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A Time of rest and refreshment - Rev David Mason
Traditionally this is the time of the year when most people are on
holiday. Holidays are very important, particularly in these days when so
many people work very long hours, and travel some distance to work. In so
many families the members do not all meet together to spend quality time
with each other nearly enough. The holiday is a wonderful opportunity for
developing and strengthening the whole family. Perhaps it could also be
the time for making resolutions to make sure that time is set aside each
week to be spent together to maintain that family strength. All too soon
the children become young adults, and move away to independence. Time
spent in a strong and healthy family setting will serve them well in the
future as they go into the world and hopefully set about forming their own
families.
So many of the social problems that beset our society today can be traced
to poor quality family life, where the children did not develop in a
strong, caring and supportive family. It behoves us all to work for the
strengthening of the family. Jesus was born into an earthly, family to
grow and develop along with his siblings before setting out on his great
world-changing ministry. God chose the family unit for Jesus to grow up in
and to prepare himself for his great work. Families are so important that
it is essential that we support and encourage them, particularly when they
under great pressures from so many quarters.
I hope that you all have a good holiday and return refreshed for work or
school.
Patronal Festival Rev David Mason This year the Reverend Canon Michael
Sansom, Director of Ordinands, will be giving the address at this very
special service on 5'h September. The festival falls very close to the
holiday season, but I hope that there will be a good attendance
Church Flooring and Churchyard Gardening - Paul Keeble
The work on the church flooring, mentioned in the June edition of Ouse
News, has been completed. The annual churchyard gardening will take place
on Saturday 18`h September commencing at 9.OOam for about two hours
duration and all are welcome to join our work party. Also on that day, the
church floor will be cleaned to remove surplus dust following the
installation of new flagstones.
Afternoon Club - Celia Hulatt
As part of the new Village Initiative it is proposed to start on over-60s
afternoon club in October. At the moment the organisers are considering
holding meetings in the village hall committee room on the second Thursday
of each month from 3pm to 5pm. There will be transport available if
required.
Any other suggestions will be welcome. Anyone interested in the scheme
please contact Celia Hulatt (781082) or Jo Morris (781430).
Autumn Show - Maggie Spoor
The Autumn Show will be held in the Village Hall on Sunday 5th September
with classes for Fruit, Flowers, Vegetables, Craft, Cookery and
Photography. There are separate classes for children - so no excuses for
being bored during the summer holidays! Schedules have been delivered. If
you have not received one please contact Maggie Spoor on 782031.
W.I. - May Mills
Judging by the 'oohs' and 'aahs' which greeted Eve Whitehead's slides of
dogs and their owners, it is easy to see why we are known as a nation of
animal lovers! These were no ordinary dogs, however, and indeed, nor were
their owners. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is the only charity in the UK
training unwanted dogs to act as assistants for deaf people. At about nine
months old, dogs are trained to respond to sounds like doorbells and
telephones, and danger signals such as smoke alarms enabling deaf people
to remain independent, confident and safe. The dogs provide companionship,
and help to break down the barriers and isolation that many deaf people
face. It was heart-warming to see how these very special dogs completely
change the lives of their deaf owners - but do the owners change to look
like their dogs?
W.I. August Social - May Mills
Meet at 'The Sun' at 7pm for a walk followed by drinks and a chat at
'Midwicket', Pavenham Road, the home of our President, Karen Stokley. If
you do not wish to walk, or the weather is wet, meet at 'Midwicket'.
The Felmersham and Radwell Community Trust - Lorraine Shrimpton
The purpose of this note is to make public the basic details of the Trust,
so that the residents of Felmersham and Radwell can be aware of its
origin, its objectives, and the way it is intended to be run.
The late Margaret Alleway bequeathed the residue of her estate to the
Felmersham and Radwell Community Care "for their general purposes". When
the estate administration was completed, that residue amounted to
approximately £230,000.
Advice was taken by those in charge of the Community Care organisation, as
to the best way to handle and manage this substantial sum; that advice
(from lawyers specialising in this type of work) was to incorporate and to
register a charitable trust, responsible for the administration of the
bequest.
Accordingly, the Felmersham and Radwell Community Trust became officially
registered as a charity in February 2004. In summary, its objectives are:
i) to provide help with domestic support, for the elderly, sick, disabled,
or those in need within the two villages, in co-operation with other
relevant providers of such help; and
ii) to provide facilities for social welfare, recreation and leisure,
again in cooperation with other relevant organisations, for the benefit of
the inhabitants of these villages.
The organisers of the Community Care, as the original beneficiary of
Margaret Alleway's Will, have invited a group of four village residents to
be the administrators of the new Trust, and be registered with the Charity
Commission as Trustees. The Trustees are Michael Thomas, Jeffrey Stokley,
Richard Phipps and Lorraine Shrimpton. They will be responsible for all
aspects of running the Trust, which will of course retain its close links
with the Community Care.
The foregoing is a much-shortened account of the lengthy process which has
been needed to set up this new entity - which is now looking to fulfill
its aims to provide benefits to the residents of Felmersham and Radwell.
The Trustees have already started to consider how and in what form the two
villages might benefit and they now invite written proposals from
interested parishioners, to apply funds within the objectives of the
Trust.
Proposals to the Trust should be sent to The Felmersham and Radwell
Community Trust, Willow Lodge, Grange Road, Felmersham, Bedford MK43 7HJ.
Felmersham Yoga - Club Hilary Foot
Our Autumn yoga classes begin at Pinchmill Village Hall at 7.30pm on
Monday 6th September. You are invited to join us for seven sessions. on
successive Monday evenings from 7.30 - 8.30. Please bring a yoga mat,
large towel or blanket. All ranges of ability are welcome, from beginner
onwards. Even if you can't make the first session, we will be pleased to
see you for some or all of the others. If you have any queries, please
telephone me on 781340.
Concert in St Mary's Church - Lorraine Shrimpton
The Wealdon Consort (from Kent) are in this area and have kindly offered
to give a concert at St Mary's Church, Felmersham, on Saturday 4th
September at 7.00pm. Tickets are £5 each (to include wine and nibbles
during the interval) and can be obtained from either Pat Hartop (782165)
or Lorraine Shrimpton (781381). Their music is light and varied,
guaranteed to set just the right tone for a lovely summer evening concert,
so do come, bring your friends and enjoy an evening in our lovely church.
Thanks go to the Vicar and the PCC, who have agreed that all proceeds from
this concert will go to Cancer Research.
Coffee Mornings - Jane Wells
There is no Church Coffee Morning in August. The Coffee Morning for
September will be held at the home of Ruth Coxon, on Saturday 4 September
2004 at 10.30am. If it is inclement weather the coffee morning will be
held instead at my home. Home made cakes, toiletries, produce and
bric-a-brac for the bring and buy stall will be greatly appreciated. All
are welcome
Home Watch - Joan White
Vandalism, dangerous litter, nuisance youths and reckless driving -
Felmersham, like other villages, is suffering from these and they are
making life difficult for residents and endangering the safety of young
children in the playground. There is also considerable expense incurred in
repairing the damage.
Our Beat Manager, Officer Martin Anstee, wants us to report all these
incidents so that he can build up a wider picture of times and places
where these things are occurring so that he can apply for extra manpower
at the fortnightly planning meetings. Residents often tell me wearily that
they inform the police and nothing happens, but this strategy has been
successful in Wymington. Please don't give up but keep on reporting theses
things to the police at Riseley Police Station (275175), Kempston HQ
(841212), Greyfriars Police Station (271212) or phone me on 781702. I am
already keeping a log for the Village Playing Field/Pinchmill Lower School
Area and would welcome reports of any sightings of anti social behaviour
there. Martin Anstee is particularly keen to have the numbers of cars,
which are being driven dangerously, or exceeding the speed limit. He
already knows some of these and he has issued cautions so wants to know if
the same people offend again. Even if the car is travelling too fast to
note the number, the colour, make or model details are helpful to the
police.
These incidents are being caused by a small group of anti social people
but their effect damages the quality of life for us all, so please pick up
the phone or jot down their car numbers and contribute to making life
better for everyone.
Hedges - Parish Council
The Parish Council would be grateful if householders could please keep
vegetation trimmed back to avoid obstructing adjacent roads and footpaths.
Sunflower/Scarecrow Competition Results - Candace Rankin
The days leading up to the 4th July Extravaganza Tea were cold and rainy,
and I was wondering how we would place 13 scarecrows and up to 43
sunflowers in our living room. In my panic, I did stoop so low as to ask
the vicar to pray for good weather the day before at the coffee morning.
It worked!
Ken Shrimpton relinquished his number one position to Adam Parrott whose
bloom measured in at 91'/2 inches! Adam punched the air with true
footballer style and stepped forward to take his place in village lore as
the 4th annual winner. Ken, gracious in abdication, reminded us all how
many wonderful things can grow from seeds of thought and plant. There were
nearly 80 people in attendance, quite a jump from the 2 when this started
four years ago.
Prizes were also awarded to Pat Jones who was second at 79", Katie Henman
who came in at 78", and Jeff Stokley fourth at 76". Hearty rounds of
applause greeted each of our top growers who graciously accepted their
prizes.
We are very grateful to the Shrimptons who this year formally engraved the
trophy. We hope that Adam will continue this new tradition by engraving
his name for posterity when he passes it on to next year's winner.
Hats off to all the folks who brought delicious plates of cakes and
sandwiches to share with everyone. I can assure you that nobody went away
hungry!
I did enjoy watching the cars drive by, some nearly screeching to a halt
when coming upon 13 of the most creative, delightful scarecrow entrants.
All in attendance cast their vote and the prize went to Di and Pete
Stephenson's truly magnificent pirate. According to Di, the effort and
work called forth. many expletives whilst creating the masterpiece, but it
was truly worth their massive effort! The other top winners were Minnie
Meow (in respect of Ruth Rankin, departed family cat?), Monster, Fairy,
Girl on the Bike, and Schooy. Despite my many efforts to design our front
garden over the years, nothing has made it look as delightful as these
imaginative and whimsical masterpieces!
It is worth a comment that votes went to Elvis, a broken man. Husband
created a wonderful homage to "The King" to encourage others to become
involved. Clever little tweaks and additions were added daily to motivate
and delight passers by, one villager leaning against the wall was laughing
her socks off one day. Children stopped to admire, point, laugh. Some mums
told us it was the morning treat to see what special addition Peter had
made. So why would anyone in this village choose to viciously attack and
mutilate something that was such a source of delight? It was not a prank,
not a piece of mischief, it was an act of vandalism. This sort of
behaviour should never be tolerated in our lovely village. All I can say
is that I am all in favour of "zero tolerance."
A kind note dropped through our letterbox shortly after the day, a new
family in the village thanked us for a special day and noting that this is
exactly why they had moved to Felmersham, to feel community spirit and
commitment. Of late we are a bit short of that in Felmersham, and we all
need to remember that this village is a microcosm of the world. What sort
of world do YOU want to live in?
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