The Hook Norton Village Newsletter
February 2005 Series 30 No 1

Arts & Entertainment


TSUNAMI FUND-RAISING EVENT
CONCERT
organised by The Antonius Players and Louis de Bernieres
with
CRAIG OGDEN ...the best classical guitarist of his generation
PETER ADAMS principal cellist with the English Symphony Orchestra
ALISON STEPHENS leading exponent of the classical mandolin in the UK
MATT PLATT talented local jazz pianist and his trio, MP3
SUPERGRASS well known Oxford band playing an acoustic set

SUN 13TH FEB 7.30pm BLOXHAM CHURCH

INFO; ilone@hotmail.com or 01295 780697

www.antoniusplayers.com

TICKETS £12/£8 One Man Band Ankers Estate Agents




Saturday 16th April 2005

An afternoon and evening of fine music
played by the people of Hook Norton for the people of Hook Norton.
Tickets available only on the door.
Refreshments available.
All proceeds to charity.

Are you a musician and want to come and play with us?
Contact Pete Watkins at petewatkins4@aol.com

Check out the web site www.hook-norton.org.uk/music
or the Festival Forums on www.hook-norton.net
for latest details, times and band listings.


FRIENDS OF HOOK NORTON SCHOOL MIDSUMMER BALL
Forget the cold and dark nights of winter and make a date in your diary for Friday 17th June 2005. Come and join us at our Midsummer Ball, to be held at The Marquee on the school field and dance the night away with music from The Blue Meanies. Tickets are available from the school office from 9am Tuesday 15th March priced at £45 each, on a first-come, first-served basis. All profits from this year's Ball will go towards the children's adventure playground at the school. Bookings in blocks of ten or smaller parties are equally welcome.
Any offers of help would be gratefully received via the school office on 737379.


HOOKY PLAYERS
By the time of going to press, our pantomime Peter Panto will either be in full flow or have had its final curtain. Life in the drama group, however, goes on.
The play, Diplomatic Baggage, scheduled for September, has been temporarily held over after some discussion at committee level. At the present moment there are production difficulties, also with casting. The dates reserved for the show will still stand (12th - 17th September 2005). The committee are currently reviewing several replacement plays and hope to report their findings in the next issue of the Newsletter. Rehearsals for the September production will commence at the end of June, although roles will be cast as soon as possible, so keep an eye on the various village notice-boards for the audition evening. In the meantime it is planned to hold some play readings during the spring and early summer.
Jeanie Brown has been co-opted onto the committee to fill the vacancy. The group will hold its AGM on Monday 21st February at the Sun at 8 p.m. Prospective members, and anyone interested in finding out more about the Hooky Players are very welcome. Come along and meet us.
Brian Rider


MUSIC APPRECIATION
A series of four music appreciation classes will be held in Charlbury on Wednesdays 27 April, 8 June, 13 July and 14 September. The classes run from 11.30 to 4.30 and the cost is £48 for the series or £14 each. The classes will cover music of the 18th century, music for the voice and the music of Delius and Vaughan Williams. No musical knowledge is required, and there are no tests! Just listen to the music and learn something about it from the tutor.
For fuller details, contact Peter Fry.


HOOK NORTON BRASS BAND.
Firstly — may we wish you all a very happy & healthy New Year.
Christmas has been & gone, as always the Band enjoying a busy December with festive music at venues including St. Mary's Church, Banbury, Banbury Shopping Centre, Tesco's, Katherine House Hospice and of course our annual Christmas concert at the Marlborough Road Methodist Church in Banbury. Our final Christmas “sing-along” was at the Roebuck Inn - Drayton — the evening's weather was cold & dry but that did not deter the village turning up for a festive outdoor Carol concert —complete with mince pies & mulled wine!! Earlier engagements included a “Last night of the Proms” style concert at Southam & of course the Hook Norton Remembrance Parade & Evening Service at Shutford Church.
It is with great sadness that our President — David Clarke passed away in October —the band had the privilege of playing at the funeral in St. Peters. Our best wishes go to Paula, James and the family.
2005 is now upon us. The Band takes advantage of this “quiet” time (not so sure “quiet” is applicable to a Brass Band!!) to prepare & practice the 2005 programme. As such there is no better time to join us — so, if you can play a brass instrument (including Trombone), percussion ( yes — we have had up to 3 percussionist's in the past) then why not come along — you can contact me on 01608-737269. Instrument / kit & uniform are provided and you are sure of a very warm welcome.
Martin Quartermain.

DEDDINGTON WRITERS GROUP COMPETITION

Deddington Writers Group, in conjunction with Deddington Festival 2005, is organising a writing competition - short story (1500 words), non-fiction article (1000 words), poem (up to 36 lines) on the theme of FESTIVAL.
Entrants MUST be Oxfordshire residents.



Entry fee: £2 (under-16 entrants in the non-fiction and poetry categories, free). Send SAE for full details and entry form to: DWG Competition, 26 The Daedings, Deddington, Oxon OX15 ORT; or contact: daeda@clara.co.uk Closing date: April 16, 2005


ENTERTAINMENT QUIZ NIGHT THANKS – 12th DECEMBER
Dave, Jean, Rog and Bex would like to say a big thank you to all those who supported their quiz held recently at The Bell. Money was raised for both the Playgroup and St Peter's Church and fun was had whilst doing so. A big thank you to Derek for being host, to the Village Shop for helping with the prizes and to Nick for the posters!! We had 9 teams which was just right and raised about £165 which was great. It was also a good night behind the bar for Derek, which was great as he is very generous in his support throughout the year.