OUT & ABOUT SHOTLEY CHURCH HERITAGE 700 CLUB CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Shotley Village Hall Sunday, December 3, 2-4.30pm Various craft stalls including cards, jewellery, handbags, pyrography, wooden products, needlecraft and scented candles. Raffle and festive refreshments. Entry free – everyone welcome. OCTOBER DRAW WINNERS 1: Mrs S Ayeche (107), £25 2: Mrs J Lawford Randall (134), £20 3: Mr R Ratcliffe (097), £15 4: Mr E Amner (135), £8 5: Miss P Wrinch (070), £7 New members are always welcome to join the 700 club. The cost of £1 a month can be paid at three, six or 12 month interval. To join or for more information, contact Norman Bugg: 01473 787358
VILLAGE LINK CLUB Roger Fern presented a talk entitled A Year as Mayor of Ipswich at our November meeting. In this he showed some photos of the ceremonial articles the council owns and uses at mayoral functions. There are two maces, one of which precedes the mayor into the council chamber at council meetings and lays on the table before him/her throughout. There is also the mayor’s chain of office which is worn at all official functions. This contains a casting of the Ipswich coat of arms among other symbols and is quite heavy. Roger also showed photos of some of the events he has attended as mayor. Christmas messages and carols will be presented by two of our club members on December 13. There will also be a small Christmas buffet in lieu of biscuits with our coffee. Please bring a small plate of food to share. Instead of our usual raffle please also bring a small wrapped gift as a tombola item. The main raffle this month will be a hamper with hopefully one or two secondary prizes.
CHELMONDISTON WI This has been a busy year for our members. Craftwise we have made lovely cards for special birthdays, and red hearts to hang in trees for donor awareness week. We donated lots of socks and pants for homeless people and walked a mile to raise £100 for the ACWW fish preserving project. Speakers included Jonathan Webb about his barge Melissa, which we had all watched growing at Pin Mill, Lisa gave us a hilarious evening on the subject of knickers, Iwan gave us useful First Responder tips, and we learned about our local woodlands, racehorses and PAT dogs. We did African drumming and we ran a raffle and drinks stall at the Arthur Ransome Day, a Cake Heaven stall at the table top day, and a Hotchoc and cake stall at the fireworks evening. Four members entered the WI Carpet Bowls tournament and came second. We rewarded ourselves with a groaning buffet for our own birthday party. We are looking forward to a full programme next year, with even more drumming by special request!
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE HOODED LANCE For those who fancy a bonkers, surreal and hilarious alternative to panto, head for Common Ground Theatre Company’s touring production of Sherlock Holmes and The Hooded Lance, which runs from December 15 to January 13. You can catch it at The Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge (Dec 15/16), John Peel Centre, Stowmarket (Dec 18-20), St Mary’s Hall, Walton (Ded 28-30), Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh (Jan 1-3), Corn Hall, Diss (Jan 4), Headgate Theatre, Colchester (Jan 5/6) and New Wolsey Studio, Ipswich (Jan 8-13). The show is the latest concoction from “those magicians of Christmas entertainment” (as Andrew Clark described them in the EADT) Pat Whymark and Julian Harries, best known for their hugely successful Christmas shows for Eastern Angles Theatre Company (including last year’s smash hit, Stoat Hall) and for their own company, Common Ground.
Future talks: First Aid and AED The Legendary Dad’s Army, A History of Scarecrows, Pray Silence for ? and The History of Butley Priory.
Holmes and Watson faces their stiffest challenge yet in the shape of the Hooded Lance, their newest and deadliest adversary, who is hell bent on spoiling everyone’s Christmas! Can our intrepid duo save the festive season from the clutches of this dastardly demon. Can they cook his goose, or will he crush their baubles and make prize turkeys of them?”
Meetings are held at 10am on the second Wednesday of every month in Tattingstone Village Hall. Following the speaker we have refreshments, when there is time for a chat with other members, and a raffle. New members and visitors are welcome to join us.
Julian dons the famous deerstalker yet again, and is joined by the fabulous Dick Mainwaring (Dr Watson) and the incomparable Joe Leat, for a classic Christmas mystery with all the Common Ground trimmings – sparkling wit, ingenious staging, hilarious songs, and surreal flights of festive fancy.
Roger Felgate, 01473 311684
For more information, go to: www.commongroundtc.co.uk
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