EVENTS
for members and friends
Sadleir Summer Party
The summer party took place in Gerald and Diana Dale's garden
in Standon on 31 July 2010. Unlike 
Gosforth's Fête, in the play of that
name by
Alan Aykbourn, the evening was not marred by heavy rain, nor by
unfortunate announcements on a loudspeaker system. Rather, the reading
of this play by a group of members was much enjoyed by members and
friends in the sunlight, without anyone announcing publicly that she was pregnant.
The play reading was followed by a sumptuous meal, washed down with
whatever the members brought with them.
The audience sit (above left), glasses in hand, facing the "stage" in
anticipation of the play, as members of the cast prepare behind them.
Below are two scenes from the play.
Poems and Pints Celebrates
President's 90th Birthday
On 9th April 2010 in Standon Village Hall, members and friends enjoyed an evening of Poems and Pints (wine, actually) and some very good food.
As it happened, the Club President, Joan Burr, was about to have her 90th birthday on the following day. So the whole evening was dedicated to her and all the money raised (£1,000) went to one of her favourite charities, Help for Heroes. Joan has been a member of the Club since it was founded in 1944.
David Atkins congratulates
Joan Burr after his contribution
to the Evening
Somehow, the Club had managed to keep the format of the
evening secret from her. So, she 
was greatly surprised to find the hall
adorned with birthday wishes and posters for Help for Heroes when she
arrived. Many of the poems that were read by various members were her
favourites, picked out by her daughter.
Gerald Dale (pictured, right) conducted proceedings with his usual aplomb and bad jokes. One of the items was a recreation of an act from a play which Joan had herself directed in the 1970s. Some of the original cast took part in this reading (see picture below), which required some suspension of disbelief, since they were no longer the right ages for the characters that they played!
Amongst the other contributions were poems read by Penny Wheadon, who is Joan's daughter, and Claire Bell.
