I hope those that attended enjoyed the Christmas Party at The George as much as I did, and from what I gathered from the feedback, as well as my personal opinion, the food was exceptional and the service was excellent. At least we know there is one place which can cater for 65 of us and deliver on quality – so we’ll be booking again for Christmas this year.

Last year ended and this year began in style at Gillian’s Winter Wonderland New Year party which was well attended despite the freezing weather. The exotic blue and white cocktails went down well and got everyone into a party mood. Many thanks to Gillian for hosting this crucial event.

There has already been quite a few interesting events this month including a marathon pub crawl on part 2 of the Rail Ale Trail, which was mostly around St Albans. Those participating may only have been drinking halves of interesting real ales, but the sheer number of pubs ensured everyone was fairly toasty by the end of the evening...

For February there is plenty of running, dancing, theatre, pub, and restaurant events with Chinese New Year being celebrated not once, but twice!

I wish you all the best for 2010 – and the Year of the Tiger!

Callum, MKIVC Chair

Another month, and another event has attracted great feedback. The 80 Tastes home special seems to have caused quite a sizzling stir! Well done to those who put the effort in to cooking the excellent food from around the world, and kudos to Clare and Ken for organising a legendary series of events. Let's hope you continue next year…

We're now approaching the festive season where I'm hoping the MKVC Christmas Party will be the jewel in the crown of a year full of sparking events. All 65 tickets have been snapped up meaning quite a gathering of us coming together to celebrate, taste the delights of the award winning Italian restaurant at the George, and then dance the night away. Any of you who haven't been able to secure a ticket are more than welcome to join us at the disco from 10pm onwards!

I hope you all have a great holiday with family and friends. Many of us will be finishing off the year and starting the new one at Gillian's enticing Winter Wonderland, New Year party.

And then we look forward to January's events to cheer you back up after the anticlimax of putting the decorations away and going back to work. Gilly has a load of running events for those wanting to burn off a few Christmas pounds. Alternatively you may think about a New Year's resolution like picking up that dusty guitar and joining Josie for her regular workshop jamming session, or maybe plan your summer garden at Gilly's gardening club. You could be even more daring and try fire walking for charity at Roger's event at the MK stadium.

There's also a fair amount of pub nights and parties to cheer you up, rounded off by a sumptuous Sunday lunch. So it will all still be happening at MKIVC - even in darkest January! Come along and enjoy yourselves - don't forget Club Night to put events on for February, and why not help give a great welcome to prospectives at New Members Night?

Have a cheery and very festive end to the year, and all the best for the new one, starting well with a great January.

Callum, MKIVC Chair