The Link Magazine
Linking the villages of - Somersham, Willisham, Offton and Flowton - Suffolk
The Link Magazine
Linking the villages of - Somersham, Willisham, Offton and Flowton - Suffolk
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November can be a dark month, the evenings draw in and the clocks have gone back, none of the excited busy time of Christmas, nor the fresh start of a new year or the hope of spring with the early bulbs. It is the month of All Souls and All Saints and perhaps a time to reflect on those we love now and those we have loved and to consciously turn to prayer for them and for ourselves and our troubled world . Tennyson's words express it so well: "More things
are wrought by prayer Prayer is powerful. We all pray consciously or subconsciously, whether it be the anguished quick prayer to St Jude for lost causes to find the door keys, or a deeply felt prayer seeking comfort from God when lost and depressed, or the prayer of thanksgiving and delight at the birth of a child. Prayer enables us to express ourselves and our private thoughts, fears and hopes, needs and thanks to God. There are so many ways to pray. There is the comfort and security of the familiar Lord's prayer, there is the simplicity of saying grace before a meal, there is the bond of prayers said together in church and there is the comfort found in our personal conversations and prayers, so often for help, to our God, privately. I have been luck enough to live in a number of different parts of the world - in the very Catholic Philippines where we experienced prayers said with noisy enthusiasm, joy and guitars, in the Emirates where the muezzin sounded as regularly as the Angelus and the bedu silently sank to his knees in the sand to pray, on the Episcopalian East Coast of America where we found church-going visibly strong and prayers said publicly and with a steady confidence. All very different, but what I remember most was here in Suffolk when a friend quietly said, "Surely 'tis the same God we all pray to." May there be light
in your November! Bible Readings and Psalms for our Sunday Worship taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. It is good to be sharing the reading of Scripture with Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - across the world. 3rd November Red or
Green 10th November Red
or Green 17th November Red
or Green 24th November Red
or Green ******************************************
In the next few weeks many of us will begin to buy extras for our store cupboards ready for Christmas. Last year many of you kindly gave a thought, or several thoughts, to others who are not able to make these preparations so easily. I was able to take more than 3 car-loads to Ipswich Women's Refuge - made up of many different things. They need tins and packages of non-perishables -but some of you thought creatively and included toiletries and cleaning items, and somebody kindly donated a bike. These gifts were very much appreciated for use both over the Christmas period and also later in the year as families move to new homes. I am appealing to you again this autumn, as you begin to shop for Christmas goodies, to add a little extra to your basket and collect the items until December - when they may be taken to any of the church services, or you may phone me on 01437 658522 to arrange collection. Thank you. Mary Carter WILLISHAM CHURCH NOTES Service Pattern Cycle Ride Church Seat From the Link Newsletter treasurer…. The accounts for the
year July 2001 to June 2002 have been prepared and examined and a copy
may be obtained from the treasurer on 01473 658387 HADLEIGH CHORAL SOCIETY On Saturday 23rd November
Hadleigh Choral Soceity along with the Colchester Orchestra conducted
by Christopher Phelps will perform works with an Italian theme. The choir
will sing the Beatus Vir by Monteverdi and the operatic Messa di Gloria
by Puccini. The orchestra will play the overture to Rossini's Il Barbiere
di Siviglia and Autumn and Winter from Vivaldi's Four Seasons Somersham Church Notes The Harvest Supper made £180 profit and, everyone agreed, was a most enjoyable evening. Many thanks to all involved, especially those who entertained us and those who helped in any way with the food. The Christmas Bazaar will be on Saturday 30th November from 2pm in the Village Hall. See advert for more details. Somersham Church
Services The Toy Service will be on Sunday 8th December at 10 am. It would be lovely to see as many children there as possible (as well as adults!) You may like to bring a gift (unwrapped) for a child or a mum, which will be taken afterwards to the Women's Aid in Ipswich. Mary & Eddie Fagg, together with Sophie and Tom, would like to say a big thank you to all the friends in Somersham and Offton who helped in so many different ways prior to and during Tom & Sophie's recent wedding.The giving of time or property by these special people helped to make the day really perfect.
AUTUMN PROGRAMME NOV 11TH VILLAGE HALL
7.30PM DEC 9TH VILLAGE HALL
7.30PM MEETINGS HELD IN SOMERSHAM
VILLAGE HALL. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT Jeff and Sheila Welsh
01473 657345 Why not join us? New
members are very welcome. The new season hasn't started as well as we'd hoped, but it's early days yet and we hope things will improve as the season progresses. At least the first team has started off better than last season. On Saturday 14th September they beat East Bergholt 'A' 3-2 at home. It took us until March to win a game last season. However, the following Saturday we lost 1-4 away against St. Clements Hospital in the first round of the Omnico Cup and on 5th October lost interest in the Primary Cup, losing 4-2 at home to Glemsford & Cavendish, after leading 2-0 after 10 minutes and at half-time. We could have scored more goals before gifting our visitors with all four of their goals. Not sour grapes, just the plain facts. The Reserves have played four games, drawing one and losing three. On Saturday 14th September we lost 2-1 at Saxmundham Res., drew 2-2 at home against Dennington Res. on 21st, lost 2-1 away against Orwell Ath. Res., then on 28th September suffered an 8-1 defeat against Stowupland 'A'. Considering those four opponents are occupying the four top positions in the division, until the last match we weren't doing too badly. Although results are not very good they are a bit better than at the start of last season, so we hope to improve in the coming months. Home matches for November
are: All kick-offs are at 2 pm. We hope to see some of you there to cheer our local lads to victory. Dennis Mumby
Somersham
Parish Council Parish Council
Vacancies Being a Councillor for the Parish Council allows you to help shape the future for the village and improve everyday life for everyone in the village, if you have time, then please apply to be a councillor. If you wish to find out about these vacancies or apply then please contact the Clerk to the Council. Directory of Clubs
and Societies If you run a club or society or are a local contact for a national organisation and would like an entry in the directory, please provide the following details to the parish clerk: · Name of club
or society We would also like to create an on-line version of this list, if you do not wish to appear on the on-line list please let us know when you send in your details. The community Action Plan asked various questions on the types of clubs wanted by people in the village. Many people replied with clubs such as an art club, drama club and various sports clubs for the children. If you wish to look into setting up groups like this then please contact the Clerk. Community Action
Plan Update Next Parish Council
Meeting If you wish to view minutes of previous meetings or the agenda for the next meeting please visit the Council's website www.somersham.suffolk.gov.uk, or contact the Clerk by phone or post.
Address: 21 Morgan
Court, Claydon, IPSWICH, IP6 0AN 
Hello again, By the time most of you read this newsletter, the 31st October, Halloween, will have past -trouble free hopefully - and we will be approaching Bonfire Night. In Suffolk last year we received over 200 telephone calls from worried residents - mostly elderly -complaining about children knocking on doors, throwing eggs and generally misbehaving. This year, to try and prevent these problems again, I ask you please to ensure that you know where your children are at all times. Prevent your children from knocking on doors in the village (especially when in fancy dress) as this frightens residents. I'm sure you do not normally let your children knock on strangers' doors during the evening! If you are a farmer selling eggs at the roadside, please would you bring your egg display nearer to your house, for this short period of time, and also please do not sell eggs to children if you feel they will be throwing them at people. Again, if you are a shop-keeper make sure you know to whom you are selling eggs. We all know the dangers of fireworks and at this time of year so many accidents occur. If you are holding a firework display at home please remember safety, for your children and your pets. If possible attend an organised event in the area - e.g. Crow Hall, Willisham. Enough doom and gloom-enjoy yourselves. Several of the local residents in Somersham have joined forces and are organising a Youth Club, to be held every Monday night in the Village Hall. Congratulations to you all and I hope you will be well supported. I will help you all I can and intend to visit whenever possible. With the dark mornings and evenings upon us now, may I remind you to check bike lights. If your children have a paper round, don't let them out without lights. If you are unable to fix lights on bikes, Halfords now make lights for cycles that clip on and off, so can be easily removed when you park your bike. (perhaps a good idea for a Christmas present) Remember house security during the dark evenings. Put lights on timers if you are away or leave lights on during evenings if your house is unattended. Crime in our area
during September: The damage to a garage wall in Somersham has, I believe, been caused by children banging on it whilst walking or running past. If anyone knows who caused that damage or the damage to the glass in the public telephone box along the main road, would you please let me know. This must stop; all damage has to be paid for. Finally, thank you all for your help as you make my job easier. Thank you. Take care. WPC 167 Diane Porter
You may have noticed that for over six months now there has been an internet address on the front of your Link magazine which enables those of you with access to the internet to view the pages 'on line'. Since the web page was launched around 1,000 people have accessed the pages either by keying in the address themselves or by linking into our site from search engines or other sites. If you have not already had a look at the 'on line' version of the Link you may not realise that it also holds back issues which can be accessed and searched from the main page. If you want to look for specific information just type in the word or words you are looking for in the search box and it will take you to the information you are looking for. So remember if you can't find your copy of the Link and you want to check the date of an event you can search for it on the internet. Also if you work or move away from the area but want to keep in touch with what is going on in the villages you now have an easy way to do so. There are links from the web site to the Mid Suffolk District Council's web site and to local club and societies giving you the opportunity to find out more about what is happening around the area. On our internet pages there are colour photographs of the four churches plus Somersham Village Hall and Somersham School. It would be very easy to include digital photographs of events such as School events, Summer Fetes and Flower Festivals so if you are a budding local photographer using a digital camera you are welcome to send in relevant photographs for inclusion in future issues to me at link@trcsolutions.co.uk and if we can use them we will. Thanks from "The Link" to Joan for putting the magazine online each month. Flowton Church News A big THANK YOU To everybody who decorated the church and gave gifts for our Harvest Thanksgiving. The jams and pickles went to elderly folk who have meals-on-wheels and to day care visitors to "Cherryfields", the tins and packets went to the Women's Refuge, and the rest of the produce was taken to the Ipswich Borough centre for homeless families at West Villa. Everybody was pleased to receive your gifts. The Harvest / Autumn Supper will take place on Friday November 8th at Flowton Hall (by kind invitation of Graham and Diana Fawcus). Tickets are available from Diana, priced £5, and the event begins at 7.30pm. We hope that many of you will come-it is always a very friendly event a superb meal! The Christmas Coffee Morning and Bazaar takes place on Saturday December 7th in the church vestry, from 10.00am until 12 noon. We hope to have the usual stalls-including the bring and buy cake stall, "Guess the name of the doll" and something for the children. ******************************* Patchwork and quilting classes continue in Flowton's warm Church Vestry during the Autumn and Winter. If you are interested please contact Mary Carter on 01473 658522 for more details. Are you looking for an easily posted present? Flowton has tea-towels and recipe books available from the back of the church. Why not pop in and buy some to send to friends for Christmas.
Offton Church News: Events coming up for you to note in your diaries: Saturday November
23rd & 30th Christmas details will be in the December Link. Saturday January
4th The Rectors Cup. Once again this day is being organised in aid of the Church. Helpers are very welcome on the day which is usually hard work but great fun. Gifts and contributions to the raffle will be very welcome. Contact either Anne or Lucy on 658325 or 658480. See notice for further details. Successful events enjoyed during the summer. Thanks to the Bellringers for organising the Barn Dance - it was a really enjoyable, energetic evening and contributed £247.50 to church funds. Thanks too to John Minns, Reg Goodchild and his team for the well attended Whist Drive in September which raised £153 for the church. The Harvest Festival produce from the Thanksgiving Service was taken to the Salvation Army. They kindly wrote and thanked us for our contributions which were appreciated greatly. The church looked wonderful for the service, thank you to all those who helped decorate. Like good farmers the PCC are already planning next year's Harvest Festival so watch out for details in 2003!
Offton and Willisham Parish Council Senior Citizens Christmas Lunch The lunch will be on December 7th, with Pam Redman again organising it. The Council is pleased to fund the Party again, and hopes that as many people as possible will be there to enjoy what is becoming a regular, happy and much anticipated event. The Suffolk Drug Action Team: is available to give training sessions to people concerned about drug problems. If this idea interests you please give me a ring. Willisham Village Sign: some repainting is necessary, and the sign will be taken down for this to take place. Willisham Notice Board: the new board is expected soon, and it is intended that the existing one will be resited in Tye Lane / North Acres. Pip Sands Parish Clerk 01449 721173
Somersham
Primary School
We have had the decorators in! The school looks really good now. In fact the hall is such a wonderfully bright yellow you may need your sunglasses when you visit us. The new ICT suite is finished and looks very impressive, we have new storage cupboards and the school is beginning to look tidy and sorted. (By the time you read this, the school should be immaculate.) As this article is being written we are still waiting to hear more about the playground project, but it is still in the pipe line at present. We will bring you the news as soon as we have it! F.O.S.S. I am writing this
the day after our "country walk". It was a wonderful afternoon.
The weather was gorgeous, the scenery spectacular, the company very enjoyable,
(we had some laughs, let me tell you) and the tea when we got back, absolutely
delicious. Sorry you didn't come now? Well I can highly recommend it as
very good value for an afternoons entertainment. So maybe next time? We will have had another school disco at the end of half term. The children really enjoy these events which are always very well-attended with well-behaved children. The big fund-raiser this Christmas will be a calendar as drawn by the children (remember the tea-towels?) Hopefully ALL the children will have a drawing placed somewhere within the calendar, so hold back from buying your calendars for next year because you are just going to have one of the school ones. More fund raising
events coming up next month. -but a quick reminder-FOSS are still collecting
old ink cartridges and mobile phones. Please bring them to the school
because it is surprising how much money we are making, which of course
goes towards things for the school.
Somersham Cycle Speedway Club Somersham have now completed their league fixtures but must wait for other clubs to do the same before knowing the final positions such is the closeness for the minor placings. Against East London, Somersham were disappointed but not disgraced in defeat, and we actually held a 1 point lead at the half way stage. Unfortunately the visitors adapted well to the track to win 82-96. Our weak point was a lack of race winners - only 4 out of 18. In Norwich we easily dispatched a poor Spixworth side 52-107 but later at Hethersett we lost out 91-86 in a last heat decider. With Richard Williamson unbeaten and Peter Mittell on top form we really should have won this one. Expectations were reversed for the visit to Gt. Blakenham as a big win was predicted for the league champions. However, the Stars forced another last heat decider, but any chance of an upset went with a dubious exclusion for Simon Turnbull so we lost 91-87. On the individual
front Andrew Mittell proudly represented the club when he qualified for
the British U-16 Final, and also rode very well to finish 4th overall
in the British Junior League. Our youngsters have improved immensely this
year thanks to the wide The outdoor season ends with the traditional Club Championship scheduled for October 27. This is the fun event of the season with family and friends joining the regulars in a handicap system that means anyone could win. There'll be no let up on the training though as a Somersham team will finish the year competing in the British Indoor championships in Manchester on November 24. Contacts : (01473)
831474 Somersham Baptist Church New Meeting Times. Why Change? Secondly our afternoon meeting is not as well attended as the morning. Some people travel quite a way to worship with us and that then means either a return journey or a two-hour lunchtime at the chapel until the next meeting. Both meetings contain distinctive elements that are important for Christians in our worship and service so we have included them in the new format. There are natural breaks in the new meeting; they are designed to encourage conversation and mutual support. These breaks also make it possible for any that are not able to commit to the whole time to join or leave the meeting. New times
On Sunday 10th November we will join the Parish Church for A Remembrance service at 10.45am We hope the new format will meet with approval of everyone, do come along and join us to see what is happening. Junior Church
Ladies Meetings Children and Young
People (Held during term time) Christianity Explained Somersham Baptist
Church, Chapel Lane, Somersham, IP8 4QE
November 3rd Fourth Sunday before Advent
November
10th Third Sunday before Advent
November 17th Second Sunday before Advent
November
24th Second next before Advent
December 1st Advent Sunday
Monday
December 2nd
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