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- The Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
- 2 June 2012
Brookenby Celebrations
A small group of residents has now got together to organise an event here in Brookenby to celebrate the 60th anniversary of HM Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom on 6 February 1952 whilst Her Majesty was on holiday in Kenya.
From the Community News with permission:
"The intention is that there will be activities for both children and adults and the high point of the day will be a celebration of music from the past 60 years provided by local musical talent, so any performers wishing to participate are invited to make themselves known. All food and entertainment will be provided free of charge and there will be a licensed bar available. It is intended that the celebrations will last from early afternoon through the evening.
"However, there will need to be some serious fundraising between now and then, so the first event will be on Monday, 19 December, and will follow on from the annual carol singing in the late afternoon. A buffet will be provided and a licensed bar serving mulled wine and other refreshments will be available and, courtesy of the Limelight Theatre Group, there will be a showing of The Grinch in the theatre. The cost of the evening's entertainment - a mere £3.00 per head for adults and £1.50 for children or £8.00 for a family ticket. There will be plenty of good cheer to get you in the Christmas spirit so please come along."
If you would like to help in any way, or be part of the planning process, please contact Nicola Ives on 398885
An application had been submitted to RAF Northolt on Brookenby's behalf for the Battle of Britain Flight to overfly Brookenby during our celebrations on 3 June; however, the application has now been changed and accepted for the fly past to be on 2 June. We will have to wait to learn whether or not we have been successful as the Flight will have number of official fly pasts to carry out and will thus have to co-ordinate our request (along with Binbrook's) with all the others. If the full Flight is unavailable, the subsidiary request is for the Lancaster to display on its own.
Other stories
- Music sessions
White Hart Inn, Ludford - Local updates
Thrift shop - Car Boot sales
- Children's play areas
- Macmillan Cancer Support
Carolyn Purdy and the Cape to Cape Tour 2012In April 2012 Carolyn will be embarking on a 1500 mile marathon drive from Cape Wrath in NW Scotland and Cape Cornwall in SW England in a 1966 Porsche 912 SWB Coupé. Carolyn will again be navigated by her husband, Brod - who is also raising funds for Macmillan by sailing around the Fastnet Rock! (See below.) This will be the fifth appearance of the Purdys on this classic tour - four times as participants and once as travelling marshals.
But what exactly is the Cape to Cape Tour and what are its aims?
The second question is the easier one to answer: the only aim is to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and all participants are expected to spend some time organizing their own personal fund raising events in order to raise as much money as they can, all of which will be declared at the start of the Tour
The answer to the first question takes longer. The Cape to Cape Tour was started nine years ago as a classic car tour to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The route usually starts from a named Cape within the British Isles (Cape Cornwall in England, Cape Wrath in Scotland and Cape Clear in Eire) but the tour has been into Europe on a number of occasions just to ring the changes. The tour lasts for five days and covers around 1500 miles - all in cars older than 30! However, the Tour is not as easy as just driving an old car along wonderful Motorways and 'A' roads for the expected 300 miles per day, most of the route is designed to stay away from such roads and concentrates on 'B' and 'C' roads - as well as a few lesser ones thrown in for good measure - and a day's driving usually lasts a good 8 to 10 hours, depending on how good one's navigator is, and how fatigued the driver gets - cumulatively! Those who have to live with cancer do not have easy lives, and this Tour, in some ways, hopes to replicate such difficulties.
All cars have to have been built before December 1981- and all entry fees and incidental expenses are paid for by the crews themselves. Not a penny is taken from sponsorship deals or donations.
Greater details of the tour, its history and photographs are available on the tour's bespoke website:www.maccapers.co.uk. Carolyn's own fund raising website is: www.justgiving.com/912
A talented bunch of musicians from Brookenby and surrounds play at the White Hart Inn on the last Tuesday of every month starting at 8.30pm. If you can play a musical instrument, or just wish to listen to some good music, why not pop along and join in, or just sit and listen?
The current acoustic sessions in the Tudor Room have started up again - but timings seem rather hit and miss - I was rather hoping to join in after the PC/BCCMC meeting last Tuesday, but everyone seemed to have left by the usual start time of 8:30 pm - so my guitar had to be put back in its bag...There may be some fairly basic lessons available for those who require them. (Skiffle, anyone? 'T' chest bass, washboards and acoustic steel string guitars...real amateur acoustic music that spawned such great groups as the Vipers and Lonnie Donegan...but based on the Blues from America). Bring your own music if you have other ideas.
One plan is to have a one hour's teaching session for beginners who wish to learn acoustic guitar (yes, a different technique is required!), and then follow that up with a jamming session for those who wish to join in - on a purely informal basis. However, to make these sessions worthwhile, the instructors must be reasonably assured of some sort of turn out, so it's up to you to support this very worthwhile activity.
Skiffle for the Jubilee Concert in Brookenby?As publicised above, musicians who are able to produce musical turns from the 60s to the present day will be required to perform at a 'Jubilee Concert' on 2 June 2012. But we should not forget the terrific music genres produced during the fifties by such luminaries as Elvis Presley, Lonnie Donegan, Cliff Richard and the Drifters, The Vipers, Buddy Holly - the list goes on.
One style that helped produce the phenomenon that became 'Rock and Roll' was that of skiffle - where amateur musicians would get together with acoustic guitars, washboards and 'T-chest' basses to produce what was a form of simplified Blues (Delta and Chicago) and Country in front rooms and dance halls. This amateur form became more professional once groups such as the Vipers and Chris Barber's Jazz band started recording. (Even the Beatles started off as a skiffle group called the Quarrymen.)
Are there any residents out there prepared to have a go at setting up such a skiffle group here to add to the musical entertainment on 2 June? If so, please get in touch with the editor - who used to play in such a group whilst at school in Kenya!
Jon and Tony play onBrookenby musicians Tony Price and Jon Ives performed a number of old standards ranging from the Beatles, through the Kinks to Ralph McTell live in front of a packed Queens Hall on Sunday, 20 November under the name 'Watt no Amp'. Although billed as 'acoustic', I am sure I saw a couple of 'miked' up guitars and microphones leading to an amplifier...? Although no entrance fee was charged, there was a collection for the 'Friends of Binbrook School' as well as a raffle.
During the interval, the audience was treated to some superb country-style guitar playing by Dan Stevenson and friend. Dan is, in case you are not aware, a leading light in Brookenby's own group, the 'Mutual Terms'.
Well done to both performers for braving a live audience. Their next appearance should be on 19 December at the Community Centre at Brookenby during Brookenby's Christmas function and carol singing.
The Thrift shop is now located on the ground floor of the Community Centre West Wing, behind the Parish Council meeting room and is open for business.
The village shopThe shop is now open and its manager, Anthea, plans to expand in order to support the residents of Brookenby. But, as always, if no-one supports the shop, it will not survive.
With a little bit of luck, there should be a fuller report on the future of the shop in a later edition.
Residents may have noticed that the first of weekly car boot sales started up last Saturday on the Parish Green behind the Community Centre. These will occur every week, unless the weather precludes the appearance of stall holders.
It is possible that there will be a hiatus whilst the weather deteriorates with a plan to restart in Spring when the weather improves - and the sun reappears.
Council is to write to North Developments to ask it to provide signs around the village to warn drivers of palying children. However, it was agreed that there was no need to have further 30mph speed restriction signs within the village as the existing signs cover the whole of the village. It is, of course, beholden upon the drivers to keep to the speed limit at all times.
Charitable activities
I am aware that many residents raise funds for many charities and would appreciate some form of publicity for them...the more the merrier. Please use this section to let everyone (the world?) of your activities and the name of the charity for which you are raising funds - and what you are doing and how you are doing it.
The Fastnet Challenge takes place in March 2012, from Portsmouth, via Brixham, Falmouth, the Fastnet Rock and directly back to Portsmouth. On a former Round the World 72' Racing Clipper. Crewed in the main by beginners and novices - so it is not an easy ride as the idea is to sail the route as quickly as possible, not just cruise it!
In order to raise more funds for Macmillan, Brod Purdy is planning to join the crew of a 72' Clipper with the express aim of completing the Fastnet Challenge. Although Brod is now clear of his cancer, although monitored on an annual basis, he is still very aware of the discomfort that cancer sufferers undergo, and the hardships of fmailies who live with the threat of a possible, and sometimes very sudden, terminal diagnosis; his brother in law suffered treminal kidney cancer earlier this year and unfortunately died, very suddenly leaving Brod's sister a widow just when she and her husband should have been enjoying retirement together. Hence Brod's determination to go for a challenge that will put him through a very gruelling 10 days getting cold, wet and very tired...
Brod has his personal fundraising site where donors may contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support at: www.justgiving.com/fastnet-challenge.
Fuller details on all the trust's actvities can be found on:www.tallships.org.
"The Editor's 2012 Challenge"Do you live in Brookenby?
Are you aged between 14 and 18?
Are you prepared to accept a challenge that may change your views on life, the universe and everything?
Here's the Challenge. I am prepared to put my hand in my pocket to offer one youngster of either sex the chance to crew on one of the Tall Ships Trust's boats. But the chosen applicant must be able to raise partial funding himself to show his commitment to this Challenge. Details of the Tall Ships Youth Trust can be found on www.tallships.org.
Interested? Then get in touch with the editor of The Defiant , mark the subject 'Challenge' and explain why - but be prepared for some hard questions. Applications, please, after the end of March - then I will know first hand exactly what is required and be able to more fully explain the challenge...