Other events and activities enjoyed in the village.
The Book Club
In February 1998, with some ‘book-loving’ friends, I started The Book Club. About nine people currently take part, meeting every four to six weeks in members’ homes to discuss a book we have all read. We jointly decide which books to read and the choice is drawn mostly from current best sellers and the classics. Recent examples include ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ by Louis de Bernieres, ‘Notes from a Small Island’ by Bill Bryson and ‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Henry James.
The Club also arranges occasional theatre trips to Salisbury Playhouse.
Lesley Goldsack
Mobile Library Service
The Dorset County Library operates a mobile library service in rural areas. This is particularly valued by those who are unable easily to visit public libraries in the larger towns. The mobile library visits Broadmayne fortnightly on Tuesdays, at High Trees (2.50 pm – 3.15 pm),Woodlands (3.40 pm –4 pm) and Conway Drive(4.05 pm –4.35 pm).
The Coffee Shop
The coffee shop was started by Miss Angela Knapp in May 1994 on Tuesday mornings in the village hall where people could come for coffee and biscuits for 35 pence. It is a good way to get to know people if you are new to the village as everyone is friendly and all join in and chat.
When the coffee shop started it had fifteen helpers who served coffee on a rota and anything from six to twelve customers. We now have twenty-six helpers and up to seventeen customers. We sometimes have a birthday cake if someone has had a birthday; on the last coffee shop before Christmas, we have mince pies.
Eleanor Piper
Cowleaze Luncheon Club
The Cowleaze Luncheon Club was inaugurated in 1987 by Miss Angela Knapp, for many years a health visitor in the Broadmayne area. It is intended for lonely, elderly people who enjoy a tasty meal once a month, with the opportunity to meet others in a similar situation. Volunteers meet monthly to plan the menus and as there are insufficient cooking facilities in the hall, items are cooked at home and rushed to the village hall at the last minute. (This could not be done in a large town).
A visitor reminds folk a few days before the luncheon and a number of them are transported by car. The charge is £1.50 (in 1999) and we reckon to cater for approximately 25 people, who come by invitation.
We have a ‘Coffee Morning and Goods Sale’ each October, which helps towards the cost of our Christmas Lunch, the highlight of our year. We usually find we have sufficient money left over to make a donation to a local charity. In 1998 we enjoyed a visit from the Recorder Group at Broadmayne School and hope this may become an annual event. The whole operation runs very smoothly because of the willing help of all the volunteers, making it a very happy occasion.
Freddie Booker
Bridge and Table Tennis
Bridge and table tennis are two of the activities which take place in Broadmayne Village Hall. Both of these small clubs were the idea of a former village resident and have been running for the past nine years. They are small, friendly groups, both very informal with no committees or subscriptions – just a small playing fee. The ‘table tennis group’ plays on Tuesdays from 10 am until 11 am The Bridge Club meets on Wednesday afternoons from 2 pm to 4 pm New members are always welcome and do not need to be experts or to live in Broadmayne.
Pat Buxton
