Music lovers - a date for your diary - Tuesday 29th June 2010

The Fairhaven Singers will be performing Music for a Summer’s Evening, a selection of beautiful a cappella music, on Tuesday 29th June 2010 in Holy Trinity Church, Littlebury. The programme is a delightful mix of light choral music, including pieces by Handel, Purcell, Stamford and some unusual surprises.

The concert will start at 8.30 pm.

The Fairhaven Singers, under Musical Director Ralph Woodward, have earned a reputation for innovative programming and high-quality performances full of atmosphere and charisma. They have made two acclaimed CD recordings, have appeared regularly on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2 and Classic FM and have performed all over the UK and Europe.

The local branch of the British Legion meets regularly in the Village Hall. For further information contact Denis Wright. Tel 522725.

Over the weekend of 3/4th January the villagers of Catmere End took part in a highly successful exercise to clear out the village pond of its mass of overgrown and unsightly weeds, and tidy up the area around it. A digger and dump truck were hired, and the whole area was transformed, with parts of the pond exposed that had not been seen for many years. The support from the village was amazing! At any one time, volunteers from 15 households were on site, either digging, sawing, chopping, clearing or burning.

Virtually every household whose members were not on holiday, disabled, sick, etc., was represented. Part of the exuberance can be explained as it offered the first opportunity in many months to get chain saws, strimmers, hedge cutters etc, out of the garage – and to light a bonfire. One over-enthusiastic volunteer had to be banished, and only allowed to return minus his chain saw! A real “boys and their toys” opportunity…

There was a constant flow of tea and coffee from nearby houses, while Isabel Leeming set up an urn in the garage for regular tea-breaks. Isabel also provided a cauldron of her mean, hot mulled wine, which really did reach deep into our frozen bones at the end of the day  -  and all went home wreathed in smiles. Such was the enthusiasm that plans are now being made for a bulb planting event, and a mid-summer barbeque beside the pond, with many offers of regular maintenance of the area around it.

Yes - Community spirit is certainly alive and kicking in Catmere End!
Many thanks to Roger Powell for his report and pictures of a great weekend.

Littlebury has had four Garden Concerts. They are held in a different garden each year and raise a considerable amount for charities, some local to Littlebury, some to Uttlesford and some that are well known nationally. Concert goers listen to music and enjoy their picnics in beautiful surroundings on a mellow summer evening.

Many thanks to Nick and Frances for hosting a fantastic concert on 12th July. The sun shone until evening  and everyone enjoyed the great music. Thanks to Keith and the bands - what a line-up! - and Tony, Ian, Joe, the Great Chesterford Scout Group and the Littlebury Laddies who worked so hard to make such  a brilliant event, right here in Littlebury, supporting Alzheimer's Society, Realife Trust and Friends of Holy Trinity Church.

    Littlebury Ladies has been running for over 25 years. It was first established by the then Vicar’s wife to offer a friendly welcome to ladies new to the village of Littlebury.

In its present form it is open to the ladies of Littlebury, and their friends, and ladies from surrounding villages.  It is especially pleasing when people move on and still return for the meetings. Once a year, usually the last meeting of the summer, the gentlemen of the village are invited too for a social evening together.    

We meet once a month, usually on the second Wednesday, and we have a range of events planned, usually with guest speakers demonstrating their skills and telling us about subjects such as hypnotherapy, stress management, painting techniques, card making, talks from social historians and wild life experts, walks in local wild meadows, Blue Badge tours of the town, floral displays, recipe nights and strawberry suppers, jewellery making and cartoon drawing – to name but a few!

We are always looking for new ideas and contacts and of course people willing to host an evening in their home. Our events are always published in the Parish News - please come and join us.

Littlebury Ladies Programme 2010 to 2011

Calling all singers! The Littlebury Village Singers are a fledgling music group who meet up to perform at village functions and occasions. We warmly welcome any newcomers, and from all over the parish.  We will be starting Christmas rehearsals on Wednesday November 4th. Ability to read music is not compulsory. Ability to sing one's heart and soul out, is. Please email Katie on katiegeiser @ hotmail.com for more details.

We also have a children's choir. For more information about either of these, please contact Katie Fraser on 513357 or katiegeiser @ hotmail.com

HISTORY GROUP In 2005 'Littlebury, a Parish History' was published, containing as much history as 44 local authors could muster in just under three years. A generous review of our book can be seen at http://www.littleburyhistory.org.uk  and a record of how we went about creating it can be found on the Local Heritage Inititiative website.  The history group is still looking for and discovering the history of this ancient parish.  From time to time history based talks and activities are organized in which the community can take part.

On the 17th May we ‘Beat the Bounds’ of the parish for the fourth time. Last summer  three Junior Summer History Days gave local youngsters an opportunity to find out more about Littlebury, its Roman heritage and the collapse of Henry Winstanley’s lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks in 1703, all shown above. More detail of the Lighthouse day can be seen at http://www.recordinguttlesfordhistory.org.uk/littlebury/eddystone.html  A programme of events for 2009 is shown below .

  c1920    1968    2008 

RECORDER
Lizzie Sanders is the Uttlesford Local History Recorder for the parish and actively collects photographs and any documentary or other evidence of its past as well as recording the present. If you have any items of interest that you think would be a useful addition she will be grateful to scan or photograph them in order to add to the growing archive of Littlebury’s past. You can contact Lizzie at sanders-art @ talk21.com Tel 528201

Littlebury is also on the Uttlesford History Recorders' website at http://www.recordinguttlesfordhistory.org.uk 

NEWPORT LOCAL HISTORY GROUP has sent us their PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS FOR 2010

Thursday 28 January:  Martin Bridge: ‘Dendrochronology: the scientific methods used to date timber-framed buildings’.
Thursday 25 February:  James Bettley: ‘Henry VIII in Essex’.
Thursday 25 March:  Douglas Kent: ‘Fighting for Old Buildings: the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Explained’.
Thursday 23 September:  Andrew Hann: ‘The new exhibition at Audley End’ (updating the talk he gave the Group in March 2009).
Thursday 21 October:  Keith Huddlestone: ‘Newport Free Grammar School in the 20th Century’.
Thursday 18 November:  Jeff Bines: ‘The Polish SOE at Audley End.’

All meetings are at 8.00 pm in Church House  Admission £2, but free to members
Enquiries to Anthony Tuck (Chairman) tel: 01799 543833
 

The Society was initially set up in 2001 to raise funds to publish the 'Parish of Littlebury Millennium Album', a recording of people and their activities in the parish (a few copies of which are still available from Lizzie Sanders at £15). Subsequently, a community project that ran between 2003-5 to publish 'Littlebury, a Parish History' was organized under its aegis. The Society meets once a year at the AGM early in the year, and as and when necessary. The society supports community based projects and is always open to new ideas. Last year, together with the Parish Council it it supported the recently published Parish Plan in conjunction with the Parish Plan Steering Group.

If you have any local projects for the society to consider please contact  Lizzie Sanders at sanders-art @ talk21.com , Jean Cowell at Jean.Cowell @ wcbmarketing.co.uk , or Oriel Williams at orielwilliams @ btinternet.com

Programme for 2010

Dr. Andrew Hann, Senior Properties Historian at English Heritage, is still keen to make contact with anyone who may have memories of their family’s work on the estate, pictures or other mementoes and information to form part of the archive to be used in the development of English Heritage’s exciting new permanent exhibition in the stable block of Audley End House.  For further details, please contact Gillian on 528199  gswilliamson @ btinternet.com or Lizzie on 528201 sanders-art @ talk21.com

Tuesday 23rd March at 8pm   Annual General Meeting - to be held at North House. As usull welcome

Sunday 9th May  All day.  Beating the Bounds  This is a wonderful walk of approximately eleven miles around the parish. Walkers can join and leave at various points.

At some stage in the year, when the legalities are completed, Carolyn Wingfield has kindly offered to talk to us about the bronze age finds.

Some pictures of a mostly dry Rogation Sunday.       

The Parish of Littlebury Millennium Album  2001 ed. Lizzie Sanders for Littlebury Parish Council. pub. Parish of Littlebury Millennium Society

This is a photographic and written record for the parish of Littlebury collated during the Millennium year. The original leather bound album is held in the Reading Room at Saffron Walden Town Library. With 262 pages, and in full colour, the book is a snapshot of life in an English parish. Eighty-eight households participated as well as the parish groups and societies of the time. Although mainly of local interest it has a broad appeal as a social history record of rural life in North West Essex at the time of the Millennium. Publication was funded by grants, donations and local fund raising events. Every household in the parish was entitled to receive a free copy of the book when it was published.

Littlebury, a Parish History 2005 Parish of Littlebury Millennium Society/History Group ed. Lizzie Sanders and Gillian Williamson. pub. Parish of Littlebury Millennium Society

 The Life and Times of a Country Gardener  2007  Sarah Casbolt  ed. & pub. Lizzie Sanders

Stan Casbolt was born in 1919 and lived in Littlebury Green where he worked as a gardener at Howe Hall Farm. Sarah his daughter took down his memoirs and with Stan’s enormous collection of photographs wrote and illustrated a book that illuminates the way of life at Littlebury Green throughout the 20th century, showing the transition of this hamlet from a rural farming community to the village we know today. The development of farm machinery and its impact on farming practices together with those of the car, two world wars and increasing modernity are vividly described. The depiction of the villagers’ hard working way of life and their humour and tolerance will intrigue and delight the reader. The Life and Times of a Country Gardener was launched in December 2007 at St Peter’s Church and Community Centre, Littlebury Green. The 144 page book, with colour illustrations and photographs is available from the Tourist Information Centre in Saffron Walden at £15.