BEDS & BUCKS DISTRICT
of
THE ODDFELLOWS
Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity Friendly Society
Home - News - Contacts - District Officers - Events - Lodges - Links
NEWS:
January 2012:
A fantastic sum of almost £1800 was presented to representatives from Dogs for the Disabled. At our annual district meeting we enjoyed a talk and demonstration from this charity. More information is availabe in our Spring newsletter. If you would like a copy, please e-mail the Prov CS. sue@oddfellowsbedsandbucks.co.uk
September 2011:
Please note a new venue for the Grenville (Buckingham) Lodge meetings - check the Lodge page for further information.
July 2011:
The latest edition of the Beds & Bucks "Outreach" newsletter is in the process of being distributed. We have quite a few new events planned, and have enjoyed a variety of events so far this summer, including our annual canal cruise, a tea dance, a coach trip etc. Check out the Events Page and do join us on a future event.
April 2011:
We were delighted to see so many people at our District Church Service at Old Warden. We had visitors from neighbouring Districts, the Midland Group, and were also honoured by the presence of Bro Alan and Sis Jean, our current Grand Master and his consort. The weather was perfect, and the food (courtesy of "Planet Sandwich" of Milton Keynes (www.planetsandwich.co.uk) was superb, in their usual custom! We will return to Finedon for next year's church service, as next year's Provincial Grand Master would like the service at her home church, naturally! We thank the Ministry team at St Leonards for their hospitality over the last two years - it has been an interesting change, and very well received by our members.
The events page has been updated with the latest events, but please keep an eye on the web-site as new events will be added
March 2011:
A number of Officers and members visited the oak tree that we planted last year to commemorate the Society's bicentenary. We're pleased to report that the tree has survived quite a harsh winter, and has grown quite a bit since last year.
January 2011:
Happy new year to all visitors to this web-site. A couple of new events have been added to the events diary. Also, please note that there will be a presentation from Unity on the subject of "Incorporation", to which all are invited to attend. Please see the events page for more detail. (29th January)
December 2010:
Hoping you're all surviving this early bout of wintery weather! The events page has been updated with the details from the new events diary which you've hopefully received by now. Some dates for events that were publicised at "TBC" have been added. Keep an eye on this page for more up to date information about events, in case of any changes.
The Victoria Lodge has found a (second!) new venue, for meetings with effect from January - details are on the "Lodges" page.
October 2010:
Important news - a change of venue for the Loyal Victoria Lodge (Wellingborough) from December onwards - please see the "Lodges" page for more information.
New event: "Robin Hood" on stage at The Castle, Wellingborough on 18th December - please see events page.
July 2010:
We've enjoyed a couple of District events this month - the canal cruise was very relaxing - a cream tea and a 3 1/2 hour cruise in gorgeous sunshine. Can't ask for more! And we had an excellent turnout for the quiz night. The winning team was "The Victorians" - no prizes for guessing where they're from - and they will hopefully be representing the Beds & Bucks District at the Midland Group Conference inter-District quiz in September. We'll let you know how we got on.
Lots of work going on to get a fantastic day together for our bi-centenary celebration at Woburn Safari Park on the 8th August. Should be a super family day for all ages - bring your kids, grand-kids, grandparents, parents along for an afternoon of fun and friendship. The award winning Oddfellows Brass Band will be in attendance, and judging by the reports of people who saw them perform at the AMC, it's a treat not to be missed.
Tickets available from all Lodges in the Beds & Bucks District, or from the Prov CS (See "District Officers" page for contact details)
29th May 2010:
The latest edition of the Events Diary and Newsletter has gone to print. There may be a little delay due to the workload in the printroom as it's AMC time. In the meantime, the Events Page has been updated with all the events planned from now until the end of the year, for our District and neighbouring Districts. It would be lovely to see you at any of these events. Contact details for each is listed.
2nd May 2010:
Please note that the Bedford Lodge meeting in June will not be on the normal 3rd Tuesday, as it clashes with the AMC. Instead, it will be on Tuesday 22nd June.
The District Church service on the 18th April was a great success - we had over 60 members and visitors present, who enjoyed the hospitality of the Ministry team at St Leonards, Old Warden, and a scrummy tea at the Village Hall afterwards, courtesy of "Trudy's Deli" of Sandy. We will be holding a similar event at the same church next year, so if you missed this one, hope you can make the 2011 event.
17th April 2010:
Important news for Bedford Lodge members: due to road closures in the Wootton area, the ASM has been postponed until the normal Lodge night on the 18th May 2010.
30th March 2010:
Details of an organised walk on the 24th April have been added to the Events page.
15th March 2010:
Our tree has been planted. An excellent delegation of Oddfellows and friends were present at the Marston Vale Countryside park to see our bi-centenary oak being planted:
6th March 2010:
Tickets are now available from Sue Doulton Smith for the Pam Ayres show on the 14th May - please contact her as soon as possible so as not to miss out!!
4th March 2010:
We have a date for our tree to be planted - Saturday 13th March 2010 - see the Events page for full details.
21st February 2010:
The Loyal United Lodge has reported some necessary changes to dates in the events diary - see the Events page for further information. Also, the venue for the Lodge dinner on the 7th March has been added.
5th February 2010:
We had a very successful Annual District Meeting in Woburn on the 23rd January. A presentation by the outgoing Provincial Grand Master, Brother Adrian Taylor, was made to Paul Airton of the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The grand total of £1,612.95 was raised by Members during 2009, which is a fantastic achievement, and we thank everybody who has donated. Paul was thrilled with our contribution, and gave an inspiring talk on the work of the organisation.
Brother Adrian making his presentation:
Our incoming Provincial Grand Master for 2010, Brother Stuart Lindsey of the Loyal Albert Lodge, has selected another very worthy charity for 2010 - Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. We will share more information on this later in the year.
9th January 2010:
Happy New Year to all readers! A couple of updates from the Loyal United Lodge - due to the adverse weather conditions, this Sunday's Lodge lunch, and the regular Lodge meeting next week have both been cancelled.
21st December 2009:
We are very sad to report the passing of Brother Bill Taylor of the Loyal Bedford Lodge on the 18th December 2009. Bill was PPGM in the Beds and Bucks District, and Past President of the Midland Group Conference. His funeral will be held on Tuesday the 5th January 2010 at St Mary's, Goldington, Bedford, at 12.30pm, then afterwards at Clapham Club.
10th December 2009:
The latest Newsletter and Events Diaries have been produced, and should be on their way to you. The forthcoming events have been added to the Events page.
The Prov CS would like to wish everybody a peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year.
7th November 2009:
Details of the Beds & Bucks District grand bi-centenary celebration on Sunday 8th August 2010, and the District Church Service on the 18th April 2010 have been added to the Events Page. Great Berkhampstead District events for 2010 have also been added, including a Burns Night on the 30th January 2010. Closing date for bookings is 30th November.
30th September 2009:
Details of the venue for the United Lodge lunch this Sunday have been added to the Events Page.
16th September 2009:
A new event has been added - theatre trip to see the family musical "The Jungle Book" - on 19th December 2009. Full details are available on the events page.
8th September 2009:
Well.. we have a lovely night last Saturday - the annual District Dinner Dance at the Freemasons Hall and Conference Centre in Northampton. The venue was great, and the food was superb. We were delighted to welcome visitors from other Districts and Lodges, and in particular from Birmingham, and our Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master who were also in attendance. I hope everything enjoyed the evening as much as I did!
A new event has been added - the Loyal Victoria Lodge are having their annual lunch at "The Wayfarers" in Kettering on Saturday 31st October - the menu is very appealing, and the price is too - just £15 per head. Full details are on the events page.
31st August 2009:
The date for the United Lodge Lunch in September has been changed from the 6th to the 13th September. Full details are on the Events page.
21st August 2009:
Two new events has been added to the Events Page: 19th September (concert) and 17th October (East Anglian Air Ambulance Day).
14th August 2009:
It's that time of year again (hurrah!) The Prov CS will be away on holiday from Monday 24th until Friday 28th August. Please e-mail any comments/queries/requests, and they will be dealt with when I return. Thank you.
2nd August 2009:
Another very nice event - afternoon tea at Luton Hoo - was very well supported with 25 members, friends & family meeting for a tour followed by high tea.
1st August 2009:
We enjoyed a lovely evening last night - 32 members, friends & family met at Pitstone Wharf for a two hour canal cruise. The weather was lovely, thankfully, in contrast to the last two Fridays which both had thunder storms. We started the cruise with a fish and chip supper, and enjoyed the bar and teas and coffees for the duration of the cruise. We went through two locks, twice! This was a very successful and enjoyable event, which we hope to repeat next year.
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20th June 2009:
We have added some new events - 8th July - a free talk on the Digital Switchover at Wootton, 8pm; 2nd August - United Lodge are arranging a tour of Luton Hoo, with a High Tea; 6th December - United Lodge Christmas Dinner. See the Events Page for more details.
15th May 2009:
The venue for the United Lodge lunch on Sunday 7th June has been added - see the Events page. Also, the United Lodge meeting in June will be on the 16th, at a different venue than normal: 7, Melton Court, Oakwell Close, Dunstable.
The latest editions of the newsletters and diaries are printed and on their way to you. If you have any contributions for the next newsletter, or any suggestions for events (particularly for 2010, to celebrate the bi-centenary), then please e-mail the Prov CS: sue@oddfellowsbedsandbucks.co.uk
24th April 2009:
The round of ASM's for 2009 is now complete. A huge vote of thanks from the District Officers to all the Lodges for your hospitality, and congratulations on a successful 2008.
The events diary for the second half of 2009, and the District Newsletter, is in production, and should be with you shortly. In the meantime, the new events have been added to the events page - please feel free to have a sneaky preview of the great events that we have planned for the rest of the year.
8th April 2009:
We attended the Grenville Lodge ASM on Monday night. Their new venue is excellent - good parking - a nice, bright, private room, with very good facilities - so it's great to see them settled somewhere suitable. It was an excellent meeting, and the hospitality was very enjoyable. Thank you, Grenville!
31st March 2009:
The United Lodge Lunch for April has been confirmed - 5th April - see the Events page for further details.
26th March 2009:
Some updates to the Events Diary: more details about the tour of Northampton's Guild Hall - date set to 28th April - see events page for more information. New events added: Annual District Dinner - Saturday 5th September. Biggleswade Lodge Annual Lunch - Saturday 28th November. All the Lodges' ASM dates and venues have now been added.
11th March 2009:
I thought you might like to share this photograph of our 2008 Provincial Grand Master, Brother Brian Pilgrim, handing over the proceeds of his Appeal to Anne, the representative from Guide Dogs at the District Annual Meeting in January. The appeal raised over £1,600, which was a fantastic result - well done to all.
9th March 2009:
Please note that the Loyal Grenville Lodge have a new meeting venue, with immediate effect. The details have been updated on the Lodges page.
8th March 2009:
Date added: next Biggleswade Lodge meeting will be on Monday 23rd March at 8pm (at the Conservative Club, Biggleswade)
5th March 2009:
The web-site has been launched! At the moment, some basic information is available - Events & Lodge details probably being the most useful to you. This is YOUR site - if you have any comments or suggestions, or if you notice any errors on the site, we would love to hear from you. Please use the e-mail link below to contact Sue, who is responsible for the updating of the site. We will put details of any web-site updates in this news section, so that you can see what is new without having to trawl through the whole site. Thank you for visiting.
Registered Office:
Beds & Bucks District, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity Friendly Society
203 Biggleswade Road
Upper Caldecote
Biggleswade
Beds
SG18 9BJ
Provincial Corresponding Secretary: Mrs Sue Hill
Tel: 01767 316089 or 01767 318193
E-mail: sue.hill@oddfellows.co.uk
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