WagtailFebruary 2016 • The parish magazine

of Whittington, Arkholme and Gressingham

Saturday 6 FebruaryThe Adventures of Andy Kershaw

7.30 pm Arkholme Village HallThe legendary broadcaster and foreign correspondent

presents recollections from a life spent on the frontlines of rock and roll, and on the front lines of some of

the world’s most extreme and dangerous countries.Tickets £12 from ticketsource.co.uk/date/220297

or 07519 281 305 or c.may@lancaster.ac.uk

Monday 8 FebruaryWomen’s Institute

7.30pm Arkholme Village HallMatthew Lepp of Tiger Muffin Soaps

Tuesday 9 FebruaryPancake Party

6pm to 7.30pmWhittington Village Hall

Tuesday 16 February and Wednesday 17 FebruaryLent Book Club beginsreading ‘Catholicism’ by Gerald O’CollinsTuesday afternoons 4.15pm at 1 Montbegon Hornbyor Wednesday evenings 7.30pm at Station House ArkholmeMore inside on page 9

Wednesday 17 FebruaryLunch Club

1pm Arkholme Village Hallfor retired residentsof the three villagesPlease book by the

Monday with Carole22202 or Doreen 22023

Friday 26 February Gressingham Fellowship

AGM Pie and Quiz night7pm Gressingham Old School Room

A fun social evening with hot pie and peas (£3)a fun quiz and a brief informal AGM. RSVP by

23 February so we know numbers for food andseating. Bring a bottle. john@lunar.co.uk 22335

Also inside: Wettest weather report ever, and Tribute to Pauline Hall

more events on the back cover...

This edition sponsored by

Lancaster 01524 598300Morecambe 01524 416315

DirectoryArkholme Post Office Arkholme Village Hall Mondays and Thursdays 2pm to 4pmWhittington Post Office Whittington Village Hall Thursdays 1.30pm to 3.30pmArkholme and Whittington Parish Council Clerk Gillian Hodgson 218146 Meadoway Arkholme LA6 1AT arkholmebrownies@hotmail.comArkholme School Headteacher Joy Ingram www.arkholme.lancs.sch.uk 21418 Arkholme Village Hall www.arkholme-village-hall.co.uk 07716 122940Book Club May Levick 21669 Choir Louise Jones 22366 / 07970 191998 louisejones65@btinternet.com Drama Group Neil Read 21339 realneed@hotmail.com Lunch Club Carole Webb 22202 or Doreen Airey 22023 for retired residents of the three villages – usually on the second Wednesday of the month from October to MayMethodist minister Peter Brown 01524 771230 Playgroup/Toddlers Danielle Barker wagtailplaygroupandtoddlers@gmail.com 21921 Police PC3573 Rob Barnsley carnforthnpt@lancashire.pnn.police.uk telephone 101Whittington Village Hall bookings Karan Metcalfe 71287Women’s Institute Janice McIlveen 21693Vicar Revd Michael Hampson vicar@these4parishes.co.uk 21712Local churches and community groups can be listed here for freePlease send additions, updates and corrections to editor@wagtail.org.uk

Classified adsWe hope you find these listings helpfulArchitectural Services Chris Potts BSc MRICS – full architectural design services,alterations, extensions and planning advice 015242 73228 info@cnpassociates.co.ukBabysitting by Joe Schofield of Whittington, age 16. Any time, any place. Raising funds for World Expedition Challenge. References can be supplied. 07787 908 072Boarding Kennels and dog day-care Aughton Road, Gressingham LA2 8LShelen.burrow@hotmail.com 07766 446272 www.aughtonroadkennels.co.ukPainting and Decorating A Holloway (Decorators) Interior and exterior Established over 25 years tonyholloway@hms.me.uk 01524 771880Physiotherapy Leah Dalby MCSP Lune Valley Physiotherapy Maximise potential after surgery, accidents, illness including cancer leahthephysio@gmail.com 07934 785797Physiotherapy Marie Colyer MCSP HCPC Bentham 62216 www.benthamphysio.co.ukPlumbing Darren Jones General plumbing, bathrooms, renewable energy systems, no job too small. 1 Crosslands Whittington jonesplumb@me.com 07738 379328Solicitors JWK Solicitors “For when things don’t go your way – there’s always JWK.” For all your legal requirements in England & Wales and Scotland: Commercial Property,Wills, Trusts, Probate, Powers of Attorney, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Dispute Resolution, Litigation, Aviation, Employment, Personal Injury, Family, Conveyancing. Lancaster, Morecambe and Glasgow. Incorporating Jobling & Knape and Whiteside & Knowles. Lancaster 01524 598300 Morecambe 01524 416315 www. jwksolicitors.co.uk.You can advertise here from just £2 per line – see wagtail.org.uk for details

Arkholme Village Hall 150 Club Draw: December 2015 £20 Mr R Webb, £10 D Burrows, £10 Mr and Mrs Helme, £10 Brenda Elton, £10 Mr and Mrs G Charlesworth, £10 Mr and Mrs P Haygarth, £10 Mr and Mrs C Preston, £10 Mr I Close ; January 2016 £20 Mrs M Levick, £10 Mr and Mrs McPhail, £10 Mr and Mrs Evans, £10 Mr and Mrs Day, £10 Mr and Mrs Duxbury, £10 Mrs Hall, £10 Mr and Mrs Burns; February 2016 £20 Mrs M Hodgson, £10 Mr and Mrs N Turner, £10 Mrs FG Mackereth, £10 Mr S Close, £10 Brian Shepherd, £10 Mr G Woods, £10 Mrs J Burton

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WagtailWelcome to the February edition – the first of the new year.All local churches and community groups are welcome to send in news of their activities to Wagtail – reports of recent events (with photographs if available) as well asannouncements of what’s coming up. Other local news is also welcome.Wagtail is available online at www.wagtail.org.ukInformation about advertising in Wagtail is available at the Wagtail website, www.wagtail.org.uk. Advertising income in 2015 was £468.42, and there were grants from Arkholme Parish Council (£100) and Gressingham Parish Council (£50), bringing the total income to £618.42. Expenditure – 98% of it on paper and ink, the rest on staples, postage and the web site – came to £725.83, suggesting a shortfall of £107.41 (reserves were down at year end from £171.98 to £64.57) – but at the end of the year we actually had just over £100-worth of paper and ink in hand (compared to none at the beginning of the year). With advertisers and sponsors already lined up for 2016, it looks as though Wagtail should break even again in the year ahead.The next edition is the March edition. The deadline for items for inclusion is 19 February. Please submit all items to editor@wagtail.org.ukMany thanks as always to all our contributors and distributors.

Michael Hampson

Gerald writes...Happy new year everyone.I am sure the weather will improve eventually. I can never remember so much heavy rain and so many floods and so much damage that we have seen in the last month. I suppose we will just have to admit that our present lifestyle has caused a lot of the trouble – but which one of us is willing to give up the comfortable life we now live? I for one would be lost without my car and the central heating and other modern conveniences – I just do not no what the answer is.We really enjoyed the Church carol service, singing all the old carols we remembered learning at school. Once again the Church was beautifully decorated the flower arrangements were again quite artistic and so lovely to look at, and the mulled wine and nibbles just completed the night. The service just got our Christmas off to a lovely start, thank you.The snow has finally arrived. They had to cancel the annual charity dance on Saturday because the road conditions were too dangerous for people to travel, so it willhave to be arranged later in the year. The next dance at Whittington is on Saturday 6 February, when Dennis Westmorland will be back playing for the Lupton Church dance.

Gerald Hodgson

General noticesThe Arkholme Community Shop committee is looking for new members to add their energy and enthusiasm to the project. Contact Jane Cryan on arkholmecsp@aol.co.uk.Hornby Brownies has spaces for new members. Contact Rose on 21047.Need some Muck for your Gardens? The Vale of Lune Young Farmers are holding their Annual Muck Haul on Saturday 20 February. Send your orders or enquiries to Josie Towers on 07791 878022. Prices: bag £3, wheelbarrow £5, half trailer loose £30, full trailer loose £50, half trailer bagged (25 bags) £50, full trailer bagged (50 bags) £70. All money raised goes to help continue running Vale of Lune Young Farmers Club (Registered Charity 1070317) www.valeofluneyfc.weebly.com www.lfyfc.org.uk

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Loyn Bridge latestLoyn Bridge – connecting Hornby to Gressingham,Arkholme and Whittington – has been closed to alltraffic since early December, when its supporting pierssuffered extensive damage in the floods followingStorm Desmond.

At the time of writing, three separate pieces of repairwork are under way: on the road surface on theapproach to the bridge on the Gressingham-side, onthe road-side walls in the same location, and on thehigher section of road on the Hornby side, which waswashed away by a combination of a flooded culvertand a burst water main.

Unfortunately the condition of the bridge itself is causing great concern. It is both Grade II* listed, and a scheduled ancient monument. The assessment of the county surveyor is that it could very easily have been lost altogether in the flood, and may yet suffer further damage due to its perilous condition.

“Both piers have been badly damaged, by the flooding events and by debris in the river, and there has been displacement and loss of stonework. The bridge appears stable at the moment, and we have taken immediate measures to safeguard it by installing filter bag protection, but the loss of stonework has exposed the rubble filling inside the core of the bridge, and there is now significant loss of fill within the structure. The bridge structure now contains substantial voids, making it unsafe to carry loads, and it is not safe to re-open the road until the bridge has been fully repaired.”

The county Bridges Engineering Team is working on a permanent solution. “While we have already put together some plans to repair the piers, we still require

the consent of English Heritage on issues such as the sourcing of acceptable new stoneto replace that which has been lost, and there could be English Heritage consent issues with our plans for grouting the voids within the bridge structure itself. We also need to agree a method of access and environmental consent [with the Environment Agency] concerned with undertaking substantial works within the river.”

With all these factors – and the need for good weather and low water – the current expectation is that the bridge will remain closed until at least the end of April.

The county team did consider whether it was feasible to deploy a temporary bridge pending permanent repairs, but the site is so complex that the installation could easily have taken as long as a permanent repair.

Asked whether the bridge might be opened to pedestrians and cyclists: “Unfortunately the problem is that it appears that even a small rise in the river level and a speed up of flow may take the whole structure. LCC as part of their duty of care has had no option on safety grounds but to close to all” – including pedestrians and cyclists.

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The weather in ArkholmeRobin McIlveen

November 2015 December 2015Rain days 26 out of 30 31 out of 31

Decidedly Wet Days (5mm+) 16 out of 30 14 out of 31Extremely Wet Days (25mm+) 4 out of 30 6 out of 31

Wettest Day 10th-11th 39.7mm 5th-6th 94.6mmMonthly total 299mm (11.8”) 391mm (15.6”)

2015 total to end of month 1146mm (45.1”) 1541mm (60.7”)

November was a deluge of a month, with 299mm of rain, beating November 2009 – the previous wettest month in my 15 years of data – by 46mm. Three of the Extremely Wet Days (25mm and upwards) were associated with the storms Abigail, Barney and Clodagh, but in fact the wettest day of the month came a couple of days before Abigail. The 4 EWDs totalled 132mm, and between them these 16 days accounted for 92% of themonth’s total. There were only four completely rain-free days in the month, compared with the usual ten. Afternoon temperatures remained well above the seasonal average, with only 3 days falling below the range 8°C to 15°C.

As December came in, I wondered what might be in store, but never dreamt it was to be much, much more of the same thing. The figures are mind-blowing (or washing). The wettest day exceeds the previous wettest day in my 15 years of data by 50%, and was only part of more than two days of heavy rain which fell from Storm Desmond. Hislong plume of rain-cloud flowed lengthways straight out of the west, depositing most ofits rain in the narrow belt between Garstang and Carlisle on the Friday, Saturday and early Sunday (Dec 4th, 5th and 6th). In that period my garden collected over 130mm of rain, and the Lune flooded to an extent I have not seen in my 43 years in Arkholme, fedby rainfalls of more than 250mm (10 inches) on the surrounding fells. Storm Eva threatened something similar on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and indeed deposited 70mm in my garden, but reserved its full impact for Manchester, Leeds and York. Between Desmond and Eva, three unnamed storms deposited nearly 90mm in my garden, and kept the landscape saturated and the roadside ditches brimming. Fortunately for the North West the inundations by Storm Frank at the end of December fell well to the North East.

There were absolutely no dry days in December in Arkholme – every day recorded measurable rainfalls. The 6 EWDs produced an extraordinary 270mm – more than the wettest full month in my 15 year record before November 2015.

The year 2015 was heading for a rainfall total of 1050 to 1100mm before November and December changed the game by adding nearly 700mm instead of the expected 250.As a result, my total for 2015 is 1541mm, compared with the next wettest years in my record – 1468mm in 2012 and 1383mm in 2011.

Such a sudden, huge deviation from the normal begs the question why. Obviously the new practice of naming storms is mere coincidence, however rich in black humour.Global warming is almost certainly implicated, but on a much longer time scale than these two spectacular months. “Normal” weather always includes extremes, and there is no way to prove that the extremes of November and December are “abnormally abnormal”. But if after a century of hindsight, such extremes are seem to be becoming more and more common, then people may well look back to November and December 2015 and say they were warm wet straws in a big wind.

Robin McIlveen

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Did you enjoy the Christmas services?Christmas Charity

The collections at the Christmas services raised just over £500for the Save the Children Child Refugee Crisis Appeal

Regular Services

ArkholmeSunday 9.30am

first three Sundays of the month

WhittingtonSunday 9.30am

except first Sunday of the month

Gressingham8am Holy Communion

9.30am Holy Communion3.30pm Evensong

on different Sundays as announced

Baptism, First Communion and Confirmationfor children, young people and adults

First Communion and Confirmation Club foryoung people in Key Stage 2 and above begins soon

contact vicar@these4parishes.co.uk or 21712For Adult First Communion or Confirmationjoin our Lent Book Club – details on page 9

Baptism for the very youngcan be arranged at any time

...and it is never too late for anyone else:the four parishes have had more baptisms foradults and for young people than for babies

over the last five years – just get in touch

Support your local parish churchYou can use online, mobile or telephone banking to set up a

regular or one-off donation to support your local parish church:• Whittington PCC 01-04-81 83241760• Arkholme PCC 01-01-06 94800464

• Gressingham PCC 01-01-60 75562375To boost the value of your donation by Gift Aid, fill in the slip opposite and put it in the

secure donations box at the back of church. Single donations by cheque are also welcome –payable to your village’s PCC and placed in the same donations box. It costs about £14,000

per year to keep each church open and functioning as a parish church.

Sunday Services in FebruaryWhittington Arkholme Gressingham Hornby

7 February - 9.30am 3.30pm 10.45am14 February 9.30am 9.30am 8am 10.45am21 February 9.30am 9.30am - 10.45am28 February 9.30am - 9.30am 10.45am

Sunday School 10.45am in Hornby churchFirst Sunday of every month – next one is 7 FebruaryYouth-led service 10.45am in Hornby church

Third Sunday of every month – next one is 21 FebruaryThere is a midweek communion service

every Wednesday morning at 10am in HornbyHornby 8am service is on 7 and 21 February

Vicar: Revd Michael Hampsonvicar@these4parishes.co.uk ‧ 015242 21712

Weekly bulletin online: www.these4parishes.co.ukThe United Benefice of Hornby with Claughton

and Whittington with Arkholme and Gressingham

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Sunday Schooland Youth-led Services

The Sunday School for the fourparishes takes place during the middlepart of the 10.45am morning service atSaint Margaret’s, Hornby, on the firstSunday of every month. Children’s

activities are during the middle part ofthe service, and all ages are togetherfor the rest. Join us on 7 February and

on the first Sunday of every month.Two weeks later, on the third Sunday

of every month, is the youth-ledservice, with young people reading thescriptures, singing as the junior choir,

and helping to lead the music andother parts of the service: 10.45am in

Saint Margaret’s, Hornby, on theSunday that falls between the 15th and

the 21st of each month.(For both of these services, youngpeople have to bring an adult to

church with them.)

Mary McClements(Gressingham) writes:

Grateful thanks to everyone whohelps out in Church on the cleaning

rota, keeping the church tidy andwelcoming throughout the year.

Anyone needing reimbursing for theuse of their own cleaning

materials/equipment, please get intouch with Mary Mac on 21461. Feel

free to use the kettle etc in thecupboard in the north aisle for coffee

making. Hoping you all like Henry(the new vacuum cleaner).Thanks again – Mary Mac

Korin Woollard (Whittington) writes:Do we have anyone willing to join theAltar Flower list or the ‘cleaning of thechurch’ list? It is only a matter of a fewhours a year. If you are willing to help

please call Korin on 72199 or emailkorinwoollard@gmail.com.

We would like to thank the flowerarrangers who decorated the church for ourFestival Services, it always looks fantastic,especially our Christmas decorations. Wehave had a lot of positive feedback of howwonderful our foliage, white flowers and a

hint of silver decorations looked, and ofcourse the candles that light our beautifulchurch at this time of the year. Thanks toWhittington Hall Estate who supplied the

Christmas trees. A big thank you to all thathelped inside and outside of the church.

The carol service this year was the start ofSaint Michael’s Christmas celebrations,

thank you to everyone who joined us at thisservice and the people who gave us theirtime to supply nibbles, mince pies, mulledwine and other treats. Thanks to our bellringers and the fantastic Nativity scene

supplied by John and Lisa, the adults andchildren who took part in the service

especially the two young readers, Jessicaand Victoria who came to the rescue when

their older cousin who couldn’t make it,they read superbly, well done, also Anthony

our organist who is back with us playingthe organ most Sunday mornings. Not

forgetting Judith the church warden andMichael Hampson our vicar who worktogether for the smooth running of St

Michael’s Church.Best wishes for the new year

Korin Woollard

Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying donations to Whittington/Arkholme/Gressingham PCC.I understand that under the Gift Aid scheme the PCC can claim back from HMRC the tax that I have already paid on the relevant donations (currently 25p for every £1 donated). I understand that if I do not pay enough UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in the relevant tax year to cover the total amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my Gift Aid donations in that tax year it becomes my responsibilityto pay the difference. This declaration applies to all qualifying donations from this date and in the last four years.

Name, address and post code:

Signature and date:

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Whittington B4RN updateAfter our last Wagtail submission at the beginning of October, the Whittington B4RN team continued to make the best of the long spell of dry weather which lasted until the first week in November. The firm ground allowed us to mole-plough in several hundred metres of the core ducting network around the north end of the village. Since the arrival of the rains, we have been set back in that the ground has been too saturated to contemplate digging trenches; and on several occasions the rain has prevented us from using the electrical equipment needed to make our 'connections' into properties. We have been delighted and re-assured, however, to learn that B4RN's fibre optic network (which now extends across large swathes of North Lancashire and into North Yorkshire and Cumbria) was not affected by the recent widespread flooding in any significant way. Meanwhile, the commitment and resolve of the Whittington team remains steadfast. Last Saturday, in fact, saw us taking advantage of a dry but cold day to dig a trench across a long garden, bury the ducting and finish the job off in falling snow! We press on and, along with everyone else in these northern parts, look forward to a return to some drier weather. Jeff Eaman

Parish CouncilsAll three parish councils discussed local bus services this month. LCC subsidies to services 81A and 81B are to be removed from April, and alternative arrangements are under discussion. There is a link to the LCC public consultation on the Wagtail website www.wagtail.org.uk. Arkholme and Gressingham both discussed the possibility of sharing with neighbouring parishes a ‘SpID’ speed indicator device – the ones that display your speed (and a smile or a frown) as you enter a 30mph zone. All the parish councils review current planning applications at each meeting, although actual planning decisions are taken by Lancaster City Council. All three parish councils welcome members of the public at their meetings.Whittington Parish Council met on Monday 23 November. Planning permission had been granted for the solar power farm on land north of Saddler Nook Lane, with conditions attached. Amongst other business, councillors discussed the lack of parking spaces in the village. Present were Eric Pelter, Stuart Close, Barbara Atkinson, Colin Hall, Ted Lawson and the Clerk Gillian Hodgson; apologies from City Councillor Peter Williamson. Next meeting Whittington Village Hall Monday 18 January 7pm.Arkholme Parish Council met Monday 7 December. Discussions included the village green (including Christmas Tree arrangements), the recent Arkholme Conservation Area Appraisal, and a local footpath diversion. Requests for funding from local charitable groups need to be with the clerk in time for the February meeting. Present were Charles Waddington, David Howarth, Chris Preston, City Councillor Roger Mace, one member of the public, and the Clerk Gillian Hodgson; apologies from Councillor Graham Jackson-Pitt. Next meeting Arkholme Village Hall Monday 1 February 7.30pm.Gressingham Parish Council met on 4 January. Three villagers had expressed an interest in the parish councillor vacancy. Two applied, but one later withdrew. Membersunanimously voted to co-opt David Wiper, who duly signed all the forms of acceptance.The clerk reported that £500 has been awarded from the county council towards new chairs for the Old School Room. A picture of Eileen Taylor will be mounted and hung on the Old School Room wall. A gulley failed during Storm Desmond resulting in the collapse of a resident’s wall and a deluge through their garden; this was forwarded to LCC with suggestions. There was an update on the ongoing closure of Loyn Bridge following the same storm. A litter picking afternoon was organised. Present were N Read, M Brooks, S Riley, and G Parker, the clerk G Metcalfe , plus David Wiper, Nigel Cottam and Mary McClements . Next meeting Old School Room 7 March 7.30pm.

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Lent Book Club 2016Our Lent Book for 2016 is ‘Catholicism’ by Gerald O’Collins from the Oxford University Press ‘Very Short Introductions’ series£7.99 £5.00You can pick up a copy at the back of church. The churches are open all week during daylight. Feel free to read it as your Lent book, whether or not you are able to join the discussions.

Discuss the book – starting 16 and 17 FebruaryTwo Lent book clubs will work through the book across five weeks, one meeting at 1 Montbegon in Hornby at 4.15pm on Tuesday afternoons starting 16 February, and the other meeting atStation House in Arkholme at 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings starting 17 February. Feel free to attend either discussion group from week to week.

Week 1 16/17 February“It’s all about the mass”Baptism, Confirmation, EucharistChapter 4 pages 69 to 79

Week 2 23/24 FebruaryCreation, fall, redemptionHealing and ReconciliationChapter 4 pages 79 to 84, Chapter 3 pages 62 to 68

Week 3 1/2 MarchThe church communityHoly Orders and MarriageChapter 4 pages 84 to 87Chapter 1 pages 5 to 8

Week 4 8/9 MarchThe ‘both-and’ principleJesus and Mary, prayer and action, faith and reason, unity in diversityChapter 6

Week 5 15/16 MarchPast, present and futureA global church into the third millenniumChapter 1 pages 16 to 24, Chapter 2 pages 45 to 50Chapter 4 pages 87 to 92, and Chapter 7

Meet the author Monday 21 MarchWe don’t have the author this year – Fr Gerald has retired to his nativeAustralia – but one of his students will be with us for a final session onMonday of Holy Week: our own Fr Luiz Ruscillo, parish priest atSaint Mary’s, Hornby. 7.30pm at Saint Margaret’s, Hornby

Also coming up in 2016Palm Sunday 20 March9.30am Whittington • 9.30am Arkholme10.30am Gressingham • 10.45am Hornby

Good Friday 25 March 10am Arkholme • 10am Hornby

Easter Day 27 March9.30am Whittington • 9.30am Arkholme10.30am Gressingham • 10.45am Hornby 3pm Arkholme Songs of Praise

Sunday 15 MayWhittington Heritage Day5pm onwards with tea and cakes,and wine and savouriesTheme for 2016: the church bells

Sunday 26 JuneSaint John the Baptist Patronal Festival10.30am Service11.30am onwardsArkholme Open Gardens

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Arkholme and District WIOur December meeting was opened by Janice McIlveen, the newlyelected President, who thanked Rosemary Blanchfield, the retiringPresident, for all her hard work over the past few years. We took a fewmoments to remember Pauline Hall, a loyal member of many years standing.Janice then introduced the speaker, Major Margaret Watkins, a Salvation Army minister, whose talk was entitled, “Aunt Mabel’s Hats”.Major Margaret, after being orphaned, was brought up by an aunt and uncle. The aunt was Mabel Jackson, who owned a hat shop in Lancaster. When the shop closed and Aunt Mabel died, over £30,000 worth of stock became Margaret’s. Many hats were sold but some were kept and became the basis of our talk. Hats were passed round and tried on to “oohs” and “aahs”, many giggles and some outright guffaws. Our models, Marie and Barbara, did a sterling job. Their expressions were priceless and brought great peals of laughter. After Janice thanked the speaker and the models, we quickly settled down for the business meeting. Jobs which allow the smooth running of our WI were allocated. Transport to the Christmas lunch at the Highwayman was organised. The numerous courses and outings were announced; envelopes for next years subs of £37.50 were distributed.Refreshments, the raffle and the competition were at the end of the evening, and then we exchanged Secret Santa gifts. January’s meeting on the 11th was opened by Janice who welcomed all and introduced Trish Clarke of Morecambe – The Lady Cobbler. Trish, the daughter of Nobby Clarke The Cobbler who ran Turton’s leather shop, became a cobbler only after her great resistance to parental opposition, followed by the family tragedy of Nobby’s sudden, early death. Trish worked in the shop during the day and trained to be a cobbler at night – after finally finding a cobbler who would train a girl. As well as the expected work of a cobbler, Trish kept us laughing with stories of the different tasks she has undertaken in her role as cobbler, from putting a new nine-foot long zipper into a harp case, to stitching quick-release Velcro into a male strippers leather underpants.Ann Lister thanked the speaker. After refreshments came the business meeting. All who went to the Christmas lunch at the Highwayman had an enjoyable time. The Federation Quiz is to be held in Arkholme again on January 25th. We will field 3 teams and our members will provide refreshments for about 90 members from other WI’s. The secretaries report was delivered by Rosemary who is standing in for Nicole who has had to move to Lancaster temporarily due to her home being flooded recently. The LFWI has donated £500 to the Flood Recovery Fund. Members may donate to this fund if they wish. Courses and outings were announced. The treasurer, Jane, mentioned our healthy bank account and reminded us that subs of £37.50 are now due. The slips with our choice of the resolution to be discussed were collected. On Monday February 1st, those who are knitting teddies will meet at Anne Symon’s for help and advice. The next meeting will be on Monday 8 February at 7.30 in Arkholme Village Hall when the speaker will be Matthew Lepp of Tiger Muffin Soaps. Visitors are welcome.

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Tribute to Pauline HallArkholme bid farewell to long-time resident Pauline Hall –mother of Chris, Andrew and Pippa – at a service inArkholme Parish Church on Monday 7 December.The service included three grand traditional hymns inhonour of Pauline’s thirty years as organist of Arkholmechurch, and amongst the guests was Suzy Gooch of OxfordUniversity Press, who presented the church with a completeset of new hymn books – OUP’s BBC Songs of Praise Hymn Book – in honour of Pauline’s work on the globalphenomenon which is the ‘Piano Time’ piano tutorial series.We will be giving the books an official ‘launch’ with a Songsof Praise service at 3pm on Easter Day, Sunday 27 March –more details next month.This is the text of the tribute delivered at the service.Pauline was a daughter of the vicarage, her father Noel Hopkins, born in 1892, being ordained to Whitby in 1915. He was later Chaplain to Cuddesdon theological college, Sacrist of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and for thirty years from 1933 Provost of the newly-created Wakefield Cathedral. Pauline remembers spending her first seven years living in Amen Court, just 100 yards from the main west doors of Saint Paul’s.But it was in Wakefield that she first learned piano – and learned multi-tasking. Her firstpiano teacher would knit all through Pauline’s piano lessons, and would conduct the school orchestra with a knitting needle. Pauline would later write her ‘Piano Time’ piano tutor books at the ironing board, in the living room, with the rest of family, through the evening.Leaving Wakefield Girl’s High School for the Royal Academy of Music, to study piano and violin, Pauline found herself sharing digs with one Tony Hall, a medical student, who had grown up in Chapel House, Arkholme, just 100 yards from this church’s main entrance. Tony’s family sold Chapel House, but kept the orchard, a patch of land with fine views over the Lune Valley, just outside, right next to this churchyard.Married in 1949, they initially settled back in Pauline’s home town of Wakefield (where Chris, Andrew and Pippa were born), and in 1960 moved to Harrogate – but all the time,Arkholme was calling. Chris, Andrew and Pippa remember countless weekends camping in the orchard – this little empty patch of land next to the church. The house finally replaced the tents as their weekend retreat in 1975, and Pauline and Tony moved here to live full-time in 1983.The whole time, Pauline was playing violin in a series of top-rated regional orchestras, and teaching piano – inspiring countless local children along the way – and starting to write those child-friendly piano tutor books that replaced the old strict Victorian regimewith music and learning for pleasure. She wrote them for her own students – but once they were published, Pauline quite accidentally became a global publishing phenomenon. Thirty titles are still in print, distributed and in use all over the world.For all those who knew her, Pauline was an inspiration; strong, gentle, caring and generous in all that she did.And everything – for this daughter of two Cathedrals – was underpinned by her strong and gentle faith; for thirty years organist at this church, and for many more a faithful member of this church and others.For all of this and more, we give thanks to God, as, with trust, we commend Pauline into God’s eternal care, and pray that we may know even just a little of her faith and her many gifts.

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MORE THIS MONTH

Thursday 18 FebruaryHornby Flower Club

7.30pm Hornby Village InstituteGraham MacFarlane on propagating and

growing dahlias. Graham has beengrowing, exhibiting and judging Dahlias forover 40 years. £4 including refreshments.

Friday 19 FebruaryCountryside Society

7.45pm Hornby Village InstituteAGM and Members’ Evening

of slides and exhibits – includingpictures of the December floods

Saturday 20 February Book Fair

10am to 4pm Hornby Village InstituteA wide range of second-hand, out of-print

and antiquarian books for sale, plusclassical CDs

Weekend 20 and 21 FebruaryHornby Castle

Snowdrop WeekendView the wonderful snowdrops in theborders and along the river woodland

walk – plus evergreens, coloured stems,scented shrubs and winter floweringperennials, and the Walled GardenNursery with more than 70 different

varieties of snowdrop in flower in thewinter borders. Plants for sale, Ceramicsexhibition by Wyn Abbot with pottery forsale, informal talks on the history of thecastle by Sue Bull, and Garden Talks by

Ken Green (resident gardener) . Disabledaccess to some limited parts of the

garden. Dogs allowed on leads.Gardens open from 11am – 4pm

Refreshments in the walled garden Admission £4 – children under 5 free

Hornbycastle.com

This edition of Wagtail sponsored by JWK Solicitors of Lancaster. For ads and sponsorship information see www.wagtail.org.uk

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