Home Page From- VOL34 No 8 October 2016 Sparkford's PARISH NEWS - for Sparkford, Weston Bampfylde and Little Weston with Sutton Montis From The Editors Desk. Wecome to the Latest edition covering Sept I Oct. BIG apologies but have been away for
a little while for personal reasons I know it does not help but I am the only one who has
stepped up to do the magazine If anyone would like to take on the role in the future
please let me know. I shall deliver to the door myself for 1 month only after this they
shall be allocated to the ones dropped at Hazlegrove services and will need to be
collected by each resident. I have no longer got anyone to deliver for me at Wolfesfer Terrace end of Sparkford if
one of you could please do this for me then I will be delighted. Due to my busy home &
work life I have decided to trial a Bi monthly format to make things easier. This issue
will be the second in this new format coveñng Sept I October I hope to make the magazine
covering the following dates :-Sept I Oct, Nov I Dec. Jan I Feb. Mar I Apr, May I Jun,
July IAug an so on. The deadline will still be on theof each month but each edition ill
cover 2 months creating 6 editions per year I will see how this works over the next few
months< Please send all items to me at: editor@sparkfordvillage.co.uk
or direct via post or hand delivered to my home address shown on back of magazine. LOCAL NEWS Countess Gytha Primary School A message from the Head teacher Please see our website which has lots of photographs of the new school http://www.countessgythaprimary.co.uk/news/. 3rd Sparkford Scout Group Latest from 3rd Sparkford Beavers, Cubs and Scouts New Term Update! Lots of activity for Sparkford Scouts As Cubs come back after the summer holidays we shall be welcoming some new starters. We
shall try to make the most of the last few light evenings by getting outside to play
games, and for outdoor learning. This term we hope to learn about radios and telephones.
We hope to be making a telephone and to create our own radio show. So if anyone has any
experience with this, and wants to help make this a really great experience, we would love
to hear from them. Scouts are starting the new term with a busy programme. We will be making the most of
the evenings outside before the winter arrives and will be focussing on team building.
Some of the Scouts are attending a Survival camp next month and they will also be taking
part in an outdoor activities camp at Osmington Bay. We didnt stop during the summer as we joined West Coker Scout Group and attended a week
long camp at Gilwell Park, the Scouting headquarters. This was a fun filled week including
activities, challenges and competitions as well as a trip into London and Lee Valley Water
Park. We are already planning the summer camp next year at Kent International Jamboree.
Contact Helen Wooldridge to find out more mailto:helen@cuddledry.com SPARKFORD NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH As you all now know Sparkford no longer has a Neighborhood Watch, If was disbanded in
April 2016 due to no one willing to step forward to fake the helm which is an unfortunate Village Agent September already! The nights to draw in and the good TV starts again we all from the garden to snuggle up. September often turns into the “to do” month as we lose summer heads the children start school.One major to do list is to think your heating situation. boiler juice or the Council for Somerset oil buying scheme. Consider whether your boiler needs servicing. They are more fuel efficient if you do!If you are collecting pension or prove you are on a low income, you will be eligible for Discount. This is in addition to your Cold WInter and comes itt the form of money off your final bill. The cold winter comes automatically but will need to apply for your Homes Phone your electricity supplier to see if they are part Qf the scheme. If not there is no fee for coming Out of an existing fixed
contract first.It may be worth looking at the amount you pay for your Broadband. It can be crippling. Especially if you use the sports channels!
Readers Digest are offering people a
free “healthcheck.” Call 08003800061. Autumn is fast approaching. it is really beautiful to see the sun rise from behind the
trees each morning before work and now I don’t have to wait up so late before
I can put my chickens to bed. Each year lam known to remark to my neighbours havent seen
you In ages.’ Shameful to think they are only next door but as the nights get longer
and the weather deteriorates, we don’t tend to go for walks or generally be outside
and so we ~.tst don’t see anyone without prior arrangement. There are many invisible people around us who are too fragile or anxIous to go out once
the streets get slippery. They are crying out for people to pop round for a cuppa but find
it one step too far to ask. If we all took the time to drop In on our older
neighbours just once a week, we could really enhance their lives. Perhaps if our children
see us doing It. we would create a caring mlndset they will do it for us when we
are older. Nearly every village has a coffee morning /cafe session where you can pop in
and chat to people from your village. The Idea Is to mix with your neighbours and get to
know each other. Make the most of yours when winter sets in. Don’t forget, this Is the time of the flu clnics, check with your health centre to see when yours are.. Couple of new scams to share The recorded message sounded very official ‘This is Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Customs. A case is being prepared against you with a view to prosecution. To speak your
caseworker, press 1. This Is a scam! It sounds so authentic and is designed to
fluster people into pressing ion the phone and giving away your Information.
It will no doubt connect you to a premIum rate (very expensive) line. So please DON’T press 1, simply put the phone down and wait a while before picking
up to ensure they have released the call at their end. Inland Revenue never ring people, and they don’t email, either. All their
correspondence comes In brown envelopes, brought by the potty. I was also contacted by a
thoughtful parishioner about the new contactkss card fraud Apparently the magnetic sttip
can be read through your pocket and wallet by a fraudster using card reader equipment that
you can easily buy on the irternct The parishioner shared that you can
purcha’.e special wallets to combat this Thank you for sending me this information
This could be a reel risk in the crowds of shopping malls at a cettain time of year. I have done a little research and “which” have resesrched this and say that
wrapping your card in foil will do the trick and you can buy a specIal low cost but
prettier wallet version from Amazon and other such retailers. Off to rummage in the kitchen drawer! My role is to support people in living efficiently and independently and to negotiate
the number of services available In South Enjoy feeling organised!
CaféXtra The
next CaféXtra Village Breakfast Gathering Will take place on Sunday 9th October.
Breakfast served 9.30am to 11.00am. Queen Camel Tuesday Group Report August September Report In September we again tried something new. The suggestion box threw
up the idea of a ‘swap event.’ Bring up to five pieces of costume jewellery, or
clean undamaged scarves or stoles and get five tokens in exchange. These tokens you then
use, to ‘buy’ items that take your fancy. Any extra you want, you pay a nominal
sum for and any surplus items go to a charity shop. The idea was a huge success and we coupled it with a ploughman’s lunch of cheese scones, salad, pickle, apple and, of course cheese! Wine or juice, and coffee finished off the lunch nicely. Next month we have a 1960’s musical quiz which will probably be well attended. We meet, as you know, on the first Tuesday of each month at the Queen Camel Memorial Hall arriving at 10.00am for a 10.30am start. Our membership grows by the month and we would love you to share in that success. If you want any more information about our activities, please call Pat Champion on 01963 32264 or Marion Chapman on 01963 220741 DIOCESE OF BATH & WELLS Message Looking ahead I am excited that the Archbishop of Canterbury
is visiting our diocese for three days In November. I’m excited because he’ll be
praying with us, encouraging us in our new strategy top~ mission and evangelism at the
heart of everything we do, and encouraging us at parish level to be active In our local
communities. The programme for 7th to 9th is still being finalised,
but I am delighted he will be visiting all three archdeaconrles, meeting farmers and
overseas students, leading a prayer walk, speaking in several venues and hopefully
experiencing and enjoying something of the scenery he will see as he travels among us. I
have had the privilege of meeting Archbishop iustin on a number of occasions and am
humbled and encouraged by his faith and commitment. Inevitably In just three days he will
only get a of the Diocese, but I know that all who meet him or hear him speak will be
moved by his deep personal commitment to Christ. it is clear that his relationship with
Jesus and his life of prayer are at the very heart of all that he is and does. I look
forward to his stay with us and the leadership that he offers to our church and
internationally in his daily ministry. Encouraging others is part of the ministry of the Body of Christ and
so this October can encourage you to join in with Thank Your Vicar Week which is October.
We all respond well to appreciation and encouragement and whilst the work of our clergy
often goes unnoticed Im sure each one of us think of a special moment when we’ve
received something through the ministry of our clergy. This is the grace of God, working
through the Holy Spirit and through his followers. We are all called to be followers,
disciples of Christ, and we pray that through our lives and the lives of those around us
that the Kingdom of Heaven comes closer and that God’s love Is known more clearly. As
we grow as disciples we come to see more of God, we experience more of his grace and we
discover know more of the good things he has planned for us all. So, I’m excited about the Archbishop’s visit but I’m
even more excited about what’s already going on In our lives and our parishes and all
this is still to come. As we continue to walk with Jesus and listen to his words we come
to understand and experience more of his love. This starts with prayer as we open
ourselves to God and respond to the love he has for us. And continues with encouragement.
As we meet and share with each other we can bear one another’s burdens and rejoice in
the amazing grace that we find in our togetherness. As autumn comes upon us and as we
approach the cold of winter may we warm one another with fellowship and love. As the
evenings begin to draw in let’s make time for some stillness and quiet to discover
the peace which floods our lives when we turn our hearts and minds to God. Yours in
Christ, A letter from Iona! Stephen and I are currently, early August, on the island of lona,
and have just spent a very wet ‘summer’ week at the Abbey there, very enjoyable
but the weather could have been so much nicer! On our way north we spent a few days in the
Lake District, an area that Stephen knows well from childhood holidays. We spent one day
cycling around the Morecambe Bay on a new cycle route, from Grange over Sands to Arnside.
On arriving at Arnside, the sea was nowhere to be seen! A regular feature most days. If
you know the area you will probably know what I am going to say next, but for those who
don’t. There was a blast from a foghorn type siren, and then within a couple of
minutes the tide began to appear, from the seaward end of the bay. I am used to the tides
and the sea off the Cornish coast, where there are a series of waves, or even breakers,
that ebb and flow and gradually the water moves further up the beach, but the tide in this
bay is so totally different — the bay is very very flat and the sea, without waves,
just keeps on moving forward, and not creeping forward, but striding forward, persistently
forward, and forward faster than a walking speed. It reminded me of the Chinese cockle
pickers who were killed a few years ago, by being forced to work out on the sands by a
gang-master and who didn’t understand the speed of the tides, and the real danger
they faced. The sea really is an uncontrollable force, that stops for nothing. Within ten
minutes the bay was covered in water, and the sea kept on moving in. It was an amazing
sight to watch from the safety of the pavements in Arnside. In retrospect it reminded me
of the episode in the Bible, where the Pharisees are concerned about the spread of support
for Jesus and his message of good news, and Gamaliel tells them that if this movement is
from God that there is nothing that they can do to stop it, it will continue to grow and
expand regardless of anything they attempt, any persecutions, any stoning’s or any
punishments, but that if it is not of God then it will not last, and will fade out and
die. Of course, in retrospect, we know that it was from God, because the Good News of
Jesus is still being told and spread among people all over the world today. With best
wishes that you found a warmer and dryer place to have your summer holiday. Local Business DON’T MISS OUT! Booking a family get together, wedding or
a special party? Mill House Flowers Vale of Camelot Grower
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