Whatlington village voice

The Harvest Festival Service will take place in the Village Hall at 6.00pm on Sunday 7th October. There will be a service followed by the Harvest Supper. All are very welcome to attend in the evening or to the Parish Communion at 8.30am.

A message from Valerie Bennett.Last Saturday 150 people from the village including their guests enjoyed the Whatlington Barn Dance and Hog Roast.

On the Saturday morning parish councillors, myself and volunteer helpers moved chairs, tables and straw bales into the marquee and erected the food marquee, which took a few attempts but once we had the six people needed, one on each pole it went up easily.

In the afternoon Brown and Cootes, the Hog Roast Company arrived and soon had the hogs roasting away. The Spinning Jenny Band arrived to set up just before six and by 7.00pm the barn dance was underway.

From comments I have received everyone enjoyed the evening in spite of the cold which seemed to get colder and colder as the evening progressed, but with joining in with the dancing the cold was soon forgotten. The hog roast was again excellent with the crackling especially good. Most people had brought food to swell the buffet and there certainly was a selection of savouries and puddings to tempt everyone.

The parish council would like to thank Alex and Mike from the Royal Oak who manned the bar in the marquee and arranged with their brewery barrels of free beer. Wendy Thorne for stepping in to organize the buffet, Mike Moore for acting car park attendant complete with fluorescent jacket and especially those helpers who came along on both the Saturday and on the very rainy Sunday morning, without their help it would have much harder work, in fact on the Sunday with their help we cleared everything in just on an hour. Unfortunately a large oval,beige dish is missing but a small steelite oval beige dish was left behind. It is probable that the similar one was taken by accident.If this is the case please contact Valerie on 772932 to arrange a swap.

15 members of The Good Companions enjoyed a visit to Lime Cross nurseries last week. Many strolled around the gardens where a variety of plants were displayed whilst some just sat and enjoyed the views. Home made scones and cakes were served with either tea or coffee and may I take this opportunity of thanking Sue and her staff foran enjoyable afternoon. May I aslo thank Valerie all her hard work.

The next meeting for this group is on Wednesday 17th October members now feel as winter is fast approaching that we stay fairly close to home so I have booked the Village Hall on this occasion. We will enjoy a “games” afternoon, enjoying a cup of tea and fellowship.

New members are always welcome. Please contact Hilda 01424 777358 if you would like further information.

Just a reminder of my email address for sending Whatlington information for this article [email protected]

News from Alex at The Royal Oak:

Autumn is upon us, so a roaring fire was going this week and it feels very nice and cosy in the pub! We have a lot going on over the next month or so, the regular Thursday Quiz Night plus monthly Irish Music session is tonight (Fri 28th) - get very busy, so don’t forget to book a table for either of these popular events.

This Saturday we are holding another one of our wine tasting evenings with Hazel, when we’ll sample some delicious reds this time. We’ll begin at 9pm and tickets are just £5 per head, so please let Alex know if you want to come along and enjoy a tipple (or five)!

Tuesday 16th October is the next Book Club gathering - so there is still time to read “Friday Nights” by Joanne Trollope and come and join us for a chat from 7.30pm at The Royal Oak.

Our last Boules match is a home game on Wednesday 17th October from 7pm. The boules team have done very well in their first season and really enjoyed playing each week. The season is from May to December, so if you would like to get involved in next year’s league, please call 01424 870492 for more details.

If you’re a fan of good old fashioned pub games like Shove Ha’penny, Cribbage, Dominoes or darts then come along to The Royal Oak on a Wednesday night when we have a pint by the fire and play a few games. All very informal and beginners in any of these games as well as seasoned players are welcome to join us for a sociable evening throughout the winter months.

Tickets are still available for the next Psychic Night at The Royal Oak with local Master Palmist Robin Lown and his guest Medium Grant Colyer. This entertaining “audience with” style evening will be on Saturday 20th October from 7.30pm and is always a sell-out so if you would like to reserve a ticket for just £10, please call 01424 870492.

There will be a Halloween Party at The Royal Oak on Friday 26th October, so don your scariest costume and join us from 8pm for some silly dancing and scary cocktails! Admission is free, everyone welcome.

Please note that the October Irish Music Session has been moved to Friday 2nd November - so put the date in your diary!

The Village Hall Committee is holding a Fabulous 40s Night in the Village Hall on Friday 29th October to raise much needed funds for maintenance and improvements to the hall. There will be music, singing and of course lots of dancing. Tickets are just £10 per person to include a light supper. 40s fancy dress is a must, so come along and indulge in some war-time nostalgia and romance! Tickets available from The Royal Oak or call Angie on 01424 870087.

The next Whatlington Village Jumble Sale will take place in the Village Hall from 10am on Saturday 27th October, so dig out any of your unwanted jumble, clothes, bric-a-brac and toys. There are sure to be lots of bargains, so come along on the day to see if there’s anything you fancy. If you are interested in helping set-up the day before or actually on the day, the Village Hall Committee would love to hear from you. Please call Angie on 01424 870087.

Andrew Ratcliffe, Whatlington