Village Tribune Issue 144

YOUR FAVOURITE, AWARD-WINNING, VILLAGE PUBLICATION

issue 144

January / February 2024

Curious Tales Behind Tribland’s Church Fonts

& Local People Behind the Camera Celebrating Our Village News Heritage Reviving Helpston Lawn Tennis Club

ENVIRONMENT • HERITAGE • FARMING DIARY • VILLAGE VIEWS

OVER 10,000 READERS IN OUR NORTH PETERBOROUGH VILLAGES

NENE VALLEY CARE HOMES Garden Lodge Care Home in Glinton

Three small family run care homes in Peterborough and Market Deeping providing a real home-from-home environment with exceptional care from devoted, trusted carers.

Garden Lodge in Glinton is a detached chalet style bungalow with a very attractive and peaceful garden.

9 ROOMS

Florence House in Peterborough with all en-suite bedrooms.

Situated just a few minutes walk from central park where the residents can enjoy the café and watching the world go by.

19 ROOMS

Garden Lodge: 01733 252 980/07801 273 804 or e-mail: managers@gardenlodgecarehome.co.uk Florence House: 01733 315 900/07801 273 804 or e-mail: info@careatflorence.co.uk The Laurels: 07801 273 804 or e-mail: thelaurels@nenevalleycarehomes.co.uk www.gardenlodgecarehome.co.uk

The Laurels in Market Deeping (taken over by us in February) is a beautiful Grade-2 Listed Building within walking distance to Market Deeping town centre.

20 ROOMS

WELCOME | VILLAGE TRIBUNE

A HUGE ‘Happy New Year’ to all of our readers, contributors, advertisers and distributors and ‘thank you’ to each and every one of you for all of your support throughout 2023.

As we get ready to launch into a new year, I’ve been reflecting on what a great community we live in.

First of all, there is the generosity and community spirit we find in Tribland. Whether that’s supporting the humanitarian missions to Ukraine, raising money to maintain our buildings and heritage or supporting other projects at home or overseas - our readers and local businesses all ‘pull their weight’.

Next is the ongoing efforts of our contributors, advertisers, distributors and local organisations who have helped ensure we continue to produce the most readable local magazine in the area.

Huge thanks to everyone who makes this happen, please take a few minutes' ‘time out’ for your own reflections and I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

www.villagetribune.org.uk

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

35 Maxey Road, Helpston PE6 7DP T: 07590 750128 E: villagetribuneeditor@me.com T 07702 640361 E: alisonhenthorn@btinternet.com



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t: 07503 975 588 e: gary.aldersonwrites@gmail.com t: 01733 669 810 m: 07980 412 345 e: vicar@9bridges.church

 ASHTON Hilary Smith Thatched Cottage, Ashton E: hilly.smith@virgin.net  BARNACK Mike Mills Holly Cottage, Wittering Road, Barnack PE9 3EY T: 07523 312387 E: mills.mh@gmail.com  ETTON Anne Curwen The Coach House, Rectory Lane, Etton T: 01733 253357 E: acurwen@hotmail.com  GLINTON Shirley Hodgkinson 30 Websters Close, Glinton T: 01733 252351 E: hodgkinsons@talktalk.net  HELPSTON Clive Marsh Clive Marsh, 34 Maxey Road, Helpston clive.marsh815@btinternet.com M: 07511 011662  MARHOLM Saqib Farooq 10 Peterborough Road, Castor, PE5 7AX  MAXEY Cllr Peter Hiller E: Peter.Hiller@peterborough.gov.uk  NEWBOROUGH John Fox Church Close, Newborough E: john.fox@peterborough.gov.uk  NORTHBOROUGH Polly Beasley 15 Claypole Drive, Northborough T: 01778 380849 E: polly.beasley@btinternet.com  PEAKIRK Trish Roberts 9 St Pegas Road  PILSGATE Sally Hullock 3 Hillside Close, Ufford sally@sallyhullocktraining.co.uk T: 07795 565658  SOUTHORPE Daphne Williams The Old Dairy Barn, Main St. T: 01780 740511  UFFORD Sally Hullock 3 Hillside Close, Ufford sally@sallyhullocktraining.co.uk T: 07795 565658

Jan/Feb 2024

Deadline for next issue: 2 FEBRUARY 2024



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CONTENTS | VILLAGE TRIBUNE

REGULARS 3 3 5 6 12-41 42-43 44-45 51-54 56-57 58-61 62-63 64-65 66 67-69 70-71

From the Editor Advertising / Deadlines Contacts Stay Safe Village Views Farm Focus Environment Heritage Taste Buds Young Tribune Tribune Diary Write Away Church Services Church News Tribune Directory

NEWS & FEATURES Celebrating Our Village News Heritage Before The Village Tribune In Helpston Mobile Library Langdyke Countryside Trust Other People's Bookcases

9 10-11 46-47 48 49 YOUR

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INNING

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issue 144

Curiou s Tal Behind Triblan es d’s Chu rch Fonts

January / Febrary 2024

& Local Peo ple Behind the Came Celebratin ra g Our Vil lage Ne Reviving ws Herita Helpston ge Lawn Ten nis Club

ENVIR ONME NT •

HERIT AGE OVER • FARM 10,000 ING DIA READ ERS IN RY • OUR NO VILLAG E VIE RTH PE WS TERBOR OUGH VILLA GES

The views expressed within this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor. All copy is believed correct at time of print but no responsibility can be taken for errors and/or omissions. No part of this publication and/or website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. The Village Tribune own all rights to contributions, text and images, unless previously agreed to in writing.

PUBLICATION DESIGN & LAYOUTS WEB DEVELOPMENT | IT SUPPORT CORPORATE BRANDING & MORE 01733 772095 | www.dimension6000.com

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STAY SAFE | SAFE LOCAL TRADES

Time to Plan Your 2024 Home Improvements IN THE WAKE of the pandemic, UK house prices have been on a steep upward trajectory.

But in recent months, they have steadily dropped in response to inflation and interest rate increases, causing potential homebuyers to pause their plans to wait for a more stable market.

With more people choosing to stay put in their homes and make the most of their surroundings while the economic downturn continues, making improvements to a home can add value if done professionally, but some homeowners do not know who to trust and put the work off as a result.

However, even in these unusual times, planning your home improvements is key to avoiding disappointment.

While Safe Local Trades has members across many disciplines; painting and decorating, plastering, electrician, kitchen / bathroom fitting, carpentry, handyman, carpet / upholstery cleaners, window/conservatory fitting etc, many are already reporting bookings up until March 2024.

It is the case with many tried and tested traders that they will be busy, so don’t delay in getting in touch to secure a slot.

Some projects, like a new kitchen for example, may be subject to a longer lead in time; there is the quote to agree, designs to finalise, products to order and

then securing the availability of a great kitchen-fitter.

Equally, if you are looking to sell your home in 2024, then time is off the essence if you require some property pick me ups and stay ahead of the game. Interestingly, according to research, alongside consistent favourites like new kitchens, new bathrooms and extensions, solar panels and extra insulation are now among the top 20 home improvements that homebuyers are looking for.

So get planning - our local tried and tested vetted tradespeople are just a click away at: www.safelocaltrades.com

By Eileen Le Voi

Safe Local Trades has a number of tried and tested reliable tradesmen who can carry out a range of property improvements that can save you money, as well as those who specialise in energy saving solutions for your home or business. www.safelocaltrades.com 6 vil agetribune

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CELEBRATING OUR VILLAGE NEWS HERITAGE | NEWS & FEATURES

This photograph compares how the publication looked when it started, to how it is now!

Memory Lane

Celebrating Our Village News Heritage Did you know that Tony Henthorn has edited this little community gem for over 25 years? And also keeps a precious archive of every edition of The Village Tribune he’s produced so far?

To celebrate of our village news heritage, over the next few issues, we’re taking a little trip down Memory Lane with snippets from past editions.

challenge of producing an interesting, outwardly-focused magazine, when Peter Marshall stepped down after six years at the helm.

We have Rev’d. Fry’s vision and Tony Henthorn’s enduring resilience and editorial stewardship to thank for being kept so well-informed today!

First, we go right back to the beginning to discover how The Village Tribune came to be what it is today.

The community-led publication really got up and running in 2003, when Rev’d. Nigel Fry, then Rector of Glinton, persuaded Tony to take up the

“The Tribune is revamped,” proclaimed Rev’d. Fry in the Christmas 2003 edition. “We have taken a decisive step towards an exciting new era for our Church here” and, he went on to explain say, readers would, “be aware of what’s going on, not just in Church but in our villages as well.”

All these years later, it’s hard to imagine life in Glinton (and surrounding villages) without it.

So, now you know: we have Rev’d.

Fry’s vision and Tony Henthorn’s enduring resilience and editorial stewardship to thank for being kept so well-informed today!

Discover what Helpston residents were reading, prior to the arrival of The Village Tribune on page 10

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NEWS & FEATURES | BEFORE THE VILLAGE TRIBUNE IN HELPSTON

From left to right: Irene Blade, Syd Smith, Joyce Stanton, Norma Major, John Major MP & Revd. Blade.

The Helpston Chronicle, A4 in size, ran from 1986 to 2001 and replaced the smaller, church-focused Helpston Parish Magazine, which ended with the retirement of Reverend Blade. Originally set up by Joe Dobson with support from Nola Crowson, The Chronicle’s Editor for most of its existence was Roy Hinchliff, who has conscientiously kept ring binders full of old editions.

Before the Village Tribune in Helpston The Chronicle was a wonderful community newsletter, produced on a shoestring budget in the days before easy computer editing and modern printing techniques. Getting each edition out to the initial 240 households in Helpston was a laborious process by todays standards! By the time The Chronicle finished (a year after the turn of the Millennium) the print run had increased to over 400, with households in Woodcroft and Etton added to the distribution area.

When asked about The Chronicle today, Roy Hinchliff says, “The Village Tribune is very professional, The Chronicle wasn’t. I was very proud of The Chronicle. I thought it was 10 vil agetribune

worth doing because it had an effect in the village. It helped sustain the mood that Helpston was a great place to live. You can still see the evidence of it on the front of the village hall today - all those plaques proclaiming, ‘Winner: Village of the Year’.”

As Roy recalls, the adjudicators for ‘Village of the Year’ or ‘Best Kept Village’ awards were keen to see evidence of community involvement in support of a village’s application, “over a period of ten years or so, Helpston kept winning because The Chronicle had kept a record of everything that was going on. The judges were bowled over and thought Helpston was extraordinary.

People were doing all sorts of things in the village to make life better. All The Chronicle did was create a record of them and I think that’s fantastic.

Helpston keeps drawing more good people in. The motivation gets passed along and never runs out, so long as people are prepared to come in and roll their sleeves up.”

Plaques on the front wall of Helpston Village Hall show that the village won the award for ‘Best Kept Village’ in 1980 & ‘Village of the Year’ in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 & 2001.

21st century residents of Helpston should be grateful for the hard work put in, at the end of the 20th century,

BEFORE THE VILLAGE TRIBUNE IN HELPSTON | NEWS & FEATURES

by dedicated communityfocused residents like Roy, Joe and Nola. Old editions of the Chronicle certainly give modern readers a tantalizing glimpse of past events and some of the hard-working, friendly locals, such as Martin Jackson, who consistently made them happen.

The front cover of the 1990 Summer Edition of The Chronicle below displays the Editor’s impressive skills as an amateur cartoonist.

Roy Hinchliff’s speedily hand drawn comic strip reveals the true story behind the cover’s creation!

Another Chronicle cover of note, this time from Winter 1990, served as a reminder of an earlier visit to Helpston

by John Major and his wife, Norma, before John replaced Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. In May 1985, Major was still a backbench MP and the village sat within the boundary of his Huntingdonshire constituency then. Helpston certainly gets around! In poet, John Clare’s day (1793-1864) the village of Helpstone (it had an extra ‘e’ back then) was in Northamptonshire. Yet, today, it lies in Cambridgeshire.

1985 was not John Major’s only visit to Helpston apparently. So, we’ll perhaps return to the topic in a future edition of the Tribune, when more recollections have been gathered.

The final edition of The Helpston, Etton & Woodcoft Chronicle, delivered in

Chronicle Summer 1990 Cover Cartoon

Helpston Village plaques show that the village won many awards Winter 2001, commemorated the unveiling of the bespoke village sign, so familiar to those living in Helpston today, hand-carved by Glyn Mould of Sacrewell Farm. Any funds

left in the Chronicle account, when it ended, went towards the purchase of a big cooker for Helpston Village Hall and, as of 2023, it’s continuing to warm things up nicely.

Memory Lane - turn to page 9 to discover the origins of The Village Tribune.

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VILLAGE VIEWS | ETTON

Anne Curwen 07730 301 404 acurwen@hotmail.com

Updates from Etton

On 5 November several volunteers planted 500 bulbs around the village, kindly donated by the Langdyke Trust. We look forward to seeing some spring colour on the village green, triangle, and adjacent to the new village signs.

The new poppy display formed a wonderful backdrop to our Remembrance Sunday event this year. I’m delighted to report that 11-year-old Hannah from Deeping learned to crochet to make some poppies for our display after reading about the project in the Tribune. Thanks to all the talented Poppy makers. Also, thanks to Graham for bringing Ike beautifully decked with new flags and to Derek Harris for leading the service. Our sponsor a Poppy appeal raised £130 which was split between the Royal British Legion and the church. We 12 vil agetribune

were honoured to have Sarah and Andy to lay the wreath and Maurice Wright recited the Kohima Epitaph.

From 1 January a new schedule of services will be launched within the Benefice. Etton will no longer have a family service on the first Sunday. After 22 years, Mark and Janet led their last regular service at Etton on Sunday 3 December. We thanked them for all they have done for us over many years.

Going forward our regular Sunday service will be held on the third Sunday and will be a Family Communion at 10.30am. The first one will be

held on Sunday 21 January 2024.

Throughout the Benefice, the plan is to have each Sunday, in one of the five churches, a 9am Communion service, a 10:30am Family Communion service and a more relaxed 6pm evening service e.g., Evensong, Taize, Teenage Joyful worship or Celtic praise. Further details can be found on the Benefice website: www.9bridges.church On 6 November and 4 December, we held our first Christmas Card Making and Wreath Making workshops ably led by the talented Jacqui Barnard. It was wonderful to see the amazing creations. Although

ETTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

it was cold in the church, the mulled wine, tea, and delicious muffins helped to create a pleasing ambiance to fuel our creativity! We have already decided to run the wreath making again next year on Monday 2 December 2024.

We are looking forward to welcoming the talented Benefice choir to Etton church on Thursday 21 December at 7pm. Also, by the time you read this, we will have held our usual fun Nativity service on the village green with mulled wine, hot chocolate, and shortbread!

I mentioned in the last Tribune that we would like to open Etton church every day until dusk and were looking for volunteers. So far, Joanne and Steve Watson, Martin Brooks and Les and Jackie Warr have expressed an interest. If you would like to help, we will be moving forward to fixing a rota early in the new year. Please do let me know if you are interested in volunteering.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported the village in any way during 2023.

Very best wishes for 2024.

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VILLAGE VIEWS | LOCAL PEOPLE BEHIND THE CAMERA

Local People Behind the Camera

Yew Tree Avenue Dave Radcliffe

by Mick Child

It felt like 2023 passed in a flash for us. We are now looking forward to the days getting a bit longer and being able to spend more time out in the countryside capturing images and filming again.

Early in 2023 we set out on a journey with photographer Dave Radcliffe in collaboration with The Village Tribune. It is almost 12 months to the day, middle of winter and our aim was to bring some moving pictures to the Village Tribune, particularly during the long dark evenings when we all might be feeling a bit, well, winterish. We wanted to highlight Dave’s passion for photography and the great outdoors whilst introducing you to some interesting and likeminded contributors to the Trib. In doing so, 14 vil agetribune

we also visited some interesting places and walks within reach of our area. We were also lucky enough to involve local composer Rohith Varadarajan and actor Em-J Smith on our journey and we are very grateful to them for their involvement.

In this final episode of the series Dave takes us on location to Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. It is a beautiful and quite stunning place for a walk and because it was once the main carriageway for Clipsham Hall, the grass is laid over a gravel bed and is therefore well draining, making it good for a stroll any time of the year.

With the permission of the site trustees, Dave undertook a

photoshoot with actor Em-J and Leicester based aerial artist Abbie.

Dave’s photography is varied and changes from week to week. He says it helps to keep him on top of his game. Dave’s idea and theme for this shoot is quite unique with Em-J and Abbie donning eight foot stilts and lovely costumes to make the most of the incredible location.

Dave says, ‘When I first came across this location it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. There is almost a kilometre of topiarised yew trees, each one unique. I wanted to share the location with our local readership because it is only 30 minutes from Helpston, but also wanted to find a way that I could make it interesting. I liaised with Em-J and we agreed that given the size of the yew trees, stilts

across

find a

LOCAL PEOPLE BEHIND THE CAMERA | VILLAGE VIEWS

could be visually impactful. Abbie’s mum came along to help too, she makes a lot of the costumes which are absolutely stunning.’

When I first approached Dave with this idea of making this short series he was understandably quite hesitant at first.

I was impressed with how quickly he settled into the role of presenter/narrator.

I’d write an outline narrative for him which he’d gladly take away and adjust to better suit his voice and style. The more we filmed, the less inhibited he became and towards the end, filming became really easy. I’m personally very pleased with the outcome. After all, everyone was giving of their time on a voluntary basis to bring this together which is in keeping with how the Village Tribune Magazine is published.

Wishing you all a prosperous and peaceful new year!

https://vimeo.com/870217256/ 4ebf3vc456?share=copy Scan the QR code or follow the link above to watch Yew Tree, Epidode 4, of the Village Tribune Channel.

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GLINTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Glinton FriendshipClub Pam Kounougakis

Reflecting on 2023 Here we are with our last report of 2023, and welcome all to the brand new year 2024!

What a last few months we’ve had in the friendship club, with almost full membership and lots of regular attendees.

Though we still need helpers in all areas, especially kitchen, serving meals and putting away tables at the end of the day, we had to ask a passer-by for help one day, and if he reads this, many, many thanks indeed! This season we’ve had a mobility firm showing us their amazing wares, a white elephant auction and club memorabilia display of

COUNCIL CORNER

photos and articles. How sad that all our memories of events are now on our phones. A highlight We donate to local charities has been our brand new bingo machine, as the old one suffered each year as well as giving cards from old age and was laid to rest! to members. And a huge thanks to all our volunteers and helpers Our Festive celebrations are well without whom this couldn’t under way with a buffet meal, happen, especially those who and invited guests enjoying the have had illnesses themselves school children singing for us, recently. And those members and super prize Bingo. We went who are absent, we miss you. to Northborough for our annual Anyone interested come to the Christmas meal, with carols and Village Hall, we are there each Santa and gifts, and sharing the Monday from 10am and meet us. fun till we close and return on 8 January at Glinton Village Hall. Pam

07591 834163 www.glinton-pc.gov.uk

GLINTON Cllr Gerry Kirt, Parish Council Chairman Cllr Gerry Kirt - Chairman - 01733 252839 Cllr RW Randall, Vice Chairman - 01733 253276 Cllr Helen Aylesbury Cllr DJ Batty - 01733 252749 Cllr CB Bysshe - 01733 253164 Cllr Steve Jackson - 01733 252409 Cllr David Lane - 01733 252593

Cllr Andy Staines - 07412 158885 Cllr Sukhvinder Singh Cllr Liezl Rossouw Mr J Haste - Clerk - 07591 834163 Cllr Rita Joshi-Boparai rita.joshi-boparai@glinton-pc.gov.uk clerk@glinton-pc.gov.uk

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GLINTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

COUNCIL CORNER

GLINTON

www.glinton-pc.gov.uk

Cllr Gerry Kirt, Parish Council Chairman

Glinton's Achievements and Exciting Plans for 2024 A Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all! I am not going break with tradition so I will look back at the past year then forward to see what the New Year has in store for Glinton.

During 2023 your council focused on bringing community together through a number of events.

Despite poor weather, in May we celebrated the King’s Coronation in style with an enormous range of daytime attractions, finishing the day with beacon lighting and live music entertainment.

Beacon lighting in Glinton for King Charles III Coronation 6 May 2023.

September heralded GlintonFest 24 and superb weather for our first ever music festival which proved an outstanding success.

To finish the year, October’s Great Glinton Garage Grab was blessed with marvellous weather and enthusiastic crowds of buyers.

During November we placed a number of poppies around the village prior to Remembrance Day and successfully installed

additional defibrillators to provide improved emergency coverage throughout the village.

During the year we were honoured to be awarded Small Council of the Year 2023 by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils, in recognition of work and achievements over the past year.

Looking forward to 2024. As residents thoroughly enjoyed last year’s various social events we are planning GlintonFest 24 with D-Day Commemoration on 1st June. It will be similar to the Coronation event but with a distinct WW2 twist and assistance provided by the Air Cadets. From late afternoon our live music extravaganza will kick off with a Legend slot that includes a Lady Gaga tribute and concludes with Glinton’s own legends MG & the Nightbeats and Cosmic Rodney.

The D-Day 80th anniversary beacon lighting will take place 6th June in the evening. The Great Glinton Garage Grab is pencilled in for September and due to positive feedback is likely to be extended well into the afternoon.

Training for the defibrillators has been, or will be shortly

Reflecting o Remarkab n a le Year be, carried out for all interested residents.

Hopefully, the long overdue upgrade of the Village Hall will begin during 2024 and we will finally secure Ashburn playpark from PCC and refit it prior to summer. We have plans to add protective skirts to stop the wooden posts supporting all recreation ground equipment being terminally compromised by strimming. Given how well received the Remembrance poppies were the intention is to double the number next year.

Towards the end of 2024 we anticipate the new village sign will be installed.

Finally, the village questionnaire will shortly be hitting your door mats. I cannot over stress the importance of completing and returning the form, as it will create the blueprint for your Parish Council to work to over the next few years as well as informing us on your views on many issues including housing development.

As an added incentive there will be a draw for those who have decided to add their names prizes include three pairs of tickets for GlintonFest 24 and a meal for two plus wine at the Bluebell.

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GLINTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Steve Jackson, Glinton Climate Change Emergency - Action Group

Waste Consumption in our Parish The Parish Council is considering starting a project to reduce waste production. Do you know what happens to the waste you empty in to your various bins each week?

Most of us have at least 4 types, Green, Garden, Food and one for everything else (Black bin).

I have detailed below a very simplified summary.

Green bin waste is collected locally then sent to Waterbeach where it is processed. The nongreen items are removed and then manually and automatically sorted into different groups such as cardboard, plastic, metal etc. Optical sorters are also used so that at the end only paper, plastic and some mixed metal items are left. A magnetic separator takes out the ferrous metals. An infra-red scanner identifies different types of plastics, and a targeted air jet blows them in to different containers. As the material passes by on conveyer belts, they are scanned manually to make sure the correct items are in each area.

Once the sorting is complete the materials are compressed into large bales and transported to other locations where they are recycled. Around 54% of all green waste is recycled into paper, plastic objects such as chairs and various metal items.

Brown waste is collected locally is and taken to a transfer point in Dogsthorpe where it is loaded on to large lorries and sent to a processing plant at Ramsey for conversion to compost and sold for use in agriculture, horticulture, landscaping or gardening. They also supply bulk product for farming & large-scale projects.

Black waste goes to the energy recovery facility in Fengate where it is burned except for asbestos etc. The combustion heats up to a minimum of 850c and the heated gas is fed into the boiler where heat exchange

takes place turning the water in the boiler pipes to steam and this, under pressure drives a turbine which generates electricity. This electricity is then exported to the electricity grid for use across the country.

Food waste is collected locally and sent to St Albans or Birmingham where it is fed into an Anaerobic Digestion Plant. This is either converted into nutrient rich fertiliser or via a biomethane processor to produce enough renewable energy to power 36,000 average sized homes.

The Parish Council will be looking in to how we can reduce waste in the future.

This research is so we can understand what is happening before starting any projects.

We will measure the amount of waste generated before we start.

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GLINTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Glinton Horticultural Society Your friendly gardening club Last November we had a very interesting talk by Steve Williams of the Thirsty Giraffe in Deeping on the rise of the Micro Pub in this area. Later in the month we held our Annual General Meeting in Glinton Village Hall at which, although the attendance was low, a new committee was elected mainly from existing members. We were happy to welcome one new member.

At the beginning of December we held our Christmas Evening with excellent hot food and delicious desserts.

Our knowledge of all things Christmas was tested by a quiz and an enjoyable evening finished with singing carols.

Unfortunately John was taken ill at the end of the evening. But I was happy to hear that after a long night in hospital the next

day he was home recovering.

We all wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Times. The talks all take place in Glinton Village Hall starting at 7:30pm and all are welcome.

We all look forward to the New Year with its talks, plant sale, trips and Show. 2024 begins for the society on the 19 January with a talk by Geof Lee on the Wildlife of the Norfolk Coast and on the 16 February Dr Avril Lumley Prior will talk about Peakirk & Glinton in Saxon

In January we will also be holding our Show schedule meeting at which details of the entry classes for the 2024 Show will be finalised. If you have any ideas for classes you would like to be added or changed please call the Secretary, Miss P Hopkins - 01780 767 309.

By the time that you read this Christmas may be over and we will be starting 2024. On behalf of the Society, I hope you have all had a happy Christmas and have a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.

Full details of the events for the year, visit: www.glintonhorticulturalsociety.org.uk

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EDITOR EXTRA

NEW FOR 2024 In our next edition, we will be launching a new section for our smaller local businesses and tradespeople. For an annual subscription of just £49, Tribland companies will be able to see their details listed in our new directory AND be able to post messages to our Facebook Group members on the last Friday of each month – for a full year. Please email me if you would like more details.

Village Tribune Calendar Thank you to all the Triblanders who bought our 2024 calendar.

Our photograph shows how well it was received by our Ukrainian friends on the latest trip to the war zone where two ambulances were also supplied – a brilliant effort by the team. If you would like to buy a copy, please email me; villagetribuneeditor@me.com

vil lagetribune 23

VILLAGE VIEWS | NEWBOROUGH

The Plough Inn (above left). The picture is believed to be dated around 1940s. The 'council houses' seen in the background were built in 1926. The picture on the right is what it looks like now, taken from a similar angle and position.

The Plough Inn, Newborough Part 1, Paul Cooper

The Plough Inn is the youngest of the eight pubs, inns and beer houses that were in the parish of Newborough.

However, in its relatively short history compared to the other establishment’s there no shortage of mystery, drama, intrigue, encounters with the law and legal system and tragedy. What more could you expect from a quiet village pub? During my research into this public house it became obvious that there is far too much information to be able to complete it in one article.

Therefore I have made it into two parts. In this edition we will take the story from its beginning up to the early 1900’s. The next edition will cover the period from 1910 until its closure and demolishment.

The story begins back in 1874 when The Plough Inn opened on Crown Road. After 1900 this becomes known as School Road.

24 vil agetribune

The exact location of the pub was to the right hand side of the entrance to Plough Lane as you look from School Road. It was one of the smaller pubs in the village. However, it was not short of clientele or excitement. The pub opened its doors in 1874 after the first publican; John Barton applies for a license to sell beer and intoxicating spirits.

He leases the premises from a Joseph Phillips from Stamford.

Joseph Phillips was the director of the J & J. E. Phillips Brewery.

He was also a member of the Phillips family involvement with the Phillips, Tibbits and Phillips brewery in Wisbech. This partnership failed in 1853 and the company was put up for auction.

Unfortunately the auction did not achieve the reserve price of £60,000 and the company was

not sold. The management of the Wisbech Brewery was transferred to Royston under George Frederick Phillips. George sold the Wisbech Brewery to the Elgoods family on 27th August 1877. At this stage it is believed the Plough Inn ownership was transferred to Elgoods as part of their purchase of the Wisbech Brewery, more of this later in the story. The first licence holder John Barton was a Yorkshire man, born in 1835 in York. He was also a blacksmith and ran his business from buildings at the pub premises. It was not long before John was in trouble with the authorities. The Peterborough Petty Sessions heard two cases of drunkenness at the Plough Inn Newborough. In the first case a labourer from Newborough, William Randall, was charged with

NEWBOROUGH | VILLAGE VIEWS

being drunk on a license premises (Plough Inn, Newborough) on 3rd March 1880. He was arrested by Constable Mison. In his defence, witness; Thomas Fisher, also of Newborough, claimed that; the defendant couldn’t have been drunk as he had only had a small volume of beer and didn’t talk to anyone. Constable Mison gave evidence that Randall was clearly very drunk. The bench found him guilty of drunken behaviour and fined him 6 shillings with 13s 6d costs. Also in court that day was the publican John Barton.

He was charged with allowing drunkenness and gambling on his premises. Constable Mison again gave evidence for the prosecution; He was outside the Plough Inn on the evening of the 3rd March 1880 when he heard a disturbance and fighting going on inside the pub. Constable Mison warned the landlord, John Barton, to stop the tap and clear the house.

James McCartin emerged from the pub in a very drunken state, so drunk that the constable had to lay him down under a straw stack.

Another man named Randall was also drunk. Both Randall and McCartin were gambling with a game called pitching the hole. Both men were playing for quarts of beer. Witnesses said that the landlord, John Barton, also joined the game. After a run of bad luck McCartin was 6s down and was unable to pay. A fight broke out which Constable Mison was on hand to break up.

In his defence Barton claimed he was unaware that the game they were playing was classed as gambling and pleaded for a nominal penalty as a caution. The chairman of the bench disagreed and remarked that he thought it was a very bad case and fined Barton £2 for each case with 17s 6d costs. In addition Barton’s

license was endorsed. This was not the only time that John appeared before magistrates at the Peterborough Petty Sessions.

This time John was a witness for the prosecution. On the 10th February 1881 John went to Mr Webster’s Barn in Peakirk to meet with Herbert Hadman, a farmer from Werrington. Mr Hadman had previously had some swedes, turnips and manure from John Barton for which he still owed money. John confronted Mr Hadman regarding the owed money and an argument broke out between the two men.

Witness Edward Rowell, a youth from Newborough witnessed Mr Hadman strike John Barton, in his own words; “Hadman gave him a “smash” in the mouth whilst Mr Barton still had his hands in his pockets. Mr Hadman was also accused of paying off some witnesses with a pint of beer to not testify against him. The Bench, after deliberation, could not be satisfied that the assault actually took place and such a trivial case ought not to have been brought before them. The case was dismissed. John left the Plough Inn shortly afterwards and by May 1881 William Neath became the second landlord at the Plough.

William Neath was born in Warmington, Northamptonshire in 1833. His father Richard was a Farm Bailiff on a large farm in Warmington. William Married Ann Hollis in 1854, Ann was from the village of Eye, near Peterborough. Soon after their marriage they moved to Hampshire where two of their three sons were born. In 1864 William and Ann’s third son was born in Lambeth, London.

William was now working as a Foreman at a Cab Yard. The Cab

Yard was where London Cab Drivers took their cabs at quiet times, usually in the afternoon or late evening. At the yard the cabs would be washed and polished and the horses groomed and fed ready for the next busy period. In 1881 William was now the landlord of the Plough Inn, Newborough. He moved there with his wife Ann and their youngest son Richard. As with most of the landlords of the pubs in the village they had alternative employment to supplement the publican job. William was no different and he worked as an agricultural labourer during the day and left his wife to do the daytime work in the Plough. It is not certain if William and Ann came to Newborough because it was near her family in Eye. The pair of them had left the Plough by 1891 and William had set himself up as a cottager in Middle Road. William Died on March 22nd 1898, just 13 days after his wife Ann on 9th March.

Both are buried in Newborough churchyard.

1889 saw the license of The Plough change from William Neath to James Reedman. James was born in Nassington in 1856.

He was still there in 1881 aged 25 working as an agricultural worker. He soon after moved to Magdalen in Norfolk where, he met and, in 1885, married Sarah Elizabeth Bates. Elizabeth already had two children from previous relationships. James, Sarah and family moved to Newborough just after their son Frederick was born in 1888. They had one more child whilst they were living at The Plough. James was also >> listed in 1891 on the census as an Innkeeper and also as a labourer, as did most other Inn Keepers in Newborough to continued overleaf >>

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VILLAGE VIEWS | NEWBOROUGH

supplement their living. However, his stay at the pub was not to be a long one as they moved to Holbeach in 1996 and then on to Fleet in Lincolnshire where he is listed on the 1911 census. James died in 1918 and is buried in Holbeach.

1897 saw the beginning of a 14 year tenure for the inn to Joseph Bollans following his marriage.

Joseph was born in 1861 in Wymondham, Leicestershire.

Although his name was Joseph, he is often found on some I am appealing for anyone who has any old pictures from the village to please contact me and allow me to scan them for the catalogue. It is not a personal collection as I want it to be a resource available to anyone in the future.

You can contact me by email on; cooper_56@btinternet.com

records as James Bollans.

Joseph married his wife Adelaide Fairbairne on 10th November 1897 in Stapleford, Leicestershire.

Adelaide had previously been widowed and Joseph was her second marriage. There is no record as to the pair having any children between them. It must have been quite an uneventful time at The Plough as there is very little information regarding his time as the landlord. After Joseph left the pub he set up home in Newborough where he

To be continued in the next issue.

The history group (well the three of us) have managed to secure funding for another history board to be placed outside the Village Hall. The topics we are planning to cover are; The history of the village hall, the Friendly Society and the merger with the Ancient Order of Foresters, Walnut Farm and Walnut House. If any

of you can help with pictures, information or stories of any of the above then please get in contact via the email above. If you do not have the Internet then please put you details in an envelope and write my name on it, then post it in the Newborough Village Hall post box. I will contact you.

worked as a labourer, shepherd and a drover for Mr Vergette.

He also did labouring work for several other farmers in the village. Joseph retired from work at the age of 80. He died in 1958 and his funeral was held in Newborough church, he was 96 years old. As a testament to his popularity, many of Newborough’s farmers, aldermen, business men and councillors attended his funeral. He was laid to rest in Newborough Cemetery.

NEWBOROUGH | VILLAGE VIEWS

Newborough & Borough Fen News

clerk@newboroughandboroughfen-pc.gov.uk

Crown Garden If you are interested in becoming part of a working party to keep ‘Crown Garden’ tidy and well maintained, please contact the Clerk for further information.

Allotments on Peterborough Road, Newborough There are a few plots available for tenancy on Peterborough Road. If you are interested in ‘growing your own’ or would like some further information, please let the Clerk know.

The Parish Council also have litter pickers and bags available for anyone who might wish to litter pick on a walk around the village, or as part of a larger group.

Neighbourhood Plan If you live in Newborough or Borough Fen, now is your opportunity to voice your opinion on how the parish should develop over the next 15 years. We are developing a neighbourhood plan, which will become a key planning document produced by residents to influence the future type and location of new development in the parish.

The neighbourhood plan will contain non-strategic planning policies, such as the mix of housing needed, design principles for new development, and priorities for infrastructure improvements. It will also identify which green spaces should be protected from future development. Once adopted, the plan will become part of the development framework and its policies will be used to help decide on all future planning applications in the parish.

There will be plenty of opportunities to input into the plan’s development, in the New Year we will be running a consultation survey which will ask you about a range of topics important to residents. We will also engage with local businesses, community groups and the primary school.

We are looking for people who are interested in joining a working group for the neighbourhood plan, who will help to steer its development on behalf of the local community. If you are interested, please contact Irene Healiss the Parish Clerk at: clerk@newboroughandboroughfen-pc.gov.uk

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VILLAGE VIEWS | NEWBOROUGH

COUNCIL CORNER

Newborough and Borough Fen Parish Council

by Bryan Cole, Chairman of Newborough and Borough Fen Parish Council I hope you all had a good Christmas and on behalf of the Parish Council I wish you all the very best for 2024.

You hopefully noticed that once again we managed to put up the Christmas tree at Crown Gardens. This year we invited the Peterborough City Mayor and Mayoress to officially turn on the lights on what was probably the coldest night of the year so far! We have given up with the solar tree lights, so I hope you noticed an improvement!

I need to thank St Bartholomew Church for hosting the very welcome refreshments jointly provided by the Parish Council and also a big thanks to all who helped with the tree – at its various stages!

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Please remember that the Parish Council has arranged an awareness/session on how to use the emergency defibrillators around the village. If you are able, please try and come along. This will be held on the 20 January, in the village hall in Newborough at 1:15pm.

The event is open to all but ideally, we would appreciate if you could let the Parish Clerk know if you are attending so we have an idea of numbers attending: clerk@ newboroughandboroughfen-pc. gov.uk

DEFIBRILLATORS ARE LOCATED AT: • Chemist – School Road • Outside ‘Mandairs’ • Village Hall – Guntons Road • Corner shop – Guntons Road/Fenside Drive • Werrington Bridge Road bus shelter near Law’s Close All are easily accessible on the outside of the buildings.

It's great to see so many people making use of the books in the old phone box on Crown Gardens. I was asked if you had to put a book in the phone box to borrow one.

The answer is no you can just take a book, in fact we need to make space for people to add new books so feel free to take as many as you like as this will free up space.

The Neighbourhood Plan is finally starting to move

forward. As is always the case, there are a lot of procedural issues and paperwork we need to go through before people can start to see anything happening. Be rest assured that things are moving forward, and the steering group of volunteers hope to be able to come out into the community in March / April 2024 to deliver awareness sessions and collect views. Please be aware that every house in Newborough and Borough Fen will get a questionnaire seeking your input on what should be in the plan.

Additionally, everyone aged 18 and over will get to vote on the final draft of the plan once completed. We are also looking at options for electronic versions as well to try and ensure we capture as much detail as possible. More information will be made available later next year as we move forward.

HELPSTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

COUNCIL CORNER

Alastair Peat, Vice Chair, Helpston Parish Council

Helpston Parish Council

www.helpstonparishcouncil.org

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas to you and your families. We look forward to the excitement and challenges that 2024 will bring.

The City Council Local Plan The process has started for land submission for Peterborough City’s next Local plan. You will see from the planning portal or from Parish Council Information sources that a number of pockets of land have been put forward around the village by landowners to be considered for new housing.

Your Parish Council fought long and hard 5 years ago to limit the number of sites to the LP42 BDW site in the last Local plan submissions.

Suffice to say, all of the land put forward would place significant pressure on services, infrastructure, schooling and the crossing if the quantities of houses identified are accepted by the City council. The process will go on for many months to come but please be assured that we will represent your views robustly and seek to protect the community in which we live.

Helpstonbury 2024 Save The Date: 22 June 24 We would like to underline our support for the Helpstonbury 2024 festival in a day on 22 June. Once again, we will be financially supporting this to facilitate the opportunity for the community to come together

and create, both memories, as well as opportunities for the village organisations to raise their much needed funds to do their great work.

Please contact the Helpstonbury team on helpstonbury@mail.co.uk if you are interested in further sponsorship or to be a part of the day.

Village Speed Limits The discussions around the Rural Speed Strategy continue to move at a pace. There are proposals going forward from all villages as to their preferred measures to achieve greater speed control.

Please speak to one of your Councillors if you have a strong view on this. The City Council will have to go out for consultation on any changes proposed. It is important you have your say on limits approaching the village as well as the 20mph zone initiatives.

Glinton Road Cycle Path This matter has developed further from the initial discussions we have had with the City Highways department.

We would like to thank the members of the community for their drive through the school to bring all parties together to accelerate the dialogue.

We should see action early in

the new year that will make a difference to the safety of our children, plus further planning for the future.

Grant Funding We are grateful to the voluntary organisations around the village that do such great work in giving opportunities for sport, for our children and the community to come together. We have issued grants recently for these very purposes to support the great work they do. This was shown in the fantastic turn out in very bad weather when the Helcats presented the Helpston Christmas Tree light switch on. Even Santa came to meet the village.

If your organization would benefit from grant funding then please make contact with the Parish Council Clerk to enquire.

Your Parish Council works hard behind the scenes to represent the community as has been seen with the above actions and initiatives.

Monthly meetings are open to all village residents and we welcome input so we can continue to keep Helpston the community we all wish to live in.

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BAINTON AND ASHTON PARISH COUNCIL Chairman: Susie Lucas 01780 740 159 susie.hall34@gmail.com Responsible for: Staffing/HR, Community, Allotments Association, PCC Liaison and Good Neighbours Scheme.

Councillor: Cliff Stanton 01780 749 123 cliffstanton@btinternet.com Responsible for: Nature Recovery Plan project, Village assets, maintenance and website.

Councillor: Michael Perkins 07587 240 607 hawthornfarm@hotmail.com Responsible for: Internal finances checker.

Councillor: Irene Walsh 07753 203 844 walshirene@yahoo.co.uk Responsible for: Planning, Staffing/HR and Community Liaison and Road Safety.

Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer: Jenny Rice 07889 669 550 bainton.ashton.clerk@live.co.uk Vacancy: Please see website/notice board when applying for this position.

HELPSTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Helpston Local History Group Jackie Robinson

More than one hundred people visited the Helpston Local History Group’s latest project, ‘Helpston Home Front’ displayed in St. Botolph’s church on Saturday 11 November.

Positive feedback was received from the many visitors. It was gratifying to see the visitors reminiscing about old times, recognising family and neighbours in the photos of the Home Guard, wartime weddings etc.

The display consisted of artefacts and photos kindly lent to the group by members of the community and group member research. Residents of nearby villages who had seen our requests for information in The Tribune, complemented our display with their contributions.

The daughter of the airman whose life was saved by the Helpston parachute packer joined us for the event to see her story on display. Evacuees were a topic of conversation, a village resident made enquiries as to where her relative was billeted. We cannot help but feel for the young evacuees and the households that

were instructed to house them or be fined, likely it was not always a happy match.

The accompanying project booklet that is based on Farms and Farming 1939-45 was on sale for the first time, copies are available upon request for £3.50.

On our website, there are two new articles, Helpston Faggot Ovens and celebrating our village news heritage, The Helpston Chronicle.

Our membership renewals will be due on 1 January 2024. If you have an interest in Helpston History, the people, places, or a particular topic, why not consider becoming a member? Costs are £12 for an individual or £18 per household couple. The AGM is to be held in our closed January 2024 meeting, followed by a group member talk.

We look forw ard to another ev entful year ahead an d wish readers a Hap py New Year.

Please consider becoming a member of Helpston Local History Group. Membership is £12 per annum for single membership and £18 per annum for a couple in the same household.

E: helpstonhistory@gmail.com www.helpstonhistory.org.uk

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VILLAGE VIEWS | HELPSTON

Reviving Helpston Lawn Tennis Club: A Community's Rally for a Century-old Legacy Does Helpston have a Tennis Club? Where are the tennis courts? I didn’t know there was a Club! Does anyone still play there? I thought it had closed!

Unfortunately, just some of the comments regularly heard whenever Helpston Lawn Tennis Club (HLTC) has been mentioned. So, just to clarify - yes, there is a tennis club with two grass courts and yes it does still operate through the summer months.

Take a stroll down Church Lane and opposite the entrance to Helpston Church are two wooden steps leading to a gate and pathway, at the end of which are the two enclosed tennis courts and a wooden pavilion – a little tired and lacking a bit of care but nevertheless just waiting to be used by villagers and visitors alike.

try and ensure that HLTC is put firmly back on the village map and once more becomes a thriving club with coaching, tournaments, and club nights – and of course social events!

The History of HLTC The Club is located on land farmed by the Franks family – a long established farming family with generations of Franks having lived – and still living - in Helpston and the surrounding areas.

Eleanor (Nora) Franks had a real passion for tennis. created a grass tennis court for his lovely wife and family to use.

But over the last couple of years, membership has been declining and, due to extremes in the weather, the courts have deteriorated – to the point that there was concern as to whether the club would continue to exist.

Which is tragic when you realise that there has been tennis played on the courts for over 100 years and HLTC has been in existence for almost as long.

George Franks created the first tennis court over a century ago.

So not wanting it to fail on ‘our watch’ a small but determined group of villagers have banded together to

George Franks, born in 1892, was married to Eleanor – known as Nora – and she loved tennis.

And so it was that George

32 vil agetribune

Initially the court, which was only used by the Franks family and friends, was known as Helpston & District Tennis Club, and was run along the lines of a private members club. Unfortunately, despite much research, it has not been possible to locate an actual creation date of HDTC but we do know that it was operating as far back as March 1922.

However, in March 1925 it was decided to open membership to the wider community on an ‘invitation only’ basis and then in April 1927 membership was

HELPSTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Back row (l-r): unknown, Paul Mansfield, Mr Bradley, Neville Harris, Peter Holt, Ron Johnson, Nick Palmer, Tony McCosker, Richard Smith, Bill Coleman. Front row: Vicky Palmer, Marian Franks, Judy Holt, Maggi Holden, Eric West, Vic Holden. opened to the public – with all successful applications being approved by the committee.

And so, despite wars, droughts and floods, tennis has been played every summer in Helpston since then.

Over the years the Franks family have continued with their support of HLTC – not only providing the land but holding the office of President and in

1948 providing two trophies for the winners of the GM Franks Challenge Cup – keenly fought over at the end of each season.

What has happened to the Gentleman’s Cup? It must be somewhere.

However, only the Ladies cup can now be found. What has happened to the Gentleman’s Cup? It must be somewhere.

Hopefully someone may recognise the photograph or remember seeing it tucked

Over the years the Franks family have continued with their support of HLTC – not only providing the land but holding the office of President and in 1948 providing two trophies for the winners of the GM Franks Challenge Cup – this is the Ladies Cup. Who can you recognise in this photograph?

Head on over to our Facebook Group to help put some names to the faces: www.facebook.com/groups/villagetribune

away in the back of a cupboard somewhere! It would be wonderful if we could locate it and reunite it with its partner. continued overleaf >>

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HELPSTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

>> A sad footnote to this history of HLTC is that in Sept 1932 Nora Franks became seriously ill and was taken into hospital where she died of sepsis on 20 Sept. She was 43 years of age and left five children under the age of 13.

need to be a club member – or even be able to play tennis!

But we do need new members though as without enough we just cannot continue. The Club is not just open to Helpston villagers – anyone in Tribland can join.

The Future of HLTC – The Next Chapter

So put the date in your diary.

It will be a great opportunity to meet some new faces, familiarise yourself with the courts and to help make sure that HLTC not only survives but thrives for another 100 years.

And so HLTC has continued since the 1920’s. Committee members have come and gone but the Club has always been a constant and it is our aim for it to continue. Arrangements have been made for a restoration programme – beginning in Spring 2024 – of the tennis courts to bring them back to a suitable playing condition and the plan is that by mid-summer the courts will be ready for play.

A social media campaign has been put into place with an updated FB page www. facebook.com/HelpstonTennis and newly created Instagram account (search for helpstonltc).

A programme of coaching for adults and children is being planned.

There is to be a HLTC Ground Force Day on Saturday 27 January 2024 from 10am at the tennis courts.

The Plan is to: • Spring Clean the Clubhouse.

• Tidy-up around the Courts.

• Weed & Cut Back around the Fencing.

• Generally clear up as much of the area as possible. 

So please come along. There will be refreshments and all are very welcome. You don’t

For any further information on HLTC please contact Tammy Tushingham on 07734 544 578 or tammy.tushingham@ btinternet.com

Memories of HLTC by Fiona Cumberpatch HLTC was an important part of village life for young teenagers in the 70s. I wasn’t sporty, but Wimbledon was big, with Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert and Virginia Wade dominating the headlines, and I loved watching tennis on TV. I joined the club in 1977, when I was 13 or 14. When we heard that there was going to be Friday night coaching, my friend Sally Hobbs and I were excited. There wasn’t a huge amount going on in the village for younger people: I don’t think there was a Youth Club, and there was hardly any public transport, maybe one bus a day to Peterborough. I’m sure the coaching was organised by a lady named Judy Matthews or Matthew. She had a daughter, Anne, who was talented at tennis. The new sessions were very well attended and brought together teenagers from

different schools, which was quite unusual at that time.

I made new friends: Emma Lyall, from Maxey, and Karen Brown, who had recently moved to the village.

There was also a very glamorous brother and sister called Carlton and Vanessa, who arrived in a big car and wore proper sparkling whites, whereas Sally and I had homemade tennis skirts that we’d cobbled together in our needlework class at school!

We started playing and hanging out there at other times too, especially during the summer holidays. I seem to remember that there was a hidden key to the court or hut, and we were trusted to let ourselves in and out, which we did, often. In my diary of 1977, every other day seems to say ‘played tennis,’ or ‘met my friends at tennis.”

Of course, in my memory, it is always golden and sunny, which was certainly not the case, but we could shelter in the hut if it rained. I can still remember the smell of that wooden club hut: creosote, grass, canvas and sunshine. I remember the machine which made the white lines on the courts, propped up outside.

The adult members sometimes held social events there, and we were drafted in to help behind the scenes, washing up and making teas and coffees. Sadly, my tennis never did improve much, despite the sterling efforts of Judy, and occasional visiting coaches. But I don’t think that was the point: the club was always a welcoming place for me, a little sanctuary in the hurly burly of adolescence and a much-needed social hub.

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HELPSTON | VILLAGE VIEWS

Appeal for Book Donations Ahead of Helpstonbury 2024

From 1 February, please drop your unwanted BOOKs, CDs or DVDs into the Collection Box inside Helpston Church (open most days 9am-4pm, including weekends).

Each year, the long-running Gala Bookstall raises money for local good causes, but it’s only possible with your help! The stall found a new home at Helpstonbury in 2023. In the more distant past Helpston Gala replaced Helpston Feast, which dated back to John Clare’s time (1793-1864). So, Helpstonbury now stands in a long-line of events run by and for local residents, long may it continue!

We Will Remember

We are sure you all enjoyed seeing so many of our uniformed young people parading on Remembrance Sunday.

It was a wonderful sight seeing the Rainbows, Beavers, Brownies, Cubs, Guides, Scouts and Leaders showing their respects for those that lost their lives in conflicts.

Our units meet every week during term time in our lovely Scout and Guide Centre, we continue to do this thanks to the efforts of our Leaders. At present all units would benefit from the help of a few more pairs of hands at our meetings.

No experience necessary full training and support is available. If you or anyone you know is interested in finding out more about what is involved please look at our websites below: www.girlguiding.org.uk & www.scouts.org.uk or contact the following: Guide units (Rainbows, Brownies and Guides) Morag Sweeney 07801 357 701 / Scout units (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) Martin Hall 07778 707 952.

HELPSTON PARISH COUNCIL www.helpstonparishcouncil.org Parish Council Clerk: Syd Smith E: helpstonpc@hotmail.co.uk Chair: Joe Dobson T: 01733 252 192 E: councilmessages@btinternet.com

Councillor: David Dykes T: 07515 288 606 E: david.dykes@btopenworld.com Councillor: Eric Sieker T: 07464 092 273

Vice Chair: Ali Peat T: 07399 532 266 E: alastair@alfrescolandscaping.co.uk

Councillor: Gill Jolly T: 07713 329 141 E: ghaigh6d@hotmail.com

Councillor: Alastair Bradley T: 07941 570 653 E: alastairbradley@hotmail.com

Councillor: Arthur Cross T: 01733 252 291 E: arthurcross@vivaldi.net

Councillor: Andy Ratnett T: 07798 651 872 E: andy@ratnett.co.uk

Councillor: Rosemary Morton T: 01733 252 243 E: g.morton526@btinternet.com

vil agetribune 39

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PEAKIRK | VILLAGE VIEWS

COUNCIL CORNER

PEAKIRK Henry Clark, Chairman

PEAKIRK PARISH COUNCIL For all Peakrik news, minutes and agendas visit: www.peakirkvillage.co.uk Chairman: Henry Clark – Tel: 01733 253 203 Sally Jackson – Tel: 01733 253 483 Emma Crowson – Tel: 01733 252 200 David Fovargue – Tel: 01733 254 227 Anne Tuley – Tel: 01733 254 114 Sarah Smith – Tel: 07588 055 553 Kamal Sisodia – Tel: 07958 053 439 Clerk: Angela Hankins – Tel: 01733 253 397, Email: clerk@peakirk-pc.gov.uk

Grass Cutting Following the retirement of Mr Harding, who cut the grass on the village green and various areas around the parish for many years, we have been seeking a replacement. We have found a new contractor but unfortunately the cost has doubled to about £5,000 per year.

Tree Work The big old chestnut on the village green needed work to make it safe, as recommended by an inspection and resistograph test. Woodcraft Tree Services carried out the necessary reduction in November, managing to keep a shape that will look good when in leaf.

Traffic Councillors had a walk around the village with Lewis Banks from PCC. We showed Lewis the traffic problem hotspots and discussed possible

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ways of reducing speeding. One suggestion, which would be easy to implement and not too costly, would be to make the built up area a 20mph zone. Several other communities have done this. The parish council will be considering this in the new year.

We are looking for volunteers to help with the monthly Speedwatch sessions. Training is required but only involves a 23 minute online video. Contact Emma Crowson, peakirk. cllrcrowson@gmail.com, for further details.

Council Tax Precept Grass cutting and tree maintenance increases are having a serious impact on our modest budget.

If we do nothing our reserves will be exhausted.

This year the average precept per house is about 83p per week. We are proposing to increase the precept to £1 per week for 2024-25 to avoid depleting our reserves too much. www.peakirkvillage.co.uk

Please contact the clerk Angela Hankins to comment on anything or request further information: clerk@peakirk-pc.gov.uk Details of events will be posted on the noticeboard by the Village Hall, www.peakirkvillage.co.uk and whist not run by the parish council, this page provides useful information for residents of Peakirk. Why not join and check it out? /groups/peakirkvillage

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FARM FOCUS | ROSEMARY'S FARMING DIARY

Rosemary’s

FARMING DIARY At the end of November most outside work has been finished, sowing, ploughing, hedge cutting, cleaning drains out etc, at least this is what is planned in a normal farming year, one uses the expression of shutting the gate until spring, but when you have livestock, that’s seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year task - depending on what you have on the farm, so our farm is busy all year round, you take a break when you can.

I think most farmers will agree it’s been a very challenging year, right the way through with weather extremes unknown in living memory. Climate change we are told is to blame, I’m sure this could be a factor, however we have these different weather patterns every so many years which is nothing new, but I can say in sincerity I don’t remember a year like this one has been, and now we have been plunged into winter with a vengeance.

growth next spring. We have now had our second lift of sugar beet which includes the fodder beet we grow for the cattle and have started feeding it in their rations. Our third and final lift The cattle have been in their will be done in the next week, winter yards now for a month transported to Whissington which will make it a longer winter sugar beet factory as soon as with feed etc than a normal year, permit allocations allow, it’s but we were pleased to have always a relief when it’s safely in them in just before the grass the factory. These fields will be fields became water logged and sown with a spring crop, most poached, which affects the grass probably barley in the new year.

We, like most of our neighbours have more or less completed our autumn sowings, ours with a few rotational changes, should work reasonably well.

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ROSEMARY'S FARMING DIARY | FARM FOCUS

The last of the manure heaps are now being spread and are being ploughed in which will be ready for next year’s sugar beet crop.

The next two weeks with the run up to Christmas will involve getting all feed in for the cattle, making sure all water pipes are frost proofed, ensuring there are no more extra jobs over the festive period.

Grain has been loaded for the flour mills all through the autumn with a few loads awaiting collection before Christmas - trying to avoid grain lorries Christmas week, especially with the sugar beet not being completely cleared up and into the factory. With the difficult and very unpredictable weather we seem to have had to make more adjustments and repairs to the equipment which is not unexpected, even with spares etc, there’s always that one thing you don’t have by you in the workshop.

Hitting the headline at the present time is the COP28 climate conference in Dubai

where many world leaders have met and pledged to support and reach climate targets, it would appear the outcome is being taken very seriously which is good news for everyone and goes some way to give we, the farming community along with other business and individuals the encouragement that we are not alone in tackling the huge task which many in our industry have been silently working at for many years.

is most unusual, they normally drop in October, but as I said, this isn’t a normal year, with the leaves hanging on, it’s giving a spectacular display and now we have the bright red holly berries, shiny at their very best to help us through the dark, dreary days of winter, with the thought of spring, the snow drops, winter jasmine and a host of other bulbs, annuals and shrubs to brighten up those days.

As I finish these notes after two days of frost free weather, we are plunged into a sharp frost this morning so are yet again making use of a few hours of going onto fields without disappearing from sight, with rain predicted to come in tomorrow.

Looking forward to a better New Year, it’s got to be better than the one most of us want to see the back of. Hope upon hope I think must be in our mindset. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and peaceful time from myself, the family and all the staff at the farm shop.

Thank you for your continued support in again a very difficult year. Looking forward to 2024 we have several special dates penciled in throughout the year, so watch this space - more in the next Tribune.

The birds are pleased to see extra food put out for them which I do everyday as well as the bigger animals, they all struggle when their usual food supplies are frozen. Most leaves have now fallen which

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ENVIRONMENT | THE AMBLERS IN TRIBLAND

by Anne Lees

Happy New Year, one and all! We wish you good health, contentment, and a continuing (or newly formed) appreciation for nature.

I read somewhere that January is ‘the Monday of months’ – presumably because, like a working week lying ahead, it requires determination to get through it… Or maybe it is saying, ’Look, there’s plenty of time ahead to get on and do things!’ Getting out into the countryside can be a challenge at this time of year – it is often cold and damp, and frequently overcast – but colder weather can be reviving. Like a cold shower, it sharpens our senses and jolts us awake. In the company of the amiable Amblers, I shall be shrugging on the layers, striding out, and shaking off the winter blues!

There is nothing like azure skies and bright sunshine for cheering us up.

Even in winter – although it may be cold and the trees bare – the wide open spaces in this part of the country inspire a feeling of freedom.

Whatever the time of year, the rhythm of breathing as we walk, the sound of footsteps, and nothing but the view to look at is liberating. When we walk as a group, we talk; about nature, of course, but also shared interests, plans, families, etc. It’s a very social activity.

However, walking alone gives us time to reflect. Some people like to use the time to plan tasks, or think through how to approach a particular problem; others prefer to leave their cares and woes behind, step out into a fresh experience, and enjoy just ‘being’.

Without distractions, we can notice our surroundings and how the landscape changes daily, according to weather, light, and temperature. It is a beautiful world.

By the time we are ready to head home, we are anticipating the warmth

44 vil agetribune

THE AMBLERS IN TRIBLAND | ENVIRONMENT

med)

and comfort we will find there, the company awaiting us – whether family or pets – and that nice hot chocolate we will have as soon as we get in. Our minds refreshed, we feel enabled: to prepare a meal; finish that report; help with homework; or have a difficult conversation. It is like we draw strength from nature.

trees are bare, we have a paddocks whilst making our way towards the old railway greater opportunity to spot bridge before heading back birds (although it won’t be towards Barnack. Covering five long before the hazel catkins, miles in total, the walk is one of ‘sticky’ horse chestnut buds and our slightly longer routes but a blackthorn blossoms appear). firm favourite. And, of course, Colourful goldfinches, longwe had the added incentive tailed tits and the resident robin of a warm welcome at the are among the most attractive, Millstone café on our return but blackbirds, sparrows and to the village. (Do take care if dunnocks are just as appealing if Heralding a taste of things to you decide to try this route as you have the chance to observe come, a recent stroll from Barnack it involves roadside walking, them. We can even do this to Southorpe and back was without footpaths, in places.) from the comfort of our own testing our mettle with bitter homes, especially if we put out So, what can we look forward temperatures – you can see from bird feeders - it’s a very relaxing to in January and February in some of the photos here that activity with a warm cuppa in the great outdoors? Well, for it was frosty with icy puddles one hand and binoculars in the starters, the daylight hours – but we really enjoyed it. We other. And just think – by the are already getting longer – started from Barnack church, time the next Village Tribune hurrah! Snowdrops, aconites headed towards the southern arrives on our doorsteps, we and hellebores will be followed edge of Hills and Holes, and will be anticipating the arrival of by crocuses, celandines and around the perimeter wall of Spring! Enjoy the journey. primroses and, because the Walcot Hall. After crossing the grounds (The Park), we followed We amble on Friday mornings in various Trib’land locations and the signposts and arrived in you are welcome to join us. If you would like to come along, Southorpe. Turning left onto the or offer to show us around your locality, text the Amblers on main through-road, we enjoyed 07714 021 131 for more information, or PM me on the Village the lovely stone houses and Tribune Facebook page. We look forward to meeting you.

vil agetribune 45

NEWS & FEATURES | MOBILE LIBRARY ON RIGHT PAGE

Mobile Library 'on the right page' but 'Use it or lose it!'

Says Librarian Roger Portess, Librarian ‘The Body in the Mobile Library’ isn’t the title of an Agatha Christie novel. Yet, countless books by the Queen of Crime are to be found among the literary delights on shelves inside the big blue van making regular stops around Tribland. The Mobile Library Service has something for you, whatever genre you prefer reading.

“I know how much it means to the people,” says Roger Portess (pictured), who’s been in charge of the Mobile Library van for eight years. “This is the best job I’ve ever had, even if it’s not the best paid job I’ve ever had. I’d miss it dreadfully.” Clearly, the real story behind the scenes is: “use it or lose it!” So, if you’re not already a member, why not join?

The Mobile Library is free to join (you’ll need to show proof of address on your first visit). Then, you can borrow up to 12 books, without leaving your Tribland idyll. Plus, the printed page isn’t the only offering. Once you’re a member, a wide range of audio 46 vil agetribune

and e-books or e-magazines can also be temporarily download onto a computer, tablet or phone, when you sign up to the ‘Borrow Box’ via: www.peterboroughlibraries. borrowbox.com As regular users of the Mobile Library already know, Roger loves his job. On occasion, his skills have even extended to repairing the van’s engine to ensure he can still get the books out on the road again and into the grateful albeit often clammy hands of Tribland residents! “Everyone who uses the service really appreciates it.

I hate being late due to heavy traffic or held up at the railway

crossings, especially when the weather is bad. I know, people will be waiting in the cold,” Roger says.

Peter Browse is one of Roger’s biggest fans. “I’ve met many librarians,” says Peter, “but Roger, the mobile library man, is special! As well as moving that great vehicle around, he tends to all of us with cheerful chat and care. It’s always a pleasure to use his invaluable service.”

Books by authors Karen Rose, Lynda La Plant, John Connolly and John Grisham are among those borrowed this year by Peter.

Stops on Roger’s regular (albeit not straightforward) Mobile

MOBILE LIBRARY ON RIGHT PAGE | NEWS & FEATURES

Library Timetable include: open up the world to them!”

Bainton, Barnack, Northborough, Sadly, there isn’t a Service on Peakirk, Wittering, Marholm, Saturdays, so those at work Ailsworth, Helpston, Glinton elsewhere during the week do and Maxey. The full schedule miss out. They’ll just have to is available to check online. hope membership numbers Residents of Helpston, however, keep increasing, so the service have the luxury of timely is still running when they reach reminders posted on the village’s retirement and can finally online community page by make use of it, after dutifully bibliophile and mobile library paying their taxes for decades. devotee Mary Purdon, explaining Fingers crossed. when and where the big blue van It seems not everyone is a fan can be expected. of the service, yet in fairness “The Mobile Library is so everyone is entitled to their accessible and convenient opinion. On a village Facebook for me,” says retired Primary page an individual wrote, “it’s Teacher Mary, “I can order great but you block a very busy anything in advance and it main road. Not ideal.” Others doesn’t cost me a penny. I were however quick to disagree, think, the service is particularly posting: “providing a valuable good for older people, who service for those unfortunate are perhaps unable to get to enough to be unable to travel Peterborough easily. For some, to a library” or “Just a bit it’s a real lifeline. It’s good for young people too, especially in more traffic calming, really.”

These online exchanges offer the current economic climate. a small unscientific glimpse of Books are expensive to buy.”

Mary’s final job before retirement the varying attitudes towards the pace of life and competing was working with teachers and priorities in perhaps every teaching assistants to help children with reading difficulties, Tribland village. “it was such a rewarding job. If you teach a child to read, you

Mary (and husband Bill) arrived in Helpston over eight years

ago, along with a saxophone and 57 boxes of books! Yet, naturally, no book lover is ever content with the infinite volumes already available at home, so in addition to the Mobile Library, Mary is also signed up to Stamford Library and community-run Market Deeping Library, just over the border in Lincolnshire.

Mary also runs a crime focused book club on behalf of the University of the Third Age from Werrington Library (it’s so popular there is a waiting list to join!) and is able to order up sets of books in advance for members of her group to read simultaneously. Elly Griffith, Dorothy L. Sayers, Michael Connolly, Mick Heron, A. A. Dhand and Val McDermid are among the authors enjoyed by the group. There are, of course, many long-established Book Clubs in the area. Each has its own unique rules of engagement. Any group seeking new members is urged to post details on the Village Tribune Facebook page.

Clair Wordsworth

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NEWS & FEATURES | LANGDYKE

Langdyke

Parishes Involved Include: Maxey: Hedge infil work and bulb planting near St Peter’s church Deeping St. James: Bulb planting Deeping Gate: Spring flower planting Etton: Bulb planting Helpston: Hedge planting along Heath Road.

Uffington: Spring flower planting The Langdyke Countryside Trust has bought and donated thousands of spring flower bulbs to a number of local villages as part of its contribution to the John Clare Countryside Vision project.

The aim of the scheme is to improve nature habitats in the villages between Peterborough and Stamford.

Langdyke - which owns and manages a number of reserves and wildlife areas - including Swaddywell Pit, Etton Maxey Pit, Torpel Manor and Bainton 48 vil agetribune

Heath - is one of the leading partners of the vision project.

A number of villages have organised work parties to create areas which can be used to improve nature - doing simple things like leaving grass areas so that wildlife habitats can thrive and planting trees, hedges and wildflowers.

The latest work has seen volunteers planting a wide variety of spring flowers on verges and pother green areas with the hope of seeing them bloom in the spring.

The planting project has been co-ordinated by Langdyke volunteer Liz Lonsdale from Maxey.

The Langdyke Trust is a volunteer led charity which works to improve nature across the area.

You can help found its work by becoming a member (only a small fee each year) or volunteering to help.

More details of how to be a member or volunteer on the website www.langdyke.org.uk

OTHER PEOPLE’S BOOKCASES | NEWS & FEATURES

Clair Wordsworth

Other People’s Bookcases New Regular Feature Coming Soon!

The next issue of The Village Tribune sees the launch of a new feature, inspired by Barry Humphries (1934-2023), who’d have been 90 on 17 February 2024.

In ‘Other People’s Bookcases’ we snoop around the book collections of Tribland residents and associates, to hopefully discover a little of what makes them tick.

“You can tell a lot about a person by the books on their bookcase!” Barry Humphries said, during recording sessions for ‘Barry’s Forgotten Musical Masterpieces’, the vintage music programmes we made together for BBC Radio 2 between 2016 and 2022.

“When I go away, I truly believe my books miss me.

I certainly miss them. We’re old friends,” he also said.

I know exactly what Barry Humphries meant. My house is much more accommodating to books than people. While I’ve been known to leave visitors standing on the doorstep, (as some local residents will testify!) piles of books regularly cross the threshold with ease, even dusty tomes. I now wonder whether this "affliction" is rooted in my childhood, because when aged 10, I was banned from going to the library by my Mum. Why? Well, I lost a library book and had to pay for a replacement on top of all the fines. Consequently, my hitherto beloved library visits were abruptly curtailed.

‘The Captain Hook Affair’ by Humphrey Carpenter is the title of the book that I lost and, recently, I tracked down another copy of it. So, all these years later, I’m finally going to find out how the story ends. The blurb on the back is as tantalizing to me now, as it was then. It reads: "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go into a story?

To meet the Giant at the top of Jack's beanstalk, to have tea with the Mad Hatter, or to fly to Neverland with Peter Pan? That's exactly what Lizzy and Jack find that they can do, with the help of a mysterious silver pencil which Lizzy's grandmother gives her." I do hope it’s been worth the wait!

The tribute programme 'Radio 2 Remembers Barry Humphries' will be broadcast on 28 December at 9pm and will be then available on BBC Sounds for a limited period in early January.

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CURIOUS TALES BEHIND TRIBLAND’S CHURCH FONTS | HERITAGE

The River Nene at Peterborough, where Tribland converts may have been baptised in c.654.

Curious Tales Behind Tribland’s Church Fonts

By Dr Avril Lumley Prior

Water plays an integral part in all of the world’s major religions including Christianity. It symbolises cleansing, the washing away of sins and new beginnings. Jesus started the Christian tradition when he invited his cousin, John, to baptise him in the river Jordan. Thus, the sacrament of baptism represents initiation into the Christian faith, which explains why fonts were originally placed near the church’s main entrance, usually the south door.

Alas! They are often overlooked by architectural historians, including the esteemed Nikolaus Pevsner. Yet, most fonts are unique and many have interesting backstories. continued overleaf >>

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HERITAGE | CURIOUS TALES BEHIND TRIBLAND’S CHURCH FONTS

>> When Constantine the Great declared Christianity as the official state religion of the Roman Empire in 312AD, it included the province of Britannia too. This is corroborated by the discovery of a lead baptismal tank at Ashton, near Oundle, and the so-called Water Newton Treasure, a hoard of silver artefacts bearing the Christian chy-rho motif, buried across the River Nene from Castor.

Obviously, the first Christian converts were adults who were ‘christened’ in a convenient river or bath-house, where total submersion was practised (as in the Baptist church today). After the departure of the Romans, religion was no longer regulated and, although pockets of Christianity may have lingered, the majority of the indigenous population and Anglo-Saxon incomers were pagans.

During the late-sixth and earlyseventh century, Britain was reevangelised. The twelfth-century Peterborough historian, Hugh Candidus, intimates that when missionaries arrived in our area, c.654, converts were ‘dunked’ in the cold waters of the river Nene, close to a sacred spring, called the Medeswell, which fed a fathomless pool. Indeed, the word ‘font’ is derived from the Latin fons, meaning ‘spring’.

Once the abbey (known as Medeshamstede) was built, these precarious practices ceased and the ritual was performed indoors. On the Continent, cathedrals like Florence, Pisa, Poitiers and Aachen were constructed with detached baptistries, on the principle that no one could enter the church itself – or the 52 vil agetribune

kingdom of Heaven - until they were ‘christened’. Although there may have been a separate baptistry in Canterbury, most of the population in Britain lived in dispersed communities.

Therefore, it was easier for converts to travel to the nearest ‘mother church’ where a baptismal font was installed.

The first Anglo-Saxon fonts were carved from wood, which tended to rot, so they were gradually replaced with stone. The AngloSaxon and early-Norman ones at Deerhurst [Gloucestershire] and St Martin’s Canterbury are so deep that we may conclude that the participants climbed in to be partially immersed and water

lurking within could be expelled.

Thus, a bawling baby was considered a good omen, heralding an obedient childhood and a virtuous adult life.

Fonts were always covered when not in use. Holy water, blessed by the priest, remained within the lead-lining to serve several baptisms and was only changed when it became stagnant. So, there was a danger that it may be stolen for magical purposes or devil worship.

The oldest extant font in our region is at Wansford. This ornate early-twelfth-century Romanesque [Norman] survivor, was discarded when Sibberton

St Martin’s, Canterbury, 12th-century

St Mary’s Wansford, 12th-century

was poured over them. During the twelfth-century, immersion was supplanted by aspersion [the sprinkling of water over heads] and the bowls became shallower.

chapel was demolished and redeployed as a cattle trough until it was rescued and raised on a new plinth at St Mary’s, in 1902. The font at Castor, of slightly later date, has also been in the wars. It was evicted by Cromwell’s troops in the 1640s, smashed to pieces and left outside the north door, until it was reinstated in 1928.

Moreover, since the infant mortality rate was high, the baptism of newborns was de rigueur. During the ceremony, the north of ‘Devil’s door’ was opened (a custom still maintained today in some churches) so that evil spirits

Another Romanesque font, with exquisite geometric carvings, graces Glinton church. Recently,

CURIOUS TALES BEHIND TRIBLAND’S CHURCH FONTS | HERITAGE

an Ambler friend pointed out the similarity between its design and the tympanum above St Pega’s door at Peakirk. This made me speculate why the ‘mother church’ at Peakirk had a humbler fourteenth-century counterpart than its chapel-of-ease at Glinton. Had it been removed by some abbot of Peterborough attempting to elevate Glinton’s status as a manorial centre? Of course, we can’t prove this, but I would bet my bottom dollar that the Glinton font and Peakirk tympanum were crafted by the same sculptor!

thirteenth-century, yet the bowl is deep enough to have at least twelfth-century origins. It was relocated to its present site, near the north door, in 1853, during Reverend Canon Marsham Argles’s renovations. Other fine examples of thirteen-century pedestaled fonts are at Bainton and Sutton.

Barnack’s font is a bit of an enigma too. Its elaborate plinth and decoration belong to the

The ultra-plain early-fourteenthcentury utilitarian fonts at Etton, Helpston and Peakirk reflect a period of recession followed by depression: harsh winters; wet summers; failed crops; pestilence among animals; famine and ultimately the Black Death. At the same time, there was an epidemic of wall-paintings in

St Kyneburgha’s, Castor, 12th-centur

St Benedict’s, Glinton, 12th-century

St Pega’s, Peakirk: tympanum, 12th-century

St John the Baptist, Barnack 13th-century

St Mary’s, Bainton, 13th-century

Interior of Bainton font, 13th-century continued overleaf >>

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St Michael & All Angels, Sutton, 13th-century

St Botolph's, Helspston, 14th-century

Tribland, and beyond, especially ‘Morality Tales’ and scenes from Judgement Day, as a reminder to congregations that death could strike when least expected. In contrast, Ufford’s graceful fifteenth century perpendicular font is uplifting in more ways than one, for it has a step to allow easy access.

which makes us wonder what happened to their medieval predecessor. An elegant, cupshaped, post-Reformation variety was relegated to a corner of the north aisle, when Reverend Canon Argles and his wife Margaret (née Davys) sponsored a lavish replacement set on marble columns, in memory of his fatherin-law, George Davys, Bishop of Peterborough (1839-64), who had appointed him Rector of Barnack, in 1851.

Maxey is blessed with two fonts, both relatively modern,

St Pega’s Peakirk: Christ’s baptism, 1844

HERITAGE | CURIOUS TALES BEHIND TRIBLAND’S CHURCH FONTS

Perhaps, of all Tribland’s fonts, only Castor’s, Glinton’s and Ufford’s remain in their original locations. After the north and south aisles had been added, most found themselves some distance from the main entrance.

Bainton’s, Barnack’s, Helpston’s, Maxey’s and Sutton’s have since been moved to less-obstructive St Peter’s, Maxey, c. 1660

St Andrew’s Ufford, 15th-century 54 vil agetribune

Maxey, c.1870

and more user-friendly positions.

However, Peakirk’s font has been re- sited close to the south door, beneath a Victorian stainedglass window depicting Christ’s baptism by John in the river Jordan, which is exactly where our story began.

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TASTE BUDS | HUVUDROLL OCH ALLEMANSRÄTTEN

Ah, bonjour to all you busy people in Tribune land. I hope you are well and have enjoyed the festive season with plenty of variety of dishes on your tables, not just the traditional fare maybe.

Huvudroll och Allemansrätten So, this issue I am reminded of a visit to Ikea in Lyon along the Rue Simone Veil, south of the city centre. We were furnishing a small apartment in the City and after a morning’s shopping decided to use their restaurant.

My first introduction to what I now know to be the famous Ikea meatballs (Huvudroll och Allemansrätten – in case you were wondering) was a success.

For a quick lunch they are really quite splendid and I vowed to repeat the experience at home. We rarely cater for functions but when asked to I invariably include a large bowl of these little chaps.

They are always the first to go and guests throughout the social hierarchy, even those who would shudder at the thought of buying anything at Ikea, absolutely love them..

Wishing all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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My CP Swedish meatballs are as you might expect, self-assembly. Made from a mix of beef and pork, simmered in a light cream sauce.

At CP I serve over mashed potatoes with the sauce and a jar of Lingonberry jelly. Achieving a correct texture involves blending the minced beef, pork, and cream mixture in an electric mixer with a surprising ingredient: baking powder.

While unconventional, this approach results in a truly delicious texture.

HUVUDROLL OCH ALLEMANSRÄTTEN | TASTE BUDS

from the kitchen of Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.

2 large eggs; ½ cup double cream; 1½ cups cubed white bread, crusts removed (about 4 slices); 1lb minced pork; 2 cloves garlic, minced; ¼ tsp ground allspice; ¼ tsp ground black pepper; 1½ tsp salt; 2 tsp baking powder; 1lb lean ground beef.

2 tbsp unsalted butter.

2½ tbsp all-purpose flour; 3 cups chicken stock; 2 tsp packed light brown sugar; 1 cup double cream; 1½ tsp soy sauce; ¼ tsp ground black pepper; 1½ tsp lemon juice, from one lemon; salt, to taste; 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, for serving.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up and place an ovenproof rack over top; spray the rack very generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the eggs and cream together in a medium bowl. Stir in the bread and mash until no large bread chunks remain. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the pork, garlic, allspice, pepper, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about two minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Add the bread/cream mixture to the mixing bowl and beat on low speed until combined (so it doesn't splatter), then increase the speed to high and beat until smooth and well mixed, about one minute, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Add the beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Using wet hands, form the mixture into 1½-inch round meatballs and place on the prepared rack. (The mixture is very sticky and wet hands help; keep wetting your hands as you go).

Bake for about 25 minutes, until just done.

While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.

(Careful not to burn; it goes from golden to burnt quickly.)

Whisk in the chicken stock, getting rid of any lumps. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, whisking and scraping down the sides of the pan occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened and reduced, about 10 minutes.

Add the cream, soy sauce and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook, whisking and scraping down the sides occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, 7 to 10 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer, turning occasionally to coat with the sauce, until heated through.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Transfer the meatballs to a large white serving dish, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

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YOUNG TRIBUNE | MUSTARD SEED PROJECT

Mustard Seed Project

Pictured above: Rented Playground

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s been a while since you heard from me, but I am happy to say that the charity is still making a difference in the Kenyan community we support – and I have several ‘good news stories’ to start the year…

People often ask if the children are grateful for what they are getting. I respond that they are children and shouldn’t need to be grateful for something that should be their right. Plus, of course, the younger children don’t know how lucky they are. The older ones – like Leila – do know, and whilst we don’t expect them to be grateful, it is lovely that they want to come and show us how well they are doing. Their happiness and success is our reward.

As always, our fundraising is ongoing and our latest project – is to raise £16,000, initially, 58 vil agetribune

to purchase half of a plot of land we currently rent for a playground. We need to have somewhere for the children to play, grow crops and do outdoor games. The owner of the land is very keen for us to buy it but, of course, if he finds another purchaser before we can raise the money, we shall lose it. Time is of the essence!

Shuwana (Pictured right) was one of the chosen. She had been trying to run a small catering business after her husband left her with their three children. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make a profit as she had to travel to the market

every day and could only afford to buy small quantities.

This donation enabled her to plan, and buy in bulk, meaning that she had more to sell. She

MUSTARD SEED PROJECT | YOUNG TRIBUNE

I went out to visit Miche Bora School last autumn and, as usual, received the warmest of welcomes. It is a privilege to continue to see the school develop. It has such a lovely atmosphere with happy, hardworking staff and children. We have come a long way together and our school is recognised as providing an excellent education for the poor children in the community. So much so, that next year we are adding a Junior Secondary School (12-15 year olds).

The Kenyan government recently changed its policy regarding secondary education

School and said, ‘We must allow her to become a Junior Secondary School.’ Everyone was thrilled!

I was so excited to pass on the news to our parents, after all the time they had been waiting and hoping, and their response was a joy to behold. We still have paperwork to complete but, in the meantime, our current Grade 6 will stay with us to become Grade 7, rather than having to change school.

One of the training sessions I organised in October was on neurodiversity including dyslexia, autistic spectrum

Thank you all so much for your continuing support. Without it, we could not help this poor community to give their youngsters the future they deserve.

If you would like to know more about what MSP does, and how you can support us, please visit our website: www.mustardseedproject.co.uk has made a huge success of her business. She was so grateful; she was in tears too. She had brought in some homemade doughnuts for the staff, and, she wasn’t the only one to come bearing gifts – I was reminded of the widow’s mite: the local people are just so poor but still want to give what little they have.

Former pupils being sponsored

by UK donors turned up too, bringing their end of year reports to show us. They had all done themselves and their donors proud, including Leila (Picture right), who is very bright and works very hard, and ended the school year with an overall B+. Her mother is a single parent, trying so hard to raise her three daughters on very little. The younger daughter, who has Cerebral Palsy, is also sponsored by a donor.

and this could have meant that we would be losing our 13–14 year olds – or gaining a class of 15 year olds, if we were granted status. We had applied for the new designation but were getting nowhere until, with a little help from our Kenyan contacts, I spoke to the County Director of Education during my visit. He declared himself impressed with Miche Bora

disorder and ADHD. The teachers were so interested to hear that not all misbehaviour is deliberate and were determined to search for reasons in future.

As it was the end of the school year in Kenya the staff were busy holding end-of-year meetings with the parents.

These are always well-attended, and there is a real buzz in the atmosphere.

One or two came to see me too, which was nice. Shuwana’s story brought tears to my eyes: last year a MSP donor gave £100 to ten women who were in real need. It took Headteacher Irene a long time to decide who to choose, as many of them were in real need. Most of the chosen were in debt, through no fault of their own, and it was just a huge relief to have the means to start again.

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HELPSTON PLAYHOUSE | YOUNG TRIBUNE

Open Longer for More Fun! Helpston Playhouse are now open during February and October half terms.

The Ofsted rated outstanding preschool in Helpston, which was previously only open during school term time, has now announced that they will be open during February and October half terms.

“We wanted to further help and support our working parents,” says Lucy Garwood.

“So, we decided a good way to do this would be to open up during some of the school holidays for our preschool children.”

The preschool, that takes children from age two to four

years-old, also has a fully staffed breakfast and after school club that all children can now attend.

Hours are extremely flexible; children can attend from as early as 7:30am and stay until 5:30pm. There are also options just do a core preschool day from 9am to 3:15pm, or start at 8:30am and finish at 4:30pm.

Half days are available too.

All children have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful outdoor forest school, enjoying activities such as wood whittling, toasting marshmallows, potion making and many, many more.

Every week Roar Stars visit the preschool and encourage the children to get active through fun learning games. Children can enjoy baking, crafting, sensory and pretend play.

The preschool also aims to take the children on a range of trips from theatre shows to zoos and animal parks.

They also hold a parent and toddler group every Friday, from 10:30am to 11:30am, where parents and children from aged one upwards can come along for a free play session, healthy snack and hot drink for parents.

For more information email playhouse@helpstonplayhouse.com or call 01733 253 243

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TRIBUNE DIARY

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TRIBUNE DIARY

Diary The Arts Society Peterborough’s Monthly Talk Thursday 11 January, 10:15am

The Fleet, PE2 4DL J.W.M. Turner (1775-1851) ‘From Covent Garden to Rome’, by Leslie Primo. This talk presents an expanded visual history of the life of Turner and traces his life from the boy genius to his early entry into The Royal Academy. Doors open at 10:15am for coffee and a chat, the talk starts at 10:45am and lasts an hour, all are welcome, so why not come and join us?

For information and details of how to join the society, visit: www.the-arts-society-peterborough.org.uk

Art Club Every Monday, 10am

Cedar Centre, Castor (near the church, access from Peterborough Road).

We are an unstructured group who all help and encourage each other and use a variety of mediums.

Welcome anytime. Contact diana.rjjones@gmail.com

Women’s Institute Tuesday 16 January, 7pm

Village Hall, Peterborough Road, Castor All are welcome to join us for our January meeting when our speaker is an author of Crime Fiction. In February we will have a crochet and knitting help session following our AGM. We always meet on the 3rd Tuesday each month in the Village Hall at 7pm.

Contact diana.rjjones@gmail.com or 07710 771 560.

The Rotary Club of the Deepings' Quiz Nights Sat 18 January & Sat 22 February, 7pm

The Community Centre, Market Deeping Quiz at 7:30pm. Teams of up to six, £5 per person.

To book a table Contact Mary Martin: 01778 343 927.

The Arts Society Peterborough’s Monthly Talk Thursday 8 February, 10:15am

Mr Ackland’s Archives Tuesday 6 February, 2pm

Village Hall, King Street, West Deeping William Ebenezer Ackland lived in West Deeping for most of his life, until his death at the age of 82, in 1969.

He was not only the village carpenter, wheelwright and undertaker, but took on other important roles in the village.

William Ackland’s daughter Jean donated all her father’s duplicate letter books and account books from 1909 to the West Deeping Heritage Group. Over the last year, a handful of people met each week to see what information could be gathered from this unique record of village life. At our February meeting, the account books and letter books will be on display, along with photographs of the Ackland family. His granddaughter Jane and grandson John Baxter are planning to be with us to share what we have discovered from these archives.

Rob Redshaw, of Deeping St James, will be bringing with him a selection from his magnificent collection of hand tools –for woodworking, blacksmithing, farriery and wheelwrighting, all relating to William’s career.

We hope you will join us at the meeting to hear how these archives add to the history of West Deeping and its neighbourhood in the first half of the twentieth century. Admission at the door £3 includes light refreshments from 2pm for a 2:30pm start.

The Fleet, PE2 4DL

On the Edge – The WI

‘Secret Art in The Passport’, by Martin Lloyd. From the wax seal to the microchip, man has exploited the skill of an artist in his attempt to manufacture a forgery-proof document. By Martin Lloyd. Doors open at 10:15am for coffee and a chat, the talk starts at 10:45am and lasts an hour, all are welcome, so why not come and join us? For more information and details of how to join the society, visit: www.the-arts-society-peterborough.org.uk

Second Friday of Every Month, 7:30pm

Northborough Village Hall Our aim is to provide something of interest for everyone with our varied activities and speakers. In addition, we run walking and craft groups, a lunch club and a book club for the likeminded. We currently have spaces for new members so, if you’re looking to make friends and try new things, come and join us!

E-mail: ontheedgewi@gmail.com

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WRITE AWAY

Write Away

@

GLADMAN  They're here again folks. This time a firm called Gladman, a 'land promoter' owned by the housebuilding company Barratt Developments. This firm has history in Tribland, being responsible for a WREATHS  speculative application in Barnack some years ago.

Helpston and Etton ladies enjoyed wreath-making at The attached pretty-much outlines their proposals Helpston Village Hall. Some very stylish creations! for an estate of up to 250 houses off the Peakirk Road. A formal 'questionnaire' from them will ALASTAIR PEAT apparently come through your letterbox soon.

As your tress go up, please consider us for helping Please be assured, as your ward councillor, I will clear down by recycling your tree, where 100% of your donation goes to the school charity. Minimum £5 keep everyone as informed as I am able to from a donation requested - text or message 07399 532 266. PCC planning perspective - if or when this potential application goes forward - as we did before with the Recycle (successfully defeated) predatory Larkfleet schemes in the village, working together with residents, Glinton Parish Council and the NPVA. Peter Hiller: peter.hiller@peterborough.gov.uk

 NORTHBOROUGH SANTA ARRIVED IN STYLE! The village Christmas tree returned to the green at Northborough village shop this year. Around 100 people braved the freezing cold at the light up and enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies and gifts for the children attending. Following a noisy circuit of the village Santa “Stan” arrived in spectacular style on his Harley Davidson bedecked in fairy lights and accompanied by his helper Chairman John on his Harley Davidson. A good time was had by all and Northborough Parish Council would like to thank all those involved.

Santa Stan 64 vil agetribune

GLINTON SOCIAL EVENTS  Breaking News! The Fen Tigers are coming to GlintonFest 24! The renowned re-enactment group who specialise in the WW2 Cambridgeshire Regiment & Home front, WVS & Land army will attend our D-Day Commemoration. To shake things up they are planning to conduct fire power demonstration!!!

The Fen Tigers

!!

RURAL COMMUNITIES WANT CHANGE | WRITE AWAY

Rural communities want

CHANGE Writes Cllr Neil Boyce, Chair of Castor Parish Council and Good Neighbours Rural Peterborough As the National Rural Conference 2023 alluded to in September, change is coming and it seems many of the announcements from all political parties are already courting our rural vote at the next General Election.

Research carried out by the Rural Services Network, using the Government’s own metrics in its Levelling Up White Paper, showed that if rural England was thought of as a distinct region, it would be in the greatest need of support.

The conference, attended by Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs Lord Benyon, highlighted some of the biggest issues and challenges facing our rural communities. From rural

The current government focus is on narrowing the gap between regions, but what about gaps within regions? Rural areas have so much to offer. There are more than 500,000 rural

and cost just £1.1 million to build. However, most rural developments are too small to include affordable homes.

There was a story at conference from a rural village in Devon where an older gentleman had fallen off his bike. In the six hours it took the ambulance to arrive, the village used its Facebook page and WhatsApp group to find a qualified medic and erect a shelter over the injured man to keep him dry and warm. Like

Our rural communities don’t want handouts as short-term solutions and once government understands the specific needs of rural areas, addresses the bespoke challenges and assigns the correct long-term funding to address them, then rural areas will flourish. transport to the rural economy, all aspects were put under the microscope by a series of experts.

Both Glinton and Castor ward Cllr Peter Hiller and I agree that to truly level up rural areas we need proper, continued investment through fair funding.

Our rural communities don’t want handouts as short-term solutions and once government understands the specific needs of rural areas, addresses the bespoke challenges and assigns the correct long-term funding to address them, then rural areas will flourish.

businesses in England – 23 per cent of all registered businesses.

Yet productivity and gross value added in rural areas is lower than in urban ones.

Unlocking the digital potential of rural areas could add up to an estimated £26 billion annually to the UK economy and grow turnover for rural businesses by £15 billion.

Yet, only 36 per cent of rural voters have gigabit capability and 4 per cent do not get mobile coverage indoors.

Building 10 new affordable rural homes would create an economic boost of £1.4 million

our Glinton and Castor ward, these are the same communities creating neighbourhood plans so they can have an influence on how their local areas are developed; and some working together to create community energy groups to give their places access to green and sustainable energy.

Almost 10 million people live in rural England. That is more than the whole of Greater London.

The rural vote could swing the next General Election and the politicians should ignore it at their peril.

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CHURCH NEWS | SERVICES

NINE BRIDGES BENEFICE Sun 7 January Epiphany

Sun 14 January 2nd Epiphany

9am - Holy Communion, St Benedict, Glinton 10:30am - Family Communion, St Pega, Peakirk 6pm - Taizé, St Peter, Maxey

ST MARY'S BAINTON

ST JOHN'S BARNACK

ST BOTOLPH'S HELPSTON

4:30pm Taizé

9:30am Communion

10:45am Communion

9am Communion

9:30am Morning Praise

10:45am Communion

9am - Holy Communion, St Pega, Peakirk 10:30am - Family Communion, St Andrew, Northborough 6pm - Joyful Journey, St Benedict, Glinton 9am - Holy Communion, St Peter, Maxey

Sun 21 January 3rd Epiphany

10:30am - Family Communion, St Stephen, Etton

Sun 28 January Candlemas (Presentation of Christ in the Temple)

9am - Holy Communion, St Andrew, Northborough

6pm - Celtic Evening Prayer, St Andrew, Northborough

10:30am - Family Communion, St Benedict, Glinton

4:30pm - BCP Evensong

9am Communion

Sun 11 February Sunday before Lent Wed 14 February

3:30pm Messy Church

9:30am Communion

10:45am Communion

10:45am Morning Praise

10:30am - Evensong, St Pega, Peakirk 4pm - Choral Evensong for Candlemas with St Peter’s Singers

Sat 3 February

Sun 4 February 2nd Sunday before Lent

9:30am Communion

9am - Holy Communion, St Benedict, Glinton 10:30am - Family Communion, St Pega, Peakirk 6pm - Taizé, St Peter, Maxey

4:30pm Taizé

9am - Holy Communion, St Pega, Peakirk 10:30pm - Family Communion, St Andrew, Northborough

9am Communion

6pm - Joyful Journey, St Benedict, Glinton

9:30am Communion

9:30am Communion 3:30pm Messy Church

10:45am Communion

10:45am Communion

6pm - Holy Communion, St Peter, Maxey with imposition of ashes 9am - Holy Communion, St Peter, Maxey

Sun 18 February Lent 1

Sun 25 February Lent 2

10:30am - Family Communion, St Stephen, Etton 6pm - Celtic Evening Prayer, St Andrew, Northborough 9am - Holy Communion, St Andrew, Northborough 10:30am - Family Communion, St Benedict, Glinton 10:30am - Evensong, St Pega, Peakirk

66 vil agetribune

4:30pm - BCP Evensong

9:30am Communion

10:45am Communion

9am Communion

9:30am Morning Praise

10:45am Morning Praise

CHURCH NEWS

Reverend Gary Alderson

A Song for Anna 'All the years I have waited,

On Saturday 3 February at 4pm, we will be Each day here, celebrating a Choral Evensong for Candlemas with the St Peter’s Singers, at St John’s Barnack. As the round of After Evensong there will be a recital. Free entry; a retiring collection to be shared between the church and St Peter’s Singers.

One of my favourite feasts of the Christian year, is Candlemas.

On Candlemas, traditionally parishioners brought their candles to be churched to be blessed for the year ahead.

I suppose these days I’d be blessing people’s mobile phones. It is at the same time of year as the Gaelic festival of Imbolc, and the feast day of St Brigid of Ireland. As usual with pre-Christian festivals, most lore about Imbolc has been retrospectively invented or conjectured, but the timing is significant: It falls halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.

So it was always a festival celebrating the strengthening light of the sun and the hope of summer coming, even as the winter supplies started to run low and the world is at its coldest.

In Christian tradition, it is the celebration of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. According to Moses’ law, every firstborn son had to be “redeemed” (paid for) as a remembrance that the firstborn of the Hebrew sons were holy to God after the first Passover.

Two elderly inhabitants of the temple see Jesus and recognise who he is. Simeon announces that Jesus is the light God promised for the world. And Anna goes around telling everyone that Jesus is the promised saviour of Israel.

Simeon’s prophecy is known as the “Nunc Dimittis” (Latin for “now let me depart” or thereabouts.) We often say it at evening services, and I always read it at burials. We’re never told Anna’s precise words, but I wrote a little thing for Candlemas a few years ago, as Anna reflects that her long wait with Simeon to see God’s Christ is at an end:

slaughtered beasts, has filled the air with the smell of blood and flesh.

I have seen nations fall.

Emperors rise, not dreaming that their realms will end, their statues will be broken, their names erased.

Now, there in Simeon's arms, - the still point, The axis on which the universe turns.

Ancient of Days, yet six weeks old.

Time for us now, Simeon, Dawn has come, We've waited through some dark nights, We've seen the light, we can find our way home.' vil agetribune 67

CHURCH NEWS

Reverend Keir, www.9brideges.church

I feel very blessed, not only that I have been called by God to the nine bridges benefice, but also that I’ve been made to feel so very welcome in this place.

I have particularly enjoyed learning about the people and the places that make up this wonderful benefice. I am acutely aware of my initial role as being one of supporting and growing the churches.

65 people came to the whole Benefice meeting in November where I laid out some ideas for the short-term future. This included three main areas.

The first of these was revisiting the vision of the benefice. It is very hard to move forward when you don’t know the direction.

I took the benefice version from the profile and adapted it to make it more user-friendly and easier to remember. The resultant diagram below shows three main areas. As these 68 vil agetribune

are all focused very much on mission, we need to think of this rather than a vision but a mission.

I would be delighted to receive any feedback anyone has about this mission. The easiest way to do this is to visit the benefice website at www.9bridges.church and fill out a feedback form.

The second step I would like us to all take together is that of a new benefice pattern of services. It is important to plan as a whole rather than individual churches and focus on whom we are missing from our worshipping community. Our first mission is to that of families and small children. It is very easy to spend time continuing as we have and offering on

what we would like rather than what will attract people into the love of Jesus Christ. The new pattern of services is below and hopefully you will all see that I have tried to maintain many of the loved services whilst still throwing open the doors to the target group which I have been so aware are missing from our communions, that of families and small children.

From January there will be a new worship pattern, please refer to the services on page 66.

It Is my dearest wish that as a whole benefice we can all find a way to worship each week whether it is maintaining the style do you prefer but travelling around the benefice or experimenting with other

CHURCH NEWS

styles of worship whilst remaining close to home. Either way it would be lovely to see as many people as possible worshipping together in these wonderful churches.

The final change is one of practicality. Currently five PCCs meet at five different times in five different places.

To foster cooperation and

communication, I’ve decided that we will hold all the PCC meetings in the same place at the same time. This will be in the primary school in Glinton and will run on the second Monday of alternate months starting in on January 8. In this way we can support each other as we work together to build the kingdom of God.

Despite these changes I want to assure people and I will be doing everything I can to maintain and uphold what is fundamentally important to us as Christians and worshippers. As we enter this new year I hope that we are able to share the love of Christ to as many people as possible in our benefice and beyond.

Freda Skillman

It was a delight to see a really good turnout at St Andrew's, Northborough on Remembrance Sunday.

After the main service, when a wreath was laid on the War Memorial in the church, two present day service personnel and one of the younger members of the congregation laid a wreath on the grave of Thomas Foster who died during the First World War at Aldershot Military Hospital. Northborough folk today are following in some worthy footsteps.

Don’t forget to send in your answer sheet for the 9bridgesBenefice Christmas/New Year Quiz as outlined on the back of the quiz sheet.

It’s not too late enter you have up until the 11 of Feb to send in your answers. 1st prize £25 + 3 other prizes of vouchers from the Ruddy Duck, Peakirk, the Packhorse, Northborough and the Blue Bell, Maxey.

If you would like a Quiz please contact Bob Quinn on 01733 252 161 or email on r372quinn@ btinternet.com

David Holmes

Cricket Club Presentation Following the May/June issue of the Village Tribune, the 'ALEC JAKES CUP' was awarded for the first time in memory of a dear father and cricketer from Castor at the Castor & Ailsworth Cricket Club's end of season awards night on Saturday 14th October 2023.

Alec's daughters, Lynne and Anne and son-in-law Hugh, presented the award to Reece Smith for the 'Best Bowling Performance' of the season.

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TRIBUNE DIRECTORY

directory

Ailsworth Parish Council Joan Pickett (Chairman) ............................... 01733 380457 Bainton Church Reverend Gary Alderson .............................. 07503 975588 Bainton & Ashton Parish Council Clerk Jenny Rice................bainton.ashton.clerk@live.co.uk Barnack Church (St John the Baptist) Gary Alderson, Rector .................................. 07503 975588 Barnack Coffee Stop Carol Pickering ............................................. 01780 740438 Barnack Community Association Sally Hullock .................................................. 07795 565658 Barnack Cricket Club William Armitage, Chairman ........................ 01780 740749 Barnack Home from Home Club Niamh Holman................................hfhbarnack@gmail.com Barnack Men’s Breakfast Mike Mills....................................................... 01780 740285 Barnack Messy Church Julie Stanton ................................................ 01780 749123 Bowls Clubs John Broadbelt.............................................. 01780 740133 Glinton Bowls: Jeff Bell ................................. 01733 252395 Helpston Carpet Bowls Les Cunnington ..... 07857 835955 Botolph’s Barn Kate Hinchliff ................................................ 07745 116621 British Legion Max Sawyer .................................................. 01780 765507 Bus & Train Services Delaine Bus Services .................................... 01778 422866 Stagecoach ................................................... 01733 207860 Train Services ................................................ 0845 7484950 Castor & Ailsworth Cricket Club Secretary - Josh Weaver .............................. 07712 707353 ...............................................................j_weaver@live.co.uk Castor, Ailsworth and District Gardeners' Society Chairman - David Edwards .......................... 07881098742 .......................................................y1dnemaffit@gmail.com Secretary - Christine Murrell.........cadgsociety@gmail.com Cubs, Brownies, Guides, Scouts & Rainbows General Guiding Queries Helpston Brownies, Morag Sweeney .......... 07801 357701 Helpston Guides, Lindsay Roberts............... 07399 589333 ........................................................................ 07778 707952 Helpston Rainbows, Lindsay Roberts .......... 07399 589333 General Scouting Queries Martin Hall ..................................................... 07778 707952 Helpston Beavers, Alison Cook.................... 07437 909735 70 vil agetribune

Helpston Cubs, James Metheram ........ 07399 252033 Helpston Scouts, Mark Crookes............ 07808 633018 Deeping Gate Parish Council Clerk...............................clerk@deepinggate-pc.gov.uk Doctors Deeping Practice (Main line) ................01778 579000 Deeping Practice (Appnts.) ................... 01778 579001 Glinton Surgery ..................................... 01733 252246 Etton Church (St Stephen’s) Churchwarden: Anne Curwen ..............01733 253357 Etton Parish Council Clerk: Elinor Beesley...................clerk@etton-pc.gov.uk .................................................................07713 194173 Fenland Clarion Cycling Club ................................................www.fenlandclarion.co.uk Glinton Friendship Club Pam Kounougakis .................................. 01733 252018 Glinton Church (St Benedict’s) Churchwarden: Veronica Smith .............01733 252019 Glinton Parish Council Mr J Haste - Clerk .................................. 07591 834163 Helpston Church (St Botolph’s) Rector: Gary Alderson ........................... 07503 975588 Helpston Helcats Phil Roberts.............................................07925 720195 Helpston Parish Council Clerk: Sydney Smith .............................. 01733 252903 Horticultural Societies John Best - Glinton ................................ 01778 342115 Debbie Martin - Barnack Show .............01780 740048 Kirsty Scott - Peakirk .............................. 01733 253952 Hospital Peterborough City Hospital .................. 01733 678000 Langdyke Countryside Trust Richard Astle ..........................................01733 252376 Maxey Church (St Peter’s) Churchwarden: Mandy Loveder ........... 01778 343100 Neighbourhood Watch Maxey Neighbourhood Watch Dick Wilkins ............................................ 01778 348368 Bainton & Ashton Cliff Stanton ............01780 749123 Newborough Parish Council Bryan Cole - Chair .................................. 07554 210824 Newborough Good Neighbours Cate ........................................................ 07735 810139 Newborough Pre-school Playgroup Debbie ...................................................07423 519890 Newborough Indoor Carpet Bowls –

TRIBUNE DIRECTORY

Barnack C of E Primary ......................... 01780 740265 Brenda Vessey .......................................07941 308148 Northborough Church (St Andrew’s) Peakirk-cum-Glinton Primary School .... 01733 252361 Clare Strak, PCC Secretary Northborough Primary .......................... 01733 252204 Jane Knott, Church warden...................01778 345101 Peterborough Adult Learning ..............01733 761361 Polly Beasley, Church warden ...............01778 380849 Tennis Clubs Northborough Parish Council Helpston Tennis Club ............................ 07714 780573 Elinor Beesley...............clerk@northborough-pc.gov.uk Ufford Church Enquiries Peakirk Church (St Pegas) Peter and Sally Hudson ........................ 01780 740475 Churchwarden: Sheila Lever ..................01733 252416 Village Halls Churchwarden: Pauline Cooke..............01733 253116 Barnack Village Hall Bookings Peakirk Parish Council Sally Hullock ...........................................07795 565658 Clerk: Angela Hankins ........................... 01733 253397 Glinton Village Hall Bookings Peterborough City Council Sue Lane .................................................07923 475966 Peterborough City Council ...................01733 747474 Glinton Whist, Joyce Heathcote ........... 01733 253790 Police and Emergencies Helpston Village Hall, Police - emergency calls .......................999 Caryn Thompson ................................... 01733 252232 Less urgent crimes ................................101 Maxey Village Hall, Jacqui Barnard .....07902 536476 Power Failure .........................................0800 7838838 Northborough Village Hall: Samaritans ................................... .......... Freephone 116 123 Sharron Lonsdale............sharron.lonsdale@gmail.com Pre-School & After-School Clubs Peakirk Village Hall (Bookings) .............07938 386226 Helpston Playhouse pre-school Ufford Village Hall Lucy Garwood ........................................01733 253243 Fiona Spire (Bookings) ........................... 07795 111319 Helpston Before & After School Club Village Tribune Roz Sowinski ...........................................01733 253243 Editor, Tony Henthorn ........................... 07590 750128 Peakirk Tots Ward Councillors Emma Thornton .....................................07876 822173 Barnack David Over .............................. 07920 160053 Little Lambs Toddler Group, Barnack Glinton & Castor Peter Hiller ................07920 160487 Julie Stanton...........................................01780 749123 Women’s Institute (WI) Sunflower Seed Pre-School, Northborough Northborough WI Kirsty Wislawski ......................................01733 253685 Tracy Thomas (Secretary) ......................07720 327145 The Owls’ Nest, Amy Quarizzo .............01733 252361 Youth Clubs Schools & Education Barnack Youth Club, Colin Morgan ...... 07850 366528 Arthur Mellows Village College ...........01733 252235 Maxey Youth Club: Tina Lapinskis......... 01778 347280 John Clare Primary ................................01733 252332

Home Visits for: • Removal of Corns and Calluses • In-growing Toenails • Toenails Clipped • Fungal Nail Treatments • Specialising in the Diabetic and Neurovascular Patients • Competitive Rates Holly Wright MCFHP MAFHP FOOT HEALTH PRACTITIONER vil agetribune 71