VPA News

The Village Hall was full with quiz teams sitting down to a scrumptious meal to get the brain cells ticking over for the questions, nine rounds from geography to birds plus the table round. 

There was much hilarity throughout the evening, even Shaun our entertaining quiz master, accidentally sharing the answer to one question for everyone to hear!

The defending team, UNIVERSALLY CHALLENGED achieved success and reclaimed the shield.

The runners up team CHILTERN HILBILLIES came a close second.  The most important thing was everyone enjoyed their night out in the village. 

It was very encouraging to receive thank you’s ……. “ Just a note to say what a good evening was had by all. Well done and thank you.”. 

We the committee appreciate it very much. 

This is the last event from the VPA for this year. All eyes will need to be focused on the Winter Show (7 February 2026) if we have enough support. Send any contributions and ideas for the schedule to vpa-show@lgvpa.org we will be pleased to hear from you. 

The Harvest Supper and Quiz night is on:-
Saturday 27^th September at the Village Hall.   

Doors open at 6.00pm, quiz starts at 6.30pm

Three course meal, quiz, raffle and a welcoming glass of Prosecco/soft drink, all for £25 per head. (Same price as last year)

By huge popular demand quiz host Shaun McCarthy will run the quiz, Same as last year we invite you to bring your own drink, we’ll supply the glasses.

It is tables of eight but if you haven’t got an eight we will be able to create a team for you to join, so whether you are singles, couples or full teams let us know.
Tables are available, so buy your tickets now to avoid missing out on this fun Village event.
Tickets can be purchased from June Abraham, harvest-supper@lgvpa.org, 07760 144057), or speak to any Committee Member or someone at the VPA Store. Payment by bank transfer to Sort code: 09-01-51: Account number: 48549306; Account name: Gaddesden District Village Produce (please give your surname as the reference together with the word ‘QUIZ’). Or you can pay by cheque or cash at the VPA Store.

Any special dietary requirements please advise at the same time to ensure they can be accommodated: harvest-supper@lgvpa.org.

Last Saturday we had a very successful Summer Show. We were very encouraged by the comments from exhibitors, judges and those attending the event. Many thanks again to all of you for making it a fun day for the village.

We would like to invite you to our next event, the Harvest Supper and Quiz night on:-
Saturday 27^th September at the Village Hall.   

Doors open at 6.00pm, quiz starts at 6.30pm

Three course meal, quiz, raffle and a welcoming glass of Prosecco/soft drink, all for £25 per head. (Same price as last year)

By huge popular demand quiz host Shaun McCarthy will run the quiz, Same as last year we invite you to bring your own drink, we’ll supply the glasses.

It is tables of eight but if you haven’t got an eight we will be able to create a team for you to join, so whether you are singles, couples or full teams let us know.
Tables are now available, so buy your tickets now to avoid missing out.

Tickets can be purchased from June Abraham, harvest-supper@lgvpa.org, 07760 144057), or speak to any Committee Member or someone at the VPA Store. Payment by bank transfer to Sort code: 09-01-51: Account number: 48549306; Account name: Gaddesden District Village Produce (please give your surname as the reference together with the word ‘QUIZ’). Or you can pay by cheque or cash at the VPA Store.

Any special dietary requirements please advise at the same time to ensure they can be accommodated: harvest-supper@lgvpa.org.

Hello to all our members and supporters

We are hoping that you are all looking carefully at this year’s Schedule of classes and deciding how many entries you can make in this year’s Summer Show.

The schedule setting out all the class details is available online and copies are also available at the Village Post Office/Shop. https://lgvpa.org/vpa-events/vpa-summer-show/

There are three ways to enter:-
1. Preferred – Submit your entry online directly, using the online entry form. Please pay the entry fee on the day of the show.

2. Email a scan or legible photo of a filled in paper copy of the entry form (e.g. downloaded and printed), to the VPA Show Team at VPA-show@LGVPA.org. Please pay the entry fee on the day of the show.

3. Fill in a paper copy of the entry form that’s in the show programme (or downloaded and printed) and deliver it, with your entry fee, to

Phil Bunting, 9 Cromer Close, Little Gaddesden (07505 248940) or

Alastair Greene, 1 Pond Lane, Hudnall, Little Gaddesden (01442 843667)

However you do it, please help to make a great show by entering as many classes as you can. Entries can be staged on the morning of the show, Saturday from 9am to 10.45am. or on Friday night by prior arrangement (between 6.30pm and 7.30pm).

There are Vegetables and Miscellaneous sections, some fun Children’s classes, challenging Floral Art themes, plenty of tempting Cookery & Preserves classes, and we would love to see some of your wonderful flowers.
If you have any questions about any aspect of the show please speak to anyone on the Committee.
We look forward to welcoming you on the day, show starts at 2.30pm, Saturday 23rd August, a great opportunity to catch up with friends and make new ones over tea, coffee and cake. There will also be a raffle and then prize giving 3.30pm. onwards.

Hello to all our members and supporters

We are hoping that you are all looking carefully at this year’s Schedule of classes and deciding how many entries you can make in this year’s Summer Show.

The schedule setting out all the class details is now available online and copies are also available at the Village Post Office/Shop. https://lgvpa.org/vpa-events/vpa-summer-show/

There are three ways to enter:-
1. Preferred – Submit your entry online directly, using the online entry form. Please pay the entry fee on the day of the show.

2. Email a scan or legible photo of a filled in paper copy of the entry form (e.g. downloaded and printed), to the VPA Show Team at VPA-show@LGVPA.org. Please pay the entry fee on the day of the show.

3. Fill in a paper copy of the entry form that’s in the show programme (or downloaded and printed) and deliver it, with your entry fee, to

Phil Bunting, 9 Cromer Close, Little Gaddesden (07505 248940) or

Alastair Greene, 1 Pond Lane, Hudnall, Little Gaddesden (01442 843667)

However you do it, please help to make a great show by entering as many classes as you can. Entries can be staged on the morning of the show, Saturday from 9am to 10.45am. or on Friday night by prior arrangement (between 6.30pm and 7.30pm).

There are Vegetables and Miscellaneous sections, some fun Children’s classes, challenging Floral Art themes, plenty of tempting Cookery & Preserves classes, and we would love to see some of your wonderful flowers.
If you have any questions about any aspect of the show please speak to anyone on the Committee.
We look forward to welcoming you on the day, show starts at 2.30pm, Saturday 23rd August, a great opportunity to catch up with friends and make new ones over tea, coffee and cake. There will also be a raffle and then prize giving 3.30pm. onwards.

Weren’t we lucky! The rain we all needed, particularly for our gardens and fields, decided to start last Sunday morning just as we were preparing the plant tables. However, our very own weather man, George Godar, advised from his app that by 10am it should be sunshine, and that is exactly what happened. We got a bit wet setting up and struggled to get signs on the tables but all came good. We had a variety of donations for which we thank you very much, along with thanks to the merry band of helpers, (setting up, serving, and clearing away again). We raised around four hundred and fifty pounds. Janet Stupples kindly took all the leftovers and she is brilliant at nurturing, repotting etc and finding good homes for everything. A fine example of sharing and working together around village life. Look out for the pop up plant sales in the courtyard at Ashridge.

Last week we had a successful Wisley day trip in conjunction with and mainly organised by the LG WI, using our Affiliated Membership. (Entitling 55 people to visit once per year for free). Perhaps another trip could be organised to visit an alternative garden next year? One of our VPA members recently used the RHS discount ticket and visited Rosemoor in Devon which was very much enjoyed. If you are planning an RHS garden visit do ask to borrow the RHS card to take advantage of the entry discounts.

Whilst mentioning the WI, do make a date to have an afternoon cream tea in the VH on Saturday 21 June, from 2pm. Lots of sandwiches, cakes and scones to eat, plus a raffle, tombola, plants with Wendy for sale, along with the opportunity to buy a cake to take home for Sunday tea.

With our limited “person power” we now need to plan ahead for the summer show (23 August) followed by the Harvest Supper and Quiz (27 September). If there is anything you would particularly like to see included in the show schedule please get in touch.

Finally, another plea for Secretarial assistance (to help us up until next April) and help in managing the gardens around the Store and the planters in the village, just giving an hour would make a big difference please.

Do call into the Store for garden requirements, open every Sunday from 10am to 12am (next to the Village Hall).

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday morning. If you have plants that you would like to donate on the day please bring them between 8am and 9am so that the team have a chance to price them up ahead of the opening time of 10am. If you can identify the plants with a label that will help us too.

If you need to drop them off prior to Sunday then Kate at Christmas House (on the left on the road out towards Ringshall) has offered to take them. Please ring Kate on 07973 830081.

Other news
Rennie Grove Peace Hospice is having an Open Garden at Grove House, Waverley Road, St Albans, AL3 5QX on Saturday 7 June, 2pm – 5pm.
Regularly used by patients attending clinics or therapeutic gardening groups for those living with life-limiting illnesses, the garden serves as both a sanctuary and a source of healing. Each summer, it is opened to the wider public, offering everyone a chance to enjoy the results of the volunteers’ hard work. Visitors can expect to see a vibrant display of roses, peonies, alliums, and other early summer blooms.
As well as enjoying the gardens, visitors will be able to buy plants that have been grown by our volunteer gardeners, to take a little of the garden home with them.

Some of the volunteer gardeners will be on hand to answer any questions, and tea and cakes will be available to purchase throughout the afternoon. All proceeds raised by the event will be used to fund vital care for local people with a life-limiting illness.

Spring really is getting under way, this last week we have crossed over into having more daylight hours than dark hours, and the clocks go forward next weekend gradually giving us longer evenings to be organising our gardens.  The Spring colours are very welcome as we have seen the snowdrops, crocuses, and then the lovely daffodils and tulips pop up in many places.

In case word hasn’t reached you, the Ashridge House Gardens are now an RHS Partner Garden which is great to know and enables visits to be made at a very local venue (and to enjoy a cuppa in the Bakehouse).  Our Affiliated RHS member card is available in the Store to be used.   The Wisley trip on 20 May 2025 is almost fully booked but if you wish to try and reserve the last remaining seats, please get in touch wisley-trip@lgvpa.org / 07760 144057 immediately.

We would really appreciate help in maintaining the garden areas referred to in our end of year newsletter and now is the time to be clearing up and pruning after the long Winter days so if you can spare an hour or so to help we would be pleased to hear from you. 

The AGM will be starting 6.30pm on Wednesday 30 April 2025 in the Church’s TFH where a welcome glass of fizz and nibbles will be available.  Our end of year financial/membership/store summary will be distributed during April for your information.  We are pleased to be welcoming Liz Hamilton to speak to us (a busy volunteer supporter with the CPRE to help protect our beautiful countryside) about Chalk Streams which should be very interesting.

The customary Plant Sale is on Sunday 25 May 2025 at 10:30am on the VH car park; we are hopeful that you can sow some extra seed trays for the VPA in the run up to the sale to help fill the tables.  If you can spare an hour to help set up we would be pleased to hear from you. Please see below an extract from the Grow your own guide, full document on the web site.

The remaining two scheduled events are the Summer Show on Saturday 23 August 2025 followed by the Harvest Supper and Quiz on Saturday 27 September 2025.

Let’s hope we can all have a successful planning, sowing and growing season during the coming months, and we are looking forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Hi Everyone

Many apologies to those already thinking about the Winter Show, unfortunately the Committee have had to make the difficult decision not to proceed. We are a very small team and with a few of us away we simply cannot pull it all together this time.

The good news though is everything else planned this year, including the Summer Show, remains in the diary and is fully supported. Next up the AGM in April then in May the Plant Sale, so don’t forget when you are raising your seedlings to plant a tray for the VPA.