Some of you may remember Episode Sixty Five when the U3A Adventure Group stayed for a couple of nights at the Manor House Hotel near Okehampton (Manor & Ashbury Resorts – Leisure, Craft, Spa, Golf and Sports (manorandashburyresorts.co.uk). This hotel, together with its nearby sister, the Ashbury, boasts of having a choice of over seventy different sport, golf, craft, leisure and spa activities. During that visit our group only tried about half of the things on offer so we were definitely keen to make another trip and earlier this week fifteen of us set off to try some more new things.
My roommate and I arrived early on the first morning and made our way straight to the ‘signing up boards’ to make our first choices of activities. Soon we were on our way to pyrography where I chose a square pencil box from a wide choice of items. There was a huge range of designs to choose from and eventually I selected three small owls and traced the outlines onto three sides of the box. Soon the room was quiet as everyone got busy with a gadget called a Fire Writer. This was basically a very hot metal wire which you used to burn your design into the wood. With my three owls complete I drew a little mouse onto the fourth side, escaping from them, and my first craft was successfully complete.
Next, I headed for a workshop called ‘resin dip’ where I would be making a bumble bee. For this activity we had to carefully follow the instructor as she took us through all the stages of constructing wire shapes and then dipping them in different colour resins before assembling them with wire and beads to create the finished object.
After this it was time for some exercise and I enjoyed a swim before trying my hand at air pistol shooting. On my previous visit to the hotel I had shot air rifles and this was very similar. I mostly managed to hit the target. Our final ten shots of the session were scored for a competition but I was not in contention!
I then went to try out a new activity called table bowls. This was played like bowls, with opposing teams trying to get their shots as close as possible to the jack. However it was played on a snooker table, with the balls being rolled down a wooden ramp. No bending down for us! I was fortunate to be paired with a lady who seemed to cope very well with the bias of the balls and sent her shots just where they needed to be and after the instructor had made sure that each pair had played all the others the scores revealed that we had come second. I really couldn’t take much credit for that though!
By now all the rest of our group had arrived, checked into their rooms and enjoyed some fun so we all met up for a game of ten-pin bowling before dinner. Later, after a delicious meal, we retired to the bar where some of us took part in a quiz.
The next morning I was up bright and early and picked up the key to the gym from reception. I was determined to work off the delicious meal I had enjoyed the night before and earn a good breakfast. The food at this hotel really is very good. After breakfast I continued my virtuous streak and went to a Clubbercise session. This was an energetic workout to music which was conducted in a darkened room with flashing disco lights and with all the participants waving glowsticks. You may remember that I have done this before as Thing Number Two of #debs60things.
After freshening up, I was ready to sit down quietly in a craft studio again and I opted to do some glass etching. We each chose from a wide variety of glass items and were able to create our own design. I chose a wine glass. Each part of the glass that we wanted to remain clear had to be covered, either with masking tape or with stickers chosen from a very wide range. Once the design was complete we put it in a special box, put our hands into the integral gloves and used a spray to blast the glass. I really enjoyed this activity and when I removed the masking tape and stickers, I was really pleased with what I had achieved. I resolved to take my glass to the bar later that evening and see what it looked like when filled with a coloured liquid – and I can report that it was a great success!
After lunch I had a difficult decision to make. I really wanted to have a go on the climbing wall. Apparently it is only a few metres high but rotates continually so that you can keep climbing as far as you can without ever being very far off the ground. It sounded amazing but so did the opportunity to use a scroll saw to create a wooden jigsaw for a small child and both sessions were at the same time. Eventually I opted for the woodwork. Later I was able to see videos of some of my friends on the climbing wall as we were all sharing our achievements via a Whatsapp group and I will certainly ensure I try this on another occasion. However, back to the scroll saw – I was over ambitious here and chose a design that was a bit too intricate and the saw was more difficult to operate than I had anticipated. I did manage to create a jigsaw but some of the knobs are not well cut and the pieces slide on and off rather than fitting together in the traditional manner. I was a bit disappointed with the finished result which you can see in the picture. However I plan to paint it at home and I am sure my granddaughter will have fun with it.
Now I headed to the Hydro Spa where I enjoyed being massaged by jets of water and sitting in the sauna.
After dinner on the second night we could have watched a magic show but a group of us opted to play board games instead. There is plenty of room at this hotel for everyone to do as they please and they had a wide selection of games to choose from.
I didn’t manage any activity before breakfast on the morning of the last day – other than packing my bag – but I did manage to cram in three classes before heading for home. First I went to Pilates. I have really missed doing this since our teacher retired so it was nice to join that. Then I went to a hula hooping session. This was one of the things I most enjoyed on my last visit so I had very much been looking forward to it. I am pleased to say that I got the hang of it much better than last time. I still wasn’t able to join in with arm and leg movements in time to the music but at least I kept going. It was great fun and a good workout.
My last craft workshop was glass fusion. We were a big group but as with all the other sessions it was well organised with clear instructions and well planned to fit the time allocated. We were able to design our own glass plaque which could be used as a coaster or hung on the wall. After looking at the many examples on display, I opted to create a beach scene. On top of the first layer of glass I placed some carefully cut out copper fish. I then added a second layer of glass, cutting strips of three different colours. On top of that I used small shards of glass to add in a sunset and some plants. The whole thing needed to be fired overnight. We were heading home but someone will be going back to collect items on behalf of several of the group later in the week so you will have to wait to see it when you come to visit!
It was a fabulous few days for all of our group. I was delighted to have been able to try so many new things as well as revisit some old favourites and of course I have left a couple of things to look forward to on my next visit.
What Deb Did Next 