• THE GNOMES of Sutton Poyntz are becoming legendary for their marvellous themed dinners in aid the Mission hall funds, and the latest, entitled We'll eat again', set during the war years 1939 to 1945, was one of the best yet.

The fun started with the issue of the tickets, which were a faithful representation of a wartime ration book. Approaching the Mission Hall on the night, the windows were taped to prevent flying glass in the event of a close bomb blast, the doorway was protected by a pile of sandbags and an anti-aircraft gun, only the barrel showing under the camouflage netting, was sited nearby. Inside the hall the 70 in attendance, welcomed with a suitable drink, were all dressed in appropriate costumes - ARP wardens, military uniforms, ladies in hair nets and aprons, black market spivs, nurses, home guards, evacuees, and even a toff or two.

After listening to instructions on what to do in case of an air raid - which could be heard in the distance - from ARP warden Graham Embley, the radio was switched on to catch Chamberlain's announcement of the start of the war and some stirring words from Winston Churchill. The first course on the menu was Women's Land Army vegetable soup with bread, followed by Farmer Caddy's rabbit stew (actually a Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall recipe which included a hint of honey, and the rabbits came from as far away as Abingdon), Grandma's meat and potato hash pie, with swede and carrot bake, and for afters Great Grandma's Dainty puddings and Danish apple pudding with custard or carnation milk. If the food during the war had been to this standard there would have been no complaints from anyone.

To keep spirits up there were pauses for suitable songs, the high spot of which was a rousing rendition of There'll always be an England, and poems from Jill Caddy, Jenny Seys and Dave Caddy added to the entertainment. Dave himself had badly burnt his left foot and legs in an accident with boiling water the day before, but bravely kept going despite this painful injury. An interesting quiz to put names to faces from the 40s demonstrated just how much can be forgotten over the years, which was further illustrated by another quiz on wartime events which was won with a score of only 17 correct answers out of 25. The winning teams received a box containing a week's rations circa 1942 and bags of sweets of the time representing about two months worth of coupons.

The winners of the competition to find the right squares on the grid hiding the Bismarck and a U-boat generously donated their winnings to the total raised by the event, was the magnificent £435 which will go to the Mission Hall funds. The Gnomes Sue and Graham Embley, Jill and Dave Caddy, Yvonne and Dave Emery and Pat and Mike Haines are to be thanked for all their hard work and for creating such a thoroughly enjoyable occasion.