As it is the 25th anniversary of the University of the 3rd Age in the UK this year, Mary White made a cake, which was decorated by Joan O'Hare, to serve with the tea. There was also a raffle which raised £231 for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.

VILLAGE SOCIETY. At Haddenham Village Society's annual meeting on December 6, Peter Quilleash gave his final chairman's report before stepping down after four years in the role and Brian Bowman, who had been co-opted onto the committee during the year, was elected chairman in his place. Tom Bucknell agreed to stay on as president and treasurer Ralph Newell and secretary Joyce Garratt were re-elected.

John Fountain, Debbie MacKay and Sue Peck stepped down from the committee after a number of years' service and were warmly thanked by the chairman. Jon Pawsey was elected onto the committee, to join John Brandis, John Crowle, Douglas Harrison, Sarah Heydon, Nick Lock and Henriette Webb.

Peter Quilleash reported that a sub-committee is looking at the future of the society and what its role should be. He also appealed for expert help in setting up a web-site for the society. He concluded his report by thanking Tom Bucknell and the committee for all their support during his time as chairman. Nick Lock sent a written report saying that the society had made comments on about 10 out of 100 planning applications submitted to AVDC during the year and had also commented on the Local Plan proposals.

After a short meeting, members adjourned for a cheese and wine social.

SCOUT AND GUIDE AGM. At the Haddenham Association of Scouts and Guides' annual meeting on December 5, Richard Kendall was re-elected as chairman, Janet Ritchie as secretary and Mark Evans as treasurer. There are a total of ten Scout and Guide units in the village and reports from leaders showed the wide variety of activities that the members enjoy.

The chairman commented: "It is lovely to hear that the young people, from five upwards, have so much fun, whilst learning from their time in scouting and guiding". He thanked the leaders for all their efforts and said that the association was pleased to be able to help by providing premises and equipment.

After the meeting Hannah Austin gave a very interesting and enthusiastic report on her time at the 21st World Scout Jamboree that was held at Hylands Park in Essex last summer. She brought to the meeting her memorabilia from an exciting fortnight.
Last month the association held a well-attended and very successful fund-raising evening at the Peking Rendezvous Restaurant, raising £370 for their funds.

CHARITY AND FUNDRAISING NEWS.
Poppy Appeal. Local honorary Poppy Appeal organiser Jeanne Marshall has announced that a total of £5,120 has been sent to the Earl Haig Poppy Appeal this year. This includes the house-to-house collection, a street collection, money collected in boxes at various public outlets and local companies, the collection made at the Remembrance Sunday service and a summer coffee morning.

Quiz Nights. A supper quiz held last month raised £140 for the Utugi street children project in Kenya. The Rose and Thistle is continuing to hold its monthly quizzes and at the December quiz, the bottle, which has been accumulating the income from the quizzes and additional donations, was opened and a 'Guess the Number of Coins in the Bottle' competition was held. A total of £136 was sent to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.

Come and Sing. The Advent Celebration organised by Marjorie Johnston on December 1 with a small choir (who had rehearsed for about two hours that afternoon), a pianist and organist and a group of four wind players, raised about £150 for LEPRA (the leprosy charity).
Christmas Fayres. The County First School held its Christmas Fayre last month and raised a fantastic £1,400. Haddenham Community Junior School held its Festive Fayre this month and raised £2,200.
DOLL'S HOUSES. Freda Dorrell invites you to view her doll's houses decorated for Christmas. Please ring her to arrange a date and time between now and January 6 on 291866. Donations for Leukaemia Research and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People would be welcome.

TRIMOBILITY. A new teacher has now been found for the Monday morning trimobility classes previously taught by Penny Odhams (who moved to Devon in September). New members would be welcome so if you would like to join when the new term begins on January 7, please call 0845 045 4040 for more information.

THIS WEEK. Visitors and/or prospective members will be welcome at any of the meetings publicised below.

Christmas Party. The Darby and Joan Club's party is today (2pm) at the Youth and Community Centre, Woodways.

Carol Singing. All are welcome to join Churches Together in Haddenham tomorrow to sing carols around the village. Meet at 7pm at the junction of Woodways with Roberts Road.

Haddenham Library. Father Christmas will be making a special appearance at Friday's Bounce and Rhyme Session for under-5s (11-11.30am). Entry is free and all are welcome.

Adults can win a bottle of wine in the library's Christmas Quiz. Return your completed quiz sheets by January 5.

Mummers. Haddenham Mummers will be performing the traditional Mummers' Play at the village pubs and restaurants on Friday. They will start outdoors on Townside (opposite Clerkenwell Cottages) at 7.30pm before visiting the King's Head (7.45pm), the House of Spice (8.20pm), the Rising Sun (8.40pm), the Peking Rendezvous (9.15pm), the Red Lion (9.50pm) the Green Dragon (10.15pm) and finishing at the Rose and Thistle (10.45pm).

Quiz. Having held a quiz at each of the village pubs since September, the cricket club was intending to end its season with a Grand Christmas Quiz at the village hall on Saturday but they have now decided that the date is rather close to Christmas so the final quiz has been postponed until the spring.

Christmas Services. There will be a Carols by Candlelight service at the Baptist Chapel on Sunday (6.15pm) and Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight at St Mary's Church (6.30pm). On Christmas Eve there are crib services at St Mary's Church (3pm) and the Baptist Chapel (3.30pm) and in the evening there is a Vigil of Carols and Readings (10pm) at the Catholic Church, followed by Midnight Mass (11pm). There is also Midnight Communion at St Mary's Church (11pm) and Holy Communion at the Baptist Chapel (11.30pm).

Christmas Day services are at 9.30am at the Methodist and Baptist Chapels and at the Catholic Church and at 10am at St Mary's Church.

Soup Lunch. The annual Christmas Eve soup lunch will be held, as usual, in the Baptist Schoolroom (12noon-2pm) and donations will go to Christian Aid. Come and enjoy a bowl of delicious home-made soup and a break from your Christmas preparations.

Museum. Please note that the museum will not be open on Tuesday as it is Christmas Day. However, it will be open the following Tuesday - New Year's Day (10am-noon).

New Year's Eve. If you were hoping to go to the New Year's Eve picnic dance this year, I'm afraid you've left it too late - all the tickets have been sold. However, Haddenham Ceilidhs will be holding its New Year's Eve Extravaganza (8pm) and if you get tickets before Christmas (from 01296 415333) you only pay £14 ((£7 child concessions) instead of £16 (£8 for children). The caller this time will be Brian Jones, music will be provided by Junction 24 and Barefoot Bellydance will be showing off their skills.

GREETINGS. It is unlikely that there will be village columns in next week's paper so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a Happy Christmas and all the very best for 2008. Thank you for your support and encouragement during the year and for keeping me supplied with news and information about forthcoming events.