Humshaugh Village Shop

The second film night of the new season on Friday November 11th 2016 features the bitter sweet animation “Mary and Max” (Cert 12). It’s a poignant and funny film dealing with serious issues in a very clever and stylish way. It’s about two very different pen pals whose lives span 20 years and stretch from Australia to New York. The narrator is Barry Humphries (Dame Edna).

The sleeve notes say “Mary and Max chronicles Mary’s trip from adolescence to adulthood, and Max’s passage from middle to old age and explores a bond that survives much more than the average friendship’s ups and downs. Both hilarious and poignant Mary and Max is a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual differences, trust, copulating dogs, religious differences, agoraphobia and many more of life’s surprises.”

Doors open at 7.00 with the film starting at 7.30. Nibbles will be available free and, in the interval, you can choose from a range of desserts to buy. There will be a bar before the film and during the break.

Tickets are £5.00 for adults and £2.50 for children. Don’t forget Mary and Max has a 12 certificate.

Humshaugh Village Shop has been praised by none other than the Regional Director of the Confederation of British Industry in the North East. Sarah Glendinning says in an article for Living Magazine’s “My North” feature that it’s her favourite shop (along with a children’s shoe shop in Gosforth High Street).

For those of you who know Sarah’s parents, this should come as no surprise as Alan and Dianne Glendinning are volunteers at the shop and live just a short stroll away. They moved to the North East when Sarah was just two and she went to school in Newcastle before gaining a business degree, specialising in marketing. Sarah lives in Gosforth with her husband Andy and their children Harry (8) and Ellie (6), who can occasionally be seen helping out behind the counter.

The Annual General Meeting of Humshaugh Community Ventures Ltd, the organisation which runs the shop, is being held on Friday November 4th 2016 at Humshaugh Village Hall. It’s your chance to have your say and this year we’re hoping to attract more volunteers to our trusty team. It’s seven years on November 1st since the community took over the running of the shop so newcomers to the village or people who now have a little more free time are welcome to join us. There’s a whole host of ways in which you can help – it doesn’t just involve working behind the counter. It’s been a great year for Humshaugh Village Shop which was topped by the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The meeting starts at 7.30 although we may delay that slightly so that people can make it along after the village fireworks display at 6.30. The formal bits don’t usually take too long so there’ll be plenty of time to have a chat and a drink. We look forward to seeing you.

We’ve had a record breaking apple juicing year. More than 800 bottles of apple juice and a large number of 5 litre boxes have been filled over the course of the last 3 Sundays. Thanks to everyone who donated their crops and brought them to the Village Hall for pressing. Thanks too to the team of choppers, pressers, bottlers and pasteurisers who made it all possible. Bottles are now on sale in the shop for just £2.25.

2016 vintage Humshaugh Apple Juice

Humshaugh’s famous autumn apple pressing sessions are being held on the first three Sundays of October this year (2nd, 9th and 16th October 2016). Bring your surplus apples to Humshaugh Village Hall from 10.00 am and see them pulped, squeezed, juiced pasteurised and bottled. You could even join in and help. The finished bottles will go on sale in the shop and the profits will help boost the funds that do so much for the community.