Haversham Social & Community Centre Saturday 7th September
EXHIBITORS
¨ Entries 9.30-10.45am
¨ Judging 11.00am- 1.30pm
¨ Public view 2-3.30pm
¨ Prize-giving 3.30pm
Entry forms must be in by 5th September
Public viewing & Refreshments 2.00 - 3.30pm
ENTRY £1.00; children under 12 free
Have a Go! There are lots of different categories you can chose from and a special novice s prize. Or just pop along in the afternoon to see what everyone has done. Full details can be downloaded at havershamlittlelinfordpc.gov.uk/community-centre
August/September 24
Editorial ons supplied, or downloaded from the internet. And in more recent mes we have even gone fullcolour. I graduated to a PC and using Microso Publisher a er a while and, thanks to Dave and Derek Jones for their tutorials, that’s how I’ve carriedon.
Eighteen months ago, I realised that I had been edi ng the magazine for nearly 30 years! Far too long! So I gave no ce to the Parish Council that I would finish with the October/November issue this year, exactly 30 years on.
How mes have changed in 30 years! I think the first issues were about 12 or 16 pages long. All of the items were submi ed handwri en and had to be typed up by me on a word processor (no PCs for the average person in those days), and it was somewhat challenging with some contributors.
Then I handed over to Dave Perry who worked through theearlyhoursto compile everything for prin ng. Thanks, Dave!
We even had a specially designed cover by Chris Vaughan’s father. Otherwise there was limited illustra on and it was all in black and white, although we did use a colouredpaperforthecover.
Nowadays all copy comes in by email with illustra-
There have been regular reports in each issue from the Parish Council, the Social Centre, the School and the church. And we’ve covered all sortsofother things from a variety of contributors—storiesoflocalpeople’s fascina ng lives, the Old School logs from 1909 to 1946 (transcribed by Pam Furniss), memories of days gone by in the village (par cular thanks to Peter North for those), nature notes started originally by a very young Rebecca Burgess and carried on by her parents when she went off to college, a young person’s view of life in the village from Emma Pobjoy many years ago, even a farmer’s view of the seasons from Gill Paton for a
while and, of course, the incomparable Terry Sythes with his quirky view from the allotments! Thanks too to Jemma for carrying on a gardening theme for us. There have been too many people involved to men on all in this space, but thanks to you all for your contribuonsovertheyears.
Our adver sers have been incredibly loyal over the years and we thank them toofortheirsupport. And you only receive the magazine through your door because of a small army of volunteers who deliver them to you. Thankyou.
The Parish Council would very much like to con nue to produce a regular magazine for us all. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same! If you think you could help, please come forward. It is much appreciated by local residents, I’mtold!
The 25th Annual Village Show will feature heavily in the next issue. See you thereon7thSeptember!
Lesley Gilbert
Local News
OPEN HOUSE LUNCH
Julia and Ian Cheetham, on behalf of St Mary’s Church, are providing an Open House Lunch at the Old Forge, on the third Monday of each month. The lunches are for any member of St. Mary’s and Li le Linford Churches and residents of Haversham and Li le Linford. The Old Forge is located on the High Street next to theGreyhoundPub.
Coffee will be available from 10.30am, lunch will be available at approximately 12.30pm and tea and cake on offer in the a ernoon un l 3.30pm. Maureen White on 07889 654906 has kindly agreed to provide transport for those who need help ge ngtoTheOldForge.
The Open House Lunch in August will be on Monday 19th August from 10.30am. Unfortunately, there will be no Open House Lunch in September. The date for October is Monday 21st October. There is no charge for lunch and you will be
warmly welcomed. For further informa on pleasecall 01908 914318.
JUBILEE CLUB
We were pleased to welcome Holly Wright from Foodcycle to our June mee ng and learn about the excellent work the charity does, including in Wolverton. The unexpected fire drill kept us on our toes and I’m pleased to say we vacated the building within 3 minutes.
In July, it was a par cular pleasure for us to have a performance by the School Choir especially for us. Many thanks to Mrs Foote and all of the children. There was some excellent talent in their midst.
Ournextmee ngs:
Wednesday, 14th August—A ernoon Tea at WoodpeckerCo age.
Wednesday, 11th September—Chinese Auc on to raise funds forMacmillanCancersupport.
The Jubilee Club provides an a ernoon mee ng place for older residents
where they can enjoy one another’s company over a cup ofteaand homemade cakes, as well as a variety of presenta ons from a widerangeofspeakers.
We usually meet at 2:30pm on the second Wednesday of the month in the Social Centre. Subs are £2 per person, and we also have a raffle to which members contribute the prizes.
Lesley Gilbert
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
A new Thames Valley An -Social Behaviour (ASB) Media on Service has recently been launched. It is being delivered by Alterna ves to Conflict and is available to residents across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire andMiltonKeynes.
Clashes involving noise, parking, pets and boundaries o en lead to challenging and offensive behaviours that can cause significant distress to those involved but o en these disputes don’t meet thecriminalthresholdand can’t be resolved by one
agency alone. Media on can help to resolve these neighbourandcommunity disputes that, if le , can escalate and cause significantharmanddistress.
Media on is a confidenal, informal process in which a neutral third party, the mediator, will help those who are in dispute to reach agreement. Individuals can either selfrefer into the media on service or professionals can complete a referral with the individual’s consent.
Following an ini al conversa on, Alterna ves to Conflict will arrange for all par es involved to meet individually online with a mediator. If all par es agree, a joint in-person mee ng will be arranged to talk openly and respec ully, acknowledging differences and recognising common grounds and shared needs. In the majority of cases, where pares agree to meet together with a mediator, important steps towards resolving the conflict are made. The service also offers conflict support when only one party in a
dispute consents to be engagedintheprocess.
Forfurtherdetailsonmedia on and the services available, please visit the Alterna ves to Conflict website at h p:// www.media onbucks.org .uk/.
REMEMBER TO CALL 101
· If you want to give policeinforma onabouta crime that is not currentlyinprogress.
· Tocontactalocalpolice officer, such as someone from your Safer Neighbourhoodteam.
· If your property has been stolen or damaged but it is not a crimeinprogress.
· If you suspect drug dealing or use in your area.
· Thereisariskofinjury tosomeoneorariskof seriousdamagetoproperty. If you have been a vic m of fraud or cybercrime, report it at www.ac onfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Village Show Class 54—Origami HaveaGo!Youcan makeyourveryown OrigamiCranein32 stepsinjust30 minutes!
Opinions expressed by authors, and services offered by adver sers, are not specifically endorsed by the Editor or by Haversham and Li le Linford Parish Council.
Parish Council News—The View from the Chair
As ever it has been a busy couple of months since my last ar cle and I will try and update you on the various things that the Parish Council has been progressing plus other major ma ers that affect ourParish.
I want to start by welcoming a further new Councillor, Jess Cunniffe, to the Parish Council. It is a pleasuretoaddJesstothe team, having co-opted her at our June mee ng, with her formally joining the Parish Council at our July mee ng. It is great that we are back to a team of six with the recent addions of both Rick Whyte and Jess, but that s ll leaves us one short of the seven we should have, so we con nue to look for further candidates. Please contact the Clerk if you are interested and to find outmore.
MK City Plan 2050
MKCC have started the first stage of consulta on (called Regula on 18) for the MK City Plan 2050 (formally the New City Plan). This strategic Local Plan, once adopted, will set out how MK will grow up un l 2050 in terms of housing, employment areas and many other aspects, in the journey to MK becoming a city of 410,000 people - which is largerthanCardiff.
This stage of consulta on allows residents and other interested par es the opportunity to comment on the dra plan and those comments will be taken into account as the planisupdated.Thatfinal dra will have a second
round of consulta on in February or March 2025 (called Regula on 19) and will then be followed by an Examina on by a Planning Inspector before finalisa onandadop on.
All the consulta on documenta on, including an interac ve map, evidence materials and various topic papers can be found at h ps://www.miltonkeynes.gov.uk/city-plan.
The site also has a portal for submi ng your comments and details of various public events being run across the city in the comingweeks.
As the Plan progresses through its various stages, we will update our own website with the latest news at h ps:// www.havershamli lelinfo rdpc.gov.uk/ mkcityplan2050latestnews as well as post updatesonFacebook.
It is pleasing to see that the op on to develop a major se lement in MK Northhasnotmadeitinto the dra plan and that our Parish is proposed to remain predominantly rural as per the aims of our Neighbourhood Plan.
That said, we need to remain cau ous, as areas can be added back into the plan at the later stages of consulta on or examina on, as happened elsewhere in the City with thecurrentPlan:MK.
The Parish Council are taking a keen interest in how the Plan will affect the Parish and will be discussing it at both the 19 August and 16 September Parish Council mee ngs where we will agree our stance. We expect to make a subsequent representa on as part of the consulta on. We also intend to extend the Public Forum at the September mee ng to give residents a greater opportunity to ask ques ons and make comments to the PC. However, I do urge all residents to review the plan and make any representaon prior to the deadline of9October.
Neighbourhood Plan –
Allocated Site
As I shared in my previous ar cle, Gade Homes have been appointed by the landowner as the developer for the allocated site
in old Haversham –known as the ‘Triangle’. Gade Homes, supported by their consultants O’Neill Homer, havebeen working through the variousconstraintsofthesite plus the requirements as defined in our Neighbourhood Plan as part of their ini al design processes.
On 18 July, Gade Homes ran an exhibi on and consulta on, sharing some of their concepts and ideas as well as seeking feedback from residents. A number of Parish Councillors a ended as we are of course all residents, and I certainly found it useful to see their current thoughts and also to chat to a number of you who were there and hear some of yourcomments.
No planning applica on has been submi ed as yet, so what we saw are ‘concepts’ rather than ‘plans’, although I felt that the developers are taking the requirements we set-out in our Neighbourhood Plan seriously. Of course,theapplica on will be what the Parish
Council and residents need to formally consider once it is submi ed. It is expected in October/ November mescale.
For those of you who were unable to visit the exhibi on, I have included Gades’ conceptual plan for the site overleaf (an evolu on of the one in the Neighbourhood Plan) plus we have now set-up a page on our website dedicated to the development at the allocated site, so we can share the latest newsasitemerges.Itisat h ps:// www.havershamli lelinfo rdpc.gov.uk/npsitenews and we have put all the exhibi on materials on there.
Playground Project Update
Having submi ed our key funding applica on to the FCC Communi es Foundaon in early June, we are now wai ng to hear whether we have been successful, and if so, that should provide us with enough funds to move into the design phase, so fingerscrossed.
As part of our overall plans to develop the facili es at the Rec, including the playground, we are very aware that the path leading up from the Manor Drive gate to the play area has become very uneven and is not reallysuitableforbuggies or wheelchairs. So, as a level and accessible path is something that clearly enables the use of the playground and the wider facili es, we have decided to apply to the MKCC Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) for 2025/26 for the allowed 50% of the costs and we will match the other 50% from our funds if successful.
One of the key requirements of the CIF process is that we demonstrate community support for an ini a ve and that it both benefits the community and also improves safety. Therefore, weneedyourhelp…
We have launched a short survey online to gather your feedback that can be found at h ps://forms.office.com/
e/3U8mQFBpaE or use the adjacent QR code. The survey is only open un l 15 August to allow us me to complete the applica on and it will only take a few minutes to complete. Alterna vely, just email your thoughtstotheClerk.
Highways and Road Safety
The consulta ons for the 20mph scheme in new Haversham, plus the associated reduc ons to 50mph on the roads north and south of the village have now closed. The Parish Council supported both schemes, but also pressed for the speed to be reduced to 40mph south of the village towards the Wolverton Roundabout, but we understand that Thames Valley Police do not support that reduc onsowe will likely only get the speed limit reduc on to 50mph. Final design details are now being completed and we hope the scheme will be implementedintheautumn.
We have also been working with MKCC Highways
to finalise the loca on of the two Speed Indicator Devices (SIDS) devices along Wolverton Road –again we would hope that these will be implementedintheautumn.
Further consulta ons related to the 20mph scheme in the old village, plus the closure of the gated road across Stanton Low to reduce AnSocial-Behaviour are s ll pending. We will aim to let you know on Facebook when these consulta ons start, but details of all MKCC consulta ons are at www.miltonkeynes.gov.uk/ consulta ons so please check there if you are keentocomment. We con nue to try and get Highways to address various items of maintenance. We now have a shared view of the key
issues and whilst some are rejected or made low priority, as they do not reach the required repair threshold, we are s ll seeing some progress. We con nue to work with Highways and the Lead Local Flood Authority on the flooding issues in the hope that these are resolved before the winter. We hope to see more items being completed in the coming weeksandmonths.
Other News
Allotments: whilst we are towards the middle of the growing season, we s ll have a couple of vacant plots and we are able tooffer both full and half plots at reduced rates if you want to give the allotments a go. There is an advert in this magazine with the details.
Parish Magazine: sadly, no one has yet come forward to take on either the editor or adver sing manager roles, so we are now having to consider theop onsforthismagazine a er Lesley’s final edi on in two months’
me. It’s not too late though and if you would consider taking on one of the roles, please reach out so we can con nue topublishthismagazine.
Village Show and Haversham Social & Community Centre: Following on from the ar cle in the last magazine, I just want to remind everyone that Saturday 7 September marks the date of the 25th Village Show. I hope that many of you will take part as one of the exhibitors or will visit the show to see the entries and admire the results. I look forward to my role ofjudgingthebestnovice award and also seeing all the other things grown, made or otherwise created by our wonderfully crea ve residents. I hope I will see many of you there. The show is one of the highlights of the year and a great deal of thanks is due to the HSCC teamfororganisingit. Work con nues by the team on improving various aspects of the charity such as the booking system, and Jackie reports
on this in her ar cle elsewhere.
Contac ng Us & Helping Out
As well as this regular ar cle, we use our Facebook page
www.facebook.com/ HcLLParishCouncil and website www.havershamli lelinf ordpc.gov.uk to share news and useful informa on - so please do follow us on Facebook and visit the website regularly.
If you have any issues, sugges ons or ques ons for us, then please either message us via Facebook or email the Parish Clerk at clerk@havershamli lelinf ordpc.gov.uk. We do our best to respond promptly.
And as always, the ‘shout -out’ for volunteers to support our community. A few hours every now and then would really help, whether to support Parish Council ac vi es, like Community Speedwatch and Li er Picking, or to support the HSCC with their events or to do
a bit of dying up, general maintenance, or pain ng attheSocialCentre.
Reach out to the Clerk if you want to get involved with suppor ng theParish Council at the above email,or forthe HSCC just drop an email to volunteer@havershamsocialce ntre.org.uk. Both the Parish Council and the HSCC Charity would really welcomeyoursupport.
I’ll close bywishing you all the best for the summer holiday period and hoping we have some be er weather. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Village Show and I will be
back here with the next update in a couple of months!
Richard Pryor Chair
Village Show Class 34—A Japanese Ikebana-style arrangement HaveaGo!
Thenextmee ngsare: Monday, 19th August Monday, 16th September
ParishCouncilmee ng agendasarepublished onlineandontheparish no ceboardstheweek beforeeachmee ng.
Addi onal news & informa on can also be found on the Parish website at havershamli lelinfordpc.gov.uk
Social & Community Centre News
The Village Show is the next event that we will be holding and this year it will be our 25th Show. It wouldbegreatifwecould make it a bumper year. The Show should have been 25 last year but we did not hold one in 2020 forobviousreasons.
There are classes for everyone and even if you have never entered before, be brave, and take the plunge. I think anyone could take part in class 63
Regular Users One-off Hirers
- just check the schedule and see! We all have hidden talents and now is the me to find out just what they are. It can also be something for the younger members of the family to do when the daysareovercast.
The schedule is being delivered with this magazine so please read it and see if there is something that catches your interest. Who knows, if you are a first- me entrant in
a specific category, you could win the novice award.
Looking forward to the Autumn, we hope to hold our Annual Firework Display and there will be other events which we will publicisenearerthe me.
Our charges went up on 1st Julyforfuturebookings and from 1st September for exis ng regular users, as shown below. Like many other enterprises we have found it difficult to keep up with our overhead costsbutwes ll aim to be compe ve with othervenues.
par es (4 hour session ending no later than 6.00pm) #
# Only available at weekends and on non-school days * Not available a er 6.00pm on school days or at any me on non-school days (except by nego a on)
2. Full payment required on booking + deposit against damageof £100 (refundable a er event if premises le in good order). Payment by BACS transfer – no cash or cheques. Payment will be 7 days from invoicing.
3. Cancella oncharges:
- 29 days or more before event: 80% Hire
Charge Refund, plus DamageDeposit
- 28-15 days before event: 50% Hire Charge Refund, plus DamageDeposit
- 14 days or less before event: No Hire Charge Refund, Damage Deposit Refunded
4. Kitchen facili es: available at no charge for light refreshments. Charge of £25 per session iffull cateringwith use of cooker. Catering
is included for children’spar es.
Thank you all for your helpandsupport.
Jackie Brown Chair
Village Show—Class 63 Make a Paper Plane Have a go—whatever your age! How far will yours fly?
Milton Keynes Heritage Open Days is back
– what will you discover?
Taking place over ten days from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 September, there is something for everyone this year as MK celebrates its fascina ng heritage with a packed programme of over 230 family events, guided walks, historic talks, cycle rides, crea ve workshops, open days, exhibions, film screenings and musical performances –all completely free to a end.
Key a rac ons opening their doors for free include Milton Keynes Museum,GreatLinfordManor Park, Westbury Arts Centre, Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre, The Stables Theatre, Milton Keynes Arts Centre and the Cowper & NewtonMuseuminOlney.
LivingArchiveMKisfunded by Milton Keynes City Council to manage this flagship annual heritage event for the new city and it is delivered by all the heritage, cultural and community organisa ons
who give their me and resources to make these eventsFREE.
The theme for this year is Routes, Networks and Connec ons and across the city many of our MK HODs organisers will be taking you on journeys as far afield as Ukraine, India and Sierra Leone, with workshops, exhibions, film screenings and events celebra ng the contribu on that their communi es have made to our new city. Experi-
ence the culture and cuisine of other lands, take part in ar st-led work-
shops and celebrate all that our city has to offer with 10 days of familyfriendlyfreeac vi es. Can’t make any of the scheduled events? Once again there are plenty of self-guided walks and trails to keep you busy at mestosuityou.
You can collect your MK HODs brochure from the Milton Keynes libraries, from Get Smart carousels in local supermarkets from the beginning of August, or browse the events online here: h ps:// www.livingarchive.org.uk/ events/category/events
Photography: Chris Henley
C. P. Locks
54 Church Street , Wolverton, MK12 5JW Tel: 01908 225954
Your local key cutting and DIY store stocks a wide range of home decorating materials as well as a good range of gardening products, including potting compost and garden pots. Our opening hours as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:00am-4:00pm; Saturday 10.00am to 4.00 pm. Closed Wednesday & Sunday
Swansway Self Storage Containers
Nature Notes
It’s the second week of July, Tuesday, and it’s raining. Is it July or could we be forgiven for thinking it’s actually perhaps late April? Just about every day there are grey skies and rain of varying intensity. Frankly, it’s ‘fed up’ making! Today it has rained heavily but it is curiously warm; muggy and airless. Most days there’s been a strong wind and o en decidedly chilly. Global warming…. For all that moaning we did have a week of gloriously hot weather at the endofJune - bliss. We were fortunate to be away for that week in north Norfolk and not a drop of rain did we see. Thecountrysidetherewas looking amazing. Lots of crops from peas to asparagus, onions, potatoes, carrots and the usual immaculate rows of cereal. We were very much heartened to see that, despite the intensity of cropsbeinggrown,almost all the fields had some areas, field corners, headlandsorwidestrips,plant-
ed up with specific wildflowers or a pollina ng mixof plantsand grasses. These areas would be a magnet for insects of all kinds, seed-ea ng birds and small mammals. This of course requires some financial outlay by the farmer and a bit of effort but the benefits are huge. Farmers and keepers of the land should be encouraged to emulate this plan ng wherever they can. We came across a big field which was a swathe of pink. We had to inves gate and were flummoxed. We sent a photo to our agronomistsonwhosoon pinged back to tell us that it was Sainfoin. It seemsthatitisanitrogen fixer in the soil and can reduce the amount of nitrogen fer lizer applied to ‘follow on’ crops. It is grown as a forage crop
for animal feed and before tractors were introduced to agriculture, vast acres of Sainfoin were grown to feed the many, many horses which worked on the land throughout the country. The lovely pink flower heads secrete copious amounts of nectar which makes it a star a rac on for Honeybees, Long Tongued bumble bees and huge numbers of other insects. Sainfoin honey is said to be one of the finest types of honey available. It is said that honeybees will ignore other sources of nectar in favour of Sainfoin as its nectar is so profuse. We certainly learned something new that day! A visit to Holt and to Burnham Marketarealwaysenjoyable but we were spellbound on our visits by the numbers of Swi s zipping
over the roof tops. Many of the buildings in these small towns are old and all have pan led roofs and it’s the pan les, clay and of wavy form, which the Swi s like. The les provide perfect access to nest sites for them; small holes and crevices high up under the les are just right. We were in awe of these scythe-winged aviators, shrieking and screaming as they raced like black lightning around therooftops.
A walk out across the dunes to the beach at Holkham is always a joy; the beach is vast and very beau ful.Inthedunesare many plants peculiar to dry, sandy condi ons but surely one of the most surprising is the Southern Marsh Orchid. There were hundreds of them,
some mes literally just growing straight out of the bare sand or appearingfromatangleofwindblown, harsh grasses which help to bind the sand dunes. The blooms are held alo a medium sized stalk and are ghtly packed with small lipped flowers, the colour of which is a startling purple -pink. En masse the bright flowers are spectacular.
The dunes and shingly stretches of coast above the Spring de high water mark in north Norfolk provide nest-sites for many sea birds. Some of these are cordoned off to provide refuge areas and are closely monitored to avoid public and dog disturbance to nests. Ringed Plover, Oyster Catcher, Sandwich Terns and the very rare Li le Tern all make useof these special areas. The ‘nest’ is just a
hollow scraped in the shingle in which the birds lay their well camouflaged eggs which are very difficult to see when walking and easily trodden on, hence the need to protect thenes ngcolonies.
Orchids: like buses… for downatthefarendofthe lake in the grass, lo and behold, nothing less than a Bee orchid! Two separate plants growing close to the edge of the track where people walk and in imminent danger of being stood on or damaged by a galumphing dog! But worse; the silage cu ers were due! These fast moving machines mow ruthlesslyandcutswathes of vegeta on in seconds. What to do? Well we did our best to build a protecve fortress of big s cks aroundtheplantstoavoid trampling and swi ly emailed the sailing club. They were very sup-
por ve and in fact one of their members found another clump of the orchids at another loca on on the lakeside though sadly we couldn’t find them. The silage was being cut for Peter Dunn, a local farmer, who, when alerted to the posi on of the orchids, managed to get the contractors to avoid them. Well done, Mr Dunn! Whether or not the Bee orchids will spread remains to be seen. Research tells me that numbers vary hugely from year to year to the extent that where hundreds might appear one year, the next year there will be none at all. Oddly, we were walking the path at the back of the much threatened ‘triangle’ here in the village, when what do we see but another Bee orchid! Amazing! This was in full flower and again we built a protec-
ve fortress around it to protect it. Unlucky this me; someone mowing the edge of the path, which really didn’t need to be mown, cut the bee orchid flat and there was no sign of it, just a fla ened fortress. The Bee orchid is so called because of its very unusual flower which on close inspec on appears to have a bee res ng on it. This is a ruse to a ract a real bee to the flower to help pollina on. The pollina on process is too complicated to explain here but worth reading about if you are interested. The Bee orchid is something of a rarity and we’re surprised that it’s not on the rare wildflower list which would afford itsomeprotec on.
You might remember that we have o en menoned the swans on the lake, notably ‘Mr Grumpy’, themale or cob swan who aggressively patrolled the lake seeing off geese and swans with great zeal. In fact we have witnessed him figh ng with and trying to drown another swan
that dared to venture onto his patch. A nasty piece of work! However, he has gone!Thisyearthereisno nest in the reed bed and no sign of him or his mate. Has he died or lost his mate or moved on to somewhere else? Well we don’t know what’s happened to him but suffice to say that peace reigns onthelakeandswansand geese mooch contentedly across the water without the constant menace of ‘MrGrumpy’.
Despite having a garden which has plenty of a rac ons for bu erflies, bees andinsects, notleast my long lavender hedge, we’ve seen far fewer so far this summer, (summer…..?) Stop Press: We have discovered living in a hole in the stones which edge our pond a large Grass Snake! Its body is the thickness of a good fat sausage and the length must be around 60cm or more. Ian is far too excited by this; me less so… Does this explain the disappearance of the Newts we once had? Probably! Returning to the lack insects, we won-
der whether it’s due to the appalling weather we've had: the cold spring and incessantrain andthe so far, very disappoin ng summer. We had the Masonry bees which we men oned in the last ‘notes’ but since then insects have been a bit scarce. So many creatures depend on a good insect popula on for food; birds with nestlings and Swallows, Swi s and House mar ns in par cular rely on airborne insects. So many of our small bird popula on are insecvores so they have to work extra hard to find food when it’s scarce or the weather is bad for days on end. We thinkthe Blue ts which started to nest in the box on the shed wall gave up because of the terrible weather,indeedwefound a Blue t dead nearby soakedandskinny,acasualty of the cold and rain. The Robins made use of the teapot in the ivy to nest and they were successful as we saw three baby Robins in the garden being fed by the parents. We have a lot of ants in our garden and one day
we cleared a large coarse clump of grass only to find the roots teeming with red ants and hun-
dreds of eggs. We le it on the lawn roots uppermost, and the Robins went mad! They found the ants eggs and cleared the lot; the babies must have been stuffed! Later a Blackbird arrived and dug into the soil around the roots and found some more for it too feasted on the eggs. What a bonanza; and it got rid of some of the ants too! A li le bird that relies on insects is the Pied Wagtail. Not far away the li le birds successfully nested for there
appeared on our lawn four very young Wagtails with two very a en ve parents. The harassed parents fli ed about the lawn with much acroba cs catching ny insects for their very demanding offspring. The family were regular visitors for ten days or so un l the Wagtail young came infrequently, presumably having gained their independence. We regularly have visits from Wagtails of all ages and they entertain us with their sprightly an cs. For about a month, at about eight forty five in the evening, we were bombarded with Starlings! Therewere hugenumbers of them gathering before going to roost. The wires across the paddocks at the back were laden with birds; lines and lines of black. Abruptly they
would all jump up to land on the roofs of The Stables and in the huge Silver Birch tree nearby. The din was terrible; a constant raucous twi ering from probably nigh on a thousand Starlings. At dead on nine o’clock ‘en masse’ they took off down to the lake to roost in the big reed bed. It must have been quite a squeeze! Over several weeks they gradually dispersed which wasquitearelief!
Webeganour‘notes’with a bit of a moan about the weather. Well what a
turnaround for today, Friday, has been scorching. Twenty-nine degrees apparently and just too hot to do much at all. How strange the weather is… so changeable and varied. Too hot, too cold; too wet; too dry. Is there some happy medium somewhere? For all that it‘s what makes life interes ng; no day is ever the same. And the days are passingbywithsuchpace that summer, such as it is, will soon be gone. We havetomakethemostof the days and the best of
KNITTING
IÕm trying to find someone to knit me a simple jumper. I havenÕt a pattern but do have a jumper to copy from. Can this be done? I would like plain stitches with a good quality wool. I cannot knit; wouldn't know where to start! Perhaps there is someone out there who might be able to do this for me. All costs will be covered. Please contact me on 07791 970331
whatever sunshine comes our way. Whether your refuge is your garden, the allotment or a good walk, enjoy the me spent there. I’m just off down the garden with a cup of tea…!
Gill & Ian Burgess
NEXT ISSUE OF MAGAZINE
Our next issue is for October/November 24. Copy date will be Sunday 15th September and the magazine should be ready for distribu on on or around 28th September. All contribu ons welcome.
Haversham Village School
Reflec ng on the past school year, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. The past year at our school has been nothing short of extraordinary, brimming with triumphs and inspiring momentsthathavele an indelible markon the lives of our pupils, teachers and wider school community. Each achievement, each success story, has contributed to a tapestry of excellence that we will cherish for years to come. The dedica on, hard work, and passion of our
students, teachers, and staff have created an environmentwhereremarkable things happen every day, making this year trulyunforge able.
In my last entry, I menoned that our Year 2 and Year 6 children had just completed their assessments. The students showed immense dedicaon throughout this challenging period, and I am extremely proud to say that their hard work has paidoff.Thechildrenperformed brilliantly in both year groups, achieving excep onal results compared to the na onal averages.
Our teachers' commit-
dents have made is a testament to the unwavering support they receive both at home and in school. While our results don't defineus,theyserveasan excellent reminder of the hard work and dedica on of our pupils, parents and teachers.
At our school, we value all areas of the curriculum and are commi ed to maintaining and improving standards. This year has been our most successful in sports,withoutstanding par cipa on and numerous individual and team achievements. I am proud to announce that we have been awarded the Silver School Games Mark from the Youth Sport Trust once again. We will strive for excel-
Our final Superstars of the academic year!
lence and aim to meet the criteria for the Gold Award in the upcoming academicyear.
At the MK Schools Athle cs event at Stantonbury Athle cs Track on June 28th, our athletes achieved an impressive third place overall. This is a significant accomplishment for a school of our size and highlights the talent and determina on of our students. We achieved 16 individual medals for first, second, andthirdplaces:
Our next major event is the MK Primary School Cross Country in the autumn term and the children are already eagerly an cipa ng it. While we are s ll wai ng for the dates to be confirmed, we will start our preparaons as soon as we return a er the summer break.
This me of year brings mixed emo ons for staff, pupilsandparents.Atthe me of wri ng this, our current Year 6 students are having their final
lunch at Haversham Village School, and soon we will say our goodbyes as they move on to new adventures. Their last two weeks have been filled with fun and memorable moments, including a fantas c end-of-year performance of "I'm an 11Year-Old, Get Me Out Of Here." We were delighted to welcome families and friends to watch the performances, which were filled with laughter, tears and fantas c audience interac on. For
BRONZE MEDALS SILVER MEDALS GOLD MEDALS
their leavers' party, the children enjoyed a games evening with a variety of foods including pizza, olives, breads cks, dough balls, mozzarella bites, and waffles and ice cream for dessert. We will greatly miss our wonderful Year 6 pupils and the families not returning in September, but we are confident they will thrive in theirnextschools.
As we look ahead to the next academic year, we are excited to welcome ournewfounda onpupils in September. I will updateyouontheirprogress in my next magazine entry.
Reflec ng on the last 12 months, we realise just how far we have come. We have fantas c staff dedicated to "Bringing out the best in everyone," wonderful pupils who are kind, compassionate, and accep ng of each other, and suppor ve parents who are the founda on of our school community. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for the part you play, and as a staff, we are very proud of the children and theschool.
I wish everyone a res ul summer. Remember, you can keep up to date with
the fantas c things happening within the school on our X page (formerly known as Twi er), although it will be quiet for thenextsixweeks.
BestWishes
Mr David Ley & all the staff of Haversham Village School
Year 1 had a fantas c day out at Warwick Castle in July
Area Dean Priest for the LAMP group of churches
Revd.AdrianLow
rev.adrian.low@gmail.com Churchwardens for St Mary’s Haversham & St Leonard’s Li le Linford
BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES, FUNERALS and PASTORAL NEEDS
For informa on about Christenings, weddings, funerals or if you would like a visit for any reason, please contact: Rev.AdrianLow,TheRectory,HighStreet,Haversham,Milton Keynes, MK19 7DT. Telephone 07883 717642 or email: rev.adrian.low@gmail.com. ST MARY’S CHURCH BEREAVEMENT GROUP
Please contact Fi Jones on 07946 615218 or by email at fipwmum@gmail.com.
nternet.com
FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ON CHURCH SERVICES AND EVENTS
CheckouttheLAMPgroupwebsiteat h p://thelampchurches.com orourFacebookpageat www.facebook.com/stmaryhaversham whereyoucanlotsofother detailsaboutourworship.
HAVERSHAM MORNING WORSHIP
A er each 11 o'clock service, members of the congrega on are invited to stay for refreshments.
22nd September 9:30am 11:00am 11:00am HolyCommunion MorningWorship CaféChurch Li leLinford Haversham Emberton
29th September 11:00am HARVEST FESTIVAL AT HILL FARMALL WELCOME
A Message from Adrian Low
I hope the view that the priest only works on Sundays is no longer the norm. Most priests' lives are very busy and balancing the workload across the parishes is some mes awkward. In addi on to parish ministry, as Area Dean, I also help look a er the 23 Church of England churches in the Newport Pagnell Area, Olney in the north, Moulsoe in the South, Castlethorpe in the west and Hardmeadintheeast.
Some of our churches have very small congregaons but, as Area Dean, closing churches is not on my agenda, not least because if Milton Keynes expansion happens in our neck of the woods, the currently underused rural church might well become a community hub, a place of peace, history, prayer, faith and love, a place to meet and enjoy within the community - as most churches have been forthebestpartofa1000 years.
Over the last 20 or so years popula ons and the consequent workloads of the priests in the area have changed. I have three parishes comprising four churches, total popula on around 2,000. The post at Olney has one parish, one church. The rector at Newport has fourchurches (same as our group) but a popula on10 mes the size. The rector at Lavendon has eight churches and so on. A rebalancing has been needed for some me and consequently there has been an on-going project to ra onalise, to allocate paid priests according to need rather than according to history, to address the changing environment. So - meet the new plan, soon out for consulta on.
If all goes well, the rector at Haversham will be looking a er Haversham, Li le Linford, Gayhurst, Stoke Goldington, Ravenstone and Western Underwood,sixchurches,
six villages. That means that Tyringham and Emberton (which used to be in our LAMP group) will move to be in the Olney Rural group - with one and a half priests. That will also include Lavendon, Cold Brayfield, Newton Blossomville and Cli on Reynes. And, given the increase in popula on in Newport Pagnell (par cularly round Moulsoe), an extra half- me priest, and possibly more, will be allocated to help outthere.
Change has neverbeenan easy word to use in the Church of England, but this change will help supply where more help is needed. One of the glories of this church that I love is that every single person in the UK has the legal right to seek help from their local priest and to 'hatch, match and dispatch'inthelocalchurchand those requests are propor onaltothechanging popula on. I look forward to the reorganisaon and the new appointmentsthatwillbemade.
When this is done and dusted, probably in the next year or so, my task as Area Dean will be done and I look forward to re ring, pu ng my feet up, and then, maybe just working on Sundays, ifanyonewantsme! Bestwishes.
Adrian Low
Area Dean and Priest for Haversham, Li le Linford , Tyringham & Filgrave, and Emberton
News from the Pews
MEMOS FROM ST MARY’S
Church bells are some of the oldest musical instruments in the world and said to date back to China around 1500 BC. The earliestEnglishringofChurch bells appeared in 11th Century and in WWII in Great Britain all Church bells were silenced to ring only to inform of an invasion by enemy troops. In 1943 all restric ons were removed and it was a joy to hear bells being rung from St Mary's Church on 25thMayforthemarriage of Penny Louise Dunn and Jack Edward Cook. Maureen White, Phil Haslam and Wendy Haslam were the ringers, all three beingregularringersatAll Saints Emberton. There are three bells in the tower at St Mary's so it does limit the range of ringing as normally a tower would have six or more bells; alsothespaceinthe tower is limited. The first two bells were hung during the reign of Charles I with the third bell added
a er 1667. What a lovely joyous occasion to hear them ringing on 25th May.
Many thanks to Mrs Maureen White for her informa on on the HavershamBells.
On Thursday 18th July there was another joyous occasion – the end of term BBQ for St Mary's youth group was held in the Rectory Garden; 19 peoplea endedwith Rev Adrian,Joanna,andother youth leaders. As well as excellent BBQ food, Giant Twister, Mushroom Dodgeball and other spor ng games were played. The youth group is now taking a wellearned break for summer and will begin again on Thursday 12th September 6.30 – 8.30 (now weekly) at the Social Centre for year 5 pupils onwards.Allwelcome.
Sunday 28th July 11 00 am at St Mary's sees a special morning worship service focusing on the work of Tear Fund and the way it li s communi-
es across the world out of poverty using the Chris an message and empowering local Churches. St Mary's Church is taking part in another Tear Fund ini ave – toilet twinning. If you are lucky enough to use our church convenience you will see a photo of another convenience on the Ivory Coast. Come along and learn more such as twinning a tap or a rubbish bin. The collec on will go to support the transforming workofTearFundinlocal communi esworldwide.
Monday 19th August from 10.30 am onwards with Julia and Ian at the Old Forge is the next Open House lunch for members of St Mary's and Li le Linford Churches and the local community. Should you need transport please contact Mrs Maureen White on 0788 9654906. There is no charge and you will be warmlywelcomed.
Moving forward to 29th September – look out for an outdoor Harvest Fesval Service at11.00 am at
Hill Farm with many thankstothePatonFamily for hos ng this for us once again. This is an ideal way to celebrate “all being safely gathered in” amid the piles of different types of grain in a country se ng. All welcome for this open air serviceinthebarn.
FROM THE PARISH REGISTER:
On Wednesday 10th July at 1 pm a packed church at St Mary's gathered to celebrate the life of Mrs Patricia Anne Smith. Pat was known to many and had been an ac ve member of the village for many years before her un mely death. Our thoughts and prayers con nue to be with her familyandfriends.
As we (hopefully) celebrate Summer coming in we may not be hearing the peal of bells but we hope that there may be opportuni es for peals of laughter, some wellearned rest, relaxa on or simply a chance to ring the changes. Whatever you are doing we pray
that you will return refreshed and be ready to 'go like the clappers'. MayGodgowithyou.
Jan Bell
NEWS FROM ST PETER'S, TYRINGHAM
On 19th May we learned that our friend and church member Godfrey Bilton had passed away a er a long illness. Godfrey came to Tyringham when his son purchased Tyringham Hall. Godfrey and his wife Gita had been living abroad and moved into one of the houses on the Estate. He had a ended church all his life and soon became a member of St Peter’s serving on the PCC. Godfrey was an extremely generous benefactor paying for a variety of jobs in a quiet and unassuming way unbeknown to many of our church family. The church was full for his funeral on 6th June as his family, many friends and colleagues paid their last respects to a kind, humorous and gentle man. Our sincere condolences gotoGitaandhisfamily.
St Peter’s hosted the 5th Sunday Service choosing a Songs of Praise, which was a huge success. There was a variety of hymns both tradi onal and modern. Some members of the forty strong congrega on told us why the hymn they chose was of special significance to them. Refreshments followed giving church members an opportunity tomeetupsocially.
Workontheplansforthe toilet progresses albeit slowly as one has to deal with the various Authories. Meanwhile we are receiving dona ons and fundraising.
FROM THE REGISTERS
Marriage
We ask for God’s blessing on Charlie Hill and Zara Ulusoywhoweremarried at St. Peter’s on 31st May 2024.
