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YOUR LOCAL INFORMATIVE MONTHLY GUIDE www.bystandermagazines.co.uk

ISSUE 246 October 2026

VILLAGE

BYSTANDER

BOOK REVIEW DIAMONDS AND DUST 4700 COPIES FREE TO 34 VILLAGES AROUND KIMBOLTON

INN FARM NURSERY HALLOWEEN FUN WITH CHILDREN BEACON WEALTH MANAGEMENT DECK CHAIR SHUFFLE WILSON BROWNE SOLICITORS THE MYTH OF “COMMON LAW MARRIAGE” PETER LANE & PARTNERS THE PROPERTY MARKET IN A PAGE AND MUCH MORE

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FOR ALL YOUR PLUMBING, HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING NEEDS We’re Just a Call Away!

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Bathroom refurbishments From installations, annual servicing, safety checks and emergency breakdowns - we’ve got you covered!

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Letter from the Editor: October has arrived, bringing cooler mornings, cosy evenings and the beautiful colours of autumn. It’s also the month of pumpkins, dressing up and Halloween fun, so there’s plenty to look forward to as we head further into the season.

Enquires: Mobile: 07928 778457 julie@villagebystander.com This Month’s Contributors:

This month, Beacon Wealth Management takes a look at the ever-changing world of politics with Lee Munday, Paul Kinally, Penny Young, ‘Deck Chair Shuffle’, offering a reminder to focus Tony Larkins, Joanne Cox, Georgia Rose, on the bigger picture when it comes to your Hazel Wright, Eugene Smith, Sally Gower, finances and keeping your investments working Ross Richardson, Sam Venn, Richard Wilding hard. For those keeping an eye on the housing market, October Contents Peter Lane and Partners Estate Agents bring Editor’s Letter us ‘The Property Market in a Page’. With the Health, Fitness, Beauty & Wellbeing summer slowdown proving sharper than usual, they look at what’s happening in the market and Inn Farm - Halloween Fun with children Penny Young - A Good Day at the Office! what it could mean for buyers and sellers. Gardening & Outdoor Section

If you’re looking for some Halloween inspiration, Lee’s Gardening Corner Inn Farm Nursery has some lovely ideas for Hazel Wright - Is This Chair Free? Halloween fun with children – perfect for Beacon Wealth Management - Deck Chair keeping little ones entertained and getting Shuffle creative together. Eugene Smith - The Roar of the Crowd We also have this month’s heating oil price update from BoilerJuice, keeping you up to date with the latest prices as we head towards the colder months. For book lovers, Georgia Rose shares her latest review, ‘Diamonds and Dust’, giving us another opportunity to discover a new read and perhaps add something to our autumn reading list. And finally, Wilson Browne Solicitors take a closer look at the myth of ‘Common Law Marriage’ and what can happen when an unmarried partner dies. It’s an important reminder that simply sharing a home and building a life together does not necessarily provide the legal protections many people assume it does. So, as the evenings draw in and autumn gets into full swing, make yourself a cup of tea, get cosy and enjoy this month’s issue. Happy reading, and have a wonderful October! 4

Georgia Rose - Diamonds and Dust Peter Lane and Partners - The Property Market in a Page Wilson Browne Solicitors - The myth of “Common Law Marriage” Sally Gower - The Art of Letter Writing Bystander Community The Staughtons with Hail Weston Church Services Richard Wilding - Brush Meets Pen Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head From Your Cambridge Correspondent What’s On for Children? Nurseries, Primary & Secondary Schools Useful and Emergency Numbers Clubs, Groups & Organisations Mobile Library Times Business Listings

P.4 p.8-12 p.14 p.16-17 p.22-26 p.22 p.32 p.33 p.36 p.44 p.48 p.52 p.54 p.56-71 p.58 p.70-71 p.76 p.78 p.84-85 p.92 p.92-93 p.93 p.94-95 p.95 p.96

Printing by Micropress 01502 725800

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ONE 2 ONE TUTOR

John Tose One2One Tutor @DirectLearning1 For further information • MATHS TUITION or to discuss your • ONLINE ONE TO ONE TEACHING own or your child’s educational needs, • KEY STAGE 2,3,4 please contact: John Tose 07803504631 jtose@sky.com

• GCSE AND FUNCTIONAL SKILLS • ENTRANCE EXAM PREPARATION

LEARNING THROUGH • ADULT STUDENTS WELCOME ENJOYMENT • REGULAR ASSESSMENT Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Finding The Right Fit, Right Here In Rushden At DB Shoes, we have always believed shoes are about much more than what you put on your feet. They are about getting out of the house, seeing friends, attending family occasions and feeling comfortable enough to enjoy everyday life. For many people, shoe shopping is simple. For others, swollen feet, bunions, hammer toes, arthritis, diabetes, orthotics or simply needing more room can make it painful, frustrating and isolating. That is why our specialist Fitting Centre in Irchester Road, Rushden, means so much to us. It is not a rushed shoe shop experience. By appointment, our friendly team take time to listen, measure and help find footwear designed for wider, deeper and more difficult-to-fit feet. Sometimes the difference is instant: a smile, a sigh of relief, or someone standing a little taller because, at last, their shoes feel right. We were recently delighted to welcome Rosemary Mason MVO as an ambassador for our Fitting Centre. Rosemary, honoured for her long-standing service as former Nosegay Maker for the Royal Maundy Services, first came to us when she needed shoes to accommodate swelling and other fitting challenges. Her experience touched us because it echoed what we hear so often: finding the right footwear can be emotional, especially after years of discomfort. Our shoes are designed for people who need more than standard footwear can offer. Extra width, extra depth, removable insoles, adjustable straps, stretch materials and deeper toe boxes can make all the difference — whether that means walking to the shops, enjoying a day out or simply putting on shoes without discomfort. As a family business rooted in Rushden’s shoemaking heritage, this work is personal. We are proud to have spent over a century in footw ear and the last 26 years focusing on wider and deeper fitting shoes. We want to prove that comfort and style can go together, and that no one should feel limited because their feet do not fit standard shoes. We are also thrilled that DB Shoes has been shortlisted in the Retail Gazette Retail Excellence Awards 2026 for HR Excellence, with our Director David Denton named a finalist for a Lifetime Contribution Award. National recognition is wonderful, but the real reward is closer to home: helping someone leave our Fitting Centre feeling reassured, comfortable and more confident. If you, a family member or someone you care for struggles to find comfortable footwear, please do not feel you have to manage alone. Appointments at the DB Wider Fit Shoes Fitting Centre can be booked by calling 01933 311077. We measure, we advise, we fit — and most importantly, we care.

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Unisex hairdressers Open Tues - Sat Give us a call today on 07733482359 Facebook: @Rosiessalon13 Instagram: rosiessalon13 8 East Perry, PE28 0BT

back to skincare this autumn

Restore and rebalance skin and protect for the winter ahead with a tailor made facial… Skin Bespoke £40 Deep Cleanse £50

Age Defence £65 Medical grade LED £70 NEW PRODUCT ALERT! Introducing Global eye and lip care Targets 5 signs of aging - ask us for details.

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t: 07729 381085 e: clare@closehealthandbeauty.co.uk www.closehealthandbeauty.co.uk

Beauty and relaxation are Closer than you think...

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Halloween Fun with children Halloween doesn’t just have to be about monsters, ghosts and too many sweets. There are many fun activities you can do with your children to help them celebrate this festival. Activities include:

•

Pounding golf tees into a pumpkin. All you need is a pumpkin, a pile of golf tees and a small wooden mallet. This is a great opportunity for children to practise their fine motor skills, and it can also be a great alternative to carving a pumpkin.

•

Make a pumpkin squish bag-fill a freezer bag with hair gel, and add orange food colouring, give it a squish around to evenly colour the gel. Then add black felt triangles so they can make them up into a face. Finally seal with tape to stop the gel escaping! You can then tape the bag to a window (so the light shines through) or to the table. They can then have fun squishing around the gel and shapes, a lovely sensory experience!

•

Coloured pumpkin seeds-after scooping out your pumpkin, wash the seeds and leave to air dry. Split the seeds into as many groups as you want and add to individual zip-lock bags alongside a few drops of gel food colouring. You can get your children involved with this step, mixing the colouring into the seeds through the bag. Tip onto a tray and leave to air dry. Once dry there are many different fun activities you can do, including sorting by colour, making patterns, counting and making pictures.

•

Pumpkin playdough faces-make up some playdough (Mix together 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar. Add in 2 cups of boiling water, a teaspoon of orange food colouring and 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix together to form a smooth pliable dough. Children can they enjoy using plastic/wooden shapes to make a pumpkin face. Alternatively you could use black/white colouring and turn it into a ghost.

•

Halloween jelly and tweezers-make up a jelly mix according to packet instructions. Once set, break up a bit and tip into a large tray. You can then add in some toy spiders/worms/ghosts etc. Children can then use tweezers to fish them out.

•

There is also a great song to get in the Halloween spirit: o I’m a little pumpkin Fat and fine They picked me off a pumpkin vine Halloween is coming don’t you know Just light my candle and watch me glow (to the tune of I’m a little teapot)

Joanne Cox, Manager, Inn Farm Private Day Nursery, OFSTED graded JUNE 2023 If you have any areas relating to childcare that you would like us to discuss, please email managers@innfarmdaynursery.co.uk or call 07961 291058

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Inn Farm Private Day Nursery and Pre-School

Inn Farm Private Day Nursery is a privately run day nursery located on a non-working farm in Melchbourne, Bedfordshire.

Home cooked meals, five star food hygiene, tailored activities to meet your children’s needs, extensive outside play areas including a forest school paddock.

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A Good Day at the Office! Penny Young I unexpectedly found myself with a free day one Monday and decided that family history was calling me. I had recently joined FIBIS (Families in British India Society) and thought maybe a trip down to the British Library to research ancestors who had worked for the East India Company back in the 1800’s, and in one case had made a dreadfully unhappy marriage, might fit the bill. Having made one previous visit to the British Library, I remembered that it does take a bit of planning and 24 hours’ notice is not enough preparation. However, the lives of these relatives could be researched even before they had made it out to India, and they hailed from much closer to home, Hemingford Abbots to be precise. A quick google to see if the Huntingdon Archives was open on a Monday – jackpot – yes, it was, but you needed to book. Nothing ventured etc and a quick email requesting a slot on Monday afternoon was successful. I asked to see the parish records for Hemingford Abbots and as a backup, (if I had the time,) Hail Weston, where all dad’s ancestors ‘hail’ from! The archivist was very helpful, directing me to a free table with the records I had pre-requested already there, and with the instructions to ask her if there was anything else I needed. I replied that I had an ancestor with a very unusual surname, ‘Throckmorten’, and that I hoped that if the name was there, I would spot it straight away. I hadn’t noticed an elderly gentleman sitting at another table and he immediately piped up - “Throckmorten! Are you looking for the Throckmortens, originally Lords of the Manor at Ellington, who for some unknown reason moved to Warboys and whose five daughters accused a woman of being a witch, in what became known as the Warboys Witches?” He then rambled on about the girls’ mother coming from Titchmarsh and that he was currently researching what had happened to the five Throckmorten sisters, after the famous events, but that there was a brother called Gabriel and that if I found him, this would be the right family. He then said something about Oliver Cromwell, that if I was related to the Throckmortens, then I would likely to be related to the Cromwells as the two families were inter-related. My brain was in a whirl, trying to retain all this ‘rat a tat tat’ of information and at the same time, marveling at yet another case of serendipity or the ‘golden skeins’ as I call them. This happens to me all too frequently and I often wonder if these ancestors are sitting out there in the ether, just waiting to be found and have their stories told. What are the chances of me pitching up at Huntingdon Archives on that very day and finding a man sitting there researching the same family I had gone there to find, mind blowing. Before even leaving the archives that day, I had discovered that Robert Throckmorten, born in Ellington, Huntingdon and Lord of the Manor, had moved to Warboys in the late 1590’s where he had become Lord of the Manor there also. He was my 12 x great grandfather and the father to the five sisters who had been bewitched by the ‘Witches of Warboys’. Robert Throckmorten and his wife, Elizabeth, from Titchmarsh, had eight children, six daughters, one who only survived for a few months, and two sons, one named Gabriel (whom we are descended from) and another called Robert, who ended up living the longest of all the eight siblings. 16

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I needed to discover what the whole ‘Warboys Witches’ story was about in the first place. I am sure that most of us born and brought up in this area have a vague recollection of a strange tale of the Warboys Witches and I had even attended a talk at Kimbolton Local History Society a couple of years ago about Witchcraft and Sorcery and the Witch Finder. The speaker had touched on the Warboys Witches story, but I could not recall any of it. So over to ‘google’ and up came the recommendation of a book by Philip C. Almond entitled, “The Witches of Warboys – an Extraordinary Story of Sorcery, Sadism and Satanic Possession”. The book ordered and duly arrived and I can honestly say that I found it very hard to put down, and became fascinated and horrified in equal measure, with my allegiances first switching from the poor sisters, Joan, Jane, Mary, Grace and Elizabeth and their parents, to the witches, an Alice Samuel, her husband John and their daughter Agnes, who were badly used by the Throckmorten family. The girls, seemingly at times, became possessed by spirits and their bodies would perform the strangest contortions, like those that very bendy young gymnasts can achieve today in their floor routine in a competition, but these, remember, were Elizabethan children, presumably in their Tudor costume of the day. They would also appear, at times, to go blind, deaf or mute. Their bodies sometimes became completely rigid, that apparently the strength of two strong men could not bend. They would demand to ‘scratch the witch,’ (which apparently releases the spell), whereby they raked their fingers down the face of Mother Samuel or her daughter. It was an extremely disturbing read. The Throckmortens were a deeply religious, even staunchly Puritan family, where prayers and the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed featured heavily. The father, Robert Throckmorten, often allowed other villagers to come and watch these children in their ‘trances’ and would prepare texts or statements for the Samuels to repeat, which had the dual purpose of both bringing the girls out of their ‘swoon,’ but simultaneously saw the Samuels incriminating themselves, and admitting, in front of witnesses, that they were indeed a witches, and had the power to both cause and then remove the evil spirits from the girls. Robert Throckmorten soon had the evidence he needed, and the Samuels were arrested and taken to Huntingdon court for trial. The trial lasted five hours, but witnesses were only called for the ‘gentry family’ and none for the ‘villager family’. Unsurprisingly the three were all found guilty and were taken from Huntingdon Gaol to Mill Meadow in Huntingdon, where the gallows stood, and in front of a crowd of about 40 people, Alice Samuel, her husband John Samuel and their daughter Agnes Samuel were hanged to death. From that day on, the girls never had anymore ‘fits or turns’ and became as healthy as before it had all begun some three years earlier. All but Elizabeth went onto marry; but the village of Warboys soon turned against the Throckmorten family. After all the drama had ceased and people began to take stock of what had really happened, they felt that the family from the Manor had used their higher status against the lowly Samuels and that a grave miscarriage of justice had taken place. The Throckmortens packed up and moved back to their Manor at Ellington. My 12th great grandfather – Robert Throckmorten – oh dear – not an ancestor to be proud of. Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

�� Eat. Drink. Stay. Enjoy.

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Moat Lane, Abbots Ripton, PE282PA, 01487 773585, www.thelmabbotsripton.co.uk 18

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Auction Sales & Valuations

Valuation, collection and auction of individual items, through to complete property and commercial clearances.

SALE ENTRIES INVITED Friday, Saturday & Monday between 8.30am and 5pm

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75 New Street, St Neots PE19 1AJ peacockauction.co.uk

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Please support our small community shop, run by volunteers and paid staff. We are just off Brampton Road about a 1�� mile from �ra�am Water Marlow car park (cycle centre), and next door to our community pub The �ra�am Trout. We offer all the essen�als, some unique local produce* as well as local knowledge and a friendly welcome from the team. 

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Daily Dose Juices*

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Meadow Lodge Apple Juice*

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Local eggs*, bread and milk

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Wine and so� drinks

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Bacon, sausages and pies

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Cakes, biscuits and fudge

Hay artesan chocolates including “Reservoir Dogs!”*

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Breakfast cereals

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Snacks and ice cream

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Fresh fruit and veg

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Hot drinks

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Saints & Sinners jams & chutneys*

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Sweets, sta�onary items and sec‐ ond‐hand jigsaws

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Dog food and poo bags!

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Local Cra� Beers*

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Toiletries & household items

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Opening Hours Mon‐Sat 8am‐4pm Sundays & Bank Holidays 10am – 4pm

Contact 01480 – 810119 shop�gra�amvillageshop.co.uk www.gra�amvillage.co.uk

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Old Kimboltonians’ Freemasons Lodge Meeting at Kimbolton Castle 2026 Meeting dates Friday 29 May, Friday 23 October & Friday 18 December, all commencing at 6.00 p.m. All Freemasons welcome as well as enquiries from Alumni plus current and former staff. Contact Jason Chambers Lodge Secretary - Email 7204secretary@gmail.com

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Gardening and Outdoor Section: p.22-26 Lee’s Gardening Corner Just because October is here don't start thinking you can down tools and lock the shed door - there's still plenty to do. This is the time of year when the garden can look spectacular, all the different shades that come with Autumn make the garden a special place to be this month. Although after such a dry summer some plants may still look a bit sad. Generally the jobs at this time of year are more relaxed though, lightly tidying borders, clearing weeds and cutting down flower stems. But try not to be too tidy, some seed heads not only look great during winter but will help the wildlife too, obviously get rid of weeds and anything that looks unpleasant. October is a good month for planting too - container grown trees, shrubs, climbers and roses can still all be planted as the soil will be warm and damp enough for things to establish before winter sets in. Bare root plants can be planted even later towards the end of the month. Any tall shrubs (such as buddleia) can be cut back if there is a chance they will get damaged by wind, and check tree ties are secure before the windy weather starts. Late flowering climbing roses can be pruned now, this will give them a chance to put on growth ready for next years flowers. Lift tender perennials and change summer bedding for the winter kind. This is the latest that spring bulbs can be planted so get on with the narcissi, scillas, and snowdrops. Tulips can be planted in November. Rake up leaves and if you have the space create a leaf compost, if not store in black bags with a few holes, leave until this time next year and there will be a wonderful useable compost, all free. Trees for autumn colour include liquidambar, maples and acers. Pyracanthas, crab apples and hawthorn will be covered in berries. You may be lucky enough to still have chrysanthemums, asters and dahlias flowering, if the weather has been kind. Lee Munday

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PROFESSIONAL ARBORICULTURE SERVICES Fully Insured and Compliant Family Run Business All Aspects of Domestic and Commercial Tree Work Covered ARB Approved Contractor

For a Free Quote, Get in touch: 01480 220571 info@manorfarmtreeservices.com www.manorfarmtreeservices.com

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ADAM WOODBINE MULTI SERVICE CONTRACTORS Office 01480 861627 Mobile 07901 555640 adam@woodbine71.plus.com www.adwoodbine.co.uk

Hire Contractors – Multi-Purpose Loaders Plant Hire, Mini Digger, Dumpers with Operators Mechanical Cleaning of Driveways, Patios, Pathways Ground Works, Earth Moving and Drainage Systems Landscaping (hard and soft) Fencing, Gates, Retaining Wall Installations

Hedge Cutting, Tree Work and Scrub Clearance Installation of Patios, Paths, Driveways, Shed Bases General Metalwork Fabrication Family owned business based in Kimbolton serving Cambs, Beds and Northants Est. 1987

General Building Works Turfing and Seeding Fully Insured Free Advice, Surveys and Estimates

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How is your lawn looking?

I'm Laura, your local independent lawn care specialist. I help improve tired, patchy or weedy lawns, personally looking after every lawn throughout the year.

YEAR-ROUND LAWN TREATMENT PROGRAMMES Aeration | Scarification | Renovations

Want me to take a look at your lawn?

thelawnritual.co.uk | 07368 995 018 26

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We are proud to be expanding our nurse-led services with the opening of our new Nursing Home and Day Centre in Catworth this Summer. Designed with our same holistic, person-centred values that guide our services.

Nursing Home & Day Centre Coming Summer 2026!

Our new 6 bed Nursing Home will provide high quality, compassionate care in a unique homely setting where comfort, dignity and meaningful connection are at the heart of daily life. The Day Centre will offer social connection, engaging activities, wellbeing, and Nurse Led support for those wishing to remain living independently at home. We are now welcoming enquiries, scan our QR code or call us on 07497 070446 for more information.

Visit our website www.goldencommunity.co.uk

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Childcare for 2–11 year olds A wonderful charity run setting based in the beautiful village of Spaldwick, and led by a fantastic team, we are pleased to oﬀer:

• 2 to 4 years old: pre-school childcare during term time between 9am to 3pm (lunch available; pre / after school care and holiday time covered by the clubs below). Eligible Government funded places available. Each session is planned and includes play activities that help progress the children’s learning and development in the areas covered by the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

• 2 to 11 years old: breakfast and after school care (S-Club) for the morning (8am to 9am) and afternoon (3pm to 6pm) for those attending Playtimes Pre-school and Spaldwick Primary School. We oﬀer a relaxed and calm environment where children can enjoy breakfast; and a hot tea in the afternoon. We encourage stimulating but relaxed activities to prepare children for / help them unwind from their school day.

• 2 to 11 years old: holiday club for all (available for all children, they do not need to attend Playtimes

Pre-school or Spaldwick Primary School) between 9am to 5pm (lunch and hot tea available; breakfast and afternoon snack included). We provide indoor and outdoor activities (children are encouraged to play outside wherever possible), including baking, arty crafts, nature walks, bug hunts, seasonal parties, and much more. For more information, please contact: Email playtimesoﬃce@gmail.com or call 01480 890077 to book a place. Hours: Mon – Fri: 8am–6pm Playtimes, Ferriman Road, Spaldwick, Huntingdon, PE28 0TQ Charity No. 1032297

Playtimes Bystander.indd 1

17/05/2024 12:00

Elle’s ad She

Freshly baked sourdough bread, focaccia, brownies, cookies, granola and more. Pre orders taken for next day collection

Visit the Bread Shed at:

5 The Drive, Perry, PE28 0SX Open 8am-7pm Mon-Sun ellesbreadshed@outlook.com

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 Installation, Maintenance, Testing  Landlords Certificates (EICRs)  Consumer Unit Upgrades  Home Battery Storage  Solar PV Installations  Fault Finding  Lighting  Data Cabling  EV Car Chargers  Full & Partial Rewires  Automated Electric Gates  All Work Certified And Guaranteed Mobile: 07912 092985 Email: domelecuk@gmail.com

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Brickwork & Extensions Plumbing Kitchen & Bathroom fitting Flooring Painting & Decorating Fencing Landscaping, Patios & Gardening City & Guilds qualified Call for a quotation CB Building Christian Baker 07583 938006

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�� Eat. Drink. Relax. Enjoy.

Seasonal dining, relaxed moments and a warm village welcome

�� AT THE HEART: THE FOOD

Modern restaurant with a seasonal menu Ingredient-led dishes, simply done A set Sunday lunch worth returning for

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A PLACE TO SETTLE IN Open fires and cosy corners Alfresco dining for warmer days A welcoming beer garden

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An eclectic wine list Crafted cocktails with a classic touch Well-kept beers

Loop Road, Keyston, PE280RE, 01832 710303 www.thepheasantkeyston.co.uk

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BILLy

BLANCHARD

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R Robinson Architects

Contact Richard Robinson RIBA “Our first consultation is always free” Nonsuch Barn,17 Rotten Row, Riseley, MK44 1EJ 07860 632 542 www.rr-architects.co.uk, richard@rr-architects.co.uk HOUSE REMODELLING EXTENSIONS LISTED BUILDINGS

LOFT CONVERSIONS

PLANNING & BUILDING REGULATIONS

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Is This Chair Free? She sat in the hospital café, staring into space, the cup of tea in front of her growing increasingly cold. A voice brought her back to reality. ‘Is this chair free?’ he said. ‘There’s nowhere else to sit.’ He sat. They exchanged names. She was Cynthia, he was Eric. They exchanged stories. Cynthia’s husband was in the hospital and very poorly. Eric’s wife had been living with dementia for five years, and Eric was struggling to cope. The previous week, his wife had taken a fall and ended up in the hospital with a broken knee. They parted, each feeling a little better for sharing. Two days later, there they both were again. Once more Cynthia heard ‘Is this chair free?’, and once more they shared a table and a catch up. That time, they exchanged phone numbers and promised they would update each other on how things were progressing. A week later, Eric took a call – Cynthia’s husband had passed away. Cynthia let Eric know the details of the funeral, and Eric went along. He sat at the back of the chapel so as not to intrude, but Cynthia was very grateful that he had come, and touched by his support. A couple of weeks after the funeral, Eric messaged Cynthia and asked if she would like to meet for coffee – somewhere other than the hospital this time! When Eric walked up to where Cynthia was sat in the cafe, he grinned as he said, ‘Is this chair free?’ During their chat, Eric explained to Cynthia that his wife was now in a nursing home. Although he really missed her being at their home, he had no longer been able to cope. Very soon, Cynthia and Eric fell into the pattern of meeting once a month, and every meet up would start with Eric asking ‘Is this chair free?’ Six months later, Eric’s wife died. Cynthia attended her funeral, and returned the support Eric had given to her when her husband had died. Eric and Cynthia both really enjoyed their monthly meetings, at first just sharing the dark days, but bit by bit sharing more and more about themselves, discovering how much they had in common. Eighteen months passed, and Cynthia began to realise that while she really looked forward to her monthly meet ups, and now considered Eric a very good friend, there was a part of her that wanted more. She wanted to spend much more time with Eric, do different things, visit places together. Eric, however, showed no signs of wanting more. The last time they had met, Eric had loaned Cynthia a book he thought she might like. As Cynthia read it, knowing she was holding a book Eric had held, she found herself wishing she was holding Eric, not his book. ‘Get a grip!’ she said to herself. Cynthia reached the end of the book two days later, and just as she was about to close it, she noticed something had been written inside the back cover. It said: ‘Is this chair free for ever? Are you ready to move this relationship on? I really hope so.’ Cynthia gasped and stared at the words in amazement. Without hesitation she grabbed her phone. Her message to Eric read: ‘No. This chair is not free for ever – it’s all yours now for whatever time we have left together.’

Hazel Wright: hazelwright1801@gmail.com

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BEACON WEALTH MANAGEMENT Your financial future is our priority

Deck Chair Shuffle by Tony Larkins Governments come and Governments go. One promises what the other doesn't and is convinced they can fix what the last lot got wrong. In recent years, it has sometimes felt like we've changed Prime Ministers almost as often as the weather. Focus on the bigger picture The headlines can make it feel as though every political change should trigger a financial decision. Politics affects our daily lives. Taxation, inflation and interest rates all matter. But when it comes to pensions and investments, the bigger picture is often global rather than local. Many of the companies within UK investment portfolios generate revenues across the world, so international events, economic growth and changing industries often have a greater influence on long-term returns than whichever party is in power. That's why reacting to headlines is rarely a successful investment strategy. Keep your investments working At Beacon, we believe investments should be actively managed, not left on autopilot. Markets change and economies evolve, which is why our in-house investment team continually reviews changing conditions and adjusts client portfolios with long-term goals in mind. We cannot control elections or world events, but we can help ensure your investments remain aligned with your objectives and appetite for risk.

It’s worth asking whether your financial adviser has an in-house investment team with discretionary permissions. If they don't, it's a fair question to ask why. Make your money work harder The size of your pensions and investments will help decide when you can retire and the quality of life you enjoy when you get there. I still meet people holding significant amounts in cash, waiting for the "right time" to invest. Unfortunately, markets don't ring a bell when opportunities arrive. They do say the best time to invest was yesterday. We've lived through COVID, wars, political upheaval and market shocks. Markets have fallen, but they've also recovered. Investing is never without risk, but a disciplined strategy and ongoing oversight can help you stay focused when headlines become distracting. The deck chairs in Westminster will continue to shuffle. Your financial plan should not have to.

Speak with our local experts by calling us on 01480 869466 for a complimentary initial, no Over the last 17 years, our five most popular obligation chat. For more information and risk-rated portfolios have consistently useful content, visit our wesbite outperformed their industry benchmarks. www.beaconwm.co.uk. Future fees may apply Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Number 526604)

01480 869466 www.beaconwm.co.uk info@beaconwealth.co.uk Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Regency Funeral Directors Family-run business located in Kimbolton Available 24 hours Funeral packages and bespoke services Chapel of rest Jaguar fleet plus all other motorised options In-house horse-drawn services Pre-paid funeral options Headstones and other memorials

01480 759 408 info@regencyfuneraldirectors.co.uk www.regencyfuneraldirectors.co.uk 36 Cromwell House, High Street, Kimbolton, Huntingdon, PE28 0HA 34

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Monthly Heating Oil Price Update: Sponsored by BoilerJuice Price Update Prices are rising back over 100ppl at the time of writing. Renewed hostilities in the Middle East have seen energy markets soar again. Impacting us here in the UK.

The affordability of oil this winter. This upward trend in prices may or may not be short-lived. Recent news reports suggest the Middle East conflict could continue for another two years or more. Winter is getting closer, the time to put off your order is reducing, and if everyone waits, then the rush of demand when the first frosts hit could impact availability. Here’s some options that may help when you order your next top-up. Here's our recommendations: •

Smaller volume options exist. People often think 500L is the minimum you can order. BoilerJuice has options for under 500L in many areas. Yes, the PPL is more, but it could help if you want a lower one-off cost.

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Instalments are available. Interest-free instalment options, such as PayPal Payin-3, are available with BoilerJuice and others. This can help with budgeting and spreading the cost.

For more detailed information and to explore our services, visit BoilerJuice.com. proudly sponsored by BoilerJuice in association with The Village Bystander. Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

The Roar of the Crowd As Crossroads is having an unusually long commercial break, let’s continue looking at recommended audience behaviours. Last time we saw that a visitor to an opera house or concert hall is expected to embrace such old-fashioned values as being polite, considerate of others and not believing oneself to be the centre of the universe. Theatre behaviour is more complicated, as the expectations will vary depending on what you’re seeing. If you’re at a pantomime, then it would be totally unreasonable to complain about children making noise, getting overexcited, chattering, eating too many sweets and so on. Pantomimes are often people’s first experience of live entertainment, and despite the negative connotations which have been attached to the term (generally by Doctor Who fanboys), a good pantomime is a wondrous thing. And if the kids get so excited that they shout out and run about the place, all the better. The same does not apply if you’re at a straight play. As with opera, before you drag your offspring along to the theatre, stop to consider whether they will enjoy and appreciate it, or whether you’re doing this for parental bragging rights. While we’re on the subject, don’t take your pram-bound child to Oxford Street at Christmas. They will not be aware of what’s happening, and you will be in my damned way. But children’s understandable misbehaviour at theatres is nothing compared to that of adults. Again, it depends what you’re seeing. If you’re at Mama Mia! then it’s fine to sing along. Less so at Tosca. There’s a current glut of plays where one of the cast members being drunk is the main selling point, labouring under the misapprehension that other people being drunk is amusing. I’m not talking about acting drunk, which is very difficult to do, unless you’re Arthur Lowe, who was a genius at it. No, these are productions where one actor will get drunk before the show and then go on and perform. I can’t advise on how you should behave at one of these events, as I have never been and never will, as I’m not a simpleton. Here are a few things to consider not doing (that’s not doing) at the theatre. Don’t talk throughout the production. Especially don’t keep asking your neighbour “what did they say?”. Don’t eat noisily. If you’re unable to manage ninety minutes without stuffing junk in your mouth, at least eat something soft. And if you have sweets, unwrap them. But the most heinous audience behaviour is of course using mobile devices. There is simply no excuse for looking at your phone or silly glowing watch during a play. If you’re expecting an important call, here’s an idea, either tell them you’re unavailable, or don’t go to the theatre. You really aren’t that important. Switch it off. Now. Don’t put it on vibrate, especially if you’re receiving football score updates. Imbecile. If you’re at the cinema, all the above rules still apply. Except if you remonstrate with an offender, you’ll get stabbed. https://eugenesmithwriting.com/ 36

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Are you thinking of selling or renting your property? “I offer a tailored service for unique homes. Enjoy a seamless, personally managed journey from initial inquiry until the day you move into your new home. Connect with me today to arrange your free valuation”

Chri

stie

partneringpeople withproperty christie.taylor@simpsonspropertyexperts.co.uk 01480 589584 Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

�� Sip. Savour. Discover.

Where good bottles, great coffee and easy conversation come together

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AT THE HEART: THE WINE A carefully curated selection from small producers and classic regions Wines to drink in or take home Knowledgeable, friendly guidance

�� MORE THAN A WINE BAR

Live music nights Wine tasting events for curious drinkers and enthusiasts

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ALL DAY, ALL EVENING Speciality coffee and locally sourced cakes by day Wine, cocktails and relaxed drinks as the evening unfolds

34 The Broadway, St. Ives, PE27 5BN, 01480 782 200 www.broadwaycellars.co.uk

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THE COMPUTER MAN Local, Trusted & Experienced

Geeng I.T. right the ﬁrst me, every me. • LAPTOP AND COMPUTER REPAIR • VIRUS & SPYWARE REMOVAL • DATA TRANSFER & BACKUP • UPGRADES & REPAIRS • IPHONE, IPAD & MAC • MOST ISSUES RESOLVED ON SITE • HEALTH H AND SECURITY CHECKS • NEW SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS • ALL MAKES, MODELS & AGES

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Contact Stuart on: Tel: 01480 759 082 Mob: 07734 652 239

E-mail: stuart@shconsultancy.co.uk Whether your computer is not working at all or just needs a boost, I can help.

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MANOR COTTAGE

Manor Cottage SILECROFT | LA18 4NS A cosy country cottage by the sea INTRODUCTORY PRICE

£95 PER NIGHT

Charming 3-bedroom cottage Sleeping up to 6 guests Dog friendly Comfortable, cosy & thoughtfully styled Just a short walk to the beach

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YOUR PERFECT GETAWAY Tucked away in peaceful Silecroft, Manor Cottage is the perfect base for couples, families and dog lovers.

Whether you're here for coastal walks, lazy days or exploring the Lake District, you'll feel right at home.

EXPLORE THE BEST OF WEST CUMBRIA Hop aboard the historic Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway for a scenic narrowgauge train journey through stunning countryside to the charming village of Dalegarth.

Discover Muncaster Castle & Gardens - a magnificent historic castle with beautiful gardens, hawk & owl displays, and family adventures.

And so much more... gorgeous beaches, coastal walks and the adventure of the Lake District.

BOOK YOUR STAY TODAY!

Scan the QR code to view our airbnb listing and book on

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WEEKLY OFFERS at The Wheatsheaf Kickstart January at The Wheatsheaf – Big Flavours, Even Bigger Value

ONE NIGHT STAND Weekly one-off legendary burger – New every Tuesday – £17.95

STEAK NIGHT Every Thursday from 5pm Steak, fries, sauce + drink – Ribeye £18.95 | Fillet £20.95

FISH FRYDAY Every Friday from 5pm 2 for 1 on all Fish & Chips, Scampi & Seabass mains

FRIENDS EAT FREE Mondays 5–9pm Buy one main, get a second free (Mains only; excludes sharers, starters & grills)

Brighten the new year with the best deals in town.

The Wheatsheaf – West Perry, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 0BX Email: hello@wheatsheaf-perry.co.uk – Phone: 01480 810253

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Do come and meet me and many others at a Two day Artists and Authors Together event at Chichele College, Higham Ferrers—Oct 31st and Nov 1st—10am - 4pm. Free Entry! My review of Diamonds and Dust by Carol Hedges Diamonds & Dust is a Victorian murder mystery set in London. Josephine King, an orphan, is a good sort and stoic, with, I felt, very little emotional response to the death of her Uncle Herbert, or perhaps she just showed the response that was expected in that era. Uncle Herbert had rescued her from the home she was living in, or I should say surviving in, after her parents died, and his death leaves her a very rich young lady. It appears Uncle Herbert died of fright, and DI Leo Stride and DS Jack Cully investigate. This story takes a rather unexpected and supernatural turn for me, although when I think about it, perhaps it is not that unusual given the setting and the time in which it is told. There is plenty going on throughout, with the stories of other characters woven in seamlessly. The writing is wonderfully expressive and tight, with a dry, clever humour throughout that brings a smile. “Words swim in her brain like fish under thick ice. She struggles to bring them to the surface.” How lovely is that! The descriptions of London are vivid. You can see the places, taste and smell them. The smog almost sticks in your throat. The way people lived, the customs, the airs, the graces… the bread and butter… are all detailed. Although Mrs Thorne and her daughter, Isabella, rather push themselves into Josephine’s life, I grew to like Isabella more as the story progressed and heartily approved of her behaviour. Her social climber of a mother was, I imagine, like many others with aspirations at that time and she was atrocious. I would have loved to have found out more about some characters, such as Trafalgar Moggs, who has my favourite character name ever, or of the relationship between Isabella and Henry Papperdelli. This is always a good thing, as it shows that even the peripheral characters are interestingly drawn and that makes you invest in them. The story is written in a delightfully proper manner that is so very Victorian and comes highly recommended. Georgia Rose is my pen name and the name I use for everything connected to my writing. You can find me at georgia@georgiarosebooks.com or via www.georgiarosebooks.com. 44

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St. Ives • St. Neots • Huntingdonshire

READY TO FEEL LIKE

yourself AGAIN?

COLOUR ANALYSIS • STYLE ANALYSIS • WARDROBE EDIT PERSONAL SHOPPING • MAKEUP “I now fully understand how to dress for my personality & body… shopping is now the easiest thing in the world.”

“It has transformed the way I approach my wardrobe and makeup.”

“I would highly recommend this to anyone who needs to feel themselves again.”

natalie.schofield@houseofcolour.co.uk houseofcolour_natalieschofield House of Colour St.Ives / St. Neots / Huntingdonshire

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- . T. .U.T. O . .R. . .. V E. . .

NIKKI BREALEY

... held in Keysoe

. . . .R. E. A T ...I

... for the Autumn

Creative Workshops

G O T O. . .R.A. P H . . .E R P .H. . . .

Cyanotype - printing using just the sun! 11th October - with Nikki

Creating beautiful images using simply the sun, paper, water and a few pressed botanicals such as leaves, petals and shapes.

£65 per person 10.30am - 3pm - includes tea and cake

Cyanotype - Christmas cards & bunting 8th November - with Nikki

Create some festive designs using the cyanotype process, cut and mount them into cards and create a string of gorgeous festive bunting.

£65 per person 1pm - 4pm - includes tea and cake

Traditional leaded stain glass workshop 14th November - with Will

Using traditional techniques, take your own beautiful panel home the same day. Perfect for beginners or for building on your previous experience.

£105 per person 10.30am - 4.30pm - includes tea and cake

Hand marbling silk scarves

15th November - with Janey Whitehorn Explore the centuries old technique of marbling, experiment and then create your very own silk scarf.

£80 per person 10.30am - 4pm - includes tea and cake

Handmade scrapbook or keepsake journal 31st October - with Nikki

Create 2 unique, personal hardback scrapbooks with concertina or traditional pages, with pockets, wallets, photo pages, apertures, mini books ready to be filled with art or keepsakes.

£75 per person 10.30am - 3pm - includes tea and cake Message or call to chat or book your place Email: nikki@oliviabea.co.uk Call or WA: 07774 456825

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The Property Market in a Page Whilst the housing market has shown some resilience this summer, with transactions holding up and buyers still willing to move when the right property comes along, this year's summer slowdown has been sharper than usual, with elevated mortgage rates weighing on buyers, who have also been distracted by sunshine, football and political change. Average asking prices dropped around 1.0%, well above the ten-year average July fall of 0.2%. Historically, this gives way to a September bounce-back, with asking prices up 0.5% on average from August to September over the past five years. Activity is likely to pick up in autumn, provided rates hold steady and the picture clears following Burnham's first Budget. Mortgage approvals were up in June, pointing to underlying market resilience, though remain 10% lower year-on-year. Buyer confidence is holding to an extent in the face of higher mortgage rates due to global uncertainty. Buyer enquiries are down 2% on last year, though have rebounded since Easter, and are now running at their highest level since the outbreak of the conflict in late February. Mortgage approvals in March rose to 63,531, their highest level in four months, and are sitting just 0.8% below the same time last year. Movers are taking a measured approach as they assess pricing, wider economic signals and what many see as an uncertain longer-term picture. Inflation fell more than expected to 2.6% in June, though forecasts for 2026 are now higher than they were at the start of the year - 3.4% vs 2.2% - and reflecting the Iran conflict's implications for global supply chains. The Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75% in July, although the jury is still out as to whether this will be the case through to the year-end. Mortgage rates may continue to rise in the uncertain environment until tensions in the Gulf are resolved. Earnings growth has been slowing but remains solid, with a stronger forecast at mid-year than at the start, hopefully helping to rebuild household finances a little. For more information, or if you would like to discuss the potential sale of your property, contact Paul Kinally at the Kimbolton office of Peter Lane & Partners. 01480 860400 kimbolton@peterlane.co.uk 48

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Robinson — GARAGE — EST 1927

MOT - REPAIRS – SERVICING

KEEP YOUR CAR TESTED, SAFE & ROADWORTHY. 01480 860581 cars@robinsonkimbolton.co.uk robinsonkimbolton.co.uk Mon-Fri 0800-1700

MOT, Repairs, Servicing, Tyres, Exhausts, Brakes, Clutches, Computer Diagnosis, Air Conditioning and much more.

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OPEN Mon - Sat 6:30am - 9pm Sun 7:30am - 8pm budgens@robinsonkimbolton.co.uk 01480 860582 Thrapston Rd, Kimbolton 50

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Budgens is all about food. Early morning deliveries, 6 days a week, ensure lots of fresh produce. Everything is here to create delicious meals from scratch. We also have a great variety of prepared meals. A wide range of Wines, Beers, Ciders, and Spirits will complement your meal. We have a Bakery plus Costa Coffee, Fresh Sandwiches & Frozen Foods. We’re just round the corner. Open long hours, 7 days a week, with car parking. Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

The myth of “Common Law Marriage” – What happens when your partner dies… You may have shared a home for 20 or 30 years, built a life together and considered yourself husband and wife without the label. But when it comes to inheritance, the law does not necessarily see things the same way. Recent proposal to strengthen the rights of cohabiting couples have brought the issue back into the spotlight. For now, however, there is still no “common law marriage” in England and Wales. For the Wilson Browne Contentious Probate Team, disputes arising after someone dies are often far more complicated than simply asking, “who gets what?”. The Team regularly acts for people whose loved ones have passed away and now fear that they will lose their home and any sense of security they believed they had has gone. An unmarried partner may discover they do not automatically inherit from an Estate in the same way as a spouse or civil partner. This can lead to difficult disputes between partners, children and other beneficiaries, particularly when there is no Will. These disputes can be intensely emotional, particularly when family relationships can become strained. Early legal advice is essential to establish whether there is a genuine claim, what evidence you may need and what rights you have. Wilson Browne’s Contentious Probate Team has experience advising beneficiaries, executors and family members involved in inheritance disputes, providing clear and practical advice when emotions are running high. Because when it comes to inheritance, what you thought the law said and what it actually says can be two very different things.

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For you. For business. We offer advice for individuals and businesses, with a friendly, down-to-earth approach. Fixed fees available. Call our Higham Ferrers office for details.

For you:

For business:

Wills, Trusts and Probate Challenging a Will, Trust or Estate Residential Conveyancing Family law Childcare law Employment law Care Home Fees

Disputes (Litigation) and Dispute Resolution Debt Recovery Commercial Property law Corporate & Commercial law Insolvency Employment law for Employers Professional Negligence

0800 088 6004 enquiries@wilsonbrowne.co.uk wilsonbrowne.co.uk

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The Art of Letter Writing When I think of writing by hand, I immediately think of greetings cards, or three-hour long university exams. I almost never think back to writing letters to relatives or friends when younger, which is sad, because I absolutely loved doing so. Who doesn’t love receiving handwritten letters or cards when everything is so ‘technified’ today? We hear so much about how AI is getting better and smarter and the chief scientist of OpenAI has even issued warnings on how “nobody is prepared for the consequences of AI”. (If given the choice, I think we’d rather the cosy comfort of Diane Morgan’s Ann Droid, than the sheer terror of 2004 Will Smith film I, Robot.) So this month I thought I’d bring us, gentle 21st Century reader, back to the simple art of handwritten notes and letters. I love writing and reading cards, letters, notes and Post-Its. It was a poignant experience to find letters my great-uncle Basil had written during World War Two to family back home. I imagined it bringing him some comfort while in such horrific circumstances. Letter writing between countries or continents has been bringing people and cultures together through language exchanges since the mid19th Century. This was an era where people would ask others to intentionally correct their incorrect grammar in a different language instead of getting defensive and hurling back insults over the internet. (Can you imagine?) As a proofreader, voracious reader and keen etymologist, this makes me extremely happy to think about. Let’s take it back even further. Historians believe the first handwritten letter was written by Queen Atossa of Persia in around 500 BC. (That’s not the only ‘first’ she was known for – as it’s believed she suffered from the first ‘recorded’ case of breast tumours. But that’s a topic I’ll save for another month’s article as it’ll include an incredible woman from the early 19th Century by the name of Frances “Fanny” Burney.) Queen Atossa’s letter writing as a form of communication was of course via ancient clay tablets and papyrus scrolls, and even with animal skin. This thought horrifies me but I guess these days tattoos are a different form of this means of communication as we are technically thought of as animals and tattoos convey messages… What are your thoughts? In today’s communication, letters more often than not mean something’s either gone very wrong (a speeding fine, or a legal case perhaps) or very right (we’re delighted to offer you the position of…etc). But my favourite thing about communication is making it personal. It’s the thought that someone has gone to a real effort to ensure you feel thought of and special to them. Even more so if you’re going to the effort of writing to them in their native language when it’s not your first language. I had a Swedish penpal for a while when I was younger and do miss the days of awaiting a reply. I’ll happily have a chuck-out of old tat I’ve found but will never throw out old cards or letters. And is there a single bad story that didn’t involve a message in a bottle at sea? Answers on a postcard, please. Sally Gower 54

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Bystander Community HAIL WESTON WILDLIFE AND GARDENING GROUP Tuesday 6th October 7.30pm, Hail Weston Village Hall,

Planting a Winter Container Di Jarvis will demonstrate how to plant a winter container and bring some plants which will be available to purchase. This meeting will include our Annual General Meeting. Members £1.00 per meeting (annual membership £7.00/year) non members £3.00 per meeting (certain meetings/events may cost more) Light refreshments will be available for a donation and there will be a Raffle (4-6 prizes) including a garden centre voucher (£25) further information contact: tel_maggs2@225771mgl.co.uk

10am to 12-30pm Mondays and Fridays in the Community Hall behind the Mandeville Hall opposite Budgens

Bytes Café

Run by the Mandeville Hall for the Community Drop in for a chat and a drink, everyone welcome Free IT help available with facilities for A4 & A3 copying & laminating Cinema tickets available here Registered charity number 302646

Mandeville Hall Tuesday 6th October 2026 Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Tuesday 1st December 2026 7.30pm for 8.00pm Start • Generous cash prizes • Raffle • Refreshments Available Bring a friend and come along and join in the fun All proceeds to the Mandeville Hall Charity Registered Charity No 302646

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KIMBOLTON COMMUNITY CINEMA AT THE MANDEVILLE HALL A heartwarming comedy from Australia, inspired by an incredible true story

Kimbolton Probus Club Our Probus luncheon club welcomes retired business or professional men and women from Kimbolton and neighbouring villages. We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 12:00 for 12:15pm at the Snooty Tavern Great Staughton and enjoy a delicious meal followed by a speaker.

BAR, ICE CREAMS, & FREE POPCORN Tickets £5, £4 + booking fee at www.ticketsource.co.uk/mandevillehall-kimbolton . Bytes Café 10 to 12-30pm Mondays and Fridays (no booking fee) or on the door if available. Information at

https://e-voice.org.uk/themandevillehallkimbolton/community-cinema

KEYSOE VILLAGE HALL BIG BREAKFAST IS BACK SATURDAY 17th OCTOBER 9am - 11am Full English - £9.00 Small English - £6.50 Breakfast Sandwich £4.50

Interested?? Contact either: Steve Jacklin, Social Secretary 01480 860805 Mary Foster, Chairman 01480 861594

The Kimbolton & surrounding villages

Senior Lunch Club Held every Thursday in The Community Room (behind The Mandeville Hall) Kimbolton from 11.30am (Lunch served 12.15)

Tea & coffee included

Main course, dessert and hot drink £10

No need to Book

Now welcoming new members

Just turn up

For more information, please phone Clare on 07462 095624

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Services across the Benefice for October. For more information visit www.swhw.co.uk On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday there is Morning Prayer at 8.30am and Evening Prayer at 5.30pm via Zoom Zoom meeting details: meeting ID: 460 073 8580 Passcode: wJ94Sa

ST. ANDREW’S, GREAT STAUGHTON

Sun 4th

10.30am All Age Worship

Sun 11th 10.30am Harvest Festival Sun 18th 10.30am Parish Communion

Join us at St. Andrew’s church on Friday for an informal bit of fun with your toddlers and pre-schoolers, along with refreshments and chat for the adults. 9.00am - 10.30am during school term

Sun 25th 10.30am Parish Communion

ST. NICOLAS, HAIL WESTON

ALL SAINTS, LITTLE STAUGHTON

Sun 4th

10.30am Morning Praise

Sun 4th

Sun 11th

9.00am Parish Communion

Sun 18th

3.00pm Creative Communion

Sun 18th

9.00am Parish Communion

Sun 25th

9.00am Parish Communion

Sun 25th

4.00pm Benefice Evensong

Sat 31st

4.00pm Memorial Service

9.00am Harvest Festival 12.30pm Harvest Lunch

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1st SOUTHOE & BUCKDEN SCOUT GROUP CHRISTMAS TREE FUN NDRAISER Great quality, fresh cut farm trees at competitive prices

PRICE LIST

New for 2026—potted trees Potted Norway Spruce

Potted Nordmann Fir

60-90 cm

£20

£30

90-120 cm £25

90-120 cm £35

Norway Spruce (lovely scent)

Nordmann Fir (non drop)

120 - 150 cm

£30

120 - 150 cm

£40

150 - 175 cm

£35

150 - 175 cm

£45

175 - 200 cm

£40

175 - 200 cm

£50

200 - 225 cm

£45

200 - 225 cm

£55

Scan QR code for online order form or visit https://forms.gle/nMocwhfz2CdsoyU98 ORDER DEADLINE: 5pm Sunday 22nd November.

PAYMENT: credit card or bank transfer Collection from The Scout Hut, Lucks Lane, Buckden Sunday 29th November between 10am and 12pm. Local delivery available for £5 EMAIL: XMAS.BUCKDENEXPLORERSCOUTS@GMAIL.COM

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Kimbolton Medical Centre Hunters Way Kimbolton 01480 860205

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What’s on in Kimbolton in October Thursday 1st Friday 2nd

12pm Senior Lunch Club 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall

1.30 - 4.30pm Welcome Club. Mandeville Hall

Saturday 3rd

6-8pm Pop Up Wine Bar. Whitchurch Wines

Sunday 4th Monday 5th

3pm Kim Jam. New Sun Inn (Anyone wishing to play sing WhatsApp 07799765503 to book) 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall 10-12pm Fitness Class. Mandeville Hall

Tuesday 6th

Wednesday 7th

10-12pm Bridge Club. Youth & Community Hall

Thursday 8th

Friday 9th

2.30pm W.I. The History of St Neots in 10 Objects. Mandeville Hall

6-7.30pm Cubs. Scout Hut

4.15 - 5.15pm Rainbows. Scout Hut 5.30 - 6.45pm Brownies. Scout Hut

Girlguides. Scout Hut. Check website for times: www.girlguiding.org.uk 7pm Bingo. Mandeville Hall

1- 3pm Art Class. Youth & Community Hall 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall

7.30-9.30pm Unleash Yoga Flow. Mandeville Hall

12pm Senior Lunch Club 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall 4.30-5.45pm Beavers. Scout Hut 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall

Saturday 10th Monday 12th

10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall 10-12pm Fitness Class. Mandeville Hall

Tuesday 13th Wednesday 14th

10-12pm Bridge Club. Youth & Community Hall

6-7.30pm Cubs. Scout Hut

4.15 - 5.15pm Rainbows. Scout Hut 5.30 - 6.45pm Brownies. Scout Hut

Girlguides. Scout Hut. Check website for times: www.girlguiding.org.uk

1- 3pm Art Class. Youth & Community Hall 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall

7-9pm Australian Wine Tasting (Bethany Wines, Barossa) Whitchurch Wines. Ticket required. 7.30-9.30pm Unleash Yoga Flow. Mandeville Hall

Thursday 15th

Friday 16th

12pm Senior Lunch Club 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall 4.30-5.45pm Beavers. Scout Hut 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall

7pm Community Cinema. Kangaroo. Mandeville Hall

Saturday 17th Monday 19th

7-9pm Pop Up Wine Bar. Whitchurch Wines 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall 10-12pm Fitness Class. Mandeville Hall

6-7.30pm Cubs. Scout Hut

Tuesday 20th Wednesday 21st

10-12pm Bridge Club. Youth & Community Hall

Thursday 22nd

Friday 23rd

12pm Kimbolton Probus Club. History of Save the Children Fund by Nora Butler. Snooty Tavern, Gt. Staughton 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall

7.30-9.30pm Unleash Yoga Flow. Mandeville Hall

12pm Senior Lunch Club 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall 4.30-5.45pm Beavers. Scout Hut 10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall

Saturday 24th Monday 26th

10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall

Tuesday 27th Wednesday 28th

10-12pm Bridge Club. Youth & Community Hall

Thursday 29th Friday 30th Saturday 31st

1- 3pm Art Class. Youth & Community Hall 12pm Senior Lunch Club 2-7.30pm Dance Class. Mandeville Hall

7pm Parish Council Meeting. Youth & Community Hall

10-12.30pm Bytes Cafe. Youth & Community Hall 7-9pm Pop Up Wine Bar. Whitchurch Wines

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This summer Guides had the opportunity to attend two camps: a more traditional camp, and the bi-annual HautboisFest! Our first camp involved the Guides working on some traditional camp skills, based on a taskmaster theme: despite not being able to light many fires, the Guides learned many different ways to lay one, and a highlight was cooking pizza in a pizza oven. Hautbois Fest started at our Saharathemed campsite before we made our way to the opening ceremony where we enjoyed various music acts and dancers. Our second day was craft and adventurous activities where the girls got the opportunity to go on the high ropes course, zip wire, kayaking and many more!

Our final full day involved the STEM and wellness sessions with highlights being the banana DNA extraction and hair braiding. Our final night ended with more music and a fantastic light show. We already look forward to Hautbois Fest 2028 but before then we look forward to the Big Gig in October!

In Girlguiding we help all girls know they can do anything. For more information or to join us go to www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus 62

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Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre

Community Car Scheme A volunteer-run service that supports people with mobility difficulties and others who need to make essential journeys — such as medical appointments or shopping — when suitable public transport is unavailable.

Office open Monday to Thursday, 10.00–12.00 Call 01480 476047 Email stneots@huntsvc.org Fees are charged at 45p per mile from the driver’s home (minimum £2), plus a £3 booking fee to cover administration costs. The minimum total fee for any journey is £5. Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

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Ways to donate and help SERV Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Scan our CAF Bank QR Code

Or visit our Just Giving page

TEXT GIVING To make a donation, it’s easy by SMS with the word BLOODRUNNER to 70085 To donate £5 Alternatively you can opt to give any whole amount Up to £20 for example BLOODRUNNERS20 to 70085

https://www.recycle4charity.co.uk/register/C156781

Do you know a group who would like to know more about what we do? Did you know we do talks and presentations?

If you are interested contact us at info@servsc.org.uk

Registered charity number 1189346

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Build your future workforce with Degree Apprenticeships

If you own a business that is considering taking on degree apprentices, you are warmly welcome to join us at Kimbolton School Monday 5th October 7-9pm for an informal employer event. Learn how degree apprenticeships work and how to set them up Hear from a university partner and local businesses already benefiting Network with employers, parents, pupils and alumni over drinks Join our Kimbolton Connect - Employer Discovery Programme for Degree Apprenticeships. We look forward to meeting you! Register your interest

One school. One family. Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

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TABLE TOP SALE at THE MANDEVILLE HALL, Kimbolton

CANDLELIT CONCERT Music, history and candlelight come together in aid of St Mary's Church, Yelden

An atmospheric evening of music, inspired by Yelden church’s rich history, featuring the 1st Tuesday Singers, led by Jeni Melia, and local musicians in aid of St Mary's Church.

Tickets £12

Includes drinks and nibbles All proceeds in aid of St Mary's Church, Yelden. For tickets and enquiries: yeldenchurchbookings@gmail.com

Saturday 10th October 2026 10.00am–2.00pm Table charge: £10.00 | Entry on the day: £1.00

ST MARY'S CHURCH,

Whether you’re selling crafts, collectables, clothes, household items, toys or unwanted treasures, we’d love to have you join us.

YELDEN

Spaces are limited — book your table today!

SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER, 7PM

To reserve a table or for more information, contact:

Shirley Rhodes, 07871 157697 or email enquiries.mandevillehall@gmail.com Mandeville Hall – Registered Charity No 302646

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The Bystander has, over the last few months, showcased the work of several local authors, bringing to the attention of its readers writers whose work would otherwise remain unheralded. Thomas Richard Brown, Mike Muncaster, Hazel Wright, Claire Pascall and Mary Matthews (who writes as Georgia Rose) have appeared along with a brief account of their books and their motivation for writing. In late October these and four new successful authors Glyn James, Lorna Marlow, Andy Gibney and Louise Cavell, will appear at an “Artists and Authors Together” Fair in The Chichele College in Higham Ferrers. They will be joined by the local artists Michaela Cordes, Angela Hooton, Beata Ulikowska, Anna Yardley, Claire Pascall and Andy and Elle Wallace. The event, aptly entitled BRUSH MEETS PEN, will provide the opportunity for visitors to talk with the exhibitors and to buy their paintings or books. The Fair will run over two days; 31st October and 1st November, from 10a.m. to 4p.m. The Saturday opening will coincide with the Higham Ferrers Farmers’ Market and visitors to the market will have only a short walk to the College. Entry is free and parking is easy. Refreshments will be available from an unusual provider during the Fair opening times. Readers of The Bystander will be very welcome and we hope for an enthusiastic turn out of local art lovers and keen readers. Richard Wilding

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E A FRE BOOK OR OUR F TRIAL MN TERM AU T U O W N

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SELEC RENEWABLES Based Locally for 2 Decades

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Air Conditioning

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Fuse Box Upgrades Lights replaced Electrical Certificates EICR All electrical work undertaken Part P Registered

Myenergi Zappi 7kw EV Charger

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Get the call - become an on-call firefighter Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is looking to recruit more on-call firefighters to help serve local communities across the county. CFRS is looking for men and women from all backgrounds to become on-call firefighters and provide emergency cover from either their home or their workplace. On-call firefighters are a vital part of our Service and community. They respond to a wide range of incidents, from fighting fires, attending road traffic collisions, animal rescues to supporting other emergency services. In addition to responding to emergency incidents, our on-call firefighters support their communities by providing information and advice on a range of community safety topics. They receive an annual wage to reflect the time they commit to being available plus additional payments for attending incidents and drill nights (one evening a week for two hours). It’s a hugely rewarding role, and we hope to encourage members of the community from all backgrounds to get in touch and find out more about becoming an on-call firefighter. Visit www.cambsfire.gov.uk/oncall for more information.

How what3words can help 999 #KnowExactlyWhere what3words has helped to locate nearly 4,000 incidents since it first started being used by emergency services. It has given every 3m square in the world a unique identifier made of 3 words - making the location of any emergency very easy todescribe and share. For example ///tortoises.swarm.announce will take you to a precise location on Ben Nevis where, in February 2020, a group of hikers were rescued. To locate, search or navigate to a what3words address, all you need is the free app. Make sure you have it downloaded on your device and know how to use it, to help save time, resource and lives.

Test your smoke alarm! Did you know that you should test your smoke alarms at least once a month? Or that you should have smoke alarms on every floor of your home? Or that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service do free home visits to make sure your home is fire safe? Visit this website for helpful tips and advice: https://firekills.campaign.gov.uk/ It only takes one accident to start a fire. Fire kills. Let’s prevent it. 76

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HILL HEATING Oil & Gas & LPG Boiler Servicing Installation & Repair System Upgrades Power Flushing Landlords Certificates OFTEC & GAS SAFE REGISTERED Bathroom Design & Installation 11, Windmill Close Ellington Cambs PE28 0AJ Phone 01480890929 07702048115 07517599203 www.hillheating.co.uk

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Phone: 01480 210 899 Mobile: 07769 591 468

Email: info@dcwilks.com | www.dcwilks.com

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Don’t Lose Your Head Don’t Lose Your Head (1967) occupies a curious and fascinating spot in the film catalogue as it was the first production made after producer Peter Rogers moved the team to the Rank Organisation. Due to the distribution changes at the time, it originally arrived in cinemas without the famous “Carry On…” on the poster. Strip away the title technicality though, and you have one of the sharpest, most cohesive period parodies the team ever produced. The story takes aim squarely at Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel and the grim drama of the French Revolution. With Madame Guillotine claiming aristocrats by the dozen, two foppish English noblemen decide to intervene. Hereth enter, Sid James & Jim Dale. Sid James leads the charge as Sir Rodney Ffing (with two F’s), an idle gentleman who secretly moonlights as `The Black Fingernail’ a daring rescuer who leaves a “middlefinger” salute, printed on parchment. Watching Sid trade his rough-and-ready modern personas for velvet coats, giant powdered wigs, and a fake foppish drawl was an absolute treat to endure. He managed to balance the swashbuckling heroics with his unmistakable earthy laugh, keeping the adventure grounded and fun. Alongside him, Jim Dale shines as his partner in crime, Lord Darcy PUE. Jim brings his trademark acrobatics and boundless energy to the escape scenes, leaping through windows and duelling with genuine athletic skill. And opposing them are two of the best villains in the entire series; Kenny as the ruthless head of the revolutionary secret police, Citizen Camembert, and beside him, Peter Butterworth as his bumbling assistant, Citizen Bidet. The dynamic between them is exceptional; Kenny delivers his cutting sneers and haughty indignation with total precision, whilst Butterworth plays the slow-witted bureaucrat to perfection. Joan Sims adds wonderful colour as Désirée Dubarry, who is always on the lookout for a man “with a title,” and Charles Hawtrey, who makes a memorable early appearance as the doomed Duc de Pommfrit, who nearly has his chips! What elevates Don't Lose Your Head is how handsome it looks on screen and the production made brilliant use of grand locations like Cliveden House to stand in for French châteaux (number 9), giving the film genuine scale. The costumes and sets look authentic enough that the broad slapstick lands with twice the punch and It marks a confident high point in the late sixties run! Ross Richardson 78

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SCAN FOR YOUR FREE PROPERTY REPORT

ARE YOU CONSIDERING SELLING, OR ALREADY ON THE MARKET? If your property hasn’t attracted the interest you expected, it can be difficult to know what needs to change. We look closely at how your property is positioned and introduced to the right buyers, agree a clear strategy and timeframe from the outset, and take an accountable approach. Not all marketing is the same. We focus on reaching the right buyers.

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Organising homes, paperwork & property – properly Calm practical support for households and small businesses ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

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Fun With Santa Oy

Lapland holidays Stay in our cozy log cabin in Äkäslompolo, Ylläs, Finland. We can also arrange your full itinerary from the moment you land in Lapland till the moment you leave. Santa, Huskies, Reindeer Safaris, Snowmobile Safaris and much more For more information please contact: Jane Phone: 07840 027688

Email: jane@funwithsanta.co.uk

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COLOUR ANALYSIS Ever wonder why some colours just work on you? Discover the colours that make you look radiant, feel confident and boost your mood, every time you get dressed.

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“I now recognise that I don’t feel good or confident wearing black, I actually feel more confident wearing colours that suit me” Emma 12-season colour analysis - in person (my home or yours) or virtually from £95 Sessions held locally - get in touch to book yours

Perfect for you • A thoughtful Christmas gift • Fun for hen-dos and get togethers • Gift vouchers available FIND OUT MORE: CLARESILK.COM/COLOUR-ANALYSIS OTHER STYLING & COACHING SERVICES AVAILABLE Qualified style coach with 5 years experience & over 20 years in fashion

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SELF STORAGE COINS BOUGHT Great Staughton

Grafham Coins

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A Deep Down DRY Clean For your Carpets & Rugs Immediate use as soon as cleaned! Substantial benefit to asthma sufferers! No colour run and No shrinkage! Upholstery Also Cleaned

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From your Cambridge Correspondent

October in Cambridge is when the city moves up several gears. The quiet of the Long Vacation gives way to the return of students, the beginning of Michaelmas Term and the familiar sight of bicycles, gowns and freshers’ parents once again filling the streets. The University’s academic year begins on 1 October, with Full Term beginning on 6 October. For visitors, it is also a good time to return to Cambridge’s museums, galleries and colleges, and this autumn there is a particularly good reason to do so. From 23 October, the Fitzwilliam Museum (fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk) will host A Call to Art: William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites, an exhibition exploring the work and ideas of one of Victorian Britain’s most influential artists, designers and thinkers. It brings together paintings, drawings, textiles and decorative arts, including work by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Kate Faulkner and Morris’s daughter May Morris. William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites Most people probably know William Morris through the familiar patterns of Morris & Co. wallpapers and textiles: stylised flowers, leaves and birds in intricate designs which have become almost synonymous with Victorian decoration. But Morris was considerably more than a designer of attractive wallpaper. He was a writer, poet, artist, designer, printer, political activist and social reformer. He was deeply concerned with the effects of industrialisation and believed that beautiful, well-made objects should not be the preserve of the wealthy. For Morris, art was not something to be hung on a gallery wall and admired from a distance. It could be part of everyday life – in a chair, a piece of embroidery, a stained-glass window, a book or the decoration of a home. The Pre-Raphaelites themselves had begun in London in 1848, when Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They rejected what they saw as the artificial conventions of academic painting and looked instead towards the intense colour, close observation and sincerity they associated with Italian art before Raphael. Morris and Edward Burne-Jones were not original members of the Brotherhood. They encountered its work while undergraduates at Oxford and became closely associated with Rossetti and the wider movement. The ideas soon spread well beyond painting into poetry, furniture, textiles, stained glass, book design and architecture. In 1861 Morris and several of his friends established what became Morris & Co., initially known as Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. The group included Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown and the architect Philip Webb. Their aim was to create beautiful, well-crafted objects using traditional techniques rather than the increasingly mechanised methods of Victorian industry. This was not simply a matter of taste. Morris believed that there was something fundamentally wrong with a society in which workers produced badly made objects under unpleasant conditions, while wealthy consumers filled their houses with them. His answer was to reconnect design with craftsmanship, and to make the process of creating beautiful things as meaningful as the finished product. Morris in Cambridge The exhibition also provides a good excuse to look for Morris’s work elsewhere in Cambridge. Perhaps the best place to begin is Jesus College Chapel. Its Outer Chapel contains a remarkable series of stained-glass windows designed by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Madox Brown between 1867 and 1878. The windows contain biblical figures and scenes, 84

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surrounded by extraordinarily rich colour and detail. Queens’ College offers another fascinating connection. In the nineteenth century, the architect George Frederick Bodley worked with Morris on the college’s Hall, and Morris and his circle contributed to its decoration, particularly in the design of tiles. The work includes heraldic and figurative decoration by Philip Webb, Ford Madox Brown, Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Morris. Peterhouse is another stop on the trail. In the Victorian restoration of the medieval dining Hall, overseen by architect George Gilbert Scott, Morris and his collaborators were entrusted with much of the decoration. The result is some particularly fine stained glass by Morris, BurneJones and Ford Madox Brown, resulting in an extraordinary mixture of medieval architecture and Victorian art – precisely the kind of combination that appealed so strongly to Morris and his circle. And then there is All Saints’ Church on Jesus Lane. No longer used regularly for worship, and now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, its spire is one of the tallest buildings in central Cambridge. The church’s Victorian stained glass includes a striking window designed by Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Burne-Jones. It is easy to walk past the church without realising what is inside, which is one of the pleasures of exploring Cambridge: some of the city’s most interesting artistic treasures are hiding in plain sight. The Exhibition at the Fitzwilliam The Fitzwilliam exhibition brings these different strands together. It also reminds us that Morris was not simply the creator of a recognisable decorative style. His work was part of a much larger attempt to rethink the relationship between art, craftsmanship and society. The exhibition also gives greater prominence to people who can sometimes be overlooked in the familiar story of the Pre-Raphaelites. May Morris, for example, became an accomplished designer and embroiderer in her own right and was closely involved with Morris & Co. Elizabeth Siddal is likewise remembered too often simply as a model for Pre-Raphaelite artists, rather than as an artist and poet herself. The Fitzwilliam has particularly strong Morris and Pre-Raphaelite holdings, making Cambridge an appropriate place for this exhibition. The Museum's collections were developed substantially in the early twentieth century under its Director Sydney Cockerell, who had close relationships with Morris, Burne-Jones and other figures associated with the movement. What makes the exhibition particularly interesting today is that many of Morris’s concerns feel surprisingly contemporary. He was deeply troubled by industrialisation, environmental damage and the loss of traditional craftsmanship. He imagined a society in which beauty and good design were part of ordinary life rather than luxuries available only to a privileged few. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Fitzwilliam describes the exhibition as exploring the group's vision of a fairer future with art for all. And once you have seen the exhibition, Cambridge itself provides the opportunity to continue the story. Walk down Trumpington Street, across the city centre and towards Jesus Lane, and you can encounter Morris’s ideas not merely behind glass in a museum, but embedded in the buildings themselves. October is therefore a particularly good month to rediscover Cambridge. The students have returned, the colleges are busy again, and the city feels unmistakably alive. But amid the bicycles, lectures and Michaelmas bustle, it is worth looking upwards occasionally. You may find that Cambridge history is decorating the walls around you. Sam Venn cambridgecorrespondent.bystander@proton.me Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Your local, personal estate agent

Get in touch for your realistic pricing and moving plan 07815 568 624 hannah.carr@expuk.com hannahcarr.expuk.com

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THREE SHIRES NETWORKING CONNECT, LEARN, AND SHARE!

Discover local businesses and share ideas. Get advice and solutions to move forward. Build friendships and lasting connections. Shape the group’s future with your input. Enjoy inspiring talks and fresh perspectives. Share challenges in a safe, supportive space. Showcase your business and connect face-to-face. Tea, coffee & biscuits included!

Come and join our monthly "more than just networking" meetings! We meet on the first Wednesday of every month at Kimbolton Castle 10:45am-1pm

eleanor@shrewdpr.co.uk johnhitchin@btinternet.com

07702 597670 www.threeshiresnetworking.co.uk Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Sweeping Tom Ltd Alconbury Weston Book an end of season sweep – your chimney & liner will benefit from clean drying over the summer. Full sweeping services available local, reliable, fully qualified & insured Chimney Sweep.

Covering Peterborough—Cambridge and surrounding areas. Contact Thomas on 07990 561874 or email sweepingtomltd@gmail.com

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The Old Farmyard: Covington

An exclusive development of just nine individual properties d Devel opment 1 Overview and Specification

The development has been built by a family owned small rural developer who focus on creating high quality, low maintenance properties designed to work for all the various stages of modern family life with an open plan layout on the ground floor. High specification fixtures and fittings are used throughout, and all properties will have home security alarms.

Contact:

01234 220000 salesbe@michaelgraham.co.uk Royal Chambers, 1 St Peter’s St, Bedford MK40 2PN.

Prices from £595,000 to £1,275,000

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Children's Activities Grafham Little Fishes, Stay and Play Session for 0 to 4year olds All welcome on Wednesdays 10.00 to 11.20, term time only, in Grafham Village Hall. Just turn up for free play time, followed by a short bible story, action songs and simple craft. For more details, contact Jane Rowley 01480 890986 littlefishes@eastleightonstone.com Family Fun Friday St Andrew's Church, Great Staughton, 9.00am - 10.30am term time only. Tea, coffee, playtime, story time, singing. Contact Sylvia - 01480 812022 for more details. St Neots Toy Library - Mon to Thurs 8.45am - 4.30pm, Fridays 8.45am-1.00pm. At The Butterfly Children’s Centre, next to Winhills School and The Eatons Children’s Centre next to Bushmead School. Telephone Lyanne 01480 358350/Jaci 01480 358340. St Neots Library: Rhyme time - Toddler Rhymetime Monday Morning 10:30am, Baby Rhymetime Friday morning 10:30am. Stay and Play run after both sessions and on Wednesday Afternoon 2:00pm. Storytime Saturday Morning 10:30am, Lego Club Saturday Afternoon 2:30pm. Baby Gym classes Promoting tummy time, sensory stimulation and adult two baby bonding. Classes operate term time only, Friday mornings : 10.30am - 11.15am, Open sessions, no booking required., £5 per session, pay as you go (Cash only)., Operates at Huntingdon Gymnastic Club, Mayfield Road, Huntingdon, PE29 1UL, Run by Beccy Chapman Bsc WAHpc, Like Us on Facebook to keep updated, search: ‘baby gym 8-weeks to walking’ Riseley All Saints Church Junior Jivers - music and movement session followed by stay and play every Thursday at 930am term time only - Contact: Samantha Toseland Tel: 07880 700894 Young People’s and Children’s Organisations Guides, Brownies and Rainbows Kimbolton Guides, Brownies & Rainbows kymvalleyguidingdistrict@gmail.com Upper Dean Brownies & Rainbows, Karen Jones: email: div.nbeds@bedsguiding.org.uk Little Staughton Guides, Little Staughton Brownies Scouts, Cubs, Beavers 1st Kimbolton Scout Group Emma Mumford 07881 621260 1st Brington Scout Group Tim Collins - 07881 821649 Dance/Performing Arts Linda Allen School of Dance – Ballet, tap and modern jazz from 3+ years - Spaldwick and Kimbolton Ladies ballet and tap in Kimbolton, 01480 861332, info@LindaAllenDance.com, www.lindaallendance.com Stageworks Studios, St Neots. Dance, drama and singing classes for ages 3+. 01480 223331 Motion Dance Academy, Hinchinginbrooke Shcool, Huntingdon - 07887 932294, Miss Mollie www.motiondanceacademy.co.uk missmollie@motiondanceacademy.co.uk Nurseries, Playgroups, Pre-Schools & Kids Clubs Crosshall Nursery School 01480 475980 Crosshall Kids Club 01480 219518 Inn Farm Priv. Day Nursery 07802 826798 www.innfarmdaynursery.co.uk Keysoe Playgroup – Keysoe Village Hall, MK44 2JE, Thursdays 9.30-11.30, £2 per family, healthy snacks, hot drinks, biscuits and craft activity included. Lovely friendly group with lots of toys for your little ones. Come and join us. Term time only. Kymbrook Pre-School, Kimbolton Road, Keysoe 01234 376100 www.kymbrookpreschool.co.uk Playtimes Pre-School & Out of School Club, Spaldwick 01480 890077 www.playtimesplaygroup.co.uk Puddeducks Nursery & Pre-school, Colmworth 01234 378880 www.puddleducksnurserypre school.co.uk Puddleducks Pre-School, Kimbolton 01480 860743 Riseley Rascals, Riseley Village Hall (Term Time Only) 07986 313037 9:30- 11am Tuesday morning St. Leonards Day Care, Brington 01832 710020

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Primary & Secondary Schools Brington C of E Primary School 01832 710383 Crosshall Infant School Academy Trust, St Neots 01480 475980 www.crosshallinfant.co.uk Crosshall Junior School Academy Trust, St Neots 01480 475972 www.crosshalljunior.co.uk Eileen Wade Primary School, Upper Dean 01234 708260 www.ewmeschools.org.uk/ eileen-wade/ Great Staughton Primary Academy 01480 860324 www.greatstaughton.cambs. sch.uk Kimbolton Primary Academy, Newtown, Kimbolton 01480 860743 www.kimboltonprimary academy.cambs.sch.uk Kymbrook Primary School, Kimbolton Road, Keysoe. 01234 376266 www.kymbrookprimary.uk Riseley Primary School 01234 708218 www.riseleyschool.co.uk Spaldwick Primary School 01480 890371 www.spaldwickschool.org.uk Ernulf Academy, Barford Road, St Neots, Cambs. 01480 374748 www.astreaernulf.org Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon, PE29 3BN, 01480 375700 www.hinchingbrookeschool.net Kimbolton School, Kimbolton 01480 860505 www.kimbolton.cambs.sch.uk Longsands Academy, St Neots, Cambs. PE19 1LQ 01480 353535 www.astrea-longsands.org

USEFUL & EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Doctors at Kimbolton 01480 860205 Doctors at Gt. Staughton 01480 860770 Doctors at Sharnbrook 01234 781392 NHS Direct 111 NHS Cambridgeshire 01223 884 008 Patient Advice & Liason Service 01733 673 405 (PALS) Cambs & Peterborough Patient Advice & Liason Service 01234 795814 (PALS) Bedfordshire Hospitals Addenbrookes, Cambridge Bedford Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon

01223 245151 01234 355122 01480 416416

Cambridgshire Fire and Rescue 01480 444500 Non Emergency Police Line 101 Councillors Cllr Ian Gardener - CCC Alconbury & Kimbolton Division ian.gardener@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Cllr Jonathan Gray - HDC Kimbolton ward jonathan.gray@huntingdonshiredc.org.uk

Cllr Stephen Cawley - HDC Ellington Ward stephen.cawley@huntingdonshiredc.org.uk AA Emergency Breakdown Alcoholics Anonymous Carers Direct Childline Citizens Advice Electricity Emergency Floodline Gas Emergency National Debt Line National Rail Enquiries NSPCC Parentline RAC Emergency Breakdown RSPCA Samaritans UK Missing Persons Unit Victim Support

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0800 887766 0800 9177650 0808 802 0202 0800 1111 03444 111 444 105 0345 988 1188 0800 111 999 0808 808 4000 0333 202 2222 0800 800 500 0800 800 2222 0800 828282 0300 1234 999 116 123 0800 234 6034 0808 168 9111

Clubs, Groups and Organisations Art Group, Grafham - Grafham Village Hall grafhamartgroup@gmail.com, Every Tuesday 12.30pm - 3pm. Bolnhurst & Keysoe Parish Council Clerk Saqhib Ali, 07386 904950 Buckworth Cricket Club Social Club http://buckworthcricketclub.co.uk/ Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service 01480 444500 Catworth Women’s Group Barbara Cawdell 01832 710404 Catworth Quilters Group Pam Wardle 01832 710324 Environmental Action Group Little Staughton (EAGLeS) Chris Davies 01234 376542. Ellington Neighbourhood Watch Rick Wilcox 01480 890902 Ellington Village Club Sue Rice (Chairperson) 01480 896139 Greensands Writers' Group - Meetings on Zoom greensandswriters@gmail.com 3rd Tuesday 7pm - 9pm Great Staughton Village Hub Details on the Great Staughton and Perry Facebook page Gt Staughton Horticultural Society Emma Mumford 07881 621260 Gt Staughton Playing Field & Pavilion Bob Jewell 01480 861259 Hargrave Investment Club Rick 07905 211919 or Sue 07818 050034 Kimbolton Senior Citizens lunch club 07462 095624 (Thurs, 12noon) Mandeville Hall Kimbolton Local History Society Nora Butler 01480 861007 Kimbolton & Stonely Parish Council Jo Russel 01480 276075 Kimbolton Church - Bell Ringing Mary Foster 01480 861594 Kimbolton & district Royal British Legion David Henrick 01480 896556 Kimbolton Castle Rotary Club Chris Davies 01234 376542 Kimbolton Bridge Clubs Mandeville Hall, Wednesdays, John Figgures 07944 155576 Kimbolton Probus Club Steve Jacklin 01480 860805 / Mary Foster 01480861594 Little Staughton Parish Clerk clerk@littlestaughtonparishcouncil.gov.com, 07729 960264 Neighbourhood Watch Gt Staughton Frank Backhouse, 01480 861167 North Beds Ramblers Margaret Sawyer northbedswalks@gmail.com, www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walk ing/ramblers-groups/north-bedfordshire-group Pertenhall & Swineshead Parish Clark Diane Robins, 07786 656088 clerk@pertenhallandswineshead-pc.gov.uk Save the Children Fund Nora Butler 01480 861007 Stow Longa Village Community - social events Christine Hayes 01480 860519 Christine.Hayes@StowLonga.org.uk The Stables Christian Centre Sean Watkiss, 01234 376237 work-based training to small groups of vulnerable adults. Tilbrook Village Newsletter www.tilbrookvillage.life Tilbrook Amenites Committee Chairman, Stephen Birch, chairman tilbrookvillagelife@gmail.com Tilbrook Parish Council Clerk Lionel Thatcher, 01480860055 Whist Drives, Ellington Steve Sherratt , 01480 891418 WI Groups Ellington WI Gt Staughton WI Kimbolton WI Perry WI Pertenhall WI

Helen Phillpotts, 07989 317676, hphillpotts@gmail.com Ruth Easom, rutheasom@gmail.com Anne Beszant 01480 860672 perrywigroup@gmail.com Glennis Bird, Tel: 01933 314275, glennis.bird@hotmail.co.uk

Village Halls Mandeville Hall, Kimbolton bookings: Stan Rhodes, 07367 783886 Village Hall, Catworth, bookings www.catworthvillagehall.co.uk Village Hall, Dean and Shelton (Dalton Hall, U. Dean) www.daltonhalldean.org Village Hall, Ellington Anita Dowdall 01480 891821 Village Hall, Gt Staughton, bookings Vicki Goldsmith 01480 860005 Village Hall, Hail Weston Liz Bacon / bookingshwvh@gmail.com. Village Hall, Keysoe Janet Browning 01234 376577 bookings@keysoevillagehall.co.uk Village Hall, Keyston, bookings Chrissy Faulkner, 07714 080837 Village Hall, Little Staughton Marion Kitchener, 07770 478220

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Village Hall, Melchbourne Bookings Julia Koball, juliakoball@hotmail.co.uk 07941 245639 Village Hall, Molesworth 07922 738818 Email:enquiries@molesworthvillagehall.co.uk www.molesworthvillagehall.co.uk Village Hall, Pertenhall, bookings Paul Sheard paulsheard@aol.com 01480 861457 Village Hall, Tilbrook Erica Jago, 07903 987445, bookings.tilbrookvillage@gmail.com www.tilbrookvillage.life Village Hall, Yelden 07539 662544, yeldenvillagehall@gmail.com Spaldwick Community Room Sarah Cardwell - clerk@spaldwickparishcouncil.org.uk Grafham Nature Reserve & Watch Group The Wildlife Trust 01480 811075 North Beds Young Farmers’ northbedsyfcmembership@gmail.com FB: North Beds Young Farmers Instagram: @northbedsyfc Twitter: @northbedsyfc Grafham Water Sailing Club 01480 810478 Wildlife Trust Huntingdonshire Local Group Pat Doody Chair, 01480 392706. Eve talks Brampton Memorial Centre 7.30pm, 2nd Wednesday Sept - March. Guided walks in the summer. Grafham Wildlife & Conservation Group Sam Malt 01480810844 day/01480811654 eve Village Sports Badminton Club (Kimbolton) Shirley Osborne 860198/Jill Strand 861508 Catworth Playing Field Mary Matthews, 07717 246107 Cricket Club, Kimbolton Mark Field, 07769 159496 Cricket Club, Little Staughton Adrian Thrasher 07834 602086 Carpet Bowls, Catworth Marge Baker, 01832 710145 Carpet Bowls, Kimbolton Mary Foster, 01480 861594 Carpet Bowls, Gt. Staughton Anthony Withers, 01480 861224. Carpet Bowls, Spaldwick Andrew Vickers, 01480 891201 Carpet Bowls, Ellington Janet Stewart 01480 533482 janetstewart725@gmail.com Table Tennis Club - Melchbourne Peter Wilkinson peteathillands@gmail.com, 07792 056 157 Tennis Club, Kimbolton Alison Owen, 07767 202958 Tennis Club, Gt Staughton Nicole Yates, 01480 860616 Chair Based Strength And Balance Class Kimbolton Scout Hut, Thursdays 11:00-12:00pm, Lauren Watt, 01480 388111 Grafham Tang Sou Dao Club Steven Treadaway 01480 812433, info@cambstangsoudao.co.uk MVH Pilates - Melchbourne Penny Hales penny@tightassets.co.uk MVH Tai Chi - Melchbourne Rob Poyton simplyflow@outlook.com PE28 Kickboxing, Grafham Village Hall Mark James, 01480 819478 Yoga Classes, Little Staughton, Hail Weston, Linda Tongue 01480 350345, Brampton, Catworth & Godmanchester 07733343702, lindatongue@yahoo.co.uk Chelveston Village Hall - Chair Exercise Lisa, 07867 204128, lisaatfitness5@gmail.com Class for Older Adults - Thursday 11am

Mobile Library Service 0345 045 5225 for enquiries / renewals

2nd Wednesday of the Month (R. H10) - 14th October Diddington : Manor Farm 9.30am to 9.50am Southoe : The Church 10.05am to 10.25am Spaldwick : High Street 10.45am to 11.05am Stow Longa : The Green 11.15am to 11.45am Catworth : Station Road Midday to 12.30pm Covington : Cross Street 1.45pm to 2.15pm Kimbolton : Stow Road (Newtown) 2.30pm to 3.45pm Kimbolton : Castle Gardens 3.50pm to 4.30pm

4th Tuesday of the Month (R. H23) - 27th October Bythorn : School Lane 10.00am to 10.20am Molesworth : Phone Box 10.25am to 11.00am Brington : Church Lane 11.10am to 11.35am Old Weston : Village Hall 11.45am to 12.20pm Leighton Bromswold : The Avenue 12.30pm to 1.00pm

4th Wednesday of the Month (R. H24) - 28th October Ellington : Mermaid Pub 9.30 to 10.00am Grafham : Breach Road 10.10am to 10.35am Perry : Chichester Way 10.45am to 11.40am Hail Weston : Orchard Close 12.00pm to 12.20pm Great Staughton : The Causeway 1.30pm to 2.00pm Kimbolton : Stow Road (Newtown) 2.15pm to 3.45pm Kimbolton : Castle Gardens 3.50pm to 4.30pm

Cambridgeshire Libraries’ Doorstep Service is a free home library service delivered monthly by volunteers to readers with health or mobility difficulties. To find out more about becoming a local volunteer or service user: email volunteers@cambridgeshire.gov.uk www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library

Disclaimer: Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material in this publication, the publisher/editor can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors in either editorial or advertising content.

Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Listings of Businesses in Our Area Accommodation Manor Cottage, 07304 078558, p.40-41 The Mermaid, 01480 891106, p.46

NJB Cleaning, 07379 188966, p.80 Sweeping Tom Ltd, 07990 561874, p.88 The Home Sorter, 07535 143497 p.80

Accountancy Land Family Business, 01480 445490, p.19

Education/Tuition Inn Farm Private Day Nursery, 07802 826798, p.15 One to One Tuition, 07803 504631, p.5 Playtimes Spaldwick, 01480 890077, p.28 Red Bird Tutoring, www.redbirdtutoring.com, p.81

Auctioneers/Valuers W H Peacock, 01480 474 550, p.19 Architects/Planning/Drawings PJP Architects, 07801 054648, p.39 RR Architects, 07860 632542, p.31 Art, Gifts, Framing, Crafts, Ceramics, Hobbies, Fashion Colour Analysis, claresilk.com/colour-analysis, p.81 DB Shoes, 01933 311077 p.6 Grafham Coins, 01480 811227, p.82 House of Colour, p.45 La Cote D'or Antiques, 01480 861587, p.90 Olivia Bea, 07774 456825, p.47 The Framery Ltd, 01480 860086, p.29 Building Services/Home Maintenance/Garage Doors Billy Blanchard Building & Maint, 07927 201108, p.31 CB Building, 07583 938006 p.29 D C Wilks Double Glazing, 07769 591468, p.77 L Page Construction, 07870 661998, p.55 Olivia Randall, 07815 508768, p.75 R&D Maskey, 01234 825015, p.97 Still & Sons, 01480 869042, p.74 Taylor Stilton, 01480 860047, p.45 Business Networking Three Shires Networking, 07788 558964, p.87 Care Professionals Golden Community, 01480 759840, p.27 Computer/IT Services/Marketing/Proofreading/HR iEdit, 01480 860519 p.83 Ignite G2M, www.igniteg2m.com, p.90 Newport Bookkeeping Services, 07519 352933, p.46 Oxygen IT, 01480 390395, p.13 S H Consultancy, 07734 652239, p.39 Silver Websites, 07340 234555, p.72 Social Beans, 07808 020554, p.90 Domestic Services Chaffinch Chimney Sweeping, 07786 237565, p.75 C Major Change, 07584 279228, p.88 Home ‘n’ Dry, Carpet Cleaning, 01487 840310, p.83

Electrical Services/Solar/Alarms Aircon Tom, 07402 745802, p.70 DAC Services, 01234 709347, p.2 Domelec, 07912 092985, p.29 Selec Solar, 01480 400607, p.73 Estate Agents/Letting Agents/Property Brown & Co, 01223 659050, p.79 Hannah Carr Estate Agency, 01480 597799, p.86 Michael Graham, 01234 220000, p.91 Peter Lane & Partners, 01480 860400, p.84 Simpsons Property Experts, 01480 589584 p.37 Top Hat Projects, 07814 709320, p.31 Financial Advisers & Financial Services Beacon Wealth Management, 01480 869466, p.33 Funeral Directors Regency Funeral Directors, 01480 759408, p.34 Gardening/Landscaping/Tree Care/Logs/Flowers Adam Woodbine, 07901 555640, p.26 Alex Abbs Gardener, 07399 445052, P.24 Eden Tree Specialists, 01234 960796, p.23 JD Tree Surgery, 07745 378268, p.26 Manor Farm, 07849 528684, p.24 M&S Tree & Gardening Services, 07738 649901, p.26 Original Tree Services, 01234 924964, p.25 SJS Landscapes, 07876 763440, p.25 The Lawn Ritual, 07368 995018, p.26 General Stores/Farm Shops/Wine Shops Budgens, 01480 860582, p.50-51 Grafham Village Store, 01480 810119, p.20 Health/Treatments/Beauty/Wellbeing/Counselling/ Fitness/Sport Child Connect Counselling, 07969 917799, p.12 Close Health and Beauty, 07729 381085, p.9 Courtyard Beauty, 07922 678843 p.12 C Page Aesthetics, 07955 482147 Creative hair Looks, 07764 336697, p.8

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Jill Dighton, 07925 852985, p.9 Jordys Beauty, p.8 Kimbolton Swimming Pool, 01480 862276, p.10 Rosie’s Salon, 07733 482359, p.9 The Nest at 53, 07778 024564, p.12 Kitchens Kitchen Culture, 01480 861822, p.77 Music, Theatre, Singing, Entertainment Carol John, 01234 708029, p.39 Performing Arts Stageworks, 01480 223331, p.72 Pest Control Pest Gone, 07955 156397, p.13 Pets/Petcare Services /Equine/Training Rebecca's Dog Grooming, 07397 534570 p.75 Plumbers/Heating Engineer/Oil/Tanks Anglia Oil Tanks, 01638 662955, p.21 Boiler Juice, www.boilerjuice.com, p.35 DAC Services, 01234 709347, p.2

Hill Heating, 01480 890929, p.77 Hydroflow, 07917 176375, p.39 LCA Maintenance Services Ltd, 01234 266220, p.3 Pubs/Restaurants/Cafes/Catering Avalon Bakehouse, 07860 410075 Phaf Kimbolton, 07300 296926, p.86 The Elm, 01487 773585, p.18 The Broadway, 01480 782200, p.38 The Pheasant, 01832 710303, p.30 The Wheatsheaf Perry, 01480 810253, p.42-43 Solicitors Gilroy Steel Solicitors, 01604 800500, p.6-7 Wilson Browne Solicitors, 0800 0886004, p.53 Storage Jonathan, 07753 638948, p.82 Travel Fun with Santa, 01480 812598, p.80 Vehicle Services/Vehicle Care/Vehicle Sales/Transport Robinsons Garage, 01480 860581, p.49

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To advertise in Village Bystander please call Julie on 07928 778457

Please mention Village Bystander when responding to adverts

Make That Move Upper Dean Guide Price £350,000

D D D D L L L L O O S SO• SO S Superbly D remodelled, upgraded and

D L O

AT A GLANCE

improved village home.

• •

Exceptional plot with mature gardens and delightful field views.

Recently refitted and recrafted kitchen/breakfast/dining room with hardwood counters, and wonderful limestone flooring.

DLD DLD L L O O OS SO• SDual-aspect sitting room with Karndean Sflooring. •

Three comfortable bedrooms and refitted bathroom.

•

Range of useful, practical outbuildings including utility room, WC and workshop. Tel 01480 860400

• •

D L O

Ample off-road parking.

Perfectly located for village life yet convenient for access to major road and rail links. Call Now to Arrange a Viewing or your Free

D D L L SOSO

100

D L kimbolton@peterlane.co.uk SO D D L L SOSO

Tel 01480 860400 kimbolton@peterlane.co.uk Tel 01480 860400 Tel 01480 860400 CallToNow to inArrange a Viewing Free Valuation advertise Village Bystander pleaseor callyour Julie on 07928 778457 kimbolton@peterlane.co.uk kimbolton@peterlane.co.uk