The Parish Magazine May 2022

The Parish Magazine - May 2022 1 

The 

Parish 

Magazine 

The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 

Best Content 2021, 2016 

Best Overall 2020, 2015 

Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869 

May 2022 — Ascension 

Church of St Andrew 

Serving Sonning, Charvil & Sonning Eye 

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF 

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY

2 The Parish Magazine - May 2022 

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Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning & Sonning Eye since 1869 




The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 

Best Content 2021, 2016 

Best Overall 2020, 2015 

Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

information — 1 

Contents May 2022 

THE VICAR'S LETTER, 5 

THE PARISH NOTICEBOARD 

— Churchyard mobility, 7 

— Platinum Jubilee, 7 

— For your prayers in May, 7 

— Christian Basics Part 4, 9 

— Ascension Day, 9 

— STAY, 10-11 

— On Reflection: Lamentations, 13 

— From the editor's desk, 13 

— The Persecuted Church, 15 

features 

— May matters, 17 

— Hedgehog signs, 19 

— Platinum events, 20-21 

— The War in Ukraine, 22-23 

— World Turtle Day®, 25 

around the villages 

— Art for the Jubilee, 27 

— Pearson Hall AGM, 27 

— S&SE outing, 27 

— Horticultural shows, 29 

— Knit a Corgi, 29 

— Village Rounders, 29 

history, 31 

HEALTH 

— Dr Simon Ruffle, 33 

HOME & GARDEn 

— Feeding for the future, 35 

— In the garden, 35 

THE ARTS 

— Dick Bouts meal, 37 

— Book Reviews, 37 

— Poetry Corner, 38 

This ISSUE's FRONT COVER 

May 2022 — Ascension 

The 

Parish 

Magazine 

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF 

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY 

The Ark Garden in 'Jubilee purple' bloom. 

The Ark was officially opened 5 years ago 

on Sunday 7 May 2017. 

Picture: Peter Rennie 

EDITORIAL DEADLINE 

The editorial deadline for every issue 

of The Parish Magazine is 12 noon on 

the sixth day of the month prior to the 

date of publication. 

The deadline for the June 

issue of The Parish Magazine is: 

Friday 6 May at 12 noon 

The Parish Magazine online 

The most recent issues can be viewed at: 

http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk 

Earlier issues from 1869 onwards are 

stored in a secure online archive. If you 

wish to view these archives contact the 

editor who will authorise access for you: 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk 


Services at 

St Andrew’s 

Sunday 1 May 

— 8.00am Holy Communion 

— 10.30am Family Service 

— 4.00pm Choral Evensong 

followed by tea in The Ark 



— 10.30am Parish Eucharist with 

STAY and Sunday Club 



— 10.30am Family Communion 

— 3.00pm Messy Church in The Ark 



— 10.30am Parish Eucharist 

— 6.00pm Sunday at Six in The 

Ark with refreshments served 

on arrival from 5.50pm. 

Sunday after Ascension 29 May 


— 10.30am Parish Eucharist 

OTHER REGULAR SERVICES 

Morning Prayer is held in church 

every Tuesday at 9.30am. 

Mid-week Communion in The Ark is 

held every Wednesday at 10.00am. Tea 

and coffee is available following the 

service. 

Home Communion at Signature at 

Sonning is held on the first Monday 

of each month at 11.00am. Visitors 

must comply with the care home's 

Covid restrictions so please check with 

Signature at least four days before. 

the sciences 

— Spirit of Humility, 38 

PUZZLE PAGE, 39 

children's page, 41 

information 

— Church services, 3 

— From the registers, 3 

— Parish contacts, 42 

— Advertisers index, 42 

From the register 

BAPTISMs 

— Sunday 13 March, Cameron Robert Baer 

FUNERALs 

— Friday 25 March, Jean Collin, Interment of ashes in the churchyard 

— Friday 8 April, Vanessa Louise Jones, at Easthampstead Park Crematorium


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The vicar's letter 

DEAR FRIENDS, 

As a child of the 80's I grew up as a huge fan of the TV series, The A Team. On 

a Friday or Saturday night it was staple viewing, back when we only had thee 

channels and no video machine! My favourite character was Hannibal Smith, 

the cigar smoking leader of the group of mercenaries and his famous catch 

phrase was 'I love it when a plan comes together.' Bizarrely, from 40 years ago, this 

came into my mind the other evening when I witnessed our STAY on Friday 

youth group in full flow in The Ark and garden with 62 young people all having 

a wonderful time. Indeed, on numerous occasions over the last five years, since 

Theresa May opened the Ark on 7 May 2017 in the middle of a general election, 

I have had reason to recall Hannibal’s words, whether it be at our Rendezvous 

lunches, Messy Church, lively post service fellowship, Sunday Club, funeral and 

baptism receptions and much else besides. 

In addition, the provision of the parish office, a meeting room and a vicar’s 

study has been a literal God send and we are now so much more efficient in 

running this busy and growing parish. 

A DEEPER MEANING 

The name 'The Ark' was an obvious choice but on a personal level it has 

a deeper meaning for me. The biblical story of Noah being called to build an 

ark, miles from the sea, with all the scepticism and perhaps even ridicule 

that resulted, rang a bell or two as we sought to sell the idea of new facilities 

and gain permissions and funding. From my earliest days here I was aware 

that if we were to become the church that had been aspired to in the Parish 

Profile document produced in 2008 to recruit a new vicar, we would need a new 

building. It took 8 years to lay the groundwork and bring it to fruition and I 

don’t mind admitting that, at times, the anxiety and stress was almost too 

much to bear. That said, achieving anything worthwhile is going to be difficult 

and so that was no surprise. 

I think it is worth restating that every penny of the final cost of the building 

and landscaping was raised by the fund raising committee, not, as is sometimes 

mistakenly reported, through selling parish land. Through patient hard slog, 

grants were awarded, gifts were given and funds were raised at numerous 

events. At times, as the costs inevitably increased, it felt almost overwhelming, 

but throughout, there was one verse from the Psalms that kept me sane: 

'Be still and know that I am God' (Ps 46). 

THE PLAN THAT CAME TOGETHER 

As I look back on the whole project it is striking how much God was at work. 

In October 2013, it seemed like the planning application was in serious trouble 

because of the extensive root system of two large trees that were in the middle 

of what is now the garden. There was a storm, and as one tree collapsed, it took 

the other one with it, without damaging any graves or buildings. Despite the 

jokes that I was out there with a chain saw — I was in France at the time! — it 

really did feel like things were starting to go our way. Then, the week before 

the grand opening, with £150,000 still to raise, I was astonished to receive a 

call to tell me that a letter sent many months before to a philanthropist who 

I had never met and who had no idea how much money we had left to raise, 

was giving us £100,000. Two days later, a cheque arrived for £50,000, again 

from someone I didn’t know and who knew nothing of how much we needed. 

I remind myself of that miraculous happening when times are tough or when 

God might feel remote. Our church was truly blessed through this project 

and I believe this is because The Ark has enabled us to now properly fulfil our 

calling as Christians to be a blessing to the communities we are called to serve. 

However, there can be no resting on our laurels. There is always more to be 

done and, under God, I believe we are now well equipped for the task. 

Warm wishes. 

Jamie 

The Parish Magazine - May 2022 5

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the parish noticeboard — 1 

Notices 

Churchyard mobility 

We have a lovely churchyard that 

is also rather large. The distance 

from our small car park and other 

entrances to either the church or 

The Ark is not inconsiderable for 

those with mobility issues. The PCC’s 

‘Everybody Welcome’ agenda focuses 

continuously on how we can make 

our church more welcoming and 

hospitable and with this in mind I 

am delighted to tell you of a recent 

decision of the PCC. 

We will be purchasing a four 

seater, electric golf buggy that will 

enable those who are elderly or frail 

to comfortably make the journey. A 

rota of approved volunteer drivers 

will be established and all is covered 

by existing church insurance. 

The total costs are being 

generously met by Christina 

Goodacre, in memory of her late 

husband, Peter, and by Janet 

Robson, in thanksgiving for the 

work of our church. 

The plan is to formally inaugurate 

the vehicle as part of our Jubilee 

celebrations on 5 June, although it 

may be in use before then. 


Mothering Sunday: Thanks t0 (left to right) Ellie, Molly, Penny and Liz, every 

lady attending the 10.30am Mothering Sunday service received a posy of 

spring flowers. The floral four, helped by Liz's husband Dave, made over 100! 

Platinum Jubilee 

In addition to the Scarecrow Festival 

and other celebrations across 

the parish, we will be hosting a 

community service of celebration 

on 5 June at 11am. The 103rd 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord 

Carey, will be preaching. This will 

be followed by a drinks reception in 

The Ark garden, all finishing before 

the Sonning village street party gets 

underway. 

Special floral arrangements will 

fill the church for the Bank Holiday 

weekend, provided by our wedding 

and funeral florist, Nicky Watters. 

Jamie 

Peter Renniee 

FIVE YEARS ON: Officially opened 5 years ago this month, The Ark at St 

Andrew's Church, and its garden, will be the setting for a Platinum Jubilee 

reception after a community celebration to mark Her Majesty The Queen's 

Platinum Jubilee. The special service of thanksgiving will start at 11am on 

Sunday 5 June in the presence of the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord 

Carey, who will be preaching. 

For your prayers in May 

— For all who use The Ark at St Andrew's Church 

— For the Falkland Island conflict veterans, 40 years on 

— All parish plans for the Platinum Jubilee next month 

— For all who are thinking about being confirmed in November 

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Christian Basics — Part 4 

Rev Paul Hardingham's series on the foundations of the Christian faith 

Why the Cross? 

Indy Biddulph 

The cross is a picture of violence, yet the key to peace; 

a picture of suffering, yet the key to healing; 

a picture of death, yet the key to life; 

a picture of utter weakness, yet the key to power; 

a picture of capital punishment, yet the key to mercy and 

forgiveness; 

a picture of vicious hatred, yet the key to love; 

a picture of supreme shame, yet the Christian’s supreme boast. 

THE KEY 

The cross really is the key to everything! Although a 

horrifying instrument of torture and death, it is also a 

symbol of love and peace. On the cross Jesus died to deal 

with the problem of our sin and defeat the powers of 

death and evil. He identified with our sufferings and set 

us an example of self-sacrificial love. 

As Peter writes, ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the 

tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by 

his wounds you have been healed . . . Christ died for sins once 

for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God’ 

(1 Peter 2:24, 3:18) 

Jesus died in our place on the cross and took away our guilt, 

to pay the full penalty for our sin. Access to God’s presence 

is now open to all, symbolised by the Temple curtain being 

torn in two from top to bottom. The barrier between us and 

God was torn down in order ‘to bring us to God’. 

THE BRIDGE 

Jesus is the bridge providing access between us and 

God. ‘If Jesus Christ is to be our Saviour then he must be 

able to place a hand upon a pardoning God and another hand 

on a penitent sinner and draw them together in an act of 

reconciliation’ (Bishop Handley Moule). 


Ascension: Thursday 26 May 

Where 

did 

Jesus 

go? 

In Salvador Dali’s 

picture of Jesus’ 

ascension (shown 

right on a postage 

stamp) all you can 

see are his feet! As 

we celebrate the 

Olga Popova, dreamstime.com 

event this month, 

it prompts the question ‘where did Jesus go?’ Peter says 

Jesus ‘has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand’ (1 

Peter 3:22). However, the New Testament tells us three 

things about what Jesus is doing at the Father’s side. 

At Pentecost Peter said that Jesus is ‘exalted to the right 

hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised 

Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear… 

The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand' (Acts 2: 33 -4). 

Peter is affirming Jesus’ position of authority and power 

at the heart of the universe. By pouring out the gift of the 

Holy Spirit upon us, Jesus gives us a foretaste of the life 

of heaven — eternal life, forgiveness, healing, release and 

God’s provision for our lives. 

LIVING WITH REALITY 

When Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was being 

stoned to death by the Jewish authorities he points out, ‘I 

see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of 

God.’ (Acts 7:56). Our experience of heaven is only ever partial, 

as we live with the reality of suffering and setbacks. However, 

Jesus is still on the throne! We are called to trust him daily. 

The Bible also tells us that ‘Christ Jesus who died….is 

interceding for us.’ (Romans 8:34, cf Hebrews 7:25). 

Even when we don’t know how to pray, we have the 

assurance that Jesus is already praying for us! He knows 

our needs even better than we do ourselves, so when we 

feel condemned or defeated in our Christian lives, we have 

somebody on our side! 

TRANSCENDS AND EMBRACES 

The Ascension reminds us that the risen Jesus lives in 

the immediate presence of God, and both transcends and 

embraces our present experience. This truth lies at the heart 

of the 'up' language used to describe the event. 

‘Heaven relates to earth tangentially so that the One who is in 

heaven can be present simultaneously anywhere and everywhere 

on earth: the ascension therefore means that Jesus is available, 

accessible, without people having to travel to a particular spot on 

the earth to find him.’ (Tom Wright).



STAY IN THE CLASSROOM, ON 

STAY on Sunday 

Our group that meets every 2nd, 

4th & 5th Sunday of each month 

continues to deepen faith, challenge 

world views and grow our confidence 

in who God is and who he calls us to 

be in the world. Most recently 

we have looked at the theme of 

relationships and covered 

topics such as: ‘Is it ever ok 

to judge others?’ and ‘What 

is our relationship with 

our phone like?’ The young 

people were shocked to 

learn that the first mobile 

phones didn’t have the 

internet, didn’t have snap 

chat or instagram, they 

barely worked as a phone 

sometimes with poor 

reception in many places! 

STAY in Schools 

As part of the STAY youth work we 

continued this month with our work 

in all four local schools through 

assemblies and mentoring. Plus we had 

the privilege of being part of the values 

day at Sonning School and a special 

prayer activity with Piggott students. 

Values Day at Sonning 

On Thursday 24 March, I had the 

privilege of helping at Sonning 

School with their ‘School Values Day’. 

We covered curiosity and respect 

with years 3 and 4 and we looked at 

courage and aspiration with years 

5 and 6. Some of the answers to the 

questions were simply brilliant and 

at times humorous: 

Q: What are you scared of? 

A: 'Smelly cheese', 'Spiders' and 

'Roller coasters'. 

Q: What are you interested in? 

A: 'Tech', 'Bugs and insects' and 'God'. 

Prayers for Ukraine 

Our work at The Piggott School Wargrave continues 

to help grow and embed the school's Christian values 

and vision among the students. This month we had the 

privilege of leading students in writing positive thoughts, 

messages of hope and prayers, on blue and yellow leaves, 

for the people of Ukraine. We then took their leaves 

and added them to the reflection room tree. 

To chat to Westy 

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk 

0794 622 4106 

STAY D 

Thursday 

lemonade 

weather, t 

STAY 

We ha 

fun, ga 

want t 

We 

you wo


THE STREETS, AND AT HOME IN THE ARK 

etached Project 

's Detached Project in Charvil moved from serving 45 hot chocolates, to 45 cold 

s, back to 45 hot chocolates within a week as we had a few days of balmy 18°C 

hen straight back to 5°C the following week! 

on Friday 

d record numbers at STAY on Friday this month with a whopping 62 young people attending one week. This was a fantastic evening of 

mes, yummy baked treats and a final thought on the question; ‘When is it OK to be competitive and how should we behave when we 

o win?' Youth club continues to be from 6.45pm-8.15pm in The Ark, every Friday in term time. 

also had a wonderful response, so far, to people donating and sponsoring the new equipment for our second upper room in The Ark. If 

uld like to donate any amount, please get in touch with Hilary in the church office on office@sonningparish.org.uk — thanks!


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On reflection . . . 

Lamentations 

By Elizabeth Spiers 

An ancient map ofJerusalem Mihail Ivanov, dreamstime.com 

Lamentations is not an easy read. Perhaps you’ve been 

tempted to skip it. It’s about the aftermath of a national 

disaster caused by sin. Thought to be written by Jeremiah, 

it laments — gives passionate expression to sorrow or grief 

— the devastating results of God’s judgement. 

In five poems, Jeremiah tells of the complete and utter 

desolation of the once proud city of Jerusalem. This didn’t 

come out of the blue. God isn’t like that. He sent many 

prophets, including Jeremiah, with messages to warn the 

people to repent but the warnings fell on deaf ears. Now that 

it had happened, the results of God’s judgement were raw and 

desperate. It is shocking to read in chapter 4:10 that mothers 

were so hungry they ate their own children. 

The important message of Lamentations is that we cannot 

keep disobeying God and his word and think that God will 

ignore it. It is right to grieve over the sin that has wrecked 

havoc in our lives resulting in a broken home perhaps or a 

prison sentence. We don’t do much lamenting these days 

but this book shows us that we must take responsibility 

for the consequences we are now enduring. We know God 

is merciful and gracious. We often overlook that he is also 

righteous and holy, wanting obedience from his children 

and reserving the right to discipline us when we go astray. 

In Ezekiel 34:14, God says he is a ‘jealous’ God. We are not to 

worship anyone or anything other than him. 

LEARN TO TRUST 

In the middle of his lamentations, Jeremiah finds the 

strength of hope in the Lord. 'Because of the Lord’s great love, 

we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are 

new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 

'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord 

is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him 

(Lamentations 3:22–25). Jeremiah tells us how to pray with 

hope in the midst of our self-induced suffering. He clings to 

the truth that regardless of the suffering he sees around him, 

God is still on his throne and that he still loves his people. 

We always have hope in God. Every new morning brings 

a new opportunity to start afresh. We are in control of our 

time and the decisions we make. We must learn to trust God 

while we still can’t see the way forward. And God’s mercies 

are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness toward 

those who cry out to him and seek him in their sorrows. He is 

the binder of broken hearts. He will never turn away anyone 

who cries out to him. 

From the desk 

of the editor 


Why there is always 

space for God . . . 


Sitting at my desk before starting work on this issue, I had 

in mind to include an article about sea creatures called 

manatees which look similar to the walrus but are more 

closely related to the elephant. Their history goes back 

to the beginning of time and is mentioned in the Bible 

frequently in the account of the Israelite's journey from 

captivity in Egypt to their Promised Land. In the Bible 

manatees are called sea cows and their skins were used as 

waterproof coverings to protect valuable items used in the 

worship of God. We can only assume that the Israelites ate 

them — they are said to taste like 'corned beef' or 'pork', 

the latter being strange because pork is a forbidden food 

for the Jewish people. 

THE INSIDE STORIES 

However, as you can see inside, two other articles about 

creatures that were around in Biblical times and are also 

still with us today, namely hedgehogs (page 19) and sea 

turtles (page 25) have come to the top of the list, so the 

manatees idea remains on my desk! 

Hedgehogs and sea turtles, despite surviving for 

millions of years are facing uncertain futures because of 

environmental changes and hunting them for food or, in 

the case of turtles, their valuable shells. The organisers of 

World Turtle Day® on 23 May, say that about 61% of turtles 

worldwide are threatened or already extinct. Their aim is 

to raise worldwide awareness of the situation and so try to 

save them from extinction. 

Hedgehogs, although good for our gardens, are facing 

a similar decline in numbers but in their case we can help 

reverse the decline by simply making our gardens and 

community more friendly, and safer, places for them to live 

in and to visit. 

THE WAY FORWARD 

Turtles and hedgehogs, are, of course, only two of the 

many serious issues facing our world which are being 

caused by human greed and selfishness. The war in Ukraine 

and the persecution of millions people because of their 

religious beliefs in other parts of the world are prime 

examples of even more serious issues. There are so many 

bad things going on in our world today that is difficult to 

see where we are heading, and what will happen next. 

The good news is that despite all the changes going on 

around us, there is one unchanging source of hope that has 

been with us, not for millions of years like the hedgehogs 

and turtles but for about 4.5 billion years when the earth 

was created. That source is, of course, God. And this is why 

I never limit the number of articles about God's love for us 

in this magazine. As Elizabeth Spiers writes in the adjacent 

column, 'We must learn to trust God while we still can't see the 

way forward.'



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Below, an impression of the tensions 

experienced by Christians in Pakistan 

are followed by an appeal giving the 

opportunity to support Christian 

children going through school in 

Pakistan. 

An incident in Lahore in February 

resulted in a murder case being 

brought against 150 to 200 Muslims. 

An altercation with a Christian 

shopkeeper was reported to the police 

and was settled. However, the next day 

a mob of up to 200 Muslims went to 

the shop armed with clubs, iron bars 

and guns. The shopkeeper was hit on 

the head with a brick and died of his 

injuries. 

The previous day Pakistan’s Prime 

Minister, Imran Khan, said that his 

government had 'zero tolerance' for 

anyone taking the law into their 

own hands. He was responding to 

a mob lynching of a man accused of 

'blasphemy' in Punjab. 

Mr Khan’s words were echoed by 

the special representative to the Prime 

Minister on Religious Harmony, Hafiz 

Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, 

who said that the culture of being 

'judge, jury and executioner' could 

no longer continue, and that no one 

should think of 'running the country as 

per their own desires'. 

An article in The Spectator on 

1 April suggested that Mr Khan’s 

presidency may be coming to an end 

since he had lost his majority in the 

National Assembly. The writer, Kunwar 

Khuldune Sahid, points out that in the 

75 year history of the country not one 

of the prime ministers has served their 

5 year term. 

A vote of no confidence was due to 

take place on Sunday 3 April. 

However, prior to a vote taking 

place, Mr Khan dissolved parliament 

and called fresh elections. The deputy 

speaker had refused to accept the 

motion against him. Mr Khan alleged 

that the vote was a 'foreign conspiracy'. 

The information minister has 

confirmed that Mr Khan remains as 

prime minister, until elections are held 

in 90 days from 3 April. 

Kunwar Sahid reported in an earlier 

article in The Spectator that there 

has been a rise in jihadist attacks in 

Pakistan. 

He says that the recent spate in 

jihadist violence has been claimed by 

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

In January a Christian priest was 

shot dead by gunmen in Peshawar 

while going home from mass. TTP and 

affiliated groups bombed churches 

across Pakistan in recent years. 

A Muslim man tried to break a large 

concrete cross on top of a church in the 

Christian community of Green Town, 

Lahore. 

Failing to dislodge it, he sat on it 

and chanted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is 

the greatest), the traditional Islamic 

affirmation which is often used by 

jihadists when they attack. A crowd 

gathered in the street but there was no 

violent response by the people. 


The Persecuted Church by Colin Bailey 

Pray for children, peace and stability in Pakistan 

FORWARD 

Deanpictures, dreamstime.com 

Outside Copenhagen Town Hall candles are lit during a vigil for Pakistan peace 

FORWARD 

Please pray for peace and stability 

within Pakistan, in the light of the 

political uncertainty, and for security 

for all Pakistan’s citizens in particular 

at-risk minorities including the 

Christian community. 

FORWARD 

More than 11,000 poor Christian 

children attend Christian schools 

in Pakistan supported by Barnabas 

Fund. Thanks to that support, the 

schools can charge minimal fees. 

This makes it affordable for the 

parents, who work in low-paid jobs 

such as labouring, domestic service, or 

brick kilns. 

The free schools provided by the 

Pakistan government are usually very 

tough for Christian children, who 

are made to feel so inferior and face 

pressures so great that some drop out 

of education altogether, since their 

parents cannot afford private schools. 

If you would like to donate to the 

Christian Schools in Pakistan project 

(Ref. 41-1209), please follow the 

bottom link below or call Barnabas 

Fund on 

0800 587 4006 or 0167 256 5031 

References and further reading: 

Killing of Christian shopkeeper (Barnabas Fund article) - https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/news/over-150-pakistani-muslims-face-murder-accusation-following-killing-of-c/ 

Imran Khan (The Spectator) - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-this-the-end-of-imran-khanapr/03/pakistan-imran-khan-parliament-vote-no-confidence-early-elections 

Christian schools in Pakistan (Barnabas Fund article) - https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/latest-needs/christian-schools-in-pakistan-your-donation-gives-christian-children-hap/ 

Christians living in terror (The Spectator) - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/pakistan-s-christians-are-living-in-terrorThe example of Pakistan’s Christians (Barnabas Fund article) - 

https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/news/editorial-pakistan-s-christians-are-example-and-a-witness-to-their-natio/ 

Vote of no confidence article (The Guardian) - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/pakistan-imran-khan-parliament-vote-no-confidence-early-elections 

Vote of no confidence article (The Telegraph) - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/



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feature — 1 

Make May the month 

that matters for you 

and those who matter 

Judging by the number of special days and weeks this month, May is certainly 

the time when we are prompted to remember and take action about the health 

and wellbeing of those we love, those we have special concerns for, those who 

help us, others in times of need, and ourselves. It is a month of awareness that 

looks at life from beginning to end while thanking some of the people who help 

us along the way. 

Traditionally in the UK, May begins 

with maypole celebrations that date 

back 2,000 years to about the time 

that Christianity began in the Middle 

East. Roman soldiers occupying 

the UK celebrated the change from 

the cold dark days of winter to the 

coming spring and summer, a type 

of climate they were probably more 

familiar with. 

Their response was to dance 

around decorated trees to thank 

Flora, the Roman goddess of 

flowering plants. 

Sadly, today, in some parts of the 

world, the May Day celebrations are 

still celebrated by the military but with 

parades and displays of their tools of 

war, rather than the gifts of God. 

NEW BORN 

The new life in nature that the 

Maypole celebrates heralds a month 

when we think and act for the health 

and wellbeing for the young, the 

elderly, the dying and the in between. 

The international Day of the 

Midwife is on 5 May. Sponsored by 

the World Health Organisation, 

this year's theme is: 'Midwives 

with women: celebrate, demonstrate, 

mobilize, unite.' The aim, says WHO, 

is to emphasize the importance 

of mobilizing communities and 

maintaining provision of essential 

health services, particularly as 

countries continue to respond to the 

Covid pandemic. 

Coupled with this, is Maternal 

Mental Health Awareness (2-8 May) 

Week which dedicated to talking 

about mental health problems 

during and after pregnancy. It’s aim 

is to raise public and professional 

awareness of perinatal mental health 

problems, advocating for women 

affected by it, changing attitudes 

and helping families access the 

information, care and support they 

need to recover. 

CHILDREN 

Our minds are then focussed 

on the needs of children and 

their wellbeing with Foster Care 

Fortnight from 9-22 May, in the 

middle of which is the National 

Children's Day on 16 May. 

Foster Care Fortnight is said 

to be the UK’s biggest foster care 

awareness raising campaign. It is 

organised by the Fostering Network. 

The campaign began in 1977 to 

'showcase the commitment, passion 

and dedication of foster carers.' It 

also supports fostering services to 

highlight the need for more foster 

carers. Thousands of new families 

are needed every year to care for 

children, with the greatest need 

being for foster carers for older 

children, sibling groups, disabled 

children and unaccompanied asylum 

seeking children. 

The reports we have been 

receiving from the Ukraine war 

suggest that the demand could be 

substantially increased. 

ADULTHOOD 

May is also the month when 

awareness of issues that not only 

affect the young, but people of 

all ages. For example, The Stroke 

Association has designated May as 

its annual stroke awareness month 

which is being promoted with the 

headline 'Make May Purple'— hence 

our purple heading above! 

The aim is to increase awareness 

of stroke, stroke prevention and 

treatment and to raise funds for 


Anna Denisova, dreamstime.com 

much needed research into this 

condition, and support for stroke 

survivors. 

May has also been declared 

the international measure your 

blood pressure month, and the 

international skin cancer awareness 

month. 

Led by the International Society 

of Hypertension this campaign has, 

in the past 3 years, screened around 

4 million people in 100 countries 

and found over a million people with 

inadequately treated hypertension. 

The international skin cancer 

campaign takes place every May. 

It aims to raise awareness of the 

dangers of unprotected sun exposure 

and educate people about the ways to 

help prevent skin cancer. 

Also in May is the Big Asthma 

Bake Sale so look out for, and 

support, groups baking and selling 

cakes to raise money for Asthma 

and Lung UK, a registered charity 

that funds vital research into this 

widespread complaint that affects 

the lives of over 8 million adults and 

children, that's about 12% of the 

population. 

From 3-8 May, it is also Deaf 

Awareness Week and from 17-22 

May, Dementia Awareness week 

— two further issues that are also 

widespread. 

TAKE A WALK 

But May is not only the month for 

raising awareness of several of the 

most serious problems facing us, and 

donating time and money to help, it 

is also about looking after our own 

health. Yes, May is walking month 

when we are all encouraged to step 

outside our cosy homes and enjoy 

the beauty of the open countryside 

in spring, which is a free gift from 

God who created it for our health and 

pleasure! 

Further information about all the campaigns 

mentioned in this article, and how to support 

them, can be found by searching online.



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feature — 2 

The signs are 

looking good 

for Charvil’s 

hedgehogs! 

By Karen Ostrowski 

Have you noticed the hedgehog road 

signs that have recently appeared on 

Charvil’s roads? 

Last year, prompted by an increasing 

number of hedgehog fatalities on 

our roads and thinking that warning 

signs would help, local residents 

Sarah Swatridge, Dawn Brenton and I 

independently wrote to Wokingham 

Borough Council. We were fortunate 

to have the support of local councillor 

Sam Akhtar, who on our behalf, chased 

the relevant department of the council, 

and in March all our efforts came to 

fruition. 

SAFE HAVEN 

In the summer, responding to a plea 

from our local hedgehog rescue centre, 

Sarah, Dawn and I were fortunate to 

be in a position where we could each 

take on a release hedgehog in the hope 

of giving them a safe haven in our 

respective gardens. 

Dawn collected her hedgehog, 

Phoebe, I received another female 

called Twinkle and Sarah was given 

Arthur who had been orphaned as a 

baby and hand reared. 

'For my family', Dawn says, 'Seeing 

these endearing creatures visiting 

our garden and thriving in the area is 

one of the great things about living in 

Charvil.' 

Our release hedgehogs came from 

Herbie Hedgehog Rescue in Lower 

Earley, which is our nearest hedgehog 

rehabilitation centre. It is run by 

Shweta Saikumar (details below). We 

Karen, Dawn and Sarah, Charvil's hedgehog guardians 

happily watch the hedgehogs' nightly 

activities on our trail cameras. 

However, along with joy comes 

concern. Knowing that hedgehogs 

travel over a mile in the course of a 

night and desperately wanting our 

releases, along with our regular prickly 

garden visitors, to thrive, we came up 

with the idea of applying for the road 

signs. 

I am happy to report that more and 

more houses in Charvil are linking 

up their gardens with hedgehog 

highways — gaps in fences — to 

create a safe wildlife corridor, and I’m 

hoping that the new road signs will 

help to increase awareness of the local 

hedgehog population. 

As Sarah says, 'These signs take us 

a step closer to becoming Wokingham 

Borough’s first hedgehog friendly 

parish.' 

HOW TO HELP 

You can also help hedgehogs by 

support feeding with cat biscuits and 

leaving out bowls of water. Branded 

hedgehog foods are available, however, 

they are not regulated, so please 

check that they do not contain meal 

worms, sunflower seeds, nuts, raisins 

or honey, as these can be harmful to 


Janpietruszka, dreamstime.com 

15 MILLION YEARS OF HEDGEHOGS 

A hedgehog is any of the small spiny 

mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae 

and the order Insectivora. There are 

15 species of hedgehog in four genera, 

found through parts of Europe, Asia, 

Africa, and New Zealand. There are no 

hedgehogs native to the Americas or 

Australia. Hedgehogs have changed 

little over the last 15 million years 

and are mentioned in the Bible — for 

example, Isaiah 14:12. Like many of the 

first mammals they have adapted to a 

nocturnal, insectivorous way of life. 

hedgehogs. When gardening, please 

check the undergrowth before using a 

strimmer, never light a bonfire without 

a thorough search, and be mindful 

that some dogs attack hedgehogs. 

Other useful information can be 

found on the website of The British 

Hedgehog Preservation Society: 

https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/ 

SICK OR INJURED 

If you discover a sick or injured 

hedgehog, please contact Herbie 

Hedgehog Rescue as soon as possible, 

either by phone, 0759 879 4442, 

(leaving a voicemail), by text message 

or facebook message: 

http://www.facebook.com/herbiehedgehogrescue 

Arthur Sarah Swatridge Twinkle Karen Ostrowski Phoebe Dawn Brenton


PLATINUM JUBILEE EVENTS 

500 horses and 1,000 performers 

in 'very special' Jubilee celebration 

IN THE PRIVATE GROUNDS OF WINDSOR CASTLE FROM 12 - 15 MAY 

In celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, 

a very special event is being held in the private grounds of 

Windsor Castle from 12 - 15 May. 

The Celebration will involve more than 500 horses and 1,000 

performers who will create a 90-minute piece of spellbinding 

arena theatre. Taking part will be actors and artists, musicians, 

international military displays from the Commonwealth, 

Viacheslav Nemyrivskyi, dreamstime.com 

Europe and our own armed forces, dancers and global 

equestrian displays. 

And the good news is that this special Jubilee celebration 

will be open to the public, although you will need to book in 

advance. 

To find out more, go to: 

https://platinumjubilee.com/platinum-jubilee-celebration 

A 'great variety' of 

Jubilee Scarecrows 

are heading for 

Sonning . . . 

Barbara Carr, one of the organisers of the forthcoming 

Scarecrow trail for the Jubilee celebrations in Sonning 

Village, sends this update: 

Thank you so much to all those who are opening their gardens, 

have offered to help, and to all who have registered Scarecrows 

— we have a great variety! 

There is still time to enter a Scarecrow so get on the phone 

or e-mail me now! We have room for more Scarecrows from 

individuals and from organisations. The last date to register 

is Friday 20 May. If you are not registered your scarecrow will 

will not be on the Trail Map that thousands of visitors will be 

following on Thursday 2 June and Friday 3 June from 10am 

to 5pm. Coinciding with the trail, Sonning Art Group will be 

staging an exhibition of their work in Pearson Hall, so don't 

forget to call in there on your way round. 

2018: The Ark at St Andrew's had a visit from Noah's Ark (made by the 

Sunday Club) during the Scarecrow weekend 

Sue Peters 

Please also phone or email if you can offer to help during the 

two days by making cakes, serving refreshments, manning one 

of the gardens that will open for visitors, or selling trail maps. 

If you have a place on the route for a Scarecrow let me know 

as we need display areas from Sonning Bridge up Thames Street, 

village end of Charvil Lane, High Street, Pearson Road, Pound 

Lane down to Ligugé Way, and Sonning Lane up to Berkshire 

Sports. 

To register a Scarecrow, offer to help, or find out more, email: Barbara.carr71@hotmail.co.uk or phone 0118 934 5886

Jubilee Street Parties — send us 

your pictures for our souvenir issue! 

Street parties are at the top of the list of 

events that Buckingham Palace asks the 

nation to hold as we celebrate Her Majesty 

The Queen's unprecedented achievement 

of serving the United Kingdom and the 

Commonwealth for 70 years. 

The village of Sonning's street party is on 

Sunday 6 June from 2.30pm in Pearson 

Road (near Pearson Hall). The road will be 

closed for the street party which is being 

organised by the Sonning and Sonning 

Eye Society. The names of everyone 

attending the party must be registered. 

Tickets will be available at Pearson Hall 

on 23 April between 10am and 12noon. 

The Sonning street party follows the 

special parish celebration service in St 

Andrew's Church at 11am, when the 103rd 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, 

will be preaching. 

Charvil Parish Council has told us that 

it will be supporting local street parties, 

although they could not give any details. 

They also told us that a treasure hunt 

might be being arranged, but again, no 

further details were available when we 

went to press. 


Below is the Jubilee Calendar for 

events arranged in the parish of 

St Andrew's Church. 

The July issue of The Parish Magazine 

will include a souvenir section for the 

Jubilee celebrations so please send your 

photographs (of the highest possible 

resolution please) to us and we will try to 

include as many as possible. 

Please note: the deadline for our July 

issue will be extended by 6 hours to 6pm on 

Monday 6 June for your Jubilee photographs 

which should be emailed to: 


Parish Platinum Jubilee Diary 

SATURDAY 28 MAY — SUNDAY 5 JUNE 

SATURDAY 28 MAY SUNDAY 29 MAY MONDAY 30 MAY 

Sonning Regatta 

on the 

River Thames 

12 noon - 6pm 

Adult Wetland Walk 

led by Ali Driver 

Meet in St Andrew's 

churchyard at 2pm 

Children's Tennis 

at the 

Sonning Tennis Club 

2pm - 4pm 

TUESDAY 31 MAY WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE THURSDAY 2 JUNE 

Put your feet up! 

Vladgavriloff, dreamstime.com 

Children's Pond Dipping 

led by Ali Driver 

10am - 12 noon 

Children's Football 

7 - 11 years, 1pm - 3pm 

Berkshire County 

Sports Ground 

Sonning Scarecrows 

10am-5pm 

Cherished Car Display 

Bishops Close 1pm - 4.30pm 

Art Exhibition 

Pearson Hall 10am - 5pm 

FRIDAY 3 JUNE 

Sonning Scarecrows 

10am-5pm 

Cherished Car Display 

Bishops Close 1pm - 4.30pm 

Art Exhibition 

Pearson Hall 10am - 5pm 

SATURDAY 4 JUNE 

Sonning Elegant Picnic 

Reading Blue Coat 

7.30pm - 11.45pm 

SUNDAY 5 JUNE 

Platinum Celebration 

Service for Her Majesty 

The Queen at 11am 

Sonning Village Street 

Party in Pearson Road 

2.30pm


THE WAR IN UKRAINE 

'With tears in my eyes and happiness in my heart…' 

Responding to the plight of millions of Ukrainians, Twyford resident Debbie Martin (above left), began organising donations of 

everyday items that could be sent to Ukraine in a lorry. As we went to press, lorry number 9 had arrived in Folkestone! Each lorry 

has between £50,000 to £60,000 worth of donations made by local people. On lorry number 8, which will be driven into West 

Ukraine — Lviv and Rivne — was the enormous collection of 'smiles in shoeboxes' (above left) that included gifts and toys for 

children. They will then be transported on smaller vehicles and taken where they are very much needed. Here, Debbie tells the 

moving story of one of the gifts that had been sent to Ukraine on an earlier lorry . . . 

With tears in my eyes and happiness in my heart… Someone kindly gave me Polly 

during the early donations. Before Polly was sent to Ukraine, I wrote my email 

address on the back of the luggage tag asking if the receiver was able to let me know 

that Polly had arrived safely and had found her way into the arms of a child. 

I never thought in a million years that I would hear anything, but it is with so much 

joy I can share with you all that Polly is safely in the arms of Mariia. Below is the 

translation from the amazing letter Mariia has sent me. 

Hello dear friend! 

I am Nataly. Recently my niece received a gift from you and asked me to help her with sending 

a letter to you. 

'Hi Debbie! 

My name is Mariia. I am 6 years old. I am from Ukraine. Thank you for Polly! I really like it. I 

named it Polina [Ukrainian version of the name 'Polly']. When the war is over, I will be glad if 

you come to visit me." 

Debbie, all Ukrainian people and I personally really appreciate your support and support 

from people all over the world. Thanks to such wonderful and careful people we are still alive 

and hopefully we will survive in this cruel and senseless war where too many innocent people 

are dying every day. I really hope that this madness will be over soon. 

Just let me know if some day you decide 

to visit Ukraine. We will be happy to show 

you our beautiful country. 

Stay safe and healthy. 

Best wishes from Mariia and Nataly 

Look at the difference we are making 

— it's never too late to donate and if 

anyone would like to donate a small teddy 

with a message on a luggage tag let me 

know! 

debbiemrtn4@gmail.com 

#westandwithukraine 

Left: Mariia's letter to Debbie 

Right: Mariia with Polina (Polly the doll) 

Right above: Polly before being shipped to Ukraine


Fleeing for their lives: ordinary people from Ukraine find themselves forced into becoming refugees. 

Nigel Beeton, who retired recently as an NHS radiographer, enjoys writing poetry. He is also editor of the parish magazine for St 

Mary with St Peter, Bury St Edmunds. Nigel writes: ‘Now our thoughts are overshadowed by the terrible situation in Ukraine. I 

looked at the masses of people on the station platforms, and I thought, only a couple of months ago, each one of those people had 

a life, a home, a shop to buy food, perhaps somewhere to grow daffodils, maybe a church to worship God, and their own hopes and 

dreams for the future. Now they are just part of a mass of people shuffling towards a westbound train.’ Here's one of his poems . . . 

The Refugee 

By Nigel Beeton 

Palinchak, dreamstime.com 

All that I was, I no longer am 

All that I have, I hold in my hand 

My home, my love, my world are all gone 

One among thousands, I shuffle along. 

Only last week I knew who I was 

All that has gone, and only because 

Someone in a land a long way away 

Turned life into hell one terrible day. 

Palinchak, dreamstime.com 

CHRISTIAN CHARITIES HELPING THE 

PEOPLE OF UKRAINE 

Christian charities that are helping the people of 

Ukraine would welcome your support: 

Barnabas Fund: https://www.barnabasfund.org/gb/ 

Christian Aid: https://www.christianaid.org.uk 

Methodist Church UK: https://www.allwecan.org.uk 

Samaritan’s Purse: https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk 

Transform Europe: Network: https://www.ten-uk.org 

World Vision: https://www.worldvision.org.uk 

Operation Mobilisation: https://www.uk.om.org/Appeal/ukraine-in-crisis 

He started a war, his heart icy cold 

He rained down his hell on the young and the old 

I ran for my life for I had no choice 

And nobody heard the fear in my voice. 

Everything’s gone, and all that is ‘me’ 

Summed up in a word – the word ‘refugee’. 

I have no control, no say in my fate 

Just one in a crowd, I stand and I wait. 

Waiting for what? The future’s unclear, 

For armed men have taken all that I held dear 

Along with my hopes, and all I had planned 

All swept away by the tanks in my land. 

One thing alone puts a smile on my face 

A far nicer stranger has come to this place; 

A bed for the night? A cup of hot tea? 

And – best of all – someone who sees me as me.


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feature — 5 

Still alive after 

thousands 

of years, 

but for how 

much longer? 

World Turtle Day®: 23 May 

Throughout my life, writes Bob 

Peters, I have collected and kept 

things that I thought at the time 

might, one day, be useful, or because 

they were unusual or interesting — 

well, a least to me! 

One of my 'treasures' is a large shell 

that was once home for a turtle. Such 

'trophies' were made illegal in 1977 

by the Convention on International 

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 

Fauna and Flora. Even so, turtles 

continue to be harvested illegally for 

human consumption and trade of 

their parts. Some are also killed for 

medicine and supposedly 'religious' 

ceremonies. 

HUNDRED YEARS 

The shell, which measures 24 x 

18 inches, came into my possession 

about 50 years ago, but it had been in 

my first wife's, family for, it was said, 

more than 100 years previously. My 

first wife died of cancer, as did most 

of her closest family, so the actual 

history of the turtle shell has been 

lost in time. The story goes that one 

of the Victorian family members was 

a seafarer who travelled the world 

and brought it home with him. It was 

thought that he picked it up in the 

Caribbean. 

The shell had been mounted on a 

wooden easel and it stood in several 

family homes as an ornament before 

my wife's great aunt gave it to us. 

I used it to attract the attention of 

schoolchildren when leading assembly 

and family service talks about God's 

amazing creation; it always worked! 

The shell came to mind when I 

read that there is a special awareness 

day for turtles on 23 May. I also learnt 

that there are about 356 species of 

turtles living in salt and fresh water 

in all continents except Antarctica. 

The turtle is thought to be one 

of the most ancient of creatures and 

the word ‘turtle’ is mentioned in the 

Bible, which should not surprise us 

because today there are thousands of 

seas turtles in the waters around the 

Middle East. The turtle is mentioned 

in the King James version of the Old 

Testament book of Leviticus 15:29 as 

an offering that a woman could make 

to be cleansed after giving birth, ie, if 

she could not afford a lamb: 

'And if she be not able to bring a lamb, 

then she shall bring two turtles, or two 

young pigeons; the one for the burnt 

offering, and the other for a sin offering: 

and the priest shall make an atonement 

for her, and she shall be clean'. 

Wirestock, dreamstime.com 

Later translations of the Bible 

changed this to ‘two turtle doves’, 

a bird named after the 'tu tu' sound 

that it makes, although another 

theory is that the name came from a 

distinctive black band on the bird’s 

neck that makes it look like its head 

can be retracted into its body, just as 

a turtle does. 

We will never know the truth 

about the 'turtle' in the Bible, 

although it is certainly possible that 

it’s the sea creature because the 

Israelites lived off the produce of 

both the land and the sea — turtle 

meat and eggs are still a source of 

food and income for many people 

around the world — but I like to 

think that the Bible referred to sea 

turtles because it gives me a good 

reason for using it! 


Andibyte, dreamstime.com 

SMUGGLING 

World Turtle Day® celebrates these 

gentle animals that have survived 

200 million years, yet they are rapidly 

disappearing because of smuggling, 

habitat destruction, climate change, 

the cruel pet trade, and live exotic 

food markets. 

The organisers of World Turtle 

Day® say that about 61% of turtle 

species worldwide are threatened or 

already extinct. 

According to their experts, they 

are the most threatened of the major 

groups of vertebrates, more so than 

birds, mammals, and fish. It is why 

they say: 'Education is so important in 

every country globally so that turtles 

can be treasured, not eliminated'. To 

learn more about World Turtle Day® 

visit: 

https://www.worldturtleday.org/ 

Inside the 

shell 

can be 

seen 

the 

internal 

structure of 

the turtle whose home it was 150 years ago.


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around the villages — 1 


Preparing exhibits for the Jubilee show 

Sonning Art Group continues to be busy preparing for its exhibition in the Pearson Hall during the Jubilee Scarecrow 

Trail. As well as displaying many works of art, they are creating a scarecrow called 'The Queen Bee'. Not only will 

it highlight the importance of looking after the bees and other insects in our gardens, it will be a tribute to Queen 

Elizabeth's remarkable Platinum Jubilee. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to enjoy a range of the Art Groups 

most recent work such as Kay Mottram's Kingfisher in pearlised acrylics and Jill Watkins' cheeky fox painted in 

watercolours. 

An invitation for all Pearson Hall users 

The Pearson Hall AGM will be held in the committee 

room at Pearson Hall on Wednesday 22 June, 6.30pm for a 

6.45pm start. Everyone who uses Pearson Hall is welcome 

to attend. 

Sonning & Sonning Eye Society outing 

The next outing is a tour of the 'boutique' Fairmile 

Vineyard in Henley on 21 June at 10.30am. Make your own 

way there (and home again!) and picnic in the grounds or 

enjoy a pub lunch. More details and tickets from Penny 

Feathers on: penny.feathers@btinternet.com 0118 934 3193 

Citizens Advice Woodley 

In recent issues we have mentioned local Citizens Advice 

Bureaux in Wokingham, Henley, and Reading and have 

been informed that there is an even closer office in 

Headley Rd, Woodley, Reading RG5 4JA, Tel: 0808 278 

7958. We are reliably informed that the team there 'are 

very helpful and doing a great job'. 

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Planning Your 

Traditional Wedding? 

Then you might like to 

discuss the possibility of 

marriage in our ancient and 

beautiful parish church. 

If so, call the vicar, Jamie 

0118 969 3298 

He will be pleased to help! 

In addition to the stunning and historic location in Sonning, 

we will work hard to provide you with a memorable and 

moving occasion. We can provide a choir, organ, peal of 

eight bells, beautiful flowers, over 100 lit candles set in 

ornate Victorian chandeliers and the use of our beautiful 

churchyard as a backdrop for your photographs. 



the church of st andrew SERVING CHARVIL, 

SONNING & sonning eye since the 7 th century

around the villages — 2 

Horticultural shows 

are back on the agenda 

The Twyford and Ruscombe 

Horticultural Association held 

its Spring Show for the first time 

in two years on 26 March and, 

although it was smaller than the 

shows of the past, it went well. 

The good weather meant that teas 

could be taken on the terrace and an 

enjoyable afternoon was had by all. 

For the first time, some of the entries 

were judged by the visitors. It was an 

idea that proved successful, so it will 

be continued at this year's Summer 

and Autumn Shows. 

STRIP THE WILLOW 

The Summer Show will be held 

at Loddon Hall, Twyford, RG10 9JA 

on Saturday 11 June. Details are in 

the TRHA show schedule, and on the 

website: https://trha.org.uk/ 

In the meantime, this month will 

see a willow stripping experience at 

the TRHA Store in Loddon Hall Road 

on Sunday 1 May. All members and 

their families will be welcome. 

On Sunday 29 May there's a 

bring and buy plant sale at the store 

when you can share your cuttings 

and seedlings and, perhaps, find 

something new for your garden. 

The association's store is well 

stocked for all your horticultural 

needs and you can get advice from 

the knowledgeable volunteers. 

You can become a member for 

only £8 per year, or £7 if you are 

over 65. Apply for membership at the 

store, or email Jenny Wager: 

trhamembership@gmail.com 

A newsletter, with information on 

the Association’s activities, as well 

as topical tips, is published monthly. 

Paper copies are distributed to those 

members who cannot receive it 

electronically. Details of all activities 

can also be found on the TRHA 

website: 

https://www.trha.org.uk 


Knit a Corgi for The Queen 

Vladimir Pchela, dreamstime.com 

Thousands of people across the country are buying in light brown and white 

wool in order to knit a corgi in honour of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It is a 

fun way in which anyone with knitting needles can get involved in the coming 

celebrations. Search the internet for ‘knitting patterns for corgis’ and you 

will find a wide variety of free patterns on offer. Knitted corgis could help 

decorate house windows, local shops and will look great with scarecrows! 

Village rounders is 

striking out! 

King George's 

Playing Field 

5.30pm, 17 June 

Roibul, dreamstime.com 

The Sonning Village rounders match 

for teams from local organisations is 

returning this year on Friday 17 June at 

5.30pm on King George’s Playing Field. 

Sonning Cricket Club will be opening 

its bar and Sonning Primary School 

PTA will be cooking a BBQ. 

The first strike is at 5.30pm! 

IN THE ARK AT ST ANDREW'S CHURCH 

SUNDAY 15 MAY at 3pm


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History 

Was it really . . . ? 


Sunset in Piccadilly makes way for neon lighting 

Michal Bednarek, dreamstime.com 

May 2017: The Ark opens 

Tom Farncombe 

. . . 150 YEARS AGO on 18 May 

1872 that Bertrand Russell, Welsh 

philosopher, mathematician, historian, 

and writer was born. He won the 1950 

Nobel Prize in Literature. 


1897 that Bram Stoker’s horror novel 

Dracula was published. 

. . . 100 YEARS AGO on 27 May 1922 

that Christopher Lee, British film actor 

was born. He was best known for his 

his role as Dracula. (Died 2015) 

. . . 90 YEARS AGO on 9 May 1932 that 

London’s Piccadilly Circus was lit with 

electrical lighting for the first time. 

It later became famous for its neon 

lighting and video advertising displays. 


that the new Coventry Cathedral was 

consecrated. The previous one had 

been destroyed by German bombing 

during World War II. 


that Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, 

died. He was formerly Edward VIII, 

until his abdication in December 1936. 

. . . 40 YEARS AGO on 27-28 May 1982 

that the Battle of Goose Green took 

place during the Falklands War. 


1997 that the Labour Party won a 

landslide victory, ending 18 years of 

Conservative rule. Tony Blair became 

Prime Minister. 

. . . 15 YEARS AGO, on 3 May 2007 

that 3 year old Madeleine McCann 

went missing while on holiday with her 

parents in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Her 

disappearance is the most reported 

missing person case in history. 

. . . 1o YEARS AGO on 18 May 2012 

that social media network Facebook 

went public. Its initial public offering 

raised $16 billion, the third-largest 

amount in US history. 

. . . 5 YEARS AGO on 7 May 2017 that 

The Ark at St Andrew's Church was 

opened by The Rt Hon Theresa May MP 

Prime Minister and First Lord of the 

Treasury, and dedicated by The Rt Revd 

and Rt Hon Lord Carey of Clifton, Lord 

Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002).



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57732 AF Jones Parish Magazine Advert.indd 1 19/11/2014 10:43

HEALTH 

Dr Simon Ruffle writes . . . 

Atishoo! Bless you! 

Your chance of getting ill is least if you are born in the 

month of May1 (If you are born in New York) 

Commentary on the study suggests that the research needs 

to be widened. Diseases change throughout the year. They 

are often environmentally driven with different parasites, 

viruses and bacteria enjoying different conditions. It is also 

driven by human behaviour. 

After a warm summer we all decide to hot house our children 

and cram ourselves into trains and tubes. Respiratory illness 

abound and stomach bugs have a feast. 

Washing hands, wearing masks and staggering your 

journeys or working from home have, unequivocally, shown 

to reduce transmission of pathogens.2 

It needed a pandemic to show how irresponsible it is to go 

to work with illnesses. I know! It’s the economy, stupid.3 

I wonder how many hours of lost work are created by 

‘soldiering on’ and/or the need of proof of sickness driving 

people to seek NHS medical advice when not necessary. 

THE MOTHER OF INVENTION 

When the pandemic hit us, the rapidity of primary care 

service redesign to try to keep a service going, still affects 

our staffing numbers quite dramatically. 

My surgery very quickly, with our local Clinical 

Conditioning Group and other practices gained the ability to 

work remotely and online. 

In a moment of madness we also changed our whole 

system that was more conducive to working in tandem with 

other practices. ‘Teams/Zoom’ became the norm. We soon 

learnt of their frailties and the benefits which we will smooth 

out but it is early days. 

MOTHER NATURE FINDS A WAY 

Whatever we do, the planet and nature, finds its way to 

foil us. The disease that really kicks off at this time of year is 

absolutely necessary for life on earth but it makes one in four 

of us miserable to varying degrees — hay fever! 

We have no cure, we can only make some of the symptoms 

more tolerable: 

— sneezing and coughing 

— a runny or blocked nose 

— itchy throat, mouth, nose and ears 

— itchy, red or watery eyes 

— loss of smell 

— headache 

— earache 

—feeling tired 

— pain around your temples and forehead 

If you have asthma, you might also have a tight feeling in 

your chest; be short of breath, wheeze and cough 

TREATING HAY FEVER YOURSELF 

Hay fever will last for weeks or months, unlike a cold, 

which usually goes away after 1 - 2 weeks, and currently there 

is no cure and you cannot prevent it. But you can do things to 

ease your symptoms when the pollen count is high. 

— put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen 

— wear wraparound sunglasses to keep pollen out of your eyes 


— shower and change your clothes after you have been 

outside to wash off pollen 

— stay indoors whenever possible 

— keep windows and doors shut as much as possible 

— vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth 

— buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a 

vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter 

— do not cut grass or walk on grass 

— do not spend too much time outside 

— do not keep fresh flowers in the house 

— do not smoke or be around smoke – it makes your 

symptoms worse 

— do not dry clothes outside – they can catch pollen 

— do not let pets into the house, if possible, as they can 

carry pollen indoors5 

— Keep a link to the pollen forecast so you can plan your days.6 

MEDICATIONS 

Simon Ruffle 

All commonly used medications for hay fever are available 

without prescription. You practice nurse or GP has little more 

to offer despite the NHS advice that your GP can prescribe 

steroid sprays, which are also available without prescription. 

During pregnancy some who suffer get better, others 

well, don’t ask! I have no idea who would be who! The normal 

therapies are safe in pregnancy, your pharmacist can advise. 

There is a lot of talk about hay fever injections. Two different 

therapies are being confused. One is a long acting injection of a 

steroid into one of your big muscles. While effective these can 

open you up to infection, bone thinning, and a deficiency in 

your natural steroid production that can cause a problem with 

how you respond to illness; it can be fatal. 

The other is a repeated set of injections, known as 

immunotherapy which is becoming more available on the 

NHS but it is expensive in time commitment from patients 

and clinicians alike and referral is months. It is reserved for 

when other therapies have failed. 

Most failure of treatment is because we wait for symptoms 

to start. Once this has happened I’m afraid it is too late. The 

allergy response has started, the nerve endings and mucous 

membranes are already ‘primed to react.’ The best advice is 

to know when your own symptoms start in the year. Keep an 

eye on the pollen count and start eye drops, nasal spray and 

antihistamine before the symptoms are established. 

References: 

1. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/could-your-birth-month-indicate-your-risk-of-disease/ 

2. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(21)00003-0/fulltext 

3. James Carville 1992 

4. Plato (Republic circa 600 BCE) 

5. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/ 

6. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/pollenforecast#?date=2022-04-03&region=se


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HOME AND GARDEN 

Feeding the Future – an exciting 

new study that you can be part of! 


In the garden 

Researchers at the University of Oxford are looking for as many volunteers 

as possible to complete an online survey to improve future research on the 

health impacts of different diets. 

How can we know which foods are 

good for us, and which ones aren’t? 

To investigate this, researchers 

use large scale observational 

studies which track people over 

time to see if certain diets appear 

to be linked to a higher risk of 

developing disease. 

RISKS 

But because UK diets have 

changed so much over recent 

years — for instance, with the 

rise of new plant based milk and 

meat alternatives — we have very 

limited information about what 

modern diets actually contain. 

This makes it very difficult 

to understand why certain diets 

may be associated with different 

disease risks. 

Dr Keren Papier, a nutritional 

epidemiologist at the University 

of Oxford, explained: 'Studies have 

shown, for instance, that plant-based 

diets are associated with a lower 

risk of heart disease. But these diets 

can be interpreted very differently 

in real life; some vegetarians and 

Fruit and veg: Maria Sokor, dreamstime.com 

Burger: Grafvision, dreamstime.com 

vegans may eat many nutritious foods 

such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, 

and pulses, while others may solely eat 

white pasta, tomato sauce, white bread 

with margarine, and crisps.' 

FEED 

To address this, Dr Papier and her 

colleagues have launched a new study 

called Feeding the Future (FEED), 

which aims to generate an up-to date 

picture of what UK adults following 

different diets are actually eating. 

The researchers are looking for 

as many UK residents as possible 

to complete a short, one-off survey 

about the foods they eat, and why. 

They hope the results will increase 

our understanding of how disease 

risks may vary for different diets, and 

inform future research and dietary 

recommendations. 

'Whether you are a carnivore, vegan, 

vegetarian, pescatarian or flexitarian, 

we would really like to hear from you. 

'By taking the survey, you can help 

contribute to important research, 

without even leaving your home' added 

Dr Papier. 

HOW TO HELP BY TAKING PART IN THE FEED SURVEY 

The survey is open to all UK adults over 18 years old and can be found at: 

https://oxford.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/feeding-the-future-study-feed 

Klaphat, dreamstime.com 

The number one tip from the Royal 

Horticultural Society this month 

is to watch out for late frosts and 

to protect any vulnerable plants. 

Writing this at the end of March 

when many of us had been lulled 

into thinking summer is almost 

here because of some unusually 

warm temperatures, it was a 

surprise to wake up to snow flurries 

and frost. We need to take that 

RHS warning seriously! 

Here is another serious suggestion 

from RHS — be nice to slugs and 

snails! 

The society has recently began a 

campaign to encourage us to see the 

gastropods in our gardens in a better 

light. It says that the species play a 

key role in garden ecosystems, and 

thus are in need of some ‘positive 

PR’. It seems that only nine of the 44 

known species in the UK are likely 

to threaten our gardens, and that all 

of them play a vital role in recycling 

dead plant material and animal 

waste, and acting as a food source for 

hedgehogs (see page 19), frogs, birds, 

beetles and flies. 

In fact, the RHS’s principal 

entomologist says that we should 

consider our slugs and snails not as 

marauding pests bent on eating our 

flowers and vegetables, but rather as 

‘garden visitors’. 

'Our gardens would be duller 

and messier without them,' said Dr 

Andrew Salisbury. 

You can find out more about the Feeding the Future study here: 

https://www.ceu.ox.ac.uk/research/feeding-the-future-study-feed 

Andrew Howson, dreamstime.com

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The ARTS — 1 

Dirk Bouts 

meal to 

remember 

By Rev Michael Burgess 

When we celebrate the Eucharist 

and make our communion, we are 

remembering that special meal 

Jesus shared with his disciples on the 

eve of his arrest and death. But do 

we always appreciate what we are 

doing? Sometimes the monotony of 

repetition and distractions will get in 

the way. We fail to recognise Christ’s 

gift at communion for what it truly is. 

In the 15th Century the prosperous 

burghers of the Flemish town of 

Louvain commissioned the artist 

Dirk Bouts to paint a special 

altarpiece devoted to the Eucharist 

for the church of St Peter. 

Dirk Bouts portrayed the Last 

Supper in a room looking out to his 

own town of Louvain. 

The faces of the servers in the 

room and the cooks looking through 

the hatch were modelled on the 

burghers who commissioned the 

work. Other faces are modelled on 

theologians at the new university 

Book Reviews 

Celtic Prayer – Caught Up in Love 

Edited by David Cole 

(Brother Cassian), 

BRF, £12.99 

This rich collection of 

essays, conversations 

and reflections from 

30 members of the 

Community of Aidan and Hilda distils 

the ancient wisdom of the Celtic 

Christians and applies it to the lived 

reality of contemporary readers. 

It offers deep spiritual truths woven 

beautifully with usable prayers. 

101 Great Big Questions about God 

and Science 

By Lizzie Henderson 

and Steph Bryant, 

Lion Children’s Books, 

£9.99 

Have you ever wondered 

how the universe began, 

who visited the artist. They wanted 

to ensure he kept his theological feet 

on the ground while his imagination 

took flight. 

And so around the scene of the 

Last Supper, Bouts has painted Old 

Testament scenes foreshadowing 

that holy communion: Melchizedek 

offering bread and wine in return for 

Abraham’s offering, the eating of the 

first Passover, the gathering of the 

manna in the wilderness, and Elijah 

wakened by the angel to eat and 

drink before setting out for Horeb. 

Signs of sacrifice, the Passover of 

the old covenant, daily food and food 

for the journey — all key aspects of 

the communion we celebrate and 

share in. 

what the point of life might be, or 

whether God likes science? Then this 

is the book for you! 101 Great Big 

Questions asked by children with 

fascinating responses from leading 

experts in the areas of science, 

theology, philosophy and beyond. 

End of the Road? 

By Michael Pfundner, 

Bible Society, £1.20 

This handy booklet will 

reach people with the 

Christian message in just a few 

pages. It goes behind the scenes of 

Jesus' death and resurrection to 

look at the world changing events 

leading up to Easter Day and beyond. 

It points its readers towards the 

archaeological and documentary 

evidence of the real political and 

religious figures behind the Easter 

story in the Bible. 


parishpump.co.uk 

Just as the theological faculty 

reminded Dirk Bouts of all these 

facets, so the artist is reminding us 

of the richness of the distinctive 

meal we have as Christians. 

When we see the bread and wine 

taken up and offered, we remember 

not only the Last Supper, when Jesus 

fed his disciples with the sacrifice 

of his life, but those occasions when 

God reached out to feed his people 

of old. 

We rejoice that the food our Lord 

gives us in the Eucharist feeds us 

now and enables us to make our 

journey through life to the eternal 

banquet offered in the heavenly 

kingdom. 

It is perfect for those who would 

like to know more about the history 

behind the Easter story, and can be 

used as a handout in churches or 

during outreach. 

Together in Mission – from All 

Nations to All Nations 

By David and Rosemary 

Harley, Monarch, £8.99 

Have you ever felt the 

call of God to go into all 

the world? David and 

Rosemary Harley 

became full-time missionaries in 

Africa, and via several unexpected 

events helping to run All Nations 

College and latterly lead OMF 

International. Their story is 

a remarkable one, but the heart 

of this book is to inspire others to 

answer the call of God on their lives 

and see where it might lead them.


THE ARTS — 2 

Poetry Corner 

THE SCIENCES 

A spirit of humility 

By Dr Ruth M Bancewicz, church engagement director at The Faraday 

Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge 

hairymuseummatt (original photo), DrMikeBaxter (derivative work), 

CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 

Spirit Sealings 

By Steven Rolling 

Based on John: 14:13-21 

Tune: Coe Fen – ‘How shall I sing that majesty’ 

Whate’er you ask now in my name 

It shall be done, the same 

Said Jesus, so that Father be 

Glorified in Son, see 

And if we shall ask anything 

He will do it, will bring 

To us he things of God’s good hand 

To folk of every land 

And Christ will pray the Father too 

To send Comforter to you 

That He may abide for ever 

Remain, leave you never 

Even the Spirit of truth, He 

Shall with you, in you be 

He whom the world cannot receive 

The not see, know, believe 

Comfortless He will not us leave 

Nor stay in sadness, grieve 

For Christ shall come to us again 

The Spirit’s presence then 

They that have His commands and keep 

Them, they are e’er His sheep 

And they are those who do Christ love 

Inspired by grace above 

Kevin Carden, dreamstime.com 

They too be by the Father loved 

He holds them, His encoved* 

And Christ will love them, and will show 

Himself to them, they know 

Then of His presence, kindly blessed 

In Him they find their rest 

Come to our hearts now, holy dove 

Spirit of truth and love 

*encoved = encovenanted 

A few years ago I visited the Smithsonian Museum’s Hall 

of Human Origins. Our guide, the curator of anthropology, 

was keen to help Christians understand his research. 

Whatever you make of the evidence for human evolution, 

the fact remains that other species a bit like us were 

around before we came on the scene — or in the case of 

Neanderthals, at the same time. 

Part of the exhibit included lifelike reconstructions of the 

face and hair of several different hominins, displayed on 

pillars at the right height for each species. So I could crouch 

down to ‘meet’ Homo floriensis or stand tall to look into 

the eyes of Homo heidelbergensis. Most of these — beings? 

creatures? — were on other branches of the evolutionary tree 

to us, and we share a common ancestor much further back. I 

did, however, feel as if I was meeting my forebears. 

As I walked between the statues I asked myself, 'Why us?' 

There’s evidence that Neanderthals used symbolism as we 

do, and also buried their dead. Did they have the potential 

to evolve to a point where they could do similar things to us? 

The curator explained how, as the ice ages came and went, 

human beings moved around but other species appear to 

have stayed put and suffered the consequences — they just 

weren’t ready yet for that big change. As I took in the displays 

about how we began to gather socially around a fire, make 

music or write, I felt humbled. We managed to adapt, but we 

could so easily have disappeared with the rest. 

AN EQUAL SHARE IN MANKIND 

In his book The Message of Creation, theologian David 

Wilkinson shares his view that being made in the image of 

God has nothing to do with our own cleverness or abilities, 

but is a gift. God created us on purpose — I believe through 

the long slow process of evolution — and chose to enter into a 

relationship with us, making us his representatives on earth. 

Thankfully I don’t have to figure out how to interact with 

other humanlike hominins today. I do, however, have an 

equal share in humankind’s God-given commission to tend 

and keep creation. 

Am I ready to go further than ensuring my own species’ 

survival — not necessarily because we have evolved further 

than our ice age ancestors, but because I have one of the ‘new 

hearts’ promised in Ezekiel 11:19? Can I work together, in a 

true spirit of humility, with people from all over the world to 

ensure the full diversity of life can flourish?

CROSSWORD 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

8 9 

12 

16 

10 11 

13 14 15 

18 19 

20 21 

Across 

Across 

- (8) 

1 Deject (8) 

- (4) 

5 Pal (4) 

8 

- Parody 

(5) 

(5) 

9 - Humorous; done in done fun (7) in fun (7) 

10 - In a a relaxed manner manner (7) (7) 

12 12 - Hammers (7) (7) 

14 Majestic (7) 

14 - Majestic (7) 

16 Ancient warship (7) 

16 - Ancient warship (7) 

18 Spiny egg-laying mammal (7) 

18 - Spiny egg-laying mammal (7) 

19 Eg Pacific or Atlantic (5) 

19 

20 

- Eg 

Become 

Pacific or Atlantic 

weary 

(5) 

(4) 

20 21 - Become Continues weary (4) obstinately (8) 

21 - Continues obstinately (8) 

CODEWORD 

17 - Noes (anag) (4) 

6 3 19 6 3 14 23 10 9 

17 1 1 6 3 18 19 15 3 25 

11 1 4 20 17 17 17 

17 22 1 6 15 17 19 5 17 20 25 

8 17 11 1 3 1 

14 17 5 3 25 21 16 15 8 15 8 3 

5 11 25 11 

3 25 11 16 26 1 25 25 1 8 15 11 

14 19 5 4 15 1 

1 18 3 25 2 16 8 7 16 5 17 

17 15 16 17 2 1 13 

26 15 10 10 16 25 3 25 16 3 

8 24 14 12 1 18 25 3 25 

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 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

C H 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 

T 

17 

SUDOKU 

Each of the nine blocks has to contain all the 

numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number 

can only appear once in a row, column or box. 

WORDSEARCH 

PRAY FOR UKRAINE 

Lord, we pray for Ukraine, a nation in which 

70% of the population call themselves 

Christian. You, Lord, make wars cease to the 

end of the earth; you break bows, shatter 

spears, and burn shields with fire [Psalm 

46:9]. And so, we ask you now to save the 

lives of many people in Ukraine. De-escalate 

this crisis. We hear of wars and rumours of 

wars (Matt. 24:6], but you Lord are our rock, 

our fortress and our deliverer. Our hope is in 

you. And so we address the nations now. In 

the name of Jesus we say: 'Be still and know 

God! He is exalted among the nations; He 

shall be exalted in the earth.' [Psalm 46:10] 

Kyrie eleison – Lord have mercy. 


PUZZLE PAGE — the answers will be published in the next issue 

Down 

Down 

1 - Shallow food container (4) 

1 Shallow food container (4) 

2 - Type of spade (6) 

2 Type of spade (6) 

3 - Have an effect on 3 Have an effect on another (9) 

4 Urges to 4 - act Urges (6) to act (6) 

6 Gave out 6 - loud Gave out puffs loud puffs of air of air (6) 

7 Our galaxy 7 - Our (5,3) galaxy (5,3) 

11 Junctures; events (9) 

11 - Junctures; events (9) 

12 Fail to look after properly (8) 

12 - Fail to look after properly (8) 

13 Shrivel (6) 

13 - Shrivel (6) 

14 Plant with oil rich seeds (6) 

14 - Plant with oil rich seeds (6) 

15 A way out (6) 

17 Noes (anag) 15 - A way (4) out (6) 

QUIZ : The Queen's Early Years 

UKRAINE 

SHIELDS 

SPEARS 

CRISIS 

WAR 

CEASE 

EARTH 

BREAK 

BOWS 

BURN 

FIRE 

SAVE 

MANY 

LIVES 

LORD IN 

OUR YOU 

ROCK BE 

HOPE STILL 

SHATTER 

FORTRESS 

DELIVERER 

April 

Solutions 

CROSSWORD 

C O U R T E O U S L Y 

A P O X N O A 

U T U S U R P S I R 

D O I N G D I E M 

A O H E N E R V E 

C O N V E R S E D 

I S N S T F 

O N E U T R I N O 

U N D U E R U G R 

S I X R D O R I C 

L O T I R A T E E E 

Y T S T N S S 

P O R T R A I T I S T 

CODEWORD 

R A G S A P O S T A T E 

E R C R U R X 

T S U N A M I B E R E T 

R F P M J A R 

O F F E R A M E R I C A 

S I L C G V 

P R E A C H S T A N Z A 

E A I S I G 

C O R R O D E V O D K A 

T L U Q I W N 

I D O L S U P S W E P T 

V B L I M L L 

E V E R Y O N E A L L Y 

SUDOKU 

WORDSEARCH LAST SUPPER 

EASTER EGG EXAM? 

1. Stone on the Easter tomb 

2. About 90 million 

3. Joseph Fry 

4. The Easter bunny 

5. A cuckoo 

6. Ukraine 

1. Where was The Queen born? 

2. What time of day was The Queen born? 

3. What is the date of The Queen's birthday? 

4. Where did The Queen live as a child? 

5. Where was The Queen educated? 

6. What did The Queen win at the age of 13 years? Tomert, dreamstime.com


Local Trades and Services 

ACG SERVICES - LOCKSMITH 

Locks changed, fitted, repaired and opened 

Door and window locks fitted, UPVC door lock expert 

Checkatrade member - Which Trusted Trader 

Call Richard Homden: 0149 168 2050 / 0771 040 9216 


CHIROPODY AND PODIATRY 

Linda Frewin MInstChp, HCPC member 

General foot care and treatments 

25 Ashtrees Road, Woodley RG5 4LP 

0118 969 6978 - 0790 022 4999 

CLARK BICKNELL LTD - PLUMBING & HEATING 

Qualified Plumbing and Heating Engineers Gas Safe 

25 years experience - local family run company 

Office: 0118 961 8784 - Paul: 0776 887 4440 

paul@clarkbicknell.co.uk 

COMPUTER FRUSTRATIONS? 

For jargon free help with your computer problems 

PC & laptop repairs, upgrades, installations, virus removal 

Free advice, reasonable rates 

0798 012 9364 help@computerfrustrations.co.uk 

INTERSMART LIMITED 

Electrical Installation and Smart Home Automation 

intersmartuk@gmail.com 

Elliott — 0777 186 6696 

Nick — 0758 429 4986 

HANDYMAN & DECORATING SERVICES 

Reliable and affordable 

Small jobs a speciality! 

Call Andy on 0795 810 0128 

http://www.handyman-reading.co.uk 

JAMES AUTOS 

Car Servicing, Repairs and MOT 

Mole Road, Sindlesham, RG41 5DJ 

0118 977 0831 

http://www.jamesautos.co.uk 

ALL AERIALS 

A local business based in Sonning. TV - FM - DAB aerials etc. 

Sky dishes. Communal premises IRS systems, TV points. 

Free estimates - All work guaranteed 

0118 944 0000 

MC CLEANING 

We are a family business with excellent references 

and we are fully insured 

All cleaning materials provided 

For free quote call: Maria 0779 902 7901 

PROFESSIONAL HOME VISIT SERVICE 

Thames Valley Will Service 

Also Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate Service 

We are still working during the pandemic period 

0134 464 1885 tvwills@yahoo.co.uk 

THAMES CHIMNEY SWEEPS 

0779 926 8123 0162 882 8130 

enquiries@thameschimneysweeps.co.uk 

http://www.thameschimneysweeps.co.uk 

Member of the Guild of Master Sweeps 

CALLAGHAN CARPETS & FLOORING 

Thirty-six years local experience 

Family run company 

0118 962 8527 0779 223 9474 

callaghancarpets@btinternet.com 

WANT HELP WITH AN ‘ODD JOB’? 

For local odd jobs please call Phil on 

0118 944 0000 

0797 950 3908 

Thames Street, Sonning 

BIG HEART TREE CARE 

Reliable and friendly service for all tree care 

NPTC qualified — Public Liability of £10million 

0118 937 1929 0786 172 4071 

bighearttreecare.co.uk info@bighearttreecare.co.uk 

SMALLWOOD 

Landscaping, garden construction, 

patios, lawns, fencing, decking etc 

0118 969 8989 https://www.smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk/ 

office@smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk 

ALL WASTE CLEARANCE & DISPOSAL 

Waste clearance from office, house, garden, loft 

Licensed waste carriers, no job too small or large 

Contact: John 

0771 021 2056 j.garmston@ntworld.com 

BERKSHIRE STUMP REMOVALS 

Stump grinding and tree stump removal 

Latest narrow access machinery 

Contact: Mark 

0798 495 7334 http://www.berkshirestumpremoval 

PAINTER and DECORATOR 

Roger McGrath has 25 years experience 

Restoration painting work of any size undertaken 

For a free quotation call 

Roger 0742 332 1179

CHILDREN'S PAGE 

The Parish Magazine - May 2022 41

42 The Parish Magazine - May 2022 Please mention The Parish Magazine when replying to advertisements 

information — 2 

Parish contacts 

Ministry Team 

— The Vicar: Revd Jamie Taylor (Day off Friday) 

The Parish Office, Thames Street, Sonning, RG4 6UR 

vicar@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

— Associate Vicar: Revd Kate Wakeman-Toogood 

revkate@sonningparish.org.uk / 0746 380 6735 

On duty Tuesday, Friday and Sunday 

— Youth Minister: Chris West (Westy) 

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk / 0794 622 4106 

— Licensed Lay Minister: Bob Peters 

bob@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 377 5887 

Children's Ministry 

— Alison Smyly office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

Churchwardens 

— Stuart Bowman sdbowman73@aol.com / 0118 978 8414 

— Liz Nelson liz.nelson1@ntlworld.com / 0779 194 4270 

Deputy Churchwardens 

— Simon Darvall sdarvall@businessmoves.com 0793 928 2535 

— Sue Peters mail@susanjpeters.com / 0118 377 5887 

— Molly Woodley (deputy churchwarden emeritus) 

mollywoodley@live.co.uk / 0118 946 3667 

Parish Administrator 

— Hilary Rennie 

office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

Parochial Church Council 

— Secretary: Hilary Rennie 0118 969 3298 

— Treasurer: Richard Moore 0118 969 2588 

Director of Music, organist and choirmaster 

— Hannah Towndrow BA (Oxon) 

music@sonningparish.org.uk 

Sonning Bell Ringers 

— Tower Captain: Pam Elliston 

pam.elliston@talktalk.net / 0118 969 5967 

— Deputy Tower Captain: Rod Needham 

r06needham@gmail.com / 0118 926 7724 

Parish Website: http://www.sonningparish.org.uk 

The Parish Magazine: http://www.theparishmagazine.co.uk 

— Editor: Bob Peters 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 377 5887 

— Advertising and Distribution: Gordon Nutbrown 

advertising@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 969 3282 

— Treasurer: Pat Livesey 

pat.livesey@yahoo.co.uk / 0118 961 8017 

— The Parish Magazine is produced by St Andrew’s PCC and delivered 

free of charge to every home in Charvil, Sonning and Sonning Eye. 

— The Parish Magazine is printed in the United Kingdom by The Print 

Factory at Sarum Graphics Ltd, Old Sarum, Salisbury SP4 6QX 

— The Parish Magazine is distributed by Abracadabra Leaflet 

Distribution Ltd, Reading RG7 1AW 

— The Parish Magazine template was designed in 2012 by Roger 

Swindale rogerswindale@hotmail.co.uk and David Woodward 

david@designforprint.org 

Advertisers index 

ABD Construction 6 

ACG Services Locksmith 40 

Active Domestic Appliances 16 

Active Security 30 

ADD Plumbing 12 

All Aerials 40 

All Waste Clearance 40 

Barn Store Henley 16 

Berkshire Stump Removals 40 

Big Heart Tree Care 40 

Blandy & Blandy Solicitors 14 

Blinds Direct 26 

Blue Moose 8 

Bridge House 43 

Bridges Home Care 26 

Bull Inn 8 

Callaghan Carpets & Flooring 40 

Chimney Sweep, Thames 40 

Chiropody, Linda Frewin 40 

Chris the Plumber 32 

Clark Bicknell 40 

Complete Pest Solutions 40 

Computer Frustrations 40 

Cruz Kitchens 28 

Design for Print 28 

EMDR Hypnotherapist 30 

Freebody Boatbuilders 6 

Fields Pharmacy 32 

French Horn 44 

Gardiners Nursing 8 

Great House Sonning 24 

Handyman and Decorating Services 40 

Haslams Estate Agents 2 

Hicks Group 16 

Intersmart Electrical Installations 40 

James Autos 40 

Jones & Sheppard Stone Masons 32 

Kingfisher Bathrooms 26 

MC Cleaning 40 

Mill at Sonning 4 

M & L Healthcare Solutions 12 

Mortgage Required 18 

Muck & Mulch 28 

Odd Jobs 40 

Painter and Decorator 40 

Pearson Hall Sonning 24 

Reading Blue Coat School 26 

Richfield Flooring 14 

Sabella Interiors 34 

Seniors Helping Seniors 12 

Shiplake College 14 

Signature Care Homes 36 

Sonning Golf Club 32 

Sonning Scouts Marquees 30 

Smallwood Garden Services 40 

Style by Julie 6 

Thames Valley Water Softeners 6 

Thames Valley Wills Service 40 

Tomalin Funerals 24 

Walker Funerals 12 

Water Softener Salt 28 

Window Cleaner 16

Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding this advertisement 


BRIDGE HOUSE 

of TWYFORD 

Because you deserve 

the very best 

Welcome to Bridge House Nursing Home 

Established for 35 years, the elegant Georgian Grade II listed Bridge House has extended its facilities to 

include a beautiful, light-filled and airy purpose built nursing home. 

Our philosophy is built upon helping residents maintain their independence and dignity, whilst ensuring 

their needs and expectations are fully met. We believe that being independent means having the freedom 

of choice and flexibility over how the day is spent. Working closely with families and professionals 

is fundamental in delivering and maintaining the required level of health and wellbeing. 

At Bridge House, our comprehensive facilities and care provision is designed to deliver skilled, 

professional and individually planned care in an unobtrusive manner. 

Call 0800 230 0206 

Visit www.bridgehouseoftwyford.co.uk 

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • NURSING HOME 

190821 - Bridge House Ad Parish Mag v01.indd 1 21/08/2019 18:06

44 The Parish Magazine - May Please 2022 mention The Parish Magazine when responding this advertisement 

The French Horn, 

Sonning. Quality. 

A continuing commitment to 

wonderful food and wine. 

0118 969 2204 

www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk

The Parish Magazine May 2022

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