Calling all helpful people in Amport and Monxton!

An appealing for volunteers to help at the fete on Saturday 19th July 2014. There will be lots of fun to be had during the day (12.30 -16.30) and it would be great to have willing people to manage a stall for an hour or two….. or even better, all day…

If you have any ideas for stalls or specific ones that you would like to volunteer on then please just let me know.  I totally understand if you can’t commit now but would be grateful for any expressions of interest!  There will be a ‘knees up’ hog roast and music in the evening too, so pop the date in your diaries.  More info on the website (www.amportfete.com) and the new Amport village Facebook page will be kept up to date with any exciting developments (as well as other local news/community events)…..  please ‘like’ the page to be kept in the loop.

Volunteers are also needed for set up on the afternoon and evening before and for take down on the Sunday morning please.

There will be a fete planning meeting in The Hawk on Tuesday 25th March from 8pm.  It would be great if you could come along and pick and choose from the ‘help me’ list.  Any feedback on Fete 2013 also gratefully received.

Also. if anyone is able to donate an auction prize we would be VERY grateful.  We have had such amazing prizes over the last few years and have raised such a lot of money for our local school and church… it would be wonderful to carry on that tradition.

Thanks so much for reading.. and thank you in advance for volunteering, donating, and for coming on the day.

Kate Cavalier
The Old Farm, The Green, Amport
01264 773 876

Wednesday 26 February 2014 in Monxton & Amport Village Hall at 7.30pm (Doors open 7pm)

Le Weekend (15)
As their 30th anniversary approaches, Nick & Meg Burrows, (Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan) decide to head off to Paris, where they run into Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), a successful former student of Nick’s. Morgan invites them to a dinner party that ultimately opens up a new vista of life and love for the ageing couple.

Tickets £5
Available from: Caroline Unwin (772375), Veronica Bacon (771285), Karin Staines (712061), or Jennifer Richards (710308)

Refreshments available in the interval

Visit the Moviola website

What would you like to see in our community?

The Amport & Monxton Community Charity has been established, with the following broad aims:
– To improve the parishes of Amport and Monxton for the benefit of the inhabitants of the areas
– To encourage the goodwill and involvement of the wider community
– To foster community spirit
– To support local community groups and projects

We hope to be able to act as a central group to coordinate fund raising and grant applications. We have already run a successful first-aid course for parents, which was entirely funded by a councillor’s grant. The charity is also the lucky recipient of the proceeds from the recent Burns Night – many thanks to Gillian and Mike Bird for a wonderful evening and for the donation.

The trustees would like to hear from residents of Amport and Monxton with suggestions for projects. What would you like to see in our community? Please come and talk to us. In Amport we are represented by Kate Cavalier, Neil Warren, and Emma Jones. In Monxton we are represented by Sarah Dowding, Gemma Pearce and Nick Simon. Speak to one of us in person, email us on kate.cavalier@gmail.com or drop a note through the door of The Old Farm, The Green, Amport.

We have a number of things in the pipeline so keep an eye out in this magazine and on the village websites.

Save the date! The Amport Fete will be held on Saturday 19th July 2014.  We shall have all of our usual traditional English fete stalls, as well as some new additions, entertainment in the arena and a supper on the green in the evening.  Plans are well under way and we will be keeping our Facebook events page and website up to date in the coming months as more fete fun is confirmed.  The fete raises much needed funds for the church and school and other Amport and Monxton community projects.  We are always looking for willing volunteers, and will be having a fete planning meeting in The Hawk in the coming month – all offers of help gratefully received.  Why not get involved?…. get in touch with Kate Cavalier on kate.cavalier@gmail.com

Friday 24 January             – “Blue Jasmine”
Wednesday 26 February   – “Le Weekend”
Friday 28 March               – “Philomena”
Wednesday 23 April         – “One Chance”

Moviola is held in Monxton & Amport Village Hall. Doors open at 7pm and the film starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 and available from Caroline Unwin (772375), Veronica Bacon (771285), Karin Staines (712061) or Jennifer Richards (710308).

Visit the Moviola website – www.moviola.org 

Monxton resident, Emily Bacon, aged 18, will travel to Bangladesh in January 2014 to work on a Government development programme for 3 months. She will team up with Bangladeshi volunteers to tackle some of the problems facing the local community, after winning a place on the government funded International Citizen Service (ICS).

ICS allows young people aged 18-25 to contribute to long-term development projects in countries like Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Bangladesh.  The scheme offers young people the chance to develop personally and learn about team work and leadership on projects that are of genuine value to communities around the world. On return to the UK, ICS volunteers undertake an ‘Action at Home Project’, ensuring that their new skills also benefit their local communities.

Emily is organising a pre-departure fundraising raffle/auction of promises and Curry Night on Thursday December 19^th at 7pm in the Black Swan Monxton, to raise funding in support of the project that tackles poverty in Bangladesh.

Emily said: “It’s vital I achieve my target of £800 to ensure developing countries can continue to benefit from the work of future volunteers. I’ve been a busy bee organising a variety of events, such as a sponsored 100 km cycle ride, a cake sale/mufty day at Amport Primary School, and a raffle/auction of promises. Mikael and Sarah at the Black Swan in Monxton have also given me fantastic support. The project I’m working on is run by the development charity, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) which aims to build social capital and leadership amongst citizens, particularly youth. This is a unique opportunity to work alongside people from a different culture who have requested help from young volunteers to fight poverty and make a difference where it’s needed most. I’m really excited to go!”

To book your curry at the Black Swan please call the pub on 710260. The curry is £9.50 per person. £1.50 from each meal will be donated for Emily’s fundraising – and possibly more if enough people come along.

To support Emily and the project either call her for more information on: 07974 884557 or:
VISIT:  www.justgiving.com/EmilyCABacon
OR TEXT: ECAB94 £(insert amount) to 70070
To find out more about ICS or to apply, visit www.ics-uk.org.uk or call 0208 780 7400.

For more information please contact ICS media officer, Lucy Ing on 0208 780 7362 or lucy.ing@vso.org.uk

Christmas is coming, and New Year is hard on its heels.  If you think there is nothing more to celebrate once you have ripped the cellophane from your new calendar and turned it to ‘January’, you may be pleased to know that Robert Burns’ birthday is celebrated all over the world on Saturday 25^th January. And in 2014 we’re going to be celebrating it in Quarley Village Hall.    

Following on from the Amport Burns Night in 2011, the format will be the same – traditional of course, but light-hearted.  A supper, including haggis specially imported from Royal Deeside, will be served with a dessert to follow.  (Unsure about haggis?  You might be pleasantly surprised; but that’s not all there is to eat.)  Wine, soft drinks, and whisky for ‘toasts’ (a bit like speeches, but light-hearted and short) is included in the ticket price.  Dancing to a live band with a caller follows the supper and toasts, and hopefully everyone will be go home at the end of the evening with a smile on their face.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for a prompt 7:30pm start (it’s a packed programme).  Tickets cost £18 each, with proceeds going to Amport charities.  For more information, please go to www.birdsweb.co.uk/burns/ or call Gillian (01264 889463) or email gillian.bird@virgin.net