ST MARY's and EASTHAM COMMUNITY
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ST MARY’S and EASTHAM COMMUNITY June 2020 Eastham Larder bags.... Are available to any who would like them - For yourselves or for a neighbour? Donations have come from Eastham Matters members on Facebook, Cereal Planters in Bromborough, Bookers Wholesalers (with Rob and Tracey Hardman...thank you!), The One Stop Shop, Asda and so many others,,,Thank you all. Many thanks also to the three Eastham councillors for their generous financial support from their allocation of Council’s funds. Beth and Jean (Beth: 0151 327 2182; [email protected]; Jean 0151 327 3317) Hello! If you are self-isolating, we can help? St Mary’s Eastham has volunteers who can help people in a variety of ways if they are self-isolating because of the Corona Virus. We can; Bring food to you… I have much food for people, just ring! You don’t need to be ‘eligible’ in any way. Pick up shopping Post Mail A friendly phone call Or urgent supplies Just ring Beth on 0151 327 2182 for food etc Or Jean Cullen on 327 3317 for everything else… Coronavirus is contagious. Please try and spread only kindness! Wash hands regularly. Avoid physical contact (2m) distance. All items will be left on your doorstep. 2 Dearest Eastham! Well, what a difficult month most of us have had. If you are reading this and you have enjoyed the Lockdown in any way, and I know for some it has been a real time of resting and recovering from the hectic lifestyles we have had, I have to admit to envying you! I am hoping that, before the churches open up again, there will be some garden time for me too! For others though..it has seemed a bit of a hoax, stuck at home, the world seem- ingly slowing around you and nothing much happening. But long days can lead to long and sometimes difficult thoughts, can’t they? For others, sheer frustration and annoyance. And to be honest with you (don’t tell anyone though), I think I have reached the last one! But, for all of us, it is such an unsettling time, and many are fearful and worried about so much. Here in Eastham though, people all look after each other in such a wonderful way and we have seen so much of that. Community is a strong thread running through this place and I have seen it as each day I have delivered, waved, shared jokes and love and laughter. Now we are beginning to ease off a little on our restrictions and I was thinking… how shall we celebrate when all this is over? Eastham needs to celebrate later on…..a picnic in the park, something on the play- ing fields? Whatever and whenever we can do that safely …. we will, but if you have any ideas …. just let me know! There is a different format to this month’s magazine…more community than Church mag…so I hope you will enjoy it and know it comes to you with love. Much love and prayers at this time, Beth x 3 Winnie the Pooh quotes for Lockdown thoughts! By Beth 1. “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.- Christopher Robin Lockdown has made us dig deep and grow strong- er. We are warriors not victims…we are resilient! 2. “A hug is always the right size.”- Winnie the Pooh Oh for a hug! Lockdown has made us all realise how special touch is…and a hug is so special. 3. “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”- Win- nie the Pooh We have learnt to treasure the smallest things we may have taken for granted. 4. “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” - Winnie the Pooh Why is it that our days go slowly but time passes quickly in Lock- down? 5. “The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is, I’m the only one.”- Tigger . “The things that make me different are the things that make me. Piglet Each one of us is uniquely made by God’s hands. Like a snowflake or fingerprint, we have our own special DNA..no one else is created like us. We need to remem- ber how much we are loved when all this is over! 6. “Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.” - Winnie the Pooh Lockdown has released acts of kindnesses, of care, of support, encouragement and hope globally and as such, it is lessening the force of the Co- rona Virus and yes…it is called Love. 7. “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”- Winnie the Pooh We all need something precious we want to hold on to and never let it go..faith, joy, love, a loved one..they all count in so many ways..what is your most precious thing? 9 4 9. "A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left in- side."- Winnie the Pooh It’s only in the last few years I have realised how wonderful friends are! I am a very shy, introverted person who loves her own company but this Lockdown I know Pooh is exactly right! 10. “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I have been.” - Winnie the Pooh And we will, by walking away, or being locked out of our ‘normal’ ways of living, have a new chance to make some new ways of being if we want, and we will get there. Pooh is right again, we always have to leave something to arrive somewhere……never though of it like that. "A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference."- Ee- yore …Eastham has come together so tightly, supporting and loving and just being there for each other..I know, as I have put food, DVD’s, girlie mags, Peoples Friends (!), gardening and wildlife mags, bags of treats for lonely/elderly people and have got in return, smiles, waves, stories and a wonderful sense of camaraderie. 12. “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” - Winnie the Pooh We will get there some day, but like a river, we may meander a bit, but we do not need to get there too quickly.. SO! Pooh, Tigger and Eyore are self isolating in Pooh’s home…honey is being delivered, Tigger’s prescription processed on time and Eyeore’s rubbish collected.. Stay safe…till we meet properly again! Bethxx St Mary’s Parish Church Eastham Village Come and see our beautiful graveyard at St Mary’s A dedicated group of many wonderful people have worked so hard to create such a beautiful space for us to enjoy this spring and beyond! A guided tour of the churchyard itself, produced by David Allan, will be available on laminated sheets in the summer for people who want to wander and marvel. Open from light till night. It looks brilliant, thank you for all the team, out cleaning and mowing as well at this time For Chris Arlene and Alan for help in the graveyard, outside of course this year! Beth x 5 Possible Future Events (Virus permitting) Thursday, 2nd July 2.30 p.m. Tai Chi at the Church Centre. Saturday, 4th July 10 a.m. Bring and Buy Plant Sale at the Church Centre Sunday, 26th July 11 a.m. J4U at the Parish Church. 6.30 p.m. Memorial Service at the Parish Church. Mondays & Thursdays in August (apart from 31st August) 11 a.m. Munch Club at the Church Centre. Sunday, 23rd August 11 a.m. J4U at the Parish Church. Note: The planned VE day celebrations and the Pet Memorial Service will take place later in the year. The Parish luncheon is cancelled Dandelions! Many of us actually like dandelions. Their amazingly cheerful colour always brings a smile to our faces. The not-so-neat-and-tidy gardeners among us can simply en- joy flowers where they grow. The name 'dandelion' apparently derives from 'dent de lion' – lions' teeth, owing to the tooth-like shape of its leaves. There are many different varieties of dandeli- on, but they all have the toothed leaves arranged in a rosette around the single flowers, each one made up of up to two hundred [yes, really!] tiny florets on a smooth stem, that when picked, releases a milky substance known as latex. The golden heads, which close up at night, in wet weather, or if picked to go in a vase, give way to the seed-heads we all know as clocks. Who can’t remember telling the time as a child, having blown the seeds away, counting each breath as an hour? And who, if this happened in the garden, remembers the reaction of a parent, or grandparent, as we blew the seeds all over the vegetable patch or flower bed! In the past, dandelion drinks and concoctions have been valued for their medicinal powers in combating a variety of complaints, and the Victorians used to cultivate them in order to fill sandwiches with the young leaves. Fizzy drinks manufacturers still produce a variety known as Dandelion and Bur- dock, and intrepid wine-makers can use the flowers to concoct a heady brew. The roots, some say, can be dried and ground up for use as a coffee substitute. It is those same roots, long and strong, that our grandmothers would water careful- ly, to the amusement of onlookers, in order to pull them up completely.