Foodie Group: and the main course is…

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The foodie group met again today for our usual taster session. Following on from starters last month we sampled main courses today. A delicious red Leicester cheese flan, a very tasty Chilli con carne made to a Delia Smith recipe using chuck steak rather than mince, and a rather exotic dish of paella topped off with mussels. Thanks to the members who treated us today. Next month is a foray into desserts so we’ll have spoons at the ready. The group is proving to be extremely successful with the numbers now reaching 27. We have had new members join us at both meetings of 2018. We still have ( a little ) room for more people.  Pasta, pies and salads on the menus for further meetings so if you fancy getting involved, chat to me at a coffee morning or come along to St  James church hall, Green Lane, 10:30 on the third Thursday of the month.

Marg Kendall

Card Making Group

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Card Making group meets every Monday (except Bank Holidays) in United Reform Church hall 1:30-3:30. No experience is necessary. Some of the group are raw beginners and others are experienced crafters. However all are willing to share their knowledge and help each other to create more intricate cards using their expertise in crafts such as stamping, embossing, layering and decoupage New members are welcome to join this group. For more information call at the card making table at the coffee morning or ring group leaders Joan Martin  526 9406 or Val Turnbull 526 1557.

 

Pedal Pushers: New year update

Pedal Pushers minus the photographer!

Pedal Pushers minus the photographer!

The Pedal pushers is an intermediate cycling group who meet on a Wednesday morning and cycle on average 12-15 miles per session. A coffee stop is always included in the ride! We have started on our 2018 cycling programme which makes use of the abundant cycle tracks in the Sefton area and further afield. At the moment the group is at capacity numbers as we are mindful of the inconvenience which may be caused by large groups of cyclists travelling on Merseyrail. However if anyone is interested in the group please contact Bill Ashton 0151 285 1817.

Walking Group: Slip sliding around Rhewl

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11 members of the walking group donned their boots and headed for the hills in North Wales this morning setting off for a circular walk around Rhewl.  Because of the recent heavy rainfalls the leaders decided to change the route slightly to avoid some of the more muddy areas, although there was plenty of slipping and sliding and the stiles proved to be quite challenging with muddy boots and walking poles adding to the negotiation.  Continue reading

February Walk

walkingThe next walk will take place on Thursday 1st February. There will be two walks one of 8 miles and one of 5 miles. Following the recce it has been reported that the paths are exceptionally muddy, so some amendments to the routes may be necessary. We will sort this out on the day. Both walks involve a couple of stiles. As the walk is in North Wales we will be car sharing. Please meet at the Baptist church car park at 9:30  to organise car share. Passengers will be required to contribute towards fuel and tunnel tolls. Also please bring a change of footwear to prevent muddying the interior of cars on the return journey. Lunch will be available at the Drovers Arms at the end of the walk. New U3A members are welcome…just turn up on the day. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

Walking group Programme 2018

Date            Walk                    Mode  LW leader    SW leader

4th Jan       Sefton coastline    PT      Margaret K     N/A
1st  Feb       Rhewl.                 Cars    Alan Carr      Judith
1st  Mar       Ormskirk               PT      Margaret S  Judith
5th  Apr       3 parks walk          PT      Margaret S  Chris CS
3rd  May      Anderton               Cars   Ken              Brenda
7th  Jun      D of W Chester       PT      Keith            Judith

Continue reading

Walking Group: Coastal meander

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12 hardy walkers donned their boots today for the first walk of 2018.Both groups walked together as we had decided to do a meander rather than a yomp to ease the group into the new walking year. Starting at Crosby Lakeside Leisure Centre we strode along the boardwalk and then did a semi-circuit of the Marine lake to reach the promenade. It was necessary here to tackle a very sand filled path, where there was much evidence of the recent high Spring tides with a large amount of flotsam and jetsam strewn along the shore and the path. We managed to stay dry in spite of high tide and having reached the coastguard station took the route through the parks to return back to our start point at Marine Terrace, some 5.5 miles from our start. Emerging from our welcome drinks at Waterloo place we were amazed to find that the wind had become very strong, and were glad that we had completed our first walk in calm weather. The next walk will be on Thursday 1st February, Lady Bagot’s Drive, Rhewl, North Wales. Further details in due course.

Foodie Group : Xmas meal at L20

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20 members of the Foodie Group enjoyed a lovely Xmas Lunch today at L20 restaurant, the hotel school of Hugh Baird College. As can be seen from the photos we dined well on carefully prepared and beautifully presented cuisine. Served by students of the college, who have only been in training since September of this year, we enjoyed a very pleasant, rather long lunch, in ambient surroundings, with good company and very pleasant wines. An excellent way to round off our foodie year. Happy Christmas to all the group. We reconvene for our usual meetings on 18th January, 10:30 at St James Church Hall, Green Lane. New members welcome…just come along on the day.

Christmas Concert

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The annual Christmas concert took place today, instead of the usual coffee morning. Well attended by U3A members, the event raised over £400 which will be donated to Woodlands Hospice, Aintree. We were entertained by children from St George’s Primary School, who were not only in good voice but well behaved given the excitement of performing in front of  a large audience. Gwen Parry from the poetry group read an amusing poem. Bill Howarth narrated a Christmas reading and another poem (sorry Bill your picture failed to take!) and then the newly formed U3A recorder group performed their inaugural concert. Given that they have only existed a few short months they performed well. Finally we were treated to another new group (this time from Aintree U3A) whose ukulele group, all self taught, played carols and Christmas songs to get us in the mood for the festive season.. Coffee and mince pies were then served by the hard working kitchen team. U3A is now closed for the Christmas break and will reopen on Tuesday 9th January 2018.

December Walk: Downholland Circular

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Today both groups of walkers set off from the Ship Inn at Haskayne to complete the last walks of 2017. We were expecting very bad weather so were all suitably attired in heavy boots and waterproofs, but our fears were not met and we all completed a good walk and remained dry, if a little windswept! The long walk, led by Alan Carr, took a route from Haskyne through to Halsall and Downholland using some very muddy fields, tracks, roads and canal footpaths and was a little over 9 miles in length. We set a good pace and completed the route in just over 3 hours. The shorter walk, led by Judith Jones, took a different route along the canal towpath, and then joined the same route as the other walk, across fields and climbing the 7 or so stiles near the end of the route. They were pleased to have achieved a walk of just over 6 miles which is slightly longer than their usual meander. Continue reading