On Monday, April 8, the Manx Retirement Association held its 2018 annual general meeting at the Manx Blind Welfare premises in Onchan.

In his annual report association director Howard Parkin advised members that 2018 had been another successful year for the Manx Retirement Association, with just under 400 members as at January 1, 2019.

There had been a host of various well supported activities and supported throughout the last year, including 12 monthly luncheons each month attended by more than 1,100 members and guests throughout the year.

During the year the association held visits to three cinema snack and screen events, six theatre visits and seven visits to local establishments, some of these proved to be so popular they ran twice.

The association also hosts monthly coffee mornings at The Falcon’s Nest in Port Erin, the Archibald Knox in Onchan, and at St Paul’s Church Hall in Ramsey.

There are also weekly ’stretch and flex’ sessions at the National Sports Centre, with often more than 30 of members. We also hold monthly mini golf, bowls, whist, Rummikub, and IT sessions. We recently held our first Beetle drive which was a lot of fun.

Last year in May the association celebrated its 20th anniversary and to celebrate we held a special celebration lunch at Woodbourne House.

It was a wonderful occasion, we had a great meal, a special cake, which was cut by the association founder John Naylor and his wife Margo.

The association also has an annual holiday, last we had a great trip to Oxford on our ’Morse and Endeavour’ holiday.

This June we are venturing to the Emerald Isle for the 2019 trip, this and I am sure once again we will have a great time. In August 2020 we will going to Bonnie Scotland and the Edinburgh Tattoo.

If anyone is interested in joining the association details can be obtained from the website www.manxtretirement.org.or from the Ramsey office which is at West Street, Ramsey, phone number 817007 (Monday/Wednesday and Fri day mornings only).

Howard Parkin