Return of the Phantom Blogger

Yesterday someone said to me "you're the phantom blogger aren't you".  Once I'd got over the embarrassment of people knowing it was me who wrote this blog, I quite liked the idea that people were reading my blog and trying to work out who wrote it.  I like a good whodunnit myself.  I suppose if I wanted to write an anonymous blog it's probably not a good idea to write one about the village where I live.  At the end of the day, it just nice to know that people are actually reading it.

After the events at the end of last year, I haven't felt like writing much, but maybe it's time to get back to it.

Big gig

In Weston village hall last Saturday was the big gig and big gig for kids.  The kids were on in the afternoon.  As with any good village event there were tea and cakes on sale, some of which were homemade.  Only 2 acts turned up in the end, a group of girls who dance and one girl who sang a solo.  Brian Dawson did a couple of Beatles songs on the piano then everyone went home.  Apparently there were 4 more acts who didn't turn up, and if they had that would have made a good show.  I don't know why there wasn't a better turnout.  I would have thought a talent show for kids would have been more popular  but maybe it got overshadowed by the adults big gig later on.  Hopefully it won't put the organisers off putting on events like this in the future. Some people say that it wasn't well advertised but I disagree.  There must be people going round the village with their eyes shut.  I just hope they weren't driving.

The big gig itself in the evening was a success.  There was a good turnout for the audience, mainly adults and older children.  They had a group of older guys who played blues type music and they were very accomplished musicians.  Then they had 3 duos of a bloke playing a guitar and a woman singing.  That was the only similarity between the 3 duos, musically they were very different. In the evening the tea and cakes were gone and replaced with a bar and there were little pots of peanuts on the table.  A good time was had by all.

The Pod

Well the pod has finally arrived in Aston.  It seems very popular with the youth in the village and I've seen hardly any of them hanging around at the Lych gate, which was the reason it was built in the first place.  So far, it's achieved it's purpose.

This shelter has speakers and you can blue tooth music from your i-pod to it, and it plays the music.  It is powered by a handle which you wind.  It has lights that work when it gets dark and has lots of entrance/ exits to prevent bullying.  One lad, when his friends told him that there was this shelter which plays music from your i-pod, thought it sounded so good that he didn't believe it was real until he saw it.  Apparently it got covered in graffiti within a week of it being put up, but someone from the parish council went and cleaned it up, and when I went there today there wasn't any.

I have heard a lot less noise from the race track recently.  Maybe they've finally listened to the protests from the residents of Aston and the nearby villages.  Instead I seem to hear a lot of cows mooing, which gives the village a more rural feel.  I wonder if anyone will start up a protest against cow noises?

Ladies Night (and chip van)

As I was on my way to the ladies night at Weston school, I made an amazing discovery.  Aston has a chip van.  It comes to Yates Ave on a Friday night between 7.30 and 8.15.  I had already eaten before I saw it so I didn't buy any, but I will be sure to let you know if they are any good when I do try some.  That's definately a 'when' and not an 'if' as I will be trying them.  Mmm chips.

The Ladies Night was a fundraising event for Weston school and it had lots of stalls selling cards, accessories, jewellery and some foody things.  These was also a bar and various treatments on offer for a fiver such as hot stone massage, facials, nails and eyebrow shaping.  I don't think there were quite as many people  at the ladies night as in previous years, but there were just as many stalls.  Lots of handmade stuff.  There was a stall which did handmade jams, pickles and chocolate and they had loads out at the front to try. I think I must be that kind of stalls worst nightmare as I like to try all the samples but don't very often buy anything.  The chocolate was really good, well most of it anyway.  The rose and bergamot white chocolate was good as was the lemongrass flavour white chocolate, the caramel milk chocolate and the Christmas spice chocolate.  The Christmas tree chocolate was not so good tasted as though it was made with real Christmas trees.  I spent ages talking to the people on the herbalife stall.  It must be hard to sell a weight loss product because it would be quite tactless to go up to someone and say "You look like you need to lose a bit of weight.  Fancy trying our new weight loss product?".  I think they get round this by dropping leaflets through doors and having stalls at events such as this one.  There were a few things I could have bought but I settled on buying a nice handmade headband for my daughter.  As at most events of this sort there was a raffle at the end.  I didn't win though.  Maybe next time eh.

Weston Produce Show

The produce show is one of the most villagy things you can get.  I've lived in towns and visited many towns and cities too but never have I seen a competition for growing fruit and veg anywhere but in a village hall.  The Weston produce show had entries from people in Aston as well as the people from the 2 villages pretty much join in everything the other one does.  As well as classes for fruit and vegetables there were also a few craft and photography classes and also classes for children to enter.  As far as I can tell the competition is friendly; I have heard of some villages where people sneak over the neighbours fence and sabotage the crops in the garden to give themselves a better chance of winning, but I think the competition is friendly in Weston. They don't take it any less seriously though.  Winning the most points in the produce show is a big deal for the folks in Weston, well at least for families in Weston anyway as most of the entries seem to come from them and then a few other people will enter one thing here and there.  I'd love to tell you all who actually won, but I can't remember.  That's what comes of writing about something a month after it happened.

After all the trophies have been handed out they auction off the produce in aid of a good cause.  ( I think this time it was part the air ambulance and the rest to the village hall funds).  Mr Hackett from Shardlow was the auctioneer and he's been doing auctions for as long as I can remember.  I heard quite a few years ago on the grapevine that he wanted to retire, but it seems he hasn't managed to yet.  I can't believe no-one else wants to do it though.  I think it would be fun.  Maybe it's because he is good at it and he'd be a hard act to follow.  Anyway the produce auction is brilliant.  Lots of lovely home grown veg at bargain prices.  The auction was very friendly as well. We just lost out in the bidding on a plate of cakes and the person who won gave us one of them. Others who won something they were bidding on did a similar thing.

Summer activities

The South Derbyshire District Council have put on some free activities on the rec this summer.  What it doesn't say on the leaflet is that the Parish council also pay a donation to have them come to the village. 

The different mobiles come at various times according to a timetable, but they came to Aston every Tuesday,  often 2 a day.  This seems to be a lot more than other places get so it very generous of the Parish Council to fund these.  These are a really great way of amusing kids for zero money, and during the summer holidays amusing children can get rather expensive, so these are really helpful.  Some kids did enjoy putting on sumo suits to wrestle, play laser shooting games or go up the climbing wall, but I was quite surprised at the amount of parents I heard trying to persuade children to have a go on these things when all they wanted to do was throw and catch a ball or run around with their friends.  They had these special nets which the child throws the ball at and it bounces back.  When I was a kid we just chucked a ball at the wall.  It had the same effect.  Anyway the nets were really popular.  But whatever the children did they seemed to enjoy themselves and that's what's important.  It also gets them away from the telly or computer.  So big thanks to the organisers/ staff for these events.

More about the speed detecters...

Well it seems they have moved the speed detecter thing to the road where you come into the village from Shardlow.  I wonder if it is getting any different results there.  I read in the Acorn (a free magazine about the village that come through the letter box) that the thing also collects stats about peoples speeds as they pass and apparently there are an awful lot of people breaking the speed limit.  I'd like details about this like what percentage of people are breaking the speed limit and by how much.  For instance, it's hardly a scandal if several people are going through the village at 31 mph.

I read the acorn from front to back and I have to admit it gives a much more thorough coverage of village like than I do.  I particularly enjoyed the neighbourhood watch page which gives crime stats for the area (we seem to get on average 1 burgulary a month) and the info about the speed detecter.