Category Archives: Past Events

Sixty-five people joined the cruise which stopped off at many interesting places to sample the local wines which were varied and included a white from Croatia and reds from Lebanon and Morocco.

The evening was led by Captain Paul Boyle to whom thanks go for his hard work in researching and sampling and to those setting out food, to the pourers and the raffle ticket sellers.

All highly enjoyable and nearly £1,000 raised for EVH funds.

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• The final art study day led by Dr. Graham Whitham covered British Art 1940-2015.There were four talks:
  1. War, Optimism and Anxiety c. 1940-1960
  2. Between Europe and USA c. 1950-1970
  3. The Changing Status Quo c. 1968-1990
  4. The Young British Artists)and Beyond 1988-2015.
  A great and informative day was had by all. Unfortunately Graham has decided to retire and take his wife off travelling around Europe so there were farewells and Sally Coston presented gifts to Graham and the three “kitchen fairies”: Jan Stanyon, Paul Boyle and Sarah Boyle who have produced refreshments for the art days over the last three years.
  Sally has raised £16,000 through staging these events. James Staniland thanked her and presented some bottles of wine to her on behalf of the trustees and said a few words about new hall plans.

Dr Graham Whitham

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reported by Malcolm Richardson.

Some 65 people enjoyed a leisurely meander through France at a French Wine Tasting evening in the village hall on 28^th October.  Some old favourites were on the menu, although wine guru Paul Boyle also introduced us to some different varieties such as Picpoul de Pinet from the Languedoc region.

The wines were accompanied by a variety of ‘nibbles’, such as prawns, cheeses, olives and saucisson, to demonstrate how wine varies with food.

Paul was an interesting and knowledgeable speaker, never lapsing into ‘wine speak’ so those of us who just like wine, rather than worship it, were never lost.

The event raised over £850 for the Village Hall.

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reported by Michael Barker.  A great night was had by all at the Village Hall when a full house of enthusiastic music lovers was treated to an exciting and entertaining programme of big band jazz courtesy of The Jazz Project Big Band.

The band, led from the drum kit by Adrian Bashford, and MC’d by the urbane Mike Hatchard at the keyboard, ran through a varied repertoire of old and new numbers with great panache and musicality. Their ensemble work and solos were of the very highest calibre and were greatly appreciated by all in the hall.

The bar also did lively business and I’m sure all present, audience and band, are hoping that The Jazz Project will be back at the Village Hall in the near future. 

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reported by Malcolm Richardson.  Eynsford Gardeners’ Club staged a record breaking Annual Show on Sunday 11th September in the Village Hall with over 100 entrants for the first time, displaying entries which included flowers, vegetables, cookery, art and crafts, and photography.  There were also some dazzling exhibits from children showing off their skill in making cakes, photographs and even decorated vegetable animals!  Once again the show was supported by residents who enjoyed the displays and a chance to catch up with friends over a cup of tea and a few homemade cakes.  At the end, many of the items were auctioned off so nothing went to waste! 

Cup winner Karen Langridge with Jason

Cup winner Margaret Newbold with Jason

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with many thanks to organiser Carole and her helpers and to photographer James.

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reported by James Staniland.  Once again, on Saturday 19th March 2016 we had another sell out Art Study Day given by Dr. Graham Whitham and chaired by Sally Coston.

Dr. Whitham kept us enthralled with four talks on “Tradition and Modernism: British Art 1880-1939”. 

He started with the modernist rebellions: Camden Town to Vorticism which was really the beginnings of modern art and how artists rebelled against the hierarchy of the Royal Academy and started to paint and display scenes of workers and people experiencing hardship – pictures the middle classes would have felt uncomfortable hanging in their living rooms.

Things changed rapidly with the first world war. Although there was black and white film, artists were commissioned to paint scenes giving colour to the battle scenes and showing the glory of the war for propaganda purposes. We were shown pictures such as John Singer Sargent’s “Gassed” and “dazzle ships” in which Edward Wadsworth played a major part. Paintings during the war were not allowed to depict dead Empire soldiers.

We were shown works from Henry Tonks who painted many mutilated faces of the battle-wounded to assist Harold Gillies in his fine work in the early days of plastic surgery. 

After the war the rebelliousness of the pre-war artists had dwindled and there was a return to realism as artists returned to painting the English countryside and other nationalist scenes as our country recovered to regain its identity. However by 1930 abstraction and surrealism were in vogue and many British artists returned from France to further develop the styles of their counterparts in Europe.  

Other artists covered by Dr. Whitham included the sculptors Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Jacob Epstein and painters:  Augustus John and his sister Gwen.

Jan Stanyon, Sarah Boyle and Paul Boyle produced the usual delicious lunch and kept us plied with hot drinks in the intervals. Many thanks to all of them for their tireless help.

It was a thoroughly interesting day and, as usual, everyone left completely satisfied.  There are a few tickets available for the next Art Study Day which is on 19th November.

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Five in a Bar girls quintet

On Saturday 28th November a full house at Eynsford village hall was entertained by Eynsford’s own Von Trapp family – the Booer family.

From Tim and Eileen at front of house, through Paul and Helena singing to Sandra both singing and conducting, three generations of the family were involved.

Supported by the “Vocalise” choir, “Five in a Bar” girls quintet, soloist Andrew Sparling and pianist Laetitia Federici, we were treated to an evening of seasonal songs and poems. The audience listened to a range of songs, traditional and modern, ranging from Handel’s halleluiah chorus through to ‘the song that goes like this’ from Spamalot interspersed with seasonal poems.

The finale was a rather more sophisticated than usual carol concert with the audience singing the carols and the choir singing the descant.

This very successful evening raised over £1000 for the Village Hall’s funds.

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A selection of Spanish wine was enjoyed under the direction of wine master Paul Boyle. A cava starter and tapas all helped the evening to go with a great flow. Paul, Sarah and Malcolm have thanks from all in a full hall.

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