Jacqui Matthews

CAPACITY crowd at The Anvil last Sunday evening for 2018 Basingstoke Festival of Choirs, Voices Together. The Belles of St Martin’s joined eleven other choirs from across the borough to give a spirited performance of an eclectic mix of songs, all for the joy of singing together and to raise money for The Ark cancer centre charity. Following the national anthem, the auditorium was plunged into darkness for the opening piece, ‘O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, a piece familiar to many thanks to i

HALLOWE’EN Evening: Farleigh Club invite you to dress in your spooky best and dance to a live band; from 8pm this Saturday. Call 324747 for details.

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who took part in last Sunday’s Basingstoke Half Marathon; almost everyone was still running and smiling as they past our house which is more or less the half-way point. Many of the runners were raising money for charity; if you would like to donate details of official charities can be found at destinationbasingstoke.co.uk. Residents who were at the roadside to cheer were joined in Ellisfield by more than two dozen scarecrows. While Maggie’s scarecrow was looking for The Choir, Tony’s promised Naked Cheerleaders ahead – is there something about The Belles of St Martin’s that we don’t know?

HORTICULTURAL Society: Tonight, the society is meeting at Cliddesden Millennium Hall (7.45pm for 8pm) including a talk by Dr Alick Jones entitled Birds and Gardens.

HARVEST: Safely gathered in before the worst of this week’s rain and The Belles of St Martin’s choir are busy rehearsing Harvest Festival Service to be held at St Martin’s Church, Ellisfield on September 27, at 11.15am.

MEMORIAL Hall refurbishment: The building sub-committee has met several times in recent weeks and have been putting together a two-year plan which will hopefully see new heating, lighting and repainting.

CONGRATULATIONS to youngsters in the village who receive GCSE results yesterday and those who received A level results last Thursday, an exciting time and decisions to be made about further and higher education.

WRAP Party: Following last month’s successful concert at Home Farm, Farleigh, to celebrate 40 years of Ellisfield Ladies Club, The Belles of St Martin’s met up to celebrate and make plans for future performances.

CYCLING: Was top of the agenda for many sports fans last Sunday; while Chris Froome finished his race riding to success up the Champs Elysées wearing his yellow jersey despite the rain, his spectators, like those taking part in Big Wheel 23 to raise money for St Michael’s Hospice, needed wet weather gear. Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions meant the Big Wheelers didn’t come through Ellisfield after all as the 63-mile route was reduced to 31 miles, so Farleigh saw all the action, and St Michael’s received all the proceeds.

CELEBRATION: Nearly 100 people enjoyed a fabulous summer’s evening at Home Farm Barn, Farleigh, raising money for St Michael’s Hospice as they celebrated 40 years since the formation of Ellisfield Ladies Club; thanks to Neil Streeter and his amazing Heritage Orchestra who played a medley of music as diverse as The Teddy Bears’ Picnic and The Dam Busters, also accompanying the Belles of St Martin’s as they performed three songs; The Rose, Wherever You Are and Sing and the community singing including The White Cliffs of Dover, Jerusalem, and Land of Hope and Glory. It was a truly magical evening and thanks must go as always to all those who worked so hard to make it happen.