Help fund important community project

The UJ Community Partnership is a community-based organisation with the objective of helping local residents gain/learn new skills as well as generally seeking to reduce levels of social isolation.

From learning something new by attending training and personal development courses, or making new friends by attending social events, the UJ Community Partnership has helped many residents from across the Hoo Peninsula since it was formed in 2003.

The long-established and much loved group is run by Veronica Cordier, who works hard to ensure the group’s survival.  Funding is always at the top of Veronica’s agenda – making sure the group can afford to offer new training courses and other opportunities for residents, as well as more routine expenses, such as heating, equipment, facilities and running costs.

With everyone tightening their belts, it has become more difficult to find funding, so if you run a local business and are able to offer funding support of any amount (it all helps), please get in touch with Veronica by phoning 01634 271807, or write to Veronica Cordier, UJ Community Partnership, The Chapel/Grain Library, Chapel Road, Isle of Grain, ME3 0BZ.

Next month the UJ Community Partnership is offering residents training/familiarisation workshops on using a tablet - particularly handy if you receive one for Christmas!  Book your place by phoning 01634 271807.

  

Village Voices for the Isle of Grain (Issue 1)

The very first edition of Grain Village Voices has been produced and is now available online. This new bi-monthly publication is produced in partnership with St. James, Isle of Grain, Parish Council. Take a look by clicking the image below, which will take you to the editions page on the Village Voices website - then click ‘Issue 1’.

This edition includes reports and news from the Parish Council, a detailed update about the excellent work undertaken by The Friends of the Isle of Grain Coastal Park, an item from Glenn McWatt (Vicar of Grain with Stoke), exciting news about the coming Showin’ Grain pantomime and lots more local and parish information.

Take a look at the Village Voices website by clicking here.

Let’s keep it local - let’s support our excellent community mags!
  

Showin' Grain present Death of a Songbird

The Showin’ Grain Theatre Group are back with an interactive murder mystery on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 June, at the Village Hall, Chapel Road, Isle of Grain.

'Death of a Songbird' has been written and produced locally by Moira Pearn.

You won't just be an audience member, as you'll play detective in teams of six per table. And there's a chance of winning a bottle of champagne.

Doors open at 7pm, with the action beginning at 7.30pm. Tickets are £6, which includes food. Tickets can only be purchased in advance from Veronica Cordier on 271807 or 271674.

Have a great night!

  

Helping local people in Grain and beyond!

The UJ Community Partnership, based at The Chapel, Chapel Road, Isle of Grain, supports local people by providing different activities that promote social-inclusion, through organising events and learning opportunities.

The Partnership helps people learn, or improve, IT skills. They also run a variety of other useful courses, including first aid workshops and help with personal financial management.

The group was set up in 2003 and is run by a team of hardworking local volunteers. Veronica Cordier (pictured below), who manages the group, is always keen to attract new people, and funding!

The UJ Community Partnership runs courses in basic computing, through to an accredited course, along with a manual book keeping course. The group also hopes to continue their lunch and craft club for the over 50s - usually held on the second and fourth Monday’s of the month. However, Veronica is keen to find new funding to cover the running costs of these activities. The group is not government funded and they have to apply for funding to cover their activities and courses.

If you’d like to find out more about getting involved in the UJ Community Partnership, regardless of where you live on the Hoo Peninsula, or if you'd like to help fund this important group, please get in touch with Veronica Cordier on 01634 271807.
  

Get yourself over to Grain for a murder mystery!

Following a successful panto run last year (I’m still singing the songs - I don’t get out much), the Showin’ Grain Theatre Group are preparing for a Murder Mystery production at the end of this month, on 29 and 30 June.

Click the poster below to find out more:

Pop along for a fun night - you might even be able to help find out ‘whodunnit’!

  

It was showtime on the Isle of Grain . . . Oh yes it was!

I joined a packed audience last Saturday evening, to watch the second of two performances of this year’s Isle of Grain pantomime, Hamelin.

The show was put on by the Showin’ Grain Theatre Group, with the panto written and directed by Moira Pearn.

I can’t tell you what a hilarious evening it was. I don’t think anyone in the audience can have had so much fun or laughed as much in ages!

The cast kept everyone gripped - right through to the ‘triple’ finale, which included great performances of Take That’s ‘Never Forget’, Merry Christmas (lots of audience participation required of course!) and a hilarious song about ‘Butter and Margarine’. It was so funny, it has stayed with me for the last three days and I haven’t been able to stop smiling!

Some of the panto cast, including director Moira Pearn (wearing a wild black wig, on the left!), who also appeared as the lovable ‘Lou Natic’.

Moira (pictured again below) told me that she couldn’t put into words how proud she was of everyone involved in the production. “They all work so hard and I am so strict with them - ‘Speak up!’, ‘Don’t mumble your words!’, ‘I can’t hear you!’ - they will all recognise these uttered words.”

Moira would especially like to thank Edward Cordier, who is the group’s ‘technician magician’ - without whom many of her spectacular ideas wouldn’t have come to fruition.

I for one had a great night. The whole production was put together brilliantly. Excellent music and a great cast (all named below), who were all clearly enjoying themselves. And plenty of audience participation - no matter how hard I tried to hide!

Who needs the West End?!

The Showin' Grain Theatre Group will also be appearing at The Village Sports & Social Club in Hoo this Friday (16 December) - best of luck! Don’t miss it!
 

My first weekend of Christmas events . . .

Like many others in Hoo, I headed down to Hoo Parish Church yesterday morning for their Christmas Fair - the first of many Christmas events taking place locally. And despite getting there just after opening time, the place was already buzzing!

Hoo resident Alan Page.

It was good seeing Stuart Coombes and Mick Hollands (pictured below) handing out flyers for the Church’s special morning of carols, taking place on Saturday 17 December at 10.30am. Carol singing for an hour in the Village Sqaure followed by mince pies and coffee in the Church.

With festive tunes echoing around the Church, Ron and Muriel Bewsey (pictured below) were being kept busy cooking a hog roast which was clearly a very popular choice for many, especially with it being so cold outside.

There were lots of stalls and raffles (I won a bottle of Sherry) and plenty of handmade crafts and local produce. I picked up some very nice looking Christmas cards of Hoo Parish Church.

Despite my enthusiasm for ‘cake tasting’ I managed to resist the temptation this time - even though there were more cakes than I had seen in one place in a long long time!

With that, and having caught up with local news and gossip, I headed over to the Isle of Grain to catch the Christmas Fair organised by GOFFS (the Grain Over Forty Fives group) at Grain Village Hall. There were lots of stalls, so I thought it best to catch my breath first and have a quick cuppa and bacon roll!

I had a good look round, but my nose seemed to be taking me in the direction of a cake stall at the far end of the hall. My earlier resilience was waning.

And they were fantastic looking cakes too! I had a good chat with the stallholders (pictured below) before finally giving in and buying four cakes which were neatly boxed up and kept aside for my collection later.

I had a chat with Veronica Cordier and Moira Pearn, who were on the stall for the Showin’ Grain Theatre Group. Moira (pictured below) is directing the panto, which will be performed on Friday 9 December and Saturday 10 December. I’m looking forward to hearing Veronica singing - I’ve been told she’s very good!

There were some really fantastic looking raffle prizes dotted around the hall, including amazing Christmas hampers - like the one pictured below on a stall belonging to Jenny and Pat (pictured below with Nigel).

The two Christmas events in Hoo and Grain yesterday were really enjoyable and I’m looking forward to attending some more soon.

Don’t forget - click the ‘Christmas Event 2011’ label below to see all the Christmas events taking place locally (those that I have been told about anyway).

Sorry, but before I forget . . . no I didn’t leave my boxed up cakes behind!
 

Gearing up for a great Christmas on the Isle of Grain!

There’s quite a bit going on around the Hoo Peninsula this Christmas. I’ve already mentioned events happening in Hoo, so now it’s the turn of the Isle of Grain.

The fun begins this Saturday (26 November), when GOFFs (the Grain Over Forty Fives group) hold an Autumn/Christmas Fayre at the Village Hall (Chapel Road). This will take place from 11am until 2pm, when there’ll be plenty of stalls offering cards, gifts, a tombola, a raffle, refreshments and lots, lots, more.

Then on Saturday 3 December the Grain Fete Committee will be having their Christmas Quiz at the Village Hall, from 7.30pm.

Make sure you’re feeling suitably creative though, as you could win a prize for having the best decorated table! Live music will be provided by councillors Chris Buckwell (Parish Council Chairman) and Chris Irvine. The Fete Committee quiz nights are usually held every second Saturday, except in July, August and December. They help raise much needed cash for Fete expenses. Tickets are £5.50 per person and a hot meal is provided at half time. Sounds good to me! Click on the image below for more information.

As mentioned on this site last month, the Showin’ Grain Theatre Group are putting on this year’s pantomime on Friday 9 December and Saturday 10 December at the Village Hall.

Sunday 11 December, sees St. James Church (High Street - towards the beach) present ‘Christingle’ from 6pm, where there will be plenty of carols to be sung! If you’re able to pop along and enjoy the festive spirit - please take a donation of new toiletries for the Salvation Army to distribute to the homeless.

And finally, on Saturday 17 December the band of the Salvation Army will be performing at St. James Church for lots of Carols and festive tunes. The start time will be confirmed shortly (I’ll provide an update accordingly). Everyone is very welcome to attend.

My apologies if I haven’t mentioned your Christmas event - just let me know all the details by getting in touch using the contact page. But it looks like there is going to be so much festive cheer in Grain this year.  Any Scrooges should be packing their bags already!

I’ll be including Christmas events taking place in other parts of the peninsula shortly, so please get in touch if you’d like your event to appear on this site.

Click on the ‘label’ below marked ‘Christmas Event 2011’ to see all the Christmas events mentioned on this site so far.
 

Panto Season on the Isle of Grain

With all the talk of an airport on the Isle of Grain this week, and the possible ramifications for those of us living on the Peninsula, it is nice to be able to think about something more mundane. Like Christmas!

And as it happens, a group of local residents have this week sent me some information about their upcoming pantomime.

The Showin’ Grain Theatre Group are very busy at the moment rehearsing their panto ‘Hamelin’, which will be showing at Grain Village Hall on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 December.

Click the image below to find out more.

If you’d like any further information about the production, contact its writer, director and producer Moira Pearn on 01634 270127. For tickets phone Veronica Cordier on 01634 271807, or pop along to The Old Chapel / Library (Chapel Road).

Too early to be thinking about Christmas? Oh NO it isn’t!!!
 

Still time to vote for the UJ Community Partnership!

There’s still time to cast your vote for the UJ Community Partnership, from the Isle of Grain, in the Natwest Bank CommunityForce award scheme.

As I mentioned on this site a couple of weeks ago, your vote could help this group, which promotes social-inclusion by providing a range of learning opportunities and the chance for people to meet and share experiences.

A win would mean a £6,000 award. Every vote counts and those with the most votes (in each category) get the money - it’s as simple as that!

Please cast your vote before the closing date, which is next Monday (24 October) at midday. Just click here.
 

Cast your vote for the UJ Community Partnership!

Voting has now opened in NatWest’s 2011 CommunityForce awards programme. The scheme gives hundreds of community projects and charities the chance of winning a valuable £6,000 award. And there’s a fantastic group here on the Hoo Peninsula seeking your support and, more importantly, your vote!

The UJ Community Partnership (pictured below on a carnival float) is based on the Isle of Grain, but supports everyone living on the Hoo Peninsula. The group provides many different activities that promote social-inclusion, through organising events and learning opportunities.

The Partnership helps people learn, or improve, IT skills and runs first aid courses for young mums looking to work with children. A course is being planned that will help people with personal financial management and a new activity-filled Lunch Club is also set to launch.

Set-up in 2003, the UJ Community Partnership is run by a team of hard working local volunteers. They're always very busy raising money, which allows them to continue providing vital services to local people.

Veronica Cordier, who manages the group, told me this week: ‘We need everyone to go online and vote for us. If our bid is successful, we will use the NatWest award to install good economical gas heating at our Grain facilities, which will improve the atmosphere of our building and make us more financially efficient - meaning our cash donations can be much better spent’.

To show your support, and to find out more about this impressive community project, click here and look for the ‘Vote for Us’ button.

Please cast your vote for the UJ Community Partnership before the closing date on Monday 24 October 2011 (at midday).