In Touch News with Manningtree – April 2017

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with Brantham, Lawford Manningtree & Mistley Volume 7 • Issue No. 6 • APRIL 2017

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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR On a number of recent occasions I’ve been surprised by how people have reacted to fairly typical situations which would normally go relatively unnoticed or produce no more than a raised eyebrow. Just this morning I struggled to make room on a narrow road for a rather large car coming in the opposite direction. I pulled in as far as I could, trying not to go into the brook running alongside, but the other driver was incensed, waving his arms at me, his face ugly with anger. Thank goodness I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He got by a little slower than he obviously wanted, but I sat there for a moment in stunned silence.

NEWS WALK TOWARDS A CURE FOR PARKINSON’S IN SUFFOLK

At the weekend I found myself queuing behind a man who gave a shop assistant a right telling off because she had given him the wrong change. He practically accused her of trying to steal 10p from him. I asked her if she was OK after he’d left and she shrugged it off as if it was a common occurrence, which I fear it might very well be.

We may all be feeling pressure just now not knowing how things will turn out (even the weather is disagreeable), but if we lose all self-restraint and can’t even treat those we meet in everyday life with respect I dread to think of the long-term impact. Thankfully we’re not there yet and I’ve had many more instances of people being helpful, kind, thoughtful and understanding in recent weeks (clearly evidenced in the pages of this magazine) than I’ve had of people being rude, judgemental and arrogant. Admittedly a little self-analysis may be necessary now and then, but I’m determined to offset rude drivers and hateful behaviour by doing the exact opposite.

By making a little extra effort to be kind to each other, I’m convinced we can make the world a little bit more pleasant for everyone. A smile, a polite ‘good morning’, a wave when another driver makes way (and especially when they don’t!), may initially have little impact on how others behave, but it can’t hurt.

Happy Easter from everyone at Mansion House Publishing

In Touch

with Brantham, Lawford, Manningtree & Mistley

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Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd, 20 Wharfedale Road, Ipswich IP1 4JP Editor: Sharon Jenkins Email: sharon@intouchnews.co.uk

01473 400380

Send editorial copy to: manningtree@intouchnews.co.uk Readers are invited to submit articles, illustrations and photographs for publication. The publishers reserve the right to amend such submissions and cannot accept responsibility for any loss.

Advertising Email: advertising@intouchnews.co.uk

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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 Brantham, Lawford, Manningtree, & Mistley is published by Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd as part of the “In Touch with. . . ” series of magazines.

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• NEW Beyton, Drinkstone, Elmswell, Haughley, Hessett, Norton, Tostock, Wetherden & Woolpit • Bramford, Offton, Somersham & Willisham • Capel St Mary • Barham, Claydon, Henley & Whitton • Belstead, Bentley, Copdock, Tattingstone & Washbrook • Dedham, East Bergholt, Flatford & Stratford St Mary • Baylham, Gt & Lt Blakenham & Nettlestead • Ipswich East • Kesgrave & Rushmere St Andrew • Martlesham Heath & Old Martlesham • Needham Market & The Creetings • Chelmondiston, Erwarton, Harkstead, Holbrook, Pin Mill, Shotley, Stutton & Woolverstone • Burstall & Sproughton • Stowmarket & Stowupland • Ashbocking, Tuddenham St Martin, Westerfield & Witnesham • Chattisham, Hadleigh, Hintlesham, Holton St Mary, Layham & Raydon • Melton & Woodbridge

People in Suffolk are being asked to pick up the pace against Parkinson’s this year at Walk for Parkinson’s – Glemham Hall on Sunday, July 9, one of a series of walk events to be held across the UK for Parkinson’s UK during 2017.

Walk for Parkinson’s offers the opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to get involved in a fun and active day out, while helping the charity step ever closer to a cure.

There are a range of distances on offer to suit everyone, with a 1.5 mile, 3.5 mile and 5.5 mile walk to choose from.

It is the first time the charity has hosted a Walk for Parkinson’s at Glemham Hall. Previous walks in the region have seen more than 200 local people take part, so the charity hopes to involve even more walkers with the new and exciting venue.

The registration fee is £10 for adults and £5 for under 16s. Everyone who registers will receive a free Parkinson’s UK t-shirt, fundraising pack and at the end of the walk, a finishers medal.

The charity is hoping to raise over £400,000 from the 32 events, so suggests walkers aim to raise at least £50.

All money raised from Walk for Parkinson’s – Glemham Hall will help Parkinson’s UK’s work to provide support and information for people affected by Parkinson’s and to help find better treatments, and ultimately a cure.

As well as walkers, the charity is on the lookout for volunteers to help register people at the start/finish area or to be a walk marshal at various points on the route during the day.

To find out more and to sign up to walk or volunteer contact: 0207 963 9367 / fundraising@parkinsons.org.uk or visit: www.parkinsons.org.uk/walkglemhamhall

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is the final date for both advertising and editorial copy

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NEWS MANNINGTREE VINTAGE AND COLLECTABLES MARKET

REPORT TO PARISHES, ALTON WARD: APRIL 2016

Manningtree Business Chamber is a group of volunteers who live and work in Manningtree and have recently been awarded the Community Engagement Award.

Babergh District Councillor Alastair McCraw

Manningtree has the same problems as most small towns and villages these days with Internet shopping, communities spreading out and the heart of the town struggling with shops closing. The chamber is busy trying to give a strong identity to this beautiful little gem of a town by building on its rich history as a market town.

The Vintage & Collectables Market will be on held on the last Saturday of each month over the summer, starting on Saturday, April 29 and finishing at the end of September.

By choosing a Saturday alongside Manningtree’s existing well-established market, the Vintage & Collectables Market will provide added interest for people to come and enjoy browsing the markets, having a coffee, visiting the beach, having lunch and finding out what’s on offer in Manningtree.

Hopefully by boosting visitor numbers it will help the town to grow and thrive, with more themed markets and events planned for the future.

Chamber member Mel Winning has an art degree from Camberwell Art School and has recently been a featured artist in Reclaim Magazine. Mel has been helping to organise the artwork and booking stands: “Essex is full of fantastic collectables and antique markets, with prices low compared to London,” says Mel. “We have teamed up with Harwich Emporium and fantastic dealers and buyers and sellers from Manningtree and Mistley.

This is a great opportunity for locals and dealers from further afield to buy.”

The chamber wants this to be an ongoing success story for Manningtree.

It’s a great town full of wonderfully creative people. Let’s support this market, spread the word and come into town for some browsing fun.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter and spread the word: www.facebook.com/ManningtreeVintage https://twitter.com/ManningtreeVin1

BRANTHAM ANNUAL GARAGE SALE 2017 Yvonne and Ronnie did a great job organising Brantham Garage Sale for many years, supporting St Elizabeth Hospice as well as small local charities.

Last year was their last sale as they decided to retire and have kindly offered to pass the baton to Nepal Children’s Trust, our locally run charity that offers support for the poor and abandoned children of Nepal. We will be organising the garage sale this year, and hopefully many more to come.

We aim to continue Yvonne’s and Ronnie’s good work and donate half the proceeds to St Elizabeth Hospice, with the other half going to the Nepal Children’s Trust.

We have two provisional dates (September 9 and 16) and are welcoming feedback from anybody who might know of other local events that we may want to avoid clashing with. Please contact us on: Margaret Woods: 07867 546484 / maggie.woods@janjerltd.com Maya Watling: 07508 430671 / mayawatling@hotmail.com 4

Brantham Maintenance Depot Last month I was able to tell you about the plans for a Greater Anglia Maintenance Depot at the Brantham Industrial Site. This will be the biggest industrial investment in Babergh’s entire history as an authority (from 1973, I think). Brantham Parish Council hosted a presentation from Greater Anglia on March 7. Taylor Woodrow, the contractor for the construction phase, and the current landowners, St Francis Group, were also in attendance for a wide ranging question and answer session.

Subjects covered included: planning considerations; impact on the housing requirement; traffic flows; noise, light and other environmental impacts (both for humans and birdlife); timescales; the likelihood of improvements to Manningtree crossing; employment and apprenticeship impacts and treatment of footpaths and the peninsula. I hope to post more information on social media. GA has also set up an email address for feedback and queries on this project: brantham@greateranglia.co.uk There will be a planning application for the yard construction itself and that means a consultation period, in due course, with responses to Babergh District Council.

It’s important to note that this meeting was to engage with us as a community and entirely separate from that planning process. It was also held at the earliest opportunity after agreement had been reached between all financial parties involved. I’ve actively encouraged these sorts of discussions in nearly all planning matters, small and large. Early discussion and mutual consideration can avoid (or at least reduce) a lot of the pain and trouble associated with planning.

The meeting finished with a light-hearted discussion about whether this yard should be labelled ‘Brantham’ or ‘Cattawade’. The Manningtree references in the press are part of the ‘curse’ of our postal address. I’ll just add that the site is on the ‘Brantham’ Regeneration Area.

COUNCIL TAX 2017/18 Your council tax bills have been issued and you’ll be aware that these three parishes see a 2.9% increase. SCC has put all their increase into the social care precept. That’s obviously a hot subject at the moment and understandably receiving attention. So county goes up by 3%, police and crime by 2% and Babergh by the most allowed to us, £5 for the year in Band D, which works out at 3.4%. You can look on that as 10p a week if you like. With reducing government support, achieving a balanced budget at all was a bit of a miracle. The bottom line at Band D for Alton is between £1,550 and £1,565, the differences being in the parish precepts.

County account for 76% of that, PCC for 11%, district (Babergh) for 10% and the parishes are a bargain at around 3%. If it’s any consolation, the average overall council tax increase in England this year is 4% ARTHUR RANSOME’S EAST COAST I loved Ransomes books (from Swallows and Amazons to the East Anglian based stories) as a kid. His own mysterious history in Russia adds another fascinating element. My thanks to Derek Davis at Berners Ward, a prime mover in the Shotley Tourist Action Group, for drawing my attention to events taking place on the peninsula this year, starting on May 13 with guided walks and a celebration at Pin Mill. Here’s a Facebook link: https://tinyurl.com/hzdvkcx As always, if anything concerns you please contact me via the methods below – or just say hello sometime. I’m on a Blue Claud Butler bicycle, usually with yellow winter cycling jacket. alastair.mccraw@babergh.gov.uk / 07812 564188 Facebook: Alton, Alastair McCraw & Harriet Steer (an open group) In Touch online:

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NEWS CONSTABLE COUNTRY MEDICAL PRACTICE Demand over public holidays Demand over Christmas and New Year was very high and we experienced a backlog in processing prescriptions for a couple of days immediately after the New Year. Pharmacies are also very busy over public holidays.

We are sorry if patients experienced delays in receiving their medication.

In order to minimise delays over the Easter period, please submit requests for repeat medication well in advance. Repeat medication can be requested online if you have a SystmOne online account. Please contact the reception team if you would like to register for an account.

High demand and Storm Doris Storm Doris caused major disruption across Suffolk on Thursday, February 23. The East Bergholt surgery lost power for over four hours.

We relocated clinicians to Capel and diverted or rearranged patients who had appointments at East Bergholt. The loss of power meant that we lost access to patient records, our phone system for both sites went down, vaccines in our fridges went over their permissible temperature range, and we had to close the East Bergholt premises at about 4.45pm as it was too dark to work safely.

Many patients were affected by the disruption, not only on the day but also for the following week or so when appointments were rescheduled and while vaccines were unavailable due to the loss of power to our fridges. Thank you to all patients affected for your understanding.

The last significant power loss at East Bergholt was in 2013, though outages do occur on a regular basis, usually for just a few minutes.

Following a full review of events we have decided to purchase an emergency generator and necessary cabling to ensure that in the event of future significant power failures at the East Bergholt or Capel premises, we are able to continue to keep our phone system operational and attend to patients who need urgent care. Hopefully these events will be few and far between.

Training days A reminder that in 2017 the practice will be closed from 1pm on the following dates for staff training: Wednesday, April 26 and Thursday, May 18. On these afternoons the doors will be closed so please ensure any prescriptions are picked up well beforehand. If you phone the practice the recorded message will ask you to ring 111 for medical assistance if your problem cannot wait until the next day.

Practice Manager Pete Keeble

CHECK YOUR BOUNDARIES Now we are into April it’s a good time to go into our gardens and look at ways we can protect our property.

Front boundaries Low boundaries at the front give maximum visibility.

Burglars will feel safer if they can hide behind high fences/hedges as they will be obstructed from view of passers-by from the road.

Rear and side boundaries The height of rear and side fences should be 1.8 meters. If your boundary is particularly vulnerable the height can be increased with a trellis. This can be attractive and also act as a deterrent as it’s difficult to climb over without breaking the fence or making a noise.

Gates All gates should be fitted with lockable slide bolts and have a padlock to stop someone reaching over to gain entry.

Good news story Myself and PCSO Georgi Hawkes from Hadleigh SNT worked with PCSO Teresa England, Sgt Darren Oxbrow and the Youth Offending Team in a litter pick with some young people in the local area.

PCSO Denise FORD, Hadleigh SNT Police: 999 emergencies only or 101 for non-emergencies Your local police: Hadleigh SNT, Hadleigh Police Station, Magdalen Road, Hadleigh IP7 5AD / hadleigh.snt@suffolk.pnn.police.uk

MANNINGTREE TOWN COUNCIL The minutes of Manningtree Town Council meetings are available on their website, on the two town noticeboards (one at the Co-op Fiveways store and one beside the library) and at the clerk's office by appointment: 01206 390285 www.manningtreetowncouncil.org.uk

MISTLEY PARISH COUNCIL The full unapproved minutes of the meetings are displayed at the noticeboards near to the bus stop at Rigby Avenue and also outside Mistley Post Office in the High Street. The approved minutes can be accessed online at: www.essexinfo.net/mistleypc/parish-council/meetings Dates of next meetings in the village hall at 7.30pm Thursday, April 20: Planning Committee Monday, April 24: Full Council

CONSTABLE COUNTRY PRACTICE PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP Men’s Health Talk Professor Chris Booth has kindly agreed to give a talk on men’s health.

This will be on April 5 at the Constable Hall, East Bergholt at 7.30pm.

Refreshments will be available from 7pm. A small donation to help cover the cost of the hall would be welcome.

Staff at Villapharm have worked hard to clear the backlog, but if you are still having problems please let us know either on comment cards or via email (as above).

Availability of appointments We have had a number of comments recently about the lack of availability of appointments. If you have had any problems we would like to hear from you. Please either fill in a Patient Participation Group comment card (available in both surgeries) or email us at: constablecountryppg@gmail.com

PPG Meetings Our meetings take place every month on the third Monday and we always discuss issues you raise with the practice manager and partners.

We try to ensure that minutes appear regularly on the practice website.

We are currently arranging our Annual General Meeting which we are hoping will be in early June – date and venue will be announced in the next magazine update, on village noticeboards and in both surgeries.

Delays with prescriptions We continue to get complaints about delays at the Capel pharmacy.

Constable Country PPG Chair Kathy Pollard 01473 311384 / constablecountryppg@gmail.com

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Group Managing Director Marcus McGee believes that Which? have endorsed Cloudy2Clear’s long standing company policy of delivering the highest standards possible at all times. ‘Our service is simple. If your double glazing has misted up we can replace the glass at a fraction of the cost of a new window, in any type of frame, and with a new 25 year guarantee. But it’s not just about saving people money, although that obviously helps. Whilst a number

of tradespeople perhaps don’t focus on customer care as much as they should do, we make sure we turn up when we say we will, do the job the customer requires and leave their house as clean as a whistle.

Locally Cloudy2Clear service the Ipswich, Woodbridge, Manningtree, Hadleigh, Stowmarket & surrounding areas and manager Andy Kerridge agrees that this approach is a major factor in his success. ‘The truth is that it’s not just the personal satisfaction that I get from doing

a good job but also it makes good business sense. I get a huge amount of business from friends and family of people I’ve done work for, which just goes to show how much a little bit of effort is appreciated as both my customers and, obviously a body as nationally important as Which? now recognise.’

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It’s Spring Time at Blenheim!

Buy top quality healthy plants from the people who grow them We have more than 25 years horticultural experience!

Join our new Reward Card Club & start saving!

Complete a form in store

Browse around our newly stocked gift shop and find those unusual greetings cards, presents and much more

Walk through our covered plant area now full of new shrubs, perennials & climbers

Cottage Garden and Rockery plants Now on

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Bromley Road, Colchester, Essex CO7 7SF - Tel: 01206 870605 Find out more about us at www.blenheimgardencentre.co.uk

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NEWS MANNINGTREE & DISTRICT FRANKENBERG PARTNERSHIP

JAMES CARTLIDGE, MP FOR SOUTH SUFFOLK

An invitation to share in Frankenberg’s 50 years of partnership with France, Austria, England and Frankenberg Saxony is open for four days, Thursday, June 15 to Sunday 18. A programme of events and a celebration evening is being arranged.

For many years the UK has performed poorly in the international productivity tables. In real terms, this means that in 2015, for every comparable hour worked in Germany, the UK produced 37% less output.

Average productivity across the G7 countries falls 18% above the UK. This is a huge gap and a startling reflection of the challenge that we face as a country.

Places on a mini-coach to Frankenberg, Germany are still available; for full details call 01206 395263.

Lawford Parish Council You can read the council’s minutes on: •

www.essexinfo.net/lawford-parish-council

•

the parish council’s noticeboards

Minutes can be collected from the parish office by prior arrangement as the offices are not open to the public.

LAWFORD PARISH ASSEMBLY Thursday, May 11, 7pm at Ogilvie Hall, Wignall Street, Lawford CO11 2JG. Come and find out what your parish council has been doing for you this past year. Meet your councillors, find out about the local clubs and societies in the area who will have tables with information – from bowls to yoga, museums to Pilates. Free refreshments served by your councillors.

If you run a local club or society and would like a free table to promote it please contact the clerk: 01206 395898 / lawfordpc@btconnect.com

TEA – COFFEE – CHAT – CREDIT UNION Every Friday, 10am-12.30pm, at the Hub in The Lane, Manningtree Friday mornings can be busy, especially if you have a family to look after.

It’s the end of the week. You try to catch up with everything that should have been done before and it means getting ready for the weekend with meals to plan, shopping to do and more.

Friday mornings can be just like any other day, especially if you live alone.

It’s the end of the week and there may be another weekend coming up with nothing much going on.

So how do you make a Friday morning that bit better? Whether yours is of the busy sort or the quieter kind, the Hub in Manningtree may be the place for you. There the all-age drop-in is an oasis with time for a breather for the busy and a place with friendly company, a cuppa and a chat for everyone.

And you can do your budget-friendly banking at the same time. The Credit Union is tucked away in a corner while the friendly chatter of the drop-in goes on at the same time. The Credit Union is a straight-forward, oldfashioned savings bank. It is run by volunteers, but has all the protection and safeguards of any of the big banks. It is an ethical way of saving and regular savers can apply for loans at reasonable rates. Just come in and ask. You only need £1 to start an account and become a Credit Union member.

Every Friday morning there are friendly volunteers at hand to welcome you, to talk to you, to listen to you and sometimes we may even be able to help you. To find out more about Fridays@theHub or the Credit Union, call: 07891 963005 www.keepingintouchwith.com/manningtree

I believe that this year’s spring budget will be remembered for its contribution to future improvements in this area. Technical education in our country has failed to result in enough young adults with first-rate skills, and any plan to tackle the productivity deficit must establish a system of education that rectifies this.

As such, I welcomed the announcements in the Chancellor’s speech of a new ‘T-level’ system. Where the route from GCSE to A-level to University is both well-established and well-regarded, the same is not currently true for technical education. The budget seeks to put these new courses on an equal footing with the traditional academic route by increasing the number of hours that students train by 50% and simplifying the current 13,000 possible qualifications to just 15. An additional £500m of extra funding has been allocated to pay for this new system.

Local businesses often express concerns around recruitment as they are struggling to find enough local individuals with the skills that they require to grow. At the new rail depot in Brantham there will be jobs created that would ideally be filled by individuals local to the area. These will be technical jobs in a large company that has the capacity to facilitate careers in the industry. I am hopeful that with a proper system in place, we will have young people qualifying with desirable skills who will be able to fill roles such as those on the rail depot.

It is crucial that the country takes this opportunity to overcome the persistent challenge of weak productivity and I hope that residents will join me in welcoming this shift towards a fit-for-purpose, varied education system.

I hold regular advice surgeries offering help and support to local people.

Please see page 15 for my contact details.

LAWFORD SURGERY NEWS Retirement of our dispenser We are sad to announce that Sue, our valued dispenser, retired in March.

Dr Ahmad and staff would like to thank Sue for the true dedication and commitment which she has shown over the last 13 years. Sue has such thoughtful qualities and always has a kindly word for everyone, patients and staff alike. She will be missed by all. We wish her every happiness for her retirement which will give her more time to spend with her family and friends.

Dispensing Services Quality Scheme We are approaching the end of our first year since joining the DSQS. We have completed a successful audit, which gave 190 patients medication reviews for our dispensing patients. We will be taking more DRUM Clinics again on Tuesday afternoons from 2-4pm from April 2017. Please call the surgery to make an appointment with our dispensing technician.

Janice is our dispensary manager. Claire, our dispenser, completed her NVQ Level 2 in Dispensing Services this year and we would like to congratulate her. Sharon is our dispensing technician and Kathryn joined as our new team member last month.

Lawford Surgery and the Dispensing Doctor’s Association (DDA) Sharon, our dispensing technician, has been approached by the DDA to produce and review new Standard Operating Procedure Templates (SOPs) for DDA members countrywide, including Scotland and Wales. We are pleased to show our continuing professional development within our whole dispensing team.

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OUT & ABOUT BUMPER BOOK SALE

EAST BERGHOLT DRAMATIC SOCIETY

Attention all you book lovers.

Another bumper book sale is planned for Easter Monday, April 17 at Manningtree Methodist Church in South Street from 10am-4pm. This will be run alongside our highly successful four day art show.

Something is rotten and really quite stinks in the Kingdom of Lancre. The King is dead. Long live the King!

ACORN VILLAGE Our garden polytunnel got destroyed

by Storm Doris. It will cost £234 for a replacement which we will erect ourselves. If you have some spare pennies that can go towards the cost we would be very grateful as the garden brings so much delight to adults with learning disabilities as well as the general public.

Whether you can run a coffee morning on our behalf or perhaps donate the money you’d spend on a night out or a takeaway, we would be so grateful. Our fundraising page is: mydonate.bt.com/events/polytunnel Alternatively come and see us at Acorn Village, Clacton Road, Mistley CO11 2NJ. Members of NAFAs will be holding a fundraising flower show on May 19/20. If you are interested in having a stall contact ontact us at: info@acornvillages.com East of England Area of NAFAS and Colchester Group of Flower Clubs present

A FLOWER FESTIVAL & AREA SHOW

Well, no actually, because the new king, the evil Duke Felmet, murdered the previous one… The missing true heir, the baby prince, finds protection with three local witches, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and their protégé Magrat Garlick. Although witches have a rule never to interfere with the life of a child at stake and the fate of the kingdom in their hands, they take granny’s advice about rules: If you’re going to break them – break them good and hard!

Terry Pratchett’s marvellous Discworld characters are brought to life in this hilarious and fast paced adventure playing at The Constable Hall in East Bergholt on March 30 and 31 and April 1 at 7.30pm. Tickets £6 in advance from: 01473 311553 / 07803 475750

AT THE MANIFEST Well things are all go at The Manifest. By the time you read this we will have had our spring production, The Lady in The Van, another great play under the direction of Kerry King.

We now look forward to our summer production in June. Glorious is presently being put together with read-throughs and auditions. John Roberts directs this exciting comedy, which we are sure will be a real hoot, but more about that nearer the time.

Film Night on Friday, April 21, 7.30pm: Saving Mr Banks Members £5, non-members £7, tickets on the door Saving Mr Banks is a 2013 comedy period drama directed by John Lee Hancock from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. When Walt Disney’s daughters were young, they loved a little book about a magical (and slightly sadistic) nanny named Mary Poppins. He promised them that he would someday make a movie out of the series, and 20 years later, he delivered. But it was no easy task as we learn in this fascinating movie.

Raising funds for adults with learning disabilities at Acorn Village Friday, May 19, 10am-5pm Saturday, May 20, 10am-4pm Demonstrations, Hands-on Workshops, Retail Therapy, Raffle, Tombola Refreshments will be available in the café.

There will be the opportunity to purchase a rose in memory of a loved one and to plant it in the River of Roses Admission and parking by donation

Saturday, May 6, 7.30pm: Laurel & Hardy Film Night Members £3 or £4 if not a member of the Laurel & Hardy Film Club.

Tickets on the door.

As we walked through the bluebell woods, I thought he’d like this It’s the little things that make a funeral special Here for you every hour of every day

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for your nearest funeral director visit www.eastofengland.coop/funerals 10

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OUT & ABOUT STRATFORD ST MARY OPEN GARDENS / OPEN VILLAGE Saturday, June 3

CLEAR THE CLUTTER – BAG A BARGAIN

We hope to see you there; the hall will be open from 2pm and tea and coffee will be available.

ALL WELCOME Beautiful gardens to inspire you for the coming summer Art Exhibition Boat Rides Pop-up stalls Arts and Crafts exhibitions/demonstrations Village History Music Refreshments and much more

ST MICHAEL’S MONTHLY MARKET

Put the date in your diaries.

We look forward to welcoming you to our village.

The next monthly market at St Michael’s, The Church on the Park, Woolverstone is on Saturday, April 8, 9am-12.30pm.

For further information contact Julie: Julie@jj-associates.co.uk / 07989 639583

Bentley Toddler Group is holding a fundraising jumble sale on Saturday, April 29 at Bentley Village Hall from 2pm.

If you have anything you wish to donate, please bring it along to the hall from 9am on the day or contact Pam (01473 310283) or Aimée (01473 311311) to arrange collection.

Fruit, vegetables, cakes, bread, meat and an interesting range of handcrafted items which helps present buying.

East End Butchers are pleased to be the market’s resident meat supplier. If you would like to place on order with them it can be collected at the market each month. Their number for orders is 01206 392190 Come along to mingle with your friends, have a cup of coffee and a bacon buttie and enjoy the lovely venue.

New stalls welcome. Contact Jane Gould: 01473 780777

MANNINGTREE LIBRARY WRITERS GROUP Creative writers group for aspiring writers to meet at Manningtree Library once a fortnight on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday afternoons from 2.30-4.30pm.

For further information please contact Manningtree Library on 01206 392747.

EASTER ART SHOW The Manningtree Methodist Easter Art Show will take place from Friday, April 14 to Monday, April 17.

MANNINGTREE & DISTRICT PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY February saw the return of one of our regular practical sessions and David Edwards demonstrated the finer points of print mounting, complemented by some helpful advice on composure technique by George Fossey from the Harwich & Dovercourt Camera Club. The evening concluded with a showing of some YouTube compilations, recording member’s entries to a popular and informal monthly challenge created on the society’s Facebook page by Barry Weaver.

We were pleased that Gill Adams was able to step in at short notice to judge our Night Time and Low Light competition. With a good turnout and lots of entries, Gill made use of the full range of marking available.

Stalwarts Mark and David led the charge in the print sector and it was pleasing to see Colin Bailey take the honours among the projected images, with a scene featuring light trails on a local roundabout entitled UFO’s Colchester.

The current programme concludes with the AGM at the end of May, but some summer outings, possibly in conjunction with a neighbouring club, are under consideration.

Future meetings March 30: Critique Evening: Review and discussion of member’s own work

There will be a book sale on Easter Monday.

April 13: The Expressive Landscape with Colin Westgate FRPS

Contact Brian Cuthbertson on 01206 298635 if you are interested in exhibiting.

April 27: Open Colour Competition / Judge Patrick Higham We meet twice monthly at 7.30pm on Thursday evenings at St John’s Centre, Station Road, Manningtree CO11 1EB. New members are welcome or may attend initially as a visitor (£3).

Please contact Margaret, our secretary, for more information: 01206 396958 / madps@post.com www.manningtreeanddistrictphotographicsociety.co.uk

www.keepingintouchwith.com/manningtree

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OUT & ABOUT EVENTS AT MISTLEY CHURCH HALL Tea & Support is a friendship and self-help group formed some four years ago for those who have been bereaved or are living alone. We meet from 2-4pm on the third Wednesday afternoon of each month in the Church Hall, New Road, Mistley. These meetings usually consist of a talk or activity followed by an opportunity to chat over tea and home-made cake. Several times a year we have an outing to somewhere local for either lunch or afternoon tea. As our numbers have increased we have needed to hire transport for these outings. To cover our costs we now ask our members for a donation of £1 each per meeting attended.

Our April meeting will be an outing to Parkers Garden Centre at Frintonon-Sea. Please let Joy or Andrew (Paskell’s) know if you would like to attend so that we can arrange suitable transport. We will leave promptly at 2pm, returning by 5pm.

For further information please contact Joy or John Baker on 01206 391918 or Paskell’s on 01206 396709. The 2017 Programme will be available shortly and copies can be obtained from Paskell’s, in St Mary & St Michael’s Church or from the Church Office on 01206 392200.

1334 (MANNINGTREE) SQN AIR CADETS February 8 was a very memorable day when a group of six cadets took their St John Ambulance Youth First Aid practical assessment.

The syllabus produced by St John Ambulance covers the range of first aid scenarios likely to be encountered by cadets in everyday life or on air cadet activities The cadets had to follow the St John Ambulance syllabus which consists of 25 subject topics and the course consists of 16 hours contact time including assessments.

These Cadets are entitled to wear the SJA ‘red’ badge on their uniforms.

BRANTHAM OVER SIXTIES CLUB It’s worth noting that we had some interesting speakers in January and February. On January 17 Colin Hopper presented paper sculptures he had produced and showed members how easy it was to do. On January 24 we enjoyed lunch provided by Sue followed by a quiz and on January 31 Chris Parfitt told us about his adventures in South Africa accompanied by a wonderful film.

In February, the woolly hat brigade had a knit-in in preparation for the visit of Sister Marian Davey, the Stella Maris Catholic Port Chaplain. She then gave us her usual humorous chat about the goings-on on board the many ships that come into our ports, some very funny and some very sad, after which the woolly hats were whisked away.

Dates for the diary April 11: Hypnosis for The Seven Ages of Man by Dr Nic Cooper April 18: Beetle Drive April 25: Have a Blooming Try (members participation) May 9: Guide Dog Training by Marjorie Cullen May 18: Quiz preceded by a roast pork lunch (other dishes available) May 23: When Pirates Ruled the Waves by Richard Walker May 30: Games afternoon with Scrabble, whist, dominoes and darts Meetings are held on Tuesdays (bar the first one in the month) from 2.304.30pm at Brantham Leisure Centre. Visitors are welcome and transport can be arranged for members. For more information please contact our secretary on: 01206 396242 14

The Rotary Club of Manningtree Stour Valley Due to popular demand Manningtree Rotary is bringing back the Mayflower Walk for 2017. This year we are adding something new, the option of a cross country run. The route follows the beautiful Essex Way from Harwich to Manningtree through 13 miles of lovely Essex countryside. For those wanting a shorter route there is an alternative finish at Wrabness.

The event is taking place on May 28 and check in is at the Harwich Low Lighthouse from 9.30am. Runners will start at 10.30am and walkers 10 minutes later. Entry costs £10 in advance and £12 on the day. Children under 12 go free but must be registered. To join in the fun, register online now at: www.mayflower17.eventbrite.co.uk The entry fee covers the administrative costs of the event and contributes to the club’s own charity fund. It’s also a great opportunity for participants to get sponsorship for their own favourite charity.

Organiser Rotarian David Willis said: “This has been a very well supported event in the past, but unfortunately we were unable to run it last year.

We are hoping to have a big turn out again this year as it’s a brilliant day out for all. Our Rotarians will be on hand as usual to marshall the route and man the water stations.”

The Rotary Club of Manningtree Stour Valley is a friendly club of men and women who meet every Thursday night at The Crown Hotel, Manningtree.

Our members work together to support local and international charities, and do hands-on local projects while enjoying the fellowship of friends in the club. We also enjoy social events throughout the Rotary year. If you wish to know more about the club please contact David Willis on 01473 310076.

Y R T N U O C S S KREE L O A R C W DTO MANNINGT N A N RFRUOM HARWICH

R E W O L MAYF

Sunday 28th May 2017 Registration from 9:30AM at the Low Lighthouse, Harwich Run start: 10:30

Walk start: 10:40

Brought to you by The Rotary Club of Manningtree Stour Valley

Enter online at: mayflower17.eventbrite.co.uk

Charity no. 1019980

In Touch online:

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OUT & ABOUT ORWELL DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY At our March meeting a full hall heard an entrancing talk by Antony Penrose about his family and their friends.

His parents Roland Penrose and Lee Miller gathered an amazing circle of artistic greats around them including the Surrealist painter Max Ernst, the American art photographer Man Ray and Pablo Picasso, arguably the greatest 20th century artist. Antony led us through their amazing stories intertwined with his father, a famous artist himself, and his mother, onetime fashion model, artist muse, photographer and war correspondent. It was a wonderful lecture full of great stories and incredible artistic talent.

On Wednesday, April 5, Doug Gillen will present a talk entitled Hidden Canvasses: Street Art and the City. Doug is a specialist on street art and will offer a real insight into this world.

So why not come along and enjoy good company and an interesting talk?

We meet at Tower Hall, Broadlands Way, Rushmere St Andrew on the first Wednesday of most months. Meetings begin at 2.05pm and last about an hour. Guests and non-members are welcome provided we have available space. Exceptionally popular lectures will have a guest/visitor limit of 20 so please contact Wendy Robbins in advance on 01394 823807 to check if there is available space.

For the latest events and news visit: www.orwelldfas.org.uk

STOUR VALLEY U3A On Wednesday, March 8, Mark Mitchels spoke on The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial and attempted to re-create the moment in his illustrated lecture.

Mark told the story of the excavation and recounted when a remarkable people sent their leader on his final voyage. This was one of the greatest treasures ever found on English soil.

On Wednesday, April 12, Amanda Richmond will present Two Teachers Ascent of Everest. Amanda is a teacher, mountaineer skier, traveller and bell ringer and will tell of the six years spent in preparation and the hardships involved in tackling this formidable ascent.

On Wednesday, May 10, Emma Roodhouse, art curator of Colchester & Ipswich Museum Service, will talk on Leonard Squirrel, known as the ‘grand old man’ of East Anglian painting. Emma’s lecture will highlight his prolific career, concentrating on the artworks in the Ipswich Borough Council collection, including drawings, watercolours, etchings and pastels from 1912-1978.

Our main purpose is to encourage lifelong learning for those who are no longer in full time employment and emphasis is always placed on making learning active and fun as well as helping in developing friendships. We have a wide range of groups including language study, country walking and computer studies and groups that visit gardens, churches and historic buildings. In the main, membership is drawn from communities in the lower Stour Valley and adjacent areas including Brantham, Capel St Mary, Dedham, East Bergholt, Holbrook, Lawford, Manningtree, Raydon and Stratford St Mary. We are affiliated to the ThirdAge Trust, have over 260 members and 21 groups. For further information please visit www.stourvalleyu3a.org.uk where membership secretary Gillian Gibbs may be contacted.

We meet at Constable Hall, Gandish Road, East Bergholt CO7 6TP at 2.15pm. Annual membership is £12 which entitles members to attend meetings on the second Wednesday of each month, except August and December.

It’s never too late to learn! Join the 361,477 members across 969 U3As throughout the UK today. www.keepingintouchwith.com/manningtree

RSPB FLATFORD WILDLIFE GARDEN Leave the car behind, wander down Tunnel Lane with the trees just coming into leaf overhead, become aware of the birdsong all around…

There is the glint of sunlight on water through the trees and the curve of an old wooden bridge. An ancient thatched cottage peeps out from beneath its eaves, and suddenly the modern world recedes and you find yourself transported back 200 years. Walk down the hill and as you cross the old hump-backed wooden bridge, views which have not changed since Constable’s time open out in front of you. Wide flood meadows stretch westwards towards the spires of Dedham Church, punctuated by knarled willow pollards that bend over their reflection in the silvery Stour river. Thus begins your morning at Flatford, a tiny hamlet tucked into a corner of the Stour valley, frozen in time…

There’s more than just history here, though. The RSPB also runs a wildlife garden in Flatford – a place designed to show people how they can help with wildlife conservation within their own gardens, big or small. The garden aims to teach people how their choice of plants and management of their outdoor space can genuinely benefit wildlife such as bees, hedgehogs, butterflies, frogs and even struggling birds such as house sparrows and songthrushes. The RSPB owns over 300,000 acres of nature reserve in Britain, but gardens cover much more than this area, meaning there is huge potential for ordinary householders to really help our struggling wildlife.

The garden opens for the year on April 1, when primroses and cowslips will be peeping in the apple orchard and the wildflower meadow, daffodils will be turning their faces to the sun, and the blue tits will be hatching their chicks in the nestboxes. Another main aim of the wildlife garden is to show children the magic that is nature – those first wonderful experiences are the ones that stay with us for a lifetime, enriching our lives and opening our eyes to the beauty that is around us. My love of nature began in the garden, where as a small child I would run barefoot in the morning dew, just exulting in the sunshine and the smell of damp earth and green grass… As a mother now myself, I am determined that my child will also have the opportunity to develop a love of nature and a joy in the outdoors. Who knows who is nurturing the next David Attenborough!

So Flatford, although it may feel like it belongs to the past, also offers hope for the future – children growing up with a sense of wonder about the natural world around them, and people who are inspired by, and care for, the natural world, even if it all they have space for is a window box full of thyme and chives for the bees!

The RSPB’s garden is open daily from April 1 between 10.30am and 4.30pm, and is free to enter. Park in the National Trust car park at Flatford (£4 all day) and save some space for cake at the tea room.

What’s on in the Easter holidays There’s a free children’s nature trail round the garden daily, as well as other activities such as planting wildlife-friendly seeds to take home and grow, and hands-on activities for even the smallest children (donations gratefully received.) For the grown-ups, there are plenty of ideas to take home to your own gardens, as well as free plant lists, and seeds and inexpensive wildlife friendly plants to buy.

Shirley Sampson

VILLAGE LINK CLUB Barbara Faulkner will present a talk entitled Easter Parade at our meeting on April 12.

Future talks include The Building of Bury Tower in May. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month in Tattingstone Village Hall at 10am. Following the speaker we have refreshments when there is time for a chat with other members and a raffle. New members and visitors are welcome to join us.

Roger Felgate, 01473 311684 17

SCHOOLS / SPORT STOUR VALLEY MEN’S PROBUS CLUB On Wednesday, March 1, Joyce Kimber presented Ciphers & Enigma and the Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 15 when club president Hew Naylor stood down after his year in office.

On April 5 Julian Wong will talk about the charity Mary’s Meals and on Wednesday, April 19 Jim Lowe will inform us of the work undertaken by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Our club endeavours to be simple in structure, free of the constraints and obligations of service clubs and involve members at minimal cost. The club is directed primarily to providing fellowship between members who are compatible with each other and the opportunity for development of acquaintances. New members are welcomed.

We meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month at St John Ambulance HQ, Manningtree CO11 1EB at 10.30am. For further details please contact Brian Rolfe: 01206 393665

LAWFORD & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

John Rowland’s Forest Gardens and Edible Landscapes talk last month was an unusual and interesting evening when he showed us many fruits, berries, seeds and roots that we didn’t realise were edible. I wonder how many of the members present will be picking rosehips from the garden and hedgerow to make jam this year? Or making elderflower champagne?

The spring show is our next event on Saturday, April 8. As ever lots can happen to flowers in the meantime, but there is always a bright, warm welcome to members and visitors alike from 2pm when we open to the public. If you would like to enter anything in the show please give me a call on 01206 393580, or talk to any of the committee members.

BROOKLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL, BRANTHAM I imagine that most headteachers want their school to be warm, welcoming and calm places where their children are happy and purposeful in their learning. We try hard to achieve this, but ultimately achieving this takes a special attitude, an attitude that permeates throughout a school community, from our cook encouraging us all to remember please and thank you as she serves our lunches, to our lunchtime staff encouraging our children to say sorry. Small things perhaps, but it is this shared attitude of kindness, appreciation and respect at Brooklands that contributes to the frequent comments made to me from visitors who say that our children ‘were respectful, attentive and a real credit to the school’ and ‘one of the best schools they have visited’.

When we reflect back on our days in school it’s hard to imagine how much technology would transform our lives. Technology affects how we shop, socialise, connect, play and learn and with its increasing presence in our lives it only makes sense to maximise the use of technology in the classroom. Here at Brooklands, following our intensive investment in technology across the school in recent years, we are transforming how our children learn. I have been thrilled by the creativity and imagination of our Starfish in creating their animations using Scratch. Our Pufferfish have been using our new iPads to make videos while our Narwhals have been using the Garageband app to compose their own music tracks.

Most notably, we are also harnessing technology to involve you more in what’s going on in school through ClassDojo. Who would have thought a generation ago that we would be sharing the excitement with our Sea Turtles as they eagerly anticipate the hatching of their clutch of duck eggs?

As Brooklands is working towards developing and strengthening our parent partnerships it seemed an ideal opportunity to combine this with the Leading Parent Partnership Award. Our final verification visit is scheduled for June 28.

Do you know of families moving into the area who would like to come to us? We currently have a limited number of places in Year 1, Year 3 and Year 6. For information on how they can apply for their child to join Brooklands during the school year (in-year applications) please contact school admissions: admissions@suffolk.gov.uk / 0345 600 0981

On April 20 we will be hearing about growing tea as a crop with Peter Booth-Smith. Do join us if you can.

Sainsbury’s are offering shoppers the opportunity to collect Active Kids vouchers until May 2. Ask your family and friends to donate their vouchers to Brooklands to help us get new sports and cooking equipment.

Liz Thurlow

Headteacher Christine Davy

CAPEL PLOUGH FOOTBALL CLUB After a disappointing 4-1 defeat away to Leiston St Margarets, the Saturday First Team bounced back with a 2-1 victory at home against Wenhaston United with goals from Ben Baldwin and an own goal, which was followed by a 1-0 win away over Stanton with midfield dynamo Shaun Webb getting the only goal of the game.

which resulted in a 5-1 defeat. The Reserves are still looking for a manager as we look ahead to next season. The home game on March 4 against Trimley Red Devils had to be called off as the pitch was unfit after it had been verti-drained by the council during the week leaving a lot of wet mud on the surface.

After what has been a tough season these two wins moved the side up to fifth from bottom in the Senior Division of the Suffolk and Ipswich league with the team still having nine league games to play at the time of writing these notes (March 7). The big game in April will be East Bergholt away which has been rearranged for Easter Monday afternoon. Should be a cracker!

Our Sunday morning side beat Martlesham Old Boys 3-2 with Tom Williams getting the winner before losing 2-1 to The Feathers Public House, while our Veteran team beat Bacton away 4-1 thanks to goals from Robbie Fuller, Andre Flexen-Pallot and a brace from Aaron Marsh.

Our Reserves have had problems fielding a team this season and only five new signings enabled them to raise a side to play against East Bergholt A 18

Youth football will continue on the Playing Field until the end of April after which the coaches who run the teams will have a well-deserved break.

Bob the Ploughman In Touch online:

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SPORT MISTLEY CRICKET CLUB February 100 Club Winners 1: Mike Slipper (No 3) £110 2: Darren Kempster (No 66) £50 3: Martin Barlow (No 47) £50

In the past month we’ve had pre-season nets at RHS and work continued behind the scenes to prepare for the 2017 season.

April 1 is NatWest CricketForce Day and the club will be open to prepare for the season which is just around the corner. Please come along and spare a few hours if you can to help out.

Junior enrolment night will be Tuesday, April 18 from 7pm. Junior membership is £40 for a family of two. Please come along on this night and register. This year we are running sides in U11, U13 and U15 age groups. Junior matches start in early May. Senior cricket fixtures start on April 15 with friendlies against Coggeshall and Harwich. We also have live music in the evening so please give the club your support. NECL cricket starts the following day with the visit of Elmstead CC. The club is always looking for new members for all of its sides at men’s, ladies and junior level. If you are new to the area and like your cricket then we are the team for you. We also welcome volunteers who may like to umpire or score; training can be given in these skills.

SATURDAY CRICKET First Team – Two Counties Div 1 Sat, Apr 22: Maldon (A) Sat, Apr 29: Worlington (H) Second Team – Two Counties Div 3 Sat, Apr 22: Long Melford (H) Sat, Apr 29: Little Bardfield Village (A) SUNDAY AND MIDWEEK CRICKET NECL and National Village Competition Sun, Apr 16: Elmstead NECL (H) Sun, Apr 23: Great Bentley NECL T20 (H) Sun, Apr 30: Woodham Mortimer NVC (A) Sunday Div Team – Two Counties Sunday Div Sun, Apr 23: Abberton (H) Mon, May 1: Copford (A) LADIES CRICKET Starting on May 5 New players are always welcome, please email: mistleycc@btinternet.com Mistley CC is a community club with strong traditions. Please come along and give us a look sometime.

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SPORT / CHURCH NEWS MISTLEY & MANNINGTREE BOWLS CLUB OPEN DAYS Saturdays, April 29 & May 6 from 10am Come and try a new sport that is sociable, challenging, active and fun. Free tuition, tea, coffee and biscuits.

Please wear smooth soled shoes or trainers.

Bowls can be provided.

Further details: 01206 395083

EAST BERGHOLT UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB February ended on a disappointing note for the First Team with defeat at Bramford, which was probably something of a hangover from their Bob Coleman Cup exit on the previous Saturday. Fortune certainly did not favour them as they went out at the quarter final stage in extra time at the hands of high flying Achilles. They do however still occupy a midtable position in the Senior Division.

The Reserves have maintained third place in League A, but they went one better than the First Team in their cup competition by advancing to the semi-finals of the Goals of Ipswich Cup. They meet Benhall Reserves in the semi-finals.

ST MARY’S CHURCH, LAWFORD

Priest-in-Charge: The Rev Simon Heron, 01206 392659 SERVICES FOR APRIL Sunday 2 8am

Holy Communion BCP

8.45am

Prayer Breakfast

10am

Holy Communion

Sunday 9 8am

Holy Communion BCP

10am

Family Service

6.30pm

Evensong

Thursday 13

Maundy Thursday

7.30pm

Night Prayers & Holy Communion

Friday 14

Good Friday

2pm

Hour at the Cross

Sunday 16

Easter Sunday

6am

Sunrise Service

8am

Holy Communion BCP

10am

Family Communion

Sunday 23

The A Team’s interest in the Club Colours Cup ended when they exited at the semi-finals stage against a very strong AFC YourShirts side. In League B a comprehensive victory against neighbours Capel Plough Reserves helped their chances of avoiding relegation.

8am

Holy Communion BCP

10am

Morning Worship

UPCOMING FIXTURES 1st TEAM Senior Division Sat, Apr 1: Westerfield Utd (H) Sat, Apr 8: Wenhaston Utd (A) Mon, Apr 17: Capel Plough (H) Sat, Apr 22: Felixstowe Harpers Utd Sat, Apr 29: Leiston St Margarets (A) Sat, May 6: Stanton (A)

8am

Holy Communion BCP

10am

No Service at Lawford

10.30am

Benefice Communion at Little Bentley

Sunday 30

LINK LINE CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES Celebrating 25 years of Christian Witness in the area

RESERVES League A Sat, Mar 25: Framlingham Town Res (H) Sat, Apr 1: Sporting ‘87 Res (A) Sat, Apr 8: Benhall St Mary Res GIC Semi Final (A) Sat, Apr 15: Westerfield Utd Res (A) Sat, Apr 29: Coplestonians Res (H)

Un-denominational / meeting at the Venture Centre, Bromley Road, Lawford CO11 2JE (unless otherwise stated)

A Team League B Sat, Apr 1: Stonham Aspal Res (H) Sat, Apr 8: Haughley Utd Res (A) Sat, Apr 15: Bramford Utd Res (A) Sat, Apr 22: Claydon Res (A) Sat, Apr 29: Benhall St Mary Res (A)

ANNUAL EASTER CONVENTION

Fixtures are subject to change. Please refer to the fixtures website: http://fulltime.thefa.com/Index.do?league=4358069 Players Awards Night: Saturday, April 22 We are always looking for people who can help the club as committee members, whether it be on the playing side or just in the background.

If you would like to sponsor the club in some capacity we would also be delighted to hear from you. Club strips, dugouts and banners or boards on matchdays offer potential exposure for your business while supporting a local organisation.

Steve Butcher, stevebutcher55@btinternet.com www.keepingintouchwith.com/manningtree

Sunday Services: 3pm Sunday, April 2: Diving Worship (including Holy Communion) conducted by our pastor.

Friday, April 14 (Good Friday): At the Ogilvie Hall, Wignall Street, 3pm.

Service of praise and thanksgiving followed by fellowship tea. Guest speaker: Mr M Barker (Dovercourt).

Sunday, April 16 (Easter Day): At The Venture Centre, Bromley Road, 3pm. Easter praise for all ages. Guest speaker: Pastor Michael Eavery (Lexden).

Thursday, April 20: Fellowship outing to Ely (Market Day). To book: 01206 512994 Friday, April 21: Link Line monthly prayer meeting at the Venture Centre (Ivell Suite), Bromley Road, 10am Sunday, April 30: Fellowship Service for all ages For pastoral visits and further information please contact: 01206 272064 / 01255 714544 A warm welcome awaits you. A designated bus service is available.

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CHURCH NEWS

An all-age Anglican Church, meeting in St Mary & St Michael’s Church, Mistley, and St Lawrence’s Church, Bradfield Spring appears to be springing, and Easter is nearly with us. Please check out our services below; you are so welcome to any and all of them.

The message of Easter isn’t just for people who come to the events and services we talk about, but for everyone: Jesus has made a way for us to find freedom from the past, from pain, from the lies we tell ourselves, from situations that leave us trapped and feeling lost. He is a chain-breaking, way-making, prison-shaking Saviour, and we want to give everyone the opportunity to hear that message.

April 16

Easter Sunday

5.45am

Sunrise Service in Bradfield (on Station Road TBC)

10.30am

Easter Celebration with Communion and Treasure Seekers* at Bradfield

10.30am

Easter Communion at Mistley

No evening service

April 23

While they’re not the only thing that we do, our services are a great way to hear more about Easter, about Jesus and about the real difference He makes. We try to have something to suit everyone so our services are held in a mixture of styles: as a rule, any service without Treasure Seekers (our children’s activities) is likely to be more formal in style, while services with Treasure Seekers are likely to be a bit more relaxed. Our most informal gathering is Café Church, which is particularly suited to anyone who isn’t so used to traditional church services.

8am

Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) at Mistley

10.30am

Morning Prayer at Mistley

10.30am

Café Church with Treasure Seekers* at Bradfield

10.30am

Joint Worship with Communion and Treasure Seekers* at Bradfield

Please don’t forget to check the website and publications in and around the churches for more information and events. If you’d like to get weekly up-to-date information of what’s going on in the benefice, please email the office (see below) to request the weekly email.

No other services

SERVICES FOR APRIL April 2

April 30

*Treasure Seekers is our children’s programme for ages three plus.

All services are at St Mary and St Michael’s Church, Mistley (CO11 1ER) or St Lawrence’s Church, Bradfield (CO11 2US) unless otherwise stated Contact information: If you have any personal or pastoral needs, or need to get in contact urgently, please contact The Rev John Brien or The Rev Claire Scargill (see below). For all other enquiries to do with services, events, activities, resources and buildings in the benefice, including weddings, baptisms and funerals, please contact the church office.

10.30am

Joint Worship with Communion and Treasure Seekers* at Mistley

6pm

Evening Prayer at Bradfield

April 9

Palm Sunday

10.30am

Holy Communion (Common Worship) at Bradfield

If you need to visit or post anything to the office, please contact us.

10.30am

Family Worship with Treasure Seekers* at Mistley

6pm

Evening Prayer at Mistley

Church office: Available at least 10am-1pm, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 07436 398801 / info@manningtreebenefice.co.uk

April 13

Maundy Thursday

7.30pm

Maundy Thursday Service at Bradfield

April 14

Good Friday

11.15am

Walk of Witness, starting at Mistley Church

11.45am

Open Air Service at Manningtree Ox

1pm

Good Friday Meditation at Mistley

2pm

Good Friday Service at Bradfield

Associate Minister: The Rev John Brien: 01206 397549 / brienfamily@btinternet.com Curate: The Rev Claire Scargill: 01206 395417 / revclairescargill@gmail.com www.manningtreebenefice.co.uk www.facebook.com/ManningtreeBenefice

So Much More Than a Dance Class Any Age & Ability Very Welcome

Shimmy, Shake, Wiggle & Giggle

"Strictly" style Dance-a-cise

Brantham Leisure Centre (Upper Room)

New Village, Brantham every Tuesday at 10am spaces are limited to reserve yours

Call Janet on 07506 350 455

classes also in: - Capel St Mary - East Bergholt - Hadleigh - Nayland, & - Stratford St Mary

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janet@fundancing.co.uk www.fundancing.co.uk FunDancing.Suffolk FunDancing

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CHURCH NEWS BENEFICE OF EAST BERGHOLT & BRANTHAM Rector: The Rev Canon Stephne van der Toorn 01206 392646 / revstephvdt@googlemail.com

parade once a month. Scouting, he says, has stood him in very good stead.

www.constablecountrychurches.co.uk

David served as an engineer and acting sergeant in 42 Marine Command in some tricky situations. A man who had mocked him for his faith came to David during one such and asked him to pray. He never mocked him again.

Friday, March 31 9.30am East Bergholt Primary Easter Assembly, East Bergholt Sunday, April 2: Lent 5 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 10am Benefice Communion with Healing, East Bergholt Wednesday, April 5 9.30am BCP Communion, East Bergholt Sunday, April 9: Palm Sunday 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 10am Family Service with Procession, East Bergholt 11am Family Service with Procession, Brantham Monday, April 10: Holy Week 7.30pm Musical Meditation led by the Choir, East Bergholt Tuesday, April 11: Holy Week 7pm We meet to watch a film, Brantham Wednesday, April 12: Holy Week 9.30am BCP Communion, East Bergholt Thursday, April 13: Maundy Thursday 6pm Informal meal followed by…

7.30pm Informal Communion, Brantham Friday, April 14: Good Friday 10am Family Service, Brantham 2pm At the Cross, East Bergholt Saturday, April 15: Holy Saturday 7.30pm Easter Vigil and Lighting of the Fire, Brantham Sunday, April 16: Easter Sunday 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 10am Easter Communion and Easter Egg Hunt, East Bergholt 11am Easter Communion, Brantham Sunday, April 23: Easter 2 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 10am Choral Matins, East Bergholt 11am Communion, Brantham Sunday, April 30: Easter 3 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 11am Benefice Communion, Brantham Wednesday, May 3 9.30am BCP Communion, East Bergholt Sunday, May 7: Easter 4 8am BCP Communion, East Bergholt 10am Benefice Communion and celebration of the ministry of

The Rev David Searle, East Bergholt THE REV DAVID SEARLE RETIRES FROM OFFICIAL MINISTRY ON EASTER SUNDAY David Searle (pictured above with Edith) notified me last year that he would be hanging up his cassock for the last time on Easter Sunday 2017. David was ordained in St Edmundsbury Cathedral in 1999 and has ministered in the diocese ever since, seeing East Bergholt through two interregnums. David grew up during the war, his father was missing at one time and was one of the men who liberated Belsen concentration camp, an experience from which he never recovered.

David joined the Cubs at the age of seven and reflected on the traditional promise: “On my honour I promise that I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country; to help other people at all times; to obey the Scout Law.” Looking at their family situation and the state of the world, he asked his mother: “Where’s God in it all?”, a question he has continued to ask himself down the years. Scouts were expected to attend church 24

During the time in Galleywood Parish his vicar began to talk to David about a vocation to ministry. As part of this he had to prove that he could speak clearly!

David and Edith moved to East Bergholt in 1982. They came from a very busy parish and needed a rest! The Rev Peter Crawford and John Tyler approached him asking him to consider his vocation and the rest, as they say, is history. On the day of ordination, David’s grandson Josh featured in the photos and processed down the aisle with his grandfather before joining his mother in the pew. Edith has been a staunch ally in ministry, helping with Brownies and Guides, Play and Pray, after school club and holiday clubs. She is well known in her own right as a cook of note and has served many a delicious meal to hungry parishioners. They have both thoroughly enjoyed all that they have done.

David well remembers the day when after his visit to school, a small boy told his mum: “God came to school today!”

On a personal note, I am most grateful to David for all his support during my 10 years in the benefice. It has been a privilege to have him in the ministry team.

We will be celebrating David’s years of ministry among us in a special service at 10am on May 7. Anyone is welcome to this service.

The Rev Steph RAMBLING RECTOR Some characters were instantly recognisable. Mary Poppins, I presume.

(Met any dancing penguins recently?) Red and white striped shirts and a bobble hat meant I had found Wally at last. Tigger led the prayers, sensibly refraining from jumping whilst doing it and Goldilocks looked very glamorous, all that rest had done her good. Professor McGonagall was making sure that students kept in line. The one that Coco liked most was Roald Dahl’s character Danny who was carrying a stuffed pheasant.

Coco thinks that all stuffed toys are hers. Walking through a garden centre displaying stuffed toys is a challenge. I may yet be had up for shoplifting.

She doesn’t damage them at all, merely carries them protectively in her mouth. She quivered as the pheasant approached her and was all attention when it squawked! World Book Day at school is great fun. You never know what’s going to happen next.

In the events leading up to that first Easter day the disciples must have had that feeling too, but without the sense of fun. The atmosphere was tense. Jesus kept saying puzzling things like “Remember me” and Judas was behaving strangely.

During Lent we take every opportunity to remember and reflect. In our services there is a moment when we bring symbols to the front of the church and place them at or on the Lenten cross which finally, on Easter Sunday, is decorated with flowers. On this day particularly we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the one who died for us so that we may live. I have struggled for years with the concept of God sending his son to die, it seems a barbaric sort of thing to do. It was a wonderful breakthrough to realise that Jesus chose to die for me. He wasn’t forced to do it. That makes all the difference in the world. Believing as I do that Jesus is God, this means that God’s love for me is so great that he sacrificed himself for me. And for you.

The resurrection of Jesus is a fact attested in history and proclaimed by witnesses throughout the world. He is alive.

That means that God is knowable. May you know him this Easter. And who knows what will happen next?

The Rev Steph On Monday, April 10 the St Mary’s Choir will lead us in a musical meditation suitable for Holy Week. Anyone is welcome to this beautiful free ‘concert’.

In Touch online:

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CHURCH NEWS BRANTHAM & CAPEL ST MARY METHODIST CHURCHES RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS A man in a hospice had terminal cancer that was progressing fast. He wanted to marry his partner before he died and so a wedding was hastily arranged. The matron went to buy some flowers at the local florist and another customer overhearing the story, paid for two-dozen red roses.

This act of kindness from a complete stranger added immensely to the couple’s happiness.

On March 1, I signed up to #40acts. Every day a message comes through written by a different person with a story, a thought or reflection and a challenge to make a difference in the community where you are (or beyond). Today as I write, it’s called Chocolate Tuesday. It talks about us being a nation of chocolate lovers – each person on average eating over 16lb or 8kg per year, or 160 bars! Each day there are three levels of challenges: green (the easiest) then amber and red (the hardest). Today it is about giving chocolate bars (or Easter eggs) away – either randomly or targeted to specific people or groups. It may just lift one person’s day, surprised to get something for nothing. A Random Act of Kindness.

The 40acts website has lots of stories of generosity and kindness which are inspiring. This particular programme is for the 40 days of Lent, so will still be going when this article is publish ed and I think you can catch up with the ones already sent. Instead of giving up things for Lent this helps me to see how I could bring a moment of happiness, encouragement or joy to someone, making the world a slightly better place Two thousand years ago, God sent his Son, Jesus, to this planet as a planned act of kindness. He died on a cross and by his death, those who believe in him can be forgiven and the burden of guilt lifted. May you receive his act of kindness and discover a generous spirit yourself. May you know that death did not hold Jesus, but he rose from death and by his spirit he is with us today, so that the moment of happiness and joy is

26

not a passing moment but a lifetime of his presence in us.

I’m always happy for you to respond by phone, email, text or letter to any comments or challenges that you find are raised for you.

The Rev Andrew Sankey Minister at Brantham & Capel Methodist Churches 8 Roundridge Road, Capel St Mary IP9 2UG apsankey@gmail.com / 01473 311178 / 07966 187216 APRIL SERVICES BRANTHAM METHODIST Sunday 2 11am Sunday 9 11am Sunday 16 11am Sunday 23 11am Sunday 30 11am

Worship with Mrs Jenny Archer Worship with Mr Bryan Nichols Easter Worship with Rev Michael Ayden Worship with Mr Mike Stock Worship and Communion with Rev Andrew Sankey

CAPEL ST MARY METHODIST Sunday 2 10.30am

6.30pm Sunday 9 10.30am Friday 14 9.30am 10.45am

Sunday 1 10.30am

Sunday 23 10.30am

6.30pm Sunday 30 10.30am

All Age Worship Prayer Worship with Mr Eddie Vass Walk of Witness from Community Church Good Friday Reflection Easter Worship & Communion with Rev Pauline Bailey Worship with Rev Andrew Sankey United Prayer at Capel Methodist Worship with Mr Mark Firmin

In Touch online:

CHURCH NEWS HOLY FAMILY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Ipswich Road, Brantham CO11 1TB Parish Priest: Fr Christopher Smith, 180 Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich IP2 0QQ / 01473 684963 We are part of St Mark’s RC Parish, Ipswich. For up-to-date information please visit: www.stmarksparish.org.uk SERVICES FOR APRIL 2017 Sunday 2 9am

Fifth Sunday of Lent Mass

Tuesday 4 9.30am 10am

Morning Prayer Mass

Sunday 9 9am

Palm Sunday of The Passion of The Lord Mass

Tuesday 11 9.20am 10am

Eucharistic Adoration Mass

Friday 14 3pm

Good Friday The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord at St Mark’s

Sunday 16 9am

Easter Sunday Mass

Tuesday 18 9.30am 10am

Morning Prayer Mass

Sunday 23 9am

Second Sunday of Easter Mass

Tuesday 25 9.30am 10am

Morning Prayer Mass

Sunday 30 9am

Third Sunday of Easter Mass

The weekly newsletter is displayed in the cabinet alongside the front door.

Catholic Commentary The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia was erected in March 1976 using territory from the Diocese of Northampton comprising Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and the city of Peterborough. Bishop Alan Hopes was appointed the fourth bishop in 2013 and took possession of his cathedral in July of that year. His cathedral under the dedication

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St John the Baptist was, in fact, a very large parish church (the largest Catholic Church in the country outside London). It was begun in 1882 under the patronage of Henry Howard 15th Duke of Norfolk and finished in 1910. The architect was G C Scott and the magnificent structure is said to emulate 13th century Early English Gothic, considered by many Victorians to be the most ‘pure’ and ‘English’ style.

Happily there are excellent relations between the Catholic and Anglican Bishops of Norwich. Both the Catholic and the Norwich Cathedral (the latter dedicated to the Holy Trinity) are well worth visiting, as are churches everywhere. We are fortunate to have in East Anglia to have numerous old village and town churches which are invariably open for quiet reflection and prayer or to explore, as well as serving their local communities.

Though distant from Norwich, Holy Family Roman Catholic Church at Brantham is part of the diocese and has recently taken part in a fundraising exercise that will put the diocese on a sure financial footing in the years ahead.

Events & Diary Dates The last 100 Club Draw took place on Sunday, March 26 when three lucky winners shared £145. The next draw takes place on Sunday, April 23. The club, set up to raise much needed funds to support the life and mission of our parish, has grown from strength to strength since its launch. New members are always very welcome and the newsletter, which includes an application form, can be found at the rear of the church or at: www.stmarksparish.org.uk Every last Thursday of the month a Bring & Buy Coffee Morning takes place at Viv and Wyn’s home, Paddock Gate, Whitehorse Road, East Bergholt CO7 6TR, 10.30am-noon. We are raising funds for the parish room refurbishment and all are very welcome to join us. The next event is on Thursday, April 27.

Supporting our local hospice All parishioners are asked to collect used postage stamps and to place them in the box at the rear of the church to help support the outstanding work of our local hospice.

Catholic Chaplain at Ipswich Hospital Fr Adrian Gates is the Catholic Chaplain at Ipswich Hospital (01473 726701). Please contact him if you or a Catholic is in or due to go into hospital and requires his services.

All are very welcome to attend Holy Family services. It’s not necessary to be a Catholic and enquiries about the Catholic Faith are always welcome.

Please contact the Presbytery, as above, or a local person whom you know to be Catholic.

27

CHURCH NEWS MANNINGTREE METHODIST CHURCH EAST BERGHOLT & DISTRICT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

South Street, Manningtree CO11 2JB Minister: The Rev Crawford Logan, 01255 423640 Sunday Service: 10.15am each week – we welcome visiting and outside preachers

SHARING THE LOVE OF JESUS Sunday Services at 10.30am, usually led by Pastor Maralyn Bambridge

Holy Communion Services: please check dates and times on the noticeboard outside the church

Holy Communion on the second Sunday in the month

Bible Study: First Wednesday of the month at 2.30pm in the Committee Room with Holy Communion at 2.30pm on the fourth Wednesday and activities with tea and coffee on the second and third Wednesdays.

Please let the pastor know if you would like a home visit or communion at home.

The last of the Lent series, The World is my Parish and Today’s Challenges, takes place on Wednesday, April 5 at 7pm and will be led by Claire Welch from the London based charity All We Can. Admission free.

For weddings, christenings and funerals, please speak with Maralyn.

Coffee morning every Thursday, 9.30-11.30am.

Maundy Thursday, April 13, 7pm: A special Tenebrae Service led by The Rev Alec Potter

All welcome to come along and make new friends.

Good Friday: Midday March and Town Service

OTHER SERVICES

Easter Day, 10.15am: Led by The Rev Derek Lang

April 13: Agape Supper, 7pm

Treasurer: Mr Gordon King Church Bookings: David Shearmur, 01206 395263

Easter Sunday, April 16: 10.30am April 22: Concert with Constable Singers, 7pm. Please reserve your seat with John Jeffreys.

ALSO MEETING ON OUR PREMISES Monday 2.30pm Workers Education Association, autumn and spring for nine lectures 7.30pm Stour Choral Society (Sept-June)

April 23: Anniversary Service, 3pm April 30: Led by Ted Wheatley

Tuesday: 7.15pm Women’s Guild

Contacts

Wednesday 9.15am Gentle Fitness Class 10am-noon Art Painting Group 7.30pm Manningtree & District Chess Club 7.30pm Museum & History Group (bi-monthly)

Pastor Maralyn Bambridge, 35 Birch Drive, Brantham / 01206 393022

Meeting at Old St Michael’s School on Trinity Road, Manningtree What are you celebrating?

We begin April with the Easter Holidays and we end with the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. What a month of celebration! But will you? Is that what you expect from this time of year? What is there to celebrate anyway? Will the government have triggered Article 50? Do you have a birthday or other anniversary? But then again not everyone is a fan of remembering they’ve survived another year. I know I’m not!

Easter should be a time of celebration. Yes we remember the ultimate tragedy: Jesus Christ was wrongly accused, unfairly tried and found guilty of crimes he had not committed. He was beaten and tortured and finally murdered. However, it did not end that way, for history records that He rose from the dead, He took up His life again, and walked and talked and ate with many of His friends. And as they celebrated with Him so do we; that’s Easter.

This year we have even more to celebrate. At the very end of April we are having our church’s 40th Birthday Party. We will also be remembering the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, which gave us, among other things, the Bible in our own language.

If you don’t join us for one of our Sunday Services, where we are walking The Gospel Road with Jesus all the way to Easter, please join us for The 28

Church Secretary John Jeffreys: 01206 298737

Big Birthday Bash 2017 on the Riverview Playing Field on the afternoon of Saturday, April 29.

Everyone is welcome at our Sunday services for lively worship and fantastic fellowship at 10.30am and again in the evening at 6.30pm.

Services last between 60 and 90 minutes and refreshments follow the morning service.

KEY NOTES FOR APRIL Monday 24: Monday Madness!, our weekly youth work •

4.30-6pm: KOGS (KS 1 & 2), crafts, games, tea and Bible stories

•

6.30-8pm: BRiaN Reloaded (ages 11-18), serious Bible study with serious fun thrown in

Tuesday 4, 3pm: Meeting Place This month Easter or Passiontide?, Pastor Gaius on an Easter theme Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday w/b 23: Home Groups, Bible Study & Prayer EXTRA EASTER SERVICES Maundy Thursday Communion at 7.30pm Easter Day Sunrise at 6am at the Walls by the Co-op For the latest information on these or any of our activities, please call Pastor Gaius on 01206 393745 or visit: www.trinity-manningtree.org.uk In Touch online:

CHURCH NEWS / ON THE GRAPEVINE CATHOLIC MASSES Saturday at 6.30pm in St Mary and St Michael’s (Anglican) Church, New Road, Mistley CO11 1ER Sunday at 8.50am in St Mary’s (Anglican) Church, The Street, Ardleigh CO7 7LD Wednesday at 9.45am in St Mary and St Michael’s, Mistley, preceded by Morning Prayer All are welcome. Anyone who wishes to learn about the Catholic Faith or to talk to a priest should have a word with the priest afterwards, or contact Fr Jon Ravensdale.

Manningtree, Mistley, Lawford and Ardleigh is served by the Parish of St John Payne, Greenstead, Colchester. The Parish Priest is Father Jon Ravensdale: 01206 870460 / sjpchurch@btinternet.com Also resident in the parish are: Father Michael Rear (01206 392695) and Father Mathias Odigbo.

WATCHNIGHT SERVICE So Holy Week is over, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday have happened and we wait as the friends of Jesus waited.

We wait, feeling the loss that the early disciples felt and we wait as they did. The difference is that we know what happened sometime early in the morning on that first Easter Day. Come and wait with us and experience a profound silence punctuated very occasionally with some Taize chants and pithy, short readings. We begin the ‘Watch’ at 9pm and we finish when the last person has left, whenever that may be. You are invited to drop in and out to suit your other plans that evening. We will be in St Michael’s Church, Woolverstone on Saturday, April 15 from 9pm.

For more information email Jane Gould: jane.gould@btinternet.com

KEY TO LOVE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Where Jesus is Love and love is Jesus COME AND JOIN US IN OUR NEW FELLOWSHIP – EVERYONE IS WELCOME Hear the teachings of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, with our lively worship and service. Refreshments served afterwards.

Every Sunday morning at 11am in The Ivell Suite at Venture Centre 2000, Bromley Road, Lawford CO11 2JE. If you or someone you know needs prayer for anything, please contact us.

David and Rosie Rhule 07787 572977 / 01206 397533 info@thekeytolove ministries.co.uk www.thekeytoloveministries.co.uk

“I was made redundant last month and I’ve already started to fall behind on my bills. I’m looking for work, but is there anything else I can do so I don’t end up in debt?”

There are steps you can take to avoid your bills from building up.

First, check that you’ve been paid any redundancy money you’re entitled to – you might get statutory redundancy pay and possibly contractual redundancy pay if you’ve been in the job two years or more. This should be evident on your final payslip, but if it’s not contact your employer.

Then look at ways to boost your income. See if you’re eligible for benefits like Jobseeker’s Allowance. Citizens Advice can do a benefit check for you.

You could also check if you can make savings on your bills, for example by switching to a cheaper gas or electricity deal.

Now look at how much money you have coming in and compare it to your essential spending. Priority bills include your rent or mortgage and council tax, and should be paid first as there can be serious consequences for missing payments.

If you own your home, contact your mortgage lender to see if you can negotiate on your monthly repayment. You could also see if your credit card provider will negotiate on repayment amounts to give you some breathing space.

For further help understanding managing your money, contact Citizens Advice at at 13 High Street, Manningtree CO11 1AQ / 01255 508596.

WILLS MONTH RETURNS FOR ST ELIZABETH HOSPICE Throughout May, you can make or amend your will at local solicitors for a discounted cost in return for a suggested donation to St Elizabeth Hospice.

The local charity’s Wills Month coincides with Dying Matters Awareness Week which runs from May 8-14. The theme for 2017 is asking the question “What can you do?” and one key thing you can do to prepare for the future is to make a will, ensuring that the people and charities you care about are looked after in the future.

Pauline Donkin, Individual Giving Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “We are hugely grateful to the local solicitors and will writers offering their time free of charge to support the hospice. Last year’s Wills Month was highly popular and raised more than £11,000, which equates to almost 600 nursing hours and means we can provide vital care for our patients and their families at a time when they need us most.”

The suggested donations for each of these are as follows: £115 for a single will, £150 for a mirror or double will and £50 for a codicil.

If you would like to make your will in return for a donation to St Elizabeth Hospice, please choose from the list of local solicitors and will writers who have signed up to take part, and contact them to book an appointment between May 1-31. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

The solicitor taking part in Stowmarket is Haywards Solicitors, 7-9 Tavern Street, Stowmarket IP14 1PJ. For more information including how to contact the solicitors and will writers, contact 01473 707960 / fundraising@stelizabethhospice.org.uk or visit: www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/willsmonth

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29

ON THE GRAPEVINE THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF MATTHEW HOPKINS – WITCHFINDER GENERAL In the mid-1640s, a self-appointed witchfinder by the name of Matthew Hopkins struck fear in the hearts of elderly women in East Anglia and made a good living out of his investigations into so-called witchcraft.

However, by August 1647 he was gone, either through illness, being declared a witch himself, or in some other mysterious manner. No grave marks his death. This story attempts to answer what may have really happened to him.

Matthew walked briskly along the River Stour towards his lodgings at the Mistley Thorn. The sun was just about to set on this August evening and the river looked calm and gentle. He reflected on the previous months of this year of 1647. He had established himself as the chief witchfinder in this area of East Anglia and had enriched himself into the bargain. He was amazed at how people could believe in witchcraft, for him it was superstitious nonsense. If they were really witches, then why did they allow themselves to be tortured and hung from a rope. Could they not have used their magic to save themselves?

However, business had slowed down of late and to add to his woes, he had a persistent cough that had troubled him for the last two months. Ahead of him sat a black cat on the riverbank; he could not resist giving it a quick kick. As he strode on, he heard a loud swishing noise behind him and he turned around to investigate.

He was amazed to see an old woman in black standing where the cat had been. She was short with two large warts on her chin, protruding stained teeth and a mop of white greasy hair.

“Where have you come from?” he demanded.

The old women just stared at him with a hint of amusement on her lips.

“I am the witchfinder general, answer me old crone,” he shouted.

“I know who you are,” she replied. “You have been responsible for the deaths of many of my sisters.”

He felt an icy chill run through his veins and watched as the woman turned towards the river and stretched out her hands. He could not understand the strange words that she was speaking, but to his horror he watched as the formally calm river was now a cauldron of white foam. She walked towards the river, turning to beckon him to follow Slowly he followed, unable to stand his ground or retreat. How could this be happening, there was no such thing as witchcraft.

The woman got to the edge of the river and with a demonic laugh, jumped into the seething waters and disappeared. Matthew following her to the edge, was startled to see in the waters the faces of his victims smiling as if to beckon him in. He fell forward into the waters, disappearing for ever. As the sun set, the River Stour returned to its original serenity.

By Roger Race This story was submitted by Roger Race. Roger is 61 years old and has been retired (Border Force at Harwich) for over two years. He lives in Lawford, having moved to this area about 10 years ago. Roger started at Suffolk University last September as a part-time student studying BA (Hons) History, 1500 to present day. He has a keen interest in history and in particular the history of witchcraft in this area.

30

QUESTIONS ON CASH With Independent Financial Adviser Nick Plumb Harold and Audrey from Woodbridge sent me a copy of their wills. They ask: “We have changed ownership of our house to common ownership so that we each own half our house and we have also made wills incorporating special trusts. As I understood it, this would save Inheritance Tax on half of the house, but a friend who has made similar plans tells me that my trust will not save tax.

What do you think?”

Unfortunately, I think your friend is right. Severing the joint tenancy on your main residence and using this asset in conjunction with a trust in your wills can be an effective Inheritance Tax planning tool, but only with the right kind of trust. The trust should be a Discretionary Will Trust. With this type of trust, as the name implies, you give complete discretion to your trustees over who can benefit from the trust, and what assets can be placed in the trust after your death.

However, your wills contain a property trust. The trust wording in your will states that the asset to be used is “the half share of my residential property situated at….” This is a specified asset.

Also, the beneficiary is named as “my wife Audrey Smith…”

This is a specified beneficiary. This makes the trust specific as opposed to discretionary. Also, when the will specifies that your spouse is to be granted the right to occupy the house for the remainder of her lifetime, this creates a life interest or interest in possession, which means that the trust assets would form part of the estate of the life tenant (your wife) for Inheritance Tax purposes.

Only a Discretionary Will Trust can be used to save Inheritance Tax. For this to be effective, it must be correctly drafted, and if residential property is to be a trust asset, the trusts should include an IOU or debt charge clause. The trustees must also be seen to exercise their discretion in the management of the trust, and should never grant an exclusive life interest to a surviving spouse to the exclusion of any other discretionary beneficiaries.

To ensure that your wills and trusts are correctly prepared, take professional advice. Appointing a professional executor or trustee can also help to ensure that your trustees are correctly advised and the trust is correctly managed after your death. If you get it wrong now, it could cost your children thousands of pounds later.

Nick Plumb is an independent financial adviser and practice principal at Plumb Financial Services of Baylham in Suffolk.

The information within this column is provided only as a general guide and does not constitute personal financial advice. If you would like to take advantage of a complimentary meeting to talk over your options for your own investments, pensions or general financial planning you can contact Nick at nick@plumbfs.co.uk or by calling the office on 01473 830301.

Plumb Financial Services is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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