The Hook Norton Village Newsletter
June 2004 Series 29 No 3

Arts & Entertainment


HOOKY PLAYERS
Our next production, 'Secondary Cause of Death' will be performed on Thursday 17th, Friday 18th and Saturday 19th June at the Memorial Hall, Hook Norton. The play is a comedy by Peter Gordon and is, in fact, a sequel to the first play the group staged three years ago (i.e. Murdered to Death).
All performances will commence at 7.30 p.m. and ticket prices remain the same - £6 or £4 concession.
As usual, the Box Office will be run by Sheila Rider.
Ticket sales will open on Monday 31 May - entry is by ticket only. So, to avoid disappointment please book your seats early to make sure of your place.
This year sees many new faces in the cast, in what should be a hilarious evening's entertainment.
Brian Rider



HOOK NORTON ADULT & COMMUNITY LEARNING
PLEA FOR SUPPORT!

Hook Norton Adult & Community Learning need you! Unfortunately several classes failed to recruit sufficient numbers to run at the beginning of the Summer Term despite several being offered FREE and new Family Learning courses for a child accompanied by an adult (parent/carer etc). Only four learners enrolled for a Tuesday afternoon Beauty Course which had the support of childcare facilities provided in partnership with Banbury Community Bus Project. This was particularly disappointing as the lack of interest meant that the class could not continue after 4 weeks which was a real shame especially for the four mum's who attended and really enjoyed their “ME TIME” learning professional beauty tips knowing that their children were safe and well cared for.
Please tell us what you would be interested in attending and we will try to put on some short introductory 3 week taster courses after the Whitsun holiday. The courses will be offered FREE however we MUST have at least 8 enrolments per course to run! Talk to your family and friends and encourage them to join you having fun learning a new skill or leisure pursuit. This is a wonderful facility enjoyed over many years by the residents of Hook Norton and the surrounding village communities – USE IT DON'T LOSE IT!
Lorraine Whitfield, Centre Head Rachel Phipps, ACL Administrator
Tel: 01608 730052 E-mail: hooknorton.acl@oxfordshire.gov.uk
MONDAY   STARTS
9.15-10.15 Hips, Bums & Tums 19.04.04
9.30-11.30 Yoga for All 19.04.04
7.00-8.00pm Belly Dancing 19.04.04
7.30-9.00pm Fitness For Men 19.04.04
7.00-9.00 Designing Wrapping Paper & Stationery 14.06.04
7.00-9.00 Soft Furnishings 14.06.04
TUESDAY    
9.15-10.00 Kindergym 27.04.04
7.00-9.00 Summer Entertaining 08.06.04
7.00-9.00 Intro to Creative Writing 15.06.04
WEDNESDAY    
12.30-1.30 Stay Supple 28.04.04
THURSDAY    
9.30-11.30 IT Intro - Word Processing 10.06.04
9.30-11.30 IT Intro - Internet 01.07.04
6.30-8.30 Family History using Internet FL 17.06.04
7.30-9.00 Yoga 29.04.04
7.00-9.00 Drawing & Watercolours 29.04.04
7.30-9.30 Work Life Balance 17.06.04
Course length and durations vary. Some courses, including Thursday computer courses, are FREE and some are for family learning (for a parent/carer and child of 8+ or 10+). Please refer to our Summer brochure for further details.



CELEBRATE SUMMER
Come and join in a Midsummer Evening Walk
Tuesday, 22nd June
7.30 pm
Start and finish at the Pear Tree!
1- 3 miles long




The Eleventh Annual Hook Norton Festival of Fine Ales
Saturday 17th July 2004


featuring…
the full range of Hook Norton Ales
about sixty ales from around the country

Cider

Morris Men

Music all day

Food
Two Pig Roasts
BBQ
Fish n' Chips

All beers the same price
Free entry to festival, but you'll need to buy a
Festival glass and tasting notes
Bar and ticket sales open at 12 noon
Bar closes at 10.00pm or when the beer runs out

Web site and email list www.hook-norton.org.uk/beerfest
Contact
Jem Hayward jem@briksdal.co.uk
Denis Wynn deniswynn@btconnect.com


FRIENDS OF HOOK NORTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY
With the sun shining on stalls loaded with books and plants in the Library forecourt, a very successful Sale took place to boost the Friends' funds. The sum raised totalled £380, almost double last year's figure. This was greatly helped by the raffle for a copy of Val Bourne's new book "The Natural Gardener" - won by Alrys Morris. Thanks go to all those who generously provided the books & plants - and of course to those who came along and bought them. With refreshments also provided it was a very happy social occasion. We were able to see the, almost completed, partition that will add so wonderfully to the library space. It is towards this project that most of our money has been earmarked so it is important that membership of The Friends is extended - forms are available from Pat at the Library. And a gentle reminder to those Friends who have not yet renewed for this year!
John Wheatley


WEA HOOK NORTON BRANCH
On Thursday 13th May, 20 students attended a Study Day in the Visitor's Centre at the Brewery entitled 'The English Hedgerow'. The tutor, Alan Spicer, stressed the importance of protecting, maintaining and restoring our hedgerows to provide habitat for small mammals, birds and insects. Using illustrated handouts, the students were helped to identify the species of trees and shrubs that make up the local hedgerows and were shown how the CPRE surveys of hedgerows are carried out.
After a delicious lunch, the group walked to nearby fields for a hedge survey, identifying various species of trees and shrubs within a 30 metre section of hedge. This was great fun, with lots of searching and guesswork.
Returning to the centre for a welcome cup of tea, the figures were collated to estimate the quality of the hedges.
All the students agreed that they had learnt a great deal within a huge and interesting subject and that in future, they would look at our village hedges and wonderful countryside with some knowledge.
The WEA Programme of Events and Courses for 2004-2005 will be published shortly. Should you wish to have a copy, please contact
Paul Warwick


HOOK NORTON CARRY ON LEARNING
We continued our monthly programme in April with another full house, to hear Matthew Armitage tell us about Tooleys Boatyard. Erika Stephenson from Age Concern also joined us and thoroughly enjoyed it too.
In June, Barbara Hicks will be back again with some more interesting extracts from the Village Museum. Please come and join us, especially if you are a long-term village resident; Maybe you have some memories to add to our popular discussions.
The six monthly programme I set up as a trial has been a great success, and we have already started to put together an ongoing programme for 2004/5.
Thank you to all those who have helped to make it such a successful venture. Do bring along a friend or neighbour who you feel would like to spend some quality time in a social atmosphere.
For more details please contact the webmaster.


HOOK NORTON BRASS BAND
The annual spring concert took place on 28th March in St Peter's Church where a large audience gathered to enjoy an evening of musical entertainment in a programme entitled 'Lights, Camera, Action'. The theme centred on films of the big screen and featured some of the pieces written especially for them including Lawrence of Arabia, The Great Escape, Aces High and Pearl Harbour.
Some of the more modern theme tunes featured were from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Gonna Fly Now came from the movie Rocky and Born Free and Schindlers List from films of the same titles. Gabriel's Oboe, from The Mission, featured Paul Brook-Nolan on solo cornet. Mark Dickin played a superb trombone solo, Leaning on the Lampost, of George Formby fame, from the film, Feather Your Nest. Paul Roberts sang Edelweiss from Sound of Music, his strong baritone voice accompanied by sections of the band. The M.D's own composition, Lights, Camera, Action featured a selection of familiar music from the small screen. The whole evening was a complete success in every way, indicative of the preparation by the band under the direction of their hard working leader and Musical Director, Ron Glynn.
The band AGM took place on 20 April when there were a few changes on the committee. Martin Quartermain, retiring chair, thanked everyone for their efforts over the year and David Clarke for his Presidency and financial support. He thanked Ron for all his hard work as leader, saying that he'd had a lot of positive feedback. He had struggled over the last 12 months as chairman, and hoped that his place would be filled and those of other positions too, and that he was really looking forward to our future engagements. Ron Glynn, M.D, said that he felt positive and fairly satisfied with the band, though some players needed to better their standard of playing. He told everyone to ask themselves what the band would sound like if all the players were of the same standard as themselves. Although last summer had seen fewer jobs, the autumn and Christmas period had been extremely busy and demanding. He presented Tina Vine with a cup to recognise her loyalty to the band and to him, making every effort to improve her playing. She had continued playing with the band until shortly before the birth of her baby last year and was back again in a matter of weeks. He presented Peter with the cup for the most improved player, saying that he had made great strides musically and was always very helpful and considerate. David Clarke, President, expressed his appreciation of the band, saying he was happy to sponsor us again for another year. He always enjoys listening to the band and said that he thought the last concert was the best ever, the choice of music and programme, outstanding. All the places on the committee were filled with Terry Leedbrook taking on the role of chairman, Paul Roberts accepting the place of equipment officer again, having had to relinquish it halfway through last year because of personal problems. Mark Dickin replaced Annette Coleman as treasurer, and the rest of the committee remained in place.
The May Bank Holiday Monday dawned wet and the band arrived to play at Southam Lions May Day celebrations wearing raincoats. However, the depression lifted as the sun shone brightly for the rest of the afternoon, excepting a short hail storm. It was a successful afternoon in a pleasant venue where busy stalls and sideshows attracted crowds who had turned out to enjoy themselves. Playing a varied programme of light entertainment, the band met with much appreciation and approval. We hope to see many of you on 20th June at Bill Randall's home in Hook Norton when his gardens will be open to the public from 2pm - 5pm. Teas will be served, as well as light entertainment from the band. On 25th & 26th June, the band will be performing with the Banbury Operatic Society in Marlborough Road Methodist Church, Banbury, in joint evening concerts. On 3 July, the Katharine House Hospice Fete will see the band engaged in the grounds at Adderbury in the afternoon. Later, on July 18th the band will play at the Songs of Praise in Bodicote at 5.30pm in the Kingsfield.
Jenny Glynn