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Village News 5

Heydon Grange Wind Farm 13

Parish Council 15

New Road Cemetery 16

County Councillor Susan van de Ven 17

Safer Melbourn 19

Melbourn Police Station 19

Obituary Daphne Black 21

Profile Angela Mead 25

Village information 27

Important Numbers 28

Diary 29

Education 31

feature – In Days Gone By... 37

Sports & Clubs 39

What’s on 45

Nature 49

www.melbourn.org.uk/forthcoming-eventsApart from printing, all work on the Melbourn

Magazine, including layout and design is produced by volunteers. The cost of

production comes entirely from advertising and sponsorship.

Melbourn Magazine is independent of the Parish Council NO public money is used.

...editorialThe village has lost one of its elders with the death of Daphne Black on April 17th. Her funeral was held at All Saints’ on April 30th and she is buried in the Orchard Road cemetery, as is her mother. There is a tribute to Daphne on p. 21.

The very successful Mobile Warden Scheme was set up by Val Trueman sixteen years ago. Sadly she has now had to resign as Chairman due to ill health. We are grate-ful to Val for her hard work and wish her well.

The Stockbridge Meadows Riverside Park Art project began over the May Bank holiday with sessions being held on three consecutive afternoons. Unfortunately the weather could have been better, but visitors were paint-ing, writing haiku and making collages and decorations from natural materials to hang in trees. We look forward to more sessions over the next year. See p. 45.

There will be lots going on in Melbourn over the sum-mer, the biggest event being the Village Fete on Saturday 26th June; we also have the Safari Supper on Saturday 12th June and Open Gardens on Sunday 13th June which were fun and a great success in past years. There will also be Open Studios on two weekends (10th and 11th, and 17th and 18th July, see p. 47) All we need is some really good weather!

There is information about the likely impact on Melbourn of the proposed Heydon Grange Wind Farm on p.16 and about the new cemetery on p.13.

The Melbourn Magazine was entered in the annual Community Magazine Awards staged by Cambridge Building Society and held at Marshall Cambridge Airport. Many congratulations to Meldreth Matters for winning the silver in the ‘high frequency’ magazine – published 10–12 times a year, the gold went to Great Staughton and Perry Life, and the bronze to The Witchfordian. The winner of the ‘low frequency’ – published 4–9 times a year - gold award was The Villager from Holywell-cum- Needingworth. Littleport Life got the silver award and Sawtry Lifestyle the bronze.

The Best Specialist magazine was the Bassingbourn Belle, which also won the award for the Best Newcomer, and the Best Commercial Magazine title went to Villager and Town Life.

Abbey Community Newsletter received the Most Improved title and the award in the Previous Winner category went to Melbourn Magazine! We were very sur-prised to receive this new award, although we did win the gold for the previous two years!

Very many thanks to Cambridge Building Society for organising and giving the awards – it is most encouraging to those of us who produce local magazines and is much appreciated.

Finally, we have to report that Jan and Peter Simmonett have been given an award by the Cambridgeshire Association for local History; at the time of writing the presentation has not yet been made, so the report will appear in the Autumn Issue.

We wish all those students taking exams the very best of luck, we look forward to hearing of your successes.

Enjoy the summer – we really deserve a good one this year!

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Melbourn Village MarketCome and support Melbourn Village College PTFA,

local businesses and charities.

Melbourn Village College Community Centre

(next to McSplash Swimming)

Saturday 3rd JulySaturday 31st July

Saturday 21st August(Provisionally booked – see website for details)

Starts10am to12.30pm

Melbourn Village website includes:Parish Council – Safer Melbourn – Village Plan –

History – Library – Healthcare – Education – Shops & Services – Riverside Park – Riverside Art – Problem Solving Group – Gallery – All Saints’ Church – URC – St Georges’ Allotments – River Mel Restoration –

Whats-on – Bowls Club – Bridge Club

Keep up-to-date with the

Parish Council & Safer Melbourn

Read the Melbourn Magazine online

or have your say on Speakers’ Corner

Find out what’s going on with the

Melbourn Library - Health & Education

Riverside Park & Riverside Art

If you’re looking for information on

Local History - Shops & Services

Clubs & Societies - Leisure Activities

Melbourn Churches - they’re all available

Be informed and browse!

www.melbourn.org.uk/speakers-corner/

‘Speaker’s Corner’ aims to provide Melbourn residents the opportunity to express their views on issues affecting them and those around them. Whether relating to the council, policing issues, or the local environment, feel free to make your point.

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village newsNew District Councillor for MelbournJose Hales has recently been elected as your new District Councillor for Melbourn, Heydon and The Chishills following the local election on 6th May.

Jose says “I would like to offer my sincere thanks for the fantastic support that I received leading up to and during the election. I feel very privileged that so many of you put your faith in me and as a result I will be working extremely hard on your behalf across the ward as part of a team, alongside District Councillor Val Barrett and County Councillor Susan van de Ven. Our ward is a great place to live and I look forward to work-ing for you - and with you – to make it even better”

Jose will continue sitting on the Melbourn Parish Council in addition to being a South Cambs District Councillor and can be contacted on 01763 221058 or e-mailed at josehales@josehales.me.uk

Village Fete & Music on the Moor Saturday 26th June 2010 1pm till late.The countdown to this years fabulous Fete has begun. You may have heard or seen some of the publicity already announcing the days events on local radio, on facebook and on our website www.melbournfete.co.uk We expect a large turnout for the benefit of the whole village.

We would be delighted to hear from you through the website if you would like to get involved with either a stall or volunteering on the day. We have a great deal of fun and we have a really good social calendar.

There will be lots for you to join in with; enter a’ ride on’ mower for the Lawn Mower Racing, join a team for the tug-o-war or find a mate to throw an egg to.

We have Chapmans Fun Fair Rides and the Grafham Climbing Wall, always a favourite. We have a sculpture competition open to all to build a model no wider than 1m and no taller then 2m out of recycled materials. Judging will be by South Cambridgeshire Recycling Champion who will also have a stall on the day to help with any questions you may have on recycling. An entry form iis n this magazine but also available around the village or from our website.

Our bar and barbecue promise more choice with different real ales on offer along-side the ever popular PIMMS which will be in even greater supply having run out too soon last year! The BBQ is expanding and hopes to offer a hog roast, so come early as this is always popular, but soon gets sold out! In the evening something a bit sweeter,

Child and Family Nursing Team

Well Baby ClinicsDrop in clinics for parents and

babies are held as follows:Melbourn clinic every Wednesday between 9.30 and 11.30am at:

35 Orchard Road, MelbournTelephone 01763 262861

Cambourne clinic every Monday between 9.30 and 12 noon at:

Room 12 (upstairs), Sackville House, Cambourne

Telephone 01954 282830

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In the news

New District Councillor for Melbourn

Village Fete & Music on the Moor

Village Market

Library Report

Mobile Warden Scheme

Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help Group

Melbourn History Group

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s Group

Royal British Legion

Royston and District Family History Society

Lifeboats

Heydon Grange Wind Farm the impact on Melbourn

COFFEE STOPEvery Saturday

10.30am to 12noonRombouts co!ee & biscuits for 70p at

All Saints’ Community Hall

maybe crepes cooked to order to follow your barbecue fayre.

Music on the Moor has it’s headline act – Shredded Beat – who will play to the end of the evening. Before that we have Toria Faith who did a Kylie Monogue tribute last year between main bands, and the ever popular and abso-lutely terrific BOB as well as Shredded Beat. Come along to what promises to be an idyllic summer evening FREE to all. BBQ and Bar stay open and last year it was warm and sultry and everyone sat or laid on the grass listening to the great music and thoroughly enjoying them-selves. Why not bring a blanket or some chairs and relax in style.

For the Fete afternoon in the main arena, attractions include the Electralite Majorettes, colourful, skilled dancing with baton, pom-poms and flags. Also the Air Cadets marching band will be playing, Cambridge Reptile will be attending and a photograph can be taken as a momen-to of your reptile experience. Enjoy a cream tea at the pavilion or a piece of home made cake while listening to the live music of the Memphis Jazz Band playing throughout the afternoon and a Barber Shop Quartet harmonising songs during a typical English Village Fete Day.

Another plea to join our growing band of supporters, we can always use more help on the day, volun-teers can get in touch on our web-site www.melbournfete.co.uk or email melbournfete@aol.com The same applies if you want to have a stall, or you can write to Melbourn Fete, 1 Mortlock Close, Melbourn, SG8 6DA.

Lots to look forwards to in one fun-filled summer’s day – Saturday 26th June 2010.Brian Collingbourne

Recycling Sculpture Competition 2010Age Groups – two prize groups one for adults and one for under 18’s. Age groups under 18 may be split into groups depending on number of entries and age of entrant may be taken into the consideration.

Brief – To make a sculpture out of recycled materials to not exceed 2m high by 1m wide/deep. Sculpture must be able to stand on it’s own on the grass surface of the field or on a table top, for display and can be of anything the artist wishes to make. The committee has the right to refuse any entry they may deem unsuitable for family viewing. The judge’s decision is final. The title of the sculpture is RECYCLING IS COOL.

Rules – sculpture must be delivered to the Fete grounds between 9am and 11am on the day of the Fete. The sculpture will then be on display for the duration of the Fete and must be removed between 5pm and 6pm that day. The Fete committee cannot accept any responsibility for damage or loss of any entry, although every care will be taken with every item entered.

Conditions – materials used must be materials that can be recycled. However please be careful with glass and metals. Also please make sure items used are cleaned and will not become smelly, sticky, rot or attract flies or wasps! Items can be stuck, strung or tied together and can be painted or left in their raw state. Entries can be entered by an individual or a group and open to everyone not just those living or going to school in Melbourn.

Melbourn Village MarketLocal business owners Jane Froggatt of Phantoyzia Toys, Barrington and Jane Lynch of Madajazz - Jazzy Bags from Madagascar of Shepreth are the driving force behind this new initiative which has been established to support local businesses, local charities and to raise funds for Melbourn Village College PFTA.

The first two markets have been outstanding successes for everyone. Hundreds of local people have visited the market at Melbourn Village College Community Centre to buy fresh produce and gifts from local businesses, many of whom do not have a shop front.

Local charities, Friends of Chernobyl’s Children, and Guide Dogs for the Blind have offered delicious homemade refreshments to raise awareness for their charity and funds for their good causes.

The market is to run once a month on a Saturday from 10 to 12.30pm. Entry is free for you to come and visit a variety of regular and seasonal traders.

The feedback from all attending has been fantastic and we are so looking forward to the market becoming part of local village life. The next dates for your diary are 3rd July and 31st July and provisionally booked is the 21st August – see village web-site for more details. Look forward to seeing you there!

Melbourn Library ReportThe good news is that the library is likely to stay open at least until the end of 2011. The bad news is that the Library service is under intense pressure to cut costs. The Service has made it clear to us that our performance ought to be better. Their main criteria for performance is how many books are borrowed. The Service prefers us to lend their books but accepts that we will lend a considerable number of our own books. Without our donated books we would have a very poor selection. I will come back to the need for donated books later. The Service intends to cut back the mobile service still further, blink or go on the wrong day and you will miss it. We hope to plug this gap by by extending opening in the future.

I expect you are wondering what costs there are for a Library that is run, insured and repaired by us the volunteers with help from the local Parish Councils. Well surprisingly there are costs in running the LAPs, something like £10,000 per LAP to cover the cost of admin, new books, delivery, reading schemes and general liaison. This translates into a significant cost per book lent. Now these cost are virtually fixed so if the actual loan rate goes up the cost per book comes down. So in order to

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convince the council to go on supporting us we have to improve the return on their expenditure. The Library Service is likely to cut back its own libraries by about 3 or 4 branches in other areas over the next 2 years.

So we need to support our Library if we want it to continue. We, the Library team, love running it are looking for ways to provide other services. We currently run a story telling group for young children every Thursday morning at 10.00am for under fives. It is not necessary for children to have a long attention span. We currently have about 13 children attending. The sessions are very relaxed. We hear that some people are coming from Royston where the Library Sessions are packed out. Would any local writers like to come to the session with the idea of promoting their own books for children? We need to develop new uses for the library building. Its a shame to have a nice building which is only used for 11 hours a week. If you have any ideas why not come and discuss them with us.

We still need donated books but cannot handle large collections because of the space and work needed to put them on our shelves. We suggest you bring 6 to 10 good books rather than a box which usually ends up for sale or we have to take them to the book bank. One idea would be if you had read a really good book like the one I read in Hospital last week. It was The Return by Victoria Hislop. I liked it because not only was it a bit of history I knew nothing about but it generated such intense feelings of love, hate, good and evil all in one book. I recommend it. Perhaps you would like to recommend a book for review?

Finally our long term future depends on the Parish Council finding us a new home. At best this is likely to take two or three years. It is a vital part of the village infrastruc-ture and it is a meeting place for people. We need help from everyone to enable us to survive in these hard times. New members are really good news. Please help in anyway you can – even borrowing a couple of books and then not reading them helps us. Opening times are shown in the centre spread of this magazine and are as usual. Our phone is 01763 269956 during opening hours.Mike Stapleton

Melbourn Mobile Warden SchemeAfter 16 years it is with much sadness I regret that I have to resign as Chairman of the M.M.W.S.

Over time I have been very ’hands on’, visiting clients and getting to know each and every one of them.

Unfortunately a couple of years ago I had a stroke followed by several minor strokes which has resulted in my being unable to walk or write, which makes me very inefficient.

Mr Bob Trimble has always taken a keen interest in the scheme, and when I was the callout number for 24 hours he accompanied me on the odd occasion to pick up a client who had fallen on the floor.

I have remained on the committee where I can use my experience to assist, so I am still here and would be pleased to hear from any of you at anytime.

I am very proud of the Scheme and feel that it is my legacy to the village and feel the scheme couldn’t be in better hands.Val M Trueman 220402

Melbourn and Meldreth Self Help GroupThursday Lunch ClubLunch Club would like to start with a very big thank you, to The Co-Operative Membership Community Fund, from which we have recently received an award which allowed all our members to have a free Easter lunch, complete with Easter eggs and hot cross buns. This lunch was cooked by the ladies who man the kitchen each week. Thank you ladies.

Lunch club is run entirely on donations. We are very grateful to both village coun-cils, Melbourn and Meldreth, from which we receive grants each year. We lost our

regular cook Mary, over a year ago now; she received a set amount each week to feed up to 32 diners from the two villages, and we were able some weeks, to make a small profit, as Mary did this work on a voluntary basis, and never charged us for her time. When Mary left us, we were very lucky with the help of Janice Guest, to come to an arrange-ment with Moorlands Court. They now provide us with meals each week and these are collected in hot boxes, served from the kitchen at Vicarage Close, for which we are charged per person. Lunch Club in turn, charges that amount for the food and the monies are passed onto Moorlands Court. Therefore we are always out of pocket, as in addition to the food, squash, tea and coffee is pro-vided, together with a card and bunch of flowers for each birthday. On top of that we have rental charges, and insurance.

We have been very grateful to the Melbourn Village Fete committee these past years for a donation which has enabled us to provide a free Christmas Dinner, together with a small present from Father Christmas.

You will understand then, that extra donations such as that from the Co-Operative Membership Community Fund, are very much appreciated. There was a small amount of money left over, which will be used to put on a cream tea one afternoon in the summer.

Many thanks to the drivers, who all live locally and provide transport free of charge to get our members to Vicarage Close each week, without which we could not operate. Very few of our mem-bers have their own transport.

This last academic year, we have had the help of at least 3 students from Melbourn Village College most weeks. Melbourn Village College is host-ing a course entitled: Diploma in Society,

WANTEDMelbourn Magazine is looking for help to coordinate the distribution of the magaine. If you can spare

one day each quarter to help please contact Eric Johnston on

01763 220197

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Health and Development. This is attended by students from Melbourn Village College, Bassingbourn Village College and The Meridian School, Royston. All the students who have attended lunch club have been fantastic. They are very polite and have been of great help, both in the kitchen and serving our members. All schools should be very proud of these students, they are a credit to all concerned. If you wish to go on a waiting list to join lunch club, or can offer to help either to drive or in any way please contact me.Jayne White 220250jayne.white1@ntlworld.com

Melbourn History GroupWhen we started to work on the Melbourn History Books so many people were kind enough to send us memorabilia of past events such as photographs, letters, pro-grammes and so much more. After publication these were filed away in a fire-proof filing cabinet and we have just started to sift through the mass of material with a view to properly cataloguing everything we have and filing these under proper titles. It is fascinating work reading again of the past history of the village and there is a great temptation to spend time reading instead of working!

The Group played its part in the recent Art Project for Stockbridge Meadows by walking with the various artists and telling them something of the past history of Melbourn. We hope that we were able to assist them in their formative thoughts and some were especially interested in the more lurid stories such as the Ship Money Riots or the stopping of the Feast by Reverend James Hamilton “The beast who stopped the Feast”.

The Cambridgeshire Association for Local History makes awards every year to residents of villages who play an outstanding part in their village’ sactivities and the group was very pleased to nominate Peter and Jan Simmonett for an award. A report of the presentation will appear in the next issue of the magazine.

The Association also sponsors Young Persons History Awards and the Group felt that the Primary School and Village College would want to possibly nominate pupils but sadly up to the time of this report no acknowledgement or reply to our invitations has been received.

The Group inherited a great many glass slides of village life as it was many years ago taken by Percy “Peep-Bo” Salmon. These are stored safely and we have every hope of taking the most interesting and possibly making a DVD for general use. We are indebted to Ray Ellis for all his help and advice in this matter.

Visitors to the Parish Church in pursuit of ancestors still leave the details in the Visitors Book placed there and every enquiry is acknowledged and followed up with as much information as we are able to find from our own records. We are still busy transferring the Births, Marriages and Deaths details on to our computers with a view to publishing these on the village website in due course.Colin Limming

Melbourn and Meldreth Women’s GroupI am writing this as signs of spring are everywhere with bulbs coming up and we even had sunshine today which brightens all our spirits and in February Nicola Dunklin cheered us all up by sharing with us the wonderful work car-ried out by the many people involved with the Friends of Chernobyl Children. In March Mary Price talked to us about her “Path to the Ministry.” In April and May respectively we had talks about The Melde Restoration and Stamps which goes to show how much is going on in our villages.

We look forward to a varied pro-gramme over the coming months, on June 22 we shall be having our Garden Party in the Meeting Room at Meldreth Church - or perhaps even outside if the weather permits! This is a popular event so you need to get tickets from one of the committee members. Then 27 July we will be at The Melbourn Community Hall behind All Saints’ Church where we will take the opportunity to share with one another some of our favourite pieces of music – often an interesting kaleidoscope of music from around the world. 24 August we are in the The Meeting Room at Meldreth Church and Toni Haynes will be giving us a talk enti-tled “Colour & Style.”

All our meeting start at 7.45p.m. do feel free to come and join us if you would like any more information contact Pat Smith 260103

Self Help Group Lunch

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DID YOU KNOWWe now have a

! Butcher, Baker,! Greengrocer,! Fishmonger! ... and Grocery Stall

every Wednesday and Saturday.

Other products available include:Linen " Swimming Pool Supplies " JewelleryHardware " Kitchenware " Plastics " Books

Ladies and Gents Clothing " Bric A Bracand Wooden Wildlife Supplies.

Come and visit the home of the: Royston Sausage – try before you buy.

Forthcoming events

EVERY 1ST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Outdoor Farmers Market. 10am – 1pm. Come and sample the tastes of Gary Rhodes Local Hero Stuart Blackman’s Vension Kofta’s, for the sweeter tooth try out National CupCake Champion Kevin

Sibleys Cakes and Home Made Fudge. Other stalls include; Fruit and Veg, various Meats, Arts

and Crafts, Hand Made Jewellery, Pasties, Pies and Rolls. See for yourself.

EVERY 3RD SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Mini Outdoor Farmers Market. Incorporated

into the twice weekly Charter Market; 9am – 1pm a range of local products at reasonable prices.

Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshireare looking for more volunteers - couldyou give a Home-Start family the most

precious gift - your time ?

Our volunteers are all parents or grandparents who can give a few hours a week to help families

who are finding it difficult to cope

All parents need emotional and practical help to get through the first few years, but not everyone

has friends or family nearby

This is when Home-Start volunteers can help!

Further details can be obtained by calling into our offices:

Unit 6, Valley Farm, Meldreth, SG8 6JP,

or contacting us on 01763 262262 and talking to Wendy or Tracy or e-mailing admin@hsrsc.co.uk

‘My love for dogs’ offers home boarding for your canine friend. I am a dog lover, smitten

with them and my home is totally dog friendly. I am delighted to open up our home so that whilst you are on holiday, your dog has a holiday in the comfort of our home,

with a totally secure garden.I am fully insured, police checked and have grown up with dogs all my life. Holly, our

beautiful golden Labrador loves to play with new friends.

Rest assured that your dog will have at least two long walks a day either at the heath

nearby to our home, or in the fields surrounding our village. We also utilise on a daily basis on local village recreation ground

and play ball games there.

Should you require any further detailsplease do not hesitate to call

Amanda Bishop on 07903 806750.

HOME DOG BOARDINGMy love for dogs

We are based in a small villagenear Royston in Hertfordshire.

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Royal British LegionIt’s a fairly quiet period for most Royal British Legion branches at this time of year; one big event is the 20 10 Annual Conference which will be held at the Villa Marina in Douglas on the Isle of Man, the dates are Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd of May 2010; the odd meeting and seminar will follow this I suspect. Anzac Day is another event in which The Royal British Legion takes part. Anzac Day is considered a national public holiday in New Zealand and Australia, and is commemorated in both countries on 25th April each year in tribute to members of The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

The War Memorials Trust held a conference on the 4th March at The Guildhall in Cambridge to discuss amongst other subjects, the role of the trust, conservation and ownership and responsibility of memorials. Avril Mellors attended on behalf of Melbourn Parish Council, and John Chamberlain on behalf of Meldreth Parish Council; prior to this conference I had asked Melbourn Parish Council if they would consider the possibilities of some conservation and refurbishment work being carried out on the Melbourn War Memorial which members and I believe is now in need of atten-tion, this of course is whether budgets allow. I am, however, still hopeful of getting some help. Our standard bearer Mike Cooke is now attending training classes along with my wife Pauline who is now thankfully out of hospital and fully fit to take part again. As yet I have no news about the vacant post of 2010 Poppy Appeal Organizer, the Appeal work starts around August, and is always a busy time for the person involved.Patrick Parkinson, Chairman & Secretary, Melboum, Meldreth & District Royal British Legion.

Royston and District Family History SocietyOn the whole we have had an entertaining winter season. Like so many others the weather did have some bearing on attendances. Particularly badly hit was our Christmas Social on December 21st. The only upside being that the sixteen of us who managed to make it through the “blizzard” were able to make as many trips to the buffet table as our hearts desired. We have had some informative and entertaining speakers over the last few months. Some of those were given by our own members and it would take a braver soul than I to single any one of them out but, of the guest speakers, we all were very moved by Steve Fuller from the Imperial War Museum, he has made a speciality of the history of the Bedfordshire Regiment, particularly during the Great War. He asked us to provide him with some names of soldiers a few weeks before he gave his talk and, by the time he spoke to us, he had found out an awe inspiring amount of information about them. It was a very valuable talk to give a room full of family historians because the sources and methods used by him could be transposed to most of the Regiments in the British Army at the time. At the end of the meeting All Saints’ Hall emptied very swiftly as members rushed home to log-on to his recommended websites. Also very much enjoyed was Mr. Roy Tricker with his talk “In praise of old Churches”, not only was he very knowledgeable but extremely entertaining. Don’t ask me how he managed to extract so much fun out of ancient buildings but he did.

As well as enjoying all this socialising we have completed two projects this year both of which are now available from our bookstall or via the website www.parishchest.com they are Royston Parish Church Marriages (1662-1812) and Banns (1754–1837) and Monumental Inscriptions of Steeple Morden Parish Church.

June 21st is the AGM with cheese and wine. We then have our summer break and reconvene on Sept 20th with “More on the WW1 soldiers of the Bedfordshire Regiment” by Steve Fuller who is back by popular demand

Our website is www.roystonfhs.org.uk and all our meetings, unless otherwise stated, take place on the third Monday of the month at All Saints’ Community Hall, Melbourn with doors opening for chat and a look at the bookstall at 7.30 pm and talks commencing at 8pm.

We are always happy to see new faces and can assure you of a warm welcomeAvril EmeryChair/Editor Royston & District FHS

LifeboatsIt is always difficult to write for a period some time ahead, but we hope that this year you will have a sunny and safe holiday.

At the moment we are basking in warm sunshine – such a relief after what has seemed an extraordinarily long winter.

Bad weather no doubt contributed in part to last year being the busiest on record for RNLI, with the number of launches topping 9,000 for the first time in RLNI history. Volunteer crews launched 9,223 times, rescuing 8,235 people.

Our lifeguards also had their busiest year, proving that it is not only rough seas that cause the need for rescue – life-guards responded to 13,591 incidents, and assisted 15,957 people.

The busiest RNLI station was Tower, on the river Thames, with 379 launches, and 147 people rescued. The busiest lifeguarded beach was Weymouth Main, with 647 incidents.

Statistics like these spur us on to generate funds for RNLI, and we have a full programme planned for the rest of this year – hope to see you at the Kite Festival!

We would like to thank everyone who supported us at our Morrison’s collection in Royston – over £200 was raised, and also thank those shoreline members who have offered to help with our Tesco collection in May, it is very much appreci-ated.

Finally we would like to express our sadness at the passing of a long-lived resident of Melbourn, Daphne Black. Daphne, who was 95, had an amaz-ing, full life, and was ardent supporter of RNLI, serving on our committee for over 20 years. The time and effort she put in to raise funds will always be remembered and appreciated, as will her tremendous energy and enthusiasm.Jean Emes 245958Secretary Royston Branch

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Heydon Grange Wind Farm the impact on MelbournSome of you may have read in the press about a possible wind farm development in the area. The facts are, that a German company called Volkswind are undertaking an ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ (EIA) on land owned by Heydon Grange golf club, to assess the affect that such a development would have on the local environ-ment.

There is no planning application at the time of writing this piece (late April) but this is very likely to follow soon. Here are some of the basic details about the potential development.• The site is roughly 2km square to the rear of the golf club, either side of Fowlmere

Road, Heydon. • Eleven turbines may be built. • Each turbine is 126.5 metres (415 feet) tall - equal to a 40 story building. Consider

that Canary Wharf is 50 stories and one can see that this is a major development! • Turbines will be as close as 400m from the nearest house on Fowlmere Road

Heydon.• It is estimated that the turbines will be visible from about 30km and other impacts

potentially felt over a radius of up to about 10km.

Given the scale of this development, several villages will be significantly impacted as well as Heydon, albeit to varying degrees and in different ways. These will include Melbourn, The Chishills, Duxford, Fowlmere, Barley, Foxton and Thriplow. The affects to consider will include but not be restricted to:

Visual impact – Noise – Effect on eco system – Archaeology and sites of historical interest – Aircraft – TV interference – Sociol economic issues including property values

The EIA scoping work came to light when the EIA document was produced by Volkswind in March 2010 and the villages impacted were invited by South Cambridgeshire District Council to comment on the environmental aspects of the document - not planning merits - by 12th April 2010.

Melbourn parish councillor Jose Hales, attended meetings held by Heydon and Chishill parish councils, to listen to information presented there and reported back to Melbourn Parish council who have provided a timely response to South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) on the scoping document. Other villages including Heydon and Chishill have provided responses too.

You can read the EIA scoping document on South Cambs web site at: www.scambs.gov.uk/Environment/Planning/DevelopmentPlanning/heydonwind-scopingrequest.htm. It is also available at the Melbourn Parish Council office at 28 Station Road (01763 262494), as are copies of Melbourn and Heydon village’s

responses to SCDC on the Volkswind scoping document.

Melbourn Parish Council have this as a regular agenda item and along with County Councillor Susan Van de Ven and District Councillor Val Barrett are monitor-ing the situation closely.

I also attended the Heydon and Chishill meetings as an interested resi-dent of Melbourn and have been con-tinuing to gather information about the likely impact of this development and the likelihood of other developments fol-lowing in the area.

An “action group” is being set up by residents (as this goes to press) as several significant concerns have been raised by them as to the suitability of the site. The group wishes to make clear it is not against the principles of renewable energy in appropriate and productive sites.

At present I am acting as the com-munication channel between our village and this group.

I invite other Melbourn residents interested in understanding the likely affects upon our village to contact me to raise important public awareness. The assumption that it’s proximity will not affect us is incorrect and I urge you to access the information being made avail-able so you are appropriately informed.

Any residents interested in estab-lishing the facts should e-mail me at windfarm@melbourn.org.uk putting ‘wind farm’ in the subject matter.

Alternatively you can write giving your name and address for further contact (if you wish) and drop or post your cor-respondence into the Melbourn Parish office at 28, Station Road, Melbourn, SG8 6DX (which is acting only as a cen-tral collection point) clearly marked ‘wind farm’. I will collect any correspondence on a regular basis.

Please mention this article to your neighbours and friends in the village (or neighbouring villages) and encourage them to take an interest.

The Heydon Grange Wind Farm action group can be contacted directly via info@stopheydonwindfarm.com and are keen to hear urgently from residents willing to contribute any of their time and skills. Jeannie Seers, Melbourn

This windfarm can be seen just outside of Bruges in Belguim on the E40

13melbournmagazine

19 Station Road Melbourn Royston Hertfordshire SG8 6DXTel 01763 217510 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Sat 9am-12pm

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14 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

From the Parish Clerk – Avril Mellor

Chairman

Donald Mowatt 23, High Street SG8 6AL 268388

Vice-Chairman

Maureen Townsend 32 New Road SG8 6ER 260959

Clerk & Office

Avril Mellor, 28 Station Road, SG8 6DX 262494

E-mail parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

Website www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

CouncillorsVal Barrett 2 Station Road, SG8 6DX 261227Frank Benfield 2-4 Little Lane, SG8 6DX, 262421Irene Bloomfield 78 Russet Way, SG8 6HF 222558Alan Brett 44 High Street, SG8 6DXBB 260306Rosemary Gatward 94 High Street, SG8 6AL 261225Jose Hales 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH 221058Dean Hardingham 1 Portway, SG8 6EU 232757Michael Linnette 11 Chapel Lane, SG8 6BN 262534Andrew Mulcock 1 Lawns Close, SG8 6DR 222940Donald Mowatt White Walls, 23 High Street 268388Mike Sherwen 3 Hale Close, SG8 6ET 260070Peter Simmonett 42 Greengage Rise SG8 6DS 220363Christopher Stead 70 Russet Way pm only 260743Maureen Townsend 32 New Road, SG8 6BY 260959Richard Wakerley 32 Chalkhill Barrow, SG8 6EQ 262247

EmployeesHandyman and Caretaker Peter Andrews 243312 Emergency mobile. 07778-682245

Village Ranger Keith Rudge, 4 Dolphin La, SG8 6AF 221212

Internal AuditorPeter Chilvers, 68A High Street, SG8 6AJ 260742

County CouncillorSusan van de Ven 95 North End, Meldreth 261833susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk.

District Councillors

Val Barrett, 2 Station Road 261227 Jose Hale, 23 Elm Way, SG8 6UH 221058

South Cambs M.P. Andrew Lansley 01954 212707

South Cambs M.E.P. Robert Sturdy 01954 211790

The Parish Office at 28 Station Road, is entered by the door at the front of the building directly opposite Sheene Mill. The Parish Office is now open on Mondays from 9 am to 1 pm, on Tuesdays from 2 pm from 4 pm, and on Thursday from 9 am to 1 pm. The office is not normally open on Wednesdays or Fridays. As the Clerk is sometimes out on Parish business it is better to ring 262494 to ensure that she is in the office.

Meetings of the Planning Committee are normally held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month commencing at 7.15 pm. Council Meetings are normally held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7.15 pm at All Saints’ Community Hall.

The PressRoyston & Buntingford Mercury Tom Ship, Media Centre 40 Ware Road, Hertford, SG13 7HU 01992 526639

Royston Crow Heath House, Princes Mews, Royston, SG8 6RT 245241 Fax 242231

Cambridge News David Williams, 3 Melbourn Street, Royston, SG8 7BP 249144 Fax 244502

BBC Radio Cambridge Reception 01223 259696 Newsroom 01223 358510

MELBOURN PARISH COUNCIL28 Station Road Melbourn Cambs SG8 6DX

Telephone 262494 e-mail: parishclerk@melbournpc.co.uk

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk/council/

It would have been interesting to experience a Parish Council election this May, but once again there were insufficient people put in nomination papers to require this. Four members of the previous council stood down at the end of the year. There are only three vacancies, however, as we have one new person joining the council, Peter Simmonett who is very well known in the village for his work on Melbourn Magazine and the village

web site. I look forward to working with him and hope his time on the council is a happy one.

The Parish Council is responsible for the cutting of grass on Council property and open spaces and also undertakes the cutting of the verges in the village on behalf of CCC. The contract came up for renewal this year and went out to tender to five companies. It was subsequently awarded to MD Landscapes Limited for a period of three years. Herts and Cambs Ground Maintenance have done a sterling job for the past three years but failed to win the contract this time.

Stockbridge Meadows is to be the centre of a Public Arts Project under lead artist Jo Chapman and project managed by Arts Development Officer, Kirstin Bicknell. It commenced in May and will continue for a year. Money to fund this project came from a S106 agreement (see below) with Camstead Homes who built Rupert Neve Close. Camstead Homes stipulated that the money was to be used on an Art Project in the village. It will be interesting to see how this project develops over time.

Section 106 obligations are legally binding obligations that are attached to a piece of land and are registered as local land charges against that piece of land. Planning obligations enable a council to secure contributions to services, infrastructure and amenities in order to support and facilitate a proposed development.

Work is being carried out on the mound in New Road cemetery as preparation for the return of some of the Saxon remains which were uncovered during an archaeological survey carried out prior to the development of Chalkhill Barrow. The new gates for the main entrance to the cemetery are expected to be fitted sometime in August. More trees, new and replacement have been planted and 2 flower beds have now been planted up at the end of the rows. As this is a lawned cemetery, plots that are over six months old are turfed. It has become apparent though that the graves here are taking much longer to “settle” than those in Orchard Road and it may be necessary to delay the turfing until the grave has fully settled.

At the time of writing the Council is still waiting for the revised lease from SCDC Legal Department so that it can take over the village car park. The Problem Solving Group has been looking into the renovation of the car park and has been awarded a grant of £3000 by SCDC. This money is being used to employ a car park design company which amongst other things will look at the hard and soft landscaping issue in the car park.

The Council hopes that when finished the area will become an asset to the village.

The agenda and minutes of full Parish Council Meetings and the minutes of Planning Committee meetings are now posted on the village website

Minutes of Parish Council Meetings and Planning Committee meetings are available on the village website

15melbournmagazine

so that they can be viewed at your leisure at home. Unfortunately it is not practical to publish the agenda for Planning Meetings as Notices of Application may arrive up to the time of the meeting and need to be discussed that night in order that a response may be submitted within the 21 days required.

I believe that at long last Vicarage Close is to be resurfaced, which I am sure is very welcome news to the residents of the Close and all who have to use this road. The land between Elm Way and Orchard Surgery is to have the path re-laid due to the surface getting very muddy when wet. Stockbridge Meadows is to have a wheelchair friendly path laid around the edge of the car park along with a new access gate.

After a long hard winter I am sure that we are all looking forward to a really nice summer.

New Road CemeteryLocated to the west of New Road and accessed from Victoria Way (or from Summerhill Lane, the public byway off the top of Water Lane) New Road Cemetery is one of Melbourn’s important recent new landmarks.

Some 12 years ago the Parish Council, concerned about the space limitations of Orchard Road cemetery, had the foresight to precept annually for several years in order to purchase land for a new cemetery. Ultimately this led to the acquisition of a piece of land to the south west of the village, to the west of the Victoria Way development. This beautiful location, opened officially almost three years ago, will provide our burial needs for at least the next 200 years (Orchard Road has done the same for some 150 years!).

Because of its location and proximity to the site of the Anglo Saxon cemetery, rediscovered in 2000, and now Chalkhill Barrow, the designing architect, James Buchanan and our Parish Council decided that a ‘mound’ akin to other local barrows would be an appropriate feature to incorporate within the new cemetery.

Much time and thought was given to the design and layout of New Road Cemetery, simplicity, tranquillity and appropriateness being seen as the most

important. As it occupies a sloping south east facing site it was agreed that a ‘lawned’ cemetery would offer the best solution for the years to come.

Trees, shrubs and planted areas will evolve as the cemetery matures although there has been some initial planting to create a sense of structure.

Considerable thought was also given to the format for the entrance, ultimately it was decided to use purpose-designed gates in preference to the traditional lych-gate, the final design for which appears below. As mentioned earlier this cemetery is almost adjacent to the Anglo Saxon burial site, so after some investigation the Parish Council commissioned a local (and nationally renowned) sculpture/designer Matthew Sanderson to produce a design for our consideration. He carefully researched the history of Melbourn (thanks largely to the Melbourn History Group books) and worked closely with both Quinton Carroll and Corrine Duhig, both of whom were closely involved with the original excavation and analysis of the burial site. This design incorporates features of both Melbourn’s past and the Anglo-Saxon presence whilst still being relevant to our community in the years to come.

This main entrance, with its arching span over the pair of main gates (which will allow a horse drawn cortege through) comprises features of Melbourn and Anglo-Saxon culture. To the left hand side there will be a pedestrian side gate (sadly having to be of anti-cycle / motorcycle design), the main entrance gates will normally be locked so on the outside there will be a small car parking area for occasional visitors. The top Summerhouse Lane – Water Lane entrance is currently a stile, this will become a ‘protected’ entrance similar to the existing one at the main entrance.

Thanks to the advice and help from Quinton Carroll we will be amongst one of the only villages in the UK to be allowed to rebury their ancient remains. Our perseverance over this issue (ancient remains have no owner, the state assumes ownership) has been justified and as a result we are initially having a ‘family’ returned to us. This will be a male, a female and a child, their analysis and DNAs having been recorded by Cambridge C.C. Archaeology Department in order to permit their release. Further individual skeletal remains will be released for us as their examinations are completed.

The details of the excavations and analysis of the remains will be placed on record in due course and will be available for all to read through the Magazine and the village web site sometime in the future.

The intention at this stage (remembering the cemetery is non-denominational) is to bury these remains in the ‘mound’. There will be a simple circular smooth pathway ascending to the top of the mound thus allowing access to all. This will lead on to a small flat circular ‘rest and contemplation’ area with two seats and a ‘Trig point’ referring to significant local and surrounding features. At the start of the pathway an information display area will give visitors a brief description and history of how and why the mound came about.

As these details are still being determined there will be further news and articles in the Magazine and on the village web site in due course. If you have kept the early editions of the Melbourn Magazine you will find articles covering this initial discovery and excavation work.Quinton Carroll and Corrine Duhig work in this instance on behalf of Cambridge CC Archaeological Historical Environment Dept.Mike Sherwen

16 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Melbourn’s New Road Cemetery gates by Matthew Lane Sanderson

County Councillor Susan van de VenMost things council-related have a common theme: there’s a lot chasing up of requests and a lot of waiting involved. Budgets are usually ring-fenced and often depleted, so finding the resources we need to solve problems is not always as straightforward as one might expect. So apologies for what must seem like a trail of ongoing issues pulled along by a determined tortoise.

In Melbourn there is a detectable buzz, with the development of the Village Plan and so many village clubs and organizations working away. The Village Website seems to be bursting at the seams with notices of activity of all sorts.

At last, we have a School Crossing Patrol Officer, in the High Street at the top of The Moor. This post had been vacant for a very long time and it is great to see the crossing properly covered once again. Our previous, well-loved ‘Lollipop Man’, George Crouch, who lived in Shepreth sadly passed away last December.

Residents continue to struggle with pavements and roads in poor states of repair. It is understood that the County Council is already dipping into next year’s budget for pot holes and there is no long term plan to move beyond the status quo. It is vital to keep account of areas in need of repair, so please continue to call or write in with your concerns.

For anyone seeking compensation for damage to vehicles due to defects in the road, please write to Mick Oakman, Area Maintenance Manager, Box No ET1030, Highways, Station Road, Whittlesford, CB2 4NL. There is more information about this on the County Council website at: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/highways/if+you+decide+to+claim.htm.

At the County Council, £41 million has just been borrowed to help tackle the Guided Bus overspend. Meanwhile small but important improvements in villages like the still-awaited double yellow lines in Station Road are falling on the shoulders of parish councils because Highways has not been allocated enough County funds to deal with these routine jobs.

At the Melbourn and District Library Access Point, the Under Fives Story Time on Thursday mornings (10–10:45, in term time) continues to thrive. With their parents in tow, more people have been discovering this wonderful local resource. A library-based book group and a writing group have been suggested - please get in touch if you would be interested in either one. There are some great books on the shelves, many in large print and plenty of audio books too. Any item can be ordered by phone

Matthew Lane SandersonMatthew Lane Sanderson is a designer, metalsmith and sculptor based in Horningsea, Cambridge. He began making ‘Focal Points’ for permanent displays and temporary exhibitions in 1994 and has become well known for producing highly crafted, unique and ingenious works in original settings.

Matthew believes that ‘Public Art’ is more successful when people can discern that skill and honest hard work have been employed coupled with originality.

Locally, you can see his work with the entrance gates to St Faith’s School in Trumpington Road, Cambridge and the magnificent clock seen at the corner of Trumpington Street/Benet Street at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

Matthew is happy to meet people in his studio, but please call and book an appointment. See his website for more information and to see more of his splendid work.

www.sanderson-sculpture.com

17melbournmagazine

or email from the Cambridgeshire system and will be delivered to Melbourn for you to collect. Ring 0345 045 5225 or look at the on-line catalogue at:www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries.

Behind the scenes, the library committee is working hard to coordinate action with the Parish Council on relocating to permanent premises. The old police station site was sold some time ago to a housing association and there is a vision of a modest community room within any new housing which would replace the existing structures. Such a community building could house a library. The Library Committee is grateful to the Parish Council for taking an active role in exploring this and other possibilities for library relocation.

Rail service: An independent Rail User Group for our cluster of local stations – Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton has now been established, with good representation from Melbourn and all villages accessing these stations. A full account of our discussions and priorities has been published on the Melbourn Village Website. Our next meeting is June 16th 8PM, at Foxton Village Hall. Please come along, whether to contribute ideas or just to listen.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Problem Solving Group: This has been one of the most worthwhile and promising efforts I’ve been involved with over the course of the year, and I’d like to say thanks to a very committed team of members. Our work has been about taking a problem and turning it into an opportunity. We are liaising with youth workers at the Village College on activities for young people in the village; a gardening project has been taking place at Vicarage Close, with labour provided by Melbourn Village College students and plants via a generous £660 grant from Philimore’s nursery. (A good portion of that grant will be spent on further work in other parts of the village.) We have met with the College Warden, Elaine Stephenson, and there is a consensus that with a bit of coordination many more good projects for young people in the community can be undertaken. We have developed excellent communication with the police.

Please get in touch any time to report any issue or concern and I will try to help: Tel 261833, or susanvandeven@yahoo.co.uk. I continue to send out a monthly email newsletter, so please let me know if you’d like to receive it.Susan van de Ven

Putting you in control of your social careA new approach to social care introduced by Cambridgeshire County Council and its NHS partners means individuals can now choose the help they need to meet their social care needs.

Self-Directed Support involves identifying and allocating a Personal Budget – an upfront allocation of funding for eligible individuals to plan how to meet their social care needs and to achieve their personal goals.

Help is available at every stage, from completing the initial assessment to producing a support plan to show how the money will be spent and managing the budget. This can be taken as a Direct Payment or left with the County Council to manage on behalf of the individual service user.

If you think you are eligible for social care support you should call Cambridgeshire Direct on 0345 045 5202.

For more information about Self-Directed Support see the County Council website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/social or by calling the number above.

18 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

c a m b r i d g e s h i r e

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk/safermelbourn/

Report it to the Police… Why bother?I often hear people tell me about problems in their village and ask what the police are doing about it. When I ask if they have reported it to us, the reply is often along the lines of “Why bother?” Well, here’s why…..

Many people don’t report things like a rowdy group of teen-agers, or somebody revving their car or moped up and down their street, because they think these are minor things that the police won’t be interested in anyway. By no means would I want people to be calling the police every time a group of young people walk past their house shouting and laughing. However, when something which is a nuisance is happening repeatedly and you feel that a police presence would help to solve the problem, I would really encourage you to call us.

When you call the police about something like this, your call is logged on our computer system, and that will include any details you give. If the local officer or PCSOs are available, they may be just around the corner and come to attend. If you don’t report it, how will they know to come round the corner and deal with it?

I have spoken to people who find that this isn’t their experi-ence; they don’t get anyone come to see them at all and then feel let down by the police. As I’m sure you are all aware we are not able to be everywhere at once, and we have to pri-oritise the calls that come in to us. Our resources are limited and will always be allocated to the more serious calls first. This may mean that if an assault or a burglary has happened somewhere else an officer won’t get out to you for quite a while, and by the time they do, the problem may have gone. However, that isn’t the end of the information you give to us.

The Neighbourhood team look at the reports to see what is happening on their beat. A report like this helps them to identify where the problems are and where they need to be patrolling. When you call us, you can ask for a visit from your

local PCSO when they are next available if you want to discuss a problem with them, even if we don’t have the resources to deal with it there and then. You can also sign up to E-Cops through the Cambridgeshire Constabulary website. This is a free facility which gives you information, and allows you to contact us via email with information which you don’t feel you need to tell us immediately but which you would like to make us aware of.

By you telling us what is going on, we can be far more effective at dealing with it. The more information we have about what is going on in the area, the better picture we can build up, and as a result the better service we can give to your village.Sergeant Rebecca Williams

Melbourn Police StationWith the closure of Melbourn’s police station Cambridgeshire Constabulary, wishing to maintain a presence in the village have applied for, and received, planning consent to build a police base at the Melbourn Village College site.

You can see the full planning application on line at: http://scambs.jdiconsult.net/devcon/pa.php?paid=143791

The old police station was the base for our Neighbourhood policing team but with its closure last February the team is now based at Sawston. I have been told by our community police inspector that this will probably continue to be the case even when the new police “base” comes into service. The good news is that the police station volunteers, who ensured that the old station was open to the public, will re-establish this service at the new base.

Keeping this service going obviously relies on having enough volunteers, so if you are interested in becoming a police station volunteer and would like to know more please contact the volunteer coordinator, Val Barrett, on 261227.

19melbournmagazine

A weekend with PCSO Lindsay Gardiner…SaturdayLong day today; 11am until 10pm so a good day to catch up on paperwork and wash the police car so it was present-able to the public. At Meldreth pre-school summer fete, it was an opportunity for the children to meet the local Police Community Support Officer and have a look inside a police car. I also took police hats for the children to try, but the adults did take a shine to them!

Every few days we have new tasks in relation to crimes such as returning telephone calls for more information, knock-ing on doors to find out if anyone in the houses near an inci-dent saw or heard anything, taking statements and updating victims.

Speaking with members of the public when I’m out and about is important as some let me know if someone is acting suspiciously or talk about people they think may have been involved in crimes. These people are not always arrested, but the information received is always recorded in case it is useful in the future. Although time consuming, it does make our job much easier. Keep the information coming, please.

Out on patrol at 8pm with PCSO Coppard, we patrolled around the Village College on foot due to recent anti-social behaviour with cars and mopeds. The patrol took us along the school field though Vicarage Close and down to the High Street. We returned to the car just after 9pm. We drove around Meldreth, Shepreth, Foxton and Fowlemere. The British weath-er helped us out and kept everything quiet, we made our way back to Sawston Police Station and booked off just after 10pm.

SundayLast day of my week working from 2pm until 10pm.

I booked on duty and went straight out to take a state-ment for criminal damage, which took around 45 minutes. I patrolled around the village on foot for about an hour. I then delivered a number of Speed Watch letters. These are given to drivers who have been caught speeding by the Speed Watch volunteers or the local PCSOs. They are not tickets; they are letters warning drivers to slow down! Six letters were delivered, three in Meldreth, one in Fowlemere and one in Royston. This took me to about 4.30pm. Just after 5pm I was sent to an incident in Meldreth where a possible stolen bike had been found. The condition of the bike was very tatty so the conclu-sion was that it was probably just abandoned. I was required to check reports for missing cycles when I returned to the station – just in case.

At 6pm I was called to a report of an attempted break in at Bassingbourn primary school, which turned out to be two young boys playing football. The ball had hit a door on the school property and set the alarms off! I knew who the boys were so I made a note of their names and removed them from the school grounds.

I returned to the station at 7pm for a quick bite to eat and then went back out on patrol with PCSO Coppard. We patrolled Great Chishall on foot for 30 minutes and then drove

around Steeple Morden and Guilden Morden before going back to the car parks in Melbourn to check for noisy vehicles. We headed back to the police station to finish off our bits and pieces before going home at 10pm for a well-deserved night’s sleep.

SpeedwatchA number of villages in our area are members of the Speedwatch scheme. Speedwatch is operated by volunteers who are trained by the police to operate speed monitoring equipment to gather information on traffic movements in their villages. Speedwatch teams that record drivers exceeding the ACPO guidelines of 10% + 2 over the speed limit send the vehicle registrations to the police who then send advisory let-ters to the registered owners.

Speedwatch data from three schemes in our area

There were 3 checks in Wimpole on the A603 Cambridge Road with 29 were letters sent out to drivers. In Meldreth, there were 5 checks in Station Road, North End and Penny Lane,18 letters were sent out to drivers. In Whaddon, 3 checks in Church Street and Meldreth Road, 9 letters sent out to drivers.

Melbourn Neighbourhood trendsTotal crime in the Bassingbourn/Melbourn Neighbourhood has decreased, when compared to the previous period and the same period last year. This decrease has been reflected mainly in the Melbourn ward.

ASB incidents have increased compared to the previous period and the same period last year. This increase is mainly due to an increase in Fowlmere and Foxton Ward.

Melbourn (January and February 2010)

Total crime in Melbourn has decreased compared to the pre-vious period (23 offences vs. 35 offences) and has almost halved compared to the same period last year (45 offences).

There were two ‘theft from a shop’ offences in this period compared to one in the previous period. Both offences occurred at Co-Operative Group, on the High Street and the same offender was arrested and charged for both offences.

There were 7 criminal damage offences in this period compared to 5 offences in the previous period. Two of the offences occurred on the same evening in January on the High Street in Melbourn. In both offences offenders have ripped off the driver’s side wing mirror causing damage.

There were 19 ASB incidents in Melbourn in this period compared to 16 incidents in the previous period and 25 inci-dents in the same period last year. There were no patterns or trends in the incidents during the period.

Road Safety

Speeding patrols conducted at various locations across the Neighbourhood, including Cambridge Road, Melbourn. Twenty eight letters were sent to motorists as a result of these.

Parking patrols conducted at various locations across the Neighbourhood, including Melbourn High St, Melbourn Primary School. Ten motorists were given ‘words of advice’ and Four tickets issued.

20 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

CO

LOUR

ObituaryDaphne Black 13 January 1915 to 17 April 2010Daphne Margaret Black was born on 13th January 1915 to Edith Irene and John Rogerson Black at Harston, Cambridgeshire, her mother’s maiden name being Stockbridge. In May, 1916 Daphne was presented with a baby brother, Colin Rogerson. Sadly Daphne’s father died in December 1919, which made it necessary to move, and this is when mother and the two young children came to live in Melbourn, initially in the High Street and later in ‘Elmhurst’ which was their family home until the late 1970’s.

Daphne attended the school in Melbourn and then The Girl’s High School in Cambridge. Her next move was for teacher training at Whiteland’s College, Wimbledon, after which, aged 20, she started her long career as an infant school teacher with her first appointment in Tottenham. She was evacuated to Cornwall with the school when World War II started. Daphne then joined the ATS during the war and was a sergeant with the Royal Artillery on antiaircraft guns.

After demobilisation the many years of travelling started, including teaching posts overseas in Rhodesia, Canada, Malaya and New Zealand. Daphne also taught in her home land and this included Oxfordshire and Letchworth and retired in December, 1974 from her last position in Bassingbourn.

Daphne was famous for her travels to most parts of the globe, and was particularly fond of mountains, visiting many parts of the Himalayas. Her first overseas trip was to Egypt

in 1939 just prior to the outbreak of war, when she visited her brother Colin who was stationed there with the RAF. In Africa she went to The Congo and Kenya. She visited Mauritius for the wildlife; Canada, especially for the ski-ing and included the Yukon, and hitched a lift down The Alaskan Highway before it was a built up road. Other des-tinations have been Peru, Mexico, Panama, USA, Thailand, Japan, Bhutan, trekking in the Himalayas, the Gobi Desert, Kashmir and Eastern Turkey. More recently in retirement the TransSiberian Railway, the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia, a Caribbean cruise for the gardens, Croatia and Scotland. No wonder she had six very well used passports!

Daphne supported many charities especially the Royal National Lifeboat Institute for which she received a sil-ver medal. Her love for nature and the country side was immense and coupled with this was her aptitude for flower arranging. For many years Daphne’s joy was also singing choral works, being a founder member of the Cambridgeshire Choral Society, and in the church choir, and attending concerts, opera and ballet.

Daphne is interred in the Orchard Road Cemetery and with her death an era draws to a close. She will be very sadly missed by many local people and by her friends all over the world. Jean Hamdorff and family

From Kuala Lumpur To BangkokNo Holiday TripThe following is an account of a ‘holiday’, driving from Kuala Lumpur in Malaya, to Bangkok in Siam (Thailand), a dis-tance of 908 miles, made by Daphne Black in 1960. She sent this account to her mother in Melbourn.

Before undertaking the journey Daphne wrote to the ‘Protector of Aborigines’ in Kelantan for advice on how to proceed. She kept his reply, and used the back of the letter to make a list of essentials for the trip! She did not mention how long it took.

Here is Daphne’s own accountAlthough this trip has been done by others, I believe it is the first time that a small car, – an Austin A 30 – has got through, and from the astonished looks and comments we received, we were the two first ‘lone women’, and only myself as driver all the way.

The preparations beforehand were very necessary. Lots of documents, two new tubeless tyres fitted, and one spare. We just managed with these with only two punctures. As there were only two places on the road where any repairs could be done we did well to hold on until we found them. We carried three cans of petrol, one of oil, one of water and one of brake fluid, with some distilled water and spare

Daphne on her 95th birthday. Photo Rowena Tucker

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Baby & Toddler GroupLittle Foxes is a friendly, fun, good value, baby & toddler group. The baby & toddler group provides a great opportunity to meet other mums and for the children to play together. It is run by mums & child carers for babies and children up to 5 years old.

There are a baby area, dressing up clothes, trikes, trampolines, duplo, cars, dolls, etc. There are creative activities, song & story time and refreshments for the adults & children.

Foxton Village HallHardman RoadFoxtonTuesday (term time only)09.30 – 11.00

£1.50 per session

Little Foxes

22 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

bulbs and fuses. Also some heavy rope (which proved useful to haul us out of two rivers where we stuck), and a large knife, which was used to cut us apart from the truck hauling us out of the river. Several tins of fruit and meat proved not enough, the problem of food being most trying. We dare not drink water, but carried what we could in thermos flasks. We made the local inhabitants understand that we liked eggs, and lived on these in various forms for most of the journey until we arrived at Hua Hin, a seaside resort on the East Coast. Here was a real hotel, and we stayed two days cleaning up ourselves and the car; about 120 miles from Bangkok. In all the stopping places we found spotless bed linen, even though other aspects were not as inviting. Each night we took tablets to guard against ‘tummy’ troubles.

For much of the way in Thailand the road was not surfaced, and generally we were travelling over a corrugation of loose gravel and stone, not to mention a few rocks. I found it very hard to control my small car, and finally dropped to 20 – 25 m.p.h. Even then it often slithered, and after many miles proved a trying run, with great eyestrain. We had a map with Thai names and English ones also, and my passenger became quite efficient at deciphering the ‘squiggles’ on the sign-posts, and comparing them with those on the map. Occasionally mistakes were made, but we usually found someone on the route who spoke English.

The most amusing thing was that wherever we stayed, I had to drive the car right into the hotel lounge, all amongst the tables, where it remained for the night, usually having to be driven up a number of steps first, which was quite tricky to manage.

This trip would be impossible during the rainy season, as the roads immediately become a sea of mud. As it was we had one bad rainstorm with a horribly skiddy surface to negotiate.

When we reached Taguapa we had to get a permit from the Chief Engineer to go over the next 100 miles of road. He was dubious about allowing us through when he found we had no man with us, but at last, by taking one of his workmen,

we were given a written permit. The man was dropped after a few miles, and we then had two more stops, but flourishing our permits were allowed through with wide smiles all round. Our troubles began again after Nan Nong, as there were no bridges in places where there should have been. I got stuck in one river and had to be hauled out by a truck, but workmen were around at all the bad spots so we were helped out of our difficulties. Very often there were only steep declines and then a ‘bridge’ of two planks across the gap - just wide enough for the car to cross. It was hair-raising driving over these, and my passenger had cold feet each time and got out, preferring to ‘walk the plank’! At one point the road was being churned into a morass by a grader and a bulldozer, but the men took pity on me and my little car and scooped a passage. By this time we had picked up a most helpful young teacher who spoke English fluently, and, although the road again was ghastly and seemed endless, yet there were always people around, and we could buy fruit at the small farms as we passed by. And so we came to Bangkok and lost our way, but a kindly policeman came in the car with us and took us to our hotel. The car I sent back by train to the Malayan border, as I felt it was no longer a holiday jaunt, though yet another experience of the hazards and excitements of driving in a strange and exotic country like Siam.

An Austin A30 similar to the one used by Daphne.

Hands Busy Rummaging, unfolding Carefully assessing and selecting Country coloursPloughed - field brown,Hedgerow and tree greens,Bright summer hues,Red roofing tiles.

Fingers Patiently fashioning wonderful shapes, Cutting curved petals, Weaving the see –through centres With matching connecting threads. Shaping variegated trees and bushes With daylight peeping through.

HandsEnjoying the thrill of creativity Working in unisonJigsawing all the piecesPinning, tacking, machining togetherThe final planCreating a vivid scene of the countrysideIn full bloom

Hands Resting with SATISFACTION!

Suzanna 20.4.2010

Poem written on seeing Margaret Starr’s Work at The Tavern Gallery, Meldreth, in April. For future events see What’s On page 45.

Farm Cottage

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ProfileAngela MeadAngela Cooper’s parents Harold and Alice (nee Waldock) lived at no. 14 Rose Lane and they already had a seven year old daughter Pauline when Angela was born in Royston Hospital. Harold worked all his life at the Atlas Asbestos Cement Company (Eternit) and mother did cleaning for Mary Elbourn and Gladys Harrup.

Father was born in Melbourn and her mother in Meldreth so there were always lots of cousins and aunts around dur-ing her growing up. Her grandparents at one time kept The Dumb Flea public house in Chiswick End. Angela went to the Primary School in Mortlock Street where Tom Smith was the headmaster and then on to Melbourn Village College where her favourite classes were cooking, and also sewing under the tutorship of Daphne Hagger. She was a very keen Brownie and the pack met in the hall which stood where the school carpark is now located, Diana Boote was the Brown Owl. She attended the Sunday School at the URC in Orchard Road and even taught there for a while.

When she left school she went to work at Farmers Fertilizers in Royston doing secretarial work for John Keatley and his father, travelling in by bus. By then she had already been going out with Roger Mead for a couple of years – they met in 1964 at Melbourn Feast when she was only 14. Angela asked Douglas Gatward (who was married to her cousin Rosemary) to take her on the dodgem cars but he told his young apprentice to take her instead. Douglas worked at Gates of Baldock mending tractors. Roger had been born in Royston, but his mother was at Meldreth Primary School with Angela’s mother so the families were already well known to each other.

Roger was three years older than Angela and as soon as she was 17 he taught her to drive, in a little mini. When they had got engaged and had fixed the wedding date for September 1970, it was decided that they should build a bungalow in the garden of no. 14. The couple started work on their new home in the January, with Mervin Thurley doing the brickwork

and Charles Brooks doing the carpentry – Angela and Roger did the labouring. And the house was ready for them to move into when they returned from their honeymoon in Blackpool.

Louise was born in 1975 and Angela left work at Farmers Fertilizers and became a full time mother, two years later Sarah was born. The two girls now live next door to each other in Armingford Crescent, with five children between them. When Louise was seven and started Brownies, Angela went to help out and eventually became Tawny Owl and then Brown Owl – she did a total service of 23 years! For every 10 years of service the Guiding Association give a service award called the ‘Get Knotted Badge’ and Angela is the proud possessor of two of them - she retired from the Brownies in December 2006.

She remembers saying to a young Brownie once ‘Don’t you ever stop talking’ to which the small girl replied ‘Yes, when I am asleep!’ On another occasion she showed them the photograph of herself as a Brownie and one child asked why the photograph was in Black and White. Another Brownie quickly said ‘That’s because it was in the olden days!’ Nothing like children to bring you down to earth with a bang. Brownies are considered to be too young to camp under canvas but Angela led the Brownie packs on several Pack holidays to a ‘pack house’ at Norton Bury near Letchworth. The Brownies always ran the tombola stall at the URC Bazaar and took part in the village fetes and the Remembrance Day Parades.

One activity which was very popular was the Penny Hike. This was quite new to me but Angela explained that they set

off from the church gates and at each corner they tossed a coin – heads for right, tails for left – and thus they

would zigzag all over the village. She tried to teach them cooking and sewing, on one occasion icing a Christmas cake they got into such a state that it took Angela hours to clean up the sticky mess.

After Angela’s father retired from the Atlas he developed a very severe back problem which could not be treated at Addenbrookes so he was eventually moved to a special spinal unit in Sheffield. This was extremely hard on the family as they could only visit at weekends and they trailed backwards and forwards regularly until he died in

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the hospital there. At that point Mrs. Cooper decided to build another bungalow on the remainder of the garden and she moved in to no 14a, selling no. 14 to Lawrence Crow. No. 14 was the house where famously in 1945 a Mustang crashed in the garden. Had the weather not been so bad Pauline would have been in the garden in her pram and would surely have been killed.

Meanwhile Roger was still working at Gates, but when they closed down he moved to Eastern Counties Farmers in Haslingfield, occasionally driving a tanker as he had an HGV license. When they in turn folded, he became a tanker driver for Shelford Energy until he had a very nasty accident and was offered a job in the office.

They share a love of bowling being enthusiastic members of Meldreth Bowls Club but Angela also plays carpet bowls at Shepreth and Roger plays indoor bowls at Brooklands Avenue. They play several times a week and go on bowling holidays – this year they are going with the Bowls Club to Portugal – they actually fly out on Angela’s 60th birthday. It is a big year as they also celebrate their Ruby wedding in September.

They have had lots of holidays abroad, including a memo-rable one with the girls at Disneyland, and regularly take their grandchildren to stay in a caravan at West Runton. She belongs to the retired Guiders association called the Trefoil Guild and they meet once a month for various activities such as flower arranging, ten pin bowling or archery.

Angela enjoys flower arranging and, like me, was a keen member of Royston Flower Club until it closed, she also did evening classes with Venetia Wedd and is on the church flow-er rota. We all know her reputation as a very good cook, and with her own grandchildren and her sister’s ten grandchildren, there is always a birthday cake to be made and she has cake formers for all the numbers. When I arrived she had a nice tray of coffee, biscuits and cake waiting for me – and the cake was delicious, she said it was a favourite recipe called Runny Honey Cherry Cake. She recited the recipe to me off by heart:-

8oz Self Raising flour in a bowl and rub in4 oz margarine. Add4oz caster sugar and4 oz cherries. (or 4oz mixture of dried fruit & cherries)Place a tablespoon of runny honey in a mug, break in two

eggs and fill the mug with milk. Give it a bit of a stir and then add to the dry mixture. Put into a tin and bake at 160 degrees for 1 ! hours. Angela likes to use the preformed baking parchment tin liners to make life easier. Cool slightly before turning out. Then ENJOY.

Sadly in 1994 Angela contracted viral encephalitis and was severely ill in hospital for a month. The illness has left her with a short term memory loss which is inconvenient, but does not stop her from being a sunny personality.

I envy Angela her solid roots in the village, her children both live in Melbourn and her sister’s children all live in Melbourn except for one and she is surrounded by family. She has lived all her life within the same plot on Rose Lane and I think she is a very happy lady.Mavis Howard

26 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

(Supporters of All Saints’ Melbourn)SOAS

What is SOASSOAS is a nondenominational charity and aims to enlist the support of the Melbourn Community to preserve the village character and heritage. Funds raised by SOAS through membership contributions and cultural events are spent on the upkeep of All Saints’ Church building.Membership subscriptions are discretionary with a minimum of £3 per person or £5 per family per year.Application and/or Banker’s order forms can be obtained by telephoning Shaun Coles on 260327.

SOAS (Supporters of All Saints)In each issue of the Melbourn Magazine we have shown on the SOAS thermometer the total amount of money which has been raised for the maintenance of All Saints’ Church. Since SOAS was formed in 1996 the PCC have made only relatively modest requests for monies for repair and restoration work, which allowed the funds to accumulate. However, a recent inspection of the church revealed that a massive amount of vital restoration work needed to be carried out and SOAS has been proud to be able to give the PCC a cheque for £23,000 which has covered necessary weatherproofing of the roof.

Our income comes from membership and donations, money raised by social events, the proceeds of our 100 Club and from the organisers of Coffee Stop.

All Saints has stood proudly at the centre of the village since the 1200’s. Alterations took place in the 1600’s and the 1800’s but the basic building is 800 years old. Of the three flourishing churches in Melbourn, it is by far the old-est and most vulnerable. If we wish to preserve this iconic building in the centre of our village, whatever our beliefs, the solution is in our hands.

SOAS intends to help in preserving it for the future people of Melbourn

SOAS 100 ClubThe February draw was made by Rev Andrew O’Brien on 1st March. There were 76 members. First prize of £25.40 goes to Mrs PR Mitchell (25) of 3 Meadow Way and the second of £12.70 to Mrs M Brooksbank (18) of 66 Medcalfe Way.

The March draw of the SOAS 100 Club was made by Rev Andrew O’Brien on 29th March. There were 76 mem-bers. First prize of £25.40 goes to Mr Luff (45) at 13 Orchard Gate and the second of £12.70 goes to Anita Symmonds (72) at 28 Hale Close.

The April draw of the SOAS 100 Club was made by Rev Andrew O’Brien on 30th April. There were 76 mem-bers. First prize of £25.40 goes to Janet Batchelor (29) at 14 Elm Way and the second of £12.70 goes to George Howard (9) WHO !!! at 23 Station Road.

MiltonButt Lane, Milton Tel: 01223 860674• 9am–8pm Monday to Friday• 9am–6pm Bank Holidays, Saturday

& Sunday• 9am–4pm Monday to Sunday

(1 October–31 March)

ThriplowGravel Pit Hill, Thriplow Tel: 01223 839001• 8am–5pm Monday to Friday• 8am–5pm Bank Holidays, Saturday

& Sunday (Summer)• 8am–4pm Monday to Sunday

(1 October–31 March)

Village information

Local Bus companiesStagecoach in Cambridge 01223 423578 – Huntingdon & District 01480 453159 – Alans Bus & Coach 01763 245073

Bin collectionreminder for Melbourn

28 May Black Bin 5 June** Green Bin and Boxes 11 June Black Bin 18 June Green Bin and Boxes 25 June Black Bin 2 July Green Bin and Boxes 9 July Black Bin 16 July Green Bin and Boxes 23 July Black Bin 30 July Green Bin and Boxes 6 August Black Bin 13 August Green Bin and Boxes 20 August Black Bin 27 August Green Bin and Boxes 3 September Black Bin 10 September Green Bin and Boxes 17 September Black Bin 24 September Green Bin and Boxes** Saturday Collection

Melbourn Bus TimetablesNote: These times have been taken from the companies website, but are subject to change, please telephone the company for updates, or check the village website, Parking & Transport.

For more information

and collections of large

household items telephone

03450 450 063

For an update on collections visit:http://www.scambs.gov.uk/BinCollection/

default.htm?location=72

New blue wheeled binFrom October 2010, South

Cambridgeshire District Council is changing the way

it collects your recyclable waste by replacing the

existing green box scheme with a blue wheeled bin,

which comes with a specially designed inner caddy to

keep paper separate from everything else.

Household Waste and Recycling Centres

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mag@melbourn.org.uk

IMPORTANTNUMBERSPolice (non emergency) 0345 456 564

Crimestoppers Freephone0800 555111

Meet your PCSO Your local PCSO Lindsay Gardiner will be at Melbourn Village College every Friday from 3pm to 5pm. She will be available to answer your questions and discuss any con-cerns you have about policing in your area.

Neighbourhood WatchSteven Cambery s.cambery@ntlworld.com

CAB Royston 08456 889897Childline 0800 1111Samaritans 08457 909090HospitalsAddenbrooke’s 01223 245151Royston 01763 238020OUT OF HOURS EMERGENCIESCamdoc 01223 464242NHS Direct 0845 4647 (queries 24hrs)ServicesAnglian Water 08457 145 145Gas emergency 0800 111 999Electricity 08007 838838South Cambs District Fire & Rescue Service 01223 376217TransportBritish Rail Enquiries 08457 484950Stagecoach Cambus 08706 082608

EDUCATIONMelbourn Playgroup Jane Crawford 07842 151512Childminding Group Sec. Vacancies Co-ordinator Heidi Hardwidge 221625Community Education (activities from toddlers to adults) Val Tookey 260566Library LAP Mike Stapleton 269956Little Hands Nursery School 260964 Out of school times 01223 503972Notre Ecole Janet Whitton 261231Primary School Headmaster Gary Casey 223457U3A (Univ. of Third Age) Chairman Arthur Alderton 260399 Hon Sec Hilary Docwra 222486 Mem Sec Arthur Alderton 260399Village College Warden Elaine Stephenson 223400

HEALTHAge Concern 01223 506002Blood Donors 0300 123 23 23Chiropodist 263260Citizen’s Advice Bureau 238020Community Care Val Trueman 260191Dentist 262034District Nurses (Primary Care Trust) 01223 846122Home-Start no information not available S Cambs PCT 35 Orchard Road Child & Family Nurses 262861Melbourn and Meldreth Self-Help Jayne White 220250Car Scheme 245228Orchard Surgery Appointments 260220 Dispensary 261246 For repeat prescriptions send email: prescriptions.orchardsurgery@nhs.netOsteopath Kath Harry 261716St John Ambulance Robert Jakubiak 220507

LOCAL CLUBSAir Cadets 2484 (Bassingbourn) Squadron 249156 Tony Kelly Mon & Wed evenings 7 – 9.30 p.m. Army Cadets Ted Neathey 01223 248001 Tuesday evenings at The Moor 7.15 to 9.30pmBellringers John Gipson 262846Bridge Club Howard Waller 2616931st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts 261505Brownies 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford 220272Brownies 2nd Melbourn Samantha Pascoe (Brown Owl) 261400Cambells (Handbells) Eira Martin 261221Dramatic Society Kathy Wholley 223805

email k_wholley@hotmail.comDuke of Edinburgh’s Award Stuart Morris 208634Gardening Helen Powell 245887Guides Hilary Marsh 261443Mothers’ Union Anne Harding 260759Melbourn & District Mushroom Club Helene Davies 01954 789 947 or m.07903 456 628Melbourn History Group Colin Limming 260072

Melbourn Pottery Club Maggie 01223 207307National Trust Colin Limming 260072New Melbourn Singers Adrian Jacobs 243224Photographic Club Bruce Huett 232855Ramblers Dave Allard 242677Royal British Legion Patrick Parkinson 262617Royal British Legion Women Elizabeth Murphy 220841Royal National Lifeboat Institution Jean Emes 245958Royston and District Local History Society David Allard 242677Royston and District Round Table 221398Royston Lions Janet Daniels 260009RSPB Doug Radford 208978SOAS (Supporters of All Saints’) Doreen Johnston 220197St George’s Allotments Assoc. Bruce Huett brucehuett@compuserve.comYouth Club Amanda Bernard 223407Women’s Group Pat Smith 260103

PLACES OF WORSHIPAll Saints Church Rev Andrew O’Brien Melbourn Vicarage 260295 Curate Mary Price 261569 Churchwardens Christine van Vliet 223063 Mike Galley 260127 Community Hall booking Colin Limming 260072Baptist Church Rev. Stuart Clarke 261650 Secretary Georgie Wilson 261223United Reformed Church Minister Rev. Duncan Goldie 260747 Non-stripendary minister Rev. Carol Pearle Secretary Anne Field 220869

SPORTBadminton Steve Jackson 248774Bowls Elaine Cooke 221571Croquet Janet Pope 248342Football Club Simon Gascoyne 261703Jazzercise Linda Warner 241527Judo Derek Coult 225004Melbourn Community Sports 263313Meldreth Tennis Club Sue Davies 220174Swimming Club Jenny Brackley 244593Squash Club Nick Sugden 261064

WARDEN & SHELTERED HOUSING SCHEMESDial-A-Ride 01223 506335Mobile Warden Scheme 220402 24 hr Emergency No. Bob Trimble 07403 251226Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Stephen Cambery 261520Safer Melbourn Initiative Val Trueman 220402Vicarage Close Warden Joy Hyde Lead Sheltered Housing Officer Monday to Friday 9–1.30 263389John Impey Way Jeanette Holland 269596Southwell Court 262121Moorlands 260564

We shall be pleased to receive contributions in any form, articles, poems, drawings, photographs, letters etc., pertaining to Melbourn. Please send any contributions to the Office of the Parish Clerk, Council Offices, 28 Station Rd, Melbourn SG8 6DX, marking them ‘MELBOURN MAGAZINE’ or you can email them to mag@melbourn.org.uk Apart from printing, all work on the Melbourn Magazine, including layout and design is produced by volunteers. The cost of production comes entirely from advertising and sponsorship. No public money is used.

Melbourn MagazineAnn Dekkers Editor 261144Mavis Howard Parish Profile 260686Eric Johnston Distribution 220197Peter Simmonett Production & Village website 220363Anne Lambert Information Collection 261480Brenda Meliniotis Village Diary & Proof reading 261154Roger Mellor Advertising 220463 or 220363

email: mag@melbourn.org.uk

Adverts should be supplied as finished artwork and must be at the sizes below. Please send artwork to mag@melbourn.org.uk We print 2200 copies of the Melbourn Magazine which is delivered free to every house in the village four times a year. Note: colour advert space is limited, please contact us for further details. The current rates for advertising in the Magazine are as follows:

Size per… Width x Height Issue Annum Colour1/4 inside page (79 ! 128 mm) £21 £76 £1131/2 inside page (163 ! 128 mm) £38 £132 £188Full inside page (163 ! 262 mm) £73 £261 £375

Adverts must be supplied as high resolution jpgs or 300dpi Tif or eps.

For further information on advertising please telephone 220363 or 220463. Remittance or cheques should be made to Melbourn Parish Council.

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AUGUSTJUNE JULYWed 2 Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00

Thu 3 Royston & District Local History Society Royston Town Hall 8pm

Fri 4 Coffee at URC 10.30am

Sat 5 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

Sun 6 Holy Communion All Saints 8am

MVC Car Boot Sale 10.00-1pm Irene Bloomfield 222558

Baptist Church Communion 6pm

Tue 8 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)

Mother’s Union

Wed 9 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30 - 12.00

Thu 10 Holy Communion 10am All Saints

Story Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45am

Fri 11 Coffee at URC at 10.30

Sat 12 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall

Safari Supper 6.30pm start. Contact Mavis Howard 260686

Royston & District Local History Society. Coach outing

to Warwick. Contact David Allard 242677

Sun 13 Family Communion 9.45am

SOAS Melbourn Open Gardens 1.30-5.30pm

Contact George Howard 260686

Tue 15 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Wed 16 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00

U3A monthly meeting MVC 2.45pm

‘Spies of World War II’ Hugh Davies

Thu 17 Holy Communion 10am

Story Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45am

Fri 18 Coffee at URC at 10.30

Sat 19 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall

Sumer Serenade. Cambs Choral Soc. 7 p.m.

Comberton Performance Hall

Sun 20 Holy Communion 8am

Mon 21 Royston & District Family History Society AGM with wine and cheese All Saints Community Hall 7.30pm

Tue 22 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Women’s Group Garden Party Meldreth

Meeting room 7.45pm

Wed 23 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00

Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm

Thu 24 Holy Communion 10am All Saints

Story Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45am

Fri 25 Coffee at URC at 10.30

Sat 26 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

Melbourn Village Fete & Music on the Moor 1pm till late

Sun 27 Family Communion 9.45am All Saints

Tue 29 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Wed 30 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30 (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00

Thu 1 Holy Communion All Saints 10amStory Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45amRoyston & District Local History Soc Royston Town Hall 8pm

Fri 2 Coffee at URC 10.30am Sat 3 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall Melbourn Village Market MVC 10-12.30pm River Mel Restoration Group Meet at the pavilion 9.15am Sun 4 Holy Communion All Saints 8.00am MVC Car Boot Sale 10am -1pm contact Irene Bloomfield 222558 Baptist Church Communion 6pmTue 6 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)Wed 7 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30am-12.Thu 8 Holy Communion All Saints 8.00am

Story Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45am Fri 9 Coffee at URC at 10.30Sat 10 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30am Cambridge Open Studios. The Carlings, Station Road 11am-6pmSun 11 Family Communion All Saints 9.45am Cambridge Open Studios. The Carlings, Station Road 11am-6pm Tue 13 Toddler Plus Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)

Mother’s Union 260759Wed 14 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30am (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00Thu 15 Holy Communion All Saints 10amFri 16 Coffee at URC at 10.30Sat 17 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall Cambridge Open Studios. The Carlings, Station Road 10am-6pmSun 18 Holy Communion All Saints 8.00am Cambridge Open Studios. The Carlings, Station Road 10am-6pmMon 19 Royston & District Family History Society All Saints Community

Hall 7.30pm Tue 20 Toddler Plus 9.30 am Baptist Church Hall (term time only)Wed 21 Craft Club Baptist Church Hall 9.30 am (term time only)

Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00U3A monthly meeting 2.45pm MVC ‘Oliver Cromwell’John Goldsmith

Thu 22 Holy Communion All Saints 10.00amStory Time U5’s Melbourn Library 10-10.45am End of Term

Fri 23 Coffee at URC at 10.30Sat 24 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30amSun 25 Family Communion All Saints 9.45am Mon 26 MVC Beauty and the Beast Workshop to 30th Tue 27 Women’s Group Members Music Melbourn 7.45pmWed 28 Coffee Break 10.30-12.00 Baptist Church Hall

Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm Thu 29 Holy Communion All Saints 10.00amFri 30 Coffee at URC 10.30am Sat 31 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30am Melbourn Village Market MVC 10.00-12.30pm

The closing date for the next issue is Friday 16th July 2010 which will appear in September, listing events in September, October and November

Sun 1 Holy Communion All Saints 8am

Car Boot Sale MVC 10.00-1pm Irene Bloomfield 222558

Baptist Church Communion 6pm

Wed 4 Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30

Thu 5 Royston & District Local History Society Royston Town Hall 8pm

Fri 6 Coffee at URC 10.30

Sat 7 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

Sun 8 Holy Communion 9.45

Wed 11 Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30

Fri 13 Coffee at URC 10.30

Sat 14 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

River Mel Restoration Group Meet at Pavilion 9.15 for 9.30am

Sun 15 Holy Communion All Saints 8.00

Mon 16 MVC Sweeney Todd workshop to 26th

Royston & District Family History Society All Saints

Community Hall 7.30pm

Wed 18 Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30

Melbourn & District U3A AGM Foxton Village Hall

Group exhibits and stalls. ‘Woodland Trust’ John Parsons 2pm

Fri 20 Coffee at URC at 10.30

Sat 21 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

Sun 22 Holy Communion All Saints 9.45

Tue 24 Women’s Group Meldreth 7.45pm ‘Colour ‘ Toni Haynes

Wed 25 Coffee Break Baptist Church Hall 10.30-12.00

Royal British Legion Women’s Section Vicarage Close 7pm

Fri 27 Coffee at URC at 10.30

Sat 28 Coffee Stop All Saints Community Hall 10.30

Sun 29 Holy Communion All Saints 8am

If you would like to advertise a

forthcoming local event in

‘What’s On’ on the village website

use the simple form at

www.melbourn.org.uk/forthcoming-events/

Melbourn LibraryOpen at the following times:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday 2.30 to 4.30 pm

Thursday 5.00 to 7.00 pm

Saturday 10.00 to 12.00 am

Summer 2010All copy for the September,

October & November Issue should be in before 16th July

Village information continued

Prescriptions requested before 12pm

will be ready after 10am

Monday WednesdayTuesday ThursdayWednesday FridayThursday MondayFriday Tuesday

Prescriptions requested before 4pm

will be ready after 3pm

Monday WednesdayTuesday ThursdayWednesday FridayThursday MondayFriday Tuesday

Prescriptions requested after 4pm

will be ready after 10am

Monday ThursdayTuesday FridayWednesday MondayThursday TuesdayFriday Wednesday

Orchard Surgery – DispensaryMonday to Friday 8:30 – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm

Phone 01763 261246Telephone requests are not accepted

For repeat prescriptions you can:

Fax 01763 262968 or

email: prescriptions.orchardsurgery@nhs.net

• Allow at least 48 hours (two working days – excluding weekends and bank holidays) for repeat prescriptions to be ready.

• Do not leave your request to the last minute.

Prescription/medication depending on eligibility can be collected from the

Surgery Co-op Tesco in Royston

Please let the dispensary know where you wish your prescriptions to be sent. This will remain

your choice until we are informed otherwise.

CAMSIGHTSue Hempstead

8a Romsey Terrace, Cambridge. CB1 3NHTel 01223 416141

sueh@camtad.freeserve.co.ukOffice Mon-Fri 9.30am-12.30pm.

A drop in advisory session is held at

MOORLANDS, THE MOOR, MELBOURN NO APPOINTMENT IS NECESSARY

from 2pm to 4pm,

See the following website for more information

www.camtadcambs.org.ukBattery exchange and retubing.

We do not do hearing tests

24th June22nd July26th August23rd September

28th October25th November23rd December

Cam Sight’s visually impaired group meet on the

1st Wednesday of the month every month except in August,

at the Vicarage day centre, Melbourn from 2 until 4pm.

We offer a warm welcome with speakers, outings, up to date information and equipment

demonstrations.

Come and see what’s on offer, join us for a cuppa and a chat.

Call 01223 420033 for further information.

30 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Melbourn Village College The spring term is often a relatively short one but no less busy for that. Staff and students have been extremely busy and involved themselves in some excellent opportunities.

In the Performing Arts, Dance took centre stage with two very successful events. Over 200 students (more than one third of the college) were involved in ‘Dance Fever’, not only performing but organising back-stage, sound and light. More than 20 different dances included a range of styles such as street, contemporary, lyrical, ribbon and even balloons. The two evenings showcased the best of the college’s talent and the range of students involved indicates that we can look forward to a very strong future for Dance at the college. Earlier in the term, the GCSE Dance class had performed their own choreographed routines to an audience as they prepared for their final exam. Each student had designed a performance around a diverse selection of topics, ranging from the effects of media on children to the four seasons. Highlights for the Summer term include a musical evening, linking drama, dance and music, and the return of ‘Melbourn’s Got Talent’.

In February 40 students went on a ski-ing trip to Passo Tonale in Italy. This was a very successful experience and staff are already planning for 2011.

In March, Year 10 gained a valuable insight into the world of work through a two-week work experience placement in a wide variety of settings. The feedback from employers was very positive with many saying that the students were a credit to the college.

The introduction of a local Village Market and the car boot sales have been very successful and have opened up the college grounds to members of the community at the weekends. Look out for the signs in the village giving details of when they are running.

Just in case anyone thought it was all play and no work, GCSE exams continued this term with students in Years 10 and 11 sitting modules in Science and Mathematics. By the time you are reading this the exam season will be in full swing with a large number of students completing their GCSEs and BTECs in a range of subjects. We wish them every success and look forward to results day in August.Simon Holmes, Assistant Warden.

ActivitiesDance Leaders

Over Easter a group of 14 young people age 13 – 16 years old took part in the Dance Leaders course at Melbourn Village College. All the young people passed and are now qualified to lead community dance groups under supervision. As part of their training they needed to spend an hour volunteering and teaching children dance skills. They teamed up with Melbourn Sports Centre playscheme and taught groups of boys and girls age 5 – 12 years dances they choreographed themselves.

They only led a short session but produced a fantastic final showing with children performing a range of dances including Michael Jackson’s Thriller and street dance pieces.

Community EducationVal Tookey 260566

Little HandsKaren on 01763 260964

Melbourn PlaygroupJane Crawford 07842 151512

Notre EcoleJanet Whitton 261231

Primary SchoolHeadteacher Gary Casey 223457

U3A (Univ. of Third Age)Chairman Arthur Alderton 260399

Village CollegeWarden Elaine Stephenson 223400

www.melbourn.org.uk/speakers-corner/

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Arts Development

If you are part of a group interested in working with an artist, hosting an arts event or if you run an arts related group and need some support? Then contact your local Arts Development Manager, Kirstin Bicknell. She can support with everything from marketing and fundraising advice to contracting an artist.

Kirstin is part of the stART partnership between village colleges and South Cambridgeshire District Council. StART run a number of district wide initiatives including an equipment bank and mobile cinema for community groups to hire. See their website www.start-arts.org.uk for more information or contact Kirstin, phone 07770 643165, email Kirstin@start-arts.org.uk

Chinese Artist Visits MVC

Just before Easter Melbourn Village College received a visit from Chinese artist, Chen Hong, a renowned fish painter. His visit was part of the Stories of the World project hosted by the Fitzwilliam Museum. During his visit he taught the GCSE Textiles group basic fish painting techniques and created a fish scroll, which was donated to the Village College.

Students have taken on the challenge of producing textile works inspired by his visit, which they hope will be exhibited in the Fitzwilliam Museum education space.

The Academy - Beauty and the Beast

This summer the Academy returns to Melbourn with a fun week of musical theatre workshops on the theme of Beauty and the Beast. Young people age 8–16 years can improve their singing, dancing and acting skills while making friends and enjoy-ing themselves! Dates are 26th to 30th July, from 9.30am – 5pm. For families with work commitments, early and late collection is available from 8.30am – 5.30pm. Cost is £125 for 5 days, £75 for additional siblings or low income families.

This year there is also an advanced week performing Sweeney Todd by audi-

tion for 13–18 year olds at Comberton Village College, 16th – 21st August. For more details on either of these con-tact Kirstin Bicknell on 07770 643165, email Kirstin@start-arts.org.uk

Congratulations Melbourn Village College

The College has received congratulations from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust for our performance in the 2009 GCSE examinations. We are now in the top 15% of all specialist schools in the country (over 3000) receiving recognition for the following:

• 60% (64%) or more 5+A*–C results including English and mathematics;

• 53.7% (national average) (72%) or more 2+A*-C results in science sub-jects; and

• 28% (national average) (42%) or more 1+A*-C results in modern for-eign languages.

(MVC statistics are in bold)

Melbourn PlaygroupThis year has been going well with several new families joining the playgroup. We have been investigating growing by planting beans and potatoes which we hope will bring us crops to pick later in the year. At the end of the term we also made our usual trip to the primary school with our preschoolers which went very well.

We would like to let you know about some changes we are making for September 2010. At this time there will be available 15 hours free for funded children. We will be offering this in a flexible way which should allow you to bring your children when it is suitable to you and not in set sessions. This will make it possible for us to take children from 9am – 3pm including a lunch hour if required.Telephone 07842 151512 www.melbournplaygroup.btik.com

Meldreth Pre-SchoolThis month’s write-up could not start without saying a huge THANK YOU to everyone who organised, attended and helped support the Meldreth May Fair over the Bank Holiday weekend. The Pre-School Committee worked

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for our Annual General Meeting. Here the various Groups man a stall where they show their programmes and exhibit such items as pottery, textiles, needle-work or their collections of “collectables” for both new and old members to enjoy and maybe to consider joining of the groups on show. There is an invitation there for our readers to join us on a “no obligation” basis and see if the U3A is for you. The only qualification is that you should be “over 50 years of age and not in full time employment”. Does that mean you? You will be very welcome.

Ring Arthur Alderton on 01763 260399 for details of membership. Colin Limming

extremely hard in a relatively short space of time to pull together the first May Fair to be held in Meldreth since the early 1960’s. As a parent of a Pre-School child and on behalf of other parents, I would like to thank the committee for their tireless commitment to fundraising for the benefit of the Pre-School. This is in addition to the legislative, financial, and management roles that the voluntary committee members undertake. Never has fundraising played such a critical part in keeping the Pre-School open and functioning as it does currently. If you feel in anyway able to support the Pre-School by sitting on the committee or helping out at future fundraising events then please contact Michiel on 01763 260623 or Mo on 01763 262306

There was some apprehension prior to the fair as heavy rain had fallen in the few days preceding it. The weather forecast was not good but the organising team remained positive and hopeful and were rewarded by a lovely warm and sunny day. The marquees and stage were assembled during a torrential downpour on the Friday night but dried off nicely in time for the event on Saturday. When the ‘gates’ opened at 1.00 there was steady stream of visitors and this continued throughout the afternoon. There was a fun and lively atmosphere with live music from “Bob” and “The Live Jazz Band”. On the stage arena we had a display “Dusty Bluebells” by the Pre-School children and Turkish dancing from “Tabeeya”. The beer tent, cake stall and hog roast were busy all afternoon. We had visits from the local police and fire departments who showed children (and adults) around their vehicles and talked about various aspects of safety. For the children there were fairground rides and stalls, a bouncy castle, go-karting, crazy golf and some of the smaller animals from Shepreth Wildlife Park. The welly-wanging competition went on late into the afternoon with adults and children competing for prizes. The scarecrow competition was won by the Meldreth Toddler Group but it was difficult to judge as there appears to be a high standard of scarecrows in the village! At 4.00 the sky was filled with rainbow coloured helium balloons as they were released for the balloon race. We wait with interest to see which balloon travels the furthest and where it is returned from. What sums up a successful May fair? I watched a family sitting with friends in the sun on the grass. They were eating and drinking, laughing and chatting. The children played nearby with prizes they had won on the stalls and were dancing and singing along to the band. What more could you ask for on a bright May afternoon? Thank you everybody for making the day so great.

Elsewhere in the Pre-School the children have continued to look at their topics of Spring and Growing. The Pre-School garden has become a riot of colour with mobiles and wind chimes hanging from the trees and windmills blowing round the fences. The children have planted flowers and strawberries and are looking forward to seeing (and tasting) the fruits of their labours. This term the older children will make a number of visits to the primary school and begin their gradual transition into the reception class.

We still have some places for children wishing to start Pre-School in September. The Rising 5 sessions are particularly popular and fill up quickly. We advise parents to book their child in soon to avoid disappointment.Please note that half term is 31st May until 4th June.

University Of The Third Age (U3A)The U3A has added to its list of learning groups a second French Conversation Group and there are hopes of a second Scrabble Group. The list of both learning and activity groups maintains a healthy level and the membership of the U3A is now about 340 members. About 100 of these are joint memberships where husband and wife or partners pick either the same group or different ones to maintain their interests.

The winter months are now behind us and the walking groups can now step out in ideal walking weather and the Excursions Group can now enjoy outings in the daylight. The AGM on Wednesday 18th August is the only time in the year when we leave the Village College and its familiar surroundings and meet at Foxton Village Hall

Genetically Modified FoodsThere has been a lot of controversy over the use of “GM crops” in the Cambridge area but do many people know what exactly genetically modified food is?

Will global population demands, increasing at the current rate, soon out strip supply?

GM can help to create plants that are resistant to drought, pests, herbicides and it can even increase nutritional value. This will, in theory, create larger yields (the uncertainty arises as farmers in the developing world do not necessarily grow food in ‘lab conditions’).

Some crops could be adapted for environments where food is most needed e.g. sub-Saharan Africa.

However research has suggested that the spread of genes from modified plants to unmodified plants might produce species of weeds resistant to herbicides. This has not happened yet, but a British study has shown that genes can be spread from oilseed rape to wild turnips.

Also, the standards applied to food grown in this country do not always apply to that imported from abroad. As a result many people will be surprised to hear that most of their processed foods such as frozen dinners and breakfast cereals will contain corn soy or cotton seed oils which contain GM ingredients.

So, is genetically modified food a good or bad thing?William Broughton Melbourn Journalism Club MVC

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Bowls Jacqui Dodds 243667

1st Melbourn Rainbows Abigail Roberts 261505

Brownies 1st Melbourn Stephanie Clifford 220272

Brownies 2nd MelbournSamantha Pascoe 261400

Cricket Martin Winter 262733

Croquet Janet Pope 248342

Football Club Andrew Edwards 223109

Dynamos Football Club Les Morley 07739 593771

Judo Derek Coult 225004

McSplash Joanne Greene 263313

Melbourn Sports Centre Graham Johnson-Mack 263313

RamblersDave Allard 242677

Royston and District Round Table

Michael Seymour 221398

Squash ClubNick Sugden 261064

Swimming Club Jenny Brackley 244593

Tennis (Meldreth) Sue Davies 220174

1st Melbourn Rainbows Well where do I begin? What an amaz-ing start to the year we had with our sleepover! We decided to have a theme this year of fairies. The girls made fairy wands and tiaras, made fairy biscuits and created their own fairy wishes which they read to each other. Of course, fair-ies also have to make their own tea and delicious sandwiches were created for us all to eat and enjoy. Games and songs, followed by hot chocolate finished the evening getting us all ready for bed. I think a little fairy magic must have been scattered over us all, as we all slept soundly through the night. Every year the girls always seem to amaze us with their fantastic behaviour and maturity.

Many activities have also been hap-pening including making our own dream catchers and deciding on our own rules, should we rule the world, some which we adults should take on board! Using their construction skills our Rainbows created their own Lego Land with some budding architects for the future we think. Valentine’s Day was celebrated by our Young Leaders, Rebecca and Jo, helping the girls to make sweets and cards for their loved ones. We also made candle holders for Mothers Day.

We were also lucky enough to have a visitor, Police Sergeant Hooker, to come and talk to us about road safety. The girls had many questions to ask, but I

think the most exciting thing was trying on numerous policeman hats. We had caps, motorbike helmets, cycle helmets to name but a few! Because we had talked about road safety and what to wear, it was decided that the following week we would put on our bright-est clothes and practice what we had been taught. Maybe you saw us walking around Melbourn?

Before Easter we were fortunate enough to have more visitors, Cambells, Melbourn’s own hand bell ringers. These lovely ladies brought some music and hand chimes for us to play, and then performed some songs for us which we thoroughly enjoyed.

To finish our spring term and leading us into Easter, we made paper plate Easter rabbit masks and Easter Cards. However, we also sadly said goodbye to our last Rainbow who started with us at the very beginning, Shula. We wish her well at Brownies.

Next term we are looking forward to celebrating UK Girl Guiding’s Centenary by attending our own MAD 100 District fun event in May and also the County’s Celebration at Newmarket Race Course in July.

Although we do have quite a long waiting list, if your daughter wishes to become a Rainbow, please call Abigail Roberts, Unit Leader on 01763 261505.

1st Melbourn GuidesHow much fun can you have in a church hall during a long, cold winter? Lots!

The Thursday group’s term began with teamwork challenges; groups of girls had to play physical and mental

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DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A WILL OR REVISE YOUR EXISTING WILL?

If so, please take advantage of our reduced rate wills offer.Please note the reduced rate wills will be available every week day

in June and July 2010 from 8.00am until 6.00pm by appointment only.Also on the mornings of Saturday 19 June and 3 July again

by appointment only.

Our 3 July Saturday Wills Day will be the last until Autumn 2010.

Reduced rates are:- Double Wills - £150 plus VAT Single Will - £90 plus VAT

For more information please contact:-1-3 Lower King Street, Royston, Herts SG8 5AJ

Tel: 01763 241121info@walkerspartnership.co.uk

38 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

games to earn points. The ever popular ‘bin bag fashion’ had a theme of West End Musicals, resulting in girls dressed in outfits from Joseph, animals from Lion King and nuns from Sister Act. A disability awareness evening saw the girls learning ‘Taps’ in sign language, lip reading, and identifying people and objects blind-folded. In February we staged our own Winter Olympics with homemade plastic skis, stone-filled socks for curling, poly-thene sheets for bobsleighs, and rolled up newspaper for ice hockey sticks. For Thinking Day we had an Italian themed evening which included home-made mini pizzas and Venetian mask making. The leaders had an easy evening while the girls enjoyed an evening of swim-ming at the Leisure Centre, and the mothers had a treat with home made Mothers Day cards and sweets.

As part of our community involve-ment we helped at a Coffee Stop, at which our cake stall raised £25 for WWF, and we gave our opinions to the Melbourn Village Plan project.

In March we did a 5 mile hike near Cottered, then stayed overnight in a converted primary school. Some girls learned new skills to earn their Traditions of Guiding badge, whilst others helped to cook the supper. As expected, the girls talked late into the night, but were still up and awake for their cooked breakfast at 8am on Sunday morning.

The Spring term finished with an evening of challenges based on the activities we’d done throughout the term. I was impressed at how much they’d actually learnt!

The ‘Wednesday group’ has now become ‘2nd Melbourn Guides’ and will continue meet on Wednesday evenings.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Guide or a leader with either group, or if you have any skills or hobbies which you would like to share with us, please contact me on: 01763 261443 or email: melbournguides@gmail.comHilary Marsh

Melbourn Dynamos Football Club http://melbourndynamos.co.uk

MDFC is now nearly 7 years old and is going from strength to strength. Starting out with a handful of local children and parents in 2003 we now have approxi-mately 150 children aged 4 to 13 years signed up to our club. The current U10 squad are pictured at the end of season Presentation Event of 2009.

We are based at Shepreth, and offer boys and girls the opportunity to play regular football regardless of experience or ability. We operate as a community based club playing competitive football in the Royston Crow Youth leagues.

All of our coaches are CRB checked and qualified to a minimum of the F.A.

Level 1 standard. We have recently progressed to a Charter Status club with the people and practices in place to operate within the new government requirements from the 09/10 season and onwards.

If you are interested in finding out more about MDFC, please contact Nicky Patel on 07951 590139 or email us on: melbourndynamos@aol.com

WANTED!!Under 11s & 12s Girls (School Years 6/7)

We are establishing a new girls squad for the 2009/10 season, coached by fully qualified FA coaches. If you know of any girls in Years 6 or 7 who might be inter-ested in playing football, please contact us on the number above.

Dynamites Ages 4 to 5We now have a Saturday morning fun football session for boys and girls aged 4 to 5 yrs. All welcome.

Melbourn And District Photographic ClubThe 2009/2010 year ended on a high note with a stimulating Melbourn Trophy final (the 36th) on Saturday 13th March at Foxton Village Hall including the annu-al display of members’ prints. Cambridge retained the trophy, beating Biggleswade. The final is the result of a knock out com-petition, starting in October, between 14 local photographic clubs. Jim Hartje provided informed and entertaining judg-ing of a varied range of excellent images. Homemade cakes were enjoyed by all. Ware won the Print Competition with an evocative display.

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Jenny Sherwood ITECEst 18 years

Holistic Practitioner and Beauty Therapist• Reduce stress and muscular tension – calm

your mind and sleep better by having:Aromatherapy

ReflexologyReiki

GNLD DistributorWhole food, organic supplements,

weight loss program, non toxic home care and skin and body

www.rapidhealth.orgAn extensive range of Beauty Treatments

also available For more information or to make an

appointment please contact Jenny on -T. 01763 261218

E. JENNIFER.SHERWOOD1@NTLWORLD.COM

Gift Vouchers available – Ideal For Christmas Gifts !

programme of informative and imagina-tive talks by local photographic experts and the workshop sessions, conducted by experienced club members, provided a valuable opportunity to exchange prac-tical tips and learn new techniques.

Due to members now coming from a broader area the club has changed its name to Melbourn and District Photographic Club.

The 2010/11 season will start on Tuesday 14th September 2010 at 7.30 at Foxton Village Hall. New members, of any skill level, will be warmly welcomed. For further information please ring Bruce Huett (Secretary) 01763 232 855.

Ramblers’ Association Royston and DistrictOur walks programme continues right through the year. For details visit: www.ramblers-herts-northmiddlesex.org.uk or contact David Allard 242677. Email: david.allard@ntlworld.com or Lesley Abbiss 273463. There is also a poster displaying walks for the current month in both Melbourn and Royston libraries.

The 2009/2010 season was extreme-ly successful with membership rising to 41 (almost the highest ever) with several enthusiastic new members. As a result the standard of competition entries improved in quality and range. As well as the competitions members enjoyed a

Winners of the annual competitions. Left to Right: Standing: Allan Hale:Print of the Year, Ken Clifford: Projected Image Competitions and Chairman’s Trophy. Seated: Lynne Cole: Projected Image of the Year, Liz Hale: Print Competitions

We have walks on Sundays, which are normally 5–7 miles in the morn-ing and a similar or shorter walk in the afternoon. Some Sunday walks are Figures of Eight making it possible to do only the morning or only the afternoon. Half-day walks are held on Tuesday or Thursday mornings (sometimes on both days). Our evening walks are held during the summer months until 25th August 2010. To mark the 75th anniversary of the Association a series of ‘baton’ walks are being held throughout the country. To join Royston group’s ‘baton’ walk meet at Royston Town Hall car park on 5th September at 9.30am or at the Countryman PH at Chipping at 9.45am for a morning walk of 6 miles or an after-noon walk of 4 miles (or both). Details from David Allard on 01763 242677. Prospective new members are always very welcome and may come on a few walks before deciding whether to join.

Melbourn Sports CentreThere’s been a lot going on this term at the sports centre, to keep the commu-nity fit and ready for the warmer weather.

40 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Aside from our normal classes, courses, swimming and fitness suite activities, we also had the first anniversary of our suc-cessful Free Swim Initiative in April. If you haven’t already joined up to the scheme, we’re ready to welcome you! (Eligibility – ages 60 and over, or 16 and under).

The 2010 Swimathon (raising funds for the Cancer Care Trust) attracted inter-est from many of our regular swimmers. Congratulations to all those who partici-pated and thank you for raising so much money for a great cause. Let’s hope that next year we can beat both participant level and money we’ve raised!

We also welcomed back the outdoor sports and tennis season, and intro-duced a season ticket for the use of tennis courts (members only).

SUMMER FITNESSTo celebrate the countdown to the 2012 London Olympics, we’ll be opening our doors at the end of July for free taster sessions in tennis, swimming and bad-minton. Everybody’s welcome to give them a go (further details available nearer the time).

Plus why not start planning your summer sports early, with our holiday courses like the Children’s Pentathlon and Swimming Crash Course? Always popular and a fun way to spend some or all of the summer holidays, these sport camps offer children the opportunity to try out both mainstream and specialist activities. Bookings now being taken.

Other activities on offer include: • Family Fitness Frenzy on Sundays,

where families can participate in • badminton, tennis, table tennis and

swimming. Priced at £4 for family of four

• Friendly Fridays, where members of the public can come down with an

• existing fitness suite member and try out the gym for free!

• Our usual popular swimming lessons, both group and private

• A range of exercise classes including Yoga, Pilates, Adult Trampolining and

• dry-side exercise classes• Indoor and Outdoor Court Hire

We look forward to welcoming you to your local community sports centre.Graham Johnson-Mack / Manager

Health and Fitness Tip – H20Water makes up about two-thirds of our body weight. And it’s important for this to be maintained because most of the chemical reactions that happen in our cells need water. We also need water for our blood to be able to carry nutrients around the body.

To stay healthy, you need to replace the fluids you lose, approximately 1.2 litres (6 to 8 glasses) of fluid every day, to stop us getting dehydrated. And don’t forget, if the weather is hot or you are exercising, you will be losing even more water

Aqua-fitUsing the resistance and buoyancy of the water makes this fun and energetic class suitable for all.Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays 09.15 – 10.15Fridays: 09.30 – 10.30Wednesdays: 18.15 – 19.15 / 19.15 – 20.15Prices range from £3.25 - £5.00

McSplash swimming club – Survival SkillsDespite some very chilly evenings swim-mers of The McSplash swimming club turned out on most Fridays to swim lengths and learn new skills. The latest skill, which was added into the spring programme, was Survival Skills.

There are three important activities which need to be learnt:

• Treading water (out of the swimmer’s depth)

• H.E.L.P (Heat Escape Lessening Position)

• HUDDLE (Staying together in a group to stay safe and keep warm)

TREADING WATER The aim of treading water is to enable the swimmer(s) to stay in a stationary position, out of their depth, with head above water, the head being the main heat loss point of the body. The body should be in a vertical position and whilst the hands are ‘scull-ing’ the legs are used in either a scissor kick, breaststroke kick, cycling action or egg beater (an alternating breaststroke kick).

HELP, Position To achieve this position a flotation aid is used, ideally a lifejacket. Whilst training in the pool we use swimming floats, but other articles that may be used are plastic containers, buckets, inner tubes, wood, ball, etc. The swimmer keeps the legs tightly pressed together and allows them to float in a comfortable position keeping the arms pressed closely to the sides (the inner thighs and sides of the trunk of the body being the farther two heat loss points)’.

Cycling action

Breaststroke leg action

Scissor kick

Eggbeater kick

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FROG END PET SUPPLIESat

Phillimore Garden Centre

A pet shop that caters for all your pet needs

• all types of birds • rabbits • guinea pigs • many other animals • wide range of accessories and pet supplies

Also stockists for CALOR GAS

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Cambridge Road, Melbourn, Cambs. SG8 6EYTel 01763 263342

42 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

Melbourn Village Fete 1887Useful advice from the Melbourn Programme celebrating Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887 to the organisers of Melbourn Village Fete 2010.

While reorganising the History Archive in the Parish Office we naturally could not resist rereading some of the material; the Jubilee Programme was particularly interesting!

To celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria on June 21st and 22nd 1887 in Melbourn, committees were formed, money raised, and a splendid celebration took place in Mr Spencer‘s Tithe and other barns in the centre of the village, around 800 people were able to be accommodated at a sitting.

The feast consisted of:910 lbs (414 kg) of beef, 1,200 lbs (546 kg) of bread, 580 lbs (264 kg), of cake, 76 lbs (35 kg) of butter, 24 lbs (11 kg) of tea, 150 lbs (68 kg) of sugar, 2.5 lbs (1.2)kg of mustard and 27 gals (101 l) of milk!

There was a successful exhibition of carthorse teams in their working gear, which paraded the village. Eleven shepherds of Melbourn competed in a sheep shearing competition, each shearing two sheep and tying their fleeces.

Tea was then taken in two sittings and immediately afterwards(!) a programme of sports commenced, including flat and hurdle races, egg and spoon races, tug of war and mounted combat(?)

A special attraction was the Old Men’s Jubilee Race, in which several competitors over the age of 50 afforded considerable sport!

This was followed by a two hour fireworks display, in which rockets, shells and bombs, Catharine wheels, Roman candles etc were discharged to the delight of the numerous spectators.

The following evening the jollifications were continued and a supper and dance were held, about 900 persons participating. The Queen and the committee members were cheered, the National Anthem was sung , and the committee chaired and carried around, and good humouredly tossed into the air!

And the cost for all of this was £82–8s–2p!However, when you realise that the average wage for

an agricultural labourer was only thirteen shillings and tuppence ha’penny (two pence and one half penny) per week, and the highest paid domestic servant, such as a housekeeper or a butler received less than a pound a week, £82 becomes a very large amount of money.

HUDDLE Position As the words sug-gests, the Huddle involves participants huddling together around a flotation aid in order to conserve body heat. The aim should be to pack tightly in groups of three or more. The HUDDLE is also most effective when a lifejacket is being worn, but other flotation aids may be used in an emergency.

HUDDLE with life jacket

You can survive in cold water if you ‘hang’ onto your body heat and by using the HELP or HUDDLE. You should know how to give the International Distress Signal - this is achieved by stretching

one arm above your head and waving the arm from side to side in an 180° arc whilst shouting for help.

It should also be stressed that if you are going to be swimming in open water, that you follow the four points of the RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society) Water Safety Code:

• Spot the Dangers

• Take Safety Advice

• Go with a Parent/Carer/Friend

• Learn how to helpBeing aware of How to Survive in

Cold Water, once learnt, it is a life-long skill for all swimmers. Survival Skills will also be practiced during our summer Programme with holidays in mind.

If you would like further details, or are interested in joining the swimming club, please contact Jenny Brackley on 01763 244593 or the Melbourn Swimming Pool for the Rookie Lifesaving Programme on 01763 263313.

H.E.L.P with life jacket

H E.L.P with flotation aid

Improvised HUDDLE

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Jeremy AshworthElectrician and

Property Maintenance

21 Bramley Avenue, Melbourn, Royston,

Herts. SG8 6HG

07815 09316601763 230831

jeremy.ashworth@ntlworld.com

44 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

what’s onCambridgeshire Choral Society

with pupils from Bourn and Fowlmere Primary Schools present

‘Summer Serenade’ on Saturday 19th June at 7,00 p.m.

at the Performance Hall Comberton Leisure Centre.

The concert will include music by Elgar, part songs and madrigals.

Tickets at £10 (under 16s free) include sparkling wine and canapés, and may be obtained in advance from

Monica Gillings (262399) Ann Dekkers (2601144) or on the door.

Summer Events at The Tavern Gallery, MeldrethA variety of unique works in bronze,, stone and wood, ceram-ics and paintings are displayed and available throughout the season.

June

Exhibition by Floral Installation Artist and TeacherRebecca Louise Law

July

A GRAND TOUR Exhibition of Watercolour, Pastel and Acrylic paintingsfrom the travels of Valerie Jean Pettifer

August

Exhibition of work by Meldreth Primary School

September

Exhibition by Mixed Media Artist Terry Symondswww.taverngallery.co.uk

Beauty and the Beast WorkshopsMelbourn Village College 26th – 30th July

The Academy – Holiday musical theatre programme for 8 – 16 year olds

The Academy is 5 days of musical theatre workshops this year on the theme of Beauty and the Beast. Young people age 8 -16 can improve their singing, dancing and acting skills while making friends and having fun!

The Academy is led by experienced professionals and culminates in a sharing for family and friends.

Days run from 9.30am – 5.00pm with early and late collection available from 8.30am – 5.30pm. The cost is

Riverside ArtsBack in March, attenders of the public Artist Selection Evening voted for Jo Chapman to become the lead artist for Melbourn’s Riverside Arts project based in Riverside Park, Stockbridge Meadows. Jo will spend the next year delivering workshops with visiting artists in other disciplines such as dance and poetry as well as creating an artwork for the Park.

A key part of the project is community involvement and there are lots of opportunities to get involved. The project launched on the May bank holiday weekend with the artist on site delivering arts activities with anyone who came along. If you haven’t already had the chance, then you can meet Jo at the Melbourn fete and on the afternoon of Sunday 26th July, the Cultural Olympiad Open Weekend. For more opportunities to join in arts activities and for background to the project featured in the last Melbourn magazine visit the website at http://melbourn.org.uk/publicart

Jo will also be delivering workshops in the village schools and to other community groups. If you are part of a group who are interested in getting involved or if you want to find out more about the project contact Kirstin Bicknell, the local Arts Development Manager on 07770 643165, email Kirstin@start-arts.org.uk

Calling all Musicians, Actors and Production CrewSweeney Todd – Advanced Academy for 13–18 year olds

16th – 26th August (excluding weekend)

The Advanced Academy will be held at Comberton Leisure this summer culminating in a public performance. There are 3 types of involvement: Cast, Musicians and Production Crew.

Cast will be auditioned prior to signing up and will be expected to approach the week as if they are joining a small scale touring company. They will be given their scripts and songs in advance of the Academy and will be expected to know their lines before the week starts.

Production Crew training will be a full experience includ-ing: marketing and promotion, sound design and live desk experience, light design and light desk experience, set design and build experience, Front of House management experi-ence and stage management experience.

Young musicians will have the opportunity of working with the cast as the musical comes together. They will see how the score gets moved around to fit in with the script and have the opportunity to contribute to arrangements. They will take a full role in the later rehearsals and work towards the final performance.

For more details contact Richard Brown, email: richard@start-arts.org.uk, phone: 01223 262503 ext 267

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£125 for 5 days, £75 for additional siblings or families eligible for free school meals and can be paid in stages. The fees include a free t-shirt for all participants.

For more details about The Academy programme, includ-ing dates of other Academy weeks elsewhere in the District or to book a place for the summer, contact Kirstin Bicknell, Arts Development Manager, email k.bicknell@mvc.org.uk, phone 07770 643165. Further information will be available on our new look website www.start-arts.org.uk in May.

Cambridgeshire Open Studios in Melbourn in JulySaturday 10th and Sunday 11th 11am to 6pmSaturday 17th and Sunday 18th 11am to 6pm

Location the Carlings, (behing the Pink Geranium) exhibiting the work of Mavis Howard and George Meliniotis

Third Melbourn Safari SupperThis will be held on Saturday 12th June, and will raise funds for the Community Hall.

This is how, for those who don’t know, a Safari supper works

Those who have volunteered to cook and host a course, will know that they have 6, 7 or 8 guests arriving, but not who these guests are. The plan is for everyone to have an envelope to open at 6pm, which will tell you where you have to go (unless you are a host when you know you will have to stay put!)

At the end of that course the host will have another enve-lope which will tell everyone where they are to go next. There will be new faces at every venue, so this is a good way for newcomers to meet people – and all in a good cause.

At the end of the dessert course everyone goes back to the Community Hall for cheese and coffee and more chat!

Tickets are £12 per person.If you are interested in participating, or have further ques-

tions, then please call either Mavis Howard (260686) or Jane Brett (260306)

Wimpole HallOur local National Trust property has lots on this summer, from Natural History, traditional countryside skills, such as scything, to Open Air Theatre and much more. Check out the programme at www.wimpole.org

Denny Abbey Farmland MuseumTel/Fax 01223 860988 www.dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk An exciting summer programme including art, myths and legends, monster making, dyeing, basket making and much more.SOAS (The Supporters of All Saints Church) will be holding an Open Gardens on Sunday 13th June.

Open Gardens will be held on Sunday 13th June 2010. We hope that many different gardens will be on display as people are always looking for ideas for a small or awkward shaped plot or a courtyard garden.

Swaffham Bulbeck Summer Theatre

proudly presents

‘Trial by Jury’ by Gilbert and Sullivanand

‘The Zoo’ by Rowe and Sullivan

Wednesday 9th – Saturday 12th June 2010Evening performances at 7.30pm

and a Saturday matinée at 2.30pm

Downing Farm, Station Road, Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambridge CB25 0NB

Ticket prices Wednesday and Thursday £8, Friday and Saturday £10, matinee £5, from

Kari Karolia 01638 745490 or kari.karolia@gmail.com

For further information see www.sbstgands.co.uk or contact info@sbstgands.co.uk

Melbourn Open Gardens

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NatureNews from the RiverbankThe arrival of Spring heralded a flurry of activity along the river. In addition to our regular work parties, we hosted a Rivecare Spring Litter Pick at the end of March. Our thanks go to the people who gave up two hours of their Saturday morning to improving the environment in and around the river by collecting other peoples’ rubbish. We cleared a staggering 25 bags of rubbish as they worked upstream from the railway line back towards the MVC playing fields. It never fails to amaze us as to the amount and type of rubbish that manages to find its way into the river. There were the obvious culprits of plastic bottles and drinks cans, some of which had blown down from the A10, but we were taken aback by the numerous small plastic bags containing dog faeces that we found both in the river and hanging from adjacent bushes.

April has seen the completion of the first phase of the in-river work at the back of the Village College and through the parish playing fields. These works have been designed to speed the flow of the river and so wash away the layer of silt that covers the natural

chalk bed of the river. De-silting the river is important if the river is to be kept “alive”, and already we are getting reports of increased numbers of fish in that stretch. Now the first in-river works have been completed, the next important phase of the river restoration is to establish a lush growth of marginal plants and other native flora, both in the new revetments and along the riverbank. While this is not ‘tidy’ or ‘park like’, it is crucial, as this marginal growth provides both food and cover to a wide range of animals and insects.

For this growth to be successful in supporting more wildlife, it means that the river may not be visible or accessible along parts of its length, yet this is how it should be. Without this green corridor there would be little point in much of

the restoration work we do. In both Melbourn and Meldreth we are very fortunate in that the river supports a colony of water voles. This endangered species of herbivores constantly graze the margins of the river for food as well as needing undergrowth to shelter them from passing predators. Our ultimate goal is to provide stretches of impenetrable growth, interspersed by clearer areas that allow a view of the river and access to the water for dogs and children – with the new access point being the most obvious of these.

It is a challenge to strike the correct balance, and we hope you will bear with us while the new planting gets established. We have to take care as to what we put into the river, as it would be very easy to inadvertently introduce disease or a non-native species, neither of which is good for the river. Suitable plants are quite difficult to obtain. The plants we use have either been carefully sourced from elsewhere on the Mel (with the kind permission of the riparian owners), or they have been grown by the Group from locally sourced native seed. Even growing plants from seed is not as easy as it may seem, because the seedlings have to be grown in silt from the river rather than in normal seed compost. Plants grown in seed or potting compost designed for the garden simply fail to thrive when planted in the wet margins of the river. So, at this stage, every plant counts! We would be grateful if people would keep off the new revetments until the plants

Riverside Park – In the spring issue of the magazine Barbara Mitchell reported on the number of plants, insects and animals seen in the park. To add to her list, this Muntjac was seen in late April. Photo by Peter Simmonett

49melbournmagazine

We are a warm, friendly, family run home conveniently situated close to the station

and town centre of Royston.

If you would like to find out more about St George’s, please call us for a brochure

or drop in for a chat.

42 Kneesworth Street, Royston, Herts. SG8 5AQTelephone: 01763 242243

web site: www.stgeorgescare.com

50 www.melbourncambridge.co.uk

have grown and established, as it is very disheartening to see them crushed by one carelessly placed, albeit unknowing, foot or paw! And what are we planting? Mainly sedges in the margins of the river, as these are much favoured by the water voles and moorhens, as well as iris, spearwort and marsh marigolds. On the bank margins we want to encourage nettles, purple loosestrife, hemp agrimony, and meadow sweet, to name but a few!

Anyone is welcome to come along and see what we are doing at one our working parties. We meet at the Pavilion on Melbourn Recreation Ground at 9.15am for 9.30am start. Working party dates and other news and events can be found at our website www.rivermel.com or you can contact Maureen Brierley by phone on 01763 262752 or email Maureen@rivermel.com.

We will have a stall at Melbourn Village Fete on 267th June and we hope that you will visit us to discuss our work and see our future plans.

St George’s Allotment AssociationThe popularity of ‘growing your own’ is soaring as I’m sure no-one can fail to notice! Campaigns such as BBC ‘Dig In’ and the media in general are actively encouraging people to grow their own produce to promote healthy living. You may even currently be following ‘The Anglia Allotment’ on ITV over this summer period.

There is nothing quite like the taste of your own produce and the satisfaction and wonder you get from watching a seed grow into something nutritious to serve up with your Sunday roast wherever you choose to grow your vegetables.

Public interest in allotments has undergone a recent revival in line with the current thinking on healthy eating, organic food and exercise. Not only that, it is a great place to meet people and the social aspects are another great bonus. People of all ages and experience levels come together and sometimes there can be more chat than gardening! Surplus plants and produce are regularly exchanged and tips passed

down from the seasoned allotment holders to those less experienced.

At the local allotments in Melbourn, this sense of community spirit amongst tenants led to us forming St George’s Allotment Association in 2009 (yes it was on St George’s day!).

The Association is open to all leisure gardeners – members don’t have to have an allotment. Benefits of membership include heavily discounted seeds, advice, quarterly newsletter and automatic membership to the ‘National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners’. Allotment holders also are covered by an insurance scheme as part of the membership.

St George’s Allotment Association has already been extremely active in the village, supporting local events such as the Melbourn village market, the annual fete and spring fare and raising awareness of the benefits of ‘growing your own’.

We also helped raise money for a gardening project which helps educate

our young people on healthy community activities following a hugely popular competition using scarecrows made by children from our primary school, at last year’s fete. We have lots more ideas and plans for this year and beyond, to keep you all enthused!

We would like to invite you to join us whether you have an allotment or you prefer to grow vegetables in your own garden. The membership is only £6 per year but is easily outweighed by the benefits.

If you are interested in finding out more about joining us or how to register your interest in an allotment in Melbourn, please access the Melbourn village web site where you will find us at http://melbourncambridge.co.uk/allotments/

Alternatively you can complete a membership application form at our local Melbourn library, which is situated in the Moor by Melbourn Village College.

Keep on sowing and growing and we hope you will join us!

51melbournmagazine

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