Ickenham’s Festive Community Night on 5th December was a great success.  Hundreds of people of all ages from near and far came for the experience and weren’t disappointed.  The shopkeepers opened late and extended their hospitality with mince pies and tipples.  The weather was kind and the lights shone brightly, especially those on the large conifer by the pond.  The Village Hall and the Guide Hut were full of folk having fun and meeting Santa.  Various foods were munched indoors and outside and dozens of voluntary organisations laid on music, games and festive sales.  The Ickenham Festival team, who organised the evening, had arranged for Robert Pearson to sign his book ‘Merrily to Swakeleys’ and by the end of the evening he had sold some 60 copies with proceeds going towards the next Ickenham Festival.

St Giles’ Church commenced its Christmas Festival that night with a display of 23 themed Christmas trees decorated by individual clubs, societies and businesses.  The winning tree was submitted by the Townswomen’s Guild and the money donated in appreciation of the displays, when added to the profit from the St Giles’ Christmas Fair the next day, amounted to some £2,000.  Half of this was donated to ‘CLICK Rukiga’, the rest towards church funds.  

The craft skills of young and old in both churches came to the fore at Christingle-making sessions. 

And then there were the Christmas services themselves!  They were as uplifting as always: the lively nativity performances by the Junior Churches and the cheerful all-age Carol Sing, the calmer, more contemplative atmosphere of the Nine Lessons and Carols at St Giles’ and the Carols by Candlelight in the URC, the ‘full house’ Carol Services on Christmas Eve and the grand celebration of Christmas morning.  We hope you enjoyed it all.

 

Readers may have noted in the October issue of ICN that the 75 years-old Ickenham & Swakeleys Horticultural Society was in danger of collapse due to lack of volunteers to fill vital Committee posts.  Fortunately, things are looking up with the influx of four new Committee members.  This will enable the wheels to keep turning for the time being.  However, the Society still needs more volunteers and they don’t have to possess horticultural experience – just common sense and enthusiasm.  

If you’d like to know more, please contact Tony Ridler on 01895 673525.

 

Karers 4 Kidz together with Ickenham Festival is holding a ‘Ferret Race Night’ in the Village Hall on Friday 6^th February.  For further details, contact David Edington on 01895 672783 or Doug Neilson on 01895 633217.

 

 

Come along to the URC on Sat 28^th Feb for our fun quiz night.  Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start.  In teams of up to six people, you can pit your wits against the question setters and your fellow competitors.  The cost of £8 per head includes supper (with a choice of fish and chips, sausage and chips, chicken and chips or a veggy option).  Bring your own drinks and nibbles.

To reserve your place, call Kate or Jeremy Day on 01895 673446, or email Kate at Kate1day@aol.com , by Wed 25^th Feb at the latest.  If you have a full team already, that’s great.  If not, we can group you together on the night.

Now, just to warm up – which current Premiership footballer is one of triplets?  No prizes for this one, just a sense of satisfaction if you know.  And if you don’t know, that’s another reason to come along on the night, when we’ll tell you the answer!

 

 

As well as this month’s Quiz Night, the URC Fundraising Team has plenty in store for 2009.  Note these dates now, and be sure to come along.  Further details will be in future ICNs.

Saturday 21^st March                Spring Jumble Sale

Saturday 9^th May                     Plant / Book Sale and Auction

Saturday 6^th June                     Early Summer Forecourt Sale

Saturday 12^th September         Late Summer Forecourt Sale

Saturday 10^th October             Autumn Jumble Sale

Saturday 21^st November          Christmas Fayre

 

The Women’s World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions, who come together to observe a common day of prayer on the first Friday of March.  Each year, the programme is prepared by a different group of women.  This year, the women of Papua New Guinea have prepared a service entitled “In Christ there are many members yet one body”, to be celebrated in over 45,000 places throughout the world.

In Ickenham, the service will be held at 2pm in the URC.  The speaker will be the URC’s own minister, Bernie Collins, who worked in Papua New Guinea for 16 years.

Although the service has been initiated by women, the invitation to attend is warmly extended to all – men and women, young and old.  Please come along, and stay on afterwards, when refreshments will be served in the Church Hall.

 

New Year fitness resolutions may still be front of mind, and British tennis is on the up.  There is a distinct possibility that by the time you are reading this, there could at last be a British - by which I mean Scottish- Grand Slam singles champion.  So why not get inspired and pick up that racquet?

Swakeleys Tennis Club members can enjoy social tennis on four days a week throughout the year: on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 12 noon, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 5pm.  Additionally there are evening sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer.

Members play outdoors, next to Wayfarers Tennis Club in Swakeleys Drive, on two new courts that were built thanks to Hillingdon’s Chrysalis Fund.

Membership fees are just £70 per year (that’s £1.35 per week) and there is no additional sign up fee.  Why not consider joining?  For membership applications, please phone Pam Currin on 01895 677149, or email Hans@Rader.co.uk .

 

THE RUKIGA CONCERT AT THE COMPASS Saturday 7 March at 7.30pm Featuring Hillingdon Music Service Brass Band Hillingdon Music Service Jazz Orchestra And Seby Ntege and his Ugandan Music Group   Tickets £10 (£8 for concessions) From the Hillingdon Music Service office at the Compass Telephone 01895 630155