Shiplake Village Community Club (SVCC) is open to all residents of Shiplake and has around 130 subscribing members. The club was formed in 2003 with the idea of bringing together people in the village who have similar interests and eight interest groups have been formed. The interest groups mainly meet in the Lounge of Sidney Harrison House, Mill Road. The meetings programme is e-mailed to members each month and also published on this web site as well as on the noticeboards outside the Corner Shop and Sidney Harrison House.  The interest groups and group leaders are;

 

Tuesday Art  (Mrs Shirley Abraham 940 3364).   We meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month from 2 to 4 pm  Usually there are three or four of us, who can all paint a little, so we bring our own ideas and paint in acrylics, water colour pencil and watercolours.
 

Friday Art  (Mrs Pam Varian 940 2249).   We meet on the second and fourth Fridays of the month from 2 to 4 pm. We enjoy painting in watercolour and drawing.

 

Art History  (Mrs Sue Jenkins 940 2041).   We meet from September to May on the second Tuesday of the month from 10 to 11 am. I give series of illustrated lectures on various aspects of Western Art.
 

Book Club  (Mrs Jackie Bryant 940 3936).   We meet on the second Monday of the month from 10 to 11 am  starting with a social cup of tea or coffee. We enjoy stimulating discussions of our books of the month and lively exchanges of opinions. We hold Poetry mornings twice a year as well.

 

Bridge  (Mr Eddy Ryder 940 2706).   We meet on Wednesdays from 7 to 9 pm and on Fridays from 10 to 12 noon. We play friendly rubber bridge using ACOL and common conventions but with more frequent changes of partners than is usual. Alas, we cannot teach absolute beginners.

Gardens  (Mrs Hilary Penrose 940 2153).  We organise visits throughout the gardening year to special gardens in and around Bucks, Berks and Oxon. We have discovered many really fascinating gardens with charming owners and interesting histories. We meet at 9.30 am at Sidney Harrison House to share cars and usually get back around lunchtime.
 

Local History  (Mrs Janet Matthews 940 3151).   We meet usually on a Thursday evening at 8 pm  every two months or so. We share anecdotes, pictures, maps and information about all things Shiplake past. Using maps dating back to the 1800s, we are considering how the village has changed and developed geographically and the effects of roads, river and rail passing through. Making oral recordings of chats with long standing residents is bringing history to life and preserving it for the future.

Walking  (Mr Alan Mitchell 940 3205).   We meet once a month at 10.15 am somewhere in the Thames Valley or Chiltern Hills for a circular walk of about 5 miles which brings us back to a nice pub for a convivial lunch. The countryside is lovely and the views are stunning. What a splendid way to spend a morning!

 

For more information about an interest group please contact the group leader. To join the Shiplake Village Community Club please contact the membership secretary (Mr Joe Jenkins 940 2041). The annual subscription is £5 per person of which £3 goes to the Sidney Harrison House Fund.

 

 

Shiplake Village Community Club