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.
On Sunday, 2nd 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.
This year, we have tried some new ventures in the Memorial Hall and on the Recreation Ground.
On November 5th we held our first Bonfire Night event on the Recreation ground. There’s a post about that here.
On 1st 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!!
The hall will be open on Sunday 1st December for a Christmas Fair in plenty of time to get what you need for the special day.
All the family welcome.
There’ll be a Santa’s Grotto, with the big man himself available, Stalls, Crafts, Music, Tea and Cake, Mulled Wine and more.
And, if you’d like to book a table for your own wares, Please contact, as below. But hurry, spaces are limited and filling up fast!
We’re looking forward to welcoming all at the event.
The Fete, organised and run by a small subcommittee led by Andrew Clements on behalf of Lydbrook Memorial Hall with the invaluable help of many volunteers and organisations from across the community, proved an outstanding success. Too many people to thank individually but, our sincere thanks for everyone who set it all up, put everything down, and helped clear up afterwards; you all know who you are! A big thank you also to everyone who donated raffle and tombola prizes and to all those local businesses that supported the event by giving their time and products. Also, it was great to have so many different stalls and activities run by so many people, thank you all.
Lydbrook Training Band, Yule’s Group, Morris Men, and Ships and Giggles sea-shanty group provided musical entertainment.
At the time of writing, we’re still awaiting the total of money raised from the event. I know those responsible will announce this soon.
And it was great to see the whole event so well attended by so many local people.
There was lots of live music, a tombola, BBQ food, tea and lovely cakes, a dog show, drinks, face-painting, games, stalls, a Victoria Sponge baking contest, bric-a-brac and more! I was unable to spend as long at the event as I’d have liked, unfortunately, so I missed some of the fun. But I’ve included some photos I took on the day and hope these will act as reminders of the fun and joy all shared.
Once again, THANK YOU to all involved
Subsequent to the Fete, the group of people who run the Memorial Hall and the Recreation Ground held their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday in the Hall. There were eleven people present. 8 of those were trustees and two were trustees’ wives, the eleventh volunteered as a new trustee!
It’s disappointing so few members of the local community feel they can help the charity that looks after these two assets. We need new trustees, as we’ve lost three recently, and another is probably leaving at the end of the year. So, please, come along to our next meeting, Tuesday 3rd September, in the hall at 19:00. You’ll be made welcome. Thank you.
On 14th July, from 12:00 to 16:00 (approximate times, as things might overrun!) we’re holding a Summer Fete for all the village and visitors on the Recreation Ground.
There’ll be live music, a tombola, BBQ food, a dog show, drinks, face-painting, games, stalls, a Victoria Sponge baking contest, bric-a-brac and more!
All are welcome.
Be there or miss out on all the fun, food and music!
The trustees and friends of Lydbrook Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground would like to convey their heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of Jim Matthews, a long-standing committee member and supporter of Lydbrook Memorial Hall.
Jim was instrumental in so many projects over the years. If he saw something that needed doing, he just did it. He organized materials, labour, and provided ample supervision to get the job done.
His dedication to the memory of the fallen was second to none having located and visited many of the graves of the men listed on the village memorial.
It is impossible to list everything he did for this organization; suffice to say he will be a hard act to follow!
We have lost one of our stalwart trustees recently. The committee is an entirely voluntary, unpaid system of ensuring the Memorial Hall and the Recreation Field with its community centred car park are both properly maintained.
Much of the work to keep things going is done by committee members at no cost to the charity. We could do with some new members to ensure we continue to provide the sort of amenities the village wants.
So, if you’re available, willing, and able, why come along to the AGM and ask whatever questions you need, and maybe put yourself forward as a committee member? You’ll be made welcome. Thank you.
LydbrookMemHall 