Chilling, Chatting & Clowning – just the right ingredients for ‘fun taken seriously’ News

It started gently enough with gazebos and chairs settled amicably into the newly mown grass, cool boxes unpacked and glasses filled as voices mingled with voices creating a lively buzz of happy conversation. Then slowly – with only a little coercion from Geoff – people headed for something more strenuous doing the rounds of the multitude of silly (but skilful) games that were dotted around the garden and overflowing into the long field beyond.

The two pedants, Geoff and Stan argued humorously over the distance between the measuring sticks for the welly wanging, going back and forth with the tape measure, before David Grey showed the way chucking the wellies with a vengeance and beaming in the belief that his throw must definitely be the longest. He hadn’t of course reckoned on youth outdoing him, but Chris and Marion’s son David did just that achieving a distance that couldn’t be and wasn’t beaten. And then the competitiveness just got livelier and sillier as the afternoon went on. Tossing the mini caber created amusement for those who could lift let alone toss it; crazy croquet, boule in a bucket, target bowls and golf chipping allowed some to show off their prowess whilst others simply did it their own way.

All this time Bonnie, the resident black Labrador, raced ravenously around from one picnic to another in hope of the titbits she wasn’t allowed to have, while Dave and Elise’s dog, Molly, more restrained, just succumbed graciously to soothing strokes and pats from passers-by. For choir members as well as Geoff’s visiting neighbours and the two dogs it was an entirely pleasurable afternoon. Good company, great weather, a lovely setting and enough of the sort of things that kept both Geoff’s grandchildren, choristers and their partners content, no doubt giving a lie to the premise that there’s no such thing as ‘second childhoods’.

Our thanks to Pamela and Geoff for literally preparing the ground, and for welcoming RMVC to their home, and to Dave and Geoff for their time and ingenuity in creating and setting up the games. It was fun! And for those Choir members needing to know who won which game Jan has put the names together with all photos on the Members Page.