The Village People

(Extract Taken from records) On January 12th 1994 nine ladies met at the Village Hall to discuss the possibilities of setting up a group to meet regularly. They were Joyce Swan, Jean Franklin, Joyce Warne, Wendy Emberley, Thora Worters, Wendy Morris, Muriel James, Lyn Cox and Janet Burt. Several others sent apologies but expressed a desire to join us.” And so the Lydden Ladies was formed. Since then, the list of activities, days out, talks, meals, theatre trips etc is endless, but an example of the events organised from the first year are various talks ranging from Gardening to Health food and Wine and a visit to the Octagon in Yeovil to see ‘Barnum’. Antiques Roadshow, a visit to a Cheese making farm and, of course, the traditional Christmas meal, which is one of the things that still happens today. When I moved to Duntish in 2014 I was invited to afternoon tea at Mo Sherry’s home (another annual summer event in one of the ‘ladies’ gardens). This was a fantastic way for me to meet and make friends. Jane Collins was Chair at this time, but, after 10 years had decided she wished to stand down. The Lydden Ladies managed to continue without a Chair, with, instead, a small organising committee who met for ‘Lunch and Prosecco!!’ And somehow put together an itinerary for the year. In 2019, as the organised events evolved it became apparent that we wanted to make things more inclusive and informal and those included partners, husbands, friends, family – in fact, anyone who was interested in coming along. So, it was decided that instead of a Ladies only membership group paying ‘subs’ every year, we would advertise under a new name – hence ‘The Village People’. Terrible name, but it sort of made sense. We were all about Friendship, Fun, Fabulous Food (and Drink) and lots of laughter. Unfortunately, in 2020 we all know what happened and this all came to an end. It has taken a long time for us all to get back to a little of how it was before, but we feel now is the time to see if anyone would like to see these events happening again. We are hoping to have a get-together in October in the Village Hall – with the obligatory Food and Bubbles to have a chat about the future and all are welcome. If you are interested or have any thoughts or ideas, please get in touch amandat62@outlook.com. .