After a rail journey from Luton Airport, via London, I arrived into Leamington Spa and then walked to the Woodland Grange hotel. This is where the LDWA Groups’ weekend was taking place from Friday to Sunday.
The venue is one which the LDWA (I should note that this is the Long Distance Walkers Association) has used before and I recall the friendliness from the staff and the cleanliness of the hotel. It’s a lovely hotel and after an initial piece of confusion where they thought I was sharing a room with Richard, I was allocated a lovely private room.
Madeleine, the rather wonderful LDWA chair, also presented me with a chicken bake and that’s why she’s my favourite NEC member 🙂 I doubt any other NEC member will read this (other than Richard), so I’ll get away with that.
Here’s Penny, the Volunteer Support Officer, giving a talk about the weekend. Engagement with groups is important to the LDWA as we’re a volunteer led organisation and the NEC needs to get feedback from individual members and groups to properly deliver what the organisation needs.
I’d add that I won’t reveal any private discussions, but for those going, a report will be produced and all members will be able to see the various things that the LDWA is doing.
Everyone taking part got a free drink from the LDWA, which is rather lovely. I won’t name people individually as I’ll forget someone and that might annoy them, but it’s always lovely to see Chelle, Andy and Sarah from Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA. Richard was also there from the group in his national IT role.
It’s important to be well fed on these occasions and we weren’t let down by the venue.
And a little dessert to go with it (I didn’t have all of what’s in the photo).
And the highlight of the evening was the talk from the LDWA Vice-President Ken Falconer. He walked Lands End to John O’Groats fifty years ago and thought it would be a good idea to do it again fifty years later. It all led to one of the most entertaining talks that I’ve heard at an LDWA event, all really rather lovely.
I was rather pleased to actually get to Leamington Spa given the complexities of the travel arrangements, but this is an exciting and important weekend with the whole LDWA waiting to be surprised and delighted by the IT announcements.