Some belated action shots from the successfull self defence evening last February. Some are a little blurred but really give a feel for the action. Thanks to Evanda Greenwood for sending in the pictures:
More social activities to join in with
A reminder to keep up to date with our busy social activities programme. A number of events are planned over the summer months, including a boat trip from Foxton Locks, also open to non-members. Why not take the family and enjoy an evening out. Take a picnic, too.
There’s indoor paintballing at Combat 656 in Market Harborough – places limited, so book your place now for Saturday 22 June. Then there’s jam making (date and cost to be confirmed very soon), a pub quiz on 10 July and a murder mystery evening on 13 September – For further details on our Things to Do page.
Share this:
Fascinating insight into Foxton Locks
Michael Beech, curator of Foxton Canal Museum, was visiting speaker at May’s monthly meeting this week. He gave a fascinating overview of the history of the building of the famous inclined plan at Foxton, with pictures of boat users using it and the top and bottom basins. One scary picture was of the Methodist Church Sunday School annual outing – health and safety was obviously not paramount then, with a barge overflowing with youngsters actually standing in the barge as it was being hoisted up the plane!
Michael’s presentation also took us swiftly through the funding of this part of the Grand Union Canal, an overview of the national waterways, the Lock Keeper’s Cottage and information on the ongoing restoration and upkeep of this famous, integral part of the inland waterways.
The Foxton Locks Festival runs on 29 and 30 June 2013. A great day out for the family.
Share this:
Successful yard walk in Market Harborough this week
Market Harborough is well known for its various hidden yards, including the Courtyard and Aldwinkles. On Wednesday, 8 May, a group of members enjoyed a guided tour.
Evanda Greenwood, Programme Organiser, reports, ‘Great Yard Walk tonight with James Carpenter! Amazing the things you learn about in the place where you live. Very interesting.’
Share this:
Fun at skittles evening
On 19 April members had a fun evening at the Railway Inn, Kibworth playing games of table and floor skittles. You can see a couple of members in action above (not it’s not the beer, just great technique captured in the shot!). The food was good, too! Hope you can join us for the next one.
Share this:
Foxton and the local waterways – May’s monthly meeting
The visiting speaker in May will be Michael Beech, Curator of the Foxton Canal Museum. He is also the author of ‘Foxton Locks and the Inclined Plane: a 200 year History’. The evening is open to members and non-members and is on Wednesday 22 March at 7.30 pm in the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough, to find out lots more about our local canals and waterways. A small charge of £3 will be made for non-members. See you there! Bring your partner or a friend.
Share this:
Ayrshire Cows and Stilton Cheese
Jane Barnes of Southfields Farm, Somerby entertained us with a fascinating talk on Wednesday about the life of a dairy farmer’s wife in these touch economic times – not for the faint hearted!
Jane is married to Mark Barnes, a ‘rare beed’, she says. Why? Because there used to be 65,000 dairy farmers in the UK and now there are only 10,000, of which he is one. With a herd of Ayrshire cows (they have changed in recent years from Fresian), Jane took us through the trials and tribulations of modern day farming, from buying new cows to the 365 days a year commitment to managing the herd. Mulberry, the bull, figured in there, too. Each cow, at its peak, produces 30 or 40 litres a day of milk. This is used solely for the production of Stilton cheese, which we were all delighted to sample.
Jane described her enterprising business skills, too. She supported the farm with her silk flower business but this was hit by the foot and mouth outbreak. Her cows were not affected but countryside visitors to the farm were restricted. Jane has subsequently built up a very busy diary of talks, as well as visits to the farm for both adults and children. For the latter, she works closely with a nearby arable farmers’ wife, so the children get the chance to visit both in a morning and begin to understand how the output of each helps the other.
Share this:
National Conference – Hazel is to represent us
Hazel Stacey, our President, is to represent us at this year’s National Conference in Cardiff. This will be on the weekend of 1 June 2013.
The main resolutions is the Decline of our high streets and town centres. To read more details: 2013-agm-resolution-briefing. We are very lucky in Market Harborough to have such a thriving town centre and so many amenities. In many parts of the country this is not the case.
Share this:
Join us for a skittles evening on Friday 19 April
Are you free on Friday 19 April? Then join us for a relaxed evening at the Railway Arms, 6 Station Street, Kibworth Harcourt, LE8 0LN.
There will be games of table top and long alley skittles. It doesn’t matter if you have never played before, we’ll show you what to do. It’s good fun.
If you want to eat, there’s pub food at approximately £5 per head. Book and order in advance – Contact Us – or just turn up on the night.
Share this:
Being a dairy farmer’s wife, including how QR codes are used on their cows!
April’s montly meeting speaker will be Jane Barnes. Jane works with her husband, Mark, on a 220 acre farm near Somerby. The Barnes family is the third generation to run their farm. Milk from their herd of Ayrshire cows is sold to Clawson Dairies to make Stilton cheese.
Jane will be speaking about her life as a dairy farmer’s wife, which includes opening their farm to visitors to show them how milk is produced. Jane and Mark are bang up to date with using modern technology. They came up with the whacky idea (harmless) of spraying their cows with a white QR code so visitors could click on their smartphones and read an up to date blog of the cow’s life and contribution to the farm. I hope I haven’t given it all away … !
To find out more, come along on Wednesday 24 April at 7.30 pm at the Congregational Church Hall, Bowden Lane, Market Harborough. It’ll be fun, too, sampling the Stilton cheese!
