LISTINGS: 8 December - 15 December

Thursday, December 8

BOSHAM

EVENT: Bosham, Chidham & Horticultural Society’s annual Christmas party. 7pm for 7.30pm at Bosham Village Hall. Members’ Christmas buffet, wine, raffle and quiz.

CHICHESTER

EXHIBITIONS: Fernanda Merlino – The Smell of Paint: A vibrant solo exhibition featuring textured mixed media paintings; Three Sussex Artists – Winter Show 2016 Works in a variety of media by Sally Goddard, Deirdre Davidson and Caron Buckingham-Rhyder; Kathryn Gray An eclectic mix of bespoke garments, silk painting, prints and soft furnishings; Patricia Stefanski – Dog House Paintings and drawings which explore the shape and form of dogs and in doing so asks ‘What are you thinking?’. 6-18 December Oxmarket Centre of Arts. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am - 4.30pm. Free admission. St Andrews Court, off East Street, Chichester, PO1 IYH. Further information 01243 779103

GALA: Festive Jazz Cafe. Enjoy a delightful mix of seasonal words and music with the Jazz Smugglers band, star of film/TV/stage Michael Jayston and BBC Wildlife Poet of the Year Hugh Dunkerley. All proceeds go towards the 2017 Festival of Chichester. 7.30pm, St John’s Chapel, St John’s Street, Chichester. Tickets £12; students £10 (includes complimentary mince pies) from the Novium, Tower Street, 01243 775888. Info: www.festivalofchichester.co.uk [email protected]

GROUP: CancerWise Open House - 10.30am - 12pm at Tavern House, Basin Road, Chichester PO19 8DU - Mind, Body, Peace, and EFT with Kathy Adams.

MUSIC: Chichester Pickers Acoustic Music Club. Singers/players and audience welcomed. All styles, all levels welcomed. 15 minute spots often available. Every second and fourth Thursday. 7.30pm for 8pm start. Admission by donation (min £3). Chichester Inn, 38 West Street, Chichester, PO19 1RP. Details: [email protected]

Friday, December 9

BIRDHAM

CONCERT: The Emsworth-based Renaissance Choir will be presenting a Christmas concert on Friday, 9th December at 7.30pm at St James Church Birdham, on the theme of O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery). In addition to Renaissance music there will be pieces from modern composers as well as seasonal spirituals and carols, with a chance for the audience to join in. Tickets are £10 each, to include refreshments. There will be a raffle for a luxury Christmas hamper and other prizes. Proceeds of the event will go to the St James Centre, construction of which will begin in the spring.

EAST WITTERING

EVENT: St. Anne’s Church East Wittering 10th Christmas Festival Weekend. Christmas Tree Festival: 10.30am – 4.30pm. Wonderful Christmas trees decorated to reflect local families, businesses, organizations and charities will adorn the church in a spectacular display. More than 50 already promised. Queries to Churchwarden Barbara Blundell email: [email protected]

JAZZ: St. Anne’s Church, East Wittering, 7pm for 7.30pm: ‘Jazz in the Aisles.’ Entertainment by ‘Chi. Jazz,’ a local band with some of the finest jazz musicians in the South of England. Come and tap your feet to their tunes or dance in the aisles. Tickets, including canapes and a drink, £10 from St. Anne’s or King’s Bookshop 01243 673061.

Saturday, December 10

BOGNOR

MUSIC: Ade White, a fabulous guitarist and singer @ RAFA Club, Waterloo Square, Bognor Regis. 8pm. Free entry. All members and guests welcome.

BOXGROVE

CONCERT: Chichester Flute Choir featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Faure, Mozart, The Beatles and Christmas Carols for all. Boxgrove Priory, 7.30pm. Free entry. Retiring collecton in aid of Priory Appeal. Everyone most welcome. More informaton from 01243 773320.

CHICHESTER

WALK: Chichester City Tours welcome you to join a guided walk around the centre of the city lasting approximately 90 minutes. Tour starts at 2pm from the Novium Museum in Tower Street where tickets £5 per person are available or from www.chicitytours.co.uk

EAST WITTERING

EVENT: St.Anne’s Church Christmas Tree Festival, 10.30am – 4.30pm

FAIR: East Wittering Village Hall from 10.30am St. Anne’s Church Christmas Fair. A wide range of goods on offer. Stalls with crafts, home-made cakes, local produce including marmalade, jams, chutneys, hampers and bottle tombolas. Refreshments available throughout. A Grand Draw with generous prizes from the sale of raffle tickets ends the Fair.

ROGATE

EXHIBITION: Naughty... But Nice! An exhibition of comedy poems, comedy songs & comedy cartoons for grown-ups! An exhibition by multi award-winning comedy singer-songwriter, award-winning comedy poet, comedy monologue and speechwriter and award-winning cartoonist and bookjacket illustrator - Merlynda Robinson (LLAM) - of ‘Naughty ... But Nice!’ - her latest collection of hilarious comedy poems - her multi award-winning naughty comedy songs sheet music - and - her comedy cartoons as framed posters and mounted prints. Every Saturday morning throughout December at Merlynda’s Comedy Studio in Nyewood, Rogate, near Midhurst, West Sussex GU31 5JA. Free admission (donations welcome) and free refreshments (tea, coffee, soft drinks and seasonal treats). 10am to 1pm - Saturday mornings only. Over 16s/adults parties/groups welcome - please advise in advance. Suitable for over 16s/adults. Contact tel: 01730 821030. Contact email: [email protected]. For more information visit www.merlynda.com

TANGMERE

FAIR: Tangmere village centre Christmas fair takes place from 2pm-4pm. Lots of stalls, including Christmas wreaths and decorations, chocolate tombola, bric-a-brac, candles, bottle stall and, of course, festive refreshments. Tangmere Village Centre is in Malcolm Road, Tangmere PO20 2HS. For further details, please contact [email protected].

Sunday, December 11

CHICHESTER

CHRISTMAS: Come and join us for our annual Christmas carol service with Chichester’s own off centre choir. Carols, songs and seasonal readings, not forgetting mince pies and mulled wine! Admission free but with a retiring collection in aid of Stonepillow. 4.30pm, St John’s Chapel, St John’s Street, Chichester, PO19 1UR. For more visit www.stjohnschapelchichester.co.uk/.

CHRISTMAS: Come and celebrate the reason for the season at Christ Church, Old Market Avenue, Chichester, P019 SW1 on Sundays in Advent. A time of expectation and preparation for Christmas including the lighting of advent candles at 10.30am services.

SANTA: Santa will be visiting Chichester Model Engineers in Blackberry Lane, Chichester PO19 7FS; between 1pm and 4pm, for the “Santa Steam Specials” train rides. Admission will be only £9 for children who will be given a present by Father Christmas, and £4 for everybody else. The “Drive a Train yourself” model railway, “Blackberry Junction”, will be in use. This has three circuits of track, each with its own controller and donations box. Further information is on Chichester Model Engineers website: www.cdsme.co.uk or by phone to 07954 051594.

SERVICE: Toy service. All age worship at 10.30am at Christ Church, Old Market Avenue, Chichester, P019 SW1. An invitation to bring gifts of toys, toiletries, or monetary donations which are given to The Portsmouth Family Welfare Centre, an organisation helping disadvantaged families.

EAST WITTERING

EVENT: St. Anne’s Church Christmas Tree Festival, 11.30am – 3pm

SERVICE: St. Anne’s Church, 6pm, Christingle and Toy Service. Fr. Steve explains the significance of the Christingle and all will be given an orange with a candle to take home. Always a very popular service for the whole family who are asked to bring a new and unwrapped toy as a gift for families in need. These will be distributed by the Salvation Army who will be playing favourite carols at the service. The retiring collection will be donated to the Children’s Society.

SIDLESHAM

EVENT: St Mary’s Church, Sidlesham is holding a crib festival with cribs from all over the world at 3pm in the church. There will be a sweet sale, refreshments and a raffle in aid of charity. This will be followed at 4pm with the storyteller Sally Pomme-Clayton telling ‘The Story of Mary’ with music and carols. There will be a retiring collection in aid of the New Parish Annexe.

Monday, December 12

CHICHESTER

GROUP: CancerWise Stoma Group - 10.30am-12pm at Tavern House, Basin Road, Chichester, PO19 8DU.

GROUP: CancerWise Secondary Cancer Group - 12.30pm-2pm at Orchard Centre, St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Chichester, PO19 8FP.

Tuesday, December 13

CHICHESTER

WALK: Chichester City Tours welcome you to join a guided walk around the centre of the city lasting approximately 90 minutes. Tour starts at 11am from the Novium Museum in Tower Street where tickets £5 per person are available or from www.chicitytours.co.uk

MIDHURST

SUPPORT: Midhurst Living Well Hub offers support and information for people living with dementia and their carers. 10am-12pm in the Willow Room in The Grange Leisure Centre, Midhurst GU29 9BD.

Wednesday, December 14

BOGNOR

FLOWERS: West Bognor Flower Club will be welcoming popular demonstrator Angie Hyde presenting her Christmas arrangements “Ho!Ho!Ho!”. 2pm at the Mosse Memorial Hall, St Richard’s Way, PO21 3AT. Visitors welcome £4.50. Enquiries to [email protected].

MUSIC: Duncan McKenzie @ Seafish, Bognor Regis. 9pm

CHICHESTER

CHOIR: CancerWise Top C Choir - 1.30pm - 2.30pm at The Studio, New Park Centre, New Park Road, Chichester, PO19 7XY.

MUSIC: At 7.30pm, in the University Chapel, FMG will be holding a special Christmas Event, Capturing Music on Film. Mick Csaky, the celebrated documentary film maker who has made many biographical films about musicians, including Placido Domingo, Rudolf Nureyev, Bob Marley and Benny Goodman, will present a multi-media event (incorporating his opera film Mozart in Turkey). The meeting is organised by the Funtington Music Group. Tickets £15 from 01243 378900, to include wine and mince pies

TALK: The Story of Middleton Press - Chichester branch of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society host an illustrated talk by Vic Mitchell founder of this local West Sussex transport book publisher. Committee room 2, County Hall, West Street, Chichester PO19 1RQ - 7.30pm to 9.45pm. Free admission including interval refreshments. All welcome, no booking required. Contact Richard Ashby on 01243 372234. Alternatively, visit www.rcts.org.uk/branches/chichester/ or www.facebook.com/chichesterrailrcts

LAVANT

MEETING: Lavant Horticultural Society are holding their monthly meeting in Lavant Village Hall at 7.30pm when the speaker John Negus will talk about “Gardening with Flair”. In 2014 John gave a lively and informative talk on “Twelve Months of Colour”. We look forward to another enjoyable evening with John. Visitors are very welcome or for more information on the Society visit our website www.lavanthortsoc.org.uk

MIDHURST

CONCERT: Christmas is coming early for homeowners at McCarthy and Stone’s Turner House development in Midhurst, where the housebuilder is inviting local retirees and their loved ones to a special Christmas concert performed by Midhurst C of E Primary School. Guests are invited to join the thriving community of homeowners at the free event between 10.30am-12.30pm, where they can tuck into festive treats such as mulled wine and mince pies. Entertainment will be provided at 11am with a performance by Midhurst C of E Primary School choir, where pupils will be singing a selection of Christmas carols. To find out more about Retirement Living, please call our sales team on 0800 201 4743. For more information on McCarthy and Stone please visit: http://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk.

WEST DEAN

WALK: Morning Bird Walk in West Dean Woods with Graham Whitehead of the RSPB Chichester Local Group. Meet at Trundle car park at 9.30am, Map Ref: SU877111. 01243 262833

Thursday, December 15

CHICHESTER

GROUP: CancerWise Open House - 10.30am-12pm at Tavern House, Basin Road, Chichester, PO19 8DU. Coffee morning.