A (different) small group went to see "The Wind in the Willows - The Pantomime" that was being staged by the Desborough Players in which our very own Chris Scott was playing Badger. A disappointing small first night audience did its best to sound like a full house and clearly enjoyed themselves. The dame, in particular, is to be congratulated for her (his?) ab-libs.
The Annual ODS Dinner was held, as usual, at the Cricketers, with 15 members in attendance. The theme this year was "Come as you please". As usual "The Cricketers" in Ockley treated us to a wonderful fayre and at the exceptional price of £13.95. Officially the evening was to start at 7:30pm and finish somewhere around pub closing time however rumour has it that some members started MUCH earlier and celebrations finally finished somewhere aroud 3am!! Rehearsals for the current production where somewhat interesting the following day with certain cast members NOT at their best!! Neverthless a good evening was enjoyed by all.
This game's afternoon/evening at Bernard & Yvonne's again brought out Bernard's competitive streak. His win at "Therapy", albeit snatched from Sylvie with the narrowest of margins, brought Yvonne's dominance of the game to an end. Bernard presided over the next game, "Lost Valley of the Dinosaurs" as games master, sending flows of molten lava over the board to, eventually, bring the game to a premature end. Eric was declared the winner on the basis of having retrieved the most treasure from the temple. Following a break to consume pizzas and a magnificent chocolate cake from Sylvie, teams were formed for the final game, "Semantics". A brilliant start from Sylvie and Shelby lost momentum allowing Eric and Bernard to romp home to collect their second wins of the evening. Some mention should be made of the "Chocolate Pictionary" which opened the proceedings. However, this was not so much played as eaten!
Theatre visit to see "When we are married", by J.B. Priestley, at the Harlequin, Reigate, starring our very own Annie Walker.
The Ockley Quiz. We continued the tradition in which the "B" team does better than the "A" team. However, whether we finished joint fourth or joint sixth is not clear as our tally for one round was not recorded properly on the score board. The "A" team fared less well, I'll just record that they didn't come bottom. Our congratulations to Eric Howker who has played in the "North Ockley" team for many years. This year they returned to winning ways and pulled ahead of "Weare Street" again, now leading them by four wins to three.
The Sausage Sizzle returned after an eighteen month gap, ably hosted by Phil and Lynn at their place. We eat, we drank, we sang, we played "Who wants to be a Millionaire". What more is there to be said?
Theatre visit to Ashtead to see "Outside Edge". And very good it was too, though if we're to fulfil our ambition to put it on ourselves it looks as though we'll need to recruit some more men.
The much delayed Pimms Party to drink up the remainder of the case of Pimms Yvonne won in a Dorking Advertiser competition. The evidence (95kb).
Eric's housewarming. A smaller group than had been hoped for gathered to drink a toast or three before we moved on to have an excellent meal at the Dog and Duck (near Warnham).
AGM followed by a buffet at "The Cricketers Arms", Ockley, in their back room. See announcement page for report.
Annual BBQ with Jane and Jim. Regretfully this had to be cancelled due to Jane falling ill. We wish her a full and speedy recovery. However, at the last minute Annie Walker stepped in and a BBQ was held at her place. Shame about the weather. Photo (69kb).
The Oakwood Hill Flower Show at which, thinking it time for a change, members of the society sold iced fruit punch (much appreciated on a scorcher of a day) and strawberries and cream. Picture 1 (63kb). Picture 2 (62kb). As in past years this was also a successful publicity exercise. We expect to see a number of people we talked with again at the September social evening.
Social / open evening at Ockley Village Hall.
See announcement page for pre-event details.
See also our
chairman's report of the evening.
A small group (well, actually just Eric) went to Ifield Barn to see "The Exorcism" by Don Taylor.
The society fielded two under-strength teams in the second Ockley quiz of the year and as a consequence did worse than usual. Our thanks to Chris, Angela and Loll who came and supported us at very short notice. The "North Ockley" team, captained by Peter Figg and including our chairman, Eric Howker, won again. Oh, and the pizzas were fine, if not liked by everybody!
Six of us went to St. Mark's Hall, Reigate to see John Godber's "Happy Families" in which Annie Walker played Doris. The St Mark's Players are to be congratulated on a very professional and entertaining production.
Read through of "It could be one of us" by Alan Ayckbourn in the cabin at Jane's house. This is a play we would like to perform sometime in the future.
Two of us went to DDOS, Dorking to see "Good Old Teddie" (Edwardian Musical Revue).
Our very own Natasha Figg had part in "Clamity Jane" at the Ashcombe School. Eric went along on the opening night and has provided this critique of the performance.
DDOS production of "Amadeus" by Peter Shaffer. Two of us went. The rest of you missed what was possibly their finest production ever. In particular, though the whole cast were excellent, Grant Harrison's performance as Salieri was a tour de force.
Chris Scott appeared in "The Wizard of Oz" (the pantomime) for the Desborough Players at Walton. Hav'n't heard that anyone went though....