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Do you have a hobby or pass-time you'd like to share with others on a fairly regular basis?
Do you have interests and time on your hands, and would like to meet up in the comfort of your own home or someone else's home regularly, to fill 2, 3 or 4 hours sharing an activity you enjoy...( several of the unlimited options are mentioned later in this email). There are various clubs in most suburbs that provide this outlet, however they can have little or no flexibility, being constrained by the council or the club committee rules and decision making they are bound to.
I live in Westminster and I'm recruiting like minded seniors who have tried the local clubs (or not), and would prefer home comforts, more options and less rules. I'm open to your suggestions and willing to learn and try new games, and I currently enjoy the card games 500 and Bolivia, (both card games with 4 players partnering), and board games of Rummy-O and Sequence. I bought a pack of "Kings" which remain unopened at this stage, but would love to try that out. I played Contract Bridge 40 years ago so have forgotten most of it and found it a bit too serious then anyway, I used to play chess and mastermind with my husband but we find other things have priority of an evening these days (like letting the television watch us
),My only sticking point for any 'game' is that I prefer to play by the actual game rules, rather than variations adopted by so many clubs these days. It makes it so much easier for newcomers to join in and remember ongoing, if the games rules are all as they are supposed to be.
This Meet-up concept is supported by Seniors Discount Club, and they have provided this platform for us to get something going. They will not be involved in the organising or running of the Groups Activities. In fact, once you are established/attending regularly, you'll be in control of your own timetable, the activities you offer and participate in, and the recruiting of new players. There will be no fees or money changing hands at all, no committees, no meetings (other than the initial ones I'm setting up at my home to get you introduced to each other and started), and best of all, no limits.
Very simple rules that should be taken for granted as a participant entry, will include and hopefully limited to:
Be considerate, inclusive, encouraging, imaginative, and have fun.
Make an effort to participate, and connect with others, including sharing your contact details for obvious reasons (emergency cancellation etc).
I am available to host once a month at my home, and to play at your house on:
Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, for 3 to 4 hours between 11am and 4:30pm, and on:
Wednesdays and Saturdays for 3 hours between 1 and 4:30pm.
During the initial meet-ups at my house in Westminster, you will possibly identify play time preferences other than those I set for you (immediately above in blue), and all you have to do is list them on the day with your name and contact details, and I will collate them for you, and feed back the revised lists to those in each new preferred time-based group. I will keep all your names and contact details until the end of the year 2021, so that if you need help with any matter related to the groups, including asking for new players from other groups to join yours etc, I will be able to assist.
If the play time chosen by the guests covers the traditional lunch break, (12 - 1pm), I, as a host, would ask my guests to bring their own sandwich or whatever they have for lunch, and I would provide coffee/tea, milk, sugar, cake/biscuits, and possibly mini pies/sausage rolls or a similar savoury. Anything other than the drink and biscuits etc, may not necessarily be provided in a lunch break. Therefore it is reasonable to accept that the host will offer their guests as a minimum, hot and cold drink refreshments (water, tea and coffee+), sugar, milk, and biscuits/cake at any traditional break in play. Anything served extra is entirely up to the Host.
In the event you host a Mix-it-up session, where various games will invariably finish at different times, refreshments should normally be served when it's most convenient for all playing guests, and also within reasonable expectations around traditional 12 - 1pm lunch time, and 3pm afternoon tea breaks. This is recommended so that all players will have the opportunity to partake in tea-breaks with each other and not miss out, or make it inconvenient for the host to surrender their kitchen to stragglers, or to feel obliged to cater for more than one tea-break. The host may, however, advise guests that they can "help themselves" to liquid refreshments at any time, and simply leave the items readily available. This is not recommended however, because, as previously mentioned, the group will not get the opportunity to truly socialise with each other outside of the limited size group they are playing in. These are guidelines for a more successful gathering, and not rules. The Host has the final say.
To kick it off, I welcome anyone interested, to contact me via email or SMS to confirm you can meet up at my house in Westminster on: (choose one or more of those days above as your preference or just say "ANY"). I'll contact all responders asap and before the end of October, with a definite starter meet-up session for all dates on which at least 4 people have chosen and are certain they can attend, and I will liaise with everyone on their various days chosen if they need to find, or wait for, more players interested in their chosen day of the week. We could end up with several groups on several days, with some people choosing to play in more than one group, hence the 'once a month' recommendation. Those who prefer to stick to one group/day of the week may wish to play weekly or fortnightly to suit themselves. There would be no requirement, once you have established your group, to accommodate more people if you are maxed out, i.e. can only fit 3 guests at your table etc), as newcomers could start a new group, or fill in whenever there was an opening until numbers increased.
This platform will serve as a central contact base for any newcomers, or current players wanting to add to, resign from, or change, their original choice(s).
I have listed my current favourite games as examples, but I'm open to learning others. You might also want to share time doing things together other than playing games, like for example:
..working on your hobbies for example...scrap-booking or other arts and crafts etc,
..watching a movie,
..playing charades and doing jigsaw puzzles and quizzes,
..walking to a near-by cafe for lunch or afternoon tea around a game or 2,
..hosting a "mix-it-up" afternoon where you can accommodate perhaps 3 or more tables of players for different simultaneous games that rotate half of the players from each table every 45 mins for example. The sky is the limit and each group will end up doing what they like most with whom they gel the best, and that's ok.
You can just keep trying things out with different groups. The only guideline for continuity should be that the host for the day always has the final say if there are choices and decisions to be made, and the guests should respect their decision.
The host should also be well prepared and be willing to supply light refreshments for a tea break. They should also make sure their guests' special needs are considered, (gluten free, comfortable seating, toilet access etc).
Nice cups and plates are readily available at all of the Op shops, but storing them permanently, perhaps only to use once a month, can create problems if you have downsized, so for larger groups the host could ask their guests to bring their own cup and take it home again, so that the host doesn't have to purchase, wash and accommodate extra crockery. It will be entirely up to the host, so no expectations, and each group may experience different situations depending on their host for the session.
I envisage it would take a few months for participants to test the waters and settle in to groups and routines, and with that in mind, I suggest we make an effort to make the most of this opportunity for the remainder of 2021, before our borders reopen when we may be restricted with regards to meet-ups. Check your diaries and lock in your days of the week as far as possible. If you have to cancel your attendance (especially if you're hosting), remember you would be letting at least 3 other people down so give as much notice as possible. When it's your turn to host, plan a back up, (perhaps with next sessions host to swap with you and host earlier than planned), in case you have to pull out at the last minute, Obviously there will be times when you can't avoid that, but if we make a conscious effort to commit to this for the remainder of the year, we will have enough people to continue as long as we want to, with only COVID restrictions possibly interfering with our all-important 'play time'.
So to recap, if I still have your attention
, choose a day that you can commit to for a meet-up, firstly beginning with a meet-up at my home in Westminster, and preferably on a regular basis (at least once each month for November and December at a minimum), SMS or email me with that day and your time availability, within the hours mentioned for that day,
tell me whether or not you can host on any days you've selected (for November and December), and
supply your Email and Phone contact details.
Please note: If you would like to be involved but cannot come to a meet-up session in Westminster on any of the days and times listed, please feel free to contact me and ask for a one-on-one meet-up session to suit us both. That could be at my home or yours, or at a cafe.
I also ask at this point, that if you are an indoor smoker at home, and/or have animals which would have access to your guests, please specify this when you offer to host, as people may suffer prohibitive health conditions that won't allow them to attend your house. Thank you for your consideration on this important point.
Just recapping ... ASAP and by the end of October, I'll contact all responders with a definite starter meet-up session for all dates on which at least 4 people have chosen and are committing to attend. That means if I can confirm your day/date choice is set, you will have at least 3 others who are also available at the same time as you, and who are also willing to meet-up to organise your own activity group. If, for example, 7 people respond to one session on the same day, I'll connect you so you can either recruit an 8th person, or, start with a mix-it-up session that includes at least one game of 3 participants and one of 4, being hosted by whomever in your group can cater for 6 guests in your home. Alternatively your group of 7 may choose activities that include 7 people, like walking to, or meeting at, a cafe, or going to a movie theatre or even watching something on your Netflix etc?
Thank you all for reading, and I look forward to being very busy getting us playing next month.
PS, do any of you play and enjoy the card game called Kings?
Best regards, Marilyn
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