The Littleton Link November 2015

Editor’s Letter Hello,

Welcome to the Littleton Link.

The month of November is upon us. Many of us will enjoy the delights of bonfires and fireworks to celebrate Bonfire Night. November is a time for remembrance. Details of Remembrance Sunday services are included inside. For those readers who are particularly organised and getting ready for Christmas the “Almost Christmas Market” will take place on 28 November at the Village Hall. An opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea and enjoy some early Christmas cheer!

Thanks for your continuing support.

Regards,

Sarah Stephens

Littleton’s Wednesday Club

October 30th. We had a return visit from Lt. Col. Lesinski. He reminded us of the way to recognise the different regiments of guards e.g. the arrangement of their buttons and the emblem on their collar and of course they wear bearskins NOT busbees. It was surprising to know how old some of the bearskins are. They are first of all, operational and secondly ceremonial. Lt. Col. Mentioned one guard in particular named Ben who at the time of this visit, was still in Birmingham Hospital having lost both legs, 1 arm and 1 eye during his operational duty in, I believe, Afghanistan. When they are on ceremonial duty, the Lifeguards wear red and the Blues & Royals wear blue and ride BLACK horses. There are 2 state visits every year, one in May and one in autumn. The Mall is lined with guards on their ceremonial duty, flags are flown and the procession drives to Horse Guards Parade. Included in these special occasions are, the State Opening of Parliament, State visits, Trooping the Colour (2nd Saturday in June) when 5 regiments of Foot Guards are on duty. There is a lunch for Knights of the Garter which I believe is held at Windsor Castle. Lt. Col went on to say that the musicians not only cope with playing their instruments while mounted but have full control over their horses, emphasising the ability of the drummers. So much preparation and rehearsal goes into these special occasions and we here in are very lucky that such “pomp and splendour” continues. They are a great tourist attraction too. October 14th. There were 34 members attending today. We have 2 members in hospital and several are unwell at home and we send them all our Get Well wishes. Our Harvest Festival was led by 2 of our recent additions to our membership, Joyce & Alan Bache. We shared the service with traditional harvest hymns, a reading and prayers. Members were in good voice and we closed by singing Great is Thy Faithfulness. Joyce and Alan were thanked for taking the service to celebrate harvest. There was a good variety of fresh, tinned and baked goods to be auctioned by our auctioneer in residence Marion. Several times we found members bidding against each other which added some amusement to the afternoon. All our goods were sold and £73.00 was raised. We had our usual cuppa or coffee & biscuits followed by the raffle. Future Programme: October 28th. Your choice of film music (already requested) in the village hall at 2-30pm November 11th. Dinner £5-00 per member Non-members £7-00. coach leaving 11-45. In the Village hall. November 25th. AGM (G.I. Brides) December 2nd. Shopping at Cribbs Causeway (Bristol) £10- 50. Coach leaving Evesham 9-30am. December 9th. In the village hall with a Christmas theme at 2-30pm. December 16th. Carol Service in the village hall at 2-30pm. All are welcome to join us. The more the merrier. Day trippers are welcome to join us on our shopping trip to Cribbs Causeway December 2nd. Further information: Marion Brighton 832906 Mary Hilton 830763 Eileen Meads 831095. Eileen Meads. Littleton success at the Parish Games

Middle and North Littleton tasted success at this year’s Wychavon Parish Games table tennis championships, which took place on Sunday 18th October at St Egwin’s School, Evesham.

In the junior event, brothers Craig and Alistair Witheford, who play for Littleton Table Tennis Club, were worthy champions. Both Craig and Alistair won all their matches against teams from , Eckington, and Wyre Piddle,

In the senior event Craig partnered John Taylor, another Littleton player. The pairing beat Eckington, then, in the semi-final, a combined /Inkberrow side. The final saw the pair face a strong team from Little Hampton. The match ebbed to and fro but eventually Little Hampton triumphed 3 – 2. Craig and John just fell short in the doubles losing in five close sets having succumbed to Little Hampton’s best player in four and five sets respectively.

This was a creditable performance by both junior and senior Littleton players who now have their eyes set on the 2016 championships. Littleton Table Tennis Club is open to all payers no matter what their standard. It meets in the village hall on Thursday evenings. If interested contact Ken Baker on 01386 832398, or 07810 456890.

The parish games take place annually and features 14 events from angling to skittles. Events are open to residents of the Wychavon district parishes. Details can be found at www.wychavongames.org, or contact the secretary Sue Collins on 01905 841269 or email [email protected].

LITTLETONS VILLAGE HALL UPDATE ??? Have you got any unwanted items suitable for our LVH tombola and raffle that you would like to donate for our major hall fundraising event in November?

(Almost) Christmas Market Saturday 28th November 12.30– 4pm

 Christmas present ideas  Produce/Cakes  Tombola  Raffle  Crafts  Refreshments  Lucky Dip

We only do one major fundraiser per year and THIS will be it, so please do your best to support our hall and help make the improvements we need.

If you would like to book a stall for our Christmas Market, then please let me know as soon as possible as we have already taken bookings for this popular event and should hate to disappoint. As always ANY offers of help would be gratefully received.

Many thanks, Chris Richards, Secretary 01386 832182 07870446727 [email protected]

ADVANCED NOTICE

Littletons Christmas Concert On Wednesday 23rd December At 6.30pm

A magical, FREE evening for all the family, with Carols around the tree Comedy Musical interludes Readings Refreshments

The Littletons School

Our trip to Birdland

On Tuesday 22nd September, the Macaws (year 2) and the Robins (year 1) went to Birdland. First we listened to a man speak about birds and found out lots of information. Did you know flamingos are pink because the fish they eat are pink? We saw lots of different birds including colourful, noisy macaws and naughty, funny emus. We even saw the penguins being fed and they made a huge splash! By year 2.

St Michael’s Church,

During the interregnum the Churchwardens and PCC are organising weekly services. The Churchwardens are Robert Johnson 01386 831504 and Sue Jinks 01386 831553.

Sunday services November 1st November at 9.30 am Family Service with coffee and drinks. 8th November at 9.30 am Remembrance Service 15th November at 9.30 am Minister Robert Jones Archdeacon 22nd November at 9.30 am 29th November at 9.30 am Joint Benefice Service 6th December at 9.30 am Family Service with coffee and drinks. Family Services are short non-Eucharist service especially for families.

Advance notice! Christmas Eve 24th December at 3.30pm – Candlelit Carols

Harvest Supper 10th October – thanks to all who came!

For Baptism, Weddings or Funeral’s – please contact the churchwardens

For information on St Michael’s please visit our web site www.southlittletonchurch.co.uk

THANK YOU

Thank you so much to all who supported the Macmillan coffee morning. We raised £340, and then the following was £480 was raised from the Band Concert held in St Nicholas Church. An amazing result, and a super concert. Many thanks to you all, we couldn’t do this with your support.

Jean

Date for your diary LITTLETON FOOTBALL CLUB

PRIZE BINGO

LITTLETON VILLAGE HALL

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12, 2015

EYES DOWN 8pm

THE LITTLETONS AND BRANCH

:

The Annual Rememberance Sunday SERVICE WILL BE HELD AT ST NICHOLAS CHURCH MIDDLE LITTLETON ON SUNDAY 8th NOVEMBER AT 10.50AM THE SERVICE WILL BE LED BY The Rev’d Dr Roy Lodge MBE ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND

The Branch Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 19th November in the Back Room of the Village Hall at 2.00pm

South Littleton Parish Council October Meeting

Lots to share with you again from the meeting held on Thursday 15th October. The Council welcomed 4 members of the public. As always, the full meeting minutes can be found online (one approved at the November 26th meeting) so the below is a summary of the key points:

- Public Telephone Box You may recall from previous updates that we were given the opportunity to purchase the telephone box from BT for £1 as it is no longer in active use. Our initial thoughts were that we would like to pursue the opportunity but following investigation by Councillor Jones, it became apparent that the repair costs would be in the region of £4,500. As a result, the Council voted unanimously to decline BT’s offer and we will instead ask them to remove the box to avoid it falling into further disrepair.

- Christmas Event There is no rest for Social Events committee led by Councillor Sheriff. Hot off the Fun Day and Scarecrow Competition, we are pleased to confirm details for our annual Christmas event. A date of 18th December has been confirmed and we will provide full details of location and timings in the November link. In the meantime, we can whet your appetite with thoughts of mulled wine, mince pies, carols, entertainment and maybe even some fireworks! There will be 2 Christmas trees in the village this year in the usual locations of South Meadows and by the Scout Hut.

- Incorrect Website Link It was raised by a member of the public that a link held on the Parish website was incorrect. This has now been rectified. Thank you for letting us know.

- Departure Of A Valued Councillor It is with great regret that we have accepted the resignation of Tracey Hirons from the Council. Tracey’s efforts, particularly in organising social events and liaison with various Government bodies around the land on South Meadows have helped to make the village a better place to live. Thank you from all of us Tracey – you will be missed!

- Scarecrow Competition We confirmed the winners of the competition in the last edition of the Link. Following feedback from parishioners, we have decided to push the 2016 competition back to October which is considered a more traditional month to make scarecrows.

- Defibrillators and Training It is with great pleasure that we can confirm the installation of both defibrillators in South Littleton. One is on the side of the shop on Main Street and the other has been installed at the entrance to Unipart by South Meadows.

We would like to invite any parishioners that want to learn how to use this potentially lifesaving equipment to a special training evening on Wednesday 25th November at 7.30 in the Scout Hut.

- Village Events We have agreed the purchase of 3 banners that will be used to advertise key dates and events in the village. We have seen them used with great success in other parishes and it is time we got on board also. The banners, when ready, will be placed by the Scout Hut, on the corner of Blacksmiths Lane and Main Street and on South Meadows.

- Play Area Repairs You may remember reading recently that the Council had conducted its latest health and safety report on the play area by the Bowls club and that some repairs were identified. Unfortunately our contractor has not been able to complete the repairs yet and so we have asked them to make this a priority.

- Street Light Renovation Another ongoing issue is the complete renovation of the street lights in the village. As a reminder, we increased the precept this year to raise funds to allow us to complete the work over a 3 year period. The reasoning behind the decision was primarily cost and safety. The existing lights are energy inefficient and cost a huge amount to run and maintain. They also look shabby and need updating. The good news is that another tranche of money came in from the precept this month which means we can now push on and get this started.

- Youth Bus We were pleased to receive the October newsletter from the Youth Bus and it was hugely encouraging to read that their usage increased 40% last year. We do hope that the momentum continues and with this in mind, we will look to start adding dates to the Link and Website in the future. The only date that we are aware at the time of writing this is 22nd October (which will have passed by the time you read this) so we will provide updates when available.

- Planning 3 Councillors attended a planning training session kindly held by a representative from Wychavon District Council. This will help us to make more informed decisions about planning matters and has provided us some key contacts for a range of issues. Thank you to Jonathan from Wychavon for giving up his Thursday evening and to our Clerk for arranging.

- Former Officers Club on South Meadows A very emotive subject at the moment in the village in the future of the former club and what will happen with the surrounding land. Both our Chairman, Councillor Herborn, and the Clerk, Chris Size, have been in regular contact with Home and Communities. We can provide the following updates:

 It is our understanding that the land will be sold at auction in April 2016.  It is possible for the Parish Council to make a formal bid for the land prior to this date.  Before the Council can consider making a bid, the potential cost of repair and maintenance of the building needs to understood.  We cannot assess the cost until the water has been removed from the basement. The Council offered to do this but we were declined as the water needs to be tested and professionally removed for health and safety reasons. This process is likely to take between 1 and 2 months.  We would then need to instruct a full structural survey to understand how much work is likely to be involved. It is likely that both the electrics and plumbing will need to be changed.  In the meantime, we are investigating whether we have any additional funds available through historical Section 106 grants.  The Council are unanimous in wanting to pursue this opportunity further but if the finances are agreed, we would need the absolute backing and support of residents to ensure that the club gets up and running and is a genuine asset to the community.

The next meeting is due to be held at the Scout Hut on Thursday 26th November at 7.30pm.

As always, please visit the website at www.southlittleton.org.uk to read the full minutes and feel free to send any comments, concerns or suggestions through to Chris Size at [email protected] .

Have a great November.

Gifts and treats for the home and for you. Spoil yourself or someone special.

AT CADBURY COURTYARD, BUSINESS PARK. Who will be our homecrafter for November? Come and join us to find out.

Spiritual readings and gifts also available, and it is not always necessary to pre-book.

Opening hours 10am until 4pm, Tues to Sat*.

Tel: 01386 839568 www.MercuryMoonGifts.co.uk

also on Facebook and Twitter * Please note we do, on occasion have to close, due to attending outside events and fairs. If you are coming especially to see us, it may be worth calling us first.

St Nicholas Church, North and Middle Littleton

The following Services have been arranged at St Nicholas Church during November 2015. All the services will be at 9.30am. and will be conducted by the Ministers listed below: November 1st 9.30am Eucharist Rev’d Patrick Wooster 8th 9.30am Eucharist Rev Dr Roy Lodge MBE 8th 10.50am Remembrance Sunday Service Rev Dr Roy Lodge MBE 15th 9.30am Morning Prayer Sue Cole 22nd 9.30am Eucharist Rev John Cook 29th 9.30am Rev Canon Peter Burch Any parishioners wishing to contact a Member of the Clergy or seeking information should contact The Benefice Administrator, Ms Wendy Stafford. Tel 01386 424728. Email [email protected]. Wendy is now the first point of contact to arrange, Baptisms and Weddings. Any other matters relating to St Nicholas Church, please contact the Churchwarden, Peter Brown 01386 831529. The Band Concert held in St Nicholas Church on 2nd October was very much enjoyed by all who attended. The Concert raised the sum of £491.50p for Church funds. Thank you to the Bretforton Silver Band for such a good evenings entertainment, and a big thank you to all who attended, and of course to Jean who organised the concert.

LITTLETON FOOTBALL CLUB

NOVEMBER FIXTURES

November 7 Chelmsley Town (Away) Smedley Crooke Cup ko 1.30pm

November 10 (Tues) Town (Home) Worcester Senior Urn ko 7.45pm

November 14 Pilkington XXX (Away) 3pm November 17 (Tues) Hinckley (Away) 7.45pm November 21 Racing Club Warwick (Away)3pm November 28 Bromsgrove (Home) 3pm December 5 Cadbury (Away) 3pm December 12 Studley (Home) 3pm December 15 (Tues) Cup match away December 19 Pelsall Villa (Away) 3pm

All home games played at Five Acres, Road, North Littleton.

Hot and cold drinks available.

Support your local team

Defibrillator training The Scout Hut, South Littleton on Wednesday 25th November 2015 at 7.30 pm. Everyone welcome. The more we understand on how to use the Defibrillator the better, as we could save a life .

Professional garden design, advice, creation and ongoing care.

With my 19 years of horticultural experience I can help you to get the best out of your garden.

For a free no obligation quote contact me on

01386 833401 or 07910 726 578 www.gardenswithk.co.uk

James Glover Garden Maintenance

Hedge Clipping: Pruning Weeding: Planting & Removing Shrubs: Preparing Vegetable Plots

Lawn Mowing Now fully insured

Telephone: 01386 830409

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