News Archive 2007

Rushden is sorry to have lost Doreen and Richard from the village but is pleased to welcome Richard Lewis back to the fold!

Carol Singing - A wonderful £150 was raised towards the Living Room Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Stevenage. Thank you to all who came and sang and to all who gave. Also to the men, led by Ben Cannon, who gave us such a joyous rendering of We Three Kings in the Moon and Stars.

The Annual Rushden Fete held on the 23rd June was another success story and the rain which seemed to be devastating the country did not dampen things. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the tombola bottle stall was a sight to behold.

A wonderful £3293 was raised at this year's fete. Thank you to all who worked so hard to reach this total.

Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans

The Spanish Olive Oil Evening on 15th June has raised £369 for St Mary's Church. Thanks must go to Chris Whitton for organising this wonderful evening and also to all those wonderful kitchen helpers!

For those who want the recipe for flan catalana here it is.

250gms granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

250 ml whipping cream

Put 160gms sugar and 4 tbsps water in a pan. Heat over high heat swirling to dissolve the sugar. Boil without stirring until dark caramel in colour. Pour into 1 litre mould.

Preheat oven to 160C/ 325F/ GM3.

Pour milk, cream and vanilla essence into a pan and bring to boil. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Whisk eggs and remaining sugar and add milk and cream mixture whisking.

Pour into mould, cover with foil, place in roasting pan and pour boiling water into pan to come half up side of dish and place in oven. This is where things vary according to depth of mould, minimum time 40 mins but it might need an hour or more. Flan is ready when a knife inserted comes out clean.

Leave to cool, then chill overnight. Turn out onto suitable dish.

Not as bad as the Water World of February 2001 but enough to get people stuck in there with their cars. If the River Bean had been cleared as requested by the Parish Council this might not have flooded at all.

Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans

The WI's visit to Lydia Somerville's eco-house on 4 May proved a fascinating experience. The house is entirely wood built, triple glazed and insulated with wool. A Rayburn heater and a small wood burner are the sole source of heating and at present an underground water tank is being put in to make them self sufficient in all but drinking water. The compost loo proved to be a great attraction to all the visitors. Lydia is in the process of planting an orchard and hopes to introduce various animals to make themselves even more self sufficient. Click here for some photos with thanks to Diane Jackson.

Tea Tasting - 56 French enjoyed a talk on tea tasting and a chance to actually taste them ably hosted by Richard Bradshaw tea and coffee merchant at the Village Hall on Friday 27th April. Many interesting facts about tea emerged. Did you know that the reason the British add milk is because tea would be packed with pigs' bristles and the taste consequently ruined so milk was added to make it potable? Teas tasted were Yunnan, Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon.

The event was organised by Buntingford Twinning Association as part of the 5-day visit by our twinning friends from Luynes, France. Click here for some photos - with thanks to David Austin

Jean, Betty and Sarah welcome Harriet, Sven Erik and Johannes, our visitors form Linkoping in Sweden, to St Mary's Church.

Photo taken by Chris Whitton. Click on photo for larger image

	NEWS ARCHIVE 2007

	Rushden is sorry to have lost Doreen and Richard from the village but is pleased to welcome Richard Lewis back to the fold!

	The annual Christmas Bazaar took place at Rushden Village Hall on 1 December and was as good, if not better than ever. Thanks to John Dingemans for the photos. Click here for photos

	Villagers will be delighted to know that Jeffrey Wornham has been awarded a posthumous George Medal for his extreme bravery.

	Carol Singing - A wonderful £150 was raised towards the Living Room Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Stevenage. Thank you to all who came and sang and to all who gave. Also to the men, led by Ben Cannon, who gave us such a joyous rendering of We Three Kings in the Moon and Stars.

	Friends of the Hodges will be delighted to hear that (at last!) Henry and Lisa are officially engaged.

	Witches and ghosts, banshees and things that go bump in the night met at Southern Green for Halloween. Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans.

	The Annual Rushden Fete held on the 23rd June was another success story and the rain which seemed to be devastating the country did not dampen things. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the tombola bottle stall was a sight to behold. A wonderful £3293 was raised at this year's fete. Thank you to all who worked so hard to reach this total. Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans

	Wallington and Rushden's Quiz team are to be congratulated on coming second in the WI inter county quiz.

	The Big Pig evening was a fun event for everyone and raised nearly £1000 which will be put towards providing new chairs for the Village Hall with a donation going to Air Ambulance.

	John and Sarah would like to thank all their friends who helped them to enjoy John's 60th and their 35th anniversary on the Green on Sunday 22nd July. Also for the many presents brought to the no presents party. We are quite overwhelmed particularly with the stuffed penguin. We are trying to find the perfect place to put him. We hope that those who came enjoyed themselves as much as we did. We would also like to say thank you for the many kind wishes (and presents) from those unable to attend. Thanks must also got to the members of the Orpheus choir for their madrigal singing and to the group Tam Linn who entertained us so well. Click here for some photos.

	The Spanish Olive Oil Evening on 15th June has raised £369 for St Mary's Church. Thanks must go to Chris Whitton for organising this wonderful evening and also to all those wonderful kitchen helpers! For those who want the recipe for flan catalana here it is. 250gms granulated sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 400 ml milk 250 ml whipping cream 5 large eggs 2 egg yolks Put 160gms sugar and 4 tbsps water in a pan. Heat over high heat swirling to dissolve the sugar. Boil without stirring until dark caramel in colour. Pour into 1 litre mould. Preheat oven to 160C/ 325F/ GM3. Pour milk, cream and vanilla essence into a pan and bring to boil. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Whisk eggs and remaining sugar and add milk and cream mixture whisking. Pour into mould, cover with foil, place in roasting pan and pour boiling water into pan to come half up side of dish and place in oven. This is where things vary according to depth of mould, minimum time 40 mins but it might need an hour or more. Flan is ready when a knife inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool, then chill overnight. Turn out onto suitable dish.

	Not as bad as the Water World of February 2001 but enough to get people stuck in there with their cars. If the River Bean had been cleared as requested by the Parish Council this might not have flooded at all. Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans

	A fantastic £383.50 was raised at the Hobbies Quiz on Friday 16th March in aid of St Mary's Church. The winning team was led by Jean Chalk. A delicious supper of boeuf bourguignon was provided by Chris Whitton; Ilse and Roger did their usual wonderful job of scoring and marking; Sue Austin was on raffle; our American student Lesley learned a lot about village life and never to ask for a Host placement again and JoAnne Garret led an able team of washer uppers sporting a dashing pair of yellow rubber gloves! Thank you to everyone who came. Jenny Barlow has suggested that our next quiz is the alphabet quiz so watch this space.

	Leprosy is a disease that affects more than just the body. This is what WI members learned when Rev Mike Griffen of the Leprosy Mission came to talk to members on Thursday 21st June. Sufferers can be totally ostracised by friends and family and often their children suffer similar treatment. Even today we talk about a leper as opposed to someone who has leprosy like other diseases. It is completely curable if treated early enough. If you would like to know more visit www.leprosymission.org.uk

	New Zealand Talk and Meal Rory McMahon gave a fascinating account of the history of New Zealand at the RBL talk on Friday 20th April. Thanks must go to Shilea Greer and her team who produced a wonderful meal and raised about £300.

	Those villagers who remember the Wylies who lived at Flint Cottage will be delighted to learn that Sarah who married Rob last year has had a baby boy, Samuel George, weighing in at 9lbs 10 oz.

	The WI's visit to Lydia Somerville's eco-house on 4 May proved a fascinating experience. The house is entirely wood built, triple glazed and insulated with wool. A Rayburn heater and a small wood burner are the sole source of heating and at present an underground water tank is being put in to make them self sufficient in all but drinking water. The compost loo proved to be a great attraction to all the visitors. Lydia is in the process of planting an orchard and hopes to introduce various animals to make themselves even more self sufficient. Click here for some photos with thanks to Diane Jackson.

	Tea Tasting - 56 French enjoyed a talk on tea tasting and a chance to actually taste them ably hosted by Richard Bradshaw tea and coffee merchant at the Village Hall on Friday 27th April. Many interesting facts about tea emerged. Did you know that the reason the British add milk is because tea would be packed with pigs' bristles and the taste consequently ruined so milk was added to make it potable? Teas tasted were Yunnan, Assam, Darjeeling and Ceylon. The event was organised by Buntingford Twinning Association as part of the 5-day visit by our twinning friends from Luynes, France. Click here for some photos - with thanks to David Austin


	Both the Neighbourhood Watch meeting and the extraordinary Parish Council meeting, on 27 March 2007, saw a very good turn out of villagers. several concerns were concerned at the first, chief amongst them being the problems with people using mobile phones when driving. Others were motorcyclists on the A507 and speedsters along Mill End. We are grateful to Paul Marina and our two Community Support Officers for holding this meeting. The next meeting will be in about six months time. At the meeting to discuss the change of use at Cumberlow Green Farm from open to closed composting, James and Henry Hodge gave a clear explanation of how the composting system will change, hopefully for the better as the enclosed system should mean less smell. We were assured that there will be no increased traffic or size of vehicle

	Weston Passion Play on 6 April 2007. The Weston Passion Play proved a marvellous introduction to Easter. Several Rushden residents were there and all hope that it will be repeated. Click here for some photos, with thanks to Judith Evans.

	Jean, Betty and Sarah welcome Harriet, Sven Erik and Johannes, our visitors form Linkoping in Sweden, to St Mary's Church. Photo taken by Chris Whitton. Click on photo for larger image

	Snow came to Rushden as everyone has probably realised. Click her for some photos, with thanks to John Dingemans.

	An evening relished at Rushden Anyone driving through Rushden last Saturday night (3^rd) could be forgiven if they thought that they had suddenly moved to the far East, more particularly the Indian sub-continent. Gorgeous and pungent smells emanated from the village hall as some 50 plus people enjoyed yet another gastronomic triumph from budding village chefs who prepared a miscellany of exotic and eclectic curry dishes . Entitled ‘Hellish Relish’ the evening was a great success with all the profits split between the village hall and the church both of which play such an important part of village life. Yet another Rushden evening to remember!

	We would like to welcome our new Community Support Officer Tracy Kennedy to Rushden. She will be working with Chris Braybrooke.
	The Grand Rushden Christmas Bazaar took place on Saturday 2nd December Click here for some photos with thanks to John Dingemans.