OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our latest round robin filled with all our news, events and the dates and times of our Jolly Days this month.

“What a magical evening, it will stay with me for a long time.”

… just one of the lovely comments from a happy attendee.

We were entertained with wonderful acoustic folk music from Rowan Mathlin, Pearl Fish and Lydia Laughing at our music night at Wimborne St Giles Church. The musicians told us afterwards that they felt really listened to and were impressed by such an attentive audience.

We enjoyed excellent cakes made by Jenny and Annie, and the bar was well stocked with wine, thanks to our patron, Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.

Between ticket sales, the bar and refreshments, we raised around £600, which will help us to continue our Jolly cause. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to those who helped make the evening happen, including our event sponsors, HG Walker Solicitors in Wimborne, our volunteers on the night and the church team.

Remembering Margaret

We were very sorry to lose the incredible Margaret Selby a couple of weeks ago. She was a founding guest of the Jollys in Wimborne St Giles and had been coming along since we started seven years ago, hardly missing a session. Margaret loved getting involved in our arts and crafts sessions and was always up for a good sing-song. She also had a lovely friendship with Margaret Humphries, who she always sat with at Jollys. They’re pictured here together with singer Susan Old.

Margaret featured in an episode of Jolly TV, where she talks about the importance of the Farm School in St Giles, among other things. She stars in Episode 3, which you can watch here. Jolly TV was part of a project we worked on during the Covid era, helping to keep people connected at a time when getting together in person wasn't possible. It's lovely to have Margaret's voice and stories captured as part of it, and a fitting reminder of what a special part of the village she was.

You can read more about Margaret in this lovely interview from a few years ago too, and see some wonderful pictures of her. We will miss her.

Music to our ears

What a lovely evening we had at our music allotment event. The rather iffy weather meant that we didn’t have quite as many people join us as we’d hoped, but those who did come along were treated to a fabulous performance from Dark Horses. There was plenty of singing along and it felt like a really special evening.

Rose, 99, and Beryl, 97, came along with their carers and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They were telling us about how they keep themselves going as they get older and how neither of them has any intention of giving up the things they’ve always done. They both still do their own housework, and Rose told us that mops are for wimps and she gets down on her knees to scrub the floor! As she so wonderfully put it, “Once you get off your legs, you go off.” We think there’s something pretty inspiring about that!

A big thank you to Dark Horses for giving us such a wonderful evening, and to Jenny and Brendan for the delicious snacks and drinks.

What’s on in October

Wimborne

Museum of East Dorset, 23-29 High Street, BH21 1HR
(2 - 4 pm)

Thursday 1st
Music with Kate and poetry with Michael and Jan.

Thursday 15th
Art with Max and poetry with Michael and Jan.

Wimborne St Giles

Wimborne St Giles Village Hall, BH21 5LX
(12 pm - 4 pm)

Monday 5th
Shepherd’s pie lunch prepared by The Friendly Food Club, followed by entertainment from the magnificent Susan Old.

Monday 19th
Another yummy lunch and enchanting harmonies from ‘Two’s Company’.

Blandford

Woodhouse Gardens, DT11 7DN
(2 - 4 pm)

Monday 12th
Welcome back Paula with fabulous music.

Monday 26th
More excellent music with ‘Bit of a Tonic’.

Shaftesbury

Royal British Legion, Coppice Street, SP7 8PF
(10 am - 12 pm)

Tuesday 13th
Music with Bit of a Tonic’.

Tuesday 27th
Piano and song with Peter and Noel.

West Moors

The Guide Hall, 24 Ashurst Road, BH22 0LS
(2 - 4 pm)

Wednesday 14th
Music with Two’s Company’.

Wednesday 28th
Piano and Song with Kate.

Step Outside Garden Group

Kingston Lacy Allotments, BH21 4EG
(2 - 4 pm)

Friday 9th
Friday 23rd

Gentle gardening and produce to take home. Remember to bring your gardening gloves, plus extra water to drink and a bag for produce. Please don’t forget to donate at this group, as we need your donations to keep up and running.

The 23rd will be a ‘Harvest Festival’ celebration with soup and scones to mark another wonderful year in our garden.

If you are thinking of joining us for the first time, please call me to book in: sarah@injollygoodcompany.com

Blandford Memory Walk

We were completely unaware that Angelina, who is involved with the Constitutional Club in Blandford, had been busy behind the scenes getting friends together, including our lovely fundraiser Luke Ballard, for a fundraising walk for In Jolly Good Company!

On 30th August, they set off on a walk from Blandford to the White Horse at Stourpaine and back again – and they even had their own Jolly t-shirts made!

They called it the Blandford Memory Walk and, between them, raised an incredible £360 for the Jollys. What a wonderful thing to do, and such a lovely surprise to discover afterwards. A huge thank you to Luke and all his friends for putting on their walking shoes, spreading the word and raising such a brilliant amount for us. We really do appreciate it!

Finally, thank you to all who donated in memory of my mum – just over £1000 was raised for the Jollys. And not forgetting dad (Pa), who diligently checks our newsletter for errors each month (and usually finds some too!)

Become a Jolly Good Friend

We’d be so grateful if you would consider helping your small local charity to continue to support older people in your community. £5 a month pays for seeds at our Step Outside Allotment at Kingston Lacy, £10 a month pays for a meal at a Jolly Day or as part of our winter lunch delivery service, £20 plus helps us to provide creative opportunities and entertainment at our Jolly Days and supports local artists and musicians.

If you are a UK taxpayer, and can supply us with your name and address, we can collect Gift Aid to boost your contribution.

If you would like to set up a monthly Standing Order to help us, our bank details are as follows: In Jolly Good Company CIO Sort Code: 08 92 99 Account Number: 67375286

In return, you can receive our Jolly monthly newsletter, to see how we use your money and you are invited to our Jolly Good Friends Day annual get together.

Please get in touch with me for further information: sarah@injollygoodcompany.com / 07884 333117

See you at the Jollies