Issuu

November 2015

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Meldreth Matters, November 2015 Contents include … November Events in Meldreth Letters to the Editor Gardening Station Gardening Women’s Group Good Companions WI Photographic Club Friends of Holy Trinity Church News Christmas Tree Festival Baby and Toddler Group Pre-School Primary School Guides Village Christmas Cards What’s On for Children Murder at the Gables From the Archives Parish Council Volunteering Opportunities News from Heidi Allen District Councillor’s Report County Councillor’s Report Melbourn Sports Centre Meldreth Tennis Club Local Events Christmas Craft Workshops Orwell Singers Planning Matters Fireworks Safety Village Directory Index to Advertisers

Page 2-3 4-5 6 7 9 10 10-11 11 13 14 15 16 19 20-21 22-23 23 24 26-27 29 33-36 39 40-41 42 45-47 47 48 50-51 52-53 53 54-55 57 58-59 60

Welcome to the November issue of Meldreth Matters. I hope that Richard is not tempting fate with his choice of cover picture this month. After all, it’s several years since we had any significant snowfall in Meldreth. However, according to recent reports we could be in for a long, cold winter. It would appear that the earliest ever arrival of a Bewick’s swan from Siberia at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge recently, means that we could soon be facing freezing temperatures. Time to hibernate, perhaps! Kathryn

Cover: Village Signpost in winter. Photograph by Kathryn Betts 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.

November Events in Meldreth To have your event listed, please email meldrethmatters@hotmail.com Monday 2nd November, 10.00am - 12 noon MLHG Coffee Morning Sheltered Housing Community Room, Elin Way We invite you to join us for our Coffee Morning, when there will be a presentation on 'The Orchards of Meldreth in the 20th century'. We will be showing pictures of many people and places associated with Meldreth's orchards and hearing stories about those times. Please come along and join us. If you need transport please ring Joan on (01763) 260129.

Saturday 7th November, 10.30am - 12 noon Elin Way ‘Community Coffee Break’ There will be our usual ‘Bring and Buy’ cake stall and donations of home-made cakes and/or biscuits are always welcomed. Do join us for a refreshing cup of coffee or tea and an opportunity to catch up with friends. Marion Long, (01763) 261365 2

Friday 13th November, 7.30pm FOHT Quiz Holy Trinity Church by Colin Limming, including a Ploughman’s Supper Tickets £9.00 (Friends £8.50) including wine or juice For further details please see page 13 Wednesday 25th November, 9.30 - 11.30am Glazed Creations will be visiting the Meldreth Baby and Toddler Group Meldreth Village Hall For further details please see page 16 Saturday 28th November, 12.30 - 3.00pm Christmas Market Meldreth Primary School Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th November, 11.00am - 5.00pm Christmas Tree Festival Holy Trinity Church Followed by an advent service at 5.30pm on Sunday 29th For further details see page 15 Saturday 28th November, 7.30pm and Sunday 29th November, 2.00pm (also being performed on 5th & 6th December) Melbourn Amateur Dramatics Society presents Pirates of the Panto Meldreth Village Hall See back page for details 3

Letters to the Editor Afternoon Tea at the Ritz in aid of Look Good Feel Better Many thanks to all the generous ladies who supported our Tea at Meldreth Ritz. The Hall looked wonderful and the cakes and sandwiches that were all donated were delicious. Chris Robinson made us a masterpiece Look Good Feel Better cake that was auctioned for £45.00 and the lovely ladies who Maisie Svensson, Wendy Braid, Lesley successfully bid for it Spratt and Donna Sleight, with the cake donated it for all to made by Chris Robinson share. Sue Moule and Kirsty Bradbrook provided the background music and Donna Sleight, Lesley Spratt and I were the waitresses, although we quickly decided we were not cut out for the job! The event raised £900 and to be able to send this amount to the charity will enable eighteen ladies to attend a beauty workshop, which is absolutely marvellous. Everyone left with their makeup gift kindly donated by Esse of Melbourn so there were winners all around! Our thanks to the Village Hall Committee for their support and also to our fantastic team of helpers; we couldn’t have done it without their enthusiasm and help. Our thanks to you all! Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) is the only international cancer support charity, providing practical and very effective free services for women and teenagers suffering from the visible side effects from cancer treatment. LGFB runs free skincare and make up workshops in over 77 hospitals and cancer support centres nationwide. In 2014 14,500 women and teenagers were supported by the charity. For more information, please visit www.lgfb.co.uk or telephone (01372) 747500. Wendy Braid 4

Letters to the Editor Thank You Meldreth Almost every day over the past twelve months my two children, Sam, aged 4 and Hannah, aged 2 and I have taken the train from Meldreth to Royston where the children attend nursery. I would like to thank all our fellow train users from Meldreth and Melbourn, as well as the station staff, who have offered to help us cross the footbridge to get to the Southbound platform. With a wellpracticed routine we usually managed to cross without assistance, but we were nevertheless very grateful of almost daily offers of help. Also, for those regular 8.10am train users, your on-going nonverbal offers were noted and very much appreciated. Many thanks again and it is wonderful to live in a such community-spirited village. James Francis, Whitecroft Road

Melbourn & District U3A: Correction Melbourn & District U3A meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 2.45 pm at Melbourn Village College and not on the third Thursday as stated in last monthâ€™s article. I do apologise and hope that the writerâ€™s senior moment will not put you off joining us. Maureen Moody

STOP PRESS: Meldreth Manor and Orchard Manor Scopeâ€™s Board of Trustees met on 17th October to discuss the future of Meldreth Manor and Orchard Manor. Before making a final decision, the Board will first consider the proposal of selling the services to another provider. This was a recent development put forward separately to the consultation and the project team will now work with the relevant people to take this forward. The Board will meet again in November to make a final decision. 5

Notes From a Small Garden At the time of writing in mid October, the runner beans (Benchmaster) are still giving plenty of long slender stringless pods for Jim and Jane so Julie is definitely going to try that variety next year. Jim has brought the strawberries into the plastic greenhouse and also the pot grown chrysanthemums which, although hardy, need sheltering from the wind and rain. His late sown beetroot are just about big enough to use. He is trying an old broad bean variety, Bunyards Exhibition, this winter to compare with Aquadulce Claudia which were sown earlier this year. The carnations in the greenhouse border have been cut down to 8 inches and will be kept just moist during the winter. The sweet peas have arrived and half will be sown now in cardboard tubes, with the remainder sown in March. There is a chance of frost as Julie writes this, so she has brought all the tomatoes from the garden (Marmande) and the polytunnel (mainly Sungold and Black Krim, which has done spectacularly well this year) into the house to ripen. Things to do Clean the greenhouse glass inside and out and keep watering to a minimum. Continue planting bulbs, forget-me-nots, primulas and wallflowers for next year’s spring display. Plant garlic and autumn variety shallots and onions and finish off planting spring flowering bulbs. Julie found some lovely white daffs at Phillimore’s today; thalia and green-eyed. An example of cottage economy was seen in Meldreth when a pair of favourite gardening boots were worn through with the toes showing. The tongues were cut out of the boots and stuck across the holes thus allowing another 2/3 years of faithful service. Julie has an antique metal piece of gardeners equipment (pictured) which can be attached over the sole of a shoe when digging. This stops the sole wearing out, but she can’t help feeling that it must be much harder to dig when it is strapped on! Good gardening everyone. Jim and Julie juliedraper@dumbflea.co.uk, (01763) 260323 jane_eggleton@yahoo.co.uk, (01763) 261824 6

Meldreth Station Garden Always Needs You

Meldreth Station is always a special place, but all the more so on account of the tubs of flowers that greet arriving train passengers. For those with a little time to spare while waiting for a train to pull in, you can wander around the back of the station building and enjoy the small gardens that have been established there over the past few years. As I write, there are still a few raspberries and redcurrants to be picked – both having been contributed by Bury Lane Farm, which always holds back an array of plants for us and even if they have arrived a bit tired, they always seem to spring to life at the station. We also receive bags of compost from Phillimore’s, and donations of bulbs and other useful things from people who enjoy the station. We’ve had a frustrating time getting our water supply situation sorted but hopefully that will be worked out once and for all over the winter months. Meanwhile, we really DO need more helpers to keep the garden in good shape – whether joining a working party or helping out as and when suits you. It was lovely to have two new faces at our October session and we’d be delighted if anyone would like to help out next time – please let me know. Susan van de Ven (01763) 261833 susanvandeven5@gmail.com 7

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Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group Due to a misunderstanding, we did not have a speaker for September, so many apologies to the sixteen ladies who turned up in Meldreth. Instead, we had a nice chat with each other; it is sometimes good to catch up. Thanks to Anne and Pauline for the tea, coffee and biscuits. Sue was also able to sell some more Harvest Supper tickets and sign up ladies for food making. At our last committee meeting we discussed changing the venue of the Summer Supper to Melbourn. We felt we were cramped at Meldreth and it is also easier to get the food etc. to Melbourn. This was put to the meeting and it was unanimously decided to hold this at Melbourn next year and review the subject at a later date for subsequent years. Our next meeting will be 24th November at 7.45pm in Holy Trinity Church Meeting room Meldreth when our speaker will be Mark Osborne ( son of Carol) who will talk on Kairos. This is a Christian charity which visits prisons. Please feel free to join us. If you would like to know about Women’s Group please contact Pat Smith on (01763) 262575, Sue Toule on (01763) 260955 or Anne Harrison on (01763) 261775. Anne Harrison

Harvest Supper The Women’s Group ran the joint All Saints, Melbourn and Holy Trinity, Meldreth Harvest Supper which was held in early October in Meldreth Village Hall. A good crowd of people enjoyed a delicious meal of quiche, ham and a wide variety of salads followed by the obligatory homemade apple pies. Adrian and Naomi Brind provided lively musical entertainment. Thanks to all those who provided such a wonderful selection of salads and apple pies. We made a profit of £140 which will be split between the two churches. Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group

Good Companions Well autumn is well and truly here, as our October meeting was also our Harvest Festival. Everyone was in good voice and Mary held a lovely service for us. All members brought along baskets of fruit, vegetables etc. and Jim made a beautiful loaf. These items were raffled off at the end of our meeting and the proceeds will be put towards our funds. We spent the remainder of our time chatting and catching up over tea and biscuits. We have a new fully paid up member and we would all like to warmly welcome Ann to our group. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 5th November for the Club Anniversary lunch. This will be held at 12.30pm at the British Queen, where they always ‘do us proud’. Let’s hope it goes with a bang! L. G. Pocknell, Secretary (01763) 261432

Meldreth WI How nice it was last night to welcome two new members. I hope they will enjoy many of the forthcoming events we will be having here in Meldreth. There will also be day schools at our office in Girton and events arranged by head office later on in the month, among which is a Canadian evening, an evening with Michael Portillo and a visit to the Van Dal shoe factory. Carol Pook was the speaker at our October meeting. We knew we would have an interesting talk and discussion and we weren't disappointed. Carol spoke about Dr James Barry who was born between 1789-1799. He became the first military surgeon in the British Army and by the end of his career had risen to Inspector General in charge of all military hospitals. It wasn't until his death in 1865 that Sophia Bishop, the charwoman who took care of the body, realised it was the body of a woman who had also given birth at some point. However, she didn't tell anyone until after the funeral. Later it was discovered that James Barry was born Margaret Bulkley. She had wanted to be a doctor but no female was allowed to do such a thing at the time. No matter whether male or female, very good work was done both in civilian and military hospitals and he even ruffled Florence 10

Nightingale's feathers by informing her that her hospital could be cleaner! He fought for better food and for better care for prisoners and lepers as well as soldiers and their families. I should add that there was a VERY lively discussion following her talk. At next monthâ€™s meeting here in Meldreth, our President Maureen Moody will be showing us how to make Christmas wreaths. If you think you may not enjoy doing that there are books you may like to look at and borrow and we will have our photograph albums there so that you can see some of the past events we have been to and things we have done. Kathleen Thompson

Melbourn and District Photographic Club http://melbourn-photographic-club.co.uk The new Club season began on Tuesday 15th September. Our programme has now been finalised and can be found on the Clubâ€™s website: http://melbourn-photographic-club.co.uk/2015-16-programme/. The season comprises an exciting mixture of photographic talks, competitions and Club Evenings. Meetings are held weekly from 7.30-9.30pm every Tuesday at Foxton Village Hall through to April 2016. At this time of year, the Club particularly welcomes new members, whatever their ability and will provide support to beginners to help them to take better photographs and to improve their post-processing skills. If you are looking to take your photography more seriously, it would be great to see you. Other useful information about the Club, including a selection of our work, can be found on our website. November events: Tuesday 3rd November - 2nd Open Projected competition Tuesday 10th November - Club Evening Anyone wishing to know more details about the Club should email the club Secretary, Peter North, at melbournphotoclub@hotmail.com. Keith Truman 11

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Friends of Holy Trinity www.foht.org.uk This Month’s Event: Friday 13th November, 7.30pm - Quiz by Colin Limming, including a Ploughman’s Supper Tickets cost £9.00 (Friends £8.50) including wine or juice and are available from: Robert Long - (01763) 261365 Mary Gregory - (01763) 260120 Steve Marshall - (01763) 261442 Peter Chilvers - (01763) 260742 Forthcoming Events: Saturday 16th January 2016: Annual Supper Friday 12th February 2016: HM Diplomatic Service A talk by Sir David Wright GCMG LVO former ambassador to Korea 1990-1994 and Japan 1996-1999 Saturday 19th March 2016: Talk on Calligraphy A talk by Leda Lopes Cardozo about the late David Kindersley and his work on lettering and sculpture John Price

Joint Parish Prayer Group The Prayer Group will be meeting on Tuesday 17th November at 8.00pm at 85 North End Meldreth. Please join us for this hour of meditation and prayer. Prayer requests are always welcomed and are treated in the strictest of confidence. If you would like further information on our meetings, do get in touch with me. Marion Long, (01763) 261365 13

Holy Trinity Church Projects Church Heating The heaters adjacent to the dark wooden chancel screen have been repainted dark brown and work has now commenced to extend the heating system into the south aisle and chancel. The basic system is now being used to heat the church for services. Bell Restoration The final step in the bell restoration was the re-dedication of the bells and dedication of the new steel bell frame by the Bishop of Ely on 3rd October during Festal Evensong. A large number of ringing enthusiasts attended and a symbolic bell rope was presented by Whitechapel Bell Foundry to Holy Trinity via the Bishop and finally to John Gipson, the former Tower Captain and the inspiration for the standing of Holy Trinityâ€™s bells in the world. In addition, Whitechapel Bell Foundry presented John Gipson with one of the old bronze plain bearing blocks for the tenor bell, polished and with a suitable inscription. The service was followed by afternoon tea at which an iced cake, in the shape of a bell, was cut. John Price

Church Services Sunday 1st November 8.00am Holy Communion Sunday 8th November 8.00am Holy Communion Sunday 15th November 9.45am Family Communion and New Seekers Sunday School Sunday 22nd November 8.00am Holy Communion Sunday 29th November 8.00am Holy Communion 5.30pm Festival of Carols for Advent Marion Long 14

Meldreth Baby and Toddler Group

We are a friendly group welcoming babies, toddlers and preschoolers and their parents/grandparents/carers for relaxed play and chat. We are open in the village hall from 9.30 until 11.30am on Wednesday mornings during term time. We provide a fun and nurturing environment where parents and other carers can have a chat and make friends, and their children can enjoy socialising, doing different crafts and experiencing various activities. The cost is £2 per family and includes a drink and snack for the children and tea/coffee with biscuits for the grown ups. We hope to see many of you there with your little ones. For further details please contact Rosalind Wing on 07432 150721 or (01763) 661394. We take this opportunity to extend our thanks to Melbourn Co-Op for its generous assistance with the children’s snacks. If any other local businesses, or indeed individuals, are able to make a small donation towards the running of the group, this would be much appreciated and would be put towards updating the toys and activity equipment. Rosalind Wing

Glazed Creations at Meldreth Baby and Toddler Group Glazed Creations from Royston will be joining us on Wednesday 25th November, from 9.30 - 11.30am. They will offer to take the children’s handprints and will then transfer them to plates, coasters, etc., back at their shop. The finished items will be delivered to us the following week. I understand that prices start at £7 for the smaller items. Come along and make some gorgeous Christmas presents! 16

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Meldreth Pre-School www.meldrethpreschool.com Meldreth Pre-School continues to go from strength to strength, with many of our sessions reaching capacity. There are plans to potentially increase availability to enable us to welcome more children from the village and surrounding areas. The children are making the most of the opportunity to learn about the changing seasons, explore the natural world and take advantage of the good weather to get outdoors as much as possible. In the run up to Christmas there are plenty of craft projects and other preparations to get on with â€“ keep an eye out for some of our festive fundraising activities in the coming weeks as we will be helping you get a start on your Christmas shopping as well. We are always looking for ways to connect with the local community including other pre-schools and similar organisations and we are always keen to hear from people who have ideas or suggestions of ways we can work together. We are still looking for a new treasurer as well as general committee members. If you are interested please contact us for more details. You donâ€™t have to be a parent, anyone from the village would be welcomed. Please email preschool@meldrethpreschool.com for more details or pop into the setting and speak to the staff. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We are a friendly Pre-School offering a quality term time service at competitive rates in line with NEF funding. We take children from the age of two and are happy to welcome children in nappies. You can find out about our Pre-School by visiting our website www.meldrethpreschool.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Staff Vacancies We are looking for friendly, enthusiastic workers with a CACHE Level 2/3 in Childcare to join our team as qualified bank/staff. For more information about this opportunity please contact Sarah Isle preschool@meldrethpreschool.com. Meldreth Pre-School 19

Meldreth Primary School www.meldreth.cambs.sch.uk Once every two years, the Life Education Bus rolls into the school car park, where it resides for a couple of days, enabling all children in school to visit and learn some valuable lessons in life! The bus is essentially a travelling classroom, apparently inhabited by the Life Education Bus tutor, Louise, who, with a variety of models and props that light up, flash, simulate space travel and much else besides, leads the children in lessons about self awareness, human biology, drugs awareness, bullying and dealing with peer pressure. Regardless of age, children are always thoroughly engaged, curious and full of interesting questions for Elaine and her shy giraffe, Harold! Here are a few of their responses to the visit! Andrew Jones, Deputy Headteacher On the Life Education Bus first we had to think about the 5 most important things that we need to live which are 1. food 2. water 3. oxygen 4. sleep 5. exercise Also we had to think about different parts in our body, like where food and water go. There are two tubes - one is as small as your little finger and the food tube the (oesophagus) is bigger. They go from your mouth to your intestines then to your stomach. We also learnt that if we were to cut open an adult and pull out their lungs and roll them out, it could cover a whole tennis court. We then learnt about things that are legal and illegal. The illegal substances are cocaine, crack, cannabis. The legal substances are things 20

like medicine and caffeine. We then learnt about the effect of alcohol, which is when you have drunk alcohol your brain responds slower so you react to things slower and that is why you should never drink and drive. Some people find alcohol relaxing. If you were to get 10 different people and give them the same alcohol they could all respond to it differently. by Aaliyah Land age 9, Kingfisher Class I was so excited to see Harold but Harold had a headache so we didn't see him so much. At least we got to see Tam a lot. by Ollie Clark-Ward I felt relaxed. The Life Bus was big. We saw Harold the giraffe. The Life Bus lady was called Louise. by Max Clark What I did on the Life Bus. The Starry part. I pretended to sleep then the light went off. Suddenly some stars began to gleam. I couldn't see anything! by Esther Brennan When we went on the Life Education Bus, we had great fun and I would like to tell you all about it. We learnt all about bodies, how you can infect them or make them poorly. At the beginning, we had to talk about body parts and then you had to press them on the human model (called TAM) and they would light up. Afterwards we had to explain what are the most important things we need to live. These were water, food, energy, sleep and oxygen. After that, Louise got Harold the giraffe out from his little cupboard. He was worried about something. He had seen people smoking and drinking beer. Harold was really upset. Finally we went on a ride in a space rocket to see a planet where everyone was the same and they all did everything the same. Imagine that! Now we have filled our brains with body facts! by Phillippa Finlayson aged 8 Robin class climbed on board the Life Education Bus for first time on Thursday 1st October. They explored how to manage feelings and keeping safe. Our best bits: Chloe V: I enjoyed seeing the stars on the ceiling. Stanley P: I liked climbing up into the bus. Chloe P: I liked seeing Harold the giraffe. Bertie B: I enjoyed stroking Harold the giraffe. 21

1st Melbourn Guides The sun was shining, the girls were singing: it must have been another happy Guide camp! Eaton Vale, near Norwich was the venue for this year’s four-night camp, with a theme of Films. On Harry Potter day we sewed owls from felt, made everyflavour beans from fondant icing, and played Quidditch on home-made cardboard broomsticks. The Hunger Games is all about survival, so on that day the girls had a series of challenges to complete to earn food for their lunch. They made a bow and arrow with which they shot balloon ‘pigs’ for ham sandwiches; made a rope ladder to reach fruit; filtered water from the river (no, we didn’t let them drink it afterwards) and used compass bearings to find buried chocolate treasure. Our first ever Bake-Off competition got off to a good start in September. One patrol baked their choice of flavoured and coloured fairy cakes, another decorated cakes in the theme of Autumn, and another had the technical challenges of making oat biscuits in a frying pan, and pancakes. Not only were they judged on flavour and presentation, but also teamwork and clearing up. Never has there been such enthusiastic washing up! On another evening the girls experienced a night hike to Riverside Park, with a quiz, games in the dark and few minutes of stargazing. The following week we did a bit of fun geography: matching our UK holiday snaps to a map of Britain, describing how to get to our homes using street names, and playing ‘hunt the buried treasure’ on OS maps using the rules to the game of battleships. 22

Wembley Arena was the venue of the amazing ‘Big Gig’, a Guides-only pop concert which 20 of our girls enjoyed in October. Seven up-andcoming pop acts performed, including Jack Sykes, Ashton from JLS, and Ella Henderson, who closed the show with great singing and fireworks. If you would like to know more about becoming a Guide or a leader, or if you have any skills or hobbies which you would like to share with us, please contact me on (01763) 261443 or email melbournguides@gmail.com. Hilary Marsh

Meldreth Village Christmas Cards Meldreth Local History Group will be selling Christmas cards of the village again this year. We have two brand new designs of snowy, village scenes still priced at just £5 per pack of 10 cards (i.e. five cards of each of the two designs). Cards will be on sale from the beginning of November but please order early to avoid disappointment as supplies are limited. Place your order by calling Tim or Joan Gane on (01763) 260129. Tim Gane

What’s on for Children and Families in November Thursday 5th to Saturday 7th November Fireworks Displays - see page 57 for details of local displays Saturday 7th November, 11.00am Orienteering taster session, Coton Countryside Reserve Basic orienteering for families, groups, individuals and children over 6 (accompanied). Meet at Martin car park, Grantchester Road. £6.50 per child, £10 per family. Booking essential: www.cambridgeppf.org. Sunday 15th November, 11.30am and 2.30pm The Boy Who Never Grew Up, Cambridge Junction Inspired by J M Barrie’s classic tale of Peter Pan, this show includes music, puppetry, magic and fun. £10 per adult, £6 per child, £27 group of 4 (max 2 adults). Tickets from box office (01223) 511511. www.junction.co.uk for more information. Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th November, 2.00pm & 7.00pm The Snow Queen, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1QR A re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale through ballet. Tickets £16.50 to £26.00 from booking@theatreroyal.org or (01284) 769505. Friday 20th November to Monday 4th January, 11.00am - 8.00pm Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 8.00pm Saturday and Sunday The North Pole, Parkers Piece, Cambridge CB2 1AA Ice rink (timed bookings), circus, Santa’s Grotto, Christmas market and fairground ride. Booking information: telephone (01223) 632121 or visit www.thenorthpolecambridge.co.uk . Wednesday 25th to Saturday 5th December, 7.45pm Robin Hood, ADC Theatre, Cambridge CB5 8AS All-singing, all-dancing pantomime with snazzy musical numbers and talking trees! Tickets £11 to £15 from www.boxoffice@adctheatre.com or telephone (01223) 300085. Saturday 28th November, 10.30am to 12.30pm Sculpture and installation, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Ages 5 to 7 years. Led by artist Jason Ions, create a sculpture of your own based on objects in the museum’s collection. £8 per child. To book, call (01223) 332904 or email education@fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. Compiled by Hilary Crawforth 24

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Murder at the Gables: What Happened to Frank? In 1904, Frank Rodgers (pictured centre right entering the magistrate’s court) made headlines around the world when he shot and killed his mother at their Meldreth home; the Gables in the High Street. The family had moved to Meldreth from London about eighteen months previously. Frank’s father, William Alexander Rodgers was an Australian-born solicitor. He married Georgina Robson in 1881 and they had the following children: William George (born 1883), Winifred (born 1887), Frank (born 1888), Robert Alexander (born 1890), Henry Frederick (born 1893) and Georgina Marian, known as Queenie (born 1898). It seems that Frank had always had a good relationship with his mother (pictured left), and in fact was considered something of a "mother's boy". However, prior to the incident, their mother had been drinking heavily for several years and because of this the home life of the family had become very difficult. Frank, who was 15 at the time of the murder, said he did it for his little sister Queenie’s sake as “she cannot live the life she has for the past two years”. Frank was convicted of "wilful murder" by the Jury who declared him to have been insane at the time. They reached their decision in under four minutes and without leaving the box. The Judge ordered Frank to be sent to prison and he was admitted to Broadmoor on 9th June 1904. The “c” above his name in the admissions log (below) indicates that he was a child. Known as Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, the first patient, a female found guilty of infanticide, had been admitted there in 1863. It was not until 1948 that it ceased to be a prison and officially became a hospital.

According to the Broadmoor records, Frank was discharged on 22nd December 1906 when he was deemed to have “recovered”. However, newspaper reports from two years later give Frank’s release date as December 1908, citing that he had been released by order of the Home Secretary. The reason for this discrepancy is not clear, but perhaps Frank was moved to a half way house before his final release. Life After Prison Frank lived to the age of 76, enjoying a normal life. In October 1909 he married Christiana Cross, who was from Bath, in London. Frank’s father, William and his uncle were witnesses at the wedding. The couple went on to have two children, Doris Christiana in 1910 and Leonard Alexander in 1915. In October 1914, whilst living in Bath, Frank signed up for military service. To the question, “Have you ever been sentenced to Penal Servitude or Imprisonment by the Civil Power?” he answered “no”. Frank had an exemplary service record, being described as “honest, sober, hard working and intelligent”. Many of Frank’s records can be viewed online, including letters written by him and his wife. William, Frank’s father, died in November 1910. Frank died in London in 1965 and his wife, Christiana died four years later. All of Frank’s siblings married, although Georgina, or Queenie as she was known - for whose sake Frank said he had murdered their mother was in her sixties by the time she married Charles Bullivant in 1961, shortly after the death of his first wife. Several years earlier, in 1954, they had travelled as man and wife on an extended trip to Australia, arriving back in the UK on 20th February 1958. Frank and his family appear in several family trees online; none of these include details of the tragedy, so perhaps the murder was a secret that his immediate family kept for many years. For more information on the Gables murder or on Frank and his family, please see www.meldrethhistory.org.uk where there are twelve pages on the tragedy. I would like to thank Alan Williams for the research he carried out into this case. Kathryn Betts Meldreth Local History Group 27

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From the Archives This monthâ€™s dip into the archives has produced this photograph from 1965 of the Rhythm Rascals from Meldreth Primary School. The band played at lots of events in and around Cambridge, including one concert at the Cambridge Guildhall in February 1968 when they played to an audience of 700. For more information and photographs, see www.meldrethhistory.org.uk.

Back row, from left: Mark Clark, Jane Crowther, Hilary Gipson, Helen Burling, Elaine Brinkley Front row, from left: Jennifer Saunders, Suzette Betteridge, Janet Newell, Pauline Mander

Refuse Collections Collections in November will be on the following dates: Black bins: 13th & 27th; Green & blue bins: 6th & 20th Please note: green bin collections change to monthly in December and will return to fortnightly in March 2016. 29

Meldreth Village Dia Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thur

DID YOU KNOW? Meldreth Matters is available online at free.yudu.com

The copy deadline for the D Matters is Thursda

12.30pm Goo Companions 6.00 - 6.45pm 5.30pm Slimming World Pilates 6.00-7.00pm Brownies 7.00 - 9.00 pm 7.30pm Slimming World Tennis 7.45-9.00pm Bell Ringing 7.30pm Paris 9.30-11.30am Baby & Toddler Group

7.30-10.00pm Old Time Dancing

10.00am-12.00pm Handbell Ringing 4.00 - 6.00pm Martial Arts Classes for Children 7.00 - 8.00pm Aerobics

9.30-11.30am Meldreth Local History Group

10.00am-12.00pm Handbell Ringing

9.30-11.30am Baby & Toddler Group

7.30-10.00pm Old Time Dancing

4.00 - 6.00pm Martial Arts 5.30pm Slimming World Classes for Children 6.00-7.00pm Brownies 7.00 - 8.00pm Aerobics 7.30pm Slimming World

10.00am - 12.00 noon Meldreth Local History Group Coffee Morning

7.45-9.00pm Bell Ringing 9.30-11.30am Meldreth Local History Group 7.30-10.00pm Old Time Dancing

23 30 9.30-11.30am Meldreth Local History Group

7.30-10.00pm Old Time Dancing

10.00am-12.00 Handbells 4.00 - 6.00pm Martial Arts Classes for Children

9.30-11.30am Baby & Toddler Group 5.30pm Slimming World

7.00 - 8.00pm Aerobics

6.00-7.00pm Brownies

8.00pm Prayer Group

7.30pm Slimming World 7.45-9.00pm Bell Ringing

10.00am-12.00 Handbells 10.45-11.30am Mobile Library 4.00 - 6.00pm Martial Arts Classes for Children 7.00 - 8.00pm Aerobics 7.45pm Womenâ€™s Group

9.30-11.30am Baby & Toddler Group 5.30pm Slimming World 6.00-7.00pm Brownies

6.00 - 6.45pm Pilates 7.30pm WI

Copy dea Decemb

6.00 - 6.45pm Pilates 7.00 - 9.00 p Tennis

7.30pm Slimming World 7.45-9.00pm Bell Ringing

Church Services and Bell Ringing are held at Holy Trinity Church. The Prayer Group meets at 85 N are held in the Sheltered Housing Community Centre, Elin Way. Brownies & Melbourn and Meldr Bell Close. All other events are held in the Village Hall unless otherwise indicated. 30

ary - November 2015 sday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday 8.00am Holy Communion

December issue of Meldreth ay 12th November

od (BQ) m Fitness

10.30am - 12 noon Coffee 8.00am Holy Communion Break

m Table

h Council

m Fitness

9.45am Family Communion and New Seekers Sunday School

7.30pm FOHT Quiz, Holy Trinity (see page 13)

adline for ber issue 8.00am Holy Communion

m Fitness

pm Table

m Fitness m Table

11.00am-5.00pm Christmas Tree Festival, Holy Trinity Church 12.30-3.00pm Christmas Market, Primary School 7.30pm Pantomime (see back page)

8.00am Holy Communion 11.00am-5.00pm Christmas Tree Festival, Holy Trinity Church 2.00pm Pantomime (see back page) 5.30pm Advent Service

North End. Good Companions, Meldreth Local History Group and the ‘Coffee Break’ mornings reth Women’s Group meet in the Holy Trinity meeting room. The Mobile Library Service visits

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Meldreth Parish Council www.meldreth-pc.org.uk Extracts from unapproved minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on Thursday 1st October 2015 at 7.30pm in the Green Room of Meldreth Village Hall. Present: Mr C A Land - Chairman, Mr R A Searles - Vice Chairman, Mrs C.J. Fallon, Mr S Hawkins, Mr A Keena, Mr D Lee, Mr N Pellatt and Mr D Stewart In attendance: J Damant (Clerk), Councillor P Hart (SCDC) and Councillor S van de Ven (CCC) Solar Farms SunEdison (Bury Lane) on the one-off Community Benefit payment of ÂŁ50,000. Awaiting confirmation before agreement can be signed on projects being put forward. A request has been received from Lightsource (substation) with a request that Meldreth and Melbourn Parish Councils consider a donation to Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve. Mr Searles suggested that the Clerk contact Mr Doug Radcliffe at the RSPB to suggest they put in an application to the Parish Council. The Clerk has informed Lightsource of the Village Hall solar panel project and they are happy with the decision. The working group now consists six residents and two Parish Councillors. Mr Stewart proposed the Terms of Reference, seconded by Mr Searles, all agreed. Mr Lee will arrange a meeting with the working group. Eternit Proposed Planning: representatives will be attending the meeting on 5th November. New signage: the old Eternit sign is to be replaced by a sign for the Sports and Social Club. The Clerk is still making enquiries with the Planning Department to see if planning permission is needed for a permanent sign. Registering as a 'Community Asset': Mr Land reported that the Sports and Social club would like to register as a Community Asset. Derek 33

Stewart suggested that this should wait until after the meeting with the developers on 5th November. Mr Pellatt reported that there were 480 members at present and that membership is open to any resident in Meldreth. Village Maintenance: 1. Footway at Station Bridge

Mike Cooper has looked at the footway at Station Bridge. In order to lengthen this footway it would need to go behind the stench pipe which he believes is land owned by Network Rail. The verge is not wide enough so the land would also need to be culverted. It is possible but the cost makes it unrealistic at the moment. The Parish Council would also need to employ a structural engineer to draw up plans. 2. Pedestrian Sign It was felt that erecting pedestrian signs at the bridge on Station Road would not be an effective solution. 3. Pavilion Mr Stewart circulated the first draft of the proposed floor plan for the pavilion. This would be a new build as it was felt to be more cost effective. Mr Stewart also reported that he had located another manhole. It was suggested by members that it might be worth looking into connecting the pavilion onto the main sewage system rather than use the cesspit system currently in use at the moment. The car park will also be extended. Mr Pellatt reported that emergency vehicles will need access onto the playing fields. Mr Stewart will now redraw the plans with dimensions for the next meeting. Mettle Hill There was a report from Philippa Hart. The deadline for questionnaires to be submitted was Sunday 4th October. There has been a disappointing response and it is not anticipated that there will be over a 20% return. The Clerk has received correspondence regarding Mettle Hill, but at the moment the Parish Council, along with the Mettle Hill Working Group, are in consultation and until this process has been finished no decisions will be made. [See page 42 for survey results.] Highway Items Proposed speed limit along North End/Meldreth Road. Shepreth PC is in support of Meldreth PC trying to get the speed limit reduced to 34

40mph. A letter has been sent out to all residents in Shepreth and Meldreth who will be directly affected and so far the response from residents has been positive. There was some concern from Shepreth residents as to why it is not being lowered to 30mph. CCC Highways have made it quite clear that they would not support a 30mph limit on predominately rural stretches of road. This is because responsible drivers adjust their speed according to their perception of the speed that the road requires. Meldreth Parish Council were able to achieve a 30mph limit on Whitecroft Road and sections of Whaddon and Kneesworth Roads because of an anomaly in the spacing of the lighting. This is spaced at distances that mean that a 30mph limit was already in place but could not be enforced without 30mph signs. Our application was successful because it removed an anomaly that could not be explained. The police are in favour and have no objections to this proposal. It was agreed that Meldreth Parish Council will proceed with this at an initial cost of ÂŁ250.00, this will be split equally with Shepreth Parish Council. Footway at Biddall's Blvd The Clerk has been in correspondence with Jon Finney (SCDC) and Gavin Wisemen (CCC) but nothing has been done yet. Councillor van de Ven will contact Emma Murdon to enquire what is being done regarding getting the footway resurfaced and the street furniture moved. Co-option Notice of position has been sent to Andrew Frances (SCDC). When the legal amount of time has been met and if there are no requests for an election from residents, SCDC will inform the Clerk, who will begin the process of co-option. Street Lighting The Clerk has requested that lights be turned on at 5.30am instead of 6.00am for those residents walking to the station to catch early trains. Financial Assistance The Clerk has received correspondence from Melbourn Library asking for a donation. The Clerk forwarded the financial assistance document to them and is awaiting its return. Audit Meldreth Parish Council has a clear audit for 2014/15 with no comments from the external auditor. This has been posted onto the notice board. 35

Local Highway Improvement Initiative 2013/17 (MHI) Mr Hawkins reported that he attended the workshop held by the Highways Department. It was agreed that Mr Hawkins would complete the necessary documentation. It was also agreed that the Parish Council would apply for ÂŁ10,000 for traffic calming at Fenny Lane crossroads at a maximum cost to Meldreth Parish Council of ÂŁ3,000.00. The next meeting will be held on Thursday 5th November in the Green Room of the Village Hall. Meldreth Parish Council

The official Minutes of Meldreth Parish Council are those signed in Public Meetings by the Chairman. They are available for public inspection from the Clerk and can also be accessed on the Parish Council website at www.meldreth-pc.org.uk or on the Parish Council notice board opposite the One Stop shop.

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 10.00 am to 12 noon. By appointment at other times. Parish Clerk: Mrs J Damant (01763) 269928 parishclerk@meldreth-pc.org.uk Parish Councillors: Mr D Lee

(01763) 261571

david@oakrits.plus.com

Mrs C J Fallon

(01763) 262822

joan.fallon@btinternet.com

Mr J Fenner

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julian.fenner@tomblackwell.co.uk

Mr S Hawkins

(01763) 261451

s.hawkins@dsl.pipex.com

Mr A Keena

(01763) 260267

alankeena@aol.com

Mr C A Land (Chairman) (01763) 261004

c.land963@btinternet.com

Mr Nigel Pellatt

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Mr R A Searles

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Mr D Stewart

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Volunteering Opportunities Please email meldrethmatters@hotmail.com if you need volunteers for your group or organisation. Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton Rail User Group The Rail User Group is looking for a new minute-taker for its quarterly meetings, which always involve tea and biscuits and always conclude at 9.00pm on the dot. Please contact Susan van de Ven on (01763) 261833 or email susanvandeven5@gmail.com. Meldreth Station Garden Additional volunteers are needed to help maintain the station gardens. Please see the article on page 7 or contact Susan van de Ven on (01763) 261833 or email susanvandeven5@gmail.com. Meldreth Pre-School The Pre-School is looking for a new treasurer as well as general committee members. You donâ€™t have to be a parent, anyone from the village would be welcomed. If you are interested please email preschool@meldrethpreschool.com for more details or pop into the setting and speak to the staff. Melbourn Village College MVC is looking for volunteers to supervise lunchtime clubs: chess and board games; debating; table tennis and basketball. Please let Susan van de Ven know if you are interested by telephoning her on (01763) 261833 or by sending an email to susanvandeven5@gmail.com.

News from Heidi Allen MP www.heidisouthcambs.co.uk Even though Parliament’s recess is now over, I am still getting out and about in the constituency. It was back to school not once, but three times as I paid visits to William Westley Primary, Monkfield Primary and Hills Road Sixth Form College. It was a touch of the familiar at William Westley as the allimportant election results for school councillors were due to be announced. It was great to see young children already so engaged in democracy. An award winner of different sorts was on the timetable next as I visited the Cambridge Evening News Primary School of the Year, Monkfield Primary in Cambourne. It was evident why they had won from the moment I walked through the door. I don’t think I have ever seen children so engaged, from cross curricular working to an entire lesson conducted in Spanish. The teaching at Monkfield truly is first class and all the staff and the Head should be tremendously proud of what they have achieved at this shining example of a school. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have seen one of South Cambridgeshire’s finest schools in action. I have extended an invitation to the pupils at Monkfield and William Westley to come and visit me in Parliament. Student politics was as alive and feisty as ever when I attended a Q&A session hosted by Hills Road Sixth Form College alongside my city counterpart Daniel Zeichner. It was a chance for some of Cambridgeshire’s best and brightest young adults to quiz Daniel and I on matters from student loans to housing.

On 20 September, I was honoured to be invited as a guest to the Battle of Britain Air Show at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. I feel so lucky to have this fabulous historical facility in my constituency. Clear skies, twenty spitfires, need I say more? The following week I scrubbed up and visited Papworth Hospital just days after its cardiothoracic surgeons were announced as some of the best in the country. During my visit I observed a number of procedures, viewed the hospital’s state-of-the-art Critical Care Lab and met with senior staff from the hospital. It very quickly became clear to me why local people are so proud of Papworth. I have only one word to describe what I saw, “wow”. When compassion, skill, technology and science come together, you create something very special and I saw that in action. In September I also met with the board of Addenbrooke’s and spent a day in a GP’s surgery. The staff who make our NHS what it is should be very proud of themselves. Although the challenges that our NHS face are huge, both operationally and financially I have committed to working with them in partnership to ensure they get the support they need to carry on delivering first class services. We are in this together. Heidi Allen, MP

Meldreth Millennium Trails These trails were created to celebrate the life and environment of the community of Meldreth and to be a permanent marker of the second millennium. These booklets include five trails around the village and include maps and illustrations. They cost £3.50 and are available from Joan and Tim Gane, by telephoning (01763) 260129. Proceeds to Meldreth Local History Group. 41

District Councillorâ€™s Report Mettle Hill Consultation Results This village wide survey was held in September; thank you to those of you who returned your questionnaires and for the many interesting comments we received. The return rate was a disappointing 27%. Displayed below is a summary of the results, which will now be referred to the Parish Council for its consideration. Many of you commented in favour of a mixed use site to include additional village amenities. Proposal

In Favour

Neutral

Against

Self Build

127

Live/Work

122

115

104

Sell Land to Park Homes Developer

167

Sell land to showmen

148

Do Nothing

123

Park Homes

Fillcup Field This application has now been granted with various conditions attached. They include requirements for the hedges and screening to be put in place and maintained, for the surface water and foul water to be considered and for any contamination discovered to be properly dealt with. Other impact assessments - traffic, noise - are required to be carried out, although traffic routing will be via Meldreth. The full details of the permission can be seen online on the SCDC planning website under S/2944/14/FL*. Local Plan More delay here: the planning department at SCDC has had to undertake more work on the plan and it is now anticipated that they will now report to the Planning Inspector in March next year. The Inspector then reconvenes her deliberations, so I do not anticipate a resolution on this matter until the back end of next year. Philippa Hart District Councillor, Meldreth and Shepreth Ward philippajhart@btinternet.com 07811 323571 or (01763) 261255 42

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County Councillor’s Report The following report was presented to Meldreth Parish Council at its meeting on Thursday 8th October. Sudely Grove, Station Road Thanks to Councillor Searles for making time to meet residents and Mike Cooper on site to arrange signage details regarding overnight lorry parking. It would be good to sort this out while officers are in post. Please note that the County Council Highways Department is seeing many people retire or move to jobs outside the Council. Meldreth Manor I’ve conveyed to Scope the suggestions I’ve received, including the provision of adult care on the site. The Save Meldreth Manor Facebook Group has coordinated a petition with more than 6,500 signatures and is presenting a proposal to Scope. It has been very humbling to become better acquainted with the circumstances of the children and young people served by Meldreth Manor and their families. It is not clear that there is an adequate, comparable service available in the event that Scope goes ahead with its decision to close Meldreth Manor and there is particular concern for young people making the transition to adulthood. Community Transport and Subsidised Transport Councillors are being asked to consider severe budget cuts for community transport and bus subsidies. A glimmer of hope is the potential for collaboration with the Clinical Commissioning Group’s retendering of the Non-emergency Patient Transport Services contract, which is currently out for consultation. Please could the Parish Council respond to the consultation on the vital role played by community transport in accessing health appointments? I will be attending a public consultation event in Royston in October; the overall exercise runs until mid-November. For details see: http://www.cambridgeshireandpeterboroughccg.nhs.uk/downloads/ CCG/Haveyour%20say/NEPTS%20Consultation%20document%20%20WEB.pdf Rail User Group and Meldreth Station I have been chasing Network Rail to tend to the station bridge barriers. Only by resorting to Twitter was I able to get some attention. ‘Work’ 45

was due to start in early October, although at the time of preparing this text for Meldreth Matters, two weeks later, nothing had happened. Thanks to Councillor Steve Hawkins, and Councillors Val Barrett and Jose Hales from Melbourn, for attending the recent Rail User Group meeting. Melbourn Councillors are concerned about the lack of progress on improving pedestrian access across the fields. A local Melbourn business has indicated it may be able to provide funds to expedite provision of a shelter on the Cambridge platform and for long-awaited improvements to cycle parking. It remains to be seen whether Great Northern is able to act ‘rapidly’ in order to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Contactless ticketing will be available on both platforms within a few months and this will improve accessibility. The pedestals have been installed and will go live in tandem with Cambridge Station. A Meldreth Station gardening session took place on 7th October. Donations of plants and helping hands are always welcome. Thanks to all who came along, and for donations of plants and compost from Bury Lane Farms and Phillimore Garden Centre. Melbourn Village College MVC is looking for volunteers to supervise lunchtime clubs: chess and board games; debating; table tennis and basketball. Please let me know if you’re interested. For the third year running, MVC came in the top 10% nationally for progress in Maths GCSEs – many congratulations to students and staff. Mind in Cambs Mind would like to bring a further mental health support project to our area, probably at the Melbourn Hub. Bike Bank MAYD has received Department for Transport funding for another round of the Bike Bank, to be offered free of charge to Melbourn/ Meldreth area young people. The course results in employable skills. The idea is to target older teens ready to work, so recruitment will take place at Cambridge Regional College, Long Road and Hills Road Sixth Forms, in addition to MVC. A10 Foxton–Harston Cycle Path Work has started and will take about twenty working weeks. Funding comes from the Department for Transport. Please see this 46

Cambridgeshire Public Health report on Health and Transport: www.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/JSNA/Transport-and-Health-2014/15. Hub Public Services Meldreth residents can now enjoy a growing list of public services at the Melbourn Hub: library, CAB, Relate, and Mind in addition to Slimming World and a range of community groups. Susan van de Ven County Councillor susanvandeven5@gmail.com (01763) 261833

Melbourn Sports Centre With autumn fully upon us and the nights closing in, why not come in out of the cold and have a go at some of our indoor activities including table tennis, squash and badminton? Court hire starts from only £4.85 per hour. We have lots of classes to keep you fit and healthy too, including boxercise, aerobics, aqua-fit (see below) and boot camp. With Christmas fast approaching, now is an ideal time to book your young ones onto one of our great activity courses. These include our Christmas pool party and our popular Ofsted PlayScheme. We can also host your child’s birthday or Christmas party. Aqua-Fit Each class lasts an hour and includes warm up, combination exercises, cool down, stretches and often deep water work. Our fun and friendly sessions are made all the more lively by a popular musical accompaniment. Go on - give it a go! Aqua-Fit takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9.15–10.15am (9.30–10.30am during all school holidays) and on Wednesdays from 6.30–7.30pm. For further details on swimming at Melbourn Sports or any of our other activities, please visit our website, www.melbournsports.com, call in to see us or telephone (01763) 263313. Graham Johnson-Mack Melbourn Sports Centre 47

Meldreth Tennis Club The strength of the early October sun did its work - the mist dispersed and the newly painted white lines on the tennis courts gleamed in the bright light. An auspicious start for the annual Michael Batchelor tournament of Meldreth Tennis Club, which was held on Saturday 3rd October.

Participants in the Michael Batchelor tournament. Photograph by Justin.

Fourteen members of the Club assembled for the event which was comprised of 21 matches of four games per match - each pair playing the other six pairs over a period of about two and a half hours. Between matches, players were able to enjoy chatting in the warm morning sunshine. After much fun and exciting rallies on court, the result was as follows: The winners with 18 games were Sheila Guitard and Richard Phillips. In second place with 15 games were Yvonne Blows and Christine Knight The youngest player in the tournament was thirteen years old; players of all ages are very welcome at the Club. If you wish to learn more or would like to join the Club, please contact our Secretary, Tracy Aggett on (01763) 243376. Go on - be a sport! Richard Phillips Chairman 48

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Local Events in November Here is a selection of events happening nearby in November. To have your event listed, please email meldrethmatters@hotmail.com. Thursday 5th November, 7.00pm to 8.30pm Fireworks and Waterworks - Spectacular Chemistry Demonstration Lecture, Bristol Myers-Squibb Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW For all over the age of 8 but not suitable for those with a nervous disposition – there will be smoke, bright flashes and loud bangs! Free. Doors open 6.30pm. Saturday 7th November, 10.00am to 12 noon Jumble Sale, Melbourn Village College Entrance fee 50p. Donations to the College Site office during school hours, Monday to Friday or 3.00pm to 7.00pm on Friday 6th November. Friday 13th and Saturday 14th November, 9.30am to 4.30pm, also 6.30pm to 9.00pm (Friday only) Ely Cathedral Christmas Gift and Food Fair 150 exhibitors inside this magnificent medieval building. Refreshments, hog roast, vintage carousel, floristry and cookery demonstrations and music. On Saturday meet the reindeer and some Christmas elves. £3 entry, under 16s free. Tickets from tickets.elycathedral.org or (01353) 660349. Friday 13th November, 7.30-9.30pm preview evening (free entry) Saturday 14th November, 10.30am to 4.30pm and Sunday 15th November, 11.00am to 4.00pm Foxton Art Exhibition, Hardman Road, Foxton, CB22 6RN Award-winning art exhibition featuring the work of many local artists in a variety of media. Exhibits for sale. Proceeds to support the local primary school. Entry £2, children free. www.foxtonart.org. Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th November, 10.30am to 5.00pm Crafts at Christmas, Wimpole Hall, Arrington SG8 0BW Craft fair with 60 stalls, mulled wine and mince pies. Find unique presents in a lovely National Trust setting. Entry £4, under 14s free. Free parking. 50

Tuesday 17th November, 2.00pm to 4.00pm Felt-making for Beginners, Royston Museum and Art Gallery Learn the ancient craft of creating felt from wool fibres and take home a felted picture to be proud of. £25 per person. Booking essential. Email: curator@roystonmuseum.org.uk or telephone (01763) 242587. Thursday 19th to Sunday 29th November Cambridge Jazz Festival, various venues, Cambridge Promoting and nurturing jazz in Cambridge. Live music and workshops from local, UK and international artists, plus speakers and films. More information at www.cambridgejazzfestival.org.uk. Saturday 21st November, 8.30am Men’s Breakfast Meeting, Foxton Village Hall Vanessa Mann, formerly of BBC Radio Cambridge, will talk about how she has ‘re-homed’ Edwardian postcards to the descendants of the recipients and senders using family history websites. To book breakfast contact Mark Howard at Mark-Howard@UWclub.net, (01223) 503377 or Tony Garrick at garrick.tony@gmail.com, (01223) 510201. Saturday 21st November, 7.30pm Royston Choral Society, ‘Brahms – a German Requiem’, Royston Parish Church BBC award-winning new conductor Andrew O’Brien leads the Society in this hauntingly beautiful requiem with soloists Eli Rolfe Johnson and Laurence Williams from London. Tickets £12, concessions £9, school students £1 from Royston Library or at the door. Saturday 21st November, 10.30am to 5.00pm Royston Model Railway Exhibition, Bassingbourn Village College 20 plus layouts, refreshments, miniature train rides. £5 per adult, accompanied children free. See www.roystondmrc.co.uk. Saturday 28th November, 10.30am to 1.00pm Craft Fair, Shepreth Village Hall Jewellery, fabric crafts, Fairtrade goods and jam stalls. In aid of Friends of BIDII, improving living conditions for people of Machakos, Kenya. For information contact davidhollamby@btinternet.com or telephone 07732 106828. Compiled by John Crawforth 51

Creating for Christmas Are you searching for that elusive unique piece of jewellery for mother, sister or friend's Christmas present? Or a piece that’s an exact colour match for that special party outfit? You could consider designing and creating it yourself, with Budding Beaders, a friendly jewellery making group based at Melbourn Community Hub. Members will be demonstrating their skills at an Open Day at the Hub, 35 High Street, Melbourn, on Saturday 14th November between 9.00am and 3.00pm. They will also have a sales table where you can buy unique, handcrafted jewellery gifts. Budding Beaders meet every Tuesday evening at the Hub, to work on jewellery projects. Once a month, on Saturdays, there is an event such as a workshop or demonstration which enables them to learn new skills. The group is actively seeking new members at any level of skill and experience. Members naturally make plenty of beaded jewellery but their expertise is much wider than that, including for example felting and wire working. Several make their own beads out of glass, clay, resin or other materials – even paper can be used to make beads! Saturday workshops and demonstrations have included polymer clay, silver clay, glass fusing and ceramic beads. Many sell items either as individuals or as a group at local fetes. Individuals decide what to make and whether they wish to sell their jewellery. If you are interested in joining us – or just want more information, contact Julia Sewell at juliabates@btinternet.com, Sandra Whaites at sands359@btinternet.com or Jane Davitt on 07557 654335. You can also check out the group’s website at www.buddingbeaders.org.uk. Jane Davitt 52

Christmas Door Decoration Workshop Tuesday 1st December Foxton Village Hall, CB22 6RN. 11.00am to 2.00pm or 7.00pm to 10.00pm. Tickets cost £20 to include the framework, foliage and ribbons. Please bring gloves, secateurs and any special foliage or baubles you’d like to incorporate in your finished article. Tickets are available from Tracy on (01763) 262262 or email admin@hsrsc.org.uk. Proceeds in aid of Home Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire www.hsrsc.org.uk, charity no. 1105385

Orwell Singers Join Orwell Singers and Orwell Players for an inspiring evening of seasonal music and verse. Saturday 12th December Orwell Singers present ‘Peace and Joy’: a Christmas celebration of music and verse. Orwell Village Hall at 7.00 for 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10, to include a buffet supper and there will be a licensed bar. Tickets are available from Orwell Post Office from 21st November or contact David Smith on (01763) 260378. David Smith

Planning Matters Parish Council Reference and Address

Detail

Parish Council Recommend

72 North End, S/2242/15/TP

Beech and Horse Chestnut shorten branches 6 The Old Mill Location of trees is Court, at 102 High Street. Remove stems and cut back branches S/2263/15/TP of Sycamore tree that overhangs 6 Old Mill Court.

Meldreth Tree Warden has inspected the trees and is in agreement with the proposed work Meldreth Tree Warden has inspected the trees. The trees were mature before planning application on 104-108 High Street and are part of the rural character of this location. This should have been taken into account previously when planning and building regulations were given. The Parish Council would assume any authorised tree work would be with the permission of the tree owner. Any tree work should be the minimum for public safety 31 High Street, Proposed extension Meldreth Parish Council recommend S/2131/15/FL and alterations to 'No Objections' with no comments. existing garage 4 Oakrits, S/2235/15/FL

Proposed first floor side extension and alterations to the front entrance porch.

Meldreth Parish Council recommend 'No Objection' with comments. The Parish Council would like it noted that there could be an overlooking issue regarding the proposed first floor front bedroom window.

17 North End, S/1504/15/FL

Relocation of vehicular access drive

Meldreth Parish Council recommend 'Approval' with comments. 'There needs to be a condition to make sure that there is no run off of private water onto the road during heavy rainfall.

Fenny Lane Farm,

Prior approval Information only. application proposal to convert two agricultural buildings to three dwellings.

S/2065/15/PB

Planning Matters Parish Council Reference and Address

Detail

Parish Council Recommend

73 High Street, Alterations and refurbishment S/2291/15/FL of The Homestead, including & demolition of previous extension, together with new vehicle access from High Street S/2292/15/LB and restoration and rebuilding of front boundary.

It was felt by the Parish Council that a site meeting would be beneficial and that this item be deferred until the 15th October 2015.

SCDC Decisions Reference and Address Decision

36 Howard Road, S/1316/15/FL

Permission has been granted for front and rear single storey extensions.

Fillcup Field, land to the north of Meldreth Road

Permission has been granted for the construction of a glasshouse with a 380kW biomass boiler and 150kW anaerobic digestion plant to provide power, plus covered feed stock, storage clamps, covered digestate, loading area, covered vehicle store and associated plant

The full minutes of Meldreth Parish Council planning meetings are available on the Parish Councilâ€™s website, www.meldreth-pc.org.uk.

Meldreth Parish Council

Editorâ€™s Note: Details of recent SCDC decisions can be found on the following page. Full details of all planning applications may be viewed at this website: http://plan.scambs.gov.uk/swiftlg/apas/run/wphappcriteria.display

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Fireworks Safety Fireworks and bonfires can be plenty of fun for all the family to enjoy. The Fire Service recommends going to an organised firework display instead of holding one at home. However, if you do use fireworks or light a bonfire at home, please take on board our safety advice to ensure it is just the fireworks that go off with a bang: ∗ Keep fireworks in a closed box and always follow the instructions. ∗ Light them at arms length using a taper and stand well back. ∗ Never go back to a lit firework. ∗ Never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them. ∗ Don't light bonfires in unsuitable weather, particularly in windy

conditions. ∗ Don't leave bonfires unattended. ∗ Build bonfires well clear of buildings, fences and hedges. ∗ Never use flammable liquids to start bonfires, and never burn

dangerous rubbish such as aerosols, paint, foam furniture, rubber tyres and batteries. ∗ Before you light bonfires, check that children and animals are not

hiding inside and are a safe distance away. Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service To ensure a safe fireworks night this year, why not attend one of these local fireworks displays? Thursday 5th November, 7.30 to 10.00pm Midsummer Common, Cambridge. The Thurston Funfair will be open from 6.00 to 10.00pm. Saturday 7th November Wimpole Hall. Gates open 5.00pm, gates close 6.15pm. Organised and on behalf of St Andrew’s Church, Wimpole. Saturday 7th November, Melbourn Primary School Gates open 6.00pm, display starts 7.00pm Please check the local press for details of other local displays. Kathryn Betts, Editor 57

(01763) 262199 Mick Taylor—(01763) 261118 Graham Borgonon—(01763) 260358 (01763) 262158, open 7am-10pm, 7 days Sherida Richards—(01763) 262512 Paul Ray—(01763) 260304

Good Companions Local History Group Lunch Club Melwood Cons. Group

L. Pocknell—(01763) 261432 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 Maureen Moody—(01763) 260938

Sport

Bowls Club Croquet Club Meldreth United FC Table Tennis Tennis Club

S. Lambert (01223) 207888 Janet Pope (01763) 248342 07930 650036 Christine Knight—(01763) 261676 Tracy Aggett—(01763) 243376

Church

Rev. Mary Price Bells John Price (Friends)

(01763) 261569; www.meldrethchurch.org.uk Peter Hinton—(01763) 262045 (01763) 260048; www.foht.org.uk

Baby & Toddler Group Pre-School Primary School

Rosalind Wing - 07432 150721 07518 173653; www.meldrethpreschool.com (01763) 260432; www.meldreth.cambs.sch.uk

Parish Council District Councillor District Council Offices

Please see details at end of Parish Council report Philippa Hart—(01763) 261255 03450 450500; www.scambs.gov.uk/ Susan van de Ven—(01763) 261833 susanvandeven.mycouncillor.org.uk/ 0345 045 5200; www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ Heidi Allen—(01954) 212707 www.heidisouthcambs.co.uk/

Councils & Govt.

Clubs & Societies

Facilities

Community Access Point Litter Picker Neighbourhood Watch One Stop Village Hall Bookings Village Hall Chairman

Childn.

Village Directory

County Councillor County Council Offices MP

Transport Health Support Services Emergencies NonEmerg. Misc.

Station Ticket Office

(01223) 453702, Mon - Fri 7-11.15am, Sat 8.45am - 1.25pm

Rail User Group

(01763) 261833; www.melbourn.org.uk/railusergroup

Govia/Great Northern

www.thameslinkrailway.com

The Trainline Stagecoach Potholes, Highways problems, etc.

www.thetrainline.com www.stagecoachbus.com/Cambridge 0345 045 5212; http://www2.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ HighwaysReports/Highways/ReportProblem1.aspx

Streetlights (faulty)

08007838 247 - give location, fault & SC or CCC no.

Melbourn Surgery Addenbrookeâ€™s NHS

(01763) 260220; Dispensaryâ€”(01763) 261246 (01223) 245151 111 (24 hour non-emergency number)

Childline

Community Transport Home-Start 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 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 Police S Cambs Fire & Rescue

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

Melbourn Hub

(01763) 263303; www.melbournhub.com

Royston Museum

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

Citizens Advice Bureau

Details of village groups and facilities can be found on the PC website, www.meldreth-pc.org.uk or the Meldreth Today section at www.meldrethhistory.org.uk. Meldreth Matters Team: Chairman: Lesley Farbridge 261578; Editor & Layout: Kathryn Betts 268428; Distribution & Proof-reading: Ken McLean 261243; Treasurer, Secretary & Trade Advertising: Beverley Cottrell 262176; Cover & Advertising Layout: Richard Burns 263121; Founder Member: Ann Barnes Meldreth Matters is available online at free.yudu.com (search for Meldreth)

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. A10 Timber.................................... 12 Algarve Villa ................................. 37 Armstrong Window Cleaners ......... 56 Art of Clean ................................... 56 Art of Clean Wood ......................... 44 B2B Automotive ............................ 44 Black Barn Turkeys ....................... 17 Boiler Juice ............................... Cover Bracey’s Accountants .................... 17 Cam Valley Orchards .................... 38 Cambourne Self Storage ................ 37 Cambridge Roofers ....................... 25 CHS Day Centre ........................... 25 CHS Group .............................. Cover College Farm B & B ........................ 8 Coton Electrical ............................ 37 The Country Store ......................... 49 Ely Design Group ........................... 12 Eternit Sports and Social Club ........ 18 Fen Feeds Limited ........................... 8 Gilhooly ........................................ 43 Granta Montessori Shepreth ......... 18 Home Footcare ............................. 28 iPlaster .......................................... 37 James, Handyman .......................... 56 JPK Plumbing and Heating ............. 25 Keyholes Driving School ................ 32

The Letting Centre ..................... Cover Little Hands Nursery School ............37 Lynn Driscoll Footcare .......................8 MCT Construction ...........................49 Melbourn Flooring ...........................28 Melbourn Village College..................38 Meldreth Landscapes ........................25 Meldreth Plant Hire ..........................56 Meridian Lawncare ..........................32 Michael Easton Personal Trainer ......44 Moncraft Computers ........................56 Newlings of Royston Funeral Service 28 Nigel Wigg Home Improvement .........8 Penn Farm Physiotherapy ..................32 The Picture Framers ..........................44 Richard Burns Electrician ....................8 Rod’s PC Support..............................38 Royston Fencing................................37 Royston Golf Club ...........................49 Salisbury String Quartet ...................56 Shelford Energy .................................49 Slimming World ......................... Cover Spice Hut Indian Takeaway ..............43 Summit Landscapes ...........................43 TCS Design ......................................18 Walkers Partnership Solicitors ...........12 60

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

MELDRETH WEDNESDAY 5.30pm & 7.30pm Meldreth Village Hall Hig h Street, Meldreth Tel: Karen 01763 243604

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