Issue 104 Winter 2020

We are a warm, friendly, family run home conveniently situated close to the station and town centre of Royston.

If you would like to find out more about St George’s, please call us for a brochure or drop in for a chat.

42 Kneesworth Street, Royston, Herts. SG8 5AQ Telephone: 01763 242243 web site: www.stgeorgescare.com

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...editorial Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. We hope that lockdown may ease before the end of the year so that families can spend some time together.

We have lots of interesting articles for this issue, despite there being no dates for the Diary section. We have a feature from the magazine’s sponsors TTP describing their important work to help combating Covid-19, see page 12. Enjoy reading about how the schools and various clubs are coping, remaining active and planning for the future. There is an account of wildlife, with excellent photographs see page 42, and a most interesting account of chalk streams on page 58, of which the Mel is one, and much more and of course our excellent continuation in the Travelogue.

Of course, Christmas is one of the main celebrations of the Christian church, and details of services are given inside. As distancing must be observed there may be space for fewer people at services this year.

We are pleased to see that there will be a Melbourn calendar available again for next year, ordering will be by phone (see page 4). This will make a nice gift and raise money for SOAS. All the best to everyone.

Front cover: TTP inside a ventilator for Covid-19 see page 12.

Melbourn Magazine is Independent of the Parish Council NO public money is used.

We would like to thank TTP for their continued sponsorship of the magazine.

Melbourn Magazine is printed quarterly and delivered free to every household and business in the village.

All work on the Melbourn Magazine, including layout and design is produced by volunteers.

The cost of printing comes entirely from advertising and sponsorship.

If you would like to advertise in the Melbourn Magazine see inside back cover for details

Contents Melbourn Calendar Village news feature

4 5 12

Melbourn and the many fronts against Covid-19

feature

27

Old Christmas recipes from East Anglia

Travelogue

28

The Chinese Stretch Of The Silk Road

Education

33

MVC Astro Pitch

Bin collection feature

38 40

Back to Business

Nature

42

Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve

Review

46

The Landmark Trust Handbook Farewell, My Lovely Premonitions of the Future Authors and their Books

Churches Together Walks in & around Melbourn

53 57

A Walk on Therfield Heath

feature

58

Chalk Rivers

Sports & Clubs

59

The magazine is available to read online at www.issuu.com/melbourn. It is also available to download to a computer, mobile or tablet at www.melbourncambridge.org. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Melbourn Calendar

In this strange year of isolation and lockdowns, it has been hard to think of our Melbourn Calendar 2021 with no new photos and nowhere to sell them! However, I have made a set of Calendars as usual, using photos of some of the many listed buildings in the village. There are the usual A4 and A5 format as well as the landscape version, allowing for two months to be viewed together, this proved popular last year. Unfortunately, the price of the printer ink has increased, as has the paper so, in order to be able to give a good donation to SOAS (Supporters of All Saints) the A4 size will be £10 and the A5, £7. The new A4, landscape will be £8.

I think that the only way in which we will be able to deal with orders being made by telephone or email followed by an arranged collection date.

I will only be making them to order as there is nowhere we will be able to meet.

SOAS has ben unable to add to it’s funds with events this year so let’s hope we will be able to make a reasonable donation in the New Year and that we are able to live slightly more ‘normal’ lives in 2021!

My email address is driftwood@waitrose.com and telephone number 01763 220076 (please leave a message on the answer phone if there is no answer.)

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Village news Village News Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme?

Melbourn Hub – 2020 Reflections Melbourn Community Library Community Support for Dementia Healthwatch Melbourn and the many fronts against Covid-19 The Community Lifeline Service Cambridge Re-Use Home-Start Music with Mum Walking market The Olive Webb shrubs Melbourn Fete 2021 Moorlands Court Melbourn Springs Melbourn & District U3A Melbourn & Meldreth Women’s Group Community Rail Partnership Parish Council Clerk’s Report District and County Councillors Holocaust Memorial Day

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Vernon Corrin Gamon

3.11.1940 – 28.9.2020

Sadly Vernon lost his long fight against cancer and is sadly missed by Moira, his wife of over 55 years, his children, Giles, Rachel and Felix and his 4 grandchildren, Fergus, Hamish, Munro and Bronte.

Vernon started work as a trainee mechanical engineer, working on Fylingdale project in N. Yorks and later decided to change direction and move to electrical engineering. More years of study and a move down south to Richmond followed, where he met Moira at the local badminton club.

Vernon and Moira married in 1965 and bought a new house overlooking the river Thames near Hampton Court. Both worked and Vernon took a year off to complete his degree. Giles was born in 1968 and Rachel in 1970 and they then bought a dilapidated and large Victorian house in East Molesey in the spring of 1972. Felix was born in December that year, and despite a very demanding job with an engineering consultancy and 3 children under 5 years of age, Vernon set to and installed central heating in time for the first winter, re-wired the whole house, put new fencing up in the garden to stop both the children and the basset hound escaping, and still found time to play squash, continue to sail and develop all his own photographs.

He started up his own electrical engineering consultancy in 1974, undertaking work in many far-flung places, from the Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Tripoli, South Korea, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

Vernon was always active and remained so until the end. He built his first sailing boat, an Enterprise, in 1962 which he and Moira sailed on the Thames near Hampton Court and at Island Barn Reservoir. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Who are we?

Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme is a registered charity which has been operating since 1996, helping people to remain independent in their homes. The scheme is run by trustees and the services are delivered by a team of mobile wardens. We offer our services across Melbourn, Meldreth and Shepreth.

They continued to sail various boats from Solo and Fireball to Flying Fifteen, including building a second Enterprise. He enthusiastically played squash, badminton, golf and bridge, and enjoyed cycling and singing in a choir and learning to play the guitar. He and Moira were also avid theatre and concert goers.

They bought a holiday home in Dumfrieshire in the 1980’s and Vernon set to and replaced both the kitchen and the bathroom and added another en-suite shower room.

The family having left home and wishing to move out of the centre of Cambridge and have a smaller house and garden, they moved to Melbourn in 1997. Vernon retired in 1999 and, not feeling ready to be inactive, decided to start a new career, as a plumber, finally stopping working altogether in 2008.

Not that it signalled a slowing down, he just did other things, from helping with the accounts for the Cambridge University Musical Society, becoming treasurer of one bridge club, secretary of another and chairman of the private company of the 12 houses constituting Pryor’s Orchard. Later he also helped with the advertising for the Melbourn magazine.

A busy and active life well-lived.

Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme?

Could you benefit from the Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme?

Covid-19 has presented many serious challenges for us all during 2020, not least for those who may have health and mobility issues or who are simply of ‘seasoned age’! This means, unfortunately, that you may be more vulnerable to complications if you were ever to contract Coronavirus.

Therefore, you may find during the current situation that you could benefit from support to protect you from being exposed to this risk, and from someone special being in daily contact.

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What do we do?

We provide twice weekly visits to your home for a good chat (subject to Covid-19 guidance as to whether this can take place from inside or outside) and daily phone calls on non-visit days during the week. We can also bring basic shopping from local stores, order and deliver your prescriptions, go to the post office and help you with various other local errands – too many to list!

What else do we offer?

We provide regular newsletters and treats to connect the members of the scheme. Outside the current Covid-19 restrictions, we would normally arrange regular outings throughout the year for all of our members, using specialised transport. This gives the opportunity for members to make new friends and catch up with existing ones.

Who can join?

If you are mobility impaired or struggle to leave your home without assistance due to a health condition, or if you have frailty due to age, you may find our services of help. Our warden team can discuss your individual situation to establish if the scheme can meet your needs.

Who will be my mobile warden?

We have a team of six wardens who are specially selected, DBS checked and trained. A warden is allocated to you (subject to your satisfaction) and would be in regular contact to support you and build a friendly relationship that for many of our members has already spanned several years.

Maurice & Jeannie

Shirley Betsy Molly

How much will it cost?

We make a small charge for all the above services, which amounts to only about £7.50 per week and a little more for couples. We collect this as a monthly amount of £30 for an individual or £34 for a couple.

If you, a loved one or a neighbour could benefit from the Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme, please contact Jeannie 07808 735066 or Jane 07592 821976.

Jeannie Seers, Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme

Melbourn Hub – 2020 Reflections Well who would have believed this time last year, that life as we know it would have been completely turned on its head and that we would find ourselves unable to see loved ones and friends and that schools, shops, pubs and our favourite places to meet like Melbourn Hub would be forced to shut their doors for several months?! We would have laughed if someone had suggested that we would be doing (or not doing) many of the things that have now become the ‘new normal’ during 2020.

The relaxation in the summer of some of the restrictive measures for hospitality was much anticipated. The reopening of Melbourn Hub’s ‘Bookmark Café’ on 27th July, was of particular delight and importance to the many people who work, volunteer or enjoy visiting The Hub. Sadly we are still unable for now to see the return of other popular Hub activities such as our regular seasonal community events, art exhibitions, lunch clubs, story time and the library for instance, but we of course understand the reasons behind this and look forward to these returning in the near future. Some additional, albeit limited, services are available including room hire and community health services – please see our website for details.

For so many charities and businesses, it has been an extremely challenging time and will continue to be for a good while yet. However it is easy to only focus on the negative impact of Covid-19, but as we approach

the end of 2020 we felt that it would be good to look back at some of the positive aspects of our venue during this troubled year, primarily around people’s ability to connect with and support each other at Melbourn Hub. We believe that Melbourn Hub and our wonderful community has much to be proud of in this respect during 2020.

When we decided to open the café once more, following The Hub’s hosting of the Coronavirus Response team during lockdown, the protection of the staff, volunteers and public was of paramount concern to us. Therefore The Hub re-opened with a robust ‘Covid safe’ system, which has been heralded as one of the safest in the area by those who visit. This however, required additional volunteer resource and The Hub was absolutely delighted that so many great new people came forward and offered their help to get Melbourn Hub up and running again, following a request for volunteers to join our wonderful existing team. We extend our thanks to those who both returned as existing staff and volunteers and to those who joined us in 2020. We always welcome more!

Here are some anecdotes about what Melbourn Hub has meant personally to the people who work at the Hub or visit us. It’s a nice way to reflect back over 2020 on some of the things we value as human beings and what it means to be part of a community at a time like this.

Volunteering at Melbourn Hub: “The Hub was one of the reasons I decided to move to Melbourn last year and I enjoyed volunteering there as soon as possible. Once the cafe was reopened volunteering again helped to regain a little of a normal way of life and meet and make friends.”

Volunteer Jane “Staff and volunteers made us very welcome and customers regularly went out of their way to thank us for helping to support the Hub, which they had missed during lockdown and were pleased to see a return to the daily life of Melbourn.”

Volunteer couple Dave & Annette “It has been such fun and rewarding and I have been able to meet such lovely people, young and old alike. May my contribution continue but more importantly so too the Hub.” Volunteer “It’s great to be back volunteering again at the Hub in such a safe environment. The management team have worked so hard to ensure this. Over the months, we had missed the friendly banter with staff, other volunteers and of course our customers.”

Volunteer couple John & Jane melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED*

SAFE - CLEAN - FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT Duties include; greeting customers & table service Full training & PPE provided Everyone welcome! email info@melbournhub.co.uk www.melbournhub.co.uk 01763 263303

**

s ur ge nth Yo tga o or m m or 6 f id

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Welcome to Kingley Grove

Marketing Suite and Show Home Now Open Melbourn, Cambridgeshire SG8 6FE Hopkins Homes are delighted to welcome you to Kingley Grove, just a 10 minute walk from the centre of the quintessentially English village of Melbourn.

This is a sublime collection of homes ranging from charming two bedroom cottages and stylish apartments up to lavish five bedroom family homes. With such a varied mix, Kingley Grove is the ideal place to call home whether you are a busy professional, have a growing young family or are looking to downsize.

Contact: 07951 110498

hopkinshomes.co.uk

Help to Buy, Part Exchange & MoveEasy available * Marketing Suite open Thursday - Monday, 10am - 5pm Call: 01394 446860 or email: sales@hopkinshomes.co.uk Computer generated images of Kingley Grove. *Subject to status, terms & conditions apply. **Mortgage offer subject to qualifying criteria and terms & conditions.

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Customers have welcomed the return of our friendly Hub, but most importantly for them is that they consider it a very safe place: “I served an older lady some lunch on the second day we had reopened as “Covid ready”. When she had finished I collected her plate and asked if she had enjoyed it. She had tears in her eyes and said “my food was delicious as always but I cannot tell you how relieved I am and how thankful to you all. This is the first time I have been out in such a long time and I was so nervous but I feel so safe here it’s wonderful”.

Hub Director Nikki “The team at the Hub are fantastic and made me feel very welcome. I am getting to know the regular customers by chatting to them and sharing stories. For some customers the reopening has meant they can get out, socialise and feel safe.”.

Volunteer Liz “All I can say is hand on heart, I know of no other venue that has come anywhere near the governments list of hygiene standards.”

Volunteer Vicky “I wanted to say what a wonderful job you are all making at the Hub in these strange times. It all feels very safe without feeling intrusive”.

Customer Ros Melbourn Hub has provided support for the community with various Outreach Services who have also praised us: “The Hub is such an important place for the people of Melbourn and the surrounding villages. There is a great sense of community and support for those who need it.”

Mind CPSL “The Hub has a lovely welcoming environment with a strong community standing, which we know promotes positive mental health and wellbeing”.

Citizen’s Advice “The team have worked tirelessly with us, to offer an inclusive environment for people ‘living with dementia’.

There is always a warm and friendly ‘hello’ from the team which makes a huge difference to someone ‘living with dementia’”.

Community Support for Dementia

“Melbourn Hub has been supportive of Healthcare within the local community providing a focal point for the delivery of focused events to the local community. Melbourn Hub has been an excellent standard bearer for the delivery of health promotion”.

Orchard GP surgery We wholeheartedly thank you the community, for continuing to support Melbourn Hub throughout 2020 and in return we hope that we have fulfilled your expectations, especially in respect of your safety and also in continuing to provide excellent value. We at Melbourn Hub want to ensure everyone is included and able to enjoy our delicious food and drink during these difficult times. That is why we have not passed on our additional costs for making our venue ‘Covid Safe’.

You may also be aware that Melbourn Hub is a charity and not for profit. We’ve registered with Amazon Smile, so if you use Amazon to have your Christmas shopping delivered, and you would like to support us, you can choose us as your chosen charity and we will receive a donation for every parcel you have delivered.

We wish you all a very safe and happy Christmas and we will all no doubt get through this if we continue to pull together.

And finally, a poetic piece from one of our volunteers which sums up Melbourn Hub for them …

Tales from the Hub Reflections from a volunteer Having thoroughly enjoyed a slice of cake of the day the customer enquired about the ingredients, what made it special? Having given the question some thought the cook’s reply was: “It was a spoonful of love” On hearing this the customer’s laughter echoed round the Hub so others benefitted from another ingredient frequently savoured – laughter.

Another customer asked about what keeps the Hub going. No doubt – the ingredient is dedication given willingly by all staff and volunteers alike.

So, what can be found at the Hub? Ingredients that cannot be quantified.

Melbourn Hub 01763 263303 Website www.melbournhub.co.uk Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ thehubmelbourn/

Melbourn Community Library Sadly the Library has been closed for most of this year. When the Hub was able to reopen after the first lockdown we were unable to offer a library service as the space taken up by the open library shelves was needed by the café to provide additional socially distanced continued on page 10 melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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tables. As the café is vital to the survival of the Hub we were willing to remain closed. We were able to receive returned library books in a box at the entrance to the Hub. However, as restrictions were gradually eased, by October we were able to become a designated collection point for books which had been ordered either online or over the phone through the Cambridgeshire Library Service. This was just getting going when the second lockdown was imposed on us all.

We are keen to get the library functioning again and hope that by the time you are reading this we will again be offering the collection service and taking in returned books. It is also hoped that as time goes by many restrictions will be lifted and that we will again be able to open the shelves for browsing. There is nothing better than looking along the shelves of books and finding just the right one to read, or possibly many more than one. Roll on the day!

Jane Stevens

Community Support for Dementia Community Support for Dementia was formed in 1999 to introduce Awareness, Support and Training for people ‘living with dementia’ and their families/personal carers in Melbourn.

It was an initiative based on the personal experience of a Melbourn resident, faced with her 55 year old husband’s diagnosis of ‘Early Onset Dementia’. The diagnosis was very clinical and they were told ‘there is nothing the NHS can do, you both have a long and difficult journey ahead’.

Spurred into action more by panic and fear than anything, she quickly discovered there was nowhere locally for them to go for social support and felt people were ‘uncomfortable’ around them when they ventured out. She stumbled across the Dementia UK, Dementia Friends initiative, and encouraged everyone around her to be a ‘Dementia friend’, which involved watching a short video explaining some of the difficulties faced by people ‘living with dementia’ when they are out in the community.

Did you know, that a person ‘living with dementia’ who is faced with the customary black door mat, found in a majority of shops, cafes and restaurants, will think they are stepping into a big black hole! How scary must that be for them?

The Melbourn Community Hub seemed to be the ideal venue for a social gathering for people ‘living with dementia’. It is spacious, light, airy, and accessible for all. So, after discussions with the Hub directors, it was agreed that the Hub team would assist Community Support for Dementia in offering a venue for awareness and training to the villagers of Melbourn. A Dementia Friends evening was advertised. This was primarily to ascertain how many people in the village had been affected, directly or indirectly, by dementia. The turnout was incredible. So much so, we ran out of chairs and people had to stand, hence telling us there was a distinct lack of social support for dementia in our area.

As a direct result of this evening, we funded two ‘Virtual Dementia Training’ days and in September 2019 held our first Dementia Café at the Hub. It was an incredible afternoon and was very humbling for everyone involved.

The Hub is a great space to hold Dementia (Memory) Cafés. The team have worked tirelessly with Community Support for Dementia to offer an inclusive environment for people ‘living with dementia’. There is always a

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Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme Can we help you?

Can we help a relative?

Can we help a neighbour?

Who does the Scheme help?

The scheme is open to the mobility impaired in Melbourn, Meldreth and Shepreth including those who live alone or with their families, but need the extra support offered by our services. Couples too are most welcome.

It is also open to those in sheltered housing, as the scheme offers different, but complementary services.

Note: The scheme also offers its services for short periods to cover the temporary absence of relatives who otherwise provide this support.

We offer help with: • Friendship and support via twice weekly visits and daily phone calls • Ordering and collection of prescriptions • Basic shopping • Collection of pensions • Setting up Lifeline service • Bereavement support • Going to the Post Office to pay your bills • Just coming round for a chat

What will it cost?

We do have to make a small weekly charge for the warden’s services.

The fee is only £7.50 per week (a little more for couples).

Jeannie Seers (Mobile Warden) 07808 735066 email: jeanseers13@gmail.com

Jane Cage (Deputy) 07592 821976 email: janec55@virginmedia.com

Melbourn Warden Scheme is a registered charity

warm and friendly ‘hello’ from the team, which makes a huge difference to someone ‘living with dementia’.

They can no longer hold on to memories, but hold onto ‘feelings,’ so if they feel invited and comfortable, they will take this feeling with them and when they return they immediate get the same feeling and will be happy to stay.

Prior to lockdown, we held a Dementia Café once a month, on a Saturday afternoon, supplying free tea, coffee, cake, activities, music, help and advice to families and personal carers. The Hub gave us the space to do this and very quickly we almost filled the cafe! The feedback was amazing, so much so that our dementia friends and their families would often visit The Hub themselves between the monthly cafés. A great testament to the team, meaning that those ‘living with dementia’ had a good feeling when they visited, which would be just as relaxing for their family/carers.

Then on 23rd March 2020 we went into lockdown and suddenly the momentum that we had built up was halted. Not to be beaten, we produced weekly activity packs and delivered them to the doors of our Dementia Friends. We had quizzes, word searches, dot to dot, colouring-in, recipes, a sunflower competition, flower arranging, jelly competitions, bird and bug houses to paint, life stories of some of our friends ‘living with dementia’ and virtual walks. In addition to this, on one Saturday each month we delivered cakes to their houses to replace the Dementia Café experience. We set up a ‘WhatsApp’ chat group and our group grew stronger.

It was amazing to see how they supported each other during this difficult time. The feedback was incredible and it was so lovely to see photographs of our loved ones ‘living with dementia’ taking part in these activities.

On 29th August, we managed to get together at The Hub and held ‘A Day at the Seaside’ themed Dementia café. We decked The Hub out with deck chairs, inflatable

seagulls, buckets, spades, windmills and sticks of rock and supplied fish and chips, doughnuts, ice cream and a little ‘tipple’ to those who wanted it. It was an incredible time for all. Such love and support in the room and all held in a safe ‘socially distanced’ environment.

We now have over 36 people in our group and we know there are more people out there who need/ want support. Our aim is to be there for you if you, or your loved one, are unfortunate enough to get a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s/Dementia. It is one of the most heart-breaking pieces of news you and your family will receive. It will change your lives and there will be many challenging days ahead when you feel totally alone and don’t know where to turn. But you will also make memories that you will cherish forever; you will laugh (and cry!) as your journey continues.

If you would like support as a family member/personal carer or a person ‘living with dementia’, please, please contact us. We want to help you on your journey. Don’t struggle alone. Social interaction can be vital stimulation for those ‘living with dementia’ and much needed for carers and loved ones.

Community Support for Dementia is funded by quiz nights and other events and we were thankful to receive some funding from Melbourn Parish Council at the beginning of 2020. We also work closely with ‘Forget me not Training’, who have given much needed advice to our members when times have been difficult during lockdown.

Community Support for Dementia: Davina Biswell 07961 574104 or Stephanie Trayhurn – 07710 198299 Forget me not Training Chris Elsley – 07970 474556 The Melbourn Community – Hub 01763 263303 Dementia Friends Initiative – Become a dementia friend https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/ WEBArticle?page=become-dementia-friend

Healthwatch How are health and care services running for you in Melbourn?

Health and care champions ‘Healthwatch Cambridgeshire’ want to hear if things are working well or need improving.

You can tell us about your GP, your pharmacy, hospital appointments, social care, dentists and more.

All the feedback you give is anonymised and then goes back to the people who can improve local services.

We also encourage them to involve local people in decisions that affect them.

How to share your views Join the conversation at Greater Cambridge Health and Care Forum, which brings together the public and the people providing services. continued on page 15 melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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feature Melbourn and the many fronts against Covid-19 Whilst Melbourn was becalmed by lockdown during the second half of March and through April, TTP and Melbourn Science Park were busy – probably busier than ever. As the first wave of Covid-19 percolated through the country, TTP was asked by the Government’s Cabinet Office to join what later became known as the Ventilator Challenge.

During the following five weeks our engineers and scientists developed a new ventilator from a blank sheet of paper, which we named CoVent™. The challenge was unprecedented in several ways, but one story TTP hasn’t shared before is how this work was also supported by the local community.

It began with a call from the Cabinet Office on Friday 13 March, calling on TTP alongside UK industry to quadruple, from near 7,000 to 30,000, the number of critical care ventilators available to the NHS in order to cope with a predicted surge in Covid-19 patients.

Whether sufficient ventilators could be purchased, even whether existing ventilators could be built in sufficient number was uncertain due to sharply increased demand for both ventilators and parts amid the unfolding pandemic.

Early prototype 21st March 2020

Early prototype team 21st March 2020

TTP was therefore asked to design a new ventilator that could be rapidly manufactured from parts readily available in the UK within 6–8 weeks – which TTP accomplished in an around-the-clock, all-out effort that lasted 5 weeks and involved up to 140 TTP engineers, scientists and support staff working on – and off – Melbourn Science Park.

Benchtop prototype testing 24th March 2020

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Indeed, the development of the CoVent ventilator – for which production lines were being readied at our chosen manufacturing partner Dyson as the first wave of Covid-19 was nearing its peak in the middle of April – was unprecedented in many ways even for TTP as a technology and product development company.

One challenge was to develop a safe and effective medical device, to the satisfaction of the Medical and Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in a matter of weeks, when normally engineering projects of this type take 3 to 5 years.

As well, within the beyond-tight timeframe of the project, we needed to understand the clinical needs of Covid-19 patients and the requirements for a pandemic ventilator suitable for deployment in the UK. To do this, we worked with frontline clinicians who were treating Covid-19 patients in hospitals around the country.

Last but not least, we had to coordinate the internal development work with the Cabinet Office, our suppliers, the MHRA, other local technology companies involved in the Ventilator Challenge and Dyson engineers in Malmesbury.

In meeting these challenges, TTP also benefitted from links in the local community.

During the first weekend following the Friday afternoon call from the Cabinet Office, TTP staff brainstormed frantically how one might design a rapid manufacture ventilator. On Monday morning, TTP engineers visited local hardware suppliers, in particular to buy a wide range of plumbing parts for assembling a prototype ventilator. Pigs lungs to demonstrate the operation of the system were sourced from a local butcher, and by the Tuesday following the initial call TTP had assembled a first prototype system capable of ventilating pigs’ lungs in our laboratories.

And although the following days and nights were taken up with designing the electronics, the user interface, sourcing parts, and most importantly testing

the safety and usability of the design, the final ventilator design was remarkably similar to the initial prototype.

Many local suppliers of TTP also worked at warp speed to deliver anything that was needed for the ventilator development.

One important objective was for the ventilator to be intuitive to use. Allowing intensive care doctors and nurses to put our design through its paces during lockdown required a novel approach to testing on our part. We used video calls to collect feedback, and engineers and designers on the call worked in real time to implement their feedback in the design. Only when the first prototype devices were assembled did we conduct socially distanced in-person user testing of CoVent.

Thankfully, by May it was apparent that lockdown had been effective in reducing Covid-19 transmission and hospital admissions. The approval of new ventilators, including TTP’s, was therefore not pursued by regulators, but CoVent was one of only three novel designs that were found to be in principle “clinically usable” by the UK Government.

Since April, TTP has worked on a number of other Covid-19-related projects. We have helped a company by the name of DnaNudge to repurpose a DNA analysis system for Covid testing. Originally, the system had been developed to enable customers to determine their nutrigenetic profile, but DnaNudge’s technology continued on page 14

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has now been developed to provide a rapid Covid-19 antigen test, for which a major UK Government order was recently received by DnaNudge.

One of our clients, Quotient, has added Covid19 antibody testing capability to their MosaiQ™ blood testing platform, a flexible diagnostic system enabled by TTP’s SureDrop technology. Their rapid, high-performance Covid-19 antibody test has received regulatory approval and is in use to help combat the pandemic in the UK and beyond.

Another client, Hybrisan has developed a proprietary liquid biocide that is effective in killing a broad spectrum of bacteria and viruses and is non-hazardous, nonirritant, and non-damaging to skin, fabrics and surfaces.

Hybrisan’s aim is to develop materials suitable for use in a reusable face mask. Face masks containing biocideinfused material inactivate bacteria and viruses upon contact and therefore prevent the cross-contamination between uses and improve the reusability of the mask.

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TTP was asked to help by applying our knowledge of engineering and biology to develop test methods and equipment to support the development of robust biocidal face mask materials. Hybrisan hope to have the material incorporated into the first products during 2021.

So, the story of the Covid-19 pandemic in Melbourn, on Melbourn Science Park and at TTP is one of many fronts, but also of the galvanising effect of a shared purpose. Like countless other local organisations who came together to respond to the pandemic, this year TTP has designed, developed, and repurposed a wide range of technologies and products in the fight against Covid-19.

We’re here foorke’s.

Addenbro You can ask questions, share your ideas and experiences or just have your say. It meets every two months and the next session – on Wednesday 3 February 2021 – will run online via Zoom. Get in touch if you’d like to join in.

Find out more on our website, where you can also share your views www.healthwatchcambridgeshire.co.uk .

Need help finding information or services?

Our Information Service is here to help you.

Call: 0330 355 1285 Text: 0752 0635 176 Email: enquiries@healthwatchcambspboro.co.uk

The Community Lifeline Service Are you looking for peace of mind?

If you live alone, or someone in your family is sometimes left alone and may need to call for assistance, the Council’s Lifeline team can help.

In an emergency, pressing a button connects you via a contact centre with family, friends, neighbours, or the emergency services. Giving you peace of mind and reassurance.

The Community Lifeline Service The Community Lifeline Service allows people, young and old, to stay in their homes longer and live independently.

It is run by South Cambridgeshire District Council.

How it works In case of an emergency, you can press the lifeline button. This can be worn around your neck or on your wrist. When pressed, the button sends a signal to a small base unit that is connected to your telephone. This dials the contact centre who, after a few moments, will speak to you through the loudspeaker on the unit. You can then speak out loud and ask for the help you need.

Everyone using the lifeline service needs a local emergency contact – a friend, neighbour or family member – who lives locally and has a key (or access via a key safe) to your home. In the case of an emergency you can ask the contact centre for one of your emergency contacts or for the emergency services.

How much it costs The Community Lifeline Service costs £4.47 per week.

This is payable every three months in advance by a

Jan & Matt wanted to show thanks to their hospital, “Leaving a gift in a will is just something we can do so easily.”

email wills@act4addenbrookes.org.uk

£58.11 direct debit. (Whilst direct debit is the preferred payment method, it is possible to pay online or by payment card at the Post Office.)

The installation charge is £30. Additional buttons are available for £50.

For tenants living on a South Cambridgeshire District Council Sheltered Scheme the cost is £3 per week, charged separately to the rent account.

How to apply If you are interested in speaking with someone regarding the Lifeline Service, you can contact us by telephone on 01954 713470, email lifelines@scambs.gov.uk or online at www.scambs.gov.uk/lifelines If you live on a Sheltered Scheme, please contact your Sheltered Estate Officer or email alarm.calls@ scambs.gov.uk.

After applying, one of our local experienced staff will contact you to arrange a convenient time for installation. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Cambridge Re-Use One of the city’s hidden gems is now open to the public.

With recycling now mainstream, Cambridge Re-Use is selling good quality second hand furniture to all.

Founded 30 years ago as Cambridge Sofa, the charity has been providing a full range of furniture and furnishings to those on low incomes. This will continue, with discounted prices for those in this situation, but at the same time anyone can now visit the warehouse off Cherry Hinton Road to find bargains.

Cara Moorey, Cambridge Re-Use manager, said, “We are lucky as we have some beautiful furniture donated from the Cambridge area. There is a real mix of modern and antique pieces, often items that would cost a lot more elsewhere.”

Cambridge Re-Use is largely staffed by volunteers and is always interested to hear from people looking to volunteer for half a day or a full day per week on the van or in the warehouse helping customers.

Open 10am – 4pm Monday – Saturday Unit H, The Paddocks, 347 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, CB1 8DH. Telephone 01223 576535. www.cambridgereuse.org.uk (A selection of stock can be also be found on Gumtree.)

Home-Start Back in 2017, Nicola Hardy, an IT support manager from Sheffield, handed in her notice, sold her house, and set off with a backpack to explore the world.

Calling herself Adventurer Nic (https://adventurernic. com/), she has climbed the 282 Munro mountains in Scotland, completed the Wainright Challenge (climbing all 24 of the peaks in the Peak District) and trekked up Kilimanjaro.

This year, she’s challenged herself to “walk home” from her birthplace in Sheffield to her house in Cockermouth, Cumbria. The 200 mile trip, which took place during the first two weeks of October, replaces her plans to hike the length of New Zealand.

Setting A Challenging Pace While we’re not suggesting you should quit your job and go hiking for a year, maybe Adventurer Nic’s story might inspire to you to take on a challenge of your own.

Perhaps you’ve always fancied hiking the Pennine Way (270 miles from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland)? Maybe you’d like to take part in a fun run (we’re pretty sure that’s an oxymoron, but apparently some people enjoy them). Or would you consider a “30 Day challenge,” where you take on a particular activity every day for a month? Or you could give something up, like a favourite food or drink.

Taking on a personal challenge is a great way to get fit or learn a new skill or discipline, and it’s also a great way to raise money for good causes. In recent years, we’ve had

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Visit our NEW showroom at Sage Blinds & Interiors Phillimore Garden Centre, Cambridge Road, Melbourn, SG8 6EY Tel: 01763 263399 Mobile: 07875 488955 email: sageblinds@icloud.com www.sageblinds.co.uk Specialists in made to measureBlinds ~ Curtains ~ Shutters Wall Coverings ~ Awnings ~ Interiors

7 supporters take on personal challenges for us, raising a fabulous £8,490 in donations.

Take our Family Group volunteer, Angus, who recently challenged himself to take part in the Duxford Dash (a 5km run around the Imperial War Museum) to raise money for Home-Start. Angus tells us that, when he emailed all his friends about his activities, one of them emailed back to ask if his account had been hacked, as taking up running seemed very unlike Angus!

We’re pleased to say that Angus completed his run and raised £1,200 for us.

Where do I even begin?

Working out what personal challenge you fancy doing can be, in itself, a challenge. There are so many options!

Luckily there are also several great websites that give you ideas, like these ones: Time Outdoors (www.timeoutdoors.com/challenges/ UK) has a huge list of challenges to look at and consider, with everything from a 25K bike ride to skydiving.

The Easy Fundraising site has a whole range of activities that could be turned into fundraising challenges (www. easyfundraising.org.uk/challenges/). And shopping for your activity via EasyFundraising raises money for your good cause too.

Now that’s what we call a win-win.

If you’d like to discuss taking on a personal challenge in aid of Home-Start, please get in touch! www.hsrsc.org.uk or email admin@hsrsc.org.uk

locally, nationally and internationally for her work and publications and has led projects within Childrens’ Centres, Music Services and professional orchestras. Her work includes consulting for the BBC, and mentoring musicians and early years’ practitioners.

In the past 5 years Linda has developed a new plan base using music to assist development and wellbeing. She has worked alongside teachers and health practitioners in Hertfordshire to develop these sessions.

In addition to this, her third grandchild was born during lockdown, which has made her determined to transfer these sessions to online so that we can all continue safely during this time.

Contact me on 07753636443 for more details musicwithmum21@btopenworld.com

Music with Mum

Walking market

Sing Stretch and Relax Linda is delighted to announce a new online music class for parents with new-born babies up to 1 year.

These guided sessions will introduce beautiful songs that help focus, learning and provide distraction, mindfulness and enjoyment for both baby and adult.

There will be some suggested stretching and dancing within the session and it will end with a lovely time for you to relax and listen to music. There are no rules! You decide how you are going to interpret the activities together and I will go with that.

The purpose of these sessions will become quite clear as you work with me throughout the term. For baby, you will see the recognition in their face each time you sing a certain song. They will enjoy your voice, movement and fun that accompany each song or activity. They will be soothed, distracted or excited by the tickle and lap songs we sing together and you will hopefully enjoy the relaxation together.

Linda is a music educator in the United Kingdom specialising in music making with families with babies and children in their early childhood. She is renowned

October half term turned into a busy time for two Mums from Melbourn. Following the success of Walking Markets in local towns and villages, Laura Nelson and Jemma Glennon decided to organise one for Melbourn.

The Walking Market sees residents setting up stalls in their front gardens and driveways to sell crafts, preloved and new items – there were even a few raffles and refreshment stalls. The stall holder’s address is pinned onto a map that is provided by the organiser.

Set up through a Facebook group, the organisers have seen a fantastic response – despite the uncertain weather.

With a total of 45 stalls, the response was amazing and everyone looked forward to setting up their stalls and wandering around to other stalls to bag a bargain!

Following the popularity of this Walking Market, the organisers have decided to plan another one in the Spring, when they hope to publicise it more widely to reach people that aren’t Facebook users.

Alongside all the planning of the Walking Market, Laura and Jemma have also been busy putting together continued on page 18 melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Moorlands Court

Local Community Services ü Homecare – our fully trained carers visit you in your home.

packed lunches for local children to ensure they have a healthy lunch whilst the school is closed.

The next venture for the pair is ‘Decorate a Christmas Window’, again organised through Facebook – keep your eyes peeled for adorned windows across the village.

The Olive Webb shrubs Many of the ‘old timers’ in the village will remember with affection Olive Webb, who died several years ago. Some of her good friends met up after her funeral for a celebration of her life, and they made a collection intending that something definite should be done in her memory. It was decided to purchase some shrubs to be placed in the churchyard so that flower arrangers (Olive always got stuck in with helping to decorate the church) could just nip out and pick the odd branch to supplement their foliage.

The shrubs were purchased and then the PCC were consulted as to where they should be planted. Rosemary Gatward, who was in charge of the Flower Rota at the time, wanted them to be in the churchyard. Suffice it to say that this became a problem and anyway, a faculty would have to be obtained from Ely. The Community Hall was up and running and I told Rosemary we would be happy to have the shrubs in the garden, but Rosemary really wanted them to be planted closer to the paths or the doors of the church. Then the shrubs would be easily accessible for flower arrangers to nip out and pick foliage without getting their feet wet or muddy!

The interregnum came and everyone was kept busy and some time passed before the subject was raised again.

Rosemary reported that sadly all the plants had died but she would replace them when a suitable site had been found.

More time passed (time really does fly, as the saying goes – doesn’t it?) Rosemary sadly died some months ago and this summer I was approached and asked to sort the matter out once and for all.

An email to Rebecca Gatward immediately brought forth both the promise of replacement plants being ordered and delivered in September AND agreement that they should be placed in the Hall garden. The Hall Trustees met to determine the best spot, which turned out to be at the back of the garden in the corner beyond the shed. A plaque had been bought to honour Olive and would be suitably

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ü Sitting service – a visit from our experienced staff gives family carers time for themselves. ü Day Centre – based at Moorlands Court, with a friendly and sociable atmosphere and includes a tasty 2 course lunch. ü Meals service – nutritious, hot lunchtime meal delivered to you. ü Housekeeping – we do those jobs which you can no longer manage, from cleaning and ironing, to bed changing and shopping.

To find out more, just call us at Moorlands Court on 01763 260564, or email : denise.taylor@chsgroup.org.uk

displayed after the planting. (Incidentally, in a nice touch Rebecca added a Daphne Odora in memory of Daphne Black who ran the Flower Rota for many years.)

So we hope that in years to come, when that corner of the garden is flourishing, the church flower arrangers will avail themselves of the foliage and Olive’s legacy will live on.

Mavis Howard

Melbourn Fete 2021 In these uncertain times we could all do with something to remind us of how life was before Covid and, even more importantly, something positive to look forward to.

We at the Fete committee are desperate to put something together for next year. This is particularly true after cancelling the fete, open gardens and turn on to Christmas this year, which are essentially organised by the same team.

Clearly we cannot predict what the situation will be early next summer and what we are able to safely organise. This poses some problems. Normally by now we would have booked some of the attractions; this we cannot do without risking losing a deposit. In addition, once we get closer to the event and public health restrictions are clearer there will be an understandable surge by organisers of similar events locally to book the same attractions over a limited number of weekends.

Our intention is to delay committing to any expense until we are more confident about public health restrictions. This will mean that the date of the event, normally the third weekend in June, may have to be brought forward or delayed a few weeks to best cope with the situation. It also means that the content of the fete may be different to previous years.

We will endeavour to try to do something. The best place to monitor our plans is through our Facebook page. This will become more active from Spring 2021 as uncertainties start to reduce.

We are looking forward to seeing you at an event soon.

Moorlands Court As the whole country has been dealing with the Covid pandemic, Moorlands Court Extra Care, like so many other similar schemes, have faced challenges to keep everyone safe. This year has certainly been very different to normal: no visitors, no hustle and bustle of the day centre and no meet-ups for tenants at lunchtime. We had to implement some very stringent measures to keep the tenants, their families and the staff safe. This proved very successful and is something we are immensely proud of.

As restrictions eased in the summer, we introduced social distance lunches, which were a great relief for

everyone. The tenants were so happy to be able to see their families and friends again, even if it was at the obligatory 2 metre distance. The sound of chit chat and laughter returned to Moorlands Court and the new sense of normality began. Throughout the necessary restrictions we have continued to offer interesting and fun activities for our tenants. One of these was a very well attended Social Distance afternoon tea. Our very talented cooks excelled themselves with the delicious array of scones and cakes. The afternoon had a lovely atmosphere which was topped off with the sounds of Glen Miller playing in the background.

It was a great afternoon and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

As the summer drew to a close, we started to re-introduce our Day Centre and welcomed back some familiar faces as well as a few new ones too. The sense of friendship and togetherness has quickly been re-established and the customers are really enjoying being back. As I write this they are starting to prepare for Halloween and have been busy getting Moorlands Court suitably decorated.

Our carers are still offering their usual highest standard of care to our tenants and our community clients and every day our amazing kitchen team prepare and distribute healthy, hearty lunches to keep everyone well fed.

We look forward to Christmas and hope the New Year brings some light at the end of this very long Covid tunnel.

Denise Taylor, Extra Care Manager. Moorlands Court

Melbourn Springs Friend of Melbourn Springs Care Home wins National Poem Competition A team effort has won a local writer a national poetry competition and the opportunity to have her first poem published.

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Murphy from Melbourn entered the Poems in a Pandemic competition thanks to her melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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friendship with Melbourn’s new Melbourn Springs care home and beat 300 other entries to win her category.

Betty has been a regular visitor to the home in Hyacinth Drive since it opened this year, supporting the residents remotely and making knitted ear savers for the staff through the lock down.

She wrote Isolation Musings for the pleasure of the residents.

It was read to them by Home Services Advisor Dan Amis who then put the poem forward for national recognition.

“Betty is always so cheerful and a joy to speak to,” said Dan, “and her poem ‘Isolation Musings’ had all of our residents and staff in stiches! I thought it was perfect to enter it into the Poems in a Pandemic’ Competition and Betty agreed. We were so delighted to learn that she had won!”

Poems in a Pandemic was a national poetry and art competition for frontline social care support staff, leaders, nurses and community friends to capture their thoughts, feelings and experiences throughout the pandemic.

Supported by Care Talk, Betty’s poem is going to be published in a book, with all proceeds going to supporting the mental health of care workers through art projects.

Said Betty: “My poems come to me at any time – even as I am eating breakfast! I cannot sit down and start to write one, but once I start they just flow from the pen. I am so thankful to Dan for entering my poem for me and am really looking forward to being interviewed before the book is published.”

Betty has even ventured into the virtual world for the first time to give a live reading of ‘Isolation Musings’ on the competition live final via Zoom.

To donate to fund the publishing of the top 100 poems from frontline staff, with all profits going towards supporting mental wellbeing, please visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/poems-in-a-pandemic?tk=9fc9f5ada1 dc781c4c22733e8fd03d6c576ad027

Leading the way to ensure residents and relatives stay connected Residents are overjoyed at Melbourn Springs care home near Royston, as Barchester Healthcare leads the way having implemented a designated visiting room for residents to continue to spend time with their loved ones for the autumn and winter seasons – in addition to the outdoor garden visits that have been on offer for many months.

The designated visiting room has been designed with both comfort and safety in mind and is accessible internally by residents and externally by visitors too! And it only seemed right that the home’s first resident, Iris and her family were the first to use the new room.

After officially opening the visiting room Iris said, “Goodness, isn’t this clever?!? We really are very lucky to have this special room to see our family and everything has been thought of. It really is excellent!”

The visiting room is similar to a living room with comfortable furnishings and heating to create a welcoming and warm

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Isolation Musings – Elizabeth Murphy

During this isolation time I may write a pantomime For while I have to stay at home I’ll put pen to paper and write a poem Maybe I’ll knit or even cook Or sick my nose inside a book My hair will grow day by day At least it won’t be any more grey At Jigsaw Puzzles I am ace They do take up a lot of space Crosswords I can do with ease Although the clues often tease Alas my teeth I haven’t many After this I won’t have any When the dentist says “open wide” He’ll get a fright with what’s inside In my garden Alas alack There is no room for a running track So I’ll walk around and around Until I fall upon the ground From my window throughout the day I watch the trees gently sway Birds come down they swoop and glide Consuming everything that I provide My home will be a wondrous sight With doors and walls gleaming white The pots and pans will not be missed I have them on my “to do list” Friends are calling everyday Just to ask if I am ok To hear a friendly voice is good It’s fairly lightens up my mood When all said and done I know I’m not the only one There is some sort of consolation From this nasty isolation I won’t wear my Sunday best So I won’t be unique I’ll wear my tracksuit daily And thus be “Shabby Chic” My diet it may waiver Exercise I’ll surely pursue So when it’s all over I’ll be a svelte size twenty two When this is done and things are normal Will our manners be quite formal Obviously we won’t kiss and hug In case we get another bug!

environment for residents to continue to spend time with their loved ones in the upcoming months.

The room even has an intercom system fitted so residents can clearly communicate, and engage in conversation, whilst being able to see their friends and family through a Perspex glass divider fitted for safety to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Infection control protocols and safe social distancing are in place for every visit, including a hand sanitizer station before entry. Cleaning at Melbourn Springs care home will take place after each visit to ensure chairs, seats, hard surfaces

Connect with Care Network!

During these challenging times our Community Navigators can help you find local support. This includes access to our Help at Home essential shopping and our Wellbeing Phoneline services Speak to your local South Cambs Coordinator today on 01954 212100 To learn more or donate to our Covid-19 response services please visit www.care-network.org.uk/ or call 01954 211 919

including windowsills, and the Perspex glass divider are wiped down appropriately.

The feedback from families to date has meant that the majority of people would accept unusual arrangements if it meant being able to see their loved ones while also keeping themselves safe, as a temporary measure. Barchester Healthcare hope to allow visits again as normal once it is safe to do so following government guidance.

Karen Allen General Manager at the home, added: “Our visiting room has been a much welcomed development for our residents at Melbourn Springs to continue to receive much looked forward to visits from their loved ones, as the weather changes.

We are welcoming new residents into our homes to ensure that we are there for those that need care and support and have a very clear admission policy and infection control protocols that must be met. Please do give us a call on 01763 261974 if you are looking for care or we can be of any further help.”

For more information about Melbourn Springs Care Home please visit: www.barchester.com/home/melbournsprings-care-home or call 01763 261974 to speak to one of the friendly home team today.

Giving Tuesdays and Living Advent Calendars If you’ve been keeping tabs on our social media activity in the last few months, you’ll know that Home-Start have been running a campaign called ‘Giving Tuesdays’. Every Tuesday since 7th April we’ve posted ideas for activities, hobbies, skills and opportunities for everyone to enjoy.

Our favourite weeks include Week 19 (Mind fulness), Week 27 (Poetry) and Week 17 (Music Quiz). What was your favourite week? Take a look at the full set here: www. hsrsc.org.uk/giving-tuesday/ Home-Starts campaign forms part of a ‘global movement of generosity’ also called Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday falls on the 1st December every year and encourages people all over the world to be generous. It’s not just about donating money to charity either. Giving Tuesday encourages people to donate time and skills where they are needed, to help neighbours, to stand up for something you believe in. Being generous with anything and everything you can to build a better world. Want to know more?

Take a look at www.givingtuesday.org.uk/ for details.

Our ‘Giving Tuesdays’ campaign ends on Giving Tuesday with the launch of our Living Advent Calendars.

If you haven’t come across this idea yet, let me tell you more!

In Buntingford we’re working with the Chamber of Commerce to create an advent calendar around the town centre. 24 images will be going up in the shops melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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during Advent, with a new one available to find every day. A calendar trail is available from the Buntingford Co-op. Follow the trail, find the windows and explore the town. There’s also a Christmas drawing competition for the children!

In Royston, we’ve put together an interactive calendar all over the town: 24 locations around the town will be revealing a fabulous window display over the lead up to Christmas. Download our map (www.hsrsc.org.uk/2020/10/home-start-living-adventcalendar/) and find the windows.

These are community projects from Home-Start, in partnership with businesses and residents in our local towns. We want to create 24 days of amazement around our towns and bring you all a bit of Christmas cheer.

If you’d like to know more about our campaigns, please take a look at our website (www.hsrsc.org.uk), send us an email (admin@hsrsc.org.uk) or give us a call (01763 262262).

Jeremy Ashworth Electrician and Property Maintenance

21 Bramley Avenue, Melbourn, Royston, Herts. SG8 6HG

Melbourn & District U3A Learn, laugh, live Melbourn and District U3A was formed in 1994 and today has around 500 members from South Cambridgeshire and North Hertfordshire. There are 30+ subject or activity groups including art, music, languages, history, philosophy and current affairs, together with excursions and leisure activities such as yoga and walking, to name just a few.

These groups are informal, mutual and self-help in nature rather than the lecturer and student format. In some groups the leader brings professional experience, and in others group members might share the role to build skills and understanding. There are no exams, but members may choose to go on with further studies and qualifications. A leader of one group is often a member of other groups.

We are all learning. Newcomers are welcomed regardless of experience or knowledge. Meetings are held in the morning or afternoon, in people’s houses or in local halls and using online facilities.

A monthly general meeting is usually held on the third Wednesday of the month at 2.45 pm (but not in December), when there is an opportunity for social exchange over tea, coffee and biscuits. At 3.00 pm there is a talk by a guest speaker. These meetings are held in the hall of Melbourn Village College, where parking is free.

During the Covid pandemic arrangements have been made for members to meet online using Zoom, emails, Facebook and by telephone. Podcasts and YouTube broadcasts are increasingly being used for our activities and to keep members informed of their interests and activities.

Melbourn & District U3A (an acronym for “university of the third age”) is affiliated to the Third Age Trust, a registered charity which provides benefits to each U3A by being a conduit for the exchange of ideas, resources and

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07815 093166 jeremy.ashworth@ntlworld.com

in many other ways. Our subscription includes an amount due to the Trust.

The term ‘Third Age’ arises from considering childhood and dependence as the first age; adulthood, marriage and family responsibility as the second. The Third Age, or retirement, allows time to indulge in previously neglected interests or to expand horizons.

Everyone who is no longer in full-time employment is welcome to join.

You may decide to join one or more of the groups or just attend the monthly meeting. Simply complete the application form online or post a hard copy to our Membership Secretary together with the subscription due (currently £13 pa). Details of how to pay are on the form.

Melbourn & District U3A is a registered charity.

For further information including the list of groups see: www.u3asites.org.uk/melbourn or contact our Membership Secretary: email membership@melbu3a. org Phone 01763 264189.

Melbourn & Meldreth Women’s Group We have recently held a committee meeting and have discussed plans to try and hold future meetings online using Zoom.

Members are in the process of being contacted to see if they would like to do this and Kimmi has agreed to set up and host meetings if we go ahead with it.

Our secretary, Anne Harrison, will be leaving the village soon and will step down at the AGM on 26.1.2021. We anticipate the AGM will also be held on Zoom. We would ask members to consider if they would like to join the committee and help us keep Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group running.

We appreciate that not all members will be comfortable with using Zoom and we will continue to try to keep in contact and support those who feel unable to join if it is decided that we go ahead and use Zoom.

Please contact any of the committee members below if you would like more information or would like to let us know what you think.

Pat Smith (262575) Sue Toule (260955) Anne Harrison (261775) Angela Leach (262793) Pat Ames (261130) Kimmi Crosby 07976228377 Mary Bailey (220171)

Community Rail Partnership Turning the tubs around for winter on the station platforms Local volunteers have been continuing to work to ensure our station garden remains cheerful and well-

tended, for which many thanks. Do please get in touch if you’d like to help out in any way – all according to Covid protocols of course.

Amazon locker at Meldreth Station Amazon lockers are being rolled out at a number of railway stations, and one has been offered for Meldreth.

This would serve as a collection point for Amazon packages. The Community Rail Partnership had very short notice to make a decision and felt on balance that it would be a useful additional public amenity to the station environment. It will be installed on the hard standing where currently there are four poorly positioned cycle racks; we’ve asked for the racks to be re-sited elsewhere in the station car park area – details to be worked out. As you may have seen, a brand new 16-unit covered cycle park facility was installed in the car park just before lockdown.

If you’d like to be added to the Rail User Group mailing list, please feel free contact us.

Susan van de Ven and Sarah Grove railusergroup@gmail.com

Parish Council Clerk’s Report I am delighted to be writing my first report as Parish Clerk and would like to take this opportunity to welcome Sophie Marriage as the new Assistant to the Clerk.

Although 2020 has been a particularly difficult year, it has presented opportunities for our village to really come together in support of one another. The wonderful work of the MCCR over the summer months highlighted what can be achieved when the community works together.

It was very sad to see the Hub closed up and in darkness for much of the summer. However, once restrictions were lifted, staff and volunteers returned with just as much enthusiasm and energy as before. Sadly, at the time of writing, we are about to enter another period of lockdown. During this time, the Hub will be closed to the public.

However, the parish office will remain open, although some staff may work remotely to limit the number of people in the office. We can be contacted by email or phone (01763 263303 x3). Please look out for updates on the parish website and Facebook page with details of changes to local services as and when we are made aware of them.

Interested in the future of Melbourn? The Futures Working Party is made up of County, District and Parish Councillors and is concerned with the opportunities and challenges associated with the growth of our village.

If you would like to find out more, please contact the parish office (parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk).

Claire Littlewood melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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On behalf of Melbourn magazine, we would like to apologise to Cllr Graham Clark, chair of Melbourn Parish Council for an error in the Autumn edition of the magazine that may have given the impression that Cllr Clark was leaving the Parish Council. To clarify, this is not the case and Cllr Clark remains Chair and is still very much an active member of the Parish Council.

District and County Councillors Covid-19 and recalibration of District and County Hubs At the time of writing, there has been a concerning rise in Covid-19 cases in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. The District and County Councils are poised to support community Covid support groups should the need arise; meanwhile everyone is being asked to help disseminate public health advice on hand hygiene, social distancing and staying home as much as possible, plus guarding against complacency.

Detailed updates from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Public Health Intelligence team on Covid-19 cases and settings can be found by googling ‘Cambridgeshire Insight Covid-19’.

South Cambridgeshire Hall – SCDC offices Having re-opened South Cambs Hall after lockdown, it was then closed again as part of efforts to do all possible to minimise the spread of Coronavirus locally.

It was felt this is the right and responsible thing to do following the latest Government announcements.

Residents and businesses have been able to carry out the vast majority of transactions without visiting and for the small number of tasks that have required people to visit in-person, such as pension verification, we have made arrangements to continue delivering them in a safe way. Please check the website for further details.

Melbourn Oil Club – household heating oil The Melbourn Division Oil Club, working with local oil supplier Agricole Oil, exists to help householders access the best available prices.

There is no joining fee and no obligation to make more than one order – please simply contact Jeremy Cole at Agricole Oil if you’d like to know more about how things work or how to make an order: Jeremy@ agricole.co.uk, tel 01954 719452.

Every year, Agricole Oil gives us a rebate which is based on the volume of orders made, and the Oil Club in turn donates this to a community group.

Last year the rebate went to Royston and District Community Transport.

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Computers for Melbourn Village College We’d like to thank the Meldreth Screenbank team who have continued to work on the refurbishment of donated, second-hand computers, to help Melbourn Village College ensure that all students who need it are set up with home IT. Please contact Susan if you have a donation to make – Screenbank is looking particularly for Windows 7 and above laptops, though other bits and pieces can be put to use as well.

Difficulties with Water bills?

Cambridge Water is offering help for people struggling to pay their water bills because of Covid-19. Please contact Cambridge Water via the website, by Facebook or Twitter or call 0800 587 7701. More information can be found online at www.cambridge-water.co.uk/covid-help. Tailored support, includes the Assure social tariff (for customers whose household income is less than £16,380 a year) and the Assure Covid-19 tariff, which is available for a 12-week period for customers whose household income has been impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak and is temporarily less than £16,380 a year, as well as a number of other plans.

Melbourn One-way Streets?

We’re very mindful of the concerns amongst residents of Little Lane, Meeting Lane, Chapel Lane and Norgett’s Lane, concerning traffic moving inappropriately, particularly during the period of the Mortlock St closure. We raised this with County Highways at the end of the summer and at the time of writing are still chasing the matter, having asked them to consider specific suggestions proposed by residents. We’ll report back via the parish council – and hopefully will have some answers by the time you read this!

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy holiday time in this extraordinary year. Please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime with your questions and concerns – if we can’t answer we’ll find someone who can.

Susan van de Ven and Jose Hales Susanvandeven5@gmail.com, Tel 07905325574 jose@josehales.me.uk, Tel 07703 262649

Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January

Melbourn Parish Council and Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January.

Readers of the Magazine (Autumn 2020 Issue 103) will know that a proposal that Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January be marked by the Parish Council was submitted for discussion and decision at the Council’s September meeting. The submitted proposal was very straightforward and stated in full: “That Melbourn Parish Council mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January next in Melbourn with an occasion that

was both modest and understated, as well as decorous, appropriate and in keeping with the matters involved.”

Background information was submitted to the Parish Clerk, who distributed it to all Parish Councillors in advance of the Council meeting in the usual way. The distributed information dealt with Holocaust Memorial Day itself – founded in the UK by a Government initiative twenty years ago – and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. This organisation, a charity which has as its Patron His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, has had its work funded since 2007 by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The distributed information included a 15 page document in digital form published by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and entitled “Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 in Review”. Unsurprisingly this document, distributed to all Parish Councillors to assist their discussion, did exactly what was stated in the title: it reviewed Holocaust Memorial Day events held in 2020! It also explained the five goals of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which the Trust had been established with Government assistance to pursue and bring about.

(The document can be found at: www.hmd.org.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2020/03/HMD-2020-In-Review. pdf) As the resident who had submitted the above proposal for discussion and decision, I had been invited by the then Parish Clerk to attend the Parish Council meeting, held on Zoom, and speak at the start of the Council’s discussion. This I was pleased to do.

I explained to the Parish Councillors that the proposal had been submitted on the grounds that: • Melbourn Village has significant standing as one of the larger and more important villages in the South Cambridgeshire area; • Melbourn Parish Council is the main civil local authority of the village and the parish; • The Parish Council – and its equivalent predecessors down through the decades – had been a positive and dominant presence in our Melbourn community; • The present Melbourn Parish Council continues this tradition by presenting itself as representing the entire Melbourn community, comprising those who reside or make their living here within the Melbourn Parish boundaries.

It was my hope that the Parish Council’s discussion of the above proposal would be both fruitful and instructive.

Very regrettably the Council’s discussion was not fruitful.

It was, however, very instructive – but in a way that I had not anticipated. The proposal did not find favour with the Parish Council. All Parish Council Meetings, however, are recorded and put online. So the discussion of the Parish Councillors is available to be listened

to on the Melbourn Parish Council website: https:// melbournparishcouncil.co.uk/meetings-and-agenda/ council-agenda/recording-meetings-101016-onwards/. I have forwarded to the Parish Clerk the full text of what I stated to the Parish Council meeting and requested that it be included in the minutes of the meeting.

The concluding remarks contained in the text and read to the Parish Council were as follows: “I ask that you individually cast your vote in favour of the proposal and so decide that Holocaust Memorial Day will be marked by this Council, in a Covid-safe manner, in Melbourn on 27 January 2021. The Parish Council, being the village and the parish’s main civil local authority, is ideally placed to take such a decision and carry this matter forward – on behalf of all who make up the Melbourn community – to a successful conclusion. The creation and holding of such an occasion, when undertaken by the Parish Council, will be seen and understood as an important statement in itself, as well as the setting down of the greatly respected traditional values long held by the Melbourn community and its Parish Council. The hallmark of any such occasion would be that it was: Local; Simple; Inclusive; Dignified. The occasion itself would be the outcome of an initiative drawn up by the Parish Council that focussed on: Venue; Attendance; Programme to be followed in a Covid-safe manner; Duration.

The first and necessary step is: – that a decision be taken tonight in principle to proceed; – and that the necessary planning work be put in hand in the days immediately ahead to create an occasion to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January in Melbourn which would also serve to unite and strengthen our local Melbourn community.”

Bearing in mind the discussion by the Parish Council and the views expressed by different Parish Councillors, I met the new Parish Clerk and the Council Chair in the Parish Office on 26 October. I was invited to submit a further Proposal to the Council that clarified what was intended by me and the following has been submitted: “That: in this time of Covid restrictions and virtual meetings held on Zoom, Melbourn Parish Council mark Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January by inviting a direct Holocaust Survivor, or a family member of a direct Holocaust Survivor, to be present at the Council’s January Meeting during the holding of a Minute Silence introduced and led by the Council Chair.”

I have requested that the Proposal be processed and discussed by the Parish Council at its November Meeting.

This will give ample time for the necessary arrangements in the event that the Parish Council decided to look with favour on what is a very straightforward Proposal.

Hugh Pollock melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Old Christmas recipes from East Anglia Christmas goose pie pre Turkey days From the handwritten recipe book of a housekeeper of a large house in Norfolk.

Bone a large goose and a good fowl. Make a forcemeat of minced tongue, ham, veal and suet: season it with sweet herbs, parsley, lemon, pepper, mace and salt. Mix it with two eggs and fill the inside of the fowl with it: put the fowl inside the goose, make a gravy with the trimmings of the fowl, the tongue and any pieces that may be left of the veal, and a calf’s foot or a cow’s heel: stew the goose with the fowl inside, in this gravy for twenty minutes or half an hour. Then lay the goose in a dish and place a piecrust over it: fill up any vacant spaces with slices of ham or the rest of the forcemeat. Strain the gravy through a jelly bag until it looks clear and pour it over the pie; lay some butter on the top and bake for three hours.

The old cookbook then says: It is eaten cold, and if well-made is extremely good and savoury; it will keep for a long time.

Why not try it this Christmas and surprise everyone?

Even though everyone will be rather full after that you still need a Christmas Pudding.

Victorian rich plum pudding 1lb 2oz Kidney suet, chopped very fine 1lb large raisins, stoned and cut in half ½ lb French plums cut in slices 6oz shredded mixed peel; 1 teaspoonful baking powder 1lb breadcrumbs 3oz pounded almonds ¼ lb Indian cornflour a pinch of salt ½ lb sultanas 1 teaspoonful allspice ½ lb currants a grating of nutmeg 1lb sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon Mix these dry ingredients together in a large bowl then bind them together with: Juice of 1 lemon, a glass of brandy, 8 or 9 eggs whipped for seven minutes, a gill of strong ale or sherry.

Sherry is more delicate but ale is the traditional way of ‘wetting’ the Yuletide pudding.

The mixture should then be the consistency of very moist dough and will be sufficient for one large pudding or three small ones.

While the pudding is being mixed everyone in the household should have a stir and make a wish.

A sauce that enhances the taste of the pudding is as follows: 1 glass of sherry 2 egg yolks ½ glass of brandy juice of a lemon 4 lumps of sugar 1 gill water 10z almonds, all boiled together for 10 minutes.

And don’t forget Christmas Day Tea if you can fit in any more food!

Cold turkey etc. then mince-pies! Tradition dictates that 12 mince-pies should be eaten between Christmas and New Year to ensure that the New Year will be a lucky one!

Good Luck!!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Picture by Charles Edmund Brock

Stir-up Sunday The tradition of preparing Christmas pudding on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas doesn’t just stem from the time needed for the pudding to mature. It’s a day written in religious history.

In Medieval England, around the 1540s, the Roman Catholic Church decreed that a pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity Sunday (which usually falls around early June) – the weekend before Advent begins and roughly one month before Christmas Day. The prayer for the 25th Sunday after Trinity, in the Book of Common Prayer, as it was used in the 16th and 17th century, reads: STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The line ‘Stir up, we beseech thee’ came to take on more than religious significance. It was also a practical reminder to begin preparing the Christmas pudding.

Today, Stir-up Sunday continues to mark the date when people make their pudding. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Travelling The Chinese Stretch Of The Silk Road Oasis life at the Eastern end.

Our next stop was Urumchi (Urumqi), the modern capital of the area called Xinjiang, where our Muslim Uighur guide had his home. It was only established as a city in 648 CE during the Tang dynasty, previously having been a steppe peoples’ herding and grazing area. It then became a major hub on the Northern silk routes. However, after the Tang period its importance declined and it only became a major cultural and commercial hub again in the 19th century CE. For much of its existence it was overshadowed by Turfan, our next stopping off point.

On our way there we passed the largest wind farm in the world (the Gansu corridor is very windy!) and some very large solar parks. They were an indication of China’s attempt to portray a “green” image. However, several of the pylons and panels needed repair and it was not clear what communities the electricity supplied. In neighbouring Sichuan, even though there are huge hydroelectric power resources the inefficient polluting coal fired power stations still exist and neighbouring provinces don’t take the hydropower in order to protect their old industries.

Although surrounded by deserts the Urumqui area is well irrigated by rivers flowing from the snows of the mountains to the South and East. In fact, about 50 % (about 20,000) of China’s glaciers are in Xinjiang.

In order to extend the grazing and agricultural areas there is a complex irrigation system. The original was

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built about 2,000 years ago. It now consists of a network of thousands of canals, reservoirs and tunnels called karez. We encountered similar systems in all the oases we visited along the silk routes, enjoying the succulent melons and other soft fruit that this area is famous for. Vines are now cultivated as China moves towards becoming a major wine producer and I can verify that the famous raisins from this area are delicious.

There were two good museums in the city with archaeological exhibits from the silk road and material on Uighur and Xinjiang history and culture, albeit seen through a Chinese lens. In one we were able

Enjoying the succulent melons.

Then onto the Gaochang ruins dating from the first century BCE. Possibly this was a “Chinese colony” located in a region otherwise occupied by West Eurasian peoples. Later it became an important silk road centre as evidenced by Sogdians and Tocharians living here.

Nearby are the Astana tombs, used from the 4th to the 8th century CE, where some mummies were also found. The site provided about 2,000 document fragments (many as funerary objects e.g. paper shoes or belts) giving a unique insight into the life of the local people in ancient times.

The beauty of Loulan. Above an adult mummy and top a baby mummy

to see the fascinating Loulan mummies. The earliest date back to about 2,000 BCE, roughly contemporary with Egyptian mummies. In 1994 Discover Magazine published the first pictures for a Western audience.

They were wonderfully preserved in the dry sands of the Tarim basin desert with facial features clear and remnants of colourful clothing and household objects.

Strangely, they don’t have Mongoloid features and some commentators consider they look somewhat Caucasian. As, nearly a century before, documents in Tokharian, a now extinct Indo-European script, had also been found in the same area there has been much speculation on the geographical origin of these peoples.

This is a direct link to Turpan (Turfan), as in prehistory it was probably inhabited by people speaking the Tocharian language.

Turpan would have been another important staging post linking to both northern and central silk routes, as evidenced by the historical presence of Sogdian merchants. Caravanserai, the sleeping places for silk road travellers, would have been located in the town, with associated drinking haunts and shops as the caravanserai did not provide food, fuel or fodder.

From here we visited the Bezeklik grottos with more exquisite 4th/5th centuries CE art work sponsored by Uighyur patrons (depicted in some of the murals).

Building in the ruined ancient Silk Road oasis city of Gaochang,

On the next day, we visited the Jiaohe Ruins in the Yarnaz Valley, the ancient capital of the Jushi kingdom from 108 BCE to 450 CE. Again, merchants travelling the silk road would visit here to trade. It is an impressive natural fortress located atop 30-metre-high steep cliffs between two deep river valleys with impressive views in all directions. It must have been very difficult to attack and therefore had no defence walls. However, it was finally conquered by Genghis Khan forces in the 13th century CE. In between our visits we had much delicious food.

One of the more surprising finds was local spaghetti and other pasta! It is still disputed whether these noodles came to this area from the West (possibly with Marco Polo) or travelled West from Asia to Europe. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Possibly they just arose independently once grains were domesticated and flour produced.

Another world-wide food is the dumpling, which comes in all shapes and sizes around Eurasia. One, perfectly preserved, was found in a wooden bowl in a grave at Astana. It was dated to the seventh century CE (well before Marco Polo). It was shaped like crescent moon with crimped edges and filled with meat and possibly chives, just like the momos I have eaten boiled or fried in Tibet and Mongolia.

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Demonstration on making spaghetti

So, as you imagine these delicious foods melting in your mouth I leave you until next time.

Bruce Huett melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Melbourn Primary School There is an African proverb that says, it takes a village to raise a child.

Never has this quote held quite so much meaning as during the last 7 months. Faced with school closure in March, it feels as though we have literally had to re-invent ‘school’. We are proud of what we have achieved at the primary school, but this would not have been possible without the support of our parent body, governors, and local community.

We were delighted that, despite school closure, we were able to open during lockdown for the children of our key workers, host 100 children in our ‘bubble school’ when partially open in June and then fully welcome back all of our children in September.

Staff delivered learning to children at home throughout lockdown and kept in regular contact with families through email and phone calls.

Our parents were incredible, juggling their own work commitments and supporting their children with their learning – I am in awe of how they have coped. Lockdown also brought practical challenges of ensuring all our families had enough to eat and could access the work that had been set. With this, the staff and community shone – delivering food parcels and learning packs to those who needed them.

Despite the struggles, we still had fun – we delivered bacon rolls to our year six children on what would have been their SAT breakfast morning, held a virtual sports day and recorded ourselves in our ‘toilet roll challenge’ whilst also reading stories and delivering assemblies virtually for our children. Hopefully our children felt cared for and part of school – even from a distance.

Then came re-opening and all of the new health and safety measures to be implemented. The children and staff have embraced all that has been asked of them. Our entire day is now punctuated throughout by handwashing. We are effectively running seven separate schools that never mix and we have timetables and rotas for everything! We have had to re-think and adapt almost all aspects of school. Most of these began as obstacles but with determination we have found new ways of working and overcome them.

Being re-united with our children has been pure joy. Our children are as happy to be back as we are to have them. The smiles abound throughout school. The children’s wellbeing is our priority and we have all enjoyed reading the book ‘Here We Are’ by Oliver Jeffers to inspire work on melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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relationships, our uniqueness, things that are special to us and the need to unite.

Our parents have supported us with the many changes to school life. Leaving their Foundation Stage child at the classroom door was a struggle for many. Different drop off and pick up times for children and in many cases having to walk an inconvenient way to school due to our oneway system have all been accepted. We are hugely grateful to our parent body for working in partnership with us to ensure that our site is as safe as it can be.

As a school community we have been financially impacted by Covid-19. We have lost income from lettings and had increased expenditure, especially in terms of cleaning costs and increased resources, for example to provide children with their own set of resources when previously they would have shared. Our PTFA has been massively affected too – losing out on over £10,000 worth of fundraising opportunity. They were not able to hold the annual Summer Fayre and our fireworks display has been cancelled. This hasn’t stopped them though; our parents and community have been crowd-funding and have raised a staggering £7,000 in 2 weeks!

There have been many hurdles to overcome and in time we will enjoy reflecting on them – there may even be some adaptations we decide to keep. However, the challenges are not over yet and trying to keep the school open during the winter months with the impact of illness and the test & trace process on staffing levels is a mammoth task. We are resolute that whatever is thrown at us we will continue, with the support of our parent body and local community, to do our very best for our children and families – and together we will raise our children.

Stephanie Wilcox Headteacher If you would like to support Melbourn Primary School in their fundraising efforts, search online for ‘Melbourn Primary School go fund me’ or visit the school Facebook page.

Melbourn Primary School PTFA Melbourn Primary School PTFA, like all groups within the charity sector, has been heavily impacted by Covid-19.

The annual Quiz night, Summer Fayre and Fireworks, together with regular fundraising events for the children such as discos and movie nights, have all had to be cancelled, resulting in a big hit to the usual amount of around £20,000 they raise each year for the school.

This year’s goal was to refurbish the out-dated computer room and fund portable Chromebook laptops for the children to use. This would normally be an easy target to reach. However, with the restrictions of Covid-19, the school and PTFA have had to think outside the box; the result is ‘Money for Miles.’

The children at Melbourn Primary will collectively walk melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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the number of miles from Melbourn, Cambridgeshire to Melbourne, Australia – a total of 10,481 miles for £10,481! This will be done during the usual ‘daily mile’ walks, plus other opportunities during the day. The PTFA is looking for sponsorship via their GoFundMe page and really hope people will give what they can.

Another popular fundraiser is the ‘Lucky Numbers’ lottery. For £24 per year you will be allocated a ‘lucky’ number. You can enter as many times and have as many numbers as you like; there is no limit to how many prizes you can win. The draw is monthly and each month there are three prizes, with first prize being a minimum of £25, and the more people who play the bigger the prizes!

If you would like further information on these events and how you can help support the work of the PTFA, please see www.melbournprimaryschool.org.uk/ptfa/.

Melbourn Village College Lockdown 2020 When the UK was forced into a nation-wide lockdown, pupils had to go from being in school 5 days a week to being at home all the time. Learning from home during lockdown was a strange experience and harder than learning at school, as we couldn’t see our teachers and missed our friends. Our weekly schoolwork was set online for us to complete. We then emailed photos or documents of the completed work to the correct teacher. We also had online video lessons on Microsoft Teams with some of our subjects once a week, which helped us consolidate work we had studied recently.

These lessons were interesting and engaging but weren’t the same as being in school, though they gave us all a small sense of normality.

Currently, we are all back in school full time and it feels like things are slowly getting back to normal, which is reassuring. However, there are lots of measures in place to keep us safe from Covid-19. At the start and end of each day, on the school buses, we must wear face masks throughout the journey. In school, each year group has their own separate area on the field with a marquee, which they must stay in to minimise contact with other year groups. This is called a bubble or bubbling. The school also operates a one-way system and requires everyone to wear face coverings when they aren’t in a classroom or their bubble. When we enter a classroom, we must sanitise our hands and sit according to a designated seating plan, so the school knows who we have been in contact with.

Some of the biggest differences have been lunch, PE and enrichment. Now, whenever we have PE, we must come to school in our PE kit and remain in it for the

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rest of the day, whereas before we would get changed after the lesson had finished. Two small bonuses are that we have more time for the PE lesson and fewer things to carry around that day. One of the weirdest things to get used to has been getting our lunch. Before lockdown, we would go down to the lunch hall, order from a selection of incredibly delicious hot or cold food and then eat in the lunch hall. Now we must collect our pre-ordered lunch (still incredibly delicious) and take it to our bubbled area to eat. Unfortunately, the school has had to suspend the enrichment program due to Covid. The school previously offered a range of after school activities such as running club, homework club, pottery, film club, revision classes, sports teams and more.

While we are all still adjusting to life back at school, it is safe to say that everyone at MVC is being mindful of others and respecting the rules that have been put in place to help everyone at MVC feel safe and reduce our risk of spreading Covid around the community. We are looking forward to things getting back to normal at some point.

Despite all this change our teachers and pastoral team have done the very best they can to make sure all students feel comfortable, happy and have the support they need to have a successful school life during these challenging times. This effort doesn’t go unnoticed, and we know fellow students will agree, the teachers and pastoral team are doing an amazing job.

Written by the Head Prefects 2020-21: Sammy Bream, Evie Lester, Erin Pevley

MVC Astro Pitch A new full-size artificial football pitch is due to open at Melbourn Village College next year.

The £800,000 project is due for completion next spring after the college and The Cam Academy Trust, of which it is a part, were able to secure grant funding for the project.

The bulk of the money is coming from the Football Foundation, the Premier League, FA and Government’s sports charity, which exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities.

The rest is coming from the Section 106 agreement with developers Hopkins Homes, who are building houses in the village.

The 100m x 64m floodlit pitch will be approximately four times the size of the current aging artificial surface it is replacing and, in addition to school use, will be available to local football clubs, for all ages and abilities, as well as the community out of school hours.

Melbourn Principal Simon Holmes said: We’re absolutely delighted to have been able finally to secure this amazing facility for our pupils and the local community.

“Not only is this bringing our facilities up to date, but it is expanding and improving them as well. This is the culmination of years of hard work and I can’t wait to see it in full use.”

Initial groundwork is due to start at the end of this year to prepare the site for the build, which is due to start in earnest in January 2021 and take 14 weeks – depending on the winter weather!

At the same time, the college has also improved changing facilities, with two new changing rooms available near the sports centre and work under way to further improve the other school PE changing rooms and toilet area.

The successful application for Football Foundation backing follows previous failed applications and the prospect of a new top-quality 3G playing surface in the area has delighted Cambs FA. Their Football Development Manager, Katie Critchley, said: “This exciting new facility will enhance the already thriving football offer in Melbourn, for students at Melbourn Village College and the wider football community, providing

a quality playing surface and creating opportunities for all to play football.

“Partner club, Melbourn Dynamos, have been incredibly supportive throughout the process and their 23 teams will also enjoy football on the new 3G pitch.

“Grassroots football provides many benefits to local communities and we’re very grateful that the Football Foundation, Premier League and the FA continue to invest in quality facilities.

The new facility will be managed by Be Active, who run the Melbourn Sports Centre.

“This new full size 3G Astroturf will provide a truly top class facility for thousands of people in the area and certainly highlight MVC on the sporting map,” said Ryan Smith, of Be Active.

“Along with the already excellent facilities offered on-site at the leisure centre and swimming pool, the pitch will be a huge asset for the whole community.

“We greatly look forward to furthering our relationships with clubs which already use the centre and welcome new groups to benefit from this boost for local sports, fitness and general wellbeing.”

The grant award has also been welcomed by South Cambs District Council and Melbourn Parish Council who both backed the college’s bid.

A new full-size artificial football pitch is due to open at Melbourn Village College next year.

melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Village information Orchard Surgery & Dispensary Melbourn Health Visiting Team Monday to Friday 8:30–1pm and 3pm–6pm Phone 01763 260220 Repeat prescriptions can be made either, in person or by registering to use the online NHS service. www.orchardsurgerymelbourn.co.uk Prescriptions can still be collected from: Surgery Co-op Tesco in Royston Prescription Home Delivery The surgery offers home delivery service for prescriptions, on a Tuesday & Thursday.

For more information on any of the above, please see their website or contact the surgery.

BIN COLLECTION MELBOURN Bin collection day – TUESDAY Bins must be out by 6am at the latest on collection day

1 8 15 22 31 7 13 19 26 2 9 16 23 2 9 16 23

December December December December December January January January January February February February February March March March March

Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green Black Blue & Green

Due to the uncertainty of the duration of the government’s CoVid-19 measures, SCDC guarantee to empty your green bin every four weeks, but put it out every fortnight and they’ll empty it if they can.

For an update on collections visit: www.scambs.gov.uk/bins/find-your-householdbin-collection-day/

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Drop in clinics for parents and babies are held as follows: Melbourn clinic every Wednesday between 9.30am and 11.00am at: 35 Orchard Road, Melbourn.

Telephone 01763 262861

Cambridgeshire Hearing Help is a charity for people with hearing loss.

The drop-in Hearing Help session at Vicarage Close Community Room, Melbourn, has been cancelled until further notice.

For help and information: Telephone: 01223 416141 Text: 07852 699196 enquiries@cambridgeshirehearinghelp.org.uk or visit www.cambridgeshirehearinghelp.org.uk

Cam Sight’s Rural Support Group meet in Melbourn to provide help, friendship and ongoing support to local people with sight loss. The group enjoys speakers, music, information, advice and a chance to try out low vision equipment.

For further information please call 01223 420033 or info@camsight.org.uk

MELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL 30 High Street Melbourn SG8 6DZ Telephone: 01763 263303 ext. 3 Parish Office opening hours Monday to Friday 10am – 3:30pm (closed 1–2pm) www.melbournpc.co.uk

Melbourn Parish Clerk Claire Littlewood parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

Assistant to the Clerk Sophie Marriage assistantclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

Responsible Financial Officer Gabrielle van Poortvliet rfo@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk

Chair Graham Clark cllr.clark@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk

Vice Chair Ian Cowley cllr.cowley@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk

Councillors

Kieron Baker cllr.baker@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Rebecca Barnes cllr.barnes@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Richenda Buxton cllr.buxton@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Graham Clark cllr.clark@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Ian Cowley cllr.cowley@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Tina Davey cllr.davey@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Sally Ann Hart cllr.hart@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Claire Kent cllr.kent@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Steve Kilmurray cllr.kilmurray@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk John Travis cllr.travis@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Richard Wilson cllr.wilson@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk

Timebank Coordinator Catherine Sharman timebank@melbournparishcouncil.co.uk Village Wardens Keith Rudge Dennis Bartle

County Councillor Susan van de Ven, 95 North End, Meldreth – 01763 261833 susanvandeven5@gmail.com

District Councillor Jose Hales, 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH 01763 221058 jose@josehales.me.uk

South Cambs M.P. Anthony Browne – 01954 211444 anthony.browne.mp@parliament.uk

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Orchard Surgery Appointments & Dispensary 260220 Hospitals

Addenbrooke’s Royston

01223 245151 01763 242134 111

NHS111 – Urgent Care 24hr helpline

Medical help when not a 999 emergency 101

Police Non Emergency number Help when not a 999 emergency Fire & Rescue Service

0800 555111

Neighbourhood Watch

debbieclapham@icloud.com Telephone Preference Service www.tsponline.org.uk

0345 070 0707

Mothers’ Union Pauline Hay

260649

Royston and Saffron Walden Nation Trust Association Avril Mellor

220463

avril.mellor@ntlworld.com Photographic Club

melbournphotoclub@hotmail.com

Ramblers Dave Allard

242677

Royal National Lifeboat Institution Jean Emes

245958

Royston and District Local History Society 242677

Royston Family History Society Pam Wright

frierley@ntlworld.com

Royston Lions Chris Cawdell

448236

SOAS (Supporters of All Saints’) Colin Limming

260072

Women’s Group Pat Smith

260103

PLACES OF WORSHIP All Saints’ Church Revd. Elizabeth Shipp

EDUCATION Melbourn Playgroup Library LAP Jane Stevens

268428

David Allard 01223 376201

Crimestoppers

Meldreth Local History Kathryn Betts

223459 or 07842 151512 johnjane.stevens@tiscali.co.uk

Little Hands Nursery School

260964

Out of school times01223 503972 261231

Primary School Headteacher Stephanie Wilcox

223457

U3A (Univ. of Third Age) Chairman Tony Garrick

01223 510201

Hon Sec Hilary Docwra

222486

Mem Sec Chris Davison

264189

Village College Principal Simon Holmes

223400

Blood Donors

01223 221921 0300 123 23 23

Chiropodist

263260

Dentist

262034

District Nurses (Primary Care Trust)

220463 221022

David Farr

Baptist Church Rev. Stuart Clarke

261650 07568 376027

United Reformed Church Secretary Rosaline Van de Weyer

01223 870869

Hall booking Beryl and Barry Monk

246458

SPORT Badminton Steve Jackson

248774

Bowls Arthur Andrews

261990

Croquet Janet Pope

HEALTH Age UK Cambridgeshire

Churchwardens Roger Mellor

Secretary Brian Orrell

Notre Ecole Janet Whitton

220626

vicar.melbournmeldreth@gmail.com

01223 846122

248239

Jazzercise Maxine Rustem

07963 161246

Judo Iain Reid (Chief Instructor) or Lesley Reid

241830

email melbournjudoclub@gmail.com

07974 445710

Melbourn Dynamos FC Gordon Atalker

07770533249 07730488743

Blake Carrington Melbourn Football Club Simon Gascoyne

261703

Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack

263313

Home-Start

262262

S. Cambs PCT 35 Orchard Road Child & Family Nurses Car Scheme

262861 245228

Meldreth Tennis Club Tracy Aggett

243376

Swimming Club Jenny Brackley

244593

249156

Community Hall bookings@communityhallmelbourn.com

07821 656033

261518

Dial-A-Ride

01223 506335

261693

Home Start Tracy Aggett

262262

261505

Melbourn Community Hub

263303

Brownies 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford

220272

Melbourn Springs Care Home

01763 722734

Guides 1st Melbourn Hilary Marsh

261443

Mobile Warden Scheme Jeannie Seers

07808 735066

COMMUNITY SERVICES

LOCAL CLUBS Air Cadets 2484 (Bassingbourn) Squadron Tony Kelly Mon & Wed evenings 7 – 9.30 p.m.

Bellringers Barbara Mitchell Bridge Club Howard Waller 1st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts

Luncheon Club at Melbourn Hub (Wednesdays) 263303 op1

Moorlands Denise Taylor

260564

MADS (Melbourn Amateur Dramatics Society)

Southwell Court Telephone

750006

Vicarage Close Warden Eileen Allan

263389

Donna Sleight Melbourn History Group Ann Dekkers

232622 261144

Melbourn Mushroom Club John Holden email: frog.end@virgin.net Melbourn Pottery Club Maggie 01223 207307

Lead Sheltered Housing Officer – Monday to Friday 9–1.30 Vicarage Close, John Impey Way & Elin Way Eileen Allan

Mobile 07876 791419 / 245402

Every other week. 9–5 Monday to Friday

melbournmagazine@gmail.com

39

feature Back to Business

Maureen Moody talks to local small business people to find out how they have been faring during the pandemic We all remember the shock when the government ruled that non-essential businesses had to close at the start of lockdown. Everyone had to alter their routines, but life proved especially hard for many small business concerns.

Cut & Curl hairdressers in Melbourn, owned by Rachel Apperley, for instance was closed for 15 weeks. I asked her about the much-publicised government help for businesses. “It was quite easy to understand,” she told me, “but the late notice and confirmation of guidance for most businesses on re-opening was frustrating. I found I was checking the HMRC website, watching the daily update and checking the South Cambs business site every day for updates or news.” But Rachel found the furlough and self-employed grant system easy to use and received the money within days. “The business grant I received was just as easy as they sent a letter out to invite to apply online, and that money was quickly paid.” She adds; “I cannot complain at the help the government has given us. It was a huge help and I think it was made as easy as it could be.”

Times have been much tougher for John Bradley, Managing Director of Melbourn-based company Bitech Limited. Bitech helps employers assess their training needs, and sources specialised training and training grants for them. “I have had no paying work since March,” he told me. “And being a limited company, I only take expenses, not a salary, so I could not get the furlough payment.” Frustratingly he has also had no advice from the government or any industry body or trade association, and for a company trading since 1995 this has been quite a blow. Unfortunately John’s story illustrates the fact that when the economy slows, the first thing that employers cut is staff training.

The other thing that happens in an economic slowdown is mass redundancies, and Melbourn resident Phil Stewart was one of those affected. He took voluntary redundancy from EasyJet in July following Covid’s impact on the aviation industry, and joined his life-long friend Ben Morris in his accountancy practice, Rosaris. Their clients range from construction-related industries to clothing, marketing, social media and residential care homes. Luckily, even in difficult times, accountancy practices are still needed. Says Phil, “The timing was perfect. Ben was looking to grow Rosaris and we are both qualified FCA Chartered Accountants with wide experience in industry and practice.”

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But Ben Morris agrees with John at Bitech about the vulnerability of small limited companies. “The government have obviously offered a lot of support to a large part of the population during recent months, although advice on various schemes and policies was given relatively late on. But there are still people who have received no support from the government, particularly very small limited companies, and this has received scant reporting in the media even though there will be hundreds of thousands affected.” He adds that there are also businesses who have been able to undertake work during the lockdown period but whose pipeline will run dry now that government support is being rescinded.

“While the economy is recovering there is a danger these businesses may be cut adrift,” he warns Father and son, David and Matt Baxter, who run Royston-based Format Computer Systems, supply IT Services for a range of companies. They were, of course, unable to do any on-site visits during lockdown, but they were able to continue this service remotely. I asked David how their customers have been faring and the knock-on effect on Format’s business. “We have a mix of customers,” he explained. “But the majority are printing companies, and during the pandemic most of these customers continued to trade because of the need for labels to put on goods, such as food and drink etc. For instance, a pharmaceutical company that prints labels for medication, a home shopping delivery firm, and a flower delivery business whose trade tripled during lockdown. Less fortunate was a hospitality sector client which had to stop trading temporarily, but luckily, they had a good August due to the Eat Out to Help Out campaign.”

Interestingly, though, it was the surge in working from home that gave Format a huge boost during the first month of lockdown, as they facilitated the supply and setting up of computers plus networking and fast broadband in employees’ homes. Like John at Bitech, and Ben and Phil at Rosaris however, Matt and David have received no advice or help from the government, trade bodies or any other organisation.

How has the pandemic affected high street businesses with fixed overheads? Rabeya Miah, owner of Home Corner in Royston, only started her business in mid-2018 so she was in a vulnerable position. “Closure affected me greatly because this is my main income,” she explained.

“But the Job Retention scheme allowed me to furlough myself until the 15th June and the business rates grant helped me stay afloat and pay overheads and suppliers.”

A quite different experience awaited Caroline Smith, owner of Homemade at The Barn. When lockdown started she had only just taken over the Grade II listed 400-year-old barn in Bassingbourn with its stock of unique hand-made and vintage items. “It came as a

shock initially, and as the whole situation was new to everyone I wasn’t sure what I could and couldn’t do as far as carrying on was concerned,” she explained. But those non-trading weeks were the ideal opportunity for Caroline to reassess and re-merchandise the stock and then find new local artisans and implement new product ranges. “Without that lockdown period it would have taken a lot longer to transition and I would have possibly had to shut down for a period of time to complete some of the major changes anyway,” she concludes.

Preparing to re-open retail businesses was far from simple, especially for a close-contact service like hairdressing. Rachel at Cut & Curl describes what she had to do; “I cleared the salon out, removing items like magazines, hand towels, toys etc. Then I deep cleaned through and steam cleaned the floors and tiles. I did a risk assessment and put in place new procedures and precautions, and made space for social distancing. Then I bought in PPE supplies, signs, bins, paper hand towels and loads of hand sanitizer and plenty of disinfectant, wipes and bleach.” Having done all that, Rachel had to reorganise her client appointments to allow time for cleaning after each client. And it was important to place a special emphasis on ensuring that more vulnerable clients would feel extra safe in the new circumstances.

Rabeya at Home Corner faced a similar challenge, especially as the premises is small. “My business is primarily furniture for the whole house, and flooring including carpet and laminate. I also sell lamps, clocks, cushions, throws and rugs, so I had to do vigorous cleaning of all my display items. I followed the government guidelines for re-opening,” she adds, “installing a screen at the till, hand sanitation points, signs and notices.” In true entrepreneurial fashion, Rabeya also took advantage of a niche in the market and started selling locally-made washable face masks, which have sold extremely well.

Ben and Phil at Rosaris have also taken an entrepreneurial approach to this year’s challenges. Ben explains; “The first signs of the pandemic’s economic impact hit earlier than lockdown, and from early on we were getting reports of how Covid was affecting business confidence and causing cancellations. So we spent a lot of time explaining to clients how the government solutions would work for them even though much of the detail wasn’t available, and we carried out all pandemic- related work for no extra costs.” As a result many of their clients acknowledged that the company had gone above and beyond. The other move they made was to become a member of the Melbourn Business Association, giving them an opportunity to get to know other local business people and businesses, and hopefully pick up new clients along the way.

So how do things look for the immediate and long

term future for these crucial small businesses? John at Bitech has mixed feelings. “There are several projects I’m working on that should generate income next year,” he says. “However, I’m expecting no revenue for the short term foreseeable future.” What he really needs, he told me, is the sort of government help with debt that other businesses have received.

David at Format echoes this view. “Business looks good for the future, although we are expecting a slight downturn as some customers will be reducing in size. And another lockdown would affect us further in the long term if some of our customers don’t survive.”

Caroline at Homemade @The Barn found that trade in the first couple of weeks of being allowed to re-open was slow as people were still a little unsure about going out. “However, one of the benefits of trading in a huge barn is there is lots of space, so gradually people realised they could pop in and walk around and feel comfortable. So business in the last couple of months has been great, we are seeing more and more new and returning customers, plus lots of enquiries from new artisans keen to join us.”

Rabeya echoes this upbeat perspective but remains cautious. She explains, “Since opening, business has been good because lots of people are happy to support local, however it’s also been tough because shopping habits have changed and lots of people have become more confident shopping online.”

Trade for Cut & Curl has been busy since opening thanks to Rachel’s loyal clients. “There was a mixture of feelings from clients about coming in and starting to get out and about,” she reported. “Some were scared and nervous, some a bit down and others quite calm and happy, but fortunately all are taking it seriously and are doing as they should, even if they hate wearing a mask.

Most are now re-booked through until Christmas, so fingers crossed for no second wave locally then business should keep going okay.”

And that is what we hope for all our local businesses.

It’s a very varied picture out there, and as for all of us, a lot of uncertainty ahead. But one thing is sure, local firms are a valuable resource and they and the talented, hardworking people who own them deserve all the support and encouragement we can give.

Bitech Limited www.bitechltd.com 07584 510 820 Cut & Curl, The Campkins, Station Road, Melbourn 01763 261 797 Format Computer Services www.formatcs.co.uk Free Phone 0808 120 3883 Home Corner, The High Street, Royston www.thehomecorner.shop 01763 247 933 Homemade at The Barn, Old North Road, Kneesworth www.homemadeatthebarn.co.uk 07801 236 061 Rosaris 07968 110 582 www.rosaris.co.uk melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Nature Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve In this article, local birder Ade Cooper sets out his diary for the months of August through to October.

August The month started quietly, as it often is at that time of year, with two Green Sandpipers arriving on the 1st and a flock of Lapwings on the mere. I also saw a Lesser Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler, both the first ones for about 7 weeks, and a yellow juvenile Willow Warbler.

Flying over was a Red Kite, and 4 Sand Martins made their way south.

The following week the Barn Owl youngsters from the Reedbed box were seen to be able to fly, even though their landings needed a bit of work! Young from the Cetti’s Warbler family could be heard calling, and a Spotted Flycatcher was seen. The Lapwings on the mere increased in number, and there was a pre-migration build-up of 50 Swallows.

A particular delight was to discover that a Marsh Harrier pair, first spotted back in May and new to the reserve, had in fact bred successfully. The fruits of their labour were seen taking a first flight: two pristine juvenile Marsh Harriers came up from the nest and perched in nearby bushes.

Over the next few weeks I was able to see that the male was bringing all the prey in for the youngsters.

The female disappeared for well over a week, but did return later.

At one point, it seemed there might have been a

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Male Marsh Harrier

third juvenile, but I came to the conclusion that this was not the case. Juveniles from elsewhere had been seen around the nesting area, and it was clear by the reaction of the male bird that one passing juvenile didn’t belong.

The male bombarded this juvenile across the reedbed, upping the aggression levels when the reluctant juvenile wouldn’t leave the area. It got the message in the end and flew off southeast.

Another juvenile seen flying around the nest site was very easy to dismiss as not one of our birds, as it had bright yellow wing tags! This bird probably came from

Female Redstart

a nest over in Norfolk. As well as outsider juveniles, another adult female also popped in. This bird was more well-marked than our female and in fairly heavy moult.

The middle of the month became very hot, turning thundery with heavy rain. An easterly breeze had brought early autumn migrants arriving in great numbers all down the English east coast, but unfortunately this didn’t reflect at Fowlmere. No Pied Flycatchers or Redstarts could be found amongst the Tit flocks, we saw only Lesser Whitethroats, Garden Warblers and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers. The Flycatchers had abandoned their insect diet in the heavy rain, with one seen eating blackberries and the other eating elder.

The Swifts had mostly moved south and 2 Green Sandpipers had a brief stay on one day before continuing south west. It seemed that these two would be the last of our waders, as the heavy rain had topped the mere up just a little too much so that there was no mud showing.

On the plus side, we could be confident that once again it would not dry up this year.

One highlight was to find a beautifully patterned Tree Pipit perched on the dead branches of a small bush in the cattle paddock. Tree Pipits are hard to come across in Cambridgeshire – we mostly see calling birds flying over – but this is the fifth consecutive year that I have recorded the species at Fowlmere.

Even better, a few days later there were two more, perched at the top of a hawthorn in the same area, making three in a week! They stayed for just a short while before flying off south.

Towards the end of the month a Tit/Warbler flock began to gather in the cattle paddock. The flock initially included Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Common

Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler.

By the end of the month the flock numbered 53 birds, with Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and both Whitethroat species present.

On one evening 3 Whimbrels flew through – the first record of the year – and a gathering of around 50 Swallows was also present.

As the month came to a close migration was becoming evident. There was a clear passage of House Martins on the 29th/30th, with small flocks regularly going through amounting to hundreds in total. Smaller numbers of Sand Martins and Swallows were also seen, along with 4 Swifts.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend the weather was windy and a lot cooler, but a calmer, sunnier day on the 31st brought out a female Redstart, seen for a few minutes by the Guilden brook. The date was typical for Redstarts to begin arriving, so I was hopeful for several more as autumn went on.

The warmer day also brought out butterflies, which were nice to see. Lots of Large and Small Whites, 10 Small Heaths, the last of the Common Blues and Meadow Browns and a couple of Red Admirals and Speckled Woods. A great count of 11 egg laying pairs of Willow Emerald Damselflies were at the Spring Hide pool.

One brilliant sighting that I missed myself was a GreatWhite Egret, reported seen briefly on the 31st.

September At the beginning of the month another trio of Shovelers arrived, and 2 Ravens were seen tussling way up high with a Buzzard. There were numerous Chiffchaffs – at least 20 around the reserve – but not so many of other Warbler species as they were quickly moving out.

Ploughing in the fields next to the reserve attracted 700+ Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull.

Migration had picked up, with the first Meadow Pipits passing over towards the south. 3 Grey Wagtails, several Yellow Wagtails and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen Juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull. Not a good photo but a record

Tree Pipit

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Cambridge Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

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high up and dropping down to trees in the centenary wood.

Siskins also went through in good numbers.

On the 9th an Osprey was seen to go low, straight down the middle of the reserve – very exciting!

By mid-month, Warblers were quickly departing.

21 Blackcaps were still in the cattle paddock, but very few Reed Warblers remained. Chiffchaffs had also decreased from the previous week, and Swallows and Martins were also noticeably lacking in numbers, with only 8 Swallows and 2 House Martins seen moving through.

The Marsh Harrier family were still present, and one of

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Marsh Harrier pair

the juveniles was seen chasing a Woodpigeon, its hunting instinct starting to kick in. A Red Kite flew around with them over the reedbed for a while on one day, and shortly afterwards a juvenile Peregrine Falcon did the same thing.

Siskins were still on the move, with a weekend tally of 40+ along with the first Redpoll of the autumn. Meadow Pipits also continued to pass over, with at least 50 over a few days; 21 of these roosted in the reedbed on the 13th.

A good flock of 30 Corn Buntings was seen briefly on the Guilden brook and 8 Grey Partridges were in the east fields, both counts being more than we usually see these days!

The water level on the mere was still high, giving little activity there. 2 Shovelers flew in on the 13th, with 2 Teals and 66 Mallards present, and Kingfishers were making regular visits.

Even total cloud cover early on the 20th didn’t bring many birds down: the only birds to stop in were 4 Shovelers.

The first Golden Plover of the autumn went over calling on the 20th, and the first movement of 30 Skylarks was particularly pleasing. It’s a sad sign of the times that sightings of these two species, once so regular in autumn in this area, are now particularly welcome. At the end of the day, a flock of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls went north west to roost:

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one juvenile Yellow-Legged dropped briefly down to the mere.

The Marsh Harriers were now getting itchy feet (or should that be wings?) and venturing out further from the nest area. By the end of the month they had gone, and strong winds restricted bird sightings mainly to those passing over. Flyovers included Snipes, Siskins, a Golden Plover and a group of 40 Skylarks.

The most exciting thing for me was seeing the first 10 Redwings of the autumn coming up from feeding on hawthorns on the 27th.

October The first two weeks of the month saw sightings recorded of Pintails, a Marsh Tit, Stonechats and Hawfinches. The first Fieldfare arrived on the 12th, and there were also several Bramblings and Redpolls seen flying over.

On the 14th I saw 2 Wigeons, with 3 Shovelers present, and up to 40 Siskins in the alders. There were 3-4 Chiffchaffs still around the reserve, a Little Egret and 5 singing Cetti’s Warblers, which is a new high.

Roosting birds included Redwings, which had increased to 40 in number, Fieldfares, Reed Buntings, Linnets, and a murmuration of 300 Starlings.

A juvenile Marsh Harrier on the 18th was unusual for the time of year. At this time the 3 Shovelers were still present, with good numbers of Fieldfares, Redwings, Siskins and Grey Wagtails. 2 Snipes and 2 Kingfishers were in evidence, with flyovers including Golden Plovers, Bramblings, 2 Ravens and a large flock of Lesser BlackBacked Gulls at dusk.

Dusk was the most entertaining time of the day on the reserve at this time. A female Merlin shot through on one day, and a late Swallow on another. A fantastic 310 Reed Buntings were counted coming into roost,

Fallow Deer

but the show stealers were the 3000+ Starlings (top of page 42) that roosted close to the Reedbed hide daily all week, giving a spectacular murmuration each day.

As the month came to a close, buck Fallow Deer began grunting and sounding their dominance. The hoglike grunts could be heard almost all day coming from the reedbed.

At the end of the month it was good to see the Reedbed hide reopen. The usual safety measures are in place: masks to be worn, hand sanitiser to be used, no more than six persons inside at a time and alternate shutters screwed shut with signage on the seats to keep visitors distanced.

Little Egret

Both Drewer and Spring hide remain closed.

This article is a synopsis taken from the website produced

by Ade Cooper and Caroline Scott about Fowlmere Bird Reserve. To see the full version and other interesting visits Ade and Caroline have undertaken in the UK and abroad, visit: www.cooperandscott.wordpress.com melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Review

The Landmark Trust Handbook The Landmark Trust

The freedom to live in the past by visiting some of the many stately homes in the British Isles is something many of us will have experienced until this year of social distancing; and who, when looking out of the window of the house they are visiting, has not imagined what it would be like to actually live in such a building and to look out at a beautiful view from that extraordinary place? Well, now you can.

In 1965 philanthropist John Smith, and his wife Christian, founded the Landmark Trust. Together they aimed to try and prevent the loss of mainly smaller historic buildings which neither the National Trust nor the Ministry of Works could envisage taking on. John Smith was already a leading figure in the conservation world: a committed enthusiast for buildings and other historical structures.

His experience led him to conclude that “a body was required to tackle cases too desperate, troublesome or unfashionable for anyone else”. Today the Landmark Trust’s portfolio of ‘Landmark’ buildings numbers almost 200 in England, Scotland and Wales, with a handful of additional properties in Belgium, Italy, France, and America.

The Landmark Trust Handbook is a 250 page book in A4 format, attractively laid out, listing all the buildings in great detail with extensive description, maps, drawings and sumptuous full colour images of each. The properties are suitable for singles, couples or larger family or other groupings. The book’s opening pages are accounts of all aspects of work undertaken and stays enjoyed, including The Pigsty near Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire. A wooden building that was once a functioning home for pigs

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Ferryman’s Cottage Saddell, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute. Once the property of the ferryman, whose job it was to offload provisions from the coastal steamer or ‘puffer’

an account from a young ‘Landmarker’ – as guests and visitors are called. Also detailed are various programmes like ‘50 for Free’ which allows any charity to nominate recipients for a free stay funded by generous donors.

From its earliest days the Landmark Trust has taken a distinctive approach to its buildings. Rather than imposing modernity upon them, it works to bring out the historic character of a place, as polish might reveal the grain. From the initial selection criteria of possible buildings, to the precise detail in their fittings and finishes, they draw out the beauty of historic structures rather than simply make them convenient for modern convenience. There are, for example, no clocks, televisions or internet connections.

Once the Landmark Trust has taken on a building, extensive repairs are normally necessary. In actioning these repairs it seeks to use the best craftspeople and traditional skills and materials to ensure the new work is of comparable quality to the old. During my short stays over the years I have found that a large part of the delight in staying at one of its properties is the character and quirkiness of the old buildings, as most of the Landmarks have unconventional domestic arrangements and with rooms in quite unexpected, yet fun, places.

Some of the many places I have stayed are very isolated and a wheelbarrow is left for you to transport your bags and food to the accommodation. At other properties Waitrose will deliver. Turning the pages of this handbook as you relax in your armchair, you will find an extraordinary eclectic mixture of buildings. Here are little timber framed cottages in wooded coombes; a large mansion where Johnson and Boswell discussed the politics of the day in the library after their Hebridean tour; a Piggery or a Ferryman’s House; a House of Correction, or a very small The House of Correction, Folkingham, Lincolnshire. The grand entrance is all that survives of a House of Correction once intended for minor offenders.

Appleton Water Tower, Sandringham, Norfolk. Victorian water tower on the edge of the Sandringham Estate

Beamsley Hospital, Near Skipton, North Yorkshire. A circular almshouse with seven rooms encircling a chapel. A home for 16th-century ladies.

The Egyptian House Cornwell, Penzance, Cornwall. Built in the style of Egyptian Revival architecture in the early 19th century

house on Lundy Island off the Devon coastline – all are there to be explored, with your dog, which is welcome at many of the properties. Some properties are only 30 miles from Melbourn, yet they are a world away in the atmosphere and peace they generate.

The Landmark Trust charity is not about turning back the clock. Instead all involved believe in the power of fine historic buildings to make a difference in people’s lives, both now and in the future. These are precious and finite resources maintained by a charity rated by Which as the best Self Catering Company with which to book. Staying in one of its historic buildings can transform a state of mind, providing inspiration, respite and invigoration. Simply to listen to the silence of the place you have chosen to stay in can be a very powerful memory to take away.

Catherine Pritchard melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Farewell, My Lovely Raymond Chandler

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I stepped out of the shower and onto the bathroom scales the other morning, looked down between my feet and said to myself: “Hugh, this lockdown comfort eating stops right now!

And another thing – for goodness sake stop talking to yourself out loud!” I resolved there and then to start taking my own advice. Later that day, having skipped lunch, I ate a one course simple salad for supper. After supper, in silence and with lips tightly sealed (to be sure to be sure), I thought to myself: “Try lockdown comfort reading instead of lockdown comfort eating – and choose a ‘Classic’ novel.”

So it was that I lifted down this rather old and wellthumbed-over-the-decades favourite. First published in 1940 and older than either you or I – depending on you and at a stretch possibly even older than both of us together – this book is Raymond Chandler at his finest. Settling in beside the fire for the evening and opening a 1988 Penguin reprint edition, I read again in the book’s Introduction: “Dilys Powell called his writing a ‘peculiar mixture of harshness, sensuality, high polish and backstreet poetry’ and Elizabeth Bowen described him as ‘a craftsman so brilliant, he has an imagination so wholly original, that no consideration of modern American literature ought … to exclude him.” Then the judgement of Anthony Burgess: “Chandler is a serious writer, an original stylist, creator of a character, Philip Marlowe, as immortal as Sherlock Holmes.” My welllaid plans for the evening were then thrown off-kilter.

Forgetting immediately all my own advice to myself that morning I said in a loud firm voice: “Hugh, lockdown comfort reading such as this clearly requires a pot of coffee and a large portion of rich chocolate cake – so let’s get serious here!”

Raymond Chandler is one of the greatest writers of detective fiction. He introduced a new type of crime novel which he focussed on the dark underbelly of public and private life in California’s Los Angeles and then explored its daily confrontation by his ‘immortal’ creation: the tough, hard-bitten, deeply moral but flawed Private Investigator Philip Marlowe. This work, only his second published novel, consolidated the international success of his first novel The Big Sleep and showcases all Chandler’s great talents.

In the novel Chandler, in a sentence or two, creates personality and character to present a portrait that is vivid and real to the reader. Physical description, whether indoors or outdoors, is similarly drawn, time and time

again with great ease and simplicity. In the same way atmosphere is deftly created such that the interest of the reader is immediately captured and a tingling suspense is built and sustained. And all of it brought together in a way that permits the attractive, perfectly rounded, deeply sympathetic, and wonderfully human Private Investigator Philip Marlowe to shine like the star he is, travelling widely across the criminal firmament that Chandler has created. And all the while simultaneously meeting the overall reader requirement of a novel standing in the crime genre: that it be ‘unputdownable’.

Farewell, My Lovely explores familiar Chandler themes: murder; drugs; wealth; poverty; racism; corrupt police officers and, of course, their corrupt locally elected masters. Also, driving relentlessly in the background, in the foreground, and entangled everywhere throughout the novel is his central theme, which he recognises as unquantifiable and, perhaps, always beyond adequate description: that which is at the heart of all human existence, namely, the love one person has for another.

In particular, the demands it makes of them, and the never-ending search for it that is our all-consuming common fate represented here by the perfectly realised main characters Molloy and Velma. It opens with Molloy committing a murder and continues on through the seamy undergrowth of big city Los Angeles, realistically depicting its lowlife and underlife while shining a light on crime, grime, poverty, murder, kidnapping, corruption including the highly visible illegal drugs and gambling operations that even today, many decades later, still guarantee huge financial profits for criminal organisations and their associated arms-length facilitators and protectors.

Gems of wonder and delight – a phrase, a sentence, an entire paragraph – are scattered throughout the book with often a mixed handful spread across a single page.

Sample some here all in the words of Private Investigator Philip Marlowe: A wedge of sunlight slipped over the edge of the desk and fell noiselessly to the carpet. (p40); We went down three steps to the main part of the living room. The carpet almost tickled my ankles. (p46); The big foreign car drove itself, but I held the wheel for the sake of appearances. (p54) I left her laughing. The sound was like a hen having hiccups. (p100); Her hair was of the gold of old paintings and had been fussed with just enough but not too much. (p109); A smell of ironing came from the back of the house. She shut the door in between as carefully as if it was made of short pie crust. (p177).

And if the magazine’s benevolent Editor will indulge each of us – savour the beauty and the menace of the

Raymond Chandler

following which on page 126 still shines and glitters after eighty years: The car was a dark blue seven passenger sedan, a Packard of the latest model, custom built. It was the kind of car you wore your rope pearls in. It was parked by a fire hydrant and a dark foreign-looking chauffeur with a face of carved wood was behind the wheel. The interior was upholstered in quilted grey chenille. The Indian put me in the back. Sitting there alone I felt like a high-class corpse, laid out by an undertaker with a lot of good taste.

The Indian got in beside the chauffeur and the car turned in the middle of the block and a cop across the street said: “‘Hey’, weakly, as if he didn’t mean it, and then bent down quickly to tie his shoe.” (p126) Any novel by Raymond Chandler can be recommended. This novel is as deeply satisfying as being in front of a roaring fire, having seen the autumn evening shadows start to slip across the window, while sitting comfortably enjoying a large black coffee and a double serving of rich chocolate cake. For me, reading it again brought the added bonus of experiencing that exquisitely guilty pleasure that comes from having broken very good intentions that were self-imposed earlier in a rare (very rare?) moment of weakness.

It is, perhaps, necessary to add that Chandler’s work depicts American society and the times in which he lived. So the entire range of matters and issues which are today unacceptable to many – as well as some that are today illegal – stand revealed and unadorned throughout. In particular, the casual and structural racism prevalent in everyday American life and discourse at that time shocks – including, in the opening pages, the depiction of racial segregation, which for so long was a pillar of the American way of life. Reading this novel today is useful to understanding those historical forces which in our own time secured the Presidency of the United States for its present incumbent Donald Trump, as well as the development of the phenomenon ‘Black Lives Matter’ and all that that re-emergence represents.

Yet another reason to read or re-read ‘Farewell, My Lovely’ on an Autumn evening or at any other time.

Hugh Pollock melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Premonitions of the Future We arrived in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia in 1970, with a 2-year-old and a new born baby, with all the baggage that entails.

I could only carry a couple of books, and they didn’t last long. Bookshops in Indonesia at that time carried books mostly written in Dutch, as Indonesia had been a Dutch colony and all educated people at that time spoke the language. So, I was reduced to reading the English books sold in the bookshop of the hotel. Not a very edifying selection.

I bought a novel, which was an account of the future, when everyone lived in a ‘cell’ using hi-tech, had everything delivered and saw no one. I thought it was nonsense until lockdown hit us this year, and technology was sufficiently advanced to enable a similar situation to develop.

I threw the book away and had forgotten the name of the author. However, I am told that the book in question was likely to be ‘The Machine Stops’, by EM Forster.

In Forster’s story, humanity has isolated itself, living in permanent lockdown. They live in prefabricated homes and only interact with one another by computer.

“Imagine, if you can, a small room, hexagonal in shape, like the cell of a bee. It is lighted neither by window nor by lamp, yet it is filled with a soft radiance. There are no apertures for ventilation, yet the air is fresh. There are no musical instruments, and yet, at the moment that my meditation opens, this room is throbbing with melodious sounds. An armchair is in the centre, by its side a readingdesk – that is all the furniture.”

The people had come to rely totally on the ‘The Machine’, an Alexa-like global computer catering to their every whim.

“There were buttons and switches everywhere – buttons to call for food, for music, for clothing. There was the button that produced literature. And there are, of course, the buttons by which she communicated with their friends.”

They sent messages by ‘pneumatic post’ – (email or WhatsApp to us today), and they would chat online via a ‘video interface’ (we call it Skype or Zoom).

“It was time to deliver her lecture on Australian music.

The clumsy system of public gatherings had been long since abandoned (and touching strangers was forbidden).

Seated in her armchair she spoke, while they in their armchairs heard her.”

The book was written over a hundred years ago, yet its storyline is clearly comparable to today’s world, especially with the imposed restrictions we are experiencing during the current Covid situation. We also live in a society that selfishly often values individual’s comforts over the collective good. We interact by computer and do our

online shopping via Amazon, Waitrose or Ocado which deliver to our door at the touch of a button.

The Machine Stops is a science fiction short story first published in the Oxford and Cambridge Review in November 1909. It was republished in 1928 in Forster’s The Eternal Moment and Other Stories.

The story is set in a world where humanity lives underground and relies on a giant machine to provide their needs, using technologies such as instant messaging and the Internet. It describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth.

Each individual lives in their small pods below ground and all bodily and spiritual needs are met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Travel is permitted, but is unpopular and rarely necessary. Communication is made via a video conferencing machine with which people conduct their only activity: the sharing of ideas and what passes for knowledge.

The two main characters a mother and her son, live on opposite sides of the world. The mother is content with her way of life, which, she spends producing and constantly discussing second-hand ‘ideas’.

Her son, however, is a rebel. He persuades his mother to visit him (and the resultant unwelcome personal interaction). He tells her of his dissatisfaction with the sanitised, mechanical world they live in. He tells her he has visited the surface of the Earth without permission, and that he saw other humans living outside the world of the Machine. However, when the Machine finds out, the son is threatened with ‘Homelessness’ – expulsion from the underground environment and death.

I recently read an account of the Spanish flu of 1918 called ‘Pale Rider’ by Laura Spinney, written in 2017, which describes how the flu epidemic changed the world.

No doubt the changes caused by Covid-19 will impact on our lives for many years to come.

Ann Dekkers & Peter Simmonett melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Authors and their Books Introduction

Over time I became increasingly aware of Royston’s historic buildings. Seeking to learn about them, I looked for a comprehensive illustrated book, but one did not exist. I was challenged to write one and did so. ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’ first edition was published in 2017, the second (enhanced) edition in 2018.

ROYSTON’S HERITAGE BUILDINGS

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATING ALL ROYSTON’S HERITAGE BUILDINGS PETER RANSON PUBLISHED BY ROYSTON & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY 2017

Adapted Extract My research started with Historic England’s text for each ‘listed’ building in the Parish of Royston. There were no photographs so I set about identifying and photographing all 161 buildings. I became aware of North Hertfordshire District Council’s ‘Royston’s Register of Buildings of Local Interest’ containing 32 unlisted properties and so photographed and included them. The real surprise was the omission from either list of the Royse Stone, from which the town derives its name (Roy-ston).

Royston’s history relates directly to its geography.

Unlike Melbourn, Royston has no natural water course and did not develop until the technology for digging deep wells arrived in England in 1066. Also, the town is situated at the crossing (The Cross) of two ancient routes: the Romanised Ermine Street running north and connecting London (and continental Europe through Dover and London) to major settlements to the north and east of England such as Lincoln and York, and also to Edinburgh; it followed the path of the High Street and Kneesworth Street. The much older Icknield Way runs east – west from Norfolk to Stonehenge and Avebury, which followed the path of Melbourn Street and Baldock Street.

Royston’s position at The Cross probably accounts for the presence of Royston Cave, and the establishment of a chapel in 1162, later raised to a priory in 1184, when Lady Roysia also erected a wayside cross. Whether the Royse Stone was the base of that cross is a moot point.

In 1189 Richard I granted the right to hold a Wednesday market; in 1242 Henry III granted an annual fair.

Until the Victorian age, Ermine Street, aka the Old North Road, remained the primary route north from London. Medieval and early modern monarchs and their courts were frequently on royal progress, and over the centuries most of the great and the good (and the not-so-good) will have journeyed to and through Royston, probably staying in the town and worshipping at the priory church.

From sparse records we know that some of those being at, or travelling through, Royston included Henry III in 1255, Edward IV in 1470, and Henry VI on many occasions between 1441 – 1449. The Duke of York and Earl of Warwick in 1455; when York was killed in 1460, the victorious Lancastrians marched south ‘Their progress could be plotted by the record of places plundered on the way: Grantham, Stamford, Peterborough, Huntingdon, Melbourn, and Royston’ Cardinal Wolsey was at Royston in 1530, as was James VI of Scotland in 1603, travelling to London to claim the English throne as James I. Charles I stopped at Royston in 1642, returning as a prisoner of the Parliamentary army in 1647, when Fairfax, Cromwell and Ireton signed and sealed at Royston a letter to the City of London demanding money.

Where the buildings detailed in ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’ fit in to this rich history is largely unknown. The construction date of most can only be guessed. However, and despite Covid-19, a project is currently underway to date accurately 14 carefully chosen ‘listed’ buildings through dendrochronology and AMS C-14 dating. The resulting evidence, taken with that from such documents that do exist, will enhance our understanding of the sequence and timing of the economic and social development of Royston and district, and the counties of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Biography My wife Sue and I have lived in Royston for 35 years, in which time we raised three children, two boys and a girl, who as adults have between them presented us with three granddaughters. Of our adult children, one son, his wife and two daughters live in South Cambridgeshire, as does our daughter and her husband. Our other adult son lives in New Zealand with his wife and daughter. When I retired from a varied portfolio of careers in 2012, my deep and abiding interest in English history came to the fore, which eventually resulted in ‘Royston’s Heritage Buildings’.

Peter Ranson Are you or a friend an author with a published book?

Tell the readers of Melbourn Magazine about how and why you came to write your book, provide an abridged extract, and some biographical details. Contact Melbourn Magazine for full details email: melbournmagazine@ gmail.com Telephone: 261144. melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Churches Together United Reformed Church Worship We were pleased to start worshipping together in church on Sunday 30th August. It was our first service since 15th March and much time was spent on planning and riskassessing to enable this to happen and keep everyone safe.

We have continued to worship on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Our services are different as we are unable to sing and we have to wear face coverings. There is hand sanitiser and social distancing, and no socialising afterwards. We are able to listen to music and hymns during periods of reflection. Gradually we are getting used to the different format which enables different styles of service, but above all we are worshipping our Lord.

Harvest We celebrated harvest on Sunday 20th September. It was different to our usual harvest festival as we were unable to decorate our church in the normal way with flowers, fruit and vegetables. However, we were able to bring tins of food and dried goods which were later taken to Jimmy’s Night Shelter together with knitted blankets and hats made by our Craft Group. Jimmy’s Night Shelter were most grateful for our gifts. The Craft Group have been busy making items at home while they are unable to meet weekly in the hall.

Shoe Box Appeal Despite the coronavirus we are able to support Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. We have supported this charity for many years and are busy filling Shoe Boxes with gifts which are needed more than ever this year.

There is also the option of filling a Shoe Box online. Our Sunday service on the 18th October was led by two representatives from the charity and we were able to see and hear first-hand the work of the organisation and how

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the Shoe Boxes mean so much to these children in poor countries. The Shoe Boxes will be blessed in our service on Sunday 15th November before going on their journey to needy children.

Christmas We shall be holding a service on Christmas Day at 8.30 a.m., which will be led by Rev’d Robert Van de Weyer, but there will not be a service on Sunday 27th December. We wish you all a Happy Christmas in whatever way we are able to celebrate this year, and as Christians we shall be celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ as we do each year.

Services Anyone wishing to join us in worship at our services and who is not a regular attendee, we ask you to contact our secretary a few days beforehand by emailing secretary.melbournurc@gmail.com to ensure we can safely accommodate you and advise you of the protocols we have in place to keep you safe.

Melbourn Baptist Church Remembrance this year was marked nationally and locally in unfamiliar ways, with the usual crowds unable to gather for the annual Remembrance Sunday march past the cenotaph in London, and our own meeting at the cross in Melbourn not being advisable. We hope that in its own small way, the poppy display created at the front of our church helped the village to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces. One person commented that the wet paper poppies, that looked so messy after the rain, were actually a fitting reminder that the sacrifices many made were not pretty.

Advent and Christmas 2020 will be different for everyone, and with an uncertain future many of us may

feel that this year the festive season will not be a time to celebrate. Family gatherings may need to be smaller and we will not be singing carols or watching the children’s nativity play at Melbourn Baptist Church. It is very sad that our traditional ‘Carols by Candlelight’ service will also be different and we may have to sing along at home online.

But one thing that has not changed is the central story of Christmas: Jesus’ birth in those humble surroundings in Bethlehem. We believe that He came to our world as Immanuel – God with us, as those words, familiar to many, from Isaiah 9 say: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” After a tough year, the good news is that God is not far off but has come to walk with us and be at our side as Immanuel – God with us, and we believe that is as true now in 2020 as it has always been and He is the light in this current darkness.

There have been many moments of light within this crisis, both around the country and in our own community, with generous giving towards the local foodbank being just one example. People have clapped for carers on their doorsteps and met neighbours’ needs in acts of love and kindness. We hope and pray for light at the end of this dark tunnel of global pandemic – maybe this darkness will make us look harder for light wherever it may be found, in our own community of Melbourn and beyond.

Our online services are available to all via our website: www.melbourn-baptist.org.uk or via our YouTube or Facebook page. Do join us virtually as we celebrate Advent and Christmas from our homes. We are also now gathering in person at the church on the first and third Sundays of each month at 6.30pm for a ‘Time to Reflect’.

For more information or to book to join us please email: secretary@melbourn-baptist.org.uk Happy Christmas and New Year from all at Melbourn Baptist Church.

All Saints’ Church, Melbourn and Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth At the beginning of July, we were delighted to be able to reopen both churches for private prayer and public worship. Of course, before this happened, the Vicar and churchwardens had to study the reams of guidance and put in place the necessary safeguards. Now, after a few months, we are getting used to the one-way systems, distanced seating, hand sanitising, mask wearing etc. We miss those members of the congregations who are not able to join us in church at the moment. We are glad that some of them join us through the live-streamed service

on our Facebook page each Sunday at 9.45 a.m.. We also welcome those who join from further afield and, on some Sundays, have extended our congregation as far as California! Melbourn’s Thursday 10 a.m. Holy Communion service restarted in September and is a quieter alternative to Sunday services.

Our Wednesday afternoon services on Zoom, previously fortnightly, will happen once a month from November and we are also planning an all age Zoom service on the third Sunday of the month at 11.30 a.m. Zoom has proved invaluable for all sorts of meetings and for fundraising events including All Saints’ Dahlia Day and Independence Day Quiz! We are grateful to our fundraising groups. It’s good to know that not everything has to stop.

We miss singing in church. It has been good recently to hear the choir again but it is likely to be a long time before congregations can join in. This year, instead of the usual carol services, we shall be having services of Christmas music and readings on: Sunday 20th December (4 p.m. at Meldreth and 6 p.m. at Melbourn)

We regret that the Christmas services will need to be ticketed this year but would like to avoid having to turn anyone away because ‘there is no room at the inn’!

Our Christmas services include: Christmas Eve Midnight Mass Melbourn 11 p.m.

Christmas Day Sung Eucharist Meldreth 10 a.m.

Please contact the Vicar, the Revd Lizzie Shipp, about attending Christmas services, to sign up to the churches’ weekly e-letter or to ask for our prayers. vicar. melbournmeldreth@gmail.com The ministry team is looking at other ideas for Advent and Christmas so watch this space! However different Christmas is this year, it will still be Christmas and a time to focus on the wonderful examples of kindness, generosity and care we have seen in our communities this year.

I wish you the joy and peace of Christmas and hope that, whatever your circumstances, you will hear the song the angels sing of ‘peace on earth, goodwill to all’ and that it will echo into the New Year.

Mary Price, Associate priest www.allsaintsmelbournholytrinitymeldreth.co.uk Facebook @ASMHTM

The Word of God When The Lord Jesus was twelve years old He said to His Mother: I must be about My Father’s business, (Luke 2. 49). Later in life The Lord Jesus said: I am from above, I am not of this world. I am not alone, The Father is in Me. Before Abraham was, I AM. I and My Father are one.

(John 8, 23, 27, 58) from David Burbridge melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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Walks

in & around Melbourn

A Walk on Therfield Heath Four miles outside the village of Melbourn stands a place of beauty that is steeped in history. It is also a source of privilege and great pride for those of us who live nearby and for the wider world. Therfield Heath is an area of common land, most of it a Local Nature Reserve. It is also internationally important as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, mainly because of the chalk grassland habitat and the specific grasses, flowers and insects it hosts. Therfield Heath is owned by the Therfield Regulation Trust, which is a registered charity, and managed by the Conservators of Therfield Heath and Greens. Set out and explore today. This walk is approximately 5 kms (3 miles). Enjoy.

Start from the Heath Sports Club on Therfield Heath, Baldock Road, Royston SG8 5BJ, Tel 347405, where there is free parking and refreshments are available. Go to the far side of the car park furthest from the road and you will find a well-worn path running parallel to the road. Follow this and in due course you will come to a monument erected by the Rotary Club of Royston with a donation from A F “Alfie” Deards which gives

Monument erected by the Rotary Club of Royston

distances to surrounding places. You will be able to see the Avenue at Wimpole Hall. Close by you will see two Bronze Age Burial Mounds dating from 2200 BC to 700 BC. In due course you will cross the Therfield road (near to McDonalds) and walk through a car park. Continue on until you come to the end of the chalk-covered path where there is a crossing path.

Take this path left to a hedged track until you reach a stile left where you will see a black Hertfordshire Way

Bronze Age Burial Mounds dating from 2200 BC to 700 BC

sign. Go through here and climb to the summit of Church Hill. At Easter there are many Pasque flowers (Anemone pulsatilla) on the south-facing slope. You will shortly pass through Fox Covert, which is owned by the Hertfordshire & Middlesex Wildlife Trust.

Above: Stile with the black Hertfordshire Way sign. Go through here and climb to the summit of Church Hill.

Below: Neolithic Long Barrow said to date from 4000 BC to 2200 BC

Take the main path to the left, which in due course bears right and you cross the Therfield Road again.

Take the footpath opposite which takes you back to Therfield Heath where you will see McDonalds in the distance. When the path turns right, follow the golf path or the parallel footpath which will take you beside the golf course. You will see a Neolithic Long Barrow, said to date from 4000 BC to 2200 BC. In due course there is a steep path down. Be careful here, but you will shortly turn left and you will see the rugby goal posts ahead of you and you will soon be back at the car park where we started.

David Allard melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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feature Chalk Rivers

Chalk Rivers are in the news as an All Party Parliamentary Group has recently been established to protect this rare type of river. Rare, because throughout the world there are only 180 chalk rivers. 85% of these are in England, mostly in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire. The Rivers Mel, Rhee, Granta and Cam are examples of chalk rivers in Cambridgeshire.

The River Mel flows through Melbourn and Meldreth before joining the River Cam. Its source is springs in the lake in Melbourn Bury. Whilst the Mel dries up occasionally in extremely dry periods, it must have flowed well in the past given that it powered two water mills, Sheene Mill in Melbourn and Topcliffe Mill in Meldreth.

Most rivers in impervious catchments are fed largely by water running off adjacent land. This is particularly so during periods of heavy rainfall, when rivers can overtop their banks and inundate the flood plain. This can happen following heavy rainfall in the summer, when the ground is hard, and in winter, when it is saturated or as snow melts. Other sources are road run-off and treated sewage effluent.

Chalk rivers, however, function differently as they are essentially fed by water issuing from springs. This water originates as rain falling on porous catchments, sinking into the underground chalk aquifers from where it eventually runs out of the ground weeks or months later.

As most rain falls in the winter the chalk aquifers generally begin to fill up late in the year as the ground becomes saturated. For this reason chalk streams usually flow well from around Christmas to April or May, depending on the extent of rainfall and state of the aquifers. Being spring-fed, flows in chalk streams are more uniform with only slow response to rainfall. Aquifers are large and can hold varying amounts of water. If they are full, springs high up will flow, but if depleted higher springs dry up and the source of the chalk river moves down the valley where springs at lower levels continue to issue.

In the winter of 2000/01, chalk aquifers around the Chiltern Hills were over-full and springs ran which had never been seen in living memory. Accordingly, the source of chalk rivers moved much higher up valleys than usual. Towns, villages and houses flooded and roads had to be closed. Conversely, on occasions during periods of extreme drought in the 1990s, the source of chalk rivers moved further downstream than previously recorded.

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Water passing through aquifers filters out impurities so chalk river water is clear, pure, mineral rich and at a constantly cool temperature. These qualities are the reason that watercress farms are usually to be found along chalk rivers. The good water quality and gravel bed also benefit fish, particularly brown trout, as well as water vole, otters, white clawed crayfish, invertebrates and flora.

The main risk to the unique habitat provided by chalk rivers is lack of water, due to the depletion of aquifers caused by climate change and abstraction for water supply. The need for abstraction is increased by leakage from distribution mains, overuse by households and demand from new housing. Water companies are being pressured to reduce abstraction by the Environment Agency and leakage by OFWAT, but new housing is subject to Government policy.

You can help to protect chalk rivers by checking your water usage. Average use in England is about 140 litres per person per day and reducing usage to under 100 litres per person per day will help to maintain healthy flows in rivers and could save you money if you have a water meter.

To calculate your usage, if metered, • ­ add the amount of water you have used in cubic metres, shown on each of your last two 6-monthly bills, to give annual usage, • ­ multiply annual usage by 1000 to give usage in litres, • ­ divide usage by 365 to give daily usage in litres • ­ divide daily usage by the number in your household to give litres per person per day.

• If your usage is above 100 litres per person per day, the measures below will save water, • ­ don’t water grass and buy water resistant plants • ­ fit water butts to down pipes • ­ water plants from water butts or using spent washing up water • ­ buy water efficient dish washers and washing machines and always fill them before use • ­ jet wash patios in wet rather than dry periods • ­ wash cars during or after rain using a bucket of water from a water butt not a hose or pressure washer • ­ fit water saving devices to showers, taps and toilet cisterns • ­ take shorter showers • ­ don’t run the tap whilst washing your teeth • ­ keep a jug of cold drinking water in the fridge rather than running the tap until cold • So do your bit to ensure good flows in Mel-Bourn and under Cam-Bridge.

David Telford

Sports & Clubs Bowls Arthur Andrews 261990 Bridge Club Howard Waller 261693 1st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts 261505 Brownies – 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford 220272 Croquet Janet Pope 248342 Football Club Andrew Edwards 223109 Dynamos Football Club Les Morley 07739 593771 Guides – Ist Melbourn Hilary Marsh 261443 Melbourn Judo Club Iain Reid 241830 Melbourn Karate Club Peter Khera 07866 374674 Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack 263313 Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group Pat Smith 262575 Sue Toule 260955 Anne Harrison 261775 Photographic Club

1st Melbourn Guides ‘A Guide faces challenge, and learns from her experiences’. During September we embraced (not literally, obviously) the challenge of meeting outdoors, then moved back onto Zoom with the benefit of experience for October’s meetings.

In socially distanced groups of 15, the girls enjoyed an outdoor treasure hunt around the village one September evening; in pairs the girls had to answer observational questions around the streets, and suggest improvements to vacant buildings and plots of land. Ideas included a dog grooming parlour beside the vet’s surgery, a children’s’ play area and sweet shop at South Camb’s Motors, and wildlife-friendly plants in front of the primary school.

On another evening, they played modified foot golf on the Moor, and did a tree hunt in the Millennium Copse.

By October it was too dark to meet outdoors, and we have no venue for indoor meetings, so it was back to Zoom sessions. We started with a game of personality bingo where the girls had to find others who shared their interests, appearance, and family background. After a fun quiz on the Guide laws, we finished with a Guiding themed scavenger hunt of items around the house.

Over the following two weeks we finished the Skills Builder ‘Take Action’ by suggesting ideas for a global issue campaigning magazine. Popular themes included reducing plastic pollution, climate change awareness, Black lives matter, and the dangers of social media. As a fun way to cover the threat of animal extinction, the girls learnt to draw cartoons of a penguin, a tiger and an elephant, then used them in a simple guessing game.

We finished the half term with a campfire themed evening; the girls were challenged to make up actions to a classic campfire song; we had a music quiz, Halloween themed Bake-Off competition (see top of page 61).

Bruce Huett 232855 Ramblers Dave Allard 242677 Royston and District Round Table Michael Seymour 221398 Swimming Club Jenny Brackley 244593 Tennis (Melbourn) Dave Liddiard 07508 995 781 Tennis (Meldreth) Tracy Aggett 243376

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four new girls made their Guide Promise, and at the end they all made s’mores by melting a marshmallow over a candle or in the microwave, and sandwiching it between two chocolate biscuits.

The Bake-Off competition is always popular with our Guides, so we had a Halloween themed cake Showstopper challenge over the half term holiday, followed by a live technical challenge in our Zoom meeting on 5th November. The standard and creativity of the showstopper cakes was incredible, and the girls’ attempts at the (unrehearsed) challenge of making Brandy Snaps were very impressive too. The judges: Guiders from Barrington who didn’t know the girls, chose Alexandra and Izzy to be joint winners with their beautiful cakes and perfectly curled Brandy Snaps.

We would love to return to normal meetings in January, but we need a venue which can accommodate 15 girls plus leaders, and we would welcome some more helpers. If you would like to know more, please contact me on: 01763 261443 or email: melbournguides@gmail. com. You can also look on the girlguiding.org.uk website to find out more.

Hilary Marsh

1st Orwell Beavers, Cubs and Scouts After a summer term of activities delivered remotely via Zoom, it was fantastic for our leaders to once again meet face-to-face with their Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

Anyone taking an early evening stroll across the playing fields at the Moor will no doubt have seen the leaders out with the children making the most of the early Autumn evenings. In order to comply with the National Youth Agency’s Covid guidelines, each of the groups had to meet in smaller numbers. For the most part, this meant splitting groups in half and running sessions for each half on alternating weeks.

For the Beavers, these first few weeks saw them having fun playing socially distanced games and taking part in a hike to Meldreth. They also had a go at creating structures, including castles and towers from biscuits, marshmallows and melted chocolate!

The first session back for the Cubs saw the handing out of the many badges that had been achieved over the Lockdown period, some by means of the organised Zoom sessions, others that the children had worked towards themselves with their families. To make the most of the time outdoors, the Cubs played a range of well-established and new team games, learned some key fencing moves and went on a night hike on the Heath.

Thanks to their dedicated leader team, the Scouts managed to run two socially distanced groups each

week to include the entire troop. They enjoyed athletics, night time communication with glow sticks (morse code and semaphore), wide games, debates and the challenge of adapting well-loved games to socially distanced versions. They’re still earning badges and adapting to a new way of scouting. We’re missing camping terribly as this is what really makes a scouting experience, but we look forward to the day when we can camp once more.

It has been lovely to be back, but with the recent Lockdown announcement the next few weeks look uncertain once more. However, the one thing that remains constant is that the leaders across all groups will do their utmost to keep the children busy on a Friday evening!

1st Orwell Scout group will continue to meet on Friday evenings in Melbourn. The Group is currently full but please contact admissions@1storwellscouts.org. uk to add your child to our waiting list. We are really keen to hear from any adults interested in becoming a leader as this will allow us to accept more children and reduce our waiting list. As a Beaver/Cub/Scout assistant leader we inspire our young people to grow in ability and confidence through a huge variety of activities and challenges, which is incredibly enjoyable and rewarding; enrich your life, give something new a go! Please contact GSL@1storwellscouts.org.uk if you are interested in finding out more.

Once our young people reach 14 years old, they move on to one of the three Explorer units in the District. We are desperate for additional Explorer leaders to join us to help guide our 50 young people (across the three units). As Explorers, the young people don’t want their parents as leaders, it’s their time to be

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teenagers. If you think you could work with our older young people (14–18 years old) to guide them to generate their own programmes and build on the skills they’ve worked on since they were Beavers at 6 years old, please contact us. Explorers groups meet on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evening at Barley, Royston and Harston, and all three units are desperate for help.

Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society Confirmed Talks 2021 These talks will either be via Zoom or face to face.

Please see our website www.cfhs.org.uk for the latest updates » 7th Jan, 7 p.m. Dr Janet Few – Putting your ancestors in their place » 9th Jan, 2 pm Mary Burgess – East Road 1950 to now » 4th Feb, 7 p.m. Christopher Broom – Why Family History matters » 13th Feb, 2 p.m. Sarah Doig – (talk to be decided on) » 17th Feb, 7 p.m. Christopher Broom – Humour in Genealogy » 4th Mar, 7 p.m. Jackie Depelle – Which website and why » 13th Mar, 2 p.m. Alan Denney – A Dirty History of Cambridge » 17th Mar, 7 p.m. Jackie Depelle – Writing your Family History

Meldreth Local History Group website This website, https://www.meldrethhistory.org.uk, has recently been redesigned and the new improved version is now live. There are about 700 pages which have been completed by local researchers and family historians over the last few years. There is a very efficient search function and an option to post comments on every page.

Added comments have often provided very interesting additional information on a topic. Of particular value are comments on our family history pages as there is so much overlap across our two villages.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive future news updates, please complete the form on our new website or email: info@meldrethhistory. org.uk. Newsletters are usually sent out twice per year; previous issues may be viewed on our site.

There are also weekly FACEBOOK posts which maybe of interest to Melbourn residents: https://www.facebook. com/meldrethhistory. We now have 500 followers on Facebook.

Are you looking for some Christmas present ideas? If so, why not support our Group by purchasing some of our merchandise. We have a small range of merchandise that can be viewed online, including walk leaflets and CDs. Our packs of 8 notelets with four different pictures of Meldreth are a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially just now.

If you have any queries please contact brucehuett@ compuserve.com or phone 01763 232 855 which takes messages. Alternatively, please email the group at info@meldrethhistory.org.uk.

Melbourn Dynamos Football Club All welcome! https://melbourndynamosfc.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/ melbourndynamoscommunity/ Founded in 2003, Melbourn Dynamos FC is a thriving and friendly community football club that gives all the opportunity to play regular football, regardless of their experience or ability, at all ages from 3 through to and including Adults.

Like many people and groups in this country we have had to face the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the club this began on 13th March, ahead of the lockdown, with our decision to cancel continued on page 65 melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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all fixtures and training to protect our players, parents and other members of the community. After 5 months of necessary but frustrating inactivity, our players were able to return to limited training from the beginning of August, subject to essential covid protection measures in line with government and FA social distancing and good hygiene requirements; details at https:// melbourndynamosfc.wordpress.com/latest-news/.

At one stage, we feared that the start of our new season would be seriously delayed, but with some easing of lockdown, grassroots football was given the green light and our season began at the end of September, subject to social distancing and covid security measures required by government and the FA. (www.thefa.com/ news/2020/sep/10/updated-covid-19-guidance-forgrassroots-nls-wfp-100920) Thanks to our Covid Protection Officer, Nicky Patel, and our wonderful volunteer coaching teams, around 300 children in our community have regular healthy fun through structured exercise and team building after the long confinement of lockdown.

We have established inclusive football teams to bring the beautiful game to a wider range of players at both youth and adult level. Thanks to the support of our wonderful club volunteers we now have the OWLS (Opportunities Without Limits), a team for adults who play in the Cambridgeshire FA Parability League. The Club was the first to receive the Pledge Project Certificate of Recognition from Cambridgeshire FA and we are very proud to have recently received the Project of the Year award from Cambridgeshire FA for our commitment to offer everyone with a disability the opportunity to get involved in football, either competitively or socially.

Before the start of the season, our club was recognised as an FA Community Hub Club, one of only eight in Cambridgeshire. What this means is that our growth and development has been recognised by Cambridgeshire FA for its important community contributions: • A football club at the heart of the community • Providing football opportunities For All • Developing young leaders and planning for a sustainable future This recognition by Cambridgeshire FA has resulted from the tireless work of our club volunteers to develop and grow MDFC at the heart of our village.

The Club is currently FA Charter Standard and will soon be applying for Community Club status. This will ensure a continued thriving partnership with Cambridgeshire FA, who have been instrumental in the Club’s recent development. As an FA Hub Club we hope to attract further funding and support to secure and continue development at the heart of our community.

For many years the club has been working hard with our community to establish Girls’ Football. Our latest initiative has been working with the FA to set up the Melbourn Wildcats, providing girls aged 5-11 years with the opportunity to have fun, make friends and play football. This fun, friendly environment will develop young girls’ physical and social skills by encouraging a healthy lifestyle and inspiring them to develop a lifelong love of the game.

Please use the following link to book your place http://faevents.thefa.com/book?sessionid=138685 We are pleased to learn that the Managers and Coaches of our many teams are seen as important role models in our community for young players. All are trained to at least FA level 1, so have a clear understanding of child safeguarding as well as physical first aid issues. At the start of the season a number stepped forward to request training in mental health first aid as well. This training is not compulsory for the club’s FA Charter Standard status, but we recognise the importance of mental health issues for young people in our community, are providing this training and have been very fortunate to receive financial support from our sponsors. If you would like more information you can follow this link to Mental Health First Aid England – https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/about/.

We are a successful club defined by the strength of support from members and families, the praise and recognition of fellow clubs and FA Leagues, the work with our Community partners including Melbourn Village College and Melbourn Parish Council, and of course our players’ achievements on the pitch and their support for the community. With the support of our fundraising and community partners, we are making the club more inclusive by assisting players whose families are unable to afford the necessary fees. Our club is committed to developing our players through respect of fair play and a love of the game. This approach wins the respect of other clubs as well as providing the skills and commitment to win leagues and cup finals.

This season we have 22 teams and 320 players. There are opportunities for all as we welcome new players and volunteers.

Our youngest players – the Dynamites, increasingly provide the core of our success with league teams from under 7 upwards. The Dynamites’ coaching team is led by Dipak Patel. Dee was Cambridge FA’s Community Coach of the year for 2013, gained his Level 2 coaching qualification in June 2015 and is our Football Development Officer. These players, aged 3-6, have fun and develop their skills before deciding whether to play league football as the club’s under 7s team. The Dynamites train with level 2 and level 1 FA qualified melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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coaches in Saturday morning fun sessions at Melbourn Sports Centre. These feature lots of short activities aimed at improving individual skills, concentration and the ability to be part of a team. The first one hour session is free; thereafter we charge £2. All are welcome to the Melbourn Dynamites so why not bring your kids along so they can check it out?

Sadly, because of the Covid pandemic we had to cancel our annual presentation day when we celebrate the achievements of our players and raise money for our nominated charity, Tom’s Trust (www.tomstrust.org.uk/).

Prior to the lockdown, most of our fundraising had been targeted at raising money for the new full-size Astro pitch for the village. We are pleased to see that individual teams continue to support the wider community by supporting important causes. The picture shows our U14s Team supporting and raising the profile of breast cancer in men by wearing pink nail varnish at a recent match (www.scratchmagazine.co.uk/news/lets-nailbreast-cancer-2020-how-you-can-get-involved/ ).

Many of you will have seen the great news in previous articles about the full-size all-weather Astro pitch for Melbourn. This has now been confirmed; it is being built at MVC and will be ready by next spring. Melbourn Dynamos is proud to have initiated this exciting project delivering a huge asset for the whole community.

We have been providing our children with increasing opportunities for healthy-living and well-being for more than 18 years and our club is now the largest sport provider in our community. The quality and safety of the village’s current Astro pitch has been an increasing

concern and we have been exploring a new and better facility with our community partners for many years. This has been a long and sometimes frustrating process, but thanks to the resolute determination of the Dynamos’ leadership team and their actions to win the support of the Football Foundation and Cambridgeshire FA, we are pleased that the village will have a new full-size artificial pitch by next spring.

The 100m x 64m floodlit pitch, based at MVC and costing more than £800,000, will be approximately four times the size of the current aging artificial surface it is replacing. In addition to school use, it will be available to local football clubs, for all ages and abilities, as well as the community out of school hours.

The bulk of the money is coming from the Football Foundation, this country’s largest sports charity that receives investment from the Premier League, FA and the Government (via Sport England). It exists to improve the experience of playing football for everyone, by championing fair access to quality facilities. The rest of the money is coming from Section 106 money from the development of the 199 new homes on New Road and from community fundraising by Melbourn Dynamos.

We thank Melbourn Village College for supporting this bid, providing the site for this pitch and navigating the necessary application processes for success. We also welcome their commitment to the long-term success of the project by creating the essential support infrastructure, marketing and management through Be Active and Melbourn Sports Centre. In addition, we would like to thank the following community

U14s Team supporting and raising the profile of breast cancer in men

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More information about the club and individual teams is available from the club’s.

Website: https://melbourndynamosfc.wordpress.com .

Latest News We are starting an adult disability Saturday morning session in November, details will be available in our community fb page: www.facebook.com/melbourndynamoscommunity/.

Once the new Astro pitch is open, we plan to set up inclusive evening sessions, starting with Women’s Football and Walking Football.

To help with our initiative for more inclusive Saturday football sessions, we are reaching out for help from volunteers who want to make a real difference to their community by getting involved for a few hours helping our coaching teams. We currently have 46 trained and committed coaches and we need more to help us provide everyone with same opportunity to play football.

Also our Men’s Team is recruiting, please contact Blake Carrington at chairman.mdfc@gmail.com for further information.

Melbourn Football Club As I write this report, we are all still in the grip of the Covid‑19 Virus as a ‘second wave’ is causing continued uncertainty in all walks of life. Along with numerous challenges for the economy, education and our health melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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I would like, on behalf of Melbourn Football Club, once again to pass on our gratitude and best wishes to all of our Essential Workers, who have been working so hard during these very troubled times to make our lives as functional as possible. In addition, there are thousands of selfless people doing work without renumeration or recognition, including those that are involved in the running of sports clubs up and down the country providing a great service to people of all ages and we thank these people for their efforts in providing us all with the opportunity to participate in the sports we love.

‘The Season so far!’

With a third of the season gone the First Team sit three points clear at the top of the Kershaw Junior League 2A and remain undefeated taking seventeen points from 21, only dropping points to the teams currently in second and third place (Buckden and Guilden Morden), so we are fully aware of the challenges we still face to secure promotion this season. First Team Manager, Chay Wilson, is certainly not being complacent and is continuing to work hard in ensuring the team are performing to their highest level possible each week.

The Reserves have had a more mixed start to the season as they sit in 8th place in their division; however, the team have played a number of the stronger teams in the league and with the efforts and enthusiasm of their manager Gaz Crouch the team will be looking to improve on this position over the coming weeks.

Sponsors & Fund Raising As I have mentioned in my previous reports, we have been supported well by a number of local businesses from the village with generous donations allowing us to purchase new kits and training equipment and once again a number of these have come forward to offer further financial assistance despite the difficulties businesses face in these uncertain times. This support has meant that we are able not only to provide the teams with excellent kit and equipment but also to continue with our support of our chosen charity CPSL Mind, the mental health charity.

On behalf of the club I would once again like to thank: Shire Tree Surgery | T J Plastering | P J Deards Plumbing MJF Construction | Conqueror Industries In addition to these companies I would also like to extend the thanks of Melbourn Football Club to Steve and Kerry Harrington and their team at the Black Horse Public House as they have welcomed us into their establishment, providing food to the team after matches and during our monthly committee meetings.

The service that they have provided has been first class

and despite the extra constraints that Covid-19 has placed upon them they have risen to the challenge, providing table service to all of their clientele with smiles on their faces (although the masks they have to wear make this harder to see!).

However, due to the ongoing problems caused by Covid-19 we realise that sponsorship is much harder to find and we will be continuing our fund-raising activities to try and compensate for this; however, with the restrictions that have been put in place, this has been made more difficult and our major fund-raiser event of the year, the excellent Quiz Night, has had to be put on hold for the moment along with the Race Night that was planned in early October.

I am pleased to announce that we have been able to run our Last Man Standing competition. We run this competition in conjunction with Meldreth Sunday Football Team (several of our players also play for them), which is a great deal of fun to take part in and despite the title it has nothing to do with physical exertion! Entrants are provided with ten weeks of fixtures from the Premier League and are asked to select the ten teams that they think will win from one of the matches each week; however, you are only permitted to select a team once in the ten week period and therefore have to use a different team every week. If your selected team loses or draws the match then you are eliminated from the competition. The competition then rolls over to the following week with the remaining participants and their next nominated team; this continues until the Last Man is Standing. The cost of entry is £10 and the monies raised are split equally three ways between the two clubs and the eventual winner.

The first competition had 94 entries meaning that the winner (there could be more than one if the final week results in the remaining participants all being eliminated) will receive £313 in prize money. Due to the bizarre results that the Premier League has produced this season the competition is already down to only two remaining in it after the first three weeks so we will be starting a new competition shortly. As this is one of the few fund-raising events that we can run, we hope to exceed the excellent number of participants that we had for the current one.

If you feel that you are able to offer sponsorship in some way then please contact Simon Gascoyne on the contact details below.

Charity Fund-Raising As I have mentioned in my previous reports, following the transformation and success of the club the decision was taken to donate 25% of any fund-raising to a nominated charity and, as mentioned earlier, due to the support from our Sponsors we are able to continue melbournmagazine@gmail.com

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• Boiler servicing & repairs • Landlord certificates • Boiler replacements • Bathroom suites • Natural gas, oil & LPG • Heating system upgrades • General plumbing & repairs

Phone: 01763 260007 www.boilercareandrepair.co.uk

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Changing attitudes by education

www.RoADARC.org.uk

Give ‘em the horn The primary purpose of a car horn is to warn other road users of your presence, but it is often misused as a device to rebuke other drivers and road users for an error, or perceived error of judgement. Being intolerant of other people’s mistakes is a prime cause of an increase in stress in drivers. The best advice given by a senior Police instructor was to say to yourself “forgive them, for they know not what they do”.

The horn can also be used by some drivers to try and impose their presence (i.e. a form of bullying) but, generally, it only achieves to annoy other road users and can precipitate confrontational situations. Using the horn does not give you priority.

Rule 112 of the Highway Code states that the horn should not be used whilst stationary on the road or between the hours of 11.30 pm and 7.00 am except when another road user poses a danger. Many modern cars and especially electric cars are very quiet in operation and their approach may not be heard when approaching pedestrians and cyclists from behind especially if they have earphones in use.

If a pedestrian is approaching a junction into which you intend to turn, consider giving a “toot” on the horn to alert them to your presence but be prepared for them not to hear you. Once a pedestrian has stepped off the kerb crossing a junction into which you intend to turn, they have right of way under Rule 170 of the Highway Code.

If you are driving safely and anticipating correctly, you’ll seldom need to use the horn. Only use it if you think other road users haven’t seen you, can’t see you or are not aware of your presence. Warning others of your presence doesn’t relieve you of the responsibility to drive safely. Always drive with caution.

Drivers of electric cars should be especially vigilant with regards to pedestrians and cyclists. If in doubt, give a couple of quick “toots” to warn them of your presence. It could save injury or a life.

Misuse of the horn can incur a Fixed Penalty Notice of £30 but if the issuing of the Notice is challenged in a Magistrates Court and the challenge is lost the fine can rise to as much as £1,000.

Visit our website at www.roadarc.org.uk for information on advanced driver or rider training.

to commit to this. The nominated charity is selected by the Players’ Player of the season, which for the second year running this year was Carlin Pipe and he again selected CPSL Mind as the chosen charity.

The success of the Last Man Standing competition has meant that a further £78.33 will be added to this season’s total and we are working hard to raise further funds for this worthy cause. The players and committee are fully dedicated to helping raise monies for this and we are looking to expand on the fund-raising day that we held last year, when local businesses also got involved in helping to raise money in the knowledge that 100% of the monies raised from this day went to the charity. We are unable to provide firm details of our plans at this stage due to the restrictions in place with Covid-19 but will advise as soon as we are able.

Training Sessions We have now started our winter training, which is held on Tuesday evenings at Shelford Rugby Club between 9.00pm and 10.00pm, and new players are welcome at these sessions. Despite the timing of the session being so late in the evening, the turnout for these sessions has been excellent with almost thirty players in attendance each week.

However, we are excited with the news that the long awaited new All Weather Pitch that we and other sporting clubs in Melbourn have worked towards for many years will be ready by next spring and it will be great to be able to bring our teams’ training sessions back into the village and train at a time that will encourage even more players to take part in these excellently run sessions.

Contact Details If you are interested in joining Melbourn Football Club as a player, committee member or even as a supporter then please contact the First Team Manager, Chay Wilson on 07966 573008, Reserve Team Manager, Gareth Crouch on 07943 389562 or our Club Secretary, Simon Gascoyne on 07732 613555, or you can e-mail him on simon_ gascoyne@hotmail.com You can also find us on social media and can follow us on Twitter @Melbourn_FC, Facebook www.facebook.com/MelbournFC, Instagram @melbourn_fc and our websitewww.melbournfc.com

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Melbourn magazine is non-profit and all work on the magazine including design and layout are produced by volunteers. The Magazine is published four times a year in the first week of March, June, September and December. We print 2250 copies which are delivered free to every house and business in the village. Advertising revenue is used for printing costs only.

Adverts should be supplied as finished artwork and must be at the sizes shown below. Please send artwork to melbournmagazine@gmail.com.

The current rates for advertising in the Magazine are as follows: Size per…

1/4 inside page 1/2 inside page

Width x Height (79 × 128 mm) (163 × 128 mm)

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We are grateful to TTP for their continued sponsorship Ann Dekkers

Editorial

Editorial, production, Peter Simmonett design and layout

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Parish Profile

Mavis Howard

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Proof reading

Ann Dekkers Christine Orchard Jane Stevens

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Christine Orchard

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