Sorry not sure what happened to October but I will try and make ammends for November. There always seems alot happening in the Village in November and December as the winter nights draw in. We have had a wonderful October and the trees still have a covering of leaves but the first real frost will bring these down. Sunday 8th November sees the Remembrance Day Service at 10-45am at the Parish Church. A special service to remember the Armed Forces past and present.

This months edition of the Village News celebrates 40 years of publication . No mean achievement. It is celebrated by a special edition that charts the history of the news. Well worth a read.

I promised in September to add to Alan's Post Office stories and here is the final installment

Perhaps inevitably it is not unknown for tied-up dogs to be forgotten by their owners once their shopping is done. There are few sights quite as sad as a dog sat outside forlornly awaiting the return of the absent-minded owner. Most normally the dog is collected within minutes by the frantic and embarrassed owner(s), however we have had to ring owners and remind them. I will not divulge the name of the individual who left their dog here at 4-00pm and collected it 4 hours later.

Many thanks to Alan for agreeing to let me share his thoughts on Post Office life.

The nights are beginning to draw in and the summer is over. The Village school is back after the summer holiday and play group has started their term. There is much to keep everyone busy this month in Sheriff Hutton with yoga classes, exercise classes and spanish classes all starting in September. Jumble sales start again and on Saturday 26th September there is the Macmillan World's biggest coffee morning in the Village Hall with the famous money tree.

I am pleased to continue Alan's post office stories.

'This is a village with a disproportionate number of dogs. Everyone seems to have a dog (or two), most of whom find themselves tied up outside the shop from time to time. Individually this rarely poses a problem, but inevitably at some stage of the day we find ourselves with a seething multitude of dogs laying siege to the shop. The noise levels can go through the pain barrier with baying dogs clamouring for attention. The dogs,much like the people, are a rich source of entertainment. Pedigree or Heinz '57, small or large , highly strung or laid back, young or old, cute or downright ugly. Many are treated to odd bits of cooked ham from the shop. One in particular doesn't mind too much whether it has ham or your finger-----the bloody animal is as cute looking as can be but will happily deprive anyone daft enough to extend the hand of friendship of a finger or two. The owner is adamant that the dog is sweet and cuddly and would not hurt anyone'

There is more to come next month.

Schools out and lots of folk are on holiday or having a good time locally.

One of the highlights of the month is the Produce Show on Saturday 8th August. Its well worth a visit as there will be plenty of vegetables, flowers baking, photographs and handicraft on show.The entrants can be seen at the Village Hall from 2-00pm The potatoes for the 'potato in a pot competition' have been weighed and the winner will be announced at the Show.

The Cricket Club fun day will be held on Sunday 23rd August and on Saturday 29th August there will be a fund raising event for Yorkshire Air Ambulance at the Village Hall.

A further extract from Alan's diary------

Politics and 'Global Warming' are brilliant subjects for heated debates---one of the perks of running a News agency is being able to review most of the significant papers and then discuss current issues with 'controversial' subjects. These discussions, whilst mostly good-natured can become quite heated, involving significant numbers of people. Anyone from outside of the village walking in at an inopportune time might wonder what they had stumbled upon.Perhaps unsurprisingly sales of 'Tory' papers outsell significantly those of a 'Socialist' learning.So Global Warming (sorry, climate change- it's snowing at the moment) atheism, socialism. education standards,art, carbon emission, Royalty,etc are vigorously discussed. 

More next month

Sorry this is very late in the month but life has been busy. Summer in Sheriff Hutton is always a busy time and this year has been no exception. School finishes on Monday 20th  July and the children are enjoying all the end of term activities including sports day and trips to the coast. The gardens are looking good and there is some preparation for the produce show which is on Saturday August 8th. Potatoes in pots are being carefully looked after for the potato in a pot competition

I promised another extract from Alan's diary. Here goes

Other customers seem harder to please. Memorably we were once asked if we stocked tinned salmon. A tin of pink salmon was duly taken from the shelf and offered to the customer, who inspected the tin for quite a while before solemly shaking his head and handing back the tin. Somewhat taken aback at this snub i asked what was wrong with the tin of salmon. 'I want salmon, not that green stuff' 'What green stuff?' 'That stuff!' the customer jabbed a finger at the photograph on the tin, with a chunk of salmon laid prettily on a bed of lettuce. Thankfully the staff took over and explained that this was only a serving suggestion.

More in August

June is a busy month in Sheriff Hutton with the School Scarecrow trail on June 14th ,a Jumble Sale onSaturday 20th June plus a host of other activities. Probably the major event of the month are the Silver Jubilee celebrations for the new Village Hall on Saturday 13th June. there will be something for everyone with events starting at 3-00pm and finishing with a disco in the evening, All are very welcome.

As promised last month I enclose a further extract from Alan's notes on village life-------

'Some come for a little more than a chat. Both Gill and I have strong views on many issues and are not possessed of a great tolerance or long temper. This is no secret, but people still insist on initiating a discussion, fully in the knowledge that we are somewhat restricted in what we can say by way of response. To my eternal shame I have resisted the temptation to moderate my response on a small number of occassions,of which perhaps more later.

Yet others (mentioning no names,obviously) rejoice in browsing the shop for some considerable time then asking for some obscure product that they know we don't stock, then feigning disappointment and walking off empty handed. Thankfully this has been known to backfire on the custmer when the 'required' product is found and the customer is 'obliged' to make a purchase.

More next month----

Sorry I really messed this up computer skills lacking!!

To continue

This can be wonderful. Unless,of course,they arrived in the shop 10 minutes before closing time! Have you ever tried removing someone without causing offence? The door is locked, the blinds are down, the smell of cooking prmeates the air and they browse, and chat. Endlessly!

More next month.

May is another busy month in Sheriff Hutton with a busy calendar of sporting fixtures and the Village Auction on Saturday May 16th in the Village Hall. An event not to be missed and there will be plenty of opportunity to bid for all sorts of treasures. There will be light lunches and refreshments. The doors open at 12noon and bidding starts at 1-00pm.

I would like to share part of an article written about the village. Its quite long so I will spread it out over several months so watch this space for monthly installments.

I have Sheriff Hutton described as being a microcosm of English life ,anyone believing this as a statement presumably has lead a privileged or sheltered life! Absent here are huge sprawling council estates, heavy industry, racial tensions or pollution. Crime ia all but absent. The people of the village occupy a wide range of occupations- academics,Doctors,engineers, business people, farmers, builders, retired and unemployed. All combine to form a mix of personalties that enrich the community.

As a shop and Post Office we deal with 300-400 people a day. Some come and make their purchase,say thank you and then leave. The vast majority,however, spend time to talk-if not to us then to other customers. It is this interface that makes working in the shop a privilege. It is quite typical to be discussing astrophysics with one customer,politics with the second,computer problems with the third ,the blond on page 3 of The Sun with the fourth. WE well appreciate that many of our customers live on their own and come in for a chat-it is not unknown to have people in here for an hour or more. This can be wondeful

The village is beginning to wake up after the winter with a fine display of daffodils and the blossom about to come into flower. It really looks at its best. The Easter weekend promises to be full of activity with the annaul art exhibition on Easter Sunday and Monday There is a family service at the Parish Church on Sunday at 9-30am and a service at the Methodist Church at 10-30am. Cricket matches will be starting soon and already it looks as if the pitch is being prepared. Tennis and bowls also herald the start of summer.   Its a great time of the year.

Happy New Year! I hope you had a good Christmas, and that we all have a happy & prosperous New Year.

Well, everyone else has one, so why shouldn't we have a Blog? Quite!

Due to a slight, but traditional technical hitch, this first message is slightly late, not being written by the intended author, and as a result of which will be brief!

But let me just say, that the anonymous role of Blogger will rotate, and if anyone wishes to take a turn they should contact Judith Calvert.

Aim of The Village Blog

To promote the village as an active, friendly and inclusive village.

Objectives

It is intended that the blog will:

- Present a positive image of the village and its community
- Convey the reality of on going village life and activities
- Provide a regular update on village activities, large and small
- Offer an interesting, impartial and humorous perspective on village life
- Reflect the personality of the blogger
- Identify specific members of the community only with their explicit permission

It might be the news of the first swallow or swift to arrive in the Spring; it might be to rally support for a particular event or it might be to post a photo of The Castle against a stormy backdrop, or stunning sunrise.