"Transforming Relationships - Inside Out" Workshop, Derbyshire, 2009
June 5th - 7th 2009



You had to be there to experience the blessing of this event. As well as glorious Peak District scenery - ideal for a retreat - we got unremitting rain except for the two hour window of our walk, praise God. Terry Eckersley challenged us (men in particular) to be mighty, blessed and full of the joy of the Lord, Keva Green taught on God's view of marriage, Nicky Hawkes challenged us to alter our image and Debbie Jones coached us to have realistic and attainable goals in our life. And we discovered a local hostelry...You can listen to Terry's Talks to the men on these two links:

Terry Eckersley Talk 1

Terry Eckersley Talk 2

Pride & Prejudice Ball, 2009
April 18th 2009



With glorious weather and the beautiful setting of Whirlow Brook Hall on the outskirts of Sheffield we had tremendous fun dressing up in our Regency finest. We had so many Lords, Ladies, Princesses, Counts, Viscounts, Colonels, Majors and assorted Christian Singles aristocracy that it was overwhelming. And we even did a bit of Jane Austen "flirty dancing" under the eagle eye of Arnold Steeds especially brought in for this event. Whether or not anyone found their Mr Darcy or Lizzie Bennett.... a good time was had by all and sundry and many uncommonly pretty girls with fine pairs of eyes were on display for the evening.

Rome Trip, 2009
February 17th - 21st 2009



After one of the coldest weeks in the last few decades in England we managed to choose a week for our trip to Rome that was relatively mild for travelling. However, in Rome we found the weather cold but sunny. Eighteen people came from five airports and we stayed at five different locations in the city centre. Nevertheless, we managed to see all the sights - the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Coliseum all within our hectic four day trip. And some of us had an audience with the Pope, some went designer clothes shopping whilst others enjoyed the food and culture. We even managed time to spend with the Rome Baptist Church and the Kairos Christian Singles Group in Italy when we taught them a few Ceroc / Modern Jive dance moves! And then there was Robin stealing the show....

Masked Ball, 2008
November 8th 2008



This, our very first Masked Ball, in our usual Bradford venue produced an interesting assortment of masks plus a dashing array of dinner jackets and glamorous ball gowns and a turnout of nearly 100 people. Certainly the mingling at the start was more fun than usual and a limited number of speeches after dinner left the disco dancers and cerocers amongst us nearly three hours of uninterupted dance time! The usual suspects showed off their moves on the dance floor plus several interlopers from down south pitched in. A large contingent stayed overnight in the area and we visited two local churches on the Sunday morning and we had a final lunch at the Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford to finish a wonderful weekend.


  West End Musicals, 2008
October 11th 2008



This, our first event in London, was a weekend excursion  that included 3 groups of Northern Lighters also going to the popular West End Musicals; "Grease", "Joseph" and "Dirty Dancing". We were blessed by exceptionally warm sunny weather all weekend as we took in some of the sights and sounds of the capital and had some fun and fellowship while we were there.


Liverpool Away Day, 2008
September 20th 2008



Our first event in Liverpool attracted about 35 people from across the north of England and we were greeted by balmy Indian Summer temperatures in the 70s! After visitinging the famous Cavern Club that gave rise to the Mersey Beat and the Beatles in the 1960s we separated into three groups to see Art Galleries, the regnerated Dock area and a Mersey Ferry ride, plus the two Cathedrals on Hope Street, and a truncated Beatles Tour. We even managed to meet by chance a not-very-shy feathered "Liver" bird who was an ambassador for this European City of Culture!


Ceilidh, 2008
June 28th 2008



Our very first event in Harrogate, the most northern venue we've booked was a resounding success. We packed out the Holiday Inn and our favourite band, the Stompin'' Hooleys, kept us up on the dance floor all night long. With guests from as far afield as Rome, Hexham and London it was a multinational and trans-national evening! With Sunday taken up with a visit to Betty's Tearoom and assorted local church services that touched many of us, a great time was had by all. And some romance was evident in the heady midsummer air of North Yorkshire....


 Single Minded Day, 2008
May 17th 2008



Our third Single Minded Day was again hosted in Blackley Baptist Church near Halifax and it was a special day for the sixty folks who attended. Talks from Harriet Oxley on "Seizing the Opportunities of Being Single", Robin Stevens on "Why am I Single", and Keith Hanna on the "Christian Singles Dating Minefield" were well received and thought provoking. The discussion questions afterwards produced a considerable amount of debate and small group sharing and we closed with a moving time of worship. All in all, an inspiring and upbuilding day for all those who attended....


Quiz Night, 2008
April 12th 2008



Our very first general knowledge quiz was held at the Sitwell Arms Hotel in Derbyshire and thanks to Disco Dave and Keith we had an interesting mix of picture rounds and music questions. The bonus points for teams that danced in the style of different pieces of music went down the best with our penchant for dancing as did Melvyn's storming air guitar solo to TRex's "20th Century Boy". The "Five Alive" Team stole the show and got most of the questions right! But, all in all a great night was had by everyone, not least Robin, and this will likely be a fixture on our calendar in years to come...


Florence Trip, 2008
February 19th - 23rd 2008



A group of nineteen intrepid Northern Lights explorers set off on a cold, foggy British winter's morning from three airports in the UK aiming to rendezvous inside Pisa airport. Despite losing one individual who followed us (via Rome) to Florence we all arrived safely in the city to some very pleasant spring like sunshine and the beauties of this the magnificent epicentre of the Rennaisance. A great time was had by all during our week there and new friendships were forged as we experienced the wonderful Art Galleries, Museums, Churches, food and ambience of Florence and not a few of us shelled out and bought some designer Italian Jackets!  Day trips to the Eternal City and Venice were equally exciting and illuminating for those who went. For now it's ciao to Italia...



Dinner & Disco, 2007
Bradford, November 11th 2007



The end of a era in the history of Northern Lights took place on a cold November night in 2007 with Paul Standidge and Paula Dickson standing down after founding and running the group for seven years. A few surprise guests - Paula's Vicar and his wife and Paul's House Group Leaders, plus all of the other original founding members - Simon, Peter and Liz - came to celebrate Paul and Paula's  "retirement" and to make a few speeches after a lovely dinner. Then the other one hundred of us all got onto the dance floor to boogey the night away to Disco Dave's favourite tunes.



A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2007
Theatre Royal, Newcastle Upon Tyne, October 6th 2007
 

Summer Ball 2007
Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield, June 23rd 2007

The Summer Ball was widely aclaimed to be one of our best events ever! The Chequers Dance Band set the atmosphere for the evening as one hundred beautiful and elegantly dressed people turned up at the Rowan Suite in Wakefield. The band sang and played a wide range of dance classics and many of us got up onto the dance floor to enjoy the ambience and dance the night away. Our Ice Breaker envelopes got much conversation going after an enjoyable buffet dinner as we mingled and discovered the most romantic things we've ever done, shared what books we are currently reading, and dreamt up what our ideal houses would look like. Our Caption Competition was won by "DJ" who correctly deduced what Paul and Yvonne were saying in the photograph snapped at the March Ceilidh. We will have a lot to live up to to surpass this benchmark event in future!


"Single Minded" Day 2007
Blackley Baptist Church, Halifax, April 28th 2007

This event proved to be a thought-provoking, encouraging and a fun day with 75 people attending from as far afield as Scotland and London. Most people seemed to enjoy the informal format and the  opportunities for conversation as well as working through some of the complex issues involved. Harriet Oxley encouraged us to get our "essential nutrients" for our spiritual as well as physical and emotional lives in balance in a world of busyness; Christine Newton, a counsellor working at Relate, brought a different angle to proceedings as she outlined the dominant narratives of our lives, issues about relating well to members of the opposite sex, male-female biochemistry attractions that "falling in love" produces in us with all the potential pitfalls; and Robin Stevens, a composer and teacher, gently led us through several male related issues - and he entertained us with his own songs and stories. JoAnn and Derek Dundas from the West Midlands who were recently married having met at a Northern Lights event a few years ago, brought many insights into how they have adjusted to being singles in their late 30s to "just marrieds".  We even managed some time over lunch to go for a walk in a neighbouring valley on a beautiful early summer's day.

Ceilidh
Parkside Hotel, Pontefract, March 10th 2007

Dinner & Disco
The Guide Post Hotel, Bradford, November 16th 2006

On a wet and windy November night in Yorkshire nearly 100 of us gathered for an excellent meal at the Guide Post Hotel just off the M62 motorway in Bradford. We followed the meal with a 1980's style Disco night hosted by our favourite pop picker, Dave the DJ. 

1940s Ball Evening

In March 2004, at the Ball Room of The Painthorpe House Golf & Country Club, near Wakefield, just a few minutes from Junction 39 M1, the professional Willie Hirst Dance Band led us for the evening playing a range of popular 1940's dance music. The majority of guests had little or no experience of 1940's style dancing but with simple dance instructions and encouragement throughout the evening a great time was had by all.

Summer Party, 2003

In July 2003 at The Painthorpe House Golf & Country Club, Crigglestone, Wakefield. We invited the Country Club’s local disco and had our own bar. A great event and much fun was had by all.