Competition results

All of the summer event competitions were well supported with a high quality of entries. The photography competition had three age sections and the themes were ‘my best friend’ and ‘Granby / Sutton at its best’. Some of the entries were on display in the village hall over the events weekend. Angela Dobson-Riley kindly judged the competition and the prize winners were:

Under 11s : Mia Harcourt
Under 16s: Freddie Watchorn
Over 16s: Heidi Draper

If anyone has not yet received their photographs, and wants them back, contact Angela on 851443.

Doreen Watson judged the cake competition and we don’t know how she managed to sample them all without apparently putting on any weight! Many of the entries were sold in the village hall on the Sunday of the event weekend with the proceeds going to church funds. The winner was Eunice Draper.

The flower arrangements were displayed in the church and demonstrated a beautiful collection of seasonal flowers. These were judged by Shirley Taylor and the surprise winner was Loz Shore (is there no end to this man’s talents?) with a creative and innovative arrangement using a miniature garden gate.

Novelty dog show rivals Crufts

The novelty dog show attracted entrants from a wide range of breeds. The show was light hearted with rounds such as most handsome dog, prettiest bitch, waggiest tail and cutest dog. Winners of each of the categories went forward to ‘best in show’ and this was won by Julie Bell and her extremely well behaved greyhound. Thanks to the judges, Julie and Alicia and to those who donated prizes.

Scarecrows everywhere!

A week before the summer event there were no scarecrows to be seen in Granby or Sutton. The local crows had nothing to fear. Over the next seven days an army of straw effigies slowly grew out of villagers’ front gardens. Where else in the world could you meet Monty Don, Michael Jackson, Andy from Little Britain, Elvis Presley and Darth Maul from Star Wars in the same village; to say nothing of an assortment of pirates, traffic police, agricultural workers, motor mechanics, parachutists, angels Mexicans and cyclists.

In total, 47 scarecrows is almost one scarecrow for every third household in Granby and Sutton. No wonder the judges had a difficult task. On the morning of Sunday 22nd June the judges, Richard Watchorn and Erika Humphreys (along with photographer Freddie Watchorn) toured both villages in search of a scarecrow that would stand out from the others. After drawn out deliberation and discussion they narrowed it down to two but still found it almost impossible to separate the winner. In the end the winner was picked out as Jo Hickling’s Speed Cop in Sutton based on originality, message and impact. Not only had it kept the crows out of Sutton gardens it had also slowed down the traffic coming through the village! The close runner up was Christine Baxter’s Andy from Little Britain – what a stunning likeness.

A BIG THANK YOU

The summer event was a success because of the hard work and goodwill of a number of groups and individuals. The committee, in particular, worked tirelessly, leading up to, during and after the event. We thank them publicly through this newsletter. We also thank:

Richard Watchorn for the use of the field
Those who donated raffle and competition prizes
Loz and Su for providing the bar
Loz for organising the firework display
The judges of the competitions: Shirley Taylor, Doreen Watson, Angela Dobson-Riley, Julie Whalley, Richard Watchorn, Erika Humphreys
The church and the WI for serving refreshments
All those who sold raffle and ceilidh tickets
Programme sellers
Stall holders
Rory and his mates
Parish plan volunteers
Martin Suthers
(if we have missed you off this list, please accept our apology and thanks)

Best Kept Village Competition

Granby has been placed in the top four for Section D of Nottinghamshire Best Kept Village competition and so will be forwarded to the next round. The organisers advise us that this was a very difficult section to judge, the calibre being so high. The next round will be from Monday, 7th July to Friday, 25th July inclusive and the judges may visit the village at any time of any day during this period. Please make an effort to keep the village looking its best over the next few weeks

The winning village for this round will receive:

• A cheque for £125
• A framed certificate
• An attractive iron and oak sign to be retained for 1 year
• Entry to the ‘Best of Nottinghamshire’ round in September

The judges of the preliminary round commended the village on participation in the scarecrow competition and noted that, with a few exceptions, gardens, hedges, frontages and verges were pleasing, as were the bus shelter, playground and noticeboards. As Granby has not entered in the last 5 years, it is also being judged in the ‘Best New Entrant’ category.

Gardening Club?

Is anyone interested in joining a new gardening club in Granby and Sutton? The idea is to meet one evening each month. During the summer we could visit local gardens and in the winter we could arrange short talks on gardening topics.

We could also swap plants and seeds, exchange ideas and share our gardening knowledge. It would obviously be a club for a wide range of abilities. If you are interested in finding out more please contact

Isabel Daw on 01949 851212

email johndaw6@aol.com

Granby Coffee ‘Shop’ and Book Swap

The next two coffee shops will take place on the Saturday mornings of 2nd August and 6th September from 10.00 to 12.00. Don’t forget to bring along any books that you would like to swap.

Please note that village clean up mornings coincide with the coffee shops. Just turn up at the village hall at 10.00 (till 12.00) with any tools you think may come in handy. If you notice any parts of the village that would benefit from a little care and attention, please contact Philip Straw 851556.

Exercise classes in the Village hall

We now have a yoga class each Wednesday morning at 11.30 for one hour. This class continues through July, takes a break over August, and resumes again in September. We also hope to start a pilates class in September. The day and time are still to be decided but this will be confirmed by flyers and posters in August.

For further information or to register an interest (for those that have not already done so) contact Neisha on 851874.

Left Flower Arrangement - Winner

Granby Ladies Thursday Club

Our June meeting was a successful cheese and wine evening at Ann Kirkham’s house. This was despite the poor weather. On July 24th at 7.30pm we have our summer barbeque at the home of Mr & Mrs Tubbs, Rosedene, Sutton cum Granby. Admission is £5 for members and £8 for non-members. Please bring a picnic chair.

Elisabeth Howard

Granby music hall

We are hoping to stage a music hall in Granby. If anyone is interested in singing (solo or chorus), dancing, acting in short dramatic sketches or monologues or making costumes or hats please contact Isabel Daw on 01949 851212 or email johndaw6@aol.com . So come on, don’t hide your talents; show us that Granby and Sutton residents have that X factor.

Tug O’ War competition

The weather put a real dampener on the tug ‘o‘ war competition. A small but intrepid band of tuggers took part and the wet conditions did not help their efforts. The winning team (Editor’s Choice) won the best of three pulls and received free beer, courtesy of Brewsters brewery. The losing finalists took their defeat in good spirit and vowed to gain revenge next year.

Parish Plan – where are we now?

As many of you know we had a display in the village hall as part of the June event weekend. This showed a number of possible initiatives we could put into action as part of the plan. These issues were identified in the consultation exercise earlier in the year.

Events weekend consultation
All Granby and Sutton residents were invited to vote and give comments in the village hall. The turnout was tremendous with 125 votes recorded and lots of helpful comments provided. Thanks to all of you who took the time to share your ideas and make suggestions. The Steering Group now has everything we need to write our plan. This involves finding out which ideas are achievable and planning strategies to achieve them. In other words, finding ways of giving residents what they want. These are some of the things that you would like to improve:

• access and signage of the footpaths
• traffic calming measures
• sports and play facilities
• the range of clubs and activities
• facilities at the cemetery
• seats on the village outskirts
• village signs .

Granby Village Hall

Available for hire

Contact the Parish Clerk

Details click here