Crosstalk - MARCH 2021 Lillington, St Mary Magdalene, Parish Magazine
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Crosstalk
Lillington, St Mary Magdalene,
Parish Magazine
MARCH 2021
1
Forty is a lot of
crosses, but that is the
number needed for our
Lenten installations in
the churchyard.
Robert Twissell on the
production line!
2
FROM THE VICAR
Dear Friends,
The month of March will mark a very
significant milestone. It was towards the end
of March last year that we went into the first
national lock down. I am sure that none of us
could have imagined that a year later and we
would still be living with extraordinary
restrictions.
Eventually we will leave this extraordinary
chapter behind us and move on with our lives.
Soon other dramas will take its place and the events of 2020 and
2021 will begin to recede into memory. The Lillington History Society
are collecting “recollections” to ensure that the year of the pandemic
is not forgotten and that future generations will be given a glimpse
into what it was like living here in Lillington. #
When asked to contribute to this it gave me pause to think about
how, in just a few words, one could encapsulate this time from the
perspective of the parish church. This is what I came up with.
This was the year the bells fell silent,
the year the doors closed,
and the communion rail gathered dust.
It was the year that singing stopped
and the organ no longer played
The year that no one said: “I do”.
But it was also the year when
worship went online,
when people joined us from around the UK,
Europe and even Australia.
It was the year when we sang a new song,
reminded ourselves about neighbours,
about going more slowly and writing a letter.
We put our Christmas trees in the church yard
hung our prayers in the Lych Gate
phoned each other,
enjoyed table fellowship from afar
and were reminded that a church
is so much more than just a building.
3
I wonder how you would describe your experience and what will be
for you your abiding memories?
With Easter just around the corner there is much to look forward to
and build upon as we dare to contemplate the ending of restrictions
and the opportunity to sing a new song to the Lord.
God bless,
William
# Editor’s note: See page 15 for more about Lillington Local History
Society’s plea for Lockdown recollections.
*******************************************************
WARDEN’S WORDS
Looking for inspiration I searched out the last time I had written
Warden’s Words in March and discovered that two years ago, the
theme was ‘Could you be a Churchwarden’. As the APCM approaches
I will have completed my fourth year as warden and 6 months prior
to that as a Deputy – knowing that the Vicar was about to leave and
we were heading for a vacancy.
Well four years later what have I learned about being a warden?
You cannot write a job description, because every task is
different. There are some months when nothing much
happens to get involved in apart from regular Sunday
worship, and then there are weeks when your feet don’t touch
the ground.
Vacancies and pandemics don’t come round that often – so
going forward a warden won’t have to cope with Risk
Assessments, finding people to lead services every week, and
interviews.
Quinquennials are every 5 years – and we just had ours, so
preparation for the next one isn’t until 2025.
There is always a new project at the back of the Vicar’s mind!
… and whatever comes at you there are plenty of people
around to help.
My aim in 2020 was to talk face to face to people and encourage
them to consider being a warden in the future, but Covid put a stop
to that! If you think that you might be interested and would like to
just dip your toe in the water – without any commitment – speak to
Maureen or myself. We would love to talk to you, and involve you
4
some of the things that we get up to. Just email us or phone us –
our contact details are on the back of Crosstalk.
What’s been happening recently?
The churchyard has been busy with our lovely prayer stations, and by
the time you read this there will be several crosses in place for the
Lent journey.
We have accepted a quote to update the electrics in the church and
the octagon, which were identified as dangerous or substandard and
this should be completed before Easter.
The Roof alarm was serviced recently and the engineers accidentally
trapped a wire in one of the sensors, which caused the alarm to go
off after they had left. William and the neighbours were very
impressed with the flashing lights and loud voice telling the ‘intruder’
to get off the roof – just proves that the system works.
Bob Cooke and I are still experimenting with temperature controls –
it is recommended that church stonework and fabric shouldn’t fall
below 10oC to maintain it in good condition, and the office needs to
be a reasonable temperature for working in.
As we look forward to Easter do find time to reflect on our journey of
hope through Lent and be encouraged by the new growth that is
around us.
Carol Innes
5
CHARITY OF THE MONTH
This month £221 of the church’s charitable giving will go
to Amnesty International.
Sara Snatt, a member of the charity committee, writes:
Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization whose
stated mission is to campaign for "a world in which every person
enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.” Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses
and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards,
through advocacy, lobbying and campaigns. Amnesty aims to help
people throughout the world who are tortured or imprisoned, despite
having done nothing wrong - people like Paing Phyo Min; a 22 year
old poet currently serving six years in prison after performing a poem
criticizing the military in Myanmar.
*****************************************
Some Memories of Lillington Church Choir
This article first appeared as a
contribution to Lillington Local
History Society’s Christmas
Challenge. It is reproduced
here with the permission of the
author, Les Markham.
I attended choir practice for the first
time at St. Mary Magdalene’s
Church, Lillington on Tuesday 10th of June 1961 – and not for the
most honourable of reasons. A friend who was already a member
persuaded me to join for the potential of great riches. On the
following Saturday there were going to be, if I remember correctly,
seven weddings with choir (perhaps a unique occasion at any church
in England at the time, let alone Lillington), and choirboys got paid!
The whole of Saturday was spent at the Church with sandwiches for
lunch, as there was no time to go home. At the end of the day the
Choir Master, Peter Mound, distributed the money to the boys,
starting with the Head Boy. I was the last to receive my pay, and Mr
Mound could not even remember my name. I was given the small
change after all the other boys had been paid – the princely sum of
6
1/6 (8p) – worth about £1.50p today. The Head Boy would have got
a minimum of 5 shillings per wedding, and so probably received
about £1.15s, worth about £33 today. However, I enjoyed myself so
much that I was a member of the choir from the age of nine until
well into my time at university. I even became Head Boy along the
way, singing the obligatory “Once in Royal David’s City” at Midnight
Mass.
In those days there were three sung services for the main choir on a
Sunday. They were Holy Communion at 9.30 am, Matins at
11.00 am, and Evensong at 6.30 pm. There was a Baby Burco in the
vestry so those attending both morning services could have a cup of
tea. I used to routinely attend four services each Sunday as there
was a Family Service at 3.00 pm which had its own choir of which I
was a member. I remember going to five services on one Sunday as
I also attended the 8.00 am Communion Service as a Server.
Choir practice was held on Tuesdays (just boys) from 6.15 pm until
7.00 pm and Fridays 7.00 pm until about 8.00 pm for boys, and from
7.30 pm until 9.00 pm for the men. After Peter Mound left to become
Head of Music at Farnborough Grammar School in Hampshire, Dick
Delacour (Head of Music at Kenilworth Grammar School) took over
for several years. He was succeeded by Bob Lees whom I met
recently performing with a choir at St. Peter’s church in Leamington.
The number of boys in the choir peaked at 22 during this period, and
chairs had to be placed at the ends of the choirstalls to accommodate
everyone. We had a football team and used to play our matches on
Saturday afternoons on the pitches (now long gone) at the back of
the flats on Mason Avenue. The Vicar, the Revd. Bill George made
time for the match report to be read out from the pulpit immediately
before the sermon at Matins the following day.
One of the curates took us on an outing to the Malvern Hills. He
borrowed a large American shooting brake from a friend, and piled
14 boys into it. On the way back we stopped in Stratford for ice
creams, and as the curate parked the car, he noticed a policeman on
the other side of the road. We were made to creep out of the car on
the far side one at a time hoping the policeman would not notice just
how many of us there were.
There were summer outings for the whole choir ranging from
Wicksteed Park on 13th June 1964 to London on 12th September
1970, with other visits to Drayton Manor Park and Longleat.
7
CROSSWORD
24 What jeering youths
called Elisha on the road
to Bethel (2 Kings 2:23)
(8)
25 The Venerable — ,
eighth-century Jarrow
ecclesiastical scholar (4)
26 8 Across issued a
decree that this should
take place (Luke 2:1) (6)
27 Come into
prominence
(Deuteronomy 13:13)
(6)
Down
1 Where some of the
seed scattered by the
Across sower fell (Matthew 13:4) (4)
1 The earth is one (6) 2 Sexually immoral person whom
4 ‘On a hill far away stood an old God will judge (Hebrews 13:4) (9)
— cross’ (6) 3 Gospel leaflet (5)
7 ‘I am the — vine and my Father 4 Physical state of the boy
is the gardener’ (John 15:1) (4) brought to Jesus for healing (Mark
8 The Caesar who was Roman 9:18)
Emperor at the time of Jesus’ 5 Tugs (anag.) (4)
birth(Luke 2:1) (8) 6 To put forth (5)
9 ‘Your — should be the same as 10 Nationality associated with St
that of Christ Jesus’(Philippians Patrick (5)
2:5) (8) 11 Leader of the descendants of
13 Jesus said that no one would Kohath (1 Chronicles 15:5) (5)
put a lighted lamp under this(Luke 12 ‘After this, his brother came
8:16) (3) out, with his hand grasping —
16 Involvement (1 Corinthians heel’(Genesis 25:26) (5)
10:16) (13) 13 At Dothan the Lord struck the
17 Armed conflict (2 Chronicles Arameans with — at
15:19) (3) Elisha’srequest (2 Kings 6:18) (9)
19 Where the Gaderene pigs were 14 ‘Peter, before the cock crows
feeding (Mark 5:11) (8) today, you will — three times
thatyou know me’ (Luke22:34) (4)
8
Crossword clues cont. (Down) 21 Thyatira’s dealer in purple
15 Spit out (Psalm 59:7) (4) cloth (Acts 16:14) (5)
18 ‘When I — , I am still with you’ 22 Does (anag.) (4)
(Psalm 139:18) (5) 23 The second set of seven cows
20 Concepts (Acts 17:20) (5) in Pharaoh’s dream were
this(Genesis 41:19) (4)
Answers on page 12
****************************************
Celebrating Love Lillington
On its 5th Anniversary!
On Sunday 28th February 2016, at
the 9:30 service, our Community
Initiative – Love Lillington – was
officially launched. Five years later we look at all that has been given
to our community here in Lillington through the Prayer, Money and
Action that Love Lillington has to offer.
To mark this occasion in February’s Crosstalk we featured
articles from two Love Lillington Action Volunteers.
This month, we bring your stories from two more, firstly
Roderick Clark.
I'm not the ideal LL volunteer, as my DIY
skills are non-existent and my gardening
skills not much better. Fitting curtains or
shelves, wallpapering, or planting an
elegant border are NOT within my 'skill-
set' (to use a horrible modern phrase).
However, a car and some mini-muscles
have proved useful for certain jobs.
It was a pleasure to offer hospital lifts to
someone with a very poorly husband -
and also to a woman who had suffered
horrific experiences in the recent past,
which I won't describe. One task,
superbly organised by Christine Butler
(as usual), involved taking a young woman to the Lions furniture
store in Kenilworth to find a living-room suite of chairs and a sofa (or
a 'settee', as some of us more mature citizens call it) and pay with a
voucher. The furniture was to be delivered separately, as my
Vauxhall Zafira was not quite up to that, although several smaller
loads have been squeezed in after I've fiddled around with the seats.
9
If it's garden clearing, I like to be told to "get rid of everything" - to
avoid the risk that I'll destroy some rare orchid which everyone else
would have recognised. During my efforts I usually think that
perhaps I should be sorting out my own patch of land instead.
However, there'll always be another day ..... and if someone's
problems are lessened by turning a jungle into a back garden again,
especially if children can then play safely in it, it is certainly
worthwhile. The same is true when you can help make someone's
'accommodation' into something more like a home, even if not
exactly luxurious. In the end, it is the chance to improve someone's
life - unobtrusively - that makes it so precious to all concerned.
And our fourth
Love Lillington volunteer,
Gaynor Cook:
I joined St Mary
Magdalene’s church about
six years ago, just after I
moved to Leamington from
Shropshire. When Love
Lillington started I was very
keen to volunteer, it
seemed a great idea and for
me, a way to get more
involved with church life and to get to know people. I have been
involved in all sorts of jobs since then, clearing and renovating
gardens, decorating, cleaning, helping to put flat pack furniture
together, (that was enormous fun), giving lifts to people who needed
to visit loved ones in hospital and delivering items. All of it has been
very rewarding and I have really enjoyed all the tasks and the chance
to work in a team and get to know people. However, I was asked to
do one very simple job which I found particularly special. I had to
make a cake and deliver it to a lady I had never met. I made her a
lemon drizzle cake and delivered it to her and I can still see her face
as I handed it to her, a huge smile as she thanked me and said she
would share it with her friend.
St. Francis of Assisi said ‘It is in giving that we receive’. That
certainly has been my experience. Thanks must go to Christine and
Charlotte who work so hard to make all this possible and to all who
donate to the Love Lillington Fund because without your donations
we couldn’t carry out this wonderful outreach to our community.
1011
Lillington Churchyard and Sparking Plugs
The article in last month’s edition about Alexander Lodge
rang a bell with Len Dixon. He writes:
I really liked the article
about spark plugs for at
least one good reason,
and attach a photograph
to illustrate my point.
You refer to those of us
who might still remember
and know what a spark
plug is and does. There
are some of us, however,
who still depend on them,
and are quite used to
taking them out to clean – and whose knuckles may occasionally still
respond to testing them! I am a member of the Morris Register, an
association for owners of Morris cars designed before 1940, and have
a Morris 8 Series e. Unfortunately, from your article’s point of view, I
haven’t got Lodge plugs in it!
******************************************************
A new story from Christine Butler about how our
Lord works in our community of Lillington.
At the end of January I received this message: “My neighbour has
given me her food mixer. It is old, but of excellent quality and still
works. I wonder if you might know someone in Love Lillington or
elsewhere who might like it? I am loathe to throw it out as it is in
such good condition.”
This offer gave me food for thought! I was unable to pass the item
on through the Love Lillington client framework due to various COVID
issues and the need to get it PAT tested prior to donation –
something which is nigh on impossible in the current lockdown
climate.
Thinking about what a lovely offer it was and how it must be waiting
to do someone some good somewhere, I remembered some time ago
– at a Lillington Community Fun Day – meeting Anne Marie Lambert
who runs her own business in Warwickshire called “Get Cooking”
https://www.get-cooking.co.uk. I contacted Anne Marie and she said
she would get back to me, which she did quite quickly as she had
12identified someone in one of her cooking groups. “Hi Christine –
found it a deserving home, someone who can’t afford one but enjoys
cake making”
Anne Marie was delighted. She works to encourage many how to
cook and eat more healthily and often runs workshops in Lillington.
(currently all on-line). The lady receiving the food mixer loves baking
and Anne Marie also had some weighing scales to give so it was
arranged to deliver both items on the same day. The Lord does
indeed move in mysterious ways.
The person who was gifting the food mixer was also delighted. “Wow!
I’m so delighted as the machine has been so well looked after and
has worked hard in its life. It is in such good condition, so that’s
brilliant it has a new home!!
Here is the uplifting message I
received from the donor on the day
Anne Marie collected the mixer: “I
glimpsed her as I saw her take the
‘gift’! How wonderful. It has sat in my
kitchen for some months and
yesterday for some unknown (now
known) reason I thought it is time to
pass it on as I was not going to be
using it. I am constantly in awe of
God’s timing and pray this lady is
blessed in her cooking. She will LOVE
it. Because of the timing being so perfect, with the gift of the scales
included, and Anne Marie being able to pick up and deliver – I’m so
grateful and amazed to be honest. It is sometimes difficult to see
God in these isolating times, but He is here, He is working His
purpose out in the tiny things. Maybe that is what He is teaching us
in this pandemic. Alleluia, Amen. Thank you and God Bless.”
Electoral Roll
Judy Cooke, our electoral roll officer reminds church members
that, if they are new or their contact details have changed, they
should fill in a form (which can be emailed to them) and return it
by email or drop it into the church office. You are considered to
be a member of the church even if you have only ever attended
services on line.
13SERVICE DETAILS
Services in March are only available online and are
listed below:
Wednesday 3rd 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Sunday 7 th
10.00 am Holy Communion online
Lent 3 Sight for a man born blind
Wednesday 10th 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Sunday 14th 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Mothering Sunday AWOL in the temple
Wednesday 17th 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Sunday 21st 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Lent 5 A whale of a time with
Jonah
Wednesday 24th 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Sunday 28th 10.00 am Holy Communion online
Palm Sunday The arrival of the King
Every Tuesday and Thursday online at 7.00 pm: Breathing
Space; a time of quiet letting go and opening to God.
See website for updates to Services.
Due to Coronavirus, the Church Office is not open to the public.
Prayers for the sick: David Nunn, Gail Copping, Red Kouiden,
Colin Perkin, Ruth Spurgeon, Sam Perry, Graham Coles and Aileen
Bond.
Deceased: Dennis Peaty.
Crossword answers.
ACROSS: 1, Planet. 4, Rugged. 7, True. 8, Augustus. 9, Attitude.
13, Bed. 16, Participation. 17, War. 19, Hillside. 24, Baldhead. 25,
Bede. 26, Census. 27, Arisen.
DOWN: 1, Path. 2, Adulterer. 3, Tract. 4, Rigid. 5, Gust. 6, Exude.
10, Irish. 11, Uriel. 12, Esau’s. 13, Blindness. 14, Deny. 15, Spew.
18, Awake. 20, Ideas. 21, Lydia. 22, Odes. 23, Lean.
1415
An Update on the Leamington Night Shelter
From Margaret Moore, co-founder and trustee
Since the pandemic began last March we have not been able to open
because it was unsafe for clients. However we were pleased that 57
rough sleepers were put into accommodation instantly during the
month of March 2020.
We were aware that the other groups - Helping Hands, LWS Night
Shelter and the Way Ahead Project - have been operating tirelessly
since then to help the people who came to us when we could open.
As many of our volunteers were over 70 years, it seemed the only
way to help for now was indirectly. This has taken the form of giving
funding regularly to these organisations since June 2020. Other help
given was funding for passports and travel expenses to London and
Manchester. We also bought eight portable radios for clients at
William Wallsgrove House.
Over the Christmas period we provided 89 Christmas Hampers which were
distributed to places where people are now staying and also given directly
to the LWS Night Shelter to be given away over the Christmas period.
Funding for heating accommodation over the Christmas period was also
given where needed. Food Bank forms too have been given out upon
request.
We recently began a new project of temporarily washing clothes for clients
who have no access to a washing machine. While this was being carried
out we heard of a quote, said by one of our clients.
“Without the Leamington Night Shelter I wouldn’t have survived,
they gave me funds to get a mobile phone and helped me with
getting my passport. Their kindness and humanity towards people
who have no recourse to public funding has been incredible, they
have stepped up and provided a lifeline for people that have
nothing”.
A support worker has said:
“You have made a massive difference in the lives of people l work
with and I thank you from the bottom of my heart”.
We are also thankful to the Radford Road Church who have kindly given us
the use of their premises over the last 11 years. We hope that the time our
clients spent with us over this time will stand them in good stead now they
are into some more settled accommodation. At the present time we will
continue to help others as mentioned above.
16Graham Cooper, honorary secretary of Lillington
Local History Society, has submitted this article.
We are all very aware that we are living through a major historic
event - the Covid19 pandemic. In years to come, future historians
will have all the official documents they need to write the formal
history of the times. It is equally important that there is a record of
how the ordinary people coped, how their lives changed, what they
endured or came to appreciate even more than before, to which you
are invited to contribute.
Lillington Local History Society is
aiming to record History in the Making It is equally important that
by producing a written record of the there is a record of how
impact on us in Lillington before we
the ordinary people coped,
forget. Short written ‘snapshots’ of 50-
how their lives changed.
100 words; queuing in the rain outside
Quigley's butchers, how neighbours
came together, the empty shops in town, working from the kitchen
table as a schoolroom, grandchildren missing their friends, the
successful mastery of Zoom, etc etc. The positives and the negatives.
The pieces need not be long. Nothing is too ordinary, as it is
important to understanding how we got through it and how we felt.
Please write more than one contribution if you want, and encourage
Lillington neighbours and friends to add their thoughts and memories
as well.
The Society considers it is important to include the younger members
of our community. So encourage older children and students to write
a few lines, or write down what a younger child tells you. The
document will come to life with illustrations, photographs and
drawings. Please offer these if you can. The pieces will fit together
like a jigsaw puzzle and make a single picture "Lillington in
Lockdown".
Contributions can be e-mailed to the Society's Honorary Treasurer,
Chris Rhodes, at chriscdmrhodes@aol.com or paper versions dropped
off at 15 Vicarage Road. They can be anonymous, or you can include
your initials or name. Photographs should not include recognisable
images of actual people.
Contributions should be submitted by February 27th and they will be
brought together as a booklet similar to the recent well-received
Christmastide Challenge Responses publication.
17John and
Christine Nutt
have written this
tribute to Ken
Bassett who died
in January.
Ken and his wife
Phyllis were for many
years regular
attenders at the 9.30
Communion Service
until, in recent years,
Ken found it
impossible to get from
their home in Telford
Avenue to the church.
He has continued to
have regular home
communions which he
greatly appreciated.
He was the chief accountant in the Engineers’ Department at
Warwickshire County Council and when St Mary Magdalene's PCC
treasurer, Ivan Preston retired from the post in the 1980s, Ken took
it on and held the post until June 1996. He was known as an efficient
and cautious guardian of the church's finances.
After Rev Don Philpott retired in 1992 there was an interregnum of
well over a year when the Vicarage stood empty. Shortly before Rev
Tim Boyns and his family were due to move in, the diocesan
authority decided to have the place rewired. When the work was
finished one week was left to redecorate. Ken raised a working party
of volunteers and co-ordinated their efforts to complete the job in
time.
Ken was a keen gardener and for many years tended the churchyard,
mowing the grass and keeping the paths weed free. He was also to
be seen cleaning the church and Octagon gutters along with John
Green.
So we have lost a dedicated and hardworking member of the church.
It is appropriate to say “R.I.P. Ken”.
18POETRY CORNER
The painting by Thomas Baker, which you can see on
page 4, inspired Graham Cooper to pen the following
words.
When I went up to Lillington
I saw the green Church Lane,
A sylvan road beneath its trees
In snow, in sun and rain.
In later years there came about
Some buildings stark and plain
Of blocks or squares like Rubik's Cubes
Unlike that rural country lane.
And in between the generations came
As men and women now and late
Made Lillington a rural base
But now a housing estate.
JESUS by Sam Doubtfire
If I could package faith into one parcel
And collect all hope into a single can –
If I could roll all love into one heart-ball
And commoditise it in a living man
I’d already have a fully detailed label
Prepared before the world itself began –
And it would have one name –
And that name – JESUS –
At the centre of God’s universal plan
To take the world along the course
God’s surge of love provoked
Till wholeness flows through everything
With God’s Spirit of life unyoked.
Mothering Sunday is on 14th March
19Blue Plaques in Lillington
Jeff Burgess has been tracking
down local heroes.
We have two blue plaques in
Lillington, the first of which is on
Eden Place Nursing Home opposite
the vicarage. It is to commemorate
Squadron Leader Henry Eric
Maudslay, DFC, Dambuster Pilot.
Henry was familiarly known as Eric.
His father founded the Maudslay and the Standard motor companies
in Coventry. When Eric was four year’s old, the family moved to
Sherbourne and, a few year’s later, to Fox Hill Manor near Broadway.
Eric won his Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941 for “outstanding
determination” in attacking shipping off the Frisian Islands when the
cloud was down to 300 feet. He was 20 years old.
Under Commander Guy Gibson he piloted his Lancaster Bomber
towards the Rohr Valley on the night of May 16th 1942. His bouncing
bomb was release fractionally on the wrong line and fell into the Eder
Dam parapet. The Lancaster was caught in the blast and severely
damaged. Anti-aircraft flak finished it off as it approached the Rhine.
There were no survivors.
Of 133 airmen who took part in the Dambuster raid, 53 died. Eric had
flown 46 sorties and his planes had been hit five times. The Times
obituary included these words. “He was always the same, at his
mother’s lovely home in The Cotswolds, with a crowd of Eton friends,
or walking in the countryside with a single companion, courteous,
loyal, sincere. With his many friends and admirers, old and young
alike, his memory will never die. It will be an ever fresh inspiration to
aim at the highest and best in life”.
And our second local hero is
Herbert Edward Cox who lived
at 7 Manor Road.
Herbert moved to Lillington with his
wife, Margaret, around 1913. Their
daughter, Cynthia, was born there in
March of that year. Herbert was a
painting master at Coventry Technical
Institute.
20He had an
exhibition of his
work at
Leamington Art
Gallery and
Museum in
1922. Seventy
of his paintings
were purchased
in 1930 by a
benefactor, one
David Cooke,
and donated to
Coventry City
Lillington Church by Herbert Cox Council. They
can be seen at
The Camera Principis (Coventry Council House). A few of his works
are in the Leamington Art Gallery collection.
He tended towards an idealised style of representing his subject. He
omitted cars and trams from many of his paintings of urban Coventry
and substituted sheep and cattle being herded through the streets.
Margaret, his wife, published a monthly magazine for children called
“The Bluebird” as well as other publications which she wrote and
illustrated.
Both Herbert and Margaret are buried in our churchyard.
Is this the last Crosstalk?
Jeff Burgess has produced his last edition.
It would be great for someone to take over who has
ideas for a better & brighter magazine which will meet
the communication needs of the church in this multi-
media age.
If you think this could be you, please speak to Jeff or a
member of the church leadership team.
Save our Crosstalk!
21A DIFFICULT YEAR
It has been a difficult and unforgettable twelve months. There has been much
heartache but also great acts of kindness and heroism. The Parish Church has
stood at the heart of the community for 1,000 years and borne witness to many
trials and tribulations. The current pandemic will end and when it does, the bells
will ring again with joy and celebration.
EASTER 2021
This year the journey to Easter and New Life coincides with the roll out of the
vaccine and the journey out of lockdown. We continue to travel carefully but
with hope and joy at the prospect of greater freedoms and reunion with loved
ones.
We would like to invite you to join us as we mark the 40 days of Lent with
installations in the church yard - open to all. A new marker will appear every
day beginning with Ash Wednesday on 17th February. Seven “Sunday markers”
will be interactive. Mothering Sunday, for instance, will be an opportunity to give
thanks for mums and perhaps leave pictures of loved ones. Other markers will
just be reminders of all we have to look forward to.
We have come a long way as a community
so, if you have a moment, come and visit
the churchyard. It is a place of great beauty
and peace but also of hope as we move
towards new life.
Follow us on Facebook
and see our website for up-dates and information.
2223
JUNIOR CROSSTALK 24
25
JEFF’S JOTTINGS
You will see fewer adverts in this edition.
We are very grateful for support from
Conway Ceramics, Karen Harrison, Phil
Edwards, Connaught House Dental Surgery
and Tom Coles. Some have been with us
for many years but, with Covid financial
strictures, it is easy to see why they have
withdrawn. We thank them for their
support in the past and would welcome
them back when things are more normal. Thanks to Austin Heath
Retirement Homes who will advertise with us for six months.
My thanks to Roderick Clark and Gaynor Cook for telling us what it
means to be a Love Lillington volunteer. I’m delighted to include Les
Markham’s piece on our choir in the 1960’s. It reminded me of my
time as a choirboy in the 1950’s. Christine Butler has provided a
heart-warming article on the gift of a cake mixer and John and
Christine Nutt provided the obituary for Ken Bassett. And who knew
that Graham Cooper is a poet? My thanks to them all.
I’m aware that our printing of obituaries is very hit-and-miss. Unless
I happen to hear of the death of a church member and can find
someone who knew them to write a few words, they will not get a
mention. The passing of many people who have given great service
to the church goes unmarked. That is a shame and something for the
new editor to ponder.
I’ve greatly enjoyed being editor since October 2017. A final thank
you to those involved in printing and distributing the magazine. I
hope that it goes from strength to strength.
Goodbye,
Jeff Burgess.
26Pets, Octotots and Film Club represented in the churchyard
It was good to catch up with friends at the virtual
Coffee Morning on Saturday 13th FebruaryCONTACTS
Church Office Wendy Driscoll .................................. 470449
office@lillingtonparishchurch.org
Vicar Rev William Smith .............................. 316475
Associate Ministers Rev Rosemary Pantling ....................... 316597
Rev Sue Fairhurst ............................. 735254
Readers Roderick Clark .................................. 422994
Len Dixon ………………………………………………
Churchwardens Maureen Reynolds ............................. 831005
Carol Innes ...................................... 831649
PCC Secretary Bob Cooke 315890
pccsecretary@lillingtonparishchurch.org
PCC Treasurer Sam Meacock
treasurer.lillingtonstmm@gmail.com
Gift Aid Secretary John Butler ...................................... 779455
Director of Music Rachael Jefferies, 075870
rachaeljefferies93@googlemail.com 69789
Organist Mike King ........................................ 409062
Bell Ringers Barbara Howes 07973
barohowes@gmail,com 199692
Servers Marc Gadsby ....................................
Flower Guild Wendy Shear ................................... 330825
Octagon Bookings Church Office 470449
Safeguarding Abi Dixon ……………………………………………… 077759
Officers abi.dixon77@gmail.com 02332
Sunday Club Church Office ................................... 470449
Walkers Group Bob Cooke walkers@lillingtonparishchurch.org .... 315890
Website Manager Diana Taulbut ................................... 450977
webmaster@lillingtonparishchurch.org
Crosstalk Editor Vacancy
Crosstalk Jeff Arnold ....................................... 632330
Distribution
Guides Diana Flower 289124
3rdLeamingtonguides@gmail.com ........
Brownies Bryony Smith 07928
3rdleamingtonbrownies@gmail.com 499975
Parish website: www.lillingtonparishchurch.org
Inner pages are printed on 100%
recycled paperYou can also read
