HORRINGER-CUM-ICKWORTH COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes of meeting held on Monday 7 th March 2016 Present: Wendy Cullingworth, Elle Bee, Joyce Ringer, Chris Harrison, Paul Harrison, Bryan Stokes, Janet Thaxter, Margaret Chapman, John Cannon, Jan Sizer, Jan Emerson, Rachel Davies, Brian Thaxter, Heather Corbell and Thelma Brown. 1. APOLOGIES Lynsey Fuller, Geoff Gow, Jill O Kelly, Robin Davies, Peta Cook and Frank Lovegrove. 2. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 28 TH OCTOBER 2015 Errors: BRYAN Stokes, not Brian. Peter CROFTS not Croft. Apologies to both. Therefore signed as a true copy by Wendy Cullingworth. Proposed: Heather Corbell and seconded by Brian Thaxter. 3. MATTERS ARISING HOBS - Gordon Hughes (currently away) has agreed to lead on this. Wendy will meet with Jeremy Cole on Tuesday 8 th March to discuss. Expected amount (41 x 5) 205. Wendy thanked Gordon for taking this on and also for an excellent piece in the diary. EMERGENCY LIGHTING ON STAGE - now completed. EXTERIOR SIGN - will be installed at 10.00am on Tuesday 15 th March. Wendy thanked ElleBee for organising this. FIRST AID COURSE - Brian Thaxter reported that groups of about 20 people at an expected cost of 25-28 per person could take advantage of this course, which would take from 3-4 hours, with Community Council and Good Neighbourhood Scheme members offered places in the first instance. This scheme still needs a volunteer to lead it. Wendy will make enquiries to find somebody. ACTION/WENDY.. DEFIBRILLATOR - Piers Fuller has obtained funding for the defibrillator but we need to raise funds for the housing. Piers will be approaching the Parish Council, Horringer Community Council and Terry Clements for funding. Piers and Wendy will attend an Award Ceremony regarding this. Wendy thanked Piers Fuller and Brian Thaxter for their initiative and work on this project. FIRE ALARM LINK BETWEEN OFFICE, HALL AND CLUB - Wendy will speak with Peter King about this. ACTION/WENDY. Bryan Stokes enquired whether the Horringer Club will asked to contribute towards this and said that he original agreement was for them to pay 25% of costs for joint work. Wendy will approach them and Parish Council once we know costs. FLOWER SHOW AND TRESTLE TABLES - the simple solution is to remove grilles from storage heaters, which also enables the heaters and grilles to be cleaned. PUBLIC MEETING RE VILLAGE PLAN - Peter Crofts spoke about this at the last meeting.
Wendy will email Marilyn Bottomley to say the Community Council is ready to get involved and if the Parish Council set up a meeting we will publicise it and encourage representatives from the different clubs and groups to attend. ACTION WENDY. MARCH SURVEY OF HIRERS VIEWS RE UPGRADED HALL - Wendy distributed a short questionnaire to members present and this information, together with responses that Lynsey has received, will be given to funders, as this was a condition of the grants given for the work to be carried out. 4. FINANCIAL REPORTS Robin reports that there is 5,294.23 in the hall fund. There is 16,770.34 in the Nationwide account and the December interest has been included. There is 7,862.94 in the main Barclays account. We have honoured our commitment to give 750.00 to the Peal Appeal. Rachel paid this from the Barclays account rather than Nationwide, as there was plenty in the current account and it earns no interest. Rachel has not yet received a bill for the stakes being bought for us by Simon Lawrence. Brian Thaxter asked if we have enough money for hall requirements? He said that whilst we are told what is in the bank this does not tell us if things are going to plan. Wendy said that the Treasurers did provide management accounts at the six months stage and will do so again at the year end. A list of things that still need to be done or bought will be drawn up at the next Management Meeting so we can prioritise and plan. Bookings in the hall are very satisfactory at present. 5. EVENTS Fete - Kim Turner and team will be running the fete again this year and their initiative is welcomed. It is to take place on Saturday 16 th July, starting at 12.30pm. Attractions include animal petting, dog show, family races, raffle, tug-of-war and many stalls. The Community Council will run the BBQ in the afternoon, manned by the Swans and Greenwoods, and a BBQ will continue into the evening, run by the Horringer Club. Wendy has emailed Stuart Brown to suggest a meeting to discuss how we work together on the event. Food will include speciality sausages provided by the Hopleys. As Wendy will be away on the day of the fete she asked if somebody could liaise between the Swans/Greenwoods and the Club to ensure it runs smoothly. The fete will also include plenty of music, entertainment, strawberries and cream and a beer tent. Due to the poor state of the gazebos, these will be sorted out on the DIY day to ensure the sets are complete. Jan Sizer suggested numbering the sets and not returning the deposit until the contents have been checked in. Wendy will speak with Kim about the fete in general. ACTION/WENDY. Suggested Tea Party - to celebrate the Queen s 90 th birthday - Brian Thaxter s idea has had to be abandoned, due to the fact that the Church is planning an event on the same day, which will include Flowers for the Queen, a Strawberry Tea and Evensong. Wendy thanked Brian for his initiative and preliminary work. 6. ORGANISATIONS REPORTS HORRINGER CARPET BOWLS
Joyce Ringer - we still have a good turn out on both our sessions. We are half way in the League. In February we had high tea at the Bury Golf Club and on April 20 th we will have our annual lunch, also at the Golf Club. LITTLE LOTTIE Brian Thaxter - 2014 - paid over 1,014 to the Community Council 2015-1,114 2016 - estimated surplus 1,056 We inevitably lost a few during 2015 but are gradually building up again. We may well use the diary distribution later in the year to mount a recruitment drive. At a future CC meeting we will ask for views on monthly prizes, currently 60 (1st) 25 (2 nd ) 15 (3 rd ). A return of 1,000+ per annum to the Community Council seems about right. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT Our speaker for the February meeting was unable to attend due to personal reasons, but Society member Anne McCord stepped in at short notice to give an illustrated talk on The Gardens of Malta. Personally I had never thought of Malta as the sort of place that had gardens, given the harsh growing conditions, but there are formal and informal gardens there but rather different to those in the UK. Next Monday (14 th March) our AGM will be held followed by a quiz and refreshments. The next open meeting will be on 11 th April when Peter Jackson from the Scotsdale Garden Centre will give a talk on Scented Plants. A reminder that the Flower Show will take place on 16 th July and Schedules are available on the Horringer website and from Mrs. O Kelly at no cost. HORRINGER & ICKWORTH W.I. REPORT Margaret Chapman - We have had a good start to the year with 3 excellent speakers January Meeting Linda Murrell & Val Dutton gave an excellent presentation on the Voluntary Services at the West Suffolk Hospital. February Meeting Ruth Miller came along to talk to us about The Foundling Hospital. Ruth was received into the Foundling Hospital at the age of 4months, fostered until she was 5 years old then taken into the Foundling Hospital School until she was 15. The Speaker for our March Meeting was Dave Smith a former fingerprint expert at New Scotland Yard, he had a wide experience of crime scene examinations. Next month, 5 th April will be an Open Meeting when everyone, men included, are welcome to join us. The Speaker will be Peter Hesketh and the subject Round the World on a Container Ship. It will also be our 98 th Birthday on this date so there will be lots of Birthday Cake to enjoy, and maybe a glass of wine (but don t quote me on that). We held another very successful Soup & Pud Lunch on Friday 26 th February, and monies raised will be going to The Women s Refuge. Our first Pop Up Coffee Shop was on 5 th March and the turn out was brilliant. We are planning to make this a regular event on the 1 st Thursday of every month (excluding May when the hall will be used as a Polling Station). The idea of the Coffee Shop is not just for WI members, we want it to become a Community Event where everyone, young, and the not so young, can meet up in a relaxed
and friendly atmosphere, enjoy catching up with friends, have a drink and eat some yummy cakes. We will also have a book stall every month where good quality books can be bought or exchanged + other attractions which are still on the drawing board. Please make a note in your diaries and come along and support us. We are still desperate for storage space! Thank you HORRINGER GOOD NEIGHBOUR SCHEME The Good Neighbour Scheme was launched in February 2012 and continues to provide support, help and social activities for local residents. While the majority of calls to the on-call mobile are for occasional transport there have also been requests for practical help or advice. The social events continue to be well attended, the Afternoon Tea held on the third Thursday of the month usually in the Community Centre (open to all), and the lunch at the Rede Plough on the first Tuesday of each month (booking required!) Our next Afternoon Tea on 17 th March will be at Ickworth Park Primary School 2.15 for prompt 2.30 start. If anyone would like to come join us for Tea or Lunch, or attend other village events but need transport please contact us via the on-call mobile 07532 274 795 Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm. If anyone wishes to volunteer to help with the Scheme please contact the Chairman Geoff Gow (735284) or Secretary Chris Harrison(735282) HEDGEHOGS ElleBee - reports that Tuesday morning sessions are very successfully attended. There have been enquiries about re-starting the Thursday morning sessions but ElleBee is reluctant to do this as attendance often drops off in the warmer months. HORRINGER SINGERS Jan Emerson - we are currently rehearsing for our Easter concert in St Leonard s Chuch, Horringer on Wednesday 23 rd March. Programme will include Schubert s Mass in G. Refreshments will be served and there will be a retiring collection. Our summer concert will be on Thursday 7 th July and will be a performance of Iolanthe by Gilbert & Sullivan. We have recruited several new members lately. ST LEONARD S CHURCH Heather M Corbell - Plenty is going on with church despite not having a Rector at present. We do have the help of various clergy and do please contact the church wardens or any of the church at any time if you have a need or want. It is important to say, I think, that the Church is people, not a hierarchy - so we all are the church, with or without a Rector, though we miss Rob s ministry with us. The life of Christ going on in the community is up to all of us who are involved. We have the all the usual things going on including our all-age guest service, followed by refreshments, on the first Sunday of every month at 11.00am, when we hope that people who may be unused to coming to church will find it more informal and accessible. We have some special events of the season: currently we have Lent groups which are informal discussions, this year based on a contemporary look at the Psalms as prayers for today s church, which we are finding surprisingly, perhaps, accessible and relevant. The groups are Wednesday afternoons in Horringer and Thursday evenings in Whepstead. We shall be having, as usual, the Horringer Singers Easter Concert in the church on Wednesday 23 rd March at 7.30pm, which this year will feature Schubert s Mass in G. On Sunday 12 th June we are planning a special day - with tentative arrangements for Saturday too - a
celebration of flowers in the church to commemorate the Queen s 90 th birthday, as well as our usual Summer Strawberry Tea, followed by Songs of Praise in the church. The Queen is not only our Queen but a committed Christian, and what better way to celebrate than the whole village coming together for flowers, strawberries and hymns! It is also important to say that the Church is people rather than a building and in that vein I d like to mention the Pastoral Team, who respond to many needs throughout the village and the community; this is the church going to people rather than people coming to church. When something very difficult happens - illness, bereavement, or any other kind of trouble - there can be occasions when those who have never been interested or seen the point of church realise a spiritual void, when someone listening, and guided prayer is an effective help. The demands on the Pastoral Team are growing and we hope that everyone knows we are there at time of need. Lastly, I would like to remind you that we have a short prayer service on Monday mornings at 11.30am in the chancel of the church. This is when we pray for the whole village and any issues affecting the local community. With this, we have recently established a box in church for prayer requests, which can, of course, be anonymous. So if you think of any needs which we could pray for (whether or not you are a pray-er yourself) do feel welcome to write the name of topic down, put the paper in the box and it will be prayed for. 7. GENERAL Elizabeth s legacy - planting a permanent Christmas tree on the green, together with a plaque in recognition of her generosity. Wendy will contact Simpsons of Fordham to ask for advice re suitability of type. ACTION/WENDY Next DIY day will be on Friday 20 th May. Time to be circulated by Lynsey. ACTION/LYNSEY Website - as nobody has come forward to make a new website Wendy will ask around suitable people to get a volunteer. ACTION/WENDY 8. BEEHIVE A business plan has been produced, a share offer was launched on 8 th February to end on 3 rd March but this will be extended to enable us to have another public event. A website has been set up and a video made. Another leaflet will be distributed around the village. An offer was made to Hawthorne Leisure but this was rejected They are still asking 475,000 although the current price of the pub is about 230,000. A hearing to consider Hawthorne Leisure s appeal against the listing of the pub as an Asset of Community Value will be held at the first tier tribunal on 16 th March at 2pm at Cambridge Crown Court, attended by representatives from Hawthorne Leisure, St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Friends of the Beehive. This appeal is critical to the value of the building. ElleBee mentioned that Suffolk Life have articles about local villages and it may be worth contacting them to see if Horringer could feature. She will give details to Wendy. ACTION/ELLEBEE 9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Central Village Events Diary - Brian Thaxter has experienced dates clash between organisations but not, of course, if the CC is the venue where Lynsey s booking system works well. He can give two recent examples where forward planning might have avoided embarrassment and where the potential of an event in terms of numbers and profitability is put at risk. The Village Diary only looks three months ahead from publication which restricts forward publicity. Facebook is not used universally and individual organisations websites are not always up to date. What he
thinks is needed is an IT savvy person to keep a central diary for the village. Simple in theory! But it needs a volunteer! As soon as an event is firm after reference to the diary then we can all see the date is spoken for. Better to try and improve our admin and avoid offence. Maybe an annual event planner in the lobby of the hall? Paul Harrison reminded members that a PAT testing day has been organised for 17 th March. Organisations are invited to bring their portable electrical appliances to be tested between 8.30am - 10.00am. Any items left will be ready to collect between 4.00-5.00pm. Bryan Stokes said that the refuse collector man had spoken to him on Thursday morning at the hall to say that people are using our bins; in fact, a mattress has been pushed inside, and the question was asked if we need two bins? One locked bin (we have been provided with a key) should be sufficient for our needs and could also save money. Wendy will circulate committee to obtain views. ACTION/WENDY. It was mentioned that the artwork (on loan) displayed behind the stage at Christmas was very attractive and whether we could have something similar for perhaps two different seasons? The artwork was painted onto a canvas sheet backing, which could be hung or removed as required. Bryan Stokes has a connection at the West Suffolk College design department and will enquire to see if they could produce something similar for us. ACTION/BRYAN STOKES. Brian Thaxter thanked the Community Council for the 750 donation to the Peals Appeal. Work on the bells will start in August and should be finished by Christmas. When completed it will be the first eight bells peal for 78 years. Wendy thanked Brian for his fundraising and community involvement. The WI are happy that the new cupboard for lost property is ready for use and are looking forward to storing their equipment in the old cupboard once it is cleared. ACTION/LYNSEY. 10. Date of the next meeting will be the AGM on Monday 23 rd May 2016 at 7.30pm. ************** The meeting closed at 9pm