Paxton Post Issue 14

Issue 14

Paxton Post

September - October 2019

THE MAGAZINE FOR GREAT PAXTON

1

"Our business is built around 3 things, As we care about our customers and the service we provide, this enables our business to grow from strength to strength. Over the past 38 years, our customer records have flourished, but our values remain. 'Our pride is in our promise offering the best value and customer service'�.

This is your magazine, and it needs your contributions.

All contributions to the next issue of the magazine are gratefully received. We particularly welcome: • News of village events • Photographs from the village • Private for sale adverts • Recipe ideas • Letters to the Editor • Reviews and Opinions • Anything you feel the village would be interested in.

Contributions should be sent to Simon using the details below: Email: simon@easiprintandcopy.co.uk Telephone: 01733 602302 Post: Easiprint Ltd, Unit 8 Parkhouse Ind Est, Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DJ

The Paxton Post is delivered to every home in Great Paxton, and advertising is available at competitive rates. Advertising is not only great local exposure for local businesses, but it also helps support this village magazine, which is a real asset to Great Paxton.

The Paxton Post is published every two months.

Our rates are: Quarter Page Mono - £ 5.00 per issue Full Page Mono - £15.00 per issue Half Page Mono - £ 8.00 per issue Full Page in Colour - £20.00 per issue Advertisements should be sent to Simon using the details below: Email: simon@easiprintandcopy.co.uk Telephone: 01733 602302 Post: Easiprint, Unit 8 Parkhouse Ind Est, Straight Drove, Farcet, Peterborough, PE7 3DJ

You adv r herert e

Recycling Waste Green Waste Black General Waste Wednesday 4th September Wednesday 11th Sept Monday 9th September Wednesday 18th September Wednesday 25th Sept Monday 23rd September Wednesday 2ⁿd October Wednesday 9th October Monday 7th October Wednesday 16th October Wednesday 23rd October Monday 21st October Wednesday 30th October For more information on your bin collections, including what goes in what bin visit http://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/bins-waste/ Paxton Post is published by Easiprint Ltd in association with Great Paxton Parish Council. It is funded by the Parish Council, with help from advertisements. Whilst every effort is made to ensure information in this publication is accurate, neither the Editor nor the Parish Council can be held responsible for any errors. The views expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or the Parish Council.

3

Regular services in Holy Trinity Church.

1st Sunday of the month 9.00am Holy Communion in 1662 Prayer book language 2nd Sunday of the month 11.00am All Age Worship lasting 40 minutes family friendly and informal.

3rd Sunday of the month 11.00 am Holy Communion in contemporary words.

4th Sunday of the month 11.00 am Morning Prayer.

Vicar: Canon Annette Reed 01480 211048 canonannettereed@gmail.com Churchwardens: Mr Bob Hacking 1 Mint Lane, Great Paxton 01480 219846

On the fifth Sunday, we move a Songs of Praise around the benefice at 10.30am See the notice board by the porch for more details.

Mrs Sarah Gray, 12 Church Lane, Great Paxton 01480 214015

All – Age Worship services in the autumn.

Sunday September 8th at 11.00am Theme: New Beginnings With the baptism of George Lawman

Tower Captain: Mrs Mary Parnham 01480 394727 MaryP2707@hotmail.com

Sunday October 13th at 11.00am Theme: Celebrating Harvest With the baptism of Isabelle Moody

Anyone is most welcome to contact Annette with an enquiry about a wedding baptism or funeral. If you would like her to visit you, please do get in touch.

Sunday 10th November – Remembrance Sunday at 11.00am.

Traditional Service of Remembrance starting with a procession from the village green at 10.40am.

You will find a warm welcome at all of our services.

For regular updates and news from all of our four churches go to our benefice web-site: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org Follow us on Facebook: @ThePaxtonsBenefice.

4

Canon Annette Reed, our vicar writes: Great Paxton Church has been a unique place of Christian prayer and worship for over 1,000 years. The ancient building, though modified over the centuries, dates back 1,000 years and is a rare example of an Anglo-Saxon building.

The Vicar, Churchwardens and Parochial Church Council have the responsibility for looking after the fabric of the building – which is a challenging task with a large Grade One listed building to care for.

Having completed the exciting bell project at the end of 2018, we turned our attentions in 2019 to the other end of church – the ancient chancel and sanctuary at the east end of the building. We found that there were some tiles missing from the south slope of the roof and what started as a possible minor repair job turned into a major refurbishment of the chancel, including re-roofing all of the chancel roof.

Fortunately, the Church Commissioners in London have responsibility for the upkeep of the chancel, and they are paying for most of the work to be done, both inside and outside. The main contractors have been Herringbone Restoration Limited. We hope all will completed, including the return of the re-leaded windows, by early September.

The only work outstanding will be the redecorating of the interior chancel walls

after replastering. To that end, some crazy individuals are camping overnight in church on August 23rd hoping some will take pity on them and make a donation towards this work and general church expenses.

It is also hoped that some replastering can be done to the walls in the nave – another project we hope for next year if funds can be found.

Here are pictures of churchwarden Sarah trying not to cause any more damage to the chancel and Annette amongst the builder’s rubble and plastic sheeting.

6

7

Planning permission has been applied for the Lancaster Memorial at the entrance to Dovecote Lane and a large rock has been sourced and reserved for the memorial to be mounted upon. Once it is confirmed we can go ahead we shall be asking for donations towards the cost. This memorial will commemorate the crash on 24th December 1944 in which seven crew lost their lives.

momentous event. Research is being done to create a new history exhibition focusing on the church.

Forthcoming Topics • 9th September – Annette Reed will bring something to share with us.

• 14th October – RAF Wyton Lancaster crash items - Peter Stanley • 11th November – The Cardell family - Graham James • 9th December – No formal topic.

Only essential updates. Show and Tell and celebrate with a Christmas get-together.

• January – The Arctic/Antarctic – Paul Ward • February – history from Lilac Cottage, London Lane – Val Freeman

As part of the national Heritage Week Great Paxton church will be open on Saturday 14th September for the ‘Ride and Stride’ participants to get refreshments. There will be a history exhibition as well, so if you missed the display in June about village life in Great Paxton, please come along. The church will be open from 10 am until late in the afternoon. Please look out for notices as there is another event being planned for the same date – a talk in the church. More details once confirmed.

A new book has just been published. ‘Tobruk to Trieste, life of a Bofors gunner’ is the memories of local historian Bert Goodwin, edited by Brian and Beth Davis. Available from St Neots Museum.

Remembrance Sunday 10th November 2019 The buglar is booked, the School, the Guides, Brownies and Rainbows are preparing, the service is being planned to include short notes on the men who died in the 2ⁿd World War including the Lancaster crew, as well as updates on the 1st World War men (previously unknown photos now discovered). Village displays will be set up Saturday 26th October, hopefully encouraging you all to participate without having to be as formal as in 2018.

Date of next meeting 9th September, 7.30 to 9.30pm at the Bell Dates of meetings 2019 14th October, 11th November and 9th December 2020 – 2ⁿd Monday of each month.

Everybody welcome to an informal but lively evening, even if you don’t live in Great Paxton.

1000 year commemorations of Holy Trinity 1020 - 2020 – Trinity Feast Many events are being planned throughout the year with the focus on Trinity Sunday weekend 7th June 2020. The History Society and hopefully all the village will be joining with the church to celebrate this

Contact details Graham James - 01480 406938‬ grahamajames1@gmail.com Jacqueline Wieczorek – 01480 477035 jacqueline.wieczorek@gmail.com 8

Race Night @ The Bell 12th October WeKlciods To raise funds for the recreation ground and GPFC

First Race 8pm Woodfired Pizza Oven serving from 6:30pm to 9pm

9

me

We have had an extremely busy summer with a golf day, rum festival and a gin festival as well as christenings, birthdays and a wedding. We also have had a number of wakes , which although a sad time for many, us at The Bell are happy to cater for any occasion.

The biggest news at the moment is at the time of writing I am in the process of looking for a new Chef. Wil has decided to jet off to pastures new a d give himself a new challenge. A big loss for The Bell but we are confident we will find a replacement to ensure we keep our food trade going and the standards and presentation remain.

Gt.Paxton Colts FC are preparing for another season ahead starting September 2019.

The Colts have 4 teams this season being U7, U8, U9, & U12s playing their home games at the Rec, Saturdays at 10am.

There’s a home game nearly every weekend, so why not come down for a

Once a new chef is in there will be further news over our Xmas menu plans and potentially developments on the menu. So watch this space!!

We have plenty else going on in the lead up to Xmas and follow our Facebook page and website for regular updates.

Please call me or email/message if you wish to book a table or book an event.

Rach Manager The Bell 01480 700107 thebellgreatpaxton@yahoo.com 07701038433

coffee & bacon roll, & support your local team!?

U7 & U8’s are still on the look out for a player each to bolster their squad.

Contact - Colin Bower 07786625397 if there are any players/parents interested in getting involved.

Abigail Best Electrolysis and Beauty Therapy Great Paxton, Cambridgeshire www.abigailbestelectrolysisandbeautytherapy.com https://www.facebook.com/abbybestgreatpaxton abby.best@btinternet.com 07929918965 11

Looking west from Great Paxton village, you cannot fail to spot our wonderful nature reserve, nestling by the side of the River Great Ouse. We are 30 years old this year and offer visitors a rich mosaic of wildlife habitat just waiting for you to explore.

Consisting of some 200 acres of lakes, riverside meadows, reed beds, scrub and mixed woodland, it is little wonder that the Reserve owned by Huntingdonshire District Council and financially supported by our own charity, “The Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve� supports a rich range of wildlife. This includes 160 plus species of birds with about 60 breeding, 300 plus species of fungi and 600 different kinds of moths and butterflies. The Reserve also hosts an amazing selection of wild trees and shrubs and flowers, including 4 species of orchids.

Mammals are well represented with locally breeding families of otters.

But what about people ?

Access is free of charge, as is car parking, which is unusual these days and you can enjoy excellent views of the Reserve from the many viewpoints and hides. Access to the most popular areas of the Reserve is disabled friendly. Our 10Km of easy walking nature trails are just part of a much wider network of paths that link with the long distance Ouse Valley Way. We have a Visitor Centre near the car park which offers a warm welcome to over 100,000 visitors annually. Depending upon the availability of our volunteers, the Centre is open every day except Christmas Day from 10 am to 4.30 pm for light refreshments, information about the Reserve and membership of The Friends.

Our local Wildlife Trust has a busy Environmental Education Centre nearby which is staffed to cater for younger visitors.

So, what has been happening recently on the Reserve ?

August has been a great month for butterflies, with the migrant painted lady arriving in big numbers from Africa; our migrant common terns have done very well, with the specially arranged tern rafts hosting about 15 breeding pairs.

On the downside, our famous nightingales have had a poor year, breeding in small numbers in the pit complex, but not actually on the nature reserve. This seems to be part of a national trend which is very worrying, as is the news that since the mid-1960s the breeding bird population in the UK has halved !

Now that September is here we can look forward to an increasing population of wintering wildfowl of around 10 species. These ae mainly birds breeding in the cold higher areas of Continental Europe. Come along and enjoy the sights and sounds of Autumn from the comfort of our hides.

12

If you have never visited us, this is an ideal time – even if only to enjoy the great autumnal colours that are showing all over the Reserve. We are just over the river from Great Paxton and look forward to meeting you and your family.

Find out more – visit www.paxton-pits.org.uk.

Thank you for your interest.

Trevor Gunton for FPPNR, September 2019

13

If you have been down The Recreation Ground lately, you will have noticed that the proposed land for the allotments and garden has now been cleared. This is thanks to 2 grants received, one from The Parish Council and the other from Redrow Housing, without these it would not have been possible to get this work done in time before the winter, which is very important for gardeners!, so a very big thank you to both.

English bluebells, Fritillaria, wild Primroses and Forget-me-Nots, so any volunteers out there, we would be extremely grateful for your help.

I must mention what a lovely suprise it was to see the Bug Boxes along the hedges, I was told The Brownies had made them...what a treat for the insects, thank you!

We still have a lot to do and will continue to try and raise money through various grants offered and hope that we will be lucky.

Matt, from Global Tree Solutions, did a great job clearing the land, as there were quite a few stumps to remove along with huge, buried pieces of concrete left over from the old playground but they were undaunted and carried on, working hard almost none stop all day. Seeing the transformation is wonderful, knowing that we can start to mark out the plots and prepare the land for planting next spring. We should be able to accomodate 12 vegetable plots and 5 raised beds, all surrounded by woodchipping pathways, also a chicken wire fence will be needed to keep the hungry rabbits out.

Last and not least, thank you to The Rec Committee for all your support in this project.

If you would like anymore information on having an Allotment or volunteering your time, please contact me.

Gaynor Christie Great Paxton Allotments truetomyrootz@gmail.com or 07855 493256

The garden was more difficult for Matt to clear, as we wanted to keep the trees, therefore trying to manouvere a huge tractor and digger in such a small area proved quite difficult but they managed it and cleared as much as they could but a lot still needs to be done , however, I just can't wait to fill The Garden with woodland bulbs of 16

18

19

20

21

The 2019-2020 season began with good weather, which attracted some members to bivvie up and go for the carp that had been seen in the Car Park Pool. Carp of 23lb and 17lb were reported being caught along with a Tench of over 8lb; all taken from pre-baited swims using boilies.

Several members fished B and C sections using swim feeders and had bream, typically between 3lb and7 lb; one member reported a catch of 12 bream from C section. The best perch reported to date, a 2lb 8oz fish, also came from C section; many anglers have reported good sized perch following hooked roach and bleak.

The roach fishing started slowly but is now picking up well, anglers feeding Hemp with either Wheat or Tares on the hook have had fish to 12oz. Dace are also showing, mainly when the river has some flow.

You will see that we have had great success to date in our fight against Pennywort which, as you may remember, was bank to bank in places this time last year. You may well see small boats manned by volunteers from OBAS or the EA hand picking the Pennywort.

Finally, some heavy rain would give more flow, help to oxygenate the water and disperse the Duckweed that is beginning to build up in some areas.

Regards Howard OBAS Bailiff

22

Hopefully you might have had the opportunity to see the new play equipment at Saxon Green over the summer. This includes a new junior swing and a multi-use play unit. Both pieces complement the toddler swing that was replaced last year. A new bin is on order so altogether the play area has had a major facelift over the last couple of years.

A thank you to the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation which has helped the Parish Council with some of the funding for this project.

On a similar theme and recognising that the Green at the top of Church Lane needed some attention, Parish Councillors have removed the lichen and cleaned the two benches and renovated the notice board. A new bin liner and Church sign are also planned.

You will be pleased to know that the Parish Council has applied for funding from the County Council towards ‘priority narrowing’ traffic calming measures on the High Street (a bit like those in The Offords). For several years, the Parish Council has tried to get County Council support for a scheme that would reduce vehicle speed on the High Street, increase the safe use of the road for drivers and cyclists and allow pedestrians to cross with greater confidence. This year, and with the help of the Speed Watch Team, the application has been submitted together with letters and statements of community support and traffic data.

Having been so close last year, Councillors are hopeful that all your endeavour will get the scheme over the

line! The Parish Council thanks everyone for their excellent contributions.

At the July meeting, there was a suggestion that instead of neatly mown grass verges, the Parish Council might consider allowing one or two to become mini meadows where wildflowers and wildlife could flourish. Several (larger) Councils are trialling this approach.

Roadside safety and drainage would, of course, remain essential. The cost of maintaining all verges in the Parish is £1020 per annum (14/16 cuts a year) so there may be a marginal saving to make were there a reduction in number of cuts/locations.

As there were varied opinions at the meeting, Councillors would welcome your feedback on whether you think it’s something the Parish Council could explore in more detail?

Please email the Clerk Clerk@greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk.

Lastly, a reminder that the Parish Council meets at 8pm in the Community Room at the Primary School on 9th September, 28th October and 25th November.

23

DISTRICT COUNCIL BACKS S.C.R.A.P FLY- TIPPING CAMPAIGN Huntingdonshire District Council is part of a countywide project to reduce the number of Fly Tips occurring in our District.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership ( RECAP ) have launched the S.C.R.A.P Fly tipping campaign to support members of the community .

If you are using waste carriers make sure you do your checks before booking and employing them via the Environment Agency website for their waste transfer licences. https://environment.data.gov.uk/public -register/view/search-waste-carriersbrokers.

Failure to do so could result in you being prosecuted for incorrect disposal of waste as it is your responsibility to use a reputable waste carrier.

If you are contacting them directly ask the following questions; Where do they take the waste?

Do they give the customer a waste receipt clearly showing what they took from you?

Save all messages and correspondence where possible, If they can’t or won’t issue you with the required paperwork, please do not use them and report them to the Council.

Also take note of the type of vehicle and index number that the waste is transported in.

Fly -tipping is illegal, ugly and pollutes the environment. The key message of the S.C.R.A.P campaign is informing the public to make informed decisions and a real difference by ensuring their waste is disposed of responsibly and legally.

District Councillor Great Paxton ward Richard West 01480 811467 Covering Abbotsley Great Paxton, Great Gransden, Toseland, Waresley- cum – Tetworth Yelling, EMAIL richard.west@buckdencambs.co.uk or richard.west@huntingdonshire.gov.uk TELEPHONE 01480 811467 mobile number 07841866630

We meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday each month at 11:00 in the Bell. Rachael kindly opens up for us and provides us with Coffee & Tea and a selection of very nice cakes. We pay £2 each to cover the pub’s costs. We have a chat together, each month when there is a birthday of a member, we give them a card and sing ‘Happy Birthday’. We occasionally have a raffle or Bingo. We also have a quiz (Denise sometimes brings a quiz he has made up,

which are varied & interesting. Sometimes a Jig Saw puzzle challenge or something similar where we all get together & help each other out. We have Dominos, some varied types like bendy or a large set that all can play together (It goes up to double 15). The1½ hours seem to go very quick.

We welcome all new comers and would be pleased to see you.

Angela, Sue, Marion & Phyllis 25

The last few weeks of term were taken up to finishing off our Explorer Skills Builders badges, hosting a Rainbow sleepover and enjoying the outdoors.

Rainbows made and explored the power of sun shadows for navigating whilst the Brownies have been using their imaginations and creativity to learn about the country code.

On one evening, the Rainbows went on travels with teddies. After making a passport for their teds and collecting their around the world ticket we boarded Rainbows Airways.... once through passport control there were pitstops at Paris to make the Eiffel Tower, Beijing to play chopstick games and receive a present of our names in chinese, Rio to play beach games and feel the splash of the waves (leaders with water soakers) and finally to Venice to make bracelets in the style of murano glass. Passport stamps all around!

Brownies also took to the skies with their suitcases packed full of all sorts of goodies for friendly custom officers to scan and in some cases confiscate as they flew to America (no Kinder eggs allowed), Australia (keep your muddy boots away) and India (no drones please they're a security risk).

Meanwhile, stranded on a desert island girls had to make decisions about their emergency kit and what they'd take with them to survive.

Lots of Rainbows joined us for the Mary Poppins Activity Day and Sleepover; There was bag decorating, piggy banking making, bird feeding, horse racing (from the carousel), house spotting, game playing, afternoon tea joking telling, tuck shop spending, mocktail making (and drinking), kite making, story telling, funny facing masking, campfire singing, smore eating, bubble blowing, snow globe creating and playground playing oh and some sleeping!!! All in 24 hours.

We had lots of fun at the last meetings of term; For Rainbows there was den building and attempts at popcorn making round the campfire.

We then had 6 girls making their promise, 4 girls jumping over the Rainbow to Brownies, numerous theme awards, skills builder and interest badges handed out (explore, be well, healthy mind, drawing, fruit and veg, nature, book lover, animal lover...) plus 2 very special Rainbow Gold Badges awarded.

At Brownies we made campfire pizzas which were a real hit. There was also parachute games with some water soaker action and an opportunity for the older girls to lead some of their favourite campfire songs around the fire.

Then it was end of term celebrations; lots of interest and skills builder badges awarded - explore, dancing, baking (brilliant telling a story through cakes which were shared) - and mindfulness.

Four Brownies made their promise, 3 girls were awarded their Brownies Go For It badge and we said farewell to nine girls who are all heading up to Guides after the summer.

We also said farewell to both of our young leaders tonight as they depart to university in September. We will really miss you! A fabulous night at Manor Farm. Thanks Ursula and family for hosting us.

Campfire Pizza by Helena The campfire pizza's were really cool (well, actually quite hot after cooking on the campfire). I put cheese, ham and pizza tomato sauce onto a wrap.

We wrapped them up into tin foil and put them into the campfire. We played

lots of games with the parachute before taking our pizzas out of the fire to eat - they were yummy!!

Waiting Lists We are currently operating waiting lists for both units. We'd recommend to anyone thinking about getting their daughter involved in either Rainbows or Brownies to put them on the waiting list sooner rather than later www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus Volunteer Team We're continue to look for additional adult volunteers to help support and grow Girlguiding in Great Paxton. If you think you'd like to get involved as an occasional helper, leader, behind the scenes helper or offer some skills, please do get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

Guides You may have heard that a Guide unit will be opening in September. We're delighted that some new volunteers

are joining our team to enable us to make this a realty. We're starting off small to start off with, offering spaces to those moving up from Great Paxton Brownies, as we get up and running and used to running three groups back to back.

Contact us Rainbows; 1stgreatpaxtonrainbows@gmail.com Brownies; 1stgreatpaxtonbrownies@gmail.com Guides; greatpaxtonguides@gmail.com Follow us https://www.facebook.com/Girlguiding GtPaxton/ Emma, Tracey, Emma, Amy, Lou, Michelle, Kath and Andrea (and the soon to be off at uni Maddie and Tayla) Girlguiding Great Paxton Volunteers

27

28

30

31

1st Gt.Paxton Brownies 1st Gt.Paxton Rainbows

Emma Christie

1stgreatpaxtonbrownies@gmail.com 1stgreatpaxtonrainbows@gmail.com

Church Bell Ringers Holy Trinity Church

Mary Parnham Canon Annette Reed

01480 394727 01480 211048 canonannettereed@gmail.com Churchwardens Bob Hacking 01480 219846 Sarah Gray 01480 214015 Community Room Julie Edwards 01480 472132 Crib Team Simon Black 01480 700107 Football Club Tom 07576 600523 Friendship Club Marion Reeves marionreeves@btinternet.com Gt. Paxton Community Shop 01480 218 624 Gt. Paxton Cubs Andy Ottley 07704 857636 Ladies Group Melanie Dingemans melanie.dingemans1@gmail.com OBAS Howard Fieldhouse 07824 569111 Parish Clerk Christine Brandon gppc1@outlook.com Petanque Brian Wright 01480 473697 Recreation Ground Michael Fairs Michael.fairs@gmail.com School Headteacher Lee Frost 01480 472132 Great Paxton Preschool Julie Edwards 01480 472132 St. Neots Police 101 Village Website www.greatpaxton.org Woodsooners Golf Society Martin Bazley 01480 21927 Walkers Group Linda Richardson 01480 213768 Any corrections please notify the editor or email jillatgp@gmail.com

33

34

35