The Parish Magazine May 2025

The Parish Magazine — May 2025 1

The

Parish

Magazine

The John King Trophy

and Gold Award

Best Magazine 2018

National Parish Magazine

Awards

Best Overall 2015, 2020, 2022, 2023

Best Content 2016, 2021

Best Editor 2019

Best Print 2018

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

May 2025 — Spring

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

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and Gold Award

Best Magazine 2018

National Parish Magazine

Awards

Best Overall 2015, 2020, 2022, 2023

Best Content 2016, 2021

Best Editor 2019

Best Print 2018

information — 1

Contents May 2025

THE VICAR'S LETTEr, 5

THE PARISH NOTICEBOARD

— May Day reminder, 7

— Chorister's confession, 7

— For your prayers, 7

— STAY, 8-9

— The Persecuted Church, 11

— Bible Prayers Part Four, 13

— Claude on his bikes, 15

— From the editor's desk, 15

— Why am I a Christian? 17

FEATURES

— WWW and Christian Unity, 19

— St Matthias, 21

— Life-saving Defibrillator, 22-23

around tHE VILLages

— Gardeners' Question Time, 24

— Extraordinary women, 24

— RNLI garden party, 25

— Charvil Singers, 25

— WI and Cowshed, 25

— Aid for WaterAid, 25

— VE and VJ Day plans, 25

— Sonning Art Group, 25

— Sonning School, 27

— FoSTAC events, 27

THE ARTS

— Charvil artists, 29

— Poetry Corner, 29

AFOOT IN THE GARDEN

— Spring to remember, 29

HISTORY

— The 'first' historian, 31

— Was it really? 31

This ISSUE's FRONT COVER

The

Parish

Magazine

May 2025 — Spring

the church of st andrew, SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye SINCE THE 7 th CENTURY

The STAY Tuck Shop

Picture: Corinne

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 2025

issue of The Parish Magazine is:

Tuesday 6 May at 12 noon

Recent issues of The Parish Magazine

can also be read online at

https://theparishmagazine.co.uk

For access to The Parish Magazine

archives which holds copies of the

magazine from 1869, please contact:

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk


Services in

St Andrew's

Church Sonning

4 May, 3rd Sunday of Easter

— 8.00am Holy Communion

— 10.30am Family Service

— 4.00pm Evensong

11 May, 4th Sunday of Easter


— 10.30am Parish Eucharist with

STAY and Sunday Club



— 10.30am Parish Eucharist

with STAY and Sunday Club



— 10.30am Parish Eucharist

with STAY and Sunday Club

OTHER REGULAR SERVICES

Morning Prayer is held in the 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

Gardens Care Home is held on the first

Monday of each month at 11.00am.

THE SCIENCES

— A new heart promised, 33

— You must be joking! 33

FASHION

— Trending colours and shades, 35

HEALTH

— Get to know your heart, 36-37

PUZZLE PAGES, 38-39

children's page, 41

INFORMATION

— Church services, 3

— From the registers, 3

— Local Trades and Services, 40

— Parish contacts, 42

— Advertisers' index, 42

From the Registers

WEDDINGS

— Friday 14 March, Jamie Marc Bradbury and Stephanie Jane Cook

FUNERAL and memorial services

— Monday 17 March Pamela Sims, Memorial Service and Burial of Ashes in

St Andrew's Churchyard

— Wednesday 19 March, Timothy John David Saunders, Memorial Service in

St Andrew's Church

— Wednesday 26 March, Nancy Mayes, Funeral Service at Reading Crematorium

— Tuesday 24 April, Patricia Mary Morgan, Burial of Ashes in St Andrew's Church

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The vicar's letter

D e a r F r i e n d S,

On 8 May we will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the

ending of the European war during WWII. There will be a short

ceremony held in The Ark garden in the early evening of that day,

hosted by the Royal British Legion but, at the time of writing, I

am not sure what time has been decided upon.

We shall ensure this is advertised on social media and in our

parish news sheets. Sadly, there are now no veterans of that

war still alive in our parish, at least that I know of, and I would

imagine this will be the last such WWII anniversary that is

marked, along with a similar event for VJ day in August.

It is easy to romanticise memories of war, especially for those

of us who never lived through it.

Many films turned it into humour, which was devastating.

Dad’s Army makes everything look funny and almost something

that we would have wanted to be a part of. The nostalgia industry

produces cookery books based on the ration. The blitz can make

us think of camaraderie and singing songs deep in shelters on

tube station platforms. We can begin to think people might

have enjoyed it, but of course, it wasn’t like that. The horrors of

the Blitz led to the destruction of cathedrals, like Coventry and for that matter Dresden, and to the

destruction of countless ordinary people’s homes. For those of us who never lived through the Blitz,

it’s impossible to imagine what it was like to emerge from air raid shelters and find whole streets

destroyed.

WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO DIED IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM AND GOODNESS

Sadly, some people misunderstand what commemorating such anniversaries is about. We do not

glorify war or the supremacy of this or any other country. We do not defend the cruelty and the agony

of warfare and terrorism. We do not label deaths as a sacrifice, for sacrifice suggests a degree of choice

that was not present for many serving in the forces.

However, we remember all those people who have died in the pursuit of freedom and goodness.

We give thanks to God for their lives lost for the freedom of many countries around the world.

We acknowledge publicly and before God that countless people have lost their lives for us, for our

freedom. We pray for all who suffer and have suffered as a result of war.

Whenever there is a war or conflict, we are usually hopeful that it will be the last, that there will

be no more war. Tragically, we are not free from war and the pain of war and our purpose at such a

ceremony is to acknowledge this pain and to remember it, but also to thank God for the freedom that

so many now enjoy because of the laying down of life by so many for this and many other countries.

We thank God for those who laid down their lives for others, as John’s gospel talked about. We

acknowledge the perfect example of Jesus in laying down his life for others.

It would be a mistake for us to think that Remembrance is simply about the past, about what

has happened. Our Remembrance is not simply something in the past, but something that we make

present here and now as we realise the significance for each of us. Whoever, whatever, wherever

our thoughts turn to at these important anniversaries, we acknowledge love laying down its life for

others, and we recognise that there is no greater thing that one can do than lose one’s life for the

benefit of others, for freedom and liberty.

Warm wishes.

Jamie

6 The Parish Magazine — May 2025 Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements

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the parish noticeboard — 1


A May Day reminder why Easter is so special!

May is the month when the ancient pagans got up to

‘all sorts’! The Romans held their festival to honour the

mother-goddess Maia, goddess of nature and growth.

May is named after her. The early Celts celebrated the

feast of Beltane, in honour of the sun god, Beli.

For centuries in ‘Olde England’ people were said to go

'mad' in May. After the hardship of winter, and hunger of

early Spring, May was a time of indulgence and unbridled

merriment. Philip Stubbes, writing in 1583, was scandalised:

‘for what kissing and fussing, what smooching and slabbering one

of another, is not practised?’

Henry VIII went ‘maying’ on many occasions. Then folk

would stay out all night in the dark rain-warm thickets and

return in the morning for dancing on the green around a

maypole, archery, vaulting, wrestling, and bonfires.

NATURAL MEDLEY

Protestant reformers took a strong stand against May

Day and in 1644 abolished it. Many maypoles came down

until the Restoration, when the first May Day of King

Charles’s reign was ‘the happiest Mayday that hath been many

a year in England’, according to Pepys.

May Day to many people today brings vague folk

memories of a young Queen of the May decorated with

garlands and streamers and flowers, a maypole to weave,

Morris dancing, and the intricacies of well dressing at

Tissington in Derbyshire.

May Day is a medley of natural themes such as sunrise,

the advent of summer, growth in nature, and – since 1833

– Robert Owen’s vision of a millennium in the future,

beginning on May Day, when there would be no more

For your Prayers in May . . .

— The millions of children who have never been

given an Easter egg

— For the homeless and unemployed

— For the sick, disabled and housebound

— For those training to serve in the ministry of the Church

Johnhill118, Dreamstime.com

poverty, injustice or cruelty, but harmony and friendship.

This is why, in modern times, May Day has become Labour

Day, which honours the dignity of workers. And until

recently, in communist countries May Day processions were

in honour of the achievement of Marxism.

There has never been a Christian content to May Day, but

nevertheless there is the well-known 6am service on the top

of Magdalen Tower at Oxford where a choir sings in the dawn

of May Day.

An old May carol includes the lines: The life of man is but

a span, it flourishes like a flower. We are here today and gone

tomorrow – we are dead within an hour!

There is something of a sadness about it, both in words

and tune, unlike Easter with its everlasting, heavenly, joy.

A chorister's confession?

Almighty and most merciful Conductor

We have strayed from thy beat like lost sheep.

We have followed too much the intonations

and tempi of our hearts;

We have offended against thy dynamic markings;

We have left undone those notes we should have sung

and we sung those notes we should not have sung,

and there is no support in us.

But thou, O Conductor, have mercy us miserable singers

Succour the chorally challenged

Restore thou them that need extra note bashing,

Spare thou them that are without pencil,

Pardon our mistakes and have faith that hereafter

We will follow thy direction

and sing together in perfect harmony. Anon

Sergey Grishin, Dreamstime.com

8 The Parish Magazine — May 2025

the parish noticeboard — 2

Westy

Exploring

our purpose

in life

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk

0794 622 4106

Alpha Youth

We finished the fourth STAY Alpha Youth series in March

and what a great time we had. About 30 young people stayed

after youth club each week to explore what life is about. The

video series is great at opening conversations about how to

find our purpose, meaning, direction and faith. It introduces

Christianity in a gentle and positive way, helping young people

to speak freely while feeling comfortable to say what they think.

Thanks to the volunteer helpers — especially the kitchen crew!

STAY on Friday

Our weekly youth club continues to attract young people from

the local area in The Ark every Friday night during term time

from 6.45-8.15pm. Young people come along for games, baking,

sports, consoles, hanging out, playing pool, table tennis and

generally having fun together. With the warmer days and

lighter nights we are excited about the summer term ahead.

STAY on Monday

We meet fortnightly on a Monday night from 6-7.15pm in the

young people's homes for a great time of fun and laughter. It's a

time for hanging out, playing games, faith input and prayer.

STAY on Sunday

The weekly STAY on Sunday group meets in The Ark at 10.30am

for faith building activities, big games and snacks. We watch

videos, read scripture, have ice breaker games and try to help

deepen one another's faith. One March Sunday was about the

prodigal son. In a modern adaptation video we saw the son ask

the father to hang a white sheet on his porch if he wanted him

to come home. The father, however, hung 19 white sheets up the

drive and across the porch. One of the youth said, 'God must

love us 19 times more than we thought he did!'

STAY in Schools:

Our schools work led up until Easter in much the same vein.

Assemblies at the primary schools were based on the sermon on

the mount, a Blue Coat School assembly was on Jesus turning

over the tables, and a week of assemblies at Wargrave Piggott

focussed on the Golden Rule: 'treat others as you want to be

treated.'

Secondary school assemblies focussed 0n a fantastic book

called: The Gospel by Gen Z. It takes Bible stories and puts them

in Gen Z language, coupled with ancient pieces of art. The

laughter it creates is great, but I think they’re laughing more

at me trying to read their language than the language itself!

We were also able to provide mentoring sessions for over

30 students and take part in prayer meetings for staff and

governors at Charvil and Wargrave Piggott schools.

Growing

ourselves

faithfully



Corinne

corinne@sonningparish.org.uk

0118 969 3298

Sunday Club

On the first Sunday in Lent we talked about temptations, what

we may have given up or added, as individuals or families. Some

had given up sweets and chocolate and how we may be tempted

by sweet treats — especially at birthday parties or celebrations!

This led into a video and discussion about Jesus being

tempted by the devil while praying in the desert before his

ministry. Jesus was tempted three times, and each time, he was

able to say 'no' even when the devil offered some very promising

gifts. We talked about how we must learn to say no when we are

tempted to make bad choices, or to break our Lent promises.

On the fourth and fifth Sundays, we had a theme of fruit,

that we all enjoyed the sweetness of! We discussed the parable

of the barren fig tree, how this is a metaphor for forgiveness and

second chances; both how God forgives us, and how we should

forgive others. This led us into some crafts and activities

about the fruits of the spirit, how we are called to share

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, and self-control. When we follow these fruits of

the spirit, we are growing ourselves faithfully! We finished

by cutting and eating the fruit a beautiful, colourful salad.

On the fifth Sunday we discussed the well known John

15 reading, 'The vine and the branches' and talked about how as

Christians we are all connected as a part of God's family. As this

was also Mothering Sunday, we made some cards and gifts for

our mothers.

Messy Church

During Messy Church we celebrated 'God's family' and talked

about our own families, the community or family ties of

Christians around the world, and God's dream for family and

sense of community for us on earth.

Messy Church has a lovely group of volunteers and this

ministry is enjoyed by families from the parish and beyond! We

are very grateful for their help.

Pancakes

On Shrove Tuesday — pancake day — we hosted two pancake

parties for children, and teenagers. We had great fun searching

for the pancake toppings hidden in the garden, playing relay

races, pancake flipping competitions, and of course creating and

eating the most sugary and delicious pancakes you can imagine!

I think the children ate more pancakes than the teenagers!

Local schools

Mentoring sessions for young people who are struggling with

life's many challenges continues to go well, as do assemblies,

for example, one based on the parable of the wise and foolish

builders.


parish noticeboard — 3

As reported in a 'Spectator' article

in March by Father Benedict Kiely,

the latest violence in Syria has

involved the targeting of Druze

and Christians as well as the vast

number of innocent Alawites.

Paul Wood’s Spectator article

describes in horrific detail the fate

meted out to Alawites, hundreds of

whom have been killed by the armed

groups that put the new president in

power.

In January, Ahmed al-Sharaa

succeeded the dictatorship of

President Bashar al-Assad (an

Alawite). Al-Sharaa was the emir of

Hay’at Tahir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni

Islamist political organisation and

paramilitary group.

There are now discussions

happening about the constitution

including the subjects of sharia law

and the demand that the President

be a Muslim.

A Washington Institute article

describes the recent violence: ‘former

regime insurgents’ ambushed the

new (transitional) government’s

security forces and killed thirty -

Sunnis, Alawites and Christians.

SYRIAN ARAMAIC

In response, government forces

and affiliates have killed 396

individuals (figures from the Syrian

Network for Human Rights).

Most civilians killed by

government forces were Alawites

with a few Christians also confirmed

dead. US Secretary of State Marco

Rubio stated it is ‘radical Islamist

terrorists’ targeting these minorities.

There is an old Syrian phrase ‘first

the Alawites, then the Christians’.

Father Kiely points out that

Christianity was born in this region.

Syrian Aramaic – the language

closest to that used by Jesus - is still

spoken there.

Middle Eastern Christians have

felt ignored and forgotten by the

Church in the West.

In Episode 6 of his YouTube series

Direct Address, journalist Douglas

Murray asks why there is so little

news or reaction to the atrocities

such as those that have taken place

in the Middle East and Africa.


THE PERSECUTED CHURCH BY COLIN BAILEY

Pray for peace, wisdom, courage and protection

Map: Rokas Tenys, dreamstime.com

In an Instagram post, Open

Doors mentions how recent events

reminded many Syrians of when socalled

Islamic State (IS) invaded the

country more than 10 years ago.

One of their sources in western

Syria says ‘All Christians I know now want

to leave the country’.

The three patriarchs of the

biggest churches in Syria call for ‘an

immediate end to these horrific acts’.

Right: Fr-Benedict-Kieley

Open Doors asks us to pray for an

immediate and decisive end to the

violence, and that it will not be the

beginning of another civil war

For the comfort, strength and

healing of all those affected by the

violence

That Christians will be given

peace, wisdom, courage and

protection as they navigate this

uncertain and fearful time.

References and further reading

The Spectator article ‘Save Syria’s Christians’ by Benedict Kiely -

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/save-syrias-christians/

The Spectator article ‘Massacre of the innocents: the return of sectarian

persecution in Syria by Paul Wood

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/massacre-of-the-innocents-the-return-ofsectarian-persecution-in-syria/

Wikipedia article on Ahmed al-Sharaa -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_al-Sharaa

Wikipedia article on Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay%27at_Tahrir_al-Sham

The Washington Institute article by Aaron Y. Zelin ‘Syria’s Transitional Honeymoon Is

Over After Massacres and Disinformation’

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/syrias-transitional-honeymoonover-after-massacres-and-disinformation

+963Media report on killings in Syria

https://963media.com/en/10/03/2025/syrian-network-for-human-rights-396-killed-inthe-syrian-coast-region-by-allied-forces-loyal-to-the-interim-government/

Douglas Murray on YouTube Direct Address Ep. 6 ‘Mass Murder of Christians in

Syria’ - https://youtu.be/eXWolfARUGc?si=RUcFxpi6XQzviNIY

Open Doors Instagram post ‘Christians in Syria are asking for prayer…’

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHEMPclCrNb/


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BIBLE PRAYERS PART FOUR

Praying persistently

By Rev Dr Herbert McGonigle


Thodonal, dreamstime.com

We continue our series on prayer by the Revd Dr Herbert McGonigle, a former Senior Lecturer in Historical Theology & Church History,

Nazarene Theological College, Manchester.

‘O Lord of hosts … if you will give me a son

Three ‘C’s — context, content and consequences, will help us to grasp this most personal and moving prayer in 1 Samuel 1:11

First, the prayer’s context. Hannah was the childless wife

of Elkanah, who had sons and daughters by his other wife,

Peninnah. As she longed for a child, she was taunted by ‘her

rival’ (v6) who reproached her for being barren.

It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how

miserable and lonely and useless Hannah felt. Although

Elkanah loved Hannah, his well-meant sympathy, 'Am I not

more to you than ten sons?' (v8) was hardly calculated to ease

her pain!

Making the annual pilgrimage to the Tabernacle at

Shiloh, Hannah was ‘deeply distressed, prayed to the Lord and

wept bitterly’ (v10).

This is the Bible’s first record of a woman praying. We

can be certain that godly women, long before Hannah’s

time, had prayed but this is the first mention in the Bible of

a woman praying.

Secondly, the prayer’s content. Above everything else,

Hannah longed to have a son. 'O Lord of hosts, if you will look

on my affliction and give me a son, I will give him back to You in

service all the days of his life' (v.11). It was a cry from the heart.

A lonely wife, longing for a child, taunted by her rival, and

not really understood by her husband, poured out her soul

in grief.

And it was all done without spoken words!

As her lips moved, Eli the priest, misreading the signs,

rebuked her for being drunk (v14). There are times when the

burden of our heart is so great that no words can express it,

but how comforting to know that God hears us!

Thirdly, the prayer’s consequences. The Lord graciously

answered Hannah’s distress and a year later she was nursing

her baby son! (vv. 21,22). Hannah’s dark night had been

eclipsed by a glorious morning. Grief and sorrow had given

way to joy and delight but as she cradled her infant son,

Hannah did not forget what she had promised the Lord.

In token of God's faithfulness, she named her son Samuel,

meaning, ‘asked of the Lord’ (v.20).

Some time later, Hannah took Samuel to Shiloh and

presented him to Eli, fulfilling the promise she had made to

the Lord. Her dedication of Samuel is a reminder to all of us

not only to give thanks to God for answered prayer but also to

carry out whatever vows or promises we’ve made to him.

Hannah’s words to Eli are so full of praise and gratitude to

God that they need no comment.

'For this child I prayed …therefore as long as he lives

he is lent to the Lord'(v28).

Let them inspire thanksgiving in our hearts.

Charlton Down House Private Garden Tour

Near Tetbury

Gloucestershire

Monday 23 June 2025

in aid of FoStAC fund raising for St Andrew’s Church vestry wall repairs

Tickets £20 including Afternoon Tea or Coffee with Homemade Cake

Please email Sally Wilson on mustangsallywilson@gmail.com to confirm your place

Transport to the gardens may be possible

More photographs are available at: https://charltondownhouse.com/

Friends of St Andrew’s Church Sonning – FoStAC – Registered Charity No: 1101944


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Claude

on his

bikes

As you may have read before in my

previous articles, I had a bicycle

when I was a lad, writes Claude

Masters, and I cycled everywhere.

In those days, when you were old

enough, you could motorise it.

One way was to add a motor

to the saddlebag which

literally pushed the back wheel round.

Another way was to fit a motor to the back wheel. This was

more sophisticated, although I had to change the back wheel

because the adapted one came with the motor attached.

Fortunately, my father’s company made the motors so I got it

cheap!

It wasn’t very powerful but it could propel me along the

flat pretty well —I still had to pedal up a steep hill!

I passed my test on that motorised bike. This covered me

to drive any powerful motorbike without taking another test.

They changed the rules just after that, but, technically, I can

still ride one today!

That bike worked well but when it was raining it didn’t

always start. On those occasions, I had to push it around and

it was very heavy!

In the end, I was so fed up with it, I sold it to one of the

scout leaders and bought a racing bike with drop handles,

which got me going much faster. I used it for a long time.

CORRECT PADDING

When I got my motorbike I had no idea how it worked,

so I went to Sulham Hill in Tilehurst to get familiar with

changing gears!

I enjoyed riding the motorbike even though I came off it

several times. My view was, if you were wearing the correct

padding when you came off, and if you didn’t hit anything,

you’d be alright!

When I met my wife, Barbara, she rode on the back a lot

and on one occasion, we both came off. I don’t think she was

very happy about that, but she still came on the bike for our

touring holidays.

Not long after we married, we were halfway to the coast

when I thought there was something wrong with the bike —

I had left the handbrake on!

We would stop for a meal or to stay in a B & B. We didn’t

book or plan where we were going! One day we stopped for a

meal but hadn’t realised that it was quite a posh restaurant.

We sat there for ages being ignored, and then they refused to

serve us. We walked out in the end. I expect it was because

we were wearing our bike gear.

When Barbara was pregnant, I took her to the hospital

for tests on the back of the bike but, fortunately, by the time

Paul was born, we had a car. More about that, another time!


From

the

editor's

desk . . .

Is AI trustworthy?

It does not seem that long ago that we were told that

Artificial Intelligence, or AI as it is now called, would

change our lives, but already, without deliberately

trying to use it, I find that hardly a day goes by when I

have not been told 'AI suggests this ...'

MutareHawk, Dreamstime.com

There are even AI products available that will create

complete magazines such as this one, although I am not

convinced it will ever be able to fully replace human input.

Every editor I have ever met or worked with is unique in

their approach to the job. This can be seen daily with the

national newspapers and magazines, and especially when

a new editor is appointed.

The reporters would all have attended the same press

conference, or been given the same story, but each of the

stories they write will be presented differently.

This is a basic fact of journalism, because we not only

write for different audiences, but we all have our own

writing style. By handing the job over to a computer that

uniqueness disappears with the result that our freedom to

choose which magazine or newspaper we buy will become

a thing of the past. It is why many lives were lost while

fighting for 'freedom of speech' in two world wars.

The reason that I chose to write about this came about

by a small event that happened on the day before the

editorial deadline for this issue of The Parish Magazine.

When I woke in the morning, I decided to spend some

time in the garden instead of sitting at my computer

waiting to deal with the last minute contributions as they

arrived. I can't remember ever doing this before.

I set about tidying up a flower bed at the front of our

house, and, as usual when doing this, a few passersby

wished me 'good morning' and occasionally one of the

drivers of the passing cars would give me a friendly toot

as they hurried by. Then something unusual happened.

As I struggled to dig out some bindweed from the very

dry, rock-hard soil, I had a strange feeling that I was being

watched by someone. I looked around, and there was a

robin on the drive looking at me. When our eyes met, he

hopped towards me, did a couple of classic robin bows, and

hopped off.

In previous years, I have often met a lone, hungry,

robin like this before, but it had always been while digging

the vegetable garden at the back of the house, never close

to the busy road. I wondered if it was the same bird.

Back indoors, I asked a simple question on my laptop,

how long does a robin live? AI came back quickly with a

variety of 'definitive' answers ranging from less than one

year to over 17 years, so I am no wiser, and still just as

wary about the benefits of AI!


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Why am I a Christian?

The 'electric tingle' that changed my life

The problem with answering the

question of why I am a Christian is

that it really necessitates the telling

of how I became a Christian, writes

Richard Hogg. This is a much longer

story, so if you want the short

answer, please jump to the last

paragraph — I will not be offended,

or even know unless you tell me!

I will never forget the tingle I felt

as a small child when at church, in

Cardiff, I went up to the altar rail

with my grandmother.

The priest laid his hand on my

head and blessed me. It was like

electricity, and the memory of it has

stayed with me all my life.

GROUNDING

I have much to thank my

parents and grandparents for in

the grounding of my Christian

faith. They took me to church and

entrusted me to the care of those

who had a mature faith and sound

knowledge of scripture — as well as

encouraging my love of singing.

My parents also introduced me

to seven wonderful audio books:

The Chronicles of Narnia — a great

Christian allegory I still find myself

quoting freely today.

LOST

However, despite all these efforts in my

younger days, at some point I got lost.

While I had a very clear sense

of right and wrong, I did not have a

living faith and as such was easily

distracted during my late teens and

university years.

I drifted away and stopped going

to church. I did not have time for

God — I was just too busy 'living'.

Not being a Christian was so easy.

Doing whatever made you feel good,

and not worrying about anything at

all. It felt incredibly liberating . . . for

a few years at least.

I became more and more aware

of an emptiness in my life; an

emptiness that I could not fill with

any of those things that we are told

by the world will satisfy us.

I discovered, although I did not

know it at the time, that if we do

not worship God we will ultimately

Richard Hogg

worship something else. When the

emptiness, or perhaps yearning

for something greater, had all but

consumed me, I began searching for

God.

I knew — or thought I knew —

about Christianity from childhood

stories and experiences, but this was

not what I was looking for at first.

I read various books from a

myriad of religions, but I was never

satisfied with what I found. While

each religion contained something

positive, such as rules to live by or

ideals to aspire to, they were all

fundamentally flawed.

LACKING LOVE

Some would have me believe in

a limited or distant god, one not

omniscient or omnipotent.

Some told stories so fanciful they

were as if Aesop's Fables had stepped

out of fiction into non-fiction.

Some horrified me with a god

so lacking in love for wayward

humans it could only be a monster

if it was real, trapping its adherents

in a terrifying case of 'Stockholm

Syndrome' — a feeling of trust in the

abuser.

Some focused entirely on the self

to the utter detriment of anyone else.

Some would have me worship a lump

of wood.

None of these were right. They

just couldn't be. Wasn't God meant to

be Omnibenevolent? Hadn't I heard

that before?

BORN AGAIN

I picked up the Bible I had

received for my Confirmation and

began to read it. I started with the

Gospel accounts and went right

through the New Testament.

And then one night, while staying

with some friends in Turkey, I had a

Damascus experience. The electricity

that little child had experienced

kneeling at the altar rail all those

years before came upon me.

I returned home as a different

person: I was born again.

I prayed for Wisdom and for the

guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I

stepped out in faith. And what a

journey it has been, and still is being!

I went on an Alpha Course and

then a Discipleship Course.

I had come to know Jesus through

the Holy Spirit and was also satisfied

intellectually. Christ made sense of

Christianity.

GOD IS LOVE

So, why am I a Christian? Because

God is love. He loves me, and he loves

you; and that love is within all those

who seek to show that love to others.

As 1 John 4:7-11 says:

Beloved, let us love one another, for

love is from God, and whoever loves

has been born of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know

God, because God is love. In this the

love of God was made manifest among

us, that God sent his only Son into the

world, so that we might live through

him. In this is love, not that we have

loved God but that he loved us and sent

his Son to be the propitiation for our

sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also

ought to love one another.

Who needs the preamble when

one paragraph says it all?


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feature — 1


By Michael Penny, Chair, Reading Churches Together

Most people, when they see 'WWW' immediately think of their computers,

the internet and the World Wide Web. That being the case, what on-earth

does 'WWW' have to do with Christian Unity?

I have been chair of Churches

Together in Reading (CTiR) for 15

years. Once, when being interviewed

on the Sunday Morning Faith

programme on BBC Radio Berkshire,

the interviewer said something to the

effect, 'All this Churches Together stuff is

a bit of a front, isn't it? After all, you all

disagree and fall out with each other!'

My reply was that if he had said

that 70 or so years ago, he may have

been correct.

Then, we concentrated on our

differences; now we concentrate on

what we have in common in Christ.

Over the last 15 years, although

being a member of The Salvation

Army, I've had the pleasure of taking

services or preaching at a wide variety

of churches, and three Anglican

Bishops have authorised me to take

Services of the Word in the three

churches in the rural benefice where

I live. That is a great sign of Christian

Unity.

WWW V UNITY

So what has WWW got to do with

Christian Unity? For me it means:

— Working together

— Worshipping together

— Witnessing together.

When I became Chair of CTiR,

I was surprised by how many local

Christian charities were helping

disadvantaged people in Reading,

From Christian Community Action,

with its second-hand clothes

and renovated furniture to Faith

ReadiFood, with its food banks and

feeding the street sleepers at night

with soup.

BENEFIT

None of these could function

without volunteers, and these came

from all types of different churches

and denominations.

It is certainly true that Christians

are very good at working together for

the benefit of others — but there is

also a benefit for us.

It does not take long to see that

these 'other' Christians are not so

different from ourselves.

WORSHIPPING?

Without doubt, Christians, of all

sorts, are great at working together,

but are we good at worshipping

together? We may do so when we go

to such events as Spring Harvest, but

what about when we are in our local

communities?

There are certain events which

encourage this, for example, an

ecumenical service on the World Day

of Prayer, or the Week of Prayer for

Christian Unity.

Each year the organisers produce

excellent service material, however,

at times we have strayed from their

formal service.

MORE JOINT ACTIVITIES

Reading Churches Together

publishes 'The Plain Truth' magazine

that can found online at:

https://www.plain-truth.org.uk

Then there are special events such

as 'Songs of Praise'. As many Christians

really enjoy singing together we

have organised a number of 'Songs of

Praise'.

These involved eight or more local

churches with each one selecting a

hymn or song, then explaining why

they chose it.

This was even more successful

when we had differing styles of

music; for example, some were

accompanied by an organ, others by a

worship group or a band.

One of our most successful such

events was a 'Pentecost Praise' in a

local park, with the music played by a

Salvation Army Band. It would have

raised the roof . . . if there had been

one!


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feature — 2

Rendezvous in

The Ark

TRADITION


Saint Matthias the unknown Apostle

If you’re saying to yourself, ‘Who?’

you’ll be in good company. May 15

is the feast day of St Matthias the

Apostle, and in describing him thus

we have said just about all there is

to know about him.

He gets just one mention in the

Bible, in the first chapter of Acts,

immediately prior to the day of

Pentecost, where it tells us that he

was elected to take the place in the

ranks of the 12 apostles recently

vacated by the betrayer Judas

Iscariot.

Eusebius, in the fourth century,

says in his history of the apostolic

era that Matthias was one of the

70 disciples sent out by Jesus (Luke

10:1), and that seems reasonable.

When it was necessary to fill the

vacancy among the apostles it would

be natural to turn to someone who

had followed Jesus from earlier

years, as well as being a witness of

the resurrection.

Two names were suggested and

prayed over. Then the apostles cast

TUESDAY 13 & 27 MAY

Now in our 7th successful year, Rendezvous in

the Ark continues to welcome everyone from

12 noon to meet for lunch followed by tea and

coffee on the second and fourth Tuesday of

every month.

For more details or to reserve your seat call:

0118 969 3298

office@sonningparish.org

lots, following the Old Testament

practice of the high priest’s Urim and

Thummim, one assumes. When they

did, ‘the lot fell on Matthias’.

Casting lots to fill vacancies on

committees or councils, or even to

appoint bishops, might seem to us to

be rather risky.

The Victorian preacher Campbell

Morgan even suggested, that the

11 acted in haste and pre-empted

God’s choice of Saul (later known

as Paul), who at that time was busy

persecuting the Church, arresting

Christians and having them thrown

into prison. He hadn’t yet travelled

the Damascus Road.

Be that as it may, Matthias was

elected, and for us he can stand for all

those excellent, consistent, reliable

and faithful servants of Christ who

never make a headline, not even in a

parish magazine until now!

Yet still he was chosen because he

could be a ‘witness’, and so are we.

St Matthias

P eter Paul Rubens, Public Domain

Doubtless he fulfilled that

responsibility admirably, without,

as we say, ‘setting the Thames on

fire’. Let’s salute him on his day – the

‘Unknown Apostle’.

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.

Church of St Andrew


the church of st andrew SERVING

CHARVIL, SONNING and sonning eye

Reading’s local charity caring for o

22

22

The

The

Parish

Parish Magazine

Magazine —

May

May

2025

2025

feature — 3

LIFE-SAVING DEFIBR

AVAILABLE NOW

24/7 HOURS A DAY

The Ark at St Andrew's Church Sonning

Outside Pearson Hall

French Horn Hotel

Lock House Sonning Lock

Scout And Guide Hut

Sonning Lawn Tennis Club

Reading Cricket And Hockey Club

Dairy Cottage, Holme Park Farm

Lane, Woodley, RG4 6SX

Outside 'The One Stop Store' by

the post box, Park View Drive South

Charvil Village Hall

The Pavilion, East Park Farm Playing

Fields, Charvil

Bell Corner, Twyford

RESTRICTED ACCESS

Sonning CoE Primary School

Newstead House, Park Lane, Charvil

TO FIND A

DEFIBRILLATOR

IN THE UK

https://www.defibfinder.uk/

A VICTORIAN IDEA THAT

Defibrillators were first demonstrated in 1899 by Jean-Louis

Prévost and Frédéric Batelli, two physiologists from the University

of Geneva, Switzerland. They discovered that small electrical

shocks could induce ventricular fibrillation in dogs, and that larger

charges would reverse the condition.

A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current — often called

a counter-shock — to the heart. Although not fully understood,

The

The

Parish

Parish Magazine

Magazine —

May

May

2025

2025 23

23

ILLATOR NEAR YOU!

IS SAVING LIVES TODAY

this process depolarizes a large amount of the heart muscle, ending

the arrhythmia. Subsequently, the body's natural pacemaker in

the sinoatrial node of the heart is able to re-establish normal sinus

rhythm. A heart which is in asystole (flat line) cannot be restarted

by a defibrillator; it would be treated only by cardiopulmonary

resuscitation (CPR) and medication, and then by cardioversion or

defibrillation if it converts into a shockable rhythm.

7.6 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING WITH

HEART DISEASE IN UK

'Heart and circulatory diseases cause a

quarter of all deaths in the UK, that’s

more than 170,000 deaths each year

– an average of 480 deaths each day

or one every three minutes in the UK.'

said the British Heart Foundation in

January this year, when it reported

that there are more than 7.6 million

people living with a heart or circulatory

disease in the UK: over 4 million men

and over 3.6 million women.

They also said that CHD (Coronary

Heart Disease) is the most common

cause of heart attack and is the single

biggest killer of both men and women

worldwide.

There are more than 30,000 'out-ofhospital'

cardiac arrests in the UK each

year, with a survival rate of less than 1

in 10.

KEEP CALM

If someone suffers a cardiac arrest, they

lose consciousness and their heart will

stop beating.

To help them, try to keep calm and

first dial 999 and then begin CPR using a

defibrillator as quickly as possible.

All defibrillators are easy to use and

have simple guides that show what steps

should be taken to use it correctly.

This two-page guide gives the location

of most of the defibrillators in, or close to,

the parish of St Andrew's Church Sonning.

Please note that some Defibrillators

have restricted access while others are

available 24 hours a day, seven days a

week.

CREDITS

All the information on these pages

has been taken from online sources

including those of the British Heart

Foundation and Wikipedia

Background image: The Ark at St Andrew's

Church Sonning where a defibrillator is

available 24/7 by Peter Rennie

The Defibrillator images: Keith Nichols, who

also donated the Defibrillator in memory of

his late wife, Daphne.


arounD the villages — 1

Gardener's Question Time gets TRHA's

platinum celebrations underway

Twyford and Ruscombe Horticultural Association (TRHA) boosted their 70

year anniversary celebrations in grand style by hosting BBC Radio 4 Gardener’s

Question Time — and if you missed the first programme that was aired on

Friday 4 April, there is still an opportunity to hear a second broadcast in May.

Over 200 local gardeners were in

Loddon Hall, Twyford to enjoy

the April show which included a

knowledgeable and amusing panel of

Matthew Biggs, Anne Swithinbank

and Bunny Guinness. It was chaired by

Peter Gibbs.

The panel met for a formal cutting

of a celebration cake before taking to

the stage which was decorated with

towers of daffodils made by the ladies

of the Twyford & Ruscombe Floral Art

Club.

Jenny Knight, from the Museum

of English Rural Life at Reading

University, will be the guest speaker

at the Sonning and Sonning Eye

Society's evening in Pearson Hall on

Friday 30 May, starting at 7.30pm.

Jenny was one of the founders of

Reading University's ‘Extraordinary

Women’ tours that feature the

exceptional achievements of a wide

range of women, from artists to land

army girls dating from Victorian

times to the present day.

Book online through the society's

website:

https://www.sonning.org.uk/

or contact Penny Feathers on:

penny.feathers@btinternet.com

The entry fee, which includes a glass

of wine is: members £5, guests £6.

Another part of the celebrations

was TRHA's Spring Show that was held

on 22 March.

This year's weather meant that

some spring flowers were late but, even

so, many varieties of daffodils were in

full bloom and the number of vases of

flowering shrubs made a good display.

An encouraging aspect of the show

was the number of pots of daffodils

grown by school children from

bulbs donated by TRHA and some

members even managed to find a

good selection of vegetables. Anything

lacking with the plants was made up

for by the floral art entries, cakes,

pastries, homemade pickles and the

handicrafts, art and photography.

TRHA membership is £8 per

household, per annum, or £7 for

seniors.

More from: Jenny Wager at

trhamembership@gmail.com. or The

Trading Store, Loddon Hall Road,

Twyford on Sundays from 9.30-

11.00am.

Extraordinary achievements by women of the past

The Nostalgia Postcard Series: Land army girls working on a farm hoeing for the war effort which

was back breaking work but needed to be done to feed the nation during the war.

Michelle Bridges, dreamstime.com

around the villages — 1

around the villages — 2

Gary Perkin, dreamstime.com

Mini project for Charvil singers . . .

The Project Singers are recruiting for their summer 'mini' project.

The ladies section, who rehearse at Charvil Village Hall on Mondays between 8.00-

9.30pm, will be working on a medley of songs from Godspell, Wicked and The Prince

of Egypt by music theatre composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Rehearsals will

be on every Monday in June.

The 8-19 year old girls section who meet on Sundays from 6.15- 7.45pm, will be

working on a medley from the musical Hairspray on each Sunday in June and on 6

July, and Grease on Saturday 7 June from 2-4pm in Charvil Village Hall.

More from: Suzanne Newman on: suzanneynewman@btinternet.com

Clothes for all

Sonning Glebe WI and Cowshed, the

Reading based charity that helps

local people in need, are holding a

fund-raising fashion show in Pearson

Hall on 11 July at 7.45pm.

Cowshed offers good quality,

cleaned, and ironed clothes and

other essentials free of charge to

those in need, regardless of their

circumstances. Tickets will be £10.

More details:

sonningglebewi@berkshirewi.co.uk


RNLI summer garden party

A successful music night featuring local talented performers enabled

the Sonning branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to pass

£1,865.80 to RNLI Headquarters.

The next event will be the annual garden party at Saxon House, Pearson

Road, Sonning by kind invitation of Mr & Mrs J Fisher on Saturday 7 June

from 6.30 – 8.30 pm. Tickets are £20 per person and can be obtained from

David Bates 0118 969 7753 or Naomi Dwight 0777 568 4357.

Aid for WaterAid

Reading Inner Wheel ladies shared

a soup lunch to raise money for

WaterAid, its international charity for

the year. WaterAid helps to give clean

water, and decent toilets to everyone.

VE and VJ Day

celebrations

The Sonning Branch of the Royal

British Legion and Sonning Parish

Council will be holding a joint

celebration for the 80th anniversary

of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and

Victory in Japan (VJ) Day.

A service at St Andrew's Church is

planned for Thursday 8 May to mark

the official VE Day.

As VE Day coincides with school

exams and VJ Day falls during the

summer holidays, it is hoped to have

a combined celebration on Friday 18

July at the King George V Field.

The event will be in a similar spirit

to last year’s D-Day 80th anniversary

celebration, with a fish and chip

supper, live 40's style music, and

hopefully a Hurricane flypast.

A charity raffle with proceeds going

to the Royal British Legion is also

being planned.

Sonning artists leave their brushes at home

Members of Sonning Art Club enjoyed a workshop run by talented local artist and print maker, Clare Buchta. And,

unusually, there wasn’t a paintbrush in sight!

Instead members used sharp etching needles to scratch their illustrations on to acrylic plates, before working ink into the

etched grooves and passing them through a craft press. The result? A beautiful printed picture!

The tutorial was a huge success and it gave a whole new meaning to ‘Would you like to see my etchings?!’

The group meets in Pearson Hall every Friday 12.30 — 4.00pm. Everyone works on their own art but share experiences

and help each other. Every two months or so, they have a workshop with a guest artist. There are regular competitions

and at least two public exhibitions each year.


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arounD the villages — 3

Easter bonnets, World Book

Day and Cookery in School

As a Church of England

school, Easter is an

important time of year,

writes Phil Sherman,

head teacher.

As well as the fun and

more child-focused

aspects of Easter — such

as egg hunts — we also focused on the

events leading up to Holy Week.

In our collective worship each

week since January, we learned about

and discussed different parts of the

Easter story, culminating in our Easter

service when the whole school visited

St Andrew's Church for a special

Easter service, led by our pupils and

Miss Reid.

As well as Lent and Easter, the

school term also featured Ramadan,

and we enjoyed understanding more

about Islam. With many Muslim pupils

in the school, it has been a wonderful

way to show our respect and curiosity

— two of our school values — for

other religions and faiths, as well as

our British values.

As part of Easter and spring term,

we also had a farm visit us, and the

pupils loved seeing the animals and

learning more about them.

We finished the term with our

annual Easter hat parade, which

featured a range of very creative hats!

The children and staff! All walked our

‘cat walk’ and showed off their hats

to the rest of the school by dancing,

strutting, bouncing and sliding down

the cat walk to music! It certainly was a

feel-good end to the term.

For World Book Day on 6 March

our staff dressed as 'Aliens Love

Underpants' and performed the story

to the school in a special collective

worship.

AI EDUCATION

This year, each class also used

AI-education to help write their

own story, which the pupils then

edited and created a front cover for.

This inspirational activity helped

inspire more writers and readers, as

did our annual EYFS and KS1 ‘Book

at Bedtime’ event when adults and

pupils came back to school in their

pyjamas to enjoy biscuits and hot

chocolate with marshmallows.

Part of our personal development

curriculum are foundational skills,

one of which is cookery, so we teach it

for each year group from YR to Y6.

This term, Oak Class studied

different recipes to create a healthy

but tasty soup. The pupils designed,

costed, tested and made soups in

groups, which were then judged by an

independent staff panel!

Bringing learning to life in a

meaningful and purposeful way has

allowed our pupils to continue to

develop their love of learning through

practical application of skills.


Quizzing

Friends ...

Over 40 Friends of St Andrew's

Church (FoSTAC) enjoyed another

great quiz prepared by trustee

Sally Wilson, with a lot of healthy

competition for the top spots. The

evening raised nearly £500 towards

FoSTAC's continuing support of

repairs to the 'Vicar’s Vestry' wall.

Since being founded, FoStAC

has raised over £538,000 to help

maintain St Andrew's Grade II listed

church building.

... and garden

explorers ...

FoSTAC are also looking forward

to the next event in June when

they have arranged a special visit

to the Charlton Down House

Private Garden, near Tetbury in

Gloucestershire.

It will be on Monday 23 June in

aid of the St Andrew's Church vestry

wall repairs.

Tickets are £20 and include

afternoon tea or coffee with

homemade cake.

For more details see page 11 of the

April issue of The Parish Magazine or

to book a place contact:

mustangsallywilsonatgmail.com


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THE ARTS

Artists in Charvil

AFOOT IN THE GARDEN


Spring to remember

In the Charvil Village Hall, 18 artists will be exhibiting

a wide variety of beautiful work including paintings

in various mediums, ceramics, jewellery and glass.

You can find maps and walking routes online between

clustered venues in Henley, Shiplake, and Twyford on:

henleyartstrail.com

The Henley Arts Trail venues, including Charvil Village

Hall, will be open from 10am to 5pm each day during the

Bank Holiday weekend. The work of over 200 creatives

will be exhibited in 34 venues will be free to enter, with

the exception of Greys Court for non-members.

Founded in 2006, The Henley Arts Trail was set up to

showcase the amazing talent in the area. It has gone from

strength to strength. The Charvil artists include:

Heather McAteer

Working predominately in graphite, Heather creates

delicate, evocative drawings and paintings inspired by the

landscapes of her youth in Northern Ireland. Images of

trees, open vistas and fields are features of her intimate

works which are infused with touches of both beauty and

melancholy

www.heathermcateer.co.uk

Fong Scott

Clay, paper and paint, Fong Scott uses a variety of

mediums to create her nature inspired artworks. Her

theme is Rewild, drawing on the plants and creatures that

visit and inhabit her wildlife friendly garden.

fongscottcrafts.wordpress.com

Esté MacLeod Studio

Indulgent colour harmonies and joyful art covering still

life, landscape and stylised florals. Esté MacLeod offers

original paintings, limited edition prints, luxurious

scarves and textiles tat are available from her studio.

From the A4, turn left at the Texaco roundabout then

right at mini-roundabout onto Park Lane. Continue under

the railway then immediately right into Waingels Road.

The first left is Beggars Hill Road and her studio is at the

back of her house which is the third on the right.

www.estemacleod.com

Ray Puddefoot writes ... we are in the middle of one of

the most spectacular displays of spring colour. It was a

long winter which held back spring flowering.

When the sun came out in mid-March, spring flowering

went into hyperdrive. Tulips were in flower before the

narcissi and daffodil flowers were over, and all the early

flowers came out in quick succession.

While I cannot remember when the magnolias looked

so beautiful the plants that stick in my mind are the sloes

in our hedgerows. I expect a bumper crop of sloes in the

autumn so ‘get the gin in’!

I was given a tip recently for photographing flowers

with a mobile phone camara. While macro mode is an

obvious choice, portrait mode will apparently concentrate

the focus on the flower. I will test this tip when I edit my

spring photos.

Spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia, ribes,

pieris, spirea and amelanchier can be pruned in May. As

a general rule most shrubs are pruned after flowering

but wait before pruning Japanese quince (Chaenomeles)

and camellias. They will produce more flowers next year

if pruned in early June as bud set will benefit from the

receding daylength.

One of gardening’s best jobs at this time is planting

summer bedding plants. There's the shopping trip to a

nursery or garden centre and the feel of friable compost

in your hands when you plant. Always water plants well in

advance of planting out and again once planted.

Other tasks for May include: weeding feeding and

mulching borders, deadheading daffodils and hellebores,

tying in climbing plants and setting supports for tall and

heavy headed perennials.

Flowers to look out for in May include: Lilacs,

Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Wisterias, Iris and early roses

such as Canary Bird and xcantabrigiense.

RAY'S TOP TIPS FOR MAY

Prune spring flowering shrubs

Tie in climbers

Weed feed and mulch

Plant summer pots

Replace hose washers

Jamie Wilson, dreamstime.com


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HISTORY

The 'first' historian


Was it really? . . .

. . . 1,700 years ago on 20 May to August 325 that the First

Council of Nicaea was held in what is now Iznik, Turkey. It

was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.

. . . 1,300 years ago on 26 May 725 that the Venerable Bede

died. This English Benedictine monk, historian, linguist,

translator and teacher is known as ‘the father of English

history’.

. . . 200 years ago on 7 May 1825 that the Italian composer

Antonio Salieri died. He helped to develop operas and

taught composers including Liszt, Schubert, Beethoven

and Mozart. He was said to have poisoned Mozart, but

this was later proven to be false.

. . . 150 years ago on 1 May 1875 that Alexandra Palace in

London was officially opened. It became the home of BBC

Television in 1935.

St Bede

Wikipedia commons public domain

The Venerable Bede was an outstanding scholar who

accomplished several ‘firsts’. He was the first historian

to date events from the birth of Christ; the first to write

scholarly works in the English language; And, his worldfamous,

magisterial 'Ecclesiastical History of the English

People', completed in 731, is still in print today.

Born about 673, as a child, he was sent to Wearmouth

monastery before transferring to the monastery at Jarrow.

His was a quiet life: he probably never travelled further than

Lindisfarne to the north, and York to the south. In about 692

he was ordained deacon, and then, about 703, he was priested.

Bede described his own life: 'I have devoted my energies to a

study of the Scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing

the daily services in church: study, teaching and writing have always

been my delight.' It sounds unremarkable, but his fruitfulness

has been extravagant and his writings have informed and

influenced millions of people over 14 centuries.

He wrote commentaries on various books of the Bible, and

translated the Gospel of John into Old English, completing

it on the day he died. But his outstanding gift was as an

historian. His 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' is one

of the most important sources we have for understanding

early English history.

Bede was scrupulous in his use of sources, clearly

identifying them and was careful to distinguish between

fact, hearsay and legend, and certainly did not believe that

everything he was told was necessarily true.

His Ecclesiastical History covers Britain up to the year 729.

It starts with the story of the Celtic peoples, who converted

to Christianity in the first three centuries after the death of

Christ. Bede then moves on to the invasion of Britain by the

pagan Anglo-Saxons, in the 5th and 6th centuries. They were

converted by Celtic missionaries from the north and the west,

and by Roman missionaries coming from the south and the

east.

Bede lived during the time of the Anglo-Saxon church,

of which he was a wise observer. He urged that episcopal

visitations, confirmations, and Holy Communions should be

held more frequently — for the good of the Church.

. . . 125 years ago on 17 May 1900 that, during the Second

Boer War, the 217-day Siege of Mafeking was relieved by

2,000 British forces and South African volunteers. Colonel

Robert Baden-Powell, who led the forces defending

Mafeking during the siege, became a national hero, and

later founded the Scouting movement.

. . . 90 years ago on 19 May 1935 that TE Lawrence

(Lawrence of Arabia) died in a motorcycle accident,

aged 46. A British Army officer, military strategist,

archaeologist and writer, he is best known for his

activities in the Middle East during WW1.

. . . Also 90 years ago on 25 May 1935 that Sir Frank

Watson Dyson, British Astronomer Royal (1910-33) died.

He introduced the Greenwich time signal and also, helped

to prove Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

. . . 80 years ago on 1 May 1945 that German radio

announced the death of Adolf Hitler. It was reported he

died a hero’s death fighting, but he had committed suicide.

. . . Also 80 years ago on 8 May 1945 that VE Day took

place. It marked Victory in Europe at the end of WW2. It

was celebrated as a public holiday.

. . . 75 years ago on 13 May 1950 that the first Formula

One World Championship race was held, at Silverstone.

. . . Also 75 years ago on 23 May 1950 that Martin

McGuinness, an Irish republican politician, was born. A

prominent member of Sinn Fein and an IRA leader, he

became Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.

. . . 60 years ago on 21 May 1965 that Sir Geoffrey de

Havilland, British aircraft designer and engineer, died.

. . . 30 years ago on 1 May 1995 that the World Health

Organisation (WHO) published its first annual survey of

global health.


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christmas quiz

THE SCIENCES

This article is one of series on the positive

relationship between Science and Christian

faith is written by Dr Ruth M Bancewicz,

Church Engagement Director at The

Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

in Cambridge.

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? or creatures?

— were on other branches of the

evolutionary tree to us, but we share a

common ancestor much further back.

I felt as if I was meeting my forebears.

WHY US?

As I walked between the statues I

asked myself, 'Why us?'

There is 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.

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

human-like 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


The new heart promised to us in Ezekiel 11:19?

HUMBLED

An Australopithecus afarensis diorama at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History,

showcasing early human ancestors and evolutionary history John Twynam, dreamstime.com

ARE WE READY?

You must be

joking!

What does the picture on the right

of a rat and that at the top of

the page of an Australopithecus

afarensis dioram have in common?

Answer: They are both laughing!

Did you know that more than

60 different species of animals

have been heard laughing. They

include dogs, dolphins, elephants,

chimpanzees, horses, and magpies.

Strangely, cats don't, although they

seem to recognise human laughter.

For example some might almost look

embarrassed if you laugh at them.

have evolved further than our ice-age

ancestors, but because I have one of

the ‘new hearts’ promised in Ezekiel

11:19?

'I will give them an undivided heart

and put a new spirit in them;

I will remove from them their heart of

stone and give them

a heart of flesh"

We are promised a transformation

of heart and spirit. Can we work

together, in a true spirit of humility,

with people from all over the world

to ensure the full diversity of life can

flourish?

Laughing rat!

Stuardesa77, Dreamstime.com


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FASHION BY harriet nelson


Trending colours and unexpeted shades

Harriet in Lavender

As we enter May 2025, the fashion world is buzzing

with a vibrant palette of colours dominating runways,

street styles, and designer collections globally. This

year, fashion enthusiasts are embracing a refreshing

blend of classic tones and bold, unexpected shades,

each reflecting more than just aesthetics but also the

attitudes and emotions of the time. Let's dive into the

top trending colours of 2025.

A standout colour is Digital Lavender. This soft, ethereal

purple embodies a sense of serenity and peace amid a fastpaced

digital age. Its calming effect is perfect for achieving a

balance in an increasingly chaotic world. Designers showcase

this colour in flowing dresses, oversized sweaters, and

accessories.

CUTE AND COLOURFUL

Notably, brands such as Balenciaga and Loewe have

incorporated Digital Lavender into their spring collections,

blending with pastels and bold contrasting colours. This

stunning spring colour is perfect for spicing up your

wardrobe and is ready for the spring weather.

I recently purchased a beautiful lavender cotton vest from

Whistles. It's so comfy to wear with either a shirt underneath

or a T shirt, with some smart work trousers. It's one of my

favourite work outfits, making it super cute and colourful for

spring.

I recently paired it with a light striped blue shirt with

colourful bees all over it — I bought at a charity shop and it

was originally from Joules. The purple and blue go togther so

well; I pair them with my navy and white striped trousers.

Tapping into the theme of sustainability, Verdant Green

symbolises growth and a deep connection to nature. This

year, this rich, earthy shade makes waves in high fashion

and eco-conscious brands. From vibrant green trench coats

to soft cotton t-shirts, Verdant Green reflects consumers'

increasing desire for sustainable practices and the colour

of nature. Expect to see this calm colour dominating the

eco-fashion sector as designers prioritise both style and

environmental responsibility during this year.

The colour Cinnamon Spice has reached the forefront

this season as the world embraces warmer, cosy tones.

This almost Christmasy colour warms your style, draws

inspiration from earthy spices, and is associated with

comfort and homeyness.

Think rich rusts and deep oranges that can be effortlessly

styled using lightweight fabrics. Imagine pairing this warm,

spicy colour in a cotton breathable skirt with a pair of flowing

black trousers, perfect for days out or a relaxing dinner

outside. Or try key pieces in this colour, like tailored blazers

and full skirts — ideal for transitioning the seasons.

HOPE AND TRANQUILLITY

In contrast to Digital Lavender's and Cinnamon Spice's

intensity, Sky Blue is a refreshing and revitalising colour for

2025. This pastel shade symbolises hope and tranquillity and

is often used in everything from sports wear to swimwear

collections.

The sky blue trend embraces light, breathable materials

that reflect the ease of summer. Luxury brands such as

Chanel have incorporated it through flowing beachwear,

encouraging relaxation and enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Try pairing a cute sky-blue top with a white cotton skirt and

sandals ready for the beach weather, or perhaps pair a white

blazer and sky-blue trousers for a more sophisticated look.

A nostalgic nod to the past, Burnt Sienna, pays homage

to earthy terracotta shades while infusing them with an

artsy flair. This rich, grounded colour is perfect for social

occasions, offering a sense of sophistication and warmth.

Whether through statement jackets or structured trousers,

it seamlessly transitions day to night. Fashion houses such

as Stella McCartney and Etro are leading the way in using

this hue, proving that earthy tones can be incredibly chic and

timeless for any day of the year.

A MUST-HAVE

Finally, Electric Coral bursts onto the scene as an eyecatching,

energetic colour for those who dare to stand out.

This bold, lively hue captures the vibrancy of the tropics and

injects a sense of fun into everyday wear. This bright red

colour is perfect for a bold nail design, a bright swimming

costume, or a bikini to brighten your look.

Designers are using Electric Coral in bold prints, hats,

shoes, swimwear, and streetwear styles, making it a musthave

for anyone looking to make a statement this season. I

can see myself wearing this colour for my holiday in July —

either a red sandal to brighten up my style or a red sunhat.

As the fashion trends of 2025 unfold, embrace these

gorgeous colours. Whether you're responding to the calming

presence of Digital Lavender or the energetic vibes of Electric

Coral, there's a colour trend for everyone this year. Now

is the perfect time to refresh your wardrobe and consider

incorporating these trending colours into your style as the

warmer weather approaches. What new colour will you try

this season?


HEALTH BY ANNE ELGETI

Now is the perfect time to get to know your heart an

I doubt there are many of you

who have not heard Government

pronouncements that the NHS is

broken, the need for the NHS to

balance its books, or the decision for

NHS England to be amalgamated

with the Department of Health and

Social Care (DHSC).

If you are interested in learning

more about these changes, there are

several informative websites and

podcasts you can access including:

— Health Service Journal (Health check

podcast)

— NHS Confederation (Health on the

line podcast),

— The Kings Fund and Nuffield Trust

websites

— Longtermplan.nhs.uk.

PREHABILITATION

With all that is happening, you

may be wondering what changes you

are likely to see to your healthcare

this year, so here is what we know so

far:

2025/26 will be focussed on

improving access to services and

achieving this within allocated

budgets.

There will be a greater focus

on moving to deliver care in

communities, sometimes referred

to as 'the left shift' — please don’t

ask me why — and more formally

as Neighbourhood Health Service

models or Care Closer to Home.

Keeping people well will be

a major focus for GPs, Health

Prevention, and Health Screening

teams.

This includes early detection

and treatment of Cancer, Diabetes,

Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) and

Respiratory illness.

CVD

It feels timely to look explore

cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of

the priority areas for prevention.

CVD is a general term for

conditions affecting the heart of

blood vessels.

It includes conditions that narrow

or block blood vessels, which can lead

to heart attack, angina and some

strokes.

There are four types of CVD.

NHS PRIORITIES FOR 2025/26

— Reduce the time people wait for elective care

— Improve A&E waiting times and ambulance response times

— Improve patients’ access to general practice and urgent dental care

— Improve patient flow through mental health crisis and acute pathways

— Improve access to children and young people’s (CYP) mental health services

CHD

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

occurs when the flow of oxygen

rich blood to the heart muscle is

blocked or reduced putting increased

pressure on the heart resulting in

Angina, heart attacks and/or heart

failure.

ACT FAST FOR STROKES

Strokes occur when the blood

supply to part of the brain is cut off

causing brain damage and possibly

death.

A mini stroke, or a Transient

Ischaemic Attack, is similar but

the blood flow to the brain is only

temporarily disrupted.

Symptoms to look out for can

be remembered with the pneumonic

F-A-S-T which stands for Face, Arms,

Speech and Time/ Hence act FAST!

If you think that you, or someone

you are with, has suffered a stroke,

call 999 for immediate support.

PAD

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

occurs when there's a blockage in

the arteries to the limbs, usually the

legs, causing dull or cramping leg

pain which is worse when walking

and gets better with rest.

People can also suffer hair loss

on the legs, numbness or weakness

in the legs and persistent ulcers

on the feet and legs. It is usually

treated through lifestyle changes and

medication.

AAA

Aortic Diseases are a group of

conditions affecting the aorta, which

is the largest blood vessel in the

body. It carries blood from the heart

to the rest of the body.

One of the most common is

abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Men over 65 are at highest risk of

developing AAA and those living in

England are invited for AAA screening in the

year they turn 65.

If you are a male over 65 and haven’t been

invited and would like to be screened, contact

the NHS AAA Programme for Thames Valley at

the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford on 0186 557

2636.

MORE ON CVD AND CHD

The exact cause of CVD isn't clear, but there

are lots of risk factors that can increase your

risk of getting it. Many heart and circulatory

diseases are caused by risk factors that can be

controlled, treated or modified.

Even if you cannot change all your risk

factors, there are steps you can take to reduce

your risk.


d to begin a more healthy lifestyle

Anne Elget is the deputy director,

systems coordination (Frimley) NHS

England

The more risk factors you have, the

greater your chances of developing CVD.

If you are aged between 40 and 74 years

old you can have a free NHS health check to

assess your risk of CVD.

The health check usually takes place at

your GP surgery. It lasts about 20 minutes,

and the healthcare professional will check

your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Part of this check involves assessing your

individual CVD risk and advising you how to

reduce it if necessary.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

CVD is one of the main causes of death

and disability in the UK, but it can often

largely be prevented by leading a healthy

lifestyle that maintains a healthy weight.

You can calculate your BMI and

check whether you are a healthy

weight for your age and height at:

nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools

If you need to lose weight you can use

the free NHS Weight Loss Plan app.

— Eat a balanced diet: eat at at least

five portions of a variety of fruit and

vegetables every day.

— Base meals on higher fibre starchy

foods such as potatoes, bread, rice or

pasta.

—Have some dairy or dairy

alternatives , such as soya drinks

— Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs,

meat and other protein

— Choose unsaturated oils and

spreads, and eat them in small

amounts

— Drink plenty of fluids (at least 6 to 8

glasses a day)

— Cut down on alcohol. Men and

women are advised not to drink more

than 14 units a week on a regular basis

— Spread your drinking over three

or more days if you regularly drink as

much as 14 units a week

— If you want to cut down, try to have

several drink-free days each week

— 14 units is equivalent to 6 pints

of average-strength beer or 10 small

glasses of lower-strength wine.

— Stop smoking. If you currently

smoke but would like to give up, you

can download the free NHS Quick

Smoking App to get daily support or

find further information at:

https// www.nhs.uk/better-health

THE PERFECT TIME

Summer is the perfect time to

get active. There are some great

programmes available to help you, if

you don’t know where to start. Why

not try 'Couch to 5K'

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/getactive/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/

It's the perfect programme if

you’re new to running. This simple

and free plan is designed for

beginners and is ideal if you’re not

sure where to begin.

PE with Joe is a fantastic family

friendly option. You can join the

workouts every weekday at 9 am on The

Body Coach TV on YouTube.

NHS.UK/healthier-families-activities

has exciting Disney-inspired games

to keep your little ones active. These

s are designed to help them reach the

recommended 60 active minutes each

day while having fun with some of

their favourite Disney characters.

Formore information visit the NHS.

UK or The British Heart Foundation

websites.


PUZZLE PAGE — 1

RALPH'S TIES WORDSEARCH

BIBLE CROSSWORD

C

The grid above contains 32 'ties' beginning with 3B, 8C, 2F,

3G, 2H, 4L, 2R, 3S, 4T and W. When you have found all the

ties you will notice the remaining letters in the grid spell

out a Bible verse. You may even be able to remember which

book it comes from and the chapter and verse! Good luck

and God Bless!

ANSWERS TO RALPH'S APRIL 'CALL TO ARMS' SEARCH

BAZOOKA

BLUNDERBUS

BOOMERANG

CUDGEL

DEPTH CHARGE

EPEE

FLINTLOCK

HALBERD

CODEWORD

HOWITZER

JAVELIN

KNOBKERRY

LANCE

MACHETE

MORNING STAR

MORTAR

MUSKET

MOLOTOVE COCKTAIL

25 11 26 1 12 21 19 25 8 20 22 1

23 25 3 23 23 8 8

15 1 20 8 6 25 12 4 6 8 22 12

21 10 11 1 25 1 1

2 24 20 11 19 20 4 6 8 6 26 17

2 20 22 22 11 9

1 13 4 1 8 12 16 21 19 6 23 6

7 20 7 20 10 11

12 2 11 1 20 7 1 20 26 8 1 7

3 20 24 18 22 6 2

RIFLE

SABRE

SCIMITAR

SLING

SHILLELAGH

STILETTO

SWORD

TORPEDO

ACROSS

1 Infant (Luke 2:12) (4)

3 Luis must (anag) (8)

8 What Jesus called the devil (John 8:44) (4)

9 ‘My God, my God, why have you — me?’

(Matthew 27:46) (8)

11 Anglican form of church government (10)

14 ‘Those who hope in the Lord will renew their

strength. They will soar on wings like — ’

(Isaiah 40:31) (6)

15 Ministers of religion (6)

17 Make stronger (1 Thessalonians 3:13) (10)

20 Devoutness (1 Timothy 2:2) (8)

21 The father of Jesse (Ruth 4:22) (4)

22 Pool where Jesus healed a man who had been an

invalid for 38 years (John 5:2) (8)

23 [Jesus] said to them, ' — here and keep watch'

(Mark 14:34) (4)

DOWN

1 Follower of Christ (Acts 16:1) (8)

2 One of the punishments endured by Paul

(2 Corinthians 6:5) (8)

4 Soldiers (Exodus 14:9) (6)

5 Scholarly study of melody, harmony and rhythm (10)

6 ‘I am God, and there is none — me’ (Isaiah 46:9) (4)

7 ‘And how can they preach unless they are — ?’

(Romans 10:15) (4)

10 Favourable reception (1 Timothy 1:15) (10)

12 Hip orbit (anag.) (8)

13 End of life (Isaiah 22:14) (5,3)

16 ‘About midnight the sailors — they were approaching

land’ (Acts 27:27) (6)

18 He married Jezebel (1 Kings 16:30–31) (4)

19 ‘According to your great compassion — out my

transgressions’ (Psalm 51:1) (4)

Scribble Pad

8 6 14 14 17 25 23 1 5 25 20 8

1 8 7 11 7 12 20

9 24 1 11 1 10 1 11 11 1 8 17

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

P

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

I N

PUZZLE PAGE — 2

WORDSEARCH — THE NICENE CREED

The Nicene Creed is one of the most important documents in the world. It has shaped Christian belief for the past

1,700 years, affecting hundreds of millions of lives. So here is a bigger Wordsearch than normal, in honour of the

brave man who gave it to the Church!

This year is the 1700 anniversary of the Nicene Creed. Athanasius is the theologian behind

that creed, and his feast day falls on 2nd May.

Athanasius (296-373) was born into a prosperous family in Alexandria in Egypt, and entered

the ministry. He was 29 years old when he accompanied Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria,

to the Church’s first great ecumenical Council, at Nicaea in 325. There he saw the Council

debate the Person of Christ. How was He the Son of God and also Man? Did

He really exist before He was born? If we worship Him, does that mean that we are

worshipping two Gods?

When the heresy of Arius, which taught that Christ was not divine, and not eternal, later

threatened the church, Athanasius worked with his bishop, Alexander, in framing what

became known as the Nicene Creed. Our Lord’s full divinity was safeguarded in the words,

‘eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God,

begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father.’

For the next 45 years Athanasius’ devotion, scholarship, and forceful leadership

established the Nicene Creed in the Christian Church. His enemies, both in Church and state,

conspired against him, and he was exiled five times from the See of Alexandria and spent a

total of 17 years in flight and hiding.

Athanasius’ name will always be linked with the triumph of New Testament Christology

over every form of reductionism (lessening) of the Person of Christ

PHIL'S TAKE ON LIFE

SUDOKU

ATHANASIUS

NICENE

CREED

THEOLOGIAN

EGYPT

COUNCIL

BISHOP

DEBATE

CHRIST

PERSON

WORSHIP

DIVINE

ETERNAL

BEGOTTEN

GOD

FROM


LIGHT

TRUE

ONE

SUBSTANCE

DEVOTION

SCHOLARSHIP

CHURCH

STATE

EXILED

FLIGHT

HIDING

TRIUMPH

CHRISTOLOGY

ALEXANDRIA

CHRISTOLOGY

CROSSWORD

CODEWORD

E B B S F O X G L O V E

M A A P R B N

B O N A N Z A A T T I C

A J T Q P A O

R H O I U H A I K U

R C R E D O N R

A S I L S A

S E P I A N O G

S A M B A V G D Y E

M I T O I R M

E N N U I W A S T A G E

N A O E T P N

T H R E N O D Y S E A T

SUDOKU

April

Solutions

O F F I C E R S F L A T

I O O E P I R

L I N E N M A R I M B A

Y D S E E B V

K A L E I D O S C O P E

C N R Y U S

A C T I V E U M L A U T

U A D P B Y

C O U R T M A R T I A L

U N O P U N G

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

E T Y L U O I

S E E R S E A S O N E D

WORDSEARCH

BIBLE CROSSWORD

He's got some neck!

Each of the nine

blocks has to contain

all the numbers 1-9.

Each number can

only appear once in a

row, column or box.


Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to advertisements

TPM Classified

If you are interested in advertising here?

Contact Ian at:

ianmacpne@outlook.com

ALL AERIALS

Local Handyman, TV problems, surveys on roofs,

gutters, chimneys with drone.

0797 950 3908 0118 944 0000

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

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

Gardiner’s Homecare is an established family

business that has been serving the local community

since 1968. Proudly supporting people to continue

to enjoy living independent lives in their own homes

for as long as possible.

Our team of experienced care workers can provide

help with personal care, medication, overnight stays,

housework, companionship and much more. You will be

assigned your own Care Manager who will work closely

with you to ensure you receive the care and support

that is tailored to your personal wishes and needs.

For more information, contact us on

0118 334 7474

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

YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE

Contact Ian at:


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

HANDYMAN & DECORATING SERVICES

Reliable and affordable

Small jobs a speciality!

Call Andy on 0795 810 0128

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

BERKSHIRE STUMP REMOVALS

Stump grinding and tree stump removal

Latest narrow access machinery

Contact: Mark

0798 495 7334 http://www.berkshirestumpremoval

PROFESSIONAL TREE & HEDGE SERVICES

Tree felling, reduction, reshaping, crown work, hedge

maintenance, removal, stump grinding, green waste recycled

PL Insurance BS 3998 (2010) by NPTC qualified staff.

Check a Trade and Trading Standards

0134 445 2733 jose@woodchipsltd.co.uk Woodchips.org.uk.

SMALLWOOD

Landscaping, garden construction,

patios, lawns, fencing, decking etc

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

office@smallwoodlandscaping.co.uk

BIG HEART TREE CARE

Reliable and friendly service for all tree care

NPTC qualified — Public Liability of £10 million

0118 937 1929 0786 172 4071

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

WOODCHIPS TREE SURGERY

Surveys on houses with a drone

Most jobs undertaken

Please call Phil on:

0797 950 3908

If you are interested in advertising here?

Contact Ian at:


CHILDREN'S PAGE


42 The Parish Magazine — May 2025 Please mention The Parish Magazine when replying to advertisements

information — 2

Parish contacts Advertisers' index

Abbeyfield Care 32

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

— Youth Minister: Chris West (Westy)

youthminister@sonningparish.org.uk / 0794 622 4106

— Children and Youth Minister: Corinne

corinne@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 969 3298

— Licensed Lay Minister: Bob Peters

bob@sonningparish.org.uk / 0118 377 5887

Churchwardens

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

— Ruth Jeffery, ruth@jefferyfamily.net / 0797 101 8730

Deputy Churchwardens

— Kevin Wilson, kevinmichaelwilson@gmail.com / 0118 969 3298

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

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

— Richard Meehan MA ARCO

music@sonningparish.org.uk

Safeguarding Officer

— Nicola Riley: nic.nige@sky.com / 0742 517 3359

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

A B Walker Funeral Directors 12

ACG Locksmith Services 40

Active Security 30

All Aerials 40

AMS Water Softeners 14

Avery Collection Care Home 28

Barn Store 20

Berkshire Stump Removals 40

BHR Maintenance 34

Big Heart Tree Care 40

Blandy & Blandy Solicitors 14

Blue Moose Quality Graphics 26

Bridges Meals on Wheels 20

Canon Tree Care 30

Clark Bicknell Plumbing & Heating 40

Crosfields School 12

French Horn 4

Gardiners Home Care 40

Good Oaks Home Care 26

Handyman & Decorating Services 40

Haslams Estate Agents 2

Hicks MOT & Service 18

Home Stairlifts 20

I Plumber 12

Kingfisher Bathrooms & Kitchens 30

Little Knellies Nursery at the Abbey 43

Lock Fit 20

MC Cleaning 40

Mossinator Roof Cleaning Systems 16

Muck & Mulch Garden Supplies 34

Professional Tree & Hedge Services 40

Reading Blue Coat School 14

Richfield Flooring 12

Smallwood Landscaping 40

Smove Ride 34

Sonning Golf Club 6

Sonning Scouts 32

Thames Chimney Sweeps 40

The Bull Inn Sonning 32

The Great House Coppa Club 18

The Mill at Sonning 44

The Window Cleaner 34

Timmy’s Garden Services 10

Tomalin & Son Funeral Directors 14

Tudor Chimney Services 6

Water Softener Salt 20

WindowWorx 16

Woodchips Tree Surgery 40

St Andrew's Church Parish Website

https://www.sonningparish.org.uk

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

— Editor: Bob Peters

editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0118 377 5887

— Advertising: Ian and Lauren McCann

advertising@theparishmagazine.co.uk / 0776 815 1100

— Print and Distribution: Gordon Nutbrown

gordon@caxtonhouse.co.uk / 0118 969 3282


and Gold Award

Best Magazine of the Year

2018

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

Sarum Graphics Ltd, Old Sarum, Salisbury SP4 6QX.

The Parish Magazine template was designed in 2012 by

Roger Swindale rogerswindale@hotmail.co.uk

and David Woodward david@designforprint.org

Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to this advertisement


AB0049_The_Abbey_Little_Knellies_Ad_175x255.indd 1 06/03/2024 09:32


Please mention The Parish Magazine when responding to this advertisement

1 MAY 2025 - 28 JUN 2025

10 JUL 2025 - 6 SEP 2025

Enjoy Homemade Cakes and Coffees in the most beautiful

riverside setting. Indoor & Outdoor Seating is available.

Our Waterwheel Bar is open on Wednesdays, 10am to 2pm. On

the first Wednesday of the month the bar will be open until 3pm.

On Wednesday mornings, enjoy a magical experience as pre-school

children are treated to a story and singing in the theatre, followed by

dressing up and colouring in activities in the Waterwheel Bar.

Book a place for your pre-schooler by calling us on (0118) 969 8000.

Payment is £6 per child, taken on entry. Price includes a drink and a

snack. Bar is open from 10am and the story begins at 10.30am.

The Parish Magazine May 2025

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