magazine £1 1 friendly family run ClubClub Not enough exercise & too much Ipad? Come and experience the fun, excitement & challenge of our Karate club. We have taken traditional Wado-Ryu Karate and adapted it to today’s society. Typical lessons include: - Line Work - Kata - Bag Work - Sparring - Fitness First Lesson Free! - Self Defence - Games & much more 6 Instructors TUESDAYS THURSDAYS DURLEY MEMORIAL HALL WOODLAND COMMUNITY DURLEY CENTRE SO32 2AR SAVERNAKE WAY AGES 5-10 (6-7PM) FAIR OAK AGES 11+ (7-8PM) SO50 7FL ADULTS (8PM ONWARDS) AGES 5-10 (6-7PM) AGES 11+ (7-8PM) Contact Ken Skene on 07711 317 834 www.wska.co.ukuk [email protected]@g m Durley Welcome Parish This month… Magazine Christmas / New Year 2021 Reflections: Christmas 202O by Revd Gregg 5 Durley Church News 6 The deadline for the New: Al Baker 9 February issue is Durley Voices 10 18th January Durley Carnival Memories -Peter Mucci 13 Durley School News 14 EDITOR - Helen Childs, Poinsettia a plant for Christmas? 16 Thatchers, Sciviers Lane, BW Photographic Society 17 SO32 2AG T: 01489 860347 Durley Parish Council Monthly Report 19 E: [email protected] Recreation Ground: new gym equipment 21 ADVERTISING Carolyn Campbell T: 01489 860852 E: [email protected] DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Jo Birbeck T: 01489 860469 E: [email protected] PARISH OFFICE All Saints Church, High Street, Botley T: 01489 782445 E: [email protected] Opening times: Monday– Friday 9.30-12.30 To book Weddings, Baptisms & Banns: Please contact the office. From Helen, Carolyn and Jo, THE BOTLEY BRIDGE T: 01489 786164 Your Parish Magazine Team E: [email protected] CURDRIDGE PARISH NEWS Editor: Justine Greenfield If you, or someone you know, lives in Durley and T: 07748 827763 needs a little helping hand please get in touch. E: [email protected] Durley Good Neighbours is a voluntary group offering lifts to the doctors, help with shopping or simply a chat and cuppa. We can help elderly residents, single parents, carers or anyone feeling a little lonely. Durley Parish Magazine contains facts, views, opinions, statements, If you're interested in becoming a volunteer recommendations, advertisements and other content and links to external websites not owned or compiled by the magazine. we'd also love to hear from you Durley Parish Magazine takes reasonable efforts to include accurate, current information on its pages but makes no warranties For more details go to Facebook.com/DurleyGoodNeighbours or representations as to the accuracy, safety or value of the or call 01489 860365 published items that are displayed. No liability or responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions in magazine content. Any queries or comments should be addressed to the person whose name appears with the article, report or advert or to the Chairperson or Secretary of the bodies concerned. 3 Cover photo: Morning Walk by Steve Green CHURCH of the HOLY CROSS, DURLEY With St Peter’s, Curdridge and All Saints’, Botley in the Deanery of Bishop’s Waltham and Diocese of Portsmouth Clergy Rector Revd Gregg Mensingh, The Rectory, 46 High St., Botley Southampton 01489 780994 Assistant Priest Revd Richard Wharton c/o Parish Office, All Saints Church, Botley 01489 782445 Licensed Lay Minister Janet Clarke, 29 Freegrounds Road, Hedge End. 07792 721864 Church Officials All Saints’ Church, High Street, Botley. Parish Admin. & office 01489 782445 Email: [email protected] Jamie Balfour, Wintershill Hall, Sciviers Lane, Durley 01489 860251 Church wardens Jane Chamberlain, Mitford, Heathen Street, Durley 01489 860846 Secretary Viv Jury 01489 894983 Deputy Church Warden Vivienne Taylor, Longbeech, Durley Brook Road, Durley. 02380 692311 & Verger The Wider Church Zoe Page, Hurstdale, Botley Road, Horton Heath. SO50 7DN 02380 600074 Deanery Synod Katrine Brydges, Maurienne, Dumpers Drove, Horton Heath 02380 600443 Messy Church Ellie Mensingh 01489 780994 Safeguarding officer Katrine Brydges 02380 600443 Roman Catholic Church Our Lady Queen of Apostles, Martin Street, Bishop’s Waltham Assistant Priest Canon Alan Griffiths. Mass: Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9.30am 01489 890947 Methodist and UFC Circuit Revd David Moss 01329 833518 Reflections: Christmas 2020 “On entering the house, they saw the child something we can all relate to at some level. with Mary his mother; and they knelt down rd Although March 23 doesn’t seem that long ago, oddly, and paid him homage. Then, opening their it almost has the feel of “yesteryear” about it. The toll treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, which the pandemic has exacted upon our communities frankincense, and myrrh.” and indeed the whole world has been huge, with physi- Many of you will know this part of the Christmas cal, mental and financial suffering. It has been awful. story very well. We know that the Magi (or Kings Workers have been furloughed with many having now or Wise Men as they are traditionally portrayed) kneel been laid off. The NHS has been pushed to the brink before the infant Jesus and present their gifts of gold, with many now rightly questioning the need to properly frankincense and myrrh. However, left to our imagina- fund it. Confined to our homes (if we are fortunate tion are the exact details about their journey in order to enough to have one) perhaps we’ve been more grateful find the Christ-child. If you get the chance between for the utilities that we usually take for granted. Work- now and Christmas look up T.S Eliot’s “The Journey of ing from home has had its pluses and minuses with the Magi” – I’ve just finished listening to a recording of many missing the social aspect of work. Teachers in Eliot himself reciting it. In the poem, the journey of the our schools have adapted to meet the challenges of edu- Magi is a cold and bitter one. The harshness of our cating children – even whole school “assemblies” (as journey towards Christmas this year has, without doubt, they used to be called) are online with the Vicar sadly been one that we are not likely to forget. A line in having to “transmit” from the study. Eliot’s poem states: “A hard time we had of it.” It’s 4 Eliot himself wrote his poem after returning home alone from a Church service on Christmas Day. Be- shots of parishioners grap- fore finishing the poem he had polished off half a bottle pling with their webcams!). of Scotch. One is left to surmise that that particular Even those without online Christmas may not have been up there among the top access have even been able three in Eliot’s life and that, for whatever reason, the to join by telephone with the going had been rough. And yet we have his poem. help of a worship booklet sent out from Karen at the Our circumstances have been dreadful, but we have also seen great goodness and amazing community church office (do contact the spirit with many individually rising to the challenge parish office if you want to and collectively to show care. People have been regu- join by zoom or telephone or larly checking in on their neighbours, supplying essen- know others who would like to). tials to those who couldn’t get hold of them or who Elsewhere in the magazine along with village events were shielding. We have made more use of our trusty you’ll find details of what the churches are doing to old telephones to bring a friendly voice and even a bit shine a light during the darker days of Winter. Our ser- of banter in the midst of our bleakest moments. The vices this year will be via YouTube channel (to access spirit of neighbourliness has been truly astonishing with use www.bcd-churches.org.uk/christmas in due the food collection boxes at our churches regularly course): Nine Lessons and Carols at 3PM on 20th Dec filled with items for the needy. with readings from varied community locations around Meanwhile, our churches in Botley Curdridge and BCD. Durley have moved their 10AM worship slot online At our Christingle, 3PM on Christmas Eve, there’ll via Zoom. The learning curve has been steep, but we’ve be an opportunity to construct your own learnt a lot along the way – including the importance of Christingle. Before our village schools break for “muting” at key points: the sounds of dogs barking and Christmas, children will have received a kit with every- washing machines at full pelt have brought wonderful thing needed to construct the Christingle - except an doses of hilarity to the worship (along with “up nose” orange. The rest of us can improvise (a potato might just suffice in an emergency!). In the build up to Christmas Day, each of our churches will also feature a Nativity scene and inte- gral to each will be a Reverse Advent Calendar box ready to receive your donations of Christmas food which will find its way to our local food banks. So I encourage you, like the Magi in Christmas story, to journey with your offerings to “The stable” and deposit them there. Since the boxes will be outside please kindly donate secured/non-perishables items only. All this talk of nativities has made me realise again the startling fact that all through the pandemic mil- lions of children have been born to parents the world over. Perhaps you know of just such a family and the hope this has brought? The first Christmas was heralded by the arrival of God’s son and it is through him that our journey and particular circumstances are made known to God – a journey that he is prepared to make with us – whatever the cost.