minchinhampton with box parish magazine · 2020-05-23 · magazine see page 4 ... local information...
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MINCHINHAMPTON WITH BOX PARISH MAGAZINE
JUNE 2020 Price 60p
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HOLY TRINITY, MINCHINHAMPTON WITH ST. BARNABAS, BOX Rector Revd Canon Howard Gilbert [email protected] The Rectory, Butt Street, Minchinhampton 882289
Associate Priest Revd John Spiers [email protected] 873176 Reader Mrs Linda Jarvis 884545
Churchwardens Mr Jamie Dalrymple-Hamilton [email protected] 832776 Mrs Mandy Jutsum [email protected] 882477 Verger Mr Colin Brookes, Vestry Cottage, Bell Lane GL6 9BP 886210 Church Administrator Mrs Christine Gibson [email protected] 889004 (Benefice office open Tue-Fri 9am-1pm)
P.C.C. Secretary Mrs Margaret Sheather [email protected] 834961 Treasurer Mr John Jutsum [email protected] 882477 Recorder Mr Pat Swift [email protected] 885231 Stewardship Mr Tim Mowat [email protected] 883369 Parish Giving Scheme 01452 835595 Electoral Roll Mrs Jackie Natt [email protected] 731018 Safeguarding Judy Little 884683
Music Director Dr Warwick Cole [email protected] 07963 739027 Bellringing Mrs Angie Ayling [email protected] 884203 Flower Guild Mrs Kathy Hurst [email protected] 882960 Senior Sacristan Mrs Alison Whitaker 297868 Senior Server Mrs Margaret Sheather [email protected] 834961
Church, Porch Room and musical instrument bookings via Church Administrator Magazine see page 4 Lifts To Church Mr Pat Swift [email protected] 885231 Church Website www.minchchurch.org.uk c/o Mr Michael Gwilliam 883090 OTHER USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS (code 01453 unless specified) Police – non emergency 101 Boots Pharmacy 882146 Minchinhampton School 883273 Minchinhampton Post Office 884590 Minchinhampton Surgery 883793 Minchinhampton Library 885497 Longfield 886868 Parish Council Office 731186 PPG Transport to Hospitals 887314 Benefits Agency 438000 Stroud Hospital 0300 4218080 Samaritans (free) 116123 Gloucester Royal Hospital 0300 422 2222 Relate 0870 010 0873 Cirencester Hospital 0300 4216200 NSPCC Child Helpline 0808 800 5000 Cheltenham Hospital 0300 422 2222 Gas Leaks 0800 111 999 National Health Helpline 0845 4647 Electricity Power Loss Help 0800 328 1111 Social Services 760500 Severn Trent Emergencies 0800 783 4444 Horsfall House 731227 Voluntary Car Service 767771
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LOCAL INFORMATION WITH TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR PEOPLE WITH NO COMPUTERS,
IPADS OR SMART PHONES With grateful thanks to Minchinhampton Life Newsletter who compiled this
information but which is only available with the internet. MCRG MINCHINHAMPTON CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE GROUP 07307155119 (call between 10am and 3pm) [email protected] Do you need a helping hand - shopping, prescriptions fetched, a friendly chat? Age Uk Help 08002 980579 If you are an older person feeling alone you can call Freephone number for a friendly conversation. Lines open 9am - 4pm, Mon-Fri Aqua Pura, plumber Tetbury Street 01453 731011 On hand for emergency plumbing for self- isolation over 70s and no charge. Blue Boys Garage 01453 882668 Operating according to Government ad-vice and doing everything they can to protect staff, customers & suppliers. MOTs are being suspended from 30 March. They are happy to advise as details emerge. Blue Diamond Garden centre 01453 833989 Delivery service in operation. Call 833989 to place order with a member of their team. Lines may be busy, can order online through their website. Reopening Wed 13th Boots Chemist 01453 882146 Open 10-12 and 2-4pm Citizen’s Advice Help/advice 0808 800 0510 Assistance on many issues, including benefit entitlements, debt and financial worries. Henry’s 01453 886855 Café closed. All products available to deliver plus large dishes, e.g. chilli, lasagne, soup and tarts. Bread orders for next day delivery by 1pm. Tel 88655. L Taylor & Sons Butcher 01453 882163 [email protected] Delivery by working with other members of the community who are volunteering to collect orders. Will be closing between 12 and 1 and open from 1- 5pm. No deliveries on Mondays. Please allow 2 days notice for orders. Order by phone and pay by card. M & B Stores, Minchinhampton 01453 883265 [email protected] Delivering newspapers for Minchinhampton and surrounding areas. Anyone interested in this service, please take details of name, address & phone num-ber to store and they will contact you. Intend to help anyone self-isolating with groceries. Contact by visiting store or telephoning. Marrows Greengrocers, Nailsworth 07748618946 [email protected] Quality root veg, fruit and salads, delivered in a box
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Stroud Farm Services Animal feeds, Chalford 01453 886189 [email protected]. uk Taking pre-paid telephone orders during office hours for collection and will also deliver pet feed, bird feed and other hardware/gardening essentials free of charge to local community. The Chip Shed Fish and Chips, West End , Minchinhampton 01453 731221 [email protected] or online pre-order only. Check their website www.chipshed.co.uk/minchinhampton-fish-and-chips Open, restricted hours, Fridays & Saturdays. The Kitchen High Street 01453 882655 [email protected] Open for same day orders. There is now a leaflet for choices of meal availa-ble. The Long Table Community Kitchen Brimscombe 01453 367499 meals@thelongtableonline. com Ready meals that can be delivered or col-lected. Will deliver a week's worth of meals to self-isolating people and car-ers. 7 meals for £25 but if cost is a barrier do say. Royal British Legion Helpline 0808802 8080 [email protected] If serving member or ex member of the armed forces - RBL provide assis-tance with welfare, including financial worries. Also, the Veterans Gateway team on 0808 802 1212 (24 hours a day). Silverline 0800 470 8090 Helpline www. thesilverline.org.uk Only confiden-tial free helpline service for older people open 24 hours day. Telephone friendship. Linking people to local groups and services. For those with internet access, Minchinhampton Life may be contacted by email at [email protected] or visit their website www.minchlife.com
DEADLINE FOR ITEMS FOR JULY MAGAZINE: 9th JUNE
Editor: Angie Ayling [email protected] 884203
Advertising: Angie Ayling (as above)
Treasurer: Kathleen Gwilliam 883090
Distribution: Diana Lapping 889309
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LETTER FROM THE ASSOCIATE PRIEST Pentecost On Easter Day Jesus rose from the dead. Then the disciples met Jesus six times. In the garden, on the road to Emmaus, in a locked room, by the Sea of Gali-lee. Forty days after Easter Day Jesus ascended to heaven. The disciples then waited. A few hundred dedicated followers of a man who they now truly be-lieved was the Son of God waited. Since Easter their lives had been uncertain. There had been some words of reassurance from Jesus. Yet they were still unsure of what was going to happen next. Then Jesus was gone. God the Son had returned to God the Father. They wait-ed for another ten days. Jesus had said to them: ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you an-other Advocate, to be with you for ever.’ That Advocate came on the feast of Pentecost.
We celebrate Pentecost 49 days after Easter. This year it is on Sunday 31st May. We will not gather in any of our three churches for this celebration. They are still locked. However we will worship, on our own or in small family groups. As we worship we should give thanks for the power of the Holy Spir-it, the Advocate, the Comforter. It was the Holy Spirit which inspired those early disciples to spread the message that Jesus had taught them across the Roman Empire and beyond. The Holy Spirit came as a violent wind, tongues of fire rested upon the disciples’ heads. Many Jews were gathered in Jeru-salem for the festival of Pentecost. They heard the disciples speaking to them in their own languages. The Holy Spirit is universal, the Holy spirt is inclusive. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires us to share the love of God with one another, a love that is deep within our hearts. This love is about a con-cern for, or devotion to others.
Since Monday 23rd March our lives have been uncertain. When will this lock-down finish? Will I have a job at the end of all this? This letter is being writ-ten just after the lockdown has been eased. When you read this letter will the lockdown have been eased again? Like those early disciples we live in uncertain times. They did not know what their future would hold. Peter eventually travelled to Rome. Thomas is thought to have travelled to Kerala in Southern India. Despite their uncertainty their lives were transformed by the Holy Spirt.
In the uncertainty that we face in the weeks and months ahead will our lives be changed? I believe that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been moved to love one another in ways that we would not have would thought about in early March. Since the lockdown I have witnessed enor-mous generosity of spirit in our communities in the Benefice. There have been numerous examples where people have been loving to their neigh-bours as well as loving to those who were strangers.
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Jesus called us to carry out two straightforward commandments. Love God and then love our neighbour as ourselves. On the Feast of Pentecost, or Whit Sunday as it was called, we celebrate the power of the Holy Spirit which helps us express that love. But, as we love God and our neighbour, we must remember to love ourselves. Take care everyone. To paraphrase the latest Government slogan ‘be alert, not just for cows on the common, but for each other’s physical, mental and spiritual welfare’. Reverend John Spiers May 2020 FROM THE REVEREND SANDY EMERY
Dear Friends
This is the last time I will write an article for the maga-zine as your Associate Priest prior to my retiring. Little did I know that coronavirus would take over our lives and disrupt all plans of farewell. My last service was to be May 24th when I would have celebrated my final Eucha-rist as your Priest this last 10 years having the privilege of serving you and covering two vacancies. I am required to retire as I reach a significant age the next day!! I will then be on leave from ministerial duties for a period of 6 months before requesting the Bishop to approve me for PTO Permission to Officiate as a retired priest and join my colleagues whom serve you now as retired priests in this Benefice. I would have been inviting you all to celebrate with me for my last service and lunch afterwards. However, we are not sure when we’ll be together again. I am like many others in lockdown for at least three months as recom-mended for vulnerable groups. What a change in our lives. I will however continue to be part of the Minchinhampton congregation and will worship with you on a Sunday. Many of us may be trying still to make sense of this. Some will be anxious and some afraid. Many will be suffering from loneliness due to self isolating. Our world and life as we know it has been thrown into chaos much like in the Genesis creation story everything has been thrown into chaotic directions. The experience that we have been through can be likened to bereavement. There has been denial and disbelief and gradually acceptance that our world for the next several months is utterly changed. There will be sadness and loss and each one of us will be affected. Should we be asking ourselves what are we learning from this and how will it change us. Hopefully it will have given each of us time to reflect. Have we paced ourselves each day finding a rhythm to our lives? To consider what we have learnt? What will we change in our lives? Because our lives will be
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changed. Have we discovered what is it that makes us anxious? What al-lows us to feel good and at peace? Our relationships can be messy affairs, some are broken relationships, others withstand the strain and stresses placed upon them. We don’t always get things right. But God is there and everyone is loved and welcomed at his table and that is what we need to give thanks for. Personally I believe that we have had the opportunity or perhaps been forced to do church in different ways and we have been sent out just as the disciples were sent out to bring others to Christ as we practise our faith eve-ry day. Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment that they should love one another. When we see NHS staff and key workers and volunteers we see the love and service that Jesus commanded us to do love and serve others. Prior to coronavirus many people were very focused on themselves and the one positive thing that coronavirus has done for us is it has encouraged peo-ple to come together as groups helping one another, whether community-based groups or church based groups or just neighbours, to focus on the WE not the I and how we can help one another. These are times like no other we have experienced. We must remember we are loved and cared for by our family, friends and God. Even if family and friends have been by virtual hugging and holding. Even though we find our-selves physically apart from others God embraces us in his arms. We must never forget this. The outpouring of God’s love is ever present and sur-rounds everyone. Please embrace the unexpected encounters you may have with your family, friends, neighbours and with God. We will look back on 2020 and know we have survived, we have learnt, we have grown and we have changed. I am reminded of Julian of Norwich, 1342-1416 an anchorite, who is someone who for religious reasons, with-draws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer ori-ented, ascetic life. In 2019-20, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic Julian's relevance to people around the world who are self-isolating was highlighted. Julian was living in the wake of the Black Death, and around her repeated plagues were decimating an already depleted population. As an Anchorite she was self-isolating. The other anchorites would have understood that by removing themselves from life this would not only give them a chance of preserving their own life but also of finding calm and quiet and focus in a chaotic world. I will leave you with the words of Julian of Norwich: “All shalll be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” With love and stay safe, Sandy
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GREENFINGERS
Warming the passata sauce made from home grown tomatoes in the middle of winter releases the lovely aromas of freshly mown grass, hot sunshine and long summer days. Unfortunately, we tend to run out of the home grown pro-duce around the year end, and the commercial alternatives lack the flavour, so I’ve been looking at ways to increase the productivity of the tomato plants, given the space available allows around 12 to 14 plants. One possibility is to try an outdoor variety and take over one of the vegetable beds. Another is to grow more vigorous and productive plants in the greenhouse, and one way of doing this is to graft the tomato plant onto a more vigorous root stock, so I’m informed.
The rootstocks generally available are F1 Aegis, Submarine F1 and Esta-mino F1, which are very vigorous and disease resistant. For grafting, the seedling stems should be of similar size, about 4mm dia, typically with 2 to 4 true leaves, and before the stem becomes woody. The scion stem is cut into a wedge and this is inserted into a slit in the rootstock stem, and held in place with a clip. Humidity is maintained with a clear plastic bag and the plant is kept out of direct sunlight at about 17°C. It should be checked daily to en-sure it is moist but not too wet, and after a couple of weeks, when it is grow-ing strongly, the cover and clip can be removed. Growing two plants of the same variety in the same conditions, one naturally and one on a rootstock would be a good way to determine how effective this technique is.
Whilst on the subject of growing tomatoes, mine often suffer from cracking, which is due to variable water supply and/or fluctuating temperatures; and blossom end rot which is due to a lack of calcium, generally caused by a var-iable water supply. I grow the plants in pots, which should be maintained at a consistent moisture level, so perhaps an automatic watering system may be in order, together with the application of shade and better ventilation during the hottest weeks, (and possibly a bigger freezer.)
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The grass is looking better for some attention during April. After the first cut, mainly to tidy it up, much of the moss was removed by hand raking. This material was added to the compost heap, but forked over with clippings and cardboard to ensure it was well mixed. The piece of carpet over the heap seems to have made a big difference to the temperature, and hopefully elimi-nated the weed seeds. A chemical weedkiller for lawns, Weedol, was then applied specifically to the weeds, rather than everywhere, and finally a sim-ple lawn feed was watered on. I’ll top dress with some sharp sand over the next few weeks.
The displays of buttercups across the Park, and cowslips along Besbury bank were excellent in early May.
There will be 2 eclipses during June, and both will not be visible from the UK. The first, on 5th June is a penumbral lunar eclipse, and the second is an an-nular solar eclipse on 21st, the day after the summer solstice. In around 200BC the ancient Greek astronomer Eratrosthenes used the information generated by the solstice to determine the radius of the earth, and was well aware that the earth was spherical and how big it was, long before it had been circumnavigated.
PS: I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but do newcomers to the town refer to it as Minch’, whilst the locals call it ‘hampton? Pete Smith
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LOCKDOWN
My name is Luke and I am 8 years old. I live in Minchinhampton and I go to Minchinhampton School. I live with my brother Conor who is 4 and my mum and dad. I am writing this to give you a little taste of what it is like in lockdown for an 8 year-old.
I have been taught at home, because the school has shut, but not all day so I have been learning through play. The things I like playing with most are my Play Mobil Romans and Lego. I have learned to play Cribbage and now I am very good the highest level on the computer. I have also learned Roman Numerals.
Early one morning we heard lots of crow noises in the garden on the patio. We looked out of the win-dow and we saw a buzzard with a crow in its claws. Lots of other crows were trying to help. The buzzard swooped off with the crow. I think the crow was dead.
My family have been walking a Chihuahua called Max that belongs to Mr Trevor Grosvenor. We have been doing this because he can't take his dog for walks at the moment. My brother is scared of Max and once Conor was chased by him. When we walk the dog, I go on my bike to get more exercise.
I have not been able to play with my friends or go to Cubs. I can't see my Grandma who lives in Somerset so we Facetime her every morning and evening.
My mum has more time to go in the garden and my dad hasn't left home for work for a long time. He is working at home. When he was not working, he built some decking at the end of the garden and we have had a lot of deliver-ies of stones and wood. Conor and I helped him with the building, but we could have slowed him down! I think my mum and dad are a bit stressed about the situation of Covid 19 because they can’t go out in the car and go to different places. Mummy was meant to go to Ireland to see my Nanna but she could not go and that is a shame because Nanna does not get to see her family that often. She is 85 I think. Daddy was meant to go to Amster-dam to see his team at work.
My mum said after the Coronavirus is under control, the next holiday we will go on, other than Ireland, will be Australia because half of my cousins live there—5 of them. Mummy’s sister with 2 children and daddy’s brother with 3 children are there. But before then, I am looking forward to seeing my friends again. Luke Allen
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FREEDOM As many of us remain housebound and are even threatened with stricter measures if we break the code while others are nobly volunteering to help the housebound, one’s thoughts frequently turn to freedom, what it means, its implications and why our freedom loving nation is predominantly willing to tolerate the current intrusion in our lives.
I suppose that my first concept of freedom was when, aged about 10, at boarding school in Johannesburg, just before the end of each term my friends and I wandered around chanting that well worn ditty that starts: “ No more Latin, no more French, No more sitting on a hard old bench”. The fact that we all had to learn Afrikaans rather than French was neither here nor there - besides Afrikaans did not rhyme with bench. And off we went on our holidays - in my case this involved a 17 hour, 400 mile journey down to the Natal coast. And there my brothers and I indulged in the free-dom enjoyed by young boys - riding bicycles the 2 miles to the beach, riding the surf in the Indian Ocean, playing “Test cricket” all afternoon on the front lawn and, as there was no television, reading a good book in the evening with, perhaps, a weekly trip to the “bioscope” (cinema). As we grew older through adolescence, the ambitions changed. It was on the long train jour-ney that we experienced our first cigarette, found a way to obtain an illicit beer and generally enjoyed pushing back boundaries.
However it was at university in Pietermaritzburg where I discovered that free-dom demanded responsibilities and self-discipline if one wanted to suc-ceed. But politically, on a national level, we were not free. Under the apart-heid regime the government dictated where each race was allowed to live, what jobs were reserved for whites only, what colour of girl you were allowed to date and marry, which beach you could swim off, which park bench you could sit on, who had the right to vote ........... to maintain all this, censorship was rife, habeas corpus was lost and true political freedom simply did not exist. It was only when I went to Oxford where I met “Private Eye”, wit-nessed the 1964 election, watched satirical shows like “That Wast the Week That Was” that I realised the impact of freedom of expression, the im-portance of questioning our political masters, realised that a successful gov-ernment had to be willingly supported by the majority of the population and that debate, reason, good communication and transparency were all essen-tial ingredients in a democracy. Of course all this had been argued by Hobbes and Locke in the seventeenth century enlightenment. While they both agreed that there was a social con-
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tract between the government and people, they differed widely as to how this should be interpreted. Hobbes, the absolutist who was heavily influ-enced by the English Civil War, believed that, left to ourselves, we would be in a state of constant war with each other and that life would be nasty, brut-ish and short. As a result, his contract meant that we should give up all our freedoms for mutual protection and, to do this, we must have authoritarian government. To those who refute this, he would ask as to why you lock your door when you go out or, if he was alive today, he would question why we try to preserve our personal identity details. That is, we simply do not trust society and should allow a dictatorial ruler to impose draconian measures to prevent personal nastiness from happening.
Meanwhile Locke, the constitutionalist who was influenced by the Glorious Revolution, believed that the duty of government was to preserve life, liberty and property. To do this, the people would give it a contract and, if govern-ment failed to honour this, the people had every right to evict the govern-ment for another. As you no doubt can surmise, Locke won the debate - immediately in the case of the USA as Thomas Jefferson, the main man behind the US constitution, was heavily influenced by Locke’s political phi-losophy. However in the UK our progress was slower but substantial. Con-sider the eminent Oxford historian, AJP Taylor’s, opening to his English His-tory 1914 - 1945: “Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state beyond the post office and the policeman.” He goes on to point out how a person could travel without a passport, ignore the demands of national defence and only assist the state if he wished to do so. However he then adds that while the tendency to more state action was increasing (jury service, modest taxation, compul-sory education until 13, meagre pension etc) “the state left the adult citizen alone”. Taylor then adds how all this was changed by the impact of the Great War and we all became active citizens with our lives shaped from above (freedom of movement, conscription, censorship, licensing laws, watering of beer, introduction of summer time etc) and concludes: “The state estab-lished a hold over its citizens which, though relaxed in peacetime, was nev-er to be removed and which the Second World War was again to in-crease. The history of the English state and the English people merged for the first time.”
And that brings us to where we are today. Thank heavens for John Locke (1632-1704). By Peter Lapping
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PUZZLE PAGE SANDWICH SUDOKU Fill the blanks so that each row, each column and each of the nine 3x3 grids contain one instance of each of the num-bers 1-9. The clues on the out-side of the grid show the sums of the numbers sandwiched be-tween the 1 and the 9 in that row or column.
ORDINARY SUDOKU
208
1 112 21
125 0
9 1090
35 11 13 5 14 0 23 0 25
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MY MEMORIES OF THE WAR YEARS - AUDREY SPEAK At the end of August 1939 I was on our usual family holiday to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight with my mother, father and older brother and sister. Dad had been in the Royal Horse Artillery since he was very young and was se-verely wounded in the First World War when his gun received a direct hit and he was the only survivor. He was left with very little use in both arms. Any-way, he decided that as war was imminent, we should all go home earlier than planned. I was 10 years old and was frightened that we might be torpe-doed on the trip home in a lovely little paddle steamer! I must have always been a worrier. On the journey home we shared a compartment on the train with a sailor and Dad got chatting to him and when we arrived at Waterloo, he gave Dad a hat band which was from HMS Hood. Sadly, very early in the war HMS Hood, which was our largest Battleship, was blown up and there were only 3 survivors. I still have that hat band.
Before the war, apparently parents were asked if they would like their chil-dren to be evacuated from London if war did break out. I was put on the list to go with others in my school if or when this happened. We lived in East Acton, opposite Wormwood Scrubs which is a large common and where an Anti-Aircraft Gun site had been placed. Anyway when we arrived home my school party had all gone, and a few days later my parents were told that some children were being evacuated from another school, none of whom I had never met. I was taken there at about 6 am and off I went.
I really don’t remember any details of the actual journey, but my first memory is of arriving at Thatcham in Berkshire and sitting on the floor in the school hall. There were many WVS ladies helping and they started choosing who they would take. I am sure they were picking the pretty little girls first and eventually I was left, with my glasses and plaits, and one boy. We were put in the back of a van and driven round the village until someone said they would take me. Thinking about this now I wonder how my parents knew where I was - very, very few people had a telephone in those days, but I did write and tell them I had arrived. Unfortunately, I didn’t know any of the other children in my party so I just had to get on with it.
Obviously Mum and Dad kept in touch by letter with me and my hosts. They had a daughter who was a little bit older than I was and more sophisticated – talking about boyfriends etc. As for schooling, all the evacuees were placed together in a little church hall, and regardless of age, ability etc.; that was our school. After a year there had been no bombing or other activity in London and my parents said they would like me to come home for a couple of days as I had an annual appointment at the Western Ophthalmic Hospital . My hosts said that if I did go home then I couldn’t come back, so much to my delight I went home. It was lovely to feel I was wanted. However, I was only home for a very short time and the Blitz started.
At first we would go to bed and wait for the Siren to go off and then scramble down to the Anderson shelter in the garden. However eventually we just
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went down to the shelter to begin with as we knew what was going to hap-pen. The smell of candles always reminds me of this, and Dad snored a lot and it used to reverberate all around the corrugated iron. The noise was ter-rible and we didn’t know a lot of the time if it was rockets etc going up or bombs coming down. I can clearly remember the clatter of incendiary bombs coming off the roof. Once again it was decided that I should go away somewhere safer and our neighbour said she had a sister who lived in Ox-ford and maybe I could go there.
At the end of 1940 I was then evacuated again, this time to Oxford to a cou-ple whom I called Auntie Kate and Uncle Arthur. They lived in Old Marston on the outskirts of Oxford. Auntie Kate was quite a hard person and more than houseproud, but Uncle Arthur was a typical jolly countryman with about three teeth and a lovely big smile. He was nagged but it didn’t seem to both-er him. Once again education was a problem and my parents managed to contact the last teacher I had at the outbreak of war and she arranged for me to join Thomas Road Central School which was evacuated from the Dock-lands in London and was in Hinksey on the other side of Oxford. This was using a hall which was once a Social Club, and once again I didn’t know any-one.
Auntie Kate and Uncle Arthur had a daughter aged 21 who was so kind to me and great fun. She had recently married Tom who was in the RAF. I hadn’t realised that somebody that much older than I was could be so kind, as my sister never had any time for me. (About 20 years ago she did tell me that I was my father’s favourite and she was always jealous of me. Neither I nor anyone else was aware of this and after that we got on very well and in latter years I felt that I had a sister.) During this period my sister decided to join the ATS (Women’s Army) and eventually became a Staff Sergeant. My brother joined the RAF and soon after he enlisted he was sent to Malta and then Libya. Bob was a very kind and gentle soul and was abroad for 4 ½ years. By this time London was really in the throes of the Blitz. My hosts had relations who owned a little country pub next to Heyford Airfield (this was before America came into the war,) and we used to go over there on a Satur-day to help. I cut the sandwiches for the Air Crews when they came back from raids as there were no arrangements for catering in pubs in those days It was very sad because when somebody had not returned from a raid the chaps would tell the landlord to put a bottle of Burton under the bar in case he did return. (I wonder if this is where the expression “Gone for a Burton” originated.)
After I had been in Oxford for 2 years, Uncle Arthur and Auntie Kate decided to take a Public House at Heyford so obviously I would not be able to go with them. I then again went home to London even though the air raids were every night and day, and this time also with Doodlebugs. It was lovely to be somewhere where I felt I belonged and not feel a burden on anyone.
This is where at last some proper education began and I went to Pitman’s college in Ealing on a 2 year course. We studied Shorthand, Typewriting,
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Bookkeeping, English etc., and at last I felt I was learning in an organised way. I have still got my Membership Card and it is so amusing to read some of the rules. “Rule No. 5. It is particularly requested that students will not engage in conversation with those of the opposite sex either in the College building or in the neighbourhood. Infringement of this rule may lead to sus-pension, and in cases of repetition to expulsion”
Another rule was: “COLLEGE DRESS. Although no regulation uniform is suggested for members of the College, it is expected that students will pre-sent themselves appropriately dressed for business, and in journeying to College stockings must be worn. The best employers insist on member of their women staffs being quietly and becomingly dressed for office life. Male students are similarly expected to dress as they would for an office.”
My parents gave permission that if there was an ‘Alert’ on when it was time to leave, I could do so and not wait for the “All Clear” which could have been hours. During this time I took some Royal Society of Arts exams in English, Shorthand, Typing etc., and had to go to the head College in Central Lon-don. There was an ‘Alert’ on most of the day and we had to take the exam in the basement. A shelf had been fixed round the wall and it was so cramped that typewriter carriages were colliding and getting caught together. Despite all this I managed to get good results.
Just before the end of the course my father had terrible pains in his leg which the doctor diagnosed as Lumbago. He stayed away from work and when my mother and I got home Dad was writhing in agony. I rushed down to the doctor (once again before the majority of people had telephones) and the doctor arrived on his bicycle. He immediately made contact somehow to get an ambulance. I can remember standing in the porch waiting for them to bring Dad out and they came out empty handed, as he had died. A Post-mortem was held and it was discovered that he died from a ruptured aorta. Somehow, we had to contact my sister who was stationed near Hull but dur-ing the war, everything was so secret and we had no means of contacting her. The only solution was for me to go to the nearest Police Station which was at least 1 ½ miles away. I walked there and asked for help and they were able to find out where she was and she arrived home the next day. All this whilst there were still air raids etc.; I was 15 years old. Once again, we just had to get on with it. Obviously, my brother could not be brought back from Libya and the police somehow informed him of what had happened.
My sister made arrangements for Mum and I to go back to Yorkshire (where she was stationed) after Dad’s funeral and stay there for a few days’ break. We spent the night before we were due to go, in the shelter as usual. There was a lot of activity going on and, in the morning, discovered that a landmine had fallen on Wormwood Scrubs, right opposite our house and blown the front door off and lots of tiles from the roof. However, we managed to get this temporarily sorted and departed for Hull. We stayed there for a week during which time the Germans started bombing Hull, so we came back home to London.
19
Changing the subject for the moment, I can remember taking Mum’s week-ly shopping list into the grocers each week and it would just list Sugar, Tea, Butter, etc., which were our rations, and on the bottom would be ‘Specials’. This item could be anything, maybe a tin of shoe polish, Marmite, etc., we never knew what it might be, maybe nothing at all.
I left Pitmans and got a job as a junior shorthand typist with Bayer Products in Holborn, Central London which is where Edna, my sister worked before she joined up. All this happened in 1944.
One day at home we heard a very large explosion about 2 miles away. We were told that a Gas Main had blown up. A while later we discovered it was actually a V2 Rocket but it was kept a secret because they didn’t want the Germans to know how far it had come.. The V2 raids continued and were horrible because we had no sound of them coming as we did with the V1 (Doodlebug) During this period we were still sleeping in the Anderson and I used to say a prayer every night, ‘Dear God, please get me through all this and I promise I will never moan or grumble again’. (He kept his part of the bargain, but I am not sure about me!)
Life just carried on and eventually VE Day arrived. I am afraid I didn’t go climbing lamp posts etc., as shown on television. There was only Mum and I at home on our own and she wasn’t exactly what you would call a ‘Jolly’ person. She could not show her emotions. All I can remember was a GREAT BIG FEELING OF RELIEF. My brother would be coming home and when we knew when he would be arriving, I asked my boss for the day off, and he would not let me have it. So – I gave in my notice and left. I soon got another job through the Pitman’s Situations Bureau which devel-oped into something very interesting and lasted for 15 years. Audrey Speak of Cambridge Way, Minchinhampton
20
VE DAY COMMEMORATIONS IN THE TOWN CENTRE
A two minute silence was held at 11am on May 8th, followed by the chiming of the Church bells.
A few minutes later, HRH Princess Anne arrived and placed a wreath, signed by Admiral Tim Lawrence and herself, on the Cross.
21
VE day Celebrations in ‘Lockdown’ Photos by Alan Vaughan
22
GOD BLESS THE NHS: THE PEOPLE’S ARMY WHO DEFEND THE SICK
The National Health Service is our army to defend the sick, and we rely on it today more than ever before. Everybody knows that it came into existence as a result of the political ideals of Aneurin Bevan and the post Second World War Labour government. Most probably do not know, however, how those ideals became a practicality – how the political will was turned into a working National Health Service. The family history and motivation of the leading medic at the time, Hugh Lett, is one which is particularly relevant in the midst of our present COVID-19 crisis, and may bring comfort and hope to us in these desperate times.
Hugh Lett was born in 1876, served as a surgeon in the military hospitals on the Western Front in World War 1, and was appointed President of the Royal College of Surgeons just before the outbreak of World War 2. In 1946, he was appointed President of the British Medical Association, and thus was in office when the extensive work took place to turn Bevan’s ideal into an effec-tive Health Service – not an easy task, but one which he and the team that supported him achieved with great success. When Sir Hugh Lett, Bt [as he then was] died in 1964, his obituary included the following: “his wise states-manship proved invaluable to the profession and the nation in preparing for the start of the National Health Service.”
What few people knew then, or know now, is that the creation of a People’s Army to defend the sick was something very close to Hugh’s heart, since he himself had lost his grandfather, also a doctor, in the front line of an epidemic not dissimilar to the one that we are facing today. In 1854, Dr Richard Lett, aged 39, was the village GP in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, not very dif-ferent from Minchinhampton as it was then. He was therefore very much in the front line when the village was struck in that year by a dreadful highly contagious illness which the medical profession did not yet understand. In 1854, its name was Cholera. It was brought to the village by a visiting friend – a young maidservant returning from her situation in a distant town to visit her widowed mother. Unknowingly she was carrying cholera and quickly passed it on to some others in Silverstone. The disease swept through the village, killing some [including the maidservant herself] but sparing others. There was no vaccine. Dr Richard Lett had had great success in treating ty-phoid fever, and set about his work with compassion, energy and enthusi-asm, hoping to find some cure for cholera. In 1854, the concept of Personal Protective Equipment was, of course, all but non-existent, but the doctor was not deterred, as medics never are, by the dangers of his work. Eventually, Dr Lett caught the disease. He gave his life for his patients, and died of the chol-era that he had caught from one of them on 12th September. He left a widow and five small children, four girls and a boy.
It was a terrifying and tragic time for the Lett family and for the people of the village – but with the fortitude and courage that the human race possesses, they got through it. Too many died, as too many are dying now, but the vil-lage and the majority of its inhabitants survived. As best they could in those
23
Days, they practised social distancing. When, for instance, a body was laid to rest in the churchyard, there was no funeral service inside the church; all was done in the open air, and the mourners distanced themselves from the open grave.
The village recovered and regenerated. The sadness of loss eased during the passing of the years until it became a distant memory, and all that was left of the epidemic was a sad line of graves in the churchyard known as cholera row. Life went on, new lives began, old lives came naturally to a close, normality returned. Dr Richard Lett’s widow brought up his children, and his son, named Richard after his father, also became a doctor. He prac-tised, like his father, as a GP, in Lincolnshire and in Yorkshire. He had eight children, the eldest of whom, Hugh Lett, followed his father and grandfather into medicine.
It was against that family background that Hugh Lett (left) worked with the politicians to create the People’s Army that defends us today – the National Health Service. He knew only too well what the consequences of a lethal epidemic such as Cholera or COVID-19 could be, and how much the people of this country needed the defence that it has now got. Hugh Lett guided the medical practicalities that brought to life the political vision and drive of Nye Bevin and the Labour Government of the day, and presided over the creation of our brave and much-loved National Health Service. Hugh’s grandfather, Richard, who had giv-en his life for his patients nearly one hun-dred years before, would have been very proud of what his grandson and the politi-cians had achieved.
The message of history, and that of Silverstone in 1854, is that we will come through this sad and depressing time. COVID-19 is not the first devastating mystery illness to strike at us. We have defeated them before. We will grieve for those whom we lose or have lost, but life will go on. We must think of the future, and of the hope that our children and grandchildren will grow up, have happy lives, and go on to great things. Richard Lett died on the front line, but his grandson Hugh went on to help to create the National Health Service.
And, of course, when we have survived this, we will meet again! Brian Lett Q.C. (grandson of Hugh & soon to be resident of Minchinhampton)
24
For some communities where Traidcraft works, the impact of the lock-down has been immediate and devastating.
Migrant workers in Bangladesh and India have been left without work. Not registered for the government support available, and used to living hand to mouth, people are struggling to survive. Many are travelling hundreds of miles on foot trying to get back to their home villages.
Traidcraft Exchange has been amazing in adapting the programmes to meet these challenges - running a helpline, linking people up with transport and local support services, and critically, providing food.
Garment factory workers across Asia are also facing extreme hardship.The UK clothes market is down by a third. Factories have been closing as orders dry up. Some have not even been paid for work they did back in March.
That's why Traidcraft is calling on UK clothing brands to honour their existing contracts and not to leave workers destitute.
For others Traidcraft work with, the impact is less immediate but equally serious.
The crunch point for the farmers will come when they need to harvest their crops and sell their produce. Without access to transport and many markets closed, will they be able to do this? How will they navigate a completely new set of circumstances? As yet, we just don’t know.
We have never faced a pandemic of this magnitude before nor have we had to manage such unprecedented levels of uncertainty. At Traidcraft Ex-change, they are focusing resources on responding to the immediate needs of communities who are most vulnerable and most affected by this crisis. But they are also turning their attention to how to support people beyond survival - to recover and rebuild their businesses and livelihoods.
If you feel compelled to take action, please, consider a donation, or get in contact with Traidcraft for ways you can support them from the safety of your own home.
Jackie Natt
25
MINCHINHAMPTON NKOKOTO LINK Although the Nkokoto-Minchinhampton Committee has not been able to meet, the delivery of projects continues and could be more critical than ever in this vulnerable population. We rely on our local contacts to work in the villages and their commitment and regular communication continues un-changed.
Regarding COVID-19, Tanzania has reported (1st May) that there are 480 confirmed cases with 16 deaths; however there are international concerns about the response. Although all schools and Universities remain closed (since 17th March) the President John Magufuli has not imposed stringent restrictions; attendance to places of worship is encouraged and on Interna-tional Workers Day, workers were told that coronavirus should not stop them from serving Tanzania. The President is also quoted as saying that “this vi-rus is like a change of wind and it will go like others have gone…….the virus is satanic and it cannot survive in the body of Jesus. It will burn.”
The coming months hold a high level of risk for Tanzanians. It is likely that coronavirus will spread rapidly, especially in high density urban areas, but perhaps the lower densities of population in rural areas like Nkokoto and Uhuru will offer some limited protection from the virus. We do know of course that the Tanzanian health system is not adequately equipped to cope with pandemics such as this; protective equipment and ventilators are in desper-ately short supply. There are fewer than 0.5 doctors per 1000 people in Tan-zania (2.5 per 1000 people in UK, 3.4 in Germany, France and Spain.) We just hope that our friends in Nkokoto and the surrounding villages will remain safe. It was particularly touching to receive an email in which we were told that prayers for Minchinhampton were said in Nkokoto.
26
The health team in the Nkokoto dispensary is providing health education on hand washing, avoiding crowded places, protection during sneezes and signs and symptoms of coronavirus. They asked us for assistance to provide protective clothing and hand washing equipment and we sent a donation of £250 for that. In the Uhuru dispensary, the electrical installation is complete and the villagers have built 3 toilet stalls. We have sent £160 to finish these which includes 3 doors for privacy.
Students have not left for their Higher Education courses which should have started in April. We have contacted the Bursar at the Folk Develop-ment College to understand what the plans are for the rest of the academic year, which began in January. But there is some good news for the recent FDC graduates. The Tailoring students from previous years have formed a collective and
we have paid them to make school uniforms for our sponsored Secondary and FDC students. Instead of receiving their own tool kit, the latest 3 gradu-ates (Monica, Bertha and Evarist) have asked to join this cooperative and their tool kit money (with a bit extra) will be invested in equipment for the whole group.
We very much look forward to meeting with you all as soon as we are able to be together. The AGM will be the first event that we ar-range. Until then, we send you all of our best wishes, and extend the prayers which are sent to us all from Nkokoto.
With best wishes,
Rod Harris (chair) and Alison Kennedy (sec/treasurer) Contact : 872317 and 07775652379 email : [email protected]
27
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Mature female churchgoer seeks peaceful, unfurnished rental accommodation in the Amberley, Box, Minchinhampton area.
Excellent references.
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A purpose-built Nursing Home, Day Centre & Social Club, and Home Care Provider offering...
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If you would like to find out more please give us a call on 01453 731 227 or go to www.horsfallhouse.co.uk . Informal visits welcome.
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Enjoy the benefits of Dru yoga classes, yoga therapy, armchair yoga and aromatherapy hot stone massage, all available locally here in Minchinhampton. Hilary Bellhouse is experienced, qualified and registered, working from a well-equipped local studio.
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