PARISH MAGAZINE September 2020

HALSTEAD AND BADGERS MOUNT PARISH MAGAZINE September 2020

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AGENTS FOR: DRY CLEANING & SHOE REPAIRS Printed by SIL VER PINES SERVICES • SEVENOAKS 01732 465641 C M B Services Plumbing & Heating St. Margaret's Church, Halstead Corgi Registered Boilers: service, repair, installation, radiators, etc. Ministry Team: Bathroom: design, fitting, Rector: Rev’d. Tim Edwards The Rectory, Church Road, Halstead TN14 7HQ • Tel: (01959) 532133 showers & tiling. Taps, Tanks, etc. Churchwarden: Call Out 24/7 Mr Richard Hughes 7 The Old Manor, Halstead Place, Halstead, TN14 7BJ • Tel: (01959) 533649 01689-811071 Mobile 07801-838417 Website: www.knockholtandhalsteadchurches.org 60p PETER KELLY CHIMNEY SWEEP Professional chimney sweep and chimney maintenance (member of the Institute of chimney sweeps)

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JJ..L ALangstaffNGSTAFF LLtdTD J. Langstaff Ltd Electrician Sevenoaks O Sevenoaks Based O Additional Sockets & Lighting O Design and InstallationElectrician Points O Fuse Board Upgrades - Design and - AdditionalO Garden Sockets Power & Lighting O Security Lighting Installation O& Lighting Fault PointsFinding O - Fuse Board - GardenO Power & Full or Part Rewires Upgrades Lighting CCTV O New Builds and Extensions- Security Lighting - SystemO PAT Upgrades Testing O System Upgrades - Full or Part Rewires - FaultO All Finding Work Completed to BS7671 - New Builds and - CCTV Professional Extensions - Reliable - - Courteous PAT Testing - Insured Contact Jason: Professional - Reliable - Courteous - Insured T: 01959 525 136 • M:All 07817Work Completed 733 257 to BS7671 • E: [email protected] Contact Jason: T: 01959 525 136 M: 07817 733 257 E: [email protected] THE RECTOR WRITES SEPTEMBER 2020 September is usually the time when we get back to our normal routines after the summer break. With the current coronavirus pandemic, it’s very different this year! However, it is still a good time to consider how God can use us to make a real difference in our workplace, school, family, friends and community. He equips us with everything we need to make His love known. When God gave Moses the job of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, He asked the question, ‘What is in your hand?’(Exodus 4:2). Moses was holding his staff, which represented his livelihood (what he was good at); his resources (his flock represented his wealth) and his security (which God was asking him to lay down). God asks the same question of us: What has God given you? Our gifts, temperament, experience, relationships, mind, education can be used in the work God has given us to do. How will we use them to make a difference in the places where He calls us to serve Him? John Ortberg, in his book It All Goes Back in the Box, speaks of Johnny, a 19-year-old with Downs syndrome. He worked at a supermarket checkout putting people’s items into bags. To encourage his customers, he decided to put a thought for the day into the bags. Every night his dad would help him to prepare the slips of paper and he would put the thoughts into the bags saying, ‘I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming here.’ A month later the store manager noticed that Johnny’s line at the checkout was three times longer than anyone else’s! People wanted Johnny’s thought for the day. He wasn’t just filling bags with groceries, he was filling lives with hope! What has God given you that will help and encourage others as you point them to Him? Tim

FROM THE PARISH REGISTERS Funerals: Our deepest sympathy to the family of: Hilda WILLSHER, who was buried at St Margaret, Halstead on 24 June 2020.

3 Geoffrey SELLERS, who was buried at St Margaret, Halstead on 16 July 2020. Russell SAUNDERS, whose ashes were interred at St Margaret, Halstead on 2 August 2020. Carole HINTON, whose ashes are due to be interred at St Katharine, Knockholt in August 2020. Weddings: Our hearty congratulations to: Miranda KITCHENER and Jackson LIPPOLD, who were married at St Margaret, Halstead on 1 August 2020. Toni-Marie READER and Alexander POLLARD, who were married at St Margaret, Halstead on 8 August 2020. N.B. Tim is continuing to prepare people (via Zoom) for baptism (for themselves/their children) and confirmation, and providing marriage preparation sessions. If you would like to discuss a future baptism or marriage, please contact him on [email protected]

Verse for the Month: “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:24

OBITUARY SIMON KVERNDAL My dear brother Simon Kverndal QC died, far too young at 62 on Sunday 14th June 2020. Simon was already in his twenties when we moved to Halstead but he spent many happy weekends at our family home, Col- gates, and we both sang in the St Marga- ret’s church choir. He loved singing and at university was in the Sidney Sussex College choir. St Margaret’s and Halstead are very important to us as a family. Our parents, Brenda and Olly Kverndal, were regular

4 attendants and Olly was chairman of the Halstead Millennium Committee. He and my grandmother are buried in the churchyard and St Margaret’s Lychgate was erected by our family in his memory. (I was married in the church and my nephew, niece and my elder son were all christened there). Faith was hugely important to Simon, he as a regular churchgoer, was very involved in his local church and gave free legal advice to the Church and Gen- eral Synod. Simon was a maritime barrister and QC. Most of his cases – involving ship- owners, cargoes, casualties at sea, collisions and salvage – were resolved by arbitration and rarely came into the public eye. But occasionally he stepped into the limelight, as he did when he acted for the widow of a man who drowned after falling from the Stena ferry Koningin Beatrix in the Irish Sea and succeeded, against the expectations of his peers, in winning damages for her; or when he took on, pro bono, the defence of Greenpeace activists who had boarded and chained themselves to MV Etoile, which they suspected of carrying genetically modified grain into Cardiff. An extremely generous and kind man with a huge appetite for life; his mis- chievous sense of humour was evident even in adversity – for him, his chemo- therapy clinic was the ‘cocktail lounge’. He was a devoted family man and adored his wife Sophie and their two sons, Thor and Finn. We will all miss him enormously.

MARY KNOWLES Mary Knowles passed away on 27th July 2020 aged 93. Loved and missed by her husband David, her 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Mary had over 40 happy years living in Watercroft Road. She founded the Kent Heights Flower Club (still going strong today) and often helped to arrange the flowers in the village church for various events. She was also a regular fundraiser for St Chris- topher’s Hospice and was an enthusiastic member of Sevenoaks Indoor Bowls club. Donations in her memory to https://www.dementiauk.org/.

SERVICES FOR SEPTEMBER 2020 Following changes to government and Church of England guidance, from Sun- day 2 August, we are planning to gather for socially-distanced services on the following pattern each week: 9.30am Sunday Service @ St Katharine’s (20 spaces) 10.30am Sunday Service @ St Margaret’s (30 spaces) 11.30am Sunday Service @ Badgers Mount Memorial Hall (20 spaces)

5 Services will be shorter – c. 45 minutes long, and will usually include Holy Communion. One of the services will be recorded, then edited and uploaded to YouTube ahead of the regular ‘from the Rector’s Study’ 6pm slot. We are, of course, very aware that not everyone is on the internet, and able to access the service in this way. Please do contact the Rectory if you are unable to access the YouTube recording online, and would like to stay connected.

In the meantime... If activities publicised in this magazine are cancelled/amended, we will do our best to notify you via the church mailing list (aka “Benefice Bulletin”), and notices on Facebook and the Benefice webpage:www.knockholtandhal - steadchurches.org. If you are not online and would like to check, please contact the Rectory on 01959 532133. If you do not currently receive the Benefice Bulletin and would like to, please email [email protected] to be added. At the time of writing, arrangements as follows: When will church services be? Because of the restricted numbers, there will be three services on a Sunday morning: • 9:30 at St Katharine’s, Knockholt • 10:30 at St Margaret’s, Halstead • 11:30 at Badgers Mount Memorial Hall (Please note the different times). To avoid people arriving all together and to ensure that everyone can be seated before the service, we ask that you arrive between 5 and 25 minutes before the start of the service (so, between 9:05 and 9:25 for the 9:30 service, for instance).

Will there still be an online service? Yes, there will still be an online service. We recognise that there will be people who – for various reasons – are not able physically to come to church. We do not want to exclude anyone from our church family. We also know that there are people who have been investigating Christian things through watching the online content (for example, because a neighbour

6 has suggested that to them). We want to make sure that people have every possible opportunity of finding out about the life-giving and life-changing message of Jesus. Initially, that will be an edited recording of one of the morning services. That will be uploaded in time for the regular 6pm Sunday evening Zoom.

How do I sign up? Because of limited places as well as track and trace requirements, people will need to sign up for places at the services. N.B. Bookings must be made by 11.45pm on the Friday before the service, to enable information and distributed to the service team before Sunday 1) My Events in My ChurchSuite (preferred method) My ChurchSuite will enable you to access all events currently open for booking (it is likely that 2-3 weeks of services will be open for booking at any given time), and auto-populates most of your details, making it quick and easy for you (1-2 minutes to book!), and significantly more straightforward for us to manage your booking. It is therefore our preferred method for booking. If you are on our email list, you should have received a link to My ChurchSuite at the beginning of lockdown. If you have not already accessed My Church- Suite, you can login as follows: 1. Click here: https://login.churchsuite.com 2. Search for: United Benefice of Knockholt with Halstead (if you type ‘knock’ it should come up quickly) 3. Enter your email address 4. Enter your password (and you can request a password reminder/reset if need be) To book tickets for a Sunday Service 1. Click on ‘My Events’ in the column on the left-hand side (it is the 4th line down), and click on the individual event you would like to sign up for. 2. Click on ‘sign up’ and scroll to the bottom of the event page, and ensure that you add a note, if attending as part of a household group/bubble, of who is in that group/bubble. 3. Make sure that you ‘add an additional ticket’ for anyone from your household/bubble that you are booking for. 4. Click ‘Confirm’ - the system will automatically send you a booking confirmation. While you are in My ChurchSuite for the first time, it would also be really helpful if you could take a couple of minutes to check that your details in ‘My

7 Details’ (also in the left-hand column) are correct. If you have problems accessing My ChurchSuite, please contact Debbie on rev. [email protected]

2) Sign up using individual event links If you cannot access My ChurchSuite (the preferred method), it is also possible to sign up using individual event links, which will be circulated via Tim’s weekly email.

3) Contact the Rectory to be added manually to the list Please leave an answerphone message on 01959 532133 with your name and telephone number, or email [email protected] to book a place. These will be processed in strict sequential order, once or twice a week, so please book as early as possible. Is it alright to bring my children? Yes. Children and adults of all ages are very welcome. Normally, children are very welcome to roam freely, but in the present circumstances, your children will need to stay with you at all times. You will be emailed an activity sheet for your children to fill in during the service for you to print off at home. If your child is likely to need a toy to play with, you will need to bring that with you since we have had to put all of the toys in church out of use for the time being. Please remember that you will need to sign up for a place for each child as well as for you. I am in a clinically vulnerable category, am I allowed to come to church? Yes. If you (or someone in your household) are clinically vulnerable, whether because you are over 70 or because of medical condition, government guidance permits you to come to church. We recognise that everyone’s situation is different and for some people, it will not be right at the present time to come a public gathering like church. That is completely understandable. Everyone will have to make the decision that is right for them and their household. Will we have Holy Communion? Yes. One of the things that many of us have missed during the period of lockdown has been the opportunity to share in the Lord’s Supper together. We will share together in the bread, but not the wine (since under the present circumstances, the common cup is advised against).

8 In order to be able effectively to maintain social distancing, Communion will be brought to you in your pew (as would already be done in some cases). Please hold out your hands and the bread will be dropped into them. If you would like to receive a blessing instead, please just keep your arms by your sides to let the minister know. Will singing be allowed? No. Sadly, singing is not permitted. That is the case for congregation and for choir. For many people that is a core part of the experience of church. There will be recorded songs. You must not sing along; however, humming is entirely permissible. As a part of ensuring that the service is appropriate for children and adults of all ages, one of the songs will be one of the action songs we know and love from our all-age services. Actions are encouraged (obviously, while remaining within your pew). Will the toilets be available? No. Unfortunately, the toilets will not be available at the present. That is because of the additional cleaning requirements under COVID19. We recognise the fact that this will cause difficulty for some and we will be revisiting this (along with other aspects of the current arrangements). What will happen when we arrive? When you arrive, one of the welcome team will check that you have signed up for one of the allocated spaces at the service. A member of the welcome team will then administer hand sanitiser. You will then be directed to a seat. What will happen at the end of church? Sadly, at the present time we will not be serving tea and coffee at the end of church, because of the extra requirements under COVID19. We also need to ask people not to linger in church. We know that many of you will want to catch up with one another – please do so once you are outside (while maintaining social distancing, of course). Do I need to wear a face-mask? Guidance has been updated to “strongly advise that face coverings should be worn”. There are exceptions, of course (such as children). Please take care when removing your face-mask at Holy Communion.

9 Will there be an offering? No, there will not be a physical collection. A cash collection presents various risks (for example, for those who would count it). So, we will not be doing that at this time. Instead, we encourage you to set up a regular online donation. A significant proportion of our annual income at each church comes from the ‘plate collection’, and so if you are able to set up a regular donation, this would be very helpful indeed. You can do that at https://knockholtandhalstead.churchsuite.co.uk/ donate (both one-off and regular donations can be set up here). Again, we recognise that there will be people for whom this is not possible. If that is you, please speak to Tim and we will be able to arrange something for you. Will we be using hymn books? No. Use of paper, such as service books, hymnbooks, or church Bibles, presents a risk of transmission. The whole service will, therefore, be on the screen. We encourage you, for that reason, to bring your own Bible with you from home. (This is also the reason that children’s activity sheets will be emailed to you, rather than provided on the door).

Sidesmen, Readers & Intercessors for Halstead – September 6th Sept 10.30am Martin Couchman & Pat Lewis George Barnes Tina Bennett 13th Sept 10.30am Edwina & Nick Beaumont Edwina Edwina 20th Sept 10.30am Helen & Bruce Balfour Bruce Chris Peel 27th Sept 10.30am Graham & Cecilia Bartlett Jean Peel Graham Badgers Mount 4.00pm Margaret May

THE CHILDREN’S SOCIETY A big ‘hello’ to all the Children’s Society Box holders in the parish – I hope you are all keeping well. As you would expect, the Children’s Society have advised against collecting boxes this year. Their work continues so their funds are dwindling but

10 Halstead magazine 14/1/13 15:27 Page 1

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12 the safety of us all during this pandemic is paramount. During these restricted times we are all being encouraged to use credit cards instead of cash. This will mean fewer coins going into the boxes but I would urge you all to put in what you can. I have missed seeing you all and look forward to seeing you next year. The good news is that I had a full box from the Rose and Crown Pub given to me before lockdown and I have been emptying the box at Hancock’s shop regularly as customers have been very generous. This has meant I have been able to bank £360 that will transferred to the Children’s Society in due course. If your box is full or if you would like to talk to me please ring – you all have my phone number on the label on your box. With many thanks and all best wishes from Margaret May 01959 532042

LET’S RIDE AND STRIDE ON 12 SEPTEMBER Every September the sponsored cycle or walk sponsorship event Ride and Stride raises funds for local churches and for the Friends of Kent Churches charity. Last year £140,000 was raised and St Margaret’s received a very welcome £5000 for the repair of the church roof. This year’s event was set for Saturday 12 September, and it’s going ahead, which is great news and gives participants an opportunity to keep fit and to visit some of Kent’s beautiful churches. If you take part, you can nominate 50% of the sponsorship monies you raise for your church, with the rest going to the Friends of Kent Churches. Go to www.kentrideandstride.co.uk and click on Downloads for the sponsorship form and other information. Martin Couchman

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION – HALSTEAD BRANCH VJ Day 75 – Just as this piece is going to print, commemorations of the day that the Second World War finally ended will be taking place on 15th August. It is hoped that the day was fine and that once again you hung out the bunting/ flags and held tea parties. Following guidance from the RBL, a small gathering of members were able to meet in the churchyard for a brief Act of Remem- brance at 11am, when the Halstead Standard was lowered.

13 Branch AGM - In the expectation that it may be difficult for Members to socially distance in the Pavilion, we hope to be able to hold the AGM in Halstead Village Hall. Please note the date has changed to Wednesday 21st October at 8 pm. Poppy Appeal - At our recent Committee meeting, Allan Spence, our Poppy Appeal Organiser reported that the total sum raised in Halstead and Badgers Mount for the 2020 year was £8,555.52. He has been an enthusiastic and efficient PAO, but has decided to retire after 12 years and will be missed. Your contributions to the collectors who knock on your doors every year has raised amazing sums from our small villages which enables the work of the RBL for service veterans and their dependants. Gill and Martin Johnston have volun- teered to take up the baton as joint Poppy Appeal Organisers, for what will be a very different 2021 year ahead. There is confirmation that there will be no house- to- house collections, but other means will be arranged for donating and we will receive further information in the next months. Barbara Davenport Hon. Secretary

14 ROYAL BRITISH LEGION – CENTENARY The Legion will be celebrating its centenary next year and branches have been asked to provide details of their history. What we know is that the Halstead and Knockholt branch was formed in April 1928 with 10 members, which by September 1929 had increased to 97 and that in December 1945 a separate Knockholt branch was formed. To try and put more flesh on these bones we are asking whether any residents of Hal- stead, Knockholt or Badgers Mount have any memories or memorabilia of the Legion in past years? Photographs would be of particular interest. If anyone can help, please contact Roger Davenport on 01959 532025 or by email at [email protected]

HALSTEAD NURSERY

Apologies for not hearing from us in the July edition, the month seemed to whizz by and the end of term was upon us before we knew it. We re-opened on the 1st June to 18 of our children and towards the end of the Summer term a further 3 joined us. It was lovely to catch up with everyone again after such a long time and the children were so excited to see each other! In early July the Government announced that “bubbles” of children would be able to increase from 20th July and this meant that we were lucky enough to be able to invite all of our children leaving to go to Primary School to the nursery for one last session on the 21st. It was wonderful to see them all together again and to celebrate we arranged an impromptu party. It was a morning of mixed emotions, we were happy to see all of our older children but sad that our younger ones could not be invited. We have our fingers crossed that next July everyone will be able to join us. The children were entertained by Phil from Jaws n Claws and his menagerie of animals including Alice the Snake and Ron the Giant Rabbit. Towards the end of the morning we held a short socially distanced graduation for the children and invited their parents to watch. We wish them all the very best of luck in their transition to reception class.

15 Sadly, 2 members of our staff team have also left us over the summer period and we have been actively recruiting. We wish Caroline and Natalie all the very best for their future plans and hope you’ll both keep in touch with us all. The summer holidays have been an opportunity to prepare for everyone to return to nursery from September and we’ve made several changes to our room layout to make more space for the children to play in. We will post photos of our new room when it is finished on our website so please do take a look. We have some space available for new families to join us from September and if you would be interested in knowing more about the nursery, what we get up to please visit our website www.halsteadnursery.org.uk or contact the nursery on 07950 681846. Tracey McCartney, Manager

KENT HEIGHTS FLOWER CLUB Although sadly we have been unable to hold any of our monthly meetings at Halstead Vil- lage Hall since our March 2020 meeting due to the Cov- id pandemic, we have kept in touch regularly with all of our members by email and telephone, and we have been running two competitions – in July and August – which have been sponsored by Coolings Garden Centre, Knockholt. The July competition asked members to nominate their favourite flowers or blooms, and we had nearly 30 members take part (see compilation collage of photos which was a wonderful display in a range of colours). The winning entry was a White Exochorda Racemosa Niagara (pearl bush) which showed an avalanche of white blooms. The flowers in that shrub lasted for weeks and was much admired. A Coolings gift card was awarded to the winner.

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Additional Pilates classes in the Sevenoaks area & 1-2-1 Private Sessions Conservatories cleaned & rejuvenated! in your own home are also available. Affordable rates – fully insured Phone or email for a quote: * For further course information including availability & suitability please contact Eden: Jeremy Steer Tel: 07984 782122 01959 525347 or 07831 214815 Email: [email protected] e: [email protected] 18 The August competition was for a virtual display under the title of “Anything Goes”, where members were asked to create an arrangement with no restrictions on size, container, flowers, medium used or style. Their entries were submitted by photograph and the Committee will carefully consider all of the photographic entries before choosing their winner. The closing date of this competition is 1 September, so at the time of going to Press we do not yet know who the chosen winner will be. Again, a Coolings gift card will be awarded to the winner. The winning entry will be notified in the October magazine. Unfortunately we have had to cancel all of our meetings from April – No- vember inclusive, and we still hope to be able to hold a meeting in December which this year is planned for lunchtime on Friday 4th December, from 12.00 onwards until about 14.30pm. There will not be a meal, instead it is hoped to have a catch up with as many members who are able to attend as possible. Currently the limit in Halstead Village Hall is for 30 people, socially distanced, but this may change before the December meeting so we shall keep all of our members informed and will update again in the October and Novem- ber magazines if there are any changes to the guidelines which have been set. As the Summer is now over, we shall be turning our minds to the Autumn and what things will be displayed, finishing and still growing in our gardens during September. Maureen Evans, Secretary, Kent Heights Flower Club

HALSTEAD & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY I am very sad to report that our Autumn Show will not be taking place this year. Despite Halstead Village Hall having re-opened, there are severe restrictions on numbers that can be in the hall at any one time which would make both staging of exhibits and viewing of the exhibits a frustrating and tedious experience. Coupled with this, the Village Hall have determined that the usual outdoor stalls and band will not be present which seriously detracts from the magnetism of the event. However, unless things change for the worse, we intend holding our talk at Halstead Village Hall on Thursday 24 September at 8:00pm. There is a change to our original programme; the speaker is now John Hughes and his topic is Behind the Scenes at Kew Gardens. As usual, members are free, visitors £2. Due to Covid rules there is a strict limitation on numbers allowed in the hall so pre-booking is necessary with places allocated on a first come first served basis. There may still be places available and those hoping to attend should contact Peter Nicholls on [email protected] or phone

19 01959 534497 by 4 September latest. We also hope to stage a reduced size Quiz Night at Halstead Village Hall on Thursday 8 October (7:30 for 8:00 start). To comply with current restrictions this would be limited to 6 tables of 4. Those attending would be responsible for bringing their own drinks and nibbles (and for taking their rubbish home at the end). The cost would be £4 per head. As usu- a l there will be a bottle of wine as a prize for each member of the winning team. Booking will be on a first come first served basis so if you can make up a team of four email Barrie Blundell on blundell- [email protected] to book your table. This event will only go ahead if we get sufficient support and can comply with the guidelines in place at the time. Green Fingers! Barrie Blundell

HALSTEAD WI Lovely sunny weather as I type this email. We all hope for some night time heavy rain with a light breeze. Just beautiful weather, but a tad hot. MyWI has issued an 8 page Guidance to enable meetings to resume. Most of the requirements are common sense, and the Halstead WI committee has discussed in detail how we will ensure that our meetings can resume and conform to requirements. Halstead Village Hall also has Government requirements. The September meeting on 8th will try to bring back a little normality, 8pm in the Village Hall, Individual seats will be placed 1½ metres apart in a horseshoe, sanitiser as you enter, a soft drink available with the WI guidance suggesting that we wear face masks. The meeting will mainly allow members to catch up on WI News in a con- trolled and socially distanced environment. Our WI member Diane Abbott vol- unteers at Ightam Mote and has agreed to gives us an informal talk about “My experience as a National Trust Volunteer”. It will be a cautious social evening where members can catch up with friends. In October and November the plan is for Halstead WI to have extra meetings, two a month, to go some way to make up for the lockdown break. Watch this space for speakers. National WI Federation has agreed to delay our yearly subscription to April, in other words we get 3 months; new members or guests are always welcome.

20 Denman College which is a charity run In association with WI has suffered from the ability to run educational courses and it looks as if sadly it will have to be sold due to the reduction in revenue and overhead costs. Many members have visited to learn and expand their craft knowledge, the selection of resi- dential course has been varied and members have been well fed and watered. Sad to see it sold. The WI is moving into the 20th century, and the West Kent Federation of WIs and National WI Federation are in media on Facebook with lots to read if you wish. The August monthly magazine edition of West Kent Federation is available on My WI or if members and anyone interested and cannot get a copy on the internet, please return to me for a paper copy. Our treasurer Jenny is going to print our programme, which has a mixed vari- ety of speakers which have been arranged by Maureen with the help of Diane, and can amended if need be. Jennifer, my secretary, is keeping tags on our mail box, Mary always has a raffle book to hand, Sue is organising a walk, and Val is keeping me in order. So thank you to all the committee and hopefully we can resume our membership meetings starting on 8th September. Please call Val 01959 533344 or myself 01958 535108 for any information. Hope to see everyone very soon. Best wishes Carole, on behalf of the Committee.

HALSTEAD SENIORS Oops! Nearly forgot the deadline for this month’s entry to the magazine as I have been in bed with a bug - - no, not a bed bug! Anyway, nothing seems to have changed with our return to the village Hall as Corvid still doesn’t know when it’s not wanted. It would seem that we still have some way to go before everyday living becomes more stable. Our blessing is that we have the ability to find beauty in our garden flowers, in identifying different birds that have come into the gardens, in our families now that we have bubbles or even in finding a great big fish going by the name of Steve? who I found fully clothed in a 4ft x 5ft fish pond, apparently he had fallen in backwards and couldn’t gain a purchase to get out. Last week he knocked a lovely big hole in the bedroom wall whilst decorating, he had tripped over a dust sheet. Yesterday, the floor in our hall gave way, no not my weight,

21 but wood rot. Never a dull moment living up here!! It’s a matter of whatever is going to happen next, help me to come back to you SANE. In the meantime I challenge one of our members to write a short poem or story for entry into next month’s issue. Just remember you are all loved and missed. We will be together again. Jackie X

HALSTEAD READING GROUP 1st Tuesday in the month 9.30 am

Amazingly we have continued to meet each month this year in spite of Lockdown. Nearly everyone in the group has managed to master ZOOM and we have all had to learn to speak up quickly as the free session only lasts 40mins! In August we discussed “The Chilbury Ladies Choir” by Jennifer Ryan. A light-hearted book described by Amazon “An excellent account of life in a village in Kent during World War 2. Told in a series of letters and journal entries by several of the residents. They share their secrets and fears, and also explain how the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir was formed”. It was fun summer reading. In September we are discussing “The Salt Path” by Raynor Winn a totally different book – and that is what the Book Club is about – different books, different authors and a chance to chat them over with friends!

PARISH COUNCIL In the current lockdown the Parish Council has not had any face to face meetings but has had a number of ZOOM meetings to discuss current issues. You will shortly have through your letter box the Parish Council Summer Newslet- ter which includes an update on a number of matters. In the mean time! A meeting of the Play Area Group has been held to discuss the way forward. The recent survey has overwhelmingly supported an upgrading of the Play are but it will be very costly and we are investigating grants that may be available. This would cover a path from the car park to the play area and we have our fingers crossed. The Parish Council has submitted its objections to the new planning application for Fort Halstead which proposes an increase in the number of houses from the currently approved 450 to 750 houses. We have also heard that a new planning application will be submitted for Broke Hill following a 21 day

22 consultation period. This will be considered by SDC with a decision expected in November. We will again need to submit our views on the planning application when it is published for consultation. The first walking map for the village is close to completion. This is the historic village map. The Parish Council has ob- tained grants to cover the printing costs. It is hoped further maps will be published in the future. The Parish Council is very concerned how the proposed developments at Fort Halstead, Broke Hill and some other locations would affect the village if they were all approved. If all were approved it would result in a further 1800 houses with a population of over 4000 people. On top of the current population of Halstead the village would be turned into a small town with a total population in excess of 6000 people. The Parish council are meeting Councillor Peter Fleming, leader of Sevenoaks District Council in early September to find out what plans SDC have for this possible eventuality. After the terribly wet spring the Recreation Ground will from early September host Halstead Football Club playing on a Saturday and Chipstead Football Club playing on Sundays. The next meeting of the Parish council will be held on the 14th September but whether this is a face to face meeting or a virtual meeting is yet to be decided.

HALSTEAD NETBALL CLUB IS BACK! Halstead Netball Club began training again on 3rd August, in accordance with All England Netball Club Covid 19 guidance, on the resurfaced netball court on Halstead Recreation Ground. The Club started more than 40 years ago and has a lively membership of more than 40 girls of all ages and 2 ladies teams; more than 50% of the Club live in Halstead, Knock- holt or Badgers Mount. Hal- stead Parish Council funded the resurfacing of the netball Some of Halstead Netball Club training on the new court with money gained from court with Helen Brown (Chair Halstead Netball Club) the Community Infrastructure and Rachel Bealing (Halstead Lead Coach).

23 Levy (CIL) - a charge made by the District Council to all new developments to help deliver infrastructure to the area. The court surface had become unplay- able and the Club had spent several seasons playing elsewhere. Everyone has learnt during the Lockdown due to coronavirus, that exercise in the fresh air is a must for everyone. It is hoped that further guidance will be given by the All England Netball club to allow matches to start again and Halstead will be ready!

HALSTEAD CRICKET CLUB IS PLAYING AGAIN!

Halstead Cricket club are playing again on Halstead Recreation ground. Train- ing on Wednesday evenings (6pm) and weekend matches. Call Richard Hughes (07967 589997) for more information.

FOOTBALL SET TO KICK OFF IN SEPTEMBER Halstead Football club are getting ready to start the season on September 5th. The men’s team will play on Saturday afternoons on the recreation ground. Chipstead Football Club play youth football on a Sunday.

BASKETBALL ANYONE? We’re discussing the possibility of playing some basketball over on the rec. and would love to know if anyone 13+ would be interested. If so, please call or text Heather on 07482 303060.

24 A MESSAGE FROM THE ROSE & CROWN, HALSTEAD Our pub re-opened in early July and has managed to get back into the old routine of serving lunches and drinks albeit in slightly different circumstances than before. We have assessed our pub under government guidelines and have implemented these so tables are slightly spaced more than usual, we have a one-way system in and out and you will see plenty of anti-bacterial handwash placed in various points of the pub. Our menus have been updated and where possible we try and offer table service. Our well-known Sunday lunches are available along with a varied menu offering other pub meals. We hope you can pop by and make a visit in the near future for a drink or meal. We offer lunches during the week until 2.15pm and on the weekends until later depending on availability. Please call us prior to your visit to book a table and we look forward to seeing you soon. Tony & Jack Goode, 01959 533 120

HALSTEAD VILLAGE HALL IS OPEN As with many other important areas of life our local village hall had to close for many months but has now re-opened. We have given the hall a very deep clean in line with government advice and also taken the opportunity during closure to re-paint the hall at the lower levels and basically give it a good old- fashioned spring clean. It’s as good as new now and ready to take booking albeit under new and important guidelines there to protect everybody. If you wish to enquire about hiring the hall for any occasion, then please contact

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25 me and I can discuss your requirements. We hope in time that confidence will return and our normal lives can go back to what they were before. Lewis Grey, [email protected] • 07730 66 25 18

BADGERS MOUNT WI Badgers Mount WI is still not up and running at the time of writing but we had our first Commit- tee Meeting at the hall on Wednesday 12 August. This was mainly to discuss the various restrictions and risks involved with reopening. We think that, with scrupulous cleaning, hand sanitizers at the ready and social distancing, we will be able to have our first meeting since March in September. This will be a social afternoon when members and guests can catch up on lockdown stories and have a chat. We are hoping that our speaker for October, Glyn Bareham, will give his talk entitled Every Picture Tells a Story, which sounds very intriguing! Obviously we cannot guarantee that this will definitely take place as we have to adhere to Government, NFWI and local guidelines but our fingers are well and truly crossed. We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 2pm in Badgers Mount Memorial Hall and guests are very welcome. Enjoy the sunshine and keep safe and well. Lesley Salmon, Badgers Mount WI

JOB VACANCY Halstead Nursery is recruiting! We are looking for 2 x part time Early Years practitioners for two and a half days per week, term time only. Ideally you will be fully qualified and hold at least a current Level 3 qualification. A willingness to train to Level 3 is required if not. The salary to be paid is de- pendent on qualification. A full day in the nursery is 8.40 am to 3.15 pm and a morning session is 8.40 am to 12.15 pm and you can find out lots more about our nursery on our website www.halsteadnursery.org.uk. If you would like more information and an application pack please contact our Manager, Tracey McCartney via [email protected] or 07950 681846.

26 MU’S ‘THANK YOU KEY WORKERS’ APPEAL The Mothers’ Union wants to help families of key workers by offering them a range of free day trips/experiences and short breaks. It is ap- pealing to MU supporters to help make this possible. As a spokeswoman for MU explains: “There has been an outpouring of compassion and care during the crisis from our hospital workers to our delivery drivers, carers to cleaners and our refuse collectors to bus drivers. But because of their personal sacrifices, quality family time has not always been possible. “Therefore, we are extending our existing Away from it all Programme (AFIA) to say a special ‘thank you’ to key workers in these unprecedented times. “Any donation will help provide a range of day trips/experiences and short breaks for families of key workers, especially for those who have been kept apart or who are on low incomes - families who would generally be unable to have experiences like this.” If you would like to send a donation, go to: https://www.mothersunion. org/thank-you-keyworker-appeal Say thank you to a keyworkers family today – Donate now

VILLAGE DIARY 1 September Halstead Reading Group – 9.30am 5 September Halstead Football Club start of season 8 September Halstead WI Meeting – 8pm 9 September Badgers Mount WI Meeting – 2pm 12 September Ride and Stride 14 September Parish Council Meeting 24 September Horticultural Society talk – 8pm 8 October Horticultural Society quiz – 7.30pm 21 October Royal British Legion AGM – 8pm

27 PARISH MAGAZINE The Cock Inn Halstead As you may know, we are producing an on-line version of the magazine tem- Come in & be Social in your Local porarily until social distancing restrictions are lifted and we can be sure our Dog friendly • Cyclist Corner distributors will remain safe when delivering paper copies of the magazine to households. Please do continue to send all your news and articles to share, Good beer, Ciders & fine Ales & Wines keeping in touch is more important than ever during ‘lock-down’ and I’m sure many will enjoy the welcome distraction of a good read! In the meantime, Country atmosphere • Good Company readers and advertisers will not be charged for the on-line magazine. And do For more info: pass the magazine on to others who might enjoy it too! Family style Dining, www.thecockinnhalstead.co.uk Please ensure all articles for the October magazine are sent no later than 15th Freshly prepared food daily September to [email protected]. All emails will be [email protected] acknowledged. Please do not send articles to our personal email addresses. Follow us on 01959 443286 Many thanks Michelle Hughes and Martin Couchman (Editors)

28 The Cock Inn Halstead Come in & be Social in your Local Dog friendly • Cyclist Corner Good beer, Ciders & fine Ales & Wines Country atmosphere • Good Company Family style Dining, For more info: Freshly prepared food daily www.thecockinnhalstead.co.uk [email protected] Follow us on 01959 443286 Gardening Jon For a neat and tidy garden

All general garden maintenance Regular or one off jobs Spring/Autumn Tidy Ups Lawn cutting, hedge cutting, weeding, planting Hanging baskets and pots Patio cleaning

Tel 01959 532404 or 07798 832462

Your local gardener offering a reliable service.

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