44-52 Write Away

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@ Maxey Village Church needs you!

When our Church Warden of 20 years retired last year we also lost our groundsman. Thankfully a few people from our village stepped forward to take over and we are truly grateful for every moment they spent volunteering to keep our churchyard neat and tidy for the many people that attend the graves there.

We have sadly had many funerals this year and the building and churchyard has been ready every time due to our incredible volunteers. So, why do we need you? The team who have been mowing and tidying have decided that they cannot continue again this season and we now needs more volunteers to assist, the more we have, the easier the workload. We will give full training and there will be a rota, obviously when the grass grows it needs to be cut but when it isn't, it doesn't, so we can't say for certain how often you may be needed, only that you are! In 2019 we had three lovely ladies who volunteered to clean inside the building every other week and they have been doing a fantastic job, coming in extra when we have funerals and weddings and enjoying it when they have been able to, given our 2020 COVID situation. Maxey St. Peter's needs village support to stay open, our roof is failing, there are lots of jobs to do and not many people to carry them out. The last thing that we want to happen is that we close the doors; no weddings, funerals or christenings, so please think about time you could volunteer or what you could do to help us maintain our churchyard and building. Thank you. Mandy Loveder - Church Warden

Bank Holiday Monday sunset, glad I went for a womble with the camera now, it was darned chilly though. Dave Radcliffe

Nice to see this at the north entrance to Glinton has received some TLC Dave Ellis

The novel I’m currently reading is ‘The Poet’s Wife’, a look at John Clare’s period in their Northborough home from the point of view of his wife, Patty.

Footsteps ...

So my walk today took in some of the locations mentioned: the Helpston cottage he was born in (looking forward to it reopening so I can see the interior too); the buttercross; his memorial; Helpston church with its octagonal tower; his grave in the churchyard. Then, following in his footsteps, a circular walk from Glinton to Northborough to enjoy views similar to those he enjoyed, and to see the cottage where he lived, briefly, with his wife and children on his return from a mental asylum in Essex. The walk ended with a visit to St Benedict’s churchyard to see Mary Joyce’s grave. She was John’s childhood sweetheart and on his return from Essex, he was convinced he had married her and had a family with her. But she had died, a spinster, while he was in the asylum. A sad tale indeed, but an interesting read. Anne Lees

Willow Brook Farm

Wholesome Lunches

Homemade Cakes

Hearty Breakfasts

Afternoon Teas

Sunday Lunch

Pre-order Takeaways Open for the spring, restrictions permitting, with an additional marquee erected on the front of the Granary Scotsman Lodge, Helpston Heath, Stamford Road, Peterborough PE6 7EL

 / The Granary Tearoom Cafe | mandff arms67@gmail.com | 01780 749 483

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Maxey Nature Recovery Group

We have started! Working with Maxey P.C., Maxey Church Parochial Church Council (PCC) and the Village Field Committee: • High Street: We have just finished filling in the gaps of the hedgerow adjacent to the road out of the village towards the church. The hedging whips are all native species and include hazel, holly, blackthorn, guelder rose and beech • Maxey Churchyard: We have agreed a number of initiatives with the PCC, which include planting a tree in the north-east corner, increasing the spread of spring flowers in the churchyard, and some wildflower seeding. Maxey Village Field: We are hoping to add to the diversity in the field by increasing the number of wildflower sites, encouraging more insects and butterflies. We have started preparing the new areas by mowing the grass much shorter and removing invasive perennial weeds. In the autumn we’ll be starting on the regeneration of the hedging by infilling gaps in the hedgerow with native species. We will be installing an insect tower in a discreet and undisturbed area of the field. If you’d like to know more or would like to join us, just contact me via FB. Keren Thomson

Our local Little Owl doing his grumpy look until he clapped eyes on me then it was the hard stare before hopping off into cover. Dave Radcliffe

Helpston Community Activity Team - HelCats

Wow, what a brilliant way to end the Easter Weekend in Helpston! It was truly magical to watch the children’s reactions when they saw the Easter Bunny arrive in a tuk tuk and skip up to their front door. Some of the adults looked pretty thrilled too! A huge thank you to everyone who took part in decorating their Easter themed windows. The overall winner was the beautiful window at 9 Woodgate. Well done to all the children who took part in the colouring in. The local artist who judged the competition was very impressed with all of the entries. Thank you to Prem for being the Easter Bunny’s chauffeur. Also, thank you to Dianne for judging the colouring in competition.