East Coker Society Newsletter
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April
2006 –
Free Issue No 122
Chair: John Sugg 863435
Newsletter Editor: Lesley
Lindsay 862868
Secretary: Sarah Owen 862218
Treasurer: Keith
Helliar 863700
The AGM of the East Coker
Society is being held on Wednesday 31 May 2006, 7.30pm, in the Dampier Room,
East Coker Hall. Everyone is welcome.
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Village Clubs and Organisations
EAST COKER
WINE CIRCLE
The Wine Circle continued its successful run at major wine
festivals when it gained five trophies at the Somerset Association of Amateur
Winemakers annual festival at Puriton in March.
Joyce Pryor won two; one for the best elderberry/blackberry sweet wine,
and another for the best vegetable wine (carrot). David Pryor gained the trophy for best white
social wine (Sauterne style). Vince
Wolny won the trophy for the elderberry/blackberry dry class and Darren Shutler
won a trophy for the best bitter ale. Of
the 360 entries in the festival the four Coker exhibitors gained 57 placings.
The theme party "Pink and Green" earlier in
the year was also a great success and the variety of costume was quite
ingenious and colourful.
The Circle continues to have interesting speakers on
wine topics and non-wine related subjects as well as wine tastings.
New members are welcome and winemaking is not
essential to membership. The Circle
meets at the East Coker Hall from 8.00pm on the first Wednesday each month
unless otherwise stated.
Contact 862816
EAST COKER
FLOWER SHOW AND
WINE FESTIVAL
In this year's Flower Show the Photography classes
will be:
71
Smile Please 72
Sunset
73
Interior 74
Fun in the Sun
75
Single Tree 76
Four Seasons (4 photos mounted on card)
Would any one like to join the Flower Show Committee? There are 3 meetings a year and a Christmas
meal. Apply to Sec. Sarah Rashley 428639
or e-mail rashley@darvole.wanadoo.co.uk.
THE COKER
400 CLUB
The winners in the January draw were: £100 Mr &
Mrs A T Kimpton; £50 Mrs C Leng; £40 Mr R Parris; £30 Mrs A Mead; £20 Mrs E
Cowley; £15 Mr P Hobday; £10 Mrs E Horwood; £10 Sir Peter Leng.
EAST COKER
W.I.
We have already had some very interesting evenings
this year. Nostalgic memories were the
order of the day when the President’s husband showed slides of East Coker
events from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations and the efforts made by
locals to raise money for the East Coker Hall, to the great snows of 1976.
New skills were learnt on how to make many different
cards, and the work of Fern Animal Sanctuary was explained. The whist drives are proving very popular
especially in the school holidays when grandchildren have also shown their
skills at card playing. The next whist
drive will be held on Thursday 20 April at East Coker Hall at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
The Jumble Sale was a great success in February
boosting our funds and we are looking forward to a great birthday outing in
June to celebrate.
New members are always welcome. We meet on the last Thursday of each month at
East Coker Hall at 7.30pm.
EAST COKER
PAVILION FUND
Spring Food Fair – 10.00am – 2.00pm
On Saturday 29 April East Coker will be hosting a Spring Food Fair. Local quality food producers and retailers
will be bringing their delicious fare to sell and exhibit from market stalls
situated amongst the daffodils in the Paddock, and also in the Car Park and
garden of the Helyar Arms. Why not come
and visit the gorgeous stalls and enjoy the spring sunshine at the same time?
If the sights and aromas of all that food whet your appetite, brunch
will be served by the Pavilion Committee including tea and coffee. From noon onwards delicious lunches will be
served in the Helyar Arms. There will
also be the chance to win some luxury food items in a Prize Draw.
All proceeds from this delightful event will go to the East Coker Parish
Council Pavilion Fund.
If you have any queries regarding the Food Fair please contact any of
the following Pavilion Committee Officers:
Chairman Robert Mead 862972
Vice-Chair Bridget Sugg 863435
Secretary Paula Downes 862264
STOP
PRESS
The acclaimed chef John
Torode will be opening this exciting food fair.
John Torode is currently featured on BBC TV’s 'Masterchef'.
Village
Quiz
The Inaugural Village Quiz,
which took place on 11 March, was a runaway success, with twenty-one teams
gathering in the East Coker Hall to compete for the prestigious Cockerel Trophy. There was much intense competition and some
probing questions. The quizzers only
paused to enjoy the delicious fish and chip supper.
The eventual winner of the
Cockerel Trophy was the Gardening Club team, second was a team from the Poetry
Group and the Crumplers team was third.
Thanks must go to Cherry
Sowerbutt, Penny Marpole and Gill Bryan for organising such an interesting and
enjoyable evening, during which over £800 was raised for the Pavilion Fund.
Emma Trickey
EAST COKER
PLAYERS
The Players present 'Confusions' by Alan Ayckbourn on
12/13 May at East Coker Hall, consisting of two one-act plays – 'Between
Mouthfuls' and 'Gosforth's Fete'.
Tickets – £5.50 to include a ploughman's supper and a
glass of wine.
BBQ at the Vicarage on 5 June. All welcome.
Price £3.50 for adults & £3 for children. Bring your own chair, plate, cutlery, drink
and glasses.
3 July at East Coker Hall – read through and auditions
for the Pantomime (Goldilocks and the Three Bears). Show dates 1/2 December. All welcome.
Help needed with costumes, backstage etc.
Contact Nora White
477897
EAST COKER
GARDENING CLUB
The January issue of the
Newsletter reproduced an announcement in the first Newsletter of 30 years ago about
the formation of a gardening club and added that the club is still going strong
today. It is true that the club of today
is flourishing, but, sadly, the first club of 30 years ago did not survive. The present club was started by Muriel Pilton
and Sue Hounsell in 1999 and the story was told in the April Newsletter of
2005.
The latest achievement of
the Club was to come top in the Village Quiz on 11 March. Congratulations to the winning team which
consisted of: Paula Edwards, Chris and Sheila Holiday, Margaret O'Neill, Darren
and Sarah Rashley, Kathryn Sturtridge and Chris Tervit.
Programme
for May to July
Thursday 11 May: Open
Charity Evening (in aid of Macmillan
Cancer Relief). Illustrated presentation
of the garden at Highgrove by the Head Gardener, David Howard. 7.30pm at East Coker Hall. Members £8.
Non-Members £10. Tickets from
Stan Shayler, 420291, or from the East Coker Post Office Stores.
Friday 12 May: Day Trip to
Malvern Festival.
Tuesday 23 May – Thursday
25 May: Coach Trip to Gloucestershire.
Thursday 8 June: Nigel
Hewish on 'Penstemons', 7.30pm at East Coker Hall.
Thursday 13 July: Visit to
'Popinjays', Little Norton, 3.00pm.
Enquiries to Rachel Blow,
Programme Secretary 862849 or to Stan Shayler, Treasurer 420291
EAST COKER
POETRY GROUP
The programme for the poetry group is as follows:
Wednesday 26 April: 'Japanese Poetry' Catherine Simmonds
Wednesday 25 May: Rachel Clyne – Poet from Glastonbury
Wednesday 21 June: Marjorie Sampson – Thomas Hardy
Society
All are welcome; the meetings are in the Skittle Alley
at the Helyar Arms, 7.30pm.
For more information, please contact Joyce Best 862317
or David Cloke 862623.
EAST COKER
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
75
Years Celebration 29 April 2006
29 April 1931 was the
founding day of the Royal British Legion in East Coker so it is very
appropriate to hold our celebration on that day 75 years later.
An exhibition of WWI
memorabilia will be held in the Dampier Room, East Coker Hall from 10.30am –
12.30pm and 2.00pm – 5.00pm. There will
also be a dedication of a pennant for the Standard by the Vicar, Roger Burt.
In the evening there is the
Annual Cheese and Wine Party, 7.00pm for 7.30pm, at East Coker Hall. Tickets are £5, to include food and a glass
of wine, and are available at the door.
OUR VILLAGE
HALL
It is now 25 years since
all the hard work raising money and organising its construction resulted in the
East Coker Hall becoming available for all to use. Our grateful thanks go to all those involved
at the time and since, in ensuring the Hall is kept in good condition and
freely available for hire.
We are particularly
fortunate in having a hall of such size, quality and flexibility and one which
is the envy of many villages.
Inevitably committee
members have come and gone, and we are now at a point where fresh blood and
ideas are needed to further improve the hall and ensure that villagers, and
importantly our children, can use it in the years ahead.
Our committee now needs new
members and in particular a Treasurer and Chairman URGENTLY. Don’t believe all you hear – this can be
enjoyable and rewarding whilst giving a little back to the village which we all
enjoy. The time commitment is small and
we can give support during the initial stages.
You don’t need to be computer literate – being able to use pen and paper
is quite good enough.
If you think you can help
or would simply like an informal chat please call 863976
We shall be pleased to hear
from you.
EAST COKER
HALL PHONE NUMBERS
There is an error in the
telephone directory listing. The
telephone number of East Coker Hall Bookings should be 01935 862087. The listings
in Yellow Pages and Thomson's Directories are correct. Please make a note of the correct number in
your personal directory. The number
863786 is no longer available.
R Allwood
Young People
EAST COKER
SCOUT GROUP
Newspaper
Collections: Saturday 29 April; Saturday
27 May; Saturday 24 June
Spring
Jumble Sale
To be held at East Coker
Hall, Saturday 22 April from 2.00pm. All
donations of jumble gratefully received.
REMEMBER WE WILL COLLECT. Contact Max Bugler 862186
Thank you for your support,
Jackie Glover
EAST COKER
PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP
I visited the Playgroup
last week and was enthusiastically shown a wooden aeroplane made by one of the
children – yes, two pieces of real wood held together by two real nails. The child was so proud of the aeroplane it
had made and it was lovely to see. This
is just one of the opportunities regularly provided to the children by the
playgroup. The children have been
looking at the natural world, which has included discovery about wood, clay,
metal, sand, wool and water (glad I missed that one!). Previous to that topic the children looked at
the Five Senses, which they have subsequently been using to find out about the
Natural world..
A big thank you to everyone
who supported our Pancake Race Day – we raised £377 in very cold conditions,
the running and flipping of pancakes helped us to keep warm; well, that and the
wonderful pancakes and hot drinks that were available.
The playgroup will be
hosting an ICT Open Day on the 24 May – look out for information and our Annual
Summer Fair is the 20 May at The Pavilion, Long Furlong Lane. The Summer Fair starts at 2.00pm and includes
a mixture of events and stalls: East Coker Country Dancers, Skittles, Bouncy
Castle, Beat the Goalie, Cake Stall, Lucky Dip, Plants, Invited Stall-holders,
Hook a Duck, Face and Nail Painting, Raffle to name a few.
East Coker Pre-School
Playgroup is registered with Ofsted and the Early Years Development and
Childcare Partnership, and follows the Foundation Stage curriculum. We provide a warm, friendly stimulating and
safe environment where children can blossom and grow, learning and developing
happily through play based activities.
There is funding available through Nursery Education Funding when
children become eligible. Children are
able to attend from 2½ years up to 5 years old.
We are open Monday to Friday during term time from 9.15am to 12 noon. On
a Tuesday and Wednesday we run afternoon sessions from 1.00pm to 3.15pm. At present we are able to offer lunch cover
at an extra fee, between 12 noon and 1.15pm, for children who’d like to bring a
packed lunch.
To secure a place on the
waiting list for your child/children please contact Kay Strode after 6.00pm on
872126. It is best to get your child’s
name down early on the waiting list because places are limited.
During the Summer Holidays,
sessions will be available to children up to their 6th birthday (subject to
demand). Please contact Kay Strode on
the number above if you would like further information.
Looking towards the end of
the year, on Sunday 12 November at East Coker Hall the playgroup will be
holding its twelfth Craft Fair from 10.30am to 4.00pm. Stalls are available for the Craft Fair;
please contact Liz Barnes on 864405 for details.
EAST COKER
COCKERELS
East Coker Cockerels F.C.
welcomes all boys and girls aged seven in September 2006 to an Under 8s
Football Taster Training Session.
We are holding two
sessions, on Wednesday 12 April and Wednesday 19 April. Both sessions will run from 6.00pm to 7.00pm
and will be held at East Coker School.
These sessions are designed to introduce children to football in a
friendly and fun atmosphere.
If your child is interested
in attending either of these sessions, please contact the Club Secretary Emma
Trickey, on 864410 or the Club Treasurer Sandra Kearvell on 413979 to reserve a
place.
We are also looking for a
couple of keen and eager parents to help coach this age group. Full support and training will be provided.
The Churches
ST. MICHAEL'S
CHURCH
Plant
Sale – Saturday 20 May
This year the Plant Sale
will be held at the Vicarage from 10.00am – 12.30pm. Please help by planting seeds now and
bringing cuttings on the day. There will
be a cake stall and refreshments served.
Enquiries to Roger Burt.
Results
of Evensong Survey
A survey was held regarding
the change of time of Evensong during the winter months (ie GMT). It was taken over five weeks in February and
March. The results were as follows: of 26
replies; 14 people opted for 4.00pm, Winter only, not 4.00pm all year round. 6 people opted for the time to remain at
6.00pm, no change. 6 people opted for
5.00pm, (3 wanted 5.00pm all year and 3 during the Winter months only) – this
was a time not suggested at all! So from
the change of clocks in October through the Winter months to the change of
clocks back to BST in March, Evensong will be held at 4.00pm.
Services
Rogation Sunday, 2 May
10.00am, Meet in the church and if fine will walk around East Coker. Refreshments afterwards at the Vicarage.
Ascension Day, Thursday 25 May
6.00pm Eucharist.
Pentecost Sunday 4 June
8.00am Holy Communion, 10.00am Sung Eucharist, 6.00pm Evensong.
Trinity Sunday 11 June
8.00am Holy Communion, 10.00am Family Eucharist.
Sunday 18 June 8.00am Holy
Communion, 10.00am Sung Eucharist, 6.00pm Evensong.
Sunday 25 June 8.00am Holy
Communion, 10.00am Sung Eucharist, 6.00pm Evensong.
Sunday 2 July 8.00am Holy
Communion, 10.00am Family Service, 6.00pm Evensong.
St
Michael's Village Fete
This year the Fete will take
place at Coker House on Saturday 8 July, at 2.30pm. We will be relying on our dedicated
supporters to bake cakes, serve teas, make jams, grow plants, bring their
special cars, man stalls and of course to erect tents.
If you can help in any of
these, please contact John Darling 862229, or Hazel Clark 863381. Thank you very much.
ALL SAINTS'
CHURCH CLOSWORTH
Good Friday 14 April –
There will be a Family Service at 10.00am suitable for all ages, hopefully
understandable to the children, who will be taking part, and with a message for
the adults as well. There will be coffee
and Cross Buns but I don't think we can manage them Hot!
Easter Sunday 16 April –
There will be a family service at 10.00am, with hopefully, a message for both
adults and children. There will be
coffee and an Easter Egg Hunt after the service.
Rogation Sunday 21 May –
Instead of our usual Family Service we shall have a special Rogation Service
when we go out from the church and ask God's blessing on the crops in our
gardens and fields. We shall also be praying
for the people of Africa who are suffering a dreadful drought. Could the children who are coming to that
service bring a bucket and a small bottle of water to go in it. Buckets are not vital but the more we have
the better! If it's wet the service will
be in the church.
For further details of
family services at Closworth, please contact Monica 862834
THE MID
WEEK MEETINGS
These meetings are held once a month at East Coker
Hall. The emphasis is placed on
preaching and teaching the Bible. AII
meetings start at 7.00pm and last for 1 hour followed by refreshments and
plenty of time to chat.
Our series of sermons from April to July will be on
the book of Jonah
'Painful
lessons from a gracious God'
Wednesday 19 April Jonah 1 (Edward Armitstead)
Wednesday 7 May Jonah 2 (Alan Hogarth – St Stephen's
Basildon, Reading)
Thursday 22 June Jonah 3 (Ian Lewis – St Bartholomew's
Bath)
Wednesday 19 July Jonah 4 (Alasdair Paine – Christ
Church, Westbourne Bournemouth)
Please feel free to join
us. For further details please ring:
862519 or 862785.
Roy
Hodder
ALL SAINTS’
CHURCH SUTTON BINGHAM
Sunday Services; Holy
Communion:
7 May, 9.00am; 21 May,
11.30am; 4 June, 9.00am; 18 June, 11.30am; 2 July, 9.00am; 16 July, 11.30am.
Churchwardens: Heather Snook
474138, Anthony Denning 474294
EAST COKER
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
A warm welcome awaits you at the end of Burton Lane.
Services are as follows:
Sundays – The Lord's Supper 11.00am. Prayer and Bible Study 6.30pm.
Monthly Family Service on the 2nd Sunday at 11.00am
when The Lord's Supper takes place at 6.30pm instead of the Bible Study. Other events announced weekly.
Contact us on 422594 or 863735
Village News
BOOKS! BOOKS!
Books and Magazines;
Cassettes and CD's; DVD's and Videos are all welcome at the bookstall at St
Michael's Fete on 8 July at Coker House.
Contributions can be left
at Springfield Cottage, Coker Marsh, or brought on the day to the stall.
This is a great opportunity
for a paper-back exchange. Bring us the ones
you have read and collect some more for holiday reading!
Contact Sally Jackson
862879, Jenny Lumley 477979, or Daphne Ross 474999.
USED POSTAGE
STAMPS
The Cancer & Leukaemia
in Childhood Organisation has now combined with the Malcolm Sargent Fund for
Children to finance research work. The
used postage stamps that you give us help pay for this work, so please continue
to save them and take them to the East Coker P O & Stores, or to me at
Holly Cottage nearby.
Thank you, Micky Hall
NOTES FROM THE
OBSERVATORY
Vernal
Equinox – 20 March 2006
The New Year opened with a
few mild weeks. 18 January was
particularly mild at 11.7ºC (53ºF) but winter returned a few days later. 3 February was a thoroughly miserable day, dull
and grey with the temperature staying below freezing point all day. Apart from a few warmer days, a persistent
cold Easterly wind has made this Spring a late one. We have had 14 days of frost so far this year
with a minimum of minus 5.9ºC (22.8ºF) on 10 February. Rainfall this year has been about half that
for the same period last year. Fortunately our village did not have the snow of
other parts of the realm. The sun is getting
higher in the sky. Out of the wind it is
now quite warm, but we are well below last year's temperatures. In mid-March 2005 the daytime temperatures
climbed to over 15ºC or the mid 60sF.
Despite the cold, Hazel catkins opened in profusion and were a brave
sight along Bunford Hill and Hollow in late January. A few Celandines opened in the coldest spell
but other signs of Spring are still to be seen.
Hedges remain in their winter brown with little sign of greening so far.
In the garden I have had
visits from Coal Tits, a flock of Long-tailed Tits and a Green Woodpecker. A wader, possibly a Jack Snipe, paid a brief
visit. I have had a report of a flock of
Siskins, accompanied by a Redpoll, in the village. Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons descend every
morning to have their share of bird food.
Birds feed in very
different ways. Blackbirds seem to spend
more time in chasing each other than feeding whereas Starlings descend in a
crowd onto the scraps, ignoring each other and getting on with the important
job of eating. Robins and Dunnocks
emerge from cover, peck a few times and then retire to the safety of a
hedge. My Robins are more wary of humans
than Blackbirds. A Blackbird came to
feed from my hand last year. The
temptation was cheese.
The first lot of frogspawn
appeared in my small pool on 18 February.
Some very cold weather froze the frogspawn but on 20 March frogs
appeared in the pool and replaced the first frozen mass. I was astonished at the number of frogs that
had found their way to an enclosed pool.
Slugs and snails are not
most people's favourites. A few years
ago I marked some wintering snails with a dab of paint to follow their progress
in the garden. Later in the year I was surprised to see that some had
moved about fifty yards from their winter quarters. Some large slugs have quite beautiful
markings, especially those that live in damp houses. I had a family of such creatures living under
the kitchen sink of a damp cottage. At
night they would emerge, sail across the kitchen floor and drink from the cat's
milk bowl. They were a pale fawn in
colour with dark brown and pale green specked markings, quite attractive and
harmless.
In a January gale a large
Elder branch was blown down. I wondered
if it had a low water content, as the sap had not risen. By weighing pieces of the branch over several
weeks I found that it had water content of 50%, a surprisingly high figure for
winter wood.
Saturn is still a prominent
feature of the sky at night, in the south at bedtime. It will steadily move west to be replaced by
Jupiter over the next few months. Mars
and Saturn will come together in the South-Western sky in early June. The sun is climbing to a June summer high of
62º compared with 16º in December and 38º at the Spring Equinox.
Francis Cloke 862496
AN ADDITION
TO THE POST BOX
ARTICLE
A year ago when the Post Box was rather peremptorily
removed from the wall near Wyvern Close, local 'Parishioners' had a lively
exchange with the Bristol Office before a pole-mounted replacement was sited on
the grass area just opposite. Last
collection is now scheduled at 16.00hrs (4 00pm) but the box is also regularly
cleared at 12 noon. Saturday is also 12 noon.
Alan Cornelius
NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the
Newsletter will be in July 2006. Copy,
please, to Lesley Lindsay, Little Meadow, Coker Marsh, East Coker or by e-mail to
the East Coker Post Office & Stores by Tuesday 27 June 2006.