Mette, Stoodleigh resident and hall volunteer, writes:

A very successful and fun night was had by all who went to the skittles and supper evening on Friday 13 March.  The notorious date didn't keep people away with 24 tickets sold.  Scrummy beef stew with generous pieces of succulent meat was served, courtesy  of our cooks Jan, Jill and Geraldine with a selection of breads; brown seeded, white crusty cob rolls, flat bread and gluten free. Geraldine had also made a very tasty vegan stew which was gratefully received as one of the few vegetarians in the village.  This was followed by a trio of desserts, Jill's Bakewell tart and custard, a chocolate cheesecake and Linda's meringues filled with cream and strawberries. With full bellies after seconds, it was time to get down to business and the five tables were evenly divided into two teams.  

Both teams were evenly matched and with the best of 3 games, it was neck and neck with the winning team only winning by 6 points which was close.  This led straight into the next game, Killer, where each player started with 3 lives.  As long as a pin was knocked over, they kept their life and then it passed to the next player.  Once all 9 pins were knocked down, the next player would have to throw with their non-dominant hand to counter balance having the advantage of having all 9 pins available to hit.  This is not as easy as it sounds with some slightly uneven floor boards to contend with (excuses!) and all eyes on you mounting to the added pressure.  Friendly rivalry and cheering made for another fun, nail-biting, close game.  Julian took great delight to rub Ed's remaining lives off the black board after he had been knocked out.  Unfortunately he got a little carried away and started to rub others off the board; a genuine mistake I'm sure, no cheating going on here!

As the lives dwindled it came down to a three horse race with Rob, Richard and Angela remaining in the game and fighting it out til Rob was knocked out and then the heat really cranked up with some friendly brother sister rivalry.  It was endearing to watch Phyllis's face beaming with pride as her two children fought hard to outcompete each other to win.  Was it the honour to become the favoured child or winning the trophy that motivated each the most, we will never truly know.  However, there can only be one winner and this year it went to Angela who was presented with a shiny, new, engraved Stoodleigh Killer Champion trophy.  Angela keeps the cup for a year where upon next year it will be up for grabs as she defends her title.

For those that weren't able to make it, you missed a good night.  This event also marks Tim and my one year anniversary in the village.  Last year we had moved in three days prior and were still up to our eyes in boxes and this made a welcome escape from unpacking and a good opportunity to meet the locals.  A year on, I can truly say how delighted we are to have moved to Stoodleigh and met some lovely people who we now call friends.  We are lucky to live in such a warm and welcoming community and have found it to be very inclusive.  We will be back next year for this annual event which raised £239 for Parish Hall funds from its supporters.  I don't think we're any threat to the cup winner but we had a jolly good time.