---

Village Hall kitchen upgrade

The Village Hall kitchen upgrade was carried out in the summer of
2015 and was officially opened on 1st September 2015 by
Councillor Terri Sargent.

To read the Chairman's report click here.

---

Horticultural InterSocieties Group

---

Horticultural Society Autumn Flower and Produce Show

On Saturday 12th September, Ramsden Bellhouse Horticultural Society held their Annual Autumn Show at the Village Hall.

Because of the time of the year, the vegetable section of the show was brimming over with entries.
The floral art section had some lovely displays and the homecraft (cookery) classes with the cakes and jams, discovered some new talents from our male and female members.

To read a full account of the event as well as view all the photos, click here.

---

St. Mary's Flower Festival & Songs of Praise
29th to 31st August 2015

The Flower festival at St Mary's over the Bank Holiday weekend was once again a great success and a credit to all those who were involved in any way.

This year's theme was 'Colo urs' and the display of wonderful flower arrangements in the Church was magnificent.

Grateful thanks to the many people who assisted in running the event, including erecting the tents, manning the stalls and providing and serving the refreshments and, of course, to the visitors who came along and made it all worthwhile. The total amount raised was £2,873.

Click here to read a fuller account of the Flower Festival

Click here to see the Flower Show photo gallery pictures

---

Cream Tea in the Garden

Horticultural Society Charity event for St. Luke’s Hospice
Monday 17th August 2015

This was a very well supported event and thanks to all who came along.

Held at Ramsden Park, the Ramsden Bellhouse Horticultural Society members welcomed a group from the Maldon Cottage Garden Society as well as members from surrounding horticultural societies. Many other friends and neighbours came too, making a very happy afternoon.

Numbers did take us a little by surprise and the offer of a refill ‘cuppa’ was, perhaps a little ambitious as our tea-makers were almost run into the ground trying to keep up!! The scones nearly held up, but hopefully everyone received either a cream tea or one of the range of cakes on offer.

Representatives from St. Luke’s Hospice visited briefly but, due to a heavy schedule of commitments, were sadly unable to stay and talk about the care the Hospice offers to the community.

Altogether a sunny, happy and successful event, with nearly 200 supporting us and £1,100 raised for the Village Hall Charity.

A huge ‘Thank You’ to all the helpers and supporters.

To see the full photo gallery click here.

---

Village Hall kitchen upgrade

The Village Hall in Ramsden Bellhouse will receive its first facelift in 25 years thanks to a £14,500 grant.   It is hoped the work be completed by the end of August.

The Management Committee apologise for any inconvenience caused to our Village Hall sections and hirers.   We will keep you updated on the progress.

To see the story so far click here.

---

Ramsden Bellhouse Music Festival
Party on the Green
27th June 2015

D’ukes, a very popular ukulele band, opened the Festival at 4pm as people came in and took their preferred spots under the marquees or on their own seats or blankets on the grass.

The singer Hollie Barrie, our local celebrity from
‘The Voice', was on next, followed by
David Van Day and Sue Moxley aka 'Rich and Famous'.

The hog roast included in the ticket seemed to be very popular and this was on offer right through to the end of the evening.  Anyone running out of drink could pop over the road to the local shop, Hemmings Stores Too, and replenish their stocks, or have a cup of tea or coffee as Kish and Jay kindly stayed open
until 11 o’clock. : Daren was on hand with the Village fish & chip van to provide a selection of hot food.

The last act to perform was Andre Dennison & Austin Drage aka Mijini
who had the crowds on their feet dancing until midnight.

The DJ linked all the acts together with great music as well as a laser show
when it got dark.

The day ended at midnight; a resounding success enjoyed by one and all.

After costs, £1,400 was raised, and goes towards the upkeep of Ramsden Bellhouse Village Hall,
which is a registered charity.

If you are interested in coming next year please send an e-mail to annwellborne@btopenworld.com
and I will get in touch when we have agreed on a date.

---

St. Mary's Church Strawberry Tea
20th June 2015

The Strawberry Cream Tea held at the Village Hall on Saturday 20th June was an outstanding success, raising a massive £700 for St. Mary's Church funds, which was some £170 more than our first
Strawberry Tea last year.   Ninety teas were served, and it was a very happy social afternoon, giving
rise to a number of favourable comments.

---

Horticultural Society Summer Show
13th June 2015

The Summer Show was quite successful from the point of view relating to the roses and garden flowers exhibited.

The slight disappointment was a lack of vegetable exhibits brought on by the unusual British Summer this year.   The cooler conditions obviously helped the flowers to flourish but not the vegetables.

There were a total of 135 entries from members and a further 30 entries from children (mainly in the under 5 year age grouping)   The visitor numbers were considerably up on recent Shows.

Well done to all who participated in this communal event.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

---

Musical Moments  30th May 2015

The Village Hall was full to capacity for the concert given by Billericay Operatic Society and organised by the Ramsden Bellhouse Horticultural Society.

The range of musicals covered was remarkable, with songs chosen from a variety of popular musicals along with some less well known shows.

The proceeds for the evening of over £600 were shared between the Horticultural Society and the Billericay Operatic Society.

To read a full account of the evening click here.

---

St George’s Day Breakfast - 26th April 2015

The St. George’s Day breakfast was the most popular yet.  You came from all around, Ramsden Heath, Crays Hill, Wickford, Billericay and even further.

We served 250 people in three hours, 213 full breakfasts and
37 half breakfasts, so please forgive us if there were a few blips.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the day and hope you did too.

We hope to see you all again next year and promise to have better music!

---

Big Band Concert     25th April 2015

On Saturday evening St. Mary's Church was full to bursting and resounded with the great sound of the
Sid Bolan Big Band.

The evening got off to a great start with Glen Miller's American Patrol and continued with songs from the band's two vocalists, Libby, who gave a great rendition of The Lady is a Tramp and John, singing Beyond the Sea made famous by Bobby Darin. The evening ended with Woodchopper's Ball.

A cheese and wine supper was enjoyed during the interval which was held in the Church grounds.   Thank you to Beryl Clements, Audrey Pegrum and her family for preparing the buffet and to everyone else who helped make the evening such a success, raising £800 in aid of well needed Church funds.

To find out more about Sid Bolan Big Band click www.sidbolanbigband.co.uk.

Click here to see St. Mary's Church.

---

Palm Sunday   Sunday 29th March 2015

On a very cold and wet morning the Palm Sunday worship commenced at Ramsden Bellhouse Baptist Church with the distribution of palm crosses.

This was followed by a procession of witness in the rain to St. Mary's Church for a combined service of Holy Communion.   The service was taken by the Reverend Miranda Seaman and the sermon given by Jim Hamilton, the Baptist Minister.

Following the service the congregation joined together for refreshments.

A very enjoyable and uplifting, morning, especially when the sun came out briefly and shone brightly through the Church windows.

---

St. Mary's Church Quiz Night
27th March 2015

A very successful evening was enjoyed by over 60 people and £440 raised in aid of St. Mary's Church.  Thanks to our quiz masters, Angela and Steve Tuff, as well as Audrey and Alan Pegrum for the organisation.

---

Women's World Day of Prayer
6th March 2015

The annual Women’s World Day of Prayer service was celebrated at the Baptist Church Ramsden Bellhouse on Friday 6th March.

Our five churches in the area took part, 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.

---

History of Ramsden
28th February, 1st March 2015

February 28th and 1st March saw the History of Ramsden once more at the village hall.   It was well attended, though sadly most visitors came from outside the village.   Representatives came from Wickford Community Archives to promote the local history of this area, and Steve Tuff promoted the village website and offered copies of the exhibits at very reasonable prices.

---

Official Opening of Memorial and Remembrance Garden
23rd February 2015

---

Annual General Meeting
25th January 2015

The Village Hall AGM was held on Sunday 25th January 2015 in the New Hall at 3pm.

The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming those present, apologies were received and last year’s minutes were approved. He opened his report by outlining the last year’s events, thanking all those who helped in their execution, as some of these events require a lot of hard work.

The next subject was the nomination for the next year’s charity. Presentations were made on behalf of two charities, followed by a vote. The vote is restricted to either persons living in Ramsden Bellhouse or those associated with the hall or any club at the hall.

There were two speakers, each supporting one of the following charities:

   1) HELEN ROLLASON CANCER CHARITY
   2) ST. LUKE'S HOSPICE

The selection, by a show of hands, elected ST. LUKE'S HOSPICE as this year’s charity.

This was then followed with the presentation of a cheque for £2,632 to a representative of last year’s charity, ESSEX AIR AMBULANCE.

Photographs were taken and a short thank you speech made to all who contributed to the effort.

Next on the list was the election of officers to the hall management committee. All the officers and members of the present committee had agreed to be nominated to sit for another year.

The final section on the agenda was the voting in of the Committee to serve for the coming year.   The names listed 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.

NEXT YEAR’S AGM WILL BE HELD IN JANUARY 2016 – ALL ARE WELCOME
PLEASE COME ALONG AND MEET US