Living Villages February 2014 Stibbington, Sutton, Wansford, Water Newton & Thornhaugh S K CONTRACTS Award Winning Builders & Carpenters Winner LABC 2009 Awards Family run business offering high quality workmanship and customer satisfaction with over 33 years of experience. • New House Builds • Commercial Conversions • Domestic Extensions • Loft Conversions • Stone Property Renovations • On Site Joinery • Orangeries • Conservatories 6 Old North Road, Wansford, Peterborough PE8 6LB Tel: 07970 700767 [email protected] www.skbuildersandcarpenters.co.uk 2 EDITORIAL CONTENTS For our front cover image, thank you to Philip Robinson for capturing so effectively a beautiful Contacts . 4 wintry sunset over Water Newton church. Worship lists . 5 With Christmas now well and truly a distant memory, Reflections . 7 there is, not surprisingly, less news from our churches this month, though a new initiative at News reports: Wansford is worthy of mention: With the new pattern Friends of Wansford of services now in place, the first of the monthly & Thornhaugh . 9 Family Services will be taking place on Sunday 2 Horticultural . 11 February at 4pm. What child could resist the WI . 13 invitation to come along to search for buried Communicare .15, 18 treasure? (see page 9) Christie Hall . 18 Good news stories in this issue include an award- winning Wansford shop (p16), a budding sporting Parish Councils: superstar from Stibbington (p20), a successful Wansford . 23 Thomas Woolsey award winner (p21) and great news Thornhaugh . 25 for the Philippines typhoon appeal (p35). Stibbington . 27 News reports abound this month too, and I hope I’ve done justice to all the contributions and also to all the Special features: ads. Compiling the magazine is usually quite a National Award . 16 challenge, but this month the task has proved a Sports star . 20 nightmare, thanks to technology. Working on a Where are they? 21 different computer and with different software has Nature Notes . 31 presented a host of problems for me to grapple with. Younger readers . 32 Text and images have been jumping around the Nene Valley Tots 34 screen as if of their own accord, though I suspect that Philippines Appeal 35 “user error” is more likely to blame. So, if there are Stibbington Quiz . 35 errors, or problems of design or layout or quality of Letters to the Editor images in the pages of this magazine I hope readers 36, 37 will bear with me. By next month I hope to have mastered the new technology and told it who’s boss. Diary Dates . 38 Rosie McDonnell Editorial team For contact details see p 4 Regular features writers: Editor: Rosie McDonnell Reflections: Canon William Burke Advertising manager:Carole Whincup Rev Michael Matthews Distribution manager: Rod Sortwell Local History: David Stuart-Mogg Reporter: Martin Lewis Nature Notes: Graham Blagden Photographer: Charles Brown Health & fitness: Dan Whiter Printing and collation: PPS/ Print Younger Readers:Marcus Arnold Karina Chappell Read your magazine on-line at www.livingvillagesmagazine.co.uk 3 DIRECTORY OF CONTACTS @ Living Villages Editorial Team Editor Rosie McDonnell 01780 783639 [email protected] Advertising Manager Carole Whincup 01780 783055 [email protected] Distribution Manager Rod Sortwell 01780 783403 [email protected] Reporter Martin Lewis 01780 783668 [email protected] Website: www.livingvillagesmagazine.co.uk Parish Councils Sutton Peter Lee (Vice Chair) 01780 782703 Wansford Wendy Grey (Clerk) 01778 441312 Sibson-cum-Stibbington Wendy Grey (Clerk) 01778 441312 Thornhaugh Deirdre McCumiskey (Clerk) 01780 782668 Water Newton (Parish Meeting) Tony Capon (Chairman) 01733 237500 Churches Ministers: Thornhaugh & Wansford Rev Michael Matthews 01780 782271 [email protected] Stibbington & Water Newton Canon William Burke 01733 380244 [email protected] or Parish Office, [email protected] Churchwardens: St Andrew’s Thornhaugh: Stuart Foreman 01780 783220 Liz Kemp 01780 782333 St Mary’s Wansford: Paul Tate 01780 782965 Alan Jones 01780 783205 St John the Baptist, Stibbington Richard Winfrey 01780 782431 Carol Lindsay Friends: St Mary’s & St Andrew’s Dora Baker 01780 782519 St John the Baptist Helen Facer 01780 782932 St Remigius Water Newton Tony Capon 01733 237500 Other useful contacts Neighbourhood Policing 101 Horticultural Society 01780 782446 Wansford Surgery 01780 782342 Royal British Legion 01780 782200 (Out of hours 01733 293838) Stibbington & Wansford WI .. 782510 Wansford Pharmacy 01780 781616 Communicare 01780 470437 H’don District Council 01480 388388 P’boro City Council 01733 747474 4 St Andrew’s, Thornhaugh St Mary’s, Wansford WORSHIP FEBRUARY 2014 Date Time Location Service 2 Feb 9.30 am St Andrew’s, Parish Communion Thornhaugh 10.15 am St. Kyneburgha, Holy Communion Castor 4.00 pm St. Mary’s Family Service: Wansford Buried Treasure 9 Feb 9.00 am St. John the Baptist, Morning Worship Stibbington 9.30 am St Mary’s, Parish Communion Wansford with choir 16 Feb 9.30 am St Andrew’s, Morning Prayer Thornhaugh with hymns 10.15 am St. Kyneburgha, Holy Communion Castor 23 Feb 9.00 am St. John the Baptist, Holy Communion Stibbington 9.30 am St Mary’s, Morning Prayer Wansford with hymns PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL SUNDAY MORNING SERVICES AT WANSFORD AND THORNHAUGH NOW START AT 9.30AM Every Wednesday 10.00 am Morning Prayer at St. Mary’s, Wansford St John the Baptist, St Remigius, Stibbington Water Newton 5 GRIFFIN WANSFORD Solid Fuel Merchant COMMUNITY HALL Peterborough Road, Wansford Supplier of Pre Packs Coal Bunkers Charcoal Compost This hall accommodates parties of up to Flo Gas Logs & Sticks Salt 36 people seated. Ideal for Meetings, Coal Yard Office Workshops, Aerobics etc Station Road 12 Church Hill Nassington Castor GREAT VALUE AT ONLY £4 per hour 01780 782540 01733 380470 FOR BOOKINGS TELEPHONE John Stannage 07879 485330 GOOD NEWS VAN New to the area: Free Lending Library of PAINTER and DECORATOR Christian Books, Videos, CDs 40 years experience 2nd Monday of every month Reasonable rates excluding January Free estimate 17 Russell Hill, Thornhaugh 2.30 to 4.00pm Call Jo on 07880907068 6 REFLECTIONS WEDDING VOWS By Rev Michael Matthews Currently, all around us are the adverts for 'St. Valentines Day'. Next month I will host a ‘wedding afternoon’ for all couples planning to be married in our local churches in 2014. We will spend the afternoon exploring suitable music, on the organ and otherwise, discussing flowers, readings, bridesmaids, best men and banns but most of all ‘getting the feel’ of what the beauty and tradition of our beautiful Medieval village churches will bring to one of life’s most important moments. Couples come from many different starting points. For some, it is two young people newly met, recently engaged and looking forward to the day of their dreams. For others, it may be that they have been together for a while, may have children and are looking forward to a deepening of their love, their relationship with one another and taking a new place in the community. Finally, for others, it is a second marriage, brought about by every range of circumstance and they are looking forward to fresh beginnings and a new start. On this afternoon, we come together from these diverse places and with a common purpose. Surely, this is what a church is for. We come to God’s house to give thanks, to put things right with ourselves, with our neighbours and with those we love and in this special case, to plan and prepare to receive God’s blessing, freely given in marriage and to go out transformed. A church is there to welcome everyone; it is one of the few organisations that exists principally for those who do not think themselves members but who, like those that are, find that they have within themselves a deep longing (maybe as yet only a whisper) for a spiritual dimension to their way of living. Our Parish Church is there for those who are becoming conscious that refreshment for the soul is the best possible tonic and foundation for life. Of course, such thoughts are not confined to the day you marry and God’s blessing is always with us and there is always the possibility of new life and joy and transformation. As we celebrate our shared love for one another, this month, we can also gives thanks for the love that we all receive each and every day, by and through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 8 FRIENDS OF ST. MARY’S AND ST. ANDREW’S In February the Friends of St Mary’s and St Andrew’s are looking forward to a lunch for members at the William Cecil Hotel in Stamford on Wednesday 5th February at 12.30 for 1pm. The next official meeting will take place on Wednesday 19th February at 10.30 in the Community Hall after Morning Prayer at St Mary’s at 10am. The Lent Lunches are starting on 12th March at 12.15 in The Christie Hall after Morning Prayer at St May’s at 11.30am. They will take place every Wednesday during Lent, five in all. Entrance is free. All donations will be forwarded to Christian Aid as in the past. More about those in the next issue of Living Villages. Dora Baker, Secretary SEARCHING FOR BURIED TREASURE A Family Service of Celebration for the Epiphany Season at Wansford Parish Church 4pm, Sunday 2nd Feb. 2014 Everyone is welcome as we search for buried treasure this month. Every first Sunday of the month we have a new and exciting series of Family-friendly worship events. 9 LOLHAM Village Pizzas EQUINE Freshly Made & SERVICES Delivered to your Door Professional Rug washing & Repairs View our Menu at www.villagepizzas.co.uk Nikwax products used only Specialist rug machine used Dog/cat bedding & coats available Tue — Sat 6pm till the Discounts for large quantities phone stops ringing! Service all year round Collection available within 10miles 01780 Contact Laura Benbow: 784587 07842632406 [email protected] P E T E R R I D D I N G T O N L A N D S C A P I N G We supply and install Patios & Pathways, Decking, Stone Walls and Fencing, We plant Trees, Shrubs Hedges and Flowers, and offer a complete Garden Maintenance and Improvement Service.