Haslemere Paris - Link Magazine June/July 2020

Haslemere LINK THE PARISH MAGAZINE OF ST BARTHOLOMEW’S AND ST CHRISTOPHER’S

Do not be anxious...Consider the lilies of the field Matthew Ch 6, vs 25… 28

June/July 2020 Suggested donation for a printed copy: £2 1

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Parish Contacts Rector Rev Chris Bessant 658107 rector@haslemereparish.org Deacon Curate Rev Justin Manley-Cooper revjustin@haslemereparish.org

Assistant Youth Minister Chloe Adam 07597 565571 Children & Families Worker Victoria Martin families@haslemereparish.org First Steps Mondays in St Christopher’s 0-5 Year Olds Liz Hawkins 642445 LLM (Reader) Peter Sellars

Parish Office The Link, Derby Road Haslemere GU27 1BS Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 9am-3pm office@haslemereparish.org www.haslemereparish.org 01428 644578 Parish Administrator Bryony Atkinson Verger St Bartholomew’s Carol Skeates 642662 Link Bookings Carol Skeates 642662 skeatMalco@aol.com

Midsummer4peter@gmail.com

Church Warden Robert Fox 652055 Geoff Martin 641907 Deputy Wardens Howard Body 658762 Nick Beare 609630 PCC Secretary Cathy Moore 07593 814438 Treasurer Andrew Culshaw 658962 Stewardship Secretary Geoff Martin 641907 Outward Giving Dorothea Nattrass 653216 Director of Music & Organist Clive Osgood 07747 785 940 cliveosgood@hotmail.com Choir Director Sarah Young sarah.thomas6092@gmail.com

Magazine Secretary Ann Lear 651570 office@haslemereparish.org Advertisements Manager: Geoff Martin 641907 Electoral Roll Officer Lynn Lemar 651435 Bell-ringers Paul Bagshaw 656129 Friends of the Parish Bernard Coe 651146 Flowers St Bartholomew’s Sarah Mulliner 643504 St Christopher’s Liz Hawkins 642445 Church Care Group Roscelin Rees 651561 Churchyards Philip Hunt 644120 3

Pastoral Visitors Dorothea Nattrass 653216 Peter Sellars Midsummer4peter@gmail.com

Pastoral Assistant Ruth Pattenden 653033 Ros Webb 648916 Bereavement Visitors Linda Donaldson 644473 Frances Gaiter 648843 Sarah Mulliner 643504 Safeguarding Officer Cathy Moore 07593 814438 Mothers' Union Treasurer Sue Davis 661115 BRF Representative Sarah Mulliner 643504 Facilities for the disabled Both churches and The Link at St Bartholomew’s have ramped access and space for wheelchairs. Toilets suitable for use by the disabled are available in The Link and at St Christopher’s.

Facilities for the hard of hearing Both churches and The Link have sound amplification and hearing loops.

Facilities for the visually impaired Both churches have good interior lighting and large print weekly notice sheets and service sheets.

Dear Friends I suppose I had a fairly conventional upbringing. Suburban London was the setting – New Malden in fact – a town typical of the 20th century developed fringe about 10 miles out from the centre of the big city. As far as I was concerned, didn’t everyone have an early life like mine?

Sophie and I like watching those documentaries about farming life where the children grow up delivering baby lambs and zooming around the fields on quadbikes. How different life can be, depending on where you grow up!

My mother and father both worked locally, and all of my grandparents were no more than 30 minutes’ drive away. I was nurtured with a very keen sense of family. Leisure time was usually visiting local friends or riding bikes around the town (I had a Raleigh Chopper, remember those?) Playing outside all day was the norm.

Both of my first two schools (in the days when we used to call them infant and junior school) were very well connected into the parish church – Christ Church, New Malden – a very active parish setup. The Vicar went into the schools every week, much as I do now here in Haslemere. Every day started and ended with prayer, and most school assemblies included hymn singing and the Lord’s Prayer.

Somehow all of this normality gave me a good start to life. I learnt at school to treat other people well, learnt to keep the Ten Commandments, and if I was caught using bad language or being disrespectful I was made aware in no uncertain terms that this was unacceptable. I spent most of my childhood in some form of cubs, scouts, cadets or other children’s groups and there I enjoyed working with others in a team and holding some responsibility.

Why do I tell you all this? Having breached my fiftieth year I find I’m now spouting ‘things aren’t what they used to be!’ Having been a father of three 4

and taken a very keen interest in their lives and upbringing, I’ve come to see that much of what makes for a good society lies in the skill of parenthood.

We don’t all have children, but we do all have parents, and most of us can reminisce, as I have done, and remember where it all went right.

I believe children and families work in the church to be absolutely vital to our mission of goodness and love to people of the parish. I see much the same attitude in the local schools, the staff for whom I have the utmost respect. My common message to families is to ‘take control of your children’s upbringing and don’t leave it to chance’.

I was so pleased in February when Victoria Martin began her role as our Children and Families Worker, to build upon the achievements of the past.

There is much thinking to be done about how we can develop the future of our children’s work to provide for the various age-ranges. That thinking is happening now. Victoria’s work is so much more than merely running activities – it’s developing and planning for growth. Exciting times.

I heard this week that the Guildford Diocese wishes to dedicate 2021 as a year of focus upon children. That will be no bad thing. I’m sure we can both contribute and make good use of all which it provides. Please do pray for our family’s ministries and give Victoria your full support and encouragement. We can’t be a healthy church without it.

As I sit and write on 11th May I just heard Boris’s speech yesterday evening.

Soon I hope to get something more specific from the national church and the Guildford Diocese to help us plan for the various phases of return. Everyone has been so patient and grateful for what ministry we have been able to provide. What with a bit of sunshine, I have to say I’m feeling pretty chipper about things. Join me in a positive look forward!

I was very pleased when Ann, our dedicated magazine editor, gave an instruction to all our article providers that their submissions for this edition should be positive messages to get us all smiling. I hope I can start that well as you turn the pages.

God bless you all.

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‘Deck the Walls with Wreaths at Easter!’

Photos by Richard & Frances Reincke and Sarah Mulliner

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Not allowed inside our Churches at Easter, our flower arranging teams made their mark on the outside of St Bart’s and St Christopher’s. The idea was Sarah Mulliner’s, and the others involved were: Louise Barstow, Liz Hawkins, Lucy Manley Cooper, Cathy Moore, Wendy Neate, Margaret Ovington, Frances Reincke, Sara Smith and Susan Stathers, with azaleas from Ann Rogers’ garden.

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The Flemish Glass in St Bartholomew’s The PCC has applied for a Faculty to display our eight panels of Flemish Glass at the West end of the church in the Children’s/Prayer Chapel. The panels date from the 17th Century, and depict the four gospel writers; the Nativity and the Conversion of Saul; the Garden of Eden and Noah’s Ark. Scripture panels of this kind were not made for an ecclesiastical purpose but for use in the home and became popular in the Low Countries and Germany from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Our panels were acquired by Mr Thomas Sanderson of Kent for his own home in the mid-18th century. Mr Sanderson married Mary Shudd of The Lodge, Haslemere (now the Haslemere Museum), bringing his glass panels with him on his marriage. The glass was inherited by his daughter Mary Ann and given to St Bartholomew’s on or shortly after her marriage in 1797 to the Rev Robert Price.

Two of the panels (The Garden of Eden and Noah’s Ark) have perspective ‘frames’. Originally all the panels had perspective frames except those of the four evangelists whose frames were oval. They were arranged to form the East window of the church. The glass was first recorded in The Gentleman’s Magazine in 1801 and by Manning and Bray in 1804. The glass was also recorded in water-colour by the artist E. Hassell.

In 1870 following the rebuilding of the church, The Garden of Eden and Noah’s Ark panels were positioned in the Bell Tower and the remaining panels (without their frames) in the West window. The frames were replaced with red glass borders.

In these windows the glass was too exposed to the elements causing cracking and discolouration. The Friends of the Parish pushed for their conservation and undertook to pay for the work. They were taken down for restoration five years ago, but it has taken until now for the PCC to decide how best to proceed.

Here are images of the panels as they were in the West windows. On the right, the window in the North Aisle; below, the window in the Bell 8

Tower. Note that the panels are all roughly the same size (11” x 8.5”) but the two that were in the Bell Tower look bigger because of their ‘frames’.

The PCC is reluctant to put the restored panels back in the West windows as these windows are high (the window glass starts 2.4m above floor level) and the detail of the panels will thus not be visible. It would be a lost opportunity not to display them where they could be seen and appreciated. For example, the writing on the ‘Conversion of Saul’ is written backwards (so that God can read it).

A number of ideas were suggested for displaying the panels until Andrew Culshaw had the bright idea of involving exMayor Sahran (who runs a design business). Sahran came up with placing the panels in an oak frame so that they lined up with the West windows and would look part of a pattern.

This is the design submitted to the DAC. The Flemish Glass will be restored and protected within two panes of toughened glass. The doors will be hinged for maintenance and access. The illumination will be from LED light panels on the wall behind.

A possible complication is the existing pew against the North wall. Our first idea was that it should be removed, but on investigation we discovered it had been given in memory of a Mrs Anne Bridger by her daughter, Mrs Masters, who married the then curate. The Bridgers are the family that founded the Town Band (at one time called Bridger’s Band) and there is a memorial to Turner Bridger above the pew.

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Moreover, the space was designated a ‘Children’s Chapel’ which is why the seat on the pew is so low. In view of its history we decided to keep the pew.

We are now at the position where the Diocesan Advisory Committee (the Church’s planning authority) have recommended that a Faculty (Ecclesiastical Listed Building Consent) is applied for. The next step is to publish our proposals (as above and on the website) and for any objectors to make representations to the Diocesan Chancellor. We hope that this well designed and fully funded proposal meets with overwhelming approval.

Hamish Donaldson

It’s Good To Talk ‘It’s Good to Talk’ said Bob Hoskins in the iconic BT advert of 1994. This appears a timeless sentiment and never more apt than now…

As I write this we are 50 days into the lockdown. Many are missing family, friends, sharing a meal, a cup of coffee, a hug, perhaps even missing shopping. For some there are major financial fears, concerns for loved ones, perhaps feelings of increased anxiety and sadness.

For many years the Pastoral Team has visited those in the congregation who are sick or housebound. With lockdown our remit of face to face contact with individuals in their homes and with those in care homes changed dramatically.

The team began ‘phone chats’- after all it is good to talk! The remit was extended and whether people were and are shielding, self-isolating, living alone, or poorly, they were asked if they would like to be part of ’phone chats’.

The team then divided into smaller units and are doing much phoning, staying in touch, keeping people informed about what is happening in the Church at Home and most importantly listening and encouraging one another. The idea of phone chats has escalated and there is now a growing informal network of phone calls through the congregation.

For people in care homes the phoning has been more tricky and letter writing has been more successful. Getting out the Basildon Bond, the old fountain pen, finding the ink and writing letters has been lovely - very ‘old world’ in this email age and rather beautiful to do and is very appreciated.

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Many are enjoying the streamed services and many use the parish website for Watch and Pray. For those not using the internet, information packs were sent out just before Easter with a letter from the Rector, a palm cross, a tea light, weekly sheet, prayers, and info on church services available on radio and TV. This has continued with Bryony (so very many thanks) sending those without easy internet access a weekly news sheet, prayers and new info, e.g. the new initiative ‘Daily Hope’- Archbishop Justin Welby offering a free dial-up service to listen to hymns and prayers over the phone.

All is working well and we are getting to know each other in new ways as we support one another. I am so thankful to those I have spoken with - we have shared frustrations, fears, amazing stories, and much laughter - the latter a little surprising perhaps. Thank you so much. ‘’Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.’’ 1 Thess. 5 v11.

If anyone would like any information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to email or phone the Parish Office and one of us will get back to you. After all ‘It’s Good to Talk’.

Ros Webb

Bob Hoskins

What Love is All About 'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' (Elaine-age 5 ) 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' (Mary Ann - age 4)

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' (Terri - age 4) 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' (Lauren - age 4 ) 11

Just a Thought…

Evelyn Hughes For nearly 30 years I kept a nightly journal. As well as reviewing the day, I would share my innermost thoughts with God. I would recommend the practice to anyone; but the time came, for me, when a change was needed.

From then on, I would list only thanksgivings. This never quite came off - until the coronavirus pandemic.

Apart from giving God his due, offering praise can have a therapeutic effect and the thought of an indefinite period of non-socialising was daunting.

Besides, I had so much to be thankful for. I’d found a deeper sense of peace due, perhaps, to spending more time in prayer. My ‘permitted’ daily walk (around the Town Meadow) brought a fresh appreciation of nature - of trees, blossom and birdsong.

Perhaps above all there has been gratitude for many acts of kindness: the phone calls from the parish pastoral team; the goody-bag sent each week from the parish office, with news and words for worship; the willingness of Community volunteers to do the shopping. Along with the virus has come an outbreak of kindness. Everywhere, there’s a genuine concern for each other’s welfare. Wouldn't it be wonderful if that could continue?

Kindness is one of God’s characteristics. The word is often associated with love.

The Psalms are full of praise for God’s loving kindness. Christ's followers are meant to display this attribute. ‘Love is kind’, wrote St Paul, and ‘be kind to one another, tender-hearted.’

Many ‘How beautiful years ago a friend gave me a small plaque. It has a blue background a day can be with white tulips in the foreground, when kindness and bears the words: ‘How beautiful touches it’ a day can be when kindness touches George Elliston it’. I keep it on my bathroom shelf , so I see it every day. As a recipient of kindness I say ‘Amen to that’ - and pray that I, too, may always be ready to make someone’s day.

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Celebrating Anne Hunter When we heard that Anne Hunter's 95th birthday was to be on 5th May, it was arranged that flowers were sent to her from the parish. Anne is renowned for not liking a fuss about herself and, thanks to Coronavirus, this was almost assured. However, on the day, five of us representing the parish and three neighbours, assembled in Anne's spacious parking area, rang the doorbell, stood back and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ when she opened the door. To see her lovely smile, with which we are so familiar, was a joy. We then handed over the 18 cards which had been dropped in at the parish office, and continued our walks… The neighbours presented the lunch they had made for her.

Congratulations - and our love to a very special person!

Dorothea Nattrass

Frankie later reported that Anne sounded ‘overwhelmed and happy’ when she phoned to ask to have the following included in the Link Magazine: 'To all the members of the parish A very big thank you for all your loving kindness: for all your cards and flowers on my birthday, which made it so memorable for me.'

Anne Photos by Clive Hawkins 13

St Bartholomew’s C of E Primary School School Life in Lockdown Since our last article, which was written by The Pupil Parliament, we have found ourselves in the unprecedented situation of Lockdown and had to set up a virtual school for our pupils whilst remaining open for the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable.

We have used Office 365 to create a shared online space where the teachers have been uploading activities for the children to work on at home each day.

We have also set up a school YouTube account which has allowed us to make videos for the children ranging from weekly assemblies to lessons and teachers reading stories.

The teachers have been making a weekly phone call to each child in their class to check up on how they are doing and provide them with reassurance and support. This has been well received by the children and their families.

Staff have been working together in new ways, making use of online video conferencing to ensure that they can continue to engage in weekly planning meetings and continuous professional development.

Year 2 has made a link with Redcot Care home and the children have written to the residents to help them feel connected at this time. We hope they will write back to the children so that a meaningful and lasting bond might be created. Once Lockdown is over, perhaps we can then visit the residents for afternoon tea!

We also continue to support the Bright Futures Primary School in Uganda and are in the process of making a book of messages from everyone in the school which we will send to them in the coming weeks.

At times like this, one realises the power of human love and kindness and so, in amongst the sadness of the situation, there is an important and lifelong lesson for each of us.

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Bright Futures School, Uganda.

Construction of new buildings supported by donations from St Bart’s School.

Charles Beckerson Head Teacher

Driving Lessons A young teenage boy had just received his driving licence and inquired of his father, a vicar, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him into his study and said to the lad, ‘I'll make a deal with you, son. You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible more, get your hair cut, and we'll talk about the car.’

Well, the son thought about it for a moment and decided he would settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.

After about 6 weeks, the boy came back and again asked his father about using the car. Again, they went to the study, where his father said, ‘Son, I'm real proud of you. You brought your grades up, and I've observed that you've been studying your Bible more, and participating a lot more in the Bible study class on Sundays. But, I'm really disappointed, since you haven't had your hair cut.’

The young man paused a moment, and then said, ‘You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair, and there's even a strong argument that Jesus had long hair.’

His father replied, ‘You're right son. Did you also notice that they all walked everywhere they went?’

From ‘Grove Books’ / Grove Jokes and Quotes’ 15

In My Garden Philip Duly I started growing aquilegias in my garden only about a decade ago. These charming, old-fashioned cottage garden plants with bonnet-shaped flowers are my star plant this month as they add so much gaiety and colour to post-Spring bulb borders throughout May. Aquilegias prefer fertile, moist but well-drained soil in sun or partial shade but, in my experience, will grow almost anywhere and are one of the easiest and hardiest plants to grow. Moreover, they grow stronger, larger and with more abundant flowers every year. They can be lifted and divided easily and will sometimes self-seed in situ. In fact, they have so many redeeming features - they are delicate, often two-tone and have sturdy long graceful spurs. They have unusual and attractive foliage and come in a very wide range of colours, from white to pale pink and from dark purple to red. They look wonderful naturalised amongst shrubs and perennials and tolerate small spaces, even in shade. They have that magical quality of interbreeding freely and new seedlings rarely resemble the parent plants.

Most of my collection originated from a charity plant sale when I visited the late Rosemary Verey's garden at Barnsley House in Gloucestershire that opened under the National Garden Scheme in April 2009. I was the last visitor to leave the garden and the organisers suggested that I make a small donation for all their unsold plants, some of which were dried out and looking very tired.

Instead I insisted on paying their full but modest price and readily accepted the challenge of giving them a new home. They have thrived ever since and have become one of my favourite, late Spring plants.

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Reaching Out We have all been touched by the response to Captain Tom's fundraising, showing that people are inherently generous when there is a need.

I would like to share a bit of news from some Christian charities of the needs they are trying to meet in countries where there are scarcely any ventilators, PPE etc Our PCC have recently distributed funds to Tear Fund and Christian Solidarity Worldwide, made possible by your giving through the year. Others we have supported as a church in the past. Is there more we can do?

(Italics are the words of the charities):

Christian Aid (remembering they have lost out on much of the Christian Aid week income)

The poorest and most vulnerable people in our world need your help. It’s affecting families living in over-crowded refugee camps, people with underlying health conditions like HIV, and many who have no clean water to wash their hands. This is devastating.

With your support we can limit the impact of the coronavirus with life-saving soap and water. You’ll also help us build isolation spaces for people who have contracted the virus. And you’ll help us provide urgent training to medical staff on the ground.

We are working with faith leaders to reach the most vulnerable communities with urgent health messages to keep people safe. www.christianaid.org.uk

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CSW Christian Solidarity Worldwide When crisis hits, it’s the marginalised in society who are at greatest risk.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on many of the individuals, groups and communities for whom we work. But, thanks to your gifts and prayers we’ve continued to speak up for vulnerable religious communities that regularly experience violations, and who are at risk of being targeted further.

We’re doing everything we can to ensure this crisis isn’t exploited by governments to consolidate power, or to target individuals or communities.

And we couldn’t do it without you – thank you for your partnership. www.csw.org.uk

Tearfund Caring for the most vulnerable In these uncertain times, I can assure you that Tearfund's work will continue through our amazing network of courageous, caring Christian partners and churches around the world.

I am daring to dream that this could be the opportunity in our generation for the church to be known globally for its brave and compassionate response, putting the needs of others before our own, just as Jesus did. We know this is possible.

We see acts of heroic love every day in the countries where we work.

Just the other day, I was in touch with a colleague who has been visiting our projects in Ethiopia. They told me, ‘We are seeing that the poor and most vulnerable people have new-found hope as the church has reached out to their neighbours. The amazing transformation that is taking place in communities because churches are being a catalyst for change astounds me!’ www.tearfund.org.uk

Barnabas Fund There has seldom been more than one topic on our news for weeks, so it was only when Barnabas fund alerted me that I knew there have been devastating floods in East Africa: Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda etc. This follows the locust infestations which have destroyed their crops.

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Triple tragedy These two tragedies come on top of the coronavirus, making three simultaneous disasters in East Africa. What’s more, one tragedy impacts another. The huge numbers of displaced people are complicating the Kenyan government’s efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At the same time, borders closed in the fight against coronavirus are delaying the delivery of pesticides to locust-affected areas in the region.

Barnabas have local partners who can step in with emergency food and shelter. www.barnabasfund.org And by the way, we do give to local charities too! time.

More about them next Dorothea Nattrass

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Charitable Giving 2020 - based on 4% of voluntary income in 2019 £

Local Charities The Blind Club The Stroke Club Haslemere Food Bank Three Counties Money Advice Hunter Centre 'A Place to Be' Youth Group

Crossways Counselling

Sociability, entertainment, outings and information Physio, entertainment, outings, companionship Emergency food supplies for those unable to afford basic groceries Assisting people in being set free from debt Support for those living with dementia A safe place for pre-school to young adults to study, socialise, play sport, attend courses, and do activities.

Based at the Youth Hub. Professional counselling service for free to those without funds to pay

Hope for Justice Church Urban Fund

Supported housing for the homeless in Guildford End human trafficking and modern slavery Unmet needs in deprived areas of England

Tear Fund United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG)

Church Mission Society (CMS) Christian Solidarity Worldwide

250 400 450 200

800

250 350 350 950 £

International Kings World Trust

350

2,800 £

National Vaughan House (Church Housing Trust)

350

Providing support to homeless children in South India Worldwide poverty support and disaster relief International Christian missionary activity Supporting those called to be missionaries at home and abroad Working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights in pursuit of justice

500 500 500

500 500

2,500 20

The PCC has made the above payments, recognising the severe challenges many charities are facing at the current time, particularly in respect of their ability to raise income through fund raising events This year we have made modest increases in our donations to small local charities, these being balanced by reductions to the larger ones.

It had been our intention to encourage more fund-raising activities for Mission activities in 2020. Ideas for suitably socially-distanced activities will be most welcome!

Andrew Culshaw

The End of Cash?

It is not so long ago that we could boast that Haslemere had 5 bank branches and 8 cash machines. Today we have 1 branch and 4 cash machines! With the fear of viral transmission on banknotes and coins the use of cash has fallen dramatically over recent weeks, putting further pressure on the viability of the remaining branches and cash points.

Even Miles the Ironmonger has removed their £5 card transaction limit – that really is a sign of the times!

Just as Covid-19 has accelerated change in other areas, so too we have responded here in the church as we should also be avoiding the handling of cash wherever possible.

In response to these changes we have introduced two new, simple and safe ways of making cash-free donations to support our work and mission.

One-off Donations: these can now be made by Card from the Donate page of the website. It is simplicity itself.

Regular Giving: the majority of our regular giving is already handled through the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). This excellent scheme reduces parish administration and offers the option for donors to link their giving to inflation (RPI). PGS have made the scheme even easier with the introduction of a telephone service.

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If you are currently using the Envelope Scheme you may wish to move to PGS (something we would encourage at this time).

You can set up your regular gift by calling 0333 002 1271. You will need the following information to hand • • •

• •

Your bank account details Our details – Parish of Haslemere, ref 1706 17069 Whether you wish to increase your giving in line with annual inflation (encouraged) Confirm your eligibility for Gift Aid Your giving is confidential to the Gift Aid Secretary, Geoff Martin, in Haslemere. We ask that you do not choose the anonymous option as he will have no record of your giving to us.

If you have any questions regarding the giving to the Parish please contact Geoff Martin (641907) or Andrew Culshaw (658962) Andrew Culshaw Treasurer

Saying it Without Words Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'

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Thoughts about the ‘Pandemic’

Like many, I have found self-isolation difficult to cope with in recent weeks.

However, here are some positive views of the present ‘lockdown’ situation which I would like to share. Who knows, there might be the opportunity to discuss the issue when we next meet?

1) A poem by Lynn Ungar Lynn lives in the San Francisco Bay area and serves as the minister for Lifespan Learning for the Church of the Larger Fellowship, an online Unitarian church.

Her poem ‘Coronavirus’ seems to give three positive aspects of the Pandemic to our spiritual lives: •

•

•

AS A GIFT, allowing time in a busy world to consider our relationship with God and our neighbours.

AS A CHALLENGE, obliging many of us to organise our daily routine of prayer and contemplation during solitude, allowing fresh creativity.

AS A SABBATH, a dedicated time to go on a sort of retreat at home, allowing the opportunity to ‘touch base with God’.

What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbaththe most sacred of times?

Cease from travel.

Cease from buying and selling.

Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is.

Sing. Pray. Touch only those 23

to whom you commit your life.

Center down.

And when your body has become still, reach out with your heart.

Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.

(You could hardly deny it now.)

Know that our lives are in one another’s hands.

(Surely, that has come clear.)

Do not reach out your hands.

Reach out your heart.

Reach out your words.

Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move, invisibly, where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love-for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we all shall live.

2) An Anglican View from Bishop Graham Tomlin (from Church Times 01/05/20)

In the Old Testament, plagues were perceived as the judgement of God against the sins of humanity. Defoe, writing about London’s ‘great plague’ of 1665, describes how ‘The government encouraged their devotion, and appointed 24

public prayers and days of fasting and humiliation, to make public confession of sin and implore the mercy of God to avert the dreadful judgement which hung over their heads.’

Today, we are uncomfortable with plagues as divine judgement - that God has sent Coronavirus deliberately on us - and with good reason. Not that everything that happens is part of the original divine will for the world, but that, through everything that happens, God’s sovereign will wins out in the end. As a result, even sickness, disaster, and death can become, in the providence of God, a means of achieving his purposes.

What of biblical judgement and confession of sins? Can this mean anything for us today? The Greek word commonly translated by our word ‘judgement’ is krisis. It could be translated ‘crisis’, ‘verdict’, or even ‘decision’. A crisis is a significant moment, a providential heightening of tension, the drawing together of many strands of life and existence to create a sense of emergency - bringing things to a head, as it were. A crisis, a judgement, is an opportunity for decision, for decisive action.

Much of modern life is built around the notion that we can manage our future and control nature with technology, science or politics, like a modern King Canute. Faced with a battle between nature and humanity, mankind is clearly not in control, and we must look to God to find meaning.

Judgement, in Christian understanding, is when the deformed shape of the world, as we have fashioned it, is revealed in all its brutal reality when the final truth about us is displayed. Pestilence, therefore, may have more to tell us about ourselves than it does about God.

Peter’s Note: Locally, wildlife has been much more active recently, and there is less atmospheric pollution especially on main roads. Another, very positive, aspect is a greater awareness of those in our local community most in need of help. Let us pray that our churches remain active in supporting the needy in our localities long after COVID-19 is a distant memory.

3) A final word from Archbishop Justin Welby’s Easter Sermon ‘Once this epidemic is conquered we cannot be content to go back to what was before, as if all was normal… there needs to be a resurrection of our common life, a new normal, something that links to the old but is different and more beautiful.’

Peter Sellars 25

A Victorian Lady’s Album My great grandmother kept an album in which her friends and family made entries. For this issue I have chosen to share some photos of pages from the album and as the beautiful flowing script used is now very faint and quite difficult to decipher I have typed out the amusing entry entitled ‘The Failing Point’. Even I cannot make out Dorothy’s surname signed at the base of the page. One of the pictures is a musical riddle, it is beyond me to decipher it, if anyone can do so please do let the parish office know and we will publish the solution in the next issue.

Contributed by Jane Slevin

The Failing Point She was up in French and German, And in Latin and in Greek.

Whilst Spanish and Italian she Had also learned to speak.

She was good at mathematics And could sing and play and draw In fact she was the most accomplished Girl I ever saw; She’d studied nearly everything It did not matter what, But she cooked her husband’s dinner once And killed him on the spot An entry in Nellie Beattie’s album, made by Dorothy

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At the top of this page, you can see a faint border design. This has transferred across from the opposite page due to the age of the album.

The drawing is hand done with no signature as to who made the entry.

Finally, the riddle that needs solving:

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Lentil Shepherd’s Pie Linda Donaldson

With lockdown set to continue for many, a recipe for just one or two people seemed sensible. So here is one from Prue Leith’s ‘Cooking for One or Two’.

Ingredients: 55g/2oz green lentils 1 leek 1 carrot, peeled 1 tomato, peeled 1 tbsp. sunflower oil 1 small onion, peeled and diced Dash tomato puree ½ pint vegetable stock Salt and pepper Pinch of sugar Mashed potato with spring onions 1 tbsp. grated Cheddar cheese Method: Soak the lentils for 2-3 hours. Remove the outer skin from the leek and wash thoroughly. Cut the leek and carrot into ½ in. chunks. Chop the tomato.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Gentle fry the onion until soft and lightly browned. Add the leek and carrot and continue to fry for 5 mins. Stir in the soaked lentils, tomato puree and the stock. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 40 mins. until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is reduced and syrupy.

Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Spoon the lentil mixture into an ovenproof dish. Spread the mashed potato on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Cook in the hot oven for about 20 mins. until crisp and golden brown.

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Oh! Corona

By Liz Cook

The virus is here We are all staying home The food is delivered On orders by phone

We love to keep sewing The quilts and the mats There is time to enjoy All this and thats

No trails in the sky No cars in the park You can hear the birds sing And sometimes dogs bark

The loo rolls are lasting Keep touching wood How long will this last?

Crossed fingers, for good!

The sun is still shining The garden is calling There’s lots to be done So no point in stalling

The church is now shut The Rector’s at Home But keeps us in touch So we don’t feel alone

But we’re still all in touch

By Skype and email What would we have done With only snail mail?

The service is streaming For those who’re on line The Lord is still with us Praise God- all divine

‘In Quotes’ ‘I’d much rather be proved wrong as an optimist than proved right as a pessimist’ (Pete Greig, referring to hopes for revival at the Wildfires Festival 2020) 29

Graham Rutherford’s Wartime Diaries April – May 1945 I have my father’s diaries from 1929, when he was a working class lad of 21 in County Durham, to when he died in 2003 in his simple isolated cottage on Hankley Common. I have not read all the diaries. In fact I have hardly read any of them (not only because his writing is very hard to decipher) but I have now extracted excerpts from early April 1945 to the end of May 1945, a different sort of momentous time from ours this April/May 2020, with his diary including a brief mention of the 75th anniversary of VE Day which, unlike all the other accounts I have heard, does not describe an overflowing of exuberance.

No cliff hanger at the end. I had to stop somewhere.

A little of his early background: My father, Graham Rutherford, went south to join the Metropolitan Police and scaled the social ladder with unwavering dedication and ambitious determination. He learnt to drive, he mastered ball room dancing, he took elocution lessons to lose his northern accent, he studied the manners of those he felt more likely to succeed, he learnt shorthand. He studied law by correspondence course and was called to the Bar. He was a man of unswerving and sometimes irritating moral integrity, wisdom, compassion, a strong sense of justice, limitless curiosity and a huge sense of fun.

While in the Metropolitan police he volunteered and was part of the Allied Military Government from 1943 -1945. His mother had signed the pledge of alcoholic abstention for him before he was born, and he had worked as a policeman in the East End, 'drinking orange juice with criminals, some of whom were in the police force'. It was in the desert of North Africa attached to the US 8th Army that he first tasted beer, and found he liked it. As a lieutenant colonel he became military governor of Monte Casino and Syracuse.

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3rd April 1945: My birthday! 37, but didn’t think much of it. 5.4.45: Interesting meeting at Foreign Office on de-nazification. Too much theory. Out for meal with Mack. 6.4.45: NB and WT home from Italy. I am to go by air soon. At Fladbury with Dorothy and babes. To Evesham. AS to supper. Grand weekend.

9.4.45: To London. Everyone away. Decided to go north. Very crowded and rough journey. Slept on floor part of way. Father looking older. Both tired. I was very glad I had gone. They were so glad to see me. *Tom thinks I am small pox.

He doesn’t like me. Had an exceedingly pleasant day.

13th April 1945: Back in London. Long meeting about refugees. What a waste of time. Too theoretical. D came later To Kew with D and F. Gardens at their best.

V hot. Out to tea. 16.4.45: Out to lunch. Theatre in evening. 20.4.45. To Evesham to buy distemper for kitchen with Malcolm, a grand little chap. Builder had asked £25 for 2 rooms! 23.4.45: Phoned office but nothing for me. To Pershore for paint with Diana. She is good fun now, slow in talking, but noisy, fat and saucy. We are lucky to have such a pair. 26.4.45: D short tempered these days, she is experimenting with her gas oven and it is not a success. * Graham’s brother in law 31

29th April 1945: Worried no news of my air travel. So to London. Fixed up passage at War Office by air for Monday. Peace moves more certain. Himmler has asked for peace but only with Yanks and us. Rejected Russians must be included. 2.5.45: Telegram from Italy. I am wanted. Good job I fixed up passage.

3.5.45: Saverys to supper. I talked too much. Always do. 4.5.45: Wholesale surrender of German army. Two or three days should see end. 6.5.45: Breakfast at Hammersmith Police Station then to Epsom Downs and did my favourite walk to Box Hill and back along Roman road.

7th May 1945: My last day in England for a while. 8.5.45: Up 4 am. Engine trouble so turned and landed in Blackchurch, on the heath. Might have been nasty. VE day, the war in Europe over. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. No-one seems very excited. It has dragged on too long. Churchill and King spoke. Flags out and some drinking but people obviously trying to be joyful because they felt that was expected of them 9th May 1945: Got away at second attempt. Pleasant and uneventful journey to Rome. No-one has any work to do. Very hot. Everyone seems to play and drink all day long and all night. Parsons whom I met in Naples in February phoned and I had dinner with him in Borghese Gardens. Full of gossip. I am off to Austria.

Good news. Once more into the field.

13th May 1945: Off at 7.30 am. Had to return. Left 8.45 again. Long run to Florence. Rather dull place. 14.5.45: Left Florence early. Lovely run across mountains to Bologna. Thousands of PoWs and refugees. To Venice, an amazing place. 18.5.45: Monfaslone, full of Italian patriots and thousands of Yugoslavs who are running the town. No place for me. 19.5.45: Tried again to get to Austria but no luck. 20.5.45: Discussed PoW camps with an Italian exofficer. 21.5.45: Long meeting in am with Committee of National Liberation.

23.5.45: Political news is better. Jugs may withdraw. We must make them.

25th May 1945: Long meeting with patriots. They don’t seem a bad crowd.

26.5.45: Letter from D worried about inviting my relations. I rather wish she would, but possibly best if she doesn’t. 30.5.45: Another hectic day chasing stores. 31.5.45: Went to Officers’ Club. All rather flat, then had swim using car head lights. Good fun.

Diana C Serman (née Rutherford) 32

The Choir in Lockdown Hamish Donaldson The choir normally meets for choir practice on Thursday evenings to prepare for the Sunday service. During the lockdown we continue to meet on Thursday and Sunday evenings for ‘virtual’ hymn singing.

Zoom is the medium, but anyone who has used Zoom will know that it doesn’t work well if more than one person is talking. You can imagine how chaotic it is if everybody is singing at the same time.

So the routine we follow is to sign in up to 10 minutes before we go live for a chat - and to make sure we are all still virus-free. We then ‘mute’ all but Clive Osgood. He plays the hymns with Leanne singing along and we join in from home.

It is a great way of keeping in touch. Our picture shows the Zoom screen but only 9 of the choir can be visible at one time (at least on our iPad). We normally have 12 or 13. We also finish with the Choir Prayer. At the end of every service the Minister, if he/she comes to the vestry with the choir, says a closing prayer. But if the Minister doesn’t come back (for example by going to the South exit door) the choir say the Choir Prayer together.

Here are the words: Bless, O Lord, us Thy servants who minister in Thy temple.

Grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A Touching Story … unfinished …

At the heart of this beautiful story is an Englishman (Albert TARRANT) and a French girl (Lucy CREPY).

The story unfolds in Normandy, France, more precisely Bernay, 1944-1945.

Albert (Dennis TARRANT born 10/05/1925 at Southampton) was conscripted into the army and sent with his comrades of the 59th Staffordshire Regiment to Normandy sometime during the summer of 1944.

A plaque commemorating the part played by Albert’s Regiment at Thury

Most unfortunately, and not long after his arrival in France, Albert and several of his comrades were surrounded and captured by German troops in Thury Harcourt, then eventually led away to a German POW camp.

Shortly after his capture, Albert’s parents received an official telegram saying that Albert had gone missing in battle and was Albert, with his mother and father, 1944 presumed to be dead. His parents were understandably devastated.

During this time (we do not know exactly when) it is evident that Albert must have met the second person in this story – Lucy Crepy, who lived in Bernay at 11 Rue Taillefer, a large house, just south of the station. At that time Lucy’s father was President of the Red Cross in Bernay. Somehow, the paths of Albert and Lucy crossed and he gave her a photograph of himself with his home address written on the back. It is very possible that the photograph was the one on the left or something very similar.

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At some point, Lucy decided to use the address on the back of the photo and write to Albert’s parents. Here is the letter she eventually wrote on the 12th March 1945, just two months before VE Day (8th May 1945).

This short letter is remarkable from so many points of view. First of all, Lucy wrote with an excellent command of the English language, an interesting fact in itself. Either someone had taught her really well at her local lycée (Lycée Augustin Fresnel?) or someone must have helped her put it together. Which-ever is true, it is a document that is at one and the same time both historic and very personal, in which we learn that Lucy last saw Albert in August 1944 shortly after D-Day, 6th June 1944, when ‘we’ (Lucy and who?) ‘were near the battle’.

And how did Lucy know that ‘nobody was wounded’? Was the Red Cross in the vicinity?

Did the wounded come to them for help? Was it here that Lucy met Albert?

At the start of this letter Lucy said that she had wanted to write earlier to assure Albert’s parents that he was alive, in good health and ‘splendid moral’. Getting a letter across the Channel at such a time would have been difficult, to say the least; hence the delay. She refers to her father’s position as the President of the Red Cross in ‘the little town where we lived’; doubtless referring to Bernay.

Lucy goes on to say that ‘we were able to give them food and cigarettes’, and that ‘THEY were happy to know that I could warn (reassure) their families’ of their situation. All this probably took place just before they were shipped off to the prisoner of war camp in Germany, where they remained until the end of the war, when they were liberated by the Russian forces advancing towards Berlin 35

from the east. At the end of the letter Lucy says how happy she would be to receive news of Albert, if they have any. She clearly wants to keep in touch!

Put yourself in the home of Albert’s parents when that letter arrived … imagine the emotion, the tears of joy and the celebration as the news sank in. Their son, presumed dead, was alive. At the end of the war Albert eventually returned home at the age of 20.

Albert’s mother kept this letter for the rest of her life until her death in 1985.

Even then, the letter remained in some half-hidden box in the attic, perhaps. It was as recent as April 2020 that the letter came to light with all the time in the world given us by the lock-down due to the Covid-19 virus. Albert’s daughter, Janice Vincent (née TARRANT) is now the guardian of this historic treasure.

This story, so full of emotion, remains a puzzle with several pieces missing; notably …

Is Lucy CREPY still alive?

How long did she live at 11 Rue Taillefer, Bernay?

What did she do after the war?

What stories does she keep in her heart, in her memory?

Albert, in 1950, at the age of 25

Michael Bawtree Chairman of the Haslemere Twinning Association, Twinned with Bernay, Normandy 36

Learning to trust in times of trouble A friend, writing about the challenges she is facing, says: ‘We never cease to have invitations to trust, do we?’ I tend to agree. Almost every day we face circumstances that we cannot control, and for which the only way to find peace is to trust in the loving wisdom of our faithful God. Yet trust is never easy. It seems easier – and more natural – to worry or to be afraid. It’s as if we feel we ought to be anxious, as if we really must fret about things. Not to do so would be to not care. It’s our duty to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

But is it?

Jesus seems to offer us an alternative. He says, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.’ (John 14:1) He offers Himself to us as someone who is trust worthy, one who is absolutely reliable and who will see us through. We are invited to entrust Him with our concerns, and to hand over to His care the things that trouble us.

In his book Ruthless Trust, the writer Brennan Manning says: ‘Sometimes it may mean more to God when we say, “I trust you” than it does when we say ”I love you.”’ When things are going well, the sun is shining and the sky is blue, it is easy to love God. But when the storms are blowing, and the clouds are dark, it takes a very special kind of faith to say, ’I don’t understand God, but I do trust you.’

This kind of faith delights the heart of God. Every trouble we face presents us with another invitation to place our trust in Him.

by Tony Horsfall , Editor Parish Pump ‘Looking at God’ Editorial June 2020

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SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA – the Portuguese Way A talk by Richard Morris, trustee of the Surrey Churches Preservation Trust (SCPT) Richard tells us his story about El Camino de Santiago - the Portuguese Way, and why the ancient pilgrimage route can be purpose giving, life changing and much more than just a walk

POSTPONED FROM

Wednesday 22 April 2020, 7pm-8.15pm TO WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER, 7pm-8.15pm

St John's Centre, Merrow, Guildford GU4 7AB Cost £5 SCPT members, £10* non members - please pay on arrival *Non members attending the talk can opt to join the SCPT for one year for £10 (normally £20)

Taking bookings now: (and by 30 August 2020) via email: scptrichardmorris@gmail.com or call 01483 571788 All proceeds go to the Surrey Churches Preservation Trust (a registered charity), helping to repair and conserve Surrey's churches of all denominations: http://www.surreychurchespreservation.org

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From the Registers Funerals Hilda Renn - 30th March 2020 Julia Scholfield - 15th April 2020 Eileen Shaw - 27th April 2020 Audrey Hemingway - 22nd April 2020 Ian MacGregor-White - 20th May 2020

Haslemere Museum Editor’s Note: We quote the Museum’s notice on their website: ‘In the interest of public health the Trustees of the Haslemere Educational Museum have decided to close the Museum to the general public with effect from 17th March 2020 until further notice. ‘

For up to date news, please visit www.haslemeremuseum.co.uk

As in the above notices, we would recommend that due to the coronavirus outbreak it would be wise to check directly with organisers before attending any events mentioned in this issue..

Responsibility for opinions and accuracy in statements expressed in articles and in advertisements in this magazine rests solely with the individual contributors 39

Needs volunteers to staff the office or drive clients to medical and dental appointments.

Mileage allowance paid.

Please call 01428 652505 www.careinhaslemere.org.uk

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FALLS PREVENTION CLASS Exercises to music, held

at the Link on Tuesday afternoon.

For more details please contact Sophie Patrick on

07748 845931

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The Merry Harriers , Hambledon Road, GU8 4DR 01428 682883 enquiries@merryharriers.com

Opening times: Monday: 17:30—23:00 Tuesday—Saturday: 11:30— 23:00 Sunday: 12:00—20:00

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Bluebells Cancer Support Centre at Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary Burrows Lea, Hook Lane, Shere, GU5 9AL Bluebells is a friendly, sharing group for anyone affected by cancer.

We laugh a lot, cry a little, share experiences and support each other.

Do come along one Thursday to see for yourself!

We meet on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 11am— 1pm ending with a relaxation session.

We like to keep in touch and know how you are at other times too, so please feel free to contact Carolyn Low on 01483 203540 or email Carolyn.graeme@hotmail.co.uk

ROBERT MOODIE Master upholsterer Since 1973

If you would like to advertise with us please contact

Is your sofa or perhaps your favourite chair In need of a little loving care?

Don’t push it aside or take to the ‘tip’ Just give us a ring and we’ll mend it.

Geoff Martin on

Loose covers or fitted, or down to the frame We will restore it, elaborate or plain Fabrics and braids for us to enhance Our craftsmanship’s shown if given the chance.

01429 641907 or email:

Specialists in re-upholstery & loose covers

martin_g6@sky.com

The Old Milking Parlour, Mellow Farm Dockenfield.

01428 712886 hello@arfordupholstery.co.uk 43

SUNDAY SERVICES EVERY SUNDAY 10AM HOLY COMMUNION LIVE STREAM ON

Haslemere Parish

Or Visit www.haslemereparish.org/stay-at-home/ live-service-streaming/

COMPLINE TUESDAY & THURSDAY 8PM EVENING PRAYER LIVE STREAM ON

Haslemere Parish

Or Visit www.haslemereparish.org/stay-at-home/ live-service-streaming/

WATCH AND PRAY DAILY PRAYER AND THOUGHTS WITH REV JUSTIN Visit www.haslemereparish.org/stay-at-home/ watch-and-pray/

Please visit haslemereparish.org/stay-at-home for full information of online services and resources.

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