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.
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?
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.
Just to let you know, we have had to lock two of the gates leading onto the football pitch on the Recreation Ground. This is because wild boar have gained access through these openings, which are not secure. We have ordered new, more substantial gates, to replace them but it will take time for these to arrive. These new gates cost over £700.00 and, as a charity, we have had to make this investment for the good of the facilities.
We apologise for the inconvenience, but it is essential we prevent the boar from destroying the football pitch.
The gates affected are the small one leading from the car park onto the field and the replaced ‘kissing gate’ on Church Road. The gates at the top of Church Road and into the car park remain unaffected.
At the beginning of the week, a well-attended funeral was held at the village church. Fortunately, the committee had been forewarned of the event, so we were able to suspend parking fees for our car park for a short time, especially as a number of attendees had travelled a long way. This is something we can do on only a few occasions because of the contract we have with our parking partner, Parking Eye.
As a charity, we help events in the village when we can. We could have left the car park fee in place, but some drivers have objected to the small amount charged and have therefore parked elsewhere, often creating obstructions on our narrow village roads. It’s a shame, as the money helps maintain the facility we provide for the use of all villagers. On this occasion it was felt necessary to prevent the many visiting cars clogging the village streets.
We’d also like to thank Matt Jones for organising the cars within the limited space, and Lydbrook Athletic Football Club, as overflow cars also parked on the marked-out football field on this occasion.
Miriam Paris ran a Jumble Sale in the Memorial Hall yesterday, 6th April 2024. It was run to raise funds for Dementia and managed to gather over £1,000.00 for the fund.
The items available were all well organised and sold at bargain prices.
It was very well attended.
There was a raffle with a good range of prizes and there were cakes served with coffee or tea for anyone with £1.00 to spare. And I can tell you those cakes were really delicious!
Let’s hope we can host more of these events for the village.
All are invited. If you care about the future of the Memorial Hall and the Recreation Ground and its car park, please attend and give us your ideas, and consider joining the committee.
Sunday 11th November 2018: a date with real significance. Not only did Armistice Day fall on a Sunday this year, but it coincided with the centenary of the formal ending of World War 1. Because of this, a special service was organised for the Memorial Hall, the establishment of which was to remember all those local people who fell in battle on our behalf.
Photo courtesy Mark Lythaby.
After the morning service at the Church of the Holy Jesus, the congregation filed out onto Church Road, where they were joined by many other people from the village. The Lydbrook Silver Band led the march down the hill and through the village to the hall, where all assembled in the narrow space permitted by the road. Made safe by the Parish Council, through Bruce Hogan who had arranged with the local police to have the road closed during the service.
The memorial had already been enhanced by the generous gift of a commemorative bench by Lydbrook Athletic Football Club; a silhouette of a WWI soldier, sponsored by the Parish Council, and placed above the hall entrance; and another WWI soldier silhouette placed within the railings, sponsored by the local Royal British Legion branch.
The Rev. Roger Minson led the religious aspect of the service with hymns and prayers.
Trevor Hek hosted the ceremony on behalf of the Royal British Legion, ensuring all went according to plan. He read out the names of those commemorated, giving details about their service. And, as the names were read, the staff and pupils of Lydbrook Primary School placed poppy crosses at the memorial, and wreaths were laid.
The Royal British Legion Standard was in the capable hands of Standard-bearer Tammie Johnstone.
Photo courtesy Mark Lythaby.
The Last Post was played, evoking that usual lump-in-the-throat response by many, by Robert Morgan, M.B.E., who also led and conducted the Lydbrook Silver Band, playing appropriate music and accompanying the hymns.
Rachael Mowatt, of the Women’s Institute, read John McCrae’s ‘In Flanders Fields’, evoking more memories and thoughts of the devastating effects of war.
The gathered crowd of attendees did the village proud; a good throng, representing all ages. Even one or two villagers in poor health managed to attend and all braved the sudden downpours without complaint. And, at least the sun emerged afterwards.
The sincere thanks of the Committee of Lydbrook Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground go to all who participated in, organised, and attended this centenary commemoration of the sacrifice of our brave local heroes.
Sorry to be late with this – I was collecting information. My photographs are a little limited, as I climbed the path opposite the hall to get an overall shot and was then trapped there for the duration. If anyone has additional pictures they’d be willing to share here, please use the ‘Contact’ tab to get in touch, and we can make arrangements. Thank you.
The Memorial Hall is hosting a celebratory exhibition of the history of Lydbrook right now!
There are information boards and displays from the Lydbrook Historical Society – I particularly enjoyed the one about the 17 pubs the village once housed! And there are some fascinating photographs of the place as it developed. Others showing the industrial heritage. Lots of pictures showing local people either in groups or going about their everyday business. Really interesting stuff.
There’s a wide display by the Women’s Institute, giving details of their history and current activities. I loved the tea towel giving a list of humorous rules relating to the behaviour and conduct of the attendees.
The local branch of the Royal British Legion has a great display showing the work they do and commemorating the local heroes (and heroines) of the two World Wars, and presenting various items of interest, including some facsimiles of old newspapers of the times.
And there’s a pictorial history of Lydbrook Silver Band and its activities, including the building of the new practice room. Lots of pictures of band members past and present.
And there’s coffee, tea and biscuits on offer.
It’s a great place to spend an hour or so out of this dreadful rain, either revisiting old haunts or finding out what happened in the past here in the village. But better be quick! The display is open only until 16:00 today, 10th November. Get along there before you miss out!
A few days ago, we had a request for an unusual event on the Recreation Ground. A man wanted to use the space to launch a hot air balloon. Could he? Well, we could see no reason why not, and the Football Club raised no objections to this use of the field.
It was an event entirely dependent on weather. In this case, whether the wind was blowing in the right direction at the time of the proposed launch. Because of this uncertainty, advertising it could easily have left hopeful witnesses disappointed instead of excited, so we said nothing.
Come the day, Thursday, Faith, our trusty booking manager, got word an hour or so before the team arrived. I’d been primed and went down there on spec, camera at the ready.
We saw the vehicle on the main road and were waiting at the gate to guide them in.
‘What a great site for a launch!’ was Thomas Lee’s initial reaction when he stepped out of his car and looked around.
There followed 30 minutes of intense technical activity as the basket was prepared, an older balloon unfolded by Allen Lutz and laid out on the turf. Trainee pilot, Rob Grzesiczek, operated the diesel driven fan to start inflation, and then with help from pilot Thomas, used hot air from the gas cylinders to complete the job.
That first inflation was only for show, so photographs could be taken to help sell the old balloon. It was quickly deflated and packed back in its bag.
The new balloon is prepared
Next came the new balloon; smart blue nylon spread out over grass and slowly brought to fullness with the fan followed by hot fierce air. Gracefully, the fabric rounded out and floated up to vertical, and everything was ready.
To cheers from the small crowd of onlookers, attracted by the spectacle, buoyancy was briefly tested. And, released from its tether, the floating giant graced grey skies as it ascended over Lydbrook trees and made its way toward the River Severn and its destination, Cam, across the water. An interesting event.
Up, up, and away!
We made no charge for this first launch, unaware whether the Recreation Ground would suit the purpose, and happy to use this attempt as a test. Now we know it can be done, we’re open to similar events in future.
So, if you’d like to launch your hot air balloon, or undertake any other activity that won’t damage our playing surface, please contact our booking manager, Faith Myers. You’ll find her details under the ‘Bookings’ tab. Or you can email us using the small form under the ‘Contact’ tab, but I must warn you I check that only once a week.
Cost? Well, we’re a committee, democratic and cooperative, so we’ll discuss that at our next monthly meeting, 6th November, and agree a fair price to pass on to prospective users.
By the way, Thomas thinks an item of equipment was inadvertently left behind: a length of rope, about 5 feet in length, with a metal karabiner attached at one end. If anyone has come across this, please let us know – probably easiest to contact Stuart Allison direct by email at stuartkallison(at)gmail(dot)com. Thank you.
LydbrookMemHall 