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The Parish Magazine February 2022

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 1<br />

<strong>The</strong><br />

<strong>Parish</strong><br />

<strong>Magazine</strong><br />

<strong>The</strong> John King Trophy and Gold Award<br />

Best <strong>Magazine</strong> of the Year 2018<br />

National <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> Awards<br />

Best Content 2021, 2016<br />

Best Overall 2020, 2015<br />

Best Editor 2019<br />

Best Print 2018<br />

Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869<br />

<strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> — Candlemas<br />

Church of St Andrew<br />

Serving Sonning, Charvil & Sonning Eye<br />

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF<br />

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY


2 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to this advertisement<br />

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Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869<br />

Church of St Andrew<br />

Serving Sonning, Charvil & Sonning Eye<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 1<br />

<strong>The</strong> John King Trophy and Gold Award<br />

Best <strong>Magazine</strong> of the Year 2018<br />

National <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> Awards<br />

Best Content 2021<br />

Best Overall <strong>Magazine</strong> 2020<br />

Best Editor 2019<br />

Best Print 2018<br />

Best Content 2016<br />

Best Overall <strong>Magazine</strong> 2015<br />

information — 1<br />

Contents <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

THE VICAR'S LETTER, 5<br />

THE PARISH NOTICEBOARD<br />

— Her Majesty <strong>The</strong> Queen, 7<br />

— Choral Evensong, 7<br />

— Organ Scholar, 7<br />

— Prayers for <strong>February</strong>, 7<br />

— Christian Basics Part 1, 9<br />

— Archbishop Tutu, 9<br />

— STAY, 10<br />

— <strong>The</strong> Persecuted Church, 11<br />

— On Reflection: Obadiah, 13<br />

— From the editor's desk, 13<br />

— Claude's view, 15<br />

— Forgiveness and Lent, 17<br />

— PCC External Giving, 17<br />

features<br />

— Celebrating <strong>February</strong>, 19<br />

— World Free Trade, 21<br />

— Platinum Jubilee, 22-23<br />

— <strong>The</strong> World Ahead, 25<br />

around the villages<br />

— Able Care Stickers, 26<br />

— Monday Club, 26<br />

— Village Show Date, 26<br />

— Project Singers Concert, 26<br />

— Inner Wheel, 26<br />

— Four thousand words, 27<br />

This ISSUE's FRONT COVER<br />

<strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> — Candlemas<br />

<strong>The</strong><br />

<strong>Parish</strong><br />

<strong>Magazine</strong><br />

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF<br />

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY<br />

Clap your hands,<br />

Messy Church in <strong>The</strong> Ark is back!<br />

Picture: Rev Kate<br />

EDITORIAL DEADLINE<br />

<strong>The</strong> editorial deadline for every issue<br />

of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is 12 noon on<br />

the sixth day of the month prior to the<br />

date of publication.<br />

<strong>The</strong> deadline for the March<br />

issue of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is:<br />

Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong> 12 noon<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 3<br />

Services at<br />

St Andrew’s<br />

Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong><br />

— 8.00am Holy Communion<br />

— 10.30am Christingle Family<br />

Service for Candlemas<br />

— 4.00pm Choral Evensong<br />

followed by tea in <strong>The</strong> Ark<br />

Sunday 13 <strong>February</strong><br />

— 8.00am Holy Communion<br />

— 10.30am <strong>Parish</strong> Eucharist<br />

STAY and Sunday Club<br />

Sunday 20 <strong>February</strong><br />

— 8.00am Holy Communion<br />

— 10.30am Family Communion<br />

— 3.00pm Messy Church in <strong>The</strong> Ark<br />

Sunday 27 <strong>February</strong><br />

— 8.00am Holy Communion<br />

— 10.30am <strong>Parish</strong> Eucharist<br />

STAY and Sunday Club<br />

— 6.0opm Sunday at Six in <strong>The</strong> Ark<br />

with refreshments served on<br />

arrival from 5.50pm-6.05pm<br />

history, 29<br />

HEALTH<br />

— Dr Simon Ruffle, 31-33<br />

— Toothache Day, 33<br />

the sciences<br />

— Love Wisdom, 33<br />

HOME & GARDEn<br />

— Recipe of the Month, 34<br />

— Garden Bird Flu, 34<br />

— Remembering Housework, 34<br />

— Saving our Planet, 35<br />

— Dealing with Disputes, 35<br />

— One Tree, 35<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> online<br />

<strong>The</strong> most recent issues can be viewed at:<br />

http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk<br />

Earlier issues from 1869 onwards are<br />

stored in a secure online archive. If you<br />

wish to view these archives contact the<br />

editor who will authorise access for you:<br />

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk<br />

OTHER REGULAR SERVICES<br />

Morning Prayer is held in church<br />

every Tuesday at 9.30am. During<br />

school holidays please check the Week<br />

Ahead notices for service details.<br />

Mid-week Communion in <strong>The</strong> Ark is<br />

held every Wednesday at 10.00am. Tea<br />

and coffee is available following the<br />

service.<br />

THE ARTS<br />

— Christmas TV Ratings, 36<br />

— Simeon, 37<br />

— Book Giving Day, 37<br />

— Poetry Corner, 38<br />

— Book Reviews, 38<br />

PUZZLE PAGE, 39<br />

children's page, 41<br />

information<br />

— Church services, 3<br />

— From the registers, 3<br />

— <strong>Parish</strong> contacts, 42<br />

— Advertisers index, 42<br />

From the register<br />

baptisms<br />

— Sunday 12 December<br />

Rose Alexandra Louise Winton<br />

Home Communion at Signature at<br />

Sonning is held on the first Friday<br />

of each month at 10.30am. Visitors<br />

must comply with the care home's<br />

Covid restrictions so please check with<br />

Signature at least four days before.


4 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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<strong>The</strong> vicar's letter<br />

DEAR FRIENDS,<br />

I have reflected a great deal in recent times on where we as a church are, nearly two<br />

years after the pandemic hit, when we were ordered by the government to cease<br />

holding services and then by the Bishops to close our church buildings, even to the<br />

clergy. It almost seems unreal now, but I remember a considerable fear that we would<br />

lose many elderly and vulnerable members of our congregation and community.<br />

Indeed, I was even ordered by the local authority to count out remaining grave spaces<br />

so they could plan for what was expected. This was certainly one of the more chilling<br />

and surreal tasks I have ever undertaken. I recall taking a few outdoor funerals in the<br />

pouring rain and driving wind with only seven family members allowed to be present;<br />

a more pitiful and heart-rending scene it would be hard to imagine. I also recall the<br />

immense frustration of having to cancel so many weddings with all the attendant<br />

complications and administrative burdens.<br />

Easter 2020 was a bleak time and tough for all Christians as they were barred<br />

from their churches; the only connection with their worshipping life was with<br />

hastily arranged video messages from us clergy, doing our best, with mixed results!<br />

I sometimes felt like I was in an episode of ‘Acorn Antiques’, but no matter! (YouTube<br />

it if you haven’t ever seen it). <strong>The</strong> sight of the Archbishop of Canterbury celebrating<br />

communion on Easter Day from his kitchen table, in a Palace that contains two<br />

beautiful chapels, will most likely not go down as one of his finest moments.<br />

BACK TO NORMAL<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 5<br />

Well, it is a relief to report that only one grave was needed for someone who died with, not of, Covid, and although<br />

any death is sad for the family, the deceased had lived a full and long life. Most of us have now been vaccinated and the<br />

majority of people I know who have had Covid, including me, have recovered and recognise that life goes on. Thanks be to<br />

God! This is not to diminish the suffering of those suffering from ‘long covid’ however. Our worshipping life is now, more<br />

or less, back to normal, and I have been greatly encouraged by the fact that during the pandemic we have actually grown<br />

as a congregation, by around 30 new souls, of all ages. We have even started a new monthly service, under the leadership<br />

of Chris West and Helen Craig, called ‘Sunday at 6’, which is already becoming well established. Rendezvous, the youth<br />

club and Messy Church are also now back up and running.<br />

'WE ARE NOT AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE'<br />

Christmas 2020 was an extraordinary time in that, although permitted by law, nearly every church in the locality,<br />

including St George’s Chapel, Windsor, cancelled their services. It was a time of uncertainty and I do not criticise those<br />

decisions, but we decided to carry on, and as I look back, I am pleased that we did. I have heard of a number of churches<br />

across the country that cancelled services this last Christmas and I am sorry they felt compelled to do this, now that the<br />

Covid picture is so much clearer and most people have been vaccinated. I was inspired by the address given by the Rector<br />

of Buckingham to his congregation, the Rev Will Pearson-Gee, when he answered calls for his church to do likewise last<br />

December: 'We are not a cinema. We are not the O2 Arena. We are not a football match. We are a family of brothers and sisters in<br />

Christ who come together on a Sunday to worship the living Jesus Christ. Not a football match, not a film; nothing like that. I am<br />

not going to close our services until I am ordered by law to do so, and even if that happens it will be screaming and kicking, because<br />

we are not an entertainment venue. We are here to worship the God who is sovereign over all of this mess, over all the ineptitude<br />

that the Government can throw at us, and it is all the more important that we gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ to<br />

worship God.'<br />

Here was a parish priest saying what perhaps bishops and archbishops ought to have been saying throughout the<br />

pandemic. I wholeheartedly concur with his stance and, within the law, will resist any future attempts to curtail our<br />

freedom to worship.<br />

When interviewed recently, Archbishop Welby said that it was a Christian’s duty to get vaccinated because Jesus told<br />

us 'to love our neighbour'. Indeed he did, but he didn’t compel us to do so, and I am appalled at attempts in some EU<br />

countries to force vaccinations on their populations. What Justin Welby didn’t mention was that Jesus offered this as the<br />

second most important commandment. We read in scripture that the 'first and greatest commandant is to love the Lord your<br />

God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength'. That is our primary duty as Christians and that is why<br />

we must never again quietly back down and stay at home on Sundays. Whatever would the early Christians, facing the<br />

lions in the Colosseum because of their obedience to the first commandment, make of us if we did?<br />

A successful future, under God, does not lie with the faint hearted and I feel greatly encouraged and blessed by what I<br />

have witnessed in and around our church community as we have come back to life, at the earliest legal opportunity, from<br />

this wretched period. Let us have confidence in fulfilling our primary tasks as Christians, to worship God, to deepen our<br />

faith through communal worship, prayer and study of scripture and to reach out in love to a community and world that is<br />

in so much need of the life changing message of Jesus Christ. Warm wishes, Jamie


6 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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the parish noticeboard — 1<br />

Notices<br />

Her Majesty the Queen<br />

On Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong> Her Majesty will mark not only the<br />

death of her father, His Late Majesty, King George VI, but<br />

also her Accession to the throne. (See pages 22-23)<br />

Let us remember her in our prayers at this time:<br />

Almighty God, who hast set our gracious sovereign Queen<br />

Elizabeth upon the throne of this realm, and given her to<br />

surpass all others in the years of her reign: Receive our<br />

heartfelt thanks for her service to her people, confirm and<br />

encourage her in the continuance of the same, one God, world<br />

without end. Amen.<br />

Choral Evensong and Tea: Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong><br />

We are pleased to announce that Choral Evensong will<br />

restart on the first Sunday of each month. It will be held<br />

in church at 4pm and followed by tea in <strong>The</strong> Ark.<br />

St Andrew's Church organ scholar<br />

Nathan May (above) has been our organ scholar for the<br />

last 6 years and it has been a pleasure to watch him grow<br />

in confidence and ability. He will be taking A levels later<br />

this year and so has decided to concentrate on these and<br />

his other musical and sporting activities and therefore is<br />

stepping down from his role at St Andrew’s. We wish him<br />

well and God’s blessing on all he does in the future.<br />

For your prayers<br />

in <strong>February</strong><br />

— <strong>The</strong> work of <strong>The</strong> Children’s Society<br />

— Westy, and his work<br />

running the Charvil<br />

detached youth work<br />

project<br />

— Her Majesty the Queen<br />

as she marks the 70th<br />

anniversary of her<br />

Accession to the throne<br />

— SPUC (<strong>The</strong> Society for the Protection of<br />

Unborn Children)<br />

Alain Lacroix, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 7<br />

Powerofflowers, dreamstime.com<br />

Christingle Family Service Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong><br />

At our 10.30am Family Service of Sunday 6 <strong>February</strong> we<br />

will be welcoming back the Christingle — something<br />

not possible for the last two years because of Covid<br />

restrictions. Children and young people are invited to<br />

bring along their Christingles when they will be blessed<br />

and lit - the Christingles that is!<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is more about this service — during which a<br />

collection will be taken for <strong>The</strong> Children's Society — on<br />

page 19 of this issue. Here are instructions on how to<br />

make one:<br />

You will need an orange, a<br />

candle, four cocktail sticks,<br />

enough red ribbon to wrap<br />

round the orange, a<br />

small piece of aluminium<br />

foil, some dried fruit or<br />

sweets, a sharp knife, a<br />

pair of scissors, a pin and a<br />

responsible adult to help you!<br />

Ask an adult to cut a thin<br />

slice off the bottom of the<br />

orange so that it stands firmly<br />

on a flat surface, and to make a<br />

hole in the top of the orange large<br />

enough for the candle, but don’t push the candle in yet.<br />

Wrap the red ribbon around the middle of the orange and<br />

fix it in position with the pin.<br />

Cut the aluminium foil with the scissors to cover the top<br />

of the orange and press it into the candle hole in the centre.<br />

Push the candle into the top of the orange where the foil<br />

is and make sure it is held firmly in place. Put the dried fruit<br />

or sweets on three of the cocktail sticks, leaving the fourth<br />

one empty. Push the cocktail sticks into the orange so they<br />

are spaced equally around it - see the picture above.<br />

What does it mean? <strong>The</strong> orange represents the world that God created.<br />

<strong>The</strong> red ribbon indicates the love and blood of Christ. <strong>The</strong> dried fruits and<br />

sweets are symbols of the fruits of the earth created by God for all his<br />

people. <strong>The</strong> four sticks represent all the people of the world. <strong>The</strong> empty<br />

stick reminds us that not everyone in the world has their fair share of the<br />

food provided by God. <strong>The</strong> lit candle symbolises Jesus, the light of the<br />

world that shines even in the darkest corners of our planet.


8 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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the parish noticeboard — 2<br />

Christian Basics — Part 1<br />

Rev Paul Hardingham begins a series on the foundations of the<br />

Christian faith. Paul is vicar of St Peter’s Halliwell, Bolton in the<br />

diocese of Manchester and his parish ministry has taken him all over<br />

the country including Cambridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, Birmingham<br />

and Ipswich.<br />

In the beginning . . .<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 9<br />

Five famous quotes from<br />

Archbishop Desmond Tutu<br />

Panagiotis Karapanagiotis, dreamstime.com<br />

For many today the universe began with a big bang,<br />

in which a lump of matter, smaller than a pinhead,<br />

exploded 15 billion years ago. It’s a story that defines<br />

who we are and where we come from. However, the Bible<br />

gives us another perspective on this event, revealing God<br />

as Creator: ‘By faith we understand that the universe<br />

was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was<br />

not made out of what was visible’ (Hebrews 11:3). What<br />

does Genesis 1 say about God as Creator?<br />

‘In the beginning, God’<br />

Whereas science can offer answers about the 'how' of<br />

creation, the Bible tells us about the 'why', that is, the<br />

purpose of the Creator! Creation reflects the character<br />

and glory of God, inviting a response of dependence and<br />

praise!<br />

‘God created the heavens and the earth’<br />

God shaped the universe, as expressed in the ‘six days’<br />

of creation. <strong>The</strong>y speak of an ordered and purposeful<br />

universe that expresses God’s will: He spoke and it was<br />

done! An alternative translation is ‘God began creating’,<br />

reminding us that creation is also an ongoing process,<br />

where the Holy Spirit is still at work in our lives and world.<br />

‘God created man in his own image’<br />

In the account, human beings are presented as the climax<br />

and crown of creation. We share the sixth day of creation<br />

with other creatures, as well as 95% of the same DNA.<br />

However, we are distinctively made in the image of God,<br />

created for relationship with God, with a responsibility to<br />

care for the created order.<br />

‘And God saw that it was good’<br />

Like an artist, God described his work as good. We should<br />

always approach this story with wonder, enjoying God’s<br />

world and affirming creativity in ourselves and others.<br />

Archbishop Tutu<br />

Komelau, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Boxing Day,<br />

26 December 2021, was mourned around the world.<br />

Here are five of his more famous quotes which show<br />

why he was so especially honoured for his justice and<br />

reconciliation work in South Africa, and equally, they<br />

are lessons for all of us to apply to our lives today.<br />

'Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little<br />

bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.'<br />

'If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have<br />

chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its<br />

foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are<br />

neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.'<br />

'Don't raise your voice, improve your argument. Good<br />

sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters, nor<br />

can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best<br />

arbiter of what is right.'<br />

'Forgiving is not forgetting; it’s actually remembering and<br />

not using your right to hit back. It’s a second chance for a<br />

new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly<br />

important. Especially if you don’t want to repeat what<br />

happened.'<br />

'Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We<br />

are different precisely in order to realise our need of one<br />

another.'


10 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

the parish noticeboard — 3<br />

STAY<br />

St<br />

STAY Christmas Activities<br />

With the schools off for a week<br />

before Christmas we organised two<br />

outdoor games drop-in sessions for<br />

all local young people. We had 23<br />

youth turn up on both days and we<br />

enjoyed playing; dodgeball, football,<br />

basketball, uni-hoc challenges with<br />

prizes and of course hot chocolate<br />

mountains!<br />

STAY on Friday<br />

We loved the last few weeks of youth<br />

club with the young people. We’ve<br />

made plans for the second upper<br />

room decorating and we are training<br />

junior leaders to run the tuck shop.<br />

<strong>The</strong> term ended with a film<br />

and pizza night in <strong>The</strong> Ark on 17<br />

December. We watched the classic<br />

Home Alone movie and ate our body<br />

weight in pizza!<br />

STAY on Sunday<br />

STAY on Sunday sadly wasn’t able to meet during December because of Covid.<br />

Instead, Christmas presents were bought and given out on Christmas Day as<br />

a treat. <strong>The</strong>y got more sweets and a candy cane with the real meaning behind<br />

them written on some lovely cards.<br />

STAY Detached Project<br />

<strong>The</strong> detached project continued<br />

throughout December with the hot<br />

chocolate given out to between 30-45<br />

young people each week. This project<br />

will continue on Thursdays after<br />

school where we meet young people<br />

in the gathering points of Charvil<br />

(Charvil Store, East Park Farm Drive<br />

park and the Park Lane sports court).<br />

STAY in Schools<br />

<strong>The</strong> mentoring and assemblies<br />

continued throughout December and<br />

individual pupil targets were set for<br />

what they hope to achieve in <strong>2022</strong>!<br />

With the schools returning in<br />

early January, I had the wonderful<br />

opportunity to serve 1,500 at <strong>The</strong><br />

Piggott Wargrave School with the<br />

LFT tests in the sports hall. It was an<br />

operation of mammoth proportions<br />

but the school staff, governors,<br />

parents and Wokingham Borough<br />

reps did an amazing job keeping all<br />

the pupils safe. It was an honour to<br />

be part of the team!<br />

As ever, please get in touch with<br />

any ideas, thoughts or to ask any<br />

questions on:<br />

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk<br />

Westy!


the parish noticeboard — 4<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 11<br />

<strong>The</strong> Persecuted Church: Focus on Nigeria and religious freedom by Colin Bailey<br />

People and places of worship lost in Nigeria<br />

<strong>The</strong> nave of the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina Lagos which is the Anglican preeminent<br />

cathedral in Lagos. It is over 150 years old.<br />

Matthew Omojola, dreamstime.com<br />

Hyotographics, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> United States has an independent<br />

Commission on International<br />

Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In April<br />

2021, it recommended that Nigeria<br />

be re-designated a 'Country of<br />

Particular Concern' (CPC) on freedom<br />

of religion on the US government’s<br />

list. <strong>The</strong>y cited ‘violence by militant<br />

Islamists and other non-state armed<br />

actors, as well as discrimination,<br />

arbitrary detentions, and capital<br />

blasphemy sentences by state<br />

authorities.’<br />

USCIRF’s activities include advising<br />

Congress, monitoring religious<br />

freedom conditions abroad, raising<br />

public awareness and issuing an<br />

annual report and other publications.<br />

Its website gives a definition of<br />

‘religious freedom’ and includes the<br />

statements that: ‘Inherent in religious<br />

freedom is the right to believe or not<br />

believe as one’s conscience leads, and<br />

live out one’s beliefs openly, peacefully,<br />

and without fear. Freedom of religion or<br />

belief is an expansive right that includes<br />

the freedoms of thought, conscience,<br />

expression, association and assembly.’<br />

<strong>The</strong>y cite Article 18 of the Universal<br />

Declaration of Human Rights which<br />

affirms that: ‘Everyone has the right<br />

to freedom of thought, conscience and<br />

religion; this right includes freedom to<br />

change religion or belief, and freedom,<br />

either alone or in community with others<br />

and in public or private, to manifest<br />

religion or belief in teaching, practice,<br />

worship and observance.’<br />

<strong>The</strong> US state department issued<br />

a report on international religious<br />

freedom in May, which cited religious<br />

freedom concerns in Nigeria.<br />

However, in November, Washington<br />

removed Nigeria from its list of<br />

countries with such concerns. It had<br />

been added to the list for the first time<br />

in 2020. <strong>The</strong> removal came a day before<br />

secretary of state Antony Blinken was<br />

due to arrive in Nigeria as part of a<br />

tour of Africa.<br />

<strong>The</strong> annual announcement of<br />

countries on the list named Myanmar,<br />

China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea,<br />

Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,<br />

Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as<br />

countries of particular concern.<br />

CONCERN<br />

On a watch list for religious<br />

freedom, Blinken placed Algeria,<br />

Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua. Armed<br />

groups including Islamic State and<br />

several of its affiliates were named as<br />

entities of concern.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Christian Association of<br />

Nigeria (CAN) called on the US<br />

government to explain the difference<br />

between the violence the Christians<br />

are facing now and when Nigeria was<br />

first listed as a CPC in 2020. A press<br />

statement included these trenchant<br />

comments:<br />

‘Christians had faced and are still<br />

facing persecution from ISWAP and the<br />

Boko Haram Islamic Group till today as<br />

before. <strong>The</strong>se are the people who said their<br />

agenda was to wipe away Christianity<br />

from Nigeria and to plant Islam as the<br />

only religion from the north down to the<br />

Atlantic Ocean in the south. That agenda<br />

with the killing of Christians has not<br />

stopped till today and Nigerians are living<br />

witnesses. <strong>The</strong> bandits have joined other<br />

militant Islamic groups to be ferociously<br />

attacking churches, killing worshippers<br />

and kidnapping for ransom. <strong>The</strong><br />

herdsmen are equally doing their havoc.<br />

We have lost many people and places of<br />

worship to their assault, especially in the<br />

north-central part of the country and the<br />

north-east.’<br />

<strong>The</strong> statement went on to mention<br />

how those who are not Christians<br />

are now also being attacked, killed<br />

and kidnapped because the criminal<br />

acts have become lucrative business.<br />

(See CAN reference below for the full<br />

statement).<br />

Please pray for the country of<br />

Nigeria and especially CAN’s efforts<br />

in trying to douse religious tension<br />

and foster harmonious relationships<br />

between people of different faiths.<br />

References and further reading<br />

Barnabas Fund: https://barnabasfund.org/news/<br />

christian-association-of-nigeria-protests-as-usremoves-country-from-lis/<br />

Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/<br />

us-removes-nigeria-religious-freedom-list-aheadblinken-visit-2021-11-18/<br />

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN): https://<br />

christianassociationofnigeria.org/2021/11/20/<br />

cpc-list-we-are-at-a-loss-on-the-data-the-usgovernment-used-for-the-delisting-of-nigeria-can/<br />

United States Commission on International Religious<br />

Freedom (USCIRF): https://www.uscirf.gov/aboutuscirf/about-us


12 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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the parish noticeboard — 5<br />

On reflection . . .<br />

By Elizabeth Spiers<br />

Obadiah: what is your<br />

heart saying to God?<br />

Marinela Malcheva, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> book of Obadiah is just one chapter long. It was<br />

written around 586BC and is a message to the people of<br />

Edom who were the descendants of Esau, twin brother<br />

of Jacob the Israelite. <strong>The</strong> Edomites and the Israelites<br />

were family in God’s eyes.<br />

Jacob’s descendants had sinned against God and come<br />

under his judgement. <strong>The</strong>y had been overthrown and<br />

taken captive by the Babylonians and their city had been<br />

looted and destroyed. Many were killed. Those who did<br />

manage to escape ran to places such as Edom hoping to<br />

find shelter.<br />

But the Edomites were a very proud people. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

considered themselves to be powerful, invincible even,<br />

and they boasted of it. When they heard of Israel’s<br />

latest misfortunes they joined in with the looting and<br />

destruction and, if they caught Jews escaping, they<br />

handed them over to Babylonians.<br />

FAMILIES CAN BE DIFFICULT<br />

God’s message through Obadiah is that he cannot<br />

stand by while they destroy their ‘brother’ (v10). He<br />

tells the Edomites that although they may consider<br />

themselves unassailable, a time is coming when they will<br />

be completely destroyed as repayment for their pride and<br />

their evil deeds. <strong>The</strong>re will be no trace of them left at all.<br />

Families can be very difficult to live with. Most of<br />

us have a family member that is not easy to get along<br />

with. Maybe they bullied us, or stole from us or treated<br />

us badly. It’s all too easy to glory in anything bad that<br />

happens to them or spread gossip about them. But as<br />

adults, and especially as Christians, surely the better way<br />

is to pray for them and ask God to break into their lives.<br />

While we may not be able to enjoy a close relationship<br />

with them, our response to them speaks loudly to our<br />

Father in heaven.<br />

People judge by outward appearance,<br />

but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)<br />

What is your heart saying to God today?<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 13<br />

From the desk<br />

of the editor<br />

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk<br />

Having nothing to do<br />

with silly myths . . .<br />

Traditionally, <strong>February</strong> begins with the ancient<br />

Christian celebration of Candlemas (see page 19)<br />

which for us at St Andrew's Church also focuses on the<br />

Christingle when we raise money for the work of <strong>The</strong><br />

Children's Society.<br />

Candlemas is officially held on the second day of the<br />

month, which is also the day when Americans have<br />

Groundhog Day which is a celebration essentially based<br />

on a superstition. Like many aspects of American culture,<br />

it is slowly spreading around the world — although it<br />

originally stems from a European superstition associated<br />

with Candlemas.<br />

While writing the article on page 19 I could not<br />

help thinking about my mother who was the most<br />

superstitious person I knew in my childhood. She would<br />

never walk under a ladder, always picked up pins and<br />

touched wood for luck, and dreaded a full moon because it<br />

apparently made my father do stupid things. You will have<br />

to ask my wife if I'm afflicted with this phenomenon!<br />

I could never understand why my mother sometimes<br />

saw a black cat as unlucky, but sometimes it was lucky,<br />

or why wearing green was unlucky — green was her<br />

favourite colour and she even got married in a green<br />

wedding dress! She also had a superstition about Friday<br />

the thirteenth — my father was born on 13 September so<br />

when his birthday fell on a Friday — and if there was a<br />

full moon — we all had to avoid upsetting him!<br />

TRAIN YOURSELF<br />

Apart from baptisms, weddings, funerals and the<br />

occasional 'purification' after child birth, I can't remember<br />

either of my parents going to church, although they<br />

always insisted that I, and my two younger siblings went<br />

to Sunday School on Sunday afternoon. It was not until I<br />

had children of my own that I realised why they sent us!<br />

However, I have always been thankful that they did.<br />

Also, to be fair to my mother, she considered herself to<br />

be a Christian and every day she would read a daily Bible<br />

note that her younger sister passed on to her, and one<br />

of her most treasured items was a Bible that my father<br />

brought back with him from Jerusalem where he was<br />

stationed for a short time during the Second World War.<br />

Her Bible is now part of my library of over 150 different<br />

versions I have collected during my life.<br />

I don't know if my mother's daily reading ritual had<br />

its roots in one of her superstitions, I like to think it<br />

didn't because the Bible often refers to such things, and<br />

recommends that we avoid them, for example:<br />

'Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.<br />

Rather train yourself for godliness' (1 Timothy 4:7)


14 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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the parish noticeboard — 6<br />

Even short walks were off the<br />

agenda until Christmas morning<br />

I can’t walk very far, or very well,<br />

these days so my Christmas walks<br />

were very short but I did manage to<br />

make it from the Bull gates car park<br />

into St Andrew’s Church and to <strong>The</strong><br />

Ark where the Christmas services<br />

and activities took place, writes<br />

Claude Masters<br />

It reminded me of the time when<br />

I could walk further. I was also<br />

reminded of this when searching<br />

through the clutter in a cupboard<br />

above my wardrobe and found a<br />

basket full of over 50 maps.<br />

Wherever I went on holiday I<br />

bought a map of the area, be it in<br />

this country or abroad, and most of<br />

them are Ordnance Survey of a scale<br />

suitable for walking. Each one brings<br />

back memories that would otherwise<br />

have been forgotten.<br />

ANTIQUE<br />

All are very old so they don’t<br />

show new roads and developments,<br />

although rights of way in the<br />

countryside don’t change. Even<br />

so, most of them are antique and I<br />

would do better buying a new one.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are, of course, many<br />

satellite GPS trackers available these<br />

days, but being told which way to go<br />

and not deciding for myself which<br />

path to use would, for me, take all<br />

the fun out of hiking.<br />

An OS map of Aberystwyth<br />

reminded me of when my youngest<br />

son was pre-school age. My wife, his<br />

two older siblings and I were sitting<br />

on the beach when we became aware<br />

that he had wandered off.<br />

We all searched initially to no<br />

avail but after about half an hour we<br />

found him half a mile away by our<br />

car calmly waiting for us. He was<br />

a terror for wandering off and was<br />

never afraid of being lost.<br />

GIFTED<br />

For the first of the Christmas<br />

services I made the short walk<br />

from the Bull car park to church for<br />

the Family service on the Second<br />

Sunday of Advent at which the<br />

Christmas tree was lit and toys and<br />

cash for needy children were gifted<br />

via the annual Reading Family Aid<br />

Christmas Appeal.<br />

<strong>The</strong> service included a visit from<br />

St Nicholas and the second Advent<br />

candle was lit by the auburn haired<br />

great-granddaughter of Rusty, a<br />

fondly remembered member of the<br />

congregation.<br />

ISOLATION<br />

In this paragraph I was intending<br />

to write my views on the other<br />

Christmas activities in the parish<br />

but catching a Covid infection forced<br />

me into isolation until 23 December<br />

so I missed them all. I also missed,<br />

my short walks from the Bull to the<br />

church.<br />

I can barely recall why my wife<br />

and I took lateral flow tests and<br />

although they were positive we did<br />

not suffer any Covid symptoms and<br />

did not feel at all unwell.<br />

Had we not taken the test we<br />

would not have known that we had<br />

the virus and we would have carried<br />

on going out as usual.<br />

<strong>The</strong> period of isolation was<br />

frustrating. Being stuck indoors<br />

unable to go anywhere, having<br />

no visitors and there being little<br />

pleasure in wandering in the garden<br />

at this time of the year.<br />

<strong>The</strong> self isolation ended just in<br />

time for Christmas so the festivities<br />

at church and with the family were<br />

Looking for the wise men during <strong>The</strong> Epiphany Family Service<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 15<br />

Claude's<br />

view<br />

from<br />

the<br />

pew<br />

the light at the end of the tunnel.<br />

<strong>The</strong> NHS Covid-19 app counting<br />

down the days didn’t make it come<br />

any sooner though.<br />

Fortunately, there was some pink<br />

gin, rhubarb tonic and a couple of<br />

bottles of single malt whisky in the<br />

cocktail cabinet!<br />

Christmas comes but once a year,<br />

but when it comes it brings good cheer!<br />

It certainly did for Barbara and<br />

I. <strong>The</strong> Christmas morning service<br />

in St Andrew’s where children<br />

brought their presents to show the<br />

vicar was highlighted by Westy who<br />

demonstrated how the attributes of<br />

sight, hearing, touch and smell were<br />

gifts of God revealed through Jesus<br />

in a manger.<br />

And it was especially good to be<br />

able to exchange 'Merry Christmas'<br />

with our many friends at church.<br />

Janette Crouch


16 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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the parish noticeboard — 7<br />

Dr Herbert McGonigle, former senior lecturer in Historical <strong>The</strong>ology & Church<br />

History, Nazarene <strong>The</strong>ological College, Manchester offers these thoughts on<br />

forgiveness as we prepare for Lent which starts next month on 2 March . . .<br />

<strong>The</strong> Bible is very expressive when it comes to speaking about how God can<br />

forgive our sins. It uses many descriptions to tell us how our sins are both<br />

forgiven and forgotten. Here are some of the promises:<br />

'our sins are forgiven’ (Psalm 32:5)<br />

‘washed thoroughly’ (Psalm 51:2)<br />

‘blotted out’ (Psalm 51:9)<br />

'forgiven and covered’ (Psalm 85:2)<br />

‘washed whiter than snow’ (Isaiah 1:18);<br />

‘taken away’ (Isaiah 6:7);<br />

‘put behind his back’ (Isaiah 38:17);<br />

‘laid on him’ (Isaiah. 53:6);<br />

‘remembered no more’ (Jeremiah 31:34);<br />

‘pardoned’ (Jeremiah. 33:8);<br />

‘destroyed’ (Romans 6:6);<br />

‘purged’ (Hebrews 1:3)’<br />

‘borne for us’ (1 Peter 2:24);<br />

‘washed away’ (Revelation 1:5).<br />

More than conquerors:<br />

In the depth of the sea!<br />

(Micah 7:19)<br />

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What glorious news this is! In Christ<br />

we are truly forgiven! Our sins are<br />

cancelled! God will not hold our<br />

guilty past against us!<br />

<strong>The</strong> prophet Micah has a very<br />

dramatic way of telling us this. He<br />

says that God has cast our sins ‘into<br />

the depths of the sea’ (7:19).<br />

So how deep is the sea? Far out in<br />

the Western Pacific Ocean, 200 miles<br />

from the island of Guam, lies the<br />

deepest part of the earth’s oceans.<br />

It is called the Mariana Trench. It is<br />

more than 1,500 miles long and over<br />

External giving made by St Andrew's Church<br />

Parochial Church Council during 2021<br />

TOTAL FROM OUTWARD GIVING FUND<br />

TOTAL OTHER DONATIONS<br />

12,000<br />

1,495<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 17<br />

LENT <strong>2022</strong><br />

Lent starts on<br />

Ash Wednesday 2 March.<br />

This year we will be<br />

holding Morning Prayer with<br />

a Reflection on Tuesdays at<br />

9.30am in church, followed by<br />

coffee in <strong>The</strong> Ark.<br />

<strong>The</strong> first Lenten Morning<br />

Prayer will be on<br />

Tuesday 8 March.<br />

40 miles wide but it is its depth that<br />

is awesome. It plunges down into<br />

the ocean bed for some 35,800 feet.<br />

By comparison, Everest, the world’s<br />

highest mountain, is 29,000 feet in<br />

height.<br />

That means that the Mariana<br />

Trench goes lower into the ocean bed<br />

than the peak of Everest stretches<br />

up to the clouds. At that frightening<br />

depth the pressure from the waters<br />

above is more than 8 tons to the<br />

square inch!<br />

While these geographical facts<br />

and figures compel our attention,<br />

the theology of our forgiveness is<br />

even more wonderful!<br />

When we are ‘in Christ’ as his<br />

redeemed people, our sins are truly<br />

forgiven. God has thrown them<br />

into the depth of the sea, never<br />

to be resurrected! <strong>The</strong>y are buried<br />

forever in the vast abyss of God’s<br />

unfathomable love and mercy. What<br />

good news the gospel brings! Our<br />

guilty past is forgiven and forgotten!<br />

BOTTOMLESS ABYSS<br />

John Wesley, a few months after<br />

his evangelical conversion in May<br />

1738, went to Herrnhut in Germany.<br />

He met the Moravian hymn writer<br />

Johann Andreas Rothe. Wesley<br />

had learned German and enjoyed<br />

singing the Moravian hymns and<br />

he translated many of them into<br />

English, including one of Rothe’s<br />

great hymns that includes the lines:<br />

O Love, Thou bottomless abyss<br />

My sins are swallowed up in <strong>The</strong>e<br />

Covered is my unrighteousness<br />

Nor spot of guilt remains on me.<br />

While Jesu’s blood through<br />

earth and skies<br />

Mercy, free boundless mercy, cries.


18 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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feature — 1<br />

For Christians throughout the<br />

world, <strong>February</strong> gets underway with<br />

Candlemas, a special celebration<br />

officially held 2 <strong>February</strong>, or the<br />

nearest Sunday to it — this year, in<br />

the Church of England lectionary it<br />

has been moved forward to Sunday 30<br />

January.<br />

Candlemas, is also known as the<br />

‘Feast of the Presentation of Christ<br />

in the Temple’ and recalls the events<br />

recorded in the Gospel of Luke 2.22-<br />

40. <strong>The</strong> ceremony described by Luke<br />

complied with the ancient Jewish<br />

rite of purification when, following<br />

the birth of a child, the mother had<br />

to be ‘purified’ by offering a burnt<br />

offering in the Temple. This offering<br />

was specified as being a lamb, but for<br />

the poor, a young pigeon or dove was<br />

acceptable.<br />

Candlemas for some Christians<br />

around the world marked the end<br />

of Christmas and was the time<br />

decorations would be taken down.<br />

Today it is more generally<br />

recognised that <strong>The</strong> Epiphany, which<br />

marks the visit by the magi and which<br />

is celebrated 12 days after Christmas<br />

Day, is the time to take down the<br />

Christmas decorations.<br />

Candlemas is held 40 days after<br />

Christmas and complies with the<br />

length of time that is prescribed for<br />

most of the major seasons in the<br />

Christian calendar, for example the<br />

40 days of Lent which this year begins<br />

on Ash Wednesday 2 March, and what<br />

was originally, 40 days of Advent.<br />

At St Andrew’s, like many parish<br />

churches, Candlemas became the time<br />

when the new stock of candles arrived<br />

for the year and a feature of the service<br />

was for the new candles to be blessed<br />

and dedicated to serve God. This was,<br />

of course, before electricity took over<br />

as the prime source of lighting.<br />

In recent times, at St Andrew’s, and<br />

many parish churches, we celebrate<br />

Christingle at Candlemas, while<br />

other churches include it as part of<br />

their Christmas celebrations. <strong>The</strong><br />

Christingle, which has German origins<br />

mean ‘Little Christ Child’ and is made<br />

from an orange, which represents<br />

the world, with a candle representing<br />

Jesus, the light of the world.<br />

Around the candle are four sticks<br />

representing the people of the world<br />

and the fruit or sweets on three of<br />

these sticks represent the ‘fruits of the<br />

earth'.<br />

<strong>The</strong> fourth, empty stick, reminds<br />

us of the poor and hungry in our<br />

world. A collection taken during the<br />

Christingle/Candlemas service raises<br />

money for the work of <strong>The</strong> Children’s<br />

Society, a charitable organisation that<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 19<br />

<strong>February</strong> — the month for celebrating with<br />

candles, oranges, and groundhogs!<br />

CHRISTINGLE<br />

A groundhog emerges from its hole in the ground<br />

2014: Christingles in St Andrew's Church<br />

Tom Farncombe<br />

Galina Dreyzina, dreamstime.com<br />

serves children suffering from abuse,<br />

exploitation and neglect.<br />

For the last two years Covid<br />

restrictions have meant that the<br />

Christingle service has not be possible<br />

but this year we are planning to hold it<br />

on Sunday 2 <strong>February</strong> at the 10.30am<br />

Family Service. Instructions on how to<br />

make a Christingle are on page 7.<br />

SUPERSTITION<br />

Another spin-off from the ancient<br />

Christian festival of Candlemas is<br />

Groundhog Day which is also held on<br />

2 <strong>February</strong>. This is primarily a time for<br />

a family feast and party in America.<br />

Like the Christingle, it has its roots in<br />

Germany and it reached America via<br />

Dutch speaking emigrees who took<br />

with them their superstitions about<br />

predicting spring.<br />

This superstition says that if a<br />

groundhog emerges from its burrow<br />

on Candlemas Day and sees its shadow<br />

due to clear weather, it will retreat<br />

to its den and winter will persist for<br />

another six weeks; if it does not see its<br />

shadow because of cloudiness, spring<br />

will arrive early.<br />

A groundhog, or woodchuck,<br />

belongs to the group of large ground<br />

squirrels known as marmots. Studies<br />

of this superstition don’t confirm that<br />

it is true but this does not stop people<br />

enjoying themselves!


20 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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feature — 2<br />

<strong>The</strong> Panda Flower Farm, Kenya<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 21<br />

Fair Trade Fortnight: 21 <strong>February</strong> – 6 March<br />

<strong>The</strong>re's more to Free Trade than bananas and coffee!<br />

Governments of the world uniting<br />

to tackle global issues such as<br />

climate change, Covid, and in the<br />

past, world wars, is not the only<br />

way to achieve change. NGOs —<br />

Non-Governmental Organisations<br />

— charities, and religious groups<br />

have worked, and are working,<br />

alongside each other to relieve the<br />

pain and suffering of an estimated<br />

690 million deprived and poor people<br />

in our world — that's about 8 - 9%<br />

of the world's population. One of<br />

the most remarkable movements<br />

— 'movement' is the best way of<br />

describing it — is the World Free<br />

Trade Organisation (WFTO). If you<br />

delve into its history you will find<br />

many different stories of how it began<br />

because it didn't grow from a single<br />

moment in time, but emerged in<br />

many different parts of the world for<br />

different reasons.<br />

In the United States it can be traced<br />

from the 1940's when 10,000 self-help<br />

craft groups began buying needlework<br />

from Puerto Rico. <strong>The</strong> first Fair Trade<br />

Shop which sold these opened in 1958.<br />

CANE SUGAR<br />

Meanwhile in the UK , Oxfam<br />

began selling crafts made by Chinese<br />

refugees and in 1958 created the first<br />

Fair Trade Organisation. Similar<br />

initiatives in the Netherlands resulted<br />

in an importing organisation starting<br />

in 1967 and Dutch third world groups<br />

began to sell cane sugar with the<br />

message 'by buying cane sugar you give<br />

Harvesting Free Trade bananas, Robinson Ramirez Segura, Ecuador<br />

people in poor countries a place in the sun<br />

of prosperity'.<br />

In Asia, Africa and South America<br />

NGOs and socially motivated<br />

individuals began promoting the need<br />

for fair marketing organizations that<br />

gave advice, assistance and support to<br />

disadvantaged producers.<br />

SECURITY<br />

And so the movement grew and<br />

today Fair Trade works throughout<br />

the world with farming co-operatives,<br />

businesses, and governments to make<br />

trade fair so that producers earn secure<br />

and sustainable livelihoods.<br />

Climate change is currently the<br />

biggest threat to the livelihoods of<br />

millions of small-scale farmers and<br />

agricultural workers in low-income<br />

Fairtrade<br />

Fairtrade<br />

countries worldwide. Without a<br />

fairer income, farmers and workers<br />

are unable to invest in the types of<br />

mitigation and adaptation techniques<br />

needed to protect the environment, and<br />

their businesses.<br />

This represents a vicious cycle<br />

of poverty in which steps towards<br />

environmental protection and<br />

decarbonisation are likely to be beyond<br />

the reach for those who aren’t able to<br />

earn a living income because the price<br />

they receive for their produce is far too<br />

low.<br />

FLOWERS<br />

Today, Fair Trade, for many people<br />

means bananas, chocolate or tea<br />

and coffee, but there are many other<br />

products, including gold, wine, clothes,<br />

beauty products and flowers.<br />

For example, there are over 70,000<br />

people growing, harvesting, packing,<br />

and caring for Fair Trade flowers which<br />

are traceable to the original certified<br />

farms that must ensure safety and<br />

working conditions for their employees.<br />

Certified farms receive a premium<br />

of 10% for every item sold to allow<br />

workers to invest in healthcare,<br />

education and social benefits.<br />

Fair Trade flowers come from<br />

Kenya, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Ecuador,<br />

Uganda and Tanzania and are available<br />

from Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, M&S and<br />

Moonpig — perhaps this is something<br />

to look out for when buying gifts for<br />

Valentine’s Day on 14 <strong>February</strong>, and<br />

Mothering Sunday on 14 March!


22 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

ACCESSION TO<br />

We look back over 70 years of Her Majesty<br />

<strong>The</strong> Queen's reign as recorded in extracts<br />

from <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />

GOD REST THE KING!<br />

<strong>February</strong> 1952<br />

King George VI Elizabeth II<br />

Once more we have followed a loved and revered<br />

Sovereign to his grave sorrowing, but 'not as others<br />

which have no hope'.<br />

Called to the throne unexpectedly, he accepted<br />

that vocation as from God; in his Coronation he<br />

publicly, consciously and piously dedicated his<br />

life to the service of God and his people, and drew<br />

from that mystical ceremony God’s authority and<br />

strength to fill the exalted position to which he had<br />

been called; throughout his life he showed that the<br />

greatest dignity consists in service.<br />

A true Christian, he has passed to the<br />

Christian’s rest and awaits with humble confidence<br />

the Christian’s great reward, the unclouded vision<br />

of his Lord and God.<br />

Nor are we without hope for our country and<br />

ourselves; we are secure in the knowledge that the<br />

same Christian faith and hope and love inspire<br />

our new Sovereign, the Lady Elizabeth, called at<br />

so early an age to be our Queen; to her we can with<br />

the confidence born of knowledge and experience<br />

pledge our allegiance, as we also offer her our<br />

respectful affection.<br />

God Rest the King!<br />

God Save the Queen!<br />

Rev S J S Groves<br />

THE CORONATION<br />

May 1953<br />

All thoughts look forward to the Coronation of Her<br />

Most Gracious Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second.<br />

Remember these words: ‘I want to ask you all to<br />

pray for me on that day - to pray that God may give<br />

me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn<br />

promises I shall be making, and that I may faithfully<br />

serve him and you all the days of my life.’<br />

June 1953<br />

<strong>The</strong> Coronation has come and gone, leaving behind<br />

it the memory of a most august service, beautifully<br />

and reverently performed. ... One need say no more ...<br />

every item was recorded on wireless and television so<br />

all our people could take part in the solemnity.<br />

For the future the Church will exercise her priestly<br />

function in offering continuous prayer on behalf of<br />

Queen and Commonwealth. Rev S J S Groves<br />

<strong>The</strong> Royal Family sculptures in wax. Left to right front: Sarah Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth Th<br />

Left to right back: Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, <strong>The</strong> Duke of Edinburgh, King Geo<br />

DECORATIONS<br />

<strong>The</strong> Coronation committee are making arrangements<br />

for the decorations of the Pearson Hall and the<br />

recreation ground. With these exceptions they appeal<br />

to all householders to mark this historic occasion by<br />

decorating their own houses according to individual<br />

taste.<br />

It is, however, suggested that residents should<br />

combine with their neighbours on opposite sides of<br />

the roads and hang strings of pennants across the<br />

road in order to give a festive air to the village.<br />

This form of decoration would be specially suitable<br />

in High Street.<br />

A prize will be given for the best decorated house.<br />

A large number of special ev<br />

organised throughout June—<br />

club had its own celebration<br />

village events on Coronation<br />

— Television in the Boys’ S<br />

— A Coronation peal will b<br />

at the moment of the Cr<br />

— Children’s tea in the Pe<br />

— Fancy dress procession<br />

Pearson Hall.<br />

— Sports in the recreation<br />

— Presentation of Prizes i<br />

— Dance in the Pearson H<br />

— Procession of illuminat<br />

September 2015: Her Majesty <strong>The</strong> Queen becomes the longest ever reigning m<br />

great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. According to Buckingham Palace ca<br />

This takes into account 63 years, 15 leap days, additional months and days and


<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 23<br />

PLATINUM<br />

GOLDEN JUBILEE<br />

July 2002<br />

My congratulations and thanks to all who worked<br />

so hard over the Jubilee weekend, the scarecrows<br />

were a brilliant idea. Rev Christopher Clarke<br />

Our village’s contribution was so diverse that in the<br />

words of one visitor, ‘<strong>The</strong>re was so much to see and<br />

do that we kept coming back.’ [<strong>The</strong>re was a Regatta,<br />

the first Scarecrow trail, an Elegant Picnic, open<br />

gardens, and a street party] ... St Andrew’s welcomed<br />

many hundreds of visitors who marvelled at its<br />

architecture ... its abundance of flower displays and<br />

the virtually non-stop organ recital. B&E Guthrie<br />

In Charvil there was a Jubilee Festival of flowers,<br />

open gardens and a memorabilia exhibition, and the<br />

Charvil Village Fete had a Golden Jubilee theme.<br />

e Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria, and Queen Alexandra;<br />

rge VI, Queen Mary, King George V, and King Edward VII.<br />

Dastin50, dreamstime.com<br />

ents and meals were<br />

almost every group and<br />

s. Here is a summary of the<br />

Day:<br />

chool.<br />

e rung from the church<br />

owning of the Queen.<br />

arson Hall.<br />

starting from the<br />

ground.<br />

n the recreation ground.<br />

all.<br />

ed boats on the river<br />

SILVER JUBILEE<br />

June 1977<br />

Village organisations will process through the<br />

village on a series of floats and other forms of<br />

transport ... <strong>The</strong> children’s fancy dress parade will<br />

then take place ... We hope everyone will join in<br />

and bring a family picnic ... At 1.30pm the Fete<br />

and Sports will start. <strong>The</strong>re will be about 40 stalls<br />

and sideshows and lots of entertaining sport with<br />

hosts of prizes to win. ... Every street will have a<br />

Tug o’ War team ... grannies well trained in Space<br />

Hopping ... youth versed in Pogo-stick jumping.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re will be sport for all ages ... a barbecue dance<br />

at Reading Rugby Club.<br />

DIAMOND JUBILEE<br />

January 2012<br />

Pearson Hall Queen's Jubilee Clock<br />

Some of you will have heard that the Pearson Hall<br />

were approached about the idea of a clock being<br />

installed outside the Pearson Hall to mark the<br />

occasion of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee in<br />

June 2012.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Hall trustees were pleased to agree to this<br />

and have looked at the suitability of a number of<br />

clocks. Smith's of Derby make good strong clocks<br />

that should give years of service, making them an<br />

ideal choice.<br />

Lesley Bates, chairman Pearson Hall<br />

onarch in British history on 9 September 2015, passing the record set by her<br />

lculations, Queen Victoria reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes.<br />

the precise timings of Queen Victoria’s accession and death.<br />

Diamond Jubilee Clock at Pearson Hall<br />

Tom Farncombe<br />

June 2012:<br />

<strong>The</strong> monarchy, embodied in 60 years of unflinching<br />

service from our Queen, is still central to our nation’s<br />

life ...<br />

Rev Jamie Taylor


24 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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feature — 4<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 25<br />

A revitalised Church for the world ahead?<br />

Dr Peter Brierley, a church statistician, considers what <strong>2022</strong> may hold for the Church<br />

<strong>The</strong> Beijing Winter Olympics begin on 4 <strong>February</strong><br />

Towards the end of every year<br />

'<strong>The</strong> Economist' publishes a<br />

comprehensive paperback looking<br />

at the year to come. For <strong>2022</strong>, '<strong>The</strong><br />

World Ahead' looks at 10 main<br />

issues, and while these reflect a<br />

commercial and financial viewpoint,<br />

they are also areas of concern to<br />

Christians. <strong>The</strong> main issues are:<br />

DEMOCRACY<br />

VERSUS AUTOCRACY<br />

<strong>The</strong> tensions between the rival<br />

political systems of America and<br />

China will continue to involve trade,<br />

technology regulations, vaccinations,<br />

and space stations.<br />

PANDEMIC TO ENDEMIC<br />

New treatments are coming, but<br />

unless more people can be vaccinated<br />

globally, Covid-19 will become yet<br />

another endemic disease, affecting<br />

the poor more than the rich.<br />

INFLATION WORRIES<br />

<strong>The</strong> supply chain interruptions and<br />

increased energy demands have<br />

pushed up prices. Will that affect<br />

charity and church finances? <strong>The</strong> UK<br />

also has an acute labour shortage.<br />

THE FUTURE OF WORK<br />

<strong>The</strong> work-from-home syndrome<br />

will probably mean more ‘hybrid’<br />

workstations. Women are keener to<br />

work from home. Could this impact<br />

church life, and, if so, in what ways?<br />

Mirko Kuzmanovic, dreamstime.com<br />

NEW TECHLASH<br />

Techlash is a backlash against large<br />

technology companies that dominate<br />

a market. American and European<br />

governments have been trying to<br />

rein in these technology giants.<br />

Meanwhile, China is demanding they<br />

focus on geo-strategic advantage, not<br />

'frivolities like games and shopping.'<br />

CRYPTO GROWS UP<br />

<strong>The</strong> new crypto-currencies are being<br />

domesticated. A cryptocurrency (or<br />

crypto) is a form of payment that<br />

can circulate without the need for a<br />

central monetary authority such as<br />

a government or bank. Where will<br />

the future standard of finance fall?<br />

<strong>The</strong> central banks or somewhere<br />

else? It is still to be determined.<br />

Such issues may affect the Church<br />

Commissioners, but probably not the<br />

local church!<br />

CLIMATE CRUNCH<br />

This affects us all but still 'a striking<br />

lack of urgency prevails among<br />

policymakers.' And global success,<br />

if it can be achieved, will require<br />

co-operation between the West and<br />

China.<br />

TRAVEL TROUBLE<br />

<strong>The</strong> transition to an endemic from<br />

a zero-Covid suppression (as in<br />

Australasia) may be difficult. Future<br />

business travel is likely to be much<br />

less, for example, Zoom is taking<br />

over and holiday travel could cost<br />

more. What will this mean for<br />

international Christian gatherings?<br />

SPACE RACES<br />

'<strong>2022</strong> will be the first year in which<br />

more people go into space as paying<br />

passengers than government<br />

employees.' China will finish its new<br />

space station; NASA is crashing a<br />

probe into an asteroid.<br />

POLITICAL FOOTBALLS<br />

<strong>The</strong> Beijing Winter Olympics and<br />

the football World Cup in Qatar will<br />

show just how far sport can bring<br />

nations together.<br />

THE POWER OF THE<br />

WORD OF GOD<br />

Such is the global perspective, as<br />

seen by economists. What difference<br />

would Christian leaders bring to the<br />

table?<br />

Among the greatest needs are<br />

to encourage dispirited Christian<br />

people; to strengthen and empower<br />

children's and youth work; to<br />

decide the best way forward for<br />

congregations whose churches are<br />

no longer viable; to develop a vision<br />

to meet national spiritual need; to<br />

enable leadership to focus on the<br />

top priorities without distraction on<br />

lesser things; and finally, to revitalise<br />

faith in the inspiration, authority<br />

and power of God’s Word.


26 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

around the villages — 1<br />

Since 2019, Able Community Care,<br />

a live-in care provider, has given<br />

nearly 70,000 older people door<br />

stickers to deter unwanted callers.<br />

If you know someone who would<br />

like to have one, email Able at info@<br />

ablecommunitycare.com and tell them<br />

how many you would like and the<br />

address to send them to.<br />

Older people are often targeted<br />

by fraudulent traders, workmen and<br />

fake ‘professional’ people such as<br />

conmen advising they are from the<br />

Water Board, Gas Board, NHS Covid<br />

Department and so on, and these<br />

stickers have proved to reduce the<br />

number of such callers.<br />

RENDEZVOUS IN THE ARK<br />

for senior citizens<br />

We meet every second<br />

and fourth Tuesday<br />

of the month<br />

Monday Club is back<br />

to regular meetings<br />

for lunch and chatter<br />

To reserve your place<br />

call:<br />

0118 969 3298<br />

Sonning Monday Club has returned<br />

to its regular meetings in Pearson<br />

Hall on alternate Mondays from<br />

2pm until 3.30pm. <strong>The</strong> forthcoming<br />

dates are: 24 January, 7 and 21<br />

<strong>February</strong>, 7 and 21 March, and there<br />

after every other Monday.<br />

In December, the members enjoyed<br />

a three course Christmas lunch with<br />

a welcoming mulled wine and a visit<br />

from Father Christmas who brought<br />

everyone a goody bag!<br />

If you would like a chat, a laugh,<br />

a cup of tea and some delicious cake<br />

why not join them!<br />

Diary Date<br />

<strong>The</strong> annual Sonning Village Show<br />

will be held this year on Saturday<br />

10 September at Sonning C of E<br />

Primary School. Put the date in your<br />

diary now!<br />

Charvil Project Singers<br />

night at the movies<br />

Charvil's Project Singers will be<br />

performing some great film songs at<br />

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts on<br />

Saturday 26 March.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y will be singing popular<br />

favourites such as:<br />

City of Stars from La La Land;<br />

Papa can you hear me? from Yentl;<br />

Hopelessly devoted to you from Grease;<br />

A million dreams from <strong>The</strong> Greatest<br />

Showman; and a great medley of<br />

songs from <strong>The</strong> Sound of Music.<br />

Joining the Project Singers will<br />

be the Crosfield's Senior String<br />

Ensemble whose pieces will include<br />

Star Wars and For your eyes only.<br />

'A Night at the Movies' starts at<br />

7.30pm in Norden Farm Centre for<br />

the Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead<br />

Tickets are £10 from the Box Office<br />

on 0162 878 8997.<br />

Inner Wheel keeps<br />

its charity wheels<br />

turning for <strong>2022</strong><br />

Having successfully fulfilled their<br />

grotto sessions at Hare Hatch<br />

Sheeplands during December<br />

Reading Maiden Erlegh Inner Wheel<br />

Club began the New Year with a<br />

walk and soup lunch.<br />

In <strong>February</strong> the members will<br />

holding their 20th charter lunch at<br />

Sonning Golf Club with guest speaker<br />

Colin Evans, a gardening expert<br />

from BBC Radio Berkshire, and<br />

March will see the group celebrating<br />

International Women’s Day.<br />

Meanwhile, members have been<br />

volunteering and sewing for its<br />

chosen charity, <strong>The</strong> Cowshed who<br />

worked to ensure families in need<br />

had gifts and hampers for Christmas.<br />

Reading Maiden Erlegh Inner<br />

Wheel meets at Sonning Golf Club<br />

on the third Thursday evening of<br />

every month and they welcome new<br />

members to join in the fun, take part<br />

in activities, raise funds for charity<br />

and support the local community.<br />

For more information:<br />

http://www.innerwheelrme.org<br />

iwcrme@gmail.com


around the villages — 2<br />

A picture is worth a thousand words . . .<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 27<br />

. . . so goes the old adage from the early 1900's, although it is believed to have its roots in 'A thousand words leave not<br />

the same deep impression as does a single deed' which was coined by the Norwegian playwright, Henrik Johan Ibsen<br />

(1828-1906). If this saying is true, we have squeezed 4,000 words onto this page!<br />

Above are photographs by churchwarden, Liz Nelson, of the well-attended Rendezvous Christmas Lunch in the <strong>The</strong> Ark when the members<br />

enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner, prepared by Emma's Kitchen of Twyford, and followed by carol singing and a welcome visit from<br />

St Nicholas! <strong>The</strong> lunch was enhanced by some splendid table decorations made especially by the St Andrew's Sunday Club children.<br />

Below are two Sonning Art Group paintings produced during the Christmas season. On the left is an excellent acrylic painting of autumn<br />

leaves by Bernadette Varilone and on the right, George Gallocker's accomplished watercolour of a snow scene. Sonning Art Group is<br />

continuing its Friday afternoon meetings in Pearson Hall and, like all local groups, they are hoping they will not be interrupted by viruses<br />

during the coming year.


28 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

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History<br />

Was it really . . . ?<br />

. . . 175 YEARS AGO on 11 <strong>February</strong><br />

1847 that Thomas Edison, American<br />

inventor and businessman was born.<br />

He was best known for inventing<br />

the first practical incandescent light<br />

bulb, phonograph, movie camera and<br />

projector, and many more.<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 29<br />

. . . 100 YEARS AGO on 8 <strong>February</strong><br />

1922 that the first radio was installed<br />

in the White House.<br />

. . . 90 YEARS AGO on 27 <strong>February</strong><br />

1932 that British physicist James<br />

Chadwick announced his discovery of<br />

the neutron subatomic particle in the<br />

journal Nature. He was awarded the<br />

1935 Nobel Prize for Physics for his<br />

discovery.<br />

. . . 80 YEARS AGO on 8 <strong>February</strong><br />

1942 that the Battle of Singapore took<br />

place. <strong>The</strong> Japanese occupied Singapore<br />

until September 1945. This is regarded<br />

as the worst disaster in British military<br />

history, with about 80,000 British,<br />

Indian and Australian troops captured.<br />

. . . 75 YEARS AGO on 7 <strong>February</strong><br />

1947 that the first of the Dead Sea<br />

Scrolls were found in caves in Khirbat<br />

Qumran, now in the West Bank,<br />

Palestine.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Qumran cave where 75 years ago the Dead Sea Scrolls were found<br />

Golasza, deamstime.com<br />

. . . 70 YEARS AGO on 6 <strong>February</strong><br />

1952 that Princess Elizabeth acceded<br />

to the throne following the death of<br />

her father, King George VI. She was in<br />

Kenya and became the first Sovereign in<br />

over 200 years to accede while abroad.<br />

Part of a Dead Sea Scroll on display in the Quman Museum<br />

Rita Phessas, deamstime.com<br />

. . . 65 YEARS AGO on 16 <strong>February</strong><br />

1957 that the Toddlers’ Truce — TV<br />

broadcasts closed down at 6pm for an<br />

hour so that young children could be<br />

put to bed — was abolished in Britain.<br />

. . . 60 YEARS AGO on 20 <strong>February</strong><br />

1962 that John Glenn became the first<br />

American astronaut to orbit the Earth.<br />

He made three orbits in the space<br />

capsule Friendship 7.<br />

. . . 50 YEARS AGO on 9 <strong>February</strong><br />

1972 that the UK Government declared<br />

a state of emergency over the miners'<br />

strike which began in January. From<br />

16 <strong>February</strong>, electricity supplies were<br />

cut for up to 9 hours a day.<br />

. . . 50 YEARS AGO on 18 <strong>February</strong><br />

1972 that the House of Commons<br />

voted — by 8 votes — to join the<br />

Common Market (European Union).<br />

. . . 25 YEARS AGO, on 13 <strong>February</strong><br />

1997 that the jury of an inquest into<br />

the death of black British teenager<br />

Stephen Lawrence decided that he had<br />

been unlawfully killed by five white<br />

youths. <strong>The</strong>y were not convicted until<br />

January 2012 when two of them were<br />

given prison sentences.<br />

. . . 25 YEARS AGO on 22 <strong>February</strong><br />

1997 that scientists at Roslin Institute,<br />

Edinburgh cloned a mammal for the<br />

first time — a sheep named Dolly.<br />

. . . 20 YEARS AGO on 4 <strong>February</strong><br />

2002 that Cancer Research UK was<br />

formed. It is now the world’s largest<br />

independent cancer research charity.<br />

. . . 20 YEARS AGO on 19 <strong>February</strong><br />

2002 that NASA’s Mars Odyssey space<br />

probe began mapping the surface of<br />

Mars. It discovered huge reservoirs of<br />

underground ice.<br />

. . . 10 YEARS AGO on 11 <strong>February</strong><br />

2012 that Whitney Houston, one<br />

of the bestselling music artists of<br />

all time, died aged 48 years. She<br />

drowned in her hotel bathtub because<br />

of coronary artery disease and drug<br />

intoxication.


30 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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Traditional Wedding?<br />

<strong>The</strong>n you might like to<br />

discuss the possibility of<br />

marriage in our ancient and<br />

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If so, call the vicar, Jamie<br />

0118 969 3298<br />

He will be pleased to help!<br />

In addition to the stunning and historic location in Sonning,<br />

we will work hard to provide you with a memorable and<br />

moving occasion. We can provide a choir, organ, peal of<br />

eight bells, beautiful flowers, over 100 lit candles set in<br />

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HEALTH —1<br />

Dr Simon Ruffle writes . . . 'Februa'<br />

As we enter the final month of the<br />

meteorological winter a lot of us<br />

have tried to be good in January<br />

and are thinking about entering<br />

spring full of energy, vim and<br />

vigour.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Romans knew this month<br />

as Februarius. This stems from<br />

'Februa,' a ritual of februum meaning<br />

purification.<br />

For thousands of years humans<br />

have believed in ‘de-tox,’ from the<br />

Scandinavian use of saunas, native<br />

Americans using smoke in sweat<br />

lodges and medieval Europeans using<br />

leaches and blood letting.<br />

Mostly these actually cause harm<br />

but some have benefits but need to<br />

be used with caution.<br />

TOXIN OR TOXICANT<br />

A toxin is something produced<br />

by a living cell that can cause harm<br />

but cannot reproduce itself. Most of<br />

the ‘toxins’ that we produce during<br />

our normal metabolic processes are<br />

cleared by our liver and kidneys. So,<br />

the question is do, de-toxification<br />

methods work?<br />

<strong>The</strong> answer is conflated by<br />

concerns over toxicants that<br />

enter the body, such as lead in<br />

paint, mercury via water sources<br />

and pesticides. A toxicant is nonbiological.<br />

<strong>The</strong> answer is also influenced by<br />

the dose. '<strong>The</strong> dose makes the poison.'<br />

(Paracelsus) A poison encompasses<br />

substances that cause illness or<br />

death. So, water is a poison. Drink<br />

more than your kidneys can excrete<br />

and you lose too much sodium, and<br />

fluid builds up where it shouldn’t, in<br />

your lungs and in extreme cases your<br />

brain swells.<br />

AMURULA<br />

Let’s turn to alcohol! (Don’t)<br />

Alcohol is absolutely harmless in low<br />

doses. It is found naturally in fruit.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is a well believed tale about<br />

elephants getting drunk. This is, and<br />

isn’t true. Elephants love Marula<br />

fruit. As Marula fruit rots, it, like<br />

most fruits create alcohol via yeasts<br />

— thus alcohol is a toxin and not a<br />

toxicant.<br />

Elephants do not have the<br />

enzyme to break alcohol down in<br />

Lashes<br />

the same way as humans do. But<br />

scientists have worked out that Nelly<br />

would have to drink 1.7L of alcohol<br />

to get tipsy. This would be 1,400 fully<br />

fermented Marula fruit.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y also wouldn’t wait for the<br />

fruit to ferment and I’m pretty sure<br />

they cannot use a still!<br />

Amurula is produced from Marula<br />

fruit, cream and sugar; it is delicious<br />

but calorific and alcoholic.<br />

HIGH DOSES<br />

Humans only struggle with<br />

alcohol in high doses overwhelming<br />

our normal metabolic processes. I’m<br />

sorry to use alcohol as an example<br />

but it is a good one.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are many toxins normally<br />

present in our body. CO2, aldehydes,<br />

lactic acid, urea and oxygen can all be<br />

toxins that become poisons if we over<br />

produce them.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are many toxins in foods.<br />

<strong>The</strong> humble potato, many fungi and<br />

bacteria contaminating food such as<br />

botulinum toxin.<br />

I have included a link1 for more<br />

information on food based toxins.<br />

Vitamins can also be toxins.<br />

DE-TOXING<br />

Many therapist extol different<br />

ways of ‘de-toxing' so let’s start with<br />

absolute nonsense: 'Foot Detox'.<br />

This is where pads are placed<br />

on the foot and left overnight. Not<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 31<br />

Simon Ruffle<br />

surprisingly the pads go a bit brown<br />

overnight and apparently this is the<br />

toxins leaving your body.<br />

Another method is placing your<br />

feet in an ion bath with salts and<br />

an electric current. <strong>The</strong> water turns<br />

magically milky because of the<br />

toxins from you — nothing to do<br />

with a chemical reaction. <strong>The</strong>se are<br />

essentially harmless though.<br />

VAGINAL CLEANSING<br />

Just don’t. Bacteria colonise the<br />

skin. We all have them and women<br />

also have bacteria naturally in the<br />

vagina. <strong>The</strong>se keep a balance of<br />

acidity in the vagina that prevents<br />

yeasts and other nasty bacteria<br />

building up.<br />

Douching, soap, steaming and<br />

cucumber detoxing is harmful.<br />

This is from one website, I’ll not<br />

promote it with the details:<br />

You sit on what is essentially a minithrone,<br />

and a combination of infrared<br />

and mugwort steam cleanses your<br />

uterus, et al. It is an energetic release<br />

— not just a steam douche — that<br />

balances female hormone levels.<br />

NASAL CLEANING<br />

In general no. It causes tissue<br />

swelling damage and bleeding. In<br />

very specific conditions it can be<br />

useful. Post surgery, severe hay fever<br />

and exposure to hardwood dust are<br />

examples.<br />

turn to page 33


32 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

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HEALTH — 2<br />

Dr Simon Ruffle writes<br />

from page 31<br />

DE-TOX DIETS<br />

Severe de-tox diets promote a very<br />

low calorie diet, odd fluid concoctions,<br />

diuretics and laxatives. Rapid weight<br />

loss is due to lack of any carbohydrates<br />

and fluid loss. Most of these will cause<br />

a rebound weight game as the least<br />

harm. Loss of normal bacteria balance,<br />

dehydration, salts loss and acidosis can<br />

occur and in people with diabetes or<br />

obesity these diets can be fatal.<br />

OXYGEN TENTS<br />

Mainly harmless unless you have<br />

underlying lung disease but when<br />

you measure oxygen levels in normal<br />

people it is 99 or 100% and no amount<br />

of oxygen will increase this.<br />

COLONIC TREATMENTS<br />

Many people use this, still. <strong>The</strong>re is<br />

no evidence that this does anything.<br />

People will feel a bit better if they have<br />

been a bit constipated. Also the bowel<br />

will absorb fluids, so if dehydrated<br />

this will be reversed. However, fluid<br />

overload can occur. Also damage to<br />

the colon can occur and if a patient<br />

has diverticulosis colonic irrigation<br />

can infect them. Patients with<br />

inflammatory bowel disease can have<br />

serious harm caused by ‘lavage.’<br />

SAUNA/STEAM ROOMS<br />

<strong>The</strong>se can make you feel great.<br />

Sweating will clear pores and make<br />

your skin feel and look good. Good<br />

hydration is needed as you can lose a<br />

lot of fluid and patients with heart and<br />

blood pressure conditions need to be<br />

careful.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y also can be good (as can<br />

stream inhalation) to thin thickened<br />

mucus in some lung diseases and<br />

during chest infection.<br />

YOUR WASTE DISPOSAL<br />

Lastly, the body does it for<br />

you. Your lungs are actually the<br />

excretory organ that rids us of most<br />

of our toxins, specifically CO2.<br />

Your gastrointestinal tract, kidneys<br />

and liver process foods, fluids and<br />

chemicals in the body. We then visit<br />

the smallest room in the house to<br />

rid ourselves of all the breakdown<br />

products. As long as we do not overload<br />

these systems they do the de-tox for us<br />

for free.<br />

1https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/natural-toxins-in-food<br />

Serezniy, dreamstime.com<br />

Toothache Day!<br />

9 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

Yes, you read that correctly, there is<br />

a special day for toothaches! It’s not<br />

so much the time to have one, but<br />

the time to learn, or refresh your<br />

memory, about toothaches, how to<br />

treat them, and more importantly,<br />

how to prevent them!<br />

Here’s what to start doing on<br />

9 <strong>February</strong> if you don’t do it already:<br />

— Refocus your efforts on your oral<br />

health and vow to brush and floss<br />

twice a day.<br />

— Set yourself up in advance<br />

for success by stocking up on<br />

toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss.<br />

— Learn how to care for a toothache:<br />

start by rinsing your mouth with<br />

warm saltwater and putting an ice<br />

pack on your cheek to numb the area.<br />

If pain persists for more than two<br />

days, see a dentist.<br />

— Schedule regular dental<br />

appointments. Along with brushing<br />

and flossing daily, regular visits<br />

to your dentist can help prevent<br />

most tooth problems, including<br />

toothaches.<br />

— Schedule cleaning by a hygienist<br />

twice a year and make sure to go,<br />

even with a busy schedule.<br />

—Smile, and the whole world smiles<br />

with you!<br />

Kurhan, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 33<br />

the sciences<br />

Love wisdom of<br />

natural things<br />

By Dr Ruth M Bancewicz, church engagement<br />

director, <strong>The</strong> Faraday Institute for Science<br />

and Religion, Cambridge<br />

A scientist spoke at Dewsbury<br />

Women’s Institute about his research<br />

on polymers, hoping that the women of<br />

this Yorkshire mill town would connect<br />

with his desire to develop new fibres.<br />

Betty, who had worked in a mill<br />

since she was 15, listened as if her<br />

life depended on it. Afterwards she<br />

peppered him with questions. She had<br />

always been interested in how things<br />

work, but had not found anyone to<br />

answer her questions at the mill; she<br />

had been told to get on with her job!<br />

For outsiders, science can seem<br />

to be a closed subject, hemmed in by<br />

intimidating jargon. When McLeish<br />

described science as ‘the love of wisdom<br />

of natural things’, he realised he was<br />

opening a door. He was moved to see<br />

that Betty was not the only person who<br />

shed a tear when her questions were<br />

finally taken seriously, confirming that<br />

her enquiring mind was probing in the<br />

right direction – 50 years too late!<br />

CONTEMPLATIVE<br />

This reminds me that science is a<br />

very natural activity to be involved in.<br />

McLeish is convinced that there is a<br />

future in ‘science therapy’. In his book,<br />

Faith and Wisdom in Science, he asks<br />

the question 'If a reintroduction to the<br />

activity of representing both inner and<br />

outer worlds in paint, music and drama<br />

can help to heal minds, what hope might<br />

there be for a participation in a gentle and<br />

contemplative science in restoring a broken<br />

or misunderstood relationship with the<br />

physical world?'<br />

This inspired me to run science<br />

activities with adults in churches. I<br />

have extracted DNA from strawberries,<br />

organised hands-on exhibits to liven up<br />

lecture or discussion events, and had<br />

groups extracting DNA from their own<br />

cheek cells.<br />

Whenever I lead such activities, I<br />

find that grown-ups are grateful for<br />

the opportunity to have a go at science.<br />

I love helping church-based groups to<br />

reconnect with science and celebrate<br />

what they find. Science is not just for<br />

children and professionals, it is for<br />

everyone to enjoy and explore the world<br />

God made.


34 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

HOME & GARDEN — 1<br />

Recipe of the month<br />

Beef Goulash<br />

From Emma's Kitchen Twyford<br />

Ingredients — serves 4<br />

— 4 tbsp oil<br />

— 700g diced stewing steak<br />

— 30g plain flour<br />

— 1 large thinly sliced onion<br />

— 2 finely chopped garlic cloves<br />

— 1 green thinly sliced pepper<br />

— 1 red thinly sliced pepper<br />

— 2 tbsp tomato puree<br />

— 2 large diced tomatoes<br />

— 75ml white wine<br />

— 300ml beef stock<br />

— 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley<br />

—150ml soured cream<br />

— 2 tbsp Paprika<br />

Method<br />

Turn oven on to 160°C, 140°C fan, Gas 3<br />

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a casserole dish or<br />

heavy based pan.<br />

Dust steak with the plain flour<br />

Brown in three batches, adding 1tbsp<br />

of oil each time. Remove and set aside.<br />

Add the last of the oil to the pan then<br />

add the onions, garlic, and peppers and<br />

fry for 5-10 minutes.<br />

Return the beef to the pan, add the<br />

puree and paprika and stir for 1-2<br />

minutes.<br />

Add tomatoes, wine and stock, stir.<br />

Bake in the oven for 1.5-2 hrs or on the<br />

hob for an hour (remove the lid after 45<br />

minutes)<br />

Add the parsley and stir in the cream.<br />

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and<br />

green vegetables.<br />

Garden bird flu<br />

warning . . .<br />

If you are feeding the birds, make<br />

sure that you keep their feeders<br />

very clean this winter. <strong>The</strong> UK is<br />

facing its worst ever outbreak of<br />

avian flu, and already there have<br />

been more than 40 cases around<br />

the country. <strong>The</strong> disease is thought<br />

to have been spread by migratory<br />

wild birds from Russia and Eastern<br />

Europe.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Royal Society for the<br />

Protection of Birds said: 'Everyone<br />

should take care to maintain good<br />

hygiene when feeding garden birds,<br />

regularly cleaning feeders outside with<br />

mild disinfectant, removing old bird<br />

food, spacing out feeders as much as<br />

possible and washing your hands.'<br />

Humans can catch the disease<br />

by touching infected birds or their<br />

droppings. So, the advice is to not<br />

approach any dead or dying birds,<br />

and to wash your hands every time<br />

you touch anything to do with your<br />

bird table.<br />

Christine Middlemiss, Britain’s<br />

chief vet, recently told the BBC that<br />

the disease was at a ‘phenomenal<br />

level’ in the UK, which in turn has ‘huge<br />

human, animal and trade implications’.<br />

<strong>The</strong> migratory period for birds<br />

does not end until March.<br />

Everett Collection Inc, dreamstime.com<br />

Remember housework?<br />

Older people who do household<br />

chores have better memory and<br />

attention spans than those who<br />

avoid it. It is also linked to superior<br />

leg strength in people over 65. That<br />

means their risk of a fall is reduced.<br />

<strong>The</strong> study, published in BMJ Open,<br />

found that a combination of light<br />

housework such as washing up,<br />

dusting, making the bed, hanging<br />

out laundry, ironing and cooking, and<br />

heavy housework — window cleaning,<br />

changing bedding, vacuuming,<br />

washing the floor, and chores involving<br />

sawing, repairing or painting — 'was<br />

associated with higher cognitive function'<br />

among older people, who showed up<br />

to 14% higher attention span scores<br />

than older people who did not do<br />

housework.<br />

IN THE ARK AT ST ANDREW'S CHURCH<br />

Sunday 20 <strong>February</strong> at 3pm<br />

revkate@sonningparish.org.uk


HOME & GARDEN — 2<br />

Saving our planet needn’t cost<br />

the earth<br />

Ven John Bart considers how we can all help<br />

Katie Nesling, dreamstime.com<br />

As world leaders wake up to the crisis of global warming and plan emergency<br />

measures before it is too late, we can make a difference now, in our own homes.<br />

IN THE KITCHEN . . .<br />

25% of the world’s food is thrown away. One supermarket discovered British<br />

households waste 7 million tonnes of food waste every year, partly because most<br />

of our fridges aren’t cold enough. Keeping the fridge temperature at a maximum of<br />

40C will help food last longer and save waste.<br />

Vast quantities of greenhouse gases are released by animals reared to supply<br />

us with red meat and dairy products. Cutting down on quantities and conserving<br />

leftovers would help.<br />

Conserving electricity by washing clothes at 300C and replacing power-hungry<br />

tumble driers with a clothes line or old-fashioned clothes-horse would have the<br />

added advantage of reducing soaring power bills.<br />

According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, 'many mainstream detergents<br />

are brimming with synthetic chemicals like phosphates, chlorine and bleach that<br />

pollute our waterways, damaging delicate ecosystems, and may irritate sensitive<br />

skin. Plant-based and eco-friendly alternatives are now readily available and work<br />

well in the washing machine and dishwasher.'<br />

. . . AND IN THE BATHROOM<br />

Annual increases in UK water consumption would be curbed, if we were to<br />

shower rather than bath. Exchanging the shower head for a water-saving type,<br />

which regulates or aerates the flow, would save both water and cash.<br />

Spending less time in the shower needn’t be a hardship. Daily shampooing may<br />

actually be counter-productive - it’s best to let some oils remain in the hair, so they<br />

can act as moisturisers. Biodegradable body wash is available in bulk, from which<br />

re-usable containers can be filled.<br />

Eco-friendly toothpaste is now on the market, some of it in plastic-free<br />

containers. More water can be saved by turning the tap off as we brush. Beware<br />

wet-wipes which may be ‘flushable’, but aren’t biodegradable, because they are partplastic.<br />

Eco-friendly alternatives are now available.<br />

What one tree can do for you<br />

Trees can help prevent depression. At least, you are less likely to<br />

be on antidepressants if you live on a tree-lined street says a<br />

Forestry Commission survey that looked for the first time at the<br />

mental health value of forests and woodlands. <strong>The</strong>y save NHS<br />

about £185 million in antidepressants a year. <strong>The</strong> Mind charity said:<br />

'Although many of us feel like hibernating in winter, getting outside<br />

and making the most of the little daylight we get can really benefit both<br />

your physical and mental health.'<br />

Anna Sedneva, dreamstime.com<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 35<br />

David Pickup, a solicitor, considers what<br />

happens when a job at home goes wrong….<br />

Dealing with<br />

a dispute<br />

'Settle matters quickly with your adversary<br />

who is taking you to court. Do it while<br />

you are still together on the way, or your<br />

adversary may hand you over to the judge,<br />

and the judge may hand you over to the<br />

officer, and you may be thrown into prison.<br />

Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you<br />

have paid the last penny.' (Matthew 5:24-26)<br />

Suppose you do some work for a<br />

customer. You offer to charge a low<br />

price because the job is for a friend<br />

of a friend, and they have not got<br />

much money, but they need it done<br />

quickly.<br />

<strong>The</strong> customer is pleased with your<br />

offer, and they promise to pay you<br />

the day you finish. But no money is<br />

paid.<br />

When you ask about payment,<br />

they complain you left a mess, and<br />

they say that they are going to get<br />

someone else to finish to put things<br />

right. What do you do?<br />

NIGHTMARE<br />

It sounds a nightmare, but many<br />

traders will know this story. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

do someone a good turn and it goes<br />

wrong. It is often the small jobs that<br />

have most problems.<br />

You can go to court, without<br />

using a solicitor, but there are court<br />

fees to pay up front and you have<br />

to think about the time involved in<br />

pursuing the case. It may be many<br />

months before the case comes to<br />

court.<br />

If a customer complains you<br />

should have the chance to put things<br />

right before someone else does.<br />

THE OTHER SIDE<br />

<strong>The</strong> best advice is not to get<br />

in this situation. Always deal<br />

with customers in a professional<br />

way, whether they are friends or<br />

strangers. Get a deposit to cover the<br />

cost of materials before the work is<br />

started.<br />

Or perhaps you are on the other<br />

side of this story. If we employ<br />

people to do work for us, we should<br />

not take advantage of their goodwill.<br />

We should pay debts and deal with<br />

people fairly.


36 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

the ARTS — 1<br />

Christmas TV ratings reflect the Christian spirit<br />

As well as measuring the current<br />

popularity of TV's soaps and panel<br />

games, the annual Christmas Day<br />

TV ratings produced by BARB, the<br />

not-for-profit, Broadcasters' Audience<br />

Research Board, is a good reflection<br />

of the underlying spirit of the nation.<br />

<strong>The</strong> viewing figures for last Christmas<br />

(below) were no exception.<br />

<strong>The</strong> love and respect for <strong>The</strong> Queen<br />

as the platinum celebrations for her<br />

devoted service as the head of the UK,<br />

the Commonwealth and the Anglican<br />

Church gets under way, was seen<br />

clearly in her return to the number<br />

one spot with a huge majority of over<br />

3 million more viewings than the next<br />

most popular programme, the Strictly<br />

Come Dancing Christmas Special.<br />

This was despite the popularity<br />

of Strictly, a favourite programme<br />

for the past 17 years, being boosted<br />

in the last series by the remarkable<br />

success of Rose Ayling Ellis, the first<br />

deaf contestant and winner of the<br />

2021 ‘glitter ball’. Her success relied<br />

on a close relationship that developed<br />

with her dance professional Giovanni<br />

Pernice, and by counting the beat. Her<br />

world was revealed to viewers during<br />

a remarkable silent dance sequence<br />

when the band stopped playing for a<br />

short time.<br />

BREAKING BARRIERS<br />

Rose's prize, however, goes way<br />

beyond the coveted 'glitter ball'<br />

because her achievement is being<br />

hailed as a huge step forward in<br />

breaking down the barriers faced by<br />

more than 11 million deaf and hard of<br />

hearing people in the UK.<br />

About 1 million viewings below<br />

Strictly was Call the Midwife, another<br />

'Christmas special' with a social<br />

welfare awareness theme. Set in the<br />

poverty of the dockland area of the<br />

East End of London in the 196o's, it<br />

highlighted the love, dedication and<br />

innovation of a team of midwives<br />

based in a health centre run by<br />

nuns, and who work alongside a GP<br />

and ministers from local Christian<br />

churches. It was a world that many<br />

older people remember well. It was<br />

one before the internet, mobile<br />

phones, personal computers and<br />

virtual technology. In the world of<br />

Call the Midwife, one of the 'latest'<br />

developments was the use of leeches!<br />

HAPPINESS<br />

A couple of viewing ratings below<br />

Call the Midwife were two popular<br />

family films, Mary Poppins Returns<br />

and Superworm. Both films have<br />

similar themes, not so much about<br />

social welfare among the poor, but<br />

more about the dangers of being so<br />

concerned with gaining a supposedly<br />

better life that happiness suffers.<br />

CHRISTMAS DAY 2021 TOP 10 TV HITS<br />

Ratings source: Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board<br />

1. <strong>The</strong> Queen (BBC One, ITV, Sky News) — 8.96 million<br />

2. Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One) — 5.7 million<br />

3. Call <strong>The</strong> Midwife (BBC One) — 4.72 million<br />

4. Michael McIntyre's Christmas Wheel (BBC One) — 4.64 million<br />

5. Blankety Blank (BBC One) — 4.24 million<br />

6. Mary Poppins Returns (BBC One) — 3.66 million<br />

7. Superworm (BBC One) — 3.34 million<br />

8. Coronation Street (ITV) — 3.25 million<br />

9. Emmerdale (ITV) — 3 million<br />

10. East Enders (BBC One) — 2.92 million<br />

Narith Thongphasuk, dreamstime.com<br />

Superworm is a long, strong worm<br />

with amazing skills. He regularly<br />

saved the day for his friends who<br />

are a variety of garden creatures and<br />

insects. However, success in his local<br />

environment attracts the attention<br />

of a wizard who uses Superworm for<br />

his own evil benefit, that is, until his<br />

friends find a way of rescuing him.<br />

<strong>The</strong> first Mary Poppins film had<br />

a similar theme but this time it is<br />

about the father of the Banks family<br />

becoming so engrossed with his work<br />

in a bank, and his desire to become<br />

wealthy through making money work<br />

for you, that he neglected his family ...<br />

until Mary Poppins came to the rescue<br />

and restores the family happiness.<br />

In the second Mary Poppins film<br />

the Banks children are grown up but<br />

fall on hard times during the 1930's<br />

depression. Enter Mary Poppins again<br />

to restore family happiness.<br />

WAY OF LIFE<br />

Superworm and Mary Poppins are<br />

about how life can go awry when you<br />

get distracted by the pressure and<br />

desires of the world around you from<br />

the love of your family and friends.<br />

Given the current state of our<br />

world, it is reassuring to know<br />

that half of the top 10 TV hits on<br />

Christmas Day reflect the Christian<br />

way of life that Jesus demonstrated<br />

both by what he said and what he did,<br />

and at the heart of them is the love<br />

that comes from God and the love that<br />

is reflected in the caring for our family,<br />

our friends and neighbours, and for<br />

the social and medical health care of<br />

the less fortunate members of society.


the ARTS — 2<br />

Promise of a future<br />

By Rev Michael Burgess<br />

Reprinted by kind permission of the National Museum, Stockholm<br />

Our lives are made up of waiting that leads to encounter, and the waiting<br />

requires patience and humility. Milton wrote in his blindness, ‘<strong>The</strong>y also serve<br />

who only stand and wait’ as he wondered what he could do for God’s kingdom<br />

now that his sight had gone.<br />

Simeon in this month’s painting had been waiting. He belonged to a people who<br />

had been waiting for centuries. He was heir to the hopes and dreams of a nation<br />

waiting for a better world when the holy city was in the hands of Roman invaders.<br />

With his people he clung to the hope that God would come to bring freedom and a<br />

new life. <strong>The</strong> Messiah, would bring this about.<br />

When it came, there was no fanfare, no warning, just an ordinary family from<br />

Nazareth in the Temple, performing the religious duties for the firstborn son. But<br />

the waiting led to encounter, and the sight of the new-born child led to insight as<br />

Simeon recognised that light and salvation had at last come.<br />

Rembrandt has captured all this in his painting, Simeon with the Christ Child in<br />

the Temple: the faith and patience, the hope and humility of an old man, a priest,<br />

who takes the babe into his arms and blesses God. It was the artist’s last painting<br />

and left unfinished at his death in 1669. <strong>The</strong> figure of Mary by Simeon’s side may<br />

have been painted by another artist at a later stage. It is the aged priest and the<br />

new-born babe that impress us as we look: Simeon with his venerable beard and<br />

eyes half closed, and the tiny child cradled in his strong arms, looking up intently<br />

with his eyes open. We see Simeon, mouthing Nunc dimittis with his eyes half<br />

closed. Is the waiting over and the journey coming to an end, so that his eyes will<br />

fully close? Or will he open them to see that with the babe in his arms, God has<br />

more in store: the promise of a future as they step out together on a new journey?<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 37<br />

Give a book on<br />

Valentine's Day<br />

International<br />

Book Giving Day,<br />

on 14 <strong>February</strong>,<br />

is about getting<br />

books into the<br />

hands of as<br />

many deprived<br />

children as<br />

possible.<br />

<strong>The</strong> idea started<br />

in 2012 and is<br />

now run entirely by volunteers in 44<br />

countries. In the UK it is organised<br />

by Emma Perry of My Book Corner,<br />

emperry@gmail.com<br />

According to the National Literacy<br />

Trust, in 2012 only one in every eight<br />

children in the UK owned a book and<br />

today generally literacy is still much<br />

lower than most of us would expect.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Covid lockdowns have slightly<br />

boosted the amount of reading that<br />

children have been doing, although<br />

much of this is not always with printed<br />

books — online activities and games<br />

were a prime source.<br />

IMPORTANT<br />

Perhaps one of the most important<br />

comments the Literacy Trust’s latest<br />

report, published last year, is that:<br />

‘Some children and young people<br />

reported that a lack of access to books (with<br />

schools and libraries closed), a lack of quiet<br />

space at home and a lack of school/peer<br />

support had negatively affected their ability<br />

to read and their motivation to read for<br />

enjoyment’.<br />

As this is being written, the Covid<br />

pandemic is beginning to look much<br />

more serious again as around the world<br />

restrictions are being re-applied and<br />

lockdowns are being re-introduced.<br />

Getting books into the hands of<br />

children remains, therefore, as<br />

important as ever.<br />

MEMORABLE<br />

To find more about how you can help<br />

visit https://bookgivingday.com where you<br />

can also download the free printable<br />

bookplate (above) to use with the books<br />

that you give away.<br />

Make Valentine’s Day truly<br />

memorable this year and show your love<br />

for a deprived child by giving them a<br />

book of their own to read!


38 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

THE ARTS — 3<br />

Poetry corner<br />

Cathedral Church of Candlemas of <strong>The</strong> Lord in Fira, Santorini island,<br />

Greece<br />

Arne Beruldsen, dreamstime.com<br />

Christ At Candlemas by Steven Rolling<br />

Luke 2: 25-32 parts<br />

Tune: Melita – Eternal Father, strong to save<br />

Jesus, infant dedication<br />

At forty days age, He God’s Son<br />

Presented on the Temple there<br />

Simeon, Anna, they did share<br />

With His parents in the event<br />

Saw the Christ-child from heaven sent<br />

Simeon took up in his arms<br />

Jesus, whose peace for the world calms<br />

He blessed God, said ‘Nunc Dimittis’<br />

His words of wonder, they be this<br />

Lord, bow let your servant depart<br />

Your Son Jesus has warmed my heart<br />

So let me now depart in peace<br />

For true your word, it did not cease<br />

That I should not see death before<br />

I had seen the Lord’s Christ for sure<br />

My eyes have seen your salvation<br />

He prepared now for each nation<br />

You, Lord, have Him prepare before<br />

Face of all people, we adore<br />

A light to lighten the Gentiles<br />

And the glory of Israel’s<br />

<strong>The</strong>y your people, Anointed One<br />

Here is shown in Christ-child your Son<br />

Mary and Joseph did marvel<br />

At those words there, they heard them all<br />

Simeon blessed them, to Mary<br />

Said, Behold this child is se, see<br />

For the fall and rising again<br />

Of many of Israel’s men (and women)<br />

And He be for a sign which shall<br />

Be spoken against, tongues will tell<br />

And a sword shall pierce your own soul<br />

Mary, in your sorrows and toil<br />

So thoughts of many hears revealed<br />

<strong>The</strong>y stay not hidden, unconcealed<br />

<strong>The</strong>n Anna, she a prophetess<br />

She of age eighty-four no less<br />

A widow, she did not depart<br />

From Temple, served with all her heart<br />

Served God with fastings and with prayers<br />

She gave thanks, of redemption shared<br />

Book Reviews<br />

God’s Plan for Your Wellbeing<br />

By Dave Smith, CPO, £8.93<br />

Perhaps you’re feeling that one or two<br />

areas of your life need to be redirected<br />

and refocused. <strong>The</strong> good news is…you can<br />

achieve greater wellbeing in every area of<br />

your life! And it’s all connected.<br />

This book shows you how to improve<br />

each of the dials on the dashboard of<br />

your life. It cover your levels of physical<br />

energy and health; your emotional freedom and peace;<br />

your sense of satisfaction in your relationship with<br />

God; your connectivity and harmony with others; your<br />

financial margin, peace and means for generosity; and<br />

your role-based sense of motivation and creativity.<br />

Tackling Mental Illness Together<br />

By Alan Thomas, CPO, £9.99<br />

It can be difficult to know how to<br />

understand and support those suffering<br />

from mental illnesses. This book<br />

offers a Biblical framework for helping<br />

the mentally ill, by synthesising the<br />

relevant Biblical material with our<br />

scientific understanding of mental<br />

illness. It will help you to deal wisely,<br />

intelligently, and compassionately with issues of mental<br />

health in your church and in your community.<br />

Unveiled - women of the Old<br />

Testament and the choices they made<br />

By Clare Hayns & Micah Hayns, CPO, £9.99<br />

This richly illustrated book has 40 daily<br />

readings and reflections, each illustrated<br />

with original artwork created in charcoal,<br />

oils and collage, imagining the woman in question, bringing<br />

her out of the shadows and making strikingly relevant<br />

connections with today’s context. Some of the women are<br />

well known, but many others are barely remembered. Even<br />

when they are, we often don’t pause on them long enough<br />

to think about what we might learn from them. Each<br />

reflection ends with a short application to everyday life,<br />

guidance for further thought and a prayer.<br />

Changing the Climate: applying the<br />

Bible in a climate emergency<br />

By Debbie, David & Jamie Hawker, BRF, £9.99<br />

<strong>The</strong> climate crisis is one of the<br />

most important issues of our time,<br />

threatening lives and livelihoods. <strong>The</strong><br />

Bible teaches us that God the Creator<br />

put humans on the Earth to take care<br />

of it; to show love to all, and to care for<br />

the poor and vulnerable. This workbook<br />

shows how the Bible is relevant to environmentalism,<br />

and how we can all play our part in limiting the negative<br />

effects of climate change. Each of the 12 chapters looks at<br />

a particular Bible passage, connects it with climate action,<br />

poses questions and suggests practical steps that can be<br />

taken.


CROSSWORD<br />

1 2 3 4 5 6<br />

8<br />

7<br />

9 10<br />

11 12 13<br />

14<br />

15 16 17 18 19<br />

21 22<br />

24<br />

Across<br />

1 - Growing Art of growing dwarfed trees (6) (6)<br />

7 - Going red red in the in face the (8) face (8)<br />

8 - Label (3) (3)<br />

9 Covered with shiny coating (6)<br />

- Covered with a shiny coating (6)<br />

10 Noble gas (4)<br />

10 - Noble gas (4)<br />

11 Requirements (5)<br />

11 - Requirements (5)<br />

13 Largest planet (7)<br />

13<br />

15<br />

-<br />

Evergreen<br />

Largest planet (7)<br />

tree (7)<br />

15 17 - Active Evergreen cause tree (7)(5)<br />

17 21 - Run Active at cause moderate (5) pace (4)<br />

21 22 - Shakespeare Run at a moderate pace history (of horses) play (4) (5,1)<br />

23 Frozen water (3)<br />

22 - History play by Shakespeare (5,1)<br />

24 Strong type of coffee (8)<br />

23 - Frozen water (3)<br />

25 Adjust in advance of its use (6)<br />

24 - Strong type of coffee (8)<br />

CODEWORD<br />

25 - Adjust in advance of its use (6)<br />

20<br />

25<br />

23<br />

1 - Jenson ___ : British racing driver (6)<br />

18 Desires 16 what - Female another monster (6) has (6)<br />

18 - Desires what another has (6)<br />

19 - Imminent danger (6)<br />

20 - Spy (5)<br />

21 25 15 12 17 10 25 1 13 23 14 7<br />

14 18 15 23 11 14 11<br />

5 12 19 14 23 18 25 12 9 7 11 25<br />

7 14 10 2 25 5 3<br />

18 11 12 18 12 7 8 18 26 5<br />

2 1 23 11 26 18 4 1<br />

18 15 22 16 12 11<br />

1 25 20 12 4 26 12 18<br />

25 14 4 18 23 18 3 24 25 15<br />

7 4 10 12 12 25 7<br />

18 4 10 12 4 5 25 5 20 18 24 18<br />

23 12 12 12 5 6 23<br />

3 23 5 7 11 18 10 5 17 12 12 3<br />

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z<br />

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13<br />

N<br />

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26<br />

V<br />

M<br />

SUDOKU<br />

Each of the nine blocks has to contain all the<br />

numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number<br />

can only appear once in a row, column or box.<br />

WORDSEARCH FOR ROMANCE<br />

<strong>February</strong> is the month of romance.<br />

Millions of Valentine cards will be<br />

sent in the next week or two, as we<br />

celebrate our romantic love for that<br />

special person in our lives. But there<br />

are other kinds of love to celebrate,<br />

and on Candlemas we remember Mary<br />

and Joseph taking their baby son to the<br />

temple to present him to God. Jesus’<br />

whole life was a loving present to us<br />

from God. Through his death for us<br />

on the cross, and his resurrection, his<br />

love can now transform anyone’s life.<br />

Romance can die, but God’s love for us<br />

is always there. But it won’t do us much<br />

good – unless we accept it!<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 39<br />

PUZZLE PAGE — the answers will be published in the next issue<br />

Down<br />

Down<br />

1 Jenson ___ : Racing driver (6)<br />

2 Small worry;<br />

2 - Small<br />

irritate<br />

worry; irritate<br />

(6)<br />

(6)<br />

3 Balearic 3 - party Balearic island party island (5) (5)<br />

4 Boring (7) 4 - Boring (7)<br />

5 Cogitating<br />

5 - Cogitating<br />

(8)<br />

(8)<br />

6 Unfastened (6)<br />

6 - Unfastened (6)<br />

12 Decline in activity (8)<br />

12 - Decline in activity (8)<br />

14 Clever but false argument (7)<br />

14 - Clever but false argument (7)<br />

16 Female monster (6)<br />

19 Imminent danger (6)<br />

20 Spy (5)<br />

Search for 20 words hidden in the grid above<br />

that are from the story below ...<br />

VALENTINE<br />

GIRLFRIEND<br />

ROMANCE<br />

BOYFRIEND<br />

RESTAURANT<br />

CANDLEMAS<br />

PRESENTATION<br />

ANGELS<br />

TEMPLE<br />

PRESENT<br />

HEARTS<br />

FIANCÉ<br />

WORSHIP<br />

REPENTANCE<br />

BABY<br />

HUG<br />

MARY<br />

LOVE<br />

ROSE<br />

KISS<br />

January<br />

Solutions<br />

CROSSWORD<br />

R A G E C O S T U M E S<br />

E A I W R E A<br />

C H I G N O N I N L A Y<br />

E N C E G A S<br />

D I S C O U R A G I N G<br />

I N S E I P<br />

N E W E S T B R O N C O<br />

G E I D H L<br />

P E R S P I C A C I T Y<br />

C P T S P C M<br />

A F I R E P A P R I K A<br />

L N N E Y L T<br />

M I G H T I L Y M Y T H<br />

CODEWORD<br />

B L U F F E X T R E M E<br />

A K U Q A E<br />

R U C U D I Z Z Y<br />

B U L K H E A D S Z<br />

E E S T B E F O G<br />

C O L L I D E S D O<br />

U E A O A L<br />

E A P R O V I D E D<br />

S C A N T E A J S<br />

A S P L A T F O R M<br />

C R O W N O I U I<br />

D E A O R T<br />

U S U R P E D N I N T H<br />

SUDOKU<br />

WORDSEARCH MAGI<br />

EPIPHANY CAMEL<br />

QUESTION<br />

'Humpfrey', although an<br />

alternative offered by<br />

a young school boy is<br />

'pregnant'!<br />

WHO DOES WHAT AND WHERE QUIZ [IN THIS ISSUE]<br />

1. Who delivers, erects, takes down, and collects?<br />

2. Who is still working throughout the pandemic?<br />

3. Who gets confidence from training?<br />

4. Where would be a good place for a busman to go on honeymoon?<br />

5. Who delivers horse manure that's pleasant to handle?<br />

6. Who saves you money by not spending it on television?<br />

Vichaya Kiatyingangsulee, dreamstime.com


40 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />

Local Trades and Services<br />

ACG SERVICES - LOCKSMITH<br />

Locks changed, fitted, repaired and opened<br />

Door and window locks fitted, UPVC door lock expert<br />

Checkatrade member - Which Trusted Trader<br />

Call Richard Homden: 0149 168 2050 / 0771 040 9216<br />

Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding to advertisements<br />

CHIROPODY AND PODIATRY<br />

Linda Frewin MInstChp, HCPC member<br />

General foot care and treatments<br />

25 Ashtrees Road, Woodley RG5 4LP<br />

0118 969 6978 - 0790 022 4999<br />

CLARK BICKNELL LTD - PLUMBING & HEATING<br />

Qualified Plumbing and Heating Engineers Gas Safe<br />

25 years experience - local family run company<br />

Office: 0118 961 8784 - Paul: 0776 887 4440<br />

paul@clarkbicknell.co.uk<br />

COMPUTER FRUSTRATIONS?<br />

For jargon free help with your computer problems<br />

PC & laptop repairs, upgrades, installations, virus removal<br />

Free advice, reasonable rates<br />

0798 012 9364 help@computerfrustrations.co.uk<br />

INTERSMART LIMITED<br />

Electrical Installation and Smart Home Automation<br />

intersmartuk@gmail.com<br />

Elliott — 0777 186 6696<br />

Nick — 0758 429 4986<br />

HANDYMAN & DECORATING SERVICES<br />

Reliable and affordable<br />

Small jobs a speciality!<br />

Call Andy on 0795 810 0128<br />

http://www.handyman-reading.co.uk<br />

JAMES AUTOS<br />

Car Servicing, Repairs and MOT<br />

Mole Road, Sindlesham, RG41 5DJ<br />

0118 977 0831<br />

http://www.jamesautos.co.uk<br />

ALL AERIALS<br />

A local business based in Sonning. TV - FM - DAB aerials etc.<br />

Sky dishes. Communal premises IRS systems, TV points.<br />

Free estimates - All work guaranteed<br />

0118 944 0000<br />

MC CLEANING<br />

We are a family business with excellent references<br />

and we are fully insured<br />

All cleaning materials provided<br />

For free quote call: Maria 0779 902 7901<br />

PROFESSIONAL HOME VISIT SERVICE<br />

Thames Valley Will Service<br />

Also Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate Service<br />

We are still working during the pandemic period<br />

0134 464 1885 tvwills@yahoo.co.uk<br />

THAMES CHIMNEY SWEEPS<br />

0779 926 8123 0162 882 8130<br />

enquiries@thameschimneysweeps.co.uk<br />

http://www.thameschimneysweeps.co.uk<br />

Member of the Guild of Master Sweeps<br />

CALLAGHAN CARPETS & FLOORING<br />

Thirty-six years local experience<br />

Family run company<br />

0118 962 8527 0779 223 9474<br />

callaghancarpets@btinternet.com<br />

WANT HELP WITH AN ‘ODD JOB’?<br />

For local odd jobs please call Phil on<br />

0118 944 0000<br />

0797 950 3908<br />

Thames Street, Sonning<br />

BIG HEART TREE CARE<br />

Reliable and friendly service for all tree care<br />

NPTC qualified — Public Liability of £10million<br />

0118 937 1929 0786 172 4071<br />

bighearttreecare.co.uk info@bighearttreecare.co.uk<br />

SMALLWOOD<br />

Landscaping, garden construction,<br />

patios, lawns, fencing, decking etc<br />

0118 969 8989 https://www.smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk/<br />

office@smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk<br />

ALL WASTE CLEARANCE & DISPOSAL<br />

Waste clearance from office, house, garden, loft<br />

Licensed waste carriers, no job too small or large<br />

Contact: John<br />

0771 021 2056 j.garmston@ntworld.com<br />

BERKSHIRE STUMP REMOVALS<br />

Stump grinding and tree stump removal<br />

Latest narrow access machinery<br />

Contact: Mark<br />

0798 495 7334 http://www.berkshirestumpremoval<br />

PAINTER and DECORATOR<br />

Roger McGrath has 25 years experience<br />

Restoration painting work of any size undertaken<br />

For a free quotation call<br />

Roger 0742 332 1179


CHILDREN'S PAGE<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 41


42 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when replying to advertisements<br />

information — 2<br />

<strong>Parish</strong> contacts<br />

Ministry Team<br />

— <strong>The</strong> Vicar: Revd Jamie Taylor (Day off Friday)<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> Office, Thames Street, Sonning, RG4 6UR<br />

vicar@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298<br />

— Associate Vicar: Revd Kate Wakeman-Toogood<br />

revkate@sonningparish.org.uk / 0746 380 6735<br />

On duty Tuesday, Friday and Sunday<br />

— Youth Minister: Chris West (Westy)<br />

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk / 0794 622 4106<br />

— Licensed Lay Minister: Bob Peters<br />

bob@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 377 5887<br />

Children's Ministry<br />

— Alison Smyly office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298<br />

Churchwardens<br />

— Stuart Bowman sdbowman73@aol.com / 0118 978 8414<br />

— Liz Nelson liz.nelson1@ntlworld.com / 0779 194 4270<br />

Deputy Churchwardens<br />

— Simon Darvall sdarvall@businessmoves.com 0793 928 2535<br />

— Sue Peters mail@susanjpeters.com / 0118 377 5887<br />

— Molly Woodley (deputy churchwarden emeritus)<br />

mollywoodley@live.co.uk / 0118 946 3667<br />

<strong>Parish</strong> Administrator<br />

— Hilary Rennie<br />

office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298<br />

Parochial Church Council<br />

— Secretary: Hilary Rennie 0118 969 3298<br />

— Treasurer: Richard Moore 0118 969 2588<br />

Director of Music, organist and choirmaster<br />

— Hannah Towndrow BA (Oxon)<br />

music@sonningparish.org.uk<br />

Sonning Bell Ringers<br />

— Tower Captain: Pam Elliston<br />

pamelliston@talktalk.net / 0118 969 5967<br />

— Deputy Tower Captain: Rod Needham<br />

ro6needham@gmail.com / 0118 926 7724<br />

<strong>Parish</strong> Website: http://www.sonningparish.org.uk<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>: http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk<br />

— Editor: Bob Peters<br />

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 377 5887<br />

— Advertising and Distribution: Gordon Nutbrown<br />

advertising@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 969 3282<br />

— Treasurer: Pat Livesey<br />

pat.livesey@yahoo.co.uk / 0118 961 8017<br />

— <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is produced by St Andrew’s PCC and delivered<br />

free of charge to every home in Charvil, Sonning and Sonning Eye.<br />

— <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is printed in the United Kingdom by <strong>The</strong> Print<br />

Factory at Sarum Graphics Ltd, Old Sarum, Salisbury SP4 6QX<br />

— <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is distributed by Abracadabra Leaflet<br />

Distribution Ltd, Reading RG7 1AW<br />

— <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> template was designed in 2012 by Roger<br />

Swindale rogerswindale@hotmail.co.uk and David Woodward<br />

david@designforprint.org<br />

Advertisers index<br />

ABD Construction 6<br />

ACG Services Locksmith 40<br />

Active Domestic Appliances 30<br />

ADD Plumbing 12<br />

All Aerials 40<br />

All Waste Clearance 40<br />

Barn Store Henley 16<br />

Berkshire Stump Removals 40<br />

Big Heart Tree Care 40<br />

Blandy & Blandy Solicitors 14<br />

Blinds Direct 20<br />

Blue Moose 8<br />

Bridge House 43<br />

Bridges Home Care 20<br />

Bull Inn 8<br />

Callaghan Carpets & Flooring 40<br />

Chimney Sweep, Thames 40<br />

Chiropody, Linda Frewin 40<br />

Chris the Plumber 32<br />

Clark Bicknell 40<br />

Complete Pest Solutions 40<br />

Computer Frustrations 40<br />

Cruz Kitchens 28<br />

Design for Print 28<br />

EMDR Hypnotherapist 30<br />

Freebody Boatbuilders 6<br />

Fields Pharmacy 32<br />

French Horn 44<br />

Gardiners Nursing 8<br />

Great House Sonning 24<br />

Handyman and Decorating Services 40<br />

Haslams Estate Agents 2<br />

Hicks Group 16<br />

Intersmart Electrical Installations 40<br />

James Autos 40<br />

Jones & Sheppard Stone Masons 16<br />

Kingfisher Bathrooms 20<br />

MC Cleaning 40<br />

Mill at Sonning 4<br />

M & L Healthcare Solutions 12<br />

Mortgage Required 18<br />

Muck & Mulch 28<br />

Odd Jobs 40<br />

Painter and Decorator 40<br />

Pearson Hall Sonning 24<br />

Reading Blue Coat School 24<br />

Richfield Flooring 14<br />

Seniors Helping Seniors 12<br />

Shiplake College 14<br />

Signature Cliveden Manor Care Home 28<br />

Sonning Golf Club 32<br />

Sonning Scouts Marquees 32<br />

Smallwood Garden Services 40<br />

Style by Julie 6<br />

Thames Valley Water Softeners 6<br />

Thames Valley Wills Service 40<br />

Tomalin Funerals 24<br />

Walker Funerals 12<br />

Water Softener Salt 28<br />

Window Cleaner 16


Please mention <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding this advertisement<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 43<br />

BRIDGE HOUSE<br />

of TWYFORD<br />

Because you deserve<br />

the very best<br />

Welcome to Bridge House Nursing Home<br />

Established for 35 years, the elegant Georgian Grade II listed Bridge House has extended its facilities to<br />

include a beautiful, light-filled and airy purpose built nursing home.<br />

Our philosophy is built upon helping residents maintain their independence and dignity, whilst ensuring<br />

their needs and expectations are fully met. We believe that being independent means having the freedom<br />

of choice and flexibility over how the day is spent. Working closely with families and professionals<br />

is fundamental in delivering and maintaining the required level of health and wellbeing.<br />

At Bridge House, our comprehensive facilities and care provision is designed to deliver skilled,<br />

professional and individually planned care in an unobtrusive manner.<br />

Call 0800 230 0206<br />

Visit www.bridgehouseoftwyford.co.uk<br />

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • NURSING HOME<br />

190821 - Bridge House Ad <strong>Parish</strong> Mag v01.indd 1 21/08/2019 18:06


44 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - <strong>February</strong> Please mention <strong>2022</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> when responding this advertisement<br />

<strong>The</strong> French Horn,<br />

Sonning. Quality.<br />

A continuing commitment to<br />

wonderful food and wine.<br />

0118 969 2204<br />

www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk

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