The January Ramble 2018

NEWHAVEN EATING & DRINKING SOCIETY ( NERDS)



Ramble No: 338 “ The Return of The Prodigal Son” – or – “ The 2 Birthday Rambles”

Those Present: Lafayette, Matt, Curly, Sandyballs, Froggy, Paco & BT

Date: 10th January 2018

You have a guest scribe this month – me.

This onerous task was thrust upon me by Lafayette

on the spurious grounds that he was this month’s Guest Routemaster. I think it was more a case that he had just got fed up with doing the write-ups after all these years (getting on for 30 – more of this later).

Anyway, we all met up In Lafayette’s Man-Cave

in The Purple Palace. The date was significant being more or less equidistant between Lafayette’s and Sandyball’s birthdays. The difference was that Laf

was an elderly man in his seventies whilst SB

was …considerably younger.

One welcome visitor was The Prodigal Son – BT –

who has not graced our shores – or our rambles for some considerable time. The reason being that for some incomprehensible reason he had chosen to go and live in the Land of Johnny Foreigner – France. The country of cheap wine, over-rated cuisine and disgusting toilets.

A goodly turnout of NERDS for the first Ramble of the year. In fact there was hardly any room for SB to sit down, so full was the room with NERDS, air guns, books and bottles of booze. Fortunately two of these were open (bottles not books) so the company was able to slake their thirst with either Calva or Jamesons – or both in SB’s case. One peculiar novelty was the presence of a disco – style light show playing across the walls and ceilings. It might be thought that Laf had left it a bit late in life to consider a John – Travolta – Saturday-Night – Fever – type affectation. Maybe senility brings such conceits. I wouldn’t really know…….

After girding loins we set off for the walk.

The usual photo calls outside The Purple Palace. It hardly seems worth remarking – although I will – that either side of this Ramble Wednesday was dark, cold and windswept. We of course enjoyed blue skies and sunshine but then NERDS are well used to this. God smiles on the NERDS – unlike on other lesser rambling organisations. Our route led along a Nature Reserve

– basically a path through a lot of mud with the odd bird here and there.

No major carnivores that I could see.

We stopped at a bench for the 17th photo call when we were met by a Chinese- looking lady walking a dog.

The lady claimed to be a recently arrived Australian and was named Sofia.

We had a bit of a chat and took some photos.

It was so unusual to have a lady and a dog on a Ramble…..

We slogged along through the ‘Nature Reserve’

and a few miles of pavements

until we arrived at our lunch time destination – The White Lion in Seaford.

Laf had taken the precaution to book a table

and it was a good job he did as the place was rammed. We were 7 at table

- soon to be 8. Most of the NERDS ate off the Miser’s Menu - £5.99 cheap deals.

SB however pushed the boat out in view of his imminent special birthday and ordered steak. We were then joined by our unscheduled Mystery Guest

– the lovely Lara, d/o Paco.

It is hoped that she was deeply appreciative of being allowed to join the exclusive all-male society that is the NERDS. Seriously though, it was good to see her.

Having finished in the pub we decided that the best thing to do was

……to go to another pub.

We ended up in The Plough

– along with another load of pensioners – for a quick half-pint. There was conversation about Philby ( why??) and speculation about the location of the 300th Ramble sometime this summer.

SB’s fanciful idea about us all going to New York was deemed to be a non-starter and it was accepted that we would be going to Dieppe.

Plenty of time to argue about T-shirts and hotels, not to mention rambling routes.

Finally, during the Ramble Paco had been ranting about a mythical French creperie right in the middle of Seaford. Most of us had dismissed this as a fantasy but -guess what – he was right. The establishment in question was about the size of a small bathroom and was run by a real Frenchman – Guillaume

– and who served us with real French crepes.

NERDS

were impressed that he made liberal use of (illegal) Calvados in the crepe manufacture.

This bizarre incident came as a fitting conclusion to Ramble No 338. Thanks to all participants and congratulations to Laf for not getting lost!

Ramble No 339 is due for Wednesday February 21st. I gladly hand back the quill pen to your usual Scribe……..



Sandyballs

2018 February Ramble date

G'day from a 69 year old Sandyballs. Just to confirm that the date for next month's Ramble is Wednesday 21st. Hope this suits most of you. If not - tough!

By the way, I have completed the write-up for the January Ramble but my computer problems prevent me, at the moment, from attaching it to an email. Have to put Barbara on the case.

See y'all soon
SB

The January Ramble 2018

Owing to the huge number of photographs and Sandyballs's acting as "scribe" the blog will be updated in due course.  However, here's a rare snap of everyone who attended the event.

January 2018 RAMBLE

The next Ramble will be on the 10th January.  Joining instructions to follow,
BT

December Christmas Ramble 2017

Ramble No 337. Christmas Ramble 2017.

Those present - Sandyballs, Lafayette, Froggy, Curly, Paco, The Bish, Matt.

Sandyballs and Lafayette had taken great pains to ensure that this year's Christmas ramble and meal were on track by selflessly mounting a prior expedition to Kingston from Lewes to visit The Juggs and test out its food and drinks menu. So, the venue having passed its initial test was confirmed and joining instructions were issued.

It was a good turn-out with only The Captain and Bronco being absent. The rest of the NERDS met at Lewes station where Froggy first of all took some photos of us

on the seat outside the station to remind us how old we were all looking. Then he moaned that there were to be no pit-stops en route for the traditional Christmas drink. S.B. and Laf ignored all these tantrums; they had worked out the length of the ramble to the last second and no diversions were to be allowed for.

Paco was looking particularly old that day. He had abandoned the pink silk ribbon which Matt had given him to keep his long hair tidy and started to grow a scruffy beard.

Whether this was in homage to poor deceased Philby or whether he was trying to get the job of Santa Claus that year in Lidl was not made clear.

Anyway, on, on we marched to Kingston all on tarmac bar one bit of rural route up through the carpark into the pub. The weather was surprisingly mild although it was a bit grey but Sandyballs livened up the atmosphere by sporting his usual festive jumper.

Once inside we all gathered around the pub fire and were told by the landlord to keep it going or we wouldn't get any more beer. Curly

was given the job of being log monitor since he was sitting next to the fire, but unfortunately had forgotten his password so wasn't able to log in immediately (boom, boom!)

We were initially told that we were not to be seated in the back room with the big banqueting table where Lafayette usually holds his birthday feasts, but in the dining room to the right of the bar. This turned out to be surprisingly OK

with a festive atmosphere and what turned out to be a very good meal of turkey and plum pud etc. even though the crackers were crap.

Paco told us all about his recent road accident when he had slaughtered vast swathes of people driving on the M6 but had fortunately escaped unscathed apart from fucking up his car a bit, and Froggy

told us about an old Christmas tradition in Wales where you go out with a few lumps of coal and burn peoples' gates down. ( Laf may have confused Christmas and Hogmany here.) also Froggy gave us a new date for his latest BPR to Worthing so that we could all rearrange our lives and join in instead of staying at home fornicating and taking drugs again. (Matt,

be warned; Cardinal Sins are out until Lent.)

After much wine drinking and clandestine calvados pouring we exited and caught the country bus into Lewes and stopped off at The Runaway at the station for ‘un petit digestif’. Sandyballs told us that the next day he was due to receive his very expensive ear trumpet which he planned to wear with the label dangling out to impress all his followers on Facebook.

Then we all went home.

Merry Christmas to one and all. May all your mince pies be large ones!

Lafayette.

November 2017 Ramble

NERDS' Rambles 336 and 337.

Ramble 336 - 15th November 2017

Those Present - Froggy, Lafayette, Curly, The Captain, Paco, Imogen and Bandido, Sandyballs (late arrival.)

Plan A, formulated by Sandyballs, was to take the NERDS right up Seaford Head thus killing off most of us, and then presumably having lunch at the Golf Club. Fortunately S.B. had to take a relative to hospital so he couldn't have his wicked way. Instead Froggy was put in charge so we all met up at Seaford station to bargain our way to the shortest ramble possible.

Imogen and Bandido had heard of a new caff right next to the station which everybody had been walking past for weeks now but which only perspicacious women with big black dogs had noticed.

It was called “Steamworks” and looked very stylish so we all went in to talk to the nice couple who were busy setting it up and to have a coffee and Jamesons.

After refreshments came the thorny question of where to walk

and where to lunch. Froggy gave us the usual thousand and one options and we finally decided to walk along the sea shore to Newhaven. Plan B for lunch was to be The Flying Fish. OK, so we set off and Laf’ duly rang up S.B. to give him advance notice of the new arrangements so that “he could meet us at the pub.”

In the seafront park Paco took charge of the slavering monster and walked around with his darkened glasses looking like the archetypal blind man with a guide dog.

Bandido was busy sniffing bits of shit and nearly allowed Paco to walk into the sea. Some guide dog!

Newhaven was fast approaching when someone raised doubts about the quality of the cooking at the Fish. After a lot of argy bargy NERDS' democracy came into play once again and the lunchtime venue was switched to The Ark at Newhaven (Plan C.)

Dutifully, Lafayette dug out his phone once again to inform Sandyballs who was beginning to realise that his iron grip on the discipline of the NERDS was surely slipping, and that he ought to get back and take charge.

Fortunately The Ark was open (nobody had checked this) and we managed to bag the big table at the back.

Sandyballs had rushed back from Brighton in a panic and was already there supping Harveys and biting his fingernails with stress. Things calmed down, we all had a very pleasant meal with lots of wine and stuff,

and then everybody cleared off leaving Lafayette to go home and worry about his writer's bloc. He's thinking of advertising for a ghost writer

to take on the awesome responsibility of churning out crap every month. Are there any ghosts out there with a vivid imagination?

Christmas Ramble 2017 Aftermath

Dear Nerds,

Those of you who were able to come today ----------did this, in all pictoral glory! The Juggs's fare was actually rather nice and apart from the obvious kiddies crackers, we all had a jolly good time!

Thank you Harry for organising a good Christmas Ramble and seeing that we all got back to Lewes safely and without any further walking.

It was unamimously agreed today to undertake the BPL to Worthing next week on Thursday 14th instead of Wednesday 13th.

This is what I said, inter alia (remember having to use this in statements)? about the proposed BPL, 2 weeks back:-

"And so a return to the Rose & Crown in Worthing for those sumptious pensioner's portions would seem a good start to the 2017-2018 season on Wednesday 13th December(plenty of notice). Regretably for those with hunger for yet more Christmas Fare - there doesn't seem to be such a menu on their website?

The proposed 12x should be passing Sutton Corner @ 09:37; Seaford Library @ 09:40 and Newhaven South Way @ 09:52 - arriving at Churchill Square at 10:20 in time for a familiar proposed meeting in Starbucks for @ 10:30 before jumping on the next available 700 Coastliner to Worthing."

So, we can meet up with Harry (and Malcy Baby, if you can make it)? and take a 700 opposite Starbucks and along a bit, as and when?

The last BPL to Worthing was very successful, let us hope this one will be as well?

Froggy B.P.L (is that any better than an M.B.E)? Xx

Goodness, I don't think any of us have ever looked so old. - Except Matt who is the oldest yet manages to look the youngest.
Laf

.Oh my god ...those photos must be incinerated without delay. Physical beauty is a rare gift , the first to be prayed upon by nature .
A very good Nerds day out . Phil ....please tell us who is going to Peru with you ....I can’t stand the suspense.
Full of Christmas cheer....love you all and cords .
Matt

Christmas Ramble 2017 Meeting

We will meet to begin the festive fun

on Wednesday 6th outside Lewes station at about 10.45. No Admiral or Bronco, so we will be 7 at table. The Magnificent Seven.

Hope you remember your food choices. Food should be served from 1PM. As is customary now, NERDS should purchase their own drinks.

Hope we all have fun. Looking forward to the January Lafayette -Sandyballs Birthday bash with Special Guest (we hope) BT!!
S. Balls