April 11th, 2012
Written by Clare
Before Jamie’s Italian had even opened in St Albans, the lovely Emma had decided that we must book a table for Ladies Circle at the first opportunity. There had been quite a buzz around the new Jamie’s opening in our home city and so when we managed to get a table booked, there was great excitement amongst us and most of the members quickly signed up to come. Finally the night was here and we all assembled in anticipation at the restaurant. Dressed to the nines and secretly wondering if the man himself would be popping in for a surprise visit, we were shown to our table and began admiring the decor and perusing the menu. As a large group we had been able to pre-order our menu choices, but there was still flexibility for some last minute changes.
As many of us ladies had been let out to play for the night, the bellini’s were ordered, the wine was chosen, and the conversation soon began to flow. It had been a while since our group had been so many and so we soon set about catching up on everyone’s news.
With our menu choices already made, we were able to chat away as our starters were prepared for us. Nothing was too much for our lovely waitress and the starter’s arrived in a timely manner, looking very impressive. We devoured them quickly and next it was onto the mains which again came out in a timely manner, full of colour and looking very appetising. Jamie’s Italian prides itself on providing simple, rustic, freshly made, locally sourced seasonal food and this restaurant definitely delivered their promise.
After starters and mains, most of us had left a little room for dessert and so we set about choosing our dessert from the delicious selection. Pudding arrived and were again devoured by all. The Cassata dessert looked very impressive as did the Chocolate Brownie which many went for.
All in all, we had a wonderful time at Jamie’s Italian and it was really lovely to catch up with everyone. My only comment would be that I would have loved to have been seated on round tables as a long table makes it hard to chat to everyone but even so, the food was delicious, the service was spectacular and a lovely time was had by all!
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January 28th, 2012
For our first meeting of 2012, St Albans Ladies Circle were treated to a visit from Vegetarian Chef Roselyne Masselin. Roselyne is the author of the BBC Vegetarian Cookery Book ‘Cuisine Imaginaire’ and creator of La Cuisine Imaginaire Cookery School based in St Albans. Roselyne runs lots of different courses including Vegetarian Dinner Party, Indian, Italian, Dairy Free and Seasonal Cookery and the popular ‘Me, My Knife and My Chopping Board’ which teaches chopping techniques whilst cooking delicious food at the same time.
The night was kindly hosted by Sarah and so wine and snacks in hand, we settled into her kitchen, eager to learn some tips from our Chef. Roselyne started by sharing some tips on eating a balanced healthy vegetarian diet which was really interesting. Meanwhile, she started preparing her first dish – a Cous Cous Bake consisting of a tomato base, couscous layer and a yoghurt and cheese topping.
Roselyne then moved on to make some delicious Vegetarian Burgers which were made from mushrooms and other veg.
It was really interesting to watch Roselyne making delicious vegetarian food. Both dishes tasted fantastic and would make great meals for feeding the family. I had a really lovely night and I am quite certain that everyone else did too.
Thanks to Sarah for hosting and Roselyne for coming and sharing an evening of Vegetarian Cookery with us.
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January 7th, 2012
Written by Clare
Well, what a way to end 2011! In early December we held our annual “Mulled Wine & Mince Pies” evening which was a great success. Then the week before Christmas, we were fortunate to be invited out with our partner organisation St Albans Round Table to take their Santa’s Sleigh around the Oakwood area of St Albans. This route has been going for many years and Ladies Circle has been collecting along the route for the past five years. Although the last couple of years we have been hampered by the snow, this year we were snow free and so we were able to almost get around the whole route.
We started off in Long Acres, donned our santa capes and hats, received our collecting tins and off we went, singing along to the Christmas carols as we literally ran from house to house. Yes, ran! Santa has to get round everyone very quickly and so the float actually sets a very brisk walking/jogging pace which you have to keep up with. The idea is that Santa travels along the whole route, sitting on his sleigh and waving to everyone whilst his “elves” go from house to house collecting money for the local community. We visited the houses in the local areas of Longacres and then headed over to the Oakwood estate to continue Santa’s travels. As we haven’t been able to get round all of the route during the last couple of years, there were a few perplexed faces peering out from behind their curtains, but luckily most of the locals were expecting us and were waiting coins or notes in hand to kindly donate to charities in the local area. Charity begins at home as they say and so it is particularly lovely that all money collected through the Santa’s float in the St Albans area goes directly back into the community and to charities making a difference in the lives of those living in the local area. Our own local charity changes each year, and so this year we were collecting money predominantly for our chosen charity ReachOut Plus, but a percentage of the monies from the Oakwood route was shared amongst other local charities also.
We continued on our route through Oakwood and over to Marshalswick and had almost finished the route when calamity arose. Our Sleigh (Milk Float) ran out of battery! – I bet that doesn’t happen to the real Santa!
Unable to get up the final hill, we had to push our float back on to a flat road. Imagine the sight – ten “elves” pushing Santa’s float up the hill so that Santa could come and be rescued by a knight in shining……red and go off back to his holding pen..errm Lapland.
So that brought a rather abrupt end to our altogether lovely evening. After we abandoned the sleigh, it was left to Santa’s elves to de-cloak, de-hat and go to the nearest pub to get warm, count our monies and have a much needed beverage.
I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the Santa’s float every Christmas since I joined circle and this year was no exception. It is so lovely to see the children’s faces peering out of the window or coming out in their pyjamas and dressing gowns to see Santa. There were some lovely stories from the houses that we visited along the route. A mother of children in their now late teens told me how they had waited up late every Christmas since they were very young children to see Santa come past their window and that it signalled the start of their Christmas. Another lady told me how she and her husband had used to do the Santa’s float many years ago. At one house, where there were three generations of the same family, the grandmother told me how her daughter had used to wait up for Santa, and now her grandchildren were doing the same. It truly was a lovely evening – definitely enough to warm your insides and fill you with a sense of Christmas spirit. Of all the fundraising events we do throughout the year, this is definitely my personal favourite!
Thanks to all Ladies Circle members and alumni who braved the cold to walk the route. Thanks to all residents who donated so generously on the Oakwood route and through the St Albans Santa’s Float season and thanks to the local pub for hosting us and being so accommodating. We are looking forward to our next Santa’s Float visit in 2012!
Now we are moving forward into 2012, a new year and a new series of events to look forward to. Our next event (a cookery demonstration) will be held on the 11th on January.
If you are female, aged 18 to 45, living in St Albans or the surrounding areas, and are looking to meet new people, attend fun events and indulge in some fundraising along the way, then please visit the St Albans Ladies Circle website for details.
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November 22nd, 2011
Written by Ruth
“What better a way to spend a dark winters evening in November than by eating cupcakes and drinking champagne at Dixies Cupcakery in St Albans! We had a lovely evening on 9th November catching up with friends and trying such delicous cupcake flavours as “Red Velvet” and “Cupcake 99″ (which was the ultimate chocolate feast as it looked like the classic ice cream cone - and even had a flake on!). This was all accompanied by some champagne, tea and coffee and a chance to look at some of the homeware on offer in the shop. It was great to see so many new faces and to catch up on all upcoming circle events and business.”
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November 6th, 2011
Written by Clare
On a rainy Wednesday night, a few of our members met in the Waterend Barn for a night of fun and creativity. Hosted by The lovely Helen Burridge, we were there to create our own Kitchenalia, and Helen was going to show us how.
Kitchenalia is apparently defined as ‘cooking equipment, and other items found in a kitchen’.
Arriving to find a tea towel with a potato on the table, I initially wondered what Helen had in store for us, but all was soon made clear as she demonstrated how we could use the potato to cut shapes using cookie cutters and then use the shapes to stamp a design onto the tea towel. Having realised what we were to do, everyone soon embraced their inner child, let their creativity loose and got going.
I began cutting hearts and stars and decided to include a Christmas Tree to give my tea towel a festive feel. I used the potato stampers to create a design, and then nervously decided to go freestyle with my paint brush and paint lettering onto my tea towel. Emma showcased her passion for hearts and created a wonderful heart design. Laurie explored the concept of Gingerbread children and their journey home and Monika initialed her tea towel. Louise and Angela used a variety of shapes to create their design.
It was lovely to spend time chatting and sharing company with everyone as we created our masterpieces. It was also great to be able to do something crafty away from the kids and not have to worry about little hands spilling stuff, ransacking paint, and using paintbrushes on themselves rather than the canvas.
Thanks to Helen for visiting and sharing your talents with us. We hope you come back soon. Here we all are displaying the fruits of our labour….
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November 6th, 2011
Written by Angela
One of the things I love about St Albans Circle is the wide variety of events that our wonderful social secretary arranges. It was years since I’d last been ten pin bowling, and despite having a horrible feeling I’d be in serious danger of a score in single figures, I was really looking forward to the evening. Having joined Circle a year ago, the Wednesday nights have become an absolute priority in my diary and I really look forward to seeing everyone for a catch up.
We’d arranged to meet at the bowling alley with time for a drink beforehand (I took the risk that a glass of wine might help, rather than hinder, my play…) and it was good to have a bit of time to catch up on everyone’s news. We then headed over to the lanes, where we had 2 lanes next to each other. Unfortunately for me, no one seemed to be suggesting we ask for the kiddie-bars to be put, it was all going to be down to talent and the luck of the night…
As we started play, things started to look up….No, I wasn’t any better at knocking the skittles down than I thought I’d be…. but I realised that neither was any one else 
If the girls will forgive me for saying it, I think it’s fair to say that St Albans Circle won’t be appearing in a local bowling league any time soon, but what everyone really does excel in is enjoying ourselves along the way – we were all so busy chatting away and enjoying the drinks and the food, that the scoring really didn’t matter.
In my year in Circle, I’ve enjoyed every minute – doing things I might not normally do with my evenings, and also making some really good friends. And that beats a bowling score of 43 any day of the week.
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October 18th, 2011
According to the National Ladies Circle Website, there is a perception that Ladies Circle is all about Jam and Jerusalem. Well here in St Albans Ladies Circle, we are less about Jam and Jerusalem and more about Mojito’s and Martinis, so when we were offered a fantastic deal by Mokoko in St Albans to have a private cocktail making class, many of our members jumped at the chance of a night out, Sex and the City style.
Our masterclass was held on the patio, where a Mokoko staff member well versed in cocktail making took us through the ropes. First up was the mojito. We watched a demonstration and then each had a go at free pouring to perfect our technique before being let loose with the alcohol. After some practice, we got down to business and each made our own Mojito. Apparently the key to a great mojito is having equal amounts of all the ingredients. You can also change the taste depending on if you prefer sour or sweet by the amount of sugar water added.
Next followed another cocktail, which we all took turns and had lots of fun making, and this was finished off by a round of delicious porn star martinis and tapas, divine. Everyone had a great night and I think a trip back to Mokoko for more cocktails is definitely a must.
Written by Clare
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August 30th, 2011
Written by Sharon
On Wednesday 10th August 2011, we ladies of St Albans Circle ventured out on our monthly social and this time we were headed for the new Garrarufa Fish Spa that has opened on Holywell Hill in St Albans.
Garrarufa fish pedicures are the latest craze to hit the UK and apparently, these little fish are naturally found in the hot spring pools in Turkey where they have been used therapeutically for decades to help sufferers of psoriasis and eczema. The little nibblers also stimulate acupuncture points on the feet which help to balance the nervous system and aid relaxation.
Our social officer, Emma Penn, had organised private use of the spa for our enjoyment and for those of us who were a little uncertain about what to expect (myself included), we were relaxed with a welcoming glass of wine and nibbles. After completing the necessary paperwork to ensure that we weren’t harbouring any contagious diseases, we took our places on the seats in front of the fish tanks and waited for the lids to be removed – which was a little like waiting to walk the plank!
Eventually, we all agreed to place our feet in the individual tanks at the same time so after a “3, 2, 1” that’s what we did – and then I quickly pulled mine out again in fear nearly taking the fish with me!It was the mostbizarre feeling which took me quite some time to get used to and I don’t know what was wrong with my left foot, but the little critters only wanted to munch on my right foot. After 5 minutes or so, I relaxed into the treatment and tried to stop looking down as it freaked me out so much. The funniest part had to be the passers by stopping to peer through the window at what we were doing – the irony of suddenly feeling like we were in a fish bowl. The piece de resistance had to be the police patrol car that had stopped in traffic right outside the window whereupon the female officer in the passenger seat wound down the window and shoved her size 9s out and pointed frantically at her feet saying “I need mine doing too”!!
The 15 minute treatment soon whizzed by and it was time to leave the fish to digest their evening meal as our feet were dried off and we compared results. Did they feel any softer?? It’s hard to say as my own weekly pedicures keep hard skin at bay but I’m glad I tried it just to see what all the fuss was about. Would I do it again??? Probably not. As many people have said before me, it’s like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it and I think I’m in the latter camp.
We rounded the evening off with a good old girly chat and giggle across the road at The Peahen. Another fabulous night and thank you to Emma for organising.
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August 17th, 2011
A few weeks ago on the 27th of July, St Albans Ladies Circle held our annual Pimms and Puds evening. Held as a social event, a good show of people came to Sharon’s house to celebrate summer by drinking some yummy pimms and sampling some even more delicious desserts lovingly made by some of our members. Our time was spent socialising and getting to know each other a little bit better
Over the course of the evening, we ended up hearing some very frank accounts of life. Nowhere else could you find out about the indulgent habits of ladies at a local gym, the ins and outs of laser hair removal and first hand scientific research conducted by one of our members into Canadian men and body hair!! I for one am certainly a lot more clued up now than I was before!! Sharon also showed us her famous two strawberries in the mouth trick – very nice Sharon!!
After many jugs of Pimms had been consumed, some special guests arrived to celebrate with us as Sharon recreated the fabulous Royal Wedding party she held in April. Much hilarity ensued as everyone tried the masks on. The masks are scarily convincing – especially Monika as William and Emma as Kate – uncanny!!
A fantastic night was had by all and it was lovely to spend time together around the table
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April 19th, 2011
OK, I hear what you’re saying, we’re Superwomen all of the time aren’t we, juggling work, home, kids, fundraising, fun and friendship?? Yes, of course we are. But this wasn’t your average Superwoman job, we were actually going to take the challenge asked of us by our great nation: “Your Country Needs You”
Yes, our Country is in need of physically strong, yet warm hearted women to help rid our streets of nasties whom want to induce fear on unsuspecting victims. Well, this wasn’t just the stuff of movies, we had the opportunity to empower ourselves to great heights and fulfil all our childhood dreams of donning a tight leotard and becoming real Superwomen (well for 90 minutes actually but who’s counting!)
St Albans Ladies Circle teamed up with local Hertfordshire Company, Street Defence UK, which was established 3 years ago by Colin Lee Berry who has over 15 years experience in martial arts and self-defence. Street Defence is the latest and most effective reality based self defence system which continually evolves to counter any new threats that could arise on the streets of today. The system is open to everyone, whether you have had martial arts training before or not.
Colin took us through our paces showing us techniques to aid in choke escapes, hand gun disarming, knife defence, punch defence, dealing with surprise attacks and headlock escapes. We covered a lot of ground in 90 minutes and even though we had a giggle trying them all out, the reality is that we learned some extremely viagra techniques to make us all feel that little bit safer when we’re out and about.
In the answer to the question “What did you do last night?” – We became Superheroes what about you!!!
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November 21st, 2010
I’ve had a Wii machine for nearly a year – a thoughtful Christmas present from my husband – and I figured that I really must put it to more use (feeling a bit guilty actually as when I now turn on the Wii fit the electronic voice says “hello it’s been 340 days since your last visit”). Well what better way than to set up a dance competition with my friends.
Despite a very wet and cold autumnal evening, 7 of us managed to get into the spirit of fun by huddling round the TV set in my kitchen to prepare to release our inner Anne Widdecombe. Obviously we did also give ourselves some additional energy by consuming the remnants of the trick or treat bucket from Halloween!
Anyway, our eagerness could not be contained and after a quick rejection of the warm up exercises provided on the disc (please do not do this at home kids) we set about choosing our tracks. The aim of the game is to choose a favourite track from the 45 songs on offer and to dance in rhythm, as closely as possible, to the on-screen coach. The flow of your body movements is sensed by the Wii remote and you are scored accordingly and the amount of energy you put in is also detected so that ruled out sitting in my chair and waving my hands about!
As the organizer, I felt it only right to be the first up and so I chose “Wham – Wake me up before you go go”. I practiced being Pepsi and Shirley many times in the mirror when I was younger so it couldn’t be that hard? Huh was I in for a shock. There were lots of moves as this is a fast paced song which only highlighted my unfitness and lack of co-ordination. Eventually, the track came to an end and I slumped down in my chair pretty breathless. However, I proudly achieved a score of 8129 points from just 1 song so my taking the lead had paid off.
One by one the other girls each got up and strutted their stuff. Our screams of laughter could probably have been heard down the street as it was a real hoot. Amongst us was Clare, a professional dance teacher, and she proved why she is just that by managing to copy her routine perfectly after about 10 seconds of dancing to The Pussycat Dolls “When I grow up”.
My all time favourite though has to be Emma who proclaimed “I love Boney M, I’ve got to do Rasputin”. When the coach appeared on the screen, he looked like a Russian dancer and I said “ooh can you imagine if you have to do that dance where you squat down, with crossed arms and kick your legs out”. Well, guess what, that’s exactly what she had to do. It was hilarious and we all fell about laughing as Emma tried to follow the moves.
Another fun evening for St Albans Circle and I think there may be some last minute requests on Santa’s wish list for Wii Dance this year.
Sharon
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November 14th, 2010
St Albans Ladies Circle raise over £3,000 for their nominated charity Paul Strickland Scanner Centre at their annual charity event the Masquerade Halloween Ball. Community Officer Lisa Perkin explains how it was all possible.
‘When planning the event we wanted to make sure that we held something different, something that didn’t compete with any other local charity events. We also wanted the best chance of attracting lots of people to raise as much money as possible! The Halloween theme made sense because there were no other local events like this. So following a council vote we decided to run with a formal Evening Ball. Adding the masquerade part made it a bit novel and hopefully attractive to potential ticket purchasers.
I set to work and took responsibility for the overall project management of the event. We realised early that our Halloween Ball was going to be something a bit special! With lots of help and support from the other members we managed to agree; a venue including food menu and drinks, cupcakes, room set up and decorations, DJ and compere, speeches, children’s dance act, auction prizes, goodie bags, photographer, and jewellery stall. We all chipped in with ticket sales by approaching our family, friends and work colleagues. We managed to sell a total of 70 tickets, which was a HUGE success given that it was our first big event.
The night started with a real buzz as people arrived to an introductory bucks fizz. Whilst waiting to be seated guests were invited to have their picture taken by the photographer and to buy jewelry from the jewelry stall in the foyer.
The dinner tables were decorated with Halloween confetti, lit pumpkins and candles. Guests were also treated to a goodie bag and a wonderfully decorated cupcake.
To get everyone into the Halloween mood a group of dancers aged 9-12 years old, all dressed as ghouls and ghosts, performed a spooky rendition of nightmare before Christmas. This was followed by speeches from our Chair, Monika Raisys, and Rina Rawal the fundraising manager for the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre. They reminded everyone in the room why they were there and to dig deep into their pockets.
As the guests tucked into their Halloween inspired dinner the girls set to work in selling tombola tickets to the tables. The prizes included champagne, vouchers for clothes/cosmetics, cosmetic gift sets, whisky, wine, chocolates, books, salsa lessons, swimming and gym membership, to name but a few! As coffee and mints were served the people with winning tickets were invited up to the tombola table to collect their prizes.
Once all the tombola prizes had been claimed we started the auction which included, skidpans, pleasure flight, salsa classes, Ann Summers hamper, Jane and Dada necklaces- modeled by circlers!, weekend in windmill, dinner at the 6 Bells Pub in St Albans, pole dancing lessons, Zumba dance classes and colon hydrotherapy. There was a real tension in the room as some of the auction prizes reached over £400.
Following the auction the DJ kicked off with Michael Jacksons ‘Thriller’. All the girls and their wonderfully generous guests danced the night away knowing that they had raised a shed load of cash for a worthy cause’
St Albans Circle would like to thanks all those that attended the ball. In particular we would like to thank the following:
Adam Nash
Aylett’s Nursery – www.aylettnurseries.co.uk
Ann Summers – www.annsummers.com
Ben Santos Richmond
Black Iris Flowers
Benefit – www.benefitcosmetics.com
Buzzy Beads – www.buzzybeads.co.uk
The Bodyshop – www.thebodyshop.co.uk
Burston’s Nurseries – www.burston-nurseries.co.uk
Butlers
Costco’s – www.costco.co.uk
Cakerella
Crabtree & Evelyn – www.Crabtree-Evelyn.co.uk
Chloe James
Flagship Wines – www.flagshipwines.co.uk
Hutton’s
Jane & Dada
Six Bells Pub – www.the-six-bells.com
John Lewis – www.johnlewis.com
Leal’s School of Dance – www.lealschoolofdance.com
Lush – www.lush.co.uk
Luminex photography – www.luminexphotography.com
Mike Perkin
Neal’s Yard – www.nealsyardremedies.com
Nikki Brown
Polesportz – www.polzsports.com
Pure Cleanse – www.pureclense.co.uk
Jon Kutner
Past Times Ltd – www.pasttimes.com
Pulse – www.pulsecosmetics
The Peahen
Sainsbury’s – www.sainsburys.co.uk
Sports Village De Havilland Campus – www.hertssportsvillage.co.uk
Wendy Warren Jewellery – www.wendywarrenjewellery.co.uk
Willows Farm – www.willowsfarmvillage.com
Zumba
viagra
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October 18th, 2010
New member Emma Penn tells how the St Albans Circle get together for a night of fun and fundraising with a chocolate fountain and ‘Spot the Intro’ quiz night.
Adorned with my pink feather boa and fluffy pink head boppers, I was off out the door ready to embark on ‘Think Pink’ night in aid of Breast Cancer awareness month (http://www.wearitpink.co.uk)
Having joined only 6 weeks ago, I still don’t know all the members, but as everyone is so warm and friendly I was excited to meet them again and see who else might have joined the realm of the Ladies Circle!
The night was advertised as a ‘Spot the intro’ quiz, with snippets of music from the 80’s and 90’s and some even earlier than that (she say’s very quietly trying not to show her age!). The idea was to guess the film or TV series the song was from and name the song, artist or even year for super bonus points!…. armed with my pen and paper I was off, even surprising myself with how many of them I knew, and surprised also how bad I was at recognising those songs which all young vivacious 70’s children should know…..Madonna’s Like a Virgin!.
After accumulating a very respectable 27.5 points it was off to stick my head in the chocolate fountain…ahem…I mean delicately place small marshmallows and meringue pieces into the warm molten chocolate of the oh so lovely pink chocolate fountain…I mean what more can a girl ask for!…well actually, there is more……..as a member who joined 6 weeks ago I hadn’t yet been inducted into the Ladies Circle, so Monika the fabulous Chair of the St Albans Ladies Circle presented me with a lovely certificate confirming my membership into the group, together with badge and the quarterly magazine….at last I am a fully fledged member :0)
After lots of giggles and eyebrows full of chocolate it was sadly time to say goodnight to yet another absolutely fabulous evening with the St Albans Ladies Circle.
A huge thank you to Angela for hosting and Sharon for organising yet again another fabulous girlie night in.
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September 30th, 2010
St Albans Circler Rachael Greenlees tells all about her first ever radio interview
http://www.radioverulam.com/1090/Blogs.html
Drafted in at the last minute (45 mins before going on air!!!) I started to frantically write down all the facts that I could remember about St Albans Circle. At the same time in the back of my mind I was trying to dispel all of the bad memories of appalling job interviews as a knew that I had and think positive.
Whilst chanting to myself ‘you can do this Rachael now pull yourself together’ I got the call from Danny Smith the drive time presenter. He was a real star and put my mind at rest straight away. As I was chatting to him I realized that I did know my stuff, and that talking about something that I feel passionate about was actually really easy. He helped me dispel any myths regarding Ladies Circles and there was just enough time to say a few words about National and Tanget.
Sadly it doesn’t look like I have made the wall of fame at Verulam Radio, as they only publish interviews with famous people. However, I’m hoping that I did the girls proud but am a bit scared that listeners might think that we will be perfoming our Pole Dancing and Burlesque dance routines as part of the evening’s entertainment at the Charity Masquerade Halloween Ball…..sorry girls!
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September 3rd, 2010
I work as a complementary viagrarapist helping recover their vitality.
JOINED CIRCLE- 25th March 2009
I had just moved to Harpenden when I joined St Albans Circle. I had previously lived in St Albans for about 10 years but spent all my time working and socialising in London. Becoming self-employed meant that I had the opportunity to become more involved in my local community and meet people who live in the area. Like the vast majority of people who join circle, I googled local groups and choose circle because of the winning combination of fun, friendship and fundraising.
Within a few months of joining circle I decided to take on a role and became Area representative in July 2009, my first area event was the AGM!. Within a year, I was organising the next area AGM, part of a team organising the Area Dinner (a formal event where the guest of honour is the National President of Ladies Circle) and then became Monika’s vice.
I never planned to become vice but my involvement in circle grew and I am well aware that you only get out what you put in to anything in your life. I feel the highlight of my year as vice, will be our Halloween Ball, if you want more details please email Halloween@StAlbansCircle.org.uk.
So what will be my priorities as Chair, well you will just have to watch this space.
Your’s in friendship
St Albans Vice Chairman
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August 3rd, 2010
On Weds 28th July Circlers and prospective members were invited to attend Lisa Perkins house to enjoy Pimms and Puddings over a business meeting agenda. The evening was specifically planned to introduce prospective members to business meetings in a light hearted and friendly way. It was a great way to show that even the formalities of fundraising can be fun and it went down a storm as we welcomed 10 prospective members to the meeting.
Whilst our Chair, Monika Raisys, ploughed through the packed agenda, we ploughed through and indulged in homemade puddings including Strawberry Pavalova, Tiramisu and Lemon Meringue Pie. It also got our creative juices flowing as we started to brainstorm ideas for this year’s annual charity event due to be held on Saturday October 30th at Sopwell House. A Halloween Ball, in aid of this years chosen charity The Paul Strickland Cancer Centre (Paul Strickland Scanner Centre | Medical Imaging MRI, CT, PET/CT
We also welcomed a ‘New Member’ Angela O’Mahoney in the midst of all the eating, drinking and discussions about Circle, Fundraising and social events.
Our Chair Monika commented “This has been one of the largest events in a while at St Albans Circle, and I hope we are staring to create the right recipe for prospective members to see the full potential in fun, friendship and fundraising within St Albans Circle”
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July 27th, 2010
A balmy summer’s night, 14 friends, champagne, strawberries and chocolate – I had died and officially gone to heaven!
Yes, our much awaited champagne and rosé wine tasting had finally arrived. Hosted by Rachel and held in her lovely conservatory overlooking the garden this provided the perfect setting for our night of indulgence. Our expert for the evening was Julia Jenkins, Director of Flagship Wines (Flagship Wines – making your wine buying easy). Flagship Wines is an independent wine company offering distinctive wines from around the world and specialising in the New World. This was the second tasting our Circle had arranged with Julia, the first being last September on white and red wines. Feeling like we were beginning to have some understanding of grapes and varieties, we decided that it would only be fitting to expand our knowledge some more in honour of our penchant for the finer things in life.
Julia once again selected some great wines for us to taste. Our first being the most prestigious: Champagne. This was very well received and after a brief explanation of how Champagne is made, how it became known as Champagne and the legalities of its trademark.
We then progressed on to the Processo (my personal favourite). Prosecco is the name of both a grape that is grown in North Eastern Italy and a sparkling wine that is made from that grape. Prosecco comes in a variety of styles, from dry to light to slightly off-dry, sweeter versions. The bubbles definitely loosened the tongues and smoothed away the stresses of the day and so sensing we were all feeling more relaxed, Julia moved on to the Rosé wines.
Rosé is not a blend of red and white wine as some of you may think (myself included). It is in fact generally made from black-skinned grapes. The main difference between rosé and red wine is the length of time the grape juice stays in contact with the skins, known as maceration. The grapes are crushed and de-stemmed, then left to macerate before pressing. The rest of the wine-making process is as for white wines. Some of those amongst us were already Rosé lovers, others were not. However, there was a distinct difference between the two samples we tasted so it’s definitely worth attending some of Julia’s in-house tastings before you buy.
Finally, in homage to our chocolate fountain and strawberries that were to follow, Julia finished with a Dessert Wine. This was very rich, sweet and almost treacle like and perfect with chocolate. Not everyone’s cup of tea but what a great way to finish off the tasting. By the way, did you know that Stressed is DESSERTS spelt backwards!
With the tastings all complete all that remained was to switch on the fountain and let the chocolate flow. Another fantastic evening for St Albans Circle and all that remains for me to say to all the women out there is there’s nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
Sharon Willis
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July 22nd, 2010
Four committed circler’s took part in the St Albans Midnight Walk in aid of the Grove House Hospice on Saturday 26th June 2010. Here Joanne Mullins describes the events of the night -
‘We met by the Abbey Theatre at Westminster Lodge and registered straight away. Once the formalities were over, the serious business began, choosing the “right” pair of pink flashing bunny ears – every woman’s essential accessory when you are walking. Then it was over to the sweet stall, to stock up with treats to rewards ourselves for being so virtuous. Our very own, Clare Rudd, then helped warm us, and the other 800 women up, with a specially designed Popdance routine to “Hear Come the Girls” YouTube – Popdance Grove House Routine
Warmed up, we were off, with Clare doing her best “superwoman” impression, by quickly swapping her Popdance t-shirt for her midnight walk t-shirt and leaping over the fence. Excited and eager, we headed off up Hollywell Hill into town avoiding the temptation of stop and have, one for the road. As we passed Batchwood, the pull of the 70′s room wasn’t enough to distract us. After a quick pit stop for refreshments at the King William, we were on the road again, heading through an eerily quite Marshallswick. We then met several marshals who all assured us we had reached the 6 mile marker – which seem to stretch between the one side of the camp to the other!
With the lure of hunky fireman beckoning, we quickened our pace, our determination rose and we walked with renewed purpose towards the fire station. When we arrived we were not disappointed, hunky men were offering us chocolates or bananas. As vice-chair, I felt I should show some leadership, so I accepted all the chocolate offered. I don’t think any women should ever pass up the opportunity, for guilt free chocolate eating – after all I was eating chocolate for charity! From there we walked back into St Albans along London road, passing a number of staggering revellers on the walk of shame. By the time we passed the station, we hit the last distraction, the lure of kebabs & chips from H&H, determinedly we walked quickly past it to the finish line. Discovering we had walked 10 miles in two and a half hours – and I for one was shocked at how fast we walked. After collecting our goody bags, congratulating ourselves and taking lots of pictures – we headed home, knowing we could treat ourselves to that extra glass of wine, forget about the gym for a while and still feel virtuous’.
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July 12th, 2010
On a beautiful summer evening on Friday 2nd July circlers and ex circle members from Area 21 met for the annual area dinner. The dinner, arranged by St Albans Circle, was held at Verelum Golf Club and the ladies were treated to welcome dinks on a terrace over looking the 18 hole golf course followed by a three course meal. The theme of the evening was ‘Ladies of Distinction’, with table decorations made by St Albans circlers paying homage to the likes of Dame Judy Dench, Kelly Holmes and Anita Roddick
Emma Taylor, Area 21 Chair, summed up the event as being a ‘great evening and an example of what Circle is all about. Members of Ladies Circle from our area and beyond enjoyed a sociable evening of fun and friendship and welcomed our new National President Naomi Hickey as our guest speaker’.
Naomi praised the area for its continued hard work and support for local charities and the continued commitment to the Ladies Circle aims and objectives.
A raffle was held and total of £130 was raised in aid of the National Presidents annual charity The Genesis Appeal, which is the only charity in the UK to look into the Prevention of breast cancer.
Posted in Charity News, Circle Events, Circle Year 2010-2011 | 1 Comment »
June 9th, 2010
Raising money for charity and supporting local community fundraising events is not only a huge part of what St Albans Circle is all about, but very important to me too. I wanted to help the group make a difference by continuing to give something back hence why this year, I have put myself forward as Community Officer.
So what would I like the Community committee group to achieve this year? Well, last year the group did fantastically well and I hope to continue their success! 2010 promises to be a busy yet I hope an enjoyable and rewarding year full of fundraising activities that I know will make a real difference. I hope also that the group will come up with new and exciting ways of raising money that will I hope attract as much fundraising as possible!
Events we hope to support include stewarding at the St Albans race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK, helping Grove House Hospice with flyering and serving cream teas at a local open garden in aid of Motor Neurone Disease…..to name but a few!
Lisa Perkin, St Albans Circle Community Officer
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May 16th, 2010
We all took our seats at the Savanna, The Black Lion Inn for an evening of fine food, wine and friendship, with representatives from Harpenden Circle, Radlett Circle, Letchworth Circle and of course, St Albans. Joanne had kindly organised the whole evening and we enjoyed welcoming Harpenden, Radlett and Letchworth to St Albans, in fact the same place that we had held our St Albans Circle AGM. Well done for organising such a fabulous evening Joanne.
There was much merriment and plenty of speeches. It was a chance to hear what our friends in these other groups had been up to during the year. I was impressed to hear of Radlett’s fundraising efforts at their Alternative Quiz night and to hear that they had set up a Watling Street group for those above the age to stay within Circle. Letchworth had been busy increasing membership and had held a successful swishing evening and Harpenden had raised over £16,000 for charity – a really staggering figure (well done!). There was plenty of discussion about plans for the coming year, including a cross-area archery contest.
Sally was retiring from area Chair and was presented with a number of thank you gifts at the end of the evening. Emma Taylor from Harpenden kindly stood in to take her place for 2010-2011 year.
Posted in Circle Year 2010-2011 | 5 Comments »
May 9th, 2010
After considering a number of charities St Albans Circle has voted for The Paul Strickland Scanner Centre to be our nominated charity for the year. Here, one of our members explains why it is such a worthy cause.
“The Paul Strickland Scanner Centre is our nominated charity for the year and is our regional cancer scanner hub. It is an independent medical registered charity and runs entirely on donations – and yet it is a crucial plank of cancer diagnosis for Hertfordshire residents. For 25 years now they have been providing state-of-the-art scanning services for the early and accurate diagnosis of cancer and other serious diseases. In 2008 they scanned 12,000 people using advanced MRI, CT and PET/CT scanners. Scanners are constantly evolving and to keep abreast of the latest developments and to offer patients the most up to the minute equipment they have to acquire a new scanner every 2 to 3 years at a cost of upwards of £1,500,000.
My husband, Sergej was recently scanned at the centre and it showed his cancer had not spread beyond his neck – setting our mind at rest about his prognosis which would otherwise resulted in months of worrying or mistreatment. Help set thousands of other Hertfordshire residents’ minds at rest by supporting our future events to raise money for the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre this year”
Posted in Charity News, Circle Year 2010-2011 | 5 Comments »
April 8th, 2010
The first meeting of the new council under Monika’s chairmanship will take place tomorrow evening Friday 9th April. Good luck girls in formulating exciting new plans for our fundraising and social calendar!
Posted in Charity News, Circle Events | 15 Comments »
April 8th, 2010
Wollams Sports Centre-Hatfield Road
I have to say I really enjoyed my evening with Tangent at their AGM. I was greeted by Daphne Harris who kindly bought me a drink, and introduced me to some of the Tangent members who all seemed lovely. Unfortunately I have forgotten their names but I am much better at remembering faces. You have to remember I am not used to attending such functions, so I really was unsure on protocol. Hopefully I made the right impression.
I sat down next to Barbara, Janet and Christine for the evening. I introduced myself, obviously as Monika, as that’s my name. I think some of the ladies were a bit confused, one lady did ask if I was the guest speaker….Oh dear! I know I can talk, but really I don’t have a topic that would benefit me to guest speak! I thought. Thankfully Daphne introduced me to the Tangent members as the newly appointed St Albans Circle Chair, Monika. Aha! Allow me to introduce myself Chair of Ladies Circle, Monika. Hand out, shake hands and smile, lots of smiles and waves… So after all the introductions we settled into business meeting mode, which was quick and efficient.
Starters came and went, mains came and went….THEN INTERRUPTION! Club 41/Rotary busted the door open and entered. Steve Potter Club 41 Chair held a Stuffed Patchwork Pooch with a lead, if he was trying to be fashionable like Paris Hilton and her pooch, I really think he should have thought about getting a pooch that was more suited to his bearded, friendly, Father Christmas look (I thought to myself!). Before I could think anymore odd thoughts, it was made apparent that the Stuffed Patchwork dog was a gift intended for the new Tangent Chair Julia Currant. You see Julia is a Dog Trainer…hopefully this is making sense.
Anyway back to the interruption, Steve’s explanation of buying the Stuffed Patchwork Pooch was he walked passed a pet store and saw…wait for it…This Doggy in the Window, and wondered….This is good…. ‘How much is that Doggy in the Window’ and yes it did have a waggle tail… So everyone broke into song, and a good laugh was had by all with a fun interruption.
After this the AGM began. AGM is the same format to St Albans Circle with reports from Officers and Election of New Officers etc. Daphne Harris thanked all her Officers for their support and gave each of them a gift as a token of her thanks. Julia Currant presented Daphne Harris with a ‘Daphne Bush’ and a photo of Elvis, to remind her of their Elvis Night and Daphne also received the Flowers of Friendship.
Tangent is made up of members who were once St Albans Circle, and this is the club that you join after you reach the young age of 45. I have to say that I hope when I reach the end of Circling with St Albans Circle, that Tangent will still be going so I can continue on with a club such as this. All the ladies at Tangent enjoy meeting every first Tuesday of the month, and also organise walks on the last Sunday of the month. I am hoping to attend some of their less formal meetings in the future and look forward to finding out more about Tangent and the members.
Posted in Circle Events | 33 Comments »
April 6th, 2010
St Albans Circle are busy planning a quiz night in aid of local charity Earthworks St Albans on Saturday 17th April 2010. Tickets are on sale at £12 and include a fish and chip supper (Cod & Chips/Sausage & Chips/Veggie Burger & Chips) and will take place from 7.15pm in the Function Hall at The Duke of Marlborough Pub, 110 Holywell Hill in St Albans.
We’re hoping on raising lots of cash for Earthworks St Albans as this is fantastic local charity that offers trainees, often with learning difficulties or mental health problems, work experience and training in horticultural and land based skills.
For tickets please email enquiries@stalbanscircle.org.uk
Posted in Charity News | 10 Comments »
April 4th, 2010
Here is Marianne’s speech at our AGM at The Black Lion Inn in St Albans (Fishpool Street) on 24 March 2010 as she hands over the Chairmanship to Monika
“At first I felt like I have not really done as much this year, especially compared with the amount of hours I put in last year getting the club off the ground, but once I actually wrote down what I had achieved as Chairman this year, it’s actually quite a lot!
So, my main achievements have been making sure the club is fully functional and building relationships with the other local clubs. The year started off with a bang at the National Conference in Eastbourne, where we were awarded 2 national trophies: the Membership Award for most new members in one year (15) and I personally was also presented with the President’s Award, which was a great surprise as I did not even know this award existed! It was very gratifying to receive it, as it recognised the work I had done in sharing our experience and knowledge in gaining new members with other clubs in the Area but also nationally by producing a document which is available on the National website.
As Chairman, I think it is important to work on building relationships with the other local clubs and I have been to 3 Tangent evenings: a dinner in September at which I was kindly made an honorary member, a meeting in November when I gave a talk to Tangent about Circle: The Story So Far and I attended their Elvis fundraiser, which was very successful. I have also been able to get to know a few more Tablers through attending the Safari Supper, liaising over Santa’s float and at the recent Chairmen’s evening. Indeed, one of the Tablers’ wives who came to my house for her main course during the Safari supper told me at the Chairmen’s evening that she was very keen to join Circle now her life is a little less hectic, so I hope she will be one of the first new members Monika will be able to induct next year! Also at the Chairmen’s evening I am delighted to announce that Tangent very kindly presented us with the old club’s regalia, which includes the Chairman’s jewel with the name of every Chairman since the original St Albans Ladies Circle was very first founded in 1952! Thank you very much to Daphne.
I have also been active within Area, well, I am the Area Vice Chair! I went to the Area AGM at Tewinbury Farm in May; the Area Dinner at Mid Herts Golf club in July, where we were awarded our Charter by the National President Niki Stocken ; and I went to the Think Pink Area meeting in October, which was held in Harpenden. In addition, I took the opportunity to attend the National Spring meeting in February which was being held in Newport Pagnall for the first time. This was very interesting to see how the organisation is run. The National Councillors are all women just like us with jobs and busy lives, but they somehow find time to keep this great institution going. It was certainly inspiring to attend and to talk to other Circlers from around the country, to see how other people do things.
Within the club, I have wanted to make sure everything is in place for the club to run smoothly, which included gaining our Charter, adopting the local rules, setting up sub-committees to share the workload between every member of the club and to start the blog to keep an electronic record of what we as a club have been up to.
I would like to now take this opportunity to thank all the members of the club’s council for all their hard work and dedication in making the club the success that it is. You have all really done a wonderful job and I really appreciate everything you have done for Circle this year. I particularly want to say Thank You to Sharon, for the amount of time and effort you have put in making sure we have had all these amazing events to attend. Well done from everyone here. To everyone on Council – there are gifts here for each of you!
I would also like to thank everyone who has been working hard in each of the sub-committees: Area Dinner, Publicity, Fundraising and Social – thank you for all your contributions however big or small, it is really appreciated. I hope you agree that they are a good way of becoming more involved with the club and a great way to get to know a few of your fellow members a bit better. Indeed, one of the best evenings I have had this year was going for a pizza with the fundraising team and learning a few of their secrets!
I would also like to thank a couple of husbands! Mark Harris for taking the fabulous photos for our advert and of course to Jay Sammon at FL1 Group for his amazing work on the website. We would be nothing without the website and I’m sure we all agree that he has done a great job.
Finally, I would just like to say a few words to motivate you all. The Circle motto is “Fun, Friendship and Fundraising.” This year we have certainly had lots of opportunities to have fun, and I hope you consider everyone in Circle your friend. We now need to continue our efforts with the fundraising side of things! By focussing on fundraising, we can have fun and build friendships though organising and attending these events, which will not only raise more money but also raise our profile and encourage other women to join. It is the ability to fundraise for different charities which sets our organisation apart from others and makes us more than just a social club. We have a great charity this year and I challenge everyone to make this coming year our most successful yet, both in terms of money raised and new members gained!
So everyone please raise your glasses to “fun, friendship and fundraising!””
Posted in Circle Events | 10 Comments »
March 27th, 2010
Monika RaisysAge 28
Buyer-Construction and Civil Engineering
JOINED CIRCLE-November 2008
I have only lived in St Albans for a year, and one of my main reasons for moving here was to get involved in the community and extend my friends in my local area. I never thought for one minute that it would mean a year later I would be taking on role as chairman for St Albans Circle!
Like many members who have joined, I searched on the internet and came across St Albans Circle, so I went along to a couple of events and found that everyone was friendly and fun to be around so this was a group I would love to join as it also covered friendship, fun and fundraising. So since joining in November 2008 and finally moving in to my new abode in January 2009 I’d settled in to St Albans life. When the opportunity arose to take on a role I put myself forward for Membership Officer, this for me gave me an opportunity to encourage many more like minded ladies to join St Albans Circle just like I did not so long ago…
Being so involved and getting new people to come and join in what our group was getting up to, such as croquet in the park, marshalling at race for life, walking around St Albans in fancy dress for Halloween and many other activities. It spurred me on and I wanted to do more, and get even more involved. So I decided to put my name forward for Chairman and well here I am Chairman for St Albans Circle…
So what are my aims for St Albans Circle….Ummm Tough one! Fun definitely fun all the way. If you didn’t have fun then who would want to be part of our group. We do have fun and laughter (I would tell you but I’m limited to only a short space…Come along and see for yourself). Friendship, I have 20 fabulous friendships that I am continuously building on and I hope that we will have many more friendships to continue to build on in the future. Finally Fundraising, well while there is a community there will always be fundraising to do and fundraising is fun so it’s a win win formulae, Don’t you think?
I hope that if you have taken the time to read this, it intrigues you enough to come along and join in and see what you could be a part of!
Your’s in friendship
St Albans Chairman
Posted in Chairman's Blog, Circle Events | 7 Comments »
March 21st, 2010
The second annual dinner of the St Albans Round Table family was held at the Mid Herts Golf Club and celebrated the past year for each of the four clubs: Round Table, Ladies Circle, Tangent and 41 Club. Around 80 people attended this glamorous event, along with St Albans Circlers Marianne, Monika, Sarah and Anthea (plus a couple of partners!). We were entertained by Alex Miles who sang and played piano during the delicious 3 course meal and who got the disco going afterwards. It was great to hear from the Chairmen what each club had been up to over the past year and to get to know more members of the ‘family’. There was a fabulous raffle, which raised over £350 for Help For Heros and Round Table Childrens Wish charities. Everyone enjoyed themselves, so much so that Circle have somehow ended up volunteering to host it next year! Looking forward to it, Ladies!
Posted in Circle Events | 8 Comments »
March 21st, 2010
Here are the two National Ladies Circle trophies we won last year: Glass rose bowl for the Membership Award (most new members in one year = 15) and the Anthony Nolan trophy for the President’s Award (awarded to club Chairman Marianne Jordan.) It was a great honour and privelege to have been awarded these trophies and we are sad to return them, but the next National AGM beckons and new winners are waiting in the wings! Here’s hoping for next year, Ladies!
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March 14th, 2010
St Albans Ladies Circle at Jo Banks Salon and Spa Birthday Party
What did you do last night?…..One of the many benefits to being part of St Albans Circle it would seem is that, in answer to my question, What did I do last night? I was invited to attend the 1st Birthday party of the Jo Banks Salon & Spa in St Albans. Oh how life is hard when you’re a member of Circle I thought to myself!
The thing that sets this salon & spa aside from other places I have had the pleasure of frequenting is that it uses Aveda products which in simplistic terms means that not only is Aveda a purchaser of organic ingredients but it is also a company that take their environmental responsibilities very seriously. So in effect this means that I can self-indulge in beauty treatments knowing that I am being environmentally friendly in the process, this excuse works extremely well for me!
Anyway back to the “What did I do last night” question. Claire and I were treated like VIPs for the night and were indulged in a head and neck massage followed by a hand massage. Of course we had the obligatory continuously filled glass of wine in our right hand and chocolate in the left. The only downside was that I had to share all of this with the 50 or so other women that attended the party.
My ten minute head massage lasted about twenty minutes which was such an unexpected treat. This head massage comes as standard with every haircut so I am now wondering if I could sneak a monthly haircut into my personal grooming budget without my husband noticing!
I did have to pinch myself whilst I was drinking my second glass of wine and nibbling on a piece of Hotel Chocolat, that I was in fact on a very important job in sampling the delights of the Jo Banks Salon & Spa as a future venue for a ladies pamper evening for one of our upcoming social events. It was a hard job but someone had to do it, and after speaking to Jo Banks it now appears that I will have to pay the Spa a second visit as she has kindly donated a raffle prize to our upcoming quiz night.
Isn’t life hard! So what am I doing tonight?
Washing my hair of course, using the products that I was given by Jo Banks to try!
Posted in Circle Events, General | 6 Comments »
March 6th, 2010
Joanne (our Area Delegate) and Marianne (our Chairman) both attended the National Exec meeting in Newport Pagnall as observers. Despite having to be there by 9am on a Saturday and the meeting going on till 5pm, it was a very interesting day. Not only were the seven members of the National Executive there, but also nearly 30 Area Delegates representing the Circles in their Area across Great Britain and Ireland. A lot of different subjects were discussed and the Exec members updated everyone on what they had been up to. It was also interesting to hear the different and original ideas Circles had come up with for fundraising events and to learn about the rapid changes taking place with regard to the new National Publicity Officer. For a bit of fun everyone was encouraged to dress up in a £10 outfit from a charity shop, which produced a variety of outfits from ballgowns to wetsuits! However, the highlight of the day had to be the comedy moment when a man in one of the houses opposite the hotel decided to open his curtains before he had got dressed! Oh dear! Let’s just say he wasn’t a Chippendale…
Posted in General | 1 Comment »
March 6th, 2010
For the first time we all met in the dining room at the Six Bells pub, which was very successful. We had the room to ourselves so were able to get on with our meeting without interruptions, but not before passing round fortune cookies to celebrate Chinese new year! The meeting went well, with lots of discussion regarding the possible increase in national membership fees. Luckily, Joanne and Marianne are due to attend the National Exec meeting on Saturday, so will be able to report back on that. We were pleased to receive a cheque from St Albans Round Table for helping with Santa and his float collections, which adds another £734 to our charity total this year. Our final fundraising event of 2009-10 will be on a quiz night 17th April, which the fundraising team are busy organising.
Finally the highlight of the evening was the charity vote. Four nominations from members were received to be our charity for the next Circle year starting in May and after hearing all about each charity, votes were cast. We are delighted to announce that The Paul Strickland Scanner Appeal will be our charity for the coming year, which provides the only cancer scanning service in Hertfordshire and is entirely run on donations. Well done everyone!
Posted in Circle Events | 2 Comments »
February 20th, 2010
Two new members
Sharon kindly hosted the evening and had decided to demonstrate “emotional freedom technique” which involves tapping on accupuncture points while focusing on the thing that is causing you anxiety. We were a little unsure at first, but soon got in to the swing of things, and all had a practice.
Before moving on to business for the evening, Sharon brought out her chocolate fountain for us all to try with freshly baked waffles, marshmallows and strawberries to dip in. Mmmmm
What with all the tapping and chocolate, we headed home as happy as Larry!
Thank you Sharon for a lovely evening.
At the end of the eventing, two more new members were welcomed into the club: Sarah and Evelyn being presented with certificate and flowers by Chairman Marianne.
Posted in Circle Events, Circle Year 2009-2010 | 1 Comment »
February 20th, 2010
The snow on the ground only added to the atmosphere as our brave Circlers accompanied Santa on his float ride around the streets of St Albans. Round Table had thoughtfully offered Father Christmas the chance to meet some of his adoring public in the evenings running up to Christmas and Ladies Circle members joined him to knock on doors and collect money for our charity this year, Earthworks. It was great to see the smiling faces at the windows, excited about seeing Father Christmas, rushing to the door to give him a wave – and that was just the adults! The slippery paths and freezing temperatures pulled at the heartstrings of local residents and they were extremely generous in donating money this year. Thank you St Albans residents!
A big thank you and well done goes to St Albans Round Table (www.stalbansroundtable.org.uk) who once again did a marvellous job of organising the float collections and keeping going in very challenging circumstances!
Everyone who took part in helping Santa felt warm inside and ready for Christmas, even though they were frozen on the outside! Well done girls – you are true Circlers!
Posted in Circle Year 2009-2010 | 17 Comments »
February 20th, 2010
This was not strictly a fundraising event but we were priveleged to have the new director of Earthworks St Albans, Teresa Gore, come and give us a talk on our chosen charity for the year, in an effort to inspire us before walking the streets with Santa’s float! It was good to hear all about how the charity works and the services it provides as although some of us had helped out at the summer and autumn fairs, others were not really sure what Earthworks was all about.
Their motto is “people of all abilities learning and working together” and they provide people with learning difficulties a unique opportunity to gain practical horticultural skills and the chance to lean about the environment, make friends and gain experience which may lead to employment. The trainees themselves love working there and take part in all decision-making.
The site at Hixberry Lane not only has a large vegetable patch, shade tunnels and polytunnels but also an orchard, woodland, ornamental and wildlife gardens and they have recentlyconstructed a pond. The site is run as environmentally-friendly as possible, even down to water recycling! The produce (fruit, vegetables and herbs) is all organic and is sold on site and at St Albans Farmer’s market. Trainees also make bug boxes and bird tables.
Earthworks works closely with the local authorities who pay for the trainees placements and they are working towards providing nationally recognised qualifications. Many volunteers work alongside the trainees and paid staff and it has proved such a success there is now a waiting list of volunteers!
St Albans Circle has helped with the various fairs held during the summer selling teas and coffees but next year (2010) these will be combined to one big Autumn Fair, which will be on Sunday 5th September. Looking forward to it!
Posted in Circle Year 2009-2010 | 1 Comment »
February 20th, 2010
Wow what an amazing venue for a party! We were all dazzled by the Elizabethan “Old Palace” at Hatfield House, with the oak panelling, tapestries and long tables, it already felt Christmassy before the festivities began. Nearly all members put on their best frocks to come and be entertained by Queen Elizabeth and her minstrels. Only poor Karol was too ill to come. Kris was mildly annoyed by the historical inacuracies but seems to have overcome it by the time this photo was taken! During and after our delicious (but not historically accurate!) three course meal we had various forms of entertainment including full audience participation of The Twelve Days of Christmas. As you can see by this point everyone is very merry! Is was not long after that the disco began and everyone boogied the night away until our carriage came to collect us! How very Cinderella! Don’t forget more photos are available on our facebook site.
Posted in Circle Year 2009-2010 | 5 Comments »
February 20th, 2010
Safari suppers are a blast from the past, made all the more popular with the advent of that popular television series, Come Dine With Me. Basically, one person organises the group, this year it was Stuart from Round Table who had nearly 30 people to organise, all in top secret! He did a sterling job and everything went very smoothly. After volunteering to take part, and telling Stuart whether you were happy to host a starter, main or bring a dessert, you then had warning if you were hosting that this many people are coming to you and these are their food dislikes etc.
Then at 7pm on the night, each person/couple received a text to say please arrive at this address by 7.30! Only on arriving at said address, do you find out who lives there and who are your follow diners for that course! Eating, drinking and chatting ensued until at 8pm you were allowed to open the envelope which told each person where they were heading for their main course, usually not with anyone we had just had starter with. Then is was a sudden rush to reach the main course on time, followed by more ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ at finding out who else you were dining with and of course eating the delicious home cooked food!
Finally at 10pm the dessert/party destination in announced and everyone ends up in the same place to finish the evening. Six Circlers (plus some partners) took part and everyone had a great time. A very enjoyable evening of good food, drink and conversation was had. It was great to get to know some of the Circlers’ partners as well as Tablers and their wives and to have a chance to chat to people away from the usual few minutes at the beginning or end of a meeting/event. This was definately one of the most enjoyable evenings with Circle!
Posted in Circle Year 2009-2010 | 45 Comments »
February 20th, 2010
Image consultant Gail Morgan from www.theimagehouse.co.uk gave a great talk on the basics of making your wardrobe work for you. Joanne very bravely volunteered her wardrobe to use as a demonstration, but aha! Now we know why she was so keen – she had already been made over! We are duly impressed that you have kept to the rules! Gail brought her colour charts with her and explained the differences between warm and cool colours as well as the seasons. She also went over shapes and styles, the need to empty your wardrobe of all that tat plus what has stuck in my mind, the need to have a set of everything in your neutral colour (whether that be black, brown or whatever) i.e. skirt, trousers, jacket, jumper or cardi, vest top, shoes, boots and handbag.
Gail also gave us each a “wardrobe management chart” to help us put together outfits for various occasions, using a “key piece” eg jacket. Joanne was a big supporter of this method and certainly had the complete outfits to prove it! More things to add to our shopping lists – must make sure have tights to match all skirts! Plus get nice jacket.
There was a lot of nodding and admission of ‘yes, that’s me’ from everyone present and I think everyone went away inspired to sort out all our clothes into those 4 piles! Got anywhere with that yet, girls?
Posted in Circle Year 2009-2010 | 111 Comments »
February 20th, 2010
Tangent’s big fundraiser this year was this very amusing evening of Elvis. Not only were we entertained by Elvis, we were fed beautiful home made food made by the fair hands of Tangent members. This evening was also a good opportunity to chat to a few more of the Tangent ladies and generally get the message out there that Ladies Circle are back! It still amazes me I have to explain that no-one is married to a Tabler, despite that rule being abolished well over 15 years ago!
Anyway, it was a thoroughly cheesey evening, the only wish that Elvis was maybe 20 years younger! Or at least able to sing! But that surely is the joy of such an evening?
There were over 100 people present and it was a great atmosphere. It made a good change from going to a restuarant and what is more Tangent made over £2000 in aid of Grove House. What more can you ask for?
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February 20th, 2010
I’m not going to use certain words here because I don’t want to attract the wrong type of internet user, but suffice to say, this dance class was a great deal of fun and involved the use of long gloves, feather boas and chairs! High heels were obligatory. We all felt somewhat self-conscious at first, but after two hours of expert tuition, we were all pretty confident with our new found skills! The basics of walking, turning, sitting, looking over your shoulder, taking off the gloves and various ways with a feather boa were all covered. It was hilarious! Thanks again to our wonderful teacher Sabrina and to Sharon for organising. A very memorable night!
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February 20th, 2010
As Chairman of St Albans Circle I have also been made an honorary member of St Albans Tangent Club. This is where we Circlers graduate to after reaching 45! Many moons ago there was a very active and successful Ladies Circle in St Albans, but unfortunately it closed down about 6 years ago. However, nearly all the past Circlers can still be found in Tangent. I was delighted to be invited along to talk to the club about how well (the new) St Albans Circle is going and to show them our prizes! I have met various Tangent members before, at the Bollywood night, the Chairmen’s Dinner, the Area Dinner and at a previous meeting I had attended to be made an honourary member, so there were some familiar faces. However, although I also looked familiar, very few people new exactly who I was! So it was a great opportunity to tell everyone that St Albans Circle is well and truly back in business and to expect to see us around at future events. They were keen to know why I decided to set up a new club, how often we meet, what we get up to etc. I also reminded them that we are organising this year’s Area Dinner in July and this will be a great opportunity for the two clubs to get to know each other a bit better. Not forgetting the black tie Chairmen’s Dinner coming up in March! Altogether is was a lovely evening and I left feeling I had done a good job and that we now have 40 very experience women to back us up.
I’d like to share this email from Tangent Chairman Daphne Harris:
Hello Marianne, Thank you so much for last night. I really appreciated you coming along. Your talk was an inspiration and I think firmly linked our two oranisations very positively. It is good to know that there is such enthusiasm and commitment to Circle and you are to be congratulated for being the pioneer of it all. We are really proud of what you have done so that Circle 133 can continue. We will ensure also that we give you the history to St Albans Circle to fill the missing piece of your jigsaw. I shall look forward to seeing you at the Elvis evening. Thank you so much, Best wishes Daphne
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February 20th, 2010
Twenty of us were scaring the residents of St Albans last Wednesday by dressing up as witches, cats, devils, pirates and other spooky characters and wondering round the the town centre in search of Ghosts! We had the help of two lovely Green Badge Guides who told us all about the many and varied strange happenings and ghostly sightings, including invisible organ players, broken hearted lovers and trapped monks. The history of St Albans goes back so far, it was amazing to hear about stories from many different times in the past. The tour ended with a glass of mulled wine in The White Hart, also renowned for strange noises in the night. We were warned not to go upstairs to the ladies on our own…
A big thanks goes out to Sharon for her wonderful organisation and for helping to raise £100 for our charity this year – Earthworks. We were also honoured to have the National Membership Officer in our midst, Karen Sprod, who also very kindly inducted our two newest members, Karol and Jenni. We were also delighted to see 4 prospective members getting into the spirit of the evening!
Marianne – Chairman
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February 20th, 2010
Getting creative!
Card-making, collage, knitting, origami…what a creative lot we are! It was like being back at junior school! As October is Think Pink month, people also dressed in pink and there was a little donation box for CRUK, which made £30. Sharon also very kindly donated some Rose Quartz gifts and made some yummy pink cakes. Thank you Sharon!
We were also entertained by two lovely guests; Sally (Area Chair and Harpenden club member) and Nicola (Immediate Past Area Chair and Radlett club member). It was great to hear their Circle stories and how much fun they have had being in Circle. They also explained a little bit about how Circle works with regard to the National Exec and how information flows up and down via the Area Chair. It was great to hear from Sally and Nicola how they started off in Circle – thanks to both of you!
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February 20th, 2010
“Think Pink and Pizza” was the theme to the Area meeting this quarter! This is where the Area exec and representatives of each club get together to eat pizza, drink wine and chat. Oh yes, and talk about what is going on in each other’s clubs and what new from the National Council meeting. Joanne and Marianne joined Circlers from Harpenden, Letchworth and Welwyn (with apologies from Radlett), as well as the National Treasurer Chris (pictured, centre). Chris does an amazing job of holding down a full time job, being the single mum of 2 children and looking after all the NALC accounts as well as sending out all the invoices! You are an inspiration!
Sally (pictured, left) was very enthusiatic having just returned from the National meeting and was able to astound us with facts such as Circle as a whole made over £300,000 for charity last year. Fantastic!
All the clubs had good news to deliver, including Letchworth who are about the induct five new members – congratulations!
The evening ended with pink strawberry meringues and the news that we had made £108 pounds for CRUK from donations from attendees- what more could you ask from an Area meeting! Looking forward to seeing everyone again in February in Letchworth.
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February 20th, 2010
About 3 or 4 times a year, all the Council members get together to make sure the club is running smoothly. On Weds we all met at Sharon’s house for some drinks and nibbles.
First we discussed the draft Local Rules and Guidance Notes. Everyone agreed that these are a useful thing to have and some suggestions were made for small changes. These will all be incorporated and the draft rules sent round to all members to read and comment on. It was agreed that as some of the rules apply to the AGM, the rules need to be adopted before the next AGM, so an Extraordinary General Meeting will be added on to the November business meeting in order to adopt these. This is the only thing outstanding to make the club fully functional!
We then went onto ideas to make money for club funds. Although one of our main aims as a club is to raise money for charity, we also need funds to spend on the running of the club, for example, paying for internet hosting (a vital resource which we cannot live without), other advertising (leaflets, posters, t-shirts, adverts in local magazines etc), general expenses (stationery, engraving), Chairman and Area Reps expenses for attending other meetings, buying badges for the council etc.
Some excellent ideas were suggested, and we are going to start with: setting up a Buy.At account (to get money from internet shopping), look into selling advertising on t-shirts, website and diary sheet. There were also ideas for one-off fundraising schemes, such as having a stall at a local show eg Herts county show. This will also be investigated further.
After a quick look at the diary for the remainder of the year, everyone went home exhausted! But is was certainly a productive evening!
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February 20th, 2010
Blog post by our 2009-2010 Chairman, Marianne.
Months ago at the Chairman’s Night I won an evening for four at Champneys, and finally I got round to booking this. Lisa and Claire, who were also at the Chairman’s Night accompanied me. We had a relaxing evening of mini-facials and make-up demonstration, with plenty of free drinks and a goody bag to take away. Feeling much more relaxed and glamorous and somewhat hungry, we then headed for Wagamana’s for a healthy dinner. That place was packed! So this is what everyone else in St Albans does on a Wednesday night!
It was really lovely to have a chat in a small group and the conversation even stayed off the topic of Circle for most of the night! We are all looking forward to a larger group session at Champneys in the new year and decided more meals out are needed. Lisa – over to you, social sec!
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February 20th, 2010
The Cheese and Wine evening was a great success, with five prospective members attending for the first time making a total of 18 people squeezed into Allison’s lounge! Julia from Flagship Wines, Hatfield Road, was teaching us all how to taste wine and we had a selection of 6 wines to compare and contrast. It was interesting how different people rated the different wines and how much the taste varied between regions and grape varieties. Between each tasting there was plenty of opportunities to chat and to nibble on cheese and biscuits. Over £40 was made for Earthworks, our charity for the year and a lot of fun was had! Thanks go to Joanne, Lisa and Sharon for organising and to Allison for hosting.
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February 20th, 2010
Nine of us had a wonderful afternoon living the high life at Luton Hoo. Afternoon tea – what a luxury; not quite lunch, not quite dinner, just an excuse to dress up, chat and eat cake! The first decision was how many trays to order and then what type of tea! There was a choice of about 20 in all, including herbal and fruit teas. Between us we chose four types of tea and since this was constantly topped up, we were all able to try different ones. Dainty finger sandwiches, strawberry tarts, chocolate layer cakes and purple fairy cakes were tantalisingly displayed on the silver 3-tier trays, but everyone agreed that the scones were highlight of the afternoon (however you pronounce it!) Early on there was some debate as to whether 5 settings were enough to share between 9 people, but as the afternoon drew on, high on sugar and lashings of tea, we were content we had ordered just the perfect amount. A wander round the hotel and grounds only convinced us that more such afternoons were needed, perhaps with a trip to the spa beforehand! It really was a wonderful afternoon, great company, delicious food and sumptuous surroundings. This is exactly what being in Circle is all about – not turning into a lady who lunches! – but doing something you would never have got round to doing on your own. Here’s to St Albans Circle!
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February 20th, 2010
Looking glamorous on the terrace of Luton Hoo
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