Another beautiful morning, even if a bit chilly first thing. April certainly started brilliantly as on the 1st the long awaited Quiz night had finally arrived for us all in the village hall. Yeah! Six teams of six, brilliant evening, best one to date. Excellent categories, great fun and the anagrams of Steventon house names to complete during the interval, inspiring. Guess who came first? Yes, this time under the name No More Mugs! – Cheesemans and Robbs. 2nd Usual Suspects – Wrights, Dodsons & Everton-Brownes. 3rd Lateral Flows – Harleys, plus guests and Sykes. 4th Waltham Warblers – Singers. 5th Better Late Than Never – Brinsleys, Bakers & guests. 6th Covid Brains – Coppins, Smiths & Susie. Thank you very much to Laurence and Sally for providing such a wonderful evening. We look forward to the next one! No pressure!
Friday 8th Book group met at Marilyn’s house, with lovely views of the garden that we would have been in, however, the weather decided otherwise. Thank you very much Marilyn and for the delicious cakes, plus a Birthday cake for Sue with candles! Such a lovely and very chatty time was had by all, the discussion did eventually get underway of the book…’Everything I Never Told You’ by Celeste Ng. Very thought-provoking. Ng provides new depth to the hackneyed “murder in a small town” plot line. The result is an insightful look into an Asian-American family in the aftermath of an extreme loss. A score of 7.5 was given.
Palm Sunday on the 10th saw a very jolly congregation at St. Nicholas church where the service began, we then all walked across the fields amidst much laughter and chatter to St. Michael’s in North Waltham where the service continued. Afterwards we were treated to coffee and biscuits, very welcome, thank you.
As good weather continued, Marilyn gathered a few folk to tidy up the church grounds on Monday afternoon of the 11th. All looks lovely, so thank you to those who helped. Also, a big thank you to Julian for keeping the grass under control, always a splendid job.
On 12th Tuesday evening in the village hall Rachel had organized a terrific and very warm send-off for Dave, Amanda, Jacob and Millie, although Millie was away skiing at the time. Fiona and Derek had put bunting up around the hall, and we all brought a bottle and a plate of goodies to share. A mixed bag of emotions as we said farewell after 20 yrs hard labour in the village! We will miss you. Very sad, however, happy for them on their new ventures in Alresford and look forward to seeing them at the odd Steventon event. Starting hopefully with the Bluebell coffee morning at the end of the month. Amanda is also continuing her Yoga classes in the village hall which is excellent. Good luck to you all.
Hello to Tony and Sheena who moved into Dave and Amanda’s house the same day. Very busy in the village on that day! Good job it was Wednesday and not Tuesday! We welcome you both and hope you will be very happy here, wonderful having your family and grandson just up the road too.
Saturday 16th the flower ladies worked their magic and transformed the church with colour, so beautiful and full of the joys of spring. Dusting, polishing and sweeping added the final touch as we enjoyed the lovely sunshine over coffee and cake outside. Wonderful. The following morning so many thronged to the Easter Family Communion service, lovely to see so many children. Many thanks to Michael as he put his many hats on to play the organ and take the service! Paul was delayed at Old Basing where he played the organ for an earlier service, good to see him when he arrived along with his usual smile. Afterwards the children had a marvellous time finding the Easter eggs that had been hidden outside, while we all enjoyed refreshments and chatted amongst one another, perfect.
Coffee & Cake on the 25th was well attended, thank you for the delicious cakes and coffee that was enjoyed by all while catching up with friends once again. Always a good morning.
Spring has definitely sprung, flowers everywhere looking gorgeous. Wood anemones, primroses and the bluebells looking stunning with the heady scent of the laurel flowers mixing with the yellow of the rape. Blackbirds and robins singing away, lambs in the fields, makes one feel so good which encourages us to walk even more! Singing continues as voices can be heard most weeks as Marilyn and Paul lead us forward with our next venture! Thoroughly enjoyed by all, great music. We look forward to the Bluebell Coffee morning, the first one in Julian’s garden for a few years now, fingers crossed for good weather. Hope to see you there.