It completely sold out which was splendid. Andrew was the Quizmaster who always makes the evening great fun and everyone enjoyed the questions. Dave from Crossways fish and chip shop supplied nearly 80 delicious suppers; he and his team worked very hard, getting them ready on time and piping hot. The profit raised for the NSPCC’s vital work was a fantastic £928.
Befriended welcome guests to their Christmas Lunch at 12 noon in the Village Centre, particularly if you would otherwise be on your own on Christmas Day. To make your reservation please ring 0300 772 7703 or contact office@befriended.org.
Recycling: I see from Colin McFarlin’s excellent column in Hurst Life that West Sussex County Council has just announced the good news that you can now put toothpaste tubes with the caps on into the blue recycling bin. Not many councils do this, so we are very fortunate that ours does. But hard toothpaste tubes with pumps on top are NOT recyclable so should go into the grey landfill bin as they are made from a different type of plastic.
Friday, December 6, 7-9.30 pm, Village Centre: Hurst Twinning Association Christmas Party, in the Conference Room. Old and new friends of the Association are cordially invited to celebrate a very successful year over a glass of wine and some festive food. Please get in touch if you would like to attend. Contact hpsctwinningchair@gmail.com or hpsctwinningsecretary@gmail.com.
Saturday, December 7, 3 pm, Holy Trinity Church: Mid Sussex Sinfonia’s Christmas Concert with music www.midsussexsinfonia.com/tickets or from Sue Carpenter on 01273 478036 and suelcarpenter@gmail.com. £13 in advance or £15 on the door.
Saturday, December 21, 6 pm, Music in Holy Trinity Church: The final event this year welcome the Hurst, Hassocks & Ditchling U3a Singers, directed by Marcus Martin with Music for the Christmas season, with some carols for us all to sing. Seats are still only £8 each; you can book by emailing margaret@112a.co.uk or you can just turn up and pay on the door.
The programme for the first six months of next year is almost complete and includes poetry and music from the Hurst Poetry Group, Matthew’s music students, Lou Beckerman, Julie Roberts & Mike Hatchard, the Magdalena Reising Trio and Anckorn & Dolovich. Nearly always on third Saturdays.
Christmas Services and Events in our local churches: Holy Trinity Church: Wednesday, December 4, 7.30pm Mothers’ Union Advent Evening with carols and readings, followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
Sunday, December 8, 3-4.30pm Family Christmas Crafts for pre-school and primary children. Sunday, December 22, 6pm, Candlelit Carol Service followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
Christmas Eve, 3pm and 4.30pm, Crib Services – a lively service for all ages. Children are welcome to come dressed as their favourite nativity character. 11.30pm Midnight Mass. Christmas Day, 8 am Christmas Communion – a simple said service. 10am Christmas Family Communion – a celebration for all ages.
Good News Church: Sunday, December 22, 3.30pm: Carols and cakes – an informal carol service. Christmas Day Service 10am.
And into next year which is coming up fast!
Hurst Village Cinema, January films: Thursday 9th, Pan’s Labyrinth (15); Thursday 16th, Sword of Trust (15); Friday 24th, Magnolia (18). All information www.hurstfilms.com. Where you can also sign up for their newsletter and book tickets.
Saturday, January 11, The Hurstpierpoint Wassail. This is an old Twelfth Night custom to ensure a good apple harvest in the year ahead, through singing, processing and generally having fun.
It aims to frighten away bad spirits and encourage the trees to product lots of lovely fruit! It was so successful last year, so the Parish Council is repeating it. There will be a two-hour workshop in the Village Centre, led by Jo Burke from Brighton Folk Choir, followed by the Wassail itself at 5 pm. More information in next month's Hurst Life, which I will copy into this column for you.
Tuesday, January 14, 7.45pm in the Village Centre Club Suite: Hurstpierpoint Horticultural Society. Drinks, nibbles, chat and a Fun Quiz! All are welcome. More information from Kathy Green on 01273 833729.
Please keep the information coming so that I can keep people in touch with what is happening. It’s particularly useful for people who don’t use social media or the internet.