PROGRAMME 2025
Our programme is prepared 3 months in advance so is subject to additions and changes. Watch for updates here for more details. Events headed FYI (FOR YOUR INFORMATION) have been recommended by an EFOG member but no-one is formally co-ordinating the activity. If interested you will need to make your own arrangements and/or chat with others about doing something together.
An asterisk * marks an event which needs to be booked in advance. Please book asap. Those coming up in in future months are listed at the bottom of this page.
If any member wishes to lead (or suggest) an event on a free date, please contact Peter or Maz first to check that the date is still free. Members can find contact details for those organising events on their paper programme and will also be sent updates via EFOG member e-mails.
The majority of events are open to non-members who may be interested in joining EFOG. To find out if our programme suits you, you are welcome to come along for a free trial period. The annual fee is £35. This helps us to cover the cost of hiring the hall, where we meet almost every Thursdays of the year at 8.00 p.m.
If you would like more information please use the contact facility on this website or contact Peter (01992 573638 or 07960 205921) or Ken (020 8524 3960). To find out if our programme suits you, you are welcome to come along for a free trial period.
Updates & Notices
(an asterisk * indicates that pre-booking is necessary)
July
Wednesday 2nd GIBBERD GARDENS. Harlow. The address is Marsh Lane, Harlow, CM17 0NA. The gardens open at 2.00 pm and close at 6.00 pm. Entrance is £5 (£6 for non-concessions).
There is a café there. I suggest we arrive around 2.00 pm and then we can either start with a cuppa or arrange one later on. Please let me know if you are coming and let me know if you want a lift and I will try to arrange it. Brian / Ken
Thursday 3rd PROGRAMME PLANNING. We need pre-planning please. Jill, Peter
Saturday 5th THE REDBRIDGE OUTDOOR CONCERT, Copped Hall, Epping, 2pm. Bring picnic. Peter B.
Tuesday 8th 10 PIN BOWLING. 11 a.m. Collier Row £9.49 unlimited games, plus tea or coffee. Brian
Thursday 10th BOULES. 7.30 at hall. Peter G.
Sunday 13th LOCAL WALK. This is a change to the original plan due to the hot weather, so won't have as much riverside as planned. It will be a circular walk on SUNDAY from Manor Park Station leaving at 10.30 a.m. a bit earlier than my normal starts. We'll take in parts of Wanstead Flats and Park and will be somewhere between 5 to 6 miles depending on just how hot it gets and will probably take about 2 and a bit hours depending on stops.
The weather is going to be hot, although hopefully not as hot as we've had recently, so bring drinks, a hat and sun cream. Trainers should be fine. I'm not planning a lunch stop but shacks will be fine. Very important to note - there is no central Line east of Leytonstone this weekend on either branch, so it's Lizzie Line or buses from Wanstead. Trev.
Thursday 17th BOARD GAMES NIGHT. Bring your games along. Dave
Friday 18th WALK. Benfleet. Meet at Benfleet Station, by the exit barriers on Ferry Road side at 11am. The walk will be a 3.5 - 4 mile linear walk to Leigh on Sea station. Including stops etc I'd estimate the walk to take around 3 - 3.5 hours.
Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea are on the C2C line. From Stratford get the Jubilee line to West Ham then C2C to Benfleet. There is also a long stay car park in School Lane Benfleet if anyone wishes to drive. The weather is currently forecast to be about 26 C so I plan a leisurely stroll via the Salvation Army Rare Breeds Farm (over 60s £5.50 - Card Payments only) and Hadleigh Castle (ruin). There's a cafe just before we get to the Rare Breeds Farm, or bring your own sandwiches. Richard
Thursday 24th HOCKEY BY NUMBERS. Parviz
Thursday 31st JUST A MINUTE game. Jill S.
Past Months
January
Wednesday 1st NEW YEAR’S DAY WALK. Loughton Station. 10.30. Parviz CANCELLED
Thursday 2nd BRING AND BUY AUCTION. Ian
Sunday 5th TREVOR’S BIRTHDAY PARTY WALK. A 5 mile walk starting at New Cross Gate Station on the Windrush Line (the old London Overground Line, which goes through Whitechapel) and ending up in Greenwich, via Brockley, Blackheath, and Greenwich Park. We'll meet at New Cross Gate station just before 11 and leave at 11 a.m. It's quite hilly but is mainly on footpaths and will probably take about 3 hours. Bring a packed lunch.and warm/ waterproofs just in case it does rain. There are works on the line but the trains should run as far as New Cross Gate. There should also be some good views of London and the Thames, with a bit of luck.
Thursday 9th PROGRAMME PLANNING, & BRING FOOD AND DRINK. We need more pre-planning please. Contact JILL S. or PETER with your ideas
Sunday 12th WALK. Epping Forest. The proposed bike ride will now be a walk because the paths will be frozen / muddy. Starting point: the Holly Trail Cafe (by the Golf Club) 4 Bury Road, Chingford. E4 7QJ at 10.30. Bring packed lunch /drink. We'll stop at High Beech for lunch. We'll also go to Connaught Water. Parviz
Thursday 16th AGM.
Saturday 18th WALK. Hampstead Heath. Meet at 9.55am at Stratford Station platform 1/2 to catch the 10 am Overground train to Hampstead Heath Station. For any who prefer, We'll be at Hampstead Heath Station at 10.45 am and start the walk by 11 am. Distance - Approx 5-6 miles so about 3-3.5 hours including a stop. We'll be back in good time for any going to the CADOS quiz. There's a cafe at Kenwood House roughly halfway round, so you can bring sandwiches or get something there, but we can warm up. Currently the weather looks like being dry and slightly warmer than today. Richard
Thursday 23rd BURN’S NIGHT. Scottish themed evening. Bring food and drink.
Saturday 25th CRYSTAL PALACE DINOSAURS & HORNIMAN MUSEUM.
Meet at Whitechapel Station for the Windrush/Overground train to Crystal Palace departing at 10.22 am. We then have a 2.5/3 mile walk to the Horniman Museum (including seeing the Dinosaurs at Crystal Palace).
Most of the Horniman Museum and Gardens are free but there is an Aquarium £6 and Butterfly House £9 (no mention of combined ticket). We then walk to Forest Hill Station to catch the Windrush/Overground Line back to Whitechapel.
If anyone wants to just go to the Museum make your own way to Forest Hill Station and then it's a 10 minutes walk west along the A205 passing Havelock Walk on your right. (There should be signposts to the museum anyway). The Horniman Cafe serves hot meals, sandwiches and drinks so we can aim to all meet up there about 1pm. The walkers should be there about 12.30/1 pm. Richard
Thursday 30th WIPEOUT GAME. Trevor
February
Thursday 6th POINTLESS. Trev .
Saturday 8th WALK. Meet at Bethnal Green station ticket hall for a 10:30am start. We will stop outside the V&A museum of Childhood for those who might need to pop in for a comfort break prior to the walk. This will be a 4 to 5 mile linear walk visiting Victoria Park before joining the Regents canal, we will finish at the Wetherspoon’s Ledger Building in Canary Wharf for those who would like to stop for lunch at the end of the walk. Sue
Thursday 13th BADMINTON & TABLE TENNIS Jill V.
Saturday 15th MARITIME MUSEUM EXHIBITION. Meet at Stratford Station by the entrance to the DLR at 11 am. The Elizabeth Line isn't running Saturday so you may need to take the Central Line to Stratford. From Cutty Sark station, the museum is a ten minute walk away. However, none of the escalators at Cutty Sark station are working, and there are 121 steps to the exit. I am still aiming to go that way, but you may prefer to take the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich. From there you can catch the 188 bus from bus stop C to the museum. The bus ride is about 12 mins.
Please let me know if you are going to go that way and we will hopefully meet you at the museum. Was thinking of getting to the museum cafe for around 1.15.
The exhibition I was planning to see is the Astronomy Photographer of the Year: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/exhibition. It's free to enter and I've provisionally booked 12 tickets. There currently isn't anywhere in the museum where we can have our own lunch, but the website describes the cafe, which has meals, sandwiches, etc, as having plenty of inside and outdoor tables. My guess is it'll probably be a bit crowded but l hopefully we will all find a seat.
After that Trevor is kindly going to lead a walk round Greenwich Park nearby for an hour or so. May be a bit squishy underfoot so you may want to wear walking shoes.
If you're not coming to EFOG on Thursday please could you let me know you're coming along, so I'll know to wait for you at Stratford. Louise
Thursday 20th QUIZ. Val.
Saturday 22nd WALK in West London. Meet at 10.30am at Baker Street on the Metropolitan Line platform to catch the train to Ruislip Manor.
There are no cafes on the walk, It is probably best to bring some food & drink though the facilities at Ruislip Lido might be open.
The walk is approx 6 miles, depending how often we get lost. When Louise & I did a recky on Tuesday it was very muddy so walking boots are advisabl. Eileen and Louise.
Saturday 25th See Update notice above.
Thursday 27th THEMED MUSIC EVENING. The subject is "Towns & Cities". Each person who might come along on the evening submits their choice(s) ahead of time so that I can prep / check it meets the criteria / ensure we don't have duplicates. On the night, each person will introduce their track and why they chose it; I'll play it and then we'll have a short discussion as to whether we liked it or not. I'd appreciate responses by Monday 24th.
A town / city can be mentioned in the artist / composer's name or in the title of the song / piece, but it must be in one of them. For example... 'Istanbul (Not Constantinople)' by They Might Be Giants and anything by Bach (16 so-named towns / cities around the world, apparently) or New York Dolls would meet the criteria. Note that a village is not a town or city.
It's highly likely that we'll only play the songs / pieces of music suggested by those people actually present on the night and we may only get to play your first choice, so choose carefully. Ideally choose something that's got a run time of 5 minutes or less too! However, if there aren't many of us, we may get to go round again - as such, it would be helpful if people did submit a second choice. I need the artist / composer and the title for each track. Jill S,, Brian
March
Saturday 1st ST. CLAIRES HOSPICE QUIZ Theydon Bois. Sue
Thursday 6th SKITTLES. Peter G.
Saturday 8th WALK. Meet at Ilford Railway station at 11 a.m. Heading into Manor Park, we will join the river Roding and walk to Redbridge roundabout, returning to Ilford station via Valentines Park. The total distance is about five and a quarter miles. There are a couple of cafes in Valentines Park and we'll call into one of them towards the end of the walk. It should take about 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on how long we stop for refreshments.
It should be mainly on decent paths although there are one of two places where it may be muddy, depending on how much rain we get on Friday. Trev.
Thursday 13th WALKING FOOTBALL. Parviz
Saturday 15th WALK at Hornchurch Country Park. Meet near the outside seating area at Ingrebourne Valley/Essex Wildlife Trust Cafe (RM12 6TS). There is a car park near the cafe or if you're using public transport the 252 bus from Romford Station (Elizabeth Line) goes past Elm Park Station (District Line) then get off at Sarre Avenue, bus stop M, just past Tesco. Walk on down Airfield Way away from Tesco to the bend where Airfield Way meets Suttons Lane, then turn right down Squadrons Approach and you'll be able to see the Car Park and Children's Play Area, with the cafe just beyond. From the direction of Hornchurch - including the station - alight at Hornchurch Country Park, bus stop A, and continue walking in that direction along Suttons Lane to Squadrons Approach.
The ground may be a little damp in places, but not too muddy and will be a circular route of about 3 miles finishing at the cafe so you can bring your own lunch/snack or buy something at the cafe.There's a small RAF Museum within the Wildlife Centre, and for any that are interested there is a larger RAF Heritage Museum 10-15 mins walk along Suttons Lane which we can visit after the walk. Richard.
Sunday 16th NEW REDBRIDGE WIND ORCHESTRA. Concert
Thursday 20th TACTILE QUIZ. Kathy, Diana
Saturday 22nd BERMONDSEY AND ROTHERHITHE WALK. Meet at 10.30am, London Bridge Station at tube booking hall (top of Jubilee line escalator)
This is a short 3.5 mile/5.6 km walk on the flat, finishing at Rotherhithe Station (Windrush Line to Whitechapel). There are toilets at the station (in the row of shops leading to the main line trains) and various pubs and cafes on the way. For refreshments, The Norwegian Seaman’s church is very near the walk route. It is worth looking round and is open from 12-3 for waffles (delicious) and coffee. Bring your own sandwiches too, which we can eat sitting in the garden there.
If you’d like to visit the Brunel Museum afterwards, note that it closes at 3:30 pm, last entry at 3:00. It costs £15, £10 for >65s, free with an Art Pass. There are some stairs - please check here: https://thebrunelmuseum.com/visiting-us/accessibility/ I’m looking forward to seeing you: please let me know if you’re coming. Claire.
The Age UK Quiz at St Edmunds Church Hall at South Chingford E4 9DS. Doors open 7pm for 7:30 pm start. The cost is £13-00 with a Ploughman's Supper Included. If you wish to go, please email me or let me know at the club. Kathy Unwin
Thursday 27th BINGO. Jill V.
Sunday 30th WANSTEAD WALK. Meet at the benches outside The Eagle - Toby Carvery, Snaresbrook, at 10.30. We will walk to Chingford Golf Club cafe. There is a cafe stop en-route, Distance is approximately 5.5 miles. Paul K.
April
Thursday 3rd PROGRAMME PLANNING AND CHEESE AND WINE. We need more pre-planning. Jill S. & Peter
Saturday 5th CHINGFORD CIRCULAR WALK. Meet at Holly Trail Cafe (4 Bury Road) E4 7QJ at 10.45 ish for tea/coffee then 11.00 am start. A distance of 3.5 - 4 miles, going up Pole Hill and Yardley Hill Meadow and woodland paths, but not muddy. Should take about 2 - 2.5 hrs.
We finish at the cafe for tea/food. There are no seats en route to stop and eat sandwiches, but if you take your own sandwiches you can eat whilst we stand taking in some of the views. Richard
Tuesday 8th 10-PIN BOWLING. Brian
Thursday 10th VOLLEYBALL. Peter G.
Sunday 13th WALK. Primrose Hill. Meet at Chalk Farm underground station at 10.30. A short circular walk of 2.9 miles, finishing back at Chalk Farm station. We will look at places of interest, hilarity, tragedy and notoriety, starting down Gloucester Avenue and ending with a walk back along Regents Park Road, via Primrose Hill itself and the park where it is situated. There is no toilet at Chalk Farm station but at the beginning we can make a detour up Regents Park Road where there are coffee shops. We are never far from a coffee shop after that, except in the park. At the time of writing no rain is forecast, around 15-17oC and a moderate SW breeze, but of course that could change. Claire
Thursday 17th PICTIONARY. Parviz
Thursday 24th QUIZ BINGO. Jill S.
Saturday 26th. RNLI QUIZ AT ST. JOHN'S CHURCH HALL, 19 Church Lane, Loughton, IG10 1PD. Doors open at 7.15. The cost is £10 - payment in cash at the door. Bring your own food, drink and snacks. I'll be taking names at the club so we can book tables. Frances and Parviz
Sunday 27th WALK. Meet at 10.30 at Knightsbridge Station, Piccadilly Line entrance between the 'Burberry' & 'Apple' stores, at the junction with Sloane St. The walk is approximately 4 miles visiting the Saatchi Gallery, onto Battersea Park with a cafe stop en-route, return to north side of river & Cheyne Walk. We will finish at the National Army Museum which is 5-to-10 minutes walk away from Sloane Square underground station (District Line).
There are NO planned disruption regarding travel and the weather forecast is good and warm. Paul K.
May
Thursday 1st CROSSWORD QUIZ. Trev.
Wednesday 6th to Friday 9th. HOLIDAY at CAISTER, NORFOLK. Trev.
Thursday 8th DODGY JAMMERS. Dave
Friday 9th WALTHAMSTOW VILLAGE & God’s Own Junk Yard. Kathy & Brian
Saturday 10th 18+ QUIZ. Trev.
Wednesday 14th to Saturday 17th CADOS PLAY. Kathy
Thursday 15th SKITTLES. Peter G.
Saturday 17th CYCLE RIDE. Please meet at 11am at the café by Chingford golf club in Bury Road. Parviz
Thursday 22nd TAI CHI. Parviz
Saturday 24th WALK. Stanmore. This is going to be one of the Hilly London walks, starting at Stanmore Station, at the far end of the Jubilee Line, at 11 a.m. It's a 5 to 6 mile linear walk finishing somewhere in north west London. Whilst it's a hilly London walk, once we've done the first climb we mainly stay on high ground, so is not too bad. When I did it a few weeks ago it wasn't too muddy, so walking shoes should be ok, providing we don't get too much rain on Wednesday. Bring a packed lunch as there's no cafes on the way round. It should take 3 to 3.5 hours.
Rather than sitting on the Jubilee line for days from Stratford to Stanmore you can get to Bond Street and change onto it there. Trev.
Thursday 29th THEMED MUSIC EVENING. TV & Film tunes. Jill S. & Brian
June
Thursday 5th PICTIONARY. Parviz
Saturday 7th WALK. Meet at Loughton Station ready to set off at 10:30am. Date changed to Sunday 8th June because of forecast weather conditions. Sue
Sunday 8th WALK. Meet at Loughton Station ready to set off at 10:30am. The walk will 6 to 7 miles, stopping at High Beech for a refreshment (suggest you bring your own snack/lunch, or you can get something at the café at High Beech). We will then continue through the forest to Theydon Bois station, where we can get our trains back home, or to Loughton if you have parked there at the start. Sue
Wednesday 11th WALK from Station Rd. E4. Heritage & Bramley Hedge. Meet outside the (closed) Bull and Crown pub (on the corner of Pretoria Road and Kings Road - E4 7ES) at 10.45am. Kathy
Thursday 12th QUIZ. Brian
Sunday 15th GUIDED TOUR of Tower Hamlets Cemetery. meet at 11 45 by the exit of Mile End Station; there's a nearby cafe before a short walk to the cemetery. Otherwise meet at the main gate of the cemetery in Southern Grove in time for a 1pm for a tour of one of the 'Magnificent Seven' London cemeteries.
Will find somewhere for a v late breakfast/early lunch first, and may throw in a walk in Mile End Park, The organiser, Ken, has asked for £10 per person for the tour, which should take around 2 hours.
If anyone would like to go for a walk afterwards, Mike End Park is close by. I confess to not having worked out a route round it, but if nothing else we can walk by the canal, and the Ragged School Museum has a nice cafe, where hopefully we can glare at some trendy young people drinking flat whites to the point where they relinquish their tables.
Of course, as it's a Sunday, there are tube closures. Central Line trains to Mile End are running from Leytonstone or from Newbury Park/Gants Hill, with no service between Leytonstone and Epping, other than the dreaded replacement bus.
The ground is a little uneven, but trainers or walking shoes should be fine, and you'll probably want to bring water; the forecast for Sunday is looking good. Louise
Thursday 19th BAR-B-Q. 7.30. Bring food & drink. Peter
Saturday 21st WALK. Meet at 9.55 am on Eagle Lane, Snaresbrook near the Eagle Pub car park entrance. This will be a relatively short walk past Eagle Pond and round Hollow Ponds, similar to an evening walk we did in June 2023, so about 1.5 hours. We can then pop into the Eagle for liquid refreshment and be home for lunch.
This is an alternative to the planned walk at Castle Headingham, due to potential high temperatures today. Given the forecast, sun cream and plenty of water are recommended. Richard
Thursday 26th GAMES ON THE GREEN. 7.30 at Christchurch Green, Wanstead. Peter G.
Sunday 29th LITERARY WALK. Meet at 10am inside Charing Cross Station, in the corner of the concourse near the toilets / Boots for what is loosely described as a Literary Walk. If you get the tube to Embankment and walk up Villiers Street, you can go in to the station via the steps that will be on your left, just after The Arches Shopping Centre. We'll be covering less than 2 miles and it should take a little under two hours; we'll finish close to Goodge Street station. (Note: Elizabeth Line trains will not go via Whitechapel, but instead terminate at Liverpool Street Main Line station)
After the walk, if anyone wants to join me, I may have lunch at The Fitzrovia, which is a nearby Greene King pub - it was reasonably quiet when I recced this walk on Sunday. Alternatively, if it's too early / hot to think about eating when we finish, there are multiple coffee shops on Tottenham Court Road, near the end of the walk, if people just fancy a quick cuppa instead. Jill S.
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