Keele SCR (Staff Common Room)

Keele SCR (Staff Common Room) What is the Staff Common Room? The SCR is your organisation, and you can make as much or as little of it as you like.

The SCR is a club which exists to unite the current and retired staff of Keele University and promote the spirit of community within the University, by arranging activities, providing social space and a structure for members to meet. The SCR is a club which exists to unite the current and retired staff of Keele University and promote the vital spirit of community within the University, by arrangin

g activities, providing a dedicated social space for members, and simply offering a structure within which members can meet each other. Membership is open to all full-time and part-time staff paid on national scales, both academic and non-academic, and brings with it the opportunity to participate in the SCR's social activities, elections and meetings, as well as the right to use its suite of rooms and bar. It is open to all staff, academic or not, and needs your support in order to survive. We have just decided that in future our name is Staff Common Room, following a survey of members and others, dropping the old term "Senior".

A wonderful afternoon at Pierre Hourlier Wines with the SCR! 🍷🥂
29/06/2026

A wonderful afternoon at Pierre Hourlier Wines with the SCR! 🍷🥂

We now have the (generously numerous!) list of wines for Monday. Prices are their list ones, we will be able to buy at 5...
24/06/2026

We now have the (generously numerous!) list of wines for Monday. Prices are their list ones, we will be able to buy at 5% off from the tasting - so prices will be as follows:
£16.10
£12.30
£12.30
£10.88
£13.25
£16.82
£12.30
£13.20
£13.25
£14.92

Currently travel costs £30, but remember if an extra person signs up it reduces by £2 each time!

Do let me know if you want to join us.

Stephen - [email protected]

12/06/2026

We are glad to confirm the Tasting at Hourlier Wines is going ahead, as bookings are just sufficient. Because of this it is not too late to book as well, leaving Keele by coach at 1 pm on Monday 29th June. If more book, the price for coach travel drops with each one. (1 more booking would reduce the coach cost by about £2 for instance, and so on.) The cost is currently £30 per head for coach travel only, no cost for wines, plus £15 for the buffet. This is more than we hoped, but not yet final. I will advise the final cost before we go to those booked so they can either pay Stephen on the day, or make a transfer to the SCR account (preferred). If you'd like to join us but are put off by the cost, ask some friends to book too!

12/06/2026

We are glad to confirm the Tasting at Hourlier Wines is going ahead, as bookings are just sufficient. Because of this it is not too late to book as well, leaving Keele by coach at 1 pm on Monday 29th June. If more book, the price for coach travel drops with each one. (1 more booking would reduce the coach cost by about £2 for instance, and so on.)

The cost is currently £30 per head for coach travel only, no cost for wines, plus £15 for the buffet. This is more than we hoped, but not yet final. I will advise the final cost before we go to those booked so they can either pay Stephen on the day, or make a transfer to the SCR account (preferred).

If you'd like to join us but are put off by the cost, ask some friends to book too!

24/04/2026

We're back today for the first Friday night opening after Easter:

Friday 24th April: Nena and Jack on the bar
Friday 1st May: Becky and Joe on the bar
Friday 8th May: Niall and Sarah on the bar!

Then we break for summer. But all members are warmly invited to the SCR AGM on Friday 29th May, from 17.30. As well as the meeting, we will open the bar for drinks, and drift towards the bar after AOB. It's an opportunity to feed in to what you'd like the SCR to do in the coming year / have a cheeky beverage at the same time.

Remember that we also have a wine tasting coming up, with Pierre Hourlier: Monday 29th June at Unit 11, Melbourne Hall Visitor Centre, Church Square, Melbourne, DE73 8EN. £15 per head for French buffet, with the tasting, as usual, free. This is a good opportunity, too, to buy and take home a supply of your favourite wines for later enjoyment.

There will be a minibus or coach from Keele, leaving at about 1pm, and we'll return to Keele at 5pm. Costs for the coach depend on numbers, so please do let Stephen know - [email protected] - as soon as possible, if you'd like to attend. Deadline 29th May for bookings!

All my best,
Becky
SCR Chair

21/04/2026

Margaret Bird's Funeral will be in the University Chapel at 1 pm on Wednesday 29th April. Refreshments afterwards at Keele Hall are by personal invitation only for a restricted number of those attending the service. (This corrects the original impression we had been given.)🙏

03/04/2026

Our next SCR Ramble takes us up to The Cloud, a distinctive sandstone hill on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border with some genuinely spectacular views.

We'll meet at the Timbersbrook car park at 11am on Sunday 12th April.
• OS Maps: SJ894627
• What3Words: ///visit.uplifting.agreement

The route is around 4 miles (6.4km) and should take under 2 hours. The first half follows a good gravel path, with things getting a little more rugged near the summit. The return leg is a gentle walk along a country lane.

If you haven't heard of The Cloud before, it's worth knowing that it's one of a handful of places in the world which cause a double sunset. The hill causes the sun to dip below the horizon, briefly reappear, and set again. The effect is visible from a churchyard in Leek, and there is some suggestion that the church was built on the site because it was a site pre-Christian importance due to this phenomenon.

Afterwards, we'll head to the Coach and Horses, a good pub less than a mile from the car park that serves food all Sunday afternoon. I'll book a table for 1pm so please let me know if you're planning to join us for lunch so I can give them a rough number.

Attached athttp://www.keelescr.org/2026-04-12SCRHike.pdf is the route.

27/03/2026

It's cheese night tonight at the SCR. The bar is open from 5.30, and we encourage you to bring a cheese for a bring-and-share buffet. Crackers are provided!

Remember that this is the last SCR opening before the Easter break. We'll be back after Easter, on Friday 24th April.

The SCR ramble, near Congleton, will be on Sunday 12th April. Details will follow!

All my best,
Becky Bowler

Address

Keele University
Keele
ST55BG

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
5:30pm - 7:30pm

Telephone

+441782733954

Website

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