Issue 21
Paxton Post
November - December 2020
THE MAGAZINE FOR GREAT PAXTON
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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, 39 Benedict Square, Werrington Industry, Peterborough, PE4 6GD
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.
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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
Vicar: Canon Annette Reed 01480 211048 canonannettereed@gmail.com Churchwardens: Mt Bob Hacking 1 Mint Lane, Great Paxton 01480 219846
Mrs Sarah Gray, 12 Church Lane, Great Paxton 01480 214015
Tower Captain Mrs Mary Parnham 01480 394727 MaryP2707@hotmail.com
For news from all of our four churches in the Paxtons benefice, please go to our website: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org
Church Treasurer: Mrs Jacqueline Jackson jnmunro@btinternet.com
For news from all of our four churches in the Paxtons benefice, please go to our website: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org Our benefice Facebook Page is updated most days with news from our benefice and often carries stories and pictures from Great Paxton. You will find us @ThePaxtonsBenefice. Please do contact Annette with any enquiries about weddings, baptisms and funerals. Weddings and funerals can currently go ahead in parish churches with a limit of 30 guests and face coverings mandatory (except for those with medical exemption) Baptisms are limited to 15 people.
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Regular services at Holy Trinity Church. There is currently a service every Sunday starting at 10.30am for c 40 minutes. Readings, music (though no congregational singing) and prayers are all based on the week’s bible readings. We can seat at least 30 people and make sure the building is clean and sanitizer available. Pleases wear a face covering. Special Services coming up. Sunday November 8th, 2020. There will be an outdoors service for Remembrance Sunday starting at 10.40am in the churchyard and leading to a two-minute silence at 11.00am and a bugler playing the Last Post. Please keep to your bubbles of six and wear a face covering. We look forward to villagers and others joining us for this important service when we remember those from Great Paxton who lost their lives in WW1 and WW2. More details about this and the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate Philip Cardell under village events. Every Sunday Annette produces a You Tube service for the whole benefice which is posted on the great Paxton Community Facebook page. They are lively and thoughtful – and sometimes come from a setting in Great Paxton. You will find all the past ones going back to march if you search for Annette Reed on You Tube.
Internal plastering works to begin mid-November. Although at the time of writing, we haven’t got a firm date for the start of the internal plastering works, it looks likely that the week beginning November 9th will see their commencement. The first phase involves stripping off big areas of defective old plaster. It will be sensible not to hold services for two weeks whilst that is taking place, so there probably won’t be services on November 15th or November 22ⁿd. Again, more information on the Community Facebook page.
As we move towards Advent and Christmas. The Vicar and the PCC are still considering what Christmas services we may be able to offer this year. Our usual Christmas Eve service of carols round the crib at this point in time couldn’t be held due to the large numbers who come along. We might be able to offer some Christmas event outside and a smaller reflective service near to Christmas, but until we know how the next few weeks effect public events, it is hard to plan very much. All our services will be posted on our benefice Facebook page and the Great Paxton Community Facebook page.
Graham - Simply Amazing! On Saturday September 12th Graham Bevan took part in the annual Ride and Stride event organised by Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust. He raised an amazing amount of money for CHCT and Great Paxton church as you will see below. He wrote the following word of thanks: Graham Bevan wishes to thank the 188 generous villagers for sponsoring him for the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust (RIDE+STRIDE) bike ride on September 12th. Graham rode about 30 miles in and around St Neots, visiting 19 places of worship, but more importantly; the total raised was £2,202! To be divided equally between CHCT and Holy Trinity Church Great Paxton. Well done Graham and a HUGE thankyou to everyone who sponsored him! Now Graham starts on his annual 100 Club collection rounds…. From October 12th until early January 2021 Graham will once again be knocking on just about every door in the village for year 11 of the 100 Club. Since its introduction in 2010 the 100 Club has raised £31,000 towards the general upkeep of Holy Trinity. A number will cost £20, which entitles you to be entered into 4 quarterly draws, and who knows you could win £100, £50 or £25. He will be very pleased if you do buy a number, but knowing Graham if you purchase more than 1, he will be ecstatic and start jumping up and down! Year 10 sold a respectable 245 numbers, could we exceed 250 this year? Please give your support when Graham calls; according to our latest PCC accounts it cost over £18,000 last year to keep our magnificent 1000-year-old Grade 1 Saxon Minster church here in Great Paxton open. Graham can be reached on 01480 212637. Annette adds: Without the fantastic support of village people, and some friends beyond the village, our village church would certainly be struggling. But with some very generous giving, it looks as though our financial situation may not be as bad as we thought earlier in the year. We are still chasing the £12,755 we have to find by mid-December to pay our portion of the costs of having a vicar in our benefice but are much nearer than we were in the last edition of Paxton Post. As we get nearer our target of paying all our costs in 2020, and additional donations would be much appreciated. If you can help with a one-off donation or a regular standing order, please do contact Jacqueline our treasurer: jnmunro@btinternet.com or myself: canonannettereed@gmail.com 6
Seen the Great Paxton timeline in the churchyard? Created by Paul Ward, it is a beautiful piece of crafted creativity, using old chancel roof tiles. Take a stroll up there is you haven’t already done so! You can read more about it further on in this magazine.
HOT OFF THE PRESS!! The Jack Patston Charity has awarded Great Paxton Church £2,000 to carry out urgent roof and masonry repairs to the north aisle and tower. We are very fortune to have this financial support and will work with our architect as to the best time of year to carry out this work due to forthcoming colder weather. A Prayer for these difficult times. Compassionate God, For all that is good in life, thank you, For the love of family and friends, thank you, For the kindness of good neighbours, thank you. May those who are vulnerable, hungry or homeless, experience support, May those who are sick, know healing, May those who are anxious or bereaved sense comfort. Bless and guide political leaders and decision-makers, with wisdom, Bless and guide health workers and key workers, with strength and well-being. Bless and guide each one of us as we adapt to new ways of living. And may the light shining from our windows across streets and fields, homes and schools, be reflected in our hearts and hands and hopes. Amen.
Holy Trinity 100 Club winners 2020 (year10) January £100 Number 122 Donny Smith £50 Number 50 Emma Humphrey £25 Number 52 Anne Oakley
July £100 Number 72 Albert Brown £50 Number 79 Fiona Smith £25 Number 64 Paul Ward
April £100 Number 226 Vicky Gois £50 Number 93 Tony Smith £25 Number 193 Robyne Milson
October £100 Number 119 Roger Widdowson £50 Number 76 Sophie Cook £25 Number 229 Carly Goodliffe
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U8/9/11/13s managing to play and follow the government and FA Covid-19 guidelines.
Training Longsands on a Tuesday evening With a level 2 FA coach Contact: Steve Gore on 07903 458036 E:steve@scanview-uk.co.uk
Desperate for some players for the U13s, were on our knees at the moment Especially a goalkeeper! School year 8 Playing 11 v 11 Saturday mornings in the Hunts youth league
I can't believe its a year since the allotments began!. All our plotters have worked so hard on the land, which I'm sure you will agree if you have walked down to the Rec and taken a look at the wonderful vegetables, fruit and fabulous Dhalias that have been produced, especially the enormous pumpkins!. Most are very keen to continue for another year and hopefully many more beyond and we look forward to welcoming new members, we do have a waiting list, if you wish to join it. Work is now begining on the garden area, next to the Rec, if you have any spare time and wish to clear a few weeds, or donate plants and shrubs, I would be most grateful. Please contact me Gaynor Christie Chairperson 0785 5493256 truetomyrootz@gmail.com For information on joining, contact Gillian, our Secretary, details are on the contacts page.
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So we are back open under all the new guidelines and legislation. I have not started to open Monday or Tuesdays yet and am still undecided. I may give it a go from November, but I am not sure it will be viable. However, we shall see. I have lots coming up including the launch of my Xmas Party menu, fireworks night (which is all sold out), Xmas light switch on, Afternoon Tea and much more. I am still offering take away service however via collection only, but just ring and book should you be interested in having food from me. We are in very strange times and I am very aware some people are frightened to come out, are shielding etc, but please if you feel its safe for you to come out, please do. I can assure you I am doing all I can to make the pub safe for you all. I update my facebook page regularly as well as the website. You can call me on 700107, 07701038433 or email me on thebellgreatpaxton@yahoo.com If your interested in the Xmas Party menu please get in touch and I will send you the menu and pre order sheet. I can tell you already I have some fully booked nights. I say it so often, we are the hub of the village, I want to continue to be that. Please support us as and where you can, we need you. Raqi
Hope you are all keeping well and safe. Unfortunately it seems like we won’t be meeting again until the new year. As soon as it is safe for us to meet up in a group we will resume are meetings on 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 11:00 – 12:30 for coffee, cake, chat and games/quiz, as long as Rachael is still OK with this arrangement. I have tried to deliver Birthday cards to everyone, sorry if I have missed out anyone. We wish you all well and hope you have a very pleasant Christmas and New Year. Hope to see you all in 2021. Angela, Sue & Marion.
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Great Paxton, 1,000 Year Time Line Another reason to visit our fabulous Saxon Holy Trinity Minster Church. To note and celebrate the 1,000th anniversary in 2020, a 1,000 year time-line from the church gate to the church door along the path. This was going to be in place for the planned Saxon weekend in June which was cancelled along with most other things this year, but I thought it would be good to do something that people could interact with without needing to gather in a group. Each post represents two years or time periods (just one for the first and last) that are relevant in the history of the village, either things that happened here or that happened elsewhere but with effects would have been felt in the village. The information labels on the posts are against church roof tiles that were replaced last year when the chancel roof was renovated, they are anywhere from 150 years to who-knows-how-old?. Please do go and take this brief walk through ( a lot of) time and spend a while with our wonderful time-capsule of a church that has been the centre of village life for 1,000 years, it is the very essence of our history. The time-line will remain in place until the end of 2020. You can even own a small part of the historical fabric of the church by purchasing one of the roof tiles along with an engraved wooden label made from salvaged wood from the pews for ÂŁ20, the whole of which contribution will go towards helping to replaster and decorate after last years renovations. See this webpage https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk/shop/church-tiles.php email me: danthewhaler@gmail.com There are also commemorative Christmas tree decorations for what will be Great Paxton's 1,000th Christmas this year, https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk/shop/ornaments.php Paul Ward - with thanks to Chris Hall, Graham James and Andrew and Jacqueline Wieczorek for their help in digging holes and placing the time-line posts. 13
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Our school is in danger No. don’t worry this is just this edition’s delve into the History Society archives. Many people may not know but in the 1980’s the village school very nearly closed. The local councils and education authority wanted it to merge with a new school about to be built in Offord. However, after a campaign which included schoolchildren delivering a petition to 10 Downing Street, not only was it saved but a new school was built here.
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IMPERIAL or METRIC Although the UK has adopted the metric system for weights and measures, there is still mix of use. Recently the 2 metre distancing we are told to keep apart has made us more aware of the metric measurement. Having said that we are often reminded that 2m is basically just over 6 feet. With younger people metres has won the measurement, but many still think in feet and inches. Or pounds and ounces and to a certain extent metric and imperial mix and match. For example road distances are in miles, fuel used in miles per gallon and heights and weights given in imperial. People are described as over 6 feet and 15 stone weight lost in pounds and stones. Weather reporters officially announce temperatures in degrees Celsius, but the press still describes a summer heatwave as in the 90’s, a Fahrenheit reading sounds more dramatic. America is the stronghold of feet and inches, gallons and pounds and ounces although their version of pounds and gallons are smaller than the imperial units.
Retaining elements of imperial measurements has much more resonance in habits of speech and tradition, its easier saying going for a pint than going for 0.568261 litres. Even in Europe the old measurements are used, when in Spain ask for water pipe fittings in millimetres told they are in half and three quarter inches in the world of precision engineering. My memory of weights and measures still think of the back page of exercise book where a list of weights and measures was printed mile was 1,760 yards. The racing fraternity talk of furlongs covered in a race. 1 Furlong = 660 feet 1 Furlong = 40 rods 1 mile = 8 furlong RICHARD WEST GREAT PAXTON WARD DISRICT COUNCILLOR Covering Abbotsley Great Gransden Great Paxton Toseland Yelling Waresley cum Tetwoth EMAIL richard.west@buckdencambs.co.uk or richard.west@huntingdonshire.gov.uk TEL 01480 811467 or 0784 1866630
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It was good to see so many residents at our last meeting in September. Most came to listen to what Planning Consultant Brown & Co had to say and to express their views on a preliminary proposal for a potential Housing Exception Scheme Site on land between 23 and 41 London Lane. The idea is that this site could deliver three affordable houses and two open market properties to fulfil the requirements of the Housing Needs Survey undertaken in the parish in 2018. The consultant made it clear that, at this early stage, he was seeking to gauge the support (if any) of the Parish Council (and the community) for the Scheme. It was made clear that were the scheme to go ahead, the affordable housing units would be offered to people with a local connection or already living in the village. Lots of interesting points were raised during discussion notably in relation to services, access, traffic and environmental concerns and these are all noted in the Minutes of the meeting published on the Parish Council’s website www.greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk Local support is growing for a project to try to reinstate the former railway/river crossing between Great and Little Paxton. Disappointingly, Little Paxton Parish Council are unable to help financially, at the moment, given ongoing commitment to projects in their own village. Not to be disheartened however, a great deal of effort is being made to secure interest in the project from other major funding sources and from the Great Ouse Valley Trust. Hopefully, progress on all fronts will be reported to the next Council meeting.
Despite regular prompts, there is no further news from the County Council as to when they expect to start work on the traffic calming measures on the High Street. In the meantime, an application has been submitted for funding in 2021/22 towards the introduction of a ‘buffer or slowing down zone’ between Paxton Hill and the High Street. The outcome of this application will be decided in early 2021. Christmas is coming ………..and the Parish Council has contributed £100 towards the purchase of new decorative lights and a Christmas tree to improve the display in the space between the Community Shop and The Bell. An official ‘switch on’ will take place on Saturday 5th December at 8pm. Hopefully, this community event will raise spirits after a difficult time for everyone. Councillors try to keep on top of maintenance issues in the village such as new potholes, overgrown shrubs and failed streetlights etc but should you spot something that needs attention please report it using the following email address clerk@greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk or by using the County Council’s Highways Reporting Tool available on their website. Lastly, and all being well, the Parish Council is due to meet again on Monday 2nd November at 8pm in the Main Hall at the Primary School. Please join us as Councillors begin to look at the budget for next year. Arrangements will be made to ensure that the meeting takes place safely.
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We were overjoyed that we were able to come back together face to face this term. We've been meeting outdoors with additional adaptions to keep everyone safe. Of course meeting outdoors is always a gamble but we have been so blessed to be able to meet every week. Thanks to the school for being so helpful and supportive of our outdoor sessions. It has been brilliant for the leaders and girls alike to have a bit of normality although we are now all chanting "2 metres!!" as we check ahead of each activity that girls remember how far apart they need to be :-) Once again, the girls have made us proud and shown us just how versatile and resilient they are. We've welcomed new girls to all three units and they are getting ready to make their promise. Many of the Guides had planned to make their promise during a trip to London in April - they had each chosen landmarks - with the trip cancelled, all were really keen to make their promise face to face and so it has been great to finally be able to that for 5 of them; all done by campfire under the stars with smores as they requested. We had a brilliant night handing out oodles of badges that girls had completed over the spring and summer terms during online and offline meetings and in their own time at home. We had everything from virtual guiding to aviation, baking to mixology, photography to grow your own... Such a great achievement for so many girls - well done!
Guides have been creating their own geocaches to plant around the village watch this space and are also working towards their 'reflect' skills builder badge and have been exploring their DNA make up. They've also been completing lots of activities towards their 'have adventures' theme award; learning to light their own campfire, creating water filters and learning about emergency survival techniques. We finished off the half term with glow sticks, sellotape and lots of hilarity creating glow in the dark people. Brownies have been getting fit with boxing skills, learning about how mobile phones work, exploring nocturnal animals with torchlit tours, smores and a campfire (they wanted to copy the Guides) and playing buddy bingo. They've also been working towards their 'Live Smart' skills builder badge. They've been discovering what it takes to be a zookeeper, pilot, police woman, hairdresser and archaeologist as well as finding out the value of different day to day objects that might fill their shopping trolley. Rainbows have had lots of fun with games to help them find out how they can keep their Rainbow promise every day alongside some 'splat' and counting down legs . They've also been working on a 'Live Smart' skills builder badge
designing shields to find out all about themselves as future leaders and testing their problem solving skills as a team. They've finished their term off with a spooktacular evening searching for glow in the dark eye balls, pumpkins and some chocolate treats!
They'll be passing these onto the committee.
All of the girls have been debating the proposal for the new bridge across the river and have come up with some suggestions of how it would best work and things that need to be taken into consideration when planning for a bridge.
If you'd like your daughter to join the Guiding adventure or would like to be involved as a volunteer, you can register at http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus
Many girls will also be joining in with our regional virtual festival 'Under the Stars' during October half term - we'll let you know more in the next edition.
Calendar & Christmas Card Printing
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1st Great Paxton Rainbows: 1st Great Paxton Brownies: 1st Great Paxton Guides: Church Bell Ringers Holy Trinity Church
1stgreatpaxtonrainbows@gmail.com 1stgreatpaxtonbrownies@gmail.com greatpaxtonguides@gmail.com Mary Parnham 01480 394727 Canon Annette Reed 01480 211048 canonannettereed@gmail.com Churchwardens Bob Hacking 01480 219846 Sarah Gray 01480 214015 Community Room Julie Edwards 01480 472132 Crafty Belles Craft Group Diane James Diane.james42@outlook.com 07522 449535 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 Great Paxton Allotments and Community Garden Gillian Smith 01480 477847 gilliansmith462@btinternet.com Ladies Group Melanie Dingemans melanie.dingemans1@gmail.com OBAS Howard Fieldhouse 07824 569111 Parish Clerk Christine Brandon clerk@greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk 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-pc.gov.uk Woodsooners Golf Society Trevor Smith 07473 213556 email: trevorsmith1009@outlook.com Walkers Group Linda Richardson 01480 213768 Any corrections please notify the editor or email jillatgp@gmail.com
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