THANK YOU TO THE FUNDRAISERS WHO KEEP US GOING

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We were very grateful to receive a donation of £1000 from the friends and family of Neil Dean who sadly passed away in November 2025.

Neil was Long Marston through and through and lived in the village all his life. 

He was born in 1935 at the Village shop (opposite the War Memorial) run by his mum and dad, Don and Di.

When the village School was bombed Neil attended classes held in the old village halls in Long Marston and Puttenham – the Victory Hall wasn’t built yet. He left school at 15 and joined the family egg business started by Grandad William and run by his dad Don and Uncle Len. He worked at ‘Deans’ until retirement.

Neil was very fond of the Victory Hall. He was there when the foundation stone was laid and his Dad and Uncle both have their initials carved on the bricks at the front of the Hall. 

Neil was in the hall for many events throughout his life. Saturday night dances, bingo, plays (where wife Joan was often the leading lady), village meetings and the annual Cricket Club supper that he never missed. He recognised the importance of the hall to village life and would be pleased that the donation in his name will be put to good use.

He will be sorely missed. RIP

Margaret and John Noakes opened their gorgeous garden as part of the National Gardens Scheme, Gardens Open for Charity. 

John was a keen gardener and cultivated a huge variety of snowdrops, winter cyclamen and irises. John’s love of gardening was triggered by his enjoyment of rock climbing in his youth, when he discovered alpine plants; 

he was fascinated by how such delicate little alpine species with their jewel-like flowers could survive in such harsh environments and wanted to learn more about them so joined the Alpine Garden Society. 

He and Margaret loved travelling to places such as Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan to see them growing in their natural habitats, and then growing them in their home garden served as a wonderful reminder of all the places they had been. 

Margaret’s interest in gardening, on the other hand, came through a love of ecology. ‘Butterflies and moths may still be hibernating but snowdrops

are a really useful early source of nectar for bees. I enjoy watching the birds using the feeders and the visits from great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches, as well as sparrowhawks and tawny owls. The garden is a real magnet for wildlife, especially at this time of year.' The garden became a labour of love, which united their two interests.

Margaret continued the Open Garden and  raised money for the Ukraine and the Village Hall. We were lucky enough to receive £125.00 in 2024. 

THANK YOU Margaret Noakes - you are missed.

From the Quiz Night on day 1 to the last night Club Paradiso hosted by the Horti Village Society...

THANK YOU to everyone involved from the Victory Hall Committee who worked tirelessly throughout...

THANK YOU to our Quiz masters, our bingo callers, quiz question contributions from our hirers.... 

THANK YOU to our history experts, our fantastic Vale actors, our amazing trail guides, the WI and all our cake bakers, our generous raffle donors, the amazing Swing Dance MK, and the Horti Village Society who we worked so closely with to give us all a week to remember.

 Over £2k raised for the Victory Hall  to help repair and maintain 

our wonderful hall...

Here's to the next one!!

To celebrate  the Coronation and  raise funds for the village hall, we had a  quiz night in 2023 and raised £1,080.00

THANK YOU to everyone that attended, bought raffle tickets, and supported the event.

With thanks to Chris Hodges for these words

During the time that he lived in Long Marston, Toby managed to weave himself into the fabric of the village: as a prominent member of the Horticultural Society, as Chairman of the village hall, as organiser of quizzes and band-nights and sometime Santa Claus, and as a part-time editor and advertising manager for the Village News. He was also a keen member of Long Marston Cricket Club, and later of Tring Cricket Club. 

Toby was an inveterate arranger of events, notably the now traditional annual village football match, and the occasional family picnic and games days. Toby pioneered both of these. And he was, of course, also a stalwart of Long Marston’s annual village pantomime - as actor, stage manager, painter of scenery and doer of anything else that Toby felt needed to be done. 

Over the years the Horti Village Society have hosted events for the village from  Club Paradiso,  Pantomimes, Twilight Market and Race Night, Quiz nights and summer shows raising funds for local charities - including the village hall. 

THANK YOU to the Horti Village Society for all your donations and we look forward to more joint ventures in the future.