 
A recipe for success!
Take a great venue, a handful of willing volunteers, and a good mix of entertainment. Throw in a huge dose of sunshine (and some wet sponges), a liberal helping of party guests, old faces and new, and you've got yourself the perfect summer party.
The 2010 Piccotts End Summer Party, supported by PERA, was hosted by residents of Riverbank and The Granary. A good number of village regulars came along to liven things up and it was good to welcome some new faces. On this occasion the party was held on British Armed Forces Day and had a charitable flavour raising money for 'Help for Heroes'. You'll be delighted to hear that HFH will shortly be receiving a donation of £807.66 due to the generosity of residents and friends. A fraction under £600 was raised on the day with two further contributions making up the total. What a fantastic outcome!
A huge thanks to the following people that helped to make all this possible .....
All those involved in the organisation, set up and clear up - it would not have happened without you. Harpenden Ladies Circle for the loan of crockery, Harpenden Round Table for the loan of wet sponge throwing, Clive Dunn's scout group and Vicki Linsey's parents for the loan of furniture. Glen Turner and Keith Harrison for providing the musical entertainment. Monty Dunn and Rachel Howard who did a grand job selling raffle tickets. The 3 daring judges that 'volunteered' to adjudicate over the chilli making competition. Caroline Woolf for running the tombola. Everybody that made donations to the Raffle and Tombola - with special thanks to Paula Hopkins at Cobwebs & Creases and Barry Cummins Car Valetter for the prize vouchers they both donated. Last, but not least, all of you that came along and made the party so successful.
Here's just a small collection of pictures that capture the spirit of the day .... more can be found in the Gallery.
We are interested to hear any views you have about the fundraising aspect, in particular, would you be happy to support similar events in the future? Please submit any comments back to the event organisers maggie.chandler@bt.com or leachse@googlemail.com or to The Editor via this website.
For those of you that were unable to get along on this occasion, we missed you and hope to see you next time. Here's to the next event!
COMING NEXT...
The next event on the PERA calendar is the autumn Fireworks Party. This will take place on Saturday October 23rd at Marchmont Cottage. Details will be posted by leaflet and email nearer the time.
Other Events
Book Club is going strong!
The recently formed Piccotts End book club has celebrated its 1st birthday and has a growing membership. The last meeting took place at Wyndhams, the home of Chris Lewis, who chose The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. The story of a magazine editor & her husband who are haunted by the appearance of a young Nigerian girl they met on holiday provoked a lively discussion. The next meeting will be on Tuesday August 2nd at the home of Jonathan & Francoise Culverhouse. Their choice is And Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, a story set in a Chicago advertising agnecy, The Book Club is always pleased to welcome new members. Please email editor@peraonline.co.uk for details. It's very informal & you don't need to be a literary genius to take part!
NEWS from 2009
Garden Party was just the ticket!
Nearly 60 villagers, friends and family attended the 2009 PERA Summer Garden Party. It was the party that nearly didn't happen. PERA's social secretary, Marilyn Hughes, thought she would have to cancel the event when a family commitment looked like preventing her from making all the arrangements. But a team of volunteers stepped in at the last minute, set up marquees, tables and chairs and the trees were festooned with bunting. Marilyn would have been proud of their efforts. Carole & Del Cohen's garden looked picture perfect for the arrival of party regulars and several new faces sampling PERA hospitality for the first time. Carole's assortment of party games kept the children busy while adults barbecued their burgers, bangers and drumsticks. Raffle prizes, some eagerly donated by residents, were gratefully received while for many the highlight was the yummy assortment of cakes baked by Penny Gore, Maggie Chandler and Sue Leach (other contributors please write in!) This new addition to the Garden Party was a big hit and should be back by popular demand next year!
Click on the Gallery link on the left to see more photos.
A look back to 2008 with hot dogs, hot soup and Halloween
Last year's PERA Halloween & Fireworks Party drew a large crowd of adults and excited children to Marchmont Cottage. The kids arrived in a spookload of costumes, eagerly seeking the sweets hidden by Vicki Linsey. Marilyn's delicious roast pork and apple sauce rolls were quickly consumed along with Charlie & Lori's body-warming leek and potato soup. Luckily the rain stayed away but there was always Graham's marquee to shelter under just in case. After the prize-giving and raffle conducted by Robin Corbett, the audience enjoyed a fireworks display provided by Fantastic Fireworks. This was fired by the evening's VIP guest Fred Wade who came over from Canada especially for the event with his wife Lynn. Fred, who heads one of Canada's leading fireworks companies, has named Piccotts End his favourite UK village! Click here to see more photos. The social year ended with a party on Twelfth Night at the home of Charlie and Lori in Mill Close. There was an excellent turn-out and the PERA chairman Robin thanked the hosts and PERA secretary Marilyn for another evening which brought the villahe together.
Sun shines on the 2008 summer garden party!
Summer may have been a washout in 2008 but our alfresco celebrations took place on one of the drier days of July. The annual summer garden party was a great success. It took place at Wall Cottage, home of Andrew and Ruth who opened their garden for a family barbecue and children's games. Click here to see the Photo Gallery.
To see photos of the 2007 Garden Party, which took place in the lovely garden of Valerie & Michael Tate at Millstream, please click here.
To see our gallery of past PERA events, please click here.
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