Chillerton & Gatcombe News Autumn 2019
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E – SPRAKE BUILDING SERVICES – – SPRAKE DEVELOPMENTS LTD – Tel: (01983) 721941 Mobile: 07889 035858 Long End, Main Rd., Chillerton, IW. PO30 3ER NEW DWELLINGS * RENOVATIONS EXTENSIONS * GENERAL BUILDING FITTED KITCHENS * ROOFING CARPENTRY How lovely, after the few damp and grey days of a few weeks ago, to have this last burst of summer before ‘that feeling of autumn’ isn’t just confined to early mornings and late eve- nings!! In this issue, we look back at yet another very successful Flower Show as well as catching up with what else has been happening around the parish. There have been changes within our parish council - all our councillors contin- ue to work very hard on your behalf though! We say goodbye to Irene, our oldest resident; and to those who celebrated her life at her funeral in the village hall in August… wasn’t that just so lovely? And for Focus on this time, we have ventured outside the parish to find a ‘willing victim’… to the ‘North Island’ in fact! Many of you will know who he is…we hope you enjoy reading his interesting responses! Maybe even send him an email and really put Chillerton on the map! (Jill Webster. 1, Springvale Cottages, Main Rd., Chillerton. PO30 3EP Tel. 721483 or email [email protected]) YOUR PARISH MATTERS! Going from strength to strength, we now have more than 120 people on our YPM list, but if you aren’t one of them, it’s never too late to have your name added to the list! In the last few months we’ve kept you up to date about road works in the village, the re-surfacing of Brook Lane, appeals for bric-a-brac for the church, been able to warn you about the three dead badgers, reunited some- one with their store card and so on… BUT despite numerous reports of sightings throughout the parish, we’ve had little success with finding out who the roaming peahens belong to! Sign up to receive YPM emails to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the parish!! And if there’s anything going on locally that you would like to let the parish know about, we can do that too… just send me an email ([email protected]) As always…. if you receive YPM emails, please can you pass on anything of interest or impor- tance to any of your friends/neighbours who don’t have Internet access… thank you! 3 Irene Watterson 1918 - 2019 As most of you know Irene passed away peacefully on Au- gust 9th in St Vincent Retirement Home, with family around her, fol- lowing a series of mini-strokes. The family decided that we could mark her passing best with a non- religious celebration of her life and for it to take place in the village hall in Chillerton. Irene loved living in the village and had made many friends since moving here with her husband Bill in 1978, forty one years ago. She had played a full part in village life over that time, in the W.I., the garden society and the Happy Circle to name a few. She loved cooking and baking, producing scones and biscuits at the drop of a hat, or contributing a meal for her friends in the Happy Circle. A big thanks to Sarah Purrington for bringing a series of photos to the celebration which showed Mum taking part in all these village activities from so long ago. A big thank you to all those who contributed in some way to helping us give Mum such a memorable goodbye. Thanks especially to Carolyn and Gillian for scones amongst other things, Harriet for the loan of projector, Jill for getting the word round, Dave and others for the drinks and use of the Gallybag- gers, and Steve for contributing his memories to the celebration. Thank you to everyone who came to the celebration - her family greatly appreciated your support. It seemed a wonderful way, with friends and family, to mark her passing, the weather stayed fine and the final farewell as the hearse moved away will be a lasting memory. She lived a long and full life, always thinking of others and their welfare and happiness. It seemed, at times, as if she could go on for ever, and her longevity and independence showed what a strong and determined person she was. I know she will be missed by all who knew her. 4 A Tribute to René Watterson On Wednesday August 21st a group of friends and relatives gathered in the Village Hall to say a fond farewell to René Watterson who was six weeks short of her 101st birthday when she passed away. René lived in the village for over 40 years and was our neighbour for over 30 of those. Thankfully she was able to live independently until a few weeks before her death, and she will be missed by her family and friends. She was a regular at the monthly Village Markets, enjoyed her Bingo in the Reading Rooms, and afternoon card sessions with her friends. Many of us will remember her 100th birthday celebrations, when she hosted two parties and remained stand- ing during both when many of us were flagging. She was one of the most posi- tive people we have ever known and we are sure this contributed to her longevity. We have many fond memories, but one occasion we will miss is when René joined us each ‘Burns Night’, originally with her husband Bill, when he was alive, to celebrate with haggis, neeps and of course a ‘wee dram’. Last January we spent the evening teaching her a new card game, and she refused to leave until she had mastered it and beaten us! Although she herself was a Londoner, because of her Scottish links through Bill, her Glaswegian husband, this poem by Robbie Burns is a tribute to her. “An honest woman here lies at rest, The friend of man, the friend of truth, The friend of age, and guide of youth: Few hearts like hers, with virtue warm'd, Few heads with knowledge so inform'd; If there's another world, she lives in bliss; If there is none, she made the very best of this.” 5 KEEP FIT Tuesdays. Chillerton School. 7.45pm. READING ROOM Social Evenings. Saturdays/Mondays. 8pm to 11pm. FRENCH GROUP Wednesdays. Village Hall. 4.30pm to 6pm C&R SCHOOL October 21 First day of half term November 4 School returns after half term. ST OLAVE’S October 5 Harvest Supper October 6 Harvest Festival November 2 Churchyard Clean-up November 9 Christmas Market GALLYBAGGER INN September 26 Folk Night 8pm - 11pm October 12 Beer & Buses 10am - 11pm October 13 Beer & Buses 11am - 6pm October 31 Folk Night 8pm - 11pm November 15 Chiili & Baguette Evening (more details soon) November 28 Folk Night 8pm - 11pm December 16 Christmas Music & Draw December 31 New Year’s Eve PARISH COUNCIL Meetings start at 7pm October 1 Village Hall November 5 Village Hall December 3 Village Hall VILLAGE MARKET Chillerton Village Hall. 10am to noon. October 5 Market and Café. November 2 Market and Café. December 7 Market and Café. BEAT SURGERIES Village Hall. 12.30pm to 1pm September 25 October 23 November 20 6 Village Shows of Days Gone By My wife, Alison, and I entered some of our produce in our recent local village show. It reminded me of when we lived at Billingham and we used to go to the local shows - especially remembering the Agricultural Show at Blackwa- ter – where the Cricket Ground now is. There, they used to have displays of local tractors and machinery etc. and also you could watch men splitting chestnut timbers and making fence posts with a sharp had axe. There were also lots of sheep, cattle and pigs and also, where they were still used, the big heavy horses. But the highlight of the day for me was when I was about six or seven years old and coming home from Blackwater on a trailer – a haywain owned by Mr Les Westmore from Chillerton Farm (brother of Mr Roy Westmore, our old local councillor) … but getting back to the transport home…everybody who lived en route jumped on the trailer and then jumped off outside their house on the way home! (Health & Safety would have had a field day!) It was great for a young boy - and when we got to Chillerton Farm, we got off and walked over Berry Hill to Casses Cottages in Billingham, where we lived. I was also remembering Chillerton Show in the 1950s when we still lived at Billingham. It was held in the field, opposite Gatcombe House, which also butted on to Highwood Lane. They always had the Show tent then, just as they still have now. And there was tug o’ war, hoopla and the coconut shies, sack races and lots of other races. You could roll at the skittles for a piglet, which my brother, Peter, won once! (Imagine that nowadays!) That same year, he won first prize in the raffle – a paraffin stove! My mother had it for years. I don’t think we had electric back then and my mother cooked on a kitchen range; bath-time was a big tin tub with water heated on an old ‘copper’ in the kitchen. In those days we bathed once a week…whether you wanted to or not!! The good old days!!! The deadline for all your news and reports etc. for the WINTER Chillerton &Gatcombe NEWS is November 17th …thank you! 7 Chillerton & Gatcombe Community Association CHAIRMAN’S AGM REPORT (SEPTEMBER 9th 2019 For period Sept 2018-Sept 2019) At the end of another year I am pleased to report that the Associ- ation has again maintained steady progress in the usage of its facilities and finances.