On Saturday 16th January 2010 at Wilcove village hall the Torpoint & District Twinning Association held its first event of 2010 - a Victorian Candlelit Supper. The event was well attended with over 40 members and guests present.

The hall was set out beautifully and the entertainments committee did us all proud by putting on a three course meal of superb quality and quantity!

Soup, Roast Beef and all the trimmings followed by a wide variety of puddings with coffee and after-dinner mints. Each table also had a carafe of wine!

The theme of the evening of course was Victorian and most of those present turned up in variety of Victorian dress - we had Ladies and Gentlemen, serving wenches and farmhands, chimney- sweeps and even a wounded Highland soldier from the Crimea attended by none other than Florence Nightingale!!

After dinner entertainment was provided by Eric serenading Paulette with "You'd look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle made for two" which she wisely declined to try out! Then Janet & Chris with a comical ditty about being "Left at the Church" followed by Victoria & Roy Bright's rendition of Albert's return by Stanley Holloway. Their Northern accent was most convincing 10 out of 10!! This was followed by John Carter giving us another of the Stanley Holloway monologues.  We then had Betty on the piano leading us in singing songs from the period followed by a spirited solo performance by John Cameron.  Many photos were taken by members and also by the local photographic journalist Paul Roper - so look out for some snaps in the local paper.

 A great big thank you to those who worked so hard to make the evening a great success.

George Williams

On a bitterly cold and treacherous January night, after considerable snowfall  during that afternoon , around 40 Twinners literally battled the elements to  take part in our Christmas Party at Wilcove Village Hall.

As the chilled Twinners arrived they were offered a very welcome glass of warming mulled wine.  The hall also looked warm and inviting with our focal point “Elizabethan Fireplace” appearing again to give  the impression of a welcoming glow.  The room was most inviting, decorated in traditional festive colours of red, green, and gold.

As the members arrived the waiting buffet table was quickly covered with an amazing variety of delicious creations both savoury, and once again the mouth-watering array of desserts. Thank you  to all members for the wonderful spread.

The evening commenced with the Wilcove Bell Ringers, playing  a  seasonal selection of carols and Christmas music. There were quizzes on the table and Cynthia had organised a caption competition, matching captions to pictures as a warm up activity.  Then followed some amusing games involving the whole of the company and there was much laughter.  Then followed the sumptuous buffet” fit for a King”.

After a very elegant sufficiency everyone waited with baited breath as Betty Begbie played “Jingle bells “ to herald the arrival of a very special visitor, namely Santa ,alias Eric Fincher,  making a swooping entrance on his (mobility scooter) sleigh drawn in by two of his very glamorous reindeer!!!!!!!  There was much cheeky banter and laughter, as Santa distributed gifts, stealing the occasional sneaky kiss from giggling lady members.

There were more games, but as the evening wore on, the scene out side was one of ice and freezing temperatures and folk wisely started to drift off so there was not an official prize giving for the various quizzes, sprout prints, and caption competition.  We brought the evening to an early close ,and the final activity  was the draw .A very nice one I might add ,as the first prize won by John and Fiona Riggall was the £46 .00 hamper.

 I think every body was very brave turning out on such a terrible night and our thanks come to you from the entertainments committee for your support.  We think it was an enjoyable evening and it was the first tie we had gathered since September.  it was nice to all be together once again.

The evening was profitable as the draw, plus the income for the evening gained us a further £183.37 for our funds.

 Janet Fincher

After quite an long absence of events at which Twinners gather, once again it was that time of year for our Christmas Crafts and Coffee Morning.  This was held at the Band Hut, opposite Sainsbury’s, which today we assumed would bring many people to our welcoming event, as the co-op was closed for refurbishment  and we thought all shoppers would head for Sainsbury’s.

Luckily the torrential rain of the previous evening had taken a little respite and the morning was dry, so the weather -at first -was not a problem for people visiting our Fayre.

The Committee and some members had been extremely busy and innovative for days, even weeks, making many items for sale of superior quality, which made an impressive and very festive display.  New ideas were introduced this year.  One, a brain child of Veronica Bright, was a table of quality red and gold goods.  There were also handmade rag dolls, made by Gill Wyke, and Janet Fincher who also made festive tablecloths and aprons and various decorations. Thanks to ,Cynthia also who spent much time in her kitchen creating  a great variety of  delicious edibles., also thanks  to Christine for her log cake and mince pies

Eric’s pickled onions went fairly well, although there was not the usual queue.

There were activities arranged for the children e.g. name the snowman, lucky dips, and stick the nose on Rudolph, but unfortunately there were no children.

As there was so much going on this weekend we were a little short on the ground with help.  Luckily Barbara Brimacombe came to our rescue at the last minute and worked in the kitchen with Janet Fincher keeping the company plied with tea and coffee. Cynthia bond worked hard on the door taking entrance money and encouraging people to buy draw tickets.

The morning passed with just a trickle coming through of twinning members’ complimented by a few outsiders.  On the whole there were not the expected numbers, particularly on the food scene, which was a little disappointing as we had extended the time to include the lunch hour when we advertised and planned to sell lunch time snacks, of soup (made by Cynthia and Janet) and Eric’s bacon baps.  We sold very few, thus it was not the fund raiser we had expected.

A mention must be given in particular to one of our members Sandra Luscombe who had spent hours in her kitchen baking and decorating four 8inch rich fruit Christmas cakes, mince pies and chocolate cup cakes. A special thanks to Sandra.

On the whole though, considering the numbers were small, the morning was worth while, due to some very generous donations.  After all expenses were paid out, we raised £196 approx.

Our thanks to all who donated, helped, and supported.