The Link Magazine
Linking the villages of - Somersham, Willisham, Offton and Flowton - Suffolk
The Link Magazine
Linking the villages of - Somersham, Willisham, Offton and Flowton - Suffolk
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Somersham Offton Willisham Flowton Offton & Willisham PC |
| We
tend to look forward with such certainty these days. You hear people planning
holidays in 2007 or reckoning on changing the car next December, parents
work hard to get the ‘right school’ (whatever that is) for their
5 year old child when they are 11 and on television they can even show us
what our kids will look like at the age of 40. All these different
expectations and predictions we just take for granted and, of course, there
is nothing wrong with planning, hoping, wishing and dreaming, but I
found myself wondering do we value the NOW enough? Life is actually made up of a long series of ‘NOWs’ which pass by so quickly, often without our registering the time at all. But let us stop and reflect on how many times people said to you at the end of the year: ”I can¹t believe its Xmas already, where has the year gone?” or ”My goodness is your grandchild really 3 already?” But how often do we stop to ask each other whether we are fully enjoying this moment. Are we really valuing this afternoon, this NOW? When did you last look at the sun and say thank you for the warmth and light it gives us? When did you last suggest enjoying a couple minutes with your son or daughter to talk, laugh and smile together for a few moments before rushing off to do all those chores on our respective lists? When did you last say ‘I love you!’ to those you love? What I am trying to say is this: let us value each moment and see these moments build up to a better and more valuable pile of happy memories, let us take the time to celebrate the joy of achievements, how ever small, let us relish our actions, however mundane, and, most of all, let us take the time to appreciate each other and the beauties of this world. Perhaps all the above could more simply be summed up with the following words taken from an old Sanskrit poem. If today is well lived, every yesterday is a memory of happiness and tomorrow a vision of hope, look well, therefore, to this day. Lucy Vignoles
Somersham February 5th 12th
Angie Osborn Cleaning February = B March Team = C Flowton February 5th &
12th Mrs M. Carter Offton February 5th &
12th Mrs Sam Copping Cleaning February Mrs Sam Copping Willisham February 5th Mrs Southall Cleaning same as flowers No flowers in Lent
From
the Registers: May
he grow in faith Farewell
to May they rest in peace
Mothers
Union Somersham Church Notes The Christmas Bazaar at the beginning of December was a very enjoyable and well supported event, raising £428 for Church funds. The children particularly enjoyed the visit form Father Christmas. Thank you to everyone who helped with the afternoon. .This was followed by a superb Folk Evening, featuring four local bands playing and singing a wonderful selection of songs. Everyone who came had very enthusiastic comments to make afterwards. Special thanks to Rohais for getting the whole event off the ground, and of course to the very talented bands taking part. The Christmas Trivia Quiz Sheets have sold well this year and there have been lots of completed entries returned. The answers and winner will be in next month’s Link after the closing date. The Trivia Quiz is still to take place at copy date, so we’re looking forward to getting the 2006 fundraising events off to a good start with an enjoyable evening puzzling and arguing over the questions!
VILLAGE LINK We were pleased to receive a card at Christmas from our friends in Challain with the following message: “Dear friends
at Somersham We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy year. Other news from Challain is that in autumn the Commune’s “Potager” (allotments) had a fete/open day when hot wine was provided and followed by a Giant Pot-au-feu (beef stew). It was hoped that lots of people would go to buy vegetables as well as discussing gardening in general. A committee of local people look after the allotments and have reintroduced many old types of vegetables such as parsnips that have all but disappeared from the supermarket shelves. The potagers have also decided to plant fruit trees and dedicate a tree to each child born in Challain since the year 2000. At Christmas the school held a Christmas market and Père Nöel arrived in the village to distribute presents to the children. If you would like to go and see the potagers yourself and meet the people who live in Challain or even help our tug-of-war team in their next challenge, join us on our next visit to Challain-la-Potherie 28 April – 1st May 2006 the sixth year of our link with the people of this village, of similar size to our own and situated in the Loire Valley. Exchanges every other year – they come to us one year and we go to visit them the next. It’s interesting to learn of each other’s way of life and to get to know individuals and families well. Many lasting friendships have been formed and much goodwill flows between the two villages. We travel by comfortable coach from Somersham to Challain and stay with host families. Cost for the weekend is expected to be £75 per person contact one of the following: Gill Fordham: 831529;
David Haughton: 831511;
Somersham Parish Council Proposal for a
second Parish Council Notice Board Parish Precept
2006/7 Broadband Be Prepared Water mains/sewerage
leaks Schedule
of Planned Parish Council Meetings for 2006 All meetings to commence at 7.30pm and everyone welcome Any unplanned Parish
Council Meetings will be notified on the Parish Notice Board. Janet Clarke
The contrasting fortunes of the first and reserve teams have continued throughout November and December. The first team have recorded one draw and five loses in this period, while the reserves have taken maximum points and progressed to the next round of a cup competition. There have been injuries to a couple of key players and the club has experienced a goalkeeping shortage due to injury, with Quinny dusting the old gloves off and providing emergency services to the reserves and even keeping a clean sheet! The 1st Team Saturday 12th November
Claydon – Div 2 (H) Lost 2-1 Another disappointing run of results from the first team, who have discovered that Division 2 football is quite a step up, both in ability and physical terms. However, there are signs of improvement and a number of young local lads, most notably Stefan Nielsen and Andy “Young Bob” Mittell, have been drafted in from the reserves and are repaying the faith shown in them with splendid performances. The Reserves Saturday 12th November
St Clements Hosp Res – Div 5 (A) Won 3-1 The reserves have maintained there place at the top of Division 5 and are now discovering how hard it is to lead from the front in any league. They have shown fine character in recent weeks as steam-rollering teams has become less frequent and gritty disciplined performances have been the order of the day. With the hard winter months coming up this level of performance needs to be maintained. I’m writing this a month after the football clubs successful Christmas Disco, which was held at the Village Hall. By the time you read this that will be a distant memory, but don’t despair if you didn’t attend. February the 25th has been booked for a Race Night at the Village Hall. Many of you will have attended previous versions and the Club would like to invite everybody to attend this one. These nights are always great fun, and you may even win a couple of ‘beans’ so please come and join in the excitement. There are still races available for sponsorship and anybody interested in this can contact Ray Smith, Dave ‘Dill’ Sillett or any member of the club for further details. Hope to see you there. Finally, I would like
to announce the safe arrival of our first child on Sunday 27th November
whom we have named Amber. Mother and baby are both doing well and due
to Amber’s impeccable timing I didn’t have to miss a match! Al Chester
Next Meeting: This will be the AGM followed by Gardeners’ Question Time hosted by Organic Guru and Broadcaster - Karen Kenny. Guests and New Members always welcome.
Somersham Golden Link Club members once again say a big “Thank you” for the support we received which made our Autumn Fayre such a success. To date we are £310 better off, for which we are truly grateful. We would welcome new members! Come and try us out at any time, and if you like our company do join. Otherwise, drop in and for 25p you can have a cup of tea and a chat. We meet fortnightly on a Tuesday at 2.30pm. (To find out when the next meeting is please phone 748279) Again, many thanks.Betty Game -Secretary Somersham &
District Community Association The implementation phase of the project has gathered pace significantly. By the time you read this the perimeter fencing should be more or less complete. We have also ordered the all weather multi sports arena, which will be sited next to the pavilion. Delivery and installation of the arena is scheduled for the middle of February although the groundwork may well be undertaken before that. The other significant progress is on the purchase of the extra land (squaring off the field). We expect this to be complete by February and you will see the new perimeter fence extending along our new boundary. The project team will now turn their attention to turning the new area into a playing field for community use. Other parts of our plan have also moved forward including the pavilion patio area, new paths and lighting. This project, worth over £145,000, is a considerable achievement for a village of our size and we cannot thank the funders enough for their support. The role of honour is : Living Spaces If you would like to know more about the project or would like to HELP please contact any of the following: Terry Fordham –
Tel 831529 Mike Shelmerdine – Tel 831661 SOMERSHAM
CARPET BOWLS CLUB On the back of our ‘cup match’ we didn’t fare a lot better with our first league match of the month against Bentley. Our saving grace was that we were the visitors, but obviously came up against them on a good night and again were on the end of a poor result. The next three matches were so close they could have gone either way. Although only few shots difference, the effect on the points result was quite dramatic. The match with Whatfield was a good winning margin; but against Hadleigh B and Burstall the scores were very much closer. Unfortunately for us in both the latter matches the points were lost and went to the opposition, which saw us dropping in the league placings. Nonetheless the games were very enjoyable, and the close finish made the enthusiasm that much greater with everyone putting in their best efforts. In amongst the league matches the club rolled off the Christmas Pairs for all members. The names are picked at random, and this year’s winners were Mike Southgate and Keith Deaves. In December the Club enjoyed the conclusion of the year with the traditional Christmas meal held at a local hostelry. We now look forward
to the first matches of the New Year, with games against Martlesham (home
and away) and also Stratford St. Mary in the league; and hope for good
bowling from the club members. Winter League - Nov./Dec.
Results: -
Ipswich
Appeal For Romania Indoor car boot sales recommencing every Sunday morning (except 19th February ) until April 2006. 8am - 12pm ( sellers 7am ) Great Blakenham Village Hall ( opposite The Chequers Pub ). Tables œ5. Hot food available. Plenty of car parking space. Free entrance fo buyers. Enqs. Lee or Anna-Maria - Ipswich Appeal For Romania 01473-833292. Piano pupils of Mrs Lynne Holton, Somersham have been successful in obtaining the following passes in the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examinations:In the practical exams: Aaron Beckett Grade 7 Merit; David Wade Grade 4 Merit; Samuel and Joshua Seddon Grade 2 Pass; Alexander Jones Grade 1 Distinction; Florence Cage and Danielle Chester-Flatt also passed Grade 1 with Merit. In the theory exams: Jean Hardman Grade 5; Jessica Atherton and Maisie Clover Grade 2; Deborah Moore, Emily Beckett and Laura Dickerson Grade 1. All pupils passed their examinations with distinction with Deborah Moore gaining 100% marks! Well done to all and good luck in the examinations for 2006!
www.buy.at/suffolkbefriendscheme Please tell your friends. Dinah Jessup
Christmas Services Thank you to everyone who came to decorate and clean the church prior to our carol service. It was a real team effort, and we received lots of compliments. Thanks also for the help in cleaning up afterwards. 2006 Events Our next PCC meeting is on the 7th February, when we will be fixing dates for this year’s events. If you have any ideas please let us know before the meeting. Full details next month. SOMERSHAM POPPY APPEAL Collections for the Poppy Appeal 2005 for Somersham amounted to £348.59. Sincere thanks to Mrs. F. Southgate, Mrs. H. Bridges, Mrs. H Marsburgh, Mr. R Barr (shop), Mr. D Houghton (garage) and Mr. R. Mason (Marlborough). OFFTON & WILLISHAM POPPY APPEAL Collections for the Poppy Appeal 2005 amounted to £156.97. Sincere thanks to Mrs. L Ruffles, Mr. R. Hollaway and Mr. S.Breen (Limeburners).
We are holding a Race Night to raise funds on Saturday 18th February 2006 from 7.30pm at Ringshall Village Hall. This is a really fun evening and we would be grateful for your support. To buy tickets at £5 each to include a Sausage and Chip Supper please ring Nick Banks on O1473 658368 or Hayley Hedges-Quinn on 01473 657846. To register your child with us to attend the pre-school or come for a visit, please ring Veronika Pryke on 01473 658368 or Sam Banks on 01473 658693. Our sessions are from 9.30am to 12.00 noon each day for children from 21/2 years to school age with funded places for those aged 3 and over. Class sizes are small, enabling the children to receive individual attention providing a good head start for primary school. Flowton
News
The PCC would like to thank Maureen and John Goodess for their continued care of the Church Stall during the past year. At the close of the year, sales totalled £190.80. Thanks also to all who put plants and produce on the stall and encouraged others to buy from it. Many people drive past and stop regularly to see what is available. The Suffolk Trivia Quiz – for which many thanks to John Minns and his family –raised a total of £238.50, with a further £48 being Gift Aided to the Church. The coffee time collection raised an additional £41 for Children in Need. Betty and George Dunnett send their thanks to everybody for all the kind thoughts and good wishes. They greatly appreciated the card signed by so many at the Carol Service. Their recovery is slow and painful but they are supported by their family and also by the messages they have received from so many friends. Quilt Group Offton Church News
Magical Musical Moments Concert next event the ‘Seven Up’ concert on Saturday 18th February 2006 – see details elsewhere Festival of Talents – please note the date in your diaries Sunday May 11th. Weekend of June 10th
& 11th 2006 - A Flower Festival and Fete. Looking Back: The Rector’s Plate: What a wonderful days bowling for the Rector’s Plate. David, who arranges everything for that day with Jane, will be making a donation of £1571.69 to St Mary’s Church and with the Gift Aid element will make a grand total of £2000. Thank you to all the every many helpers who made the day so successful. David and Jane are getting married in April and we wish them a very happy future together. We thank them both very much for all the time and energy they have put into seventeen consecutive years of the Rector’s Plate. We now look forward to the eighteenth. A Warden’s Lot in Offton from November through December In early November Offton hosted a remembrance Service for all those who had died in the previous twelve months. Much preparation beforehand. The service was conducted by a minister and a Lay Reader, so we were in safe hands. The church was three quarters full with some people even coming up from Kent and everyone had the opportunity to light a candle. Many people stayed afterwards to talk and take tea. It was a pleasure to see our little church being used by the eight parishes for a service that had real atmosphere and meaning and it justifies the efforts of the many friends of Offton to keep it going. Evensong. National Remembrance Day. Really good hymns and a most interesting talk by a former Air Force navigator on religion and moral issues in the Air Force. I wanted to know if breaking through thick cloud into clear blue sky made you feel closer to heaven, the navigator’s reply was that he was more concerned with how far he was above the earth than how close to heaven: not very romantic. December is the month that I put the star on the top of the tower. It is floodlit at night and can been seen from miles around. The first event in the Church was a Magical Musical Moments concert featuring part of the orchestra and choir from Ipswich School, including two young musicians from Offton. The seventy two candles and carefully set up stage lighting made the church look wonderful, which matched the performance of the musicians. The wild man and wild women who live in the roof also basked in some of the light and they seemed to enjoy it, but I did notice evidence of woodworm up there. On my Evensong Sunday I went to a motorcycle club Christmas lunch and came back buoyed up with turkey and Adnams. To curb the mounting excitement amongst the senior members of the congregation I told them to enjoy the celebrations of the birth of Christ but to focus more on the second coming of a very different Jesus, who will judge the worth of our lives. In return they told me that I had read the wrong collect (3rd Sunday before Advent not 3rd Sunday of Advent) and that the second collect had been left out altogether, in spite of it having been read here for every evensong since about 1549. Oh Adnams! I am indeed a miserable offender. The Carol Service. Many people involved in decorating the church with fifteen arrangements plus the Christmas tree and seven readings to be done. A well supported service with a good number of children who all had chocolates from the tree that had somehow escaped the attention of the church mice. My Christmas talk was about presents: two properly wrapped and one badly wrapped with binding twine and old brown paper. The meanly wrapped one contained a bottle labelled Holy Spirit. It was empty of course because The Spirit was already among us. The green bottle was one of many varieties I dug up in the garden and that evening Mrs C deciphered the worn writing on the lid. Kills Germs. My goodness I said ‘What have I done to the Holy Spirit in a bottle of disinfectant?’ But then I thought it was an ideal container because the Holy Spirit does indeed cleanse our lives. The choir sang well and it was a very happy service. Midnight Service. The generosity of an Offton resident allowed us to flood light the church. It looked really lovely inside as well with all the candles and decorations. Good attendance. I had put 70 wafers in the box for Communion but counted nearly that number in the congregation and got really worried. What if we ran out? I discreetly got another bag of wafers and filled my pocket. Part of my job was to assist serving the wine. All seventy wafers were blessed but only a few people came up for communion. Once blessed all the wafers have to be eaten and so in the last carol ‘O come all ye Faithful’, the priest, Mary and myself had to go into a corner and consume them. Now these wafers, like Ezekiel’s bones, are very dry and this was no mean task. I decided not to mention that I had another pocket full. I can assure that ‘Sing Choirs of Angels’ x 70 plus an unfettered organ sounds magnificent from the front of the church. Ian Dickson.
Grant received
for the Offton Sign refurbishment. Pensioners Christmas
lunch Pip Sands, Parish
Clerk Tel 01449 721173 Holly Holly is very spiky, Snow Snow is so cold by Chloe Durrant Magical Musical Moments This year’s season of concerts by candlelight in St Mary’s Church Offton started off with a superb performance by the Ipswich School Chamber Orchestra, directed by Andrew Leach. The church was packed with parents and locals all in support of the performers and the evening’s charity, St Elizabeth Hospice. As you walked into the church you were greeted with a welcoming atmosphere of calm and tranquillity. The candlelight and the subtle use of lighting used as a backdrop for the orchestra added to the ambience of the evening. The evening’s performance started with J S Bach’s Minuet, Trio and Polacca from Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, a wonderful work that started off as a Sinfonia with initial Allegro, then Adagio followed by the Minuet. Bach turned the work into a Concerto by adding a second allegro and expanded the minuet by adding a Polacca.. The work was excellently performed, which set the scene for whole of the evening. Soloists followed:
Anna Churchill sang ‘Tu Lo Sai’ by Giordani; cellist Harry Thorne
played two movements from Vivaldi’s Cello Sonata No. 5; soprano Jacy
Race had us perched on our seats with an excellent rendition of ‘Agnus
Dei’ from Paukenmesse by Mozart; finally Anna Campbell on harp played
Bacarolle by Grandjany beautifully. Anna recently achieved the accolade
of being top student for GSCE music, ahead of 19,000 others. The evening provided a platform for the young musicians to perform for a real audience. The programme was professionally executed, a credit not only to Andrew Leach and Ipswich School but to the students themselves who, many of them will, I’m sure, have promising futures. For us it was a real pleasure to see young talent perform together in such superb surroundings. £335 was sent to St Elizabeth Hospice. Alan Munson
PROGRAMME OF BONHOEFFER EVENTS 2006 In the grey dawn on April 9th 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Gestapo for his part in the conspiracy against Hitler. His last message was sent by an English fellow-prisoner to an old friend, George Bell, Bishop of Chichester: This is the end. For me, the beginning of life. He was 39, and it was less than a month before the end of the war. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor, teacher and theologian. We have several reasons
for remembering him in 2006, the centenary of his birth. He was a Christian
who lived his faith, to the end; he engaged with the problem of how to
resist evil when violence seemed the only way; he realised the need for
Christians of all denominations to unite against terrible destructive
forces; and he insisted that Christian faith must be made positive and
attractive to people who had pushed God to the margins: I should like
to speak of God, not on the borders of life, but at its centre. 8th February 19.30
8th March 19.30
9th April Palm
Sunday. 20th May 15.00
21st May 15.30
4th June 15.00
22nd July 10.00
_ 16.00 3rd October 19.30
10th October 19.30
BKG = book by phone, email or in writing to Elizabeth Moore - see below. For other events, just turn up. Most events FREE; donations welcome on the day to cover costs. For further information
contact:
From your Community
Police Officer I would like to introduce
myself as your new Community Beat Officer as from the 1st of January.
I am sure most of you are aware that PC Kevin Shields has hung up his
boots after 30yrs in the police force and I would like to take this opportunity
to wish him a long and well deserved retirement. I hope you have all had a wonderful and safe time over the festive period. Please remember that the bad weather is still with us and if you are driving particularly early in the morning the roads can be very icy. There have as usual been many minor accidents over the recent period – most of which could have been avoided simply by slowing down and driving according to the conditions. Crimes of note
- Those of you who are computer literate may be aware of the various scams that are around on the internet ..…for those of us that are not so familiar, a recent one reported to us by several residents ….is to offer to buy an item you have for sale on the internet ..a buyer contacts you,nearly always from abroad – paying immediately by bankers draft or cheque etc and attempting to get the item before the bankers draft/cheques are discovered to be fakes /stolen etc ….. The internet is as a great tool – but its increasing use is bringing a rise in numerous scams and cheats. Lastly – I know Kevin enjoyed a close and friendly working relationship with many of you and how highly he was regarded – I hope to carry on his good work!! If you have any information
or would like any advice on police matters I would be more than happy
to discuss this with you. I can be contacted at Stowmarket Police station
on 01473 613500 or by email david.clark@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
As previously Pc Sally Parkes will be my deputy – she can also be
contacted on the above telephone number or sally.parkes@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
Please remember that there are occasions when I am on rest days for 4
days so if your call is of an urgent nature please ask to speak to an
officer on duty. Thank
you
To go to the Neighbourhood Watch site of Suffolk Police click here Somersham Baptist Church Valued in old age At the risk of generating a large post bag of angry letters I don’t think I know of anyone who is looking forward to old age or who experiencing old age recommends it as a lifestyle choice. We hope to reach a good old age as an alternative to death. But it is too easy to adopt values from our society about old age rather than to be shaped by the word of God. An elderly poet writes of his experience in Psalm 71, he feels incredibly vulnerable and appeals to the LORD to rescue him, rescue that in faith he extends even to future resurrection. But he is no passive victim. He enriches his life with songs of praise about the LORD, his righteousness and mighty acts of Salvation, and he determines to bear witness to each new generation of the salvation God provides. It is never too soon to begin these practices; they will prove to be the best investment we can make. God values the elderly, life’s purposes are still valid in old age, praising God and to commending him to others are the two this Psalm writer focuses on. The Church should value the elderly too, as we have been formed for God’s family we need to involve the elderly, especially when they are prevented from meeting with us. Visiting and encouraging them is a service we can all be engaged in. Meetings Regular Sunday Morning Programme (You are welcome to
join us for all or part of the morning). Other Meetings
All events are held
at the Baptist Chapel, Chapel Lane, Somersham. OPTUA
Optua is the new name for Suffolk charity Rethink Disability. We are based in Stowmarket and provide a wide range of services and opportunities for disabled people including Leisure Activities, Advice and Advocacy, Community Brain Injury Services, Community Transport, Care Services, Volunteering and Access Groups. Our new name ‘Optua’ is taken from the Latin for ‘Be your best’ which describes our vision that disabled people can achieve their best without barriers, and without other people deciding what the best should be. We have been running for nearly 25 years and our new name marks the start of an exciting time for us. We will continue to provide the same services to assist and enable disabled people as always, but we also expect to develop new services in response to the needs of disabled people in the future. For more information about Optua call us on 10449 770127, email enquiries@optua.org.uk or look at our new website at www.optua.org.uk CHURCH
SERVICES in our 8 linked parishes January 29th
February 5th:4th Sunday before Lent
February
12th 3rd Sunday before Lent
February
26th Sunday before Lent
March
1st Ash Wednesday
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