Stumpy Oak recently played for Nadia’s garden party style 40th birthday held in the beautiful Bedfordshire countryside village of Carlton. The venue for this early evening function was the Chellington Centre – a stunning 12th-century deconsecrated church, surrounded by open countryside. Nowadays, the building is most commonly used as a residential venue for youth groups and Duke of Edinburgh events. Nadia came across this venue and decided it was the perfect setting for music, food, outdoor games – and even a classic motorcycle display – with friends and family .
As the early August weather was so glorious, Nadia decided she really wanted to make the most of the picturesque grounds and have the ceilidh outside. This worked perfectly for her highly enthusiastic group of friends and family. We played under a beautifully decorated gazebo in case the weather should prove unkind, but we very fortunate and it was hot and dry all evening. Her guests danced on the lawn outside the front of the church. Sarah, our caller, led a mixture of dances from Scotland and England including one of our favourites, the Canadian Barndance, which is a kinder dance for the knees on grass (although we had to add our own sound effects for the foot stamp)!
While the guests had a break from dancing and enjoyed a barbeque on rustic wooden benches, we had the chance to look around the inside of the venue. We hope we get another chance to return here as the Chellington Centre is a great place to hold a variety of different events. With showers, kitchen facilities and areas to camp available, you really have a great place for your get-together.
We played a slightly shorter second set and finished off before Nadia’s guests were treated to another musical performance from a guitarist/vocalist. We later found out that some of the party-goers present had seen us before at a nearby wedding in 2018 and recommended us to Nadia. Sometimes there is no substitute for a recommendation from a previous client, and we were made to feel really welcome.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening – thank you!
