APRIL 2021 The Parish of Kidmore End & Sonning Common The Lamb and Flag The parish magazine of St John the Baptist Church, Kidmore End and Christ the King Church, Sonning Common 50p CONTACTING THE CLERGY AND CHURCH OFFICERS Rector Revd James Stickings Telephone 07522 042735 Email [email protected] As the Rector is working shorter hours for the time being any calls to his number may go to voicemail. Please therefore contact Sheila on the number below for any urgent matters. Associate Priest Revd Sheila Walker Telephone 0118 972 4861 Email [email protected] Churchwardens Nick Room Telephone 0118 972 2258 Email [email protected] Richard Walker Telephone 0118 327 6107 Email [email protected] Musical Director St John’s Frances Brewitt - Telephone 0118 948 2743 Taylor Email [email protected] PCC Treasurer Nick Room Telephone 0118 972 2258 Email [email protected] PCC Secretary Jenny MacGregor Telephone 0118 947 2855 Email [email protected] The parish website can be found on https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/166 FROM THE CLERGY Dear everyone Bishop Steven’s recent letter to clergy (an extract from which is on pages 14&15) reflects the ambiguity many of us feel as we look towards a full re- opening of all our churches. We are trusting, though, not just for the much- invoked ‘return to normality’, but for a time of renewal, re-imagining and rejoicing. Meanwhile, we pray God’s rich blessings – of patience, hope and grace - for us all in this Resurrection season. Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! James and Sheila HOLY WEEK AND EASTER Regretably, there will be no live services, but it will be possible to gather on Zoom as has been the case on Sundays during the current lockdown. Please refer to the weekly bulletin for Zoom access arrangements. Date St John’s Christ the King 28 March – Palm Sunday 10.30 on Zoom, palm 10.30 on Zoom – crosses to be collected palm crosses to be from the Rectory delivered porch 1 April – Maundy Thursday 19.15 on Zoom 19.15 on Zoom 2 April – Good Friday 14.30 on Zoom 14.30 on Zoom 4 April – Easter Day 10.30 on Zoom 10.30 on Zoom Open for private prayer 14.30 – 16.00 09.00 – 10.00 1 SEASONAL COOKING – FELICITY COOPER ‘Hot cross buns, hot cross buns! One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, give them to your sons, One ha’penny, two ha’penny, hot cross buns! The tradition of marking buns with a cross dates to pagan times. Buns were baked to celebrate the coming of Spring in honour of the goddess Eostre. The cross symbolised the four quarters of the moon, the four seasons and the wheel of life. Christians later adopted this pagan tradition with the cross symbolising the crucifixion and the spices symbolising the herbs and spices used in embalming. In Tudor times the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of spiced buns except at burials, Christmas, and Good Friday. There are many superstitions about hot cross buns. Hot cross buns were finely grated, mixed with water, and fed to the sick in the belief that it would cure them. Sailors would take hot cross buns on their voyages to guard against shipwreck. Another tradition is that a bun baked and served on Good Friday will remain fresh for a year. Perhaps there is some truth in this, supermarket hot cross buns often have very long use by dates, but this may relate to the quantity of preservatives used. The recipe below is best eaten within two days. Hot cross bun loaf Ingredients 500g/18oz strong white flour 70g/2½ oz unsalted butter (softened) 70g/2½ oz granulated sugar 240ml/8½ fl oz warm milk 1 egg (beaten) 14g/5tsp fast acting yeast 2 1½ tsp salt 2tsp mixed spice 125g/4½oz sultanas 25g/1oz dried cherries 25g/1oz dried cranberries 1tsp sugar and 1tsp cinnamon dissolved in20ml of boiling water. Instructions Sift the flour, salt and mixed spice into a large bowl and add the sugar, butter and beaten egg. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well by hand or with a dough hook and knead for ten minutes. Add the dried fruit and knead until evenly distributed. Put the dough into an oiled bowl and leave in a warm place to double in size. Knock down the dough and transfer to a 20cm cake tin. Allow the dough to rise again until it is just above the rim of the tin. Bake at 200°C/390°F/Gas 6 for 50-55 minutes. If the top is browning too much drop the temperature to 180°C/350°F /Gas 4. When the dough is cooked a thermometer inserted into the centre should read 88°C/190°F Paint the top of the bun while still hot with the sugar and cinnamon water. A cross may be piped on with icing when the loaf is cool. 3 KIDMORE END CE PRIMARY SCHOOL The past year has seen great change in circumstances for all of us as we learn to live in the midst of a global pandemic. I am sure our wonderful Health Service has truly been at the eye of the storm throughout, and continue to do amazing work every day, it has definitely felt on occasions that schools were very much caught up in the ‘changing weather’. At no time did this feel more true than in January when we were told to prepare for a full return after the Christmas holidays, only to be told a few hours later that schools would be closed to most pupils and learning would again move to remote platforms. As always, the team here at Kidmore End sprang into action. As we had been fortunate enough to remain fully open over the Autumn Term, we had not had opportunity for a dry run at our Remote Learning Strategy, although a great deal of thought and preparation had gone into our provision, building on the experience and feedback of the first lockdown. Within 24 hours, our Google Classrooms were open, and learning continued with the usual Spring Term topics, with teachers meeting pupils, delivering lessons, setting work and giving feedback throughout the day. Meanwhile, children of critical workers were welcomed into school and our fabulous team of teaching assistants managed mixed age groups both accessing the remote learning and undertaking other activities such as sport and art. I am very grateful to Miss Dove and all the team, as I was not able to be in school due to family circumstances, for all their hard work and commitment to making sure our children continued to learn throughout the lockdown. We were all delighted when it was announced that all children would return to school from 8 March, and it has been lovely to see the school brought fully to life again. Whilst we of course reviewed and tweaked our risk assessments, the measures in place prior to Christmas were largely unchanged and we are grateful for the support of parents and carers where we have made adjustments. This includes asking adults to wear face coverings, unless exempt, at drop off and pick up, which we know some local residents will be pleased to see. The children have proved themselves as adaptable as ever, and most of all simply delighted to see their friends again. Our value this term is courage, and we have been reflecting through the picture books and Bible stories we have shared on how there are many ways to be brave – which makes me think of those children (and some adults) who maybe felt a little 4 nervous on the first day, but who came into school with a smile and found that it was really very familiar after all. So now we are looking ahead – with Easter coming up and our first Easter Egg Decorating competition taking place, along with special assemblies reflecting on the story of Holy Week and Easter. We continue to be limited in the range of activities possible, but we managed many of the Christmas events in a slightly altered form, and will be taking this spirit into our Summer Term preparations. We will be starting the Summer Term with a whole school artist focus, which will ensure our corridor displays are vibrant and colourful for the children to enjoy. We hope we will be able to share some of the children’s artwork on our school website as well, for you all to enjoy. And we have already begun thinking about the key summer events, such as Sports Day. Our aim will be to make the Summer Term as normal as is possible, with plenty of learning and laughter to brighten this rather strange world in which we find ourselves. Wishing everyone in our community all the very best, Linda Hull - March 2021 KIDMORE END COOKS FOR CARERS In early January, the Kidmore End Ladies WhatsApp group received a message from Lauren Davies, a villager and an anaesthetist who works in RBH. She asked if anyone could cook a few meals for the staff in ICU who were exhausted, and unable to get to a canteen without taking off all their PPE, and for those on night shifts, when the canteen and shops were closed. They had nothing more than a toaster, a microwave oven and a fridge freezer and were expected to bring in their own food.