The Parish Magazine July and August 2023

The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 1 

The 

Parish 

Magazine 

The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 

Best Overall 2015, 2020, 2022, 

Best Content 2016, 2021 

Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

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

July / August 2023 

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 - July/August 2023 

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


Serving Sonning, Charvil & Sonning Eye 


The John King Trophy and Gold Award 

Best Magazine of the Year 2018 

National Parish Magazine Awards 

Best Overall 2015, 2020, 2022, 

Best Content 2016, 2021 

Best Editor 2019 

Best Print 2018 

information — 1 

Contents July / August 2023 

THE ASSOCIATE VICAR'S LETTER, 5 

THE PARISH NOTICEBOARD 

— UCB prayers wanted, 7 

— The pulpit, 7 

— For your prayers, 7 

— STAY, 8-9 

— From the editor's desk, 11-13 

— The Persecuted Church, 15 

— Clare of Assisi, 21 

— Claude's View from the Pew, 17 

— St Willibald, 17 

FEATURES 

— Summer time blues, 19 

— On your bike day, 19 

— Thomas Cook it, 21 

— Holiday pitfalls, 21 

— What's the time Terry, 22 

—around the villages 

— Sonning School, 23 

— Two centenarians, 25 

— Coronation Cup, 25 

— Community beavers, 25 

— Tony Farnese steps down, 27 

— Charvil Village Hall singing, 27 

— WI tree planting, 27 

health 

— Dr Simon Ruffle headaches, 29-31 

HOME AND GARDEN 

— Smelly rain, 31 

— Sonning Glebe garden evening, 31 

THE sciences 

— Archaeology and the Bible, 33 

— Suffering in the image of God, 33 

THE ARTS 

— Albert Cuyp, 35 

— Book Review, 35 

— Poetry Corner, 35 

history, 37 

PUZZLE PAGE, 39 

children's page, 42 

information 

— Church services, 3 

— From the registers, 3 

— Local Trades and Services, 40 

— Parish contacts, 42 

— Advertisers' index, 42 

This ISSUE's FRONT COVER 


Parish 

Magazine 

July / August 2023 

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF 

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY 

Wotsits? See page 8 

Picture: Westy 

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 September 

issue of The Parish Magazine is: 

Sunday 6 August 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: 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk 

From the Registers 

WEDDINGS 

— Saturday 20 May, Andrew James 

Shaw and Jessica Mole 

funerals 

— Tuesday 23 May, Philip Timothy 

Simpson, funeral at Reading 

Crematorium followed by memorial 

service in St Andrew's Church 

— Friday 26 May, Jean Margaret 

Darnell, funeral service at Reading 

Crematorium 


Services at 

St Andrew’s 

Sunday 2 July 

— 8.00am Holy Communion 

— 10.30am Family Service 

— 4pm 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 

Sunday 23 July** 


— 10.30am Parish Eucharist with 

STAY and Sunday Club 

Sunday 30 July** 


— 10.30am Parish Eucharist 

— 5.45pm Sunday at Six in The Ark 

Sunday 6 August** 


— 10.30am Family Service 






— 10.30am Family Communion 




**PLEASE NOTE: STAY and Sunday 

club will stop for the summer holiday on 

Sunday 23 July and resume on Sunday 

10 September. 

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 follows the service. 

Home Communion at Sonning 

Lawns Care Home is held on the first 

Monday of each month at 11.00am.



24 May - 15 July 2023 20 July - 29 July 2023


The associate vicar's letter 

Dear Friends, 

You may be aware of the phrase ‘you can’t teach an old dog new 

tricks!’ Despite referring to the training of dogs, it is also a phrase 

that people use too to describe themselves. Well, I am not sure this 

phrase is entirely true of dogs – my own dog doesn’t know many 

tricks but she is still able to learn some things at the age of 8 – but it 

certainly isn’t true of people. 

I am not suggesting I am old, but I am a lot older than my son who 

can often learn new things a lot more quickly than I can. However, 

over half term I learnt a lot of new things and I even sat an exam; 

my first exam since 2002. My son and I have needed to do the Grade 

5 Music Theory exam for a while in order to do a singing exam at a 

higher grade, but we couldn’t seem to motivate ourselves. So in May, 

I booked us on a ‘Grade 0-5 in 2 days’ course which we enjoyed so 

much that we are also attempting our Grade 8 theory exams along 

with our singing in November! 

The experience was a positive one for me, partly because I love to 

learn and also because it has been a long time since I studied music. 

Music can be incredibly powerful and is important to many people. It 

could be a certain piece of music reminds you of an event or period in your life, such as a first dance at 

a wedding, a childhood favourite, or a piece played at the funeral of a loved one. It can affect our mood 

and we may listen to different music depending on how we feel at the time. Whether it makes us laugh 

or cry, whether it energises us or relaxes us, I think most of us will be able to recognise the special 

place music has in our lives. 

STRONG MUSIC TRADITION 

At St Andrew’s we are blessed with a strong musical tradition and music is still a central part of our 

worship. Hannah, our music director, leads our adult and junior choirs as well as teaching our organ 

scholar. We sing hymns, we sometimes sing parts of the liturgy, and music is woven into the fibre of 

our worship. We also worship with more modern music at our Family Service and Sunday at Six where 

there is a worship band, and sing less formally at Messy Church and in school collective worship. The 

words are important of course, but so is the music itself and has been composed with worshipping God 

in mind. 

Using music in worship is something that has occurred for millennia. In the Psalms in the Old 

Testament we see a series of songs, many accredited to King David, which tell of the glory of God and 

the wonder of creation. We also see references to playing various musical instruments. In the early 

church there appears to have been some debate about the place of musical instruments in churches, 

but over the years a strong musical tradition developed in Eucharistic services (also known as Mass 

or Holy Communion), as well as other choral services such as Evensong which is still widely held at 

cathedrals and churches, including St Andrew’s. Alongside this, there is the tradition of chanting 

which developed in monasteries and other religious communities, which again is still used today. If 

you are interested in church music, I would encourage you to look at our church website at the variety 

of services we have, although do bear in mind that in August we have a reduced choir and usual sung 

services resume in September. 

A DEEP JOY 

This summer I would like to encourage us all to reflect on the music that means a lot to us. The 

songs we turn to when we are happy, sad or afraid. Perhaps the songs we avoid or switch off if they 

come on the radio. In the covid restrictions, when we couldn’t sing in church, there was a tangible 

change in atmosphere and, for most, a deep joy when we could finally raise our voices again in song. 

Let’s not take the power of music for granted and be more mindful of how it affects us and what it 

means to us and our relationships; with God, if you have a faith, and with one another. 

With love and prayers 

Kate

6 The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements 

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the parish noticeboard — 1 

UCB pray-over-the-phone service is 

looking for pray-ers. Could you help? 

Many years ago, a couple who 

listened to the United Christian 

Broadcasters radio station wanted 

to be able to offer prayer to anyone 

who wanted to receive it. They 

found some phone lines, shared the 

number, and people began to call. 

UCB now receives hundreds of calls 

every day and more than 100,000 

a year. Since Covid the number has 

increased. 

All kinds of people call up. Many 

ask for a prayer for healing. Others 

want prayer for a difficult situation 

or relationship. Some are in a crisis 

or are lonely. Some want to share 

an answer to prayer. Some have 

mental health challenges and need 

compassion and support. Some want 

prayer for faith. 

VOLUNTEERS 

Prayerline volunteers give a 

couple of hours a week, and are set 

up with a simple system from home 

so that they can be available for 

anyone who calls. They are supported 

by a team at UCB’s main office in 

Stoke. You may have prayed for a 

friend, or for someone at church. 

Or you may have had someone pray 

for you. It can make a tremendous 

difference in people’s lives. 

Like the Samaritans, there is 

training and a selection process, so 

that those answering the phone are 

able to listen well to the complexities 

and vulnerabilities of different 

personal situations. But unlike the 

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service. It simply offers prayers using 

verses from Scripture. 

Those who have volunteered have 

said it has helped them give hope and 

solace to callers, grow in their use 

of Scripture in prayer, be stretched 

and trained in their spiritual life 

and found a network with the same 

calling and compassion. One said, 

'I have been a Prayerline volunteer for 

a number of years. I have received far 

more than I have given.' 

If you know someone who would 

benefit from calling Prayerline, the 

number is 0178 236 3000 

If you would be interested in 

finding out more about volunteering 

with Prayerline, or you know 

someone who might be interested, go 

to: https://www.ucb.co.uk/pray 

For your prayers in July and August 

— All who are travelling for work and pleasure 

— All NHS workers on its 75th anniversary 

— Teachers preparing for a new academic year 

— Young people seeking their first jobs 

— The bereaved and lonely staying at home 

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What does the 

pulpit say to you? 

Lord Carey preaching from St Andrew's pulpit 

Indy Biddulph 

By Rev Dr Jo White 

The pulpit is one of the four most 

obvious pieces of ‘furniture’ in a 

church; the others being the lectern, 

altar and the font. 

Today it is usually the place where the 

preacher stands to give the sermon. 

It is raised higher than the pews, 

so the preacher can be seen by the 

congregation. Pulpits often have a 

‘sounding’ board canopy above them, 

so that the words may ‘resound’ more 

audibly. 

In Anglican churches they are 

likely to be between the nave, where 

the congregation sits, and the chancel, 

where the choir or church leaders sit. In 

bygone generations, the pulpit was used 

for all sorts of announcements. Without 

any microphones, it was better to use 

a raised area from which to address 

people. 

So the pulpits were used not only 

by priests for preaching, but also by 

the churchwardens for notices. The 

pulpit was also where Marriage Banns 

were called, excommunications were 

pronounced, and indulgences were 

advertised. In fact, pulpits were not 

much used for sermons before the 

Reformation because the clergy in 

those days were required to preach only 

four times a year. 

Most commonly, the pulpit was used 

for the bidding prayers. These, partly in 

English, were said for the leaders of the 

Church, the King, the governing orders, 

the people, special needs, and, finally, 

for those parishioners who had paid to 

have their names read out. 

What does both the pulpit and the 

sermons that you hear from it reflect 

about your faith?



STAY on Friday 

St Andrew's Youth 

STAY on Monday 

The weekly youth club — STAY on Friday — is a place of continued fun and 

growth for the young people of the parish and local area. As well as the 

regular young people enjoying volleyball, football, four square, man hunt, 

board games, games consoles and the tuck shop we also welcome year 6’s 

(above) on the fourth Friday of each month. They are so polite and enjoy 

all that’s on offer at the youth club. I have no doubt they will transition to 

secondary school this summer with ease. 

STAY on Sunday 

STAY on Monday meets every two weeks in the 

young people's homes. We have had cake and 

question sessions, faith building sessions and 

games sessions. My particular favourite was when 

the young people enjoyed throwing Wotsits at one 

anothers' faces while covered in shaving foam. 

STAY on Sunday is coming to the end of a series on Jesus’s parables. The 

most recent ones have included: ‘The Cost Of Discipleship’ in Luke 14:25-35 

and ‘The Prodigal Son’ in Luke 15:11-32. We got the young people thinking 

about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and how much God loves us, no 

matter how far we’ve gone astray, like the father in the prodigal son story. 

Thank you to all the parents and volunteers who make STAY activities happen! email or text me for ideas, a


STAY in May Half Term 

For May half term we organised activities for the local young people to enjoy, including: a Charvil 

sports session, a BBQ for all STAY on Sunday Youth and their families and a Spider-Man cinema trip. 

STAY and Emmanuel Youth Socials 

We have continued hanging out with the youth from Emmanuel church as we prepare to spend the week 

away camping at Satellites Youth Festival with them this summer. We have met after each Sunday at Six 

service for a social with games, food, discussion and prayer. We’ve also had time paddle boarding as a 

group and this was excellent fun! 

STAY in Schools 

We have had the privilege of delivering the last ever year 11 assembly at Piggott, sending them out with 

a message of hope through reading the ‘You Are Special’ book by Max Lucado. Plus we had the whole 

school assembly at Blue Coat where we thought about a story of a friend of mine who despite everything 

going against them, they still knew the love of their Heavenly Father. We have also continued the weekly 

Christian Union (CU) in Piggott with consistent numbers of around 15 students attending. As well as 

assemblies and the CU we have also continued mentoring 26 students across the two local secondary 

schools, with many year 11’s and year 13’s moving on this year. Prayers are with all who took their GCSE’s 

and A-Levels this summer and are making plans for what’s next! 

chat or to encourage what we are doing — Westy: youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk 0794 622 4306


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When talking with some readers of this magazine they told me they always like the articles 

I write about the history of local people and someone suggested I write one about myself. I 

mentioned this to my wife who was as practical as ever and said, that's a good idea — it will 

be useful if I am ever asked to write your obituary! I will try to keep it brief! 

And the rest is history . . . 

Not being particularly academic, I failed the 11+ and went to a secondary school 

near Southend-on-Sea, in Essex. The only subjects I can remember enjoying at 

school were précis writing in English lessons and typography design in art. How 

could I ever get a job editing someone's work and designing text? 

I was too busy with out-of-school 

activities to get involved with school 

clubs, although I became head boy. Out 

of school I was lead drummer in the 

scouts marching band, and played with 

a rock & roll group. Then there was St 

John's Ambulance Brigade, working 

for a local market trader selling fabrics, 

gardening jobs, cleaning windows 

and working in the local newsagents. 

At 6am every morning I met the van 

delivering the daily papers and sorted 

them into the 'rounds' for the paper 

boys and girls. It was a big job, almost 

every home took a newspaper. I loved 

reading the headlines and comparing 

how the different papers dealt with the 

day's news. 

UNIVERSITY 

I took a drop in earnings when I 

left school to be an apprentice with 

The Marconi Wireless Company. The 

training cycle meant 6 weeks in the 

factory then 6 weeks in college and so on. 

One day, my college tutor suggested 

I reduced my apprenticeship by a year 

and go to university to study electrical 

and electronic engineering. 

My mother thought it was a crazy 

idea to give up work at 21 years old to 

go back to school — and I was also 

planning to get married! 

The only problem I had was that I 

needed GCE O level English — I had 

failed this at school. However, a crash 

course at evening classes enabled me 

to scrape through with the lowest 

possible grade and by working the 

summer season on the sea front buses 

I earned enough money to get married 

and go to university! 

I COULD WRITE 

The main thing I learnt during the 

next four years was that I don't have 

the technical skill to make anything 

electronic work. I could, however, write 

a good explanation why it didn't work 

and this resulted in me graduating 

with an upper second BSc(Hons). 

How was I going to use it ? I had 

no idea, so I signed up with a graduate 

register in the hope that something 

would turn up and fortunately it 

did. Out of the blue I received an 

invitation to meet a publisher in a 

Soho restaurant for lunch at the end 

of which he offered me a job with 

the grand title of European editor 

for a prestigious group of technical 

electronics and communications 

magazines that included The 

Microwave Journal (about which I knew 

nothing!), Telecommunications, and 

Datacommunications. 

The electronic industry was going 

through a bad patch at the time and 

jobs for graduates were scarce so I 

became an editor. 

A couple of weeks later, the 

American owner of the magazines 

turned up at the offices in Tunbridge 

Wells where the European editorial 

team — me — was based. 

After complaining about the warm 

beer in the local pub, he announced the 


From the 

editor's 

desk 

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk 

One of my few claims to fame is being the drummer (far left) in a band hired to keep Hayley Mills 

fans entertained before she made her appearance on stage. 

NEWSROOM 

European office was closing tomorrow. 

I would be out of work! 

The publisher who recruited me was 

furious and promised me a job within 

a week. 

REPORTER 

The next week I walked into a 

busy newsroom of a newspaper called 

Electronics Weekly. I was to be their 

technical reporter. 

There was a staff of 12 journalists 

but none of them had any real 

knowledge of electronics. They were 

mainly local and national newspaper 

journalists and the editor came from 

Tailor and Cutter magazine! 

By the next day I had a National 

Union of Journalists card which in 

those days every journalist had to have 

in order to work. 

I was given a desk and typewriter 

(which I had never used before) and 

told to edit an enormous pile of 

press releases issued by electronics 

companies from around the world — 

and was given a deadline — lunchtime! 

turn to page 13



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from page 11 

PARISH NOTICEBOARD — 4 

The rest is history 


I think that on the basis I taught 

myself to type and to edit that 

morning, I kept the job! 

It was like being back at school 

enjoying precis writing, and working 

in the local newsagent and being 

fascinated with the headlines. 

SECRETS 

There were no university or 

college courses on journalism, 

you learnt it on the job by rubbing 

shoulders with national newspaper, 

radio and tv journalists at press 

conferences and exhibitions, and 

in the bars of the Fleet Street pubs 

and clubs where there was always an 

old hack or two who were willing to 

impart the secrets of the trade for a 

pint of ale! 

These 'secrets' still apply to 

the design, writing and editing of 

magazines and newspapers today 

and I am still getting my money's 

worth from those drinks that I 

bought 50 years ago by passing the 

tips on to other church magazine 

editors through a voluntary role I 

have as vice-chair of the Association 

of Church Editors. 

PRESS AND PR 

After four exciting years in 

London I was invited to join the 

press office for Pye of Cambridge to 

edit the company newspaper and to 

write articles and press releases, and 

to help organise press conferences 

for all the different companies within 

the group. 

And four years after enjoying 

life in Cambridge, I received another 

invitation to join a fast growing 

electronics company based in 

Bracknell called Racal Electronics. 

These were exciting times to be 

involved with press and PR activities. 

Racal was expanding by acquiring 

groups of companies such as Chubb 

and Decca and one of my roles was to 

be a member of the launch team for a 

new communications venture. 

THE PHONE 

As well as writing stories about 

it, my job was to encourage other 

journalists to write about a device of 

the future that would enable people 

to communicate from wherever they 

were. It would, I was told, change 

the way the world lived, worked and 

played. I was not totally convinced 

but it was a fun trying to sell the idea 

of what today so many people take 

for granted — the mobile phone! 

FREELANCE 

However, as the project 

progressed I found that the job was 

taking over my life and I seemed to 

spend more time managing people, 

which was never what I wanted to do, 

than writing and editing. 

So I left Racal Electronics to 

become a freelance writer and editor 

working for companies such as 

Ericsson, ITT and British Airways. 

Many of the assignments involved 

travel around Europe with one 

overnight visit to Houston in Texas 

to spend two hours interviewing an 

engineer! It was on these visits that 

I began to use my spare time looking 

at, and buying, nativity sets — but 

that's another story! 

A FEELING OF SERVICE 

However, I felt that I should be 

doing something else. Since I was 

confirmed into the Church of England 

in Cambridge, I had the feeling that I 

should be serving the church in some 

way. An ideal job, I thought, would be 

to work on a church magazine, and 

I even applied for some — including 

with the Oxford Diocese — but as 

always, I was never successful with 

job applications. 

bcafilm.co.uk 

My only other claim to fame is meeting the, then, future King 

who presented me with Maundy Money in 2022 for service to 

the Church. 

Then a series of coincidences and 

meetings — that's yet another story! 

— led me to train for a ministry role, 

and in 2000 I was licensed as a lay 

minister in the Church of England. 

I had long given up hope of 

working on a church publication and 

became involved with ministry in the 

local schools, leading home-based 

Bible study groups, and taking part 

in church worship. 

Previously, I had submitted 

articles to this magazine but it had 

drifted away from the original 1869 

church magazine focus to become a 

Sonning community newsletter. My 

articles never saw the light of day 

because, as the editor told me, only 

the vicar writes about God! 

Then Rev Jamie arrived in the 

parish and towards the end of 2013 

he asked if I would take over from 

him as editor. He had some exciting 

ideas for a new design that would be 

delivered free to every home in the 

parish. All he needed was an editor 

to do the job. The rest is history! 

Please remember your 

donations for the Woodley 

Food Bank inside 

St Andrew's Church



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Simplicity or 

affluence? 

Stained glass in the Chapel of Notre-Damedes-flots 

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Assisi, a beautiful town in the Italian 

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Clare. Francis, and then Clare — her 

feast day is 11 August — discovered 

the liberating effect of releasing the 

burden of wealth. 

For them simplicity, a godly poverty, 

was the way to blessing. Their followers 

— Franciscan monks and Clare’s nuns, 

or the ‘Poor Clares’, set themselves to 

live without luxury. This freed them 

for a life of prayer and service, to care 

for the poor around them without 

distraction. They did not build elaborate 

basilicas, though one was erected after 

the death of Francis, strictly against his 

wishes, to surround the simple chapel 

where he and his followers were based. 

The present-day house of the Poor 

Clares is a perfect example of the sheer 

beauty of simplicity. 

Their life-style, their message, their 

simplicity of life and love of God's 

Creation offered a striking alternative 

to the society around them, where 

wealth — which Francis had enjoyed 

but rejected at his conversion — and 

poverty and sickness lived side by side. 

Their message is on a collision course 

with the values and goals of much of the 

western world today. Simplicity of life 

and affluence don’t sit easily together. 


THE persecuted church by colin bailey 

Persecuted Sudan 

Christians in need 

of your prayers 

Sudan has been in the news over the last three 

months with the large scale evacuation of 

many British nationals and their dependents 

fleeing violence. 

In April Open Doors 

reported that the 

that the conflict 

will make things 

even harder for the 

Christians in Sudan, 

which is number 10 on the Open 

Doors 2023 World Watch List — a 

position that indicates Christians face 

face extreme levels of persecution. 

The violence in Sudan has resulted 

John Wollwerth, dreamstime.com 

from a power struggle between the Sudan Armed 

Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and it is spreading through 

the country. The number of casualties reported in May by the Sudanese health 

ministry — 730 people killed and 5,454 injured — is likely to be higher. 

There are almost 2 million Christians in Sudan, representing just 4.3% of 

the country’s population of 46 million. There had been some progress towards 

religious freedom in recent years, until a military coup in October 2021. This 

followed an escalation of hostilities between conservative Islamists wanting a 

military government and those who toppled Omar al Bashir in April 2019. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR STABILITY 

After that coup, a transitional, power-sharing government emerged but 

protests caused the resignation in January last year of civilian Prime Minister 

Abdalla Hamdok. 

Open Doors reports how Christians — especially converts from Islam — are 

still vulnerable to extreme persecution in public and private life. 

There are now fears that Sudan will return to the authoritarianism of the 

years of the former president, and this could mean that the death penalty for 

leaving Islam that was abolished in 2021 could be reinstated. 

At the time of writing, there is relative calm in the capital Khartoum after a 

week-long peace deal was disrupted by clashes between the Sudanese army and 

paramilitary. 

The ceasefire had come after five weeks of warfare in Khartoum and 

outbursts of fighting elsewhere, including Darfur where a conflict had started 

in 2003. 

Please pray for Sudan, for stability in the region and for a government to be 

established that respects equality and religious freedom. 

Please also pray for the Christians in the land and for the work of local 

church partners. 

References and further reading 

Open Doors on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opendoorsuk/ 

Open Doors website - Sudan country focus: https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/worldwatch-list/sudan/ 

Amnesty International on conflict in Sudan: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/04/ 

sudan-new-conflict-escalation-exacerbates-20-years-of-suffering-for-civilians-in-darfur 

Reuters - Africa news on fighting following the ceasefire: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ 

fighting-threatens-sudans-week-long-truce-2023-05-25/ 

HM Government Press Release on evacuation: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukcompletes-largest-and-longest-western-evacuation-from-sudan



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St Willibald's statue in Eichstatt Germany 

Prapton, dreamstime.com 

A Saint for curious 

holiday travellers? 

Where do you go on your summer 

travels? If you include a Christian 

element to your trips, such as making 

a pilgrimage, or visiting places rich in 

Christian history, then St Willibald 

is the saint for you — his feast day is 

7 July. He was one of the most widely 

travelled Anglo-Saxons of his time. 

Willibald began his life in Wessex 

where he became a monk at Bishops 

Waltham. He had the curiosity that 

besets all keen travellers — what is it 

like over there, just over the next hill, 

round the next corner? 

And so Willibald set out for Rome, 

Cyprus, Syria and Palestine. It was an 

amazing achievement to survive such 

journeys in the early 8th Century. 

In Palestine, he made his way 

round all the holy places associated 

with Jesus, as well as the numerous 

communities of monks and hermits 

living there, and on his return to 

Europe, he decided to dictate an 

account of all his travels to a longsuffering 

nun, Hygeburg, who wrote it 

under the title of Hodoeporicon — the 

first ever travel book to be written by 

an Anglo-Saxon. 

After a long stay in Constantinople, 

Willibald returned to Rome and 

settled in Monte Cassino monastery 

which, under his reforming influence, 

began to prosper. 

This got Willibald noticed, and soon 

Boniface — the Apostle for Germany 

— asked Pope Gregory III to send him 

to Germany, to be Bishop of Echstatt. 

Here, he founded a monastery that 

became an important centre for 

the diffusion and development 

of monasticism. After 45 years in 

Echstatt, Willibald died c786 and his 

relics remain there. 

Sunday cycling 

is now a memory 

Being driven to church now that the 

warmer weather has arrived it's 

hard not to notice that the Sunday 

cyclists have oiled their bikes and 

taken to our roads. It reminds me 

of my own cycling adventures in my 

younger days. 


Claude's 

view 

from 

the 

pew 

My earliest memories are of a three 

wheeled trike given to me as a four 

year old. The trike, however, didn't 

last long once I started giving lifts 

to friends with them standing 

on the crossbar. The bike's frame 

eventually broke in half, much to my 

disappointment and the annoyance 

of my mother! 

Being pre-WWII, my father was still employed in his civilian role with 

John Warrick Cycles who were famous for their 'monarch' brand. Based in 

Caversham Road, Reading, they specialised in delivery trikes, mainly for ice 

cream vendors. 

Dad would often borrow a bike from them to transport goods from his 

allotment, and this also provided me with something to play with, although he 

would adapt it to allow my, then short, legs to turn the pedals. It was this bike 

that resulted in me depositing a group of girls, whom I was giving a lift to, all 

over the road. 

CYCLING TO SONNING! 

Dad also made my first proper bicycle in the factory in which he was working 

at the time. He took me out on it for its first trip from home in Mayfield Drive, 

Caversham to Sonning. 

As I grew older, technology moved on and I purchased a CycleMaster. This 

replaced the existing bicycle's back wheel with one having a 33cc petrol engine 

to propel the bike. It cost about £25 but only worked in dry weather so my next 

cycle was purchased in the form of a racing bike, which was just as fast and it 

worked in the rain. 

However, an advantage of CycleMaster was that allowed me to pass my 

motorcycle test and even today I could technically turn up to church on a 

1,000cc Suzuki — but don't worry about that ever happening. After a third 

encounter with the tarmac I gave up motorcycling for the stability of four 

wheels! 

While my son does not recall me ever riding a bike, my daughter does. She 

remembers me riding Barbara— my wife's — bike to her house when I fitted a 

kitchen for her. I only went by bike so Barbara could use my car! 

Claude Masters 

A Warrick Trike of the type use by ice cream vendors 

Claude Masters 

A CycleMaster rear wheel


feature — 2 


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• Help around the home 

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To find out more call or visit: 

01182 371 573 

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reading 

Planning Your 

Traditional Wedding? 

Then you might like to 

discuss the possibility of 

marriage in our ancient and 

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If so, call the vicar, Jamie 

0118 969 3298 

He will be pleased to help! 

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feature — 1 


Solving those rainy summer time blues 

Ironically, a good solution for parents and guardians seeking ways to relieve 

the boredom of children in their care during the rainy summer holidays by 

encouraging them to switch off their phones and computers can be found on the 

internet where there are hundreds of suggestions. 

A good example is at https://www. 

eparenting.co.uk/activities_for_kids/100_ 

screen_free_things_to_do_on_a_rainy_day.php 

eParenting has been online since 

2004 and provides ideas and resources 

to help parents and schools make 

education not only interesting but fun. 

For the summer holidays it has 

published a '100 screen-free things to do 

on a rainy day', which, despite the 'e' in 

eParenting, means switching off the 

electronic devices and resorting to funpacked 

games, many of which their 

grandparents enjoyed! 

Parenting dates back much further 

than 2004 and indeed, before the 

'electronic screen' which modern life 

revolves around for many people. 

Parenting was an important part 

of God's Creation and throughout 

the Bible we find advice on how to be 

good parents, and how they, and their 

children should love and respect each 

other. 

From the beginning, God blessed 

and encouraged families, commanding 

Adam and Eve to 'be fruitful, and 

multiply, and replenish the earth' (Genesis 

1:28). 

We are told that it is the parents' 

responsibility to teach their children 

God's word. We must instil 'in the heart 

of a child, love for our Lord Jesus Christ 

and the works of God'. (Deuteronomy 

11:18-21) 

While Proverbs 6:20-22 says: 'My son, 

keep your father's commands and do not 

forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them 

upon your heart forever; fasten them 

around your neck. When you walk, they 

will guide you; when you sleep, they will 

watch over you; when you awake, they 

will speak to you.' 

Parenting affects almost every 

life-form on Earth and in almost all 

non-human cases involves male and 

female parents. It is estimated that 

the proportion of animal 'species' 

which reproduce exclusively by 

parthenogenesis — that is from 

a single female parent — is in the 

order of 1:1,000. Aphids, ants, wasps, 

and bees are typical examples of 

parthenogenesis in nature. 

Among eParenting's free 100 

suggestions for a rainy summer day, 

you will find making things, playing 

traditional games, cooking, putting 

on posh tea parties, puppet shows 

and plays, a tidying bedroom contest, 

undertaking science experiments, 

dressing up, cooking and making 

jewellery from recycled materials. 

Go to work (or church) on your bike day! 

Cycle to Work Day on Friday 4 August is the UK’s biggest annual cycling commuting event, and this year is its 10th birthday! 

The idea is to encourage workers in the UK to go to work on two wheels, not only for their own health and wellbeing, but for the 

world itself. The organisers, cyclescheme.co.uk said: 'It’s an event for everyone, from people who haven’t hopped on a bike since their 

school days to committed cycle commuters. What matters is jumping on a bike, and joining a community of cyclists sharing all that’s 

good about cycling to work.' Since 2019 participants have clocked over 38 million miles and saved over 6 million pounds of Carbon 

Dioxide. If you join https://www.lovetoride.net/cyclescheme you can log your ride, set a cycling goal, share photos and shout about 

your reason for riding. To find out more about the day, go to https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/cycletoworkday … and if you don't go to 

work, or it's too far to cycle, but you would like to join in the spirit of the event, why not go to church on your bike!



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feature — 2 

Thomas Cook did not start his travel business with 

the primary goal of making money. Motivated 

by his Christian faith, it was to help combat the 

dangers of alcohol and to help the victims of 

alcohol misuse. 

Thomas Cook was born in 1808 in Derbyshire. At 

the age of 20 he became a Baptist missionary 

and toured the region as an evangelist distributing 

tracts, and in the 1830s, he became involved in the 

involved in the temperance movement. He was a 

cabinet maker by trade. 

With the expansion of the railway network 

around 1840, he had the idea of combining rail 

travel with the cause of temperance. 

He arranged to take a group of temperance 

campaigners from Leicester Street railway 

station to a teetotal rally in Loughborough, 11 miles away. 

Choose your holiday from a reliable 

travel company that is a member of 

the professional bodies that protect 

customers if it all goes wrong. 

Pay for the holiday using a credit 

card, so you can claim against the 

credit company if there is a serious 

problem. 

PROPER INSURANCE 

Prepare and research where you 

are going. Look up the Government 

travel advice pages on staying safe and 

healthy in that country. 

Get someone to look after your 

house and pets while you are away. 

Make sure it does not look as though it 

is empty. 

Get proper insurance that covers 

what you need. The Association of 


Did you just book it? Or Thomas Cook it? 

Asks Sally Churchus 

MODERN TRAVEL IS BORN 

On 5 July 1841, he escorted 485 people, who paid one 

shilling each for the return rail journey and a meal, on his 

first outing. Many say that this is when the modern travel 

industry was born. Other excursions followed, including 

one in 1851 for 150,000 people to travel to the Great 

Exhibition in London. Four years later he was running 

trips abroad. 

By 1865 he had acquired business premises on Fleet 

Street, which included a shop selling travel accessories such 

as guide books, luggage, telescopes and footwear. He and his 

wife also ran a small temperance hotel above the office. As 

the business grew, he built an imposing Temperance Hall 

and hotel in central Leicester and used much of his money to 

‘From Troas we put out to sea and 

sailed straight for Samothrace… 

we went on to Neapolis. From 

there we travelled to Philippi, a 

Roman colony and the leading city 

of that district[a] of Macedonia. 

And we stayed there several days. 

(Acts 16:11-12) 

I wonder if travel was in some ways 

easier in St Paul’s day! No waiting at 

airports, cancelled flights or passport 

problems. 

The Roman Empire had an amazing 

system of well-maintained roads, 

provided with inns, guards, signposts 

and milestones. 

Everyone spoke Greek and the 

currency was interchangeable. 

We do not live in classical times so 

how should we prepare for holidays? 

support the poor, often the victims of alcohol misuse. 

In all the excursions he went on to organise, he wanted 

to bring people closer together and nearer to their creator by 

making God’s earth with all its fullness and beauty accessible 

and affordable to all. 

Eventually his son, John Mason Cook, became a partner 

in the company and the name was changed to Thomas Cook 

& Son. Towards the end of his life his attitude towards 

profitability brought him and his son into conflict, including 

the issue of allowing lower fares for fellow Baptists. He died 

aged 83 in Leicester in 1892. After a number of mergers and 

takeovers the company collapsed in 2019, but he had given 

many the opportunity to experience the beauty and variety 

of God’s world because of his strong Christian faith. 

Happier holidays if you avoid the pitfalls first! 

David Pickup, a solicitor, considers some of the possible pitfalls of travelling . . . 

(Left) Statue of Thomas Cook at Leicester Sation, Clive Stapleton, 

dreamstime.com. (Above) Panels at the Thomas Cook Building 

Leicester, Wikimedia Commons 

British Insurers has advice online 

about travel insurance, including how 

Covid-19 can affect it, and a guide on 

choosing the right travel insurance 

policy. 

Rules on claiming health benefits 

in Europe have changed. It is now the 

Global Health Insurance Card. 

When on holiday, keep your 

belongings safe and avoid dangerous 

places. Do not keep all your holiday 

cash in one place. If you lost your 

wallet, would you have details of what 

numbers to phone to stop your card? 

Take more than one credit/debit card 

with you, and keep them separately. 

Finally, have fun. You deserve 

it! As always this is a light-hearted 

introduction, and get professional 

advice if you have a problem.


feature — 3 

What's the time Terry? 

Terry, at home in his workshop where time never stands still 

There is a myriad of evidence from around the world that making time in your life 

for a hobby is good for your mental and physical health. Terry Hunt, who was a 

churchwarden at St Andrew's Church for 6½ years, takes the matter of making 

time for a hobby seriously — he makes clocks! 

After taking some time out from being 

a churchwarden, Terry returned to the 

role earlier this year as a deputy warden 

with the specific task of helping with 

the technical aspects of maintaining 

the fabric of the church buildings. 

NO REPAIRS 

Wendy Hunt 

'Let's get it absolutely clear', said 

Terry, 'I do not repair clocks or make 

them from old clocks, I make each part 

from sheets of brass and rods of steel. 

While I do the engraving, I do it on 

an old pantograph machine — not by 

hand.' 

Each clock takes several years to 

make — 'longer', said Terry, 'when one 

is a churchwarden!' 

He mainly makes the clocks using 

plans published by the late John 

Wilding, who is well known for his 

interpretation of classic clocks. 

The clock on the left (above) is a John 

Wilding 'Skeleton' built by Terry, while 

below (left) is a less complicated, and 

even simpler way to tell the time — a 

sundial — which, of course has the 

disadvantage of not working too well on 

a cloudy day! 

Terry calls the six foot tall clock 

(right) his St Andrew's clock which is 

based on the design of a traditional 

English Regulator. He made it while 

serving as churchwarden and the two 

things were often in conflict for his 

time! 

The dial is peculiar to this type of 

clock and, while not so easy to read for 

telling the time, results in the reduction 

of a 'gear train' in the mechanism with 

its attendant friction. This was believed 

to enable greater accuracy. Terry's clock 

runs to within a few seconds a week. 

The sundial was made as a present 

for an old friend. In addition to telling 

the time, it shows direction and distance 

to a few places of significance to her.

around the villages — 1 

Community engagement 


It's been a very busy time for Sonning Primary School 

with some wonderful events in the community, writes 

Phil Sherwood, headmaster. 

Following the Coronation our choir 

enjoyed visiting Sonning Gardens care 

home to sing to the residents. 

As always, the pupils and staff 

thoroughly enjoyed engaging with 

the residents, who were wonderful 

hosts! 

Many of our pupils were able to 

take part in the Sonning Regatta at 

the beginning of June. It was a special 

event for the pupils and one of our 

pupil-organised teams won a race! 

Our thanks to the Sonning Regatta 

committee and everyone else who 

helped organise the event. 

Then it was on to the annual 

Sonning Village Rounders match when 

groups from Sonning Primary and 

other village organisations took part. It 

was organised by the Sonning Primary 

PTA (the losers of the previous year 

must arrange the next year’s event!). 

The good news is that the Sonning 

School staff team (pictured below) won! 

The other teams taking part were: 

Sonning Tennis Club; Sonning WI; 

Sonning Club; St Andrew's Church; and 

Sonning Primary School PTA. 

As we all risk drifting apart from 

our communities as social media and 

technology grows, events such as these 

remind us of how important it is to put 

effort into our community and enjoy 

being connected. 

Our pupils benefit hugely from being 

part of such an engaged and supportive 

village, and if anyone would like to be 

more involved in the school, we are 

always looking for the following help: 

— Financial support 

— Volunteers to read 

— Volunteers to be governors 

— Running clubs for our pupils 

— Offering local expertise or business 

— Supporting PTA events such as a 

careers day. 

Thank you to all of our supporters 

for their help, including the team at 

The Parish Magazine for their work in 

the community.

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Double centenarian celebration 


Coronation Cup 

Edna Wall (left) and Lady Pamela De Ville (right) congratulated one another 

on their 100th birthdays at Signature of Sonning care home. The home, 

originally called Sunrise of Sonning, has, since their 100th birthday 

celebrations, changed its name for the second time in 18 months. From 

1 June the home is called Sonning Gardens Care Home, part of the Avery 

Healthcare Group. But for the two centenarians the name of their home is far less 

important then their more treasured memory of the personal congratulations 

they both received from Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla! 

Beaver-ing in the community 

By Magnus Smyly, Beavers section asssistant 

Sonning Art Group's latest 

Chairman’s cup — with the theme, 

The Coronation — was won by 

Brenda Hooper for an excellent pen 

and wash picture of Westminster 

Abbey. The group's summer 

programme includes tutor sessions 

and a sketching afternoon in The Mill 

at Sonning. 

1st Sonning-on-Thames scouts 

is continuing to make links with 

the local community — this time 

through its beaver colony — when 

Nick, the Berkshire County Sports 

Tennis Club head tennis coach 

hosted them for fun tennis games. 

Their summer term programme has 

also included a visit by Red Watch 

crew from Wokingham Road Fire 

Station, who answered an array of 

questions from the beavers before 

giving a tour of their fire engine. 

This visit ended on a high note as 

the crew sped off ‘blue lighted’ as a 

call out to a fire came in. 

CRICKET 

In late May, coaches Sharon and 

Grace from Sonning Cricket Club 

hosted the beavers on King George’s 

Field for an introduction to cricket. 

We thank all those who have 

helped to make these events happen. 

If you are interested in knowing 

more about beaver scouts (for 6 to 

8 year olds, meeting term time on 

Thursdays between 6-7pm), then 

we still have places available. 

For more information: Ann at 

waiting_list@sonningscouts.org.uk .


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Sing your way through 

summer and autumn 

in Charvil Village Hall 

Charvil's piano and singing teacher, 

Suzanne Newman, has arranged 

a full programme of summer and 

autumn events for everyone who 

loves to sing together. 

All the sessions will be held in 

Charvil Village Hall and are open to 

anyone - you don't have to sing in a 

choir or have an amazing solo voice! 


Sonning Parish Council thank Tony 

Farnese — but it's not goodbye! 

Saturday 1 July 

2-4pm, a fun singing afternoon for 

female voices with a selection of 

American folk songs arranged for 

2-part choir songs including L'il Liza 

Jane, Shenandoah, Simple gifts and 

Buffalo girls. Cost: £10. 

Monday 17 July 

8- 9.30pm. Improve your sightsinging 

— if you sing in a choir and 

want to work on this skill then this is 

for you! Cost: £10. 

Mondays 7, 14, and 21 August 

A three week course for female 

voices, 7.30 - 9pm to work on vocal 

technique plus a medley called 

Broadway Musical Magic. Songs will 

include Into the woods, Electricity, 

Seasons of love and Mamma Mia. 

Cost: £30, includes music. 

Saturday 2 September 

2 - 4pm. A fun singing afternoon 

for female voices to work on a great 

medley of songs from Broadway 

shows including: Hello Dolly, 

Tomorrow, What I did for love and On 

Broadway 

Cost: £10 includes music and 

refreshments. 

Saturday 30 September 

2 - 4pm. A fun singing afternoon 

for boys and men to sing some great 

songs and rounds in a friendly and 

supportive environment. Cost: £10, 

includes music and refreshments. 

For more details and to book a 

place in any of the sessions, contact: 

Suzanne Newman on: 

0118 934 0589 

suzanneynewman@btinternet.com 

Left to right: Trefor Fisher, newly appointed chairman of Sonning Parish Council; Lesley Bates, 

clerk to the council; and Tony Farnese, who has stepped down as chairman. 

Sonning Parish Council members have expressed their sincere gratitude to 

Tony Farnese who has decided to stand down as chairman, a position he has 

served in for the past 8 years. 

During this time, Tony has risen to many challenges, all for the benefit of the 

community of Sonning. These include the examination of hundreds of planning 

applications, several of which were major development proposals. He has 

campaigned to improve road safety in the parish, including putting pressure 

on the local authorities for a third Thames crossing, and has taken a special 

interest in the maintenance of Sonning's green spaces, including King George V 

field and the Wharf by Sonning bridge. 

Members of the council said they were very pleased that Tony will be staying 

on as a councillor, bringing as he does his wealth of knowledge and experience 

in parish matters. 

At the annual Sonning Parish Council meeting held in May, Trefor Fisher 

was elected as the new chairman. 

Sonning Parish Council currently comprises seven elected councillors, 

supported by a clerk. They normally meet on the second Tuesday of each 

month (except August) in the Pavilion, King George V Playing Field. Most of 

the council business is carried out between these meetings by committees 

and working groups formed from councillors and co-opted members from the 

parish — where appropriate — although decisions are made by the full council. 

It's never to late for a tree! 

Sonning Glebe WI is delighted that, at long 

last, they have planted their tree to celebrate 

the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen 

Elizabeth II! It is in King George’s Field and was 

planted by Carole Collier, president, on 29 April. 

The 'Rec' is ideal for the new tree — it was 

where the WI met during the pandemic when 

many pleasant hours were spent, walking, 

drinking coffee, chatting and meeting up with 

friends during a difficult time. The WI hopes 

the tree will become a long-lasting memory of 

the Queen's wonderful reign.



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HEALTH — 1 

Dr Simon Ruffle writes . . . Headache 

Headache symptoms are one of 

the most common presentations 

in general practice. 70% of the UK 

population will report a headache in a 

3 month period. 

Excluding the headaches that come 

with infections — or watching any 

political discussion — one in two of 

us will suffer with a specific headache 

disorder in a year. This is known as 

prevalence. 

Despite these high numbers most 

of these conditions are managed 

without medical help. 

However, in a typical practice one 

month’s worth of consultations for 

one GP is used up in a year discussing 

headache disorders. So the burden and 

cost is high. 

Not that this is a staggering figure; 

what is staggering is that it costs £3.42 

billion pounds to the UK economy in 

a year.1 

In the US, migraine is suffered by 

more people than asthma and diabetes 

combined2 1:2 female, 1:10 male 

The majority of headache disorders 

are of a tension type, which are not 

everyday so classified as episodic. 

These are followed by episodic 

migraine, which leaves less than 5% of 

headaches of other types; the majority 

being chronic daily headache. 

CONFUSIONS 

I have many patients who complain 

of a 'terrible migraine'. This is a 

confusion of terms. 

A migraine isn’t a bad headache. It’s 

a migraine! 

In the same way people use the 

term chronic when they mean bad. 

Acute and chronic are terms of timing 

not severity. 

I fully understand the confusion 

as migraine covers a large spectrum of 

symptoms and the outdated diagnosis 

of ‘classic migraine’ is actually only 

suffered by about 20% of sufferers. 

A six country study (all G7 

countries) presented in Vienna looked 

at the barriers to get proper care. 

The UK came third out of the 

six but it showed that people with 

migraine diagnosed in the study 

only 30.5% of people got to see a 

professional. 

The overall diagnostic accuracy 

was 20% and appropriate treatment 

Chatsworth House 

was only provided in 11.8% of those 

patients in the study.3 

Despite the barriers to care 30% 

of all neurology referrals are for 

headache. 

Proper diagnosis is key. Migraine, 

currently, has no diagnostic tests and 

brain scans are totally normal but are 

often asked for due to the severity 

of the symptoms and the disabling 

effects. 

However, a detailed history and the 

complete relief of symptoms points 

away from any disease that a scan 

will pick up; plus there is always the 

chance of finding something irrelevant 

on a scan that then needs further 

evaluation. 

There are many types of migraine. 

I recently went on a two day course on 

the new knowledge and treatments of 

headache disorders and half of one day 

was just on migraine. 

There are migraines with or without 

aura, headache, nausea, vomiting, 

visual changes, speech difficulty and 


Simon Ruffle 

weakness symptoms. Some migraine 

types are felt in the abdomen and 

some that are just vertigo. One key fact 

is that all the symptoms disappear in 

between episodes. 

HERE IT COMES! 

However, migraine can become 

chronic (time) and is diagnosed when 

people have migraine type headaches 

on more than 15 days a month for 3 

months. 

HERE IT COMES AGAIN! 

However, it can also be persistent. 

This is known as status migrainosus. 

This is a disabling migraine that lasts 

over 72 hours in its severe form. 

The cause of migraine is still 

debated but there is so much new 

evidence about the mechanisms 

behind the symptoms. 

Rather exciting is a new treatment 

that is being evaluated to try to stop 

turn to page 31



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HEALTH — 2 

Dr Simon Ruffle 

migraines occurring. NICE (National 

Institute for Clinical Excellence) has 

suggested that it will be valuable in 

certain groups of people. 

Classically we were taught that 

migraine had a period of symptoms 

before the headache and disabling 

symptoms occurred. This was known 

as aura. But, further research shows 

that there may be early signs that 

suggest the brain is about to go into a 

migraine phase. 

Functional MRI scans show 

activation in the brain hours or days 

before migraine starts. Feeling thirsty, 

cravings, neck stiffness, fatigue , 

yawning and frequency of needing to 

pee can be symptoms. Others have 

reported feeling really well. 

Work is ongoing on how to treat 

this if the symptoms are recognised, 

but it looks like some of the antinausea 

drugs may be useful.4 

Most migraines can be treated 

with over the counter medications 

and aspirin for the over 16s and nonallergic 

is still very cheap effective 

medication, especially in combination 

with an anti-nausea drug. More 

disabling migraines are treated with 

other medications such as the triptans. 

If migraines are more than 5 per 

month then preventative therapy is 

recommended. This needs careful 

initiation and monitoring and there 

are at least seven different options. 

Beyond this are injectable 

therapies. These can have many side 

effects and are only used if three types 

of preventative therapy has failed. 

Nerve blocks are also becoming 

more available and can be done in 

outpatients. 

ASPIRIN AND LAY DOWN 

Now that I’ve given you a headache 

just discussing migraine — they are 

separate ailments — I’ll leave the most 

common type of headaches for another 

time as I need a couple of Aspirin and a 

lay down! 

References 

1 All parliamentary Group on Primary 

Headache Disorders 

2 US census Bureau 1993 

3 Lanteri Minet et al, European Headache 

Federation Conference 2002. 

4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih. 

gov/30074545/#:~:text=Purpose of 

review: The premonitory, and increased 

frequency of micturition. 

HOME AND GARDEN 

In the garden 

The sweet smell of rain 

Recipe of the month 


Olga Frolova , dreamstime.com 

Have you ever noticed the sweet, fresh smell after a downpour of rain? That 

‘smell of rain’ is called petrichor, and it fascinates scientists. 

In 1965 scientists first named it. Petrichor comes from the Greek for stone, 

‘petra’, and the golden fluid flowing through the veins of the immortals, ‘ichor’. 

Petrichor is produced when raindrops form air pockets on the rocks and soil, 

and softly force the release of aromatic chemicals trapped there. The petrichorscented 

compounds drift upwards into the atmosphere as a gas, like a glass of 

champagne. 

The odour itself comes mainly from a chemical called geosmin, which is 

made by bacteria in soil. Geosmin is made by soil microbes, to fend off hungry 

worms. Geosmin is highly pungent, and even just five parts per trillion can be 

picked up by the human nose. 

Sonning Glebe WI invite you to 

A Gardening Evening with COLIN EVANS 

Gardening radio and television presenter 

regularly heard on Radio Berkshire! 

Friday 21 July at 7.30pm 

Pearson Hall, Sonning, RG4 6UL 

Tickets £7.50 inc refreshments 

For tickets: email barbara.carr71@hotmail.co.uk / 0118 934 5886 

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

The sciences 

Suffering in the 

image of God 

By Dr Ruth M Bancewicz, The Faraday 

Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge 

Food banks are now a necessity. When 

given food, people show a variety of 

emotions: relief, happiness, hope, 

sadness, resignation, and desperation. 

I believe that our cries for answers and 

our longing for life to be kinder, more 

just, less painful and chaotic, are signs 

that we are made in the image of God. 

The Bible describes God creating us 

to rule over the earth with the freedom 

to choose how. The world God made 

was 'very good', but human wrongdoing 

came between us and God, and between 

us and the rest of creation. 

From a scientist’s view it seems that 

the potential for accidents, disease 

and death may have been part of God’s 

creation, and there was a real threat 

of famine, albeit rarer than in our 

currently mismanaged world. 

How would we have managed 

in what Genesis describes as an 

unsubdued world if our relationship 

with God hadn’t broken down, and evil 

hadn’t been unleashed? Maybe painful 

experiences would have challenged 

us and brought us closer to each other 

and to God, rather than bringing us 

distress, isolation and fear. These are 

theoretical questions that we can't 

answer, but are worth exploring. 

GOD'S RESPONSE 

However, God has responded 

to suffering through his death and 

resurrection when Jesus broke the 

power of sin and death. We have yet to 

see the results of those decisive actions 

— the end of suffering for all who trust 

him — but we feel their impact. 

Many people have experienced the 

wonderful effect in their lives from 

receiving kindness from others: 'I will 

give you a new heart and put a new spirit 

in you; I will remove from you your heart of 

stone and give you a heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 

36:26). 

Some people who receive food 

are, said a community leader, 'really 

desperate', but yet they still trust God 

to meet their needs. My hope is that the 

Church worldwide will, with God’s help, 

be part of the answer to their prayers 

and demonstrate our true status as 

people made in God's image. 


Archaeology and Creativity 

… and The Bible? 

Beit She'arim National Park in the Lower Galilee region of northern 

Israel. It is known for the remains of a Roman city located on a hilltop 

and ancient Jewish burial catacombs located within it. 

This year's Festival of Archaeology theme is 'Archaeology and Creativity'. It 

runs from 16-31 July and is organised by the Council for British Archaeology 

who describe it as incorporating 'hundreds of in-person and virtual events 

delivered by community groups, heritage organisations, universities, 

commercial units, and more in-person and online across the UK'. Does, you may 

ask, all this science disprove the historical account of creativity recorded in the 

Bible? 

Archaeology, say the organisers, is at 

its heart a creative process. It’s about 

exploration and imagination; it's 

visual stimulation and inspiration; 

it’s the process by which we create 

memory and meaning. 

By drawing on innovative 

technologies and using a wide range 

of tools archaeology helps us think 

about the world we live in. 

It is about storytelling and 

archaeologists use creative practices 

such as art, music, creative writing, 

poetry, and theatre to bring to life 

the material the archaeologists 

uncover, and the stories of the places 

and people around us. 

NEVER CONTROVERTED 

Christians believe the Bible, 

the oldest collection of historical 

writings known to exist, is the true 

history of God's Creation, so how do 

archaeologists view the Bible? 

Here are two quotes taken at 

random from https://infostudenti.net/ 

en/hasnt-archaeology-disproved-thebible/ 

in response to the question: 

Hasn’t archaeology disproved the 

Bible? 

'It may be stated categorically that 

no archaeological discovery has ever 

controverted a Biblical reference. Scores 

of archaeological findings have been made 

which confirm in clear outline or exact 

Iuliia Kryzhevska, dreamstime.com 

detail historical statements in the Bible. 

And, by the same token, proper evaluation 

of Biblical description has often led to 

amazing discoveries.' – Dr Nelson Glueck, 

Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, 

Strous and Cudahy, 1959), 136. 

'There can be no doubt that 

archaeology has confirmed the substantial 

historicity of Old Testament tradition.' – 

Dr. William F. Albright, Archaeology and 

the Religions of Israel. Johns Hopkins 

University Press, Baltimore, 1956, p. 176. 

These quotes, and 10 others listed 

with them, agree that the Bible is an 

accurate record of the many different 

historical events that have been 

recorded by both Old Testament and 

New Testament writers. 

Indeed, another quote by Sir 

William Ramsey says of the Bible: 

'Luke is a historian of the first rank; 

not merely are his statements of facts 

trustworthy; he is possessed of the true 

historic sense…In short this author 

should be placed along with the very 

greatest of historians.' 

Far from disproving the Bible, 

archaeological research seems to be 

strengthening the Christian message 

of God's love for us and the world he 

created.



BAR MEALS SUNDAY LUNCHES FUNCTION ROOMS WEDDINGS 

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THE ARTS 


Take time to savour the delights God offers us 

By Rev Canon Michael Burgess 

‘What is this life, if full of care, we 

have no time to stand and stare?’ 

But this issue's painting is the other 

way around as we sense the animals 

looking at us in ‘Herdsman with Cows 

by a River’ painted in 1650 by the 

Dutch artist, Albert Cuyp. 

It is an ordinary scene of 

nature, yet there is a radiance and a 

tranquillity that strikes us as we see 

cows standing in the still waters. 

Around them there is movement: 

birds flying, boats sailing into the 

sunset and two fishermen busy 

at their work. But the cows and 

herdsman are quiet and contented, 

relishing the day closing, and 

contemplating the world going by. 

In many of Cuyp’s paintings the 

sun bathes each scene in a golden 

light. Here, clouds are gathering as 

the sun sinks, but there is still a 

glowing calmness brought by the 

light of the sky. 

Some of us will be planning, 

or taking, holidays. Some can be a 

frenetic rush, while in others we 

sit back and relax, letting what we 

see around us bring refreshment 

and renewal. It is the way we are 

encouraged to savour the joy and 

delight of scripture in what is called 

lectio divina. 

Monastic teachers compared it 

to cows grazing in the field. They 

pointed to four stages: Lectio: we 

take a bite of scripture; Meditatio: we 

Book Review 

chew on that word; Oratio: we savour 

its flavour and nourishment; and 

Contemplatio: we digest its goodness 

to feed body and soul. 

The cows in Cuyp’s painting have 

spent the day doing just that — 

grazing and ruminating in the fields 

nearby. The herdsman has brought 

them to the river to relax in the 

water. Soon they will go home to the 

farm and the safety of the cowshed. 

Tomorrow will be an opportunity 

to graze anew in the gift of another 

day. Walt Whitman wrote in one of 

his poems, ‘I think I could turn and 

live with animals, they are so placid and 

self-contained, I stand and look at them 

long and long.’ 

As we stand and look at the cows 

in this painting, perhaps we may 

Struggling with God: Mental Health 

& Christian Spirituality 

By Christopher C H Cook, Isabelle Hamley, and John 

Swinton, SPCK, £14.99 

This book gets to the heart of a predicament 

for many Christians: when our mental health 

struggles are overwhelming and our capacity for 

faith and hope and love is diminished — how can 

we maintain, never mind nourish, our relationship 

with God? 

Jesus helped people wrestling with mental 

health problems; anxiety and depression, and more 

severe ones, including bipolar affective disorder 

and schizophrenia, are addressed by the author. They explore the impact mental 

health disorders can have on individual Christians, Church and society. Each 

chapter includes Biblical reflections, prayers, questions for individual/group 

study, and pointers to further reading. It presents a Christian vision of spiritual 

and mental wellbeing through prayerful struggling with God. 

The National Gallery, Creative Commons Agreement 

realise that whether at work or on 

holiday, in Sunday worship or Bible 

reading at home, God can feed us 

through his world around us and in 

his word in scripture. As long as we 

take the time and the care to savour 

the delights that he offers us. 

Poetry Corner 

By Steven Rolling 

Willing Witnesses 

Tune: Abridge — ‘Be thou 

my guardian and my guide’ 

Water of life, river now flow 

From us, that others know 

The Spirit’s touch through word and deed 

And to your message heed 

Message of salvation to all 

Who on the Lord’s name call 

Give us courage, boldness, that we 

Not as the blocked streams be 

Not stagnant, stale, but refreshing 

Something of God’s life bring 

To each we meet, be large, small ways 

Throughout our pilgrim days 

The gospel preached, teaching, healing 

Your name glorifying 

As you Christ did, so may we be 

Sharers of you freely 

That deaf shall hear and dumb shall speak 

Grace to the humble, meek 

That sick be healed, e’en dead to rise 

True gospel spread, no lies 

Eran Turjeman, dreamstime.com

36 The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to this advertisement 

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SIG_ADV_CAV_0523_SonningParishMag_02.indd 1

History 

Was it really . . . 


75 years of National Health 

Charlotte Leaper, dreamstime.com 

The Aneurin Bevan Stones at Bryn Serth, Ebbw Vale. Erected in 

Aneurin Bevan's memory to mark the spot of his open air meetings to 

constituents. Bevan was a founder of the UK's National Health Service. 

. . . 400 YEARS AGO on 4 July 1623 that William Byrd 

(above), English Renaissance composer, died. He is 

regarded as one of the greatest British composers, and is 

best known for his sacred music. 

. . . 175 YEARS AGO on 7 July 1848 that Waterloo railway 

station in London opened. 

. . . 150 YEARS AGO on 19 July 1873 that British-born 

Australian explorer William Gosse discovered Ayers Rock 

and named it in honour of Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief 

Secretary of South Australia. It is now known as Uluru/ 

Ayers Rock. 

. . . 125 YEARS AGO on 30 July 1898 that Henry Moore, 

British sculptor and illustrator, was born. He is best 

known for his monumental semi-abstract bronze 

sculptures. 

. . . 100 YEARS AGO on 13 July 1923 that the Hollywood 

Sign was officially dedicated in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It 

was originally erected as a temporary advert for a housing 

development called Hollywoodland. 

. . . 80 YEARS AGO on 25 July 1943 that Britain’s RAF 

bombed the Fokker aircraft factory in Amsterdam. 

. . . 75 YEARS AGO on 5 July 1948 that the National Health 

Service (NHS) began operating. 

. . . 60 YEARS AGO on 1 July 1963 that the British 

government revealed that intelligence officer Kim Philby 

was a long-term Soviet spy and that he was the ‘third man’ 

in the Cambridge spy ring. On 30 July the Soviet Union 

announced they had granted him political asylum. 

. . . 60 YEARS AGO on 12 July 1963 that the Moors 

murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, killed their first 

victim, 16-year-old Pauline Reade, on Saddleworth Moor. 

. . . 15 YEARS AGO on 31 July 2008 that NASA reported 

that its Phoenix Mars Lander had found frozen water in a 

soil sample taken from below the surface of Mars. 

By Tim Lenton, Parish Pump 

It was 75 years ago, on 5 July 1948, that the National 

Health Service (NHS) began operating. It was formally 

opened at the Park Hospital in Manchester, now 

renamed Trafford General. 

The National Health Service Act provided for the 

establishment of a comprehensive health service for 

England and Wales. (Separate legislation was produced for 

Scotland and Northern Ireland.) 

The Minister of Health at the time was Labour 

firebrand Aneurin Bevan, but the NHS came into being 

through the efforts of many others as well – notably 

Conservative Sir Henry Willink, who was Minister of 

Health in the Coalition government in 1944. His White 

Paper laid down all the basic elements of an NHS – that 

no-one was excluded, and that healthcare was free and 

based on need, not the ability to pay. 

THE ORIGINS 

But the origins of the NHS went back many years, 

starting perhaps in the early 1900s, with socialist Beatrice 

Webb’s Minority Report of the Royal Commission on 

the Poor Law. It aimed to get away from the workhouse 

system, where those with no resources were expected to 

look after themselves. The report was dismissed by the 

Liberal government. 

Strong ideas in the same vein had also come from 

biochemist Dr Benjamin Moore, from Liverpool, who is 

also credited with first use of the words 'National Health 

Service'. 

A novel called The Citadel by D J Cronin (also a doctor) 

drew attention to the inadequacies of health care at the 

time of its publication in 1937. 

In the end, the NHS was based to a large extent on the 

Beveridge Report, published in 1942. William Beveridge 

was a Liberal politician, economist and social reformer 

who also had a strong interest in eugenics – the aim of 

improving the human race by controlling reproduction. 

Today staffing shortages are currently one of the 

biggest problems facing the healthcare system, with 

staff numbers and retention among core concerns. As of 

September 2022, there were around 134,000 vacancies in 

the NHS, representing around 10% of its entire workforce.

38 The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to this advertisement

PUZZLE PAGE 

CROSSWORD 

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24 19 9 20 24 17 12 2 8 21 

8 20 5 1 25 20 20 

6 8 24 13 8 26 24 20 8 7 20 14 

18 26 24 20 7 21 10 

1 19 20 10 14 19 3 26 20 7 6 1 

14 

8 

Down Down 

1 - Yellow 1 fruit - Yellow (6) fruit (6) 

2 - Humorous verse (8) 

3 - Sneaky 2 -(7) 

Humorous verse (8) 

4 - Fine powdery foodstuff (5) 

3 - Sneaky (7) 

5 - Part of the eye (6) 

6 - Stinging 4 - Fine weed powdery (6) foodstuff (5) 

13 - Gibberish (8) 

14 - Divide 

5 

into 

- Part 

three 

of the eye 

parts 

(6) 

(7) 

15 - Cold dessert 

6 - Stinging weed 

(6) 

(6) 

16 - Background actors (6) 

18 - District 13 -(6) 

Gibberish (8) 

19 - Admin capital of Bolivia (2,3) 

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 

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

J 

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 FOR ST THOMAS 

14 - Divide into three parts (7) 

On 3 July the Church remembers St Thomas, also 

called Doubting Thomas, because he would not believe 

15 - Cold dessert (6) his fellow disciples’ news of the Resurrection. But ‘doubt’ 

did not mean that Thomas did not love Jesus! Only a few 

20 - Pinches sharply (6) 

16 - Background actors (6) 

8 4 19 14 10 8 25 14 8 2 10 20 1 14 weeks before, Thomas had urged his fellow disciples to 

21 - Corner (4) 

18 - District (6) 

follow Jesus to see Lazarus in Bethany, despite danger 

25 22 18 7 19 8 17 2 15 from the Jews. 'Let us also go, that we may die with 

22 - Coniferous tree (3) 

19 - Administrative capital J of Bolivia him.' (2,3) (John 11:16) Instead, Jesus had brought Lazarus 

21 24 19 7 20 22 21 

23 - Make physically used to something (8) 

7 20 6 19 8 3 16 

Rev Kate's 

Summer 

Quiz 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

L 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

23 

25 

26 

T 


answers in the next issue 

June Solutions 

back to life. Thomas was sometimes very confused 

about just where Jesus was headed. But in John 14:5 

Jesus untangled his confused commitment: 'I am going 

to my Father', and 'No one comes unto the Father but 

by me.' Finally, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared 

to Thomas, showing him the wounds of his crucifixion. 

Thomas was electrified, and his response immediate: 

'My Lord and my God' (John 20.26). Thus Doubting 

Thomas’ honest doubts, turned to honest faith, have 

become a reassurance for thousands of people down 

the centuries. 

JULY 

DIE 

LIFE 

JEWS 

LORD 

GOD 

DOUBT 

LOVE 

JESUS 

FOLLOW 

LAZARUS 

BETHANY 

DOUBTING 

DANGER 

THOMAS 

CONFUSED 

GOING 

FATHER 

WOUNDS 

CRUCIFIXION 

RESPONSE 

IMMEDIATE 

HONEST 

FAITH 

REASSURANCE 

RESURRECTION 

CROSSWORD 

P R E D O M I N A N T 

M U E E A E D 

I L L B U R S T W E 

S E A I I D Y L L 

C I D E R N O E I 

O F O U N T A I N 

N P T S R Q 

S H A M R O C K U 

T R A A B I B L E 

R I V E N L U O N 

U E S O L A R S A C 

E N I U L O Y 

M U L T I P L Y I N G 

CODEWORD 

O U T E R W I Z A R D S 

R H E I X R 

C I C C W I L E S 

H O M E L I K E O G 

E B I E A M U S E 

S A L I N I T Y S P 

T E E S C I 

R R S P E C I O U S 

A F T E R L O C C 

J V B A L L Y H O O 

F O R A Y Q D L P 

R M U E E A 

A D I P O S E D R A W L 

SUDOKU 

WORDSEARCH KING 

REV KATE'S JUNE QUIZ 

1. Ministry 

2. Birmingham 

3. Central 

4. LAX 

5. Tower Bridge as it opened 

6. Novak Djokovic 

7. Shane Warne 

8. Germany 

9. Usain Bolt 

10. Nicola Adams 

11. Thomas Hardy 

12. Moby Dick 

13.JK Rowling 

14. Malachi 

15. Jeeves 

1 July is named after which person from the Ancient Roman world? 

2 August is named after L which person from the Ancient Roman world? 

3a What is the surname of the American comedian, actress and mental health campaigner Ruby? 3b Who sang the 2007 song ‘Ruby’? 

4a What is the name T of the 7th element in the periodic table? 4 b) Complete the name of the 1954 musical: ‘7 Brides for ………’ 

5 Which member of the Royal Family has a son called August? 

6 10 August is St Lawrence’s Day. Who played TE Lawrence is the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia? 

7 24 August is St Bartholomew’s Day. What is the name of Bart Simpson’s mum? 

8 What is the official last day of British Summer Time? 

Special summer maths quiz (because I love maths!!) 

9 Which Greek philosopher and mathematician discovered a theorem relating the lengths of the sides of a right-angled triangle? 

10 Which two-dimensional shape has nine sides? 

11 What is the name given to an angle between 180 and 360 degrees? 

12 Which Greek letter is used to depict the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter? 

13 How many equal sides does an Isosceles triangle have? 

14 Which Ancient Greek mathematician was considered the ‘father of geometry’? 

15 Which numerical value would be given to represent the probability of an event taking place being ‘certain’?


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 

SMALLWOOD 

Landscaping, garden construction, 

patios, lawns, fencing, decking etc 

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

office@smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk 

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 

BERKSHIRE STUMP REMOVALS 

Stump grinding and tree stump removal 

Latest narrow access machinery 

Contact: Mark 

0798 495 7334 http://www.berkshirestumpremoval 

THE BARBER SHOP 

177 Wokingham Road, Earley 

Since 1969 (opposite Fire Station) 

Open: Wednesday – Saturday 9.00am – 5.00pm 

Call John – 0118 966 6100 

Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements

CHILDREN'S PAGE 

The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 41

42 The Parish Magazine - July/August 2023 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 / 0744 747 8048 

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 

— Terry Hunt terencehunt@me.com / 0773 470 7368 

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

— Ruth Jeffrey, 0118 969 3298 

— Molly Woodley (deputy churchwarden emeritus) 

mollywoodley@live.co.uk / 0118 946 3667 

Parish Office Manager 

— Hilary Rennie 

office@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298 

Parochial Church Council 

— Secretary: Hilary Rennie 0118 969 3298 

— Treasurer: Jerry Wood 0118 969 3298 

Director of Music, organist and choirmaster 

— Hannah Towndrow BA(Oxon), MA(RAM), LRAM 

music@sonningparish.org.uk 

Safeguarding Officer 

— Nicola Riley 0118 969 3298 

Sonning Bell Ringers 

— Tower Captain: Pam Elliston 

pam.elliston@talktalk.net / 0118 969 5967 

— Deputy Tower Captain: Rob 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 

Abbey School 26 

Abbeyfield Wey Valley Society 20 

ACG Services Locksmith 40 

Active Security 26 

AJ Wealth Management 28 

All Aerials 40 

AMS Water Softeners 28 

Barber Shop 40 

Barn Store Henley 16 

Berkshire Stump Removals 40 

Big Heart Tree Care 40 

Blandy & Blandy Solicitors 14 

Blue Moose 30 

Bridge House 43 

Bridges Home Care 10 

Bull Inn 30 

Canon Tree Care 28 

CBLS Architecture 18 

Chimney Sweep, Thames 40 

Chiropody, Linda Frewin 40 

Clark Bicknell 40 

Computer Frustrations 40 

Design for Print 28 

Freebody Boatbuilders 6 

French Horn 44 

Gardiner’s Homecare 30 

Good Oaks Home Care 18 

Great House and Coppa Club Sonning 10 

Handyman and Decorating Services 40 

Haslams Estate Agents 2 

Heathium Clinics 20 

Hicks Group 16 

Humble Tiffin 28 

Home Stair Lifts 28 

Intersmart Electrical Installations 40 

James Autos 40 

Jones & Sheppard Stone Masons 32 

Kingfisher Bathrooms 12 

MC Cleaning 40 

Mill at Sonning 4 

M & L Healthcare Solutions 12 

Muck & Mulch 32 

Odd Jobs 40 

Physiocare Body Management 38 

Queen Anne’s School 34 

Reading Blue Coat School 10 

Richfield Flooring 14 

Sabella Interior Design 24 

Seniors Helping Seniors 32 

Shiplake College 14 

Signature Care Homes 36 

Sonning Golf Club 34 

Sonning Scouts Marquees 32 

Smallwood Garden Services 40 

Style by Julie 6 

Thames Valley Water Softeners 6 

Thames Valley Wills Service 40 

The 50 Plus Home Repairs 32 

Tomalin Funerals 16 

Walker Funerals 12 

Water Softener Salt 16 

Window Cleaner 16



For the very best in 

later living care 

At Bridge House we care passionately about enabling our residents to live their best lives. 

Every day is different, but our exemplary standards of care 

remain constant, delivered by a highly trained and dedicated 

team of clinical nursing and care staff that ensure our 

residents maintain their independence, dignity and enjoy 

a fulfilling day. 

Our welcoming, elegant Georgian country house on the edge 

of Twyford offers a timeless calm with stunning views across 

the grounds to the river Loddon, whilst our newly built 

rehabilitation centre provides access to short term recovery 

and recuperation though the in house team of therapists. 

To discuss your nursing, residential or rehabilitation 

needs, or a visit, please contact our new Care Home Manager 

Rachel Stoneman at info@bridgehouseoftwyford.co.uk 

or 01189 340777 

Visit bridgehouseoftwyford.co.uk 

BRIDGE HOUSE

44 The Parish Magazine - July/August Please mention 2023 The Parish Magazine when responding to 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 July and August 2023

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