KAREN CARMAN
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the sudden death of Karen, which has been a great shock to us all. Inher own quiet way, Karen was an integral part of the village. She was wonderfully artistic and creative, whether it was her contribution to the village bunting, portraying the little scarecrow and several dogs in the village(including her own, Barty), her skiing scarecrow in 2020 or her beautiful flower arrangements in church. She helped collect and deliver the Parish Magazine throughout the LWTV and was always ready to volunteer andhelp with village events. We will miss her very much and send our love and sympathy to her three sons – AJ, Bob and Sam.
CHURCH
The recent Quinquennial Report highlighted a large number of issues at St Peter’s and recommended a series of of urgent renovations, including re-roofing a section of the roof that has fallen into disrepair. Unfortunately, due to the combined impact of COV-19 on church collections, a significant reduction in charitable giving and the fact that we haven’t been able to rely on the income from the annual Harvest Supper or Village Fete, the current state of St Peter’s finances is extremely weak. We will need to embark on a major fund-raising initiative to undertake the recommended repairs, make a contribution to our Parish Share and try to ensure that the church is solvent and can remain open for regular worship, weddings, baptisms and funerals.
As part of this initiative, Jonathan Dutton is doing a sponsored walk from St Peter’s Winterbourne Stoke to St Peter’s Rome, a journey of 1,500 miles! He will be setting off on 21st August and planning to stay in pilgrim hostels, monasteries and camp en route. His route will take in the Pilgrim’s Way from Winchester to Canterbury and the Via Francigena route across Europe from Canterbury to Rome.
As an introduction to the fund-raising initiative, Harry Bucknall, an author, journalist and retired Army Officer, has kindly agreed to give a talk about his own walk from Dorset to Rome, following the same path, which he undertook in 2012 and wrote about in his amusing travelogue “Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim”. The talk will take place on Saturday 24th July at 7pm at St Peter’s Church. Harry’s previous talks have been very entertaining: “An evening filled with anecdote, adventure and history had us all enthralled throughout…he had the room captivated in the twists and turns of his adventure, a truly inspirational account”. Tickets are £10 and include a glass of wine and tour of the gardens at the Old Rectory. All proceeds will go to the St Peter’s Winterbourne Stoke Restoration Trust. See the poster on Village Noticeboards for further information.
VILLAGE NEWS
Plant Swap
During the months of May and June excess plants have been put outside people’s drives for rehoming. If you do have extras they can still be left out to find a new owner.
Scarecrow trail
Winterbourne Stoke residents have again made a show of some lovely scarecrows around the village with the theme of “Characters from a book”. Many have enjoyed a stroll in the lovely weather to view them. There has been a great variety and some very creative ones. Thank you to all who took part.
Big Lunch
The past 18 months have been super tough and it’s important to have something to look forward to. We will be holding a village “Big Lunch” on 24th July at Stonehenge Campsite from 12-4pm. We’d like people to come along and bring a picnic for themselves and their family. We are hoping to have some games for the children and an outing for the village bunting. We are encouraging everyone in the village to come together and get to know each other a little better. Look out on Facebook and the village noticeboards for more information nearer the time.
Village Bunting
It’s the season for coming outside, to start socialising and BBQing after the colder and wetter months inside. The Village Bunting is due to get its first big outing at the “Big Lunch” after being created during the colder times, you can help make it longer and to see your handy work on show.
All you have to do is create a triangle of bunting (or however many you like) whether it be drawn/painted on paper, cross-stitched/appliqued, standard fabric triangles or even a photo printed and triangled. Everyone of any age can take part. Finished triangles can be pinned up on the string with the pegs provided at the church. Templates are available on the facebook group (in the topics section, “things to do”), the Parish Council website or hard copies are available in the church.
Make, Meet and Mend
If you’re a crafty type of person, you would maybe like to learn a new craft, have a few bits that need mending or just want to get out of the house to meet people, chat and eat cake. We are looking to set up a Make, Meet and Mend group to meet monthly. Bring along the project you’re working on and we can sit, chat, share techniques and skills…or just eat cake! Our first meeting will be on Tuesday 22nd June in the Barn at Stonehenge Campsite. Look out for dates and times for the next meeting on facebook or on the messenger group. If you’d like to register your interest email winterbournestokevps@gmail.com
Winterbourne Stoke entries
Olivia Dutton collates the news from Winterbourne Stoke to submit to the Parish Magazine. Please contact her on 01980 621247/07760 618078 or olivia.dutton@outlook.com. The deadline for going to print is noon of 16thof the month, so please make sure to send it to her by 14th of each month.