The revue was a sell-out success all three nights.  The Lenches' WW1 Commemoration group has told us that it raised approximately £1000 for forces charities, exceeding their expectations by a good margin.  

Before and after the show, and during the break, the performers, of which there were around 40, mingled among the audience. Then during the show the performers took over 3 different stages in a unique setup never before tried at the village hall.  It worked brilliantly.

Those performing included many of the regulars from GLADS (Greater Lenches Amateur Dramatic Society) productions plus many more who came out for the first time to help commemorate the experiences and sacrifices of our forebears in the period leading up to WW1 and then into the first few months of the war.

In addition to the revue, there was also a small exhibition of weaponry (provided by Pete Davenport, renowned local collector of such items) along with mementos, objects and stories provided by local people, demonstrating and relating how the war affected their lives and families in often moving and profound ways.

Ginny Davis returned to Rous Lench with her latest hilarious and moving (yes, that's right, moving) show. She has most certainly upped the ante in regard to the amount of  emotional strings at which she tugs, and at one point in the space of about 15 seconds she took the audience from wallops of laughter to silence and teary eyes.  She has also departed from her traditional one woman does it all show, to a two-performer format which worked fabulously well.  Each of them played at least 3 roles, and amazingly at no point was the audience left wondering which character they were watching. Truly brilliant writing and acting.

Corrine White set out the hall in a dinner theatre format which looked good and worked extremely well. Chef David Moysey prepared a delicious southern USA style pulled pork which was served in a bap at the pause.

Many thanks to the team that made this event happen, including Fran and Brian Herdman, Corrine and Gary White, Caroline and David Moysey, Alison and Lloyd Wing (behind the bar), and David Browne.

This year's pumpkin carving contest and quiz night was the most successful incarnation yet of this ever popular annual event.

It was well attended by around 80 people who formed into a little over a dozen teams for the quiz. A record total of 19 truly impressive carved pumpkins were submitted to our judges, David Lee and Caroline Nash, who deliberated long and hard over their decisions. 

The 9 in the photo below were submitted by children 10 years old or younger.  Note the large one by Darcy Williamson, 7, with a witch flying on her broom.  It also contains the carved words "The Witches of Rous Lench", and won the prize for largest overall although it was certainly a contender in other categories.

The general winner of the 10 or under category was designed and completed by 3 year old Heidi Gibson, who only had a little help with the scalpel from her auntie.

The overall winner out of all pumpkins submitted was also from this category, and was designed and carved by Emilie Linfoot, 10. 

There were 10 submissions in the 11 years old and over category.

From this group we had the winners in the funniest (by Tom Genders), scariest (by Josie Walliman) and most creative (by Kirsty Gibson) categories, respectively, below.

The quiz was another masterpiece by Liz Knight and her faithful assistant, and husband, Dave. Liz had only returned earlier in the day from an eventful trip to Paris, but as always she rose to the occasion, guiding participants through one of her toughest and most entertaining quizes yet! 

A big thank you to all who helped make this event happen, including Fran and Brian Herdman, Corrine White, David Browne, Anita and Richard Perry, Liz and Dave Knight, David Lee, Caroline Nash, Darin McLean and all the fabulous people who carved such incredible pumpkins.