A PETITION

WOLSINGHAM PARISH PLAN

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Parish Church Services for Wolsingham & Thornley in February 2004

Wolsingham Methodist Church: Sunday Service at 10.30am

St Thomas’ RC Chuch: Saturday Mass at 6.30pm

Wolsingham Baptist Church: Sunday Service at 3.00pm

From the Parish register

Abigail Lucy Peart Sunday 14 December at Wolsingham Parish Church

Through faith you are all children of God in union with Christ Jesus. Baptised into union with him, you have put on Christ as a garment.

Gillian Maughan 24 December at Wolsingham Parish Church and Durham Crematorium.

William Hesp 30 December at Durham Crematorium

William Elliott 31 December at Wolsingham Parish Church

Harry Wilkinson at Wolsingham Parish Church and Durham Crematorium.

Stanley Bell at Wolsingham Parish Church and Durham Crematorium.

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Gillian Maughan was born at Bishop Auckland and lived in Wolsingham for the past 71/2yrs. Gillian was a very brave young woman who spent a lot of time in hospital and made many friends during that time and her attitude to illness, I am sure helped many of them. Her school days were some of the happiest times of her life; she just loved going to school. When Gillian left school she trained to be a hairdresser and I am sure she would have been very good at it had not her illness cut short her career. Gillian loved animals especially her budgie ‘Joey’. Gillian will be sadly missed by her family and friends but never forgotten.

William Hesp was born in Meadhope Street and moved to Lydgate lane in 1948. He was a Bevan Boy during the war. Although he tried his hand at all sorts of jobs, his last was at the Steelworks. Bill was easy going and made friends easily and he loved to socialize with his friends. He spent a lot of his time walking and bird watching and generally enjoying nature. His family and friends will miss him but they will never forget him or his good nature.

George William Elliott (Bill to me) was born in theEast End of Wolsingham and moved to his last address when he was a baby. He was Engineering Manager for Redmires which became Tilcon, covering the north of England and Scotland. He served in the Navy doing his national Service. Bill was a quiet man but had many friends. He loved family life and spent a lot of his time in recent years looking after his sisters, making sure they were alright, which he loved to do. Bill’s hobbies I suppose were TV and computers and of course his little dog. And he also spent quite a lot of time in the graveyard tending graves and planting bulbs and generally keeping an eye on things. Bill is a great loss to his family and his friends.

James Henry (Harry) Wilkinson was born in Newcastle but spent his early adult life at Gateshead where he taught at the local school, before moving to Satley to take up the position of Head Teacher at the local junior school, where he was also Churchwarden of Satley Church. Harry then moved on to be Head of Stanhope Barrington School. He was treasurer of Wolsingham PCC and Deanery Treasurer. In the past he had been President of the NUT and the NUHT, President of Rotary, a founder of Wolsingham Probus Club, local and county Councillor and District Commissioner of the Scouts and local Scout Master etc etc. I could go on. Harry also had many hobbies: a very full life in fact. And although he will be sadly missed by family and friends they will always have the satisfaction of knowing he lead a very full life and achieved much.

Stanley (Stan) Bell was born in Wolsingham in Rectory Lane before moving to Meadhope Street fifty years ago. He served in the Army doing his national Service, although he was in the Home Guard during the war where he absolutely loved the comradeship. He spent most of his working life at the local steelworks. I am told he was the nicest man you could ever wish to meet. In his younger days he played the piano accordion in a dance band and had a great passion for Jazz music and his other main hobby was supporting Sunderland FC. Stan lived very much for his family. Stan will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

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Church News in Short

Home Communions and Visits: If you know of anyone, including yourself, who would appreciate receiving communion at home, please contact the Rector on 527340. This is usually the first Wednesday in the month. Please keep the Rector informed of anyone who is ill or in hospital so that they can be included in his schedule of visits.

The annual lunch will take place on Tuesay 3rd February at 12.30pm at the Mill Race. Please nore that the annual subscription will be £8 and is due by the March meeting.

The mobile Police Station will be in the Wolsingham area on 16th February and 15th March.

Crook and Weardale Choral Singers

This choir will perform Vivaldi’s Gloria, with guest soloists and orchestra on Saturday 21 February in the Methodist Church, Wolsingham, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £3

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For a year or so a small band of environmentally aware students have masterminded a recycling scheme aimed at reducing the waste produced by the school. The Wolsingham School Environment project runs in collaboration with Wear valley Council and the Butterwick Hospice. The school will collect white and coloured paper waste initially, with the scheme developing to include vending machine wrappers. It is hoped that the scheme will have a positive impact on the local environment. A percentage of the proceeds from the recycled waste will go to the Butterwick Hospice.

Should you have any queries about the scheme please contact Mr E Hodgson at Wolsingham School and Community College.

The Church Hall committee is holding a Valentine Supper Dance in the Church Hall on Saturday 14^th February from 8.00pm until 11.45pm. There will be dancing(50-50) to the Phil Tempest Duo. Tickets (£6 inc buffet) are available from the Hall Committee, The Paper Shop or on 527405/526138.

Thank You: Jean Gibbon would like to thank everyone who sent get well cards and flowers during her stay in hospital. God bless and sincere thanks.

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Hi Everyone

Another festive season (I hope you had a lovely time) and another year over. Where does the time go to!

The Tree of Lights, Christingle and Carol Services were all well attended and, I thought were really enjoyable. Hope you all did too. Thanks again to Bernadette for playing the organ, Pauline Walker and David Gatenby for the mulled wine, to everyone that brought mince pies and shortbread, to Ronnie and Brian for decorating and undecorating the church and to everyone else that did their bit, no matter how insignificant it may have seemed, it wasn’t. As they say, little cogs make the big wheel turn. Thanks also of course, go to Malcolm and Joan.

At the end of November, Margo and Keith Farrow moved out of Brecon Hill. In their ten years there they have done so much for the village, especially the Village Hall. Their drive, enthusiasm and hands on approach to the refurbishment made the hall, the smart and useful building, inside and out, that it is today. They organised and took part in fund raising events, some really brilliant evenings and of course the children’s Christmas Parties. They were involved in it all. A very big thank you, to you both and all good wishes for your new life.

Dawn and Hamish Patterson have moved into Brecon Hill. Welcome, and we hope that you enjoy your life here. On these dark winter nights, we all hide inside were it is warm, but when folks come out of hibernation in the spring, we will all get to know each other and I hope you’ll soon feel part of the community.

Another newcomer to the village is baby Tom Lister. He decided to arrive early, and chose New Years Day. Congratulations to the ‘chuffed to bits’ Mam and Dad, Daniel and Catherine. Tom is a little brother for big sisters Emily and Phoebe.

I’m sure there will be a service in Church on Ash Wednesday, so come along if you can. Other than that,

Remember:-

Holy Communion : Sundays 9 : 30am.

Family Service : First Sunday in month.

Bye for now. Geraldine - 01388 730012.

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During February all services will be led by Rev’d John Clayton, Regional Minister and Team Leader of the Northern Baptist Churches. The theme for the month is "Jesus – the …"

February 2^nd: Jesus, the Door

February 8^th: Jesus, the Bread of life

February 15^th: Jesus, the light of the world

Febraury 23^rd: Jesus, the true vine

On Febraury 29^th Ted Hemingway leads a service on the theme, God needed Adam.

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Wolsingham Methodist Church

On 7^th February there will be a Coffee Morning from 10.00am in the Guild Room. All are welcome.

In aid of the Romanian Christian Humanitarian Foundation

This will take place on 14^th February between 10.00am and 12 noon at the St Thomas’ Centre, with the kind support of the Sisters of Mercy at St Anne’s. There will be Coffee and Cakes, tombola and a raffle. For further information and any offers of help, please contact Christine Raymond on 0191 517 2860.

From: Rev. Malcolm Goodall (St. Mary & St Stephen Parish Church of Wolsingham) Rev. Les Hann (Methodist Church of Wolsingham)

On 1st November in Westminster the Anglican-Methodist Covenant was signed, following large majority votes at Methodist Conference and Anglican General Synod in the summer.

These two national Churches now affirm one another's churches as true churches with authentic preaching and celebration of Baptism and Eucharist/Holy Communion. We jointly proclaim the apostolic faith revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the ecumenical Creeds. We affirm each other’s lay and ordained ministries.

We pledge ourselves as a priority, to work for organic unity of our two churches on the way to the full visible unity of Christ's Church. We commit ourselves to realize more deeply our common life and mission, sharing the distinctive contributions of our traditions and taking steps to bring about closer collaboration in all areas of witness and service in our needy world.

We commit ourselves to continue to welcome each other's members into the fellowship, worship and mission of our churches. We will encourage forms of Eucharistic sharing in accordance with the rules of our respective churches. We will listen to each other, taking account of each other's concerns. We will seek to develop structures of joint or shared oversight, including shared consultation and decision-making.

We ask you to join with us in seeking together and with our other Christian partners to make this covenant a reality in our community and churches.

Yours in Christ, Malcolm Goodall and Les Hann

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Iain Phillips and Sue Dawson from Wear Valley District Council together with John Hamilton ,Chairman of the Task Force attended a meeting with the Parish Council on Tuesday 13^th January.

Sue Dawson gave a detailed update of all recent developments and additionally confirmed that the proposed Wolsingham Business Park was high on the agenda. Consultants had been instructed and their detailed analysis was awaited. The Task Force was in touch with One North East regarding the promised funding and Iain Phillips emphasised the need for a positive approach otherwise the opportunity for regeneration in Weardale would be lost.

• Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the autumn when apples are falling off the trees.
• William Tell shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son’s head.
• Nero was a cruel tyranny who would torture his subjects by playing the fiddle to them.
• Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shaw.
• Soloman had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.
• Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.
• The Greeks were highly sculptured people, they also had myths .A myth is a female moth.
• Queen Eizabeth was the "Virgin Queen".As a Queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted "hurrah"
• Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper.
• Beethoven was so deaf he wrote loud music
• Josephine was a baroness, she couldn’t have any children
• Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. .In between he practiced on an old spinster he kept in his attic

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Both the County and District Councils have prepared their submissions and it is already clear that vast sums of money are being spent on attempts to woo the public. In the event of a Yes vote the County is suggesting a structure of some 14 area offices with one for Weardale, very close to the arrangements years ago with a Weardale Rural District Council .. That office would have some autonomy but still be answerable to the political masters at County Hall.

The District Councils together feel that one single unitary based on County boundaries will be too big and not able to properly take into account the rural, urban and cultural differences within the County and be too far away from the people . They have therefore suggested that there needs to be a split in the County with two or three unitaries formed by the merging districts. There is the additional; argument that if a Regional Assembly is to herald the start of a new era then the structure beneath it should not be a retention of that which has existed for years and should also be new.

The Boundary Committee for England has issued its draft report which is open to change much depending upon the responses it receives. Everyone is invited to comment by 23^rd February 2004 .

If the regional assembly referendum returns a No vote then the County and District Councils will remain as they are at present although it is difficult to assess how long it will be before changes will be imposed as the two tier system is not thought to be best value. Having said that what guarantee is there that an assembly for the North will be beneficial to the people?

A PRIVATE STREET

The undernoted is a direct extract from a report by the Local Government Ombudsman when considering a complaint lodged by a resident of Bishop Auckland. It will be of particular interest to those residents in streets that have not been adopted by the County Council.

ST.ANNES CONVENT

On Wednesday 17^th December 2003 Hyperion Homes presented its plans for the development of St Annes to a special meeting of Wolsingham Parish Council. Hyperion Homes was formed over 2 years ago and is involved with several developments in the North East.. Howard Litchfield Architects had been instructed to draw the necessary plans and a representative from that firm also attended the presentation.

The intention is to retain the present frontage but demolishing the nursery area in order to allow access to the rear from a new junction in Rectory Lane roughly in the position of the present Nursery gate.. It appears that the County Council traffic section and Wear Valley District Council are happy with that suggestion. Access by Demesne Mill will not be allowed as it is too close to the bridge which is in need of some strengthening and also lacks visibility although it is difficult to see how the proposed access is better.

The present Sewers in Wolsingham are crumbling and it is questionable whether they can cope with more properties although Hyperion Homes have a built in reserve to cater for any necessary re-drainage work.. There will be a total of 44 dwellings which will include apartments , semi-detached houses, elderly persons provision and a number of affordable units but at the same time retaining the central courtyard and as many trees as possible. There will be a sympathetic use of traditional materials.

It is a multi-million pound development and Hyperion Homes have agreed to hold an exhibition in the Town Hall at a later date.

GO4IT

Those people who enjoy listening to the Archers on Sunday night may have tuned in to the programme that followed on Sunday 14^th December and been surprised to hear the voices of some Wolsingham children.

Go4it is a children’s magazine programme and was recorded at Wolsingham Primary School on Monday 8^th December. Three members of the cast of Byker Grove attended and answered questions posed by the youngsters and afterwards joined in the fun and games.

There was a highly competitive quiz when the children soundly beat the teachers one of whom is no longer very keen on eating cream crackers!!!!! It was a very enjoyable occasion, the programmes producer commenting that he was very impressed with the children, the school and Wolsingham. He had, it seems taken time off to look round and thought it a lovely place. it was his first visit but probably not his last.

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A PETITION

One resident has asked for a petition to be left in all the shops for signature by all concerned residents. The intention being to present it to the Parish Council for onward transmission to the County and District Councils as well as Wolsingham School and Community College It may be that the petition will be in the shops before the Crier but if not it will be soon.

ACCORDING TO DEVEY’S RECORDS OF WOLSINGHAM

• "The Thumb Screw used for punishing the Grammar School boys was attached to the north wall of the then schoolroom and was in existence in 1871"

There is no record as to where it is now.

It is further reported that following an affray in Wolsingham Rectory in 1370

• "Sir William de Beverly, Archdeacon of Northumberland "Defamed" because he dyd by craft and perceived malyce slaye one Hugh of the Buttery"

The Archdeacon, who was Hugh’s uncle by marriage, was eventually acquitted of manslaughter.

At the January meeting of the Parish Plan Steering committee, a report was given of the results of the initial selective survey carried out at the end of last year. This was done by means of a pro forma given out to specific groups and businesses, by word of mouth and by means of presentations at the wolsingham.net launch and the Jolly Girls Christmas Fair.

The main findings of this survey revealed that top of the list of concerns was the housing issue, closely followed by the question of parking and not just in the Market Place.

A lot of those consulted raised the matter of the appearance of the town – dog waste, litter, empty premises, the state of some roads and paths and street lighting. The volume of traffic through the town and road safety questions were also highlighted. There was plenty of concern about the number and range of shops and the adequacy of facilities for all age groups and the disabled.

The Steering Committee will now prepare a questionnaire for circulation to all households to gauge community feeling about the future of Wolsingham.