Youth Club mid 1960s
From Lacey Green History
The Youth Club of the 1960's and 1970's was divided into two sections :-
Lacey Green Youth Club
Senior Section: P, Barnard, Braedene, Little Lane, Loosley Row.
Junior Section; Mrs, Griffiths, 11 Roundlands, Lacey Green,
Hallmark February 1979. Report :-
The Club, with a membership of over 70, has, for the past few months, had a very varied and interesting programme including a Harvest Service and supper, & large bonfire, firework display, and torchlight procession on November 5th, ‘he Club wishes to thank all those in the village who so kindly helped in these ventures.
The Junior Section held a coffee morning in November and collected & for Multiple Sclerosis Society, Some members also attended a meeting of the Society at Hughenden and helped to serve tea,
Talks on "drugs" and the "Church", as well as discussions, have been held and the Club took part in the Wycombe Youth 'Top-of-the-Form' Competition, successfully passing into the next round,
As a prelude to Christmas, carols were sung outside the Village Hall around a decorated tree, kindly presented by Mr, and Mrs, Church, £) was collected for the National Children's Home,
The Pantomime "Mother Goose" was presented on December 31st, January 1st and 2nd in the Village Hall.
Katheryn Prince, as Mother Goose, ably supported by her children, Jack and Jill, played by Lindsay Moore and Alison Day, headed a well-rehearsed cast which included some younger members of the village playing the parts of fairies, chicks, goslings, demons, 'gandoliers', and spirits.
Many hours of preparation and hard work are needed to produce a pantomime and many thanks and much credit are due to Mrs, Griffiths, the producer, and all who helped behind the scenes.
The Pantomime was repeated at High Wycombe Baptist Union Hall on January 9th and as a result £441 was raised for the High Wycombe Spastics Society.
Future arrangements include Ice Skating at Richmond once a month; swimming twice a month at Amersham; and ballroom danoing classes,
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Report by Bob Sanders
Two Youth Clubs. Lacey Green has over the years had a number of youth Clubs run by so many willing and generous people. In the mid 1960’s there were for a while 2 clubs, one a Junior club led by Vera Griffiths who lived with Vic her husband in Roundlands and a senior club led by Peter Barnard who lived at the bottom of Little Lane, Loosley Row. Both clubs were very successful at that time attended mostly by local teenagers. There were lots of things organised for the clubs, on one occasion the late Sir John and Lady Hall at the time the local member of parliament coming to the club to explain the internal workings of the House of Commons.
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25 Mile Sponsored Walk. On one occasion a sponsored walk was arranged over 25 miles, it involved the whole village with the likes of Gordon Turner actually completing the walk and then going back to work straight after.
Of course the junior section by nature of the distance involved had so much sponsorship money riding on them. Great care and encouragement was needed to get them home to complete the 25 miles on what was a very hot day As a result of everyone’s hard work a large amount of money raised for charity.
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The Christmas Pantomime. On occasions the 2 clubs combined, particularly when it came to the Christmas pantomime. This was usually performed over a couple of nights and on at least one occasion went on the road! Ok it did one performance in Speen.
Vera Griffiths was one of the producers and as you would expect in the early weeks rehearsals were taken somewhat lightly by the cast, that is, until the final couple of weeks when reality struck home, the costumes were being tried on made by parents and helpers, the scenery and lighting was taking shape and all the panic and nerves and of course fun that go with a village production.
Ad-Libbing. The performances were always fully booked and really enjoyed by the village folk, this was helped in part by some ad-libbing by the cast which of course got more laughs than the actual script.
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Bonfire Night Celebrations. Another joint event was the bonfire night celebrations. It was here that Wilf Sanders brought in some external experience. Born and bred up in Brockham, Surrey, a village hugely famous for its massif annual 5th November celebration. It was the blue print used so successfully there that Wilf brought to Lacey Green.
A large bonfire was built in a very short time for security reasons as it wasn’t unusual for bonfires to mysteriously catch light prior to the actual day. It was located in the field behind the Village Hall. The material collected by tractor, trailer, youth club members and willing helpers from around the village.
The Flaming Torch Parade. A parade, made up of the youth club members and probably a few responsible adults started at The Whip. Led by a tractor and trailer carrying the Guy, the procession, most carrying flaming torches, which had been made by Wilf Sanders using green sticks with sacking wrapped around one end, held in place with wire then dipped in old engine oil.
The parade wound its way down through the village, in those days it was possible to get a road closure for a village function, indeed the local policeman was always in attendance along with one or two St Johns ambulance volunteers.
The Guy & Fireworks. The guy stuffed with the usual filling and several Crow Scarers (these were very loud agricultural bangers used to frighten birds etc off the crops, which went off when the flames reached them) was placed atop the bonfire and the torches thrown by the parade members onto the fire.
Once fully alight there was an excellent fireworks display set off by more youth club members and helpers. This was of course in the days before firework specialists were employed.
Hot Dogs & Baked Potatoes. All the usual catering was available, hot dogs, baked potatoes coffee tea etc again organised by the youth club members, parents and helpers.