ASHBURY COMPTON LONGCOT FERNHAM NEWSLETTER AUGUST Lammas: celebrating the wheat harvest

Transcription

1 ASHBURY COMPTON LONGCOT FERNHAM NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2015 Lammas: celebrating the wheat harvest

2 Thought for the month- August I have a prayer that begins: Lord, open our eyes that we may see the harm we have done to your creation. Open our sense of smell that we may breathe in the promise of every new day. For some time, a number of things have combined to draw my attention to the earth we live on, and what we're doing to it. And I'm not especially referring to "climate change". That already gets talked about so often that I suspect no one really thinks about it any more; it's just become part of the fabric of social conversation. Few people actually feel able to take individual action on it. But there are things that we can - and should - be paying attention to. Things that we, as individuals, can do something about in our everyday lives. I'm thinking of things like waste. We throw away leftover food when some of it could probably be used in the next meal and some of it could be composted. We let water run down the drain when we don't have to. I'm thinking of things like litter. Wherever I walk, however far into the countryside, I see signs of human carelessness: plastic bags blown up against fences, sweet wrappers collecting against walls. I almost always find bits of rubbish in nearby streams, and discarded drink cans or bottles out in the woods. Worst of all - we buy "disposables" in greater quantity than ever - including things like disposable dusters and single-use toilet brushes. These are all small things, but they add up. One of the most disturbing sights I've ever seen, and compelling proof of the seriousness of the issues, are aerial photographs of accumulated rubbish - mostly plastic - coming together in the ocean to form giant masses that are thought to extend down to the sea floor. Together with photos of the world's landfill sites, ships laden with our rubbish being taken to other countries for disposal, it's enough to make me wonder what the world will look like when the next generation grows up. And there lies the most important reason for trying to change our ways. Do we want to leave an uninhabitable planet for the next generation? The 2

3 second part of that prayer mentions the promise of a new day. Are we robbing future generations of that promise? We may not have much personal control over climate change, but we have complete control over waste and rubbish - if we want to take it. We can think about packaging when we shop. Manufacturers will eventually stop making things no one buys. We can compost, reuse, make meals of fresh ingredients, etc. Most of us would have to change a few habits, but we can do it. And if we make the effort, there's a chance that there will be a viable, living planet for future generations to enjoy - rather than a dying planet covered with ancient refuse. Gail Haslam Loose Shrivenham & Ashbury Benefice Services in August Sunday 2 nd August 9.00am Matins Watchfield 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Compton 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Fernham 10.15am Morning Worship Shrivenham 11.00am Morning Worship Ashbury 3.00pm Joint Service Longcot Chapel Sunday 9 th August 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Watchfield 9.00am Morning Worship Fernham 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) Longcot 10.15am Parish Communion Shrivenham 11.00am Holy Communion Ashbury 3

4 Sunday 16 th August 9.00am Matins Watchfield 9.00am Morning Prayer (BCP) Compton 9.00am Holy Communion Fernham 9.00am Morning Worship Longcot 10.15am Parish Communion Shrivenham 11.00am Family Service Ashbury Sunday 23 rd August 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Watchfield 9.30am Holy Communion Longcot 10.15am Parish Communion Shrivenham 11.00am Holy Communion Ashbury 6.00pm Evening Service Fernham Sunday 30 th August 10.30am Benefice Service Holy Communion Longcot The Ashbury prayer cycle for August will be: 2 nd Pound Piece, 9 th Station Road, 16 th Malthouses, 23 rd Walnut Trees Hill.. St Mary s Ashbury see also under Benefice News Ashbury's Morning Worship on 2 August will celebrate Lammas Day: this was the day the first wheat harvest was traditionally celebrated and the first harvest festival of the year. It was also an opportunity to give thanks to God for daily bread (very important in the days before supermarkets, 24 hour shopping and even bread machines!) and a freshly baked loaf was presented and shared. 4

5 Ashbury Evangelical Free Church August Sunday Wednesday 5 th 2 nd 10.15am Communion 10.30pm Coffee morning Sunday 9 th 10.15am Communion service Sunday 16 th 10.15am Communion service Sunday 23 rd 10.15am Communion service Sunday 30 th 10.15am Communion Service 5.00pm Video and tea 11.00am join St Mary s 5.00pm Video and tea Everyone welcome to coffee mornings at the Free Church for a natter. No charge or catches! Ashbury News Ashbury Village Show Several people are interested in holding a Show next year. There will be an open meeting to discuss this on Wednesday 12 August at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall. If you are willing to help with the Show please do come along to the meeting. Watercolour Painting Saturday 19 September , Ashbury Village Hall This session is suitable for beginners and for those with some experience. If 5

6 you have paints and brushes, please bring them with you. The session will cost 7, plus a small charge for paper. If you would like to book a place please call or mbsmith5@hotmail.co.uk. Monthly Saturday morning Art/Craft Sessions October-December 17 October: Papercraft (choose from Scrapbooking or Card-Making) 5, 14 November: Portrait photography - bring your digital camera and family for 15 minutes one-to-one professional advice with a studio set-up 8, 12 December: all day Christmas Crafts (including wreath making, flower arranging, quilting/patchwork, making Christmas decorations. For more details or to book please call Margaret Smith on Ashbury, Kingstone Winslow and Idstone Village-wide Garage Sale There was quite a buzz in Ashbury on Saturday 11 July. Twenty two households took part in the garage and table top sales. People came from all over Oxfordshire and Wiltshire - thanks to the power of internet advertising! One person arrived at 8.30 am and an impatient queue formed outside the Village Hall waiting for the door to open at 10 am! We are unable to say how much money was raised in total but at least one garage sale took over 100. In the hall there were table top sales and refreshments where money was raised for St Mary's Church ( 90), the Village Hall ( 150) plus other individual stalls. Some buyers had come for an outing and stopped for refreshments first before they got down to the serious business of having a 'rummage' in the various garages! Bargains were to be found ranging from furniture and bric a brac, to freshly dug potatoes! By all accounts it was a successful venture. Longcot and Fernham News Fernham & Shellingford WI-no meeting this month. 6

7 Longcot Churches working together-chapel News SUN 2nd 3pm Our monthly United Service will be led by Revd. Keith Osborn and everyone is very welcome. Tea and biscuits will be served after the service. WEDS 5th Craft Morning in the Chapel for anyone of Primary School age. There will be stories, songs and the chance to have a go at a variety of crafts and it s all FREE!! For more information call CREAM TEAS will be served in the Chapel between 3 and 4.30pm TUES 11th, WEDS. 12th and THURS. 13th EVERYONE WELCOME. Friday Fellowship and Coffee Morning are taking a break until September so see you then! Benefice News Not a prayer this month but a quotation from Thomas Merton: If you want to identify me, ask not where I live or what I like to eat or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for And on a lighter note! And God promised men that good and obedient wives would be found in all the corners of the world. Then he made the earth round and laughed and laughed and laughed. Revd Norma Fergusson Country Matters On the farm, July sees us loading the last four loads of bread wheat destined for Warburton s mills in the north, but unusually, this year we shall 7

8 carry forward several unsold loads because the forward prices are higher. We had one load rejected this year because of contamination with grain insects so we must pay extra attention to hygiene in making sure our stores are clean for the next crop. Summer mastitis is a disease spread by flies which can make cattle ill and we had a case against the woods of Ashdown Park. It can affect dairy cows and also non milking beef cattle with a teat swelling to cause general toxicity. We managed to catch this beef heifer and treat it back in our buildings. A friend tells me that ravens which until ten years ago were unheard of here have, once more this year, nested in the woods at Ashdown. July is one of the best butterfly months. We just missed a reported surge of painted ladies coming up from Africa with the wind taking them towards Denmark. Of course butterflies love our downlands and overgrown footpaths. The path opposite Bishopstone West End Cottages to the ridgeway is a good site. This track currently has many examples of wild flowers including greater knapweed, ladies bedstraw, scabious, birdsfoot trefoil and common vetch which attract many marbled whites and ringlets. Buddleias have not yet flowered but when they do watch out for red admirals, peacocks, commas and probably painted ladies. My quest to view the rare purple emperors in Bentley Woods east of Salisbury has once again failed but we did spot the orange-brown silver-laced fritillaries and white admirals had been seen by others Richard Green Benefice Clergy Vicar NSM Rev Richard Hancock Revd Norma Fergusson (Except Monday and Friday) Please Note: Newsletter entries for September 2015 Submit your entries for September by 19 th August to: M. Turner Claremont, Ashbury SN6 8LN. mlt@mltgnt.com

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