TTHHEE TTOOWEERR January/February 2017 EDITORIAL With the coming of The New Year, many of us will be making resolutions for 2017 and will have observed some of the many traditions that seem to surround the ending of one year and the start of the next. Some of the more strange traditions can be found on page 9. My mother used to open our back door at midnight on 31 December ‘to let the old year out and the new one in’. If you were out at a party or public gathering, then no doubt you joined hands with friends, or complete strangers and sang ‘Auld Lang Syne’. The start of a new year seems to bring with it a sense of hope and promise of better things to come. Whatever 2017 brings, we hope that for all of our readers it proves to be a good year and both Judy and myself would like to wish you all the very best for the coming year. We would also like to thank our advertising sponsors for their support during 2016 and we hope that they will continue this throughout 2017, because without them, this publication would struggle to survive. If there are any local businesses that would like to support The Tower by placing an advert, we would be very pleased to hear from you. 2016 was quite an eventful year in many respects and will probably be remembered as the year in which The United Kingdom voted for BREXIT. Closer to home, 2016 was also the year that The Heckington Fen Wind Farm Action Group (HECKOFF) was formed to oppose Ecotricity’s revised plans for the wind farm at East Heckington, which if built, would have far reaching and adverse effects on our local community. However, through the dedication and efforts of a small number of individuals, lobbying of government ministers and the employing of consultants to evaluate and question the validity of Ecotricity’s proposals, pressure has been brought to bear on Ecotricity by government, forcing a further round of public consultation that concludes on 31 January. The building of the a wind farm at East Heckington is the single most important thing that could influence and affect our lives here in South Kyme, not only next year, but for years to come. It is no secret that this page is opposed to the building of a wind farm at East Heckington, as it has the potential to devalue property prices, cause a noise nuisance to residents, affect wildlife, (particularly migrating birds) and destroy our beautiful fenland landscape. Ecotricity still believe that they can do as they wish and build this wind farm regardless of substantial local opposition, so 2017 will be the year when we all need to get behind HECKOFF and support them in any way we can to ensure that this scheme is buried once and for all. Finally, we would like to say a special thank you to a local resident for his kind donation to this magazine. Mervyn & Judy Head Contributions for ‘THE TOWER’ should be emailed to: [email protected], or posted at 52 High Street, South Kyme Items for March/April must be received by 20 February 2017 1 HUME EVENTS Hume coffee mornings on Wednesday 11 January and Wednesday 8 February. 2 CLUBS AND SOCIETIES SOUTH KYME TABLE TENNIS CLUB The club meets in the village hall on Tuesday evenings from 7.30 p.m. Membership is £5.00/year, with a session fee of £1.50. Age restriction is 16+ and any new members will be welcome. We have 3 tables and plenty of bats and balls. Tables can also be hired by non members at other times for £2.50 per hour per person. To book, please call 01526 861566 or 01526 869297 SOUTH KYME WOMEN’S INSTITUTE South Kyme WI meets in the village hall at 7.30 pm on the first Thursday of the month. Why not join us? The yearly membership fee is £37.50. You are welcome to come along to a meeting free of charge,before joining. For further details please contact Mary Jackson on 01526 860489 or Pam Bunker on 01526 861323, or go to our website at http://www.skwi.weebly/.com. SOUTH KYME PETANQUE (BOULES) CLUB The boules season will restart in spring - watch this space for updates. SOUTH KYME SHORT MAT BOWLS CLUB The club meets in the village hall at 7.15 - 9.00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Membership is £5.00/year, with a session/match fee of £2.00. New members will be most welcome. SOUTH KYME LADIES KEEP FIT GROUP The ladies keep fit group sessions are now on each Friday afternoon (unless otherwise announced) from 2.30 pm - 3.30 pm. The fee is £15.00/month, so please do come along and experience a work out tailored to suit your individual needs by the qualified fitness instructor. For further details, please contact Josie on 01526 860645. DEFIBRILLATORS IN SOUTH KYME In addition to the defibrillator unit at South Kyme Golf Club, there is also one at Sycamore Farm, Clay Bank, South Kyme, which is available for village use if it is ever required - phone either David Casswell on 07711746902 or Michael on 07711746903 3 LOCAL LIBRARY SERVICES MOBILE LIBRARY VAN The library van will be outside South Kyme village hall from 10 - 10.30 am on the following dates: 2 January, 2 February and 30 March HECKINGTON COMMUNITY LIBRARY The library is situated on the ground floor of the parish council building in St Andrews Street, Heckington, opposite the church. The library is open to residents of South Kyme and has computers installed for public use. Opening hours are: Monday - Saturday 10.00 am - 12.00 noon Wednesday 10.00 am - 4.30 pm 4 COMMUNITY POLICING Contact details for your Neighbourhood Policing Team at the Sleaford Police Station, The Hoplands, Boston Road, Sleaford, NG34 7LZ are: PC 569 Derbyshire PC 400 McLardy PC 418 Green PCSO Kennedy PCSO Ironmonger PCSO Welby-Everard To contact any of the above officers, please dial 101 and extension 3858 FOR EMERGENCIES CALL 999, or LINCS POLICE HQ on 01522 532222 5 THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY & ALL SAINTS Vicar: Rev Mike Rose Tel: 01526 861746 Churchwardens Mrs J Morris Tel: 01526 861269 Mr M Cass Tel: 01526 860857 Church Services Date Time Service 1 January 9.30 am Holy Communion 15 January 11.00 am Family Service 22 January 11.00 am Plough Sunday Service 5 February 9.30 am Holy Communion 19 February 11.00 am Family Service 1 March 7.00 pm Ash Wednesday - Imposition of Ashes Letter from The Vicar It's great to be back in our Parishes after our Study Leave in Sewanee, Tennessee with the Episcopal Church of the United States (the C of E in America). My wife, Sue and I found the whole experience incredibly instructive and we look forward to hosting our new made American friends in our Parishes at some point in the future. We are very grateful to our local clergy and churchwardens for keeping the ship afloat during my absence, and in particular I'm very thankful for all those who came to the Remembrance Memorial in November. My first service back was at South Kyme as well as the Beer and Carols at the Hume Arms. Thanks to Vijay and Maeve for hosting, and the Billinghay Ruffs for their brilliant accompaniment. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a full house at the Vicarage. Our Plough Sunday service this year 2017 is on Sunday 22 January. It begins at North Kyme at 9.30 am and moves on to South Kyme at 11 am followed by a Ploughman's Lunch straight after at the Coronation Hall. I hope 2017 turns out to be a hopeful year for you. Sue will begin her three year Curacy (Vicar training in Church) at Boston Stump from July. The day of Sue's ordination will see our congregations in Lincoln Cathedral, and you are most welcome to attend as it is open to all, although you will need to get there early to secure a seat. More details to follow. May I wish you a happy and joyful 2017 and may God bless you and those you love. Your Vicar, Mike. 6 SOUTH KYME PARISH COUNCIL I trust everyone in the village had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and as the festivities come to a hopefully satisfying conclusion we can all now look forward with anticipation and hope to the new challenges that 2017 will bring, either be it personal or professional and tackle them head on. The New Year is already looking interesting from a parish council perspective. The Heck-Off campaign (opposition to the proposed Heckington Fen Wind Farm) is gaining momentum and traction both locally, at district and at parliamentary levels and thus far has forced a further round of Ecotricity consultations and with only just under 16 months to go before the original planning consent expires we are hopeful of getting the right result. I will keep you informed of progress. Furthermore, after detailed discussions we have determined that the possible requirement for a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ was not viable for such a small village and that a more appropriate vehicle would be a Parish Plan. Whilst not carrying as much legal weight it will still articulate, capture and inform the needs and aspirations of the entire village up to District Council level. It will also act as the future foundation and guidance document for subsequent parish councils.