The Dever June 2023

The Dever

Wally Smart on his 95th Birthday - Photo by Anne-Marie White

See page 7 inside

First Sunday in the Month

First-Sunday -in-the-Month - Fund Raising Walk

Sunday 4th June 2023

Fund Raising Walk

Paris quadrifolia Herb-paris

This scarce and unusual plant is mainly found in ancient woodlands on calcareous soil

We have been invited to a Private Wood near Overton. It is managed as an ancient woodland. Herb-paris has flowered here for generations.

Numbers for this walk are strictly limited and car -sharing is essential Contact suebell0906@gmail.com to register and receive directions.

Children and dogs are welcome to join us but might find it a little tedious due to our slow pace of walking. Bird song and early summer flowers will be the order of the day.

Donations for this walk will be for

The Walk itself will start at 10.30am and we will be at the Wood for about 1½ hours. We will walk about one mile on a woodland path. Contact me asap to register and receive travel directions.

suebell0906@gmail.com

St.

Holy Trinity Wonston

Church Wardens

Sarah Hobhouse 01962 760003

St Margaret's South Wonston

Melinda Samms 01962 761036

St

Editor:

Peter O’Keefe

07515 339279

1 Canada Cottages, Overton Road, Micheldever Station, SO21 3AN.

Email: editor@thedever.org

Printing: James Dixon and team

Micheldever

Andy Adams

Ann Hawkins

West

The Dever

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Articles for July issue to be received by the editor before 15th June please.

Articles printed in The Dever are accepted ‘as is’ and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Team. Treasurer:

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Dever Advertiser

Roger Forsey

A View From The Curate’s House

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’. (Luke 22 19&20)

Dear Friends and Neighbours

I am writing this having watched The King and Queen’s Coronation at Westminster Abbey on television. Apparently, I was one of circa twenty million people to do the same and presumably many more who have watched it since online or on social media. It truly was a remarkable event.

It goes without saying that the pomp and pageantry were unexpectedly spectacular (and the rain did nothing to dampen its brilliance). The people watching, many of whom were there from the worlds of music, charity, faith, politics and royalty became addictive and as the anticipation of The King and Queen’s arrival (and that of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children) drew ever closer, a period of silent apprehension, almost like the taking of a breath, took hold. And then we had it, the great procession in all its grandeur and gravitas making its way to the coronation theatre with Heralds, Bishops, Lords and Ladies, The King and Queen and of course, the Crown Jewels.

However, what I was reminded about time after time, as I witnessed the different stages of the event, listened to the most gloriously inspiring and perfectly performed music and, listened to the words being spoken, was that I was actually watching an act of worship. Indeed, I and the twenty million or so people who watched it from around the UK and across the world, were witnessing the familiar service of Holy Communion. The sacrament that Jesus himself instituted just hours before he was condemned to death.

And so, what is it then that we saw at The King’s Coronation? We saw a man, destined for service as King working in and through the love of Jesus Christ. A man, who was handed a Bible before being handed any of the earthly instruments of State. A man, who after being stripped of his Robes of Estate, kneels before God at the high altar in simple dress, prays and is prayed for. A man, who in the most intimate part of the service is anointed with holy oil on his head, chest and on his hands as he is set apart for a life of service in holiness and righteousness. And a man, who like any other, receives the sacrament of bread and wine, as a sign of reconciliation – reconciliation with God and with His people. The King and Queen eat of the same bread and drink of the same cup as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Dover and Chelmsford in equality before God.

All we who watched the Coronation in all its splendour, witnessed an act of worship with many stages of personal and public prayer and devotion to the God of all creation. It is an act of sacramental worship that we are all invited to take part in (without question of hesitation) because it is an act of worship whose invitation comes from the Lord Jesus Christ in and through love. It is an invitation that is made to me, as it is made to you as it was and continues to be made to King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Rev’d

Dr Robert Rees

The Dever Benefice & Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands

Two course lunch for £5

If you are a regular and unable to attend please call: Tricia Patston on 795028

Wally’s 95th Birthday–A Big Thank You!

Wally, Anne-Marie and Steve would all like to thank everyone who sent or dropped in a birthday card for his 95th birthday on May 4th.

Anne-Marie’s random dream sparked it all off! I dreamt dad got 95 cards for his 95th birthday. I then started messaging people, which then snowballed with people telling others especially Sue Bell. She came up with the fantastic idea of pegging the cards out on dad’s washing lines.

We were very lucky with the weather on Wally’s birthday, it was dry but rather breezy day which made it interesting chasing some cards across his garden!

We would like to say thank you to everyone who sent or delivered a card. Dad was chuffed to have got so many cards and he had a lovely birthday.

The end total was, 115!!!!!

THANK YOU xxx

(See front cover photo Ed.)

News from Woodmancote & Popham

We were all looking forward to the Christening during our Service of Holy Communion on 30th April and we weren’t disappointed. Rev’d Rob conducted a wonderful, joyful Baptism of Arthur Shipway, who took it all in his stride and seemed particularly fascinated by Rob’s beard. The church looked beautiful with lovely spring flowers and the large congregation all enjoyed singing the hymns and participating in the questions posed by Rob during his sermon.

I couldn’t write in here this month without mentioning the Coronation. I don’t consider myself a Royalist but I was glued to the whole thing from start to finish and thought it spectacular! The music especially Zadok the Priest and the Gospel Choir, the display of the armed forces and beautiful horses, the pageantry, it all made me quite emotional. It also left me on a real high, so it was really lovely that Mary and Nick Wallis hosted a Woodmancote Village BBQ at their house in the evening and even the weather did not dampen our spirits! Many, many thanks to them both for hosting

and providing so much delicious food.

St James’ contribution to the Big Help Out day was to arrange a litter pick. On a very wet bank holiday Monday an army of volunteers armed with gloves and long-handled grabs made light work of picking up litter on the approaches to Woodmancote and enjoyed coffee and flapjacks afterwards. All in all it was a very memorable and great fun weekend.

The Pet Service will take place at St James at 3pm on Sunday 18th June and I’m definitely not bringing a chicken this year, but there might be a puppy or two! Jane.

Coronation Big Lunch Celebration

What an amazing day we all shared at The Big Lunch to celebrate the crowning of our new King Charles III . The weather was unbelievable and the atmosphere once again of true community spirit. Good food, fun, games, singing, dancing, and laughter shared making it a memorable event .

A huge thank you to all who worked so hard to help make this a day to remember, and thanks to all who came and made it such an enjoyable occasion. There is a small amount of money remaining to use for the benefit of the community, so thoughts are to buy a bench for the LRPF to commemorate the Coronation.

The Half Moon and Spread Eagle

I suspect that everyone knows of the sad closure for business by Paula and Andy at the village pub. It is common knowledge that the challenge of the last 3 years eventually became just too much. It would be hard to write a script that reflected a start up business having to cope with two years of Covid a mere three months after opening. Then just as the opportunity to get on an even keel post-Covid, the war in Ukraine and the dire economic situation took its toll. It is amazing that Paula and Andy survived as long as they did when many longer established hospitality businesses were folding. I am sure that you would agree that Paula and Andy developed a warm, welcoming village pub that served

excellent food and for that it is hoped that they can reflect on achieving something of value. The plaudits on social media have emphasised this and observed how much they will be missed–and rightly so.

The challenge now is to get the pub open again. The owners are quite clear that they want the pub to re-open and much is being done to find an appropriate way to do this in as short a time frame as is feasible.

The closure is a huge sadness, Paula and Andy are enormously respected for what they achieved and we are mightily appreciative of the pub they created. Looking forward, we aim to build on that success.

MCES

The Micheldever Festival -

Saturday 9 September .

In the May issue of The Dever we informed you that the planned fête for 15 July was no longer possible and that the PCC were looking at what might be deliverable on Saturday 9 September. Key words featured in the thinking–intimate, fresh, fun. The outcome is the Micheldever Festival.

The shape of the Festival is an event in three zones, namely the children’s zone, the traditional zone and the performance zone. The children’s zone will feature a Punch and Judy show, a magician, face painting and more. The traditional zone will encompass a real ale tent, the Grand Draw, tombola, tea and cakes, local produce, bottle stall, music and a BBQ. The performance zone will highlight local talent in a number of ways. John Lofthouse will bring his unique talents to the event, a group of local ladies will sing, a photographic competition (see details in this month’s Dever), folk music, “the Organ Rocks”, the school will perform, an art exhibition and more. “And more” because we are keen to hear from young performers, particularly,

who could join the programme to “strut their stuff”–a band, dancers, singers…. there are so many skills in a community such as ours that deserve inclusion.

And so to “intimate”. The Lord Rank Playing Field is a large open space and the PCC are keen to create a far greater sense of inclusion for everyone. Consequently, the Festival will be sited in and around St Mary’s Church. The children’s and traditional zones will be in the immediate area of the church building and the performance zone will capitalise on the marvellous auditorium that the unique octagonal nave provides.

The programme is growing all the time. Helpers are always welcome. More participants for the performance zone would be welcome to come forward and should contact either Juliet Pattinson–julietpattinson61@gmail.com–or Charles Holden–charlesholden1@hotmail.co.uk. There will be a further update in the July Dever. St Mary’s PCC

Where is this?

Purely for fun and to test your local knowledge. The photograph of this letterbox was taken somewhere in the distribution area of The Dever, but where? You may be able to discern from the image that it is fairly unusual in that the cipher is for King Edward VII who

only reigned for nine years from 1901 - 1910. If you find it, or perhaps already know where it is, then email editor@thedever.org.

There are no prizes but anyone who has the correct location will get a mention in the July issue. ! Another test next time. (Ed.)

Winchester Community Pantry

The pantry’s main goal is to offer a helping hand to local people, so we can make their food budget stretch further by providing food at a low cost in a safe and friendly environment.

As you can imagine, we are seeing an increase in numbers of members who come in and pay £5 for a shop but they receive at least £15 worth of food.

As part of our food collections we have a relationship with some supermarkets to get food that is about to go out of date thereby reducing food waste. We are able to give this out to members who have done a shop in addition to their shop. This is of course very regulated! So who uses it?

Anyone can use it. It’s aimed at people who

need a helping hand but also some people use it to avoid usable food going into the bin. Do you need a helping hand? Come and see us–No Questions Asked–anyone is welcome

What can you get?

All the store cupboard basics plus cleaning products, toiletries, fruit, vegetables, bread, sometimes cake, fridge items and frozen meat and other foods. Often there are flowers that have come from supermarkets. Where do we get the food and clothes?

Donations

Buy some using grants and donated money. Supermarkets–things that are on their last day but can be eaten within a day or two. We are coming up to summer and that means fun in the sun and kids at home. We need summer items like Sunscreen as well as food and snacks for kids who are usually at school – beans, soup, cartons of drinks, snack items like fruit, cereal bars and crisps. How Can you Help?

Personally

Some people prefer to give money and other prefer to donate food and other goods.

If you want to add a couple of bits onto your weekly shop you can drop them at the pantry or one of our collection points:

Unit 12 Reception area

The King Charles Pub Kings Worthy

Or maybe you prefer to do a

shop to be delivered directly to the pantry once in a while.

Businesses

As a business you can either donate money or goods as part of your community work or as part of an employee programme. We have monthly posters that we can email out with different donation themes to keep it interesting! If you’d like us to come in and talk to you about what we do we would be happy to do that.

Opening Hours

10am-1pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

If you would like more information how you can help with supermarket collections or volunteer at the pantry please contact Lara on ccp@unit-12.com

Many thanks

Civil War Sites in Hampshire

The Dever Valley Local History Society meeting at the Northbrook Hall in Micheldever on April 18th was delighted to welcome Don Bryan, the Director of Hampshire Archeological Dowsers, and Chairman of the British Society of Dowsers Archeological Special Interest Groups. His subject was The Civil War in Hampshire

The Civil War, 1642-51 was fought between the forces of King Charles I, The Royalists (Cavaliers); and Parliament, The Parliamentarians (Roundheads) led by Oliver Cromwell. Winchester was a key location during the war and witnessed a number of local battles and seiges. The Siege of Portsmouth resulted in the raising of the King’s standard on Tuesday 2nd August 1642, three weeks before the Battle of Edgehill. Portsmouth was a walled city defended by only 200 men, many of whom deserted. The leader of the Parliamentarian army in the West was Sir William Waller (1597-1668), born at Knole House, Kent who spent two years at Magdalene Hall, Oxford, well known as a centre of Puritan education. He did not graduate. He then travelled in Europe before becomimg officer in charge of the Parliamentarians in the West based in Winchester Castle. He was given the nickname “The Night Owl” because he frequently carried out attacks at night. He was appointed Colonel in 1642 capturing Portsmouth, Farnham and Winchester. Early 1643 he was promoted to Major General and given command of the Western Army. He knew Winchester well and probably first attacked the Western walls near Westgate. Once the city defences were breached much plunder and pillage followed. Attempts to ‘parley’ were unsuccessful. Winchester Cathedral was invaded by men and horses

on Thursday December 14th 1642. Books were burnt, sculptures defaced and Medieval windows smashed. The invaders paraded around the city wearing bishop’s copes and brandishing swords. The William of Wykeham chantry chapel was left untouched defended by an ex-Winchester College boy Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes. After Waller’s success he left the city with his plunder, to return in 1643 looking for gold in the cathedral. Ledgers and documents were scattered, many later found in the river near to St Cross. On 13th December 1643 Waller marched through the night and took the garrison

General Sir William Waller by Corneliss Johnson . National Portrait Gallery

of Royalists by surprise. The conquest of Winchester allowed the opening up of the route from the West to London.

Sir Ralph Hopton (1598-1652) born Witham Priory, Somerset, an old friend of Waller led the Royalist forces in the West after fighting as a mercenary in Europe. A Somerset cavalier who commanded for the king in the south west of England, he was created Lord Hopton in 1643. After the Royalist defeat he died in exile in Bruges. The close association of the two men epitomised the tragedy of a Civil war which puts brother against brother and friends on the opposite sides. In 1643, Waller wrote to Hopton – “The great God who is the searcher of my heart knows with what a sad sense I go upon this service and with what a perfect hatred I detest this war without an enemy………We are both upon the stage and must act such parts as are assigned us in this tragedy, let us do it in a way of honour and without personal animosities”.

Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton of Stratton. National Portrait Gallery

The Siege of Basing House took place

Letters

Dear Editor

Did you know that before the War the village football club hosted a six-a-side Easter tournament on Symes’, the blacksmiths, paddocks. I watched matches on what is now known as Hawthorn Close and opposite Rose Cottage, Duke Street. I recall running on the latter in the 1935

between August 1643 and October 1645. Basing House was a Royalist stronghold that was besieged by Parliamentarian forces for over two years resulting in a Royalist surrender. One of the most notable dates was The Battle of Cheriton on March 29th 1644; fought between Parliamentarian forces under Sir William Waller and Royalist forces under Lord Hopton. It resulted in victory for the Parliamentarians who then gained control of Hampshire marking a turning point in the war and the beginning of the decline of Royalist forces who were also defeated at The Battle of Alton. In the last eighteen months of the war, the unpaid royalist armies simply dissolved and deserted, whilst the Parliamentarian New Model Army was well supplied thanks to a massive taxation imposed on the people.

Bibliography

The Civil War in Hampshire 1642- 45, by The Rev . G .N . Godwin

The Battle of Cheriton 1644 by John Odair

Civil War battles in Winchester by Richard Sayer

Hendrika Foster

Jubilee and 1937 Coronation children’s celebrations and still have the mugs!

In April Daughter Helen completed her third London Marathon in 5 hours 5 minutes.

Thank you

Francis Hitchings

Citizens Advice Winchester District

I’ve just had my bathroom retiled, but I’m not happy with the work.

At first, things seemed to be going well, but then the tradesperson left to do another job and I had to chase them. They did eventually come back and finish the job, but the work was pretty rough around the edges. They also left all the old tiles and plaster for me to dispose of, which I wasn’t expecting. I’ve now got the invoice, but I don’t think the price reflects the work done or the service I got. Can I challenge this?

It’s always frustrating when you run into problems with home improvements. You mention that the job looked “rough round the edges”, if this is to a degree you could consider the job unfinished or unsafe, you should be able to get the tiler to come back to fix it. You could also suggest removing the old tiles might be considered part of the job.

If the tiler considers the work complete, it’s worth knowing you’re protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which says the tiler should have completed the work with ‘reasonable care and skill’. If they haven’t done this, they’ve broken the law. The Act means you’re legally entitled to ask the tiler to fix the problem (if they provided the tiles as well as the service) or get money refunded (if they just provided the service and you bought the tiles). They should fix the problem or refund you in a reasonable amount of time, without causing too much inconvenience. As you’ve received the invoice for the work but not paid yet, now would be a good time to ask them to fix the issue or you can negotiate a lower price for the work.

Let the tiler know you understand what you’re entitled to. Speak to them in person,

or contact them in writing/over email, there are template letters on the Citizens Advice website, either way make sure you have a written copy of anything agreed. Before you contact them, it’s a good idea to take photographs to use as evidence of the problem. Make notes about what happened, including dates and times. You should also gather any paperwork and receipts–was there any prior written agreement about who would dispose of the old tiles? Was the final cost in line with estimates or quotes given to you at the outset of the work?

If not, there is advice on the Citizens Advice website about steps you can take.

If you’re struggling to come to an agreement with the tiler, there are other steps you can take to solve your problem, these include using ‘alternative dispute resolution’, which is a way of solving disagreements without going to court. There are full details about how to do this on the Citizens Advice website.

If you’d like to speak to an adviser from Citizens Advice Winchester District you can call them for free on 0808 278 7861 (open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm).

Lesley Rose, Advice Services Manager for Citizens Advice Winchester District gives advice on what to do if you’re not happy with work completed by a tradesperson .

Wonston Community Café

Christine and Ann (chairperson), the local organisers representing Muscular Dystrophy, arrived early at the café with other volunteers to help set up. They were laden with cards to sell, and many varied prizes for the tombola table. Later they were joined by other volunteers, including treasurer Barbara, all bringing cakes for us to sell. We had a fantastic array of cakes to serve with our coffee – and didn’t run out despite over 80 visitors to the café in April. It was a lovely atmosphere in the hall, with many guests clutching their tombola prizes and buying some of the delightful cards made by Frances.

Overall, after expenses were taken and donations added on, cake and coffee sales reached £490. Sales this month were boosted by a large number of takeaway cakes and biscotti, including whole cakes, being sold.

In addition, the tombola raised £90 and the card sales were £120. Muscular Dystrophy benefitted by a total of £700 from this most successful café, helped by the effort of all the volunteers. Members of the yoga group run by Christine, who couldn’t attend the coffee morning, also raised another £60.

The next Wonston Community Café will be at the Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney, 9.30am–12 noon on Wednesday 21st June. This month we will be supporting the upkeep of the Sutton Scotney defibrillator. Fingers crossed the weather will be kind and we will be able to sit outside to enjoy the coffee and cake.

Please do come along to support the community café, which is staffed entirely by volunteers. All the cakes are homemade, we have real coffee and plenty of free parking! The café is cash only.

Janis Kinnell

Church Services for The Dever Benefice

June 4th Trinity Sunday

Rev’d Rob Rees and Claire Bentham

June 11th

1st Sunday after Trinity 10.00

Rev’d Jen Holder 10.00 am

Rev’d Rob Rees

June 18th

2nd Sunday after Trinity 10.00

Rev’d Rob Rees

Rev’d Rob Rees 6.00 pm

Rev’d Christine Smith

June 25th 3rd Sunday after Trinity

10.00 am Café Church St Margaret’s - South Wonston

Trevor Leahy

10.00 pm Informal Service with children’s activities St Mary & St Michael - Stoke Charity

Ruth and Roland Guy

11.00 am Holy Communion

Rev’d Neil Britton

July 2nd 4th Sunday after Trinity

Trinity - Wonston

9.15 am Holy Communion (said) St Mary the Virgin - Micheldever

10.00 am Café Church

Rev’d Rob Rees , Claire Bentham & Tom Johnston

10.00 am Morning Prayer St Margaret’s - South Wonston

10.00 am Morning Prayer St Mary & St Michael - Stoke Charity

Rev’d Neil Britton

11.15 am Morning Prayer

Claire Bentham

Trinity - Wonston

For further information, please contact the Parish Coordinator, email: coordinator .upperdever@hotmail .com

Dever Valley Church Locations

Celebration of the Dever Valley Photographic Competition

As part of the Micheldever Festival, a photographic competition will be run in the period leading up to the Festival on Saturday 9 September, during which the category winners will be declared . Selected photographs will be displayed in the nave of St Mary’s Church on the day of the Festival and category winners will have their photographs featured in the Dever magazine and on the village website over the subsequent 12 months . There will also be appropriate awards for the category winners

The rules of the competition are that:

1 . All entrants must live in the Dever Valley .

2 . All photographs need to be submitted as digital images

3 . This competition is for amateur photographers, ie someone who does not sell their photographic work .

4 . Entrants can submit up to five images.

5 . There is an entry fee of £5, regardless of the number of images submitted .

6 . The closing date for submissions is 31 August 2023

7 . All images must be relevant to the Dever Valley, ie location, event, individual etc .

8 All images must have been taken during the period

1 January to 31 August 2023 and dated accordingly .

9 . There are four categories:

Veterans - over 50

Senior - under 50 and over 21

Youth - under 21 and over 12

Child - under 12

(Ages are as at 1st June 2023)

Entry form, to accompany submissions, and sent to: charlesholden1@hotmail .co .uk

First name

Family name

Address : Category

An entry fee of £5 .00 has been sent by BACS, with the reference being the family name, to:Micheldever PCC Sort Code 55-81-26 Account Number 00328340

I n f o r m a t i o n

Defibrillator Awareness

Cardiac Arrest Response Seminar

There is no legal requirement to have defibrillator training in the UK, but it does form part of the First Aid at Work requirements from 2017 The UK Resuscitation Council guidelines indicate that community defibrillators (AEDs) should be able to be used by members of the public with or without any formal training

This is because the equipment is very easy to be used, and when you have called 999, the ambulance service operator will normally stay on the telephone to assist you The modern AED equipment is also designed to talk to you, or show you, and tell you what to do You cannot make a mistake when using an AED – just follow the instructions being given However training is desirable, particularly to create confidence in the community, learn CPR, and to understand the processes, as well as managing best practice, and reducing potential for liability Training in correct CPR technique is also invaluable and essential

CHT works with the ambulance service to provide community awareness sessions, or can offer an inclusive full training programme if required through its training partners Annual retraining is advised on formally trained people

The CHT community awareness ‘CARS’ programme is unique and has been recognised as being ideal for a community to create awareness of the issues surrounding treating a patient in the community It is not a formal classroom course, but designed to answer questions, give basic instruction, be interactive and create confidence

The first awareness session for a community is normally built in to your delivery when the community uses the CHT full cPAD programme Additional sessions may incur a small charge Full first aid training sessions are chargeable and can be arranged through CHT By June 2018 over 90,000 have attended these sessions

All training records are done via the WebNos™ Governance system Attendance Certificates can be made available by signing in at your local session

Gardening Tips from Hardy’s Plants–Paeonia

Paeonia or peonies are long lived, spectacular, showy plants that flower usually from May to June. In this article we look at some of the most popular forms

Paeonia Lactiflora. The large, fragrant blooms make wonderful cut flowers and although slow to establish, healthy specimens are very long lived and can produce up to a hundred flowers each season.

The leaves are large, glossy and dissected and will often give rise to wonderful Autumn colour before dying back in the Winter. Some of the heavier forms will need individual supports inserted under each flower bud. The open flowers are a big draw for pollinators. Be aware that they contain a substance that can be harmful if ingested by animals, but they are not listed as toxic to humans.

P. officinalis. The reddish pink flowers are comprised of a single or double ring of large outer petals and a central cluster of golden yellow anthers over divided leaves. They rarely need staking. These are also completely deciduous.

P. lutea & P. suffruticosa. The Tree Peony (suffruticosa and lutea) has stout woody stems and can grow up to 1.8m. They prefer slightly more sheltered positions (out of the wind, but plenty of light) and will normally flower a little later. Old wood will produce new buds the following spring, so prune carefully to an outward facing bud to encourage side shooting and more flowers.

Itoh Peony. Strong stemmed and long-lasting blooms of the highest quality. These are the most expensive of the Peonies, but are worth it. They are more tolerant of cold than their tree Peony relative and have the more compact habit of the herbaceous forms. They flower later with an extended flowering season into the Summer by deadheading them. Feed with low levels of nitrogen such as seaweed, well rotted manure (with no smell) or leaf compost. They produce new growth each season from ground level so you should cut old stems back to approx. 15cm from the ground. They do best in situations that provide at least some shade during the day. As with all of their kind, they like rich fertile soil.

Paeonia tenuifolia. This relatively small form (approx. 60cm) is very cold tolerant in Winter and can also take hot, dry Summers. It has beautifully soft fern like foliage and deep shiny red flowers. The foliage and flowers appear much earlier than other herbaceous types and it will also die down earlier. If you collect seeds from this plant, sow them directly onto the surface of the soil as they need light to germinate.

Planting. When planting Peonies it is imperative that they are planted shallowly, or it will give rise to lots of foliage and little or no flowers. I suspect that this issue gave rise to the old wives’ tale that you cannot move these wonderful plants. You can, just do it

when they are dormant and never replant any deeper in the soil than they were before. The rule to follow is that the roots need to be just below the surface of the soil and the toes (upward growing shoots) should be allowed to peek through early in their growth cycle. Peonies can be split by dividing the roots when the clump gets large, each root

section should have at least one toe.  This is an edited version of an article in our last Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants newsletter. For the whole piece, including more tips on planting, go to www.hardyscottagegardenplants.com to sign up to Hardys Gardeners, or Visit us in Priory Lane, Freefolk, RG28 7NJ

Wonston Community Café

Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney

Third Wednesday of the month

9.30 am - 12 noon

21st June - Defibrillator Upkeep

Cash only café

All donations welcome The café is staffed entirely by volunteers Cakes are all homemade We serve real coffee

Plenty of free parking!

Jackie’s County Corner for June

Social tariffs

Social tariffs for utilities are special discounted deals available to certain low-income customers. Many people are not aware that this applies to Broadband too. They’re generally cheaper than standard broadband tariffs, starting at just £12 a month. They also usually aren’t subject to price rises or exit fees.

Whether you’re eligible depends on your broadband provider. Some offer social tariffs to recipients of the following benefits: universal credit, pension credit (guarantee credit), income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance and income-based employment and support allowance. Some providers include other benefits, too. The account holder must be the person receiving the benefit to be eligible. Think this might apply to you?

Are you wondering how to apply for other utilities social tariffs?

More details are on my website www.jackieporter.co.uk

How will your children get to school in September?

Will your child need school transport organised by or subsidised by the local authority? If you are worried about the cost of travel for your children between yr R and yr 13, please get in touch with the School Transport team at HCC as early as you can, even if you are not yet sure where your child is going to school or college.

The cost of SEND transport for yrs 12 and 13 is rising in September by a massive 27% to reflect the increased costs of the service, so you may want to

consider appealing for your family.

The School Transport team are there all through the summer but receive up to 600 calls a day!! So, it’s best to get in touch as soon as possible.

Details are on the www.hants.gov.uk website

Please don’t forget that both Hampshire and Winchester Councils have asked Citizens Advice to help distribute Household Support packages money to those who need help too.

The County diverts some of this money to the Community Pantries in the County (there is one at Unit 12, Wnnall) to enable any resident to obtain £15 worth of food for just £5. You can self-refer to a food bank too. At this point, I’d also like to thank our pantry and food bank volunteers who make all this possible. Contact Citizens Advice by phone, in person or online. Volunteer to help next time?

As memories of May fades, can I say again, ‘thank you’ to the organisers, helpers of the Coronation Street parties and big lunches? Whether a Royalist or not, if you

enjoyed meeting up with your neighbours, please think how you can do the same again- maybe this year, maybe next. Could you help organise your local event? The

next ‘Big Lunch’ will be in May 2024!

Councillor Jackie Porter, Jackie.porter@hants.gov.uk

tel: 01962 791054 or 07973 696 085

Holy Dusters

St Mary the Virgin

Cleaning - week beginning Monday

29th May Alison and Patricia

5th June Sue and Gail

12th June Maurelle and Andrea

Flowers - from Friday

2nd Vicki Holden and Gail Bates

Mowing & Path Sweeping

St James

Charles Holden / Henry Watson / Rupert Greatrix

Flowers and Cleaning Emily Bray and Rhi Kerr

Micheldever Community Bookcase

Northbrook Hall

Opening times 2 - 3.30pm

Tuesday afternoon only

(PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DAY)

From Our MP Steve Brine

Good news. Extra funding recently announced by the Government means schools in Winchester will get extra funding as part of an additional £2 billion investment announced in the Budget. Each primary school will receive approximately an extra £35,000, and £200,000 for a secondary school. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says this uplift will mean 2024–25 will be the highest spending year in history for our schools which means funding is set to rise faster than forecast inflation in each of the next two years.

Schools received their first payment in May and will be able to choose how best to invest the extra funding, including to pay for teacher salary uplifts and teaching assistants. The remainder of the £2 billion will be used to increase Pupil Premium funding rates which supports disadvantaged pupils, local authorities’ high needs budgets, and special schools, making sure every child with special educational needs and disabilities receives the support and high quality education they deserve.

I am committed to delivering on one of my local priorities, including investing in high quality schools to support young people to reach their full potential, particularly those who face challenges or who need extra support. No-one is pretending school budgets won’t remain under pressure – and I know the issue of falling school rolls is a real challenge

for some – but this is welcome news.

Secondly this time, and sticking with education, I recently visited Peter Symonds College to meet up with the impressive Principal, Sara Russell, and to understand planned future changes between BTEC and T-Levels. The impact this could have on my constituents is stark given, from 2025, many BTEC courses will no longer be funded. The sector claims this will greatly limit choice and I think they have a point, especially outside of London where, for instance, media and other arts courses will struggle to secure the appropriate work placement needed to satisfy T-Level requirements.

I am now working with PSC and the Sixth Form Colleges Association and am seeking a debate in the Commons on the subject. I think there’s a real issue with the Government pulling back from BTECS, in favour of T-level’s, especially where there is no equivalent in the new qualification.

Finally, many congratulations to Cllr Caroline Horrill on her re-election as one of your city councillors working alongside Cllr Patrick Cunningham and Cllr Stephen Godfrey. Working with Caroline and her

Steve at Micheldever with Caroline Horrill

team I know how hard she works and how lucky you are to have her, not least leading the (seemingly never-ending) fight against Micheldever New Town. On that, we need to be constantly on our guard and

work together not pick apart for partisan gain; a point some might wish to note.

Steve Brine MP for Winchester & Dever Valley

City Councillors’ News

The Royal Logistic Corps will mark its 30th anniversary and its relocation to Worthy Down and the Winchester Garrison on the morning of Thursday 1st June 2023. There will be a parade by 500 soldiers, marching through the City of Winchester with a military band, marking the granting of the freedom of the City. Their Colonel in Chief, HRH The Princess Royal, will take the salute at the Guildhall. All are welcome to view what promises to be a colourful and joyful event. There continue to be many instances of fly-tipping on public and private land. If you find any waste that has been tipped in our Ward, report it to the City Council either using the latest version of the Your Winchester app, via the website (www. winchester.gov.uk/apply) or to one of us. All fly-tipping incidents will be checked out by the Council’s designated investigating officer.

Elections for one third of the seats on the City Council were contested in May. Caroline Horrill was re-elected to represent the Wonston and Micheldever Ward with 1,491 votes (2022 election: 1,437 votes). The majority was 402 (2022: 467). There were 2,865 voters in the Ward for this election, representing a turnout of 48.8% (2022: 47.1%) of the electorate. The LibDem group retains control of the City Council. The start of the new municipal year has seen the election of the next Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Angela Clear, although she has stood in as Mayor for the last 3 months following the resignation of the previous Mayor. Cllr Clear represents the Southwick & Wickham Ward and will be attending many events and celebrations across the Winchester District as first citizen of the District.

You can contact your City Councillors at any time or you can catch us at any of the Parish Council meetings. Their next meetings are on:

Micheldever PC Wednesday 7th June

Wonston PC Wednesday 14th June

South Wonston PC Monday 12th June

Stephen

Cllr Stephen Godfrey

119 Downs Road

South Wonston

SO21 3EH

Tel: 01962 884477

sgodfrey@winchester.gov.uk

East Stratton Village Hall.

Victoria Hall, Sutton Scotney.

South Wonston Pavilion.

All meetings start at 7.30pm.

Caroline

Cllr Caroline Horrill

Wheatlands

Woodman Lane

Sparsholt

SO21 3SH

Tel: 01962 776844

chorrill@winchester.gov.uk

Patrick

Cllr Patrick Cunningham

The Corner House

North Drive

Littleton

SO22 6QA

Tel: 07866 367897

pcunningham@winchester.gov.uk

The Dever Singers

St. Margaret’s church, South Wonston

On Offer

A friend of mine is moving and she doesn’t want any money for them. Do you know anyone who would be grateful for them. They would have to collect from Basingstoke.

There are two of these reclining settees plus an Indesit washer/drier hardly used.

Let me know if anyone is interested. Maybe a donation to the church fund. Please contact soar.anita@googlemail.com

May Solution

Forthcoming Events 2023

July

5th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch - Northbrook Hall

5th 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council - Northbrook Hall

8th 8 .00pm Micheldever Wine Circle, Summer Party - venue tbc

11th 7 .00pm AED (Defibrillator) training by Community Heatbeat Trust - Northbrook Hall

September

6th 12 30pm Micheldever Village Lunch - Northbrook Hall

6th 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council - The Warren Centre

9th Micheldever Festival - St Mary the Virgin church

22nd 8 00pm Micheldever Wine Circle - Northbrook Hall

October

4th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch - Northbrook Hall

4th 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council - East Stratton Hall

7th Safari Supper - Micheldever - at your home

21st Harvest Supper - Northbrook Hall

27th 8 00pm Micheldever Wine Circle - Northbrook Hall

November

1st 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch - Northbrook Hall

1st 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council - Northbrook Hall

December

6th 7 .30pm Micheldever Parish Council – The Warren Centre

8th 8 00pm Micheldever Wine Circle, Christmas Party – Northbrook Hall

13th 12 30pm Micheldever Village Christmas Lunch – Northbrook Hall

Hall Booking

East Stratton Hall 01962 774517,

Northbrook Hall 07802 755132, booknorthbrookhall@gmail.com

The Warren Centre visit www.thewarrencentre.co.uk/hire

June Diary

1st 10 00am Plant Sale - Micheldever village

3rd 1 .00pm East Stratton Feté & Dog Show - The Green

7th 12 .30pm Micheldever Village Lunch - Northbrook Hall

7th 7 30pm Micheldever Parish Council - East Stratton Hall

17th 7 .00pm Dever Singers Summer Concert - St Margaret’s, South Wonston

18th 6 00pm Dever Singers Summer Concert - St Mary the Virgin, Micheldever

21st 9 .30am Wonston Community Cafe - Victoria Hall Sutton Scotney

22nd 7 .30pm Play On, MVG - Northbrook Hall

23rd 7 30pm Play On, MVG - Northbrook Hall

24th 2 .30pm Play On, MVG - Northbrook Hall

7 .30pm Play On, MVG - Northbrook Hall

25th 2 00pm Open Gardens - Micheldever village

Micheldever Shop - Opening Times

Monday - Saturday 8.30am - 6.30pm, Sunday 10.00am - 3.00pm

Mobile Post Office

Wednesday morning 9.30 – 10.30 Lord Rank Car Park (please note: times may vary slightly)

Regular Dates and Times – Weekly

SUNDAYS Church Services Details on centre pages

TUESDAYS 8.00–9.00 pm Circuit Training by Toppe from T Fit Training, Micheldever School Hall. contact Jane 07919 018877

2.00–3.30 pm Community Library, Northbrook Hall

WEDNESDAYS 9.30–10.30 am Mobile Post Office, Lord Rank Car Park, Micheldever

9.00–10.00 am Body Control Pilates–Micheldever Village Hall. contact Fredricka Brooks, 07979 254895

THURSDAYS 8.00–10.00 pm

Dever Singers Rehearsal–Micheldever or South Wonston churches. contact, ruthironton@gmail.com

FRIDAYS 4.00 pm Petanque at the Warren Centre.

Micheldever Open Gardens

Sunday 25th June

2pm to 5pm

Many wonderful gardens will be open

Tickets £6 – children free

Teas, cakes and Pimms

In aid of St Mary’s Church