Volume 1 Issue 7 January 2011

Christmas Party Special

On arrival at the Cornhill Centre, Evergreen fun-seekers weregreeted with a taste of Old Hookey, namely chairman JohnWillis, resplendent in his Captain Hook costume. Supportinghim in various guises were his hard-working crew, dispensingkisses and handshakes galore. Sad to say not many kisses wentthe Hairy Fairy’s way!

Colourful lighting and tables laden with poinsettias, crackersand party poppers created a cheerful atmosphere,complemented by lively music provided by Bill James. Thedance floor was full throughout the evening and spot prizesadded spice to the proceedings. At half hourly intervals ticketswere drawn for more excellent prizes.For supper huge platters of mouth watering food appeared,accompanied by prawn dips and an excellent selection ofcheeses.After this superb repast the revels continued with games andmore lively dancing. Eventually the star prize was due,requiring special security arrangements. When PC. Harral’stimid truncheon proved inadequate, extra security wassummoned.

Enter animal-tamer, the Maltese Whippet, leopardleotarded, whip-equipped hit-man ready to meet anyhostilities with cool élan. With mayhem a distinctpossibility, Nurse Gillett arrived to wield her ultra-hypodermic needle and conduct a minor chain-sawmassacre in a trial run. Fatalities could not be ruled out;hence the presence of the Right Reverend Mike Bann,sabre-toothed sermoniser, prepared to administer the LastRites, should the need arise. At last all was in place forRalph.Howard to safely unwrap his special prize, amagnificent toy tiger, which was universally admired.Thank you John Willis for creating this enjoyablediversion and to a willing cast for performing it.So much for the top prize. Congratulations to MaryPowell, who won a pack of sixteen toilet rolls – definitelythe bottom prize!A highly successful evening was brought to a close withthe traditional singing of “You’ll never walk alone”.Thanks to John Willis for organising this event and to anindustrious committee for their willing support.

Party Revels

Produced and edited for The Banbury Evergreens by John and Janet Harral

Virtual CaribbeanClose your eyes and imagine….clearblue waters softly lapping onto agolden beach, palm trees swayinggently in the light breeze, touristsrelaxing in their brightly colouredshirts and straw sunhats, the aromaof roasting pig, and, in thebackground, the rhythmic beat of asteel band. All this and more wasavailable at The King’s SuttonMemorial Hall at our CaribbeanHalloween evening on 30th October.About eighty members turned up intheir colourful costumes and dancedall evening to the music of Jamani.Ralph Howard did sterling workcarving the roast pig, which wasserved with a tasty salad. Relaxed bya glass of wine, or two, the moreagile of us tried dancing the limboand it was noticeable that only BobGoodfellow was able to performauthentically, tho others made agood effort as the bar became lowerand lower. All too soon the eveningcame to an end, with thanks to JohnHarral for providing the atmosphericscenery and John Willis fororganising another very successfulevent.

Committee Members 2011 MembersChairman John Willis Treasurer Gerry Stafrace Reg Bethell, Eileen Hartwell,Vice Chairman Janet Harral Vice Treasurer John Harral Lynette Langley, Jean Lawrence, Secretary Jenny Bann Membership Sec. Gill Gillett Keith Williams

Sports at Daventry

After accepting the  kind invitationfrom Daventry sports club to join themin a social morning playing sport,twelve Banbury Evergreens braved theice and fog to make their  way toDaventry sports hall for what proved tobe a  fun morning .The short tennisplayers seemed to cope much better thistime with the strange balls and scoring ,having to adapt to their rules. Alaswhen in Rome! .Our table tennis and badminton players,as always, gave our Daventry friends agood competitive work out, many timesshowing off their class.After the morning sport, the Banburydelegation,together with our old friendAllan and his good lady, had a veryenjoyable lunch at the Romer Arms inNewham, where we were  also joinedby our chairman, John, and his  firstlady, Val.

Annual General MeetingAlmost 50 members attended the AGMon 27th November. After the reading andacceptance of the minutes of the AGM,2009, Chairman John Willis gave hisreport and Gerry Stafrace, Treasurer,presented a detailed budget sheet of theaccounts for the past year and respondedto questions about same. The election ofofficers for 2011 followed. John Williswas returned as chairman for a furtheryear, and Janet Harral was elected asvice-chairman with a view to her beingchairman elect for 2012. The members ofthe 2010 committee offered themselvesfor re-election en bloc, and, there beingno further nominations, were dulyappointed for another year. Gill Gillettwas elected to the committee asmembership secretary.

You shall have music.....Remember when

Remember When was a great show,enjoyed by all the Evergreens whomet at The Mill in October, andbrought back memories of the musicof Doris Day, Max Bygraves andmany more. Thank you, Gerry, fororganising the tickets and allowing usto revel in long-lost memories.

Dreamboats and Petticoats.

On Wednesday the 24th of November acoach load of Evergreens made theshort trip to The Derngate Theatre,Northampton, for a performance ofDreamboats and Petticoats. For the nexttwo and a half hours they becameteenagers tapping their feet, singing andbopping in the aisles to the sounds ofthe 60's, and even on the coach homethe buzz was still there until theyreached Banbury and reality kicked in.A really good time was had by all.Another successful Evergreen event.(Sounds like Ryanair "another flight ontime")

It is with sadness that we report theloss of five of our members in the pastcouple of months: Harry Chester,Rosemarie Williams, Flo Dargue,Gerald Moreby and Shirley Corps. Wesend our deepest sympathies to theirfamilies.

The meeting was followed by tea andbiscuits before Archie Buzzard guidedus through the intricate rules of thegame of Beetle. Twelve frantic andhilarious rounds later Mike Bannemerged triumphant as Top Beetle andwent home with a bottle of whisky.

Report by Gerry Stafrace

Report by John Willis

Diary

January 15th - Dinner Dance, BanburyHouse Hotel. 7.00 for 7.30. Tickets£26.50.February 9th - Ten pin bowling,Lakeside, 2 -4.00pm. £4.00. Names toGerry please.April 4th -8th - Spring holiday,Sandown, Isle of Wight. Sold out.October 6th - Holiday in Bulgaria.Details on the notice board at Spiceball.Names ASAP please.

Report by Keith Williams