• TERRY Marsden, chairman of the Preston Village Hall committee, tells me that all the windows at the front of the hall, and cladding above them, need replacing as the current wooden frames have rotted.

Fundraising has been going on for some time, and money has been raised from a number of sources, including donations from groups that use the hall and the recent quiz night. However there was still a shortfall of £500, and this final amount has now kindly been donated by Haven Parks.

Neil Ankers, the new manager of Weymouth Bay Holiday Park, presented Terry Marsden with the cheque.

  • RECENTLY I mentioned that the plant sale in the Scutt Hall had raised over £100 for the charity Julia's House.

Maureen Bond now tells me that after all the receipts have been counted the final amount is certainly over £100 - in fact it has reached the magnificent total of £235! As you would expect, Maureen is delighted with this, and again thanks everyone who helped to make the event such a success.

  • IF YOU intend to take part in the Sutton Poyntz Village Vegetable show on Saturday, August 2 then you really should be planting now.

The classes you can enter are:- longest runner bean or cucumber, heaviest marrow, 3 carrots, single lettuce, three beans of any type, five soft fruit, three tomatoes, three courgettes, selection of herbs, anything grown in a greenhouse, a bunch of flowers picked from your garden, a bunch of different leaves and, for children only, plants growing in an unusual container.

Last, but by no means least, the fiercely contested spud in a tub, the heaviest weight of potatoes grown from one seed potato in a pot measuring no more than 15 inches each in diameter and height.

More details later, but now is the time for all residents of Sutton Poyntz to start exercising those green fingers.

  • CYNTHIA from Sutton Poyntz rang to give me some news of another ex-Sutton Poyntz lady, Peta Rhodes, nee Norrie.

Peta's family lived at 1 Mill Lane, and her father Bruce was manager of the Criterion restaurant in Weymouth.

She attended St Andrews School then Wey Valley until, when Bruce sadly passed away, they moved to Lancashire.

Her mother, Dorothy Norrie still lives in Burnley, but Peta has moved to Spain, where she married Harry, a keen bowls player, and took up bowls herself - to such good effect that she became the Costa Blanca Singles Champion. However, after a close fought contest at the Monte Mar club in Gran Alicante, she recently surpassed this by becoming the Spanish National Ladies Singles Champion for 2008.

Dorothy, who is very proud of daughter Peta, asks to be remembered to all their many friends in Sutton Poyntz

  • A REMINDER that the Weymouth East Scouts and Guides will be holding their Beach Stall on Wednesday, June 18.

This is one of their biggest fund raisers of the year, and they would be very grateful for books and items for the tombola, which is a popular feature of the stall.