Friends of Shackleford is a collection of individuals who organise village events, raise money and spend it locally.
Once or twice a year there is a fund-raiser like the Harvest Supper in October at which local people put on a show after a home-cooked meal. A slightly bizarre but unmissable fixture in the village calendar.
We spend the money raised on outings to the theatre, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace (to name but a few), on parties such as the Family Fun Day on August Bank Holiday and on the two Christmas/New Year dinners to which everyone is invited.
So if you see a poster advertising ‘a Friends of Shackleford event’ don’t dismiss it – try it!
Here’s how it all began…
In 1962 a group of villagers decided that they would like to organise a Harvest supper. It was a success and they made £16. They then called a public meeting to legalise the position. A committee was formed and it was recorded in the minutes that they were ‘to decide upon the holding of future activities and keep alive the kindly spirit generated by the success of the first harvest supper’. They decided to call the movement ‘Towards Fellowship’.
For the next four years they held a talk in February and a harvest supper at harvest time. By then they had a balance of £31 in the bank, so they decided to arrange an outing for the old folk. Then the following year a children’s tea party was arranged. So it gradually evolved from a harvest supper to further activities to get the village together and keep alive the Christmas spirit.
The money that became available was used to entertain the village; and that meant that it was used mainly, but not exclusively, for taking out the old folk. Since then it has changed a great deal, of course, but that is how it started.
Derek Pinks, former treasurer, 1995