Next issue July 2020 1

North Cotswold Villages Childswickham, Murcot, Broadway and Leedons Parks,

Aston Somerville, Willersey, Hinton in the Green, and Bretforton

15.000 hits in 2020

V i l l a g e N e w s June 2020

( se cond edi tion)

http://www.village-news.org.uk

Send emails to editor.childswickhamnews@gmail.com

NB There will be no printed copy of this issue

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Bretforton Driving School - Learn to drive automatic cars.

Hi, my name is Pete Leach. I am a DVSA qualified Driving Instructor and I teach automatic and manual lessons. I am also a DVSA approved Driving Instructor Trainer.

My Partner, Lorraine Young is a fully qualified Driving Instructor who teaches automatic driving lessons.

Startin Young Driving School - Lessons for the Under 17s.

We host lessons once a month at Throckmorton Airfield for 14-17 year olds.

For further information please contact

Telephone:- 07706 123744

Email:- startinyoung@gmail.com

Website:- startinyoung.com

Yoga to Relax & Revive Gentle movement and relaxation.

Beginners welcome.

Childswickham Village Hall Tuesdays 10.30-12.00pm, Bretforton Village Hall Tuesdays 6.30-8.00pm.

Broadway Lifford Hall Wednesdays 7.00-8.30pm.

Enquiries Aston Colley 01386 870893 or www.unwind-yoga.co.uk

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Nigel Beeton works in Radiology in a hospital in the East of England. During this time of the coronavirus crisis, he is writing a weekly diary of his life at the hospital. Weekend 15th May You can say what you like about the coronavirus, it has certainly brought some colour into our lives! This morning I encountered one of my colleagues. Starting from the top, she was wearing a bright yellow visor, a pale blue regulation issue surgical mask, bright pink scrubs and bright orange clogs. She looked like one of those rainbows that we now see all over the place! I can assure you that her bright pinks scrubs did not come through the NHS supply chain! No indeed, those scrubs were put together and stitched by a member of the public. Scrubs, for those of you not addicted to Holby City, are pyjama-like outfits of trousers and top which do nothing for your figure (mine’s a hopeless cause anyway) but which are cool to wear and easy to keep clean. The idea is that you can change out of your day clothes and into scrubs and vice versa so you are not carrying bugs into or out of clinical areas. They were originally worn in the operating theatre environment, hence the term associated with ‘scrubbing up’ for theatre. Their use had become considerably more widespread but the advent of the requirements for PPE in the covid situation put enormous pressure on demand for scrubs, and our existing stocks quickly ran out. It was the same story across the NHS. But the public have responded magnificently. Carol, my wife, sews, and in fact she has made us both masks that we can wear when out and about (but not at work). It took her a while, and of course she’s at work nursing so doesn’t have the time to make scrubs, but I would think that a set of scrubs must take several hours to make. The hospital has put one of those wire cages on wheels in the front entrance so that donors can put their home-made scrubs into it. There’s a poster on it thanking contributors most effusively but otherwise it’s just a bare wire cage. So these paragons of home sewing, after all these hours of cutting, stitching, overlocking and elastoplasting the occasional cut finger, just drive up to the hospital and deposit the fruits of their labours into a wire cage. I think that is true charity. No formal thanks, no prize for producing the most scrubs, no smiling grip and grin photos in the local paper (grip and grins are out for the duration anyway). Just the simple satisfaction of knowing that you are making a real difference to the working lives of staff facing the greatest challenge of their health service careers. (It’s certainly been the greatest challenge of mine, and if any twenty-somethings setting out on their careers will have to face worse, then I tremble at the thought.) If you, or someone you know, has been sewing scrubs, then on behalf of all of us, may I say: Thank You! Weekend 22nd May I had another new experience today – my first (and hopefully my only) coronavirus test. I had to sit in a little room about the size of a toilet cubicle, and a very cheery nurse (who I know very well from her

normal job when she isn’t testing) came in dressed in PPE and stuck a swab up each nostril. I think the word is ‘uncomfortable’ rather than painful – don’t let me put you off being tested if you need a test – and it was all over in a trice. Now I’ve got you all worried that I’m suffering from the virus. Fear not, I am as fit as the proverbial butcher’s dog, but sadly one of my colleagues from CT has now tested positive and I was working quite closely with her last week, so they thought I and a few others should get the test to be on the safe side. I have to be thankful to have got through to the second half of May with 237 staff, a significant proportion of whom in direct contact with the public and with coronavirus sufferers, and not to have had a single one of them infected with the virus. We hope and pray that she will make a complete recovery, at the last bulletin she was still reasonably well. I am, as you all by now know, immensely proud of these wonderful people who get up each morning knowing the risks, but still they come. I also hope that my own test is negative, not just for the usual reasons but because it would compel me to self-isolate, and I have a very good reason to want to be in the hospital next week. That reason is because next Thursday marks the end of a career in full-time radiography which began on 13th September 1978 when a scared young 18 year old entered the Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire to commence my training. Nearly 42 years later, I am retiring. Things are not quite the way I’d planned – but by the time the virus struck it was too late to change the actual dates because my replacements (yes, two!) have been appointed. A lot of people quite understandably are fearful of hospitals and dislike them. Well, the buildings are rarely pretty and the experiences to be had therein (such as having your nose swabbed) are frequently those we can do without, no matter how hard the staff try to make them pleasant. But when you work in hospitals, believe me, they really get into your blood. The whole atmosphere of a hospital as a workplace is, and always has been, uniquely wonderful. Especially when, as recently, the chips have been down, that sense of camaraderie is one that I would miss. So, I’ll be back later in June for a couple of days a week, but by then the responsibility for the safety of all those patients and staff will have passed on to other shoulders, and I shall just be a part time worker bee! Be warned – that will leave me more time to write my doggerel for the Parish Pump! That, of course depends on the pandemic not worsening again, and upon the staff staying well, otherwise it’ll be back to the PPE for me! .

STAY ALERT STAY SAFE SAVE LIVES

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Childswickham Church St Mary the Virgin 10.30am Carol Strotten, Churchwarden 01386 852312 Ralph Deakin, Churchwarden 01386 854605

Chi ldswickham WI COVID-19, a message from the President The National Federation of Women’s Institute (NFWI) have now cancelled the Annual Meeting which was to be held at the Royal Albert Hall as well as the Wales Conference due to the Corona Virus (COVID-19). They have also advised that they are actively encouraging WIs to follow the new Government advice and reduce contact as far as possible. The Childswickham WI Committee have decided it is not appropriate that we should continue with monthly meetings for at least two months and possibly longer.

April and May's meeting have therefore been cancelled. It is highly likely that June's meeting will also be cancelled but this decision will be taken in mid-May depending on how the illness spreads. I am sure you will all agree that this is a sensible decision and the safest option for all of our members. As members of Childswickham WI, we should stand together to help each other in the coming months. I would be grateful if anybody becomes ill, that they let me know so that checks are made to help the individual. Many members live on their own and may need help. Thank you for understanding Pam Folsom

Sudoku 34

Each line, column and square must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

One’s easy and the second’s more difficult.

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These may be funny, embarrassing, and…oh, just read them yourself. Enjoy, and share them with someone who needs a laugh!

Lost in translation Last year, some friends took their six-year-old on a car trip to France. To help pass the time on the way down to the Channel, they encouraged their son to practise his new reading skills by calling out road signs. He fell asleep just before they entered France. When he awoke, he saw the French motorway signs and rubbed his eyes. In a worried tone he whispered, “I think I forgot how to read while I was asleep.”

Actual complaints received by a resort chain (before lockdown!) • On my holiday to India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I

don’t like spicy food.

• We booked an excursion to a water park, but no one told us we had to bring our own

swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price.

• The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room.

• No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared.

• It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three

hours to get home. This seems unfair.

• We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning.

S M

I L

E S

The queue While waiting in a socially distanced queue early one morning for the supermarket to open for us ‘seniors’, I was surprised to see a young man saunter along and try to cut in at the front of the queue. A furious old lady waved her cane at him, and he quickly backed away. A moment later, the young man tried again. He managed to dodge the old lady, but then two old men started shouting at him. Again, the young man backed away. But he wasn’t giving up, and soon the young man approached the queue for the third time. By now, all of us pensioners were ready for him, an angry wall of opposition. The young man stood there for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders. “If you people won’t let me unlock the door, none of you will ever get in to shop.”

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Final diary from Nigel Beeton Weekend 29th May You may be wondering about the result of my coronavirus test. Well, I was tested last Wednesday, and on Bank Holiday Monday a lady rang me up, confirmed my details, and said “Well, I am sorry to have to inform you…” (by this time my heart was at a standstill) “… that your test was invalid!” So I had to go back again and have a swab hoover around the inside of my sinuses, but now it’s Thursday evening, and I still haven’t heard, and it’s time to write my blog. It doesn’t matter much now, anyway, because I retired today. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful, and so we were able to have a socially distanced gathering in a courtyard, though only a tenth of the people were there that I’d have liked to be there. But instead I did a tour of the hospital and saw a lot of my colleagues, and words and gestures had to stand in for hugs and handshakes, but it was all very nice, anyway. Then I took Carol my wife out for a meal. OK, it was only in the hospital canteen but that’s all there is at the moment! As I got home this evening the last of the eight o’clock claps was taking place, strange that the last one is on my retirement day. My retirement gift was a lovely globe… I’ve always wanted a globe, I love just gazing at all the exotic places that I’ve never been able to visit and now I still can’t, despite being retired! But I can still gaze at them on a globe. My colleague who tested positive made a speedy recovery and is back at work already. Three others tested positive but they are all right as ninepence. What a strange, capricious thing this coronavirus is! Some patients suffer a long, drawn out, suffocating death while other people barely know that they’ve had it. I expect that the boffins understand this but I’m not sure that I do. What I do understand is how glad and thankful I am that I’ve made it to retirement and that all my staff so far are safe and well. I take my leave of the Covid frontline now. I have some holiday, during which I will not be travelling along the Danube on a river cruise as planned, but we might sit in the caravan on the drive for a few days anyway. Thank you all for following my little story and for your messages of

support. It’s not over yet, of course, and may not be for months, so do keep vigilant and look after yourselves. But from me, for now, thank you, and good-bye.

Monday 8th June The UK has recorded its lowest daily rise in the number of coronavirus deaths (55) since before lockdown on 23rd March. The welcome drop in deaths is encouraging news. But it comes with a big caveat - the deaths cover the weekend and there are always delays recording fatalities on Saturdays and Sundays. This time last week there were just over 100 new deaths announced, but then later in the week they topped 300. Nonetheless, the figures do show the progress being made. Two weeks ago there were more than 120 deaths and the week before that 160. During the peak, more than 1,000 deaths a day were seen. The challenge now will be making sure the figures stay low as restrictions are eased.

Nick Triggle Health Correspondent

STAY SAFE Keep two metres apart

WASH your hands regularly

STAY ALERT STAY SAFE SAVE LIVES

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Considering the effects of the Corvid 19 virus Local is back! Odd things have been happening to my world in these past weeks of lockdown. It’s got bigger. I’ve been speaking regularly via the web with friends in Australia and the United States. Worshippers from Canada and South Africa are taking part in our online church services. Other churches are telling the same stories, with increasing numbers of people logging on. It’s got smaller. Even with the relaxation of regulations, many people are still working from home, home-schooling and mostly exercising within walking or cycling distance from where they live. It’s got faster. Arrangements for a funeral in my family were speeded up, with registration and funeral planning carried out over the phone. A doctor’s appointment by telephone significantly cut down waiting time. It’s got slower. Shopping takes longer with queues that people would have complained about before the lockdown. The shops have done a great job to keep the shelves stocked and maintain social distancing. I’ve been thinking about what the long-term impact of the Covid-19 lockdown might be. One of the key outcomes is that local is back. For decades, we’ve been hearing about globalization, and how the world is a much more connected place. It is, and the internet has kept many vital businesses running these past weeks. But we’ve also come to value what’s on our doorstep and in our local streets. Neighbours have become more important. We’re valuing local shops, pubs and restaurants, parks and open spaces. All the people working hard to keep local services going.

Christianity is now a major global religion, with billions of followers around the world. But it began local. It began with Jesus Christ, travelling by foot, preaching and healing around a small area of the middle east. From its local roots, the faith spread around the world. Today, churches around the world are deeply rooted in their local communities and are seeking to follow Christ’s example of love and caring. Each of us is rooted into our family, into our key relationships and into where we live. During this pandemic, each of these has grown in importance.

Peter Crumpler

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Broadway Station Progress Jul/Aug 2020

Broadway station, like the rest of the railway, has been eerily quiet following closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. All work by our volunteers ceased, although one of our locally resident volunteers has been visiting regularly to check that all is in order. At the time of writing, with the prospect of the easing of lockdown restrictions, thoughts are turning to the possibility of restarting outside work at the station, and how this will be achieved in line with social distancing rules. Looking beyond Broadway, because of the uncertainty of the current situation the railway has taken the decision to cancel all special events for the rest of this year. Catering stock bought in for the season has been donated to local food banks before reaching its ‘use by’ date. With tourism on hold, when and how to resume operating is as yet unknown. Good news on the landslip at Gotherington, - the appeal launched to raise funds for the repair reached £250,000 target. Contractors resumed work in mid May, and are close to completing the project.

Looking for Hope Amongst the Clutter, and finding wonderful memories In this strange locked down season, because of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve noticed a change in the type of pictures posted on social media. In place of the look-here-at-me selfies are snapshots of buds opening to display the colours of spring. Such hopeful images counterbalance gloomy statistics in the news media. There are also more memory pictures – this is what I was doing on this day years ago with people I love – I wish we could be together now. While we’re not allowed to make the kind of memories depicted in those pictures, we find comfort in memories we already have. One thing I’ve done with this unexpected free time is to organize printed photographs into albums. The photos and the albums have been there for a while, waiting for me to get a round tuit. You remember the old joke? Imagine people finding their round tuits in cupboards and drawers all over the country. How would you use yours? To sow seeds that had not been planted? To read the book gathering dust on a shelf?

What else needs tackling? Now may be an ideal time to face the daunting corner where clutter lurks. Daunting because of what you may disturb among age-old piles of unsorted belongings. Looking squarely at the past may be an unwelcome prospect. It makes us face uncomfortable questions. Projects we may never finish, equipment we cannot use any more, objects of attachment from people we’ve lost. Isn’t that like what we’re doing as a nation in these unprecedented times? Issues we have been avoiding are suddenly highlighted through unfamiliar circumstances. There is much talk about how we’re looking forward to getting back to normal on the other side of this international crisis. Some people say they hope things will have changed, that normal will not look the same as it used to, because we have learned valuable lessons about what really matters in life. It’s up to us whether or not we rise to the challenge, to reorganize society more fairly, to care more for the environment. By myself I cannot change the world, but I’m determined to look after the little space that is in my care, not to let it be overwhelmed with needless clutter. Be brave. Use this negative time to make a positive change in your small corner. If you choose to sort it out, I guarantee that amidst all the mess you will find at least one thing, however small, to bring you joy – even if it’s just a clean and tidy corner.

Jane Brocklehurst

Nature out and about The lockdown this Spring at least gave Nature a brief respite. Wild goats, herds of deer, sparrowhawks, stoats, snakes, badgers, spawning toads and songbirds all seemed to have enjoyed the peace and quiet. We, in turn, have enjoyed watching them from our windows. As Mark Thompson, a presenter on Stargazing Life, said, “This lockdown is giving people a chance not just to connect with our families, but also to connect with Nature around us. It has given us the change to recalibrate.”

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Pr i nt f o r f i nd i ng the way t hr oug h t he maze

FATHER’S DAY is on Sunday, 21st June

In the UK, USA and Canada, the third Sunday in June

is Father’s Day. It’s usually a good time for sons and

daughters to take their father to his favourite

restaurant, or to watch a favoured sport, or

whatever else he enjoys doing.

How will you celebrate it this year? If your own

father cannot be with you, how about a Zoom

meeting?

How do these special days ever get started,

anyway? Well, Father’s Day began because way back

in 1909 there was a woman in Spokane, Washington,

named Sonora Louise Smart Dodd. That year she

heard a church sermon about the merits of setting

aside a day to honour one’s mother. Mother’s Day was

just beginning to gather widespread attention in the

United States at this time.

But Sonora Louise Smart Dodd knew that it was her

father who had selflessly raised herself and her five

siblings by himself after their mother had died. So the

sermon on mothers gave Sonora Louise the idea to

petition for a day to honour fathers, and in particular,

her own father, William Jackson Smart.

Sonora Louise soon set about planning the first

Father’s Day celebration in Spokane in 1910.

Celebrate by spending quality time with dad!

Dad Chuckles

Q: What did the Panda give his daddy on Father’s Day?

A: A bear hug.

Q: What did Chewbacca get from his kids on Father’s Day?

A: A plate of Chocolate Chip Wookiees.

Q: What’s the easiest kind of flower to find for dad on

Father’s Day?

A: Daddylions.

Q: What kind of music did the kids play for their dad on

Father’s Day?

A: Pop music.

Q: What did the golfer dad want for Father’s Day?

A: A Tee Shirt

Q: How did the Panda open his Father’s Day card?

A: With his bear hands.

Q: What’s the last thing the balloon said to his dad on

Father’s Day?

A: POP!

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The Talking Teapot offers FREE ADVICE

from NHS staff volunteering their time to help you with:

• Support after being in hospital

• Choosing a Nursing or Residential Home

• Finding out who pays for your care

• Getting support at home

• Carer's Assessments

• Direct Payments & Personal Health Budgets

• Equipment or a mobility car

• Power of Attorney and much more ………

Worried about Paying for Care?

You could be eligible for

NHS funding which pays for your care

regardless of your financial situation

The Talking Teapot

offers tea, cake and a chat with NHS staff

volunteering their time to give you

FREE ADVICE

Helping make life a little easier

Email: thetalkingteapot@btinternet.com Website:www.thetalkingteapot.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTalkingTeapot/ Tel: 07918 997284

Next issue July 2020 11

C A B Citizens Advice Bureau at SignPost in Broadway

01386 859029

Sessions usually last Thurs in month 1.00pm – 3.00pm

Your local, legal specialists offering quality professional advice in the following areas:-

• Residential Conveyancing • Bespoke Will Drafting Service (*to include

free drafting for over 55s) * terms & conditions apply • Probate/Administration of Estates • Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of

Protection Matters

For further information or to book an appointment please contact our office.

Tele No. 01386 858107 Fax 01386 859454 Email info@aaholmes.co.uk

Web site www.aaholmes.co.uk

The Old British Schoolroom, 47b High Street, Broadway, WR12 7DP

HINTON PEST CONTROL LTD A local Company with 15 years of

Pest Control Experience Speedy Response to Domestic Calls

Commercial Quotes Available Wasps, Flies, Bed Bugs, Fleas, Carpet Moths/Beetles,

Biscuit Beetles, Ants, Cockroaches, Rats, Mice, Rabbits, Squirrels, Birds, Moles.

Fully Insured, BPCA/RSPH II Qualified Staff

Very Competitive Rates

Telephone: 01386 41762/ 07775 168666 Website : www.hintonpestcontrol.co.uk

MOTS & SERVICING CLUTCH FLY WHEELS TIMING BELTS

BATTERIES EXHAUSTS WELDING DIAGNOSTICS

ALL OIL & SUNDRIES

WE CAN COLLECT & DELIVER CARS LOCALLY COURTESY CAR AVAILABLE

WE ARE A FAMILY RUN BUSINESS AND WANT

PEOPLE TO TRUST US ALL THE WAY. OUR SERVICE COSTS START AT £95 AND WE ONLY CHARGE

FOR THE WORK WE DO AND FOR THE TIME WE TAKE ON THE JOB

WE DO NOT BOOK TIME AS SUGGESTED BY CAR MANUFACTURERS

Station Road, Broadway WR12 7DE T: 01386 858117 M: 07972 506248

broadwaymotautoservices.co.uk

Next issue July 2020 12

The

Perfect Venue from only

£11.50 per hour

If you’re looking for a spacious venue for your event or activity, our hall in the beautiful village of Childswickham could be just the place for you.

Kitchen facilities - Snooker room available-Separate meeting room-

Parking-Disabled facilities

FOR FURTHER INGFORMATION

Please phone Anne on 01386 854955 or Rob on 01386 853752

www.childswickham.org.uk

DANCE CLASSES – MEETINGS - ART GROUPS – DEMOS – TALKS - PLAY GROUPS-CHRISTENINGS - FUNCTIONS - RECEPTIONS

etc

BLUE CABS of Broadway

07770 175 175

Airport and Station Transfers in comfort

Best rates and reliability

Credit and Debit cards accepted

Local and long distance

Andy Tyrrell, Handyman

Every household has that list of jobs that you just don’t have time to

do, and they certainly don t do themselves. Well, I’m your man.

From a simple lightbulb change or a door that sticks to kitchen fitting

and garden landscaping, no job is too big or too small.

Many aspects of property maintenance covered.

For further enquiries call me on 01386 642945 or 07971086487

Next issue July 2020 13

Alan Aston Motor Engineers First For Service

Eastwick Garage Eastwick Drive Evesham Worcs. WR11 2LG

Tele. No 01386 760700

BUZZ ELECTRICAL LIMITED

LOCAL ELECTRICIANS FOR ALL YOUR ELECTRICAL NEEDS

Domestic - Commercial - Industrial

EXPERT RELIABLE SERVICE FOR ALL REQUIREMENTS LARGE OR SMALL

NICEIC & Part P fully approved Contractors

Testing & Inspection Reports

www.buzzelectrical.co.uk

For free no obligation quotations call:-

Tel: - 01386 423600

Open All Day. Food served Mon – Sat 12noon-2:30pm &

6:30pm-9pm Sundays 12noon-8:00pm. Booking recommended – call 01386 831173

Dogs and families welcome

The Fleece Inn The Cross Bretforton WR11 7JE 01386 831173 nigel@thefleeceinn.co.uk www.thefleeceinn.co.uk

Please don t forget to mention the Village News when contacting our advertisers.

For A Beautiful New Kitchen Just Change the Doors

Transform your kitchen by replacing your doors, trims and/or worktops

Huge choice of doors, worktops, appliances, sinks and taps

UK manufactured products

Installed by local skilled Tradesmen

Family run business

For professional kitchen transformations and new installations contact

David and Kate Howle – Tel: 01905 726166 E: wr@dreamdoors.co.uk

OR visit our Showroom at 42 The Tything Worcester WR1 1JT

www.dreamdoors.co.uk

FOOD AND DRINK Only the finest locally sourced ingredients and ales. WHAT’S ON The focal point for music and entertainment. CELEBRATE Whatever the occasion we ll make it special. SLEEP Enjoy a night s stay at the Fleece.

Next issue July 2020 14

North Cotswold Country Dining

Chi ldswickham Inn & Brasser ie Chi ld swickham WR12 7HP

The restaurant is closed due to government restrictions . We will reopen as soon as possible.

Fabrics and Interiors

• Fantastic collection of home interior fabrics available off the roll at amazing prices.

• Sourced directly by us from some of the world’s best producers.

• Unique fabrics, many from design houses; beautiful linens, silks, cottons, tweeds, linings, some upholstery fabric and FR lining, Interlining and much more.

• We offer a free home survey to local customers, professional making up service, design advice and lots of ideas from our very experienced team so come along at any time to chat about our favourite subject – fabric!

COME AND SEE US at the new store or you can ring us with your enquiry on 07521125010 Alternatively e-mail us: decorista.interiors@gmail.com or rammbusinessmail@zoho.com

www.decoristafabricsandinteriors.com

DECORISTA