1 2 Contents page Public Service Contact Details 4 Editorial 5 Letters 6 Scrabbling 9 The Wilbrahams’ Memorial Hall 10 Great Wilbraham Primary School 13 Great Wilbraham Parish Council 16 Church Porches and Porch Doors 19 A View from the Garden 21 Untold Stories 22 The Wilbrahams’ Community Choir 24 Over the farm gate 25 The Hole in the Wall 27 Speed Awareness Campaign 29 Cambridge Past, Present and Future 29 Bell Ringing 30 Wilbrahams, Six Mile Bottom and Fulbourn Over 60 Club 31 The Wilbrahams' Social Club 32 Calendar 34/35 Little Wilbraham & Six Mile Bottom Parish Council 37 Conservation Agriculture 37 Bottisham Medical Practice Patients’ Group 39 Country Music 40 The Grand Duke 41 Family Fun Day 42 The Little Wilbraham Feast is Back 43 The Wilbrahams Film Club 45 The Wilbrahams and Six Mile Bottom Vegetable, Flower and Produce Show 46 Well-brahams Mental Health & Well-being Group 48 The Wilbrahams’ Gardening Club 49 Medical Transport raises £250 for MAGPAS 51 Cricket : Early Onset Optimism 51 The Little Wilbraham’s Playspace 52 Cambridge Open Studios 54 Weenie Warblers baby & toddler group 56 Bin It Don't Fling It 56 Hazardous Duty for our Postman, Bill 57 That Guy on Television 59 Six Mile Bottom Sports and Social Club 61 Baa Baa Black Bags 25 bags full 62 Crossword 63 Advertisers 64 Community Group Contact Details 65 Bus Timetable, 3 & 18 66 3 Public Service Contact Details Emergency Police, Fire or Ambulance 999 Community Support Officer PCSO Julie Hajredini 101 ext. 7113441 The Surgery, Bottisham Enquiries/Appointments : 810030 Mon-Fri: 08:30 am to 6.00 pm Fulbourn Health Centre Enquiries/Appointments : 880216 Mon-Fri: 08:30 am to 6.00 pm Out-of-hours / Urgent Care NHS Direct 111 Cambridgeshire Anglican Church Rev Alice Goodman 880337 Lay Minister: Steve Mashford, 882163 Baptist Church Peter Wells, 812388, www.re-new.me.uk [email protected] [email protected] Rev Keith Morrison, 813055 Rev Alan Brand, 812558 Great Wilbraham Parish Council Chairman Stephen Bartlett 881096 [email protected] Clerk Natalie Mulvey 07887813702 [email protected] Little Wilbraham & Six Mile Bottom Parish Council Chairman Dave Humphrey 07775 764 988 [email protected] Clerk Hayley Livermore 07725080631 [email protected] County Councillor John Williams 01223 880940 [email protected] District Councillors Claire Daunton 07852 552839 [email protected] Graham Cone 07595361285 [email protected] John Williams 01223 880940 [email protected] MP Lucy Frazer [email protected] Front cover photo by Chris Fell Other photos by Chris Fell, Martin Gienke, Catherine Goryn & contributors Printed by Burwell Community Print Centre 4 Editorial With summer now just around the corner everthing’s viridescent. It’s good to see the flowers in bloom, the hedge rows green, the grass getting longer and that lingering thought of…. ‘When will I get the chance to cut the lawn’. You may be forgiven for thinking this edition of the Warbler is a load of rubbish. What a come down from last year’s award-winning issues. Within this issue are a couple of articles about rubbish and the collecting of it. I remember when Ray Tilbrook came to the Little Wilbraham Common Rights meeting with a pitch about putting doors in the porch of St John’s church. Since then he has been tireless in his effort to get the doors. Well, that effort has finally paid off. The Rev Alice Goodman pays tribute to him in the opening lines of her article about the doors which have been recently installed at the church. It’s great to see that the Well-brahams have restarted the youth group. Recently there was nothing for this group of young people to do in any of the villages Let’s hope it goes from strength to strength. That said, I think, like a lot of things in the villages, it should not be just down to a few parents everybody should get involved. That Guy on Television is about Guy Mulley of Little Wilbraham, and his journey through the rounds of University Challenge. He is also a member of the choir and apparently has a voice that could end wars. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing. In Untold Stories Enid White talks about growing up in Teversham on a farm. She went on to marry a farmer and they moved to Little Wilbraham to take on the farm that her son David now runs. The back cover shows a painting of Ratford’s Yard owned by Mike Plumb. It was painted by J. Mawby in 1976. It looks at Ratford Yard towards Angle End and is a good historic record before it was all developed. The theme for the Crossword in this edition of the Warbler is Fairy Tales, so all you big kids out there get your thinking caps on or just ask your children to help. Of course, there are all the regular features as well, including letters and Greta’s poem. Just a reminder that the editors do not necessarily agree with every item in articles for The Warbler, and sometimes it is a fine balance in acting as editors, not censors. For articles which they consider may be controversial the editors operate a right of reply policy, if possible, prior to publication. All that remains for me to say is I hope you all have a good summer and look out for the next edition hitting your door mat in September. John Torode, joint editor 5 Den’s Bull I enjoyed Den’s story; he really is quite a lad. Talking to him this morning, there’s many more tales to be had. He used to take a bull for a walk to get it’s hooves in trim, Ready for a show so the judges could look and admire him. On one of these walks a milk float came rattling along. Up on his hind legs went the bull, thank goodness, Den was strong. On reaching the show, nowhere for Den to sleep, Decided to sleep with the bull, pleased it was for one night, not a week. On coffee at the club, you will find men gathering around, Eagerly waiting for the next tale to be told to them. Greta Rees Letters Dear Editors The Hole in the Wall May I follow up John Bramwell’s report of the re-opening of our local pub in Little Wilbraham in your last issue. I was unable to attend myself but have, with my wife, made several visits since February and we were most impressed with the efforts Nilesh and his wife have made, and are continuing to make, to re-establish a welcome attraction in our village. Like most successful eating places these days the menu is limited but of high quality. Frozen food is no substitute for fresh food. Nilesh tells me that fish - a particular strength on his menu - is delivered daily. There is something to suit all tastes on the wine list, but those who like to spend £250 and more (usually of other people’s money) on a bottle should look elsewhere. No wine is worth that sort of money. There has been some criticism of the level of service, but I think there needs to be some recognition that with a new venture it is impossible to guess customer potential accurately. Who wants to rush a nice meal in the evening which ought to be a pleasant, relaxed affair anyway? The bar and restaurant have been tastefully refurbished and, overall, we found the reborn Hole in the Wall refreshing with a warm welcome from staff. Customers should note that since the arrival of the new management the telephone number and the website address have changed to (01223) 848616 & 07951251758; www.holeinthewalldining.co.uk Yours sincerely, Geoffrey Lloyd, Longacre 6 Dear All I try not to be a Get Off My Land type of farmer and welcome walkers on the farm to enjoy my reasonably maintained footpaths. I allow cycling across the track when the cross field paths are wet in the winter, and even try to be tolerant of dogs off the lead, which should not be expected when I have loose Guinea Fowl around the farmyard. My wild flower and pollen/nectar margins make it a pleasing place to live and clearly add to the enjoyment of walkers, but they also serve a purpose i.e. to provide a habitat for wildlife. This year in addition to the usual strips I’ve planted an additional 12 acres which, if we are lucky enough to get some rain soon, will provide cover for ground birds and others through the summer and feed for all the local “little brown jobs” through the winter. But here is the rub, these areas should not be disturbed by dogs or walkers. There are around 3 miles of official footpaths and tracks through Hawk Mill so I’m politely asking walkers to please stick to the designated marked and maintained footpaths and leave all other areas to be peacefully undisturbed for the game birds, skylarks and lapwings with their chicks and the deer with their fawns. Many thanks, David White Dear Editors I attended the annual parish council meeting and was impressed by Alistair’s presentation on traffic speeding through our village. We all can see the speeds for ourselves now and the evidence cannot be disputed. This, coupled with the obvious damage to our verges and accident potential shows it is clear there is a major problem in our village.