Members of the Blackhand Cyder Society gathered at Great Green Farm on Saturday for their annual pressing session.
As feared, in a tricky year for many apple trees, foraging efforts two weeks previously had produced only a limited supply of apples, just 1.5 tonnes. However, they were pressed into a reasonable supply of juice, 702 Litres (154 gallons); sufficient to maintain the Clubs stock of cyder for another year.
One advantage of the shortage was that the work was all completed earlier than usual, so members could soon move on to an excellent lunch, accompanied by suitable quantities of you know what.
The Quiz, in aid of Christian Aid, was held at the Hall on Saturday and much enjoyed by all who attended.
However, the major surprise of the evening was the fact that nobody challenged the answers to the questions set by the Question-mistress, Denise Grant. Most unusual for Denton, but it meant that the appropriate trophy, "The Bone of Contention" could not be awarded.
The winners were the "'B sharp, from Emmanuelle" team with "One for the Ditch" taking the Wooden Spoon award.
As usual, Denise and her assistant Peter, did a great job, and an excellent meal was provided at half time, with many people contributing under the direction of Jean Whipps and Bronwen Bunting.
After expenses, £424 was raised for Christian Aid.
The sad passing of Eddie Winter was marked on Tuesday by the massive turnout for his funeral at St Mary’s. People came from far and wide to pay their respects and it was soon standing-room-only at the church. It was very impressive to see the coffin borne into the church by eight local residents rather than the undertaker’s team.
The service was led by Rev. Chris Hutton assisted by Rev Bruno Boldrini and included contributions from several family members. These provided fascinating details of Eddie’s long life and recorded the many ways he had contributed to community life over so many years.
This exchange of memories continued later at the Village Hall where a marquee had been erected to expand the space available. As usual in Denton, excellent food and liquid refreshment were provided.
Following the recent Ploughing Day at Vale Farm, two awards have been made to those who demonstrated their ploughing skills at the event. These were made at the latest Friday Night gathering at the Village Hall where the presentations were made by Chris Thomas.
The “Duke of Denton Cup”, created many years ago for local ploughing competitions but only recently returned to the village, went to the Best Ploughman of the Day, John Chapman. Not the one currently resident on Trunch Hill but another JC who used to live on Norwich Road but moved away some time ago. In accepting the trophy he said how great it was to be back in the village again.
The other award went to the youngest competitor, Alex Bolderston, aged 13, of Chapelfield. Despite his youth, and commitment to goat husbandry, he had demonstrated his skills as a tractor driver in a most impressive way. As you can see, his prize was some guidance on how to do it even better!
As in past years, Denton played its part in the "World's Biggest Coffee Morning" at the Village Hall on Saturday.
A great range of stalls, tombola, bric-a-brac, second-hand books, etc., were available in the usual way with some great bargains on offer. New features included "Guess the Cost" of a selection of various goodies, which then went to the best guess, and a second-hand Teddy stall.
Teas and coffee with excellent cakes were on sale but, as usual in Denton, it was the opportunity to meet so many old friends that really made the event.
No less than £1,765 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.
