NEWS

November

 

After the normal coffee morning events continued with the annual quiz competition for the 'Comptons Cup' trophy. Teams of eight enjoyed a delicious fish and chip supper whilst a competitive match ensued. After a close competition 'A Bridge Too Far' were declared the winners. Very many thanks to Brian Foster for devising and running an excellent quiz.

 

October

 

The month started with the Macmillan Coffee morning. Ros's previous efforts at the Griffin's Head were always going to be a hard act to to follow but the event was extremely successful with over £1500 being raised for this very worthwhile charity. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed by baking cakes, and making jams and pickles and especially to those who came and supported the hall buying and eating them!

 

The month ended with our Halloween family party attended by young and old with music and games and some interesting and creative costumes on show. Much fun was had by all and a variety of witches, ghouls and skeletons made their way home very tired at the end of the evening.

 

September 2025

 

Our first coffee morning after the summer was held on a slightly damp morning but spirits were lightened by the 100 club draw. The lucky winners were 48 (£200), 10 (£100), 39, 90 and 49 (each winning £50) - many congratulations to all.

 

The hall was at full capacity for the National Theatre showing of Inter Alia, a powerful and emotionally challenging production with a standout performance by Rosamund Pike. A further National Theatre screening is planned for the spring.

 

August 2025

 

The lovely August sunshine was in full force for our annual Summer Lunch Party. Crowds of villagers enjoyed a delicious lunch of cold meats, salmon, quiche, eggs and a wonderful range of salads. This was followed by some very indulgent puddings. We held a raffle in aid of our charity of the year, 'Supporting Wounded Veterans' and were delighted to raise around £100. Many thanks to everyone who helped make this such an enjoyable event.

 

June 2025

 

The month started with the first 100 club draw taking place during the coffee morning, accompanied by hot drinks and delicious homemade cakes. The winning numbers were 83 (£200), 7 (£100), 93, 24 and 42 (each winning £50). Many congratulations to all the lucky winners.

 

Residents were treated to a film made by village resident Sebastian Barker, who is studying film at Bristol University. His film, "No Time Like the Present" was a series of stunning shots, carefully edited with an entertaining commentary, of his gap year travels in the far east. The audience were entranced by shots ranging from stunning scenery to paddy fields, sandy beaches and busy street scenes. The film showed the many cultural aspects of the places he had visited. The evening also raised £305 to be split between The Film and TV Charity and Medicinema.

 

June closed with our annual spring Quiz Night. Shaun was a strict quiz master for the evening keeping everyone in order as teams battled for the winners trophy. It was a close match right to the last round with Spartacus the eventual winners. Thanks must go to Sandra and Ethel who worked hard to provide a delicious cold supper for everyone whilst keeping the bar running and to Shaun for the interesting questions and for being a hard (but fair) quiz master.

 

May 2025

 

Residents gathered in the hall and grounds for a VE Day 80th Anniversary picnic on 5th May. The hall was decked with flags and bunting with tables and chairs were available for those not wanting to sit on the ground. Despite the occasionally chilly breeze many stayed for some time singing along to music from Vera Lynn and other artists of the time. To mark the occasion we invited donations for the Wounded Veterans Charity (the Hall's charity of the year) and raised over £160.

 

'Vinyl Night' was held towards the end of May and was great fun and very much appreciated by all those who attended. Steve and Mike, our resident DJ's, did a great job of playing the many varied requests effortlessly switching between vinyl and digital recordings. There were several requests for the evening to be held again later in the year.

 

April 2025

 

In April we had our first National Theatre screening, a stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece comedy Dr Strangelove starring Steve Coogan in four different roles. It was a brilliant production and very entertaining with some audience members laughing from almost start to finish. We plan to show a further National Theatre production later in the year.

 

Easter Saturday saw a visit from the Easter Bunny who had hidden over 30 eggs in the grounds of the hall. Much fun was had by children, parent and grandparents decorating eggs and Easter hats with prizes for the best designs. There followed the children's Easter egg hunt in the grounds with all children finding at least one egg and some finding two.

 

The hall held its very first film night with a showing of Wicked. Unfortunately this was not the original planned film but the bar was open and an entertaining night was had by all.

 

March 2025

 

March was another busy month with a further showing of an England rugby match on the big screen. England's winning form continued and again we had a wide range of ages of fans cheering along.

 

March also saw the final 100 club draw of the draw year. Winners were numbers 28 (£200), 2 (£100), 39, 33, and 3 (each winning £50), many congratuations to all. If you would like to have a number in the new draws please contact Lynn Carter.

 

February 2025

 

This month the hall was anything but quiet with showings of two England Six Nations home games on the big screen. Both games were real nail biters with England leaving it very late to seal their victory. It was great to have fans of all ages joining us to watch the matches.

 

Another event where the hall was swinging was the recent Artsreach evening where we watched 'The Charlie Parker Story' brought to us by the Neil Maya quartet. They were all incredibly talented jazz musicians and played a fantastic set to a packed house.

 

January 2025

 

The cold, wet month of January was livened up with an evening of Murder!  Paul Stickler, a retired Detective, gave a fascinating talk about the murder of taxi driver Sidney Spicer in 1920. He gave us a real insight into the difficulties and Police methods of that time, detailing how the suspect was eventually apprehended and the murder finally solved.

 

December 2024

 

December was a busy month for socialising at the hall. First we had a packed house for the Christmas drinks evening with plenty of delicious canapes and drinks from the bar, there was a great Christmas party atmosphere.

 

Following that it was lovely to see the second full house of the month with the Christmas coffee morning. Sausage rolls, mince pies and stollen were thoroughly enjoyed by all and there were some fantastic raffle prizes kindly donated for the event, thank you to everyone. The December 100 Club draw was also made with lucky numbers 20, (£200), 60 (£100), 80, 68, and 35 (each winning £50), a very welcome bonus just before Christmas!