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STOKE UPON TERN

NEWSLETTER

Issue: 23

Keeping in touch with communities within the local parish.

June 2019

IN THIS ISSUE Parish Council Updates, Local Business Advertisements,

Community News, Updates from the Parish, Featured recipe and much more.....

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Welcome to this summer edition of our parish magazine. As a reminder the parish covers five rural villages, Stoke on Tern, Stoke Heath, Wistanswick, Eaton-upon-Tern and Ollerton.

Please feel free to send us any news or articles from around the parish.

To contact us: email: newsletter@stokeupontern.info or call Sue: 01630 638 348

Stoke upon Tern Parish Council

COUNCIL MEMBERS -

Cllr Pete Waters (Chair) - 01630 638911 Cllr Keith Newby – 01952 541601 Cllr Richard Wright – 01630 638520 Cllr Sue Bartram – 01630 638348 Cllr David Moore – 01630 685226 Cllr Lynn Bearman – 07835 942277 Cllr Sarah Planton – 01630 638494 Cllr Percy Farmer - 01952 541252 Cllr Kenny Beardmore – 07591 821940 Cllr Phil Butters – 07976 295299

The Clerk Mr Graham Bould may be contacted at: stokeparishcouncil@hotmail.co.uk , or: parish website: www.stokeuponternparish.org.uk

The next parish meetings will take place at the Parish Hall on the 26th June and 14th August @ 7.30pm

These meetings are open to everyone – come along and have your say. Agendas are posted on the noticeboards in local bus shelters

Wistanswick Fete

Our annual fete will be held on 29th June 2019 This special fete, which has been running for almost 100 years, is earlier than

usual this year. Produce, beer and Pimm’s tent

Horse and dog show Lots of interesting craft stalls

Please come along and support us! For entry forms and schedule please contact -

Eleanor Goodwin on: 01630 638701 or email: eleanorgoodwin50@yahoo.co.uk

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The Tern-Stylers Craft Group

We are all craft enthusiasts, be it knitting, crochet, quilting, etc. etc. Dig out that project hidden at the back of your cupboard and join us for the inspiration to complete it. We meet at Wistanswick Institute on the 2nd and 4th Thursday morning (10am 'til 12ish) of the month and entry is just £2.

Next dates are: 13th & 27th June, 11th & 25th July, 8th & 22nd August &

12th & 26th September

For further information please contact: Eleanor Goodwin on: 01630 638701 or email: eleanorgoodwin50@yahoo.co.uk

Clive Barracks Task Force Update

Following the presentation of a masterplan from the site owners at the last Task Force Meeting, Stoke upon Tern and Sutton Parish Councils agreed to use our own Planning Consultant to try and prepare something a bit more imaginative and something we would like to see developed.

It’s been interesting to see the reaction from the other members of the Task Force. After workshops with the two parishes, we prepared an outline plan and were invited to present it to the County Council, the developers and then to the full Task Force meeting on the 12th of April.

We seem to have created quite a stir, and lots of people have got excited by our ideas. It also got other people thinking and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation are looking at widening the area for the project and Shropshire Council are looking at the community and road aspects of the site again.

Let’s hope this can be developed further for the next meeting on the 12th July.

Walking Football Market Drayton walking football group meet twice a week. On Tuesdays we play on grass at Greenfields starting at 2pm and play for one hour, followed by coffee and biscuits in the men’s shed. On Thursdays we play indoor at the Maurice Chandler centre, from 4 to 5.30pm. Both sessions cost £4. Friendly games are organised against other local clubs. Our current members are aged between 50 and mid 70s.

New members always welcome at either or both sessions, come along and play

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The Tractor Club Meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm at the Parish Hall

Heathcote Community Champions

Heathcote Community Champions are organising a Treasure Hunt on the afternoon of Sunday 23rd of June.

Eaton upon Tern Community Champions

Our Defib training was held at the beginning of March, many thanks to Amanda Stevens (Heathcote Training Services) for a great revision session & very informative morning. Also, thanks to Martin and Sally for hosting the group.

Into April, the village got a Spring Clean, not as many volunteers as usual but all did a great job. Many thanks to Ian & Deb for the tasty treats. Also, a big ‘Thank You’ on behalf of the village to Roger & Kim who look after the Millennium Garden and the Eaton Court Barns garden by the road. It provides us with a lovely display through the seasons.

We have our AGM on June 27th at 7pm to be held at Cherwell.

Plans afoot for a “Picnic in the Garden” Saturday 20th July 3-5pm venue will be emailed.

Also, a Pop-up Pub in August again details will be shared at a later date.

Finally, many thanks to Maria Forshaw for her work and support on the committee.

Wistanswick Community Champions

We are looking for ideas to make the village better.

The Hunt will start from the Parish Hall at 2:30pm and return to the Hall for food afterwards. Entries are £1 per car and it is open to all residents of the Parish and friends and family. We do need numbers in advance so if you interested in joining us please email sarahplanton53@gmail.com or phone Sue on 638348.

Red Lion Pub – Wistanswick You can now find us on:

Twitter @WistanswickRedL or

Facebook TheRedLionWistanswick

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Dutton Close Community Champions

The play park on Dutton Close has been a fantastic resource for the local area with a good variety of equipment for local children. The equipment fits in beautifully with the area, is of a high quality and is regularly maintained by residents. The park encourages play for children aged 2 – 16 years as well as bringing together people within the community.

A recent assessment of open spaces stated that “access to high quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation can make an important contribution to the health and well-being of communities.” The value of the play park can be seen simply by visiting the park after school, during weekends or in the school holidays when you

can see happy, smiling children interacting and socialising with one another.

However, the park is currently at risk due to falling support from the local community along with the new housing development plans. The new owner is happy to continue the lease until its current ending period, but the extra houses will add to the cost of maintaining it.

We would welcome any support you could offer us in keeping our park safe for future years and maintain this high-quality play area for all the young children in the area. Your support could be in the form of offering to help mow the area (with our equipment), donating new benches or bark to the area, helping to set up and run an online forum (Facebook, twitter) or making a voluntary contribution towards the general up keep of the park.

If every resident donated just £5 a year to this worthy cause, we could ensure the financial stability of the park. If you would like to support us in any way please contact us via email at dcra1@hotmail.co.uk or chat to one of the committee members in person – Vicki Brimley, John Brockhurst, Wendy Eley, Kevin Plews, Amanda Getty, Pat Higgins or Jason Scott.

Maurice Chandler Sports Centre Warrant Road, Stoke Heath Tel: 01630 638508 email: infomauricechandler.org.uk Opening Times are: Mon – Fri 2pm – 10pm & Sat 10am – 2pm

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Walking Group

The Walking Group meets on the third Sunday of the month at 11am at the Red Lion pub (& often returns there for refreshment!); Our next walk will be on 16th June, weather permitting.

Please check the website (stokeupontern.info) or call Sue on 01630 638 348 for more information.

All are welcome, so why not come and join us for a stroll across our parish.

AN UNUSUAL FRIDAY NIGHT………. Hodnet Footpath Group are holding their annual Glow Worm spotting walk on Friday 21st June 2019. This event takes place along a stretch of former railway line near Hodnet, and has regularly attracted sizeable numbers of participants, from near and sometimes, surprisingly, far in the past.

If the weather is kind, the evening will hopefully be a success again this year; but if it is cold/wet the

Glow Worms are unlikely to perform, so the event will then be moved to 28th June instead.

The Glow Worm is an unusual creature and generally scarce, but in Shropshire very rare.

No-one knows why they established a breeding site at Hodnet, but the conditions happen to be right to enable them to survive. On a good night a hundred

or so may be seen, at other times only 2 or 3.

As with many things in nature, its appearance is not completely predictable!

If you'd like a change from your usual Friday night routine, put a note of the date in your diary now. We meet at 10.30pm by the old railway bridge down Station Road, Hodnet. Accompanied children and dogs on leads welcome. Sensible footwear and torch advised. Details will be posted on the village website nearer the time.

See www.hodnet.org.uk

This Glow Worm photo was taken by one of our visitors on a past visit and is

one of the best we've seen. It now adorns the cover of our Hodnet Walks 1

leaflet. This walk and others in our series of ten local walks can be

downloaded from https://www.hodnet.org.uk/main/?page_id=9330

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Changing landscapes. As you travel around the Parish you will many large fields and few trees and hedges; but it wasn’t always so. If you look at a map of 100 years ago you will see the landscape dotted with fields, both large and small. Indeed, the large fields in Wistanswick, totalling well over 60 acres, were once home to around 50, mainly small, fields all owned by different local farmers. The changes came both during and after the war, with the drive to improve productivity with such as Grow for Victory and changes in farming practice, plus some land taken by the military. However, among the consequences of such changes were the loss of large amounts of hedgerows. Hedgerows are a key element in supporting biodiversity in the countryside, providing havens for small animals and insects and food and nesting sites for birds. There are still a significant number of hedgerows in the Parish, some dating back centuries and some from the enclosures of common land in the 18th and early 19th century. It is possible to roughly date a hedge using Hooper’s Law which gives us a way to estimate the age of a hedgerow (Max Hooper is a scientist who studied and wrote about hedgerows and biodiversity.) The simplest method is to count the number of species of tree or shrub found in a 30-metre length of hedge. This number (averaged over three or more sample stretches) multiplied by 100 gives a rough estimate of the age of the hedge. So, a hedge with an average of five woody species might be tentatively dated to the 16th century or if a hedge has oak, elm ash, hawthorn, field maple, hazel, blackthorn, rose and spindle it may be 9x100 = 900 years old; an ancient hedge. If it only has hawthorn, blackthorn and ash it may be 300 years old, relatively recent and possibly planted as an enclosure hedge. However, it is important to bear in mind that Hooper’s Law is a rule of thumb and can only be used alongside other dating techniques such as local history, old maps, study of the field patterns, other flora in the hedge and so on. There are places where Hooper’s Law gives a misleading result, for example the area around the Stiperstones – squatters and free miners of the 18th and 19th century planted a lot of domestically useful trees in their smallholding hedges, including fruit trees, spindle, laburnum (for the wood) and gooseberries, so there are more woody species than one would expect. Additionally, there are hedges, such as on the airfield at Tern Hill, which are relatively new but have evidence of long-gone houses, for example an apple or other fruit tree. Hooper’s Law and its measurement scheme is important not least for its potential use in determining what an important hedgerow is, given their protection in The Hedgerows Regulations (1997; No. 1160) of the Department of the Environment, based on age and other factors. So next time you are out, take a few minutes to see how much or how little the landscape has changed over time by aging the hedges in the Parish.

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St. Peters Church, Stoke upon Tern

For information regarding normal times of Church services, please see the Church Notice Board. Rev. Becky Richards - Team Rector Church Services all at 11am –

1st Sunday - Holy Communion 2nd Sunday - Café Church this year will be based on The Parables

(this is very informal family service) 3rd Sunday - Holy Communion 4th Sunday - Morning Worship

Sunday 30th June 11am - Pet Service - bring along your small Pets to a special service and blessing.

Sunday 16th June - Charity Lunch at Sutton Grange in aid of Shropshire Rural Stress and Church.

Saturday 6th July - Eccleshall Singers 7pm August 10th - Medieval Banquet 6.30 pm

For more information contact Janice Bradley 01952 840707

Friends of St John the Baptist – Great Bolas

❖ Great Bolas Church Community Café - The community café will be on Friday mornings from 10.30am 14th & 28th June.

❖ Fri 28th June – Musical Evening with ‘The Ronnies’ 7pm till late. Music from the swing era, licensed bar and nibbles available. ❖ Sat 20th July – Village BBQ from 12 noon. Food available from 1pm.

Licensed bar and games for the children. ❖ September, date tbc – Quiz Night, venue tbc. Inviting teams from all the

parishes. Fish and chip supper. Bring your own drinks.

For more information contact Gill Hughes, Friends Chairman. 01952 541659 Log on to our just giving site - www.justgiving.com/fobolaschurch/ Contact me via email gillhughes2212@btinternet.com

Wistanswick United Reform Church Chapel Bank Wistanswick.

We continue to share services with Wollerton. 1st Sunday each month at Wistanswick, 3rd Sunday each month at Wollerton. Please note time for both locations, all services begin at 6pm.

Reverend Chris Burgham, Tel. 07976 788543, Secretary; Ms E Dodd, Tel. 01630 655404

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Women’s Institute

The local WI meet at the Wistanswick Institute on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 pm.

We offer the opportunity to learn, develop and pass on new skills, to belong to something special, make new friends, work as a team and have fun. Forthcoming Events:

• July 2nd 2019: Flower Workshop: A relaxed workshop where we will make a lovely flower arrangement to take home.

• August 6th, 2019: Summer Outing: A trip to the World of Wedgwood: Our annual outing will this year be to World of Wedgwood where we will experience the factory tour and museum as well as lunch.

• September 3rd, 2019: Staying Well this Winter: West Midlands Ambulance Service will be giving us lots of hints and tips for good health during the colder weather.

Visitors are welcome to join us at The Institute, cost £4.

Recipe Fudgy Apple Cake Ingredients: 397g can Carnation Caramel, 2 medium sized eggs 225g self-raising flour, 2tsp baking powder 125g unsalted butter, softened, 2tbsp milk 300g bramley apples, peeled and diced, 2tsp ground cinnamon 12 cubes of fudge diced into tiny squares

Method: 1. Pre heat the oven to 150 degC/gas mark 3. 2. Lightly butter and line a 20cm spring form cake tin. 3. Place the butter with 225g of the caramel into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until well combined. Then gradually beat in the eggs. 4. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold together, then gently stir in the apple, milk and half of the diced fudge. 5. Spoon the cake mixture into the lined tin, smooth the top, and bake for 1 hour until risen and lightly golden on the top. 6.Remove the cake from the tin and place on a serving plate. Gently warm the rest of the caramel in a saucepan or microwave until pourable, then cover the top of the cake. Decorate with the remainder of the fudge.

This cake can be served cut into wedges with cream or ice cream, or simply with a cup of tea.

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Stoke on Tern Parish Hall The Parish Hall, Langley Dale, Stoke on Tern Chairman; Peter Speight For enquiries contact Jane Lloyd 01630 638 238

We are still looking for committee members!! If you are interested or would like to know more please contact Anne Bromley on 07876 200 932 -

Prize Bingo is played every Monday – Eyes down at 8pm. The Parish Hall is self-funded and all proceeds from the Bingo go back into the running and the up-keep of the hall

All welcome!

Mobile Library THURSDAY – Rosehill Road (school) 11 – 11.30am Wistanswick (Red Lion) 11.45 – 12.15pm Eaton-Upon-Tern (phone box) 2.20–2.40pm June 13th & 27th, July 11th & 25th, August 8th & 22nd and Sept 5th & 19th www.shropshire.gov.uk/libraries

Stoke-on-Tern School –

Family Fun Day Sunday 30th June 2019

12.00 noon - 3.00pm Raffle, Dancing, Choir, Pony Rides,

Bouncy Castle, Face Painting Hook a Duck, Bottle Stall, Children's Toy Stall

Refreshments - Tea, coffee, Pimm’s O'clock and Cakes…..

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The current newsletter committee are; Sue Bartram, Helen Tyler

& Marie Speight.

'Any views expressed within this publication are not necessarily the views of Stoke upon Tern

Parish Council.'

Thanks for reading the newsletter, we hope that you have found it

useful and of interest. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with Sue on

638348 or Helen 0n 638516.

The next newsletter will be

out in Sep 2019

Martin Advert