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Mary Woodcock 5 Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme 6 to take over Lunch Club! Melbourn Bloomsday Festival 7 New Melbourn Singers 9 Melbourn Library 9 Melbourn & Meldreth Women’s Group 10 Volunteering at The Hub 10 The hall for all 10 Melbourn Village Fete and 13 Music on the Moor
LOST
Gold ring with 3 Sapphires Tuesday evening, 19th July 2016 The ring was lost somewhere between 52 The Moor, the Church car park and the Church. If found please contact 01763 260759. Thank you.
Mary Woodcock
Mary Woodcock, was well known in Melbourn, and at the successful Coffee Stop held on Saturday mornings in All Saints' Community Hall which started at her initiative. Mary was also involved with the Melbourn magazine for many years.
Sadly Mary died on the morning of Saturday 23rd July and was buried in Wigan on Wednesday 3rd August.
Mary was born at home in Blackheath, London on 22nd March, 1930. Her father worked for the Westminster Bank and the family was moved round the London region as he gained promotion. His last move came in early 1939 when he became Manager of the Gravesend branch.
Gravesend was rightly designated as a Danger Area, and Mary was sent to school in Winchester , seen as relatively safe. She stayed there until she was eighteen when she took the entrance exam to Girton College, Cambridge which told her to try again in 1949. She decided not to and applied to Durham University to study mathematics. She was the only girl in her year taking this subject. She graduated in 1951 and went on to Hughes Hall, Cambridge where she qualified as a teacher. Her first job was at Huyton College, Liverpool where she stayed for four years. In 1954, she married Peter Woodcock who had been at Durham and had a chemistry degree.
His employer moved him to their headquarters in Birmingham. Their first child, Geoffrey, was born in Stourbridge and Joanna, Helen and Ian arrived in Coulsdon and Bishops Stortford. Mary returned to teaching in 1971 entirely by chance. She was given to understand that the local Catholic Independent school was looking for a maths teacher. Eventually, she was persuaded to phone the Head who invited her for interview. He suggested that she should arrive about 9.30, having seen her children off to school. She should teach three or four lessons, stay for lunch and then return home in time for her children's return. Thus started her career at St. Edmund's College, Ware which lasted for twenty three years.
For personal reasons, the family moved to Hertford in 1978 and then to Melbourn in 1990. Mary retired in 1994 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Vascular Dementia in 2010.
Bullseye glass
(Front cover picture) A rare sight in any building, the front cover shows a complete window pane of Bullseye glass. One of the two most common processes for making window glass until the 19th century, it was produced from the left over parts of crown glass, a cheap process as it didn’t require lead or iron.
Molten glass was spun into a ‘crown’ or hollow ball using a blowpipe. This was then transferred to a tool called a pontil. The crown was then reheated and continually spun. The process was repeated until the glass became a flat disk measuring up to 2 metres.
When the pontil was pulled away, it left a characteristic bullseye lump in the middle of the glass, surrounded by a thick area of glass. The relative flat areas of the disk were cut into squares and used in homes or cut into diamond-shaped pieces and used for church windows. The area of glass containing the Bullseye was also cut into pane size and these were sold for use in humbler buildings.
The earliest known crown glass was produced in France in the 14th century and imported into England. This made the glass very expensive and way beyond the reach of almost all but the wealthy. It wasn’t until 17th century that crown glass was produced in England. Because of its fine quality and low production costs the glass continued to be used for windows until the 19th century. Ed. PS
In the last issue of the magazine, Nikki Cross and Julie Myles announced that after more than three years of running Melbourn and Meldreth Lunch Club at Vicarage Close, they will sadly be stepping away at the end of August due to extra work commitments. New organisers were required to avoid closure of the Lunch Club, which has been running for a number of years and for some members is the only outing they have each week, so is very precious to them. Many of those who go to lunch club are also members of Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme (MMWS) so MMWS stepped forward to offer to take it over to ensure this popular amenity for older residents continues.
The MMWS committee will administer the club and wardens and committee members have agreed to volunteer to take turns in running the sessions each week from September and were thrilled to hear that some of the regular volunteers who currently support Nikki and Julie will remain including the drivers. Nikki and Julie will also be happy to take turns on the rota – so a big team of willing helpers.
There is a wonderful family connection too as warden Helen Ashworth’s late mother Janice Guest was a previous volunteer who helped run the club. Not just that but Helen’s grandmother-in-law Eileen Martin actually started the lunch club originally, back in 1980. Eileen’s certificate, awarded to her for her long service to the lunch club, can be found on display at Vicarage Close and if you look back at the Winter 2015 issue of the Melbourn Magazine you will find a feature on the history of the club and those who have helped through the years including Helen’s family.
Nikki and Julie have done a fantastic job and are loved by all who attend. Members have said about their time with them “there is always laughter every week” and “they are wonderful”. MMWS wardens and committee members shadowed Nikki and Julie during the summer to prepare for the handover and warden Jeannie said “Nikki and Julie are a hard act to follow as they are so well loved and are great personalities. We are all excited to take it over and feel sure that the members will keep us in check if we make any mistakes!”
MMWS want to thank Nikki, Julie and all those who have provided this wonderful service and for their help and support in making the transition to MMWS.
Lunch Club is held at Vicarage Close every Thursday lunchtime. The club provides a cooked lunch and dessert produced by Moorlands, tea or coffee and a good chat. Transport is available. If you are interested in joining Lunch Club please contact Jeannie on the Lunch Club number 07599 292327.
Helen Ashworth
Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme
Can we help you? Can we help a relative? Can we help a neighbour?
Who does the Scheme help?
The scheme is open to the mobility impaired in Melbourn and Meldreth 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 £6 per week (a little more for couples).
Jeannie Seers (Mobile Warden) 07808 735066 email jeanseers1@ntlworld.com
Jane Cage (Deputy) 07592 821976 email jane.e.cage@btinternet.com
Melbourn Warden Scheme is a registered charity
Photograph by David L Hone
June saw Melbourn enjoying its three day Bloomsday Festival (from the 14th – 16th) building on last year’s successful one day Bloomsday Celebration. The Festival was many things. Not only was it a ‘Celebration of Literature, Drama, Music & All Creative Arts’ – and, at that, a free, community-wide event – but it also served to raise publicity and funds for WaterAid. Short Story & Drama Spread across three full days and evenings, the Bloomsday Festival had a varied programme. It started with 'A Writer on the Door Step' on the morning and afternoon of Day One. This saw members of the Melbourn Short Story Reading Group and guest Meldreth and Cambridge readers treat their audiences to eight very different short stories by eight very different world famous authors on eight different doorsteps around the village. Not even a very heavy rain storm deterred the enthusiasm of readers or audience!
An evening of drama followed at Melbourn Village College, where James Joyce’s only play “Exiles” was presented in period costume and in play-reading form by six members of the Melbourn Play Reading Group. International Issues & Local Writers Day Two was based entirely in Melbourn Community Hub. The morning session was devoted to international issues. Public representative Dr. Susan van de Ven spoke about her published autobiographical memoir 'One Family’s Response to Terrorism: A Daughter’s Memoir' and her political motivation and work. Graham Wild then spoke about WaterAid and the nature and role of development work today. A lively discussion followed. In the afternoon participants heard from local working writers – Ute Sproulle (Orwell), Hattie Brantwood (Foxton), Britta
Photograph by David L Hone
