January 2003 - Contents Thought for January Repton, Foremark and Newton Solney Parish Churches Services Readers and Intercessors at St. Wystan's Altar Flowers at St. Wystan's Brasses at St. Wystan's Epiphany Carols at St Wystan's - Sunday January 5th St Wystan's join the URC for worship in January United Reformed Church Services at the United Reformed Church Coffee Morning, Saturday 11th January Shell Raising the Roof! St Wystan's Mothers' Union St Wystan's Church Quiz Evening: 8th February Charities Poppy Appeal Raises Thousands Rainbows Christmas Fayre Success Repton Village and History Repton Council Jottings Coach outing to the Malvern Show Remembering Repton: Saturday & Sunday, 15-16 February Sharpe's Pottery Opening Repton Village Society: Programme for 2003-04 Repton Casuals Milton & Foremark Village Matters Milton WI Milton Village Hall Gardening Notes Adverts St Wystan's Church Beetle Drive with Sausage & Mash Supper South Derbyshire Conservatives, Supper & Dance the Blues Way Zak’s Hospital Fund: "How to Grow Vegetables for Showing"

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New Year - New Archbishop

God's nature is so much greater than anything that any one of us can grasp that there is bound to be a variety of understanding within the Church.

Since Dr Williams was nominated as the new Archbishop of Canterbury there has been a welter of controversy about him in the press. A recent interview began with a question about what he had learnt in the months since his appointment. His concise answer was this: "I have learnt that there's no such thing as a private letter." All public figures now face astonishingly intense scrutiny of every word that they utter and every letter that they write. This is especially so for someone who stands publicly for religious belief and moral standards.

The Church of England has never been a body in which people accepted a narrowly defined version of the Christian faith. This seems to me to be a wholly healthy characteristic. We are quite literally 'a broad church'. God's nature is so much greater than anything that any one of us can grasp that there is bound to be a variety of understanding within the Church. No archbishop could ever hope to please everybody. If the archangel Gabriel were to hold the post there would be sure to be those who disagreed with him.

That said, It seems to me that we are extraordinarily fortunate to have found a man of such evident stature, learning, vision and holiness. From what I have read and heard I would not expect him to kow-tow to political or any other leaders. He will have the courage to stand by his beliefs and the intellect to argue his case. There will always be those who differ from some of his views. They may not share his opinions about the appointment of women as bishops, acceptance of homosexuals, or the interpretation of passages in the Bible. As always, those who generate controversy will get a disproportionate coverage in the press. I hope that those who disagree with him will be able to respect his integrity. It is certainly a good sign that he has had so much support from the people of all opinions who experienced his leadership as Archbishop of Wales.

The job he has agreed to do is incredibly demanding. To try to act as leader of a community as diverse as the worldwide Anglican Communion, at the same time as being Bishop of his own diocese of Canterbury and being expected to speak for the Church of England as a whole is a tall order for anyone. I wish him well and our prayers should be with him.

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Services at Foremark, Newton Solney
and St. Wystan's Churches

St. Wystan’s

Foremark

Newton Solney

Readers and Intercessors at St. Wystan's

Altar Flowers

Brasses

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Epiphany Carols at St Wystan's - Sunday January 5th

The story of the coming of the Wise Men to Bethlehem, from St Matthew's Gospel, is celebrated on January 6th. This is the Feast of the Epiphany, which means 'the showing'. It celebrates the arrival of the first non-Jewish outsiders to welcome the Messiah. Nowadays it is often incorporated into Christmas carol services. This year there will be a special service of music and readings with the Wystan Singers on the eve of the Epiphany, at 6.30pm on Sunday January 5th. There will be no Choral Evensong on Sunday January 19th when we join forces with the URC for a united service at the Chapel in Pinfold Lane.

St Wystan's join the URC for worship in January

On two Sundays in January the United Reformed Church and St Wystan's join up and worship together.

The Covenant Service - Sunday January 12th

On Sunday January 12th the morning service at St Wystan's is at 10.30am, half an hour later than usual. The congregation from the united Reformed Church joins the Parish Church congregation for a Parish Communion incorporating John Wesley's Covenant Service. This is a kind of comprehensive new year resolution. It originally came from the Methodist Church but is now more widely used. The preacher this year will be Peter Davey. Some people will remember him from the days when he and Morven and the children lived in the High Street and he worked for Rolls Royce.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

On the following Sunday, January 19th, there is no evening service at St Wystan's. Instead we meet at the United Reformed Church in Pinfold Lane for a special service to mark the week of prayer for Christian Unity at 6.30pm.

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The United Reformed Church

Church Secretary: Mr Gerald Gibbs,
tel 701581

Coffee Morning, Saturday 11th January

A new year of coffee mornings begins with the opportunity to meet friends over a cup of coffee. The usual home made cakes and marmalade will be on sale, the Webb Ivory stall offers cards and wrapping paper and the children's game is always fun. Come and join us!

Shell

Shell (age 7+) begins its new year on Monday 13th January. Meetings last from 6.30 to 7.30pm and everyone is welcome.

Raising the Roof!

We are grateful to everyone who supported our card and coffee day at the home of Mr and Mrs C Atkin. The money raised will go towards the fund for a new roof for the schoolroom.

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Marriages

Paul Jeffrey Walker of Ashby Road East, Bretby and Samantha Jayne Hartwright of 2 Brookside Close, Repton were married at St Wystan's on Sunday December 15th.

Funerals and Burial of Ashes

Edna May Boddice, late of Fisher Close, died at Bearwardcote Residential Home on 15th November. Her funeral was held at the United Reformed Church on Monday 25th November, followed by cremation at Bretby.

Nora Elizabeth Chell of 15 Pinfold Close, Repton died on 15th November at Queen's Hospital, Burton. She was aged 82. Her funeral was held at St Wystan's on Monday 25th November and was followed by cremation at Markeaton.

Barbara Rosemary Atter of 1b Mount Pleasant Road, Repton died on Tuesday 3rd December at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. She was aged 79. Her funeral was held at St Wystan's on Thursday 12th December and afterwards at Bretby Crematorium. Her ashes were buried in the churchyard at St Wystan's on Saturday December 14th.

Winifred (Win) Wellings of 7 Hill View, Repton died on Tuesday 3rd December at Queens Hospital, Burton. She was aged 78. Her funeral was held at Bretby Crematorium on Thursday 12th December. We offer our sympathy to her family and friends.

The ashes of Richard Keith Glen, whose funeral was held at St Wystan's on 20th August, were buried in St Wystan's churchyard on Sunday 1st December.

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Nora Chell

Pauline, Malcolm and family wish to say thank you to everyone for the cards and messages of sympathy in the very sad loss of our mum Nora.

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St Wystan's

Mothers' Union

Because the usual room at Fisher Close was not available, the meeting on November 20th was held at 5 Mitre Drive. At the beginning of the meeting members stood in silence as a tribute to Norah Chell who died in hospital in Burton on November 15th. Norah was a long standing MU member, a strong supporter of its aims and objects, always ready to help and work for any of our projects. I first met Norah when, like me, she was a member of the Young Wives Group, led by Elizabeth Tomlinson, and we moved to the MU at the same time. We send our condolences to her family, and in particular of course to Pauline and Malcolm, for whom she was always 'there'. We shall all miss her very much.

The speaker at the meeting was Audrey Morris whose subject was Antique needlework tools - illustrating a bible-based talk. She brought along her fascinating collection of thimbles, needles and needle cases, pin cushions and tape measures, all of which are mentioned in either the Old or New Testament. She was thanked by Angela Mayger.

Members joined together to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Edna Hill who was celebrating her 94th birthday.

It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of yet another member of our branch. Because of ill-health Wyn Wellings had very recently resigned as the branch secretary - a task which she had undertaken on the death of Eileen Jones and one for which we owe her our most grateful thanks. She died in hospital on December 2nd and we send our condolences to Clive and Simon and his family. Like Norah Chell she had been a young wife transferring to the MU around the same time. She too was a loyal supporter of the aims and objects of the MU and she will be very much missed in the branch.

The programmes for 2003 should be ready for the meeting on January 15th when Jeanette Griffiths will tell us about her holiday in Cambodia, and we shall have the AGM. Intercessions: Mrs B Cowley; Tea Hostesses: Mrs E Oldham, Mrs T Guyler.

I should like to express thanks to Mrs Audrey Morris from all the members for her kindness in taking over the role of branch secretary. May I take this opportunity of wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year.

St Wystan's Church Quiz Evening: 8th February

The next Quiz Night will be in aid of church funds. Here are the details:

When? - Saturday 8th February
Where? - Repton Village Hall
Time? - 7.15pm for 7.30pm prompt start
Cost? - £10 for teams of four, including some food

Please remember to bring your own drinks & glasses etc. A prize will be awarded to the winning team of four (or less) but that doesn't prevent any teams from entering with more than four members - the more the merrier - it just means that you don't qualify for the prize.

To enter, please ring Jo or Cliff on 01283 703343. An early call would be appreciated to assist with catering.

Thanks: We would like to thank both Lilwen & David Guest together with Martin Wimbush (scorer) for standing in and running the last highly successful Quiz Night in September, with the hope that 'the usual suspects' will continue to provide their support on the next occasion. Any newcomers will be warmly received. Remember - it's better than watching tele!

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Charities

Poppy Appeal Raises Thousands

By the end of November the Repton Branch of the Royal British Legion had raised £7278.87 for the Poppy Appeal during the year which began on June 1st. The area covered is Repton and District and Etwall and District and includes the villages of Hilton, Etwall, Sutton, Burnaston, Willington, Findern, Repton, Foremark (School), Milton, Newton Solney and Bretby.

Much comes from the sale of poppies door to door. Other sources are the Fruit and Vegetable Show, activities in the Club, weekly whist drives, raffles, church collections and donations for wreaths. The target is to raise £8,000 by May 31st.

Rainbows Christmas Fayre Success

The Rainbows Christmas Fayre held in the Scout Hut on December 5th raised £102, with a few more pounds promised. This beats last year's inaugural event by nearly £40. All the girls personally invited their own guests and it was a delight to see grannies, friends, neighbours, moms and dads there to join in the fun. The cakes all looked delicious and the little bags of 'reindeer food' were very popular! This money will be a much needed boost to funds, and will go towards art and craft supplies, equipment and trips throughout the coming year. Parents and friends, along with the Corner Shop, Redshaws and Mary Smith from the Gift Shop generously donated raffle and tombola prizes. My sincere thanks to all who supported us in any way.

We now have a waiting list for Rainbows, so if you would like your daughter to join, or need further details, please telephone me on 703991.

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Repton Village & History

Repton Council Jottings

Some matters discussed by the Parish Council on 9 December.

Consideration is being given to a much smaller improvement scheme than originally proposed for ground at the corner of Askew Grove and High Street. If it is viable it will be financed by contributions from Repton School and the Parish Council.

Many residents have expressed concern about the future of the village Post Office. Everyone will be relieved to hear that an assurance has been given by Royal Mail that there is no question of Repton being left without such a facility.

The Parish Precept for 2003/4 was set at £12,000. On a band 'D' property this equates to £12.42.

Objections were lodged against the following planning applications, mainly for the reasons noted:
~ Stable Block and Vehicle Store (revised), Land adjoining Shakespear Cottage, Main Street. Proximity to dwelling, drainage and other environmental issues.
~ Revised redevelopment plan for Repton Garage to create 6 flats and 6 houses. Excessively high housing density, out of character with the area, vehicle access and pedestrian safety. Councillors are to meet with SDDC Planning Dept to discuss this application.

A submission has been made to the Dept for Transport regarding proposals for the expansion of East Midlands Airport. If implemented the proposals could increase daily passenger flights from the current 75 to 450, and night freight movements from 60 to 220. Whilst accepting the positive impact of improved airport facilities and associated employment opportunities, it should not be to the detriment of the local quality of life, particularly in terms of noise and air pollution. East Midlands is the only major UK airport that has unrestricted night flying and every effort needs to be made to reduce the nuisance and disturbance this causes.

Following a judicial review over options relating to Gatwick, the public consultation period is being extended by 4 months in the New Year; therefore it is not too late if you want to express your opinion. The address to write to is: The Future of Air Transport - Midlands, Department for Transport, Room 1/28C, 76 Marsham Street, FREEPOST LON 17806, London SW1P 4YS. Further information is available at www.airconsult.gov.uk. You can also write to your MP: Mark Todd, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1 or e-mail toddm@marktodd.fsnet.co.uk

A Parish Council election will take place on Thursday, 1 May 2003.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 13 January at 7.30pm in Repton Village Hall.

Coach outing to the Malvern Show

Repton Show Committee are organising an outing to the Malvern Show on Saturday 10th May, leaving the Cross at 8 am, returning approximately 7 pm. It's a fabulous show with a large floral marquee featuring wonderful displays from well-known nurseries. There are show gardens and a celebrity theatre. Over 500 outside exhibitors have the latest in plants and garden sundries for sale, and plant and flower arranging competitions. The show is in a beautiful setting with a backdrop of the Malvern hills.

The cost will be £15, which includes entrance to the show. To book, ring 701192 or 702423. Early booking is advisable as numbers are limited.

Remembering Repton: Saturday & Sunday, 15-16 February

We are very pleased to report that the appeal for Repton and Milton memorabilia - pictures, documents, scrapbooks, posters - for our local history weekend has evoked a great response.

We are now busy scanning, printing and photocopying display material as quickly as it is received, so that we can return the originals to the owners. All lenders will be acknowledged in the exhibition guide leaflet.

It is far better to have too much material than too little, as it can always be kept to meet the demand for future exhibitions or publications. There is still time to contact us if you have any items that might be of interest. As mentioned, group photos are always popular. For example, we have been lent a Repton W.I. photograph from the 1920s in which most of the hatted ladies need to be identified. The same goes for other more recent photographs as well.

There are only about six weeks to go before this major exhibition takes place, and all the raw material will have to be sorted, selected, titled, captioned and then mounted onto display panels.

We hope that we shall have enough panels, and the space to fit them all into the Village Hall. However, St Wystan's Church will also be on show for the weekend, and further displays can be seen there, including the 'Repton Chronology' time-chart, last shown back in 1985. Guides will be on hand to assist visitors to look around the church and the crypt, and signs will direct them to the Church and Village Hall, where there will be refreshments and toilets.

Your contacts include:- Alan Kimber (704042), David Guest (703650), Pat Smythe (702557).

Sharpe's Pottery Opening

This new resource centre in West Street, Swadlincote, will be officially opened on Saturday 18th January. The £1.5 million project, financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is housed in a very rare survival of a 19th century pottery works, and it will provide a permanent home for several local groups. These include the South Derbyshire Local History Forum (to which the RVHG is affiliated), the People Express community arts, and the Magic Attic, which contains valuable local archives, old photographs, historic newspapers and family history resources.

Sharpe's Pottery will be open from 10 am to 5 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. It contains a multi-purpose meeting room / lecture theatre, a Visitor Centre with interactive displays, an exhibition about the South Derbyshire pottery industry, the Coffee Shop, plus space for local exhibitors.

You can see their website, with other links such as the Magic Attic, at www.sharpes.org.uk

Members of the Repton Village Society / RVHG will be able to visit Sharpe's on Thursday evening, 6 March, for a special talk and guided tour. More details at our February meeting.

Repton Village Society: Programme for 2003-04

2003

Th 6th Feb	'My life with the Harpur-Crewe family' by Norman Clark
		(former Farm Manager of the Calke Estate)


Sat-Sun 15-16 Feb	'Remembering Repton'
		A two day exhibition of old photographs & memorabilia
		relating to Repton & Milton of Old Times.
		Open 10am to 5pm both days in the Village Hall
		& St Wystan's Church.  Free admission.


Th 6th March	Visit by car to Sharpe's Pottery,
		West Street, Swadlincote.


Th 10th April	Talk and A.G.M.: 'It's Clear and Bright at Port Sunlight
		 - William Lever's contribution to Town Planning'.
		An illustrated talk by Rod Pearson.


Sa 12th April	Coach visit and guided tour of Port Sunlight
		with Rod Pearson.


Th 5th June	'The history of the National Gardens Scheme since 1859'.
		(The Yellow Book).


Tu 15th July	Evening car trip to Strutt's North Mill at Belper
		for a guided tour of the museum.


Th 4th Sept	Shardlow - James Brindley's 18th century inland port'
		by Jeff Clinton.


Th 2nd Oct	Wine Tasting - by popular demand - with Keith Grainger.


Th 27th Nov	'The Fauld explosion'.  A talk by James Major
		on the anniversary of this 1944 event.

2004

Th 12th Feb	'Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Reserves'
		by Richard Spowage, Reserves Manager for the Trust.


Th 1st April	AGM & talk: 'Code breaking in the Second World War.
		The secrets of Station X - Bletchley Park'
		by Dr Richard Jarvis.


Sa 3rd April	Coach trip to Bletchley Park and guided tour;
		details available later.

All talks start at 7.30pm in the Repton Village Hall unless otherwise stated.
Admission: Members £2. Visitors, who are always welcome, £3.
For further details contact Alan Webster on 01283 701838 or David Guest on 01283 703650.

Repton Casuals

Repton Casuals Football Club hosted a football tournament at Broomhills Lane Playing Field on Sunday 24th November to raise funds for the family of Darrell Matkin. Darrell was inmjured while training with Winshill Football Club. He suffered a stroke after rupturing an artery in his neck which resulted in part of his brain having to be removed. Darrell is having to learn to walk and talk again. He is 10 years old. The sum of £1082 was raised and Repton Casuals were the eventual winners of the event.

Thanks go to Dave Fearn (Repton Casuals) and Gary Dunne (Winshill Football Club) for organising the event.

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Milton & Foremark Village Matters

Milton WI

Following a journey around the cathedrals of England and Wales in November in the company of Bertel Hutchinson and his talk on 'Epitaphs', four members took a trip to the 'Chatsworth at Christmas event on the 4th December. There they wandered through a candlelit house where stairways were adorned with swags of greenery and baubles, halls brightened with beautifully decorated trees and crusty ancestors enlivened with tinsel halos whilst the cascade rippled and the fountain played in the garden outside.

On 11th December members relished every morsel of a three course meal plus mince pies and coffee or tea prepared by Nancy Hawksworth from the freshest and best of locally produced pork and vegetables. Roberta Higson won the Yorkshire Tea teapot and all members got to dip into the bran tub.

The speaker at the next meeting on 1st January will be Peter Wood on Chair Badging. Visitors, as always will be welcome.

Milton Village Hall

Happily both old and new fund-raisers have in recent months proved successful. The old: the Harvest Supper on 4th October was enjoyed by over forty people and raised £206, and the Christmas bingo on 10th December raised £62. The new: a French cheese and wine evening on 9th November, enjoyed by some fifty people, raised £246, looks set for a rerun next year.

End of year thanks to all Village Hall and Queen's Golden Jubilee Committee members; Trina Blaushard and Carol Newton for the plant sale; Glenys Hough, Sue White and Rosemary Mumford for the Harvest Supper; Carol and Jason Newton for securing raffle prizes from Boots and Zytec; Dave and Sue Walton and friends for French cheese and wine evening; Philip Scrivens for running the monthly Bingo throughout the year (and Nina Screaton for Christmas Bingo mince pies); Glenys, Terry and Adam Hough for decorating the hall for Christmas (and I hope taking them down); various of the above for literally decorating the hall, with special thanks to Gary Clarkson and Dave Walton for various repair and improvement works and to all 75 other members of the Village Hall Lotto Bonus Ball Sweepstake for their continued involvement. To date this has raised £1192 for the Hall.

Here's wishing a healthy, happy and prosperous 2003 to the Hall & All.

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Gardening Notes

We can look forward to starting another year's gardening in January but not do a lot about it. Will this be another mild, dull and often very wet year? It does seem to be an established fact that we are having warmer winters due to global warming. A few years ago we were all preparing to plant drought resistant plants and thinking of gravel gardens. Now flood defences seem more appropriate.

Will the melting of the Arctic ice fields divert the Gulf Stream and give us colder weather? Global warming produces many knock-on effects. Many trees need a cold spell to encourage bud burst or else they come into leaf later, apple and oak amongst them. Milder winters trigger precocious hatching of moth eggs on the bark of the trees but then the caterpillars starve and blue tits have nothing to feed their young on. Fewer blue tits mean more aphids, a large part of the tits' diet so one is tempted to use sprays again. Hopefully we can all try to be more green in our gardening - use less chemicals and avoid the use of peat - if not actually going organic, which is very hard work. We can take comfort that those insecticides and other chemicals left for the amateur gardener's use are less toxic to both man and pests.

We should be digging and manuring the vegetable plot in January. Plant new rhubarb crowns and divide old congested ones. Winter prune wisteria, shortening all side shoots to about three inches. Check that tree ties have not been loosened by recent gales and firm the soil around shrubs where it has been loosened by frost. Bare rooted rose bushes, fruit and other trees can still be planted if the ground is not frozen. Cut back dead stems of fuchsia both outside and on greenhouse-grown plants. Water sparingly in the greenhouse and remove any dead or rotten leaves. Send the mower to be serviced and sharpen tools. Then sit down and prepare your seed order. Stored seeds have variable viability. In general, the smaller the seeds the shorter the viability and fresh seeds are always safer.

Set early potatoes in trays to chit. The earliest sowings of vegetable and flower seeds can now be made under glass with some heat. Begonia and impatiens are slow in germination and are best s started early. Onion seed needs a long period of growth and tomato seed can be sown if you want early fruit in a heated greenhouse. A wide range o seed composts are available. Peat based composts still seem to give the best results both in germination and growth but efforts to conserve peat are producing more successful seed composts now. Coconut fibre based composts tend to dry out quickly. John Innes loam based compost with leaf mould replacing the peat is an alternative as is J Arthur Bowers compost based on shredded plant waste. Unfortunately these alternatives to peat still seem to be more expensive.

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