January Diary

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Ed

Regular activities (village hall unless stated).
Mondays    Pilates 6pm
Tuesdays    Upholstery 10.30 am , Badminton 8pm,
Wednesdays Adult tap dancing 6.15
Thursdays    Art 10.00
Fridays    Art 10.00

Other Events
Sat 3rd            Wincanton Races
Mon 5th         Ladies Lunch Group  Old Inn, Holton
…………………….Horsington School Term starts
Wed 7th          Music Night  Half Moon Inn 8.45pm
Thurs 8th       W.I  –  New Year Lunch   Village Hall 7.30pm
Thurs 15th     Wincanton Races
…………………….Parish Council Meeting Village Hall 7.30pm
Tues 20th      Film The Railway Man King Arthur’s School 7.30pm
Thurs 29th    Wincanton Races

St John’s Church services

4th January           9.15am Holy Communion with Sunday School
11th January         11.am Morning Prayer
18th January         9.15am Holy Communion
25th January         8.30am Holy Communion (BCP)

 

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Racing prospects at Wincanton and elsewhere

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Ed

There is a good card at Wincanton on Thursday 29 January. Winterbourne Longjohns, the Blog’s resident racing correspondent, has sent us this dispatch:

Having drawn a bank, – in point of fact made a loss, – with an over ambitious each way double at Cheltenham on Saturday Winterbourne is hopeful that Harry Fry’s  BLUE BUTTONS will compensate for this unlocked for reverse by running his usual genuine race in the 3. 40 at Wincanton on Thursday.

Meanwhile and more immediately, AROSEFOROSCAR* is expected to confirm the favourable impression he made at Exeter last week by defeating DANCING SOLO in the first at Taunton This afternoon.

Should weather conditions allow and for the moment this looks no more than even money, then ACTiVIAL, who ran so well for us at Ascot last time out, looks like the proverbial**  good thing at 8/1 in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday week on February 7th.

*Aroseforoscar did indeed beat Dancing Solo, but still only came 3rd at 2/1 -Ed.
**I think the proverb is “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” -Ed.

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Milborne Port Opera up for 4 awards

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Ed

Milborne Port Opera,  Horsington’s favourite local amateur group, has been nominated by the Somerset Fellowship of Drama for 4 awards in the annual David Beach Awards for musical theatre.  (Somerset’s answer to the Oscars –Ed)

The nominations are for the group’s last production, the rarely-performed “Utopia Limited” by Gilbert & Sullivan. They are:

Best Cameo:  Former Horsington resident Andrew Armstrong as Mr Goldbury
Show Stopper:  Whole company for “Eagle High”
Best Musical Direction:  Caroline D’Cruz
Best Small Venue

The nominations are made by an expert panel of adjudicators who see each show. The winners will be  announced at a dinner in Taunton on Saturday 14th March .

There are 25 award categories in total, and 82 groups across the county competing to win them.

“Utopia Limited” was a landmark production for Milborne Port Opera, as it completed their ambition to perform every single Gilbert and Sullivan Opera.

The next show at Milborne Port Opera is an original work, “Spring Fate”, a comic opera written by MPO member Neil Edwards, who also directs. It is his third show for the MPO.

Performance is 8 to 11th April, the week after Easter. Tickets go on sale in March. More about this show soon.

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Your chance to sing Gershwin -just turn up

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Ed

Porgy

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Winterbourne Longjohns picks some likely Christmas winners

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Ed

2 January: This Post has been updated with the latest results – a 34 -1 treble!!! -ED

W.J., our resident racing correspondent ,writes. .

B.B.S.S. and Forgive us our Christmases for those who Christmas against us. This might well be  Winterborne  Longjohns’ Festive message, for he is once again is forced to camp out while having his ceiling repainted for the third time in as many years, which, as he says , does concentrate the mind wonderfully.

To Ascot, in fact on Saturday, where he hopes to see Harry Fry’s (20 Winners from 74 Runners and a strike rate of just over 27 percent), ACTIVIAL win the Ladbroke Hurdle at the end of the afternoon having been backed down from 14/1 to his present market position of 5/1 favourite over the past forty eight hours.This yard seems to be attracting the attention of some serious heavy bettors at the moment. So if you follow the money its best to follow Harry !  Do remember that this horse was first tipped to the readers of this column in October. Maybe though a saver on SHELFORD, trained and ridden by Dan and Harry Skelton would not go amiss.

Those taking the air at Wincanton on Boxing Day should not miss out   on Hazard Chase Racing’s gallant little hurdler GENERAL GINGER, second here at Wincanton behind a Paul Nicholls hotpot in early November, who has been prepared with this race in mind for some time now. Don’t expect a big price  though ! VUKOVAR ,mind how you pronounce it , may provide that at Kempton that same afternoon. 40/1 is currently on offer and should be considered.

ROCK ON RUBY very much the stable hero at Seaborough should win again at Cheltenham on  New  Years Day which should start 2015 off on a prosperous note for all followers of the Harry Fry yard.

LATE NEWS – Monday 22 December: Actival came 3rd at Ascot on Saturday, Shelford came 4th.

EVEN LATER NEWS – Friday 2 January:Hope you and the Horsington  followers were on Winterbornes  new year Harry Fry treble. Thomas Browne  won the first at 5/1 followed Assam black at 11/4 and then another outstanding win by the stable favourite Rock On Ruby at 5/2. All in all a very satisfactory day !  WJ
http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd?event_id=5624424&category=0

Combined odds for a treble were 34 to 1! -ED

Thanks and Happy Christmas, Winterbourne, though we are still mystified  by B.B.S.S. What can it mean?

You can follow the discussion on BBSS and its meaning in comments on the Post “Has Winterbourne Longjohns lost it? -Ed.

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Get out and sing in 2015

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Ed

It’s official – singing is good for you. A number of scientific studies from around the world have demonstrated singing – especially in a choir with other people-  has a number of definite health benefits. More.

You have missed your chance to join Milborne Port Opera this year (more about their upcoming show soon), but there is a local choir in Wincanton which ticks all the boxes.

Spectra Musica, which rehearses in Wincanton Methodist Church on Tuesday evenings,  came together at the beginning of 2006 and, over the years, it has steadily grown and has developed a wide repertoire.

This chamber choir is building a reputation for the refreshing diversity of its programmes and the quality of its performances as shown by the enthusiastic reception of its audiences.  In addition to the three concerts presented each year, the group has also enjoyed performing at charity and private events and recently hosted another successful “Come and Sing” day.

Spectra Musica rehearse on a Tuesday evening in the Methodist Church in Wincanton, and are always ready to welcome newcomers, particularly basses. If you would like to know more, contact Elizabeth Carter: 01747 841431.

On February 28th 2015 there will be a wonderful opportunity to meet their new Musical Director, Peter Leech when he takes the next ‘Come and Sing’ Day in the Cheap Street Church in Sherborne.  Peter is an extremely talented and experienced musician who will be leading us in Lotti’s Requiem and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The Requiem is not a very well known work but is a sublime piece.

Registration will start at 9am and the cost is £15 including music. For more details contact Sarah Bignell  or www.spectramusica.co.uk .

Peter’s first concert with Spectra Musica will be on 21st March 2015  in the Wincanton Catholic Church. The choir will be accompanied as usual by concert pianist Anita D’Attellis who will also be performing. For further information do contact one of the above.

 

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A happy and prosperous New Year to all

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ed

Your editor wishes all  subscribers and browsers a happy, successful and peaceful 2015.

The Editor’s new year resolution is to do more and try harder on the blog.

We hope our subscribers (entirely free) will reciprocate by encouraging their friends and contacts to also subscribe,  write the odd article or two, and  take part in some of the discussions which emerge from time to time.

Please feel free to contact the Editor – editor@idnet.com – if you have anything to publicise locally, or an issue you wish us to raise.

Happy New year!

Ed

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New Year’s Eve Party at the White Horse

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Ed

WhitehorselogoCelebrate the New Year  in style at the White Horse, South Cheriton, the only pub in the immediate area which is open on new Year’s eve. The blog has received a message from the landlord, James Cole:

“Here at the White Horse in South Cheriton I wish to welcome all our friends and neighbours to join us in celebration this coming New Years Eve.

We have been here for six months now and are extremely grateful for all the support our friends and neighbours  in the village have given us since opening.

Therefore we wish to welcome you to a  night of live music and fireworks here at the pub. Entry is free.

We are open from six onwards with the live music proceeding from nine. We are unfortunately not serving food from our usual menu; however we will have on offer a hearty portion of homemade chilli-con-carne with rice. All are welcome, including children, and we are happy for anyone to bring their dogs. ”

 

 

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Quiz excitement – can we take any more?

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Ed

There were moments of nail-biting drama in the Half Moon’s annual end-of-the-year quiz on Suday 28th December. As usual, the quiz resulted in a runaway victory for the towering intellects of the Ted Banks Appreciation Society, who solved cryptic clues and general knowledge questions with effortless ease.

Six teams took part. By the final round, past champions The Moonies were challenging TBAS for the coveted prize, but the final result, after tough questions on dead celebrities (in my view the only good kind –Ed), was a stunning and well deserved victory for the gallant Ted Banks crew, who clocked up  a magnificent 63 points, a full 2.5 points ahead of The Moonies.

A TBAS spokesman said “ Once again Landlord Andrew Tarling has proved himself to be an excellent question setter, providing an interesting and intellectual challenge which we were happy to meet.”

The next Half Moon Quiz will be at Easter, unless someone decides to organise one before then.

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Alterations to refuse and recycling collection dates 2014-15

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Ed

Alterations to refuse and recycling collection dates 2014-15

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