10th October
It was with a great sense of excitement, and much curiosity, that I dusted off one of my posh frocks and made my way to the Village Hall at 7pm as one of the invited guests of the Basinga Committee, to take part in their 35th Anniversary celebrations. As I took my seat near the front of the stage, I noticed many familiar faces from the village as well as some notable VIPs such as Elaine Still, our County Councillor. I managed to have a brief chat with Elaine and highlighted to her some of my main concerns about the various issues affecting us all at the moment. The buffet was fantastic and I was glad that I had only partaken of a light afternoon tea at the Manor before attending, so that I could do it justice. I understand that the catering was provided by Oliver’s Bakehouse (the same people who catered for our Silver Wedding party in May). There was a superb cake which had as its centre-piece a carefully crafted dog made from icing, which was holding a copy of the Basinga in its mouth! Irene Allaway, the Basinga’s editor made a short welcoming speech and our local photographer Carol Bode took pictures of all the guests.
As one of the regular contributors to the Basinga and the Basinga Extra I was (of course) in great demand, and as I circulated around the tables chatting to all the guests, I felt quite proud to be part of such a thriving village community. I enquired of Father Andrew as to how the rehearsals were going for the upcoming pantomime, Sleeping Beauty and the Pirates, in which he has a starring role as the First Pirate. This appears to be a much bigger part than his characterisation of the “Mirror on the Wall” in Snow White in the last production, which many will remember he played with such aplomb. He seemed grateful for my suggestions on how he could further bolster his role this time. Many of you will know that I took the leading role in many amateur dramatic productions in my youth and therefore felt that I had the necessary expertise to advise in this capacity. It perplexes me somewhat as to why I have never been offered as much as the smallest part in any of the Village pantomimes, not even in the production team, but perhaps they just like to let everyone have a chance. I rang Spencer to come and collect me in the Bentley at the end of a very enjoyable evening.