February’s 41 Club meeting was a cracking evening on Scarborough’s Harbourside, starting out for those who chose with a pint or two at the Golden Ball which serves a first class spot of Sam Smiths.

We transferred to the Golden Grid where the first floor had been reserved for us. We were treated to a Lobster Bisque soup followed by an outstanding seafood platter and, finally, a superb sea food pie, altogether a treat of seafood.

We were joined by guests Steve Price and Richard Kirby. Chairman Steve inducted and welcomed Richard to Scarborough 41 Club as a member.

The management and staff of the Golden Grid were thanked for a great evening.

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January’s 41 Club meeting took place at the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat. Any 41 Clubber who chose to give the meeting a miss must now be rattled!

The Chinese meeting was arranged as a joint get-together with our better halves. We also had a very good turn out of Scarborough 88 Round Tablers along with their partners.

We were treated to a real banquet. This included the traditional prawn crackers, secondly a medley of deep fried treats, followed by crispy duck with pancakes, and the main of five dishes which were excellent and tasty. After which yours truly (and I assume most present} were fairly much stuffed.

The current chair of Round Table, Steve Molyneaux, gave those present an update on the forthcoming Aalten twinning visit and invited 41 Club to take part. The involvement of 41 Club members is particularly invited as many current members of Scarborough Round Table have not experienced the chance of meeting and mingling with overseas tablers.

Stu Newshound

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December’s 41 Club meeting took the form of a superb Turkish Christmas meal (Turkey strangely absent – Ed).

Club members arrived at the family-run Turkish Columbus Ravine restaurant “Az” which is an excellent fit for the club as given that our numbers allowed us to have it solely to ourselves.

The starter was an appetizing mixed cold Meze of Turkish dishes accompanied by pitta bread. The starter all in all was excellent and almost a meal in itself.

The main course for most was Inick, a traditional Turkish dish being a delicious knuckle of lamb accompanied by vegetables; options were available for non-lamb fans.

The evening was well attended by members and guests included Richard Kirby (former 88 Tabler) and John Price. It was good to see Rick Lumby looking well restored to good health.

Due to the absence of the Chairman (who had a better offer for the evening), the meeting was ably chaired by Vice Chairman David Ascough.

Stuart Newshound

November’s 41 Club meeting took the form of a superb Curry night.

Early birds met at the Scarborough Flyer for a few drinks then we all met at the Eastern Paradise Restaurant, where the usual poppadums with side dishes was the predictable but tasty first course.

Next we had mixed starters including samosas which were spicy but snappy.

Finally the main course, whither a constant supply of great dishes to suit all tastes.

The evening was well attended by members and guests, too, including Richard Kirby, former 88 Tabler, John Price, and a sprinkling of current 88 Tablers which were great to see and most welcome.

Stewbie Newshound

We all had enjoyed a great night at the Bryherstones hosted by Paul and Sally Shipley.

There was a good turnout of members all looking forward to fine food followed by a presentation from Nigel Sheppard, which included the impact of the Beeching Report on the train timetables in the local area. As most of us are aware, Nigel is passionate about his trains.

The meeting started early with food being served from 6.30pm, including a starter and followed by game pie with lashings of gravy and vegetables. Tom had requested that Sally made us all game pie and it was very well received. Wine was also provided on each table, so as you can imagine, we all left in a very happy state.

The presentation from Nigel provided a great insight into the problems envisaged by the local community if the trains were to cease running. The local community sent appeals to the report’s author which were not very persuasive and had little if any impact. What would have happened in those days if today’s Extinction Rebellion protestors had been operating?

The railways were however being run with significant losses and something had to be done. Following the report, the reshaping of the railways left deep scars, with towns and villages isolated and London all important.

The history of the past 50 years shows that some commentators regard Beeching as a colossal mistake with passenger numbers at the highest level ever. Beeching contributed to the UK’s geographical divide between thriving big cities and struggling smaller towns.

Without Beeching there might not have been a vote from Brexit!

Many thanks again to Tom Cathcart for organising the evening.

Stephen Slade
Scarborough 41 Club Chairman

ps Our esteemed cameraman has told us that he may have accidently deleted the shots he took on the evening. It wasn’t on porpoise.

He has sent us some substitutes for the report, seal or return.

What a great time we all had at the Olympia Bowling Centre on the sea front in Scarborough.

We met at 6.30 pm and soon checked in and changed our footwear ready for the bowling challenge.

The customary pint was needed to calm our nerves before we began the game.

The game started slowly with quite low scoring but then some of the team found the skills obtained from their earlier years. Strikes and Spares came naturally to some.

There were several funny moments, one to remember is Mike Shingler lining up on the bowling alley with a ball to hand ready to roll it down the aisle, but then somehow bowling the ball backwards towards the rest of the team sat having a pint! This happened twice but we were on our guard the second time.

Simon Ward won the game with a terrific score of 176, which was some way ahead of anyone else.

After the challenge had ended, we walked down to the Ask restaurant to enjoy a meal and a glass or two of wine.

Many thanks to Darren Kellett for organising the evening and we look forward to the next event.

Stephen Slade
Scarborough 41 Club Chairman

We were honoured to have the National President, Andrew Mackereth, and our National Area Councillor, Wyn Parry, at our September meeting, both being hosted at my house.

Several members met at the Merchant pub on Eastborough from 6.30pm and we then moved on at about 7.30pm to the Tapas Bar on Blands Cliff.

The owners, Steve and Elaine, made us all feel very welcome and provided a wonderful evening of food and wine. I would highly recommend the venue so, if you were not with us last night, then give it a try.

Grateful thanks to Tom Cathcart and John White for planning and organising the night. I understand they had been to the restaurant three times before to make sure all would be well on the night.

Wyn Parry explained his role as a National Councillor and that with 45 clubs in his area, he intends to visit each at least once in a year. Sounds like he will be a busy chap.

Andrew spoke about his role and gave us some information on the links with Round Table and the other sister organisations.

After leaving the Tapas Bar several members then returned to the Merchant pub for a night cap or two.

What a wonderful night we all had.

See you all in October.

Stephen Slade
Chairman