RODSEC News 2008

RODSEC - Winter 2008 News
(Details extracted from article that first appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of the Rollestonian)

RODSEC is continuing its very successful association with “Live & Local”, the organisation sponsored by regional County and Borough authorities to bring entertainment to rural communities. This association is only possible with the generous assistance of Rolleston Club which makes its facilities available for these events.

In October 120 villagers (and some local groupies) turned out for an evening with “The Brassketeers”, a brass quartet with a wide range of music interspersed with appropriate humour. With such a large and enthusiastic audience we are able to retain a portion of the ticket sales. This, combined with generous support for the raffle means that we are able to add to RODSEC funds.
Our Next event is –

Sunday 15th March, 7.30pm Rolleston Club Raffle. Tickets £6.50 available from Starbuck’s or Committee members

The Eighth Annual General Meeting of RODSEC will be held on Tuesday 10th March (previously arranged for Wednesday 25th February 2009 which will now be just an ordinary committee meeting) at 7.30pm in the Old Grammar School under the chairmanship of Mrs Beryl Toon, Chairman of the Parish Council. All are welcome. The separate article below summarises the history of RODSEC and gives our invitation to new members.

As reported in the last issue of Rollestonian, through generous donations from village organisations and a substantial grant from the ESBC Community Development Capital Fund, we have been able to purchase a mobile stage system, housed in St Mary’s Church, for community use. This has now arrived and member organisations have information for accessing the system. By the time that this article is published, the staging should have had its inaugural use, as a choral unit, at the concert given by “Beatus” as part of St Mary’s Christmas Tree and Advent Wreath Festival.

RODSEC arose from the Village Millennium Committee, formed to plan events related to the Millennium Celebrations. It has since become an established organisation with its own constitution. Its principal function is to act as a coordinating body for village organisations and interested individuals. It plans special events and entertainment for the village that are beyond the scope of individual societies and raises funds for village amenities. The broad membership of RODSEC makes it eligible for community grants and other support for village activities.

The list below indicates the activities of RODSEC over the past ten years, many in joint association with member organisations. The Chairman and Secretary have been closely involved in various roles throughout this time and wish to step aside for “new blood” and new ideas to maintain the impetus of community activity which is seen with envy by other local villages.

The Committee is currently planning for next year’s events. These will include support for John of Rolleston Primary School celebrations to mark the centenary of the “Village School” and other entertainments.

RODSEC would welcome further members to assist in planning and presenting future events. Anyone interested would be made most welcome. If you would like to join us in making a rewarding contribution to village life, please contact Tom Martin, 43 The Lawns, Tel 813320.

1998	Millennium Committee formed
2000
May	Local History Exhibition & Arts Festival attracting over 2000 visitors. Planting of trees and time capsule	St Mary’s, etc. The Croft
2001
Jan	Launch of RODSEC with Soup and Pudding evening and fundraising raffle	Scout HQ
Oct	Spuds & Pudding evening with “Songs from the Shows” entertainment	Scout HQ
2002
Feb	A Murder Mystery evening	Scout HQ
May/June	Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations including a Festival Exhibition and entertainments	The Croft, etc.
May	An evening with “Mary Queen of Scots” joint with Rolleston WI	Rolleston Club
May	A Concert by “the Mellstock Band” joint with Civic Trust	St Mary’s Church
May	A concert of English Music with Rolleston Choral Society	St Mary’s Church
May	A talk on Antiques followed by Ploughman’s Supper	Scout HQ
2003
March	An evening of Music performed by de Ferrers School Band with “Songs from the Shows” by members of Burton Operatic Society	Scout HQ
May	The Stretton All stars show – “Make em Laugh”	Scout HQ
September	The Gilbert Galantee Magic Lantern Slide Show	Scout HQ
Oct	A Talk on well dressing and demonstration	St Mary’s Church
2004
Jan	An evening with Gloriana portrayed by Lesley Smith	Scout HQ
July	A day of traditional village entertainment with Morris Men, Mummers Play, Children Maypole Dancing, Art Exhibition etc. Also Well dressing & Alderbrook Armada	The Croft, etc.
Nov	The Stretton All stars “A bit of a Do II”	Scout HQ
2005
March	An evening with Oliver Cromwell	Scout HQ
May	VE Day 60th Anniversary with themed exhibition & entertainment	Rolleston Club
Oct	A Celebration of 200th anniversary of Battle of Trafalgar with nautical entertainment	Rolleston Club
2006
March	An evening with “Nell Gwyn”	Rolleston Club
Nov	Return visit of Mellstock Band	St Mary’s Church
2007
March	An evening with “Ann Boleyn”	Rolleston Club
May	Dramatic presentation “Ghost Whispers in the Dark” by Cat Weatherall sponsored by Live & Local	St Mary’s Church
September	Heritage Weekend including an exhibition of local; archives & Mosley connections supported by children’s art competition & traditional village entertainment	The Croft, etc.
September	A dramatised presentation of an evening with Queen Victoria Joint with Rolleston WI A Concert by Heart of England Jazz Band sponsored by Live & Local	Rolleston Club Rolleston Club
2008
Feb	A dramatised performance of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads sponsored by Live & Local	Rolleston Club
Oct	Concert by The Brassketeers sponsored by Live & Local	Rolleston Club

RODSEC - Autumn 2008 News
(Details extracted from article that first appeared in the Autumn 2008 issue of the Rollestonian)

As reported in the Summer issue of Rollestonian, RODSEC members, including St Mary’s Church, have been discussing the provision of mobile staging units to improve our ability to stage entertainment at different venues in the village and locally. Several manufacturers have been evaluated and a tried and tested system has been selected for versatility, ease of handling, safety and possible expansion.

The staging will be stored at St Mary’s with part of it in semi-permanent use to improve accessibility but the whole system will be available to village organisations to stage events elsewhere.

We had expected to purchase the system gradually as finances allowed but funds from RODSEC and St Mary’s; donations from the Choral Society, Civic Trust and Conservative Association; and a very substantial grant from the Borough Council’s Community Development Capital Fund, have allowed us to purchase a complete basic system. This will provide a 12 sq.m. flat stage and also convert into a tiered unit for a small choir.

We are grateful to our Borough Councillor, John Morris, for his assistance and guiding us through the grant bidding process so successfully.

RODSEC with Live & Local* present AN EVENING WITH THE BRASKETEERS - Sunday 19th October, 7.30pm Rolleston Club

A brass quartet that plays from the Beatles to Bach and Lloyd Webber to Handel. Bar, Raffle. Tickets £6.50 from Rolleston Club, Starbuck’s Newsagents, Tom Martin (813320) or Arnold Burston (813457). *Funded through Staffs CC and ESBC.

RODSEC - Summer 2008 News
(Details extracted from article that first appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of the Rollestonian)

There had been another very successful year of operation, including the September “Heritage Weekend”. Although this ”free” weekend required significant use of funds we were well within budget through the generous support of our participating organisations and local business sponsorship.

Arnold Burston, Ron Price, Tom Martin, and Mrs Helen Barnett were re-elected Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

Arnold Burston and Tom Martin announced that they wished to retire at the next AGM. They had been involved throughout the life of RODSEC and its predecessor, the Millennium Committee. Both were prepared to continue to contribute to RODSEC activities but had other commitments and considered it time for “new blood”

Membership of RODSEC continues to include representatives from all the main village organisations plus several interested villagers.

In addition to organising periodic entertainment, it is a RODSEC objective to raise funds for village amenities.

Our last donation was for an installation of an external electricity supply from the refurbished Old Grammar School. This will provide a safe supply to marquees or other equipment on the Croft.

RODSEC is currently in discussion with St Mary’s Church and other interested organisations in contributing to the provision of a mobile staging system. The system would be housed normally in St Mary’s and greatly enhance our ability to provide entertainment within the Church.

It would be available also to participating organisations for temporary staging in other venues.

Following last year’s successful collaboration with Live & Local we have bid for two more shows in the 2008/9 season. With the cooperation of Rolleston Club we hope to have events one Sunday evening in October and March. We will have more details for the Autumn issue of Rollestonian

RODSEC - Spring 2008 News
(Details extracted from article that first appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of the Rollestonian)

RODSEC’s new association with the Live & Local arts organisation has proved most successful. This is a body funded by the Arts Council and locally, by Staffs County Council and East Staffs Borough Council to bring high quality entertainment to local communities.

In November (2007) 110 villagers turned out for an evening with the Heart of England Jazz Band and in February 2008 an audience of 130 watched a performance of Alan Bennett’s “Talking Heads” by Cottongrass Theatre. Both events were enthusiastically received with requests for more of the same. Audiences of this size provide both a modest supplement to RODSEC’s funds and also allow Live & Local to recoup most of the heavy subsidy that provision of these events entails.

In March we will be looking at Live & Local’s proposals for the 2008/9 autumn-winter season to bring a further variety of entertainment to the village.

RODSEC is very grateful to Rolleston Club for their collaboration in this venture. Without their help it would be very difficult to provide such shows in the village and the venue has also found the approval of the visiting artistes.

2008 is a “resting” year. We are not planning one of our major events but we will be looking for ideas for home-grown entertainment to re-charge the coffers for village amenities and future community days.