PEN PAPER Photo: Robert Nuer

The newsleer of St. Michael’s Church and the Parish of Pen Selwood Pen Paper Mar 2019 Contents

In this issue:

Rector’s Reflections 3 Recent Events 4 Club and Society News 6 Parish Council News 9 Fibre to the Premises Broadband 10 Dealing with a Midlife Crisis 12 Garden Notes for Pen 14 Noticeboard 15 Church Services 19 Village Diary 20

From the Editor What a difference a week or two makes! One day we are clearing snow from the roads then spring is already on its way. This issue covers great news about broadband and social activities being organised. Don’t miss out on your free £500 broadband voucher! If you didn’t manage to see Alison’s talk at the PCA AGM, her story on page 12 is well worth a read. Editor: Geoff Parcell 841216 Assistant editor: Jane Ashman

2 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Rectors Reflections

Vacancy Update The advertisement for the new Rector has been published in the Church Times, with the closing date for applications being 8th February. After shortlisting, interviews took place on 25th and 26th February at Pen Selwood Village Hall. Candidates explored the area around and Pen Selwood, as they considered taking up the role of Rector. We are all hoping for a positive outcome.

A Lent Course for Enquiring Minds Led by Jeff Lee at Penstone, Pear Ash Lane, Pen Selwood, BA9 8LX On each Thursday in Lent at 7 p.m from Thursday14th March. Refreshments will be provided.

ALL ARE WELCOME.

ONE Exodus 3 The Burning Bush ATHEISM AND AGNOSTICISM

TWO Genesis, 2 6 The Creation of Man THE NATURE OF GOD

THREE John 14 , 5 etc... WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

FOUR Isaiah 41, 31 John 17, 21 THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST IN US (unity in love and faith)

FIVE 1 Corinthians 15, 22 - Even so shall all be made alive. FINDING FAITH

3 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Recent Events

The Hunt Did you encounter this sight on the Pen roads recently? Trails were laid in the woodlands, and a very enjoyable day followed.

A meet of the Blackmore & Vale hunt at Pen Mill Farm. Bell ringing The band rang in memory of Frederick Toogood on 25th January on the centenary of his death from injuries sustained in WW1.

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Back in Time For anybody interested in railways, and with memories of the wonderful steam locomotives that would have been seen locally, December was an interesting month with no less than three steam hauled specials run during that month from London to Sherborne, for a Christmas Carol service at the abbey. All three trains passed through Gillingham and . Pictured is Southern Region, Merchant Navy class locomotive 35028, Clan Line, seen at Milborne Wick as it approached Sherborne on Thursday 20th December. This particular engine is very likely to have been a regular on the London (Waterloo), Salisbury to route, as well as the old ‘ and ’ line, which passed through Wincanton on the route from Bath to Bournemouth. Robert Nutter

Merchant Navy class locomotive 35028

5 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Club and Society News Chairman’s Report Pen Selwood Community Association AGM The purposes of the Club are to organise social and sports activity within Pen Selwood, to improve the facilities and general area of the village of Pen Selwood, to carry out fundraising in aid of local and national charities and, to act as agent for the management of Pen Selwood Community Field and Pen Selwood Hall Trust and any other village club as might meet its purposes. Oh, and we should also have great fun while doing these things. Given it is your Club - it relies on your inputs, your involvement to make it relevant to our village needs. Your participation in the administration of the Club is welcomed. A couple of examples from the year in review illustrate how your ideas can result in fun activities which contribute towards the Club’s purposes. At the last AGM, someone commented that 2018 would be the 25th Anniversary of the acquisition of the Community Field and we should do something about celebrating it. The result was a wonderfully successful Country and Western evening at the end of June, I am sure you agree. The second event illustrates how the Club can support cultural interests in the village. The History Society has, under its own steam, been surveying the ground known as Beacon Field for several years. Last year your committee received a request for £400 to help fund the test dig carried out in association with the Archaeological Research Group. The Dig was carried out in August and you can catch up with the results of the dig by looking at the History Society’s webpage on the Pen Selwood community website. As part of its purpose to improve facilities in our village, your committee has been seeking, for some years, to get SuperFast broadband into the village. We have agreed on a project with Wessex Internet to install a gigabit able fibre network in our village. This allows all residences the ability to connect to the Internet at speeds up to a gigabit per second. This will have profound consequences on us all, but especially for the next generation who will now be better able to participate in the ever-accelerating developments in the world of information technology and the disrupting impact of businesses embracing its use. See page 10 for how to get your voucher.

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Karen Brooker has plans to start a new gardening club in our village. See page 16 for more. Your committee has been making progress to consolidate the administration activities of the Sports & Social Club, Village Hall and the Bryan Young Community Field. One consequence of this work is the creation of a single treasury function. We now have a single year- end and also a single bank account. We have decided to convert our club into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation or CIO to achieve simpler management of the two charitable trusts we have in the village and the Club itself. At the AGM the following committee members were elected. They are representatives from each of the Parish Council (Jane Ashman), the Parochial Parish Council (Jo Ebner), the Community Field (Andrew Jenkins) and the Village Hall (Ian Steadman). Along with Treasurer (Geoff Parcell), Secretary (Susan Appleton) and Chairman (Tony Harrison) they make up the committee. This year’s run is scheduled for Sunday 7th April – more than enough time for you to get into shape to participate. The Coffee Morning will be hosted by Neil and Claire Polley at The Old Rectory on 18th May. The Fete this year is on Saturday 3rd August and the pre-Fete meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 27th March, in this hall at 19:30, please do try to make it. As you should know by now, Jeremy and Bruce stood down from organising the Fete and our collective thanks go to them for doing such a fantastic job over the years. This year there is a new Fete committee in place – Chris Worrall, Jim Ebner, Ben Juckes and yours truly. We are going to need your help, guidance and understanding, but I am confident we can deliver another fantastic Pen Fete. Ideas for other fun(d)raisers are welcome. Thanks to all of you for providing raffle prizes, cakes, sandwiches, clothes, books, furniture, bottles during the year. And most importantly, thank you for buying the tickets and coming along with your purses to win all this stuff back again. T Harrison

7 Pen Paper Mar 2019

Remember Winter?

Snow clearing in Coombe Street

Winter Walk 8 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Parish Council News

The most important news this month is about the provision of fibre to premises broadband for our village but this is covered by Councillor Ashman in another article in this edition so I will say no more other than to reiterate our thanks to the team of Jane Ashman, Tony Harrison and Geoff Parcell for all their work on this project. You may have noticed that our salt bins are full and that people used some salt on our roads during the last bout of snow. South Somerset Council changed its mind at the last minute and provided the salt after an outcry from parishes over the announcement at very short notice that the Council were no longer providing salt and villages would have to buy their own. (As I mentioned in the last Pen Paper). Local elections take place in May, please watch out for notices on village boards and on the website. The District Council have a vacancy for a Councillor for our Ward. If you might be interested in s t a n d i n g a s a D i s t r i c t C o u n c i l l o r p l e a s e c o n t a c t : [email protected] Our next meeting is on Wednesday 13th March, 7.30 pm in the Village Hall and is as always open to everyone, and put the date in your diary now for the Parish Council AGM at 6:30pm on Wednesday 8 May. Jenny Steadman Chairman

PEN SELWOOD PARISH COUNCIL Chairman: Jenny Steadman 01747 841041 Councillors: Tony Appleton 01747 840168 Jane Ashman 01747 841481 Peter Fitzgerald 01747 840895 Andrew Jenkins 01747 840773 Alex Juckes 01747 841437 Paul Shinar 07522 304040 Parish Clerk: Anne Kaile 01747 854565

9 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Fibre to the Premises Broadband - coming to Penselwood

Following the update in the December Pen Paper enough small businesses have registered for Department of Digital Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) vouchers to enable the scheme to proceed. This is really good news and meant that Wessex Internet, who will be building the infrastructure, held a well attended meeting at the Village Hall on the 5 Feb to introduce themselves, explain where they are up to and say what happens next. They are beginning to approach landowners along the preferred routes for the cabling, in order to seek the necessary permissions to access the land to lay and bury the cable. All being well, they plan to start physically laying the infrastructure in April and hopefully we could have a full fibre to premises service as soon as this summer! This will put us in the top 5% of communities in the Country (including urban areas) having real superfast broadband with up to a gigabit capable service, not bad for a sleepy hamlet! But first things first… There is still time to apply for a voucher if you are a small business (as described in December this can be very small, someone letting out a property, an author, handyperson or gardener for example). This will attract £2500 to the scheme and help underpin it at no cost to you and you will receive a fibre to your premises connection to the infrastructure. If you are not a business but want to be part of the scheme, the DCMS offer a number of vouchers to homes in the community where the scheme is based. The residential voucher is worth £500 and covers the cost of linking an individual house to the infrastructure. It is based on an average cost of connecting a house taking into account economies of scale by doing this when the infrastructure is installed. In practice some properties would cost a bit less and some would cost more if not covered by a voucher, depending on distance from the main cable and other variables. You will be expected to pay the VAT element of the voucher at £100. If you want to connect at a later date you will have to pay whatever the whole cost to your individual property is. In many cases this could be more than £500 since the workers and machines would have to return.

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You will also need to switch your broadband service to Wessex Internet and they have a range of packages on offer at different prices. Even if you have applied as a business you can choose a residential package unless you are big enough to benefit from a business package. There is an option of switching phone calls to the internet too to save on the BT line cost. For further information look at the Wessex Internet website at: www.wessexinternet.com/community-schemes/penselwood where you can register your interest. Also feel free to ask any questions to one of your dogged fast broadband hunters: Geoff Parcell 841216, Jane Ashman 841481 and Tony Harrison 840697. Jane Ashman

The FTTP broadband scheme being explained on 5 Feb

11 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Dealing with a Mid Life Crisis the expensive and wet way

“Well I expect you are all outdoor types,” said the instructor at a Clipper course. “If not, you are seriously in the wrong place!” A shock for me – most definitely not an outdoor or indeed active type. Leisure meant coffee, armchair and the Observer crossword. However, as everything in my life was changing, why not see if I could adopt a new persona now that I was post full-time work, widowed and free of responsibilities? After a careful selection procedure (“Are you able to pay?”) and four genuinely gruelling weeks of training and assessment I joined the Clipper Round the World Race, 12 identical yachts with professional skippers and amateur crews from 44 nations, aged 18-74, racing around the globe for 11 months. We started (and of course ended) in Liverpool via Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, China, the USA, Panama and Northern Ireland, taking in the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Pacific Oceans. My b o a t w a s U N I C E F dedicated to raising money and awareness for this UN agency working with children in danger. The crew size varied from 14 – 23 depending on which leg we were on. Racing yachts are noisy, s p a r t a n a n d uncomfortable. The work was desperately arduous and either extremely hot or extremely cold. And wet. I was also Victualler Leaving Uruguay in a Force 10 gale, reefed main w i t h a d d i t i o n a l and only a staysail flying. responsibilities to ensure we had the stores to keep the crew adequately fed - so planning menus, raiding supermarkets on stopovers, storing the food and then persuading the crew to cook it properly. But I can’t remember a happier time.

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Unfortunately my aim of being a circumnavigator was not realised as I broke my arm severely during the Sydney Hobart race thanks to a combination of Bass Strait waves, a spinnaker and an unfortunate shift of wind. After two painful days continuing to race into Hobart I was hospitalised there for a week and then had to return to the UK for a proper repair. I rejoined the boat in Panama, traversing the Canal on my 64th birthday. And were my aims realised? When I finished I was leaner, stronger and considerably more gnarled and had become a little bit more “outdoorsy”. Mentally, I was more rested than I have ever been. On a boat there is no need really to think. You get up, perform certain tasks, and you sleep again but this is hardly stretching intellectually. I learned to live in the moment, coping with what we had, and if something broke we fixed it ourselves. You cannot be ‘excused’ from t h e w a v e s a n d t h e weather; you learn the limits of your personal power. You also learn that you really can live for a y e a r w i t h o n l y 2 0 kilograms of kit, that you do not need an ensuite to be happy, and that you will enjoy chatting to a North London carpenter as much as a French banker or a South African logistics manager. You live through amazing experiences and see astonishing things. And A peaceful day in the Indian ocean a c c u m u l a t e s a i l o r s ’ bragging rights! Worth it? You bet! Alison Purseglove (aka Ryan)

The PCA have given a donation to UNICEF and if you were inspired by Alison and want to give a donation to UNICEF go to https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-ryan9

13 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Garden Notes

It always seems to be rather strange looking back at how lovely and prolific our gardens were last year. Now one looks out at either a vast expanse of white (not that common these later years) or dreary winter weather. Hopefully our seeds and other sundries have been ordered or delivered, so there may not be very much to do. Of course there is the last of the pruning to get us out into the fresh air, especially now that we can see past the leaves to the shape and framework of the shrubs or trees. BUT the main problem to take our time is the dreaded weed. It seems to have been a long and late growing season for most weeds, so they really must be dealt with as soon as possible, which is not an easy thing to do. Large weeds can be pulled, as long as the ground is not frozen. So can smaller ones too, but remember that weeds have flourished without the help of man for much longer than we can remember, and are just too good at surviving. Therefore it is necessary to remove them in case they re-root in the damp conditions. Allowing flowering is the worst problem, so even if they are small (some of them flower when only an inch or so high) that means a carpet of new plants later, fairly easy to deal with on bare soil, but not in nooks and crannies or on gravel paths, where they are possibly growing already. If you can cut off the light they will eventually die, but that is not always easy to do. All we can do is to try to eliminate the weeds before they flower, so it is a case once again of considering what the weather is like and hoping for dry periods and even sunshine, when hoeing may be sufficient. Dare I mention weed killers? I have to admit that when all else fails, sometimes a stitch in time saves nine….. PG

14 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Notice Board

Apologies that we were unable to run the Pen Pub in February. It wasn't that we couldn’t get to the pub, but because the brewer couldn’t get to the brewery to provide the beer because of the snow! We are back on track and there will be a Pen Pub night as usual on the first Friday of the month. Bar opens at 7:30pm. Come along! You’ll be assured of a warm convivial atmosphere.

Penselwood Tough 10k Challenge This takes place on Sunday 7th April with the main 10k race starting near the Village Hall at 11am. There is also a 5k race for under 15’s and a 2k for under 11’s. See www.peanselwood10k.co.uk Proceeds are shared between local charities and the Penselwood Community Association. Volunteers to help with marshalling, parking etc will be gratefully snapped up by Andrew Jenkins tel 840773

Visiting bell ringers From time to time we get bands of ringers visiting our tower. Usually they give little notice and while I post details on the village website, many in the village only know about the ringing when it happens. But a band have asked to have the bells on Saturday 30th March. It’s organised by Ray Haines from Chilcompton and they will ring a ‘quarter’ starting at 10am. The quarter will take about 40 to 45 minutes. The Chilcompton band is one of the best in the diocese and takes a leading place in striking competitions. So the ringing will be a really high standard. As usual please don’t interrupt them while they are ringing, but they will be happy to talk afterwards. They should tell me what method they will ring beforehand and I will put the details on the website. As I will if there is any change to the plan. Bruce Bower 840335 15 Pen Paper Mar 2019

Gardening Club We have had a good response to the idea of a gardening club in Penselwood and we have talked to a number of people who are interested in coming along on a regular basis. They have given us a clear message that they would like a club that supports them in improving their own garden. As a result, we have started to contact local garden centres and speakers in order to set up an annual programme. To kick start the club we are having a meeting on Thursday 21st March at 7.30p.m. in the Village Hall in Pen. Please come along to hear about the club, membership, the progress of the programme and enjoy refreshments and a raffle. To make it interesting you may like to bring along the gardening tool that is important to you. I wonder if we will all bring something similar or will they be very different? If you do know of anybody willing to give a talk or you need further d e t a i l s o f t h e g a rd e n i n g c l u b p l e a s e c o n t a c t u s o n [email protected] or phone 840771 Karen and Malcolm Brooker Annual Church Jumble Sale will be held in the Village Hall on Saturday 30 March from 2 - 4pm. Proceeds are in aid of St Michael's Church. Details on the village website www.penselwood.ning.com Pre-Fete meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 27th March, in the Village hall at 19:30. There is a new Fete committee – Chris Worrall, Jim Ebner, Ben Juckes and Tony Harrison. Please come along with your ideas and commitments.

The PCA Coffee Morning will be hosted by Neil and Claire Polley at The Old Rectory on Saturday 18th May.

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Summer Party Diary Date!!! On the Brian Young Community Field will be an American Diner themed “Fabulous Fifties Night” on Saturday July 13th. Live music: jive/rock & roll/swing. Food & Drink. Themed best fancy dress award. Marquee. Look out for posters announcing tickets on sale, then buy early. A number of people were disappointed last year when they couldn’t get tickets for the Country & Western event…even more so when they heard how good it was!

Village Website The current website www.penselwood.ning.com was created more than 5 years ago. While it serves the purpose of communicating and collaborating in the village, it is time to update it. I’m looking for three or four people who are interested in contributing to create the next version of the Pen Selwood website. I’m not looking for web experts or coders, though you may have those skills, just a few people with ideas of how we can make communicating better. I’m envisaging up to half a dozen meetings and a few tasks to arrive at a practical and improved system. Contact Geoff Parcell [email protected]

History Society The History Society have had a number of post-excavation sessions (Post-Ex) in the Village Hall to clean the finds, flint and pots mainly, and sort and document them. They have now been sent to an expert for analysis. We have soil samples to filter then we will be planning further resistivity surveys and hopefully digging test pits in August to test the interpretations. if you are interested please contact Geoff Parcell 841216

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Village Walks are back….. Tuesday 5th March: Helen Marley and Chris Worrall will be at Fonthill Park and Ridge. Terrain: Easy well signposted paths with a few sharp gradients. May be muddy in places. Stiles: None. Distance: 4.5 miles. - about 2 ½ hours. Start: Lay-by by Fonthill Lake - 1 mile south of B3089 Fonthill Bishop. Meet at 10:00 AM Post Code: nearest SP3 5RZ. Grid Ref: ST933317 - OS Explorer 143. Transport help possible. Call Helen on 841082. Wednesday 10th April: Penny Varnes will be in Duncliffe Woods near East Stour. Directions: From East Stour, take the A30 towards Shaftesbury.Turn right at New Lane, opposite the King's Arms. Duncliffe Woods car park is on the left after about ½ a mile.Nearest Post Code SP8 5LT. Meet here at 10.00 AM. Cross your fingers for bluebells as we go on this 1 ½ hour walk. Chance for coffee at the Udder Farm Shop after! Friday 10th May: Susan Appleton will be exploring the footpaths around Pen. Meet at the Village Hall for a 1 ½ hour walk at 9.30 AM Mike Carson

Farewell & Welcome Farewell to Bob Foote whose funeral was held in St Michael’s Church on Feb 20th, Bob lived for many years on Encie Farm at Leigh Common, moving up to Bleak Street for the last few years of his life. Farewell to Leanna Pooley and James Alexander who have moved from Pond Hill. Welcome to Harriet and Anthony Palmer who have moved into Pond Hill after many years in Bourton. They already have many friends in the village and their dogs are used to walking on Pen Ridge.

18 Pen Paper Mar 2019 Church Services

1st Sunday in 9am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) month 2nd Sunday 9am Holy Communion (Common Worship)

3rd Sunday 9am Holy Communion (Common Worship)

4th Sunday Evensong - 4pm (Winter), 6:30pm (Summer)

5th Sunday 9am Matins - (Book of Common Prayer)

Special Services

31 March 9:00am Mothering Sunday

14 April 9:00am Palm Sunday

19 April 2:00pm Good Friday - One hour Meditation Service

21 April 9:00am Easter Sunday

St Michael’s in Penselwood is a warm and welcoming Church, so please come along and join in the services. There is coffee, tea, juice and biscuits at the end of most services with time to enjoy fellowship together.

St Michael’s Pen Selwood Rector: Vacant Parish Office: Tel. 01963 824503 Church Warden: Jeremy Cox Tel. 01747 840325

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Village Diary Pen Paper Mar 2019 Village Diary

Day Event see page Every Mon 9am Nordic Walking [Helen Gilchrist 07745 413194] Every Mon 7:30pm Bell Ringing [Charles Buckler 840377] Every Wed 10am Silton Art Group [Joyce Butler 835978] Every Thurs 2pm Pen Art Group [Helen Aylett 826468] Every Fri 2:00pm Pilates [Carol Pirie 07885 798032] Alternate Fri 10:30am Black Bin Café [Jenny Steadman 841041] Fri 1 Mar Pen Pub Night 7:30pm Village Hall 15 Tues 5 Mar Village Walk 10am led by Helen Marley & Chris Worrall 18 Mon 11 Mar Oil Buying Group deadline Wed 13 Mar 7:30pm Parish Council Meeting Village hall 9 Mon 25 Mar Mobile Library 1:15pm to 1:30pm Queens Grove Wed 27 Mar Pre-Fete meeting 7:30-9:30pm Village hall 16 Sat 30 Mar Visiting bell ringers 10-11am St Michael’s Church 15 Sat 30 Mar Church Jumble Sale 2-4pm Village Hall 16 Fri 5 Apr Pen Pub Night 7:30pm Village Hall 15 Sun 7 Apr Tough 10k Challenge 11am starts Village Hall 15 Wed 10 Apr Village Walk 10-11.30am led by Penny Varnes 18 Fri 3 May Pen Pub Night 7:30pm Village Hall 15 Wed 8 May Parish Council Meeting + AGM 6:30pm Village Hall 9 Fri 10 May Village Walk 9:30 am Village Hall led by Susan Appleton 18 Mon 13 May Oil Buying Group deadline Sat 18 May Coffee morning at the Old Rectory 16 Mon 20 May Mobile Library 1:15pm to 1:30pm Queens Grove The Pen Paper is the community newsletter of the parish of Pen Selwood containing news about St Michaels Church, Parish Council matters and other community activities. Contributions for the next issue should be submitted by 15 May 2019 to Geoff Parcell at Manor Barn or email: [email protected]. Items can be handwritten, typed or sent by email. The next issue will be published in June 2019.

✂ 20 Prinng by Dean Press [email protected]