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Report from Autumn Talkbout - 11th November 2008
What is HyHo? some of you may be asking yourselves – for those of you unaware of our organisation, we are a group of guys who live (or have lived in Helmdon) who meet up at The Bell every second Friday of the month for a beer!! It’s that simple really.
If you live in the village, and you’re interested in joining us, you don’t have to be all that young, and you don’t really need to be a husband. As long as you like a beer or two/three with the boys, and you’d like the opportunity to be a part of a group that gets involved and helps out with village activities and events, you’re more than welcome.
HyHo has been in existence for 25 years and has around 40 – 50 members (no fee!) and many of the founder members continue to play an active role in the group.
We are responsible for the organisation and staging of the two main bi-annual events of the village – the Helmdon Summer Ball (in association with Helmdon School) and the Barn Dance. Both of these highly popular events raise significant amounts of money for other village groups and organisations. This year’s Summer Ball raised approximately £6,000, which means that the last three Balls have raised just under £20,000 in total for the School and the village generally.
As well as our regular monthly meetings, we have other events which are nothing more than further opportunities for nights out ‘with the lads’. This year, we have been to Towcester Races, and had a pub cycle-crawl. Other activities that have proved popular are curry nights, visits to The Comedy Store, Hook Norton brewery tour, karting.
If you would like to have a genuine opportunity for ‘getting down the pub’ on a regular basis, we’d love to see you.
We meet at 9.00pm at The Bell every second Friday of the month, and we’d love to meet more new members.
Mark Lovett – Chairman
01295 768500
HYHO Barndance 2007
- 7th July 2007
Hundreds packed in to Manor Farm. |
The HYHOs, legendary for staging the very best entertainment in
the village, pulled it off once again with a superb summer barndance
on Saturday 7th July 2007 at Manor Farm, Helmdon.
The event was sold out well in advance with over two hundred lucky
party goers securing tickets.
The event runs in alternate years with the equally prestigious HYHO
Summer Ball, but the barndance is aimed more at family entertainment,
with kids very much welcomed.
Incredibly the weather for the evening was superb; dry, sunny, and
warm. This was on the back of the wettest June since records began.
Although the event could continue in the rain it certainly made
for a more convivial evening to be able to mill around outside.
A free flowing bar, tasty pig roast and barbecue, and silly dancing
made up a memorable night of fun for the whole village.
Event organiser Mr Paul Underwood, and HYHO chair Mr Simon Cherry
are to be credited for putting on such a great night. A large team
of HYHOs do all the work themselves from manning the bar, cooking
the food, running the Tombola and raffle and, of course, clearing
up the site after the event.
The money raised from the evening, expected to be several thousand
pounds, will be distributed to worthy causes in the village.
More photos in the gallery >>>
HYHO Ladies' Night 2006
- 3rd March 2006
The 7th HYHO Ladies' Night took place on Friday 3rd March with
a party of forty seven boarding a coach to a mystery venue.
The destination turned out to be the Old Dairy Farm Restaurant in
Stowe, which had been booked exclusively for the HYHOs.
The venue was superb, just right for the occasion, and everyone
was "dressed to the nines". Chief organiser, Ross Vicars,
ensured that the whole evening went without a hitch and that everyone
had an evening to remember.
As befits the occasion the audience were treated to a speech from
HYHO chairman, Simon Cherry, whose monologue will surely be ranked
with "I Have A Dream" and "The Gettysberg Address"
as famous speeches of the last two hundred years - because that's
how long it seemed to go on for!
A gift of a silver bookmark was given to all The Ladies, whilst
the gents received a HYHO embroidered woolly hat for those cold
walks down to the Bell.
The evening was a great success and a credit to all those involved
in making it happen. It must have earned us each a monthly pass
for the Bell mustn't it?
More photos in the gallery >>>
The 2006 HYHO Summer Ball
- 3rd February 2006
The 2004 Summer Ball was a wild night! |
Preparations are already underway for the staging of the 2006 HYHO
Summer Ball, which will take place on Saturday 22nd July on the
school field.
The event hopes to build on the phenomenal success of the 2004 Summer
Ball, which was able to donate thousands to worthy village organisations.
For those hoping to participate tickets are expected to sell out
extremely quickly, so make sure you get in quick when they go on
sale!
If you absolutely can't wait for more details then why not download
the menu,
or the publicity
poster, shortly to be appearing round the village.
Remember - the 22nd July - it's going to be a ball!
Snooker Loopy
- 15th December 2005
The crowd roared as the final black went in. |
By way of a special Christmas outing, seven HYHOs descended on
the Q-Bar in Brackley for an evening of snooker, beer and curry
on Thursday 15th December.
Taking over two tables, the group showed off their prowess with
the cue, sometimes scoring as many as five or six fouls in a row!
Andrew "Six-Away" Rimmer tried his best to throw away
the third frame, although the absence of a qualified referee or
television replays meant that a drawn frame was finally agreed.
John "The Baize" Plunkett narrowly missed a stunning 1-4-7
break by only 145 points, much to the large crowd's disappointment.
After deciding that no further improvement was possible on the snooker
tables the group moved on to have a pleasant curry in the Jaypur
before returning on the night bus back to Helmdon.
All in all a different, and very enjoyable night out.
HYHO On Tour - The Hook Norton Brewery
Visit - 13th May
2005
The wee man had no chance as
the HYHOs closed in on him. |
Friday 13th might be unlucky for some, but for 16 intrepid HYHOs
it was just the cue they needed to head off 16-up in a mini bus
across Oxfordshire.
The destination was the Hook Norton Brewery in, yes you guessed
it, Hook Norton. The trip was organised by Simon "Where's My
Bike" Cherry and was unanimously voted the Trip of The Year
to A Brewery on A Friday in North Oxfordshire.
The fun and frivolity commenced with a trip around the famous brewery,
which started brewing in the 1850s, and there was an air of showing
the poachers around the pheasant pen. If you need to know anything
at all about Hook Norton ask any member of HYHO that was on the
trip as all of them listened intently to the guide's presentation,
pushing to the back of their minds the free beer tasting session
to follow.
The attempt to "drink the place dry"
only narrowly failed. |
After a brief stroll through the brewery's museum the group collected
together to sample the likes of "Hooky Dark - a dark chestnut
– coloured ale, crammed full of roast malt flavours, and complimented
with superb dry-hop aromas from East Kent Goldings" and
"Haymaker - a strong pale ale of distinctive taste. Plenty
of Goldings hops during the brewing give it a certain something
extra – like sunshine dancing on the tongue". HYHOs
+ Free Beer = A Good Time Had By All!
The tour culminated with hot food, and more beer, at the Sun in
Hook Norton. Everyone was remarkably staid throughout the evening
and returned to Helmdon at midnight, well before closing time at
our own hostelry!
It was a splendid evening, enjoyed by all, and congratulations go
to our illustrious chairman for putting on such a fine event!
For more about the brewery and their beers, why not visit www.hooky.co.uk.
HYHO AGM 2005
- 14th January 2005
The Annual General Meeting took place at HQ (The Bell) on Friday
14th January. Richard Phillips kindly laid on an all-you-could-eat
curry for a small donation and a good time was had by all. It was
so noisy that no one could actually hear the business being conducted
but here are the highlights:
- Peter Fisher "retired" after an illustrious 3 year stretch
as (pseudo) chairman. Talking over the reigns is Simon Cherry, who
was Cherry-picked from a bunch of hopefuls (or, as rumour would
have it, came in to the meeting late and didn't realise what he
was saying "yes" to).
- The HYHO Summer Ball (see below) raised in excess of £5,000
to be spent on school/village projects.
- This year's event will be a barndance at Manor Farm on 9th July.
There will also be a trip to the Hook Norton brewery as well as
the regular second-Friday-of-the-month meetings at the Bell.
Peter said "A large pint shaped thank you to everybody who
has made my many years as Chairman challenging, interesting and
memorable. You could go so far as to say I enjoyed it all and thanks
to you all for the help and support. My best wishes to Simon who
I'm sure will take much pleasure in making a huge contribution to
Young Husbands".
The full minutes of the meeting are available here
(pdf 110KB).
Summer Ball 2004
- 17th July 2004
Dancing until 1:00 a.m. on the school field |
The inaugural HYHO Summer Ball took place on Saturday 17th July
2004 in a marquee on the school field in the centre of the village.
200 partygoers got dressed up to the nines (and even tens in some
cases) and partied the night away to the sounds of the Blue Meanies
whilst raising money for village groups and organisations.
The event was a joint effort between HYHOs and the school and many
thanks are due to the indefatigable Sue Blackburn whose energy and
enthusiasm ensured the event was a success. If Sue was the ringmaster
then the circus clowns were Peter Fisher, Alistair Ezzy, Gareth
Dean and John Plunkett. They had the whole event organised well
in advance (7:29 p.m. on the 17th) to ensure that 200 people were
given an evening to remember.
Chris Gartside was the man-on-the-microphone who introduced the
evening and acted as the auctioneer, raising a whopping £3,000
in the process. The glittering prizes included a box at the Proms,
VIP days out at Silverstone, owning a race horse for the day, and
a helicopter ride. One prize though was a pile of s**t - literally
- 1 tonne of prime manure delivered direct to your door step for
fifty quid. Or someone else's for a hundred!
The evening was a massive success and was a credit to everyone involved.
Several thousand pounds were raised on the night and, after deducting
the organising committee's "meeting expenses", it is hoped
there will be £30 to £40 pounds left over as profit.
(Seriously though, the final figure is yet to be announced but a
healthy profit is expected). Many thanks to all those who attended.
picture gallery >>>
HYHO Ladies Night - November
15th 2002
HyHo's Ladies Night At The Roade House |
Tradition has it that Ladies Night is a reward to the long suffering
ladies in our lives that put up with us every other night of the
year. Really, it's just another excuse for the men to get drunk
and not have to worry about how late they get home!
60 Helmdon Young Husbands and partners enjoyed a wonderful evening
of entertainment at the Roade House Hotel in Roade on Friday 15th
November 2002.
The evening started with a champagne reception, followed by a 3-course
banquet with coffee and liqueurs. For the first half of the evening
each member sat with their respective partner, but after the main
course had been served the men were asked to rotate to the next
table along to sit with a different lady. This worked very well
although it is unclear whether all the men made it back to their
own partners before the end of the evening!
David Derbyshire delivered an hilarious after-dinner speech about
the role of a HYHO"Country Member" - a member no longer
living in the village - and he had the audience in absolute tears!
The speech was followed by the Ladies Night Quiz, hosted by Paul
Underwood and friends.
After returning to Helmdon, the party continued in to the wee small
hours at the home of Chris and Lynn Gartside to round off a very
enjoyable evening, an evening that showed that the HyHo's will be
around for many, many more years to come!
Picture Gallery >>>
HYHO Charity Dance in a Barn 2002 - June
29th 2002
Robert Hokum & the Guvnors headlined a fun packed evening in a barn
in Helmdon on June 29th 2002.
Tickets included a slap up barbecue (no Spam guarantee) and as much
dancing as party goers could manage.
The money raised so far has topped £1,500 which will be shared
out amongst the various groups and causes in the village.
Lets look forward to a repeat performance next year!
ADVANCE NOTICE - RESERVE THIS DATE NOW!!
Ladies Night has been arranged for Friday 15th November. This year
it will not involve an overnight stay so those who missed out last
time have no excuses this year!
The format will be similar to previous years - for new members Ladies
Night is basically an opportunity for ourselves and our wives /
partners to have a good time and hopefully to score brownie points
in the process. As usual, one price will cover everything. Watch
this space for more details.
Places are limited - you can reserve your places now by emailing
myself or Robert Alfandary, or calling 01296 760523 or 01295 760599.
Chris Gartside
HYHOs AGM - 8th
March 2002
Thanks you to everybody who attended the HyHo AGM on 8th March 2002
and thank you John for arranging it.
In summary the following points where agreed:
- we want the young husbands to continue
- nobody wants to act as the chairman, so its going to a drinkers
co-operative. Power to the people brothers
- we would meet again on the 12th April at the Bell and we would
meet regularly on the second Friday of each month
- Chris and Robert offered organise a Ladies Night
- no subs, only about 50% ever pay up, but thank you Nick for Dave
Bridger's fine work as the treasurer
- the curry was very good
- I would let everybody know what's happening
Peter Fisher
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