2020

September

-

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

August August Psalm 28: 7

have hope.” (Romans 15:4) 1 | P a g e

Contents Page

H@H Chairman’s Letter 3

Rt Hon Alistair Burt – 50 Years and still going! 4

Books of the Bible Quiz 7

Final Victory for Forgotten Army 8

Delia’s Little Sticky Toffee Puddings 13

Memory Lane 14

A Flowery Quiz 15

Flexibility Exercises 16

Name These Household Objects 21

Vicar’s Afterword 22

Oh the Joys of Pounds, Shillings and Pence 23

Quiz Answers 24

Thank you to all who have contributed articles for this special edition of Life magazine. Please note that the deadline for submissions for the October/November 2020 edition will be 11th September 2020.

Submissions are emailed to: [email protected]

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Hello everyone! We at Christ Church hope you are keeping well and keeping safe! The government says we must keep alert – so watch out for a big red COVID football with spikes floating along your street… What a strange few months we have been having! From January to March your Committee was planning a great programme for your ‘Holiday at Home 2020’ this month! We had some great speakers lined up for you, and some musical items and demonstrations. And we had planned a very special Day Out (rumours of a day trip to the South Pole to see the penguins are entirely false). We are pleased to say that our two main Speakers have kindly agreed to pen a short version of their talk for you, complete with some photographs.  Marking the VJ Day Anniversary this year, Col Mark Adkins has written about the war in the Far East, a little talked-about issue for many Bedfordshire families whose loved ones served in that campaign, some suffering internment under the Japanese.

 Following his standing down from the Government, the Rt Hon Alistair Burt (who was highly regarded as a long-standing local MP and Government Minister) has penned a brief autobiography about his political career and his faith We hope you will enjoy reading these articles and trying your hand at the puzzles and quizzes in our H@H Magazine. There are also a number of other ‘goodies’ we have brought together to tempt you, and to show how much we will miss your company this week. Roll on August 2021 when we all hope life will be back to our normal programme again! With our best wishes John Braithwaite

Chair – Holiday at Home Committee

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First and foremost a warm greeting to all readers, and I hope this finds you well and safe. What a time this has been, and I am sorry that ‘Holiday at Home’ has been unable to proceed as normal. However, I am delighted a way has been found to provide a substitute event, and thank you for letting me take part!

Fifty years ago this month I joined the Young Conservatives, and still have a letter of welcome from the then PM Ted Heath. It included the encouragement “The door is wide open to you to make your own direct personal contribution by moving on to become a local Councillor, a Parliamentary candidate and eventually perhaps a Member of Parliament.” Well, I took him at his word! So began what I describe as a life of public service through politics; not everyone’s cup of tea, but as I appreciated at an early age, someone has to fill certain offices, and if not us, who?

I was lucky to be brought up in a Christian environment, at home, at , and at Bury Parish Church. The Church had an inspiring Rector, a man of fierce commitment to his town, and a lifelong support to me. From him, and from my father, a devoted family doctor who at 98 still worships at St James, Biddenham, I developed a strong sense of vocation, that whatever talents I had were to be used in the public sphere. I was not destined to be a doctor- science wasn’t my strong point, and besides, I could not stand the sight of blood- but I was a good talker, and always interested in the world of current affairs around me, and the needs of people to be represented. I do not come from a long line of MPs or the like, but I found our politics in the UK to be easy to join, and if you were prepared to work hard, as Ted Heath had said, opportunities arose. From joining the YCs while still at school, to becoming a councillor in Haringey in 1982 while a London solicitor, and an MP for my home town just a year later at 28, I felt that vocation and me were well matched.

Quite rightly I was a backbencher for most of my early years in Parliament, which left me time to get to grips with representing my constituents, and exploring what were to become the building blocks of my Westminster career. I spoke out about

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unemployment in Bury as the country’s economic base changed, and promoted smoke detectors and home safety after nine people died in a Bury house fire on Christmas Day 1984. I joined the Christian Fellowship, becoming its secretary for a number of years, and participated in the Christian life there. Despite appearances to the contrary, it is not hard to have a faith in Parliament. Every day begins with prayers, there is a Chaplain to the Speaker, and there is a warmth amongst fellow believers across the parties, with whom you can have the best friendships, because, of course, your opponents are not rivals for any front bench job you might aspire to! I formed a prayer partnership with a Labour and a Liberal MP, with whom I travelled to South Africa a number of times in the 80s, to visit followers of Jesus seeking an end to apartheid and peaceful reconciliation. We dodged tear gas in Crossroads, met political and church leaders in Soweto as well as Premier PW Botha and white South African MPs. When, after many visits, I found myself late one night in 1999 as an election observer for free elections in Gugulethu I felt a part of my life had been worthwhile. Looking back, perhaps also then I realised that my political horizons, which I had always assumed would be domestic, were no longer so, and that a calling to work for values abroad would become part of my vocation.

During these years, and when I first had ministerial office under dealing with low income benefits, poverty and family issues, we were regulars as a family at Spring Harvest, the Easter Evangelical Christian Festival, and indeed I received my call to become a Minister in a caravan at Skegness Butlins! Not too many colleagues can claim that! I mixed with, and was much influenced by Clive and Ruth Calver, Joel Edwards, Graham Kendrick and others. I loved the books of the time by such authors as Philip Yancey, John Ortberg, Max Lucado and Jeff Lucas, who remains a firm friend.

This background helped me and the family cope with the sadness of losing my hometown marginal seat of Bury North in the election of 1997, and the blow to whatever ambition I felt I had. But I had absolute faith that we were still held firmly in the palm of God’s hand, for whatever was the right thing for us all. We moved to Bedford knowing no-one here, solely because of a school connection of my daughter, and because I had accepted a job in London, and it was a good commute.

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And my wife and I said, as we walked the Embankment one night –‘Ok, God, we’re here. Now what?’

Well, the ‘what’ was that a chance appeared with the unexpected retirement of Nick Lyell to become the MP for NE Bedfordshire, and to resume my commitment to public life as an MP, and I am forever grateful to those who selected me and my constituents for giving me that chance. As the years rolled on from 2001, I found my passion to be a constituency MP never flagged. Locally it is a pastoral role, rather than a political one. Many more people contact an MP about personal matters and concerns than party political issues. I always felt the influence of my father as a GP, being involved with the day to day worries of people, and trying, sometimes successfully though not always, to get a resolution. With a wonderful team, without which an MP cannot function, I feel we achieved a lot. I enjoyed the engagement with parish and town councils, from Upper Dean to Arlesey, and particularly with the farming community. I learned quickly that the way to a farmers’ heart is to enter the parlour, say you know nothing about farming, and ask for help, and then pull up a chair for the next four hours and just listen!

My life took an unexpected turn in 2010 when asked me to be the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, just before the Arab Spring erupted throughout the region. I discovered that interest in ‘abroad’, sparked by South Africa, was now to become the dominant feature in my political life outside NE Bedfordshire. I spent five of the next nine years at the Foreign Office during two spells in the role, and became familiar with a region spanning from Mauritania in the West to Iran in the East. It is an area full of exceptional people, culture, music, art, cuisine and fashion, who do not deserve the conflicts that all too often political leaders, their own and others outside, have subjected them to. It has constantly saddened me too, as a person of faith, that people’s sincere beliefs have been abused and distorted for political ends. However, this has never affected my faith that peacemakers are crucial, and that working together, no matter how difficult it appears, is the only way to prevent, end, or at least delay, violence.

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In the midst of all this there were so many memorable moments. Eating camel with HRH Prince Charles in Arabia; hearing Hilary Clinton offer private home truths to Arab leaders; speaking at the UN Security Council; flying high above gunfire in Iraq with the US Army, and crafty diplomatic drinks in ‘dry’ countries- but maybe these are for another day, perhaps when ‘Holiday at Home’ can resume its old form!

I left Parliament last December with mixed feelings, having to part on an irreconcilable issue for me, but proud and grateful to have spent so many, thirty-two, happy years in the Commons, and hopeful that there are still opportunities for me to continue that vocation which started fifty years ago. My favourite quote of Canon Smith, apart from saying that it helped being a clergyman supporting Bury FC, as to do so you needed to believe in the Resurrection, was ‘give me work till my life is done, and give me life till my work is done’. I know many of you can say the same, and I look forward too many more productive years as a senior, but noisy, citizen!

Rt Hon Alistair Burt Books of the Bible Quiz There are names of sixteen (16) books of the Bible hidden in the paragraph below. How many you can find. I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. A certain luke, kept people looking so hard for facts, and for others, it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized. But the truth finally struck home to numbers of our readers. To others it was a job. We want it to be a most fascinating little moment for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help find them. I will quickly admit it usually takes the preacher to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how you will compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen books of the Bible in this paragraph. (Answers on back page) 7 | P a g e

Final Victory for a Forgotten Army On the 15th August 1945 World War 2 finally ended with the radio broadcast by Emperor Hirohito of the Japanese surrender of all forces in the Far East. The surrender was formally signed by a high-ranking delegation in front of the United States General Douglas MacArthur on 2 September on-board the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The struggle to retake the Japanese Empire in the region by British Empire, United States and Chinese forces was over.

Japan had finally capitulated after months of carpet bombing by US aircraft of all her major cities. Firestorms and high explosives had caused terrible destruction and a massive loss of civilian life in Tokyo and cities elsewhere. However, despite leaflet warnings by America that an atomic bomb of devastating explosive power would be dropped if surrender was not immediate, Japan refused. Hiroshima was duly destroyed. Only after another rejected warning and the destruction of Nagasaki did the emperor make his broadcast: even then an attempt was made by a group of fanatical army officers to stop it.

The cost of the war to Japan was some 3.5 million military and 600,000 civilian deaths. This hugely exceeded British deaths of around 382,000 military and 67,000 civil for the entire war. To the British public the bitter and savage fighting in the remote regions of S.E. Asia and the Pacific were seldom headline news when the threat from Nazi Germany was just across the Channel. And in the years 1944 and 1945 the invasion and retaking of Europe required absolute priority for all Allied effort and resources. The result was that the British 14th Army in Burma that for three years had faced some of the most savage jungle fighting of the war, and had finally retaken the country, felt somewhat forgotten - hence veterans of that campaign called themselves the ' Forgotten Army'. It is a title that could perhaps apply to the entire war in the Far East, certainly from the British perspective, until after Germany's surrender in May 1945.

From 1937, with the occupation of Manchuria, Japan's conquests in Asia and the Pacific had by 1942 included Japanese Occupation

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much of China, Hong Kong, French Indo-China (Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), Thailand, the Malay peninsula and Singapore island, Burma, Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and numerous Pacific Island groups as far south-east as the remote Gilbert Islands. The Japanese conquests in the east rivalled those of its ally Germany in the west, and included colonies of the British, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Americans.

Britain was soundly defeated in Hong Kong, on the Malay Peninsula and Singapore Island and in Burma. Only in Burma did the British 14th Army, composed predominantly of Indian Army units, with the crucial assistance of Gurkha, Burmese, Chinese, West African, and some American troops, ultimately succeed in retaking that country. In Malaya/Singapore and Hong Kong the Japanese occupation 14th Army Troops only ended with her final surrender - there was no fighting involved. Every East Anglia county had regiments involved in the campaigns in Burma and Malaya/Singapore. In total seventeen infantry battalions and one artillery regiment from our region fought the Japanese in the Far East - the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was represented by two battalions and a gunner regiment. Today's Royal Anglian Regiment represents them all.

The struggle for Burma began early in 1942 and continued until the end of the war, making it the longest continuous campaign of the conflict. It also involved the longest retreat in the history of the British Army: the greatest defeat suffered on land by the Japanese Army: long range penetration groups operating hundreds of miles behind enemy lines and brutal hand-to-hand fighting. Forces of both sides had to contend with an extremely hostile environment of dense jungle, mountainous terrain and torrential rain where losses from tropical diseases and heat exhaustion outnumbered battle casualties. In early 1942 having taken Burma the Japanese invaded India. Kohima

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However, their defeat at the two key battles of Kohima and Imphal drove them out and was the start of the Allied of the counter offensive that ultimately retook Burma.

Our counties were represented by eight battalions in the Burma campaign. They were the 1st Battalion the Northamptonshire Regiment, the 1st Royal Norfolk, the 1st Lincoln, the 1st Essex, the 2nd Suffolk, the 2nd and 7th Leicestershire and the 1st Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. The Norfolks played a critical role in the turning point defence of Kohima, while the 7th Leicesters, Essex and the Bedfords took part in the Chindit Chindit operations behind Japanese lines carrying out attacks on their communications. In these operations each battalion was divided into two separate numbered columns - for example the Bedfords, the old 16th Regiment of Foot, had columns numbered 16 and 61.

In the loss of Malaya and Singapore in early 1942 Britain and her allies suffered a humiliating defeat by a numerically inferior enemy. In Malaya the Japanese advanced some 1,100 kilometres in 55 days fighting dozens of engagements on the way. In addition to defeat on land the Royal Navy lost the ultra-modern battleship the Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse: both sunk by enemy air attack. Admiral Phillips and Captain Leach went down with the Prince of Wales. On the Repulse Captain Tennant also refused to leave his sinking ship, however a group of his officers seized him and threw him overboard -a unique event in naval history. He was among the survivors picked up by escorting destroyers.

The Japanese had invaded Malaya on the 8th December 1941. They were commanded by General Yamashita, a veteran of the war in China. After the conquest of Malaya and Singapore he was nicknamed 'the Tiger of Malaya': after the war he was hanged for war crimes committed by his troops. The Malay Peninsula and Singapore Island were defended by British forces under the command of Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. Apart from purely British forces Percival's command consisted of Australian, Indian, Gurkha, Malay units and some Chinese volunteers. Percival was an extremely gallant officer who had been a company commander with the 7th Bedfords on the Somme in World War 1 and had been awarded the DSO, MC and Croix de Guerre. Subsequently, fighting the Bolsheviks in Russia

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in 1919 he gained a second DSO, and later still while with the Essex Regiment in Ireland an OBE. Nevertheless, as the commanding general in Singapore he bore the responsibility for the largest defeat in Britain's military history in terms of territory, equipment and personnel lost. It also involved the loss of Britain's key Far East naval base located on Singapore Island. The story that the large calibre naval guns could only fire out to sea is a myth. They could swivel on their base but they only had armour piercing shells of little value against troops on land.

Our counties were represented in Malaya and Singapore by nine infantry battalions. They were 1st Leicester, 1st and 2nd Cambridge, 4th, 5th and 6th Royal Norfolk, 4th and 5th Suffolk and 5th Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Also present was the 135th Hertfordshire Yeomanry, Royal Artillery. All except the Leicesters were in the 18th (Eastern) Division. The Leicesters were involved in the bitter battles and retreats all the way down the Malay Peninsula and on Singapore Island, losing over half their number. The advance element of the 18th (Eastern) Division that including the 5th and 6th Royal Norfolk and 2nd Cambridgeshire arrived by troopship in Singapore on 13th January 1942. Despite the long sea journey, little training and no time to acclimatise they were rushed north to face their first taste of action in the fighting around a place called Batu Phat, before the final rush to get back over the causeway to Singapore island. Among further reinforcements arriving by ship from India, Australia and Britain was the bulk of the 18th (Eastern) Division including our remaining county regiments. They had exactly 17 days of fighting before Percival surrendered on 15th February 1942 with prisoners facing three and a half years in Japanese prison camps.

The Japanese attacked Singapore Island on the 8th February and within ten days the defence collapsed. The fighting on the island was chaotic and brutal. Two notorious events took place during the final days of the fighting, one Japanese, one Allied. On the day that Percival surrendered the Japanese entered Alexandra Hospital and rampaged through the wards shooting and Singapore Surrender bayoneting, doctors, nurses and patients. Only two badly wounded men survived by shamming dead. The Allied incidence was the breakdown of discipline and morale, particularly among some Australian units. Hundreds of Australian troops deserted their

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units, discarded weapons and equipment and went on a drunken looting rampage through Singapore town. Several Chinese civilians were killed. On the dockside a mob of Australians fought with military police to get aboard the last evacuation ship.

The Japanese attitude to surrender was that such an act was disgraceful, dishonourable and troops surrendering should be treated with the utmost contempt. This explains why their military personnel invariably fought to the death or killed themselves to avoid capture. An example of this was on the tiny atoll of Betio on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands that was the first of the tiny island groups to be attacked by the Americans in their Japanese Surrender Pacific campaign. The Japanese defenders numbered around 4,000. After the attacking US Marines had suffered some 3,000 casualties over three days of intense close quarter fighting: just 17 Japanese were captured. When Singapore fell the Japanese were horrified at the huge number (38,500 British, 18,500 Australians, 67,000 Indians, and 14,000 Malays and Chinese) of prisoners. They all ended up, as did many thousands of prisoners and civilians taken in other Asian countries, in literally hundreds of POW and civilian internment camp throughout the region. Thousands died of disease, malnutrition, inhuman treatment in what were in effect slave labour camps, which included the infamous Burma Railway.

Now, 75 years on, there has been Burma Railway reconciliation between the warring nations, but the sacrifices made have not been forgotten. The National Arboretum in Staffordshire has an excellent Far East Prisoners of War Memorial Building. And on Remembrance Sunday, at war memorials and in church services everywhere, the epitaph carved on the Memorial to the British 2nd Division in the cemetery at Kohima is read out.

'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.' Col Mark Adkins

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INGREDIENTS DELIA’S LITTLE STICKY TOFFEE

6 oz (175 g) stoned dates, chopped PUDDINGS WITH PECAN TOFFEE ½ teaspoon vanilla extract SAUCE 2 teaspoons coffee essence ¾ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda METHOD EQUIPMENT 3 oz (75 g) butter, at room temperature Pre-heat the You will also need eight 6 oz (175 g) 5 oz (150 g) caster sugar oven to gas 2 large eggs, beaten metal pudding basins or eight 3-inch mark 4, 350°F (7.5 cm) ramekin dishes, lightly oiled 6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour, sifted (180°C). For the sauce: with groundnut oil, a Swiss-roll tin, (optional) 1 oz (25 g) pecan nuts, Begin by and a baking sheet. chopped putting the 6 oz (175 g) soft brown sugar chopped dates in a bowl and pouring 6 fl oz (175 ml) 4 oz (110 g) butter boiling water over them. 6 tablespoons double cream Then add the vanilla extract, coffee essence and To serve: bicarbonate of soda and leave on one side. Next, in a chilled pouring cream large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, beating (preferably with an electric hand whisk) until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy. Now gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. After that, carefully and lightly fold in the sifted flour using a metal spoon, and then you can fold in the date mixture (including the liquid). You'll probably think at this stage that you've done something wrong, because the mixture will look very sloppy, but don't worry: that is perfectly correct and the slackness of the mixture is what makes the puddings so light. Now divide the mixture equally among the eight containers, place them on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. When they're cooked, leave them to cool for 5 minutes, then, using a cloth to protect your hands, slide a small palette knife around each pudding and turn it out. If they have risen too much you may have to slice a little off the tops so that they can sit evenly on the plate. Now place the puddings on a shallow, Swiss-roll tin. Next, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and heating very gently until the sugar has melted and all the crystals have dissolved.

To serve the puddings: pre-heat the grill to its highest setting, and pour the sauce evenly over the puddings. Place the tin under the grill, so the tops of the puddings are about 5 inches (13 cm) from the heat (knock off any nuts on the top to prevent them browning) and let them heat through for about 8 minutes. What will happen is the tops will become brown and slightly crunchy and the sauce will be hot and bubbling. Serve with chilled pouring cream or ice cream – and sit back to watch the looks of ecstasy on the faces of your guests.

Ref: https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/hot-puddings/little-sticky-toffee-puddings-with-pecan-toffee-sauce 13 | P a g e

Memory Lane - Those days when we could get away from Bedford! (Taken from Holiday@Home 2018/2019) Woburn

Leighton Buzzard & Milton Keynes

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A Flowery Quiz Every answer is the name of a flower and the pictures also match with the answers of the odd numbered clues: 1/ Remember me always

a 2/ Industrious Miss Taylor b 3/ Foggy romance 4/ Sounds like a lot of sheep 5/ Break a monster sharply

6/ Old English form of punishment c d 7/ ‘Red Navel’ makes this 8/ Part of the eye 9/ England’s national flower 10/ P/E

e 11/ Part of female bovine’s mouth f 12/ Sugary royal prince 13/ A sly animal and hand covering 14/ Melancholy chimer

15/ Evaporated milk g h 16/ A musical instrument 17/ National flower of Wales 18/ ‘Ruin game’

19/ Unsuccessful girl at a dance i j 20/ Pale red colour 21/ Does it ring in a cathedral? 22/ They seek it here and there

23/ 150 above k l 24/ Prickly white wine (Answers on back page)

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Flexibility Exercises

Flexibility refers to the amount of movement possible around a joint and is necessary for normal activities of daily living such as stretching, twisting, bending and turning. Maintenance of flexibility is important as posture and gait can be affected by sedentary living.

The following series of exercises will improve flexibility and are ideal as limbering or warm-up exercises. Before commencing there are simple points to consider:

 comfortable, loose fitting clothing should be worn, shoes are not essential;

 exercise is more fun if done with music turn on the radio or play a record with a good underlying rhythm;

 for optimal benefit, the exercises should be performed three or four times a week, but may be used at any time to loosen up;

 do not exercise if you have a temporary illness or are unduly tired and do not exercise when the weather is extremely hot or humid;

 do not persist with an exercise if the movement continues to cause excessive pain or discomfort;

 muscle stiffness is quite normal when you begin to exercise for the first time. However, if the stiffness persists, or if you should feel unduly fatigued after exercising, you may be working too hard! Slowing down and progressing more gradually should help;

 breathe normally throughout all exercises and do not hold your breath during any movement;

 perform all exercises in a smooth, rhythmical manner, stretching to full range and holding momentarily before returning to the start position. Avoid bouncing and jerking movements and try to relax during all exercises;

 stop exercising immediately and consult your doctor if you experience any of the following: a) nausea, b) dizziness, c) breathlessness, d) tightness in the chest or e) severe muscular or joint pain;

 this exercise program should take between 15 and 30 minutes depending upon the number of repetitions of each exercise.

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1. Neck Stretch Aim to stretch the side of the neck. Move your head from side to side gently dropping your head to shoulder level. Repeat. All movements should be performed slowly to avoid strain or dizziness.

2. Shoulder raises and rotations Aim to loosen up the shoulders and neck region. A Shrug the shoulders upward toward the ears, then relax. Repeat. B Rotate the shoulders slowly in one direction. Repeat in opposite direction.

3. Shoulder push outs Aim to stretch the upper trunk and shoulders. Interlock the fingers of both hands and raise above head. Push the palms upwards, straightening out the elbows. Repeat.

4. Arm/trunk stretch Aim to stretch the upper trunk and shoulder. A Stretch one arm back behind the body, slowly turn your head, shoulder and trunk to look behind. Repeat. B Raise one arm up over the head, as high as possible inhaling during the movement. Exhale as your arm is lowered. Repeat using other arm.

5. Hip Stretch Aim to stretch the large muscles of the upper leg. Sit on the edge of a chair. Raise one leg up to the chest, then return the foot to the floor and extend the leg back as far as possible. Repeat with other leg.

6. Ankle rotations Aim to loosen up the ankle region. Extend one leg forward and rotate the ankle, making large circles in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. Repeat with other foot.

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7. Hamstring stretch Aim to stretch the lower back. Caution do not bounce during this movement. Place one leg upon another chair. Keeping this leg straight, slowly relax whilst stretching the arms forward to feel tension behind the knee. Don't forget to breathe!! Hold and repeat.

8. Arm circling Aim to loosen up the shoulders and trunk. Move both arms together and cross in front of your face. Then reverse the direction of the movement until arms are outstretched at your side. Repeat.

9. Calf stretch Aim to stretch the calf muscle. Stand facing a wall, with one leg in front of the other. The front leg should be flexed with the rear leg straight. Support the upper body by placing both hands on the wall. Slowly lower the hips towards the wall, whilst keeping the back straight and both heels on the ground. Repeat.

10. Side bends Aim to stretch the trunk. With feet widely spaced, and knees slightly bent, slowly exhale and lower the shoulder and arm towards the ground so that the hand moves to the back of the knee. Raise the other arm into the air, above the head. Hold and repeat.

11. Thigh stretch Aim to stretch the muscles of the calf and hip. With both hands on the ground supporting the upper body, place one leg forward in between the hand, with the knee over the ankle. The rear knee is slowly lowered to the ground. Repeat. 18 | P a g e

12. Knee tucks Aim to stretch the buttocks and thigh region. Lie on your back with both knees bent. Slowly bring one knee towards your chest, and hold. Repeat.

13. Body curl Aim to stretch the lower back region and spine. Lie on your back. Slowly pull both knees to your chest with the hands. Curl the head in, (and exhale), to meet the knees. Hold then return to the starting position. Repeat.

14. Trunk rotations Aim to loosen up the lower trunk region. Lie on your back with both arms outstretched to the side. Bend both knees up, with the heels remaining on the floor. Slowly rotate the knees from side to side. Repeat. Strengthening Exercises

Muscular fitness can only be maintained by continued usage. Strength is gained by gradually overloading muscles. The following series of exercises will assist in improving muscular strength of the arms, legs and trunk.

15. Calf raises Aim to strengthen the calf muscle. Balance yourself by holding onto a chair or table. Slowly raise the heels up high, balancing on the toes. Lower after a count of three. Repeat.

16.Wall arm push outs Aim to strengthen the upper arms and shoulders. Stand facing a wall, about arm's length away. Slowly inhale as you bend the arms and lower your body towards the wall. (Your heels may lift if you wish). Exhale as you push back to the start position. Repeat.

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17. Squats Aim to strengthen the thigh muscles. Caution never bend the knees beyond a ‘right angle’, as injury to the knees may occur. Stand upright with your back against a wall, and heels about 25cm (10") away from the wall. Keeping the back straight and head erect, slowly lower the body by bending the knees and sliding down against the wall. Hold, then return to start position and repeat.

18. Bridging Aim to strengthen the lower back and buttocks. Lie on your back with both knees bent. Slowly raise your hips up off the floor. Hold for a count of six, then relax. Repeat.

19. Abdominal curls (modified sit-ups) Aim to strengthen the stomach region. Lie on your back with both knees bent, feet flat on the floor and arms at sides. Press the small of the back into the floor, then slowly exhale and curl up as you slide your arms towards your knees. (When performing this exercise, it is only necessary to lift the back up to an angle of about 45†). Hold for a count of two, and lower. Repeat.

20. Side leg raises Aim to strengthen the upper leg. Lie on side with head resting on extended arm. Bottom leg should be bent at the knee to protect the back. Slowly raise top leg to just about shoulder height. Lower the leg, maintaining a straight knee with the ankle pulled forward. Repeat.

21. Pelvic tilting Aim to strengthen the pelvic region. Very important exercise for women. Lie on your back. Draw in abdominal muscles and tighten buttocks so that the small of you back flattens. Place fingers behind the back and attempt to push into the floor. Hold and repeat.

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1. 2. 3. 4.

6. 7.

5. Name these Household Objects

8. 9.

10.

Head Shower 12.

Book Book 11. Sieve 10. Glass Wine 9.

Measure Tape 8. Juicer Lemon 7.

opener Can 6. Wisk Balloon 5.

Grater Cheese 4. Fan Electric 3.

Bathroom Tap Tap Bathroom 2. Lamp 1. Answers:

11. 12.

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Vicar’s Afterword Dear friends,

My father fought in Burma. He was in an Indian Army artillery regiment. He was called up in December 1941 and after 9 months was invited to become an officer. He took the chance.

On completing his officer training and gazetting as a 2nd Lieutenant he and his friend, Jack Keighley, awaited their theatre of war destination. The training sergeant entered the room and in typical military fashion divided the graduating officers alphabetically between Europe and the Far East. Those with a surname A-J were to go the Far East – they were considered the unlucky ones. Dad’s friend, Jack Keighley, joshed with dad about how unlucky he was.

Five minutes later, the sergeant returned. There had been a mistake. Keighley would go to the Far East. This time my dad laughed with Jack. They travelled by liner to India and arrived in 1944. They served together and were involved in the 1945 pushing of the Japanese out of Burma. By August 1945, dad and Jack were with their artillery guns about 5 miles outside of Rangoon, surrounded by the Japanese but well-supplied by air.

They remained good friends until my dad died in 1997. Jack died a few years later. They were both part of the Forgotten Army.

My dad preferred to forget his military life. There are few further stories he told: travelling in moderate comfort on the P&O liner as opposed to the ‘Other Ranks’; of being glad he chose first sitting for dinner because there was a chair in the ship’s lounge afterwards which the second sitting never had; of cooking ants in his toast and convincing himself of the good protein; and of sleeping on a slight rise in a cave, which flooded overnight, leaving him dry and his men soaked.

He never collected his full set of medals and didn’t attend parades. My dad preferred to forget his war.

I learnt from him that war was mostly unpleasant for dad. He served as he had to. He pointed his guns as he was required. He knew the horror and brutality that war brings. He didn’t promote war.

The peace we have mostly known and enjoyed now for 75 years is a rare gift in our nation’s life. It’s a gift we should treasure. Being able to gather at Holiday at Home,

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Lunch Club and similar events is a blessing to us that we would be wise never to take lightly.

Psalm 34:12-14:

“12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Richard Hibbert

Oh the joys of pounds, shillings and pence! Below are 12 clues which have answers in amounts in pounds, shillings and pence.

Altogether, the sums add up to £32 17s 8½ d. All you have to do is insert the twelve answers, which will (if correct!) give that total. (Answers on back page) Clue £ s d 1 A stone 2 Bicycle 3 A man’s name 4 A singer 5 A kind of pig 6 Leather worker 7 Part of a monkey’s leg 8 Sun, moon, Pluto 9 Royal headdress 10 50% of panties 11 Hit repeatedly 12 Unwell sea creature Total 32 17 8 ½

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Quiz Answers: Page 7: Page 23 The following books appear in this order 1) Answer £ S d Mark; 2) Luke; 3) Kings; 4) Acts; 5) 1 14 pounds 14 Revelation; 6) James; 7) Ruth; 8) Numbers; 2 penny farthing 1 ¼ 9) Job; 10) Amos; 11) Esther; 12) Judges; 13) Titus; 14) Lamentations; 15) Hebrews; 3 bob 1 16) Peter. 4 tenor 10 Page 15: 5 guinea 1 1 1) Forget-me-not (d); 2) Busy Lizzie; 3) 6 tanner 6 Love-in-the-mist (j); 4) Phlox; 5) 7 ape knee ½ Snapdragon (i); 6) Stocks; 7) Lavender (a); 8 3 far things ¾ 8) Iris; 9) Rose (b); 10) Peony; 11) Cowslip 9 crown 5 (g); 12) Sweet William; 13) Foxglove (f); 14) Bluebell; 15) Carnation (k); 16) Viola; 17) 10 half a knicker 10 Daffodil (l); 18) Geranium; 19) Wallflower 11 pound 1 (c); 20) Pink; 21) Canterbury bells (e); 22) 12 Sick squid 6 Scarlet pimpernel; 23) Clover (h); 24) Total 32 17 8 ½ Hollyhock

CONTACTS: Website: www.ccbedford.org Vicar: Richard Hibbert 01234 359342 [email protected] If you would like our prayer team to pray for you, please email: Curate: [email protected] John Bell 01234 401509 [email protected]

Christ Church Office: If you need some assistance at this time, 140 Dudley Street Bedford, MK40 3SX please email [email protected] 01234 327150 [email protected]

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