HELP!  We're seeing a lot of crows (or maybe rooks) around this year - my lawn is full of holes, and it's driving the dog mad!  We urgently need more scarecrows around the village - dressing them with the theme of "Sport" will make them work a lot better.

If you're planning on joining the crowd and making a nice scarecrow and you haven't contacted Liz Balfe yet, please do so as soon as you can.  That way she can include your scarecrow on her map and we can all come and have a look at it!

 

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone/text: 07816415212
Or put a note through the door of Little Acorns, Puddledock Lane

 

J & S

 

ps - just a little reminder that the weather has been threatening to stay dry and sunny.  Fire-risks are high so please be thoughtful when you consider lighting up a barbeque or a bonfire.  These are also the times when we all like to be sitting out in the garden so please think about your neighbours and don't smoke them out!  As a thatched house owner I'm particularly sensitive to such stuff so please let me sleep at night!

 

 

 

 

You may remember that the bench at the pond backing on to the pub has been deteriorating.  Weymouth Council said it was beyond economic repair and planned to remove it.  Your village Society intervened and agreed with the pub to replace it and split the costs 50:50.  Jo and Karen will add a brass plaque remembering their Dad.

As you can see, the bench has been installed by the village maintenance crew, led and organised (and photographed) by Jon Waterman and is looking splendid.  At least 4 people tested it straightaway...  Well done guys!

 

 

 

 

[The old bench may have been beyond economic repair for the Council and their paid employees, but it was felt that our skilled residents with some time on their hands could have a go at it.  Thanks (in advance, let's hope it turns out well) to Graeme Morrison who has volunteered to fix it up.  We plan to relocate it off the highway (are our village roads really "highways"?) - probably up the footpath towards the Millennium Walk.]

 

J & S

 

This message is from Chris Waight.

---------------------------------------

Dear All,

It is with great sadness that I convey the news that yet one more of our treasured villagers, Dave Wintle, has passed away.

Sharon and I have had the good fortune to have been Dave and Sue’s next door neighbours for over sixteen years, during which time both have become not only good neighbours but also very good friends.

Dave was born in Plymouth in 1943 and while still a youngster, moved with his parents to Weymouth. He decided to take up teaching as a career and while still at Teacher Training college, joined a local church youth club where he met Sue. Their relationship blossomed and resulted in their wedding in 1969, married life beginning in Sutton Poyntz where they spent their lives together.

At the end of Dave’s Teacher Training he applied and was accepted as a teacher at All Saints School, where he remained until being forced to take early retirement due to ill health during 1998. Dave loved his time at All Saints where without doubt, he was equally popular with both other members of staff and the pupils. He particularly enjoyed being involved in school trips both abroad and in the UK where, I believe, he really came into his own by being known as the teacher who was “always willing to have a go on the fastest and scariest rides!”

According to Sue, whenever she and Dave were walking in and around Weymouth progress was extremely slow as he regularly stopped to have conversations with old students, parents, etc.

Dave was always willing to take part in, and enjoy various different aspects of village life, not least of which involved being a member of SPAM. His greatest claim to fame was telling his party jokes, the punch-lines from which were seldom reached as Dave would collapse in fits of laughter well before the endings, the results of which were highly infectious as everyone listening would enjoy the merriment probably more than the frequently absent punch-lines!

Dave, neighbour, and without doubt, friend to all who knew him, thank you for having enriched our lives. You will be greatly missed.

Dave’s funeral will take place at Weymouth Crematorium on Tuesday 16th July at 12:15, followed by a get-together in the Mission Hall.

Chris Waight  

Dear all,

Reminders of some Mission Hall events:

• Friday 12th July - Talk by Joanna Quinn, the author of the best-selling novel "The Whalebone Theatre". 7.30 p.m., at the Mission Hall. Admission £5 - tickets from Sue Cottam, 833582 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This should be a really interesting event - see the poster below.
• Friday 5th July - Village Coffee Morning, 10.30 at the Mission Hall. Come and discuss the election, or maybe find some better topic of conversation!
• Sunday 30th June - Village BBQ. Sadly, this event is  CANCELLED .
• Next Wednesday, 26th June - Mission Hall AGM - 7.30 p.m., at the Mission Hall. Documents for the AGM are available here:
  • Agenda
  • Minutes of last year's AGM
  • Proposed Constitution changes
  • Annual Report and 2023/24 Accounts
  • 2024/25 Budget

We look forward to seeing lots of you at the AGM, and then at the Coffee Morning and Joanna's talk.

 

Best wishes,

Bill

 

 

Our treasurer wants to move us into the 21st century and try out receiving Society subscriptions by bank transfer. I know - radical!!
As you can imagine with lots of people paying identical amounts of money, including a useful reference so that Andy can track who has paid is crucial. We don’t want to annoy you by knocking on your door asking for subs when you’ve already paid.

 

The bank details are as follows:

Account name: Sutton Poyntz Society
Sort code: 60-23-35
Account number: 06822584
Reference: please include your surname, house name / number and road name. Include as much as you can before you run out of space!

 

And of course it's £5 per household (or £2.50 if you live alone) for the period April 2024 - April 2025.
The more folk who pay by bank transfer, the less door-knocking we’ll have to do later in the year.
Thanks for your help.

 

And just a word now to remind you of upcoming events:

June 26th - Mission Hall AGM

June 30th - The Mission Hall Summer BBQ

All July - Scarecrow Competition, theme "Sport"

August 2nd - Coffee Morning and voting / judging the Scarecrows

August 10th - Cream Teas in the Mission Hall garden

I believe any funds raised from these last two events will be in aid of Air Ambulance.

 

And if you want to look further ahead, there'll be a Murder Mystery evening in September and a Village Quiz in October.  Watch this space!

 

J & S

 

Maureen asks me to remind you... that if you are a lady who would like to lunch, then you are invited to join other like-minded ladies at The Springhead, every 3rd Thursday of the month, at 12.30pm.  The next one will be on June 20th and just a quick phone call to Maureen (835533) or Lesley (319212) will secure your place for a pleasant socialising - and something nice to eat that you won't have to prepare yourself.

 

J & S on behalf of Maureen

 

The Mission Hall are running a Village Barbecue on 30th June, in the Mission Hall garden, starting 12.30. Tickets, £10 (£5 for children), can be obtained from Maureen Morris (telephone 835533 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). Bring your own meat/fish/whatever to barbecue, and your own booze - we will provide salads, sweets, and a starting drink, as well as barbecues to do the cooking. (If you have a barbecue you would be willing to lend for the event, please contact Bill Egerton on 833728 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). Proceeds for Mission Hall funds.

Also, advance notice that Joanna Quinn, the author of the best-selling novel "The Whalebone Theatre", will give a talk at the Mission Hall, on the evening of Friday 12th July (start time to be confirmed). Tickets, £5, from Sue Cottam (telephone 833582 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Joanna was brought up in Dorset, and is just in the process of settling in Sutton Poyntz. The Whalebone Theatre, her first novel, was published in 2022 and quickly became a best-seller both in the UK and US. The novel is set in Dorset.

Bill