The Skylark Longstowe Parish Newsletter

January 2019

Season’s greetings to all our readers Longstowe Parish Council: webpage address: http://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/mgParishCouncilDetails.aspx?ID=360&LS=4

Dates for your Diary: County Council, is rolling out superfast Parish Council meetings: broadband access to areas that are not being covered by commercial Thursday 17th January 2019 providers. Thursday 21st February 2019 Thursday 21st March 2019 Most residents in Longstowe can now and the Parish Open Meeting on upgrade to get superfast broadband Thursday 18th April 2019 speeds of 24Mbps. Premises that cannot access superfast broadband yet are included in the current phase of Neighbourhood Watch the rollout and are due to be covered during 2019. Your co-ordinators are: Residents can see if they can get Deborah Hemmins 719638 superfast broadband using the Peter Hemmins 719372 postcode checker on the Connecting Cambridgeshire website at If you see an incident, please take all www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk, the details and jot them down. which also has advice about upgrading Numbers, dates, times, descriptions. If with your chosen Internet Service matters are urgent dial 999. Otherwise Provider (ISP). telephone 101. You can also report incidents at www.cambs.police.uk. Some premises may be able to get the newer Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) services offering faster speeds up to

300Mbps, but is currently only Broadband and mobile coverage in available from a limited number of ISPs Longstowe – which are listed by area on the The Connecting Cambridgeshire Openreach website programme, led by Cambridgeshire

The Skylark 1 January 2019 [www.homeandbusiness.openreach.co .uk/fibre-roadband/ultrafast- broadband/ultrafast-fibre-buy-it- now]www.homeandbusiness.openreac h.co.uk/fibre-roadband/ultrafast- broadband/ultrafast-fibre-buy-it-now]. Connecting Cambridgeshire is also working with mobile operators to improve coverage across the county and has noted the Parish Council’s report of poor mobile reception in parts of Longstowe.

If you have further queries, please Longstowe's History Society email recently made history by holding two connecting.cambridgeshire@cambridg 3D events in the village hall! eshire.gov.uk including your full address and postcode. In September, Peter White gave an illustrated talk on the history of 3D photography, his interest in the subject Heidi Allen, MP from his teens to the present day. He then presented a 3D slide show If you would like to contact Heidi, entitled "A year in Longstowe" please email projected onto a big screen featuring [email protected] or call over 200 full colour images shot over a her office on 01223 830037. For either period of twelve months and showing drop-in or appointment surgeries, many local views, events, harvests, please visit her website ploughing etc. taken in all weathers https://www.heidisouthcambs.co.uk, from blazing sunshine to falling where you will find a great deal of snowflakes. information and newsletters. Peter provided the audience with "active switching" 3D glasses which Cllr. Dr. Tumi Hawkins gave the very highest quality Elected Member for Caldecote Ward experience and drew many gasps of Caldecote, Childerley, Kingston, amazement as the images seemingly Bourn, Longstowe & Little Gransden appeared out of the screen. [email protected] The following meeting in October, 07802 323269 featured a 3D film entitled "Im Krieg" 01954 210840 which Peter projected onto the big http://www.TumiHawkins.org.uk screen with full high quality sound. http://twitter.com/CouncillorTumi The film gave a view of WW1 from "the http://www.facebook.com/itsCouncillor other side" as seen more by the man in Tumi the street than the military. The film http://www.linkedin.com/in/tumihawkins was primarily composed of 3D images, many shot in trenches and of troops

January 2019 2 The Skylark preparing for, enduring, and in some the income raised by our Harvest cases, surviving conflict. Supper in any previous year. Thanks went to Jane Bowden for Thank you so much, all who took part, contacting the producers of the film for your support and generosity. who gave the society permission to At the next PCC Meeting we will show it in the village hall. discuss if we can make the evening a Both events were well supported with fixed annual date, say the 1st Saturday many positive comments being made. in October – so everyone gets the Peter's passion for 3D photography chance to attend rather than missing was apparent and he is willing to help because of diary clashes. others who may have questions. Peter can be contacted at Longstowe Remembrance Sunday [email protected] 11.11.18 by The Rural Dean Sue Wyatt Harvest Supper Ours is, of course, one of a huge This year our Harvest Supper was held number of gatherings across the world, on 6th October. The event was very the centenary of the end of The Great well supported with 54 guests. The War. At each of these gatherings mood was a happy and jolly one with similar, familiar words of much merriment! Remembrance are used. Yet every Many had kindly donated delicious gathering is unique, personal – as we, food and raffle prizes as in previous here, recall the names of those from years. So good to see this traditional this community who died serving their village event remaining both popular country – especially mindful of those and so well supported. who died in WW1 – the Great War, ‘the war to end all wars’. 11th November is a day for us to hold both the enormous scale of the impact of WW1 and the particularity of the pain that it caused to families of this community. It is a day also to try to appreciate the relief that was felt by the nations and the relief felt by parents, mothers, wives of soldiers of the time – that no more lives would be lost. It is rather special here in Longstowe The evening raised a total of £652 that as well as the memorial in church which has been donated entirely to the to those who died, there is a Roll of fabric fund of our village church. It will Honour on the left side of the lych gate be used to support maintenance and as you enter the church. On this are repairs of this special building. recorded the names of all who served in the Two World Wars, those who died This event was so well supported that being marked with RIP, Rest in Peace. in terms of funds raised, it exceeded

The Skylark 3 January 2019 • 67 names are recorded for WW1 – was not appropriate. There was, of 7 deaths course, much opposition to this from Now more than ever we are aware of those who wanted the bodies of their the hidden costs of war that, I am sure, loved ones brought home. have been amongst the 60 men who We are familiar with the uniformity of returned, those whose lives were, in the headstones, the simple inscriptions many ways ‘lost’ – because of the all in the same font – a font specially impact of the horrors they had designed for the headstones and for experienced, because of the physical the memorials for those whose bodies and mental scars of war. were never recovered. The roll of honour helps us remember It was hoped that these cemeteries their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of their and memorials would be a strong families. advocate for peace. The sheer size of I have visited some of the cemeteries the cemeteries, ever since the 1920’s, in Northern France, as well as the has brought home to people the nature Menin Gate and Thiepval memorial, and scale of death in World War 1 but I was unaware of much of the King George V, when he visited history of the war graves and Western Front cemeteries in 1922 said memorials. Some of these cemeteries ‘I have many times asked myself are huge, some much smaller; all are whether there can be more potent close to where the soldiers died. But advocates of peace upon earth through they are not there by chance. They are the years to come than this massed there because of the remarkable vision multitude of silent witnesses to the of a man called Fabian Ware who, with desolation of war’. others, recognised the need for The cemeteries are certainly very systems to be in place amongst all the strong visually. I challenge anyone not carnage, to record not only the names to be moved by their scale and of the dead but the exact place of number. Each one of these lives burial. It was brave work to give dignity mattered – regardless of rank, to those who had died and to give a regardless of manner of death – and, small comfort to their loved ones. as Christians we would say they And the visual appearance of the mattered not only to those who loved cemeteries is also not by chance, it is them and felt the pain of the loss, but as a result of decisions that were made they also mattered to God. – some very hard decisions. The decision to bury the fallen close to I know that the reasons and where they had died and not to justifications for war are complex and repatriate the bodies was, in part, today is not the day for such because it was felt that the discussions. But one of the tragedies comradeship that was part of these of war is that it can only happen when men’s lives in battle should be there in some lives are seen as expendable, as the commemoration of their death, and of less value than other lives. Perhaps that repatriation, which could only have as I say that, in our time, we think of been afforded by the more wealthy, the shocking images of children in the Yemen – starving as the result of war –

January 2019 4 The Skylark expendable lives in the eyes of some. chance to bring in their own choice of To say that war can only happen when food and drink. This always contributes some lives are seen as expendable is to the "merry atmosphere" of the in no way to diminish the gallantry and evening. Very merry. bravery of those we remember today. But, as we move in this service towards a commitment to peace, we can perhaps take a moment to consider what we mean when we talk of everyone being made in the image of God, every life mattering to God.

Lynne Gordon kindly managed the scoring, she is so good at it! Lynne's husband Dan kindly generated a sports round, a feat totally beyond the skills of the organiser! Sheena kindly sold raffle tickets and assisted with the distribution of prizes. Due to the generosity of participants, not only taking part but also donating toward the raffle, we raised £300 which will all be used toward the running of our Village Hall. A sincere "Thank you" to all who supported this event and contributed in any way. Peter White

Christingle service This year our Christingle service was held on the 2nd December. Always a Quiz night happy event and well supported by A quiz, fund raiser for the village hall both children and adults. The was held on evening of 24th of congregation comprised 14 children November. The event was well and 27 adults. The service was led by supported and featured lots of easy the Revd Stephen Day. questions which were well received. There were three readings by children, The theme of the evening was "Indoor Harry, Sam and Lily. Popular carols picnic" which gave all contestants the were sung and the children held lighted

The Skylark 5 January 2019 candles (under supervision!) during the found at: service. http://longstowe.play-cricket.com. The traditional Christingles were Phone contacts: handed out to the youngsters during John Gooch 07950 708019 the service, these had been made by John Murden 07952 425003 Daphne and a group of her friends. The case for Tinsel The collection brought in £106 which will be donated in its entirety, to The Invented in Nuremberg in the early Children's Society. Many thanks to all 17th Century, tinsel predates most who supported this happy event. other forms of Christmas decoration, including glass baubles, electric lights PW and foil-wrapped chocolates. Sheila Hemmins It was originally fashioned from pure Sheila was born on 29th April 1935 silver and was used to decorate and lived in Hardwick, where, as a sculptures, religious icons and nativity teenager, she started playing the organ scenes, where it represented a starry, in the local Church. She continued her night sky. playing in Longstowe Church, where Over the intervening 400 years, tinsel she was organist for some 37 years, in has become progressively less a church she loved to decorate, and desirable and more polarising, with was responsible for the cherry trees fashion almost completely casting it planted around the inside boundary. aside at the start of the 21st Century. Sheila had a strong sense of duty and Having discovered very quickly that took on the role of Christingle-maker, tinsel made from pure silver tarnishes set up and wrote the Skylark and quickly (can you imagine trying to became Parish Clerk, positions she polish tinsel?), alternative metals such held for a number of years, using as copper and aluminium were used. husband Peter as her backup memory. Then lead foil came along. By the Sheila was kind and thoughtful, with a 1960s lead tinsel had been banned strong sense of humour and a love of and was duly replaced by PVC film local history. She always remained coated with a metallic finish, which is cheerful and many people living in the material mostly used today. Longstowe today do not realise just Whatever you think of tinsel, it has how much she contributed to this endured for over 400 years, and is Parish. Sheila will be missed by her likely to survive another. many friends and her family. Dan Cooper “The Frustrated Gardener” Longstowe Cricket Club 2019 https://frustratedgardener.com Wanted: Players for next season. The club has struggled recently for Longstowe History Society AGM players. If you know of anyone Tuesday 30th January 2019, 7.30 for interested, please get in touch. The 8. An opportunity to discuss future Club’s play-cricket website can be events over refreshments.

January 2019 6 The Skylark LONGSTOWE HISTORY SOCIETY Roman Cambridge

The town of Cambridge has been in existence since pre-historic times, but has relocated around the area in response to contemporary influences. Archaeology can help us understand this story.

illustrated talk by Quinton Carroll

Tuesday 26 February 2019, 7.30 for 8pm LONGSTOWE VILLAGE HALL

Admission: £3 everyone welcome (Members free) Refreshments included

Longstowe History Society: Tuesday 26th March 2019, 7.30pm: Social Evening at ‘The Red House’

The Skylark 7 January 2019 The journey of the magi Jottings from The Longstowe Godfrey Rust Church PCC (Parochial Church Coming as they did from the first century Council) they had a few problems with London traffic A little note to say how very sad the and were seriously misled by signs PCC are on hearing of the passing of to the Angel and King's Cross. Shelia Hemmins in the last month. It Inquiring diligently about the star was of course Shelia, when she was a they were referred to Professor Brian Cox, who thought it was amazing very active member of the PCC, while smiling in a constant and strangely together with Mary Bevan, who unsettling way. introduced our little church to the lovely In Harrods the camels service of Christingle. You will read made a mess all over Soft Furnishings. elsewhere in Skylark about our service this year and various members of the On the Underground commuters glared at No Smoking signs PCC and friends of Longstowe Church as incense wafted gently through the are determined to continue what is now carriages, a tradition for St Mary the Virgin and when the great day came Longstowe. Thank you dear Shelia and they saw the entire voting population Mary for setting us on the way. Also of slumped on sofas by four o'clock, course Shelia was our organist for very rendered senseless by too much many years. dead poultry and the Queen, Last Services of 2018: while over Liberty's and Hamley's Dec. 23rd Carols by Candlelight 3 pm the flickering angels sang th Glory to God in the High St Dec. 25 Holy Communion and they found him, First Services of 2019: with the inns full up once more, January 13th Holy Communion 8.30 am in the old familiar place, January 27th Morning Prayer 10.30 am bringing their unregarded gifts to the empty stable of the human heart where the infant Christ is born again and again.

Bin collections Date of usual collection Revised collection date Wednesday 26 December Thursday 27 December Wednesday 2 January Thursday 3 January From Monday 7 January Back to normal collections

Village Hall Hire Charge per day £120, per hour £12. For further information and bookings, contact Mrs Caroline White: [email protected] / telephone or text 077 32 160 951

Please send items for the April 2019 Skylark by Friday 15th March to [email protected]

January 2019 8 The Skylark