As the nights draw in and Christmas approaches, the plight of the disadvantaged is highlighted in stark relief against the abundance enjoyed by many members of the community.

With this in mind, St Nicolas School governor Alex Burns and her husband, Ross, have decided that they will try to touch D'Arcy's heartstrings by launching their own village-wide appeal for donations on behalf of the charity Romanian Relief.

This charity looks after many abandoned and in particular disabled children in Romania, and was the subject of a BBC documentary aired in 2006.

Alex and Ross will be loading their van and driving to Luton no later than November 11 to deliver as much aid as possible to Romanian Relief, before the truck leaves for Romania on November 22.

The appeal covers a wide range of essentials as well as Christmas presents suitable for special needs children from one to five years old.

The essentials list includes newborn baby nappies, feeding bottles, baby cleansing materials, first aid items, child and adult vitamins, wipes and dispensers, and milk formula for newborn and older babies.

Alex and Ross will take delivery at their home in D'Arcy or will happily arrange collection. To deliver a donation, to arrange a collection or for further details please contact Alex Burns on 869734. You can also find out more at www.romanianrelief.org/home

D'ARCY QUIZ EVENING

The ever-popular and always well-attended annual quiz evening in aid of Cancer Research and the village hall will take place on Saturday November 10.

The doors to the village hall open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start, with a maximum team size of six.

Please bring your own drink and glasses and remember that a ploughman's supper is included in the cost of admission.

Ticket prices are just £3 each for a very enjoyable evening, held for a very worthwhile cause. To book a table or to donate a much-appreciated raffle prize, please call Ray on 860390 and bear in mind that places are limited.

OPEN SCHOOL

Tolleshunt D'Arcy's very own St Nicholas Primary School will be open during the afternoon of November 1 from 3.30pm until 6pm to give new and existing pupils' parents a chance to gain an overview of this most welcoming of schools.

Further information can be found by contacting the school on 860253.

D'ARCY SPICES

Molly Tring and her husband came to tell the D'Arcy Spices about Planets and Gods.

With the aid of slides, Molly spoke about each of the planets and the Roman gods after which they are named. This was very interesting and the slides, many taken by Molly, were impressive in spite of the fact that that the hall curtains had been removed to allow redecoration to take place.

As well as images of the planets and some of their moons, Molly showed pictures of the gods as artists and sculptors imagined them.

Both Molly and her husband had been inspired to take up amateur astronomy and to get their own telescope, by attending a WEA course on the subject.

In the middle of the month, members were pleased to join the Silver Threads again for a coach trip to Dunwich for a fish-andchip lunch, followed by an extensive tour of parts of Suffolk, including a visit to Notcutts Garden Centre in Woodbridge for afternoon tea and cake.

At the final October meeting, another old friend, Paula Short, also brought along slides to illustrate her wonderful talk about a holiday in Vietnam. In addition to experiencing the delights of Saigon (now officially called Ho Chi Min City), Paula and her husband were able to discover how the ordinary people live and were charmed by the warm, friendly, smiling people they met.

Paula also explained some of the history of Vietnam, including what the Vietnamese call "the American War", describing a visit to the underground tunnels.

The country is believed to be the most beautiful in the Far East.

At this meeting it was good to welcome back Marjorie Sayer after a long absence, but sadly missed was treasurer Dolly Baldwin, who is ill.