July 2009

We have certainly been busy since our last write up in May. The yearly Petanca Competition took place on 20 May and was for members only. It was a very warm afternoon, but the slight breeze stopped it from feeling too uncomfortable. The overall winners on the day and retaining the shield for the second year were John & Diane. The runners up and playing in their first competition were Brian & Chris who won the plaque which was originally kindly donated by ASSSA. Some beautiful hampers full of goodies were also given out in prizes and even the losers didn’t go away empty handed. A light supper of bacon, egg and chips went down very well before the final took place and well done to Les for organising the afternoon.

Our next event was the 1 June Dance which took place at Mariano’s Restaurant, Camposol. First class entertainment on the night was supplied by Maria O’Hara who was entertaining us for the first time as a solo act. Maria sang songs from the musicals before she had the dance floor packed with her medley of 60’s and songs up to the present day. We then saw Lucinda with her Shania Twain tribute, costume changes by both singers, plus great dance music. The male singer on the evening was Nick Gold who was making his second visit to us. We were very grateful to Nick for being able to provide the entertainment on this night at the last minute and also our Ladies’ Day. This was due to Eddie Wallace having to stay in the UK because of the death of a very close relative. Nick certainly didn’t disappoint anyone and received a standing ovation at the end, which was certainly well deserved.

On the afternoon of 3 June, 230 ladies enjoyed a beautiful sunny afternoon pool-side at Mariano’s Restaurant. Free bingo started the afternoon off, followed by a free raffle with plenty of lovely prizes being awarded for both. A superb cold buffet followed, kindly supplied by Gill & Chris’s Pantry with as always, plenty of delicious food. Once everyone had finished eating, the models came out and modelled clothes kindly supplied by Legs & Co. During the afternoon some lucky ladies had the opportunity of having a free manicure by Vivienne (Fuschia Beauty Clinic) and Jane (Jane’s Salon). There was a plentiful supply of free sangria, wine, water & orange juice to enjoy before Nick Gold had the ladies on their feet dancing to some great music. Our thanks must go to Mariano’s Restaurant for allowing us to use their facilities, Donna & staff for the fashion show, Nyreen who came along with plenty of beautiful jewellery etc, Viv & Jane, the beauticians. Well done to the lovely models who were all very professional and to the great work done by our ladies who manned the entrance gate and the bar. Thanks for all your kind words, emails and phone calls and we were only sorry that we were unable to accommodate all the remaining ladies that were on the waiting list.

Not to be outdone, 23 men went along to Sporting Chance for laser shooting and archery. The eventual winner of the laser shooting was Paul with Bill the runner up. The archery competition, which was being held for the first time, was won by Winston. Thanks to John & Pam for their kind hospitality and to Cornish Pride for the delicious packed lunches. Well done to the men that went along and participated.

Book Swap/Jigsaw Swap has now finished for the summer break but will resume again on Tuesday
8 September, 10–12 noon. For full information on this very popular morning, please contact Jo on 630 351 509 or Rosemary on 620 105 179.

The monthly Fun Petanca takes place on the last Wednesday of the month at 4pm (July & August). As the last Wednesday of June is when the Summer Ball is taking place, it will be moved to 1st July so this will mean there will be two in July.

There are a few tickets left (at time of going to press 15/06) for 20 July Dance (The Beagles &
Emma B) at a cost of 8€ (food option 5€). The 4 September Dance has now sold out. Our next monthly meeting takes place on Saturday 4 July, 2pm Mariano’s Restaurant, Camposol, all welcome, no membership. Tickets will go on sale from this meeting for 29 September Cabaret/Dance night where we will see first class entertainment provided by Johnny Zellor, Kay C, Emma B & the outrageous Woody. Tickets are priced at 10€ with the option of a light supper for 5€ extra.

We will be having a short meeting on Saturday 1 August at 2 p.m. when the tickets go on sale for
27 October Cabaret/Dance seeing the very welcome return of the lovely Jimmy Cricket plus supporting act, Lucinda.

Don’t forget if you have attended a function the photos are loaded on the web site.

Details on events and ticket sales, please contact Rosemary 620 105 179/Maureen 618 254 143 or look us up under www.welcomegroupspain.com.

Remember there is no membership for Welcome;
just quality and value for money.