ROLL UP! ROLL UP! Midlands area Christmas Dinner/Get-together: Friday 3rd December

[LunarSea]

Midlands area Christmas Dinner is booked - please come along and join us.

Date: Friday 3rd December
Time: 8pm
Place: Bear Inn, Berkswell
Location: Close to J6 of M42, near the NEC - see map here
Cost: £19.99

Menu:

Roasted Cherry Tomato & Butternut Squash soup laced with Basil (served with half a crusty baguette & butter) OR Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche & Crab Parcel (served with brown bread and butter) OR Warm Salad of Crispy Duck, Walnuts, Spinach & Pomegranate (with a balsamic raspberry vinaigrette) OR Port & Stilton Rarebit (garnished with cherry tomatoes)

Traditional Turkey & Honeyed Ham (served with sage & onion stuffing, bacon, chipolata sausage, cranberry & bread sauces)
OR
8oz Sirloin Steak with Bearnaise sause
OR
Fresh Haddock set on Walnut & Stilton crushed new potatoes (garnished with wilted herbs, capers, cherry tonmatoes and rocket pesto)
OR
Half a Roast Duckling (served with a winter berry and cassis sauce)
OR
Mediterranean style roasted Vegetables, Spinach & Brie Calzone (a folded pizza parcel filled with vegetables, olives, spinach & cheese)

All served with a selection of fresh seasonal vegetables

Christmas Pudding & Brandy Sauce OR Festive Berry Pavlova OR Tarte au Citron (served with a raspberry coulis)

Coffee, mini mince pies & Bittermints

Accomodation nearby: Travel Inn at Balsall Common - we should be able to fix transport to/from if people want to stay overnight.

HOWEVER... I do need deposits (£10 each) by next Thursday to confirm the booking. We may be able to add extra people on to the booking later, if they still have spaces, but no guarantees. I will also need your menu choices in advance of the meal (although not necessarily as early as next week.

Can anyone who wants to come either CAT me or send an email to
Midlands_Xmas AT mail2uk DOT com
and I'll get back to you with details of where to send cheques to.

Probables so far:
jampot (Solihull)
NomDePlume (Worcester)
GeorginaA (Worcester)
LunarSea (Leamington Spa)
Ailsa
Ronniebaby (Tamworth?)
MumtoLaura
whimsy (North Birmingham)
clary (Derby)
CHRIZ (South Birmingham)
Mum2girls (Coventry)
MadameButterfly (Burton?)
Lavender2 (Cambridge)

LS - Chriz said she could pick up MB.

Chriz - text me and I'll send you MB's mobi

RB - are you still looking for a swing (from another thread before anyone get's confused?)

hi sharon thanks

will text you the details should be ok

tc all see u next week

hi MB will text u this week

do u want picking up from the hotel?

tc chrissey

LS - I am after an indoor, like this baby swing, not an outdoor one

MadameButterfly do you still want a lift??? more than happy to drive an extra 30 miles each way...no problem whatsoever...(have never met any mumsnetters and would be nice to chat ...PLEASE LET ME KNOW am leaving home around 12.30pm and should be there 3-4pm depending on traffic, or could pop out later if necessary

hi RB

have you tried ebay see if theres any 2nd hand for sale

hi LS

was gonna contact MB and arrange about giving her a lift this week got her mb

Lavender2 - I think Chriz is giving MB a lift, as Sheldon aint far from Chriz, plus MB only comes on at the moment about once a week. Chriz is going to text MB tomorrow, so you should be ok to just head on to your hotel

RB - I have one of those indoor battery powered swings (well it's a different colour, has less speeds, and no mobile, but similar otherwise!) which you could borrow for a while if you like. I don't think I'm ready to sell it or give it away yet, in case there ever is a #2, but I guess a bit more use in the meantime wouldn't hurt it.

LS - that would be excellent, I would only have it for about 9 months, as they dont really do much after that, do you have a pic or can you find one on the web that it looks like. If I bought one I would end up selling it after 12 months anyway.

I have one for my niece, but she is due in April, so will only really have the use of it for about 4 months, and I can see me it a little longer than 4 months.

Sorry if I've missed it in the thread, but what are the final arrangements for this now? What time to we need to be there? Are there directions online anywhere? What's the final balance owed that we need to bring on the day (presumably we'll need extra for drinks etc)? Anything else we should know?

RB - the one I've got is a bit like this , but the colours are different. Mine has brighter colours - yellow/green/orange/blue - and the seat cover isn't frilled like the one in the picture.

GeorginaA - the meal is booked for 8, so I'd say aim to be there for sometime between 7.30/7.45. The balance is £9.99, plus whatever you have to drink. For directions try here and put "CV7 7BB" as the destination.

Georgina,

Ailsa is giving me a lift, I'm sure she'd be happy to collect you too. Her pc is down at the mo (again!), so emails and MN are out for her.

I know NdP - she messaged me to find out the details so she'd know where to go

Thanks LunarSea!

LS - yeh that would be great if you dont mind??? Also I am still undecided on the meal, as it depends on how I feel, when or do you have to finalise number with the bear, if I do come, will I still have to pay deposit or just pay full amount on the day, I wont decided till at least next wed or thurs (depends on (Roo)-Bump)

hi MB tried to etxt wu will recheck the number in case not sure where your hotel is

let me know

Chriz I'll text MB's mobi again just in case

hi realsie i texted ona old one number i seem to aquire months ago

have texted on the curent one u sent me

so MB text me back with the info

Hi there,

The address of the Innkeepers Lodge is 2225Coventry Road, Sheldon, Birmingham,West Midlands,B26 3EH
Tel: 0121 742 6201

hi there MB

thanks for the info text me with where you,ll be waiting to be picked up and time

will keep in contact

tc ev1 see u fri

LS when do you need to know by??????

my bump (roo) seems to come to life more in the evening and my Bhicks are more in the evening too, so it gets uncomfortable, but I'm not ruling out coming yet, I just might not know until thurs or fri morn at the latest.

I have your mobi so I could text you if you wish

Jampot - if I do come, what starter do you want as I dont like any of them.

LS - I would have turkey & xmas pud.

RB - I think we're starting a communal pot of starters and I think MB is donating her duck to the said pot, maybe one of the others????

RB - if you can persuade the Bear to add you at the last minute, then any time up to and including the day is ok. Re starters, 5 out of 10 people have ordered the smoked salmon, 2 the soup, and 3 (including MB's to be shared) the duck. Nobody has ordered the "Port & Stilton Rarebit (garnished with cherry tomatoes)".

The final list of confirmed attendees (unless anyone else wants to join in at this stage) is:
Ailsa
CHRIZ
GeorginaA
jampot
Lavender2
LunarSea
MadameButterfly
MumtoLaura
NomDePlume
Ray1