Claxton Village, Norfolk

The poster below gives details of this year’s Photo competition.  We are hoping that the quality of the entries will be high enough for us to produce a 2018 Calendar, as we did successfully last year.  Don’t forget – anything goes so long as it was taken in either Claxton or Carleton St Peter.CLAXTON PHOTO 2017-min

Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us for the Table Top Sale in May with nobody brave enough to risk setting up outside!  However, a good number of stallholders and customers thoroughly enjoyed their buying and selling with a range of refreshments also on sale.  £122 was raised towards Village Hall funds.

Our ever popular Quiz Night returned on a very warm evening in June.  Around 70 people made up 13 teams and a fun and closely fought quiz was eventually won comfortably by “Sir Carl Stoke”.  Many thanks to our dedicated quiz master Mike Balmer for his very clear screen-presented questions.  Mike never fails to test us with the odd extra challenging question in rounds which have such innocuous titles such as “Where in the World?”.  For example, what just looked like a shaky and poorly drawn circle turning out to be the outline of the M25!  And yes, at least one team identified it correctly!  A delicious meal of ham, home-made vegetable quiches, freshly prepared salads and a wonderful selection of home-made desserts completed a very enjoyable evening, with the excellent sum of £500 being raised for the Village Hall

Once again we are hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning which will take place on Saturday 30^th September from 10.00am at the Village Hall and will also feature an exhibition from the Photographic Competition.

To remind you, this year’s the theme for the competition is “Our Villages” and we are looking for photos which reflect our two villages and can have any subject matter as long as they are taken in Claxton or Carleton St Peter.  Anyone can enter and there will be separate categories for adults and under 14s.  The winners will be chosen by a guest judge. Following the success of our 2017 calendar, we intend to produce another for 2018 featuring the winners and most popular photos from this year’s competition.  Please send or deliver your entries to Jo Bissonnet at Duck Cottage, 3 Ferry Road, Carleton St Peter, NR14 7AY by the closing date of 31^st August.  Jo can also be contacted on 01508 484081 or [email protected] for more information.

The Community Café continues to thrive and is held from 10.00 – 12noon on the second Tuesday of every month at the Village Hall for teas, coffees, delicious home-made cakes and savouries with everyone welcome.

The AGM of the Village Hall will take place on Thursday 20 July at 7.30pm.  All residents of Claxton and Carleton St Peter are welcome to attend.  It will be a chance to hear what the Committee has been doing over the past 12 months and their plans for the future.

It will also be a chance to ask questions, so don’t miss it!

The Agenda will be available on the night.

The AGM will be followed by a regular (closed) meeting of the Trustees.

Quiz question.  Why is it that no matter which day we choose for our Annual Quiz it is always swelteringly hot?  Answers please.

With windows and doors open and fans working overtime around 70 people gathered in the Village Hall last night for our annual Quiz.  You know what they say about quizzing – it’s only easy if you know the answer.  And it’s good to get the brain working.  We hope everyone enjoyed it.  Adding to the evening was the customary splendid food including lots of delicious desserts, which was enjoyed by everyone.

Who won?  It was very tight up to the last round but the winners came through by skilfully deploying their Joker on the General Knowledge round, so congratulations go to Sir Carl Stoke (Table 7) who surged past Colney United to win comfortably.  It’s a long time since we had 13 teams competing, though some had less than the maximum of 6 allowed.  We are consulting the Long Range Weather Forecast for next year’s date!

Race Night was a great success in April hosted by the inimitable Ray Wharton.  Some people were lucky, others not so, but a good time was had by everyone.  A tasty Ploughman’s half way through the evening and drinks from the bar added to a fun and lively night out.  A grand total of £779 was raised with £350 donated to the EACH Nook Appeal and the balance to Village Hall funds.

May’s Community Café embraced the Bic C’s “Big Cuppa” campaign with £120 being raised from Café funds and donations for this excellent local charity.  We were extremely lucky to have Big C founder, Claxton resident and Community Café regular, David Moar MBE, to tell us a little of the charity’s beginnings and the continuing innovative work of Big C our fundraising helps to support.  From its first fundraising event in Claxton & Carleton St Peter Village Hall in 1980, the Big C has mushroomed into the incredible organisation it is today and in addition to providing greatly needed support to those affected by cancer, has contributed to Norwich being recognised as fourth in the country for cancer research and development, after Oxford, London and Cambridge.

The Community Café is always keen to promote good causes and local events and is held from 10.00 – 12noon every second Tuesday of every month at the Village Hall for teas, coffees, delicious home-made cakes and savouries.  Everyone is welcome, so if you haven’t been yet, do come and give it a try.

Our ever popular Quiz Night returns to the Village Hall on Saturday 17^th June.  Please arrive from 7pm for a prompt start at 7.30pm.  Tickets are £10 and include a delicious two course home-cooked meal with drinks available at the bar.  Teams to be of six people. If you would like to come, but haven’t got a team of six, we are happy to organise people into teams for the night.  To book a place for this very popular event, ring Julia Kaye on 01508 480527.

Now that Summer is here, there is no excuse for not getting out and about in Claxton and Carleton St Peter with your cameras to take photos for the Photographic Competition. This year the theme is “Our Villages” and we are looking for photos which reflect our two villages and can have any subject matter as long as they are taken within Claxton or Carleton St Peter.  Anyone can enter and there will be separate categories for adults and under-14s.  Entries will feature in an exhibition which will take place at our Macmillan Coffee Morning on Saturday 30^th September from 10.00am at the Village Hall and the winners will be chosen by a guest judge.  We hope that lots of you will come to support national cancer charity Macmillan, who do such great work, whilst enjoying the Photographic Exhibition at the same time.  Following the success of our 2017 calendar, we intend to produce another for 2018 featuring the winners and most popular photos from this year’s competition.  Please send or deliver your entries to Jo Bissonnet at Duck Cottage, 3 Ferry Road, Carleton St Peter, NR14 7AY by the closing date of 31^st August.  Jo can also be contacted on 01508 484081 or jobissonnet@gmail.com for more information.

Can it really be a year since the last Village Quiz?  Well, almost.  The next one is only 5 weeks away.  Details are on the flyer below.  Don’t miss out.  Phone Julia now.

We have lots of exciting events at the Village Hall planned for the spring and summer.

Following last year’s great success, another Race Night jointly organised by the Village Hall Committee and Social Club is to be held at the Village Hall on Saturday 8^th April. Tickets include a light buffet and are £8 on the door or £5 in advance from Robert Ellis on 01508-480914 or Julia Kaye on 01508-480527.  Doors open at 7pm with the first race at 7.30.

A new Pilates Class is beginning on 3^rd April to be held every Monday 2-3pm.  As the first class is being offered free, there is no excuse for you not to come and give it a try!  For more information ring Rosie Matthewson on 01508-480071 or 07827-668503.

On Sunday May 14^th at 10am the doors open for a Tabletop and Car Boot Sale. There will light refreshments available and pitches or tables will be £5. (No caterers).  To book please ring Mary Button on 01508-480580 or Lesley Hamblin on 01508-480422.

Our ever popular Quiz Night returns on Saturday 17^th June.  Again, please arrive from 7pm for a prompt start at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 and include a two course home-cooked meal with drinks available at the bar.  To book a place for this very popular event, ring Julia Kaye on 01508-480527.

For those who took part in last year’s Photography Competition or purchased one of the delightful calendars for 2017 featuring the best photos, you will be pleased to hear we are planning to do something similar this year.  Again, the competition is open to all, with both adult and under 14 categories, but all photographs must be taken in the villages of Claxton or Carleton St Peter.  The theme this year is “Our Villages” and we are looking for photos which you feel reflect life in our two villages, maybe highlighting their history, wildlife, seasons, landscape or character in some way.  There will be an exhibition later in the year to be judged by a guest judge and the best photos will be featured in a calendar for 2018.  More details will follow.

And don’t forget the Community Café welcomes everyone from 10am-12noon on the second Tuesday of every month at the Village Hall for teas, coffees, delicious home-made cakes and savouries.  No doubt the Easter café on 11^th April will have some extra features too!