A reminder that the Christmas wreath-making workshop (adults only) is this Friday, 11th December at 10am at Morham Village Hall with Countryside Ranger, Sam Ranscombe. Cost is £5 and places are limited so please book in advance. For more information or to book, contact Sam.

A message on behalf of East Lothian Aid for Refugees …

East Lothian Aid for Refugees is a non-profit community interest company created to help the refugee crisis in Europe. They are currently collecting donations from all over East Lothian, and fundraising for trips to Calais and further afield with aid. More information can be found on their website.

At present, they are struggling to find a large shed/workshop/lock-up in which to collect, collate and prepare the aid for shipment. Do you know of such a space, and could you help them out? If so, please do get in touch via their contact pages. Many thanks in advance.

Your definitive guide to parties, seasonal singing and mince pie munching in Garvald this year …

• The Garvald Children’s Christmas Party is from 5.30 till 7.30pm on Saturday 19th December.
• On Sunday 20th, there will be door-to-door Carol singing in the village – followed by mulled wine and mince pies at The Old School House.
• On Christmas Eve, the Carol Service will take place in Garvald Church at 6pm – and the congregation is invited to The Stables for mulled wine and mince pies thereafter.
• Morham Church’s Christmas Eve Service is at 11.30pm.

Just to clarify … The Christmas carol-ing scheduled for Sunday 20th December will take place instead of the traditional post Christmas Eve service carols on the village green …

Many thanks to those who supported last night’s festivities in the Hall. It was lovely to see so many there, especially such a contingent from the Community up at Nunraw. A few other thank-yous, without wishing to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech …

Thanks to the catering team: Anne White; Trudi Cueto; Dorothy Gibson; Liz Leather; and Norma Thomson. Thanks to the Hall decorators: Eleanor Cazdow; and Anne Raitt. Thanks to the bar men: Phillip White; and James Mowat. And most importantly, given she spent most of the evening without a glass of wine in her hand, thanks to the speaker: Sarah Ramsay.

This type of event does take a bit of organising, and it would be great to know how you feel about it. If we can make manageable changes so to improve attendance, it it would make all the effort even more worthwhile. Drop us a line if you have any thoughts. Please be realistic though, we’re not going to be able to deliver a silver served hot meal with volunteer caterers! Many thanks in advance.

Okay, not quite – but the village festive season does kick off with the Christmas Dinner in the Hall tomorrow (Thursday) night from 7pm! Thanks to all those who replied, and offered help in some way. The catering team are currently bringing sprouts to the simmer – you like them yellow and sulphurous, don’t you?! – but look forward to seeing you all there!

Tom MacGill, who lived at Whitelaws in Garvald for many years, died recently. He was in his ninetieth year.

A funeral service will be held at Seafield Crematorium on Friday 4th December at 12 noon. And it will be followed by a service of thanksgiving in Garvald Church from 3.30pm.

Local resident Sylvia Murray is running her Winter Upholstery Workshops on Tuesday 1st and Thursday 3rd of December (with the possibility of an additional one on Wednesday 2nd, depending on demand). This time they’ll be taking place in the Poldrate Arts & Craft Centre in Haddington and will run from 10am till 4pm. The cost is £50 for the day. They’re always lots of fun and a great wee taster session for anyone thinking about enrolling in the upholstery class next term. Contact Sylvia if you’re interested, on:- 830 683.