TTHHEE TTOOWEERR January/February 2018 EDITORIAL It doesn’t seem but a short time ago that we were wishing you all a Happy 2017, and here we at the beginning of 2018. At this time of year, it is traditional to look back over the past twelve months at things that have happened in our lives, some good and some (hopefully not many) bad and then look forward to the coming year with hope and expectation. What will 2018 hold for us all? Who knows, but hopefully it will be no worse than the year just passed and maybe a whole lot better. As we produce this issue of The Tower, we are basking in unseasonally warm temperatures, but we expect that, as the old saying goes, “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens”. This means that at some point in the coming months we will probably see prolonged periods on the more usual cold winter weather and maybe a decent fall of snow. We would ask all of our readers to remember that the birds not only need plenty of food at this time of year, but also access to water. We always keep fresh water available in the garden, not just for drinking, but also for bathing, which is important for birds. Starlings and blackbirds especially like to have a good old splash and preen. Much is made these days of the word ‘community’ and it is a label that is applied to many things and you have ‘this community’, or ‘that community’ being talked about in the media and on TV and there is always ‘community spirit’ at the forefront. The word community is derived from the Latin word communitas - A community; a body of people acting collectively. There are many modern interpretations of the meaning of community, but the one that we favour is: ‘the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common’. We believe that shared social values and responsibilities go to the heart of any successful ‘community’ and when people come together as one, then positive things start to happen. This is evident in this village when you look at the trimmed grass verges and footpaths in and around the village, the beautiful village Christmas tree, the number of successful clubs that operate and social events (especially events to raise money for charities) that are held in the village. These things don’t ‘just happen’, they need people to act together in friendship and love for the surroundings in which they live. If you are looking for a New Year’s resolution to make, let it be to join in with something going on in the village that you have not done before and get to know at least one person that you did not know before 1 January 2018 - you might just find that you really do like living in South Kyme. Mervyn & Judy Head

Contributions for ‘THE TOWER’ should be emailed to: [email protected], or posted at 52 High Street, South Kyme Items for the next issue must be received by 19 February 2018

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2 CLUBS AND SOCIETIES SOUTH KYME TABLE TENNIS CLUB

The club meets in the village hall on Tuesday evenings from 7.30 p.m. Membership is £5.00/year, with a session fee of £1.50. Age restriction is 16+ and any new members will be welcome. We have 3 tables and plenty of bats and balls. Tables can also be hired by non members at other times for £2.50 per hour per person. To book, please call 01526 861566 or 01526 869297 SOUTH KYME WOMEN’S INSTITUTE South Kyme WI meet in the village hall at 7-30 on the first Thursday of the month,why not come and join us? The yearly membership fee is £41. You are welcome to come along to a meeting to see if you like us and want to join us. For further detail please contact Mary Jackson on 01526 860489 or Pam Bunker on 01526 861323 or go on our website at http.www.skwi.weebly.com January 2018 Meeting: We will be having a quiz and Hot puddings. SOUTH KYME PETANQUE (BOULES) CLUB We look forward to the 2018 season for Boules. An announcement of the start of the new season will be announced in the next issue of The Tower. SOUTH KYME SHORT MAT BOWLS CLUB The club meets in the village hall at 7.15-10.00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Membership is £5.00/year, with a session/match fee of £2.00. New members will be most welcome. SOUTH KYME LADIES KEEP FIT GROUP The ladies keep fit group sessions are now on each Friday afternoon (unless otherwise announced) from 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm. The fee is £15.00/month, so please do come along and experience a work out tailored to suit your individual needs by the qualified fitness instructor. For further details, please contact Josie on 01526 860645.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE NEW YEAR In 2010, a “Black Widow” suicide bomber planned a terrorist attack in central Moscow on New Year’s Eve, but was killed when a spam message from her mobile phone operator wishing her a happy new year received just hours before the planned attack triggered her suicide belt, killing her, but nobody else. Some people wear adult diapers while celebrating New Year at Time Square due to the lack of toilets. New Year gifts also date back to ancient times when the Persians used to gift eggs symbolizing productivity. A kiss at the stroke of midnight signifies the purification into the New Year, and making deafening noise is said to drive away evil spirits.

3 LOCAL LIBRARY SERVICES MOBILE LIBRARY VAN The library van will be outside South Kyme village hall from 10.30 - 11.00 am on the following dates - always on a Monday: 15 January, 12 February, 12 March COMMUNITY LIBRARY The library is situated on the ground floor of the parish council building in St Andrews Street, Heckington, opposite the church. The library is open to residents of South Kyme and has computers installed for public use. Opening hours are: Monday - Saturday 10.00 am - 12.00 noon Wednesday 10.00 am - 4.30 pm

JANS FLOWERS Flowers, Plants, Birthdays, Weddings Funerals, all Celebrations, Gifts, Party Organiser

Jans Flowers 94 Clay Bank South Kyme Lincolnshire LN4 4AH

Tel: 07919322361

Email: [email protected] Facebook: jans fleurs

4 COMMUNITY POLICING Contact details for your Neighbourhood Policing Team at the Police Station, The Hoplands, Boston Road, Sleaford, NG34 7LZ are: PC 569 Derbyshire PC 400 McLardy PC 418 Green PCSO Kennedy PCSO Ironmonger PCSO Welby-Everard To contact any of the above officers, please dial 101 and extension 3858 FOR EMERGENCIES CALL 999, or LINCS POLICE HQ on 01522 532222

FREE BOOK EXCHANGE Please come along and exchange your books free of charge. The Coronation Hall is open weekly for book exchanges on Tuesday 7.30-8.30 pm, Wednesday 7.30-10.00 pm and Friday 2.00-4.00 pm.

5 THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY & ALL SAINTS

Vicar: Rev Mike Rose Tel: 01526 861746 Churchwardens Mrs J Morris Tel: 01526 861269 Mr M Cass Tel: 01526 860857 Church Services Date Time Service

7 January 11.00 am Epiphany Service and Holy Communion 21 January 11.00 am Family Service 28 January 9.30 am Plough Sunday Service (Martin) 28 January 11.00 am Plough Sunday Service (Walcott) followed by a Poughman’s Lunch in Walcott village hall - all are welcome. 4 February 10.00 am Group Service with Bishop of Lincoln at Church. 14 February 12.00 noon Ash Wednesday service and holy communion at Walcott 14 February 6.30 pm Ash Wednesday service at Billinghay 18 February 11.00 am Family Service Letter from the Vicar

A new year begins and we seek to keep any resolutions we might have made and to look forward to many good things this year. Plough Sunday this year is on Sunday 28 January at 9.30am at Holy Trinity, Martin, and then at 11am at St Oswald’s, Walcott followed by a Ploughman’s Lunch in Walcott Village Hall. You are all most welcome to our first Agricultural Service of the year. We have the Bishop of Lincoln, The Right Rev’d Christopher Lowson with us in February. The Bishop will be visiting our Parishes and Presiding at Holy Communion at a special Group Service at St Michael’s and All Angels, Billinghay at 10am on Sunday 4 February. We look forward to meeting with him. Ash Wednesday coincides with St Valentines Day this year on 14th February. You will be able to receive ashes in two of our Parishes this year. Firstly in Walcott Church at 12 noon, and then later, if you can’t make the first, in Billinghay Church at 6.30 pm in the early evening. These are brief but important services and you will be most welcome. May you have a blessed New Year 2018. Your Vicar, Revd. Mike Rose 6 SOUTH KYME PARISH COUNCIL As I write this, there is only a few days to go to the Winter solstice (21 December, which is when the sun reaches its maximum declination below the celestial equator of 23 degrees!). I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and rewarding Christmas and New Year with family and loved ones. As we head into 2018 it is worth reflecting on parish council progress made during 2017. It might not seem spectacular, but we are making significant headway on a variety of fronts: The Heckington Fen wind farm proposal has not yet been ratified by the government and with only 2 months to the planning application deadline (18 February 2018) the signs point toward a favourable outcome. The proposal for a slipway and water access point (near the kingfisher statue) is at the planning application stage and Activity Group proposals are waiting in the pipeline. We have also agreed a plan of work by the Village Tidy Group to regularly maintain all the village furniture (to include: White fence painting, full refurbishment of the notice board, replacement ‘Green Oak’ bench at the junction of Clay Bank and Low Road and to fund any plants used by the village planter sponsors). Furthermore, a village parish council ‘facebook’ account is being set up for easy access by all residents. You will have seen previous comments regarding the demise of the amenity grass cutting grants by LCC. This has raised many local concerns and hence the policy has been revised with a new proposal to reimburse parishes at the rate of 4.4p/m2 of grass cut per annum. We are awaiting the finalised detailed policy document before we can assess the size of the grant but either way it is better than nothing. At its last meeting in November 2017 the parish council decided to increase the ‘precept’ for 2018/19 by 10%. This is a planned rise to bring us up to parity with council tax rises and inflation and was badly needed after many years of zero growth. This amounts to a few pounds per household each year but is still the only tax both re-invested directly within the community whilst giving residents a voice in how to allocate the funds. We have also written to Moy Park with a suggestion that their HGV’s avoid the B1395 shortcut through South Kyme to and from the A17 and await a reply. A recent incident requiring the potential use of the SKGC De-fibrillator has highlighted the need for a slightly revised procedure. (See Tower Page 13 for details). You can also read the Dog Wardens comments elsewhere in the Tower however, dog fouling remains a ubiquitous, extremely anti-social and potentially health threatening problem that affects us all so please pick up after your dog. The next Village Tidy Group will gather on Saturday 24 Feb 12018 at 8.30 am behind the village hall for a general clean-up, litter pick and tree pollarding session. Thereafter, tentative dates are Saturdays 24 March and 28 April. A thank you to all involved in installing the Christmas tree outside the village hall and a big thank you to Mrs Heather Lamyman for donating the tree. Don’t forget Valentines Day 14 February and Chinese New Year 16 February (year of the ‘Rooster’). Finally, a huge BZ (Bravo Zulu) – naval code for extremely well done! to Mr Trevor Midgely for winning the Community Champion Award at a 28 October event attended by over 150 distinguished guests in the ‘Contribution to a better environment category’. Of over 80 nominees and 28 finalists Trevor deservedly came out on top of his category against stiff opposition for his selfless devotion to making South Kyme a better and more picturesque environment in which to live. We should all take a leaf out of his book. The next parish council meeting and public forum will commence at 7.30 pm Thursday 25 January 2018 in the Coronation Hall. E S Langley Chairman 7 I can’t believe that as I am writing, Christmas is nearly upon us for another year. Where does time go?

We would like to thank the members of the Royal British Legion (Billinghay Branch) for once again organising our Remembrance Day service at school. All our pupils took part in this act of remembrance. Our school raised the most amount of money for the Royal British Legion in the local area.

We are holding an Enterprise Week in school in December. Each class will be making Christmas produce and selling it to parents and carers at the end of the week. The class who makes the most profit will be the winner, however no one will be fired!

Our Year 6 Pupils are continuing to learn about science, technology and engineering through the Jaguar Primary Challenge. Our Wagtail Year 1 and Toucan Year 2/3 classes visited Billinghay Fire Station as part of a topic they are studying in school. I would like to say a big thank you to the Firefighters who gave up their time to make the visit such an enjoyable and memorable experience for our children. The Year 4/5 Penguin class have visited The Deep as part of their science topic. They along with the Year 6 Hawk class have also visited the new We’ll Meet Again Museum as part of the work that they carried out last year for the Lincolnshire Memorials and Memories Project. Finally, the Year 3/4 Swan class have visited Lincoln Castle.

Through our links with Carre’s Grammar School and their PE Outreach Team we had a Paralympian visiting school in December and will have an Olympian visiting in January to lead workshops and work with and inspire our children.

I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and we look forward to building on our successes in 2018.

With best wishes

Mr R Allen, Headteacher

USED STAMPS AND INKJET PRINTER CARTRIDGES Used stamps and empty inkjet printer cartridges can be used to raise funds to purchase and train Hearing Dogs for deaf people. Please don’t throw away envelopes with stamps on them, but cut them off with a border of at least 1 cm of paper around the stamp - please note that post office printed lables and pre-paid marks are not required. You can put your used stamps and cartridges through the letter box at 77 High Street South Kyme, or call me, Ann Hobbs on 01526 869014 if you would like me to collect them. 8 SOUTH KYME OIL SYNDICATE The Syndicate order for December 2017 was for 15,050 litres of heating oil at a price of 43.46 pence per litre.

If you are not already in the scheme and would like join and take advantage of the syndicate’s buying power to reduce your heating oil costs, please let me have your email address, your name, full postal address and telephone number, or if you do not have an email address, please contact me on the number below. Contact details for me, Mervyn Head, are: email: [email protected] Tel: 01526 861098

DEFIBRILLATORS IN SOUTH KYME The primary defibrillator unit is sited at South Kyme Golf Club (yellow box located on the south facing club house wall). On ALL occasions ring 999 for the emergency services and ask for the South Kyme defibrillator access code (allows you to open the box to gain access to the defibrillator). There is also a defibrillator at Sycamore farm, Clay Bank, South Kyme which is available for use if required. Ring either David Casswell on 07711746902 or Michael Casswell on 07711746903.

2018 Forthcoming events at South Kyme Golf Club Saturday 5th January : Blockbusters Quiz Night Friday 12th January : January “Fish N Chip Night” Friday 19th January : “Quiz Night” Friday 26th January : “ Burns Theme Night” Sunday 4th February : Sunday Lunch Carvery Saturday 9th February : Blockbusters Quiz Night Saturday 10th February : Valentines Dining Evening Sunday 18th February Grand Draw & Sunday Carvery. Friday 23rd February : “Quiz Night” Saturday 2nd March : Blockbusters Quiz Night :. Sunday 11th March : Mothering Sunday Lunch Carvery Sunday 19th March : Sunday Lunch Carvery Events open to all Members & their guests. Join South Kyme Golf Club as a Social Member until 31st March 2018 for £4.00 per person, this includes a members 12.5% Bar /Restaurant discount card. For more details see the Social Page of the club website www.skgc.co.uk. 9 NOTICES THE HUME The next coffee mornings will take place from 11 am on Wednesday 10 January and Wednesday 14 February. A selection of cakes will be available.

JOSIE PHILIPS PROUDLY PRESENTS An evening of entertainment at The Coronation Hall, South Kyme Saturday 10 February GARY PERKINS - Country and Irish Music Saturday 21 April ABBA TRIBUTE - Music of the 60’s & 70’s Saturday 28 July STEVE CARNEL - Sixties music + Irish + Country Saturday 22 September DAVE SHERIFF - All round musician and entertainer For all shows: The doors open at 7.00pm and the shows start at 7.30pm. There will be a licensed bar, teas , Coffee and a raffle. Tickets are are £7.50 each and advanced booking can be made by contacting Josie on 01526 860645. All proceeds from the shows are for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance Service.

COMMUNITY

We have always considered ourselves lucky to live in the village of South Kyme. Just recently, it has become apparent to us just what a lovely, caring community we are in. We have been overwhelmed by the good wishes, visits and offers of help from the people living around us. We would like to say ‘thank you!’ to you all and hope that you have all had a very good Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2018. John & Jean Morris

CAROLS AT THE CORONATION HALL

The carol service at The Coronation Hall on Tuesday 19 December with music provided by The Boston Salvation Army Band was again, a very enjoyable evening. Mulled wine, mince pies and sausage rolls and plenty of singing were enjoyed by all. A very big THANK YOU! to all who cooked, mulled wine and helped in any way to make the evening a big success and thank you to all of you who came and gave generously. A total of £365 was raised for Salvation Army funds to help them in their work providing assistance to those in need locally over Christmas. Josie Philips

10 SOUTH KYME CORONATION HALL Blimey - another year has almost flown by and quite a busy one for the Hall. Our sincere thanks to all those people who have supported the Village Hall during the year. This includes the people who willingly (usually) give up their time to arrange, manage and contribute towards our events and activities plus the people who support us by attending them. If you haven't managed to use the Hall during 2017 we hope to see you next year. Doesn't the tree look great - a big THANK YOU to all those involved in donating, erecting and decorating the tree. Let us know if you have any ideas for future events or how we can further enhance this important facility. South Kyme Village Hall is YOUR village Hall. We are always looking for new ideas and suggestions. You may have a particular skill or interest which could make an important contribution. This has been another year of significant improvements to the Hall. The toilet facilities have been improved, there is now better lighting in the small/committee room, there are new 'back drop' curtains on the stage and the Hall floor has been renovated. Our usual weekly activities will continue in the New Year; Monday Dance Groups, Tuesday Table Tennis, Wednesday Bowls and Friday Keep Fit. The New Year is a time for trying something different, and trying to shift those extra pounds which seem to have appeared, so why not try one of these activities? Cafe Kyme mornings will continue on the first Tuesday of the month from 11 am. so we look forward to seeing you on 2 January (in aid of St.Mary and All Saints Church) and 6 February. These are a great opportunity to meet up with your fellow villagers whilst munching on some delicious home baked cakes. Homemade soup is also available and all at ridiculously low prices (Hot drink and cake for £1.50). These Coffee Mornings are an important source of income for the Hall so please support us. January is usually a quiet month for the Hall and this year is no different. The first Show of the year will be on Saturday 10th. February and features Gary Perkins who plays a variety of music (see separate article). Our next Committee Meeting will be held in The Hume on Monday 19 February starting at 7.30 pm. Please come along, you are always welcome. A Happy New Year to all South Kymers. Josie Philips (Chairman) MY OWN SOCIAL MEDIA Sir: I haven’t got a computer, but was told about Facebook and Twitter and I am trying to make friends outside Facebook and Twitter while applying the same principles. Every day, I walk down the street and tell passers by what I have eaten, how I feel, what I have done the night before and what I will do for the rest of the day. I give them pictures of my wife, my daughter, my dog and me gardening and on holiday spending time by the pool. I also listen to their conversations, tell them I ‘like’ them and give them an opinion on every subject that interests me….whether it interests them or not. It really works. I already have four people following me; two police officers, a social worker and a psychiatrist. Peter White, Holbrook, Derbyshire 11 PHOTOCOPYING SERVICE Available for copies up to A3 size, with reduction/enlarging facilities. Prices per sheet (standard 80gsm)

Black & white: up to A4 size 6p up to A3 size 12p

Colour: up to A4 size 35p Contact Judy at: 52 High Street, South Kyme. Tel: 01526 861098

SOUTH KYME CORONATION HALL BOOKING RATES FOR BOOKINGS TEL: Robin on 01526 861566 Email: [email protected] HIRE RATES Main Hall : Village Resident - £50 all/part day Non-Resident - £100 all/part day Small Room : Village Resident - £25 all/part day Non-Resident - £50 all/part day An hourly rate (£10 Main Hall, £8 small room) is also available for groups wanting to use the Village Hall regularly, or for anyone just needing an hour or two. If required, an alcohol licence is available for £20. A £20 set up fee and £20 clear up fee will be charged if the hall is needed the night before or the morning after an event. These rates include the use of the kitchen, equipment and crockery. 12 PHOTO REPAIR / RESTORATION / SCANNING & PRINTING

Do you have any photographs you need restoring, retouching or reviving? If you have an old photograph that is damaged or you want a copy I can help. I can restore and repair damaged photographs, remove blemishes, build up missing areas through damage, colourise and tint old black and white photos, enlarge, copy and even create photo montages of your treasured memories.

Prices can vary considerably based on the amount of work required and the materials needed, but may be roughly assessed as follows:

Level I: Relatively small amounts of work - crop, repair minor scratches, marks or blemishes on the background; adjust brightness, contrast & colour balance. Prices from £9.50 to £12.25.

Level II: As Level I + repair damaged edges & corners, creases and lines in the background and minor marks and blemishes on the subject not requiring extensive rebuilding; convert black & white or colour photographs to sepia tone or sepia to black & white. Prices from £17.00 to £19.75.

Specialist: As Level II + repair to more significant damage, remove or add objects, join photographs, replace backgrounds. Prices from £27.75 to £31.50.

Montage/Colourise/Tint: Prices on enquiry.

Additional Prints: up to 6" x 4" print £ 3.40 up to 5" x 7" print £ 4.90 up to 8" x 10" print £ 5.85

Please call or email for an individual quote.

Riverside Studio, Riverside Lodge, 52 High Street, South Kyme, Lincs LN4 4AE Tel: 01526 861098 Email: [email protected]

13 USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS EMERGENCIES ELECTRICITY Tel: 0800 6783 105 HQ Tel: 01522 532222 FLOODLINE Tel: 0845 9881188 WATER Tel: 0845 7145145 ENVIRONMENT AGENCY Tel: 0800 807060 HELP CITIZENS ADVICE Tel: 0870 1224422 PARENTLINE Tel: 0808 800 2222 RELATE Tel: 01476 592921 SAMARITANS Tel: 0845 7909090 CRIME STOPPERS Tel: 0800 555111 DOCTORS SURGERIES & HOSPITALS BILLINGHAY MEDICAL PRACTICE Tel: 01526 860490 SWINESHEAD MEDICAL GROUP Tel: 01205 820204 HECKINGTON MEDICALCENTRE Tel: 01529 460213 BOSTON PILGRIM HOSPITAL Tel: 01205 364801 LINCOLN COUNTY HOSPITAL Tel: 01522 512512 EDUCATION BILLINGHAY PRIMARY Tel: 01526 860786 St GEORGE’S ACADEMY, SLEAFORD Tel: 01529 302487 BOSTON COLLEGE Tel: 01205 365701 TRANSPORT BRYLAINE TRAVEL TEL: 01205 364087 CALL CONNECT TEL: 0845 234334 MAINLINE TRAIN STATIONS AT SLEAFORD, BOSTON AND LINCOLN. LOCAL SERVICES FROM HECKINGTON, METHERINGHAM & SWINESHEAD BRIDGE. FOR TIMETABLES TEL: 0845 484950 COUNCILS NORTH KESTEVEN DISTRICT COUNCIL TEL: 01529 414155 DISTRICT COUNCILLOR, JULIA HARRISON TEL: 01529 660887 LICOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TEL: 01522 552222 COUNTY COUNCILLOR, BARRY YOUNG TEL: 01529 460205 PARISH COUNCIL TEL: 01526 861098 MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT DR CAROLINE JOHNSON MP TEL: 01529 419000 Email: [email protected] SOUTH KYME VILLAGE WEBSITES PARISH COUNCIL http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/SouthKyme PETER BETTIS http://www.south-kyme.co.uk DOG WARDEN EMMA-LOUISE SIMPSON TEL: 07949898847

14 Edited, published and printed by M & J Head, Riverside Lodge, 52 High Street, South Kyme

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