The Link Magazine

Altar Flowers and Cleaning Rotas for our churches

Somersham
August 2nd, 9th Louise Warren
August 16,23,30 Christine Jarrold
September 6,13 Wedding
Sept.20, 27, Oct 4 Pat Woolhouse
Oct 11,18 All help with Harvest please

August Cleaning Team B
September Cleaning Team C

Flowton
August 2nd, 9th Mrs Laflin
August 16, 23, Mrs Fawcus
August 30, Sept 6th Mrs Grimwood
Sept 13, 20 Mrs Ward
Sept 27, Oct 4th Mrs Munson and all help for Harvest on 27th please

August Cleaning Mr and Mrs K Grimwood
September CleaningMr and Mrs P Ward

Offton
August 2nd, 9th Mrs Maartje Rondeboom
August 16th, 23rd Mrs Sue Pryke
Aug. 30th, Sept. 6th Mrs Janet Dickson
Sept. 13th, 20th Mrs Silke Pinson-Roxburgh and all
help for Harvest on Sept 13th please
Sept 27th, Oct 4th Mrs Sheila Pinson-Roxburgh

August Cleaning Mrs Maartje Rondeboom
September CleaningMrs S. Pinson-Roxburgh

Willisham (flowers and cleaning)
August 2, 9 Mrs R Cage
August 16, 23 Mrs V Large
August 30, Sept 6 Mrs E Hodson
Sept 13, 20 Mrs J Somerville
Sept 27 Mrs T Southall

Open The Book
 
Mary Carter and myself, Debbie Bullard, recently attended a “10” Year Anniversary of “ Open The Book” at Brickhill Baptist Church in Bedford where it all started.

Dave Todd had this idea that he would like to go into schools and read to the children the basic bible stories.

Ten years later the word has spread and there are now teams of volunteers going into primary schools on a regular basis from all parts of the country.

The stories are told very simply from the “Lion Storyteller Bible” by author Bob Hartman and are re-enacted using various props or are just read straight from the book.  

Bob Hartman was the guest of honour on the day. He retold some of the great stories with such enthusiasm and had us all doing lots of actions, which we can relay back to our own primary schools. It was a really good day, meeting up with other volunteers and gave us a lot of inspiration to continue this into the new school year in Somersham from September 2009.

(If you would like to join the team, please contact Debbie Bullard in Somersham)

Stowmarket Stroke Support Group
 
Do you know there is a stroke support group in your area? We meet every Thursday morning during the school term at Hillside Community Centre in Stowmarket. We are a dedicated group with a whole range of activities to keep our members happy and stimulated, so whether you are a stroke survivor and would like to share in the fun and games and organised outings, or you would like to join our team of enthusiastic volunteers then please contact our Chairperson, Anne Helliwell on 01449 673237

Bulletin from BRUX

I expect we all say it at some time, but ‘doesn’t time fly’. It seems only last issue that I was writing for the Link, but here I am again. Like the UK we have been suffering a heat wave, 45° at 8.30 in the evening; too hot at midday to even put your noses outdoors. But for all that it is great to be able to sit outside in the evening wearing the briefest of clothing and sipping a glass of wine. The garden, though, has suffered greatly, no amount of watering is really helping, but earlier in the year I was able to have lettuce, spring onions, beetroot, black and red currants, strawberries and a very few raspberries (first year bushes). I am hoping that it will rain soon and help to swell the tomatoes.

Earlier in the year the deer came into the garden and ate the heads off most of my roses! They also went into Msr Beau’s garden-he was not at all pleased-the man that rents the field next to his plot has taken away the high hedge that stopped the deer from coming across, also my other neighbours have taken all their hedges down. I could hear him on the plot swearing and gesticulating as only the French can do, and he is now in the process of erecting a 7ft. High barrier. I also think he may have a GUN.

There has been a happening in BRUX!
Msr Beau came hurrying into my garden talking away in patois French, even his neighbours have difficulty understanding him, anyway he was all excited and wanted me to follow him; he hurried off and I duly followed, only to discover that a lorry had attempted to back around the narrow entrance to the village and had smashed part of the wall down. The mayor arrived, the mayor’s assistant arrived, someone took photographs and a great deal of red and white plastic tape was draped all around, many people came from near and far! Watch this space.

I am now the proud owned of a cock bird ’Dennis’ and 3 hens-Henny Penny, Katie and Jenny –and have been collecting eggs from the word go, however 2 weeks ago I noticed that Katie had been sitting on the nest all week. As I am going to be away from home for 2 weeks I did not want her to have babies whilst Msr Beau is looking after them, so I lifted her off the nest!!! 12 eggs—she was sitting on the eggs that the other chickens had laid—I was cruel and removed all the eggs—however I did not reckon with Katie all last week back there and she was refusing to get up. I spoke to my French friend Samuel who lives in the village and he said he would find a large box in a cool shed and we should take Katie and her eggs and put her in his shed, together with 3 of his eggs—by the way, mine are only small hens and his are regular size-when they hatch, which will be whilst I am in hospital, he will keep the chicks to rear. He was very jealous that I had a broody hen before him when we both go our chickens about the same time.

Many people have asked if I speak French—the answer is very , very little, which will be obvious when you read this –I wanted my hair cut, so I go into the salon. The Madame asks what it is I need—I hold up 2 fingers and say “Coupe deux centimetres.” I go and have hair washed, take off glasses (now I am blind) - chop, chop, chop. I think that’s a lot of hair coming off-Yes, you’ve guessed it—she thought I meant deux centimetres all over, not just off the ends. I left the shop scalped but I learnt a lesson.

French bureaucracy gone mad: in April last year Tony had an accident. I duly let DVLA know and they asked for his driving licence to be returned—no problem. On Monday 1st July 2009, two gendarmes arrive in the evening. I immediately think they have caught me committing a misdemeanour, but no, they merely want to inform us that another gendarme will come, but he will telephone and arrange a time, and explain that it is ‘the judiciary’. Wednesday morning the phone rings and it is the gendarme that speaks a little English; he asks if my husband has a driving licence. I say NO, it is law in UK that if you are unable to drive anymore and live outside the UK you must return the licence. He then said that I must go immediately to Montmorillon to get a French licence. I said he does not need a licence, the French would not give him a licence seeing how he is paralysed down one side and his eyesight is affected—but he must have a French licence, the judiciary want to put points on it for the accident in April 2008. Please, if anyone has a simple answer to all this please let me know—I shall probably be in the Bastille.

Enough I hear you say, so I will end with kind thoughts of Willisham and Offton and to the many friends Tony and I made there.

Biddy Webber
biddybegood@live.fr

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Barking Pre-School (Registered Charity 1020882)

The children have been busy with the seasonal activity of seaside and holidays, they have made sand pictures, flags and explored different shells and talked about where they come from. They even opened their very own travel agents booking holidays for the staff! We have said goodbye to several of the children at the end of term, we wish Mia, Brandon, Cassie, Aimee, Judah, Amelie and Lewis all the best as they start their journey at Primary School. We are also looking forward to welcoming the new children and their families at the beginning of the new term in September. In September we will be holding a Healing/Spiritual evening at Ringshall Village Hall, we will have Haughley Spiritual Church leading the evening’s events. Look out for posters in the next few weeks for details.

We have places available from September, if you would like a place for your child please contact either the Pre-school on 07754892077 or Sally Aveling on 01449 744510. Children can start pre-school from the age of 2 ½ The pre-school is open 9.30 until 12 noon weekdays in term time and children can attend any number of sessions per week (space permitting). Our well-trained, committed staff work hard to organise a wide variety of fun and educational activities including crafts, cooking, music, story telling and construction. Something to capture each child's imagination.