AIVC
What's on in AIVC….
The AIVC website (www.ivc.org.uk) lists all the Clubs within AIVC and will provide details of major events organised by clubs. Means of contacting each club by website, email or telephone are also given.
A member of any club within AIVC should be able to join most activities of any other club subject to suitable notice being given - and don't forget to take your H&H IVC membership card with you!
Numerous events take place each week among the 45 or so IVC Clubs around the country. As mentioned earlier in this bulletin around 20 clubs actively use Activity Exchange (www.activityexchange.com) and a detailed listing of events for these clubs can be accessed from this website.
However most clubs' lists will be "private" so that it would be necessary to phone a club contact number to obtain further information. With access to the internet available in public libraries, internet cafes or your own laptop + a Wi-Fi point, you should be able to see what's on in other IVCs, no matter where you are in the country!
National IVC Website/Inter-Club Events
Some members will have already seen the new AIVC website (http://ivc.org.uk) which has recently been completely redesigned - as announced at the National Conference in April. The website now has a professional look about it and moving around the various sections - Resouces, IVC Clubs database, Inter-Club events, etc - is straightforward. Anyone who is interested and has not yet seen the new website might wish to have a look at it, especially as AIVC will be re-assessing it before the end of the year and will no doubt welcome any constructive comments in the meantime.
There is another good reason for members to use the national website: there is a wealth of information about other Clubs' events/activities, many of which are open to members of clubs affiliated to AIVC - such as ours. Traditionally we have relied on other clubs sending us their monthly bulletin to keep us informed of their forthcoming events. Now much of this information can be made available through the internet.
Of course, I appreciate that not all members have internet access via a home computer, although many do. However, virtually all local Library and Information Centres in towns and many villages (certainly in West Yorkshire) now offer free internet access, usually on a pre-booking basis, for at least one hour per session. Therefore all members of our Club, given a modicum of PC skills, can have access to the internet including e-mail facilities. To my mind, this is the way the world of communications/information sharing is going (has been going for some years now!) and anyone who does not join in will eventually be left behind!
I note that on the Inter-Club Events Summary of the AIVC website there are more than a dozen events listed, some of which appear quite exotic and far afield (various sailing events, trip to Bruges), others much closer to home. There may be ideas for holidays later in the year for individuals or small groups - At least go and have a look !
Here are just two of the forthcoming events that may be of interest to members. Even if many of the major events are beyond the scope of members - in terms of time availability, finance, etc, it is at least interesting to see the kind of projects that other clubs are undertaking:
Friday 20th Feb 2009
AIVC Party Weekend in Bournemouth
Following on from the success of the party weekend in Plymouth in February 2008 we are going to do it again in Bournemouth in 2009.
Our weekend break includes 2 nights B&B accommodation (arriving Friday - leaving on Sunday) with a buffet dinner and private disco on Saturday. The cost of the weekend is £70 per person sharing a twin or double room, £100 for a single room
Place: Bournemouth
Club: AIVC Committee
Wednesday 29th Apr 2009
Spring Bank Holiday City Break to Krakow
Weds 29 April - Mon 4th May 2009
Members of Bristol & Bath IVC are going on a trip to the historic city of Krakow.
We are flying from Bristol but you can fly from your local airport and meet up with us for all or part of the 6-day break.
Accommodation TBA but is very reasonably priced in Poland. We will look for rooms in the city centre near the old town square.
Place: Krakow, Poland
Club: Bristol & Bath IVC
Saturday 30 May to Saturday 6 June
Narrow Boat trip - the Stourport Ring (A Birmingham IVC event)
If you like camping then this holiday is for you. The accommodation is very basic with chemical toilets and bunk beds. Cooking facilities are available on board; however many of the places on route have excellent pubs and restaurants.
This holiday starts at Gas Street Basin , Birmingham on Saturday morning and travels north towards Wolverhampton , turning into the "Netherton Tunnel". The trip includes the attractive Worcester and Birmingham Canal and part of the equally pretty Staffordshire Worcestershire Canal , with a section of the River Severn linking Worcester and Stourport. The route also takes in the Stourbridge Canal and part of the fascinating Birmingham Canal Navigations. You will travel through two of the longest tunnels currently navigable - West Hill (1½miles and the Netherton (1¾ miles).
74¼ miles 105 locks 9 tunnels
e mail: towerpete@aol.com
Manchester "Lowry" Weekend Fri 16 - Sun 18 October 2009
(A Birmingham IVC Event)
Come and join Manchester IVC, on this spectacular weekend. Following the success of the last two years' autumn weekends in IVC cities we are going to Manchester this year. Manchester IVC will be hosting the events over the weekend, so come along and enjoy. This is our third city trip where local IVC clubs make our weekend away something special. Thanks go to Manchester IVC who are going to help create this weekend into something special.
Manchester and Birmingham IVC are jointly staging this weekend and their programme includes the following venues:
• The Lowry Galleries
• The Imperial War Museum North
• A two-hour tour of the area where L.S. Lowry created some of his famous paintings (this is undertaken using the hosts' own vehicles with the services of an expert guide who will share his own personal stories and insights).
• The Museum of Science and Industry
• A party at the Lowry Centre with Manchester IVC
• Sunday Lunch
Editor's note: It appears to be possible to join individual elements of this package of events.
There is insufficient space in this or a future bulletin to include full details of this weekend, therefore if any member requires further information please contact:
Peter Howe (organiser) towerpete@aol.com