The Parish Magazine June 2021

around the villages — 2
Sonning Village Annual Rounders
Friday 25 June from 5.30pm
The Parish Magazine - June 2021 31
Come along to King George's Field to support the
village teams from: Sonning School PTA;
Sonning School Teachers; Sonning Glebe WI;
The Sonning Club; Sonning Scouts;
St Andrew's Church; and Sonning Cricket Club.
The Cricket Club bar will be open,
Sonning School PTA is running a BBQ and
Kathy from the Village Hamper
will be selling ice cream!
In pursuit of Victorian
and Edwardian leisure
Our picture of Sonning Lock on a Sunday afternoon
in 1896 from the Frederick Hoyle* archives is an
excellent way to illustrate the announcement that
Simon Wenham, a part-time tutor in the Department of
Continuing Education at Oxford University will be the
guest speaker at Sonning and Sonning Eye Society's talk
in Pearson Hall on Friday 25 June. His talk is entitled:
'The Pursuit of Pleasure: Victorian and Edwardian
Leisure'.
Simon Wenham has written several social history books
about the importance of leisure during the Victorian and
Edwardian eras and his talk will explore how society had
fun and entertained themselves. There will be a particular
emphasis on boating and the growth of Thames-side
boatyards such as Salters, Freebodys and Hobbs of Henley.
S&SES invites you to join them for a glass of wine at
7.30pm, the talk will start at 7.45pm. Tickets cost £4 for
members (£5 for guests) at the door but contact Penny
Feathers in advance to book a place as numbers may be
limited: 0118 934 3193 or penny.feathers@btinternet.com
Future S&SES events include a garden party on 4 July,
and a talk by map maker, Owen Green in Pearson Hall on
10 September.
*Frederick Hoyle MBE was born in Sonning in 1882 and lived in the
village for most of his life. He was the first lay minister in St Andrew's
Church and his legacy includes a collection of photographs and
documents covering the late Victorian/Edwardian period.
Neighbourhood Watch dog
In a small rural village the local vet
also led the local Neighbourhood
Watch group. Late one night
the phone rang, and his wife
answered.
An agitated voice inquired, 'Is your
husband there?
'He is, but tell me, do you need him
as the vet or the Neighbourhood
Watch?' the wife asked.
'Both!' was the reply. 'We can’t get
our dog’s mouth open, and there’s a
burglar in it!'
David Mark,
pixabay.com