Written by Matt 'Bart' Smout      

Tenbury on tour is beginning to be a regularly used phrase at the moment... The members of Tenbury Round Table were invited to Stuart & Janes Bizley's 'Chucking Out Party' in Dereham last weekend. Both Stuart & Jane were and are very passionate about Round Table & Ladies Circle respectively and bowed out in a blaze of glory of their beloved organisations with a well planned and executed party.        Only 2 members of Tenbury Round Table and their wives could manage the weekend trip to Norfolk. Area 5 Executive and Tenbury Round Table Treasurer Andrew Breakwell and his wife Val accompanied one of Tenbury's newest members Mark Fish and his wife Jennifer on the long haul ahead.                                                                                                                                                                           The Tenbury foursome were running on 'Breakwell time' and so did not manage to leave Tenbury until gone midday instead of the scheduled time of 11.00am. Giving Andrew's Classic Range Rover a long overdue run out we set off for Dereham. Being a Friday the roads were busy and the journey took longer than anticipated and was made worse when we stopped on the A14 at a Little Chef only to be told that the chef had not turned up so only tea-cakes and toast were on the menu. A cup of tea and a chocolate bar later we headed off and managed to find another Little Chef just up the road. Olympic breakfasts for the lads and salads for the girls and we were back on the road. We have re-named the Little Chef to 'Little Che' as there was no 'f' in chef at the first one...                                                          The hosts for the weekend of the Tenbury Round Tablers were Michael & Jane Dunsire & family and in true Round Table spirit took a little over 30 secs to welcome us in and have alcoholic drinks in our hands (which went down a treat after our long journey). Time was against us as we only had under 25 mins to get the DJ's and posh frocks on but we made it to the bus just as it was pulling up which proved that women can get ready quickly and so there should be no excuses in the future girls! We had a quick rehearsal of a 'My Way' themed song that had been written for Stuart & Jane by Dereham Ladies Circle and before we knew it the we had pulled up and were welcomed into the hotel by Stuart & Jane themselves.                                                                                                                                             Twenty quids in the kitty and we were off and running........... The function room looked stunning all done out with balloons, flags, all sorts of party pieces and sat at the front of the room was the Taverham Band playing some background music as we ordered up the first drinks at the bar. The guests were arriving (163 in total) and it was not long before we were ready to eat. We all stood as Stuart's father Michael Bizley said Round Table grace and we then tucked in to a lovely roast beef dinner.                                                                           There was a lot of tom foolery going on at each table and was mostly instigated by the ever chirpy Jeremy Reeve with his roaming banana shaped balloon along with the dirtiest laugh in the world by Mrs Val Breakwell. Party poppers, balloons, bread rolls and and plenty of good humour and banter were being hurled around as everyone got into the swing of things.                                                                         Things did calm down a little bit as we started the thank you speeches given by Stuart & Jane which were then followed by replies given by Dereham Round Table Chairman Charles Norris and Dereham Ladies Circle Philippa Sewell in which they both thanked Stuart & Jane for all their hard work and efforts over the years.                                                                                                                                    Then came 20 mins of unexpected chair dancing, flag waving and rapturous singing to the likes of Dambusters and Land of Hope and Glory etc. played by the band. With everybody joining in it was a wonderful atmosphere that will no doubt stay in the memories of all that attended the evening. We had an extended rendition of the now classic Dereham Round Table 'Car Wash' interruption with Stuart & Jane joining in at the front throwing some unusual dance moves in with their mock car washing and cleaning actions. A hilarious Dads Army sketch featuring the Area 6 and the chucking out couple followed before the band slid away, the disco revved up and the dance floor was a-wash with happy party goers impressing the old folk with their modern moves.                                                                                     The evening drew to a close with the Dereham return bus arriving and a speedy run around thanking as many of the Dereham Round Tablers and their wives & partners as possible for their spirit & hospitality that was shown to us from the Tenbury contingent on table 12. With a short bus ride home and yet more drink at the Dunsire's until the early hours of the morning a splendid evening was had by all.        Forgive me for thinking that the weekend was over but we were treated to a patio brunch early Saturday afternoon and after picking up Stuart & Jane we headed off to the Norfolk Broads for an extremely pleasant picnic trip on Michael & Jane's boat.                                  We ate, drank and also popped in for a half-way point pub stop before braving the last 30 mins back to base in thunder storms and torrential rain. That said it was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon and was topped off when we got back to Dereham with the six of us eating out at the local Indian Restaurant before one or two more drinks back at the house and a slightly earlier retirement to bed than the previous night.                                                                                                                                                                    Sunday morning was soon upon us and the suitcase packing had began. Linda Jones came around for breakfast and we were kindly joined just after by Charles & Victoria (along with their children Oscar & Isabel) for a coffee and a chat before we headed off back home. The weekend was superb and on behalf of Andrew, myself, Val & Jennifer we would like to thank Stuart & Jane for the invite to their party, Dereham Round Table & Dereham Ladies Circle for their hospitality and a special thanks to Michael, Jane & Michelle for putting us up for the weekend (or should that be putting up with us)? We thank you and look forward to seeing you all soon and if not before, the time and place will be September 2008 for another weekend in Dereham.........

Written by Mark Fish

The tablers were treated to an evening with Matt (Bart) & Mike which had been planned, yet shrouded in secrecy for almost five months.  We were told to make our way to Morgan’s farm in Kyre, where everything would be revealed.                                                         Upon our arrival Bart & Mike presented each member with an insurance disclaimer, claiming that they would not be liable for any accidents that may occur that evening – very frightening!!!!!!                                                                                                                         Once signed Bart explained that we were going to have an evening of off-roading, with a difference.  There were no luxurious 4x4’s, but instead Ernie & Dilly, 2 clapped out old Land Rovers, probably older than Boss Hogg himself.  There was no air-conditioning, no electric windows, no comfortable seating and as for the vehicle suspension – non-existent!!!!!!!!!                                                                     The chaps all jumped into Dilly & Ernie and took it in turns to drive through the Farms woodland.  As each member took a turn to drive, the remainder of the members were very conveniently jammed into the back of the Land Rovers and thrown from side to side as the drivers ploughed through divots and over mounds.                                                                                                                         After an hours fun driving the old bangers around the woodland, Bart took the guys to the next stage – the assault course!!!!!  We were set the task of driving between thirteen sets of flags on the course.  We encountered uphill manoeuvres, downhill, across slopes and around tight bends.  In addition there were six strapping chaps in the back of the vehicles, holding a bucket of water, being shaken from side to side.                                                                                                                                                                                           With the nights now drawing in, we left a very battered Ernie & Dilly to go and sample the culinary skills of the younger Buddha brother at the Old School House in Burford, where we were treated to a barbequed steak sandwich and plenty of liquor.                                            I have been in Table now for three years and in that time I have enjoyed many great nights and hours of fun.  This night for me was the best Table night during those three years and summed up why I was so keen to become a table member.  I would like to personally thank Messrs Smout & Breakwell for the effort they put into arranging such a fun evening and will look forward to participating in this type of night again in the future. 

Written by Stuart Millichip

After a quick dash across several very wet counties to Birmingham we arrived to find that we where out numbering Cannock by a few. As we walked across the track at Walker Adams Off Road Karting it looked as if the rain had given up. How wrong we were.

We all got kitted out in wet weather gear including helmets and were then shown the karts. I think it was at this point some of the guys stopped listening as it resulted in one chap not knowing how to use the steering wheel as he kept crashing and another chap couldn’t find the throttle!

As the first group went out to battle, sorry I meant race, the clouds started to build up again. The track was already pretty wet and slippy but it was about to get worse. I was in the next group out and managed a blistering 1^st lap which stood as the fastest lap until the very last lap. I’m fairly sure that the first crash I saw was Boss Hogg (Andrew Breakwell) he went to check for rabbits we think. His version of the incident was different of course. He told us it was due to the great speed at which was travelling and the wrong tyres. I might have just made that last comment up but he did offer a similar excuse to be fair. Shortly afterwards the rain came down again, turning some of the corners into mud baths.

As the event went on Tenbury Round Table managed to hold their own (standard practice for most of us although Jonathan does have a man to do that job for him) and held all top ten places. This didn’t show in final result unfortunately. Tenbury Round Table guest and prospective member Adam (I’ve got an RAC racing licence) Jones was very consistent. He consistently crashed off and was the only person from the Tenbury Round Table outside of the top ten at the end of the night. He assured me that it was because he hadn’t got his own pit crew and that had unsettled him a bit. Another potential member (although he doesn't know it yet) made his Tenbury debut guest appearance and that was Paul Tallon, he finished in the top ten and enjoyed his first outing with the tablers.

The whole night was great fun and I hope we get to do it again soon. Maybe next time the weather will be kinder to us. You never know, next time we may have a different winner; it was Mike I think this time. What do I mean ‘I think’, he’s kept on about how he came 1^st and likes to come 1^st all week. He also took the fastest lap of the night. Maybe we could have his kart ‘fixed’ next time.

Our thanks go to Cannock round table for the invitation and look forward to meeting up with them again.                                               We all headed back to Bewdley for fish and chips and the vain hope of a pint to celebrate Andy Breakwells birthday. He doesn’t look too bad for 53. Any way enough of this drivel until next time goodbye.........

Written by Matt Smout