119 Autumn 2011 Stebbing Scene
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StebbingStebbing SceneScene Your Village — Your Magazine Edition No: 119 Autumn 2011 A Celebrity Comes To Stebbing! More pictures in centre pages. Following Jenny McGinn’s departure to pastures new (see page 2) I somehow found myself holding the baton in the race to be the editor of the Scene. It proved surprisingly easy to win a one horse race - and I hope that I can prove a worthy successor to those who have done so much to produce a magazine that we are all rightly proud of. This has been achieved by having strength in depth (I’ll try to avoid too many clichés!) and in producing this edition I have been guided (or perhaps tolerated) by Jenny, Jackie Kingdom and Peter Finlay. I have also learned how much we depend on many people in the background who ensure that Stebbing’s free magazine is of such good quality. I have much to live up to, and hope you will help me with your contributions and ideas on how to make the Scene even better. Richard Foot Editor 1 A big thank you to Jenny McGinn Jenny has been Editor of Stebbing Scene since Anne Howard stood down in 2005. It is true that she was ‘strong armed’ into the role by her partner Tony Lanyon, but he convinced her that she could do it, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for that (as for much else). The magazine she inherited was in A4 format, stapled in one corner, and before that year was out a printer had been bought and the magazine transformed into A5. Whereas in 2005, an issue had 36 pages, the magazine has since grown to some 60 pages today. Tony helped out of course, and Jenny was able to rely on invaluable support from others, including Jackie Kingdom, who took on the advertising, and Rodney Evans, who helped with the printing and suggested the change of format. In mentioning these, I hope that others will not feel ignored, as the magazine depends on a great deal of help from people in the village, whether contributors, deliverers or those helping in other ways with production. Jenny wishes to express her gratitude to all who have helped her over the years. Jenny McGinn & Tony Lanyon Jenny first moved into the area with her family in 1966 and she got to know a lot of people in the village when Mrs Scott asked her to help out at the White Hart for three weeks – which resulted in her working behind the bar for more than three years. It was here that she met Tony and his first wife Pat, who remains a good friend of Jenny’s today. Jenny raised her children here and her husband Patrick played cricket for the village, and was chairman of Stebbing Cricket club. He died in 1994, and a few years later Tony, who was by now separated from his second wife, invited her out for dinner and they became partners soon after. They remained so until his death in April of last year. Jenny is now moving on, and has found a house to suit her in Castle Hedingham, where she will be closer to her daughter. Understandably she feels unable to keep on the task of editing the Scene, although she has loved her life in Stebbing and is sad to be leaving it. She continues to have a great many friends in the village, however, and she will not be too far away to visit often. On a personal note, I was grateful to Tony and Jenny for the friendship they showed towards Margaret and me after we came to the village in 2002. It was they who asked me to do some interviewing of long standing residents to record their reflections on village life for the Scene. It enabled me to contribute, and at the same time to learn a little about the people of Stebbing. I hope that in taking over the role of editor I can continue to develop the magazine as Jenny has done, and can still call on the help of the many people who do much of the hard work! It is our Stebbing Scene and you have handed over a magazine in fine form Jenny, for which we all thank you. Your many friends wish you well in your new home. Richard Foot 2 Annual Village Cricket Match – St Mary’s Church v. A Stebbing X1 “ The BBQ is not very well – it’s not going to work!” comes a phone call about four days before the event. “Why, what’s wrong?” says I. “It’s got a holey bottom” comes the reply. “I know it’s the annual Church Cricket match but aren’t we taking the analogy just a little too far” says I. “No, no, no” comes an exasperated response “It’s obviously been left out in the rain and the bot- tom has rusted away !”. “Can you fix it?” “Do you know, I think I can” comes the enthusiastic and positive response – “Well, onward Christian soldier!” says I and Phil Cobb and his trusty cohorts do a magnificent job in rendering the BBQ totally fit for purpose. ….and so started events for the annual Church v a Stebbing X1 Cricket match. The weather was absolutely perfect and James Crick and Kevin Meakin – the two Captains – strode purposefully to the middle – flicked the coin and Stebbing were to bat first. This normally heralds the immediate issue of hard hats to all the spectators, cars hastily moved to safer places and the boarding up of any windows within a one hundred yard radius ! – and so it was that the Stebbing team set about the Church bowling with great gusto. Even Steve Sparrow, who valiantly and possibly unwisely had volunteered to umpire – called for a suit of armour! As ever the Stebbing X1 batting was excellent with great scores from Kevin Meakin, Dale Brinkley, Graham Joliffe and James Hill who all reached the statutory 25 runs before retiring. It was only some inspired fielding and bowling from the Church team that stopped the score from becoming embarrassing. Special mention must be made to Rob Matthews for his superb one handed catch and for the Mills family – Owen and Mark’s bowling and Ian’s catch which I think surprised him as much as it did the batsman! Continued on next page-> 3 Restaurant Joseph's opened in May 2010 and has already made a name for itself locally and is proud to boast that people drive from afar to experience what we offer. The food is modern British and served in a beamed Grade 2 listed cottage in the heart of the beautiful village of Felsted. Joseph's Takeaway It's great fun to host your own dinner parties but, with our in- creasingly busy lives, sometimes we don't have the time. So let us take some of the pressure away with Joseph's To Go, our take home dining service. Our To Go menu and order form can be found online, or alternatively contact the res- taurant directly for our daily menu. Twenty four hours notice will be required for orders placed online, dishes from our daily menu can be prepared on the day. Catering Our chefs have years of experience behind them, so why not take advantage of their expertise to ensure that your menu has the right balance for your event. Choosing caterers is a very important decision. We know you have one opportunity to get it right, and want to help your event become a talking point to be remembered! We can offer an array of buffet styles to suit any occasion: beautifully presented canapés, small pots of warming delights, BBQ's or anything else you throw at us. We can cater for 2 - 2000 people at formal corporate events, birthday bashes, wedding breakfasts or intimate dinner parties. We will work with you so that your guests get exactly what you want - the very best possible. You can build your own menu or be guided by some of our tried and tested combinations. Whether you want a traditional, individual or ethnic theme we will assist you every step of the way, in providing a wealth of ideas and confidence. Lightpocket Lunch: 2 courses for £10.00 or £7.50. Early Diners: 6.30pm £15 for 2 courses or £20 for 3 courses and your little ones can come with you and choose from their own Little Diners menu for just £5 Joseph's Restaurant Braintree Road, Felsted, Essex, CM6 3DJ www.josephs-restaurant.com [email protected] 01371 820100 4 ->Cricket: Continued from previous page. Sledging was fairly rife during the match – Mike Studd our resident Paramedic asked me if he should shadow one of the villages batsman – just to make him feel slightly uneasy ! Nick from the White Hart announced loudly that the wine was corked which rattled the Vintner somewhat ! The village team scored 169 for 7 which was a great score for 20 overs. Now came the turn for the Church team to wield the willow with great gusto – however it was more like wobbling the wood as a fairly severe collapse ensued. However, as usual Rob Matthews secured his 25 runs to try and bring some normality to the proceedings. Then Andrew Simister approached the wicket – his is a tree surgeon by trade – and promptly launched a huge 6 over the large tree on the boundary – it made him feel at home ! Very soon the last man was walking towards the wicket - the Vintner had been pressed into service.