Thruxton Bookends
Thruxton Book Ends is a friendly, inclusive Book Club consisting of 10 members – nine ladies and one gentleman of all ages with members from Thruxton, Grateley and Ford. Unlike more formal groups, we have no minimum entry requirements apart from a love of books, a sense of humour, a willingness to read and discuss all genres and the ability to drink a glass of wine or two!
Thruxton Book Ends was formed after a questionnaire was sent to all village households by the War Memorial Hall Committee asking for comments on the types of clubs that Villagers wished to see. On a sunny June Friday evening in 2003, the first meeting took place in the pre-renovation War Memorial Hall. The meeting was fairly serious as none of us knew what to expect but we all came back for a second meeting where we discussed ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Over the years the group has evolved and become less formal especially as we no longer meet in the Hall (which wasn’t particularly conducive to the Club’s ‘business’) but in each other’s homes.
To honour the memory of Phyllis Hyde who sadly passed away in 2008, Thruxton Book Ends members jointly agreed to award a prize at the annual BBQ for the best book from the previous 12 months. The first winner of the Phyllis Award was Kathy (Mummy) Barton for ‘Call The Midwife’ by Jennifer Worth. 2010’s Phyllis Award marking system will be slightly amended to stop people voting for their own book although it must be said that ‘Call The Midwife’ was a clear winner!
To compliment our Summer BBQ, Thruxton Book Ends has an annual Christmas Dinner – in January! Previous years have been held at the Shangi-Hai restaurant in Ludgershall however we decided to ‘do different’ this year and had a memorable curry night at ‘Chez Denise’ – an exclusive restaurant in Beech Close!
Although Thruxton Book Ends currently has a full compliment of members, why not peruse our book choices below or set up your own club!