Wine Tasting Pub Night Friday 10 November 2023
It was an excellent change from our usual pub night when we were treated to a wine tasting organised by three local wine buffs!
Three teams of 4-5 people enjoyed sampling some white wines followed by red wines and ending with a wine quiz at the end. Who knew that Italy is the biggest wine producer in the world!
Halloween Sunday 29 October 2023
There were shrieks to be heard on the evening of Sunday 29th but most thankfully were of joy and not fright as the village entered the spirit of Halloween. This year there was a spooky pumpkin trail again and many villagers welcomed the children at their doors for Trick or Treating or as we still say in Scotland, Guising. There were at least 22 children who took part in the trail and then joined in the activities in the village Hall. Equally as many adults from family friends to aunts, uncles and grandparents joined in the fun. We even attracted visitors from further afield.
The comments received and the pictures provided after the event summed the evening up perfectly.
“What a great evening, thanks for the tremendous effort, it looked fantastic, and the children has such a good time. Frog Lane looked brilliant.”
“Thanks so much to everyone involved in the organisation/hall party/trail/food and all those who kindly put out pumpkins and sweets. The kids were delighted, another successful Tyninghame Village Halloween.”
“Thanks again for giving the kids such a fab evening. Three very happy boys now tucked up in bed (eventually).”
Apple Pressing at the Hall Sunday 17 September and Sunday 22 October 2023
This year we enjoyed our apple pressing events again with loads of home grown apples being brought to be pressed into delicious apple juice. Everyone went home with bottles and bottles of apple juice which the children were especially excited about. Bottles were offered to the residents and the visitors for a donation towards a new gate for the village core path. We also had bottles of wonderful apple cider vinegar made by Marie Liston to offer for donations. A nice sum of £25 in total was donated to go towards the new gate.
Bridge Lunch Tuesday 19 September 2023
The Community Engagement Group held another very successful and enjoyable Bridge Lunch in the Hall. A delicious hot lunch, with a choice of 3 very tasty dishes, a desert and a glass of wine, was enjoyed by 36 guests, 9 tables of 4 players. A game of bridge was played before and after lunch with the highest score being awarded a prize!
Thanks to the superb effort of the volunteers in bringing this together, the event was thoroughly enjoyed by the guests and all those involved. The donations for the event will be used towards upgrading some outstanding works required in the Hall.
“Really enjoyed the bridge drive today. Thank you so much for organising. The food was delicious and the wine went down very well! You all did a great job. Hope it raised some welcome funds for the hall. Thanks again.”
A… and friends.
Summer Fair Sunday 20 August 2023
We had another very successful sunny Summer Fair this year organised by the village Community Engagement Group.
Entrance donations to come and enjoy the fair included a cup of tea with home baking available to buy. These donations help to offset any expenses and extra funds raised will go towards a community asset or future event.
It was a really happy day for local families, friends and visitors, with excited children enjoying all the fun of the fair, albeit a small one! Even some of the family dogs dressed up for the occasion! The tables were laden with a wonderful array of home baked cakes, muffins, cup cakes, biscuits and more, so a huge thank you to all the bakers. Activities included a jam jar tombola with jars filled with exciting treasures and sweets, face painting, giant bubble making, a bric a brac stall, a dog parade with prizes and lots of races for the children and grown ups! You will see from the photos that everyone had a great time.
So a big thank you to all contributors and everyone who attended and helped to make the event a success in bringing the community together on a beautiful summer’s day.
Tyninghame House Gardens and Walled Garden Open Day Sunday 25 June 2023
A wonderful group of volunteers supported this event with sales of lots of delicious baking and cups of tea for visitors to the gardens. Children were also provided for with free mini bakes and juice. Despite the big black clouds overhead, the rain held off and the gardens were enjoyed by lots of people. 60% of funds raised from the entrance fee and the teas will go to the nominated charity, Tyninghame Village Hall and Community with the remaining 40% going to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme and to their core beneficiaries.
Coronation Tea Party Monday 8 May 2023
In celebration of the Coronation of King Charles III, we wanted to create an event that would celebrate our community. With grateful thanks to the National Lottery, we created an afternoon tea event with a fancy dress competition for the children and a celebration of some of our unsung heroes.
Our creative team crafted two thrones for the event and the bakers in our community ensured that there was some really delicious food for everyone to enjoy. The hall was awash with red, white and blue bunting, flags, flowers and candles. It was a fabulous turnout and there was some stiff competition in the children’s fancy dress with some brilliant costumes on show.
It was a privilege to be able to recognise some of our unsung heroes. The nominations came in from across our community and three awards were presented:
Carol Crowther – For unwavering commitment and energy in bringing the Tyninghame community together.
Erica Wimbush – For tireless work and fundraising to preserve our hall and create a wonderful space for our community and beyond.
Angela Stewart – For quiet determination to keep our roads, streets and hedgerows litter free.
Westminster’s official photographer for Scotland’s coronation events also joined us, so we hope to have some wonderful images of the day. We enjoyed some beautiful Clarsach playing throughout the afternoon and with thanks for a generous donation of sparkling wine were able to raise a glass to celebrate a memorable afternoon.
Having been awarded lottery funding for the event, we wanted to pay it forward so we encouraged the community to provide donations for East Lothian Food Bank. A huge thank you to everyone for your generous donations.
Acknowledgements:
Bakers: Erica, Carol, Shireen, Rae, Ali, Karine, Margaret, Marie, Cynthia, Gill, Tori, Liz, Elinor
Flowers: Liz
Hall decorations: Lizzie, Marie, George
Candles: Ellie
Clarsach: Elinor
Photographs: Sophie, George, Gill
Sparkling wine: Tony
Donation of chairs and throne making: Zero Waste Dunbar, Erica, Carol
Set up and clear up team: too many to mention, and thanks to everyone that pitched in. Special mention to Shireen, Karine, Erica, Liz and George
Easter Fun Sunday 9 April 2023
Easter weekend was celebrated in the village with a cheerfully decorated bus shelter and lots of activities for the children in the Hall. It was really great to see so many Tyninghame families, grandparents and friends enjoying the Easter themed activities. There was a choice of crafts, shapes and eggs to paint and some face painting for those wanting to be real Easter bunnies.
The kitchen was open for refreshments plus some delicious baked goodies for everyone to enjoy. Easter bunny and her sister joined in and brought a basket of yummy chocolates, much to the surprise and delight of everyone.
An Easter nature trail was laid along Ladies Walk for families to enjoy at their leisure on this beautiful sunny day.
Pix in the Stix 25 March 2023
Pix in the Stix returned to Tyninghame Village Hall after many years absence. We were very pleased to welcome them back with two new films. The afternoon showing was for the children featuring “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”. In the evening we had the much acclaimed “Banshees of Inisherin”.
There was a great turnout for both films and we hope to be able to enjoy many more good showings.
Burns Night 27 January 2023
We were delighted to once again be able to host a Burns Night Supper for local residents and friends. The piper, David, welcomed everyone in to the Hall where we had tables set out for 45 people who had booked to attend. Elinor also provided a warm welcome of Burns’ music on the clarsach.
The evening was filled with lively and sometimes quite moving entertainment of music, singing, poetry and toasts. Sharing platters of starters followed by haggis, neeps and tatties and delicious deserts were a feast for all.
BYOB wine was shared around as was some tasty whisky!
The evening was very much a community evening and any funds raised will go towards Hall upkeep.
We are very grateful to all who helped to make this such an enjoyable evening.
“Absolutely amazing Burns Night. . Authentic, spontaneous, fantastic food and wonderful company. . HUGE thank you to all involved ❤️😘” I.G
Carol singing on Christmas Eve 2022
Our tradition of singing carols in the village began in 2019 when a small group of around 15 gathered in the cafe courtyard with local clarsach musician, Elinor Evans, to enjoy the age old Christmas Eve tradition of carol singing. This small gathering has grown each year with around 60 people attending in 2022. We hope to continue this tradition for many years to come.
The centre of the village was beautifully candle lit and resounded in song. With so many happy faces it was lovely way to start the Christmas celebrations. Many came from the village with their extended families and many were from further afield. This joyful event was hugely supported by Dave Wakefield with the provision of coffee, hot chocolate and tasty bakes. We are extremely grateful to him for his generosity.
Thanks must also go to Elinor for her beautiful harp playing. Elinor also brought joy to many throughout Advent with her daily recordings posted on the village WhatsApp.
Christmas Party 9th December
Tyninghame Village Hall & Community Committee hosted a very enjoyable Christmas party in the Hall for all those living in the community. We had about 60 guests who spent a very sociable evening enjoying wine, tasty savouries and mince pies. We were very pleased to welcome some newcomers to the area as well as some familiar faces.
The Tyninghame Sings group entertained us with some lively singing!
Did you spot the Temari balls on the tree made by some of the Tyninghame Craft & Connect Group?
“Can I say a big ‘Thank You’ to all those who worked so hard to give pleasure to the rest of us at last night’s Christmas Party. It was great fun. And the Tyninghame singers were a revelation.”
Wreath Making Workshops 2nd & 3rd December 2022
The Christmas tree was up and the Hall decorated when we held another very successful series of 3 wreath-making workshops. In total 62 wreaths were made by the people attending the workshops raising about £900. £100 of funds raised will be donated to East Lothian Food Bank and the rest will be used for the continuing Hall refurbishment and maintenance.
Some beautiful wreaths were made and everyone seemed to enjoy a relaxing 2 hours being creative and chatting over a coffee and some tasty baking. It always amazes us the diversity of the styles made, everyone taking home a unique decoration.
“Just to thank everyone involved for such a lovely afternoon. It really was such a great event, and it was obvious that a great deal of planning and thought had gone into organising the afternoon. We really enjoyed ourselves.” LB
Halloween Sunday 30 October 2022
We held another spookily fabulous Halloween event in the village with a pumpkin trail and fun and games in the Hall. The children all enjoyed being able to trick or treat this year and a big effort was made with some scary fancy dress outfits!
Harvest Lunch Sunday 9 October 2023
We held an excellent Harvest Lunch in the Hall with a ‘sold out’ event of 44 tickets booked on Eventbrite. The tables were beautifully decorated with vases of lovely garden flowers and all the food was locally sourced as well. There was a 3 course menu finished off with tea and coffee and petit fours. One of our guests, who celebrated her 100th birthday this year, said it was a really wonderful and very friendly afternoon! Although this is run as a community event, donations toward the Hall upkeep raised about £400.
Apple Pressing Day Sunday 25 September 2022
We had another very successful apple pressing event for the community and beyond. Once again the sun shone and there was a superb team effort by everyone who turned up. Many trugs of a great variety of apples were brought to the Hall for processing in the press. The resulting juice was absolutely delicious with a few visitors and stall holders attending the Wee Fair requesting bottles to take home. Generous donations for these were given towards Hall funds.
There will be another apple pressing event on Sunday 16th October.
Summer fair 21 August 2022
A really wonderful day was had by all at our wee summer fair organised by the village community engagement group.
There was a dog parade (fancy dress optional) and all those pets taking part were on their best behaviour and seemed to love every minute. One little girl even chose to dress up as well and both she and her little dog were among the deserving winners.
For the humans at the fair we had lots of races and competitions, with a very healthy competitive streak emerging from those adults who joined in. The sack race and the chucking of the wellies caused much hilarity and were completed without injury!
The crowd of over 100 villagers, friends and families were spoiled for choice with a chocolate tombola and a very popular bottle stall! We had a lucky dip treasure chest filled with sweeties, face painting and a giant bubble making stall which was a hit with all ages. The bric a brac stall was as popular as ever with quite a few pocket money purchases being made by the children and a few bargains were equally snapped up by adults.
Beautiful tasty cakes and tea were in abundance along with prizes and winners rosettes for all the events. The prizes for the village sunflower growing competition were also announced with a few worthy winners .
We had a wonderful window of fine weather. The sun shone all afternoon and the village greens were filled with happy cheers and laughter. A massive thank you to all who helped make the event such a success especially all the children and their families-pets included!
The fair was run as a community event and not for profit with any donations received being used to offset expenses. Any extra funds will be put towards the village hall upkeep.
Memorial for Steve 16 July 2022
Some members of Tyninghame Sings + friends sang at Steve Tossel’s memorial on Saturday in the village hall. Steve used to come along to Tyninghame Sings on a Sunday evening and also joined us on Zoom during COVID. We sang his favourite song – ‘All Around My Hat’. He died about a year ago during the COVID pandemic.
Bridge and Lunch 14 July 2022
The Community Engagement Group (CEG) held a successful fund raising event in the Hall. A game of bridge and a buffet lunch were enjoyed by 40 people, 10 tables of 4 players. Many said how nice it was to be able to get together having been unable to have such a gathering for several years. There was a lot of positive praise for the delicious food, the lovely Hall and the cheerful atmosphere.
The wonderful buffet was provided by some of the ladies from CEG and all the volunteers enjoyed the team effort of putting on this new event.
It is hoped that the event will have raised about £1,000 which will be put towards the kitchen refurbishment fund. This amount raised, together with the money from the Tyninghame Garden Open Day, has taken us much closer to our target. We hope very soon to be able to start the kitchen refurbishment which will make running such events so much easier.
Basic Life Support 8 July 2022
We were very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to brush up on our basic life support training.
Stephen Hartley and Brenda Binnie from the NHS Lothian Resuscitation team visited the Village Hall and ran 3 sessions for local people.
The sessions were informative and all who attended said how much they enjoyed the training. For the majority it has helped them to realise that they can always do something to buy time before the para medics arrive. The sessions also removed the scare factor of ever having to use an automated defibrillator.
Platinum Jubilee Children’s Party 3 May 2022
A children’s party was held for some local families living in and around Tyninghame to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. The Village football pitch saw some fiercely competitive races, namely a running race, a very colourful sack race and an (unboiled) egg and spoon race! The adults delved into croquet, table tennis, Pimms, and delicious food made by all who attended.
A wonderful day was had by all to mark this special occasion!
Book Event – Afternoon Tea and Talk 22 May 2022
A most pleasant Sunday afternoon was spent in the village hall hearing from Judy Riley about her newly published book “Tyninghame, Landscapes and Lives” about the history of the gardens and wider landscape around Tyninghame House.
Judy lives at Tyninghame House and has previously spoken at one of our Pub nights about the wonderful gardens at the House and their creation. At this event, many an appetite was whetted to learn more about the people who inhabited the land surrounding the House.
Over 30 people attended this event and enjoyed the abundance of home baking, lots of cups of tea and coffee and of course an opportunity to chat to Judy about her research for the book.
Judy’s book was on sale at the event and she very generously donated a percentage of the book sales to the hall refurbishment fund as did others who kindly gave donations for the wonderful spread provided by the volunteers of the Community Engagement Group.
Pub Night 13th May 2022
17 of us enjoyed a Potluck Curry Pub night with an amazing choice of delicious meat, vegetarian and vegan curries, breads and chutneys. We had a green Thai chicken curry, prawn curry, lamb curry, pheasant curry, dhal, cauliflower korma, spinach & chickpea curry, Bombay aloo and an aubergine curry. These were served with naan breads, rice and chapatis.
The Hall was so warm and welcoming with a big communal table for us all to sit and enjoy each other’s company and food.
Sunflower growing competition 2022
With all the seedlings being sold at Easter we are looking forward to see them growing tall and strong. With the final total of £76 raised, Carol was able to buy loads of cans of beans, cooking sauces and tins of tomatoes to use with all the dry stores already donated to the Ukrainian refugees. Some biscuit treats were also added to the trolley! The Lochend project now has enough donations to be able to support the families while they are staying there but say that ongoing food donations are still very welcome. Thank you to all of you who helped so generously.
Tyninghame bird box making workshop 23rd April 2022
Well done to the 12 bird box makers who have successfully put together some new bird box homes for blue tits or tree sparrows.
The kit comprised of untreated larch sourced from Tyninghame sawmill, recycled bicycle tyres donated by Law cycles, all cut, sanded and pre drilled and made ready to assemble.
An enjoyable time was had at the workshop assembling the box, producing a wide variety of painting designs to camouflage them, looking through the scope for the goldfinches on the feeder and testing our bird colour knowledge in a quiz. Some kits were also collected to be made at home.
We are looking forward to seeing what takes up residence this season or next. Let us have an update.
Easter Trail around Tyninghame April 2022
With such lovely weather this Easter, the children from the village and their friends enjoyed participating in the Easter themed trail. The starting point was the brightly decorated bus shelter where they collected an activity pack and made their way round the village, sampling Easter cakes, collecting shapes to decorate and some chocolate eggs to enjoy. Even the resident frog from a garden beside Frog Lane put in an appearance!
Giant Sunflower seedlings were out for collection with donations being made to support the Ukrainian refugees settled in Edinburgh. A total of 24 seedlings were raised with a grand sum of £76 going to the charity.
The table tennis taster session on Easter Sunday in the village hall was also a great hit for a few eager wee lads.
“Thank you everyone for the Easter trail. You’ve outdone yourselves this year, the bus stop looks so gorgeous! Hester and Erin are busy with the activity packs right now. ❤️”
“What a fantastic weekend we’ve had with the Easter trail, decorations and sunflowers 🌻 Thank you so much for all the effort you’ve gone to to make it so special, it is very much appreciated 💚🐰🐣!”
Advent Windows December 2022
To celebrate the festive season, some windows in the village were decorated for Advent with the Hall revealing the nativity scene on 24th December. The bus shelter also put on a festive display with messages being written for Santa and friends.
Christmas Wreath Making workshops December 2021
We held workshops on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 December in the village hall. There was also an opportunity to collect a bag of wreath making items, greenery and instructions for those who preferred to make one at home.
Once again this was a very successful event enjoyed by all the participants. Many beautiful wreaths were created in the cosy atmosphere of the hall with cups of tea or coffee and seasonal baking goodies.
“Thank you so much for a fabulous Saturday morning making our wreath. So well organised and the ladies helping made us so welcome.”
Halloween pumpkin trail and children’s activities October 2021
This year with fewer restrictions on Covid Guidance the children of the village and their friends were able to enjoy an amazing Pumpkin trail and Halloween themed activities in the village hall. Over 25 imaginatively carved pumpkins were on display throughout the village. Frog Lane was spookily decorated and, together with a few households joining in, the children were able to let their imaginations run wild. It was also brilliant to see the children dressed up. We had an adorable pumpkin, Hermione from Harry Potter, a zombie bride, spiders, Dracula, a cat and several more. Games in the hall saw the children trying to catch ghosts on strings, looping the witches hat and, of course, dooking for apples.The ghoulish food was a hit with both children and adults who enjoyed old favourites like parkin and cinder toffee as well as eye balls and green monsters.
Art in the Bus Stop September 2021
The theme of this year’s Bus Stop Art was~”Sea & Space, Stars & Skies”~open to all ages!
We wanted everyone to let their imagination run free and to create something over the summer. This could be a collage, a painting, a drawing or something in papier-mâché.
Apple pressing events 12 September 2021 and 3 October 2021
We held the first community apple pressing event at Tyninghame Village Hall on Sunday 12th September using the new apple pressing equipment. We pressed about 10 trugs of apples in about 4 hours doing almost 4 full presses. It was great fun and we produced a lot of very tasty apple juice.
We ran another similar apple pressing day on Sunday 3 October. It was another beautiful sunny day in Tyninghame. Here is one of our young residents picking her apples for making delicious apple juice.
Bric-a-Brac sale August 2021
Members of the community organised a very successful bric-a-brac sale in the Hall on Saturday 25 August. The event was run in order to raise some much needed funds for continuing with the Village Hall refurbishment.
Eleven tables were booked for a £10 donation, with stall holders coming from Dunbar, East Linton and Tyninghame. One table was reserved for the Hall with goods donated specifically for Village Hall funds. Visitors paid a £1 donation to come in with children being allowed in for free. We had over 170 adults and about 30 children at the Hall over the course of the day, despite the rather wet weather in the afternoon.
You can see from the photos below that we had a wonderful range of items for sale from vintage clothes and jewellery to previously loved teddy bears looking for a good home. We had never seen so much bric-a-brac all in one place!
The day was a success because it was very much a community event open to everyone. It gave people a chance to clear out and offer once loved items to others. It allowed people to chat and share stories about some of their bric-a-brac. It enabled children to enjoy spending their wee bit of pocket money on a toy or book at a bargain price of 20p!
Stall holders all enjoyed their day and said “ We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the sale- my first one. Glad it was a success”, “It was great to be doing something more normal”, “Lovely lady just gave our son a guitar- he was delighted” and finally “ are you having another?”
We are very grateful to those who donated items and to those who gave us their time to help set up the Hall or helped out on the day. We also say a huge thank you to the stall holders and to all the lovely people who came to the event and supported us.
Items left at the end of the day are being donated to Zero Waste.
Funds raised for the Hall are expected to be in the region of £450. Stall holders achieved takings in the region of £70 upwards.
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Tyninghame House and Walled Garden Open Day 4 July 2021
The Open Day in aid of the Village Hall was held on 4 July and was a great success. Between the gate money, teas and plant sale, Scotland’s Gardens Scheme made just over £4000. 60% of that total goes to the Village Hall, which received just under £2500. The remainder (40% of the total) is divided between Scotland’s Gardens Scheme charities – The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland, Maggies and Perennial. A HUGE thank you to all our volunteer bakers and helpers – we really couldn’t have done it without you. The weather was kind to us and it was good fun being able to meet and chat and create our new outdoor, socially distanced teas!
Easter in Tyninghame 2-4 April 2021
At Easter the bus Shelter was brightly decorated by a group of grown up Easter bunnies, featuring hanging eggs, paper flowers, birds and art from many budding artists! The red Phone Box had a beautiful woodland display which the children loved especially all the ‘bunnies’ in there.
A nature trail and a few other activities including an Easter quiz, word search and bird identification sheet were put in the Shelter. There was a wee basket for each of the children to collect their finds. Some of the activities to do were hop like a rabbit, spot the silver trees, name some birds on the feeders, collect a feather, spot the ‘animals’ in Frog Lane and paint a picture. A small reward was left for each child in a lidded box much to the delight of each and every one of them!
Alastair and Liz Stobbart kindly donated some carefully packed Hot Cross Buns which were a welcome treat for all and a basket of ‘hidden’ mini eggs for grandparents on the trail.
It was a real a joy to hear excited children’s voices around the village on such a beautiful sunny weekend.
“Great fun! She enjoyed the hot cross bun thank you Liz and we’ll be painting eggs tomorrow so will place them in the bus shelter”
“So brilliant in fact the boys are desperate (& about to) embark on it for a second time – so many thanks! “
12 Days of Christmas
To celebrate the festive season in 2020, the Tyninghame community displayed the Twelve Days of Christmas in windows throughout the village. In addition the bus shelter was given a festive overhaul and there was an opportunity to leave good wishes for fellow villagers or even messages for Father Christmas himself.
On Christmas Eve the villagers were treated to some lovely Christmas music played by Elinor Evans on the clarsach. We gathered at social distances on Main Street with our candle lamps while the sun set spectacularly.
Christmas Wreath-Making Workshop – 6th December
Many thanks to those who took part in the Christmas wreath-making workshops in December, both in the Hall and at home. There were some very beautiful wreaths adorning the doors of Tyninghame village (and beyond!). The winner of the wreath-making workshop was Sabina Struthers and her wreath can be seen in the bottom left of the collage.
We are very grateful to all the organisers for their time and effort.
