I am grateful to Colin Vickers for providing the information below: - SALTFLEETBY - MILLENNIUM CELEBRATIONSIn 1997, the Chairman of Saltfleetby Parish Council Mr. Jack Fleetwood called a public meeting to decide what could be done in the village to celebrate the millennium in the year 2000.
The meeting agreed that we should both celebrate and commemorate the event and to take these tasks forward a committee was elected consisting of the following: - Mr. C. Appleby, Mr. H. Paterson, Mrs. P. Toothill, Mr. G. Richardson, Mr. B. Farrey, Mrs. B. Farrey, Mrs. A. Warne, Mr. B. Hall, Mrs. J. Hall, Mr. C. Smith. Mrs. J. Smith, Mr. P. Bailey, Mrs. J. Bailey, Mr. G. C. Vickers, Mrs. E. Vickers.
At the first committee meeting it was decided that the initial commemorative project would be a village book, giving the history of buildings and various families in the village, and to do this a sub-committee was formed with Mrs. J Bailey as leader, and Mr. H. Paterson, Mr. B. Hall and Mr. G. C. Vickers as members. Their first task was to try and obtain a grant to help with publishing the book, because at this stage no fundraising had taken place. They applied to 'Help the Aged' Millennium Awards and were successful at the first attempt, being granted the sum of £2,346. The remaining members of the main committee were to organise fund raising events, and to plan what the celebrations were to consist of. Fund raising got off to a good start with coffee mornings, bingo sessions and a novel “Bonus Ball” competition that proved to be very popular. It was an easy way to make money. All that was needed was a card with forty-nine numbers on it, and the contestants bought a number for one pound. This made a total of £49, and whatever the National Lottery bonus ball was; the person with that number was the winner, taking half of the proceeds. There was one card in the village shop for the Wednesday draw, and one in the Prussian Queen for the Saturday draw, so when it was most popular the funds were benefiting by almost £50 per week. In 1997; £1,120 was raised from various events. In the first full year 1998; a jumble sale was added to the events, and with the Bonus Ball really taking off, and several sessions of Bingo, the total at the year-end was £4,400. 1999; saw more fundraising, with a sponsored walk, and a village garden open day being added to the list of events. This brought the total for the year to £5,333. The year 2000 proved to be even better with a total of £5,633 being raised to the end of August. In just over three years the committee had raised a grand total of £16,491. |
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Whilst all this fundraising had been going on, the book committee had been busy researching the history of the village and its people, finding old photographs, taking new ones, and of course writing the text. They set a target for the launch of the book as the end of June, but due to various problems, the completed version wasn’t available until the first week in August. 750 copies were printed and each household in the village received a free copy. The remaining copies were put on sale at £2-50 each and by December 1999 all had been sold. |
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It was also decided to take a video recording of the weekends activities, and hopefully sell copies for a nominal sum on the conclusion of weekend. Meanwhile, the celebration committee were going ahead with plans for the 'Festival Weekend', which was to take place on the 4th, 5th and 6th of August 2000. It was decided that with the kind permission of Mr. Ivor Robinson, a marquee could be erected in the field next to the Prussian Queen, and this would be the focus of the weekend's events. The marquee, complete with stage and dance floor, was duly erected on the 2nd August, along with portable toilets, electricity and water was also laid on to the site. By 7.30 p.m. on August 4th preparations were complete and the evening got under way with a welcome “spot” from the “Quarterjacks.” (A barbershop quartet consisting of Chris Smith (from Saltfleetby) and three of his friends from Bristol) Dancing to the music of live band 'The Sound' a top function band playing the latest chart hits followed this, and they were relieved during the evening by “Electron Disco” ably compared by local disc jockey Keith Warsap. This event was open to adults and children, with an admission charge of £3-50. Saturday 5th August started at 10-00 a.m. with a Family “Fun Day” event on the village football field. Teams of children and adults took part in various games with medals for winners and all participants. There were also Bouncy Castles for the younger children to play on. Followed at 12-00 Noon with the presentation of the trophies, there was free refreshments for the children, whilst the adults enjoyed a barbeque. Fully refreshed the children were entertained during the afternoon by “THE EARTHBOUND MISFITS,” a circus company with fire-eaters, stilt-walkers and jugglers. After the show the children were invited to take part in a circus “workshop” where they learnt some of the skills they had seen the artists perform earlier. Saturday evening from 7-30pm to 12-00pm it was the turn of the adults to enjoy themselves, and a brilliant 8-piece live band "MISTER SISTER," featuring a three piece all girl brass section, entertained them. Once again “ELECTRON DISCO” relieved the band during the evening and it was agreed that a 'good time was had by all'. A superb evening’s dancing, topped up with a very good buffet supper. |
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SUNDAY 6th AUGUST A family service was held in the marquee conducted by the Bishop of Lincoln, The Very Reverent Robert Hardy, with our own Vicar, the Reverent Bridget Hill, together with St Peters Church Choir, the Louth Riverhead Silver Band and the Quarterjacks Quartet. Tea and biscuits were served at the close of the service. |
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In the afternoon 'The Senior Citizens' of the village were invited to a tea dance, with the music supplied by Les Bonner on the keyboard. THE QUARTERJACKS provided further entertainment, singing favorite songs old and new, and the afternoon concluded with a very nice tea. The evening entertainment was provided by “THE MILLENNIUM JAZZ BAND” a six-piece band playing traditional jazz and blues 'good to dance to' and the background music was once again by “ELECTRON DISCO” Towards the end of the evening 'THE GRAND RAFFLE' was drawn, there were numerous prizes, the first one out of the drum being for a 'Weekend Trip to New York', which was won by Mr. and Mrs. Hawson. Everyone agreed it had been a first class weekend. |
Altogether a very worthwhile exercise.One that shows what can be done when 'PEOPLE ALL PULL TOGETHER'!Did you got to the Celebrations? Have you got any photos or comments, that I could include on this page? If So Please Contact Me |