The North Luffenham cricket team won their first home match against Sproxton this evening by 5 wickets.
The team are playing at home against Frisby next Tuesday where hopefully the weather will be more favourable to evening matches
Don’t forget it’s Garden Club this Thursday 10th May with the final speaker before the summer break! The club will be welcoming Geoff Hodge with a talk on ,Scented Plants and the Scented Garden’.
Geoff may be a familiar name as he is a freelance horticultural author, editor and broadcaster, writing regularly for publications such as ‘Garden Answers’.
You’ll learn plenty, have a good laugh, and he donates lots of extra raffle prizes!!
Please feel free to bring any spare seeds/seedling/plants to offer to other members. – 7.30pm at the Community Centre – all welcome – guests £2 per person, with tea/coffee/biscuits to start & raffle at the end
Criminals are targeting our Churches in this area and stealing lead and copper. The Church which lies at the heart of our community is at great risk – please keep alert and report any suspicious activity – especially at night. Thank you.
Janet Whitaker / Nic Merrett
Church Wardens
People of any age can make an Easter Garden:
Each garden needs to include the main elements of the Easter story: a cross, a tomb and some signs of new life, like a tiny plant from the garden, sprouted grass seed, cress seed, paper flowers….
On Maundy Thursday (the last day of term) please bring your Easter Garden to Church on between 8.40 and 9.10, so that they can be displayed. If you can’t make this time, please contact Pippa or Janet (see below)
On Good Friday we will gather at Church for a 10am start, then (weather permitting) go on a short walk (strong shoes advised), remembering the final parts of Jesus’ life and ending up in Church to celebrate how the story ends and the signs of new life . . .
Hot cross buns will follow!
Do come and join us: this will be quite short and is suitable for all ages.
Pippa the Rector
With the help of Good Companions, members of the Parish Council have visited a number of villagers to see whether they needed any help as a result of the adverse weather. Those visited had made provision and often had the support of family and friends. However if anybody else requires help, or knows of somebody who does, then North Luffenham Good Neighbour Scheme can be contacted (8 am to 8 pm) on 07825 697841, and the scheme will endeavour to help.
We welcome Steve Lovell, a horticultural consultant & former Chairman of the Hardy Plant Society speaking on “Bark, Berry and Leaf – Texture in the Garden”
Steve will be looking beyond flowers and showing us what else nature provides in the plant kingdom.
The meeting will be at the Community Centre at 7.30pm – anybody can come along (guests £2).
North Luffenham Good Companions 2018
Wed feb 7th Sayings. Gill Collinge
Wed mar 7th The Wildlife Trust. Mr Steven Ashpole
Wed apr 4th Why I dont like Brussel Sprouts. Claire
Wed May 2nd Wait and see.
Wed june 6th How to get the best from your cut flowers. Emma
Wed july 4th The Village trip.
Wed aug 1st Meal in the community centre 12.30pm.
Wed sept 5th Curiosities. Helen Crabtree
Wed oct 3rd The Jolly Boat. Mr Adam Lowe
Wed nov 7th Beautiful Photos. Mr Richard Adams
Wed dec 5th Christmas Dinner: to be arranged
The Good Companions meet in the community centre at 2pm..
Yearly subs of £10 plus £1 a month for tea and cakes and free door ticket.
There is also a raffle during the afternoon.
The village trip this year is Holt and Sherringham.
Ring Evelyn 01780720528 or Vivienne 01780720814
On Wednesday 7th February at 7.30pm the church will be hosting a fabulous concert by the inspirational young & hugely talanted musicians, Alison Hill (soprano) & Yair Avidor (lute & theorbo). The concert is titled “A Musical Dreame” & is an hour long recital for voice & lute inluding music by John Dowland, Robert Johnson & Henry Purcell.
Tickets £10 (including wine and refreshments) available at the door or from Janet Whittaker 01780-721216 & rutlandwhittakers@gmail.com.
A quick reminder that the wonderful Cambridge Singers will be returning to the village to give a Candlelit Concert in our beautiful church this Friday 5th January at 7.30pm.
Tickets available from Janet Whittaker (tel:-721216 or rutlandwhittakers@gmail.com) at £10 (children free). Profits to be shared between Cancer UK -Brain Tumour Research & Church Heating Fund – you know we need it!
Do please join us on what should be a very special everning. Mulled Wine & Nibbles will be available from 7pm and during the interval. We look forward to seeing you.
North Luffenham Garden Club will be holding its Christmas social with quiz (optional, being put out on tables, not read out). Please bring food to share. Wine & soft drinks – first glass free then donations.
Time and place: 7.30pm at the Community Centre
Date: Thursday 14 December
Once again, just a reminder, it is time to pay annual membership fees of £10.00 for which we have interesting speakers from October to May each year and organised outings each summer.
We need your help: can you knit a small sheep or display one in your window?
In December, a Christmas Trail leaflet will be available so you can discover and record the names of sheep around the village. Bring the completed trail leaflet to the Village Carol Service on Sunday 17th December at 5pm and the Christmas story will be explored with the help of the sheep.
Intrigued? Willing to knit a sheep? Or offer a sheep a windowsill? Want to go sheep hunting? For more details, please email Pippa the rector: rectorrwb@gmail.com. Full details including a knitting pattern are contained in leaflet attached below.
Christmas Trail knitting & displaying sheep
Sally Lambert has again kindly agreed to run a workshop on Sat 25th November from 10am – 1pm @the Community Centre, where she will guide us in making our own wreath, and other arrangements.
Cost is £5 per person, which includes tea/coffee & a mince pie.
You will need to bring any equipment you have – oasis, secateurs, vase/container you intend to use, pine cones, ribbons, decorations – plus foliage & flowers. Prunings of woody clematis stems, dogwoods etc make a great basis for wreaths – we all share bits and pieces too.
Please book your place with Katy Ellis on 01780 722173 as soon as possible.
November Meeting
NB: The next meeting is to be held a week later than usual, on Thursday 16th November, at 7.30pm.
It is also the AGM, followed by Stephen Ashpole from the village, to present a talk on Organic Gardening, which will be full of information about the whys and wherefores on this subject.
There were some changes to the team during the season with Lewis leaving for the Falklands, Ben Cox joining the team and immediately playing very well reminding us how good a player he is, Andy and James played most of the games and without them it would have been difficult to maintain the numbers needed to field a team. Thank you to all the team members for the commitment and dedication during the season.
2016/17 was a difficult season for the ‘A’ team with several disappointing results notably a 6-4 win at Paston when an 8-2 win should have been the result. An 6-4 win at home to Eyebury highlighted the weaknesses in the team although it must be said Eyebury played very well that night. A 4-6 loss at Ramsey was the worst result of the season.
For comparison in 2016 the team scored four x ten/nil results , in 2015/2016 ten x ten/nil scores were recorded. In the latter part of the season the team were resigned to second place in the league, behind Paston, when out of the blue at their penultimate game, Paston lost 10-0 at Northborough and handed the league to North Luffenham.
In other competitions the team won the Annette Stubbins cup beating Paston in the final. North Luffenham teams won the North Cambs area singles, pairs, triples, and fours competitions. In county competitions Jason won the Hertfordshire singles with Jack runner-up. Thomas , Jack and Jason won the Hertfordshire triples and this qualified them to represent Hertfordshire at the national finals in County Durham which they also won and they are the current Nation Triples Champions, well done them! Paul won the Cambridgeshire singles competition and went on to win the Eastern Counties Competition.
The AGM for the North Luffenham Good Neighbour Scheme will be held on Friday 27th October, 7pm, at The Fox.
If you are interested to know more about the scheme, or perhaps thinking of volunteering, then you would be most welcome.
The Show is a celebration of local talent and is Open For All to enter with many categories: plants, painting, needlework, card craft, woodwork, photography, baking, jam making, vegetables, flowers and fruit for example.
At North Luffenham Community Centre
On Sunday 10th September
Entries are open to everyone and if possible should be made before the show using the attached Schedule or you can get a hard copy of the Schedule from The Fox or Edith Weston Village Shop.
There are some simple guidelines in the Schedule and we will help you with any queries beforehand and on the day (contact details inside back page). We’d love to see what you can do – be proud and show it off!
Photography. Here are this year’s categories to keep in mind over the coming month so you can get snapping: Flowers and Plants, Gardens, Sky, Countryside Activities, Animals (wild or tame), Linked theme (one set of three phtos linked together in some way), Open (includes anything not already covered already). There is a also a class for U16s, which is free, for any of these themes.
How to enter:
The Gesualdo Six (a younger version of The Kings Singers) will be appearing on the Radio 3 programme In Tune on Monday 28th August a couple of days before appearing in North Luffenham on Wednesday 30th!
Don’t miss a memorable concert of music from the Renaissance to light present day tunes –come and drink a glass of Last of the Summer’s Pimm’s to say farewell to our wonderful summer before the Autumn weather.
Concert in church at 7.30pm Wednesday 30th August -Tickets £12 (including Pimm’s) from Janet Whittaker 01780-721216 or at the door.
After a long period where there have been no issues with vandalism in the village, unfortunately the problem has reappeared.
Someone in the last couple of days has sprayed graffiti onto the Cricket Club toilet block
Can anyone who might have any information about who might have done this please contact Charles Cade
Easton-on-the-Hill Horticultural & Crafts Society have some spare seats available for their visit to Coton Manor on Saturday 22 July departing 10.30 from Easton-on-the-Hill Village Hall and returning at 16.00 from Coton Manor.
Tickets are £17.50 for non-members for entry to Coton Manor and include transport.
Please contact Joy Forster on 01780 762156 if you are interested.
Colton Manor is a peaceful 10 acre garden occupying a hillside position extending down from the 17th century manor house. Landscaped on different levels, it comprises a series of distinctive smaller gardens, providing variety and interest throughout the season, and enhanced by flowing streams, fountains and ponds. Beyond the confines of the garden there is a magical 5 acre bluebell wood and colourful wildflower meadow at its best in June and July.
The Stableyard cafe offers a great selection for lunch. You may bring your own food, however picnicking is not permitted at the garden.
The Garden Club are running an outing to Hidcote (morning) & Kiftsgate (afternoon), two stunning gardens in the same village in the Cotswolds on Sunday 9th July, leaving Empingham @ 8.30am/North Luffenham 8.45am. Open to all – take a picnic or eat at either of the gardens.
Tickets are for coach travel plus entry – £22.50 if you have National Trust membership (you must bring your own card on the day) or £33.50 without.