Archive Newsletters November 2009 A Murder Mystery, which occurred in the Village Hall on Hallowe’en, provided an excellent  opportunity for all our would-be detectives to exercise ‘the little grey cells’ and, in so doing, have a lot of fun. The hall itself had been transformed to create a perfect backdrop for the scenes of skulduggery and sleuthing which were to take place and the team of actors must be congratulated on fulfilling their roles with considerable skill and humour;  Claire Boardman, Julie Findlay, Jane Peeke, Lorna Jackson-Currie, Charlie Porter, Quentin Dawson, Mike Vacher and Ged Peeke, all appropriately attired, entered into the spirit of things with great gusto.Nick Hawker provided the narrative and kept control of events and Jim Moore was responsible for all the ‘noises off’. The complexity of the case was certainly enough to confuse all tables apart from the one led by Jim and Ros Busby (maybe they had consumed fewer bottles of wine) and they were the worthy recipients of the prize. The ladies of the committee provided a delicious Lancashire hotpot and an array of scrumptious desserts. Thanks to everyone who supplied raffle prizes and to Jon Bayliss for organising the liquid refreshment. At the time of writing I do not have the exact figures but it is likely that the overall profit for the evening will be in the region of £1,000. Photos Our next event is the Celebration of Christmas in the Church on the evening of December 21st, starting at 7.30p.m. Tickets are not required for this event but there will be a retiring collection which will be handed to the Parochial Church Council. Hot mince pies and mulled wine will be served during the interval. This is traditionally a very popular event so it is best to arrive in good time, and in good voice, to be sure of a comfortable seat. Looking further ahead the Safari Supper will take place at the end of January on the evening of Saturday, January 30th. More details about this event will be published in the New Year. May I take this opportunity of thanking everyone in the past year who has supported our events,  and all those who have worked so hard in staging them. Best wishes to you all for a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.    Vaughan Southgate August 2009 As many of you already know, Maurice and Barbara Cotton have recently moved from Cople to pastures new. Maurice has been a Trustee and Treasurer for The Friends since its inception and  I would  like to thank him for the huge contribution he has made to the smooth-running of the charity: it has been a real pleasure to work with him during that time. We wish them both well in their new home and for the future. I am delighted to report that Andrew Duthie has agreed to step into the breach to become a Trustee and the new Treasurer. In addition Jim Moore has been appointed a Trustee. I welcome them both. Well over 100 people, from as far afield as Bury St Edmunds and North London, gathered at Oak Farm for the annual Barn Dance on Saturday, July 11th. Kelly’s Eye once again provided the music, and this splendid trio had little difficulty in encouraging participants onto the dance floor. Excellent beer from Potton Brewery, plentiful wine and soft drinks provided liquid sustenance, whilst the delicious pork, salads and desserts replaced calories that had been burnt off during the strenuous exercise. We are indebted to Paul and Heather Walsh for making their historic barns available for the event and to all those who put in so much hard work to guarantee its success: to the committee who provided delicious salads and desserts, to Jon and Catherine who sourced the liquid refreshment, to the bar staff who were kept so busy throughout the evening, and of course to Paul who ensured that the essential component, the pork, was done to a turn. Despite a grim weather forecast, it was pleasantly warm and the rain held off until late in the evening; by then little could be done to dampen the enthusiasm of the revellers, so we say a big thank you to all the people who bought tickets and whose love of a good knees-up made the event go with a swing. According to figures at hand, we made a handsome profit of about £1,300. This included £200 from the raffle, and we are very grateful to those who generously donated prizes.  In summary, it was a splendid evening. Our next event is in Cople Village Hall, on October 31st; this will be a Murder Mystery, with supper, and will provide some light-hearted fun for Hallowe’en. Details will appear in the September edition of the Parish Magazine. Do please mark the date in your diary. Vaughan Southgate April 2009 There was an excellent turnout for the French Evening at the end of March and this second opportunity to assume a new identity did not go unappreciated by the Francophiles of Cople; Breton fishermen, Onion Sellers and chic women of the French Resistance proliferated, whilst some imaginations stretched to a splendidly-attired member of the French Legion, and to a saucy French maid who played her part to perfection. Sadly there was not a CanCan Girl in sight.  A delicious five-course dinner in true French style satisfied all the gourmets present, a quiz tested knowledge of many aspects of French life and, if the noise level was anything to go by, a lot of people had a lot to say about our nearest European neighbours. Congratulations to the table which won the quiz by a ‘short head’.                                                         There are some very good images on the Cople website and some prints have been posted on the notice-board in the church. Sincere thanks go to all of those who worked so hard towards the success of the evening; there was an overall profit of £1,033 which will go into the upkeep/refurbishment fund.                                                                Our next event is the Barn Dance and Hog Roast on Saturday, July 11^th . This will take place once again at Oak Farm thanks to the generosity of Paul and Heather Walsh. Tickets at a cost of £12.50 a head are now on sale. As usual there will be a bar serving beer, wine and soft drinks. This is a very popular event and tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis, so do not delay if you want to avoid disappointment.  (Tel: 838714,  838763, 838467 or 838683) Vaughan Southgate We have newsletters dating back to 2003 We will restore them to this section as soon as possible Friends of Cople Church fund raising