Whatlington

The Royal Oak

Tonight is Irish Music Night at The Royal Oak, which I’m sure will be a fantastic evening of live music around the bar. Musicians begin their “jamming style” session of traditional Irish tunes at about 8.30pm, so come and join us for a drink and some foot tapping around the bar.

The next Film Club night is on Friday 2nd August, when we will be showing Silver Linings Playbook. This romantic comedy drama was nominated for nine Oscars last year and Jennifer Lawrence won the award as leading lady! So, if you missed it at the cinema come and join your neighbours and sip a nice cold glass of wine or beer while watching it in the comfort of your local pub (bring your own cushion!).

The pub quiz continues to get busier and busier every Thursday; there were 10 teams competing last week! Fun starts at 8pm for teams of up to six and entry is £1 per person with the winning team having a chance to win the jackpot.

With another win last week, The Royal Oak boules team continue to be top of the table! Matches are played every Wednesday evening, and it’s been particularly pleasant to support the team with a drink in hand during these glorious summer evenings. A full fixtures list of matches is displayed at the pub.

A couple of August dates for the diary - our annual summer party, BBQ and Boules competition will be on Bank Holiday Monday 26th August from midday and the following weekend we are going to have a fancy dress cocktail party on the evening of Saturday 31st August, the theme being “come as a film title”!

News from Church Warden, Jeffrey:

On the afternoon of Saturday 20th there were cream teas at the village hall, laid on by the church as part of the Patronal weekend for St. Mary Magdalene. There were a good number of people who came to enjoy the cakes, tea and scones on offer, as well as the company, with a nice atmosphere, if a little warm! There were various stalls, including a ‘Guess the weight of the cake’, which Helene Cox won, taking home a very nice looking fruit cake. The afternoon raised some £280 for the church funds.

On the Sunday evening there was a Patronal Evensong held in the churchyard at 6pm with a good attendance of all ages to enjoy the balmy summer weather. After the service light refreshments were served and there was an opportunity for people to see inside the church and view the progress.

Special thanks must go to Valerie Bishop for organising all the catering and to her team of helpers as well, particular thanks are also due to Churchwarden Ken Jones who spent so much time working in the churchyard, assisted by Derek Bishop in cutting and clearing the grass to make a nice area for the service.

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