Contrary to the inmpression give on the previous page that thc club is very competition oriented the truth is that 10% of club time is given to competitions and 90% dedicated to serious socialising. This consists of everything from going to the pub for a pint to organised trips for bowling, Go-Karting, Laserworld (very good for getting rid of frustrations) etc.. There is some social occasion happening every week and one major national event on average every month although in the months of October to December there seems to be one every weekend. Some of the bst drinking sessions happening at the moment in Roscommon seem to revolve around the meetings of the young farmers discussion groups which happen to no set schedule although they tend to happen on thursdays. This is all very well if you are a farmer or have an interest in farming.

Opera

If not then perhaps a trip to the opera may be more your cup of tea. This year for the first time a group of macra members went to the opera in Covent Garden and in light of the unexpected success of the trip we have just recieved information on a travelling opera visiting the area. If you are not an opera kind of person then perhaps a drama workshop would be more to your taste. One of the initiatives this year is that drama workshops be run in a number of clubs around the country and luckily for us Tulsk have recieved confirmation that we will recieve three of them. The point is to bring a greater appreciation of drama to the members and to increase the dramatic skills of those who will take part in the one act drama competition in the month of February.
The fact that events of this nature are proving to be popular should help to dispel some if not all of the image that

  A.   You have to be a farmer to join Macra Na Feirme.
  B.   It's all about agriculture and farming.

The club have recently organised two outings. Both of them were purely social occasions, the first was to Athl;one for a night out bowling, a few drinks and a chinese afterwards. The second was to Castlebar for an activity packed night of Laserworld, Go-karting and bowling. This latter was patronised mostly by new members and a few prospective members. It was on the whole an excelent night out and the first Macra Na Feirme night out that I attended where no alcohol was consumed. This is I believe, something of a record in the history of our club.

The next few outings will be around the competitions although the "Queen of the Land" competions is commong up soon and usually the club organise a minibus to Tullamore where the event is held. It remains to be seen if the tradition is continued. Check back here for updates and more reports.