A WELL-attended family bingo evening has raised £560 toward the upkeep of Withycombe Memorial Hall.

The event was organised by parish Cllr Claire Huish and other members of the hall committee.

Prizes included hampers for bingo full houses which were filled with donated items including alcohol, chocolates, perfumes, unwanted Christmas presents, and even homemade scones and cakes from villagers.

For punters with winning lines there were also bingo-designed bags filled with surprises, while a ‘golden ticket’ was placed under one of the seats for the occupant to win a prize.

Hampers were given as prizes for bingo full houses during a fund-raising evening in Withycombe Memorial Hall.
Hampers were given as prizes for bingo full houses during a fund-raising evening in Withycombe Memorial Hall.

Among the businesses which supported the event with prizes were heating engineers John Freeguard, Miles Tea, Snazaroo, Morrisons, Tesco, Minehead Garden Centre, and Sarah at Hair at Number 1.

They were thanked for their donations by Cllr Huish, who also thanked Emma and Lisa for helping to wrap the hampers and Ruth Thrush for calling the bingo numbers and persuading everybody to sing her traditional bingo song, which was particularly enjoyed by Jean Humber.

Some of the bingo prizes during a fund-raising evening in Withycombe Memorial Hall.
Some of the bingo prizes during a fund-raising evening in Withycombe Memorial Hall.

Cllr Huish said: “Thank you to villagers to friends and family who donated some lovely donations, without you all I would not have been able to do this.

“We are a small village with a lovely large hall for people to hire for birthdays, weddings, wakes, and we now have a big car park for guests to park.

“We look forward to future events.”