Newsletter Spring 2005

What’s on this Spring

What’s on this Spring

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) tel 861038
Short mat bowls, Thurs 2pm (VH)

From the Editor

Thank you to Slapton Manor Bed and Breakfast and to Syresham Cycles, plus me, for sponsoring this issue.

This is a bumper issue – thank you for all the contributions!  

I was very impressed, and moved, by the amount raised at the curry evening for people affected by the tsunami – enough to give a child shelter and care until they are 15! Thank you to everyone who helped to organise the event.

The roads are still closed and there is still little through traffic in Wappenham – peaceful, but not at all good for the shop. Do please use it – and the Post Office - as much as possible, if you want it to stay open.

I note that the shop has a new baker now, who does the full range of white and brown breads and also spelt, rye and gluten-free, and breads such as onion & roasted garlic. Order by Thursday for collecting on Saturday morning.

Deadline for next issue: May 15th. Please send articles and anything else you want included to me by then, by email at jane.harries@virgin.net.

Jane Harries

PS: I’ve just become village contact for the Village Voice section of the Brackley and Towcester Advertiser, so give me a call if you want anything put in the paper under the news for Wappenham.

Notices

Thank you….to Vanessa Gladman and Chris Millington of Brookside, from David Bradshaw, who would like to compliment them on the great job they have done clearing out most of the stream, allowing the village a clear view of the snowdrops. I’m sure others would agree with him.

Welcome to Mr and Mrs Heslop. They have moved here from Oxfordshire. We hope you will enjoy living in Wappenham.

Congratulations to John and Hilary Wickham, of Pittams Lane, on their 40th (Ruby) wedding anniversary on February 20th – may you have many happy years to come!

CONDOLENCES

Sadly, several people who lived in or were associated with the village have died this winter, and for two of them, their friends have written about them in the following pages.

Firstly, we note the sad death of Roger Swanson, husband of Zelma, in January, and send our condolences to his family.

MALCOLM STEWART – IN MEMORIAM 

Malcolm Stewart, who, sadly, died on Boxing Day after an earlier traffic accident had, together with his wife Shelley and their two sons, spent the weekends at their cottage in Wappenham for more than twenty years.

Malcolm and Shelley have always involved themselves in village occasions especially fêtes, quiz nights and Safari Suppers and were very generous in their support.

Malcolm had spent much more time at the cottage since his retirement until his early death.

He will be sadly missed.

Penny Gill

A TRIBUTE TO A GREAT FRIEND

Our friend Derek Boyles was suddenly taken to a new home on the morning of Friday 11th February. Derek, husband to Sandra and father to Katie, from 10 Helmdon Road, tragically had a severe heart attack. We have only been in the village for three years but he became a true friend.

We can tell you Derek was a great friend, someone who always made time for you. He loved his cups of tea, and would always make you one if you popped in. Derek was a top builder and the pride in his work can clearly be seen in the alterations he has been doing to their house. He was a true perfectionist, but he really loved his work. He loved to talk about his many hobbies, from cars and bikes to more quiet interests, like wildlife, ornithology, photography and reading. He always told humorous stories about his hobbies and in the past he had kept chickens and a few sheep: he really cared for them like pets.

Walks past their house will never quite feel the same again, usually a quick hello led to an hour chat and the offer of that cup of tea, but we didn’t ask to share his favourite Twix. Derek would be under the bonnet of the car, cleaning his motorbike, or working on the house, Sandra would be cooking or working in the garden and Katie usually being creative with her arts or music, a warm welcome was always there with much fun and laughter. This last two years we spent New Year with Derek, Sandra and Katie, they were our best.

Derek was a very true and honest man; his advice was always appreciated, and you knew it was a genuine opinion. In life you treat people as you want to be treated, and that was Derek’s approach. If you needed something or needed help Derek would always make time. Derek has touched so many people’s lives and he had many friends.

It does not seem quite fair that he should be taken away from his family so soon, however we feel deeply honoured to have known such a fine guy. But now he has been called to a new home to rest where he will no doubt be having more cups of tea and his favourite Twixes. We would like to say a big thank you to Sandra and Katie, for sharing Derek with us. He will always be remembered in our hearts and minds.

Richard Kennett

THANKSGIVING SERVICE FOR CANON ROBERTS

On Sunday April 3, there will be a Thanksgiving Service for

Canon John Roberts, who is retiring. This will start at 10.30am at Helmdon Church, followed by lunch, which is at 12.30pm at Brackley Town Hall.

In order to plan, would those who wish to have lunch and have not yet got tickets please get in contact with me on 860502 asap. or reply to the flyer that was sent out in February. Many thanks.

Barbara Gundle

WAPPENHAM OPEN GARDENS

Every two years or so, several generous members of the village open their gardens to the public, to raise money for the Village Hall. This year they will be open on May 29th, between 2pm and 5pm.

There will be a plant sale, probably at Pittams Farm, and teas and home-made cakes will be served, at a venue to be confirmed.

You can follow the signs and use the maps provided at garden gates to navigate your way around – like the Safari Supper, it’s an excuse to get to know your neighbours, and also to take advantage of their plant knowledge and cheap seedlings.

Contact Hilary Wickham for details at wapenham@tiscali.co.uk or see posters.

PUB WALKS

There will be a village walk this spring. General destination the pub! Look for posters for where and when.

Anne Marshall

PROTECT YOUR NEIGHBOURS FROM DISTRACTION BURGLARIES - NOMINATE A NEIGHBOUR

This is from the Northants. Western Area Police, Feb 17th:

We have had another six distraction burglaries in our County, a couple of those in our policing area, at Walgrave and Hartwell. With this in mind, the Northamptonshire Police and Neighbourhood Watch are together promoting the ‘Nominate a Neighbour’ scheme.

This scheme has been used successfully in the Humberside area, and is easy to operate. Basically, any vulnerable members in our communities can be given a pack, which consists of advice leaflets, simple instructions, and a card that has contact details of a trusted neighbour. When the vulnerable person has an unexpected caller, they are advised not to open the door, but to hold up to an appropriate window the card that requests the caller to contact the trusted neighbour.

With help from the DDC and SNC housing departments’ wardens, we are already distributing the packs. We also have packs available at the front desks of our Police Stations.

For further information about the Nominate a Neighbour Scheme contact Northamptonshire Neighbourhood Watch County Executive on 01604 862408, or CWLO Aaron Goddard on 01327 303024.

Any suspicious or anti-social behaviour can be reported on the Neighbourhood Watch dedicated phone number 01604 432436. The Northamptonshire Police can also be contacted on 01327 300300 or 01604 700700. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. All calls and information that identifies offenders will be treated with strictest confidence.

WAPPENHAM COMMUNITY WEBSITE

We are looking for people who would like to join the website sub-committee. If you would like to share ideas about the contents and the design of the website, and you are free to meet quarterly (or thereabouts), please send us an email at wappenham@tiscali.co.uk. You do not need to be experienced in web design, but if you are, it would be a bonus.

If you would like to add something to the website, it can be anything really – items for sale, stories about Wappenham, journalistic columns, open letters – please email your contributions to wappenham@tiscali.co.uk. We can easily create new pages for any new category. The website address is: www.northantsvillages.org.uk/wappenham/

Dianne Walsh, Website Committee

BLAKESLEY (INCLUDING WAPPENHAM) BROADBAND

The original planned date for enabling this exchange was 23/02/05. The planned cable route has encountered a delay whilst attempting to install the cabling, meaning that the revised planned date for enabling this exchange is now 31/03/05.

For more details see Wiz emails or the Wappenham website.

NO MORE ROAD CLOSURES !!

After much frustration and anger of nearly 6 months of continuous road closures following the closures of the last 3 years, it was decided to invite the perpetrators – W.S. Atkins - to come and face the music at a Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 15th February. Two gentlemen volunteered after asking, “How many people are you expecting?” As we only normally get a few along to most of our meetings, I answered 15-20. The two representatives were:

John Robinson (parish liaison officer) & Tony MacFaden (chief design engineer).

Well, the look on their faces as more and more, and yet more people arrived, until the Village Hall almost seemed to be at bursting point, would have made an excellent picture with the caption – ‘Fed to the lions!’ There were approximately 65 people present representing Wappenham, Abthorpe, Helmdon, Slapton and Weedon Lois. People from all walks of life - professionals, housewives, an EU assessor, health & safety inspectors, shop keepers, our local councillor, Ben Smith, a quality assessor, legal professionals and individual businesspeople were there to raise issue about these ‘road improvements’.

Not wanting to go into a lot of detail because the newsletter would not be big enough to print the volumes necessary, I have summarised the main points raised, and they are in no particular order:

• Waste of public money

• No temporary traffic lights

• Poor advance warnings of road closures

• Exceedingly poor signage detailing closures and diversions

• Why roads allowed to get into current state

• Very slow progress of works

• Quality of works done in this programme of works and over last 3 years

• Atkins’ relationship to Northants County Council and the Partnership

•  Poor management of projects

•  No sign of quality control

• Concern of state of single track roads used as ‘alternative unofficial diversions’

• Cost of re-doing some of the road, as poorly done in first place

• Material used – too shiny, reflective and slippery

• No consultation with community beforehand

• Widening the road making it faster?

• Were NCC aware of the community’s feeling about the way in which these road improvements have been carried out?

• Compensation for lost earnings, especially the shop, and extra cost of excessive diversions?

• Very poor communication between Atkins and communities affected

• School bus unable to use road

Atkins responded to most of the points raised by stating that it was done like that due to health and safety issues, budgetary costs, unforeseen circumstances, regulations and legal requirements, and standard of materials used. They did accept fault for the poor signage and lack of communication, and when asked directly did apologise for all the inconvenience caused.

That is a summary of what has happened, but what about the future I hear you ask. Several very useful suggestions were made should there be any further road works in the future. These were:

1. Carry out a ‘community impact study’ before embarking on any further road works in this area.

2. Communicate with the local communities during works, and give out project manager’s number rather than Clarence 0800 number.

3. Ensure clear signage is used for closures and diversions.

4. Only close the road between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to allow for commuter and school traffic.

5. Work more intensively during closure period to reduce time closed by having double/triple shifts.

6. Enforce temporary speed limits on all diversions used – official and unofficial.

7. Don’t come back too soon!!!!!!!!

The good news is that they will be looking at all of these matters and have already improved the signage and planning to give us advance warning of any further closures, including repair of the Towcester/Abthorpe section – hopefully under lights. However, the bad news is that there is still another 3 sections of this ‘main arterial road of South Northants’ to be completed, but at least if they put into operation all of the above, then it should be plain sailing?

A letter is being put together to inform NCC, our MP and Atkins, of the whole community’s feeling, and demands that some action be taken to prevent it ever happening again.

I would like to finish by quoting a letter that was read out at the beginning of the meeting, as I feel it sums up the mood of the meeting:

“The villagers of Wappenham are a tolerant and hard-working group of people who pay the ever-increasing council tax without murmur (so far?). As it increases year on year and we are faced, on a regular basis, with this utter mess and inconvenience, we begin to wonder what we are actually getting out of the annual rise in our overheads. Perhaps the local council need to think long and hard about the way they are treating ‘Middle England’. We want to see that our money is being spent with care, otherwise ‘Middle England’ will start fighting back”.

Jonathon Miller
Wappenham Parish Council – Highways

Village Hall News

Village Hall Grant

Good news on grants. A further £3,000 came in January from the Garfield Weston Foundation, so overall we currently have £32,040 made up as follows:

Northants County Council              £15,000
South Northants Council                £7,000
Awards for All                              £5,000
Garfield Weston Foundation            £3,000
Maud Elkington CT                        £1,000
Bernard Sunley CT                        £1,000
Marston CT                                 £40

The planning application is going through and building regulations approval has been applied for. These plans are almost exactly like those approved by 88% of the village people who attended the Open Day held in 2000. I am personally delighted, therefore, that despite many obstacles we have been able to secure the above grants and submit plans based on the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the village. We now await approval and expect to start work in March.

The intention is to replace the old chairs and tables shortly after completion of the building work.

Regards, Pete

Events and other Village Hall News

Thanks to Pete's hard work we are now in a position to begin work on the toilets. However, fundraising remains a priority and as such, the committee are busy planning a programme of events.

Open gardens will feature this year and as usual Hilary Wickham has kindly agreed to mastermind the event. [See previous article – Ed.] So if you feel up to opening your garden send her an email at wappenham@tiscali.co.uk .

Committee members will soon be around the village collecting money for the monthly Tote. The cost is £12 for the year with cash prizes every month and a bonus draw in December.

Unfortunately Sara Wales is unable to run the fete this year so if you feel up to a spot of fete organising, a small committee could possibly take on the job, send me an email at wappenham@tiscali.co.uk.

A visit from the New Perspectives next month has unfortunately had to be cancelled because of the imminent building work, however, we are hoping to have a visit from them later in the year.

Jenny Szczerbowski, Secretary

Open Letters to the Editor

Well Ed….I did the usual when the newsletter arrived, make a cuppa and sit down for a read.

I liked the Wappenham success story by Mr Bullock. It will be nice to see the hall start to take shape at last. Anyway, I had finished reading and was sitting there dunking my biscuits in my tea. (That's one good thing with living on your own: it doesn't matter if one drops down your front.) When I thought of what Mr Bullock had said about the Helicopter I must have misread it so I read it again. Well, I went all hot and bothered with embarrassment. I now have a good idea how you ladies feel when you have what Lesley calls a 'tropical moment'. I shall never be the same when a Helicopter comes near.

Why, you might ask?  

Well, you know some mornings when the alarm goes off for work, how it’s a job to get out of bed, so you lay for just another five minutes which turns out to be ten. When this happens I pop downstairs and put my porridge in the microwave, setting the timer so that it's ready for when I have showered and dressed. I never realised the Helicopter could send pictures to the Police from my microwave. I mean, it's bad enough when I'm starkers, but sometimes I still have my baby doll nightie on!!

Brian Peart.

BINGE DRINKING – WHAT TO DO

Dear Ed

I was sat thinking about those people that go out binge drinking, after listening to a report on the TV. Living here it doesn't affect me. I just wondered how I would deal with it.

Firstly, these people have no respect for the law. They know they will most likely just get a telling-off or a fine at the worst, and all that does is give them something to brag about at work the next day. The police have the laws to cope with this but the do-gooders have made it nearly impossible for them to use, except in the worst cases, and the drunks know that. So the first thing we have to do is make them think what they are at when the police arrive.

Changing the age you can buy a drink from 18 to 21, which has been suggested, is no good as there are plenty of young people that can go out as a group in that age group and behave themselves, perhaps getting a bit worse for wear on occasions as most of you will have at some time. (Please note I put "you", not "us", as I have always been one of the goody-goody types that have never drunk or smoked! There are times, when there is nothing any good on TV, I get my calculator out and my bank book to see just how many pints and fags I could have bought with what I have saved through being such a good chap!)

Firstly, I would tell the do-gooders that will go on about these people's rights, to take a running jump, as the drunks don't respect the rights of the people that are too afraid to come out in the evening.

I would not try to stop these people. If they want to pickle their innards they can as far as I'm concerned. They all know what it will do to them. But as soon as they become a problem and the police are involved, then that's different. Usually, it's one of a group that lets them all down. So say there are six of them out for the night together, then all six would be taken in. They would not be taken to a police station, but to a special centre just for this. They would all have to pay £100 at the centre, £600 in total. If they have plastic, then they can use that. If not they must ring up and get someone to pay for them. But that person has to come to the centre. It cannot be done over the phone. It would also have to be paid before 6 a.m. I can just imagine what would happen if my son or daughter rang up after eleven at night to get me to go to Northampton before six. If I did, I bet they would think twice before they did it again. Once the 6 a.m. deadline has gone, that's it..

The one that caused all the problems and any that have not paid would be given army-type clothes and taken to a camp like the lads who had to do National Service. They would go for a week, living in huts the same as the National Service lads did. They would have only the same as those days with the exception that they would not have a radio, just cards and darts and board games to amuse themselves. Their meals would be at a set time, but otherwise they could stay in bed all day or they could do some work provided for them. All this would be done without going to court. The money taken would go to the police and the upkeep of the camps.

There would be no contact with the world outside. Such things as phones would be taken away. They would be allowed no more than two phone calls. This would mean someone else would have to do all the dirty work of telling the boss and workmates, cancelling any appointments apart from hospital or doctor ones. Just think if it was a stag night and the groom or bride could not come home. They knew what they were doing when they went out so that's their bad luck.

This would be some of the lines I would go along. My reasons are:

1        With the whole group having to pay the fine, not too much but enough to hurt a little, it would make the group keep a look-out for the one idiot among them in future.

2        It would make the families put pressure on them, also making the families take some of the responsibility, not just letting them go their own way.

3        With a bit of luck it will have caused problems at work, both for the boss and their workmates. Also they could lose a week's holiday instead of loss of wages.

4        It would give them all week to think about what a prat they have been and look forward to meeting all the people they have put out. But the best thing which would come from this is, once a few people have gone through this and it gets known, it will happen, not might happen. Now, the presence of a few police patrolling the area will more than likely be enough to keep order, the same as in years gone by.

This is along the line I would take when it doesn't affect me. They wouldn't like it if it did!

Do you think I should send this to our MP?!

Brian Peart.

PS. I wonder how others in the Village would handle the problem?

Dear Editor.. from the editor and others!

Dog mess has been appearing again, all over the place – outside Cromwell Cottage and No 5 High St, on the path to the cemetery and even on one of the graves. This is smelly, looks bad and if your dog is seen fouling, you could get a fine of £50.

Please keep your dog under control, or clear up the mess. Take a plastic bag with you!

Thanks- Jane

Parish Council News

Roads meeting

At the meeting arranged for 15 February we were pleased to have present two representatives from Atkins and our County Councillor Ben Smith and were all delighted to see so many of you there, as well as visitors from Helmdon, Weston and Slapton. Thank you for your support. A separate report of this meeting will appear elsewhere in the newsletter.

Tsunami evening

What a very special evening - delicious meal and lots of friendly faces - congratulations to the committee and thank you to our hosts for a very comfortable venue.

Planning news

Other business

We are grateful to Paul Elcoat for taking on the role of Tree Warden, a post to which he brings great expertise. He hopes to make a digital map of the trees within the village and will be examining the condition of the horse chestnut tree on The Knob.

The Council wrote to SNC in support of the Village Design Statement; the SNC are endeavouring to protect certain open spaces within the village, but it appears this may not be possible.

We received a letter regarding the recent accident at the Playground and following a discussion we understand the Recreation Committee confirmed that no unfixed equipment will be allowed in the future. A log of inspections was recommended. The Recreation Committee is considering an option to purchase the land; there was a proposal that the Council support the idea in principle.

In reply to the SNC/NCC pre-budget communication requesting feedback, Paul Featherstone again wrote an excellent letter on behalf of the Council and tax-payers.

We received a long report from a parishioner regarding the flooding across the road at Brookside. Anglian Water did not accept responsibility, but there has now been an inspection by Atkins and hopefully they will now contact Anglian and rectify the problem.

Speeding is top priority for many people in the village and, following conversations with Abthorpe residents, we have learnt how they operated their speed camera. The requirements are that 12 residents attend training with South Northants Police, then two locations would be nominated in the village and the 'speed fun' would be available for 2 weeks per year. Do we have sufficient volunteers to carry this out? Anyone willing to accept the training and fire the gun, please get in touch with a member of the Council.

Sadly we are now without a clerk, but we do appreciate how many extra months Lynn Colby has stayed on. Particularly because of all the extra planning meetings that have materialised over the last eighteen months, Lynn has given us a great deal of her time. We thank her for looking after us so well and wish her well for the future.

Our next Ordinary Meeting will be at 7.30 on Tuesday 12 April and please make a note in your diaries for the Annual Assembly at 7.30 on Wednesday 18 May 2005 in the Village Hall.

Hilary (Wickham)

CHURCH NEWS

Church Events

6th March. Mothering Sunday Family Service
8th March. Annual PCC Meeting in the Church - all are welcome
3rd April. Retirement Service – see diary and page 6
15th May. Whit Walk and Induction of new Priest in Charge Rev Will Adams at Syresham Church. Wappenham giving coffee to walkers
29th May. Benefice Service at St Mary's, Wappenham. The new Archdeacon Christin Allsop will preach.

Church Clock

The process of getting a faculty continues. Work will start in April.

David Foden

In the beginning............in the end - God

I have always liked the book by Bishop John Robinson called ‘In the end God’ where he argues that heaven and hell are states of mind that we bring on ourselves and that in the end we shall all be raised to closeness with God. If we have led lives that have been God-centred, this state of being close to him will be truly heaven. If, on the other hand, we have led lives that are totally against his love and care, then the last place we shall want to be for eternity is close to the eternal creator whom we have rejected through life.

Beginnings and endings always herald change, and as I contemplate retirement, Will Adams looks to the future as your priest. We have been working towards this now for some time. We have managed to reduce the period of time that the Benefice is legally without an incumbent to 2 weeks, when often it takes 2 years to fill a Benefice such as this - so we hope there will be a real sense of continuity.

But there must be change. I have had a wonderful 13 years or so ministering to the communities of Helmdon, Syresham, Whitfield, Radstone and latterly Lois Weedon and Wappenham (not forgetting all the smaller hamlets), and I thank you all most sincerely for all the support and encouragement you have given me. One person cannot be all things to all people and, please God, in Will Adams the parishes will find someone who is both able to continue the work we have begun and consider areas I haven’t even touched. Understanding together and with you, that both in the beginning of things and in their ending, there is God.

I cannot in all conscience, and don’t wish to, say goodbye, as we are in the happy situation of being able to stay living in Pimlico. But sometimes old Vicars are bad news! So if you hear me or I hear you starting a sentence which begins “In the last Vicar’s time we always used to.......” can we both feel free to tell each other to stop please ?!        

John Roberts

This following text speaks well of the question that has been raised in many peoples' minds.

Yours, John Roberts 

WHY GOD IS TO BE FOUND IN THE TERROR OF THE TSUNAMI

Charles Moore (shortened from the original article in the Telegraph 8/1/05 - by permission) Submitted by John Roberts

Tony Blair is not the only public figure criticised for having stayed on holiday at the time of the tsunami. I have heard the same accusation levelled at God. Recovering from His son’s birthday party, it is suggested he couldn’t be bothered to help. If God loves us, it is asked, why did He let tens of thousands of innocent people die in this catastrophe?

One traditional answer, no longer popular in the West, is that humanity deserves it. From earliest times, people detected divine fury in the weather. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Flood is caused by gods in a rage at the ever-increasing noise floating up to Heaven from all those gabby people on Earth.

This is not, naturally, a view that appeals to the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams would not even contemplate the suggestion that there could be anything punitive about such death. “Those most deeply involved,” he said, “are so often the ones who spend least energy in raging over the lack of explanation”.

When you hear the victims, they or their families generally speak without rage. Rizal Shahputra, an Indonesian labourer rescued after eight days’ floating in the ocean on a palm tree, said that his faith in Allah and his constant prayer had sustained him and taken his mind off his hunger. He could, with apparently greater logic, have railed against the Allah who got him into this trouble in the first place, but does anyone really believe that he would have been the better for it, or more likely to survive?

A friend of mine who almost drowned in the Maldives on Boxing Day speaks only of his good fortune, of the man who saved his life, of how well fellow tourists and hotel staff behaved. One of his party died, but this makes him feel humble, guilty and sad, not angry against his creator. He says he learnt to pray better.

The point has been well made that such huge, disruptive natural violence as that of the tsunami does not really alter the moral question about natural evil. For a loving God, there cannot, presumably, be an “acceptable level of violence”, a cold calculation that it is all right for a few children to be blown off mountains or a few hundred peasants in Bangladesh to die in floods, but not for more than 150,000 to perish all at once, especially when many of them were on holiday.

It is true, too, that the human understanding of things, indeed the very condition of being human, depends absolutely upon contrast — what is food without hunger, good without evil, life without death? No one can satisfactorily imagine a world in which things really are perfect.

But while it seems quite easy to refute those criticisms of God that treat Him like an incompetent and unpleasant political administration (“Too little! Too late!”), it is not very comforting. Hunger, after all, is still hunger, evil is still evil, death is still death, even if all of them are somehow necessary. A faith that teaches that every person has equal dignity and value cannot be happy with a world in which dignity and value seem to be destroyed every day. Are there better things to be said?

Talk about God can only be by analogy. The most familiar is of the father. The father helps bring his child into the world. By doing so, he gives it the chance of everything good it will ever receive. But at the same time, he also condemns his child to life, with everything horrible that will happen to it, and, eventually, to death. Is he therefore wrong to do so?

A less common analogy is with a creative artist. In his creation, the artist includes cruelty and suffering. Shakespeare has the innocent Desdemona killed unjustly; he bumps off the loving Cordelia; he sends Hamlet off the rails. This does not lead the reader to think that Shakespeare himself is cruel, only that the cruelty is necessary to the art. If God is the artist of the world, of everything that is, the suffering of the people He has created is no more to be criticised than that created by the playwright. It is tragic, yes, but tragedy is a word for a form of art, the highest form of art. In the Christian account, God did not absent Himself from the tragedy of His own creation, but, through becoming man, became part of it. So even if the whole thing is a ghastly mistake, it is one for which the author has paid the highest price.

Yet even these ways of speaking come out too pat. They may be right, but they do not answer the question of what human suffering feels like. The near-universal experience of people who have come close to death — in war, through illness, in accidents or natural disaster —is that they have contemplated something that is true. The truth has been so terrible — by which I mean not bad, but inspiring of terror — that the experience of it proves almost incommunicable. People often emerge feeling that they now understand more about life, with the paradoxical result that they have less to say about it.

In this respect, the encounter with death is very like the encounter with God. The Book of Job remains by far the greatest account of man’s suffering in the face of his creator. God lets Satan persecute Job precisely because he is “perfect and upright”, so that everyone may know the incalculable distance between the ways of God and those of man. When God finally speaks to Job, it is to tell him how little he knows, how puny he is: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?”, “Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?”. It is only when Job accepts that he knows nothing that he begins to know something: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.”

This story is terrible and true, like a great tempest. It is not an accident, surely, that when the Lord speaks to Job, He does so “out of the whirlwind”.

TSUNAMI FUND-RAISING EVENING

This proved to be a very successful evening. The auction raised £2935; ticket, bar sales and donations added to this meant we raised a fantastic total of £3770.50. Thank you to everyone for giving so generously.

Special thanks to:

Georgie and Rupert Fordham for hosting the event.

Mark Lawson for conducting the auction so spontaneously.

Arif Supple for cooking the curry.

The Committee: Georgie Fordham, Jane George, Penny German, Moira Hillman, Sarah Lawson, Charlotte Supple and Sheena Warren(Treasurer).

Rob George and Geoff Hillman for running the bar.

Louise and Charlie Croft (Verre de Vin) for supplying the wine at cost.

Marion and Eva and Angie Cundale and Laura Broomhall for their help.

Hilary Wickham, Linda Riecken and all committee members for making puddings.

Tony and Evelyn Rist (Wappenham Shop) for donating the nan bread.

To those who wanted to come when there were no tickets left, thank you for donations.

We have decided to give the money to support a boys’ orphanage in Sri Lanka. We have enough to ensure a place for one boy until the age of 15. There is a huge demand for places since the Tsunami. Any remaining money will go to Indonesia for relief and recovery of Tsunami-affected areas through WALHI- a forum working independently of the Indonesian Civil Society Coalition for victims. It is actually a nature conservation agency that believes the affected communities should be the primary decision makers and architects of the recovery and reconstruction of their homes and livelihoods.

Charlotte Supple

MOBILE LIBRARY TIMES AND DATES

The Green – 2.55-3.10    Mar 14th, Apr 11th, 25th

Council Houses – 3.15-3.30  May 9th, 23rd

New Park Farm – 3.35-3.50

THE ART EXHIBITION

Thanks to everyone who came, braving the cold November weather – the church was warm enough once you got there and there were tea and cakes as well as art for sale. Art of all descriptions – woodcarvings, paintings, photos, pottery, ceramic carrier bag planters and ducks, and stained glass mirrors and Christmas decorations, were exhibited for sale. The Church looked beautiful too.

Practically nothing went ‘till Sunday afternoon – then a bonanza of buying happened! We made £436.20 for the Church as well as some for the artists.

As one of the artists, I’d like to say thank you to Penny Gill for organising the exhibition, along with everyone else who helped – Kersten, Julia, Mike, Renee, Anne, David and anyone whose name I have left out!

Jane Harries