March MKIVC News:

First things first, please let us all extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Liz C. and Deanna. We will be getting to meet them soon (if you haven’t already) at many events, and make them welcome in the inimitable style of the MKIVC.

Moving forward in 2012, there have been a few exciting changes to our Committee, by co-option. Firstly, please give a special thanks and all your support to fairly new members, Ursula and Anne R., who’ve volunteered to take on the vital roles of Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. Secondly, please support Rob A. and Yuri who have been co-opted into the roles of i-Publicity and Publicity, to progress  online and internal publicity of the club.

Perhaps as exciting, is that all this change has opened up an opportunity for a new Bulletin Editor, who will be able to work closely with the Activities and Publicity teams. This role is open to any full member, and may particularly appeal to those members who find the monthly printable bulletin useful and wish to continue and enhance it. On the job training can be provided.

For March, largely through our efforts (that is us, the ordinary members), and the excellent co-ordination of our ultra-active Activities and AIVC Liaison Officer, Andrew S., the events calendar is yet again bursting with fun. Almost un-believably, there’s only one day when we get to rest. Spot the blank space in our new-look "At-a-glance" calendar further in, which will help you plan your choca times ahead !

Talking about chocs, we have many good times to look ahead to, including some intriguing events like Philip S.’ “Deep Fried Chocolate” evening, and Abbys’ “Pick Your Own” mystery event.

Another important event at the beginning of March is our Club Night. This is the one monthly event you do not want to miss! A highly social event when many members gather to review the past month and discuss ideas and plans for the coming months. We shall again be at the Cross Keys in Woolstone, where we send in our crack(ed pot) occupation forces early to try and bag the terraced area at the back, which gives us a nice high visibility and partitioned area.

As there will be many members coming to this event, there is a strong possibility that you may be able to share lifts. Put a message out on Facebook or the Yahoo mailing list if you’d like or could give one. But whatever, just be there, have a laugh, share past events (hey, bring piccies) with friends old and new, and put ideas out for April and beyond.

 While on the subject of the Facebook group and the Yahoo mailing list, you may find them very useful for discussing or plugging events. That’s what they are there for. So if you got a burning question on a particular event, or want to let everyone know how good it’s going to be, or any new developments on it like a special appearance by some famous member (yourself), why not shout it out.

One other exciting event that has been re-launched is the New Members Social Night. One Thursday a month, after the weekly Brisk Walk, this is an evening particularly aimed at new and prospective members, who are also very welcome to the brisk walk (it’s part of the initiation test, to try and socialise while out of breath). And established members will also really appreciate this opportunity to meet some new people and share with them their experiences and boost their social lives; and get new ideas for events and perhaps plug your upcoming ones. Some might say this is an extension of Club Night (with added heavy breathing).

Looking back, we are such an energetic bunch, we often make trips away from home to where the action is. One such trip was to bring in the Year of the Dragon, in China town, London. Our special correspondent Ken Y., sends a report:

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!  A group of us joined celebrations for the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon) in London on 29th January. Trafalgar Square was packed for the opening ceremony which started with an awesome and noisy firecracker display which inscribed 2012 on the ground. Dedications were given from Boris Johnson and the Chinese Ambassador amongst others as they ‘dotted the eyes of the dragon’ to bring it to life. Then we were treated to an amazing Lion dance (on poles 3m off the ground!) followed by a dragon dance to ward of evil spirits and bring us good fortune for the year.

The whole of the Trafalgar Square, Shaftsbury Avenue and China Town were shut off to traffic for the day as lots of activities were going on including dancers, musicians, acrobats (flown in from China for the occasion) and numerous stalls. The finale was an impressive music, light and firework show. The crowds were mayhem and our day didn’t go exactly as planned but great fun was had by all:)

IVC has always had a tradition of sportiness and many of us know (or are) our regular runners and walkers. And in the last month or so, a few of us have been trying out a new sport, Korfball. Here’s a report from one member who played recently, Yuri:

Milton Keynes being the home of all things cool in the local area, I’d heard about Korfball for many years, but never got around to trying it.

If you haven’t heard of it, originating in the Netherlands, Korfball is a mixed gender team sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. A team consists of 4 women and 4 men and a player may only challenge an opponent of the same sex, thus levelling the field. The focus is on teamwork, and various such rules work together to neutralise the advantages of a few super-players and physical advantages like height & power. Indeed, if you’ve been used to scoring on the basketball court, you may find your throwing strategy needs serious re-calculation for the 3m high free standing korf (Dutch for basket), where you can be blocked by someone simply holding up a hand to you. It’s very much a case of teamwork, teamwork, teamwork.

We have been playing on Monday evenings with the MK Colossus team in Shenley Leisure Centre, coached by the very friendly Kelly, Katie & Nick from the South Mids Korfball Association. Even though they do have to hire out the sports hall, they are kindly letting MKIVC members have two free sessions to see how much fun it is. And afterwards it turned into a social evening as Shenley Leisure Centre have their own pub. So if you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely come along as this is a very social game/sport that nurtures all levels and I look forward to the time when we’ll be able to form our very own Team MKIVC !

Moving on to issues of the wider IVC, there has already been a lot more co-operation between the 40+ IVCs this year, and you will see this reflected in the many more inter-IVC events we have been invited to. As we have been invited to these events, if you fancy any of them, please feel free to get in touch directly with the organiser, who will probably be eager to have you on-board. And if you think you might  feel a bit shy, why not ask around MKIVC, and see if you can grab a few people you know to go with you.

Conversely, when hosting an event that might be enhanced by a larger attendance, then do consider inviting some of the neighbouring clubs. For us, that is mainly Northants and Beds&Herts IVCs; though Cambridge, London, Gloucester & Essex IVCs are also known to be quite keen to get out and about. And certainly if your event is away from home, apart from sheer numbers, it would be courteous and even beneficial to get in touch with the IVC in that area, who may be able to provide valuable local information and guidance. A couple of away-from-home events in 2011 definitely benefitted in this way when we requested advice on local watering holes for  post event de-briefs.

Invitations can be sent online via Activity Exchange when you’re entering the information for your event. Alternatively, let our AIVC Liaison Officer know that you’d like to open up your event to other IVCs. This will normally not occur without your explicit request.

You may also notice the weekend 13th-15th of  April in the calendar has been highlighted. This is to bring your attention to the annual AIVC Conference, which is being held in Plymouth this year. There is no other inter-IVC event where you will be able to meet so many other like minded people who love what the concept of IVC has brought to their lives. And as part of a programme to foster greater inter-IVC-action, we would like to encourage as many Milton Keynes Members as can make it, to join as guests in what promises to be yet another superb event.

The Club will subsidise the cost of shared transport, so let’s get a couple of car loads to Plymouth, and hold up the Milton Keynes banner. Time is of the essence now, and we need to collate bookings and send them in as a group; so see the Inter-IVC Events section below for details and then let our resident ALO, Andrew S., know of your interest.

And finally, a reminder that if any of you artsy members has an idea for a new IVC logo (not MKIVC), please submit your ideas to the AIVC National Development Officer. They will be voted on in the Plymouth Conference.

Have a Marvellous March !!

The MKIVC Bulletin Team

Inter-IVC News

As in previous years, this year we already have a number of inter-IVC weekend breaks and holidays taking bookings. These trips are immense fun and here is a report on one from a sister IVC, Solent Socialising, on their 2011 Spanish holiday.

Solent Socialising Goes on Holiday to Alicante! - 2011

As many of you may know Solent Socialising went to Alicante for a weeks holiday last year. It was an easy event to organise as I booked up the flight and hotel and then advertised the exact flight details etc so anyone who wanted to go could book up either the same time or do a short stay.

As a member of aIVC we thought it would be nice to invite others from around the UK. We flew from Southampton Airport with FlyBe on 4 September 2011 and arrived at Alicante Airport at 11.15 hours. At the airport we caught the bus to the hotel; only 20 minutes and cost only 2 Euros 60.

The Hotel Maya (see www.hotelalicantemaya.com ) was brilliant as central to the beach, hyper market, old fort at the top of the hill, the old town and tram station to the town centre or to Benidorm (1 hours 20 min trip all for 5 Euro return - a bargain!).

During the week we did different trips by boat, tram, train or on foot. There was a lovely island off shore and the boat trip was glorious and ended up at a lovely remote island ideal for sun bathing. By tram some of us went to Altea; a coastal village with love churches and lovely beach. Alicante Bull Ring was interesting.

The old town of Alicante was so beautiful in the evenings with lots of nice restaurants. We would get together as a group and chat about what we had done during the day. All very social and enjoyable. As we ate we could admire the old buildings and churches as all illuminated. An evening walk around the old harbour full of boats was so relaxing. The place was full of people and was good to people watch.

During the week we watched the Alicante folk take part in their Festival of the Sea. This involved bands playing up and down the street; setting off fire crackers and large bangers with plumes of smoke; dancing; all the residents decorated their houses and looked great. Every morning at 07.00 hours the local marching band would wake everyone up with a silly tune and then stop along the street and let off fire crackers and then explode a huge bomb creating a big explosion and loads and loads of smoke. They would repeat this 10 times as they marched up and down the street. I can safely say the Alicante people were completely bonkers. This was one of the charms of the holiday.

On some days we all lay on the beach and soaked up the rays and then cooled down in the very warm sea. Through goggles you could see loads of tropical fish swimming. Also some jelly fish and one bit me on my leg! Ouch!

On the last night we climbed to the top of the hill by the castle and had a terrific picnic and we had an elevated view of all of Alicante. We watched the sun set behind distant mountains. As dusk arrived we saw Alicante city lights and harbour. That for me was a magical moment with good company and with some quality wine!

All in all it was a great late summer break. It was cheap (about £500 each), easy to get to, quick (2 hours 20 mins including flight and bus), temperature averaging 30 degrees Celsius and such a variety of things to do and see and excellent Solent Socialising & Cardiff company! Perfic!

Maybe see you there next year? Take a look at some of the photos on our website.

Ed - Chairman and ALO for Solent Socialising

And many IVCs across the country do participate in these inter-IVC events, which often take a huge amount of organisation by a few individuals, as can be seen in this little note from Manchester IVC.

Manchester IVC Lakes Weekend November 2011 .

Just a note of thanks from Manchester IVC to the 50 people who attended this year – members came from Cardiff, Edinburgh, Merseyside, London, Essex, with a strong sprinkling of new faces. We had volunteers to lead walks, quizzes and a ceilidh for Saturday night. As usual HF laid on some superb catering at a magnificent venue - Derwentwater.

Walter F. has been organising these events for nearly twenty years now, and I feel that they have become a great AIVC tradition – we can all thank Walter for the enormous effort he puts in every year. Next year will be Sedburgh in Yorkshire, 9th November 2012.

David S., A.L.O. Manchester IVC