Swing Night is a huge success

Swing Night is a huge success

Giddings teamwork is a marvellous thing and on Saturday night the ‘swing team’ had risen to the not undaunting challenge of transforming GG Village Hall into a spectacular night club redolent of the popular and vibrant era of big band swingtime. What a success! The room was transformed with swathes of translucent fabric delicately lit from behind with hundreds of tiny bulbs, with large circular tables adding to the nightclub feel.

Fortissimo played ‘BIG BAND’

But what’s a nightclub without music? And wowee – the 16 piece Fortissimo played ‘BIG BAND’ with such exhuberence that most folks took to the floor at some point during the evening. The beautiful voice of singer Lyn Jones – known to some of us through her GG pantomime days – took us through all of our swing favourites until sadly the evening was over far too quickly.

A big thanks to the organisers

So many people helped with decorating the hall, preparing a lovely meal and manning the bar but special thanks must go to the core organisers Mary Read, Sue Shepherd, Jane Edwards and Anthea Keck for helping to raise funds for St Michael’s Church. You all did a great job!

Photos of the ‘swingers’!

Village Hall and Recreation Field

Village Hall and Recreation Field

Village Hall & Recreation Field Committee

The next meeting will be on

Date     12th May 2014

Venue  Village Hall meeting room

Time   7:30pm

Members of the public are welcome to attend. This is the AGM where a new committee will be elected and matters concerning the Village Hall and the Recreation Field will be discussed. They are your facilities, please show your support.

Thank you

History Group meeting dates 2013/14

History Group meeting dates 2013/14

Great Gidding History Group
The group meets on the third Wednesday of each month between September and April. 7.30PM start time. The meetings are very informal – chatting and exchanging memories, sometimes photos or objects are brought in for discussion.
The next meeting dates are:

Wednesday 18th September
Wednesday 16th October
Wednesday 20st November
Wednesday 18th December
Wednesday 15th January
Wednesday 26th February
Wednesday 19th March
Wednesday 16th April
The venue will be the Village Hall unless otherwise stated.

The Village Produce Show

The Village Produce Show

The Annual Produce Show will be on Saturday 7th September.

Latest posts first, scroll down for show schedule.

June 2013

Only 3 months to go and the pressure is on. The weather is at last trying to help and plants are in catch up mode.

Latest concept in bird detterents Veg in raised beds The allotments holders are setting the pace

 

April

 SHOW SCHEDULE

Vegetables and Fruit

1      Carrots                                 3

2      Potatoes (white)                     5 on a plate

3      Potatoes (coloured)                5 on a plate

4      Courgettes                            2

5      Shallots                                5

6      Onions                                  3 – each under 225 g

7      Onions                                  3 – each over 225 g

8      Runner Beans                        6

9      Longest Runner Bean              1

10    Leeks                                   3

11    Dwarf French Beans                6

12    Beetroot                               3

13    Sweetcorn                             2

14    Tomatoes                              5

15    Cherry Tomatoes                    8

16    Vegetable marrow                   1

17    Apples (dessert)                    5

18    Apples (cooking)                    5

19    Pears                                   5

20    Plums                                   5

21    Collection of cut herbs, 4 varieties in one container

22    Biggest Pumpkin

23    Largest Onion

24    Largest Marrow

25    Top Tray, collection of 3 kinds of vegetables on a tray, selected from the following, number as indicated in brackets.  Onions(3) Potatoes(3) Runner Beans(6) Tomatoes(6) Carrots with tops(6) Parsnips with tops (3)

 

Plants and Flowers

1       Three decorative Dahlias

2       Cut Chrysanthemum – single stem

3       Five cut Roses

4       Gladioloi – 3 stems of same variety

5       Gladioli -5 stems of any varieties

6       Vase of Crocosmia – 3 stems

7       Agapanthus single stem

8       Cactus or Succulent – 1 specimen

9       Best Pot-Plant

10     Top Vase – between 5 and 10 stems of at least 2 varieties

Jam and Chutney – made since 2012 Village Show

1      Jam              Any fruit

2      Jelly             Any fruit

3     Chutney        All ingredients to be listed on label

 

Baking

 

  1. 1.  Apple Cake
Ingredients

  • 225g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 450g cooking apples
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 225g caster sugar, plus extra for dredging
  • 3 large eggs
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 25g ground almonds
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar

 

 

METHOD

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas4. Grease a deep 23-24cm springform cake tin and line with baking paper. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1cm pieces, and toss with the lemon juice.

2. Using an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding a little flour with each addition to keep the mixture smooth.

3. Sift the remaining flour and the baking powder into the bowl and fold in with the ground almonds. Drain the apple pieces well, then stir into the mixture.

4. Spoon into the prepared cake tin, lightly level the top and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until well-risen, brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the cake starts to look a little too brown, cover with a sheet of baking paper after about 45 minutes.

5. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and place on a serving plate. Dredge heavily with the extra caster sugar.

 2       Fruit cake – any size /type of fruit3      Plain Scones      5 on a plate4      Cheese Scones   5 on a plate

5      Sausage Rolls    5 on a plate – shortcrust pastry

6      Bread –  5 White rolls,made by hand

7      Bread – Wholemeal loaf made by machine

8      Shortcake              5 on a plate

 

Craft Section

1      Knitted  handicraft item completed since last year

2      Hard handicraft item completed since last year[woodwork/pottery/metal]

3       An item of patchwork or quilting

4      A hand-made greetings card.

5       Any sewn item, including clothes

 

Miscellaneous

1      Six Brown eggs

2      Six White eggs

3       Bottle of Home made wine

4       Bottle of home made sloe gin. Made in last 2 years

 

 

Children’s Section (under 15)

 

1a    Tallest sunflower                              Age up to and including 10 years

1b    Tallest sunflower                              Age 11 and over

2      Animal made from vegetables and/or flowers

3      A scarecrow (as big as you like)

4      A decorated cup cake    Age up to and including 10 years

5      A decorated cup cake made by entrant   Age 11 and over

6      A decorated hard boiled eg

7      Something made from a kit eg. Woodwork,models,

Soft toy

 

 

March
All the details to follow.

Hopefully the protracted winter will relent soon so that we can get seeds and plants under-way but heading up to Easter 2013 it doesn’t look promising especially for those new potato planters who use Easter as a calendar reference for sowing

Web links that may or may not help you in your quest for produce perfection

Don’t despair take a look at this website for inspiration on how to grow show veg and here for everyday veg

Not to be left out for the cooks amongst you, some baking tips from down under and a taster from Jam World

Great Gidding Gala Week

Great Gidding Gala Week

A new July event for Great Gidding

A new event for The Giddings! Following the weekend of the Eliot Festival at Little Gidding there will be a series of cultural and fun events held in and around the village. From Monday 8th July through to Sunday 14th July there will be poetry, arts, crafts, lunches, cultural visits and a couple of fun events to cater for all tastes.

Events list

Saturday 6th July and Sunday 7th July

T S Eliot
T S Eliot Festival at Little Gidding
Monday 8th July
History walk around Great Gidding
A guided walk around Great Gidding, looking at a number of historical sites, starting at Chapel End and then along Main Street. Start time 5pm Mill Farm, Chapel End
Tuesday 9th July
Fox and Hounds Great Gidding
Poetry Please, your choice of poem. Tell Paul Burgess 293354 by Friday 5th July.
Start time 11am at 85 Main Street.

Fox & Hounds Lunch, start time 12.30pm.
Booking and menu choice phone 293657 before 1st July.

Menu 1, Ham , salad and hot new potatoes £6.00.
Menu
2, Scampi, chips & peas £7.00

Wednesday 10th July
Wif Waf Evening in Great Gidding Village Hall
Wif Waf evening – fun and games in the Village Hall.
Start time 3.15 through till 10pm, includes an adult bouncy castle.
Thursday 11th July
Spiceland, Peterborough
Visit the Lincoln Road Temple, PE1 3BU from 9.30am

Curry Club lunch at Spiceland 12.30pm . Booking meal phone  293354 or 293591

In the evening there will be a talk about the Civil War and it’s effects on the local area.
Start time 7.30pm, Village Hall.

 Friday 12th July 
Peterborough Museum
A visit to the recently refurbished Peterborough Museum  from 10am and then in the evening “Eliot for Dummies” – a not too serious chat about T S Eliot and his work, meeting at 85 Main Street from 7.30pm
Saturday 13th July
Art Exhibition in Great Gidding
Arts, crafts, photographs and sculpture by residents of Gidding and the surrounding villages  to be held in St Michael’s Church between 2pm _ 5pm followed by an evening concert. Music by Bach & Handel featuring Fergus Black (organ) and Leslie Crowson (tenor) Tickets £4 pay at door.
Start 7.30pm.
Sunday 14th July
St Michael's Church Great Gidding
“Desert Island Hymns”  11.30am – choose your favourite hymn to be sung during the service this, followed by a Garden Party Lunch 12.30pm. Food provided but bring your own drinks.

Choice of Hymn to Lois Jordan 293178 or johndeval@hotmail.com

Further updates and announcements will appear here on the run up to the event

If you would like to help with any of the events or submit an item for the display in the church please let one of the organisers know.

Paul Burgess, Mary Read, Roland Bostock, Julie Morrison and Julie Trolove

Alternatively use the contact form below.

 

Chilli evening a huge success – thank you!

Chilli evening a huge success - thank you!

 

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who contributed to making the Chilli Evening with the “Auction of Promises” such a huge success. It was a really enjoyable evening, mainly as a result of the wonderful food and drink, followed by the excellent performance of our auctioneer who succeeded in persuading people to bid generously (and occasionally unwittingly!) for the many items up for auction. We were delighted to welcome friends from Winwick and to be able to “get our own back” – in the nicest possible way! The evening raised the staggering sum of over £2000 for church funds.

None of this would have happened but for the hard work of Mary Read, Sue Shepherd, Jane Edwards, Anthea Keck and all the team who organised the event. Yet this effort would have been for nothing had not the evening received the tremendous support it did from people far and wide.

Once again thank you to everyone for your time, generosity and support.

Revd Mary Jepp, Lois Jordan & John DeVal

Chilli night and auction of promises

Chilli night and auction of promises

Blast away the winter blues with a night of chilli and tequila, and auction of promises, at the village hall on Saturday 26th January.

The bar opens at 7pm, followed by a chilli meal (mince or veggie option if you prefer), and then the bidding begins!

Tickets cost £7.50, price includes entrance and evening meal; contact Sue Shepherd, tel: (01832) 293479; email: shepnsue@btinternet.com

In aid of St Michael’s Church.

Look out for the posters!

Chill Night and Auction of Promises at Great Gidding Village Hall

September History Group Meeting

September History Group Meeting

One of our aircraft is missing……………

Local history researcher, Chris Hughes, will give a talk and slide show on RAF Molesworth,  the WWII activities and stories of some of the planes that were stationed there, and bring us to date with the role of the Base in mote recent years.

Join us on Wednesday 19th September, 7.30PM start

at Great Giddding Village Hall

Free Entry (donations to Gidding History Grouo)

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available.

Everyone is welcome and Chris would love to hear personal stories and experiences connected to RAF Molesworth and other local bases, and to see any” finds” that people may have kept as souvenirs from the crash sites.

Rural broadband meeting

Rural broadband meeting

Presentation by BT about rural broadband

An open invitation to Parishioners to attend a presentation by BT concerning the issues of rural broadband supply to Great Gidding. The meeting is set for Friday22nd June starting at 7pm at the Village Hall.

If you have a question to ask but cant make the meeting please forward it to giddingspc1@btinternet.com

The Diamond Jubilee Dance

The Diamond Jubilee Dance

Queens Diamond Jubilee

Last chance for tickets!

We invite you to join us on June 2nd from 7.00pm onwards to mark, in true Gidding style, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Diamond Jubilee Dance in Great Gidding Village Hall should be a night to remember and hopefully for all the right reasons……We have a fantastic swing band called The Five Star Swing whose great reviews include Sheila Tracy from the BBC [check out their website on fivestarswing.co.uk if you want to listen for yourself] and they will be playing great sounds from Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and the Glen Miller band amongst others. Included in the  price is a hog roast, delicious pudding and coffee as well as excellent wine and beer, so when you’ve danced all you can dance, you can replace a few of those calories whilst you listen to the band play on.

Dress code – posh frocks and best bib and tucker [head scarves optional]

Contribution – £15 per head including hog roast and cocktail on arrival

There are still a few tickets left so to reserve your tickets for family and friends please contact Sue Shepherd, phone: 01832 293479 or  mailto: shepnsue@btinternet.com

We hope you will be able to help make this a very special night and join us at the exclusive Great Gidding Village Hall!

Sue Jarvis  & Sue Shepherd