CLUB NEWS

Leigh Discussion Club

We very much regret that the COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed our programme for the foreseeable future.

Our summer and autumn talks and events have been cancelled, as has our annual Christmas meal. We will do our best to keep you all informed of our future plans and we hope that we may be able to resume our activities in the New Year. Our intention is to book the speakers who had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

Mick Harris Chairman

Yetminster & Ryme Garden, Art and Craft Society

The Potato in a Bag Competition goes from strength to strength!

The Garden Club may have had no meetings, no outings and no parties since lockdown began in March but one event in its calendar was unstoppable.

Throughout these troubled times members have been watering and feeding their precious Charlotte potato in its black bag, hoping that a crop of prizewinning proportions was growing unseen beneath the compost. And Saturday 1 August was the day of reckoning.

A record 15 members in all delivered their bags and then spread out on the grass outside the Jubilee Hall to watch while the weighing took place. After such a socially-deprived few months, this was a rare excitement for a lot of us as each bag was emptied, and the potatoes weighed and counted.

Local hero John Burt acted again as judge with his usual assistants Robin Debell and John Ferretter making sure that even the smallest potato was not overlooked.

There were two impressive winners this year. Elizabeth Jubb’s potatoes weighed in at 1545gms, an overall weight which beat the nearest entry by 260gms and she quite rightly won a bottle of good champagne for that achievement.

The prize for growing the largest potato went to Phil Legge who managed to produce a 338gm specimen, which beat the next entry by a sizeable 104gms, which provided him with a big smile and a bottle of wine.

It was brilliant that so many people joined in and took part in the event. And it didn’t matter if you won or if you didn’t, it was all a bit of much-needed fun and was proof, as if we needed it, that the spirit of the Garden Club is surviving, albeit underground (like the potatoes!), and is ready to be resurrected when times change for the better.

Judy Ferretter

Yetminster Community Sport Club (YCSC)

After several months of forced closure, the clubhouse has reopened for Picnic on the Pitch, taking place every other Sunday afternoon. It has been fantastic to see so many local residents in attendance, taking advantage of the facilities, making the most of the lovely weather and being respectful of the COVID 19 guidelines under which we operate.

We were entertained by the guitar playing of JBass at our last event and plan to run similar music events in the future. It has also been encouraging so see the increased numbers playing tennis and croquet.

YCSC provides a range of facilities and activities that are the envy of other villages, but we need the support and patronage of the local community if we are to continue. The clubhouse is available for use by local clubs and societies as well as for functions, while we are still offering free membership.

Details can be obtained at ycsc@btinternet.com or on the Yetminster Parishes website: https:// yetminsterparishes.gov.uk/community/ sports-club/

Once we are certain that pubs and clubs are not going to be closed again we will move to more regular opening hours. In the meantime, do not hesitate in contacting us if you have ideas for events that we can stage or if you would like to use the facilities for football or skittles.

Andy and Lee YCSC

The Countrymen Club, Rylands Farm, Boyshill Drove, Holnest

Over the last few months, the Countrymen’s Club at Rylands farm has been put on hold and only recently have we been able to welcome some of our retired farmers and countrymen back in small groups.

We have been keeping in touch through newsletters and telephone calls, but nothing beats getting back on the farm with likeminded men with a rural background. Many work on projects such as woodwork and pyrography as well as caring for the animals. Others prefer to share their stories over a cup of tea in the barn.

Over the summer we have been running cream teas as well as distributing treats donated to us from Percy’s Biscuits, House of Dorchester chocolates.

We deal with a diverse range of men with many different health conditions. We would love to show you around to see if you would enjoy what the club has to offer. Give us a ring and we will book you in for a trip around the farm, we’re sure you will love it! Please ring 01963 210703 or email jan@countrymenuk.org

Jan Millward