New Life March 2022 The Monthly Magazine for the Parishes of St Mary the Virgin, Fen Ditton
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
New Life
The Monthly
Magazine for the
Parishes of
St Mary the Virgin,
Fen Ditton,
St Peter, Horningsea
and
All Saints, Teversham
March 2022
St Mary the Virgin
St Peter
All Saints
50p
The Parishes of St Mary the Virgin, Fen Ditton,
St Peter, Horningsea and All Saints, Teversham
For all Parish enquiries:
either telephone 07434 640992
or e-mail parishesthree@gmail.com
Assistant Priests
Rev’d Canon Ben Quash email: ben.quash@kcl.ac.uk
Rev’d Pam Thorn (864262) email pamandtrevorthorn@btinternet.com
Lay Minister
Trevor Thorn (864262)
Churchwardens
Fen Ditton: Jacky Ambrose (513206)
Sue Buttery (294811)
Horningsea: Jennie Pratt (864513)
Teversham: David Taylor (880424)
For Baptisms, marriages, Banns, Funerals etc.
please contact the churchwardens or for Fen Ditton
email: parishesthree@gmail.com
Material intended for publication in New Life should be with
the editor by the 15th of each month.
Editor: Kerry Sayer
email: newlife.editor@gmail.com
2
March 2022 Contents
Page
4 A Season of Bliss
5 Horningsea Horticultural Show AGM
7 Our Parishes
When the King died
8 New Cambridge Singers concert
Real Easter eggs
9 Horningsea church joins the internet?
Preliminary Plans for the Platinum Jubilee
10 Fen Ditton 200 Club
Sewage Works Relocation—Phase 3 Consultation
11 One-off Choristers needed!
Illustrated article about Honey Hill
Scottish Dancing
14 Fen Ditton Gardening Club
17 Ancient Shepherds’ Book Club
Who, When and Where?
18 Mothering Sunday in Horningsea
Welsh Cake Recipe for St. David’s Day 1 March
19 Seville marmalade recipe
22 A brief history of Biggin—Part 2
23 Sunday, 5th June
24 Mouse Makes
26 Janice Margaret Godfrey M.B.E 1935—2022
28 A Christmas-Tide Tale
32 Church services
3
A Season of Bliss Ben Quash
I have written about the poet Edward Thomas in New Life before (he is
one of my favourites!), telling us of the value of ‘keeping old paths
open’.
Today, feeling the sharp nip of February, and remembering that March,
when you will be reading this, can be pretty cold too, I find myself go-
ing back to Thomas’s poem The Manor Farm. It is an evocation of the
enchanting transition from winter to spring.
The rock-like mud unfroze a little and rills
Ran and sparkled down each side of the road
Under the catkins wagging in the hedge.
Earth still clings on to her sleep, as we do when we put the alarm clock
on snooze in bed for just a little bit longer before the day forces us to
be up and about. But Thomas finds himself looking at an ancient
church and an ancient yew tree, as they ‘[entertain] the mid-day sun’,
and writes:
The Winter’s cheek flushed as if he had drained
Spring, Summer, and Autumn at a draught
And smiled quietly.
All the warm potential of the seasons to come is contained in Winter’s
‘insides’, traceable in the flush of its cheek and the quiet smile on its
face. In the same way, all the life of the year ahead is building in the
buds of plants and trees.
This is a season in which we humans often also find ourselves in tran-
sition. We may begin to feel the stirring of new life, and new possibili-
ties inside and around us. That feeling may well be especially alive in
this spring of 2022 as life resumes many of its more natural and joyous
patterns after two oppressive years. Here in our three parishes, we may
feel it embodied in the excitement of receiving the ministry of a new
priest-in-charge, soon to be among us.
Last week, two classes from Fen Ditton Primary School came to visit
St Mary the Virgin for an hour each. It was the first school trip any of
them had had in two years. Their teacher told me that some of them
4
had been so excited that they hadn’t been able to sleep the night before
(I hope the visit lived up to their high expectations!). It was a joy to
have dozens of young people roaming all over the building, making
discoveries, asking questions, and reconnecting with the life of the
place – just as Edward Thomas did in his own way when he came upon
the ancient church he describes in his poem, and found it opening some
of its ancient secrets to him. Fen Ditton’s church was able to play a
part in the awakening of these children from their long ‘winter’ of
Covid restrictions to the ‘spring’ of new adventure.
For Christians, Lent is a time of awakening, in which we are encour-
aged to sense the warmth of what is coming at Easter ‘growing in our
insides’, beginning to bring a flush to our cheeks and a smile to our
faces. It is a transitional period, poised between seasons. In the past, it
was often a time of pilgrimages, as the opening of Chaucer’s The Can-
terbury Tales reminds us.
This year, Lent might be a time in which we pay special attention to,
and give special thanks for, our own transition into a new state, as the
‘rock-like mud unfreezes’ around us.
At the end of his poem Edward Thomas comes to the realisation that in
this intense moment (in which all seasons are somehow present at
once, awaiting their fruition) he is encountering something that is ‘not
Winter’ at all. He is tasting what he calls ‘a season of bliss unchangea-
ble’.
Just so, Lent is misunderstood if it is thought of as a grim time. It is a
time in which the warm glow of hope and joy should gradually spread
throughout the bodies of both individuals and communities. It is a time
of renewal. It is Easter in the bud.
But whether you are Lenten observers or not, may this March be for all
of you, in one way or another, a season of bliss.
Horningsea Horticultural Show AGM
The date this year is Monday 21st March 2022 at 7.30pm in the Vil-
lage Hall.
All welcome.
5
6
Our Parishes
If you would like to discuss baptism or thanksgiving for the birth of a
child, the reading of marriage banns and weddings, or arrangements
for a funeral at any of our churches, please contact the relevant
churchwardens using the contact details on the inside front cover of
this magazine.
WHEN THE KING DIED Mim Garner
When the King died on February 6th 1952 I had just had my 6th birth-
day. I remember the shock at the news of his unexpected death. My
parents had a great regard for the King who in wartime Britain had de-
fied advice to move to relative safety away from London. He had
stayed to commiserate with and encourage those who had faced dread-
ful scenes of destruction and loss of life in London and across the
country. Because of his known effect on morale Buckingham Palace
was bombed. He was a loved and respected monarch as the sad photo-
graphs on our newspaper showed.
At Brunswick Infants School where I was a pupil at mid-morning we
were led into the Hall. I remember being told to be very still and quiet
and to listen hard because at 11 o’clock all the cars on Newmarket
Road would stop for two minutes to remember the King who had died.
My father’s fellow allotment holder and friend was an engine driver
and had been chosen to drive the train that was to carry the King’s
body from Sandringham where he had died to King’s Cross. On Febru-
ary 11th the train bearing the King’s body left Wolferton Station, near
Sandringham. As a family we joined others on Barnwell Bridge to wait
for the Royal train to pass by. It slowed as it came closer, seeing peo-
ple lined there to pay their respects to their much-loved monarch. I
seem to remember that there was some black drapery on the engine.
After the King’s funeral, our new Queen began her reign, guided
amongst others by Winston Churchill. There must have been so much
to learn and adjust to. Also in the year following her accession there
was a disastrous flood at Lynmouth in Devon and in early1953 devas-
tating floods on the North Sea coast of Norfolk. Plans for the celebra-
tions for the Queen’s Coronation in June 1953 were a welcome source
of optimism and the beginning of a new Elizabethan Age.
7
New Cambridge Singers concert
On Sunday 20th March, 7.30pm, New Cambridge Singers, one of
Cambridge’s leading chamber choirs, will be presenting two con-
trasting masterpieces for their Lenten concert in St Mary’s, Fen Ditton.
Swiss composer Frank Martin’s epic Mass for Double Choir is one of
the greatest choral works of the twentieth century, soulful, energetic,
rhythmic and achingly powerful by turns. Written in the 1920s, Martin
kept the manuscript in a drawer for some forty years because, as he
said, “I did not want it to be performed...I considered it as being a mat-
ter between God and myself. I felt then that an expression of religious
feeling should remain secret and removed from public opinion.”
He perhaps also felt that his efforts would seem presumptuous beside
the genius of Bach, whose St Matthew Passion he had heard as a ten
year old. This had affected him profoundly and set him on the path as
a musician. He was eventually persuaded by friends to release the
Mass, which was published and performed for the first time in 1963.
Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater is a moving and profoundly human
picture of a grieving mother. It was composed in the final weeks of his
life, before his death from tuberculosis at the age of twenty six. It will
be performed for women’s voices, accompanied by organ.
Tickets £12 (under 18s free). Barry & Sue Eady are happy to take
bookings for the concert on 01223 242226 or tickets will be on sale at
The Kings Head, Fen Ditton. Any enquiries: Frank Hopkirk: 01223
861161
Real Easter Eggs
Once again, these lovely chocolate eggs with the Easter story booklet
are not available in the supermarkets, but Jennie Pratt has ordered
some milk and some plain for the 3 parishes. Not only are they really
good chocolate and palm oil etc free, they are a great way of getting
the real story of Easter to family and friends who may not even know
it. If you would like one, please let Jennie know – they are £5 each,
first come first served. Any left over will go to the Food Bank.
If you all want them, there is still time to order some more or to spon-
sor a pack of 6 for the Food Bank.
8
Horningsea church joins the internet?
We are grateful to Chris Lindley and the Harrison family for their crea-
tivity in dragging internet into the church whenever we need to broad-
cast by Zoom, but hopefully not for much longer.
Fingers crossed that ultrafast broadband is coming to Horningsea
church this summer. Thanks to the efforts of Robert Balm of our Parish
Council, Cambridge Fibre will be bringing fibre to the premises (FTP)
at speeds of up to 935 Mbps (compared with 30—50 Mbps via BT’s
copper cables).
Lots of Horningsea households are signing up under the DCMS Vouch-
er scheme. For the moment DCMS are scratching their heads over the
church, although Jonathon Cross of CF is on the case.
There is still time to sign up online at cambridgefibre.uk/residential-full
-fibre-broadband/ Andy Clarke
Preliminary Plans for the Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday
in Horningsea
The Church and the Horningsea Residents Association have put their
heads together to start planning events for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th June.
A rough outline is:
Thursday 2nd: Lighting the Beacon in Laney Meadow as part of the
National Chain of Beacons
Friday 3rd: Exhibition in the Church: Photos, stories, memorabilia of
Royal Connections, Royal Visits, visits to Buckingham Palace, memo-
ries of the coronation, the Silver, Golden & Diamond Jubilees. Village
Concert in the church … if you can play an instrument, sing, recite a
poem … look out something suitable and start practising!
Saturday 4th: barbecue, live streaming of concert from Buckingham
Palace, dancing … in Church End Field
Sunday 5th: Jubilee Service in the Church; Village lunch and games in
Church End Field; design and make a pudding competition
At some point during the weekend the church bells will ring as part of
the National Bell Ringing, also Jubilee Windows—decorate your win-
dows for the jubilee, design a flag … and other ideas may emerge!
9
FEN DITTON 200 CLUB
The lucky winners for March
were:
£50 Jackie Ambrose (135)
£20 Chris Helliar (163)
£10 Jackie Ambrose (151)
£10 Barry Eady (182)
£10 Dorothy Smith (149)
Sewage Works Relocation – Phase 3 Consultation
Anglian Water have released the start date for the Consultation which is
24th February and it will run for 8 weeks. This Consultation is really key
– this time it is not just Anglian Water involved but also the Planning
Inspectorate. It focusses on mitigation and in case the relocation does go
ahead it is vital that everyone contributes. The Planning Inspectorate
need to know what we object to and why, and if there is anything we
think should be done about it. The Save Honey Hill Group expect to be
putting together material to help, which would be available later in the
consultation, but first everyone needs to see and read what Anglian Wa-
ter are saying. They will be posting their information and it will be
online, but in case you don’t get it in the post or have access to the inter-
net please come to Horningsea Church and pick up a copy set. These
should have arrived by the start of the consultation.
As the builders are now working in Horningsea Church porch, we can’t
leave the information there but on Sundays the Church is open from 11 –
3 and the material will be inside in the North aisle. As soon as the build-
ers finish – expected to be the end of March – we will put the infor-
mation back in the porch so you can pick it up on any day. If none of this
works for you please contact Jennie Pratt who will arrange a copy.
10ONE-OFF CHORISTERS NEEDED!
We are assembling a special scratch choir to sing at the licensing of
Canon Nick Moir, our new priest-in-charge, on 7th April. We hope to
combine voices old and new, from our existing choir, but also from
the pool of talent we know is out there in all three parishes! If you
would like to sing on this special occasion (with no longer-term com-
mitment entailed) it would be lovely to hear from you. There will be a
couple of rehearsals nearer the time. Please drop a note to Jonathan
Giles (jonathan.giles4@yahoo.com) or to Ben (ben.quash@kcl.ac.uk).
Thank you!
Illustrated article about Honey Hill
Liz Cotton, one of the Save Honey Hill group, has recorded a truly
lovely interview with a travel writer, Phoebe Taplin. You may know
her book on Country Walks Around Cambridge? If you can access the
internet do follow up the link below – or get a friend to look at it with
you and spread far and wide the joys of Honey Hill!
https://www.savehoneyhill.org/interview-phoebe-taplin/
SCOTTISH DANCING
Scottish Dancing takes places in Fen Ditton Village Hall on Mondays
at 7.15—8.15pm.
Individuals or couples welcome / Beginners / Enjoyable sessions.
Learning some reels is the object of the exercise in these classes.
A lot of progress has been made by all the dancers, however new re-
cruits are also always welcome.
However, there will be no classes on the following dates:
7th March
28th March
Please contact Pamela on 01223 292493 for any further details about
Scottish Dancing.
1112
13
FEN DITTON GARDENING CLUB
It was a damp February evening when the Gardening Club came together
to listen to Andrew Sankey’s illustrated talk on ‘A Brief History of the
English Garden’. Andrew is a Garden Designer, Lecturer and now an au-
thor. His lockdown project ended with the publication of a beautifully
illustrated book on The English Cottage Garden.
Starting his lecture by pointing out that the English garden is highly re-
garded around the world as the greatest art, Andrew went on to say some-
thing we don’t always appreciate—we have the ideal growing conditions
in terms of climate and soil and so can include plants from all over the
world. He then took us through a tour of gardens from medieval to pre-
sent day, how they have changed with time and some of the pressures
which resulted in these changes.
In medieval times, there were three types of garden, each serving a partic-
ular purpose. The first, the Monastery garden, was a physic garden which
would be well tended by monks and paid labourers. It was a time of a cli-
mate warm spell when grapes could be grown as far north as York. The
herbs were grown in raised beds just three feet wide so that the earth was
not trampled and many helpful innovations such as ladders, gardening
gloves and wheelbarrows were introduced.
The second was the castle garden, overseen by the ladies to provide relax-
ation and enjoyment. Inside a curtain wall would be a flowery mead –
grass with daisies and maybe a green couch and a pot plant.
The third was the peasant’s garden which had an emphasis on growing
cabbage, kale, leeks and onions in raised beds. Round the door would be
strewing herbs – plants to be strewn on the ground to combat mice and
insect pests – but no flowers.
Then came Henry VIII and Tudor gardens. The Monasteries had been
dissolved but Henry loved gardens and so developed the garden at Hamp-
ton Court with 54 royal gardeners. Imported from the continent was the
knot garden, with herb edges to begin with but then defined by box hedg-
es by the end of the Elizabethan reign. Under Henry’s reign, pleached
trees and orchards were cultivated, many of the latter in Kent.
During the Elizabethan reign, London was expanding and many new
plants were being introduced. Originally gardens were based on herbs but
now there came change with roses, hops, beetroot and tulips. A garden
design team, George London and Henry Wise, managed the Brompton
Park Nursery, supplying thousands of trees and plants; these two were
responsible for importing the parterre to Bushey Park and Chatsworth
amongst others. The parterre was a formal design defined by box hedges
with the spaces filled with flowers, coloured gravel, fountains or other
statuesque features.
14In the late 17th century, William and Mary ascended the throne and Mary
brought with her the Dutch garden, surrounding a canal, as well as many
tender plants. Later Queen Anne introduced the orangery – a place to look
after tender plants. As the 18th century progressed, so did the landscape
movement, calling for nature’s return. This was the time of the Grand
Tour and the ideas imported involved trees and views, temples and follies
as well as the haha.
As the 18th century progressed further, Capability Brown swept away
flowers and follies to create vistas with water, grass and trees. The rigid
lines gave way to the picturesque which can be seen at Blenheim Palace
and Repton as well as Madingley Hall. It was the craze for plant collect-
ing in the 19th century that swept away the landscaped garden and intro-
duced more formal planting arrangements again with bedding plants and
the need for glass houses as at Regent’s Park.
By the 1960s, the population had changed and the emergence of many
Sunday gardeners gave rise to the Garden Centre and now gardens, no
matter how small, contained forsythia and ribes. For the next twenty
years, swings and sheds, ponds and rockeries were garden features and
then came decking and now we have a front garden which is a car park
and pots, grass and bamboo in the back garden. Throughout all the chang-
es, there has been topiary with its meticulously maintained form and great
popularity. What next – the roof garden?
It was a fascinating tour through the history with many well-chosen slides
to illustrate the changes.
The meeting on Tuesday, 15th March will be held in Fen Ditton Village
Hall at 7.30pm and the speaker will be Peter Walker who will give his
talk on ‘Wild Flowers and Their Habitats in Cambridgeshire’. Again, this
talk is open to everyone and visitors will pay £2 per head.
On Tuesday, 19th April, Barry Gayton will give his talk on ‘Winter Gar-
den Colour’. One does not have to live in Fen Ditton to be a member.
The Annual Plant Sale will be taking place at the Fen Ditton Village Hall
on Saturday, 14th May between 10.00am and 12 noon. This Sale takes the
form of a Bring and Buy Sale when everyone brings plants, gardening
equipment, seeds, pots or anything to do with gardening after 9.30am and
then buys anything they would like.
The Village Garden Show is taking place on Saturday, 10th September at
the Village Hall, Fen Ditton. Show schedules plan to be delivered to eve-
ry household in Fen Ditton in mid March. Any extra schedules which are
required can be obtained later.
For all enquiries about the Gardening Club, please contact Pamela on
01223 292493.
1516
Ancient Shepherds’ Book Club
Please contact Carol on 01223 292808
or via carol_e_parker@yahoo.co.uk
for the meeting location.
Wed, 2nd March, 7.30pm, ‘Shall We Stay or Should We Go’ by Li-
onel Shriver
Wed, 6th April, 7.30pm, ‘Mayflies’ by Andrew O’Hagan
Who, When and Where?
Congratulations if you guessed correctly last month’s picture; it
showed Shirley O’Brian at Fen Ditton church in March 1966!
Below is another photo—get guessing!
17Mothering Sunday in Horningsea Sunday 27 March @
10.30am NB The clocks change today!!
Depending on the weather we might hold the Mothering Sunday ser-
vice in the churchyard…. If so wrap up warm! Help will be needed on
the Saturday to prepare posies of flowers to distribute.
Contact Liz Harrison if you are able to help. We hope that families of
all ages, shapes and sizes will come along to the service so we can
give thanks for mothers all over the world. After the service we plan to
plant a tree in the church yard as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Green Canopy. No firm decision has been made but we hope to plant a
native fruiting tree in the hedge.
If you have an idea as to what would be suitable let one of the Church
Wardens know.
Welsh Cake Recipe for St David’s Day 1 March
1lb self raising flour
1/2 lb currants
1/2 lb margarine
1/2 lb granulated sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 egg
milk
Sieve flour & mixed spice together. Rub in margarine until mixture
resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in fruit & sugar. Beat the egg, add to the mixture with just enough
milk to make a firm dough.
Roll out to 1/4—1/2 inch thick. Use cutter to cut out the Welsh cakes.
Cook on a hot griddle/bake stone/heavy based frying pan. Turn over to
cook both sides. Eat!
18Seville marmalade recipe
I always find it really satisfying to enjoy things in season, so I particu-
larly like the idea that Seville oranges are only available in January
and early February, and if you don’t make your marmalade then,
you’ve missed the bus for a year. At least in theory – I never actually
made marmalade until lockdown. I think I was put off by tales of the
major production effort this used to be for my grandparents in Scot-
land. Then I finally tried this recipe (from an NT book I inherited) and
was amazed that it wasn’t difficult and produced a convincing result. I
hope it works for you too.
2 lbs Seville oranges 4 pints water
1 sweet orange 4 lbs granulated sugar
1 lemon
Cut all the fruits in half, removing all the pips and put to one side.
Shred the fruit fairly finely including the pith.
Steep the reserved pips in a small basin with a pint of the water.
Put the shredded fruit in a large bowl and pour in the remaining water.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the fruit to stand over-
night.
Put the fruit and its water in a large pan and bring them to the boil for
about two hours or until the peel is tender.
Then strain the water from the pips into the pan of fruit and tie the pips
in a piece of muslin.
Add the muslin bag to the pan and gradually stir in the warm sugar.
Heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved then increase the
heat and bring the mixture back to the boil.
Boil rapidly, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for about 10 to 15
minutes or until setting point is reached.
Add a small knob of butter to clear any scum and leave to stand for
about 10 minutes.
Stir then pot and cover in the usual way. Jennie Pratt
1920
21
A brief history of Biggin – continued from last month
We finished part 1 with Biggin being given by Bishop Heton (1600—
1609) to Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1605 the Crown sold Biggin to Thomas Willys and it remained in
the Willys family until Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
bought the estate in the 1730s.
In 1768 Reverend William Cole, then vicar of Milton, came over to
Biggin and drew one of his characteristic two dimensional sketches.
“Having a desire to see an House in which the ancient Bishops often
resided with great Hospitality and from whence many of their Instru-
ments in their registers are dated I went on July 29 1768 with Dr
Gooch, in his coach, to look at the old decayed Manor, or Palace of
Biggin, formerly belonging to the Bishops of Ely and now the estate of
Mr Panton of Newmarket. It is seated on the Bank of the Cam, in a
very low and moist situation, just between the parish churches of Dit-
ton and Horningsey. There is no painted glass in any of the windows,
nor could I discover any old Arms in the stonework, which is much
going to decay. It is now in the occupation of one Mr Woollard, a
farmer. The Distance from the River is about a furlong, all marshy
ground; but the House itself is on a little elevation not liable to be
drowned, as is all the ground from it to the bank. Must have been a
cold damp situation for the Winter”!
The farming story of Biggin continues to this day. On 26th May 1906
it was sold at auction by Messrs Carter Jonas at the Lion Hotel in
Cambridge. The sales particulars describe it as:
“The Old XVth Century Building of Biggin Abbey with Farm Home-
stead and rich old pasture lands containing about 87 acres, partly in
Horningsea parish and partly in Fen Ditton parish. The Abbey is
clunch, part brick and tiled. It is divided and let as two tenements in
the occupation of Beaumont and Adams. The adjoining buildings are
used as henhouses, piggeries, looseboxes, cowsheds, carthorse stable,
barns and cartsheds. There is a good orchard at the back of the Abbey
and a stackyard. The nearest neighbour is the “Pike and Eel” public
house at Baits Bite lock. The Abbey could be converted into a charm-
ing Country Residence and is surrounded by park-like grass lands
prettily timbered – or it could be used as a Stud farm being most con-
veniently situated within a mile of the Cambridge to Newmarket road.
The adjacent lot of freehold grass land is suitable for the erection of a
Riverside Cottage or for the occupation of a Pleasure Garden.”
22In 2021, Michael Gingell stopped farming at Biggin and the farm re-
verted to the Quy Estate.
So, for more than 1000 years this land has been recognised as having
“more than usually abundant sweetness and exceptionally rich turf”.
For about 500 years this led to the occupants of the Biggin providing
the Bishops with two and then three horseloads of meal. By our calcu-
lation we owed the Bishop about 1350 horseloads of meal– I am sure
he was relieved that we did not propose to pay our debt in this way
Looking back, and using our imaginations we can see in this place, an
important part of the history of our communities. We were proud once
again to have been able to welcome the Bishop of Ely back to Biggin.
We presented the Bishop with a painting of the Biggin by Bill Parker
as a memorial of this historic visit.
References:
“Some notes of the Biggin, Fen Ditton” by D.V.M. Chadwick pub-
lished in PCAS 48 in 1955, with thanks to the Cambridge Antiquarian
Society
Reverend William Coles’s notes and sketch, used with permission of
the British Library
Notes of research into the visits of the Kings to Fen Ditton from 1224
– 1388 were collated by Ralph Snudden
Sales particulars from 1906 were loaned by Michael Gingell
Further information from An Inventory by the Royal Commission on
Historical Monuments North-East Cambridgeshire HMSO
Liber Eliensis, translated by Janet Fairweather. LJ Davies
SUNDAY, 5TH JUNE
It is hoped that there will be A Large Bring Your Own Picnic on the
Fen Ditton Recreation Ground on Sunday afternoon, 5th June for vil-
lage people and their families as a Thank You to people around us to
join in to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Further details will appear in the April edition of New Life.
2324
25
JANICE MARGARET GODFREY M.B.E. 1935—2022
It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our dear
friend Janice on Friday February 4th. She had suffered a number of
falls in the last months and became increasingly frail and less able to
cope on her own at home. The Covid Crisis with enforced isolation
due to her vulnerable status, made the situation harder to bear for her.
Friends and family members visited but Janice sorely missed her inde-
pendence and company. She enjoyed the Zoom Services arranged by
Rev. Pam and Trevor Thorn in which she was able to take part by
reading responses or lessons. She was pleased to see Pam when she
took her Holy Communion once a month.
Janice Godfrey née Gigney has been part of the life of the Church in
Fen Ditton all her life. Janice and her sister Denise have both told me
recently of their childhood Sunday morning routine. Janice walked
with younger sister, Denise, from their house in the Homing to attend
Matins at Church. It would have been about a 4 mile round trip for
two little girls including the pull up the railway bridge then between
where Fison Road now is and the Council houses in Ditton Lane. The
service with Venite, Te Deum, Psalm, hymns and sermon must have
been an endurance test for them. Obviously they enjoyed the singing
as Janice later joined the Choir where she has been a faithful member
until the last two years.
My memories of Janice go back over 60 years when along with my
younger sister I was taken to Matins on special Sunday mornings, like
Harvest Festival. Janice was a pretty girl in the choir wearing black
cassock, white surplice and neck tabs with a four-cornered black hat
fixed on the back of her head like the other choir girls. Looking
through old choir photographs Janice is almost always there in the
group. Her dry sense of humour meant that she would inevitably have
made a witty aside that would make the others laugh. When I joined
the Choir at age 16, Janice as a stalwart along with her great friend
Pauline Wilkinson, was a reassuring presence as the Choir sallied
forth to sing Evensong in Ely Cathedral when the Choirboys were on
holiday or when we took part in Choir Festivals there or when St.
Mary the Virgin Fen Ditton hosted the BBC Outside Broadcast team
when they televised the annual Oarsmen’s Service (twice!).
Janice’s contribution to Parish life was not only to the Choir. She was
an exceptionally efficient Secretary to the Parochial Church council
26for many years and served as Electoral Roll Secretary until 2013. She
was a faithful unofficial Assistant Treasurer for a very long time de-
positing Sunday collections and other monies at the Bank on Mondays.
Whatever, was going on at Church Janice was involved, quietly play-
ing a useful part.
Janice had many skills and must have been an able pupil at school for
on leaving she did secretarial work for an insurance company. Increas-
ing in experience and ability she eventually became Personal Assistant
to the Clerk of the Justices in the Law Courts. She was also Secretary
to the Magistrates Association for which service she was awarded the
M.B.E.
Janice’s personal life was at its happiest when she married Reg God-
frey on August 19th 1972. My sister and I sang in the choir for their
wedding which was a lovely occasion. Janice then had a ready-made
family of grown-up step-son, Alan and his wife Katherine and later
step-granddaughters Tamsin and Eleanor to add extra joy to her life.
She lived with Reg at Highsett, Hills Road but still faithfully attended
St. Mary’s on Sundays.
Embroidery was Janice’s great passion and she excelled at it. She was
a longstanding member of the Guild of St. Faith’s at Westminster Ab-
bey. She travelled to London every Thursday to join other members of
the Guild to repair all the coloured vestments, stoles, altar cloths and
pulpit falls of the Abbey. Through this regular service she met many
interesting people and made many friends.
After Reg died Janice had many holidays abroad with friends with all
kinds of adventures. She was a loyal friend and supported hers through
the thick and thin of their lives. After the Sunday morning service at
Fen Ditton she would drive to cook Sunday lunch for a disabled friend.
Janice was a true, faithful and lifelong member of the congregation at
St. Mary the Virgin, Fen Ditton and worked for its good in a variety of
roles, quietly giving her considered opinion. She supported all fund-
raising efforts while she could, adding her dry quips to whatever she
was engaged in. It was always fun to be with Janice. So at this sad time
of her passing, we thank God for her long life and the service, friend-
ship and joy she gave us.
May she rest in peace. Mim Garner
27A Christmas-Tide Tale Trevor Thorn
Those who were at the live service at Fen Ditton on Advent Sunday
may remember Pam’s challenge to the congregation to read the whole
of the Gospel of St Luke, one chapter a day, which would take the
reader through the whole life of Jesus, ending on Christmas Eve. I was
among those who felt this to be both an appropriate and manageable
task for the month of December, even though each week of that month
seems to be more and more crowded as we approach the glorious festi-
val of Christmas.
One of the aspects of this sort of exercise is that there is a good chance
that, even if the stories are to some degree familiar, there may be
something that emerges in the reading that feels more significant than
on earlier reads. Exactly that happened to me – and, I am grateful to
say – on just the second day of the month. In Luke, Chapter 2 verses
17 and 18 say:
When they saw this, they made known what had been told
them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed
at what the shepherds told them.
Those two verses struck me forcefully. Most of the carols about the
birth of Jesus, which are probably the way many of us grow to under-
stand the story, stop at the revelation of the baby. But here in just two
Bible verses, the shepherds are identified as the first to spread the story
of the birth of the Messiah, which they obviously did with enthusiasm.
That got me thinking and as many of you will know, I enjoy trying to
express ideas such as this in simple verse. This is what transpired.
[The Carol of The Good News: p29]
I was pleased with how this arose from the challenge, but I soon real-
ised it was one oral telling removed from the Shepherds’ experience. It
fitted the concept of the oral tradition spreading interesting news
around a community but it didn’t quite capture the likely thrill and ex-
uberance of the shepherds themselves. Whilst pondering this a further
idea began to emerge which eventually found shape in, if you like, a
complementary poem. [The Witness of The Shepherds: p29]
I hope you might find these poems help to think through the amazing
action of God in entrusting the story of his Son’s incarnation to a
group of uneducated, tough outsiders. The ramifications are, as would
be said today – mind-blowing!
If you enjoy these and have access to the web, you can find other po-
ems I have written at http://crossandcosmos.blogspot.com
2829
30
31
CHURCH SERVICES
Services for the parishes of Teversham, Horningsea and
Fen Ditton
All services commence at 10.30am unless indicated
2nd March Fen Ditton (19.00)
6th March Teversham
13th March Horningsea
20th March Fen Ditton
27th March Teversham
27th March Horningsea
27th March Fen Ditton
32You can also read
