St Columba’s regular services
- TODAY: Sunday 1 November at 8.30am Said Holy Communion (BCP)
- THIS EVENING: At 6.30pm, in celebration of the Feast of All Saints, a special Choral Evensong, followed by wine and pre-supper nibbles
Feast of All Souls
Monday 2 November at 7pm, in celebration of the Feast of All Souls, a special service of Compline will be held. This will be an opportunity to remember family and friends who are no longer with us. Names can be added to the list in church before the service, to be read out during the service or placed on the altar. Candles will also be available to light for departed relatives and friends. Names to be remembered can be sent to John Phillips in advance, particularly if there are those who cannot attend but would like their friends and relatives remembered in this way at the service. His contact details are [email protected] or 01845 577034.
- Thursday 5 November at 11am. Midweek Morning Prayer
- Sunday 8 November at 10.45am Service of Remembrance led by Revd Dawn Ward with the laying of wreaths, the remembrance by name of the fallen in the two World Wars, and the two minutes silence at 11am.
- Thursday 12 November at 11am, Midweek Morning Prayer
- Sunday 15 November at 10.45am, Sung Matins
- Thursday 19 November at 11am, Midweek Morning Prayer
- Sunday 22 November at 10.45am, Holy Communion (Feast of St Cecilia)
- Thursday 26 November 11am, Midweek Morning Prayer
- Sunday 29 November at 10.30am, Joint Benefice Service (1st Sunday of Advent) at St Mary’s Church, Bagby.
Refreshments follow Sunday and Thursday services, but not the Sunday 8.30am Said Holy Communion.
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Thirsk Farmers’ Market
TODAY: Sunday 1 November between 9am and 2pm on the Market Place in Thirsk. All stallholders are local independent businesses who grow, rear or produce the food or drink on their stall. They’re passionate about what they do and it shows.
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The Sunday Quiz
TONIGHT: Sunday 1 November – the quiz will take place at 8pm this evening in the Village Hall. All welcome.
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Shirley’s excellent quiz last Sunday presented a real challenge, especially the Dingbats section, and in the end was won by Gerry, Jane, Stuart and Andy. Well done to them and everyone else who took part.
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Here’s a selection of questions from the quiz. The answers are at the end of today’s email.
1. In which TV show would you find the character Edina Monsoon?
2. Which two ingredients make up a B&B drink?
3. In which US state is San Quentin prison?
4. Which cartoon character lives in Cactusville?
5. In which country is the volcano Cotopaxi located?
6. In which British city is the People’s Palace museum located?
7. In which Charles Dickens novel does the character Smike (often mis-spelled as Smoke) appear?
8. Name the three US states that start with O.
9. How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet?
10. Name the landlocked countries in South America.
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Village Hall Incident
The Village Hall is operating as usual after the bad experience last Wednesday evening when drunken youths caused some damage and a lot of mess throughout the hall.
Four Village Hall Trustees spent two hours between 11am and 1am cleaning up the mess and were there again the next morning to make sure everything was suitable for other users.
Trustees met on Wednesday to review the booking and consider what action should be taken against the hirer. A calculation of the cost of damage to the premises and contents is being made and the full amount will be invoiced to the hirer in accordance with the bookings policy. The indications are that the hirer accepts his responsibility and will pay up. If he doesn’t then the Crime Report will be activated and the Police will be asked to prosecute for criminal damage.
Trustees take a responsible and reasonable approach to bookings. Parties for teenagers are not allowed. In this case the applicant was untruthful and said he was booking a 20th birthday party for family members. It is not always possible to know when an application is less than honest.
The Village Hall is run by volunteers and they do their best to manage the facility for the benefit of the community. It is awful when an incident like last week’s occurs but fortunately such events are extremely rare.
Trustees contacted neighbours to apologise for the disturbance caused. They were all very supportive, understood the situation and indicated they appreciate the dedicated care and attention that Trustees give to the village hall charity.
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Poppy appeal
A huge thank you to those members of the communities of Topcliffe and Asenby who volunteered after last week’s appeal for helpers to get involved with putting up the knitted poppy decorations for Remembrance Sunday. The response was fantastic and a team has now put up a number of poppy decorations around the village. Thank you to all who helped out – Debbie & Rob Roberts, Linda Carver, Doug Allan, Jon Pearson, Mark Watson, Steve Gallon and Malcolm Morley
Seeing these decorations proudly displayed in our village is a great tribute to the fallen soldiers who gave their lives or were permanently injured
A big thank you also to the ladies in the Knit & Natter group which meets each Thursday in the Village Hall who have spent many hours knitting new poppies for this year’s display.
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Halloween Party at the Village Hall
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What a spooky enjoyable time was had by all those who attended the Halloween party in the Village Hall last night. There was a great crowd and plenty of fun and games, music and dancing….and some devilishly good food and drinks. Many attending were in fancy dress and there were some truly scarry sights!
The event made a surplus of £200, which is being shared equally between the Village Hall and the Blue Cross Rehoming Centre at Topcliffe.
Thanks to the organisers – all residents at Swaleside Holiday Park – namely, Sheila and Steve Squires, Collette Waller and Carol Dyson. They put an enormous amount of effort in to create a spooktacular night’s entertainment.
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Could you cope in a civil emergency?
The government, in association with a range of other organisations, has launched a campaign called ‘Be Ready for Emergencies’ which recommends that all households prepare in advance to mitigate the impact of any civil emergency, such as a failure of water, electricity, gas supply or Wi-fi, flooding or some other sort of emergency.
There are some simple and effective steps you can take to be ready for emergencies and the disruption they cause. Many of these activities can be helpful across a range of different types of emergency.
Central to the campaign is the ‘Be Ready Checklist’ which pulls together the things you can do that will ensure you manage to get through the first three days of an emergency whilst waiting for the authorities to reach and help those most in need.
Top of the list is the suggestion that every household should be able to manage for three days even if there’s no power, no shops and no access to local services. There are lots of suggestions here that won’t cost anything and just take a few minutes to do. For various reasons, not everyone will be able to take all the actions in the guidance and some people will only follow a few of the recommended steps. The details below provide basic advice on how to prepare, so you can take the steps that work for you.
- See what you already have: Check your cupboards first to see what essentials you already keep at home.
- Plan for your household: Note down what you still need, remembering items your family relies on, such as medical supplies, baby formula or pet food.
- Build it gradually: Pick up missing items when you can during your regular shopping trips to help spread the cost.
- Check it regularly: Set a reminder every six months to check expiry dates and swap out items that need replacing, or update your kit if your household’s needs have changed.
- Connect with your community: Talk to your neighbours about what extra support you might be able to share during an outage, and swap contact details.
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Blue Cross receives sculpture
Asenby-based artist Chris Moss has created a wonderful wire sculpture dog which is now proudly guarding the Blue Cross Animal Rehoming Centre near Topcliffe. Chris donated the sculpture to brighten up the gardens which she voluntarily helps to maintain. Well done Chris.
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Don’t get caught out by the Amazon scam
The latest scam increasingly being used by criminals involves them impersonating Amazon and contacting customers out of the blue claiming suspicious activity has occurred on their account. The criminals then claim that unauthorised items have been added to the victim’s Amazon basket. To make the fraud appear genuine, they provide delivery addresses that do not belong to the victim and claim that someone is attempting to purchase the items using the victim’s bank details. The criminal then tells the victim that the transactions can be stopped and their account secured, but only if they follow specific instructions.
Remember that genuine service providers, banks and the police will never call asking you to transfer money, share personal financial details or hand over remote control of your computer, phone or other device. If you receive a call that doesn’t feel right:
- STOP! Hang up.
- Check if it’s genuine: contact the organisation directly using contact details you know are correct, such as those on an official website or app, or by calling 159 if you need to contact your bank.
- Don’t trust the Caller ID display on your phone – it’s not proof of ID.
- Report it by sending a text to 7726 with the word ‘Call’ followed by the scam caller’s number.
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Cross Talk News
The November edition of Cross Talk, the church newsletter, is now out. You can read it here.
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Coffee Morning raises £134 for the Boccia Club
Last Wednesday’s coffee morning at the Village Hall was a great success, raising £161 in total. After extracting £27 rent for use of the hall, the remaining £134 was presented to the Boccia Club which meets each Tuesday afternoon in the hall. As a result, the club, which provides exercise and coordination activities for ‘mature’ villagers, but which only has a few members at present, will be able to continue meeting. It’s hoped that three or four new members will join as a result of experiencing the ‘come and try it’ demonstrations at the coffee morning. A huge thank you is due to the volunteers who made the coffee morning happen – Karen, Malcolm, Richard, Linda and Chloe.
There will be further coffee mornings as follows:
- Saturday 5 December – between 10.30am and 12 noon – when the team will be supporting the Topcliffe-based Blue Cross animal shelter and re-homing centre.
- Saturday 16 January – between 10.30am and 12 noon – in support of Dales & District Guide Dogs for the Blind. There’ll be a tombola and a chance to meet some wonderful dogs that are brilliant ambassadors for the charity.
Details of the planned occasional ‘winter warmer’ lunchtime get-togethers will be announced fairly soon.
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Holly’s festive events and weekly yoga
Local resident Holly from @salty.soul.yoga has some new workshops she would like to share:
- Festive Swag Workshops: Are you looking to create something a little different to your usual wreath this year then this workshop is for you. Multiple dates and venues available.
- Christmas Table Centrepiece Workshop: If you are wanting a show stopper for your festive table this year then join this workshop for a creative afternoon.
- Weekly Reset: Join Holly for yoga every Monday evening between 6-7pm at Thief Hall in Thornton-le-Moor. Everybody’s welcome.
More details, including how to book for all the above events and more, can be found at https://linktr.ee/kinfold?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=65eb9a4d-8fd4-456c-8c07-73171d50f7d8 Alternatively contact Holly on 07565199344.
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Topcliffe School – key diary dates
- Monday, 2 November – School re-opens for second half of Autumn Term
- Monday, 9 November – Service Children’s Festival of Remembrance at Ripon Cathedral (KS2 pupils)
- Wednesday, 11 November – SATs Parents Information Evening, 5.30 – 6pm
- Friday, 13 November – Children in Need Day
- Friday, 27 November – FOTS Christmas Fair
- Monday, 14 December – Carol Service at St Columba’s Church at 2pm
- Thursday, 17 December – Christmas Dinner & Christmas Jumper Day
- Thursday, 17 December – School Closes for Christmas Holidays
- Tuesday, 5 January – School re-opens for Spring Term.
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Food Service at The Angel
Food service at The Angel will be slightly curtailed on Tuesday 3 November whilst some members of the team are attending the finals of the Deliciously Yorkshire Taste Awards where they hope to win Best Yorkshire Pub category.
At lunchtime food will be served until 2:30pm as normal but in the evening the bar will be open for drinks, but there will be no food service.
We wish The Angel the best of luck and hope the team return with the prestigious award they deserve.
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Art classes
The following special one-off classes are planned and anyone interested in attending is invited to get in touch:
- Paint a Glass Vase/Storm Lantern – create beautiful floral designs in gorgeous colours. Thursday 5 November between 10.30am and 12.30pm at Topcliffe Village Hall.
- Paint an autumn sunset with bright reflections and beautiful hues. Friday 6 November between 6.30 and 9.30pm at Thirsk Town Hall.
- Painting in Acrylics: Sparkly winter landscapes and fun festive scenes. Learn how to add silver and gold leaf to enhance your painting. Thursday 3 December between 10am and 1pm at Topcliffe Village Hall.
- Seasonal Special crafts experience: creating and painting baubles, paper Nordic stars and glass hanging tealights. Friday 4 December between 6.30 and 9.30pm at Thirsk town Hall. Only 15 spaces available. £45.
All classes are friendly and non-competitive, allowing participants to proceed at their own speed. For more information and to book classes online, go to https://rebeccajayneartist.co.uk/
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Flying Oysters at the Village Hall
Last call for tickets for The Flying Oysters dance night at the Village Hall on Saturday 7 November. Great music and dancing are a certainty, but there’ll also be an excellent supper consisting of pie and peas and a pudding, plus a raffle with a great selection of prizes. All funds raised will help support the Village Hall. There’s only ten tickets still available. If you want one, get yourself to Topcliffe Post Office as soon as possible. Once they are gone, that’s it! Tickets are £15.
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Christmas Fair in Topcliffe
The annual Christmas Fair at Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall will be held on Saturday 14 November between 10am and 1pm. All the available stalls have been allocated and there’ll be a wide selection of local traders and organisations hoping to tempt you to purchase Christmas and other items. The catering team will be putting on a brunch with bacon rolls, cakes, tea, coffee and squashes. There’ll also be a raffle. All funds raised will go to the Village Hall fund.
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Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall Committee meeting
The next meeting of the Village Hall Committee will be on Tuesday 17 November at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Please note the original date advertised was 10 November, but the meeting date has moved to make way for a fee-paying booking.
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Sessay Christmas Fayre
The Fayre will be held in Sessay Village Hall on Saturday 21 November between 10am and 2pm. The Village Hall will be crammed with an even larger range of stalls than usual, including pottery, cards, arts and crafts, food, gifts and a tombola. Breakfast butties will be served, along with tea, coffee, homemade cake and mulled wine. Free entry.
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Festive Activities at The Angel Inn
The Angel Inn is planning a few festive workshops before Christmas:
Whether you’re creating your own beautiful Christmas wreath or learning the art of perfectly wrapped presents, both workshops offer a lovely opportunity to get into the festive spirit.
And looking ahead to Christmas itself, here are some advance details of two live music evenings to get you in the festive mood:
- Wednesday 23 December – Christmas Eve – Freddie Cleary will perform from 6–8pm.
- Thursday 24 December – Christmas Eve – The fantastic Stevie Kay performs his brilliant Frank Sinatra tribute, bringing timeless classics and a wonderful atmosphere to Christmas Eve in The Angel. From 6.30pm.
Whether you’re just popping in for a few festive drinks or making an evening of it, The Angel team look forward to seeing you. On Christmas Eve, all children must leave the premises by 7pm. Bookings are strongly advised. To reserve your table, please call 01845 578000.
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Foraged wreath-making at Catton Kitchen
The Catton Kitchen’s annual festive wreath-making workshops with a difference are now available to book. They are on Sunday 29 November. Nearly everything used will be foraged from the surrounding woodland and areas of Catton Hall and brunch can be included, which is also from the surrounding paddocks and woodlands! Presented in partnership with Tarragon Flowers. There are a number of packages available. Please call/text 07747083155 for more information and to book.
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Auction Night to raise cash for Topcliffe School
The Friends of Topcliffe School are organising a grand auction to raise funds for Topcliffe CoE Primary School. It’s on Saturday 5 December between 6 and 10pm at Dalton Village Hall and it promises to be an amazing evening of entertainment, fun, food, music and fundraising. There’s some fantastic auction lots. Tickets, priced at £25 per person, include food and welcome drink, and are available from Amie on 07576 179009.
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Seniors’ Christmas lunch
Bookings are now open for places at the annual Senior Citizen’s Christmas lunch in the Village Hall on Tuesday 15 December and the price this year for a three-course festive lunch is £18.
There’ll be a choice of prawn cocktail or pate for starters; turkey or pork with all the traditional vegetables for main course; and choice of Christmas pudding or trifle for sweet. Wine will be served with the meal and tea or coffee and mince pies afterwards.
Following last year’s extremely well-received entertainment, courtesy of the Cherry Tones, the duo has been invited back for an encore performance. The Cherry Tones are a vintage vocal harmony duo who love all things retro. They perform a wide range of favourite classic vintage songs in harmony with an upbeat edge. They’re guaranteed to get everyone singing and dancing along.
All this for just £18! Senior citizens are encouraged to book their place as soon as possible as numbers that can be catered for are limited. Contact organiser Judith Lowe on 01845 577911 or 07526 354445.
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Christmas Carols in Topcliffe
Those who like to join in the singing of carols around the Christmas tree at the Village Hall may like to make a note of the date of this year’s event – Friday 18 December at 7pm. Afterwards there’ll be festive refreshments served in the hall.
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Chip & Dales
Paul and Karen will be serving fish and chips in Topcliffe on Fridays between 5 and 7pm.
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The Ritz Cinema
- Verity – to Thursday 5 November – matinee on Wednesday 4 November
- National Theatre Live: Golden Boy – Friday 6 November. 7.30pm.
- The Choral – Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November.
- De Gaulle: Resistance – Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November.
- De Gaulle: Liberte – Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 November.
- The Social Reckoning – Friday 13 to Thursday 19 November – no matinee.
- Wicker – Friday 20 to Thursday 26 November – no matinee.
- Forgotten Island – Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November – matinees only.
- Andre Rieu 2026 Christmas Concert Let it Snow – Saturday 19 December.
Evening shows start at 7.30pm. Matinees at 2.30pm.
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Coffee and Chat
Every Tuesday from 10am in the church at Baldersby St James. Please drop in to church for coffee and a feast of home-made scones and biscuits.
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Fireworks at the Farm
There’ll be fireworks at Monk Park Farm near Bagby on Thursday 5 November. Gather around the roaring bonfire before watching a magical low-bang fireworks show set to Disney music. Enjoy carnival games, marshmallow toasting, delicious street food, a visit to the animal barn and an on-site bar. 5.30pm-8.30pm. Prices starting from £3pp. Tickets online – www monkparkfarm.co.uk – or on the door.
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Thirsk Heritage Show
Sunday 15 November from 10am onwards. Classic and vintage tractors, stationary engines, working threshing machinery, models, crafts and collections. The show typically attracts dozens of restored tractors covering more than a century of agricultural history, including Fordsons, Fergusons, David Browns and other classic marques. Thirsk Farmers’ Auction Mart, Blakey Lane, Thirsk. £6 adults, under-14s free.
ALSO SEE: Your local Safer Neighbourhood Team and rural task force will be at the auction mart throughout the event. You can take this opportunity to raise any concerns you may have and to find out what the Police are doing to tackle the issues that matter to you.
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Thirsk Artisan Market
Sunday 15 November between 10am and 3pm. An artisan market that wants to help serve local communities with the best artisan stalls, whilst giving traders the best opportunities to showcase and sell their handmade goods.
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Thirsk Yarnbombers Coffee Morning
The will be a coffee morning held by Thirsk Yarnbombers at Thirsk Town Hall on Wednesday 18 November between 10.30 and 11.45am. There’ll be a stall selling knitted and crocheted items and funds raised will be donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
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Concerts at Ripon Cathedral
- Motown by Candlelight – Friday 27 November at 7.30pm.
- The Rat Pack – A Swingin’ Christmas by Candlelight – Friday 4 December at 7.30pm.
- G4 Christmas – Saturday 5 December at 7.30pm.
- The Music of ELO – Friday 12 February 2027 at 7.30pm.
- The Eagles by Candlelight – Saturday13 February 2027 at 7.30pm.
- Bowie by Candlelight – Friday 12 March 2027 at 7.30pm.
Book online at https://riponcathedral.org.uk/whats-on/
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Dalton Christmas Fair
The village’s Christmas Fair will be held in the village hall on Saturday 28 November between 10am until 12 noon, a week earlier than the usual date. Admission is £2.50 for adults, which includes a drink and mince pie or biscuit, and £2 for children, which includes a drink and mince pie or biscuit and a small gift from Santa. There will be lots of stalls and bacon butties on sale.
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The Thirsk Friends of the Lambert Hospice
Friends of the Lambert Hospice are holding a winter fundraising lunch, with guest speaker, in partnership with The Angel Inn at Topcliffe on Thursday 3 December. Details, times and prices are at http://.www.thirskfriendsofthelamberthospice.org The funds are needed to support end of life and palliative care services in the area.
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Quiz answers
1. Absolutely Fabulous
2. Brandy and Benedictine
3. California
4. Desperate Dan
5. Ecuador
6. Glasgow
7. Nicholas Nickleby
8. Oaklahoma, Ohio and Oregon
9. 24
10. Bolivia and Paraguay.
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That’s all for this week. Keep safe and remain well.
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