 Following the success of their Children’s Holiday Club earlier in August, the congregations of St Giles and St George in Ashtead moved up to a holiday treat for rather older members of the community. For three days August 17 th, 18 th and 19 th the Pastoral Team, under the Leadership of Sharon Seal, and with the help of a good number of the congregation, entertained around 70 ladies and gentleman who otherwise might be alone in their homes and unable to have a holiday.
The days began at 10.30am with coffee and cakes and ended in the same vein although tea was the drink of choice at 4pm. In between there were activities to choose from in the morning and entertainment in the afternoon. I visited on the first day and  found the popular choice was “Back to school with Anne”. The school of course reflected the age of the “holiday makers” and was set around 1930 ish I think! There was also Painting and Calligraphy and Scrabble to choose. I wish I had been there for lunch, Chicken and Mushroom Pie, New Potatoes and French Green Beans followed by Sherry Trifle sounded delicious. One lady, I promised not to reveal her name, said: “ I come every year mainly for the food. It is always magnificent!”
Fortunately I didn’t miss the second half of the afternoon. After “Open the Box!” one of those TV games I think, “We’ve got Talent” proved that these members of Ashtead village certainly are not without IT. Janet, Christine, Wilf, Pat, Daphne and Sue sang, played their instruments, read poems they had written themselves and generally entertained us with beauty and humour. I wonder if you were in Wilf Finbow’s class at school? His poem about love, courtship and plighting one's troth was hilarious and presented with such panache!
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