The Committee join me in wishing all our members a Very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year and we hope to see you on one of our trips during 2010.

Barbara Clark
Chairman

Update

We have experienced a number of technical difficulties which make it impractical for us to continue sending out e-mails to our members advising them when the Newsletter is available on the website.
Instead we shall now put the anticipated date of availability of the next Newsletter on to the website Events page on the first Tuesday of each month.
As we now allocate places on trips on a random basis rather than "first come first served" this change will have no impact on your chances of securing a place on popular events.
With seasonal greetings
Barbara Clark
Chairman

The Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Club will be held at the Langstone Hotel starting at 2:00pm on Thursday 4th March 2010.
The agenda will include the Chairman’s Report, The Treasurer’s Report (including the acceptance of the accounts for 2009), time for any questions that members may wish to raise, and will conclude with any other business.
Would any members wishing to raise questions at the AGM please advise the Secretary at least one week prior to the meeting.
Following the meeting there will be a short interval for refreshments before the afternoon closes with a presentation from David Newman, the IBM Pensions Manager. No doubt you'll be anxious to hear an update from him on what has happened since his last visit o our AGM in 2005. No doubt he will once again be happy to take questions from attendees.

Forthcoming Trips

Newcastle (5 nights away)
Following the success of the trip to Harrogate in 2009 we have decided to run a similar trip from the 1st to 6th June 2010. This time it will be centred in Northumberland staying in a four star hotel close to Newcastle:

1 Jun: Leave NHBR at 9am and travel to Newcastle via Cherwell Valley, Chesterfield, and Richmond Yorkshire.

2 Jun: Visit Durham in the morning and spend the afternoon at the Beamish Open Air Museum.

3 Jun: Coastal tour visiting Seahouses, Lindisfarne, and Berwick on Tweed returning to hotel via Coldstream.

4 Jun: Craigside House and Gardens in the morning and Alnwick Castle in the afternoon.

5 Jun: Tour of the local area with a Blue Badge Guide.

6 Jun: Return home via Milletts Farm at Abingdon.

The cost of this trip will be £290 per person sharing a twin / double room and there will be a single person supplement of £80. This will include half board for five nights (with a plated dinner that will offer a choice of three starters, main courses, and desserts), transport, and entry fees for visits.

Booking:
If you wish to go on this break we shall require a non refundable deposit of £50 per person to be sent in with your booking form. The balance will be payable no later than Monday 10th May.
Participants are strongly advised to take out travel insurance as cancellations after the final payment has been made will not qualify for any refund.

Houses of Parliament:

This is the first opportunity this year to visit the Houses of Parliament. This is a unique opportunity to take a guided tour of both Houses of Parliament and see how government works. You will have a guided tour of both houses and afterwards will have some free time to explore for yourselves. Then after buying lunch, (prices reasonable in the restaurant), see the parade of the speaker before the session in the House of Commons. As there are restrictions on numbers we are only able to take one coach, however this trip has proved extremely popular in the past and in the event that there are a large number of applications that we cannot satisfy we shall endeavour to put on a second visit later in the year.

The Ideal Home Exhibition:

After a break of a number of years, we are returning to and old favourite - the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court.
The format of the show has been revamped to explore the world of home interiors and style with a fresh, new inspiring and entertaining show format, This combines eight shows in one, offering; Ideal Interiors, Ideal Home Improvements, Ideal Food, Ideal Gardens, Ideal Home Gadgets, Ideal Shopping, Ideal Woman, and Ideal Village, as well as expert advice on everything from DIY and design to fine dining, gadgets and beauty. Something to appeal to everyone!

Hairspray

The West End’s favourite musical comedy, Hairspray, is coming to Southampton this spring!
Starring Michael Ball as you’ve never seen him before and Les Dennis as the loveable Wilbur Turnblad, Hairspray tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart as she sets out to follow her extraordinary dreams, inspire her mum and win the boy she loves.
Hairspray is the musical with everything – the ultimate feel-good show which has played to sold out houses in London, on Broadway and theatres around the globe.


Travelling through Heathrow?

We understand that retirees travelling through may leave their cars in the secure IBM car park at Bedfont Lakes. For details please contact Bedfont Main Reception. More details can be found on the General Info Page

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