Category: Not So Grumpy Old Men

For our visit and guided tour/talk to the D H Lawrence Museum on Victoria Street in Eastwood on 12^th June we were joined by some members from the real Grumpies.

We found it very interesting to see the house in which D H Lawrence was born on 11 September 1885 set out as it would have been in the late 19^th Century and to learn about his life and background. His experiences of living in a coal mining town deeply influenced his writing. His father, Arthur, was a miner, while his mother, Lydia, was a former schoolteacher with literary aspirations. The tension between their backgrounds shaped Lawrence’s early worldview. Eastwood’s industrial landscape and working-class life became central themes in his novels, especially Sons and Lovers.

We also learned that he was a sensitive child, often ill, and found an escape in books and nature. He attended Beauvale Board School and later won a scholarship to Nottingham High School, marking the beginning of his journey from miner’s son to literary icon. He was a prolific writer, poet and painter producing a large body of work in a relatively short life dying of TB at the age of 44.

To celebrate our visit and to pay homage we adjourned to the nearby Wetherspoons establishment The Lady Chatterley for food and drink.

David Rose

The group met up at the Spot On Club in January to enjoy a couple of hours of snooker and to discuss ideas for this years visits.

The group usually enjoy one get together each month and ideas for this year included, skittles at Hucknall British Legion Club, outdoor bowls at Titchfield Park, Laser Quest and visits to places such as Nottingham Rugby, the Lace Market Theatre for a backstage tour, to Linney’s Printers at Mansfield and to the Rolls Royce Heritage Museum.

Members share the planning and organising duties between them so that the workload is not too onerous for any one member.

The group has 30 members and is presently full.

Barrie

                                                                 

Ghost Walk

It was a dark and murky evening  as 12 NSGOM travelled by tram into Nottingham for our Ghost Walk. Leaving the tram in the Market Square we walked down to the Trip to Jerusalem where our guide, Simon, was waiting for us.

We walked up to the Statue of Robin Hood and then the castle entrance where we learnt something of the history of the site. It was then on to Friar Lane and Maid Marion Way for further stories.

Eventually crossing over the road to the Salutation where we went down into one of the caves below the pub itself. Here we heard some gruesome tales of ghostly happenings and public executions and of bodies being hung drawn and quartered in times long gone.

A further walk down towards the former Radio Tent building and St Nicholas church followed as we finally found ourselves in the upstairs bar at the Trip hearing about the various curses cast on the pub and some of the consequences which followed.

Finishing for 8.30 we travelled back by tram where some members enjoyed a chip  supper and others opted for a more liquid form of refreshment.!!!!

A very enjoyable trip organised by David Robbins. We meet up again later in November for a Christmas lunch at Ramsdale Park golf club.

Not So Grumpies Go Racing

In late July some fourteen wannabe F1 drivers descended upon the Lockwell Hill Karting circuit near Farnsfield. After a safety briefing, getting dressed in one-piece overalls (the most demanding of physical contortions for some) and fitting of gloves and crash helmets we were ready to start racing.

No Le Mans start for us, as some would probably still be walking to their karts as the leaders came round. No, we lined up in orderly fashion, our carts were started for us and off we went. Well surely the first away would win! Despite some deniers this is the twenty-first century and all our lap times were recorded automatically to the nearest one thousandth of a second. Mind you a calendar would have done the job just as well for some!

The target when racing was who could set the fastest lap-time and who had the fastest average lap-time. They would be the overall race leader/winner. We had two fifteen minute sessions, which is quite enough as the ride is bumpy and the steering is incredibly heavy. As is always the case, when put into unfamiliar situations some people thrive and others just cope. John “Red Mist” Saunders put in the fastest lap, carving through much of the field at will, but he couldn’t maintain his flying lap throughout the course of the race and Mark Jackson recorded the fastest average lap time – it’s all that practice in his BMW round the roads in Linby!

Afterwards we retired to the Corporate Hospitality Suite, better known as White Farm PH, where we swapped endless tales of how we’d all been cut up by John and Mark whilst pursuing their bitter rivalry.

Thanks to Greg and Barrie for making it all possible.

August saw us visiting the Dropworks Rum Distillery on the Welbeck Estate. Opening only a year ago, it is Europe’s largest rum distillery, yet is an artisan operation by people who completely understand the processes and the product.

We were greeted with a rum cocktail before being showed the production process by Darren, our knowledgeable and entertaining guide. We learned about the molasses and sugar cane honey and the different yeasts together with the pot and column stills and the double retort (thumper), where the magic is created using an intimate understanding of the science to make flavoured rum without the flavouring!

Samples were enjoyed throughout the process and the heroic designated drivers were rewarded with a bumper sample pack to take home with them.

Refreshments at the Greendale Oak completed an interesting day out.