Alongside the church, the show and the Social Club, Somerton has had its own talks, groups and campaigns. This page gathers some of them. Each one rests on reports in the Valley News, and we have kept advertised events apart from those reported afterwards. All three stories have gaps, and we would love your help to fill them.
The Somerton Hour: visiting speakers
The Somerton Hour was "a series of talks designed to entertain, inform and stimulate discussion", held in the village hall. The first report we have found, in the February 2011 issue, says the series was then about halfway through and describes its first three speakers (Valley News, February 2011, p.10):
- John Mitchinson, former publisher and director of research for the television show QI, who told how the idea for the show came about.
- Oliver James, the psychologist, who gave his talk despite having had a road accident on the way to Somerton.
- Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse, whose talk was "full of gentle humour about his life and work".
The report does not give dates. It mentions signed books making good Christmas presents and looks forward to "a good 2011", so the talks were probably given in late 2010. It thanks Sue Muir "for finding and persuading such interesting people to come and talk", the Social Club for running the bar, and the ladies who provided the refreshments. So the Social Club helped on the night, but we do not know that it organised the series.
Talks advertised later
These were announced in advance. We have not yet found reports confirming that they went ahead.
- 21 October 2011: Anna Allott of the School of Oriental and African Studies, on Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma, under the headline "The Somerton Hour returns!" (Valley News, October 2011, p.1).
- Friday 10 October 2014: Philip Mould, art dealer and historian (Valley News, October 2014, p.21).
- Friday 14 November 2014: Richard O'Smith, writer and tour guide (Valley News, October 2014, p.21).
Della Paviour also remembers Raymond Blanc giving a talk. We have not yet found a report of it, or a date.
SWIG: the Somerton Women's Independent Group
SWIG was a village group for women, separate from the Social Club and not part of the Women's Institute. It met in the village hall on the second Tuesday of each month, at 7.15 in the evening, with speakers, a famous Christmas supper and outings. "We are not called SWIG for nothing," its 2017 notice said of the meetings (Valley News, December 2017, p.16).
At its November 2017 meeting the group looked back over the previous six months and decided to carry on as before without a committee, with volunteers taking charge of each meeting: arranging the speaker and refreshments and opening up the hall. Caroline volunteered to be treasurer, and Chris to send out the notices of meetings (Valley News, December 2017, p.16). The report gives first names only.
SWIG's last meeting was in October 2023. In "SWIG Swan Song", Rosemary Arnold wrote that for many years the group had welcomed speakers, several from the village itself, and enjoyed festive meals and trips out, but that no one was willing to take over as organiser, so it had decided to close. At the final meeting Yvonne and Terry Crane brought their guide dogs, Velvet and Flo, to talk about the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, and £236.75 was given to the charity (Valley News, December 2023, p.26).
We do not know when SWIG began, or who started it.
The youth club
In the 1980s Somerton had a weekly youth club in the village hall, probably on a Tuesday evening. Della Paviour remembers it being run by Shirley and Jerry Grant, with help from Chris Gill, Ken Stroud and Karen Bowmaker. Ron Beasley often came down with his guitar and taught the children songs.
It was not only for Somerton children. Young people came from the villages round about, including Ardley, Souldern and Fritwell. There was a little tuck shop and plenty to do: games of all kinds, darts, pool and table tennis.
Source: Della Paviour's recollection, October 2026. We have not yet found a written record of the club.
The village fete
Della Paviour remembers the village fete being held in Mr Brown's field behind the Paddocks and Walnut Rise, with a fancy dress competition for the children. We do not yet know the years, who organised it, or what else went on.
The Teatime Club and the playground
Somerton's playground opened in the summer of 2013, after five years of work by the village's young families. The story is told in a report in the August 2013 Valley News (Valley News, August 2013, p.15).
According to the report, there had once been a small play area on a site known as "the old sewage works", with equipment built and put up by local farmers, but it was condemned and taken down in the 1990s. In 2008 a group of young families came together to campaign for a new playground. They formed a social group, the Somerton Teatime Club, which met regularly in the village hall.
The Parish Council applied for grants for landscaping and equipment. The Teatime Club did most of the local fundraising, and the Social Club also arranged events. Nicholson's nurseries did the landscaping and fencing, with native hedgerows, and Trevor Stewart Timber Play designed the equipment around a farming theme. Work began in the spring of 2013 and the equipment was built over the following months.
The opening was announced for Friday 26 July 2013 at 4.30pm, with a Teddy Bears' picnic. We have not yet seen a report of the day itself.
See also A Night Out in Somerton: the Social Club and The Village Hall.