LydbrookMemHall

Fete, 2025.

Sunday 13th July was a very hot day. Despite this, and the consequent postponement of the Dog Show to protect pets from overheating, the Village Fete was well attended and enjoyed.

I was hoping to spend more time on the day, photographing events for the website. Unfortunately, I was able to be present only for the first half hour or so, and that means I have a limited set of pictures for you this year. Sorry.

The Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground Committee would like to thank our sponsors, the exhibitors, the traders, the musicians, all who volunteered and helped organise and run the event, and everyone who came along to share in the fun, contributed, and spent money: we raised in excess of £4,000 to add to the growing fund for the Children’s Play Area and Equipment.

Thank you all!

Lydbrook Village Fete

It’s all happening on Sunday 13th July at 12:00 noon
until 16:00, on the Recreation Ground.

If you want to have a go at any of the activities, there are special events for:

Tough Guys!

But you don’t have to be a guy – everyone’s welcome to have a go!

Bakers!

We love cakes, so let’s see what you can bring for us all to enjoy!

Dog Lovers:

Bring along your pooch –
Pretty, Handsome, Best Rescue, Scruffiest, Best Biscuit Catcher,
or wearing Fancy Dress.

It’s a day for all the family. Last year was very well attended. There’ll be food, drinks, stalls, music from the band, and so much more to enjoy. And we’re raising money for the much-needed children’s play area and equipment, so don’t forget the raffle!

I know you’re already aware, but I must take this opportunity to remind you all it’s the Lydbrook Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground AGM on 17th July, at 19:00 in the main hall.
We’d love to see you there.

Dogs, and Their Owners, More Than Welcome!

Four-legged friends are companions, carers, guides, or simply members of the family. If you have one, does it deserve a reward? Maybe a rosette. Maybe just the fun of being there. Maybe the excitement of meeting fellow-four-legged friends.
Whatever your dog, be she pretty, be he handsome, be it the scruffiest ever, be it one you couldn’t resist so you rescued it, the one that’s best at catching biscuits, or the one you put in fancy dress, you and your faithful friend are invited to enter the Dog Show at Lydbrook Fete.
There are rosettes to be gained, and fun to be had, and other dog-lovers to meet. Come along and have a go. Details are all on the poster above.
Last year’s show at the fete was very popular. Let’s see if we can do even better this year, shall we?

Memorial Hall AGM

The Memorial Hall is a venue with great potential. It’s used at present for the Lydbrook Players’ stage shows, the Parish Council meetings, some groups, including badminton and yoga, and for occasional parties and wedding receptions, and as a polling station for elections. Prior to Covid, it was in use almost every evening, but that outbreak changed a lot of good habits.
We, the Trustees, are trying to make the hall as accessible and popular as possible. It serves the village and surrounding area and can be used for many different purposes. But we would welcome some fresh people, particularly some younger people, on the committee. We meet on the 1st Tuesday of each month, as a rule, usually for around an hour. So, it’s not an onerous duty.
If you’re someone looking to make a contribution to the village amenities, please come along to the AGM, as advertised above. The meeting will be relatively short and is an ideal opportunity for new people to learn about what we do, ask questions, and put themselves forward as trustees if they wish. We’re a friendly group and don’t stand on ceremony, preferring to get things done in the best way we can.

Come On You Bakers!

If you’re a cake maker, pop along to the fete on Sunday 13th July on the Recreation Ground in Lydbrook and enter one of your fantastic creations into the contest. You need to register at the fete itself, on the day, so get prepared, have it baked and ready for presentation, and take it along for the judges to inspect and taste! Good luck all.

It’s all happening. And we’re raising funds for play equipment for the kids here.

Are You Tough Enough?

As the poster says; can you hang there long enough to win? Come along on the day (13th July) and have a go. Who knows? This could be the start of something that hangs around for a very long time!

Lydbrook Fete Returns!

After last year’s great success, the fete is being run again. The date for your diaries is Sunday 13th July. Come along and have fun while raising funds for the children’s play area.

Watch this space for further information, to be posted over the next few days.

Baker? Strong-man/woman? Dog owner?
If you like a challenge, you’ll find something here for you in the next few posts.

A Celebration of Some Great Service

On Sunday, 2^nd March, Michael Charlton-Hubble organised a party in the Memorial Hall to celebrate Alison, Simon and Phil’s long service as shop keepers for the village, in Central Stores. The event was created to thank them, and their staff, Clare, Gavin and Donna, for their unstinting great service in providing the village with a local retail outlet that acted as a hub for the community and supported many village activities.

All those present wished to express their thanks personally. And the many donations of cakes, buns and scones were welcomed by all. There was no charge made for the event, but a bowl was in place for people to donate what they felt appropriate. There were also a couple of cards to be signed by everyone present as a reminder of the afternoon. The amount raised almost covered the cost of hiring the Hall, providing free hot drinks, and allowing Michael to organise a couple of photo books to commemorate the event for Alison, Simon and Phil. Michael also presented Alison and Simon, and Phil and Jess with Champagne and flowers and the signed cards, much to the delight of all.

It was a splendid occasion with lots of chat and opportunities for people to mingle with other villagers, renew acquaintanceships and generally have a good gossip.

Our thanks to Michael for creating the event and to Sue and Roy Vincent who were tremendous in acting as a sounding board for Michael and who spent most of the day cooking batches of scones, displaying cakes, and filling the tea urns. They were a great help as were the volunteers who came forward and helped with the washing up!

Michael would like to thank the Memorial Hall Trustees and all the villagers who donated cash, cake or their time. It really is appreciated.

There were several villagers present who confessed to having never before been in our lovely old hall. Let’s hope future events will bring them back. The building was created to serve the local community, and the current trustees do their best to improve an aging facility and keep it going, often with voluntary work and sometimes even at personal expense.

A Splendid End to 2024.

This year, we have tried some new ventures in the Memorial Hall and on the Recreation Ground.
On November 5^th we held our first Bonfire Night event on the Recreation ground. There’s a post about that here.

On 1^st December, we held our first Christmas Fair in the Memorial Hall. There were lots of full tables with gifts, skilfully crafted items, books, toys and other items for sale. The Tombola was well-received, and the Raffle was particularly popular.

Hot drinks and cakes were enjoyed by many visitors.

And the children had a chance to sit on Santa’s lap and receive a gift, and were also able to have fun making Christmas decorations.

Later the same day, our first outdoor Christmas Tree, which had been erected a few days earlier, became the centre of attention.

People from the village gathered to witness the lighting of the tree, while members of Lydbrook Band played carols and seasonal tunes, which the crowd were invited to sing-along to.

This turned out to be another event that was well-attended and enjoyed by many.

The Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors who made these events possible. These sponsors across all events were Central Stores Lydbrook, Gladstone Sawmills, Cafe Vanille, Lydbrook Car Body Repairs, and the people of Joys Green and Lydbrook. Numerous others helped with donations, raffle prizes, cakes etc all contributing to the total enjoyment and the raising of over £6,000 towards the children’s play equipment!! And, of course, quite a few volunteers were on hand to set up and run the events.

So, our Sincere Thanks to all involved. Thank you!!

Our First Bonfire Night!

Last night, we held our first Bonfire Night celebration on the Recreation Ground. It was well attended, and there was lots to do, with marshmallow toasting, a BBQ, hot drinks, a bonfire, and, of course, fireworks.

The fire and the fireworks were controlled by the Fire Brigade from Cinderford.

The event was run to give the village children something to brighten the month and to raise funds for the proposed children’s play area on the rec. Altogether, the event raised just over £700.00 for equipment. So, many thanks to all who contributed to the event and to all who attended and made a purchase.

Here are a few photographs I managed on the night. Not easy to capture, but worth the effort, I hope.