Chair: John Sugg 863435
Newsletter
Editor: Lesley Lindsay 862868
Secretary:
Sarah Owen 862218
Treasurer:
Keith Helliar 863700
A
HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ALL OUR DISTRIBUTORS
The
East Coker Society would like to thank all the distributors of our Newsletter,
who go out in all winds and weather to ensure that each household gets their
Newsletter four times a year. Thank you
- we couldn't do it without you! Thank
you, too, to Martin Wells who organises the distribution and to Sally Jackson
who proof-reads each edition to make sure there are no mistakes!
VE & VJ DAY 60th ANNIVERSARY
COMMEMORATION – 9/10 JULY 2005
The planned events for the weekend are listed below;
a more comprehensive programme will be in the April edition of the Newsletter.
·
Saturday am. – Dampier Room, East Coker
Hall – Exhibition of World War II memorabilia by the Royal British Legion
·
Saturday am. – East Coker Hall – Home
Made Wine Tasting organised by the Wine Circle
·
Saturday pm. – East Coker Hall – Tea
Dance with entertainment, organised by the WI, Time to Share and the East Coker
Players.
·
Saturday & Sunday – Flower Festival at St.
Michael's Church
·
Sunday am. – Special Church Service at
St. Michael's Church
·
Sunday pm. – The Recreation Field and
the Pavilion – Children's Races, Fancy Dress and Stalls
·
Sunday pm – The Recreation Field and
the Pavilion – Party/Picnic with entertainment, with Bar, Pimms/Cider and Food
Stalls.
RECEIVE THE
NEWSLETTER VIA E-MAIL
In the future if you would like to receive the
Newsletter via e-mail, please e-mail Lesley Lindsay with your name and postal
address so you can be removed from our delivery lists. Your
e-mail address will be kept entirely
private, with no cross-referencing of other people's e-mails. We greatly appreciate delivery by e-mail as
it saves money on our printing costs.
Christmas
Bazaar
A very big thank you to everyone who helped and
supported the Christmas Bazaar. We made
£350 which will help towards the printing of the Newsletter.
Village Clubs and Organisations
EAST COKER
TIME TO SHARE
CLUB
"Time to Share" still meets on alternate
Mondays from 2.30pm – 4.00pm in the East Coker Hall, starting on 17 January with
an afternoon of music given by The Warry Brothers.
This year the club (now
with a membership of 60+) celebrates its 30th Birthday with a
programme which, hopefully, promises to provide something for everyone to
enjoy. In addition to the talks and presentations,
there will be outings and competitions, dances, visits to St. Michael's church
to sing our favourite hymns and carols, not to mention bazaars and, of course,
the Birthday and Christmas parties!
We are a happy, friendly
crowd; visitors and new members can always be sure of a really warm welcome,
so, if you would like find out more about "Time to Share", please
contact either Alison Charles 863137 or
Jean Bicknell 478733
"SALSAFIT"
Exercise
to your favourite Latin tunes. Have fun,
get fit and tone up with Rachael. Please
bring a drink and wear comfortable clothing.
£3.00 per class. 9.45am – 10.30am on Fridays at East Coker
Hall.
Many
thanks, Rachael Cozens
ACTION MEDICAL RESEARCH The East Coker Committee of
Action Medical Research will be holding a "Black Tie & Tiara"
Ball on Saturday 2 July 2005 from 7.00pm – 2.00am.
This evening is being held
at St. Antony's Leweston School, Leweston, near Sherborne. This is always a very enjoyable and popular event,
so put this date in your diary! Further
details will be in the next Newsletter but if you can't wait until then,
contact Leigh Mead on 863466!
EAST COKER
WINE CIRCLE
We start off the New Year with a bang in the form of a
party/dance on Saturday 8 January. At
our first meeting of the year on Wednesday, 2 February at 8.00pm at the East
Coker Hall, Warden John Marshman, will be telling us all about the management
of Ham Hill.
The winemaker’s forum started in 2004 proves to be
popular with the more serious winemakers of the Circle.
Due to further cancellations we again have two
vacancies for the coach trip of nine days in June to the Rhein region of
Germany. There will be a full programme
for the week but any members of the party who wish to ‘do their own thing’
anytime are quite welcome to do so. This
is a non profit making holiday and anyone who would be interested in joining us
should contact Joyce Pryor
862816
EAST COKER
VILLAGE HALL CHARITABLE
TRUST
The next Annual General Meeting of the Trust will be
held on 18 May 2005. The committee of
the Trust is made up of elected, co-opted and representative members. Any organisation that wishes to have a
representative on the Committee must submit a written application to the Secretary, Mrs H Styles, 21 Mill Close,
East Coker BA22 9LF, to arrive no later
than 6pm Saturday, 30 April 2005.
EAST COKER SHORT MAT BOWLS The officers of the club are as follows: Chairman Mr Mervyn Westlake; Treasurer
Mr Alan Jones; Club Captain Mr George Dudden; Secretary
Mrs Margaret Robins 864174
EAST COKER GARDENING CLUB
The last few months again produced interesting
speakers. In October we had a return
visit from Keith Mayes, who as usual gave a fascinating talk on potatoes, also producing
some unusual specimens. We also managed
a coach trip to the Abbotsbury Sub-tropical Gardens, for the
illuminations. The weather was kind and
everyone agreed it had been a good addition to the Autumn programme.
Our AGM was in November, and we had a good attendance
by members, who enjoyed Supper and Skittles after the meeting. The new Committee are, Chair: Olga Clifford;
Secretary: Vivienne Ford; Treasurer: Catherine Denney; and the committee
members, Diana Dunn, Don White and Sarah Rashley, who is now producing our
Newsletter 'Snippets'.
December closed the year with a light-hearted talk by
Bob Fox reminiscing of his time spent working with many well known music-hall
artists and comedians.
2005 starts with a talk by Mark Stainer, Head Gardener
at East Lambrook Manor. February's
speaker is Louise Reilly from Carimore Environmental Trust. March brings another visit by Sally Gregson,
this time talking about 'Hellebores'.
Also, in March, we have a three-day trip to Cornwall, visiting four
gardens. In April the speaker, Sue
Applegate, from Kelways Nursery, will talk about 'Irises and Peonies'.
EAST COKER
PAVILION COMMITTEE
East Coker Pavilion Committee would like to thank everyone for their generous support during 2004. We had some great fundraising events, ranging from the amazing Auction of Promises in January, through to the Race Night in March and the cycle ride in May and the “Storm” event in October.
Fundraising events also included the calendar
depicting prominent houses in East Coker (there are still a few available at
the Village Shop), the cook book of East Coker recipes and the sponsored
slim. Special thanks for their efforts
in these projects must go to Graham Trott, Chris and John Cooper and Steve
Oliver. The Fund was fortunate to have
been boosted by some generous donations from local groups for which we are
incredibly grateful. We were especially
delighted to hear, just before Christmas, that Mrs T S Eliot had made a
wonderful donation of £5,000. We thank
her for her generosity, and also Rev Roger Burt for being our ambassador!
We have some equally adventurous events planned for
2005. The first is a 50/50 Auction,
which will be held on Saturday 26 February.
There will be viewings from 11.00am until 4.00pm, during which time
light lunches and refreshments will be served.
The auction will then take place in the evening. Further details will be provided in a leaflet
which will shortly be distributed throughout the households in the village.
An “Evening of Taste” with Lesley Water, an acclaimed
chef who regularly appears on television, will take place on Friday 18
March. Lesley will be demonstrating
recipes using high quality local produce, much of which will be supplied by
Goose Slade Farm. There will also be
wine tasting, organised by “Kindness with Wine”. Tickets for this event cost £20 and are
limited, so if you are interested, please contact Bridget Sugg on 863435.
Our main event this year is the 1940s VE day
celebration which will take place on 11 June 2005. This will be a musical extravaganza featuring
Bertie's Big Band. For the evening we
will step back in time to 1945 with music, authentic vehicles, searchlights and
period attire. It should be a truly
atmospheric event, and we suggest you put the date in your diaries now!
On the building side of things, we are hopefully in
the final stages of red tape. Hopefully
by December 2005 we should be well on our way to seeing the new pavilion
constructed.
2006
Calendar
The committee have decided that they would like the
2006 calendar to be of views of East Coker.
If anyone has a photo that they would like to submit for consideration,
please would they send it to either Bridget Sugg, Little Foxholes, East
Coker 863435 or Robert Mead, Townsend
Villa, East Coker 862972 by the 28
February 2005. Please put your name and
address on the back so that they can be returned to the owner.
EAST COKER ROYAL
BRITISH LEGION
The Royal British Legion
will be holding an exhibition of memorabilia on the morning of Saturday 9 July
in the Dampier Room, East Coker Hall to coincide with the VE/VJ village
celebrations. If anyone has some
memorabilia they would be happy to lend, please would they contact John
Field 862649
Poppy Appeal
It has once again proved to be a record year for the
East Coker Poppy Appeal, topping last year’s total by £139.37. Many thanks to all collectors and all who
gave so generously. I know next year is
a long way off but I will be looking for a collector for the Tellis Cross area
in East Coker. Anyone interested in this
small round should give me a ring. Once
again many thanks.
Sue Hounsell. Tel: 01308 424702
WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
We start our new year’s programme on Thursday 27
January with Alison Charles giving us an illustrated guide to her fascination
with butterflies worldwide. We meet on
the last Thursday of each month at the East Coker Hall at 7.30pm. New members are always welcome.
Our next whist drive, which is open to all who enjoy
this card game, is on Thursday 20 January 7.30pm at East Coker Hall.
Jumble Sale Saturday 19 February at 2.00pm East Coker Hall. EAST COKER
PLAYERS
East Coker Players would like to thank everyone who supported
them at their May evening of food and entertainment and their November
pantomime.
Without more local support the players will not be
able to continue to function properly (backstage help, make-up, music,
dressmaking as well as performers are needed).
Luckily outside entertainers were recruited for the last production or
else this would have been cancelled.
East Coker Players meet on the 1st Monday every month
in the Dampier Room from 7.30pm – 9.30pm (depending on the programme for
productions). Membership is £3 adults,
£1 children (over 8 years and accompanied by an adult for the 1st three
meetings). For more details please
contact Nora White
477897
Darren Shutler (Chairperson for 2004)
EAST COKER POETRY
GROUP
Forthcoming Events – Burns Supper, The Apple Loft, The Helyar Arms, 26
January 2005 at 7.00pm
An evening of poetry with a
Scottish flavour with a three-course traditional supper prepares by the pub's
award-winning chefs @ £25 per head.
Reservations through Sue McKerracher 863633 or by post to Tellis Farm,
East Coker, BA22 9JP. We are limited to
36 in the Apple Loft, so please register your interest as soon as
possible. Special vegetarian meal
available.
Sunday 27 February at 7.30pm
Catherine Simmonds, winner
of our 2004 poetry writing competition, presents an audio piece about the
working life of Karl Edwards, horse logger and farrier, together with some of
her own poetry.
T S Eliot Donation
A very pleasant surprise
just before Christmas – a cheque from Old Possum's Practical Trust of £200 for
the East Coker Poetry Group. This will
cover the cost of running a poetry writing competition in 2005.
Young
People
EAST COKER RANGERS
East Coker Rangers U10 Football
Club is a club for children from East Coker and the surrounding area aged ten
and under. Established in its current
format in 2003, the club initially had only one team. At the beginning of the 2004/2005 season an
Under 8 Squad was introduced. Next
season the club intends to expand to four teams in the U11, U10, U9 and U8 age
groups.
The Club is delighted to
announce that it has recently been awarded the Football Association’s Charter
Standard Award. This is a quality mark
award recognising the club’s commitment to comply with the FA’s coaching
standards and best practice in club administration, child protection and first
aid.
Matches are currently played at East
Coker School and the club would like to thank the school for all its
support. Training sessions are held in
Yeovil and at Stanchester School for the different age groups.
East Coker Rangers U10 FC is
self-funding and in view of the number of teams we hope to run next season, any
offers of sponsorship from local businesses would be gratefully received! For information please contact the Club
Secretary, Emma Trickey on 864410
1ST EAST COKER
BROWNIES
If your daughter is 7 years of age and wants to be a Brownie, we currently have spaces and meet on a Thursday evening from 5.00pm – 6.15pm at East Coker School. For more information please call Jo Lock 412030 or Tracey Carter 434890
EAST COKER SCOUT
GROUP
Waste Paper Collections
As we have been unable to
collect sufficient waste paper to fill our regular skip we will only be
collecting NEWSPAPERS in future
(daily, weekly e.g. Daily Express, Western Gazette etc.) We will continue to have our usual collection
point opposite the school; however this will now be from 9.00am – 10.30am on
the last Saturday of each month. If
possible please flat pack your newspapers & tie into bundles. Arrangements for Nash Lane & Helena Road
will be co-ordinated separately by Ray Smith.
If you like recycling why
not put out your magazines etc. for the council collections but keep your
newsprint for the village Scouts. It has
long been an important source of income for the Scout Group. With queries regarding waste paper please
contact Max Bugler 862186
Scout Jumble Sale dates for
2005
Spring – Saturday 16 April. Autumn
– Saturday 1 October. Both to be
held at East Coker Hall from 2.00pm.
Please start saving your jumble now.
Remember we will collect. Contact Max Bugler 862186
Thank you for your
continued support. Jackie Glover.
EAST COKER PRE-SCHOOL
PLAYGROUP
East Coker Pre-School
Playgroup is registered with Ofsted and the Early Years Development and
Childcare Partnership and follows the Foundation Stage curriculum. We meet at The Pavilion and 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 the Early
Years Grant when children become eligible.
Children are able to attend from 2½ up to 5 years old. We are open Monday to Friday mornings from 9.15am
to 12 noon and on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 1.00pm to 3.30pm
during term time. At present we are able
to offer lunch cover for children who would like to bring a packed lunch and
stay until 1.15pm for a small fee. To
secure a place on the waiting list for your child/children, please contact Kay
Strode on 872126 after 6pm. It is best to get your child's name down early on
the waiting list, as places are limited.
Many thanks for your continued support.
Eve Dudden
Administrator
The
Churches
ALL SAINTS' CLOSWORTH
Thank you to all who took
part in the Christmas Nativity Play on Christmas Eve. There will be the usual informal Family
Service on Sunday 20 February, and the next one will be on Sunday 27 March to
coincide with Easter Day.
Monica
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH
Services
Ash Wednesday 9 February 6.00pm Holy Communion
Mothering Sunday 6 March
8.00am Holy Communion; 10.00am Family Service; 6.00pm Evensong
Passion Sunday 13 March
8.00am Holy Communion; 10.00am Eucharist; 6.00pm Evensong
Palm Sunday 20 March 8.00am Holy
Communion; 10.00am Family Communion; 6.00pm Evensong
Maundy Thursday 24 March
6.00pm Holy Communion followed by 'The Watch'
Good Friday 25 March 10.00am Stations of the Cross
Easter Saturday 26 March 6.00pm Service of Light & New Fire
Easter Sunday 27 March 8.00am Holy Communion; 10.00am Sung
Eucharist; 6.00pm Evensong
St Michael's Bookstall Plant Sale – Bubspool House – 14 May 2005 -
10.30am - 12.30pm
We are hoping for the usual
marvellous support in the growing of plants etc for this year's event.
Many thanks John Darling
EAST COKER CHRISTIAN
FELLOWSHIP
A
warm welcome awaits you at the end of Burton Lane. Services as follows:
Sundays:- Sunday Club for
4 – 12 year olds 10.00am except 2nd Sunday in the month which has a Family
Service 10.30am The Lord's Supper
11.30am Bible Study 6.30pm. Other events announced weekly.
Contact
us on 422594/862980 or 863735
THE MID WEEK MEETING
These meetings are held
once a month at East Coker Hall. The
emphasis is placed on preaching and teaching the Bible. The dates of the next meetings are -
Fri 25 February at
7.00pm; Wed 16 March at 7.00pm; Wed 20
April at 7.00pm; Wed 18 May at 7.00pm
THE MILL
CHURCH
Many of our activities in and around the village have
begun again after the Christmas break. A
warm invitation goes out to anyone who would like to join us. Over the coming year we will endeavour to
highlight in the East Coker Newsletter some of the things that we are currently
doing.
Sunday's
10.30am – 12 noon East Coker
School.
Monday evenings (alternate) 7.45pm – 9.30pm 'House to House' –
an informal evening for eating together and prayer.
Tuesday's
10.30am – 12 noon East Coker
Hall 'Little Wheelers' – our Parent and
Toddler group.
Tuesday's
7.00pm – 9.00pm East Coker
School 'Bridges' – an evening for young
people. This is usually crowded and fun.
Thursday's
(alternate) '9HPT' – our after
school Sunday school including tea.
There is much more going on, both at home and
abroad. Do contact us on 863262 if you
would like any more details. Happy New
Year!
Village
News
HATS FOR
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES
Would anyone be willing to knit small hats for babies
and young children suffering from hypothermia?
Any colour, any pattern and various sizes. For further information, or to send the
finished hats, please contact Sue Copley 862738
NOTES FROM
THE OBSERVATORY
New Year's
Day 2005
The past year, 2004, was a disappointing time for
weather watchers. It did not live up to
the excellence of 2003. Nevertheless we
had a pleasant spell of warm weather in the early summer and even a short
snowfall on Christmas Day. Then, in a
few minutes, East Coker was transformed into a Christmas card scene but the
snow soon melted into the light of common day.
Rain in the year fell on 158 days. In the first six months we had 73 rain days
and in the last six months we had 85, giving a total for the year of 158 rain
days. Total rainfall was 910.93mm
(35.51ins). Over 25.4mm (1.0 ins) fell
on five separate days in the year.
The year was a cool one, with 25 days of frost, 17 in
the first three months and 8 in the last three months. The year's lowest temperature of minus 5.7C
occurred on 8 February. On the hottest
day, 2 August, the temperature rose to 26C (78.8F).
Although there were no great weather events during the
year, a correspondent noted that on 17 December the barometric pressure rose
remarkably steeply, with a rise of 7mb in an hour between 10.00am and
11.00am. This compares with a normal
rise of 2-3mb after a low. Surprisingly
the steep rise did not give the expected severe gales, although the day was
marked by blustery showers.
In May, the usual garden birds deserted the garden.
Evidently there was more food to their liking in the countryside. Even when the colder weather returned in the
autumn there was a marked reluctance of the few returning birds to feed from
the bird table and nut feeders. Only a
solitary Robin remained throughout the summer.
But at the end of the year several correspondents reported flocks of
over 600 high- flying seagulls returning to their roosts as the light
faded. I received welcome reports of a
flock of over 30 Redwings in the village at the end of December and a sighting
of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker feeding on a lawn on Christmas Day.
The generally cooler cloudy summer reduced the
sightings of butterflies. But a
correspondent noted a group of large Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars on an
evening primrose shrub. The usual food
for these striking caterpillars is rose-bay willow herb. Although butterflies were scarce in the
summer the usual clouds of small winter moths appeared in the evenings of the
coldest weeks of the year. All are small and very difficult to identify.
In the hedges there were many summer plants still
flowering in early December, including white dead-nettle and charlock. Holly bushes, which abound in parts of the
village, carried a heavy crop of berries this autumn, as did other berried
shrubs. It was once thought that this
warned of a hard winter to come but is more a function of suitable weather at
the time of flowering. While plants are
unlikely to forecast the future there are reports of animals behaving strangely
just before severe earthquakes, perhaps sensing weak tremors before the later
severe shocks.
In 2005 there will be two partial eclipses of the sun,
of which only one, on 3 October, will be observable from East Coker, at
09.00hrs. Neither of the two lunar
eclipses will be visible here. Saturn
will be prominent in the southern sky at bedtime during January to March. Jupiter will be low in the eastern sky at
that time. Mercury, Venus and Mars will
be very low in the eastern sky, as morning objects, but too near the rising sun
for easy observation.
Francis Cloke 862496 EAST COKER PARISH COUNCIL The Parish Council meets the second Wednesday of every
month at The Pavilion, the Recreation Field at 7.00pm. The public can be at all meetings, unless
there is a very delicate matter when they will be asked to recess, and there is
also a ten minute 'open session' at the beginning of each meeting where the
public can bring up any matter.
OUR VILLAGE
SHOP
"Most people believe the local pub is far more important to their community than the
church, says a survey Just 14.6% of those questioned said the church contributed most to their
community, just ahead of the post office (11%) and behind the local shop
(16.4%)"
This extract from, a recent
weekly newspaper does not specify to what kind of community the 1,300 adults
polled belonged, and residents of East Coker may have other priorities. What is certain is that they are lucky to have a shop.
A Depressing Alternative
This was brought home to me
when revisiting the Yorkshire village where my niece lives. They lost their shop for nearly
two years and the effect was depressingly dead - in spite of the pub down the road! There was
nobody walking along the pavement to collect pensions, papers or other goods;
people needing the post office had to drive or take the bus to the nearest
town, several miles away; no mothers with prams after leaving the older
children at school; nowhere for bewildered drivers to call in and ask for
directions; there was just the traffic roaring by on the busy trunk road. When a gallant young couple reopened
the shop, determined to work hard, to be open on Sunday mornings as well as at
normal times, ready to provide what people needed, the village took on a new
lease of life, and humanity began to
reappear on the street.
What Our Shop Offers.
So, we are lucky. What we don't realise, perhaps, is how much the shop offers us. Beside a good range of basic groceries,
vegetables and household goods there is a daily supply of fresh bread, pies and
cakes from the Halstock Bakery, a joint of cooked ham to be sliced as required,
and a selection of quality wines and
other drinks at supermarket prices. At the post office, as well as the usual
postal services, foreign currency can be obtained and changed and there is a
little known "flowers by post" service. For those with bank
accounts at Barclays, Lloyds, the Cooperative Bank and Alliance and Leicester
it is possible to withdraw cash and pay
in cheques.
This is not all. Previously the shop closed
every day for lunch and on Tuesday afternoons. Now it remains open from 7.30am – 6.00pm on
Mondays to Fridays, on Saturdays until 1.00pm and on Sundays from 8.00am – 12 noon. (See
next page for full details).
The shop has long had a
tradition of a free delivery service once a week, on Thursdays, a godsend for
those without a car, which makes it possible for them to do a "big
shop" without having to lug it all
home.
Since Steve and Lisha
Oliver have been here the shop has had a face lift, reducing the counter space
and enabling the crowded shelves to be more visible. They have brought the shop up to date with a
machine to take credit/debit cards, and mobile phones can be topped
up, too. The shop has long been an agency for dry cleaners
and the present arrangement is with Gibbs of Yeovil. Another service is the
supply of drinks for parties on sale or return, and the hire of glasses. The shop has also become a
newsagent, with a rack of magazines and papers on display. There is also a selection
of greetings cards for all occasions; and, of course, the usual basic stationery.
The Social Side
Any local shop provides
more than tangible goods. There is the social aspect: a source of information
and directions for lost drivers; chance meetings of friends from other parts of
the village: and last but not least, social contact for lonely people (Ivy, who
died a few months ago was a case in point, as she often popped over from
Maudslay Fields on some or other pretext, but almost certainly because she
wanted some company). What is
particularly nice about the present set-up is the laughter one often hears as one goes into the shop.
I have often heard it said
about any village shop - including our own - that everything costs more. This is often just an assumption. Some things, perhaps, do, but for
a lot of things the prices are similar to those in a supermarket. There are often special
offers, among the wines, for instance, with a special price for two or three
bottles. "Buy one, get one free" is also available
sometimes. It is
a matter of minutes to pop round to the shop by car or on foot, using the minimum of petrol.
Some people are put off by
the limited parking space, but there is often ample room round the comer in
Mill Close, no further than the outer
reaches at Tesco, Safeway or Asda.
A previous owner of the
shop once said to me: "If everyone in the village came into the shop, just
once a week to buy something - they needn't spend much - it would make a lot of
difference."
It is a great asset to East
Coker to have such a hardworking, positive and cheerful young couple running
the shop, with their lively helpers, Leigh who knows everybody, and Vicky. Let us make
sure we keep them!
Opening
Hours
SHOP POST OFFICE
Monday to Friday 7.30am – 6.00pm Monday 8.00am – 5.30 pm
Saturday 7.30am – 1.00pm Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 8.00am – 1.00pm
Sunday 8.00am – 12 noon Thursday 8.00am – 1.30 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
Sally Jackson
ACCESS TO OUR CHURCHES
For people with restricted
mobility visiting our churches or attending services may have been a problem in
the past but it need no longer be so.
St. Michael's has for some
time had a ramp which can easily be placed over the steps at the entrance. Access to All Saints', Sutton Bingham has
been much more difficult until recently.
Now the previously uneven steps at the little gate have been replaced, a
firm handrail installed on one side and a stay put in to secure the gate on the
other, thus making the steps easier to manage.
Also a ramp can be arranged for wheelchair access, including the supply
of a wheelchair, if needed. All that is
necessary is to contact one of the churchwardens beforehand.
Access to All Saints',
Closworth has never been such a problem as the path and church entrance are all
on the level.
For Christian Fellowship
services in the Chapel, Burton Lane there is no problem as there is a side
entrance which can be used by a wheel chair.
Nor is there any problem,
for the Mill Fellowship, which meets on Sundays in the East Coker School.
St. Michael's and All
Saints', Sutton Bingham are always open in daylight hours. Both attract many visitors – the former for
its connection with T.S. Eliot, and the latter for its mediaeval wall paintings
and beautiful chancel arch. In each case
contributions from appreciative visitors are a welcome addition to church
finances. St. Michael's also has its
bookstall where booklets and greetings cards may be purchased, and a small
lending library of relevant books.
All Saints', Closworth,
which is not on a "tourist route", is kept locked when there are no
services.
Telephone numbers for more
information: St. Michael's – Doreen Bates, 862706 or Bernard Booth, 862610;
Closworth – Louise Owen, 872374 or Roger Barber, 872831; Sutton Bingham –
Heather Snook 474138 or Anthony Dening 474294
NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the
Newsletter will be in April 2005. Copy,
please, to Lesley Lindsay, Little Meadow, Coker Marsh, East Coker or e-mail
Lesley Lindsay or to the East Coker Post Office & Stores by Thursday 24 March
2005.