King’s Lynn Plus

Once again we fancied a dayon the trains at the Nene Valley Railway which would  incorporate some sightseeing, some walking, some real ale and some good food.  Its also a great day out for the families amongst us, as it appeals to big kids and real kids alike!  We started this time at Wansford which is the main NVR station, and our first train was diesel drawn, taking us to Ferry Meadows where we had time for a cup of coffee and a gingerbread man before hopping back onto the train (steam this time) to join the late-risers (aparently a good evening was had the night before and some were suffering..).  Quick change of platforms and back onto the diesel drawn train back towards Peterborough stopping at Orton Mere.  Each train has its own bar carriage which was quickly sought out, and bottled real ales were served, albeit rather frothy ones. 

Orton Mere was our lunch stop, with a meal at a pub which is about 25 mins walk from the station - the food was pretty good here, and well worth the walk.  The walk back to the station was along the river, and was very pleasant due to the good weather which somehow we had managed to be blessed with.  On to Peterborough then, and the end of the line.  Travelling in first class carriages for this trip - the ones with a corridor down one side and compartments with sliding doors. 

In Peterborough  there is (a short walk from the station) a floating bar and chinese restaurant.  The bar sells such a selection of real ales as you would ever wish to find on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and while most stayed to sample some of these, some of us went for some retail therapy into the City, and straight to the Lush shop, returning just in time to meet the beer drinkers to head back to the station..  

Back onto the train, and staying on until the end of the line at Yarwell Junction via a long tunnel, we watched the engine uncouple from the carriages, drive to the points where it swapped tracks and headed back past the carriages to hook up at the other end.   The last trip of the day was back from Yarwell to Wansford after which we all adjourned to a another pub in Peterborough for the rest of the evening.

A really good day out which was made even better by the good weather we had, and this time no thunderstorm to soak us all at the end of the day like there was last year, and still enthusiasm to do it all again another time! 

See photos page.

Christine T

Tags: Nene Valley Railway, NVR, Peterborough, Plus

Eurovision - what a great excuse for a party!!  And every good party needs….puddings!  Well its more a combination of two separate ideas really, we have had a Eurovision party previously, and before that we had a pudding party, both held at Dave & Sherrie’s place, which once again was the host venue.  The basic idea was that everyone brought a pudding to share, and we spent the evening listening to songs, good, bad and some distinctly odd, shouting at the TV during the scoring!

We ran a quick sweepstake, which was a close-run thing and Lynne narrowly lost to Becky on the last set of scored.

As far as food goes, despite Sherrie promising “nibbles”, we have more of a feast awaiting us when we arrived, not leaving much room for puddings, but with a gap of a few hours in between we gave them our best efforts!  Of course the evening was also an excuse for disposing of a few alcoholic beverages, as most of us stayed overnight.  Some drank more than others…..Colin?!!!   As usual (and don’t ask why) the few who remained at nearing 2am spent time sitting on the kitchen floor chatting. 

Later in the morning, after we had managed to get some sleep, it was time to pack up the leftovers and head home - pudding for breakfast anyone?

Christine T

A trip to Hampton Court Palace organised by our Area Activities Officer fell on a beautifully sunny day.  14 people from around the Anglia & South East Area attended and spent the day wandering around this very unusual and interesting building and grounds - also getting the opportunity to watch some short “re-enactments” and meet some characters of the period, including Henry the Eighth!

We saw working kitchens, with meat being roasted on the spit, had a wander around the cellars, saw the newer rooms which replaced previously Tudor parts of the building, and had a chance to read about the history from construction, to “re-modelling” and the opening of the building to the pubic by Queen Victoria.

Some tried to get each other lost in the maze, we headed for the pub via the beautiful gardens, only to find the ferry that used to operate between Hampton Court gardens on one side of the river, to the pub on the other was no longer running, and ended up walking miles back in the opposite direction!

All in all, I think everyone had a fun day out, and to do it in all in good weather was a bonus!  We took photos too!!

Another great weekend in the Plus calendar ,down near Weston Super Mare in Somerset.  Three evenings of entertainment, a disco and two bands, daytime activities including a quiz, karaoke, Tai Chi, a film showing (Kung Fu Panda for the “kids” amongst us!!), plus in amongst that lot also time to chill and relax, and for some a quick visit to the Cider Barn to stock up on liquid refreshments and a good variety of cheeses.

The weather was perfect - although the beach proved to be rather breezy - the bands were excellent as always - a bit of an odd weekend for Kings Lynn group in that only three of our members were able to make the event for various reasons - not to be deterred though, those three members had the best time ever despite missing the others!

This event is the second biggest next to WASH and being so early on in the Plus calendar really kicks off the year of events and holidays in style.  Of course also a good opportunity for a little publicity for our own events too!

Photos on the photos page (where else!!)

Christine.

An excellent turn-out for the Italian Buffet night at the Bluebell, Whaplode St Catherine.

This is the same pub we used for camping/meals at the Scalextric weekend and is always popular due to the quality and variety of food on offer.  Every Friday is a buffet night, with a varying theme - this time Italian.  We were spoilt for choice, and not a pizza in sight!

Those who made the mistake of ordering a starter before their main meal were struggling to eat their full quota on the buffet, but I think some others made up for that!  Dessert?….no….couldn’t eat another thing….erm….well…….oh go on then!!  How can we resist?

On top of all the food of course we had the local (brewery in the car park!) beer to sup, and all in all a very enjoyable night was had by all, even though we initially had to share the bar with a wedding reception (and its only a small bar!)

I’m sure we’ll be back there soon!

Flyer now added for the Summer Party - see link in Events (which now works!).
Look forward to seeing you all there.

Why a Midsummer Christmas Party?………Seemed like a good idea at the time….

Fancy dress optional…..how many of you have Santa suits leftover from the various Santa runs last year?

The elections have been held, and a new committee elected to take the club through the coming year - a few changes, some “old” faces standing down, some new ones coming in. Thanks to everyone who worked last year to keep the club up and running, and welcome to the newer members who have not stood on the group committee before.

For a list of the new committee, see the contact page.

The new Programme has now been added on the Programme page - this includes the date for our mid-summer party, now confirmed as 17th/18th July - the theme for this year is a Christmas Party. Why? Because it seemed a good idea at the time…….!!

Christine T

This is the new improved Kings Lynn Plus website, just gone officially live - hope you like it!

There are bound to be a few glitches, the formating needs a bit of work in places, and I know the photos page is slow in loading - those things we are working on. If there is anything else you notice to be a problem, please do let us know.

Christine T

Its official - Kings Lynn Plus has the best website of the Area! We received the award at the East Anglia Area Conference (or Anglia and South East Area as we are now re-named). Although the site is under re-development we were still picked to win the annual award- watch this space for completion of the new-look site, in the meantime we will carry on keeping you up to date with events past and present attended or run by Kings Lynn Plus.

Christine T