Today we’re celebrating our anniversary in our new branch on Woodbridge’s Thoroughfare, following our move from New Street – and what a difference a year makes! Our opening day was a quiet affair thanks to the arrival of the Beast from the East, which hit us with several days of snow and freezing conditions and also saw us cancelling our planned celebration day.
Despite this frosty start we’ve been busy over the last twelve months settling in and using our larger premises to host plenty of events and celebrations. Here’s just some of the things we’ve been up to:
– In April the Society’s archivist spent a day in branch, talking to visitors about our heritage and displaying plans of the plots we developed in Woodbridge and Melton
– In June we finally held our celebration day in glorious sunshine, with talented singers from the Children’s Theatre Company showcasing hits from their Les Misérables production and a performance from a local chap, Paul Garwood, on his barrel organ. We enjoyed delicious refreshments from Honey + Harvey and offered free face painting and giveaways
– June also saw us mark the second annual Suffolk Day, held on 21st of the month with a “taste of Suffolk” extravaganza
– In August we joined up with colleagues to walk 12 miles from our Ipswich town centre branch, Mutual House, to Woodbridge in aid of Suffolk charity Families In Need (FIND)
– In September the town was abuzz with activity having been nominated for a Great British High Street Award. Although ultimately unsuccessful at getting the trophy, we joined in with the celebrations by having a jazz player in branch with keyboard, and there was an appearance from our mascot Pound the Hound
– December proved a busy month, as we got crafty producing scarves, tree ornaments and cards which were offered for donations to our branch charity Home-Start. We also hosted a festivities day to spread Christmas cheer and had one of our popular member events with a flower arranging workshop.
