Newsletter Autumn 2005

What’s on this Autumn

Regular Events

Chapel service 10.45am Sundays
Thursday coffee mornings starting week after Easter Week, 10am onwards (Chapel)
Church service 11am Sundays (St Mary’s)
Table tennis team practice Sun eve (VH)
Short mat bowls, Thurs 2pm (VH)

From the Editor

Thank you to Towcester Chiropractic Clinic, Beech House Veterinary Surgery and Amy George for sponsoring this issue.  

Deadline for next issue: November 14th.  Please send articles and anything else you want included to me by then, email me on jane.harries@virgin.net. Thank you.

Jane Harries

Mobile Library Times

Please note that there are new routes now, so times differ; also the New Park Farm stop has stopped.  For queries ring Brackley Library.

Greenside – 2.50-3.05

Helmdon Rd  – 3.10-3.25

Sept 5,19, Oct 3,17,31, Nov 14,28

Wiz

 Wiz is the Wappenham email contact group.

To join, send an email to wiznews@onetel.com.

Dramatic Fire in the High Street!

A Reliant Robin caught fire while being driven down the High Street; the Fire Brigade had to be called in to put out the flames.  The driver in the car behind noticed that flames were coming out of the car, and the Reliant’s driver got out just in time.  Apparently there was an electrical fault.  So if you wondered at the clouds of evil-looking black smoke that day, that was the reason! Here is a picture of the scene taken by Clive Watt.

Helping Families with Home Start

Home-Start Daventry and South Northants is a voluntary organisation that provides friendship, support and practical help to families with young children facing difficult or stressful times.  Families live in the rural areas to the south and west of the County as well as the towns of Daventry, Towcester and Brackley.

Our committed and caring volunteers, who are parents themselves, visit families once a week at home. They are friendly, approachable people who are relied on and trusted by parents to listen without being judgmental, and to respect the needs of each individual family. Their visits might involve offering an extra pair of hands to a family with several children, or providing a listening ear to a mother suffering with postnatal illness. These regular visits can break a cycle of isolation, thereby improving morale. 

A comprehensive training and support programme is offered to all potential volunteers, and out of pocket expenses are paid.

If you would like to know more about volunteering opportunities with Home-Start, please contact Carol or Mary on 01327 703434.

Registered Charity No: 1105831

Notices

Congratulations ….to James Tomkinson on his marriage on August 6th, in St Mary’s Church Wappenham.  I hear the reception was ‘Hawaiian style’ as the bride Kelly’s parents live in Hawaii. 

Congratulations also to Jarvis Prestidge for gaining a scholarship to Stowe School, and to Vanessa Gladman for completing the Race for Life and raising £320 for Cancer Research UK (courtesy Wappenham residents among others).

Drama Group News

The Weston and Lois Weedon Drama Group are putting on a farce called "Kindly Keep it Covered"  (not as risqué as it sounds - I mention that just to make sure no one is disappointed, though I suspect they will all be highly relieved!).

It is set in a health farm and, being a farce, inevitably involves misunderstandings, lots of coming and going and the odd foreign accent.  The usual familiar faces make up the cast, plus a new recruit from Wappenham - Amanda Ayres.

There will be two performances:  7.30 on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September.  It is advisable to buy tickets in advance, as to our eternal surprise, there is usually a high demand.

Anne Marshall

Marie Curie Cancer Care Coffee Day

Every year Barry and Elizabeth Haycock open their house in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.  Last year they made a staggering £4,245 for the charity!  This year the event will be held on Thurs Oct 27th, from 10am till 3pm and from 4pm till 9pm, at Highfield Farm, Abthorpe (on the road to Wappenham).  There will be a Bring and Buy, a raffle and numerous stalls selling gifts – useful for Christmas presents.  Coffee and biscuits will be on sale as well. 

So come along, enjoy the day and make this another successful year.

Village Action Plan

 Not much has happened since our Village Design Statement was submitted to the PC and SNDC [Parish Council and South Northants. District Council] some months ago, with the exception of the inclusion of a revised map of the village. 

This should now enable SNDC to incorporate the Wappenham VDS within the local development plan.

 Quotes are in for the printing of the VAP/VDS so hopefully Wappenhamites should see the results soon.

 Colin Bullock

Church News

 Inductions & Institution. My grateful thanks.

The 15th May was a wonderful day. The sun shone and it was really hot. Bishop Ian even removed his dog collar! The Whitsunday Benefice Walk, now a tradition across the six parishes, was delightful. Our own small pilgrimage enabled folk to meet and chat in the most convivial of manners. We were not only able to enjoy one another’s company but also the delights of the beautiful countryside in which we are so fortunate to live. For Linda and myself it was a great joy to have not only our son and daughter with us but also my parents, who had not been able to attend my ordination at Peterborough Cathedral, as well as my nephew, David. I was particularly touched by the generosity, warmth and kindness shown especially to myself throughout the day and in particular at all the churches that we visited. I will have lasting memories of each of them and not least of being greeted and welcomed to the parish of Wappenham so fondly. People had gone to so much trouble, not only in Wappenham but in every church. We were truly feted well. I would want to express my sincere thanks to all those involved.

Initial Aims

At my first meeting with the PCCs, I was eager to share with members a number of initial goals I wished to complete across the benefice within the first six or so months of my incumbency. These I highlighted by simple captions together with a series of tasks I hoped to complete in order to move towards their realisation.

The captions were, “Good morning Rector”, “Good morning Jane” and “Unity & Diversity”.

The first two were clearly related, in that my aims are that folk in all parishes recognise and feel they know their Rector, be they churchgoers or not, and that they feel he is part of their community. Equally, I feel that I want to know my parishioners as well as I can, so that I am able to respond to their welfare and rejoice in their celebrations, as well, of course, as meet their worshipping needs. As aids to achieving these ambitions I am in the process of drawing up a plan of all the events, church-based and secular, that take place on a regular basis across the benefice, as well as collecting information of other village events, so that where possible I am able to drop in or take part in these activities.  An additional and more demanding exercise, which I am undertaking with the help of folk from all the parishes, is a demographic profile of each parish. This I believe will enable myself and the PCCs to analyse the make-up of the parishes in a way that may possibly influence our work and worship in the future.  

We are very fortunate that within the benefice we have a variety of worship forms, churchmanship and timings of services, from Taizé to Holy Communion (1662) as well as Family/Village to Under Fives services. Already there is diversity, which adds a great richness to our worship. Whilst the standard communion services throughout the benefice follow the Book of Common Worship and will be familiar to all, it may well be that we may wish to extend or vary our pattern to embrace the worshipping and spiritual needs of others as well as current church attendees. We shall see. What is important is that there is coherence to our worship and church activities, a range of churchmanship and a timing pattern across the benefice which allows the Rector to move from church to church, so that he is able to regularly lead worship in each church. 

  Make Poverty History

I was recently admitted as a member of the Mothers’ Union at its Wave of Prayer Service in Helmdon. In case you’re confused, men can be members of this organisation, for which I have great admiration. It won’t surprise anyone who is familiar with the Christian aim of the MU to learn that it was especially active in supporting and organising the 2005 campaign, Make Poverty History. It was, of course, one of many, with churches of all denominations combining together to focus on the root causes of poverty, such as unjust global trading systems, debt burdens which drain poor countries’ resources, and insufficient aid. How privileged we were that Scotland hosted the G8 Summit, where the leaders of the eight richest countries in the world met under sympathetic UK’s chairmanship. How gratifying that there also would seem to have been a national groundswell of support to lobby the G8 leaders to help prevent 30,000 people dying needlessly every day just because they are poor.

“With 2.8 million people living in poverty in our world today, something has to change. “ Ellen Teague.

We may feel a little unclear about quite how much progress was made at Gleneagles and our picture will inevitably be clouded by the dreadful killings in London on the 7th July whilst the leaders were in session. However, we are all, I am sure, far more aware of global poverty than we were, because of those organisations like the Mothers’ Union campaigning under the banner of Make Poverty History.  A greater willingness perhaps seems also to have been established whereby poverty is not accepted as a fact of life, but rather as an injustice which must be overcome.  

May I take this opportunity to encourage men and women be they married or not, parents or not, to support the work of the Mothers’ Union, and there is no better way of doing this than by joining its ranks. Ann Smith, the Astwell Benefice President would love to hear from you. (01295 760684).

God bless you all.

Will Adams
Rector

 P.S. Please note that my e-mail address is now rector@astwellbenefice.co.uk

 Village Hall News

The last couple of months have seen an increase in the work of upgrading the hall.  After a slow start, the toilets are now in the final phase of completion.  They will be ready for use by the end of August; to mark this momentous occasion, the committee are planning a celebratory barbecue on the evening of the fete. So do come along and inspect the work and have a jolly social evening at the same time.

Still further good news on the renovating front.  Barclaycard have kindly agreed to donate thirty pairs of decorating hands plus materials to re-paint the inside and outside of the hall. This will be taking place on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th September. However, there is one catch we need your help with the project.  No - not in the form of actual decorating, but on the culinary front.  Barclaycard have asked that we provide food for all the workers.  There should be fifteen on Thursday and the same on Friday.  We are looking for volunteers to make up a lunch for one person for each of the two days.  This could take the form of sandwiches, quiche, pork pies etc.  Refreshments will be served in the church where both hot and cold drinks will also be provided.   

One more piece of good news: we have a newly-vamped Tote, which will be starting again in September.  Collectors will be coming around the village next month and if you would like to join in, just give them your lucky number and pay the fee.  We have decided to increase the annual fee to £24 and in line with this the prizes have also gone up. 1st prize - £20, 2nd prize - £10 and 3rd - prize £5.  There will also be a bonus draw in December with the prizes at £40, £20, £10 and £5 respectively.

 Jenny Szczerbowski
Secretary

 WRA Teddy Bear Hunt & Treasure Hunt

On Saturday 18th of June around 30 kids and 20 adults took part in a teddy bear and treasure hunt around the village. This was a change to the Fun Day that we have done over the last two years and proved popular, with some visitors coming from Sulgrave to take part. The children were given the choice of looking for teddy bears (aimed at younger ones) or looking for answers to a number of clues (older ones).  The groups set out at around 11am armed with map and clues and returned hot and tired following a very pleasant but sunny morning.

All the children taking part received a prize for finishing and special prizes were handed out to the individual winners Thomas Millar & William Buchanan. I believe everyone had a great time and we will hopefully do a similar event next year.

 Thank you to the people who opened up their gardens and the church for letting us hide the bears. Finally, for those who were worried, the lost bear (William) has been found and returned and has been reinstated onto the bed.

 Dene Ayres
WRA Chairman

Neighbourhood Watch

There was a burglary in Wappenham recently.  Thieves found an open fanlight and proceeded to ransack the house, stealing some cash.  This must have been very upsetting for the occupants, who were only out for an hour.

This is a reminder to everyone to close windows and lock doors, even when out for a short time.  Our commiserations to those who were burgled.

Please continue to remind vulnerable people not to open the door to unexpected callers.  If you spot anything suspicious, please phone 01327 300300.

 Conquering the Sahara

 Believe it or not, I intend to do just that, but I need your help.  Glynis Bliss MBE, the County Director of Victim Support and others are to attempt the challenge of a lifetime – a100km desert trek.  The first week in November we shall be walking in the Sahara desert, which stretches from the snow-capped High Atlas mountains of Morocco in the west to the Red Sea coast 4800km in the east.  With proud Berbers as our guides and a small caravan of camels to carry our supplies, we will trek through the varied and stunning landscape of stony flat expanse to perfect windblown sand dunes, broken only by the occasional oasis.

As many of you know, I have been a volunteer for Victim Support for some eleven years and at the present time am working about ten to twelve hours a week.  Our work involves helping victims of burglary, criminal damage, harassment, domestic violence, homicide, rape and murder.  I am also involved with the Witness Service, supporting young people in child abuse cases at the Crown Court.  As you can imagine, the work is sometimes difficult and distressing but nevertheless there are many cases that are very rewarding.  I have been a County Trustee for some years and recently became a member of the Executive Committee.

My first challenge is to raise £2000; the money raised with my blistered feet, tired legs and scorched skin will be directed to outreach work in the local communities, linking in with local projects addressing crime and anti-social behaviour – this is an area of work that currently we just cannot resource.

 My aim (if I am fit enough!) is to visit everyone towards the end of September and I shall be most grateful for any donation, however large or small, to help me with this challenge.

 Hilary Wickham

Fishers Invited

PAC Angling Club has approximately 3.5 miles of the River Tove at Bozenham Mill, offering a large range of coarse fish.

Membership is now available.  Contact Peter Stewart on 01327 811676 or Dave Houghton on 01604 758148.

Parish Council News

 As your recently elected Parish Council Chairman I would like to take this, my first opportunity, to contribute to the Village Newsletter in a formal capacity to say a couple of things in addition to the general village update.

Firstly, I would like to thank Hilary Wickham, our outgoing Chairman, for her tireless involvement in the village and her many years as a Parish Councillor.  It is a chilling thought that when Hilary first started as a Councillor I was probably still in short pants and swinging a satchel!  She has given so much of her time and enthusiasm to the village that I am very pleased to say that, although standing down as Chairman, Hilary will still continue in her role as a Councillor guiding me through the corridors of power that are the Wappenham Parish Council!

I think it is also important to say that we are your Parish Council and that our role is to represent the village, our village. It is important therefore that if you have an issue or a comment or a view that you think needs to be taken into account, on matters in which the PC are involved, please do join us at any of the PC meetings or talk to me or any of my colleagues on the PC.  I won’t take up valuable space in the newsletter listing all of the Parish Councillors but we are all on the Village website and the minutes of meetings are always in the shop, which also lists who we are.

I just have time to give a brief summary of what’s been happening over the last few months. 

Planning applications

• have been few and far between but one item of note has been the review of the ‘Village Confine’ instigated by SNC as part of the Regional Structure Plan.  We were presented with a new village confine which we reviewed and changed in line with our aim of continuing to protect the village from inappropriate development, and with our ‘Village Design Statement’ which is still awaiting SNC ratification.

Finally, thanks to the Recreation Ground Committee for taking up the challenge of organising this year’s Village Fete on the 3rd of September.  Let’s hope the weather is kind to us and we have a successful day.

 Yours
Paul Featherstone