We want to hear about your village news and events
The best way to tell us is through the contact form
here
For the fifth successive year, the ladies of the knitting group, with their partners, have decorated the railings at St Mary's with beautiful knitted poppies as a special Remembrance Sunday commemoration.
And the 2018 military style commemorative poppy arch has been reinstalled in the churchyard.
The arch was designed and constructed out of wood by Jim McAlpin 4 years ago and finished in NATO Green by Terry Lewis. Its metallic appearance and shape were originally to complement the church entrance perfectly.
New Tommy soldier silhouettes stand guard back to back on each side, with heads bowed, thanks to Paul Boakes and his daughter. And purple knitted poppies have been added this year to commemorate the animals that have died during conflict.
A lovely new poppy post box topper, complete with knitted service member characters, has been added, with wreaths on the post office railings and eye catching display poppies on posts throughout the centre of the village courtesy of Upchurch Parish Council.
The arch and poppies will remain on display throughout Remembrancetide for the villagers who lost their lives during the WW1 and WW2 conflicts.
They look lovely - Thank you
“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”
Remembrance Sunday - 13th November 2022
Upchurch Matters
Click photos to enlarge.
The Big Co-op Payout
Co-op colleagues have celebrated the £117 million their members have helped raise for 7 million people in local communities across the UK since 2016.
The annual 'The Big Co-op Payout' at Upchurch's Co-op on Wednesday the 2nd of November, paid out a whopping £4558.89 to the store's 3 previous local causes.
Co-op Member Pioneer Sally Butcher presented the funds to local causes chosen during the last round of funding in the Co-op Community Fund.
Upchurch Village Hall received £1626.37
Upchurch Support Network received £1487.67
1st Upchurch Brownies and Guides received £1444.85
Congratulations 😃
Sally also welcomed Tracy Marsh from SATEDA, the store's new local cause.
SATEDA's vision is to end domestic abuse, and its mission is to enable women to end the cycle of domestic abuse and rebuild their lives through education, support and advocacy, enabling them to break free, take back control, find their own voices and live a life without fear.
Become a Co-op member and choose a local cause to support
Our 3 local causes are:
1st Upchurch Brownies and Guides
Upchurch Village Hall
SATEDA
Upchurch Matters
Christmas Market
On Saturday the 10th of December
From 11:00am until 4:30pm at Upchurch Village Hall
The Christmas Market is organised by the Village Hall Management Committee and is a fundraising event for the St Mary’s Church Bell Tower Restoration Fund with cakes and refreshments provided by Upchurch WI.
There will be crafts and much more, plus a grand raffle with the first prize winner to be drawn by Santa.
Thanks to Upchurch Parish Council, Santa, in his sleigh with giant reindeer and elves, will be visiting the children at the Village Hall from 2:30pm until 4:30pm.
Upchurch Village Hall is looking for local businesses to provide or sponsor Grand Raffle prizes.
Thank you
Upchurch Matters
Hello UpARA members,
Please Support our Next Fundraiser
Please support us on our next fundraiser Quiz Night… It is on Friday evening, November 11th. Teams of up to 8, bring your own drink and nibbles, £5 per person. Please book by Email at uparaupchurch@gmail.com If you want to come but haven’t a team, or if you have a team but need extras, please let us know and we will organise it. All proceeds to the Bell Tower Fund. It will be a good night!
Thank You
Thank you for attending and making the Race Afternoon Fundraiser at Upchurch Village Hall so much fun and such a success.
I would like to thank all those who gave their time, contributed cakes and sponsored/donated to some of the races.
Also, a big thank you to the local businesses who sponsored us:
Rainham
Upchurch
Professional Property Renovation & Maintenance - Upchurch
We are pleased to say that, after deducting the hall costs, we raised the terrific sum of £720.15.
This will be added to our running total towards the St Mary's Bell Tower Restoration Fund.
The Thoughts of Chairman John
Hi everyone,
The end of another hectic month, I can't believe how many activities we've undertaken over the last few weeks. This included the Badminton trial which was well subscribed albeit a bit too much on the same day as the Tennis! We will look to have another trial on a different day, early in the New Year.
The least publicised of our activities is the Monday Kurling, run by Ann Rolfe. How many of our members have thought of trying out an afternoon session of Kurling? As the name suggests, it's based on the actual "Curling" that we can watch at the Winter Olympic Games, where the participants all wear winter clothing and skim massive lumps of Granite, sweeping the ice to ensure it is guided to the winning position on the target! UpARA's version needs only to be pushed by means of a custom-made "Stick" hence a more leisurely game. Our Kurling equipment was one of our very first purchases when we first started as an ‘ARA’ back in 2014 - Why not give it a go - on the first Monday afternoon of the month, you will be pleasantly surprised, refreshments and chat included.
Our latest Friday Speaker Bob Ogley’s (Mr Kent) talk about the Great Storm was really well received. Being a great fan of Bob's, I took two books for him to sign and only returned with one, (did anyone pick up my Doodlebug one, by mistake?).
Regards
John W
Christmas Party
We still have a few tickets available for our Christmas Party on the evening of the 16th of December. Doors open at 6:45pm, with a 3-course meal being served from 7:15pm, and entertainment from the very talented ‘Leyton’ to follow; it promises to be a great festive evening as in previous years. Please Email us at uparaupchurch@gmail.com for more information.
London Walk - Soho
We are going to take our next London Walk on November 25th to Soho, which was going to be our next London Walk before we were curtailed back in March 2020. We will time this in order that we can also take in the Regents Street Christmas Lights. It will also be a chance to experience the new Elizabeth Line if you haven’t before. Please Email us at uparaupchurch@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us.
Lunch Club
The next Lunch Club will be on Tuesday the 8th of November in The Crown pub, no Lunch Club during December or January, please see Brenda for more details.
Please Note
Please Note: There are no activities in the Village Hall on the week beginning 27th November as the Upchurch Players are holding their performance of this year’s Pantomime, ‘Pinocchio’… Oh yes, they are!… Also, note that Petanque has reverted to its Winter start time of 1:00pm… And finally, for those on the Tinsel & Turkey Trip - Have a great Xmas & New Year!
November Calendar
Tuesday, November 1st at 9:30am - Coffee Morning and Art
Tuesday, November 1st at 2:00pm - Table Tennis
Wednesdays November 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd at 10:15am - Line Dancing
Friday, November 4th at 10:00am - Village Walk
Mondays November 7th, 14th, 21st at 10:00am - Short Tennis
Monday, November 7th at 2:00pm - Kurling
Tuesday, November 8th at 10:00pm - Ten Pin Bowling
Tuesday, November 8th at 12:30pm - Lunch Club at The Crown pub
Friday, November 11th at 2:00pm - Monthly Meeting
Carol Ann Wells, ‘Travels with my Piano’
Friday, November 11th at 7:00pm - Fundraiser Quiz Night
Monday 14th to Friday 18th - Tinsel & Turkey trip to Paignton, Devon
Tuesday, November 15th at 1:00pm - Petanque
Note Winter start time
Friday, November 18th at 10:00am - Village Walk
Tuesday, November 22nd at 9:30am - Coffee Morning and Art
Tuesday, November 22nd at 2:00pm - Table Tennis
Friday, November 25th - London Walk Soho
Good luck to our 3, 10 Pin Bowling teams at the KentARA competition on November 3rd.
Hopefully, see you all soon - your UpARA Committee.
Thank you
Charity Registration No: 606311
Elspeth Baecke
“Jubilate”
Saturday 26th November 2022
7:30pm in St Mary’s Church, Upchurch
Entry £10, under 18s free.
Our concert will include Mozart’s Coronation Mass and other seasonal items.
In addition, our soloists for the evening will be Sonare, a group of four singers who recently gave a stunning concert in St Mary’s.
Please come and join us!
This concert will be dedicated to the late Frank Osborne, who sang with our choir for many years with a delightful Tenor voice.
Refreshments will be available at the interval, courtesy of The Friends of St Mary’s.
For more information, contact UCS Secretary Sue Rossiter.
Sue Rossiter
