Congratulations to Carolyn Loftin on raising the significant sum of £592 for Breast Cancer Now, a charity very close to her heart. The afternoon tea with raffle was great fun and very well attended. Most importantly, Carolyn raised awareness that breast cancer is not just a woman's concern, it also affects men so it's important to have that check-up.

Carolyn would like to thank everyone who supported this event:

"Gosh so many people to thank! Sophie for making the boob cake - I think the star of the show and everyone loved it! Jay for making the delicious boob profiteroles, Jo H, Sharn, Stefan, Helen, Patsy, Denise for the sandwiches - the list goes on!"

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Our BBQ and pizza evening on Saturday was a fantastic success, drawing in around 70 neighbours, family, and friends, including plenty of children and dogs! Thankfully, the scorching temperatures from the day before had cooled down a little, accompanied by a refreshing breeze. While it was still a bit toasty for those manning the BBQ and pizza oven, it didn't dampen the spirits. On the bright side, we've now got even more pizza-baking experts in our midst!

At our coffee morning on 6th June, Bill Simmons, Head of Community Transport for Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC), gave a very informative presentation on their door-to-door "Dial-a-Ride" service.

This is aimed primarily at those who are unable to use public transport, aiming to promote freedom and independence by enabling visits to the shops, to friends, to the doctors, etc. Return journeys to Bedford South Wing Hospital are also available. Vehicles are fully accessible and are equipped with a tail lift for wheelchairs.

What a huge turn-out for the plant sale and duck race this year! We were so fortunate that the rain that was forecast held off and everyone was able to enjoy this popular event. 

Huge thanks to William and Jo Hollington for their generosity in hosting the plant sale and cream teas in their garden, and to Friends of Sutton Church and all those who helped. Such a beautiful space to enjoy the delicious cakes, meet friends old and new, and choose from such a wide variety of healthy annual and perennial plants and hanging baskets. ​

The now annual Plant Sale took place at The Old Rectory on 16th /17th May and again was blessed with good weather and a great turnout. This year we invited Hinxworth Art Society to exhibit and sell their paintings in the church and there were two
extravagant and detailed dolls houses also in the pews.

The usual early morning queue of ‘those in the know’ on the Saturday morning resulted in an initial order for 15 cucumber plants followed by a steady flow of customers. They were able to sample the ploughman’s lunches and cream teas up on the terrace, and to tour round the other attractions and stalls in the marquee, including the WI tombola, a book stall, raffle, pottery and jams, with ‘Kaz’s Crafty
Bits’ doing good trade in her own gazebo. The model railway ran all weekend in the side garden and was well used by young and old.

Sunday started quietly but developed into a real crowd over lunch leading up to the Duck Race at 3pm. Luckily, we had catered for two car parks which were full to the brim at the peak time. The school parents and children laid on an additional large stall in the marquee. The scouts had a stall on the middle lawn next to where many young children played on the slides and treehouse.

David Ingham, Project Manager at Albion Archaeology, gave a fascinating presentation on Sutton's 14th century kiln to an audience of more than 80 residents of Sutton, local history societies and interested neighbours.

We learned that prior to the construction of a new multi-use sports pitch at Sutton Primary School last year, CBC decided to do a dig to look for any interesting history beneath the site. Archaeologists then found a 16th century kiln which they believe would have been used to make pots for the surrounding area. 

However, subsequent work has established that the kiln might be as old as the late 14th century which means it may have been in operation at the time of the War of the Roses. David explained: "We already knew that medieval pottery was made at Everton, but finding a large kiln producing similar pottery three miles away at Sutton suggests that this area of Central Bedfordshire played a much more significant part in the region's medieval pottery industry than we previously realised. The kiln was probably used at some point in the decades following the Black Death." The kiln would have had a dome over the top to keep the heat in and enable mass production.

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Hotbuckle's adaptation of "The Return of the Native" at Sutton Village Hall was a masterclass in intimate, atmospheric storytelling. Bringing Thomas Hardy’s sprawling Wessex to a local stage is no small feat, yet the ensemble captured the brooding essence of Egdon Heath with remarkable ingenuity. 

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The performance relied on Hotbuckle’s signature style: multi-role playing and minimal set design that prioritised emotional depth over spectacle. The small cast moved with fluidity, shifting seamlessly between the tragic, restless Eustacia Vye and the idealistic Clym Yeobright. The use of live folk music and rhythmic percussion grounded the play in the rural traditions Hardy so loved, making the village hall feel like an extension of the wild, unyielding landscape. 

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Events this year included: ​​

• advent windows throughout the village

• the duck race

• the Birmingham Conservatoire

• wine tasting

• Sutton competitions

• Oktoberfest

• regular walks

• pizza / BBQ evenings

• our popular coffee mornings

• table tennis sessions.

Hall usage has decreased by 5% from last year but income from hiring the hall is £2000 higher.

Regular groups include:

• Lindy Lou's adventures in music

• Line dancing

• Life-drawing class

• Private dance practice

• D-Railed Dance

• Sutton Lower School

• Vibrance and self-development

• Sutton WI

• Microdrone flying

• Healing sessions

• Pilates

• Dog training

• FOSC

• Sewing workshop

• Locrian Choir

• Parish Council meetings

Sutton's first Oktoberfest brought a slice of German festivity right into the heart of the village, the hall completely transformed with long tables and Bavarian bunting. The celebration was well attended with several welcome guests in traditional Bavarian dress helping to really capture the spirit!

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Huge thanks to William and Jo Hollington for their generosity in hosting the plant sale and cream teas in their garden. Such a beautiful space to enjoy the delicious cakes, meet friends old and new, and buy all the plants we need to add some colour to our gardens for the summer.

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Sutton Village Hall has purchased a new Cornilleau Sport 100 indoor table tennis table that is now available to everyone to use in the hall. For Sutton residents, the use of the table, 4 bats and balls is free and hiring the hall is £8 per hour.

For non-residents of Sutton, it's £10 per session to hire the table, bats and balls plus £11 per hour to hire the hall.

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Bats and balls can be obtained from the Lettings Officer when collecting the hall keys.

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Contact us to book table tennis or ask a question.

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Guide to setting up and using the table.

Events this year included: ​​

• advent windows throughout the village

• whisky tasting

• Gilbert and Sullivan evening

• the duck race

• D-Day bell ringing

• the Birmingham Conservatoire

• Sutton competitions

• Pete Horsfall and friends jazz evening

• regular walks

• pizza / BBQ evenings

• our popular coffee mornings.

The number of days the hall has been used has increased from 258 to 287 this year, an increase of 10%.

The top four regular groups contribute 61% of income. Regular groups include:

• D-Railed Dance

• TJ's line dancing

• Life-drawing class

• Sutton Lower School

• Sit and Stay dog training

• Dance practice

• Microdrone-flying

• Vibrance

• Sutton WI

• Locrian Choir

• Healing sessions

• Sutton Parish Council

• FOSC

• Tonic yoga

• Sewing workshop.

An intimate evening played to a packed Village Hall made this one of the best nights in Sutton for Pete Horsfall and his fellow musicians. The relaxed atmosphere created a closeness with the audience which heightened emotions and delight in the music.

The theme for this year's Sutton competitions was "the weather" and the quality of the entries was impressive!

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​​Entries were displayed in Sutton Village Hall at the coffee morning on Saturday 10th August and trophies were awarded to the winners. by Councillor Adam Zerny.​

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Art (adult) winner - Penny Morgan

Art (junior) winner - Kiera Carolan

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Poetry (adult) winner - Barbara McCormick

Poetry (junior) winner - Olivia Carolan​

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Photography winner - Gabi Rinck

Photography runner-up - Peter Shawley

Saturday's coffee morning saw the opening of Sutton Village Hall's container which will provide secure storage for the many groups using the hall. The container is in the grounds adjacent to the hall. It is watertight and has been fitted with shelving along one side to maximise the space available and to allocate sections to each group.

Sutton's annual duck race for 2024 took place at 3pm on Sunday 19th May at Sutton Ford in lovely weather. Many thanks to the large crowd who turned out to watch and to all who bought and sold tickets. The prize winning tickets are follows: 

1st - £150 - 524

2nd - £75 - 1283

3rd - £50 - 1315

4th - £25 - 984

The hall now has its very own dishwasher thanks to funding from the Central Beds Ward Councillor Grant Scheme, Councillor Wye's allocation. Tracy Wye (in the photo) presented the dishwasher at the April coffee morning.

Our hosts led us through a tasting of five very varied single malt whiskies, including one from the Cotswolds. It was a great opportunity to compare different flavours side by side. The tasting wheel placemats proved to be very helpful in identifying  hints of cream soda, toffee, drambuie, smoked cheese, even bonfires to name a few!

Our warmest thanks to everyone for making it such a successful and enjoyable evening! View Gallery.

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Events this year included: ​​

• advent windows throughout the village

• whisky tasting

• Pete Horsfall and friends jazz evening

• Coronation celebration

• the duck race

• the Birmingham Conservatoire

• Mark Carey theatre "Into the Breach"

• pizza / BBQ evenings

• our popular coffee mornings.

The number of bookings has increased from 329 to 440 in the past 12 months. Regular groups contribute 60% of income and include:

• D-Railed Dance

• life-drawing class

• Sutton Lower School

• Vibrance

• TJ's line dancing

• Sutton WI

• microdrone-flying

• Sutton Parish Council

• FOSC

• Sutton Wildlife Group 

• Sit and Stay dog training

The theme of this year's Sutton Annual Competitions was "nature". There were 3 categories:

• art: adult, junior (under 13 years)

• poetry: adult, junior (under 13 years)

• photography: all ages

Entries were displayed at the coffee morning on 12th August and trophies awarded to the winners.

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A huge crowd gathered to watch the duck race at the Packhorse Bridge on Sunday 21st May at 3pm and cheered on a record number of 1250 ducks to the finishing line under the bridge!

Thank you to everyone for your great support with this event.

This one-man theatre production set in a Devon village hall towards the end of WWII was
captivatingly acted by Mark Carey from start to finish, playing more than half a dozen characters. The early pantomime audition scene afforded the only minor costume change behind the minimalist
scenery. It provided the audience with an opportunity for good natured pantomime heckling and participation in the obligatory pantomime song.

Work has now been completed on linking the kitchen at the hall to mains drainage. It previously went into a soakaway, resulting in issues with blockages, so this should help to address this in the future.

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Sutton Village Hall now has its own Facebook page where we will post events and news on what's happening at the hall.

Just select the three dots icon at the top right of the page and then "Follow" to  receive notifications on new posts.

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You are invited to give feedback on events using the Comments field and to contact us using the Message option at the top of the page.

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Sutton Parish Council is looking for four parishioners who would like to join Speedwatch and for a co-ordinator to liaise between the police and volunteers.