WESTMORLAND MAILING LIST 'SOCIALS'
(follow this link for the first two get-togethers)
17 August 2002
On Saturday, 17 August '02, a total of 23 list members and their partners met at The Royal Oak Inn, Appleby, for a highly enjoyable evening of chat, banter, reminiscences and shared interests. The 17th century coaching inn provided an ideal venue for members from three continents (Europe, USA and Australia) to spend an evening of excellent food, real ales, wines etc in the former county town of Westmorland. As one of the furthest-travelled list members pointed out, the Royal Oak is older than virtually every building in the USA or Australia!
Before moving on to the photos, Shirley Tebay has provided a (very) personal view of the evening….
"I have looked forward for what seemed like an eternity to this latest Gathering and now it seems unbelievable that it is all over. This is my view of that evening.
"Many of us were particularly welcoming the chance to actually meet Doug and Karolyn Cowden but, sadly, events conspired to prevent them from coming over to the UK this year, so hopefully next year ......
"Nigel Hunter had done an exemplary job of organising the event and also acted as Host, proposing the toast to 'Absent Friends'. By the time he did, most of us had empty glasses, but he refused to refill them all for us!! When he stood up to make his little speech, some members thought he was about to announce that he would be paying for the meal but he soon put us straight on that!
"It was one of those perfect, if rare, warm summers evenings so we all gathered at tables outside the Royal Oak, where introductions were made and old friends hugged and kissed. As we approached the pub, I saw who I thought was Nigel Hunter sitting at a table with a group of friends. I was about to creep up behind him and give him a kiss when I was hailed by Ruth Borrowdale, so I went to speak to her first. When 'Nigel' turned round, I was horrified to see a total stranger! Later it transpired this stranger was Michael Gregson from Warcop, who said he wouldn't have minded at all ......... we really are a friendly bunch !!
"So, who was there? Well, Jeff and Jo Dent had travelled the furthest, all the way from New South Wales in Oz, followed by John and Barbara Bird from the USA. Mike and Jill Dixon had come up from Nuneaton and were driving back there that night, while Jake Prescott had a caravan somewhere. There was Malcolm Borowdale and his sister Ruth, who had booked into another hotel, which they thought was Fawlty Towers: nothing worked in their rooms and Ruth had a scenic view of the fire escape. Jeff & Jo Dent were staying at the Royal Oak. Jeff said the floorboards creaked, so I don't know if he was planning a midnight visit somewhere, or whether all Aussies sleep on the floor
J Dean Langhorn and his wife turned up unexpectedly. I have forgotten her name, but she was so slim and pretty, it serves her right <wicked grin> (it's Karen, Shirley - Ed). There was Jean Ellis and Dorothy Williams and, of course, Nigel and Sue Hunter, plus Jean and Alan Foy and Dorothy Morgan, Jean's mother. As I don't drive, Mike had to take me (under duress…), so he insisted on taking the dog so he would have an excuse to escape. I noticed he only went out once, just after the meal, and he wasn't away that long either.... I did wonder if the fact that he was sitting between Dean's wife and Jill Dixon had any bearing on the matter! But, knowing him, the attraction was probably Michael Gregson sitting opposite, who lives at Warcop, where there is a substantial military establishment (my Mike is ex-Army & knows the area well). Dave Huddart completed the group. John Senior, who is the local lad from Brough, made a brief appearance but, as he wasn't eating and joined us mid-meal, he found it hard to introduce himself properly over all the din and not many of us realised who he was, which was a great shame. I found out later that he is a bit deaf and, as I have trouble following conversations in a noisy atmosphere, we could have had some really close encounters. Oh John, what have we missed??? Oh well, I guess there'll be a next time J"Nigel and Sue had the foresight of providing name tags but Dave Huddart came resplendent with two large badges from other societies, which made him look frightfully official. He turned out to be quite human and really nice and at least I didn't forget his name
J Dean gave us a fascinating account about what being a List Owner entails and remarked that most of the complaints he received came from people who never made any postings! Now why wasn't I surprised?? Dean came close to getting a black eye (from his wife) when he informed the waitress that his wife didn't have a dog. Karen had very kindly asked for a bag to wrap up her left over lamb shank for my dog (you should have seen the size of that piece of meat!)"As I was leaving, I was approached by a man in the other room who asked if I would do him a favour. He had been teasing his younger friend by telling him that our group was a Singles Club, because of our name tags. His friend had gone to the loo and, when he returned, he wanted me to ask this friend if he would like to join us next door in the Singles Club. I felt a bit of a twit but, as I tried to escape, the friend returned so I decided to play along and asked him. I think the lad knew he had been set up and both were still laughing uproariously as I left, although I think the older man was in danger of being throttled. Now then Dean, how's about that then!!! (In-joke connected with Dean and Karen's latest business venture - Ed)
"I think that about concludes the salient points but, as we were sitting at three tables, others will have different tales to tell. Nigel has agreed to organise another "do" in the future if Listers are still as keen.... so looking forward to the next one already. I will sink back into my mountain of files, censuses and Memorial recording projects, raising my glass to Nigel and Sue for a most successful night.... and this time it won't be empty! Warm regards to all."
Shirley in Dent
From the left: Michael Gregson (who, despite appearances,
is not asleep!), Dave Huddart, Dean Langhorn (Rootsweb
Westmorland List Owner),
Shirley Tebay (standing), Karen
Langhorn, Mike Tebay and, just in picture, Jill
Dixon.
Same table, from the left: Dean Langhorn (well, the back
of his head, anyway!) and wife Karen, Mike Tebay, Jill and Mike
Dixon,
Barbara and John Bird from Wisconsin, USA (John can trace
his line back to the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower!), Michael Gregson
and Dave Huddart.
From the left: Jo Dent (leaning back - from Sydney, Oz),
Dorothy Williams (hidden!), Malcolm Borrowdale (foreground),
Jeff Dent (Jo's husband), Jake Prescott, Ruth
Borrowdale and Jean Ellis.
Same table as above, but with Dorothy Williams in shot!
From the left: Dorothy Morgan, Alan and Jean Foy, Sue and Nigel Hunter
GENERAL SHOTS
This page updated 21 August 2002