Great and Little Maplestead Pebmarsh Parish News and Gestingthorpe Church and Community together April 2021 Free Page 1 of 20 Village contacts and information Reverend Beverley Vincent can be found on page 24 and the churchwardens on page 22. Village Emergency Telephone Service and Neighbourhood Watch representatives see page 22 Magazine copy see page 24 Parish Clerks Gt Maplestead Ann Crisp 01787 460216 [email protected] Lt Maplestead Ann Harris 01787 462818 [email protected] Gestingthorpe Kevin B Money 07810 781509 [email protected] Pebmarsh Shelley Boydel 07801 492312 [email protected] The Maplesteads WI Carol Brownlie 01787 461527 [email protected] WEA Jill Newton 01787 463893 [email protected] Autumn Show Carol Brownlie 01787 461527 [email protected] Gt Maplestead Task Force Martin Elms 01787 461421 [email protected] Village Hall Liz Newton 01787 461308 [email protected] Playing Field Joe Newton 01787 461308 [email protected] Mixed Ability Yoga Victoria Ashworth 07751 911923 [email protected] Pilates Catherine Pawsey 07814 459683 [email protected] Dance & Keep Fit Judy Cowell 01376 561757 [email protected] Carpet Bowls Janice Chaplin 01787 469600 [email protected] Youth Club Myra Jeggo 01787 474285 [email protected] Gestingthorpe Village Hall Steve Bagby 07840 367182 Village amenities Nick Duncan 01787 313558 Tower bell ringing Valerie Fullman 01787 462755 Cricket Club Nick Duncan 01787 313558 Football Club History Society Gill Webb 01787 581836 [email protected] Pebmarsh Village Hall Jonathan Nott 01787 269231 [email protected] Dog Training Halstead Dog Club 01787 473154 [email protected] Card making Pauline Andow 01787 228790 Ladies Club Pauline Andow 01787 228790 Sandra Beaney 01787 222220 Carpet bowls Jim Crayston 01787 222241 [email protected] Youth club Carol Parker 01787 269996 [email protected] Baby Sensory Class Helen Whiting 07703 790273 [email protected] Footpaths Gt Maplestead Steve Harris 01787 462818 [email protected] Lt Maplestead Geraldine Holloway 01787 476530 [email protected] Gestingthorpe L Crumpton-Taylor 01787 460277 [email protected] Pebmarsh Michael Sharp 07725 909986 [email protected] All villages Book Club Alison Cantor 01787 462537 [email protected] Knitting group Carol Brownlie 01787 461527 [email protected] Handbell Ringing Margaret Crudgington 01787 469049 Solar Society Miles Scrivens 01787 469766 [email protected] Benefice Choir Gill Peskett 01787 462786 [email protected] Scouts Stuart Carter 01787 461149 Guides Kathy Hoy 01787 280200 Molly’s Wood Jane Postma https://www.mollyswood.org/contact Page 2 of 20 Letter from the editor Hopefully nearly there. A great number of us have now been vaccinated and we are looking at possibly opening up our village halls in May. It will be interesting to see what lockdown habits we continue with. The magazine is still quite thin but we have our first two invitations to future events, the plant sale in Little Maplestead and the Maplesteads Autumn Show, hopefully next month’s magazine will contain a lot more invitations. Ann is continuing to manage her ideas on additional content, another great gardening article from our ‘Arborist’, another great dog story and some more interesting reads. Please contact Ann to tell her your favourite reads and your animal stories so we can publish them, and it would be good if people could send in their favourite recipes, that have kept them going through lockdown. A request also to our advertisers, we showcase one a month to give everyone an idea of our local companies back stories, so please get in touch with me so we can publish yours. Also, remember our offer of putting your advert, in colour, on the back page, for a month for the very reasonable charge of £35.00 plus a donation to our churches. Also, please remember Braintree Food Bank, there are very many people who have been very badly affected by the lockdown. On a final note, please welcome the Young family who have moved into Little Maplestead. With love to you all. Contents Page 2 Village contacts and information Page 3 Letter from the Editor Page 4 Letter from our Vicar and the Parish News website Page 5 Bus service Page 6 Local companies Page 7 Gardening corner Page 8 Pets corner and colour advertisments Page 9 and 12 Pebmarsh Page 13-14 Gestingthorpe Page 14 The Reading Room Page 15 Little Maplestead Page 16 Great Maplestead Page 17 Local information Page 19 Councillors, VETS, Neighbourhood Watch and Churchwardens Page 20 Church services Page 3 of 20 Letter from the Reverend Beverley Vincent This last month or so, the church and Christians around the world have journeyed through Lent - A time of reflection, of stopping and being, of looking at ourselves and our relationships with each other as well as God. It is always a challenging time, even more so if you have given up something as part of your Lenten journey. The challenge for us now is to think about how we might hold on to the positives, as we continue towards June 21st. The world around us has changed in many ways for good (perhaps in both senses of the word), and so we must reflect on how we want to do things, do we want to take the good things with us into the future, rather than go back to our old ways. We’ve seen so much self-sacrifice and love shown to one another in this past year, how do we capture that for the future? I suspect that many in our communities will emerge from this pandemic battered, bruised, and financially weakened. And many will not be able to look forward to “what now?” until they have had the chance to grieve the loss of loved ones or their previous lives. Only after this are we ready to move forward and rebuild. On the 4th April this year Christians around the world will celebrate Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Easter is the season when we celebrate the powers of death and destruction being overcome by self-sacrificing love. This is a time of hope, of new beginnings, of being able to look forward and plan, of being together again and sharing special times, as restrictions ease. I look forward to our Churches opening their doors again this Easter, even though we still have restrictions in place we will celebrate the risen Christ. Do join us if you can, see our services for this month in this magazine and on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Knights- Hospitallers-Parishes-104300528248946 Hallelujah Christ is Risen! Hallelujah we are getting there! Let us not only enjoy the sunshine in the sky this month (I hope) but allow some sunshine in our hearts too. I wish you a blessed Easter and a wonderful time of reunions with family and friends over the coming weeks and months. Blessings Rev’d Beverley Parish News Website The Parish News website is a gateway to our four villages and their churches. The website address is: www.knights-hospitallers.org.uk Page 4 of 20 The F315 Local Bus Service Unlike a conventional bus, you need to first register as a customer and you need to book your seat on a journey at least two hours in advance of travel. Flat fare £3 single, £5 return between any two stages. Concessionary bus passes are accepted after 0900 Monday to Friday and all day on Saturdays. To get more information call Essex DaRT on 01621 874410 or email [email protected]. The latest timetables for the DaRT service at www.essex.gov.uk/dart is incorrect. SUDBURY - BULMER - GESTINGTHORPE - WICKHAM ST. PAUL - PEBMARSH - GREAT AND LITTLE MAPLESTEAD - HALSTEAD F315 From 01/03/2018 Sudbury, Bus Station 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:30 17:30 19:15 Ballingdon, Kings Head 09:03 11:03 13:03 15:33 17:33 09:18 Timings in BOLD are Bulmer Tye, Park Lane 09:07 11:07 13:07 15:37 17:37 19:22 fixed timing points FLAT FARES Bulmer, Cross Roads 09:11 11:11 13:11 15:41 17:41 19:26 All timings in Italics £3 SINGLE Gestingthorpe, Foundry Corner 09:17 11:17 13:17 15:47 17:47 19:32 need to be pre-booked £5 RETURN Wickham St Paul, The Victory 09:23 11:23 13:23 15:53 17:53 19:38 Between any two stops Pebmarsh, Bus Shelter 09:32 11:32 13:32 16:02 18:02 19:47 Timings other than those in Pebmarsh, War Memorial 09:33 11:33 13:33 16:03 18:03 19:48 bold type will vary up to 10 Little Maplestead, Corner 09:39 11:39 13:39 16:09 18:09 19:54 minuites either side of stated time, dependent on the Great Maplestead, Church 09:45 11:45 13:45 16:15 18:15 20:00 number of passengers booked Little Maplestead, Pump 09:51 11:51 13:51 16:21 18:21 20:06 on the service. Halstead, High Street 09:56 11:56 13:56 16:26 18:26 20:11 latest arrival time Halstead, High Street 09:37 11:37 13:37 16:07 18:07 19:43 earliest arrival time F315 From 01/03/2018 Halstead, High Street 07:30 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:30 18:30 Little Maplestead, Pump 07:35 10:05 12:05 14:05 16:35 18:35 Timings in BOLD are Great Maplestead, Church 07:41 10:11 12:11 14:11 16:41 18:41 fixed timing points FLAT FARES Little Maplestead, Cock 07:49 10:17 12:17 14:17 16:47 18:47 All timings in Italics £3 SINGLE Pebmarsh, War Memorial 07:54 10:23 12:23 14:23 16:53 18:53 need to be pre-booked £5 RETURN Pebmarsh, Bus Shelter 07:55 10:24 12:24 14:24 16:54 18:54 Between any two stops Wickham St Paul, The Victory 08:04 10:33 12:33 14:33 17:03 19:03 Timings other than those in Gestingthorpe, Foundry Corner 08:10 10:39 12:39 14:39 17:09 19:09 bold type will vary up to 10 Bulmer, Cross Roads 08:15 10:45 12:45 14:45 17:15 19:15 minuites either side of stated time, dependent on the Bulmer Tye, Park Lane 08:19 10:49 12:49 14:49 17:19 19:19 number of passengers booked Ballingdon, Kings Head 08:23 10:53 12:53 14:53 17:23 19:23 on the service.