Autumn in the Hills

A welcome return to this moorland venue for another three-night autumn weekend in good company.

The programme

The organisers will set up opening and closing go-rounds, where we’ll introduce ourselves and get to know the group. We will also set aside some time for smaller base groups to meet during the weekend to strengthen the feeling of community and belonging. There will likely be a ‘soiree’ where those who wish to can share songs, poems, or an act. An ECC event is about what the individual men bring to it, it’s about building our community through sharing interests and skills. If you want to run or take part in workshops or discussions, we invite you to bring your ideas. Or just go with the flow and support the activities offered by others.  Organisers are happy to provide help in terms of materials, advice and support if you let us know in advance. Previous workshops have included circle dance, singing, massage workshops, discussion about the experience of seeking asylum as a gay man in the UK.

If walking and exploring the outdoors is more your thing, the centre gives immediate access to walks in the Pennine hills, and is well placed for visiting the wider surrounding area, including Haworth and the steam railway at Keighley — another opportunity to get to know other men in small groups while discovering the area.

Catering

David Buttery is our cook for the weekend. He’s catered ECC weekends before and is an experienced pair of hands who will look after us. As usual, all food will be vegetarian and special diets will be accommodated if notified when booking. David may require help with food preparation, and there will be a rota for cleaning, setting tables and washing up after meals. Every man should aim to do his bit to help the community run smoothly for the weekend.

The Venue

Coldwell Activity Centre is situated in a secluded location in the Lancashire countryside, in the Pennines near to Brontë country, yet only a few miles from ‘civilisation’ in Burnley and Colne and about an hour from Manchester, Preston and Leeds. The nearest stations are Nelson and Colne (about 3 miles each). You will probably need to take a taxi from the stations (and we understand that it may possibly be easier to get a taxi from Nelson), though it may be possible to arrange lifts.

The centre is used by many types of groups for a range of activities; the accommodation receives excellent reviews, and for our workshops there are various spaces; these are of course in addition to the great outdoors, which is on the doorstep. The building is partly accessible (please contact us for more details).  Accommodation is in shared rooms mainly for two to four men; there is a ground floor bedroom with adjoining wet room. Participants  will be limited to 25 men to ensure there is plenty of space.

www.coldwell.org.uk.

Organisers

Your organisers this time are Jon Homer and Duncan Weaver, with David Buttery in the kitchen.

Both Jon and Duncan have organised numerous events, and served on the ECC Maintenance Group. David is an experienced event caterer and has cooked for a number of ECC weekends.