A Bunch of Amateurs

5-7th March 7.30pm

Guilsborough Village Hall

       Keen to boost his flagging

            career, fading Hollywood                     action hero                        Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford, only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs

Don’t forget to check our Events Diary for more information on events in all our villages and surrounding area.

PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS…

….From the Headteacher…

Wishing our Guilsborough family a very happy 2026!

Throughout the Autumn term, things have been non-stop here! Our Nativity play by Reception, Year 1, 2 & 3 children was a real treat and I’m so proud of all children  their first-class performances. I’d like to thank all staff involved in putting this perfect production together and to the parents for their support.

We are very thankful to the parents and staff who made our annual ‘Bake-off’ event so special. Graham Leah, our Chair of Governors again had such a hard time judging but found a winner in the end, so well done to Iris in Class 4/5! Also well done to our School Council who had the pleasure of judging the teacher bake-off, which Mrs Sharpe deservedly won!

We have been doing lots of fundraising over the term including the bake-off, hamper raffle and Santa visit so we’d like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone involved. We have raised lots from all of these events and couldn’t have done this without your support. The School Council will be deciding on what they feel the money could be spent on to make our school even better.

Our end of term house winning team was Earth! They had a super time at their festive chocolate fun afternoon. They drank delicious hot chocolate, made festive chocolate goodie bags to take home and watched Christmas cartoons. Fun was had by all!

Thank you for all who attended the Christingle service at St. Etheldreda Church. It really did get everyone in the festive mood and we’d like to thank Revd Cecily and the church team for such a beautiful service.

Please remember, if you need any information about what’s happening at Guilsborough Primary we have lots of information on our website – www.guilsboroughprimary.co.uk or you can keep up to speed via our Facebook account – Guilsborough C of E Primary School (a closed group for parents, guardians or carers) or through our Twitter profile – @guilsboroughpri/x and our Instagram account - Instagram.com/guilsboroughprimaryschool.

MMM

Monday Morning Meet

Guilsborough Village Hall

9 – 11am every Monday (excluding Bank Holidays)  

All welcome, baby – OAPs.

£2.50 per Adult, Children Free

Meet for a chat, knit,

hot drink & cake.

For more information contact
Janet 01604 740640

Parish Council News

Great news!

We are at last installing some new play equipment in our Playground. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Guilsborough Playground Action Group which includes the successful application for £5,000 from The Winwick Windfarm Fund Community Fund and monies from the Parish Council two new pieces af play equipment should have been installed by the time you’re reading this! Our thanks go to all the members of the group for their hard work in helping achieve this; in particular Dave Wooldridge for all his hard work and determination in achieving a successful grant application and also to Linsey & Josh Burton for the use of their facilities where the bulk of the other fundraising was achieved.

Grit Bins

Our grit bins have saw some heavy use in January and thank you to all of you that did some spreading, helping to keep people safe. We are considering if we’ve got enough grit bins around the village and are in the process of assessing where traffic recently struggled.

On Street Parking

We are noticing more instances of poor/inconsiderate parking with some examples being footpaths being obstructed, vehicles parked far too close to junctions and vehicles facing the wrong direction for the side of the road they’re left on, The Highway code itemises where you shouldn’t park so please make sure you’re aware of them. You could be held responsible should an accident occur.

Lamp Post EV Chargers

Do you have an opinion on lamp post EV chargers? We’ll be discussing the possibility of public EV chargers in Guilsborough at our February meeting so if you have any thoughts about them please do share them, either in person with any councillor or by email or letter, contact details are on our website atGuilsborough-pc.gov.uk.

Speeding Traffic

There are still instances of cars travelling at vastly excessive speeds in the village, please do obey the speed limits.

Precept

We finalised our 2026-27 budget at our January meeting and have requested a precept of £38,280. This will allow us to maintain the services that we currently provide, continue to invest in our play area and build up a reserve for the inevitable maintenance demands of the Cob Barn.

                     square and prepare pitches between April and                      September, the work is flexible but would require a commitment of 5-6 hrs per week. The work is fully paid and full training is provided. Contact Jim Houghton as above.

AGM

The GPFA AGM will be held on Thursday March 12th 8pm at the Shoot Room, Guilsborough Court.

Bridge Day Raises £1,780

The local community came together on 6th November 2025 for a highly successful Bridge Day in support of the GPFA. The event, organised and run by Julia Moorhead and Lucy Tomkins, drew enthusiastic participation and generous contributions, resulting in a fantastic fundraising total of £1,780.

The day was filled with good-spirited competition, friendly conversation, and a shared commitment to supporting our local facilities. The final amount raised marks a significant contribution to the ongoing development of the village’s playing fields.

The success of the event was made possible thanks to an outstanding team of volunteers who supported every aspect of the day, from setting up tables to serving refreshments and managing the busy kitchen. Warm thanks go to all those who helped, their hard work ensured the day ran smoothly from start to finish.

The organisers also expressed gratitude for the generosity of local individuals and businesses whose contributions added to the occasion. Laura and Johnny Goedhuis of Goedhuis Waddesdon kindly donated the wine, while the Guilsborough shop provided chocolates. Additional raffle prizes came from a range of supportive local businesses. Special thanks also go to Hugh and Amanda Lowther and Richard and Libby Evans for their donations.

All the home-cooked food served on the day was prepared by Lucy and the Moorhead family, helping to keep costs to a minimum so that nearly every pound raised could go directly to the GPFA.

Lucy and Julia: “We are absolutely delighted with the result. Guilsborough showed its true community spirit, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped make the Bridge Day both enjoyable and impactful.”

The winners Katie Kennedy

and Vanessa Barrow

Guilsborough Friends

Where Good Company Meets Great Conversation

Looking to make new friends and enjoy lively social activities in a warm welcoming group?  Guilsborough Friends is a diverse mix of ladies and gentlemen who enjoy meeting once a month to share interests, ideas and good company. Our varied programme includes:

Fascinating guest speakers

Informative garden visits

Enjoyable suppers and social evenings

Visits to local places of interest

£3 per meeting, unless otherwise stated, which is used to cover refreshments, costs and make charitable donations.

We look forward to welcoming new members.

Our Programme for the next 2 months:

Thursday 12th February Charity Supper

Guilsborough Village Hall Proceeds to The Good Loaf Baker

Thursday 12th  March Racing Pigeons and their amazing abilities – talk by Steve Wisken

For further information contact:  

Janet Minney  T 01604 740640

Elizabeth Southgate  T 01604 740064

Carol Singing Success

Thank you to everyone who joined the Carol Singing this Christmas in Guilsborough and to those who opened their doors to listen and kindly donated. A special thank you to Colonel and Mrs Evans who provided refreshments and a chance to warm up.

We raised over £220 for the Hope Centre in Northampton—supporting people struggling with homelessness and hardship

Graham Byars Retires

We are sad to announce the retirement of Graham Byars after 38 years as Secretary of the GPFA. He has served the village and the Playing Field with great devotion and care. Graham was an active cricketer and supported the Bowls Club when it operated on the Field. He not only acted as Secretary but also did all the administrative work and supervised (and in many cases did!) the maintenance work. He has left an indelible mark on the community. He saw the use of the field by many thousands of mainly young people playing cricket and football which has no doubt benefited them in their future lives. There are few vocations, and Graham’s was a vocation, where you can affect individuals so profoundly. I say vocation because throughout those thirty eight years he did this as a volunteer without any remuneration apart from the delight of seeing the Playing Field used. Throughout he was supported by Barbara, his wife of many years. We wish them both an easy retirement from the task of keeping the grass mown, the pavilion watertight and goalposts and nets upright!

Frederick de Lisle, Chair GPFA

Graham Byars Esq.

Club Secretary, GPFA, 1987 - 2025

In recognition of 38 years of exceptional service. Your unwavering dedication has been the foundation of our football, bowls and cricket clubs and the keystone to supporting all our members. Through nearly four decades, you have served with distinction and quiet excellence. Your commitment has shaped our club's proudest moments and secured its future.

With deepest gratitude and admiration

The Committee and Trustees of The Guilsborough Playing Field Association 2025.

Cricket News
Preparation for the 2026 season are in full swing at Haddon CC which is based at Guilsborough playing field and at grounds in East and West Haddon. The club runs 5 senior men’s teams across the Northamptonshire and Rugby District Leagues as well as a ladies team that play in the Northamptonshire mid-week ladies league. We offer both competitive and social cricket to suit all abilities and experience.. We also run junior sides across from U10 to U15 age groups as well as popular All Star and Dynamo programmes for the ages 5-9. We are always looking to welcome new players or supporters of all ages, please contact jim.houghton72@outlook.com or on 07748920176 for more information.

Job Opportunity

The GPFA are looking for paid help to maintain the cricket

Guilsborough Village Hall

Did you know that Guilsborough Village Hall is used for over 90 hours each month for community activities, groups and private events.  We have a number of regular activities, but we are also open to private bookings – parties, celebrations, work meetings.

New website & easy booking system

Following the upgrades to the hall facilities, we now have a new website to make it even easier to keep up to date with what’s happening at the hall. The calendar provides the contact information for each of the regular users. There is also a new online booking system, which means that you can quickly check the hall’s availability, and immediately request a booking/s.

Visit www.guilsboroughvh.co.uk

You can however still enquire about booking the hall on our phone (07342 382706) or via email – our new email address is: info@guilsboroughvh.co.uk

Regular groups

The regular public groups using the hall and their contact details are now on the new website. They are:  

Monday: MMM, Bowls Club; Guilsborough Parish Council; Quiz

Tuesday: Pilates; Yoga; GMADS

Thursday: Yoga; NiA; Guilsborough Friends

Friday: Time to Move

Sunday: Brunch@11

More volunteer help needed

We would love to welcome some new blood either to the committee or in an ad hoc capacity. Please email us on info@guilsboroughvh.co.uk or chat to any of the current village hall team if you have an odd hour available to help.

Tennis for All

at

Guilsborough Tennis Club!

Join our friendly community tennis club at Guilsborough Academy courts. We meet on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings, weather and daylight permitting.

For more information, please contact Graham on
07894 424328 .

trying to save their theatre from developers.

GMADS’ hilarious new production of "A Bunch of Amateurs” is written by Ian Hislop & Nick Newman from an original story by Jonathan Gershfield and John Ross.

Tickets £12 from www.ticketsource.co.uk/gmads or by calling Karen on 07981 754852. Bar opens at 7pm, curtain up at 7.30pm.

More info at www.gmads.co.uk or follow us on Facebook