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What's On

Monday 6 January 2020

Was Milford more Magical for you at Xmas?

Diana Brushwood and Tracy Haupt are keen to receive your feedback on the festive decorations provided in the village, as planning for Xmas 2020 must start now. 

Please answer the survey questions by 22nd February. Please click here to go to survey.

The questions are: 
  • What did you like about this year’s Xmas decorations? 
  • What did you dislike about this year’s Xmas decorations? 
  • What would you like to see on the village green and around the village centre for Xmas 2020? 

Should you wish to message the ladies directly, with any further information, you can contact them below:

Diana Brushwood (dianabrushwood@gmail.com)
or Tracy Haupt (tracyhaupt01@aol.com)


Milford Minibus coming soon... Can you help?

As everyone is welcoming in the New Year, Milford On Sea Charitable Trust are getting ready to welcome a new and exciting community asset to our village. After significant sponsorship and support from South Lawn Hotel together with some very generous donations received from local events and most recently, our wonderful Parish Council, we are now able to purchase a minibus which will be used to support community projects, groups and individuals throughout Milford On Sea and our surrounding areas. 

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We are hoping that our minibus which will be supplied and maintained by the Hyundai Garage in Everton, will be ready to roll within the next few weeks. We will then be contacting relevant groups operating in and around Milford On Sea to introduce the project and offer them transport services. We will also be concentrating our efforts on trying to support individual people within our community who may feel lonely or isolated or, simply unable to attend events in local villages because they are finding it difficult to access suitable transport. 

In addition to the plethora of events already planned for 2020 in Milford On Sea, Everton, Lymore, Downton and Keyhaven, we are also hoping to provide opportunities for people to visit our villages for shopping, sightseeing, fresh air and coffee or ice-cream in one of our delightful cafes, all in the knowledge that they will be driven door to door, by one of our volunteer drivers. 

The minibus will be an 8-seater and individuals will need to be able to access the vehicle with minimal support. Charges have not yet been finalised but rest assured that we will safeguard that any costs to our users will be the minimum required to cover the upkeep of the vehicle in order that the service can be maintained for the future. 

This is a perfect opportunity for us to bring more people into our villages to enjoy the shops, pubs, cafes and other amenities. All our villages have wonderful treasures to explore and having available and accessible transport will provide an opportunity for local people to tell us what matters to them and which amenities they would like to visit and when. 

The service will require a lot of volunteers to make it work, so, if you are interested in getting involved please do not hesitate to let us know. We are particularly in need of someone who has driving tuition experience who may be able to support our drivers on their first session driving the Milford On Sea minibus and, we are also in great need of finding a place to park this wonderful community asset when not in use. If you have a spare garage or barn and would like to help us, please do get in touch. 

As well as needing volunteers we also welcome any ideas or thoughts that you may have about the best way that we can utilise this asset for the good of our community. 

Contact Lisa via email: milfordminibus@gmail.com

Wednesday 1 January 2020

Dining Deals at Ray's Italian

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Faros Restaurant closes

Disappointed to see this sign in the window of Faros Restaurant situated in The Marine building on Milford on Sea seafront.

It was a nice place to dine whilst it was open.

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Thursday 19 December 2019

Free Festive Lunch offered by RoyalLife

RoyaleLife, a family-owned bungalow development business with a heritage dating back to 1945 are offering a free festive lunch for older people on Friday 27th December at South Lawn Hotel from 12noon to 3.30pm.

Natalie, part of the PR team for RoyaleLife says; "RoyaleLife is hosting a free Christmas lunch. It has been put together at very short notice but we would love a large group of people to attend who would be keen to get together, make new friends and have a lovely Christmas lunch out. We currently have space for 50 and we need to let the hotel know by tomorrow. (Friday 20th January)"

There will be no presentations but a team member of RoyaleLife will be there to host the meal. It is simply a three course festive meal paid for by RoyaleLife.

For details please contact:
Natalie on 023 8038 19320 or at: natalie@leepeckmedia.com

Festive Lunch Menu: Pre-order required by Monday 23rd December:

Sweet Potato, Carrot & Coriander Soup,
Croutons & Herb Oil
Trio of Cured Fish, Fennel & Cucumber Salad,
Citrus Crème Fraiche
Ham Hock & Smoked Duck Terrine,
Cranberry & Red Onion Chutney
*****
Roast British Turkey,
Traditional Accompaniments
Braised Hampshire Beef Steak,
Pancetta & Tarragon Jus, Horseradish Mash
Fillet of Bass,
Fondant Potato, Mussel & Bacon Chowder
Mushroom, Leek & Goats Cheese Strudel,
Chive Beurre Blanc
All served with Seasonal Vegetables & Potatoes
*****
Spiced Fruit Cheesecake,
Christmas Pudding Ice Cream
Glazed Lemon Tart,
Passion Fruit Curd
Chocolate Honeycomb Profiteroles,
Cointreau Cream
*****
Coffee & Mince Pies


About: RoyaleLife is a family-owned business with a heritage dating back to 1945. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality bungalow developments in some of the UKs most beautiful regions. Our customers are at the heart of what we do, our focus is on delivering the highest levels of service from the first phone call to supplying the keys to your brand new luxury bungalow and beyond.

We ensure that our developments are built to the highest specification, retaining the natural beauty of the area and include a variety of on-site facilities for our residents’ enjoyment. There is a strong sense of community on each of our developments, your neighbours soon become friends and there’s always something to get involved in.

RoyaleLife is the largest bungalow provider in the UK, with developments in the finest locations throughout the country and more coming soon.

Tesco grant for MoS Primary School

Lucky schoolchildren will have their eyes opened to the wonders of the coastline and forest, thanks to a grant of nearly £4,000 from Tesco. 

Milford-on-Sea Primary School Academy Trust will use the £3,750 to provide a real-life beach experience for their Y5/6 pupils and a Forest School environment for their younger pupils. 

Amanda Tanner, the school’s governor, said it is essential that young people get to experience the coastline and forest and enjoy its wildlife for themselves. 

She applied for the funding from Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme, which has been running for four years in collaboration with the charity Groundwork. 

Amanda added: “We’re very grateful to Tesco for this grant. The importance of outdoor learning for children in our community cannot be underestimated. The benefits have a positive effect on their health and wellbeing. 

“We believe it is vital that they learn to respect and enjoy the forest and beaches that surround them, so we aim to provide opportunities for all our children to explore their environment and learn how to keep safe. 

“At the end of every beach school session, a beach clean is conducted and many of the materials collected are used for arts-and-crafts projects. We welcome volunteers to take part and share the experiences, which is deeply rewarding for pupils and adults alike.” 

Milford-on-Sea (C of E) Primary School Academy Trust is one of three local community organisations and charities to benefit from the Bags of Help coastal funding. Forest Arts Centre in New Milton received £2,000, while New Forest Transition in Lymington was given £1,000. 

Bags of Help sees funding awarded to thousands of local community projects every year. In 42 seaside towns during May and June, customers voted for coastal projects nominated by groups working around the coasts of Britain to receive funding. 

David Page, Tesco’s Head of Community, said: “We are very proud of the impact Bags of Help has had in communities across Britain. The funding scheme responds to the needs of local communities, which is why in Hampshire we listened to colleagues and customers and decided to dedicate a round to groups and charities improving and preserving our wonderful coastlines.” 

Bags of Help has provided more than £80million to more than 27,000 community projects across the UK. 

Customers cast their Bags of Help votes for various good causes by using blue tokens handed out at checkout points in their local store. 

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, said: “Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve their local spaces and the places that matter to them. We’re pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to groups enjoying, protecting and improving Britain’s coastlines.” 

Further information is available at www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp

Wednesday 11 December 2019

A gift to enjoy in 2020

Are you looking for a perfect present for a special loved one/friend this Christmas? Then shop local and support one of our thriving local eateries by purchasing a gift voucher at Ray's Italian Kitchen.

Gift vouchers are a popular present for those who have everything and something that be enjoyed later in the year at the date of your choice. 

Just pop into Ray's Italian Kitchen to pick up the perfect Christmas present - they're open until Christmas Eve!




Ray’s Italian Kitchen
11 High Street, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QF
01590 645300

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Village Christmas gifts with a local touch

Milford on Sea village business, New Forest Hamper Company has won the New Forest Marque Award for Food and Drink in the New Forest Brilliance Business Awards.

The company provide luxury hampers filled with 100% New Forest, Hampshire and Dorset local goodies.

They are able to supply whatever you require within whatever budget, and make it as easy as possible! You can choose from a variety of products including award-winning jams, delicious fudge, mouth-watering chocolate, tasty ales and quaffable wines, luxury pampering goodies, to beautiful gift cards by local artists and lots more!

If you would like to find out more their details are below:

New Forest Hamper Company
Unit 10, Laundry Lane, Milford on Sea, SO41 0WJ
www.newforesthampercompany.com
info@newforesthampercompany.com
01590 644513

~~~~~~~~~~~

Whilst writing it is also worth mentioning Vinegar Hill Pottery based in Milford on Sea and offering a unique range of tableware, handmade on the potter’s wheel by Master Potter Dave Rogers. 

All pots are oven proof, dishwasherproof and microwavable, and since the items are highfired stoneware they are very hard wearing.

Dave is happy to take commissions for 2020, and has some stock remaining for Christmas gifts. You can take a look at the range available online by clicking here.

Vinegar Hill Pottery 
Vinegar Hill, Milford On Sea, SO41 0RZ
www.vinegarhillpottery.co.uk
01590 642979

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Little Egret celebrates 6 years of holidaymakers

Little Egret holiday apartment in the high street has just celebrated 6 years of welcoming guests to Milford on Sea.

Owned and personally managed by local residents, Pam and Pete Hutchings, it has been a very successful and enjoyable venture, each year gaining the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence based on our consistent 5* guest reviews.

Situated in the village centre, with the benefit of guest private parking, it’s a perfect base to visit all the wonderful amenities that Milford offers - independent shops & services, cafes, restaurants, pubs, and not forgetting all that goes on at our village community centre. 

Little Egret is fully equipped to a high standard for an easy self catering holiday, but most of our guests make use of the great local places on offer. 

Pete said: "Our guests say its great to be able to walk to the sea, discover local walks, and enjoy being able to park the car for its own holiday! "
"When we started this venture, we thought we would be pretty busy during the summer months, but in fact its turned out that we are busy welcoming guests all year round – they come for all sorts of reasons – Milford is always a great destination for a holiday of course, or to visit friends and family, or even to have some ‘just me’ time by the sea."

If you have family and friends visiting this area, you can find pictures, information and more on their website: www.littleegretmilfordonsea.co.uk

If you’d like to know more about Little Egret, please just give Pam or Pete a call on 01590 644050 or email: peter_hutchings@hotmail.com


Monday 9 December 2019

A local guide for Healthcare needs

The Wistaria and Milford Patient Participation Group (PPG) have asked that we publish the chart below, which has been produced by the Southern Health to inform of the best options for particular health care needs.
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Ellie wins prestigious golf trophy

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Village schoolgirl Ellie Mans (14) has had a great ending to her golfing year by being crowned 'U18 Dorset Player of the Year 2019'. The trophy was presented by British Open Champion - Georgia Hall, MBE

Ellie is the South West U18 Girls Nett Champion, Dorset Girls U18 Nett Champion, Winner of Dorset Summer League Knockout Trophy & Dorset County Ashley Wood Trophy.

She is the Girls Nett & Gross Champion at Ferndown & Brokenhurst Manor Opens and winner of the McCleod Cup and Clive Cargill Trophy.

Ellie at 14, is Dorset’s lowest handicapped girl at 3.7 & she was also the youngest member of the winning Dorset Intercounty Championship Team.

Sunday 8 December 2019

500th Edition of MoS News Bulletin

Today we publish our 500th Edition of the Milford on Sea News Bulletin.

Having started on 20th May 2008 with our first edition it now means we are entering our twelfth year - and I can honestly say it feels a lot longer!

Our most popular article ever was 'Hurst Bridge Meeting Erupts' ... click here to read. This has been read 12,600 times so far, and bearing in mind our village only has around 5,000 residents it seems to have attracted readers far and wide who obviously have nothing better than do than to read our local nonsense!

The Milford on Sea News Bulletin has contained all sorts of village news over the years, and this article proved popular and also embarrassing for some from New Years Eve in January 2014 on the village green! Click here to read.

Recent years have been so busy which has meant that there has been little time to write ridiculous articles, however if you would like to read some past nonsense: please just click here and scroll through the more ridiculous articles that have been published.

From day one we have always loved our independence, and as we take no revenue from anyone, which means we can say & do exactly what we like!

Milford on Sea News: We are now on No.500 of our weekly News Blog which keeps people informed of village stories. Some are factual, other embellished, and it is known for some others to simply be made up!

To date there have been 1,434,599 page views, and an average of around 19,000 page views per month - and it seems most people choose to come back! www.milfordonseanews.org

Milford on Sea Website: When we decided to create our first village website back in 2008, it was purely as a hobby and to provide some more local information about the village. The site is pretty dated in style nowadays, but it still serves a purpose. To date: www.milfordonsea.org has had over 2 million visitors. We average around 250 visits to the website every day.

Milford on Sea Calendar: This website details anything we hear about that is happening in the village, plus things that may be of interest nearby. The calendar also contains sections of 'Clubs & Classes', and 'Church Services'. www.milfordonseacalendar.org

Connecting the Village: We have around 2,000 local people who regularly receive our e-mail News Bulletins, and we know of some people who don't want it at all! (Milford on Sea's total village population is circa 5,000)

We never really considered that people would enjoy what we built, however it is satisfying to provide a service to the local community which a number of people seem to enjoy.

We are always looking for more village people to join us (That's people who live in the village, not the YMCA pop band!), so if you can spread the word to any friends, family or neighbours who you think would like to get our newsletter, please ask them to complete the form here: www.milfordonsea.org/join-us. We can then ensure all of our community are kept informed of local news, which on some occasions contain actual facts!

Thanks for your support and for as long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing!

Milford lights up for a Magical Christmas

Tracy Haupt and Diana Brushwood would like to thank everybody who enabled their vision for a Magical Christmas for Milford on Sea to come to fruition. After months of planning and fundraising, they have not only decorated the village green, but also the centre of the village itself. 

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A special mention must go to The South Lawn Hotel, who sponsored all the children’s trees on the green. These are all root ball trees and will be planted in the hotel’s grounds in January. Also to The Milford Floral Art Club who sourced a number of old bicycle wheels and then turned then into the most beautiful Christmas wreaths for both sides of the bridge. The W.I and U3A Craft Groups helped enormously with huge quantities of cones, Vera Burch made all the laminated signs for the trees and The Guides dismantled pallets to create wooden Christmas trees. Milford Pre-School made the hessian bunting, IWYK provided a P.A system and of course recognition has to go to ATECH Electrical who provided all the cabling and installation. 

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There are too many residents to individually name, who stepped forward to help Tracy and Di with an array of tasks, but a mention must go to Sue Crabb; Chairman of Milford Gardening Club who designed the decorations for the bollards alongside the green, a number of W.I ladies who produced Christmas wreaths for the lampposts and Tracy’s husband; Colin, who created all garlands for the canopy poles and benches. Finally, thanks to Simeon and his team from Keyhaven Farm, who erected the main Christmas tree. 

And finally a huge thank you to all the businesses and local residents throughout of the community who gave so generously to the JustGiving Fundraising page and other collection points. The project could never have been delivered, without their support.

Enjoy a Magical Christmas everyone!

Click here to read original articles.

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A Milford Bloke Trapped in Guildford

Skimming through the archive I came across this ridiculous story from December 2010. As this is our 500 edition I thought I would share it again:

As some of you may know I have to return to Guildford every now and then to do some occasional ‘real work’ in my business.

Our house in Surrey is on a hill with nice views of Guildford Cathedral and the South Downs. Normally this is a pleasure, but Wednesday turned out to be slightly different.

The more observant amongst you will have noticed that there has been snow across the country recently, and we had already been genuinely snowed in for two days. No worries though, provisions were high and my wife was unusually calm and friendly. Wednesday morning greeted us with the delightful scene of the crisp white undulating landscape, and with the glistening snowy rooftops of the town a joy to be seen. In an idyllic family scene the dogs were soon frolicking in the eight inch snow, and the laughter of children rang excitedly across the sparkling snow covered streets. That was of course, until my wife ran screaming into my study, shouting something about a pigeon that was stranded in our garden. I think she is under the misguided impression that I am some kind of ‘Bill Oddy’ style wildlife expert or a professor of ornithology at the local bird school. I helpfully said I would ‘see to it in a minute’ (& as you guys know, this is never the right answer from a husband). Apparently the dogs couldn’t return to the garden due the risk that they would eat our uninvited visitor. However conversely, they needed to go into the garden absolutely immediately, or their bladders would increase to the size of a hot air balloon and they may then disappear into the sky on their way to the industrial North. (Little does she know, that when she is out, I leave them for hours on end without a visit to the garden, and neither of them has exploded yet!) As I did not immediately jump to this mammoth crisis, ‘Eskimo Nell’ kitted herself out with arctic clothing & headgear, and made her way out into the drifts of eight inch snow, all without the aid of snow shoes or the back up of an air ambulance. Once her one lady rescue mission reached her patient - it was stone cold dead. I ignored her sobbing, and helped out by passing my little Inuit a black plastic bag. A hot drink or two later, life had returned to as normal as our life can be.

Well, that was before we saw my wife’s car drive past our house. This was only slightly strange. To explain, my wife’s car had gone in for a service a couple of days earlier & the ice and snow on our hill had made it impossible for it to return the day before. It was also impossible for it to return today, but for some reason the garage hadn’t seen the latest weather report in Guildford. As we were discussing how the car had managed to get up the hill at all, we spotted Pat (the man from the garage) taking the (unused) temporary hire car he had left with us off of our drive. We watched slightly bemused as he reversed out, and then just slid almost gracefully from view. For some reason we did not spot him passing our house again to get into my wife’s car just a little way up the hill. The first we saw, was when my wife’s car was being driven towards the drive of our house, - and then past it uncontrollably, straight into the back of the temporary hire car. By the time we had donned our outdoor gear to investigate, our friendly ‘garage man’ has left his hire car, which was now at a right angle across the road. He was determined to complete his mission to deliver my wife’s car to her. Although I think he was soon to wish he hadn’t bothered, especially when he tried to enter the drive again, but this time just slid and wedged the car against the gate post. My wife was not too happy, but I reminded her that quite a few of her car panels hadn’t been damaged at all. Obviously things could not get worse. That was until I decided to help the guy rescue both cars. First we released my wife’s car from the vice like grip of our gate post, discovering in the process that buying a four wheel drive Audi for snowy conditions was actually a waste of money. The best we could do was dump it somewhere near the kerb in the hope no one else fancied taking a chunk out of it. Next, we were off to save the hire car blocking the road. Spade in hand, we dug & pushed to get this little mechanical monster facing the right way. It would be hard to believe that as I went inside to get some gloves, that Pat 'the garage man’ had now managed to lock the keys in the car! A full one & a half hours later the car was released and somehow we had got it to the bottom of the road to let Pat on his way back to wherever he came from.

Thinking the drama was over for the afternoon we settled back down to do some work. So far no cars has made it successfully to the top of our mountainous road. That was until we saw a flash BMW 4x4 stride effortlessly past our house and park further up the hill. The driver then trudged knee deep in the snow past our house, and we gave him a spontaneous round of applause. No sooner had we started clapping, he disappeared without taking a bow. About ten minutes later we saw his BMW 4x4 again. This time he was not in it. The car had simply slid down the hill from its previous parking slot, only stopping when it crunched into the neighbours car opposite. To spectacularly finish the ‘Strictly Come Dancingesque’ manoeuvre, the car then spun gracefully to directly face our house, and conveniently provided a new road block for our cul de sac. My wife had the great idea that ‘I should do something?!’. When I asked what I was supposed to do about the two ton driverless locked car spread across the road? She just said ‘typical, you are useless in a crisis’. Great, all of the sudden the skiing BMW had become my problem, and It wasn’t even our car involved this time!

As we watched various unconnected observers visit the scene of destruction there was still no sign of the car’s driver. About an hour later the bewildered man reappeared, and it will come as no surprise that he was shocked to find his car not quite where he had left. Once again I was sent outside under my wife’s instructions ‘to do something’. As I approached the shocked driver he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, so I just asked him ‘have you been driving long?’. I have to admit an undisguised snigger when he told me it was actually his wife’s new car. Our neighbours crushed bumper was still caressing the BMW’s back corner as my new mate from Reading tried to examine the damage. Not being able to see clearly he decided he should try and move his car to see the carnage his lovely wife’s car had caused. All was going to plan, that was until his front wheels were facing down the hill. Before he knew it, the car was on an uncontrolled slalom down the steep incline. I could hear his expletive ridden screams & curses as he missed my wife’s car (just), avoided a stranded BMW 7 Series and finally swerved again to miss the Toyota 4x4 towards the bottom of the hill. If it were not for the enormous crash he made as his new 20 inch alloys hit the kerb with an almighty smash, he may well have ended up in a nice couples garden across the other side of the road at the bottom of ours. Shaken and shocked yet again, he struggled back up the hill, falling over only once, saying ‘I didn’t mean to do that!’. As he left to inform the owner of the innocent and distressed vehicle with a smashed front, I wished him well on explaining to his wife what he had done to her new car.

Later that evening my mate Colin e-mailed me to say Milford on Sea had received a 'dusting' of snow, but they were coping! He didn’t mentioned if his car had survived the day undamaged, but I guessed it had. As the evening drew to a close it was a pleasure to retire to bed, even if it did mean sleeping with ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ dressed in two nighties, woollen socks and a bobble hat.

Saturday 7 December 2019

First Year success for Ray's Italian

Ray’s Italian Kitchen is celebrating its 1st birthday this Friday (6th December) with a children eat free offer and a free glass of fizz for every diner.

Owner, Stacey Crouch, who opened the restaurant in memory of her late father, Ray said: “I couldn’t be happier with how things have gone in our first year. 

“The response from local people has been amazing and I would like to thank everyone for their continuing support.” 

To book call 01590 645300 or email: info@raysitaliankitchen.co.uk



Ray’s Italian Kitchen
11 High Street 
Milford on Sea 
SO41 0QF




Hay needed for Christmas Eve Crib Service

All Saints' Church normally get two hay bales for their Christmas Eve Crib Service and their usual source has dried up. 

Can anyone can donate or lend them two hay or straw bales for Christmas Eve? 

The Christmas Eve Crib Service is for families and anyone going is asked to bring children dressed as part of the Crib/Nativity scene. It is a traditional and celebratory service for all to enjoy and it wouldn’t be the same without the hay bales! 

If you can help, please contact:

All Saint's Church Office 
Church Administrators: Mrs Lesley Prince; Mrs Caralyn Kydd-Coutts 
Church Hall, Greenbanks Close, Milford on Sea, SO41 0SQ 
Tel: 01590 644992

Have you any spare wigs?

The Community Centre are preparing for this years pantomime and are looking for some wigs.

It is not clear whether female or male wigs are needed, but hey, a wigs a wig!

If you can help please drop them into Brenda at the Community Centre.

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Milford Art Group enjoy demonstration

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This week Milford Art Group were treated to an inspiring and most entertaining demonstration by Jamel Akib. 

Jamel painted a number of pictures in oils and you can find more photographs from the day on the group’s Facebook page: click here to read


Milford Art Group 2020 Programme and looking ahead to 2021. The art group has a most interesting collection of demonstrations for members to enjoy in 2020 and they are already looking ahead to 2021.

Friday 6 December 2019

Milford Hospital League of Friends’ Advent Fair

Well over 160 people came to the Milford Hospital League of Friends’ Advent Fair  held on 30th November in Milford Community Centre, organised by the League of Friends in support of the War Memorial Hospital, the needs of the Medical Centre and of the Community Nurses.

Nearly £1,000 was raised during the morning by the various stalls, all under the giant photo of the Frailty Service Vehicle which the League had supported to the tune of £16,000 by providing the medical equipment in the vehicle.

The raffle and cakes accounted for large takings, while gifts and tombola did very well, supported by the book sales.

Local traders had been very generous – Double H Nursery of New Milton had given beautiful plants, so all those takings were pure profit; and the delicious mince pies as part of the refreshments had been donated discounted by village store Hollands.

The refreshments allowed people to rest and restore themselves after their generous spending sessions, and League chairman Mrs Julie Badham thanked all the community for their attendance and support. It was so important to continue supporting the War Memorial Hospital for the valuable activities that took place in there, serving local needs through the various classes and clinics.

Also, funds raised by the Advent Fair and other League events during the year were ploughed back into the community, when providing items requested by the Medical Centre and Community Nurses.

The League of Friends’ volunteers work energetically to maintain and support local services for local people, and always welcome new members. The membership contact is Jill on 01590 644641.