Paxton Post - November and December 2021

Issue 27

Paxton Post

November - December 2021

THE MAGAZINE FOR GREAT PAXTON

1

This is your magazine, and it needs your contributions.

All contributions to the next issue of the magazine are gratefully received.

We cannot guarantee to include every article, and we reserve the right to carry some over to a later edition.

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

Issue

Months Covered

Deadline Date - 5pm

28

January - February

12th December 2021

29

March - April

20th February 2022

30

May - June

24th April 2022

31

July - August

19th June 2022

32

September - October

21st August 2022

33

November - December

23rd October 2022

Paxton Post is published by Easiprint Ltd in association with Great Paxton Parish Council and is funded by the Parish Council. 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.

A tight print deadline means a brief report on the activities of the Parish Council this week – ● We heard from our County & District Councillors on the outcome of Phase 1 consultation on the Ox-Cambridge Arc and the implications this might have for the St Neots area and A428 corridor. See www.greatpaxtonpc-gov.uk for a summary from a local Focus Group; ● Ting – the new Demand Responsive Transport Service for West Huntingdonshire launches on 25th October. Trips can be booked using the Ting Trips App or telephone line. Technology will join requests together to make a journey and advise how long you will have to wait. Further literature on Ting has been placed in the Community Shop; ● Also to be made available in the Shop are copies of the ‘Welcome Pack’ for new residents in the village. This is also included in this edition of the ‘Paxton Post’ for everyone to read and retain. Thank you to Graham James and those who helped to pull all the information together; ● Talking of the Shop, extra volunteers are needed? One or two hours a week would make such a difference to the rota! ● The new Adult Gym planned for Saxon Green is progressing and Councillors continue to search for a solution to the drainage problem within the play space itself ahead of the Winter; ● The solar powered traffic speed sign has been ordered and hopefully it won’t be too long before that is in place; ● No further news yet on a start date for the Paxton Hill ‘Buffer Zone’ and from the same pot, the Parish Council has applied for funding from the County Council towards improvements to the pavement from Church Lane to Manor Farm; and ● Work has started on the budget and the precept for the next financial year but for the moment, the Council has donated £50 to Magpas for all the good work they do locally.

Lastly, Parish Council representatives walked around the village this week principally to ask residents to attend to overhanging trees, shrubs, bushes etc that were impeding footpaths for pedestrians, wheel and push chairs.

Generally, the village was a picture in the Autumn sunshine, so the Parish Council wish to thank everyone for helping to maintain its attractive and well cared for appearance.

Next Meeting in the Community Room – 29th November at 8pm.

3

Vicar: Canon Annette Reed 01480 211048 canonannettereed@gmail.com

Church Treasurer: Mrs Jacqueline Jackson jnmunro@btinternet.com

Churchwardens: Mr Bob Hacking 1 Mint Lane, Great Paxton 01480 219846

For news from all of our four churches in the Paxtons benefice, please go to our website: www.thepaxtonsbenefice.org

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

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

Our benefice Facebook Page is updated most days with news from our benefice and often carries stories from Great Paxton.

You will find us @ThePaxtonsBenefice.

Please do contact Annette with any enquiries about weddings, baptisms and funerals.

Great Paxton Church is open every Sunday after the 11.00am Morning Service until dusk.

Please do visit and enjoy some quiet time in this 1,000-year-old place of prayer.

4

Services at Holy Trinity Minster Church in November and December.

Every Sunday there is a service of Morning Prayer at 11.00am From January to March there won’t be a service on the First Sunday of each month.

Special Services.

Sunday November 14 Remembrance Sunday Our service will begin at 10.30am by congregating on the Village Green and walking down Church Lane.

Our traditional Act of Remembrance will happen around the War Memorial at 11.00am.

Please see the poster attached. th

Sunday December 19 Christingle and Carols at 11.00am. th

Christmas Eve The ever-popular Carols round the Tree at 4.00pm

11.30pm The First Communion of Christmas.

Commemorating 81 years since Pilot Philip Cardell was killed during the Battle of Britain.

On 27th September a group of 20 people gathered in Great Paxton Churchyard at 2pm to remember the courage and dedication of Philip Cardell who died on 27 September 1940 after his plane was shot down in the Battle of Britain. His nephew James Cardell and family had hoped to travel from the USA to be present, but due to Covid restrictions, was unable to travel. He was represented by his friend Sam Sate-Askew from St Neots who laid a wreath during the moving ceremony. th

The service took place around the sundial which Pip had made prior to his death. It was recently refurbished in readiness for a Blue Plaque to be erected in May this year on a wall of nearby Manor Farm where Pip grew up.

David Duker from the Tally-Ho project once more spoke with great respect about how Pip lost his life and the heroic efforts of his friend pilot Dexter to save him. Scottish piper Cameron Edgar played before, during and after the ceremony and ringer Alex gave 23 strokes of a bell in honour of each of Pip’s years. A video of the service is available on You Tube by searching for Canon Annette Reed on You Tube. It is dated 2 October 2021. It has been greatly appreciated by Pip’s family abroad and in the UK. nd

Philip Cardell.

6

Rev Cane back in Great Paxton Church!

The September Great Paxton scarecrow Festival was a great success throughout the village and thanks to Paul Ward for bringing previous vicar Alfred Cane (1892-1919) into Church to meet Canon Annette. He was joined by two other scarecrows who kept him company.

Paul also exhibited the lockdown pictures he had taken in 2020 of villagers and lots of people came into church to see their portraits and to see Rev Cane and friends.

Huge congratulations to Graham Bevan and Alasdair Kennedy who cycled around 36 churches on September 11 in aid of Cambridgeshire Historic Trust and Great Paxton Church. th

Graham writes about their achievement and the amazing support they had from sponsorship.

7

Graham Bevan and the Holy Trinity 100 Club Graham will be busy in November collecting in for the Great Paxton Church 100 Club. The monthly draw is an essential source of income for Holy Trinity A big thank you to Graham for all the fund raising he has done over recent years AND the tremendous generosity of villagers and friends.

Preparing for the Great Paxton MilleniumFest July 16 – 17 2022. th

th

During this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, busy and skilled hands are making delicious preserves as they continue to raise funds for the celebration of 1,000 years of church and village history next July. They will be on sale nearer to Christmas, and with some new lines with Saxon sounding names, they are sure to be fabulous.

Paul Ward continues to craft delightful wooden objects which are engraved with Great Paxton’s name along with a variety of Saxon and other historical motifs.

Paul is making a Christmas selection of ornaments out of yew wood and below he is pictured with one of his creations.

To view more of Paul’s handiwork can be seen on the website: https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk He can make items to order as well – details on the site.

8

A Blessing for the season of Remembrance.

As we remember, teach us the ways of peace.

As we treasure memories, teach us to hope.

As we give thanks for the sacrifices of the past, Help us to care for one another and cherish the earth.

And the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit Be with us all, and all those who we love, on earth and in heaven.

Amen.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Holy Trinity's 100 Club 2021 (year 11) winners: January £100 Number 258 Jeremy Perriman £50 Number 78 Felicity Curran £25 Number 13 Angie Best

July £100 Number 87 Laura Whitehead £50 Number 99 Jo Clark £25 Number 27 Faye Haddadi

April £100 Number 217 Benita Sanders £50 Number 68 Pam Arnott £25 Number 193 Piers Dingemans

October £100 Number 258 Jeremy Perriman £50 Number 227 Andy Lake £25 Number 129 Peter Dunn

Website https://greatpaxtonhistory.weebly.com/ email greatpaxtonhs@yahoo.com Facebook Great Paxton Remembers If you join and visit our page you will see entries from people all over the world who are connected still in some ways with Great Paxton. A lot of great memories are being shared, and old friendships renewed. Old photographs particularly welcome.

Also Great Paxton 1000

https://greatpaxton1000.co.uk

Reports of groups/activities.

The Lockdown Portrait exhibition in the church was a success with many people coming to look at the pictures. If you haven’t already done so you can buy your picture for £3. Paul will be depositing a copy of all the pictures with the Great Paxton Archives so that in 100 years or so, the local historians will have an interesting resource for 2020. Wouldn’t it have been nice if we had found something for 1920?

Philip Cardell service A short service to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Philip Cardell was held in the churchyard in Great Paxton on Monday, September 27 on the anniversary of his death in the Battle of Britain during World War 2 in September 1940. th

17

Lancaster memorial The granite stone that will form the memorial has been paid for and will be delivered soon.

Remembrance Sunday We will be setting out the Remembrance Day items on Monday 8 November and taking them down Monday 15 . The service will start at 10.30 at the top of Church Green on Sunday 14 November, and be outside in the churchyard. th

th

th

Milleniumfest - 16th and 17th July 2022 Work also takes place continuously with the arrangement of the Milleniumfest. Please make certain this weekend is in your diaries as lots of help will be needed. The more people who play their part the less each has to do, and everyone will therefore be able to enjoy the event as well.

Dates of Great Paxton History Society meetings– 2nd Monday of each month. 7.30 to 9.30pm at The Bell.

NEXT EMAIL MEETING 8th November Pre-Christmas gathering in The Bell on Monday 13th December at 7.30pm. Come and have a drink and a chat, and hope that next year we can have proper regular history meetings in the pub. If anyone has an interesting item to bring for ‘show and tell’ or to identify, it will be very welcome.

Contact details Jacqueline Wieczorek – 01480 477035 jacqueline.wieczorek@gmail.com Diane James, for Great Paxton 1000 - 01480 406938 diane.james42@outlook.com Graham James, for Lancaster Memorial - 01480 406938 grahamajames1@gmail.com

Progress on the memorial is continuing and there are positive moves happening behind the scenes. The granite column should have been delivered by the time this edition is published. It has been worked on in the Cornwall quarry which was chosen as it is the closest (just 4 miles) to the quarry used for the existing war memorial in the churchyard. The plaque and eagle which will adorn the monument have also been completed.

We also have an arrangement agreed with a company to deliver and place the monument in the graveyard. There will however be a delay in the unveiling ceremony until next May as we really want a RAF flypast, which we hope will include a Lancaster, and their programme does not start again now until May. I will be able to give more details on this in early February. Plans are already being discussed about how we can make this a big event. We are agreed with the air cadets that they will attend and march down Church Lane with flags waving, marching behind members of Bedford Brass playing RAF tunes. We will also have an exhibition about the crew and the crash in the church. We will be asking our former vicar Father Peter to attend as he was involved with the former RAF Graveley airfield and association. It is thought that the unveiling could attract large numbers to the village.

We are still managing to meet at 11.00 on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday each month and Rachael supplies Tea/Coffee and cake.

All new members are welcome, please just come along, We chat, have quizzes, play card and domino games and make new friends.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting.

Keep safe & well Angie, Marion & Sue

19

A busy first half of the autumn term...

We had a great time creating our Rainbow, Brownie and Guide scarecrows, for the village scarecrow festival at our first meeting back. It was harder than we thought to stuff straw to make our people. A huge THANK YOU to to Jamie, Ella, Nathan, Luke and Ian for organising the BBQ and splitting the profits between ourselves and the preschool. It's given our fundraising efforts for camping equipment and storage a real boost.

The Rainbows have been out and about in the community this term; They've been busy planting bulbs ready for spring and making signs at the village community garden - thanks to Gaynor and the village allotment group for arranging this - and have taken a a walk around Riverside park in St Neots to do some litter picking.

Brownies and Guides had a fab archery session thanks to the St Neots Bowmen. At an indoor range some of the girls honed their skills whilst others tried it out for the first time. Huge thanks to all of the instructors who delivered a really fun evening.

It's not only been the girls who we've been working towards badges this term. Two of our Brownies also presented Little Owl with her Leadership Qualification badge and certificate - congratulations!!!!

There's also been designing and creating mini golf courses, paper challenges (how many different things can you make from a sheet of paper?), choreographing dance routines, creating street art, chill out and check in exercises helping to relax and unwind, halloween inspired treasure hunts, crafts and pepper carving, learning spanish language and culture (fake tomato fights and racing the bulls), designing festivals and book lover badges. Phew!

We're now on a break for half term but looking forward to a whole host of trips, activities and challenges taking us to Christmas.

20

Volunteering opportunities....

We're currently recruiting new adult volunteers to help provide girls with fun, friendship and adventure at Great Paxton Rainbows, Brownies and Guides.

As some of our volunteer team have moved away, taken time out and with one about to have a year overseas (we're very excited for her) we're in need of more adults to help us deliver our weekly meetings. There are lots of different ways you can make a difference and get involved - no experience needed.

Drop us a line if you're interested via girlguidinggreatpaxton@gmail.com we're happy to explore different options and answer any questions you might have!

21

22

23

No, that is not a mistake to have pubs in the plural as once there were two pubs in the village. The Bell is obviously one but there was also the Black Bull just down the hill on the High Street.

The Bell is thought to have been the first pub albeit originally situated nearer to the road. It came into being as a maltsters where people could obtain malt for brewing their own beer, which was common in the 17 century, as well as yeast which used in the making of bread. It is believed that early in the 18 century it became a beer house but still more of an off-license meaning you did not drink on the premises. It is not known when it became the pub as we know it now but there is a record in 1810 of there being a tenant landlord named John Hook.

Originally it was a timber, lathe and plaster building with a thatched roof. It was first referred in the archives at the time of the infamous Annie Izzard. It was incorrectly believed that she had bewitched the then landlady Mrs Papworth. The existing building was constructed in the 1860’s. The owner at that time was a Mr Joseph Rix who was a banker in St Neots. It was later sold to Jenkins and Jones a brewing firm from Huntingdon who delivered the beer by horse and cart.

The Black Bull, now 30 High Street, was in an older building but was originally a dwelling house. It was the premises of a wheelwright, not surprisingly, this was someone who made wooden wheels for all the carts of various types that were around at the time. Presumably that is why there is a wheel outside the house to this day. He also owned the next door premises which he used as the village blacksmiths. The longest known tenants were the Hunt family who were there for some 40 years.

The landlord in World War 1 was Mr Peacock whose daughter was married to Charles Bowles who was killed in action in 1917 and is one of the names on the war memorial.

It was at its busiest each year on Trinity Sunday. This celebration was particularly important and relevant in Great Paxton due to the church being dedicated to the Holy Trinity. For this event, every June, many stalls were erected in the fields opposite the Black Bull, where the houses in Brookside now stand. There were coconut shies, a merry-go-round turned by hand, a clairvoyant, skittles and a dubious sounding “mystery tent”. It became an annual form of pilgrimage for people from the village who had left for work in other areas, often London, to return for the day. Rowena Bryan writing in the 1920s said that these returnees had often found much better paid jobs than anything possible locally th

th

and would come dressed in their fineries such as the men in suits and hats. She expressed disbelief that the women even came wearing lipstick. For this special occasion the front room of the pub would be opened. The drinks there were slightly more expensive to reflect the relative luxury of there being a leather sofa and easy chairs. This compares to the ‘taproom’ at the back with sawdust on the brick floor, a big, noisy skittle table and a spittoon by the fireplace. Also there, Rowena’s brother would lead the dancing whilst playing his melodian.

There was also once a pub at the top of Paxton Hill. This was a rowdy place as often witnessed by Mr Towgood who was living at nearby Paxton Hill House in the late 19 century. He was the owner of the paper mill at Little Paxton and would see some of his employees coming out of the pub the worse for wear. This disgusted him so much he bought the pub so that he could close it down and even demolished it in the process.

Of all the pubs it was The Bell that was frequented by the more sedate and older men who were looking for a quiet pint in their own pewter mug found hanging over the bar, but woe betide anyone who went to use someone else’s mug.

The Black Bull however attracted a younger, more raucous clientele who, it is said, enjoyed a good argument and long and noisy farewells outside long after closing time. I think I know which pub Rachael would have been running. th

Information and opinions here are mainly taken from the reminiscences of the village historian Bert Goodwin and Rowena Bryan’s memoires written in the 1920s.

26

The Autumn Meeting of the Great Paxton Woodsooners Golf Society was held at Ramsey Golf Club on Friday 24 September. The course was in good order, the sun was shining and we all had a great day.

We had 20 players, some from Great Paxton, some from other local areas and some from much further afield; it was great to see new members as well as ‘old hands’, all are welcome. 20 is a good number for our events so it would be great if we could maintain somewhere around this many players for future events.

Dinner, Presentations and much banter were had at The Bell in Great Paxton where we were hosted very well by Rachel and her team. th

Prizes were awarded as follows: Nearest the Pin Scott Boswell Longest Drive Clive Gardiner High Handicap Runner-up (31 points) Trevor Smith High Handicap WINNER (32 points) Nick Helme Pairs Runners-up (28 points) Dave King & Dave Morgan Pairs WINNERS (28 points, on countback) Clive Gardiner & Nick Helme Singles Runner-up (39 points) Richard Tresadern Singles WINNER (39 points, on countback) Andy Hill Wooden Spoon Winner (15 points) Steve Bullock

This was the first meeting organised by myself and Scott so thank you and well done to all our winners and runners-up and indeed to everyone who took part for making this a great day out.

Our Society is extremely friendly so if you would like to attend future meetings, or if you know of anyone that may be interested, just let me know on either of the contacts below or you can contact Scott on: 07900 216300 or scott@tikitour.net – you will be made most welcome.

We meet twice a year (Spring and Autumn) and play 9 holes Pairs in the morning and 18 holes Singles in the afternoon with Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner all included in the price.

Note for your Diaries – the Spring Woodsooners Meeting will take place on Friday 6 May 2022. We will let you know details (including the Venue) nearer the time. th

Trevor Smith 07473 213556 trevorsmith1009@outlook.com

27