Grateley Village Friends

We would like to introduce you to Grateley Village Friends. We meet on the first Thursday of each month, except January and February, in Grateley War Memorial Hall. We enjoy various speakers and events organised by the committee using suggestions from our members.

We only charge a very moderate £2 per person for our meetings which pays for the speaker (if appropriate) and refreshments. There is usually a raffle when the meeting takes place in the village hall. The meetings last about two hours depending on the event. Outings are also enjoyed to various places which are heavily subsided for members. In March we enjoyed a delicious fish and chip lunch at The Plough Inn in Grateley and at our April meeting hot cross buns were eaten with relish.

We would be very pleased if you would like to join our happy band and you can be sure of a very warm welcome to our meetings. If you would like an introduction or further information please contact Hilary on 889383, Shirley on 889312 or Chris 889186 who will arrange for someone to help you to break the ice. We look forward to meeting you.

December meeting

Another year has come to an end and it has been a successful one for our small group. We have had many very interesting speakers, a trip to Carlo’s ice cream parlour and the old favourites of fish & chips, hot cross buns and of course the annual barbecue (this is almost always accompanied by heavy rain!!!!!).

Our final get together of the year was our Christmas meal and 28 of us gathered at the Royal Oak in Charlton for this event. This was a very happy occasion and, due to kind donations from the Testway Transform Money Box Fund and the continuing support of Peter and Linda from the shop with their sale of books, we were able to fund it from our reserves. The meal was excellent and was followed by a bumper raffle of over 30 prizes.

We start all over again on 1st March for Fish & Chips and we have a full programme for the coming year. We look forward to the continuing support of our members and hope maybe to even increase our numbers.

Programme for 2012

1 March	Fish and Chips lunch, raffle	12.30 p.m. The Chestnut Tree
5 April	Hot X Buns, Huey by Rob Tierney, chocolate raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
3 May	The Other Side of the Blanket, Peter Redmond, raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
7 June	N.T. Mottisfont Abbey, Betty Fuller, raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
5 July	Cream teas at Minstead
2 August	Barbecue, raffle	12.00 noon Village Hall
6 September	Butterflies Out and About by Brian Fletcher, produce stall, raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
4 October	Lifetime Shepherd and Storyteller, David Sullivan, raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
1 November	Metal Detecting by Nick O'Brien, raffle	2 p.m. Village Hall
6 December	Christmas Lunch, raffle	12.30 p.m.