Whatlington village voice

All welcome. Whatlington church bells were rung as part of the national bell ringing to usher in the Olympics at 08.12 on the morning of Friday July 27th. The oldest bell dates from 1275 and so will have been rung over the centuries to mark many great occassions.

Message from Valerie Bishop.The recent church Patronal weekend was a great success. On Saturday the cream teas and homemade cakes were enjoyed by all. The various stall were all popular.

On Sunday the Festival Evensong was held in the churchyard and was well attended, there were light refreshements served after the service in the village hall. My grateful thanks to all those who contributed in so many ways to make the weekend such a happy occassion. The sun certainly shone on us all at Whatlington in the evening.

Message from Hilda Aplin. St. Mary Magdalene Church Fire Appeal fund now stands at £34553.93; again I have to say a magnificent amount, an amount I never envisaged being raised. We are so very grateful to all those who have given so generously, especially when so many other “causes” also need funds. The church would like to thank Helene, Ted and Christians at Telham for their most generous donations . Thank you also to all those who supported the church last week and enjoyed homemade cakes and scones. The money raised at this event will also be credited to the Appeal Fund.May I take this opportunity of thanking Valerie and her helpers for the delicious food we enjoyed after Evensong last Sunday. Evensong was held in the churchyard again this year and we were blessed with very warm weather and it was lovely to see the church once again looking like it always has from the outside; with no signs of fire damage.

Second week of the school summer holidays this week so let’s hope the pupils are enjoying the break and the good weather we had for the first week of the holidays.

Michael Hodge will be giving a talk on diplomatic life called “Whiskey and Carrot”, at Whatlington Village Hall on Wednesday 22nd August 2012 starting at 2.15pm. This interesting talk, which I am sure will engage all of us, will last about 45minutes with 15 minutes for questions; light refreshments following. Please do come along and hear Michael give a light hearted talk on life as a diplomat.

Entrance will be £2.00 to cover the cost of the hire of the hall and there will be a raffle.

This is an open event and everyone is very welcome.

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

Message from Alex at the Royal Oak.This is the last chance to buy a ticket for the palm reading and psychic night at The Royal Oak this Saturday 4th August at 8pm. Local Master Palmist Robin Lown and popular Psychic Medium Grant Colyer will host an “audience with” style evening that will be enlightening and very entertaining. There are a few tickets left at just £10 each, so if you would like to be a part of this insightful event, then please call 01424 870492.The following week on Saturday 11th August we are holding another one of our popular wine tasting evenings at The Royal Oak from 9pm. This time local wine enthusiast, Hazel, will be taking us through a selection of Rose wines from around the world. There will be dry varieties as well as more traditional sweeter ones, plus a delicious sparkling Rose - all perfect for enjoying this summer. If you would like a ticket (just £5), please call 01424 870492.

If you are looking for a venue to hold a party or meeting, don’t forget that The Barn at The Royal Oak is available with no room hire charge to local groups and clubs. Please call 01424 870492 for more details.

The Village Hall Jumble Sale is this Saturday from 10am. We have had masses of new donations, so there will be lots of bargains to be had. Refreshments will also be available. All proceeds will go to the up keep and maintenance of the Village Hall - an important community facility. The Village Hall Committee are always keen to hear of any fund raising ideas so if you have a flash of inspiration, please get in touch with Angie on 01424 870087.

Andrew Ratcliffe, Whatlington