Cranham Village Magazine
With Cranham Parish and Benefice News and Information April 2021
Inside this Month:
Food Bank - page 12
Village Hall News - page 14
Diary of a Lockdown Walker - page 18
Dog Thefts - page 20
Lucky Severn - page 22
Any views and opinions expressed in the Cranham Magazine are attributable only to individual contributors Advertisements in this magazine do not imply recommendation
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Church & Benefice Rector: Rev’d Janet Turville 01452 245526
Associate Priest and Revd. Andrew Leach 07564 448692 Benefice Administrator:
Church Wardens: Mr. Keith Ardron 01452 617648 [email protected] Linda de Cossart 07778 215801 [email protected] Organist: Mrs. Beryl Berry 01452 813200 Four Chimneys, Cranham Hon Treasurer: Mrs. Helen Daltry, Broadridge House, 01452 863011 Cranham, Gloucester. GL4 8HF PCC Secretary: Nicki Clapton 07824 812384 Bakers Piece, Cranham
[email protected] Benefice Office: Lychgate Rooms, Painswick 01452 814795 [email protected] Cranham Church of England Primary School Headteacher: Rebecca Slater 01452 812660 [email protected]
Magazine & General Magazine editors: Sue & Ian Shaw 01452 814839 [email protected] Church articles: Sue & Ian Shaw 01452 814839 [email protected] Magazine layout: Tony Walker 07796 175622 [email protected] Magazine Sue Stick 01452 813407 Distribution: [email protected] Village Hall Nicki Clapton 07824 812384 Bookings: [email protected]
Community Police: Police Community Support Officer Tel: 101 PCSO9073 Deb Collicott debbie.collicott@gloucestershire.pnn.police.uk Cotswold Warden: Shelagh Dempsey
[email protected] Neighbourhood Simon Jarvis [email protected] 07811 263075 Warden: https://bit.ly/2Z13gxY
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A Letter from The Clergy
Hope at Easter
Easter is all about hope and I really want to find some hopeful words to share with you all. As I sat down to prepare to write this, I came across the words of the poem “Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson which was a new poem to me, but which spoke so eloquently of Hope in our present time. Hope depicted as a bird, sings whatever the circumstances and is something to hold on to, something to trust in and something which carries us in difficult situations.
The first disciples must have needed hope as they sat waiting between the days of Good Friday and the death of Jesus and the news of his resurrection on Easter Sunday morning. Mary’s words - I have seen the Lord echo down through the ages they brought hope to the disciples - and bring hope to us - we too can see the Lord.
And for us this Easter is one of resurrection, one of hope one of new things. While Easter finds us not quite in the joy of freedom of movement and relaxed rules, but still in the midst of gradual relaxations and a slow move back to normality, this is really ok, because it is here in the hardest moments that hope does its best work. Hope is like a small bud trying to break through the soil amidst the gravel and rocks, it can be stamped on, crushed and diminished but shine a light for a moment and it springs up anew. When we lift our eyes and look around, we see the flower unexpectedly in a corner. It is with hope in the resurrection that we will open our church buildings on Easter Sunday for services. What joy we will feel as we gather once again in person. Yes, we will still need to wear masks, to stay two metres apart, not sing, and not chat but still we will be together to proclaim that Jesus is Risen - he is Risen indeed and in doing so we share the hope of a better time ahead.
As we emerge slowly from this crisis, we must be people of hope, who dream of a better tomorrow, who cry out for justice and mercy and who know that whatever today feels like, God is with us tomorrow, with forgiveness, joy and peace.
Rev. Janet Turville Rector
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CHURCH NEWS - April 2021
Good news this month! The church is re-opening on Easter Sunday and will be open each Sunday from then on, subject of course to COVID restrictions. The services in Cranham are listed below. Those across the Benefice are shown on the church website and in the Beacon Light.
Sunday Services in Cranham - April 2021
4th April 11am Holy Communion Revd Andrew Easter Sunday Readers Julie Berry Acts 10;34-43 Nicki Clapton 1 Cor.15;1-11
11th April 6.30pm Evening Prayer BCP Revd Janet Readers Janet Gazzard Acts4;32-35 Sylvia Ardron John 20;19-en
18th April 11am Morning Worship Phil Stick Readers Jean Garratt Acts 3;12-19 Rob Garratt Luke 24;36b-48
April 25th 6.30pm Evening Worship Linda de Cossart Readers Mark Crowther Acts 4;5-12 Helen Daltry John 10;11-18
Cranham Parish Council website lots of info including the minutes of meetings https://cranhampc.org.uk/
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Church Flowers 4th April Janet Whitton for Easter 11th April Janet Whitton 18th April Deb Carrington-Stait 25th April Deb Carrington-Stait 2nd May Di Blandford
Church cleaning 3rd April Janet Gazzard 10th April Kate Ryan 17th April Linda de Cossart 24th April Gill Firth 1st May Di Blandford
Lighting up St. James the Great Cranham Cranham church will be lit for the evenings of the 3rd and 4th April to mark Jesus’ joyful resurrection. Rev Janet Turville
All articles or enquiries with regards to the Cranham Magazine should be emailed to:
All general articles: [email protected] All church articles: [email protected] Advertising enquiries: [email protected] Distribution enquiries : [email protected]
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Message from Bishop Robert Telling the Story Stories really matter. We have a deep desire to hear them and to tell them. Love or loathe it, this is one of the key attractions of social media. It is the place where I can share ‘my story’ and be invited into other people’s lives and stories. Our social media has been full of stories these last weeks. Stories of lockdown, and vaccines, children returning to school, and especially, in these last days, of the murder of Sarah Everard and the right to protest it. Sarah’s murder has rightly brought anger that this should happen on our streets, a wave of sympathy and love for her and her family, and then with it, a cry of pain and anguish. Like Rachel, we are weeping in anguish for our children and cannot be comforted (Jeremiah 31).
The scale of the affront of this horrific event is such that words are at first hard to find. Whatever is said or written can so easily be superficial, or self-serving, especially if you are a man. Yet the scale of the affront is such that we cannot go speechless. As a husband, a father of daughters, a believer in the dignity and worth of every individual, I too must cry out. My cry must also acknowledge the responsibility I bear, both for how we are, and how we will be. I cannot say simply, “This is not me”, because it is, and it asks me what stories I have told. Have I sufficiently told the stories of human dignity, of responsibility, of the care one must have for the other? Have I played my part in sharing the stories that together will shape a culture in which this tragedy is, as it should be, unthinkable?
In these coming weeks, as followers of Jesus Christ, we will tell the story of betrayal and death, and hear again the words Jesus speaks from the cross of abandonment, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as we see before us the pain of the world and its people. From this we will go on to tell more, of how from darkness and despair, through the action of God, love triumphs over hate, life over death.
Continued on page 7
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Message from Bishop Robert - from page 6 We will tell the story of hope even in the darkness. The scale and audacity of this story is such that here too words are at first hard to find. The story takes time, and we cannot rush it. We must stay in the garden, linger at the foot of the cross and wait.
We will be convicted, and that may be almost unbearable, but we will be redeemed, as from the deepest darkness we find the brightest light, and we will tell the story of the world as it was intended to be, the world as it can be.
With every blessing,
MARAH in Stroud
https://marah.org.uk/ https://marah.org.uk/contact-us/
Supporting & giving hope to the homeless and to anyone who is struggling.
Since the first lockdown MARAH have provided over 6000 takeaway meals. In order to help them continue this much needed service, if you can please make a donation online at: https://marah.org.uk/donate/ or phone for a donation form. 01453 367006 (please leave a message)
Fruit, vegetables & bread (near to the use by date) are supplied by local supermarkets.
Stroud Food Bank provide non-perishable items of food & toiletries.
https://marah.org.uk/see-what-we-do-at-marah/
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Sunday Worship for those at Home
10.30am Zoom Morning Prayer, message Rev’d Janet for a link
9.00am Live worship on the Church of England website
https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online
10.15am Gloucester Cathedral Sunday Eucharist
https://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk/worship/services/services-live- stream/
8.10am Radio 4 Sunday Worship 1.15pm BBC1 Songs of Praise
Weekday Worship 9.30am Thursday weekly via Zoom from Sheepscombe Morning Prayer If you would like to join in or would like a copy of the service sheet please email Karen Riding [email protected].
Weekday Worship for those at Home 9.45am Daily Service - Radio 4 (Long Wave) 3.30pm Wednesday Choral Evensong - Radio 3 https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-daily- prayer
Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line. 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044.
www.beaconbenefice.org.uk
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Extracts from The Messenger – April 2021
Happy Easter With the promise of warmer weather in the air and the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions, this Easter feels like it is heralding in dramatic change. Stories of how Christian generosity and initiative is making a difference in the world are everywhere. Over 1,200 Easter meals were sponsored and delivered to people across the Diocese through our Comfort and Joy Easter project. Delicious shepherd’s pies or gardener’s pies cooked by The Long Table, with a freshly baked hot cross bun were delivered to doorsteps across the area, as a way of showing our neighbours that they are cared for and loved. Huge amounts of money are being donated to Christian Aid in thankfulness for vaccinations - at the time of writing, in early March, over £7,000 had been given in this Diocese, in collaboration with the local Methodist Circuit. This money will be used to support those for whom Covid restrictions have had other significant impacts. In this month’s edition we’re including an extract from a special edition of Growing Together which you can share with your worshipping community. To download the full edition and lots more family friendly resources to share locally, please visit www.gloucester.anglican.org/your-ministry/children-youth-and-families/ growing-together Events and training Churches across the Diocese of Gloucester will be worshipping together for Easter, whether online or in person. If you want to find out the latest information from your local church, visit www.achurchnearyou.com Maundy Thursday Eucharist (Live stream only from Gloucester Cathedral) Thursday 1st April, 11am Open to all. This service will see members of the clergy from across the Diocese of Gloucester renew their ordination vows. The oils for use in services will also be blessed for the coming year. Got to gloucestercathedral.org.uk/worship/services/ services-live-stream/ to join.
Continued on page 10
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Messenger - from page 9
Easter Day Eucharist (Live stream from Gloucester Cathedral) Sunday 4th April, 10.15am This is a traditional Easter morning service with Bishop Rachel, the Bishop of Gloucester. All are welcome via Zoom.
EcoChurch Zoom Seminars – The Next Steps Thursday 22nd April, 11am to 12:30pm and again at 7pm to 8pm If you’re working on your EcoChurch award, either Bronze or Silver and are not quite sure how to progress things, this seminar will be helpful to you. Visit shorturl.at/bxK39 to book.
The Language of Spirituality Saturday 15th May, 10am to 12 noon The disciples understood there was something in Jesus’ relationship with God that they couldn’t grasp. They needed a new language, a new approach and so they asked Jesus how to pray. Debbie Helme and Jo Wetherall have developed a language of Spirituality to help describe our understanding of who God is and how that effects our everyday lives – to people who don’t have an experience of faith. Book at gloucester.anglican.org/event/the-language-of-spirituality
Have your say Visit Facebook Diocese.of.Gloucester, email Katherine at [email protected], follow us on Twitter @glosdioc, view videos on YouTube Diocese of Gloucester or visit our website gloucester.anglican.org
These extracts are from The Messenger, a monthly communication produced by diocesan communications office at Church House, College Green, Gloucester, GL1 2LY. The full ‘Messenger’ is available on www.gloucester.anglican.org and can be emailed to all parish and church representatives who request it. The extracts printed here are provided by Church House and published without alteration and therefore do not necessarily reflect the views of the Cranham magazine editorial team.
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“Poverty, pestilence & privies”
An illustrated talk on Zoom, by John Dixon
7.45pm - Thursday 6th May 2021
Members: Free Visitors: £3.50
Please contact Norma Kay: 07720 046802 [email protected] if you would like to attend. If you are a non-member, please contact Liza Darroch by email at: [email protected] to arrange payment.
Cranham Local History Society
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Stroud District Food Bank Painswick, together with Pitchcombe, Edge, Cranham and Sheepscombe, have shown amazing support for the Stroud District Foodbank collections during the pandemic, with many people turning up regularly each month to drop off donations at Stamages Car Park or the Stocks. So I thought there might be interest in learning more about what happens to your donations. Firstly, the Painswick team take all the donations to the Foodbank warehouse in Brimscombe. We are met by other volunteers who help unload and take the donations inside where they are weighed prior to being sorted and stored. All food is stored by type (ie coffee, soup etc) and by expiry date. This enables the food with the shortest expiry date to be issued first, minimising any waste. In ‘normal times’ food is then transferred as needed from the warehouse to the drop-in centres situated around Stroud District – at Dursley, Stroud, Stonehouse, Wotton, Nailsworth, Farmhill, and Cam. During covid restrictions, these have all been closed, and food is bagged up into emergency bags at the warehouse. People in need of food are identified by one of many care agents working in the district – Charities Aid Foundation and P3 are the largest, but also care workers, GP practices and many others. They issue the person with a voucher which they can bring to a drop-in centre and exchange for a bag of food. While the client has a cup of tea and their bag is being prepared, trained volunteers offer a listening ear and practical guidance as to where to find support to help them break out of their crisis. While the drop-in centres are closed, the voucher details are automatically transferred to staff at the warehouse, who contact the recipient to arrange delivery of the bag. Each bag is designed to provide 3 days’ worth of nutritionally balanced food for the client and their household. It will typically include breakfast cereals, soup, pasta, rice, pasta sauce, tinned beans, tinned meat, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit, tea or coffee, sugar, biscuits, snacks. Toiletries are also available.
Apart from three part time staff to manage the admin, the whole system is run by volunteers. There are 8 volunteer trustees (of which two live in Painswick and one in Sheepscombe), about 150 regular volunteers and another 150 who get involved in special collections. And many, many wonderful donors! Thank you everyone for braving the wind and cold in March and generously donating 314Kgs to the Foodbank in Painswick. The next Painswick collection will be on Tuesday 13th April 10am – 12noon in Stamages Car Park, St Mary’s and by the Stocks. Suggested items are UHT fruit juice, UHT milk, tinned fruit, tinned custard, tinned tomatoes, tinned puddings, savoury snacks. But, as always, any non-perishable items will be gladly received. Please do check use by dates so that we can provide the most appropriate support to those in need. Archway School would also still appreciate any old laptops and iPads too.
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VILLAGE HALL NEWS – APRIL
Due to the COVID- 19 lockdown, the Hall is still not open for any of it’s usual activities. From 12th April, parent and child groups of up to 15 people will be allowed, and from 17th May meetings of up to 6 people, or two households will be OK. Hopefully, more normal activities will be fine after 21st June!
However, the Hall will be used for the Elections on 6th May.
The Village Hall is now registered for the Lucky Severn Lottery Draw – see details on page 22 of this magazine.
At a Zoom Committee Meeting held on Wednesday 10th March, we drew the 100-Club for:
100 Club Winners:
February 2021 (£100) Ken Clapton (78)
February (extra) (£25) Adam George (49)
Next Meeting
Wednesday 12th May, 7.30pm
(Probably by Zoom)
Jane Shepherd (Chairman VH Committee)
01452 814873
Fix my Street website to report potholes and fly tipping etc https://www.fixmystreet.com
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Brimpsfield & Mid-Cotswold Garden Society If all goes well, April should bring us both slightly warmer weather and a gradual relaxation of the lockdown rules, allowing more opportunities for getting out and enjoying our gardens, perhaps with family and friends. It’s also that time of year when many of us go to garden centres and nurseries in search of new plants for our gardens – or just to enjoy the sight of all those colourful flowers!
The trays of cheerful bedding plants may look tempting, but don’t forget that, depending on your circumstances and how much work you want to make for yourself, it may be better to hold off buying until the weather is reliably warmer. Half-hardy bedding (any good garden centre or nursery should be able to tell you which are hardy and which not) may not be ready to face the great outdoors for some weeks yet, until the risk of frost is past (usually late May). If you have a greenhouse or indoor space such as a conservatory, glazed porch or wide windowsills to keep them in for a few weeks, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t indulge; just remember that you will have to harden them off gradually, putting them outside for a few hours and taking them in again at night for a couple of weeks before planting them out. Even the garden centre’s hardy bedding may have been kept under cover at night (ask them whether this is so) and so will also have to go through the hardening-off process before being planted out, although after that they should be safe outdoors from April onwards.
Another factor to bear in mind when buying bedding plants before they are ready to plant out is that those in small cell-pack modules may outgrow their space before it’s warm enough to put them outside, in which case you may have to transplant them into larger pots to prevent them becoming potbound.
If all that sounds like too much bother, consider waiting until May to buy your bedding plants; they may be larger plants and a little more expensive, but that’s because someone else has saved you a lot of trouble.
If you’re looking for more permanent plants for your garden, consider how they will look when they’re not in bloom (which will be most of the time). Some plants have lovely flowers but are uninteresting when not flowering. It’s worth looking for plants with good foliage as well as flowers, which will enhance your garden throughout the growing season. Continued on page 16
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Brimpsfield Garden- from page 15
Should we be fortunate enough to have a warm spell in April – it does happen! – don’t forget that the weather can still turn cold again; it’s easy to be caught out by a late frost. Also do remember that April is not too early to start watering plants in a dry spell, especially those in containers or recently planted.
As we start to get out and about again, remember that many gardens are open for visiting. Check before you travel whether or not you need to book in advance, as this is often required now to keep visitor numbers manageable. Destinations such as the arboreta at Westonbirt and Batsford have wonderful displays of spring blossom at this time of year, almost guaranteed to lift the spirits and put you in the mood for the summer ahead!
The Garden Society is also hoping for better times soon, and is making plans for limited events from this summer onwards. We shall keep you posted on developments as the situation becomes clearer.
Did you know that you can now advertise in the Cranham Magazine?? Contact: [email protected]
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Diary of a Lockdown Walker
Sylvia and I have always loved walking, whether in Britain or further afield in the Europe or North America, and with the arrival of lockdown last spring, and with most of our commitments paused, we found we had an opportunity to really indulge our hobby by walking local footpaths. By the time that lockdown ended walking had developed into a serious habit and I think that our hiking boots have never clocked greater mileage than we managed in the summer and autumn of 2020. I know that a lot of Cranham people also love to explore the countryside on foot so thought readers might be interested in our walkers’ diary. Once free to travel last July, our first venture away from home was to the Cumbrian Lakes where we managed to climb ScaFell Pike, England’s highest mountain, for the first time in 25 years (it seems to be higher these days!). Just below the summit that day we passed a distressed St Bernard dog called Daisy which that evening made the BBC national news as the poor animal had to be carried off the mountain on a stretcher by a rescue team (she was ok). A couple of weeks after Cumbria we were again hill-walking in the Northumberland National Park (an undiscovered gem) and a few weeks after that exploring the South Cornwall coastal path. In between these trips we developed a taste for the long-distance National Trails closer to home, beginning in August with the Cotswold Way, the 102 mile footpath that runs along the western edge of the Cotswold Hills between Chipping Camden and Bath. We divided the route into 15 day-long walks, leaving cars at both ends of each section so we could drive back to the start each time. We felt the loveliest parts of the trail were in the northern section - particularly the stretch between Birdlip and Kings Stanley that runs through Cranham parish of course. Descending into Bath on the final leg of the journey on a hot Saturday at the beginning of September gave us a real sense of achievement. Missing the Cotswold Way and the routine of planning and completing the trail sections we were soon on the lookout for another long-distance footpath within a manageable driving distance of home, and decided on the slightly more ambitious Offa’s Dyke Path that runs along the Welsh border from Chepstow to Prestatyn on the North Wales Coast – a distance of 177 miles. Much of the path follows the defensive wall built by the Mercian King Offa in the eighth century, to deter Welsh raiders. Again, we divided the trail into sections – this time 22 in all – which could be done from home in a day, at least to start with. The scenery of the Wye Valley with its steep-sided wooded ridges was quite different from the gentler slopes of the Cotswold Way, whose route we could see in the distance as we made our way north.
Continued on page 19
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Diary of a Lockdown Walker - from page 18
The ruins of Welsh castles along the trail also spoke of the more troubled history of this border region. The walking was harder than in the Cotswolds with steeper climbs and longer daily distances to cover, but after 5 outings we had reached Hay Bluff overlooking the town of Hay-on-Wye, having just hiked along the magnificent westernmost ridge of the Black Mountains with its sweeping views across Herefordshire and Worcestershire. By then it was mid-October and days were getting shorter, and our plans met disaster when the Welsh Government closed the English border for what they called a “fire-break lockdown”: it’s still closed today. Stories of English walkers on Snowdon being fined for climbing the mountain have deterred us from continuing with Offa’s Dyke.
Why not try the Ridgeway? someone suggested. At least it’s in England. So we did, and on October 25th set off on a cold clear morning on the first section of this historic 89 mile National Trail that runs from near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe in Buckinghamshire. This long distance footpath joins up sections of an ancient trading route between Dorset and East Anglia that long pre-dates the arrival of the Romans. From Avebury the pathway runs east along the North Wessex Downs before turning northwards along the Chilterns Hills after crossing the Thames. The landscape is mainly rolling chalk downland, with much gentler slopes than we encountered on the Welsh borders, allowing us to increase the length of our walks which was necessary as the drives were getting longer and the daylight hours shorter. November arrived, bringing with it a second English lockdown but mercifully unlimited travel for exercise was still allowed so we continued our Ridgeway trek. Walking these ancient roads in November in the early morning mist, it was easy to imagine the ghosts of Saxon warriors marching westward to confront the Danish armies at the Battle of Ethandun which took place in this area in the ninth century: that Wessex victory is said to mark the first step in the creation of the Kingdom of England.
On December 12th we completed the eighth and final section of the Ridgeway, arriving at Invinghoe Beacon on a cold but sunny afternoon not long before sunset. Just in time! Next week the dreaded ‘Tiers’ arrived and we were again forbidden from travelling outside our area, and that more or less remains the case as you read this today. So, we’re back to those local walks again, but still thankful for where we live, and for those battered high-mileage hiking boots of ours.
Keith Ardron
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Cranham Village Hall - needs your help
You may have seen the announcement in the latest SDC News regarding the launching of a local good causes initiative, the Lucky Severn Lottery with a weekly draw, top prize £25,000, but more importantly 50p from every £1 ticket sold goes to your nominated charity. Another 10p from each ticket goes into a central pot, which we can bid for. Currently there are over 50 organisations, large and small, all supporting this scheme.
Cranham Village Hall has been the centre of so many much loved and worthwhile events for many years, but it does have costs. Particularly at the moment we need a new boiler and a refurbished kitchen. The hall depends upon rentals for its income, but obviously that source of income ceased last March, but essential overheads did not. Fortunately a grant from the District Council saved the day, but our finances are still precarious, hence the decision to participate in the Lucky Severn Lottery.
All tickets are sold online, and we need to sell at least 20 to start with. Full details are online at www.luckysevernlottery.co.uk
Please give your support to help Village Hall to flourish
Nigel Cooper 813870
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Museum in the Park Welcome to our new series of ‘sustainable stories’ This is a new monthly series, our Collections Assistant, Fern Ryan, explores different objects from the past which reveal useful lessons for kinder, more sustainable, living in the present and future. We hope you enjoy reading and thinking about the ideas each object provokes.
Many of the objects in the Museum in the Park’s collections, have had long lives. They were made in such a way that they could be maintained, repaired and passed onto the next generation or re-purposed into something new rather than thrown away. Our objects reflect how many consumables and possessions were bought and made locally, with products often sold in containers that could be reused. We hope that by telling some of their stories our objects can spark a discussion about sustainable living in the past and the present. With Stroud District Council’s target for a carbon neutral district by 2030, the sustainable stories these objects can tell are more relevant than ever.
Story Three – Make do and Mend This shirt and collar are from a collection of material belonging to Alec Cathcart, local farmer and cyclist, who was a founder member of the Stonehouse Wheelers cycling club in 1948. We have over a 100 objects of his dating from the 1940s to the 1990s including his touring bike built to his specifications in 1962. The shirt is made of cotton poplin and features a fabric label for a retailers called Hopton’s in Fishponds, Bristol. The cotton collar is 1 of 3 that could be worn with the shirt, attached using brass collar studs. This shirt is made of natural materials and its label suggests it was made in the UK. It had collars that could be washed and starched separately to avoid washing the whole shirt. They could be kept and re-used with other garments. There is a darned repair on one of the shoulders, reflecting how it was common practise in the mid- 20th century to repair garments rather than throw them away when they got damaged.
Since the 1950s consumers have increasingly embraced mass-produced clothing sold cheaply to keep up with fashion trends. In the 1990s and 2000s the term ‘fast fashion’ emerged to describe companies producing low-quality clothes to follow fast-moving trends, cheap enough to be considered disposable. Each year in the UK, 350 000 tonnes of wearable clothes end up in landfill.
Continued on page 25
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Museum in the park - from page 24
The clothing industry is now the second largest polluter in the world after the oil industry. Due to the energy required in production, manufacturing and transportation, it accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. Today most of our clothes (72%) contain synthetic fibres such as polyester and acrylic, which are made from fossil fuels. Each time we wash a synthetic garment more than a thousand individual microfibres are released into the water, making their way into our waterways and eventually into the food chain. At the end of their life synthetic fibres are not bio-degradable and take approximately 200 years to decompose, emitting harmful gases as they do.
Clothing made from natural fibres like our cotton shirt, also have an impact. 1kg of cotton requires 20000 litres of water to grow and the chemicals used can lead to soil degradation. The dyeing and finishing of all clothes requires huge quantities of water and in some countries these wastewaters are dumped straight into rivers. It is evident that the impact of the fashion industry on the environment is a vast and complex subject, without even mentioning the human impact.
With all these things to consider, it is difficult for consumers to know what choices to make. Sustainable clothing companies are a growing part of the industry, offering clothes made from recycled materials or organic natural materials with certifications regarding the use of chemicals and working practises. There are more opportunities to buy second hand or swap clothes and high street retailers are offering schemes to pass old clothes onto charity or be recycled. To keep it simple, many are starting to look back to what their grandparents would have done: buy less, buy clothes that last, repair or repurpose and then pass it on.
THANK YOU to all the volunteers who faithfully look after the churchyard with grass-cutting etc. and have been undeterred by COVID. We’ve had appreciative comments from several parishioners who pass on their thanks and gratefulness that you have continued your efforts during this difficult time.
Linda and Keith Churchwardens
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DISASTER WAITING: The Story of the Severn and Wye Railway Disaster
A talk given by Paul Barnett to the Cranham Local History Society
In William McGonagall’s words, The Tay Bridge disaster happened ‘On the last Sabbath day of 1879,/Which will be remember’d for a very long time’. That’s the same year a bridge, built to the same box girder design, was opened across the Severn estuary. It survived rather longer, until 1960, and then was brought low by two river barges colliding, in thick fog, with the bridge and bringing down one of the pillars, pier 17. Sections either side were taken out, and the petroleum spirit cargo (252 tons) of the Wastdale exploded, setting off a fire on the black-oil-carrying (191 tons) Arkendale which burnt for several days. This was the point at which our speaker, Paul Barnett, who brought his customary wide knowledge and brio to his talk, signed off. ‘That’s it, folks,’ as I think he said. Only it wasn’t. It’s where Paul got started. Bridge disasters always have big stories and a good few myths attached. The Severn Bridge Railway was no exception. Paul set out to separate the two.
The prosaic side is fascinating: built to carry coal the Severn from an over-loaded Lydney to Sharpness, it had twenty-one spans, with a turntable at the Sharpness end, and a viaduct at the Lydney end, over the South Wales line, to which it had no connection. It was a single-purpose line, and with the reduction in coal traffic it lost much of its reason for existence.
Could the bridge have been repaired? One of the myths that Paul debunked was that it was Dr Beeching who brought about its demise. Wrong: there was a second crash, into pier 16, in 1961. The bridge was deemed irreparable and demolished in the late 1960s. Another myth: a gas main ran across the bridge and exploded when the crash happened. The reality: repair work was underway on the bridge at that time, and the gas was turned off. Men were indeed working in the bridge at that time – but they’d been given time off to listen on the radio to a big fight from the Albert Hall.
Continued on page 27
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Disaster waiting- from page 26
The two barges were tied together went the old story. The reality: they’d started out from two different ports, Avonmouth and Swansea. Both had been caught in the same strong current that runs north of Sharpness, they’d run into each other, been turned round by the tide and swept back out and on to the bridge. The barges could make six knots on a good day. The tidal race at peak runs at thirteen. Wreckage if the two barges can still be seen at low tide, along with several of the bridge piers.
Paul’s illustrations were based around thirty-nine remarkable glass sepia photographic plates put together by the bridge’s designer in the 1870s to promote the project. Paul also has a photo from the time of a policeman standing by the big gap left by the crash. He’d been posted there to tell people they couldn’t get across the bridge. He stood there, apparently, for three days. Or so I understand the story. And finally… pier 17 was already badly corroded. It had been struck by a boat in 1939. Since then it had, in Paul’s words, ‘been held together by gravity’. A big big thank you to Paul for a memorable talk.
Chris Collier
Magazine subscription 2021/22 Remains at £10.00 for the 5th year
Thank you to the many who have already set up a standing order or who plan to pay by BACS – I will send a reminder email in May. Cash payments will be collected during April/May by the person who delivers** your magazine.
But - please consider paying by bank transfer if you can.
Thank you in anticipation for your cooperation. Sue Stick: 813407 [email protected]
** Thank you to all the deliverers: Joan, Kate, Deb, Nita, Len, Alan, Philippa, Gill, Andy, Helen, John, Jennifer & me!
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In order to vote in the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, County, District and Parish Council elections taking place on May 6th 2021 you must be registered on the Electoral Roll.
Planning is already underway and we would like to reassure you that our highest priority is the safety of our staff and our electorate. We will be adhering to Government Guidelines, so your Polling Station may look a bit different, please help us to help you keep safe by following the guidelines.
To register to vote, please go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. You will need your date of birth and national insurance number and registering only takes a few minutes.
If you are not able to cast your ballot at a polling station or would prefer not to vote in person you can apply for an “Absent Vote”.
Stroud District Council Elections web page has all the information you need: https://www.stroud.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/how-do-i-vote
Postal vote deadline - 5pm, Tuesday 20th April 2021
Proxy vote deadline - 5pm, Tuesday 27th April 2021
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Occasional Advertisements – space available
Due to the lack of articles concerning events cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19 there maybe room in the magazine for occasional advertisements, over and above our 8-page quota. Inclusion is at the Editors discretion.
If you would like to take advantage of this please email advertising@cranhammag,co.uk
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Please call Steve Berry 01285 821193 / 07585 553559 E-mail: [email protected]
VW Specialist, however all makes & types of vehicle are catered for.
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Jasper Drake Forestry & Land Maintenance
• Grounds and Woodland Maintenance
• Professional Tree Work
• Fire Wood
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email: [email protected] www.annefreeanimalportraits.com Mobile: 07769 702254 Woodleigh, Jacks Green, Sheepscombe, Stroud. GL6 7RD
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ADVERTISEMENTS Sarah Murray - English Tutor
Call: 07870 967 359
Painswick/Cranham based
Experienced teacher of English Literature & language. Specialist in raising confidence. Examiner at GCSE with extensive knowledge of how to improve grades. Available one-on-one or in small groups. Adult literacy and spoken English also taught.
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REGULAR EVENTS (although all may be subject to cancellation or change, so please check directly with the organisers)
Club Pulse Mondays 6.00 - 7.30pm - Painswick Youth Centre (Nathan Youlton 07875 681130) Orchestra Mondays 8.00pm - V Hall (Beryl Berry 813200) Post Office Tuesdays 10.00am - 12noon - V Hall Coffee Morning Tuesdays 10.30 - 11.30am - V Hall Cranham Art Group Tuesdays 7.00 - 9.00pm - V. Hall (Lyn Barker 813025) Choir Tuesdays 7.30pm - V Hall (Ian Wotherspoon 812387) Beavers, Cubs Wednesdays - Scout Centre - times as follows: & Scouts Beaver Scouts (6 to 8 yrs) 4.45 to 5.45pm Cub Scouts (8 to 10 yrs) 5.50 to 7.10pm Scouts (10 to 14 yrs) 7.30 to 9.00pm Table Tennis Club Wednesdays 7.30 - 9.30pm - V Hall - time change (Clive Hayden 07833 635762 [email protected] Handbell Ringers Thursdays 9.30am - TBC (Jenny Barraclough 07977 997375 [email protected]) Cranham Ramblers Alternate Thursdays 9.30am – Village Hall (Joan Charman 812708) S’Combe Bridge Club 2nd and 4th Thursdays 7pm - Sheepscombe V Hall (Contact Joy Edwards 812588) Parent and Toddler Fridays 9.15 - 10.45am - V Hall (Jemma Pockett 07500 800626) Explorer Scouts Fridays 7.30 - 9.00pm - V Hall (Ian Coupland [email protected]) Church Bell Ringers Alternate Saturdays 9.30am - Church (Rob Garratt 07703 503547) Garden Club Brimpsfield, Phone Francis Ellery 01452 862412 for further info. Village Lunch Monthly on a Monday 12.15 for 12.30pm (Nicky Overs 07884 432886)
No new people this month.
If we have missed anyone, please accept our apologies!
Please make yourself known and we will include you next time. 38
MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTIONS All articles for the forthcoming month should be forwarded to the editors by email to [email protected] (preferred option).
Articles should be forwarded as either a WORD or WORKS document and preferably in Ariel or Calibri font size 10 on A5 size paper settings. Articles may also be sent manually typed or hand written.
Please refrain from using ADOBE EDITOR as all articles have to be edited prior to inserting into the magazine.
All hard copies should be forward to Baggend (at the Knoll).
All items to be included within next months magazine will need to be in the hands of the editors by the following dates:
WEDNESDAY 14th APRIL 2021
Magazines will be available for distribution: on Sunday 25th April or thereabouts. The date will be confirmed to the distributors by email. .
Sue & Ian Shaw 814839 [email protected]
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CRANHAM DIARY
Forthcoming events: April 2021 1 Thurs Ramble Village Hall 9.45am 6 Tues Rubbish/Food Waste 13 Tues Food bank Drop off Painswick 10.00am - 12noon Recycling/Food Waste 14 Wed ** Magazine Contributions Due ** 15 Thurs Ramble Village Hall 9.45am 20 Tues Rubbish/Food Waste 27 Tues Recycling/Food Waste 29 Thurs Ramble Village Hall 9.45am
May 2021 6 Thurs CLHS Talk Via Zoom 7.45pm 12 Wed Village Hall Meeting Via Zoom 7.30pm 13&27 Thurs Rambles Village Hall 9.45am
For Regular Events please see page 38
Cranham Lunch Cancelled until further notice due to COVID-19
Nicky (Tel: 07884 432886 or 812429 or [email protected])
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