East Coker Society
Newsletter
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July
2007 Free Issue No 127
Chair: John Sugg 863435
e-mail
Newsletter Editor: Lesley Lindsay 862868
e-mail
Secretary: Sarah Owen 862218
Treasurer: Keith Helliar 863700
SCARECROW COMPETITION
The Scarecrow competition brought out many
different ideas from Goose Slade's Farm Shop's construction you must make the
effort to visit as this exhibit it will not make it to the Fete! to Ray
Duley's skeleton. As a judge I was not
only amused and impressed at the twenty-six various themes, but also the amount
of work let alone thought that had gone into every entry.
Our Workman up a pole turned into a desperate
fellow hanging on for grim death, not quite the intention when I encouraged the
Kids to create an entry on a rainy Sunday in June, but as it turned out it made
a few people laugh and slowed the traffic down considerably. He survived till
Sunday afternoon when he was kidnapped, but fortunately recovered when his
captures realised the error of their ways.
The walk that was organised by Sarah & Peter
was well supported even though the weather was closing in and the teas were a
welcome refreshment on a wet afternoon.
I believe next years entries will be greater as a lot of people have commented
on their different themes for the future.
Look out for the pole-dancer!!
My thanks go out to Sarah who had the initial idea,
and Nigel, who helped with the judging.
To Sarah & Peter who made the whole thing happen and lastly everyone
who entered. I hope you had as much fun
as we all did!
John Sugg, Chairman East Coker Society.
WINNERS!
Overall, the competition was very close with all
entries scoring very highly making the judges' decisions very difficult. The top two scarecrows in the Children's
Category were both in a pirate theme.
First place was taken by Sam and Clare Barnes-Thornton with their entry Pirates in the Park. Only just behind was Long John Silver, by Hannah and Harriet Warman, securing a prize as Runners-up.
Competition was even fiercer in the Adult
Category. Two entries just emerged from
a very highly ranked group to win Joint-first positions. These were Swingwatch by David and Angela
McClure and At
the Allotment by Helen Styles and Sarah
Beckett.
First prize in the Clubs and Organisations Category
was won by the monster entry Strawburt submitted
by Liz and Phil Dunning. Very close in
score, as Runner-up, was Swampy a joint effort from
Sally Jackson and Friends of Ten Cottages, Coker Marsh.
VILLAGE DIARY
The 2007 Diary is now at the East Coker Post Office,
to the right of the door when entering the shop. Please could village organisations put their
forthcoming events in the Diary to avoid the doubling up of these events. Thank you.
ADVANCE NOTICE CHRISTMAS BAZAAR
RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER VIA
E-MAIL
We greatly
appreciate delivery by e-mail as it saves money on our printing costs so if in future 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
For those already receiving the Newsletter by
e-mail, please e-mail Lesley Lindsay if you change your e-mail address.
Village Clubs and Organisations
EAST
COKER ROYAL BRITISH
LEGION
Coffee
Morning Saturday 22 September at 10.00am in the East Coker Hall. All welcome
Poppy Time
Once again it's time
to check that all collectors are able to do their round again this year. I am so grateful to all of you who manage
this and hope you will be available. As
you know the collection goes from strength to strength which is only good new
for the Legion. If you are unable to
help, please ring me as soon as possible, please. Thank you again, Sue Hounsell 01308 424702
EAST
COKER POETRY GROUP
Tennyson
Evening Tuesday 21 August
'Give
me a Home among the Gum Trees'
Tuesday 25 September
Annual
Poetry Writing Competition The
subject is 'Weather'. Everyone is
welcome to enter this competition but it must be an original poem. The deadline for entries is 1 October. For further information please contact David
Cloke 862623
EAST
COKER GARDENING CLUB
After
the very successful visit to
The
programme for the next three months is set out below. Subjects include 'Apples', the explanation of
horticultural names and a description of setting up a stand at the Chelsea
Flower Show. A day trip is also being
arranged to Hampshire when there should be some good autumn colouring.
Thursday 9 August: Jonathan Hoskyns from
Thursday 13 September: Staff from
Thursday 11
October: Nick Williams-Ellis, 'Taking
Saturday 13 October: Day trip to Harold Hillier's Garden in Romsey
Hampshire
Unless
otherwise stated meetings are held in the East Coker Hall at
Further
details are available from Catherine Denney on 862294 or Stan Shayler on
420291.
EAST COKER
FLOWER SHOW AND
WINE FESTIVAL
Advance
notice for Photography Classes:
Harbour
View Fire and/or Smoke Animals
Winter
Scene Bridge Four
different photos of Transport
EAST
COKER ACTION MEDICAL
RESEARCH
The East Coker Branch of Action Medical Research
will this year be celebrating 25 years of fundraising. Over the last two decades we have done a
variety of events from coffee mornings to balls and have raised over £60,000
for the charity. There are still several
of us involved who have been with the committee since the beginning and to
celebrate this milestone we are holding a Silver Jubilee Ball at The Digby
Hall, Sherborne on Friday 28 September.
Tickets are £35 to include a three-course meal and dancing to On The
Level. These will be strictly limited
and are already selling very fast. For
further information please contact Barb Raison on 862553.
Several of us recently attended a Ladies Lunch for
the charity at the beautiful Tortworth Court Hotel, near Bristol, and were
delighted when Barb Raison, from our committee, won the star prize of two
flight tickets to New York, generously donated by Continental Airlines,
especially when they were presented to her by the lovely Tony Hadley (lead
singer of Spandau Ballet) who provided the after-lunch entertainment. A great day was had by all.
On Friday 29 June we delivered just under 600 individual boxed cream teas to businesses in
Yeovil, Sherborne and Crewkerne. This is
the third year we have done this and the numbers are growing each year. We started packing the boxes at 8.00am and
had them all delivered by lunchtime and raised £2,600 for our Touching Tiny
Lives Appeal. We started this idea and
the charity is now taking this on board as a National Initiative again with the
numbers taking part increasing every year.
It has been suggested that we do a delivery run in the village next year
watch this space!!
Another date for your diary - we are the chosen
charity for The Helyar Arms coffee morning on
THE COKER
400 CLUB
Winners
of the March/April draw: Mr P Clough £100; Mr D Mitchell £50; Mrs Todd £40; Mr
J Bryan £30; Mrs J Best £20; Mrs J Best (Dr Best) £15; Mr T Clough £10; Mr P
Pisani £10.
If
anyone would like further information, or would like to join, they can contact
me on 862572 or at Dairy Cottage, East Coker.
Mike Weston
The
coming year is another milestone in the Wine Circle's successful
existence. Celebrating 30 years of
growing popularity, the Circle intends to mark the anniversary by supporting
two major local charities this year with special events. The first of these will be a mixed open
charity golf tournament at Halstock Golf Club on 23 September, when the price
of £15 for Halstock Golf Club members and £25 for non-members will include, bacon
rolls and coffee on arrival and a buffet to finish. Stableford competition rules will apply. Novices are welcome. All enquiries to Clive Horsley 01935 471072
and Darren Shutler 01935 477365.
The
proceeds from this and all other special events will be for the Dorset and
Somerset Air Ambulance and the Yeovil Cardiac Unit. It is also planned to produce a rather
titillating and intriguing calendar which, hopefully, will be on sale from
October. It is hoped that as much
support as possible is given to the Wine Circle this year, as these two
charities are both very deserving causes.
The
proceeds from the draw at the oriental theme party and dance in January 'A
Touch of Spice' will also be donated to the two charities. This is open to non-members and is a really
fun evening.
A
superb programme has been planned for the year and will include outings to the
Octagon Theatre to see Pirates of Penzance (Thursday, 4 October), and
The
Circle is also hoping for a bumper entry at this year's Open Wine Festival,
held in conjunction with the East Coker Flower Show on Saturday, 18 August at
East Coker Hall.
The
Circle meets at
EAST
COKER PAVILION FUND
UPDATE
Just a quick note to keep you all appraised of
progress with regard to the new Pavilion.
As I reported in the last Newsletter,
unfortunately, due to problems with obtaining grants, we have had to scale down
the project which will now involve improving the existing facilities and adding
on a purpose-built extension which, although not ideal, will vastly improve the
state of the present building.
Work is now in progress to obtain a number of
quotes for this building and, provided Planning Consent can be obtained, work
could conceivably begin in the not too distant future.
We currently have around £60,000.00 in the Fund
which, although probably not enough to see the project to fruition will
hopefully not be too far short of our target so, with a little more concerted
effort, the building could soon become a reality.
Whilst on the subject of fundraising, I would like
to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Committee, to thank the East Coker
Playgroup, and in particular, Alex Bowring, for organising a Pamper Evening at
the village hall recently. The evening
was a tremendous success and raised just over £600.00.
As always, anyone who has any views and/or
suggestions to offer is more than welcome to come along to our meetings. For meeting dates, please contact me Bridget
Sugg on 863435 or Paula Downes 862264
EAST COKER
PLAYERS 30 YEARS OLD
East Coker Players would like to celebrate the 30th
anniversary with a Christmas Variety Show on 30 November/
For this occasion wed like to involve as many
people who have been connected with Players in the past, as well as
encouraging new members.
Do you have any memories of Players productions
youd like to share? Would you be
willing to reprise an original hit? Do you
have any newspaper cuttings/early minutes or programmes which would help us
fill in some holes in our history? Let
us know by 4 August or ring Anne (below).
Wed love to hear from you!
Were having a social get-together on
It would be great to kick start a revival of
Players and with your help we could do it!
EAST COKER
W.I.
Having
just enjoyed a very sociable birthday outing to
The
following months are filled with an explanation of acupuncture and the
mysteries of the Turin Shroud. Our
Annual General Meeting is 25 October.
Next year we celebrate our 90th birthday and are planning a gourmet meal
as well as many interesting and amusing speakers.
On
Saturday 21 July we are organising a Bring and Buy and Coffee Morning at The
Poplars 10.00am
The
winter whist drives, held on the third Thursday of the month, will recommence
on 20 September. Anyone wishing further
information about the Womens Institute should contact the Secretary, Linda
Morgan 863694
Young People
EAST
COKER PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP
Our
half term topic is 'Mini-beasts', which for some members of staff is a little
bit scary. You know, getting close to
those tiny multi legged creatures you usually ignore. A gentle introduction was required. Armed with plastic bowls (with deep rims),
magnifying glasses (with long poles, just kidding), children and staff ventured
out into the Playing fields. What could
be seen as daunting was really quite fun!
The excitement of the children is infectious. The playgroup setting really lends itself to
this topic and we made the most of our wonderful outdoors facilities. Im sure you can imagine the numerous
mini-beasts we found. As a follow up to
our safari, a beautiful display of creepy crawlies adorns the Pavilion wall.
The childrens outside experience enabling them to re-create what they found,
using all types of materials available.
After
enthusiastically painting a creation, one child made me smile. Red paint was both on hands, and inside the
long arms of the apron that had been worn and on discovering the red paint went
most of the way up the arms, the child commented with some delight, I look
like a ladybird!
Summer
term ends in a flourish of activities.
The children who go to school have a trip to look forward to. A Sports Day is planned, come rain or
shine. Our leavers have school visits
and in turn our September starters have visits to the playgroup.
The
wealth of experience of our fully qualified staff offers quality childcare and
education through play, exploring the wider environment and local community
with project-based activities. These
include trips out and visitors, such as the fire brigade, police, vet, doctor,
dentist, clergy, musicians and local artists.
Ofsted have consistently given the group excellent reports and commended
us for the interaction and encouragements between staff and children,
partnership with parents, teaching, management and the emphasis on fun.
Children
can join us from the age of 2½ and Nursery Education Funding is available from
the term after the third birthday. We
are open during term time every weekday morning, Tuesday and Wednesday
afternoons and offer optional lunch cover for children who like to bring a
packed lunch.
During
the Summer Term the playgroup have piloted extended opening hours please
contact Kay Strode if you would like more information on this exciting new
opportunity on your doorstep. We are
also offering sessions for 5 weeks during the summer school holidays on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays,
By
the time this goes to press the Beauty Night at East Coker Hall will have been
held. This event is being held to raise
money for the Pavilion Fund. Im sure it
will have been a brilliant success.
Looking
ahead, the Craft Fair in November has stalls available.
For
more information, and to put your child/children on the waiting list, please
contact Kay Strode on 07798 812540 or after
EAST COKER SCOUT GROUP
Newspaper Collection Dates:
Saturday 28 July Saturday 25 August Saturday 29 September
Scout Autumn Jumble Sale
Saturday 20 October. To be held at East Coker Hall from
Congratulations to our scouts Jack
Baker, Johnny Holliday, Zac Tredger, John Fernley and Ashley Glover who
recently won the Yeovil & District Boy Scouts Senior 'Fox Trophy' Hiking
competition. The trophy was last won by
the East Coker Seniors in 1966! Can
anyone out there remember taking part?
The same patrol with Jack Rashley was also winners of the District
Jamboree Camp Competition. Well done,
boys!
Jackie Glover
The Churches
ST. MICHAEL'S
CHURCH
Services
Sunday 29 July Sung Matins
10.00am
Other Sunday services as
usual during July and August
Sunday 2 September Pet
Service 10.00am
Sunday 30 September St
Michael & All Angel's Service Patronal Festival 10.00am
Wednesday 3 October
Harvest Supper 7.00pm for 7.30pm at East Coker Hall
Sunday 7 October: Harvest
Festival 10.00am
Service for Those We Have Loved But See
No Longer
The
service this year will be on 4 November at 6.00pm. The preacher will be Rev. Peter Kerton
Johnson. Peter was at St Margaret's
Hospice in Yeovil, where I got to know him well. One of the things he did at St Margaret's was
to start a regular service there.
Previously he worked with the Hospice movement in
I
will be writing to those who were bereaved in East Coker during the last year
to invite them to the Service and to see if they would like the names of their
loved ones read out in the Service. We
also welcome the names of any other people, they need not have lived in the
village. Please let me have the names by
28 October
Monica
862834
We
are very short of bell-ringers at our Church and in order to discover hidden
talents we are opening the
On
this day, why not come and explore the mysteries of bell-ringing and have a
look round our beautiful Church. Do you
know how the organ works? What about the
stained glass windows? What do they tell
us and how were they made?
Please
come and join us. If it is a fine day,
bring a picnic and enjoy the wonderful view from the Churchyard.
To
become a bell-ringer, it is NOT necessary to be a churchgoer. It may, however be an opportunity to meet new
people and take on a new interest and who knows where that may lead
! The commitment is not great half an hour on
a Sunday and some weddings. The more
ringers, the less requirement.
We
look forward to seeing you. Any
enquiries ring Penny Marpole on 863055
Spring Plant
As
a result of an enormous effort by growers, sellers, buyers and helpers you
know who you are the sum of £936 was raised in three hours on a sunny
morning. This total will be shared
between St Michael's Church and CLIC Sargent to help children with cancer or
leukaemia. £460 will fund a CLIC/Sargent
support worker for a whole week.
Our
thanks to everyone who was involved in any way
John
Darling
ALL
SAINTS' CHURCH CLOSWORTH
Sunday
9 September Harvest Festival 6.30pm.
It will also be celebrated at the Family Service on 16 September at
10.00am. As usual we shall be involving
the children in the Service which will last no longer than 30 minutes and be
fairly informal. If you are not a
regular member of the Church, why not come and join us for this Family Service
which is relaxed and child friendly. (it
seems odd writing about Harvest when all we have had is monsoon!)
Monica
862834
ALL SAINTS
CHURCH SUTTON BINGHAM
Coffee
Morning
Carol and Antony would like to thank everyone who
contributed in anyway to the success of the Coffee Morning held at the home of
Mrs Kay Biggin on Saturday 30 June.
£423.50 was raised for All Saints' Church Funds.
Services
Sunday 5 August 9.00am Sunday 19 August 11.30am
Sunday 2 September 9.00am Sunday 16 September 11.30am this will
also be Harvest Festival
Sunday 7 October 9.00am
We look forward to
welcoming you to Sutton Bingham in 2007.
BIBLE
MID-WEEK MEETINGS
Wednesday
15 August at 7.00pm Brian Ruff
Wednesday
19 September at 7.00pm Jeremy White St Peter & Paul, Uplyme
Wednesday
17 October at 7.00pm Nigel Wilson-Brown King's School, Bruton
Do
join us and bring your friends with you.
Refreshments are served after each meeting. Roy Hodder 862519
EAST
COKER CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
As
many readers will be aware the chapel at the end of
A
new sound system is being installed and we believe that the work on that will
be completed shortly.
We
are holding a Family Service on 8 July at the Hall with the Mill
Fellowship. This will be followed by a
barbecue. All are welcome.
When
all of the works are completed we intend holding an 'Open Afternoon' one Sunday,
serving Cream Teas. Details will be made known around the village when
finalised.
We
would be delighted to meet with you and share our faith. We believe that Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, is our risen Saviour and that He is interested in each
and every person. We, therefore, have a
desire to meet together to praise and worship Him and to share the Good News of
God's salvation.
Our
weekly meetings are as follows; 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays 11.00am Worship
Service. On the first Sunday of each
month this incorporates Communion.
2nd
Sunday 11.00am Family Service
2nd,
3rd, 4th and 5th Sunday evenings
Tuesdays
Other
services as announced. We are hoping to commence
a day time Bible Study in September.
This may change to become two distinct meetings:
- We are wanting to
provide some form of 'talking shop' for those who are interested in
finding out something about the Christian faith;
- We would like to
provide somewhere for Christians to meet and follow a Bible Study Course,
particularly those who have difficulty in getting out to meetings in the
evening. For anyone interested in
either perhaps they would contact Kevin Chapman on 01935 422594.
During
the months of July and September (and part of August) Kevin Chapman will be
available in the village each Wednesday between
THE
There
is a service held at
'Little
Wheelers' is a well established Parent and Toddler Group that runs each Tuesday
morning in term time at East Coker Hall, commencing at 10.30am. It is a chance for parents to relax and
socialise, while their children play. We
run 'Little Wheelers' with help from other churches.
'Bridges'
is a midweek group for teenagers. It is
an opportunity for food, friendship and exploring together the good news of
Christianity. There is also a sailing
club for young people, called 'Broadreach'.
We
have other groups and activities for adults and for young people. Up to date information on all of these events
can be found on our website www.millchurch.org.uk which includes a weekly
news-sheet or you can telephone the church office in West Coker on 864136.
Village News
GOOSE
SLADE FARM SHOP OPEN
EVENING FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER
A
date for your diary, from
Normal opening hours Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am
6.00pm.Phil, Liz, Joe and Lindsey Dunning
863735
HELYAR
ARMS CHARITY COFFEE MORNINGS
Charity
Coffee Mornings are held at the Helyar Arms on the last Friday of each month
from
Friday
27 July WAWA Peruvian 4 Child come and meet the llamas
Friday
31 August The Tabitha Project
Friday
28 September
Friday 26 October
Action Medical Research
NORTH COKER HALL
Anne Bingley at North Hall
is hoping to find some of the old gilt-banded cups and saucers decorated with
the name of the Hall which were used when the building was the Village Hall.
Can anyone help
please? Her telephone number is 863036
RE: DOG ATTACK
IN THE VILLAGE
We would like to draw the
attention of anyone delivering leaflets to the potential problems should they
be attacked by a dog.
In simple terms, legally
you have very little protection when doing this type of delivery YOU ENTER THE PROPERTY UNINVITED. Postmen,
paper-boys etc are deemed as contractual.
Dog Wardens, police etc
operate via the 'Dangerous Dog Act' and can only help should a person be
attacked in a public area.
We would certainly suggest
that children should be very closely supervised if helping with this type of
delivery and instructed not to enter
any property that has a dog.
John and Eileen Horwood
THE
WELLBEING OF YEOVIL
ASSOCIATION
The Wellbeing of Yeovil Community
Association was founded in 1980 by local businessmen to support worthy causes,
which benefit those living in Yeovil and surrounding communities. Over £300,000 of grants have been awarded
towards projects, large and small, in recent years. Grants, normally of up to £1,000 are
contributed towards the capital element of projects, such as building costs or
equipment.
As a matter of policy, the
Association does not normally contribute to the running costs (revenue
expenditure) of projects.
A committee chaired by Tim Chappell
MBE meets in January, March, June and September each year to consider
applications for grants. In the last couple of years the Wellbeing has made
over 30 grants including contributions to projects at
If you have a worthy project or
cause from which the local community will benefit, and for which you need
support then consider applying to Tim Chappell 812922 or Richard Timmis 862516
for help from the Yeovil Association.
Alternatively, if you could like to make a donation and become a member
of the Association, Tim or Richard would be very pleased to hear from you.
STAMPS FOR C.L.I.C.
I have, sadly, after 16
years decided to stop collecting used Postage Stamps for CLIC/Sargent. As my late friend, Eileen Doye started this
in East Coker, I felt that I should continue, as all the income obtained by
selling them is used to finance the research into Cancer and Leukaemia in
children. Recently the Sargent Fund have
lent their support. Used stamps may now
be left at the East Coker P O & Stores or at the CLIC/Sargent Charity Shop
in
Micky Hall
NOTES FROM THE OBSERVATORY
Midsummer's Day 24 June 2007
What topsy-turvy weather we
have had recently. April was warm and
dry with a three week dry spell. The
temperature on 14 April went up to a summery 21.8ΊC (71.2ΊF). Alas, May and June so far have been cooler,
cloudy and rather wet. Whit Sunday was
one of the wettest days this year with 15.2 mm of rain (0.60 ins.). But that rainfall was exceeded on 13 May when
we had 23.6mm of rain (0.93ins), most falling in a torrential downpour in the
morning. So far this year rainfall has
totalled 395mm. (15.57ins).
The early summer has been
disappointing but a few warmer days in mid June, up to 21.7ΊC (71.0ΊF) on the
19 June were welcome. Nevertheless,
Glastonbury Festival had the usual heavy showers during the event.
The warm days of April
brought out a goodly show of Holly Blue butterflies. The first Brimstone flew on 26 March,
followed by a Peacock on 4 April and the first Orange-Tips on 6 April. A Small Copper on 3 May was an unusual
sighting.
A seven-spot Ladybird
appeared on 28 March. I have noticed
that there has been a much larger number of small money spiders about recently;
so many that they have been almost at plague proportions.
Housemartins appeared in
early May, rather more than last year, flying over the village recently. A group of three buzzards circled high in the
sky in mid-May and a solitary heron flew over later in the month.
A splendid show of dark red valerian has appeared
on the village's stone walls. In her
book, 'Cottage Garden Flowers',
Margery Fish, who famously gardened at nearby East Lambrook, refers to valerian
as Kiss-me-Quick or Pretty Betsy. She
particularly mentions a glowing crimson valerian growing on a cottage wall.
My small garden pool has been visited by a couple
of frogs, a common newt, several water skaters, water boatmen and a profusion
of small water beetles living happily under the water. Many tiny water creatures have appeared and,
as usual, a lot of active tadpoles.
These appear to feed on the algal growth on the sides of the pond. I wondered if they would prefer other foods,
so as an experiment I hung a range of foods in the pond. To my surprise, tadpoles seem to prefer a
protein diet. Raw and cooked sausage,
roast chicken and black puddings were eagerly eaten as were roast
potatoes. Fish fingers were not popular,
neither were boiled potatoes. Boiled
parsnip and cabbage were ignored. Pure fat such as lard was not popular but
eaten with reluctance. My overfed
tadpoles move at a surprising speed. The largest seem to swim at about half a
mile an hour but the average speed is about half that figure. But despite their turn of speed, many have
not evaded the beak of a blackbird that has learned to peck up tadpoles from my
pond's edge!
Venus has been a brilliant object in the western
sky at twilight. This planet will now
move to the west, to reappear as an early morning object in the autumn, but
before it disappears from our night sky it will approach Saturn low in the west
in early July. This conjunction will be
worth watching, provided that we have the clear evening skies of April. Jupiter will soon be low in the southern sky
at bedtime.
Francis Cloke
862496
THANK YOU
We couldn't have picked a worse day for the annual
plant sale at Weavers Lodge on Sunday 13 May.
The skies emptied just as we opened.
It was held from
We raised £300 for St. Margaret's Hospice and I
would like to thank everyone that attended, those who couldn't attend but
donated and also for the very popular raffle.
The winner of the fruit basket was Catherine Denney.
This is the third year it has been held at our home
and I hope we will be doing this as an annual event. We have already started sorting through seed
catalogues for the plants next year, and I hope next year will also prove very
popular. Any spare seeds trays etc. will
always be welcome.
Christine and Glenn Seymour
GOODBYE AND
WELCOME!
It was very sad to say goodbye to
Steve and Lisha Oliver when they left the village shop in March. After a somewhat gloomy period it had been a
delight to go into the shop and hear laughter, and then to have one's leg
gently pulled by Steve, with smiling Lisha always helpful. So I was very downcast when I heard they were
leaving. With a heavy heart I wished
them good luck, and was pleased they were to remain in the area.
However, I was totally reassured
when I met Paul and Vicky. Here was
another enterprising young couple, prepared to take on a village shop in the
face of official indifference and supermarket power. They seemed to slot into their new roles as
shopkeepers quite effortlessly and in no time at all seemed to know everybody's
name. A further delight is the
appearance of little Lilia who creeps into the shop with her favourite toy to
see what's going on, and then has to be bundled out by an anxious parent. This is all part of village life, and keeping
the shop going is a vital service to the local community. Thus I would urge every resident of the
village permanent or week-ender to make use of what the shop can offer, (I
know lots of people already do), and so ensure that we do not lose a precious
asset to village life.
I cannot end without paying a
heartfelt tribute to Leigh, who, with her cheerful efficiency, must be an
invaluable support to Paul and Vicky.
She has maintained continuity through the ups and downs of recent years. It is difficult to think of the shop without
her.
Sally
Jackson
Music for a Summer Evening
John Clarke & Guests
Present
"A Night at the Opera"
Forde Abbey nr Chard
Come and enjoy
some of the most beautiful classical music in the stunning surroundings that are
Forde Abbey. Soak up the atmosphere of
the 850 year old Great Hall as you listen to award winning baritone John
Clarke, supported by pianist
This recital,
supporting the Mayor of Yeovil's charity CLIC Sargent will take place on Sunday
16 September at
I do hope you will take advantage of
this opportunity and be a part of what promises to be an evening of musical
excellence.
Yours sincerely
Deborah Stokes (Mrs)
Millbrook House, 3 Drakes Meadow,
ORDER FORM
Please make cheques payable to "Charity Concert Account"
Please forward me
Ticket/s @
£15.00 each. I enclose remittance
for
...
.
(Please also enclose a stamped addressed envelope)
Name .................
Address
Postcode Tel No ....................
I regret I am unable to attend but enclose a donation of .......
EARLY FLAX GROWING IN
EAST COKER
The above booklet has been
written by Robert Allwood, who is an authority on the early history of the flax
industry. It contains an interesting account
of the flax industry of the Cokers as well as many photographs and
drawings. It is available in the East
Coker PO as well as many shops around the area.
It can also be obtained directly from Mr R Allwood, Highbanks, Longlands
Lane, East Coker BA22 9HN Tel 862118 at £3.50 incl. P&P
EAST COKER PARISH
COUNCIL
Following the local elections in May the Parish
Council met and welcomed two new councillors: Barry Hartley, a former councillor for
East Coker ward and Colin Rose, who will represent the Wraxall ward. We were sorry to lose the services of Sarah
Rashley and Lynette Osmund who have both been such hardworking and invaluable
members of the council. There are two new
South Somerset District councillors who will represent the Coker wards: Lesley
Boucher and Helen Lefeuvre.
During Election Day,
several comments were made by electors that they did not know which candidates
to vote for, because they did not know anything about them! To get to know your existing parish councillors, everyone is welcome to come along to
any Parish Council meeting (second Wednesday of each month at the Pavilion at
7.00pm) to see and hear your councillors in action. The Parish Council is non-political and has
the best interests of the parish of East Coker at the top of its agenda.
We said our goodbyes and
thank-yous to Alan Cornelius (retiring District Councillor) at our April
meeting. Alan has served the parish for
well over 50 years and we wish him a happy retirement.
If grass areas that are
normally strimmed are not as tidy as before it may be because there is dogs
mess which has not been cleaned up by dog owners. Our lengthsman cannot be expected to strim
areas that are fouled by dogs! Use the
special bins provided around the village to dispose of your dogs mess and
please do not throw your bags into hedges etc.
Parking at the school
continues to go from bad to worse and many of the culprits may not read this
message because they do not live in the parish
.but
.parking in the area of the tree triangle has become a real
hazard, as the zone for pedestrians along the Devonshire Cottage wall is
constantly being used by parents cars, thus leaving children and their
parents, who do walk to school, more vulnerable than ever.
If you see cars parked
unsafely and blocking pedestrian access take the number of the vehicle and, if
you do not want to confront the driver, let our PCSO Richard Oaten have the
details. His number and email address
are included in his Newsletter and he is our new police contact he is regularly
seen around the area and will deal with any problems which arise. Please do not hesitate to contact him if you
have any cause for concern.
PCSO 9861 Richard Oaten Crewkerne Police Station
I am Police Community Support Officer 9861 Richard
Oaten and I am currently based in Crewkerne.
I have worked for the Avon and Somerset Constabulary for 12 years. I worked in a previous role in Yeovil for 10
years and became a PCSO a little over 2 years ago. At present I work within the Parrett and
Coker Wards which is quite a large area.
It's a brilliant job because I get to meet some really nice people in
the Communities and I am able to help them when they have problems or issues
that affect their quality of life.
My Beat Manager, P C Mark Egington is also based at
Crewkerne and I liaise with him daily on issues that might need his
attention. My main aim is to provide
reassurance by visible patrols, Beat Surgeries and visits with the Police
Community Contact Vehicle. If you have
any problems or issues that I can help with, you can contact me on 0845 456
7000, please leave a message and contact number with the operator and the
message will be passed to me. You can
also contact me on the
Dear Readers,
Lighter evenings make us all feel better now as the summer
approaches. There s something about the
smell of freshly cut grass on a newly mown lawn.
As I travel around the area I see more people out
and about, but more importantly there are others also travelling around. These people can be driving around in a
vehicle or walking down the street.
Their aim is to deprive you of your possessions. Lighter evenings and warmer weather will see
more windows and doors being left open.
Doors to Garages and Outbuildings left open and on view are Quad bikes,
lawn mowers, mountain bikes, fridges, freezers, tools and so on. A shed is basically a wooden box, so please
if you keep expensive items in it make sure you have a decent lock to keep it
secure, and if possible block out the window so people cannot see what's
inside, or better still keep them in a more suitable place. Please be aware the opportunist thieves in
our society are very clever in what they do and sometimes you won't even notice
what is missing until it's too late. But
there are a few simple measures you can take to help protect yourself and your
property.
1. Join a local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. This can be very effective because you are
all watching out for each other. Crime cannot flourish in a Community that
cares.
2. Mark all your property with a postcode. Even the
solar lights in your garden.
3. Telephone the Police if you see or hear anything
suspicious. It's always handy if you
write down the registration number of a suspicious car/van/pickup and/or the
description of a person/s who you think are strangers in your area and acting
in a suspicious manner. This information
can be vital and very helpful to the Police
4. If planning a holiday cancel the milk and
newspapers. Let friends and relatives
know, this can prevent your telephone ringing unanswered for long periods of
time. Perhaps a relative or friend could
call in and gather up the post. Timer
switches are effective because you can set lights and radios to go on and off
at suitable times. Lock away all tools
and ladders.
5. When at home keep the windows open to a minimum,
especially on the ground floor, If possible keep your doors locked and above
all keep a general awareness around your home.
You can contact myself or the Police by Telephoning 0845 456 7000 and
you can also visit the
Thank you,
APPLE PLADDER
Does anyone have the recipe
for Apple Pladder which was made in East Coker?
It used to be served at the local inns.
If you are prepared to share your recipe please can you ring 862868 or email
Lesley Lindsay. Thank you.
NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the Newsletter will be in October
2007. 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