Author: St Michael Village Hall

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

As guest gather on an island somewhere in West Ireland to celebrate the wedding of Jules and Will, secrets from the past arise. On the night of the wedding a storm leaves the island in a blackout.

When the lights finally come back on a distressed waitress screams that she has found a dead body. It has been described as evoking an Agatha Christie mystery but most of us didn’t think that was a good comparison. I though it rather slow to begin but when all the multiple character reveal themselves, the atmosphere builds, and the plot does come together in the end.

There are many storylines running through it and lots of detail. This is definitely one for mystery thriller fans but it’s not for young readers as it does have more ‘adult’ aspects of its plot.

we all enjoyed the book with minor reservations and thought it was well written and a good plot.

Follow the rabbit- Proof fence by Doris Pilkington

This short true story was given to me as I left Australia last year, it is the story of Doris Pilkington’s mother , Molly , who led her sisters on the escape route from the Moore river Native settlement in Perth. A settlement for Aboriginal children with white fathers!

These three girls had made a long and chaperoned journey from their home in Jigalong to this native settlement with many promises. Alas, they found this place cold, with bars at the windows and Molly believed they were in Marbu country which implies the presence of flesh eating spirits. Anyone trying to escape would be dealt with severely.

The girls decide to escape, Molly being the leader ,on their way to find the rabbit proof fence. They have rabbits to eat, many fears along the way. They hide from a search plane that is looking for them!. They eventually find the rabbit proof fence, their hope is renewed and after a total of 9 weeks they arrive at Jigalong and find their family.

To the modern reader, the fence is a symbol of humanity, misplaced trust in its ability to control nature. The fence is also a symbol of the racism that British colonial control uses to divide the country into whites and natives.

The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

This is a mystery/fantasy book. The story is quite complex with many threads, all necessary as the story evolves. The main character is a rookie PC heading for a dreary job until he sees a murder and meets a ghost. He then works with DCI Nightingale in the Special Assessment Unit. It is a fascinating story with weird and wonderful characters and slight overtones of Harry Potter.

Most of the group enjoyed the book, some even wanting to read more, whilst it was not to the liking of others.

A good start!

A very happy new year to one and all! Do hope the colds and bugs have done their rounds now and left you feeling refreshed and revitalised after a busy festive season!!

We began the year with a hearty ramble with a brave and enthusiastic group, sadly the planned walk was intensely boggy and after one field of mud over the tops of boots we settled for a good lane walk which did a circular 5 miles!! It was a good day and enjoyable views and company, we enjoyed snacks and drinks in the v hall after!

The usual activities began in the hall during the second week of the new year, following decorating of the hall, kitchen and foyer in the first week. This has freshened up the hall big time and now we await some dado rails being fixed in the half term week 12th to 16th feb to help with marking the walls from chairs.(we will let you know when this will take place)

Our first film of the year began with Supernova ,some great acting from Colin Firth and Stanley Lucci. The following morning we welcomed our community police lady and community builder to speak with us at the coffee morning (don’t forget to report anything you are worried about or feel is suspicious) and in the evening we held a rowdy warming beetle drive!

Thankyou for starting us off! We look forward to seeing you at the Skittles night,3rd feb, with sausage and chips(please get your tickets) the next film, Where the Crawdads sing, 15th feb and the following morning, the coffee morning.
Please put Friday 1st march in your diaries for a new event to us, St. Davids supper, tastes and sounds of Wales.
A lovely meal, 3 course and some welsh entertainment! Tickets on sale now!

Please see the programme for the rest of the year! Hopefully something for you all. Thankyou for your continued support, stay warm and well!

Ros and the committee

Book Review: “Choices” by Susan Sallis

This book came under the heading of romance and it is the story of the sole
survivor of a horrific car crash facing life in a wheel chair and her interaction with a
survivor of the other car in the crash. It deals with them both coming to terms with
what happened. There are several other story lines of the people in the health and
social services with whom the survivors are in contact.

The book made one think about people who suffer similarly and was enjoyed
by some but others had reservations. The general census was that it was an easy
holiday read.

Jane Yardley.

ST. MICHAEL’S READERS’ GROUP

Book review: ‘Forged’ by Tina Cole

Our book for March was ‘Forged’ by local author Tina Cole.

Poetry is a very emotive medium and perhaps not overly popular with a lot of people so perhaps we were not expecting a very enthusiastic response. However we were very pleased that Tina’s poetry was extremely well received by nearly all of the group. Many of the poems are very personal and I think we could all relate them in some way to our own experiences.

I can’t do better than to quote one of the reviews of the book which seems to me to sum up the essence of the poems: ‘these poems sing of the literal fabric of women’s lives. I love the detail, texture and colour. All this and the tricky, complicated subtleties of lives where people don’t quite get one another, but where there is a great deal of love. Tina Cole is a very fine writer indeed.’

April Update


The Voyage round Britain, presented by Mike Jenner in late January was a most popular and interesting evening. A good 70 people turned out to watch and listen to some great adventures that (Eleri) sailed through. The hall committee provided some delicious curries in the interim and the wonderful amount of £450 was presented to Mike for Pancreatic cancer research.

A Valentines Evening with supper and the Kitchen Island Band was held on 11th February. It was a very enjoyable evening with good entertainment and excellent supper. 60 plus folk ventured out in what has seemed a long cold winter!
(I’m afraid I was fortunate to be away the next month in New Zealand and Australia in some very different temperatures !)

Our visit from Ashley Hutchings with Becky Milla and son Blair, Paradise and Thorns took place on Friday 31st March. This is through the Live and Local presenters who bring music and often a play to our hall, you may remember the performing chef last year?
We welcomed this performance from Paradise and Thorns on Friday, yes, the association is with Fairport convention! Hope you all enjoyed this unique performance.

On 14th April there is a spring walk about 4 miles but places where you can turn back should you want a shorter one. Starting at the village hall, at 10.30 am, very enjoyable.

On Sat  22nd April, the Skittles Evening moved from March will take place! Tickets-£10 to include Bangers and Mash. Please get tickets from committee members.

On Sunday 7th May at 3pm there will be a Coronation tea in the village hall, tickets £7.50. Funds will go towards our annual upkeep of the pond management and help in maintaining the natural environment.(Our future King is very keen on natural environment!)

The pond on the common is looking somewhat good at present as Biosphere organics have cleared it and will return to maintain it each year. They have also put up Bat boxes, bird boxes and a bee post. We are awaiting an information board to complete the updating of that area. There is a tree planted to commemorate our late Queen. Please visit the site when you can and let us know your thoughts. We were fortunate to receive a generous donation ,along with a grant and constant advice from Natural Networks in Malvern Hills.

On Sat & Sun, 3rd and 4th June the wonderful Open Gardens will hopefully enchant you and all visitors!
 Many gardens will be open, the hub being the village hall where tickets are to be purchased and teas devoured!
Details about this weekend will follow. We are indebted to those who open gardens as well as the many people who have offered to help!!

A mid summer madness supper and dance to take place on sat 8th July, details to follow.(I believe they are looking to make a new series of midsummer murders! Who knows?)

Thankyou as ever for your continual support. Ros Plested

January Update

We Thankyou all for joining in the festivities of the village hall this Christmas, an enjoyable time of preparation and activities for all. We were almost back to normal inspite of adverse weather and winter health issues.

The light festival created a good start to Christmas with lovely decorations and lights in and out of the halls well as the houses in the lane, Thankyou for cheering us all up, some lovely lights. Mulled wine, mince pies and lovely voices together with hand bell ringing was a sheer delight on a cold night!

The Birmingham students filled us with amazement again, their voices beautiful, their presence in our village a treat! It was a pleasure to feed and water them in the hall as well as welcome them into our homes. Yes — so many of you say, this is the beginning of Christmas!!

Our village Christmas meal was scrumptious,as well as enjoying the sound of the saxophone,silly jokes, games, quiz and lovely chit chats lovely evening.
The mums and tots enjoyed a visit from Santa,the choir produced a wonderful concert, full of cheerfulness and all activities celebrated the season in their own way!

We began the new year with a New Years walk, just a 5 miler! ending in the village hall with a sleepy lunch and sweep up!

We proceeded with our first film night showing ELVIS! This went down well and we thank Mark Brooks for sourcing some excellent projector, screen and speaker equipment  for the hall which can be used for your own hire when showing a film or presenting a talk. Hopefully this will follow with a film on the 3rd Thursday of the month in winter months! Operation mincemeat and Mrs Harris goes to Paris are next!

We have a full programme for the year, which will be advertised on noticeboards, website, sword and around town. We welcome you all to come along when you can, some events need to be booked in advances don’t miss out. Do join our monthly coffee mornings, 3rd Friday in the month and bring a friend! If you need a lift let us know.

In the near future we have a Round Britain talk by Mike Jenner on Friday 27th January, who this last year sailed round Britain raising funds for pancreatic cancer, this should be interesting and includes a curry supper! Please let us know.

On February 11th, there is a valentines supper, 2 courses with the wonderful music of The Kitchen Island band! Again tickets available from committee members. March brings a skittles evening including bangers and mash supper, let us know! And 31st March, Paradise and Thorns, through Live and Local! This is an excellent evenings entertainment, well known too!

More to come of course so please check the website and sword!! Enjoy your lovely village hall, if you have ideas to share for activities and events , then we welcome them very much. See you soon and

Thankyou again for your support,

Ros Plested and village hall committee.

A happy, healthy and hopeful new year to all!


Book review: The Whispers by Heidi Perks

Graces best friend Anna is missing, She would never leave her husband and son by choice and Grace is beside herself with worry.

Why won’t Anna’s husband call the Police?
What secrets are the other mothers at the school gate hiding?
With each day that passes, Anna’s life is under increasing threat?

This was a tale of manipulation, jealousy and control. It was a gripping thriller, very difficult to put down and kept you on your toes right up into the night. An addictive and thrilling read with an addictive plot.

On the negative side it had a slowness in the middle and inclined to be repetitive but a good plot with a surprising twist and interesting ending!  (Similarities to “Riptide” on the TV at the same time of reading!)

Ros Plested

November Update

We have had a very busy autumn season in the hall with regular hirers and village hall events; the quizzes in sept and oct were both well attended and led by our infamous quiz master , Ian Grafton.

The variety night was one of its best with an audience of 84 and artists from all over! There were 8 performers, in band form, individual, singing, instrumental, story telling, all just providing variety as was when this started at least 10 years ago! Such talent from far and near, a most entertaining evening.

The skittle alley successfully held its first performance at st Michaels, we do hope it will be wanted many times by villagers for hire! It will probably travel to outlying villages whenever needed. The shed men two made this in their spare time and it is indeed a great asset to community events ,provided a great night!

The AGM this year was held on 18th nov, a good meeting, bringing attention to all that happens in this quiet little village and brings our realisation of the importance of small communities, well done to all and our thanks go sincerely to the many who put themselves forward for others! Thankyou again to a very good team of people who do so much for us all.

This years report will tell you much and we look forward to 2023.
Our festive season is upon us, 3rd Dec brings the Light festival which we started during covid times. Hopefully you will walk the lane and enjoy the lights in the village  ending up at the village hall with  mulled wine, mince pies and hand bells!

On the 10th Dec we look forward to the Birmingham university singers returning to sing in church at 6.30pm and again the following day. After the lessons and carols we look forward to welcoming you to the village  xmas dinner in the hall . Please let committee members or me know if you wish for tickets,£20,£10 for children.

There is a lovely crib service on sat 24th Dec at 3.30pm, come and join us and boys and girls come dressed as a shepherd, angel, king, what ever ?

New Years Day we look forward to going for a walk! Meeting at little Hereford Church car park, we shall meet up at our v hall for a bring and share lunch at 2.30pm then we can all go home and put our feet up by the wood burner!

Many thanks for those who kindly came to my bit of a do!,it has helped to make a special 50 years of memories as best anyone can,stuart would be so grateful for your kindness and fantastic support.

Christmas blessings to you all.