Well, I didn’t expect to be writing another report for a newspaper dedicated to the good people of Hayling Island. What a fabulous speedy setup of the Hayling Herald by Hayling Print and Elise Sargent. We at the Businessmen’s Club are delighted we have this new venture to support the Hayling community, both in publicising the many charities and organisations doing great voluntary work and their fund raising events thriving on good publicity which I am sure the Herald will continue to support. In a place like Hayling good advertising of local businesses is great when you require a service or a trades person and can seek out that quality recommended local firm. We wish the Herald every success, as the people of Hayling have shown they love their own paper

Since our last publicity report we have held in July our Annual BBQ which was a sell out again. This year tickets were being sought on social media by those who had left it to the last minute. The roast beef and various other BBQ favourites were enjoyed by all with nobody leaving the event hungry. The evening was a great night for Dancing, with a Queen Tribute band being the highlight shared with a first class disco. Once again Islanders dug deep into their pockets and supported our fundraising with the profit being in the region of £7500. This was a fantastic amount for which we were very grateful, but we still need to raise approximately another £3-4000 over the year to keep the Community Minibus on the road. Our Bus is there for Community use, for which no charge is made providing it is a charity or good cause. So remember, if you see us out shaking the tin in Mengham or at local shops such as Hayling Hardware or Lidl you are helping us reach the budget needed to maintain the Bus. Our grateful thanks to our many sponsors, especially Northney Farm for the continuing support in allowing us to use the Farm.

Our next fund raising event is the hugely popular Pig Racing Event. This is to be held at the Community Centre on Saturday 9th November with doors opening at 6.45. Its Piggin Brilliant the night, with tickets being £10 for adults and £5 for under 12’s including food. Please do not think of reporting us to the RSPCA, the pigs are battery operated and no cruelty will be experienced by them during the course of the evening. You may however, if you place your bets on the right pigs end up having a free evening out with a generous meal thrown in. The Community Centre bar will be open for the evening. We have added an extra outlet for tickets this year to include East Hayling, so please pop in the Terracotta Pot shop if you live at that end of the Island.

Thank you so much for reading this report and as said previously we rely on your support. Come to an event such as the Pig Racing and see what a great evening can be had, especially a family night out with the children which can be expensive these days. We think we have a nice affordable evening which may just fit your budget.