Netherfield

APRIL 7th Morning Worship MOUNTFIELD 10am - 14th Palm Sunday Eucharist BRIGHTLING 10am - 19th Good Friday liturgy MOUNTFIELD 11am - 21st Easter Sunday Celebration MOUNTFIELD & BRIGHTLING 10am - 28th Eucharist NETHERFIELD 10am. MAY 5th Baptism BRIGHTLING 11am - Everyone is welcome at all services

St John’s Church Netherfield: Our annual Spring Fair will take place on Saturday 6 April from 10-12noon. There will be lots of bric-a-brac, gifts, jewelry and of course the raffle, tombola, flowers and plants, woodcraft and guess the name of the Scarecrow.. Please come and have a cup of tea or coffee with us to raise some much needed funds. Gillian

A View of Lent: Have you given up anything for Lent? It is difficult to find something meaningful when luxuries are few, and every penny counts with the rising cost of living bearing down more and more. My husband and I thought it was about time we gave up those little brown plastic coffee cups and went back to ground coffee once again. So I hunted out our Cafetiere, that had been hiding in a cupboard, bought some lovely ground coffee from the Village Stores, who bag their own, and made us both a fantastic cup of coffee, No looking back there then, but what about tea bags too? So now it’s loose tea as well, but we have to look for another teapot as our old one has seen better days. The remains of our tea-break are all put into the compost bin, so the changes we have made, are not just for lent but always. Gillian.

Netherfield Hall Zumba Class: Wednesday nights 6-8pm. Come and get fit and enjoy dancing.

Netherfield Village Hall Future Events: Netherfield Village Hall will be holding one of its regular Jumble Sales on Saturday 6th April from 10am-11.30am at Netherfield Village Hall, Netherfield Road, TN33 9QB. As usual there will be clothing, bric a brac, toys, books and much more – which will be on sale to everyone at bargain prices. 50p admission for adults, children free. A second Children’s Activity Morning is being held on Wednesday 29 May from 10-12.30 with In2Play attending as before. They were a big hit last time. This will also include a play worker bringing along some activities together with a visit from Emma at FSN. The children will be provided with a light lunch. Summer Fete/Music Event on Saturday 27 July. Race Night September 7 or 14. Further details as they become available. Make these a date in your diary!

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: We have been inundated with books from our very generous community and at the moment this has caused something of a log-jam, while we try to sort through the donations. Therefore, I would ask those people who are preparing to bring their books along, will you kindly be a little patient and hold onto your donations for a week or two. Thank you.

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: At the start of term in the evening class section of Claverham College, the car park is always full. With this in mind, it takes ingenuity to find a space where one can park without causing an incident. As the term progresses the passions of the erstwhile students of the subjects on offer, seems to diminish somewhat, as parking becomes less of a chore when I arrive for my bout of badminton. Learning throughout life, we are told, keeps the brain active, strong and devoid of febrility. Badminton too. we are informed, has the same effect, not only of the brain, but also on the body. Perhaps, during the down periods in the badminton Hall, when there are not quite enough members to form a “four” for doubles, we should pop into the rest of the college and make up the numbers in the art classes or the origami section. I jest of course, my paper folding skills were restricted to the effort surrounding the folding of five and ten pound notes, when I could get them. Oh well, bang goes another big theory (big abng theory – get it? Night-school?)

We managed to keep three courts going this week. Once again, Andy, the Centre Manager, stepped into the breach when he had finished his shift. He does seem to be getting his old skills back and will certainly become a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Two ladies arrived this week, Sandra and Jo. It is Sandra’s last week, as she becomes a stoolball addict during the summer. The Chambers dictionary’s definition of the word is an old game similar to cricket. I am not sure how they arrive at that conclusion given that there are no stumps, the bat is held up rather than down, no pads are worn and it is not commented on by Jonathan Agnew or Henry Blofeld. Perhaps I should look again in the Oxford dictionary and see what that one says it?

Reflections on a garden: The weather has certainly began to be kinder to all of us would-be Percy Thrower’s - for the more mature among us - and Montagu Denis Wyatt Don, known as “Monty” to his friends, for the younger audience. With spade and fork in hand, the alien invaders of our soil can be extracted, turned, removed and generally extricated from what had, at the end of the summer, been a colourful patch of soil, resplendent with a multitude of flowers and shrubs. Just a few short months have passed and the weeds appear yet again, almost as if by magic, even though the same removal operation had been performed at the beginning of last year. I guess we keep doing it, that is weed removal, because we enjoy it. Once the soil is turned and clear it does have a glow about it, loamy, dark and rich, ready for this years burst of sunshine.

I am sure my reader is patiently waiting for an update on the shed. My good lady thinks I am wrong, but as my reader has never complained about this column so far, my ramblings must be hitting the right mark. Anyway, to make the new shed warm and cosy, I have lined the walls with 100mm sheep’s wool loft insulation. Bulky I grant you, but when cut to size and pressed into the various cavities, the insulation can await the constriction of a hardboard exterior to contain and add a smooth finish to the wall. Small holes in the shed’s exterior were filled with a premium wood filler and joins were made tight and secure at any junction of the sides and the roof, with the insertion of long screws. Stay with me reader, it does get interesting later on.

The hardboard to make the interior look like a room at the Ritz is being delivered today. Sheets of 8x4 will be cut to size to hide the warmth giving filling, deterring damp, and adding a touch of class to this building. A man cave I can hear you say. With a garage for us both and a separate shed for my good lady, why on earth would I need one of those. No, dear reader, this structure is purely functional, housing an accumulation of necessities I have collected over a lifetime. One has to be prepared for the unexpected, the out of the ordinary. That task in the house that requires the unusual nut and bolt, or screw, It is not often I have to purchase that type article from the Wickes and B&Q’s of this world just because I have hoarded every rusty piece of detritus. How satisfying is that?.

More next week.........

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