About Us
We are one of the largest clubs in Somerset and are very proud of the fact that we recently won the County Rally!!
We are a very active club who enjoys sports, socialising, Stockjudging and many other activities.
We are in Sedgemoor Group!
Year Report
2009 Year Report
By James Tucker and Nicola CoxAnother year has passed, and what a year it has been! With all posts taken by enthusiastic members and a group of very willing advisory members I knew I would be in for a good year!
As per usual the first club visit was to Tor Fair, which saw many senior members amusing themselves & others on the children’s fun rides. On leaving the fairground I found that my mean-machine Tata Pickup wasn’t so invincible as I managed to get it stuck! Luckily Ross Whitcombe came to the rescue with his trusty Land Rover and towing rope.
The first main event in the Polden Hills calendar is the annual Harvest Supper which saw many juniors taking part in table serving for the first time and with Lloyd Tucker in charge of the kitchen all guests were served. The evening went well with a donation of £5,000 being handed over to Somerset & Dorset Air Ambulance to help fund the eye in the sky.
Next came our entertainments of “Strictly Come Prancing” which involved members of the advisory showing off their dancing skills, Lloyd Tucker with his opera singing and Jack Coombes with a poor attempt at a magic trick!
November came, and our fireworks evening was held at the Barnett’s. Having being warned that the field might be a bit muddy, we were not surprised to find ourselves knee deep in mud which once again led to the said Tata truck becoming stuck, this time only to be pulled out by a quad bike. With Adrian Barnett & Tristan Foster in charge of the fireworks and Lloyd Tucker in charge of the BBQ a good night was had by all!
The club was well represented at the County Stockjudging Final held at Cannington College. The day was a great success with Ross Whitcombe, Alice Hooper & myself all picking up prizes. With this competition under our belts we then went on to represent Somerset YFC at Birmingham for the National Stockjudging Finals, with Eve Hooper achieving 3rd place.
County Ball was soon upon us for another year, this year being held at Rookery Manor. With 32 members from the club attending, 16 managed to make it home on the mini-bus whilst the other 16 had to admire Rookery Manor’s gardens after being left stranded by the 2nd driver!
We kicked off the Christmas season with a Carol Service held at Compton Dundon Church. The next week followed with a Christmas bingo which was well supported and raised £500. With more junior members this year we decided to drop the formal Christmas meal and decided on a skittles club party instead. Killer was the game and competition was fierce, eventually I gave in and let Matthew Barnett win the tin of roses!
New Year was here, and panto rehearsals were now in full swing with Rob Franks at the helm. Not only were we trying to remember lines, we also had to master the “Thriller” dance moves which were choreographed by Becky Cook. The pantomime involved all club and advisory members acting, dancing, painting or pressing buttons backstage. First came our cheese & wine where friends and family were all surprised with the panto as a whole, which left us all buzzing with enthusiasm with our group round being just a week away. Bridgwater Town hall was our next venue, regardless of the snow and ice the hall was full of support as we succeeded in winning our group round. As the rehearsals continued we were soon heading to Weston for the County Final which was a great achievement for Polden Hills YFC as we eventually finished 2nd. We felt it was only right to perform the panto for one final time to leave it on a high! Two weeks later we performed it in front of 180 people at the local village hall raising £600.
To recover from panto, a weekend away was just what we all needed, even if it was only in Weston-Super-Mare. On arriving at our hotel we came across Highbridge YFC who were bad influences on us! Resulting in a Chairman who was responsible for ensuring the club had a good time crashing out and not being in any fit state to attend the Friday night do. After a kick about on the beach most of the Saturday was spent in Yates’ watching the rugby while taking part in more drinking games. Lloyd’s sly idea backfired in having to down his own ghastly shot. Unfortunately Lloyd’s night got worse as he was accidently taped inside a phone box and chucked in a skip!
With everyone keen we then began with Rally preparation to try and retain the Rally cup. We had more people than ever willing to have a bash at stockjudging, handicrafts and tug-a-war. The day soon arrived, with the Friday night stockjudging and juniors taking part for the first time; it was clear to see Polden Hills were out in force.
The following morning all members were arriving with cars full of handicrafts and James Porter, Josh Lake, Stu Francis and Will Hooper were all preparing their calves for the show. Lloyd was given the task of driver for the Lawn Mower tractor pulling with the help of Jack and Sam Coombes.
With the main field full of different competitions, Josh Lake showed full commitment to the club by almost drowning himself to win in the apple bobbing! Tug-a-war was next up with Polden Hills producing both a men’s and ladies’ team, who both came 2nd. Last but not least were the Main Events, where us Seniors stepped back and the juniors took over to win by a distance.
After a day like this a few drinks were definitely needed and we were overwhelmed to have won the Rally for a 2nd year in a row. With Jack Tucker winning the Overall Junior Points Cup and Nicola Cox winning the Intermediate Points Cup.
We have a great bunch of juniors; they were all keen to take part in the Junior Kwik Cricket competition which was held the South West Area competitions day. With a team including Jack Tucker, Will Hooper, Stu Francis, Daisy Duddridge, Alice Kelland and James Porter expectations were high and they didn’t disappoint. The last batting pair saw Jack and Will hitting 41 off 2 overs to qualify for the National Final, which has yet to be played. Good luck guys!
“Summer Sizzler” was next in our calendar, with the farm cleaned and ready to go the night was upon us which saw 400 people come through the gate. With “Little Richie” and “DJ Eric” as entertainment and a bar flowing the night was a huge success raising about £3,500.
July saw Polden Hills YFC represented further afield at the Royal Welsh Show. With Eve Hooper, Alice Smith, Ross Whitcombe and surprisingly Wayne Pople deciding to rough it for 2 nights in the Young People’s Village. Eve and Alice did their best to spread the Polden Hills YFC love and Wayne obviously got to close to a pig as he came home with swine flu!!
Now the year has come to an end we have raised £5,000 for my chosen charity for this year which is Brainwave. As well as the pantomime and summer sizzler we have also held many other fundraising events throughout the year including, Christmas & Easter Bingo, Chicks & Bunnies disco, a dung sale, Harvest Supper and Cheese & Wine Evening.
I would like to thank everyone for a great year and all the support I have received from the committee and advisory. I wish Lloyd and his committee the best of luck for next year.
February 2012 YFC Newsletter