Editor’s Letter

From your Editors causeway.editor@gmail.com

Dear Readers

The weather this month has been a reflection of my life, sunshine and showers. My youngest daughter celebrated her 21st birthday and my mother passed away following a long illness.

Normally such an event would not be included in this letter, but mum (Liz Etherington) was known to many people in the church, especially at St Peter’s where she played the organ occasionally.

Although the family are desperately sad, we also recognise that in many ways her death is a merciful release, dementia is a very cruel illness. Lisa also recently, and very unexpectedly, lost her grandmother. So we both join the many families who have been bereaved and had to say goodbye to loved ones without the usual rituals of grief. The poem on page 15 The Train of Life really resonated with me, I hope you find something in there as well. The last fourteen months have been very difficult, for everyone, but finally we seem to have turned a corner. The vaccine rollout is going well, summer is (hopefully) on the way, and we finally have events, real, in person ones, to tell you about! Check the village diary on page 16 for more details. Gay has offered us an informative article about croquet on page 6, if you fancy getting outside and meeting people. If you still feel a little concerned about meeting groups of people you could stay at home and do a bit of bird watching, Mike has written an interesting article on Jackdaws on page 26. Or if village history interests you, check out Lisa’s interview with Walton resident Bill Kilby. Hope you enjoy reading, stay safe! If you have any contributions or would like to join the team please email us at causeway. editor@gmail.com Blessings

Now available online at issuu.com/causewaymag and LARGE PRINT VERSION AVAILABLE BY EMAILING CAUSEWAY.EDITOR@GMAIL.COM. Causeway is a voluntary community magazine which is published 10 times a year (monthly except for January and August). Contributions are considered by our Editorial Team and are invited to be emailed to causeway.editor@gmail.com by 10th of the month prior to publication.

Contents

Editor’s Letter 3 Why Not Put Yourself Through the Hoops? 6 News from our Churches 7 Clergy Letter Sunday Services Thorp Arch Parish Council News From Walton Village Hall 8 9 10 12 The Train of Life Village Diary Noticeboard Picnic Slices Bill Kilby’s Walton Books and More The Birds in your Garden 15 16 17 18 20 24 26