Issue 73 Spring 2013 by Melbourn Magazine

...editorial We are very pleased to be featuring our sponsors, TTP, in this edition. They celebrate their quarter century this year! Many congratulations! After all the excitements of 2012 there are still many things to look forward to in our area in 2013. The Village Fete, on June 29th, promises to be bigger and better than ever – please consider how you can help (p. 7). SOAS (Supporters of All Saints’) Open Gardens will be on Sunday May 19th; if you would like your garden to be part of this scheme then please contact the organisers. The annual Safari supper will take place on Saturday June 8th, and is always a fun evening. (p. 46) Both of these events raise money for the maintenance of the fabric of our historic Parish Church. MADS (Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society) are to be congratulated on their recent performance of ‘The Lost Slipper’. If you would like to be involved in the next production contacts are to be found on p. 5. The River Mel Restoration Group continue with their excellent work (p. 12). If you would like to help with this project your input will be most welcome. Sadly the Men’s division of the Melbourn and Meldreth Branch of the Royal British Legion has ceased to exist and the Standard was laid up in the Parish Church at the end of January. Melbourn History group continues to hope that younger members of the population will come forward to take up the task of recording village events. No great historical knowledge is required just a wish to help and to still be around in 2050 when the next book is due to be published.

Village news Nature

5 12

River Mel Restoration Group Bare Beauty

Council News

feature

Promoting engineering as a career

Profile

Doug Tidey

Safer Melbourn

feature Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help Group

feature

TTP Celebrating its 25th Anniversary

Education

Village information

Diary

feature

Chinese visitor to Stockbridge Meadows

Church news

Sports & Clubs

feature

Celebrating 80 years

What’s On 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. 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. Front cover: Spring blossoms on Melbourn Science Park. Photographer Stephen Bond

The Cambridgeshire Choral Society Sixth Safari Supper – 8th June The 45th Thriplow Daffodil Weekend John Rutter – Confessions of a Composer Motor Neurone Disease Association Great British Fish and Chip Supper

Review

Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society

Foxton Pantomime Cinderella

email: melbournmagazine@gmail.com

Richard Arnott runs a local garden design and build business based in Melbourn called Garden Design Solutions, operating in Melbourn and the surrounding

Where did you learn your craft? Richard trained at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in horticulture and then studied Garden Design at Merrist Wood College, Surrey.

What does Garden Design Solutions offer its clients?

Why not register for my free weekly garden blog at www.thinkgardenthinkrichard.co.uk Follow me on twitter @gardendesignsol Look at my new website www.richardarnott.com

We are an energetic, vibrant garden design and build company specialising in the creation of beautiful outdoor spaces with a sense of place and purpose. Plantsmanship and good horticultural practice is the core of the business. The gardens and landscapes are designed in CAD (a computer software package) to generate a scale plan of the space and a planting plan indicating positions, plant names, sizes and quantities. Richard believes the plants are the stars in the garden designs and organising them to create maximum visual impact through the seasons is the most challenging and rewarding part of the process. The style and atmosphere in the gardens we design and build varies depending on the clients aspirations. Richard likes to encourage clients to collect inspiring images of gardens from a range of magazine articles or books to help inform the design process. Richard works in contemporary and traditional styles. He particularly loves to work with a plant palette that is a blend of loose herbaceous perennials and grasses verses structural trees, shrubs and hedges in a contemporary English country cottage style.

What do you look for when you visit a garden? Richard always looks for the potential when visiting a new garden project. The challenge is to make the most of the space whether large or small and to work with my clients to achieve this.

Call 01763 263231 OR 07710547493

NOW IS THE TIME TO BE THINKING OF YOUR GARDEN READY FOR THE SUMMER THINK GARDEN, THINK RICHARD!

TTP Group plc

Celebrating 25 years of

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village news MADS Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society

In the news Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society

R.N.L.I.

Royal British Legion

Melbourn Play Parks Update

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group

Melbourn Village Fete

Forever Active

Library News

QEII Community Champion Award

Rail User Group

Royston Ladies Circle

Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help Group Lunch Club

Macmillan Cancer Support

Oil Club

CAMTAD – Demonstration of Hearing Help Equipment

Melbourn Amateur Dramatics Society (MADS) is a newly re-established group. The Society was set up in order to bring entertainment, fun and regular social events to residents of Melbourn, Meldreth and surrounding villages. Our very first performance ‘The Lost Slipper’ was performed in November 2012. The cast included local people that have acted before and some who were treading the boards for the very first time! We range in ages from 16 to over 60. Fancy being part of the next production? New members of the team are always welcome. Enthusiasm, commitment and a great sense of humour is more important than experience; so if you fancy being part of the next ambitious production, have lots of time to spare in the evenings and you are over 16 years of age, please let us know. Want to be part of the production crew? We seek reliable and dedicated people to help out behind the scenes with lighting, sound, music, props and costumes for future productions. So if you would like to become part of the team and have a great sense of humour, please let us know. We are also seeking an administrator to help us with sourcing sponsorship and donations; perhaps you have an artistic flare for creating eye catching posters and programs, we need your help, so please let us know. Donna 232622.

melbournmagazine

R.N.L.I.

Royal British Legion

Since its foundation in 1824, R.N.L.I. has saved 140,000 lives.

The Last Parade

Officially the 140,000th was Bogdan Bocaneala, who was kite surfing off the Aberdeenshire coast when his legs became entangled with the lines of his kite. The Fraserburgh all-weather lifeboat went to his aid and the volunteer crew were able to pull him aboard. A fairly routine rescue, albeit one for which the man was very grateful. As usual, when the lifeboat was back at the station, the coxswain filled in a form using the R.N.L.I. computer system, recording details of the incident. This happens after every launch of every boat at every one of the charity’s 236 stations and it was this database that revealed that this was the 140,000th life saved. There are of course strict criteria that the rescue has to meet in order to qualify as a life saved; it has to be clear that a life would have been lost if the lifeboat and/or its crew had not been involved. This figure is in addition to the thousands of other people the charity has helped in other ways -many rescues do not qualify as ‘lives saved’, but just as ‘lives at risk’. As this magazine prepares for publication R.N.L.I. crews and also Lifeguards, will be continuing their work around our coasts, on the sea, on rivers and beaches; who knows how we might need them in 2013? (In November 2012. R.N.L.I. flood rescue teams helped people caught in severe floods in St Asaph, North Wales. We hope this situation does not befall anyone this summer!) None of this would be possible without volunteers, who collect money and man stalls to keep the service running. Please could you help? Just one hour of your time would be so valuable to us-please call the number below and we could give you some dates when we will be collecting. Thank you so much J Emes 01763 245958

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

On 27th January 2013 The Melbourn and Meldreth Men’s Branch of The Royal British Legion paraded their Standard for the last time; this was the Laying Up of the branch Standard at All Saints’ Church Melbourn. The retired Standard is laid up and left to disintegrate to dust, and is not to be reconditioned or refurbished. The hand over of the Standard was performed by retiring Branch Chairman Patrick Parkinson and laid up by the Reverend Andrew O’Brien. The ceremony signalled the official closure of the branch as officials retired and positions were unable to be refilled. I extend my most sincere thanks to all those who have supported the branch during its long existence. Patrick Parkinson

Melbourn Play Parks Update The Play Parks team have managed to secure some additional funding through grant applications. The awards from grants now total £55k; £20k from AMEY CESPA, £25k from SITA and £10k from the Fields In Trust. The Parish Council has been very supportive from the beginning of this project and have regularly contributed money to enable works to continue. Recently the Parish Council supplemented the plans by improving the gates to the park to make it safer and improve access for the disabled. They have also agreed to finance the last part of the project to install a new central piece of equipment. The team and the children of Melbourn owe a big debt of gratitude to the Parish Council. We have also raised approximately £4k through local fundraising. Thanks to everyone who has helped by attending the various events. We recently held a very successful event at Palazzo’s in Royston where over £400 was raised. A big thank you to Palazzo’s and those who attended. A fantastic evening was had by all. Finally, before Christmas the Play Parks team won a Community Support Award for its work on the park and we would like to sincerely thank the Parish Council for this recognition.

Where are we now and what are the next steps? If you have been past the park recently you will have seen that the Toddler area and Zipwire are now in place and a huge new slide has been installed. Because we now have access to sufficient funds to finish the park it was considered sensible to keep the park closed until the final work is complete. The closure is likely to last until at least late April. The park closure is to avoid issues with safety and to enable new grass to establish. We understand the frustration of having the park closed for a few months but I hope you agree it will be worth it once it is complete. Wicksteed (who are supplying most of the equipment) and other contractors should be back on site in March and April to carry out the following installations: A new swing bank including a basket swing and junior swings A rocking simulator chair roundabout suitable for the older children A trim trail Picnicking area and paths A new central piece of equipment For up to date photos of the works, please see the ‘Park in Progress’ section on the website. Wicksteed have notified us that some children have been entering the park at night and have been interfering with some of the equipment. We would like to remind parents and children that the site is shut for their own safety. Please encourage your children to stay away for their own protection. We are planning to have a Park Opening Party when the works are complete so watch this space, or check the website for details. www.melbournplayparks.co.uk Samantha Wainwright, Chair, Melbourn Play Parks project.

• • • • •

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group The Women’s Group is a comprehensive organisation open to all women who, sharing in the Church’s worship, wish to meet together for further opportunities of study, friendship and service. The Group is for all women of any age. Meetings are held at 7.45 p.m. on the 4th Tuesday of each month, except in December, and we vary our venues between Melbourn and Meldreth. We charge £1 on the night to cover expenses and there is an opportunity to make a donation to the chosen charity of the year. We usually have a guest speaker or some in-house entertainment followed by a chance to have a chat over tea/coffee and biscuits. On March 26th we will meet at All Saints’ Community Hall for a Lent reflection which will be led by Alan Hay. 23rd April sees us meeting in Holy Trinity Church Meeting Room, Meldreth when Julie Draper will give us a talk entitled ‘Training patients to get the best out of your doctor.’ Christopher South will be with us on 28th May when he will lead us on an evening of ‘Images without a camera’ and this will take place in Holy Trinity Church Meeting Room, Meldreth. Should you wish to come along please do or contact Pat Smith or Sue Toule 260955 if you would like any more information.

Melbourn Village Fete & Music on the Moor Saturday 29th June 2013 – 1pm till late As ever the New Year brings fresh faces and new ideas to the Melbourn Village Fete & Music on the Moor committee. We’d like to send our thanks to those departing for all their help over the years and welcome our new members to what is already shaping up to be a fully packed event.

Attractions By popular demand we’ve re-booked the dynamic Dog & Duck Show to take part in the daytime attractions, along with our traditional events of Egg Throwing, Tug of War, Cadets Marching Band and Dog Talent Show. We’re looking forward to new attractions such as the Sawston Steel Band, the return of our local dance troupes, and more. Keep an eye on our website for information as attractions get confirmed. During the day, there will be plenty of funfair rides to entertain the younger ones, from chairoplanes, bouncy castles and slides, to the ever-popular climbing wall. Our bar, BBQ and tearoom will be on hand to keep you stocked up on energy, with the usual wide selection of beers, lagers, ciders, soft drinks, burgers, hot dogs, teas, coffees and a fabulous range of cakes. More fun and games will be provided by stalls manned by local clubs, charities and businesses selling plants and preserves through to temporary tattoos. If you are interested in being a stallholder please email stalls@melbournfete.co.uk for a booking form.

Music After last year’s response, we are delighted to announce that The Remnants will be our headliners at Music on the Moor, playing Rock, Pop and Soul covers from the fifties to the present day. They will be supported by other local bands (to be announced soon on our website). Our new acoustic stage will also allow us to provide you with a continuous variety of talent.

Classic Vehicles We’d like to put out a call to all classic vehicle owners and ask them to put the 29th June 2013 in their diary. The range of vehicles, from scooters to campervans last year was fantastic so we hope to encourage even more this year. Best in Class awards and mementos will be available. Please call Richard on 01763 262472 or email vehicles@melbournfete.co.uk for more information.

Competitions

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 anyone who requests our help 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 Advice on benefits Going to the Post Office to pay your bills Advice on getting repairs done in your home Arranging transport to the hospital or other appointments 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 £5 per week (a little more for couples). Margo Wherrell (Mobile Warden) 01763 260966 Mobile: 07935 315497 Email: tigress270549@aol.com Jeannie Seers (Deputy Warden) 01763 262651 Mobile: 07808 735066 Email: jeanseers1@ntlworld.com Joy Hyde (Assistant Warden) 01763 220139 Mobile: 07952 090089. Melbourn Warden Scheme is a registered charity.

The Melbourn Fete is all about bringing the village together to have fun, socialise melbournmagazine

Without their help to man the gates, set bands up, sell raffle tickets, serve at the bar and BBQ, act as stewards, erect the marquees on Friday (and test the beer!), clear down on Sunday, and much, much more, the Fete would not happen. If you are interested in being a volunteer, please give Paula a ring on 07402 273527 or email volunteers@ melbournfete.co.uk. We look forward to meeting you! See you at the Melbourn Fete & Music on the Moor on 29th June 2013! Catriona McKay, Melbourn Fete Committee (Treasurer) www.melbournfete.co.uk and raise money for local groups. So to go back to our roots and build on our community spirit, we’re hoping to bring you some traditional village competitions. We’re thinking flowers, cakes, photography, and of course, odd shaped vegetables! Got some ideas? Then please let us know by emailing competitions@melbournfete.co.uk. We look forward to seeing (and tasting) your entries later in the year!

Sponsors The whole event couldn’t happen without the support of Melbourn Parish Council who allow us to use the land and other resources including the Pavilion. We also depend on the generosity and enthusiasm of our sponsors and volunteers. If you are a company wanting to support your local community, or wondering how to improve your corporate responsibility, please contact Mary on 01763 262642 or sponsorship@melbournfete.co.uk. We are always looking for sponsorship, financially or in kind – perhaps you could help us with some printing, raffle prizes or publicity? We look forward to hearing from you.

Volunteers Last year’s amazing performance by the Olympic gamesmakers really highlighted something that we as a committee have always appreciated; just how important volunteers are! The generosity of local people giving up their time, from as little as a precious hour, really makes the Melbourn Fete.

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Forever Active Chair Based Exercise classes for Seniors 50-100+ years young Forever Active are running Chair Based Exercise classes for Seniors 50+, at the Community Centre, Vicarage Close. For further information text or telephone Phil Seymour 07813 452740 or email: philipjseymour@gmail.com.

Library News The start of work on the Police Station site is very good news for the Library. The future of the Library in Melbourn is now assured. There is a great deal of work to be done over the next year to ensure that the Library is accommodated in the best possible layout. We hope to keep the majority of our stock of books. If we have to reduce our stock we will take into account both the current usage and customer recommendations. In the meantime please limit book donations to small quantities of popular new books. We have placed one of our carousels in the Railway Station and stocked it with books. This has been a great success and has had to be restocked both by David at the Station and the Library Team. There is no need to get the books stamped and it is up to the borrowers whether they return the books or not. We would like borrowers to consider putting back a good book they have read in place of the book they have borrowed. We have formed a new book buying team. We have done this because the Library Service has almost stopped supplying us with new books. Three of our ladies have been considering possible choices of new books and have based their selections on listings by Richard & Judy and recommendations from the media and feedback from our own readers. The Richard & Judy books appeared to be very popular. They also obtained new children’s books for Christmas. The children’s picture books are being rotated with other stock every three months as they are very popular. Books on hold or reservations are proving very popular. There is some delay as the Library Service only provides us with one delivery every 2 weeks. This means that it can take up to four weeks even when the book requested is in stock at another library. In the event that the book isn’t in stock or is already reserved then it is possible for the Librarian to check your position in the queue. If you are registered for emails with the Library you will receive a notice from the Library as soon as your book arrives at Melbourn. Returning books borrowed from other Libraries or the Mobile can be done at Melbourn Library Access Point. Whilst we don’t offer an information service we will always try to provide information or recommend an information service. We keep minutes of SCDC meetings on our people’s computers. This became relevant recently when there was an SCDC consultation about new housing in Melbourn. Mike Stapleton

New chapter for village train station A carousel of free books is available at Meldreth train station with a varied selection books, donated to promote the joy of reading. Susan van de Ven, chairman of the Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group, said the carousel fits in beautifully with the station, which has now become a community focal point. People enjoy sitting in the Victorian waiting room with a tea or coffee. The books are donated by local people and will help raise awareness of the Melbourn Library. People can take them away and they don’t have to bring them back. Books can be donated at Melbourn Library.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, SITA Trust, Sport England and The Guardian. The Fields in Trust’s Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge was an initiative to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and other great events of 2012 and aimed to protect as many outdoor recreational spaces as possible in perpetuity, as permanent grassroots legacies within communities across the UK. Fields in Trust said, ‘Peter worked exceptionally hard to achieve the position of ‘The highest nominating Parish Council within the UK,’ with 7 sites protected as part of the Challenge. His efforts have exceeded all expectations and through his active promotion of the programme he helped achieve nominations from neighbouring Parishes.’ Alison Moore-Gwyn, then Chief Executive of Fields in Trust, said: ‘If all parts of the country had a ‘Peter Simmonett’ then local outdoor spaces Andy Barrow on the left, GB Wheelchair Rugby athlete, triple Paralympian and three time European gold medal winner, who presented the award to Peter Simmonett

QEII Community Champion Award Our readers may remember from the Winter issue of the magazine, one of our Parish Councillors, Peter Simmonett, who had been selected as a finalist for a prestigious QEII Fields in Trust Award. We are pleased to tell you that in November, at the inaugural Fields in Trust Awards Ceremony at Lords Cricket Ground in London, Peter was presented with the prestigious QEII Community Champion Award. Peter was nominated for his achievement and tireless work in promoting the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge in Cambridgeshire, and was selected from 11 regional finalists throughout the UK by a judging panel including representatives from Asda,

melbournmagazine

would never be under threat, would never lack for funding and certainly would always be enjoyed by everyone in the towns and villages that they serve. Peter has taken The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge to all areas near his base in Melbourn in Cambridgeshire and has indeed championed its cause locally – it is small wonder that we have more Queen Elizabeth II Fields in East Anglia than in any other region – we thank him for all that he has done to support our work.’

Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group We’ll be holding our AGM on 13 March 2013, 7:30, at Meldreth Manor School. All our meetings are open to the public and we are always delighted to welcome newcomers. Please do come along and find out what we’ve been up to this past year, including prospective changes at Foxton Level Crossing. There is loads of information on our award-winning webpage of the Melbourn Village Website: www.melbourn.org.uk/railusergroup/ Any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Susan van de Ven, Chairman Email: Susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk 261833

Royston Ladies Circle Royston Ladies Circle organised a charity quiz on Friday 1st February. After the success of last years quiz we decided to

COFFEE STOP Every Saturday 10.30am to 12noon Rombouts coffee & biscuits for 80p at

All Saints’ Community Hall 10

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organise another this year and it has been equally successful. Around 90 people took part in the quiz, enjoying a jacket potato and chilli supper and there was a raffle with some fantastic prizes. In total over £900 was raised on the night, an absolutely fantastic amount. This money will be donated to local charities and causes throughout the year. Thank you to all who came along and supported us and to those who kindly donated a raffle prize. Last year, some of the money provided funding to the Charity ‘Friends of Chernobyl’ which brings children from Belarus to our area for a few weeks a year, dramatically improving their lives and health. We donated £30 per child to help buy a pair of sturdy shoes to take back to Belarus with them. We also donated some money to ‘Melbourn Playpark Association’ to help rebuild and reconstruct Clear Crescent park in Melbourn. Furthermore, this Christmas we bought a gift to all the children who were in care on Christmas day within the local area. This year we have already had some appeals put to us and look forward to any more. If you have a charitable request you wish to make to us or if you are interested in getting involved, please contact Laura Light, Chair, on 07748847021 or Hannah Paradis, Vice Chair, on 01763220967. We meet on the second and fourth Thursday evening of each month. As well as our charity work we also meet to have fun and socialise with such events as speciality bread making, ten pin bowling and street dancing to name a few.

Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help Group Lunch Club At the time of writing this, we have just returned to lunch club following our usual Christmas closure. Once again, we celebrated with our Christmas Lunch on the 20th December when we were joined by visiting councillors, and some of our drivers. A very enjoyable time was had by all. On the previous Thursday, 13th Dec., we were entertained by Melbourn Primary School Choir. Three members of staff, together with the choir, came and sang carols to our diners. They were lovely, and we very much appreciated them taking time to come and visit us. After they had sung us a selection of carols, they went on a ‘meet and greet’ to our diners, and helped hand out raffle prizes. They were a joy. Thank you all. Faces over the year have changed, and sadly we lost a few members this year. The latest was Mabel Brown, who had been with lunch club a few years and will be sadly missed. Another lady, Eileen Overton, had not been with us very long as she was new to Vicarage Close, but she will also be missed. On a bright note, Aileen Ward moved away, and hopefully has a bright future where she is now living. Also, Margaret Bell has moved into Moorlands Court, and we hope she will be very happy there. Some new faces joined us, and if you would like to join the waiting list, please phone me. As and when transport becomes available I will contact you. A big thank you to Susan van de Ven, and the kind people of Melbourn Division

Demonstration of Hearing Help Equipment A chance to view and try Telephones, TV Amplifiers, alerts and more

Thursday 21st March 2013 From 10.00am – 12.30pm Drop-in anytime Scotsdales Garden Centre, 120 Cambridge Road, Great Shelford, CB22 5JT See the website for more information www.camtadcambs.org.uk

Oil Club. The savings this time have been donated to Lunch Club, for which we are very grateful. I do intend to leave lunch club as organiser later this year, so therefore we are looking for someone to replace me. I feel the need to use my little grey cells before they diminish! I am investigating adult education, with the intention of pursuing some sort of ‘learning’ from September. If you would like more information as to what is involved, please phone me. Belated Happy New Year greeting from all at lunch club. Jayne White 220250 jayne.white1@ntlworld.com

Macmillan Cancer Support Want to give something back? Do you have some spare time and want to give something back to help people affected by cancer? Macmillan in Hertfordshire are always looking for new volunteers to help raise more funds for people affected by cancer. Throughout the county we have Committees and Fundraising Groups who are always looking for new members – these groups organise exciting events and collections in their local towns and in 2012 raised over £100,000. Moreover, we greatly need more volunteers to take up other roles including cheerers to support fundraisers at runs and local sporting events, local collections volunteers, and Macmillan speakers to help spread the word about the great work of Macmillan. Every day in the UK another 822 people are diagnosed with cancer. We want to be there to reach every one of them and we need your help to do this. For more information please call the Macmillan Fundraising Support Centre on 03001000 200.

served by volunteers, which gives very elderly residents a chance to socialise and enjoy a meal together, and to have a change of scene. If you’d like to join the Oil Club please let me know, or contact our bulk buyer direct (Jeremy Cole: 01954 719 452 / 07860 904 045). If you’d like to know more about the club and how it got started, please see: www. susanvandeven.mycouncillor.org.uk/oilclub/ Equally, if you would like to know more about the Luncheon Club, whether to join or to help out, please contact Jayne White on 01763-220250. They are always very grateful to hear from new volunteers, and the group who make it all possible find the task rewarding and enjoyable. Susan van de Ven, Melbourn Division Oil Club, susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk, 01763 261833

Oil Club Anyone reliant on oil for household heating purposes is welcome to become a member of the ‘Melbourn Division Oil Club’, which in addition to Melbourn serves Meldreth, Shepreth, Foxton, Heydon and the Chishills. The purpose of the club is to help people access the lowest prices on household heating oil – this is done by pooling orders, channelled through a bulk buyer. There is no membership cost. At the end of every year the club receives a rebate from the bulk buyer, on the basis of numbers of customers ordering over a certain volume, and this is donated to a local charity. Our first rebate went to Melbourn Area Youth Development. This year our rebate goes to the Meldreth and Melbourn Self Help Group Luncheon Club – a weekly lunch, melbournmagazine

Nature

River Mel Restoration Group This month we have turned our column over to one of our working-party volunteers, Norman Shippey. There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ volunteer, nor are they all local. Norman travels from Cottenham to join us and you could count the number of working-parties that he has missed on the fingers of one hand. Being a fisherman he understands the river and its importance both to wildlife and the wider community. Over to Norman… ‘Most residents of Melbourn and Meldreth will be aware of the River Mel Restoration Group. A dedicated environmentally aware group, who in 2006, began the process of consulting with the various interested bodies, gaining their permissions, drawing up plans and, most importantly, seeking agreements with the many riparian owners along the course of the river. I am privileged to be a member of the Group having joined early in 2007 when the physical work in the river was about to begin and as a fly-fisherman was immediately attracted to a conservation project restoring a chalk stream. It is a sad fact that many water authorities during the 1950s/1970s with good intent and little forethought canalized and dredged many of our rivers from which many have still not fully recovered. The Mel has remained neglected for too long, fifty years perhaps, and it is evident by the blossoming membership of the Group that a significant

number of residents think so too and are prepared to give up their spare time for the river and for the flora and fauna that it supports. Nothing demonstrates the enthusiasm for our local environment than how the project, which started in Meldreth, was so quickly extended into Melbourn creating such a strong mutual endeavour. Much of the early work has now matured and with vegetation restored softened some of the raw visual aspects of the river. I have in mind

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a very old willow tree and in danger of falling into the river. A heavy branch angled over the water was removed and the tree pollarded quite severely. This treatment may have caused some comment at first but now, perhaps two years on, the willow is fully recovered and will enhance the river bank far into the future. It is an encouraging fact that whilst we have an active core of members who turn out regularly every three weeks or so either in the river or acting in support on the bank but also many more members who have joined the project to provide funding and moral support for the Group’s future work. All are valued and necessary as the project is still many years from completion. The RMRG has received so much encouragement and support. In 2009 after our Committee received our Conservation Award from the President of the Wild Trout Trust, Shaun Leonard, commented ‘there are two types of people in conservation, those that say what should be done and those that see what should be done and do it. To the Group as a whole it has been most encouraging to have received so much local support from businesses and individuals with funding and material and especially school children who have been involved with planting up the restored banks. I’m sure that in years to come many of them will remember being involved and will be proud to have taken part.’ Norman Shippey

in winter, but if in doubt the slender whippy twigs now end in clusters of shiny coppery brown slender, pointed leaf buds, looking rather like chrysalises and with a clear criss-crossing pattern. Even tighter clusters of pinkish buds now adorn the tips of most cherry trees, like little rosettes, and on most species the twigs have a distinctively wrinkled surface. Ash trees are very different, with the buds in dark charcoal grey, held close in to the branch tip and shaped like tiny hooves. Perhaps most uplifting at this time of year are the rainbow shades from crimson to bright yellow of the whippy new growth on limes and willows; the buds of the lime sometimes described as ‘like a boxing glove with one small red bud scale and one large red bud scale’, and fringed with fine hairs. An added bonus of bare branches is being able to see the great industry invested by the birds and squirrels in making their nests and drays; their shapes and textures almost as varied as the host trees themselves, so do get out and test your knowledge of the winter treescape. The Botanic Garden is open 10am–5pm through February and March. Admission is £4.50, Giftaid admission £4.95 or join the Friends, get free admission and help the Garden grow! For news and events, detailed information about the Garden or to discover this week’s Plant Picks from the Head of Horticulture, please visit the website at www.botanic.cam.ac.uk Bare Stemmed Beauty

Bare Beauty A crisp day in deep winter brings out the structure of a garden and highlights the mass, patterns and colour that trees can bring to the winter landscape. Bark patterns come to the fore from the armoured silver plates of the towering Scots pines to the fluttering coppery strips peeling away from the paperbark maples, from the burnished tones of alabaster white through orange and pink to deep mahogany red of the many birches in our collection to the chevrons of the snakebark maples. Larger specimens like beeches, oaks and black walnuts create vaulted domes of bare branch lattices, silhouetted against silver skies. Glorious and graphic, the trees nevertheless – at first glance – seem static and dormant but a closer inspection of the branch tips hint at the life about to burst out – indeed once leaves have been shed in autumn and in the absence of flowers, tree shape, branch tip buds and bark patterns are key identification tools. The enormous treacle-covered sticky buds of horse chestnuts are already swelling – if in doubt, look further down the branches to find large shield-shaped scars created when last year’s leaf stalks dropped. They are sometimes thought of as horseshoe-shaped and there are even seven ‘nails’ clearly visible indicating where the vascular bundles that transport food and water around the tree were severed during autumn leaf fall. The smooth grey trunks of common beeches and the domed shape are usually enough for identifying the tree

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MELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL MVC, The Moor, Melbourn, Cambs. SG8 6EF Telephone: 01763 262494 e-mail: parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk Minutes of Parish Council Meetings and Planning Committee meetings are available on the village website Chairman Donald Mowatt 23, High Street SG8 6AL

268388

Vice-Chairman Maureen Townsend 32 New Road SG8 6ER

Peter Horley, MVC, The Moor, Melbourn. SG8 6EF 262494 E-mail parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk Website www.melbournpc.co.uk

Employees Handyman and Caretaker Peter Andrews Emergency mobile. 07778 682245

261227 222558 261283 261225 221058 262534 268388 260070 220363 260743 260959 221373 262247 243312

Village Ranger Keith Rudge, 4 Dolphin Lane, SG8 6AF

221212

Internal Auditor Bruce Huett, 20 Rose Lane SG8 6AD

232855

County Councillor Susan van de Ven 95 North End, Meldreth susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.

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District Councillors Val Barrett, 2 Station Road Jose Hales, 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH cllr.hales@josehales.me.uk

261227 221058

South Cambs M.P. Andrew Lansley

01954 212707

South Cambs M.E.P. Robert Sturdy

01954 211790

The Parish Office is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday from 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm from 4 pm. The office is not normally open on Wednesdays or Fridays. As the Clerk is sometimes out on Parish business it is advisable to ring 262494 to ensure that the Clerk is available. Meetings of the Planning Committee are normally held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month commencing at 7.15 pm at the Parish Office. Council Meetings are normally held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7.15 pm at All Saints’ Community Hall. The Press Royston & Buntingford Mercury Media Centre, 40 Ware Road, Hertford, SG13 7HU 01992 526639 Royston Crow 6, Melbourn St, Royston, SG8 7BX 07557 232154 Cambridge News 3 Melbourn Street, Royston, SG8 7BP 249144 Fax 244502 BBC Radio Cambridge Reception Newsroom

www.melbournpc.co.uk

260959

Clerk & Office

Councillors Val Barrett 2 Station Road, SG8 6DX Irene Bloomfield 78 Russet Way, SG8 6HF Kimmi Crosby, 20 Norgett’s Lane SG8 6HS Rosemary Gatward 94 High Street, SG8 6AL Jose Hales 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH Michael Linnette 11 Chapel Lane, SG8 6BN Donald Mowatt White Walls, 23 High Street Mike Sherwen 3 Hale Close, SG8 6ET Peter Simmonett 42 Greengage Rise SG8 6DS Christopher Stead 70 Russet Way pm only Maureen Townsend 32 New Road, SG8 6BY Bob Tulloch 25 Hale Close, SG8 6ET Richard Wakerley 32 Chalkhill Barrow, SG8 6EQ

Council news

01223 259696 01223 358510

From the Parish Clerk – Peter Horley I write this message on the morning I have struggled into work having done battle with the snow and ice. I know that by the time you read this piece the small shoots of Spring may well be in evidence but I would like to say some things about the winter months: firstly, the grit bins are only filled twice a year and they are specifically for the public highway only and not private use; secondly, clearing the pathways should be the responsibility of the County Council. Unfortunately this does not happen and therefore depends on the good offices of individuals and businesses to clear the pathways in front of their properties for the benefit of all; thirdly, it is incumbent on all to keep a look out for vulnerable people who may be struggling in bouts of severe weather. The Parish Council remains committed to assisting its residents and if anyone believes they require assistance at this difficult time of year they should not hesitate to contact the parish office. We cannot meet all concerns but will endeavour to put you in touch with those individuals or organisations which may be able to help. The second priority at this time of the year is for the Parish Council to set its part of the Precept; the amount of money each resident is asked to pay through the Council Tax. It has proved a very difficult task this year and has resulted in some difficult decisions: current government strictures have changed previous means by which town and parish councils set their Precepts, Melbourn is no exception. The Parish Council has been able to hold the precept for two years but is now faced with unforeseen funding reductions by SCDC resulting from government decisions. The Council discussed various options at length and unanimously voted for the option that ensures better protection against future council tax rises and enables the council to carry out future parish work programmes. The relevant figures are that, for 201213, the Precept was £190,309, which is to be reduced for the coming financial year to £176,734. The option agreed by the Parish Council is to increase the 2013-14 figure by 2.5% to £181,152. If any resident requires any greater explanation then do not hesitate to contact one of the councillors whose contact details are available in the magazine the website or contact the Parish Office. Peter Horley, Clerk to Melbourn Parish Council

Localised Council Tax Support Scheme As previously mentioned by the Clerk, the Government recently made changes to funding to help eligible households with their Council Tax payments under the Welfare Reform Bill, which in turn affects the setting of Melbourn Parish Councils precept for 2013/14. From 1st April the Government will change the way Council Tax Benefits are paid and replace it with the Local Council Tax Support scheme. To pay for the new continued on page 18

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Promoting engineering as a career High Street Drainage Improvement Scheme You may be wondering what all the digging and mess around the High Street and Melbourn Village College has been all about? Well it’s a scheme to improve the drainage of the High Street and prevent the regular flooding which occurs every time there has been any rainfall of note. The construction of the long awaited drainage improvement scheme between the High Street and the Moor started on 10th December 2012 and was completed at the end of January on programme. The scheme was commissioned by Melbourn Parish Council, with funding from Cambridgeshire County Council, to alleviate flooding on the High Street by increasing run-off capacity to the water outfall. Atkins, who is the principal contractor for the scheme, also designed the route of the new 450mm diameter surface water drainage system. The drainage route runs from the High Street (opposite Vicarage Close) along the verge to the new housing development at the Old Police Station site. It then passes through the development site and into the grounds of Melbourn Village College and follows the boundary fence to the outfall in the existing ditch at the front of the college in The Moor. As a result of partnership working between the Parish Council, the County Council and Atkins, it has been possible to significantly reduce the amount of congestion and cost of the scheme by taking advantage of the re-development of the Old Police Station site. Installing the new drainage system through the Old Police Station and around Melbourn Village College reduced the length of drainage work required compared to a route fully along the High Street and The Moor. In turn, this significantly reduced the amount of traffic congestion and general disruption to Melbourn residents by negating the need for road closures and diversions had the new system been routed solely on the public highway. This saved a potential five weeks of road closures on Melbourn High Street and three weeks of closure on The Moor.

of maths and sciences in delivering the scheme. During the site visit, students were able to see the actual works and had a chance to ask Peter Nicholas, the drainage scheme supervisor, questions about the construction methods used. Both Peter and Livio highlighted the critical importance of health, safety and the environment in both the design and construction phase and discussed the role of civil engineers in improving the environment more generally. The students showed great awareness with many expressing a keen interest in Highway Maintenance Apprenticeships which are offered by Atkins. Overall, it was a good learning opportunity for everyone involved which it is hoped can be repeated in the future. Atkins made the school visit to promote engineering as a career under the STEMNET initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network). STEMNET creates opportunities to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics which not only enables them to develop their creativity, problem-solving and employability skills, but widens career choices and supports the UK economy’s future competitiveness. For more information, please contact: Rob Bayley, Atkins Business Development Manager, Highways & Transportation Telephone 01223 814173

Village College School Visit To raise awareness of the scheme, Atkins visited pupils in years 10 and 11 studying for a BTEC in Construction at the Melbourn Village College. The visit coincided with the completion of the construction phase at the end of January and consisted of a short presentation followed by a visit to the construction site so that the students could see in more detail some of the work and skills involved in delivering the draining scheme. Livio Martelli, a highway engineer from Atkins’ design team in Cambridge, gave the classroom presentations on both the design and construction elements of the scheme. He explained the different phases of a project, the roles and responsibilities of those involved and the importance melbournmagazine

scheme, South Cambs District Council (SCDC) has reduced the Tax base value for all homes in the SCDC district, in our case from £1966.01p per B and D property to £1825.08p per band D property. This has the net effect of reducing the ability to set the precept at the same level as has been set for the last two years by the Parish Council. The precept for 2012/13 was £190,309 which levied a charge of £96.80 per month for 10 months for a Band D property. As a result of the Tax base changes, the collectable precept will now be £176,734 but the payment due by Council tax payers is still the £96.80 figure as described above. This is a £13,575 drop in available funds that the Parish Council needs with which to continue delivering the services it provides to the community. To fill this gap South Cambs District Council (SCDC) will receive funding from central government to make a once-only grant payment to Parish Councils (for Melbourn this will be £13,224) so that the Parish Council and District Councils can adjust to the new scheme. However it is understood that in line with government cuts, this grant will not be offered at the same level in 2014/15, leaving a potential large hole in the village finances. The Parish Council has been working hard over the last two years to keep the precept at the £190,000 and the new Localised Council Tax Support Scheme has come as a particularly hard blow. For the Parish Council to protect the services it delivers and meet inflationary pressures, a 2.5% increase in Parish Council tax has been agreed and represents a 24p rise per-month for a Band D property, or £2.42 per year. This will however only provide £4400 and will still leave the precept short by £9175 in 2014/15 if no further Localised Council Tax Support Scheme grants are forthcoming next year.

Local Plan 2011–2031 Consultation Issues and Options www.scambs.gov.uk/content/south-cambridgeshire-local-plan

The background In the summer of 2012 South Cambridgeshire District Council sought the views of residents throughout the district on a wide range of issues and options. This consultation was to help create a new Local Plan on how the district should be developed over the next 20 years. In Melbourn three sites were identified that would hold approximately 120 houses. In late December 2012 two additional sites were introduced by planners offering space for an additional 270 houses. A further public consultation was held from the 7th January to 18th February, asking residents their views on these new sites.

The Village Plan We have been very fortunate to have had such a comprehensive Village Plan, that was published in 2011 and formally approved by SCDC in January 2012. This identified additional housing as an area of importance to residents, although feedback from the questionnaire was conflicting. There was a strong desire for more affordable housing for

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

those people who wish to live locally or who work locally. (The MVP research identified 1000+ people who commute to Melbourn every day to work. Annual turnover for businesses in the village exceeds £250,000,000). Of the 1,423 people that responded to the question ‘should there be initiatives to provide homes for local people?’ 64% agreed or strongly agreed. Only 12% disagreed with the remainder offering no opinion. Conversely, many residents felt strongly that Melbourn should not grow further, as it is already one of the largest villages in South Cambridgeshire. 1,646 people responded to the statement ‘Melbourn should be allowed to grow beyond its present boundaries’. 68% either disagreed or strongly disagreed. 18% agreed with the statement. Associated research shows that the negative views on new building are underpinned by the deterioration of the local infrastructure. Roads, traffic congestion, poor pavements, school buildings are part of this. There is the fear that, when adding significantly to village size, such issues will not be addressed and simply become worse. Melbourn is known as a Minor Rural Centre which states that residential development and redevelopment up to an indicative maximum scheme size of 30 dwellings will be permitted within the village frameworks. Where development of a larger scale (9 to 30 dwellings) would place a material burden on the existing village services and facilities the District Council will use its powers under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to secure financial contributions at an appropriate level towards their development or improvement.

The future Views from the two consultations will be used to form a draft development plan that will take the district up to 2031. A further consultation will then take place in the summer 2013 on this draft plan. From this final consultation a proposal will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for public examination around January 2014 No further details are currently available, but the Parish Council will keep residents updated by means of the village website, the village notice board or Melbourn Magazine as we become aware. You can also keep up-to-date on South Cambs District Councils website, www.scambs.gov.uk/content/southcambridgeshire-local-plan. There is a wealth of ‘complicated’ information on their site.

Road Maintenance The Parish Council are often asked about maintenance of roads and paths throughout the village and why they have been allowed to be become in such a bad state of repair. It could be seen as the Council passing the buck when they say ‘It is not our responsibility’ and in part, the Council would be right in doing so. The highways and pavements throughout the village are historically the responsibility of the County Council Highways division, or as in the case of a number of areas in the village, the District Council. There are of course a

number of private or un-adopted roads in Melbourn and these come under the tenancy agreement of the property owner or housing associations. However, the County Council have now agreed to set a budget of £90 million over four years, for road and path maintenance of the worst-affected roads and pavements throughout the County. With the possibility of monies becoming available to the village, the Parish Council have been in liaison with the County Council in respect of the condition of the roads and paths in Melbourn and a survey has been carried out by councillors in all parts of the village, utilising photographic evidence of the worst affected areas. The survey has been submitted to the County Council and we are currently waiting for a decision on which roads will be prioritised. Although the Parish Council does not have statutory powers for pavements, it has however been working very closely with the County Council highways division, looking into two major problem paths within the village. Vicarage Walk, (which runs alongside Vicarage Close) and the path that runs along the back of the memorial are used by many of our older residents. The County Council will be improving these two paths in the near future, with a contribution towards costs from the Parish Council.

From the County Councillor The spring issue of the magazine always comes with news of the county council’s proposed budget cuts that are having a growing impact on our community. However, Melbourn has proven to be a tenacious and creative place, and always moving forward in spite of hard times. Pippins Children’s Centre: Going to press, we know that under budget consideration is the amalgamation of several children’s centres into one. The proposal is to cluster services for a large swathe of South Cambs into one, and for us this includes Melbourn, Bassingbourn, Comberton, Gamlingay and Cambourne – and most likely losing the service on our doorstep in Melbourn. This comes not very long after the party to celebrate the brand new Pippins premises adjacent to Melbourn Primary, and would fundamentally change the nature of what children’s centres have to offer. Community Fundraising: With so little wriggle room in the county budget, campaigning groups play an increasingly important role in finding funding for community projects. A free workshop, ‘Fundraising for Your Community’, is taking place on 12 March, 1-4, at the Gamlingay Eco Hub. This is specifically designed to help small community groups find funding for local projects that benefit children and young people, and there will be practical help on the day to address individual needs for any projects that anyone wants to bring along to nurture. Street lighting: The street lighting work which has been dominating the winter months is part of the county council’s 25-year contract with Balfour Beatty to replace and reduce by about 11% the entire stock in order to run lighting more efficiently and cheaply. The idea is that everyone should have received helpful communication from Balfour Beatty through their letter box before work in their neighbourhood started,

explaining what the project is about and offering contact details for queries. Much of the work has gone smoothly, but we know that there have also been a number of problems. Parish and district councillors and I have been in constant contact with Balfour Beatty, and also the County Council in their oversight role, to help ensure that these are properly addressed. Infrastructure and Local Plan proposals: ‘Where is the Melbourn Village Plan?’ I heard someone ask at the public consultation event on January 14th. In the age of ‘localism’ there is a decidedly disjointed quality in the way long-term planning is handled. While the Local Plan and its proposal for 270 extra homes in Melbourn is district council, not county council-led, any rapid and large increase in population demands supporting infrastructure and there are big questions to be addressed about funding gaps for transport, roads and schools.

A10 Corridor Cycle Campaign A brilliant start to the A10 Corridor Cycle Campaign took place January 29th, when in the bleakest week of the year, the biggest group I’d ever seen turn out for a new idea came storming in, sleeves rolled up and raring to go. Holding the meeting in the dead of winter may have turned out keenest of all. Virtually every village between Royston and Cambridge was represented, whether through attending the meeting or writing in to volunteer and be involved. An overwhelming demand for safe cycling between Melbourn and Royston was immediately apparent, most notably for essential transport to work – cycling being the cheapest form of transport other than walking – but also for shopping, appointments and leisure. Such a very short distance between the two makes it a compelling case. A strong contingent of Royston-based people attended the meeting and will be lobbying their councillors and officers to tackle shared problems from the Hertfordshire angle. Similarly, there was strong interest in the journey north toward Cambridge. The group will be investigating prospects for an off-road path to bypass Harston and applying pressure on the Trumpington Meadows developer to speed up the expected link between Trumpington Park and Ride and Hauxton, via a farm bridge over the M11 and avoiding the M11 roundabout. This is already approved but very slow in coming. The main body of the A10 off-road path itself obviously needs serious work, and there are many smaller projects to be explored and supported in and between our villages. Underlying the overall project is awareness that combinations of cycles, vehicles and pedestrians sharing the same space are problematic – and so we need to find ways of separating them. The trick will be to anticipate opportunities for central government funding, which are much less likely to filter down to us without the backing a strong local campaigning group. The county council’s forthcoming transport strategy for the Greater Cambridge area, including all of South Cambs, will have a very strong focus on cycling infrastructure, but it is the areas closer to Cambridge which are currently in the strongest position to tap into funding – and we need to get into the fray. continued on page 22

melbournmagazine

The Dolphin - a welcoming pub worth taking a detour for…

DOLPHIN

High Street, Melbourn

The Country Pub is a singularly English phenomenon, a well stocked bar, ale from the hand-pump, wholesome, hearty food are the hallmarks of a great country pub. The Dolphin, nestled in the pretty village of Melbourn, offers all of these plus a warm friendly welcome. Refurbishment only a short time ago, business is brisk with new managers at the helm making the Dolphin one of the best hostelries in the area. An all new ‘Flamegrill’ menu is due to be launched in the early spring, featuring an array of classic pub dishes, including juicy steaks, flame-grill burgers, oak smoked belly pork and much, much more! Sunday lunch is our specialty, succulent roasts with fresh seasonal vegetables, why not treat the family and leave the washing up to us! Food is available all day every day from 12 noon until 9pm Monday – Sunday. With warmer weather just around the corner, the Dolphin is the ideal place to relax following a country walk. Enjoy a pint of real ale, a glass of something sparkling or a hot cup of coffee! With ample parking and a large well kept garden, there really is something for everyone at the Dolphin.

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Profile Doug Tidey Anyone who has walked down Rose Lane in the summertime has, I am willing to bet, stopped to admire Doug Tidey’s colourful garden. It is a mass of colour – and there is usually a very contented black cat, Eric, lounging somewhere nearby. Doug was born in Newmarket – they were a ‘horsey’ family as his grandfather was trainer to Dr Boyce Barrow – a Harley Street surgeon. His son, Doug’s father, was a jockey until he had an accident and fractured his skull. He lay unconscious for 10 days, but he was under the care of Boyce Barrow and eventually made a good recovery although he was not able to continue racing. He became ‘Head Lad’ for Joe Orbell and then when Doug was about three years old the family moved to Old North Road in Royston and he became Head Lad for Basil Briscoe. The stables were situated in the centre of the town in King Street and I was amazed to learn that between 80 and 100 horses were stabled there before the Second World War. The string would be led out along Heath Avenue to the gallops on the Heath – I reckon there were some good opportunities for collecting manure for the roses along that route! In 1927 Basil Briscoe, along with the eccentric philanthropist Dorothy Paget, bought a young horse called Golden Miller and recognising the potential, Doug’s father broke him in and trained him to become a Grand National winner, one of the greatest steeplechasers in racing history. Doug had two older and one younger brother and although they had ponies and rode a lot they all grew too tall to become jockeys.

When the war came, Mr. Tidey could not join the forces because of his previous injuries and as there was no racing at that time, he became a driver on the airfields. When the war ended he went back to work for Willy Stevenson and had a hand in the training of Grand National winner ‘Oxo’ and the Derby winner Arctic Prince. Doug’s uncle Les Tidey was the ‘travelling Head Lad’ and he ‘travelled the horses’ often accompanied by his young nephews. From the age of 8 or 9 Doug had worked as an errand boy for Marsoms in Queens Road and during the war he delivered meat to Bassingbourn on his bike. When he was 14 his father got him a seven year apprenticeship with Pepper and Haywood to become an electrician. At the end of this time he did his deferred National Service where he was put in the Halton No.1 School of Cookery and learned the art of cooking! Leaving the RAF behind, he spent a couple of years as a chef at The Bull and then The Banyers in Royston and when Anglia Television started he sometimes worked as an aerial rigger too! It was whilst he was on a roof fixing an aerial that he first saw his wife-to-be Pattie delivering bread and gave her a wolf whistle! Doug’s best friend was the jockey Dennis Ryan and they used to ride out together on Sunday mornings. Doug had got engaged to a local girl but Dennis stepped in and stole her away. ‘I suppose you want to punch me on the nose?’ he said – to which Doug replied ‘No fear, I’ve just lost my girl I don’t want to lose my best friend as well!’ But a marriage never happened with that young lady (she kept both rings, by the way) for Doug went on to marry Pattie and Dennis married Willy Stevenson’s daughter Marshella, who is still a great friend. Their son who attended Melbourn Village College went on to become a jockey and rode the Derby winner Benny The Dip. Marrying at the age of thirty and with new responsibilities Doug set up as a self employed electrical contractor, living in Water Lane. His business was very successful and Doug says that when he drives around the area there is not a street in any village where he cannot say ‘I worked on that house’. Being an electrician can be a somewhat dangerous business, and it did happen once that he cut a live wire with un-insulated snippers. The violence of the shock threw him onto his back and he lay twitching and wondering if he were going to die! He was so relieved at his recovery that the following Sunday he decided to go to church to give thanks for his narrow escape. When he appeared at the church door Jeff Puddock the Churchwarden was so surprised that he dropped his pile of hymn books! Added to which, as he left the vicar shook his hand and asked if he was a visitor! After a couple of years in Water Lane one of his customers, Miss Rhodes, offered him the cottage in Rose Lane which they rented and later bought. Pattie worked at the well known dress shop Jane’s of Newmarket and is well remembered as a very stylish lady who always drove a racy sports car. They had one son continued on page 23

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A reminder of the multitude of challenges such a campaign will inevitably have to contend with had little impact on the group’s enthusiasm. A website for the campaign is now being established and an A10 Corridor Cycle Ride planned for 19 May. Please do get in touch if you’d like to know more or get involved in any way, and thanks again to all those who have given us such a great start.

Practical Solutions Group The ‘PSG’ continues to be active, liaising between different community groups and working especially to support activities for young people. Our regular meetings bring together Melbourn Village College staff and students, councillors, police and representatives of various village groups. The PSG is also dedicated to helping out where there are problems between people, through identifying those in a position to help. Minutes of the group’s meetings are posted on the village website for anyone who’d like to learn more. Susan van de Ven, County Councillor, Telephone 261833 susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk

Questions for your County and District Councillors? We hold a drop-in advice surgery at Melbourn Library Access Point (in the green portable cabin adjacent to the entrance to Melbourn Village College) on the first Monday of the month, 2:30pm–3:30pm. If this is not convenient for you and you’d like to make an appointment to meet at another time or closer to home, please let us know. County Councillor Susan van de Ven, 01763 261833 www.susanvandeven.com District Councillor Jose Hales, 01763 221058 jose@josehales.me.uk

Melbourn Area Youth Development (MAYD) In response to the County Council’s withdrawal of funding for open-access youth clubs in 2011, a number of parish councils got together to create the Melbourn Area Youth Development (MAYD). This is a unique case of a cluster of parishes working together to support positive activities for their collective community of young people. Launched in May 2011 the project was set-up to maintain the long-established weekly County-run open access youth club held on the premises of Melbourn Village College. This is the main financial cost to MAYD and is borne by the participating parishes. The club is open to all children from these parishes and others, encouraging its use by groups of friends. The participating villages are Melbourn, Meldreth, Foxton, Fowlmere and Shepreth, all of which feed into Melbourn Village College, the designated secondary school for the area. This is a natural clustering as participating children are likely to mix in their school lives and hence to develop social ties across the villages.

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needed to help before, during and after this year’s Melbourn Fete & Music on the Moor on Sat 29th June 2013

Please spare us an hour or two If you would like to get involved contact:

volunteers@melbournfete.co.uk or Paula Froggatt: 07402 273527

Melbourn Village Fete - 20 years supporting our community

MAYD helps on a number of programmes for young people and supports ideas for new ones. It encourages an ethos of community support for young people. Working with Royston and District Community Transport (RDCT), MAYD set up a transport scheme to ensure that any child wanting to attend Youth Club was able to do so. RDCT is on standby to provide transport to any special activities on offer. In the summer of 2012, it provided transport for an arts programme for students, based at MVC and in conjunction with the Wysing Arts Centre. A series of summer holiday sessions were run in each of the participating parishes, with an Olympics theme. Volunteer community support is encouraged by MAYD to enable additional after-school clubs at Melbourn Village College. It actively sponsors the MVC Basketball Club which is student-coached and run and in its third year. This consists of a core group from the cluster of villages (Melbourn 2, Meldreth 3, Shepreth 3, Foxton 2, Chishill 1). MAYD sponsored the Bike Bank pilot project, a bicycle maintenance course teaching employable skills and providing participants with a free, refurbished second-hand bicycle upon course completion. Cambridgeshire Police are committed to supplying free bicycles from their stock of unclaimed stolen bikes. The course is aimed at young people at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). The first six-week course ran in Summer 2012 and was delivered by Outspoken and funded with a grant by Young Lives. Further sessions are now being planned. Transitions funding has been received from Cambridgeshire County Council to enable it to employ experienced administrative support to help oversee the development of its youth club programme and other potential opportunities. The existence of MAYD as an organisation dedicated to youth development facilitates access to county council support for anti-social behaviour problems that occur from time to time. Melbourn is overwhelmingly the largest village and bears the lion’s share of MAYD costs, while MVC provides the premises for the youth club to meet.

A New Generation of the Saunders at The Sheene Mill!... The Sheene Mill Restaurant and Hotel was once the ‘place to go’ in Melbourn but since Sally & Steven Saunders (Fellow Master Chef of Great Britain & Former Celebrity Chef) left the business in 2006 it slowly began to decline. Watching the beautiful picturesque building become shabby and unloved was something that my partner and I could not let happen. With a background in hospitality, a real passion for good food and lots of support from family and friends, we really believe that The Sheene Mill will be the huge success it deserves to be. Our vision for The Sheene Mill is very important but also quite simple… Fantastic food, excellent service and a warm, friendly atmosphere.

So what will be changing…. We have big expectations and big plans to put the venue back on the culinary map. The food will speak for itself. We have created a truly spectacular menu using the finest local ingredients, cooked to perfection. The menu is imaginative and encapsulates everything that The Sheene Mill is about. A full decoration programme has already been put into full force, re-training of our staff, introducing new and exciting menus and most importantly, gaining back the trust of the local people. We have plans to improve the exterior of the venue too, from that much needed lick of paint to the gardening. In the summer we will be building a beautiful outdoor seating area next to the lake. You can expect Jazz nights, 80’s band nights, wine tasting, cheese tasting, book clubs, luncheons… The list goes on and on! (Please keep an eye on our Website for the latest upcoming Events). We don’t just want The Sheene Mill to be somewhere that you visit once a year for a special occasion. We want it to be a place you can come for a light bite to eat, a drink with your friends or simply just to relax and enjoy afternoon tea/ a Burger!... Or indulge in a memorable fine dining experience.

Local Support… We have only been at The Sheene Mill for one month and have already received lots of support from our family, friends and all of the local businesses. Thank you! Please come to see us at any time.

Campbell who has emulated his father by becoming Executive Chef at Darwin College. Doug has three teenage grandchildren. His chief hobby nowadays is, of course, gardening – which he learned from his Dad who was a very keen vegetable grower. Although it is only a small garden it is very productive, with runner beans, tomatoes grown in the greenhouse, soft fruit and of course, the riot of colourful flowers. He still enjoys watching horse racing and occasionally has a small bet but he says it is a well known fact that the only person to gain from the betting habit is the bookmaker! When he was younger he was very keen on motor racing and went every Saturday to the Jim Russell Driving School at Snetterton with Michael Cook, the owner of The Royston Crow. They would spend the whole day learning the circuit although they never did get to do any actual racing. When Pattie was alive they enjoyed lovely holidays in the Mediterranean, sometimes cruising and visiting most European countries. But sadly Pattie died four years ago from a particularly nasty form of cancer. The photograph shows Doug and Pattie on their first proper date at the Farmer’s Ball. Doug told me that once again Dennis tried to muscle in – but Doug told him very firmly, no. You’ve done it once but you are not going to steal this one. She’s mine! They both loved cats and when I arrived to do this interview Eric accompanied me into the house. His companion Ernie (of course) died a couple of years ago. Ernie was a feral cat whom the neighbours had been feeding but could never approach. However, soon after Pattie died Ernie adopted Doug and before long Doug was able to take this wild animal to the vet to be treated and even managed to get him to wear a collar! Whilst obviously still grieving for his wife, Doug gives the impression of being a contented man and I left him in his neat and cosy house with the black cat purring round his legs. Mavis Howard melbournmagazine

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Care Network, Cambridgeshire Care Network help older, isolated and vulnerable people living in Cambridgeshire stay independent and maintain social contact with friends and the community. There are several ways that Care Network helps older people in Melbourn and surrounding areas: Help at home service which includes welcome home from hospital – provides short term assistance; our CRB checked and trained volunteers provide short term help with small tasks such as shopping, and cleaning. Community navigators – these are local volunteers who can help older and isolated people find the services they need or find out about clubs and activities they can join. Community development – helps set up new groups and supports existing community group, like lunch clubs and coffee mornings. During the winter months Care Network run a warm homes project and have a dedicated helpline for those who have health or respiratory problems, or are worried about high fuel bills. My role is Melbourn locality worker, to work specifically in this area; I would like to meet as many existing community groups as possible. I would love to hear from anyone who wants to start up a group. Or if anyone that feels isolated or knows someone who may need information about activities, services or support . If you would like to get in touch with me for any reason please contact me. Jennifer Halsall on 07436813712 Email: Melbourn.Localityproject@care-network.org.uk

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Credit card purchases – When buying goods or services with a cash price of more than £100 but less than £30,000, it is advisable to pay for at least part of them with a credit card. That way, if the retailer is unable to deliver the goods or there is a fault with them, the card provider will be liable for the goods too. Debit card purchases – If you pay by debit card, the provider (bank) or Visa/Mastercard terms may help with any claims you may have. However, unlike a credit card, this differs between providers so you should be clear about what assistance you will get for non-delivery or faulty goods. The card agreement will state any terms you need to meet for claims – such as timescales for reporting a breach of contract by the retailer and any evidence you must provide. If you meet the terms for making a claim but are unhappy with the card provider’s response you should follow their own complaints procedure. For both credit and debit card purchases, if you remain dissatisfied with the card provider’s response you can raise the matter with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk who will decide if the complaint was valid and award damages if applicable. Buying by PayPal – The same procedure for claims for debit card payments also applies to PayPal payments as, although PayPal aren’t a bank, they are signed up to the FOS. Other money transfer services have similar terms to PayPal but may not be signed up to the FOS for dispute resolution. You are therefore advised to check their terms. Cash or cheque – If buying goods by cash or cheque then unfortunately this is a case of ‘buyer beware’.

Warm homes Call us on 01223 714452 Or write to; Warm Homes, 18 Broadway house, 149–151 St Neots road, Hardwick, Cambridgeshire. CB23 7QJ

Cambridgeshire Trading Standards What can you do when retailers face financial difficulty? With recent news of well-known high street retailers facing financial difficulty, you may be wondering what to do if goods you have paid for are not delivered or they are faulty and the company goes into administration. Trading Standards have put together the following advice to help you to protect your money:

NON EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER

101 MINICOM helpline for the deaf and hard of hearing, anywhere in the force area: 01480 422493 RNID TypeTalk is a national telephone relay service which enables deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing and speech impaired people to communicate. To access the service dial: 0800 515152

Emergency 999

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Another common concern for consumers is the validity of gift cards or vouchers for a company that has entered administration. Unfortunately these are accepted only at the discretion of the administrators. There is no express right to use them - even though they are effectively cash. If you require any further advice or information about any of the matters in this article please contact our partner, Citizens Advice Consumer Service, on 08454 040506. For business advice and support contact 0345 0455206.

Cambridgeshire Fire And Rescue Service There are a few messages the Service wants to remind residents of as we leave the winter months behind. Get sweeping: Chimneys should be professionally swept and brickwork inspected at least once a year to prevent chimney fires. Our advice is to check yours before and after the winter period. As the clocks go forward, push the button: Everyone should have a correctly fitted, working smoke alarm in their home. You should test it at least once a week by pushing the button. If you have forgotten to do yours recently, why not test it when you turn your clocks forward? Easter school holidays: Arson can often increase during the school holidays. Stay vigilant, call 999 if you see a crime taking place and do not attempt to put the fire out yourself. If you are a parent, speak to your child about the dangers of playing with fire. It’s DIY time: We frequently receive an increase in calls relating to homeowners getting into accidents associated with DIY. These can involve electrical equipment which has been stored in a damp shed over the winter and heavy-duty garden equipment. Be careful, read the instructions and take expert advice from a DIY store. For free home fire safety advice, log on to www.cambsfire.gov.uk. Like our fan page on Facebook by searching Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, and follow us on Twitter @cambsfrs. To find out if you are eligible for a free home fire safety check, call 0800 917 99 94.

Please support

Melbourn Fete & Music on the Moor on Sat 29th June 2013

Melbourn Fete aims to bring the community together to have fun, and gives an opportunity for local clubs, groups and organisations to raise money and awareness of themselves within the local area. The committee organises the biggest local fundraiser of the year with attractions and music to entertain the whole family. The help we get from local sponsors enables us to keep costs and prices down. By managing the BBQ, bar and raffle, we maximise any profit raised, which is then redistributed to local groups on request. In return for your support, we offer advertising on our website, and a sense of corporate responsibility from supporting the local community! For further information, visit www.melbournfete.co.uk If you can help, please contact Mary Purnell on 01763 262642 or email: sponsorship@melbournfete.co.uk

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Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help Group The group has been running since the 80s, at present by Jayne White who does an outstanding job. You may have read her piece in Village News in this edition, where she says she will leave the Group in September of this year as she wishes to undertake some further education. So we are urgently searching for someone to take her place, otherwise this incredibly successful Group will have to close. The Group was started by David Childerley, who was then Community Tutor at Melbourn Village College, who was looking for help in starting a voluntary service, mainly for the elderly. A meeting was held, attended by numerous people, including Eileen Martin, who had recently arrived in the village from Bishops Stortford where she ran a tea shop, and whose relative Davis Dyke, was on the College staff, Margaret Hunter and Angela Leach amongst others , and a committee was formed including David, Margaret, Eileen and a treasurer, the late Ralph Beulat. The Group was originally set up to offer transport to hospital and GP appointments for those who had no-one to take them. There were various drivers on the list, from both villages. Jack Hadrell was one of the Melbourn drivers and Joan Gipson drove for Meldreth. There was a small grant from the Parish Council, and people paid a few pence per mile. Eileen kept the records, and took telephone calls from clients in Melbourn, while Margaret Hunter looked after Meldreth. Then Eileen, with the committee, and others such as Daphne Black and Doreen Hadrell decided to have a lunch mainly the for elderly. The Group began in a small way, meeting weekly. It was initially helped financially by contributions from ‘The Toppers’, a group based at The Dolphin, which raised money for good causes by running a Sunday raffle. The original cost for lunch was just over £1 and in 1990 cost £1.30 a head, including transport to the College, often done by David using a school mini-bus. The food was cooked by the College, but was not always the type enjoyed by the Group and, moreover, was only available in term time. The members of the group so enjoyed the outing and the social contact that in one summer holiday, when the College was closed Eileen and Angela Leach cooked a meal in their own homes, and then Angela drove it to the College. There was then an offer from the PAT Centre, which was taken up as the menu was more attractive, and either David or Angela, mostly David, collected it. The Luncheon Club moved from MVC to Vicarage Close Community Centre, and after Eileen retired, was taken over by Doreen Hadrell and Elizabeth Hughes-Jones , who ran it for two years, followed Margaret Hunter, who was succeeded in 2002 by Sally Wright, who ran it until 2007, when Jayne White took over. After the Group moved the meal was cooked by Mary Dayne, who ran The Pantry at the Cross (now an

estate agents). In 2009 Mary and her husband emigrated to New Zealand to be with her family and catering was taken over by Moorlands catering staff who do an excellent job. The original group of volunteer drivers evolved into the Car Transport Scheme, initially run by Eileen, followed by Margaret and then by Sally who eventually incorporated it into the Royston scheme, which is run by David Wherrell, as the work load became rather onerous. However, members of the Luncheon Club are still driven by volunteers, and more drivers are always needed. Financial support is received from both Melbourn and Meldreth Parish Councils, and in the past from South Cambs District Council, for which the group is most grateful. We also receive support from businesses in both villages. The Co-0p is always very generous, as are Leech & Sons, and Tesco of Royston. Fieldgate Nurseries have also given raffle prizes. The Club has also received funding from the Fete Committee from Fete profits. The British Queen at Meldreth hosted a very delicious summer 2011 Cream Tea. Recently the Oil Group, via Susan van der Ven, gave a generous donation. We have special meals at Easter and Christmas, cooked by the volunteer kitchen team, and also for special events such as the Jubilee, and always celebrate our members birthdays. Recently the members produced a recipe book, sponsored by the History Group, and proceeds from the sale will go towards an outing later in the year. It would be very interesting to hear of memories of the Club anyone may have, perhaps a relative was a member? If so, please get in touch via the magazine. It would be a tremendous loss to the area if this incredibly successful and socially important facility was obliged to close. So if you are interested in helping in any way, especially in taking over the running the Club, then please contact Jayne White (01763 220250 email: jayne.white1@ntlworld.com

November 1990

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Celebrating its 25th Anniversary The Technology Partnership (TTP), one of Melbourn’s largest business residents, is celebrating its 25th anniversary and while you may know where TTP is based, do you know what innovative ideas have been produced from inside Melbourn Science Park? It isn’t all circuit boards and printers, the inventions are surprisingly diverse: from laboratory equipment to lawn mowers, and from digital radios to confectionery packaging. Over 25 years ago, TTP was established to create a worldleading technology and development organisation. Today that enterprise has evolved and grown into TTP Group, a range of businesses focussed on meeting the needs of companies planning to flourish through the use of technology and innovation. As the majority of TTP’s ideas are snapped up by household name companies under strict confidentiality agreements, you will not see extravagant advertisements shouting about the work TTP does. Most of the projects are kept secret and will never be discussed outside the walls of the headquarters building, which has gained TTP a great deal of trust with its clients. There are however some products TTP is able to boast about; asthma inhalers that incorporate dosage counters, technology which allows air passengers to use mobile phones that do not interfere with flight equipment, digital print systems that are revolutionising packaging, household energy monitors, DAB radios along with wireless technologies that will take advantage of the whitespaces left behind by unused TV channels. Besides developing leading technology within a range of industries including engineering, life science and communications, TTP is also dedicated to developing

a creative environment at Melbourn Science Park, the company’s home since TTP was first created in 1987. Originally occupying a building known as ‘the rat hole’ due to its dilapidated state, (the building was already earmarked for demolition) staff worked from a makeshift desk constructed out of two trestles and a door in the boiler room. Six months later. they moved into brand new premises and the business growth accelerated. As the enterprise has grown, new companies have been created, some of which have remained within TTP Group, while others have been sold, demerged or floated. The joint venture, Wavedriver, was formed in 1993; in 1997 The Automation Partnership (TAP) was formed and then demerged in 1998, TAP left the park and are now located in Royston. 1997 also saw the reorganisation of the group under the new parent TTP Group plc. In 1999 the new headquarters were occupied, soon after in 2000, TTPCom was floated on the London Stock Exchange and TTP Group acquired the Melbourn Science Park. continued on page 30

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2001 saw the formation of TTP Labtech Ltd who focus on bringing innovative instrumentation to the life scientist to create process efficiencies. It provides state-of-the-art solutions for specific product areas including: cell-based screening, sample management, liquid handling and the management of analytical automation. TTP hit a 70% export target in 2008 and gained recognition as a leader in technology export by being awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise. 2012 has seen Tonejet, a break-through digital printing company, become a wholly owned subsidiary. The jubilee year also provided a gala celebration for the 25th anniversary being held in London. All 300 staff and their guests were treated to a weekend away in London, including an evening with fine dining, excellent entertainment and dancing into the night. Since the acquisition in 2000, Melbourn Science Park Ltd have continued to maintain the parkland. The Garden Planning and Design Company have been contracted since 2002 to carry out a rolling program of reinstatement and improvements to ensure that as well as complementing the modern architecture on the park, the landscaping is beneficial to the wildlife habitats. The best example of this is the lake in front of the da Vinci Building which is home to ducks and moorhens, and is regularly visited by the local heron. To complement the natural beauty of Melbourn Science Park, in 2004 TTP commissioned four sculptures to be designed which would also provide outdoor furniture for staff. Three of the pieces were designed by Ben Fowler of Fowler & Co, and are based on the elements sun, wind and water. The sun is represented by an impressive three metre slate-topped sundial that doubles as a table; the wind shown as a twelve metre long, beautifully finished curved seat that is supported by thirty four-metre-high sweet chestnut poles which respond to the wind; and the water through six highly polished stainless steel benches, positioned in a semi-circle in a clearing, and reflecting (in the same way as water) the trees, grass and sky so that the benches become almost invisible. The fourth item was designed by Petter Southall of the itre studio outside Bridport, Dorset. Southall created a bench featuring solid oak rings using steam bending techniques. TTP’s staff are encouraged to use these pieces and the rest of the parkland, not only during lunch breaks but for informal meetings and creative thinking. There is also a tennis court for staff to use if they need to let off steam. TTP Group currently inhabits 42% of the buildings on the park; other tenants include Specialist Dental Partners, Elsinore Foods, a specialist food importer, and Prime Physio, whose specially adapted building looks after those with sports injuries or in need of specialist therapy. Earlier in 2012 we had the pleasure of hosting an event with Prime Physio, who were helping to launch the new Ekso exoskeleton to the UK. As TTP Group has grown, it has created numerous jobs in fields such as engineering, science and business services. Many of the staff employed live locally and are able to take advantage of the excellent travel links and facilities available on their doorstep. By supporting local facilities such as the Melbourn Sports Centre, TTP are able to provide their staff with access to swimming, squash and gym facilities; as well as taking advantage of the amenities in the village. Impromptu meetings in the local pubs are a regular occurrence. Outside Melbourn Science Park, TTP is an active supporter of charities and community projects including Wallace Cancer Care, Cambridge Wordfest and the Cambridge Film Festival, and of course, the award winning Melbourn Magazine. For more information about TTP visit www.ttp.com

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Black Horse Melbourn It’s been six months since Steve and Kerry Harrington took over the reins at The Black Horse and what a six months it has been. Steve and Kerry came to Melbourn nearly two years ago to take over the management of the then refurbished Dolphin Public House. They both very quickly settled into the Melbourn way of life and decided there and then that this was the place that they finally wanted to call home. That opportunity arose when the occupancy of The Black Horse became available. Steve says “It was a risk for us as we were leaving the security of a big company to take on what was a run down village pub. The main attraction for us was the very loyal following that the pub had from a small pocket of locals and that there was plenty of scope to build upon.” Steve and Kerry have seen a complete refurbishment of the pub including a completely new bar that has pool, darts and live sporting events shown. They have gone back to the old fashioned way of running a pub with two bars. This allows the younger clientele to watch football or play a game of pool without interfering with anyone else. Regular entertainment has been introduced with acoustic nights, quiz nights and discos. They also offer a selection of traditional home cooked food lunch times and evenings. (for times, visit their website www.theblackhorsemelbourn.co.uk) They have had the most fantastic Christmas and New Year and thanks to the support given by the villagers, the pub has seen a significant increase in its trade which if it continues will secure the pubs future whilst so many other village pubs are closing. Steve and Kerry’s philosophy is that this is a local’s local purely for the use of the villagers. Coming up for the summer months will see a new petanque court being built in the garden and a new BBQ area for those long lovely summer evenings. Steve Kerry and their staff offer a warm and friendly welcome to this pretty picturesque village local The Black Horse – The Local’s Local

Cambridge Baby Sensory Juliette & Emma 07966 789785 Little Hands Karen

01763 260964

Melbourn Playgroup Jane Crawford 07842 151512 Notre Ecole Janet Whitton

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Primary School Headteacher Stephanie Wilcox 223457 U3A (Univ. of Third Age) Chairman George Howard

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Village College Principal Simon Holmes

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Licensed to learn ... On Tuesday 8th November, GCSE Media Studies students visited Cambridge Arts Picturehouse listen to a lecture about the latest Bond movie Skyfall and the previous Bond movies. In the lecture by Long Road 6th Form College Lecturer, Tanya Jones, they learned about the history of the Bond films and the people involved and also about the profits and the budgets of the major Bond films. The students then discussed the gender roles of women and James Bond himself and were then showed an extract from the ‘worst’ Bond film ever made called Never Say Never Again. Afterwards they watched the new movie, Skyfall. It was a fun trip and beneficial for all the media students that attended because we learnt a lot about the British film industry. We also got a taster of A level Media Studies and Film Studies as almost all the other students attending were sixth formers! Paige Spranger and Daniel Jones

MBA Speed Dating On the 16th January representatives from different local companies took time out of their working day to come and explain to the Year 9’s of Melbourn Village College what employers look for in potential employees. The representatives allowed us to ask questions about what qualifications and skills they look for in a person. Everyone was sorted into groups and moved around the room allowing everyone to ask questions and listen to what they had to say. The employers provided very useful information of what to expect in later life, we all enjoyed their visit and learned lots from them. Matthew Tegerdine, Tom Jackson, Andrew Houghton

Youth Club at Melbourn Village College Tuesday evenings for School years 7–11 all welcome See page 14 for more details

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E-mail: post@australcrosby.com

Royal barge, London Docklands

Geography Docklands 2012 GCSE geography students visited London on Wednesday 10th October as part of our coursework, to look at the areas of Stratford and the London Docklands. We did this so we could see: ‘Is the current quality of life sustainable in built up areas that have been redeveloped?’ We visited both of these areas because they have been redeveloped for different reasons. Stratford has been redeveloped for the 2012 Olympics and the Docklands because it was a derelict area of London close to the city of London. We studied both of these areas so that we could see the different types of regeneration. The first stop was at the Olympic site and more importantly Westfield shopping centre. From here we were able to see the size of the Olympic Park from the John Lewis shop. After some retail therapy we continued our trip past the city airport and onto the Excel centre. We walked around the Royal Docks and saw the difference between the old docks and the redeveloped areas. After lunch we continued through the dockland region and finally ended up at Katherine dock. Here we saw the Royal barge and a range of very expensive houses. A good day was had by all. We now have to write up the work as part of our controlled assessment. Year 11 Geography.

Visit by Atkins We are always looking to take advantages of opportunities to enrich the curriculum for our students and relate their learning to the world beyond the college. The drainage works were one such opportunity and so we were delighted to be able to team up with Atkins to give our Construction students an insight

into that industry. Towards the end of January, representatives of Atkins visited Yr11 and Yr10 Construction classes, giving a presentation on career paths into the construction industry and the need for health and safety in all aspects of construction. The students were then taken on a tour of the drainage works on the college site. Health and Safety is an area studied within the Construction curriculum and the chance to relate classroom learning to an actual site was very valuable. We are very grateful to Atkins for their time and cooperation in enabling this to happen. Future visits to other sites are being planned and will be undertaken soon. Janine Savage

History Students Re-enact Battle of Hastings On Wednesday, 7th November 2012, the armies of all year seven went to war in a huge re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings. War-cries echoed and boomed for miles around, and both ‘Normans’ and ‘English’ were committed to finishing the school day victorious. The teachers of the Performing Arts Department moved among the troops. Each subject proved vital in helping the troops to tap into their confidence and their creativity. War cries were practiced, strategies considered and then all stood silent, ready for battle. Suddenly, Mr Tobutt entered the battlefield. What was he doing? He’s crazy! Confidently, he strolled between the two sides clutching a piece of paper. All around him colourful, painted, handmade shields were hiding the two armies. Only

melbournmagazine

“Little Hands” is a Private Nursery School specialising in quality Pre-School Education for 2 – 5 year Olds • • • • • • •

The Nursery School offers : High (1 : 4) staffing ratio Variety of session lengths Term time only booking Optional holiday clubs No minimum booking requirement No booking fee Categorised “OUTSTANDING” by Ofsted

Also FREE (NEF funded) afternoon (1.30-4.00) sessions for 3 & 4 year olds (NEF can also be used towards half or full day sessions) 01763 260964 (school hours) 01223503972 (office hours) e-mail : janemarshall@littlehands.co.uk w w w.littlehands.co.uk Little Hands Nursery Schools are also at Bourn, Linton and Newton

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Village information important numbers

Education

Royston and District Local History Society

Orchard Surgery Appointments Melbourn Playgroup Jane Crawford Childminding Group Sec. Vacancies 260220 Co-ordinator Heidi Hardwidge Dispensary Library LAP Mike Stapleton 261246 Little Hands Nursery School For repeat prescriptions send Out of school times 01223 503972 email: prescriptions.orchardsurgery@nhs.net Hospitals Addenbrooke’s Royston

01223 245151 01763 238020

OUT OF HOURS EMERGENCIES Camdoc 01223 464242 NHS Direct 0845 4647 (queries 24hrs) Police (non emergency)

101

Crimestoppers Freephone 0800 555111 Neighbourhood Watch 261520 Steven Cambery s.cambery@ntlworld.com Cambs Registered Trader Sceme 01223 221921 Telephone Preference Service www.tsponline.org.uk 0845 070 0707

07842 151512

01223 506335

CAB Royston

08456 889897

Childline Samaritans

0800 1111 08457 909090

Services Anglian Water 08457 145 145 Gas emergency 0800 111 999 Electricity 08007 838838 South Cambs District Fire & Rescue Service 01223 376217 Transport British Rail Enquiries Stagecoach Cambus

08457 484950 08706 082608

Melbourn Magazine Committee Editorial Ann Dekkers 261144 Advertising Jan Simmonett 220363 Distribution Jose Hales 221058 Eric Johnston 220197 Information Anne Lambert 261480 Parish Profile Mavis Howard 260686 Production Peter Simmonett 220363 Proof reading Brenda Meliniotis 261154 Colin Limming 260072 Village Diary Brenda Meliniotis 261154

221625

260009

269956

RSPB Doug Radford

208978

260964

SOAS (Supporters of All Saints’) Doreen Johnston

220197

St George’s Allotments Assoc. Bruce Huett 261231

Primary School Headteacher Stephanie Wilcox

223457

Women’s Group Pat Smith

U3A (Univ. of Third Age) Chairman George Howard

260686

Hon Sec Hilary Docwra

222486

Mem Sec Arthur Alderton

260399

Village College Principal Simon Holmes

223400

Health Age UK Cambridgeshire

01223 221921 0300 123 23 23

Chiropodist

263260

Citizen’s Advice Bureau

238020

Dentist District Nurses (Primary Care Trust)

262034 01223 846122

Home-Start

262262

S Cambs PCT 35 Orchard Road Child & Family Nurses

262861

Car Scheme

245228

Osteopath Kath Harry

261716

St John Ambulance Robert Jakubiak

Dial-A-Ride

221398

Royston Lions Janet Daniels

Notre Ecole Janet Whitton

Blood Donors

242677

David Allard Royston and District Round Table

220507

LOCAL clubs Air Cadets 2484 (Bassingbourn) Squadron

249156

Tony Kelly Mon & Wed evenings 7 – 9.30 p.m. Army Cadets Ted Neathey

01223 248001

Tuesday evenings at The Moor 7.15 to 9.30pm Bellringers Barbara Mitchell

brucehuett@compuserve.com 260103

Places of worship All Saints’ Church Rev Andrew O’Brien Melbourn Vicarage

260295

Curate Mary Price

261569

Churchwardens Christine van Vliet

223063

260127

Mike Galley

Community Hall booking Colin Limming

260072

Baptist Church Rev. Stuart Clarke Secretary Guy Manners

261650 01223 872298

United Reformed Church Minister Rev. Duncan Goldie 260747 Secretary Peter and Eirwen Karner

262346

Hall booking Beryl and Barry Monk

246458

Churches Together Helen John

261147

sport Badminton Steve Jackson

248774

Bowls Elaine Cooke

221571

Croquet Janet Pope

248342

Football Club Simon Gascoyne

261703

Jazzercise Linda Warner

241527

Judo Derek Coult

225004

Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack

263313

261518

Melbourn and District Tennis Club David Liddiard

Bridge Club Howard Waller

261693

1st Melbourn Rainbows

Abigail Roberts

261505

Meldreth Tennis Club Sue Davies

220174

Brownies 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford

220272

Swimming Club Jenny Brackley

244593

Squash Club Nick Sugden

261064

Brownies 2nd Melbourn Samantha Pascoe (Brown Owl) 261400 Cambells (Handbells) Eira Martin

261221

Dramatic Society Kathy Wholley

223805

email: k_wholley@hotmail.com Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Stuart Morris

208634

Gardening Helen Powell

245887

Guides 1st Melbourn Hilary Marsh

261443

Mothers’ Union Anne Harding

260759

Melbourn and Meldreth Self-Help Jayne White

220250

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

01223 207307

07508 995781

Warden & sheltered housing schemes Dial-A-Ride

01223 506335

Mobile Warden Scheme Warden – Margo Wherrell

260966

Deputy – Jeannie Seers

262651

Assistant – Joy Hyde

220139

Vicarage Close Warden Eileen Allan Lead Sheltered Housing Officer Monday to Friday 9–1.30

263389

260072

John Impey Way Jeanette Holland

New Melbourn Singers Adrian Jacobs

243224

Southwell Court

262121

Photographic Club Bruce Huett

232855

Moorlands

260564

Ramblers Dave Allard

242677

Vicarage Close & John Impey Way, also covering

Royal British Legion Women Elizabeth Murphy

220841

Elin Way every other week. 9–5 Monday to Friday

Royal National Lifeboat Institution Jean Emes

245958

National Trust Colin Limming

Eileen Allan Mobile 07876791419

269596

01763 245402

melbournmagazine

marcH Friday 1

Coffee URC 10.30am Saturday 2

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Sunday 3

Family Communion All Saints’ 8.00am Holy Communion URC 11.00am Baptist Communion 6pm Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Monday 4

Drop-in surgeries with District Councillors Susan van de Ven 2.30-3.30pm at Melbourn Library Pippins Stay & Play 9.30-11.00am Messy Mondays Young Parents and children every Monday at 1.30-3.00pm at the Community Health Centre Orchard Road Melbourn Bridge Club every Monday Vicarage Close contact Howard Waller 01763 261693 Tuesday 5

Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (TT) Melbourn & District Photographic Club meet every Tuesday Sept-April at Foxton Village Hall 7.309.30pm contact Bruce Huett 01763 232855 Wednesday 6

Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (TT) Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall every Wednesday 10.30-12.00 Thursday 7

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am

Melbourn & Meldreth Rail Users Group AGM Meldreth Manor School 7.30pm Thursday 14

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am Friday 15

Coffee URC 10.30am Saturday 16

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Thriplow Daffodil Weekend Sunday 17

Holy Communion All Saints’ 8am Family Service All Saints’ 11am Communion Service Baptist Church 10.30am URC Service 11am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Thriplow Daffodil Weekend

Friday 29

Good Friday Service URC 10am followed by Hot Cross buns Three Hours Service for Good Friday All Saints’ 12 noon Saturday 30

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am The Bookshelf Easter Vigil and Lighting of New Fire. All Saints’ 7.30pm Sunday 31

Family Communion for Easter Sunday All Saints’ 9.45am Easter Day All Age Service Baptist Church 10.30am Easter Day Communion Service URC 11am British Summer Time begins

aPril

Monday 18

Melbourn & District Family History Soc. ASCH 7.30pm John Tunesi from the College of Arms Tuesday 19

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT) Wednesday 20 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (TT) Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall10.30am Thursday 21

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am CAMTAD Demonstration of Hearing Help Equipment Scotsdales 10-12.30 Friday 22

Coffee URC 10.30am

Tuesday 2

Melbourn Photographic Club AGM Foxton Village Hall 7.30pm Wednesday 3

Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30am Thursday 4

Royston & District Local History Society Town Hall 8pm ‘Churches and Chapels since the Reformation’ Friday 5

Coffee at URC 10.30am Saturday 6

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am

Friday 8

Saturday 23

Sunday 7

Coffee URC 10.30am

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Meldreth Local History Group Meldreth Village Hall Exploring the History of Meldreth Dr Carenza Lewis SOAS ‘Bangers and Mash Quiz’ ASCH 7.30pm

Monday 8

Saturday 9

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Guides Cake Stall Sunday 10

Family Communion for Mothering Sunday All Saints’ 9.45am Holy Communion URC 11am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Tuesday 12

Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (TT) ‘Fund Raising for your Community’ Gamlingay Eco Hub 1pm-4pm Melbourn & District Gardening Club ASCH 7.30pm Travels to Spain Mother’s Union Wendy 2.30pm Lent Reflection led by Jacquie Metcalfe Wednesday 13

Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (TT) Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall10.30am Reflective Service URC 7pm Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall every Wednesday 10.30-12.00

Holy Communion All Saints’ 8.00am URC Service 11.00am Communion Service Baptist Church 6pm Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT) Women’s Group Lent Reflection ASCH 7.45pm

Drop-in surgery at Melbourn Library 2.30-3.30pm with District Councillors Susan van de Ven and Jose Hales Pippins Stay & Play 9.30-11.00am every Monday Messy Mondays Young Parents and children every Monday at 1.30-3.00pm at the Community Health Centre Orchard Road Melbourn Bridge Club meet every Monday Vicarage Close 7.15pm contact Howard Waller 01763 261693

Wednesday 27

Tuesday 9

Baptist Church Craft Club 9.30am (TT) Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12.00 Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm

Melbourn & District Gardening Club ASCH 7.30pm ‘Bridge End Gardens and Maze’ Mark Ropkins Mother’s Union Bassingbourn 2.30pm Discussion on promoting Mother’s Union

Thursday 28

Wednesday 10

End of term Holy Communion for Maundy Thursday 7.30pm

Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30am Reflective Service URC 7pm

Sunday 24

Family Communion for Palm Sunday All Saints’ 9.45am Palm Sunday Service Baptist Church 10.30am URC Service 11am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Tuesday 26

Thursday 11

maY

Friday 17

Wednesday 1

Coffee URC 10.30am Great British Fish & Chip Supper (see article)

Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30am

Saturday 18

Thursday 2

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Christian Aid stall

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am

Sunday 19

Sunday 14

Friday 3

Family Communion All Saints’ 9.45am URC Service 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm

Coffee URC 10.30am

Monday 15

Sunday 5

Term begins Royston & District Family History Society Members Evening ASCH 7.30pm

Holy Communion All Saints’ 8.00am Holy Communion URC 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm

Holy Communion All Saints’ 8.00am Family Service All Saints’ 11.00am Communion Service Baptist Church 10.30am URC Service 11.00am SOAS Open Gardens 12-5.00pm contact George Howard 260686 or Colin Limming 260072 Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm A10 Corridor Cycle Ride (see article)

Tuesday 16

Monday 6

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT)

May Bank Holiday

Royston & District Family History Society ASCH 7.30pm Talk by Tom Doig

Tuesday 7

Tuesday 21

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT)

Wednesday 8

Wednesday 22

Baptist Church Craft Club 9.30am Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30am-12 Reflective Service URC 7pmœ

Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12 Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm

Thursday 9

Thursday 23

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am Royston & District Local History Soc. Royston Town Hall 7.30pm AGM followed by ‘Ely’s Forgotten Victorian Goal’ T Hall

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am

Friday 10

Coffee at URC10.30am

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Link Murang’a tombola

Saturday 11

Sunday 26

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am

Family Communion Service All Saints’ 9.45am URC Service 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10.00am Friday 12

Coffee at URC 10.30am Saturday 13

Wednesday 17

Baptist Church Craft Club 9.30am Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12noon Thursday 18

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am Friday 19

Coffee at URC 10.30am Saturday 20

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Sunday 21

Holy Communion All Saints’ 8.00am Family Service All Saints’ 11.00am URC Service 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Tuesday 23

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT) Women’s Group Meldreth 7.45pm ‘Training Patients – How to get the best from your doctor’ Julie Draper Wednesday 24

Baptist Church Craft Club 9.30am Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12 Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm Thursday 25

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am Friday 26

Coffee at URC 10.30am Saturday 27

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am Concert by Cambridgeshire Choral Society St John’s Chapel 7.30pm Vivaldi – Gloria & Faure – Requiem Sunday 28

Saturday 4

Coffee Stop ASCH 10.30am

Sunday 12

Family Communion All Saints’ 9.45am URC Service 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm Monday 13

Pippins Stay & Play 9.30-11.00am every Monday Messy Mondays Young Parents and children every Monday at 1.30-3.00pm at the Community Health Centre Orchard Road Melbourn Bridge Club every Monday Vicarage Close contact Howard Waller 01763 261693 Tuesday 14

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT) Melbourn & District Gardening Club ASCH 7.30pm ‘A New Look at the Fens’ Rodney Tibbs Mother’s Union Foxton Village hall 7.30pm Open Meeting with supper

Family Communion Service All Saints’ 9.45am URC Service 11.00am Evensong All Saints’ 6.30pm

Wednesday 15

Tuesday 30

Thursday 16

Toddler Plus Baptist Church 9.30-11.30 (TT)

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am

Baptist Church Craft Club 9.30am Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12noon

We shall be pleased to receive contributions in any form, articles, poems, drawings, photographs, letters etc., pertaining to Melbourn. Please send any contributions to the Editor, at the 110 High Street, Melbourn, marking them ‘MELBOURN MAGAZINE’ or you can email them to mag@melbourn.org.uk

Monday 20

Friday 24

Coffee at URC 10.30am Saturday 25

Monday 27

Half term Tuesday 28

Women’s Group Meldreth 7.45pm ‘Images without a Camera’ Christopher South Wednesday 29

Coffee Break Baptist Church 10.30-12 Thursday 30

Holy Communion All Saints’ 10am ‘Confessions of a Composer’ John Rutter Meldreth Holy Trinity 7.30pm (see article) Friday 31

Coffee URC 10.30am All Saints’ Community Hall AGM (TT) = Term time only

date for The closing is Friday ue the next iss 2013 19th april ear in app which will events in June, listing August. and June, July

Village information continued Orchard Surgery Dispensary Monday to Friday 8:30 – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm Phone 01763 261246 Telephone requests are not accepted For repeat prescriptions you can: Fax 01763 262968 or email: prescriptions.orchardsurgery@nhs.net

• •

Allow at least 48 hours (two working days – excluding weekends and bank holidays) for repeat prescriptions to be ready. Do not leave your request to the last minute.

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

8a Romsey Terrace, Cambridge. CB1 3NH Ofﬁce Mon-Fri 9.00am-12.30pm. Telephone 01223 416 141 answerphone out of these hours admin@camtadcambs.org.uk

Prescription/medication depending on eligibility can be collected from the Surgery

Co-op

Tesco in Royston

Please let the dispensary know where you wish your prescriptions to be sent. This will remain your choice until we are informed otherwise.

BIN COLLECTION MELBOURN 1 March 8 March

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

15 March 22 March

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

30 March* 6 April*

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

12 April 19 April

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

26 April 3 May

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

11 May* 17 May

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

24 May 1 June

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

7 June 14 June

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

21 June 28 June

Black Bin Green & Blue Bin

* Saturday Collection – please check website below for conformation

For an update on collections visit: www.scambs.gov.uk/content/friday

Melbourn Health Visiting Team

For more information and collections of large household items Telephone 03450 450 063 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

A drop in advisory session is held at Vicarage Close Community Room, the 4th Thursday of the month from 2pm to 4pm March 28th April 25th May 23rd June 27th

July 25th August 22nd September 26th October 24th

November 28th NO Session In December 2013

See the website for more information www.camtadcambs.org.uk Battery exchange and retubing. We do not do hearing tests

CAMSIGHT Cam Sight’s visually impaired group meet on the 1st Wednesday of the month every month except in August, at the Vicarage Close centre, Melbourn from 2 until 4pm. We offer a warm welcome with speakers, outings, up to date information and equipment demonstrations. Come and see what’s on offer, join us for a cuppa and a chat. Call 01223 420 033 for further information

a few slivers of light could be seen, through which handmade weapons were wielded, clutched by student warriors hoping that they would achieve victory in this historic battle. The sounds of beating drums bellowed around the soldiers, raising tension and determination. Mr Belbin’s solid drumbeats were the very heartbeats of the battle. Mr Tobutt shouted at the top of his voice, the drums fell silent, and an eerie calm fell over both sides. ‘Norman side A attack English side A!’. The battle cry of the History Teacher flew out across the armies. One group from each army attacked, their swords clashing in the air, eyes locking across the weapons as both sides prepared to let nothing prevent them returning to their comrades undefeated. ‘Stop!’ The command issued loud and clear. Slowly the troops retreated to their sides, their desire for battle still unquenched, their hopes for victory still unfulfilled. ‘7, 9, 56, 81, 112, 11’ Mr Tobutt shouted across the thronging armies. What was he doing? Nobody knew, they only looked down at their numbered labels checking to see if they had been called. Suddenly, they realised, Mr Tobutt’s role as overseer of the battle had many sides, and this was its worst. He was reading the ‘names’ of the deceased. Groans rose from the lips of the ‘dead’ as they realised that they could fight no more. Again, the two armies ran towards each other. Perhaps remembering their ‘fallen’ comrades their battle cries rose louder this time, their war faces angrier. After this clash too, more names were read out, a sigh of relief sweeping through the ranks of those who still remained. Then the two sides went to war for the final time. Mr Tobutt explained how William of Normandy, seeing the inability of his infantry and cavalry to break through the ranks, had looked to his archers. Whilst the battle raged between the infantry and cavalry troops, one archer loaded his bow, steadied his grip, pulled back the string and…

an electrophoresis as well as seeing real life applications for work that is covered in the text book. All students really enjoyed the event and it even helped in their mock exam that followed recently after, as there was a question covering the exact same topics.

Hockey The Hockey tournaments have now come to a close and the teams have had a successful season. Year 7’s have settled very well into PE at MVC and 60% of the girls attended hockey club on a Tuesday lunchtime, this is the highest number of girls to attend since I started the college 10 years ago. Hopefully the girls will continue to participate and do very well in their fixtures and tournaments throughout their time at MVC. In their Year 7 tournament they came a respectable 8th out of 14 schools, beating a few of the sports colleges in the area!! Year 7 Girls Hockey Tournament On Thursday 15th November, I went with the year 7 hockey team to their end of season tournament. They did really well, coming 8th overall out of 14 and the improvement I have seen in them since the beginning of the season is amazing! They have started to think a lot more about what they are going to do with the ball once they have got it and spacing rather than all bunching round the ball, so well done girls! It was also great experience for me; I have been helping them right from the start of the season with training and matches, putting my new skills from the EHB hockey leadership award into practice. Whilst at the tournament I was umpiring matches and giving team talks and advice – all the shouting from the side-line seems to be paying off! I found it really helpful for my leadership skills and an enjoyable experience. Katherine Webb

The shot was so accurate that the arrow flew straight into the eye of Harold, through his brain and out of his skull. Everyone gasped. They knew that this meant the defeat of the English troops and that the Normans, and William, would now reign supreme. As the year seven warriors marched off the field, some victorious, some defeated, but all happy, it was safe to say that no one would forget their part in the Hastings re-enactment, particularly Harold (who had been pleased to learn that there is only so far you can go in recreating history…), nor would they forget the events of the real thing. Report by Harry Gee, Year 7

Year 8 Girls Hockey Tournament Year 8 had an excellent tournament where they came 5th place out of 14 schools. Unfortunately year 9 could not attend their tournament as it was on our open evening. The U16 hockey team finished second in their pool just missing out on a place in the finals. All year groups have taken part or will be taking part soon in interhouse hockey. The winning house in Year 11 was Darwin, Year 10 was Franklin, Year 9 was Newton and Year 8 was Darwin . Year 7 interhouse was still to be completed when we went to press. For full match reports, player of the matches as well as our practice timetable, please see the MVC website.

Amgen

Year 9 Wales trip 2012

We have been lucky enough to take part in an outreach programme from a biotechnology company called AMGEN. We have borrowed equipment that is normally used in an industrial lab. It has allowed the students to take a bacterium and insert a new piece of DNA into its DNA and analyse what has been produced. This is how insulin is made on a large scale. Students have learnt how to micro-pipette and perform

Sitting smugly at home it becomes harder to bring into focus the dynamic events of the Wales trip, the event fading into a blurry mental image of mud, water, hills and the apprehensive joy of those daring to challenge Mother Nature’s physical supremacy. The adventure began for the party when we clambered aboard our coach to commence the first of the long drives. Many a mind was hyper with anticipatory fidgeting,

Squelch!

melbournmagazine

Brand new homes to rent as affordable housing or to buy under a shared ownership lease Hundred Houses Society, in partnership with Iceni Homes and Melbourn Parish Council is developing a small scheme of 13 affordable new homes in Melbourn for people with a local connection. 3 of these homes will be sold under a shared ownership scheme, 1 two bedroom house and 2 three bedroom houses. To rent there will be 3 two bedroom houses and 7 three bedroom houses. Affordable rents will be 80% of a market rent on a fixed term tenancy basis. These properties will be advertised on Homelink 3 months prior to completion www.home-link.org.uk The homes will be built on the site of the former police houses and police station.

an artist’s impression of the new homes at melbourn around the community hub What is shared ownership? Shared ownership helps people who cannot afford to buy a home outright, to purchase a home in stages. Hundred Houses Society owns the freehold of the property and sells a share to you under a shared ownership lease. Initially, you will buy a minimum share of the property (usually 50% but it could be more or less), the actual proportion will be determined after we have carried out an affordability assessment. You will then pay Hundred Houses Society a subsidised rent on the remaining share. The total monthly costs of the mortgage and rent are lower than the cost of a mortgage needed to buy the property outright. After a year you can purchase further shares in the property in tranches of 10%, up to 80%. As you purchase more shares the proportion of rent due to Hundred Houses Society will reduce. How do I apply for Shared Ownership? You need to register with Orbit HomeBuy Agents as follows: Orbit HomeBuy Garden Court Harry Weston Road Binley Business Park Binley Coventry CV3 2SU

Telephone: 0345 8502050 Email: hba@orbit.org.uk Website: www.orbithomebuyagents.co.uk

If your application progresses, we will carry out a full assessment of your financial circumstances to check that you can afford the home. You will need to provide us with original documents showing your income, savings, loans and debts and provide information on all your outgoings

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

thus cold, the extremely odorous drying chamber and the cavernous cabins (extremely small caverns admittedly, but noises anywhere could radiate to any ear within the cabin). The food more than made up for all this though, as after a long day all were keen to exercise the most primal, and enjoyable, of habits: indulging in all manner of hot food. The last great memory of the trip is the week’s awards: it was with much laughter when it was revealed that the students had been so positive in attitude that the biggest moaner award could only be given to Mr. Wainwright, and the most untidy cabin won a sponge – the very same that they were using the following morning to wash Mr. Walker’s car. Once again a big thank you to all the staff that helped to make the trip possible, and we hope that Mr. Walker is enjoying his clean car. Jeremy Bridle

Notre Ecole

many more minds mentally rolled over in a subconscious effort to go back to sleep. After a brief struggle sleep prevailed and the miles had soon rolled under the wheels. Upon arrival at the Llangorse Acorn outdoor activity centre we set about settling in to the simple caravan-like cabins before being thrown into a week of activities, starting that evening. The trip is designed to ‘Take students out of their comfort zone’ and at least definitely made some uncomfortable. Great rains had turned the landscape into bog or mush, and even the ‘driest’ of ground-based activities featured mud to make skin crawl – crawling through it in most cases. Pupils went sailing, katakanuing, climbing and abseiling; we did bush-craft, challenges, blind trails and assault courses buried under layers of muddy water, which guaranteed that all who tried failed to stay dry. This then called for use of the onsite facilities – the showers that were frequently broken,

In the lead up to Christmas children at Notre Ecole learnt French around the theme of the family. They learnt vocabulary to enable them to describe their own families and drew family trees. We played lots of games around this theme and watched a film to reinforce our learning. Older children at the Thursday evening group were able to read, understand and answer questions on some simple French texts about families. We then ended the term with some Christmas words and by decorating biscuits with icing, stars and baubles. The adults attending the Wednesday evening beginners group have been practising vocabulary, phrases and expressions to use when shopping in France. They have also learnt the French for different jobs, talked about their own work, including what their job entails and working hours. To finish the term we learnt vocabulary and phrases relating to Christmas. We talked about our own Christmas traditions and compared them to traditions in France. Meanwhile adults in the more advanced group have watched and discussed a video about the Provaçale region of la Drôme. They have looked at the origin of the French word ‘pantalon’, read a text about the re-election of Obama and looked at verbs with the same sound but different meanings and also at prepositions.

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As the evenings draw out you may like to think about a new challenge, perhaps learning French? Or perhaps you would just like to brush up on that rusty school French? If so please get in touch. Notre Ecole, led by a native speaker and a graduate of European Studies with French, has been running for more than ten years. Call either Marine on 07533 443153 or Janet on 07791 853448 for further details. If you prefer e-mail, contact marineboulter@yahoo.fr or janet.whitton@tiscali.co.uk . Learn French in a friendly atmosphere *French for Children Games, role-play, songs etc. Every Wednesday from 3.45pm to 4.30pm Every Thursday from 4:15pm to 5:00pm *French for Adults All levels, Conversation Every Wednesday from 8.00pm to 9.00pm GCSE lessons available by arrangement. Individual lessons also available. Tel. Marine – 01763 222876 or Janet – 01763 261231 mob-07533 443153 mob-07791 853448 (Enhanced CRB clearance recently completed)

Duke of Edinburgh Easter holiday station gardening for Duke of Edinburgh students. The Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Station Gardens scheme will be doing some gardening work during the Easter holiday. If any Duke of Edinburgh students are looking for a ‘volunteer’ or ‘skills’ slot to fill, please feel free to get in touch – we have several students helping out already. Our sessions last between 1-2 hours and usually involve tea and biscuits. Susan van de Ven, Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk, 017632 61833

Welcoming Creative Community Thank you Melbourn for the very warm welcome I’ve received and am continuing to receive since taking over as Arts Development Manager for the stART network in the Melbourn area last December. I am based at Melbourn Village College and Wysing Arts Centre. It was a whirlwind, cold and snowy start, highlights of my first few weeks in post include a wonderful tour of the village, the launch of the Circuit project at Tate Modern London, the fantastic Christmas performance by students of Melbourn Village College of Grease – complete with the production touring to Moorlands Care Home along with Christmas carols. The creative community showed and shared its talents with me, a great start to a new job, many thanks to all involved. Now for a little more of current projects that I am working on and that the stART network is supporting to bring to MVC and the Melbourn area.

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The EMERGE festival was successfully launched on February 25th – supporting and celebrating the arts, of all kinds, right across the region through February and March. The Festival is a StART network initiative, showcasing creative talents, for more details of the programme see www.emerge-arts-festival. org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Emerge-Festival-2013enquiry-form1.pdf It was very clear to me that I had come into an area where there is a wealth of community spirit and creativity that has been enjoying and benefiting from the work of the Arts Development Managers across the StART network for the last ten years. It also became clear I had taken on this new role at a very interesting time – with SCDC’s Grant Review and subsequent decision of the Leader of the Council Mr. Ray Manning to go ahead with 100% cut of the council’s funding to this network from July 2013. Please be assured that work by the remaining partners now continues, looking for a solution to enable the network to survive and ensure great projects and opportunities are brought to our area to keep our communities creative and connected. In many ways, this has been a challenge, and an excellent introduction to the role. I have been able to meet with many individuals and groups in the area and get a strong understanding of the excellent work and projects that have been going on in the community and of how much they are valued. Here is a taster of some on going and new work coming to the Melbourn area over the next few months. Circuit – our partners Wysing Arts Centre has been selected along with Kettles Yard to partner with the Tate Collective and three other national organisations, in a four year project working with young people to create a national youth arts network – this is a £5m project funded by the Paul Hamyln Foundation – MVC and young people across Cambridgeshire will benefit. See www.wysingartscentre.org and www.phf.org. uk for more information. CATalyst with the Creative Volunteers project aim to support volunteers and extend their skills and share them creatively with people in the community. All Our Stories – an archeology project run by Meldreth History Society funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, students at MVC are set to get involved with film making and documentary work as well as BBC reporting projects. The Climate Histories Project MVC and our local primary schools will have the opportunity to work with artists alongside archeologists, anthropologists and climate scientists from Cambridge University to understand environmental change and how it affects people here and around the world. This project is funded through the Higher Education Innovation Fund. Both these projects were introduced to MVC and stART by local historian Bruce Huett. The Story Telling Bazaar Project is in development with our primary school cluster and funding will be applied to the Cambridgeshire Culture Fund in May. The stART team are looking to extend the reach of and access to the national Trinity Guildhall qualification ARTS AWARD. Arts Awards build life skills, confidence and aspiration,

they are open to children and young people from 7-25 years old. www.artsaward.org.uk I participated in two MVC celebration assemblies in January presenting 22 Bronze Award Certificates to recognise students who had worked successfully to achieve the awards. Work continues in leading the community engagement and education development at Wysing Arts Centre. The new exhibition, Relatively Absolute opens on Feb 9th – we have organised a programme of events and family workshops. Check out www.wysingartscentre.org for their programme of events and exhibitions. There are other exciting projects in development and I look forward to letting the community know about them. Some projects are small, others large scale and all have many wide-reaching potential benefits for Melbourn, the school, its students and the wider community. I was very interested to learn about the Melbourn Community Hub; I look forward to working together with the community to look for funding and project opportunities to bring to this exciting initiative for the village. As you can read there is a great deal of fantastic work to be involved with – if you would like to find out more and get involved , or if you have an idea and you would like any help or advice on how to get a creative project off the ground in the area please do get in touch. I would very much like to hear from you. Bryony Graham, Arts Development Manager stART- Melbourn Village College Telephone: 07770 643165 Email: bryony@start-arts.org.uk – Web: www.start-arts.org.uk

Apprenticeships Double In Cambridgeshire The number of people in Cambridgeshire becoming apprentices has nearly doubled over the last two years. Government figures show an increase of 97 per cent in the number of people seeking this alternative way of gaining employment, progressing in an existing role or retraining. Nationally there has been an increasing focus on apprenticeships by the Government, which has seen cross party support to develop more choices for employers and those entering or progressing their employment. Changes in the law will mean that young people will need to continue in education or training until the age of 18. This will affect all young people in secondary school. This does not just mean that young people need to stay on in school. It means they will be able to continue in education, to start a job with training, or to enter an apprenticeship training programme. Jobcentre Plus and schools careers advisers offer information and advice, together with other partners. In Cambridgeshire, Melbourn Village College had the highest proportion of students moving into apprenticeships at age 16. Vice-Principal Regina Lawrence said: ‘Young people in Cambridgeshire have a wide range of post-16 options available to them and we work hard to give personalised, impartial information, advice and guidance to all students at

the College. Although the vast majority of our students go on to full time study, we feel it is important to give appropriate advice to all our students and we see apprenticeships as a valuable option within this.’ Cllr David Harty, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Learning said: ‘It is very encouraging that young people, adults and employers are seeing the benefit of apprenticeships as a valued route into employment, progressing within an existing role, and as a form of retraining into other areas. Apprenticeships have proven to contribute to increased productivity for businesses and increased self esteem for individuals, as well as a nationally recognised qualification. ‘They are also available to start at intermediate level with further opportunities up to the equivalent of a degree. The County Council is wholly supportive of apprenticeship schemes which lead to better skills for people and local businesses, as well as providing the opportunity for individuals to earn while they learn.’ Anyone interested in becoming, or employing an apprentice should log onto: www.apprenticeships.org.uk

The Windmill by Kieran Hart Thirteen year-old Kieran has been holidaying annually with his grandparents, Terry and Marjorie Shaw of Melbourn and extended family at the National Trust Tower Mill at Burnham Overy Staithe for several years. In 2012 there were 19 people ranging in age from 81 to 9 years. On his return he wrote the poem given below. Keiran is an energetic boy and plays rugby, is a keen scout, plays in a brass band and is also interested in history. This interest was heightened when he found a flint arrow head in their allotment. This has been dated as 4,000 years old and is on loan to the local museum. See the mighty sails turn again See the crumbling cogs turning once more. You see the Windmill but the Windmill sees And the Windmill remembers Times of toil that have long since passed, Times of treachery and the death of Kings, Times of war and the shedding of blood. The Windmill remembers these times and will, Until it is a ruin turning slowly to dust. It will remember the day you came And saw the Windmill and imagined What it once must have been.

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feature Chinese visitor to Stockbridge Meadows During the autumn of 2012 a Chinese student, Miaolijuan, visited the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at Cambridge University as a visiting scholar. Melbourn resident Bruce Huett had met her on a visit to Beijing in the summer of 2012 and recognised her interest in conservation issues. The Director of the Unit was able to arrange a visit for her to Cambridge as part of a co-operative arrangement with Beijing Normal University where she is a student in the Interaction Mechanism of Human Activities and Global Change Research Group, a section of the Department of Global Change and Earth System Science (sic). This was a marvellous opportunity for her to develop her research with scholars from several different departments at the University. She attended seminars in a range of disciplines and presented her work in a seminar at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit. However, despite the fact that her main research area is in China, she said that a trip around several conservation sites in the neighbourhood of Melbourn was one of the highlights of her visit. Although it was a typical cold and slightly wet English day she didn’t want to stop the exploration. She was very impressed with the idea of local conservation groups and the concept of the “Fields in Trust”. She said that this was a brilliant idea as there is now very little green space left in Beijing. She came from a rural area, but had not experienced the idea of people giving up their spare time to aid in conservation of their local environment. She was also very impressed with the support given by the local authorities. Her research involves the remote sensing of the condition of the grasslands in China and Mongolia. This links to some research carried out in Cambridge on social models of managing grassland. An example of her work: spatial and temporal change of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), temperature and precipitation from 2000 to 2007 in Inner Mongolia. The blue colour means it is increasing and red means it is decreasing. She could probably produce some interesting pictures for Cambridgeshire over the last couple of years! After her trip to Cambridge, and particularly Melbourn, she has become more interested in the human aspects of conservation and is considering adding some visits to the grasslands to interview the nomads and to discover more about how they perceive the management of their livelihoods. Bruce was able to give her links to some of his contacts in this field. She can then add a human dimension to her physical models. Possibly her visit to Melbourn has helped her to expand her horizons. She will be giving some lectures when she gets back to China on these initiatives and Bruce provided her with

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material on his activities with the Stockbridge Meadows Conservation Group, the Mel River Conservation Group and the Melwood Conservation Group. In conjunction with the District Council ecologist Rob Mungovan the tour started with a visit to Stockbridge Meadows where Rob explained the tree planting and management programme and the special habitats for the lizards. We then visited the Mel River and tried to find out if the trout were spawning. We were fortunate to meet the owner of Topcliffe Mill in Meldreth, Ralph Betts, who arranged for her to see the inside of the Mill. This was a very special experience for her as the machinery has been kept in very good condition and offered her the opportunity to get a very clear idea of how ancient English water mills functioned. I had been trying to explain what a Mill was, but seeing the inside gave her a full understanding and she could relate it to smaller water mills in the Chinese countryside. The visit ended with tea at Bruce’s thatched cottage in Rose Lane in Melbourn. She was ecstatic about the charming thatched cottage, but wondered why people would still want to live in houses with grass roofs. She said that in China this would be seen as very old fashioned; everyone in the countryside now wanted a modern look! She carefully took some pictures on her mobile phone to show how primitive we are in England!

Melbourn United Reformed Church We are grateful to church members and friends in and around the village who have joined us or contributed to a number of special events over the last few months. Early in October Rosaline Van de Weyer presented an interesting and thought provoking illustrated talk on her visit to Romania as part of an ‘Aid for Romania’ medical team. Money raised on that evening was divided equally between the charity and church funds. On 21st November 2012, the tools and hymn books collected at Melbourn over our harvest weekend were delivered to the Tools With A Mission centre in Ipswich. The centre was a hive of activity with volunteers busy receiving, sorting and repairing all manner of tools. The next couple of containers of tools were going to Zambia and Uganda. Our thanks to everyone who contributed. Our ‘Shoebox Sunday’ service was led by our church member and Westminster College student, Martin Belgrove. Martin blessed the 122 shoeboxes collected for Samaritans Purse-Operation Christmas Child. These had been collected from our own congregation and friends, together with friends from Bassingbourn, Buntingford, Fowlemere and Barrington. Many thanks to everyone who supported this unique way of bringing a smile to a child. This year our ‘Big Christmas Card’ to send greetings to friends locally, was also a way of supporting Ormiston Children and Families Trust. (www.ormiston.org) a charity helping children and young people in the East of England.

Christmas Activities We enjoyed a busy and varied programme of events and services over the Christmas period. Our Christmas Bazaar was held on 1st December, where a number of traditional stalls were set out during the morning. This was followed by a scrumptious festive lunch. On 4th December we held a Christingle Service. The church was filled with candlelight from Christingles made and distributed by the Brownies. It was lovely to share this special service with family members and others who also attended. Our Women’s Meeting group joined the Mother’s Union for Carols on 11th December, and we joined with the other churches in Melbourn and Meldreth to sing carols in the Black Horse and in the centre of the village to raise funds for the Melbourn branch of Chenobyl’s Children. The latter took place on a very rainy day. Thanks to all who stopped to make a contribution and for the warm welcome at the Coffee Stop where we ended our carol singing for the morning. During December there were weekly Advent Bible Study evenings, our young people presented a Nativity with a contemporary slant and we enjoyed a Candlelit Watch-night Service and early morning service on Christmas Day.

Looking Forward Our Craft and Chat group continues to meet every Thursday between 2-4 pm. in the hall. So far we have knitted blankets and hats to be sent to Jimmy’s Nightshelter

and hats and gloves that were added to the Christmas shoeboxes. There are new projects, both group and individual in the pipeline. If you are interested in coming along either to learn a skill, to pass on expertise in a craft, or just for a cup of tea and chat you would be most welcome. For more information please contact Anne Field 01763 220869 Friday Morning Coffee, every week, in the Church Hall from 10.30am. Do drop in. As Lent and Easter approach, please check our church notice board for details of services and activities.

All Saints Parish Church The Crib Service is advertised as starting at 3.00 p.m. on Christmas Eve but from long experience the sidesmen on duty know it is wise to be ready an hour earlier and sure enough by then the first villagers are coming up the church path. Gradually the church fills up and by the starting time there is not a seat to be found and people are standing in the aisles! There is great good humour even amongst those who have to stand and the children are eagerly awaiting the first sighting of Noah our very own donkey together with ‘Joseph and Mary’. This year he didn’t leave any ‘calling cards’ that last year had to be swept up but there was some reluctance on his part to enter ‘the stable’ under the tower but with some pushing and prodding he was finally persuaded. Everybody kindly obeyed the sidesmen’s pleas and took their turn to view the ‘living crib’. Midnight Mass was well attended and the early Communion service on melbournmagazine

Christmas morning, and although the main attendance was the 10.00 a.m. Family Communion at Holy Trinity in Meldreth where again it was almost ‘standing room’ only. And so the congregation slowly dispersed to their homes and on Christmas night the streets of the village were quiet as the bright and cheerful lights behind the curtains spoke of families coming together to enjoy the occasion, to perhaps play with new presents or watch the television together. And yet not quite deserted for in the car park of All Saints Community Hall a small group of young people stood around. Had they no family to welcome them? Was the cold of the car park preferable to their own homes on this the most ‘family night’ of the year?

All Saints’ Community Hall There have been several innovations recently with a view to improving the facilities for our hirers. The CCTV system has been replaced with a newer version that now gives allround views of the area to add to the safety and security. It also enables us to store records of any problems that might occur. Improvements are being made to the toilet and kitchen facilities and these, together with the improved acoustics, mean that we can offer the Hall for a wide range of users. GIGGLES She’s having a fit of the giggles so if you feel grumpy, watch out, for giggles is ever so catching and there’s millions of giggles about. If somebody says “don’t be silly, there’s no earthly reason to laugh!” The giggles come thicker and faster till she shakes herself nearly in half. If the giggles take over completely she’ll collapse on her face in her plate and her mum will get worried and mutter, “it must have been something she ate!” No nobody knows where they comes from, and nobody knows where they goes, but when giggles take over you’re helpless from the tip of your top to your toes.

Gillian Shepheard 1928–2012

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Bookings for parties continue to be received as word spreads that the Hall is an ideal venue for both children and adults. Parties following a christening in church are now becoming regular bookings as parents realise that it is only a short step from the actual service to meeting and greeting relatives and friends. Our uniformed organisations (Rainbows, Brownies and Guides) meet weekly and we also welcome the church based groups such as Mothers’ Union and Women’s group. If you are seeking an ideal venue in the village centre with car parking and disabled access then we can perhaps help. Colin Limming, Bookings Secretary / 01763 260072 / hallbookings@live.co.uk

SOAS 100 Club The November draw of the SOAS 100 Club was made on 1st December by Mr Mike Rawlings. There were 77 members. The first prize of £25.70 goes to Hilary Warboys (79) at 4 Beeton Close and the second to Zena Hawkin (75) at 21 Greenbanks. The December draw was made by Rev Andrew O’Brien on 4th January. The number of members was 77. The first prize of £25.70 goes to W A Warden (13) at 10 Thatcher Stanford’s Close and the second to Sue Cane (35) at 6 Carlton Rise. The January draw was made by Rev Andrew O’Brien on 2nd Feb. There were 69 members. The first prize of £23.00 goes to Rosemary Gatward (57) at 94 High Street and the second of £11.50 to Mike Scriven (49) at 22 Saffron Street Royston.

Supporters of All Saints (SOAS) Since our last report SOAS have held two excellent events that have helped to swell the funds that are always need for the maintenance of the Parish Church. On the 8th December the Orlando Singers gave a concert of Christmas music on an evening we will long remember. Under the baton of our Parish Clerk Peter Horley the singers rendered Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and then in the second half we were invited to join in with some well known carols and hymns. The Singers finished with Handel’s Alleluia Chorus that nearly brought the roof down. As a result of the evening we added £535 to the funds. On 6th January we accepted the kind offer of Bob & Joan Howard to cook a simple Twelfth Night lunch. This seems to be a tradition in Scotland when on this day the remains of the New Year’s food is used up! A crowded Community Hall enjoyed a simple meal with a glass of wine and a table quiz. There was a homely and cheerful atmosphere as the ladies of the committee served the delicious food. Again we were able to add about £250 to the funds. On 23rd March we are holding a ‘Bangers and Mash Quiz Night’ ay 7.30pm in All Saints’ Community Hall. Tickets are £7.50 (SOAS members) and £8.00 (non members) and are bookable by ringing George Howard 260686 or Colin Limming 260072. The rest of the year’s events have still to be finalised but the one certain date at the moment is our Open Gardens Day on 19th May. All our members are kept in touch with our programme by means of e-mail messages or circulars. If you feel you would like to join in the fun there is a small minimum membership fee of £3.00 for an individual or £5.00 for a household of two adults and two children under 16 years. Colin Limming, Membership Secretary / 260072 / colin.limming@btinternet.com

The Word of God from David Burbridge Sodom and Gomorrha and the cities about them, giving themselves over to fornication, are set forth for an example, suffering eternal fire. In what they knew naturally, they corrupted themselves after their own lusts. Glory be to the only wise God, our Saviour, who is able to keep you from falling. From Jude’s epistle

(as it still is today) before mechanised farming took the place of the work done by hand. Colin Limming

Melbourn And District Photographic Club

Bowls Malcolm Davey 262704 Bridge Club Howard Waller 261693 1st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts 261505 Brownies 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford 220272 Brownies 2nd Melbourn Samantha Pascoe 261400 Cricket Martin Winter 262733 Croquet Janet Pope 248342 Football Club Andrew Edwards 223109 Dynamos Football Club Les Morley 07739 593771 Gardening Club Helen Powell 245887 Judo Derek Coult 225004 Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack 263313 Photographic Club Bruce Huett 232855 Ramblers Dave Allard 242677 Royston and District Round Table Michael Seymour 221398 Squash Club Nick Sugden 261064 Swimming Club Jenny Brackley 244593 Tennis (Melbourn) Dave Liddiard 07508 995 781 Tennis (Meldreth) Sue Davies 220174

Melbourn History Group In the preface to her famous cookery and housekeeping book Mrs Isabella Beeton suggested that had she known the effort it would take to complete she may have been reluctant to even start. It may be that some of the members of the group are feeling the same as they painstakingly thumb through the entries in the school log books for the late 19th century and try to decipher the all too often illegible handwriting that was obviously done with a somewhat scratchy nib and a bottle of rather fading ink. And yet there are gems to be found amongst the faded pages. There is no doubt that the Fordham family played a huge part in the running of the girls’ school. It is recorded that throughout the 1870s and 1880s regular visits were made by Miss Fordham who instructed the pupils in needlework and awarded prizes for the best “samplers”. She was also responsible for the Christmas tree in December. Visits from the dreaded Schools Inspector are recorded and in some years the remarks made are scathing to say the least. Comments are made about the poor results in arithmetic and dictation and copying of each other’s work seems to have been rife. However, what strikes us as compilers is the total absence of pupils during the harvest season. The school appears empty and the records make reference to the girls having to look after the children while their mothers are in the fields, or the girls not coming to school because they were also in the fields ‘gleaning’. This behaviour looks odd at first sight but one has to remember how important the harvest was in those days

We have had a very successful start to the 2012/2013 season with many new members who have been participating in our discussions (and winning competitions!). Several have mentioned what a friendly club we are so come and visit us any Tuesday evening at 7.30pm at Foxton Village Hall and ‘test the water’. Meetings normally last until about 9.30pm. The club has been in existence for many years but enjoys meeting new members so we can share skills and experiences. There is a varied programme of competitions, lectures and practical advice. The highlight of the spring programme is the final of the Melbourn trophy to be held on Saturday 16th March 2013 at Foxton Village Hall. Prints produced by club members during the year will be on display and the trophy will be awarded to the winner of a knockout competition between local clubs. The competition concludes on this evening with judging of the entries from the finalists. This is an exciting event with entries of very high quality. Refreshments will be available. The rest of the spring programme comprises: March

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Club evening Thursday – Inter club competition at Letchworth Competition: Projected image of the year Friday – Inter club competition at Gamlingay SATURDAY Melbourn Trophy Final Competition: Print of the year Club evening: Stroll around Foxton

April 2 AGM

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For further information please ring the secretary Bruce Huett 01763 232 855. melbournmagazine

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Understanding Our Past Exploring the Hidden History of Meldreth

1st Melbourn Guides Back in the autumn term our unit of 30 girls got off to a lively start with a Guide Olympic Pentathlon, competing in unusual indoor sports and mental challenges. With four new recruits ready to make their Guide promise, the patrols then spent an evening creating a board game based around the Guide law. Bullying a new girl would set you back a few squares, but baking cakes for charity would send you a long way forward! In preparation for Remembrance Sunday the girls had a taster of skills they would have used during the war. They learned to set and light a fire and a gas stove safely; stuck landmarks on a large map of Melbourn (Guides used to carry messages to ARP wardens) and practiced bandaging and resuscitation techniques. As usual the unit carried the Guide flag at the Melbourn Remembrance parade. After half term the girls chose one of three interest badges to work on in groups. While the confectioners got though copious amounts of icing sugar and chocolate in the kitchen, the performing arts girls tested the new soundproofing in the main hall to its limits. There was a spoof talent show, some stylish bin-bag pantomime outfits, stage make-up, a dance routine, and some sock puppets produced by the two groups. Meanwhile the girls learning about healthy lifestyles created a TV show about foot care, and drew postcards to illustrate the perils of smoking and drinking! As Christmas approached we had a craft evening during which the girls made table decorations from fresh flowers and foliage, then we finished the term singing carols to the residents at Moorlands.

The Baden-Powell Award is the final badge that a Guide can achieve; it requires her to choose, organise, and complete ten challenges. In December this badge was awarded to Katherine Webb and Lauren Evans, whose achievements included organising a children’s party and a sports competition, seeing and reviewing a West End show, gaining several interest badges, and attending a weekend of challenges with other Guides from all over the region. These two girls exemplify the spirit and potential of Girlguiding, and we wish them well as they become young leaders of the Rainbow Guides. We currently have a full unit and a waiting list, and would welcome another adult leader. If you would like to know more about becoming a Guide or a leader, or if you have any skills or hobbies which you would like to share with us, please contact me on: 01763 261443 or email: melbournguides@gmail.com Hilary Marsh

Dr Carenza Lewis, a former Time Team presenter, will be speaking in Meldreth Village Hall on Saturday 23rd March, when Meldreth Local History Group’s latest project is officially launched. The Group was one of the first in the country to be awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund All Our Stories grant and will be using the money to fund the digging of 20-30 test pits at different locations in Meldreth. All our Stories, a brand new small grant programme, launched in 2012 in support of BBC Two’s The Great British Story, has been designed as an opportunity for everyone to get involved in their heritage. The popular TV series, presented by historian Michael Wood and supported by a programme of BBC Learning activities and events, got thousands of us asking questions about our history and inspired us to look at our history in a different way through the eyes of ordinary people. Robin Llewellyn, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund East of England, said ”Clearly the success of All Our Stories Items from the late Bronze age Meldreth Hoard. Photograph by Robert Skeen of Meldreth Local History Group, courtesy of the British Museum. More information on the Meldreth Hoard is available at www.meldrethhistory.org.uk/hoard.

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has reinforced the fact that we are indeed a nation of story tellers and that we want to explore and dig deeper into our past and discover more about what really matters to us. This is exactly what the grant will do for Meldreth Local History Group as it embarks on a real journey of discovery.” Throughout the project, the Group will be working closely with Dr Carenza Lewis, head of Cambridge University’s Cambridge Community Heritage unit. Dr Lewis has overseen the digging of hundreds of test pits in over 50 villages throughout the east of England as part of the Currently Rural Settlement (CORS) project and the results from the Meldreth digs will be added to the data already collected to build up an overall picture of how rural settlements in the region have developed.

When Will the Digs Take Place? Test pits will be dug over three different weekends in June, July and August. Further information will be provided at the meeting on 23rd March, when we will be inviting people to come forward if they wish to participate in the project. Meldreth residents will be able to put their garden or land forward as a possible location for a test pit. We will also be looking for volunteers to help with the project and participate in the digs.

What Will We Find? The most significant archaeological find to have come from Meldreth is the late Bronze Age ‘Meldreth Hoard’, which was discovered in the village in the late nineteenth century. While we don’t expect to find another hoard, it is hoped that the artefacts found during the project will tell us more about how Meldreth developed and evolved.

The Results Findings from the project will be published on our website www.meldrethhistory.org. uk and in the local press. We will also be holding an exhibition in Meldreth at the conclusion of the project. For further information, please come along to Meldreth Village Hall at 4.00 pm on Saturday 23rd March, follow the link from our website’s home page, www.meldrethhistory.org.uk, email info@ meldrethhistory.org.uk or telephone Kathryn Betts on (01763) 268428.

The Ramblers’ Association Royston and District Group Our walks programme continues right through the year. For details visit our website: www.ramblers-herts-northmiddlesex. org.uk or contact David Allard 01763 242677. Email: david.allard@ntlworld. com or Lesley Abbiss 01763 273463. There is also a poster displaying walks for the current month in both Melbourn and Royston libraries. We have walks on Sundays, which are normally 5–7 miles in the morning and a similar or shorter walk in the afternoon. Some Sunday walks are Figures of Eight making it possible to do only the morning or only the afternoon. Half-day walks are held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Prospective new members are welcome and may come on three walks before deciding whether to join. www.ramblers. org.uk to join.

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talk about the Grade 2 Listed garden, laid out in the mid 19th century by Francis Gibson. The Gibson family were eminent bankers and brewers in the town. The garden is divided into a number of ‘rooms’. A sunken Dutch Garden based on Gertrud Jekyll drawings, Wilderness Area, Poets Corner, Walled Garden, Central Lawn and the Maze area with formal clipped hedges. 14 May 2013 – A New Look at the Fens – Rodney Tibbs ‘Dull, flat and boring is the usual reaction to the Fenland region, but as this talk and its slides intend to show, the truth is far removed from that. It takes a very broad ranging view of the area, looking at the topography and explaining why things got where they were. It also takes a look at the many unusual and intriguing things in the Fens ranging from the sevenand-a-half-mile long Devil’s Dyke to the Stained Glass Museum tucked inside Ely Cathedral.

Melbourn and District Gardening Club

New members and visitors very welcome. For more information – ring Helen tel 01763 245887

Are you interested in gardening? Why not join the Melbourn and District Gardening Club on a regular or occasional basis. We meet at 7.30pm on the second Tuesday each month, at the Community Hall, behind All Saints Church (near traffic lights, lane by telephone box).

Melbourn Bowls Club

Advance Notice Coach Outing to Gardeners’ World Live and BBC Good Food Summer Show 15th June 2013 – the club will be visiting Gardeners World Live and BBC Good Food Show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham on Saturday 15th June 2013. Two pick up points, Melbourn and Royston. Non members welcome. Coach and entry to both exhibitions; under 65 – £30.00; over 65 – £28.40. 12 March 2013 – Travels to Spain through the Pyrenees to Andalucia. Carolyn Gohler, will cover the horticultural, floristic diversity and Moorish Gardens. 9 April 2013 – Bridge End Gardens & Maze, Saffron Walden. Head Gardener Mark Ropkins will

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The Bowls Club is presently in its winter hibernation mode after an Anniversary Year during which a number of special events were held and some fine performances were achieved on the Green. In particular our Cambridge and District League team achieved promotion to Division 1. So, congratulations are due to Rod Sell and his team. The Meldreth League Team finished third, while the afternoon Foxton League team finished seventh out of eleven but with a positive shots difference. The Business House League team also managed to retain its place in the first division after last year’s promotion. On an individual level, congratulations are due to Di Clark and Anne Howard on winning the Business House Ladies Pairs Trophy. This is a competition open to players from all clubs playing in the Business House League, so is quite an achievement. The internal Club Competitions finals took place in September and the melbournmagazine

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following people won titles: Monday Afternoon League – Ernie Brown Handicap – Geoff Bridger Men’s Singles – Paul Ferris Ladies Singles – Sue Sell Mixed Pairs – Di Clark & Jeff Maddin Drawn Pairs – Sue Sell & Malcolm Davey Club Triples – Betty King, Tony Jaquarello & Ernie Brown Fish & Chips Pairs – Jacqui Dodds & Doreen Bridger Our Presentation Dinner was held on 25th November where a social gathering and good meal were enjoyed before the trophies were presented to the winners. The photograph shows the most improved player Julia Howell with the President of Melbourn Bowls Club Malcolm Davey. During the winter we are continuing with Whist Drives every other Friday at 7.00pm in the Clubhouse which will continue until Easter. This is a friendly sociable event and prospective new members would be made very welcome at these evenings. For further details contact Arthur Andrews (tel 01763 261990).

Open Day Open day this year will be on Sunday 28th April starting at 2.30pm and we would invite any experienced bowlers who might be interested in joining the club to attend on that day. We would also particularly welcome anyone who

might be interested in taking up the game of Bowls. Tuition and equipment can be provided for complete beginners (those who have never played before), just bring flat shoes, and anyone who may have played before and would like to take up the game again. If you cannot attend on 28 April or would like more information please contact Arthur Andrews on 01763 261990. We would emphasise that Bowls is a game for all age groups from nine to ninety, and even beyond. Don’t be put off by any perception that bowls is a game for the retired; it can be enjoyed by all age groups equally and the younger you start the better the standard you are likely to achieve. It is a very sociable game and gives you a chance to meet a friendly group of people and take some gentle exercise. We will be holding our popular Coffee Mornings every Thursday Morning starting on 25th April 2013 from 10.30am to 12.00 noon. We welcome non-members who can be sure of good company and have the chance to get to know existing members and perhaps watch some of our internal competitions, which often take place at the same time. During the summer season there will frequently be matches played in the evenings starting at 6.30pm and also on Sunday afternoons usually starting around 2.30pm. Spectators are always welcome, just turn up and watch.

A little late but a Happy New Year to all of the readers of the best magazine of any village. We have enjoyed another good few months, with average attendances of 30 – 40 players. We all enjoyed a Christmas Party, with Anne McShane and John Watson winning the Wine. Any new players would be welcome, whether you live in Melbourn, Orwell or any other of our neighbouring villages come with or without a partner to the Vicarage Close Community Centre at 7.15pm on every Monday. Any further information can be had by telephoning Howard Waller on 01763 261693.

Royston and District Family History Society During the summer break we had a guided tour around Ashwell with David Short, an acknowledged expert on the town and a most entertaining speaker as well. It was a lovely summer afternoon, really pleasant for a stroll although not warm enough to persuade us to follow David’s lead to paddle in the springs. It was, however, considered warm enough for a glass of something to be enjoyed in the beer garden of the Bushel & Strike at the end of the tour. Our new season began in September with a very interesting and informative talk by Hilary Ritchie the Archivist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Very few of us had any idea of the wealth of old hospital records that still exist. Hilary pointed out that the majority of the records, are, as yet, not indexed, so searching them was difficult and time consuming. She did offer to try though, if given plenty of time, and already one of our members has been able to access the original admittance information concerning her Great Grandfather who injured himself falling out of a tree while fruit picking. Our programme for the rest of the 2012/13 season is as follow:

» March 18th – Talk by John Tunesi from the College of Arms

» April 15th – A members evening.

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Family Tree? It doesn’t matter where your family comes from, most of us don’t have local ancestors. Bring along what you do know about your family and we will be delighted to help you. May 20th – Talk by local historian, Tom Doig. The subject has yet to be finalised but Tom is always an informative and entertaining speaker. June 17th – A.G.M. with cheese and wine. New to our list of publications is the Monumental Inscriptions for Wallington Parish Church. The current ongoing, and very large project, is the Orchard Road Cemetery, Melbourn. This will take a while I fear. Over the years we have completed numerous publications which include the Monumental Inscriptions of several graveyards, the burial indexes of several churches, mainly on the Hertfordshire side of the border, Royston Parish Church Marriages (1662–1812) and banns (1754–1837) and three volumes of the ‘Births, Marriages and Deaths’ as published in the ‘Royston Crow’; they are Vol 1 1876–1886, Vol 2 1887–1899, and Vol 3 1900–1910. All these are available on our bookstall at meetings, from our website www.roystonfhs.org.uk or from the Parish Chest website, www. parishchest.com. All our meetings, unless otherwise stated, take place on the third Monday of the month at All Saints’ Community Hall, Melbourn with doors opening for chat and a look at the bookstall at 7.30 pm and talks commencing at 8pm. We are always happy to see new faces and can assure you of a warm welcome. We could also use some younger blood, if only to crawl about in those graveyards! Avril Emery, Chair/Editor Royston & District FHS

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Royston & District Local History Society website: www.roystonlocalhistory.org.uk Our meetings are held in the Heritage Hall, Royston Town Hall on the first Thursday of the month (second Thursday in May) starting at 8pm. Annual subscription is £5 (under 18’s £2.50).

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The main season gets underway in April; an enthusiastic group of golf croquet play regularly on Tuesday evenings. We welcome anyone who wants to try playing croquet. For further information please contact Janet Pope 01763 248342; jacksonpope@tiscali. co.uk

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Melbourn Dynamos Football Club

Visitors £2 per meeting. March 7 – Cambridge beneath our feet, the geology of Cambridge and district, illustrated Steve Boreham. April 4 – Churches and Chapels since the Reformation, illustrated by Tony Kirby. May 9 – Annual General Meeting 7.30pm followed at 8pm by: Ely’s Forgotten Victorian gaol – the house of correction, Illustrated Mike Petty. June 8 – Coach Outing to Lavenham and Melford Hall details from david. allard@ntlworld.com. Our website shows all the books we have for sale. Many of these result from the considerable work undertaken by our Publications sub-committee. The books are available at our meetings or may be ordered by post from David Allard 01763 242677. They may also be purchased at the Royston Museum & Arts Gallery in Kneesworth Street and some are available at the Cave Bookshop in Melbourn Street. The Society is responsible for the opening of Royston Cave, Melbourn Street, Royston which will open on Saturday 30th March until the end of September. The Cave will be open on Wednesdays in August, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays 2.30pm to 5pm (last admission 4.30pm.) www. roystoncave.co.uk, Admission Adults £4, Senior Citizens £3, Accompanied Children Free.

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Meldreth Croquet Club 2012 was a very successful year for Meldreth Croquet; our Open Day in May attracted many people to try their hand at the game and as a result we gained several new members. The recent improvements in the grounds of the British Queen have made the croquet lawn visible from the road and from the river Mel footpath, so people can watch the game being played. In the past we have only played croquet from May to October, however a hardy band of club members have been playing through the winter when the weather was good. Several dedicated members started the new year playing croquet in the first week of January

For Boys and Girls aged 4–18 years old – All welcome! www.melbourndynamos.co.uk MDFC is a friendly community football club that gives boys and girls the opportunity to play regular football regardless of their experience or ability. We have squads in all age groups from U7 to U18 and have a permanent base at Melbourn Village College, where we hold our training and home matches in beautiful surroundings. Our squads train weekly and play matches at weekends (mostly) in the Royston Crow Youth League, as well as regional cup competitions. The U15s squad are pictured wearing their new kit donated by the League and trophyUK. net in recognition of the League’s 30th anniversary. We have had many successes, both competitively and in our style of play which has led to a number of our squads receiving the League’s Fair Play Award – voted for by other clubs in the League. Last season’s successes included the U10 squad winning the divisional trophy and the U16 squad reaching the finals of two major regional competitions – the Cambridgeshire County Cup and the Royston Youth Football League Cup. Congratulations to them all! We also run a Saturday morning fun football session for boys and girls aged 4 to 5 years – The Melbourn Dynamites – all are welcome. All of our coaches are CRB checked and qualified to a minimum of F.A. Level1 standard. We are also recognised as a Charter Status Club which means that we have all the correct people and practices in place to operate in line with government requirements. All continued on page 59

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feature Celebrating 80 years Hundred Houses Society is a charitable housing association based in Cambridge with more than 1,100 properties in ownership and management, in Cambridge and the surrounding area. Our mission is to provide affordable, high quality, sustainable housing solutions, wider life choices and opportunities for all our customers and communities. We are run by a Board of Management of local people who have skills and experience that are invaluable in creating the strategic direction that is appropriate and essential to meet community needs. We have a staff of 17 professional and enthusiastic people delivering day-to-day services such as lettings, repairs and planned renewals of kitchens, bathrooms, windows, doors, external decoration, and grounds maintenance. We collect around £6 million in rent and have a private finance portfolio of £48 million in capital that is used to fund construction. We also work closely with local authorities to meet their identified housing needs and have been grant funded until recently by the Homes and Communities Agencies, the regulatory and investment body of the Communities and Local Government Department of the Government. The Society was established in 1933 and has undertaken major regeneration and modernisation of its earliest estates, with over £13 million invested in existing

stock and redevelopment of some of the oldest houses. It also pioneered the use of planning agreements under the Town and Country Planning Acts Section 106 Planning Agreements to provide affordable homes on private-forsale developments by volume house builders and has developments in central Cambridge, Ely and March built under these planning agreements. It was the first housing association to build on a greenfield site outside the village development envelope at Landbeach, Cambridgeshire and has since gone on to develop further affordable housing for local people in the villages such Linton, Sutton, Cottenham, Bourn, Meldreth, Barrington and Hardwick situated around the Cambridge City urban area. The Society has a strong asset base and operates in the most resilient economic sub-region in the UK. With its good reputation and commitment to expand its housing stock to meet the pressing housing needs, it is in an excellent shape to further strengthen its position as a leading housing provider in Cambridgeshire, retaining its independence and continuing to offer a personal and responsive service to the local community. The Hub in Melbourn High Street is a good example of how we can use our construction and financial skills to create community facilities. Our 80th anniversary this year is a milestone that we are very proud of and demonstrates that we are a longterm, responsible property business with a social purpose. Iceni Homes Limited is our joint venture partner for project managing all of our new developments, working with contractors and consultants to produce the high standards that we want to achieve.

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are welcome and if you are interested in finding out more about MDFC and the opportunities to play football with us, please contact Nicky Patel on 07951 590139 or email us on melbourndynamos@aol.com You may have seen that the Club is running a Cafe in the Sports Pavilion on the Moor as part of our fundraising activities for this season. We would like to thank Melbourn Parish Council for enabling us to use the Pavilion. Also our thanks are due to the Melbourn Co-op and Leech & Sons for their kind support and donations. Come and visit us on Sunday mornings between 10.00am– 12.30pm and try our superb sausage & bacon rolls, homemade cakes and hot and cold drinks – all are very welcome!

Melbourn Sports Centre News For those of you who don’t already know, we have: A state of the art fitness suite offering a variety of membership schemes A 20 metre swimming pool (kept ever so slightly warmer than most!) A comprehensive swimming lesson programme, catering for all ages and abilities Upgraded multisports courts for hire including tennis, football and squash courts Water sports courses and activities Traditional and modern exercise classes Access to Melbourn Village College sports hall and gymnasium for activities such as trampolining, badminton and basketball Supervised sports and pool parties. March – It’s a universally accepted fact – Mums are great! So this Mother’s Day how about treating her to her own gym membership or purchasing a gift voucher for our other activities here at Melbourn Sports? Make this Mother’s Day one she’ll never forget! April – We’ve got a bumper bag of Easter activities this year, including our OFSTED registered Play Scheme,

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where children will be treated to trampolining, swimming and creative crafts. Other holiday activities include Swimming Crash Course and Trampolining Taster sessions. April 2013 also sees the return of our charitable Swimathon, with all participants raising money for the Marie Curie CancerCare Trust. We’d love to have as many entrants as possible; teams of up to five are welcome as well as individual swimmers. The Swimathon takes place on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th April. For further information, please see reception or visit our website at www.melbournsports.com. May – We welcome back the outdoor sports and tennis season. For all you budding Wimbledon stars, courts can be hired mid-week and at weekends. We are also pleased to announce that we have joined up with Melbourn and District Tennis Club based at Melbourn Sports Centre. Membership ranges from £10.00 (minis) – £120.00 (families). For further information please contact Melbourn Sports Centre reception 01763 263313 or Dave Liddiard 07508 995781 E-mail: dave@ set2play.co.uk Later this month, we will be running our children’s holiday activities once again, with Play Scheme and a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities available.

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»»June – For something a bit different

this Fathers Day, how about treating your Dad to his own gym membership or purchasing a gift voucher for our other activities here at Melbourn Sports? It’s a great way to help a loved one get fit! Plus why not start planning your summer sports early, with our holiday courses like the Children’s Pentathlon and Swimming Crash Course? Bookings taken from May onwards. Other activities on offer this Spring and Summer include: Friendly Fridays, where members of the public can come down with an existing fitness suite member and try out the gym for free! Our usual popular swimming lessons, both group and private A range of exercise classes including Zumba, Pilates, SwimClinic (pool training session) and Traditional Aerobics Indoor and Outdoor Court Hire. For further details on these or any other activities, please drop in, call 01763 263313 or go online at www.melbournsports.com. We look forward to seeing you this season!

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Melbourn Sports Centre, The Village College, The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 6EF 01763 263313 www.melbournsports.com info@melbournsports.com

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What’s on The Cambridgeshire Choral Society

The New Melbourn Singers, having greatly enjoyed the challenge of David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus which they sang in February, are now concentrating on their next concert. This is a complete change but no less of a challenge. The choir’s next concert, again as part of the Cambridgeshire Choral Society, is on 27th April at 7.30pm in the magnificentl surroundings of St John’s College Chapel. This will be the perfect setting to enjoy the beautiful music of Vivaldi’s Gloria and Fauré’s Requiem. What better way to spend a Spring evening? Details of how to buy tickets are on the Cambridgeshire Choral Society website www.cambschoral. org.uk and they can also be bought from members of the New Melbourn Singers.

host, we do take guests as well and have several regulars from outside the village who enjoy taking part. It is good fun and you get to meet a lot of people. If you would like to know more about our Safari Supper, or indeed to put your name down to take part do please ring either me on 260686 or Jane Brett on 260306. Or alternatively, email howards.carlings@btinternet.com for an application form. Mavis Howard

The 45th Thriplow Daffodil Weekend 16th & 17th March 2013 Thriplow welcomes visitors from all over the country to enjoy a celebration of Spring. With hundreds of stalls and attractions ranging from Heavy Horse rides to Morris Men and from Open Gardens to a ‘Taste of Thriplow’, this popular charity event has something for everyone. The village is closed to traffic for the weekend, allowing visitors to enjoy the paths and verges swathed in thousands of daffodils. Adults £5 Children £2.50 Under 5’s Free. Website: www.thriplow.org.uk

Sixth Safari Supper – 8th June Our sixth Safari Supper will take place on Saturday 8th June this year. I do hope that everyone who has taken part before will do so again and that new people will join in too. We have taken care to avoid the fetes in Melbourn and Meldreth. The supper raises money towards the upkeep of the All Saints Community Hall – last year we gave a substantial sum towards the acoustic work which was done in the autumn. For the evening to work well we need people willing to provide a starter, main course or dessert for four to eight people – and after each course you all move on to different venues hopefully, if we have organised it properly, not meeting the same people again. We all finish up at the Hall to have coffee and exchange notes on the evening! The cost is £12 per person but we do offer something towards the food for those who are cooking. Not everyone has to be a

John Rutter – Confessions of a Composer John Rutter has kindly agreed to support a fund raising evening for The Betty Greasley Education Charity*, on Tuesday 30th April at 7.30pm in Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth. John studied music at Clare College, Cambridge and co-edited various choral anthologies including four Carols for Choirs volumes with Sir David Willcocks. He was Director of Music at Clare College from 1975–1979 and in 1981 formed his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, as a professional chamber choir primarily dedicated to recording and broadcasting. He now divides his time between composition and conducting. In 2002 his setting of Psalm 150, commissioned melbournmagazine

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for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee was performed at the Service of Thanksgiving in St Paul’s Cathedral and in 2011 he composed ‘This is the Day’, on the occasion of the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. John Rutter’s music has been widely recorded and is available on many record labels. *Following the death of Betty Greasley in March 2006, her family requested that any donations should be used to help provide for the education of children at the Jersey Basic School in Katete, Eastern Province Zambia, in memory of Betty’s teaching work in Africa and the U.K. The primary objective of the charity is to support the school on the provision of teaching aids and equipment of various sorts and our largest donation has been towards the building of three classrooms. All these are currently not available through the existing school budget. Tickets: £10, to include a glass of wine and nibbles, available from the Trustees: Peter Chilvers, Treasure 01763 260742 E-mail: peter@melbourncambs.orangehome.co.uk Pauline Penfold, Secretary 01763 260163 E-mail: penfold001@btinternet.com

Motor Neurone Disease Association It feels like ages since I have written about our fundraising, however, 2012 was a quiet year for us. On Sunday 9th December 2012 a group of thirteen runners took part in the do-it-for-charity 5k Santa Run in Greenwich Park. As the name suggests we were all dressed as ‘Santas’ on a chilly winter morning but soon warmed up when we ran up and down the slopes of Greenwich Park. We raised in the region of £3100 for the MNDA from this particular event and can’t thank people enough for their generosity and continuing support. You maybe interested to know that the Janice Guest Tribute Fund total currently stands at £21,000, this is from all the events we have hosted, taken part in and donations. With this money we are able to assist MND sufferers in our local area. As for 2013, we have just confirmed the date for another Ball, this is on Friday 24th May at the Sheene Mill, Melbourn. Ticket price will include a drink on arrival, a three course

dinner with two glasses of wine and a live band. If you would like more information about this event or to purchase tickets, then please contact me either by email at: jeremy.ashworth@ ntlworld.com, telephone: 01763 230831 or Facebook: Helen Jeremy Ashworth. We hosted a similar event in July 2011 and it was an extremely entertaining evening! Well, I hope I hear from you regarding the Ball and I will write again in the Summer. Meanwhile, thank you to everyone who supports us with our fundraising. Mrs Helen Ashworth

Great British Fish and Chip Supper Friday 17th May 2013 Hold a Fish and Chip Supper to help spinal cord injured people live full and independent lives.’ Want to do something different? Want to raise money where you live or work? Want to eat Fish and Chips, whilst raising money for charity? Hold a fish and chip supper on Friday 17th May 2013 whilst raising awareness of spinal cord injury and supporting SIA’s information and support services. You can hold a fish and chip supper in your own home, at work or hold a larger supper at your local community centre. SIA will provide a fundraising pack containing hints and tips, recipes, invitations and donation envelopes. By inviting seven friends and asking them to donate an additional £5.00 means you will raise at least £35.00 from your supper but we will also give you additional fundraising ideas to raise even more money for SIA. Since 2009 we have raised over £20,000 and it has become our flagship community fundraising event. We want to raise £10,000 from this event in 2013 so we can provide more support to spinal cord injured people. The money raised from the suppers will help the Spinal Injuries Association offer support to individuals who become paralysed and their families, from the moment a spinal injury occurs, and for the rest of their lives by providing services and publications which enable and encourage paralysed people to lead independent lives. Every year in the UK over 1,000 people experience a spinal cord injury and there are an estimated 40,000 spinal cord injured people in the UK alone. Community Fundraising Manager, Elizabeth Wright, says: “The Fish and Chip Supper is a wonderful opportunity for a great evening with friends and family. We are also encouraging people who work to hold a Fish and Chip Lunch in their work places to raise even more funds. You may be even a local community group wanting to run a fun evening with your group”. “Be a part of something special and make a real difference to help spinal cord injured people gain access to the information and support they need to enable them to live full and independent lives”. For more information or request a fundraising pack call Elizabeth Wright on 0845 071 4350 or email fundraising@ siafishandchips.co.uk or visit www.siafishandchips.co.uk melbournmagazine

The Black Horse welcomes you … Steve, Kerry and all the staff would like to welcome you to The Black Horse, Melbourn A traditional country pub which serves real ales, with a friendly atmosphere. Whether you’re looking to have a quiet drink, a bite to eat or you’d like to watch televised sporting events, a warm welcome is guaranteed. Dining Food is served Wednesday–Sunday 1200-1400hr & 1800-2030hr. Parking The Black Horse has it’s own private car park and there is also ample local street parking available. Outdoor Facilities We have a large Beer Garden to the rear comprising a decking patio area overlooking an fully-enclosed garden with children’s play equipment. Smokers Smoking inside the bar areas is not permitted by law but in addition to the outdoor patio/ garden we also have a substantial permanently covered and partly enclosed decked seating area which, although open-air, offers very effective protection from the elements.

Children We aim to provide a family-friendly environment. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome inside the bar lounges. At the moment we only have one high-chair available, but customers are welcome to make their own arrangements. For baby/ toddler feeding just ask if you need any water or anything warmed. Dogs We recognise that some of our customers like to include the pub on their dog walk, and we aim to accommodate them but do ask that in consideration of our other patrons dogs must be kept on a lead at all times. Particularly inside the premises the lead needs to be short enough to keep your dog close to you. Private Functions The Black Horse is available for private functions, for further details just give us a call.

The Black Horse 63 Orchard Rd, Melbourn, Royston. SG8 6BP Telephone 01763 262136 email: info@theblackhorsemelbourn.co.uk

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Review

Melbourn Amateur Dramatic Society

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Alfred Sargent

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Most of the players were old hands: there was a professionalism and ease about the acting of Sarah Richardson (Kitty), Ian Baker (the Prince), Bryan Higgins (Kitty’s dad), Ann Rogers and Mandy Handscome (the Sisters), Sue Baker (the rhyming fairy Godmother), Jennifer Field (a particularly puckish Hecate, the fairy Godmother’s assistant), Sarah Ellen Ayrgael and Clare Crossman (a couple of writers taking cameo roles as ball guests) and the voice of Jonathan Pearson. But for me the stage debutants stole the show. Paul Sleight was a likeable Prince Hal, Donna Sleight a suitably villanous wicked stepmother and Keith Wallace a marvellously flamboyant Zipper, an updated ‘Buttons’. Of course, there’s more to a panto than just the acting. Behind it all is the director, who has to turn the raw elements of script, actors, lights, set, costumes (and so on) into something that works as a whole. I’m no expert on how this is done, but I sensed an experienced hand on the tiller from Sarah Ellen Ayrgael (also a writer). The backstage team did a fine job, with lighting and sound from Ben Halliday and Tom Woodhouse, and set by Chek Larok and Paul Sleight. Luke Hopson entertained us on the piano in the interval. Anatomic

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ask for Available on Royston Market: Fresh Fruit and Veg

Fish direct from Great Yarmouth Bread and Cakes, Flowers and Plants Groceries Jewellery (Gold bought for Cash) Picture Framing Plastics Swimming Pool Supplies (the only licenced chemical market trader in the UK!) Kitchenware Antiques Pet Supplies.

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For all your gardening and handyman jobs Garden make overs and landscaping Laying new lawns Grass cutting • weeding fence painting • hedge cutting Painting and decorating inside and outside of buildings House and garden clearance service Tree work including conifer cutting/topping of trees. All rubbish removed from site No deposit required for garden make overs and landscaping

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If there was a weakness to the show, it was some of the individual singing: a tough call, as we’re all used to versions of well-known songs by top (and highly-paid) pros. By contrast, the ensemble comedy piece at the end of the first act – which called for excellent co-ordination and was very funny – worked a treat. The show ran for three nights, and was attended by around 350 people. If the evening I went to was anything to go by, they all had a great time. It’s quite an undertaking to put on a show like this, and quite a risk – many of us have no doubt sat through ‘am-dram’ longing for the bar to open at the end – but it paid off really well. The group have ambitious plans: an interactive murder mystery is next on the list, and if this show is anything to go by, it should be a must-see. Maybe I’m not the right person to write this. Pantos are essentially for kids – though The Lost Slipper had enough adult material to keep mum and dad chortling. My nine-year old daughter enjoyed the show hugely. Congrats to everyone involved with this show, and I for one am looking forward to their next venture. Oh, yes I am… Chris West

Foxton Pantomime – Cinderella Foxton pantomime had a very successful weekend with their first performance of Cinerella at Melbourn Village College on Friday, 18th January with an audience of about 180 people, with around 220 at the Saturday matinee and a near capacity audience of nearly 300 Saturday evening….! The two ugly sisters kept poor Cinders extremely busy and down trodden and would not entertain the idea of her attending the Royal ball, but her fairy godmother sorted that problem out as well as promising to do deal with the problem of the parking in Station Road, the dog poo on the rec…! And the very poor broadband and telephone signal… since then the writer has been able to receive calls on his mobile and Station Road was clearer in the morning!!! The two ‘ugly sisters’ wondered who the two ugly birds were they kept referring to at the ball and who was the ‘posh young bird’ was they did not recognise…? Craig, one of the judges, thought the whole thing was a complete disaster and the other judges Bruno, Darcy and Alesha said “you could not have been at the same ball as us…!” Craig added ‘the rumba was rhubarb, and the passé boble was….’ to which ‘King Bruce’ interrupted and said “we do not want that rant again…!” Craig did say that the ‘front of house’ staff was excellent, especially the younger members as were the backstage staff, always there when they were needed. The casting was considered excellent (with the possible exception of Craig…!) Writer and director Andy Ranner did an excellent job and the cast made a presentation to him after the show in the ‘Pink Pony’ in Fox Town. Mona, one of the Ugly sisters said she was not going to return to football and she would stay with Pantomime and her sister, Griselda was, I think, delighted. Buttons was not so sure. The two sisters went of with the uncouth ‘Jack the lad’ the following night…! Cinderella, having left her drudgery behind, told her half sisters what she thought of them and now from her new exalted position at

‘Knooky Castle’ said she was considering setting up a drama group from her other home in Fowlmere, to rival Fox Towns…!!! The Prince, as ever, was ‘charming’ at the concept of the idea. Nearly £2000 was raised in sponsorship and advertising revenue, for their two charities of which nearly £500 is still to come. The total raised in revenue from all sources is approximately £5000, with expense still to be deducted. Well done to everyone involved. We would particularly like to thank K Costumes of Royston for their help, advice and generosity as we would all our sponsors as acknowledged in the programme and everyone that helped and assisted and supported us.

melbournmagazine

Marfleet-Ad-163x128mm:Marfleet-Ad-163x128mm 19/11/2012 10:27 Page 1

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Melbourn Magazine is produced four times a year. We print 2200 copies which is delivered free to every house in the village. All advertising revenue is used for printing costs only. Melbourn magazine is non-profit and all work on the magazine including layout is produced by volunteers. Adverts should be supplied as finished artwork and must be at the sizes below. Please send artwork to mag@melbourn.org.uk. The current rates for advertising in the Magazine are as follows: Size per…

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MAGAZINE ADVERTISERS

The Melbourn magazine team would like to thank all our advertisers for their support and sponsorship

Printed by The Langham Press

Issue 73 Spring 2013

Articles inside

Foxton Pantomime Cinderella

feature

Church news

Education

feature

feature

Profile

Village news

Nature