The month of April provided us with early summer sunshine that meant we got the club’s Spring Cleaning done in record time hoping to be ready for the rest of the summer but of course we had the rainy June to follow like most of the country.  What a muddle the weather is in!

But our Irish eyes were smiling when we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day along with birthday celebrations for two surprised members.

We followed this up with a “Dragons & Knights” social – another of Blackthorn’s fun nights for dressing up, (but always entirely optional).

Most people took part in the next birthday celebration with the theme of “What you were wearing when the boat went down”.  We had everything from the Captain and the ship’s entertainer right down to the engine room mechanic and even the odd pirate trying to take over the boat!!

We were invaded with “Cowboys & Indians” during the weekend the Suntrekers stayed with us and I’m afraid we have to take all blame for the ensuing wet weather following a few wrong steps when the Indians were attempting a Sun Dance.  We are now calling them the Raintrekers with obvious reason!  (Don’t fret; we will still welcome them back in August as they are great company).

The weather was much kinder to us for the street party we held to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.  Unfortunately Her Majesty was unable to attend due to our “No Dogs” policy, not even for Corgis……sorry Ma’am!

We’ve witnessed some great table tennis, miniten and petanque playing recently with our own teams taking part in E.R. tournaments.  There is always chance to play sports for pleasure or competition at Blackthorns.  The Volley Ball got rained off as the ground was more suited to Water Polo but it will get played once the court is dry.

Our annual “Family Week” was everything we planned it to be with more sports, quiz nights, horse racing and communal barbeques together with a Pyjama Party at the start of the week and ending with a “Cops & Robbers” night.  Calvero the great acrobatic and dance teacher and Charlie Chaplin mime artiste paid us another visit and we are very grateful for his time and contribution; only requesting a collection in aid of “Save the Children”.  He is highly recommended by all.

We are hoping that at the time of you reading this we are enjoying an “Indian Summer” courtesy of the Suntrekers getting the dance steps right this time!

The photo is myself and Deane; Blackthorns very own “Big Chief Sitting Bare” and winner of the fancy dress competition that night!

I hope you all have as much fun at your club as we do at ours…..if not……come and join us!!

We had a great Fireworks night as usual due to our resident pyrotechnic, Howard, who puts on a spectacular show here at Blackthorns. Many members invite friends and family to join in the fun of the fire and mulled wine as well as the fantastic firework display.  It gives them a chance to see us as a mixed group of people rather than just naturists and they realise we are a fun bunch from various backgrounds.  Some even decide to join us!!

We had a pleasant evening social early December that we call “A Bit of a Do” as we really go to town on dressing smartly and dancing the night away in style! 

Our Sunday lunch time get together before Christmas was attended by many, especially as we expected a visit from Father Christmas.  It’s amazing how many believe in him still and promise they will be good all year!

New Year saw us all back for another festive feast and dancing until the early hours of 2007.

We soon had to get back into the work routine required to maintain the woods and grounds that we share with the wildlife and whilst it sometimes seems a bit drastic it is amazing how soon the new growth will appear and reap the benefits of winter pruning.

We celebrated the Chinese New Year with appropriate cuisine and more of Howard’s firecrackers and then St. Patrick’s Day with an Irish themed social.

We had to save some energy for our Spring Cleaning Weekend when almost all members join in sprucing up the club buildings and grounds in readiness for the summer months when we hope to be too busy lazing in some Global Warming by the pool to be doing anything more strenuous!

We now have the Easter weekend to look forward to, which will include a table tennis tournament. I hear it will also involve some dressing up as bunnies, so it sounds like we are in for some fun!  There will then follow some serious Petanque practise in readiness for the Derek Brown Trophy in early May.

It’s all go here at Blackthorns!  Do come and see for yourselves.