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MINCHINHAMPTON WITH BOX

PARISH MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 2019 Price 60p

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HOLY TRINITY, MINCHINHAMPTON WITH ST. BARNABAS, BOX

Rector Revd Canon Howard Gilbert rector@minchchurch.org.uk The Rectory, Butt Street, Minchinhampton 882289

Associate Priest Revd Sandy Emery emery31@btinternet.com 01452 814148

Associate Priest Revd John Spiers spiersjohn@talk21.com 873176 Reader Mrs Linda Jarvis lm_jarvis@hotmail.com 884545

Churchwardens Mr Jamie Dalrymple-Hamilton jamiedh2@gmail.com 832776 Mrs Mandy Jutsum mandyjutsum@btinternet.com 882477 Verger Mr Colin Brookes, Vestry Cottage, Bell Lane GL6 9BP 886210 Church Administrator Mrs Christine Gibson admin@minchchurch.org.uk 889004 (Benefice office open Tue-Fri 9am-1pm)

P.C.C. Secretary Mrs Margaret Sheather m.sheather@btinternet.com 834961 Treasurer Mr John Jutsum johnjutsum@btinternet.com 882477 Recorder Mr Pat Swift patjswift@yahoo.co.uk 885231 Stewardship Mr Tim Mowat timmowat@gmail.com 883369 Parish Giving Scheme 01452 835595 Electoral Roll Mrs Jackie Natt jackienatt@hotmail.com 731018 Safeguarding Judy Little 884683

Organist/Music Director Mr Julian Elloway julianelloway@live.co.uk 07879 406048 Bellringing Mrs Angie Ayling akayling@hotmail.com 884203 Flower Guild Mrs Kathy Hurst Kathy@63windmillroad.co.uk 882960 Senior Sacristan Mrs Alison Whitaker 297868 Senior Server Mrs Margaret Sheather m.sheather@btinternet.com 834961

Church, Porch Room and musical instrument bookings via Church Administrator Magazine see page 7 Lifts To Church Mr Pat Swift patjswift@yahoo.co.uk 885231 Church Website www.minchchurch.org.uk c/o Mr Michael Gwilliam 883090

OTHER USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS (code 01453 unless specified)

Police – non emergency 101 Boots Pharmacy 882146 Minchinhampton School 883273 Minchinhampton Post Office 884590 Minchinhampton Surgery 883793 Minchinhampton Library 885497 Longfield 886868 Parish Council Office 731186 PPG Transport to Hospitals 887314 Benefits Agency 438000 Stroud Hospital 0300 4218080 Samaritans 01452 306333 Gloucester Royal Hospital 0300 422 2222 Relate 0870 010 0873 Cirencester Hospital 01285 655711 NSPCC Child Helpline 0808 800 5000 Cheltenham Hospital 0300 422 2222 Gas Leaks 0800 111 999 National Health Helpline 0845 4647 Electricity Power Loss Help 0800 328 1111 Social Services 760500 Severn Trent Emergencies 0800 783 4444 Horsfall House 731227 Voluntary Car Service 767771

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PARISH CHURCH SERVICES

SUNDAYS WEEKDAYS

Eucharist 9.30am Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

8am Said Eucharist 8.30am Saturday

10am Sung Parish Eucharist 11am Wednesday B.C.P. Eucharist

Evensong

5.30pm 1st/3rd Sunday: 5.30pm (said) Mon-Thurs & Saturday Sung Evensong (BCP) (4.30pm Friday)

All other Sundays Common Worship said Evening Prayer

ST. BARNABAS, BOX SERVICES

9am Eucharist with hymns 8am Wednesday – Eucharist.

CHURCH AND PORCH ROOM DATES FOR DECEMBER 2019

1 SUNDAY THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8am Eucharist – Parish Church 8.45am Parish Breakfast – Porch Room 9am Eucharist with hymns – St. Barnabas, Box 10am Parish Eucharist - All Age NO Evening Prayer – Parish Church 4.30pm Bring and Share - Holy Trinity Amberley 5.30pm Advent Service - Holy Trinity Amberley

2 Monday 7.30pm Faith In Our Time – Porch Room

3 Tuesday 2.30pm WI Carol Service – Parish Church

4 Wednesday 9am Eucharist – St Barnabas, Box 11am Eucharist (BCP) – Parish Church 12pm Armchair Yoga – Parish Church 2.30pm Wednesday Cuppa – Porch Room 7pm Staging up for Stuart Singers – Parish Church

5 Thursday 10am Holy Communion at George Pearce House 10.45am EduCoOp Group – Parish Church 6.45pm Stuart Singers Rehearsal – Parish Church

6 Friday 7.30pm Stuart Singers Christmas Concert – Parish Church

7 Saturday 7.30pm Stuart Singers Christmas Concert – Parish Church

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8 SUNDAY THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8am Eucharist – Parish Church 9am Eucharist with hymns – St. Barnabas, Box 10am Sung Eucharist - Parish Church 3.30pm Messy Church – Christingle – Parish Church / Porch Room 5.30pm Said Evening Prayer – Parish Church

10 Tuesday 11am Advent Service. Christian Ladies Group – Parish Church / Porch Room 2.30pm Stroud Court Christmas Service

7.30pm Standing Committee Meeting – The Rectory

11 Wednesday 9am Eucharist – St Barnabas, Box 11am Eucharist (BCP) – Parish Church 11am Holy Communion at Cecily Court – Porch Room 12pm Armchair Yoga – Parish Church 2.30pm Wednesday Cuppa – Porch Room

12 Thursday 10am Probus – Porch Room

10.45am EduCoOp Group – Parish Church

14 Saturday 7.30pm Patsy Gamble Concert – Parish Church

15 SUNDAY THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8am Eucharist – Parish Church 9am Eucharist with hymns – St. Barnabas, Box 10am Sung Eucharist – Parish Church 3pm Stroud Masons Carol Service – Parish Church 5.30pm Sung Evensong – Parish Church

17 Thursday 1.30pm Horsfall House Christmas Service

18 Wednesday 9am Eucharist – St Barnabas, Box 11am Eucharist (BCP) – Parish Church 12pm Armchair Yoga – Parish Church 2.30pm Wednesday Cuppa – Porch Room 2.30pm Holy Communion at Horsfall House 7.30pm Cappella Singers Rehearsal – Parish Church

19 Thursday 10am Cappella Singers decorating in Parish Church 4-5pm Cappella Singers Rehearsal – Parish Church 7.30pm Cappella Singers Concert – Parish Church

20 Friday 11am Minchinhampton Church of England Primary Academy Christmas Service – Parish Church

22 SUNDAY THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 8am Eucharist - Parish Church 9am Eucharist with hymns – St. Barnabas, Box

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10am Sung Eucharist – Parish Church 5.30pm Nine Lessons & Carols – Parish Church

24 Tuesday CHRISTMAS EVE 3pm Crib Service – Parish Church Children come dressed as your favourite nativity character 11.30pm Midnight Mass – Parish Church

25 Wednesday CHRISTMAS DAY 8am Eucharist - Parish Church 10am Sung Eucharist - Parish Church Family Service with carols and surprises

26 Thursday Feast of St Stephen 11am Eucharist (BCP) - Parish Church

27 Friday John, Apostle and Evangelist 9am Eucharist - Parish Church

28 Saturday The Holy Innocents

9am Eucharist - Parish Church

29 SUNDAY THE FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS 8am Eucharist - Parish Church 9am Eucharist with Hymns - St Barnabas, Box 10am Sung Parish Eucharist - Parish Church 5.30pm Said Evening Prayer - Parish Church

BAPTISM

Woodrow Gray baptised Saturday 30th November 2019

FUNERALS

Clive Hollands – 76 years. Died Saturday 19th October 2019

Brenda Barnard – 81 years. Died Sunday 20th October 2019

Roger Benson – 87 years. Died Thursday 24th October 2019

Dr Edward Jackson (known as Ted) – 80 years. Died Saturday 2nd Novem-ber 2019

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EVENT PLACE DATE TIME

Gardening Club Christmas

Social

Golf Club Mon 2nd 6.30pm

W.I. Centenary Carol

Service

Parish Church Tues 3rd 2.30pm

Horsfall House Christmas

Fayre

Horsfall House Weds 4th 9.30am-

12.30pm

Stuart Singers Christmas

Concert

Parish Church Fri 6th & Sat

7th

7.30pm

Jazz on the Hill Burleigh Court

Hotel

Sat 7th 6.30pm-

9pm

Patsy Gamble—Music of Re-

membrance & Reflection

Parish Church Sat 14th 7.30pm

Cotteswold Naturalists—

Plight of the hedgehog

The Hub Tues 17th 2.15pm

Capella Singers Concert Parish Church Thurs 19th 7.30pm

Carol Singing Under the Market

House

Tues 24th noon

WHAT’S ON IN THE COMMUNITY IN DECEMBER

DEADLINE FOR ITEMS FOR JANUARY 2020 MAGAZINE:

9th December

Editor: Angie Ayling akayling@hotmail.com 884203

or in the ‘A’ slot at the back of the church

Advertising: Angie Ayling (as above)

Treasurer: Kathleen Gwilliam 883090

Distribution: Diana Lapping 889309

Press Officer: Katie Jarvis 833131

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LETTER FROM THE RECTOR

Christmas is just for Kids?!

“Christmas is just for kids!” said I, as I be-gan my first sermon whilst training for minis-try. I went on to explain, to the congrega-tion I was on placement with, why this was not true, and exactly why Christmas is just as much for grown-ups, as for our children.

I don’t have a copy of that sermon any more, but I imagine explaining that the mes-sage of Christmas, the message of Incarna-tion, is of profound importance for all of humanity, and for all of time. We learn that God took on our humanity, that we might take on his divinity. It is this pivotal moment in salvation history that sets us free, free to receive eter-nal life, life in all its fullness. Here, then, is not a festival just for children but a festival that points forward, in a very serious way, to Easter and to Pente-cost.

As I shook hands at the door at the end of that service, one of the lovely la-dies who had made me feel very welcome in her church, said, “You’re so right, vicar, Christmas is just for kids.” At which I was flabbergasted – had she not listened to anything I had said in my 10-minute sermon?

On reflection, however, many years later and now a father of two, I under-stand. The lady who hadn’t listened to a word I had said in my sermon none-theless had a point. Christmas is special for children, in a way that it simply isn’t special for grown-ups. Sharing Christmas with children makes Christ-mas special once again, in a way we struggle to achieve without them.

Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” What Jesus is trying to tell us is that we need to learn from how children see the world if we are to understand our faith and engage with our God. Or to put it another way, Christmas is for those who have not forgotten what it means to be a child of God.

So, as you prepare for the festive celebrations once again this year, give yourself permission to engage with Christmas as a child does: with eager anticipation, in awe and wonder, and with excitement and joy. And in all these things, may you experience His birth afresh, receiving all the blessings of our God, who shared in our humanity, that we might share in his divinity.

Yours in Christ,

Revd Canon Howard Gilbert.

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CHRISTMAS TREE PRAYERS

If you would like your Christmas tree to mean more this year, why not try

this beautiful and thoughtful prayer idea?

Children love to help with decorating the tree. This idea is an easy way to let

them get involved, and helps them pray at the same time.

Buy some pretty gift tags (sparkly stars work well) – or make some by

cutting up last year’s Christmas cards.

Write on the plain side the names of people or situations that you want

to pray about.

Hang the gift tag prayers on your tree as a sparkly reminder – just as

your tree lights shine in the darkness, so your prayers are like a candle

that lights up the lives of those in need.

Christmas is a particularly difficult time if you are sad, or ill, or lonely or

worried. Keep a few spare gift tags so you can add to your tree when

you think of others who need your prayers.

Tip: If you know someone needs your prayers, but it’s best if others don’t

know they’re in need, why not just write their initial on the tag, or draw a

heart shape – God will know you are thinking of them.

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MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION & DISTRIBUTION

If you are reading this magazine because you have bought it in church, or

perhaps been given it by someone else, you might like to consider sub-

scribing—and thereby get 11 copies for the price of just 10 delivered to

your house.

To do this, simply contact Diana Lapping (tel. 889309) who is the coordi-

nator of the distribution team. This team of over 40 volunteers distribute

the magazine to individual households in the parish every month (except

August) and then just once a year (in January) call to collect the £6 pay-

ment.

It might be that you could offer half an hour or so per month to help with

this distribution process. The magazines are all counted out and put into

labelled wallets for the distributors to collect from the Porch Room; the

addresses to be delivered to are included—usually just one road or group

of houses. Again, if you would like to volunteer to help with this, please

contact Diana.

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WHERE ART THOU MOTHER CHRISTMAS?

Where art thou Mother Christmas? I really wish I knew Why Father should get all the praise And no one mentions you. I’ll bet you buy the presents And wrap them large and small, Then in the end our cunning friend Pretends he’s done it all. So hail to Mother Christmas The uncomplaining slave And down with Father Christmas That good-for-nothing knave.

By Roald Dahl (submitted by Sue Kirkwood)

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WEDNESDAY CUPPA

Please note, this will NOT take place on January 1st!

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GREENFINGERS

It’s early November, and the rain and wet ground is preventing some of the tender plants from being lifted and stored for the winter by this fair weather gardener. But between showers, I’ve managed to sweep up a few leaves and top up the bird feeders, and during the showers and long dark evenings, catch up on the odd book or magazine.

I came across an article about cloud pruning (Niwaki) of evergreen shrubs aimed at providing some structure to the garden during winter. This tech-nique originated in Japan and has become more popular recently, offering a slightly alternative type of topiary. It can be very effective in producing ele-gant forms, and is best applied to small leaved varieties with interesting branch formations, such as box, yew, pine, Japanese holly, (ilex crenata) and Japanese privet, (Lingustrum Japonicum), amongst others.

The crab apples have been attracting large num-bers of blackbirds, many of which appear to be males, as they are black, but with black bills. An internet search suggests that these are from the continent, and may mature somewhat later than the native stock, which already have their distinctive yellow bills.

Open grown apple and pear trees should be pruned over the winter, and vines, acers and birch trees before the year end.

Bare rooted hedging and roses can be planted, and trees and shrubs moved.

Check Christmas hyacinths and bring them into the warm once the shoots are 1.5” to 2” tall, and prepare to enjoy their scent.

An annular solar eclipse will take place on 26th December, but will not be visi-

ble from Europe. However, https://in-the-sky.org/ provides an excellent ex-planation and some wonderful graphics of the event. The winter solstice is on 22

nd, followed by more hours of daylight.

Have a peaceful Christmas. Pete Smith

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THE PLIGHTS OF THE HEDGEHOG

with the Cotteswold Naturalists

Have you been fortunate enough to see – or hear - a hedgehog in your gar-

den this year? When we moved to Gloucestershire over 20 years ago, we

would often hear the noise of hedgehogs at night. Today, sadly, the hedge-

hogs no longer visit our garden and I wonder why? Hopefully, we will gain

an insight into the problems faced by these remarkable creatures from John

Crowther who will talk about ‘the Plight of the Hedgehog’ at our next meeting

on Tuesday 17th December. We meet at 2.15 for a 2.30 pm start, at the

Hub, Tobacconist Road and after the talk, we will enjoy some seasonal re-

freshments.

We ask for a contribution towards meeting costs of £1 from members and £4

from visitors, although it is possible to join CNFC at the meeting for £20 - or

£30 for two people at the same address - to cover membership for 2020 and

pay the member’s meeting charge of £1.

Our programme of visits in 2020 is well-advanced with trips already planned

to Sussex, and to Warwickshire for Compton Verney and Upton House. By

popular demand, there will be a second chance to enjoy a boat trip along the

Kennet & Avon Canal, visiting the Dundas and Avoncliff Aqueducts, plus the

Claverton Pumping Station in operation. Further afield, we shall visit Dublin -

staying in Trinity College - and Co. Wicklow. By January, when we publish

our Winter Newsletter, we will also have agreed on our local visits and guid-

ed walks, plus all the talks at the Hub. If you would like to receive a copy of

the Newsletter, please contact me on 01452 813228 or email

janeerowe2015@gmail.com You will find that our activities are wide-

ranging: the Cotteswold Naturalists’ Field Club promotes interest in the natu-

ral history, environment, antiquities and culture of the Cotswolds, Gloucester-

shire and elsewhere, through talks, excursions and guided walks.

I wish readers a very happy Christmas and peaceful New Year

Jane Rowe

PS I am grateful to Julien Crowther who took

this photograph. Julien tells me that this sow

was rescued during renovations at Minchin-

hampton Church when she fell down a grating

and was trapped in a ventilation shaft. The

photograph was featured on a Christmas Card

in aid of ‘Help a Hedgehog Hospital’

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REMINISCENCES ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF OFFSHORE PLATFORMS

By the end of the 1970s the heyday of platform construction and installation was over. More oil fields were being discovered and indeed, even to this day exploration drilling continues in the North Sea. However construction companies such as the one I worked for were looking elsewhere for con-tracts. One place where we were successful was in Brasil. Oil had been discovered in the Campos basin off the east coast of Brasil to the north of Rio de Janerio and a number of plat-forms were required to extract the oil. My company had a management role in the con-struction of the platform for the Pampos field. The Pampo is a Brasilian fish and all the oil fields in the Campos basin were named after fish.

The person recruited to handle the Project Services for the project was not performing well so my Company’s Operations Director instructed me to go out and check on the situation which I duly did. It was soon obvious that this man was not up to his job so I sent back word to this effect and advised that a replacement was required. By this time platform construction work was hard to come by and like all other companies in the business our per-sonnel had been considerably reduced. The response to my message to the Operations Director was, “Tom, sack him and stay there and run the job yourself!” This was all very well but I had a department to run back in our London office.

Redundancies were the order of the day; an on-going problem in the con-struction industry. So I agreed to stay but having negotiated a return to the UK for my daughter’s wedding later that year. By this time my department was almost non-existent so I was fortunate still to have a job going on into the future. This Brasilian posting did have its compensations, it was in Rio De Janeiro, probably the most vibrant city in the world! A necessity was learning Portuguese as outside the office very few people spoke English. Fortunately the Company ran Portuguese courses for the staff so I did be-come fairly fluent in the language. There are places a lot worse than Rio to be working overseas and the job was one I could deal with in spite of its complexity. There is a multitude of disciplines under the umbrella of Project Service particularly for something as diverse in its requirements as an off-shore platform.

To be continued………………

Tom Kerr

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PUZZLE PAGE

FUTOSHIKI

Fill the blanks so that each

row, and each column con-

tain the numbers 1-5, using

the greater than and less

than signs correctly.

SUDOKU

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CHOIR PHOTO

This is a photograph of the choir in the 1960s, seated at the west end of the church where the Porch Room is now. Some if its members are still living in the area; perhaps you can spot yourself, or someone you know!

Paul Barton—once the verger here and then, more recently, the captain of the Canterbury Cathedral bellringers, is holding the cross. The priest is the Rev John Green, curate at the time; Jim Portbury, the organist, is in the back row, 2nd from the right and to the left of him are his father (James) and then his brother Norman. With so many youngsters in the choir, Jim certainly had his work cut out at practices!

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STROUD CHORAL SOCIETY AND THE MINPINS

A Christmas Celebration with Christmas music [including less familiar pieces by Gloucestershire composers Sir Hubert Parry and Herbert Howells],

readings and audience carols at:

St George’s Church, Nailsworth on Friday 20th

December at 7.30pm Tickets £15, under 18’s £5 and under 12’s Free

available from Society Members, Shiny Goodness, 11 Fountain St, Nailsworth or on the door (cash or

cheques only).

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At the time of writing, I do not know the amount raised from our Traidcraft Christmas coffee morning at the end of November. Thank you to everyone who came along or who helped on the day.

All profits from the coffee morning will be sent to Traidcraft Exchange who are more determined than ever to help vulnerable farmers and workers to get out of poverty through trade not aid— people like : Misheck… Misheck and his wife, Lucy work hard on their farm to support their three children through their education. They have chosen to farm potatoes as other vegetables need a lot more water and their farm is in a dry area.

Traidcraft Exchange has been teaching them about growing potatoes and storing them properly so as to sell when the market price is best. Alice Alice is a widow living with her daughter and two granddaughters. Farming alone does not cover their basic needs and so she has joined a group run by Traidcraft Ex-change. This enables her to get training and also to buy seeds and fertilisers more cheaply as they get discount for buying in bulk.

Alice says ‘ My prayer is that I will live long enough to see my grand-daughters through school’. Our next and final Traidcraft stall for 2019 will be on Sunday December 8

th

after the 10am service in the porch room at Holy Trinity church. Please come along and pick up last minute Christmas cards and goodies. Jackie Natt 01453 731018

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MINCHINHAMPTON COUNTRY FAYRE Fundraising Update

Having completed the ‘wrap-up’ tasks for this year’s Fayre and reviewed the financials the Committee are pleased to report that it was a great success.

The Fayre was undoubtedly a community effort and with this in mind the Committee believes it is only right to make public a summary of the 2019 Fayre accounts. They hope that doing so provides some insight into the scale of the event and the resources required and also encourages your feedback and suggestions for future fundraising and plan-ning. Over £1500 raised from the Fayre will be distributed amongst Minchinhampton charities that attended the event.

The accounts summary can be viewed on the Minchinhampton Life website https://minchinhampton.life Plans are already being made for the next Fayre which will take place on Saturday, September 11th 2021. As most of you know this Fayre was organised differently from those in the past. We decided to let the charities have their stalls for free and to keep their own profits - in the past it had all come to the Committee and the totals were di-vided amongst all the charities. This is the reason the total profit is low this time and we only had a small amount to distribute. The Committee chose the charities to benefit on the grounds of help given or need. We would cer-tainly like to help more charities in the future - we need the whole town to get involved and that is why we have published the date now!

Anne Parry

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REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY IN THE CHURCH

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Tracy, the flight attendant.

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Stuart Singers participate in 75th

anniversary celebrations of the libera-tion of Venray, The Netherlands

The Stuart Singers travelled to Holland recently to participate in a uniquely mov-ing event – the 75

th anniversary celebra-

tions of the liberation of Venray in the Netherlands, bordering Germany – which took place over the weekend of 19

th and

20th October.

The choir, which is based in Minchin-hampton, was invited by the organisers of the event to represent the UK at this prestigious and hugely important event. The choir sang “Let there be Peace on Earth” to dignitaries and veterans at the open air memorial service at the British cemetery where 693 soldiers are buried; performed in a special Concert for Freedom in the 600 seater theatre in

Venray; and shared the stage with a Dutch and a German choir in another cel-ebratory concert in a massive marquee before an audience of 450 local people and dignitaries.

The 45 choir members who participated, under Musical Director Helen Sims, found this to be a very moving and poignant occasion just 3 weekends before we all remember those who have fallen in both World Wars and other conflicts.

Leonora Rozee

Chair of the Stuart Singers

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STROUD TANGENT CLUB The National Association of Tangent Clubs is an organisation for women, mainly aged over 45, with a focus on making friends and enjoying a programme of interesting and fun activ-ities, eating out, theatre, walks as well as sometimes support-ing local and national causes through fundraising events. We enjoy the fellowship of Ladies Circle, Round Table and 41

Club and together we are the 4 Club Round Table Family. We also have links with Tangent Clubs across the world and are part of Tangent Club Inter-national. Tangent Clubs can be found across Great Britain

The Tangent Club is based on Friendship and Fellowship, and is open to new discretionary members, former Circlers and Tangent members or members who have moved into the area. You will receive a warm wel-come. Meetings take place every 4th Monday in the month at various ven-ues in the Stroud area. The programme is varied and may include dinner and a speaker, a visit to a garden or vineyard, a quiz, lunch or afternoon tea and joining members of 41 Club for a Christmas dinner or another activity.

You may find out more from the national website: www.tangent-clubs.org

2019 has been a very special year for members of Stroud Tangent Club. In May they celebrated the 60th year of the club’s formation and in addition they celebrated the 35th year of affiliation to the National Association of Tan-gent Clubs with a Charter Lunch. They gathered together at the Old Lodge, Minchinhampton Common with Guest of Honour, National President of Tan-gent, Jill Harris, former members of Stroud Ladies Circle and Stroud Tangent and guests from local Gloucestershire Tangent Clubs. A very enjoyable afternoon was spent enjoying good food, renewing friendships, reminiscing and presenting Jill with a cheque from Stroud 41 Club and Stroud Tangent for Jill’s charity, Round Table Children’s Wish.

In the past, when Ladies Circle members (who were partners of Round Table members) reached the age of 40 then later 45, they moved on to join Tan-gent. In the Stroud area numbers declined in Table and Circle in the early 2000s and those clubs closed while 41 Club and Tangent continue.

If you are interested in coming to a meeting or joining, one of our members in your area will be happy to pair up with you and bring you along. Please contact us via this email address: stroudtangent@gmail.com Germaine Ballinger 01453 731378

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Printed by Stroudprint This magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper and the cover on paper from certified sustainable sources