feature - Villages Here & Villages There

feature

Villages Here & Villages There

The founding of a ‘Bloomsday: 16 June’ celebration in Melbourn in 2015, apart from promoting fun for all, sought to promote reading and literary matters in the village while raising publicity and funds for WaterAid. This is a charity which brings safe water, toilets and good hygiene to impoverished communities in poor countries. For three consecutive years, around 16 June, small WaterAid table-top exhibitions were placed in the foyer of Melbourn Village College, at Melbourn United Reformed Church Hall, and at the Library Area of Melbourn Community Hub.

In summer 2017 a well-researched Melbourn Magazine article entitled ‘Water Water Everywhere But None Fit To Drink’ made a strong contribution to that WaterAid effort. In it comparison was drawn between a woman in 2015 collecting water from her village’s only water source - a polluted river in Nyeama, Sierre Leonne – and the year 1935 when piped water arrived in Melbourn. Alongside quotations from official national reports, the author used early Melbourn-based black and white photographic images with vivid captions and presented the dreadful conditions under which most Melbourn villagers lived.

The cancellation of last June’s volunteer-led Bloomsday celebration in Melbourn provided opportunity to build on what had been achieved in the village. Following discussion some supporters of the Cambridge WaterAid Group decided to replicate that important article’s approach by focussing on the experience of other villages and creating a ‘Villages Here & Villages There’ project.

As a result of research conducted in Royston Museum, Royston Library, and Cambridge Central Library this project produced substantial and more professionally-based materials than had been used in the earlier years of small tabletop exhibitions. With assistance from the staffs of those institutions the research drew on maps, published accounts and extracts from tape-recorded oral histories. The exhibition materials thereby created were then displayed in a number of different venues using a multi-panel stand owned by the Group and a second similar stand generously donated by a Melbourn-resident and hydrogeologist. Both stands were immeasurably strengthened by two additional free-standing banners representative of the contents of the Melbourn Magazine article. The venues selected as well as the exhibitions mounted were each entirely different. They included: • A Reed First School initiative which commenced with the

Head Teacher being approached, several appearances in the school, and a related June fund-raising event by the school pupils which raised £283.00 for WaterAid. An exhibition displayed outside the school building during the fund -raising event was then moved indoors as the village library was located in the school. This exhibition was also present, erected and supervised by members of the school’s Board of

Governors, during the subsequent ‘Reed Village Strawberry

Fair’ in the grounds of St. Mary’s Church, Reed. • Yet another exhibition featured at the ‘Royston & District

Heritage Fair’ held in Royston Town Hall in August. The exhibition’s title was ‘Royston & District: Living Without

Piped Water. Experiences at Ashwell; Barley; Bassingbourn;

Foxton; Guilden Morden; Melbourn; Reed; Royston; and Therfield Villages’. Councillor Richard Thake, Chair,

Hertfordshire County Council visited the event and viewed the exhibition with great interest. A photograph was taken and it subsequently appeared in the Royston Crow dated 9 August. • Cambridge Central Library agreed to host a ‘Villages Here &

Villages There’ exhibition and did so for a 2–3-week period in August beside the Library’s Cambridgeshire Collections housed on the building’s third floor. Simultaneously, the

Collections’ staff mounted a complementary exhibition of photographs focussing on day-to-day life before piped water became a reality for all in Cambridge. Both exhibitions stood side by side throughout the period.

Reed Head Teacher Jackie Harvey, Hugh Pollock Melbourn Resident and the Joint Chairs of Reed School Council.

Councillor Richard Thake, Chair, Hertfordshire County Council viewed Royston Town Hall exhibition with great interest and spoke of his family growing up without piped water.

Chris Bow handing over Cambridge WaterAid Group Collection to Cambridgeshire Collections staff at Cambridge Central Library.

•The Cambridgeshire Collections’ staff went further and requested that all exhibition materials be deposited for holding in the Collections’ archive as exhibition materials be deposited for holding in the Collections’ archive as a ‘Cambridge WaterAid Group Collection’. This was done via a memory a ‘Cambridge WaterAid Group Collection’. This was done via a memory stick on a very pleasant occasion. The ‘Villages Here & Villages There’ project is a flexible rolling project which The ‘Villages Here & Villages There’ project is a flexible rolling project which grew directly out of the good work of many community-minded volunteers grew directly out of the good work of many community-minded volunteers during the sequence of Bloomsday: 16 June celebrations held in Melbourn. during the sequence of Bloomsday: 16 June celebrations held in Melbourn. The exhibition materials are devised to be drawn on under several exhibition The exhibition materials are devised to be drawn on under several exhibition titles, for stand-alone display purposes or to assist presentations in a range of titles, for stand-alone display purposes or to assist presentations in a range of venues. The materials are available to borrow, free to all. Indeed, an exhibition venues. The materials are available to borrow, free to all. Indeed, an exhibition is already booked into Royston Museum’s exhibition programme for the is already booked into Royston Museum’s exhibition programme for the two-month period 19 January 16 March 2019.

All those good and charitable village residents involved with the All those good and charitable village residents involved with the Bloomsday:16 June celebration in Melbourn over several years – promoting Bloomsday:16 June celebration in Melbourn over several years – promoting fun, reading and literary matters while raising publicity and funds for WaterAid fun, reading and literary matters while raising publicity and funds for WaterAid – can take great pleasure that their fine work for WaterAid has borne fruit – can take great pleasure that their fine work for WaterAid has borne fruit locally well beyond Melbourn’s boundary. Alas some committed stalwarts locally well beyond Melbourn’s boundary. Alas some committed stalwarts are no longer with us to take such small pleasures in this life. The late and are no longer with us to take such small pleasures in this life. The late and very talented Melbourn resident David Piggott was one such stalwart who very talented Melbourn resident David Piggott was one such stalwart who contributed without thought of personal gain or advancement. I believe he contributed without thought of personal gain or advancement. I believe he and they would have been pleased with our efforts. Hugh Pollock For further information: Hugh.m.pollock@gmail.com 01763 260253

Below: Part of the Cambridge WaterAid Group Collection. Above: One of two display banners produced by the Melbourn History group, adapted from an article in support of WaterAid that appeared in issue 90 of the Melbourn Magazine .

Young or old Do you love to read?

If so, would you like to share a book you enjoyed with others?

You may already do this by talking about books with friends. If you want to share more widely, then why not write a book review for the Melbourn magazine.

Encourage a young person to write a book review! Reviewing a favourite book strengthens a young person’s reading ability. Th e actual writing of the review stimulates thought and recall. Crucially it helps the expression of an opinion through the written word – today a vital skill for all young people. Writing a book review also helps a greater understanding of the book’s issues and themes AND of the wider world. So, if you can help out, encourage a young person to write a book review.

A few tips on getting started

• How long should my review be? There are no fixed rules in writing a review, but as a general guideline, it should be between 200 and 500 words. • To begin with, start with a couple of sentences describing what the book is about. • Did you like it? If so, what in particular did you like about the book. Was there anything you disliked? • What was your favourite part of the book and what was the least favourite part? what was the least favourite part?

For more information contact For more information contact Hugh Pollock, telephone: 01763 260253 Hugh Pollock, telephone: 01763 260253 or email the magazine at: or email the magazine at: melbournmagazine@gmail.com melbournmagazine@gmail.com

Little Hands Nursery School The Moor, Melbourn

Little Hands is a Private Nursery School specialising in quality preschool education for the under fives and offers

• High staff to child ratio • Individual child centred planning & learning • Flexible booking system during term time for the 08.30am – 4.30pm nursery day • Optional holiday clubs available • Dedicated baby room for children under two We accept nursery funding giving 30 hours per week of free funded nursery for all 3 and 4 year olds and eligible 2 year olds

For further information contact : Sharon Tutty : nursery manager 01763 260964 lh-melbourn@btconnect.com

Little Hands is also at Bourn, Linton and Newton visit the website at www.littlehands.co.uk