Reports from Previous Events

Saturday 29th October: Curry Night Bovingdon

With clocks changing and thoughts of the approaching cold dark nights of winter a happy group of BFTC members banished gloomy thoughts (and all hopes of summer bikini / mankini bodies) with a trip to The Bell followed by a delicious curry at Zeera. I can’t comment on the pub element as I didn’t make it but I’m happy to report that no one was banned and the group who made it to Zeera’s from there were impressively upright and in good form.

The meal at Zeera’s was chosen with much head scratching from an extensive list and then Dave kept us entertained demonstrating how to make a turkey from a napkin (yes really) so we all know what our Christmas Table decorations will be. There was a really good mix of people and conversation carried on pretty much at full tilt (and volume) until the food arrived. I think we probably sorted out most of the current issues of the world if only I could remember the solutions. With commendable focus and determination, we cleared all the plates and then thanked our lucky stars that we had Kev our new treasurer present to sort the bill (I mean work out the numbers rather than empty the budget).

Sunday 24th April: Walk in the Chilterns or 11 go mad in the countryside (thanks to Jax for the report)

At 2pm sharp on Sunday 24th April, 11 intrepid ramblers set off in the sunshine from The Hampden Arms for a magnificent walk through the Chilterns countryside. Curated by Tim Baldwin, we took in a House of Horror mansion, a beautiful flint Church, a Romany caravan, a windmill and even a near life-size galleon. With the bluebells in full bloom, we were treated to the best flora and fauna have to offer.

After a couple of refreshment stops and just under 10km covered we arrived back at the pub to round off the fabulous afternoon with a delicious and much welcomed meal. 

With good company, great weather and a spectacular route what better way to spend an afternoon? Thanks to Tim for making is such a perfect day.

Saturday 26th March: Kempton Park Races:  as told by Kevin Wilks

An 18 strong contingent from the club visited Kempton Park racecourse at the end of March for the latest club social event. We were blessed with marvellous spring sunshine throughout the day, and took a hired minibus there and back from the club (with singing ringing out on the return leg!). Noticeable stand out performers in different categories were firstly Jamie Daden in taking the highest winnings of the day. Next was ‘Sky bet boy’ Baldwin in his Caribbean blue shirt, favouring his phone betting app rather than the Tote, but failing miserably nevertheless! On her first trip to the races, Ange had classic beginners’ luck with a few winning bets, making her eligible to choose one of the last horses to run, in the combined group ‘accumulator’ bet. Another race going newbie, Stoney, looked a beaten man after 3 or 4 failed races, but a few guinesses kept the smile on his face. Dave Seddon displayed the touch of a miser with his 50p each way bets, halting the betting after only the second race when he had managed to win about £35! The day ended with some members continuing with a drink in the Bell public house, and the hardcore concluding with a curry afterwards. A great time was had by all and we’re sure this event could be repeated in the not-too-distant future. 

Reports From Previous Events 2021

Brewery Tour - Friday 19th November 2021.

Our brilliant social committee organised a night out on Friday 19th Nov for 38 of us to visit Mad Squirrel Brewery owned by our very own Greg & Sarah Blesson. The evening included an excellent and fascinating (even for non-beer drinkers) brewery tour, beer tasting and a freshly made artisan pizza. A full report and more photos can be seen on the Brewery Social Tab

Club Summer BBQ - Saturday, 10th July 2021

Despite being restricted to a maximum of 30 members, our club BBQ was an enormous success.  The evening ran from 5pm - 11pm with a personalised Spotify playlist throughout, chosen by participants.  "Tennis to music was a revelation" was one of the comments posted on the group chat afterwards. The range in music tastes was eclectic to say the least!

The food was also excellent with meat/ fish and veggies were cooked to perfection by Tim and Kev on the new amazing club BBQ.  Thank you to all those who brought breads, lovely salads and truly gorgeous desserts including a trifle, strawberry tiramisu, pavlovas, profiteroles and a cake: the food was incredible.

And finally the terrific company: we had a great mix of newer and more established members and it was the perfect setting for everyone to mingle and get to know each other better.

Thanks also to everyone who helped organise the event and a special shout out to Sue Mundy who provided us with extra tables, wine glasses and cutlery and Kev Wilks who had the unenviable job of cleaning the massive grill afterwards! 

Feedback on the evening was excellent so we plan to do more in the future.

Gin Tasting - Saturday, 13th March 2021

Who knew that in 1721 there were over 6,000 gin shops in London serving a population of around 1 million? This fact was among the many that were picked up by the enthusiastic members who joined us for an entertaining and tasty gin evening. Run by Gin & Treats, Sally and Lloyd Barwick were engaging and incredibly well-informed on all matters gin. We tasted six very different craft gins, combined with mixers from a standard Mediaterranean tonic to a more unusual grapefruit tonic. Although the vote  was split on the cocnut and grapefruit gin, everyone agreed that it is was a fantastic way to spend a lockdown Saturday evening. 

Once again, thank you to Tim for the terrific organisation!

Murder Mystery Evening - Saturday 20th Feb 2021

Despite our "Murder in the Alps" being designed for a face to face dinner party, this worked remarkly well as a virtual event.  People dressed according to their characters and we had a distinctly alpine theme with snowy backgrounds and befitting food.  

Characters included:  Rich Bustard- son of Earl Bustard, Mike Rochip- computer nerd, Gary Vinegar- bitter ex footballer, Lorra Money- "chavvy" lottery winner and Reggie Krayfish - cockney used car salesman.  There were 21 characters in all plus a Master of Cermonies (wearing a judge's wig made from toilet rolls and cotton wool).  

The script (allowing for plenty of ad-libbing) gave us plenty of clues and inuendos before everyone made a guess to who had murdered Earl Bustard.  Even the murderer didn't know who they were until it was finally revealed by Inspector Frau Shave!  

The culprit was Fifty Pence the Rapper.   

There were some great outfits and some great actors:  

It was a fantastic evening- great fun!  Thanks to Tim for the inspirational idea and the organisation, along with Ania and Rebecca.

New Year Wine Tasting - Friday 22nd January 2021

On 22nd January, 36 households were treated to a fantastic, virtual wine tasting event courtesy of Go Brazil Wines:  https://www.gobrazilwines.com/

Nicholas Corfe, the sommelier hosting the two-hour event, took us through a series of educational slides covering the history of the wine region in Brazil, the geography of the country, where the wine is predominantly grown, the climate it needs and the wineries that produce it.  He also talked us through the different wines we were tasting, the types of grapes used and what to look out for in terms of taste.  

Needless to say, the evening was a great success, and a unique experience in these very strange times.  A massive thanks to Tim for organising this event on behalf of the club and to him and Ania for decanting 28 bottles of wine into the sample bottles and then delivering them all along with Kevin and Rebecca - a tremendous effort!