News

Saturday night saw the long awaited return of the ‘village quiz’. The last one took place in March 2020 (just two days before the devastating ‘Covid lockdowns’ began). Who would have dreamt back then that it would be nearly two years before we would meet again.

With safety in mind the numbers in the hall were restricted to 60, and once announced back in November, the quiz was an immediate sell out. However, continued uncertainty over ‘will we, won’t we’, go back in lockdown and some ‘quizzers’ testing positive during the week, the number reduced to 45 on the night; four tables were set up on either side of the hall – leaving everyone well spaced and comfortable. There was definitely an excited buzz around the hall, quiz night was the first social event many had attended for a long time.

An added bonus to the night was the provision of freshly cooked fish and chips by Ashley and his partner who brought his van to the hall. A slight panic for the organisers when the van broke down on Friday – but phew, the electrical fault was fixed in time for Saturday night.

What a treat; those of us in the village who regularly dine out on his fish and chips on a Friday evening know how good they are, but they were a revelation to visitors from outside the village who hadn’t sampled them before. Gorgeous, fresh and piping hot, with a pot of mushy peas thrown in. He will be back!

This time it was decided that all the proceeds from the quiz were to benefit St Peter’s church and be donated to the Friends’ of St Peter’s Group who work tirelessly to maintain and improve facilities at the church and in the church yard, and more specifically to help towards the unexpected costs of having the diseased beech tree removed.

Paula Smith’s team won first prize, achieving a score of 101 out of a possible 106 , with second place to Mary Gibson’s team on a 100 points. Prize money of £36 was shared amongst the two teams, and immediately donated back to be added to the proceeds for FOSP.

After hall hire costs and the cost of the food there is a total of £190 to be donated to FOSP at their next committee meeting on Wednesday. Well done everyone who made that possible and thank you to the helpers who set up the hall and did a ‘Covid clean’ prior to the event.

Hopefully – there will be another quiz night in March (possibly the 19th). Watch this space.

The ‘Years End’ – notes from Andy Smith on the visitors to the reservoir during November and December have just been added to the Nature Notes page of the website. It is fascinating to see all the different birdlife that is visiting Thornton during the winter months. Thank you Andy for letting us share your knowledge and enthusiasm.

A new year but an old problem. Chaotic and selfish parking along Reservoir Road and Main Street all day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Bank Holiday.

NEWS FROM MTTG.
Well, we did it! After a long, enforced break, our Group staged a production to entertain, and hopefully, delight our audiences.

“Tis the Season to be Jolly”, a Murder Mystery written by Muriel Walker and directed by Anne Dobrowlska, was performed at Thornton Community Centre for three nights in December 2021.

It was a sell-out success and many congratulatory comments were received from audience members. They had enjoyed seeing live entertainment again; being in good company in a lively, seasonal atmosphere, and racking their brains to try to identify the murderer who,
unrepentant, stalked amongst them! Oh how the audiences interrogated the suspects! Not a stone went unturned (But many a red herring was netted!) !

Three new members have joined the ranks of MTTG, and it was good to see them , two on stage for the first time, bringing their roles to life, and thoroughly enjoying the comradeship of our friendly Group.

We discovered that, for one of our members, her role in the Murder Mystery was especially significant. Ena Illidge, who joined MTTG some years ago, was marking an unbelievable SEVENTY YEARS in amateur dramatics. Ena had lost count of the roles she’s played since she was sixteen, back home in the little village of Elsecar, in South Yorkshire. Her Mother said, “I’ve heard there’s a lovely drama group at the Miners’ Welfare… come along… I’ll take you!” And take Ena she did. She was immediately asked to prompt for a production of “Reluctant Heroes ”, but, when, a fortnight later, one of the group became ill, was catapulted into the role of a middle-aged WAC officer. Luckily, the uniform fitted! Previously, Ena had played the role of the Grandmother in “Murder at the Bugginses” at her Sunday School. She remembers that she did a lot of rocking in a rocking-chair and solved the murder! Maybe it was that early sleuthing success that lead her to triumph in later years as Miss Marple in amateur productions. She names Jane Marple as one of her favourite roles, but adds that her most favourite role of all was as Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde. She also relished the opportunity to deliver the Alan Bennet monologue , “A Cream Cracker Under the Settee” – a great feat of both memory and characterisation.

We could not let Ena’s seventieth year on stage go unacknowledged, so, on the last night, called her on to stage to receive a bouquet with our thanks and admiration. She is an unassuming person and was quite overwhelmed by the gesture. We are fortunate to have her as a talented, loyal and supportive member.

That conveniently brings me to the point that, we are always looking for new members for MTTG . A drama group needs lots of people, on stage and backstage, to enable productions to be staged. We meet on Wednesday evening at Thornton Community Centre.

Maybe you want to act or sing or dance? Maybe you can paint scenery, sew costumes and make properties? Maybe you’d like to be front of house, looking after our audiences? Is writing your talent? Would you just like to make new friends and be part of a welcoming Group?

If you are interested , ring Andy or Anne on O1530 469714 and they’ll answer any questions.

We have a lower age limit for membership of sixteen – but there is no upper age limit!

What’s next?
Our next production dates are 6th -9th April 2022 and we are planning to stage a comedy or farce as we feel that laughter is much needed! .
However, the volatile nature of the pandemic situation affects us all, so please watch this space.
The aim of our Group continues to be to bring a variety of live dramatic productions, which are worthy or your support, to the locality.
We hope to see you, and to hear your laughter in April 2022.

Muriel Walker

A huge thank you to everyone who collected a Christingle pack, sang Carols, and very kindly made donations for the Christingles, raising £44.10 for The Children’s Society on Christmas Eve. A beautiful event despite the rain!

And thank you to everyone who put donations in the collection tin in the shop for the tree.  You raised £45!

Thank you everyone. Every little bit makes a bigger difference than we will ever know.

Love to you all

Our village in the past

Two Thornton village calendars (1999 & 2000) were recently found in a filing cabinet at the Community centre. Lost keys meant that two cabinets at the hall have remained locked for many years. On these calendars there are 25 photographs of bygone Thornton. They have been scanned, cropped and enhanced to produce the images shown in the ‘About the Village’ section… click on the sub menu ‘gallery’ to find them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw9YlG10ce8

If you are fed up with turkey next week – look out for Ashley in the fish and chip van on Thursday instead of Friday. He will be on his usual round at the usual time but a day early.

The refurbished reservoir car park re-opened today.

It looks very smart with the newly tarmacked surface and there are two or three extra parking bays together with five bays for blue badge holders.

Look out though for the geese and ducks – they have become so used to having the car park to themselves they are not in a hurry to move out of the way!

Don’t forget to collect your Christingle pack from the lychgate this evening from 4 to 4.30 pm, and maybe join in with some Carol singing.

The online service will be at 6pm and available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnja5flMDVU