Loch Lomond Highland Games & BBQ

Seven students joined our day trip to the 40th anniversary Loch Lomond Highland Games at Balloch Castle Country Park. The previous day we'd had torrential rain and so the ground was rather wet and muddy. The weather started out a little overcast and during the morning we had a few light showers but nothing enough to send us running for cover under the trees. However, by early afternoon the sun was out in all its glory!!

Fu Yu from China and Sugu from Malaysia

Gao Chang from China

and Tobi from Germany

Magda and Ania from Poland

Frank from Germany

Ania and Lynne queue'd up with numerous 3-5 year olds for a spot of face painting !!!

Whilst our trusted drivers / helpers (Janet, Kathleen & Archie) took a wee rest ...

Before heading off to our BBQ we stopped off at Lomond Shores for an hour - although it looks overcast it was very warm.

A HUGE THANK YOU to David & Aileen Clark for putting on such a fabulous BBQ

Student Graduations

Jan, Bram & Holly on this very special graduation day.


Amanda and Lynne

Happy graduates!!!

Holly & Lynne

Day Trip - Lilias' Day

Whilst I was away enjoying the sunshine of Ontario, Canada, Kathleen & Archie very kindly helped to organise a day trip to the annual LILIAS DAY in KILBARCHAN.

Dinner @ Thornly

Many, many thanks go to Nora, XiuLi, Jasen & Alex for inviting Lisa, June and myself for a marvellous meal up at Thornly Campus.


After the meal we all enjoyed a good sing-along, accompanied by Jasen on guitar...

From left to right:

Jasen, Lisa, Lynne, XiuLi, June, Alex and Nora

Dinner @ Lynne's

It is that time of year when we have to cope with a series of sad farewells.

Over several semesters it has been a great privilege to get to know a number of teachers from BCBUU (Business College of Beijing Union University).

This semester XiuLi, Nora, Alex & Jasen have become particularly good friends.

Fundraising

The weather was sunny and we had a great fundraising day at our COMMUNITY CAFE, CAR WASH & SALE. A total of £370 was raised towards resources for TABLEtalk, etc

A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Csaba, Sandra, Memon & Jessica whom came and worked very hard for several hours - washing cars and helping with the sale.

International Sunday Lunch

Another great International Sunday Lunch - thanks to Derek & Alison Peakman!

Dean Castle Country Park

Had a great day out today. My friends, Lisa & Heather and I went to Dean Castle Country Park. I hope that sometime in the future this will be the venue for a student day out.








The grounds are beautiful and I even got to try on some chain-mail armour. It was unbelievable heavy and I have no idea how someone was supposed to fight a battle in it because I could hardly walk!!

Meal & Movie

A huge thank you goes to Jean and her mum for hosting today. The day was attending by most of the students who have done or are still doing the Christianity Explored course. We had quite a feast, enough food for an army. Then afterwards we watched the JESUS film, based on the Gospel of Luke, with time for questions and discussion together.
Many thanks to all those who came along and helped make the day so special.

TABLEtalk - International Night

Our annual INTERNATIONAL NIGHTS are always great fun and this year was no exception. We started the evening with a Scottish Quiz which was won by Munish & Sandra - although other teams came up with some very creative answers.



Lynne & Sam from India














The quiz was promptly followed by our international feast, with a variety of fabulous delicacies from Germany, China, Malaysia, Poland, Scotland and England (many thanks to all who brought items).

A couple of our Polish students then taught us all their national dance and finally David led us in some ceilidh dances.

Day Trip - Largs

Unfortunately the weather wasn't so kind to us on our day trip down to Largs, but even so 10 students came along. We walked along the sea front and ate our lunches in the wind and cold :-/

Fu Yu, Sugu, Summer & Fiona on the train to Largs

After some free time to walk around the town and enjoy a coffee or ice-cream we all caught the train back home together. On the train ride there and back we had a lot of fun playing a game, taught by Jasen, which involved a lot of laughs and some mildly embarrassing dares!!

Then we visited the Vikingar Museum and learned a little more about the history of the Vikings here in Scotland.

Day Trip - Easter Passion Play, Edinburgh

Kathleen & Co took a number of students over to Edinburgh for the day to see the Easter Passion Play in West Princes Street Gardens. I think a great time was had by all.

Kate wrote and told me, "The Christianity Explored course really helped me to understand all that was happening in the play."

TABLEtalk

Over the past few weeks we've tackled a number of new themes at our TABLEtalk evenings ...

On March 20th our theme was 'COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN' in which we talked about the art of communication, speaking & listening. As part of this evening we did a group exercise entitled 'The Zin Obelisk' which was quite a challenge.

On March 27th the topic was 'FEARS, PHOBIAS and all things Frightening'. Part of our evening included students writing some 'agony aunt' letters which were then passed to different groups to be answered. Some of the advice caused much hilarity.

Then on April 3rd the theme was 'HEALTH MATTERS' in which the students put together posters depicting their 'Top Ten Tips to a Healthy Lifestyle'.

If anyone ever has any ideas for TABLEtalk themes we'd love to hear from you!

Pool & Ping Pong Tournament

A great time was had by all at our Pool and Ping Pong Tournament evening. Thanks to all who took part; especially to Nora (on the left) who played pool for the first time in her life and got to the semi-final - well done!!


Thanks too to CGC for their generous hospitality.