Christmas Carols in Hoo

On my way to a family Christmas party on Saturday morning, I stopped off in Hoo Village Square to enjoy Carols being sung by many familiar faces from the village.

The event lasted a couple of hours or so and was organised by members of Hoo Parish Church. Anyone passing was welcome to grab a song sheet and join in. Fortunately for people who were out and about, I wasn't able to stop long enough to share the sound of my dulcets!
 

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!
 

Hoo’s up for a great Christmas!

Yesterday was the Hoo Christmas Fayre - a fantastic afternoon of festive celebrations, once again organised by the Hoo Village Events Committee.

Local singing sensation Matthew Crane - the UK’s youngest classical baritone - captivated the crowds with an hour long performance of classic tunes, before switching on the Christmas tree lights. Matthew, who was the champion of the 2006 BBC talent show ‘Let Me Entertain You’, is pictured below with event organisers Maureen Tong-Ralphs, Linda Perfect and Nancy Waller.

And Matthew wasn’t the only entertainment on offer!

Not only was everyone treated to belly dancing (Yes, belly dancing in December!), there was live music from duo ‘True Blue’ - featuring Grain’s soprano sax playing Parish Council Chairman, and singing local Councillor Chris Irvine (both pictured below).



Chris Irvine with Hoo Parish Councillor Ron Sands

I was in good company for much of the time, wondering around the square with Hoo Parish Councillor Ron Sands (pictured above). Ron is a former wrestler and once had the ‘pleasure’ of going head to head (or should that be belly to belly?!) with the legendary Big Daddy.

Despite the nip in the air, the sun shone brightly across the Village Square and the event was a tremendous success. There were lots of stalls offering local produce, mulled wine, mince pies, cakes and much more besides! I’m a bit of a big kid when it comes to Christmas, and it’s at times like this that I really do wish it were Christmas every day!

I wrestled past a queue of eager children to get a photo of Santa and his helper in Santa’s Grotto. Sorry kids for pushing through to the front - but it was important to get evidence that he is real to prove any doubters wrong!

Santa gave me his assurances that, despite not being at the North Pole to supervise the toy making, all is in hand for the Christmas Eve deliveries.

But Santa wasn’t the only special guest. We were joined by royalty too!

It was good to be able to chat with John and Peggy Scott who, although from Hoo, are the Pearly King and Queen of Highgate. John and Peggy have spent 40 years fundraising for good causes and charities and were delighted to be on hand to support the Anim-Mates Animal Sanctuary (based in St. Mary Hoo), as well as the whole Christmas Fayre.

Despite getting bitterly cold towards late afternoon, everyone had a great time catching up with friends and enjoying some good old fashioned festive spirit!
 

Christmas Events

Many local Christmas events have been added to this site in the last couple of weeks. To see information about those events - simply click the button to the right of the screen, or click on the below label marked ‘Christmas Event 2011’.

Have a good time and please support as many local events as you can!

If you have an event that you would like mentioned on this site, get in touch using the contact page.
 

Carols at Cooling

There will be a Carol Service at St. James’ Church in Cooling on Saturday 17 December, from 6pm. This will be followed by a serving of mince pies at the Village Hall.

The Church isn’t heated, so please do wrap up warmly if you are able to attend. I’m quite sure though that plenty of singing will quickly get everyone warmed up!

The Friends of St. James’ Church, who are organising the event, are always very busy organising events to raise money for the upkeep of the Church and to keep this lovely old building open to the public.

For more information, take a look at their website by clicking here.
 

Support Stoke Community School’s Christmas Fair!

Stoke Community School (Allhallows Road) will be holding their Christmas Fair on Friday 9 December, from 2.30pm.

Help the school raise much needed extra cash and support all the local children (from Year’s 5 and 6), who have worked so hard to make the event a great success! There’s a rumour that Santa might even be popping along!

There’ll be lots going on, including a raffle and a tombola. And there’s a promise of some tasty homemade cakes and plenty of other festive stalls as well.

If you’d like to donate a raffle prize - contact the school by phoning 01634 270268.
 

A new WI for Stoke this Christmas!

Stoke Village Hall will host the formation meeting of a brand new branch of the Women’s Institute. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 14 December. Click the image below to find out more details.

If you’d like to get involved in the new WI group, contact Maggie Vidgen on 01634 842026.

If you do manage to get along - have a great time!
 

Happy Christmas in High Halstow!

The December edition of the High Halstow Times is now available. Just click on the image below to see the full copy.

This month’s special Christmas edition includes information about the Memorial Hall Mini Christmas Fayre (on Sunday 4 December), High Halstow Primary School’s Christmas Fair (on Thursday 8 December - more details below), Carol Singing (on 14 December), a special Christmas Eve visit to the village by Santa, Fairy George and the Parish Elves, details of Christmas services at St. Margaret’s Church, events at The Red Dog and information about Dramarama’s colourful production of Aladdin (showing in January). And there’s a lot more!

On a different theme entirely, the magazine also includes an urgent update on the Lodge Hill development proposals.

The High Halstow Times is the magazine of High Halstow Parish Council. Take a look at their website by clicking here.

Click the ‘Christmas Event 2011’ label below to see all the Christmas events taking place locally (those that I have been told about anyway).
 

Allhallows - life and soul of the Christmas party!

The December edition of Allhallows Life (also featuring St. Mary Hoo) is now available. Just click on the image below to see the full copy.

This month’s festive edition includes details of a special fundraising event at the Village Hall (on Saturday 3 December), details of the monthly Village Project Morning (on Saturday 10 December) an Indoor Market at The British Pilot (on Saturday 10 December), days and times of Christmas services at All Saints Church, a special visit to the village by Santa (on Sunday 18 December) and news about the ‘Cleaner Village Campaign’ Poster Competition. And there’s much more!

Allhallows Life is the magazine of Allhallows Parish Council. Take a look at their website by clicking here. The magazine also features items from St. Mary Hoo Parish Council. Take a look at their website by clicking here.

And you think that’s a lot of Christmas events for one village? There’s at least one more!

Allhallows Primary School (Avery Way) will be having a Christmas Bazaar on Friday 2 December, from 2.30pm.

Click the ‘Christmas Event 2011’ label below to see all the events taking place locally (those that I have been told about anyway).
 

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.
 

Lots of ‘Ho Ho Ho’ in Hoo this Christmas!

There’s lots of festive fun to be had in Hoo this Christmas, with at least four Christmas events taking place in the village. Well that’s four I’ve already been told about anyway!

The fun begins this coming Saturday (26 November) when Hoo St. Werburgh Parish Church hold an Autumn/Christmas Fair - with lots of entertainment for the whole family. This is taking place from 10am until 1pm. Click the image below for more information.

Then there’s a Christmas Bazaar, which is being held at Hoo Village Hall (Pottery Road), on Wednesday 30 November. This is being organised by Hoo District Girlguiding - with cakes, competition prizes and crafts on offer. Click the image below to find out more.

On Saturday 3 December it’s the turn of the Red Cross Christmas Fayre, at the Red Cross Centre just along Stoke Road (from the Village Square). The fun will include a raffle, tombola, refreshments and much more besides, so please pop along and show your support. Take a look at the image below to find out more. I bought some very tasty cakes at last year’s event, which, needless to say, didn’t quite survive until Christmas.

And on Saturday 10 December Hoo Village Square will come alive with the Hoo Village Events Committee presenting their Christmas Fayre. There’ll be lots going on, so you’d better make time to pop along and enjoy the festive atmosphere. There’ll be live music and entertainment (including local singing sensation Matthew Crane), seasonal stalls, local produce and a great deal more! Last year’s event was a stonking success, and there’s sure to be something for everyone again this time. Click the below images to find out more.

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.

I’m hoping to include 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.

I hope to see you soon . . .
 

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!!!