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We have pictures of the outings and social events from July 2006 onwards, and a few earlier ones from other people of other events. Obviously most houses we visit don't allow interior photography The most recent ones are shown first. Click on the name button to go to the gallery; most will take you to a page of thumbnails. Click on any thumbnail to see a bigger picture. Previous years - I've made contact with former member Tommy Thomas. Now living in Australia, he has some great pictures from outings in previous years on his personal website. Go to the 'Links' page for more information and to connect to his site. |
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October 2013 saw our first holiday for many years. It was a trip to
Dunster in Somerset, where we were able to take over the whole of a
small hotel. |
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Just a handful of pictures from our trip on Monday 5 August when we
went to two lovely small houses - Wolfeton House, just outside
Dorchester, and Sanford Orcas Manor House near Sherborne. We were
shown round the latter by the owner, Sir Melvyn Medlycott |
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We visited this lovely house on Wednesday 24 July. |
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Better weather this year and we were able to eat outside once again
on Friday 5 July.
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A lovely day on Thursday 6 June 2013 for our visit to King John's House in
Romsey and the nearby Mottisfont Abbey. We originally planned to go
to Hamptworth Lodge, but switched to King John's House because of
confusion over the entry price that we'd been quoted. |
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A very wet day on Tuesday 14 May 2013 for our visit to Avebury Manor. Not
many braved the weather to visit the famous standing stones. Mixed
reactions to the house following its recent makeover as featured on
the BBC. |
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A successful evening on Friday 8 March 2013, when we
had another Beetle Drive at Corfe Castle Tearooms. As usual there
seemed to be a certain amount of skulduggery involved. |
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We went to Winchester on Wednesday 12 December 2012. The main attractions
were a guided tour of the cathedral and the Christmas Market in the
Cathedral grounds. I didn't take any pictures of the market as it
was crowded. |
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On Friday 21 September 2012 we had a lunch at
Harman's Cross Village Hall to mark the 25th year of our existence.
Not too many pictures, as we spent our time enjoying ourselves as
you will be able to see. A big 'Thank You' to the Committee members
and others who worked so hard. |
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We were lucky on 6 August 2012 when we went to Cothay Manor for a
private visit. It was raining heavily when we arrived, but when we
went into the gardens in the afternoon it stopped. |
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There had been showers all morning so we eventually
decided to eat indoors, even though it wasn't raining. Once again we
were full booked, and once again Knoll Beach Cafe chef Jim provided
some great food. |
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Cecily and Rowland Carpenter were kind enough to host
a coffee morning on 22nd May 2012. We were worried about the rain, but in
fact we all ended up sitting in the garden in the sunshine. |
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In the middle of a spell of awful weather we managed to pick a dry
day on 15th May 2012 for our visit to A La Ronde - a unique 16-sided
house in Devon. Thanks to the various PANT members who supplied
these photos. |
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Another enjoyable meal at the Dorset Golf & Country Club on 2nd
December 2011. |
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Just the one photo from Our Greek meal in October 2011 |
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 We
had astonishingly good weather on Wednesday 28th September 2011 when
we welcomed a large group of new members to a coffee morning at The
Discovery Centre. It was so hot that people were moving their chairs
into the shade. |
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On Friday 1 July 2011 we had our annual barbecue.
This has become deservedly popular, and we were fully booked. We
have to limit numbers in case it rains, in which case we all have to
squeeze into the Discovery Centre. This year the sun shone, and we
had a great time. |
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On 20th April 2011 we said goodbye to Mandy Jarvis. Mandy had been
the Community Learning & Volunteer Manager and we had enjoyed a
great working relationship with her. We'll miss her enormously. We
met at The Greyhound in Corfe Castle for a farewell drink and
presentations. |
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We went back to Poole Greyhound Stadium on 25 January
2011. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and one of our number
won on almost every race. |
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We struggled through the snow to Dorset Golf & Country Club on
December 3rd 2010. |
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Our trip to Sissinghurst on 16 July 2010. Photos courtesy of member
Bob Burt. |
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On Tuesday 13 July 2010 we had our third annual barbecue. This is
getting really popular, despite the fact that it rained for the
first time in several weeks. It wasn't much, and it didn't stop us
enjoying ourselves |
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On Friday 22nd January 2010 we 'Went To The Dogs' at Poole Stadium. A
first time experience for many of us, and a thoroughly enjoyable
evening |
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We returned to Dorset Golf & Country Club on 4th
December 2009. We were all very well behaved, although the pictures
make it look as though we spent all our time drinking. |
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Our annual Fish & Chips Lunchtime Quiz on 12th November 2009 |
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8th October 2009 saw our visit to Concorde at Filton, near Bristol.
Just a few pictures. |
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On 28th September 2009 we went to Arundells in
Salisbury, the former home of Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath. A
welcome return for Outings Secretary Anne Boneté who had been
unwell. |
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On Friday 18th September 2009 a lucky few of us went on a tour of
The Purbeck Vineyard in Harmans Cross (tour numbers are limited).
Sophie, a lovely Swedish lady, showed us the vines and explained all
about the process of growing and harvesting. We then went into their
small winery where she took us through the process of making and
bottling the wine. Inside she showed us how to assess wine by look,
smell and taste. After a number of tastings we finished with an
excellent ploughman's lunch in the restaurant. |
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We had another barbecue on 16 July 2009. The rain started spot on
time at 5pm. Fortunately we all managed to squeeze indoors in the
Study Centre, except for one hardy group who ate outdoors under the
awning. |
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Jay Burke stood in for Anne Boneté in running our
outing to Parham House in Sussex on June 25 2009. He also provided
these photos. |
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We had a Regency Meal at Corfe Castle Tea Rooms on
Thursday 18 June 2009. Once again the catering staff did a wonderful
job. They were so enthusiastic about what they'd done that they took
their own pictures of us and the food! |
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Some pictures from our visit to Hampton Court on 28
April 2009 |
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We had an Italian meal on 19 February 2009 |
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On 5 December 2008 we ended the year with our Christmas Lunch. |
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On 18 November we had another successful Cheese & Wine evening in
Wareham. |
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This was our visit to Cadhay on 8 August 2008. For a change this is a slideshow that
you can stop and start, rather than a series of individual pictures. |
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We weren't so lucky with with weather this year. It
was much colder than last year but at least the rain that had that
poured through the morning stopped. We still had a very enjoyable
afternoon. These are just some random pictures - we split into two
groups, so most of the pictures are of the group that Anne & I were
in. Note: We didn't realise that boules is so dangerous - see the
very last picture |
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On 24 July 2008 we went on another cruise on the Kennet & Avon
canal. The difference this time was that the barge was horse-drawn.
Thanks to member Angela Matthews for the pictures |
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We were really lucky and had great weather for our barbeque at the
Study Centre on 15 July 2008. Many thanks to the trust's catering staff, especially
chef Ken. Apologies to those who I caught mid-mouthful when I took
the pictures. |
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On 19 June 2008 we had an Elizabethan Dinner at the Trust's Tea Rooms at
Corfe Castle. A terrific evening, thoroughly enjoyed by all who
went. If you look at the pictures you'll see that some of the guests
faded a little towards the end of the evening. |
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Pictures from the lovely gardens at Mottisfont Abbey, which we saw
on 17 June 2008, when the old fashioned roses were at their best. |
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 Our first try at using Studland Study Centre for talks and
demonstrations on 11 June 2008. Good weather for an evening event.
We also have some photos from the second session on Saturday 5 July. |
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Some shots from the outing to Ightham Mote on 29 May
2008 |
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Some pictures of our trip to Stourhead for the Festival of the Voice
on 10 May 2008. A glorious sunny day. |
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On 6 May we restarted 10 pin bowling |
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On 1 May 2008 we had another afternoon tea for members who'd joined
recently. Once again we were lucky with the weather. |
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 A few pictures of our visit to
Slimbridge on 28 November 2007. The wet weather may have been great
for the birds, but it wasn't so good for photography. |
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On 31 October 2007 we went to Winkworth Arboretum to see the
beautiful colours of the autumn foliage. These photos are courtesy
of member Shirley Summerlin. |
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 On 13 August 2007 a group of 22
of us had an afternoon of boules and putting at Dorset Golf and
Country Club. Great fun was had by all, and it was followed by an
excellent afternoon tea. The photos don't need captions. |
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On 19July 2007 we took a group of members to Hever Castle in Kent. |
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On 12 July we ran a trailer ride to Seacombe Bottom, hoping for
better weather than we had when we did a similar trip two years ago.
It was slightly better, but this time the trailer suffered a
puncture. We had a wonderful view of the Exmoor ponies. The have
been brought in by the Trust, as they are the only animals that will
eat some of the weeds, including thistles, that have invaded the
valley. |
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On 10 July 2007 we had one of our regular teas for new members. We
used the opportunity to make a presentation to long-time member
Douglass Austin |
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On 20 June 2007 we took a group of members to Hidcote Manor Gardens |
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David retired from his job at the National Trust in March 2007 |
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In what's becoming an annual fixture a group of members travelled to
Sherborne on 13 December. There was time for shopping or
sightseeing, then lunch, before going to a Carol Service at the
Abbey (organised by the WI). Only one picture inside the Abbey, for
obvious reasons, but a couple of group photos on the steps outside.
The rest are people having morning coffee. |
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In 2006 we thought we'd return to the
Dorset Golf and Country Club, who treated us so well last year.
As well as the lunch we had local writer and entertainer Jon
Barclay, who talked about his life as a stand-up poet and performed
some of his poems. We had a terrific time (well our table certainly
did). Here are a few photos. The venue's not really conducive to
good photography, as three sides of the room are virtually all
window, and it was a fine bright day! |
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 On 15 August 2006 we took a group to
Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury in Wiltshire. As well as being
delightful in themselves, the gardens also house some interesting
sculptures and statues. |
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"I didn't go there, I wasn't clever enough", he said. Too modest - he became an eminent surgeon and inventor and was, for three years, Honorary Physician to the Queen. |
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May 2005 we ran a trailer ride starting from Keates Quarry in the
area between Worth Matravers and Langton Matravers. We learnt from
Kevin Keates, the quarry owner, about the quarrying in the area. We then
saw the wildflower meadows above the cliffs, the Exmoor ponies,
cattle and sheep, and we learnt about the craftsmen who have
quarried and used the stone locally. We ended up admiring the views
from the cliffs at the bottom of Seacombe Valley. I didn't take many
photos on the trip because, despite appearances, it was cold and
windy, and I hadn't dressed for the weather. |
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