Apart from the Cricket Club, the village boasts a number of regular activities, the main ones of which are shown above. In addition there is an Annual Fete which always takes place on the first Saturday in July. This includes the usual stalls, such as the white elephant, cakes, books, produce, tombola, lottery, etc, but also has a number of attractions for all members of the family. In the past these have included pony riding, coconut shy, archery, go cart racing, tug of way and bouncy castle. A band provides background accompaniment and teas are served. The proceeds of the Fete go to a wide range of village organisations in accordance with the wishes of the villagers. (See also below)

Women’s Institute Art Club Over 60s Annual Fete Yoga Pilates Tennis Play Group History Society Horticultural Society

ACTIVITIES

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE This has just recently been put into abeyance for three years. The members do however meet in one of the Inns in the village once a month. For details ring Mary Parkes 01225723482

OVER 60s THE HINTON OVER 60s CLUB was started in the 1970's by a Local Councillor, Una Boyden, then living in Tuggy's Lane. Volunteers bought and made the food which was served in the Village Hall, and much enjoyed. It prospered for a good number of years in this fashion, providing a welcome hot meal as well as a point of contact and friendship for older people the locality. When women started to take up paid jobs it became difficult to recruit enough volunteers to cook and serve the food, as well as doing the essential washing . Other solutions had to be found. The Landlord of the Rose and Crown was approached to provide a two-course meal for the same price. This relieved the organisers, helped the pub to prosper and proved to be a very popular monthly venue for a number of years. In recent years the meeting place has changed to The Stag where the members meet at 1215 on the third Wednesday every month and enjoy a generous meal and cofmeetfee, helped by the proceeds of a Raffle. The club is also grateful for donations from the Fete. Joan Davison has been at the helm almost since the club's inception and at 96 is still ac1215 on the tively involved and keen for it to continue She has recently stepped down from being Chairman, which role John Banks has taken on. In recognition of her outstanding and enthusiastic leadership for all these years Joan has been appointed Chair Emeritus. The Club meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 1215 for 1230 in the Stag Inn. It welcomes new-comers; residential and age qualifications are generously interpreted. Contact Caroline Banks 01225722758 or Mavis Bennett 01225 722247 Janet Cross.

ANNUAL FETE The various organisations used to hold separate fund raising events, but in 1970 it was agreed to combine these efforts into one and hold it on the Cricket Ground. The Club fixture list is arranged to keep the first Saturday in July free to accommodate this. The proceeds from the Fete are divided betweent various village organisations in accordance with a percentage which is agreed at the AGM. TThe distribution percentages for 2014 were: The Church (36) The Memorial Hall (26) The Millennium Green (17) The Play Area (7) The Over 60s (7) The PTA (7). MEMORIES OF FETES PAST Hinton Charterhouse’s summer fete has been going for longer than anyone can remember. Older residents who enjoyed the July festivities as children in the 1940’s recall it being a well-established event even back then. This year, the fete takes place on Hinton Charterhouse cricket pavilion and millennium green, on Saturday 6th July. But did you know that in times past the owners of larger houses in Hinton used to host the event in their gardens? Eventually, it was moved to Hinton Cricket Club’s former home off Green Lane, before arriving at its current site. But It was not the only village fete - events were also held by St John’s Church, and the former village chapel, off the High Street, each year. One former village child who fondly remembers the summer gathering is Doreen Rugg, who arrived in Hinton in early 1945 at the age of five. Her father was a baker and came to run Hinton’s bakeshop, then owned by Roger Jacob’s grandparents along with the post office. She still remembers waiting upstairs while the grown-ups brought in the furniture. Within days, village children were asking if Doreen could come out to play “My mother was a bit reluctant, as I was small and sickly,” she remembers. “I’d had hooping cough and double pneumonia, and I nearly died. But she let me go on the walk. It wasn’t long before I grew into a healthy country child.” At the village school the children enjoyed lots of nature walks studying trees and wildlife, used hay bales to make dens, and learned gardening. At the summer fete there was always a large plant stall selling gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries and plants. Doreen’s dad was known for his elaborate cakes, but on fete day every family brought something for the cake stall. The White Elephant was full of goods donated by village people. One of Doreen’s earliest memories is dressing up as a Martian with her friend Paddy, using an old bath chair decorated in cardboard as their transport. “I’m sure we must have won a prize that year,” says Doreen. Some of the more unusual fete attractions included pony rides, and a game of skittles to win a pig. Did the winner take the pig home? “Well, it was usually a small pig, so the owner would keep it, with the winner visiting with some scraps now and then, until it was reared,” says Doreen.The summer fete brings the community together as it has been doing for at least a century. But Doreen also recalls dances in the village hall each spring and autumn and performances where her dad would often sing, including a Christmas Carol with a big brown paper bird to represent the turkey. Doreen’s family were forced to move from the village in 1966 when the tenancy on their house ended, but her dad drove back from South Wraxall each Sunday to sing in the church choir and always attended the monthly Over 60’s lunch. “We loved Hinton and it always felt like home even after we left,” says Doreen. Village memorabilia will be on display at a local heritage stall at this year’s fete. The Colborne family, who ran the garage and a local building company, have kept fascinating family photographs. Janet Cross has provided an autobiography and records of her family’s farm on the road to Midford. Joan Davison, who lived in the old Mason’s Arms on Green Lane, recently passed away and her family has provided an amazing collection of 20th century photographs of major events in the village. The hope is that more residents and former villagers will contribute to the collection and form the basis of a permanent gift to the Records Office.

TENNIS Freshford has a tennis Club with two tennis courts situated about a mile from the High Street

PLAY GROUP Hinton Charterhouse Babies and Toddlers Group We meet each Wednesday morning in term time from 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon in Hinton Charterhouse Village Hall (half an hour later than previously) . We have space and would welcome any new babies and toddlers from the village or surrounding area.The cost is £2.00 per family and includes refreshments for adults and snacks for children. For further details contact:Elizabeth Wordsworth on 01225 722520 or hintonwords@btinternet.com

ART CLUB

HISTORY SOCIETY Meetings are held in the Freshford Memorial Hall on the fourth Wednesday of each month. The hall is open from 7.00 pm and meetings begin at 7.30 pm. Annual subscriptions remain at £10. Visitors are very welcome to attend any of our meetings. If you know of anyone who would like to become a member, or would like to cease membership, please contact me on peter.pennyjones@gmail.com or phone me on 01225-723447.

FRESHFORD & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY Anyone interested in going on the summer outings should contact Penny Jones on 01225723447 or penny@summerdene.fsnet.uk. Annual membership costs £10 per person and the charge to visitors attending meetings is £3.00 UPCOMING TALKS: 23rd Oct: Dickon Povey: Tolls, taverns and turnpikes by stage coach from London to the West. 27th Nov: Nicola Tallis: Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VIII. Nicola’s new book will be on sale. 22nd Jan: Jill Woodhead: A history of Combe Down, focusing on its many schools. 26th Feb: Ann Brooks: A history of Bath Botanic Gardens. 25th March: Marc Allum (of The Antiques Road Show): Anatomy of Antiques. (Tickets from Jan 2020). 22nd April: Derek Hawkins: A history of Bath stone quarrying and the old quarries around Bath and West Wiltshire. 27th May: AGM and Alan Dodge Memorial Lecture. Julian Richards (of Meet the Ancestors) : History of Shaftesbury Abbey & Recent Excavations.

Hinton Art Group has been in existence well over ten years. We meet regularly on Thursday afternoons from 2 - 4p.m in Hinton Charterhouse Memorial Hall with a short break over the Christmas period and around six weeks break during summer. Whilst there is no formal tuition, a programme for work is set up at the beginning of each academic year, mainly for inspiration, and members can choose if or when to use it. We learn, in the main, from discussion and from each other but advice is at hand if requested. Artists work in a variety of media in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. All abilities welcome. There is no annual subscription but we contribute a small fee each week in order to cover the cost of the room hire. In addition we have an ongoing exhibition in the Hall where members are encouraged, but not obliged, to display their work. We have room for more members so why not come along and have a go! For more information ring or e-mail Viv (Jackson) 01225 723578 vivj.norrie@gmail.com ART CLUB EXHIBITION In October the Art club gave an exhibition of their work in the Memorial Hall

BOULES TOURNAMENT see Millennium Green

Click on photos to see enlargements

Another successful dog show I think! The dog show brings people from far and wide to Hinton Charterhouse Fete, and this year it was very well attended with up to 20 entries in some classes. It was a big challenge to judge with so many lovely dogs to choose from!

DOG SHOW