Volume 11 • Issue No. 6 • APRIL 2021 Your free local community magazine: essential local news, services & information delivered through your door every month ™©

Inwith Baylham, Gt. Touch& Lt. Blakenham & Nettlestead www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk 2 In Touch online: Published by: A WORD FROM THE EDITOR Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd, 20 Wharfedale Road, IP1 4JP One of ‘our’ last home-schooling projects was to write a mini autobiography. We had to include specific features such as ‘an attention-grabbing introduction’, early memories, positive and negative experiences and aclosing EDITOR: Sharon Jenkins statement which included reflections on some key events and hopes for the future. All in four paragraphs! T: 01473 400380 Following an hour or so of ‘debate’, I dug out my memory box to help refresh Jack’s memory, and my own. We Send editorial copy to: found his first pair of socks, his first shoes, every birthday card he has ever received, his first blond curl (he’s not [email protected] blond anymore), his first toy car… and every family planner or calendar we’ve had since Jack arrived in 2010. Readers are invited to submit articles, illustrations and photographs for publication. The publishers reserve the right to amend such submissions and cannot accept What struck both of us as we scanned the calendars was how empty 2020 was. All the others were tattered and responsibility for any loss. torn with scrawled notes on every page, arrows from one date to another when football games were rescheduled, ADVERTISING birthday parties galore, plans made and cancelled. The 2020 planner was pristine and made us both quite sad as T: 01473 400380 we considered what we might have done and all the events that never happened. E: [email protected] DISTRIBUTION Jack eventually sat down to write but I haven’t been able shake off the sense of loss I felt when I packed the box Tree Martin: 01473 400380 away. We created unexpected memories in the last year, shared an intense experience we will talk about for E: [email protected] generations, learned a lot about ourselves and others, faced our fears, adapted how we live and work, rediscovered our compassion for the suffering of others… and most of us have emerged unscathed, physically at least. Perhaps it PRINTING ColourPlan Print: 01473 400379 will take a little longer for the emotional scars to heal and, just as we have done this past year, we must look after E: [email protected] those who have suffered most. Disclaimer: It doesn’t take much to make a difference. A smile, a nod, a quick chat about the weather… acknowledging and The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort is nurturing the sense of togetherness we’ve cultivated because that is the most valuable lesson we’ve learned. We taken to ensure that the contents of this magazine must cling to that as we pick ourselves up and move gradually towards normality. Let’s never forget how important are accurate but the publisher cannot assume any responsibility for errors or omissions. our local community has been, and I include local business as an essential cog in that wheel. While reasonable care is taken when accepting There is a palpable sense of anticipation now as we move steadily towards the first key dates on the route to advertisements or editorial, the publisher/ editor will not accept responsibility for any ‘freedom’. We may long for June 21 to arrive but there is much to do and plenty to look forward to before then, unsatisfactory transactions and also reserves the including Easter. right to refuse to include advertising or editorial. They will, however immediately investigate any written complaints. Happy Easter from everyone at Mansion House Publishing. Take care, © Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd. be safe and surprise someone with an unexpected smile. It may make their day! No part of this magazine may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, either wholly or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. © In Touch with & Stowupland is published by Mansion House Publishing (UK) Ltd AN ARTY OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDER 16S Our sales manager has come up with a delightful idea. Darren suggested having images created by children on our front covers COULD YOUR PICTURE BE OUR NEXT FRONT COVER? Mansion House Publishing plans to use drawings or paintings created by local children (16 and under) and we love the idea so we’re going to make it happen. on the front covers of each of its 18 In Touch titles and also on Spotlight on . As you can see on Example 1 below, the image sits under the title and has a banner ad across the bottom. The actual picture area is 210mm x 240mm. Pictures submitted on an A4 sheet must work in this format. As the banner ad will sit over your picture, key elements of your drawing/painting should be placed Printed on gloss paper from FSC certified sources centrally within the print area to avoid being hidden, as in Example 2. I can’t believe we haven’t thought of doing this before but perhaps Example 1 Example 2 Please recycle. now is the perfect time. I can’t think of anything more wonderful IN TOUCH TITLES to share with readers and I’m sure the results will bring a smile to • Stowmarket & Stowupland many faces. •  & Rushmere St Andrew I’ve set up a template of sorts on our website, just some notes • Melton & Woodbridge • Manningtree, Brantham, Lawford & Mistley about the size of the space and how to work around the banner ad. • Hadleigh, Chattisham, Hintlesham, You can find it at: www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/cover Holton St Mary, Layham & Raydon We’re not going to lay down any restrictions because we want our • Ipswich East, Ravenswood, Broke Hall & Warren Heath budding artists (who must be 16 or under) to choose their own • Elmswell, Beyton, Drinkstone, Haughley, subject matter. That said, it would be great to get pictures with local Hessett, Norton, Tostock, Wetherden Please provide the following information on the back of your picture or on an attached sheet: relevance, perhaps buildings, scenes or sites, play areas, favourite & Woolpit Your name and your age The school you attend walks and the like but, in reality, anything goes. Your address (we will only publish the town/village name but will need your full address if we need to contact you by post) •  & The Creetings Description (in no more than 20 words, tell us what your picture is and why it’s your chosen subject)

• Shotley, Chelmondiston, Erwarton, Harkstead, Pictures should be posted to: If you can’t access the online template let us know and we can Sharon Jenkins, Mansion House Publishing, 14-20 Wharfedale Road, Ipswich IP1 4JP There is no deadline date and publication is not guaranteed but we hope to see plenty of colour Holbrook, Pin Mill, Stutton & Woolverstone and wonderful representations of where you live and the things you enjoy doing. email it to you. You can submit several times if you wish to do so but we will not be able to return submitted pictures. • Martlesham The budding artist behind every published image will receive an A3 print of their cover. HAVE FUN; WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! Happy drawing, painting, illustrating.... • Claydon, Barham, Henley & Whitton • East Bergholt, Dedham, Flatford I also want to tell you about an e-vent we are sponsoring this month. Bounce Back for Business & Stratford St Mary is a digital Stowmarket Chamber of Commerce e-vent taking place from April 20-22 with live • Bramford, Offton, Somersham & Willisham networking events each day, including one with the aforementioned Darren Stainton. Anyone • Capel St Mary (Capel Capers) can attend the live online sessions which will cover a range of topics and include Q&A sessions. • Copdock, Belstead, Bentley, Tattingstone & Washbrook If you are interested, go to www.msbe.biz to find out more. • Gt & Lt Blakenham, Baylham & Nettlestead • Westerfield, Ashbocking, Tuddenham St Martin & Witnesham • Sproughton & Burstall KEEPING IN TOUCH We also publish Spotlight on Felixstowe keepingintouchwith.co.uk / spotlightmagazine.co.uk / vanilla-magazine.co.uk Saturday 10 April Twitter: @InTouchEast / @vanillamagazine is the advertising and Instagram: @mansionhousepublishing / @vanilla.magazine editorial deadline for Facebook: @mansionhousepublishing / @vanillamagazinesuffolk the May edition www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 3 NEWS

YOUR INVITATION TO HELP LOCAL BUSINESS BOUNCE BACK! DR DAN POULTER MP REPORTS BACK There’s a lot going on in Stowmarket but how much do you As we look ahead to Easter, longer days and know about it? warmer weather, I’d like to start by paying credit It’s worth finding out because there’s plenty of good news to our health leaders and all those involved in to share. the rollout of the vaccination programme here in , including the fantastic army of volunteers This is why we’d love you to join us at Stowmarket Chamber’s free ‘Bounce giving up their time to help with the effort. It’s Back for Business’ e-vent running online from 20-22 April at: www.msbe.biz. thanks to their combined efforts that Suffolk is In Touch will be there, talking to businesses about how we can help them get at the top of the league tables nationally for people receiving their first back on their feet, but there’s plenty more for you to see. Covid-19 vaccination. Join us and you could learn something to your advantage, as well as meeting We have come such a long way in the fight against coronavirus and people – and businesses – you’ve never seen before, having a bit of fun and there is very definitely light at the end of the tunnel but, for now, we even getting the chance to win prizes! must continue to follow the rules as we tentatively start to emerge For example, did you know… from lockdown. We are all keen to get back to some semblance of normality but if we relax the restrictions too soon, we could very • that a young Stowmarket-based software developer has built quickly find ourselves back at square one with infection rates rising the technology for a ‘virtual high street’ which is about to launch again, alongside increased hospital admissions and deaths. It only in Stowmarket? takes three or four weeks, particularly with some of the more virulent • about the town council’s development at the Regal Cinema? strains that have emerged, for things to get out of hand. When it reopens there’ll be not one but three screens – and a new cafeteria! Understandably, there are concerns about the spread of the new variants but current evidence seems to suggest that both the Pfizer • about the work Stowmarket Chamber, Mid-Suffolk, Suffolk Chamber and Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccines remain effective. The best way for of Commerce and many others are doing to create new opportunities all of us out of this pandemic is through vaccination and I would urge for young people? everyone to get vaccinated as soon as is practicably possible. • about all the people working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep businesses afloat and secure a future for all of us as we fight back The first steps out of lockdown saw our children and young against the challenge of Covid-19? people returning to their schools and education settings. Whilst our hardworking teachers and teaching assistants have stepped up to No? Then we’d love to tell you more! the challenges of remote learning, nothing can match the importance It’s been a tough year for all of us but especially for local businesses trying to of face-to-face learning in the classroom. survive two successive lockdowns. Assuming infection rates and hospital admissions continue to fall, Many of them have and the Chamber wants to celebrate their determination and the vaccination programme continues at pace, non-essential retail and hard work. and hospitality venues can also soon begin to reopen. Whilst I know Whether we wanted to or not, most of us have got familiar with doing things the delay is frustrating, it doesn’t benefit businesses to open for two online over the past year, whether it’s helping children with homework, or three weeks and then have to close again as restrictions were lifted shopping for things we can’t get any other way or catching up with friends too early. and family we weren’t allowed to meet. As the weather continues to improve, we know that transmission Now it’s time to bounce back and what better way to do it than online, just outdoors is reduced, and I know that we are all looking forward to before the world starts to open up again? being able to gradually mix outdoors as a first step in getting back to some sort of normality. I am hopeful that if we continue to stick with To find out more, visit www.msbe.biz and get booked in! It won’t cost you a it and follow the guidance, we can all look forward to much happier penny and while you’re there you can check out dozens of local businesses, times ahead. enter our mini-competition and see exactly what’s on the menu for the live events between 20-22 April. www.drdanielpoulter.com See you there.

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www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 5 NEWS

SUFFOLK ENERGY-FROM-WASTE FACILITY The Suffolk energy from waste facility will be undergoing its first planned maintenance shutdown of the year between 17 April and 2 May. These shutdowns take place twice a year for essential cleaning and maintenance, ensuring the facility continues to run efficiently. During the shutdown, the inside of the furnaces and the boiler will be inspected and repaired, and maintenance will be carried out on the ash dischargers. Maintenance of the two furnaces will be staggered so that we GREAT BLAKENHAM PARISH COUNCIL can continue to accept waste throughout the shutdown period. There will be an increased number of contractors on-site during this period Our next meeting is scheduled for 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 April. Due to but there should be no impact on the local community. If you have any Covid-19, we have been holding meetings by Zoom. Details of this and how concerns about the upcoming shutdown period, please contact us via the residents can join will be on the agenda, which is displayed on the council details provided below. noticeboards (outside the Parish Room, outside Budgens, outside Jack Brand’s and on Masons Drive) and our website and social media (details below). Whilst we are still unable to open our doors to the community for tours of the facility, we have been busy behind the scenes putting together virtual You can also contact the clerk to request an email link to join the meeting. resources for the public and schools. Please consider joining, even if you haven’t used Zoom before. It is very easy and it’s free. Everyone is welcome at council meetings no matter how they If you or your group are interested in a free, virtual tour of the facility followed are held, and there is a 15-minute public forum where you can ask questions by a live question and answer session with our community liaison manager, or raise issues related to the work of the parish council. please contact us at [email protected] to register your interest. You may be aware that the application for planning permission to build eight If you have any queries about our operations, please do not hesitate to houses along the side of and behind the cemetery has been approved by contact us: 01473 839149 / [email protected] MSDC. I can assure neighbours and those of you who visit the cemetery that the council will be doing everything we can to minimise the disturbance that OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS the construction work will cause and also to preserve the quiet peaceful To register your interest in a future visit: atmosphere of the cemetery after the work has finished. As part ofthis 01473 839149 / [email protected] process, we have removed an old and very overgrown hazel in the corner of Environment Agency: 0800 807 060 the hedge and will be replacing it with privet hedging. We will also be filling in SUEZ Communities Trust: 01934 524013 some of the gaps in the hedges to help maintain privacy for visitors. Woodfield Allotments We continue to work with the landowner to arrange a long-term solution which would provide security for plotholders but, unfortunately, there has been no further news as I write. In the circumstances, the plots will remain free of charge. Valley Ridge There is no further news on Valley Ridge (formerly SnOasis) but as soon as more information becomes available, it will be posted on social media and in these articles. Vacancies We still have vacancies for councillors. If you would like to find out more, please join the next meeting and see what it’s all about or contact the clerk. Having more councillors means that the council can take on more projects, so please give it serious consideration.

Stay safe and well and have a wonderful Easter! Thank you for reading this STOWMARKET & DISTRICT and for your interest in the work of your parish council. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Great Blakenham Parish Council Chairman Steve Plume We continue to hold virtual networking meetings CONTACT DETAILS via Zoom so you’ll have to provide your own refreshments Parish Clerk Janet Gobey [email protected] / 07508 830777 when meet for breakfast on Friday 16 April from 8am. We would love to see you! Facebook: @greatblakenhampc Twitter: @pcgtblakenham Website: greatblakenham.suffolk.cloud

Don’t forget we are holding our GREAT BLAKENHAM 200 CLUB three-day virtual BB4B event (Bounce Back for Business) see page 4 All enquiries regarding the 200 Club should now be addressed to John Hooper from April 20-22. at: 01473 846642 / [email protected] To sign up for regular Chamber newsletters and We welcome any new members wishing to support the repair and receive all the latest info and booking links, go to: maintenance of St Mary’s Church. www.stowmarketchamber.co.uk and fill in the It is hoped that collections will begin again in April and there will be nine form at the foot of the homepage. draws this year (Covid-19 permitting). 6 In Touch online: IPSWICH MR MISTY.pdf 1 06/04/2019 09:08

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www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 7 NEWS / OUT & ABOUT

GIPPING VALLEY COUNTY & BLAKENHAM DISTRICT COUNCILLOR JOHN FIELD Home to School Transport That would support the 30GWatt of offshore wind targeted for 2030 but not Suffolk Norse delivered a 12-month termination of agreement notice in the 100GWatt ambition for 2050. August 2020 as they believed they could no longer sustain the losses they The scheme as in 2012 proposes two lines of 400kv pylons but would be short were incurring. SCC will end the joint venture partnership and move the on the capacity required and further lines will be necessary. The offshore service to its wholly-owned company, Vertas. solution, a series of DC connections linking windfarms together andto The 40 home-to-school transport routes and school swimming service will London, does not appear to be progressing. be delivered by Vertas from September onwards. The contract was not put Undersea connections are being used to bypass restrictions and one would out to tender due to the limited timescales, the legal requirement to deliver be between Sizewell and Kent, but we need more so that our countryside can these services continuously, and the risk of redundancies if a provider able be protected. to deliver both swimming and home-to-school transport could not be found. Freeport East There will be additional costs depending on the state of the vehicle fleet. The freeport application by Felixstowe and Harwich has been agreed. It District Council Budget covers a 40km radius just out to Stowmarket and Gateway 14 and Port One The district council budget with a 1.66% increase in council tax, a council rents at Great Blakenham is covered. increase of CPI plus one per cent and a sheltered housing charge increase of two per cent was approved by 17 votes to 16. Lib Dem and Green Councillors voted against as the council has a £7m budget surplus in a year when family finances are challenged. Building Decarbonisation Suffolk County Council, working with their wholly-owned company, Concertus, has gained £3m from government to promote energy efficiency and non-fossil fuel heat sources within buildings used for public services. Improvements costing £1,566,000 will be undertaken at Endeavour House in Ipswich, four rural fire stations, Beacon House in Ipswich, the Waterloo Centre in , and Leiston Children’s Centre. Nine schools will be improved at a cost of £1,546,000. There are business rate benefits. Companies will get five years’ relief and Work will vary from building to building but will include the fitting of solar councils will get 100% business rates retention for 25 years. There are also panels and battery storage, as well as improvements to wall or roof insulation National Insurance reliefs, tariff benefits, tax incentives and regeneration and installation of ground or air-source heat pumps to move away from the funding for companies who invest in production and logistics. use of fossil fuels for heating. The hope is that there will be a massive impetus for investment and some Planning: Solar Farms and Power Lines 13,000 new jobs created in high-value industries. The risk is that jobs will Councillors have met with National Grid to be briefed on the reinforcement just move for taxation and grant benefits. of the Bramford to Twinsted Tee power line. The need they are trying to meet is for an export capability of 15GWatt from Suffolk towards London. [email protected] / 07545 423808

SOMERSHAM & DISTRICT COMMUNITY SHOP The Playing Field, Princes Gardens, Somersham Telephone: 01473 833416 OPENING TIMES Mon, Wed, Thurs & Sat: 10am-1pm / Tuesday & Friday: 10am-4pm A COMMUNITY SHOP FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND RUN BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

What a winter that was! A difficult time for all of us but our super We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can have our Coffee little shop was a beacon of light throughout thanks to our wonderful Corner meetings again soon and also celebrate our ninth anniversary in volunteers and producers who worked tirelessly to enable us to provide the summer. a service to our locality. It was always a pleasure to see our customers To keep up with all the news and produce in the shop Lucy says, “Follow when we were able to exchange a few words along with the purchases. us on Facebook”. Now we look forward to a better spring and, of course, to Easter and Looking forward to seeing you. sunnier days ahead. We hope you have been able to take advantage of our ‘Free Easter Management Team egg with £7 spend’ promotion which has been possible thanks to the Lucy Barrett – 831890; Stephen Bullard; Kate Dines; generosity of a wonderful customer. There may still be a few left! Janet Hodge – 832296; Peter Jousiffe; Anne MacFadyen – 831288

8 In Touch online: OUT & ABOUT

DALLINGHOO PLANT & CAKE SALE Sunday 25 April from 1-4pm Dallinghoo Jubilee Village Hall IP13 0JX Make a note in your diary! JOHN RENNIE AND STOWMARKET DALLINGHOO Was the Stowmarket Navigation John Rennie’s stepping stone to becoming OPEN GARDENS one of the greatest engineers of his age? Are the locks along the (Stowmarket Navigation) the original and oldest remaining John Sunday 13 June, 1.30-5:30pm Rennie design in the UK? Is Bosmere lock at Needham Market the oldest Teas and plants for sale Rennie lock in the world? In 1791, Rennie moved to London (from Scotland), set up his own engineering Tickets and maps from the Jubilee Hall business and became involved in the Stowmarket Navigation in December Adults £5 / Accompanied under 16s free 1791. It is recorded that his first work involved canals, notably the Lancaster Canal (Rennie was appointed as engineer in July 1792). He went on to IN AID OF THE DALLINGHOO HISTORIC CHURCH APPEAL engineer both Waterloo and London bridges, London’s East India and West India docks, Chatham dockyard, Bell Rock Lighthouse and was buried at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral. His involvement in the Stowmarket Navigation would therefore appear to be the first canal construction work of his career. With its successful completion being only 18 months after his initial survey and report, he obviously used this to further his canal work, going on to the Lancaster, then the Chelmer and Blackwater and, probably his most famous, the Kennet and Avon. There appears to be no record of him being involved in any actual canal-building work before his involvement on the Stowmarket in 1791. We know that Rennie met with Stowmarket Navigation Trustees in December 1791 and again in April 1792 after he had surveyed the river and reported that the original survey was inadequate and advised that an additional £12,762 OPEN-AIR CONCERT would be needed to complete the canal with the final cost of construction AT BARHAM HALL being £26,263, nearly twice the original estimate. We also know from his notebook that he made an agreement with a Mr Goodey, a brickmaker from th Claydon & Barham Church presents their 13 open-air concert Ipswich. His original notes on this agreement are archived in the National in the gardens of Barham Hall on Saturday 3 July Library of Scotland and the trust is seeking to obtain a copy to further Open from 5.30pm for garden viewing establish its content. by kind permission of Mr & Mrs Burrows We also know, from Rennie’s notes in December 1791, that three locks An evening enjoying a range of well-known music from had already been built and that these were of turf and timber construction between Stowmarket and Needham Market. If canal construction continued downstream in the order it started, the next lock is Bosmere. Bosmere lock is the lock at Needham Market lakes, so maybe this could be the oldest Rennie lock in the world. Rennie recommended that the first three locks be rebuilt in brick as soon as possible after the opening of the canal, but they weren’t. We also know that after the Stowmarket Navigation (completed 1793), Rennie was appointed chief engineer of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation in 1793, just 40 miles away. Day-to-day control was vested Plus interval retro singalong with Lisa Roberts in Richard Coats, who immediately before had held a similar position to Music from 7-10pm construct the Stowmarket Navigation, which it closely resembled. Coats brought with him many experienced Suffolk Navvies to carry out the work Admission strictly by ticket only –strictly limited to 480 on the Chelmer. Bring your own picnic, drinks and seats/blankets We know that the design of the locks, bridges and other installations on the No gazebos or barbecues and take care that Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation is similar to those on the Kennet and boiling water from flasks is not emptied onto the grass Avon Canal. The Stowmarket Navigation was just under 17 miles (27 km) long from Ipswich to Stowmarket, rising 90 feet (27 m) through 15 locks of broad Early-bird tickets £12.50 construction, each 55 by 14 feet (16.8 by 4.3 m), suitable for barges with a Full price £15 after May 31 (if any tickets remain) draught of three feet four inches (1.02 m). It was opened throughout on 14 September 1793. Cheques payable to Claydon & Barham PCC to be sent with a Badley lock (between Stowupland and Needham) is still a turf and timber stamped self-addressed envelope to Roger Colthorpe, lock. The EA did some work on it in 1948 but, in essence, it is exactly the same 5 Phillipps Road, Barham IP6 0AZ as it was in 1790 (but without gates). The trust is desperate to work on that Contact for queries: [email protected] / 01473 831079 lock as it is one of the last turf and timber locks in the UK and, as such, is of vast historical importance. www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 9 OUT & ABOUT / SCHOOLS

GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR WORK AT ST MARY’S IN AKENHAM

Messy Outdoor Fun for Children Are you looking for a different and exciting way to interest your children in nature? Join us, with leader Ross Piper, on Saturday 24 April for a free minibeast Identification session and make a cob brick to take home for wild bees to live in. Messy outdoor fun from 11am to 1pm or 2-4pm. Booking is essential, and children must be accompanied by an adult. The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT) is set to receive a grant from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund for £16,560 for urgent repairs to the Look out for more family days on one Saturday each month. roof at St Mary’s in Akenham. During our excavation of the 1580 Long House, we found many interesting St Mary’s is a beautiful Suffolk church with a rural feel hidden up a track objects which are now in our on-site museum. Do have a look on our website and through fields. It dates from the Middle Ages, with a simple interior and where Roger, from our excavation team, has put together three short a solitary gravestone of a two-year-old boy who died in 1878 and whose booklets about the finds –A Miscellany of Findings – with photographs and a short historical summary of each find. burial helped to alter the Burial Laws of . The church is in urgent need of work on the roof, including to the flashings, gutters and glazing www.orchardbarn.org.uk/oldhouse.html repairs costing £20,700. Many of the items are related to farming This funding comes as part of the £1.3 million in funding received by the trust and some also reveal a wonderful insight as part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund announced last October. into the social history of the day. The It originally funded projects at 18 churches in CCT’s care but has now been photo shows a firing mechanism from extended to 26, including five historic churches in Suffolk. The others are a flintlock pistol which was found in the All Saints in Little Wenham, All Saints in South Elmham, All Saints in Ellough ruins of the Long House, possibly from a and St Mary’s Church in . Brown Bess rifle used by the British Army from 1722-1832. CCT is the national charity protecting historic churches at risk and cares for 356 Grade I and Grade II churches across England. The charity has been We are currently preparing for the working party to re-laminate the earth hit hard by the pandemic and now faces a shortfall of over £500,000 due to floor of our meeting room in the barn. We have removed the top inch of Covid-19. The grant funding requires 20 per cent match funding to fully pay the old floor and now have 140kg of clay drying in the polytunnel. This will for the much-needed works at St Mary’s Church and the CCT is now trying be crushed by hand to a powder and mixed with sand, straw and water to to raise the £4,140 balance to meet the £20,700 required. make the new surface. Made with environmentally friendly materials sourced locally, it will last for many years and will also help to keep the barn cool in the If you can help to support the work at St Mary’s, please contribute via the summer and warm in the winter. CCT ‘donate’ page at: www.visitchurches.org.uk/AKE All activities will be in small groups, mostly outside, and socially distanced. You can also contribute by texting AKE‘ ’ to 70970 to donate £5 or 70191 to If you are interested in joining any of these, please contact Sarah: donate £10. 07766 054042 / [email protected] For information about how you can get involved at any of the CCT churches www.orchardbarn.org.uk please contact Jane Hatton: 07392 086936 / [email protected]. To find out more about individual church projects, see: www.visitchurches.org.uk STOWMARKET & DISTRICT CAMERA CLUB CLAYDON PRE-SCHOOL 100 CLUB As per government guidelines, we are still unable to have face-to-face meetings. However, the following Zoom meetings will take place. Our last 100 Club draw took place on February 25. The winners were: Monday 12 Apr Open Competition 4 - Judge: Nick Akers ARPS BPE3 1: Amy Kading (8) Monday 26 Apr Colin Stubley Shield (Portraiture) & AV Trophy 2: Brenda Bugg 93) Judge: Andy Wilson LRPS 3: Alison Butterfield (25) Monday 10 May AGM The winnings will be left in your child’s tray or the office for collection. Monday 24 May Lecture 5: My Type of Photography Thanks to your support, £11 was donated to the pre-school. Half of all by David Steel DPAGB the money given to the club goes to the pre-school and the other half is paid out in winnings. Future dates will be announced in this publication and on our website. Membership is just £1 a month. You do not need to have a child at the New members are always very welcome at the club. You don’t have to be pre-school to be a member. Membership forms are available from the an expert photographer; all you need is a camera – any camera – and a real interest in using it. Our members use DSLRs, mirrorless, compacts and office or by email. bridge cameras. Thank you to all those lovely people who continue to support us. We If you are interested in becoming a member please email are very grateful. [email protected] or visit our website. Cara Lee, 100 Club Administrator www.stowmarketanddistrictcameraclub.onesuffolk.net 10 In Touch online: www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 11 SCHOOLS / CHURCH NEWS

CLAYDON PRE-SCHOOL CLAYDON & BARHAM YOUNG FAMILIES At the time of writing, we are welcoming back all of our children as the I hope everyone is safe and well. Let’s hope that we will soon be able to run schools also reopen. It is lovely to be able to get the children back to a normal our friendly gatherings again. As soon as we can, I will post the dates on the routine and the staff are all looking forward to returning to some sortof Claydon, Barham, Henley and Gt Blakenham noticeboard and Suffolk Infolink. normality. They have lots of Easter crafts ready to do with the children. I will also place a poster on the village hall noticeboard. The garden revamp is very close now and we are hoping the children will be able to start playing in it when they return after the Easter break. Keep checking our Facebook page for photos once it is completed. Don’t forget to get your application forms to us for placements in September 2021. If you have any questions or queries, please contact us. Unfortunately, GIVE UP OR TAKE UP? we cannot show people around the building at present but will help in any other way that we can. We are now able to take children up to the end of Reception for added sessions during school holiday weeks, subject to availability. If you would like to book any days during the holidays, please contact Lisa Read, our administrative assistant, for more details. We also take children who are entitled to 30 funded hours. Simply register at Childcare Choices to see if you are eligible. St James’ Lanehead C of E on Briercliffe Road in Burnley was the primary school I attended as a If you would like an application form or any further information, please child. During Lent, my sister and I would go once contact Lisa Read. a week, for six weeks, to St James’ Church at the top of Briercliffe Road. The distance was one mile [email protected] / 01473 831648 from our home, which was flat until we reached Claydon Pre-school, Old Scout Hut, Thornhill Road, Claydon IP6 0DZ Briercliffe Road. From there, it was all uphill all the way but we were given 50p for the bus fare from the stop on Briercliffe Road. We could choose to spend the money on the bus, save it for something or spend it on sweets at the shop near the church. We clearly didn’t give up sweets for Lent! Our choice varied from week to week but we always took the bus when it rained. What would you have chosen to do in that situation? After the service, we would walk back for the days’ lessons and, thankfully, it was all downhill! This period of Lent, which will end on April 3 this year, is seen as “the HENLEY PRE-SCHOOL commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, before beginning His public ministry, during which He endured temptation by Satan”. We have been enjoying the warmer weather and have started our planting Luke records the account, which followed the baptism of Jesus, with Satan which the children have thoroughly enjoyed. We have been growing cress tempting Jesus for 40 days and finally leaving Him until an opportune time. In indoors and the children have been learning about growth by checking its the first and last temptations, as Luke records it, Satan questions Jesus as to progress each day. The raised beds have been restored by the committee and who He is and calls on him to prove it. Jesus didn’t doubt who He was or what are ready to fill with seasonal plants and vegetables. His Father had told Him. Mother’s Day was celebrated by making peppermint creams and handprint Next Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him. keepsake pictures. We also made many Easter crafts, nest cakes and baskets. Jesus replied, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. Where Adam and Eve chose to take the fruit of the tree they had been told We are full next term, which is fantastic news, and we are taking applications not to, Jesus chose to submit to His Father’s will and resisted the temptations for September onwards so please make sure you get in touch soon to avoid and thereby committed no sin. disappointment. We welcome new families from around and out of the area. Lent is a time when people give things up but it can be a time when we take If you are interested in seeing what we do, please get in touch and we can send things up. We could decide to give up our favourite soap opera and spend you a virtual video of the pre-school and an appointment can be arranged that time reading Luke’s Gospel instead. Right now, we are unable to meet as to visit the setting out of opening hours. We are now taking bookings for a church to worship God but hope to do so very soon now that a roadmap out September 2021. of lockdown has been laid out. In the meantime, if you would like a free copy of Luke’s Gospel for yourself, please get in touch and we will get a copy to you. Applications can be downloaded from our website or you can email the pre- school for further information. We welcome those in receipt of 30 hours’ free If you would like to join us on Sunday mornings via Zoom or to have a chat, childcare but the codes must be in place the term before they are needed. please contact me to make that happen. Simply register at Childcare Choices to see if you are eligible. We also accept Pastor Michael tax-free childcare. Children can join us from the age of two; we accept government-funded and fee-paying children. We are open term time only For more information contact Michael: from 9am to 3pm. 01473 839785 / [email protected] https://blakenhambaptist.wixsite.com/blakenhambaptist We have a well-supported Facebook page as well as our website which provides lots of information and you can see what the children have been doing. It is also another way to contact the setting directly. For further information please call 07979 468467 or email Bridget Wyatt, our manager: [email protected] Bridget, Sarah and Kerry 12 In Touch online: CHURCH NEWS

ST MARY THE VIRGIN BRAMFORD, ST MARY NETTLESTEAD, ST MARY THE VIRGIN LITTLE BLAKENHAM, ST PETER BAYLHAM

New Priest in Charge I share with you some words offered to me many years ago by a wise I am The Reverend Eric Falla and priest. They are a powerful reminder to me of the real task of a parish I am delighted to introduce myself as priest. your new interim Priest in Charge for “My job is to help people see and feel the wonderful Grace of God the Benefice of Bramford with Little that is already at work in their lives.” Blakenham, Baylham and Nettlestead. Peace and Blessings, Rev Eric I am aware that you have been without a parish priest for a while and I look APRIL SERVICES forward to getting to know the people Sunday 4 Easter Sunday in the Benefice. I am to be licensed to 10am TBA – Bramford the Benefice on Monday 12 April by the Bishop of Dunwich, the Right Reverend Dr Mike Harrison. I hope Please see the church noticeboard for details the service will be in church but due to Covid-19 restrictions, we will Monday 12 Licensing of Eric Falla – TBA have to limit the number of people who can attend. I hope we can record the service and make it available via social media. Sunday 18 The Third Sunday of Easter (Easter 2) 10am Communion, Bramford I believe that living the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ can be challenging Revd Eric Falla’s first service but also tremendous fun, so I thank God for this opportunity. PARISH REGISTERS I was born and grew up in Southend-on Sea, Essex, famous for the longest entertainment pier in the world. I am the third youngest of Funerals four, the youngest being my twin sister Sara by five minutes. My wife March 1: Russell Aldous, Bramford Vicky and I moved to Suffolk in 1993. We extend to his family our sympathy and prayers. From the age of nine, my early years were influenced by attendance Floodlighting of the Spire of St Mary’s Church at my local church where I joined the church choir. I can look back to March 18: In memory of Alfred Thomas Wardley (2003) these days as powerful, profound and spiritually heady. As I matured, March 21: In memory of Peggy Pansy Wardley (2017) my faith moved forward in leaps and bounds. April 7: In memory of Jim Thacker on his 70th Birthday At 16, I left school and found a job as a trainee baker in a small family April 12: In memory of Tim Curran (2000) bakery. where I worked for three years. Following that I worked as a milkman, bus conductor, served in the British Army, served in the If you would like to have the spire floodlit, please ring Stewart on Prison Service for 17 years, was the site manager in a large primary 01473 462231. The requested donation is £10 for each dedication. school in for five years and, from 2007 to October 2020, LECTIONARY I worked for our Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich based at the St Nicholas Centre in Ipswich. Bible readings for our Sunday Worship are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. It is good to share the reading of Scripture with My journey to priesthood came to fruition in 2017 when I was selected Christians – both Catholic and Protestant – across the world. for a new training program developed by Bishop Martin called the Auxiliary Ordination Pathway (AOP), This training has formed me for April 4 Easter Day White or Gold parish ministry. Ordained Deacon in 2018 and Priested in 2019, I served Isa. 25:6-9 Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 my curacy in two churches, one in Ipswich and the other in the two- April 11 Easter 1 White church rural benefice of East Bergholt and Brantham from where I Exod. 14:10-end Acts 4:32-35 John 20:19-end come to serve you. April 18 Easter 2 White Vicky and I have been married for 38 years this year and she has Zeph. 3:14-end Acts 3:12-19 1 John 3:1-7 supported me in my vocation as a priest in a wonderful and spiritual April 25 Easter 3 White way. You will meet her at various events and worship. Gen. 7:1-5,11-18 Acts 4:5-12 1 John 3:16-end

www.keepingintouchwith.co.uk/gtblakenham 13 CHURCH NEWS

THE CLAYDON GROUP OF CHURCHES The Church of England in Claydon and Barham, Henley and Great Blakenham We offer you a warm welcome to all our events and services.

For enquiries please contact: There is a Service of Holy Communion at Barham Church on Wednesdays The Revd Cathy Austin, 01473 830100 at 10am, on the first second and fourth Sundays at 10am, and at 8am on The Revd Diane Williams, Rural Dean, 01449 720316 the third Sundays. To attend a service, please book with Jonathan Dedman: 01473 830890 / [email protected] One of the first things that come to mind when we think about April is the saying, “April showers bring May flowers”. Is that true, or is it just something Gt Blakenham Church is open for private prayer on Saturdays from 10am- to say because it rhymes? noon, and Henley Church on Sundays from 2-4pm. According to meteorologists and others, the saying is true. April is traditionally The above may be subject to change due to regulations. Social distancing a rainy month and the rain keeps the soil fertile and makes flowers grow and is observed and everyone attending a service is required to wear a face bloom a month later. It could be raining and wet one day and the next, it covering. could be sunny and dry. FUTURE EVENTS April is also the time for Easter. The Christian Aid Week appeal (10-16 May) is supported across all three Thank you to Henley Church for providing the following. churches. Have you ever wondered why Easter is Taking the guidance on relaxed restrictions into account, we hope to have the a movable feast? The answer it appears following events. is complicated. The English monk, the Gt Blakenham Church Venerable Bede, came up with a nice way Zoom Quiz: Friday 23 April, 7/7.15pm of remembering when Easter falls – it is the To book contact: [email protected] first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Seed Swap: May (TBC) Doggy Day: 31 July Astronomy is absolutely at the heart of setting the date for Easter. “It depends on Patronal Festival: 15 August two astronomical things – the spring equinox and the full moon,” says Dr Barham Church Marek Kukula, public astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Monday 28 June: Thanksgiving for the lives of members According to the Bible, Jesus’s death and resurrection, which Easter of the Church Family who have died in the past year celebrates, occurred around the time of the Jewish feast of Passover. That Sunday 3 July: Barham Hall Picnic Concert was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox. However, Sunday 18 July: BBQ that soon led to Christians celebrating Easter on different dates. By the end of the second century, some churches celebrated Easter on the day of the 11-13 August: J-Team Holiday Club Passover, while others marked it the following Sunday. 11 & 12 September: Annual Fete and Harvest Festival The most common date for the Western churches’ Easter is 19 April. The Henley Church earliest Easter can be is 22 March, and the latest it can fall is 25 April. This Sunday 27 June: Patronal Festival year’s Easter services, falling at the beginning of April, were different once again. While we know we will gradually move out of lockdown over the next Details will follow in the coming months for all our churches. couple of months and that life will begin to return to normal, for the second A PRAYER FOR EASTERTIDE year running, large congregations were unable to celebrate Easter together in church buildings. There will be a mixture of virtual and in-person services The veil of darkness transformed to the brightest light. and, as ever, great effort will be made to ensure that the traditions of Easter The most dreadful end became the most beautiful beginning. are upheld wherever possible. The depths of despair fade to reveal hope everlasting. Online Lent groups and Compline services went ahead The curse of death defeated by eternal life. throughout Lent and instead of the Good Friday craft Thank you, Lord, for the wonder of Easter. workshops, craft packs will be delivered for families to complete at home before joining together by Zoom to Amen show their creations and have a short service. A very www.claydonchurches.com Happy Easter to you all. Facebook: The Claydon Group of Churches Services HALL BOOKINGS WHEN AVAILABLE Services are listed on the website, pew sheets and Facebook. Zoom Services take place at 9.30am on the first and third Sundays. To join us, please email Barham Church Hall: Zoe Groom, 831804 Wendy Hooper: [email protected] Gt Blakenham Parish Room: Reg Barton, 839958

14 In Touch online: CHURCH NEWS

BRAMFORD METHODIST CHURCH Minister: Rev Derek Grimshaw: 01473 805486 / [email protected] Contact: Rita Palmer: 01473 831117 Facebook: @BramfordMethodistChurch The website for The Ipswich Circuit of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, with online services, Thought for the Day and lots more is: www.methodistic.org.uk The website for the Methodist Church in Britain is: www.methodist.org.uk Dear Friends, As I write this letter at the beginning of March, there is a fresh optimism surrounding the remainder of our journey through this pandemic. The Prime Minister announced his ‘roadmap to recovery’ a couple of weeks ago and schools and colleges have reopened. We are still a long way from where we were a year ago and it is quite shocking to think that this pandemic has consumed such a huge part of our lives. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The next big benchmark is March 29 when we will be allowed greater freedom, in a very controlled way, which will hopefully mean that the nation can move to stage two on April 12 when we will be allowed to have our hair cut again and maybe start to look half decent once more. Shops, zoos, theme parks, gyms, libraries and community centres will all re-open and, best of all, we can start to take holidays again, so long as they are self-catering. By mid-May we will be allowed to eat out, visit pubs, museums, theatres and cinemas and, if this works without an increase in the infection rate, we will walk free again by midsummer day. In the Church, we are on our journey through Lent and following a familiar roadmap of our own that will lead us through a series of familiar landmarks on our journey. It is an experience that will lead us through emotions that are particulalry meaningful this year, more perhaps than any other for us as Christians as we remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the events of Holy week leading up to the Last Supper, the betrayal and arrest, the torture, humiliation, rejection and trial of Good Friday, all leading up to the crucifixion. We have all experienced a raft of emotions during the last year and can relate in some way to the early followers of Christ. Of course, the main thing to remember as we travel on our Lenten journey is that we have the joy of Easter Day as our ultimate goal. That is our light at the end of the tunnel. I hope and pray that by June, we will be free of our pandemic experience and will have the freedom to enjoy the things that we may have taken for granted a year ago. Take care as you follow the roadmap, appreciate every landmark as we enjoy newfound freedoms and let’s all keep the end in sight. With best wishes. Derek In February, it was lovely to find something unusual in the church postbox – a colourful rainbow face drawn onto a small piece of card with the words ‘Stay Strong’ written on the back! This was so appropriate in the middle of the third lockdown and meant so much to think that someone cared enough to include us in this act of kindness, that I had to let others know and they were really touched too. Thank you to whoever was responsible for the thought, the making of the card and for delivering it. As has been said, “Small acts of kindness keep the light of Christ burning!” A happy Easter to everyone, Olive

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