Churn News December 2017

The Parish Magazine for: Bagendon, Calmsden, Churnside,

North Cerney, Perrotts Brook & Woodmancote *

Please send all article submissions to: churnnews@hotmail.com

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Pastoral Letter – December 2017 Are you looking forward to Christmas? The

season is fast approaching and preparations are

underway, presents being bought and wrapped,

decorations being readied (organised people

probably have theirs up already)! Your Christmas

may even include a visit to church, maybe to see

the children in the nativity service on Christmas

eve or to attend a carol service or the traditional

Christmas midnight service. The story of the birth

of baby Jesus is simple and beautiful, and mixed

together with the other narrative of Father

Christmas bringing jollity and gifts to children and

grown-ups alike it all adds up to a happy, festive

occasion.

Of course it is not so happy for many people;

some are lonely, some are consumed by

memories of loved ones now deceased, some just

can’t stand the blatant commercialism and forced

jollity of ‘the most wonderful time of the year’.

And lots of people who enjoy the Christmas

occasion find themselves feeling a bit isolated by

the Christian story that lies at the heart of the

season; that of a virgin giving birth to the Son of

God in a stable. Can we believe that? Really? So

for many people Christmas becomes a

celebration without a heart whose hollow centre

has more to do with tales of a bearded fat man,

flying snowmen or a mid-winter festival than the

extraordinary wonder of God’s love for the world.

Even people who have a sense of faith in God can

find themselves put off by the sentimental

children’s story that is the nativity: fluffy sheep,

chorusing angels, exotic wise men, donkeys,

wicked kings all combine to provide a lovely,

saccharine fairy-tale-like background to a busy

family season.

The Bible doesn’t recognise that story. The story

of the incarnation of God told in the Bible is an

earthy, dangerous and dark one which speaks of

the huge risks of innocent love when faced with

the brutal reality of human ambition. We don’t

often read ‘the massacre of the innocents’ in

Mathew’s account when we are busy with

beaming shepherds clustered around a rustic

manger.

Tales of virgin births attended by three smiling

kings are romantic accounts of the wonderful,

astonishing moment in human history when God

chose to spend a brief time on earth as a human

being; to experience for himself the reality, pain,

joy and suffering of the human condition,

including what it feels like to die the painful death

of a convicted criminal.

It is this death and resurrection that lies at the

core of Christian faith that Christ has gone to

prepare a way for us to an afterlife ‘in my

Father’s house’ says Jesus.

That we have a God who cares enough for his

creation that he should intervene in this way is

astonishing enough and cause for all the praise

and worship we can muster at Christmas or at

any time. God is not distant from the joys and

sufferings of humanity, but deeply acquainted

with all we go through; we can come to God

knowing we will be received in our weakness with

tenderness and love by a God who understands. I

have an old friend who says: ‘God has changed –

God has got holes in his hands!’

This Christmas can I invite you to celebrate the

incarnation of God with us? because hidden

within that sweet story is the astonishing truth

that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only

son so that whoever believes in Him shall not

perish but have eternal life’. (John 3:16)

We would love you to worship with us over the

Christmas season; service times for all the

churches across the Churn Valley Benefice are

shown elsewhere in this magazine and you can be

sure of a warm welcome. And do have a very

happy Christmas.

Revd. David Minns

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Community Notices ____________________________________________________________________________________ Carol Service, North Cerney

The carol service for

North Cerney will be

held on 21 December

at the Bathurst Arms.

Join us at 6:30pm!

This is a popular event and I hope that

everyone will come and join us for carols and

a joyful start to Christmas!

Sue Herdman, Churchwarden

Rural Cinema – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

North Cerney Village Hall

Wednesday 13th December - 7.30 p.m.

Cert: 12A, Runtime 2 hrs. 10 mins.

Fantasy Drama Starring: Eddy Redmayne, Ezra

Miller, Colin Farrell, Jon Voigt, Ron Perlman, and

lots more!

An all new adventure returning us to the

wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. A

glorious fantasy-romantic adventure, all about

the wizards of prohibition-era America and the

wizarding Brit who causes chaos in their midst

with a bagful of

exotic creatures.

Don’t be fooled by

the Harry Potter

legacy – this is aimed

squarely at adults as

well as children!

Entrance £4: Mulled wine will be available!

Carols at St. Margaret’s, Sunday 17 December, 6pm.

Carols by Candlelight

Service at St

Margaret’s, Bagendon.

This occasion has

grown in popularity

over the years so do please come early in

order to find a seat! Seasonal refreshments

can be enjoyed after the service.”

Alison Saunders

North Cerney Reading Group

Our next meeting will be at 4pm. on 4th

December at Scrubditch Farm. To find out

more, please telephone

01285 831342. Jane

Wilkinson

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Community Notices _____________________________________________________________

Skittles & Supper Night Starting at 7pm on Friday

26 January, the village hall

is hosting a skittles and

supper night. There will be

a skittles game for those

who want to have a go (no

experience necessary), and a hot dinner for

all attending.

The bar will also be open selling mulled wine

as a winter special! What better way is there

to catch up with friends on a winters

evening? If you would like to attend then

tickets are £5 and please email:

admin@northcerneyvillagehall.com or call

01285 831355 to book your place.

Gareth James

Parish Supper at the Bathurst!

Do join us for the

monthly Supper Club

at the Bathurst Arms

on Monday, 11th

December at 7.00 - for 7.30pm.

Two courses for £12!

Starter: Crayfish tail and spiced orange salad.

Main: Chili con crane and garlic bread.

Desert: Lemon posset.

Sue Herdman

Perrotts Brook and Bagendon Village Carol Singing.

On Wednesday 20th

December a group will

be carol singing around

Bagendon and Perrotts

Brook, starting at

6.00pm.

If you would like to join

the group singing, or alternately would

like the carol singers to visit you, please

contact either Sally or Ghislaine.

All funds raised will be donated to a local

charity.

Sally Pollard 01285 831390

Ghislaine Venn 01285 831209

sepollard@icloud.com

North Cerney Cycle Event – Coming Soon!

There will be a free cycle event at North

Cerney Village Hall on Saturday 20th January

from 2 to 4pm. Help

wanted! Call Anna

831751

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County Council Matters – An Update

1. Roads – As you probably recall, I’ve been

concerned about the state of our roads and

footways for a while. Now, some of the

weaknesses of the highways contractor Amey are

clear as it is under staffed and often cannot stick

to promises made. The highways contract is up

for renewal in April 2019 and is going to be split

into 3 parts – day to day maintenance, large road

schemes, and design work. Some contractor staff

will come back “in-house” to take back some

control. This is good news. The 3 contracts go out

to tender in December and the successful

contractors will be announced next year.

2. Cheltenham A&E – It was with dismay that I

read about concerns over the future of

Cheltenham hospital as a new NHS pilot will see

patients moved to Gloucester.

A letter circulated by Gloucestershire Hospitals

Foundation Trust gives details of service changes

over the coming months as part of a winter plan.

Until March 2018 all orthopaedic acute and

trauma patients requiring admission or surgical

intervention will be moved from Cheltenham

General Hospital to Gloucestershire Royal

Hospital. We’ve already seen Cheltenham’s A & E

reduced at night

between 8pm and

8am from a full

doctor-led service to

a restricted nurse-

led operation in

2013. In this latest

move, the day time

service is now being

cut back at Cheltenham A&E.

I’d like to see the restoration of a full 24/7 A&E

service at Cheltenham General. People in our part

of the Cotswolds rely on Cheltenham as their

nearest major hospital so this will mean extra

travel for them and their relatives. But what does

this really mean for the future of Cheltenham

hospital? Slowly but surely services are being

whittled away and moved elsewhere. The future

of this hospital is at stake – many people value it

a lot and I believe it must stay!

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson

Paul.hodgkinson@gloucestershire.gov.uk

From Your District Councillor….

North Cerney New Housing

The application for 12 new homes

in North Cerney (Land adjacent to

Churnside) has now been

approved. Plans can be viewed

via the CDC website and more

info coming shortly.

Chesterton Development Application

The single biggest application to hit Cotswold

District Council is to be decided at a meeting on

Tuesday 12th December in the Cirencester Baptist

Church starting at 10.00am.

Parking in Cirencester

The new car park development is progressing well

and is still due to be placed on the Waterloo car

park. Meanwhile, don’t forget that it’s FREE after

3pm in the Brewery and Forum Car parks and

that you can pay easily on the MIPERMIT app on

your phone. (You can even extend your stay via

the app so no more rummaging around for

change.)

I am always happy to hear from you directly if

you have any questions or wish to talk anything

through.

Yours, Cllr Jenny Forde

Email: jenny.forde@cotswold.gov.uk

Facebook: www.fb.com/FordeJen

Twitter: @JennyFordey

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Knitters/Crocheters – Thank You!

On behalf of the Royal British Legion

Women’s Section (Cirencester) we would like

to thank all the wonderful knitters/crocheters

who so generously gave their time to making

poppies for our display in the Parish Church.

This was the brainchild of our Chairman,

Eileen Chapman, who found the response

beyond her wildest dreams. The aim of the

project was to involve knitters/crocheters

from all the communities in Cirencester and

around. We have now received over 17,000

poppies which have made up a cascade 30ft.

long and the remaining poppies have been

made into crosses, etc. The work of attaching

these poppies has been done by a small

hardworking band of our members. Gifts of

poppies have been received from all over the

United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, France

and Norway.

We would also like to give a heartful thanks

to Pauline Farman who so tirelessly collected

poppies, personally visiting the homes of

knitters and by post. Having received the

poppies she then took them to us at the

church daily. Also a big thank you to the

knitting group,

the “Wild

Woolly

Women”

(WWW) who

also worked

hard in

spreading the

word and

giving advice to

would-be knitters, for example from their

stands at three County Fairs.

Again, thank you to all who wished to be

involved in expressing their thanks to the

millions of men and women who gave their

lives to the cause of peace. In the words from

the FEPOW (Far East Prisoners of War)

Prayer: “The price that was paid, we will

always remember every day, every month,

not just in November. WE SHALL REMEMBER

THEM”

Eileen Wright

North Cerney School News On Tuesday October 31st, the school unveiled

the brand

new play

boat on the

school field. I

would like to

thank the

NCSA, parents and wider community for

helping fundraising the money required.

We have busy Christmas period coming up at

the school, with a whole school nativity, a

stargazing WOW event kindly funded by the

NCSA and Key Stage Two theatre production

trip.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish

you all a Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Suki Pascoe, Executive Headteacher

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Scrubditch Care Farm News - December 2017

Cook books make the perfect Christmas

Presents!

We had a great evening at Made by Bob’s to ‘launch’ the Cook Book. Over 80 people crammed into the restaurant, and were treated to delicious canapes made by Bob and his team

(www.foodmadebybob.com), and a wonderful

cocktail made by Clarice and her mum from Sibling Gin a local distillery from Cheltenham. (www.siblingdistillery.com). Huge thanks to everyone who helped us with the Cook Book, especially to Paola Jefferies who persuaded Bob to host the event to launch the book, to Sue Gilling (one of our amazing Trustees) who took on the massive task of collecting recipes from friends and supporters of ours, and finally, to Alex Murray (www.silverdart.co.uk) for publishing the book.

The Cook Books are £10 each. They will be available locally in various outlets – Rendcomb Post Office, Made by Bob, and Miserden Nurseries, or direct from us at the Care Farm – 07966 255 631

SCF APPEAL: We have now raised over £60,000.00 towards our £125,000.00 total! If you would like to support us, you can donate by going to: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/scrubditchcarefarm

Thank you to Nick de Carles from Facsim who made us a wonderful thermometer for our appeal recently. (www.facsim.co.uk)

CHRISTMAS CARDS!

Our very popular Christmas Cards, depicting the

animals on the farm, are ready for sale. The cards

are £5 per pack of 8 cards (2 designs per pack) Buy

from SCF, Rendcomb Post office, and Miserden

Nurseries.

VEG BOXES

We still have lovely mixed salads in the poly

tunnel, and beetroot, turnips, leeks and delicious

‘flower sprouts’ and broccoli. Do ring us if you

would like anything

SONG FOR CIRENCESTER

SCF has been taking part in SONG FOR

CIRENCESTER this week! Iwan Lewis and his team

from Barn Theatre came over to the care farm to

do a video update from last year and to film us

singing ‘SONG FOR CIRENCESTER’ with them – they

are raising awareness of mental health and have

produced a single. Lots of businesses, schools and

community groups are taking part and coming

together to sing the SONG FOR CIRENCESTER on

SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER at the ‘lights switch on’ in

Cirencester.

DEMENTIA ADVENTURE

We are very lucky to have been chosen to take

part in a 3 year programme with Dementia

Adventure. Funded by the Big Lottery, Gerry and I

are attending training programmes so that we

can deliver projects at the care farm, for people

living with dementia. Do get in touch with us if

you know someone who you think would enjoy

being part of the project.

DATES

Christmas Spectacular – Wednesday 6 December

at Cirencester Parish Church – tickets from The

Barn Theatre – www.barntheatre.org.uk – The

Barn Theatre are great supporters of ours, and

we will be there on the night so do come along –

it’s a FANTASTIC EVENING!

End of term: Thursday 7 December

CHRISTMAS LUNCH FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER

SINGING AT DOBBIES – The Corisande Singers will be outside Dobbies on Sunday 17 December, singing in aid of Scrubditch Care Farm – so do support them please! Volunteers needed – please get in touch if you can spare a few hours to hand out leaflets on the day.

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Local Services

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DEADLINE FOR NEXT EDITION of Churn News is 21/12/2017

If you would like to submit an article

please send to: churnnews@hotmail.com or to discuss

contact the editor: Dr Simon Pow: tel: 01285 831137

For Advertising please contact Karen Searles: Karen.edgell@googlemail.com or Tel: 01285 831118

Distribution coordinator Ghislaine Venn: Tel: 01285 831209

For Donations please contact Anna Thomson (Treasurer): Tel: 01285 831751

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Local Services

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Goal Setting – Why Bother? It’s everywhere these days, isn’t it? You have to have goals in life. How to achieve your goals.

Goal setting for beginners. But why bother? In these often stressful and challenging times, isn’t it

easier to switch off from all that striving and struggling with a nice cup of tea/glass of wine and put

your feet up in front of the telly.

Well, it depends on how you look at goal setting. If you see it as the endless pursuit of bigger,

better, more, then you might well be right to settle for that glass of wine instead. In today’s society

we’re forever being urged to have and do more, But if we continue to believe that the more we

have, the more we do, the better our lives will be, then we’ll continue to end up exhausted and

disappointed.

However, if we start to look at goal setting as part of the fabric of our lives, of who we are, rather

than something we need to achieve, then I think that’s a different matter.

To me, goal setting is about taking the time to decide what’s truly important to you in life. What

are the steps which, if taken, would lead you to a deeper sense of fulfilment, an expanded sense of

yourself and an experience of life being somehow better and richer?

Goal setting is about asking the questions “Who am I meant to be in this world? What do I have to

offer? How can I live in a way that brings me peace, happiness and contentment? What does my

heart truly desire?

Put another way, if we don’t ask ourselves those questions, we begin to stagnate, feel lost,

confused, and that life is without meaning and purpose. I suspect that many of us identify with

this state of being during these difficult times.

If this approach to goal setting appeals more to you than the ‘get, get, get’ approach then I suggest

you stop looking in the world out there for the goals you think you ‘should’ be achieving. Instead,

become more aware of that small voice inside which is wanting you to deepen your experience of

yourself and your life, to grow and truly thrive. Listen to the next steps that voice wants you to

take – and then take action. Oh, and if you happen to acquire a Porsche along the way – there’s

nothing wrong with that!

Wishing you the best,

Carrie

Carrie Rose is a life-coach, counsellor and author of the best-selling “How to Get From Here To There Without Going Anywhere – A Simple Guide To Living A Happier Life”. She works from a charming little barn in Stratton, Cirencester. www.carrierose.co.uk carrie@carrierose.co.uk

01285 862158

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Local Services

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RENDCOMB SURGERY December COFFEE & CAKE MORNING

The Rendcomb Support Group will be holding a coffee morning on Saturday 02 December, 10:00-12:00 at

Winstone Village Hall. We would be grateful for donations of cakes or prizes for the raffle, any of which

can be dropped off at the surgery. We very much look forward to seeing you there.

CHRISTMAS HOURS

Over Christmas the surgery will be closed 23, 24, 25 & 26 of December and 30, 31 December. Over New

Year we will be closed 01 January 2018. If you have a medical emergency over this time please call 111 if

your emergency is NOT life threatening, call 999 if your emergency IS life threatening.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS

Please ensure you have enough of your tablets/medication to last you over the holiday season. Remember

to order in plenty of time, our dispensary staff need at least 2 working days notification to have your

medication ready for you. The holiday period is an especially busy time for the dispensary team and we

ask that you order your medication by Friday 15 December. This will ensure that the dispensary team can

have your requests ready in time for you over this busy period.

Sarah Maidens, Rendcomb Surgery.

7.30pm Saturday 13th January 2018

and friends on stage at the Griffin Centre, Rendcomb, Cirencester.

Doors open 6.45pm, Pay bar. Half of the proceeds to go to Cirencester Housing for Young People. Charity number 299821, www.chypthecharity.org.uk Tickets: £10 available from: www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/430401

IORA, is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter originally from Cirencester and moved to Manchester to study. Inspired by both life in the country and the city, she combines vocal and instrumental harmonies with electronic samples and sounds. This intriguing mix blends folk tones, a versatile voice and haunting arrangements. This summer she appeared at 2,000 Trees Cheltenham and Dot-to-Dot festivals in Manchester. Her single “Thieves’ Den” has been played on BBC Manchester Introducing.

Force of Habit, having met whilst supposedly studying for their history degrees at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. Lance Baynham and Cormac Connelly-Smith spent three years being not particularly funny, and now plan on taking that mediocrity to the stage for all to enjoy.

Mark Gunner is a singer songwriter who accompanies himself on the bass guitar. A talented and versatile musician his set showcases his own compositions about love and life.

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Local Services

JAMES ALLISON Ltd

BUILDING & RENOVATION

BATHROOMS & KITCHENS

MAINTENANCE & DECORATION

CARPENTRY & BESPOKE JOINERY

HARDWOOD DOORS & FLOORING

STONE & GRANITE FIREPLACES

Please call me to discuss your project

01285 653146 07899 812572 jcma100@yahoo.co.uk

Pear Tree Cottage Baunton Cirencester

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