Newslet2

VILLAGE WEBSITE: www.nortonsubhamdon.org.uk
The Newsletter is available on the above website amongst other news and events in the village.

We are continuing the Newsletter in this new format as it has been found to be appreciated by the majority of the village.

NORTON BOOK CLUB (1.45 – 3.00 at The Lord Nelson) will meet on Wednesday 14th – to coincide with the Mobile Library. New members very welcome for chat about books, life, the universe and everything! This is your last chance to enter your choices for ‘Desert Island Books’ (email to pthomas5@aol.com) so that Anne can print the booklets for distribution.

2010 SUMMER FILM EXTRAVAGANZA: Come along to the Village Hall on Saturday 17th July where Alice in Wonderland, cert PG, 108 mins (Tim Burton’s 2-D version) will be screened for all fans of fantasy and fun. Dress up as your favourite Wonderland character – there’s a chance to win a prize for best adult or child fancy dresser! The Mad Hatter will provide sandwiches and salads, cakes and cookies so you can have your own high tea party. There will be tea, coffee and squash, but please bring and other drinks you require. Doors open from 7.00pm with film showing at 8.15pm. Tickets, in advance only, are from sale now at the Village Stores: £7.50 adult, £2.50 child (please note PG certificate). Look out for posters around the village. Please contact Bill Caswell on 881782 with any queries.

HONEY POT will be open from 10.00am – 12.00 noon at The Rectory, Cat Street, Chiselborough every Saturday in July. (Looking ahead: closed on August 7th & 21st, open on August 14th & 28th). Come and browse the shelves, drink the coffee and enjoy the garden. Look out for special summer book offers and local plants and produce (contributions welcome). All in aid of Honey Pot funds – used throughout the benefice.

TIDDLERS: Thursday 8th 10.00 am –11.30am in Norton Reading Room.

OVER 50s COMMUNITY LUNCH will be held on Thursday 15th July at 12.15pm in the Village Hall. This month there will also be a popular singalong, at 1.00pm, with Janet Louise Maile and her Keyboard Swingtet. Lunch contact number: 079670626022

NORTON LADIES GROUP. If you weren’t at this month’s meeting then you missed a treat! Rather a strange thing to say in light of the fact that the speaker is an undertaker! Clive Wakely related to us some of the less sad moments that are part of his working life, some indeed that were absolutely hilarious.
Later in the same week we had a trip to the Quantocks to a ‘yellow book’ garden preceded by lunch in a very good pub. The garden was in a farm some 15 minutes further on, and whilst fairly small, had some interesting plants and ideas and was situated in a wonderful setting.

Next month sees us at home having our now annual garden party. We shall be taking up the kind offer from Mauvyn to hold it in her garden on July 20th. More details can be obtained from Sue Webb on 881096 or Jackie Jewel on 881680.

ANGE HARDY’S ‘STORY IN SONG’ TOUR comes Live and Acoustic to Norton Sub Hamdon Village Hall on July 24th 2010. Doors open at 7.15pm, starts at 7.45 pm. Tickets £7 in advance and £8 on the door...book online at www.angehardy.com or phone the booking line on 07522 112 786. Ange has been compared to artists including Katie Melua, Eva Cassidy, Suzanne Vega and Kate Rusby. It’s easy to see why!

QUIET MORNING. By kind permission of Michael and Christabel Cumberlege we shall be holding a ‘Quiet Morning’ on Wednesday July 28th at Carpenters in Higher Street, Norton from 10.00am– 12.00 noon. Although there will be some ‘input’ to help lead our thoughts – the main purpose is to have time for prayer and reflection in a beautiful garden. Please let Peter (881202) or Christabel (881255) know if you intend to come. Drinks will be available.   If the weather is fine you could bring sandwiches to eat together at the end of the morning. (There will also be a quiet morning at the Rectory in September).

TOWER DAY. To mark the anniversary of the 1894 tower fire at Norton a Tower Day service has been held on or around July 29th each year. This will be the traditional form of service – and was originally an occasion of thanksgiving that the restoration work had been completed within a year. On the anniversary of the fire the church bells will be rung immediately before the service which will be at 7.30pm on Thursday July 29th.

BOUNDARY STONES. The Parish Council would like to thank the team behind the Boundary Stone Project. They have worked tirelessly now for two years and all the stones were finally put into place earlier this month, along with the beautiful maps depicting the fabulous walks and history of Norton sub Hamdon. The team was led by Muriel Parkinson, and special thanks must go to Keith Dare for all his hard work and also to Richard Langford, the Sculptor, who carved each stone with designs that the children of Norton Sub Hamdon School had created. Unfortunately, one of the stones has been stolen and they intend to replace this stone in the near future, but the immediate priority is to make the remaining 7 stones more secure. Once again, congratulations to the team for securing the funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, along with the contributions from the County, District and Parish Councils and Wadworth Brewery.

UGANDA TRIP. Hi everyone! I’m going to Rukungiri in Uganda on a 2 week mission trip in July where I will be helping to expand a primary school/orphanage, and working on many other projects such as a school for the deaf. I’ve paid for the trip expenses already, but would love to take some money out with me to get it where it’s needed most, I’ve set up a website where money donated goes straight to the charity that I’m going with, Mission Direct. Everything that I raise will go straight to the Rukungiri project. Please don’t feel that you have to give anything, but even pennies and pounds would make a huge difference, and I would appreciate it so much. I will be able to tell you exactly where the money has helped when I get back, and I‘m sure there will be some incredible stories! If you’d like to donate by the ‘just giving’ page it’s http://www.justgiving.com/Aimee-Parsons or if you’d just like to know more about it please contact me on 01935 881841. Best wishes Aimee Parsons.

NORTON CHURCH COFFEE MORNINGS. As summer approaches, and before we all head off on holiday, a big Thank You is due to the kind souls who volunteered to host the eight coffee mornings held over the last year – Annie & Bob Taylor, Diana & David Robins, Judy & Rodney Goodwin, Sarah & Kevin Mountain, Penny Cudmore, Claire & Ian Luck and Rowena Alsey. We have raised over £1400 towards the upkeep of St Mary’s Church and have also helped raise funds for Fair Trade through Anne Thomas. Hosting a coffee morning does not entail a great deal of work nor does it require huge amounts of space. If you think that you would like to host one of the 2010/2011 coffee mornings please give me – Shelagh Wickstead – a call on 881385 in order to choose your slot (or just to find out more about it)! I look forward to hearing from you. Meanwhile, enjoy the summer.

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK.   Thanks to all who donated to the collection in Norton last May. Also, a big thanks to the collectors. We managed to raise £616 in total which is well up with totals from recent years. This will all be used to directly help some of the world’s poorest people. BC.

NORTON MUSIC FESTIVAL. The Festival took place on the 28th and 29th of May in St Mary’s Church. Both evening concerts were fully attended and classical music lovers were not disappointed with performances of the highest standard on offer.
On Friday the 28th there was a selection of music performed by specialist music scholars from Wells Cathedral School. We were honoured to have such wonderful young musicians performing for us. The music included string quartets, trios and solo performances. I am sure there were many stars of the future on show and I would not be at all surprised to see some of them in BBC Young Musician in years to come. In addition, our ‘resident’ concert pianist, Alison Farr, gave a moving performance of Chopin’s Ballade No. 1.
On Saturday 29th Alison was joined by Karenza Peacock (violin) and Katherine Jenkinson (‘cello) for the inaugural performance of the Farr Ensemble. The music was wide ranging including pieces by Haydn, Grieg and Chopin. After the interval a lighter mood prevailed including pieces by Frank Bridge, Saint-Saens, and Argentinian Tango master Astor Paizzolla. The performance was of the highest quality, as would be expected from musicians of this pedigree, and thoroughly appreciated by all.
Proceeds from the concert will be shared between Wells Cathedral School and St Mary’s Church. Thanks must go to all who helped arrange this excellent event, but particular credit must go to Peter Callaghan who was the prime mover in ensuring we were treated to such high quality music here in Norton. We are assured that there will be another Festival next year. I for one can’t wait!                                                                                                                              Bill Caswell.

Promoting the Music Festival would not be possible without a huge amount of help from a fabulous team of helpers. I should like to record special thanks to the following: to Revd Peter Thomas and the PCC for the use of the Church, to Sue Webb and Liz Bywater who decorated the Church so beautifully, to the bell ringers who gave us all a special welcome, to Rowena Alsy for all the work she did towards the advertising and programmes, to John Ashton and his team for making the churchyard so attractive, to Chris Denman for his recital on Saturday night, to my front-of house team and to the anonymous group of strong men David commandeered from The Lord Nelson to move the piano on Saturday afternoon! To Myles Wickstead for his support on both nights and my final thanks go to David Robins for his relentless assistance towards the success of the event. I am delighted to report that we made a profit of just over £400.                                                                                                                                                       Peter Callaghan.

AKAMBA AID – email address change
Please note that as from 18th May 2010 our email address will change from akambaaid.fund@virgin.net to akambaaid.fund@btinternet.com our website will remain the same.

VILLAGE HALL: The management Committee would like to thank everyone for their generous help (and particularly Norton pantomime Society, Norton Movie Nights and the Ceilidh organisers and Band) towards raising money for new chairs. We have just bought 60 new chairs with padded seats and back cushions, to replace the old plywood chairs.

FLOWER SHOW COMMUNICATIONS

Plant Sale
It was wonderful that, despite some 'iffy' weather, so many people supported the Plant Sale at The Old Rectory in Norton on Saturday 29 May. This note is to thank everyone for their contributions - donations of plants, provision of refreshments, general help, participation and attendance; all very much appreciated. And despite the rain we did rather well, making some £605. Thank you everyone Bob Fill.

Norton & Chiselborough Flower Show
1. Flower Show Weekend is on 21 and 22 August. Along with the usual opportunities for gardeners and creatives to strut their stuff, this year's Show has exciting new classes especially for children to grow their own plants and vegetables - salads, potatoes, tomatoes. So get sowing, scissoring and snapping. Attractions for Saturday include live music, fantastic refreshments, and the general range of traditional stalls. Sunday will feature a splendid lunch in the marquee, afternoon cricket on the rec and Songs of Praise in the evening, followed by cheese & wine to round off what we hope will be a wonderful weekend. Schedules for the Show have been delivered to all residents, but if you didn't receive one there are extra copies at the Spar Village Stores and listings of the classes can also be found on the Norton village website under 'Flower Show'. If anyone needs a stall for their organisation or private venture, please contact Bob Fill, 881323.
Tickets for Sunday Lunch will be available from Andy or Louise Jacobs, 881935. Tickets for the Grand Draw - first prize £200! - are on sale at the Lord Nelson and Village Salon. 2. It is interesting to note that for some 108 years the Norton & Chiselborough Flower Show has continued without any written constitution. However, with significant costs of staging the event and other complexities, it was proposed at last year's AGM that a written constitution be prepared. This has duly been drafted and copies will be made available beforehand for comment at this year's AGM in November. Two provisions are brought to your attention: First, in good years receipts might exceed costs in which case sums are set aside for possible future bad years; any surplus beyond that would be made available for use within the villages and a trust would administer how the money might be distributed worthily. Second, should it ever occur that the Flower Show is no longer staged because people do not exhibit or attend, all Flower Show savings would be made available for both villages on a proportionate basis. Please come to the AGM if you would like to make your opinions known on this - it's your Flower Show!

FLOWER SHOW: FRIENDS OF NORTON CHURCH STALL. This year the FNC stall will be concentrating on the sale of no-longer-wanted videos, CDs, DVDs and books (at very cheap prices). So, please bring along – preferably in the morning – all of these items you no longer require (and taking up valuable space at home). Your support in this way for our beautiful church will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

STOKE SUB HAMDON GARDENING CLUB. A talk will be given on Wednesday 28th July about “Planning a Border”

NORTON SUB HAMDON PARISH COUNCIL.
PLANNING: There have been no planning applications to consider this month. However, approval has been granted for 3 previous applications: Vane Cottage, Great Street – 2 solar panels; Little Norton Mill – 2 Dormer windows and finally Home field, Rectory Lane – Erection of Dwelling.
BOUNDARY STONE: Unfortunately, one of the new boundary stones which have just been installed has been stolen. The stone, from Creedy Bridge, disappeared between 6pm on 8th June and 6pm on 10th June. It has a leaping fish, water, bulrush and dragonfly carved onto the front and the sculptors signature (RL) carved onto the back at the base. It also has the Roman numeral date for 2010 and NSH for Norton Sub Hamdon. Anybody with any information is being urged to contact Police on 0845 456 7000 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111.
FOOTPATHS: Many of the footpaths surrounding the village are currently overgrown, making walking difficult. Landowners responsible for their maintenance are being written to by the Clerk, to ask them to cut them back so they are passable.

FRIENDS OF NORTON CHURCH – WINE CLUB. The June draws took place at The Lord Nelson on the 18th. The first draw for the members had 7 prizes of 12 bottles of quality wine with the 1st prize of 4 bottles to Jennie Harris, the 2nd prize of 3 bottles to Roger Webb, the 3rd prize of 2 bottles to Lindsay Higgins and 4th, 5th and 6th prizes of 1 bottle each to Nina Prince, David Palliser and Malcolm Reid. In the second draw ‘on the night’ in the pub, Lindsay Higgins and Peter Hammond won one bottle each and Dave Rogers two. Great appreciation and many thanks are expressed to all of you – especially those who did not win this month – who contribute in this way towards the maintenance of the most significant building in our lovely village.

GARAGE SALE. On Sunday 8th August from 10am to 1pm at Brook House, Little Street, a garage sale of furniture, books, lamps, china, glass, kitchenware and cutlery,(ex holiday cottages and house.)

WILD FLOWER GARDEN IN NORTON ALLTHINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. A weed is a wildflower and often a vital member of the food chain for butterflies, moths, bees, both bumble and otherwise and other insects and flies that are essential for the pollination of our food plants for both us and our birds. Birds like shopping and live on our native seeds as well as imported peanuts.
Bearing all this in mind the wild flower area is a potential food bank. Someone from the primary school has installed a bat box close by. Evening primrose is popular with moths and the dead seed heads in winter are popular with goldfinches. Likewise teasels whose leaf construction round the stem holds water for birds in the winter. Likewise honeysuckle and hawthorn, seeds from thistles, willow herbs and dandelions are much loved by finches. Nettles are host plants for a number of butterflies.
In the early part of the year white dead nettle and red dead nettle are popular with bees particularly bumble bees and herb robert encourages the finches.
The wild flower area has been sown with bought in annuals. Perennials and specific grasses to encourage biodiversity and variety are being grown on for autumn planting.
Interestingly, following the top soil clearance a fine stand of fumitory has appeared. Once common in the fields it is the food plant for the even scarcer turtle dove.
The Scarlet Tiger Moth is recorded in Norton. This is under pressure and relishes the comfrey in the churchyard.
Penny Cudmore