Author: Jez Wilson

Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul – October 2019

Nether Heyford Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Dear Friends.

As I write this, we’re moving into Autumn, and the leaves on the lime trees in the churchyard here in Heyford are just beginning to change colour. At the same time, countless lime seeds are drifting into the Rectory like tiny little helicopters, the shape of the leaf and stalk cleverly designed to carry the seeds some distance away from the tree. Thousands of these seeds litter the Rectory drive, which is a bit of a nuisance in one way, and yet in another way, it’s a seasonal reminder of God’s reckless generosity.

This is the time of year when we celebrate the harvest across the churches and
primary schools in the benefice, giving thanks to God for his abundance. There’s a danger that we lose sight of the importance of the harvest in this day and age, when food can be sourced from all over the world and found on our supermarket shelves. In ancient times however, the abundance of the harvest – or the lack of abundance – could mean the difference between life and death, between having enough to eat and starvation. Little wonder that people worshipped God, and gave thanks for good, plentiful harvests.

We see ancient Israel’s attitude to the fruitfulness and abundance of the earth
throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the Psalms, many of which praise
God for his goodness. Harvest metaphors are common in the Bible, and often
feature in Jesus’ parables and stories. There are a couple of ideas that emerge from the Bible’s teaching on harvest. First, we’re to recognise that all the good things around us – our food and drink, flowers, trees and the amazing abundance of creation – are gifts we can value and enjoy. Secondly, all this created goodness is not ours to hoard or use selfishly. So in the churches, our collected harvest donations go to help local food banks and homeless shelters, to help overcome the surprising and depressing need to satisfy poverty and hunger here in the UK. As we celebrate God’s generosity, I pray that we might all take the opportunity to be generous in turn, sharing what we have, and helping those in need.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen – 01327 344436

 

Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul – Services – October 2019

NetherHeyfordChurchServicesOctober2019

Midweek Communions are held weekly on Wednesdays, 9.30am at Heyford and
Thursdays, 10am at Flore – all welcome. (No service at Heyford on 23rd October).

During October we shall be praying for people living in The Green in Nether
Heyford, for the Bliss Charity Primary School, for the shops, and for all the activities
in the Village Hall and the Baptist Church Rooms. In Flore, we pray for people living
on Hillside Road and Flore Hill. We pray for the Main Street and School Rooms in
Church Stowe, and for Manor Farm, the Old Coach House and Manor Cottage in
Brockhall.

Rev Stephen Burrow (Tel. 01327 344436)

 

Parish Council – September 2019 Meeting

Nether_Heyford_Parish_Council_2019

The meeting was held as normal in the  Baptist Chapel Schoolroom.

Like all Council meetings it was open to the public.

PCSO. It was resolved that the employment of the PCSO would be continued for the time being, provided that Bugbrooke PC continued with their share of the arrangement, which has proved to be the case since our meeting. The PCSO is felt to have fitted well into the village and is making contacts with residents and businesses.

Car Parking on the Green. This has again become an issue with both Councillors and other residents complaining of vehicles being parked on the Green. This is felt to be unnecessary and unsightly and spoils the enjoyment of our magnificent Green for many residents. Council would be most grateful if those responsible would stop.

Lighting. It was reported that a start had been made on the plan to renew lighting. A brief needed to be written to send to lighting companies willing to quote.

Roads and pavements. Condition of Street Name Signs for The Peak and Manor Walk to be reported to SNC as the black paint needed to be restored.

The Green and Play Area. It was felt that the Play Area was in reasonable condition at the present, but that it would need refurbishment after winter. Clerk had attended a course run by the Open Spaces Society, and had been told that if the property behind Denbrook on Weedon Rd were to put in a planning application, then an Easement in order to allow access across the section of the Village Green would be necessary. Council should ask that this be a condition of the planning permission, and ensure that the applicant paid for it.

Fair. It was resolved to allow Mr Freeman’s fair to visit on the Middle Green from Sept 12 – 15.

Playing Fields. Mr Thorneycroft reported that the container for the Scouts and School was now in place. He had been told that the proposed Basketball/Netball court could not go ahead until an archaeological investigation was undertaken, Mr Thorneycroft had arranged this but would have to pay for the hire and fuel for a digger. Council agreed to pay for the digger costs.

Trees. A Robinia on Hillside Crescent had been damaged, and STS asked to deal with it. A Robinia on the Green would need to be removed because of rotting. The Limes would be pollarded after the leaves had fallen.

Allotments. It was reported that further expenditure had taken place on the shed, and more to come regarding a pond. H&S issues would be considered with regard to the pond and other water holding tanks; a risk assessment would be needed.

Footpaths. There had been clearance and strimming work carried out by the Rights of Way team.

Churchyard. The first internment of Ashes had taken place. It was likely that there would be a request for funds to help with re-roofing the Church after the theft of lead.

Canal. The railing had been re-painted on the bridge on Furnace Lane. Chair thanked Lee Pratt and Nick Essex for their continued work on behalf of the community.

Youth Club. To start back on 9th September, with a waiting list in operation. Anglian Water had repaired damaged drains.

Defibrillators. Both inspected and in working order.

Neighbourhood Plan (NP). It was reported that discussions had been held with SNC, who felt the criteria used for the chosen housing areas were not robust enough, and a further Housing Needs Survey needed to be carried out, as the Examiner might well take that part of the policy out if it were felt unsatisfactory. The NP was not as close to the consultation as had been thought. It was now felt that the NP would not be complete until 2021, but that it would be much safer with the additional work done.

Reporting Highway and Footpath Issues. The Clerk will report issues that Council is made aware of, but Council would encourage residents to use the FixMyStreet service to report issues themselves as there will then be no time lag and first-hand reports are almost always better than 2nd or 3rd hand reports. The service can be found here: www.fixmystreet.com 

It is easy to use; you can have your own account and can check up on any issues you have reported.

Council meetings take place on the first Monday of each month (unless there is a Bank Holiday) – the next one being on Monday October 7th.

Clerk to the Parish Council: Guy Ravine, c/o Old Dairy Farm, Upper Stowe, Weedon, Northamptonshire, NN7 4SH
Telephone: 07935 931787
Email: netherheyfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

Next Meeting
The next Parish Council meeting will be on the first Monday of the month at the Baptist Chapel Schoolroom at 7.30 pm and is, like all Parish Council meetings, open to all Parishioners.

For further useful information about Nether Heyford Parish Council and full contact details for the clerk and the councillors please visit our Nether Heyford Parish Council page.

Heyford Bowls Club – September 2019

NetherHeyfordBowlsClub

Indoor

In spite of summer holidays and other commitments, members support for Wednesday short mat bowling sessions has been very good. The friendly Friday evening outdoor triples league has now finished and was enjoyed by all who took part. The indoor short mat league will commence during the winter months. More information on this when it becomes available.

The Men’s Pairs will be played on Saturday 14th September. This produces some very keen competition, therefore it would be nice to have as many names down as possible. There will be two more competitions this year and they will be announced later.

Anyone wishing to play indoor bowling will be made most welcome at our Wednesday bowling sessions. Times for these are – afternoon 1.40pm and evening 7.10pm.

Den Taylor

Outdoor

At the time of writing these notes, Heyford Bowls Club are in grave danger of being relegated from Division 2 of the Northamptonshire Area Monday Night League. With two games to play, two good wins are needed, but our consistent inconsistency has been our downfall.

On the friendly games front the results have been much better; 16 wins out of 26 games with one tied. The season is rapidly drawing to an end, with only the final of the club competitions on Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1st September, and the Gala Day on Sunday 15th September scheduled to be played on our green.

Oh! And of course our final league game on Monday 9th September against Abington.

Geoff Allen – 01327 349909

For more bowls club information please visit our website:

www.heyfordbowlsclub.co.uk

 

Heyford Cricket Club – September 2019

HCC

The season is going well for the adult cricketers at Heyford CC. The 1st XI are still at the top of Division 3 but have had their lead slashed following 3 consecutive defeats against beatable opposition. The 2nd XI remain in second place in Division 8 having beaten the league leaders twice, but recently slipped up against rivals Wellingborough OGs 2nd XI in the battle for the three promotion spaces. It looks like being an exciting climax to the season!

Junior Cricket ended strongly, with our 40 All Stars enjoying a water balloon cricket activity at their last session, and the U11s winning their first game! It was fantastic to see the improvement of the children during the coaching sessions, well done to all the children and coaches at the Club for an enjoyable summer. We will be in touch shortly about plans for winter nets and cricket in 2020.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Fun Day at the Playing Fields in June, and
the Golf Day at Whittlebury Hall in July. These events raised a huge amount of
money for the Club and will go a long way towards paying for a new roller for the square, providing some more seating for spectators and practice equipment for both adults and juniors.

Patrons and Sponsors Day – 14th September:
We will be hosting a Patrons and Sponsors Day on 14th September, to thank all our patrons and sponsors for their generous support and financial contributions to the Club. The 1st XI will be playing at home against Wollaston (midday start), and we will be putting on some extra tea and a glass of bubbles for everyone who can make it along! Tea is usually served at about 3pm, and the bar will be open all afternoon. We hope you can join us for some or all of the afternoon.

Bonus Ball:
A full list of Bonus Ball winners can be found on the ‘News’ pages of our website. The June and July 2019 winners were as follows:

27/07/19 – 3 – Ceri John 29/06/19 – 27 – Jamie Pardon
20/07/19 – 32 – Adam Linnell 22/06/19 – 11 – Chris Peck
13/07/19 – 12 – Ray & Carol Cory 15/06/19 – 29 – Dave Livermore
06/07/19 – 9 – Colin Gillespie 08/06/19 – 43 – Adam Linnell
01/06/19 – 42 – Chris Andrews

Thank you to everyone who plays. If you would like to support the Club for £1 per
week, but also stand the chance of winning £25 each week then please get in touch
for more information.

Forthcoming Home Fixtures:
7th September – 2nd XI v Long Buckby (13:00)
14th September – 1st XI v Wollaston (12:00)
21st September – 2nd XI v Irchester (13:00)

More details about Heyford Cricket Club can be found on our website: www.heyfordcricket.co.uk or via social media where we can be found on both Facebook and Twitter.

If you would like to get in touch you can also email us at: heyfordcricket@hotmail.co.uk

Website: www.heyfordcricket.co.uk
Download the app: heyfordcc.teamapp.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HeyfordCC
Twitter: twitter.com/@HeyfordCC
Email: heyfordcricket@hotmail.co.uk

At Heyford we try to mix good cricket with good fun. We play to win but we always try to play fair and we hope that all our guests will feel welcome.

Address:
The Playing Fields, Middle Street, Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire NN7 3NL

Location:
If you are approaching Heyford from the M1 (Junction 16), on the roundabout take the 1st local exit towards Upper Heyford. After about 600 metres as you enter Upper Heyford turn left (signposted Nether Heyford and Bugbrooke) Follow this narrow country lane for about 0.5 miles, until you cross a small bridge over the river. The entrance track to the Playing Fields is on your left about 30 yards past this bridge, just before you enter the village.

 

Letters: Eileen Drake – September 2019

Eileen Drake

Sadly after battling a long illness Eileen passed away in her sleep on 7th July 2019.

Having lived in the village since 1976 she made many friends, many of whom gave help and support throughout her long illness.

She will be sadly missed by myself, son Ian, daughter Joanne, daughters in law Sarah and Rachel and her lovely grand-daughters Violet and Emerald.

Many thanks to those who made donations to Friends of Dantre Hospital and the Lewis Foundation.

Graham

Letters: Norman Trevor Davis – September 2019

Norman Trevor Davis

I would like to say thank you for all the support I have received after the death of my husband, Norman.

Thank you for all the cards and flowers and especially to Norman’s family, my family, friends and neighbours, (including former neighbours) for their love and support. Also thank you to the Bowls Club members for their help and support at this difficult time.

I would also like to thank Peter Wylie for the lovely service, and all the relatives and friends who attended the funeral.

Norman supported the RNLI and to date donations have totalled £140:00 which I was able to pass on to them.

Last of all, I would like to thank Den Taylor for the help he gave Norman and myself before and after Norman’s death, including walking the two dogs, which meant I was able to be with Norman in the hospital.

Sandy Davis

Heyford Singers & Allotments – September 2019

We’re neither pure nor wise nor good;
We’ll do the best we know.
We’ll build our house, and chop our wood,
And make our garden grow.
The final chorus from “Make Our Garden Grow”
from “Candide” by Leonard Bernstein 1955

Normally Jill Langrish writes a piece for the Prattler on behalf of the Heyford Singers and Mike, her other half, waxes lyrical about the joys of allotments, orchards and all things green. For this September article we thought we’d combine what little talent we have and write about the effect that both music and growing things can have on making us feel good. So this article is a sort of a dialogue; a chance for us to share that sense of contentment, happiness, belonging, achievement, and well being that we believe comes from both activities. Easy? Just read on……

Jill. Music is a very social activity. Whether you play in a band or orchestra, sing in a group or a choir, sit or stand in the audience for a concert, you are sharing that unique experience with lots of other people. You are helping to contribute towards the collective outcome, a shared achievement. As well as the social benefits of music, it also contributes hugely to our physical and mental health. There has been considerable research recently about the value of doctors giving a “social prescription”. In July, Naomi Paxton hosted a BBC Proms panel discussion on music and wellbeing with epidemiologist Dr Daisy Fancourt and GP Dr Simon Opher. Both are enthusiastic advocates of social prescribing and of using music to support health.

“Social prescription is a fairly new idea,” says Dr Opher. “A doctor might give a normal
prescription for a medicine, but they can also give a prescription for an activity.
That could be singing, music, art, poetry, exercise or anything – but not a medicine.
Music can help everyone, but it can specifically help certain conditions – and we
know this from research. One of the areas of the brain that really lights up when you
listen to music is the pre cortical area. That’s one of the last areas that is damaged
with dementia – so people with dementia, for example, retain their ability to enjoy
music. I’ve seen more effect with music for patients with dementia than any kind of
medication.”

Mike. Gardening, whether it be wandering round the tiny patch of ground outside your back door or maintaining an allotment or huge vegetable patch, vastly improves both our physical and mental health. And the sort of evidence that applies to music is to be found in abundance when it comes to digging and weeding. Kathryn Rossiter, CEO of Thrive, one of the UK’s leading charities in disability and gardening says that

“as well as the strong therapeutic value of gardening it can help people connect with others, reducing feelings of isolation. It makes us more active, gaining both physical and mental health benefits.”

Jill. Then there is the intellectual side of music. Listening to a new song or unfamiliar piece of music demands attention, it keeps the brain’s cells active. And whether it be trying to make sense of all those dots and squiggles in music notation, learning new songs, understanding the different voice parts, learning and playing an instrument, all these are essential in keeping the “little grey cells’ active.

Mike. Now this is a generalisation, but doctors believe that gardeners have lower
levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, leading to improved sleep patterns, relaxation and mental wellbeing. Although sometimes I think it is just exhaustion that makes me sleep!

Jill. And what about the fun side, the enjoyment of it all. During August there was
delightful series on the radio entitled “A Singer’s Guide to Britain” which explored different aspects of British culture through the songs we sing. In the first episode the presenter said that, “a song is like an imaginary magic carpet. You climb aboard and it flies off, it takes you on an adventure”. Now this can be interpreted in so many ways. Special places, special people or special memories are all evoked by the song. It is powerful stuff.

Mike. That first snowdrop can make you feel really good. The flowering of the rose you pruned, a lettuce you grew from seed, the blackbird singing just for you. These are small things but all positive and have healing powers that medicine sometimes tries to mimic. It is no surprise that, like music, doctors are seriously considering prescribing gardening as a cure for some conditions. Monty Don, the man that appears on our TV screens on a Friday evening accompanied by two dogs and who isn’t bad at gardening either, says in a telling way that “When you plant something, you invest in a beautiful future amidst a stressful, chaotic and, at times, downright appalling world”

Apologies if we have just taken this opportunity to indulge in our two great passions. It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t sing a note in tune (something we dispute) or you kill everything you plant (also disputable), there is so much to be gained from both activities. A good way to start would be to join Heyford Singers and/or get an allotment.

Jill. The next rehearsal of Heyford Singers is on Friday 6th September at 7.15 pm in the village hall. It will be an Open Evening and everyone is very welcome. Come and meet us, watch, listen, join in and I guarantee that you will go home feeling energised and happy, having sung, laughed and made new friends. If you feel that you would like to know more then please do contact Mary Rice, myself or someone you know who is already part of this community choir.

Mike. If you are interested in trying out an allotment contact either Sue Corner on
01327 342124 or Lynda Eales on 01327 341707. We can offer a range of allotment
sizes, to suit every need. Help is also on hand to offer advice and encouragement.
There you are, two articles in one

Jill & Mike Langrish

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If you would like to find out more, visit the Heyford Singers page or our website:

www.heyfordsingers.org

 alternatively come along to one of our rehearsals in Nether Heyford Village Hall.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Nether Heyford Tennis Club – September 2019

We are a friendly club that welcomes players of all ages and abilities.

Do you fancy trying Tennis or have you played before and are thinking of trying again ?

We have four different tennis sessions each week – something to suit everyone.

Coaching: Mondays for Juniors / Saturday Mornings for Adults

For further information – please find us on Facebook  or contact Jo on 01327 349094 Email: jodickson@btinternet.com

Website: clubspark.lta.org.uk/NetherHeyfordTennisClub

Full facilities and location details can be found on our Nether Heyford Tennis Club page.

 

Heyford Picturedrome – September 2019

The Autumn film season begins with Bohemian Rhapsody to be shown in the Village Hall on Thursday 19th September. This is the 2018 British film about the rock-band, Queen, from their formation in 1970 through to their legendary performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985 for Live Aid starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon and Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor. This is a foot-stomping celebration of the band, their music and their extraordinary singer, Freddie Mercury.

Doors open at 7.15 for free coffee or tea with a film start at 7.45pm. The admission price remains at £4.00 per person and there is no joining fee. A licensed bar will be serving wine and soft drinks before the film and during the interval.

The October film will be ‘Fishermen’s Friends’, a 2019 British biographical comedy-drama directed by Chris Foggin about a group of ten singing Cornish fishermen from Port Isaac who have a top ten hit with their debut album of sea shanties after being signed to Universal Records by a cynical London music executive.

Tony Clewett – Phone: 01327 341533