The Village Gossip North Newington Spring 2020
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The Village Gossip North Newington Spring 2020 Welcome The main focus of this edition is to share some of the differing experiences of life under lockdown that have been emailed in to us in the last few weeks. The winter edition gave mention of the virus but I certainly would not have anticipated its consequences. The last few weeks will have resulted in differing experiences and I am grateful for those who have sent in their own reflections. On the whole I imagine we are a fairly resilient group of people but even so conversations with others reveal some of the challenges the situation has brought. It’s a pleasure to read some of your stories here. Many point to the strong community we have in North Newington and the different ways we’ve been able to look out for one another. For me I will remember the bolognaise brought over by our neighbours which Rose (our youngest) declared as the “best tea ever”. The Thursday claps (horns, bells and whoops) is a highlight reminding us of the hard work others are going through in extremely challenging circumstances. There are small but significant personal mementoes for me too. A strawberry plant gifted to us, now established in our rockery; a Rupert the Bear annual now part of Rose’s book collection; the Friday delivery of wonderful bread and perhaps the highlight, memories of an afternoon tea with some of our neighbours on VE Day. Carol has been working hard digging out a section of our garden untouched by a gardener’s hands for some years. She’s been encouraged along by David and Ceridwen over the fence, no doubt pleased to see it also taking shape. Like others, we have been pleased with the much reduced price of the regular oil delivery helped by the village bulk buying. Of course, it’s easier to write about the positives. For many in the village, our work and the impact on it from lockdown is never far away from our minds. Let us hope the coming months will see the easing of the restrictions but I imagine there will be some lasting consequences of many sorts for us all. With this in mind, let’s continue to look out for one another, remembering we don’t know everything of others’ personal circumstances. Let’s offer kindness - which may well prove of lasting value. Neil Wild Cover photo: A selection of village rainbows. Thanks to Jess Doidge taking the time to put this montage together. Easter Weekend By Easter we were well into lockdown but with the fabulous weather some in the village came up with the lovely idea of an Easter egg hunt. After a message on WhatsApp and an email from Jenny, the whole village was soon full of homemade Easter eggs. Rowan and Oak Hart spotted 240 eggs within the village with Ellie Doidge spotted 355 including those in the outlying lanes. As well as eggs there were chalk messages with Easter greetings and naturally an opportunity for some more rainbows! Village Life in Lockdown (Part 1) We’ve been pleased with the contributions from the village. Hoping you won’t mind where we’ve needed to make some edits to roughly keep to no more than one per page. We start with: Zena Taylor, Park Lane As a busy Mum of two boys, life in lockdown has been fast-paced and has flown by so far. The lockdown for us started a week earlier than most, as we chose to keep Henry off school to protect my husband Nick. He is a frontline doctor and we didn't want to risk Henry giving him any bugs, which would mean the need for self-isolation and potentially not being able to go into work for several days. The first couple of weeks was perhaps the most stressful, with everyone adjusting to a new kind of normal and finding their daily flow. Henry was okay, he's a home bird and loved it. Nick was run off his feet, with a constant stream of emails, meetings, phone calls, flow charts and policies to all get sorted at work. I've cried for him leaving for work, wondering if he'll get a face full of aerosolised Covid and end-up really poorly. I've sat and thought about life without him. Not the sort of thing you imagine life will throw at you. He's always been the one saving lives. I decided to keep my mind focused on a task and start sewing. Little did I think that six weeks later I’d still be sewing! My husband and I follow the guidance and literature closely and we had a discussion over the benefit of cloth face masks helping to reduce the spread of the virus. I concluded that if the government were to recommend the use of face masks there was no way on earth I wanted people rushing onto eBay and buying precious PPE. Hence I made over eighty masks for locals, with all donations towards The Horton Hospital Charity. I thank you all for your support. I've just finished a batch of another twenty masks for the staff at Bishop Carpenter! Needless to say as the weeks passed the garden became tidier, the house became messier and we learned to live an online life. I guess it's been much the same for lots of people in the village. I doubt it's the same for those in high rises or without the luxuries I feel grateful to have. This virus has taught me lots of things though, not least how to replace a filling or do a haircut! It's taught satisfaction, contentment and thankfulness. Take care all Jenny Williams, School Lane Life in Lockdown has had its ups and downs. The ups are suddenly unlimited time and freedom to do all those jobs and interests which one has never got round to. At last we have got the better of the garden and it is looking immaculate including a freshly painted shed and drive gate, and what fantastic weather too. We have discovered new walks around the village and met more villagers to chat to as well. That bike languishing in the shed for the past 25 years has been given a new lease of life, and I have enjoyed sending out emails as the new village email service co-ordinator. The downs are of course those missed hugs and kisses with offspring and grandchildren. Thank goodness for technology enabling us to see them through Zoom, Skype and FaceTime. I now have over 90 people on the village email list which is gradually growing week by week and seems to be well received. Drop me an email if you’d like to be added: [email protected] Emma Nell, Park Farmhouse Since moving to North Newington three years ago we have fallen in love with the God-given landscapes around the village and the castle which act as a balm for the soul and an inspiration for so many thoughts. The sheer diversity of birds, animals and human activity in the small patch in which we walk makes me grateful every day to live in such a beautiful and unspoilt place, a place we consider very close to Paradise. Thank you to all who ensure its survival. Narisa Chapman, Park Lane Lock down for us has been challenging at times mainly for not being able to see family, but on a positive note Dan has been able to spend valuable time with Nellie and seeing her first roll which he would have missed. Thanks to house party and zoom we have been able to see family and friends and keep in touch more than we would have done before. We love living in the village. There is always community spirit in hard times, pulling together to beat this together. Stay in, stay safe, eternal thanks to NHS and all that work for it! Debby Andrews, Main Street I love my job. I get great satisfaction from teaching, I always have. However, lockdown has kept me from work as my husband, Terry, is in the “at risk” age group and my mum is 87. For the first three weeks I was extremely busy, working most days from home. I no longer have a class as I work as a Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) across two schools, so I spent my time catching up with paperwork, making referrals, writing reports, attending on-line conferences, having telephone discussions with colleagues…….the list goes on. But then the work slowed down and there was less I could do from home. I have worked hard for 36 years, often completing work in the evenings and weekends as a class teacher, Deputy Head and now SENCO. I can’t remember any time in my life when I have not been busy but, strange as it is, I rather like it! I miss seeing friends and family, giving my 8 month old granddaughter a cuddle, having a coffee in town and going away in the motorhome, but we are still so very fortunate. We have beautiful countryside all around us, a sizeable garden, food on the table and each other. There are so many people who are hungry, lonely and worried about having a job to go back to when this is all finally over. There are families cramped into high-rise flats and domestic violence has increased. For them the “stay at home” message must be worrying, depressing and even frightening.