August Activities

Since many of our members are away on holiday or visiting families in other parts of the world, we have not planned many activities for August.

August 15th - Please note that the monthly meeting will not be the usual coffee morning at the Cheshire Cat, instead we will meet at the Red Lion in Doddleston for lunch. Meet us there at 12pm.

August 21st - Pub Night at Pant Yr Ochain, Gresford Nr Wrexham. Meet us there at 7:00pm.

We have a lot of exciting things planned for September, so once they are confirmed we will email you to let you know what they are. We will also post them here on the blog, so watch this space! Don't forget you can have updates to our blog sent directly to your email address, just scroll down to the bottom of this page, enter your email address, and click Submit. It is that easy, and we will be able to notify you every time we add activities to the blog.

Summer events

Here are the events for June and July, let us know if you are interested in attending any of them.


16 June - 8pm  "War Horse" Open House Cinema, Chester Amphitheatre
Viewings of classic films in the open air. Meet at the amphitheatre just before the show. Check their website for other films and times. If by any chance it's stopped raining and you'd like to go, let us know. 

19June - 4:30pm  "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Open House Cinema, Chester Amphitheatre
Viewings of classic films in the open air. Meet at the amphitheatre just before the show. Check their website for other films and times. If by any chance it's stopped raining and you'd like to go, let us know.

1 July - 1:00pm  Sunday Lunch, 1539 Restaurant, Chester

Cost is £14.50 for two courses. Meet at the restaurant (at Chester Racecourse) at 12:45. Please let us know if you would like to join us because we have to reserve a table and let them know what we would like off the menu.

3 July - 7:30pm  American Exchange Concert, Eaton Hall

Exchange students from across the USA will be playing. Contact Betty for tickets (£8 adults, £4 children).

6 July - 8pm  Liverpool Philharmonic and Chester Festival Chorus, Chester Cathedral
For more information and to o reserve your seat go to the Festival website. Pat and Jacqui will be going, so contact them if you would like to meet before the concert. The brass section of the Liverpool Philharmonic will also be playing on Saturday 7 July from 11am at Chester Town Hall. Tickets are £5 on the door.

14 July - 7:30pm  Farewell to Heather and Greg, Croes Howell, Llay, nr Wrexham

Come and join us as we say a sad goodbye to Heather and Greg, and wish them well in their time in India. Check their website for details, location, and menu.

19 July - 10:30am  RHS Flower Show, Tatton Park

We will meet in Chester and car share to the event.

22 July - 7:30pm  Summer Pop Concert, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Will will meet earlier for a meal in Liverpool. See www.liverpoolphil.com for info, there are still a few tickets left in the  Mid and Rear Circle priced at £21 and £16, you need to book soon.

25 July - 11am  Nantwich Agricutural and Cheese Show
See www.nantwichshow.co.uk for details and tickets - it is a bit cheaper to buy tickets in advance than on the day. The No. 84 bus leaves every 1/2 hour from Chester Town Hall and drops you at the ground, or you can drive there and park in the nearby field (could be muddy if it is raining). Jim, Barbara, Betty and Len will be getting the no. 84 bus at 10.25 from Chester Bus Station, so you can meet them at the bus station or at the event. The return bus fare is £4.60.

May events

Here are the events for May, let us know if you are interested in attending any of them.


4 May - 7: 30pm Film Night, Theatre Clwyd, Mold
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, meet at 7.30pm in the bar at theatre.

19 May- 10:30am  Circular walk and lunch, Cholmondely Arms

Meet in the car park of Cholmondely Arms, Cholmondely (parking space limited - so carpool if you can) for a 5 mile circular walk followed by lunch at Cholmondely Arms.


25 May - 10am Dorothy Clive Gardens and Wollerton Old Hall Gardens, Market Drayton

Visit to both gardens with Afternoon Tea somewhere.  Meet in the Cheshire Cat car park (to be confirmed), and we will car share with contribution towards petrol. 



25 May - 7:30pm Musical Evening at St Werburgh's Church, Chester

A fundraising event for Michael's Whatever appeal. All kinds of music to suite everyone. £5 on the door and raffles. 

When we went to the Potteries....

Last November some of our members went on a trip to the potteries. It was a cold and wet day outside but we were in a comfortable and dry mini-bus that transported us quickly to our first venue: the Emma Bridgewater factory. We had an excellent tour guide who knew all the people at each of the stations we visited and who could answer any and all questions. For those of you who are not familiar with the company, Emma Bridgewater is a real person who started the company in 1985 (originally to make a teacup and saucer for her Mother's birthday present!), and she has been designing and making homestyle crockery ever since. It is one of the few potteries remaining that make everything by hand, from pouring the slip into moulds, to "jollying" plates, to decorating and glazing the finished products.

After the tour we had a very tasty lunch in the factory cafe where they made delicious homemade sandwiches and soups. After a hearty meal we had the stamina to go around the factory store and the factory outlets centre, and had a good time choosing some beautiful pieces to give out as Christmas presents!

We learned a lot about the making of ceramics, here are just a few of the things we saw (you can click on an image to see a larger version):