PARISH COUNCIL MEETING – Thursday 20th JulyThe latest meeting of the Parish Council was held on Thursday 20 July 2017 at 7.30pm in the village hall.

We were pleased to welcome Val Kerrison who has now been co-opted onto the Parish Council.

Pavilion – We have been aware of some speculation in the village over the future of the village hall and pavilion. However, we would like to make clear that the village hall is not owned by, nor the responsibility of, the Parish Council – this remains with the Trustees of the village hall.

The Parish Council will continue with its proposed plans to refurbish the toilets in the pavilion and a further application will be made to the Community Initiatives Fund of Essex County Council and the Councillors’ Community Grant scheme of Braintree District Council towards the cost of this work. This follows on from the reroofing project carried out in 2015. Quotes are also being considered to wash down and repaint the outside of the pavilion. We will keep you advised of progress.

Playing field – Some work to extend the area of safety matting under the swing will be carried out later in the year.

Highways – The resurfacing programme throughout the area is well underway and should be completed soon.

War Memorial – As reported previously we intend to have the lettering on the War Memorial re-etched. Gem Construction, who carried out the renovation, have visited to make an assessment. This is the final part of the renovation which would not have been possible without grant funding from the War Memorials Trust.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 21 September 2017 at 7.30pm in the village hall.

Full minutes and agendas are available on the Stambourne website www.stambourne.com
Debbie Hilliard
Parish Clerk
Tel: 01440 785629

Email: debbiehilliard614@gmail.com

VILLAGE FETE PRIZESMany thanks to all those involved in organising and who came to the village fete. A good time was had by all.

We still have two raffle prizes unclaimed by the following people:

J Smith – I’m sorry I don’t know who you are – and Sue who did not respond to a message left on her mobile’s answerphone. 

They are both nice prizes, but if they remain unclaimed I hope you will not mind if I put them into another raffle later on in the year.
 
Please contact Fiona Bayley on 07815 715290 if these prizes are yours.  Thanks very much.

ST. PETER & ST. THOMAS BECKET PARISH CHURCHRev. Barbara Hume is currently on long term sick & we all wish her well. Therefore the whole benefice  will have to have at least one or more of their Services amended to fit in with the clergy available to preach.

At Stambourne we will still have our three Services a month but occasionally we may have to change the times. The Services for the next two months are as follows:
AUGUST 6TH    9.30AM  MORNING PRAYER WITH JOAN REDMOND AUGUST 13TH  9.30AM  HOLY COMMUNION WITH REV. LIZ PAXTON

20TH NO SERVICE AT STAMBOURNE – OTHER SERVICES IN THE BENEFICE
27TH  9.30AM  CHRISTENING OF BABY THOMAS WITH REV. LIZ PAXTON
SEPTEMBER
3RD  9.30AM MORNING PRAYER WITH VAL KERRISON
10TH 9.30AM HOLY COMMUNION WITH REV. LIZ PAXTON
17TH NO SERVICE AT STAMBOURNE - OTHER SERVICES IN THE BENEFICE
SEPTEMBER 24TH 9.30AM MORNING PRAYER WITH DAVE BROWN PLEASE NOTE YOUR DIARIES!! Sunday 8th October  HARVEST FESTIVAL  9.30am with Rev. Liz Paxton Sunday 10th December CAROL SERVICE  4pm  with Rev. Liz Paxton

If any further details are required with reference to the above or any Church matters please contact  Val Kerrison - Churchwarden – 01440 785752 mobile  07879816362

Well after a late spring and a blistering June the local countryside is once more at its best. This is when the village comes to life and fetes and BBQs can be seen and heard for miles around.

In the church year, the summer can be a quiet time (unless there is a spate of weddings, of course) and we gear up for our next big service which is Harvest festival which is at 9.30 on Sunday October 8th.

Yes, I know that sounds like a long way off but the holidays will fly past and you need to put it on your calendars now!

This September we have a new initiative for people that would like to know more about the Christian faith, and feel that perhaps it’s all a bit of a mystery.

What do those people in church and chapel do on Sunday mornings, and, more importantly, why? What difference does it make? Was Jesus really the Son of God, and where do we go when we die? We plan on tackling these big questions in a six week course in the village called the Pilgrim course – if there are enough takers. If you think this might be interesting and informative, please give Val Kerrison a ring on 01440 785752 or Rev. Liz Paxton on 01787 277270. We will try to make the timing suitable for whoever is interested.

In the meantime - keep applying the sun-cream and the insect repellant and have a blessed summer.

With every Blessing
Rev Liz Paxton

STAMBOURNE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Adrian Burr

From your Chapel …

Well the healing bus came and went.  Prayer was said for people who needed healing and in these days when the health service is under such pressure, it is good to know we can seek healing elsewhere!

Now so much of this is based on faith.  It is not, as some will say, that we don't receive healing if we don't have enough faith, but that by faith we receive according to God's will. 

Jesus was often saying to people "O you of little faith" or "never have I found so much faith", or "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?". 

He went on to say that with just the smallest amount of faith (as small as a mustard seed) so much can be done - the examples he used were moving mountains and causing a fig tree to not bear fruit any more!! Jesus said nothing will be impossible for you. 

Do we believe that?  Well for many people the answer will be "No". How can I believe that when experientially we don't see such things happen? 

Well that is where faith comes in.  And Faith is something we all have.  Without faith of some sort it is impossible to live.  It may be faith in our own ability, it may be faith in "the way things are" (which we know can so easily be destroyed as we see in Syria, Iraq and as we saw in Africa). 

It may be faith in human nature - I must admit I sometime wonder about the idea that there is good in everyone when I see the opposite all over the world.  It may be in natural selection and "the best always winning".

Again experience shows that it is not always the best that win. Folk in the Bible asked "why do bad people thrive?".  What is it about this world that often let's the worst win, and the good lose out?   Is that a question you have ever asked? 

I often am told that I can't believe in a God who would allow so much evil and so many bad things to happen.  The faith we have as Christians is about believing that the goodness of the world is there to overcome the evil. 

And often we can't do that in our own strength, but faith in a God who cares and loves us - whether we believe or not - can make a difference to life, and our way of connecting is through prayer.

And so the healing bus came to allow us, in faith, to pray; to make a difference in peoples lives as they struggle with physical, mental, emotional, relational and financial issues.

We hope to run an Alpha course soon that helps us to ask the big questions of life and seek answers for ourselves.  Give us a call or email and we will let you know dates and times that we can all make.

Have a lovely summer enjoying sunshine and rain, and holidays if you are able.

Adrian Burr,  Minister, Stambourne Chapel

NEWS
Tea Party on the Front Lawn - Come and join the fun on 12th August at 2:30pm onwards in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.  There will be games and a raffle and food and drinks and some children's games, so please come along and support this charity that provides for the training of MS Nurses.

9th September is when Essex Historic Churches Trust run their Ride and Stride event - if you fancy a ride or walk to lots of churches get some sponsorship forms from us or the CofE and visit us when we will be taking part in the Heritage Open Day - we will be open all day to welcome riders and striders as well as people interested in their family history when we will providing a free service to help people with their search - 10-4pm   We will also have a stall to raise money for shoe boxes.

First Aid Course  September is being run by Swim 4 Life and all organisations that need a certificated First Aider are invited to come along. 

18-20th September  Details from David Cartwright 01440 785806 or from the Stambourne Web site or Village facebook page.

24th September Harvest Festival - our speaker this year is from the Farm Community Network (FCN) who will be explaining their work as they seek to support farmers through the changes caused by Brexit, the weather and the ever changing regulations.  They are supporting more and more farmers and farm workers - the growers and providers of our food.  We will be celebrating farmers, and all that they provide  and praying for their health, wealth and well-being.

Friday 29th September the Macmillans BIG Coffee Morning which will be held in the Chapel from 10am until 3pm.  There will be a raffle and lots of fun games as well as coffee/tea and cakes!  Contributions welcomed!

Saturday October 7th is our next Film evening.  Meal at 6pm followed by a film, including break with ice creams and refreshments and short discussion afterwards!  Watch for notices as we finalise permissions for our choice of film.

Every Week
Sunday - start the week of right with a time of thanksgiving and worship.  1st Sunday includes Communion.  4th Sunday Service is followed by a meal together.  All worship in our services is led by our band.

Tuesdays   10am - 12noon - Coffee 'n Chat. Come along and enjoy a time of fellowship and chat together. 2-4pm  Silver Link Alternate Tuesdays - 8th August in the village hall 7-9pm Band Practice - come and enjoy a time of community singing encouraging the band in its playing of Christian songs and hymns

Wednesdays  7-9pm Prayer meeting. Please put any Prayer requests through our letter box, or give them to a member of the church.  We will pray for them and for all that we know need prayer.

From time to time we run courses and house groups and other Bible teaching events.  Contact us to find out more or keep up to date by "friending" us on FaceBook at Stambourne Chapel

Contacts:   Brian Mead, Secretary,
01376 345337
stambournepraise@gmail.com
Rev'd Adrian Burr, Minister,
01440 730211, 07983 656166
aburr@inbox.com

SUPERFAST BROADBAND UPDATE

Two items in this newsletter about broadband. Firstly, a specific update about Stambourne’s broadband and then a request from Superfast Essex (Essex County Council’s team promoting faster broadband in Essex) to complete their survey.

Firstly, Stambourne’s broadband.

Fibre Broadband (BT/OpenReach)
Unfortunately, there has been little progress from BT’s OpenReach in connecting the newly-installed fibre cabinet to the exchange at Ridgewell. It’s believed the problem lies with the roadside ducts being silted up meaning they can’t install the fibre-optic lines to the exchange. Apparently, they will need roadworks to resolve the situation. Also, it is quite possible that once connected, not everyone in the village will be able to use the service as they will be too far from the cabinet at Hill Farm (the junction to Ridgewell).

County Broadband (fast internet via radio receivers/masts)
A new transmitter has been installed on the church tower allowing people with a “line of sight” view of the tower access. Further information available from https://www.countybroadband.co.uk .

Gigaclear (https://www.gigaclear.com)
A new arrival on the scene is Gigaclear who claim “Our ultrafast pure fibre network can bring you broadband speeds of up to 1000Mbps – 33x faster* than the UK average. We specialise in connecting rural communities by installing pure fibre straight into the home – reliable, future-proof and simple to install.” and according to Superfast Essex “We are aware that the programme's recently announced Phase 3 plans, working with operator Gigaclear, will also be deployed in this area and may pick up some of the premises not predicted to get superfast speeds”

Stambourne will only get these services if people register their interest so please go to “https://www.gigaclear.com”, fill in your postcode in the “Can I get Gigaclear” and then click “Register Interest”.

This could be a very interesting development as they seem to offer “fibre to the premises”. Superfast Essex say that they will be updating their online maps to include Gigaclear’s most recent timescales in the next few months. More information will be on http://www.stambourne.com and in the newsletter as it’s received.

Satellite Broadband
Satellite Broadband is available in Stambourne promising faster speeds than we currently receive via the phone line but there are certain limitations with the technology compared with other superfast/fast broadband which should be considered before signing up. Subsidies are available for those who currently receive less than 2Mb/s speeds.

“Superfast Essex Broadband Champion”
I am the Superfast Essex Broadband Champion for Stambourne, so email me if you need more information (me@stephenplatt.com) or view the latest on http://www.stambourne.com/ . This doesn’t mean I am affiliated with Superfast Essex (and actually find them quite frustrating to say the least) but have agreed to distribute information about their plans to the village.

It would be useful, however, to complete their survey (in the next section) so that they know about the dire state of broadband in Stambourne and we could be moved further up the queue for improvement works.

If you have feedback to pass on to Superfast Essex about broadband in Stambourne, feel free to do so at http://www.superfastessex.org.

SUPERFAST ESSEX: ARE YOU GETTING SUPERFAST BROADBAND?
Are you getting superfast broadband?
 

“Essex County Council is running a public consultation during August 2017 to create an updated map of superfast broadband availability in the county. The council will publish an online map showing all Essex premises and their current classification (superfast broadband available or planned/ superfast broadband under review/ no superfast broadband available). Superfast broadband is now defined as a connection offering at least 30Mb download speeds most of the time. When the consultation launches on Monday 31st July, residents and businesses are invited to check their broadband status on the interactive State Aid map available at: www.superfastessex.org/whatshappeningnext.

The Superfast Essex programme team at Essex County Council would like to hear your feedback on the broadband status allocated to your address. This includes feedback confirming the broadband status shown on the map is correct as well as feedback from anyone who disagrees with their current broadband status. Respondents will be required to provide some evidence to back up any requests to change the status of an address. Details about the type of evidence required and instructions about how to obtain this will be detailed in the public consultation feedback form.

Full details about the consultation, including the link to respond, will be available on the same ‘What’s happening next?’ page of the Superfast Essex website: www.superfastessex.org/whatshappeningnext with the interactive State Aid map. Please note the map being consulted on will be used to decide whether properties are eligible for public subsidy in the future.

This is different to the interactive rollout map which is separate to this consultation. The outcome of this consultation will form the basis for directing future investment by Essex County Council to improve broadband access, with the ambition to ensure everyone in the county has a superfast connection by 2020 at the latest.
 
Feedback on the consultation must only be submitted via the online public consultation feedback form available on the ‘What’s happening next?’ page at: www.superfastessex.org/whatshappeningnext. Residents in areas with poor connectivity are encouraged to take the time to visit libraries or use workplace computers to complete their feedback, as the team would like to hear from them in particular.

Unfortunately, due to the volume of responses expected and the need to process them quickly, Superfast Essex is unable to offer the option of hard copy correspondence.

If you agree with the status of your property as shown on the map (e.g. no superfast broadband available), you do not need to take any further action, however we would welcome your feedback via the public consultation form to confirm the current status shown on the map is correct.”
 

MUMMY FITNESS BY THE VILLAGE GREEN GYM

Each week in Stambourne Park you may have seen a group of local mums and prams exercising in the lovely fresh air.

Organised by Lara at the Village Green Gym, Mummy Fitness has come to Stambourne, bringing the gym closer to home. The idea is to bring the "gym" to people who don't like going to the "gym". No fancy gym equipment, crop tops or posing in front of a mirror! 

The class is suitable for all levels and abilities. We welcome babies and children of all ages to watch the Mummy work out. We work on improving cardio fitness, strengthening and toning muscle groups and core stability. Yummy daddies, grannies and granddaddies also welcome of course. 

The class will be running over the summer holidays so if you would like to join the group please get in touch with Lara 07764753104, or check out Village Green Gym on Facebook. 

Also offering at home personal training bringing the gym to your door step. 









SLG Stambourne Ladies’ Group
NEW! Club Outings and Interest Groups – contact each other, choose from the assortment and invite others along. See below for latest fixtures:

AUGUST - No meetings this month but PUT the FOLLOWING DATES in your CALENDAR.

SEPTEMBER
13th An evening outing to the English Spirit Distillery in Great Yeldham CO9 4PT. Call Annabel on 01440 7785809 for details. This is a small batch copper pot distillery, set up seven years ago, with the aim of producing a diverse range of outstanding quality spirits. We have arranged a tasting and tour and even non-drinkers will find this unique establishment fascinating.

19th A coach trip to Norwich. Shop till you drop or stroll around this beautiful City. Felix Coaches will pick us up at Haverhill Bus Station at 9.15am and return from Norwich at 4pm. £13.20 per person. Call 01787 310574/310584 and ask about a Felix 4 Saver for four or more seats.

OCTOBER

11th Little Known Facts About Stambourne with Tony Bayley. An interesting insight into some charming facts about our village.

NOVEMBER - 8th Cheese and Wine Evening – open to everyone!

DECEMBER - 13th Christmas Ditties with The Writtle Cards – open to everyone!

Call Annabel 01440 785809 or Vicky 01440 785528 or see our Facebook page for more!



VILLAGE HALL KEYS

As Chairman of the Village Hall Committee I am trying to find out just exactly who does hold a key for the Village Hall. It appears that there are a number of keys about but no one seems to know exactly who holds a key and I want to compile a list of Key Holders for Insurance purposes.

If you could let me know either by telephone (01440 788132) or by e-mail at richard-ivycottage@hotmail.co.uk as soon as possible I would be most grateful.

Richard Wright



DIARY DATES


September
13th September - Ladies Group Visit English Spirit Gin Distillery.
19th Ladies Group - Coach trip to Norwich.
21st Parish Council Meeting at 7.30pm in the village hall.

October
8th Harvest Festival at the Church
11th Ladies Group - Little Known Facts About Stambourne with Tony Bayley.

Items for the next Newsletter by 17th September
me@stephenplatt.com Tel: 07767 357016