Friends of Holy Trinity Church

www.foht.org.uk

Car Show

The Car Show went well this year despite the poor weather forecast. All the planned exhibitors turned up with over 40 vehicles and at least 120 visitors came through the gate. These all kept the BBQ and the tearoom busy, and the Auto Jumble stall did good business too, while the jazz band played. In the end the event raised over £1,000 which was an excellent result. A Meldreth resident visited the show and produced a wonderful report on his blog. You can see this here: https://bystargooseandhanglands.blogspot.com/2023/09/cars-gravestonesand-all-that-jazz.html. While there I would recommend exploring his other blogs as they are beautifully produced and a good insight into our region.

Tom Heap Talk – Mission Possible

At the time of writing this talk, to be held in the meeting room, appears to be a sellout! I apologise if anyone was unable to reserve a seat and we will investigate facilities in the church itself for other popular events.

Christmas Tree Festival

We shall be entering a tree in the Christmas Tree Festival, but the FOHT have no more events planned now until the New Year.

Burns Night Supper – Friday 26th January

We are currently looking into holding a Burns Night Supper in the meeting room. If you would be interested in attending such an event please contact Julie Draper at juliedraper@dumbflea.co.uk.

Future Events

Next year we have developing plans for some more talks, a couple of music events and a theatre event or even two. More information about these will be available in due course, so please continue to watch this space!

Meanwhile we would love to hear from you with any ideas you may have for events you would like the Friends to organise.

Ian Mitchell Vice Chair FOHT

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group

We are a small friendly group who meet at either ASCH Melbourn, or in Holy Trinity Meeting Room Meldreth. Our meetings commence at 7.45pm and last about one and a half hours. At most meetings we have a speaker but sometimes there is in-house entertainment. This is followed by refreshments, which affords us the opportunity to chat together. A charge of £2 is made to cover expenses and there is also the opportunity to donate to the charity pot. This year the charity which we are supporting is Camsight.

In September we were to have had a speaker from Camsight but this was cancelled, so Sue Toule our treasurer arranged for a beetle drive which resulted in considerable laughter. At our October meeting we will have made decorations for the Christmas Tree Festival. Our next meeting is on 28th November at ASCH Melbourn and is entitled Advent Reflection.

New members are very welcome. If you wish to know more about the Group or require a lift to a meeting, please telephone one of the committee. They are Diane Blundell (01763) 221415, Sue Toule (01763) 260955, Angela Leach (01763) 262793, Mary Bailey (01763)220171 and Mary Purdy (01763) 260864. Angela Leach

Harvest Donations

Pictured are some of the goods which were delivered to local food banks as a result of our harvest donations. They were gratefully received by both Melbourn and Meldreth foodbanks.

Our thanks go to the stalwart flower arrangers who worked so hard to decorate our churches and remind us of the many bountiful gifts which we receive from God.

Sometimes it is too easy to take what we have for granted and harvest helps us to remember God’s hand in creation as well as the farmers and all who are involved in the supply chain of food to our shops.

Boxes for donations to both food banks remain in our churches – at the back by the font in All Saints’ Church, Melbourn and at the back of Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth on the table. Both foodbanks are grateful for ongoing donations, particularly as the cold weather kicks in.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to go into Meldreth Primary School as the children and staff celebrated their Harvest Thanksgiving and it was a joy to see the children and listen to their presentations. My thanks to Meldreth Primary School for allowing me to share in their Harvest Festival and to see the children growing in an awareness of the world around them and their connections with others. They too collected donations for the local foodbanks and as a community it is good to look to support those in our communities. Our thanks go to those volunteers who continue to help and support both foodbanks.

Pat Smith, Licensed Lay Minister Holy

Trinity Church,

Meldreth & All Saints’ Church Melbourn

The Moor Melbourn

SG8 6EF

07163 223400 office@melbournvc.org www.melbournvc.org

A highly-rated community secondary school committed to ensuring every student achieves his or her very best through a rich and varied curriculum.

OFSTED (Sept 2017) confirmed:

‘An innovative curriculum that truly meets the needs of pupils’

‘The first school in Cambridgeshire to introduce Mandarin at Key Stage 3’

‘The school’s vision of Everybody is Somebody is evident in the support you provide for all pupils’

‘Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school’

Senior Leaders will be delighted to show around prospective students and their parents. For more information or to book your tour, please contact Karin Doyle – office@melbournvc.org

Christmas at

Christmas Shop Now Open

Win a £100 Bury Lane Hamper

Order your turkey by Sunday 3rd December for a chance to win

A Taste of Christmas

Friday 8th December bespoke & ready made

Fresh Christmas Trees from late November

Christmas Lunch & Extended Hours on selected dates

Lift Off Choir

It has been a fun return to singing this autumn. We have welcomed new members and in an exciting development have gained more male members.

Anyone who has attended choirs in the past will understand that gaining more male members is an ongoing quest. There is a reason for this. Male voices offer so much richness to a choir and singing is a wonderful activity to engage in on an ongoing basis. It offers wonderful health benefits, much enjoyment and a chance to meet new friends. Now that we have an established male section, I encourage more to join us.

Lift Off Choir is friendly, welcoming and fun with no requirement to sing on your own. Our strength is in our united voices and the wonderful community we have built together.

If you wish to give us a go, male or female, please get in contact. Lift Off Choir takes place every Wednesday during term time at Meldreth Village Hall from 1.30pm-2.45pm. The cost is £6 per session and your first session is free. Clare Silver 07548

Church Kneelers

Eleven years ago Julie Draper suggested that it would be wonderful to replace the worn kneelers in Holy Trinity Church. An interested group of stitchers met and with the help of Lizanne Van Essen, who drew the basic designs, work soon began. At present 51 beautiful kneelers have been completed and more are in the pipeline. A few more will be required. Our thanks to Julie for getting this project underway and especially to Lizanne for the many designs she has created during this time.

Ann Handscombe

Shepreth Carpet Bowls Club

The Shepreth Carpet Bowls Club meet from September to March on Friday afternoons from 2.00-4.00pm in Shepreth Village Hall. We have matches with local Clubs and would welcome new players. All equipment provided.

David Stigwood

(01763) 260443

Meldreth Local History Group

www.meldrethhistory.org.uk

Our October coffee morning was attended by over 40 people who enjoyed a presentation by MLHG Chairman Joan Gane on the Atlas/Eternit/Etex site following its recent closure. Some audience members had worked at the site and were able to contribute their own memories of working there. Several people brought memorabilia and photographs which were on display. There is an extensive history of the site on our website and this will be updated in due course with some of the material that came to light as a result of the coffee morning.

Christmas Cards and Notelets

We are producing some brand new Christmas cards and notelets this year which we will be selling at the Christmas Market in the Village Hall on 26th November.

Christmas Tree Festival

Look out for our tree at next month’s Christmas Tree festival as we look back in time to see what the village was like over one hundred years ago.

Melbourn and District Photographic Club

melbournphotoclub.com

As autumn makes way for the winter months, we have a full and varied programme and in November, we have two lecture evenings and two competitions.

7th A Passion for Wildlife – Lecture by Kevin Pigney

14th 2nd Open Print Competition – Judged by Colin Strong

21st Ol Pejeta Conservancy – Lecture by Glyn Edmunds (Zoom)

28th Bottisham & Burwell / Ely / Melbourn Competition – Judge TBA

Meetings are held weekly from 7.30 - 9.30pm on Tuesdays at Foxton Village Hall, from September to April. The Club has a diverse membership, with a friendly and supportive atmosphere, and always welcomes new members, whatever their ability.

For details about the Club, and to see some of our work, visit our website at melbournphotoclub.com. If you are interested in joining, we are happy for you to join up to two meetings free of charge before deciding. To do this, just email me at melbournphotoclub@hotmail.com.

Peter North, Secretary

Meldreth Croquet Club

https://sites.google.com/view/meldrethcroquetclub/home

Further to the article in last month’s Meldreth Matters, we are pleased to report that Meldreth have again won the East Anglian Federation Golf Croquet Handicap League. The final was played against a team from Colchester at Wrest Park on 1st October. The teams were tied 5-5 at lunchtime but a strong performance from Meldreth during the afternoon session resulted in a final score of 11-7.

The team is pictured with the trophy after the match.

Meldreth Marvells Abroad

Now our damp and disappointing summer has ended and a glorious autumn unfolds. We were sitting in Café 19, Duxford, half way through our Tuesday morning ride, and reminiscing about our holiday cycling adventures.

Some enjoyed the stunning castles of the Loire Valley including the Château de Chenonceau (right) and delights of French cuisine, whilst Croatia offered more nautical and East European experiences, with enticing remnants of past ancient rulers.

Our own memories are of supporting family members taking part in an ‘Iron Man’ competition, in the Castell region of Nurenburg, where our family run hotel loaned us bikes. We were then able to explore the medieval walled city of Nordlingen. Incidentally, Castell has an extraordinary ancient castle and is where the famous pencils are manufactured.

It goes to show, that if you can use bicycles provided by your accommodation or hire them, you can enhance the quality of your holiday experience with the healthiest of exercise.

John Rogger