THE WELL Kemsing Village Magazine with news from Woodlands

Autumn 2 020 Numb e r 219

CONTENTS - The Well—Autumn 2020 No 219

Vicar’s Letter 3 Every Step Counts 14

Visitor to Kemsing 4 Hedgehog Stories 15

Mary Quenby—the best of times… 4 Trevor Harding—Harding Motors 16

Church contacts and services 5 Kemsing Festival 2021 17

Otford & Kemsing Surgeries 6 Kemsing Heritage Centre 17

The Grass Snake 7 Poem by John Horton 18

PCC News 8 Kemsing Cricket Clib 19

St Mary’s, Kemsing, Church Hall 9 Sculptures by schoolchildren 20

Kemsing WI 10 More news from Kemsing School 21

Children’s stories 11 Family milestones 22

Kemsing School Report 12/13 News from village organisations 23

Editorial Team:- Doreen Farrow, Janet Eaton & Rosemary Banister Advertisement Editor—John Farrow We reserve the right to edit [i.e. cut, précis, alter, correct grammar or spelling] any item published, and our decision is final. Cover photograph shows a Swallowtail Butterfly Photograph by Nigel Stapley

COPY FOR NEXT ISSUE by 1st November 2020

Please submit any items or articles for the next issue of The Well before then.

THE WELL - is published and distributed free, four times a year by the Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Church, Kemsing and St Mary’s Church, Woodlands, to encourage and stimulate the life of the community. The views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily represent official church opinion or policy.

If you use a computer to type your article, it would be extremely helpful if you could Email it to: [email protected] or send to the Editors c/o Poppies Cottage, 3 St. Edith’s Road, Kemsing, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 6PT.

For postal subscriptions, contact Debby Pierson—01732 762033

2 icar’s Letter

V Dear Friends Just now, I looked back at the letter I wrote in the spring edition of The Well. Here’s part of it: “As I write, we’re in the middle of panic about the spread of a particular coronavirus, COVID-19, which started in Wuhan, China, and has now spread around the world. Chinese factories are suspending manufacture of items we take for granted in the West; financial markets have had several days with dramatic falls; British travellers abroad are being repatriated and quarantined. This coronavirus has killed 2,500 people worldwide so far, and appears unchecked. … I sincerely hope that, by the time you read this, all this will sound dated. Hopefully there will be a vaccine to cure COVID-19, another to immunise against it, infection rates will be down, and this will be well on the way to being forgotten.” Well, that does indeed seem dated, but not in a good way. The worldwide death toll is now 851,512, making 2,500 seem quaintly old fashioned. This is one occasion when it’s OK to long for “the good old days”. Happily, progress is being made on testing, vaccination, and cures for the symptoms that kill. Schools are returning, businesses are operating and we’re finding our way through. None of that mutes the chaos and grief, or brings back those who died. And the feelings of powerlessness and fear are still very much with us. Our nation has a long Christian heritage. Reforms in education, healthcare, prison welfare, slavery and the workplace have been driven with Christians at the forefront. In recent years, we’ve sought to enjoy these fruits of the Christian faith, but without the faith of those who worked so hard to secure them. We need the Christian faith on which our society is built more than ever. Christianity is the only religion to celebrate the death of its founder, the only religion to have a God who became human and suffered as one of us. The Christian faith is also centred around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It is not a philosophy, a set of ideas to prop you up in life. It is placing our lives in the hands of the one who conquered the one enemy we cannot control, our death, by going through it himself. Let me encourage us all, in these painful and anxious times, to turn somewhere solid for help. If we in the church can help, we’d love to. You’ll find us meeting in church, on YouTube, and most Sundays in both ways. With every blessing! Your friend and vicar,

James Oakley

Cover picture is by Nigel Stapley, who wrote on 18th August: “Last Monday my wife Val called out that there’s a rather large butterfly fluttering on our Buddleia bush, so I grabbed my phone and went outside, and my heart missed a beat, as it’s a butterfly that’s on my bucket list, and I thought I would have to visit the Norfolk Broads to see it (and that’s not guaranteed) and, blow me, it’s visited me ... I took lots of photos of it but, as my hands were shaking, the rest of the photos were blurry ... I was feeling very happy and reckoned I must have been the happiest person down Castle Drive, even Kemsing!” “

It “was the best of time and it was the worst of times”, ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Charles Dickens The wonderful acts of kindness shown to each other “the best of times” go beyond the sadness and fear. “The worst of times.” My little mobile ‘phone is my life line with my family. It went wrong and a sign came up saying “insert SIM card” I was at a loss. So, we went to the tiny shop in Sevenoaks High Street where I purchased it. Not a single person in the High Street—all the shops were closed . The shop we wanted was boarded up but a notice on the door gave a telephone number which we called. The man said just open it and replace the SIM card. We do not know how to do that. The man replied wait there and I will be there in 5-10 minutes, and he was, He fixed the phone (at a safe distance). I said ‘that was so kind of you’. He said, ‘I remember you, and I understand how important it is for you, I am pleased to help’. “The very best of times.” Mary Quenby

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PARISH CHURCHES OF KEMSING & WOODLANDS www.kemsingandwoodlands.org

Vicar Rev. James Oakley 01732 762556 Wardens Ray Parton 01732 764132 Trevor Mallinson 01959 524725 Church Office Anita Connelly 01732 761351 Readers Mary Quenby 01959 522079 Philip Walker 01732 761646 Ruth Mason 01959 524486

See below for ways to still get in touch and join in the Sunday Service online, or watch later

St Mary’s, Kemsing There will be two (nearly) identical services at 9.30am and 11.00am on Sunday mornings. Due to the current restrictions of the number of people permitted to attend public worship, those who wish to attend either of these services will need to book in advance. Bookings are usually available from 9am on the Tuesday before the Sunday on which you wish to attend. Look on the church website for a link: www.kemsingandwoodlands.org or go direct to: kmwd.org/tickets. If you book too many, or wish to cancel, then rebook with different seats, the link is: kmwd.org/change-tickets. If you are coming as a family group, please book every seat in the pew in which you wish to sit. Please remember to enter your phone number. There will be an online livestream of a recording of one of the morning services at 4pm. The above arrangements may change at any time, so please check on the church website beforehand. Our Food Bank collection is on the 1st Sunday of the month but, instead of bringing food to the Church, please leave it in the enclosed porch of 23 Park Lane, any time from midday on that Sunday until 5pm on the following Wednesday.

St Mary’s, Woodlands For the time being, sadly the Church will remain closed.

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OTFORD AND KEMSING SURGERIES Still here (not just for Coronavirus)

Don’t be nervous about contacting the Surgery with any health problems. Phone 01959 523929 to book a telephone Appointment or Video Consultation or your Doctor may suggest a Face to Face Consultation. Nurse treatments continue at Kemsing Surgery such as wound dressings and Warfarin tests NOTE: You must pre-book an Appointment—please don’t just turn up at the Surgery. Issued by Otford PPG for Otford Medical Practice

Flu Jabs At the time of writing this issue, it is understood that the Surgery ‘s provisional clinics are Saturdays, 3rd and 17th October 2020. These will be held at Otford Village Hall to aid with social distancing. Vaccinations are in order of priority, e.g. for those at ‘high risk’ and ‘shielding’ first. Please DO NOT ring the Surgery to book an appointment—you will be sent a letter with an appointment date and time.

6 THE KEMSING ‘SNAKE’

T he idea of asking children in the village to colour a ‘snake’ line of pebbles was a great way to occupy them, and to make a focus for many afternoon walks. With the end of lockdown, it seemed really sad to let this hard work go to waste, so the Heritage Centre Association has agreed to take on the project of finding a permanent home for it. No final decision about location has yet been made, but hopefully by the time the next edition of The Well is issued, there will be more details.

7 PARISH OF KEMSING & WOODLANDS Charity No.1131431 PCC Secretary: Mrs Rosemary Banister, Poppies Cottage, 3 St Edith’s Road, Kemsing TN15 6PT Tel: 01732 762965

Those of us who have been able to take a walk past the site of the new Church Hall will have seen what almost looks like a finished building—but sadly, this is not the case by any means.

The exterior, with its oak shingled roof, and oak cladding looks in complete keeping with the church adjacent to it, but all that long- lasting material cost a great deal, and the fact remains that there is very little money in the Church Hall Fund now to carry on and finish the interior work.

Our fundraising activities, like everyone else’s, had to be cancelled this year, and applications to the various trusts which usually make generous grants have also dried up.

Work ceased during August, as the builders needed a break, and were also waiting to see what more they could do with the money available.

The usual regular income from those attending church services was greatly reduced, although the PCC is very grateful to those who have managed to keep up contributions through online banking and monthly pledges. The latter are helping to make sure the PCC can repay a loan from the Diocese over the next 4 years, should that be approved. Even so, that will be insufficient to make the hall usable in the foreseeable future.

Ways of giving for the Hall are given on the opposite page, and any contribution, however small, would be most appreciated.

The Fundraising Committee is producing a “Kemsing Cook Book” which will be on sale from November, cost £5. Recipes have been kindly given by some of our friends, and the printing and artwork is being done by members of our group. Please do buy one!

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St Mary’s, Kemsing, Church Hall

This east-facing view shows the entrance porch under construction Although the building is watertight, with windows and doors, there is not enough money to complete the interior fixtures and fittings, as all fundraising events have had to be postponed during the lockdown. To donate, you can either send a cheque payable to: ‘St Mary the Virgin PCC, Kemsing’ to: Rosemary Banister, PCC Secretary, 3 St Edith’s Road, Kemsing, Kent TN15 6PT Or pay by BACS, to the PCC’s CAF Bank: Account no. 00012841, sort code 40-52-40. Any donation can also be increased if gift-aided. Another way of helping to support any loan which the PCC will have to take out is to pledge a monthly amount which can also be gift-aided. To do this, you can set up a standing order with your own bank to pay into the CAF bank account above. New: See a video of the old and new halls: kmwd.org/hall-video

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Kemsing Evening WI n common with all other organisa- I tions, we have been advised that we are not allowed to meet for the foreseeable future. Luckily, before this edict was issued, we managed to have a garden Tea Party at The Keep on 2nd September. This was a marvel- lous afternoon, with 28 of our members able to get together and meet one another for the first time since March. Everyone enjoyed themselves, as you can see from these photographs. Even the weather was kind to us. So for now, and certainly until after Christmas, we are unable to meet face to face. However, we are keeping in touch with our mem- bers by telephone, newsletter and Zoom where possible. The NFWI are running online courses which as members we are able to access. At present they are running about 20 courses a week at various times, and members can join them at a nominal cost. Don’t let the virus win!

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Lockdown, as our children saw it n the summer edition of The Well we featured the ‘Positive Aspects’ of I ‘lockdown’ from our residents’ point of view. We felt it would be interesting to learn how our children felt about the situation. Below are comments from children of various ages.

The good things about lockdown were spending time with my family and not rushing around. The bad things about lockdown were not seeing my friends and staying at home a lot. Jacob aged 11

The best things about lockdown were, in the beginning it was like one mega long weekend where I got to spend time with my family, especially my baby brother. Learning new skills like riding a bike, tying my shoelaces, planting, jam making, cooking and baking. The worst were missing my friends and school. Jasmine aged 8

The best things about lockdown were seeing Mummy, Daddy, and my baby brother more and playing outside in the garden whenever we wanted. The worst things were missing my friends, and theatre and football clubs. Lochlan aged 6

What I enjoyed in lockdown; were playing with my toys and riding my bike on the road as there wasn’t much traffic. Matthew age 8.

I haven’t really been in lockdown because my Mum works in the NHS so I‘ve been going to school. I’ve missed my friends as I was in a Key worker group which didn’t have any others from my class. Overall I’ve really enjoyed going to school. I think I’ve been lucky as some of my friends really missed it. Milly aged 11

Playing in the garden lots was what I liked best. Mya aged 3

Lockdown was a big struggle without seeing any of my friends or my family. Home school was different but good. We went for walks every day and chatted to friends and family over the phone and internet. We did family quiz nights on Zoom which was so much fun and very funny. I did a lot of dancing during lockdown with lessons also on Zoom, and that was fun. But it’s better to be back at school. Livvy K aged 10

I played a lot of football in the garden with my brother and Dad and went for walks, but I missed paying matches and seeing my friends a lot. Teddy K aged 8

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KEMSING PRIMARY SCHOOL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC

hen I first took up post just two years ago in September 2018, none of us W could have imagined what was in store for us all some eighteen months later. Looking back on the period between March and July with the benefit of hindsight, it has been the most volatile and fast changing rollercoaster ride one could possibly imagine. Even as late as February and early March, conversations were focused on ‘if’ it might come to pass that there would be some form of lockdown, but not ‘when’ or that the outcome was inevitable. It seems incredible that in the third week of March, this was not clear to everyone – but it really was not – only with hindsight does that certainty descend. And the greatest difficulty comes from the lack of certainty – making assured decisions only comes from the benefit of experience of the outcomes of similar such decisions. No-one had experience of how to continue society during a global pandemic, therefore, we were making the best decisions we could, but without the usual assured confidence that would come from senior leaders with experience of their field. With two days notice in March, we were told to close the school and to open up a provision for childcare of keyworker and vulnerable children only. As a nation, we were advised to only leave the house if absolutely necessary. We identified approximately 60 children who may fit this criteria. By the time we opened this childcare on the Monday morning, there were just under twenty children requiring a place. Some staff came into school on a rota and had to balance this with setting work online for the majority of our children who had to remain at home. Some staff had to shield to protect themselves or family members. As in wider society, people overnight, had to juggle multiple new roles – face to face work, virtual work, childcare, care of elderly relatives who could no longer go out..etc. This brought a great deal of guilt as people were pulled in so many directions and spread so thinly, that it became very difficult to do any single thing well. One member of staff was unable to meet her first grand child until he was six weeks old, due to her commitments leaving the house during lockdown to come into school. Over April and early May this childcare group continued in school with varying numbers. Some of the work produced both by the children in school and those completing school work and other interests at home was spellbinding. You may wish to take a moment to view some of what was undertaken at this time here on our school website https://www.kemsing.kent.sch.uk/23rd-march-2020- onwards/.

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KEMSING PRIMARY SCHOOL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC

As we moved towards June, we managed to successfully re-open the school for 36 children initially, rising to 72 children from mid-June onwards. A huge amount of work from my whole staff team went into the preparation for a wider reopening and this was all very rewarding when plans were executed really effectively and we managed to keep our various groups of children safe, happy, socialised but apart from all other groups in self contained ‘bubbles’ who each had their own classroom, play space, routes around the school and toilet to use. Term ended in July on a real high note as we managed to host a lovely, socially distanced, outdoor assembly to send off our Year 6 leavers. Awards were presented and emotional videos shown. To see the whole class together again for the first time since March and for the final time, brought a real mixture of emotions for all present. And then to opening for the whole school in September – once again a huge amount of reading guidance, interpreting, consulting, deciding and preparing took place in late July and over the summer holidays. We again operate with bubbles – this time they are the size of a whole class, but they exist in their own classroom and play space that is at all times more than 2 metres away from children in other bubbles. Classrooms would look familiar to older readers now as most of the children are all sat in rows facing the front of the room to prevent risks associated with spending prolonged periods opposite each other, sat in groups. It has been a joy to have a full up and vibrant school once again. The children have shown wonderful resilience and adaptability in the adopting of a whole new way of working and being in school. The astounding creativity shown over the lockdown period has continued. Whilst children may not have made even paced progress in all areas of their learning during school closure, it is apparent that a great many children have honed certain skills well in excess of where they would otherwise have reached during normal times – children returning to school with computer-like speed for their tables recall and children creating the most fabulous sculptures made from an array of natural materials found on the school field during their free play time (See page 21 for photos). It is almost as though the children are now more observant as to the possibilities of things that might be useful in a work of art than they ever were before. (Continued on Page 21)

13 EVERY STEP COUNTS

Every Step Counts is a gentle, supportive walking group based in the Sevenoaks area. These free, well-being walks are for people who would like to get outside, chat and meet new people at the same time as improving or maintaining their fitness. Our group walks are led by friendly, specially trained volunteers who are on hand to provide encouragement and support, and make sure no one gets left behind. Walks are specifically for those who are less active, the length and the speed of the walk will vary to accommodate walkers' differing abilities and needs. Walking, talking and sharing stories is particularly important at the moment. We have been able to restart most of our walks under the current guidelines, maintaining physical distancing. All our walks have been risk assessed for the present Covid19 guidelines, but as a result we have not been able to restart the Riverhead walk or Hartley walk at the moment. There are at present 6 established wellbeing walks around Sevenoaks district:

 Chipstead – every Thursday at 10am opposite the Bricklayers Arms, Chevening Road

 Otford – every Wednesday at 10am at the High Street car park by the Memorial Hall

 Swanley- Thursdays at 10 am at Swanley Park, meet opposite the Cafe

 West Kingsdown Wednesdays at 10:30 am at the West Kingsdown Pavillion off London Road

 Greatness recreation ground in Sevenoaks. Thursdays at 2pm, meet in the carpark in Mill Lane

 Kemsing. Meets at the Village Car Park at 10.30am every Friday At present we’re walking through the Churchyard and up through the Common Field Recreation Ground. This is a gentle walk. Coffee is provided in ‘The Bell’ garden at about 11am.

If you’d like to know more you can e-mail us at [email protected] Or visit our facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/everystepcountsgentle. You can see more details of all of our walks, there are plenty to choose from on the Walking for Health website www.walkingforhealth.org.uk

14 HEDGEHOG STORIES

Jim and Hilary Curtis sent this photograph of a hedgehog which they encountered in their garden in Montfort Road last Octo- ber. As it was during the day, they were con- cerned that he was distressed or injured so they gave him some cat food and water and immediately ordered a hedgehog house which they sited under their vege- table box with a waterproof cover. Fast forward to April this year and, having hibernated in his house, ‘Hedgy’ comes every evening for food and water, some- times alone and sometimes with a friend!

phone call followed by two prickly arrivals in my garden this May caused a chal- A lenge—to provide a secure pen for two young orphan hedgehogs! My garden was to be a foster home as they acclimatised to the sights and smells of the locality, having spent the winter and spring being cared for by a wildlife charity. I had my hedgehog box ready for them to move in, plus the meaty (not fishy) pet food, hog munchies and a bowl of water. It was lovely to see them emerge at dusk and explore the pen. They were supposed to stay with me for at least a week, but being wild animals, after a couple of nights they followed their instincts and escaped! Sadly I didn’t see them again. Over the last couple of months I’ve had reports of hedgehogs further down The Landway, so it seems a small population of hogs is resident there. The best we can all do for them is to regularly leave bowls of clean water in various places on the ground in our gardens (also appreciated by frogs) . Allow them to safely move between gardens avoiding the danger of roads by leaving a small 10cm hole in any fence or wall. They can squeeze through small holes and also climb so I found out with mine! The hot dry weather is proving very chal- lenging for wild animals and any hedgehog found in daytime may be poorly, or very hungry or thirsty. You can get advice from Folly Wildlife Hospital in Tunbridge Wells. It can be so rewarding having a hedgehog who chooses to stay in your garden! Caroline Copleston

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TREVOR HARDING—LEAVING NOAH’S ARK

After 26 years, Trevor Harding of Harding Motors is leaving Noah’s Ark. Trevor and his dad Ron bought the garage from Les Garrett in 1984, and have been there ever since.

Trevor is well know in Kemsing for his good service, picking up and returning cars to the less able and taking an active part in the community, even turning on the Christmas Lights at NARA’s 20 year anniversary Christmas event. Fortunately Trevor is not moving far.

He thanks everyone for their loyal custom over the years, and hopes that they will follow him to his new address in Church Lane, Seal.

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KEMSING FESTIVAL 2021

In 1961, it was decided that the village should mark the 1,000 anniversary of the death of St Edith, by holding a village festival. The event was such a success that one has been held every 10 years since. All have been held in the middle two weeks of September and have involved everyone in the village from the children at Kemsing School, to the organisations for older people, all putting on an event. Planning for the Festival usually starts in March of the year before, but of course, this year has had to be postponed, firstly because of the pandemic and secondly because no one had volunteered to run it. So if you are keen to involve the village in a very special event, please contact the Parish Clerk, Yolanda Tredoux on [email protected]. Advice (and a very thick file) is available from those who have run the Festival before, and many pictures and videos are held in the Heritage Centre. Please do consider whether you could possibly volunteer to help. Last time, the event was run by a very small team of about 4 people, so it does not have to be a massive organisation. Think about it and see whether you could be one of the people needed. It would be a shame after 6 very successful events if it did not happen in 2021!

Kemsing Heritage Centre In common with all other village organisations, we are unable to meet for the foreseeable future for our monthly talks and our outings. However, if anyone would like to access the archives, then the Heritage Centre will be accessible on some Monday mornings, by prior appointment, Please telephone Erica Cole on 01732 761772 for more details. It is hoped that by the time the An- nual Meeting is due to take place next February, we will be able to start our usual talks and outings again, although Government restrictions may make this impossible.

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Upon the Downs

Over the Downs and far away To relieve the pressures that life brings every day

To see the frosty misty fields Washed by dew, rain and haze Where trees stand like statues And sheep and cattle graze

There one can hear birds singing Even the familiar cry of raven or rook Maybe the sound of water Trickling by over stones in a brook

Suddenly the view is shadowed by a passing cloud As nature’s beauty is hidden in a darkened shroud

Blue skies return once more Warmed by the sun To cheer one and all Soon my day on the Downs will end Then twilight will fall

John Horton

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Kemsing Cricket Club members gladly welcomed Boris’s lifting of restrictions, enabling matches to take place. Although it is a bit different, with no changing facilities to be used or tea provided (which does make life a lot easier, to be honest!), matches have taken place without issue, including compulsory ball cleaning and hand sanitisation every 6 overs. Three friendly matches were played, after which a one-off regional competition started, quickly created by the brilliant Kent County Village League, for those clubs who wanted to take part. Kemsing had the better of the first game at Hadlow CC, with Skipper Grahame Wood taking 6-15, including a hat- trick, before the match was abandoned due to rain. We are top of our mini league after the one game! Things will have progressed by the time you read this, but with some new players joining the Club, the playing strength is very good and we hope to do well in this competition. Our junior section is also up and running, with leagues already started and some very keen young players doing some good things! Coaching takes place twice a week and it is all very busy with players from age 5 to 15. If you want to play adult cricket on Saturday or Sunday, please contact me, Roger Shaddock, on [email protected]. If you have a youngster who wants to try out or play cricket, please contact Head Coach, Pierre Smit on [email protected]. Roger Shaddock

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KEMSING PRIMARY SCHOOL THROUGH THE PANDEMIC Continued from Page 12 And to the present day where we take every step we can to keep this virus away from our school so that we can continue our steep upward trajectory we have been on throughout September. It has been great attempting to get back to something resembling a kind of normal once again - for long may it continue. Without the tremendous support we have enjoyed from children, staff, parents and governors none of this would have been possible. We look to the future with optimism, united by having jointly navigated the stormiest seas as a team together. Andrew Kilbride—Headteacher

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Deaths Yvonne SULLIVAN (88) on 21st June Linda BAILEY (77) on 20th June Peter BOYD-BARRETT on 16th July James MORTON-ROBERTSON (82) July Jean HAYNES (89) on 14th July Anne FOX BASSETT (82) on 4th August Nancy CARTER (94) on 24th August

From “The Well” Autumn 1970 The Editor (Vic Bowden) contributed an update on Shorehill which had become Hildenborough Hall. The owner (Tom Rees) had before purchasing Shorehill worked in the parish of St Nicholas in Sevenoaks but earlier in 1970 he had sadly died. His son, Justyn, will continue his work and the house will now become a Conference and Retreat Centre. The Church had sadly lost its crosses which were near the font. After examination by a specialist (Mrs Eve Baker) they were unable to be restored and so disappeared under a coat of lime wash. The PCC decided that the price of ‘The Well” should be 5p so that collectors could ask for a year’s subscription of 20p (which only meant one coin). Montague Norman, then the Governor of the Bank of England had been told to “Buzz off|” by a policeman when he was inspecting a bomb crater in wartime London. From “The Well” Autumn 1995 Ted Cowlard and Hilary Kendall gave appreciations of Frances Heddle who had just died. He mentioned that she had led a very full and active life. Martyn Berry and Jane Hogg contributed memories of Chris Lane who had recently died and with her husband Ian had become a common sight on their bicycle around the village until she became incapacitated with her illness. Kath Richardson wrote about the Funfair which had come to Kemsing twice a year in “Edwards Field’ opposite Dippers Close (the fair later set up in a field near Wulfred Way.

22 NEWS FROM VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS

St Edith Club

This members club in St. Edith Hall, has now opened again after being shut for 4 months. At present the Club is open on Friday from 17.00 to 22.00*, Saturday, from 15.00 to 22.00*, Sunday from 12.00 to 22.00* and Monday from 17.00 to 22.00* only. (*Government Regulations on closure) Social distancing measures are in place, and are easy to follow. The Meat raffle will be held on Friday and Sundays as usual. Please do support your village club. St Edith Hall The Hall is now open again and taking bookings. Social distancing rules will be issued with all booking forms and should be followed. Anyone coming to the Hall for the first time since lockdown, will be amazed at the transformation. The Small Hall been completely refurbished, with new flooring, new ceiling and repainted. The Large Hall has also been painted and has new curtains. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Hall Management committee who spent so much of their time in lockdown ensuring that when the Hall did re open it would be worthy of the Village. All bookings should be made via email [email protected]. Please bear in mind that because of Covid-19 restrictions, the capacity of each Hall has been much reduced. St Mary’s Craft Group

The Craft Group is unable to meet at the moment as the Library is not open. However, group members have continued to knit and crochet adult garments for The Queen Mother’s Charity, which then donates the items to various organisations including the homeless as well as other similar causes. Anyone who would like to help by kitting or crocheting items, please contact Jane Webb at: [email protected] or tel.01959 522256.

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AUTUMN ON THE BEAUTIFUL COMMON FIELD

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