THE VILLAGE HALL

Right at the heart of our village,in more ways than one is the Village Hall, it is held in great affection by the villagers and with good reason. Much of the fund raising that goes on here(and there is a great deal of it ) donates a portion of the funds it raises to the Village Hall for it's upkeep , in return this useful building provides a venue for everything from our Doctors surgery to the Valentines Day dance.

Today was a special event, and one we have looked forward to for weeks. Our village is home to many skilled artisans ,who make their living by selling their work in the internet. Jewellery makers,perfume manufacturers, glass blowers,quilters, greetings card makers , soft toy makers to name but a few, we even have a maker of hand baked doggy treats which I ma assured are very tasty!

Today these entrepreneurs set out their stalls for the benefit of their friends and neighbours in and around the village and I must say it was an impressive show.

On our arrival at the hall my son and I made a bee line for the cake stall, it is always as well to be early at these kind of events or you find that all the best cakes have gone and you are left with the choice of either rock hard oatcakes or crumbly flapjacks. Today we were in luck and managed to purchase an orange Cointreau cake and a fruit filled tea loaf, with these important purchases made we turned our attention to the other stalls.

Christmas cards, featuring our lovely little village covered in snow were selling like hot cakes and we waited our turn to purchase several packs of assorted views. These cards are photographed and produced by a quiet young man who's talent speaks for him in no uncertain terms.

My next purchase was a pretty little coin purse, small change and wallets do not mix I find.

My son was attracted to a display of polished gemstones and fossils of which he has been a collector since a child,it took quite a time for him to decide which of the lovely stones to add to his already large collection. Mindful that Pa wished to attend and would need the buggy to do so we took a last look around purchased some raffle tickets and set off for home.

Pa was ready to leave when we arrived and when he returned we discovered that he too had succumbed to the lure of the cake stall...oh well...I shan't have to bake this week! He was very secretive about his other purchases and it will,I suspect be Christmas before we discover the contents of several interesting looking parcels.

Shortly before dinner the door bell rang, I opened up to find a neighbour on the doorstep brandishing a large bottle of Champagne,we had won one of the raffle prizes,it was a happy end to a lovely day.

During the next few weeks their will be many more such events culminating in a carol service in the ancient church,it's beauty enhanced by candle light. There in the old ornately carved pews the village will come together to celebrate,not only the birth of Christ,but the joy we all share in living in this beautiful place. Our voices will rise to the shadowy hammer beams as the voices of our ancestors have done for almost a thousand years. Many,like myself will not be Christians yet we will all have much to be thankful for and glad to have the means to express our thankfulness.