2014 Archive

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December

As always, this is a busy month for everyone.  However this year there was an added dimension in Lamyatt.  For those involved on the Hall Improvement fundraising team,  information gathering and form filling took on an increased urgency.  Our application to Viridor for funds towards our new Hall project was finally completed and delivered just before Christmas.

 The  village  stall at Bruton’s Late Night Christmas shopping, manned by some enthusiastic volunteers, very successfully sold Bullbeggar mulled cider, mince pies, pheasants, and Westcombe Cheddar cheese kindly donated by the Calver family.  We raised £650 for the village hall and helped contribute to a wonderful community event.

Lamyatt’s reggae band – The Beaconaires – headlined at Bruton’s Dub Night on December 13th.   Brilliant sounds and a great evening well supported by many from far and near!

Village carol singing this year was held on December 15th when we were blessed with some unusually mild weather and a great turnout in good voice.  The choristers made their way through the village raising funds for  Embrace the Middle East and The Farming Community Network.   They were generously welcomed en route and spurred on their way with mulled wine and mince pies.  Warming drinks and a hearty supper awaited them when they finally arrived at The Manor House and a total of £255 was raised for the charities.

During this week several households welcomed the Posada – a symbol of the Christmas message passed from household to household within the benefice – and festivities culminated on Christmas Eve with midnight mass celebrated by a large congregation at St Mary & St John.

November

Our Guy Fawkes Fireworks Night is going from strength to strength and this year saw a record number of participants on 5th November.  A relatively mild evening made the whole event more enjoyable and didn’t deter from large amounts of hot dogs, hot chocolate and mulled Bullbeggar cider being consumed.  The fireworks display, so generously donated again by the Stone family, was nothing short of spectacular and very grateful thanks must go to them for their generosity and  careful management of the display.  The enormous bonfire cast a warming glow and  the evening was deemed a great success by the many who attended.  It all resulted in raising a very handsome sum for the Village Hall.

Towards the end of the month we held our first Supper Club of the season.  With tickets sold out long before the event it is clearly one to which many in the village look forward despite the discomforts!  We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the next season will be celebrated in our new Hall.  The supper and film had a Cornish theme with “Saving Grace” set and filmed in  Port Isaac, preceded by pre dinner drink of Cornish Mead  followed by delicious Fish Pie and then some appropriate Chocolate Brownies.  Much laughter and merriment accompanied the movie and guests left in good spirits.  The next event will be on Thursday 15th January when we will present Belleville Rendezvous to be accompanied by a supper with a French theme.

October

A welcome band of villagers and their friends descended upon Montgomery Farm for Lamyatt’s Apple Day.  This year our aim was to collect even more apples to satisfy the ever growing demand for our Bullbeggar Cider.  Although we have had some wonderful weather this year it didn’t necessarily come at the right time and the apples on some trees were few and far between where others were much smaller than in the past. It was not an encouraging start to achieving our goal.  However, thanks to stalwart efforts sustained by  delicious tea, sandwiches and cakes, we managed to achieve our goal and when the end result is finally ready in the Spring we are hopeful  we can fulfill all the orders and make a healthy contribution to the village hall coffers.  We were disappointed with the lack of eating apples for juicing and are praying that next year’s harvest will enable us to produce our delicious apple juice too.

September

Sunday 28th September saw Lamyatt celebrating their Harvest festival on a gloriously warm and sunny day.  The church was beautifully decorated with wonderful produce from village gardens, vegetable patches and hedgerows for our Harvest service  attended by many from Lamyatt as well as farther afield.  This joyful service was followed by lunch in the marquee at the Manor where the wine flowed and some 40 villagers and friends enjoyed the delicious contributions from various cooks in the village. Thanks must go to everyone who helped to make the day such a success.

August

Lamyatt’s church of St Mary & St John welcomed more than a 100 guests on 9th August for the wedding of Alexandra Lang to Patrick O’Shaughnessy.  The stunning bride arrived with her father, Simon, in a beautiful landau drawn by two magnificent horses and the church was resplendant with glorious flowers and colourful guests.  Although the day had dawned disappointingly damp for the arrival of the bride, the clouds soon cleared and guests congregated in the sunshine of Simon & Victoria’s garden for a splendid reception in the marquee with dinner and dancing well into the night.

The Glorious 12th August saw the Lang’s marquee transformed from its elegant wedding garb to that of a tropical paradise,  complete with thatched rum shack and brightly coloured tables, flowers, and decorations.  A small steel band welcomed some 130 guests attired in topical, tropical dress.  Dinner of barbecue jerk chicken, fish curry, followed by tropical fruit salad and dark Jamaican ginger cake was all washed down with plenty of rum cocktails and wine.  A lively auction of  varied and exciting lots raised a handsome sum, and a large hamper filled with Caribbean goodies went to the lucky winner of the raffle.  Dinner and auction were followed by entertainment from Lamyatt’s own Calypso Dash and the Dashettes …….and then, the best reggae band evah!  The latter were especially put together for the event drawing, in the main, from Lamyatt’s amazing musical talents.   The Beaconaires was the fantastic result and they will undoubtedly be called upon to perform on many future occasions.  The evening was deemed a great success, enjoyed by all,  and raised another £3000 towards the Village Hall improvement project.  Huge thanks must go to everyone who supported the event and especially to Simon & Victoria for kindly allowing the use of their marquee.

July

The Festival Players gave us a superlative performance of Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’ on Saturday 5th July. A few drops of rain dried up completely as the play began and the sun shone over a delighted three hundred plus audience for the rest of the evening. The 40 children sitting at the front were in stitches at the antics of the all-male cast. Some of the committee, in costume, entertained the crowd on arrival while others handled the seating arrangements and the parking of more than one hundred cars in Ern and Jen’s field. We are so grateful to the thirty or so local businesses who sponsored our efforts this year. The hard work of those from the village who make up the Shakespeare committee paid off again and we are able to make a significant contribution to Lamyatt Church and the Village Hall project. Next year’s comedy will be ‘As You Like It’.

June

The annual Village Fete was held as usual on Fathers Day, June 15th, in the field adjacent to the Village Hall.  We had a lovely day and although numbers were slightly down we managed to make a healthy profit of £1431 which was split between the Church and the Village Hall.  Special thanks to Ern & Jen for allowing the use of their field and for training the runners for the sheep racing!  Stuart and Keith put celebrity Masterchefs to shame on the barbecue and this, along with Jen and Kate’s bric-a-brac stall and  the water slide were among the stars of the show.  The weather started a little dull but improved as the afternoon wore on to reveal glorious warm sunshine.  Huge thanks to everyone who helpted to get it all together and to those who came to enjoy.

May

The Bullbeggar Cider stall at the Packhorse Fair in Bruton was a major attraction once again and we raised over £2000 for the hall improvement fund. After being slightly overwhelmed last year due to the absence of Bar Humbug, we got in adequate stock and with enough help behind the bar this time were ready for the stampede. Many thanks to all those who gave their time to make it such a fun occasion and keep the fundraising ball rolling. Because we had such a successful day we were asked to make an additional contribution to the Packhorse fair expenses which we gladly did. It is a great local event which showcases music, crafts and general stalls and skills. An excellent day out for all the family and we hope to see you all there again next year.

April

Easter Day, although somewhat grey and cold after a couple of weeks of glorious Spring weather, saw a good congregation attend the flower filled Church for the Easter Day service.  The annual egg rolling event was held on a gloriously warm and sunny Bank Holiday Monday afternoon and beautifully decorated eggs were judged  – and then destroyed as they raced and rolled their way down Portway Hill.  The Easter Egg hunt was enthusiastically embraced by many of the village children and their friends who gleefully gathered dozens of little Easter Eggs hidden in Ern’s field.  The lovely afternoon  rounded off with delicious tea and cakes in the sunshine at the Village Hall.

As well as a number of  competent artists and writers in Lamyatt we also have some very good musicians and this month saw David Ash performing at the nearby  Natterjack with a talented Blues band.  A much appreciated and very entertaining evening.

This month’s coffee morning saw many from the village enjoying a good gossip accompanied by delicious coffee and cakes.  3D drawings of the proposed extension to the Village Hall were on display and drew appreciative and positive support.  Our Giving Tree is now displaying even more apples filled in with newly received donations.

March

The Supper Club season rounded off with Neil & Susan delighting us all with their choice of film for the night – Enchanted April – and providing a delicious supper with an Italian influence.  The perfect ending to a very successful season and we look forward to next winter and the new season.

(There is a suggestion that we might stage a Drive-In movie this summer so watch this space!)

The first coffee morning of the year held at the village hall was enjoyed by many and thanks go to those who contributed produce and Diane, Zoe and Jen for organising.

February

The second supper Club evening of the year was held on 21st February and featured the very charming documentary from Mongolia – The Story of The Weeping Camel.  A delicious Mongolian supper to accompany the movie was prepared by Dana and Victora and served to a very appreciative full house.

On St Valentine’s Day we received the hugely exciting news that Mendip have approved the planning application for the extension and improvement of our Village Hall.  It has been a  long drawn out process which required fine tuning along the way, and thanks must go to the very hard working Committee whose resolve has triumphed.  The village has been working hard too over the past months and  has so far raised close to £25000 which, together with our grant of £30,000 from Mendip Council, is a very welcome start to our fundraising.  Work will begin shortly to raise the balance required to enable works to begin early in 2015.

January

Plans for the Village Hall improvements, which have seen much action and work  over the past 18 months by the dedicated Trustees and the appointed architects, are now awaiting a decision from the planning department of Mendip Council.

Our first supper Club this year was an English event with a delicious dinner prepared by Helen and friends and accompanied by An Education.  A delightful film and enjoyable evening..

Towards the end of the month we once more held a Burn’s Supper at the Village Hall.  Although space is very restricted, the assembled diners and dancers made their way through Haggis and Athol Brose, and Eightsome reels were ably performed with welcome assistance from Caryl and Sylvia.  A very enjoyable evening which is becoming a fixture on the Lamyatt events calendar and all participants are looking forward to the newly enlarged hall which will enable more to join in.