FESTIVAL OF SUFFOLK

The first major event of Festival of Suffolk starts on the 13th of May!

To herald the start of The Festival and the celebrations to mark HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee a symbolic torch will travel through communities in Suffolk this summer carried by local heroes.

The torch begins its journey tomorrow in Brandon and then passes through 250 towns and villages, a distance of over 550 miles before reaching its final destination arriving at the Suffolk Show in Ipswich on Wednesday 1st June. We also have a live GPS tracker of the route which will be fun to follow the torch on its journey.  Click here to follow:  https://www.festivalofsuffolk.org/best-of-suffolk-torch-tracker

EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK!

Featuring The Kitchen Choir (and the Kitchenettes!) Serving up tasty morsels of musical entertainment!

Concert in Hartest Church on 16th JULY in aid of Ukrainian refugees. Tickets £15 on the door but numbers will be limited so it's essential to reserve in advance - contact maureen.rocknean@sky.com 01284

830850.   

All the monies taken at the Concert will go to DEC for the Ukrainian refugees.  The concert will start at 7pm, precede by drinks and nibbles on the Green at 6pm hosted by the Friends of Hartest Church  for which donations will be invited.  

Reserve your tickets now!  

Gill Leeming on behalf of the Friends of Hartest Church

HARTEST CARPET BOWLS

2 nd and 4 th Tuesday each month at The Institute

7.30 - 9.30. Refreshments during the evening

Only £3 per session

Come along and give it a go. We are a friendly, easygoing bunch

Alex - alexrosecottage@gmail.com

FARMERS AND CRAFT MARKET

Our next market will be held on Saturday 7th May at 10:00 am to 12:30pm in The Institute. We had a full house in April with lovely Norfolk and

Suffolk cheeses and organic vegetables joining us for the first time.

These proved very popular and we are expecting them back in May.

There will be the usual stalls of award winning pies, Lavenham bread, John’s thumb sticks and other goods made from antlers, jewellery, jams, Henry’s homemade dog treats and a great selection of other food and artistic crafts.

Coffee, sausage and bacon rolls and homemade cakes are available at our market cafe, so come and meet friends for a gossip!

Contact judystevens25@gmail.com or call Judy on 01284 830551 or

Annie on 01284 830363 to book a table.

HARTEST AND DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB

Our April meeting began with Annie’s Plant of the Month - she had brought along a branch of Prunus Serrulata Tai-Haku “The Great White”, covered in the most beautiful blossom.  This plant has a story, being lost in its native Japan, but efforts to send cuttings from England, involving potatoes and the Trans-Siberian Railway, succeeded in it returning, to give huge pleasure during the cherry blossom festivals there.

The talk was "Seasonal Container Gardening", given by Andrew Babicz, a most entertaining and engaging speaker.  He covered all aspects - the type of container, the compost, feeding, top dressings and of course suitable plants.  His accompanying illustrations showed some lovely, and unexpected, combinations of planting - look out for some stunning exhibits around the village!

Members were also reminded of the need for a) donations for the Plant Sale on May 15th, and b) committee members - particularly a Treasurer. Please ask any current committee member about this if you are at all interested, otherwise you may notice us singling out who we think might be suitable for a quiet word! Help at meetings and events is really needed.

The next meeting, on May 9th, because of the Bank Holiday, will be our last before our summer outings!  The year is moving on quickly.  The speaker, Sally Hepher, has been trying to get to us for a couple of years, and with the intriguing title of “Wish I’d Known When I Started Out”, we have been waiting to discover what the talk will be about!  We are told it should be an amusing as well as informative look at the trials and tribulations of being a gardener.  Entry will, as usual, be £2 for members and £3 for visitors.  We will be in the Institute Hall at Hartest, starting at 7.30pm.

The next Sunday, May 15th, is the Plant Sale, which will be on the Green, with refreshments provided by the Church.  Donations of plants can be brought along from noon, with the selling starting at 2pm.

Gremlins got into the report in the magazine last month – of course there is no entry fee to the Plant Sale!

If you have any questions about the club, please contact me, either via email on gross7702@gmail.com , or by phone on 01787 280134. Our website, with the most up-to-date information, is www.hartestgardeningclub.info.

Geraldine Ross

MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE

I am pleased to report that even though times are difficult for everyone and that the demands on giving are numerous we were able to raise £173 .75 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Collections were made at the Farmers and Craft Market , The Crown and a Just Giving page. This added to the amount collected over the years brought the total to £9,390.75. Thank you so much for your continued support of this very worthy cause. Jo Pask

BOOKS FOR EXCHANGE OR TO BUY - HARTEST CHURCH

Friends Book Exchange / Sale for 50p - available when Hartest Church is open (8am to dusk – daily) Now placed in the LADY CHAPEL, we continue to have very interesting books in stock and it is so easy for you to be able to find your favourite author as they are arranged A-Z.

A big thank you to Brenda and Peter Griffiths for their continued help with this.

Your gifts to the library of readable books in good condition are welcomed. Money raised is used by the Friends of Hartest Church and have contributed to the wonderful provision of the new Kitchen and Toilet facilities.

PLEASE NOTE It is appreciated if you dispose of your unwanted books which are in poor condition, yourself. If you leave them in the Church, Peter and Brenda have the difficult task of taking them to the Hospice themselves. Thank you so much for your support.

BOXTED AND HARTEST INSTITUTE CHARITY

At the AGM for the Charity which was held on Monday 21 st March 7pm in the Institute we are pleased to report that the Trustees and Committee members were re-elected for a further year. A report of this meeting is available for the Residents of Hartest, Boxted or Somerton.

On a personal note as Secretary, I would like to express my sincere thanks for all the hard work the Team carried out over the year to maintain the Hall to a high standard and provide the excellent facilities which continue. They all did just an amazing job!

For any information concerning the Hall contact Jo Pask 01284 830268 jpasque@aol.com or for bookings contact Trevor Webb 01284 830987 trevorwebb656@btinternet.com

JUST SO YOU KNOW

Residents around Hartest Green might like to know that the parish council has decided to leave two areas of the green uncut this year in an experiment to encourage the growth of wild flowers. The whole green was cut for the first time recently, but for the rest of the spring and summer no further cutting will take place on the small green on which stands the Hartest Stone and part of the small green between the church gates and the entrance to the Rectory.

A number of wild flower plugs were planted in these areas in the winter and we hope to see some of them flourish.

John Kemp

Queen's Platinum Jubilee on the Green

Hartest Parish Council would like to invite residents to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a picnic on the green from midday on 5th June.  Plans are still evolving but there will be a flower festival at All Saints Church, the unveiling of a commemorative tree and the lighting of a beacon in the evening.  We hope there will be a drinks tent and a barbecue available, the bell tower will be open for people to try ringing and the Crown will have their Garden Bar & Pizza Kitchen open.  We would love to include children’s games and possibly even the Maypole. If you have any ideas for the day or would like to help with arrangements, please get in touch with the Parish Clerk on parishclerk@hartest.suffolk.gov.uk.

COMMUNITY SINGING WORKSHOPS 2022

As usual, you are all welcome to these events whether your experience of singing is just in the bath, years ago at school or once upon a time in a choir! 

We are sure you will enjoy yourself ! 

On the return of our workshops with Penni Walker on Saturday 12th March over 20 participants enjoyed the songs that Penni taught us: 

Bye, bye love (Everlies),   Soon May the Wellerman Come - sea shanty,     Rose, Rose - an Elizabethan round,  and Steal Away - a haunting  Irish folk song ( Phil Coulter ) the Fureys

It was a great joy to be singing again

9th APRIL
14th  MAY
11th  JUNE
20th AUGUST

Being mindful that Covid has not gone away, we shall have plenty of fresh air circulating in the Hall while we sing. Please bring your own bottle of water or hot drink.

We encourage taking a lateral flow test the day before, and I am sure you would not attend if you were feeling unwell or had been in contact with someone suffering from Covid

For more details contact Joe Millard 01824 830457  Mo Woods 07870 944318 , mowoods0@gmail.com  and to welcome some newcomers. 

Here is our Saturday morning singing  programme for the next few months, all starting at 10.30am and finishing at noon.