Forthcoming Events

Members meetings are normally held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Heritage Centre commencing at 7.30 p.m.

• 14 July – Brian McIntyre’s talk is entitled “Have Boots Will Travel”. 
  Are you intrigued? If so come along and find out what this is about.

• There will not be a talk in August.

• 8 September – Joy Whittingham will enlighten us about the work of Dorset Air Ambulance.

• 13 October – Do you want to know what goes on behind the scenes of a cruise ship? 
  If so come and listen to Alistair Greener and he will spill the beans.

• 10 November – listen very carefully as I will say this only once! 
  Undercover Agents is the theme of this talk by Hazel Wilson.

Rustic Fayre

The Twinning Association will have its usual Café Rene at the Rustic Fayre on Monday 29th August at Potterne Park. The fayre starts at 12 noon and finishes at 5pm.

Our committee works very hard on the day; arriving early to erect the gazebos and set up the tables, chairs and bunting. The food is prepared; tickets are sold for the tombola plus we offer mosaic tile making for children. We end the day by clearing away and dismantling the gazebos. Everyone is getting older and many are exhausted after a full day on their feet. So if you are able to offer any help on the day please let Clive know. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Please tell your family, friends and neighbours about Café Rene and ask if they will support us. We will be selling cheese & biscuits; wine; soft drinks; amazing homemade cakes plus tea and coffee. The Rustic Fayre is worth a visit as there are classic cars; various stalls; music; terrier racing and much more to keep you amused for the day. We look forward to seeing you there.

Visit by our Twinned Town Liederbach

Sadly this has been cancelled by our friends in Germany due to insufficient numbers making the travel arrangements too expensive. It is believed this was because there were many other events taking place in Leiderbach in 2016. We have been invited to Leiderbach from 16th to 19th June 2017 to celebrate 25 years of twinning between Verwood and Leiderbach. Further details to follow.

Short Breaks Away

Many members requested a weekend away in England this year rather than abroad and so we have arranged 2 trips. The first is to the National Memorial Arboretum from 31 July until 1st August being organised by Stuart Clifton. (This trip was enjoyed by all with letters of thanks being received by twinning - the comfort of the Highcliffe Coach was particularly noted.)

The second is to Ilfracombe, Devon from 1st October until 3rd October being organised by Julie Blackwell-West. There are places available for the Ilfracombe trip if anyone would like to join us. The cost is just £95 for 3 days including breakfast and evening meal plus a trip to Barnstaple. (The editor understands that some seats are still available.)

Previous Events

Members’ Meetings (normally on the 2nd Thursday of the month in the VHHC.)

All the talks were very interesting and made some enjoyable evenings. The talks included shipwrecks on the south coast; comedy writing; the flora and fauna of the Australian outback; plus the process of wood carving from beginning to end.

Quiz Evening

Terry Bright hosted a quiz evening on Friday 15 April to help raise funds for our organisation which was well attended and good fun. Thank you Terry and Anjie for your hard work.

Visit from Champtoceaux

An unusually large number of guests attended this year. In the region of 70 twinners and musicians arrived at the Heritage Centre on Thursday 5th May; luckily the weather was good so we were able to accommodate everyone! The evening was spent with hosts – friendships were renewed or made.

The tour of the RNLI on Friday proved a great success as did the meal at Italian Gossip restaurant. The food was lovely and the owners went out of their way to provide a convivial atmosphere.

Our guests spent Saturday daytime with hosts. This was followed by the soiree at the Memorial Hall which was a fun packed evening. It started with an impressive performance by the teachers who accompanied the young musicians and was followed by the usual high quality performance by Verwood Concert Brass. Next on stage were the young musicians. Our final entertainment was a barn dance which caused a lot of confusion, a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. It wasn’t just the language that contributed to the confusion but the wine kindly donated by our guests! 
Select here for a full report of the visit.