Focal Point - July 2010

FOCAL POINT Issue No. 356 July 2010

 

 Ed’s Comments,

 Last month I included an article from the internet regarding driving in very wet conditions. I invited comment and in fact received one from Alan Whittemore who sent me details of an Australian article, found I suspect on the internet. This seemed to suggest that the danger highlighted, of using a car’s ‘cruise control’ function in very wet conditions, was not strictly true. However there were sufficient other articles on the ‘net’ that would indicate the safest thing to do was still, not to use the cruise control in situations where there was a risk of aquaplaning. 

Alan also made reference to the Highway Code which suggests that dark glasses should not be used when it is dark.

I can vouch for the advice last month in using dark glasses in a downpour to improve visibility, as my wife and I tried it on the 1st June and it did make a difference albeit marginally.

That’s it! I didn’t mean to ‘go on’ about how to drive, but it was nice to receive a comment.

Speaking of receiving comment, the annual ‘spot the cuckoo call’ has come to an end, for although I personally heard it in Winthorpe I didn’t want to keep this going just to amuse myself and I was just continuing something Peter Milroy started and unfortunately he is no longer with us so perhaps it is only fitting that it ends. I can just picture his rueful smile! 

 On to a more uplifting occasion; last month’s inauguration service, which you will read elsewhere went very well. I was personally impressed by Beth and Joe Proctor aged 9&7 from Collingham who gave ‘word perfect’ readings. They, their parents and the John Blow School should be very proud.

 Cliff Newbold

 Closing date for the August issue is the 23rd July.

 

 COMMUNITY CENTRE

 LUNCH CLUB

 The next Lunch will be at 12.30pm on Monday, 5th July. The menu will be:

Cold Roast Ham & Beef

or

Cold Poached Salmon

with

New Potatoes & Mixed Salad

 ***

Strawberries & Ice Cream

 £7 including a glass of wine.

 To book your place and give your food choice please ring Jean and Peter Foden, 704241,not later than Thursday, 1st July.

 Frances Kelly, Chairman

 

TUESDAY CLUB

 Tuesday, 13th July – 

 Morning Coffee in the Village Hall, 10.30am. 

Please bring any Tombola items you may have.

 Tuesday, 27th July – 

 Garden Party at Tall Trees, The Spinney, 2.30pm. Please bring an item of food or a small raffle prize. If it is wet from the outset we will have tea in the Village Hall.

 Jean Foden.

 

 WINTHORPE FESTIVAL SATURDAY, 17th JULY

             AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE

Opening at 1.00pm by the Winthorpe Primary School Dance Group

Children’s Sports

Pony & Buggy Rides

Tug-of-War

Music & Dance Groups

Cheerleaders, Boundary Sound

Sumo Wrestling, Bungee Run Stalls, Games , Barbecue, Refreshments

8.00pm An Evening in the Park with The Cavalier Dance Band

See separate notice

Proceeds to All Saints Church and the RNLI

SUNDAY, 18th JULY

6.00pm at All Saints Church SONGS OF PRAISE

 

WINTHORPE & DISTRICT W.I. REPORT FOR JUNE 

Mrs Pat Nelson welcomed members and the speaker Mrs R. Pocock who is a qualified Herbalist and spoke to us about the plants that are in our gardens without invitation and which most gardeners dislike intensely, they are nettles! Do not despise them because as we learned they are one of the most beneficial plants around. They can be infused to make tea, if you have arthritis you can rub them on your joints and although initially they will sting, they will relieve pain. Made into a cream they can be rubbed into the face to remove blemishes. Samples were handed round and everyone tasted the tea and rubbed the creams into their skin. There were also tinctures with an alcohol base which were also sampled. So all the gardeners out there let the nettles thrive! Other more traditional herbs were talked about and the benefit derived from them, this is why you will always find herbs and some old fashioned flowers near the kitchen door in a country garden as they were used as medicines.

Mrs. Lily Goodwin thanked the speaker for her very informative and helpful talk.

After the talk came the business. Apologies were given from absent members and Mrs Tinsley read the minutes from last month’s meeting, also the correspondence from County. The winter sports fixtures were read out and it was decided to enter a darts team this year as several younger members expressed a wish play and enter the competition. Requests were made for volunteers to join and as there were enough for a team and some reserves it was agreed.

The Village Festival stalls were talked about and once again members were asked to provide cakes, small for the tea stall and any size for the cake stall, bottles of any description for the bottle stall and helpers on the day.

Mrs. Lily Goodwin has agreed to hold our strawberry and wine evening once again in her lovely garden, thank-you Lily.

Members who had gone to South Clifton for the Group meeting had all enjoyed themselves and the lovely buffet supper.

Our next meeting is on July 8th in Lily’s garden in the Spinney. Bring your own brolley! or pray for good weather! We are our own hostesses.

Daphne Marshall

 

Winthorpe Tennis Club

“Anyone for Tennis?

Several members have expressed an interest in having telephone numbers of other members so they could telephone them if they fancied a game of tennis. If you are happy for other members to have your telephone number please let me know.

After rain delayed the start of the Fun Tennis Tournament on Sunday 6 June, we had such a great time that we decided to play again the following Sunday. We have now planned, weather permitting, to try and meet up every Sunday at 10.30 a.m. for a game. Please come and join us – the more the merrier!

Back to the Fun Tournament, congratulations to the winner - Peter Bateson. 

Don’t forget Club night is every Wednesday starting at 6.30 p.m.

Looking forward to seeing you on court.

Maureen Smith – 01636 701205, Secretary

 

GIANT SUNFLOWER COMPETITION

Happiness is a cheerful clump of golden sunflowers peeping over a garden wall or hedge. These easy growing beauties reach the parts that other plants cannot. There are not many annuals that reach 3.6mtrs. (12ft.) tall, 70 days from sowing to planting.

There has recently been some good weather for growing sunflowers. In May we had warm sunny days. The first few days of June, we had the welcome sight of rain. That did the plants a world of good and now we back to warm sunny days. Just what sunflowers like?

Your plants will now be growing at a fast rate. Do not neglect them. They may require a longer cane for support. Keep tying the plants to your canes. On the 16th June one of my sunflowers was 1mtr. 20cms. high.

Are your sunflowers higher than mine? Go out and check. While you are there, have a look and see if the flower bud is forming. It will be the size of a small button.

I now feed my sunflowers once a week with Tomorite. This liquid fertiliser, used for tomato plants, is high in potash and is just the job for flowers and fruit.

This month is the start of your summer holidays. If you are going away, ask a kind neighbour to look after your sunflowers for you. For those of you, who may be going onto the continent of Europe, look out for the fields of sunflowers. These are a shorter variety than the ones that you are growing. They are grown for their seeds. The seeds are used in the food industry throughout the world. The seeds are crushed and the oil extracted is used in cooking oil and margarine. This helps to prevent heart disease, as it is high in essential polyunsaturates and low in saturates.

Did You Know?

• Sunflowers originated in South America where the Incas, natives of Peru, made the flower the emblem of their sun god.

• The North American Indians grew sunflowers for food and medicinal use.

• Sunflowers reached Europe in the sixteen century where they were used as an ornamental plant.

• It was in the early nineteen century when the Russian famers grew the sunflowers for food.

Pat Finn.

 

GARDEN CLUB

We were blessed with good weather for our main outing of the year to Grimsthorpe Castle and Easton Walled Gardens. The guided coach tour around Grimsthorpe estate was especially interesting with references to the long history and the preservation of various habitats such as oakland pasture and old limestone quarries which enabled rare flora and fauna to flourish. One such was the early gentian, this being the furthest north it is found.

The castle itself was built from stone taken from an earlier monastery and abbey on the estate and our tour allowed us to see many links to monarchs down the last five centuries. Many pieces of furniture were evidence of the Willoughby family being hereditary Lord Great Chamberlains to the Palace of Westminster. These included the coronation thrones of Queen Victoria amongst others.

The gardens were splendid with much box and yew hedging, topiary and a wonderful view from the house toward the distant lake.

Easton Walled Gardens also offered views down to a river. 

The Cholmeley family have owned this since 1592. Though the house was demolished in 1951 and the gardens had fallen into disrepair, great efforts are now being made to restore them.

For the evening visit on July 7th to Pyketts farm we plan to leave the Lord Nelson at 6.15pm.

Ian Wilson

 

WINTHORPE CRICKET CLUB

Like the sudden burst of sunny weather the Focal Point deadline has yet again taken me by surprise and I find myself scrambling around to get the report completed in time! We are extremely pleased to report that the Duck Day was a great success this year thanks to a combination of the weather, other complimentary events and entertainment taking place at the Lord Nelson. A big thank you to those of you who supported both ourselves and the British Heart Foundation, also to Scott and Caroline at the Nelson for their continued support and hopefully we can have an equally successful day next year.

To date we have been able to fulfil all of our fixtures however we have been down on numbers on a couple of occasions which for early season is not good. However we are hopeful that there may be one or two of you out there ready to step into the breech and help us put out a full compliment of players over the remainder of the season. For any of you wishing to give cricket a go contact details are included at the end of this report. 

As last month’s report we would again request that dog walkers please clean up after walking their dogs as unfortunately there have been a number of incidents of dog fouling. Not the most pleasant of tasks having to clean up before starting a game.

The increased level of activity at the ground is a most welcome sight especially with so many youngsters now enjoying the facilities. I was extremely pleased having visited the ground a couple of Saturdays ago seeing so many children and adults using the ground and obviously enjoying themselves greatly. It would be even better if we could start to swell the increased numbers with children and adults from the village; after all it is Winthorpe Cricket Club and would be nice to have more of a local presence in the team. As many of you will know we have been in existence since 1887 and currently we are probably at our lowest ebb regarding playing members so please whether young or old, experienced or not if you fancy a friendly game of cricket followed by a social gathering over a few beverages please get in touch.

On the Bonus Ball front we are still not quite there yet despite everyone’s best efforts and are a few regular numbers short of our target to start it up again. If you are or were a previous supporter of the Club through the Bonus Ball and would like to be a regular contributor again give me a call as I have a list of available numbers. It is being run on the old tried and tested formula however for those who wish we have introduced the option of paying via standing order should you wish. The Bonus Ball provided the Club with a regular source of income, however since its demise we have struggled financially and it has become increasingly difficult to meet the costs associated with running the club. Just a few more regular numbers would allow us to start up the Bonus Ball once again so please get in touch if you would like to take out a regular number and don’t forget you will have the opportunity of winning the £25 weekly payout! 

The Bonus Ball Jar and Pen have been missing from behind the bar at the Nelson for too long now so please help us liberate then from the cupboard in my office.

To find out more about the club check out the Club webpage on the Village website and also take a look at our own website on www.winthorpecc.co.uk which has now been bought up to date. Failing that come down to the ground and take a look at what’s going on.

Contact Details

Should you wish to contact the Club please call any of the following or alternatively there is a “Contact the Club” facility on the website.

Andy Fereday – 678622-Simon Potter – 612968 -Paul Matthews - 677769

Results:

Due to lack of scorebook I am unable to complete my normal match report section however I will endeavour to put that right for the next update

Forthcoming Fixtures:-

WINTHORPE

4 July Coddington Home

11 July Lindum 2nds Home

18 July Fulbeck Away

25 July Timberland Home

1 August Nettleham 2nds Away

Coddington

4 July Winthorpe Home

18 July North Perrott Away

25 July Mansfield Police Away

Footnote:

Having been writing for the Focal point for some time now it is quite pleasing when people I encounter from time to time pass comment how they look forward to reading the latest update on the cricket club. I was however recently surprised at some wag’s comment that they found the cricket club’s reports far more amusing when they read them aloud in a Birmingham accent (and a bad one at that from my observations) – more constructive comments would be appreciated!

Andrew Fereday

 

Adventures from the NARROW BOAT -. 'Mulberry'........

Bird Spotting

It is our custom on balmy afternoons to sit on top of the boat and drink tea as we watch the world go by. The roof provides a good viewing platform and with a pair of binoculars we can see for miles. In late summer the views are of patchwork fields and industrious farmers bringing in the harvest.

Last year, on the Trent and Mersey Canal somewhere in the Midlands we were enjoying this peaceful pastime as the farmer moved backwards and forwards across the landscape. To our surprise a barn owl swooped in front of us and patrolled the hedge line before diving to collect its prey. It crossed back in front of us and into a copse beyond a canal bridge. In my half century on this planet I had never before seen such an event and I was so excited I had to phone my dad who is rather fond of owls. He declared that it was an event that he had never witnessed either even though he is a countryman.

Certainly the life on the open waterways opens your eyes to events that would otherwise go unnoticed. We have been lucky enough to see kingfishers on the Kennet and Avon and the Fens, oystercatchers on the high Pennines and down at Earith where the sea reaches up the Old Bedford River from the Wash to meet the Great Ouse. We have laughed at the swans who in the late Spring bring their cygnets past the boat at teatime, mother leading the way and knocking on the window, head held proudly, and dad bringing up the rear with his wings held high in the classic image of a graceful swan. About the same time we see the Canada Geese bringing their broods of goslings out for swimming lessons. They appear to collect the full flock together and the adults act as outriders to the twenty or more goslings who float past. It is about the only time Canada Geese are quiet, the rest of the time they call to each other, barking their conversations and disregarding anyone else trying to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.

In fact the countryside is not very quiet at all. Once the human beings have decided to settle down for the night out comes the wildlife. Geese I have already mentioned and then there are high-pitched barks from faraway foxes, the echo of a cuckoo and various hoots and calls from owls. About two in the morning, during the summer or a bit later at other times of the year, the dawn chorus starts up, sounding almost as loud as the rainforests we hear on television wildlife programmes. It is as if the birds are shouting to their neighbours to catch up on all the local gossip. A few hours later, the noise settles down to just a background confusion of birdcalls once more to be overtaken by human activity. And now I have run out of space to tell you about marsh harriers, buzzards, red kites, terns, shrike and many others all of which have been spotted somewhere along our route.

Lynne Shapley

 

Winthorpe Line Dancers

Line dancing finished for the summer on 25th May. 

We hope everyone has enjoyed getting together and we look forward to starting again on Tuesday 7th September.

We meet from 7.00 to 8.00 pm at the Community Centre on Tuesday evenings and newcomers are very welcome to come along and join us.

All proceeds from the Line Dancing are given to the Community Centre and we have donated £400 since January.

Many thanks to everyone for their support and we look forward to seeing you all after the summer.

Linda Richardson & Joan Lord

 

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who either sent me a card or best wishes via Jim during my stay in Hospital, it was very much appreciated.

Thank you once again,

June Taylor

 

Children's Society Box Collection.

Many thanks to the holders of the Children's Society Boxes. Together we raised just over £400 to support the excellent work that this charity undertakes..

Barbara Woodcock

 

SCRAP BOOK - LATEST ENTRY

What seems many years ago now we set up a group to update our village history; unfortunately it seems to have dried up somewhat. However Pat Finn, soldiering on, has inserted in the village website this lovely account of ‘Hillcrest’ researched and written by Des Aldridge who has live there since 1971. Ed

"Hillcrest," 27 Gainsborough Road, Winthorpe.

This property was originally built as two cottages and the earliest mention of them, that I have, is in the accompanying papers to the Abstract of Title, dated April 1891, between Thomas Brown, a butcher of Newark, (the vendor) and George Thomas Pierce Duncombe, (the purchaser). It states there that the messuages (out buildings) and 24 perches (a perch is a measurement of length and is 5 ½ yards) on Cottage Close, (a piece of land facing onto Gainsborough Road and extending back to the hedge at the Southfields Area tree belt), were conveyed to others in May 1879.

In March 1907, the cottages were purchased by a Mr. Edward Allwood from Mr. George Duncombe and converted into one house, presumably in 1907, on Mr. Allwood's instructions.

Incidentally, shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Aldridge purchased the house in 1971, they arranged for the hot water tank to be moved from the upstairs bathroom to another place, During the work, they found written on the back of a piece of wood that had encased the hot water tank, the name of one of the workmen and the date of 1907. Unfortunately that piece of wood has been lost.

The two cottages were converted into one house and a hall, with staircase, together with a living room were added with corresponding bedrooms, one above the hall and another above the living room. The two cottages were converted into a large kitchen and dining room downstairs with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs making four bedrooms in all. Two separate downstairs toilets were added at the same time, one behind the other. One for the use of the occupants of the house and which was accessed from within the house had a wash-hand basin; the other was accessed from the outside and was presumably for the use of the gardener.

The house was sold again in April 1929, this time by Mrs. Kate Allwood, on the death of her husband, Edward, to a Mr. William Henry McMillan and his wife.

At some time during the ownership of Mr. Allwood or Mr. McMillan, a scullery with an old copper boiler and sink was added to the house, together with a pantry and storeroom at ground level. These rooms were logically situated on the north side of the house. In 1971, there was a staircase in the scullery, a solid wooden one with a rope banister, leading up to a room above the pantry and storeroom, presumably the bedroom for a servant. There is a small skylight in the roof.

Some time after 1907, the house was extended beyond the living room with a room downstairs, now known as the study, and a bedroom upstairs. Continuing with the house; there is no evidence of the original two cottages from the outside or the rooms but when one goes up into the roof space it can be seen that there was a solid party wall going right up, following the profile of the roof itself, to the apex of the roof which divided the two cottages. To obtain access from the roof space above one cottage into the roof space other, a hole was knocked in this party wall and left just as it was - a rough edged hole. To access the roof space above the hall and living room, which was the first extension, one has to go through a small window frame - the window no longer exist - that was in the end wall of the cottage on the right, when viewed from the road. Another hole was made, again with a rough brick edge to it, for access the last extension that comprises the study and bedroom above it. When in the roof space above the study, one can see where a creeper had climbed the then outside wall, prior to the last extension being built, as the creeper suckers were not removed from that part of the wall, where it can't be seen. Another interesting feature about the roof space above the original two cottages is what one presumes were the curved ceiling of both bedrooms of the original cottages.

In the garden of ‘Hillcrest' there are some outbuildings, besides the garage, and these comprise four spaces or rooms. One assumes they were outside toilets, coalhouses, storehouses, etc. Due to the symmetry of these outbuildings, one assumes both cottages had two of these rooms. These outbuildings were very similar to those that were at what is now called ‘The Old Post House'; (next door to ‘Hillcrest') before they were knocked down during the conversion of those two cottages into the house, as it now exists.

The garage at ‘Hillcrest' was once a stable and coach house with a loft above to store the hay for the horses. The brick floor is where the coach was kept and the tiled floor, with the gutters, is where the mangers stood.

There is one known well site; presumably there were two wells, one for each cottage, but the second well has yet to be found.

The living area of the house is approximately 2,600 square feet.

Des Aldridge. March 2009.

Footnote:- "Hillcrest," is the house on the village side of the public footpath, which runs from Gainsborough Road to Pocklington Crescent.?

 

CHURCH NOTICES

Bishop Paul’s visit to the Benefice.

Thank you to all those who supported the day. Winthorpe was well represented at the Inaugural Service of the enlarged Benefice in the Joe Halam pavilion on the showground. Some journeyed to Harby for the Holy Communion service followed by a Faith Lunch.

We welcomed the Bishop to Winthorpe Church in the afternoon and finally ended the very enjoyable and successful day with Evensong in South Scarle church where the Bishop preached.

We thank Wanda Payne & Margaret Donoghue for their flower arrangements in the church and also Gerry Platts for removing deposits of algae from the church gates and treating them to a coat of special oil which is necessary to preserve the wood.

We are pleased to say that the re-pointing of the church brickwork as far as possible has now been completed which we hope will help to preserve the building for future years.

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP US? 

Over twenty years ago the Church was cleaned from roof to floor. 

Every month volunteers (most over 70 years of age) keep the church clean & tidy for which we are very grateful . Unfortunately we are unable to remove dirt & cobwebs from roof & pillars so we have arranged to have it completely cleaned in August. The cost being £450.

We have already received a very generous donation but this leaves a shortfall which hopefully could be covered if each household in the village would be prepared to donate £1. If you are able and would like to help us your donation could be left through the following letter boxes:-

Alan & Ann Stone - 71 Gainsborough Road.- Christine & Ian Hasman “Fleetway” The Spinney - Sylvia & Keith Lloyd - 41 Woodlands. 

John Nelson - 17 Woodlands - Joan Lord - 19 Gainsborough Road.

We hope to see you all at the Songs of Praise On Sunday 18th at 6pm. Requests for hymns on 702104 please by the 6th July.

We send our best wishes to those who are unwell, especially to June Taylor and others who are ill or in hospital at this time. We wish them a speedy recovery and better health in the future.

We are pleased to see John Craven out and about again.

Church Bells

They will ring for practices on Thursday evenings from 7.00pm - 9.0pm

and possibly for the following:-

Sunday July 11th - 10.15am Holy Communion

Sunday July 18th - 6pm SONGS OF PRAISE.

Ann Stone, PCC Secretary.

Up-To-date notices of our church services and those of the other church services in the Benefice are displayed outside the church.

 

RECTOR

Dear All,

For many June the 6th 2010 will be remembered as the day when The Right Rev. Paul Butler Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham came to the East Trent Group of churches. During his time with us there were eight separate events amongst the 11 church communities.

There were two significant themes that dominated the day. First, Bishop Paul’s generosity of spirit in giving his time effectively and thoughtfully. Second, but of equal importance, the good humour and sense of community created amongst all the church communities. These were amply demonstrated throughout the eight-event marathon.

During his stay Bishop Paul took time to talk to a considerable number of people and answer all manner of questions, from how long he was staying to were his chickens laying!!! 

The Bishop preached at the three services at the Inaugural Service at the Joe Hallam Pavilion on the Newark Showground, then for a service of Holy Communion and Roof Blessing at All Saints Harby and finally Choral Evensong held at St. Helena’s South Scarle. The Bishop preached on very differing bible passages, broadly his theme was one of enduring commitment and renewal against the reality of failure and hurt. In various question an answer sessions Bishop Paul talked about his life, family and call to ministry.

There will be many different memories and it is impossible to choose one event as better than another, all were different in type, style and duration. 

My abiding memory will be of Bishop Paul appearing on time at event after event in Nigel Priestley’s cream coloured vintage Daimler open top tourer. The army of cake makers and food providers added to the day. The four primary schools in the group at Winthorpe, Collingham, Clifton and Harby supported the day by making models of many of our churches, two were made individually by two young volunteers you know who you are!! But thank you all. They created a fascinating insight as to how our churches might be understood and viewed.

Over the weeks prior to the Bishops visit, the choir prepared by Alan Stone and Music Group led by Anne Speed practiced hard to assist at worship. My thanks to them all for their commitment and hard work.

The Bishop’s visit was a wonderful springboard for the East Trent Group as it continues to develop and grow. The Bishop reminded all present there is still much to do and much that can be done. He made it clear that building on what has been started, with active involvement of the laity, the group has a positive future.

In Christian Love, David

 

CHURCH SERVICES FOR JULY?

Sunday July 4th - TRINITY 5

9am Holy Communion, Holme

NO SERVICE AT WINTHORPE

Sunday 11th - TRINITY 6 

10.15 Holy Communion, Winthorpe.

Thursday 15th 

10am Holy Communion. Winthorpe.

Sunday 18th TRINITY 7

*10.15am Holy Communion, Langford.

6pm SONGS OF PRAISE. Winthorpe.

Sunday 25th TRINITY 8

8am Holy Communion Winthorpe.

6pm Evensong, Holme.

ALL ARE WELCOME

CHURCH CLEANING VOLUNTEERS

23rd July - Mrs Finn, MrsNelson 20th August - Miss Applewhite

 

JULY CALENDAR

Monday 5th Luncheon Club, 12.30pm – Centre.

Silver Bin

Wednesday 7th Garden Club, 7.30pm – Centre.

Thursday 8th WI meeting, 7.30pm Village Hall.

Library Van

Monday 12th Green Bin

Tuesday 13th Tuesday Club Coffee Morn. 10.30am - V.H.

Saturday 17th VILLAGE FESTIVAL

Sunday 18th SONGS OF PRAISE, 6pm - All Saints.

Monday 19th Silver Bin

Thursday Library Van

Monday 26th Green Bin

Tuesday 27th Tues.Club Garden Party 2.30pm - Tall Trees