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Christmas Bazaar
30th November 2013

The annual Christmas Bazaar was held on Saturday 30th November at the Village Hall.

Father Christmas arrived at mid-day to give out presents from his grotto and saw 32 children who all left with a gift from Santa. A total in excess of £1,200 was raised in aid of the Village Hall.

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Beetle Drive
2nd November 2013

On Saturday 2nd November the Horticultural Society ran a charity Beetle Drive in aid of this year's sponsored charity, Parkinsons UK. 40 people attended, had a lot of hilarity and great tea and cakes half way through.
You wouldn't think it could be so much fun!!

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Food Fayre
19th October 2013

The evening was attended by over 70 people. The food ranged from delicious soups to pies to many other autumnal dishes. There were some fantastic sweet dishes and even wines made from local produce. Everyone who came said how enjoyable the evening was, all the more so as it was totally without charge.

Praise must go to the eight local horticulture groups who put on the evening, all coordinated by Tony Rogers,Chairman of the InterSociety Horticultural Group.

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Amble Ramble
11th May 2013

On Saturday 11th May eleven people and a dog set out on a walk around some of the local footpaths.

We met at St. Mary’s Church Car Park to be greeted with a heavy shower of rain but, luckily, as we started our walk the sun came out and it remained good weather for the duration.

Once the rather wet and muddy area near the second stile at the back of the church was negotiated, the rest of the walk was pleasantly dry underfoot.

The walk was longer than the rather short walk of last year and, as any walk in this area, had many stiles, all of which Isabel negotiated with her usual 'style'.

I think some people may have found the walk a bit too long, but the interesting views of the countryside and display of bluebells compensated for any tiredness.

After the walk we arrived at the Baptist Church for a welcoming lunch of soup, rolls and cheese, kindly prepared by Hilda, assisted by Len.

There were 13 for the lunch, as Gill & Malcolm were put off walking by the rain.  Thanks Gill for helping with the washing up.

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Isabel’s Drop-in Daffodil Day
March 19th 2013

In spite of a lack of daffodils in the garden, Daffodil Day was the biggest success ever.

A continual flow of visitors came and went, after enjoying cakes, tea and coffee in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Cake Stall did a roaring trade, raising £173. The total for the day was an all time record - £514 - over £100 more than last year. We were happy to hand this over to the Friends of St. Mary's for the upkeep of our church. Thank you to everyone involved.






This is not an outside event so, next year, don’t worry if it’s raining – no-one will force you to walk round a muddy garden.

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Women's World Day of Prayer
1st March 2013

The annual Women’s World Day of Prayer service was celebrated at the Baptist Church Ramsden Bellhouse on Friday 1st March.   This year the service was prepared by the women of France with the theme “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” .

After the service we all enjoyed an excellent meal and a time of fellowship together. So why don’t you put the date in your diary for next year, March 7th 2014 and join us. The service is being prepared by the women of Egypt, the theme being “Streams in the desert”.

If you would like to know more, please speak to anyone who worships at any of our five churches in the area namely, Baptist Church and St Mary’s in Ramsden Bellhouse;  Christian Growth Centre in Ramsden Heath;
St Margaret’s in Downham;   St Peter’s in South Hanningfield.

To read a fuller account of the service, click here.

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History of Ramsden
23rd, 24th February 2013

The cold February weekend did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm and interest of the steady flow of visitors to this Exhibition.   It was great to see so many new faces, as well as the regular enthusiasts.

On Saturday afternoon, Anthony Gouldsmith brought his "Jovett Long 4" car, which was displayed in the car park.  This lovely old car started life on June 1st 1926 in Glebe Road, and generated considerable interest, especially among the boys of all ages.
(See last year's report in "News archive" to view the car.)
Copies of pictures and maps were available at very reasonable prices and, in all, £327 was raised for the Ramsden Bellhouse Village Hall.  It was a great community effort.

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Annual General Meeting
27th January 2013

The AGM of Ramsden Bellhouse Village Hall took place on Sunday 27th January, with over 80 people in atttendance.  Opening the Meeting, Tony Rogers, Vice Chairman, announced that he was taking the meeting in the absence of our Chairman, Clive Jeffree, whose wife had recently passed away following a long illness.  We send our sincere condolences to the family on their very sad loss.

The financial position is in very good shape, with both halls being used on a regular basis.   Various events are organised by the committee throughout the year to help cover the costs of running the halls.

The reporting stage of the AGM now over, the meeting turned its attention to the selection of next year’s charity.  

There were three speakers each supporting one of the following charities:
1) HELEN ROLLASON CANCER CHARITY.
2) THE RETHINK COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP (SW ESSEX).
3) WICKFORD PARKINSON SOCIETY.

The selection was by a show of hands with BILLERICAY & DISTRICT PARKINSON'S SOCIETY being successful as the next year’s charity.  

This was then followed with the presentation of a cheque for £5,312 to a representative of last year’s charity, THE J'S HOSPICE.

The final section on the agenda was the voting in of the Committee to serve for the coming year.   The list below were proposed, seconded and voted in by the meeting.

Finally, questions from the floor were put forward to the Committee for clarification.   The meeting then ended with refreshments and time for a chat.

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