November 2009

What a difference a month makes when writing this column. The weather certainly changed for a few days at the end of September from the hot spell to the very heavy downfalls of rain and hail. We seem to have been quite lucky in this area compared to many areas north of Mazarrón. The weather now at time of writing this is very hot and like summer temperatures again, although we are sure there are many people still cleaning up from the mess that the rain made.

We were very lucky with our dance which took place on Tuesday 29 September as the four artists that were entertaining us on that night all came from the Torrevieja and Alicante areas. The rain had been really bad up there, but we were very grateful that they made the journey down despite the bad weather conditions. The rain poured down on Tuesday during the day, but thankfully stopped early evening for 210 people to make their way to the dance at Mariano’s Restaurant. We introduced a lovely young lady called Faith Reeves who has only recently come over to Spain and is proving a great favourite all over the Costa Blanca. Faith covers songs from all the eras and has such a great personality, we are sure she will continue to be very popular. Ricky Powell made a return visit to us and proved he is still very popular with everyone. Ricky has a great sense of humour and his jokes and Elvis Tribute certainly went down well. Kay C and Emma B had a night off from the Benidorm circuit and along with costume changes covered tributes to Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Abba, plus great dance music with the dance floor still packed at 12.30am. It was really nice to see quite a lot of new faces who were coming to their first Welcome Dance and from the comments received afterwards we are sure we will see them back again.
Sadly, because of the weather conditions we had to finish the book/jigsaw swap early on 22 September, although after packing up all the books, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine. The sun did shine for the one held on 6 October and it was packed as usual.
Book/Jigsaw Swap - 3 and 17 November 10.00-12 noon. For further information on this popular morning please contact Jo (630 351 509) or Rosemary (620 105 179).

The end of the month Fun Petanca, which was due to take place on Wednesday 30 September, also had to be cancelled because of the previous heavy rainfall, but took place instead in brilliant sunshine on 7 October with a great turnout.
Fun Petanca takes place at 1pm on the last Wednesday of each month, or if the weather is bad it is cancelled until the following Wednesday. For further information on this or membership, please contact Les on 968 131 880.

We certainly had a very busy meeting on 3 October, with a packed room and so many tickets going on sale. The details for the Madrid Trip, which is taking place from 10 to 13 May 2010, was given out and tickets then went on sale, with two coaches being filled up straight away. A great price of 210€, which includes transport, bed & breakfast in a lovely hotel in the centre of Madrid, plus the day excursion to Toledo. A waiting list has already started, but as we say, it is always worth putting your name on this because of various circumstances where things do change with people. At time of going to press (15/10) tickets are available.
Race Night on Wednesday 11 November with all proceeds on the night being donated to MABS (tickets 2€ entrance but must be purchased in advance).
Cabaret Night 16 November, where we will be introducing two new artists Rikki Stevens (brilliant comedian), Glenroy Oakley (great soul/Motown singer) and bringing back the popular singer Maria O’Hara.

Ladies’ Day on Wednesday 9 December, which includes a trip to the market, shopping and a special show at the Rich Bitch in the afternoon. We have two coaches going up to Benidorm on this day and tickets are all sold for the Rich Bitch Show, but there are a few left for shopping only (13€). The men are also going on the laser shooting & archery competition half day and some tickets left for that (10€) with the option of a packed lunch at 5€ extra or you can bring your own.

Our Christmas Party Night tickets (14/12) and New Year’s Eve tickets are now on sale, but only a few left for both events. No places left on the coach for New Year’s Eve, but always worth putting your name down for a cancellation.

At the meeting we put to everyone who attended about continuing to sponsor the MABS (Cancer Support Group) Helpline. We have paid this for the last 13 months, which has totalled 835.47€. We feel this is such a worthwhile life-line for many people and were delighted that everyone agreed for us to continue to support MABS along with covering the cost of the yearly car insurance.

We were so lucky weather-wise with our 3 day trip to Benidorm from 12 to 14 October, with the sun shining from start to finish and just like August temperatures. Benidorm, as always, was busy with holidaymakers and locals enjoying not only the beautiful beach, but the very cheap prices and a variety of great entertainment in the cabaret bars. For our half-day excursion, the group visited the Turron Museum near Jijona which was founded in 1880 and where all the delicious Turron chocolate and nougat is made. After viewing a short film on the history of the museum and a tour of the factory a visit was then made to the shop where there was a chance to sample and buy some of the lovely products. Everyone received a 5€ refund from Welcome, which was used in many cases towards purchasing some of the many varieties they had on display. After leaving the factory, the coach took the group to the playa/marina at Alicante where there was an opportunity for a gentle stroll taking in the beautiful scenery before heading back to Benidorm. Many of the group visited the Benidorm Palace in the evening, which is always excellent value for money. After spending the third day in Benidorm we made our way home to Mazarrón, but not before stopping at Nueva Condominium in Murcia for a short while for refreshments/shops, much to the delight of the men!! Bucks Fizz & cakes were enjoyed in brilliant sunshine at the Marina Services on the outward journey and congratulations to the winners of the quiz, raffle and bingo, which was all included in the price. Thanks go to everyone who came along and made it once again a very enjoyable trip.
Our next meeting is Saturday 7 November at 2 p.m. Mariano’s Restaurant, Camposol where we will give out our Entertainment Programme for the first part of 2010. Everyone is welcome to come along, (no membership).

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 but just quality and value for money.