Hodnet Life Archives

Family Barbeque Marchamley

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On Sunday 10th September we are holding a big BBQ at Marchamley Club. There will be a marquee in the adjoining field with lots of children’s games and sports activities. We are providing the tables chairs and organising music till 930pm. From 2pm onwards there will be tea, coffee and cakes, followed by the BBQ and buffet later in the afternoon. £2 will be charged for small and £3 for large plates. We are organising barrels of ale, tanners wines and a fun photo booth. We will be putting up the bunting and preparing for a great party.
Everyone is invited and requested to bring a cake or something for the buffet. A meeting to plan the event is scheduled for 730pm on Tuesday August 22nd at Marchamley Club.
Contact: Maureen Howell 01630 685305 or email

Reward for return of lost memory stick

We have been contacted by a local resident who accidentally dropped a USB memory stick outside Hodnet Village Stores yesterday, Sat. 11 March. The shiny silver memory stick was attached to a key ring.
The owner is willing to provide a £10 reward to the person returning it to him provided all the data is still all on it.
If you found it, or know who did, please contact Steve on 07966-239401 or email.

Parish Council Grants

Hodnet Parish CouncilHodnet Parish Council has recently published details of how local community groups, clubs and charities can apply for funding for projects. They are writing to such groups to provide them with the relevant information, but the Application Form and Guidance Notes have also been added to this website.
Full details of the Community Grants Fund 2017/18 can be found on this dedicated page.

An Enjoyable Autumn Walk

Peplow Walk 11/16 GroupOn a mild, still autumn afternoon eight people from the Peplow Community Group met at the Four Alls, Woodseaves for a leisurely walk.
The route followed Tyrley Road down to the locks, then turned northwards along the Shropshire Union Canal, where the autumn colours were still striking. Once in Market Drayton the walkers went down the steps by the bridge onto Berrisford Road and Great Hales Street, before descending Phoenix Bank to the swimming baths.
They negotiated the roadworks on Newtown, to reach Walkmill Road. Then the route turned left and left again after the bridge into Sandy Lane – though the recent rain had made it more muddy than sandy! This leads back to the Four Alls, where the group enjoyed a refreshing drink and a chat.
The group’s next walk is on Friday 9th December and, weather permitting, will see those who come along enjoying the view from the top of the Wrekin. More details.
Click on an image to view the whole gallery:

Marchamley Mysteries Revealed – Photographic Exhibition

The photographic exhibition held in Marchamley on the afternoon of Sunday 6th of November was a resounding success. At least 80 people were seen to attend the event which brought together a variety of photographs relating to Marchamley and the former Hawkstone Estate.

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John Ruscoe, local archivist, exhibited a selection of historic maps, photographs, postcards, posters and other particulars from the 1915 sales catalogue when the estate was broken up. The exhibition included numerous photographs of the area showing how it has changed over time. Images of local people were plentiful as well as a beautiful display of local gardens.

There was an exceptional collection of local wildlife photographs, and a competition to reveal the mysteries of Marchamley. Alice Turner compiled a movie of aerial and other recent photographs of the area all set to music. Gemima Bretell was in attendance with her horse box booth, showcasing cutting edge photographic technology. People perused the displays and chatted over tea and home made cake.

The event was possible thanks to the contributions of photographs from local people gathered and mounted by Vicki Hamblin and Alice Turner. Cakes were supplied by  Zena Brookshaw with contributions from Karen Powell, Lynn Griffiths, Maureen Howell, Yola Gray, and Valerie Smither, flowers from Mulberry Bush Studios in Hodnet and Vicki Hamblin, and china on loan from The Character Jug Company. Maureen Howell organised the publicity and refreshments and  Helen Charnock and Judi Fox volunteered their assistance.

Ann Mitchell, who is the lynchpin of Marchamley club, wall papered the main room of the club prior to the event, and was even working with Brian and a couple of volunteers to clad the roof in bitter weather conditions the day before. Ann delivered the publicity materials, cleaned, made tea, washed and cleared up after the festivities.

We plan various social events at the club over the coming months, and look forward to more get togethers.

 

Wanted: Helper for Brownies

BrowniesFirst Hodnet Brownies are looking for a helper at some of their meetings.
They meet on a Wednesday evening in term time from 5.30pm – 7.00pm, the Hodnet Scout & Guide HQ.
Please contact Emma Noden: 01948840323 or email

New Evening for Peplow Book Club

Book Club IconPeplow Community Book Club has changed the evening it meets from Wednesdays to Tuesdays.
From this month it will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The first meeting being next week on 27th September starting at 8:00pm.
Members gather in each others homes, borrowing books from Shropshire’s Library Service.
For more information please contact the Book Club’s convener Sally Wilson – Tel. 07722-589440 / 01952-840825 or email.
This and other local book clubs are listed on our Monthly Regular Events page.

Do You Recognise This Cat?

Wendy Payne's visiting cat!Wendy Payne wonders if anyone recognises this frequent visitor to her garden in recent weeks.
She says it is a beautiful big black and white cat, very friendly and loves cuddles. She hopes he belongs to someone
Wendy lives in Park View, Hodnet Court.
If you are the owner of the cat, or know who is, please help put Wendy’s mind at ease. You can contact her by email or by phone – 01630 685683.
 

Book Club Starts Again

Book Club IconAs the summer holiday period draws to a close, many activities which have also taken a summer break begin a new season. Next Thursday, 8th September, Marchamley Book Club resumes its monthly meetings in Marchamley Club.
To coincide with this MBC now has its own page on this website, where anyone interested in joining can find out which books are on the reading list for the next few months, and who to contact for more information.
Earlier this year we reported on the three book clubs which are flourishing in this area. Contact details for them all are available on our Monthly Events page. The other two local Book Clubs meet in Hodnet (dates vary, in homes) and Peplow (4th Wed. in homes).

Frank Paddock – Local Artist?

Paddock Painting FullThe webteam have been asked if they can help find out any information about a painting of Church Street, Hodnet signed by Frank Paddock. The date on the painting is ’84 and the scene looks more like 1884 than 1984. The painting (pictured right) shows St. Luke’s Church steps, the property which is presently Mulberry Bush Studios, The Hundred House and The Bear Inn.
Fran Holt, who was bequeathed the picture by her Auntie Annie, shares the story behind it:

I am very fond of this painting of, I believe, Church Street in Hodnet. I look at it each day and wonder about the people in it. Why is that man pointing his walking stick at the pony and trap? Who is the man in the top hat who is driving it? Where is he going? What are the flower sellers talking about? And who is or was Frank Paddock?
My lovely Auntie Annie looked after me when I was a baby, 65 years ago, as my mother was too ill to do so. They were sisters and Auntie had no children of her own so I spent my first few years with her and Uncle Arthur in Market Drayton. We remained close throughout my childhood and I remember them both very fondly. Exactly thirty years ago, Auntie, who was by then a widow, wrote me a letter. She then put it with her Will so I did not receive it until after her funeral. I have it here now:

Fran Holt with her painting by Frank Paddock“Dearest Frances, I feel that my time on earth is approaching its end. You have always been very very special to me and very kind and thoughtful ever since you were a tiny little girl. I have noticed how fond you are of my Hodnet painting: you gaze at it with such a lovely smile each time you come to see me. I very much fell in love with it myself when I first saw it 2 years ago and decided I must buy it. I don’t mind admitting that it was a fair old price but I have never regretted the extravagance. Well, when I have finished with it, I want you to have it. All my love: Auntie Annie”

I wonder whether there is anyone in Hodnet who can throw some light on the picture or the artist?

The painting is an oil on canvas and measures approximately 24×18 inches. The artist’s signature is enlarged below. Paddock was not necessarily from the Hodnet, though he may have been Shropshire based. (This author has found two references to paintings by him on the internet – one of English Bridge in Shrewsbury and a water colour of Llandudno.) However, if anyone can provide more information about him, or Fran’s painting, please email David and Fran.
Paddock Painting SignatureUpdate Sept. 2017:
We have received a message from Jane Taylor who lived at RAF Shawbury in the early 1980s. She says that  she commissioned Frank Paddock in 1982 to paint an old family farmhouse in Scotland from a photo. She still has the painting and on the back there is a telephone number and an address in Market Drayton, which we have passed on to Fran and David.
If anyone else has remembers Frank Paddock from that period, please get in touch.