Olympic Torch celebrations - Help needed

As you will all be aware, the Olympic Torch will be coming through Seal on Friday 20th July at approxomately 12.10pm. The Parish Council have organised a celebration of this event on the recreation ground for all the local children, residents and visitors. The Know Your Neighbours Group will be selling teas, coffees and cakes from the pavillion, and we will be needing volunteers to come forward to help with the setting up, serving and making refreshments, and clearing away at the end of the afternoon.

If you can offer any help with making cakes, or any of the above, please could you e mail me to say what you can do. To make sure we have sufficient cakes, if you could let me know what you would be prepared to donate, this would be a great help please.  Nicky Harvey and I will be happy to take any of your donated produce on Thursday 19th.  Also, if you could say what sort of time you could help between 11am and 4pm, this would help us to set up a rota.

This will be a truly historic moment for Seal, and it would be great for as many of you as possible to be part of this afternoon.

I look forward to hearing from you, and many thanks as always for your support for Seal KYN.

Marion.

Diamond Jubilee Big Lunch

Diamond Jubilation!

It may have been a bit drizzly, but that didn't stop lots of  people turning out for our Diamond Jubilee Big Lunch. The children didn't care a bit if they got damp bouncing on the bouncy castles, there was plenty of food and drink, and plenty of people to share it, so a good time was had by all. I spent four hours on the floor of the pavilion making corgis and spinners with the seemingly numberless small children who turned up, aided by Barbara Martin, my long-suffering husband Philip and even my poor mother, who had come up for the weekend for a family celebration of her own birthday on Monday and found herself pressed into service... It is a risky thing being a member of a priest's family...

Many thanks should go to those who laboured to bring this village celebration about - Nicky Harvey and Marion Gilchrist in particular worked long and hard to bring it together, and many others helped on the day to put marquees up, stock and serve beer, tea and coffee etc.

Many people commented on the lovely atmosphere, and there were quite a few who had never been to anything in Seal before, and were bowled over by the warmth of welcome and the fun of the day.

Photos below are from Nicky Harvey and Jill and Katy Myers - if anyone has any more they'd like to share, please send them along!

The bouncy castles were swarming with children all afternoon

Well done to our team of face painters! Very good work, girls!

Patriotic foodstuffs were in abundance

"Bring and share" always results in a mountain of food!

 People just couldn't resist the urge to dress up...

Craft activities - things being glued to other things (and people).

Union flag spinners made out of paper plates...

Corgis - it's amazing what you can make with an old Actimel bottle, a few bits of cardboard and a bit of ingenuity...

Jubilee Big Lunch posters

Jubilee Big Lunch Posters are available by clicking here

If you can print off and display a poster somewhere, please do. 

Most importantly, please tell others to put the date in the diary and plan to come along (with a plate of food to share!)

Jubilee Big Lunch Plans

Plans for June 3^rd are going very well, but we do need some volunteers to help out with the following please:-

Setting up the beer tent and pavilion for refreshments from 11am – 12.30.

People to man the bouncy castles from 12.30 – 4pm (in half hours shifts)

People to man the refreshments from 12.30 – 4pm (in half hour shifts).

People to assist Anne and Nicky with the childrens’ craft activities (in half hour shifts).

Clearing away at the end.

Clearly, the more volunteers we have, the less time people will have to spend away from their families and friends, and should be able to enjoy the day themselves as well as everybody else, so your contribution of time will be greatly appreciated. If you can spare a bit of time on the day, please e mail me and I will add you to the list.

Many Thanks,

Marion Gilchrist

Jubilee Big Lunch Sunday June 3rd

The Know Your Neighbours group are planning a Big Lunch to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This will take place on Seal Recreation ground on Sunday June 3^rd from 12 noon. It will be a “bring and share” picnic lunch, with a beer tent for liquid refreshments, tea and coffee in the pavilion, and activities for children, rather like the very successful Royal Wedding street party.

We will need help nearer the time with some of the practicalities, though, so please sign the list in church if you are prepared to help, or let us know by email. The success of the event will be entirely dependent on the people that turn up to it, (though good weather would help…) so please put it in your diaries now, and consider whether you can lend a hand!

Please contact Nicky Harvey (01732 457118) for more details.

Two events coming up.

• On Saturday February 11^that 7pm,  Mark Anstis will be holding a quiz night in aid of Help The Heros. Please try and support this. The cost is £5 per head, to include a Ploughmans’ Supper. There will also be a great raffle.

• Over the Christmas period, Ben Gilchrist lost a young friend, Tom,  to meningitis. Obviously, this has had a devastating effect on family and friends. Ben and  Tom’s brother are running the London Marathon for the Meningitis Trust. If you feel you can help by making a donation to this trust, please subscribe to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/26fortom

Notes from KYN meeting 2nd Feb

Plans for Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Torch celebrations

Plans are afoot to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with a "Big Lunch" on the Rec on Sunday June 3. It will be "bring and share" like the Royal Wedding celebration last year, but we are hoping to have a beer tent on site and some children's activities. There is going to be a bunting making session in preparation, so watch out for the date!

KYN will be part of the celebrations to mark the Olympic Torch coming through Seal too on July 20th, helping to organise refreshments and activities for visitors. Plans are still being formulated at the moment in conjunction with the Parish Council and the local schools.

We also talked last night about future plans. We decided not to have a fete this year, as there is a lot going on already, and we may change the format of the Christmas event, so that it takes place on a Saturday afternoon rather than an evening, since many people don't like coming out in the dark evenings. Let us know what you think.

We are also thinking of having a (or some!) Saturday morning "drop in" Know Your Neighbours sessions, perhaps in the Village Hall,  rather than weekday evening meetings, since these might be easier for people to get to.

The full notes from the meeting are here.