Shapwick School By Sue McAuliffe

Shapwick School returned after their Christmas break on the 10

January to a full and busy curriculum and programme of events for

the Spring term, including a

trip to the Bristol Old Vic and a visit from the Young Shakespeare

Company for the Prep students. Year 9 have options to choose so

there is an Options Fair in February, Bridgwater and Strode Colleges

are visiting and putting on workshops for Year 10 students.

On Wednesday the 13th January the whole school attended a

presentation in assembly

about the amazing trip

some of our Yr 11 students had been on to Nepal at the end of last term.

The students and teachers spent 2 days trekking up (and down) the mountains of the

Annapurna range where they visited a village called Tolka there they spent 3 days

painting the buildings at the village school. The school has students from ages 3 to 17

and relies on donations and groups like ours to ensure they can continue educating the

local children. The group also visited a village called Gandruk (one of the largest

Ghurkha villages in Nepal) and the “Temple of Peace” in Pokhara.

The students had an amazing time and gained a lot of life experiences from the

expedition.

Issue 254

February

2016 Colour photos

and news on our website:

www.shapwicknews.co.uk

TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS - Six months £40;Twelve months £70 Contact: shapwickpc@btinternet.com

Shapwick Parish Council Parish Councillor –Rupert Bullock has been co-opted on to the Parish Council. The Council now has a full complement of

seven councillors.

Flood Mitigation Work – See report form the Chair – work to begin 21st January 2016.

Clean for the Queen – As part of this nationwide initiative a village litter pick will take place – watch out for the flyers.

Planning Application 43/15/0010 – Works to a beech tree at 2 Loxley Batch – the Parish Council considered the application and

will recommend to SDC that instead of a reduction in height by 1/3 that the main leaders are reduced by 1.5m – this in the

interest of preservation of the tree.

Queen’s 90th birthday – The Parish Council are happy to support the closure of Church Road for a street party and encourage all

interested groups within the village to co-ordinate this party.

Communication with Villagers – There has been a positive reaction to the new format of the Shapwick News. The Parish

Council is going to set up a website so that villagers can access minutes, agendas, relevant papers etc. online.

Precept – The Parish Council agreed to set a precept of £8,000. This is an increase of £500 on the last two years and it is hoped

this increase fund further support of the community.

Date of Next Meeting – Tuesday 15th March 2016 at 7.30pm. All villagers welcome.

Flooding Mitigation Works – Year 3 Having successfully secured additional funding from Somerset County Council for a third year your Parish Council have now

organised works to clear or reinstate roadside ditches and ensure culverts are clear in the following areas:

Northbrook Road; Buscott Lane; Chestnut Lane and Station Road

Please be patient should you be delayed at all by our contractor as the work will benefit us all.

The network of ditches and drains is very important to keeping Shapwick dry so please check now that winter is on us that any

running through your land are flowing. Thank you.

Shapwick Railway Station According to Wikipedia Shapwick Railway Station closed on the 7th March 1966 soon to be 50 years ago.

If you lived in Shapwick and used the Railway when it was operating and have any stories or pictures you would like to share to

mark this anniversary please get in touch.

Brian Norris – Chair of PC

I am your Village Agent

I offer free and confidential

practical support to

local people and community

groups.

Please get in contact, with

any query

no matter how large or small:

Alex Ward

Email: alex@somersetrcc.org.uk

Telephone: 07746 332897

Page 2

Want to know what to do with those unwanted Christmas presents? By Nerina Scott

Please don't discard or pass them on, if you hold on to them for the Village Fete in the

Summer they can be put either on the Bric-a-Brac stall or into the Silent Auction.

Thank you

Making Christmas Wreaths at the Village Hall .... and then the next day BBC Somerset visited the Village Hall as part of the Richard

Lewis programme "Clueless" which is based upon a Treasure Hunt around the

county. Unfortunately radio transmission was very poor ("there's a surprise" I hear

you say!) and what was planned to be 10-12 minutes broadcast from the Hall ended up

being about 2-3 minutes transmission from a mobile phone inside the

Hall. Nevertheless James from BBC Somerset went away with a wreath he completed

to hang on his door .

WI By Sue Sellick

Great fun at our January meeting, wine tasting courtesy of Matt

from Majestic wines. There were mocktails available plus some

tasty appetisers kindly supplied by Patricia. Also it was good to see

some welcome new faces.

A selection of Christmas photos were displayed on the Board for all

to see and arrangements confirmed for our post Christmas meal at

the Ashcott Inn.

The Blackboard was full with suggestions for future events

including theatre trips and a book club - so watch this space. Matt

explained the format of the evening, a fun evening to take on board

the flavours of three white and three red wines. Interesting fact -

apparently Ladies have twice as many taste buds as men! In

between tasters, Sandy had produced a wine region quiz for us to

work on.

We all had a great time and learnt a lot, what a great way to spend a Tuesday night.

Next months competition is for a homemade knitted item and the next quiz will take place in March with a James Bond theme.

The Competition cup winner was Dora Watkins with 77 points, well done Dora.

The winners of the Cheese straws competition were Jo, Debbie, and Shelley, judged by Matt and a Birthday posy was presented

to Karen. The raffle was won by Shelley. To close the evening, we all enjoyed a lovely cuppa.

Church Services 7th February Catcott Holy Communion 9am Ashcott Family Communion 10.30am Edington Informal Worship10.30am Shapwick Praise & Prayer 6.30pm 10th February Ash Wednesday Burtle Holy Communion 7.30pm 14th February Shapwick Family Communion 10.30am Chilton Polden Holy Communion 10.30am Burtle Holy Communion 4.30pm 21st February Catcott Family Communion 10.30am Chilton Polden Informal Worship 10.30am Ashcott Holy Communion 6.30pm 28th February Shapwick Holy Communion 9am Burtle Family Communion 10.30am Edington Evensong 6.30pm Midweek Holy Communion Ashcott 1st & 3rd Thursday 10am 6th March - Mothering Sunday Catcott Holy Communion 9am Chilton Polden Informal Worship 10.30am Shapwick Family Communion 10.30am Shapwick Praise & Prayer 6,30pm

Bishop Peter sends you warm New Year Greetings As the new year gets underway so our thoughts turn to spring time and new

growth. Even in the midst of a wet winter and the sometimes seemingly

relentless flow from news channels of strife between nations and stories of

sadness for individuals, we look forward in hope. Hope is a peculiarly Christian

virtue which St Paul puts alongside faith and love and it’s a mindset for

everyday life, not just for the afterlife. Our trust is in the promises of Christ that

this life is not the end but those same promises can also renew us daily. The

world is God’s good gift and we are a special and much loved part of it –

individually, and collectively. Shaping our future is a part of what following

Christ is all about. As I write I am preparing for a Bishop’s Staff residential at

Abbey House. We will meet in a spirit of prayerful reflection, seeking wisdom

in the quiet and listening carefully for the voice that calls us and compels us to

action. We are looking for ways to grow the church and to shape the future of

what ‘church’ means in this part of the world. We will be rejoicing in all that we

have and love and looking forward to see where the Lord is leading us. Seeking

prayerfully and carefully to the call and leading of the Holy Spirit will be at the

heart of all we will discuss together. At the heart of our faith is the call to

worship God, to proclaim Christ, to make disciples, to serve our communities

and to further the Kingdom. The words Sumorsǣte ealle (all the people of

Somerset) come from the County motto. God’s love is for “all the people of

Somerset” and it is our task to be channels of that love. As 2016 unfolds may it

bring you much joy as we continue to put our faith and trust in Christ.

Eric Lockyer 1938 - 2015 By Tracey Lockyer

Eric Lockyer was born at Catcott Burtle Farm, Burtle on 25 January 1938. The youngest of six children, at an early age, Eric's family moved to Kent Farm, Shapwick where they spent their childhood working on the family farm. Eric attended Shapwick primary school and then went on to Westonzoyland. Eric took part in local gymkhanas and pony racing in his early years. All Eric’s brothers and his sister continued farming throughout their lives.

Eric met Rita in 1957 and they married in 1963 when they moved to Bowerings Farm, Shapwick where they were to spend the rest of their lives. Bridget, Tracey and Andrew where born between 1966 and 1969 and all grew up on the family farm. Eric farmed livestock and arable. He was a member of the Polden Hills Young Farmers Advisory Committee and local skittles teams. He had a great passion for showing prime livestock and through the years showed and had success at many shows including the Bath and West and local Christmas fatstock shows. He never gave up and showed his animals right up until his illness.

Farming in Shapwick, Eric was a character! He was always to be seen checking his livestock on his tractor or pick-up with his faithful dog by his side; always making time to wave, smile or stop and have a chat. He was happy to share his knowledge with people, young farmers and anyone who asked, teaching them how to farm, look after livestock and of course how to prepare animals for showing.

After the loss of Rita, twenty six years ago, Eric continued to do what he knew -farming until his health deteriorated twelve years ago forcing him to stop milking. He continued with two hundred sheep and a new venture - chickens!

In June 2015 Eric was diagnosed with liver cancer. He fought his illness courageously to the end and he passed peacefully away on 20 December 2015 at home.

Tracey, Andrew and Bridget would like to thank the doctors and staff at Edington surgery, Total Care and the Marie Curie and district nurses for all their help and support and for all the family and friends and villagers who came to visit Eric and make his illness easier.

Tracey would like to express her gratitude to all friends in the village for their help and kindness whilst Eric was ill. as many of you know Dad was diagnosed in June and so many people offered their help right at the start of dad,s illness. from helping and checking sheep to visiting Dad once he was bed ridden. he enjoyed the many visits which often came with

Ruby Dore 1924 - 2015 By Jan Jones

Our mum or as The Polden Wheel parishioners knew her and often called her 'My Mum' was born on 28th March 1924 at Holly Terrace, Chard. Mum went to Chard

school and after leaving at the age of fourteen years old, went to work in an office at a butcher’s shop until she was sixteen, doing the accounts. Then she went on to make gloves until she was eighteen when she was called up and worked as a machine operator in a factory, making screws for aircraft. A few weeks after starting this job, Mum was moved into the inspection office for two years.

Mum and Dad met at a dance, at Winsham, where my Dad lived. Mum and Dad were married on 5 August 1944 and were always a very devoted and loving couple. Mum found it very hard when Dad died at fifty-nine years old. After losing him, she volunteered to work with disabled people for ten years. Mum loved 'Countdown' and she would often beat them. She was amazing at both the maths and the word puzzles.

Mum’s expectations of herself were always high, she always did everything to the best of her ability. She was good at dressmaking, cooking, wallpapering, painting, knitting, tapestries, gardening, well she could put her hand to almost anything.

Mum was loved by everyone who knew her, especially by her family. She was known as Nan by her grandchildren and little Nana by her great grand children. Mum was very blessed to be healthy most of her life, it was only in the last few months that illness caught up with her at ninety-one.

We too have been very blessed as a family to have had our Mum, grandmother, great grandmother and great, great grandmother for nearly ninety-two years and she will be greatly missed by all the family but she will never be forgotten. She will be with us every day as we are reminded what she meant to each one of us in the things we each remember and hold precious. We thank you Mum for everything.

Obituaries

food, cakes and gifts to a simple chat talking about the village and farming.this i can ensure you kept dads spirits high and gave him the determination to fight. i would also like to thank you all for the numerous cards and messages sent to me after Dad passed away they certainly helped me and gave me great comfort. and finally thank you to all that attended Dad,s funeral service a great send off for my Dad . please accept this as my personal acknowledgement.

Published by Shapwick Parish Council

Edited by Ken Wade NB Copy for the next Issue of the News should be sent to

Sue Williams, 9 Orchard Way shapwicknews@yahoo.co.uk by 20tth February

There is no guarantee that all material submitted will be used - publication is at

the Editor’s discretion and articles may be amended or condensed. We do not

print anonymous contributions but are prepared to include items under a pen name, if so desired, on condition that we are given the name and address of the

author(s). Opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily

those of the Editor nor Parish Council.

Useful Contact Details Parish Council - Clerk-Sue Williams 210749 shapwickpc@btinternet.com Village Hall - Secretary Claire Brown 210874 Hall Bookings-shapwickbookings@btinternet.com or 210329 St. Mary’s Church - Jan Jones 210804 Edington Doctors Surgery 01278 722077 Prescriptions 01278 723459 Bridgwater Hospital 01278 436555 Sedgemoor District Council 0845 408 2540 Somerset County Council 0300 123 2224

Clubs Cubs-Adam Smith 07508 468173 Cricket Club-Martin Baker 01458 831131 Friends of Shapwick Church-Ann Cattermole 01458 210330 Gardening Club-Sheila Coles 01458 210664 Pilates-Mary Huntington 01749 677786 Shapwick Runners-www.shapwickrunners.co.uk WI-Patricia Bragg 01458 211146 Yoga-Hannah Schwabe 07881 815195 If you would like your contact included please email it to shapwicknews@yahoo.co.uk

What’s On in Shapwick

Save The Date Saturday 9th April

The Shapwick Roving

Dinner

Is back

More details to follow next

month

candywall@btinternet.com

WI Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 9th

February, 7.30 pm in Shapwick Village

Hall - Alpacas and Yarn, "Experiences

with my herd of Alpacas, from feeding

and breeding to yarns and knitting" with

Tracey Mead. Knitted items will be on

display as well as wools for sale so don't

forget your pocket money just in case.

LITE BITE 'Lite Bite' lunches in

2016 will be served on the

3rd Monday of the

month from 12.30pm in

St Mary's Church,

beginning on 15th

February. The cost is only

£2, so a bargain for a nourishing meal!

Do come and join us, to not only enjoy a

wholesome light lunch, but also to meet to

chat with friends, and meet new ones too -

perhaps bring your neighbour?

There is always space for someone to offer a

little time occasionally for serving/washing

up/baking a cake etc. so if that is you, please

do ring me on the number below and that

would be greatly appreciated.

If you have a problem with transport and

would like someone to pick you up, then

please do telephone.

Looking forward to seeing you. Helen

01458 210885