Shudy Camps News, Cambridgeshire ::

Newsletter serving Shudy Camps, Mill Green and Nosterfield End.
No. 30 - September 2003

Editorial

Will it never rain? When I wrote the last editorial it seemed that we had had an endless summer, starting sometime round about late May – now the fine weather has continued almost without a break into autumn! Through August it was almost unbearably hot, now the ground is dry, the lawns turning brown, the fall rains seem to be postponed indefinitely. Never mind, by the time you read this Main Street will probably be flooding!

Well, now we have been wheelie-binned! The new bins were delivered efficiently just in time; and by and large the change-over seems to have gone smoothly. There seem to be a few black bins out on green Mondays, and vice-versa, so in this issue and future ones I will include under the “diary” section details of when the black and green bins will be emptied (see page 21). I notice that the council didn’t seem to have delivered wheelie bins to Glebe House – I hope that’s been rectified by now! A press release from SCDC informs us that any residents with queries about the wheeled bin scheme should contact the Wheeled Bin Hotline on 0845 650 0280. The lines are open from 8am until 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Or, for further information please contact Jo Fowler, communications officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council on (01223) 443289, mobile 07887 633640, or email joanne.fowler@scambs.gov.uk.

If you are really short of something to do, then you can attend a wheeled bin roadshow on Monday 10 November at Balsham village hall between 10.00 and 16.00

One of the long-term resident families of our parish is the Blackmores. John Blackmore farms Goodwoods at Nosterfield end, and amongst many other things collects old farm machinery, which he restores and uses in ploughing competitions. In this issue I’m pleased to be able to include an article from John – more next time.

Once again we enjoyed the Harvest Supper on the last Saturday in September. Served again in St. Mary’s Church, we ate a wonderful meal of roast beef and turkey; salads and vegetarian dishes. There was the inevitable raffle, and the remains of the beef joint were auctioned for a surprisingly large sum of money; all proceeds to the Social Committee to continue their good work. The Harvest Supper is one of the highlights of the village year for me. Was it my imagination or were there a few less people this year? I hope not – this is a great tradition which we should keep up. Next year perhaps we can have some entertainment again!

I hope you enjoy this issue - material for the newsletter, of local interest, or just interesting, is always welcome, as are “Letters to the Editor”. You can pass them to me, or any member of the Social Committee; or by email to shudy.news@dial.pipex.com. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this issue.

We also accept local business advertising - our rates are £10 for a one-page display advert for a single issue, or £30 for all 4 issues in a year. Copy to the Editor, cheques to Shudy Camps Social Committee.

Alex Maxwell
We were all very sorry to learn of the death of Alex Maxwell on Friday 26 September at Falcon House residential home, Little Hallingbury.

Alex, who was 93, lived in Main Street, Shudy Camps for more than 20 years before moving to the residential home earlier this year. He and his wife Peggy joined in village activities right from the start, becoming members of the Social Committee and helping to organise events such as the Summer Barbecue, Fete and Harvest Supper. Alex maintained an involvement in village life right up until he moved. He could always be seen at coffee mornings and regularly attended Parish Council meetings.

Those of us who got to know him well during his years in Shudy Camps will sadly miss Alex.

He leaves a daughter Carole, who lives in Sawbridgeworth, and two grandchildren, Emma and Jonathan
Roger Lemon

Castle Camps School
After a splendid summer break the beginning of the academic year has been greeted with continuing warm weather. We have appointed several support assistants, mainly people who have worked at the school previously, although I would like to welcome Mrs Janet Bryan to the staff. The teaching staff remains the same, as do our office & administrative staff. However, the summer wedding of the year did take place and Miss Wyatt is now Mrs Ward. Several new families, as well as our Reception group of children, have arrived at Castle Camps for the first time. On behalf of the school community I would like to say how pleased we are to have them join our school.

The children are settling in and we look forward to this being a happy and successful year. Classes 1 and 2 are focusing on Ourselves and Autumn; while Classes 3, 4 and 5 are taking a historical theme focusing on Victorians. We have already organised theatre groups to visit the school, as well as a puppet show. The older children will be going to concerts in Cambridge and London. The oldest pupils will again be visiting Ely Cathedral to join with many other schools on Cathedral Day.

Extra curricular clubs are beginning. We are expanding the range of musical instrument tuition to include recorders as well as brass, woodwind, keyboards and stringed instruments. We are going to try a French Club at lunchtimes and the ever-popular Football Club, organised by Premier Soccer, runs on Fridays.

If you have some time to spare and would like to help in the school please come and talk to myself, or any member of staff.

This year ‘Harvest Festival’ will take place in school and we will be presenting a school production at the end of term – further information to come. Our Christmas Service will be at Horseheath Church on Friday, December 19th.
Kevin Sheehan

We had to cancel our Annual Strawberry Evening due to rain but we put on an alternative event in the grounds of Linton Infants School on Saturday 27 September at 2.30pm.

We will have enrolled Elizabeth Sanders of Horseheath and Georgina McGivern of Ashdon at the last meeting of term.

On Wednesday 9 June we held a ‘Bring and Buy Sale’ at our Pack Meeting. We raised £215.—for Pack funds, this will go towards the new programme materials required when we start back at Brownies on Wednesday 10th September. Thank you to all those who came or gave donations. When we come back in September we will be preparing for the Harvest Fesitval in October and Pack Holiday in November, plus the Brownies Over 60’s Christmas Party will be held on Sunday 14 December.
BROWN OWL & BARNEY
Your Brownie Guiders

Bringing Broadband to the Camps – an update
As you will know I have been interested for some time in getting broadband Internet access to Shudy Camps. I reported earlier that Linton Broadband had been set up to try to obtain an award in the “Connecting Communities” competition being held by the East of England Development Association, to put towards a not-for-profit company which would work with Invisible Networks to roll out broadband wireless to the villages around Linton. Well, there is some good news, and some bad news, as always!

First, Linton Broadband did not attract an award, though its entry was commended. However, South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) did get an award of £300,000, a 10% reduction in what they had requested, to put towards supporting broadband roll out in the villages in the district.

At the same time, British Telecom has been increasing the marketing push for its ADSL residential broadband service in larger villages such as Linton. To persuade BT to start providing service a certain minimum proportion of households have to “pre-register”. Over the past few months BT seems to have been focusing on villages like Linton and lowering its threshold, so Linton will now have ADSL – this means that the critical mass for a community broadband system for the Linton villages has disappeared. At the same time, perhaps partly because of this action by BT (which has taken away much of their market), Invisible Networks has run out of money and gone into receivership (with the result that some villages now getting service from them will probably soon lose it). [Late breaking news: another company has apparently acquired Invisible’s assets so all is not lost.] I understand that the terms of the EEDA award are such that it cannot be used in places where BT is providing a service (such as Linton); which will make it harder to roll out in other places. However, there is apparently a firm view in SCDC that every effort must be made to honour the pledge to get broadband to every village especially the smaller ones. SCDC have now appointed project management consultants to advise them how to move forward, and things seem to be starting to happen! There is a list of villages in which the first phase of roll out will happen – Castle and Shudy Camps are at the top of the list (but unfortunately it isn’t in priority order!). Phase 1 is scheduled to start on 5 January 2004. There is a meeting for village representatives (myself for Shudy) in the Council Chamber on 24 November. There is also a new website for the project, http://www.eastspace.net/scambsbroadband.

So, with luck, Shudy should be on-line for broadband sometime in early to mid 2004.
John Haine

From the Manages Committee
The Manages Trust Fund is for the elderly and most needy. They must have lived in the village for more than three years and be over 65 years of age, or 60 for ladies.

The fund cannot be used for children or children’s parties. It can be used in certain circumstances if anyone is in distress.

Anyone who thinks that they may be eligible to qualify for help from the Manages Trust Find may register at the address below, by telephone, letter, or in person. Those already registered need not re-apply. Applications will be treated in complete confidence.

Footpath news
Sunday 5th October, sunny but with an autumn nip in the air, was an ideal day for our 6-monthly walk, which explored some of the footpaths and bridleways around Shudy Camps. A total of 12 people met in Main Street for the start of the walk and these included some of our regulars from outside the village, together with two visitors from Romania and Turkey respectively, who came in response to the posters displayed in Castle Camps. The circular walk included Cardinals Green, Barsey Farm, Nosterfield End, Castle Camps, where we stopped at the Cock for lunch, Castle Camps church and Camps End. The walks are arranged to encourage greater use of the footpaths and another will be organised in April next year.

In our ongoing efforts to maintain and improve the path network, which comprises 8.5 miles in Shudy Camps, the field edge paths have been regularly mowed throughout the season, a new bridge has been built to replace the existing bridge behind the meadow adjacent to Main Street and a broken and redundant stile on the path to the south of Blacksmiths Lane has been removed. In addition, the definitive route of the path through Shudy Camps park is once again fully accessible following reseeding by the owners, and removal of the fences which crossed this path has meant that one of the kissing gates was no longer required and has been removed.

Although we do not wish to be spoil-sports, we are concerned about damage being caused by horse riders who are using the footpaths between Main Street, Mill Green and Northey Wood. Firstly the steps, which we built over the old railway embankment, with only walkers in mind, have been badly damaged by horses; and secondly, in wet weather, the hooves can damage the surface of the paths to the extent that mowing on the resulting uneven surface becomes a real problem. We do not know who is responsible but would point out that these are footpaths, not bridleways, and horses are not permitted. The Parish Council has decided that we should not put up “No Horses” signs at this stage but we would appreciate any help in spreading the message that horse riders should not use these paths.

Finally, we are always on the lookout for more volunteers to help in work on the rights of way in Shudy Camps and anyone interested should phone Roger Lemon on 01799 584563.
Shudy Camps Footpath Group

Camps Amateur Dramatic Society - CADS
We are pleased to present our latest production, a show of lighthearted sketches and music, on Friday and Saturday 7th and 8th November, at the village hall Castle Camps. The tickets are £5 per adult, half price for children.

We know we are in competition with all the Firework displays , but I’m sure that between Haverhill, Linton, and Glebe House you will find an alternative day to go to both! Please come and “let us entertain you”!

Tickets available from The Post Office, Castle Camps.
Jo Bishop

Nosterfield End Vintage Plough-In
Just a few local friends have a day out with machinery they use, or used to use, every year.

What is Nosterfield End Vintage Ploughing Company? I think that no-one owns the “copyright”; the main organiser, the chairman, is probably Brian Blackmore, he lives in Nosterfield End, as well as his support team, the committee, Carol, Joan, Brian Mayes, and Gary, Chief Plot Marker-Outer and impartial co-judge with Brian B. The hosts are Mr. & Mrs. T Sills, who own Nosterfield Farm.

The competitors, local drivers, are all known each to the others. They do not participate in the hope of winning valuable prizes – these are made and painted by Brian B. from workshop scrap mounted on a wooden base: a plug spanner, a small toy tractor made of metal washers for wheels and a bolt for the body.

For two seasons the ploughing was at Hempstead, it lost a bit of flavour not being on home ground but gained an interesting road run when several tractors met the previous evening and travelled in convoy. We were proceeding past the entrance to the old Castle Camps airfield, I was in a car as navigator for the chief photographer, when I saw Carol on the Massey Ferguson 65 had pulled up, obviously in trouble. By the time we had made the official three-point turn and returned, vintage tractors were parked way back to Camps village, their drivers vying with each other to help the damsel in distress (they’re that sort of bod) – some small mechanical adjustment and we were on our way again.

This year the site was on Helions Farm, the soil not very kind, what my old Dad would call three horse land, it would take three horses to pull a single furrow wooden plough.

Ploughing has been carried out for untold years – does it not say in a history book of ancient origin that when a potential plough owner asked a carpenter when his plough would be ready got the reply “that baulk of timber will be your plough – when I’ve fashioned it!”

Why plough at all? It allows surface water to drain away. It buries trash and weeds and is the primary cultivation towards making a seed bed.

But what will those impartial judges, Brian and Gary, be looking for? A furrow straight from end to end. Covering as much loose stubble as possible. Even furrows of uniform depth. A straight line where the furrows enter and leave the ground.
John Blackmore.

Shudy Camps Christmas Musical Evening
Following the great success of the Musical Evening held earlier in the year the Village is holding a further event at St Mary’s Church to celebrate winter and the festive season.

This much talked about and fondly remembered evening of music, readings, recitals and refreshments is to be repeated on Saturday December 6th 2003. Residents will once again have an opportunity to enjoy the delights and talents of the musical and oratory genius of fellow villagers!

The programme is being put together as we go to print but will include a fine mixture of jazz, classical, modern and church music interspersed with poetry and other readings.

If you would like to take part in this not-to-be-missed evening or wish to reserve tickets please contact Assheton or Cathy Bogg on (or at):
?01799 584139
email: asshetonandcathy@aol.com (watch that spelling!) or at:

Music quiz night
On Saturday 17 January there will be a Music Quiz night in St. Mary’s Church, organised by Christiane and Roger Barker – all welcome, starting at 8 p.m.
Christiane & Roger Barker
?01799 584 551

Shudy Camps Social Committee
The Annual General Meeting of the Shudy Camps Social Committee will be held on Tuesday 25 November at St.Mary’s Church starting at 8.00 pm.

The principle objective of the Social Committee is to encourage the social life in the village by organising and running events. For many years, we have also raised money which has been spent on projects within the village for the benefit of the residents. Funds raised are also used to pay for the Shudy Camps Newsletter and the Welcome Pack given to all new arrivals. We do not raise money “for the Social Committee” – any money raised is intended to be spent on projects in the village.

This year, we have organised three main events – a Musical Evening in May, a Summer Party in July and the Harvest Supper at the end of September. Regular Book Swap / Coffee Mornings have been held throughout the year.

The Musical Evening was an excellent social occasion – entertainment provided by the village for the village. The Summer Party this year was an open event – no tickets were sold and the party was subsidised from Social Committee funds. The Harvest Supper as usual was held in the church, where over 50 residents enjoyed a substantial dinner and a free meal was provided for some of the pensioners living in the parish. All these events met the objective of encouraging the social life in the village.
We are very pleased to have welcomed some new members on to the Social Committee during the past couple of years, all of whom have made a significant contribution to the organisation of these events. The Annual General Meeting is your opportunity to get involved and make your contribution to the plans and activities of the Social Committee during the coming year. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer all plan to stand down this year and hope to be able to hand the organisation over to a new and enthusiastic team.
We know that the social events that have been held in the village have been appreciated by a large number of people and it would be sad if they were discontinued. The Social Committee only meets about 6 times a year and meetings are a social event in their own right.
Please come along to St. Mary’s Church on Tuesday 25 November to help organise and plan the social events to be held in Shudy Camps in the coming year. Mince Pies and Mulled Wine will be served following the meeting.

The Reading Group
The reading group meets at various homes around Shudy and Mill Green. Anyone is very welcome to join us. This October we are reading "The Little Friend" by Donna Tartt. In November we're reading "The Virgin Blue" by Tracey Chevalier. In December it's "Waterworld" by Graham Swift and in January it's "Property" by Valerie Martin. We meet on the first Tuesday of every month at 8pm to discuss the book we've read. For information on lifts and venues phone….
Christiane Barker on 01799 584 551.

“Good Night” is a voluntary organisation offering a sitting service for children with a disability.

Parents in most families enjoy an occasional evening out on their own and obtaining a sitter to enable them to do so poses no great problems. However, when a child has special needs making arrangements is not always quite so straightforward. Parents of a disabled child might be worried about asking someone to take responsibility ad feel that sitters might not be able to cope with their child’s particular needs.

We want to make this service available to any parents of a child with a learning and/or physical disability aged up to 19 years in and around Cambridge and Ely – parents who would like a night out and to relax in the knowledge that their child is being well cared for at home.

Anyone over 16 can apply to become a sitter. Their suitability will be assessed and references taken. After appropriate preparation they are carefully matched with a family in their own vicinity. On-going support and training is available to volunteers and expenses are reimbursed.

If you feel that you can offer at least one evening a month and commit to building a triusting relationship we would be delighted to hear from you. You can call us on: 01223 519220 or email office@goodnight.org.uk (Registered charity 1056263)

PROTECTING OUR ROADSIDE VERGES AND NATIVE FLORA

As a result of development pressure and modern farming techniques, our roadside verges are now the largest area of wild flowers and unimproved grassland in our shrinking countryside.

These verges represent a nationally important habitat, which supports a huge variety of plants, animals and insects. Some verges are designated as ‘Protected Verges’ and ‘County Wildlife Sites’ due to their botanical interest.

The County Council is trying to identify all protected verges and those that might become protected verges and is taking steps to improve their maintenance and protection by:
getting a local person to be ‘Verge Warden’ to assist with monitoring and identifying which rarer plants they contain and agreeing when they should be mown.
having ‘Protected Verges’ clearly marked.
providing training sessions and back-up advice to Verge Wardens.

I would like to see a Verge Warden in each village to assist, as above, with Protected Verges and to also generally keep a watch that all grass cutting and protection of wild flowers is done sensibly.

If anyone is interested in helping with this worthwhile project, please contact me or Susannah O’Hanlon, County Council Biodiversity Officer, tel 01223 717930.
Sam Agnew, District Councillor
01223 892982 sam@agnew6.fsnet.co.uk

Church News
Our grateful thanks to all those who, together with the social committee, decorated the Church and made it such a lovely place to enjoy the Harvest Supper and the Harvest Festival Service. It truly made us feel proud of our small church, looking so beautiful.

By now I’m sure you will have heard that Barbara McNamara, our vicar, will be retiring on the 1st January 2004 due to ill-health. We wish both her and John, and the children Anna, Allen and Toni, all the very best wishes for the future.

Unfortunately, the Ely Diocese as a whole has announced that they must reduce the number of vicars by 1.5. This is very bad news for us, as it probably means that they won’t replace her! Naturally the Church Wardens will be doing their best to get the best possible solution to this problem, and we will keep you abreast of developments. Please keep your Connection handy each month, as this will be the best place to find out any changes to services etc.

We have recently been promised by the contractor that they hope to have finished refurbishing the Monuments in time for Christmas. It is our turn to have Midnight Eucharist in Shudy so this is very good news.

Talking of Christmas, don’t forget Carol Singing, on Thursday 18th December 2003, starting at Bryony at 7pm.We have also had the door to the Church Loo repaired by Richard Campbell. The lock has been improved, and we trust (and pray) that we never have a repeat of the Summer Party fiasco, when poor Kieran got locked in for so long. Luckily he finally emerged still smiling, what a Trouper!
Jo Bishop

SHUDY CAMPS PARISH COUNCIL

The following is an extract from the Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 11th August 2003 in St Mary’s Church.

Present – Cllr R Lemon (Chairman); Cllr T Broscomb, Cllr J Battong, the Clerk, District Cllr S Agnew and County Cllr T Bear.

Minutes of the last meeting held on 12 May 2003 were agreed to be a true record of the proceedings and were duly signed.

Matters arising from the Minutes - The Clerk to supply Highways Dept with change of details in respect of the new Tree Warden (Cllr Juliet Battong).

A1307 - Cllr Broscomb summarised what had taken place since the last meeting. The County Council now accepts that action needs to be taken in the long term and this work (under corridor improvements) is 4th on the urgent list. Linton Village College, being a Foundation School, owns the land on which the proposed SEN school will be built, but would not allow building to proceed if appropriate safety measures were not in place. The suggestion of traffic lights at the school is not acceptable.

Parish Paths Partnership - A new sleeper bridge will be built to replace the existing bridge at the junction of footpaths 5 and 3 behind the meadow adjacent to Main Street. Concern has been expressed about the use of the footpaths between Main Street and Mill Green by horses, which cause damage in wet weather and create mowing problems on the uneven surface. The possible use of ‘No horses’ signs was not considered appropriate but enquiries will be made with known horse riders to try and stop the problem. Cllr Lemon will also discuss with Cllr Kiddy what action, if any, might be taken.
The route of footpath 8 in Shudy Camps Park has now been reinstated over the newly re-seeded ground. Following the removal of fences, one kissing gate has been removed and will be stored by Mr Aspinall until needed. The other two will remain in place, mainly for security reasons. Concern was expressed about the proposal to erect a fence from the Blacksmith’s Lane end of the path along the road to the park entrance, but clarification is required on whether a ‘Permissive path’ will be provided through the wood. The broken stile on footpath 17 near Blacksmith’s Lane has been removed with the agreement of the parties on either side.

Grass cutting – A meeting is to be held on 15 August to discuss mowing of verges within parish envelopes and will be attended by Cllr Agnew and Cllr Bear.

Proposed protected grass verge at Mill Green - Mr Clark and Susanne O’Hanlon, newly appointed Biodiversity Officer, plan to visit proposed and protected verges in the near future. Cllr Agnew will report back at the next meeting and it is hoped to write an article for inclusion in parish newsletters.

Planning applications – New House in Blacksmith’s lane. There is a protection order on many of the trees on this site. It was agreed the Tree Warden should check from time to time that the regulations covering these trees are being observed.

Village Warden Scheme – Cllr Agnew reported that the number of clients is still below anticipated. Financial help is being sought from, among other sources, the NHS Trust which has an interest in not keeping the elderly in hospital longer than possible. Cllr Agnew thought it unlikely small villages would be willing to spend more than an average £100 pa for each person helped.

Appointment of Verge Warden - Two people have offered their services as new Verge Warden. It is hoped they may work together to cover the parish.

Grant application – Winged Fellowship Trust. The Parish Council felt unable to offer any grant. Clerk to write.

Any Other Business – For information only
Following a planning workshop, Cllr Broscomb has provided a comprehensive extract for each parish councillor.
Cllr Agnew gave an update on the new waste collection system coming into force in September. He emphasised how vital it is that the new system succeeds.

Date and time of next meeting – Monday 10th November at 8 pm in St Mary’s Church.

(A full report of the Parish Council meeting can be obtained from the Clerk, Stasia Carlyle, Meadside, Main Street, Tel 584154.)

Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings of the Parish Council. Each meeting starts with a short Open Forum when members of the public can raise issues that they would like to bring to the attention of the Parish Council. During the main meeting, members of the public may listen to the discussion but are not expected to contribute unless invited to do so.
Hiring St. Mary’s Church for social activities
The village Church is available for hire for a wide range of social activities. It costs £4 per hour, plus an extra £2 per hour if the heating system is used. Please book through the vicar, Reverend Barbara McNamara, Tel 584803

Shudy Camps Millennium Photograph Album

Ø Single copies (7" x 5") price £1.00
Ø Full page group £2.00
Ø Complete album on CD £10.00
Ø Complete album in folder £25.00

For Your Diary

B = BLACK BIN DAY
G = GREEN BIN AND BOX DAY
NC = NO COLLECTION
NB: Dates beyond 1 December may change!

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, please come to the meeting on 25 November. Mince Pies & Mulled Wine will be provided We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Shudy News is published by Shudy Camps Social Committee.
Edited by John Haine, 9 Parkway, Shudy Camps, Tel. 584773.
Additional reporting by Jeannette Ager, 2 Main Street, Tel 584413.
Next issue around 21st October - deadline for copy and diary entries 30 September.