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Sunday Email: Issue 211

Welcome to your Sunday Email.

Doug Allan
07785 223707
doug@dougallan.co.uk
Thirsk Artisan Market
TODAY: Sunday 19 May – In the Market Place between 9am and 2pm. Locally-produced arts and crafts, food and drink. A diverse, quality, shopping experience that celebrates independent producers and makers.
Sessay Scarecrow Festival
TODAY: Sunday 19 May – This year’s festival is on at Sessay. It’s a great family day out. There’ll be a checklist and questions for children to answer along the scarecrow trail with a reward for those who take part. There’ll also be refreshments, BBQ, tombola and bar.
St Columba’s Services

  • TODAY – Sunday 19 May at 10.45am – Sung Matins
  • Sunday 26 May at 10.45am – Holy Communion with Fr. Robert Williamson
  • Sunday 2 June at 6.30pm – Choral Evensong
  • Sunday 9 June at 10.45am – St Columba’s Day, Festival Choral Eucharist
  • Sunday 16 June at 10.45am – Sung Matins
  • Sunday 23 June at 10.45am – Holy Communion, Fr. Robert Williamson
  • Sunday 30 June – No Service (5th Sunday)

Refreshments are served after every Sunday morning service.
Village Quiz
TONIGHT: Sunday 19 May – The quiz is on at Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall at 8pm.
Last week Fiorella set a testing set of diverse questions for an exceptionally good turn out of quizzers. The winners were Jim, Jane, Andy and Debbie. Well done to all the teams who attended.
Soup & Sweet Lunch
The next Soup & Sweet lunch will be held at the Village Hall on Wednesday 29 May from 11.30 to 12.45pm. There’ll be a selection of home-made soups, puddings, delicious cakes and bakes and tea or coffee. All welcome. No set charge, but donations welcome

Last week’s lunch saw 39 meals served and £128 raised, of which £50 was donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. After rent payment and expenses, the balance was added to the Warm Hub Community fund.
St Columba’s Annual Parochial Church Council
The meeting is open to members of the Church of England and other Anglican churches who are listed on the church Electoral Roll. The meeting will be held in the church on Monday 20May at 7pm.
Topcliffe Academy – Dates for your diary

  • Friday, 24 May – School closes at 3.15pm for Half Term
  • Monday, 3 June – School re-opens for second half of summer term
  • Friday, 7th June – Non-Uniform Day – children bring a donation for the tombola/raffle instead of cash.
St Columba’s churchyard maintenance
Thank you to all of the volunteers who turned out on recent Saturdays to help with churchyard maintenance. Here are a few more photographs taken yesterday when half a dozen helpers turned out. Pic 1, 2, 3, 4.

There’ll be a further tidy up day in the churchyard on Saturday 25 May starting 9.30am, so if you have an hour to spare please come along from 10am onwards. All support will be very welcome. There’ll be some tools and lawnmowers available, but if people can bring whatever they might have to help – rakes, trowels, spades, forks, extra mowers etc. – that would be wonderful. Refreshments will be served.
Art in the Shed
Asenby resident, Siobhan Gifford, is one of the artists showing their work at an art exhibition and sale in Osmotherly over the Bank Holiday weekend – Saturday 25 to Monday 27 May. See poster here. Siobhan will present examples of her mosaic artwork and pendants. The exhibition is showing at 19 Back Lane, Osmotherley between 10.30am and 1.30pm each day.

Some of Siobhan’s work is also currently on exhibition in The Elm Gallery in Topcliffe.
Base Camp – Kids Adventure days
Bookings are now open for the Base Camps being held during the May half-term holidays.

  • Wednesday 29 May – Make your own musical instrument in Forest Schools and then get to play it in the afternoon with musician, Hayley, around the campfire.
  • Thursday 30 May – Follow in the footsteps of our ancestors as we forage for food and then make fire to cook it on.
  • Friday 31 May – Get creative as we explore natural art from around the globe before limbering up to take part in Forest Olympic Games.

More information and book online at http://www.basecamplearning.co.uk
The Angel Comedy Night
The next Hilarity Bites Comedy Night at The Angel in Topcliffe will be held on Thursday 30 May. Doors open 7.30pm and the show begins at 8pm. Tickets £10 if purchased in advance or £12 on the door. For more information and tickets call 01845 578000. See poster here.
Open days at a range of local art and craft studios
Eric Moss, who lives and works in Asenby, is one of seven local artists in the Thirsk area opening their studio to the public as part of a North Yorkshire Open Studios event on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June and Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June. Eric, whose ceramics works are pictured above, will be showing big and small ceramics for indoor and outdoor display. He is also displaying 3D printed resins and new bespoke ‘Pocket Art’ fidgets handmade in recycled pewter and glass. The other local studios will include photography, enamelling, jewellery, printing, painting and garden sculpture. The open studios can be visited between 10am and 5pm and a 10% discount will be given off any piece of artwork on sale at any of the studios if all seven studios are visited and the "passport" stamped. See poster here and location maphere.
Art classes at the Village Hall
The next block of six art classes starts on Monday 3 June in the Village Hall. They are on from 10am to noon. For more information and to book your place go to
https://rebeccajayneartist.co.uk/
St Columba’s Day – celebrations
St Columba’s Day celebrations will not be quite so extensive this year. The plan is to concentrate on Sunday 9 June with a special Choral Eucharist at 10.45am followed by a BBQ in the churchyard close to the Church Hall from 12.30pm. During the afternoon the church and tower will be open for visits.
Topcliffe Ceilidh tickets are selling fast
The Cod Beck Ceilidh Band will be providing the music and calling at the Topcliffe Ceilidh on Saturday 22 June at Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall. Doors open from 7pm and dancing starts at 7.30pm. This is a bring your own drinks event. Tickets, which are on sale at Topcliffe Post Office, or from Sarah Barber on 07885 386557 or Jane Burnett on 07902 681296, are selling fast so to avoid disappointment get yours soon.

Tickets purchased in advance are £10, which includes a pulled pork and apple sauce roll (alternative for vegetarians). Tickets at the door on the night are £12. There’ll be a raffle with some great prizes. This is a fundraiser to help support the Village Hall.
Topcliffe Parish Council
The next meeting of Topcliffe Parish Council will be at 7pm onThursday 4 Julyin the Village Hall.
Deer Shed Festival
This year’s Deer Shed Festival will be on at Baldersby Park over the weekend – 26 to 29 July. The programme for this year’s festival is shown here.
Topcliffe & Asenby Produce Show 2024
The show will be held on Saturday 31 August at Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall and there will be 83 classes in five categories: 47 horticultural classes: 17 baking, jams, preserves and pickles classes: 3 floral classes: 11 hobbies classes and 5 specific classes that only children can enter. The full list of categories and show rules, together with timings on the day, are available here.
Chip ‘n Dales
The Chip ‘n Dales fish and chip van is in Topcliffe every Friday 5 ’til 7pm
EVENTS ON AROUND THE AREA

Rural Arts events

Here are some of the workshops coming up at The Courthouse in Thirsk:

  • Draw and Paint Dogs – Monday 20 May
  • Wild Wire Flowers – Tuesday 21 May
  • A Taste of Art: Drawing Bool Illustrations – Wednesday 22 May
  • Working with Jesmonite – Thursday 23 May
  • Silver Drop Earing Workshop – Saturday 25 May
  • Ceramic Heads – Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May
  • Watercolour flowers – Friday 31 May
  • Ceramic Hare – Friday 21 June
  • Collage Master Class – Wednesday 3 July
  • Freehand Embroidery – Wednesday 10 July
  • Wild Wire Flowers – Friday 12 July
  • Working with Jesmonite – Wednesday 17 July

Visit Rural Arts’ website – Home – Rural Arts for more details or to make a booking. Or just pop in to The Courthouse in Thirsk if you’d prefer a face-to-face chat.
Thirsk Yarnbombers’ Coffee Morning
The organisation responsible over recent years for a range of brilliant knitted themed decorations around the centre of Thirsk is holding a coffee morning on Wednesday 22 May between 10am and 11.45am at Thirsk Town Hall. Funds raised from the sale of refreshments will be donated to the Herriot Hospice. There’ll be a stall selling knitted and crocheted items and cash raised from sales will go towards future projects planned by the Yarnbombers.
The Ritz Cinema

  • Challengers – to Thursday 23 May – matinee on Wednesday 22 May.
  • Fall Guy – Friday 24 to Thursday 30 May – matinee on Wednesday 29 May.

Opening times: Evenings – doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm. Matinees – doors open at 2pm for 2.30pm. You can now book online at https://www.ritzcinema.co.uk/

Summer Music Series
This summer Rural Arts is teaming up with Thirsk-based music curators, De Mowbray Music, to present three laid-back Friday evening concerts. Each lasting around an hour, they’re a chance to greet the weekend in style, joined by talented performers from a range of musical backgrounds. Each concert starts at 6.30pm and tickets are £10 (£8 for concessions). Venue: The Courthouse, Thirsk.

  • Friday 24 May – So I’m Not A Princess – a coming-of-age cabaret told through iconic princess and musical theatre numbers by singing sensation, Eleanor Sandars.
  • Friday 7 June – The Derrick Harris Trio – all things jazz.
  • Friday 30 August – Native Gallantry – baroque strings.

Book online at https://www.ruralarts.org/whats-on/performances
Walking tours of Thirsk
Historic Experiences, a company that organises guided walks in towns across the country, has turned its attention to Thirsk and launches a selection of walks this coming Bank Holiday weekend.

  • Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May at 7pm – Haunted Thirsk – tales of haunted places and strange happenings in this ancient town.
  • Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May at 3pm – Historic Thirsk, a walk through the town’s fascinating past – the places, people and events that made Thirsk what it is today.

Tours are fun for all and the routes are mainly flat. Tours take place no matter what the weather. The meeting place for all tours in The Clock in the Market Place, five minutes before tours are due to begin. Please contact Tina on 07876 010835 to book tickets or for more information.
Hambleton District Show
The largest horse show in the north of England will this year be staged at Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, near York on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May. www.hambletonshow.com
Wensleydale Railway
There’s something for everyone at Wensleydale Railway over the coming months. They are planning plenty of events and activities and here’s a taste of what’s on with a link to the booking system:

Contact email: admin@wensleydalerailway.com / 01677 425805
Thorp Perrow

  • Vintage Vehicle & Classic Car Show – Sunday 26 May -10am – 4pm.
  • Sensation ABBA Tribute – Saturday 13 July
  • The Freddie & Queen Experience – Friday 2 August

More details and bookings: https://www.thorpperrow.com/
Creative Club presents Minecraft
The popular Creative Club at Thirsk Community Library is presenting a session of Minecraft model and character creation on Thursday 30 May between 10.30am and 12.30pm. For beginners and regulars aged 6 to 13 years of age. Parents/ carers can attend to. Book free places on 01609 534589.
Northallerton Male Voice Choir Summer Concert
This annual popular event is on Saturday 1 June at 7.30pm at The Forum in Northallerton. Tickets are £12 and available from The Forum box office. See poster here.
Thirsk Farmers’ Market
Around 20 artisan food and drink producers bring the fruits of their labour to the Market Place in Thirsk. 9am-2pm on Sunday 2 June.
http:// www.northerndalesfarmersmarkets.com
Sessay Floral Art Demonstration
Renowned floral designer and TV regular Jonathan Moseley will be demonstrating a range of floral art techniques at Sessay Village Hall at 7pm on Tuesday 4 June. Tickets are £20 to include a glass of wine and raffle ticket. Call Doreen Till on 01845 577906 or email doreentill3@outlook.com – paces are strictly limited,
Racing at Thirsk
Here’s the first few race days in the schedule at Thirsk Racecourse.
• Friday 7 June – afternoon racing
• Sunday 16 June – Father’s Day Skybet Sunday Series
• Monday 24 June – afternoon racing.
Great Knaresborough Bed Race
The annual bed race with supporting parade through Knaresborough streets. 11am-4pm on Saturday 8 June. Free. www.bedrace.co.uk
Tractor Fest
This year’s Tractor Fest will take place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June at Newby Hall. It’s the UK’s largest vintage tractor and engine show with over 1,600 exhibits as well as in excess of 12,000 visitors who also get access to the award-winning gardens and other attractions. 10am-4pm. £60 family, £20 adult, £15 child, under 4s free. Tickets: Online. www.bookings.newbyhall.com
Flower Power Plant Fair
There’ll be a plant fair in the gardens of Thirsk Hall on Sunday 9 June starting 11am. There’ll be a selection of refreshments throughout the day and you can also plan to have lunch in the grounds. Entry £5 per person, Under 13s free.
Cruises on the Ripon Canal
Ripon Scenic Cruises have a range of cruises planned including:

  • Father’s Day – Sunday 16 June – private cruises from 10am for a minimum one hour and maximum two and a half hours. Each dad onboard will receive a a bottle of local craft ale. Maximum twelve guests.
  • Afternoon tea and prosecco – each Saturday afternoon in June, July and August.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/riponsceniccruises
Advance Notice of Upcoming Summer Events
Here are some dates to note in your diary.
That’s all for this week. Keep safe and remain well.