NEWS ARCHIVE 2005
 
A big thank you to all who helped us raise £240 towards research into neuroblastoma when we went carol singing around the village. Thank you also to Chris and Eva Whitton, Anita and Neil at the Moon and Stars and to Jean Chalk for their amazing hospitality.
 
  Villagers and friends of Jean Chalk celebrated her 90th birthday and a wonderful life in style on Saturday 26th November.  Jean has given so much to our community over the years. Villagers have clubbed together to give her a trip on the Orient Express to the gardens of Kent. We all wish her many happy returns of the day.
Click here for some photos of the celebrations with thanks to John Dingemans. 		 
  Remembrance Sunday saw a packed church in Sandon with representatives from all the villages. John Walker and Helen Dawes took the service jointly. It was a chance for all to reflect on wars past and present and to remember those we have lost in the service of others.  
  The 2005 Rushden Mystery Tour seems to have been a great success with another visit to Suffolk. (Well the churches there are rather special) Ixworth, Thornham Magna, Diss, Great Finsborough, Buxhall and Rattlesden were all stops on the journey, each with its own delightful place of worship, plus of course the traditional halt for a cream tea!  
  Mary Volpe's Macmillan's Coffee Morning on Friday 30th September was very well attended. It was good to see such a wide collection of people there. The cakes were delicious and we hope that Mary has raised lots of money for this very deserving charity.  
  Broadband will be coming to Rushden on 5th October this year. Hurray!!
Eight rural areas in East of England to get ADSL and SDSL
   
Author: Mr Saffron

The East of England Development Agency will pay for broadband services to be brought to eight exchanges areas that BT otherwise would not have enabled under its normal commercial rules. More details over at www.Egovmonitor.com . BT had refused to pay because we were too small and cost too much!

The exchanges to be enabled will be Broadfield, Hertfordshire; Burnt Fen, Suffolk; Higham, Suffolk; Knarr Cross, Cambridgeshire; Brandon Creek, Norfolk; Nordelph, Norfolk; Linstead, Suffolk; and Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire. The exchanges are to get ADSL, and additionally will also be enabled for SDSL thus benefiting businesses in the area. The work on the exchanges is slated to begin in the next few months and completed by the end of October 2005.

An interesting quote from Peter McCarthy-Ward of BT is shown below. This quote gives some idea of the costs to date for the UK roll-out of ADSL by BT, £1.5 billion.

"BT has already brought broadband to about 97% of people who live and work the East of England by upgrading more than 500 exchanges a part of its £1.5 billion UK wide investment programme. Our plans mean that we’ll take this to 99.9% per cent of people this summer as we upgrade other exchanges in the region.

And of course, this far sighted East of England Development Agency initiative, working with ADIT, will extend the benefits of broadband even further into these very rural communities that are served by the smallest exchanges. The next challenge for the East of England is to lead the nation in the practical use of broadband technologies. BT looks forward to supporting EEDA in realising its ICT strategy"

Peter McCarthy-Ward, BT Regional Director for the East of England
 
 

Dogs for the Disabled Lunch

A huge heart felt thanks goes out to all those who helped, supported, donated and had lunch (over one hundred!)

 

We raised £1,315 (so far) and myself and the Charity are amazed at such a huge amount.  Well done everyone!!!

 

I have applied to have a named dog (Rushden) and that when trained, for it to be partnered with a disabled child.

 

Once again the weather was more than kind to us and after such a successful day and requests from numerous guests next year will see a repeat performance (hopefully) on Wed 6th September.

 

Many thanks again

Jenny

 
  Our new priest in charge, the Rev Helen Dawes will be licensed on 2nd September. We look forward to welcoming her to the village.
  
  The Harvest festival proved a really joyous occasion. Our new Priest in charge, Helen Dawes, led the service ably helped by several smaller members of the congregation. The Church was beautifully decorated. All gifts will go to the Leonard Cheshire Home and the collection will go to Christian Aid.
Villagers enjoyed salads provided by the PCC in the Hall afterwards and thanks to Norman were able to char their sausages to perfection on the barbecue. Click here for some photos. 		 
 

WI Trip to Hinxworth.

Members were overwhelmed by the hospitality of sculptor John Mills when they visited his garden at Hinxworth Place in August and were invited into his studio as well. They were shown a quarter size statue of his sculpture Women in War recently unveiled by the Queen as part of this year’s 60th anniversary of the end of WW11. The evening ended with a visit to the Three Horseshoes which also hosts one of John’s sculptures as does Ashwell Church.

 
 

Paws around the World Sponsored Walk/Dogs for the Disabled

Sheila and Jenny collected £306 between them after they completed their 5 mile walk around the footpaths to Throcking and back and a big thank you to all those that Sponsored them and congratulations to Sheila and Jenny.

 
 

Breast flatteners, modesty vests, liberty bodices and split drawers; these are just some of the garments WI members learned about at their recent meeting when Eve Davis came to talk on Clothes from the Early 1900s. It proved a fascinating evening for all. Did you know that at the beginning of the twentieth century hats were annually recycled with new trimmings or that the shape of women slightly later in the decade was described as a Grecian bend due to their tight fitting corsets? Eve had also brought a wonderful collection of clothes of the period for us to exclaim over.

 

 
  Villagers will be saddened to learn of the recent damage done to our Church including two panes broken in the Spender window. P.C. Marina has asked people to be more aware of what is happening in the villages and report things however minor before they escalate. Please would you help him in his work.  
  Although the day of the Rushden fete on Saturday 4 June started with rain, the sun soon came out and saw a a large crowd gathered to enjoy a traditional village fete. Everything was there to make the day enjoyable including wonderful cakes, enough books to stock a library, some fascinating bric a brac and a selection of beautiful plants plus a chance to sample Shiela's tasty treats in the Hall. An amazing £3,484 was raised at the fete. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success. Click here for some photos.  
  The proceeds of the VE Day Concert were divided between the Church maintenance fund and the Poppy Fund of the Sandon, Wallington, Rushden and Clothall Branch of the British Legion as a result of which a cheque for £350 was handed to the Branch's Poppy Fund Organiser at the Branch's Annual Dinner on Friday 20th May 2005.  
  On Thursday 9th June, the NSPCC lunch took place at Youngloves Farm. Click here for some photos.  
  As an addition to the VE Day celebrations, we have a collection of War memories. Several people have enjoyed the exhibition of Rushden Memories from the War years in the Village Hall. Now we have them on the website for you to enjoy at your leisure.
Click here to read some War memories   		 
 

 

Great talent . Jill. C.  Very professional Andrew W. What talent! Sue A  

It was superb. Fiona P

Wonderful costumes. Lyn P.   Brilliant evening Chris G.  Really enjoyable. Joyce H

 

So much talent in one village! Sue W

 

Are you wondering what you missed? Well, it was of course Rushden’s V.E. Day concert, an evening that was enjoyed by everyone who came including the performers. St Mary’s beautifully decorated church was packed and there were many disappointed people still on the waiting list who didn’t make it for an evening of music, poetry and prose. It was a night of nostalgia and fun ably compered by Chris Garrett.  Vera Lyn, Flanagan and Allen, Noel Coward, Glenn Miller, Judy Garland were all there as well as a host of others. Who will forget Georgie Collis’ rendition of I’m forever Blowing Bubbles or Doug and Isobel Wood singing It’s Cold Outside? The audience entered into the spirit of the evening by dressing in costume and were able to join the Jubilee Singers with many wartime hits. Afterwards drinks were enjoyed in the Village Hall with a chance to look at the Rushden Memories exhibition of those who lived in the village during the War.

Thanks must go to all the performers, scene shifters and setter uppers but particularly to Mary Volpe who conducted the Jubilee Singers, Elspeth who played and most of all Chris Thomas for organising the event.

P.S. Chris says that a certain L. Jones is still doing penance!!!

 

Click here to see the photos

Click here to see some more photos

click here for Poem - Rushden at War (and Peace)

 
  The 60 year quiz held on Friday 13th May 2005 has raised £474. 80 for St Mary's Church. Congratulations go to Chris and Linda Hills and John and Lesley Amos for winning  and grateful thanks to Ilse and Roger Crane for marking and scoring so patiently (and they needed patience!) Sue Austen for running the raffle and generally running, the army of people who helped with clearing up afterwards and most of all to Utako for doing more than the Japanese Government to improve Rushden/ Japanese relationships. Thank you to all who came and helped to make the evening such a success.  
 
   The village's Barn Dance as a celebration of 60 Years of Peace saw young and old dancing to the music of Peter and Christine and everyone having a good time. The bar-b-cue stayed hot, the wine flowed, courtesy of Chris Whitton, and most of us hoped we'd lost some calories. 

Thank you JoAnne and Village Committee for organising it. 		 
  Welcome Neil and Anita Martin to Rushden and the Moon and Stars. Neil has been Head Chef at the Bull in Cottered for the last fifteen years where ho got into the main entry category of the Good Pub Guide and is also one of just five pubs in East and North Herts to appear in Michelin's eating out in Pubs 2005. He and Anita have been married for eight years and will be living in at the Moon which they intend to keep as a country pub/restaurant, open twice a day, seven days a week. Bar snacks to restaurant meals will be served at all times except Sunday evenings and on Monday. They are hoping to have a telephone take away service for  Rushden's home alone working men (and women) and whoever else who wants.  Anita is hoping to serve family cream teas in the pub garden in the summer months. We welcome them to Rushden and trust that the four villages will give them their support. The telephone number of the Moon is 01763 288330.  
  Rushen Website would like to say goodbye to Mariko and Charmaine of the Moon and Stars and wish them well in their new lives.  
  Saturday 9th April's Slow Food meal saw a packed village hall enjoying Chris Whitton's wonderful selection of foods from Alsace with equally wonderful wines. There were several new faces and everyone said they would be interested in knowing more about the Slow Food Movement. Thank you Chris for giving us such an enjoyable Saturday.  
  Those who remember John Pedley from Risden Cottage will be sad to learn that he died on Saturday 9th April. He and his wife have been regular attenders at the Remembrance Service every year.  We send our condolences to Phyl.  
 
Rushden was sad to say goodbye to Liz Lewin on Saturday 19th February at  a packed Church which she has done so much to keep going. Liz has worked incredibly hard for the village over the years. Her best epitaph is the song that was chosen to open her funeral " I did it my way!" We will all miss her and her larger than lifeness.
 
  St Mary's Church Rushden would like to thank the Gazette for its very generous donation of £500. It is very much appreciated.  
 
THANK YOU FROM SAVE THE CHILDREN

Dear Webmaster,

 
Sarah Lever invited me to contact you, to pass our thanks for the magnificent sum of £299 cash arising from the Lunch in the Village Hall on 9th.February. This has been forwarded to Save the Children HQ (via our Bank account!) who will put in train the drill to recover the Tax in respect of the Gift-Aided donations.
 
From the report on your website, it does indeed appear to have been a busy and jolly affair.
 
Please publish our sincere Thanks to Sarah and to all her helpers and supporters.
 
With Best Wishes, Keith Curtis.
                            Treasurer, Royston and Buntingford  
                                                  Branch, SCF.   
 
  The Tsunami Appeal organised by the PCC in the Village Hall on Wed February 9th saw a packed room gathered to listen to Sue Jagelman talk on what is happening on the ground post the tragedy of Boxing Day. She mentioned how fund raising such as ours is very important as much of the money promised comes with strings attached such as having to be spent in a year which means that long term rebuilding work cannot be contemplated. Afterwards soup and wine were served. At present the money is still being counted but thanks to so many people gift aiding their contributions we should have made well in excess of £300. Thank you to all who helped particularly Vicky Hodge for her sterling work helping set up the Hall and on the door, Dulcie for organising the raffle, Sue Austin for serving the wine and Wendy Amy for producing delicious soup and working so hard in the kitchen. Thank you also to all the washer and tidier uppers.