In Touch
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with Baylham, Gt. & Lt. Blakenham & Nettlestead Volume 9 • Issue No. 7 • MAY 2019
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
NEWS
One recent Sunday morning, Jack and I got up early to bake cakes for one of our little charity stalls at the front gate, this time in aid the Cyclone Idai appeal. We’d watched the news reports about the cyclone which has left around three million people in need of help and Jack’s immediate response: let’s bake! And so we did. We cut out letters to make a Cyclone Idai Appeal banner and set up the table with cupcakes at 50p each. It was a lovely morning and the lane was busy with dog walkers and cyclists so trade was brisk. The little money pot was filling up nicely, but when we realised we’d forgotten to tell grandma what we were doing, and knowing how much she loves cake, we ran next door to tell her we were almost sold out. When we returned our little money pot had disappeared! At first I thought it had just blown off the table, but there was no sign of it anywhere. It was well and truly gone. Jack’s little face was a picture, and not a pretty one. I still can’t quite believe it happened. I just don’t understand how anyone could be so heartless, or even have the nerve to do it! But the story doesn’t end there. Feeling the need to vent, I posted a message on the local Facebook page and was humbled by what happened next. The first person who posted a reply also made a £25 donation to the appeal. Then a man I don’t know turned up at the door with a £5 donation. He wanted to meet Jack and to tell him not to be disheartened by what had happened. There were a few angry comments on Facebook, but most people wanted to express sympathy and to ask when we were having our next cake sale. Many others donated to the appeal and in addition to the £10 we received from a lady who dropped by the house later in the day, and our own contribution to cover sales, the total donated on the day was £160. Clearly there is an odd bad egg in the world, but so many, many, many more good eggs who can achieve great things when they come together. Of course, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. In every area where we publish there are multiple fundraising events happening all the time, but isn’t it lovely when a negative becomes a positive and doubts are overcome. And on that basis we shall be running another cake stall very soon!
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with Baylham, Gt. & Lt. Blakenham & Nettlestead
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Disclaimer: The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort is taken to ensure that the contents of this magazine are accurate but the publisher cannot assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. While reasonable care is taken when accepting advertisements or editorial, the publisher/ editor will not accept responsibility for any unsatisfactory transactions and also reserves the right to refuse to include advertising or editorial. They will, however immediately investigate any written complaints. © Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, either wholly or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. © In Touch with Baylham, Gt. & Lt. Blakenham & Nettlestead is published by Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd as part of the “In Touch with . . . ” series of magazines.
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JUNE DEADLINE 10 MAY 2019
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AN EVENING WITH JOHN MINNS Nettlestead Church Sunday, May 26, 6-8.30pm John, born and bred at Willisham and well known locally, will be sharing his memories and anecdotes about local people and events covering many decades. Musical entertainment and light refreshments will be provided during the interval. All monies raised from the collection will go directly to the church roof replacement fund.
GREAT BLAKENHAM FIRM AWARDED INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR A Great Blakenham firm is celebrating after winning the Best International Business of the Year Award at the Federation of Small Business (FSB) awards. Lee Steward and Darren Ryan (pictured l-r), joint directors of Morrison Freight, were delighted to recieve the award at the East of England final which took place in Newmarket. Commenting on their win, Lee said: “Receiving this award is a great accolade and is testament to the team’s hard work and dedication over the last few years. It has been a very busy time for us, particularly due to the uncertainty of Brexit, so it’s great to be rewarded for the preparations we have put in place and the hard work we have put in to improve our international offering.” Darren added: “Since Lee and I took over the business in 2015, the company has grown significantly. Our investment in multi-lingual staff and development of the direct customer and manufacturer arm of the business has enabled us to make a big impression on the industry. We are delighted to receive this award and can’t wait to attend the UK finals in May.” As a winner at the regional awards, Morrison Freight will now progress to the national finals which take place on Thursday, May 23 at Battersea Evolution in London.
BAYLHAM’S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS The 2019 AGMs of Baylham Parish Meeting, Baylham Village Hall Committee and The Friends of Baylham Church will be held in the village hall at 7.30pm on Wednesday, May 22.
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NEWS GREAT BLAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
ENERGY-FROM-WASTE FACILITY
By the time you read this, the district council elections will be very close; they take place on May 2. There will not be an election for Great Blakenham Parish Council because not enough people have put themselves forward to become a councillor. This means that we will start the new council in May with only three councillors. This is a very low number and could have an impact on what we are able to be involved in.
Spring 2019 Shutdown Our spring shutdown is well underway and will continue until mid-May 2019. Shutdowns take place twice a year for essential cleaning and maintenance, ensuring the facility continues to run efficiently. Essential components of the boilers are currently being repaired or replaced, and maintenance is being carried out inside the furnaces. The maintenance of each of our two furnaces will be staggered, so that we can continue to accept waste throughout the shutdown period. There will be an increased amount of contractors on site during the shutdown, but there should be no impact on the local community. If you have any concerns about the works, please contact us via the details provided below.
Your council manages the cemetery on Chalk Hill Lane and the Woodfield allotments. We pay for litter picking, provision and emptying of dog waste and rubbish bins, grass cutting in St Mary’s Churchyard, etc. We are working with other local parish councils towards developing a Joint Neighbourhood Plan. Recent projects we have carried out include the provision of a new noticeboard and defibrillator by the village shop. We will be installing a new dog waste bin there and we are paying for litter picking and bin emptying to keep the area clean and tidy. There are a lot of other projects that we could become involved with, such as the development of a Parish Infrastructure Improvement Plan to access fund to improve community buildings in the village, but to do that effectively, we need residents to stand for the council – and you could be one of them. There are now nearly 1,600 registered electors in Great Blakenham. All of you could be eligible to put yourself forward to become a councillor and become involved in the work that the council does in the village. We have ten meetings a year and training in the role is available free of charge. You will find that we are a friendly group of people, that the work is wide ranging and there is plenty of variety – from working to get the infrastructure improvements that the village so desperately needs, to the council’s accounts, to the provision of defibrillators, to deciding on grants to local organisations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those councillors who are going forward into the new council term and also those individuals who have served as councillors during the four-year term that is now coming to an end Finally, there is actually some news on SnOasis. As you will be aware, Reserved Matters was considered by the Planning Committee in March and approved, in spite of the many concerns of residents, local councils and the SnOasis Parish Alliance. There are still many outstanding questions about this huge planning development and your council, as part of the SnOasis Parish Alliance, will continue to try to work with the developers and with Planning to safeguard the interests of the village and the wider area. Our next meeting is the Annual Meeting of the Council on Wednesday, May 8 in the Parish Room at 7.30pm. This will be preceded by the Annual Meeting of the Parish. Everyone is welcome and there is a 15-minute public forum where you can ask questions or raise issues related to the work of the parish council. Our parish clerk, Janet Gobey, can be contacted at: pc@greatblakenham.suffolk.gov.uk / 07508 830777 Facebook: @greatblakenhampc / Twitter: @pcgtblakenham www.greatblakenham.suffolk.cloud Thank you for reading this and for your interest in the work of your parish council. Chairman Steve Plume
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If you have any queries about our operations, please do not hesitate to contact the facility: 01473 839149 / suffolkefw.uk@suez.com OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS To book a visit: 01473 839149 / suffolkefw.uk@suez.com Environment Agency: 0800 807 060 SUEZ Communities Trust: 01454 262910
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES GROUP Book Club: We meet on the last Thursday of the month at 10.30am in The Crown (Hungry Horse), Claydon, and enjoy interesting discussions on the chosen book. Please join us. Knitting Group: Held on the first Thursday of the month in the lounge at Alisdair Place, Claydon, members have been busy making lap blankets for St Elizabeth Hospice and hats and blankets for the premature baby unit at West Suffolk Hospital. If anyone has any wool that is no longer required, but may be useful to us, it would be gratefully received at one of our meetings. 4Ever Young Men’s Group: This group is taking a short break and will revamp. Watch this space. Meet ‘n’ Eat Group: Everyone is welcome to join us at Great Blakenham Parish Room at noon on the first Friday of the month. Make new friends, enjoy a game of bingo and a two-course lunch for £4 with the option of a £1 raffle ticket. One of the prizes is always a free meal for the next month. If transport is a problem please contact one of the following who will be pleased to offer a lift: The Rev Carl – 01473 833542; Ann – 01473 831031; Pauline – 01473 830723; Dorothy – 01473 830906. Gipping Valley Art Society: Meets at Great Blakenham Parish Room every Tuesday afternoon from 1-4pm. We are currently planning visits to Flatford Mill, Munnings Museum and Christchurch Mansion. Walk ‘n’ Talk Group: Meets on the second Thursday of the month at 10.30am in the car park of The Crown (Hungry Horse), Claydon to enjoy a walk of around 1.5 hours. Afterwards we enjoy coffee and cake at The Greyhound. Everyone is welcome
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NEWS
SOMERSHAM AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY SHOP The Playing Field, Princes Gardens, Somersham /
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OPENING TIMES Monday to Friday: 8am-6pm / Saturdays: 9am-1pm A COMMUNITY SHOP FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND RUN BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY Make a note in your diary of a coffee morning to celebrate the seventh anniversary of our community chop on Saturday, July 6, 10am12.30pm. You are invited to join us for cake and a drink to help us celebrate and to say thank-you to all our volunteers and customers without whom our local shop would not be possible It’s unimaginable to think that our shop has been open for seven years, now going into its eighth. It’s a real success for our locality to have such a friendly and useful village shop and it’s all thanks to everybody in the community – so come and have a piece of cake and drink with us as a thank-you to all. The shop is here for the service of all our local residents and works because of the high commitment by many people giving of their time to keep it open for everyone. All praise to the volunteers and customers who enable us to have a fantastic shop in our village serving our local community. Our local shop not only serves our local community with all the goods needed, but also helps keep our local economy thriving. Most of our fresh products – eggs, cakes, bread and rolls, sausages, pies, meat and vegetables – are produced within very few miles. Even the dry cleaning and newspaper deliveries to the shop are local to Suffolk. We don’t have so many recycled carrier bags nowadays, but we do have some really lovely strong shoulder bags showing our logo. These are for sale in the shop – a way to save the environment, carry purchases easily and have a really useful and attractive bag all at the same time. Have a look when you come in. We also have our Coffee Corner, which is proving a valuable asset with our regular groups. Pat has started a Knit and Natter group every other Tuesday between 1 and 3pm. Petrolheads is on the first Wednesday of the month from 2-4pm. Tea and Chat doesn’t meet in the summer as the Coffee Caravan takes over on Brook Way during the warmer weather. How fantastic! What a resource! Come along and use the village shop and keep it going for many more years to come. Management Team: Lucy Barrett – 831890; Sue Browne – 831321; Stephen Bullard; Janet Hodge – 832296; Peter Jousiffe; Anne MacFadyen – 831288
DEMENTIA Together Call Free 08081 688 000 email: SRYC. DementiaTogether@nhs.net visit: www.dementia-together.com 6
ST MARY’S CHURCH, GT BLAKENHAM WEDDING FAYRE Monday, May 27, 11am-3pm Gt Blakenham Parish Room, Mill Lane IP6 0NJ Free admission. www.claydonchurches.com
SnOASIS PARISH ALLIANCE (SPA) Over two years after SnOasis Reserved Matters were first submitted to BMSDC Planning, we now know that they have been passed. The SPA and others still maintain that the developer has not submitted enough of the crucial details about matters of vital importance to the local communities who will bear the brunt of the development – traffic, light pollution, drainage, impact on wildlife, etc. In spite of the short notice we were given of the meeting, the SPA members worked hard to prepare for the meeting and to ask that the committee members took our concerns and unanswered questions into account. The SPA has made the point over and over again that there is still too much detailed information missing from the proposals, too many questions that remain unanswered. We hoped that the planning committee would agree with this position and act accordingly. However, they chose not to do so. This is both disappointing and concerning, but the SPA will continue to try and work with any developer involved with the site, as well as with planning, to protect the interests of residents and get the best possible outcomes for our community. A number of local parish councils and meetings joined together to form the SnOasis Parish Alliance to work together to represent the residents of their communities, over 11,000 people who will be affected by this development. The SPA member parishes are Baylham, Barham, Bramford, Claydon and Whitton, Great Blakenham, Little Blakenham, Needham Market, Nettlestead and Somersham. For further information, please email Janet Gobey: snoasispa@icloud.com SnOasis Parish Alliance Chairman Steve Plume
GREAT BLAKENHAM 200 CLUB Winning tickets for March 2019 James Tompkins (173) £25 John Hooper (87) £15 Mr Bickers (43) £10 Mr Self (299) £10 Jim Lakkides (20) £5 Russel Dawson (40) £5 Winning tickets for April 2019 Derek Ramsey (56) £25 Mrs Chevington (97) £15 Mr Roberts (89) £10 Henry Tompkins (163) £10 Joanna Taylor (38) £5 Louisa Wells (205) £5 All money raised by your membership of the 200 Club goes toward the repair and preservation of St Mary’s Parish Church. You can join at any time and only pay for the months remaining in the year. If you would like the chance to win a prize and help maintain the beauty of our ancient church building, please call Marion: 01473 830915
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NEWS / OUT & ABOUT BARHAM HALL PICNIC CONCERT Saturday, June 29 Essential Sounds (an 18-piece big band) will again be the main entertainment while we enjoy our picnics in the wonderful setting of Barham Hall gardens. We also welcome back Sarah Hitchcock (a local vocalist) who will entertain us during the intervals. As usual we will end the evening with a flag waving Last Night of the Proms sing-along led by the band and Sarah. The gates will open at 5.30pm to allow plenty of time to view the beautiful gardens before the band starts. We aim to finish proceedings at 10pm. Tickets are on sale now at the early discount price of £11 (instead of £14). This discount will apply to all tickets paid for before May 22. Cheques payable to Claydon and Barham PCC should be sent with a self-addressed envelope (with stamp if you live outside Claydon & Barham) to Roger Colthorpe, 5 Phillipps Road, Barham IP6 0AZ. Please don’t leave buying your tickets too late as a sell out is again probable as we have to strictly limit numbers to comply with the Temporary Event Notice under which this event is held. Unfortunately, we all have to gamble on the British weather, hence the early discount price before you know what the weather forecast will be like! All proceeds will go towards the Claydon & Barham Church Fabric Fund to help fund the next major project which is restore our ancient bells and get them ringing again with hopefully two additional bells. The bells at Barham Church have not been rung properly since 1947, but we will hopefully be able to open a concert with a peal of bells from across the road in the not too distant future. Our thanks to Mr and Mrs Burrows for inviting us into their gardens for the twelfth year. In order to avoid damage to the beautiful lawns we cannot allow gazebos, barbecues and emptying of hot water from flasks.
GREAT BLAKENHAM CRAFT CLUB Open to anyone living in Great Blakenham and the surrounding areas, the club meets every Monday other than bank holidays in Great Blakenham Parish Room (opposite the Chequers PH) from 2-4pm. The building is fully accessible. Members pay £2 per meeting to cover hall hire, refreshments, the monthly workshop goody bag and weekly raffle prizes. Alternatively you may wish to bring your own project and enjoy our company and make new friends. Members take it in turns to make the tea. Our workshop for March was entitled Seaside and the picture shows some of the finished items. Fact and Fantasy was the title of the cardmaking workshop in April featuring robots and unicorns. Pictures to follow next month. 2019 PROGRAMME May 13: Village Life and Little Mice June 3: Summer Sewing July 1: A Bit of Bling August 5: Autumn’s Coming September 2: Take Heart October 7: Fabric Cards November 4: Christmas Cards with a Twist December 2: AGM There is currently room for new members so please get in touch if you would like to join us. Although the club is all ladies at present, gentlemen who would like to learn crafts are welcome. Unfortunately I can’t accommodate children. Jackie Durrant: 01449 672690
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FLOWER FESTIVAL St Mary’s Church, Great Blakenham Friday 25 to Sunday, May 27, 10am-4pm daily Refreshments served All proceeds towards the 2020 Building Project bringing St Mary’s into the 21st century
GREAT BLAKENHAM CINEMA Thank you all so much for supporting Great Blakenham Cinema. We have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have come along or helped spread the word, and the local businesses that have displayed posters and donated raffle prizes. It really does make all the effort worthwhile to see the community come together. For those of you who haven’t been yet, please do pop along. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere with chairs around tables rather than in rows. Entry is paid on the door and you are welcome in groups or alone. There is a warm welcome for all with popcorn for sale, a raffle raising funds to make the cinema sustainable and free tea, coffee and squash before the show courtesy of the East of England Co-op Cuppa Scheme. We are excited to say that due to the support we have received to date we have been able to book more screenings, so please save the following dates: May 19 when we present Mary Poppins Returns (PG), June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 13 and December 1. In May our charity of the month will be St Elizabeth Hospice. Films are screened at Great Blakenham Village Hall (IP6 0NJ) where the doors open at 2pm and the movie starts at 2.30pm. Tickets are £4 for adults and £3 for under-18s. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. Should you have any film suggestions, be happy to help out or have any queries, please do get in touch via our Facebook page or contact Becky: greatblakenhamcinema@outlook.com / 07852 472082
GREAT BLAKENHAM OVER 50’s CLUB Open to anyone over-50 living in Great Blakenham and the surrounding area. We meet from 2-4pm in Great Blakenham Parish Room (opposite the Chequers PH) on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. The building is fully accessible. The cost per meeting is £2 which includes whatever activity is programmed for the afternoon, refreshments and the raffle. On afternoons when we may play a couple of games of bingo the tickets are £1 each. For our March meetings Jean led a quiz afternoon and we had a brief history of the origins of Mother’s Day with a social afternoon. Forthcoming Programme May 8: Games Afternoon May 22: Social Afternoon with Brenda June 12: TBC June 26: Flowers Fruit and Veg New members are always welcome so if you would like to come along and see what goes on we will be pleased to see you. Jackie Durrant: 01449 672690
BRAMFORD COMPUTER CLUB This month the club will meet on Wednesdays, May 1, 8, 15 and 22 in the upstairs room at Bramford Methodist Church between 10am and noon. We won’t meet on May 29 as it’s the school half-term holiday. Membership is £1 for the year, payable in September, and £3 per two-hour session. We have no set programme, but are here to help you to get the most out of your computer. Why not give us a try?
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OUT & ABOUT / SCHOOLS CLAYDON PRIMARY SCHOOL
GIRLS HAVE FUN Are you aged between five and seven years? Bramford Rainbows meet on Mondays from 5.30-6.30pm in the Scout & Guide Head Quarters opposite the Victory Hall. Come and join us for crafts, cooking and lots of fun. For more information contact Helen: 07733 070012 We would love to see you.
CLAYDON PRE-SCHOOL At the time of writing the children are very excited for the Easter break and the thought of a visit from the Easter Bunny with some chocolate! The staff and children have been making lots of Easter themed crafts and have been practising their Easter songs ready for their performance at our Easter Eggstravaganza. As soon as our term-time children come back we will have our trip to Hollow Trees Farm so fingers crossed the weather is better then. We are also hoping that the summer term will shine through with lots of warm sunshine so the children can really enjoy playing outside. Race Night: Saturday, May 18 At Claydon & Barham Community Centre with the first race at 8pm. It would be lovely to see as many of you there as possible. Please ring the pre-school for exact details if you would like to come along. Don’t forget to book up spaces for the Easter and summer holidays! As we are now open all year (except bank holidays and the Christmas period) so we can take children up to five years old for additional sessions during the school holiday weeks, subject to availability. If you would like to book any days during the holidays, please contact the administration assistant for more details. We can take children who are entitled to 30 hours funding. Simply register at Childcare Choices to see if you are eligible. If you would like an application form or any further information please contact Lisa Read: Claydon Pre-school, Old Scout Hut, Thornhill Road, Claydon IP6 0DZ / 01473 831648 / admin@claydonpreschool.co.uk
CLAYDON PRE-SCHOOL 100 CLUB March Winners 1: Danielle Larking (34) 2: Philip Telling (56) 3: Leslie Vinyard (68) The pre-school had a donation of £25.50 thanks to your support. Half of all money given for the 100 Club goes to the pre-school and the other half is paid out in winnings. Membership is just £1 a month. You don’t need to have a child at the pre-school to be a member. Membership forms are available from the office or by email. Thank-you to all those lovely people who continue to support us. We are very grateful.
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This month we would like to share a sporting update with you. During the spring term we were busy with the following clubs: tag rugby, netball, football, basketball, dance, futsal, quick sticks hockey, handball and running. Our Key Stage 2 intra-competitions held during PE lessons produced these winning teams: Year 3 Netball – Lions; Year 4 Handball – Dolphins; Year 5 Tennis – Orangutans. In addition, Key Stage 2 competed in the intra-football competition for the Mr Doody Cup. All results were combined and the Lions were victorious. The IPSSA netball and football leagues have now been completed and we finished mid-table in both. Well done to everyone who participated. We have competed in School Games Futsal for both girls and boys U11s, as well as having two teams in the U11s mixed quick sticks hockey. The Futsal festival for the mixed U9 team was a very busy event with back-to-back games. However we displayed some great skill and finished in bronze position. Our U11 mixed basketball team finished in gold position at the tournament and returned a week later to compete in the county final play-offs. They faced some very strong competition and didn’t win through, but displayed excellent sportsmanship. In all competitions the children played to the best of their ability, displayed great team work and were a credit to the school. Our biggest event was the annual cross country event at the Royal Hospital School with 56 pupils participating. There were 36 schools taking part, with a total of just under 950 runners! The Year 4s ran 1,800m and five of our boys finished in the top 50, four of our girls finished in the top 60, including fifth place for one of our girls – an amazing achievement out of 128 runners. Years 5 and 6 all ran 2,200m. The Year 5 boys had three runners finish in the top 70 and four girls in the top 60. Year 6 boys had five runners finish in the top 50 and again this included fifth place for one of our boys out of 196 runners, another fantastic achievement, and the girls had four in the top 50. All the children were a credit to the school and showed great resilience and determination as they neared the finished line to put in a final spurt. Well done everyone! Years 2 and 4 are busy preparing for the upcoming Key Steps Gymnastics and Year 4 are now ready for the tag rugby and handball festivals which will take place immediately after Easter. The Year 4 girls will also be participating in a 4v4 girls’ football festival at ITFC which will include a stadium tour and the opportunity to meet a player. Years 5 and 6 girls are looking forward to the start of the IPSSA football league and have been training throughout the year in readiness. In PE we look forward to starting athletics, where we collect the data to try and improve on our personal best. In addition, Suffolk Cricket’s Chance to Shine programme will be delivering some cricket coaching to Year 3.
CLAYDON AND BARHAM YOUNG FAMILIES Claydon and Barham Young Families is a Mothers’ Union project which has been run by Mothers’ Union members and supporters for 27 years. We welcome mums, dads, carers and grandparents from Claydon, Barham, Great Blakenham and the surrounding villages with babies or children under five; entry is just £1.50 per family. This month we meet from 9.30-11.30am on May 9 and 23 in Claydon and Barham Village Hall. At our regular sessions families can enjoy a themed craft activity where children can be creative and try out different materials to produce an individual masterpiece. Playdough and all sorts of toys that encourage children’s imaginative play and physical and social development are available. For parents and carers it is a good opportunity to meet others with pre-school children or babies. There is also a prize draw for the children. This month we would like to wish a happy birthday to Madilyn, Erin, Dolcie and Dylan who all celebrate in May. Why not come along and join in the fun, you can make friends and enjoy some valuable play? Hope to see you there. For more information contact me on 01473 833788 or check our listing on Netmums.com.
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CHURCH NEWS ST MARY THE VIRGIN BRAMFORD, ST MARY NETTLESTEAD, ST MARY THE VIRGIN LITTLE BLAKENHAM, ST PETER BAYLHAM Priest-in-Charge: The Rev Jenny Seggar 01473 747819 / revjseggar@outlook.com www.the-tew-family.co.uk/stmbramford SERVICES Every Wednesday, 9.30am: Quiet Reflective Communion Service Sunday, May 5: Easter 3 10am Holy Communion, Bramford 6pm Evening Prayer, Baylham Saturday, May 11 11.30-2pm Plant Sale and Ploughman’s Lunches, Church Room Sunday, May 12: Easter 4 8am Holy Communion, Bramford 10am Parish Communion, Nettlestead Tuesday, May 14 11am
Communion from Reserved Sacrament, Baylham Care Centre
Wednesday, May 15 7.30pm Healing Service, Methodist Church Sunday, May 19: Easter 5 9am Parish Communion, Bramford 11am Parish Communion, Baylham Tuesday, May 21 2.30pm The Gathering, Church Room Saturday, May 25 10am-noon Coffee Morning, Church Room Sunday, May 26: Easter 6 8am Holy Communion, Bramford 10am 4th Sunday Service, Bramford Thursday, May 30 7.30pm Ascension Day Service, Bramford Please check porch notices for any changes. Dear Friends I’m sure that by now most of you will be aware that I have returned from my sabbatical and have been working again since just before Easter. I had a great time, and did some fascinating study, coupled with a great holiday and some fantastic bird watching in the Orkney Isles. Many of you asked what I did for Lent, and where John and I worshipped. We took the opportunity to travel around a bit on Sundays, which was fun. As for the Lent observances, I followed the Church of England Pilgrim Season, which was thought provoking, but as a household we had a really good look at our environmental profile. We are trying to cut down on our plastics use (easier said than done), and be much more aware of our shopping habits. I was shocked to see plastic waste on the wild beaches of Orkney, and was
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deeply impressed by the steps islanders are taking to try to sort out their own small corner of the world. Each and every one of us needs to change just a few things which will make a material difference to our impact on the world around us – from a Christian point of view we were given responsibility for the world. I realised that my personal stewardship of this great gift had slipped. So, we are cutting out unnecessary single use plastics, looking for green alternative for household goods, including mundane things like toothbrushes and shampoo (amongst other things), and will be looking at green energy tariffs. We are just one household, but every little helps! We’d like to thank everyone who came to support the Coffee Morning on Saturday, March 30, in aid of the Nerve Tumours UK, and all the helpers, without whom the event wouldn’t have been possible. We raised £300 so very well done to all. The Coffee Morning on May 25 will support Christian Aid, and we will again be selling excellent cakes, as well as books and jigsaw puzzles. We will also have a bring-and-buy and a raffle. Don’t forget the Ploughman’s Lunches and Plant Sale on May 11. This is your chance to get something for your garden, as well as enjoying an excellent spring lunch. Blessings to you all, The Rev Jenny Seggar PARISH REGISTERS Funerals March 20: Kenneth Ronald Taber, Bramford March 28: Ivan Victor Sherman, Bramford We extend to their families our sympathy and prayers. Cleaning Rota: H & P Hart Flower Rota: May 11 – wedding; May 25 – wedding Floodlighting of the Spire of St Mary’s Church May 4: In memory of Phil Sawyer on his 73rd birthday If you would like to have the spire floodlit, please ring Stewart on 01473 462231. The requested donation is £10 per week. LECTIONARY Bible readings for our Sunday worship are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. It is good to share the reading of Scripture with Christians – both Catholic and Protestant – across the world. May 5 Easter 3 Acts 9.1-6 [7-20] Revelation 5.11-14
White John 21.1-19
May 12 Acts 9.36-43
Easter 4 Revelation 7.9-17
White John 10.22-30
May 19 Acts 11.1-18
Easter 5 Revelation 21.1-6
White John 13.31-35
May 26 Acts 16.9-15
Easter 6 Revelation 21.10,22 - 22.5
White John 14.23-29 or John 5.1-9
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CHURCH NEWS THE CLAYDON GROUP OF CHURCHES The Church of England in Claydon and Barham, Henley and Great Blakenham We offer you a warm welcome to all our events and services.
For enquiries about baptisms, weddings and funerals contact: Priest-in-Charge: The Rev Carl Melville, Claydon Rectory 01473 833542 / carlmelville@hotmaill.com Letter from the Vicar This is the time of year for fetes and fayres! Not only do they help us celebrate this time of year, but they bring people together as a community. The fete at Barham has been running more than 70 years. This year you can climb the tower to help us raise money for the bells project. Henley’s fete will run in the churchyard for the second year. This year we’ll hold Gt Blakenham’s Fete for the first time, where we’ll also have a dog show! Our churches have several major projects on at the moment and in total the three churches need to raise around £200,000 to do the proposed reordering work to our buildings. This is not easy, but we are determined to have loads of fun while we do it. Christianity is not just about rules and regulations – it is about life. By bringing people together we hope to share that life – the life that Jesus brings us at Easter. I am sure in doing so, God wants us to have loads of fun! So why not join us at our events this year and join in? The Revd Carl Melville SERVICES IN MAY Henley Church: every Sunday at 9.30am Barham Church: every Sunday at 10am Gt Blakenham Church: every Sunday at 11am Every Wednesday, May-August: 10am Service of Holy Communion at Barham Church Sunday, May 5: Easter 3 8am Holy Communion 9.30am Holy Communion 10am Holy Communion 11am family@blakenham
Barham Church Henley Church Barham Church Gt Blakenham Church
Sunday, May 12: Easter 4 8am Holy Communion 9.30am family@henley 10am Holy Communion 11am Holy Communion
Barham Church Henley Church Barham Church Gt Blakenham Church
Sunday, May 19: Easter 5 8am Holy Communion 9.30am Holy Communion 10am Morning Prayer 11am Holy Communion
Barham Church Henley Church Barham Church Gt Blakenham Church
Sunday, May 26: Easter 6 8am Holy Communion 9.30am Café Church 10am Holy Communion 11am Elevenses@GB 6.30pm Evensong
Barham Church Henley Church Barham Church Gt Blakenham Church Henley Church
Thursday, May 30: Ascension Day 7pm Holy Communion Henley Church Further services and events can be found at: www.claydonchurches.com Find us on Facebook and Twitter by searching for: The Claydon Group of Churches
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families@4.30 Our new congregation for families and young people meets on the first Sunday of the month at Barham Church. The next one will be held on May 5 when we’ll be thinking about Pentecost. We have loads of fun so why not come along and join us? Communities Activities Groups Mentioned on page 4, the groups continue to thrive, including Meet ’n’ Eat which meets every first Friday at Gt Blakenham Parish Room from noon-2pm, and our new Walk ’n’ Talk group which meets at 10.30am on the second Thursday of the month. Visiting If you or anyone you know would like a visit from a member of our pastoral team, please get in touch with The Rev Carl, The Rev Cathy or The Rev Jenny. This might be at home or in hospital. Lifts to Church If you’d like a lift to your local church, please contact The Rev Carl. Great Blakenham Wedding Fayre This event takes place in Gt Blakenham Parish Room and garden on Monday, May 27, 11am to 3pm. There will be lots of stalls with wedding information from cakes, party planning and cars to beauty, catering and photography. Entry is free. The church will be decorated with beautiful flowers throughout that weekend. All welcome! Claydon and Barham Annual Church Fete Saturday, June 8 from 2pm at Barham Church Hall. Barham Hall Open Air Picnic Concert: See page 8. Pentecost Praise and Picnic takes place in the Rectory Garden on Sunday, June 9, 11am. There will be no services in church that Sunday. Great Blakenham Village Fete and Doggy Day St Mary’s Churchyard, Church and Parish Room on Saturday, July 13 from noon to 3pm. There will be loads of stalls with games, raffles, cakes, refreshments, ice creams and teas. There will be a chance to put someone in the stocks, enter the fantastic prize draw and show of your dog. Look out for more details in next month’s edition. High Mass For those who like incense in church, there will be a High Mass at St Peter’s Church, Claydon on Sunday, June 16 at 4pm. Roy Tricker will be preaching. FUTURE DATES May 3 Meet ‘n’ Eat, noon-2pm, Gt Blakenham Parish Room May 5 families@4.30 at Barham Church May 25-27 Flower Festival, Gt Blakenham Church May 27 Wedding Festival, GB Parish Room and Garden June 8 Barham Church Fete June 9 Pentecost Praise, Rectory Garden June 15 Henley Church Fete June 16 4pm, High Mass at St Peter’s, Claydon June 29 Barham Picnic and Band Concert June 30 Songs of Praise, St Peter’s, Claydon July 13 Gt Blakenham Village Fete and Doggy Day Aug 7-9 J-TEAM at Barham Church Hall Bookings Barham Church Hall: Zoe Groom, 831804 Gt Blakenham Parish Room: Reg Barton, 839958 Henley Church Vestry: Margaret Gerrard, 831463
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CHURCH NEWS
QUE SERA SERA The FA Cup final between Manchester City and Watford on May 18 could be likened to David v Goliath despite both teams being in the Premier League. The current value of the squads are poles apart, Man City, £1.1billion and Watford £160million. In fact Man City’s most expensive player comes in at £135million, Kevin De Bruyne, almost the cost of the whole of Watford’s squad. Source: https://tinyurl.com/y5bvsu62
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I used to watch the BBC’s Road to Wembley as a boy on cup final day but now I’m happy to watch just the match itself. This year Watford will be considered the underdogs by most and the team many, I suspect, will want to win just for that reason. On paper, Watford winning should be impossible, but there have been enough cup upsets in the past to give them hope. When David walked up to Goliath it would have looked a major mismatch. Israel’s future was in the hands of a young lad against a giant. Yet we read that David’s confidence was not in his own ability but in his God. David acknowledged that God had helped him kill a lion and a bear in the past. Despite his height, age and fighting experience being inferior to Goliath, he trusted God for victory. What was humanly impossible was possible with God, David defeated Goliath and acknowledged God had given him the victory. We have just celebrated Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. God did for us what is impossible for us to do in Jesus. Sin brought death into the world and separation from God. The Bible tells us that the last enemy, death, has been defeated because Jesus was raised to life. Through Jesus we can have life in all its fullness and life eternal and it is a gift from God. This gift is available to all, yet only for those who will turn to God from their sin and believe on Jesus. So when you see the FA Cup Final this year, in its entirety, highlights or on the news, whatever the result, remember that Jesus won the victory on the cross and did for us what we could not do, deal with our sin problem. WEEKLY EVENTS Monday Fortnightly: Little Owls Toddler Group, 10am-noon Tuesday: Weekly Prayer Meeting, 7.30-8.30pm Wednesday: Coffee Morning, 10am-noon. All welcome. Thursday: Home Group, 10-11.45am Friday: Children’s Club (primary school age), 6.30-7.30pm Sunday Morning Service: 10.45am-noon For more information contact Michael: 01473 839785 admin@blakenhambaptist.org.uk www.blakenhambaptist.org.uk
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