Contact 201310

CONTACT

Magazine of Erdington Methodist Church Station Road - October 2013 1

Contents 23rd World Scout Jamboree Ten years since signing of historic Anglican - Methodist Covenant The Vision Project Internet (Ebay) selling for Vision Fund Library of Birmingham Name Churches in Erdington - A service celebrating Black History Month From my Sketchbook Enigma, the secret war Silent Retreat Urgent Notice John Represents Great Britian Children’s Pages Book Recommendations The Haircut Writing for Contact Of Codes and Satnavs Henry Ford’s secret Circuit Concert - J S Bach Flashmob-ing the Services Newsletter from Erdington Foodbank September Regular Meetings Hymn or Maths?

Weekly Church Activities

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3 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 10 12 13 13 16 18 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 31 32

23rd World Scout Jamboree In 2015 three of our Explorer Scouts have been selected to attend the 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Japan. There were only 36 spaces for participants in the Birmingham Unit so competition was very tough – Andrew Horton, Volkan Ceylan and I are honoured to have been chosen.

Scout Jamborees are held every four years and over 40,000 Scouts attended the last one in Sweden. The Jamboree is an international celebration of Scouting, a life changing event and one of the most rewarding experiences a young person can take part in. It will allow us to make links with Scouts from all over the world, promoting friendship, peace and harmony.

As you can imagine we are all very excited about this but there is a lot of hard work ahead to raise the funds needed (£3,500 per participant). We hope that you will all join us on our journey and support us in many fundraising activities that we have planned over the next two years. The first of these will be a coffee morning on Saturday 16th November.

We hope to see you there!

Ryan Whiting – Explorer Scout

Ten years since signing of historic AnglicanMethodist Covenant This November will mark ten years since the historic Anglican-Methodist Covenant was signed by the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the Church of England.

There will be feedback and debates next year in the Conference and the General Synod as the two churches respond and explore the next steps in their pilgrimage together. Two years ago, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, told the Methodist Conference that he hoped to see the Church of England and Methodist communities growing much closer together.

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The Vision Project This month I am starting with a Biblical quote – but don’t stop reading! We are very grateful for all your generosity in money, interest and effort. It is good to see that those who had been sceptical at first are taking an interest now that they realise that something really is happening!

It is a shame that there are generous people who feel they cannot afford to give bigger amounts of money. We don’t want anyone to feel like that knowing that we are not a wealthy congregation; and here is where my Bible passage comes in. The quote is printed so that no one needs to rush to look it up! Please take it seriously especially if you are one of those who feel you should be giving more but can’t afford to. We are certainly not asking you to give all you have to live on, just what you are comfortable in giving, and this applies to us all.

Mark 12 : 41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

I hope this is helpful.

There are a number of applications being considered by various grant funders, but it all takes time. Most say that the decision will take at least three months and others, especially the big funders, warn us that there may be a six month wait. Gerald and I have been wrestling with an application to Veolia Environmental Services, who were Stockland Green’s big funders.

The number of extra documents that we have to send is as time consuming as the application form itself. We have to have a signature from the landowner (!?) and a copy of the governing body etc. Hopefully that will be sent off before the end of the month.

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Please support the next events in whatever way you can. We need help with refreshments and would be grateful if there is anyone who can offer to create posters and tickets sometimes. Some Saturdays have been earmarked for coffee mornings. We need people to sign up to run them either a couple of you, or the group you belong to. These are the dates but change for any that suit you better – Dec 21st, Feb 8th, March 29th Dates for your diary: October 5th 7.30 pm October 19th 10.00 – 12.00 November 9th 10.00 – 1.00 November 16th 6.30 pm

Barn Dance with supper Coffee Morning Early Christmas Fayre Quiz with fish and chip supper Hilary Price

Internet (Ebay) selling for Vision Fund By the time you are reading this I will have handed £700 to John Price for our Vision Project. I have been selling our unwanted items. I am at present selling a lot of unwanted Guide and Scout badges, uniforms and memorabilia for amazing amounts of money.

Things that sell well are clothes and items which are new and still with their tags. New household items like duvet covers, curtains etc.

I will try and sell anything if it is donated for our Vision fund.

Larger items can be advertised as collection only. Smaller items the buyer pays the postage cost.

If you find anything that you will not use and wish to donate please pass on to Lesley Carter or Anne Churcher.

Thank you 5

Library of Birmingham The other day Moya and I decided that we would catch the train to town and do The Library of Birmingham. A new £180m building adjacent to the Rep theatre, whose exterior colour, decoration and architecture has caused not a little controversy in the local press. We went with open minds to see what all the money had been spent upon.

We walked into the entrance atrium to be met by the hum of people and activity and the smiling face of a duty librarian who must have guessed that we had come to gawp. ‘Walk round’ she said, ‘ask what you want, but don’t miss the Secret Garden on the seventh floor’. The day we went there were some problems with an escalator and the only way up was in the lift. So we decided to start there and work our way down. A good choice, the view makes the trip worthwhile. Presumably it is even better from the ninth floor but you can only get up there by appointment. On a sunny day go to the library café, buy a sandwich and drink and take it up to the Secret Garden and sit in the sunshine and soak up the view of south and west Birmingham.

The only problem is that the Hyatt is taller then the seventh floor so there is one quadrant of the view that is missing. Maybe a reason to try the ninth floor?

The inside of the building is spacious, well connected and seems well equipped with furniture and fittings designed to last, along with plenty of books. A building worthy of the Birmingham Fathers, as well as our money.

As the travel guides say, worth making a detour to see this particular sight.

We will be going back.

Peter Farley

Name Vicar (benevolently): “And what is your name, my little man?”

Small boy: “Well, that’s the limit. It was you who baptised me!”

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Churches Together in Erdington

A service celebrating Black History Month Sunday 13th October - 4.00pm at Stockland Green Methodist Church 7

From my Sketchbook Some years ago Norman and I walked through the Burn O’Vat Nature Reserve, Aberdeenshire not knowing anything of the story of this remarkable and quite eerie place. Around 22,000 years ago the granite crust was covered with ice one kilometre deep. The climate changed, and as the ice gradually melted around 15,000 years ago, huge boulders were transported along with glacial movement and it was around this time a gigantic boulder now known as ‘the Vat’ came to lodge where it now rests.

The melt water gushed over this, rocks and stones gradually ground out the centre creating a hollow within, until the Vat became as it is today. It stands about 40 feet high and as far across but is completely hollow. The water reduced dramatically in quantity and became the Burn and it was the course of the burn we followed.

Carefully crossing the burn via stepping stones, we followed the track delightfully meandering through birch coppices and heather clad hillsides, accompanied by the music of the rippling burn. About halfway along the path, a stairway, built into the hillside and following its contours, led to a viewpoint which I climbed, and from which almost whole of Aberdeenshire could be seen before you, or so it seemed.

We had a perfect day on which to see it, with sun and shadow scudding across the pattern of hayfields, freshly green after their first cut, ripening barley fields, heather-dressed moorland and dark, conifer woodlands, and mixed woods of birch, alders and oaks. In the shadows the heather appeared deep indigo blue, but in sunshine it positively sang with rich magenta, setting it all alight with its brilliance.

The river could be followed by its fringe of alder trees, and beneath me lay Lochs Kinord and Davan, sparkling or moody as the sun dictated. As I stood taking in the view, I was startled by a bark immediately behind me and turning faced a roe deer with its fawn, which had just emerged from 8

an adjoining track and which thought I might be a threat. I was so taken by its nearness, of the richness of its coat and the delightful little fawn, that I stood still while they slowly retreated back into the wood.

Returning to Norman, whom I had left sitting on a stone, a red squirrel hopped out of the tree cover and on to the handrail ahead of me, after eyeing me for a brief moment it leapt into a nearby tree. What a worthwhile climb this had proved to be, a view with wildlife thrown in.

Nearing the Vat became tricky. It was rougher under foot and strewn with boulders and rocks. It was too difficult for us to clamber into the Vat itself but we were able to look into it. It towered over us like some ancient giant questioning our presence. We felt a sense of foreboding and were utterly dwarfed by it. In its centre a single slender birch had rooted some twenty years ago and grew straight and tall, reaching for the light. The rocks and boulders which had created the hollow now rested on the floor of the vat.

There was quite an atmosphere, as if this was a sacred place. It was beautiful. It was awesome. The only sounds were the gentle gurgling of water, the soughing of the breeze in the trees and the hum of insects in the heather: music sufficient for such a secluded and inspirational space. We sat for a while, taking in the peace and tranquillity of the place before returning.

You may wonder why I would wish to draw just a stream trickling between rocks and clumps of grass: well this was quite a challenge. There are quite a few textures, 9

moving water, (a large enough challenge on its own) rocks, grasses and clumps of heather. But this was no ordinary stream, as I had just discovered. This was just an ‘aide memoire’ of a remarkable experience!

For this was no ordinary place.

Ann Tomes

Enigma, the secret war On September 5th Peter Farley took me to Bletchley Park - a belated 70th birthday treat. The main aim was to see an ENIGMA coding/decoding machine plus other World War 2 machinery. This was right up my street and I found the whole experience fascinating and informative.

At the beginning of the Second World War, English code breaking was not able to decipher coded German military messages that were using a very efficient codifying machine called LORENZ. Winston Churchill had all English code breaking moved to Bletchley Park and had the whole expanded organisation overseen by the brilliant mathematician Alan Turin. Secrecy was paramount, but even so double agents were used to mislead German forces. The D Day landings were a good example. Hitler was misled into believing the landings were to be made on the French coast at Pas de Calais not Normandy, the actual landings site.

The early German coded signals proved almost impossible to decipher despite using many people and basic machines. The messages were encoded then transmitted to their target using Morse code. They reasoned that as the new machine ENIGMA could be set in billions of different ways, no one would ever break the code.

Turin and his group built machines called BOMBE to work out the probable order of the setting wheels on ENIGMA. To make matters more difficult the German order of the setting wheels was changed every night. But the English finally got hold of an ENIGMA machine and code books from a captured U boat.

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Bletchley Park developed rapidly with more staff, buildings and machines so that all messages could be intercepted, decoded, translated and delivered to high command.

It’s easy for us to ask for ‘Apps’ to allow us to do what we want with a PC. A modern desk top computer could probably sort out the codes very quickly, but remember there were no digital electronics, memory chips, transistors or programmes to do the work for you. At the start of the war all efforts to decipher codes were restricted to pencil and paper. (A basic, somewhat unreliable programmable machine called COLOSSUS was built and is arguably the first computer). It took around 5000 people to break these codes and shorten the war in total secrecy.

This experience is one which I can highly recommend to anyone with an interest in technology.

Don Rawson Though Don is correct that modern computers could have cracked the code more quickly they would still have taken some time. The advantage of COLOSSUS was that it processed the codes all together in what is called parallel processing - even modern computers only do a limited amount of parallel processing - at least that’s my understanding anyway in the words of the day - ‘it was a dashed clever idea!!’ - ed 11

Silent Retreat Tuesday to Thursday 22nd to 24th October 2013 An opportunity to * listen to God * allow God to minister to us and bless us * deepen our relationship with God !

ﾂ｣140 per person (ﾂ｣120 if unwaged) Full Board窶馬o single supplement For further information please contact: Ian Ring, Community Coordinator, Barnes Close, Chadwich, Bromsgrove, B61 0RA (Email: cfrenquiry@aol.com Tel: 01562 710231)

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You may remember last month that there was an article entitled - ‘The Organist Entertains.’ This urgent addendum was pushed through my door this week - ed

Urgent Notice Nkanfoa Methodist School and Church Aid Recital by Nigel Ogden October 19th 2013 The recital which was due to be at Four Oaks Methodist Church has had to be relocated to another venue due to the organ at Four Oaks requiring repairs. We have been fortunate to be able to announce that the recital will now take place at Emmanuel Parish Church, Birmingham Road, Wylde Green on the same date and at the same time as before October 19th at 7.00 pm. Tickets can be obtained in advance from Ian Bosman on 0121 308 2251 or by email at nkanfoaschoolaid@gmail.com. They can also be bought at the door on the night of the recital.

Thanks you Ian Bosman

John Represents Great Britian some of you may have seen the article in the Sutton Observer about John Churcher. I had obtained permission to reproduce that article here but John pointed me at this other article featured on The Guide Dogs website - so - with their kind permission . . . - ed Sue Bushell Community Engagement Officer for Guide Dogs Birmingham Mobility Team went along to Birmingham Bouldering Centre near Snow Hill and met with guide dog owner John Churcher recently. She was so inspired by his climbing achievements she wanted to share his story with you.

John lives in the Erdington area of Birmingham with his wife Anne, his ten year old daughter and his six year old Labrador guide dog Annie. At the age of fourteen John started losing his sight. He has retinitis pigmentosa and he also has to wear hearing aids. This means that he can only see a very small 13

area at a time and when climbing requires the help of a spotter giving instructions to locate each hold.

As his vision deteriorated he took the decision to apply for a guide dog and was matched with Annie in September 2008, which meant he had increased independence and he could get out and about safely on his own terms without having to rely on friends and family.

About three years ago whilst talking to a friend about their involvement in climbing with Solihull Mountaineering Club John decided to go along and find out more about it. He really enjoyed himself and joined the club for fun.

Having a young family he went along once a fortnight during term time, but as his daughter got older and he realised that he had a passion for the sport, he started to increase his training.

As well as joining Solihull Mountaineering Club at their meetings and events he was training at the Creation Climbing Centre in Moseley once a week for rope climbing practise. The staff there have helped him tremendously, their instructors helped him improve rope and bouldering techniques and a member of the club helped him achieve his aim, to lead climb outdoors.

Since the beginning of March John has also been going to the Birmingham Bouldering Centre four or five times a week. For John, climbing was particularly challenging as he has difficulty with depth perception, so a six foot drop can look like six inches, this meant that he could start to panic, so bouldering training was recommended to him. Bouldering climbs aren’t as high but are excellent for developing and improving technique, upper body strength, control, balance and flexibility and it is good to combine both disciplines. Without Annie, John wouldn’t be able to get to the centre as often as he does. Staff at the centre enjoy seeing him arrive with Annie and 14

she lies quietly out of the way while he trains. Maria Toft a member of staff said.

“I am very impressed with John’s climbing and commitment as I get scaredsometimes, but he is really keen, just keeps his cool and stays focussed” Last year John decided he would like to start entering competitions, but sadly missed the cut off for the 2012 series, so he put his name down for 2013 and is now proud to be a member of the GB climbing team. There are only nine GB paraclimbers who have various disabilities, and he is the only GB team paraclimber member in the Midlands. He has been involved in three British Mountaineering Council competitions and his best result is that he came second in the visual impairment category of the National Paraclimbing competition this year. He is determined that he will improve on this and soon be coming first.

“I am fitter and lighter now than I was in my twenties and I am forty next month! Annie has increased my confidence so much since I have had her and I know when I am out and about that I am safe and that if I get lost, with Annie by my side someone will come and help me. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me, without their support I wouldn’t have achieved what I have so far and I hope to go on and improve.”

His friend Margaret who introduced him to the climbing club says "As I've belayed for John, I've often become aware of other experienced climbers just stopping to watch him, sometimes in mid climb themselves, amazed and inspired by what he is doing. We have some fantastic climbers in Solihull Mountaineering Club, but we're very proud of John, as he is the first to be selected to represent Great Britain".

For more pictures and information have a look at John’s blog http://www.johnchurcherparaclimber.com/ 15

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Book Recommendations We haven’t had some book recommendations for ages - our favourite librarian has stepped forward to give us some suggestions - ed Story of Beautiful Girl - Rachel Simon On a stormy night in small-town America, a couple, desperate and soaked to the skin, knock on a stranger's door. When Martha, a retired schoolteacher, answers their knock, her world changes for ever.

Her visitors are Lynnie and Homan, who have fled The School for the Incurable and Feebleminded with their newborn baby. But the police are closing in and their freedom is about to be snatched away. Moments before she is taken back to the School, bound and tied, Lynnie utters two words to Martha: 'Hide her.' And so begins the heart-rending story of Lynnie, Homan, Martha and baby Julia - lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love. An unbelievable book, and one I’d highly recommend.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life. You get to find out about Harold’s life, his marriage and meet some incredible characters along the way. You see the impact Harold’s journey has on them, and they on him. I loved it.

On the Beach - Nevil Shute Australia is one of the last places where life still exists after nuclear war starts in the Northern Hemisphere. A year on, an invisible cloak of radiation has spread almost completely around the world. Darwin is a ghost town, and radiation levels at Ayres Rock are increasing. An American nuclear-powered submarine has found its way to Australia where its captain has placed the boat under the command of the Australian Navy. Commander Dwight Towers and his Australian liaison officer are sent to the coast of North 18

America to discover whether a stray radio signal originating from near Seattle is a sign of life.

When this book was written, nuclear war was a very real threat, and it’s a thought provoking look at how people face the prospect of the end of the world. Unfortunately, it’s still as relevant today as it was then.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonason It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-neverwanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not . . . Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century.

Already a huge bestseller across Europe, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun, feel-good book for all ages. Translated by Rod Bradbury. It was my book of the year, I absolutely loved it.

Dominion - C.J.Sansom 1952. Twelve years have passed since Churchill lost to the appeasers and Britain surrendered to Nazi Germany after Dunkirk. As the long German war against Russia rages on in the east, the British people find themselves under dark authoritarian rule: the press, radio and television are controlled; the streets patrolled by violent auxiliary police and British Jews face ever greater constraints. There are terrible rumours too about what is happening in the basement of the German Embassy at Senate House. Defiance, though, is growing. In Britain, Winston Churchill's Resistance organisation is increasingly a thorn in the government's side. And in a Birmingham mental 19

hospital an incarcerated scientist, Frank Muncaster, may hold a secret that could change the balance of the world struggle for ever. Civil Servant David Fitzgerald, secretly acting as a spy for the Resistance, is given the mission by them to rescue his old friend Frank and get him out of the country. Before long he, together with a disparate group of Resistance activists, will find themselves fugitives in the midst of London's Great Smog; as David's wife Sarah finds herself drawn into a world more terrifying than she ever could have imagined. And hard on their heels is Gestapo Sturmbannfuhrer Gunther Hoth, brilliant, implacable hunter of men . . .

Dodger - Terry Pratchett A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's . . . Dodger! Laced with loads of Dickens references, an entertaining read.

The Paris Wife - Paula McLain Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a shy twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness when she meets Ernest Hemingway and is captivated by his energy, intensity and burning ambition to write. After a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for France. But glamorous Jazz Age Paris, full of artists and writers, fuelled by alcohol and gossip, is no place for family life and fidelity. Ernest and Hadley's marriage begins to founder, and the birth of a beloved son serves only to drive them further apart. Then, at last, Ernest's ferocious literary endeavours begin to bring him recognition - not least from a woman intent on making him her own . . .

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The black sign, painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, reads: Opens at Nightfall Closes at Dawn 20

As the sun disappears beyond the horizon, all over the tents small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears.

Le Cirque des RĂŞves The Circus of Dreams.

Now the circus is open.

Now you may enter.

Perfect - Rachel Joyce In 1972, two seconds were added to time. It was in order to balance clock time with the movement of the earth. Byron Hemming knew this because James Lowe had told him and James was the cleverest boy at school. But how could time change? The steady movement of hands around a clock was as certain as their golden futures.

Then Byron's mother, late for the school run, makes a devastating mistake.

Byron's perfect world is shattered. Were those two extra seconds to blame?

Can what follows ever be set right?

The Zookeepers Wife - Diane Ackerman When Germany invades Poland, Luftwaffe bombers devastate Warsaw and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals killed, or stolen away to Berlin, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski begin smuggling Jews into the empty cages.

As the war escalates Jan becomes increasingly involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Ammunition is buried in the elephant enclosure and explosives stored in the animal hospital. Plans are prepared for what will become the Warsaw uprising. Through the ever-present fear of discovery, Antonina must keep her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and animal inhabitants - otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes - as Europe crumbles around them.

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Written with the narrative drive and emotional punch of a novel, The Zookeeper's Wife is a remarkable true story. It shows us the human and personal impact of war - of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, of fighting in the anti-Nazi resistance. But more than anything it is a story of decency and sacrifice triumphing over terror and oppression. Jan and Antonina saved over 300 people from the death camps of the Holocaust.

Elizabeth Baizon

The Haircut A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car.

His father said he'd make a deal with his son: ‘You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible, and get your hair cut. Then we'll talk about the car.’

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.

After about six weeks his father said, ‘Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut.’

The boy said, ‘You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair - and there's even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.’

His father thought for a moment and then replied, ‘Did you also notice that they all walked everywhere?’

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Writing for Contact For the past ten years I have been proof reader for our church magazine, a task which focuses the mind. Occasionally this can be tedious but as a rule I get absorbed in what I’m doing and enjoy it.

There are a few strategies which I have adopted and perhaps you may find one or two of them helpful.

1. Read your finished article out loud - a technique which I use fairly frequently. This certainly increases the likelihood of discovering errors such as spelling, repeated words and punctuation.

2. Reading your draft on the computer screen is never as satisfactory as reading the printed copy. I cannot offer any suggestions why this is so, but I just know it works for me.

3. Once completed, leave your written work well alone, overnight if possible, and reread it the following day.

4. Spell checks are useful, but problems can arise from computers which do not recognise differences between American and English spelling. This leads to confusion when using words such as meter/metre color/colour realize/realise check/cheque. (It seems to me that many American spellings are simpler and more logical than their English equivalents).

5. Never write your articles or proof read when you are tired!

6. Finally, please bear in mind that the quality of writing is never as important as actually writing something - this magazine doesn’t write itself and we value each and every submission HAPPY WRITING! Barbara Rawson 23

Of Codes and Satnavs The other day whilst driving to or from work I heard a rather pompous man from the AA talking about the problems associated with the use of a ‘Satnavs’. The magazine piece was about a Cornish County Councillor who was presenting the case for a new road sign which will say, ‘if you are here following directions from your Satnav then you are probably going the wrong way’. His response was interesting; ‘Satnavs’, he said, ‘should always be used in conjunction with a road atlas because you don’t know how good your ‘satnav’ data is’. Maybe he was trying to boost the sale of their atlases.

I did wonder when he last had to drive an unfamiliar journey or tried to find an unusual urban location. However I would agree that the directions are only as good as the data in your car because when my ‘Satnav’ was new it did try to take me and my caravan down a road, which had been closed to traffic by some very antique looking cast iron bollards.

However, this is only the introduction to the main point of my peroration.

Recently Don and I went on an old codgers day out. We went to Bletchley Park to visit the Code Breaker and Computer Museums. Here, during World War II many of the UK’s finest minds worked on code breaking. Firstly they worked on the German day-to-day military signals, which resulted in them breaking the Enigma Code, of film fame. Later they progressed to the German strategic code. It was here that one Bill Tutte took two different versions of the same 400 characters message from the German High Command and after about two months labour he and his colleagues determined how the ‘Lorenz’ message had been encrypted. It has been said that this represented the most significant individual intellectual contribution to the entire war effort.

All of the people who worked at Bletchley Park had to sign the Official Secrets Act. After the war, although everyone knew that the Enigma code had been broken, very few knew about the Lorenz code. So the secrecy was maintained and apparently much Soviet military communication was based upon this system until the mid 1960s. It is interesting to speculate whether the Americans were still reading Soviet messages during the Cuban missile crisis.

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However, the secrecy had two unfortunate side effects. Firstly, when one of the senior engineers from Bletchley applied for a loan to build a computer his bank refused his application because they said what he wanted to do was impossible. The Secrets Act precluded him from saying that he knew it could because he had done it already. Secondly it prevented any official recognition of what had been achieved for the people involved. It was not until 1974 when F Winterbotham published a book entitled ‘The Ultra Secret’ that the veil of secrecy was lifted and the extent of the wartime activities at Bletchley Park came into the public domain.

To return to my ‘Satnav’ starting point, I was able to drive to Bletchley without any problem; I knew that I needed exit 14. However to ensure that we arrived at the Park I fed the Post Code into my ‘Satnav’. And this is where things almost went pear shaped. First, presumably because it had marginally fewer miles it routed me via a housing estate and past the local senior school, which meant for the last couple of miles we had speed bumps.

Then Bletchley Park is one of those places where there are two relevant Post Codes, depending upon which entrance you want, and we chose the wrong one. So I thought about the AA man and his advice to ensure that you know where you are going before you start.

Altogether a very good day and we may have to go back because we ran out of time rather than things to see. A Gift Aided admission gives free readmission for 12 months.

Peter Farley

Henry Ford’s secret When the late Mr and Mrs Henry Ford celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, a reporter asked them: “To what do you attribute your fifty years of successful married life?”

“The formula,” said Ford, “Is the same formula I have always used in making cars – just stick to one model.”

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CIRCUIT CONCERT Saturday November 2nd at 6.00 pm Erdington Methodist Church

Bach was perhaps the greatest composer of all.

We shall hear

some of his better known melodies and chorales, and we hope the audience will be involved from time to time. Nick’s fingers will be ablaze as he plays one or two of Bach’s impressive organ works … definitely not to be missed!

Free admission but dona/ons to “Send a cow, Uganda” will be gratefully received. The lives of more than 1 million African people have been transformed by the provision of livestock, seeds, training and support

COME AND ENJOY A FEAST OF BACH’S MUSIC. 26

Flashmob-ing the Services Do you know what a Flashmob is? It is an unexpected act of dance, music, song or even a group of people all doing the same thing - like sitting in a particular seat or asking a shop assistant for a blue parrot - or something equally bizarre!

Some of you will know that not long ago I joined Severn Trent Choir (the one that won a TV competition last year ably led by Gareth Malone). I’m really enjoying the opportunity and despite some of the choir members not reading music or singing regularly before, they do make a remarkably good sound - even if I say so myself!

You may have also noticed that I haven’t been playing the organ every week of late too. The last time I was absent I went to Manchester with the choir to sing in a concert to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Manchester Airport.

The concert included all the choirs that sang in the original competition. We had great fun and a surprise visitor - of which more later.

We had to be at Severn Trent Centre in Coventry (STW headquarters) for 10.00 am on Saturday and we boarded a half size coach and before very long we were on our way.

We had planned a stop at Stafford Services and on this occasion it was a good job because not long before we reached the Services the coach started to sound very sick indeed. Our driver informed us that it would go no further and that it may take an hour or two to get a replacement. Fortunately we had planned more than enough time to get to Manchester and some clever re-arrangement by the organisers meant that no one was too stressed about the situation (except perhaps, the coach driver).

As we sat in the Services drinking tea and eating sandwiches our pianist Rauri suggested we sing an impromptu song or two. The choir wasn’t quite sure about this idea (especially because some people were making their own way to Manchester, so we weren’t full strength) but after much cajoling by Rauri and him exorting us to, ‘go for it’ we sang Bridge over Troubled Water and Yesterday.

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It seemed to go down well and we got some rapturous applause. One of the choir’s husband, Nick (also an STW employee) is a keen amateur photographer and videographer and filmed our efforts. If you want to see and hear us then you can find us on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVVqGE3iRA8 The concert gave every choir a chance to sing five or six songs each and Manchester Airport choir, being the hosts, sang a couple of groups. The compere for the evening was Gordon Burns of Krypton Factor fame and insisted on talking for about five minutes in-between each song which made it a rather long concert.

At the end of the concert all the choirs collected on stage preparing to sing an arrangement of ‘How can I keep from singing.’ Gordon Burns was once again in full flow and about have way through his preamble someone walked out onto stage behind him. The audience erupted into applause and suddenly there was Gareth Malone who had apparently been hidden at the back of the auditorium listening to the choirs.

He offered to conduct the final song and of course everyone was delighted.

It was a brilliant weekend full of wonderful memories. if you search on Youtube for ‘Severn Trent Choir Manchester Airport’ you can find some of the songs we sang (once again recorded by Nick).

Nick Riley

Newsletter from Erdington Foodbank First of all, thanks for all your support for Erdington Foodbank. Please continue to support us. The need is growing and growing and we get busier and busier and need more and more food and helpers to meet demand. Here are some updates on where things are at right now.

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Network widens!

We now have 34 statutory and voluntary sector organisations who are registered with us as referral agencies. These include Job Centre Plus, Birmingham City Council Customer Service Centre, Health Visitors, Children’s Centres, housing support teams, probation, various community groups and grassroots agencies.

Supermarket collections We now have a well established link with the Tesco Extra store at New Oscott. Following the big success of the collection there in July, we held a “mini” collection in September, making good use of a team of teenagers from “The Challenge” project.

We also have embarked on an ongoing partnership with ASDA at Minworth and will be having monthly food collections there, as well as at Christmas being one of their nominated “Chosen by You” charities and even having been invited to sing Christmas carols (but whether they ask us back after hearing us sing...)

Can you help us with our numerous supermarket collections? We need lots of volunteers to give out shopping lists and collect in the food.

12th October, 10am -3.30pm at ASDA 25th October, 8.30am -2.30pm at ASDA 29th November, 9am-5pm at Tesco 30th November, 9am-5pm at Tesco Fresh food We continue to work alongside the people at the Transformation Life Centre, who offer a service similar to foodbank here in Erdington. This relationship has enabled us to “recycle” fresh food from Waitrose. We have also received fresh allotment-grown produce which has helped us to be offering a balanced diet.

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Developments We now have a very busy weekly benefits and debts advisor: Neil, who is provided for us by Castle Vale TRA. This has been a much valued addition to our service..

Now that colder weather is here we are expanding our refreshments to include toast and cups of soup.

We are still yet to be in a position to employ a member of staff, hopefully this will be in the next couple of months. This would be particularly useful with regard to administration.

At present we sit as a project supported by Churches Together in Erdington with other local churches too. We had hoped that by the autumn we would have established ourselves as a separate body, still with the same Christian roots and connections but with much clearer lines of responsibility and accountability. This has not yet happened, mainly because we are so busy doing other things! We aim to have achieved “independent status� by February.

We get busier and busier week on week. It is clear to us that in order to provide a good, safe service we need to open for another session earlier in the week. This looks like it will be on a Tuesday and will be at another church premises in Erdington. At the moment we get quite a lot of requests for help, especially at the beginning of the week, that we struggle to accommodate.

Finally, a really big gain from the project is the way that we are witnessing a profoundly moving and inspiring community response that crosses boundaries of faith and background. Foodbank seems to have tapped into a deep sense of community spirit. Thank you for the part you are playing in this!

If you would like to know more then visit our website www.erdington.foodbank.org.uk 30

October Regular Meetings Coffee Mornings Each Saturday 10.00 am to 12.00 noon

Tuesday Club Every 4th Tuesday in the month at 2.30 pm

Sunday Worship All worship starts at 10.30 am unless stated otherwise below 6th

Alex Dunstan

13th

Sue Hall Churches Together Celebrate Black History Month at Stockland Green - 4.00 pm

20th

ALL AGE WORSHIP - Rev Paul Dunstan

27th

Colin Topliss

Hymn or maths?

A father had taken his small son to church. The boy listened attentively without saying a word until the clergyman announced: “We will now sing hymn two hundred and twenty-two: ‘Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand’, two hundred and twenty-two.”

Alarmed the little boy nudged his father. “Do we have to work this out?”

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Weekly Church Activities Sunday

10.30 am

MORNING WORSHIP and Young Church

Tuesday

9.30 - 11.30 am 9.30 - 12.30 pm 2.00 pm

Stay and Play Pre-School : Karen Homer Tuesday Afternoon Meeting : Ann Tomes (4th)

Wednesday

9.30 - 11.30 am 9.30 - 12.30 pm 12.30 pm

Stay and Play Pre-School : Karen Homer Luncheon Club - (1st and 3rd)

Thursday

9.30 - 12.30 pm

Pre-School : Karen Homer

Friday

9.30 - 12.30 pm 5.00 - 6.15 pm 6.15 - 7.45 pm 7.45 - 9.15 pm 7.45 - 9.15 pm 5.30 - 6.30 pm 5.00 - 6.30 pm 7.30 - 9.00 pm

Pre-School : Karen Homer Beavers : Lynn Turner Cubs : Elizabeth Baizon Scouts : Lisa Porter Explorers : Caroline Joyce Rainbows : Debbie Barnett Brownies : Lesley Carter Guides : Helen Rainsford

Saturday

10.00 - 12.00 noon Coffee Morning : Lesley Morgan 10.30 - 11.30 am Church open for prayer : Margaret Curzon

Please hand any items for the November CONTACT to any of the Editorial Team (Peter Farley, Christine Rankin, Ann Tomes & Nick Riley) by 15th October 2013 at the latest please or alternatively email me: nickriley@blueyonder.co.uk with the word ‘CONTACT’ in the title.

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