The Villager A magazine for Avening, Cherington and Nags Head ______________________________________________________________ February 2003 50p ____________________________________ … what might not be visible on a summer stroll ... … might be in full view on a brisk winter walk ... 1 Who to Contact Parish Priest: The Reverend Celia Carter Tel: 01453 832716 Fax: 01453 834885 Church Wardens: Avening Mr Peter Lindesay 01453 834402 Mr Martin Abbott 01453 833838 Cherington Mr John Bate-Williams 01666 503544 Mrs Beryl Milsom 01285 841248 Sacristans: Avening Mrs Gill Parsons 01453 832247 (senior sacristan) Cherington Mrs Beryl Milsom 01285 841248 Secretary PCC: Avening Mrs Margaret Barton 01453 835541 Cherington Mrs Elizabeth Workman 01285 841294 Organist: Avening Mr Stuart Walkley 01453 757784 Cherington Mrs Elizabeth Workman 01285 841294 (also Village Singers) Mrs Beryl Milsom 01285 841248 Flower Team Leader: Avening Mrs Gill Parsons 01453 832247 Cherington Mrs Elizabeth Workman 01285 841294 Editor: Mrs Kathleen Lindesay 01453 834402 Court Lodge, Avening GL8 8NX e mail: [email protected] All contributions to the Villager are welcome. 2 The Parish Letter t may be weeks......before we will know for certain, if our country is to go I to war with Iraq. The consequences of such a war will be far reaching and possibly more horrendous than we have the experience to anticipate. In such a situation the temptation is to turn away and shrug our shoulders in resignation......for what influence can we ever have at such times? Decisions are made behind closed doors and our consent is not sought. We feel ourselves to be helpless for what can we do? There is, however, something that is open to each one of us..........the most powerful and wonderful resource......much underused and often overlooked. The power of prayer. Prayer, not used as a last resort, or with the attitude that it can do no harm, but in the belief that all prayer is an influence for good. In the time of war.......prayer is often dismissed with contempt, for why should an impartial and loving God heed the prayers of one side and not those of the other? Why indeed.......except that I do believe He hears the prayers of all who pray, irrespective of which side we are on, or in which tradition or creed we use. God hears our call for help when a situation is spiralling out of control.......our plea for calm, in the face of accelerating madness......our prayer for tolerance and patience in the face of prejudice. God works through the hearts and minds of His children, continually recreating and bringing good from the muddles we make and the mess in which we find ourselves. He will calm the fear that drives people into making hasty and wrong decisions........He will open the eyes of people blinded by prejudice……..He will direct the minds of those who are bewildered by events and guide them into better judgements. When we pray with one mind for peace......for an alternative way forward........we pray according to His will and release into the world a power for good beyond any other. This power will, and can, influence events. Please pray now, in your hearts......in your homes.......or together in church on Sunday mornings. Pray for peace.........for time.........time for our politicians and world leaders to think again........and again! There must be an alternative to war and our prayer is that the alternative will be found. Rev Celia 3 THE ACTING EDITOR’S JOTTINGS “Sadness and Joy………..” A somewhat belated but nonetheless sincere ‘Happy New Year’ to all our readers! May 2003 prove to hold more for you than you would wish for yourself. Sadly, since the last ‘Villager’ was published, a number of villagers have returned to their Maker. “Yet as Thou didst not lose them in giving, so we do not lose them by their return. What Thou givest Thou takest not away, for what is thine is ours also, if we are thine. And life is eternal and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. Lift us up that we may see more clearly and draw us closer to Thee that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with Thee.” The addresses which start at page 7 are how our departed friends were warmly remembered at their funerals at Holy Cross Church over the past six weeks. This is a bumper edition of the Villager – 36 pages in all. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea and settle down for a good read! Subscriptions for the magazine for 2003 are due this month. Please pay £5 (that has to be wonderful value for 11 magazines!) to whoever delivers your magazine to your home. If you think your neighbours might be interested in ‘The Villager’, please show them this edition and encourage them to subscribe themselves. Happier memories of the festive season are recalled starting at page 16. Don’t miss the hilarious account of the Crib Service on pages 18 to 21. 400 people attended in 2002 and having read the article I’m sure you will want to be there too in 2003. The remainder of the mag is the same eclectic mix as ever with something for everyone. Even the Parish Councillors have a double slot to cover their meetings in December and January! Martin Abbott 4 Church Duties: AVENING Date Sidespersons Chalice Assistants 2nd February J.Sanders/P.Brown S.Uzzell 9th February S.Hamilton/J.Pargetter P.Lindesay 16th February R.Evershed/M.Abbott R.Coates 23rd February J.Blackie/G.Buchanan A.Evans 2nd March M.Barton/S.Hamilton J.Sanders CHURCH FLOODLIGHTING Holy Cross Church was floodlit in December 2002 and January 2003 on: December 30th For Sidney on this his birthday – Jan January 8th Requested by Julia Walkley in memory of her mother, Sheila Linder January 10th In memory of Patti & Norman Holbrow from Jean, John Mary and families. 5 Day/Date Church Time Service SUNDAY 2nd February Avening 8am Holy Communion (BCP) Cherington 9.30am Holy Communion (BCW) Avening 11am Holy Communion (BCW) & Sunday School SUNDAY 9th February Avening 8am Holy Communion (BCP) Cherington 9.30am Matins Avening 11am Holy Communion (BCW) & Sunday School SUNDAY 16th February Avening 8am Holy Communion (BCP) Cherington 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) Avening 11am Holy Communion (BCW) & Sunday School SUNDAY 23rd February Avening 8am Holy Communion (BCP) Cherington 9.30am Holy Communion (BCW) Avening 11am Holy Communion (BCW) Friday 28th February Avening 2.45pm Pram & Toddler Service SUNDAY 2nd March Avening 8am Holy Communion (BCP) Cherington 9.30am Holy Communion (BCW) Avening 11am Holy Communion (BCW) Wednesday 5th March Avening 7pm Sung Eucharist (Ash Wednesday) Weekly evening meetings will be held during Lent. Details will be announced in the March edition of ‘The Villager’. 6 Colonel Frankau M.C. Many of us in this village did not know much of the life of John before he came to live in Avening. We knew him as a courageous and courteous gentleman with a wonderful sense of humour and a great affection for this part of the world. A lasting memory for the village, which was sorely missed this year, was John's insistence that the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month should be marked by the firing of a rocket from the churchyard. He always waited until his car radio broadcast Big Ben (as he had little trust in the Church clock) on the hour, which turned out to be rarely in sync with the other parishes. "Ah!" he used to say as the explosions were heard in all directions, "We are, as usual, the only one on time!" John did not originate from this part of the world. He was born in India, the only child of a mechanical engineer. His early years were spent in the central province of India where his father worked for the colonial government. At the age of six, he was sent to England to go to prep school. The shock of such a separation made him miserable, and homesick for India. On leaving prep school he went to Rugby where he did well and was much happier. He was carrying on a family tradition as both his grandfather and father had been to the school and was proud that both his son and granddaughter, Jenni, did the same, making it five generations at one school. John rose to be head of his house and then went up to Cambridge University. He read civil engineering and while there, met his future wife, Peggy, who was a 'Girton College girl'. They married in the dark days of 1940 and shortly afterwards, John went to serve with 5/71 Field Squadron Royal Engineers. He stayed with the squadron during the fighting in North Africa and was later to take part in the Allied Advance up though Italy. It was during this campaign that he was awarded the Military Cross. John went on to have a long and distinguished career with the Sappers serving in Germany, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and many other places. When he and Peggy celebrated their silver wedding anniversary they realised that they had moved house 25 times! 7 They felt it was time to put down roots. So when John’s final posting was to the Ministry of Defence, they found their house in Avening, and decided to settle in the Cotswolds with their much adored little dogs. Both John and Peggy joined in village life and were instrumental in starting the Avening Society for the Protection of the Village.