Welcome - Cheadle & Gatley 41 Club

Cheadle and Gatley 41Club volunteered to host these young visitors and were the first club the tour visited. Eight young people arrived throughout the day, flying into Manchester from Sweden, Denmark, India, Austria and The Netherlands . The first one landed about 7.00am and the last one about 7.30pm which was a bit of a challenge.

An all-day BBQ was arranged and worked well. The youngsters didn’t know one another so it was a great way to break the ice and to introduce them to their hosts.  

We had a fairly lazy start on the second day as the Indian contingent had been travelling for many hours but we gathered at 11.00am for a tour of  Manchester City Centre.  We went to the Museum of Science and Industry, Castlefields (Roman Fort ruins), Cloud 23 Sky Bar for cocktails with amazing views of Manchester. Also, the Central Reference Library, the Hidden Gem, the Royal Exchange with its theatre within, The Corn Exchange (now housing numerous restaurants) and the Cathedral. We finished off with a well-earned drink at The Shambles, particularly welcome as this had been the hottest day of the year so far, topping 29 degrees.

We then returned by tram and had a meal at Wagamama’s followed  by 10 pin bowling. By this time all were getting to know each other and were completely knackered!

Our third day was an early start as we had hired a couple of day cruiser canal boats. We left the marina at 9.00am and spent a very pleasant day cruising the Macclesfield canal. We briefly explained the history of the canal system and showed them how the locks worked. Each had a turn at steering the boat with very mixed competence but they all enjoyed the experience.

We had an evening meal at Wetherspoons followed by an 18-hole Australian Adventure course (crazy, crazy golf which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The next morning, we said our fond farewells and sent them on their way to their next hosts. We all agreed it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience hosting them. They were all very polite, pleasant young people and we would not hesitate in hosting any of them if they wished to return to the UK.  

We would recommend to any 41Club to take part in the scheme in the future, we found it very rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable and would not hesitate to host again if the tour comes back to our area again.

Richard Seth  

C&G 41 Club