March 2017 SPRING IS ON THE WAY! You may remember that in late 2015 members of the Gardening Club planted several hundred daffodil bulbs all round Battisford & Combs. This year we are hoping that villagers and visitors will enjoy an even bigger and better display. The picture , taken last year ,is the first showing of bulbs planted by the Memorial bench at the end of Tannery Road., overlooking Combs Church. DON’T MISS RITA’S CHARITY VILLAGE TEA PARTY IN BATTISFORD VILLAGE HALL IN AID OF ANTHONY NOLAN TRUST Sunday 12th March from 2pm. Details on page 6 1 Battisford Village Hall Management Committee Regular users of the village hall will know that during 2016 alterations and improvements have been carried out to keep the hall well maintained and an asset to the village. The works have included installing a projector and screen for all hall users, the replacement of the old kitchen with a brand new one and improvements to the Committee Room giving the Pre-School a much more secure storage facility. The next project in the upkeep of the hall is to look at the floor, most of which is the original school floor, this has to undergo continual maintenance to keep it looking good and fit for purpose. We are hoping along with fund raising events to secure grant aid to enable us to replace the flooring and joist structure beneath. To commence fund raising for these major works we held a Christmas Ball at Ringshall Village Hall, despite not getting quite the support we had hoped for the event was a great success and enjoyed by all who attended, and certainly put us all in the mood for Christmas. Pictures of the event can be seen on our website, along with details of future functions, hall hire charges, clubs and ‘what’s on at the Village Hall’ have a look and see if anything takes your fancy. Looking forward to 2017 we will have celebrated a belated Chinese New Year in February, have a fashion show planned in May and hopefully another race night in the summer, which proved a great success in 2016. If you have any ideas for events you would like to see held at the village hall or would like to join the committee please contact us at [email protected] Christmas Ball—dinner then dancing the night away! 2 Santa’s Village People Santa and his helpers with the sleigh were out again just before Christmas and raised a fantastic £1055 for this years designated charity -helping the families of local children with cancer. A big thank you to everyone who contributed, and also to the Punch Bowl for their hospitality. See you all next Christmas! Carol Wright. Carpet Bowls Apologies to the ‘carpet bowlers’ as I described their game as indoor bowls in the last edition of Barclif. Indoor bowls is basically a version of the outdoor game whereas carpet bowls is played on a shorter mat and with smaller bowls allowing it to be played in venues such as the Battisford Community Centre. Contact number under Hall listings: page 9 The Battisford Carpet Bowls Cub enjoy a game 3 BARCLIF DIRECTORY Battisford Preschool Local Information Battisford Preschool is an Ofsted registered provi- Parish Council Chairmen sion taking children from 2 -5 years. We are able to offer free places for 3 and 4 year olds. Battisford: Chris Knock: 07720387367. We operate Monday – Friday during term time of- Combs: Stuart Scarff: 01449 613489 fering morning sessions, lunch clubs and afternoon sessions. Lt Finborough: Paul Marriage: 01449 612815 For more information telephone Jo Rainbird - District Councillor 01449 612289 or 07540 645300. ( there is funding available for some 2 year olds dependent on David Whybrow :07799068926 your circumstances so please enquire for further information) County Councillor Julia Truelove : 01449 678 652 Doctors surgeries Bildeston Health Centre: 01449 720254 Combs Ford Surgery: 01449 678333 Needham Market Country Practice: 01449 720666 PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Combs Parish Council meets at 7.30pm on the 2nd Monday of every month with the AGM being on 15th May 2017 at 7pm. Battisford Parish Council meets every 6 weeks (next meeting Tues 21st Feb) with the AGM being on Tuesday 16th May 2017 at 7pm. All are welcome at any Parish Council meeting The Parish Councillors request that grass cuttings are not disposed of in road ditches. If the ditches are blocked it can cause flooding on the road. If you are unable to dispose of your grass cuttings in your garden you can apply to MSDC for a garden waste bin. (you will have to pay an annual fee) If you wish to contribute articles or photographs for the next Barclifnews please contact the editor, Anthea Howard, on 01449675161 or email [email protected] by 10th June 2017. If you are interested in advertising please contact the editor for details 4 St Mary’ s Church, Battisford With the last Barclif News coming out in early November 2016 there are many events to mention. We were both honoured and pleased that the Bishop of Dunwich, the Rt Revd. Dr. Mike Harrison came to take our Holy Communion Service on November 6th. After the service Bishop Mike went up the stairs to our Musicians’ Gallery. We talked to him about its construction in 1841 by William Reeve, a joiner, of Needham Market. On to December – the decision to move our Christmas Fayre to the Punchbowl on December 10th proved a success and we were pleased that a good number of people came to support us. Thank you to Luke and the Punchbowl for their hospitality. It has been our practice for several years to bring gifts to church for Lighthouse Women’s Refuge in Ipswich. These were brought to the services on 4th & 18th December and Caroline delivered them to the Refuge who were most appreciative. As usual we held our Christmas Eve Candlelit Carol Service – another joyous occasion. The Architects Quinquennial visit took place in December and we will soon receive his report on what we will need to raise for Church repairs. Monday April 3rd 7pm. Annual Parochial meeting will be held in the Church. All welcome. Services for 2017: 1st Sunday: Morning Prayers (occasionally Family Prayer) at 11am 2nd Sunday: Holy Communion at 11am 3rd Sunday (alternate months) Evening Service at 6pm with Revd Dan. (Feb 19th. April 16th (Easter Day) & June 18th) 4th Sunday: Service at Ringshall Church at 9am Please see details of our Giant book sale on page 12 View of St Mary’s Church taken from the Minstrel’s Gallery 5 Battisford Free Church Easter – What’s it all about? As a child, I loved Easter. What’s not to love? There was time off of school (always welcome!) and we got plenty of a chocolate eggs. Even now I’m still partial to a bag of mini eggs or even an Easter biscuit! In recent years Easter egg hunts, have become more popular. Um…and there was something about Jesus. Any of this sound familiar? I’m not going to condemn any tradition that results in family get togethers or a bit of a celebration, but per- haps there’s a better way. I realise now that the Easter celebration I grew up with was all about me: my stash of eggs, my fun. I went to church, because that’s what my family did, but it was something to get through before I got Chocolate! You know today, Easter is still all about me…at least that’s what Jesus would say. He lived in our challenging, abusive, hurt-filled world for me. He died a brutal death, at the hands of hateful people for me. He defeated death and lives on, for me. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus was the once for all sacrifice for the sins of all who would believe in Him. At the end of the day that’s the true message of Easter, it’s all about what Jesus did for me……and you! Could you spend some time reflecting on God’s eternal expression of love that oc- curred at that very first Easter? You may hear us playing and singing Easter songs around the village on Good Friday. Why not join us for as service on Easter Sunday at 10.45 or 6.30. Have a great Easter Pastor Iain COFFEE & CHAT AT THE FREE CHURCH Do you enjoy meeting with others? If so why not come and spend time at with us and others from the locality for a cup of tea or coffee. Alongside the tea and coffee there is an optional paper quiz to fill in and a time to chat. The morning session is from 10.00 – 12.00 on the last Wednesday of each month. Charity Vintage Afternoon Tea Party All proceeds will be donated to the Anthony Nolan Trust for bone marrow research Sunday 12th March 2017, from 2pm, at Battisford Community Centre, £5 per person To reserve a place please rsvp by 8th March to Rita on 01449 677263 or 07747679550 PLEASE TRY TO COME AND SUPPORT THIS WONDERFUL CHARITY AND ENJOY A DELICIOUS TEA It is a Charity close to Rita’s family’s heart. If you can’t come to the tea party but still wish to donate please contact Rita on the numbers above 6 From the Parishes of Combs & Little Finborough We are delighted that our Church School – Trinity, in Lavenham Way, has received an OUTSTANDING grading from the National Inspectorate of Church Schools.