1

‘God’s protection!’

‘Many believe - and I believe -

that I have been designated for

this work by God. In spite of

my old age, I do not want to

give it up; I work out of love for

God and I put all my hope in

Him’. Michelangelo

I was reading an article recently

about a fairly aggressive swan

called Tyson! He has become

so protective that a stretch of

Britain’s longest canal has been

designated a prohibited area.

The bird with an eight foot

wingspan has been targeting

rowers, canoeists and walkers

who pass along the river bank.

Kayaker Joe Davies, 20, was

capsized after Tyson battered

him with his wings. Davies

said: ‘He went for me as I was

falling in, which really made

me panic. I’ve been kayaking

on this stretch of canal for five

years. I’d heard the rumours

about Tyson but I’ve never seen

him before. I won’t be going

back.’ Tyson has claimed a

two-mile section of the Grand

Union Canal in Bugbrooke,

Northamptonshire, while he

rears his young.

‘…while he rears his young’ –

this is the bit that struck me.

Because the young often need a

bit of protection – don’t they?

Most parents know this. There

are all sorts of dangers out there

and our young need protecting

sometimes from things out

there and sometimes from

themselves! Whilst children

are children they are learning so

much about the world they live

in. They soak up information

and try out different things to

see what happens – but we

know that with limited

experience of the world, they

are vulnerable to its dangers.

So we, like Tyson, feel a strong

instinct to protect them. This

can be from physical dangers

like crossing the road or not

going too near a cliff edge or it

can be teaching them about the

d a n g e r s o f p o i s o n o u s

substances, chemicals, drugs,

alcohol, approaching strangers

and so on. But I don’t think it

ends there. We as older, and

hopefully wiser(!), members of

society need to be protecting

our children from spiritual

danger too. For those young in

faith are vulnerable to things

that would draw them away

from God and his plans for

their lives. I think this is one

reason why the churches in our

communi t i e s and the i r

children’s and young people’s

groups have such an important

role to play. And we in the

wider community need to

support them with our time and

gifts. However let’s not forget,

our Father in heaven has not

left us alone in this task. He

sent his Son, Jesus, to rescue us

from the dangers of the world

and to protect us. And, ‘…God

exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is

above every name, that at the

name of Jesus every knee

should bow, in heaven and on

earth and under the earth, and

every tongue acknowledge that

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the

g l o r y o f G o d t h e

Father’ (Philippians 2:9-11).

After Tyson, what better

protection could we have!

With my love and best wishes

Your friend and rector

Rev. Bruce.

If you’d like to talk to Rev

Bruce or would like to support

the church either in Wickham

or the parish of Shedfield

(which includes Waltham

Chase and Shirrell Heath),

please don’t hesitate to contact

him at

bruce.deans@btinternet.com

or on 01329 832134.

Jubilee Songs of Praise

St. Nicholas Church

At 6 pm on

Sunday June 3rd

Come and sing Wickham’s

favourite hymns

2

Editorial.

At last the rains came, or as

one local wag, taking refuge

in the bus shelter put it,

‘wettest drought I ever saw!’

With summer just around the

corner, it is now time to start

filling your diary with the

num er ous fo r th c omin g

national and village events.

Our continued thanks to the

Friends of St Nicholas for

their fundraising efforts and

the essential renovations

carried out to our lovely,

ancient Church.

It is encouraging to see a full

Letters page this month. It

suggests an active and

involved community spirit and

a well read magazine. More of

the same please.

The annual Village Church

Fete is scheduled for Saturday

9th June. It is a fun-packed

day with many stalls, eateries

and activities. As always,

donations, contributions and

volunteers and lots of visitors,

are required. Well done the

small army of volunteer

gardeners who have planted

10,000, (yes, 10,000) bulbs in

the embankment opposite the

Church. We will enjoy the

colourful displays of blooms

in the years to come.

W i c k h a m S c a r e c r o w

competition, 12 June, lots of

options to show your

creativity and inventiveness in

this fun packed village event.

Get involved and enjoy the

fun.

Do read the Neighbourhood

Watch submission. It is a most

helpful support group and an

established link between the

c o m m u n i t y a n d t h e

Constabulary. It makes our

lives, homes and village a

little safer.

The year ahead is a

momentous one with the

Diamond Jubilee and the 2012

Olympic Games and many

village events and functions.

Please support these numerous

occasions and gatherings and

make them the success they

deserve.

DB

Although membership is only

in the 40’s we have made 2

contributions to the upkeep of

our church building. The first

was for £1410 to cover re-

pointing and repairs to

exterior stonework; called for

under the 2006 Quinquennial

Inspection and the second for

£1104, the cost of replacing

rusted saddle bars and

repairing the stonework in the

nave north window. A further

£1600 has been earmarked to

cover work highlighted in the

2011 inspection.

We have proved that we are a

worthwhile group and at the

AGM the hope was expressed,

that we could encourage more

Wickham Residents to

become members.

At the AGM John Landaw

was re-elected Chairman, with

Mike Carter Hon. Treasurer

and Heather Oswald Hon

Secretary.

John Landaw

Repaired Window

3

At our April meeting, we

were happy to welcome

Elizabeth Groves as our

speaker, on the topic of God’s

gifts. She began with the two

basic gifts which we all share,

of our life, and God’s love.

She then led us on a

‘treasure hunt’ through the

Bible to discover an amazingly

large list of gifts, including

those of a perfect wife (check

your score against the list in

Proverbs chapter 31) and other

more attainable gifts like that of

hospitality, and the ability to

listen. We also found what the

gifts should be used for, and

how much easier it was to

recognise the gifts in others

than in ourselves. It was a

fascinating and thought-

provoking session.

Our next meeting is on

Tuesday May 8th at 21 Manor

Close, when we look forward to

a return visit from the Reverend

Jim Braisier, who will tell us

more about the History of

Church Vestments.

VS - 11/04/12

NEWS FROM PARK

PLACE

We celebrated Easter here with

the usual joy. The Vigil on

Saturday night, with the

lighting of the Pascal Candle

and the renewing of our

Baptismal vows set the mood

for the celebration of the first

Mass of Easter. The wonder

never diminishes about our

Saviour’s joyful Resurrection

does it?

By the time you read this we

will have had our evening of

Early Music. I hope some of

you managed to come, and I

hope you enjoyed it.

The next event we are planning

is the summer Garden Fete. As

I think I told you before, this

year we are changing the

format. The tickets will be

cheaper, and there will be no

set tea as in the past. We will be

selling refreshments though,

and we have planned some

tasty items for you, also we

hope to have more attractions

and stalls.

Next month I will be able to

give you the full details. Keep

the date of Sunday July 8th free

and come and join us if you

can. It will be fun.

God Bless you all,

Leila.

LENT LUNCHES

Thank you very much to all the

volunteers that I phone every

year and who come along with

delicious home made soups,

bread and cheese for the

lunches. A big thank you to all

who supported the lunches

every week. £100 will be

donated to Churches Together,

£274 to the Bishops Appeal.

So once again, many thanks.

Di Frost

SPRINGTIME IN

THE CHURCHYARD

It’s time to welcome the arrival

of Spring and to get to work

tidying the churchyard, so

please join us in a cheerful

working party for a couple of

hours or so, starting at 10.00am

on Saturday 12th May. Mid-

term refreshments will be

provided, and good company is

assured.

Exciting projects on offer

include scattering weed-

suppressant bark in the Garden

of Remembrance and clearing

scrub along Southwick Road.

There may also be a chance to

help the Brownies plant some

(Continued on page 4)

4

hedging and a Jubilee Royal

Oak which have been awarded

to them by the Woodland

Trust in celebration of this

auspicious year.

Please make a note in your

diaries for Saturday 12th May

at 10.00.

Churchwardens

Registered Charity No. 290874

Meon Valley Day Care Centre

Swanmore

JUMBLE SALE 26TH MAY

All proceeds towards the amenity

fund for The Day Care Centre.

If you have any jumble you would

like to contribute, that would be

greatly appreciated. We are here

Monday, Tuesday, Friday. Or if

you need us to collect please ring

01489 895855.

The doors will open at 10.30am.

50p admission. For sale brick a

brack, clothes, shoes, bags, books,

toys, plants. Refreshments

available.

Please support us on the day.

Swanmore village hall, New Rd,

Swanmore, Southampton. SO32

2PF.

Denise Griffiths

The new Open Sight Meon Valley

Club for visually impaired

residents and their partners is

attracting huge interest. The Club,

which meets monthly in the

Wickham Community Centre, has

organised an exciting calendar of

events for the coming year,

including speakers, entertainment

and outings as well as providing a

social get together.

Club Chair Enid Collier says, ‘I

am delighted with the response

from local people who have joined

the group and am very grateful for

all of the assistance given with

regards to providing vital

transport. The Club still has space

for more Members and would be

pleased to welcome additional

volunteer helpers.’

For details of the Club, call the

Organiser Linda Phear on 01329

286445.

Programme for May 2012

Exercise Class – The Jubilee Hall,

Bishops Waltham. Every Monday

from 10:00 to 11:15. NB: Note

change of venue. There will be no

class on May 7th

Contact: Chee Price 01489

893140.

Tai Chi – The Jubilee Hall - Main

Hall. Every Wednesday from

10:00 to 11:00

There will be no class on May

23rd.

Contact: Sandy Holden on 01489

892136 or Teri Morley on 01489

895119.

Gentlemen’s Pub Lunch. The

Barleycorn, Bishops Waltham.

Thursday May 17th from 12:30 to

14:30

Contact: Terry Wilson on 01489

895706.

Ladies’ Pub Lunch. Monday May

14th 13:00 start.

Contact Sandy Holden on 01489

892136 for venue.

New Age Kurling - Jubilee Hall –

small hall. May 17th from 14:30 to

16:30

Contact: Terry Wilson on 01489

895742.

If you are interested in becoming a

member, please contact the

Chairman, Terry Wilson on 01489

895742 or Ann Joyce, the

Secretary, on 01329 232099

If you know of anyone within

Bishop's Waltham who is isolated

and who would benefit from a

visit from one of our Befrienders,

please call 07530 565248.

If you are interested in becoming

part of the Good Neighbour’s

Support Group, please call 07530

565248.

We are also looking for organisers

for potential Theatre Visits and

Outings.

Web site: http://mvara.btck.co.uk

(Continued from page 3)

5

WICKHAM CHURCH

OF ENGLAND

PRIMARY SCHOOL

On the last day of the Spring Term our

whole school community joined

together for our Easter Service at St

Nicholas’ Church. As has become

tradition in recent years, we began our

service with a procession from our

school hall, through the village to our

Church.

Our school is growing in size and our

children and staff now number over

200. We were delighted to be joined in

Church by our School Governors,

parents, carers and members of the

community. Also importantly, by Rev’d

Bruce Deans who lead our procession

and now supports us in our work as a

church school.

Each class presented information on one

of the many Easter traditions.

We also joined together to sing some of

our favourite Easter songs.

Our Christian Foundation is

important to us and we enjoy the

strong bond we have with our

church.

Wickham Silver

As you know the Wickham Silver

is now on display in the

Westbury Museum in Fareham

and we are proud to have some of

our children’s work included in

the display.

Children from our Year 6 class

have researched historical

information about related topics

and their work is now displayed

with the silver. We would like to

thank Rev’d Elizabeth Groves,

Janet Wildman and Barrie

Marson for including our young

people in this important local

history event and hope that many

of you will have the chance to

visit the museum and read our

children’s research.

Year R visit to Westlands Farm

Our Year R children had a

wonderful time when they visited

Westlands Farm during their

recent lambing season. We

arranged the visit through one of

our parents and the children

enjoyed the fabulous opportunity

to find out lots of information

about the new lambs and get

really close to them too!

Pond Development

We are extremely grateful to Parent

Governor Ashley Wilson and the

Wickham Young Explorers Scout

Group who have worked hard to

refurbish our school pond. We

recently used a Lottery Grant to

purchase a new liner for the pond

and the Scouts have drained, relined

and refilled the pond for us. Each

class has been up to explore the new

pond area and have found lots of

newts and some ducks too!

We will be developing our summer

term class topics to include further

use of the school grounds as we are

keen to promote first hand learning

experiences. We are extremely

fortunate to benefit from wonderful

resources - we have our very own 2.5

acre woodland Conservation Area

with the pond in addition to our large

sports field. During the summer term

we also hope to build an outdoor

classroom to extend our outdoor

learning facilities.

We are extremely excited about our

joint project with Wickham Parish

Council to build a 1200m3 All

Weather Sports Pitch on our side

field. We recently received a cheque

from Sport England to help fund the

project which should be complete

just in time to celebrate the start of

the Olympics!

We enjoy working closely with our

community to provide the very best

possible education for our young

children. Thank you all for your

continuing support of our school.

Maria Ackland

Headteacher

6

CHURCH ROAD,

SHEDFIELD,

SOUTHAMPTON,

HAMPSHIRE, SO32

2HY

TEL: 01329 834848

ad-

min@fairlandsnurseryschool.

co.uk

Another big thank you to Mrs

Jones for taking the time to come

to Fairlands, laden with palm

crosses to talk to the children

about Easter. We would also like

to thank all our children for sing-

ing their hearts out at our spring

concert. We had a fabulous hour’s

entertainment and it was lovely to

see all the two, three and four year

olds taking part.

All the children made Easter bas-

kets filled with chocolate eggs or

bunnies to take home (although

some never got that far!) which

was a great hit with both the chil-

dren and staff. The children had a

surprise visit from the Easter Bun-

nies which they thoroughly en-

joyed.

We still have some tickets availa-

ble for our Quiz Night which is

taking place on Saturday May 19th

in the St John the Baptist Church

Study Centre , Church Road,

Shedfield 7.30pm start. If you

would like to come and join us, to

help raise funds for pre- school

provisions, please see a member of

staff for tickets.

We will be running our Summer

Play Scheme again this year. The

dates for this are July 24th – Au-

gust 31st. (Monday - Friday). This

is available for all children be-

tween the ages of 1-8.

Fairlands Day Nursery is open

between the hours of 8.00am and

6.00pm to all children aged be-

tween 1 and 5 for 50 weeks of the

year excluding Bank Holidays.

If you require any further infor-

mation please don’t hesitate to

contact us on 01329 834848 or

email us at

admin@fairlandsnurseryschool.co.uk

Jo and Carol

(Managers/ Owners)

OPEN GARDENS

DIRECTORY TAKES ROOT

A national directory of Open

Gardens launched just 18 months

ago has already grown to include

over 500 town and village open

garden events.

Simple to use and with a clever

search facility, and free from the

curse of complex and intrusive

advertising, the site allows people

to find out about Open Gardens

just down the road or indeed

across the country.

This website supports the smaller

event organisers who don't have a

voice - those volunteers who bring

together gardeners and gardens,

plant enthusiasts and hobbyists,

Hosta lovers and Pelargonium

fanciers - the melting pot of

Middle England that is Open

Gardens.

For the humble town or village

Open Gardens organiser, the site

offers a real opportunity to get

much needed publicity. For the

garden visitor, it offers a simple

way to find out about Open

Garden events in their area.

Open Gardens is all about

horticultural espionage. It's about

ideas, planting schemes, sneaky

solutions to difficult garden

problems. It's about taking a peep

at the garden of that house you've

always admired. It's about tea and

cake in the gentle heat of an

English spring or summer. At

times, it's also about rain of

course.

Get your event on board today, or

if you're a visitor, find open

gardens events in your area.

Visit www.opengardens.co.uk.

7

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Wildlife Trust has launched its

2012 wildlife photography

competition, in search of the best

wildlife images from the two

counties. The aim of the

competition is to encourage the

residents of Hampshire and the

Island to get out and about and

take photos of the vast amount of

nature and wild places on our

doorsteps.

The competition is completely

free to enter and twelve winners

will feature in the Wildlife Trust’s

2013 wildlife calendar. They will

each win a Swarovski cleaning kit,

with the overall winner also

receiving £150 to spend on

photographic equipment. Prizes

have kindly been provided by

competition sponsors London

Camera Exchange (10 High Street,

Southampton).

New categories for this year

include ‘Under 12s’, to encourage

younger wildlife enthusiasts to

take part, and ‘Weird and

wonderful’, to celebrate the more

unusual side of local wildlife.

“We hope this photography

competition will motivate people

to get out and explore Hampshire

and the Island, from landscape

vistas right down to tiny details,”

says competition organiser Emma

Pereira. “The two counties are

home to a fantastic range of

wildlife so we’re really looking

forward to seeing this year’s

entries!”

Simply upload your JPEG image

to the appropriate page on the

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Wildlife Trust Flickr group,

shown in the category list below.

It should be a landscape-oriented

photograph of native wildlife that

fits into one of the following

12 categories:

Insects; Landscape; Birds; Small

mammals; Large mammals;

Marine life;

Fungi and mushrooms; Plant life;

Man and nature; Urban wildlife

Young photographers (under 12);

Weird and wonderful.

Emma Pereira said, “Last year we

had 850 entries of an extremely

high standard which represented

the diversity of our living

landscapes which as a Wildlife

Trust we are passionate about

protecting. From the 12 finalists

Chris Packham chose the ultimate

winning photograph, by Ian

Grainger, which was also featured

on the front cover of the 2012

calendar.”

Entries close 15 August 2012 and

full competition rules are available

at :

http://www.hwt.org.uk/pages/

photocomp2012.html

For further information about the

competition, please contact Emma

Pereira at EmmaP@hwt.org.uk or

01489 774412 or the Trust’s

website www.hwt.org.uk

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

Wildlife Trust’s 2013 calendar

will be available for sale from the

beginning of November on the

W ild l i f e Trus t ’ s web s i t e

www.hwt.org.uk. All monies

raised from the sale of the

calendar will go towards the

conservation work of the Wildlife

Trust.

May 2012

Tue 1 FA

Swanwick Toddlers – The Very Hungry

Caterpillar 10.30-12noon or 1-2.30pm

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a

leaf... Come along to Swanwick Lakes to

meet a famous caterpillar with a very big

appetite. One of our regular events of

stories, crafts and games for pre-school

children. Booking essential contact Dawn

Preston or Jess Daish-Miller on 01489

570240. Suggested donation £3 per child.

Please wear outdoor clothing and wellies.

Sat 12 FA

Post a Poem 10.30am-12noon

Would you like to see your poem in print?

With the help of Pearl Elizabeth Dell

May, Swanwick Lakes Poet in Residence,

we will be collecting your poems in our

Poetry Post Box for all our visitors to

read. Pearl will be at the Study Centre to

encourage you to create seasonal poems

inspired by the wildlife and wild places of

Swanwick Lakes. Contact Dawn Preston

or Jess Daish-Miller on 01489 570240.

Please wear outdoor clothes and sturdy

shoes or boots.

Mon 21 FA

Walk at Swanwick Lakes Nature

Reserve 10am-12noon

Join Geoff Moss for a wild flower and

birdsong stroll. Walking boots or stout

shoes advised. Meet and park at

Swanwick Lakes. Contact Geoff on

01329 663078. Suggested donation £2.

Mon 21 FA

Bats 7.30pm

Join experts from the Hampshire Bat

Group to learn all about these fascinating

creatures. There will be an illustrated talk,

followed by an evening guided walk to

listen for bats at Swanwick Lakes Nature

Reserve. Contact Dawn Preston or Jess

Daish-Miller on 01489 570240. Please

bring a torch, outdoor clothing and

sensible shoes or boots. Booking

essential as places are limited. Suggested

donation £3 per person.

Wed 23 BW

Butterfly Walk 10.30am

A walk on Magdalen Down with Jayne

Chapman, Reserve Officer, to look at the

butterfly species on this wonderful chalk

downland. Why not bring a picnic lunch?

Meet at bottom car park opposite the gates

of Morn Hill Cemetery on the B3404

Alresford Road (Map ref. SU 512 292). For

further details, please contact Jane Gentry

on 01489 890961. Suggested donation

£2.50 per head, children free.

The Daily Commute by Ian Grainger

8

WICKHAM Community Association

Wickham Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hants. PO17 5AL Telephone: 01329 833688 E mail: wickhamcentre@btconnect.com www.wickhamcentre.org.uk April 2012

COMMUNITY AWARDS for

WICKHAM CENTRE and for

PETER LUCAS Presented by the Mayor of

Winchester

WICKHAM CHARITY BEER FESTIVAL –. 14th April

Organisers of the Spring Festival, Dave Martin, Mike Betts and Ash Wilson can be proud of their work. Every one of the 40 barrels of beer were sponsored by local businesses and every pint drawn at the sell-out, ticket only event, goes towards the chosen charities of Trust 2000, Sophies Appeal and Jeans for Genes. Lions laid on an excellent barbecue supper and two local bands provided the entertainment. Visit their web site:- www.wickhambeerfestival.co.uk for information about the next Festival on October 13th

BUILDING THE BUSINESS We are proud to announce that we have appointed a Business Development Officer who will help to build on the charitable work and business of the Association. Angela Riley, pictured above, is joining Glenda and the volun-teers to build the business. Visit our web site www.wickhamcentre.org.uk for more news & events

WICKHAM ART SHOW Thurs 10

th – Sun 13

th May. 10.00 – 4.00 daily

Entry FREE

9

At All Saints Church Botley

10

TO MAKE A SCARECROW

FOR THE WICKHAM SCARECROW COMPETITION

This competition is open to individuals, groups and organisations

All you have to do is build a scarecrow of your own design using

whatever materials you have to hand adding a royal touch.

maximum height 1.5 metres and with a

central pole which can be fixed to a support or stake for

display purposes

There are 3 groups:

1. Made by up to 2 people,

2. Made by up to 6 people and

3. Made by any voluntary organisation (eg Scouts,

school year groups )

Start planning your scarecrow now

Group 1,2 or 3

£1.00 Fee Paid

Contact Name

Contact Telephone Number

Please photocopy this entry form and bring with your Entry Fee of £1.00 to the Fete from 12.30 pm

onwards on 9th June 2012 Judging will take place during the afternoon

11

HOW TO SURVIVE A

HEART ATTACK

WHEN ALONE

Let's say it's 6.15pm and you're

going home, after an unusually

h a r d d a y a t w o r k .

You're really tired, upset and

frustrated.

Suddenly you start experiencing

severe pain in your chest that

starts to drag out into your arm

and up into your jaw You are only

about five miles from the hospital

n e a r e s t y o u r h o m e .

Unfortunately you don't know if

you'll be able to make it that far.

You have been trained in CPR,

but the guy that taught the course

did not tell you how to perform it

on yourself.

Since many people are alone

when they suffer a heart attack,

without help, the person whose

heart is beating improperly and

who begins to feel faint, has only

about 10 seconds left before

losing consciousness.

However, these victims can help

them se lves b y co ugh ing

repeatedly and very vigorously. A

deep breath should be taken

before each cough, and the cough

must be deep and prolonged, as

when producing sputum from

deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be

repeated about every two

seconds without let-up until help

arrives, or until the heart is felt to

be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the

lungs and coughing movements

squeeze the heart and keep the

blood circulating. The squeezing

pressure on the heart also helps it

regain normal rhythm. In this

way, heart attack victims can get

to a hospital. Tell as many other

people as possible about this. It

could save their l ives !!

( email from Fareham Cardiac

Group)

HAMPSHIRE

GENEALOGICAL

SOCIETY

(FAMILY HISTORY)

The Waltham Chase branch of

the Hampshire Genealogical

Society (HGS) meets on the 4th

Tuesday of each month at

Waltham Chase Village Hall

from 7.30pm.

If you are interested in tracing

your family history and meeting

like-minded people, please do

come along to the Group, where

you will receive a warm welcome

and help with your research.

In March the Group held a

Members’ Evening where

members had an opportunity to

tell the group about some

‘skeletons in the cupboard’ or

other interesting anecdotes

gleaned from their own family

research. Many unusual stories

emerged, ranging from wartime

losses and heroics, runaway

marriages and ‘moonlight flits’ .

We also heard tales of crimes

committed which resulted in

transportation in an era where

even the smallest misdemeanour

was severely punished.

Future meetings are as follows;

24 Apr: John Heighes and Gilly

Pitt: The Life and Times of

Parson Woodforde

22 May: Ann Baxandall: The

Gunpowder Plot

26 Jun: Jill Daniels: Titanic -

Destination Disaster

Chris can be contacted on 01489

895462 or at walthamchase@hgs

-online.org.uk for information

about the HGS and the Group

meetings.

We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Pavey

Wa ltha m Chase Group

Organiser

12

After 50 years of continued hard

work, Wickham Laboratories

Ltd, owned and managed by

William B. Cartmell BV.Sc.,

M.R.CV.S., shall be ceasing

operation in Wickham and is

presently relocating to Hoeford

Point, Gosport. As the country

celebrates the Queen’s Golden

Jubilee and the hosting of the

O l y m p i c G a m e s , t h e

l a b o r a t o r i e s , ( p e r h a p s

pertinently), are expanding

through the relocation. Since the

laboratories were formed around

50 years ago, Wickham

Laboratories Ltd has become

one of the UK's leading,

independent contract analytical

laboratories with an exceptional

international reputation.

The Laboratories all started

through the vision of the founder

and still Managing Director,

William B Cartmell. Originally

from Lancashire, Mr. Cartmell

moved to the South of England

and established a veterinary

practice in Wickham in 1954.

Reputation of William's work at

the veterinary practice thrived

and 6 more branches were

established in South East

Hampshire. To complement this

growth in business, a small and

large animal hospital facility was

constructed. As well as offering

t r ea tment s , t he ho sp i t a l

developed diagnosis methods and

so the inception of the

laboratories was an outgrowth of

this veterinary work.

In 1965, Wickham Laboratories

was incorporated as a separate

entity to provide in house

services to the practices and to a

broader section of the animal-

health industry. These facilities

rapidly evolved and services

became conducive to general

UK practitioners, farmers,

animal feed companies and the

poultry industry.

Specific techniques were

developed for on-farm use, such

as pregnancy diagnosis,

providing invaluable, new tools

to the UK's animal husbandry

industry. Wickham Laboratories

also formed a sister company,

SPF Farms Ltd whose work

significantly contributed to the

production of human and

poultry vaccines worldwide. As

the company's skills evolved,

the scope for serving the human

healthcare and food industries

emerged and subsequently

became evermore important.

It was announced in May 2011

that Wickham Laboratories had

purchased a laboratory facility in

Gosport and was to relocate into

the former pharmaceutical

manufactur ing s ite . This

complex, now known as Hoeford

Point, has seen extensive

refurbishment since purchase.

Hoeford Point represents a 50%

increase in floor space over the

Wickham location. Along with

many general refurbishments,

new areas have been built to

bespoke designs and purchases of

major, additional equipment has

taken place. The new complex

features state of the art air

handling and modern lighting

controls to cater for the needs of

the individual laboratories.

The move to Hoeford Point

represents 50 years of growth and

expertise and the company

retains many satisfied customers

who continue to choose

Wickham Labs services because

of the level of professionalism of

employees and the care that is

placed on each and every project.

Integrity, accuracy, attention to

detail and communication have

always been at the centre of

employee's ethics and the

business priorities, which have

substantially been factors to the

development and success of the

company. In these exciting times

the company is looking forward

to continuing to make major

contributions to the Animal, Food

and Pharmaceutical industries.

Both William Cartmell and his

wife, Mrs. Joan Cartmell have an

intense personal commitment to

the laboratories, veterinary

practice and kennels and today,

Wickham Laboratories employs

in the region of 100 staff, making

a significant contribution to the

local economy. Wickham

Laboratories' priority is to

continue to build on the

foundations laid down some 50

years ago and to ensure the

advancement of the company's

growth; focus is on modem

technologies and continued

expansion.

13

Three conservation charities

launch ‘Eyes and Ears’ scheme

to involve local communities in

helping to protect the landscape

of Hampshire

The Hampshire Branch of the

Campaign to Protect Rural

England (CPRE), The Hampshire

Gardens Trust (HGT) and the

Hampshire Buildings Preservation

Trust (HBPT) share a commitment

to protect the historic environment

of Hampshire. Announced today is

a new initiative to work together

in support of this objective.

Following the Localism Act,

which encourages local people to

get involved in development

matters in their local area, the

three organisations will set up an

‘Eyes and Ears’ process. Members

of the public will be encouraged to

email or telephone their concerns

ab o u t any p l anned ne w

developments they hear of which

might threaten the countryside,

h i s t o r i c p a r k s , g a r d e n s ,

community green spaces and

significant buildings. These

reports will then be relayed to the

most appropriate partner so they

can look into the concerns

expressed and take further action

as necessary.

If advance warning of a proposed

development is given to the

conservation charities, they may

be able to work with the

developers to produce plans which

are sympathetic to both the local

environment and of benefit to

loca l comm unit i es . Gi l l y

Drummond, President of the

Hampshire Gardens Trust said:

“Working together and with local

people and local authorities will

be a very effective way of

conserving the county’s precious

places for the benefit of all. We

need everyone to support ‘Eyes

and Ears’.

The ‘Eyes and Ears’ scheme has a

new, dedicated web page at http://

www.cprehampshire.org.uk where

members of the public can report

their concerns. Through this web

page, you can also find further

information on the work and

membership details of the three

charities.

For media enquiries, please

contact:

Keren Burney, Media and

Communications Tel: 01730

894123

Officer, CPRE Hampshire.

Mobile: 07876 780065

Email:

kburney@compege.co.uk

Becky French Tel: 01962

779185

CPRE Hampshire Email:

becky.french@cprehampshire.o

rg.uk

Administration Officer,

Compege - ideas for competitive

edge,

Mainline Business Centre,

Station Road,

Liss, Hampshire GU33 7AD

MEON VALLEY

Meon Valley U3A’s 2011-2012

very successful, enjoyable and

well attended season of twice

monthly talks on the theme “Here

and There” will come to a close

with the AGM on Tuesday May

1st. This will be, as usual, at

Wickham Community Centre,

Mill Lane, at 2.00pm. The formal

proceedings (which will be quite

short) will be followed by a

presentation on Community

Policing by Barry Towler,

Community Police Officer.

Planning the programme of talks

for the new season (2012-13) is

well under way, on the broad

theme of “Great and Small”; so

fortnightly talks will resume in

September. U3A members will

be sent a copy of the full

programme – and a reminder to

pay their sub! – in July or August.

Meanwhile, most of the small

‘special interest’ groups will

continue to meet through most of

the summer. Members of these

groups generally meet in each

others’ houses, usually monthly.

Current groups’ subjects include:

read ing; poetry; ar t ; art

appreciation; music appreciation;

geology; walking/strolling and

bridge.

As a follow up to two recent very

entertaining, informative and

diverse talks, two summer outings

are being arranged for members:

the first is a coach trip to London

(22nd May) and the second a

guided tour of Whitchurch Silk

Mill (12th June).

Enquiries about the outings, new

membership (or any other U3A

matter) to Secretary, Julia Field on

01489 891353.

14

Countryside

Awards look to the

young – our future

An annual countryside award

scheme, organised by the

Campaign to Protect Rural

England (CPRE) in Hampshire

and sponsored by nature-friendly

farmers, Steve’s Leaves, is now

open for entries. This year a new

entry category has been included

for “Young people”. This is to

encourage more entries from the

County’s young generation.

Entries will be welcomed from

schools, youth groups, scouts,

guides, cubs and brownies, youth

offender programmes, secondary

schools & college projects aimed

at people up to 18 years of age.

The established categories “Rural

Enterprise” and “Voluntary/

Community Sector” have been

retained to allow recognition of

the fine work in these areas.

The awards will be given to

o u t s t a nd i ng ex am p l es o f

environmental projects around

Hampshire that meet the two

organisations’ common goals of a

sustainable, living countryside that

all can value and enjoy.

“Steve’s Leaves”, farmers of the

UK’s tastiest little leaves, became

the first corporate sponsor for the

awards in 2011, and has continued

its commitment in 2012. The

scheme is run in conjunction with

Hampshire and Hampshire

Ambassadors.

The deadline for entry will be 13th

July 2012 and an award ceremony

has been arranged for 28 th

September at Itchen Abbas, near

Winchester.

Mike Rushworth, managing

director of Steve’s Leaves added:

“We are supporting the awards for

a second year running because we

want to celebrate the beauty that is

Hampsh ir e and recogni se

organisations working across the

county in an environmentally

responsible manner, whilst

contributing to the community and

its prosperity.”

Anthony McEwen, director of

CPRE Hampshire said: “We are

very keen to receive entries from

young people and youth group

leaders this year. Young people

are the future guardians of the

countryside and we need to teach

them to love nature and wild

places, so that they will one day

continue to take care of them. I am

looking forward to seeing what

fascinating projects come to light

over the next few months.”

Steve and his team are

dedicated to sustainable and

environmental ly f r iendly

farming. They run the first and

only farms growing fresh

p r o d u c e t o h o l d t h e

Conservation Grade/ Nature

Friendly Farming status. This

type of farming is scientifically

proven to dramatically increase

biodiversity and restore wildlife

t o t h e c o u n t r y s i d e .

Conservation Grade provides a

sustainable means of feeding

the growing population whilst

protecting the environment.

Steve, the man behind Steve’s

Leaves, is known to his friends

as The Leaf Doctor as he holds

a PhD in watercress. He has

always been a pioneer: back in

the ’80s he came up with the

idea of picking young spinach

and eating it raw. At the time,

people thought he was mad but

now baby spinach is seen on

supermarket shelves all around

the country. Since then, Steve

and his expert team of baby leaf

growers keep coming up with

ground-breaking ideas.

Last year’s award winners were

Otterbourne Primary School in

Winchester, British Trust for

Conservation Volunteers on

Hayling Island and Hampshire

Cheeses of Herriard near

Basingstoke.

Further information about

criteria and an entry form can

be found at: http://

www.cprehampshire.org.uk, or

http://www.stevesleaves.co.uk,

or telephone CPRE Hampshire

offices on 01962 779185. The three winners of the Steve’s

L e a v e s / C P R E H a m p s h i r e

Countryside Awards in 2011 were:

-

Otterbourne Primary School in

Winchester - for the outstanding work

it is doing developing its meadow to

benefit children’s learning and for the

way that the natural environment was

embedded into the school curriculum.

British Trust for Conservation

Volunteers - for its teams of

volunteers working to conserve

stretches of endangered coastline and

heath on Hayling Island.

Hampshire Cheeses of Herriard

near Basingstoke - for the quality

of its prize-winning product, its

use of local milk and local labour

and the way it had refurbished a

derelict cattle barn into a modern

hygienic plant.

The following entrant was awarded

'Highly Commended' certificate in

2011:

The village of Soberton - for its

impressive parish plan.

Helen Hatton (left) and Mike Rush-

worth, Steve’s Leaves with Anthony

McEwen and Becky French of CPRE Hampshire

15

Are you or someone you know

caring for someone suffering from memory difficulties? Meon Valley

Carers Group is a voluntary organisation supporting the carers and their families. It provides an

opportunity to mix socially along with their cared for with people in a

similar situation on a regular basis. We encourage contact with the families and can provide valuable

information. If you have any questions or would like information on any services then please come to

our Drop in Office, open Monday

and Thursdays 9am to 1pm.

Towards the end of March everyone whose lives have been touched by dementia let out a sigh of relief as

Mr Cameron announced that he and his government are going to work to improve awareness about dementia.

This new initiative will be coupled with a doubling of the funding for

dementia research. Only time will tell if this increased research ultimately leads to a cure for

Alzheimer disease and other dementias, but for most of us, the real prize will be if dementia

awareness does increase to the extent Mr Cameron plans. This announcement follows a report

issued by the Alzheimer Society highlighting many of the problems

faced by dementia sufferers and their carers, including the isolation and loneliness experienced by many

of them. Becoming a full time carer for a person with dementia means being on a very rapid learning

curve, where hardly a week goes by when some new and unexpected

issues need to be dealt with.

It’s exhausting, but worse than that are the barriers that need

negotiating. Our systems, whether healthcare, financial or social, simply don’t cater for people with

memory problems. We habitually encounter a lack of understanding of

just how memory loss can affect somebody’s life. It’s is incredibly

isolating.

Surrounding this momentous

announcement, the Alzheimer Society ran an awareness campaign using quotes from dementia

sufferers and their carers detailing their own experiences. It has been sad reading, but there was so much

we can identify with. It’s true that there is a tendency for us to become isolated partially through our own

actions, after bad nights we may be too exhausted to venture out, we

catch up on forty winks, hibernating. On bad days, we may feel it’s preferable to stay on home

territory where we can control the environment, so we only embark on outings on the good days.

Unfortunately, visits from friends and family often reduce too, many

people find it daunting to chat with someone with dementia, they don’t know how to deal with repetition,

they feel uncomfortable when that person is unable to relate to the present day, as they are living in

their past or, even more scary, when a family member or old friend doesn’t remember you.

Meon Valley Carers Group was set up to alleviate this isolation and

loneliness, not just via our monthly meetings, pub lunches and outings, but we also help with other support.

We hold information on most aspects of dementia, from the practical issues and financial aspect

to tips on how to improve visits to

someone with dementia.

We are very grateful to the Waltham in Bloom team for agreeing to our request to create hanging baskets for

Red Lion Square in Bishops Waltham. We will be planting up our baskets during our April

meeting, then after a few weeks of nurturing, they will be hung in late

May. It will be exciting to watch them develop over the summer, and hopefully it will help to raise

awareness of our work.

In February, MVCG held a ‘Time for a Cuppa’ event to raise money

for Dementia UK. We reserved a portion of the proceeds to fund a meeting where Barbara Stephens,

the CEO of the charity can make a presentation about their Admiral

Nursing teams to health care

professionals and policy makers here in Hampshire. The meeting is

now scheduled for early May and hopefully the outcome will be that Dementia UK will feel it is worth

building a business plan for a team

here.

Finally, we were delighted to learn

at the end of March that our bid for funding from the People’s Health Trust has been successful. We have

been offered a £5,000 grant in the HealthShape Local Society Lottery

Area. We will not be able to launch our “Meon Valley Art for the Brain” project. The concept is that the

group will be open to dementia sufferers, their carers and also to ex-carers. We already have an

experienced art therapist lined up. She worked with our members

during our January meeting with some fantastic results. We have also had a positive response from our

requests for Volunteers, but we would still welcome anyone else who would be interested in helping

us in this wonderful new project. No experience of art or teaching is necessary, we will provide an

induction and we will provide as

much support as you need.

If you have some free time, particularly Tuesday afternoons, and feel you would like to volunteer

with us, please let us know. We are

a lively group and have lots of fun.

8th May Outing to Fareham

Model Engineers

Group.

22nd May Group Meeting at the Paterson Centre

2pm

12th June Pub Lunch at The Forge, Shedfield

12 noon

26th June Pamper Day by the Princess Royal

Trust at the Paterson Centre

2pm

The Carers Centre for Memory Concerns, at the Paterson Centre, Church Road, Swanmore Mon &

Thurs 9 am - 1pm, Tel: 01489

895444 E-Mail

meon-valley@btconnect.com

MEON VALLEY

CARERS GROUP

NEWS

Registered Charity No.

16

Bishops Waltham

Rotary Show

Classic Vehicle

Owners All owners of Classic

Cars, Bikes, military in fact

anything, are invited to display

their pride and joy on;

Saturday 9th June 2012

There will be two options:

Just display it at the Show

Ground in Hamble Springs

( you must arrive before 11.30)

Join in the Fun with a

Motorcade through the village

which precedes the Carnival

Procession. It starts from the

Priory Car Park at the end of

Elizabeth Way then drives

through the town and into the

Showground to join all the fun.

There will be a Prize for the

favourite Vehicle and also

for the WORST vehicle in

show. This means the untidiest

un-restored but Road Legal

exhibit.

Please let us know if you

intend to come or would like

more information on the event.

Pete Yeoman

07710307880 / 01329 832595

e-mail

pete@nostalgiccarhire.co.uk

Citizens Advice

Bureau

Q. We’ve been on the waiting

list for a council house for ages

and finally have an offer of

somewhere to live. I thought

this would give us security in a

place we could afford, but

someone told me it’s not like

that anymore and they can

make you move after a certain

time. Is this true?

A. If you are a council or a

housing association tenant, you

normally have a tenancy for life.

The rent you pay is also cheaper

than if you were renting privately,

and when you die, you can

normally pass your home to your

spouse or partner and sometimes

to other family members who

were living with you.

This will not be the case for much

longer as the law will soon be

changing for new tenants,

possibly from April this year. The

rights of existing council and

housing association tenants will

not change.

Councils will still have the option

to offer 'lifetime' tenancies to new

tenants, but they will also be able

to offer them a shorter tenancy,

known as a flexible tenancy.

This will be for a minimum of

two years, but in most cases it

will last for five years or more. If

you're given a flexible tenancy for

a fixed period of time, the council

will review your circumstances

before the tenancy comes to an

end to see if you still need council

housing or not.

There are also other changes

planned. If you're homeless

through no fault of your own and

apply to the council to be housed,

it can find you a privately rented

home to live in instead of a

council or housing association

place. If you refuse, the council

won't always have to offer you

another place.

Each council will also have more

control of who they'll accept on

their housing waiting list,

although they'll still have to look

after people who are in most need,

for example, if you're homeless.

For more information about

tenancy’s and other housing

matters contact Winchester

District Citizens Advice Bureau,

at either our

Bishops Waltham office, Well

House, 2 Brook Street, Bishop's

Waltham, SO32 1AX, Tel. No.

01489 896376 Mon/Tues/Wed/

Fri,10- 2pm . Or drop in at

Wickham Community Centre,

Mill Lane, Wickham, Thurs 10.30

- 1.30pm. If this is not

convenient, please note our Thurs

evening appointments only

session (4-7pm).or E-mail:

bishopswaltham@cabnet.org.uk

or

Wi nc he s t e r o f f i c e , T he

Winchester Centre, 68 St George

Street, Winchester SO23 8AH,

Tel. No. 01962 848000 Mon/

Wed/Thurs 10-4pm and Tues/Fri

10-1pm. Or drop in at Alresford

GP Surgery on Mon 1-3 or E-

mail:

advice@winchestercab.org.uk

or visit the national Citizens

A d v i c e w e b s i t e

www.adviceguide.org.uk

07710307880 / 01329 832595

Email:

pete@nostalgiccarhire.co.uk

17

CURDRIDGE

AMATEUR DRAMA

GROUP

Audiences were treated to a very

different production this spring. Instead of the usual farce or

comedy, they performed ‘A Letter

from the General’ by Maurice

Mcloughlin, a gripping and

emotional play from start to finish. Chris Pond and her team

created a stunning set design that

visually carried everyone to a

Catholic mission station in a far

eastern country in 1950.

The story centres on five nuns

whose existence and way of life is

put under threat by the

Communist regime. It was clear to

those watching that Teresa Pitt, the Director, had superbly trained

her cast. Jenny Barker made a

very benevolent Mother Superior

who kept her composure when

battling against the gruff, embittered, Captain Lee of the

Revolutionary Army, played

brilliantly by Tony Pond.

Jane Barker as Sister Henry and

Liz Plumridge as Sister Lucy made convincing Irish nuns

allowing audiences to respond

instantly to their very different

personalities. Ann Appleby was

an excellent Sister Magdalen,

whose simple faith in her former pupil, now ‘The General’, is

shattered in the final tearful scene

when she tears up his letter.

Lynnette Coombes made her

CADG stage debut as the novice

nun, Sister Bridget, and with her

youthful lack of restraint

developed a rapport with

audiences straight away. Peter

Burkett also made a successful

debut as Mr Stilton, the over-anxious British Consul who not

only has to get the nuns safely

away but has to put up with a

bored and disloyal wife, played by

Carol Plumpton. Carol presented a

vivid picture of a sarcastic and observant woman with a hatred of

the Germans who shot her son in

the back, yet a marked

compassion when refusing to

betray German Father Schiller,

played creditably by Frank

Pagnani, to Captain Lee.

As usual the costume department

came up trumps and backstage

crew, lighting, sound and front of house worked very hard to deliver

yet another successful play.

We will be appearing for the

first time at the Bishops

Waltham Festival on Monday

May 21 at The Jubilee Hall.

Look out for more details on

our website:

www.cadg.hampshire.org.uk

or find us on Facebook.

JOIN THE ANNUAL

CHRISTIAN AID

SPONSORED DEANERY

WALK

SUNDAY 13 MAY 1.30 pm

SOBERTON CHURCH

Support a good cause and

enjoy an afternoon in the

Hampshire countryside!

Much of this year’s walk will

f o l l o w t h e S o b e r t o n

Millennium Trail, giving

walkers the chance to explore

another section of the Meon

Valley. As last year, we will

have the long (10 mile),

medium and family walk (with

quiz), which will allow those

with small children to take part

too!

Join us on the day in time to

make a prompt start at 1.30pm (registration from

1.00). There is plenty of space

for a picnic beforehand, and the

White Lion pub is also nearby

for refreshment.

Please remember to get

sponsorship!

Sponsorship forms are available

at your local church, or from

Robin Boston (01329 832618

and w.boston@virgin.net)

please bring these with you on

the day!

Moneys collected should be

handed in to your Christian Aid

coordinator or treasurer.

Or you can set up your own

sponsorship page on

justgiving.com for: Christian

Aid - Bishop’s Waltham

Deanery walk – or use link

http://tinyurl.com/

bishopswalthamwalk

Christian Aid – fighting

poverty step by step!

18

THE ELECTRIC

BICYCLE

NETWORK IN THE

SOUTH DOWNS

Electric bicycles bring the simple

pleasures of cycling within

everyone’s reach. Its cycling, but

not as we know it. Electric

bicycles dismiss headwinds and flatten hills. The Electric Bicycle

Network (EBN) can introduce

new people to cycling by

providing them with a fantastic

new experience of leisure riding on an electric bicycle.

The EBN is comprised of a

number of local networks each

made up of multiple hire points

(usually accommodation providers and tourist attractions) and charge

points (usually cafes and pubs).

These are interlinked by a network

of scenic cycling routes and trails.

In 2011 successful networks were launched in the Lakes, Peaks and

Devon. See

www.electricbicyclenetwork.com

for further details.

Each network is run by a local “hub” business, usually an

existing cycle hire business. The

Hub run the fleet - they take

delivery of the bikes from the

supplier at the beginning of the

season, build the bikes and deliver them to the Hire Points in time for

the beginning of the tourist season

on 1st April. Hire Points can

either lease or buy the bikes from

the Electric Bike Network and then rent them out to their

customers. Hirers also pay a

Network Fee which covers

maintenance and servicing of the

bikes, basic training, helmets,

track pumps and some marketing

materials.

In 2012 the first network in the South East is being launched, in

the South Downs National Park.

This is an exciting new venture in

sustainable travel and tourism. It

is an excellent location because it

has a good network of quiet roads and trails for cycling, for example

the Shipwrights way.

The scenery is stunning and there

are many potential hire and charge

points in the form of visitor at tract ions, accommodation

pr oviders , count r y pubs ,

restaurants and cafes.

The area is accessible to large populations including from

London, Southampton and

Portsmouth for short leisure

breaks.

Hire Points Quench Cycles

Alice Holt Forest Bucks Horn Oak

GU10 4LS

Tel 01420 520355 www.quenchuk.co.uk

Cyclelife Petersfield

Rear of 40 Dragon Street Petersfield

GU31 4JJ

Tel 01730 266644

www.petersfieldcycles.com

Crank Cycles Ltd

Alton

GU34 1EN Tel 01420 544999

www.crank-cycles.com

Cowdray Farm Shop Easebourne

Midhurst

GU29 0AJ

Tel 01730 812799 www.cowdrayfarmshop.co.uk

Charge Points

Jane Austen’s House Museum Chawton

GU34 1SD

Tel 01420 83262

www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/index.php

Hinton Ampner National Trust House

Bramdean SO24 0LA

Tel 01962 771305

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hinton-ampner

Rural Life Centre

Old Kiln Museum

Tilford

GU10 2DL www.rurallife.plus.com/rlc/index.html

Izaak Walton Public House

High Street East Meon

GU32 1QA

Tel 01730 823252

www.izaakwalton.biz

Hawkley Inn

Pococks Lane

Hawkley, Nr Liss GU33 6NE

Tel 01730 827205

www.hawkleyinn.co.uk

Stansted Park

Rowlands Castle

PO9 6DX

Tel 02392 412265

www.stanstedpark.co.uk

The White Horse Inn

Priors Dean

GU32 1DA Tel 01420 588387

www.pubwithnoname.co.uk

Swan Hotel 11 West Street

Alresford

SO24 9AD

Tel 01962 732302

www.swanhotelalresford.com

Langrish House Hotel Langrish

Petersfield

GU32 1RN

Tel 01730 266941

www.langrishhouse.co.uk

The Shoe Inn

Exton

SO32 3NT Tel 01489 877526

www.theshoeinn.moonfruit.com

The Harrow

Steep GU32 2DA

Tel 01730 262685

www.harrow-inn.co.uk

The Elsted Inn Elsted Marsh

Nr Midhurst

GU29 0JT

Tel 01730 813662

www.theelstedinn.com

Moonlight Cottage Tea Room and Gar-

dens

Cocking GU29 0HN

Tel. 01730 813336

www.moonlightcottage.co.uk

19

LETTERS TO THE

EDITOR

Dear Sir,

In response to the letter from Mrs

Patricia Matthews (January Parish

Magazine).

I would like to applaud Mrs

Matthews for standing up and

fighting for the youth of

Wickham. My son has been a Cub,

is now a Scout and soon to be an

Explorer. At the age of fourteen he

could be a very different person to

the one he is now if it hadn't been

for the guidance and support that

Scouting has given him.

The hard work the leaders put into

these groups is not recognised

enough. Why are the children of

the village expected to behave as

good members of the community

when they are constantly passed

over in favour of a more profitable

venture? Please remember that the

future of Wickham belongs in the

hands of these children.

Thank you Mrs Matthews and all

who agree.

Yours,

Mrs Eileen Groves

Waterlooville

Dear Editor

My elderly relatives of the Coker

Family have noted that in the last

2 parish magazines that the

Register of Births, Marriages and

Deaths is not published and they

miss this local news part of the

magazine.

Can the register be included in

future issues please.

Many thanks

Helen Coker

Editors’ Note; There were no

entries to the register in March

or April

Dear editor

A very big thank you to our choir

for their wonderful music over the

Easter weekend. The singing at

Shedfield on Good Friday, when

the joint choirs sang four anthems,

was superb. They also assisted the

congregation with the hymns! I

don’t know how many practices

they had but it was much

appreciated.

On Easter Sunday we were treated

to more lovely singing in a

beautifully flower decorated

church, what a joyous occasion.

Thank you Valerie and your

faithful team of choristers.

P.S. eat your heart out Gareth

Malone!

Ann sharp

A BIG THANK YOU

to the following:

The Co-Operative Wickham

Chesapeake Mill Ltd

Culvert Cottage Consortium

All Time Grates Ltd

Heming & Co

Scats Country Stores

Axis Architecture Ltd

Bay Tree Walk & Warwick Lane

Harringtons

Wickham Dental

Taylor Garnier Estate Agency

Wispers Ltd

Kitchen&Bedroom Transformations

Studio 6

The Old House Hotel

Wickham Square Gallery

Biscoes Solicitors

Fabrique Interiors

FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

TO THE PERMANENT TREE-

LIGHT DECORATIONS IN THE

SQUARE!

This will be an important and

exciting all year enhancement of

the atmosphere in the Square for

Villagers, Traders and Visitors

alike

THANK YOU AGAIN!

from Wickham Chamber of Trade,

the Parish Council and the

Residents

Letters to:

John Landaw, 1 Church View

School Road Wickham PO17

5PF.

edtor@stnicholaswickham.org.uk

Please include a postal address

and indicate whether it is to be

published. Publication does not

imply agreement by the editors

with the author’s views

20

MAY 2012 CHURCH DIARY

Tues 1 11:00 Holy Communion at Normandy Court

Sun 6 THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

08:00 Holy Communion 1 John 4.7-21

09:45 Family Service John 15.1-8

18:00 Choral Evensong

Sat 12 Churchyard Working Party

Sun 13 THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

08:00 Holy Communion 1 John 5.1-6

09:45 Parish Communion John 15.9-17

13:30 Christian Aid Walk from Soberton Church

Thurs 17 19:30 Ascension Day Deanery Eucharist at St.Peters

Bishops Waltham

Sat 19 LAST DAY FOR COPY FOR JUNE 2012 MAGAZINE

Sun 20 THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

08:00 Holy Communion 1 John 5.9-13

09:45 Parish Communion John 17.6-19

Sat 26 13:00 Holy Matrimony: Carl Bucksey/Kathy Fisher

Sun 27 PENTECOST

08:00 Holy Communion Acts 2.1-21

09:45 Joint Benefice Morning Worship John 15.26-27

Informal sharing of bread and wine and 16.4b-15

21

FROM THE REGISTERS

Holy Matrimony

Christopher Haynes/Sarah Horton 31st March 2012

Robert Purdy/Christie Cooper 27th April 2012

RIP

Florence Mary Bradberry 83 years 19th April 2012

Brownies Every Tuesday 4.45pm

Circle Dancing Monday 14th, 28th 7.30pm

Engineers Association Wednesday 16th 7.30pm

History Society Tuesday 1st 7.30pm

Light Rail Association Monday 21st 7.30pm

Lunch Club Every Wednesday 12Noon

Men's Breakfast Club Saturday 5th 8.00am

P.C.C Tuesday 15th, 29th

Spinners & Weavers Every Monday 11.00am

St. Nicholas Art Group Every Friday 2.00pm

St. Nicholas Choir Every Thursday 6.30pm

Wickham Society Tuesday 6th 7.30pm

Wickham Twinning Friday 2nd 7.30pm

Wickham Wives Wednesday 9th 7.30pm

Wykeham Group Thursday 24th 7.30pm

PHOTOS

The photo’s ceremony of innocence

Is iced chocolate cake, sacred delight,

Five candles. There’s no need for priest or incense.

But bright open smiley eyes must shut tight.

Dad will light the candles, the wish be wished.

And “Blow!” Then the ritual cutting of the cake,

Its sacred sharing. All eat. Eucharist.

If only from innocence she’d not awake.

This photo’s displayed, never out of sight,

Kept safe from others deep in grandad’s head:

The frightened ghetto boy, ringed by the might

Of Nazi guns, hands aloft, not yet dead;

The running, naked, napalmed girl, in anguish.

Grandad must shut his eyes and make his wish.

Tony Johnson

Church Room Diary

22

Deanery Eucharist for

Ascension Day

Thursday 17th May 7.30pm

St Peter’s Church Bishop’s Waltham

followed by refreshments

Preacher - Revd Anthony Hulbert formerly Rector of Wickham and Rural Dean of Bishop’s Waltham

Music by combined choirs led by David Burgess

23

Registered Charity No. 299731

LOCAL SUPPORT

GROUP

Two Concerts across the

local area raised over

£1,000!

Thank you to everyone who

supported the famous Hampshire

Guitar Orchestra’s splendid

Concert held on 15 March in

Wickham Church. This raised

£668.91 for The Rowans Hospice.

A huge thank you to all those of

you that helped in any way to

ensure the evening once again was

a great success at Wickham.

In Southwick Church on 30 March

the D-Day Brass Quintet

performed their first public recital

which raised a magnificent sum of

£337.90 for The Rowans Hospice.

Again thank you to everyone from

Wickham and Meon areas who

supported and helped to achieve a

great evening of entertainment.

These two Concerts have raised

£1006.81 which is indeed a

splendid result.

The Rowans Hospice are so

grateful to everyone.

Following a request in an earlier

issue of the Wickham Parish

Magazine we are wondering if any

of you have been able to give any

thoughts towards offering a coffee

morning/afternoon tea, or possibly

loan your garden/premises to hold

a fundraising event, or help us at

other local events planned for

2012 to raise the much needed on

going funds to provide free of

charge care for everyone living

within the local communities?

Please do share any ideas with us

and contact your

Local Support Group ( 023 9238

2433 / 023 92 370647/07940

805431,

or write to Orchard Cottage, 34

W e s t S t r e e t , So u t h w i c k ,

Hampshire, PO17 6EA

Thank you very much for your

support.

24

HAVANT CHAMBER

ORCHESTRA

Conductor Peter Craddock

A Summer Evening on the

Water.

This truly ‘Classical’ classical

concert by Havant Chamber

Orches t r a has an id ea l

programme for a Summer’s

evening! It is at Ferneham Hall,

Osborn Road, Fareham on

Saturday 19 May (7.30pm) and

opens with a Sinfonia by Johann

Christian Bach. He was living in

London and wrote the first of his

set of six Opus 18 Sinfonias for

double orchestra, so HCO will be

‘split in two’ at the beginning of

the evening and then revert to the

‘normal’ layout for the remainder

of the concert. Handel also wrote

his Water Music Suites in

London - for King George the

First to amuse his guests while

sailing up the River Thames - and

the Orchestra will play the 2nd

Suite. It is alternatively known

as ‘The Trumpet Suite’ and will

put HCO’s trumpet section of

Tim Mulkern and Alan Pring in

the spotlight.

Mozart wrote his 17th Piano

Concerto, K 453 for a very

talented young lady and is a fine

example of ‘classical poise’. The

soloist will be a long-standing

friend of the Havant Orchestras

having played his first concerto

with HSO in 1966 while still at

Barton Peveril School in

Eastleigh. Andrew then studied

with Kendall Taylor at the Royal

College of Music, took a 1st at

Queen’s College, Oxford,

became an internationally-known

solo pianist and specialist in

contemporary music and is now a

Fellow and Professor of the

Royal College of Music.

However, he was very happy to

accept an invitation to play one of

his favourite Mozart concertos

with HCO this season.

After the interval, Weber's rarely

heard First Symphony spans the

classical/romantic divide and will

make an exciting finale to the

concert.

The evening will begin at 6.30pm

with a talk by Terry Barfoot

about Mozart and his 17th Piano

Concerto while younger listeners

join their own Upbeat Club.

Tickets cost £18.00; £15.50;

£12.00 and £7.00 with 50%

concessions for Students. Under

19s are admitted at £1.00 a ticket.

Order from the Box Office in

person and by phone 01329

2 3 1 9 4 2 o r a t

www.fernehamhall.co.uk or

purchase at the Door on the night.

Special Note: Havant Symphony

Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary

Concert is on 7 July at Ferneham

Hall - BOOK NOW!!!

The Orchestra’s brochure for next

season will be available from

Ferneham Hall, libraries and on

the website:

www.havantorchestras.hampshire

.org.uk by early July.

Andrew Ball

THE INVITATION OF

CHORAL MUSIC

Today, as Gareth Malone on TV

has shown, singing in a choir and

listening to a choir has become

popular. In Hampshire, everyone

has access to concerts by local

choirs, to be appreciated by

performers and audience alike.

Botley Choral Society has been

involved in this musical feast for

nearly 90 years. On 24 and 25

March they gave their Spring

Concert to enthusiastic audiences

in the churches of Locksheath and

Botley.

This was the ideal programme to

woo newcomers to try a classical

concert. The two works were

short and accessible; Dvorak’s

Mass in D and Bach’s Magnificat.

Dvorák wrote his Mass in D in

1887 and in 1989 it was sung in

Prague Cathedral to mark his

country’s seismic changes and to

(Continued on page 25)

25

celebrate the new non-communist

President Václav Havel. J.S.Bach

wrote his Magnificat in D over

160 years earlier; for him the

massive outpouring of sacred

music was part of his genius – and

his job.

The choir performed both works

very well. David Burgess,

conductor since 1990, brought out

with precision the romantic

tunefulness of the Dvorák and the

sublime mystery of the Bach.

Similarly Mark Dancer on the

organ ably provided the lyricism

of the Dvorák in contrast to the

complexity of the Bach. Members

of the choir stepped in to sing the

soprano solos in place of Julie

Bolton who was unwell. The

other soloists, Melanie Stephenson

(soprano/alt), Thomas Jordon

(alto), Peter Fellows (tenor), and

Philip Stokes (bass/baritone) each

came into their own in the short

Bach arias, singly or together –

local professionals contributing

their gifts to the choral resurgence.

Both works have triumphant

moments and the choir and organ

made the glorious crescendo of

Bach’s final Gloria a fitting climax

to a great concert.

Humphrey Prideaux

Further information from: Lucy

Grafen, Botley Choral Publicity,

0 1 4 8 9 8 9 4 8 9 4 o r

lgrafen@gmail.com

(Continued from page 24)

FASTER BROADBAND

FOR WICKHAM?

Hampshire County Council has

secured funding for improving

broadband speed particularly in

rural areas of Hampshire. The aim

is to ensure 90% of premises in

Hampshire have access to 24Mb/s

(Megabits per second) or faster

broadband and the remaining 10%

have access to a minimum of

2Mb/s by 2015 – this would be a

great improvement for many

residents of Wickham who are

otherwise unlikely to get access to

these speeds if it was left to

commercial market forces alone.

Communities such as Wickham

may well feel left behind when

they see how the majority of the

country benefits from the

economic, social and cultural

advantages that much faster

broadband brings.

The roll out schedule will be based

upon the best use of public funds.

Public demand will be important

in planning the delivery, since this

will help fund the ongoing

investment in the network

infrastructure. Individuals (and

businesses) are encouraged to

register their interest with Hants

CC.

Support so far in Wickham has

been quite low, so we may miss

out on this opportunity. If you feel

that our community would benefit,

p l e a s e r e g i s t e r a t

www.hants.gov.uk/broadband-

signup .

R e g i s t r a t i o n i s N O T a

commitment for you as an

individual to sign up for faster

broadband or to change internet

service provider – it’s gauging

likely demand. If we don’t ask, we

won’t get!

P l e a s e s e e h t t p : / /

www3.hants.gov.uk/broadband for

more information.

Please make other family

members, friends and neighbours

in and around Wickham aware of

what is happening - the more

publicity & registrations, the

greater our chance of securing

faster broadband for Wickham.

ART & PHOTOGRAPHIC

EXHIBITION

10th–13th May 2012

The Woodford Suite at Wickham Centre.

Entries invited from local Artists & Photographers

for display and/or sale.

For details & entry form, please call or email on

01329 833688 or wickhamcentre@btconnect.com

26

Wickham Church and Village Fete is on June 9th

Please help with donations for the various stalls

There will also be music

Children’s activities and face painting, Coconut shy, Ice Creams, Strawberries

Sandwiches, BBQ, Pimms and Beer plus our scarecrow competition

The Bric-a-Brac Stall can only accept items before the Fete and we are willing to collect. Please contact Sue

Pittam (828589) or Viki Pawlyn 832194

Books: Please deliver books to Warwicks Shop (in the yard)

before the Fete.

The Quality Clothes Stall can only accept items before the Fete. Only Ladies’ & Children’s Clothes which are clean

and in good condition please and NO Shoes. Items should be left in the North Transept of St Nicholas Church

any time after 9th May – to keep the church tidy please place in bags under the tables which will be marked for fete

deliveries.

The Auction We are willing to arrange to collect from you, but we can only accept items well before the Fete and,

unfortunately, we are unable to accept electrical items.

Stall Name Tel:

Auction (see below) Nic Holladay 833596

Barrow of Bottles Niki Cartwright 833749

Book Stall See below

Bottle Stall Margaret Gwynn 833180

Bric-a-Brac (see below) Sue Pittam 828589

Cake Stall Sabrina Gwynn 233637

DVDs and CDs Christine Cannadine 513530

Grand Draw Judy Lucas 833655

Jewellery Lynne Cox 02392 230047

Plants & Produce Lucy Carter 832928

Quality Clothes See below

Tea Tent Jane Goulson 833299

Toiletries Di Hemingway-Rice 835463

Tombola Stall Helen Russell 834337

27

THURSDAY CLUB

“I was born in a zoo”. Statistically

there can't be many people who

can make this claim. However,

this is where our speaker, Laura

Beal, started life. Whipsnade to

be precise. In 1928 her Veterinary

father was asked by Sir Peter

Chalmers Mitchell to apply to run

Whipsnade. Sir Peter, who was

Secretary of the Zoological

Society from 1903 – 1935, had

long been anxious to start a zoo

where the animals enjoyed much

more freedom than the currently

accepted way of keeping wild

animals. Ideally he wanted 200

acres (Marwell is 100) about 70

miles from London. Pound Hall

Farm in the Chilterns was found to

be ideal in terms of terrain if not in

amenities; it had no gas or

electricity and only well water. It

comprised 500 acres and was

bought for £13,000.

In 3 years it was ready to acquire

animals. Surprisingly they came

from private estates. Woburn

gave bison, another estate gave a

small herd of camels with their

keeper, Mr. Coles who was as

reluctant to be parted from them as

he was from his pipe smoking.

The estate of Lady Ewell gave

Teddy Major, a fully grown brown

bear plus a £1.000 donation. A

circus gave Whipsnade an

elephant called Dixie, a real prima

donna who loved playing to the

crowd; she came with her keeper,

George. Wolves, snakes, tigers -

all emerged from the English

countryside! Sir Peter's hope was

that animals would now breed in

'captivity'.

In 1931, Whipsnade, much

publicised by the press, opened to

the public. Chaos ensued! The

lanes to the zoo were jammed with

Austin Sevens, bikes and

motorbikes. The lanes were

narrow and when a car broke

down the driver of the car behind

almost started a fight! First

instance of road rage? Buses from

central London were cancelled

from midday onwards because it

was thought people wouldn't have

time to get back.

Laura Beal presented a humorous

account of an interesting and

unusual childhood as well as

making us aware of the

enormously important job (as well

as some of the difficulties) of

looking after and breeding from

endangered species. Whipsnade

has been extremely successful in

this field and has managed to re-

introduce a number of species

back into the wild.

Jane England

WICKHAM WIVES

If ever we were to have a talk with

slides to jog memories of

reminiscences for our members it

was Mrs. Carol Watson‘s

presentation “The River Meon,

from source to the sea”

Carol introduced herself as a local

girl, having been born in

Meonstoke and her parents lived

there for the remainder of their

time.

She was the niece of Jean Hill

who was a founder member of our

group and before the meeting got

underway she was being greeted

and welcomed by several members

recalling their childhood “up the

valley”

The meon flows from a spring that

rises in a pond south of East

Meon, it flows north for a distance

before flowing south through the

centre of the village.

The slides showed much of the

flora and fauna along the route of

the river, and many of the

beautiful flint churches, especially

the East Meon church with a

succession of blooms beginning

with snow drops, crocuses and the

well-known scenic daffodils to ox-

eye daisies later in the year. The

grave of Thomas Lord is in West

Meon graveyard which mentions

that his name is the origin of the

Lord’s cricket ground, dated 1787,

and the infamous Guy Burgess is

also interred there.

Carol’s family connections with

the area enabled her to visit many

beautiful old homes with

delightful gardens along the river,

her pictures worthy to grace any

calendar or chocolate box.

We travelled further along the

Meon as it meandered through the

lush green countryside, recording

its moods looking dark and bleak

against pristine snow along its

banks. Bubbling, sparkling in the

spring sunshine edged with golden

kingcups, wild yellow irises and

buttercups into summer reflections

of autumn foliage in quiet pools

near water mills that had served

local farmers for generations.

(Continued on page 28)

28

BISHOP'S WALTHAM

AND WICKHAM

AFTERNOON

WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

The President welcomed everyone

to the Meeting on 11th April at

the Jubilee Hall. It was nice to

welcome Doreen Manship back

after a short absence. Sadly we

heard that, due to ill health, Doris

Haylett will not be able to come

to future Meetings. We will all

miss her. Business and Correspondence

was dealt with and the President

then introduced the Speakers, Mr David Roger Jones and his

wife Sue, to talk on their visits to

the Oberammergau Passion Plays.

In1633,The Black Death reached

the Village and killed 83 people.

As a result of this, and as a

supplication to God, the first Play

was performed in 1664, in the

churchyard to an audience of 400.

This Play was the "Brain Child"

of the village folk. They took the

story of The Passion of Christ and

staged the Play with all the

village taking part, either as

performers or behind the scenes.

The play lasts for Eight hours,

with a three hour break, and has

been performed every ten years

since outdoors whatever the

weather, give or take a couple

when National events took over.

It is now staged in a purpose built

theatre, holding nearly 5000

people, and around half a million

visit during it's duration of five

months. All profits from the Play

are ploughed back into the

welfare of the village. The talk was riveting and surely

gave some of us the hope to

m a yb e a t t e n d a f u t u r e

performance. Tea and biscuits and a "go home

chat" ended the Meeting just after

4.0p.m. The next Meeting will be on

Wednesday May 9th at Jubilee

Hall, when Resolutions will be

discussed, and votes will be taken

for incoming President, Officers

and Committee. For more information ring Ann on

02380 466687 or Sheila on 01329

833390

Sue and David Roger-Jones

Recreational fishing along this

c h a l k s t r e a m a n d t h e

accompanying fishing lakes

immortalised by Isaac Walton

author of the “Compleat Angler”

in 1683, one of many public

houses named af ter local

celebrities, as is the Thomas Lord

at West Meon. Carol’s final

pictures after passing through

Titchfield were of the National

Nature Reserve at Titchfield

Haven. Now an important resting

place for migrating birds. At low

tide you can see the Meon passing

through the hatches to join the

Solent at Hillhead.

We all spent a wonderful evening

away from traffic and noise, let’s

hope that the demands of the

population today for water and

climatic changes do not cause

irreparable damage to this

beautiful natural asset.

On May 9th Wickham Wives have

been invited to attend the pre-view

of the art and photographic

exhibition in the Woodford Suite

at the community centre at 7.00

PM

Margaret Gwynne

(Continued from page 27)

29

Wickham Cricket Club

Members turned out on 31st March to give the pavilion and changing rooms a

bit of a spring clean. The pictures below show some of the band of helpers,

wielding paint brushes and rollers. The first match of the season on Sunday 22nd

April, is away to Chawton but the next 3 matches are all at home, so we need to make sure

that the facilities are up to scratch after sitting idle for the winter. We are still a little lacking

in furniture for the dressing rooms – if anyone has any chairs, benches or cupboards we

would be very interested. We also need some outdoor picnic furniture. If anyone is able to

help with any of these, please get in touch on the phone number below.

Other news from the past month – we are very pleased to report that we now have an official

club scorer. Carey, who scored for us a lot last season, has just completed the official

HACO/ECBACO Level 1 Cricket Scorers Course at the Rose Bowl in Southampton and is

now the proud owner of a nice set of coloured pens and her own personal scorer’s cushion!

Fixtures for May are as follows:

5 Sat Verwood H 2.00pm HCL

6 Sun Shedfield H 2.00pm Friendly

9 Wed Tichbourne I A 6.00pm Wilde Sports 20/20

12 Sat Totton & Eling II H 2.00pm HCL

13 Sun Durley A 2.00pm Friendly

14 Mon Compton A 6.00pm Tichbourne Cup 1st round

16 Wed Owslebury I H 6.00pm Wilde Sports 20/20

19 Sat Ryde II A 2.00pm HCL

20 Sun Pear Tree H 2.00pm Friendly

23 Wed Scrummagers I A 6.00pm Wilde Sports 20/20

26 Sat Burley H 2.00pm HCL

27 Sun Rowner A 2.00pm Friendly

30 Wed St Cross Symondians I H 6.00pm Wilde Sports 20/20

We are always pleased to be able to welcome new members, of all playing abilities. If you

would like to join the club in any capacity, please give Malc Burt a call on 01329 834398.

Lesley Wilde, Secretary

30

FOLK IN MAY 2012

On Monday 21 May 2012, we

welcome FAIRPORT

CONVENTION back to Forest

Folk, North Boarhunt, starting

8 pm.

Tickets cost £22 each, tel 01329

833625, 023 9226 4288 or email

info@forestfolk.co.uk.

Fairport Convention celebrates

forty-fifth anniversary in North

Boarhunt

Folkrock legends Fairport

Convention will be celebrating

their forty-fifth anniversary in

North Boarhunt when the band

visits Forest Folk on Monday 21

May.

Formed in 1967's 'summer of

love', Fairport Convention has

been delighting audiences for 45

years making them one of the most

enduring bands to emerge from the

fertile 60s music scene. Hailed as

the originators of British folk-rock

music, the band is still as vibrant

and inventive as ever.

The 2012 anniversary tour will

feature songs from the band's

recent studio album, the critically-

acclaimed Festival Bell. However,

with such a long history the band

has a vast repertoire to draw on so

this year the tour concerts will also

include a selection of favourite

songs and tunes specially chosen

in a poll of the band's fans.

"Forty-five years is a milestone,"

says Simon Nicol who co-founded

the band in 1967, "but we don't

intend to rest on our laurels or

hark back to the past – Fairport is

a band that always looks to the

future. All five of us are looking

forward to getting back on the

road – in fact, we're raring to go –

because our first love is live

performance."

"We’ve played in North Boarhunt

before but we always enjoy

coming back here,“ Mr Nicol

adds. "In fact, Forest Folk is one

of our favourite venues and we

particularly look forward to

playing there again on Monday

evening. This year, the concert

will be rather different – not only

have we got the new material from

Festival Bell but this will be the

first time we’ve invited our

audiences to help us select the

repertoire for a concert tour.”

As well as Simon Nicol on guitar

and lead vocals, Fairport

Convention features Dave Pegg on

bass and backing vocals, Chris

Leslie on fiddle, mandolin,

bouzouki and lead vocals, Ric

Sanders on violin and Gerry

Conway on drums and percussion.

Fairport Convention has won a

c o v e t e d B B C L i f e t i m e

Achievement Award and Radio 2

l i s teners vo ted Fairpor t ’s

groundbreaking album Liege &

Lief 'The Most Influential

Folkrock Album of All Time'.

For tickets, further information

and details of our singarounds and

guest nights, please ring 01329

833625, 023 9226 4288, or just

email info@forestfolk.co.uk and

join our emailing list, and we will

keep you regularly updated with

all our news and events.

Charles Gale

Forest Folk

Wednesday 16th May

12.30pm

All Saints’ Church Botley

Lunchtime Concert by

Speranza

Kath Sugden (flute)

Charles Sugden (cello)

Colin Peters (piano)

This is a free concert but

there will be a retiring

collection.

You are welcome to bring

your packed lunch to eat

during the concert.

Folkrock legends Fairport

Convention

31

Another bumper haul for

Naomi House

For 38 consecutive years the

annual Ford Open Sea Angling

competition has attracted hundreds

of fishing enthusiasts to Weston

Shore. The competition takes

place every January and is

organised by the Ford Sports and

Social club in Southampton, with

generous sponsorship from Ford’s

own branch of the Transport and

General Workers Union.

The event is run for charity and

has traditionally supported Naomi

House and Jack’s Place, the

Winchester based hospices which

provide specialist respite care for

children with life-limiting

problems. The Naomi House

organisation needs to raise around

five million pounds annually to

deliver its care service and so we

were delighted that this year, the

combined entry fees, raffle

proceeds plus a donation from the

Lions, allowed us to present the

charity with a cheque for £2,500.

Meon Valley Lions Club has

helped with the event organisation

since 1996 and in that time the

total amount raised has reached

around £35,000. That huge sum of

money is great reward for those

Lions who have endured the early

alarm calls on all those cold, wet,

dark January mornings!

For the statisticians among you,

this year we had 162 adult

competitors and nine juniors, who

between them caught 31 fish. John

Brown was the outright winner

with two fish weighing in at 2lb

11ozs. Mr D.Wilson was second

with Zak Stokes winning the

junior section with a splendid 13oz

flounder.

At the prize-giving, event

organiser Peter Oates and Lions

Joe Kennedy and Andrew Brown

presented the cheque to Naomi

House area representative Mary

Rochford. Expressing her

gratitude to the Ford Sea Angling

Club, Mary commented that she

could think of no other

organisation on the south coast

that had consistently contributed

so much money to the charity,

over such an extended period.

Photograph: L-R Joe Kennedy

(Meon Valley Lions), Peter Oates

(Event organiser), Mary Rochford

(Naomi House representative) and

Andrew Brown (Meon Valley

Lions)

WICKHAM TWINNING

ASSOCIATION

Whilst our big event this year

will be our trip to Villers on the

w e e k - e n d o f 7 t h - 9 t h

September, we have two other

important dates scheduled. First

is our always popular Plant Sale

on Saturday 12th May in the

Square. As usual there will be

an excellent selection of keenly

priced, high quality plants

available. Do come and take a

look. There will be something

for everyone. This will be

followed on July 14th with a

new event. We are organising a

Treasure Hunt open to all. Full

details will be available in the

next edition of the Magazine,

but we guarantee fun for all the

family; definitely a date for

your diaries.

Mike Bennett

32

A big Thank you to all those

members that turned up to help

plant up the cleared railway

embankment opposite the Church.

A total of 10,000 English bluebells,

300 wood anemones and 300

violets being some of what was

planted, the weather was HOT ( so

that was our Summer then! )

Refreshments provided by the

Parish Council were well received.

Thanks to Paul and his team for

leaving us a supply of water for

the new plants.

We can only hope that the plants

and bulbs will have survived the

hot dry conditions that we all

enjoyed; if they have we will all

be treated to a fantastic display

next spring that will bring out

photographers from the wider

area.

AGM

On Tuesday the 10th April we had

our AGM. After a review of the

last years activities we moved onto

renewing positions on committee

and the Officers.

Mike Hollis re stood as Secretary,

as did I as Chair, Rosemary

O’Leary joined as Treasurer, the

remainder of the committee stood

for re election with the exception

of Brian Oswald who bows out

after 5 years as Treasurer. Our

thanks go to Brian for his valued

work and input.

The Society exists to retain the

village character and improve the

environ and amenity of the village

for the village, we are not of any

Political colour, and a warm

welcome awaits new members of

any age to the group.

Chris Hoare 01329 836947

WICKHAM RIFLE

CLUB

END OF THE SEASON

Not every one knows the indoor

shooting season ends at the end of

March, but it does, every year!

For those who want to use them,

open air ranges are more attractive

in the summer but very few people

in Wickham take advantage of this

fact.

So what happened at the end of the

season for Wickham shooters?

Well, the air section continues on

its way, ignoring the seasons while

people come and people go but an

increasing number stay with us.

We have started a second internal

competition but with bank

holidays and other distractions we

are not progressing very fast.

There is a fair amount of interest

among the regular shooters though

and a lot of the pellets are hitting

the nine or ten rings; these are two

very encouraging “happenings”.

In the smal l -bore postal

competition – where the shot cards

are posted away for scoring,

Wickham 'A' team was very

unlucky as they had the highest

aggregate gun score (6716) in their

division of the league but came

second in the division to Box who

scored 6692. Box won nine of

their matches and drew one, so

scored 19 points while Wickham

scored 17 (eight wins and a draw).

The 'B' team came third in their

division, scoring 18 points from

14 matches, Portsmouth City 'C',

who were second, also scored 18

points but had a higher aggregate

of 6186 to Wickham's 6092.

Life has been very hard indeed on

the Wickham 'A' shoulder to

shoulder team as well – they had

the highest aggregate gun score

(5748) in their league yet only

came sixth (out of seven) in the

league table! The winner was

Havant 'A' who had an aggregate

of 5389. I think that is really

tough!

During the summer the air guns

will be operating most Saturday

mornings from 10am until 12 mid-

day and the small-bore rifles every

other Monday evening between

7pm and 9pm from 30th April.

Eric Clifton

33

“IS SEWAGE THE ANSWER ?”

After our April AGM business,

David Roger Jones “lowered the

tone” by taking a surveyor’s

approach to “Wickham - the

defining years” in a thoughtful

and informative talk.

His argument was that both the

Thirteenth Century growth of

Wickham, evidenced in the

Market Charter of 1269, and the

rapid expansion of Wickham after

the 2nd World War depended

primarily on access to water and

to drainage.

In 1269 Wickham, earlier than

many other local settlements,

achieved its Market Charter. This

reflected its changed location to

the western side of the Meon, a

source of water and power for

water mills, but on a raised

“plateau” which kept it clear of

flooding and enabled good

foundations for new buildings and

good drainage.

In the 1950s Wickham underwent

a similar step change in

population and importance - this

time because, as well as a good

water supply, Wickham benefited

from the new sewage farm down

on what is now the Golf Course.

This meant that the major

development to the north and east

of the village centre could take

place.

Maps demonstrate the long

periods of “status quo” and then

rapid change in the village - in

1086 we had 120 residents, in

2001 2621.

David asked if this was another

defining moment? What about the

challenges of an additional 7,500

properties “down the road” north

of Fareham? Has anyone thought

about the water and the sewage?

Will the Wickham Bypass

proposals of the 1970s be

reopened ?

We ended on an optimistic note :

David pointed out that Wickham

had always succeeded as a village

in the past and if we worked

together and argued our corner we

could meet the challenges of the

future.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN

THE SUMMER - can you put this

in a box ?

SUMMER ACTIVITIES :

(these are joint with the Wickham

Society)

Tuesday May 8th: Meon Valley

Alpacas 6.00pm, arrive 5.45

£3.00, tea/coffee 50p

Tuesday July 3rd: Titanic Trail in

Southampton- following on from

our talk on 6th March on “The

Titanic - The Southampton Story”

by Geoff Watts 2.30pm.

Book at our next meeting on

Tuesday May 1st or contact

Barrie Marson on 832313 to book

a place.

JOIN THE SOCIETY

The Wickham History Society is

another example of Wickham as a

busy and vibrant place.

The Society has 47 members. We

welcome new members and are

keeping our membership charge

fixed at £6 for the year in

2012/2013.

Do you have something to say ?

We welcome contributions from

Wickham residents - like

Margaret Edgworth’s contribution

on the Portsmouth Workhouse or

David Roger Jones’s talk.

Come to our next meeting on

Tuesday 1st May at 7.45 pm in

the Wickham Church Room when

the topic will be “Travels in

Middle Egypt”, speaker Mike

Holl is , another Wickham

contributor.

Old Wickham Sweet Shop

34

It has been a couple of months

since my last Article and we have

a had a few things happening

which have caused concerns to

residents and the community as a

whole:-

Fly Tipping has seen an increase

in certain rural locations and we

must all try and help identify

offenders when and where we can

and report sightings to 101. The

Police and local authorities are

trying their best to combat this but

need our help so please if you can

identify vehicles involved that

would help a lot.

Dog Fouling although I must say

95% of Dog owners do collect and

dispose of their doggy deposits

correctly there are the odd few that

don’t so please remind owners you

see not meeting their obligations

to put it in the bins provided or

take it home.

Anti Social Driving this has been

on the increase a little again.. A

few scooters which the Police are

dealing with as well as some

reports of tail gating and menacing

driving attitudes to other road

users who stick to the speed limits

correctly. Please if you see or are a

victim of this type of behaviour

please obtain the registration

numbers of the vehicles concerned

and report to 101. To those that do

drive a little faster than maybe

they should please try and think of

others safety as well as your own

and this will be resolved.

Metal Thefts again this is being

targeted by police as on-going but

some arrests in the area over

recent months have reduced this

quite a bit I am glad to say.

We, the Public, are the eyes and

ears that assist the Police in

keeping our communities safe and

we must continue to work as a

team to crack crime and reduce the

temptation of the few that may be

drawn to commit crime. So please

keep your belongings safe and out

of sight. These simple steps will

help and if the worst happens

report it with as much detail as

possible.

CRIMESTOPPERS

Crimestoppers is an independent

national charity helping to find

criminals and solve crimes.

Members of the public can call

Crimestoppers anonymously to

report crime, or pass on

information relating to crime or

potential crime. The telephone

number is 0800 555 111. There are

specially trained staff who handle

calls around the clock, and will not

ask your name or personal details,

and no one will be able to identify

you.

Alternatively you can pass on

information using their website at

www.crimestoppers-uk.org using

the tab Giving Information. This

website also has regional

info rmat ion, in our case

Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

Crimestoppers reports to the

Police are sanitised so that

references that might identify you

are changed or removed, and you

will not be required to make a

statement to the Police or give

evidence in court. They will

handle your calls with the greatest

care, and initiate appropriate

action. Every sort of crime

including theft, drugs and

domestic violence can be reported,

and there is a cash reward

incentive of up to £1000.

Crimestoppers are involved in

over 20 arrests a day, a murder

every 4 days and the seizure of

illicit drugs worth over £25

million last year. Six actionable

calls are received every day in

Hampshire and Isle of Wight. The

charity is also involved in

campaigns relating to British

criminals and fugitives overseas.

Their website also includes a Most

W a n t e d l i s t i n g s h o w i n g

p h o t o g r a p h s a n d c r i m e

information on particular criminals

both nationwide and local.

As a charity, Crimestoppers are

always looking for both volunteers

to assist in promoting and running

the organisation, and donations.

We have several Events coming

up in our area and these can be

seen on Wickham parish council

and Knowle Village Web sites.

Your support and awareness of

these events which are all put on

for the benefit of the community

will be much appreciated

If you would like fortnightly email

updates on Crime in your area

please email me and I will be

pleased to add you to our Data

base. We also (in case of an

emergency in a specific area) have

a text round so a Mobile number

would be of use as well as your

physical address.

Many thanks and stay safe

Nigel Prior

nigel.prior@btinternet.com

07810463338

35

May 2012

Pilot Schemes for 20mph Speed

Limits

Although 20mph limits have been

a long standing priority for the

County Council, to date the costs

associated with introducing 20mph

speed limits and zones, has led to

priority being given to locations

where there is a history of

accidents resulting in injury.

Recent changes introduced by the

Department for Transport now

make it possible to potentially

bring in lower cost 20mph speed

restrictions to more residential

areas, with less focus placed on an

area’s accident history. However,

there must be a robust cost-benefit

case for any 20mph limit proposal,

although the reduced limit can

now be considered for residential

roads in cities, towns and villages

where through traffic is low, but

the community supports the move.

The County Council is proposing

to set aside £200,000 to progress a

pilot scheme in five locations.

A-Board Permissions

The County Council is considering

how it could enable local District,

Borough or City Councils to

exercise their authority to agree

requests for placing A-boards on

pavements, where it is appropriate

and safe to do so. The proposed

approach suggests that each

request to place an A-board on the

public highway should be

individually assessed at a local

level, and permission granted,

subject to a range of criteria being

met, eg there being sufficient

footway width available and

ensuring that pedestrians, people

with pushchairs or mobility

scooters are not disadvantaged.

The Council plans to carry out

further work with district

authorities to establish a mutually

agreed approach for the licensing

of A-boards and it is anticipated

that any costs incurred as a result

of granting a licence would be

recovered in a fee, payable by the

applicant.

Better Buses

Transport for South Hampshire

(Hampshire County Council,

Portsmouth and Southampton City

Councils) have secured £4.5

million from the Department for

Transport “Better Bus” £50m

fund. The money will be used to

improve the quality of bus travel

in South Hampshire and will

include: the refurbishment of 150

buses; installation of WiFi and the

provision of “next stop” audio

visual systems on the majority of

buses; a t lea s t 16 new

apprenticeships; LED lighting to

significantly reduce carbon

emissions; communication tags at

bus stops providing up to date bus

timetable information via smart

phones and a smart app for mobile

phones, providing bus information

and customer service training for

bus drivers.

Puppy Sales

Council Trading Standards

Officers are advising people to be

extra cautious when buying

puppies from internet sites and to

make sure they do not part with

any money without being certain

of the animal’s origin. This action

follows Trading Standards being

alerted to four cases last month,

i n v o l v i n g f a m i l i e s f r o m

Hampshire, who inadvertently

bought puppies that had been

illegally imported from Eastern

Europe. The animals are often

sold over the internet from sites

that indicate they are UK

suppliers, but buyers later receive

an unexpected large bill for

quarantine when it is discovered

that the puppies have been

illegally imported and not had

essential vaccinations.

Changes to the contributions

policy for Care Services at Home

Two Carers - At February County

Council it was agreed that

additional funding would be made

available to help offset the cost of

paying for personal care services

for those people who require two

carers to help them live

independently at home. Changes

will be implemented with

immediate effect and include:

The Council paying for and

arranging a hoist or other

equipment to be installed and

funding the cost of a second carer

until this is in place

Providing training and support

for a partner or family member to

become a second carer

Where the need for a second carer

is to meet the health and safety

requirements of the care provider,

the cost of that second carer would

not be chargeable

The Council will be reviewing

s e r v i c e u s e r s ’ f i n a n c i a l

circumstances and will look

closely at specific situations where

(Continued on page 36)

36

two carers are required to ensure

the time in which the two carers

are needed is effective. These

measures will be applied to current

and new service users to ensure

transparency of approach. It has

also been agreed that second carer

costs will be waived in the

financial year 2011-2012, and that

charges will be refunded where

they have already been paid.

Charging for respite care in a

residential establishment

The Council have introduced

changes to their charging policy

for those people who use respite

care in a residential establishment.

From 9th April 2012, charging for

respite services came under the

County’s contributions policy

rather than the separate charging

policy previously used, ensuring a

consistent approach to charging

for services. Many clients who

use respite care in this way will

find they benefit from this being

brought into line with the

contributions policy.

The key principles of the policy

remain the same:

Service users pay according to

their financial means, not

according to the cost of the

services they choose. Therefore

the amount each service user pays

is different and this will not

change.

Service users will never be

asked to pay more than their

maximum weekly contribution for

non-residential services, regardless

of the services they choose.

Service users will only need to

have one type of financial

assessment

Service users will pay a single

regular weekly contribution,

regardless of the total cost of their

services

The Council pays the balance of

the cost of services, which varies

according to the amount of care

used.

All service users will shortly

receive their annual notification

let ter f rom the Financial

Assessment and Benefits team

advising them of their maximum

weekly contribution. At this stage

of the year, people may or may not

have agreed their respite care

needs for the year. This doesn’t

matter – the cost and any

contribution change can be

worked out at any time.

C/Cllr Patricia Stallard

Winchester Southern Parishes

May 2012

(Continued from page 35)

FROM OUR MEMBER

OF PARLIAMENT

Water

Given the amount of rain we have

had over the last week or so, I am

sure that droughts and hosepipe

bans are probably the furthest

things from your minds. Indeed,

you will be forgiven for forgetting

that the last two winters have been

some of the driest on record and

that large parts of the south of

England are currently subject to

stringent restrictions on how they

can use water.

Fortunately for us, no part of the

Meon Valley and very little of

Hampshire is currently subject to

these restrictions. But do not be

fooled, we are not immune to the

problems experienced by people in

Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire or Kent;

we are just fortunate in having a

greater supply capacity and

slightly different soil composition.

I can tell you that at a recent

meeting with officials from the

Environment Agency, I was given

a stark warning of what the future

will hold for all of us if we do not

solve our water-use issues. A

picture was painted for me of dry

r iver beds, environmental

catastrophe and stringent controls

on how we use water.

Now, let’s be clear, this is not

something you are going to see

this year, next year or probably

even in the next five years. But in

the medium to longer term this is

very much where we are heading

if we do not curb our water use

and improve the viability of our

supply.

(Continued on page 37)

George Hollingbery M.P

37

You may think this alarmist;

especially as the rain falls across

Hampshire. After all, the Meon

Valley is not even yet subject to a

hosepipe ban. But having seen

the figures and looked at the river

flow diagrams, I do not apologise

for giving you the raw facts. One

thing is certain, it is absolutely

clear that unless we make some

real changes to our relationship

with water, we are heading for

some very tough times indeed.

The good news is that we can all

do our bit and make a real

difference. There are ways for

each of us to conserve water. The

Environment Agency website

contains a whole section on how

to conserve water and improve the

efficiency of your water use; this

can be found at the following web-

link: http://bit.ly/HYfVlH

In addition, the Department for the

Environment and Rural Affairs

has listed some real steps we can

all take to lessen our water

footprint: http://bit.ly/HYlC2S

I strongly advise you all to take a

look at these two resources and

see if there are any small changes

you can make to save water.

George Hollingbery

Member of Parliament for Meon

Valley

(Continued from page 36)

WINCHESTER CITY

COUNCILLORS

REPORT

New Civic Year

The Council civic year goes from

the Council Elections on May 3rd

until next May. On May 3rd one

third of the council seats (18) are

up for election including one

Wickham ward seat and by the

time you are probably reading this

there will be a newly (re-) elected

councillor for Wickham and

Knowle for a term of four years.

Angela was re-elected last year as

local councillor.

Annual Mayor Making and

Council AGM

Will be held on May 16th when the

813th Mayor of Winchester and the

new Leader and Cabinet will be

elected. More details next month.

Congratulations to the Mayor of

Winchester’s Award Winners

(see photo)

We nominated The following

Wickham residents for a Mayor’s

Ward for their excellent service to

the community:

Di Frost; Robert Goulson; Chris

Hoare; Sue Leatham .

The Wickham Centre also

received an award for its work for

the community.

Congratulations to them all! The

awards were given at a small

reception in Winchester Guildhall

by the Mayor, Cllr Barry

Lipscombe.

Jubilee celebrations- small

grants available

The City Council’s small grants

programme has opened for

applications, with a deadline of

Friday 4 May to enable decisions

to be made in time for Jubilee

celebrations All the information

and an application form are to be

found at

w w w . w i n c h e s t e r . g o v . u k /

smallgrants

Councillor Surgeries

Our monthly councillor surgeries

will resume after May. Please feel

free to contact us at any time.

Therese Evans and

Angela Clear

In the photo are from left to right:

Chris Hoare, Robert Goulson, Di

Frost and Peter Lucas