Parish News October 2020 Batcombe, Brewham and Upton Noble Page 1 MINISTRY TEAM Vicar - Alham Vale Benefice Revd Helen Drever 831053 Benefice mobile number 07949 181745 Readers Anne Sear 838843 Rob Sage 850934 Sue Deyes 831104 Rector - Bruton Vacancy The Blessed Virgin Mary, Batcombe Churchwardens Mr Nigel Humphreys Little Westcombe House, Westcombe 830091 Mr Peter Cowling Little Court, Gold Hill, Batcombe 850110 Secretary Vacancy Treasurer Mr Patrick Taylor The Old Post Office, Batcombe 850146 St John the Baptist, Brewham Churchwardens Mr David Cowie Street Farm, South Brewham 850524 Mrs Zena Dabinett Haven Farm, South Brewham 850441 Secretary Mrs Gloria Barber Colinshayes, South Brewham 812692 Treasurer Ms Celia Holland, 2, Forestry Cottages, North Brewham 850353 St Mary Magdalene, Upton Noble Churchwardens Brig. John Deverell The Manor House, Upton Noble 850688 Mr A. Faulkner Church House, Upton Noble 850172 Treasurer Mr J. M. M. Baker Lovell House, Upton Noble 850855 Secretary Mrs C. Halliwell Top Hill Farm House, Upton Noble 850766 Brewham belongs to the Benefice of Bruton Batcombe and Upton Noble belong to the Alham Vale Benefice The Alham Vale Administrator can be reached by email to Carol Searle [email protected] or Tel. 347823 The Bruton Office Jane Bennett, Plox House, Silver Street, Bruton, BA10 0ED (Wed - Thu 10am-12.30pm) Email:- [email protected] 813080 Baptist 11am Sunday, South Brewham Chapel, Hazel Gulliford. 850267 Methodist Rev. Craig Manley, Ansford, BA7 7PA, 01963 351598 and Rev Jill Warren, Frome 01373 462207 Roman Catholic Fr Louis Beasley-Suffolk, South St, Wincanton 01963 34408 e-mail: [email protected] Page 2 October's Party October gave a party, the leaves by hundreds came; The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, and leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, and everything was grand; Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band. ~ George Cooper The Blessed Virgin Mary, Batcombe St Mary Magdalene, Upton Noble St John the Baptist, Brewham Contents Page No • Priest’s letter 4 • Upton Noble 5 • Brewham 5 - 6 • Batcombe 7 - 11 • Service Rota & Readings 12-13 • Bishop’s letter 14 • Parish Pictures Centre Pages • Articles 18 - 20 • Local Services (Ads) 21 - 30 • Tel No’s (inside covers) 2 & 31 Welcome to the October edition of the Parish News. Please continue to submit articles, letters and photographs for possible inclusion. Please stay safe and take good care of yourselves. With all good wishes Audrey PLEASE SEND IN YOUR COPY BY 18th OF THE MONTH [email protected] Page 3 We welcome thoughts from our Vicar the Revd. Helen Drever October 2020 From the Vicar’s study… Harvest season is an important time in both the farming and church year. Now as the days are drawing in again, we celebrate the Harvest Home with Harvest festivals in churches across the county. The word ‘harvest’ comes from an Old English word hærfest meaning ‘autumn’, and the season for gathering in the food of the land. Historically the Harvest Home was a great village festival where everyone gathered to celebrate the fruits of their labour. Across Britain there are many ancient traditions to mark this time. In arable districts there would often be a grand procession to accompany the last wagon-load of corn carried in from the fields. Perhaps you know about some local Somerset customs, if so I would love to hear about them. When thinking about this month’s letter I came across a Victorian account taken from the Illustrated London News. It describes a harvest procession in a Berkshire village. The farm-wagon was decorated with plaited corn dollies and ribbons, escorted by a band playing music, and led by villagers carrying before them a brightly coloured Harvest Home banner. When the last wagon was safely in there would be a harvest supper shared by all the community, from the squire to farm-hands and milk maids. After supper there was dancing and merry-making, which I discovered was occasionally ‘riotous and taken to excess’. It was recorded in one parish in 1867 that the festivities became so raucous the festival was “taken in hand by the local clergyman’ and henceforth centred on a very sober service of thanksgiving in the parish church! Is it just me or does he sound a little austere? This year our own Harvest festivals will be quieter than usual too. Currently we are unable to sing hymns together during worship and our customary shared Harvest suppers, like so much else, have been put on hold. Yet the season of Covid will eventually pass, and Harvest time come again and again as it always has. Next year it is my hope that when it does, we will offer up not only our sober, prayerful thanksgiving to God, but a raft of joyful Harvest suppers, where we can celebrate not only the Harvest of the fields but the Harvest of our communities, our friendship and fellowship too. Page 4 UPTON NOBLE The residents of Upton Noble would like to say a big thank you to Brian Cooper for making a wonderful job of painting all our village signs. They look wonderful. Gerry Uhlein BREWHAM St John the Baptist Church Brewham 100 Club. - September draw winner was Rowena Seddon Ann Saxton St Johns held the first Sunday church service since the start of the Covid lockdown in March, on 13th September, and it was a great joy to have the church open again for regular worship and to welcome back so many parishioners. We hope to hold a service each second Sunday in the month for the time being. In August, Brewham PCC wrote to all households in the village explaining the financial difficulties being experienced by St Johns due to the long lockdown and asking for any contributions towards the continuing running costs. We are very pleased to say that many of you responded positively to this appeal and the PCC extend a very big “thank you” to everyone who contributed so generously. We are most grateful for all the help given which will make a big difference during these unprecedented times. The search for a new Rector for the Bruton Benefice continues in spite of the pandemic, and we all look forward to the time when conditions return to something closer to normal and regular activities can resume. Gloria Barber Page 5 We will be suspending our food collection initiative in Brewham and Upton Noble from 30th September 2020. Thank you for your extraordinary generosity. Your donations have been helping families and individuals in Bruton, Frome and Yeovil during the last few months who have suffered from the effects of COVID. We have noticed that demand for food and cleaning products has decreased recently, so we are suspending our collections until we hear that extra support is needed again. This may be in the winter months when furlough ends. Thank you again for all your help. Bruton Patient News - Seasonal flu vaccinations Flu clinics are now available to book for: • Children aged 2-3 years old • Children aged 6 months to 17 years with an ‘at risk’ condition • All patients aged 65 and over by 31 March 2021 • Patients aged 18 to 64 years with an ‘at risk’ condition. For patients aged 50-64, national guidance is to offer these vaccinations from November only. Attending Flu Clinics this year… Due to Covid-19, our flu clinics will be a little different this year. Please take note of the following guidance for ALL flu clinics to make clinics as smooth and safe as possible for all patients and staff: • wear a face covering and maintain social distance at all times • attend as close to your appointment time as possible • wear a short sleeved shirt/blouse/top to give easy access to the top of your arm. Be prepared to take your coat off while queuing • Park off site and walk to the practice. Parking at the practice will be limited to blue badge holders only for safety • Clinics may be in an outside shelter - please be prepared. We know that this year has been very unsettling for everyone. We aim for our flu clinics to be safe for everyone and to flow quickly to maintain social distance but we need the co-operation of everyone to do so. Thank you for supporting your local practice during the Flu Season. Jane Hobbs, Practice Manager Bruton Surgery Page 6 BATCOMBE The Blessed Virgin Mary Church Batcombe & District Horticultural Society The Garden in October With vibrantly coloured leaves, summer crops coming to an end, the threat of frost and the clocks going back, October is the true harbinger of seasonal change. As ever, the list of potential jobs is as long as your arm. This year, I plan to concentrate on some enormous perennials by digging them up and separating them using two forks. This’ll not only refresh the old plants but also leave me with others for the plant swap next May. Perennials can be cut back for the winter now, but while some plants should be cut back to avoid disease and pests, others need the protection their foliage provides for their crowns in the cold and wet and should be left until spring. Some plants can look blackened and untidy after the first frosts so there’s little point in leaving them up and it also makes it much easier to dig them up and divide. Others can be left standing all winter as not only do they provide food and protection for wildlife, but their shape and structure also look beautiful when touched by both sunlight and frost. If you’re unsure what an individual plant needs, you can always check at the RHS website.