On  Saturday August 7th we had the third annual Cider Festival held at the Gerrard Arms in Colyton. Several members of the Umborne Valley manned the door & enjoyed an afternoon of competition as 29 different ciders were judged to produce a trophy winner, the judge was noted to be grinning & staggering at the end ! All 23 Cider makers were from an area bounded by Chideock in the east, Stockland to the north & Sidbury to the west. The resulting range of ciders gave an indication of the effects …

This event takes place in early September either on the Umborne Brook near Easy Bridge or as in the last two years at the home of Ann Shepherd (Pottlelake Cottage) about 200 metres from the hall in Umborne. There is a BBQ, Bar, raffle and of course the little yellow ducks which enter the many duck races. We also have a home made mini raft race which can feature ingenious creations or just a plastic bottle if you are very lazy.
The weather can be very unpleasant at times! – but …

So you can plan well ahead, here are the dates for the carnivals in East Devon, West Dorset and South Somerset for this autumn season:
Saturdays                                  Carnival
28th August                               Bridport 
4th  September                         Seaton
11th  September                       Colyton
18th September                        Axminster
25th  September                       Wellington & Frome
2nd October                               Shaftesbury & Ilminster
9th October                                Exmouth, Chard & Gillingham
16th October                              Taunton & Castle Cary
23rd October                              Honiton
30th October                              Ottery St Mary
5th November                            Bridgewater
6th November                            North Petherton
13th November                          Glastonbury
20th November                          Torquay

 
Shute Church
 
Christmas Craft Fayre
 
Saturday 13th November
 
10am to 3pm
 
Cards, Christmas Gifts, Crocheted
Blankets, Cushions, Earrings,
Embroidery, Handbags, Handmade
Soap, Honey, Beaded and Semi
Precious Jewellery, Jams, Knitting,
Pickles, Patchwork, Pottery, Scarves,
Soft Toys, Stained Glass, Woodwork
and a cake stall.
 
Entrance £1.
Tea, coffee, homemade cakes and light
lunches will be served throughout the
day.
 
Tables to sell crafts £10, contact Jenny Ford on
01297 32404.
 
All proceeds towards the Church Disabled Toilet
Facilities.
 
 
 
 

The “Steam-up” is an annual event held early summer in the grounds of Liz and Tony Gosling’s house, Penventon, in Shute. This is a whole family occasion and the great attraction is the opportunity to have a ride on Tony’s miniature steam train as it huffs and puffs around the immaculate gardens of the house. Liz provides her famous Devon cream teas. There is a raffle and ice cream and cakes are also on sale. Children can  be amused with Rob’s giant “noughts and crosses” and “splat the rat”. This year, …

This was the very last event at the old hall and it took place on Friday 26th February 2010 and what an amazing final night at the village hall it was! Eleanor had arranged a “Soup and Pudding” night which is always a popular event. We really sent the old building off in style!  There were about 116 yes, your eyes did not deceive you – 116 people packed into the hall – some of whom we have not seen for ages- and boy was it busy! We think we …

The 12th Night Supper in January is a “bring and share” evening where we all bring either a savoury or sweet dish to share with everyone else. Don’t forget, it is finger food only – saves on the washing up! Fun and games for the whole family including Tony’s famous raffle and the quiz of the year to test your memory. A very friendly seasonal gathering.

I can’t wait – the garden needs a bit of rain…
 
This year’s Summer Barbecue took place on:
Sunday  18th  July  at 6.00pm      at:
Little Yardbury – in the garden of Rob & Fran Summers.
If you are not sure where Little Yardbury is, you can find it close to the T Junction 2 miles north of Colyton called Three Sycamores. Parking in the field.
Fun and games – such as giant Noughts & Crosses, Splat the Rat etc.
There was a bar, a barbecue a raffle and lots of fun in the glorious summer sunshine – see …

Over the last 13 years or so, we have held a “theme night” once or twice a year. Themes have ranged from nights related to different countries to a variety of other themes:
        
Tramps Night (1999)    
Soup and Cider Night(25th November 2000)
TV Dinners (17th March 2001)               
Heroes (24th November 2001)    
Tramps Night again (29th March 2003)
Posh Night again (8th May 2004)                       
  
French Night (November 1997)
 

Scrumpy Night (March 1998)

 
Posh Night  (23rd March 2002)

 
Caribbean Night (29th November 2003)

Italian Night (20th November 2004)

 
Medieval Night (14th May 2005)
 

 
School Dinners (25th March 2006)
 
  
  
 
.
A Night at the Oscars (24th March 2007) 
      
.
Country …