Thinking of a  few words to describe the concert on Saturday 24th September and the follow comes to mind  fantastic, fun, community, friends and great music. It was up there with the best of events in recent times at the hall and it was so nice to see people from across the village.

It was never expected that upwards  of 20 people would be dancing in the aisles to a selection of old and modern classics from Skyfall to In the Arms of Angel with Nat King Cole and Elvis along the way.

There are lots of new ideas to make the next one even better and we hope to see as many people as possible at our next concert which is the Breeze and Wilson / Misner and Smith double bill on Friday 4th November.

The Hall’s Annual General Meeting takes place at the hall on Wednesday 12th October from 7.30pm.

Light refreshments are available.

We are always on the look out for new committee members or volunteers.

If interested contact Martyn on 750657 if you would like to discuss a role or turn up on the night to see what we are about.

We are grateful to Kelly Shenton the Gardeners Show Secretary for supplying a report on this years show.

The show was very well attended at the wonderful community facility of the Kingsley Village Hall and it was lovely to see some new faces who entered some fantastic vegetables and handicraft work. It was especially encouraging to see 3 generations of a local family who have memories of visiting and competing as children and are now returning with their own children to take part!

Everyone was impressed with the quality of the exhibits, enjoyed refreshments and homemade cake and then congratulated the worthy trophy winners before finishing off the day with a raffle and grand auction of produce. Thank you to all of the hardworking committee members for arranging this year’s show and to for Bob McGuinness for his enthusiasm as auctioneer! Last, but not least, we are very grateful to all those who took part, without their entries there would not be a show so please keep them coming!

Our next show will be held on Saturday 26th August 2017 at the Village Hall in Kingsley and it will be our 75th show. We want to make this one a real community event and celebration of the longevity of the show (we believe it is one of the oldest running shows in the area) and urge all those local to Kingsley to come along and get involved. We will be extending our categories to make it as appealing as possible. This show is not just for the green-fingered as we have sections for baking, home brew, handicraft, flower displays, photography and a great section just for children.

If anyone is interested in finding out more or wish to be involved in some way then please contact Kelly Shenton on 07983 435239 or kellyshenton1@gmail.com

Here is a list of the various cups winners – well done to all who took part – unlike the Olympics it really is all about taking part, but nice to win of course !

• Walter Carnwell Memorial Cup (most points) – Barry Clarke
• L.W. Holdsworth Cup (second most points) – Dave Johnson
• Association Cup (most points in floral art and baking) – Diane Lucas
• Fisholizer Manure Silver Challenge Cup (second most points in floral art and baking) – Gaynor Lund
• Jamieson Cup (best potatoes) – Barry Clarke
• Arthur Hammersley Memorial Cup (best vegetable in show) – Barry Clarke
• Bill Cope Memorial Trophy (most points Sweet Pea’s) – Dave Johnson
• Charles Whieldon Memorial Trophy (most points home brew) – Steve Johnson
• The Maynard Trophy (most points Dahlia’s) – Dave Johnson
• R.K. Johnson Cup (best exhibit, judges discretion) – Dave Johnson
• David Baker Bowl (best exhibit in handicraft, judges discretion) – Alison Pooler
• Newry Callan Memorial Cup (best Leeks) – Barry Clarke
• Albert Clarke Memorial Cup (best onions grown from seed) – Barry Clarke
• Barry Clarke Novice Cup (best novice, judges discretion) – Phil Slack
• Ben Fowell Trophy (best children’s exhibit, judges discretion) – Amy Palmer Botham

The committee are very disappointed to report that Caz Owen’s twice weekly ‘Fitness with Caz’ class is ending with immediate effect.

This has come at short notice to the hall but we understand that a fall in attendance has been the cause.

What is doubly disappointing is the positive feedback we have received concerning the quality of the class and its value for money.

We are sad for Caz herself who has seen her venture come to an end.

In addition, Laura from Mess Makers has also ended her Thursday morning classes due to a change in personal circumstances but it is hoped she may be back in the future.

Both these two ventures were fantastic boosts for a village lacking many facilities and yet both to lesser degrees suffered in poor attendances.

Whilst the internet and Facebook are used by many the hall recognises that there needs to be a variety of media used to communicate events at the hall which is why both ventures featured on noticeboards in the village and outside the hall.

In addition, newsletters have been at the hall since before the EU referendum in June when over 700 people voted yet less than 25 newsletters were picked up.

From the hall’s finances point of view, there is now extra pressure on the committee to plug the funding shortfall we will now face over the next twelves months or more and we would urge the community to support THEIR village hall as we are merely custodians.

That support can be via use of the hall for family occasions as well as supporting such events as the forthcoming concert and other events we have planned for the coming months.

Other support can be by making use of the twice-weekly Post Office and supporting groups that use the hall.

As a committee, we are determined to see the hall through the coming months  but we do need your support.

This post is open for comments – please do give us your feedback or comment on Facebook.

Yes thats right – just three weeks to go to the concert.

Ticket sales have picked up so we are sure to have a good night, but there are still a few seats left so get in contact and order yours now !

A big thank you to all who have bought a ticket, shared our posts on Facebook and spread the news its appreciated. Please keep doing so.

What better way of supporting the hall and having a great night out in your own community with friends old and new.

Just a reminder tickets are just £5 !

The Post Master has advised that due to annual holidays that there will be no Post Office service at the hall on Thursday 8th and 15th September.

On Monday 5th and 12th there will be shortened hours of 2.45pm to 4.45 pm.

Normal service will resume on Monday 19th September when the service commences at 1230pm.

Please note that there will be occasions when the ‘Post Office’ sign is not displayed at the hall – some may think it indicates there is no service when in fact there is.

Unless a notice is displayed in the notice board or the window of the hall there is a service unless in very rare instances that the service has been cancelled at very short notice.

Please do use the service which benefits the community and sustains the hall.

Tickets are still on sale with just over a month to go

To try and give a flavour of what Katie sings I asked her to pen a few lines – I did mention that perhaps some people thought we were having a Little Mix tribute singer or something – here is what she said :