Meldreth Matters, June 2020

June 2020

In this issue … Community Screenbank Coronavirus Information Thoughts on Lockdown

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Contents COVID-19 Information and Advice See pages 25-28 25 Government Advice 26-27 Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support (MCCS) Update 28 Royston & District Community Transport COVID-19 Related Articles Community Screenbank 44-45 How Has Lockdown Affected You? 5-9 Living with Lockdown 11-14 Meldreth Cottage Industry 36-37 Melbourn Community Meals 41-42

Children & Education Make Your Own Cards 20-21 Meldreth Manor 18-19 Primary School 11-17 Rail Partnership Competitions 19 Shepreth Spitfires 22-23

Village Groups Friends of Holy Trinity 30 Local History Group 29 Women’s Group 31

Local/National Government Local Councillors 46-47 Parish Council 38-39 Advice/Information Advertisers’ Index 52 Home-Start 49 Mobile Warden Scheme 47 Neighbourhood Watch 24 Refuse Collections 3 Village Directory 50-51

Gardens & Nature Gardening 32-33 Miscellaneous Cycling 34-35 Holy Trinity Church 31

S T O P P R E S S Fenny Lane Closure: Fenny Lane will be closed from 3rd to 5th June and a diversion put in place via Whitecroft Road and the High Street. See the Parish Council website, www.meldreth-pc.org.uk, for details.

The opinions expressed in the letters and articles in this magazine are those of the writers, who are responsible for the accuracy of the information contained within them.

The last date for copy is the 12th of each month. Copy should be submitted by email where possible, to meldrethmatters@hotmail.com or delivered to the Editor, Kathryn Betts at 36 North End, Meldreth, SG8 6NT Tel. (01763) 268428 The Editor reserves the right to withhold from publication or to shorten if necessary, any article or letter sent to her.

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Editorial Welcome to the June issue of Meldreth Matters. We are doing our best to continue to produce an interesting and varied magazine each month so I hope you still enjoy receiving your copy. Thank you to all of our deliverers, including those who have stepped in temporarily, enabling us to carry on delivering the magazine to all houses and businesses in the village. Many of the online events and activities we featured in last month’s issue are still current. Please check your May magazine for details or view it online at https://issuu.com/meldrethmatters/docs/mm_may_2020_issuu. I would like to thank Hilary Crawforth for her contributions this month. In addition to her article on making home-made greetings cards (pages 20-21) Hilary conceived and produced the article on pages 5-9 which includes thoughts on lockdown from a number of Meldreth residents. Thanks too, to the Primary School pupils who also shared their thoughts on the current situation (pages 11-13). While the main COVID-19 information and advice can once again be found in the centre pages, there are a number of COVID-related or -inspired articles in the main magazine. Please see the contents page for details. Due to the pandemic, we are not receiving articles from all of our regular contributors so during this time we would especially welcome your contributions. Please email meldrethmatters@hotmail.com by 12th June. Kathryn

Front Cover: Footpath 3 (between Holy Trinity Church and The Warren). Photograph by Kathryn Betts. Back Cover: VE Day in Meldreth. Photograph of Stephen Greeves outside his house on his birthday/VE Day supplied by Janet and Stephen Greeves; photograph of Meldreth War Memorial by Joan Gane; all other photographs by Kathryn Betts.

Refuse Collections in June Black bins: 9th, 23rd Blue bins: 2nd, 16th, 30th Green bins: 2nd, 30th* * SCDC guarantee to empty green bins every four weeks but you may put out your green bin every fortnight and they will empty it if they can. For full details see https://www.scambs.gov.uk/greater-cambridgephased-return-to-green-bin-collections-from-4-may 3

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How Has the Coronavirus Lockdown Affected You? Lockdown has affected us all and some good things have come of it local businesses have risen to the challenge of supplying us safely with food, neighbours and friends have helped each other out in practical ways or by keeping in contact, volunteers have dealt with the needs of those unable to go out, decorating has been tackled, gardens perfected, technology mastered, new skills acquired, new interests developed. Motivators have come to the fore in getting things done, team workers have co-ordinated efforts and new friendships have been formed; often online, perhaps through Zoom. It hasn’t all been good, of course, and we have all suffered hardships, however small. Here are the thoughts of some of the people of Meldreth about their experience of lockdown. Hilary Crawforth A Family with Young Children The hardest thing about lockdown for us is juggling work and home schooling. We have really missed seeing our friends and family. The kids have missed football, both playing it and watching it. Home schooling took some getting used to. It's very different and we miss our friends. The teachers provide school work every day and we can email them to show them what we have done. We have Zoom calls so we can see and chat to our friends. Lockdown does bring some benefits - we have been pleased to spend more time in the garden, planting seeds, playing games and looking after the chickens and dog. The first thing we want to do when this is all over is play football. Someone Isolated until after 21st June I enjoy the peace and quiet and birdsong. Having time to watch leaves unfurling day by day and wisteria coming into blossom even after very hard frosts. I find it best if the day is structured: keep fit or walking in the garden in different directions or loops, reading, cooking, crafting, gardening, telephoning friends, doing nothing! continued ... 5

Not being pressurised by routine visits to dentist, doctor, hospital, optician etc. I enjoy watching some of the special things that have been put on TV during this lockdown such as opera from the Royal Opera House, guided tours of famous museums, painting a picture in half an hour using a 4-inch paint brush and creating mountains with shadows, lakes and forests. I miss the church bells ringing and the structure of church on a Sunday, at least you know which day of the week it is! I miss socialising and walking in the countryside most of all. Early in lockdown I panicked as the toilet rolls began to run out. I'm worried that I might be developing lazy habits. It doesn't matter what my hair looks like, whether I put make-up on or not and if I pay attention to the way my clothes look! Or if the house is tidy and has been vacuumed or dusted. Strangely, the time is passing by even though I don't have the usual faster routine. Only another six weeks to go. Someone Working for Citizens Advice Week beginning 17th March … the worry of how we were going to be able to keep the Citizens Advice service going. Week beginning 23rd March … last visit to the office to close it up safely for the duration. Week beginning 30th March … all digital systems and telephones set up to work from home for a few experimental advisers. The telephones never stopped ringing with a myriad of questions which we were hard pushed to answer as everything was evolving so quickly but the answers were found; mostly covering employment and benefits. Week beginning 7th April … now 30 advisers from East Herts Citizens Advice working from home on telephone, webchat, messages and work queues. Very busy but now well organised and calm! Week beginning 11th May … still going and will be for a long time yet I think! Is it worth it? ..… yes definitely and I will continue to do it, but it is not the same as working in the office with others! 6

Someone Working on a Critical Care Ward From my own perspective dealing with COVID has presented several challenges namely: The constant worry that I may bring the virus home to my young family and pregnant wife. This has entailed me isolating within my own home, showering several times per day in an attempt to minimise the risks, while cycling to and from work to minimise surface contact and transmissions areas. Within the ICU, as you can imagine, it has been a very tense, stressful and challenging time. Of all the challenges we have faced, the decision to stop all patient visiting has been one of the hardest and has caused the most distress among the staff groups. We have tried to make this easier for the families involved by initiating and promoting the use of Skype calls, daily telephone consultations and providing the highest level of emotional and psychological support to patients on the unit that we can. This is made all the more challenging while wearing full PPE as you can imagine. This period has been extremely emotionally, psychologically and physically draining and I must admit that I have never felt as tired as I have in the past numbers of weeks, but I feel proud of my contributions and the contributions of my frontline colleagues, those working from home and all the key workers in the fight against this hidden enemy. I am also extremely thankful for all the support the NHS and key workers have been receiving throughout this period and it certainly has made the difference in enabling us all to keep going. A Local Fruit Grower As local fruit growers, we have always found it a problem to find sufficient labour for harvesting our crops. The picking jobs are temporary, spanning the months of August, September and October. In the past we have employed both Europeans and local workers, typically university students, but also people who find themselves between ‘proper’ jobs. Farm workers from abroad are already in short supply, and the current crisis has already hit farms that produce early season crops. Although the lockdown is likely to have eased by mid summer, the supply of labour from abroad will undoubtedly be affected for the foreseeable future. As fruit pickers are categorised as ‘key workers’ we are hopeful that we can recruit enough local staff to fill the gap. 7

A Member of the Clergy The hardest thing about lockdown for me is having to tell baptism families and wedding couples that we can’t go ahead with the service, and we don’t know when we will be able to host their special day. Particularly in the case of weddings, months and years of preparation have gone into that one date - and there is nothing we can do about it. Perhaps the hardest of all is funerals - at the time of writing, funerals can be only “graveside” or at the crematorium - and only a very small number of people can attend. That’s just heartbreaking. Lockdown does bring some benefits - I have been pleased to notice more the transition from winter to spring: mother nature in April and May knows how to put on a show, and will continue to do so, for free, pandemic regardless. Being confined to the same four walls can be a little maddening - so it’s also been a silver lining to pick up old hobbies again. Lockdown makes me appreciate spending time with other people, which is precisely what we cannot do face to face at the moment. It also makes me appreciate my spouse, and just how lucky I am to be with them - I can’t imagine how much more difficult isolation and lockdown is if you are alone. One new thing I have done during lockdown is learn a new language. The first thing I want to do when this is all over is visit a bookshop and browse all those lovely books which have been published recently - and discover some hard to find tomes! A Retired Person We are both doing lots of gardening and strangely enough for me, dog walking - Topcliffe field is a delight with families and young children enjoying it and the buttercups give it a beautiful hue. Royston Heath is also delightful, empty and glorious in the sun. We have had great support from our friends and neighbours, Fieldgate, Leeches, Frog End pet food, Harvey's nurseries and Tesco priority deliveries. Thursday night’s NHS clapping at the gate has been made special with young Beatrix playing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” on her trumpet and VE night the same group singing “We'll Meet Again", "White

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Cliffs of Dover" both sung to Vera Lynn's recordings and concluded with young Maddie soloing on "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square”. A memorable VE neighbourly gathering two metres apart! A Teenager Our dad really wants to start getting around, Except when it comes to the Underground! There’s not a lot of TV we haven’t seen: We’re binging every series there’s ever been! We appreciate our mum more – her life is so tiring! Hoovering, cleaning, washing clothes and ironing. Our time is freed up to bake sugary snacks; Brownies and shortbreads – we’ve learnt some kitchen hacks! There are even opportunities to dye our hair! A few pink streaks here and some blue and silver there. We celebrated VE day – our country’s still free, Even though we’re not as close as we’d all like to be. Of course there are still things we miss, like seeing our friends. Right now, things are uncertain. We don’t know when lockdown ends. We can’t eat and drink in the places that we love, We can’t visit the shops: people say they’ve had enough, But we’re spending time with family, and soon restrictions will rise. So it might be that lockdown’s just a blessing in disguise. A Retired Person During this challenging time I miss the human touch – the encouraging squeeze of a hand; the welcoming embrace of a friend; the spontaneous hugs of my grandchildren. But there are some compensations in our quieter life – that lovely sense of lingering over a cup of coffee in the garden amongst growing things and bird song without any appointments or pressing engagements; the time to read that book that I bought years ago; the unexpected caring telephone calls/emails from friends from distant times. I wonder, when we return to the ‘new’ normal, will we be able to recover the lovely things we have missed but retain the good things we have (re)discovered?

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Meldreth Primary School www.meldreth.cambs.sch.uk Living with Lockdown Last month, I described the build-up to the lockdown and tried to give a sense of the impact it was having upon us all in school. The period of confinement has doubled since then and at the time of writing we are embarking upon the eighth week of school closure. Needless to say this has proved to be a time of necessary adaptions and changes to our routines and practices, whatever our role in the school community; teachers, teaching assistants, parents and children alike; we are all endeavouring to function as a kind of virtual school with a nod to what we try to believe is a sense of ‘normality’. I should Kimberley’s choccy bics give a special mention to Maggie (Farrer) our school cleaner here, who has been absolutely capitalising on the absence of staff and children alike to give the school the deepest clean and most ferocious facelift it has seen in all its 110 years! Her energy, enthusiasm, drive and enduring pride in her work has been awesome and we salute her accordingly! Below, a number of children have shared their thoughts on lockdown, which in many ways reflect the views of most of us. We certainly benefit from fields and open space at this time, and many families are capitalising on this with tales of thoroughly rich and rewarding family time together, notwithstanding the challenges of juggling work from home and managing children’s home learning simultaneously. We are equally aware that this is also a time of profound anxiety and hardship for many: we endeavour to maintain contact and support with all our families as best as we can within the stringent regulations currently imposed and desperately look forward to the day when we can once again welcome all our children through the school gates at twenty to nine in the morning. Andrew Jones, Deputy Headteacher continued ... 11

Jude: To be honest, lockdown isn’t really as good as it sounds. I know some of you out there would probably consider this as your own personal heaven but most of it is pretty boring. Sometimes you might go for the odd walk or bike ride but of course, when you get back home it’s back to sitting around and doing nothing. You can’t go out and play with your friends, you can’t go on holidays, you can’t even visit other family members! Learning in lockdown is basically the same as learning in school, well, minus the other students and teachers ... Leo: It is different spending lots of time with my family and I have realised how much time I have spent watching football, because there is none on now and nothing is happening to any football team. I have found lots of other shows on TV and I am really enjoying BGT. There is a bit of routine in our house, when it is a school day, but when it was the Easter holidays there was very little routine; the only routine was our lunchtime walk and breakfast. I enjoyed the first week of lockdown, but now it is getting a bit too much for all of us to cope. I am half enjoying lockdown and half absolutely hating it. It has made a few changes to my life, which have made a massive difference to me and my family. Over the Easter Holidays I did lots of new sports and I did a mini Easter egg hunt, where my nanna wrote clues and my mum and dad hid them. I feel like I am in a routine, unlike the Easter holidays. I feel as though the work is just right for everyone. I am looking forward to seeing all my friends and going on holiday. A home science experiment 12

Charlotte: Lockdown for me has not been the best of times, it has revealed my emotions that I rarely show. It has made me more and more wound up and I can easily say that my temper grows shorter by the minute. But a good side to the lockdown is that I am a lot fitter now because I do Joe Wicks every day as well as cycling from Barrington to Shepreth to Foxton without stopping. On Saturdays we all as a family do a long walk round the quarry that we have got better at every week, the time that it took on the first week was three hours and our most recent one took one hour and a half! Work is getting easier as I get used to the routine and I have found working in the clothes of my choice is a lot more easy going than wearing a school uniform and I also find that being able to change my timetable and the times that I start and end and have break a lot more enjoyable than it being the same every day. I am looking forward to going on holiday, going swimming, surfing and getting more attention. I am also looking forward to doing my swimming trial, eating at restaurants and buying new clothes as well as lots of new books and lastly going to Liverpool and staying with my friend Becky. Also getting away from my family!! Elliot: In lockdown I am having a good, fun time. When I work, I have the best spot in the house. I can see out into the sweet,

Elliot working at home 13

green garden and all the wildlife behind it. I have a little, black table (my desk) and my computer on it, so whenever I need help I can just look at notes. Next to me is where my Mum does her work, so she can help me easily, but I do think I’m getting more and more independent. I think in lockdown it has made me appreciate my brother a lot more. Now I've started playing lots more with him such as Lego, football, but no board games YET! I am still going to bed at usual times but I think I'm going to carry on having delicious dinners with my Mum and Dad. Often on school days, I will do Joe Wicks in the morning then I will go on Google Chrome and look at the signpost and write out a daily routine. I make sure to always put in a nice, enjoyable walk. Henry: I have a daily routine of either a run in the morning or the afternoon then start work at 8.45am. I have a break at 12.00 and lunch then have more work, then I stop at 3.00pm and have fun. It is fine really working at home apart from the fact that if someone is making loud noises you can’t really concentrate or escape. Luckily, we are all working at the same time. Sadly, Daddy went away at the beginning of the holidays to help with the building of the NHS hospitals. I spent Easter eating chocolate eggs, playing on electronics, playing with family, sleeping, and eating. I started making a swing seat with my brother and sister because we were bored, and our old bench is rotting. I think that lockdown is annoying because I cannot see any of my friends and it isn’t the easiest to get help with schoolwork, but my Mum is awesome at helping me. I enjoy the fact that you are able to have a really quiet environment when you have a daily exercise but ultimately I don’t like it because everyone is stuck at home. When lockdown ends, I will feel like I have power to adventure over the whole world, and I hope it will be lifted by my birthday.

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Meldreth Primary School Farewells The unceremonious fizzling out of the spring term as the lockdown began has made it very difficult to give a proper send-off to departing members of staff. In April, we bade farewell to three long-standing members of our school community. Mrs Tracy Freeman has been a hugely caring and skilled member of our teaching assistant team for almost twenty years and has worked with almost all the children who have passed through our doors in that time. We wish her a very fond farewell and much happiness in her retirement.

Mrs Nicola Franks meanwhile, has been a classteacher in school for the best part of eight years. She has worked in all our school phases, from Early Years to Upper Key Stage Two, spending her time most recently with our very youngest children. A career change offers Mrs Franks some very exciting new challenges and again we wish her every happiness and success for the future.

A very familiar face in the village over the past ten years, has been our school caretaker Kim James, ever maintaining the safety and security of our premises and keeping everything ship-shape, spruce and tidy and always letting us know exactly where she is with her familiar ‘Cooo-eee!’ cry echoing down the corridors. She will be vacating the school house along with her beloved dogs and will be much missed. Once more, we wish Kim our heartfelt thanks and our very warmest wishes for the future. Andrew Jones Deputy Headteacher 17

Meldreth Manor School Although we are still in lockdown and are not able to have visitors there are many things that we have been able to continue in full. Our children and young people still attend school every day, and have their full timetable as before. The difference is where we are learning in order to stringently manage social distancing. We are learning outside even more than we were before lock down, and many of us are learning in the flats rather than entering the school building. Lessons are still creative, demanding but full of joy and happiness. Our children and young people continue to grow and be happy and healthy. Birthdays are still celebrated. Although we cannot have our big parties all together in the hall, with friends and families joining us, we hold smaller parties just within our flats. They are still full of laughter, fun and love. Special events are still celebrated such as VE day. If we do not a special event to celebrate we create one! Recently our Hummingbird flat enjoyed a fabulous Roaring 20s themed day, which involved 20s music and activities. It was a fun filled day that helped us all keep positive. We continue to have new children and young people moving in, and are recruiting new staff to join us. With them they bring new enthusiasm and much need energy.

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Despite all this positivity our children and young people are missing their families, as are the staff who live on site who are also not able to visit their families. This has been very hard for us all but has been so important and significant in keeping us all safe and well. Many staff are taking on extra hours, extra work and extra responsibilities in order to maintain our high standards and full provision. We are so grateful to and proud of everyone who is making such an extraordinary effort, showing commitment, professionalism and selflessness challenging times.

in

such

Keep happy, healthy and safe. Nadine McFadden Head of Education Meldreth Manor School nadine.mcfadden@the-aurora-group.com

Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership Competitions The entry deadline for the competitions featured in last month’s issue of Meldreth Matters has been extended until 21st July. For details of the competitions, see last month’s Meldreth Matters, which can also be viewed online at https://issuu.com/meldrethmatters/docs/ mm_may_2020_issuu/26 or follow the link on the Rail Partnership’s home page: http:// meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk.

Susan van de Ven and Sarah Grove Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership 19

Make Your Own Greetings Cards Celery Print Roses  Have some pieces of white paper ready for your printing.  Cut the end off a bunch of celery. Pour some thick paint into a flat dish (a plastic lid works well).  Dip the cut ends of the celery into the paint.  Red paint works well.  Carefully press the painted celery onto the white paper. Don’t twist it, just press firmly.  Do a selection of prints until you have found some you are happy with.  Wait until they are dry then cut them out and stick them onto a card (coloured paper works best). Add green stems and leaves.

Fold-out Flower Cards  Cut an A4 piece of bright card or thick paper in half lengthways Fold it into three equal pieces. Fold the front two pieces in half, outwards.  Cut into a semicircle shape.  Take a piece of paper of a different colour and cut some petals. Stick these behind the edges of the semicircles.  Cut a circle of paper to stick inside your card for your message.  Make a small ladybird, bee or butterfly to sit on your flower.  Stick it so that most of the insect is on the left hand side but so it overlaps the other semicircle. 20

Elephant Balloon Cards  Make a card, then choose a balloon in a contrasting colour and lay it on the card. Don’t stick it yet.  Cut two ears either in the same colour as the balloon or in a different colour - you might use wrapping paper, for instance.  If you have any googly eyes or self adhesive eyes stick these to the balloon. If not, make your own.  Now stick the ears and balloon to the card.  You could write Happy Birthday on the front if you wanted to. Pop-up Butterfly Cards

 Make a card out of blue card if possible.  Use green paper to cut some grass to stick along the bottom of the inside of the card. Add a few flowers amongst the grass.  Now cut an A4 piece of paper in half lengthways. You could use coloured paper or use white and colour it later.  Use a scrap piece of card to make a template of half a butterfly (see picture). It should be smaller than the short side of the strip of paper.  Now fold the strip five times so that each folded piece exactly fits your butterfly template across its width. Fold in a concertina way (see picture above).  Draw round the template on the top fold, the body of the butterfly on top of the three folds then cut it out, making sure you leave the folded edges uncut at the wings. Decorate your butterflies with paint, crayon or cut paper shapes. Stick the outside wings of the two outer butterflies to the card, making sure that when the card closes the butterflies close too.  You could make another butterfly for the front of the card. Hilary Crawforth 21

Shepreth Spitfires Football Club www.sheprethspitfires.co.uk Once again it is lovely to be able to write for the magazine during these difficult times and everyone at Shepreth Football Club wishes all the readers and their friends and family the best of health. Lately the children and adults have had quite a lot of fun finding new ways to stay in touch! There have been a number of crazy quiz nights organised by the dads and older siblings and even some online bingo, which the coaches and parents love as much as the children, possibly more. The children are still enjoying reading about themselves and their team mates in Meldreth Matters and they love to see each other in the photos. The children also continue to post their football skills videos on line. One Spitfire in particular has become superb at football tennis and all of the coaches and his fellow Spitfires have enjoyed his videos very much. There was also some fantastic news posted on the Facebook page, which announced that one of the U8 Spitfires has been moved along his footballing pathway with Norwich City FC into the Elite Development Centre which is all credit to his love of football and his dedicated family. During the past weeks the children have been given some sporting challenges by the Spitfire coaching team but the one that they have particularly loved is the running challenge. The children aged eight and up have been challenged to complete 20 miles worth of running while the children under eight have been challenged to do ten miles. The children that are in touch on their computers are talking about the number of miles that they have achieved so far and when we see the children from Meldreth and Shepreth on our 22

walks, they tell us about their running adventures. The Spitfires Facebook page is full of photographs of puffed out faces looking proud of themselves next to their distance and times for the day; even siblings, parents and pets are clocking up the miles which is lovely. The Spitfires community is so into the running challenge that we have bought some running medals from Trophyuk.net in Royston, to send out to everyone to brighten up the days and give the children something to look forward to. For VE Day, lots of the children decorated their windows and front gardens with flags and drawings. The Football Club also presented an older resident of the village with a commemorative trophy and medal, a lovely task for one of our older Spitfires. Another nice event was that one of the dads from the club, who is a policeman, raised lots of money (the total amount is not in yet) for the NHS by running 13 miles in full police kit. So, a big thank you from Shepreth FC to all of the Veterans of VE Day and all those who were in our thoughts during VE weekend. Thanks also to the police, NHS and all of the key workers in the club and in the villages and all around the world, for all that they have done and continue to do! So, even as everyone needs to continue to be safe, the Spitfires are paying their respects, supporting the NHS, staying in touch and doing lots of sporting challenges. All of the football club wishes everyone well and safe until things return to normal and we can all meet up again. If any boys or girls would like to join the football club please contact Sean on 07510 175370 or Lucy at lucy_smith_9@yahoo.co.uk or use our web page at www.SheprethSpitfires.co.uk. Lucy Smith

Meldreth Matters is Online To view this or past issues, follow us on: issuu.com/meldrethmatters 23

Meldreth Neighbourhood Watch Stay home. Stay connected. Stay Cyber Aware Cyber Aware is the UK government's advice on how to stay secure online during Coronavirus. Many people are spending more time online, including using video calling services, so it's important to stay secure. Here is some of the advice relating to passwords. Create a Separate Password for Your Email Your personal email account contains lots of important information about you and is the gateway to all your other online accounts. If your email account is hacked all your other passwords can be reset, so use a strong password that is different to all your others. Create Strong Passwords Using Three Random Words Weak passwords can be hacked in seconds. The longer and more unusual your password is, the harder it is to hack. To make it really difficult to hack, use a sequence of three random words you'll remember, and then add a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Save Your Passwords in Your Browser Using the same passwords for all your accounts makes you vulnerable if that one password is stolen all your accounts can be accessed. It’s good practice to use different passwords for the accounts you care most about. Remembering lots of passwords can be difficult, but modern browsers allow you to save them so that you don’t have to. Software is constantly being updated to keep sensitive personal data secure, so save your passwords in your browser when prompted; it’s much safer than re-using the same password. This advice has been adapted from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) website at www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware /home where you will find links to help you update and save your passwords, plus more cyber security advice. If you're not sure whether something is a scam, you can also talk to one of the trusted contacts in Meldreth: Graham (01763) 260358 Linda (01763) 261405 Peter (01763) 260323 Tim (01763) 262801 Alternatively, contact Neighbourhood Watch by telephoning Graham Borgonon on (01763) 260358 or email nhw.meldreth@btinternet.com. Meldreth Neighbourhood Watch 24

COVID-19: Government Advice The Government advice at the me of going to press is summarised below. Please be aware that this is subject to change, so for the latest advice, check the Government website, ww.gov.uk/coronavirus or the usual news channels. Stay Alert We can all help control the virus if we all stay alert. This means you must:  stay at home as much as possible  work from home if you can  limit contact with other people  keep your distance if you go out (two metres apart where possible)  wash your hands regularly You may now spend unlimited me outdoors, as long as social distancing is maintained at all mes. You are permi ed to meet one person at a me from a different household as long as you meet in a public place and follow social distancing guidelines. Symptoms Do not leave home if you or anyone in your household has symptoms. The main symptoms of coronavirus are:  High temperature  New, con nuous cough  Loss of or change to your sense of smell or taste. Use the 111 online coronavirus service if you have these symptoms. If you cannot get help online than please call 111. Tests Anyone in the UK over the age of five who has symptoms of coronavirus is now eligible to request an an gen test. Requests should be made online. See www.nhs.uk/condi ons/coronavirus-covid-19 for details. Control The Virus To protect yourself, you should con nue to follow social distancing measures and isola on guidance and wash your hands regularly. The evidence suggests that face coverings may help to reduce the spread of the disease. There are plenty of ideas online for how to make your own masks, using anything from bandanas to t-shirts and from handkerchiefs to socks. Further advice and guidance on Coronavirus (COVID-19) and what you need to do is available online at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and www.nhs.uk/condi ons/coronavirus-covid-19. 25

Meldreth Coronavirus Co MCCS: Moving with the Times While government rules and guidance have shi ed a li le bit, life doesn’t change much for many who’ve been finding ways of coping through lockdown, including families with children on home-schooling, anyone needing to self-isolate and people who are unable to get back to work. Staying physically and mentally healthy and safe, and keeping free of the COVID-19, are our goals. Sadly, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic look set to be with us for a long me and MCCS is commi ed to con nue suppor ng our village for as long as necessary. Some of our volunteers may be going back to work. We’re grateful to everyone who’s offered to volunteer and pa ently awaited the call to help. As we move into the next phase we may need to call on our reserves. And as always, we welcome your ideas for anything new or different – please do get in touch with any of us, any me. What’s New? While MCCS con nues to provide support to self-isola ng residents who need help with grocery provision, prescrip on collec on, social contact and more frequent one-to-one assistance, we’ve expanded with the Food Bank (thanks for the many spontaneous dona ons), Community Meals suppor ng 60 individuals in Meldreth (see pages 41-42) and Community Screenbank, which has resulted in dozens of rebuilt laptops and computers being provided to Melbourn Village College students lacking home IT (see pages 44-45). Each of these schemes has come about through the ideas and ini a ve of one person, to meet a need that they’ve perceived. Other new ideas are taking shape. MCCS has been generously supported by everyone who’s contributed to the JustGiving appeal, by Meldreth Parish Council and Royston Rotary Club. We have applied for a Cambridgeshire Community Founda on grant to enable our Community Meals and Screenbank projects to con nue, and for a mental health support project to be delivered via the Melbourn Hub. We’re collabora ng all the me with our neighbouring villages. In order to apply for grants we’ve become a cons tuted group, with policies to guide us. Details of new support and appeals were included in the mid-month flyer distributed to every house. Again, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us at any me. Susan van de Ven, Philippa Hart and the MCCS Team meldrethccs@gmail.com susanvandeven5@gmail.com Philippajoyhart@gmail.com

Thank you to all our volunteers, and for all Any ques ons? Please call Philippa Hart on 07811 323571 or Susa 26

mmunity Support (MCCS) Zone Leaders MCCS con nues to provide neighbourly support to anyone needing help fetching shopping or prescrip ons, or who would like simple contact with a friendly telephone call. If you need help with shopping, just call: Kneesworth Road, West Way, Burtons & Fenny Lane: Anna Holness, 07793 312137 Elin Way and Howard Road Zone: Andrea Cook, 07931 230012 Whitecro Road, Chiswick End, Oakrits, Melrose: John Crawforth, 07595 627684 High Street, Flambards, The Grange, Woolpack, Sta on Yard and Road: Helen Munday, 07712 555598 Bell Close and Gables Close: Cathy Walston, 07757 086380 North End, Brewery Lane, Malton Lane, Cam Farm: Bev Co rell, 07773 592838 and Ian Mitchell, 07726 936635 Food Bank

Prescrip ons

If you are experiencing food or essen al items shortages, please consider visi ng or contac ng our Food Bank at The Gables, 69 High St (opposite The Bri sh Queen) on Tuesdays from 10am-noon or Thursdays from 2.00-4.00pm. Alterna vely, you may ring Ann Bobeckyj on 07592 355279 at any me. All enquiries are welcome and all treated in confidence. Our dedicated team can also signpost you to further assistance if helpful.

If you need help collec ng your prescrip ons, please call Nick Garner on 07968 568599 or Ka e Garner on 07723 734612.

Dona ons are always welcome. You’ll see our dona ons box just near the pavement at 69 High Street or please contact us at meldrethccs@gmail.com. Thank you! Screenbank We are appealing for unwanted computer equipment. For details of how we are pu ng this equipment to good use, please see pages 36-37.

JustGiving Appeal With the support of Royston Rotary Club, we launched a JustGiving page with a fundraising target of £1000 to be reached by 31st May. Thank you to everyone who has donated: we met our target by mid May and will now receive £1000 in match funding from Rotary Interna onal, enabling us to do more in the community. Already, the JustGiving fund is being spent to make a difference: helping to support the Food Bank, providing meals for school families organised by Melbourn Coronavirus Community Support [see pages 41-42] and suppor ng the computer Screenbank [see pages 44-45].

l friendship and support in the community. an van de Ven on 07905 325574 or email meldrethccs@gmail.com. 27

Royston & District Community Transport www.roytrans.co.uk At Royston & District Community Transport, we con nue to offer essen al travel only to our clients. If you need to book a li , please call (01763) 245228 as usual, from 9.00am to 3.00pm, Monday to Friday. For the safety of clients and drivers, we ask clients to please follow these guidelines: 1. Not to travel if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, 2. To wash your hands before travelling 3. To sit in the back behind the passenger seat and wear a mask; we can provide one if necessary. 4. Unless absolutely necessary, the passenger is to travel unaccompanied 5. Our drivers will also wear a mask 6. Car surfaces will be cleaned between journeys 7. Drivers will offer physical help only if necessary, and will try to maintain social distance whenever possible. My thanks go to all the drivers who are volunteering to help clients and as a consequence are pu ng themselves on the front line and in harm’s way. We are also available for picking up prescrip ons and food shopping if required. For further informa on, please see our website: www.roytrans.co.uk. Pru Burton RDCT

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Meldreth Local History Group www.meldrethhistory.org.uk As we are still unable to meet in person, Group members are continuing to work from home on different local history projects. Several members are involved in preparing our new website for launch. Newsletter Our latest newsletter was recently sent out to our mailing list of over 250 people. The newsletter included suggestions for how to keep busy during lockdown and useful online resources for family and local history research. As our current site is “frozen” at the moment we can’t make the newsletter available there. If you would like a copy or would like to be added to our mailing list for future issues, please email info@meldrethhistory.org.uk. Kathryn Betts MLHG Webmaster

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Friends of Holy Trinity www.foht.org.uk Like most organisations our activities have been curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak. AGM Our AGM, which was due to take place in May, has been postponed until further notice. It is planned to circulate the Vice Chairman’s and Treasurer’s reports to the Friends. At the rearranged AGM, the appointment of three new committee members will be considered while one will be standing down. Jane Eyre by ‘This is My Theatre’ Group This was due to have been held in the church in May. Due to the pandemic, This is My Theatre have postponed this tour until 2021. Open Gardens and the Car Show These will be run if restrictions are reduced at a suitable time of year. John Price The Most Thorough Clean or it’s Free!

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Melbourn & Meldreth Women’s Group Life in lockdown - well weeks later and we have now missed two meetings and our summer supper will be delayed. How are we functioning in this period? Once we realised this was going on for a while the ladies of the committee decided to try and support one another and our members. We looked at our list of people coming and decided to ring those who live by themselves to see if they would like a telephone call. Everyone whom we telephoned seemed happy to have a call and we are still doing this. We are also phoning other members and trying to keep in touch with one another just to be there for each other. I think that keeping in touch is something that is being mirrored in both our villages as neighbours and friends look out for one another and we all find it reassuring to know that there is someone else there for us. A definite silver lining to the COVID cloud. Some of us on the committee have had an informal meeting via Zoom and I think we all enjoyed seeing one another and we hope to do that again. With very best wishes from: Pat Smith (01763) 262575, Sue Toule (01763) 260955, Anne Harrison (01763) 261775, Angela Leach (01763) 262793, Pat Ames (01763) 261130, Kimmi Crosby 07976 228377 and Mary Bailey (01763) 220171. Pat Smith

Holy Trinity Church During the COVID-19 pandemic, all church buildings are closed. This does not mean that the church has stopped praying, serving and learning though. We will try to live broadcast our Sunday Eucharist each week at 9.45am via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ asmhtm. You do not need a Facebook account to watch our livestream. We also send out a weekly eNewsletter with items of interest, worship resources and other matters. If you do not already receive this, please email vicar.melbournmeldreth@gmail.com to sign up. The Reverend Lizzie Shipp Parish Priest 31

Notes From a Small Garden I write this on a cold May evening after that wonderful month of warm spring weather, although we did have one or two cold nights as Jim warned us last month. Alas my potatoes were a bit frosted; also some new shoots of the rose Angel of Lichfield, a glorious healthy David Austin rose, white with a tinge of apricot. The potatoes will recover, though if it is a really hard frost they will not crop so well or will crop later. Some people advocate watering the leaves after a frost but I’m not sure why. Can anyone help? I read a good article about hardening off in The Guardian in May. Apparently when plants are suddenly put outdoors, they “lack the thick layers of waxy protection, toughened fibre-filled stems and antioxidant solar radiation shields they will need to tough it out. They can be severely damaged, even die, as a result. But easing this transition through a horticultural technique called hardening off allows them to adapt quickly to these new conditions by ramping up their defences.” I’m not sure that I am much the wiser for this detailed information but I know it to be true, through long experience. This also goes for bedding plants bought from a nursery. Some sources say that, depending on the weather, seductive geraniums, petunias and many other bedding plants may need a protected spot for up to a week. This year I am using various plants which have either over-wintered or I have grown from seed, to put in pots and hanging baskets. Tumbling tomatoes look great in both pots and hanging baskets. This year I am trying Golden Candy Tots as well as Sungold, the thoroughly reliable, good cropping and deliciously sweet cherry tomato. This spring has been such a memorable one for the garden, and those who have spent most of each day there recently, if able to forget the COVID-19 virus, have marvelled at the profusion of blossoms. Since most of the fir trees have been pulled down from the field to the south west of Chiswick End, not only has our morning sun on the gardens increased, but we have also been able to see two fields of Tim and Nicky Elbourn’s apple tree blossom. There has been no frost this year to blight the fruit and with any luck they will have a much better season than last year. 32

In his poem The Green Linnet, Wordsworth talks of blossom: ‘Beneath these fruit-tree boughs that shed Their snow-white blossoms on my head, With brightest sunshine round me spread Of Spring’s unclouded weather, In this sequestered nook how sweet To sit upon my orchard seat! And flowers and birds once more to greet, My last year’s friends together.’ But for many during this lockdown, it has truly been a lonely and miserable time. Margaret Hunter and I have been reading a poem to each other every evening. She is truly knowledgeable about English literature, whereas I am on a steep learning curve where poetry is concerned. In the last three or four days we have selected some garden poetry and both greatly enjoyed Sir Philip Sydney, Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas and Thomas Edward Brown who wrote My Garden, which begins “The garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!” Three jobs for June:  Deadhead the roses  Plant out/sow successive rows of lettuce  Water well if we have another dry spell. Keep well and safe, and good gardening from Jim and me. Julie Draper juliedraper@dumbflea.co.uk

Barry Palser We were sorry to learn of the death of Barry Palser in May after a long illness. Barry formed the Savoy Jazz Men in 1959 and last year celebrated their 60th anniversary with an event at the Shepreth Motel. Barry organised many jazz events at Meldreth Manor School over the years. Our thoughts are with his wife, Bridget, and his family. The Meldreth Matters Team 33

Cycling: Calls for Safe Space With the advice to stay away from public transport, and an intensified focus on cycling as a means of safe local transport, a new conversation is happening about practical and achievable measures that could be quickly implemented. Please write to the County Council and to the Mayor if you’re concerned – and thanks to everyone who has done so already. You can also sign the ‘Spaces to Breathe’ open letter from the Cambridge Cycling Campaign, www.camcycle.org.uk, which is working with cycle campaigns all around Cambridgeshire to ensure safe walking and cycling in the Cambridge region during the lockdown and into the future. Please see here for details: www.camcycle.org.uk/ campaigning/issues/spaces-to-breathe. Susan Van de Ven

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Get on Your Bikes! Since thinking about writing this article, COVID-19 has overtaken us and cycling has become a much more popular and important form of exercise for so many people during this current lock down. We would like to encourage these new found enthusiasts to join our popular village cycling group, once we get back to some form of normality again. Sourcing bikes needn’t be a very expensive option. Bike shops have been allowed to remain open throughout the lockdown period and, of course, purchasing a bike online is also an option. Recycling centres have now re-opened and bargain bicycles can sometimes be found there. This is a particularly good option for novices and children, who might not necessarily enjoy the two wheel experience; at least too much cash will not be lost. For those that would prefer a softer option but still get good exercise, electric bikes are becoming a very popular choice and indeed, we already have some electric bike owners in our cycling group – Meldreth Marvels. With the wonders of modern technology, the cycling group has still been able to meet but this time, not on our roads but through the electronic highways of JITSI where we talk about the creative ways we’ve been keeping ourselves safe and active. If you would like to get into cycling and need some advice, members of the Group can help, so please do get in touch. John Rogger Meldreth Marvels Cycling Group (01763) 260809 35

Meldreth Cottage Industry About three weeks ago I discovered that several residents of Chiswick End were making scrubs, bags and gowns for Addenbrooke’s and Papworth hospitals, with help from the Cambridgeshire ScrubHub. I rang them and suggested that we might make protective garments for our two local homes, Aurora Meldreth Manor and Maycroft. Aurora were very enthusiastic with the idea and said that they had no gowns and had been unable to purchase any. Maycroft said that they were fine for the moment, had had no cases of Coronavirus, but were glad to know that the group were there in case there turned out to be a need. The group grew in numbers, with two members living in Elmdon and Shepreth, and set to work. Patterns could be obtained on the net and we were inundated with sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers in different colours and weaves. The pillowcases proved to be a boon for making bags; it was very useful for the health care worker to take off working clothes, put them in the bag and on return home put the bag plus clothes straight into the washing machine. Those of us most skilled made scrubs, (a top plus trousers) and the rest of us turned out gowns, bags and masks for our friends. Jackie from Shepreth found an excellent pattern for making a hat, similar to a surgeon’s cap. This is made of just two double pieces of cloth, but despite the instructions I couldn’t for life or money work out how to attach them together. Before ringing for help I tried the internet and there was my pattern and an excellent video showing me all the steps for turning out a very fine cap! I even learned some basic sewing techniques such as which way to put pins in material you are going to sew together. 36

Imagine my delight when I next rang Maycroft to see how they all were faring, and the manager leapt on my suggestion of caps for her carers. They were all a bit fed up with washing their hair every day! She also wanted bags for them all as they were using black plastic sacks to put soiled clothes in. So we have lost count of the number of bags, caps, scrubs and gowns we have made. We sadly lost Ann from Elmdon, who was seduced into making scrubs for the Saffron Walden group, but promised that she would be back! We have enough offers of sheets and pillowcases, so many thanks to all who donated. Now we must assess the need for more protective garments in our homes and hospitals, but new stitchers, are most welcome to the group! Julie Draper juliedraper@dumbflea.co.uk

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Meldreth Parish Council www.meldreth-pc.org.uk A meeting held on Thursday 7th May 2020 through a video/audio link, in accordance with revised procedures provided by the Coronavirus Act 2020. The main points of this meeting are set out below in the usual summary format. The full formal minutes can be viewed in due course on the website at www.meldreth-pc.org.uk and on the Parish Council notice board; these will be presented for approval at the next Parish Council meeting. Discussions and Decisions  District and County Councillors’ Report: A very full and informative report was presented. The COVID-19 virus will significantly impact local authority finance and services, as it will the corporate sector. Having regard to COVID-19 it was interesting to compare the different actions taken locally to respond to the crisis.  COVID-19: There were lengthy discussions about the village’s responses to the COVID-19 virus crisis and tribute was paid to those organising our response together with the many volunteers who have come forward to help with the organisation of our response and the detailed assistance needed to carry it out. Three specific requests for financial assistance were considered by the Council. The first of these resulted in the Council voting to make a donation of £1000 to the funds of Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support (MCCS). This will be used to help them to organise a loans programme of short-term financial assistance to those requiring key essentials but awaiting payments such as benefits and pensions. The second proposal resulted in the Council agreeing (if requested by MCCS) to apply for a grant of £2000 from Cambridge Community Foundation, which if successful will be passed by the Council as a donation to MCCS. The Council also agreed to meet certain MCCS printing costs of up to £100 for a period of six months, to be reviewed at that point.  Planning: Four items were reported for information. These had been already determined remotely by the Planning Committee. Each of these concerned projects already considered by the Council, namely (1) land between Burtons and West Way, (2) and 38

(3) Fenny Lane Farm – discharge of conditions and notification of prior approval, and (4) development at 108 High Street.  Other issues: A survey of drains has recently been carried out and this confirms an unsatisfactory state of affairs, with many drains blocked; this will be reported to Highways. It was further noted that our Local Highways Initiative application to improve safety at the Fenny Lane/Whitecroft Road junction was not approved by Highways; consideration will now be given by our Traffic Group to submitting a further proposal. There was an update about the current position of the County Broadband proposal. Progress continues but there is a possibility that fibre broadband could be extended to parts of the village where there is significant support for the new product, but not perhaps to the entire village, Next Meeting This will be held online on Thursday 4th June from 7.00pm. Please see the our website, www.meldreth-pc.org.uk, for further information. Meldreth Parish Council

Meldreth Parish Council - Contact Details http://www.meldreth-pc.org.uk Parish Office, Meldreth Sheltered Scheme, Elin Way, Royston SG8 6LT

Office hours: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12.30-2.30pm By appointment at other times Parish Clerk: Mrs J Damant (01763) 269928 parishclerk@meldreth-pc.org.uk Mr R Goddin (Chairman) (01763) 260061

goddin@btinternet.com

Mr R A Searles (Vice Ch)

(01763) 260435

robert.searles@btinternet.com

Mrs C J Fallon

(01763) 262822

joan.fallonpc@gmail.com

Mr N Garner

(01763) 268328

nickphgarner@gmail.com

Mrs P Gilmore

(01763) 263138

patgilmore.mpc@gmail.com

Dr R James

(01763) 261085

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Mr C A Land

(01763) 261004

conradland@btinternet.com

Mr Nigel Pellatt

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Mr A Young

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andrewmpc@gmail.com

39

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We can make life a little easier Local Community Services delivered from Moorlands Court Homecare: our fully trained carers visit you in your home. Sitting service: a visit from our experienced staff gives family carers time for themselves. Day Centre: based at Moorlands Court with a friendly and sociable atmosphere and includes a tasty 2 course lunch. Meals service: nutritious, hot lunchtime meal delivered to you. Housekeeping: we do those jobs which you can no longer manage, from cleaning and ironing, to bed changing and shopping. To find out more, call us at Moorlands Court on 01763 260564 or email: denise.taylor@chsgroup.org.uk

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Melbourn Community Meals Comes to Meldreth Hundreds of prepared, nutritious meals have been delivered to residents in Melbourn and Meldreth thanks to local chefs and hospitality partners, the Melbourn Coronavirus Community Response and the Council. The Council is offering to support others to do the same. Across the district people’s circumstances have changed enormously from house to house. Liz Young, a professional chef who now runs catering company The Modern Table, was offered funding to put her skills to work to help feed those who may be in difficulty due to the coronavirus pandemic. The idea came about with help and offers of support from many members of the local hospitality industry including Rosie Sykes, chef, author and writer; Jack van Praag, chef and owner of Jack’s Gelato; Tom Morgan, chef; Marcus Edwards, owner of Albany Vinters; and Leo Riethoff, chef and founder of Steak and Honour. Liz needed to work out the details around who to provide meals for, and how to distribute them. She was put in touch with South Cambridgeshire District Council, which was able to use existing networks and local knowledge to identify Melbourn Coronavirus Community Response as a community group that would be able to rapidly distribute the meals to residents in Melbourn and Meldreth. The scheme was quickly set up, with the meals prepared in Steak and Honour’s commercial kitchen in Cambridge, where they are portioned into the right size packs for the families who will receive them, cooled, and The team at the Melbourn Hub cold-transported to the Melbourn Community Hub kitchen. From here the team of Melbourn Coronavirus Community Response volunteers deliver them to families’ doorsteps. To ensure food safety is paramount throughout continued ... 41

this process, the Council’s Environmental Health team advised the group as they established the way the project would work. Along with one of the volunteer chefs Rosie Sykes – who is also working towards setting up a charitable community food project to support local people – Liz sources the ingredients and designs a varied menu that offers nutritious meals. The ingredients for the meals are provided by donations from Cambridge Organic Food Company (COFco); Meadows, a small Newnham shop and supplier; and local wholesaler Fieldgate Nurseries. These are topped up using the generous funding Liz was originally offered, alongside support from the Melbourn Hub and Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support. The Council is encouraging other groups considering setting up similar projects to apply to existing funding schemes e.g. the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation Coronavirus Fund or the National Lottery’s Awards for All fund. Liz said: “Melbourn Hub is so well set up that working with them was going to benefit as many people as possible because of the network system they had already created.” Councillor Jose Hales, District Councillor for Melbourn, said: “I feel really fortunate that this idea was brought to life in my village. The fact that our Hub’s catering facilities have previously been approved by Environmental Health meant that we could offer to help without any delay, and our Coronavirus Community Response volunteers were eager to join this fantastic group of individuals from the catering industry to support our residents. “All credit to this group for having the idea and the get up and go to make it happen, and to Council colleagues and Cath Sharman, who heads up our Melbourn Coronavirus Community Response, for bringing all the pieces of the puzzle together. The pandemic is putting pressure on families in so many ways and I’m pleased our residents are benefitting from these nutritious meals. If other chefs or community groups are wondering what they can do to help, get in touch and Council staff will be happy to help.” To contact the Council to discuss setting up something similar – whether you are a chef, someone who has food to donate, or a community group that can help to get meals to families – email duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk. South Cambridgeshire District Council 42

Village Garden Services

Reflections Hair Studio Specialist in all aspects of Unisex Hairdressing.

Contact : Campbell Weir Mobile : 07798 924022 Home : 01223 207583 Email : campbell.weir@outlook.com

Cutting * Colouring Techniques * Hair Extensions We have a wide range of home hair care retail.

Reliable and friendly service for all your general garden maintenance needs and much more ...… !

Gift vouchers and hair accessories available.

Little Hands Nursery School The Moor, Melbourn

Little Hands is a Private Nursery School specialising in quality education for the under fives and offers:

01763 260431

Flexible hourly booking - open 08.30 to 16.30 Term time bookings with optional holiday club Bumble Bee room for children 12 – 24 months Ladybird room for 2 year olds Butterfly room for children 3-5 years With optional “ready for school sessions”

45 Whitecroft Road , Meldreth

All sessions have a high staff to child ratio and are available for eligible funded 2 year olds and all funded 3/4 year olds with no extra charges

Tuesday & Thursday 9am - Late Monday &Wednesday closed Friday 9am - 6pm Sat 9am - 3pm

Categorised as “Outstanding” by Ofsted

For further information contact Anne McCrossen: 01763 260964 lh-melbourn@btconnect.com Little Hands is also at Bourn, Linton and Newton visit the website at www.littlehands.co.uk

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Community Screenbank Don’t Throw Away Your Old Computers and TVs Recycling centres have reopened – but please DON’T throw away any unwanted computers, laptops, screens, mice and keyboards! Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support is building new computers out of second-hand donations, to supply Melbourn Village College students who are on home study due to COVID-19 restrictions but lacking home computers. We'd also like to make them available to elderly isolated residents who'd like to get set up on the internet for the first time, whether for shopping or just to keep in touch with loved ones. The computers are rebuilt by Andy Thomas at home in Meldreth on his kitchen table. They are then PAT tested by David Coton. The first lot of new computers was delivered to Melbourn Village College last week, to the delight of Headteacher Simon Holmes: “We’re extremely grateful for this equipment as it will make a significant difference to those children and families who receive it. Home schooling is not something any of our parents expected to be doing and for those children who have been trying to access their work on a mobile phone or sharing a tablet or family computer, this is a huge step forwards. Our thanks go to all who have donated.” More computers are in the process of being rebuilt but more monitors, keyboards and mice are needed. Several old laptops have also been donated to the scheme - these are especially useful. Whatever might seem too old or unworkable can be stripped for spare parts – everything is useful. Hard drives are wiped clean and everything is rebuilt from scratch. 44

Some history nuggets lie within. Award-winning children’s author Frances Hardinge has provided a monitor and a laptop: "This was my laptop while I was writing A Face Like Glass and the first half of Cuckoo Song. It's helped me conjure underground labyrinths, exploding cheeses, screaming dolls and supernatural secrets. I hope it will be of use to somebody else now!" Another children’s author, Rhiannon Lassiter, has donated her old Ibook G4, which is being sold to raise funds to pay for spare parts. Computer gaming guru Alistair Halsby has donated the smallest and largest computers so far. Andy says that "Both have about the same power - time shrinks things! The large computer was in its day an example of the best money could buy.� So - if you have any old computers or components lying around, and would consider donating them, please let us know! Susan van de Ven and Philippa Hart Meldreth Coronavirus Community Support

The Letting Centre Established 23 years, The Letting Centre is a local, dedicated letting agency based in Melbourn. With longstanding clients some of whom have been with us for 20 years or more, we aim to provide a personal, tailored service covering Cambridge, Royston, Buntingford, Saffron Walden and surrounding villages. We offer discounted fees for multiple properties, as well as those located in Melbourn and surrounding area. Call us for a free market appraisal and comprehensive landlord pack.

The Letting Centre, 107 High St, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire SG8 6AP Tel. 01763 263039 email enquiries@letting-centre.co.uk www.letting-centre.co.uk

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District and County Councillors’ Reports Like everyone, our councils are immersed responding to the pandemic and trying to gauge the future: finding support for residents and local businesses, lobbying for further government support, and exploring how to reintroducing paused services and how to cope with the universally predicted recession. Like so many people, council officers have been working at home, often juggling home schooling and child care. Government COVID-19 Grant to Local Government Specific allocations to County and District Councils have now been published. The principle of allocation is two-thirds to counties and one third to districts. There’s concern that sums fall short of what’s needed to compensate for COVID-19 costs and losses, but discussions and lobbying are ongoing. Business Support South Cambridgeshire District Council has been very active receiving applications for and dispensing the Government’s business support grants. At the time of writing, over 80% of South Cambridgeshire businesses eligible to receive applicable government aid had been paid out by SCDC. This compares very favourably with neighbouring councils and national performance. Your district councillors have been active in contacting those businesses in the Melbourn Ward which had not yet made an application, to encourage them to apply. Please do contact Philippa or Jose with any queries or concerns. Green Bins Our Waste Service has reintroduced green bin collections and Meldreth’s green bins were collected on 5th May. The service is still affected by staff being off work due to self-isolation but it is hoped that green bins will be collected at least monthly from now on. The council has published on its website guaranteed green bin collection dates. Recycling Centres These reopened in the week beginning 11th May, on social distancing protocols and with a request to restrict visits to ‘if absolutely necessary’. Care Homes and Care Settings Our area has a number of care homes and at-home care schemes which serve the wider community. We’ve been keeping in contact with them all to find out what if anything our local support groups can do to for them. We’re also in regular contact with our County Adult Social Care 46

and Public Health officers and our District Housing officers, who are directly involved in organizing support. The national picture of concern around PPE and testing in care home settings has not escaped Cambridgeshire. The County Council publishes a series of ‘County COVID-19 Emergency Reports’ every Monday, which provide an insight into how all aspects of the council’s work is impacted by the pandemic here: https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Committees/tabid/62/ctl/ ViewCMIS_CommitteeDetails/mid/381/id/60/Default.aspx. This link is hard to find if you are searching on the Council’s website you need to search Meetings, Committees, Agendas, General Purposes Committee – so please contact Susan if you’d like her to send it directly! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time, with any question or concern. Jose Hales and Philippa Hart, District Councillors Susan van de Ven, County Councillor Ed.: For COVID-19 information from our Councillors see pages 26-27. Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme Supporting people in Melbourn, Meldreth & Shepreth Can we help you? Your relative? Your neighbour? What is the service? We offer twice weekly visits and daily phone calls to support elderly or mobility impaired residents in their own homes by building a friendship and helping prevent social isolation. We can carry out errands such as local shopping, collecting prescriptions, paying bills or going to the Post Office so people can remain supported and independent at home. We can also help couples or those living with their family. We are also trained to support people living with dementia. Who provides the services? Mobile wardens, who have all been carefully selected for their caring nature and are DBS checked. What will it cost? We do make a small charge for the services, which is from as little as £7.50 per week. How can I join? For more information please contact Jeannie on 07808 735066 or Jane on 07592 821976. Melbourn Mobile Warden Scheme is a registered charity 47

since 2009 Winner: British Renewable Energy Installer of the Year, 2018

Call us anytime on 01223 863 885.

cambridge-solar.co.uk

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Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire www.hsrsc.org.uk Strava Challenge Do you like to keep fit? Maybe you’re keen to expand your exercise as part of your lockdown routine. Maybe you already use Strava, the activity tracker app. This app allows you to track the routes you take when you exercise, share your activities with your friends and colleagues and even compete with them, even when you can’t socialise. Home-Start’s own Strava club, HSRBSC Giving Tuesdays, has been set up to help our friends, volunteers, supporters and families come together in a virtual way, to get fit together and raise funds for HomeStart’s work in the local area. If you’re already on Strava, why not join the HSRBSC club? It’s called Giving Tuesdays and is part of our lockdown campaign. Every Tuesday between 7th April to 1st December, we’ll be posting new activities for everyone to take part in on our Home-Start website; the Strava Club is part of this campaign. We’re hoping to see lots of activity from our supporters on the page, so come along and join in! If you’re not already a Strava user, why not sign up? It’s free to use and a really great way to track your fitness, make new friends among our supporters, and connect with other people in the area. You can create virtual challenges for yourself and others, all we’re asking is that you donate to Home-Start every time you achieve a personal goal. What could be simpler? If you’d like to know more, you can hop, skip and jump along to our website and click on the Fitness Challenge link: https:// www.hsrsc.org.uk/week-4-fitness-challenge. Or, if you’d like to join the Home-Start club on Strava, head to our club page: https:// www.strava.com/clubs/637391 Hopefully, we’ll see you there! The Home-Start Team Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire

Incorporated as Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire (01763) 262262, admin@hsrsc.org.uk 49

Mick Taylor—(01763) 261118 Graham Borgonon—(01763) 260358 (01763) 262158, open 7am-10pm, 7 days Sherida Richards—(01763) 262512 Paul Ray—(01763) 260304

Cycling Group Local History Group Lunch Club Melwood Cons. Group

John Rogger—(01763) 260809 (01763) 260129; www.meldrethhistory.org.uk Nikki & Julie—07599 292327 (01763) 232855; www.melwood.btck.co.uk

Photographic Group

www.melbourn-photographic-club.co.uk

Revelation U3A WI

Miriam Skuce—(01763) 262440 Chris Davison—(01763) 264189 Jane Bates—(01763) 261638

Sport

Bowls Club Croquet Club Meldreth United FC Table Tennis Tennis Club

Vivien Constable—(01223) 207557 Janet Pope—(01763) 248239 07930 650036 Christine Knight—(01763) 261676 (01763) 243376; http://cspark.at/Meldr2

Church

Rev. Lizzie Shipp Rev. Mary Price Bells John Price (Friends)

(01763) 220626; https://allsaintsmelbournholytrinitymeldreth.co.uk (01763) 261569 Peter Hinton—(01763) 262045 (01763) 260048; www.foht.org.uk

Baby & Toddler Group Hartbeeps Pre-School Primary School

Thea Peacock—07930 893201 Kelly@hartbeeps.com 07518 173653; www.meldrethPreschool.com (01763) 260432; www.meldreth.cambs.sch.uk

Parish Council District Councillors

Please see details at end of Parish Council report Philippa Hart—07811 323571 Jose Hales—07703 262649 03450 450500; www.scambs.gov.uk/ Susan van de Ven—07905 325574 susanvandeven.mycouncillor.org.uk/ 0345 045 5200; www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ Anthony Browne; www.anthonybrowne.org/

Councils & Govt.

Clubs & Societies

Facilities

Litter Picker Neighbourhood Watch One Stop Village Hall Bookings Village Hall Chairman

Childn.

Village Directory

District Council Offices County Councillor County Council Offices MP

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Transport Health Support Services Emergencies NonEmerg. Misc.

Station Ticket Office

Opening hours: Mon - Fri 7-11.15am, Sat 8.45am - 1.25pm

Rail User Group

07905 325574; www.meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk

Govia/Great Northern

www.thameslinkrailway.com

The Trainline Stagecoach Potholes, Highways problems, etc. Streetlights (faulty)

www.thetrainline.com www.stagecoachbus.com/Cambridge 0345 045 5212; http://www2.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ HighwaysReports/Highways/ReportProblem1.aspx 08007838 247 - give location, fault & SC or CCC no.

Melbourn Surgery Addenbrooke’s NHS

(01763) 260220; Dispensary—(01763) 261246 (01223) 245151 111 (24 hour non-emergency number)

Childline

Community Transport Home-Start Melbourn Time Bank Mind (mental health) Samaritans

0800 1111 (24 hours) Cambridge: 0344 848 7979 Royston: 03444 111 444 www.citizensadvice.org.uk (01763) 245228; www.roytrans.co.uk (01763) 262262; www.hsrsc.org.uk (01763) 263303; https://tol2.timebanking.org/melbourn 0300 123 3393 (9am-6pm M-F); www.mind.org.uk 116 123 (24 hours); www.samaritans.org

General Emergency Gas Electricity Anglian Water Cambridge Water

999 or 112 0800 111 999 0800 783 8838 03457 145145; www.anglianwater.co.uk (01223) 706050; www.cambridge-water.co.uk

Crimestoppers

S Cambs Fire & Rescue

0800 555 111; crimestoppers-uk.org 101; www.cambs.police.uk Report issues: www.contactcambspolice.uk (01480) 444500; www.cambsfire.gov.uk

Melbourn Hub

(01763) 263303; www.melbournhub.com

Royston Museum

(01763) 242587; www.roystonmuseum.org.uk

Taxi (Butler Meltax)

(01763) 244444; 212223

Citizens Advice Bureau

Police

Details of village groups and facilities can be found in the Meldreth Today section at www.meldrethhistory.org.uk. Meldreth Matters Team: Chairman: Lesley Farbridge 261578; Editor & Layout: Kathryn Betts 268428; Proof-reading: Ken McLean 261243; Treasurer, Secretary & Trade Advertising: Beverley Cottrell 262176; Advertising Layout: Richard Burns 263121; Editorial Assistant: Robin Farbridge; Distribution: Bill Peters 260983; Founder: Ann Barnes Meldreth Matters is available online at issuu.com (search for Meldreth)

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Advertising Rates Size per issue Half page £27.25 Quarter page £16.50 Eighth page £8.75 Business listing per line

6 months £134.00 £74.00 £43.00 £11.00

12 months £216.00 £118.00 £65.00 £16.00

Occasional full page advertising features are also available on request. For all advertising enquiries, please email meldrethmatters@hotmail.com or telephone Beverley Cottrell on (01763) 262176.

Index to Advertisers Meldreth Matters depends entirely on advertising revenue to cover its production costs. Please mention Meldreth Matters when contacting our advertisers. AngliEAR Hearing ..........................15 Art of Clean ....................................30 Art of Clean Wood ...........................2 Aurora Meldreth Manor (Job)..........34 Cambourne Self Storage ..................29 Cambridge Solar .............................48 CHS Day Centre .............................10 CHS Group .....................................40 The Country Store ............................2 Ely Design Group ............................29 Eternit Sports and Social Club ...Cover Eve Construction .............................30 Gilhooly ..........................................16 Huw Shortle Window Cleaning .......29 iPlaster ............................................30 Lawn Partners .................................10 The Letting Centre ..........................45 Little Hands Nursery School ...........43 Melbourn Flooring ....................Cover Melbourn Village College ..................4 Meldreth Landscapes .......................2

Meldreth Plant Hire .........................14 Moncraft Computers ........................2 Nancy Foster Footcare .....................10 Newlings of Royston Funeral Service16 Nigel Wigg Home Improvement ......15 P D Property Services ........................4 Penn Farm Physiotherapy ................15 Reflections Hair Studio ....................43 Richard Burns Electrician ..................2 Rod’s PC Support ............................40 Royston Fencing ..............................10 Sage Blinds and Interiors ..................2 Slimming World ........................Cover Specialist Dental Partners ................37 Summit Landscapes ..........................16 Trademark Kitchens .........................43 Tudor Access Scaffolding ...................4 Village Garden Services ...................43 Yoga2 Classes ............................Cover Z Web Hosting ................................48

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Whaddon Road, Meldreth, SG8 5RL

Club Facili es

Entertainments

Licensed bar Hall available for private hire for any occasion (compe ve rates) Fully equipped gymnasium (annual subscrip on) Snooker room, Pool table Large children's outdoor ac vity area Bowls green, Petanque pistes Football pitches, changing rooms

1st Friday of the month Melbourn Rock Club One Saturday a month Melbourn Rock Club Rock and Roll Night Every Thursday night Eternit bingo—starts 7.30pm Local gig venue

Big charity events during the year Motorcycle Rally - Air Ambulance - Mini Chill weekend - Camping - Local Chari es Club Charity - LUPUS

New Yoga Class for Meldreth Meldreth Village Hall Mondays 9.00 – 10.30 am Starts 14th January 2019 and runs weekly during term time Friendly, supportive classes in a non-competitive environment helping you to develop strength, flexibility and well-being. Suitable for all abilities. £10 drop-in or £90 for a 10 class pass. More details at www.yoga2.co.uk or email Chris and Shelagh: yoga2@btinternet.com

Meldreth Matters is printed by Plumridge Printers 41 High St Linton 01223 891407