CASTLE VILLAGE
Official Castle Village residents' website:
www.castlevillageweb.com
FEBRUARY 2010 UPDATE
St Valentine’s Eve dinner
The Dining Room was packed again for yet another great success. All who went had a very relaxed and convivial evening. It started with everyone enjoying a glass of champagne, or whatever they fancied in the Ballroom, then taking their seats to enjoy a choice of starters, followed by a splendid Beef Wellington, all capped by a disgracefully delicious syllabub.
What they didn’t know was that Chef David Prodger had started work on the meal’s preparation at 8.30 that morning.
Thank you, David, for working so hard and doing us so proud. David’s next planned special event is a traditional St George’s Day Dinner.
Diminishing whist
Twenty one residents enjoyed themselves greatly at the recent Diminishing Whist Drive, the brainchild of Rosemary Moncrieff. It is a fun game, as evident from the frequent bursts of laughter interspersed with howls of frustration, that swept the Ballroom throughout the afternoon.
Play was interrupted half-way through so that competitors could share afternoon tea, served by our Catering team, with scrumptious cakes baked by Pat Sayers.
Winner of the event, by some margin, was David Walters, seen here collecting his prize, while Margie Anderson won the consolation prize for having been dealt the most rotten hands.
A raffle was also held, and £75 of surplus cash raised by the event was donated to the charity Mercy Ships.
The Heritage Project
The Castle Village Heritage Project is an attempt to capture the crucial first 10 years of the village’s history. Leslie Sayers, who is managing the project, gave a talk at the General Meeting, outlining progress to date and future plans about.
In an attempt to capture the great variety of residents, they have been asked to write a short biography, in the belief that the story of their lives and experiences will be of enormous interest to future generations of residents.
Brenda White has been building on Felicity Lidderdale’s book about the history of the house and its surroundings. Liz Young is leading the task of recording the development of our beautiful grounds, and making a record of what they contain. Organisers of every village activity here are placing their history on record.
November will see the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first residents, Neil and Joan Castle, followed immediately by Stewart and Barbara Garrett, Bruce and Hilary McNair, Enid Foxall and others. They called themselves ‘The Early Settlers’.
That very day, 10 years later, will be our Early Settlers Day, when we will honour them and the community they began building with visual displays in the Mansion.
At different times during the day there will be coffee and biscuits, tea and cake, or the bar will be open, and in the evening there will be a hot finger buffet. All of which will help to make Heritage Year something to remember.
JANUARY 2010 UPDATE
Burns Night Celebration
The restaurant was jam packed for the first ever Burns Night Celebration Dinner at Castle Village. After guests had first enjoyed a welcome drink of a wee dram, Steph paraded the haggis into the Ballroom where it was first addressed and then sliced in traditional ceremonial manner by Scottish resident Bill Walker.
Edna Downes continued tradition by starting the meal with the Selkirk Grace. David Prodger had prepared a splendid dinner with cock-a-leekie, cullen skink soup or Scottish smoked salmon, then haggis with tatties and neeps or two alternative choices for Sassenach softies.
We finished with a disgraceful trifle pudding and Dundee cake. The whole meal with a triumph. The evening ended with an hour of hugely enjoyable madcap Scottish dancing, led by experienced callers Val and Ian McFarlane. Bernard Peters was our on-the-scene photographer.
Summer thoughts
The dates have been set for our annual Marquee Week. This year’s event will run from Monday 26th July to Saturday 31st July with a couple of extra mid week events added to the timetable. Preparations are already underway!
We’ve also put a barbeque and barn dance on the calendar for June so lots to look forward to.
Thank you Norman
In an incredibly generous gesture, resident Norman Goodfellow has donated a number of silver salvers to Castle Village as prizes for the various sporting competitions that we have each year, mostly in the summer, for putting, croquet, tennis etc.
The names of winners will be engraved on the salvers and they will be displayed in the Moat Bar cabinets. Norman is having the names of previous winner engraved.
Our heritage tapestry
Prue Wescombe, a gifted artist and leading light of the Castle Village Art Group, suggested residents might like to contribute towards a large tapestry that would be hung in the Mansion House to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of Castle Village.
The challenge was to design and embroider in wool, using half cross stitch, a four inch square on any theme. Almost a quarter of the village – 45 residents – took up the challenge. They were a mixture of skilled embroiderers and novices so Prue arranged classes for beginners and advised others on the design of their squares. Fellow artist Dorothea Patterson gave a lot of help.
After several months of hard work, the 56 squares that make up the tapestry were finally assembled, painstakingly stitched together and hung on the dining room wall. It was unveiled to great acclaim this month. You can see the result – an amazing mixture from flags to flowers, animals to abstracts – even a self portrait from our gardening team.
It is a truly extraordinary achievement by Prue and her team that will grace the dining room for the coming century.
DECEMBER 2009 UPDATE
Christmas concert
This year’s concert of carols and readings was another triumph - for the choir who sang splendidly, for Ann De Morgan who conducted and managed the evening flawlessly, for accompanist Vida Metcalfe, and for the readers that Ann had recruited to read a selection of Christmas centred poetry and prose (click picture to enlarge).
The restaurant was absolutely packed with an overspill into the conservatory. The carols struck a perfect balance between a very good Choir performance and audience participation. And the readers were well chosen and skilfully read by Brenda, Enid, Pat, Olive, Eric, Rob, Ken, John and Brian. How lucky we are to have so many gifted and willing readers.
Ken Walker had the sound system tuned perfectly to amplify the readers’ voices just enough to make the readings crystal clear.
Afterwards everyone enjoyed a glass or two of mulled wine, prepared and served by Ron and Helen Jeanes and Conn Gage and a delicious feast of mince pies baked by Susan Cawley and Pat Sayers and served by Frances and Liz.
Marking a new decade
At the 2009 AGM, during Marquee Week, Susan Cawley proposed we should mark the 10th anniversary of Castle Village’s opening by having a photograph taken of all residents – like the ones we all recall from our school days – perhaps during Marquee Week 2010.
Most people thought it sounded a good idea but hard to organise, difficult to make happen without shelling out a fortune for a professional photographer and us all having to wait around for ages.
Neil Castle, official photographer for the Castle Village Heritage Project, has now come up with an ingenious way of creating a photograph of all residents without all that expense and fuss.
Neil is a digital photography wizard and is confident that he can photograph individuals or small groups then combine the photos to create a finished product apparently showing all 190 happy residents (or whatever the number then is) in the same place at the same time. Brilliant idea! We’ll keep you in touch.
Castle Village Quiz
The restaurant was comfortably filled by 37 eager contestants who arrived bottle and glasses in hand for another John De Morgan produced quiz earlier this month. The questions included general knowledge of all kinds, photos of famous people and some teasingly tricky quotations to identify.
The outcome was a very narrow victory – by just two points in fact – by the winning quartet comprising Susan and David Cawley, Enid Foxall and Frances Gage. It was particularly good to see several new arrivals taking part.
NOVEMBER 2009 UPDATE
Resident’s design in print
With Christmas fast approaching, we entered into the festive spirit, taking part in Retirement Villages’ ‘design a Christmas card’ competition.
Elizabeth Young’s ‘Cottage’ design (click picture to enlarge) was chosen as a runner up, with Patricia Ringwood and Margaret Simmonds also taking part.
Elizabeth’s work is one of seven runner-up designs from across the villages appearing on the reverse of 2,000 Christmas cards, available for suppliers, residents, their families and friends. Elizabeth receives a box of chocolates to mark her efforts.
In the pink
This is our team of support staff at Castle Village all dressed up for Pink Day a couple of weeks ago (click picture to enlarge).
The cleaning staff wore pink t-shirts with office and nursing staff wore an array of pink items.
Contributions for the privilege of being in the pink for the whole day amounted to almost £60 which was donated to Breast Cancer Care.
Remembrance Day
More than 50 people took afternoon tea then packed into the Ballroom for the annual Castle Village Remembrance Day Service, conducted again by the Rev Tim Marshall, Vicar of St Lawrence at Bovingdon.
The Retirement Collection raised the commendable total of £286.50, half of which was donated to the British Legion and half to Help the Heroes. A big thank you to all residents who donated.
Yorkshire High Tea
A highlight of the November calendar was the Yorkshire High Tea organised by our in-house catering team.
Entertainment with a Yorkshire flavour was provided by resident Ron Jeanes, followed by a feast that featured everything from potted meat sandwiches to Yorkshire fruit bread and parkin, rounded off by jelly and custard.
We were served by the catering tea whose costumed elegance outshone the staff of Betty’s Café in Harrogate.
Everything about the occasion was just superb. Ron Jeanes never fails to stagger us with the professionalistm and quality of his performance – first class entertainment by any standard.
The food was unbelievably plentiful and good.
“Them ov us lucky enough to have lived in Yorkshire ‘ave nobbut else to say about our catering team than we were reet chuffed wi yon gradely lasses. Ta muchly to one and all”.
2009 Poetry Festival follow up
The success of the Festival was rounded off with a Friday Night Supper in the restaurant, attended by contributors, readers, others involved in the event and their partners. Chef David Prodger provided an excellent meal, as always, and entertainment was provided by the guests, who contributed more of their favourite poems and stories.
Christmas card village winner
Well done to Elizabeth Young who scored a ‘village win’ in the Retirement Villages’ Christmas card competition. Mrs Young’s cottage picture (click image to enlarge) will feature on the reverse of 2,000 Christmas cards available for Retirement Villages’ suppliers, residents, their families and friends.
OCTOBER 2009 UPDATE
The rhymes, the rhymes…
The second Castle Village Poetry Festival has taken place. It produced a smaller flood of poems than the 2008 Festival, but once again there were a number of very good entries in the four categories - Romance, The Sea, War, and Humour. The team of Judges, who were not told the identity of authors, chose four winners.
By absolute and fortunate coincidence, one winner came from each category. We’ll put the winning poems on here over the coming months. Here’s the first:
THE UMBRELLAS OF LONDON
(a cautionary tale)
by John De Morgan
When rain starts falling in the Strand,
And umbrellas are to hand,
Methinks ‘t were best for me to be,
Far away across the sea,
In Africa or sunny Spain,
Where, so I've heard, there's little rain.
Unfurled by all the happy band
Of ladies leaving office land,
Rushing towards the railway station,
En route to reach their destination,
Show disregard for all who dare
To linger on the pavement there,
They poke their brollies in the face
Of half the male populace,
Who being several inches higher,
Are threatened and could well expire.
So please all ladies do beware
Or two-eyed partners will be rare,
I'm sure you'd rather go home damp
Than poke an eye out with your gamp.
What an arty lot
Castle Village Art Group was formed by Philip Skeens almost immediately after the village opened in 2001. It met, as it still does, on Monday mornings and comprised an average eight to 10 people. The sessions were, to a great extent, informal although initially Philip gave instruction to those who wanted it.
His vision was for the members of the group to work on whatever was their inclination. Members chose their own medium – watercolour, oil or pastel – whichever appealed to them and Philip was always there to help. Unfortunately he has been unwell for the past 18 months and unable to play his original role but the group continued and Philip has always maintained his interest in it.
Most years the group has presented an exhibition of the work carried out at group meetings. This year the exhibition has been slightly different, in that pictures done by members before they came to Castle Village were also exhibited. The picture shows art group members at this year’s exhibition.
Nutty for knitting
The 2009 Knitathon took place on the morning of Friday 16th October this time in aid of the charities Mercy Ships and Hope for Children. The event raised more than £600 for deserving causes – with more to come. The photograph shows the Boys’ Team hard at work, hats akimbo, brows furrowed, needles flashing.
SEPTEMBER 2009 UPDATE
Stitch-ing time
We’ve all heard of the Bayeux Tapestry – now comes the Castle Village Tapestry.
This is a major project talented needleworker Prue Wescombe is organising. The idea is for anyone who wants to contribute and who can wield a needle to stitch a small section which, when all sewn together, will create an impressive piece of art.
Prue is going to oversee the project and we shall all look forward to seeing the finished work displayed on a suitable wall in the future.
To rhyme or not to rhyme
Following the great success of last year’s event, Castle Village residents have been invited to take part in a Poetry Festival.
Organiser Olive Walker is gathering entries in three categories Humour, War and The Sea which will then be judged – anonymously – and read at the Festival to take place in the Conservatory in October.
We’ll bring you some samples of the poems submitted in the coming weeks.
Patios and paths
The pleasure of a stroll around Castle Village this Summer has been enhanced by the lovely displays that residents have made beside their patios and paths. Here are some of the many on view.
Wildflower Meadows
The optimum time of year to mow the Castle Village Walking Meadows is currently under discussion, as part of the long-term Landscape Management plan.
They were mown earlier than usual this year, and one thing is for sure: whatever the reason there is an unusually splendid crop of wildflowers, the profusion and beauty of which adds greatly to the pleasure of a stroll along the Walking Meadow paths.
Here is a picture taken in the Western Meadow (click to enlarge). To add to the pleasure, large flocks of butterflies and other insects are grazing the flowers.
Marquee Week
It came as no surprise, in these difficult times, that the 2009 Marquee Week resulted in a small loss. But for a few pounds a head deficit we had a week of good and varied entertainment, an opportunity to enjoy ourselves and share the fun with our friends, family and neighbours, and a chance to welcome newcomers into our community and make new friends. Which is what Marquee Week is all about, so the outcome looks quite a bargain!
Some great news is that we have the agreement of Marquee Week Committee Chairman, Ron Jeanes (pictured being congratulated by CVRA Chairman, John De Morgan, on the fine job that he did this year) that he will chair the Committee and manage the event next year. So Roll on Marquee Week 2010!
AUGUST 2009 UPDATE
Golden Wedding Anniversary
By David Cawley
The Drama Queen and I have just celebrated the miracle of our Golden Wedding Anniversary. Here we are on our wedding day back in July 1959 (click picture to enlarge). My attention was drawn to Susan in our first term at university when I was seriously smitten by her eyes, and other bits.
My life changed forever when a finger poked me in the back as I was reading a notice in the Union and a voiced asked – in an unfamiliar North-East accent: “Why aye, man, haway the lads, hinny, what footy team to you support, canny lad, pet?”
I turned and looked into her eyes – and that was that, though the only thing we had in common was a love of sport and an unquenchable need to be together. Over the years she’s managed to change me quite a bit for the better. Me change her? You must be joking!
In our last home we could have sat all eight of our friends around our dining table to celebrate our Golden Wedding. Here at Castle Village we had a hard time whittling our guest list down to the 84 which our restaurant comfortably seats.
How wonderful to have acquired more friends than we’ve had for many a year and to be able to share a special occasion with them.
JULY 2009 UPDATE
Castle Village barbecue and fete
Castle Village barbecue and fete was held separately from Marquee Week – our week of activities at the end of July – and featured:
Things to do - The events, organised by Leslie Sayers, comprised The ‘Orrible Olympics which challenged every human muscle and attribute. A range of skilful sports offered a chance to enjoy yourself and win a prize. There were Egg and Spoon races for all ages. An original hat competition for ladies and gentlemen featured some fantastic creations and was won by Joan Pond, whose amazing headwear even featured a spare set of false teeth, just in case.
Horse racing tested the skill of the jockeys and allowed everyone else to try their luck with a bet. A white elephant stall featured some spectacular bargains, especially towards the end of the day when 50p would have bought you the earth – or at least the next best
thing on it! There was a fancy dress competition for children, a chance to admire some of the many models handmade by resident Wallace Urry, to buy one of Olive Walker’s lovely paintings or have your portrait expertly sketched by Dorothea Patterson. And many more delights.
If all that didn’t pass the time agreeably, there was a multitude of things to eat and drink. And the Jolly Jazzers played on the terrace throughout the afternoon. The whole of Castle Village says a warm thank you to Ron Jeanes, who chaired the Fete Organising Committee and compered the event, to every member of the Committee and to every resident, family member and friend who worked so hard to make the day such an outstanding success.
Poetry competition launched
War, the sea and romance are the themes for this year’s Castle Village Poetry Festival, once again being organised by Olive Walker. Submissions are made anonymously to ensure judging is fair.
Castle Village residents launch website
There’s so much going on at Castle Village, residents have launched their own website to help them all keep up with the news.
www.castlevillageweb.com features stories, features and pictures submitted by the residents.
Tennis tournament
A Round Robin tennis tournament is scheduled for later this month. It is meant to be fun – though there’s bound to be a healthy competitive spirit on the courts!
JUNE 2009 UPDATE
Annual Castle Village Holiday (organised by Brian Bickley)
Following previous enjoyable forays to Ireland, the Italian Lakes, and down the Rhine, in late May this year’s group were whisked off by car to Southampton, to embark on the Saga Ruby for a spectacular seven night cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. Pictures of the cruise will follow next month.
At the same time, a second, smaller group of friends, who had already done Norway, departed on another fascinating cruise that circumnavigates the British Isles, stopping off at highlight ports of call. Speculation is already rife, a book has been opened, and bets are being taken on the destination for next year’s Group Holiday.
Suggestions to date - the River Danube, New England in the Fall, Glories of the Sahara, the Highland Distilleries of Scotland, and the Chateaux and (not-too-expensive) Restaurants of France. Other suggestions welcome.
Amazing Grace - World Premiere
Saturday 6th June sees the world premiere, at St John’s Church in Boxmoor, of a play by Castle Village Resident and drama stalwart, Ken Farmborough.
St John’s is a fitting venue for Ken’s play, which is based on the life of John Henry Newton (1725 – 1807) the slave-ship captain who relented, repented, converted and became an Anglican clergyman. He was the author of many hymns, including one of the most beautiful ever written - Amazing Grace.
Good luck, Ken! Next stop The National Theatre?
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Summer Sports Competitions
The annual Summer competitions are now under way, including boules, croquet, darts, pitch and putt, putting scrabble, tennis and table tennis.
The biannual Castle Village Golf Tournament was held on Friday May 15th at Little Hay Golf Course, and a thoroughly enjoyable day was rounded off by dinner at the Village Restaurant.
Castle Village Belles and Beaux
We are back in rehearsal already for this year’s Marquee Week Variety Show in late July. They will open and close the show, providing the tuneful and decorative icing, with a range of solo and group acts and sketches as a tasty filling.
Their singing will be augmented by members of the Castle Village Choir, the ensemble is directed by Ann De Morgan, and accompanied by Vida Metcalfe. The Choir will also present a short concert at the Grand Opening Party that kicks off Marquee Week.