Chair: John Sugg
863435
Secretary and
Newsletter Editor: Lesley Lindsay 862868
Treasurer: Keith Helliar
863700
LOCAL HISTORY
FAIR
Another successful village history exhibition was
enjoyed by the steady flow of visitors to the East Coker Hall on Saturday 13
September. We were entertained with a
fascinating display of historical photographs, documents, maps, slide shows,
archaeological artefacts, tools, a 19th century bier and numerous
other exhibits. These were provided by
many individuals, village groups and societies including the East Coker
Society, Scouts, Brownies, WI, Churches, etc.
Particular thanks must go to Abigail Shepherd, who
worked so hard to make it a success and to Gerry Smith and Martin Salzer for
the photograph and slides displays, and again, thank you to all the
contributors and helpers who worked so hard to make this such an interesting
event.
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR
29 NOVEMBER 2003,
EAST COKER HALL,
2.00PM - 4.00PM
Book early!
Tables for the Christmas Bazaar are available. The prices are £1 a foot, for 4, 6, 8, 10 and
12 foot tables. Individuals or
organisations who wish to reserve a table should please fill in the form below,
and send with either cash or a cheque, made payable to the (East Coker Society), to Carol
Blackmore, Pippins, Higher Burton, East Coker 862192, this will make certain
your stall is reserved.
Dont forget! Make a date in your diary for the Christmas
Bazaar. Many stalls; raffle; tea, coffee
and mince pies, and of course Father Christmas will be making an extra early
visit to East Coker, on his way to the North Pole, to ask the children what
they want for Christmas!
BOOKS BRING
& BUY
At the Christmas Bazaar, 29 November, East Coker
Hall. If you have any books, videos,
CDs, DVDs, tapes, we would welcome them for our stall. We can collect or you can leave them at
Springfield Cottage, Coker Marsh, or bring them to our stall on the day.
Sally Jackson 862879
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CHRISTMAS
BAZAAR 29 NOVEMBER 2003
Name of
Organisation
Type of
Stall
Contact Name and Telephone
Number
.
Size of table at £1 per foot
.. I enclose £
.. Signed
...
...
.
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RECEIVE THE
NEWSLETTER VIA E-MAIL
In the future if you would like to receive the
Newsletter via e-mail, please could you e-mail Lesley Lindsay with your name and
postal address so you can be removed from our delivery lists. Your
email address will be kept entirely
private, with no cross-referencing of other people's emails. Delivering by e-mail is greatly appreciated
as it saves money on our printing costs.
Village Clubs and Organisations
EAST COKER
PLAYERS
The Pantomime this year is 'Babes in the
Wood'. We have a new director, Darrell
McCarthy, with new faces and old in the cast.
The dates of the show are Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December, in the East Coker
Hall.
This year we will be having two performances on
Saturday. A matinee at 2.30pm and an
evening show at 7.30 pm, as on Friday evening.
Prices for children are £3.50 and adults £4.50.
Tickets from Debbie Searle 863091
EAST COKER
GARDENING CLUB
First of all I would like to apologise for the
errors, in the last edition of the Newsletter, in Future Meetings and
Events. Mary Pring's talk on the Herb
Garden happened in September and for October we have Lyn Spencer-Mills speaking
on 'A Garden for Retirement'.
Members who visited the 'Scented Garden' at Little
Bredy in July had a lovely afternoon, appreciating the wonderful scents to the
full in the warm sunshine. This visit
will be followed up by a talk early next year by Chris Yates, who owns the
garden with his wife Sally. In August,
Sally Gregson gave a comprehensive talk about 'Making the Most of Sunny Spots'
most appropriate ranging from very dry areas to boggy spots. She also brought some very unusual plants
which members could purchase. Mary
Pring's talk in September covered a wide range of herbs that look good in the
garden, have a lovely smell and are useful around the house as well as in the
kitchen. We were also able to buy plants
from her too.
We look forward to seeing you at all our forthcoming
events which I will list correctly, I hope below on the 2nd
Thursday of each month at East Coker Hall, 7.30pm, unless otherwise
mentioned. New members always welcome.
13 November
AGM at The Forrester's, Holywell, with refreshments and skittles
27 November
Gold Club Christmas Evening at Brimsmore.
11 December
House Plants Beverley Benham, Golden Acres Nursery.
Rachel Blow
862849
EAST COKER
SCOUT GROUP
Next Waste
Paper Collections: Saturday 6 December - 8.30am
11.15am
Autumn Jumble
Sale This will be held at East Coker Hall,
Saturday 18 October at 2.30pm. All
donations of jumble gratefully received.
Remember WE WILL
COLLECT. Tel Max Bugler 862186
EAST COKER
BRANCH ACTION MEDICAL
RESEARCH
Action research has changed its name to Action Medical Research. By keeping elements of the old name, but
adding the word 'Medical' it will be clearer to people exactly what the Charity
does. Our goal however remains the same:
to improve the health and quality of life for everyone through medical
research.
Once again a really big thank you to everyone who
came to our Michaelmas Fair. Yet again
it proved to be a very enjoyable day and we raised the marvellous sum of
£2,700.
EAST COKER PAVILION FUND - Update
I am pleased to report that, since the last
Newsletter, progress is now being made in moving matters forward with regard to
providing a new Pavilion at Long Furlong Lane.
The new land purchased by the Parish Council, with the help of a kind
donation, will become the football pitch and has now been fenced and seeded and
will hopefully be ready for next season.
Now that all interested parties have had a chance
to have their say and to put their ideas forward at various Committee Meetings,
the Committee have now made a firm decision with regard to how to proceed with
the new building. It was agreed by all
concerned that the project had become a little over ambitious and we were all
losing sight of what was really important to the village as a whole; facilities
for the playgroup, changing rooms for the sports teams and a meeting place for
the Parish Council. With this in mind it
has been decided to scale down the building and thus, scale down the overall
costs involved.
Having said this, we still need to raise a
considerable sum of money to get the project off the ground. All support is very welcome and we would like
to stress our commitment as a Committee to seeing this project through to its
fruition.
Fundraising is ticking along nicely in the
background but if anyone has any new fundraising ideas we would be very
grateful to hear them. The most recent
fundraising event was a Champagne Luncheon hosted by Paul and Val Hillard in
August. It was a great success and
raised £750.00 towards the Pavilion Fund.
Everyone who went had a super day so, once again, many thanks to Paul
and Val for making it possible.
Some of you may remember an East Coker Cookbook
which helped to raise a considerable amount of money for the Village Hall a few
years ago. Well, we intend to revive
this idea so, if anyone has any recipes that they feel they would like to
share, please hand them in, either to the Village Post Office and Stores or
direct to Mrs Christine Cooper at Herne Cottage.
Two further fundraising ideas for the future are a
cookery demonstration/Christmas evening and a concert with the 'Wurzels'. Neither of these are finalised at the present
time, so please watch this space for more information.
Bridget
Sugg 863435
EAST COKER
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
The East Coker Branch is holding its annual Coffee
Morning at East Coker Hall on Saturday 25 October 2003, from 10.30am. Everyone is very welcome to pop in for
coffee, browse the stalls and by doing so make a very welcome contribution to
Legion funds.
Don't forget the next time you see us will be the
Poppy Appeal at the end of October.
EAST COKER
FLOWER SHOW
16 August 2003 saw yet another successful
Show. Lots of 'new' names were among the
exhibitors and prize winners, which I hope will bode well for many years to
come. We raised £281.00 which will be
rolled over to next year enabling us to make a donation to the Pavilion
Fund. Very many thanks to all who
helped, to all who exhibited, and to all who supported on the day. It is certainly one village tradition we
would not like to see disappear.
Cup Winners
Maudsley Cup Sarah Rashley Archie Neville Memorial Cup Arthur Rees
League of
Friends Cup Sarah Rashley Pittard Rose Cup
Mandy
Dowdell
Mrs Newman Cup Tony Burnett Jane Harvey Salver Don
White
Molly
Kettlewell Cup Wendy Mitchell Miss
Keefe Cup Hazel
Love
Drake
Memorial Silver Cup Gloria Mead Eileen
Doye Memorial Cup Gloria
Mead
Christine
Mead Cup Helen Clifton Society
Photographic Trophy Brian
Docking
Gloria Mead
Cup Thomas Holliday Miss E. B. Drake
Silver Challenge Cup Annabel
Rashley
Well done everyone!!!!!!!!!!
HELP! Desperate women seek the help of 3 or 4 strong
men to set up the Flower Show tables on the Friday prior to the Show, which, as
you all know, is ALWAYS the third
Saturday in August. If you can help, PLEASE
ring Marie on 864514. Thank you.
Young People
EAST COKER
PRE-SCHOOL PLAYGROUP
We
are back from the summer holidays ready for the new year, to a beautifully
redecorated pavilion. After tearfully
waving goodbye to the children going to school this September, we now wave
hello to the children starting playgroup and welcome back the old hands (who
seem to have grown?).
East
Coker Pre-School Playgroup is registered with Ofsted and the Early Years
Development and Childcare Partnership and follows the Foundation Stage
curriculum. There is funding available
through the Early Years Grant when children become eligible. Children are able to attend from 2½ up to 5 years old. We are open Monday to Friday during term time
from 9.15am to 12 noon. At present we
are able to offer lunch cover for children who would like to bring a packed
lunch and stay until 1.15pm, for £1 per child.
To
secure a place on the waiting list for your children, please contact Kay Strode
on 872126 after 6pm. It is best to get your childs name down
early on the waiting list, as places are limited.
Craft Fair
Our
next fundraising event will be on Sunday 9 November. This is held in the East Coker Hall from
10.30am to 4.00pm. Stalls are £15 and
all craft types are welcome. The
playgroup committee offer refreshments all day and there will be a 'naughty, but nice' cake stall. A photographer will be there to take family
photos (just in time for Christmas), and there will be a raffle, drawn on the
day. Come and browse for presents, stop
for a while to refresh and chat. We look
forward to seeing you.
For
Craft Fair details, contact E. Dudden on
862357
The Churches
ST.
MICHAELS CHURCH
Service of
Thanksgiving for those we have loved but see no longer
The Service this year is on Sunday 2 November at
6.00pm. The preacher will be Rev. Graham
Roblin. If you would like the names of
loved your ones to be included in the list of names read out during the
service, please could you let me know by 31 October.
Monica 862834
Christmas
Services
Sunday 7 December, 10.00am Christingle Service for Children
Thursday 18 December, 2.00pm East Coker School Christmas Service
Sunday 21 December, 6.00pm Carol Service
Christmas Eve, 11.00pm Midnight Mass
Christmas Day, 8.00am Holy Communion. 10.00am
Family Service
CHRISTMAS AT
CLOSWORTH
The Adult Carol Service will be held on Sunday 14
December, 6.30pm.
Christmas Day, 9.00am Family Service.
On 24 December we will be repeating our Family
Service at 4.00pm. Last year we had a
real baby Jesus and the children came dressed as angels, kings, shepherds and even
a baby lamb. As I suspect some of the
angel dresses may now be a little small, I wondered if any of the children
might like to come dressed as children from other lands. If the dresses still fit, come as you did
last year. The service lasts for about
30 to 40 minutes and is quite informal.
Any questions, please phone Monica 862834
ALL SAINTS',
SUTTON BINGHAM
Two delightful fund-raising events took place
during the summer. On Saturday 28 June there
was a rare opportunity to see the fascinating garden created by Michael and
Sheila Scott-Underdown at Sutton Bingham Manor.
The church was specially decorated and, over the road, at Wyndham House,
the home of Patrick and Mary Pisani, cream teas were served in their
garden. It was a perfect summer day with
a gentle breeze.
The sun also shone on the Coffee Morning held in
Kay Biggin's garden at The Anchorage, Coker Marsh on Saturday 6 September. The garden was in full, late summer
splendour. Refreshments were served on
the lawn by the pond and there were stalls for bric-a-brac, cakes, Christmas
cards & wrapping, and plants. This
and the previous event together raised over £1300 for the church.
The church was also beautifully decorated for the
Harvest Festival Evensong on Sunday 28 September. The next special event, though in the normal
calendar of services, will be a Celebration of All Saints Day at the communion
service on Sunday 2 November at 9.00pm.
On Tuesday 16 December at 7 00p.m there will be the
usual Candle-lit Carol Service when the church will be decorated for
Christmas. After the service seasonal
refreshments will be served. The
Christmas Day Communion Service will be at 11.30am. If anyone would like to help with the
decoration of the church, please contact either of the churchwardens, Carol
Blackmore 862192 or Heather Snook 47413
A new revised church Guide is now available. With added historical information and
enlivened with colour it is on sale in the church at £2.
A Sad Loss
After all these celebrations it is sad to report
the death in August of Pauline, wife of Brian Rousell, former churchwarden and
Chairman of the Friends of All Saints Church.
She was a gifted artist and her delightful drawing of the church has
featured on Christmas cards, notelets and leaflets. She excelled in decorating the church for
special occasions. For many years she
taught at East Coker School, and 'old hands' of the Ladies' Keep Fit will
remember her and her sister Molly as regular participants. She was easily recognisable on the road in
her cherished 'vintage' Morris Traveller car.
Village News
SAVE EAST
COKER - Global Online
Petition!
Please ask all your friends and family wherever
they may be in the world to sign the petition for the preservation of our
lovely village and its environment.
If they are at university or college ask them to
get the fellow students and teachers to sign up as well.
Contact them and give them the following web-site
address www.petitiononline.com/TSECoker/petition.html
EAST COKER PARISH COUNCIL
Plant a
Daffodil Day
East Coker Parish Council has arranged a daffodil
planting day on Saturday 1 November, meeting at the East Coker Hall car park at
10.00am.
We would like some donations of daffodils please,
and people to bring along their own spades, forks and trowels and some
suggestions of where to plant them.
Any further details and daffodil donations please
contact or deliver to Bridget Sugg, Little Foxholes, 863435
A great
turnout of 83% for the referendum - we now await the District Council's response.
Council members have successfully applied for a
grant of £12,500 from the District Council for the purchase of a new multiplay
unit, to meet the EU regulations, for the children's play area.
The new section of the playing field at the back of
the Pavilion is being fenced, reseeded and developed for a football pitch. The existing pitch will be used for cricket
next year.
Pauline
Gubbins, Parish Clerk 862062
BROADBAND IS
COMING! But only with your help!
If you haven't already done so, please sign up on
the BT website www.bt.com/broadband
Please sign
up even if you don't intend to use broadband immediately, BT say they will only
enable the West Coker exchange if 250 people say they are interested, so sign
up to help other people who want to use it!
If you find
the BT web site difficult
to access, try www.westcoker.wewantbroadband.co.uk
Please let
everyone else know - they can even sign up if they have no current internet
access - I have forms, leaflets and posters if you are interested. Only 56 more names needed!
I am not sure, but enabling the West Coker exchange
should mean that most people in East Coker, Hardington Mandeville and East
Chinnock should get broadband access as well.
(Eventually it will be down to a BT survey if and when you order but
usually they say within about 5 miles of the exchange).
If you have no idea what I am talking about, please
e-mail me or go to either of the above web sites and learn!
Tony Reese west@coker.net 864055
STAMPS FOR C.L.I.C.
Dare
I mention Christmas already! If so, it
will only be to ask you to save all your postage stamps for C.L.I.C.
As
usual there is a collection jar in the Village Shop, or you can bring them to
me at Holly Cottage, nearby. Please
start saving now. Thank you.
Micky
Hall
GERALD'S SEAT
The seat dedicated to Gerald Down on the Mill Close
Green has now had the name of Tina, his wife, added to it. Many Thanks.
NOTES
FROM THE OBSERVATORY
Although
the summer began with cloudy days in early June the weather soon changed. The second half of June was fine and warm but
a thundery spell on the 22nd gave 26mm (1.03ins.) of rain. July continued to give mainly fine warm dry
days. The 13th was a day of
cloudless skies from dawn to dusk followed by a day when the temperature
climbed to 27.02C (84.25F). In contrast
the 26th was a miserably dull, wet day when
41.4mm
(1.63ins) of rain fell throughout the day.
Long fine hot August days followed with a maximum temperature of 29.6C (
85.3F) on the 5th. By the end of the month the cold water
temperature in the mains had risen to 22C (71.6F). Only 14.2mm (0.56ins) of rain fell in the
month compared with 77mm (3.03ins) in July and 45.5mm (1.79ins) in June. Total rainfall for the first six months of
the year was 291mm (11.46ins).
The
hot dry summer reduced the amount of mowing but also gave a short flowering
season to the wild flowers. East Coker's
Valerians gave an excellent show on cottage walls, with a splendid range of
colours from pale pink to deep crimson.
Teasels grew well in the heat. A
correspondent wonders if these plants are mildly insectivorous. The leaves form a cup around the main stem in
which water gathers. Insects fall in and
are drowned. In a neighbour's garden a
splendid show of Boletus fungi developed on the partly exposed roots of a
silver birch. A few puff balls appeared
in mid August.
Bird
song was missing in the early summer.
The usual chorus from blackbirds and song-thrushes did not appear. Only the rather plaintive song of the robin
and the monotonous cooing of the collared doves made up for the lack of
song. An unwelcome visitor to the garden
pond was a heron. I have not seen a fish
in the pond since his visit, despite protective netting. My correspondent at the Long Furlong
outstation reports a solitary and aggressive gull haunting the Triangle in the
summer months.
Butterflies
were not as numerous as expected in the sunny weather. The most frequent were the Small Whites. Occasional visitors included a Silver-washed
Fritillary, a Painted Lady and a Grayling together with the more common Meadow
Browns, Gatekeepers and Commas. A Red
Admiral appeared to show territorial behaviour as it harassed Small Whites
which flew close by. .A correspondent
deduced that the weather this summer was likely to produce a good show of
Adonis Blue butterflies. A short drive
gave a sighting of over 30 in a local colony.
This butterfly has a curious relationship with ants. The larval and
pupal stages develop in association with ants in their nests.
Our
parish post boxes span over 100 years of reigns. The oldest is the box at Nash, which bears
the VR cipher of Queen Victoria. George
V's cipher is on the box near the Helyar Arms, while George VI is on the box
opposite Tellis Cross. Boxes at the Post
Office, Burton Cross and Holywell are more recent with E II R on them. I wonder when the original village post box
was removed.
Mars
has been brilliant in the South East at bedtime. The rest of the planets are not well placed
for viewing but Venus will become an evening sight at the end of the year in
the West just after sunset. Saturn and
Jupiter will then be in the early morning sky before sunrise.
Francis
Cloke 862496
A
SHORT STORY - 'Parturition'
I was in a very confined space, but felt strangely comforted
by its snugness. It was warm, dark and
fluid filled, there was a tune playing, like a muffled bass drum, constant,
repetitive, but soothing. My enclosure
was smooth sided, nothing chafed, and it gave just enough when I moved. All of my needs were met; I wanted nothing
more; I wanted nothing.
There was no hunger, no hot, no cold, no pain, no
risk, not even any need to breathe; it was perfect, the best home Ive ever
had. Though at the time I didnt know
it.
From time to time there were sensations of movement
and suggestions of another world beyond the confines of my own. Strange noises, different music, footsteps,
passing traffic and other sounds, all muffled, but this was all I knew, of
life, of volume, of universe. Clarity
was alien to me; it was irrelevant.
In the last two months I seemed to grow in size at
an exponential rate, either that or my surroundings were shrinking.
Then came the fateful day, the one that changed my
life; the end, the start, the end of the start and the start of the end. I was being evicted. As a tenant, I was no longer wanted. What had I done to warrant this sudden
expulsion? Whatever the nature of the
indiscretion it was clear that I had outstayed my welcome. There would be no second chance, no
explanation.
The drum beat faster and louder, I was being
crushed, it seemed like a cruel punishment for crimes unknown. It would subside for a while, but at ever
diminishing intervals, the torture began again.
I was horrified to find myself being pushed toward an opening that was
clearly too small for me to pass through. My enclosure was breached and the
fluid drained away to reveal another enclosure beyond my own. I understood immediately; if the tenant wont
leave, make it uncomfortable for him to stay.
For what seemed to be an eternity, my head was
stuck in a tube, being crushed in a vicelike grip. Aghast, I found my body was being pushed
along the passage where my head didnt fit.
I tried to find a foothold, but there was no traction to be found, it
was slippery in there, and the walls were smooth.
The muffled bass of the drumbeat was reaching
crescendo, and with one almighty push my head was free of its confines. The drumming stopped, and my torso, then
feet, slid out too. Everything was
really loud, I was starting to feel cold and I could barely open my eyes,
unaccustomed as they were to any kind of light, let alone that level of
brightness. Unbelievable as it may seem,
I was then hoisted up by my ankles and my backside was slapped hard. Until this point in time my ordeal was met
with tacit disapproval, but with stinging butt-cheeks now, on top of all the
other punishment Id endured, I decided to protest.
'Unhand me, you cad!' At least thats what I thought I said, but my
words sounded like the scream of a baby.
I looked down to see from whence I came, and to my
horror found that Id been living inside a large breasted fat woman (whose kind
would turn out to be the bane of my life from there on). Things could only get better
or so I thought.
Pete Down
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VILLAGE
DIARY October 2003
January 2004
Sat 18 Oct Scout Jumble Sale East Coker Hall 2.30pm
Sat 25 Oct British Legion Coffee Morning from 10.30am
Sun 26 Oct Antiques Fair East Coker Hall 10.00am - 4.00pm
Sat 1 Nov Plant a Daffodil Day 10.00am
Sat 8 Nov Save the Children Xmas Fair 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Sun 9 Nov Preschool Playgroup Craft Fair 10.30am - 4.00pm
Thurs 13 Nov Gardening Club AGM 7.30pm
Thurs 27 Nov Gardening Club Brimsmore 7.30pm
Sat 29 Nov Christmas Bazaar East Coker Hall 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Fri 5 Dec Pantomime East Coker Hall 7.30pm
Sat 6 Dec Pantomime East Coker Hall 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Sat 6 Dec Waste Paper Collection Opposite the school 9.00am - 11.00am
Sun 7 Dec Christingle Service, St Michael's Church 10.00am
Thurs 11 Dec Gardening Club House-plants 7.30pm
Sun 14 Dec Adult Carol Service, Closworth Church 6.30pm
Tues 16 Dec Candlelit Carols, All Saints', Sutton Bingham 7.00pm
Sun 21 Dec Carol Service, St Michael's Church 6.00pm
Wed 24 Dec Family Carol Service, Closworth Church 4.00pm
EAST COKER
POST OFFICE &
STORES
Christmas is coming to East Coker's village shop on
Tuesday 12 November 2003 with lots of Christmas lines.
We now sell mobile phone top-ups and accept most
major debit and credit cards and offer a full supply of Newspapers and
Magazines.
SAVE THE
CHILDREN CHRISTMAS FAIR
Saturday 8 November 2003, East Coker Hall, 2.00pm
4.00pm. Gifts and Goodies Galore. Bring and Buy stalls Homemade Produce
Bric-a-Brac Toys Planted Baskets Grand Raffle Refreshments - Save the
Children Christmas Cards and Gifts.
Hilary Darling
862229
THE EAST COKER WEBSITE
We are hoping to
update our website. If anyone is
interested in helping with this, or writing articles or submitting local
photographs to be shown on the website, please would they contact Lesley
Lindsay or John Sugg.
NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the Newsletter will be in January
2004. 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 Tuesday 6 January 2004.