Community spirit alive and well in Chineham (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Village show held to strengthen community

5:00pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in Local By Chris Gregory

A CHURCH held a village show as part of a project to strengthen the community in Chineham.

A total of 53 people entered produce, photographs and cakes into the show at Christ Church, in Reading Road.

Judges inspected more than 100 entries and selected the winners in each category.

Vicar The Reverend Ian Bentley said that the show was part of a six-month series of events called Discover, organised by the church to foster more of a community spirit in Chineham.

The show was the first to be held in Chineham for nine years, and other events planned include an arts festival in March and a Q&A ‘Grill a Christian’ session in The Chineham Arms.

Speaking about the show, Mr Bentley said: “It has been brilliant. It just shows there’s an amazing mix of community here because people have come from different places and pulled together.”

Entries included a selection of chives, rosemary and thyme, snaps taken at this year’s London 2012 Olympics and a cake called Marbled Cholesterol Pie.

Olya Lutsenko, of Larkfield, came second in the produce category with her basket of vegetables, while her six-year-old daughter Olivia came first for her cakes made out of different breakfast cereals.

The 32-year-old said: “I am very happy because we did not expect to win at all. I do not grow much and it was more of an experiment.

“I think the show is an excellent idea and they could not have done any better.”