Whatlington village voice

School pupils are enjoying a well earned Easter break looking forward to welcoming a new interim Head Teacher at the start of the new Summer Term on Monday 16th April.

We had a very busy Easter at The Royal Oak! The Hughenden Players battled six other teams to win the East Pub Quiz and won the jackpot – well done to them. Don’t forget we hold a pub quiz every Thursday evening at 8pm for teams of up to six people. Please call 01424 870492 if you would like to book a table.

A variety of interesting cocktails were served at the Cocktail Evening on Saturday although the pouring of the “Red, White and Blue” does need to be perfected before the Jubilee!

The Battle Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt was drawn on Sunday and the lucky winner of enormous chocolate egg was Dani, whose two little sisters were delighted with their Easter treat!

The next Royal Oak live music dates for your diary are Friday 27th April for Irish Music and Wednesday 2nd May for Traditional Jazz.

An entertaining evening of Palmistry with local Master Palmist Robin Lown is planned for Saturday 26th May at The Royal Oak. Robin is an expert in this field and gives performances and demonstrations up and down the country to wide acclaim, having made numerous radio and TV appearances. This will be a fascinating evening and is sure to be a sell-out, so if you are interested in coming along, please contact Alex on 01424 870492 – tickets are just £10 each, but places are limited.

Film Club members left behind the chill of Easter in Whatlington for an hour so in the sunshine of Florence for their latest movie A Room With A View. The romantic drama proved an antidote not just to the spring weather but also the brooding atmosphere of the previous film Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. And it had a happy ending!

It has been decided to alter the running order of the next few films so, instead of Black Swan, the Friday April 20 showing will be the new version of Jane Eyre. This 2011 movie of the Charlotte Bronte novel tells the story of the quiet governess who strikes up a friendship with her employer – the dark, abrupt and mysterious Mr Rochester. Mia Wasikowska plays the title role, Michael Fassbender is Rochester and Jamie Bell (star of Billy Elliot is his younger years) and Judi Dench also appear. The film starts at 8pm in The Barn function room at the Oak.

Before then, on Tuesday April 17, the village’s book club is showing The Help, one of the most popular novels so far read by club members, at 7.30pm. You don’t have to have read the book, or even be a member of the club, to attend.

If you are interested in joining the film club and want to give it a try, pop along on either of these dates and see what it’s all about. After that it will cost just £7.50 per person for 12 months’ membership. More details from Steve Turner at [email protected] or 01424 87004.

The Book Club will meet on Tuesday 1st May at 7.30pm at The Royal Oak to discuss the merits of “The Sealed Letter” by Emma Donaghue. The book is set in Victorian London and follows the friendship of two very different women as they try and rekindle a friendship whilst going through personal trauma including adultery, divorce and fighting for The Cause.

Hilda Aplin, Lismoyne, Oakhurst Road