Church at the centre
of the community : Burglaries
in East Garston : Village Hall Patronage
Increases : Foggy Compo and
Clegg
Flight of Fancy : Village
Hall Refurbishment : Here
We Go Again-! : Friends
Meeting House Exhibition
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This
year, 2007, as well as removing trees from rivers
under the pseudonym of "Foggy" Our local
hero took on an ominous role that would see him
mix it with some of our families finest. He proved
a major success at the task and we wish to re-iterate
our grateful thanks and appreciation to a top class
Father 'CHRISmas'..........Thanks Chris. |
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The Church was one of several properties broken into on the
night of 8/9th December 2007. Such criminal acts are most distressing
and I offer my heartfelt sympathy to all of the victims of these
crimes.
How are we as Christians to respond to this? Jail the offenders,
flog them, put them in the stocks? Difficult though it is (and
I speak with memories of the damage to our Church in mind) our
Lord’s guidance is “to hate the sin, but love the
sinner”-Who said that being a Christian was easy?
...........................................................................
....Tony
Cumberlidge – Vicar
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| On
the 18th of November 2007 - Revd. Tony Cumberlidge presided
over a rather unique service of Baptism. Two resident East Garston
Families came together for a joint service, in which no
less than six young people were Christened and welcomed into
the church. In spite of all the weather could throw at us, the
Money family and the Digweed family, along with their many guests
enjoyed a very lively and happy few hours together, both in
the Church - and afterwards at at a reception held at the Social
Club and Village Hall.
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All
images appear with the full parental permission where necessary
The as yet, incomplete
refurbishment of the village hall, is already proving its worth
in the form of increased usage by a number of varied organizations
and individuals. On the 18th of October 2007, The Watermill
Touring Company descended on East Garston and proceeded to transform
the old hall into a well equipped, mini theatre. That evening,
with every ticket sold, a packed hall settled down to enjoy
an Ade Morris' play entitled - "The Story of a Great Lady"
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Other users of the hall
have included various private family parties - and, for the
first time, The Newbury Branch of the Oxford Diocesan Bellringers
Guild held their tower representatives meeting here. The hall
of course still continues to be used for home grown events,
such as the Race Night (pictured below).
Held on the 20th of October - all proceeds from this event went
to the charity - "Mencap"
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Sunday morning in October - sixty or
so yards downstream of Mabberlys Racing Stables, our intrepid
heroes, Dave Knight, Martyn Donno and Chris Tonge, meet up with
Jonathan and George Rabbitts too decide the best way of removing
a fallen tree from the river. Why is this happening when they
could all be at home with there feet up? (Jonathan
Rabbitts excepted)..... Read on... |
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I am sure we all remember
- the scenes above. Exceptionally heavy rain on
the back of an already high water table caused flood damage
to homes and gardens within the village. The problem was exacerbated
by lack of river husbandry on the part of the Environment Agency.
There is an old saying -"If you want a job done properly,
then do it yourself" and that is precisely why this team
of volunteers have assembled here on this autumn Sunday morning. |
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With the preliminary discussions over, the
plan was pressed into action. All was proceeding well until
the sound of sawing was interrupted by the ominous sound of
cracking wood. We looked across and watched Dave gently, sink
out of view. A very soft splash followed which was immediately
replaced by the sound of raucous laughter from within the
branches. Dave had either stepped onto a rotten branch or
possibly sawn off the very branch that he had been standing
on. We won't ever know as he wouldn't elaborate when rescued.
Above
right- A mud spattered Dave emerges to acknowledge
the rapturous applause from his audience.
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crew were joined by Bob Jeffreys a little later in the morning
and together they worked feverishly to remove one rather large,
horizontal Willow tree from the river bed. Jonathan seems to
be deciding whether or not he should permanently remove the
pesky paparazzi from the site, I am happy to report that I came
away in one piece and not in kit form. |
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At
last the final piece of the offending tree was pulled into the
field and for the first time the enormity of it became apparent
to all.
The actual size and scale of it can be judged by the inclusion
of Chris to the left of the picture. All in all, a good mornings'
work.
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for spot of self congratulation, a cup of coffee and a quick
group photo. |
One last tradition to be performed.
I refer to the award for the most entertaining action of the
session. This was easily won by Dave Knight for his beautifully
executed, self propelled, slow motion drop, into the muddy
wastes of the River Lambourn. Dave wins the coveted Martyn
Donno Garibaldi Biscuit award. Well done Dave, a fully deserving
winner.
Hopefully, the work carried out by
our own local "A-Team" - will go some way towards
lowering the chances of a repeat of the flooding we saw in
early 2007. - "Thanks Lads" - I look forward
to the next assignment.
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The site near Shalbourne is in an area
of outstanding natural beauty and the North-facing ridge is
ideally placed for good local soaring or cross-country flights.
The "Shalbourne Soaring Society" are cleared to launch
by winch to 3,000 feet. The club fleet consists of three two
seat trainers and three single seat gliders for use by members.
The Society's web site
- www.shalbournegliding.co.uk |
| Senior
Flying Instructor and good friend, Phil Morgan, looks after
us admirably on this - and previous occasions
(immediately below) |
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August the 23rd 2007
and an offer was quickly taken up by village residents Bob and
Chris to take a flight; Again, Bob had flown before,
Twenty Five years ago was his rough estimate and I know for
a fact he enjoyed very much being re-united with these graceful
machines. |
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Chris was also thrilled to be in a glider, he had had no knowledge
of his impending flight as it was by way of an extra thank you
from Bob for all the work he had put in during the summer. Alison
tells me that on the way to Shalbourne they had told Chris that
he was going Bungee Jumping - at which point he went very pale
and very-very quiet. Total relief and joy when they told him
the real reason for his trip. |
Photos : Maureen Tarbox
: Christopher Tonge : Ray Hughes : Ken Tarbox
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What a transformation our dear old
village hall has undergone, really nice to see the features
picked out in black and the windows high lighted in white, Its
amazing just what a difference a little bit of TLC makes to
things. Village hall trustee Martyn Donno writes - This is what
can be achieved when a community comes together. Thanks largely
to your support the Trustees were able to secure matched funding
to enlarge and completely refurbish our village hall kitchen.
Our funding also allowed us to repaint the outside of the hall
and replace decayed weatherboards with the visible impact that
all can see. Remarkably, few boards needed replacing especially
as the hall is more than 100 years old.
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January
2007 was to witness the launch of "East Garston Village
Hall Appeal", although long awaited it was essential the
Trustees first addressed serious water damage the heavy rains
of last October brought to the games room and part of the village
hall. The support given by East Garston Amenities and the Parish
Council both in terms of financial and administrative assistance
gave the Management Committee and the Trustees the ability to
act quickly and thus prevent further damage.The Trustees wish
to acknowledge this achievement and thank the Millennium 2000
Committee (proceeds from the sale of the book East Garston Past
& Present), East Garston Parish Council, the Vibrant Village
Pilot Project sponsored jointly by West Berks Council and The
New Greenham Common Trust and of course you, the Parishioners
of East Garston who have given their time, financial support
and encouragement to make all this possible. |
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By
the end of February 2007, over £6000 had been raised.
The impact of these funds became more significant through the
generosity of Tony Hawkins and Chris Wilder who gave their time
so freely to carry out the necessary alterations and install
the kitchen. Dave Knight giving his time redecorating the Hall's
vestibule further enhanced this work. The Trustees and Management
Committee have long held the view that these improvements will
encourage the hall's greater use, and it will become less dependent
on outside resources and move its finances in the direction
of self-sufficiency.
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Above
-the newly finished kitchen that
now provides a clean, safe and spacious environment for its
users to work in.
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In
spite of representations and advance warnings from
The Parish Council to the various river authorities,
we still have a volatile situation here in the village
with regard to damage from flooding. Lack of constructive
action from these authorities has, yet again, brought
misery and heartbreak to some village residents. |
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The lawns at Cornbaggers
all under water - unfortunately, the interior of the house suffered
the same fate. |
Willowbrook cottage
and garden suffered severe flooding again, in spite of the flood
precautions taken by the owners after the previous heartbreaking
situation they were forced to endure in 1993. |
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Water levels continue
to rise as residents try to free the obstructions to the bridges
in the village caused by weed and debris cut free from upstream.
Parish Councilors Chris Tonge and Gordon Swapp doing
all they can to assist. |
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East Garston Quakers staged an exhibition
on Saturday and Sunday the 2nd and 3 June 2007,
in order to raise funds for the Macmillan Nurses.The
Exhibition was set around the theme of the beautiful
yew tree that grows in the garden of the small Quaker
Meeting House. |
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Phoebe Fennell writes;
We have made a little book of the exhibition and about the yew
tree's place in East Garston in order to contribute to the history
of the village.
if anyone is interested in seeing or buying a copy for further
fund raising. Also we are still collecting information on local
history spanning the age of the yew - at least 2 hundred years
- if anyone can help us. In closing, I would like to thank
everyone who attended and helped us - we had a lovely exhibition
and raised over £500 for Macmillan Cancer Care. We are
planning some craft days in order to continue the project and
we will announce the dates after the summer.
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Photos : courtesy of Phoebe
Fennell
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