November 2024 Meeting

November was our AGM meeting and was well attended with nineteen members and three guests. A minute’s silence was held in memory of two members who had recently passed away.

Before getting down to the ‘serious’ business, as it was Bonfire Night we had our own bangers to enjoy (not the exploding sort), accompanied by mash and baked beans.

Our Chairman and Treasurer then duly presented their reports and we then moved on to the subject of electing Committee Officers. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer all expressed a desire to stand down. Luckily, Kent agreed (with not too much arm-twisting) to take on the Treasurer role, but as no-one else was prepared to take on the Chair and Secretary’s positions, they agreed to stand for one more year.

The Committee for 2025 is as below:

Chairman : Val Large
Secretary : Janet Bailey
Treasurer : Kent Sandiford
Committee : Heather Charman, Mary Freeman, Derek Freeman, Graham Bailey and Chris Hoskins

Liz Lake also very kindly agreed to do the monthly write-up for the Nutfield Link.

The planned programme for 2025 was discussed and agreed and we concluded with a light-hearted quiz on the subject of Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes. Many thanks go to Mary and Derek for organising the raffle.

The Christmas Party is on the 3rd December. Mulled wine will be served before the meal, with a festive quiz to round off the evening. Details will also be available for our New Year Dinner on Tuesday, 14th January 2025.

October 2024 Meeting

Sixteen members were treated to a wonderful musical evening by local singer and guitarist, Paul Stanworth. Paul took us through 25 well-known popular songs from the 1950s to the 1980’s, from The Kinks, Buddy Holly, Simon and Garfunkel, Elvis, Billy Joel and REM, to name but a few. Between songs, Paul also entertained us with a running commentary (and jokes) detailing his time as a professional musician. 

Our very own Graham B. (on bass guitar) joined Paul on some of the songs as did many of our members giving extra vocal accompaniment. It was surprising that we all knew most of the words!!! 

Towards the end some dancing even took place. 

It was a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable evening with a request for Paul to join us at a future date. Thanks also to Mary and Derek for another great raffle.

Our next meeting on the 5th November is the ‘highly popular’ AGM. Being bonfire night, it seemed appropriate that we should put on a supper of bangers & mash. Who Knows? It could be an ‘explosive’ meeting.

September 2024 Meeting

Due to a last minute change in our programme ‘A Talk on New Zealand Wines’ has been postponed to a later date. A swift alternative had to be organised, so nineteen members and three guests were treated to a trip down the Nutfield Wine Club’s Memory Lane thanks to Graham (B).

480 photos had been selected and made into slides focussing over a period from 2007 to 2020. Many of the photos had been taken by Debbie Amphlett and they certainly brought back memories of the many activities and visits that took place over those years. Visits to Vineyards (of course!), Breweries, Wisley, the Royal Albert Hall as well as talks on the subject of wines (naturally), cheese, postcards, stately homes and Club Nights featuring horse racing, quizzes, French and Italian-themed evenings, to name but a few.

A vote of thanks was given to Graham for the time taken to put together this Memory Lane trip which was enjoyed by everyone. The raffle then took place, for which a big thank you to Mary and Derek for organising, after which we all went home with minds buzzing of the yester-years of the Nutfield Wine Club.

Our next ‘meeting’ on the 8th October is a musical evening with well-known songs played by Paul Stanworth, a talented singer and guitarist from Crawley.

July 2024 Meeting

On 2nd July, twenty-three members and three guests enjoyed the Club’s Summer Party at the local venue of the South Nutfield Cricket Club (SNCC) where we were also able to enjoy watching the SNCC Colts playing a friendly match against Horley. 

We enjoyed an al fresco spread (together with liquid refreshment of course) on a fairly warm, but rain-free evening followed by a very informal quiz. 

Many thanks to Jim Paulett and the SNCC for making us feel very welcome and for setting out the tables and chairs. Thanks also to Mary and Derek who organised an excellent raffle (first prize was a bottle of champagne) and to the members for their delicious food contributions.

We are having a break in August so our next Wine Club Meeting will be Tuesday, 3rd September when our ‘own’ member, Francis, will be talking to us on New Zealand Wines. 

June 2024 Meeting

On a surprisingly warm and dry (but not sunny) evening, the Club’s popular “Tipplers Stroll” on Tuesday, 4th June, was another success, thanks to the generous hospitality of our hosts, Maggie and Geoff Allen, who started the evening off, then Jane and Kent Sandiford who followed on. Happily the strolling distance was very manageable between the two venues.

Nineteen of us were treated to an interesting range of wines to suit all tastes and a very ample spread of appetising accompaniments. Maggie and Geoff provided a delicious choice of savoury treats followed by an informal stroll (not compulsory) around their delightful garden. 

Moving on to Jane and Kent’s, we were presented with a wonderful array of desserts, including a birthday cake (as it just happened to be Jane’s birthday!) Sparkling wine was produced by Kent for the toast and happy birthday sung.

Many thanks to our hosts for the trouble they took to make us all so welcome and to Jane for allowing us to share her birthday!

Our next outing is the Summer Party on Tuesday, 2nd July starting at 7.00pm at the South Nutfield Cricket Club. 

May 2024 Meeting

Seventeen members and one guest boarded our minicoach for our visit to the West Fisher Winery in Westerham. On arrival we were greeted by the Owner (Simon Fisher) ably assisted by his dog, Diesel!

The Winery was first established in 2008 and located in South Croydon. It moved to its present site, a 300-year old cattle shed on the Titsey Estate, in July 2021. The building needed a huge amount of restoration, which is still ongoing. The Winery produces wines from grapes harvested from Vineyards in the South East and South West of England, some are large (up to 12 acres) down to just half an acre.

Simon had organised a wine tasting of 6 wines: two white wines, a Seyval, from Devon and a Wiltshire White from Wiltshire(!!), a Dry Rosé and an Autumn Red, also both from Wiltshire, a Pinot Noir from Limpsfield Chart and a sparkling wine, Regal, from East Sussex. A wonderful buffet and charcuterie also accompanied the tasting.

Simon was the perfect host and his commentary was very entertaining and informative. Everyone agreed it was a very enjoyable evening.

Our next ‘meeting’ on the 4th June is the Tipplers Stroll at 7.00pm, commencing at the Allen’s house and the moving on to the Sandiford’s residence.

April 2024 Meeting

April meeting we welcomed Amanda McGuigan, who came along to speak to us about the Nutfield Priory Hotel, where she is the Events Coordinator.

Originally the Nutfield Priory was a county house and never a Priory. In 1869, the Nutfield Priory was sold to Joshua Fielden who then commissioned John Gibson to design and build the present day building. Gibson designed the house in a neo-gothic style using Kentish ragstone rubble and dressed Reigate stone.

Following Fielden’s death in 1887 the Priory passed to his wife Ellen, who subsequently sold the house in 1920 where it remained as a private residence before being sold in 1930 to O. Picton Davis, who then converted it into a luxury hotel. Over the years it was commandeered in WW2 for Canadian soldiers and also used as a school for the deaf. It was Grade II listed in 2011. The Nutfield Priory is one of 21 luxury country house hotels owned by the Hand Picked Hotel Group.

Amanda also very kindly brought along a bottle of white and a bottle of red wine from the Priory’s wine cellars for us to taste and a mystery prize for the raffle. This turned out to be a voucher for Afternoon Tea for two at the Priory. The lucky winner was Janet (who has already booked her table!!!)

Our meeting for May is a visit to a local winery on the 7th May.