Paxton Post 37, July - August 23

Editorial by Julie Stock

July meeting on the second Tuesday is a talk by Verity Hartop farms the land on the High Street in Offord. She is going to tell about lambing, calving and her Farming Year.

We’re already halfway through the year and looking ahead to The Scarecrow Festival in September. Please send your articles and photos/posters for inclusion to me at my new address of julie.stock@btinternet.com.

Future Meetings

August: Our meeting will be an afternoon Garden Party.

September: Julie Stock, a local author will speak on The Journey to Becoming a Published Author.

printer is still trying to get the magazine online for us via the Community tab on the Parish Council website at https://greatpaxtonpc.gov.uk/. Please do check back occasionally to see if it’s there.

Visitors and new members welcome!

Please contact Jenny Murby (President) on 01480 811474

you’d like to contribute to the next issue, please note the deadline below. We now have an advertising policy for local businesses well. Please contact me if you’re interested in this.

Deadline Dates for Upcoming Issues

Paxton Post is published 6 times a year. Cut off dates are now 15th of the month prior to publication. Please see the table below these dates. It is the responsibility of contributors to ensure articles are submitted to the Editor by these dates. Thank you.

Paxton Post is published by Easiprint Ltd in association with Great Paxton Council and is funded by the Council. Whilst every effort is made to ensure information in this publication is accurate, neither the editor, the printer or the Council can be held responsible for any errors. The views expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, the publisher or the Council.

WOODSOONERS GOLF SOCIETY

challenged to make a decorative plait in the form of a bracelet. What variety was created in such a short time. Our speaker chose her favourite three for the Competition winners, but really, they were all lovely. We had a lovely evening and went home with a wool bracelet amazingly, no stained fingers.

Spring Meeting of the Great Paxton Woodsooners Golf Society held at Elton Furze Golf Club, Peterborough on Friday 5th May Elton Furze proved to be an excellent, challenging course and it played well. I should also say that the food and hospitality at the Club excellent. We had several rain showers throughout the day, but didn’t dampen our spirits and another fine day of golf and banter had by all.

had 14 players, both local and from further afield; it was great to new members as well as ‘old hands’ and as always, our Yorkshire contingent. As a reminder, all are welcome to come along to Woodsooners, regardless of where you live. We are always keen to welcome new members to keep the society strong – 20 is a good number of players for our events and it would be great if we could maintain somewhere around this number for future events so if you of anyone who may be interested, please encourage them to along, they will be made most welcome. Dinner, presentations much banter were had at The Bell in Great Paxton where we hosted very well by Rachael and her team as always – the food excellent – thank you Sarah.

izes were awarded as follows:

Nearest the Pin Jim McIlwaine

Longest Drive

Handicap Runner-up (24 points)

Handicap WINNER (34 points)

Runners-up (29 points)

WINNERS (27)

Singles Runner-up (34 points)

Singles WINNER (37 points)

Wooden Spoon Winner (12 points)

Gary Price

Sam Helme

Trevor Smith

Brian Kitchin & Jim McIlwaine

Trevor Smith & Nick Helme

Trevor Smith (on count back)

Jim McIlwaine

Steve Bullock

2.1% unemployed

67% were in managerial, administrative or professional

13% stated they worked more than 49 hours per week *

RECREATION GROUND HIRE

done to all our winners and runners-up and indeed to everyone took part for making this another great day out. Our Society is extremely friendly, and we meet twice a year (Spring and Autumn) play 9 holes pairs (Texas Scramble) in the morning and 18 holes singles (Stableford) in the afternoon with breakfast, lunch, dinner prizes all included in the price (generally around £80), so if you’re interested, come and give it a go. Our next Golf Day should be in late September but read on.

rec ground and pavilion are available to hire. We have a large outdoor space and a pavilion with toilets, changing rooms, kitchen, and meeting room. In the past this has been hired for birthdays and charity events. If interested please contact Michael on 07950 967250.

Important Announcement meeting is the last one to be organised by Scott and me. Therefore, if you want the Woodsooners Golf Society to continue, someone (preferably two) needs to come forward and take up the It is not an onerous task; the Society is financially healthy, will happily pass on all the necessary information required. It would be a shame for the Society to fold, so if you’re interested in taking this on and you want to influence future events, give me a or email me – details are below.

Thanks for your support, attendance and banter over the last couple years and, subject to the above, we hope to see you all again in Autumn. Best wishes.

Trevor Smith

07473 213556

trevorsmith1009@outlook.com

Boswell scott@tikitour.net

07900 216300

20% had 3 or more

Education 20% of villagers aged 5 years or more were in some sort of education

5

Employment 64% of people aged 16 and over were

and 1.8% had one bedroom

but nearly 50% had 4 or more bedrooms

41% are owned outright, 42% have a mortgage

8% are privately rented, 8% social rented

4.3% of households had no cars

BELL, YOUR FAMILY & DOG FRIENDLY, AFFORDABLE LOCAL! start with the great stuff!!! The play park is just about finished the main climbing frame being ready. At the time of writing, we waiting on more rubber matting to arrive then the swings will be completed. I expect by the time you read this it will all be done.

garden is looking fantastic, new grass, new play park, all ready both adults and kids to enjoy. We’re going to put a children’s goal the far end of the garden when that area is seeded and settled.

has done a fantastic job putting it all together with the help of mith and Reece Beavis (lads from the football club). I promise Andy there should be no more major jobs!!! Down tools and a little!

had a fantastic turnout with Soul Man on 28th May and even managed to raise £560 for MND in memory of my friend’s husband sadly died. However, I am looking to get him booked back again next year. It is always a great event!!

have so much coming up!!

h July – our Rum Festival with resident expert on rum and village legend Dan Clarke. £20 per ticket to include 5 rums and mixers. See me for tickets.

nd Sept – we have our Gin Festival and Beer Festival. Legendary gin expert Emma Hendry is back and then we have a company coming in doing the Beer Festival and that will help raise funds for the Rec Ground from the beer tickets. More info to follow in the coming weeks.

16th Sept sees the start of the Scarecrow Festival!! There is more info about this included in this edition!

are so busy and have so much going on it’s fantastic to see.

number of households was 400. Strangely, in my opinion, both of figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, even though they know the exact number of people counted and households. The population in 2011 was 1007 so very little change. This is to be expected as the number of properties has hardly changed either.

want to take some time to explain a couple of things. I have some criticism recently about ticketing events, closing and the not being a local pub!!

census has an unusual background which must have temporarily skewed some of the figures, mainly regarding work-related issues. census was in March 2021 when many covid-related restrictions still in place. This naturally led to a large increase in the number people working from home as well as some students not at their universities.

and foremost, my mantra when I became manager was to ensure that this pub never lost its local affordable vibe and for me I don’t feel it has. There are more villagers using this pub than ever seen before, whether it’s for food, drink, events or hiring it being part of a team, there’s a real local feel about the pub.

Other figures include: groups

have more ‘pub teams’ than ever before. Some participants may be from the village, but that does not make them less part of the village or the team. We should be pleased people want to come and for a team that is linked to our village and our pub.

45 were aged four or under just 84 people were in their 20s

23 people were aged 85 and above Nationality

942 people were born in the U.K.

883 had a U.K. passport

90 had no passport

we’ve expanded in terms of doing events, but many of these are villagers, many are events that I host, and some are from outside. hosting an event means how we run that day may be different to usual. Food times may change, the garden may be being used, but I manage this as best I can and also advertise and ensure people what’s happening with plenty of notice.

can’t encourage booking tables or calling in advance more than I do. do get full, and even midweek we’re really picking up on food. do turn people away, we do sometimes have longer wait times, for me it’s a good position to be in because being busy is key.

taken some personal criticism for changing the pub into an events/football pub and this is certainly not what we are. There’s a call for football on TV, there’s a large call for events to be held are affordable, and that’s what we can cater for. However, that not take away the local vibe this pub has and the fact it is STILL local pub.

2021 CENSUS SUMMARY

The results of the 2021 census for Great Paxton have been released. Here is a summary of some of the many findings.

most relevant figures are probably that the population here on

Just to add, that nettles are key to the survival of butterflies, nettles make wonderful tea, they can be used for making pesto, delicious soup and an alternative to spinach. Knowing how multi-talented they are, I do hope you like them a little now!

Happy gardening.

long as I’m involved in this pub the village will always be a priority me and I will always do my best to support the village and groups clubs as they do the Bell, but we have to take other events as in day and age a pub could not just rely on village support alone.

Gaynor Christie Chairperson, Great Paxton Allotments and Sensory Garden

more positive feedback than I do negative, but when it’s villagers who are giving me that feedback, I take it more personally, because I know these people.

There will be much more noise and footfall from the pub over the coming months with the summer, the events and music. I again try ensure people are aware of this in advance. I understand that music being played may be a little loud or not to someone’s taste we shall try and be more aware of that. However, this is primarily done on weekends and special events and within our licensing laws.

Bell supports the smaller groups of the village like the history society and the crafting group as well. It works alongside the school the year 6 leavers, and I am also helping at the fete. We as a business try our best to support you as much as you support us.

going to leave it there now, but please if anyone has any sms please come to see me directly and discuss them, I am happy to take it all on board.

think myself, Andy and Carol and all those involved are very proud where The Bell is, considering so many pubs around us are not so well and not so busy. We should be proud as a village and certainly as a Bell Team that everyone wants to come to our pub for whatever reason. I say our pub because it is your pub. You the customers make it what it is, and we only do what we are asked to

girls through their paces, some great skills were learnt, and a lot of fun was had. Guides are also going to be having fun at Archery as well as more camping skills.

heir continued support, their continued efforts to make The Bell what it is. We look forward to seeing you over the summer months. Enjoy any holidays you may be taking as well.

700107

07701038433

thebellgreatpaxton@yahoo.com

http://www.mybellpub.com

1st Great Paxton Brownies are in need of some more volunteers. If you think you could come to some (if not all) of our Thursday evening meetings, have fun and support the girls in their activities, Michelle (Rose Owl) would love to hear from you. Or if you’d like to know a little bit more please

contact 1stgreatpaxtonbrownies@gmail.com

Guides:

9

This term Guides have also been practising their camping skills. They have learnt how to build a fire, so they cook on it and also how to filter dirty water (an old pair of tights won the experiment). Laina from St Neots football team came

the term with a session of Archery as well as putting up tents having an end of term party as we bid farewell to a few of our who will be moving onto Guides.

Ingredients

Sausage meat

Sage & Onion Stuffing Mix

Tbsp Apple Sauce

& Pepper Ready

Rolled Puff Pastry , whisked

Combine the sausage meat with the stuffing mix, apple sauce and seasoning, mix well until all thoroughly combined. Unroll pastry sheet and cut in half to give you two smaller rectangles.

Place sausage mix into the middle of the pastry rectangle from top to bottom, so that the mix is in a cylindrical roll. Egg wash one edge of the pastry alongside the sausage meat, tuck the non-egg washed side over the sausage meat and tuck underneath, then roll the whole thing over onto the egg-washed part.

Roll the entire sausage roll to ensure a round shape. Place the join on the base and cut to the desire length. Place onto a lined baking tray, egg wash the top and add seeds or herbs if desired. Bake for 25 – 30 Minutes at 180 Degrees. Can be served hot or chilled and eaten later. Can also be frozen before they are egg washed and baked for a later date. Allow to fully defrost before baking or bake for an extra 5-10 minutes from frozen.

Rainbows, Brownies and Guides have had an extremely busy term.

Rainbows and Brownies had a joint meeting with Paxton Rainbows and Brownies which was great fun and Guides an exciting Football meeting. All three units celebrated the King’s

THE LONG GRASS?

the long grass? You may have seen signs popping up across Huntingdonshire.

we look to increase biodiversity, improve habitats for nature and reduce our carbon footprint, the District Council is working with and Parish councils to change the way we manage amenity in the district. For more information visit: Alternative Land Management – Huntingdonshire.gov.uk

District Council is working with Town and Parish councils across Huntingdonshire to allow some of the grass sites we manage to This will enable more plants, insects, birds and mammals to flourish. Just over half of the land the Council maintains is known as amenity grass, mown during the weeks of March to October.

Regular mowing means these sites have the least variety of wildlife (biodiversity) so changing the way the District Council manages them enable more plants, insects, birds and mammals to flourish. Rewards to increase biodiversity, improve habitats for nature and reduce the carbon footprint will bring long term benefits.

signs will read Why the long grass?

Alternative Land Management Area leaves the grass to grow to support our birds, bees, and other Important pollinators.

Richard West District Councillor Great Paxton Ward

Richard.west@huntingdonshire.gov.uk or Richard.west@buckdencambs.co.uk

Telephone 01480 811467 or 07841 866630

AWARE – Graham James

Local Development Plan (produced by the District Council) and impact this might have on Great Paxton. Although the meeting acknowledged the need for low-cost homes for first time buyers in village and recognised some of the benefits that development bring, it was clear that those present wanted the village to remain as a small rural community and for the Parish Council to resist future large or medium scale housing development.

other news

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late summer last year some unusual wildflowers were noticed on village green at the top of Church Lane. They turned out to be bee orchids that had somehow managed to avoid being mown down. In order to try and preserve these attractive plants, the Parish Council was approached, and requests were made to try to prevent being damaged when this year’s mowing programme started.

Your District & County Councillors reported to the meeting and their reports are on the Parish Council website. Grants of £1250 were awarded to the Recreation Ground Committee and Community Shop.

Unfortunately, despite instructions being given to a new gardening contractor, and the locations of a number of orchids identified, they mown over again. However, thankfully one did survive on the village green, and someone has thoughtfully put a guard around it.

A financial contribution received by the Parish Council from the developers of the former garage site on the High Street could help with the upgrading of the streetlights on the High Street.

Applications for funding towards improvements to the High Street and for a 20mph zone on the High Street, main estate roads and around the school were with the County Council.

A RoSPA Inspector had undertaken an inspection of the Play Area on Saxon Green and their report had identified several ‘low risk’ items which would be attended to. Parish

Someone wondered whether this species of orchid would be a protected species. Well, it is, as all wildflowers are protected, but this is particularly attractive, and although the species is perhaps not rare as it used to be, the destruction of grassland habitat can quickly restrict and isolate colonies of species such as bee orchid. Wildlife Trust also describe the bee orchid as a sneaky mimicflower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to

wanted the Parish Council to deliver. With this information, the Parish Council intend to draft a Plan to guide financial planning and future decisions.

interesting items were raised, in discussion, including treetlighting on the High Street, better communications and improvement to local parking behaviour.

Village green

Towgood Way (1st flower)

Neots and Huntingdon to help to deter knife crime, rural crime watch continued to operate successfully, and cross border drug dealing was concentrated west rather than east of St Neots.

with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t live here, but this orchid is self-pollinated in the UK.

*

Residents were invited to comment on how they wanted their community to develop and to identify which services and facilities

bee orchid has a rosette of leaves at ground level and two leaves grow up the stem as a sheath. The stem displays a number of relatively large flowers with pink sepals that look like wings, and brown lips that have yellow markings on, just like a bee. Unfortunately, we cannot reproduce a photo in colour but here is growing on a front lawn in the village. Other small clumps have seen on the verges near the school and within the school grounds. Also, more have now been spotted this year on Rectory Green due to it not being mown.

Parish Council have requested more care is taken by the grass cutting contractors to ensure the survival of this wonderful species year. So, next spring look around and you may find you have of your own.

Addendum have just read in some reminiscences written by Bert Goodwin about growing up in the village in the 1920s that bee orchids were around back then.

the arrival of Miss Gwendoline Coles from Hamerton, gone was practice we’d enjoyed under Miss Etchells of collecting, in our time, wildflowers and herbs for the next day’s nature lesson and the much appreciated nature walks, which we used to enjoy on afternoons when we could probably tell the teacher of more nature sites and she would know. We could tell where a wild honey nest could be found, where an owl had a nest, where the bee orchids grew in the meadow.’

County Councillor Annual Report 2022/2023

February last year, I was elected Chair of the County Council after having attended only three proper meetings. It was a huge honour risk for the council because I was easily the most inexperienced the Council has ever had – most people do a two-year apprenticeship as Vice Chair. I also managed to crash my car on the to the meeting.

May, we accidentally won the District Council, with Independents as the largest group, and with me on the Cabinet, hich together with being Chair of the County was a tremendous commitment. Fortunately, my time as Chair is expiring, and I will over the chain at the next meeting on May 16th .

year since I stood for election to District Councillor, and unexpectedly found myself at the heart of the first non-Conservative administration that Huntingdonshire has ever seen, as part of a group of 15 Independent Councillors in the 31 Councillor Joint Administration. I find myself in the Cabinet, taking the less-thanglamorous Customer and Transactional Services Portfolio. St Neots the surrounding villages now occupy 4 out of 9 Cabinet seats, representing unprecedented influence for a District Council that had unfair reputation for being Huntingdon focused.

wasn’t the Portfolio that I would have chosen. But it’s one I’m very proud of, as 80% of the Council’s effort goes into “Business As Usual” humdrum unglamorous day-to-day work of the Council. And of that is my responsibility.

are also very much looking forward to welcoming all our new families in September as they start their exciting journey at school. behalf of the school, may I wish everyone a happy and safe summer!

Independent, I am happy to remove party politics from Local Government. I am pleased to report that we inherited a healthy and run District Council from our Conservative predecessors. And –

and work with such fantastic staff, parents/carers, members the community and most importantly, the children in our care.

wish all our leavers the very best as they start the next stage of journey, and we know they leave us with many memories and experiences that they will treasure.

although tempers sometimes get frayed – have provided a firm but opposition. I hope that continues.

External factors largely influenced our three biggest challenges in forming the administration.

first was setting a balanced budget. We inherited a £2.5m budget deficit which quickly grew due to double-digit inflation. Before Christmas, it looked as if the only way we could set a balanced budget would be through cutting essential services, many of which already been pared to the bone after 13 years of austerity.

However, we were fortunate with a higher-than-expected Government settlement and some financial prudence. We are confident that we can set a balanced budget for the next five years the aid of green bin charging, which we will introduce some in the future.

second challenge was with the Future High Street Investment St Neots, which had yet to progress under the previous administration and was also facing inflationary pressure. Thankfully, long last, we will see spades in the ground in the Market Square revamp this summer in an attempt to turn from a car park into the and economic heart of the town. I cannot talk about the Old Falcon, but there is progress.

third big challenge is delivering our net-zero ambitions, for which previous administration had set high targets but had no real plan get there. Our Green Councillor, Lara Davenport Ray, has thankfully resolved that.

Joint Administration has just released its corporate plan with key priorities:

Headteacher: Mr L Frost

Deputy Headteacher: Miss A Miller

cannot believe that another academic year has passed by. Some of highlights this year include:

Improving the quality of life for local people

Improving the happiness and well-being of residents

Keeping people out of crisis

Helping people in crisis

Creating a better Huntingdonshire for future generations

Residential Trip – Y4 and Y5 went to Rock UK for a residential. It was a wonderful experience, and the children were amazing. They have still not let me forget that I set the fire alarm off by accident at 5am in the morning!

Improving housing

Forward-thinking economic growth

Lowering carbon emissions

Delivering good quality, high value-for-money services with good control and compliance with statutory obligations.

Christmas Play – how fantastic it was to hold our own Christmas Oscars, with ‘The Nativity’ winning the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Christmas.’ What made the play extra special was again being able to open our doors for parents/carers/relatives to watch the spectacular show! Fireworks extravaganza – another amazing display produced by our caretaker which enabled many children to watch the display in a safe and familiar environment.

County Council, we are still working our way through the Pothole Pandemic – there is a backlog of about 5000 potholes, and we are about 1000 a week, so we’re about a month away from filling all – although we keep on discovering new ones. The issue is most road surfaces are at the end of their useful life. The British asphalt association thinks the country needs to spend £11bn across country to bring the roads up to a maintainable state.

OFSTED – we were inspected at the end of February, and we were delighted that all our positive changes and developments were recognised, and the inspection confirmed that we continue to be a good school.

also had to vote on some contentious items at the last meeting –first was a GCP proposal to build a new busway between Comberton and Cambridge with a new 2000 car park and ride car Controversial because it will require the removal of 520 trees the Coton orchard. I voted in favour of this because, having spoken with Cambourne Parish Council, there are approximately 12,000 residents who are desperate for better public transport. also rejected a proposal for a referendum (that would have cost million) on the GCP congestion charging recommendations for Cambridge. We expect that the consultation results will be published May. In the Summer the County Council will vote on a revised

Cambs PE19 6YJ

Telephone: 01480 472132

Fax: 01480 471735

proposal. I suspect that the proposal will reduce the operating hours the congestion charging to “peak hours only” at the cost of improvements to the Huntingdonshire bus service. In which case, I minded not to support it (which probably means it will fail).

are due to announce their final route choice in May. upgrade is subject to further legal delays, and the TAN Judicial Review seems set to go to a High Court Appeal.

on the front page of the Hunts Post last week as, because of Councillor West’s motion, the District Council strongly opposed the Luton Arrivals route, and I wrote to the Chief Exec of the CAA to him know.

Finally, this week I unsuccessfully tried to force the County Council to reverse a ludicrous decision to deny free school transportation to Abbotsley, Waresley and the Gransdens, with the help of 150 parents signed a petition.

would like to record my sincere thanks to the Parish Councillors and for their hard work and dedication, and I look forward to serving you in the coming year and working together for the benefit residents of the Parish.

Refreshments will be on sale in the church in the afternoon too. Invite friends and family for a fun afternoon.

3pm children 11 years and under are invited to come in fancy dress the Bell carpark, where our fantastic vicar Reverend Annette and brilliant Landlady Raqi will judge their favourite costumes! No theme, free to enter! There will be some great prizes to be won!

Paxton Reading Group have nearly read three books since the last edition –

Sunday 17th Sept the Rec Committee have organised a Car Boot to take place at the Rec Ground. A pitch will cost £10 and set up from 9am, to open for buyers at 10am. Tea, coffee and bacon rolls be available too. Spread the word!

always a brilliant atmosphere in the village so please do join in, in way you can! It would be amazing if we could getmore scarecrows last year. 71 is the number to beat! Without your fantastic creations there will not be a festival, so please do have a go. Let’s this a wonderful event for all the family again.

The first was ‘Apples Never Fall’ by Liane Moriarty – well this is a brilliant book. One of her other books has been on TV as a series –‘Nine Perfect Strangers’. For some reason I stopped watching this one half way through. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Apples Never Fall’ – it kept me guessing right up until the end and with a different ending to what I thought! Liane has written quite a few books, so will be looking for some more of hers to read.

Jo, Raqi, Andrea, Julie, Karen, Tara and Val

we read ‘One August Night’ by Victoria Hislop. s is a sequel, or I should say, learning a bit more about some of the characters in the first book –‘The Island’ . I this book years ago and felt that I had read it again before I read ‘One August ’ . I had totally forgotten how heart wrenching ‘The Island’ was – read most of it train and my tears flowed … ‘One August Night’ was a good read but not as riveting as ‘The Island’ .

gp-scarecrow.online/ Gpscarecrow.festival@yahoo.com

@ GreatPaxtonScarecrowFestival

are now reading ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens – will you know what I feel about this book, next time – suffice to say it compelling!

19

Amanda Niven

not very creative, what if my scarecrow isn’t very good? says it’s not very good?! Scarecrows of all shapes, sizes, and standards are welcome! It’s not about the winning, it’s about the taking However, this year we think the prize categories make it fairer to entrants. If you don’t feel able to make one, why not get the visiting grandkids/relatives/friends to have a go over the summer holidays! else is going on during the festival week? first day of the festival – Saturday 16th September – is the main

and the winners announced at The Bell pub and via a Facebook live feed. (Please note, entrants can only win one category).

Great Paxton History Society

Where will I be able to get a voting slip / map / list of entries from? usual, these will be available from the village shop, outside and inside the pub from 10am on Saturday 16th September. It may even be to go on our webpage this year.

Website https://greatpaxtonhistory.weebly.com/ Please do visit the website and see what has been uploaded. If anyone has some more memories and pictures of people and places Great Paxton, we would be pleased to have them.

greatpaxtonhs@yahoo.com visit https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk for more village history information.

welcome anyone with an interest in our village or history in general, once a month, usually the second Monday at 7.30 in The Bell which opens especially for us. The May meeting was cancelled it clashed with the Coronation. The next dates are June 12th , 10th , August 14th .

September 11th will be a special meeting with speaker Liz Davies, starting at 7.30pm. There will be a charge of £3 to help with the fee. the current curator of St Neots Museum, and she will be telling about her work there, and also some interesting facts about our village of Great Paxton. She has a visual presentation, and we hope will bring some artefacts as well for us to see. Watch for posters.

Jacqueline Wieczorek

asked to vote according to the three categories listed. These votes will counted by the committee on the afternoon of Sunday 24th September

the time you read this there will be just over two months to go until next Scarecrow Festival! We hope you have started planning your fabulous entries!!

GREAT PAXTON HOLY TRINITY MINSTER CHURCH

SATURDAY 1ST JULY 2023

history of the village exhibition presented by the Great Paxton History Society.

guided tours of the Anglo-Saxon church and the churchyard.

mentioned previously, we now have a Scarecrow Festival Committee, and I am really grateful to Andrea, Julie, Karen, Raqi, Tara Val for joining.Itwouldn’t be happeningthis year without their help, thank you ladies. I’m pleased to announce we now have our own page too! Visit gp-scarecrow.online/ to keep up to date with all scarecrow news!

the memorial to the Lancaster crew killed on Christmas Eve 1944. the Timeline of Monarchs.

really hope to get as many scarecrows as possible this year. If you thinking about it, but not 100% sure, the following will help with any questions you may have:

via video screen some of the historic graffiti on the tower walls, of which dates back to the 17th century and records historic s.

there a theme this year?

the committee have decided there will not be a theme again, as we not want to deter people from entering. Anything goes!

refreshments and cakes available to purchase.

SUNDAY 2ND JULY 2023

it cost me anything to enter a scarecrow into the competition?

still completely free to enter. So, enter as many as you want! prizes are available this year? will be in with a chance of winning one of the following:

well as the same activities as on Saturday, Sunday has several reasons to visit.

Guided tours up the bell tower, led by members of the bell-ringing team. This gives you a great and very rare opportunity to see some the historic graffiti on the walls, some of which dates back to the century and records historic events.

dedication and placement of the Millenniumfest time-capsule. performance by the Peppercorns Academy adult choir (to confirmed).

refreshments and cakes available to purchase.

Great Paxton

are welcome to this special weekend. Donations to Holy Trinity Minster Church and Great Paxton History Society.

Contact details:

Vicar: Canon Annette Reed

Tel: 01480 211048

canonannettereed@gmail.com

Churchwardens:

Mr Bob Hacking

1 Mint Lane Great Paxton 01480 219846

Mrs Andrea Goodyer

7a Church Lane

Great Paxton

andrea.goodyer@clinicallyconnected.com

Church Treasurer:

Mrs Jacqueline Jackson

jnmunro@btinternet.com

have been delighted that they have been undertaking the essential repairs to the south

34

One of their first tasks was to remove the large statue of the Virgin Mary over to the south aisle from the north aisle, work involving a lot of stone plinth sawing and great care of the heavy statue. This was completed during the first week in May and Mary and the infant Jesus fit now very well into a corner of the south aisle. The next task was to get the late 19th century Bevington organ moved across into the north aisle, and this was completed by Norman Hall and Sons in the second week of May.

Charles and his brother managed to empty most of the contents of the organ’s interior and then walked it into its new position. They then put the organ back together again with the cleaned blower put into a new purpose built box behind the organ. Below are the Hall brothers working on the relocated organ.

Credit to everyone involved as we finished strong and almost reignited our title challenge, but 3 key defeats put an end to that. finished the season in 3rd place, the highest our reserves have finished in the league, a cup semi-final and a group of players to go again next season. A big thank you to everyone involved season. Fairs.

removed from the south aisle, Stricklands took up the old south aisle wooden floor. They found the planks of wood and joists to be completely rotten as we expected. They cleared out all of the debris are now filling in the void with a material which is recycled from old glass. Then they will lay screed down which will need to dry before the new stone floor is laid. We were pleased that near perfect tiled flooring was under where the organ had stood, and this has been cleaned for all to see.

Along with this work, we now have a new French drain around the end of the church which will improve the damp problem in the toilet area. The damp plaster in the toilet has gone and with new mechanical extraction the new plaster should stay dry. Finally, there are new rainwater goods on the vestry and small repairs to the flashing on the vestry roof.

are very grateful to the Strickland and Hall brothers for all the care and attention they have given to these projects and to the

a number of the girls in the team training also with local football ladies’ academies, Cambridge & Norwich. They currently have enough players for the new season.

various donors who have enabled the works to take place. We hope have a service in September to celebrate all we have been able to achieve.

Regular Services at Great Paxton Church. has been lovely to see our service attendance numbers increase over the past few weeks. We hold a variety of different types of Christian worship, and you will always find a very warm welcome.

Here is our regular service pattern.

had a tough season, being pushed up from C to A league which ’t anticipated or helpful in their footballing progression. They finished in the bottom half of the table and are looking to regroup for likely last season as U16s. They are looking for players to add to squad for the new season. Contact: colin.bower@ntlworld.com olts have the capacity to accept another mini soccer team for season or future seasons. The club would look to assist and pay interested personnel to gain their minimum qualifications to run football team. If you are interested now or in the future please contact.

1st Sunday 9.00am Prayer Book Holy Communion

2nd Sunday 11.00am All Age Worship

3rd Sunday 11.00am Common Worship Holy Communion

4th Sunday 11.00am Sunday Morning Prayer

Please note there won’t be Morning Prayer on Sunday June 25th .

Rec ground, the adult teams and the Colts are always looking for helping hands keeping on top of the grass cutting, strimming, retaining the pitch lines and general Rec maintenance. Please get in contact if you can spare a few hours a week to help your local club.

are actively looking for sponsorship or donations to enable us to new mower for the Rec. We are dragging the current one kicking and screaming through the summer but will need to get a

easy way to donate towards the upkeep of Holy Trinity Church. Below is our new QR code and if any readers would like to make a off donation towards looking after our 1,000 year old building, the code is easy to use with a mobile phone. Thank you.

of season report from Gt. Paxton Colts had a great season and went a whole league campaign undefeated and lost in their cup final to a last minute winner against Alconbury. They move up from 7v7 to 9v9 next season so have the challenge of an increased pitch size and more players! They currently enough players for the new season. had a successful season finishing mid table in their league. They

will find details of the summer local history display elsewhere in the Paxton Post, but it is great that the group are so active and willing and able to share their findings.

Vicar and PCC are very grateful to Paul Ward who has crafted the amazing timeline of the monarchs who have ruled over the area where Great Paxton lies from the 500s to the present day. The series posts and carved wooden plaques run alongside the churchyard path and the outcome is a remarkable creative endeavour for the village. Thank you to Paul who was assisted by Chris Hall and Jacqueline Wieczorek in the creation of the project.

Please do visit and enjoy this unique walk through history to the present day.

For news from all of our four churches in the Paxtons benefice, please go to our website: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org or benefice Facebook page @The Paxtons Benefice

path and the outcome is a remarkable creative endeavour for the village. Thank you to Paul who was assisted by Chris Hall and Jacqueline Wieczorek in the creation of the project.

Please do visit and enjoy this unique walk through history to the present day.

For news from all of our four churches in the Paxtons benefice, please go to our website: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org or benefice Facebook page @The Paxtons Benefice

will find details of the summer local history display elsewhere in the Paxton Post, but it is great that the group are so active and willing and able to share their findings.

Vicar and PCC are very grateful to Paul Ward who has crafted the amazing timeline of the monarchs who have ruled over the area where Great Paxton lies from the 500s to the present day. The series

25

of season report from Gt. Paxton Colts had a great season and went a whole league campaign undefeated and lost in their cup final to a last minute winner against Alconbury. They move up from 7v7 to 9v9 next season so have the challenge of an increased pitch size and more players! They currently enough players for the new season.

had a successful season finishing mid table in their league. They looking to push further up the table in the forthcoming season a number of the girls in the team training also with local football ladies’ academies, Cambridge & Norwich. They currently have enough players for the new season.

had a tough season, being pushed up from C to A league which ’t anticipated or helpful in their footballing progression. They finished in the bottom half of the table and are looking to regroup for likely last season as U16s. They are looking for players to add to squad for the new season. Contact: colin.bower@ntlworld.com

olts have the capacity to accept another mini soccer team for season or future seasons. The club would look to assist and pay interested personnel to gain their minimum qualifications to run football team. If you are interested now or in the future please contact.

Rec ground, the adult teams and the Colts are always looking for helping hands keeping on top of the grass cutting, strimming, retaining the pitch lines and general Rec maintenance. Please get in contact if you can spare a few hours a week to help your local club.

are actively looking for sponsorship or donations to enable us to new mower for the Rec. We are dragging the current one kicking and screaming through the summer but will need to get a

mower asap. If anyone has any ideas or willing to contribute sponsor it would greatly help keep the Rec neat and tidy for ALL of the Rec. Rachael at the pub can be contacted for all enquiries or colin.bower@ntlworld.com

removed from the south aisle, Stricklands took up the old south aisle wooden floor. They found the planks of wood and joists to be completely rotten as we expected. They cleared out all of the debris are now filling in the void with a material which is recycled from old glass. Then they will lay screed down which will need to dry before the new stone floor is laid. We were pleased that near perfect tiled flooring was under where the organ had stood, and this has been cleaned for all to see.

Great Paxton Adult Reserves – Season Review strong start to the season allowed us to win 10 of our first 11 games and draw the other. Alex Beadle led the team with a clear and it was working well, everyone knew their role and how to the way we wanted to. Danny and Lester were scoring freely, the defence remained solid with players like Troy, Paul and Steve controlling the back. Combine that with the hard working midfield other members of the squad and things were looking great.

Along with this work, we now have a new French drain around the end of the church which will improve the damp problem in the toilet area. The damp plaster in the toilet has gone and with new mechanical extraction the new plaster should stay dry. Finally, there are new rainwater goods on the vestry and small repairs to the flashing on the vestry roof.

are very grateful to the Strickland and Hall brothers for all the care and attention they have given to these projects and to the

24

Unfortunately we couldn’t maintain the performances as we started drop points and play poorly after Christmas. We managed to keep picking up wins and points without playing well but ultimately our ran out and we lost 4 or 5 games in quick succession. Injuries player availability played a part in our dip, however a knock of confidence cost us. During this period Alex had to step away from running the team and Danny took over as caretaker manager towards the end of the season.

Credit to everyone involved as we finished strong and almost reignited our title challenge, but 3 key defeats put an end to that. finished the season in 3rd place, the highest our reserves have finished in the league, a cup semi-final and a group of players to go again next season. A big thank you to everyone involved season.

Fairs.

second week of May.

Charles and his brother managed to empty most of the contents of the organ’s interior and then walked it into its new position. They then put the organ back together again with the cleaned blower put into a new purpose built box behind the organ. Below are the Hall brothers working on the relocated organ.

Contact details:

Vicar: Canon Annette Reed Tel: 01480 211048

canonannettereed@gmail.com

Churchwardens: Mr Bob Hacking 1 Mint Lane

Great Paxton 01480 219846

Mrs Andrea Goodyer 7a Church Lane

Great Paxton

andrea.goodyer@clinicallyconnected.com

Church Treasurer: Mrs Jacqueline Jackson jnmunro@btinternet.com

performance by the Peppercorns Academy adult choir (to confirmed).

refreshments and cakes available to purchase.

are welcome to this special weekend. Donations to Holy Trinity Minster Church and Great Paxton History Society.

Great Paxton Scarecrow Festival

TWO MONTHS TO GO!

Saturday 16th to Sunday 24th September

the time you read this there will be just over two months to go until next Scarecrow Festival! We hope you have started planning your fabulous entries!!

mentioned previously, we now have a Scarecrow Festival Committee, and I am really grateful to Andrea, Julie, Karen, Raqi, Tara Val for joining.Itwouldn’t be happeningthis year without their help, thank you ladies. I’m pleased to announce we now have our own page too! Visit gp-scarecrow.online/ to keep up to date with all scarecrow news!

really hope to get as many scarecrows as possible this year. If you thinking about it, but not 100% sure, the following will help with any questions you may have:

there a theme this year?

the committee have decided there will not be a theme again, as we not want to deter people from entering. Anything goes!

it cost me anything to enter a scarecrow into the competition?

still completely free to enter. So, enter as many as you want!

prizes are available this year?

will be in with a chance of winning one of the following:

Named Scarecrow - £50 cash from Hire or Buy Group

welcome anyone with an interest in our village or history in general, once a month, usually the second Monday at 7.30 in The Bell which opens especially for us. The May meeting was cancelled it clashed with the Coronation. The next dates are June 12th , 10th , August 14th .

Funniest Scarecrow - £50 voucher for The Bell original Scarecrow - £50 cash from Peter Anderson Cars

September 11th will be a special meeting with speaker Liz Davies, starting at 7.30pm. There will be a charge of £3 to help with the fee. the current curator of St Neots Museum, and she will be telling about her work there, and also some interesting facts about our village of Great Paxton. She has a visual presentation, and we hope will bring some artefacts as well for us to see. Watch for posters.

do I enter a scarecrow into the competition? completed entry form is required in order to be eligible to win the prizes, and this form must be returned by 10th September. You will then given an official entry number that needs to be displayed near your scarecrow for the week, so that people can vote for your creation.

Where can I get an entry form from? Inside this magazine, or from The Bell or the village shop. Just return the pub, shop or pop through the letter box of 27 Towgood Way or Meadow Way. If you are unable to get hold of a form, please email scarecrow.festival@yahoo.com.

have to use straw in my scarecrow? absolutely not.Butifyou do want to, College Farm have very kindly offered to donate some again this year.

When does my scarecrow have to be displayed? Scarecrows will need to be on display by 10am on Saturday 16th until of day on Sunday 24th September, so consider the unpredictable British weather when making your scarecrow! And don’t put them out early else they may look very battered by the end of the festival!

will my scarecrow be judged?

visiting public will vote for their favourites all week using the voting available on the village map / scarecrow entry list. People will be asked to vote according to the three categories listed. These votes will counted by the committee on the afternoon of Sunday 24th September and the winners announced at The Bell pub and via a Facebook live feed. (Please note, entrants can only win one category).

Great Paxton History Society

Where will I be able to get a voting slip / map / list of entries from? usual, these will be available from the village shop, outside and inside the pub from 10am on Saturday 16th September. It may even be to go on our webpage this year.

Website https://greatpaxtonhistory.weebly.com/

Please do visit the website and see what has been uploaded. If anyone has some more memories and pictures of people and places Great Paxton, we would be pleased to have them.

greatpaxtonhs@yahoo.com visit https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk for more village history information.

Jacqueline Wieczorek

are now reading ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens – will you know what I feel about this book, next time – suffice to say it compelling!

not very creative, what if my scarecrow isn’t very good? says it’s not very good?! Scarecrows of all shapes, sizes, and standards are welcome! It’s not about the winning, it’s about the taking However, this year we think the prize categories make it fairer to entrants. If you don’t feel able to make one, why not get the visiting grandkids/relatives/friends to have a go over the summer holidays!

Amanda Niven

else is going on during the festival week? first day of the festival – Saturday 16th September – is the main event. Food vendors, craft stalls, cake and game stalls, PTA tombola, face painting will all be available in The Bell carpark from 12 noon. Refreshments will be on sale in the church in the afternoon too. Invite friends and family for a fun afternoon.

3pm children 11 years and under are invited to come in fancy dress the Bell carpark, where our fantastic vicar Reverend Annette and brilliant Landlady Raqi will judge their favourite costumes! No theme, free to enter! There will be some great prizes to be won!

Sunday 17th Sept the Rec Committee have organised a Car Boot to take place at the Rec Ground. A pitch will cost £10 and set up from 9am, to open for buyers at 10am. Tea, coffee and bacon rolls be available too. Spread the word!

always a brilliant atmosphere in the village so please do join in, in way you can! It would be amazing if we could getmore scarecrows last year. 71 is the number to beat! Without your fantastic creations there will not be a festival, so please do have a go. Let’s this a wonderful event for all the family again.

Jo,

Raqi, Andrea, Julie, Karen, Tara and Val

gp-scarecrow.online/

on the front page of the Hunts Post last week as, because of Councillor West’s motion, the District Council strongly opposed the Luton Arrivals route, and I wrote to the Chief Exec of the CAA to him know.

Finally, this week I unsuccessfully tried to force the County Council to reverse a ludicrous decision to deny free school transportation to Abbotsley, Waresley and the Gransdens, with the help of 150 parents signed a petition.

would like to record my sincere thanks to the Parish Councillors and for their hard work and dedication, and I look forward to serving you in the coming year and working together for the benefit residents of the Parish.

proposal. I suspect that the proposal will reduce the operating hours the congestion charging to “peak hours only” at the cost of improvements to the Huntingdonshire bus service. In which case, I minded not to support it (which probably means it will fail).

are due to announce their final route choice in May. upgrade is subject to further legal delays, and the TAN Judicial Review seems set to go to a High Court Appeal.

GREAT PAXTON CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

Mount Pleasant

Great Paxton

the Coton orchard. I voted in favour of this because, having spoken with Cambourne Parish Council, there are approximately 12,000 residents who are desperate for better public transport. also rejected a proposal for a referendum (that would have cost million) on the GCP congestion charging recommendations for Cambridge. We expect that the consultation results will be published May. In the Summer the County Council will vote on a revised

Cambs PE19 6YJ

17

Telephone: 01480 472132

Fax: 01480 471735

E-Mail: office@greatpaxton.cambs.sch.uk

www.greatpaxton.cambs.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mr L Frost

Deputy Headteacher: Miss A Miller

cannot believe that another academic year has passed by. Some of highlights this year include:

Residential Trip – Y4 and Y5 went to Rock UK for a residential. It was a wonderful experience, and the children were amazing. They have still not let me forget that I set the fire alarm off by accident at 5am in the morning!

Christmas Play – how fantastic it was to hold our own Christmas Oscars, with ‘The Nativity’ winning the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Christmas.’ What made the play extra special was again being able to open our doors for parents/carers/relatives to watch the spectacular show!

Fireworks extravaganza – another amazing display produced by our caretaker which enabled many children to watch the display in a safe and familiar environment.

OFSTED – we were inspected at the end of February, and we were delighted that all our positive changes and developments were recognised, and the inspection confirmed that we continue to be a good school.

budget would be through cutting essential services, many of which already been pared to the bone after 13 years of austerity.

However, we were fortunate with a higher-than-expected Government settlement and some financial prudence. We are confident that we can set a balanced budget for the next five years the aid of green bin charging, which we will introduce some in the future.

Coronation Party – we celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III with our own special party and activities. Sport – throughout the year we continued to provide children with opportunities in competitive sport. We entered a Y5 and a Y6 running team in the Priory Park event and the children ran their hearts out and did themselves proud. The football team have had another successful year, once again making it through to a final. Y5 and Y6 took part in weekly swimming lessons during the Spring Term and the progress made by children was outstanding!

second challenge was with the Future High Street Investment St Neots, which had yet to progress under the previous administration and was also facing inflationary pressure. Thankfully, long last, we will see spades in the ground in the Market Square revamp this summer in an attempt to turn from a car park into the and economic heart of the town. I cannot talk about the Old Falcon, but there is progress.

Sports Day – this took place in May this year to avoid hot weather conditions and what a fantastic day it was. Seeing the children demonstrate such resilience, courage, spirit and kindness, truly highlighted our school ethos.

third big challenge is delivering our net-zero ambitions, for which previous administration had set high targets but had no real plan get there. Our Green Councillor, Lara Davenport Ray, has thankfully resolved that.

Bletchley Park – Y6 had an amazing opportunity to deepen their historical knowledge with a trip to the World War 2 code cracking capital.

Joint Administration has just released its corporate plan with key priorities:

Church – our links with the Church continue to be strong with Canon Annette coming into school on a weekly basis and our termly services.

is just a snapshot of some of the activities our children have experienced this year.

again, I feel honoured to be part of the community at Great Paxton and work with such fantastic staff, parents/carers, members the community and most importantly, the children in our care.

wish all our leavers the very best as they start the next stage of journey, and we know they leave us with many memories and experiences that they will treasure.

although tempers sometimes get frayed – have provided a firm but opposition. I hope that continues.

External factors largely influenced our three biggest challenges in forming the administration.

first was setting a balanced budget. We inherited a £2.5m budget deficit which quickly grew due to double-digit inflation.

proud of, as 80% of the Council’s effort goes into “Business As Usual” humdrum unglamorous day-to-day work of the Council. And of that is my responsibility.

are also very much looking forward to welcoming all our new families in September as they start their exciting journey at school.

Independent, I am happy to remove party politics from Local Government. I am pleased to report that we inherited a healthy and run District Council from our Conservative predecessors. And –

behalf of the school, may I wish everyone a happy and safe summer!

Wishes

Lee Frost Headteacher

seen on the verges near the school and within the school grounds. Also, more have now been spotted this year on Rectory Green due to it not being mown.

Parish Council have requested more care is taken by the grass cutting contractors to ensure the survival of this wonderful species year. So, next spring look around and you may find you have of your own.

REPORT FROM YOUR PARISH COUNCIL

was great to see so many residents at the May Parish Council meetings! Aside from all the procedural items to be dealt with at this of year, those present were able to contribute to discussion on several important issues affecting Great Paxton.

Addendum have just read in some reminiscences written by Bert Goodwin about growing up in the village in the 1920s that bee orchids were around back then.

were fortunate to receive a visit from Inspector Colin Norden (Neighbourhood Policing, Huntingdonshire). He confirmed that, regrettably, Great Paxton had recently lost its PCSO who had left the Police Service following a restructure. It was unlikely that he would replaced due to recruitment and funding difficulties.

the arrival of Miss Gwendoline Coles from Hamerton, gone was practice we’d enjoyed under Miss Etchells of collecting, in our time, wildflowers and herbs for the next day’s nature lesson and the much appreciated nature walks, which we used to enjoy on afternoons when we could probably tell the teacher of more nature sites and she would know. We could tell where a wild honey nest could be found, where an owl had a nest, where the bee orchids grew in the meadow.’

However, some good news – Great Paxton is one of the safest places live in Cambridgeshire! Because of the low incidence of crime in village, policing here was not considered to be a priority. A regular police presence was, therefore, unlikely, and very little monitoring, or enforcement would take place due to lack of resources. The Inspector, however, reminded everyone to call 101 should they need to report any criminal activity or to place a report the Police Website. In an emergency, he urged residents to continue to call 999.

to Crime Activity by location and for the reporting of crimes are posted on the Parish Council’s website. More generally, the Inspector reported that current police operations were concentrated Neots and Huntingdon to help to deter knife crime, rural crime watch continued to operate successfully, and cross border drug dealing was concentrated west rather than east of St Neots.

with it and end up pollinating the flower. Sadly, the right bee species doesn’t live here, but this orchid is self-pollinated in the UK.

Residents were invited to comment on how they wanted their community to develop and to identify which services and facilities

bee orchid has a rosette of leaves at ground level and two leaves grow up the stem as a sheath. The stem displays a number of relatively large flowers with pink sepals that look like wings, and brown lips that have yellow markings on, just like a bee. Unfortunately, we cannot reproduce a photo in colour but here is

wanted the Parish Council to deliver. With this information, the Parish Council intend to draft a Plan to guide financial planning and future decisions.

Someone wondered whether this species of orchid would be a protected species. Well, it is, as all wildflowers are protected, but this is particularly attractive, and although the species is perhaps not rare as it used to be, the destruction of grassland habitat can quickly restrict and isolate colonies of species such as bee orchid. Wildlife Trust also describe the bee orchid as a sneaky mimicflower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. Males fly in to try to

interesting items were raised, in discussion, including treetlighting on the High Street, better communications and improvement to local parking behaviour.

the same time, the meeting took the opportunity to think about Local Development Plan (produced by the District Council) and impact this might have on Great Paxton. Although the meeting acknowledged the need for low-cost homes for first time buyers in village and recognised some of the benefits that development bring, it was clear that those present wanted the village to remain as a small rural community and for the Parish Council to resist future large or medium scale housing development.

other news –

Your District & County Councillors reported to the meeting and their reports are on the Parish Council website. Grants of £1250 were awarded to the Recreation Ground Committee and Community Shop.

A financial contribution received by the Parish Council from the developers of the former garage site on the High Street could help with the upgrading of the streetlights on the High Street.

Applications for funding towards improvements to the High Street and for a 20mph zone on the High Street, main estate roads and around the school were with the County Council.

A RoSPA Inspector had undertaken an inspection of the Play Area on Saxon Green and their report had identified several ‘low risk’ items which would be attended to. Parish

Councillors accepted that some items of play equipment required updating.

The Clerk will report the flooding incident on River Lane and the overgrown trees (obscuring the 30mph sign) on Paxton Hill to the County Council. after a busy night, it was agreed to meet again at 7.30pm on 10th Hope to see you all again next time.

District Council is working with Town and Parish councils across Huntingdonshire to allow some of the grass sites we manage to This will enable more plants, insects, birds and mammals to flourish. Just over half of the land the Council maintains is known as amenity grass, mown during the weeks of March to October. Regular mowing means these sites have the least variety of wildlife (biodiversity) so changing the way the District Council manages them enable more plants, insects, birds and mammals to flourish. Rewards to increase biodiversity, improve habitats for nature and reduce the carbon footprint will bring long term benefits.

signs will read Why the long grass?

Alternative Land Management Area leaves the grass to grow to support our birds, bees, and other Important pollinators.

THE LONG GRASS?

the long grass? You may have seen signs popping up across Huntingdonshire.

we look to increase biodiversity, improve habitats for nature and reduce our carbon footprint, the District Council is working with and Parish councils to change the way we manage amenity in the district. For more information visit: Alternative Land

45

Richard West District Councillor Great Paxton Ward Richard.west@huntingdonshire.gov.uk or Richard.west@buckdencambs.co.uk

Rainbows, Brownies and Guides have had an extremely busy term. Rainbows and Brownies had a joint meeting with Paxton Rainbows and Brownies which was great fun and Guides an exciting Football meeting. All three units celebrated the King’s Coronation with a tea party and games.

seasoning, mix well until all thoroughly combined. Unroll pastry sheet and cut in half to give you two smaller rectangles.

Rainbows:

term we have been having lots of fun enjoying the sun and being creative. We had a joint meeting with another Rainbow unit including parachute games and learnt about cricket as well as practising some We are ending the term with a trip to the local soft play.

Place sausage mix into the middle of the pastry rectangle from top to bottom, so that the mix is in a cylindrical roll. Egg wash one edge of the pastry alongside the sausage meat, tuck the non-egg washed side over the sausage meat and tuck underneath, then roll the whole thing over onto the egg-washed part.

Roll the entire sausage roll to ensure a round shape. Place the join on the base and cut to the desire length. Place onto a lined baking tray, egg wash the top and add seeds or herbs if desired. Bake for 25 – 30 Minutes at 180 Degrees.

Can be served hot or chilled and eaten later.

Can also be frozen before they are egg washed and baked for a later date. Allow to fully defrost before baking or bake for an extra 5-10 minutes from frozen.

Brownies:

term Brownies have been learning new skills to take with them if were to go camping. The girls enjoyed a great session with Matt Little Cricket who taught them some great skills as well as having lots of fun. Brownies finished off before half term with a joint meeting with Little Paxton Brownies. They played a great game that them running all over the field. Thank you to Little Paxton Brownies for organising a great event. Brownies are getting ready to the term with a session of Archery as well as putting up tents having an end of term party as we bid farewell to a few of our who will be moving onto Guides.

This term Guides have also been practising their camping skills. They have learnt how to build a fire, so they cook on it and also how to filter dirty water (an old pair of tights won the experiment). Laina from St Neots football team came along with some helpers to put the girls through their paces, some great skills were learnt, and a lot of fun was had. Guides are also going to be having fun at Archery as well as more camping skills.

1st Great Paxton Brownies are in need of some more volunteers. If you think you could come to some (if not all) of our Thursday evening meetings, have fun and support the girls in their activities, Michelle (Rose Owl) would love to hear from you. Or if you’d like to know a little bit more please

contact 1stgreatpaxtonbrownies@gmail.com

There will be much more noise and footfall from the pub over the coming months with the summer, the events and music. I again try ensure people are aware of this in advance. I understand that music being played may be a little loud or not to someone’s taste we shall try and be more aware of that. However, this is primarily done on weekends and special events and within our licensing laws.

Grasping the Nettle! Making Your Own Fertilizer

Stinging nettles are not one of our most favourite plants but they do their uses, one being, they make a wonderful liquid fertilizer. process is very simple and provided that you have somewhere to a quantity of fertilizer, is a cheap and satisfying way of providing your plants with good quality effective nutrients. Nettle fertilizer is high in nitrogen, which is best used on young plants to them develop.

Bell supports the smaller groups of the village like the history society and the crafting group as well. It works alongside the school the year 6 leavers, and I am also helping at the fete. We as a business try our best to support you as much as you support us.

going to leave it there now, but please if anyone has any sms please come to see me directly and discuss them, I am happy to take it all on board.

Here's how:-

Collect freshly picked stinging nettles, (wear thick gloves!) and them into a large bowl or bucket. Start with as large a quantity nettles as you can, since they decrease in volume once they start down. Add water, allowing roughly 10 litres (18 pints) of water kg (about 2lbs) of nettles.

think myself, Andy and Carol and all those involved are very proud where The Bell is, considering so many pubs around us are not so well and not so busy. We should be proud as a village and certainly as a Bell Team that everyone wants to come to our pub for whatever reason. I say our pub because it is your pub. You the customers make it what it is, and we only do what we are asked to

Mix the stinging nettles and water thoroughly, making sure that all nettles are covered with water. Cover with clingfilm or a tight fitting lid. Stir several times with a wooden spoon over a period of several weeks. Always replace the clingfilm or lid.

8

After a few weeks, when the mixture is rotted down, strain it into a bucket. (It does smell!)

Before using the liquid fertilizer, dilute it, 1 part fertilizer to 10 parts water. The solid matter left behind can go into a compost heap for future use. Just to add, that nettles are key to the survival of butterflies, nettles make wonderful tea, they can be used for making pesto, delicious soup and an alternative to spinach. Knowing how multi-talented they are, I do hope you like them a little now!

Happy gardening.

long as I’m involved in this pub the village will always be a priority me and I will always do my best to support the village and groups clubs as they do the Bell, but we have to take other events as in day and age a pub could not just rely on village support alone.

Gaynor Christie Chairperson, Great Paxton Allotments and Sensory Garden

more positive feedback than I do negative, but when it’s villagers who are giving me that feedback, I take it more personally, because I know these people.

a good position to be in because being busy is key.

taken some personal criticism for changing the pub into an events/football pub and this is certainly not what we are. There’s a call for football on TV, there’s a large call for events to be held are affordable, and that’s what we can cater for. However, that not take away the local vibe this pub has and the fact it is STILL local pub.

2021 CENSUS SUMMARY

The results of the 2021 census for Great Paxton have been released. Here is a summary of some of the many findings.

most relevant figures are probably that the population here on night of the census was 1000 (508 women and 492 men) and the number of households was 400. Strangely, in my opinion, both of figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, even though they know the exact number of people counted and households. The population in 2011 was 1007 so very little change. This is to be expected as the number of properties has hardly changed either.

census has an unusual background which must have temporarily skewed some of the figures, mainly regarding work-related issues. census was in March 2021 when many covid-related restrictions still in place. This naturally led to a large increase in the number people working from home as well as some students not at their universities.

Other figures include:

groups

45 were aged four or under just 84 people were in their 20s

23 people were aged 85 and above Nationality

942 people were born in the U.K.

883 had a U.K. passport

90 had no passport

has done a fantastic job putting it all together with the help of mith and Reece Beavis (lads from the football club). I promise Andy there should be no more major jobs!!! Down tools and a little!

All but 9 people were either born in the U.K. or had lived in the U.K. for at least 10 years

952 identified as White

18 as Asian or Asian British

had a fantastic turnout with Soul Man on 28th May and even managed to raise £560 for MND in memory of my friend’s husband sadly died. However, I am looking to get him booked back again next year. It is always a great event!!

have so much coming up!!

7 as Black and 22 as mixed or multiple ethnic group

h July – our Rum Festival with resident expert on rum and village legend Dan Clarke. £20 per ticket to include 5 rums and mixers. See me for tickets.

Religion

490 people stated Christian, 444 said no religion, 9 other religions and 56 did not answer

Health

877 stated that they were in either good or very good health and 26 were in bad or very bad health but 109 were registered with some sort of disability.

nd Sept – we have our Gin Festival and Beer Festival. Legendary gin expert Emma Hendry is back and then we have a company coming in doing the Beer Festival and that will help raise funds for the Rec Ground from the beer tickets. More info to follow in the coming weeks.

16th Sept sees the start of the Scarecrow Festival!! There is more info about this included in this edition!

25 people provided at least 20 hours a week of unpaid care

Households

are so busy and have so much going on it’s fantastic to see.

nearly 20% of households had just one person and 22% had 4 or more people

6

0.8% of households stated they were deprived in 3 out of 4 dimensions as described in the census guidance

4% of households were flats or maisonettes and 1.8% had one bedroom but nearly 50% had 4 or more bedrooms

41% are owned outright, 42% have a mortgage

8% are privately rented, 8% social rented

4.3% of households had no cars

BELL, YOUR FAMILY & DOG FRIENDLY, AFFORDABLE LOCAL! start with the great stuff!!! The play park is just about finished the main climbing frame being ready. At the time of writing, we waiting on more rubber matting to arrive then the swings will be completed. I expect by the time you read this it will all be done.

garden is looking fantastic, new grass, new play park, all ready both adults and kids to enjoy. We’re going to put a children’s goal

20% had 3 or more

Education

20% of villagers aged 5 years or more were in some sort of education

Employment 64% of people aged 16 and over were employed

2.1% unemployed

67% were in managerial, administrative or professional

13% stated they worked more than 49 hours per week *

RECREATION GROUND HIRE

rec ground and pavilion are available to hire. We have a large outdoor space and a pavilion with toilets, changing rooms, kitchen, and meeting room. In the past this has been hired for birthdays and charity events. If interested please contact Michael on 07950 967250.

had 14 players, both local and from further afield; it was great to new members as well as ‘old hands’ and as always, our Yorkshire contingent. As a reminder, all are welcome to come along to Woodsooners, regardless of where you live. We are always keen to welcome new members to keep the society strong – 20 is a good number of players for our events and it would be great if we could maintain somewhere around this number for future events so if you of anyone who may be interested, please encourage them to along, they will be made most welcome. Dinner, presentations much banter were had at The Bell in Great Paxton where we hosted very well by Rachael and her team as always – the food excellent – thank you Sarah.

Offords WI

June meeting in The Offords Village Hall was a foliage affair with buckets of leaves, various vessels and skeins of wool filling the tables. Speaker was Wendy Thelwall who specialises in dyeing fabrics in ancient way using plant material. Wendy Is a volunteer at Buckden Towers and it was there that she discovered the Knot Garden which long ago, had been planted specifically for the purpose dyeing. Her interest was piqued, and she has now turned it into a hobby and somewhat of an addiction!

izes were awarded as follows:

Nearest the Pin Jim McIlwaine

Longest Drive Gary Price

Handicap Runner-up (24 points)

Handicap WINNER (34 points)

Runners-up (29 points)

WINNERS (27)

Singles Runner-up (34 points)

Singles WINNER (37 points)

Wooden Spoon Winner (12 points)

Sam Helme

Trevor Smith

Brian Kitchin & Jim McIlwaine

Trevor Smith & Nick Helme

Trevor Smith (on count back)

Jim McIlwaine

Steve Bullock

We discovered that the plants used are all weeds but with a little alchemy they can produce lovely subtle colours on fabric and wool. Members took part in the process, chopping and steeping and dipping with enthusiasm.

were all given some dyed wool which, in the tradition of Blue Peter, had been prepared earlier. Using scissors and beads, we were challenged to make a decorative plait in the form of a bracelet. What variety was created in such a short time. Our speaker chose her favourite three for the Competition winners, but really, they were all lovely. We had a lovely evening and went home with a wool bracelet amazingly, no stained fingers.

WOODSOONERS GOLF SOCIETY

Spring Meeting of the Great Paxton Woodsooners Golf Society held at Elton Furze Golf Club, Peterborough on Friday 5th May

Elton Furze proved to be an excellent, challenging course and it played well. I should also say that the food and hospitality at the Club excellent. We had several rain showers throughout the day, but didn’t dampen our spirits and another fine day of golf and banter had by all.

Paxton Post is published by Easiprint Ltd in association with Great Paxton Council and is funded by the Council. Whilst every effort is made to ensure information in this publication is accurate, neither the editor, the printer or the Council can be held responsible for any errors. The views expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, the publisher or the Council.

July meeting on the second Tuesday is a talk by Verity Hartop farms the land on the High Street in Offord. She is going to tell about lambing, calving and her Farming Year.

Future Meetings

August: Our meeting will be an afternoon Garden Party.

September: Julie Stock, a local author will speak on The Journey to Becoming a Published Author.

Visitors and new members welcome!

Please contact Jenny Murby (President) on 01480 811474