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Events

Local Lunches

Outsiders lunches are for members only and those curious about the club. They are always held in accessible and affordable bars and restaurants. Everyone arrives under their own steam, and buys their own food and drink. Lunches are organised by local members, who try to maintain a good balance of men women and a good variety of people.

These volunteers are usually happy to discuss personal problems if asked. Members too nervous to enter alone can arrange to be met outside and brought in. Everyone is introduced to one another. If the bar/restaurant gets too bottle-necked for wheelchairs, members of the club or staff will re-arrange the furniture. Lunches are preferred to evening gatherings as some disabled people feel vulnerable going out in the dark. Members who need feeding are advised to bring a PA who can then wander off after the meal has been eaten. Sometimes organisers send out press releases to reach more local disabled people. One member commented, 'amazing people - so diverse, complex and honest.'

Outsiders 30th Anniversary

Great Expectations Celebration of Outsiders 30th Anniversary in London, on Saturday 22nd August at 2pm to 9pm. We invite our members, ex-members, friends and members of the Outsiders Support Network. The day is designed to thank our volunteers for all their hard work, encourage new volunteers, and celebrate our 30 years of triumph.

Please come along dressed to the nines. We begin in the Grand Ballroom at The Landmark, 222 Marylebone Road London, NW1 6JQ. There is a car park beneath the hotel and an entrance is a few yards from Marylebone Station, a short ride from Paddington. Tea and entertainment including performance, a Sensory Fashion Show (more models welcome) and Pleasure Islands where each guest offers treats to the others. Mirror Mirror Playback Theatre and Extant will be performing, ending in dancing and more fun. At 6pm we go over the road to the Occo restaurant, 58 Crawford Street, London W1. Members’ dinners will be sponsored so that they won’t need to pay the full price. Disabled parking in Chapel Street, at either end of Transept Street and Crawford Place, and meters (free after 6.30) in Homer Street, Crawford Street & Crawford Place.

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The London Lunch

Now at:
Leon,
7 Canvey Street,
Blue Fin Building,
(Behind the Tate Modern and off Sumner Street),
Bankside,
London,
SE1 9AN.
Tel: 020 7620 0036.

This happening restaurant is spacious and airy, with a huge outdoor eating area, total wheelchair access, interesting, healthy cheap food, and eager staff. There is disabled parking and other free parking nearby.

Workshops are usually held and there can be a special table for women and for members of the LGBTI.

Almost equi-distant (but not very close to Southwark (closest), Borough and Blackfriars tubes. The RV1 bus goes from London Bridge, past Southwark Street (just south of the restaurant) past Waterloo and Aldwych and along the Strand to Covent Garden, and back.

Everybody is very excited about this new venue so the June and July lunches should be very popular.

The August Lunch will be our traditional picnic in Russell Square, 1.30p.m. to whenever, tea-hut corner (near the disabled toilet). Bring your contributions to the picnic - home made delicacies specialities welcome.

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Midlands Lunch

These lunches are held on the first Saturday of every month, at the following venue. The group also join the West Country members in Cheltenham on a regular basis.:
The OId Orleans,
80 Broad Street,
Birmingham,
B15 1AU.
Tel: 0121 633 0144.

Contact Steve Major on: 07092 386 789 or 07919 437 097 stevemajor@hotmail.co.uk.

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East Anglia Lunch

3rd Saturday of other every month, in a hotel bar in Ipswich. 12.30pm to 5pm. Small but bijou is how our effervescent hostess describes her events. Excellent food and easy parking and local transport. Email for more info: mazperi@hotmail.com

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Yorkshire Lunch

Yorkshire Lunch on the last Saturday in the month, the Yorkshire Great Expectations meets 2-5.30pm at The Showroom Café Bar in Sheffield. It is just up the hill from the Sheffield Railway station, past the waterfalls. The Showroom is in an impressive 1930s Art Deco building, at the heart of Sheffield’s cultural quarter, and part of a four screen independent cinema called Workstation.

The Showroom is a stylish café bar, wheelchair accessible (including the toilet), has a varied but cheap menu, serves booze as well as teas and coffees and a wide variety of freshly prepared meals and snacks, with several vegetarian options available. The café/bar has good acoustics and the staff are really friendly. This is a very vibrant group, just formed, who enjoy flirting, fun and laughter. 7 Paternoster Row. Sheffield, S1 2BX, 0114 221 0239. To find our group in the restaurant, call 07722 153002.

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Glastonbury

24th to 28th June 2009. Outsiders will be running Pleasure Island in the disability field, a sanctuary of peace, love safety and cleanliness.

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Disability Awareness Day

Sunday 12th July at Walton Hall, Higher Walton, Warrington, Cheshire. Join us in running the Outsiders Stall or come and see us to say hello!

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Highlands Lunch

The Highlands Great Expecations will be launched in Inverness on Saturday 6th June 2-6pm. It will be hosted by the famous disabled dancer Caroline Bowditch who will also be performing during the afternoon. The flyer has been designed by Highland pop artist Michael Forbes. Venue: Maverick’s Bar and Restaurant (wheelchair accessible) 5-9 Young Street, just south of the river in Central Inverness (we selected Inverness because it’s good for transport links). Future events on the 4th Saturday in every month (beginning June) in venues to suit the guests.

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James's Jamboree

James Warham is arranging some outings for members. The first is tea at Lauderdale House Café in Waterlow Park, Highgate Village, North London on Saturday 27th June at 2pm. The café is outdoor but covered.

The second is a visit to the Kite Festival on Sunday 13th of September — see http://www.kite-festival.org.uk/visitor-info. James will most likely be staying overnight in a nearby Travelodge. Then, in October James will be at the National Kidney Federation conference. Please let James know if you are interested in coming to any of these — on 07788 584 46 or wapmad@hotmail.com.

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West Country Lunch

West Country events are run by a team of volunteers, with Sarah Batten as secretary. Sarah can be texted on 07505 606 408 or emailed on westcountryoutsiders@yahoo.com

A selection of pictures from our West country events.

Harbour Festival Harbour Festival New Foundland Rescue Harbour Festival The Matthew picture 1 Harbour Festival The Matthew picture 2 Bath Races Grand Stand Bath Races Group photograph Bath Races Group photograph 2 Bath Races Irish Day Bath Races view from finishing post Woolsack Races Tetbury picture 1 Woolsack Races Tetbury picture 2
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Steve's Holiday in Blackpool

Steve Major is organising a holiday at the New Mayfair Hotel in the week commencing September 14th
Bed, Breakfast and Evening Dinner
3 Nights ~ £159
4 Nights ~ £195
7 Nights ~ £320
He says, “Come and enjoy with us the world famous Blackpool Illuminations”. Steve Major can be contacted on 07092 386 789 or 07919 437 097 stevemajor@hotmail.com.

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Reading Lunch

The Reading Lunch is is being reviewed, Please watch this Space!! Back to Top

How to Run a Local Lunch

We are slowly starting more local lunches and would love to have more help. We have a ruling that people need to be a member for six months before they can take on responsible roles as volunteers, but your help is always welcome.

We insist that all members are treated equally at lunches and nobody is left out because of their disability. It's much better if a group of people run a lunch together, preferably men and women. That way nobody has to take all the responsibility alone, you'll each have someone else to talk to waiting for members to arrive, and won't feel so bad about a low turn-out, as sometimes happens if local members find they are unable to attend.

Local lunches can be extremely relaxed and friendly and really good fun.Putting on a lunch is not really a lot of work but it does require energy and commitment. The Outsiders office volunteers can provide contact lists of mail local members for you, and advise you on publicity. Posters can help publicise the event.

The West Country Lunch is an initiative funded by the St. Monica Trust to pilot local groups around the country. Local people met up to discuss what they really wanted, and plan a programme that appealed to them. They decided that a local website would make an invaluable resource, especially if it had a local forum for members to contact each other with the view to going to events and gigs together. We plan eventually to devote sections of this website to each area of the country, featuring local events and allowing local members to chat on-line.

Here are twenty tips on running a lunch successfully:

  1. Try to surround yourself with a team. Then if you happen to fall ill on the day of the lunch, others will be there. Be sure to liaise with your team at all times. There may be people at the lunch that you don't relate to, and it's great to be able to say to the another person, 'please can you welcome this member for me?'
  2. Look at local wheelchair accessible disability friendly bars, cafés and restaurants which are not too busy on a Saturday afternoon, or whenever you decide to hold the event. Make sure the food and drink prices are not too high. Before selecting a venue, pay a visit at the time you plan the lunch on the same day of the week, to ensure everything will be OK, including the toilets and parking. Check it out for acoustics - places with no soft furnishings and wooden floors echo sounds which make it difficult to hear what people say and grate on your nerves, so people don't feel relaxed. Loud music is a no-no. Make sure you can receive mobile phone calls from the venue, and that there is a clear signal. Don't hire a hall or use a place which charges a fee. Choose a public bar where everyone will pay for their own food and drink. Your only expense will be phone calls to other members and calls to liaise with the venue.
  3. Lunchtime is best because some members don't like going out after dark. Choose a venue which women, shy people and people with Hearing Impairment will feel comfortable in (i.e. not a sports bar or rock dive). There must be parking nearby and the venue needs to be close to public transport. Check that the local railway station has taxis that can carry people using electric chairs.
  4. Make sure that your event goes on this website and in INSIDE. We don't publicise the exact address on the website, for fear of attracting undesirables, but our members should have full details, plus your mobile phone number. Phone the local members several days in advance to remind them. Phone the venue the day before to give them an approximate number of people coming, and remind them to make your booked table accessible for wheelchair users.
  5. Arrive early. Check and, if necessary, re-arrange the tables and chairs so that wheelchair users can move around easily and ensure there are chair-free spaces at the tables where wheelchair users can sit.
  6. Keep your mobile phone on for members who get lost or need to ask questions. Keep a look-out for people arriving. Some people feel very nervous about entering a room full of strangers and may need a quiet word outside, to encourage them to come in. Other people may need help in physically getting through the door. People with Visual Impairment s may need help getting seated.
  7. Everyone needs to be introduced. Don't worry if you can't remember their names - nobody expects you to. Laugh as you forget, and ask to be reminded. Bear in mind that some people with speech problems may have great difficulty in saying their name. Remember that visually impaired people need to be kept up to date about new arrivals and imminent departures.
  8. A good way to start chatting to new people is to ask them how they heard about Outsiders. One of our most important roles is helping members is acknowledging their sexuality, and this can be done in a light hearted fashion, with the type of conversations you would have with your mates. Never assume anything about other members - don't assume they are virgins, heterosexual or wanting to get married. Just ask what kind of partner or partners they're seeking, as this will help you introduce them to the right people. If there is just one gay person in the gathering, or somebody who doesn't relate to the others at all, commiserate and offer to contact the office to try to find some other contacts for them. Keep all this simple, short and sweet and then move on.
  9. Never get into deep conversation, unless someone requests a quiet word with you. Keep mingling and introducing people to each other. You haven't got time to speak to someone for long, as you need to keep one eye on the doorway for newcomers and the other to make sure nobody is being left out or ignored.
  10. If somebody requests personal advice, ask them to wait until you have a space and then take them to a corner and give them ten minutes or so of your undivided attention. Don't let anybody else join in, as this is private. Answer all questions honestly even if this feels embarrassing. For example, if they smell, tell them. If they socialise clumsily, tell them why. Try to persuade them to seek more professional advice if need be, from their GP, a counsellor or other expert.
  11. Don't buy rounds or pay for people's food. Accept drinks from others, though - after all, you have done all the organising and you deserve a drink. However, don't get drunk.
  12. Don't use the lunch to promote your own products, philosophies, politics or religion. Your role as organiser is to look after people not becomesome super-hero.
  13. Never exclude anyone for being 'too disabled' or 'too odd looking'. If you have a gut feeling that someone is unsavoury because they might be exploitative, keep a close watch on them and ask your colleagues to do likewise. If you need to ask them to leave, please inform the office about this. On the other hand, if a member is being discriminated against because of their physical or social impairment, ask others to talk to them and introduce them around. Ask other guests to help if someone needs feeding or escorting to the toilet.
  14. By all means cover your costs with a raffle, the prizes having been brought along by the members. Ask someone who isn't too shy to sell the tickets as this is a good way for them to get round and meet everyone, with a ready-made excuse to speak to them.
  15. Try to take a photo of the event and do a write-up for INSIDE. The office should also receive a confidential list of all the people who came along, and how they got on, with notes on their needs and what they have to offer.
  16. If anyone gets drunk, try to persuade them it's time to go home. If anyone is swamping, crowding or generally invading the space of another member, ask them to come and have a word with you. Explain about body language, allowing people space, keep watching them in case they do it again, and don't be afraid to throw them out. We want to keep the nice people coming back so, if anyone is obnoxious, they should be asked to leave.
  17. When the event is over, thank the venue for their service and, if appropriate, have a whip-round to tip the waiter/bar-person.
  18. Don't hold your events too often, as members are mostly stuck for cash and can't afford too many outings, but you'll be surprised how far some people will travel to come to a lunch. If your events become regular, try not to clash with our other regular lunches. The London lunch is always on the 2nd Saturday of the month.
  19. You can agree to give people lifts away from the event if you have a car but avoid picking them up, unless you are in close contact by mobile phone, as their train might be delayed or they might mess you about and make you late.
  20. Ask the members what they would like to do on other occasions. Some seem content to sit in a bar and chat. Others want workshops to help them over their problems. Some like to go to clubs, the horse racing, the Mobility Road Show or other events. Work out a programme to suit everybody, and give your programme plenty of publicity to ensure they are well attended. It's best to have a list of alternatives up your sleeve, in case your chosen venue closes or event cancelled. If you have to change at the last minute, phone everyone you expect to be coming and pin a note on the venue's door.

You might have very different ideas to these. Members have, in the past, successfully organised all kinds of things from a trip to Amsterdam to theatre outings, a gay weekend and house parties. Whatever your idea, it's best to run it past the office team, for guidance. Back to Top

Events

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