Ringwood NWR group has been thriving for the past 16 years. What follows is a view of the group from the perspective of a relatively new member:
My first experience of an NWR meeting was attending a murder mystery play reading. A friend who was a member asked me if I could ‘make the numbers up’ as it was in the summer and several of the members were on holiday. As it was a play reading they needed a minimum number participating to make it work.
I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, being a bit of a thespian myself and also a bit of a ‘whodunit’ fan. All the ladies were friendly, welcoming and interesting. I felt quite at ease and at home with them all immediately even though I didn’t guess the murderer!
My friend explained how the group worked and asked me if I would like to join. They have several meetings a month, none of which have compulsory attendance and they are hosted in our own homes. This is an added bonus as it’s always interesting to see other peoples’ houses.
We have a book club which I love because it has opened up a whole new world of authors and genres to me. It is also very interesting to hear other peoples’ views on the current book; sometimes it is like we haven’t read the same book, the opinions differ so widely.
We meet for lunch regularly at different venues and there is always a discussion theme. This is most enjoyable because, as well as having stimulating conversation and (sometimes) delicious food, it is an opportunity to discover new eateries.
We also have a meeting once a month with a subject to discuss and sometimes debate.
These meetings are informative, extremely interesting but, above all, fun. We do seem to laugh a lot.
Occasionally, partners are invited along and these meetings are also great fun; everyone gets on so well.
It is an ideal environment to make new friends, discover interests you never knew you had, have fun and above all feel very much part of an extended family.