to:-
Dave Compton, Ashby House, Northend, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 2TN.
Email: dave@compton-family.eu, Telephone: 01295 770355
Refer to the document Event Booking Conditions for terms and conditions.
*********************************************************************
Announcements and Advertisments
A study of Mindfulness: investigating how we pay attention in the present moment
The purpose of this study is to look at ‘mindfulness’. Mindfulness is about “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p.4). It is a concept that originated in Buddhist traditions. Research has found that levels of ‘mindfulness’ vary from person to person (Keng, Smoski, Robins, 2011).
This study will investigate mindfulness across the life-span, in young adulthood and in more senior years. This will help us to develop our understanding of mindfulness. This will also be important in informing healthcare treatments which aim to increase wellbeing.
The four Questionnair sections take around 10-20 minutes to complete. If you are aged between 18 and 35 or aged 65 and over we would like to invite you to take part. In collecting data for this study we will not use information that will identify you personally i.e. you can contribute anonymously.
Further information about the study and online completion is provided in the link below, which can be clicked on or copied into your web browser.
*********************************************************************
Sub-Groups of IBM Club and Retirees Club
IBM Retirees PC and Technology Group (founded by Harry Green)
The IBM Retirees PC and Technology Group meets every alternate month for a lively discussion on PC and technology topics in the digital age. There are usually one or two specific presentations given by members or by outside speakers, which the members of the Group have requested. We try to provide a reasonable balance between PC “techie” topics, new technology, and topics of a more general nature such as digital television, Internet telephony and digital photography. So whether you are a newcomer to the PC or a more experienced user, we hope you will find something of interest. You are very welcome to join us.
Contacts:- Roger Goodman email:- roger@northside.me.uk Alan Bridgman email:- abri@waitrose.com
*********************************************************************
Click on the links below for specific information. Links to booking forms are from the event announcement.
IBM Midlands Retiree Club Constitution
Committee Contacts
AGM Minutes
Newsletter Archives
IBM Club Warwick
UK IBM Club
Newsletter Production
IBM Alumni Programme
IBM Hursley Museum
IBM Shares
Employee Purchase Plan
IBM Pensions Trust
(Rewards, IBM Contacts and other useful information)