· web viewthe tents have been dismantled, but after last month's somewhat flippant...
TRANSCRIPT
EDITORIAL
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One of the best things about editing Parish Pump is getting to meet the contributors, and hear their stories. Everyone told me how difficult it would be to fill the magazine each month. Well, it has not been a problem so far, and I thank one and all for their articles, letters, poems, and news. (But new contributors are always welcome, so do have a go.)
As well as the usual news from the Rector and the Church, and from Round Our Villages, you can read about the curious dress-sense of RS Hawker of Morwenstow (who gave us the Harvest Festival, and excommunicated cats), about the Severn Bore (a world-class natural phenomenon on our door-steps), the philanthropic Garters of Kencot, what happens to the stuff we put in the recycling boxes, naked ladies at Ditchley Park, how to make an onion tart, and the trees in the Bible.
We also return to Alvescot Peace Camp. The tents have been dismantled, but after last month's somewhat flippant editorial, Kate Holcombe, one of the erstwhile campers asked if she could put their case in Parish Pump. Some of us might find her views unusual, but we are delighted to offer anyone with a heartfelt opinion the opportunity to voice it in Parish Pump.
It is a merry world that can keep turning while encompassing, as it does, people of such diverse outlook. Perhaps it is the diversity which keeps the world turning?
And, as Aldous Huxley almost said, we should remember that,: `Facts begin as heresies, and end as superstitions.' So, who knows what future generations will believe to be self-evident truths?
Parish/village A B
Alvescot £6i 6
Black Bourton £230 46
Broadwell £150 79.
Filkins/Broughton Poggs £27s 30
Holwell £105 34
Kelmscott £70 36
Kencot £255 78
Langford £206 25
Little Faringdon £110 55
Shilton £128 20
Bradwell Grove £130 17
Westwell £100 49.
We are often asked `who pays for Parish Pump?'
The answer is our advertisers, postal subscribers, and you, dear Benefice Readers
The table to the above shows, in column A, the donations from each parish/village and, in column B, the percentage of copies distributed in that
parish/village for which a donation has been received
Thank you very much for your donations, but even more for reading the magazine
Richard Martin
PARISH & BENEFICE SERVICES
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1st October - Trinity XVI
10.30am Holwell/Westwell Combined Holy Communion HM
10.30am Filkins Harvest EJ
11.00am Broadwell Harvest NUW
6.00pm Kencot Harvest HM
6.00pm Shilton Harvest NUW
8th October - Trinity XVII
9.00am Alvescot Holy Communion NUW
9.00am Broadwell Holy Communion HM
10.30am Shilton Parish Communion HM
11.00am Langford Harvest EJ
11.00am L Faringdon Harvest NUW
3.30pm Kelmscott Harvest EJ
6.00pm Black Bourton Harvest AP
6.00pm Westwell Harvest HM
15th October - Trinity XVIII
9.00am B Bourton Holy Communion NUW
10.30am Langford Morning Prayer NUW
11.00am Alvescot Harvest HM
6.00pm B Poggs Evensong NUW
6.00pm Holwell Harvest HM
22"a October - Trinity XIX
9.00am Kencot Holy Communion (BCP) HMI
9.00am Westwell Holy Communion MP
10.30am Broadwell Matins AP
11.00am L Faringdon Parish Communion HM
6.00pm Alvescot Evensong HM
29nd October - Trinity XX
9..00am Langford Holy Communion HM
10.30am Filkins Parish Communion HM
10.30am Shilton Parish Communion NUW
6.00pm Holwell Evensong EJ
5th November - IV before Advent
10.30am Kelmscott Benefice Eucharist Service HM, EJ, NUW
6.00pm B Bourton Evensong HMI
There is also a Communion Service at Black Bourton every Wednesday at 10.00am
CELEBRANTS
AP Arthur Pont
EJ Liz Johnson
HM Harry MacInnes
MP Martin Pierce
NUW Neville Usher-Wilson
BENEFICE SERVICES
The Benefices services for the remainder of 2006 are:
5"' November 10.30am Kelmscott
3rd December 10.30am Langford
THE LECTIONARY
1st October - Trinity XVI (G)
Esther 7.1-6, 9-10; 9.20-22 Psalm 124
James 5.13-end Mark 9.38-end
8thOctober - Trinity XVII (G)
Job 1.1; 2.1-10 Psalm 26
Hebrews 1.14; 2.5-12 Mark 10.2-16
15th October - Trinity XVIII (G)
Job 23.1-9, 16-end Psalm 22.1-15
Hebrews 4.12-end Mark 10.17-31
22nd October - Trinity XIX (G)
Job 38.1-7 [34-end] Psalm 104.1-10 [26, 35c]
Hebrews 5.1-10 Mark 10.35-45
29th October - Trinity XX (G)
Job 42.1-6, 10-end Psalm 34.1-8 [19-end]
Hebrews 7.23-end Mark 10.46-end
5th November- IV before Advent (R/G)
Deuteronomy 6.1-9 Psalm 119.1-8
Hebrews 9.11-14 Mark 12.28-34
CHILDREN'S CHURCH
Dates for remainder of 2006 (10.15 in Shilton Old School)
12th November 10th December (Christingle)
Thank you for supporting our Children's Church and we hope that many more of you would like to join. For more information or any queries please contact Harry McInnes (01993 845954) or me on 01993 847039.
Debs Price
BENEFICE CHOIR
W e are leading another `Choral Evensong' on 22"d October at Alvescot. I am still hopeful that there are members of the benefice who would like to come and swell our numbers. We don't bite (well the choir doesn't anyway!) and would love to welcome some more voices to support what we try
and achieve. As usual my number is either 01993 841807 or 07850 064775. If you are still undecided, just come to the service and listen.
David New
THE RECTOR'S LETTER
Dear Friends
Back in 1843 a clergyman in the Cornish village of Morwenstow wrote to his congregation. The minister concerned was the Rev R S Hawker (right). He is recorded as being a popular minister. He was a compassionate man with an eccentric personality. This is what he wrote:
`Brethren, God has been good to us. He has filled our storehouses. He has opened his hand and filled all things living with plenteousness. Let us offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving among such as keep the Holy Day.'
The congregation responded.
The following Sunday they decorated the church. Each and very person, each farmer
and every small holder brought a selection of the harvest. There was grain from the fields, apples from the orchard, vegetables from the garden, eggs from the hen house. Word soon spread of the congregations' activities. Other churches copied Morwenstow's example, and within a couple of decades harvest festival became an annual event in churches all over the world.
For us here in this wonderful Benefice harvest festivals are still big occasions. Many of our churches will be beautifully decorated with the fruit and vegetables both from our farmers and from our many keen gardeners. The
children will be celebrating harvest festival at our two schools in St Christopher's, Langford and St Peter's, Alvescot, and across the Benefice there will be a great number of wonderful harvest lunches and suppers in our villages following services of thanksgiving in our churches.
So what is the point of it all? For me, harvest festival is about several things as I gather in the produce I have grown in our garden.
Firstly it is about appreciation, the opportunity to thank you to God for all his provision and his goodness to us, and especially to thank God for those who serve us through farming the land. Secondly it reminds me about
sustainability, of the importance for us to care for our environment, to be good stewards of this world that we have been entrusted so that we can pass something good for the next generation. And thirdly it reminds us of our responsibility for those beyond ourselves. It's a chance for us to remember and respond to the needs of the poor in our world, especially those who are suffering the direct consequence of a failed harvest.
Harry MacInnes
HAWKER OF MORWENSTOW
In his Rector's Letter; Harry writes of RS Hawker, the author of the Harvest Festival. He was
Robert Stephen Hawker was born in Plymouth into the family of a poor Cornish curate in 1803. He paid for his own education at Pembroke College, Oxford through the expediency of marrying a rich (and much older) woman, and became a priest in 1831.
After a spell as a curate in North Tamerton, he became vicar of Morwenstow where he remained for 41 years. The North Cornwall coast was still a wild and comparatively lawless place, with smugglers and wreckers who, according to a contemporary account, would `allow a fainting brother to perish in the sea without extending a hand of safety.'
Hawker loved Morwenstow, and built himself vicarage with chimneys modeled on the towers of all the churches with which he had been associated during his life. He also built himself a driftwood hut from where he would gaze out to sea, and where he would smoke opium and write romantic poetry about Cornish history. He thought that the
sea-faring traditions of Cornwall werc particularly- important, and upset the church establishment by burying drowned smugglers in his churchyard rather than (as thitherto) in holes on the beach where they were washed ashore.
Actually, even by the standards of Church of England priests, Hawker had some bizarre habits. He hated what he called `the crow-garb of the church', and boasted that only his socks were black. Hawker generally dressed in claretcoloured coat, blue fisherman's jersey, long sea-boots, a pink brimless hat and a poncho made from a yellow horse blanket, which he claimed was the ancient habit of St Padarn, a medieval Welsh saint to whom he was partial. On one occasion he dressed as a mermaid and swam out to a rock in the bay, from where he held forth to a surprised crowd on the beach.
His services were often a mishmash of different religious traditions. Sometimes he celebrated communion prostrate in the chancel like an Eastern Orthodox priest, and his burial services incorporated what he fondly hoped were the traditions of early medieval Cornish saints. He also talked to birds, invited his nine cats to services, and excommunicated his cat for mousing on Sundays.
He also mistrusted people with squints, accusing them of giving him `the evil eye'. This was unfortunate for at one time his vestry committee consisted of five squinty farmers, with whom Hawker inevitably quarreled.
Apart from the modern Harvest Festival, one of Hawker's best known legacies is his `Song of the Western Men' (see below) , which has become Cornwall's unofficial
anthem. The Trelawny mentioned in the chorus was the Cornishborn Bishop of Bristol, Jonathon Trelawny, who was one of seven bishops imprisoned by the Catholic James II for refusing to read in church a Declaration of Indulgence towards Catholics. Hawker was so successful in making the poem sound authentic, that Charles Dickens published it in his `Household Words' as a 17th century ballad, not realizing that it had just been written.
After the death of his wife, Hawker married the daughter of a Polish count, and had three daughters. And just before his own death, Hawker converted to Catholicism.
The big question is: was Hawker ultimately just a funny old buffer, with a romantic view of Cornish history? The answer is partly yes, but there is a good deal of evidence that he deliberately cultivated his eccentricities to capture the interest of his parishioners. When Hawker arrived there, Morwenstow had not had a resident vicar for over a 100 years.
Perhaps also, his eccentric front was a deliberate part of his burning quest for fame, a quest which Hawker thought was unfairly unsuccessful. He wrote sadly about his ballad `The Song of the Western Man':
`The history of that Ballad is suggestive of my whole life. I published it first anonymously in a Plymouth Paper. Everybody liked it. It, not myself, became •• popular. I was unnoted and unknown. It was seen by Mr Davies Gilbert, President of the Society of Antiquaries, etc., etc., and by him reprinted at his own Private Press at Eastbourne. Then it attracted the notice of Sir Walter Scott, who praised it, not me, unconscious of the Author. Afterwards Macaulay (Lord) extolled it in his History of England. All these years the Song has been bought and sold, set to music and applauded, while I have lived on among these far away rocks unprofited, unpraised and unknown. This is an epitome of my whole life. Others have drawn profit from my brain while I have been coolly relinquished to obscurity and unrequital and neglect.'
How pleased Hawker would be to know that Cornish Rugby fans still bellow out the question `And shall Trelawny die?', that every year we still celebrate his cod-medieval Harvest Festival, and that tourists still flock to Morwenstow (now largely in the care of the National Trust) in search of a bit of Old English individuality. That's not a bad legacy for an obscure country vicar.
100 years after Hawker's death, at a service of thanksgiving for his life, Michael Ramsey, then the Archbishop of Canterbury described Hawker as `a beyond man in a beyond place', to whom all English Christians should be grateful. Quite right.
SONG OF THE WESTERN MAN
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A good sword and a trusty hand! :
A merry heart and true!
King James's men shall understand
What Cornish lads can do!
And have they fixed the where and when?,
And shall Trelawny die?
Here's twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why!
Out spake their Captain brave and bold: ;
A merry wight was he: :
'If London Tower were Michael's hold,
We'd set Trelawny free!
We’ll cross the Tamar land to land:
The Severn is no stay
With "one and all," and hand in hand;
:And who shall bid us nay?
'And when we come to London Wall
A pleasant sight to view,
Come forth! come forth! ye cowards all:
Here's men as good as you
'Trelawny he's in keep and hold
Trelawny he may die
But here's twenty thousand Cornish bold
Will know the reason why!'
Robert Stephen Hawker
PRAYER AND BIBLE STUDY GROUP
The historical books of the Old Testament are full of epic accounts of nations, kings, wars and heroes. In contrast, the book of Ruth, squeezed between judges and Samuel, is the story of two women from an ordinary family coping with bereavement and hardship, and seeing God's hand at work in their lives. It is a story I find inspirational, and we are studying it this autumn.
The picture (right) shows Boaz `casting barley into Ruth's veil'. Come and find out why. Our meetings are on Monday evenings at 7.30pm, at Filkins Vicarage, on 18`k' September, 30`h October, and 27`" November. If you would like to join us, do phone me on 01367 860846 for more details.
Liz Johnson
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
We will meet again in Filkins Methodist Church Schoolroom on Wednesday 4th October at 2.45pm, when we will again welcome our friend Bernice White from Wantage. As always, everyone is very welcome to attend.
Marjorie Barstow
SHILTON BAPTIST CHAPEL
September is always a wonderful time of year when we see the bountiful harvest all around us in the hedgerows, woods and fields. In the Chapel we look forward to our Harvest Festival which is always the last Sunday in September when we can praise God not just for all the material blessings we have received during the year but even more importantly for all the spiritual blessings.
Of course once Harvest is over we start thinking of Christmas, another wonderful time of rejoicing at God's amazing love for us. We love to sing our praise and thanks to
God every week, usually with an organist and occasionally unaccompanied; usually rather out of tune and occasionally quite tunefully. Every time though we try to express our great gratitude to our Father who loves us so much and who wants to listen to our hearts and not the tunefulness of our voices.
Preachers for October
1st October Informal ` 15th October Andy Robinson
8th October Graham Sparrowhawk 22nd October Tony Gibson
Communion 29th October Sue Barnes
Elizabeth Harfield
FILKINS & DISTRICT ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Poppy Appeal: This year's Poppy Appeal will take place from Saturday 28`h October until Saturday 11`" November. Collectors will be making house-to house collections during this period. Boxes will also be available at the usual Static points in the Broadshire villages. Please give generously to this essential fund-raising appeal that supports the welfare of ex-servicemen and their dependants.
Remembrance Service: This will be held at St Peter Filkins on Sunday 12th November. Further details will be included in the next issue of the Parish Pump.
Committee Meeting: The next Committee Meeting will be held in the Bell, Langford on Tuesday 3rd October at 7.30pm.
FROM THE REGISTERS
HOLY BAPTISM
20th August Langford Charles William Henry Haynes
20th August Broadwell Alistair Joseph Gunn Auld
27th Auigust Filkins Oscar Benjamin McCree
HOLY MARRIAGE
9th September Black Bourton Neil John McCormick to Diana Caroline Wallis
9th September Westwell Antony David Carter to Pamela Margaret Moore
HOLY BURIAL
8th September Shilton Burial of Ashes of Margaret Riley
11th September Holwell Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Anthony Medman (Tim) Till aged 96years
THE HARVEST MOON
The flame-red moon, the harvest moon,
Rolls along the hills, gently bouncing,
A vast balloon,
Till it takes off, and sinks upward
To lie on the bottom of the sky, like a gold doubloon.
The harvest moon has come,
Booming softly through heaven, like a bassoon.
And the earth reolies all night, like a deep drum.
So people can't sleep,
So they go out where elms and oak trees keep
A kneeling vigil, in a religious hush.
The harvest moon has come!
And all the moonlit cows and all the sheep
Stare up at her petrified, while she swells
Filling heaven, as if red hot, and sailing
Closer and closer like the end of the world.
Till the gold fields of stiff wheat
Cry `We are ripe, reap us!' and the rivers
Sweat from the melting hills.
Ted Hughes
ALVESCOT
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St Peter's
SONGS OF PRAISE
A most enjoyable service of hymns and praise was held on Sunday 10th September followed by refreshments.
HARVEST FESTIVAL
This year our harvest festival is at 11.00am on Sunday 15`'' October. It will be followed by a harvest lunch of wonderful home cooking and a get together in the village hall. There will be a bar. Tickets for the two course lunch are available from Sue Cave (01993 846696), Liz Savage (01993 842832), or me (01993 842435) priced at £15 for a family, £6.00 adult and 3.00 for a child.
We will be decorating the church at 10.00am on Saturday 14`h October and everyone is welcome to come along and participate. Gifts of garden flowers and produce would be much appreciated. There will also be a churchyard tidyup at the same time so please come along if you can - your help is needed.
Jayne Lewin
DON'T FORGET THE QUIZ
There will be a quiz night at the Village Hall on Saturday 7th October. Ring me for further information, and ticket. 01993 842135.
Terry Morris
THE YOUTH CLUB RISES!
The Youth Club has started again! We meet in the Village Hall on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 7.00 to 9.00pm during term time. It is open to children of Alvescot & Black Bourton aged from l0-16 years (school years 6-12). Entry is £1 per child and 50p for each subsequent child of the same family.
There is a tuck shop and various activities including table tennis, snooker, music, board games and outdoor games in the Village's Multi-use Games Area (weather permitting). We also have different activity evenings from time to time and have held film nights. So, do come along and make some new friends. The club will run this term on the following dates:
11th October 8`h November
22nd November
13th December
We also welcome any adults who would be willing to help out, but any volunteers need to be CRB checked. Please ring me on 01993 845610, if you want more details.
Sharon Waters
THE FIREBIRD
The Firebird, OTTC's exciting, enchanting new play for family audiences is based on the classic Russian folk tale about Ivan, a poor stable boy and his adventures with a captive princess, an evil magician, a toothless wolf and the fabled, fantastic bird of flame.
A magical story full of charm, fantasy, music and fun, The Firebird is the perfect production for anyone and everyone over six years old. Prepare to be dazzled!
The place to see the opening night of this fantastic tale is the Village Hall on Tuesday 14th November 2006. Tickets are available from Terry Morris (01993 942135) or me (01993-842832). Tickets are £7.50 (£6.50 concessions), or alternatively take advatage of our Group ticket Cost £23.00 (admits two adults and two children)
The OTTC provide a professional performance every time, last years production of Beauty and the Beast evoked such comments as `Having seen the RSC production of Beauty and the Beast last year I was totally enthralled
by your performance. Absolutely captivating and imaginative. Thank you for a memorable production.'
The Firebird is a production not to be missed. Space is limited so be sure to reserve your tickets now.
Liz Savage
ST PETER'S INFANT SCHOOL
An excellent start to the new school year has been had by all. Both staff and children have returned to school with renewed enthusiasm after the summer holiday. We look forward to welcoming twenty-two new children to our Foundation Stage Class and hope that these
children and their families soon become part of the life of St Peter's.
We have many plans for the year ahead. This year we have been fortunate enough to have been selected to join the Primary Leadership Programme which enables us to continue to build on the successes of the school with the support of Local Authority consultants and allows us the financial support to increase opportunities for professional development for teachers. We will also be continuing to promote St Peter's as a Healthy School and taking part in the County's Healthy Oxfordshire Schools Award Scheme (HOSAS).
Funds raised at the Family Barbecue and on the Activity Days at the start of the summer holiday have been put towards the purchase of new play equipment for the field which will be installed at the beginning of November. Many thanks, once again, to those of you who supported the barbecue.
Unfortunately the turf on the mound that was created last year has died this summer and now that the earth has compacted we are keen to add to it before re-turfing. If anyone has any topsoil that they would be willing to donate to the school we would be very appreciative.
Bob Morris, from the Witney Rugby Club is returning to us this term to teach the children the skills involved in playing tag rugby and Alan Elbourne will, hopefully, be providing an after-school tennis club on the Multi-Use Games Area.
The school will hold its annual Harvest Festival service at St Peter's Church on Monday 16`'' October at 1.30. All are welcome to join us.
The next event after the jumble Sale on the 30"' September will be the Gift Evening in November so don't miss the chance of getting your Christmas shopping done early this year and avoiding the Christmas rush. Choose from a wide range of gifts at your leisure with a glass of wine and a mince pie! Tickets will be available from the school office.
Sam King
IN THE PINK COFFEE MORNING
Please Join Sandi Morris and Doreen Hart for coffee to raise money for Breast Cancer Research in the village hall on Saturday 14``' October from 10.00am to 12noon. There will be various stalls including a raffle, cake stall, silk flowers, jewellery, greeting cards, bring and buy and a bran tub.
Pink clothing optional!
Doreen Hart
SHILL VALLEY WI
Shill Valley WI meets on the first Wednesday of each month in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Visitors are always very welcome (£1.50 includes refreshments, raffle 20p). If you would like more details about any of our activities, please feel free to contact me on 01993 214107.
Melanie Bryant
BLACK BOURTON
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St Mary's
CHURCH FLOWERS
Come on ladies, or men, we need you! Anyone interested in joining the flower rota for St Mary's Church please ring me on 01993 844124. Any help would be much appreciated. And if you are a bit uncertain...
FLOWER ARRANGING CLASSES
I will be holding flower arranging classes in St Mary's Church next Spring, concentrating mainly on Church Flowers. This class is open for all and if you are interested in taking part please ring me on 01993 845998. There will be six sessions, dates to be confirmed. Watch this space.
Christine Pope
IN THE PINK COFFEE MORNING See entry under Alvescot
BROADWELL
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St Peter & St Paul's
ALTAR FLOWERS
1st October Jocelyn Humfrey
8th & 15th October Georgina Lewis
22nd & 29th October Annabel Molyneaux
HARVEST LUNCH ,
Our Harvest Lunch is on 15t October, starting at 12.15pm, immediately after the Harvest Festival in the church. (This was originally planned for 11.30am, but has been put forward to 11.00am to give us time to get ready.)
Instead of a Tombola, this time we have dreamed up two new ideas for raising a bit of money for the church, and I do hope they are successful.
Money is already being spent as you read this, with work starting on the north-facing roof. Nobody realized how much more messy it would be than last time, and we apologise to all, but the work is essential.
LOST PROPERTY
Has anyone lost a hiking stick, or a black-and-white umbrella? They have been in the church porch since last Rogation Sunday, and sure someone is missing them? We have left them there in the hope that they would be recognized and recovered, but there they languish, waiting to go home.
June Goodenough
NEWS FROM BROADSHIRES PRE-SCHOOL
Nearly new clothing. The Pre-School invites you to come along to our 50/50 Sale at St John the Evangelist Church, Burford Road, Carterton on Saturday, 14`h October 10.00am to 12noon. Nearly new children's clothes (age 0-11 yrs.), second-hand toys and equipment. There will also be a cake stall and
refreshments.
Anyone with items for sale, please telephone 01993 842312 for a seller's pack. All sellers will be treated on a first come first served basis. We look forward to seeing you.
Vicky Taylor
FILKINS & BROUGHTON POGGS
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St Peter's
FLORENCE AMY HICKS 1922 - 2006
When I think of Florrie my first thought is her zest for life. Scrabble, whist, and (in big letters) BINGO. She loved the sociable occasions. Janet remembers her mother reading with her by the cosy Rayburn, and the big family occasions at Christmas when the cards always came out. Brian remembers the naughty chair. Kind but strict, the children were brought up to think of others, to show respect for the feelings of others.
When she was so ill in 1968, given just two years to live, her first thought was the well-being of her family. She managed her illness privately until Brian and Marian were safely married and Janet's welfare secured. Later her openness on her problems gave others the courage to live bravely.
She worked as a home-help in Filkins. She looked after Jesse Cook, old George Swinford, Mrs Jones, Mrs Farmer - it's a job of great intimacy and responsibility. She had all the right gifts: patience, kindness, discretion.
She also had the gist for friendship and loved to give. Peggy Hough, another scrabble player, looks back on more than 60 years of friendship: `we were more like sisters, Florrie was caring and courageous, she cared about my wellbeing.' Bridget Cripps
remembers what a good neighbour she was. John Cambridge will miss her cheerful company, and so will many other old friends. She was always busy doing things for others. In the last few weeks at Filkins, she was still busy knitting squares for the Happy Circle `Feed the Children' project.
Ann Cripps
Brian and I and our families would like to thanks everyone for their kindness and sympathy following the death of our dear mum. Florrie was a great lady who enjoyed life. She loved her games of bingo and whist, and was pretty good at scrabble, and it was only a few years ago that she played darts for the Lamb pub.
Florrie was also loving and generous and a good friend of a lot of people. But most important to her was her family whom she loved deeply, and she was so proud of them all.
She was a wonderful mum, grandmother and great-grandmother, and we miss her so very much, but now she can rest in peace.
Janet Harrison
TOP VILLAGE 2006
It's official. We are the tops! Filkins & Broughton Poggs beat all-comers in the competition run by Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, and are officially the Oxfordshire Village of the year for 2006. We now go forward into the national inter-county contest.
The judges said of us: `Filkins and Broughton Poggs demonstrate an excellent range of activities for a village this size, it was clear that there is a lot happening in the village that caters for a wide range of people. Filkins and Broughton Poggs shows itself to be a caring and supportive community.'
To prepare our entry for the national competition, there will be a public meeting at which everyone will be invited to contribute their ideas. Watch this space.
Trish Poole •
BOWLS CLUB FETE & PRODUCE SHOW
The members of the Bowls Club would like to thank all competitors, helpers and vistors for supporting the event this year. There were 447 entries in the produce show, and apart from a short storm at the end, the weather, stayed fine. We could not have asked for better.
The cup winners were:
Vegetable cup Doug Jackson
Flower cup Chrissy Tinson (exhibit above)
Cookery cup Tracy Fisher
Thank you once again, and we look forward to seeing you at next year's show. Janet
COFFEE MORNING
Thank you to everyone who so generously supported our Coffee Morning on 19'h August. We raised £245 towards furniture, toys and books for children. Watch out for a special children's event to celebrate our new purchases!
HARVEST FESTIVALSUPPER
Our Harvest Festival service will be held at St Peter's, Filkins on 15` October at 10.30am. The church will be decorated as usual, but do bring your children along with harvest produce which they can take up to the altar.
HARVEST SUPPER
The Harvest Supper will be held on the evening of Sunday lst October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
Barbara Bristow
PARISH COUNCIL
Next meeting: The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on 3rd October at 7.30pm in Filkins Village Hall Committee room. All residents are invited to attend.
Those planes! On 11th October we have invited Wing Commander Turner from RAF Brize Norton to come and talk to residents of Filkins and Broughton Poggs on future developments at Brize Norton. This will take place at 7.30pm in Filkins Village Hall. If any residents from neighbouring parishes wish to attend they will be most welcome.
Papers etc: The agenda of forthcoming meetings and minutes of the previous meeting are available in Filkins Bus shelter, Broughton Poggs notice board, Filkins Shop and Filkins Post Office. The main information file is located in the Coffee shop at the Cotswold Woollen Weavers but if you have any questions please contact me (the Parish Clerk) on 01367 860388.
Cris Hoad
CINEMA
The next Monthly Film will be 'Brokeback Mountain' on 10th October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Tickets £2.50 on the door.
`A sweeping epic that explores the lives of two young men, a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, who meet in the summer of 1963 and unexpectedly forge a lifelong connection. The complications, joys and heartbreak they experience provide a testament to the endurance and power of love.'
Starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. 145 minutes, Certificate 12a.
John Hayes
ROSTER FOR VOLUNTARY CAR SERVICE TO SURGERIES Covering Filkins, Broughton Poggs, Broadwell Kencot, Langford and L Faringdon 3`d October Mr A Woodford 860319 19th October Mr A Woodford 860319
5th October Miss H Squire 860337 24th October Lady Cripps 860209
10th October Mrs J Geake 860534 26th October Mr P Coleman 860571
12th' October Mrs M Cover 860302 31st October Mrs C Woodford 860319
17th October Mrs K Morley 860420
(All codes 01367)
For hospital runs, or with any problems, contact me on 01367 860319 Local surgery runs £2.00
Hospitals: Fairford & Witney £6.00 Swindon & Cirencester £8.00 Oxford £10.00 At the JR, additional parking charges may have to be paid. New volunteers are always welcome, particularly for hospital runs.
Tony Woodford
HOLWELL
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St Mary's
ACE TIME IN HOLWELL
You didn't have to go to Blenheim for the thrills and spills of a riding event. On 3`d September, Sarah Royle (mistress of Holwell's equine residents), put on an end of holiday show for the ponies and riders of Enid's and Ruth's stables at Home Farm Bradwell Grove. It began with a Fancy Dress parade judged by Jane Peagram. Mums and Grans helped to create fanciful costumes: there were Cowboys and Indians, a witch and a wizard, a humbug (pony's name) and a highwayman, clowns and a glittering silver spaceman. Fun too was a pretty trio representing `Blonde Girlie Power', on matching grey mounts and dressed overall in ribbons and tinsel. The ponies wore lipstick and facepaint.
Next to the arena, Antony and Angela had spruced up the yard for the Barbeque lunch: beefy burgers and ketchup and yummy puds were enjoyed by all, and (while the riders changed into more practical attire) families and friends were put to work with a challenging quiz. Do you know the name of Dick Turpin's horse?
The afternoon's competition started with a quest for `The Most Stylish Rider', grouped according to age. The ponies were put through various paces and judged on merit.
Next came `Handy Horse or Pony' (left), an agility course against the clock, with riders dismounting and remounting to put on a safety vest, posting a letter and negotiating cones and a small jump. There were rosettes, prizes and bouquets for
everyone and three rousing .. cheers for Sarah for all the fun and enjoyment of the day.
An amazing £300 was collected or donated which will be sent to Animal Care in Egypt (ACE) and the Veterinary Clinics overseas who need our valuable support.
Eeyore
[Now let me see... Who is the most likely 'Eeyore in Holwell? Ed]
KELMSCOTT
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St George's
HARVEST FESTIVAL...
... this year will be on Sunday 8"' October at 3.30 pm.
THE FIREBIRD
Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company will be performing `The Firebird' in the Morris Memorial Hall on Friday 15"' December. Please make a note in your diary now! More details will appear in next months Parish Pump.
Laura Roberts
KENCOT
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St George's
CHURCH FLOWERS
7th & 14th' October Marjorie Barstow
21st& 28th October Joy Coxeter
4`th November Lesley Metcalfe
HARVEST FESTIVAL
Our Annual Harvest Festival will be held in St. George's Church on Sunday 1" October at 6.OOpm. Do come and join us to give thanks for the fruits of the earth and to sing some of the traditional harvest hymns. After the service, all are invited to stay for a glass of wine and auction of the produce.
The church will be decorated on Saturday 30`h September, when helpers would be most welcome, as would gifts of flowers, fruit and vegetables. The collection and the
proceeds of the auction will be given to PACT (Parents and Children Together), a charity which helps those who are homeless or from broken families in Oxfordshire.
ST LUKE'S HOSPITAL FOR THE CLERGY
Following our usual custom, the offertory on 22°d October, the Sunday nearest to St. Luke's Day, will be given to St Luke's Hospital for the Clergy.
ARRIVALS
We welcome Bruce, Emma, William, Amy and Tilly Glover to Manor Lodge and Lee and Maria Britton, Charlie and Claudia, formerly from Black Bourton, to Kencot Lodge. We hope they will have a long and happy stay.
John Barstow
LANGFORD
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St Matthew's
CHURCH FLOWERS
lst` October Mrs S Kirby
8th` & 15th October Mrs C Johnston
22nd & 29`th October Mrs. C. Tinson
CHURCH CLEANING .
Chancel & Porch Mrs M Webb
Nave Mrs B Bint & Mrs A Head
Brass Mrs J Pitkin
ST CHRISTOPHER'S NEWS
The summer holidays passed in a blur of activity at St Christopher's. The school received a much needed face lift with the older classrooms and the main corridor being redecorated. All the staff were in swapping classrooms and
sorting resources and I would
like to thank them all for their hard work. The kitchen was completely refurbished and Julie Gibbs, our cook, is delighted with the fantastic result.
We started the term feeling refreshed and ready for action despite the hard work over the holidays and the whole school looks and feels wonderful. As always I would like to particularly thank Janet Hobbs for her contributions in getting the school ready for the new year.
As part of this fresh new year staff decided to re-name their classes after their favourite trees. Thai has taken a while to get used to but we now have Cherry, Maple, Ginkgo, Oak and Willow Classes. We also welcomed two new members of staff this year; Mr Cornish in Oak Class and Mrs Griffin our new lunch time supervisor. Both have settled in well and the children are benefiting from their skills.
It was also lovely to welcome all our new children. We now have a class of eighteen Foundation Stage children, our largest ever, and our numbers have gone up to 116. Classes have been reviewed this year to accommodate the different numbers in each year group which has enabled us to have a single
Year Six Class. This will hugely benefit these children as they go into their final year at St Christopher's and take their Key Stage two SATs in preparation for secondary school.
Our newly reformed fundraising group have been very busy and we all enjoyed a fantastic BBQ and family day in our wonderful grounds before Autumn set in. They are raising much needed funds for our school and we are all extremely grateful. The next event will be a Christmas Craft and Gift Fayre on 11"' November at Bradwell Village Hall. Please see the advert for further details or contact Kate Wakley on 01993 822284 or [email protected]. Thank you for on-going support of our school events - we really couldn't provide all the extras without these.
At the end of September all of Key Stage Two spent time at Coleshill National Trust Estate as part of their project on Festivals and Harvest. They all thoroughly enjoyed the experience learning about Organic Vegetable farming. We also had in school a wonderful collection of old gardening and farming implements provided by Judi Cross and her family. The children were amazed at how much things have changed over the years and how much used to be done without the aid of machinery. Thanks too go to Richard Kirby for bringing in a tractor and plough for the children to look at, draw and learn about, and to the other parents who have volunteered their time talking
to the children about modern day farming. It really does bring the curriculum alive for the children.
Our Harvest Service this year will once again be a`Children's Service' at St Matthew's Church. The children all really enjoy walking through the village to the church and then taking part in the service led by Rev MacInnes. They are already learning the songs, both traditional and more contemporary, for this and we will be collecting food to be given to the homeless in Oxford. The service will be repeated for all the parents and carers as the children always like to put on a performance.
As always, please do contact us if you feel you have any time or expertise to offer. It is always gratefully received.
Sarah Nisbett
VILLAGE CRICKET MATCH
We played our inaugural village cricket match on Saturday 26th August. Two sides aged between 9 and 70 took to the pitch just after 2.00pm for a 30 over match supported by a large number of vocal spectators. Danny Bint's team won the toss and decided to bat on a greenish track. They got off to a good start, but some accurate bowling, keen fielding and various pulled muscles restricted them to 128 all out.
After a splendid tea with an extravagant range of sandwiches and cakes, Tommy Valentine's team started their innings well with a rapid opening partnership of over 60 with Tommy and Richard Kirby both retiring to make way for others. A number of wickets then fell quite cheaply, but various dogged performances resulted in a win for Tommy's team with a few overs to spare.
Memorable moments included Richard Kirby rolling back the years with a splendid attacking innings. Harry Puffitt and Jeremy Kirby's devastating bowling and batting and Andrew Clemons and Donald Puffitt's duel with bat and ball at the end. A great time was had by all the players and spectators alike, and watch this space for the date
for next year's match.
Jim Johnston
Back row: Andrew Clemons, Matt Simpson, Eric Webb, Danny Bint, Dave Tinson, Jim Johnston, Donald Puffitt., Peter and Richard Kirby. Front row: George Lane, Jeremy Kirby, Harry Puffit, Will Johnston.
ST. MATTHEWS CHURCH
More bellringers are needed, of every standard, experienced or beginners. If you are interested please contact me (the Tower Captain)on 01367 860514.
Andy Tinson
WHIST
Come and join us for an evening of playing Whist at the Village Hall on Tuesday 3rd October. The start time is 7.30pm; however if you would like some tuition please arrive a little earlier than this. The entrance fee of £1 includes tea and biscuits.
We play for the enjoyment of the game and the company with small prizes for the winners and losers! Everyone is welcome. Enquiries to 01993 852378.
JUMBLE SALE
There will be a Grand Jumble Sale in the Village Hall at 2.00pm on Saturday 14`h October. The hall will be open on Friday 13 `h from 6.00 to 7.00pm to
receive good quality donations. Stalls will include Cakes, Bric-a-Brac, White Elephant, Toys and Books. There will be a Raffle and light refreshments. The sale is in aid of St. Matthew's Church. Further details from Cherry Macdonald (01367 860304) or me (01367 860091)
Jenny Pitkin
LANGFORD LADIES
In August we did not have an official meeting, however a small group of the Ladies converged my house for a night with Pink Champagne, Pina Colada's and plenty to eat. Thank you to everyone who helped supply the food and made it a lovely evening.
Our next meeting will be an evening of `Ribbons and their uses', with Doreen Lowden on Thursday 12`'' October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. If this is anything like the previous demonstrations that Doreen has given us, there will be many unusual and surprising uses. Visitors most welcome £1.50, raffle and refreshments available. Enquiries to me on 01367 860514.
Chrissy Tinson
QUIZ AND AUCTION
There will be a quiz and auction on Friday 10`'' November in the Village Hall.
PRIZE BINGO
There will be a Prize Bingo in the Village Hall (in aid of hall funds) on Thursday 16`' November.
LITTLE FARINGDON
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St Margaret's
CHURCH FLOWERS
October Lucinda de Mauley
November Jeanie Pollock
SUN SHINES ON SHOOT & CYCLE RIDE
The Lord smiled on our church's September fundraising events, which benefited from plenty of warmth and sunshine. A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped and participated in the Southrop Charity Clay Pigeon Shoot and the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust `Ride & Stride'.
Special thanks go to George Ponsonby for his organisation of this year's record-breaking Charity Shoot, and to Geoffrey Shepherd and Rachel and Jeremy Taylor, who valiantly cycled from church to church to earn the support of their many sponsors.
Huge gratitude also goes to Sylvia Griffiths, who showed incredible endurance in manning the church all day long in order to greet the visiting cyclists. We'll done one and all.
HARVEST FESTIVAL
The church's Harvest Festival Service will take place on Sunday 8`'' October. The church will be decorated with flowers and produce a few days beforehand, and anyone who would like to help would be more than welcome.
BONFIRE PARTY
Our annual Guy Fawkes Party will be held on Friday 3`a November. Fabulous fireworks will illuminate St Margaret's Church and commemorate the church's 800th anniversary. So come help us celebrate and enjoy the terrific array of food and drink. The bonfire will be lit at 6.OOpm, and the fireworks will start at 7.00pm. For further details, please ring (01367) 252155. Or just come along to Little Faringdon on the night and join the festivities!
Barbara Johnson-Browne
SHILTON
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Holy Rood
COFFEE MORNING & BRING AND BUY
The Coffee Morning held at Little Viners on Saturday 19"' August to launch the new Flower Fund for the Church was a very happy occasion.
It was a very busy morning with lots of people popping in and spending money. Many thanks to everyone who assisted on the morning and to all those who contributed so generously.
We managed to put photos of the village fete on to DVD and showed them on the television which everyone enjoyed and we also have a record of our flower arrangements in Church for special occasions in the form of a wonderful photograph album - please give me a ring if you would like to see this (01993 841194).
We raised £229.20 which was wonderful so many thanks to everyone concerned. Our next functions to look forward to are another Coffee Morning on 4"' November for the Shilton Baptist Chapel and Church Funds and the Festive Flower/Cookery Demonstration on 18`h November for the Flower Fund.
Any offers of cakes and preserves for the Coffee Morning are most welcome! Jean Roberts
THE FETE
The Old School Committee is very glad it chose Saturday 12`h August as the date for the fete rather than Sunday 13`''. None of the committee members can remember why Saturday was chosen instead of the traditional Sunday, and it may well have been a mistake, but at least it was a fortuitous blunder because the weather, although blustery, was at least warm and dry on the Saturday while the Sunday turned out to be horribly wet.
The fete seemed to be enjoyed by all of the more than 500 people who attended, especially the children, who enjoyed old-fashioned fun in the form of sports and games, Punch & Judy and a magic show, and the dogs and their owners who took part in the fun dog show and participated enthusiastically in classes such as Musical Sits and the Best Biscuit Catcher.
It was jolly hard work for all the organisers, stall holders and helpers on the day - to whom we are very grateful - particularly to Michael & Jenny Hinton for the use of their field, which is such a perfect setting for this event, and to John and Bradley Hatwell for their generous contributions.
All that hard work paid off though because we made a profit of £2,156.03, which will be divided between the Old School, the church fabric fund, and OASIS (Oxford Autistic Society for Information & Support).
Once again, thank you to everyone who contributed in any way towards making the day such a success and raising so much money.
Shirley Cuthbertson
HARVEST SUPPER
Our next village gathering is the Harvest Supper on Sunday 15` October. As always, numbers are limited to the 50 we can seat in relative comfort in the Old School so please book early because once we reach 50 we won't be able to accommodate any more guests (and we hate turning people away!). Enquiries to me on 01993 841194.
Jean Roberts
DIARY DATES (Enquiries for any events to 01993 842404)
4`h November: Coffee morning/Bring & Buy at Little Viners - another chance to buy home made cakes, jam, books, Christmas cards from the Christian Bookshop at Highworth, and many other seasonal goodies. A good start to your Christmas shopping.
18`h November: What promises to be a really fun day in the Old School, a cookery and flower arranging demonstration by Steven Jenkins and Paul Hawkins, plus
morning coffee and lunch, in aid of She church flower fund. See separate entry from Jean Roberts.
November: Quiz night (date still to be decided)
22"a December: Carol singing around the village (everybody welcome) followed by a soup and sandwich supper in the Old School for the party.
PLEASE HELP KEEP US WARM
If anyone has any wood - logs or kindling - that is surplus to requirements the Old School Committee would be delighted to have it for the log burner in the hall.
PARISH COUNCIL
The Parish Council meeting dates for the remainder of the year are as follows:
Wednesday 11th October Bradwell village
Wednesday 13th December Shilton
KEEP FIT
Sandie holds classes every Thursday at 7.00pm in the Old School. £3.00 per session. All ages and abilities welcome.
SHILTON HISTORY GROUP
Mr. Charles Tyzack opened our new programme for 2006/7 with an excellent talk on the `Decline and fall of Wychwood Forest'.
At our next meeting on Friday, October 13th at 7.30pm in the Old School we welcome back Mr. Bill King whose topic will be on `The Upper Thames Patrol'. This should not be missed.
New members and visitors are always welcome.
Lorna Walker.
BRADWELL VILLAGE (part of Shilton Parish)
.
MOVIES ON THE MOVE
Our next film show will be on Wednesday 8`'' November at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. We will be showing 'Goodnight and Good Luck'. Entrance is reduced to £3. The doors open 7.00pm. The bar will be open and refreshments available. Telephone me (01993 824137) for further information.
Alan Lewis
VILLAGE COFFEE SHOP
The Coffee Shop is open on Fridays in term time from 10:30am-2:30pm in
the Village Hall selling hot and cold drinks and home-made cakes and savouries. This is a splendid social focus for anyone with an hour or so to
spare. For further details contact me on 01993 824801. '
Sharon Howat
BRADWELL VILLAGE STITCHERS
We meet on the Second Tuesday of each month, usually from 10.00am until 2.30pm in the village hall, and welcome members from the surrounding area. You are encouraged to bring along your latest project to work on. There is normally no formal teaching but plenty of enthusiasts to encourage beginners or help out with a problem. The half-annual subscription is £10. Visitors are most welcome at £2 for the day.
However, on 10"' October we are planning to hold a Bead Workshop from l0am until 3pm to make a spiral necklace, (or bracelet if you run out of time). Please contact me if you would like to come to this event. Either you will be given a list of requirements, or a kit will be supplied for a moderate cost, but please let me know your colour choice. The cost of the workshop is £2 for members and £4 for non-members. Drinks and biscuits are provided, but please bring a packed lunch.
For further information please contact me on 01993 824475. Marion Ellis
SHOP EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS...
The Cotswold Home Christmas Fair will be held on 4`'' November in the Village Hall from 10.00am to 3.00mm
Delicious Eats, Produce, Books, Cards & Gift Wrap, Jewellery, Handbags, Handmade Gifts, Creative Toys & Games, Clay Pots, Plants, Raffle and much much more...
Entrance £1.00. Refreshments Available
For more details or to book a table please telephone 01993 824225
...AND ANOTHER CHANCE...
A Christmas Craft and Gift Fair in aid of St Christopher's School will be held in the Village Hall on Saturday 11`h November from 11.00am to 4.00pm
Many hand made gifts, Craft and Gift stalls, and Refreshments
All pitch/stall enquiries and further information please contact me on 01993 822284 or email [email protected]
Kate Wakley
THE FIREBIRD
We are delighted to present the Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company in 'The Firebird' by Jane Buckler on Friday 5`" January 2007 at 7.00pm in Bradwell Village Hall. The OTTC production last January was a complete sellout, so reserve your tickets in advance by calling me on 01993 824475.
Marion Ellis
VILLAGE WEBSITE
Work is ongoing on our new website - take a look at www.bradwellvillage.net
WESTWELL
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St Mary's
No news this month
NEWS FROM OUR DISTRICT COUNCILLOR
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Following on last month's article, here are more details of what happens to the items we collect for recycling: Cardboard: This goes to a specialist recycler to be
recovered, bulked and sold on to paper and cardboard mills. Cardboard can be recycled four or five times before disintegration; second time around it makes more boxes and packaging and other uses such as stationery and animal bedding.
Textiles: Taken by Scope for sale in their charity shops or, if unsuitable for resale, on to rag merchants. Materials collected at the kerbside are taken to Devizes Textiles where second hand clothes are sent to Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. •
Garden Waste: Waste collected through the wheelie bin scheme is composted and used as fertiliser on local farms.
The Council receives recycling credits for the tonnages we collect so please everyone recycle as much as you can. If you need more boxes or would like to join the garden waste scheme, please call 01993 861000 or go to www.westoxon.gov.uk.
If you would like to contact me, telephone 01993 846033
Mary Neale
FILKINS VILLAGE SHOP
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Opening Hours
Monday 3.00 to 5.00pm
Tuesday 10.00am to 12noon & 3.00 to 5.00pm
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 10.00am to 12.00noon & 3.00 to 6.OOpm
Friday 3.00 to 6.OOpm
Saturday 9.00am to 1.OOpm & 3.00 to 6.OOpm
Sunday 3.00 to 5.00pm
A new face in the shop
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Hilary Skinner who has recently joined the shop team. Hilary will be covering the Tuesday and Thursday shifts in the shop and will be helping to support the committee and volunteers.
The committee would also like to take this opportunity to thank David Bristow who has helped us out during the busy summer period and wish him well as he returns to his studies. All the volunteers make the shop a fun and pleasant place to be and without their participation the shop would not be able to operate.
Don't forget...
... You can get a wide range of items in the shop including:
• Ice creams and ice-lollies - from as little as 15p!
• Cold drinks, sweets and crisps
• A wide range of chilled and frozen food
• Local pork, beef and trout
• Locally sourced cheese and butter
• Local honey
• Wine and Beer
• Handmade greetings cards
• Dry cleaning service
(collection and delivery to and from the shop each Tuesday)
• General groceries
• Fresh bread and pastries every Saturday morning
Helen Holden
West Ox Arts
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West Ox Arts Gallery is on the first floor of Bampton Town Hall. The Gallery opening hours are: Tuesday - Saturday: 10.30am - 12.30pm and 2.00pm - 4.00pm & Sunday: 2.00pm - 4.00pm. Tel: 01993 850137 or email: [email protected].
At the still point of the turning world 1st to 22nda October
This very exciting exhibition brings together six wonderfully inventive artists:
Steve Fletcher makes incredible clocks from mixed media (right)
Alan Stuart a printmaker who creates mysterious and amusing scenes Daren Greenhow creates amazing sculpture from recycling bicycles
Judith Geake paints pictures evoking scenes of magical realism Nicki Richards works with different metals for beautiful jewellery Michael Palmer who makes simply stunning ceramics.
This exhibition has been designed to encapsulate the surprising nature of our gallery, set in another world of the Cotswold village, far away from the city.
HELP SPECAL HELP SPECIAL PEOPLE
.
We are a small charity offering specialist training with a positive approach for the carers, families and friends of people who have dementia.
Our introductory presentation `The SPECAL Photograph Album', explains the SPECAL approach and philosophies.
The next dates for the presentation and workshops are: 31st October, 11th November, 14th December.
If you are interested in finding out more, or would like to book places on these workshops, please contact me at SPECAL, The Old Hospital, Sheep Street, Burford, Oxfordshire OX18 4LS.
Telephone 01993 822129 and Email: info?specalburford.co.uk You can also find out more on our website: www.specal.co.uk
Jane Fenton
SOBELL GIFT FAIR
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The 2006 Fair, to mark the 30`" anniversary of Sobell House Hospice, will be held between 10.00am and 5.00pm on Tuesday 3"d October at Kingston Bagpuize House, Near Abingdon.
Over 70 Stalls of gifts and food. Entrance £3 including parking.
Lindsay Manifold
GRAND CRAFT & GIFT FAIR
.
Yes, this is the Big One, on Saturday 11`" November at Bradwell Village Hall, and you still have the opportunity to reserve a stall. If you are a hobbyist or craftsman wishing to sell your makes or if you hold party plan and have saleable Christmas gifts or cards then please do not miss out on this fabulous opportunity. Funds raised from the hire of stalls and pitches will benefit St Christopher's school. So why not make a little money for yourself and at the same time raise some funds for the school.
• Stalls are available priced at £15.00 (plus an item donated for raffle)
• Parents of children attending the school receive a SO% discount.
• Stalls are limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis.
• If you are unable to attend but would like the opportunity of advertising
your business at the event, a table will be available for a selection of business cards for a small fee of £3.00 payable in advance.
• For further details, or to book a stall, please call me now. 01993 822284 or [email protected]
Kate Wakley
NATURE NOTES
.
J went for an interesting walk in Ditchley Park, on the other side of Charlbury recently. In a clearing in the wood, a large grassy area, there were scores of lovely pink crocus like flowers (right) with no leaves, coming straight out of the ground and pushing up through the grass in small groups. These are a wild flower, a member of the lily family, not of the crocus family but a Colchicum and have the common names of `naked ladies' because they come without leaves, or Meadow Saffron but saffron does not come from them, or autumn crocus but are not a crocus, which has only three stamens. It was early evening when I saw them and although quite a sight would have been
even better in full sunlight I -
when they would have been fully open. The large leaves come much later. There is a small group of them in Shilton churchyard planted some years ago. A part of the colchicum was used years ago as a treatment for gout.
Another interesting flower seen on the same walk was the night-flowering catchfly. This is aptly named because by day the petals roll up and are a dull yellow colour on the underside and as evening comes on the petals unroll to reveal a pale pink flower. The petals are attached to the stem by sepals which are joined in a longish narrow and sticky tube. Small night flying insects are temporarily attached to the plant and ensures that any pollen adheres to the bodies of the insects on entering the flower and is natures way of pollinating other flowers. I have a Sweet William Catchfly which has seeded well this year in my garden and came from Millie's garden a couple of years ago.
In a damp area were some tall hairy yellow flowers of the common fleabane. Years ago when rushes were used as a floor covering in houses they harboured fleas and when dried and burned the vapour given off from fleabane drove out the fleas.
Amongst the trees were several wild service trees and these have the common name of `chequers tree'. Their bark has a rough scaling effect rather like a chequers board. The fruits are brownish, pear shaped about an inch long and have a hard bitter flesh, which, like that of the medlar tree only become edible after being softened by frost. They were formerly used to make an alcoholic beverage called chequers and believed to be the origin of the name for chequers pubs but are not now a common tree. The wood, a yellowish hardwood, is used in
cabinet work.
David Roberts
COOKING WITH KATE
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Autumn is time for mushrooms and here is a recipe for Mushroom and Onion Tart
Ingredients
For the pastry
150gm (5.5oz) butter
300gm (10.5oz) plain flour, sifted pinch of salt
1 egg yolk mixed with two tbs cold water
For the filling
75gm (3oz) butter
500gm (18oz) onions sliced 50gm (1.5oz) soft brown sugar 6tbs red wine vinegar 2 garlic cloves crushed
450gm (16oz) mixed wild and cultivated mushrooms, sliced (shitake, oyster, button, field)
3tbs chopped fresh parsley 200gm (7oz) creme fraiche 4 eggs beaten salt and pepper to taste
Method
Make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs, stir in a pinch of salt and the egg yolk mixed with the cold water. Stir to bind the mixture then kneed lightly to form a smooth pliable dough. Press the pastry evenly on the base and sides of a 9 inch loose based flan tin, chill for 20 minutes.
Melt 50gm of butter in a frying pan and fry the onions for 20 minutes until softened, then increase the heat and cook stirring regularly for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Stir in the vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes until the vinegar has reduced and the mixture has a jam like consistency. Remove from heat and set aside.
Pre heat the oven to 200C (400F, Gas6), place the flan tin on a baking sheet, prick the pastry base with a fork, line with crumpled grease proof paper and cover with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Meanwhile melt the remaining butter in a frying pan and fry the garlic and mushroom for 3 minutes stirring regularly, remove from the heat stir in the parsley and leave for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven to 190C (375F, gas5).
Fill the flan case with the onion mixture spread evenly, drain the mushrooms and spread over the onions. Beat the creme fraiche and eggs until smooth, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, pour into the pastry case discarding any excess.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and set, cool slightly. Remove from the tin and serve warm or cold with a crisp salad and chunky bread.
Kate Morley
LETTERS
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Letters are welcome on any subject. Just email them, post them or drop them in to Parish Pump: all contact details are on the inside front cover of Parish Pump. Ed
We all love Paul Molyneaux
Sir: I was very disappointed to read in September's Parish Pump, that it was not in fact Paul Molyneaux doing the altar flowers in Broadwell, but Pamela.
This is not to infer that I have anything against Pamela's flower arrangements, which I am sure are very beautiful, but rather that I had formed a very pleasing picture in my mind of what could best be described as one of the more stalwart male members of the church, armed with a pair of secateurs raiding his garden on a Saturday morning, selecting his choicest foliage and flowers, trimming them , and fixing them tastefully in suitable containers
around the altar. .,
It's odd that I should have this stereotyped idea of what is considered not a job for the boys. As early as 1958 my husband was not averse to changing nappies, and today my sons regularly wield the vacuum cleaner.
Still, it goes to prove that I read Parish Pump from cover to cover!
Disillusioned Broughton Poggs
[The gauntlet is thrown. Now you have just got to join the flower rota, Paull Ed/
YES, YOU CAN SURF IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE!
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Nigel Gardner, ex Langford resident, bell-ringer and general good-egg sends this splendid photograph of a recent Severn Bore. Nigel writes:
I Thought you might be interested in a photo of this morning's Severn Bore taken south of Gloucester. There is a star system which rates the size. This was a 3 but the 4 star bores are after dark this time. These two surfers were the survivors of about 50 starters which included many Aussies who were no doubt between visiting beer festivals and tomato throwing in Spain; quite a party atmosphere!
Nigel Gardner
When the bore comes, the stream does not swell by degrees, as at other times, but rolls in with a head... foaming and roaring as though it were enraged by the opposition which it encounters'- Thomas Harrel 1824
The Severn Bore is a large surge-wave which sweeps up the river periodically when the tide is particularly high. Bores only occur on certain rivers which have very large tidal ranges, wide estuaries which rapidly narrow up-stream.
The Severn has the 2nd highest tidal range in the world at 15.4m, and the Bore is one of the biggest in the world. Britain still does something best!
THE `CARTER' CONNECTION
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A few issues ago, we poses the question `Who was the Amelia Carter who helped pay for the foundation of the local Carter lnstitutes? We had several interesting pointers, but no certain answer. In the course of his researches, has Richard Shaw found a clear line to the right Carter family?
J have just completed a fascinating two-year course on Vernacular Architecture. For the final assignment we were required to select a building and consider how it may have evolved (perhaps from mediaeval times) from the purpose for which it was originally built; how subsequently altered and how it had fulfilled uses to which it had been put. Others on the course chose a variety of buildings: a mill or a cottage, an inn, smithies, weavers houses, river wharf buildings or tollhouses. Thanks to Mr and Mrs Fyson, my building was their home: Manor Farm, Kencot.
As you might guess, to explore a building's past it is better to start with the firm data of what exists now and metaphorically unpack layers of datable component from that. Complete replacements substitute what was there before so the search is then for surviving clues like reused material. Partial replacements or modernisation (in past century styles) may have followed some of the original footprint of the building, or
left fireplaces unmoved or retained roof timbers. My look at Manor Farm led me back into five centuries of its layers of adaptation and development from what we see today.
But we were required to look at more than just the buildings: Where relevant we were to try and trace the past owners or their tenants if it was not the owners who occupied the building. To my surprise I was unable to find any clear surviving record of past owners or tenants of what we know today as Manor Farm. Graveyards have many named memorials but few say where the dead had lived and worked. Registers of baptism, and marriage give names of parents and witnesses but not addresses. Hearth tax and other returns and amazingly the early census listed names and other details like occupations - but no addresses! At the time, of course, everyone knew where the parties lived so there was seemingly no point.
A chance find of a chance survival at the Oxford Records Office of an auctioneer's notice of a`Tithe-Free Farm' led me into an interesting line of enquiry. The notice had no name or address for the farm - but Messrs Moore & Hill would auction it at Four for Five at the Bull Hotel, Fairford on the 9th day of July 1889. However the detailed plan of the farmstead with its fields showed it was indeed of the farm with the buildings I was looking at.
Though tithe-free, the notice pointed out the farm was encumbered with Land Tax and two charitable covenants. One was to pay £2/10/0 annually to Kencott School. That rang a bell as I had seen entries in annual county directories of Victorian and pre WWII Oxfordshire, that Kencot School enjoyed an endowment of 50/- a year from a Goddard Carter, paid out of a farm in the parish. Any connection between the sums had just had to be found.
I found Goddard Carter had been a very successful land-owning farmer who lived in Alvescot. In 1725, at the age of 82 he died and is buried there. He and his wife have a marble memorial on the north wall of Alvescot church under which are engraved his willed endowments - including the fifty shillings for Kencot. A 1725 copy of his 1723 will, written when it was proved in Canterbury, is held at the Oxford Records Office. It contains: `I give fifty shillings a year for ever to be paid quarterly to a Person to teach Children
living in Kencot afores'd for the time being for ever to read and write and something of Arithmetick and to be issuing out of my land there...'
The `land there' is not further specified, however his granddaughter inherited his Kencot lands which are listed by their field names in the award to her husband Phillip Lytton under the Inclosure Act of 1767 for Kencott, and the five largest fields in the 1889 auctioneer's notice have (almost) the same five names. Their family had became lords of the manor in Kencot and a descendent, Albert William Large, was the seller of the auction lot. Large is known to have been broke but he paid up his arrears £6/5/- to the charity in 1897. This is recorded in an account book with minutes saved by one of the last Trustees. (These records are now to be offered to the ORO.)
By then a William Paintin who had bought land in Kencot, including `Manor Farm' at the 1889 auction, was paying £2/10/-, and did so until he died. In 1900 he had sold the
farmhouse (to Mr John Sampson Furley, a great great uncle of Jonathan Fyson) but kept the fields upon which the endowment was attached. After that, fields of the farm were acquired by several farmers, and the minutes in 1929 record their dispute as to who should be paying the fifty bob. The Goodenoughs farming from Broadwell took it on and in 1970 offered a lump sum for the charity to invest for its income.
Use of the charity's annual income since 1897 is recorded as being shares by ten or so of Kencot's poorer children, in clothing and cash. In 1958 it was assisting one Kencot child `doing well at Burford Grammar School to encourage him to stay on until 18'. For a few years it was used to buy reference books for that school's library, then a needy family until it settled down to being paid almost always to Langford Cof E Primary School, because it was attended by children from Kencot.
In 1998 the last of a long line of Trustees over the past 200 years, closed the charity passing its residual assets to the Charity of Amelia Carter for the Reading Room and Poor (no 203432).
So, a Carter family has been synonymous with benefaction in these parts. Could Amelia Carter, of the Carter Institutes, a descendant of Goddard Carter of Alvescot?
Richard Shaw
VIEWS FROM THE ALVESCOT PEACE CAMP
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In September's Parish Pump, we took a fairly flippant line on the Alvescot Peace Camp. It seems reasonable to allow one of the campers a reposte.
The USA was founded on human slaughter, little has changed. From 1798 to date the USA has carried out almost a hundred and fifty military acts of aggression outside its own borders, normally for financial gain or in its own corporate interests.
`From 1945 to the end of the century, the United States attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements struggling against intolerable regimes. In the process, the US caused the end of life for several million people, and condemned many millions more to a life of agony and despair.' William Blum, from the introduction to 'Rogue State'.
The attack on the USA on 11`'' September 2001 has been cynically used as an excuse to attack Iraq and to try and gain economic and political control of the Middle East, a long standing American plan. The USA currently has 720 military bases around the world and is building more each day.
It is clear that Bush, Blair and the PNAC regime, together with JINSA (the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a powerful Jewish group in America with the
aim of influencing US foreign policy in Israel's favour) will continue to orchestrate wars to try to win control of our planets resources.
The UK is hugely instrumental in facilitating the abominations of the United States. In addition to offering itself as a material launch pad for US attacks across the world, the UK houses and supports much of the hardware the United States uses to spy on the world for economic and other strategic reasons.
NSA Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire facilitates endless killing and human suffering in the interests of America's corporate balance sheets, and the US at RAF Fylingdales has been granted unconditional permission to play a major role in the development and implementation of a nuclear powered system of laser weapons to be deployed in space, against which no county or individual on earth will have any defence.
The people of the UK sit quietly by and let this happen, wallowing in the
myth that there is still something good about America as it 'saved us' in , WWII.
The United States' real agenda is on display in its military Vision for 2020, a master plan published by the US government.
In the 1930s the streets of Germany were filled with people who did nothing or looked the other way while atrocities were carried out. Now people in the UK are doing nothing and looking the other way while atrocities are carried out around the world by the US, UK, and Israeli powers.
Our camp at Alvescot was set up in order to monitor the civilian aviation contractors profiting from illegal wars and the murder of innocent men, women and children in other countries. I shouldn't have thought God would find our project particularly offensive, but it has been noted that such monitoring is quite contemptible to some of the members of Alvescot parish.
I would like to thank the Reverend Harry MacInnes for his kind, thoughtful and lengthy efforts at understanding and tolerance during our week at Alvescot, and also the very peculiar creature who turned up one morning in a little green car squawking `have you all got jobs'? Yes, we have jobs, but much as I enjoy my job I certainly don't learn as much from it as I did from the squawker's display of ignorance, prejudice and bigotry in an English country church car park at Alvescot.
Kate Holcombe
[You can contact Kate on [email protected] Ed]
FLORA BIBLIENSIS
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This month, Mike looks at Biblical Trees...
Ancient Israel was largely rural: its people were mostly either farmers or herders who knew about plants and crops, the weather and the seasons and the threats of natural disasters like flood and drought. It is not surprising, therefore, that much of the imagery of their everyday wisdom and conversation was framed in terms of the natural world that they saw around them. The scenery was mixed: mountain and plain, desert and garden, but of all the living objects visible in the landscapes of the Holy Land, the most useful, as well as the most impressive, were the trees.
The Scriptures are full of allusions and metaphors drawn from the flora and the landscape with which their writers were familiar, and some of them, such as the fig leaf and the olive branch, have become part of our everyday language.
Plants or plant products are mentioned in nearly every book of the Bible, but accurately identifying them is not always straightforward. Around 1566, Levinus Lemmens wrote the first book on scriptural plants but the world had to wait another century and a half until Linnaeus introduced some scientific order into their classification.
The symbolism of trees and plants, like that of animals, was based partly on superstition and magic, and partly on observation and custom. In preChristian times trees were often regarded as symbols of freedom, liberty, longevity, uprightness and strength. The oak and the yew are artistic and poetic examples, and a few have even become icons evoking vivid mental pictures and inspiring beautiful music, like the Cedars of Lebanon (previous page). (Psalms 92:12)
Archaeology has established that Palestine had plenty of forests - certainly more than now, especially in the hills of Lebanon, Carmel, Bashan, the Sharon Plain and the Jordan Valley - but wood was nevertheless scarce and expensive. Skilled wood carvers were rare and carved wooden panels, windows and other woodwork were regarded as a sign of wealth.
The word `forest' is actually used in the Bible to translate five Hebrew words: ya'ar, the forest proper; horesh, a wooded height; cebak, a
clump of trees; abhim, a thicket; pardec, an orchard.
But, to state the obvious, food originally grew freely on trees for peoples who embraced the nomadic life. Gradually, though, the cultivation of crops, including orchards, vineyards and olive groves, became a major preoccupation for many settled communities which themselves developed from subsistence agriculture to the production of surpluses to feed cities and armies.
However, the Hebrews did not particularly well understand soil structure and scientific agriculture, and their knowledge of good conservation practice was limited
to what was needed in the here and now and the relatively short-term future. Over many generations, some places became deforested, exhausted, •• eroded and barren: a pre-echo of the Dust Bowls of America two thousand years or more later.
Extensive deforestation began even before Abraham's time, around 2000 BC, and the continuing demand for timber is noted in 2 Chronicles 27:4, Nehemiah 2:8 (building), Isaiah 44:14 (fuel) and Isaiah 29:17 (agriculture). Trees were not only the source of wood for construction and fuel, but also of the basic material for making all sorts of other practical things such as buckets, ox yokes, flagstaffs, musical instruments and weapons.
Practical medicine was, of course, rooted in herbalism, and no doubt country folk in biblical lands also had their equivalents of observational weather lore based on trees and plants such as:
The oak before the ash, we're in for a splash
The ash before the oak, we're in for a soak
Trees are very emotive things for Christians (is it significant that Jesus was the son of a carpenter?). The beginning and end of the bible story are characterized by them: the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9) and the Tree of Knowledge grew in the Garden of Eden, and, whilst the Cross itself is sometimes referred to as a Tree, the Book of Revelation notes the tree of life as a major feature in the paradise of God (Revelation 22:2,14).
Moses described the Promised Land as `a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive and honey', but given that Deuteronomy does not say how this vegetation got there and grew, this was clearly a focus on opportunities for cultivation rather than a description of the scenery.
Over three thousand species of Palestinian flora exist, but only some 130 different plants, including 26 varieties of tree, are mentioned in the Bible, although there are more than 550 references to trees or wood as such. By way of illustration, let us look at just four familiar examples: two fruits, the pomegranate and the apple, and two woods, cedar and the timber from which Noah's Ark was made, gopher wood.
Pomegranates are an ancient image of beauty and fecundity, said to be a gift from God (Deuteronomy 8:8). They were depicted on the garment of the high priest (Exodus 28:33), and Solomon's temple had two hundred pomegranates carved on each of the capitals of the main pillars (1 Kings 7:42, 2 Chronicles 4:13). In the Koran, also, pomegranates are specifically mentioned as one of the gifts of Allah.
The apple, depicted in the hands of Adam
and Eve, can represent sin, although Genesis does not say what species the Tree of Knowledge was, nor that its fruit was an apple. This idea developed as a JudaeoChristian tradition, probably as a teaching aid. Held by Jesus or the Virgin, though,
the apple represents salvation. It is used figuratively to show how precious we are to God (Song 7:8, Proverbs 25:11, Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalms 17:8, Lamentations 2:18, Zachariah 2:8)
Solomon built himself a home as well as a temple entirely out of cedar (1 Kings 7:2), a wood which was also used in purification rituals (Leviticus 14:4, Numbers 19:6). The Cedars of Lebanon were evidently famous from earliest times: `The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon' (Psalms 92:12), and in Ezekiel (31:3) the King of Assyria is likened to a cedar of Lebanon.
Nobody knows for sure what gopher wood was (Genesis 6:14) but presumably Noah knew. The translators of the King James bible simply left the word untranslated as `gopher', but modern English versions usually have it as cypress, which grew abundantly in Chaldea and Armenia (where the Ark is believed to have landed). The problem
is that no-one knows much about the pre-Flood world at all: it was destroyed.
Of the trees of the Bible, several are also mentioned in the Koran - the date palm, fig, olive, pomegranate and the tamarisk. Unique to the Koran are the talh (possibly a species of acacia), the sidr (a thorn bush) and the mysterious zaqqm (the tree of Hell).
But what is it about trees that makes people want to worship them ? They are big, for many people they are probably among the oldest living things they encounter, and they are valued for the benefits they deliver, especially in the more arid parts of the world like northern Africa and the Middle East. But is that enough to account for their spiritual magnetism ?
The ancient Greeks regarded trees as temples of the gods and groves of trees were thought of as sacred and the haunts of spirits. The Oracle at Delphi was situated in a shady grove, and the sacred grove at Nemi, near Rome, for example, was consecrated to the goddess Diana (Artemis to the Greeks); nearly every tribe in ancient Gaul had its special and sacred meeting place • surrounded and protected by trees. But as Christianity spread across Europe these groves were gradually replaced by churches, sometimes for purely political rather than religious reasons: Caesar was known to be inclined to destroy the Gauls' sacred groves as a demonstration of power and dominance although the Romans were actually quite tolerant of their empire's attachments to `unofficial' religions.
Eventually, of course, the Church's influence waxed to the extent that tree worship, or anything that could be construed as such, became prohibited. Occasionally an exception was made, though: the Glastonbury Thorn is a powerful symbol of the Nativity.
But interestingly, the pagan use of trees and groves for worship is even observed in the Bible itself: Deuteronomy (12:2) speaks of places "wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree".
Among Druze and Muslim Arabs, certain individual trees are considered holy, especially if they are near the tombs of holy men or women.
In China, the tree of life (kien mou) grows on the slopes of an earthly paradise called kuen-luen. Buddha reached enlightenment whilst sitting under the Bhodi tree, a variety of fig tree known as Ficus religiosa. Taoists believe the willow, with its bendy and resilient branches, represents strength through weakness. In the Shinto religion of
Japan, which sanctifies nature, the 500-branched sakaki tree is central to the Japanese creation story.
The Egyptians, Persians and Hindus all had or have their own tree of life mythology. One association of trees with human behaviour is seen in yoga, the Hindu system of meditation: in the "Tree" pose, for example, the weight of the body is kept low to develop a feeling of being rooted in the ground, while the arms are outstretched like branches.
The great baobab tree, with its broad, strong and partially visible root system, holds magical and symbolic value for many African societies, who regard it as a safe haven for holding meetings. In western Australia, aborigines believe that souls wait in trees for a likely woman to approach, and then jump out so that they can be born.
The Norse `world tree', Ygdrassil, was a huge ash tree representing the forces of nature. At its base were the past, the present and the future and the tree's roots were watered from a sacred well. Odin is said to have created man from an ash tree. In other European cultures, the birch tree has a long association with fertility: it was the traditional wood of the maypole, and in eastern Europe birch twigs used to be given to newly-weds on their wedding night.
The Celtic year had thirteen months, and each one was named after a tree. The first of these, November, was the silver birch, the most common tree in much of Europe, which represented new beginnings and opportunities. Others included the rowan or mountain ash, the alder, the willow, the hawthorn, the holly, the hazel and, of course, the oak, which played such an important part in Druidical rites and ceremonies.
As a footnote, though, the curious story
of the destruction of the trees, on Easter Island speaks volumes about the tenacity of belief as well as the destructive side of Man's nature. When the island was discovered in 1722, there was evidence that it had once been well forested with subtropical broadleaf and large palm trees. The stone statue building all around the coast, for which the island is famous, appears to have reached its peak between AD 1100 and AD 1600. But the process of carving and erecting these statues, which involved the cutting down of large numbers of trees to make rollers, levers, pallets, sleds and scaffolding, became an obsession with terrible consequences.
The disappearance of the trees led to the erosion of the island's thin topsoil and eventually to the catastrophic decline of the population and their means of subsistence. This reached a point at which the surviving islanders could not even leave the island because they had destroyed all the timber with which they might have built boats.
No-one has so far been able to definitively explain the moai statues. The idea may have derived from similar practices found elsewhere in Polynesia, but which evolved in a unique way on Easter Island. The statues were probably symbols of authority and power, both religious and political, but to the people who erected them, they were not just symbols, they were actual repositories of sacred spirits.
Philosophers and historians alike have often wondered about what went on in the mind of the man who felled the very last tree on Easter Island. Was it the , ultimate sacrifice to his or his tribe's beliefs, or had the moai madness driven out all thoughts about the preciousness of some of the most important natural features of the ecological landscape on which everyone's future depended ? Or was this perhaps the only place in the world where trees just hadn't registered on an entire people's cultural and spiritual consciousness ?
The significance of the tree and the whole concept of root and branch, is pervasive throughout world religious history. Some of the most important symbols in Judaism derive from this imagery: the Tree of Life of the Cabbala had ten branches, and the form of the candlestick known as the menorah was reputedly given to Moses by God (Exodus 25:31) with the specification of six branches. The idea of a`world tree' or a cosmic tree is almost universal. In Greek, it is perhaps significant that the word hyle means both "wood" and `matter' or `first substance'.
Perhaps the best-known image of a tree in modern Christian society is that of the Christmas tree. In a way sadly, this custom has very shallow roots: it evolved in its present form in nineteenth century Europe, but the tradition of the Yule log does go back a little further
Dr Judith Crews, a cultural linguistics consultant and expert in comparative literature who currently works with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, makes an interesting observation in her scholarly paper published in the International Journal of Forestry, in 2003: modern concerns with conserving forests may perhaps be a natural successor to ancient tree rites.
`Yesterday's sacred grove is today's biosphere reserve'.
Mike Clark
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