Parish magazine, September 1999

It is good to be back in my "home" group of parishes, amongst many friends and familiar faces. Thank you for your welcome.

The Bishop has asked me to work in your parish, and with the rest of the Caerwent Group until Hugh Trenchard is well enough to take up the reins again, which we all hope will be very soon. Meanwhile I will do my very best to serve you in whatever way you may need me. However, this does not mean that I will be available for every service in Shirenewton or elsewhere in the Group because I already have commitments in my diary, but with the help of John Waters, I will undertake as much as I can.

My role as Deanery Curate is to assist the Rural Dean, and amongst other things this means that I fill-in for priests who are sick, or where there is an interregnum. I am permanently based with the Rural Dean in his parishes of Portskewett with Sudbrooke and Rogiet. Our Deanery of Netherwent has had four interregna in just under two year,s as a result of which I have found myself ministering in thirty one of the thirty six parishes in this Deanery. Everywhere congregations have been kind and patient as I have learnt their "ways" of doing things ! I have made many friends and it's such a joy to be able to recognise and greet Christians in Chepstow, Caldicot, Usk or anywhere else in the Diocese; and to be greeted in return. It is a great joy belonging to the family of God !

Since I was last involved with services in Shirenewton the church building has been transformed. The pews and pulpit look splendid, along with the repaired walls and so on; and of course the bells have added much to the restoration of this lovely ancient Church. It can be handed on to the next generation in better shape than possible for a long time. But who are the next generation ? Where are the next generation ? A few are evident, but many more are needed if we are to secure the future of the Church in Shirenewton, and to hand on its lovely building for succeeding generations of God's people.

We must all pray for the continuing renewal of Christian fellowship, and the mission of the church in Shirenewton. (John 15:9 - 11)

Should you need to contact me for any reason, my telephone number is below; if anyone would like the Sacrament of Holy Communion, but due to illness or disability is unable to come to church, please let me know and I will make arrangements to bring the Sacrament to you

PCC NOTES

At the last meeting of the PCC it was decided that the money made at the Fete on

June 12 ^thwould be put towards the Church floodlighting. If all goes well we hope to turn on the lights at midnight on the Christmas Eve service.

Thank you for all the hard work going on in the churchyard; we have a reliable team who keep it looking neat and tidy. The walls are being recapped and repaired over the summer, with materials being kindly donated by our local farmer, Howard Stone.

The celebration enjoyed sunshine, and the family and friends filled our church with music, happiness and ceremony. As the wedding party were being photographed in the churchyard, another couple arrived from Swansea to remember their wedding vows: Grace and Tom Ball were married at Newchurch 55 years ago !, an amazing coincidence as they had dropped in to visit St Peters with their daughter and just happened to coincide with a wedding, and I know it brought back many happy memories.

SHIRENEWTON CHURCH FESTIVAL

On Saturday October 2 ^ndan open day will be held in Church. Everyone is invited to come along and see what is happening in your Church. There will be events throughout the day, including flower arranging, produce stall, singing from Wandering Minstrels, Treasure Hunt, bell ringing, and trips up the Church Tower (Not to be missed if you haven't seen the view from the top !). There will of course be refreshments throughout the day, and much more. A timetable of events can be found on the centre pages of the magazine.

The Harvest Festival service will be held at 9.45 am on Sunday October 3 ^rd, followed by the Harvest lunch at 1 pm in Earlswood Hall. All gifts will be auctioned following the meal. Everyone is warmly invited to any or all of these events. All proceeds from the refreshments, produce stall, and the Harvest Auction will be donated to a local charity to be nominated later.

HARVEST LUNCH

As mentioned above, this year the Family Harvest Lunch will take place after Family Service on Sunday October 3 ^rd, at Earlswood Hall starting at 1 pm. Tickets will be £5 individual, £15 Family and £4 concession, with all profits going to a local charity. Following the lunch the Harvest auction will take place, conducted by Dave Cornwell in his own inimitable style ! Please come along and enjoy the company, the food, the auctioneer, and help make a few bob for a good cause. Tickets can be obtained from members of the PCC.

SHIRENEWTON MOTHERS' UNION

We welcomed Mrs Marina Hunter from St Arvans at our July meeting to speak to us about New Zealand. The talk, photos and slides were extremely enlightening and evoked happy memories for some of our members. In August we were pleased to see Mrs Hilda Austen from Chepstow with her Victorian dolls who had interesting histories. Mrs Austen is the wife of a retired clergyman and we look forward to hearing more of her life and work at a later date. The chat at tea was vigorous on both occasions with both of our speakers staying and joining in. We have been joined by two prospective members and hope to welcome more in the course of the year. Our prayers have focused on families disrupted by ethnic conflicts, the work of the Mothers Union amongst children in our diocese, and those known to us who are enduring ill-health or bereavement. Our next meeting will be a Corporate Communion Service to be held at St Thomas a Beckett Church on Wednesday 8 ^thSeptember at 2:30 pm. Tea will be served after the service and the Tea Hostesses will be Mrs Bowen and Mrs Lloyd. Please join us.

APPEAL FOR FLOWER ARRANGERS

Felicity and Rose are desperately looking for helpers to decorate the Church on Friday October the 1 ^stprior to the Open Day on October 2 ^nd. As we are hoping to make the Open Day a key event in the village, we would like to have the Church really looking at it's best, and having an outstanding floral display is obviously essential in doing this, so please rally round and give whatever help you can. Felicity can be contacted on 650604, and Rose on 642539.

SHIRENEWTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL

When I mentioned to friends that I was joining the Shirenewton Community Council someone commented that I was joining a '`secret society' as no-one seemed to know what went on at meetings. That criticism is unfair as council proceedings are published and available for inspection by anyone, however, the council is determined to ensure that everyone who is interested can easily find out what is happening.

So I have been `volunteered' to supply regular bulletins of headlines from our meetings in the Parish Magazine. The full and formal minutes will be displayed on the new community notice boards outside the garage, the school and Earlswood Hall. I would be delighted to hear from you if you have any suggestions to further improve communication.

If you would like a matter raised in Community Council Meetings please contact your local councillor. You can, of course, attend any of the council meetings, as an observer. Dates of next two meetings are:

7 September and 9 November. Meetings are held in the Recreation Hall and start at 7.30pm

The co-options were to bring us up to full strength, although I'm not sure that the poor souls who unwittingly allowed their names to be submitted knew what they were letting themselves in for!

Each of us not only serves on the council but also on the Planning sub committee and the council provides representatives to the following groups: School Governors, Monmouthshire Association of Local Councils, Monmouthshire County Council Planning Committee, Monmouthshire County Council Leisure Committee and the Shirenewton Recreation Association.

The council considers planning applications and submits recommendations to the County Council Planning Committee, although the CCPC is not obliged to follow our suggestions. The recommendations and results are published in the formal minutes.

Highlights of the meetings of 13 July and 10 August

Grass Cutting Mr Phelps is arranging for estimates for the cost of cutting the grass in the churchyard, currently undertaken by volunteers, and will arrange for someone to look at the grass behind the memorial stone, the Funeral walk and the Play Area

Play Area Councillor Bonsey has kindly offered to carry out weekly checks on the play area. The recent accident in the play area means that the swings cannot be replaced until requirements to meet safety regulations are determined.

Church Clock Volunteers are required to act as winders for the Church Clock. John Nicholas heads the team of volunteers - there are 2 at present, but 2 more are needed to ensure the clock is wound every 2-3 days - it takes about 10 mins but requires a climb up the tower. Please contact Mr Nicholas if you can help.

Post Office The council agreed that a gift should be arranged for Mrs Cornaby in appreciation of her service to the community.

I think you will agree that these were not the most exciting of meetings but we are just getting warmed up. We want to hear about matters that concern you. We cannot represent you properly otherwise.

Please contact any of the councillors if there is a community matter we can help with.

SHIRENEWTON RECREATION ASSOCIATION

The Recreation Association meets on a fairly regular basis under the Chairmanship of Gordon Hughes. Carol Jones is the secretary, Vince Oliva the treasurer, and Beryl Saysell is our ever-youthful booking clerk. The past year has seen a general smartening up of the village hall with new windows, facias and heating systems. We have an ongoing improvement plan to make the hall an attractive place for village activities. Earlier this year Vince Olivia put in a lot of work on an application for a grant that would have allowed us to extend the hall, but unfortunately in this instance we were turned down. No doubt there will be further opportunities to try again at a later date. Finally, the Recreation Association would like to thank the organisers of the village dance held after this year's fete for their kind donation of £43.43 which was the profit made from this event.

For the July meeting members met at the home of the President Mrs W.Jones for a garden party. The evening was fine and warm and we were able to sit out and enjoy the attractive garden which was a mass of colour. Business matters were quickly dealt with and final arrangements made for our summer dinner to be held in August. It was noted that members had helped on the jewellery stall at the Gwent Federation WI Garden Party at Usk on the 9 ^thJuly, and two members had taken part in the first Millenium Boundary walk on the same day. Mr E.Jones then set a garden quiz which tested our knowledge of the many flowers and shrubs around the garden. After completing this we moved inside and to everyone's delight were served with a selection of summer berries and cream, together with a glass of wine. Mr Jones revealed the answers to the quiz and the winners were declared to be Mrs B.Watson, Mrs T. Moore, and Mrs I.Wells who were each presented with a house plant. The raffle was won by Mrs S.Henshall. All members agreed that this had been a most enjoyable evening in delightful surroundings.

In August the Summer dinner held at the Royal George Hotel Tintern was enjoyed by twenty four members, plus our special guest Mrs Pam Cornaby.

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 16 ^thSeptember which will be a talk on the Red Cross. Tea hostesses Mrs G.Lloyd and Mrs T.Moore. Raffle prize Mrs G.Lloyd, and there will be a sales table. New members welcome, 7.15 pm in the Recreation Hall.

Again the Grand Prize Draw, held in conjunction with the Fete, had a successful year. Thanks are due for the generosity of those who gave their support and did the real work to ensure it's success.

Gifts of Prizes Dennis Hopkins, Betty Knox, Pam Cornaby, Barbara Davies, Jean Jones, Sally Price, Mavis Bryant, Mildred Grattan, Anita Kent, Ernie and Win Jones, Celtic Manor

Ticket Sellers Phyllis Jones, Bernice Bowen, Mavis Bryant, Pam Cornaby, Barbara Davies, Cynthia Smith, Sally Price, Rose Robinson, Dennis Hopkins, Kevin Bounds, John Nicholas

Since I took over running of the draw in 1983, I have had so much wonderful support from these and other folk, and I am truly grateful. Thank you very much, and I hope that now all will give their support to John Nicholas who has kindly agreed to take over the Draw in the year 2000. I am sure he will bring new ideas and fresh vigour to this important part of our fund-raising activities for the Church.

RNLI COLLECTION

The June collection in Shirenewton and Mynyddbach for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution raised a total of £152.12. Very many thanks to all who contributed.

THANK YOU

My sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who so kindly donated towards my retirement gift of a television set. I miss seeing and chatting to everyone, but your gift will be a constant reminder of those happy days.

THANK YOU

I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who attended the Coffee Morning recently held at Tan House Court, to friends and neighbours who willingly gave their help and support, and the generosity of all who attended. The magnificent sum of £460 was raised on this sunny morning which has been donated to "Marie Curie Cancer Care".

CHEPSTOW SHOW

Congratulations to Mrs Auriol Horton who won the Silver Challenge Cup for most points in Section 1, Homecraft, at the Chepstow Agricultural Show on August 14 ^th.

BEST WISHES

Mrs Tomlinson sends her best wishes to all her old, and not-so-old, friends in Shirenewton. She is looking very well and is very happy. Her new address is; High Meadows retirement Home, Wormelow, Near Hereford HR2 8EG.

SHIRENEWTON OPERA AND DRAMA SOCIETY (SODS)

Do you remember the stunning Pantomimes and Plays performed by the SODS at Earlswood Hall in the late 70's and early 80's ? Including such epics as ....."The Owl and the Pussycat" (1978), "Sing a song of Sixpence" (1979), "Old Father Time" (1980), "The Emperors New Clothes" (1981), and "The Princess and the Pea" (1982).

Well, we are hoping to resurrect the SODS for a one-off Millenium pantomime to be performed in January 2000.

We already have a script, and simply (!) need people (adults and children) who are prepared to act, sing, dance, build scenery, do makeup, make costumes, do set design, run sound and lights, props, prompt, etc ........ (easy really isn't it !).

If you have talents in any of the above areas, are prepared to help out in any way or are just interested in finding out what it's all about, please come along to a meeting at the Recreation Hall on Tuesday September 21 ^stfrom 8 pm onwards, or give Stu Dutton a call on 641677.

1ST SHIRENEWTON GUIDES

The Guides normally meet each Tuesday in term time at Shirenewton Primary School between 7.15 and 9.00 pm, but will only be able to continue if two volunteers over 18 are prepared to train for a warrant and go into uniform, ideally with two adult helpers to assist them. The term's programme plus annual activities have already been prepared.

For this term we are asking a member of each guide's family to assist on one of the weekly meetings, so please volunteer with whatever help you can offer to keep the Guide Unit running. Your own individual skills and interests can be of great use to the unit if you can give a talk, help with photocopying, provide materials, help camps in the future ....... We already have two capable young leaders in Rachael Oakley and Harriet Riley who are prepared to organise games, songs and other activities.

PENYCAERMAWR - SOCC

"Save Our Chapel Campaign"

There will be a Dance night at Earlswood Hall on Friday September 24th, 8 till late, with Bar, Buffet and Raffle. Tickets £5. All proceeds to Penycaermawr Chapel. Telephone 641507, 420270, or 690883 for tickets.

But soon the house will be filled with cries of "where's my pencil case ?" and "What have you done with my PE shorts ?" and "You'll have to start getting up earlier than this !" So here's a little word search to get you into the mood

C	S	P	O	L	I	S	H	E	D
L	H	P	E	K	I	T	C	S	S
E	I	D	I	N	N	E	R	R	H
A	R	P	Y	E	N	O	M	E	O
N	T	K	P	R	O	O	F	S	E
T	T	A	N	E	W	T	P	U	S
L	I	E	K	O	O	B	E	O	E
E	P	L	E	G	A	B	N	R	I
F	S	M	E	N	D	E	D	T	T

Hello again. Another holiday enjoyed and already a dim and distant memory, with just the photos and a slight tan as a reminder. The garden continued to suffer as a result of the dry weather while we were away, but the storms since our return have already given the grass a new lease of life. It had become serious with more brown patches than green. Many of the perennial plants finished flowering far sooner than usual, which must have confused the bees. The rain has also given these a new life, and many are showing signs of sending up flower spikes for a second flush of colour.

Before we went away, we had the third and final opening in the garden. This was a resounding sucess, with a total of 203 people visiting in the four hours. The afternoon was extremely hot, with people trying to squeeze into every last piece of shade, so that they could enjoy their tea and cake. Our thanks go out to the helpers over the three days ,especially Neil and Nigel Brentnall for their excellent car parking management, and Naylor Firth who extracted everyone's money. The final count will be over £1000, which is unbelievable. Final thanks go to the ladies of Devauden Green WI, for the teas and home made cakes, enjoyed by the masses, especially the gentleman who went back for cake five times! This was the first year that we were open, and there is still a lot more work to be done. Plans are well under way for the next additions, all we need now is the time to undertake the work. Next week we will be going to Usk Castle, to see the owners presented with a certificate to commemorate their 21st season. I wonder if we will still be going in 20 years time!

Dates are already being identified for next year, posters ordered and the text for the Yellow Book written. So see you next year!

Thoughts are also well underway for next years colour. Most of the seed and bulb catologues have, or are due to arrive any day. Dare I say that Lilies are definitely near the top of the list, as are Bearded Iris. These sun loving plants seem to be undergoing a bit of a revival in recent years. Certainly the breeders are going to town with every conceivable colour and bi - colour that you can possibly think of. I must admit that even I, the one with no colour sense, draw back from some of the bright oranges and blues that appear in the catologues. My favourites still tend to be the very dark purples, almost black varieties, and some of the more unusual bi - colours, in shades of pink, white and yellow. The varieties Study in Black and Glacier Gold look certainties for a spot in the garden. There is no need to say what colours they are. If you think choosing Iris' is a problem, then spare a thought for the Hemerocallis (Day Lily) enthusiast. I purchased two new varieties last year. Both deviate from the more usual yellows and oranges, with Kath Woodbury being a pale lavender - pink, and Gentle Shephard being a pure white. I want to add to the colour range, but at the present moment in time, listed varieties extend to some thirty thousand (yes that is correct), and I'm not quite

You should be looking around for ideas for spring colour now, as October and November are the best months for planting Daffodils and Tulips respectively. There are now so many different colours and types to choose from that you really can colour-coordinate your borders, if you are that way inclined. If you want to drift away from the usual daffodil colourations of yellow, orange and white, then try Easter Bonnet, which has pink crowns. What is described as a flowering sensation, comes in a variety known as Replete. This has a white outer, with a double salmon coloured cup. Unfortunately these won't be joining the collection at Barn Farm, as `er in doors thinks that pink in a daffodil doesn't appear right! With Tulips anything goes as they have always tended to be on the somewhat gaudy side of the colour scale. Something new that I haven't seen before are multi-stemmed tulips. These are single bulbs which produce a bunch of flowers, often with a single stem producing 4 to 6 flowers. Another vibrant mix are the Flamed tulips. These have different base colours with "flames" of an alternative colour, licking up the sides. These are quite old varieties however, which were often featured in the paintings of the dutch masters. They are now undergoing a revival. When planting tulips it is often better to plant complete opposites in a mixture for real impact. Such mixes could be tulips White Dream and Rereado (white and almost black), or Apricot Beauty and Inzell ( Apricot and pale cream).

There are so many different bulbs available now that it is worth experimenting with other species in order to vary and prolong the colour spectacle. A lot of work has been done in improving Hyacinths for the garden. Unfortunately I find that the size of flower in this garden gives them very little chance of surviving, as the wind soon has them facing the ground. Snowdrops and Crocus need no introduction, as they are heralders of spring. Try Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow). This is a beautiful hardy spring flower, easy to grow, usually in whites and blues. Winter Aconites are probably the earliest of all the spring flowers, and are ideal for rockeries or naturalising. There golden yellow flowers catch every ounce of pale wintry sun. If like here, it is too draughty for Hyacinths, try Puschkinia. These are similar, but have a more open flower, which doesn't catch the wind so much. These come in two colours, a pale silvery blue splashed white, and pure white. They are easy to grow, extremely free flowering and multiply rapidly. What more could you ask for in a plant.

THE SHIRENEWTON TEN TOWERS RINGING TOUR - AUGUST 21ST

It is becoming a tradition that the bell-ringers of Shirenewton go on an annual summer tour. Other towers do a couple of nice churches, coffee breaks and a spot of shopping. Mike Penny scoffs at this as being for too soft, no, this is not for Shirenewton, we have to do ten towers minimum, no coffee stops, and definitely no shopping. So, in order to fit ten towers into a day we have to start at 8 in the morning. This year we visited the black-and-white villages beyond Hereford. By 9 o'clock we were ringing at our first tower, St peters at Staunton-on-Arrow. I began to wish I had not skipped breakfast, but pangs of hunger were dispelled, momentarily at least, by the pleasure of ringing in the 13 ^thcentury tower at Pembridge. I'd recommend anyone to visit it. It's like a Norwegian pyramid, low stone walls topped by a lofty wooden tower. Inside you could wander in between the massive oak beams which dendrololgists have dated. As being felled in 1206 ! Mind you, the bells themselves were a bit scary to handle, but Mike likes a challenge. Some of us were a bit late getting to Lyonshall because we had to make a slight detour to buy some sweets to make up for the lack of toast, but I can't remember much about them anyway, due to the undignified experience at the following tower at Old Radnor where, because the bells were so heavy and deep-set, Pip and I were found dangling and squirming on the ends of our ropes, unable to make a sound; no girlie-power there I'm afraid ! Anyway, we were soon chucked out of that tower because they had a wedding on, and it wasn't to be spoilt by our noise, so we ended up at Kington, our final stop before lunch. This was a pleasant ring of six, and round the chamber were hung the records of many, many peals. In Shirenewton there have only been two peals rung, both in the 1930's. Mike is hoping to add to this (He likes a challenge !). We had a good lunch at The Harp Inn at Old Radnor, which is a great little pub with an excellent menu. Here we were joined by Ian and his mini tape recorder. Now if anyone wants to hear the second half of our tour please contact Ian, after forming an orderly queue. Of course, lunch didn't last nearly long enough for some of us. In quick succession we rang at Eardisley, Almeley, Weobley, and Dilwyn. At every tower I was given the second bell to ring, Bob Doubles, and at every tower the locals were treated to the second bell making a nonsense of it all; but it had been a really good lunch ! Our final grab was at St Mary, Kings Pyon. We had been told that this tower was almost unringable, a statement akin to throwing down the gauntlet, so it now becomes compulsory, and if it becomes unringable immediately after we've done it, so be it. Now this is not to say that we behave like a bunch of vandals, indeed Mike even made some running repairs to the treble, but to be on the final grab somewhere is almost like the icing on a cake ! Anyway, they were a suitably challenging end to our tour. We all returned to Lower House Cottage Earlswood to celebrate the end of yet another great day. Thank you Mike for your great planning, and thank you Pip for your hospitality. I don't think I can quite believe what Mike is planning for next year's millenium tour........ Watch this space !

Baked Apples in Honey and Lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4; remove the cores from the apples, leaving them whole, and then with a cannelle or sharp knife, cut lines through the apple skin at intervals and place in an oven-proof dish. Mix together the honey, lemon rind and low-fat spread.

Spoon the mixture into the apples and cover the dish with foil or a lid. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Serve with a large portion of custard or cream, and thoroughly enjoy yourself !

Many Thanks to Karen Dodd for editing the July/August magazine for us while we were away on holiday - Stu & Pauline Dutton.

Pauline Dutton, 4 Newton Manor, Shirenewton Tel: 641677 by Tuesday 21st September 1999

C	S	P	O	L	I	S	H	E	D
L	H	P	E	K	I	T	C	S	S
E	I	D	I	N	N	E	R	R	H
A	R	P	Y	E	N	O	M	E	O
N	T	K	P	R	O	O	F	S	E
T	T	A	N	E	W	T	P	U	S
L	I	E	K	O	O	B	E	O	E
E	P	L	E	G	A	B	N	R	I
F	S	M	E	N	D	E	D	T	T

C	S	P	O	L	I	S	H	E	D
L	H	P	E	K	I	T	C	S	S
E	I	D	I	N	N	E	R	R	H
A	R	P	Y	E	N	O	M	E	O
N	T	K	P	R	O	O	F	S	E
T	T	A	N	E	W	T	P	U	S
L	I	E	K	O	O	B	E	O	E
E	P	L	E	G	A	B	N	R	I
F	S	M	E	N	D	E	D	T	T

C	S	P	O	L	I	S	H	E	D
L	H	P	E	K	I	T	C	S	S
E	I	D	I	N	N	E	R	R	H
A	R	P	Y	E	N	O	M	E	O
N	T	K	P	R	O	O	F	S	E
T	T	A	N	E	W	T	P	U	S
L	I	E	K	O	O	B	E	O	E
E	P	L	E	G	A	B	N	R	I
F	S	M	E	N	D	E	D	T	T