Wickham Skeith Newsletter May2023 Feb2022
All in the Village Hall unless otherwise stated.
May 2023
Thursday 4th Mobile Library van: 2 stops between 9.45 and10.20am
Saturday 6th King’s Coronation Live on the Big Screen from 10am
Sunday 7th Big Coronation Lunch on the Green from noon
Tuesday 9th Hilltop Women’s Group Mystery Outing. Meet 1.30pm @ Vill Hall
Wednesday 10th Lunch Club Coronation Lunch 12 for 12.30 Please book ahead
Sat. 13th Book Sale/Coffee morning at Highbanks, 1, Broadway 10-11.45am
Saturday 13th Crafternoon 2-4pm All Welcome
Monday 15th Annual Parish Meeting 7pm and Parish Council 7.30pm
Wednesday 17th Film ‘Akenfield’ 7.45pm
Sunday 21st Violin & Cello Concert in St Andrews Church at 4pm.
Monday 22nd Village Hall Committee Meeting All Welcome
June 2023
Thursday 1st Mobile Library van: 2 stops between 9.45 and10.20am
Sat. 3rd Talk by Peter Tryon: Suffolk Churches. 4pm St Andrew’s Church
Welcome to Sara and Robert who have moved into Willow House in The Street. We hope you will enjoy living here.
The AGM on Saturday 15th April went by almost painlessly-nobody was press ganged on to the committee, some interesting suggestions for fundraising were made, there was a reasonable number of people in attendance and the bar was open and well patronised after the meeting. Two special presentations were made during the meeting. Firstly to Harriet as a thank you from the committee for her work as Treasurer for the past few years. She has now handed the baton on to Rosemarie and we give her our thanks for stepping forward. A special presentation to Nigel was also made. He has now stepped down from the committee-but continues as Chair of the Village Hall Trustees-the first time in many years that there has not been a Merriam on the committee!! Our grateful thanks to him for everything he has done to ensure that the village hall is a space we can all make use of in warmth and comfort.
The next Village Hall organised activity is the Village Fete on Saturday 24th June. Next month’s newsletter will be full of details, how you could help, times and information. If you wish to offer before that please contact Katie who is i/c Fete organising group. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and really does boost our coffers.
On September 9th we are repeating the Music on the Green event. This will be a free event, with a paid bar, food and donations possible to help fund the event.
The Bat Walk and associated pub night is awaiting finalisation of a date-but late September or early October is proposed. We hope to put on some kind of Halloween Event focussed on children and families around the last weekend of October-more news on the way. The Annual Village Quiz will be held in November-Nigel is still organising this as part of his continuing involvement.
The Plum Pudding Walk date is the subject of some debate as we would like to get as many families, pets and people to come as we can and choosing a date to suit everyone is quite tricky!
The Coronation Organising Group gave their thanks to the VH Committee for the free use of the Hall and equipment for the Coronation Day on May 6th when the big screen, and bar, will be open from 10am to 6pm. There will be croissants early and sausage rolls later-and tea and coffee if you don't wish to drink too early!!
Thanks, as always, for your support of the Village Hall which really is a jewel in our Community.
The May Village Hall Committee meeting will be 22nd May.
Lunch Club
We all enjoyed another delicious meal last month. Our cooks for the month were Avril Dance who, with the help of her son Martin, made us a great Hungarian Goulash, and Harriet Bowes who cooked a wonderful French Apple tart. So quite a European flavour for April. Thanks to Marian Pooley, Tony Fevearyear and Dave Challinor for washing up. Also, thanks to our helpers Jenny Harvey and Romaine Elsden.
Next month, on 10th May, is our special Coronation Lunch. Graham Haynes and Margaret Jones Evans are cooking a fabulous celebration meal, with a glass of fizz of course. Please come and join us even if it is your first time. All in the village who are 60 or over are welcome, and we will be sending out some invites too. You will need to book a place by Friday 5th May. The cost, as usual, is the incredibly good value of £4 and we gather at 12 midday in the Village Hall.
Please book by contacting Jenny Elphick by phone 01449 766885 or mobile 07745416091 or email at jenny.elphick@sim.org
‘Crafternoon’ Saturdays
Whatever your art or craft bring along your current project.
Share skills, ideas, tips and techniques. Inspire and be inspired in the company of other creative people. If you have an ‘arty’ or ‘crafty’ friend then bring them too. Surplus art/craft items & books to sell? Bring them for the bring and buy table.
Next Crafternoon on 13th May
Entry: £2.00 per person (inc. tea/coffee/biscuits).
59 Club
Recent winning numbers: Mar – 28; Apr – 49, 17, 29, 46.
History Group
On 17th May we will be showing the film “Akenfield”: Peter Hall’s 1974 film was based on the book by Ronald Blythe, who died earlier this year. Our former resident Peter Handford, who won a sound Oscar for “Out of Africa”, was the sound recordist. This remarkable film combines fiction with documentary to tell the story of life in a Suffolk village over a period of more than 60 years. It was made using amateur actors, on a minimal budget but has certainly stood the test of time.
All are welcome so do join us in the Village Hall at 7.45pm on Wed 17 May. Entry Fee £3, including tea/coffee and biscuits.
Contact: Pete Davidson 07951 020998 or pjdavidson42@gmail.com
Hilltop Women’s Group
We welcomed Brandon Orton, a representative from St Elizabeth’s Hospice which is our local charity for the year. He explained how the hospice in Ipswich cares for patients and how important fundraising is for the upkeep and expenses of all the services they supply, both in Ipswich and in people’s homes. We are pleased to continue our efforts until April next year. We then held our short AGM, which was followed by a sharing finger food supper with time to share with friends.
May Meeting
If you haven’t put your name on the list for the mystery outing yet, on Tuesday 9th May, meet at 1.30 at the village hall, please contact Jos 766219 to reserve a place. It’s £6.00 for members and £8.00 for visitors. We will share cars.
Thanks to all the committee, our members and our guests over the last few years for their continued support, in difficult times, which has encouraged us to work together for the future of the club. Onwards and upwards!
The Suffolk Mobile Library van stops in the lay-by outside the chalet bungalows, from 9.45 to 10am. Then outside Haymead House in The Street from 10.05 to 10.20.
Next visits –4 May and 1 June 2023
May Fund-raising events for St Andrew’s Church
Sat. 13th May - Book Sale/Coffee morning at Highbanks, 1, Broadway 10 to 11.45am Lots of books, jigsaws, handmade cards, marmalade and jam, and refreshments of course.
Sun. 21st May - Concert in Church at 4pm. Robert and Rachel Cohen will play cello and violin. Robert is an internationally recognised cellist. We are lucky to have him living in the village.
Local Elections
The Village Hall will be open to enable you to vote in local elections on Thursday 4th May from 7am – 10pm. Parish Councillors were all returned in an uncontested election so you will only need to choose your District Councillor. Don’t forget you will now need to show photographic identification such as driving licence or passport. Your election invite sets out all the accepted forms of identification.
May Bank Holidays
With three bank holidays during May, the bin collections will be a day late on each of those weeks i.e., collections normally due on 3, 10 and 31 May will be on the Thursdays 4, 11 and 1 June. The garden waste collection on Monday 8 May will also be a day later.
All bookings of the Village Hall and its equipment should go to:
Gill Colchester Telephone 01379 788040 or Mobile 07850 641233
Email. gillyano@live.co.uk
From January 2023 the hire rate is £10 per hour. The rate is per hour or part thereof. Minimum booking period 2 hrs. A 30 minute "warming up" period will be allowed in cold weather conditions.
25% reduction for Wickham Skeith residents and Wickham Skeith village groups. The day rate is £100 per day and the fee to official bodies is £250.00
WICKHAM SKEITH Annual Parish Meeting 7pm
Monday 15th May 2023:
AGENDA
1. Chair’s Welcome (to include apologies for absence)
2. To confirm minutes of meeting held 9th May 2022
3. Village Forum: An opportunity for the public to raise any relevant issues to the Council
4. Reports:
4.1.Chair’s Report
4.2.Village Groups
5. Next Meeting: 13th May 2024
The Annual Parish Meeting is not a meeting of the Parish Council. It is a meeting of the electors of the parish and is chaired by the Chair of the Parish Council. The Annual Parish Meeting is an opportunity for local clubs, charities and organisations to report to the parishioners on their activities throughout the year and for the Parish Council Chair, the County Councillor, the District Councillor and the local Police to offer their reports.
WICKHAM SKEITH PARISH COUNCIL
The Councillors of Wickham Skeith Parish Council are summoned to the Meeting of the Parish Council to be held at Wickham Skeith village hall, on Monday 15th May 2023 commencing at 7.30pm
AGENDA
1. Election of Chairman of the Council
2. To receive the Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance of Office
3. Co-option of Councillors
4. To receive apologies for absence and consider approval of absence
5. To receive Members’ Declarations of Interest and requests for dispensation from Councillors
6. Minutes of Meetings to consider, approve and sign the Minutes of the Meeting on 13th March 2023 as a true and accurate record
7. To receive a report from the County Councillor, Cllr Andrew Stringer
8. To receive a report from the District Councillor, Cllr Rowland Warboys
9. Public Forum – questions and comments relating to business on this agenda. Any other matters should be reported to the Parish Council or Clerk at another time
10.Appointment of councillors to roles
i Defibrillator
ii Grimmer
iii Footpaths
11.Planning Matters
APPLICATION FOR PLANNING PERMISSION - DC/23/01725 Proposal: Householder
Application - Erection of single storey side and rear extension. Location: Rose Cottage, The Broadway
12.Finance
a. From the RFO Report authorise payments made since the last meeting and to be made; note income received since the last meeting; review the Reconciliation of Accounts against Bank Statement
b. To review and agree the end of year accounts and bank reconciliation 2022/2023
c. To review and note any comments from the Internal Audit report 2022/2023
d. To complete and sign the Annual Governance Statement section 1 (2022/2023)
e. To complete and sign the Annual Governance Accounting Statements section 2 (2022/2023)
f. To consider the Internal Auditor report
g. To agree to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office as required (£40) to meet GDPR requirements
h. To agree the purchase of a commemorative bench for the King’s Coronation (£750) and commemorative mugs at a cost of (£500)
i. To review and approve the Asset Register
13.Standing Orders – to review and approve the Standing Orders
14.Financial Regulations – to review and consider the Financial Regulations
15.Community Infrastructure Levy Survey: To discuss the results of the survey and any newsletter questionnaire
16.Working Parties: Village Green and the Grimmer. Update on a proposed zoned management plan for the Grimmer
17.Village Litter Pick – to discuss arrangements
18.Reports from Councillors – items for discussion for future agendas
19.Date of next meeting – Monday 11th September 2023
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
Wickham Skeith Village Celebrates
6-8 May 2023
Saturday 6th May Morning
Watch the Coronation Live on the Big Screen
The Village Hall Committee are kindly allowing the Coronation Organising Committee to use the Hall free of charge on Saturday 6th May to show the Coronation events on the big screen. The bar will be open. There will be croissants and sausage rolls on sale. Any profits will go to the Village Hall. Please come along if you are at home and would like to share the day. We hope to open at 10am and close at an appropriate time after the celebrations finish.
Sunday 7th May lunch-time
Wickham Skeith Big Lunch on the green from noon. Please bring food to share as part of our celebratory community get-together. Come and meet old and new neighbours. Come dressed for the occasion, if wished, and enter into the Coronation spirit. At 2pm we encourage everyone to gather round the Village Sign for a community photo please.
The Celebration Village slideshow will be shown at the Village Hall during the coronation events on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th of May.
Monday 8th May lunch-time
Bell-ringing for the Coronation Ringers from Yaxley, Thornham, Gislingham & Wickham Skeith will be ringing on Mon 8 May to celebrate the King’s Coronation. We intend to finish up at Wickham Skeith at about 1pm for ringing & a picnic. Do come along to see & hear the ringing & perhaps find out a bit more about it.
Wednesday 10th May
The Lunch Club will hold a special King’s Coronation Lunch in the Village Hall from 12 noon. Please book in advance. See Lunch Club entry elsewhere.
Coronation Mugs
All Coronation Mugs have now been reserved, free for village children, plus an additional number that have been pre-ordered and to be paid for. Mugs will be available to collect on 6th in Village Hall or 7th on the Village Green. Please call in and sign for your free children’s mugs. Or collect and pay for those ordered for adults. We will keep any that remain uncollected at the end of Sunday and hope alternative collection arrangements can be made.
Coronation Bench
The bench has been commissioned from Orwell Mencap and will be installed for the Coronation weekend. Come and try it out.
Wickham Skeith Coronation Picture Show
Don’t forget the photographic record of our village community being created in celebration of the Coronation. We have had some great photos sent in for the slideshow (a big thank you to those who have already sent in their photos) but we would love to have more!
Just time to take a snap of yourselves or your favourite Wickham Skeith view and send them to: ws.coronation@proton.me We are happy to accept photos up to Friday 5th May.
If you take photos at the Village events on Saturday and Sunday, please also send them in. They can be added to the slideshow, which we could show again at a future event. A lovely record of Wickham Skeith at the time of the Coronation. Happy snapping.
Litter Pick - Parish Council is hoping we can hold our annual litter pick on the Coronation Monday – the Big Help Out. If so, details will be available at the Coronation weekend events.
Church of England, Wickham Skeith
Facebook: @bactonbenefice
Rector: The Revd Carl Melville, The Rectory, Bacton, IP14 4LJ 01449 781650, email: carlmelville@hotmail.com
Wardens: Liz Davidson 766622 and Margaret Jones-Evans 767121
Services in May 2023
All Sunday services at 9.30am in church unless otherwise stated
7th May 10.00 Coronation Benefice Communion at Wyverstone
6.00 Benefice Evensong at Old Newton
14th May Café Church
Thurs 18th May 10.30 Ascension Day Service in Old Newton Churchyard
7.30 Ascension Day Communion at Bacton
21st May Holy Communion
28th May 10.00 Pentecost Benefice Communion at Cotton
4th June Holy Communion
Forotherbeneficeservices,pleaseviewourFacebookpage.
Thank You! To everyone who made the church look so beautiful for Easter.
Coronation Weekend - on Sunday 7th May, we are holding benefice services, please see the service list for venues and times. We then have Benefice services for Ascension Day and also for Pentecost.
Weekly Email and News – if you’d like to sign up to receive our weekly news email, please contact the Rector.
Flower & Cleaning Rota
May 7th Mrs J Kemp & Mrs S Merriam
May 14th & 21st Mrs J Bryant & Mrs L Reinders
May 28th & June 4th Miss R Elsden & Mrs J Keable
Fundraising for St Andrew’s Church
The 1st April Quiz raised £400 and the book sale on 15th April raised £183. Thank you so much! We have lots of events planned for the summer – do join us:
Sat. 3rd June humorous talk in church by Peter Tryon at 4pm about Suffolk Churches. This will be followed by a cream tea and cake.
Sat 17th June Book Sale/Coffee morning at Highbanks, 1, Broadway 10 to 11.45am.
Advance Notice - Sun. 2nd July Open Gardens around the village from 2 to 6pm
For more information and tickets contact Liz Davidson 766622 or Margaret JonesEvans 767121
Rector’s ramblings
From the Church of England Website:
The Coronation will be a historic moment in the life of our nation, a time to reflect on our history, celebrate who we are and look to our future. At its centre is a Christian service in which His Majesty will be anointed as King. It will be rooted in longstanding tradition and Christian symbolism. We offer our prayers for King Charles III and the Royal Family for this important occasion. We hope that this might be a moment for the nation and many around the world to encounter the person of Jesus Christ, the servant King, and hear His call to each of us to serve others.
The Coronation weekend presents a unique missional opportunity for the Church to reach out, gather together with those we know, and establish new links and relationships. There are many ways for churches and Christians to be involved, from church services, to volunteering initiatives and community events.
A wide range of resources have been created to help people pray, create, encounter, and mark the event in their own setting. As we prepare for The King’s Coronation, may we seek to serve others, connect with our neighbours, and give thanks to God for the wonderful unity we find in the great diversity of our nation.
I encourage you all to join in with the many events and gatherings that will take place to mark the Coronation. I encourage you also to pray for the King and the whole country at this special time. May the Christian symbolism of the Coronation become a reality in our communities.
You can find resources and daily prayers in the run up the Coronation here: www.churchofengland.org/coronation.
Revd Carl
