Saltburn Rats star in the Pied Piper!

Last year, at this time, the ‘53 Drama Group were getting ready to present our annual pantomime, after a Covid induced absence – we were so excited because pantomime is one of the highlights of our year. But Covid had one last stab at our schedule and we reluctantly had to cancel. This year we have everything crossed – and the lovely readers of Talk of the Town have helped us along our way by creating an army of rats to star on our stage. So - here is once again, the background to our story…

In a church in the German town of Hamelin there is a stained glass window, dating from around 1300. It shows a picture of the main character of a Medieval legend in which a piper, dressed in multicolored (‗pied‘) clothing, was hired by the town to rid them of a plague of rats, by charming them with his magic pipe. Although he was successful, the citizens refused to pay for this service as promised, so he exacted his revenge by using his instrument‘s magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This is the story we all know.

But where did it originate? An entry from Hamelin town records of 1384 states: ―It is 100 years since our children left.‖ Did the children die of disease or starvation and was the Piper a symbolic figure of Death? Were they killed in a landslide or contract some disease during an epidemic? The records show that 130 children allegedly vanished from Hamelin on a June day in the year 1284. But were these ‗children‘ actually young people who had left for a new life in Eastern Europe?

The Pied Piper may never have existed as such, but there were characters known who roamed northern Germany trying to recruit settlers for the East. Some of them were brightly dressed, and all were silver-tongued and persuasive.

It is a great story – and a great subject for our panto. Together with your rats, we have a couple of bungling Rat Catchers, and our dame, Helga von Trump at her pig farm and Sausage Stuffery, together with the Burgomeister and villagers of Hamelin - all singing a whole host of foot-tapping musical numbers. And did we mention that there is an evil baddy to boo (a couple of them, actually…) And a good fairy to help the Pied Piper save the day…

So be sure to join us in Hamelin (that‘s Saltburn Community Theatre of course) on January 12th, 13th, 14th, and the following week 19th, 20th, 21st, at 7.30pm (Doors open 6.45pm).

Also Saturday Matinees 14th, 21st at 2pm (Doors open 1.15).

Tickets £9, £5 and a special family ticket (2 adults, 2 children -£25) (from www.saltburnarts.co.uk).

Susan

Saltburn 500 Club

On behalf of Saltburn 500 Club, I wish you all a very happy new year and hope that you have recovered from your festive celebrations!

Congratulations go to the following winners of our December 2022 Prize Draw: First Prize, M Doyle; second prize, A Whiley; third prize M Shevis; fourth prize, V Dunn. Yes, you guessed it, they are all members of the 500 Club and, therefore, qualified to be in the draw! The introduction of fresh ideas into the admin behind the scenes of the 500 Club has seen the membership start to grow. The improvements have been generated by tweaking various technical things such as social media adjustments and the possible introduction of a QR code. Those of you who know me will know that technology has me floundering at times - I don‘t have a mobile phone that buzzes every time I receive an email or Facebook post and I still use a desk-top computer. That being the case, you will realise that I am not responsible for this growth of interest in joining the 500 Club.

December saw us struggling, again, to have Christmas lights powered correctly and we spent many hours in attempts to have everything working. I would like to thank our electricians who worked in all sorts of weather conditions to have everything working for the lighting-up parade. Funding for the 2022 Christmas lights was the result of a very strong community spirit in the town. I have already mentioned the efforts put in by the table-top team and this was strongly supported by members of the 500 Club who supplied tombola prizes for our stall in the Saltburn Crafters event. I was totally amazed at the number of donations made and I would like to thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart! The tombola was a success and, at the time of writing, the amount raised is unknown. We are still working on the overall amount raised for the lights but, again, community spirit shines through! Every Christmas light you saw in the town belonged to the 500 Club so give yourselves a pat on the back in knowing that you have played a part in ensuring that Christmas lights shone in Saltburn.

On a personal level, I have been to four events in my red and white coat and have a further ten to go to. You may understand, therefore, that there is a great need for me to get back up to speed with matters of a non-Christmas nature. The schedule for the 2023 bandstand season needs to be completed and we have already planned so much of it. Volunteers to help with the bandstand are always being sought so please let me or Philip Thomson know if you are interested in getting involved.

Trevor Welburn Chairman, Saltburn 500 Club/Friends of Saltburn trevor.welburn@btinternet.com

G . Bishop - Decorator

Saltburn Photographic Society

Our January programme comprises:

January 4th. Our ever-popular evening when we see the ingenious interpretations of a variety of subjects, taken during the Summer months.

January 11th. We will be showing the Individual Entries, prints and projected images from the NYSDPA competition.

January 18th. The results of the third of our ‗monthly‘ competitions.

January 25th. Alison Taylor brings us her talk about her Coastal Photography. ―Wellies Required!‖

All meetings are held at the Methodist Church Hall, Milton Street, Saltburn. Tea and coffee is available from 7pm to allow for some socialising prior to the meeting starting at 7.30pm. Guests are always welcome.

For more information, visit our web site www.saltburnphotographicsociety.co.uk, follow us on Facebook or contact Phil Dove on 07976 634252.

Three sessions on Tuesdays at 3.30, 5.30 or 7.00pm at Emmanuel Church Hall

And Saturdays three sessions at Earthbeat Centre. 7.30, 9 and 10.30am. No booking required.

Please contact Stevie 07740 725210.

A warm welcome is waiting