NSGOM – Croquet

by WebmasterNot So Grumpy Old MenPosted on Comments are Disabled

In May, the Not So Grumpies braved the sweltering heat to do battle on the lawns of Nottingham Croquet Club.  

Our gracious hosts, Nicky, Peggy  Martin and Mark, all members of the Club, explained the rules of Croquet, and the alternative games of Croquet Golf and Skittles, following which battle commenced.

Far from the picture of genteel serenity the game of croquet may suggest to the uninitiated, ours was a hard fought strategic engagement between opposing teams who each employed various tactics to block, frustrate and defeat their opponents.  Any rules were often stretched, broken or downright disregarded in the general melee of the afternoon, with only a brief respite as adversaries sought the temporary refuge of the refreshment area.

As the afternoon’s exertions finally came to a close, the overall winning team was Greg Umney, Ian Raynor, John Saunders and Mark Jackson.

We then made our way back to The Loxley in Nottingham for a post-match analysis and well-deserved fortifications before returning home.

Message from our Chair

by WebmasterAnnouncementsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Welcome to our website.  It’s nice to welcome the sunshine back, even if it does mean having to water the plants. I trust that you had a good May with all the bank holidays and the coronation to watch, whatever your views it must be said the UK can certainly be proud of its pomp and ceremony.

Not a lot to report this month, mainly as I have been out of action due to a detached retina at the end of April, this was repaired and reattached almost immediately at the Queen’s Medical Centre, on 21st April, just a couple of days after being confirmed. I was very impressed and grateful for this very quick response, considering what we read about the current huge waiting lists. It’s a bit difficult getting about with only one eye, but I will have to wait and pray that my vision returns.

This was followed by me having a planned total knee replacement to my left knee at the Park Hospital on 22 May (had the right knee done last year), Amazingly only kept in one night and discharged after the Physios (pain corps) knew I could cope at home. Just a lot of exercises, physio and pain control for the next six weeks and then hopefully somewhat back to normal.

Crutches and one eye, a real-life Long John Silver ‘me hearties’.  Thankfully our Vice Chair has taken over in my absence helped of course by the rest of the committee. My many thanks.

Hoping that you can attend June’s meeting, please remember to enter the John Godber Centre for our monthly meetings via the car park, and as always, please book in at the desk on arrival and, as importantly for Health and Safety, ensure you sign yourselves out if leaving early.

Please also try and wear your name badges so that we all know who we are speaking to, 500 members are a lot of names to remember and of course turn off or silence your mobiles during the meeting.

If you feel that you can be part of the committee, please enquire what it entails, as next year, we have several committee members coming to the end of their six year term and we cannot exist without certain officers in place.

Please don’t forget to volunteer for the tea and coffee rota, if we all volunteered, we would only have to do so every 4 years.

Melvyn Francis, Chair

Scam Awareness

by WebmasterAnnouncementsPosted on Comments are Disabled

Watch out for fake B&Q product giveaways

Fraudsters are impersonating B&Q in dodgy emails which promise free products in exchange for filling out a survey. If you click on these emails, you’ll be taken to a recently created website where you’re asked to complete a short survey. You’ll then be asked to fill out a form and pay £2 for postage. At this point, scammers will steal your personal information and bank details.

Soaring TV Licence scams

TV Licence scams are again on the rise, with Action Fraud warning people about emails that lead to dodgy websites asking for your details. Action Fraud says it has received over 3,400 reports about TV Licence scams in the past two weeks.

These emails typically state that a recipient’s licence is about to expire or that there has been an issue with their most recent payment.

Government launches fraud crackdown – what you need to know

The Government is taking steps to tackle fraud and protect consumers from scams. This includes a ban on cold calls selling financial products in an attempt to stop scammers from tricking people into buying fake investments over the phone. The government hopes that by banning these cold calls, consumers will feel more confident to hang up and report scammers.

NEVER DISCLOSE ANY DETAILS TO COLD CALLERS / EMAILS

ALWAYS BEWARE, CRIMINALS LURK EVERYWHERE.

Real Ale Group

by WebmasterReal Ale GroupPosted on Comments are Disabled

On Wednesday 17th May, 14 members of the Real Ale group met at the Bentinck Conservative Club in Hucknall. The event was organised by Terry Hill, ably helped by David Rose.

We had been allocated our own room at the front of the Club, which had put on a keg of Wainwrights real ale which went down very well.

David set up his screen and projector and showed us some interesting podcasts and short clips of Old Inns in Nottingham, causing some discussion as to the actual oldest, also a clip the Craft Beer Festival which was held on Sneinton Market, again prompting a lively discussion on ‘real ale’ and ‘craft ale’

Terry followed up with a beer-based quiz, which resulted in a tie for first place resulting in a tense tie breaker. Remarkably the wonder team of Greg, Angela, Keith & Melvyn won, resulting in a prize of a whole packet of crisps each – what a prize!

As always, a good time was had by all, many thanks to Terry and David, a reminder that Mark Thornley volunteered to organise our June outing.

Pub Quiz and Lunch

by WebmasterPub Quiz with LunchPosted on Comments are Disabled

The Pub Quiz took place on the 15th May when just 16 of us met at The Nabb Inn.  As all four teams got nearly everything correct, they all received their subs back!  All are welcome – we prefer a maximum of four to a team where possible as we can always add a person to another team if you would like to attend but haven’t got a team of your own. Sometimes the quiz is easy and occasionally it is very hard, but the idea is to have a bit of fun and to socialise whilst enjoying a lunch.

PLEASE NOTE:  The next Pub Lunch Quiz will be back to our usual second Monday of the month ie., 12th June at 12 noon.

And here are the answers to the May quiz:

1. Which material would you associate with Nottingham?  Lace

2. Which annual event is held in Nottingham?     The Goose Fair


3. Which famous writer is from Nottinghamshire?  D.H Lawrence

4. Which colour would you traditionally associate with Nottingham?  Green – Most things in Nottingham are painted green. The lampposts are green, all the fences and gates are green and some buses are green. Green is also the colour of Robin Hood.

5. Which 2003 England football international comes from Nottingham?      Jermaine Jena

6. Which famous bank has its headquarters in Nottingham?  Capital One

7.Who once said that “Nottingham is a county just there to fill the spaces up”?   Jeremy Clarkson

8.Which British game show was filmed at the Carlton Studios in Nottingham?     Family Fortunes

9. Name of the major new Art Gallery opened on November 14th 2009    Nottingham Contemporary

10.During which war was Nottingham Castle razed to prevent its use?    English Civil War

11.The Ducal Palace that was built to replace Nottingham Castle was set on fire by residents of Nottingham in protest against the Duke of Newcastle’s opposition to what?     The Reform Act.

12.What is the Motto of Nottingham?    Vivit Post Funera Virtus / Virtue Outlives Death

13.Nottingham had the first Children’s Library. When did it open?  1882

14.Which bell hangs below the dome of Nottingham’s Council House, weighs 10.5 tonnes? Little John Bell

15.Nottingham is twinned with which German town?      Karlsruhe

16.William Booth was born in Nottingham in 1829. What did he found?      Salvation Army

17.The National Ice Centre in Nottingham is home to which Ice Hockey Team?  Nottingham Panthers

18.Nottingham had the first two miles of wooden rail tracks in 1604. What were they connecting?   Strelley and Wollaton coal mines

19.Where did George Green, the mathematician and physicist famously live?  Green’s Windmill

20.What has been housed in Bromley House on Angel Row since 1822?     Nottingham Subscription Library

And here is the June Easy Trivia quiz:

1. What type of trees do dates grow on?

2. The country of Lesotho is completely surrounded by which other country?

3. In the nursery rhyme, whose wife “could eat no lean”?

4. By land area, which is the largest state in the USA?

5. According to an old proverb, what “gathers no moss”?

6. Which type of cycle has only one wheel?

7. The nickname Geordie is often given to a person from which large city?

8. What is the name of the rubber disc hit in a ice hockey match?

9. Which sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain?

10. Which queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe famously led an uprising against the occupying Romans?

11. What was the name of the large balloons anchored to the ground by cables in London during the Second World War?

12. Bill Gates was the principal founder of which computer company?

13. How many sides does a decagon have?

14. The first expedition to reach the South Pole was led by which Norwegian explorer?

15. If your hobby is philately, what do you collect?

16. Adolf Hitler was born in which country?

17. Hollywood is a suburb of which American city?

18. Haematology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of what?

19. What type of animal are you ‘sick as’, if you are heart-broken or very disappointed?

20. What do Americans call Autumn?

21. Name the only American president to resign from office?

22. Which gas is balloon gas, which is used to fill party balloons that float in the air?

23. What year did the Titanic sink in the Atlantic Ocean on 15 April, on its maiden voyage from Southampton?

24. What is the title of the first ever Carry On film made and released in 1958?

25. What is the name of the biggest technology company in South Korea?