Corfe Castle Community Library - Events
Library Talks and Events 2025
(All start at 2pm at the library unless otherwise indicated. Free admission but donations welcome)
Embedded Files
· A Trek to Angkor Wat by David Kemp. March 21st 2025
Bill Carter room, Village Hall, 2pm
The Plight of the Purbeck Puffins by Richard Caldow
of Natural England. April 11th 2025.
A Quiz Night and talk to Follow!
** Everyone is welcome to our talks - entrance is free but we are grateful for donations **
Past Events
2025
We met up with a Dorset author for An Afternoon with Alex Stone – Alex is a successful author who lives in Dorset and uses locations in Dorset as settings for her psychological thrillers. February 21st 2025
We enjoyed The Old Shops of Corfe Castle by Louise Haywood of Corfe Castle Town Trust (also a very short AGM). In Bill Carter room at the Village Hall. January 17th 2025. Donations went to the Town Trust.
2024
We had a Christmas celebration on 21st December, attended by volunteers and customers and enjoyed by all who came (photos to follow).
Gerry Stoker came to the Village Hall to talk about 'Populism and Fatalism' on 29th November. It was a very interesting and thought-provoking talk, and £35 was raised for the library.
Richard Caldow from the Swanage and Purbeck Swift Group gave an excellent talk on Swifts in Purbeck on October 18th. We had a very good turnout of 27, and raised neary £100 for the Swift Group.
We helped organise a Quiz Night in the Village Hall on 13th April hosted by Barry Stocks. The hall was full to bursting, a good time was had by all and £536 was raised - £270 for Weldmar Hospice (who came along with a team) and £266 for the library.
On Friday February 16th we enjoyed a talk in the library by John Patrick from Swanage Museum on 'Shopping in Bygone Swanage'. Donations went to Swanage Museum.
On January 19th we had a very short AGM followed by a talk on 'The Post Office at the End of the World' by Chris and David Kemp, who spoke about their experiences in Antarctica and showed photos of their trip, including penguins, whales, seals and icebergs. A very interesting talk, with the library full and no seats left!
2023
On December 23rd volunteers and customers came to share Christmas drinks and nibbles during the morning session (from 10-12 am).
On November 17th Louise Haywood gave a talk about Norden and its Landscape. Originally planned to take place in the library, it was moved to the Bill Carter room in the Village Hall because so many people showed an interest. A fascinating talk backed up with old maps and photos, covering the history of Norden from Roman times to the present. £35 was raised in donations to the Town Trust.
On October 20th at 2pm Fran Gleason of Weldmar Hospice Care came to talk about the hospice service in the library. An interesting talk with many questions from the audience.
We held two 'drinks and nibbles' events on Saturday 30th September and Saturday 7th October during the library sessions, to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We also said goodbye and thank you to our treasurer, Joan Ingarfield. Joan will carry on as a volunteer and Karen Spooner has taken over as treasurer.
In May we gave away wildflower seeds to celebrate the Coronation and put bunting up at the front of the library.
On 21st April Trev Haysom came to the Village Hall to talk about Purbeck Stone. We had about 60 in the audience and many stayed on afterwards to ask questions about this fascinating topic.
On 10th March we enjoyed a talk by Professor Gerry Stoker of Southampton University (and Corfe Castle!) on "Who believes in conspiracy theories and why?" The talk was well attended (in the Village Hall) with good audience participation.
2022
We started our 'Cuppa and Biscuits' on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Everyone is welcome and it's all free - and the library is warm!
We had a Christmas Quiz on 3rd December and raised over £540 in aid of our new 'Warm Up with a Free Cuppa and Biscuits', Julia's House and Corfe Castle Community Lunch. Barry Stocks, our brilliant quizmaster, did an amazing job and the evening was enjoyed by all.
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Ball and Socket gave a charity concert for Ukrainian Refugees on Saturday 8th October 2022 at Furzebrook Village Hall (BH20 5AR). The Friends of Corfe Castle Community Library (FCCCL) provided help with the organisation and support. For anyone who does not know of them already ‘Ball and Socket’ have been entertaining audiences throughout the country for over 30 years by singing gently satirical songs with a local and topical flavour, by Flanders and Swann and others. Local and topical references were also part of the show (one half of the duo being our ‘local lad’ David Kemp!).
Purbeck’s Navy. 21th October 2022 at 2.00pm in Corfe Castle Village Hall. An interesting talk by Phil Judkins.
March 18th 2022: Zoe Squirrell: An International Para Dressage Dream
Zoe is a local dressage rider who as a disabled athlete faces some unique challenges. Accessing her sport can be difficult at times but she tries not to let this stop her and focuses on finding ways to make her dreams a reality, so much so that she has recently started to represent GB at international Para Dressage events. We had a good turnout in the Bill Carter room in the Village Hall - doors and windows thrown wide on a lovely sunny day. We raised £66 for Zoe and people also donated for Ukraine.
Gen Crisford: (Beavers in Purbeck) was originally cancelled due to Storm Franklin, but rescheduled. A really interesting talk - we look forward to spotting the beavers at Studland in the future.
2021
On 15th December 2021 we had a short celebration of the projects completed during this year - improvements to the front garden, porch and children's area. Here are Roy, Ray, Barbara and Liz who worked on the projects. Thank you!
On November 26th 2021 - Deb Fullbrook and Elmo: An Afternoon of Photography in the Village Hall. A wonderful set of local photographs and good to be back! Deb collected donations of about £80 for Hearing Dogs.
2019
Max Beaumont from Dukes' Auctioneers talked about Poole Pottery on 22nd February. Many visitors brought samples along and Max answered questions about the history and value of different styles and items.
On January 17th 2019 we had our AGM, followed by Gerry Stoker's talk on "What's wrong with politics today: Politicians, Citizens or the Media?" We had to move the talk to the Village Hall as we ended up with over 50 attendees. The talk was very interesting and thought-provoking and was followed by a series of good questions from the floor. £65 was raised for the library.
2018
The Christmas Celebration took place on a very wet Saturday morning on 15th December. The group of Friends and volunteers enjoyed a good chat over Cava and nibbles.
On December 14th Louise Haywood gave an entertaining and interesting talk on ’a Brief History of Corfe Castle Charities’ and signed copies of her book 'The Penny Loaves of Corfe Castle'. Amazing that the generosity of people from the 16th century onwards continues to benefit the village. £35 was raised for Corfe Castle Charities.
Patti Sandham came to talk to us about Bees and Nature's Products on 15th November. Donations of over £30 went to a charity which helps villages in Africa to set up their own beehives, and we all left knowing a LOT more about bees!
On October 19th Ross Martin from the National Coastwatch Institution gave an interesting talk and managed to recruit a new volunteer and raise over £30 for the NCI. Attendance was impacted by restricted parking due to the Village Hall extension work.
On September 29th we celebrated 5 years of being a community library. Arish Mel set the atmosphere with some lively music and Cllr Cherry Brooks cut the anniversary cake, which was enjoyed by all with some sparkling drinks and nibbles.
The Children's Activity morning took place on 24th August. Children from the Corfe Castle Holiday Club came to make seaside-themed crafts including paper boats which they proved were actually seaworthy! Thanks to Chris, Pam and Penny for running the fun-filled morning!
At the Village May Fair at the Castle David Kemp and Liz Roberts, helped by Mags, Eileen, Mike and Alison, set up a stall and told stories to under-5s, with help from puppet characters. There were book token prizes for senior and junior quizzes, won by Ruby Williams and Gill Sellen. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all.
On May 17th David Kemp gave a very interesting illustrated talk called 'Kathmandu to the Golden Triangle' - about his travels in India, including a fly past Mount Everest, sightings of rare rhinos from the back of an elephant and watching cremations on the banks of the Ganges. £20 in donations was raised for the library fund.
Sandra Brown came to talk to us about a National Park Opportunity for Dorset on April 24th. She gave us a lot of information about the benefits in store should the application be made and approved. There was a lively discussion afterwards.
Chris Humphries gave an entertaining and interesting talk about his time as a trainee pastor in the Cayman Islands. He showed some beautiful photos and we enjoyed being in the sunshine for an hour or so! Donations of £32 went into the library fund.
On February 16th John Patrick of Swanage Museum gave a very interesting talk about the Churches and Chapels of Swanage. We didn't realise there were so many (and varied) places of worship! John is looking for pictures of other churches in Purbeck villages, so if you have any that you would like to share (and which may be included in another talk) please go to Swanage Museum with them. The talk raised £36 for the Museum.
On Jan 19th we had a short AGM followed by a talk by Tim Medhurst from Duke's Auctioneers - with a record attendance of 30 - a lively and very interesting event which everyone enjoyed. Items which were discussed and valued included a wooden club from the South Pacific, a stone age tool, some Chinese plates and a Georgian tea caddy.
2017
We enjoyed a Christmas Celebration on December 16th during the Saturday morning session, with seasonal refreshments including some lovely lemon drizzle cake home-cooked by Susan J. We do this every year but this year was, we thought, the busiest yet.
On November 23rd Dr Phil Judkins told stories of the many roles undertaken by women in wartime, both WW1 and WW2 in his talk 'Deadlier than the Male'.
A talk by David Corben on RNLI and the Swanage Lifeboat , with an update on the new Swanage boatstation and lifeboat was enjoyed by all on 13th October.
The new garden bench, donated by Carole Speed in memory of her husband Tony who did so much to save the library, is now installed. Picture to follow!
The Summer Activities for Children event was held on 3rd August. 12 children from the Corfe Holiday Club came to have a go, and we all had a great time with the Ozobots, which we will definitely do again. The sunflowers have all grown and the children helped to water them. Here's the latest photo!
On June 29th Friends and volunteers got together at the Millennium Pavilion for our annual Tea Party. We talked about plans for the garden, including a bench.
On May 23rd at 2pm Joyce Meates talked about 'Studland: Places and Faces from the Past'. The families who lived in Studland and the surrounding areas including Goathorn and Newton, some of whom had to leave their homes during the First World War never to return, were remembered with photos and anecdotes. £20 was raised for Cancer Research.
Lucas Van LeyleFeld came to speak on April 25th about his 'Youth Memories of Indonesia'. The audience found his story of life before and during the Second World War (as a young internee in a Japanese camp) very interesting, and raised over £30 for his charity, The Mission for Seafarers.
The Easter Children's Activity Afternoon on took place on 13th April (4-11 age group). The children made Scrunchy chicks, Chicken table decorations and egg mobiles for an Easter tree. 13 sunflowers were planted and will be on display in the library garden as they grow bigger. The children also enjoyed games and colouring, and we finished off with an Easter Bingo game with prizes.
On March 24th at 2pm Ilay Cooper talked about Dunshay Manor and the Spencer Watsons. The talk was well attended and very interesting.
On March 11th we had our 'Ball and Socket' concert in the Village Hall. We again raised over £900 for library improvements and the audience of 80+ really enjoyed the very entertaining evening. Thanks to David and Gerald for supporting us, and to all the volunteers who manned the ticket table, bar and raffle, set up and cleared away!
Our long-awaited double-glazing was installed by Wareham Windows at the end of February, with only the two Wednesday sessions closed on 22nd February. Volunteers and customers are very pleased with the results - the library warms up more quickly and stays warm, and traffic noise is reduced. Here are some photos:
Lt Col Stewart Burman is came on 21st February to talk about 'The Army in Purbeck'. The talk was well-attended and £22.50 was raised for the Poppy Appeal.
Our Friends' AGM was on January 17th - this took 13 minutes! Existing committee members were voted in again, and Alison gave a progress report - see under 'Friends' reports'. This was followed by a talk by John Patrick on 'Who Do You think they Were' (family history) - well attended and enjoyed.
2016
On December 17th we had our Christmas Party during the Saturday morning library session. Volunteers and customers sat and chatted over drinks and nibbles.
On December 9th Professor Gerry Stoker gave a talk about Europe and the UK. We had a record audience of 28 and a good discussion afterwards.
Phil Stuckey came on November 17th to talk about 'The History and Management of Corfe Common'.
Dr Phil Judkins came to the library again on 27th October to tell us about the German Spies who lost the Battle of Britain.
On September 15th Alan Neal gave a very interesting and informative talk about the History of the AEE at Winfrith.
During August we hosted the Bankes Archive touring exhibition from the Dorset History Centre. For our children's event on August 23rd we had stories about Corfe Castle with Liz Day, DHC's storyteller, and lots of fun craft activities based on Beatrix Potter characters.
A speaker from the National Trust came on 9th June to talk about his job specialising in ecology.
We had Tea and Cakes at the Pavilion on May 19th for Friends and Volunteers. Colin Wareham from PoPP came to tell us about his work signposting services to help older people. Martyn talked about what we have achieved over the past year and Chris thanked all the volunteers for their contributions.
On May 13th John Patrick returned to the library to talk about Swanage Pubs. John was our first speaker a year ago and we welcomed him back this time enjoying hearing about pubs in Swanage dating from the 1760's and seeing lots of old photos and pictures. John's memory for dates and facts is amazing - he speaks without notes! One of the visitors (from Bournemouth) was the granddaughter of one of the ex-publicans, and we also had some interesting background info from some Swanage visitors.
On April 19th Phil Judkins returned to talk about Confusion’s Masterpiece – Intercept and Deception on D-Day. He gave the full account of the various deception campaigns which masked the D-Day landings, by double agents, by code-breaking, by radio and radar intercepts, and by decoy buildings, ships and tanks. The talk was well-attended with good questions and interesting comments afterwards.
On April 8th, we held a Children's Easter Holiday Fun event - with crafts, games and stories. The children made some colourful flower baskets, pencil tops, bead eggs and bookmarks and went away with their hands full! Thanks to Chris, Pam, Alicia and Holly for helping plan and run the event.
On March 11th Louise Haywood gave an interesting talk about the History of the Corfe Castle Town Trust. Donations went to the Town Trust.
John Barclay came to the library on 18th February to tell us about his trip 'Round the World without Flying'. The audience was small but everyone enjoyed the talk.
The Friends' AGM took place on January 21st - copies of the minutes and accounts are in the library. This was followed by a talk by Frank Roberts on the project to extend the Swanage Railway link to Wareham - a very informative and interesting talk. Donations went to the Swanage Railway Trust.
2015
We had another good Christmas get-together on 19th December during the Saturday morning session.
On December 10th David Kemp (Corfe resident) told us about his experiences 'In Darwin's Footsteps' on the Galapagos islands. We raised £40 for the endangered 'Little Penguins'.
November's talk on Clay Mining was cancelled as the speaker moved jobs, but we hope to have another representative to speak on the subject in the future.
Phil Judkins returned to talk about the History of Radar at Worth Matravers on October 14th, the event was very well-attended and interesting.
On September 11th Zoe Squirrell told us about her experiences with para-dressage. It was a very well-delivered and enlightening talk.
The 'Tea the Pavilion' event to thank Friends and volunteers took place on 13th August. There was a good turnout, we all enjoyed Susan and Helen's cakes and after a good chat, managed to fit in a brainstorming session on future plans for the library - some excellent ideas came out of this.
On August 4th we had a children's event, based on a pirate/treasure theme. The children set a record (470) for transferring 'treasure' and 'pirate' flags from one treasure chest to another using straws. Over 20 children between 2 and 10 came to enjoy the fun.
Our second talk in the library took place on 5th June. Dr Phil Judkins gave an illustrated talk and Jean Kerlogue (a veteran from Hut 6) answered questions about the Codebreakers of Bletchley Park. Over 20 people attended, and donations of £44 were given to the library double glazing fund.
On 5th May John Patrick came to give a talk on 'Tales from the Tombstones', a look into some interesting characters from Swanage's past, illustrated by a good selection of old photographs. All seats were full and we raised donations of £17 for Swanage Museum.
We held a Book and DVD Sale on 21st March during the library session. Luckily the weather was fine and sunny, so we held it outside, using tables borrowed from the Brownies (thanks to Chris Kemp). Thanks to all who donated books - we raised just under £70, which will go towards the Windows Fund.
The Annual General Meeting took place on 30th January, with an author talk by Jennie Rake.
2014
The Christmas get-together took place in the library during the Saturday morning public session on 20th December. We had a really good turn-out from volunteers and customers.
The Coffee, Cakes and Book Quiz on May 19th was enjoyed by all who went. The Sports Pavilion was the ideal venue.
The library quiz team came third equal in the Church Quiz on March 20th. Well done Joan, Brian, Carol and Dorothy!
Synergy panel members came to celebrate with us the successful completion of our new shelving project.
The Friends’ Annual General Meeting took place on 16th January 2014 in the Village Hall. Minutes of the meeting are available in the library. John Barclay, the 'performance poet', entertained us with his talk on 'Bringing Poetry Alive' and we enjoyed tea and cakes.
2013
A bust of Norman McKenna, by Mary Spencer Watson, was donated by his family and is on display in the library.
The Daily Echo report is at the link below:
Norman's family held a garage sale on 7th December in aid of the library and donated the proceeds, £158, to our funds.
We had a Christmas Party in the library on 6th December. A good number of Friends and volunteers dropped in to enjoy seasonal drinks and snacks, and we made good use of the new chairs! Thanks to Jenny Osborn for her cakes.
The Grand Opening of the community library took place on 30th September, with Edward Fox cutting the ribbon and unveiling our new sign, and members of local folk group Arish Mel providing music. We had an excellent turn-out in spite of the threatening clouds, and enjoyed cake and 'champagne' inside the library. Authors John Barclay, Ilay Cooper and Denis Smale donated signed copies of their books to the library and Arish Mel donated a historic CD. The 6 new young librarians from the Primary School came along with their Head, Nigel Beckett. Thanks to Lynn again for managing the drinks and Betty Groves for the wonderful cake. Read all about it in the Daily Echo article below:
We said goodbye to Susan Arnold, our librarian for the last 18 years, on her last working day, Saturday 28th September. Lots of people came to wish her well, and we presented her with a leaving gift of an oil painting by Judy Tate. The picture below shows Susan (holding the painting) with Alison, Angelika and Judy.
A fund-raising performance by 'Ball and Socket' was held on 21st September in Corfe Castle Village Hall. It was an excellent evening enjoyed by all, with candle-lit tables surrounding the stage and lots of smiles and laughter from the audience, who were invited to sing along with some of the pieces. Thanks to our volunteers David Kemp, who forms half of the duo, his friend Gerald (the other half), Lynn Evans who managed the bar and Robin Swaine who acted as Master of Ceremonies. Chris Finch, Angelika Seik Ford and Alison Allwright, from the Friends' committee, organised and publicised the event and helped set up and clear away. At the last count we raised over £970 towards improvements for our library - a great success!
An ‘afternoon tea’ event was held on August 13th in the Sports Pavilion. We enjoyed tea and cakes (thanks to Betty Groves, Sally Phillips, Helen Finch, Angelika and Alison), and a book quiz, and we welcomed a new volunteer, Eileen Franklin.
Celebrating Dorset County Council's decision to accept our Business Plan - April 2013
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