Faldingworth, Toft, Newton, Barkwith, South Willingham and parish communities linked with Middle Rasen

We are holding two services in our beautiful Church. Please do come along and join us – The first one is being held on 10th March at 4pm, this will be a service to celebrate Mothering Sunday – we hope to have lots of children there and their Mums.

The next service is a community led service which will be held on 7th April at 10.30am.

It was lovely to head to the Broadbent Theatre to see Cinderella in term 1. The cast and production team were amazing, and we all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of entertainment. Thank you to our FOFS and all who support the school with fundraising for making this possible. FOFS would also like to thank everyone who attended the Quiz at the village hall on 10 th February and for the generous raffle donations. There will be an FOFS Easter Fair at Faldingworth School on Wed 27 th March at 5pm. If there are any stallholders who would like to join in, please contact the school, all we ask is for a donation to our raffle.

Linked to our school values, we are focusing this term on being fair, Galahad Class (year 5 and 6) had a visit from the Magistrate court this term. It was an opportunity to learn what laws are, who makes our laws and the age of criminal responsibility. The experience helped pupils to understand what a magistrate's court is and what magistrates do. It developed their awareness of the thin line between bad choices and crime. It was fascinating to play roles in a ‘mock trial' and understand the process of decision-making in court.

In January, we welcomed Joseph Begley who does the breakfast show on Lincs FM. He came in to chat to 5 of our children. Each child gave a clue for the 'Hide and Seek' game which airs every morning on the breakfast show. The children had to describe a famous place for the listeners to guess the mystery location. This was a great experience for them.

Next term, we will be teaming up with the Stay Safe Partnership to take part in a series of Healthy Minds workshops. This will involve groups of pupils in KS2. It includes three two-hour workshop style classes which provide children with a solid foundation for positive mental health and wellbeing. These children will become our healthy mind ambassadors. Mini first aid has expanded its award-winning kids programme to include mental health first aid. Our pupils created a film for ‘Safer Internet Day' on Feb 6 th . We are proud that our pupils are helping to educate others about key messages to help us all keep safe when using our devices at home or at school. You can view this by following Faldingworth School on Facebook.

Next term promises to be busy with World Book Day, Comic Relief, school trips, Easter celebrations and more.

If you are looking for a school place, please contact the school to arrange a visit. Tel 01673 885366. There are more details on the school website. There is also a preschool ‘Little Jesters' on the site (ages 2-4yrs)

It's the time of year that hedgehogs will be waking up from their hibernation, so I thought that I would make a plea. Given that hedgehogs can walk up to two miles in a night to find food or look for a mate, the ability to roam freely is really important. They therefore need gaps in garden fences or a space under gates to get around. What they actually need is a space 13cm x 13cm to walk through, which fortunately would be too small for the majority of cats and dogs. You and your neighbours could create a hedgehog highway by cutting a hole in your fence or removing a brick or two from the bottom of a wall, you could even purchase a hedgehog friendly gravel board if needed.

My own boundary has natural gaps under my fences, and I am sure that will be the case for many. Interestingly, the only hedgehog I saw last year was in a strip of garden that I left to mow until after May….no mow May! You could also put out a saucer of meat-based pet food, to supplement their regular insect diet, but always ensure that a dish of water is also available. Additionally, do please try to avoid using Slug Pellets and if you have a garden pond (a great idea) make sure that there are several gently sloping slipways around the edge of the water to allow animals to escape if they fall in.

On 27 th January the community focussed Market Rasen library participated in the 45th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and I was invited to help identify the birds (and take along my binoculars and telescope!) The event had been publicised for children, even though the national event is citizen science for all ages, but it was wonderful to have lots of primary school children's eyes excitedly looking out for the birds and being disappointed when the many Gulls just flew over, so we weren't able to count them!

In the hour we spotted eight species of bird, but the aspect of the morning which I enjoyed the most was to see the wonder and interest that the children had for the birds. I had Logan, who was thrilled to see a Woodpigeon through the telescope, he said it looked so close and he thought he was “picking up food for his family” and I had Bobby, who went through the ‘Birds of the British Isles' book and was intrigued by the fact that I had seen so many of them! One child got upset when he couldn't see a Dunnock in a tree, and I thought I know how you feel! But the Mums and Dads who brought their children along, will be taking their children out and about, notebooks in hand, and they will be recording the birds they see…and we therefore have another generation who care about the natural world around us. Priceless!

So, moths are all dull, plain, brown pests that chew through the vegetables, or even your clothes! If that's what you thought, then think again! And if you like nature and think you need to travel far and wide to see living creatures that you've never seen before, then I can tell you that's not the case! In all but the coldest winter nights, put out a white sheet, shine a torch on it and creatures you've never seen before will appear as if by magic. Scientists don't really know why moths are attracted to light, but I bought a moth trap in March and since then I've identified 1,286 moths of 191 different species. There are around 2,500 moth species in the UK and only 59, at a push, butterfly species. So, I've got a lot more to see!

Science has proven that moths pollinate our plants more efficiently than butterflies and they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Look at the pictures of two common moths below, both from my garden this year. But moths only fly at night I hear you say. Well, no - there are approximately 130 species of day flying moths, more than double the number of butterflies.

Don't get me wrong, butterflies are great too, but there is a whole world out there, in your garden and elsewhere, of stunning insects to delight and intrigue. As my 2 year-old grand-son said when I showed him a Canary-shouldered Thorn - ”Wow”.

Often, when in the countryside and if you're vigilant, something can surprise you. In mid-October I was walking around Covenham Reservoir (looking for and finding an uncommon Slavonian Grebe), when I spotted something peculiarly white in some trees close to the reservoir. Looking through my binoculars I could see it was a rare albino squirrel, amazingly after a couple of minutes I spotted another one close by!

Albino squirrels are incredibly rare, with estimates suggesting that there is only one albino squirrel for every 100,000 regular squirrels or just 50 in the UK. They have white fur with red eyes because they lack melanin (the pigment that gives your hair and skin colour). Albinism is an inherited genetic mutation, so it's clear that the two I saw must be siblings. They should be able to live the normal 3-5 years for a squirrel, although their brightness does make them more visible to predators!

When I was a very young man I remember my dad took me to a slideshow about the birds of the Highlands and the expert speaker showed some footage of an Osprey diving into a loch and catching a fish. I was mesmerised by what I saw and I vowed there and then that one day I would see an Osprey in the wild. I even hoped that I might one day be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see the holy grail….an Osprey hunting!

Fast forward 45 years and I have achieved that ambition multiple times. The last time was on 7th September when an Osprey showed the fishermen at Toft Newton Reservoir (TNR) how to do it, after it emerged from a plunge into the cold water with a sizeable trout (see picture). I now know that the bird in question was a 5-year-old ringed in the nest in the Scottish Highlands and a bird which this year bred in the Tweed valley. It was migrating from there to West Africa, obviously using TNR to refuel. It will take 20 flying days to get to its winter destination.

Strangely I saw an Osprey at TNR in 1994, 95 and 96 and then there was a 25 year gap before my next one, on 2nd Sept 2021 and then I saw one last year and again this year! I wonder when the next one will be!?

I have been asked to follow up my article last month with some further musings about my wildlife experiences. The request came the day after a very exciting encounter with a rare bird, so there was no need to think about what to write about!

I have been going to my local patch, on and off, since my first visit on 15 th November 1992. The concrete bowl which is Toft Newton Reservoir doesn't immediately strike you as a productive place for birds, but when you watch the same place time and again, you get lucky and see interesting birds passing through regularly. In the past three years (semi-retirement has wonderfully given me more time), I have visited at least 150 times each year. On 31 st July I was present on the patch, nice and early, and had walked more than halfway round without anything of note to see. Then out of nowhere, under the gathering grey skies, a Gull appeared, but it looked a bit strange. I lifted my binoculars to my eyes and immediately saw that the Gull was actually a large Tern, with a prominent red bill, a rare Caspian Tern. The British Birds Rarities Committee have already asked for photographs and a description, something in a lifetime of birding I've never been asked for before !

This morning I found the impressive Privet Hawk-moth (picture attached), with a wingspan of up to 12cm, which I caught in my moth trap (all moths are released unharmed!). The picture doesn't really give justice to what is a fearsome looking moth! (The moth is on an egg box because that's what I put on the bottom of the trap).I started mothing, to add to my birding and butterflying, only in April this year and I have seen 69 species of moth in that time. It's amazing to discover what's lurking in our gardens at night, you can attract in a trap tiny micro-moths, beetles and macro moths in an amazing array of shapes, sizes and colours.

The Privet Hawk-moth generally flies in just June and July and is Britain's largest breeding moth. In the north of Lincolnshire, we are towards the northern limit of its range. They feed on, wild and garden Privet ( Ligustrum ), Holly, Honeysuckle, Snowberry, Vibernum tinus, Forsythia and a few other plants. Who knows what I might find next time!

Faldingworth Scarecrows' show is always a weekend in July. – Visit Tracy Mildson's photo montage in the year when the theme was holidays and lookout for sunbathers, skiers, canal boats, pony trekking and more!

Find us on Facebook for updates - Faldingworth Community Primary School or Faldingworth School and Community Scarecrow Festival.

Coffee mornings take place at Faldingworth village hall every Wednesday from 10am – 11.30am in aid of All Saints Church, Faldingworth. We always follow Covid-19 protocol.

Newtoft Village Hall welcomes Faldingworth & District WI ....... see above for details

Join us at one of the Toft Newton village hall Bingo's on 13 th May. (Then 10th June, 22nd July, 19th August) A fun night out – do join us, everyone is always welcome.

Residents are keeping busy doing some urban gardening in what were pieces of waste ground around the village. It's all starting to look great with the various flowers and shrubs.

The craft club is looking for new members to go along and spend an evening crafting and having a catch up. Tea/coffee and biscuits are included in a small fee on the night. The club usually meets twice monthly. If you're interested, please contact Brigette Carpenter for more information.

NEWTON CHURCHYARD Over the years and well before my time, I have been told that there was a hedge in front of our church, apparently, behind the hedge there was a wilderness of long grass and blackberry briers when the grounds were unattended. Since those days someone in their turns, and not always someone who lived in the village, has maintained the church grounds as it is today.

There are always nice comments of how well the church and grounds look in the centre of the village, which is now open for all to see. The very healthy church grounds donation tin has been going now for two years, this being the third and all donations are kept and recorded. The funds go towards maintenance of the mower and is being saved for the day when the village lawn mower needs replacing! The donation tin originally started when I began cutting the grass after Charlie Mallinson regretfully became unwell and was unable to cut it. I, like many others before me, who have cut the grass, take nothing out of the tin.

I personally would like to thank all of you who have put your donations in an envelope and marked it with your name and address, and delivered it to me, so that the records and yearly accounts can be updated. Finally, for those of you who are unsure, the Churchyard donation tin is totally independent from Church funds. With the Church being in the middle of the village, with your kind donations, I can keep the village looking tidy, so thank you all.
Charlie Albone

Children's Football – Fridays, 6-7pm, Newtoft Community Centre, Trainers / Footie Boots needed, Outside Play!

Fitness by Dance ~ A class every Tuesday 6.30-7.30 at the New Toft Village Hall .... £ 2. New dancers always welcome. Contact is Steph Orr 01673 885573

Isobelle Burnett of Oakleigh Decorating & Property Maintenance based in West Torrington has won through to the National finals of The Painting and Decorating Associations Apprentice Premier Trophy Award competition. Isobelle has competed in the competition twice now, this year reaching the final after winning the Midlands Regional competition. The finals take place in Milton Keynes in November.

Skillbuild is the largest and longest running multi-trade competition in the U.K. for construction apprentices. Regional competitions are held for each trade and the top 8-point scorers for each trade across the regional competitions go through to the National final. The winner of the National final may go on to compete in the Euroskills competition, which is taking place in Gdansk this year.

There is also a World skills competition which will take place in Lyon in 2024. The World skills final features over 1000 competitors from 63 countries in 56 different trades. Isobelle is in her final year as an apprentice.

Oakleigh Decorating & Property Maintenance. www.oakleigh-ps.co.uk (Tel 07909726585)

Congratulations Isobelle on getting to the final. Please let us know how you get on in the final – we will all keep our fingers crossed for you – Good luck! From us all at the Community Spirit.

The next event at The Heneage Arms will be ‘The Crunchy Sleeping Bag Rally' on March 1 st & 2 nd when there will be music on both evenings.

We would love to see you at an Organ Recital and lunch at St Martin's Church in South Willingham on Thursday 28th March 2024, 12 noon -2.30pm. Come along and enjoy our very informal lunch of soup & a roll whilst listening to beautiful music played by our brilliant, local resident Paul. Everyone is welcome, there is no charge, but donations are gratefully received.

Regrettably Pilates classes have stopped at the Hall due to too few regular attendees.

Wednesday 3 rd – Coffee & chat (Free) & Willingham Winner Draw- 10.30am to 12 noon

Tuesday 9 th - Reel Issues film night 7pm for 7:15 start (call Roland 07946259053)

Many thanks to the generous donors of a filter coffee machine for use at the Hall.

Arranged by the village's History group, on Wednesday 28 th February, Jenne Pape, from the Building Recording Group at the Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology, gave a fascinating talk based on the Hearth Tax of 1662 to 1689. This was a Property Tax on hearths and fireplaces. Jenne gave us so much information including structures of homes. There are several ancient dwellings in the village that survive as homes today. Records from South Willingham are amongst the most detailed in the county. Please call Paul Fuller for details of the History Group 01507 313601 .

On the 1st & 3rd WEDNESDAYS of each month the hall will be open from 10.30am to 5.30pm for book, DVD & jigsaw swaps/loans. DONATIONS of jigsaws, DVDs & books will be gratefully received. Please leave them in the hall or in the blue box in the greenhouse at Millendreath, Barkwith Rd.

SOUTH WILLINGHAM VILLAGE CALENDAR 2025 : please send me digital photographs depicting our village, some season themed, for inclusion in a calendar.

The idea is to sell copies of the calendar for hall funds. Please send me photos by 31st OCTOBER to allow time for compiling and printing in time for pre-Christmas order. 07834598703 or janseward54@gmail.com

Villagers who knew her are saddened by the news of the death of Chris Broom (nee Washer) who lived at Bumble Bee Cottage. After the death of her husband Dennis, Chris reunited with Peter, an old school friend. They became engaged and Chris moved to Peter's home in Hove, East Sussex, which is nearer to her daughter Kate, son-in-law and grandson Thomas. Peter and Chris married and made many happy memories as she sadly weakened to Motor Neurone Disease. Chris was chair of our village hall committee for years and was a talented artist. We send our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.

Join us at our April Coffee, Cake and Chat at St Mary's Church, East Barkwith, This will be held on the fourth WEDNESDAY of the month – 24 th APRIL. Everyone is welcome to join us at any time between 10.30am and 12 noon. We shall have the much-awaited plans available to view concerning the new development at St Mary's Church - a toilet facility and servery, which over the years the villagers have helped to raise funds for. Do come along and join us!

On Saturday 13 th April 2024 at East Barkwith Village Hall, why not come along and dance the afternoon away with friends and neighbours or maybe practice some of those dances you have mastered with Paul! Grab a cup of tea, a sandwich and a slice of cake, and relive those tea dance memories! We look forward to meeting you. All ages are very welcome.

If you find you have nothing left to read or are in need of another puzzle to ponder over on these autumn/winter evenings, call in at St Mary's Church, East Barkwith and swap your book or puzzle for another. Donations to stock are always welcome and visitors to the church too.

Having recently had our roof issues sorted out, what a relief to know that with two inches of snow yesterday morning, we didn't have to worry about dripping water in the loft. Certainly, a weight off my shoulders, and once we get our extra insulation installed it will be even better. A job worth doing, however late.
My garden looks bleak these days. I had to severely prune some roses to make way for scaffolding poles, and generally reduce the height of some perennials. This was when the weather was milder of course, so I'm hoping not to have damaged them too much now the weather has turned much colder. Most of them thrive on neglect to be honest, but I'm sure they'll come back next spring. This is the time to be looking through catalogues to see what new plants we could be sourcing, some with a view to their growth in the coming years and to split for our plant sale. There's so much choice, too much for me to make quick decisions as indecision rules and I get nowhere! This, that or the other is usually my mantra. My daffs are all potted up, thinking about the members pot in the Spring Show, I'm hopeful of providing an entry, and I finally managed to get my tulips planted, so in a haphazard way, I'm organised!

Our year at the Gardening Club has been a good one, varied in our activities, and made more interesting with our speakers. At the October meeting, all members were given a questionnaire to find out if we could be making our meetings more diverse and interesting, and we did get most responses by the AGM in November. I know that currently our tech-savvy finance person has already spread-sheeted the responses we have to date (I knew he would!) and will finish this when a few late responses are in. Hopefully, members will be given the results when we have our first meeting. This will be at the Buzz Stop, when we meet for afternoon tea. Delicious food amongst friends, that's to look forward to. Be there at 1.15 for 1.30pm, although early, have a big breakfast in the early morning and save yourself for what's to come!

On behalf of the Barkwith Group PCC, I would like to thank everyone who supported the Christmas Fayre at Barkwith Village Hall on 8th December. What a lovely evening it was. Thank you to the delightful craft stall holders who were selling all manner of Crafted Decorative Christmas items, hand knitted hats & scarves, felted baubles and hand sewn bags. A big thank you must also go to our regular team of helpers for manning the other stalls, which all added to the success of the evening - we couldn't do it without you.

Today, for the second time this week, I set out for an afternoon stroll. Unusually, I ‘bumped' into two village personalities out walking their four legged friends, braving the weather which was overcast, mizzerly and damp, but on the plus side it was sharp with the cold so I found it quite pleasant! At one point, I thought where are you sun, just to see your brightness and warmth and send the gloom away, but then, I rounded a bend and there it was! The sun - NO - but a sight to cheer me up, so with a little more lightness in my step I continued a little further! On my way back I rested by the bridge to relax, watching the gentle flow of the water. It was a lovely 5 mins and in the afternoon quiet, I could hear the sound of the flowing water like a babbling brook, so, feeling at peace, I finished my walk. No sun or blue sky, but everything was ok in my world!

It is over forty years since I came to East Barkwith, and there have been many changes in the village since then. One of the shops became a cafe, then a private house. The chapel ceased to be used for worship, and joined its two predecessors in private use. The YMCA hut was taken down just before it fell down, and was replaced by the Village Hall, which has itself been extended and modified. The reading room, where the Scouts paraded for Baden-Powell, was used as the school dining room, and has gone, replaced by the Play Area. The school and school house, where I kept a bucket on the stairs to catch the rain leaking through the roof, has been converted to a house on sale for over half a million pounds. The pub has gone up-market. The doctor's surgery moved from one bungalow to another, and eventually went to Wragby. The garage has disappeared. The seed store has been converted into a desirable residence, and the fertiliser factory has been demolished and replaced with another large house. New houses have been built on fields and former gardens - some shoe-horned into spaces which seem impossibly small. Hedges have been grubbed out, then replanted. Farming practices have changed, the machinery has got larger, and tourists have become one of the crops.

However, some things don't change. The people in the village have inevitably changed over forty years, but the present inhabitants are as neighbourly and generous as their predecessors. The Post Office is still there, as is the church. The response to the restoration appeal shows how much the church is valued by the people of the village - valued for what it represents, and as the village's outstanding building.

In late 2009 the parapet and pinnacles of the tower of St Mary's Church were found to be unsafe and had to be removed. The cost of doing this swallowed up the church's entire fabric fund. On the advice of the church architect the committee applied to English Heritage for a grant towards the cost of restoring the tower and renewing the leaking roof and the inadequate drainage system which had allowed water incursion to damage interior plaster work. One year later we were told that the application had been successful and so began the formidable task of raising £38,000, this being 20% of the costs estimated by English Heritage. It was a condition of the grant that the village should do this. A fund raising campaign began in April 2011, initiated by an inspiring document entitled Olympics Restoration Project 2012 which was the brainchild of Martyn Chambers and distributed to every house in the village by Martyn and his family. Over 80% of the village residents and some former residents too responded most generously to the appeal in a number of ways. Many fund raising events were held and applications made to a large number of grant giving organisations and charities. By the autumn of 2011 Martyn was able to tell the village in another moving document that we were well on track to meeting the target. Then came a setback. Six contractors had been invited to tender for the work, but all the tenders came in well above the estimate supplied by English Heritage. In response to a plea for more financial assistance English Heritage granted a further sum, but at the same time, cut some of the intended work, in particular the internal plaster work and subsequent redecoration. In addition to this blow we were devastated to learn that the wiring to the heating system and the organ was unsafe and would have to be disconnected. It looked very much as if we could be left with a building which was structurally sound whilst inside a freezing church plaster would continue to fall from the walls. Next for the good news!

YOU HAVE DONE IT!

In a final update entitled” You have done it!” Martyn was able to tell the residents and friends of St Mary's that they had excelled themselves by donating a staggering £29,000. Events had raised £7,000, twice what we'd aimed for and other grant giving bodies, so impressed by the efforts of this small community had donated a total of £46,000. Where, you may want to know, will all this “extra” money go? The answer is that everything will be spent on the church. The cost of plasterwork and redecoration has been estimated in excess of £10,000, the wiring to the organ alone will be around £600 and as for the cost of a new heating system, it will run into tens of thousands. If there happened to be any left in the kitty we would very much like to install a toilet and servery, making St Mary's fit for purpose in the 21 st century. It is fitting that this project was entitled Olympic Restoration 2012. Now with the Olympics upon us, those of us who have seen it through from 2009 are ready to pass on the baton to others who we hope will take it forward. Centuries ago the people of East Barkwith gave us our beautiful church. Over the years, others have carried the baton onwards and now in 2012 the people of the village have saved it for generations to come. Thanks to those who responded so magnificently to the appeal, work will shortly begin on our church. As the latest document said “YOU have done it!”

Please click to Services page for up to date information on the Church and services in this month.

Comprising the Churchyards of: East Barkwith, East Torrington, Hainton, Sixhills, South Willingham, West Barkwith and West Torrington .

The Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln, His Honour Judge Mark Bishop QC, issued regulations as to the control and use of churchyards in the Diocese of Lincoln in 2008 updated in 2012. These regulations are legally binding and differ from cemetery regulations, which are made by local Authorities.

The regulations are available to read in full via the Diocese of Lincoln website.

Parishioners, and those who die in the parish, have a right to be buried, or have their ashes interred in a churchyard in the parish. Other people may be buried there at the discretion of the Parish Priest, providing there is room. Once buried, there is to be no disturbance of the remains except for exceptional and legally authorised reasons. Burial is a symbol for our entrusting of the person to the eternal love of God. The burial fee does NOT buy the burial plot, it pays towards the general maintenance of the churchyard.

Anyone wishing to erect a memorial stone should consult the Parish Priest as soon as possible, to ensure that the memorial conforms to the regulations. If the memorial does not conform to the regulations, or the Parish Priest refuses consent, an application for a faculty to the Chancellor of the Diocese is required.

Headstones should be between 2'6” and 4' high, 1'8” and 3” wide, 3” and 6” thick. They may be of natural stones, teak or oak, cast or wrought iron. Some stones such as black or grey granite, marble, synthetic stone or plastic are not normally permitted. The base of the stone may include a flower holder, but should enable ease of mowing. Monumental masons have full copies of these regulations, and will give advice on what is permitted.

Designs containing open books, hearts, figure statuary and photographic representations are not permitted. Neither are kerbs, chippings or glass shards. Any application for these must be by faculty application to the Chancellor of the Diocese.

Inscriptions should contain only the name of the deceased, dates of birth and death or age and date of death. Epitaphs must be simple and reverent, preferably from the Bible, Book of Common Prayer or Common Worship

It is preferred that ashes are placed in the ground without a container, but if a container is used, it must be of a perishable nature.

No artificial flowers should be placed in a churchyard except Remembrance day poppies, traditional Christmas wreaths, and good quality seasonal silk flowers. All should be removed within 3 months. The Christmas wreaths are to be removed by January 31 st of the following year.