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Village Information

St Mary’s Church METHODIST MINISTER Rev Crawford Logan 37 Southcliff Park, Clacton on Sea, CO15 6HH - 01255 423640 VICAR: Rev Sharon Miles DOCTOR’S SURGERY: The Vicarage, The Bury, St Osyth, Drs F. Bhatti, R.S. O’Reilly, A. Nambi, and G. Pontikis. The Hollies, The Green - 01206 250691 CO16 8NY 01255 822055 CHIROPODIST: CHURCHWARDEN: Terry St George - 01255 820885: Mobile: 07775 833200 Wendy Smith POLICE: Burnside, The Green - 01206 250098 Clacton 0300 333 4444 24 hour Non emergency number 101

In an emergency ring 999 CHURCHWARDEN: VACANT PC Rob Willmot - Tel: 101 extension 440356 TREASURER: PCSO Julia Brandon - Tel: 101 extension 440222 Annabel Stearn Julia.brandon@essex.pnn.police.uk 01206 251518 PARISH COUNCIL: email: [email protected] Chairman - Pippa Dennitts, Cedarwood, Moors Close. Great Bentley, CO7 8QN. Telephone 07848 872018 CHURCH VERGER: Clerk to the Council - Karen Paradise Rita Baverstock Correspondence to: The Clerk, Community Resource Centre, Stonybroke, Station Road - 01206 251271 Village Hall, Plough Road, Great Bentley, CO7 8LD Telephone - 01206 256410

READER: TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCILLOR: Wendy King Lynda McWilliams, Boblyn, St Mary’s Road, Aingers Green, Great Bentley, Colchester, CO7 8NN - 17 Larkfield Road - 01206 250852 01206 250732: Mobile: 07564 613603. email: [email protected] PCC SECRETARY: COUNTY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE: Chris Aplin Alan Goggin, Freshfields, Church Road, Newmay House, The Green - 01206 250385 Brightlingsea, CO7 OQT 01206 308023 Mobile: 07860 519117 email: [email protected] STEWARDSHIP SECRETARY: GOOD NEIGHBOURS TRANSPORT: Rosemary Branch Rita Baverstock - 01206 251271 4 Wents Close - 01206 250137 NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: Richard Nowak - 01206 250204 TOWER CAPTAIN: MEDICAL AIDS: Roger Carey-Smith - 01206 250521 Richard Nowak - 01206 250204

SUNDAY CLUB: TENDRING FURNITURE SCHEME: Rocket House, Gorse Lane Industrial Estate, Clacton: Linda Hayes 01255 476068 Ivy Lodge, Frating - 01206 250207 VILLAGE HALL BOOKINGS: email: [email protected] ST MARY’S PARISH HALL BOOKING SECRETARY: 07494 234049 Carole Allington METHODIST HALL BOOKINGS: Poplar House, Station Road - 01206 251086 Robert & Janet Taylor, Dominica, Moors Close - 01206 250087 or ring Church Verger GT BENTLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 01206 250331 PARISH MAGAZINE EDITOR/ADVERTISING/ COLNE COMMUNITY SCHOOL: - 01206 303511 DISTRIBUTOR: VILLAGE HISTORY RECORDER: Mary Maskell Heather Taylor, Granville, Plough Road - 01206 251004 Caldew Cottage, The Green COLCHESTER HOSPITALS: 01206 747474 01206 250524 CLACTON & DISTRICT HOSPITAL: 01255 201717 [email protected] FOOTPATH REP: David Gollifer 01206 250309 Carole Allington VILLAGE TRANSPORT REP: Peter Harry - 01206 250511 [email protected] VILLAGE CARETAKER: Bobby McWilliams, Boblyn, St Mary’s Rd, Aingers Green 01206 250732

2 WHEELCHAIR LOANS: Alan Bayliss, 01206 250450.

EDITORIAL

Christmas seems to feature quite a lot this month but we do not have the usual events to look forward to except for the Christmas Lights. Time to order your turkey, page 9, logs to keep warm, meals if eating out on Christmas Day or if you wish to have yours 2020 delivered, see page 5. Good news, Nean will be doing the Christmas post again this year so that will be helpful to many I am sure. CONTENTS Editorial ...... 1 Normally in the October edition we would be featuring the results of the Village Show and a colour supplement to round up the days Methodist News .. .. 3 highlights. Lets hope 2021 will see a return of this traditional Church News ...... 3 village day and other annual major events that we all look forward Deadline...... 5 to. Wildlives ...... 8 It has been a challenging growing season both in the garden, on Sesaw News ...... 10 the allotments, and goodness knows how the professionals are News from the Oaks .. .. 10 managing. As I write this we desperately need rain and I don’t mind if I do jinx the weather as it is getting rather desperate, Pet Notes ...... 11 especially for farmers. Wine Tasting Group .. .. 12

Farming Diaries .. .. 12 Last month we featured a letter asking for farmers to activate measures to help improve wildlife in our village. We have two Youth Football .. .. 15 encouraging replies to this, thank you, and sadly although hares District Councillor Notes .. 15 are present in good numbers you will read in the PCSO’s report that hare coursing has again been active in the village recently. Football Notes .. .. 16 Please report this immediately if you see this in action but do not Children’s Page .. .. 17 approach these people. Villagers often complain that no action is Parish Council .. .. 18 taken when things go wrong in Great Bentley but it is imperative that you REPORT anything to the police and get an incident Running Club ...... 19 number. No action will be taken without this. On another related Surgery Notes .. .. 20 note dogs have been stolen from Thorrington and a reward is in Police Report ...... 21 place for their safe return. Please make sure your pets are safe, this is a heart breaking crime. Jottings from the Allotment .. 23 Cookery Corner .. .. 24 Thank you to Lily who has produced the Children’s page for two Gt Bentley Pre-School .. 25 years now. Please is there someone who would be willing to take on this monthly role? We would also be ecstatic to receive articles Quiz ...... 26 on any subject especially as we have no reports from Clubs or Cricket ...... 27 Societies to interest the readers. Thanks to the four families who Tendring Primary Recycling .. 28 are collating and stapling the magazine every month, you are stars. School News ...... 30 Focussing on 2021 please would any new advertisers wishing to be included in next years magazine please contact me at the end

of October. Running Club are also looking ahead to next year and have decided to cancel their prestigious Half Marathon event, normally held in February. I do hope things improve before too long. Great Bentley Colts Hardballers & Enjoy the autumn, it is a wonderful season. Coaches Mary Maskell

DISCLAIMER

The statements, opinions and data contained in these publications are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the Churchwardens, Parochial Church Council, the Editor nor the publisher. The appearance of advertisements in the Great Bentley Parish News or the website is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety.

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SERVICES IN ST MARY’S CHURCH GREAT BENTLEY METHODIST Sunday 4th October - 10.00am - Holy Communion Followed at 11.15am APCM CHURCH NEWS

Sunday 11th October - No Service Hopefully by this month we shall have been back Sunday 18th October - 10.00am Holy Communion worshipping in our own building for several Sundays. However there will be people who are advised not to Sunday 25th October - 10.00am Morning Prayer attend public worship and we hope to provide access to as many as can log into our Facebook page on their Computer. Watch out for news on our Facebook page. Please note that you need to let one of our Stewards know if you are intending to attend worship since numbers will be limited. ST MARY’S CHURCH See our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ GtBentleyMethodist/ ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING Morning worship will be held at 10.30am unless otherwise stated.

11.15AM The leaders of worship are set out below:-

Oct 4 th Peter Wright Oct 11 th Janet Jenkins th FOOD BANK Oct 18 Peter Wright The container for the food bank is inside the Oct 25 th Rev Tom Osborne Communion Church. We will be making a special Harvest collection for the Food Bank at the beginning of Events in October: October. All events have to be limited to 30 people and involve Food required: no provision of food or drinks. Which rather restricts us so we shall have to see what happens and let you Sugar, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Tinned Fruit, know what we are able to do. Tinned Potatoes: Tinned Peas, Tinned Carrots, Tinned Soup, Cereals, Biscuits, Each week the following events should be held at Washing Powders, Toilet Rolls, Kitchen Rolls, our Church but are all suspended until the

Nappies, Children’s Toothpaste. situation is clearer.

Ring these numbers for more information

Messy Church once a month after school 250087 Luncheon Club Alternate Tuesdays 12 Noon 251330 Parent & Toddlers Group Thursdays 9-15 a.m. 250431 The Adventurers Club. Fridays 7 p.m. Ring 250087

From the Methodist Church : ST MARY’S CHURCH A huge thank you to all the bakers, makers and CLEANING ROTA growers who contributed to the magnificent total of FOR OCTOBER £470 raised at the produce stall held at Mary Maskell's home on the Green in September. The 3rd Jennie Moss money will be spent on essential clothing and other basic items that most of us take for granted, for the 10th Edna Black clients who use the facilities at Hope at Trinity run 17th Nicky Justice by the Methodist Church in Clacton.

24th Rosemary Branch Many thanks for your generosity

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BENTLEY GREEN LADIES CLUB THANK YOU Unbelievably our last meeting was in March, and what As we begin a “new normal” at St Mary’s it seems a lot has not happened during those last 7 months! prudent to cast our minds back over the past 5 months or so and thank several people. Just to bring you up to date …. the committee met in September (socially distanced in Edna’s garden) and I sat in church, alone, on 9th August with the sun decided unanimously that the only sensible course of streaming through the windows and everywhere action was to suspend all meetings/outings until the seemed to sparkle as new. This was not down to spring of 2021 when we will hopefully be in a better the recent cleaning rota but largely to our position to review our future. Churchwarden Wendy Smith who has constantly cleaned, sometimes twice a week over much of Best wishes to all our members and their families and this long period. we look forward to the time when we can all meet up again. Mandy Miles was outside sitting on the newly cleaned and oiled seat admiring her latest project, The Committee of Bentley Green Ladies Club (clearing around the hidden water butt). Mandy has done so much to repair/paint/and oil all of the benches, repaint the wooden frames of the windows in the Parish Hall, paint the gates, the list THANK YOU goes on. A massive big thank you to Scarlett, Ruby and all the Annabel has carried on with her work as volunteers at Restaurant 43 for looking after me Treasurer, investigating insurance claims for the whilst I was shielding during the covid crisis and broken window, possibility of the new office, and subsequent lockdown, although my thanks seem to making sure the churchyard was kept neat and tidy be too small against all that they have done for those etc. of us who needed their help. They did my food shopping, kept me supplied with my weekly paper Wendy King and Rita Baverstock have kept and picked up my prescriptions, what super stars deliveries of gifts for the Brightlingsea Food Bank they all are. I have been so grateful for all they did running each week and delivering them. for me. We are so lucky in this village with all of this support around us so not just the NHS and key Thanks to Rosemary and her flower arrangers for workers who put themselves at risk and their lives on the lovely displays in the porch and now in church. hold to help out, it’s all the unsung heroes and heroines who quietly do their bit as well. Scarlett and Mary and Carole, thanks for keeping us up to date her team have restored my faith in the goodness of with the magazine online but even better, back to our fellow men and women in doing what we should our paper editions each month. all be doing during these unprecedented times and helping and looking out for each other where we can. We must not forget Penny, Fiona, Mary and Annabel for the service which they initiated each I’m sure I speak for all those villagers in saying again, week and which kept us together. thank you Restaurant 43, you are the best.

I do hope I have not forgotten anyone but these Janice Porter are just one persons’ observations.

Diamond Anniversary Wishes

WELCOME Ursula & Michael Dorling th We welcome Andy and his son to Station Road 24 October and Hayley to Birch Avenue. Wishing you a wonderful day

Much Love to a wonderful Mum and Dad, Nanny and Grandad and Nanny Oma and Great Grandad And Roger says ‘not bad in laws’ either!! xxxxxxxxx

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THANK YOU GREAT BENTLEY PARISH NEWS 2021

If you would like a space for next year, please We would like to say a big thank to Alan and Lara for contact me now to go on the waiting list, as in organising the BBQ we went to on the 5th October I will be contacting all present advertisers September. It was lovely to meet up with other to see if they wish to continue advertising in the allotment holders and have a natter, which does not new magazine. always happen when you are working on your plot, and the weather was good. Hopefully this will be an Medium size £95 per annum annual event. Once again many thanks Alan and Small size £55 per annum Lara. Everyone will be fitted in I promise. Linda & Bill Ewers and all who attended. Ed. (See page 23) Mary Maskell 01206 250524

[email protected]

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To who ever made the Greengage Jam sold at Mary WELCOME TO OUR NEW ADVERTISERS Maskell’s Saturday stall outside her house, what a treat this jam is, it’s absolutely gorgeous, I can’t get CC Disposal, Chris Clarke. enough of it. My message is this - Eat Your Heart 07779 247464 Out Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, you don’t even See Page L come close. Blue Garden Café, * * * 07808 647029 Janice Porter See Page O

I'd like to say a huge thank you to friends that have been supporting me recently and continuing through my recovery, Mary Maskell, Joyce & Steve Jenkins, Waiting Advertisers Iris Briarly, Kate Miller, Anne Wison, Derek Bines & Margaret Peters, very much appreciated! Pattern Perfect Ltd , Painting, Decorating & Property Maintenance - Thank you, 01206 251173: 07876 030073. Carol McDougall www.patternperfect.co.uk [email protected]

FAREWELL Hannah, Newly qualified beautician, specialising in Lash and Brow treatments as well as nail We say farewell to the Barn Café treatments and more. 07519 610340 which closed on Saturday 29th August

DEADLINE FOR NOVEMBER MAGAZINE WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER Material to Mary Maskell, Caldew Cottage, The Green, 250524 AND Carole Allington, Poplar House, Station Road, 251086. Please mark all material - “Parish Magazine” email: [email protected] AND [email protected] IMPORTANT - PLEASE SEND ALL INFORMATION TO BOTH OF US Great Bentley Website: www.greatbentleyparishcouncil.co.uk

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TAILS OF MANY KITTENS

Over time many cats requiring care and a place of safety whilst awaiting the joy of finding their forever home came and went, for some the wait was short, others longer although never as long as Lucky who I wrote about last month! A phone call following a successful rehoming brought about the arrival of two cats, hastily handed over in a cardboard box, the sort that bananas are transported in. I can see it now in my mind's eye. Carrying it into what was to be their accommodation the lid was taken off to reveal two pairs of terrified eyes hunkered down in the darkness. We had been told by the person who brought them that they were were called Dennis and Donald, ginger brothers a few months old. We left them to come round and adjust to their new surroundings which did not take long, despite the indignity of their arrival they were friendly chaps enjoying a fuss and a bowl of food each. The next morning they ventured into the outside accommodation and were seen from her bedroom window by my darling neighbour Audrey who was now on her own as her parents, 'Auntie Glad and Uncle Arthur', who I have referred to in previous articles, had both passed away. It was not long before I heard the gate between our gardens open heralding the arrival of Audrey full of anticipation at the prospect of meeting our new feline guests. We left her to go in to see them, Audrey was very used to going in and out as she helped us to look after the cats and loved to just spend time with them. When she finally emerged in typical Audrey fashion she said " Well dears I have fallen in love with them and they shall be my ginger boys Sam and Ben! Sam was always very vocal and demanding unlike his brother who was placid and patient, Audrey referred to him as her gentle Ben. They were much loved by Audrey and returned that love unconditionally, so much so that she could not go out unless they were indoors and the cat flap locked or else they would follow her and no amount of persuasion on her part could stop them. They were 'unanimous in that' as Mrs Slocombe would say in ' Are you being Served!" Audrey had to plan her departures well in advance allowing time for the boys to go out, having not been fed, to ensure they came back for their food. In the main it worked but it was panic stations for Audrey when it did not and that was usually when she called the cavalry in...... me! Happy nostalgic times. Audrey was a one-off as were her mum and dad, they played a huge part in mine and my daughter's life which we both look back upon with great affection and much laughter. As for the ginger boys they lived long and happy lives! I have received two bulging bags of blankets courtesy of my 'wonderful ladies and one gentlemen who knit ' thank you so much you are all stars. They will be much needed as there are lots of kittens being born, as ever they are the result of people not getting their cats neutered. There are voucher schemes available for people on low incomes, Veterinary practices or cat rescue charities can advise on this.

Judy Bishop 251702 THANK YOU

Thank you so much to everyone who supported the THE PLOUGH seven Saturday Produce Stalls at Caldew Cottage 25% off food in October - Monday - Wednesday in aid of St Mary’s church. To those who donated vegetables, fruit, plants, cakes, jam etc or who just came along for a chat and to make a donation. To Weekend breakfast time 9am - 11.30am the ladies who came to help set up the tables and Saturday & Sunday sell and clear up afterwards each week, we could not have done it without you. Special thanks to the THE FUSILIER ladies who manufactured and donated masks for sale which helped to swell the takings. Bar & Restaurant open 7 days a week Takeaway food with free delivery The total raised was £2,223. Amazing, and thanks so much. now taking bookings for Christmas Day & Boxing Day. Two weeks later we held another stall! Judy Bishop asked after the “Last” sale if we could have just one Now taking orders for Christmas Day more for “Hope at Trinity” and that raised the & Boxing Day takeaway deliveries. highest total of the lot at £470. WOW.

Call 01206 250222 Great Bentley doing just what it does best. The most generous village ever in my opinion. for more information Thanks again to you all for your support, Mary

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ANN WELLER

I am sad to say my Mum, Ann Weller, passed away peacefully on the 2nd September following a very short illness. Lots of you will remember seeing her walking to and from the shops with her very dear friend Christine in the village pushing her shopping trolley, she was so active until recently. Mum spent the last few months in The Oaks where she was so well cared for and made to feel so special. It was so nice to know she enjoyed what was to be the last few months having had a few difficult years following the onset of Alzheimer’s. From the minute we took her for a look around The Oaks we knew it was the place for her, her hand was held by Gill for the whole of our visit and she was met by every Carer with warmth and kindness. Thank you so much for all you did in what has been a difficult time.

From William & Hayley & Grandsons Ryan & Robert Weller

NATURE NOTES

Readers who are members of the Essex Wildlife Trust will have recently received the latest Tendring local group newsletter with the trust magazine. Due to Covid restrictions there have been no formal activities to report, so instead an article “The Emperor’s Clothes” by Bob Seago focussed on the exciting prospect of the large Purple Emperor butterfly being on the brink of recolonising our area after an absence for well over a century. Its progress in Suffolk and elsewhere has intrigued Bob, warden of Gt Holland Pits & Colne Point reserves, and it has been fleetingly seen this summer at Alresford and Stour Wood. Its larval food plant is Goat Willow, the larger of the pussy willows or sallows. The article’s title refers to the striking purple sheen seen only in certain lights on the male butterfly’s otherwise dark brown and white wings. Preceding this remarkable comeback White Admiral and Silver - washed Fritillary butterflies have consolidated themselves after similar reappearances in favoured woods with honeysuckle and violets. Climate change rather than major habitat enhancement is probably involved. The wide-ranging Brimstone is not uncommon now, partly due to the planting of its favoured buckthorn food-plant

Butterflies are beacons of wildlife and their fluctuating fortunes are all too readily apparent. The array of butterflies in gardens on Buddleia or butterfly bushes has been less in recent years. Yet in mid-June in the Great Bromley area I saw more black caterpillars on nettles of Peacocks than noticed previously. In May’s Nature Notes I described the evident quite protracted nuptial flight of these non-avian Peacocks when the apparent female played cat-and-mouse with her suitor after much posturing and wing-quivering. In recent weeks Red Admirals have been appearing to enjoy ivy flowers and windfall fruit alongside wasps. Migratory Painted Ladies have hardly appeared this year. The more regular resident Comma with jagged wing-edges is seen over a long season. The delightful Small Copper is a miniature jewel to be looked out for where its foodplant especially Sheeps Sorrel is found. The once ubiquitous Small Tortoiseshell continues in low numbers partly due to an associated parasite.

Holly Blues’ fluctuations are linked to a similar problem, their Common Blue cousin needs grassland with Birdsfoot Trefoil to really thrive. A third less obtrusive member of the family the Brown Argus is to be seen locally with a practiced eye. The proper “browns” are worth getting to know with the Gatekeeper or Hedge Brown, larger Meadow Brown, and now well established darker Ringlet and Wood Browns, both with several black “eyes” on their wings – evidently to distract predators. A fifth member of the family is the localised Small Heath.

In what has turned out to be a roll-call of local butterflies the little bright brown moth-like Skippers with three species, include one named after our county as first discovered here at St Osyth 150 years ago. Though not uncommon the family members appear to have declined recently. Finally the Whites must not be forgotten though the Cabbage White spoils the butterfly reputation with vegetable gardeners. The other family members seen locally are the spring flying Orange-tip, Green-veined, Small & Large Whites – with migratory influxes of the last sometimes over the North Sea. With folk in these anxious times being encouraged to get back to nature our butterflies present as an attractive group, that if calmly approached can sometimes be seen quite closely and with a limited number of species makes identification not too difficult. Though writing this as autumn arrives more butterfly-spotting will have to be for next year – with the first spring Brimstone or Orange-tip!

DRB 8

RMS TITANIC by David Ettritch. Retired Curator of Shipwreck & Heritage Centre Charlestown, Cornwall

Hello again. We now get to the investigation into the disaster. The day after the Carpathia landed her survivors in New York, the USA Senate started to have their hearings which began on Friday April 19th 1912 and ran until May 25th 1912. The inquiry was run by Senator William Alden Smith the chief examiner who proposed this investigation.

Some questions asked: 1 Were there enough lifeboats and life saving devices. Had they been inspected? 2 Was the route taken by Titanic a dangerous route? 3 Was the ship travelling too fast? 4 Did the crew behave properly?

My answers to these four questions are as follows: 1 There were not enough lifeboats only 16. When the Titanic was built it was designed to have 64. 2 The route taken was the usual route but in the light of iceberg warnings it could have been altered. 3 RMS Titanic was travelling much too fast. In fact Captain Smith ordered the last two boilers to be lit to increase the speed. 4 The crew in many cases worked well, but there were no lifeboat drills at all. Basically no one knew what they were doing!

Bruce Ismay was questioned. Some said that he should have gone with the ship and that he put pressure on Captain Smith to go faster. The Captain of the Californian and some of the crew were questioned and it was worked out in that time Californian was only 19 miles from Titanic. We now know that she was 30 odd nautical miles away stuck in an ice field, but Captain Lord was blamed anyway. The 2nd Officer on Titanic Charles Lightoller defended his captain. 82 witnesses were questioned at the American inquiry and these recommendations were stated. The ship should carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board and regular boat drill carried out. Also the crew should be skilled at lowering and rowing the boats. The ship should carry two searchlights and wireless should be operated 24 hours a day.

Was there a British inquiry? Yes the British Board of Trade held an investigation that began on May 2nd 1912 and continued until July 3rd 1912.

Questions asked: 1 How safe was the ship? 2 What warnings had been received? 3 Were those in 3rd class prevented from reaching the lifeboats? 4 Did Californian ignore Titanic’s distress signals?

My answers: 1 The ship was safe with a double bottom and bulkheads which sadly did not go high enough, ensuring water went over the top. 2 Many Marconi Grams warning of icebergs and deep ice fields. 3 3rd class passengers sadly many were housed deep in the ship and along with the crew did not know the best way to lifeboat stations (no lifeboat drills). 4 Californian did not ignore Titanic’s distress signals. The wireless operator had signed off for the night. Before this he was told by Titanic’s radio operator to KEEP OUT as he was too busy sending passenger’s messages out.

The most famous witnesses at the inquiry were Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon. Newspapers made play of the fact they had escaped on a lifeboat with only 3 other passengers and 7 crewmen. Sir Cosmo offered each of the men £5 to replace their belongings. To some people it seemed as if it was a bribe to run away from drowning people. Sir Cosmo and Lady Gordon’s life thereafter was damaged by bad publicity. The inquiry did not find any fault with Bruce Ismay’s behaviour of conduct and they decided the reasons for the disaster were: No watch was kept and the ship was travelling too fast. The lifeboats were not properly managed. They did not say that there were not enough lifeboats because the Board of Trade had not updated its own regulations about the number of lifeboats ships were required to carry.

More next month. Take care - David - [email protected]

9 Wildlives

Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre ‘Catkins’, Frating Road, Thorrington, Colchester CO7 8HT www.wildlives.org.uk Opening hours: n/a 07802 767016 Outside of Wildlives’ hours, please call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 or log on to our website for advice on what to do with a sick animal until we are open again in the morning. See the web site for extra pictures too!

Please help Wildlives stay safe during Coronavirus October 2020

Even though Rosie is classed as clinically extremely vulnerable to Coronavirus 19, Wildlives has remained open throughout the lockdown period. Rosie has been working 12 to 14 hours a day, because Wildlives has had to dispense with volunteer services to preserve their own and Rosie’s safety, so Rosie has had to manage with the help of only one other person a day, either Emma or Ella. This has been throughout the Spring and Summer which are notoriously the most busy times, and now that Ella has returned to university Rosie is in the process of training a new person as well as looking after all the inmates. To enable Wildlives to stay open, there are strict COVID protocols in place, and people who refuse to adhere to them are risking the safety of both Rosie and the continuation of the centre. Although animals and birds are being admitted, this is only after a telephone consultation, at which time the protocols are fully explained Please do not just turn up without being aware of the protocols, and if you are asked to come help Wildlives by following the advised protocols. The rules are not in place to be difficult, they are there to ensure that Rosie is safe and that the centre can continue to help injured animals and birds.

Peggy Sue the gull recovering well

Peggy Sue was brought to Wildlives in a sorry state after she was rescued from being trapped in mud by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. At some point she had lost one of her legs, and although adult gulls cope well with one leg, they need their wings to compensate and balance. As Peggy Sue is just a chick, her flight feathers are not grown so she cannot use her wings in this way. The missing leg was not infected, and after a cleanup Peggy Sue is doing well and will be able to be released when she is grown.

This little owl was brought in by the RSPCA after he was found in someone’s bedroom covered in soot. He is being cleaned up as we write, and will then be ringed by the BTO and released as soon as possible near where he was found.

Watch for hedgehog second litters!

At this time of year hedgehogs are nesting with their second litters. Please be very careful if doing gardening or building work to make sure a hedgehog is not using that space as a nursery. If you find a litter don’t touch them but cover them back up and leave that area for a bit later in the year. They will be gone soon and then you can complete your work. Hedgehogs have just had their endangered status raised, so a few weeks wait isn’t much of a price to pay to help our hedgehogs.

Don’t ignore flies

If you see an animal or bird covered in flies, this is NOT normal and it needs help urgently. It is desperately sick and probably has infected wounds. If you put it back in the undergrowth it will be eaten alive by maggots. Phone Wildlives for help immediately. A beautiful large female hedgehog was recently brought in after having been seen covered in flies for several days. When she was finally brought to Wildlives she was found to have a prolapsed uterus which was infested with maggots. Emma and Rosie worked hard to gently clean away all the maggots, and gave her subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics to try to strengthen her enough for an operation to reposition the uterus. When she went to the vet she survived the operation, but sadly was too weak to wake up from the anaesthetic. The vet commented that had she been brought in when she was first spotted that she could have been saved.

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FARMLAND WILDLIFE STORY In reply to the letter in the September magazine from Karen Williams

Obviously our business is food production, but with an interest in wildlife and payments from stewardship schemes we also grow pollen and nectar mixes and flower-rich grass margins for insects. Wild bird mixes provide seed through autumn and winter, and in 2021 supplementary feeding will provide bird food into early spring when natural resources are scarce. Stewardship margins are left to grow long, only managed periodically to control bramble and scrub. Hedges are cut once every two or three years, and are covered in flowers and berries. And cover crops ensure the soil is never bare, which supports numerous invertebrates and provides forage for starling, lapwing, meadow pipit and more.

Of course we spray, but only when necessary to protect a crop, or to provide a crop with additional micronutrients and food - not everything you see coming out of a sprayer is to kill weeds and insects. (Incidentally there is not a single product out there which would harm nestlings or leverets when sprayed. Nothing at all).

And our system works - we have good yields (not 2020!) alongside an abundance of skylarks in the large fields, yellowhammers and linnets in the hedgerows, and occasionally corn buntings in the field margins. We have slow worms, lizards, grass snake and harvest mice in the uncut grassy strips. There are boxes for the barn owls and tree sparrows. We have short eared owls, marsh harrier, hobbies, numerous buzzards, kestrels and tawny owls. It has been suggested we have dormice, although I am yet to be convinced. In some years, we have so many hares that they cause measurable damage to the crops, in the same way as rabbits, but you wouldn’t have any real idea of hare numbers until you walked or drove through the centre of fields, or searched them with a torch at night. Which most people thankfully do not, and therefore hare numbers are almost certainly rather underestimated. I am lucky enough to also regularly walk fields in Gt Bentley, and in each field I have problems convincing my dog not to chase numerous hares - they are locally abundant - as the hare coursers are fully aware.

Whilst there’s certainly more to be done to encourage widespread conservation across farmland, it is possible to farm profitably alongside wildlife with the right schemes and policies in place - we, and many others, can prove it.

Liz Lord

CHRISTMAS POST

There will be a small increase to 30p per card this year.

Collection will take place Saturday 5th, 12th and 19th December 9am to 12noon by the village sign.

All monies raised will this year go to the Foodbank.

All cards will be delivered within one week with the exception of the outlying areas who will receive one delivery prior to Christmas Eve.

If anyone needs their cards collecting I am happy to do so please contact me on 07751455132.

Any volunteers for either collecting or delivering will be more than welcome. Thank you

Nean

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NEWS FROM THE OAKS

Gladness and sadness this month at The Oaks care home.

This month has been very sad because three of our beloved residents have passed away from natural causes (not COVID). We always find a gaping hole when this happens, half expecting them to still be there. We take solace in all our happy memories and they are free of their struggle of dementia.

But life goes on for the rest of the residents and this month Jodie has hosted ‘The Oaks Got Talent Show’ with singing from the top of their voices....We are sure you must have heard us!

We have also had the game show ‘Play your cards right’ where Bruce would have been proud and to top it off we have had The Oaks ‘This is your life’.We even rolled out the red carpet and we got some fantastic pictures!

We cannot forget all the sing a longs, pamper days and big birthdays we celebrated. This is along with how to fly paper planes! And everyone stayed in one piece.....we made sure their L plates were visible! The residents have also been listening to Pam Ayers on pod cast.

We as members of the community wish everyone well for this month. Our lovely residents have been seeing their families, (strictly by appointments and health and social guidelines in place). This has really helped their mental well being and we are so lucky to have our own qualified beautician and hairdresser Jodie who joined us in March, for activities. Jodie has really helped the ladies, because anytime they request a pamper, they know Jodie will curl their hair and manicure their hands, also we have beautifully groomed men whose bushy eyebrows seemed to have disappeared!

We wish you all the best!

SESAW NEWS

What a strange summer it’s been, with no visitors except by appointment. I miss my public and sympathise with the many humans who are staying at home.

There have been a few dogs in, some cats, kittens and rabbits plus lots of wildlife including a young kestrel. Fortunately the exhausted falcon took refuge in the garden of Jayne who organises our Great Bentley Autumn Fairs. After recuperating at SESAW, Jayne had the satisfaction of successfully releasing it at home.

We still cannot accept bric a brac and general household items but we can take clean, undamaged clothing for recycling. Please leave in CLEAR plastic bags only to ensure contents are visible. Regretfully, soiled clothes and bedding have been found hidden in black plastic sacks in the past.

Hopefully we will take part in some festive events, COVID restrictions permitting, so we do need good quality items for Jeanette’s popular Tombola, Sheila’s ‘classy’ stall and vintage items for collectables sales. Contributions can be left at SESAW or phone 07881 785535 to arrange collection.

Your continued support is really appreciated via JustGiving, the post, collection pots and occasional mystery donors. During one of my security patrols one wet evening in August, I noticed something left outside. With much effort I dragged it indoors and we discovered a kind person had left their "Rainy Day Fund" for SESAW. Thank you for every precious penny of the £8.40 which will help care for the animals, including me Kenny (the Boss) Chihuahua.

Suffolk & Essex Small Animal Welfare, Reg.Charity No.1124029. Stoke Road, Leavenheath, CO6 4PP. 01787 210888 www.sesaw.co.uk [email protected]

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PET NOTES

2020 marches on and October is here. Whilst this year has been unlike any other for the village’s children, I expect many are looking forward to dressing up and celebrating Halloween.

This will be the first time I take my daughter trick or treating and I’m very excited to dress her up as a cat (naturally) and lead her hand in hand to a few neighbours’ houses. I anticipate her being rather bemused by the costumes, decorations, pumpkins and sweets but it’s sensible to appreciate that many pets may not enjoy the occasion as much. A little consideration in advance will go a long way towards ensuring they have a fright-free night……

Take care when opening the door that pets do not escape. That is Plan A. Plan B is having them identichipped so that if the worst was to happen they can be traced back to you and reunited quickly.

Keep all those yummy treats somewhere safe, i.e. not in a tub by the front door. Some sweets If you plan on dressing your pet can make pets very poorly and in a costume, try it on them in others, such as chocolate, can be advance. Not every pet will be fatal. willing to wear one. Going slowly by adding one piece at a time and giving lots of (pet- safe) treats may increase your chance of success.

Frequent trick or treaters ringing your doorbell may be upsetting for Take care with candles and do not some pets. Consider keeping them leave a lit one unsupervised. Risks in a room away from the include burns and accidental fire. excitement if possible. Calming You should also supervise battery diffusers can be very helpful (e.g. operated items as these can cause Feliway for cats or Adaptil for big health issues if swallowed. dogs) but speak to your vet for advice on stronger options.

If you feel your dog or cat would benefit from a calming diffuser, it’s a good idea to plug it in as soon as possible as it can take up to four weeks for the pheromones to build up in your home. I recommend leaving it plugged in (most will require replacement of the pheromone attachment every four weeks) until we reach January. This will provide a calming aid through Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year fireworks. I’ll be addressing fireworks in more detail next month but plug ins are a good place to start and need to be done now. Happy Halloween everyone and stay safe.

Dr April Young MRCVS

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Great Bentley Wine Tasting Group For further details please contact Colin on 01206 252157 or e mail [email protected]

The wine tasting group established in August 2012 continues to hold enjoyable and informative evenings. For details please contact the above. Free advice available too, so please do contact me.

Fancy being part of an on-line wine tasting from the safety of your home or perhaps a wine tasting in your garden for up to 6 people, then please do get in touch? It's easy, cheap and great fun!

Wine recommendations this month:

Saumur, Domaine des Ormes, France 2016 £7.99 Available from the Co-op

Another example of a summer red wine. Its brimming with leafy blackcurrant fruit and spice. Serve this after 30 minutes in the fridge to bring out the freshness of the wine. This tastes so much more than its price tag and was voted 10/10 in the 2020 edition of the best wines in UK supermarkets. It is velvety and so easy to drink being packed with flavour! Great with or without food.

Silence Rose, Luberon UVCL, France 2019 (Magnum) £10.99 Available from Aldi

Wow this is a great value Rose. It’s dry, fruity and dances across the palate with flavours of raspberry, strawberry and icing sugar. The bottle is beautiful and being in a magnum you get twice as much wine for your money. This would make a wonderful bottle to perhaps save until later in the year for festive celebrations and would make a great centrepiece to get the lunch under way. Buy two and drink one now to capture the last of the sunny warm days.

Farming Diaries

With the little rain we have had in the Tendring Hundred (this is where I jinx it) you may notice that many farmers have delayed drilling winter cereal crops. Their concern is that the seed would start to germinate with the roots (the radicle) emerging from the seed first followed by the coleoptile also known as the shoot and that a lack of moisture in the soil would result in the seed shrivelling and dying. If adequate moisture is present the seed will germinate and begin to establish well. Sugar beet is a root crop, which is drilled in March and is not harvested until October but it can stay in the ground until January. Sugar beet is lifted from the ground and sometimes stored temporarily in heaps before being loaded into lorries and transported to a factory for processing. The closest factory which processes sugar beet is at Bury St Edmunds and can be seen from the A14. Here the sugar beet is analysed for its sugar content and then processed into a wide variety of products including granulated sugar, icing sugar and jam sugar. When you go to the shops look out for ‘Silverspoon’ sugar products as the sugar in these will have come from sugar beet grown in East Anglia and in particular some of the farmers in Great Bentley and the surrounding area. Within the local area many farmers carry out a good amount of environmental work on their farms. Habitats have been created, thousands of metres of hedgerows have been planted this year, areas of fields have been left for environmental benefit and supplementary feeding of birds occurs. Many of these areas wouldn’t be able to be seen from footpaths and this has a benefit because they are not being disturbed by the public thus enabling wildlife to thrive. On farmland locally there are many skylarks, a pair of turtle doves, little owls, lapwings, several buzzards, kestrels, hedgehogs, and numerous hares along with hedgerow birds such as blue tits, great tits, robins, blackbirds, starlings. Having mixed farms like here in the village is of great benefit for smaller birds who feed on the insects found in muck heaps. Whilst a lot of environmental work is being carried out and maintained currently, more can always be done on farms. Simple improvements can also be made in people’s gardens – growing bee friendly plants, providing habitats for birds, feeding and leaving water out for birds and other wildlife, creating hedgehog highways, not paving or decking over large areas and even by simply leaving an area of the garden to go wild will attract and help sustain wildlife.

Vicki Brooks

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A FEW NOTES FROM YOUR DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

A BIG INCREASE IN RECYCLING

There has been a recorded increase in recycling in Tendring for the financial year 2019/20. The figures from Essex County Council have revealed that the recycling was 36.6%, which is up from 27.4% from the previous year. The new recycling system came in and was fully operational halfway through the year and produced a recycling rate from that time of 39.8%. This improvement was helped by the reduction in residual black bags and an overall increase in general recycling. Tendring in 2018/19 produced 8,509 tonnes of general recycling; last year this increased to 9,198 tonnes. The biggest increase came from the food and garden waste, this rose by 2,210 tonnes; previously 5,013 tonnes going up to 7,223 tonnes.

NATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) AWARD

Tendring District Council (TDC) has won a national HR award. TDC was a finalist in three categories at this year’s Excellence in People Management Awards, these were for the Best Apprenticeship Provider Award, the Career Track, the Best Employer and Trade Union Partnership for the relationship with UNISON; and the Best Mental Health Initiative for work on primary school wellbeing initiatives. Following a virtual awards ceremony, TDC was announced as the winner in the Best Employer and Trade Union Partnership award.

REMINDER - PLANNING for the FUTURE

Just a reminder regarding the consultation on this matter. Knowing how important planning has been to several residents I thought you would like to be aware of the Governments Ministry of Housing’s, Communities & Local Government proposal to bring in a new system to update the present planning arrangements. I have included for your information a link to the consulting document which is on the Governments website. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-future/planning-for-the-future The link to the consultation is gov.uk/planning-for-the-future-consultation

The closing date and time is at 11.45 on the 29 th October 2020.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns; I am always very pleased to help if I can, and if I am not able to, I normally know of someone who can; also always very pleased to hear from you.

Many thanks

Cllr Lynda McWilliams Tendring District Councillor to the Wards of Great Bentley, Little Bentley and Frating Tendring District Council Cabinet Member with the Portfolio for Partnerships email [email protected] Telephone Number 01206 250732 Mobile Number 07564 613603

HOORAY. Something for the annual diary

The village Christmas lights will be switched on, on Sunday 29 th November 2020!!!

Of course it is impossible to know what format the switch on will be allowed to take BUT there will be Christmas lights in Great Bentley this year thanks to the Plummer family.

There is then, some light at the end of the tunnel after all!! Sorry, that's dreadful!! Honestly though, how lovely to have this to look forward to. Ed.

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St Mary’s Church Wildlife Blog SPEEDWATCH GREAT BENTLEY - Before the lockdown in March, the Rev Sharon Miles YOU SHOULD READ and I attended some weekly Lent meetings with talks THIS!!! about Climate Change and what we could do as a Church to encourage and support our wildlife. Because of lockdown I watched some of the talks There never seems to be an end to the issue of online, and for my exercise one morning I walked speeding in our beautiful village. As the number of round the Church grounds and felt inspired to do people living in Great Bentley increases, its something to help wildlife and with permission the increasingly more important than ever that cars work began. By the way I checked with the Verger SLOW DOWN. If you hit a pedestrian then your there are no graves there only old headstones. life will be changed forever. Ask yourself 'Was that extra 30 seconds I gained by breaking the 30mph I resited the hidden water butt near the memorial wall speed limit really worth it?' and made a crazy paving path to it. Then I installed a mini pond and wall planter, the mini pond wasn’t GREAT BENTLEY IS A VILLAGE let's keep it that quite successful so I dug a pond over the next week way. The SPEEDWATCH team have no sympathy 3’ x 4’ x 1’ with a “beach” like exit for wild life access. for those caught speeding. I read to put sand in the bottom of the liner and some pebbles but this turned out to be a big mistake as it If you speed in our village then you should expect turned the water yellow like curry soup YUK!! The a letter, a fine, or worse still a suspension of your next day was spent emptying, cleaning and refilling license. with some appreciated help from the Church Warden, lesson learnt. We are pushing for traffic calming measures to be implemented and will continue to do so. Once they The pond and wildlife area is gradually taking shape are in place, we hope it will make those SELFISH and already I have a shrew who comes out daily for drivers who speed think more, reduce their speed a blackberry, field mice are making their home, in the and save lives. If you are one of those drivers bug hotel insects, butterflies and bees are making who doesn't care and thinks that having to drive at use of the flowers and pond and a hedgehog has 30mph is a law just put in place as a money appeared too. making machine, then ask yourself the question 'how will I feel if one of my children is knocked My grateful thanks to the people who allowed me to down and killed by a speeding motorist?' “raid their garden skips for treasures” and those who have donated items for my project and given me PLEASE SLOW DOWN BEFORE YOU KILL some help when I need it. Also the many walkers SOMEONE! and visitors for their kind comments and chats. Thank you, be safe! Do come and see the wildlife area in progress and have a chat if I’m there to share ideas and thoughts. You will find it through the gates, turn left where the memorial wall is and opposite the row of headstones, on the left.

PLEASE BE AWARE round the pond as it is work in progress.

Mandy Miles 01206 251382

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Save Money and Time with your Friendly Freezer

When you are on a budget and cooking for one or possibly two it can be so difficult. You go to a supermarket and have to buy a whole bag of carrots or the only offer on meat is enough to feed you for a couple of weeks!

If you want to buy just one thing it can be as expensive as buying for a whole family, so you don’t want to do this or have to eat the same thing for days on end so you don’t waste anything! This is where your freezer can really become your best money saving friend. You would be surprised what you can freeze to help you save time and save money. Here are a couple of examples.

Let’s start with mushrooms. I find I have to buy a punnet of mushrooms and may only use at the most a third of them for a curry or stir fry, so I used to have to make sure I had another meal the next day or the one after so I didn’t waste any!

NO MORE…..I can freeze mushrooms. If raw…you just wipe with a damp cloth and slice or keep whole….toss in a few drops of lemon juice to stop them discolouring if you want……then put in a bag and freeze. Will keep for a month…ideal for the next curry. You can also freeze them sautéed or stewed and then they will be OK for 5 months.

I often just need one portion of rice and it is difficult and can work out expensive. Most microwave packets of rice for two, frozen steam portions for one are very good but comparatively expensive with what I now do.

If you are boiling a saucepan and cooking rice for one…why not boil the whole bag of cheap long grain rice and then freeze single portions. Just cook the rice as usual and drain and then rinse with cold water to stop it cooking further. After it has drained properly I put single portions into rigid containers or freezer bags and freeze.

To reheat just put in a microwaveable dish for about 3 minutes, add two tablespoonfuls of water and microwave until heated through, stirring a couple of times. I have now successfully done this quite a few times now and it has been great. I am now totally converted. It will store for 6 months in the freezer and will save you a lot of money and effort.

Kathy YOUTH FOOTBALL

Youth football is back but it does feel different, organised sport is able to take place and the FA have set out the COVID guidelines to which we are adhering. There is plenty of hand gel, football and kit cleaning going on during training and games. What does seem to have remained is the enthusiasm that the kids have for the game and having had about 5 or 6 months away they seem to be delighted to be back. I think the same can be said for the parents who are seeing some excess energy being used!

Anyway, games have started again with some friendlies being played by most teams, as you would know from my previous notes Matt Lamberts Under 14’s Reds either win heavily or lose heavily and based on their last 2 friendly matches this looks set to continue. These games saw an 8-3 win with Jamie Lambert notching 4 times followed by a 16-1 loss - amazing! However whilst their first league game saw a defeat there were only 2 goals so you never know. Richie’s under 14 Blues game also saw 2 goals in a 2-0 win for them against Bergholt Heath.

So I can’t tell you the result of the younger age groups games but it’s great that we have under 7’s playing this year which bodes well for the future of the club. At under 11 our Blues won 4-2 and our Reds 5-2, having coached these boys when they were 5 or 6 I know there are some cracking players in this age group so hopefully they’ll have a good season. Our under 12 Blues haven’t had a competitive league match before which saw them record a 4-1 win and the Reds also won 3-0.

All in all a great start to the season, hopefully I can report on a successful season that is complete and doesn’t see breaks or games not being played. Thanks for reading.

Scott

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FOOTBALL CLUB NOTES

Essex and Suffolk Border League Premier Division All ko 3pm unless stated September 5 th West Bergholt (A) D 2 - 2 12 th Felixstowe & Walton Res (A) W 2- 5 19 th Lawford Lads (H) 12.45pm 26 th Dedham Old Boys (A) October 3 rd Stanway Pegasus (A) 10 th Hatfield Peverel (A) 17 th Little Oakley Res (H) 24 th Dedham Old Boys (H) 31 st Sudbury Sports FC (H) Essex and Suffolk Border League Division 2 All ko 3pm unless stated September 5th Stanway Athletic (H) Cancelled 12 th Hatfield Peverel Res (H) W 3 - 2 19 th St Osyth Res (H) 26 th Gas Rec Res (H) October 3 rd Brightlingsea Town (H) 10 th Harwich Rangers (H) 17 th Oyster (A) 24 th Harwich & Parkeston Res (A) 31st Rowhedge (A) Essex and Suffolk Border League Division 4 All ko 3pm unless stated September 5 th Wethersfield (H) 12.45pm W 5 - 0 12 th Stillwater (A) W 2 - 1 19 th FC Clacton ‘A’ (A) 26 th Gosfield Utd Res (H) 12.45pm October 3 rd Dovercourt Rovers (H) 12.45pm 10 th Cavendish FC Res (H) 17 th Ramsey & Mistley Res (H) 24 th Dovercourt Rovers (A) 31 st Wethersfield (A)

The FA and the Border league confirmed that non-league football below Step 7 (National League) could allow spectators with groups of up to 6 people standing together. The fixtures for Sept/Oct were released on 19 th Aug with some early KO’s to allow us to play 2 home games on the same day where necessary. All teams finished pre-season friendlies looking good. Unfortunately club captain Peter Brough suffered a MCL injury in the 2 – 1 win over Suffolk senior side East Bergholt and is likely to be out until Christmas. The delayed 20/21 season finally burst into life on the 5 th Sept with the new GB “A” team getting off to a great start. Kicking off at 12.45, they beat Wethersfield 5 – 0 with player manager Mark Gridley scoring a hat trick. The reserves game scheduled for 3.00pm was cancelled by the Border league because Stanway Ath did not have sufficient players signed on by the 1 st September as per Covid rules. We were awarded the points on the day. Subsequently Stanway Ath have withdrawn from the league so the points were then taken back. With the ”A” team game finished and the reserve game cancelled, the total number of spectators at West Bergholt must have exceeded over 100. GB were the far stronger team for the first 45mins leading 1 – 0 at half time. West Bergholt came back strongly at the start of the second half. A fiercely competitive game that finally hinged on penalties being awarded for each side for hand ball offences that only the referee saw. We were grateful because the final kick of the game saw Dale Brown converting the spot kick to draw the match. The Border League Facebook page commented on Sunday 13 th Sept that a crowd attendance of 105 watched the match at Felixstowe & Walton . This was on a Saturday when a number of our regular supporters had been unable to attend. With big Louie Olymbios committed to attend a Fire Brigade training course, Joe Hurd took the opportunity to claim his place in the 1 st team with a fine hat trick. The reserves finally got started this season winning 3 – 2 over Hatfield Peverel Res and the new “A” team continued on their winning ways with a 2 – 1 win over Stillwater. Follow Great Bentley Football Club and Border League Football on Facebook and Twitter for all the up to date information.

Bentley Lives Matter Mel

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Children’s Page How many birds, flowers and bees can you count ???

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GREAT BENTLEY PARISH COUNCIL Community Resource Centre, Village Hall Plough Road CO7 8LG Contact the Clerk on [email protected] www.greatbentleyparishcouncil.co.uk

Due to Government advice regarding Covid-19 the Community Resource Centre is still closed. The Parish Council is in operation and measures have been put in place so that the day to day running can continue. Parish Council meetings are successfully being held virtually using Zoom. Agendas will be placed on the Parish Council website no later than 3 working days before the meeting. If you wish to join the meeting please email the clerk.

Meeting held 3 rd September 2020 :

Planning Applications Considered

The planning applications shown in the table below were considered by the Planning Committee. If you wish to make a comment on these or other planning applications, you should log on to the Tendring District Council website. Follow the link: https://idox.tendringdc.gov.uk/online-applications/

1. 20/00748/FUL Re-design of the eastern parcel of the Land at Admirals Farm Hills Building Group original application site to provide 18 new Heckfords Road, Great build dwelling houses comprising of 2, 3 BentleyCO7 8RS and 4 beds. 2. 20/01004/FUL Proposed two storey front and single storey 9 St Marys Road Mr and Mrs Dyer side extension. Great Bentley, CO7 8NN 3. 20/01052/FUL Proposed single storey rear extension 11 Hill Cottages, Flag

Mr Peter Winsley Hill, CO7 8RQ

4. 20/01076/TCA 1 Sycamore in back garden - reduce by Brothock House Mrs Anne Johnson 50%. 1 Sycamore on left hand side - The Green, Great reduce and face back. 1 Ash - Reduce Bentley, CO7 8QG lower branch. Group of 3 Sycamores - reduce by 50%. 5. 20/01077/TPO 1 Pine - Reduce or take down. Brothock House Mrs Anne Johnson The Green, Great Bentley, CO7 8QG 6. 20/01085/TCA Cut and make safe dead branches. 13 Cedar Way, Great

Mr Paul Hamilton Bentley, CO7 8LT

20/00958/AGRIC R MacDonald & Son, Land South of Colchester Road, Great Bentley. Construction of an irrigation reservoir including ecological and landscaping enhancements.

It was noted that building has not recommenced at the Go Homes Fusiliers Green site and the footpath along Heckford’s Road to the Green from the estate has not yet been installed.

The Parish Council is to explore a more permanent solution to prevent cars mounting the pavement opposite Tesco.

The design and suitability of the village entrance signs are to be reviewed for their replacement or renewal to more appropriate signage.

Permission is to be sought from TDC to crown the willow trees behind Mill Flats.

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RUNNING CLUB

Caroline Searle

Race Report with a difference

For the Running Club as with so many others life has changed dramatically. 2020, so far, has been a year where we have had to think outside the box, find ways to communicate and above all stay safe and help others stay safe. For many weeks, we were not been able to see each other, apart from running with members of our families who happen to be fellow GBRCers, (or in some cases a rival club!) and the occasional lucky spot of a Bentley Blue and a chat at a social distance. This though, has not stopped us running and taking time to get fresh air, space, and the gentle restoration of our minds. I know for one, that being able to get out and exercise has allowed me time to breathe and escape from the media for a while. We have ventured into the world of virtual running and we even attempted to have a go at the National Road Relays which consisted of submitting a 5k run. The organisers were surprised by the uptake this event had and therefore the website they used was slightly overwhelmed and we were not given the true positions that our running earned. We had six women take part and enough men to make a men’s team but alas the system did not pick us all up and we were made into a mixed team that was subsequently second bottom – nothing wrong with that, but we know that this was not a true reflection. We have now moved onto our very own Mickey Edwards event being a virtual race. Our Men’s Captain is very kindly collecting baseline data and the figures look good so far. I think we are in a for a good series, even though we are all running in different locations around the north of Essex. The distance is (give or take a metre or two) at least the same! We also took part in the 2.6 challenge, one where charities called upon people to do something to raise money that had not come in from spring marathons and other similar events. We had many take part in garden runs, with satellites and GPS systems on overdrive trying to work true distances and times! We had Magdalena and Tomasz completing a series of runs around their garden over that weekend, including a parkrun, complete with signage and a 2.62 challenge! Emma Wakeling, and her children Laci and Brody took part in Running Colchester’s 1000km challenge, completing a 5km in fancy dress one day (which turned out to be over 4 miles), and completing 2.62 miles (50 laps) in their garden the next day. Justine Sheekey benefited from a longer garden and only had to do 39 laps to complete her 2.62 miles. Her son Noah joined in for part of the run too. Well done to everyone who took part in this fundraising challenge. Another element of our running calendar are the GBRC trail runs. Many have been getting out OS maps out and devising new routes using footpaths and bridleways that are on the doorstep but maybe previously overlooked. Some have been even braver and have just gone out there and run new paths, hoping to get home at some point! Tim Ballard even completed a trail marathon from Manningtree to Harwich and back today in less than 4 hours. So although it’s different we have been getting out there and running. Sadly however, we have had to cancel the biggest event in our club year: our Half Marathon. Although not due to take place until February 2021 we felt that it would not be fair to the population of Great Bentley to have hundreds of runners arrive in the village. It’s sad but better safe than sorry and there will be other years.

ADVANCED WARNING - NETWORK RAIL

NETWORK RAIL has confirmed last week that there will be a four-week shutdown of passenger services between THORPE LE SOKEN & CLACTON during FEBRUARY 2021, to enable the replacement of signalling, track and other kit on the unmodernised section between BURRS ROAD LEVEL CROSSING and CLACTON STATION. As with the weekend engineering works through the Autumn of 2020 there will be a shuttle bus service to/from Clacton and Thorpe Le Soken.

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Surgery News

Virtual London Marathon Event

Jo Tyrrel, one of our Practice Nurses was due to run the Virgin London Marathon this year. Although the Marathon has been cancelled due to the pandemic, her training has not gone to waste as she will be running 26.2 miles locally on Sunday, 4th October 2020 in a 'virtual London Marathon Event'.

Jo is raising money for three very good causes – Diabetes UK, Mind - the mental health charity and Addison’s disease. If you would like to support her and help to raise money for these very worthy charities you can sponsor her by visiting her just giving page below: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=JoanneTyrrel&pageUrl=2#

The whole Surgery Team wish Jo all the very best for her Marathon run.

Swab Testing for Coronavirus

The Surgery is not able to offer swab testing for Coronavirus so we would ask that patients do not contact us to request this. If you do have symptoms and need to have a swab test please either visit www.gov.uk or phone 119 to book a test.

Research study for patients over 50 years of age with COVID 19 symptoms

We are a research Practice and from time to time you may be contacted to take part in studies if eligible.

Currently we are looking for any patients with COVID 19 symptoms aged over 50 to take part in the Principle Research Study. Patients can self-refer for this by either going to the website https://sentry.phc.ox.ac.uk/ prinscreen/GRB or contacting them by phone on tel. 0800 138 0880. From there the team will be able to advise if you can participate in this study.

I wrote about it being flu vaccination season last month. This is just a reminder that we are running Flu Clinics on every Saturday morning througout October. If you are eligible for a free NHS flu vaccination and haven’t had yours yet, please contact our reception team on tel. 01206 250691 to book your appointment. Our staff can check your record to see if you are eligible if you aren’t sure about this.

Patient Participation Group

At the time of writing the Newsletter there isn’t a Patient Participation Group meeting planned in October. If this situation changes then PPG members will be informed by email and we will also advertise this on the Surgery website.

Sue Mitson Operations Manager

POPPY APPEAL

As there are no house to house collections this year the RBL request that collection boxes in local shops are made more use of for donations. There will be boxes at Tesco’s, the Butchers and the Deli and most likely the Pharmacy and the doctors . Please support the service members who need the support of the RBL! At present plans are in place for the memorial service to take place on the Green as usual subject to Government guide lines, there will be no parade this year!

Michael Dorling 22

POLICE REPORT

RECORDED CRIMES IN AUGUST - 7

CRIME TYPES - Other criminal damage - Assault without injury - Theft from shops - Domestic - Threats to kill - Possession of controlled drug - Breach of non molestation.

Incidents reported - 19

Types reported - Nuisance neighbour - Drugs x 2 - Suspicious circumstances x 2 - Threats - Highway disruption x 5 - Domestic x 2 - Theft - Stolen motor vehicle found - Drink driving - Disturbance - Abandoned 999 - Concern.

TRUCAM Monthly Total - 79 3 x one hour deployments. 2 in Plough Road Aingers Green- 64 caught Top speed 55mph 1 in Thorrington Road- 15 caught Top speed 41mph accompanied by Community speedwatch. These are 30mph zones with plenty of visible speed signs.

There is no excuse for bad driving. Please adhere to the speed signs and drive at a safe distance behind the car in front.

Preventing accidents and saving lives matters.

Hare coursing. PCSO came across hare coursing in Aingers Green Road and believed it was discovered in time to prevent damage to farmers crops. Officers were deployed to the area but those involved had fled. If anyone has any knowledge of vehicles used in this hunt please contact PCSO Julia Brandon at below email address.

Cannabis. A stop check revealed a small amount of cannabis which was confiscated and destroyed.

Parking. Only 1 Considerate parking notice was issued this month. Please continue to park sensibly and avoid blocking footpaths and junctions.

Reporting incidents the correct way. To report an incident please ring 101 Or report it online https://www.essex.police.uk/do-it-online/report-a-crime/ All incidents must be reported as above.

If residents have any concern on suspicious vehicles/activity/ drugs in the village, please feel free to contact me, with as much detail as possible, including contact details so I can investigate. (Unless it is an incident , which then needs to be reported as above)

Email - [email protected] Te l- 101 Ext - 440222

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I must take my rubbish to the tip John Evans 2020

I lost my car yesterday morning. Well I didn’t lose the car, it was stolen from a parking bay outside Guinea Bargains, the new local discount shop. I left it where I usually park, paid for my parking meter ticket then crossed the road to the shop. When I came out again it had gone, not the ticket, my car, it had vanished. I looked for it everywhere which is daft because I knew exactly where I had parked it, in the same bay as usual. Why should I doubt where I had parked my car? I wandered back into Guinea Bargains to ask if they had CCTV cameras running. The nice young man asked why I wanted to look at their CCTV. I told him that my car had been stolen from a parking bay across the road. He said their system didn’t cover that parking bay across the road, then with a patronising smile asked me if I was sure I had left it parked where I said I had left it parked. He must think I’m senile. He doesn’t know me, why does he think I’m an old fool? I went back to check again, to the spot where I had left it and suddenly two policemen arrived. Their arrival was not of my doing, the nice young man in the shop must have called them. I felt pleased about it at first, a young man helping me and two policemen coming to my aid, I was grateful until one said to me that they had received a call about a confused old man who had lost his car. I’m not a confused old man who has lost his car, the vehicle has been stolen. Why is the stealing of my car so improbable? The other officer asked me if I had lost it before, as if I make a habit of losing my car in car parks. They then asked me if I would recognise it if I saw it again, a strange question to which I calmly confirmed that I would, that it’s a saloon, then further asked me what colour it was. I said, ‘is’, what colour it ‘is’, not ‘was’, the car exists, it is just that it has been nicked! I kept calm by sucking a mint imperial. The bigger of the two officers pointed at the bus stop a few metres away. I looked at him as he pointed to the bus stop but before he could say anything I said, “No, I didn’t catch the bus this morning, I came by car, the car which has been stolen from this parking bay.” “It’s definitely not at home then,” he concluded whilst casually looking at other cars in the car park. I had another mint imperial. The bit that did make me smile was when one of them said that I should catch the bus home, sit in my favourite chair with a nice cup of tea and maybe I would remember where I’d left it. I remembered buying my parking meter ticket and quoted the date, the time and the cost of that ticket and politely asked them to please consider the possibility that the car had been stolen. I suddenly realised that these nice policemen must have attended a course, you know, one of those courses designed to enable officers to make a proper assessment, not just of the situation itself but also of the person seeking help. It seemed to me that they felt that there was a greater chance of me being nuts than of the car being stolen. “What colour is your car?” repeated one. “A red saloon,” I answered without hesitation just in case they thought I had to think about it. I was being assessed. “After locking your car, what exactly did you do then?” asked another. “I crossed the road,” I answered. “Straight away?” he enquired. “No, there was a car coming,” I said with a hint of irritation. “As you left your house this morning, was there a car in your drive?” - “Not after I had driven off in it, no!” I didn’t tell them that I had given Florrie, an elderly neighbour a lift to the Post Office, they would have probably asked me to go to Florrie’s house. I knew the car wasn’t outside Florrie’s house. Finally they said that they would look into the situation and suggested that they would give me a lift home. I was delighted, I’ve never been in a police car but as I sat inside the car with the seat belt tightly fastened I felt a bit disappointed because neither one of them put his hand on my head as I got into the vehicle. They seem do that in every film I’ve seen. I could easily have bumped my head, after all, I’m a silly old fool. But they were kind young men. Arriving outside my house I think they were disappointed not to find my car in my drive. They asked if they could look in the garage. I said the garage is full of stuff waiting to go to the tip but I can’t take my rubbish to the tip because my car has been stolen. They looked in my garage. It was full of rubbish. They then asked if they could look in the back garden to which I politely asked why they needed to see the back garden. They answered that the car might be there. I told them that the house is a terraced house, that there’s no side or rear access to the back garden. With a smiley nod of the head they said that people hide their car in the back garden in order to make a false insurance claim. I protested, telling them that I would never think of doing that and besides, my car is an old Nissan Micra, red, manual with trillions of miles on the clock, it’s worthless. They searched the back garden but didn’t find my car because it wasn’t there. It was at this point that the shorter of the two police officers said that the car must have been stolen from the parking bay opposite Guinea Bargains. They agreed. As they drove off I sucked another mint imperial. I had a phone call this morning from the police. They said that a local dog-walker had found a red car parked outside the Post Office yesterday and became suspicious because the engine was running and there was no-one in the vehicle. The man phoned the police who identified my car but unfortunately found it to be in a sorry state. I’ve just phoned my insurance people for advice about my situation because I really do need another car so I can take my rubbish to the tip. The insurance man seemed a nice chap, he didn’t seem to think that I’m a silly old fool. A little five door hatch-back would be lovely but when I go to the tip I will avoid the Post Office.

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JOTTINGS FROM THE ALLOTMENTS

This year has been challenging, weatherwise especially, with horrendous wind and rain early in the year followed by drought conditions. Watering with a can is nothing like the healing power of a prolonged shower and it has certainly not been a highly productive year for many crops. However we have to be grateful for any produce that we get. Freddie was so happy with his butternut squash which weighed an amazing 6lb 6oz. Well done Freddie, (and his Mum, Dad, and baby sister of course.)

This reminds me that we now have several young families with babies and young children which is so lovely. The enthusiasm of the younger generation is evident from the animated conversations and indeed discussions between them and their parents. This is often wildlife based and I am learning a lot about bugs and their correct names from Toby on the next door plot, and his Mum and Dad, who are fairly new to the allotments. However, many years back having discovered small, elongated bugs with a blueish hue a pupil from the village primary school informed me that they were the developing larvae of ladybirds as she had seen them on a children’s TV programme! Meanwhile I always have my eyes to the sky and undergrowth as the birdlife is amazing with Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk etc plus farmland and garden birds we are more used to seei g regularly over and on our plots.

I think all plotholders would agree that during Lockdown, being able to go and work on our allotments was an absolute god send. It kept our sanity whilst producing crops and indeed plants and seedlings which we could share, being part of our allowed time for exercise whilst being very much socially distanced of course. It was therefore, so lovely that for the first time ever many of us were able to share a social time together, hosted and organised by Alan and Lara. Thank you so much to them. The BBQ took place on what would have been under normal circumstances Village Show Day. It has to be said we really felt that if the Show had gone ahead there would have been little to enter due largely to the very dry weather.

Michaelmas Day in September is when we will have had to renew our agreements and pay our rent for next year. I wonder what growing conditions 2021 will bring. Each year brings a different challenge which we face with uncertainty but stoic reserve that gardeners need to have in abundance!

M.M.

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COOKERY CORNER

SWEET BISCUITS

North Wales was my home as a child and each year from about Easter to October the tourists would flood in from the cities of Manchester and Liverpool to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the beaches and the fabulous scenery of Snowdonia. Parties of primary schoolchildren would regularly end their term with a coach or train trip to the resorts of Llandudno or Rhyl. We, on the other hand, looked forward eagerly to our end of year coach trip to savour the delights of city life. Liverpool was the overwhelming choice of our teachers because this would also incorporate a ferry ride across the River Mersey (sadly Jerry Marsden wasn’t available then) and perhaps a refreshing cup of tea while their charges bought ice creams and various trinkets before the journey home. One memorable year was extra special. Instead of the obligatory cultural visit ( I’m afraid I don’t remember any of them) we toured the Jacob’s Biscuit Factory in Aintree. We must have been told many facts about biscuits, but the absolute highlight for a ten year old was a huge bag of broken ones waiting for each of us at the end. Needless to say we scoffed them all on the way back. Here are some recipes for a selection of whole biscuits, hopefully as tasty as a bag of broken ones…..

GYPSY CREAMS 55g margarine 55g lard 85g caster sugar 110g self raising flour 1 teacup porridge oats ¼ tsp vanilla essence 3tsp boiling water 1 tsp each baking powder, syrup and bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and grease a large baking sheet. In a large bowl cream the fats and sugar until smooth. Pour the boiling water over the syrup and add to the creamed mixture. Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl, leaving the vanilla until last. Stir until thoroughly blended. Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheet leaving room for them to spread. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

ALMOND SLICES 110g hard margarine cut into pieces 225g self raising flour 85g caster sugar yolks of 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Grease a Swiss Roll tin and have two bowls ready. Crack each egg carefully in half and let the white fall into one bowl, leaving the yolk in the shell. Pass the yolk into the other half of the shell as the remainder of the white collects in the bowl. Put the yolks into the second bowl adding the sugar. Cream both together until smooth. Place the flour and margarine in a large bowl and rub the margarine into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs before adding the creamed eggs and sugar and mixing thoroughly. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board to fit into the Swiss Roll tin.

For the filling: 280g caster sugar unbeaten whites of 2 eggs 140g ground almonds 1 tsp ground rice a little warm milk almond essence (some apricot jam and blanched almonds)

Beat the first five filling ingredients well, adding just enough milk to bind into a fairly stiff mixture. Lastly add one drop of almond essence. Spread the pastry in the tin with the jam (or marmalade if you prefer) and then with the filling. Sprinkle with a few blanched almonds and bake in the hot oven for about an hour. Cool and cut into slices.

PEANUT COOKIES 140g soft margarine 110g crunchy peanut butter 110g soft brown sugar 140g caster sugar a beaten egg 1tsp vanilla essence 140g self raising flour

Cream the margarine, peanut butter and sugars together. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence, then gradually stir in the flour. Roll the mixture into walnut sized pieces. Place well spaced apart on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly with a floured fork before baking in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. M.E.

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Great Bentley Pre-school www.greatbentleypreschool.co.uk [email protected]

What a wonderful first few weeks we have all had back, it is so wonderful to be back and so good to see all the children.

I really thought with lots of new children starting and our older children having been off for so long we would have a very hard first few days with lots needing emotional support, but they have all been amazing and settled in so well.

The older children have been great little role models and got straight back into the routine, some of them have grown up so much in the time they’ve been away and all coped so well at being dropped off with our new procedure. The new children are just all settling in so well as they explore and become familiar with the new faces and environment and are just taking everything in their stride. They’re all AMAZING.

On a personal note it is lovely to be back, and I know all the staff are so thrilled to be back with the children, it is lovely knowing that the parents trust us all in such unprecedented and difficult times so we thank them all for their understanding, patience and cooperation over the last few months.

I would like to welcome Blair-Ann, Benjamin and their families who started with us just after we returned. I hope you enjoy your time at our Pre-school, I can promise you and your family will gain lots of wonderful and exciting new experiences and memories and we all look forward to working with you all over the coming terms.

Outside Environment

Our outside area continues to look fabulous. We have a wonderful new music wall and water wall which the children are exploring and gaining lots of pleasure from.

I would like to thank Deans Nursery that supplied plants and bulbs for our refurbed area and Wright Turf Ltd for their donation of some new turf.

We are on half term this month so would like to wish everyone a fabulous week off.

Thanks for reading

Julie Wiles OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

A simple shoebox gift packed with love and fuelled by prayer can have a huge impact!

How to pack a shoebox:: Find an empty medium sized shoebox and wrap box and lid separately. (There are ready decorated empty boxes at the back of the Church ready for you to fill).

Download and print the appropriate boy/girl label. Mark the correct age category and attach the label to the outside of your shoebox or you can donate £20 online and they will fill a shoebox for you. www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/how-to-pack-a-shoebox/

Fill your shoebox with a variety of new gifts that will bring delight to a child, add a suggested donation of £5 which includes shipping and take to St Mary’s Church by Sunday 25th October.

Please no toothpaste or sweets.

Thank you - Wendy King - 01206 250852

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Knock, knock! Who’s there?

1. I am the Queen’s youngest greatgrandchild. 2. I wrote ‘Robinson Crusoe’. 3. I was born Frederik Austerlitz. 4. I abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. 5. I was the first quizmaster on ‘University Challenge’. 6. I rode naked on a horse through Coventry, according to legend. 7. I was the King of England who hid in an oak tree after defeat at the Battle of Worcester. 8. I won an Olympic gold medal with my partner Christopher Dean. 9. I was the lead singer of ‘Queen’. 10. I was born Marion Morrison and won an Oscar for the film ‘True Grit’. 11. I won the ‘Booker Prize’ in 2012 for my novel ‘Bring up the Bodies’. 12. I designed The Shard in London. 13. I am the escaped convict in ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. 14. I was the first dog on ‘Blue Peter’. 15. I invented the ‘Rocket’, the most famous early railway locomotive. 16. I was the first woman to fly single handed across the Atlantic. 17. I composed the ‘Brandenburg Concertos’. 18. I am buried in Highgate Cemetery and wrote ‘Das Kapital’. 19. I won the 2019 series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ with my partner, Oti Mabuse. 20. I am known as Boris… but what is my real first name?

??????????????????????????????????????

.Kelvin Fletcher 20.Alexander 20.Alexander Fletcher .Kelvin 19 Marx 18.Karl 17.J.S.Bach Earhart 16.Amelia

ra 15.George Stephenson Stephenson 15.George ra 14.Pet Magwitch 13.Abel Piano 12.Renzo Mantel

lary lary 11.Hi Wayne 10.John Mercury 9.Freddie Torvill 8.Jayne II 7.Charles Godiva 6.Lady Gascoigne

foe 3.Fred Astaire 4.Edward VIII 5.Bamber 5.Bamber VIII 4.Edward Astaire 3.Fred foe De 2.Daniel Mountbatten-Windsor Harrison 1.Archie

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CRICKET NEWS

September brought the end of the Colts season and three Awards Evenings signing the season off with the Coaches v Colts match.

After what we thought was going to be a disastrous season – we ended up having one of our best ever for the Colts, with travel limited and staycations we played a total of 16 matches of hardball which breaks all numbers in recent years. The development through the season was plain to see and Alex Youngs, Head Coach awarded the below:

Colts Batting – Ashton Rees Colts Bowling – Lily Wainer Colts All Rounder - Annabelle Morton Head Coach's Player – Harry Butcher

Our Softballers, ever growing in numbers, took part in Friday night sessions, learning the Kwik cricket game. Medals were presented to all, with year group awards as below:

Cricket All Stars Awards: Years 1-6

Freddie Barrett, Alexander Brown, Lawson Muller, Freddie Pope, Lola Scillitoe, Ashley Hodder, Ethan Muller.

All the above was only possible to a dedicated team of coaches giving up their Friday nights to cricket.

Mike Burgoyne, Darren King, Michael Giles, Ian Morton, Lee Barrett, Henry Fairbanks, Alex Youngs & (Nick Farrow missing from photo).

Next month we will report on the Mens Season and bring exciting news for the 2021 season.

You can follow us on Facebook @ GBCC BAR for updates and information.

Are you interested in playing cricket in beautiful surroundings? Whatever your age, whether you are a competitive player, a bit rusty or would just like to just meet new people and have some fun, why not come and join Great Bentley Cricket Club.

We have great facilities on the biggest village green in the UK run by a committee of local residents, dedicated to keep the game of Cricket a part of the village life.

For more information, come along to the Club House on The Green, or email Peter Giles [email protected] or Carol Kerridge: 07748 802690 [email protected]

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TENDRING PRIMARY RECYCLE SCHEME

Now that the work of the Scheme is up and running once again, I wonder if you have had a chance to drop off all of the recycling items which you so kindly squirrelled away for us during lockdown? If you haven’t, I’m delighted to say that since the time of last writing we now have several more drop off points available – the current list can be found below. You may remember that our previous drop off point at Cedar Way is no longer available, whilst the other drop off address on the De Vere Estate is currently closed …. but will be back with us as soon as possible. Your nearest drop off points are still very close however. Please be aware that as we now have some 4,500 members, whilst also having a reduced number of volunteer helpers due to the Covid-19 situation, we must ask that all of your recycling is pre-sorted prior to drop off. Sorting the various schemes into bread bags for example, will, as ever, be perfect. If you also have a particularly large amount to leave (more than a well stuffed carrier bag for example), please contact the Scheme on our Facebook page, or ring 07808239141 prior to drop off, just to check that there is sufficient room at the location, as storage space may well be limited. The list of addresses is as follows: -

 Tendring Primary School, School Road, Tendring CO16 0BP. This is our preferred drop off location. Pre-sorted recycling will be accepted at our weekly open evening which is usually on a Tuesday evening from 4.30p.m – 8.30p.m. The day and time may be subject to change however, so please check first.  Brightlingsea, 30 Eastern Road, CO7 0HU  Clacton-on-Sea, 131 Leas Road, CO15 1DT  Colchester, Dugard Avenue, CO3 9EH almost opposite Nindy ’s Fish & Chip Shop. Please contact for house number. A bin will be visible outside the house.  Harwich, 50 Manor Road, CO12 4DY  Holland-on-Sea, 47 Dulwich Road CO15 5NA  Lawford, 1 Cornwall Close, CO11 2ES  St. Osyth, Kincaid Road, CO16 8QY Please contact for house number.  Weeley, 32 Hilltop Rise, CO16 9JU

Other news I would like to share with you this month, is that we now have another recycling scheme to add to our collection. We have for some time now, collected the red wax from Babybel Cheese which we send to an amazingly talented young man called Mitchell, who uses the wax to create the most amazing and incredible models. Mitchell has Autism and has been making his models since the age of 12. His truly outstanding work, which is known as Mitchell’s Marvellous Models, can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/watch/? v=1459857724194275&extid=8DnzjUn714j8NuZJ Please do take a look, you will be amazed. However, in the meantime a new TerraCycle Scheme has recently become available with regards to Babybel products, for which we have been accepted. The scheme (The Babybel® Recycling Programme) accepts all components of the Babybel wrapping including the red wax, individual wrappers, metal clasp, labels and net bags; plus, the sleeves, plastic trays and flexible plastic packaging from Babybel Mini Rolls. The cheese we will allow you to keep and enjoy for yourself! We have absolutely no intention of abandoning Mitchell and his wonderful work, so the wax will still go to Mitchell and all other components will be sent to TerraCycle to raise funds for Tendring Primary School. Please send the wax in a separate bread bag therefore, with the bag being turned inside out to avoid the wax becoming covered in crumbs. Thank you.

You may remember that we also collect for a separate cheese scheme. If you could again package all of the Babybel items separately to the other cheese wrappers please, it would help us greatly. Your help is invaluable to us as always.

Until we meet again next month. June Barker

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MEMORIES

This is a true story about a little boy I once knew. The mother of this little boy was a weaver and lived in Scotland. She wanted to live in Lavenham because of traditional weavers but also because of the venison that could be bought here and only here. In Scotland you could obtain it freely but not in England.

Well, her little boy Robin, the youngest of her children was always chatting away to his invisible friend, always in the corner of the alcove at the bottom of the stairs. His mother who was a teacher as well as a weaver knew that children often had a ‘friend’ that they chatted to and thought no more about it. Then she began to realise he was always on the same step so she did a bit of questioning and asked him what was his friend’s name. He didn’t know. Was it a he or a she? He said it was a she. Does she wear a hat. He said no it was a funny hat not like mummies. High up he said. So mummy said was it a bonnet and she showed him a picture of a bonnet and he said yes it was like that. Then his mum asked if it was like his sister’s hats that they played with. Then mum said what colour was it. He didn’t know that, so his mum showed him some colours and it turned out to be blue. So we now have a small boy on the stairs talking to a tall lady in a bonnet and dressed in blue. No one else had seen this person only Robin. When his mum went to the butchers to register for the next ration the butcher said, oh you live in the ‘haunted house’. Have you actually seen a ghost because no one actually has! When she told the story the butcher shivered and went pale! This is a true story.

Further on to strange happenings. This is about my own daughter Sarah. We were sitting in front of the fire and the children were ready for bed, warming them up for our cold bedrooms. No radiators or heaters in those days just hot water bottles in the beds. We were quietly sitting there when my daughter turned to look at me and said I know what you are going to buy me for Christmas. I said so you don’t know it’s a secret. No she said and she told me word for word what I had been thinking. It’s a scary feeling and could become a problem, but Sarah is the dearest of daughters and would never use this special feeling in a wrong way. She still has these moments and we still stay close and know what the other is feeling. When Sarah married and lived in a flat she’d send me a postcard asking me if I was okay. In those days a postcard arrived next morning. I might have had a cold, sore throat or just been a bit under the weather. How did she always know? Several years ago now when Sarah still lived at home, I decided to go to Colchester. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and it was wasted staying at home so I went to town. I was walking along the High Streen when coming towards me in a mass of people was an arm raised high with a newspaper in it. Sarah was coming towards me. Now, when she went to work that morning she had no idea I was going to town. How did she know? I wonder if anyone else has had this happen to them. I knew of one family that had the same thing happen. Strange! A couple of months ago after a long lapse of time these strange feelings started again. I would love to know if anyone else has this closeness with another person.

Betty Harvey

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SCHOOL NEWS

What a fabulous start back to the new term, it's been lovely seeing the children enthusiastically reuniting with their friends and classmates and we are all settling into our new routines and adjusting to our new normal, looking forward to the term ahead.

The teaching staff for each year are......

Reception - Mrs Whyte Year One - Mr Godfrey Year Two - Miss Fares Year Three - Miss Ide Year Four - Miss Bines Year Five - Mrs Stacy and Mrs Chase Year Six - Mrs Stenson and Mrs Williams

FACT for last month

September's name comes from the Latin word septem, meaning “seven.” This month had originally been the seventh month of the early Roman calendar

Below is a link to this lovely book. It may help those who are worried about coronavirus. Read this with your child as many times as they would like :) https://en.calameo.com/read/000777721945cfe5bb9cc?authid=Xu9pcOzU3TQx

Welcome to Year 2's class and for the academic year 2020-2021. Our topic is 'Once upon a time in Disney' So look forward to seeing some work we have completed about this topic in the future.

Welcome to Year 3's class. This term our topic is 'What a hard rock life' looking at the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

Welcome to Year 4! This term our topic is going to 'The Human Body'! I am very excited about the term and it has been lovely seeing all of the children's faces!

Welcome back Year Five! It is fantastic to have you all back in school. We can't wait to teach you all about Ancient Egypt! Claire Lukey

HELP REQUIRED

Thank you to Lily who has produced the Children's Page for us for two years. Lily will be having to put in extra hard work this year at school and therefore we need someone to compile the Children's Page each month.

Please can you help us? We would love to hear from you. Thanks again Lily for all your hard work and for always being prompt with your article. Ed

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400th Anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower

The 400th anniversary of this historic sailing of the Mayflower in September prompted me to look at the Marvin family some of whom left Great Bentley to sail to America. The following is from Ian Doolittle's history of St Mary's Church published in 1984 and revised in 1995.

The Puritan Revolution and the Marvins:

The digression concerning the bells in the church has upset the chronology of this survey. Let us return to the 17th century by first quoting the structural changes which took place then. A gallery was added over the rear of the nave and box pews with doors installed. The by now ruinous south porch may also have been pulled down in the 17th century and the chest which may still be seen today is dated 1680. But for the most part the century was more important for political and religious developments. The first two Stuart monarchs possessed little of Elizabeth’s pragmatic adaptability. Religious extremists were alienated by an increased emphasis on ceremonial and conformity. Joseph Brodey, vicar from 1626-7 was considered to be one of those ministers who were not ‘comformable in preaching nor practice’. The new atmosphere may perhaps be reflected in the presentment of a villager, one Abraham Comins, in 1635 for ‘not standing up at the Cred’, and two years later the churchwardens had to swear that the communion table had been railed off, as Charles I and his authoritarian Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, required. There are signs of the political and religious dissatisfaction of these years in refusals to pay the parish rate One Henry Westropp was presented for this in 1636, and eleven villagers were accused of the same offence in 1639. Those whom we describe unsatisfactorily as ‘Puritans’ turned to emigration in order to escape the repression. One such family was the Marvins of Great Bentley.

Edward Marvin, who was the first of the family to move to the village, was a man of substance. Apart from his land in Great Bentley he had property in Wrabness, Wix, Ramsey and Frating. When he made his Will in the latter part of 1615 he bequeathed to his son Matthew ‘my house that I now dwell in with all the lands thereunto belonging called Edens alias Dreybrockes’. Clearly the house to which this refers is that now known as Edens Farm, situated at the eastern end of the village.

Edward had eleven children, two of whom emigrated to New England. The first to leave was Matthew who lived at Eden’s. He was married with four children and he left England in 1635 after his mother died. He had been a man of some importance in village life. He had served as churchwarden, sidesman and overseer of the poor. In April 1635 he sailed from London and helped to establish the colony of Hartford, Connecticut. He died in 1680. His brother Reynold emigrated to Connecticut in 1637. He too was married with eight children and he was clearly a well-to-do villager. The deaths of his servants appear regularly in the parish register and he was frequently a churchwarden or overseer of the poor. It is plain that these two men were not emigrants of historical fiction. Far from being needy or rebellious, they were men of substance who participated fully in church life.

Some of the factors which led to the emigration of the disaffected contributed also to the outbreak of Civil War in 1642. If the inhabitants of the village inclined to either the Royalist or the Parliamentary cause, it was probably the latter. The whole of East Anglia was staunchly anti-Royalist and in 1641 71 villagers signed the Protestation of support for Parliament. The authorities however had less reason to be pleased with Nicholas Lewes, the Vicar of Great Bentley at this time. In 1645 he was ejected on the charge that ‘he hath been often drunk and useth to sit in an ale-house seven or eight hours together, even on Lord’s Days; and affirmed that he hoped to see them all hanged that had set their hands against bishops and papists; and by his example the people spend the great part of the Lord’s Day in pastimes and drinking at the ale-houses; and hath expressed great malignancy against the Parliament’. One of Lewe’s successors, Thomas Beard, suffered from royalist reaction after the Restoration in 1660 and he too was ejected from his living, though he died in the village in 1662.

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