MACLA News Magazine - 41. Winter 2010

Editor's Corner

Can you believe it, it is 10 years, as now, when your first edition of this community magazine came through your door. The first issue, the brain-child of producer Geoff Brown (the then chairman of the newly formed Metheringham Community Leisure Association) was just 10 pages (A4 size) and contained only 10 local adverts.

Today it has grown to 68 pages with almost 100 businesses, etc., using it to advertise. Of those ten advertisers, just two have been in every issue, namely Ashley and Geeta at Costcutters and Ann Smith at Metheringham Hair Studio. We thank them for their continued support. Organisations contributing in that October 2000 issue, included Metheringham Amateur Dramatics, Friends of Metheringham Airfield, the local Bowls Club, Football Club, Over 60s and Women's Institute and again it is thanks to them for having contributed in most, if not all, of every issue.

I believe the magazine is now an integral party of our lives and has brought our communities closer together whilst also being a useful reference document for many varied needs - long may it continue.

Local Church services over the festive season

Blankney St Oswald's

Sun 19 Dec - Carol Service at 4.30pm - coffee, mince pies, etc.
Thurs 16 Dec - The Blankney Hunt will hold a Carol Service at 6.30 pm - all welcome.
Sat 25 Dec - Christmas Day service at 9.00 am

Dunston St Peter's

Mon 13 Dec - School Carol Service at St Peter's, Dunston -at 2.15 pm
Fri 24 Dec - "Carols on the Green, Dunston" at 7.00 pm
Sat 25 Dec - Family Communion at 9.30 am - Children are invited to bring a new toy to show to everyone. Collection to Nomad Trust

Kirkby Green, Holy Cross,

Fri 24 Dec - "Carols by Candles" Service at 6.30 pm.

Martin - Holy Trinity

Tues 14 Dec - Carols in the Church Gardens - followed by refs - 6.30
Sun 19 Dec - Village Carol Service - 11.00 am
Fri 24 Dec - Midnight Mass - 11.30 pm

Metheringham Methodist Church

Tues 14 Dec - The Village Carol Service at 7.00pm
Sat 25 Dec - Christmas Day Service at 10.30am - please note the new time
Sun 26 Dec - (There is no service) a circuit service will be held at Ruskington at 11.00am

Metheringham St Wilfrid's

Thurs 23 Dec - Holy Communion (CPB) - 9.00 am
Fri 24 Dec - Carol Service - 6.00 pm
Fri 24 Dec - Holy Communion - 11.30 pm
Sun 26 Dec - No service

Nocton, All Saints

Fri 24 Dec - 'Christingle Service' in aid of the Children's Society at 4pm
Fri 24 Dec - 'Midnight Mass' at 11.30pm
Sat 25 Dec - 'Christmas Morning Holy Communion' at 9.30am
Sun 26 Dec - 'Boxing Day Holy Communion' at 9.30am

Scopwick Churches

Sun 12 Dec - Scopwick Church & Chapel - a joint Carol Service in the Chapel at 2.30 pm.

Last Posting Date for Cards for UK are:

Second Class Saturday 18th Dec. First Class Tuesday 21st Dec.

Last Posting Date for standard parcels
in UK is Wednesday 15th Dec.

Overseas
For overseas cards / parcels you will need to check with your post office although the last dates for International Airmail vary between 4th & 11th Dec

Nocton Dairies' reworked application for the proposed farm at Nocton Heath was submitted to NKDC on 18 November. It includes a reduction in the proposed numbers of cows to 3,770 and other changes / information the applicants say will address local concerns over water, health, smell, flies and traffic.

The plans (reference 10/0831/FUL) will be available on the NKDC website when validated but until then are available on www.noctondairies.co.uk, where there is also additional information provided. Factsheets have been issued in local villages and meetings are being set up in each parish. It is expected the consultation period will last 13-14 weeks after validation with initial feedback taken after 4 weeks.

Update - Ed: the number for the revised planning application is 10/1397/FUL according to the Lincoln Echo. Nothing under either number on NK planning site as of 29th November

Update - Ed: Consultation meeting for Metheringham residents - 08 December 2010

Metheringham is one of only a few villages left in Lincolnshire to still retain its traditional Annual Feast. Held each October it has perhaps been in existence since mediaeval times. It is almost certainly associated with celebrating the gathering of the harvest and possibly connected with St Wilfrid, Patron Saint of the parish church, whose feast day is on 10 October. Nearly every village in the County used to hold an annual feast, but the majority had disappeared by the turn of the twentieth century with only the strongest surviving.

Today, almost all have now gone, leaving only Metheringham, Billinghay and Wroot (North Lincs) to carry on the tradition, although one or two other villages have attempted to revive their feasts in recent years. Up until the Second World War the Feast Day in Metheringham was always held on a Tuesday, when the farm labourers and school children were given the day-off to enjoy the celebrations. Along with the rides and sideshows presented by travelling showmen, attractions such as show jumping and donkey derbies down the High Street, were also organised and family and friends would travel long distances to be together around the tea table to enjoy traditional Lincolnshire delicacies, such as stuffed chine and plum loaves.

Allotments
The Parish Council will be consulting with the residents of Shiregate, Blacksmith Court and The Chase to establish their views on changing the un-adopted open space at the north end of Shiregate and some of the tree strip adjacent to Dunston Road into potential allotments. Your views on this project are very important, so please let us know what you think.

Best Kept Village Competition
This year Metheringham entered the Best Kept Village Competition and competed against twenty three other large villages across Lincolnshire. This is the first time for many years that we have entered this competition. The finals were judged in August and Metheringham was placed third, with Nettleham winning and Kirton (Boston) in second place. The marking sheets will be displayed on the noticeboard. With your help we could go on to win this prestigious competition in 2011.

The new school year started with a visit from the Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend John Saxbee. I invited him to conduct services of dedication at the mosaics outside both Dunston Primary and Digby Primary to symbolize the successful Federation between the two schools. He was wonderful with both children and staff as he toured the schools afterwards and made a big impact on everyone. On 19 September we met the Bishop again as our school choir was invited to sing at the Communion service in St. Peter's Church led by Bishop John. He included the children in the service at all times, a morning that they will never forget!

At the end of September, we all enjoyed the Scarecrow Weekend. I visited on the Saturday when Dunston village was teeming with people. The atmosphere was very special and, of course, the quality of the scarecrows was again excellent. Thank you to Kay and everyone else who worked so hard to make the weekend such a success.

On 7 October Class 3 enjoyed a fascinating trip to a mosque in Peterborough. The children all said that they learned a lot from the visit and it really broadened their understanding of the Muslim faith.

On 20 October the pupils had a fantastic Cluster Day (which we hold every year) when our children mix together with children from Digby, Potterhanworth and Nocton schools. This year they enjoyed a variety of activities such as fun Forensic Science at Branston Community College, visits from the police, fire service and road safety partnership at Dunston and sports coaches at Digby.

We are now beginning to look forward to a variety of Christmas events. The Christmas Fayre takes place in the school at 3.15 on Friday 3 December. We will be holding the school's Carol Service on Monday, 13 December in St. Peter's Church. Finally we will be taking the whole school to the panto at Lincoln Theatre Royal (we can't miss Cannon and Ball!) on Wednesday, 15 December.

Best wishes,
Graham Boyall - Headteacher

Check out the school website for more information http://www.dunston-pri.lincs.sch.uk

As the nights now start to pull in, it is both time to look back at what has been a fairly successful season for the club and also look forward to next year.

I will start with our Saturday team who played in the third division of the South Lincs and Border League, captained by Simon Behan. They had a very successful season finishing second in their division and fully expected to be promoted to the second division. However, like a lot of things in this day and age, we had not read the 'small print' in the league rules which resulted in only the division winners gaining promotion. Therefore we will again be in the third division next year and will have to make sure we win the division to ensure ourselves of promotion. There were some outstanding performances for this team during the summer with everyone contributing to our success at some stage of the season.

Our success really was a team effort. Credit must go to one of our new players, Neil Gilbert, who amassed 35 wickets, the second highest total within the division, which he would surely have exceeded if not for his work commitments towards the end of the season. This total is also the highest tally for the Saturday team since its inception in 2005. The highest scoring batsman was again Simon Behan, who, despite not having his best season with the bat (his own words) still amassed more runs than anyone else. I must mention another player, Phil Woodcock, who scored the only century for the club this season. This was certainly not his first hundred but, in my opinion, was certainly the best, and I have seen most of the ones he has scored.

The Sunday team, after being relegated from the Premier Division in 2009, played their cricket in Division One of the McKinnells Lincoln League. Everyone knew this would be a season to consolidate and hopefully enjoy their cricket more, after some of the maulings suffered the previous season. The team was captained by James Ingamells and the season has gone well with the team finishing in a midway position in the division, which is just as well because somehow the fourth place team were promoted to the premier division. Another couple of wins would probably have seen us promoted again, which the club are not ready for at this time. The highlight of the season was probably our victory at neighbours Martin, who were the runaway leaders of the division from day one.

Now is the time to say "thank you" to those who have helped to keep the pool open during 2010. Firstly to the committee, Anne, Kerri, Maggie, Lyn and Parish Council Representative Shirley. Also our lifeguards, Zoe, James and Sam and our Swim teacher, Richard.

Thanks to Trevor, who vacuumed the pool every week. John who mowed the grass, a team from RAF Digby who painted with Steve. Reg who helped us with our Race Night at the Londesborough Arms. Mark for fixing the lights and Lee and Stevie for trimming the hedge. Caroline who stood in for the Saturday morning lifeguard and Carl, who, single-handed, emptied the filter bed, moving a ton of sand and gravel and can be relied upon to give us expert advice on running the pool.

Thanks also to the Howsemans who donated a sink top, the Pealls who gave us a gazebo and the Cluster Group of Parish Councils, for a cash donation, which will be spent on updating some of our equipment.

Lastly, thank you to Metheringham Parish Council who supported us in many ways.

We hope you enjoyed the visit to Sherwood Forest on Fayre & Feast day. The bike was won by Mrs Priest from Caythorpe.

Please come along and have a mince pie and glass of sherry at the Old Post Office on Saturday 11 December (10.00 - 12.00)

Dian Robinson

Membership of the Metheringham WI has risen to 56 - a further extension could soon be needed in the village hall to accommodate us.

The highlight of 2010 has to be our visit to Thursford's Christmas Spectacular in November.

Events since the Autumn Issue of this magazine include our Open Meeting in September when we were treated to a World Tour in 80 Slides by Steve Lovell - concluding at Donna Nook - the Lincolnshire home of seals.

October saw our Game Evening and November a talk by John Malindine on training dogs to help the deaf.

The year will conclude with our Christmas Social on 15 December with refreshments, carols, games and Santa's Sack.

The year has seen the usual sporting activities such as darts, table tennis, ten-pin bowling, a golf day, plus theatre and film visits.

The Metheringham WI finished a creditable 4th out of 21 at the Make, Bake and Show, held at Hubbert's Bridge Community Centre. A lot of hard work by our members, as demonstrated by the contributions of photographs, art, needlework, cakes, cards and flower displays. We also had a stall at the recent Metheringham Fayre & Feast with another successful tombola and sale of cakes, jams, pickles and cards. All the "girls" looked very attractive in their mob-caps.

By the time you read this we will have held our Table-Top Sale, and hopefully it will have been successful. Our Christmas dinner is on Wednesday 19 January when we will herald in 2011 at Martin Moor Golf Club.

In closing we thank Audrey, the committee and members for making 2010 another enjoyable and successful year

Jill Spooner.

Back in September, the Star and Garter management of Paul and Andy, faced a big challenge in attempting to recreate the success of previous Vegetable and Produce Shows,, which have become such an important fixture in the life of the community. This they achieved very successfully and as well as having a good display of show entries, a rich array of produce in the auction, a quality raffle and a room full of happy people, the afternoon raised £540.

This money was split equally between Metheringham Area LIVES First Responders and the Senior Citizens' Welfare Committee.

Judges for the competitions were Bill and Mollie Chambers and the Auctioneer was Dennis Bowler.

Andy, from the Star, thanked everyone for their support and Dennis Bowler thanked the staff for all their support and hard work to make the event a success. Jenni Honisett paid the top price for the traditional mystery auction lot. Her house should now be spotless.

September saw the birth of a free monthly newsletter and website for residents of Dunston.

Although there are Notice Boards located around the village and households receive the quarterly edition of MACLA, the monthly Parish Magazine and specific leaflet drops, there is no central point where everyone can read ALL that is going on in the village and find out about other local matters that will affect villagers.

The Dunston Dossier has been created by Diana Hammond and Jean Ford, with funding in place for one year to publish a monthly newsletter and a website to provide information about Dunston. It is in no way competing with the MACLA or the Parish Newsletter but aims to complement them in keeping villagers informed.

The newsletter will strive to be independent and impartial, providing factual details and sources of information on controversial issues. It will provide details of events, fund raising, services, clubs and societies in Dunston.

The website, www.dunstondossier.org.uk, is updated whenever new information is received and contains more information on the topics covered in the printed newsletter which is distributed for the beginning of each calendar month.

It was going to be called the Dunston Diary but at a glance that could have been read as Dairy and given the current major topic concerning villagers it was decided to call it the Dunston Dossier.

LATEST:
Dunston Dossier will endeavour to keep people abreast of the present position regarding the proposed - Nocton Dairy

Following the Harvest weekend- coffee morning and Harvest Festival service (Dunston Churches together), we were able to send £200 to the Nomad trust in Lincoln. On 30 October St John cadets used the chapel as a base for their night hike. Fortunately the evening was mild and dry and they had a great time.

As we accept the darker evenings and feel the pleasure of drawn curtains and a good warm fire, we are looking forward to the Christmas season and all it brings. After discussion with St Peter's church it has been agreed that instead of the midnight service at the Chapel on Christmas Eve we will meet on the green for carols. This will give families an opportunity to share in the real meaning of Christmas and to celebrate the coming into the world of Jesus.

Lunch Club dates for 2011 are as follows:
21 January, 18 February, 18 March, 20 May, 17 June, 15 July, 16 September, 21 October , 18 November

We serve two hot courses with a choice of tea or coffee - only £3.00

Good food, good service ( well sort of ! ) and very good company.

Come along and join us

Puss In Boots - A traditional family pantomime

Be sure to put the dates in your diary for the next pantomime 21 & 22 / 28 & 29 January 2011.

Puss in Boots was written at the close of the 17th century as a French literary fairy tale. It was first published in 1697 and became an instant success, as it still is. It tells the tale of a cat who uses all his mastery of trickery to secure the hand of the princess for his lowly born master, Will, the miller's son.

Our professionally written production has all the traditional elements of pantomime, with the good and bad fairies, an eccentric dame, a roly-poly king and three naughty but funny brothers of our hero Will, who wins the hand of the beautiful princess despite the evil doings of the Ogre and his alluring servant.

You can get tickets from Info-Links and D & K News, both on the High Street.

For further information call Fran Pembery 01526 320827

Please note that Lincolnshire Police is no longer responsible for stray dogs. This is now the responsibility of our local council (in our case North Kesteven DC) and Dog Wardens can be contacted during normal working hours on 01529 414155. The out of hours number, should you find a stray dog, is 07966 400999. Arrangements will be made by them to collect the dog and scan it for a microchip or transport it to a holding kennel.

Should you have lost a dog you can report it on 01522 730502 (this is a 24 hours answer-phone).

For dog owners in the Metheringham area I would like to thank those of you who clean up after your pets. The whole of the village is a "zero tolerance" area and fixed penalties will be issued where there is evidence of someone not cleaning up.

There is a problem in the Londesborough Way estate at the present time, with someone allowing their dog to foul on the grassed area. This area is being regularly patrolled and a £50 (on the spot) fine will be issued to any offenders. There is also a lesser problem on Church Walk but again, this area is being monitored and the same action will subsequently be taken.

It is your village and your dog warden can be contacted on 07833 757988 should you witness any dog fouling not being cleaned up.

We had another very successful time selling discarded books at Metheringham Feast. To fit in with the topic of heroes and heroines we decided to go for an Ancient Greek theme, three of us wearing matching Greek goddess wigs and Judith opting for a wreath of laurel leaves.

We have decided that Jacki cannot carry on with story time as, despite repeated pleas, we still only get one little girl turning up each week. So, in future, we will only be having specific themed story times which will be advertised as such.

It's time to be thinking about the next computer course run by Lincoln College, which will be starting after Christmas. The 4 courses they run at the library, depending on demand, are Internet Email & Word Processing, Presentations & Microsoft Publisher, Spreadsheets & Databases and an Introduction to Digital Photography. They have introduced a charge of £25 for 10 weeks but their publicity states that concessions do apply, so, for further information on the courses, please contact the Community Team on 01522 876258 or e-mail them on communityeducation@lincolncollege.ac.uk

We gave Mel a brilliant send off on her last day of work on 27 October, having an open afternoon which carried on to seven o'clock. From 2pm the library was full of customers and library staff and I think she was quite overwhelmed that so many people came to wish her well. Amongst other presents we gave her an apron with Retired Librarian printed on it which she wore with an added sticker saying 'almost' for her last three hours at work. Not that she did any work, nor did we expect her to. I was fine until 7pm when I did cry as we have worked together for 26 years and, as Mel said that was half of her marriage.

We are having a Christmas coffee morning on Friday 17 December from 10 am to 12 noon. Please come along and have a drink and a mince pie.

Pauline Ventress

Our building is 150 years old and in parts is starting to feel its age. We are planning to get together to carry out some maintenance and repairs and we need your HELP!

Would you be able to come along to give us a hand - even an hour would be such a help to us - there are lots of jobs to do, including some which need a bit of DIY knowhow - but lots which anyone can do - cleaning and painting

Please give this some thought - you could really make a difference for us - our building is used by lots of different groups and really needs some NLC!

A LIGHT LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED
Contact
Beth 321919 / Jenny 321627
or John 830192

In the last edition of the MACLA Magazine we publicized that local historian Ricky Harby (late of Scopwick) was happy to carry out Census and Genealogy enquiries for people, free of charge. Sadly in this issue we have to report on his sudden and untimely death at the age of just 56. Our commiserations, sympathy and sorrow are extended to his wife and family.

Red House, Dunston
I am researching my family tree, I have been given some information that my Great Grandmother was born in Dunston at the RED HOUSE in 1904. I have tried Googling this to see what comes up, but I was transferred to your site. Would the RED HOUSE be THE RED LION as it is now. Tracey Henderson t.henderson2608@hotmail.com

Hammond/Turners in Dunston
My Grandfather Thomas Roffey Hammond was the owner of Dunston House in Dunston. He married Nora Annie Turner, the youngest daughter of Benjamin Turner, a tailor, of the Old Post Office and Shop. My father, Thomas John Hammond died two months ago and we would really love to find out more about the family's time at Dunston. If anybody has any information, photographs or history about the Hammonds/Turners in Dunston we would love to hear from you. Probably a long shot, I know, but here's hoping.....
Fiona Hammond-Williams williams.ok@talktalk.net

One of Meg's waifs and strays, Peter Byers, has been quite active recently. Peter was born and 'brung' up in Meg. Check out his superb work on what he has done on the history of the people of Metheringham.

Peter's developed an online family tree building application called Meg-Tree. Meg-Tree will allow folks to add details of Births, Marriages, Deaths, etc.

Peter has generously allowed MACLA users access to the application so that you can build your own family tree. The only criteria for such additions is that at least one of the events in the new Tree happened in Meg.

More details can be found here: http://www.byersblog.co.uk/sbdet.asp?ui=1920

If you've come to this forum looking for Metheringham related family history then you should make meg-tree.co.uk your next stopping point.

An excellent job. Well done, Peter

Heroes and Heroines were all around the village for Metheringham Fayre and Feast on Saturday 23 October. The theme this year allowed plenty of scope for individuals and groups to decorate themselves and their stalls in appropriate fashion. Some were historical, some fantastical and others up to the minute.

The dressing up was overshadowed by the arrival of a real hero to open the event to the public. Treo, the Army Search Dog, arrived with his handler Sergeant Dave Heyhoe and paraded to the village cross proudly displaying his Dickin medal, the canine equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Treo was awarded the medal recently for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" while serving in Sangin Province in Afghanistan in 2008, detecting explosive devices.

The parade was led by the Lincoln and District Scout Band, the Scopwick Angels and the Starlite Twirlers. The Chairman of Metheringham Parish Council, Councillor Dr Mike Allen introduced the guests who included the Vice-Chairman of North Kesteven District Council, Councillor Ian Cartwright.

After the opening, Treo posed for photographs and then Sergeant Heyhoe was invited to judge the competition for best decorated stall and best decorated commercial premises. The eventual winners were the Metheringham Pre-School stall and the Land Girls from Metheringham Co-Operative. Other notables were The Swimming Pool Association (MADSPA) who as Robin Hood were "taking from the rich to give to the pool". Metheringham Library made a wonderful spectacle as the Cleopatra's in a last hurrah for Mel before her retirement on Thursday 28 October.

As usual the High Street was lined with stalls selling crafts, fancy goods, fundraisers and with competitions and refreshments. An early drizzle took some of the music into the village hall but there was a good array of entertainment introduced by DJ Bob including the StarliteTwirlers, the Silver Sounds Band, singers Rick and Rob and Nigel Tom and Terry; the Devaney Irish Dancers and culminating in a fantastic but sadly poorly supported double set by rock band Local Heroes. During the day carriage rides and the Earthbound Misfits roamed the high street amongst the visitors.

Metheringham Village Hall was transformed by a fascinating array of stalls from the Metheringham Airfield Supporters, the ever popular photographic village memories corner, raffles, Metheringham WI's craft, produce and tombola stall, Karen's photographs, Laura's crafts and other jewellery and charitable stalls. Refreshments were also available courtesy of the Village Hall committee, St Wilfrid Church, the Methodist Chapel and all the pubs and food outlets in the village.The sounds of the fairground provided a backdrop to the whole event.

The event organisers would still like more villagers to give up an hour or two of their time to help with stewarding and/ or erecting and dismantling stalls for an hour or two on the day. If you think you and your friends could help next year please contact the parish clerk.

Make a note in your diary - next year's event is on Saturday 24 October 2011

It was lovely to see a full church for our Harvest Festival Service on the evening of Thursday 7 October. We celebrated with a traditional evensong - with a slight twist!
The preacher, the Venerable Tim Barker, gave a sermon, very relevant to the modern rural community. Our churchwardens were delighted that so many people from our neighbouring parishes came to support us on this occasion, many of whom joined us for a most wonderful Harvest Supper in the Old School afterwards. Thanks go to everyone who made the evening such a great success and to all those who supported us. We hope to see you at our forthcoming Carol Service on Sunday 19 December at 4.30 pm - coffee, mince pies and maybe, mulled wine, will follow.

Forthcoming events:-

5 January 2011 Kevin Harrison will talk on 'Lincolnshire Oddities with slides. Doors open 6.30pm

2 February 2011 Judith Hibberd a "Musical Rendezvous" with some of England's finest Variety Stars - Joyce Grenfell, Julie Andrews etc. Doors open at 6.30pm.

2 March 2011 The Annual General Meeting followed by a fish and chip supper. Please come and air your views - it helps to make the Club a bit more successful.

May we wish you and yours A Happy and Blessed Christmas - And Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year

Margaret Amos

Following the refurbishment the Village Hall is attracting both more regular and occasional users. This will increase even further when the anticipated approval is received from the Licensing Authorities to allow a much larger number of bookings than currently agreed. Bookings are already being taken for private events into 2012.

Currently preparation is under way in theVillage Hall for the Annual Christmas Bazaar that will take place from 2.00pm on Saturday 11 December, when many stalls to sell local products of all sorts, will be available, along with attractions suitable to entertain the children. The Bazaar will be followed at 4.30pm by a Children's Concert where, in addition to a variety of acts, seasonal refreshments will be available.

Our 38 new Reception class pupils have now settled into school and are being well supported by Miss Meyerhoff, Mrs Flintham, Mrs Thackray and Mrs Lawford. They, along with some of their Year 1 classmates, have visited the local fire station and post office in the village.

The Harvest assembly took place in school at the end of September. Our new Reception parents were invited to attend and all pupils took part in the celebrations. Harvest donations were sent to the New Life Church Community Larder.

Once again the school held a themed week on the Expressive Arts. Pupils spent time working on a large piece of collective 3D art work which will be displayed in the school hall. Classes worked on art work based on the theme of 'friendship' to decorate their class cloakrooms. We were also entertained by members of the Dunston Silver Sounds Band who, along with some of their members who are pupils at our school, led an excellent assembly that saw our pupils participating in playing some of the instruments that they brought along.

Ladies (and Gents), are you interested in forming a Knit and Natter Club?

Whatever skills you might have, not just knitting, it can be embroidery, sewing, rag rugging, card-making, jewellery, even woodwork, bring it along and either sit and do your own thing or share your skills with others who could be interested to learn the skill. All this can be enjoyed with a "cuppa" and a natter.

If you are interested please ring Dian (07932 520362) or Maggie (07525 351004)

The high price of metal, especially lead, has led to an increase in thefts from churches. This quote is from the two Archdeacons in the Lincoln Diocese.

"Several people have reported an increase in criminals using legitimate-looking safety clothing, signage, and branded vehicles to cover metal thefts. Pretending to be genuine workmen means they can hide in plain sight and remove metal and lead from church roofs in broad daylight. If you have suspicions, ask questions of workmen and check with those who may have authorised the work. If you have any concerns phone the police immediately".

The village parish churches belongs to everyone in your village, so let's all keep a special eye on them.

Adrienne Jones

On Sat 13 November we held our Christmas Market in Metheringham Village Hall. We were lucky to have a nice sunny day with the public turning out well even if though cash was a bit short. The atmosphere was good as folk tried their luck on the tombola and raffle. Farm House pickles, jams and Christmas cakes could be sampled before buying; that was very popular. The woodworking demonstration was really interesting and some lovely gifts were produced. These were just a few of the stalls that people enjoyed looking around, with many winning prizes, or purchasing Christmas presents. As usual the Snack Bar was busy but who could resist the smell of bacon butties and home roast ham wafting around the area?These went down well and the cakes also vanished in record time. All in all we at MAWS enjoyed the day greatly and we hope everyone else did too.

As we go to press we do not yet have all the bills in but we hope to have a gross figure of around £962 which could give us a profit of around £690 should the bills be similar to last year. It is thanks to a lot of people, the volunteers for their hard work, businesses and individual people for the prizes given, also to those who baked the cakes. Not forgetting the car drivers who ferried things about for us. And finally a big, big thank you to all of you for your wonderful support on the day. Bless you all for caring. On that note we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year.

2011 Dates for your diary

Fri 28 Jan - MAWS Annual party (members & guests) Martin Moor Golf club - please pay for meal at time of booking.
Fri 4 Mar - An evening of entertainment with Leanne Disney (very bubbly song and dance lady) - Martin Moor Golf Club - entry by ticket only. Bar open for food and drink if required.

For further details contact Joyce Muncey - 01526 321436

Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster

This book tells the story of a painting, how it came to be painted by a woman living alone in an attic room in Paris, its adventures and the various women who come to own it. The painting is by Gwen John, a British painter who was born in Haverfordwest, Wales in 1876 and died in 1939. From 1895-98 she studied at the Slade School of Art and shared living quarters with her younger brother Augustus John who had begun his studies there in 1894. In 1903 she travelled to France with a friend, where they set off on a walking tour with their art equipment. Sleeping in fields, they lived on money earned by selling portrait sketches and in 1904 they arrived in Paris where Gwen found work as an artist's model. She then began modelling for the sculptor Auguste Rodin and became his lover. It was after this affair ended that she painted the picture which is at the centre of the story.

The book is written in sections with each one being about a different woman who has had the painting in their lives. There wasn't really enough about each character, each section finished and then jumped years to the next person.

I quite liked the book as did half of the reading group members. The opinions of the other half were summed up by Jayne who said 'I disliked it although it was well written. I thought it was a good idea to use ownership of a painting as a device for telling stories but it had ill-natured characters and all of the half-decent men were bumped off. The only page I wanted to turn to was the last one'

Although it scored an average of 6½ for the quality of the writing it only got 5 for enjoyment

Pauline

After suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2009 Martin Cricket Club bounced straight back to cruise to the Division One title and a quick return to the top flight in 2010. Suffering only two defeats in 18 games they won by 54 points from Saxilby and Heckington. Captain Dave Gollop has to take a lot of credit for the way he led his players to the title and by virtue of this was chosen as the Club Player of the Season. Also finishing third in the league bowling averages with an average of 10.43, he picked up the Club's Bowling Award collecting 42 wickets, the second most in all the divisions. The Batting Award went to Steve Scott who scored 670 runs, including three centuries and two fifties in 14 innings and finished with an average of 83.75. He also finished top of the Div One batting averages. The Club's fielding award went to Tom Harrison with James Zealand collecting the Young Player Award.

Dave Allen

Brain Teaser

I was given a brain teaser with two groups of words missing. The four words in each group are anagrams of each other. I've solved the first group, but I'm stuck on the second group.
Can you help?

Time to decorate the Christmas tree! Putting up the lights was my job, but after that it was time to ENLIST some help. While the kids were busy adding TINSEL, I put on some music to LISTEN to; my favourite song is "SILENT Night".

After we finished decorating the Christmas tree, I hung the stockings on the __1__. Feeling a chill, I looked down and had to __2__ my __3__ lapse; the fire was out. I threw on my __4__ and stepped out into the cold night to gather some firewood. Upon my return, we were soon roasting chestnuts and sipping eggnog to complete a wonderful evening.

Below is a news letter of August 1944, sent out to our War Heroes during WWII via the Metheringham Comforts League - it came to us via John Chapman of Scopwick (ex of Metheringham) from the belongings of his late father, Donaghue Chapman.

Cheerio and all the best to all of you. Once more we are able to send you the enclosed Postal Order with the best wishes of all the village. Thanks once again for all the interesting letters received. Sorry we could not manage the bulletin last time to let you know where all your pals are doing their bit. We are trying to make up for it this time. It's a bit of a job sorting you all out these days so if you do not find yourself mentioned you will know you are not forgotten, otherwise you would not be reading this. Tell us next time you write from overseas if you have run across any of the lads of the village. We'll send you any one or two addresses if you ask for them. You will understand we cannot send you a list. Don't criticize our order of mentioning you. You are all in the news and what a fine job you are all doing.

Guess you will all want to know about Normandy first. These are the lads with the B.L.A., L/Cpl. H Morris, Cpl. C. Harrison, Pte J.A.Walton, Roland Newton, Arthur Russell, Josh Dawson with the Gunners; George Cucksey with his tank; Geoff Thorpe driving with a Field Ambulance; Cpl. Bert Gillings, Pte. Harold Chaloner, L/Cpl E. Graham, Pte. Eric King (still baking for you) are with the R.A.S.C. as well as Charlie Harrison; L/Cpl. Jack Richardson, Sappers Jack Peet and Bill Mallett are with the R.E.'s; L/Cpl. Hardesty, Pte. Joseph Wright and Pte. John Goodwin have jobs out there; Cpl. Billy Gash and Leslie Cook are with the R.A.F. and Cpl. George Marston is doing his bit with SHAEF. Bill Hicks, Roland Smith and G.W. Wilson have been wounded. All three are getting on very well. We regret to tell you that Donald Watson (Station Road) was killed in action about the middle of July.

And now the lads who have been away so long with the C.M.F. etc; Pte. Nipper Wright,
Rfn. F. Gray, Pte Chris Gray, Gunner Bob Tye, Pte. Tommy Atkin, Fus. Ron Goodwin, Driver G. Boughen, Cpl. G. Wheaton (with his tank); Pte. Reg Scott, L/Cpl. Gates, S/Sgt. Probert and C.S.M. Joe Holt (All R.A.S.C. lads) and F/Sgt. Hall. Wish we could tell the lads of all your varied jobs. We guess each one would fill a book. The letters B.N.A.F. still find Sgt. Bertie Wells and L.A.C. Tich Auckland. H. Swift is home on leave from M.E.F. Flying Officer Brookes-Armitage is still with his squadron out there, and L/Cpl. (ATS) Dorothy Garland got married out there (name Cunnington). "Balkans appears in her address. We never know where Ron Chaloner will turn up next - he is now with the P.A.I. Force. Good luck Ron. You have travelled some. John Punton is in the Azores. Tommy Tye is still in an Isolation Hospital in Canada and Cpl. Fred Daniels (Minnie Browett's husband) is with SEAC.

Leslie Garton, J.W. Bell, John Currie, George Keenan, Henry Morris, W.R.L. Wilson and Bob Golding are with the Navy, and still buying beer at 3/- a pint in India are Cpl. Neville Bates, Cpl. Norman Wright, Cpl. A. L. Cox, F/Sgt. F. Howes and Sgt. Tommy Lintin and L.A.C. C.W. Fox. Jolly Good Luck to everybody.
Special Greetings to all in the UK
Cheerio - Hon Sec.

27 March 2011 will see the next census take place across England and Wales and it is anticipated it will generate over 35,000 jobs, so if you are interested, read on.
What is the census? - The census is a count of the population in the UK. Every 10 years everyone is asked the same questions on the same day to give a complete picture of the nation.

This information helps central and local governments make key decisions about future policies, planning, services and funding for local communities.

By going online and logging on to: https://censusjobs.co.uk you will find everything you need to know about applying for a job with the 2011 Census.

A number of benefits are offer for both you and your local area, including:

• flexible working hours


• job satisfaction from helping others


• extra cash to boost your income


• a chance to develop your community


• invaluable experience for your CV

• anyone looking to earn extra money


• community focused individuals


• parents returning to work


• students and graduates


• semi-retired, retired and pensioners

Christmas is approaching and we are preparing for our 2010 Christmas camp which will round off a very busy year.

Our AGM in June was very well attended, and many of the children were awarded Chief Scout awards; we were also able to welcome some new members to the executive committee.

Scout Ben Peall (now a venture scout and junior leader) was also selected to be one of the UK Scouting representatives at the world Jamboree in Sweden, June, 2011. He has to raise £2011 towards his trip; he will be running a second hand toy stall at Metheringham Car Boot. So please support him (donations towards this will also be gratefully received).

The whole group took to the field paths between Sleaford and Metheringham on a very hot sunny day in May for a family sponsored walk, followed by a BBQ at the Scout Hut. Scouts walked from Sleaford and were joined at Ruskington by the Cubs and finally for the last stretch the Beavers joined the throng at Scopwick. We raised a good sum for Scout group funds and everyone seemed to enjoy it (the Scouts and Cubs were relieved to dip their feet in the stream on arrival at Scopwick).

Several members of the leadership team left after 20 years service with the Scout Group, and we wish them all well in the future and give them a huge thank you for all their work and dedication in the past. We have also got some new leaders and following a successful recruitment drive a whole new generation of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

We have a growing waiting list for all sections and as usual we are always in need of adult helpers to help the group continue to grow and thrive. We really need some more help On Thursday evenings at the Scout meetings.

We had yet another successful family camp in June. This year we had a Western theme. Everyone enjoyed it and we are now planning next year's family fun packed weekend. Cubs and Scouts had their annual summer camp in Kibblestone in Staffordshire. They enjoyed mud scrambling, climbing, outdoor cooking and lots of other energetic and exciting outdoor activities. Next year we will be going to Norfolk and hopefully we will have as much fun and fine weather!!

Well that's it, Happy Christmas and New Year to all. If you would like more information about our group or better still would like to volunteer please phone Pete Lincoln on 01526 321055 (All volunteers are CRB checked)

Have you ever wandered round the garden in December with your hands in your pockets to protect them from the chill, only to marvel at the contents found - like William Brown's, of the Just William stories, with the exception of the catapult?

Perhaps this might be a useful addition but I know my aim is not what it should be. There are labels from long forgotten plant purchases, which in my heart of hearts I knew would not flourish in my "limey" soil; one label stating artemesia, although my late lamented gardening pal and I were convinced it was ageranthemum wrongly labelled, so I keep it as an aide memoire just in case I ever find out its true identity; some nifty split plastic rings supplied with some bottles of wine holding "money off" vouchers, which are very useful for tying in unruly plants; small pieces of string which I can't bear to throw away as they may come in useful, although I always forget their existence and cut new lengths off the ball; all manner of small pieces of china and pottery which I keep in the hope that one day I will have sufficient to do something arty with - my road to hell etc; some mouldy walnuts, most of which we watched the resident squirrel knocking off the tree and subsequently storing for a winter feast, so by the law of averages we should have an orchard of walnut trees; (I have some fledgling trees if anyone can give one a home); an odd gardening glove, which I have searched everywhere for and of course, lots of soil! It's no wonder the jacket got heavier as the year progressed.

Well we have just completed yet another successful year. We held our AGM on the 10 November where there were some changes to our committee. We now look forward to the coming year and in April 2011 we will travel to Trange, so we are all getting quite excited about this.

We continue to seek families with young children to join the twinning and on the 3 December we intend to have a stand at the St Peter's School Christmas Fayre starting at 3.15 pm so why not come along and see what it is all about. If you can't make this then just contact us on our numbers below.

Continue to look out for future events.

Helen 01526 321740
Beth 01526 323919
Jenny 01526 321627

We got together for the Scarecrow Weekend, now let's get together again to celebrate Christmas! Everyone in the village and beyond is invited to come along and sing favourite carols on Christmas Eve at 7pm on the Green in Dunston. It's being organised by Dunston Churches instead of a traditional Carol Service.

Adrienne Jones

With Christmas coming, the Friends of Metheringham School will be having stalls at the school Christmas Fair on Thursday 2 December from 3.30 till 5pm. We will also be running the Christmas Raffle with tickets (on sale since 22 Nov) available on the night. We are looking for any donations on a Christmas theme e.g. chocolate Santas, baubles, reindeer antlers (plastic obviously!) etc. These can be left with school.

We are also holding a Christmas Disco on Friday 10 December - Infants 6-7pm and Juniors 7.15-8.30pm.

Advance date for your diaries:
Nicks Music Quiz will be on Friday 4 March 2011. This is a great evening, hosted by Nick Redfern. If you haven't been to one of these quizzes before, then get your team (up to 6) and book your table for a fantastic time.

If you are interested in helping FOMS in any way, whether just at a particular event or by being on the committee, please do not hesitate to contact Alicia Armsworth on 323431.

On Tuesday 26 October we visited Brigg Garden Centre. Forty seven of us all sat down to lunch together, followed by an afternoon of Christmas Shopping.

The Star & Garter kindly gave us a donation of £270, raised by their recent Veg and Produce Show. This was very much appreciated and will go towards our outings next year.

Our Christmas Stall will be held in the Chapel on the morning of Thursday 2 December.
Then on Thursday 9 December we will be holding our free Coffee and Mince Pie morning for our usual members.

We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

Pam Woolley (Sec)

The Village Hall's next big event will be the Annual Christmas Party on Friday 17 December. This should be a great night for the children and there will be games and entertainment as well as mulled wine and mince pies for the older visitors. The party is open to all users of the village hall and their families and friends as well as anyone living in Metheringham. Make a note!

A Christmas Quiz is already on sale and the closing date will be 17 December so that the winners can be announced at the party. Quiz sheets are £1 available from village hall committee members. At the Fayre and Feast the village hall management committee and helpers provided refreshments in the hall and Audrey Webb won the Autumn quiz. The Proms Night Concert in November by the Lincoln Fire and Rescue Band was very successful and hopefully we will see them again in the future. New Age Kurling has continued to be a popular Friday night get together. After the December dates there will be a short break and Kurling will re-launch after the Pantomime in mid-February.

On the more practical side of things, the long awaited vestibule alterations, fenced play area and new doors will hopefully be open before you read this. The Village Hall committee is most grateful to the parish council for their financial and other help with the project. At last the hall has a new cleaner and we are very grateful to Margaret Kristen for accepting the position and hope she has a long association with the hall. The other change of personnel involves Cliff Tompkins, the secretary to the hall management committee, who has sadly had to step down due to ill health. Cliff has been a stalwart member of the team along with his wife Wendy and both will be missed. There was no response to the advertisements for a new secretary so Dot Howes has now stepped into the role.

A big thank you to everyone who supported us again this year with the annual car wash event in October in which we managed to raised £343.00 in aid of the Fire Services Charity. Thanks to Jim Garrick who supplied the catering on the day and kept us all refreshed.

The October village feast was attended with the fire appliance from Metheringham along with "Betsy" the vintage fire appliance from Louth (Thanks John) and a line-up of other Fire appliances supplied by the Fire Services Preservation Society including a Rescue Tender ex-Hereford, an ex-Lincolnshire Bedford appliance and a Green Goddess all of which were admired throughout the day. A big thank you to Mark and the crew for bringing them along for display. The tombola raised £136.04 on the day and will be donated to local charities. Thank you.

Metheringham Fire crews have been training at Lincoln Cathedral in the event of a major incident at this historic building. The training involved a full tour of the building including the roof area, towers and grounds. This was a fantastic opportunity to have a good look round this historic building and provided an essential training exercise. I would thoroughly recommend a visit to the Cathedral, as you sometimes take for granted, some things that are right on your door step. The turn out to the Lincoln City area, if there is a major incident, is a strategic operation, with fire appliances moving across the county and being held on "Stand By" at specific locations to fill the areas where other fire appliances have been turned out. Metheringham appliance is approximately eighth appliance into the city, depending on the emergency incidents involved, so it is essential to carry out our training both locally and within the Lincoln city area.

Santa has arranged a visit to Metheringham again this year and is expected on Saturday 18 December and will start his tour of the village at about 4.30pm starting at the Barrier Reef fish shop, Princess Margaret's Avenue. Please check the village posters for other details.

Please remember to check your smoke alarm regularly. On most smoke detectors this can be done by holding in the button on the detector for five to ten seconds until the alarm sounds. If the alarm does not sound please replace the battery with a new one and test again. If the alarm does not sound after a new battery is installed your detector will need replacing. Please contact any member of the Fire and Rescue Service for advice.

If you require any information on Fire Safety in the home or need any help and advice on smoke detectors please contact F\F Duncan Cook on 01526 321330.

Crew Manager Pete Leggett (Station 26 Metheringham) 01526 321473

Nocton cricket club's season started well with two wins after the first five games, but continued with defeats until a rain-induced draw in the very last game. Overall, this was an improvement on the season before (when there had been no wins at all) particularly as there had been some narrow defeats in this recent season. Consequently there are hopes for further progress in the 2011 season.

The club's presentation evening had a delicious buffet provided by the village WI, in the village hall, when the following awards were made:

• David Franklin: Batting, Clubman, President's, and Man of the Match.


• Peter Packwood: Bowling.


• John Franklin: Fielding.


• Dylan Garfoot: Young player.


• Matthew Stephens: Most improved.


• Jake Allison: All-rounder.


• Edward Dowler: Most promising youngster.


• Ben Barnett: Most ducks!

PUBLIC NOTICE - LICENSING ACT 2003

THE TRUSTEES OF THE FRIENDS OF METHERINGHAM AIRIFELD, WESTMOOR FARM, MARTIN MOOR, METHERINGHAM, LINCOLN LN4 3BQ

I, Frederick Ambridge hereby give notice of an application to North Kesteven District Council to vary the Premises Licence in respect of the above premises. The proposed licensable activities are as follows:-
1. To enable the sale of alcohol from 18.00 to 01.00,
2. To enable regulated entertainment from 18.00 to 01.00

Full details of application can be viewed at the offices of North Kesteven District Council, Kesteven Street, Sleaford from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30 am to 4.30 pm Friday, up to 28 days from the date of this application.

All representations made by Interested Parties or Responsible Authorities to the Licensing Authority must be in writing.

It is an offence for anyone knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with a licence application. The maximum fine on summary conviction is £5,000.

Dated this 1st day of December 2010.

Hello from your local beat-team

We are pleased to say that this year's Fayre and Feast ran without any incidents of concern for the Police. There was very little anti social behaviour and no disorder.

Christmas is almost upon us again. This is a very busy time of year for everyone, including the criminal. In order to help prevent you becoming a victim, there are a few measures worth bearing in mind.

In your home
Although presents look lovely placed under the tree in your home, they can also be seen by thieves. If they can be seen, they can be stolen. Keep presents out of sight.
Before opening your door to strangers, use a door chain, checking the validity of all cold callers. If you are not happy, send them away. If they are from a reputable company, they will always call back. Do not let people into your home unless you are 100% sure who they are.
Never leave car keys or handbags downstairs at night. Take them to bed with you.
Never leave your cheque book and card together. Keep your pin number confidential. Don't write your pin number down on a piece of paper, or make a note in your diary - thieves know where to look! Do not leave large amounts of cash in the house.
If you are going away for Christmas, consider using automatic lights, cancel milk and papers and ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your house. If your house is in total darkness, a thief will know there is no-one in. Ensure all doors and windows are locked. If you have a house alarm, USE IT!

In your car
Again, when shopping for Christmas presents and storing them in your car, keep them out of sight. If they can be seen, they can be stolen.
Sat Navs and laptops are currently high on the car thieves shopping list. When you leave your car, take them with you. Also clean any marks left by the Sat Nav off windscreens.
Always close windows. Never leave keys in the ignition, engage steering lock and alarm and lock all doors.
Park in well lit locations or in an attended car park.
Having said all of the above, may we wish you all a very happy Christmas.

To remind you, your beat-team is now:
PC 298 Andrew Brown - 07939 896212
PCSO Caroline Daman-Willems - 07939 997386
PCSO Lisa Duckworth - 07825 100371
PCSO Paul Flannigan - 07825 100372
However, if you need to report an incident please telephone 0300 111 0300 or in an Emergency Dial 999.

The start of the new season got off to a more than disappointing start as both the Under 16s and Under 18s had to withdraw from their respective league due to a shortage of players. In a community of our size one has to wonder how we can not get enough youngsters interested to be involved in organized sport or is it that they would sooner hang around on street corners - sad times I fear. The next thing we will hear is that there is nothing for them to do!

With the withdrawal of these two teams from the club we are now left with nine sides under the club's umbrella, the lowest we have had since 1995-6 when there were just eight sides, including our three senior sides.

Progress reports for each team are not particularly good reading with the Saturday XI sitting in mid table but already eliminated from the four main cup competitions. The Sunday 1st XI is below half way having won two and lost three of their opening games but they too are out of all cup competitions. The 2nd XI, which this year is predominantly made up of last season's Under 18s, find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, still seeking their first win. Similarly the U15s, after finishing in a mid table position last season, is finding the going tough this season as they too are seeking their first win of the season and are also bottom of their league. At Under 13s, they have become a bit of Jekyll and Hyde side after winning promotion last season. After suffering defeat in their opening game they went on to win their next three but this was followed by a run of four defeats where 38 goals were conceded. Thankfully they got back to winning ways recently with a 12-4 win of their own and they sit in a mid table position. At Under 11s it is another story of woe with this team finding it difficult to become accustomed to full sized pitches and eleven a side. They are like two of our other sides, still seeking a first win. This season the club has two sides at Under 10 with the A side, presently our most successful team, sitting in fourth place in their division, still unbeaten. The Under 10B, our new side, are gelling into a useful team and are just below half way, having won as many as they have lost. Finally the Under 9s who have gone into competitive football for the first time, are also proving to be a useful side and they, like the 10Bs, have won as many as they have lost and at the halfway mark in their league.

The Club would just like to thank everyone who supported us at the recent Fayre and Feast. We always hope for a chilly day as it encourages people to partake of our Mulled Wine and this year seemed to be one of our best with a tidy profit being made for club funds. Special thanks go out to Liz Rogers our Funding Officer who was the main organiser of our stall.

The Club is ever mindful of the fact there are lots and lots of budding young players in our community and we are more than happy to accommodate more sides in our organization. We gladly encourage youngsters to come along and train from the age of six onwards BUT to do this we do need willing parents to become involved as well. This is because all the people coaching our present sides are already involved with teams of their own. If anyone wants to form a team, from U7 or U8s, we will help you to do so - please contact club secretary Pete Ford - 01526 320016

by Rodney Garlant

As Autumn winds grow fierce
And bend the slender birch
I see the ghosts of Blankney past
Assembled round the church
Across the fairways in the park
The wind begins to whine
And the ghosts of Blankney golfers
Send shivers down my spine
In a cold and draughty playground
Even to this day
The ghosts of Blankney children
Still gather there to play
In the wind that blows through stables
Now sadly in decay
The ghosts of hunting horses
Can still be heard to neigh
And in the swirling wind
I hear his Lordship call
And the ghosts of Blankney servants
Can still be heard in Blankney Hall
Wind blowing through the Rockery
Gusts round the rocky cave
As the ghosts of Blankney past
Gather round a horse's grave
These spirits now remind me
Of the day I know I must
Leave this place behind
Ashes to ashes dust to dust

Scopwick Playing Field Association - Race Night
The SPFA recently held a really successful Race Night and made just over £1,000 towards the funds.

The Association would like to thank all Sponsors, people who bought "horses" and everyone who came along to make it the success it was.

Scopwick & Kirkby Green Twinning Association
Over the Easter weekend our Friends from Seaux Sur Huisne are coming to Scopwick. We will have an exciting programme including a Ceilidh dance and visits to interesting Lincolnshire places, and more. Please contact us if you would like to host a family or participate in this fun week.

Fundraising Event: SAFARI SUPPER
On the 29 January 2010 we are holding a Safari Supper. Everyone involved will have a set of instructions and a map where to go and the times. The first course is served at 7pm and we finish at the Royal Oak Pub at 10:30 pm. It is a really great way to meet new people and it is also great fun.
It costs £10 - for a 3 course meal - so please get involved - for more information ring
Rosa - 01526 322292

The FoDS is continuing to raise funds for the school. Monies raised go towards improving facilities and purchasing equipment to enable the continued high level teaching of the children at the school.

The "Friends" had a successful shopping evening on Friday 19 November at Dunston Village Hall.

We will be holding the School Christmas Fayre on Friday 3 December at the School 3pm to 4.30pm. All welcome.

Rachel Billingham (Sec)

Copdrop is a Horncastle based charity, which, since 1998, has been raising funds to support physically and mentally handicapped children in Romania.

Committee members have raised, in cash and donated goods, in excess of £100,000 in that time and have made six trips to work at the hospital in Ploiesti.

Always looking for new ways to raise money, Copdrop is currently searching for volunteers who are keen on hiking and enjoy a challenge, to take part in a sponsored walk. The walk chosen, is the Lyke Wake Walk, a 40 mile trek, across the North Yorkshire Moors (from Osmotherley to Ravenscar) and will take place on Saturday 16 July 2011.

Copdrop Treasurer, Julian Millington, explained, "The Lyke Wake Walk is a challenging walk, but anyone of reasonable fitness should be able to complete it. We will provide full back up for the volunteers, including transport to and from the walk, medical cover, regular updates on how preparations are going, and in Spring next year, we will organize a number of training walks to help people achieve the fitness level required. In return, by agreeing to walk on our behalf, we ask volunteers to raise a minimum of £200 sponsorship for Copdrop."

Anyone interested in walking is asked to contact Julian on 01507 578595 or 07985 372871.

St Wilfrid Church requires a Volunteer Cleaner

It would be for about 1 hour every 4 weeks - contact Margaret Amos 321049

Until a new parish priest is appointed, all arrangements for Baptism, Weddings and Funerals should be made to :-

Dunston 25/26 September 2010

Well, what a wonderful weekend it was! The village teeming with people yet again. Our volunteers turned up trumps too, with those doing refreshments being run off their feet. They were forced to dash out for more supplies which resulted in more than £1,000 worth of teas, snacks and lunches being provided. Well done indeed!

People had wonderful ideas for scarecrows - skeletons, spitfire pilots and mole catchers, to name but a few. Many congratulations to the winner, Holey Moley, on Chapel Lane.

Thanks also to Silver Sounds Band and Metheringham Fire Engine and crew, who joined in and made the weekend even more special.

Oh, and incidentally, St Peter's Fabric Fund benefitted by more than £2,400. We may yet see decent heating and a toilet - once we stop the rain coming in!

We did say that this was to be our last Scarecrow Weekend but we have been told it is now a village tradition and we can't stop it, so it looks like they may be right! So get your thinking caps on for next year's scarecrows!

Adrienne Jones

Broadband speeds not fast enough for you? BBC's iPlayer stuttering on download? Then you need to be aware of BT's next technology step that will affect you. Faster broadband through the use of optical fibre.

BT are running an awareness campaign called Race to Infinity. If you visit the site , express an interest by entering your postcode , then if our community can get 1000 votes by 31 Dec 2010, it will be in with a chance of being one of the first 5 areas throughout the country to be upgraded.

1000 votes by year end - sound like a tall order? Not so! For those with long memories this is achievable. Way back in 2003, 2 enterprising locals, Steve & Aaron, ran a similar campaign to persuade enough people to promise to buy broadband in a similar BT promotion. they were so successful that Metheringham was one of the first exchanges in our area to be broadband enabled. Who will champion the campaign this time?

The ball has started rolling - 37 votes on 02 November 2010.

Click on the image to find out more.

Chris Hewitt has put together a new Nocton blog site to keep you updated with the details of whats happened and going to happening in the Nocton All saints church and the community, plus whats on. It doesn't replace the church website but he intends it to be a source of day to day info and a picture record of what goes on in the village and across all the clubs.