News items
There are a number of events in the coming months not listed on this page, so do look in the Events page (not forgetting the Services above the events) .
Earl Soham Bowls Club Beetle Drive
Ashfield Children’s Carol Service
A goat is the perfect gift for someone who has everything!
Samaritans Purse - reflections on last Christmas' trip
Children’s Church at St Mary’s Earl Soham
Friends of St Peter’s Cretingham
Christmas Considerations For The Hard of Hearing
Earl Soham - Rota for Altar & Roll of Honour Flowers & Brasses
St Mary’s Ashfield - Flower & Cleaning Rota
See also letters from the ministry team.
Earl Soham Bowls Club
Beetle Drive
Saturday, 3rd December at 7.30 pm in Earl Soham Village Hall. Tickets £5 (inc. Ploughman’s supper & coffee/tea) available from:
01728 723671 or 01728 685385
Please bring your own drinks & glasses.
There will also be a raffle.
In aid of bowls club funds
Ashfield Children’s Carol Service – Woolly Worship
Sunday 18th December at 3:30 p.m.
Bring your sheep …we mean that … we want to fill the church with sheep and wool – wear woolly clothes, sheep skins etc. Bring any sheep you may have be they toys or the real thing.
We are planning to sponsor a sheep with the collection money – come and baah (sorry – sing!) your heart out.
Carol Singing in Ashfield – Come and Sing your heart out
Ashfield Carol Singing (with trumpet accompaniment!!!) will take place on Monday 19th December. All are more than welcome… do join in. We will meet at 6:30 outside the Village Hall. Mulled wine, mince pies and snacks afterwards at Church Farm House.
Christmas is for Kids
A goat is the perfect gift for someone who has everything!
The search for a genuinely memorable present is over. This Christmas, buy a gift that is perfect for someone who has everything and someone who has nothing - a goat!
On Christmas day, your friend will unwrap a toy goat and a gift pack which celebrates the fact that a poor family in Africa will soon receive a gift of their own - a real goat.
…and for someone who has nothing
For families who are struggling to survive, a goat can make all the difference. When the goat gives birth, her milk will feed her kids - and the family’s hungry children. But that’s not all. Some of the young goats will be kept to increase the size of the herd. One is returned to FARM-Africa and then given to another poor family. Excess milk is sold to buy schoolbooks or medicines. And goats themselves can be sold in times of emergency. As you can see, goats change lives forever.
That’s why, this Christmas, the best present to give is a goat - your gift will grow and grow.
If you would like to buy a farm friend…
…contact Ces Kerridge for further details, The Malt House, Earl Soham. 01728 685700 or contact FARM Africa. Call 020 7430 0440 or visit www.farmfriends.org.uk before 16th December.
Sheep and chickens change lives too!
Goat: £30 each Sheep: £35 each Chickens: £10 each
Children’s Church at St Mary’s Earl Soham October 23rd
This month our Children’s Church theme was LOVE and we were thinking about who loves us and why. Together we explored some ideas about how Jesus loves us no matter if we are good or naughty, happy or sad, frightened or fearless. We made mobiles to take home to remind ourselves about this – one family enjoyed this so much that they took some extra resources away with them to make more at home. We listened to the Greatest Commandment “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and the second Greatest Commandment “Love your neighbour as yourself” Matthew 22 vs. 37-39 and thought about how we can put these words into action in our daily lives.
Many thanks for to Tony for accompanying us on the organ and also to Ben and Naomi for their warm welcome and refreshments at the Old Rectory after the service,
If you would like to find out more about Children’s Church, then please just come along on the fourth Sunday of each month at 9.30 a.m. or telephone me, Jo Reed, on 01728 685794 for more information.
Earl Soham 100+ Club
On behalf of the committee, many thanks to the many members who have renewed subscriptions so quickly again this year. If you have yet to subscribe or renew your subscription it isn’t too late!!
The funds raised for St Mary’s Church and the Village Hall make valuable contributions to maintenance and repairs and the annual draw offers an informal social evening with the usual mixture of booing, applause and cries of “not again” for “lucky” winners. The draw for 2006 is on 17th October at 7:30 in the Village Hall.
Happy Christmas from the Committee,
Keith Weightman.
(For membership/subscription enquiries: 684825)
Cretingham 100 Club
The Fifty-sixth draw took place at the Post Office on Saturday 5th November.
Congratulations to:
- Dr. David Egan - £25
- Mr. Brian Whitfield - £15
- Mrs. Pat Lettin - £10
The fifty-seventh draw will be held at the Christmas Stall in the Church on Saturday 10th December 2005. This will be the second Jackpot draw for this year.
Peter Markland (685796)
Friends of St Peter’s Cretingham
At the AGM on Tuesday 8th November, Committee members Tony Whitmarsh (Chairman), Pamela Pinner (Secretary) and Christine Marston stood down at the end of their period of tenure. Trevor Coe and Larry Bosman were elected to the Committee and Alan Lettin became Chairman. The considerable efforts of those standing down were accorded by Stuart Barber.
The Committee now comprises Alan Lettin (Chairman), Robert Hadley (Treasurer), Eric Brown (Secretary), Susanne Bache, Geraldine Unwin-Rose, George Ralli, Trevor Coe and Larry Bosman.
Over the past eight years £57K has been raised by the Friends and the Chairman summarised the key events of this financial year which raised a sum of £6K. These events included a Charity Golf Day, a series of talks and two field visits (Helmingham Hall and Framsden Mill) as well as the most successful Cretingham Murder Inquest play put on in the Church. The Chairman, in his Annual Report highlighted the damp issues in the Church, the commissioned report by the Whitworth Co-partnership and the ongoing relationship with the PCC. Robert Hadley presented the Annual Accounts and commented on the various issues of incomes and expenditure. The Annual Report and Accounts were adopted by the meeting.
Finally the outgoing Chairman gave thanks to the support provided by Stuart Barber (for his wise counsel), Margaret Williams (Cretingham Post Office), Alison Bowman
(Benefice Magazine) and the Executive Committee(and their partners) who had worked so hard during the year. His good wishes went to the elected Committee.
Tony Whitmarsh Chairman Forge Cottage
Ashfield Ladies Group
15th Nov |
Sax Appeal |
Mike Brenton |
13th Dec |
Christmas Meal |
|
For further information contact Susan Hansen on 01728 685738.
Christmas Considerations For The Hard of Hearing
As Christmas approaches we all look forward to getting together with family and friends to celebrate the festive season. BUT for someone with hearing problems this can be the hardest hearing environment to cope with. The constant chitter chatter, the excessive background noise, music and loud voices all make hearing clear speech almost impossible. The normal hearing person doesn’t have to consider these issues, as the brain has more ability to discriminate and pick out the required speech naturally.
If you are aware that a family member or a friend is experiencing hearing problems, help them to be included in the celebrations by ensuring you look at them whilst in conversation. Raise your voice only slightly but project it more clearly, excess volume does not make speech clearer it only distorts the signal. Guide the group to talk one at a time rather than all at once; provide good lighting, seat the hard of hearing person with the background noise behind them or better still remove all unnecessary background noise.
Hearing problems can lead to isolation, lack of confidence and lots more, if you notice a member of your family struggling with hearing please encourage them to have their hearing tested. The average hearing-impaired adult waits seven years beyond first recognition before seeking hearing amplification!! That period of denial can lead to frustration, isolation and stress and can put a real strain on families. Everybody over the age of 45 should have their hearing tested at least every two years by a qualified professional. With today’s technology, it is no longer necessary to struggle with hearing problems; the latest digital hearing aids are making vast differences to lives especially in social environments. For hearing advice and/or for an appointment call:
Karen Finch RHAD FSHAA , The Hearing Care Centre (0800) 0962637.
Dedicated Hearing Centre 5 High St Ipswich also at GP & Health Centres in Needham Mkt, Stowmarket, Hadleigh, Felixstowe, Eye, Bury St Edmunds, Earl Soham, Halesworth and Southwold.
Announcing the publication of a refreshing new memoir
“Was it Something I Said?” by Alan Lettin
This is a fascinating thought provoking account of success courage and achievement.
Alan Lettin spent his 1930’s boyhood in his parent’s corner shop in Leytonstone, East London. He describes the wonderful cast of characters, travelling salesmen, customers and neighbours with whom he came into contact. He goes onto describe the impact of World War Two, the blitz Vi “doodlebugs” and the V2 rockets, which led to his evacuation on four occasions and fragmented schooling.
His account of surgical training half a century ago will be a surprise to many, but undoubtedly led to a successful surgical career. The chapters in which he recounts the changes and events that took place during his association with the organisations with which he was involved are interesting and informative. His career spanned the first fifty years of the NHS and he describes the changes, which have taken place as he personally saw them, with characteristic cogency and honesty.
Alan Lettin was never reluctant to express his views. ‘Was It Something I Said?’ recognises that they were not always appreciated. The book is essential reading for all those interested in matters medical and for those who simply enjoy a revealing and frank memoir well told.
Alan Lettin was born in Leytonstone, East London in 1931 and educated at the Leyton County High School, University College London, and University College Hospital. After surgical training at University College Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital he enjoyed a successful career as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.
He is a Freeman of the City of London and past Master of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, a past President of the British Orthopaedic Association, past Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and a former member of the General Osteopathic Council. He now lives in retirement with his wife Patricia on a farm in Suffolk. For further information please contact:
Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, Stanhope Old Hall, Stanhope, Weardale, County Durham, DL13 2PF
Tel: 01388 529060, Fax: 01388 527215, Email: memoirclub@email.msn.com
Earl Soham - Rota for Altar & Roll of Honour Flowers & Brasses
November |
Miss J Cornelius |
685753 |
Mrs L Tinkler |
685278 |
December |
Mrs C Abbott |
685210 |
Mrs N Calver |
685698 |
January |
Mrs E Barker |
685302 |
Mrs N Woodcock |
685429 |
If you are unable to do your flowers, please contact Margaret Buckland on 685329.
St Mary’s Ashfield - Flower & Cleaning Rota
November |
Alison Bowman |
685489 |
December |
Margaret & John Garrard |
|
January |
Doreen Baxter |
685617 |
If you are unable to do your month please contact another person on the list to arrange a swap.