One Gone and Two To Come

Thanks to those 20 or so supporters and friends who attended the presentation on home automation we arranged on Tuesday. Though turnout was less than we'd hoped for, those present made up for it in the range of questions and issues raised, and we hope you found John Blain's presentation informative and thought-provoking. We've also received a number of requests, from people unable to attend, for copies of the information presented. You can download that here. We hope it's of interest but recognise that some of the context (linking comments, elaboration and nuance) is lost by not being able to be present.

Two other things coming up:

• ever thought of baking your bread, but not sure how? What's the right mix of ingredients, how can we ensure it 'rises' in the right way, what is sourdough? Our Food group is hoping to answer these questions and many more and give you hands-on experience via a breadmaking skills course it's arranging at the Village Hall, provisionally for Saturday 23rd Feb, 2-5.00p.m. Utensils, ingredients and tea/coffee are provided, but a small charge (around £5) would be levied per person. If you'd like to attend such a course, whether or not you can make 23rd February, please let Ellen Bennett know at ellenkbennett@yahoo.co.uk by next Monday, 11th February. That will help Ellen and team determine whether they're in a position, numbers-wise, to proceed on Feb 23rd or seek alternative date(s). Thanks!
• we can confirm that this year's Village Spring Clean is going to be held 10-2.00p.m. on Saturday 6th April, again using the Village Hall as its operational base. Last year, around 70 villagers turned out for an hour or more to 'do their bit' to help rid the village of unsightly litter, a great effort leading to around 60 bin bags of rubbish - and larger items too - being collected, a good part of which was separated out, so it could be recycled. If we can achieve the same this year, we'd be delighted! We'll supply much more information in due course about this event, held jointly with Hayfield Civic Trust and the Parish Council, but we thought we'd confirm the date now - so, hopefully, you can put it in your diary! It's a grand day, with a really good community spirit underpinning it.