Category: Not So Grumpy Old Men

In almost monsoon-like rain, a group of the NSGOM met up on Hucknall Market Place for an early start to our journey to Leeds Armouries. Travelling with a minibus from the Ravenshead Community fleet we enjoyed the journey up to Leeds arriving before 10.00 am.

The Armouries house the home of the UK’s National Collection of arms which are spread out over five floors of the purpose-built centre. You discover during the tour how arms and armour have shaped our history over the centuries.

The exhibits are brought to life by the ” Live Interpretation Team” who provide live demonstrations over the day. The are some very special exhibits on show not least the largest animal armour in the world – elephant armour complete with tusk surrounds.

Meeting up at 12,45 pm the group then travelled on to The Lord Darcy restaurant for lunch. We returned in slightly improved weather conditions arriving back in Hucknall just after 4.00pm.

A huge thank you goes to Gary Holmes for organising what was an excellent day out.

Have you ever wondered how products in your online shopping cart get from Amazon to you? Well, in October, the Not So Grumpy Old Men visited the Amazon Fulfilment Centre at Doncaster to find out.

The Doncaster facility is one of over 50 Fulfilment Centres across Europe and is over 1m square feet of technologically advanced storage space where the barcode is king. From receipt to stowage, picking, packing, labelling, shipping and delivery, everything, is driven by those thick and thin lines. The application of the final despatch labels in the SLAM machine is a joy to behold.

In a Q&A session we learned what happens to the returns and where to buy cheap Amazon products (but it’s our secret!).

On leaving with our goodie bags we made a short trip for our lunch stop before the return home.

Just a day after the Queen’s funeral it proved a particularly significant day for ten of the group to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Sharing two cars we left Hucknall at 9.30 am for the relatively short journey to the Arbortum. Thanks to drivers Mark Jackson and Terry Moult.

After parking up, and one member receiving thorough instructions on how to use his mobility scooter, we headed for a drink before visiting the displays and exhibitions. There were three options for the day, a guided tour, a ride around the site by Landtrain complete with a commentary or a self-led tour. The group opted for the guided tour which proved very informative.

Members were quite amazed by the sheer size of the venue which meant that it was impossible to see all of it in detail in one day. Areas of the site were dedicated to various wars and conflicts, to specific regiments and also to non-military services such as the Police service.


A meal at the site followed by a visit to the Memorial Wall bearing the names of fallen soldiers. It proved a very thought-provoking day and one that was enjoyed by all.

Barrie Saunders

In July, a small very select group of the ‘not so grumpies’ visited the Ten Pin Bowling Alley in Nottingham. Despite several attempts to handicap him, our winner was our very own Mr John Saunders, seen here about to be crowned with his trophy.

Regrettably he moved just before it contacted, so there is a good chance that he will go on to win again at our next competitive activity. We moved on to have a buffet lunch at the Chinese restaurant May Sum on parliament Street. Never knew so few men could eat so much, definitely need to exercise after.

In August a dozen of us visited The Southwell Workhouse for some cultural education, very interesting and amazing that the workhouse operated so recently. The lives of the inmates were extremely hard, families being split into separate dormitories, for men, women and children. Everyone having to work 12 hours a day carrying out very boring and monotonously repetitive tasks. Very basic food being available which was the same every mealtime. If you visit, note there are lots of steep, stone stairs. However, well worth a visit.

Surprisingly, after the workhouse we ended up at The White Post Inn for our lunch on the A614, before finding our way home for a well earned rest!!

In September, we are hoping to visit the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, but more about that next month.

On the day after mid-summer’s day, a group of Not So Grumpy Old Men decided to venture into the big city of Nottingham, looking to see where they could explore their Inner Viking.

They came across Hatchet Harry’s on Lister Gate and honed their skills in Axe Throwing.

After a bit of practise, they were divided into two teams. The A Team and the Axe- edentz.

It was a close encounter with the victorious Axe-edentz winning by 25 points to the ATeam’s miserable 23.5

Fortunately no injuries were sustained and it proved to be a most enjoyable and social evening.