2000 November

We are fast approaching that time of the year when we all find ourselves being even busier than normal (how many shopping days are there until Christmas?). Not only do so many of us seem to have very busy personal lives, but at the moment, we also seem to have a great deal going on within the life of our Church.

All of this, and more, is keeping many of us pretty busy doing. But what about being? What about being with God, as well as doing for God? All of this activity must, of course, be rooted, fed and watered with prayer, just as our own lives need to be firmly rooted in God. That is possible through the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist (although quite a few people are doing things then!).

What about spending some quiet time with God at one of the weekday Eucharists - there's plenty of variety in the times on offer! Or come and join the Parish Quiet Day on 25th November (details elsewhere in this Magazine). What better way to spend just a little time being with God, to give you the added strength to carry on doing for God!

Rural Dean of Cheltenham

The Bishop of Gloucester has invited Father Stephen to undertake this Additional Appointment and he has accepted. He will be commissioned by the Bishop at the meeting of Cheltenham Deanery Synod to be held on the 23rd November at 7.00pm in St Mary's Church, Prestbury.

St. Mary's and St. Nicolas' Sunday School/Club

We have started the new term, with a new look. Each week, as we gather together, we have introduced the idea of a collective Children's Worship and have our own Service Sheet too. Both adults and children are invited to take part, and help lead the worship. It has become a very special part of our time together. The reading of the Gospel is a shared experience, with the children taking their part. We close our worship with prayers and The Creed. At St. Nicolas', we then either break into groups for an activity, or as more recently, all work together on the Harvest Festival Banners. At St. Mary's, by the very nature of the building, the children go into their groups for crafts and activities.

However, Sunday School/Club is not just for Sundays, and we have had a busy year. As part of Christian Aid Week, the children took part in a Shoe Shine and sold 'bricks', to help build a house for Marvin, one of the street children in Nicaragua. The Activity Day, 'Jonah The Groaner', was a tremendous success and we now look forward to the season of Advent, with the Nativity, Christingle Service and Star Workshops.

For many years the Sunday School/Club, at both ends of the Parish, has been run by a dedicated team of helpers, without whose love and prayers, we would not be able to continue. We are always on the lookout for new members to join us, could you help in any way? Do you have any talents that you could share with the children, as a 'one off' or perhaps on a regular rota? We would love to hear from you, or just come and pay us a visit.

St. Mary's Sunday School and St. Nicolas' Sunday Club meet during the 11.00am and 9.30am Eucharist respectively every Sunday during term time. Everyone is welcome, pre-schoolers and parents can join us too.

Youth and Children's Workers Child Protection Training

We have arranged two introductory sessions of training and discussion for all those involved in leading or running groups in the parish working with children and young people.

It is essential that everyone who is responsible for leading or running any of the groups attend one or other of these sessions. If you have any questions which you would like to be addressed in the session then please let me know in advance if possible.

Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Ride, 9 September 2000

Having parked at the church at Fairford we extricated our bikes from the car, fitted our panniers on and set off on a relatively flat route. Off the main road we stumbled on the church of St Thomas of Canterbury, one up. Perfect weather, no wind. The lady at St Anne's at Whelford said she could sign for the Base Chapel at RAF Fairford, two in one go. Kempsford was St Mary's, followed by St James' at Marston Meysey and another St Mary's at Meysey Hampton. St Michael and All Angels was at Poulton where a diversion sign led us to try a small link road shown on the map to get to Ampney St Mary. This turned out, after fifty yards, to be a dirty bumpy track which suited anyone on a super mountain bike. We rode cautiously! and bumped out of it near our goal. On inquiry we were told that Ampney St Mary church was some way away off the main road! So on to Ampney Crucis with its Church of the Holy Rood. Here were many cyclists of all ages. Whole families making their way from church to church, some very young in tandem with a parent and some septuagenarians on older machines, but no penny-farthings. Crossing the main road we found St Michael's at Harnhill up a twisting narrow passage. It was difficult to pass someone coming down on their bikes. After Driffield's St Mary's we came back on to the main road to Ampney St Mary, sitting back from the road all by itself, a quaint little church. It was isolated because of the Black Death. A little down the road was Ampney St Peter.

We returned to Fairford for the United Church and the magnificent St Mary's. We concluded with visiting the close villages, Hatherop St Nicholas, St John, Coln St Aldwyn's and St Swithin's, Cemetery Chapel and Chapel Evangelical all in Quenington.

All were worth visiting in their own right and some summer's day next year we may take a leisurely ride to them again, taking in more detail. In all we visited 19 churches and rode about 30 miles. Total collected £175.

St Nicolas' Riders ...

Nigel Woodcock, Chris Read and Frank Merrett had a very enjoyable morning, finishing at around 2.00pm. They visited about 25 churches from Prestbury to Leckhampton and around the town centre of Cheltenham. Some of the churches were manned, which meant they stopped to chat to the people there! - this slowed them down a bit, but made for a more interesting ride.

Andrew and Brian Wood managed to visit 23 churches in a 33-mile ride around the Deanery of Cirencester, enjoying the fine countryside on a sunny day.

... St Mary's Riders

The day was sunny and very little wind! Having set up St Mary's 'reception' Bob Lyle left at 10.30 first to collect a quantity of churches nearby, St Nicolas' being the eighth. He then went for quality, St Mary Magdalene Elmstone Hardwicke, St James Stoke Orchard and St John the Baptist at Tredington being gems with many interesting features.

Between Tredington and Woolstone the road crosses the main railway line by a level crossing - just past it was a hedge and grassy verge to a field, a good place for lunch and a snooze in the sunshine whilst the trains thundered by. Between Gotherington and Bishop's Cleeve was a hedge full of blackberries so another stop to fill the empty lunch box!

In Bishop's Cleeve there was another social stop at Dr Arthur Evason's with a welcome cup of tea and biscuits and a long chat with him and his wife Ann. Bob then had to hurry to catch the Church of the Ascension Southam and finally home at 5.50, 17 churches, 21 miles in 7 hours, a very pleasant day but not too strenuous!

Why Bother?

I had just got back from holiday on 2nd September, when Bob thrust a sponsor form into my hand and invited me to join him on his cycle for GHCT. It sulked in my pocket all week as I failed to gain any sponsors before what was forecast to be a wet and windy Saturday. Why bother, and who cares anyway?

There was work to be done that morning and children to run about, but by lunch I had no more excuses and the day was sunny.

At 1.30 I walked to St Mary's, signed in and set off for Woolstone via Southam and Bishop's Cleeve. There are easy paths, and other walkers with whom to pass the time, worries lift away and plans are chewed over. I paused over the railway in Cleeve to watch its restoration and frequently picked the abundant blackberries. At Woolstone my signature was 10 minutes after Bob on his bicycle, my path having been through ten-foot high maize. The ridge to Dixton gave Hardyesque views, before a steep gullied path to Nottingham Hill, a route taken prehistorically, but also by three bareheaded scramble bikers.

My last official stop was St Peter's church on Cleeve Hill, opposite the Rising Sun where some well-earned ale restored me for the noisy descent to home. Happily a number of people believed in retrospective sponsorship so a contribution was made to funds from which the parish hopes to get support.

What happens to the money?

The riders and walker from St Mary's and St Nicolas' between them raised over £650; half goes immediately to the Fabric funds of our two churches and the other half to the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust. Thank you to everyone who sponsored us.

All Kinds of Learning

Exploring our faith, sharing ideas with others and working out how it all connects to everyday life can be a pleasure, not a duty. There is no one way that is right for everyone, but between now and Christmas, you might like to try one of the ideas listed here.

'Parenting Teenagers'

By the time you read this 16 people will have completed the course on 'Parenting Teenagers'. If you'd be interested in a repeat course, let us know. We only need 8 parents to make it viable. By the way, the subject is 'Parenting', not 'Mothering' and dads needn't be shy about coming along.

Bible Study

A small group meets about fortnightly for Bible Study, currently working through Romans. New members are always welcome, even if you can't be there every time. The next two dates are Wednesday 8th November at 9 Studland Drive, Prestbury and Thursday 23rd November at 4 Cleevelands Drive, both starting at 8 pm. To find out more, have a word with Sue Read or Andy or Cathy Beacham.

Common Worship

November 19th brings the final sermon on themes connected with our new order of worship, on 'Eucharist and Community'. The evening service on the same day will be an occasion for questions and discussion on this topic.

Parish Quiet Day

Our Quiet Day before Advent will be on Saturday 25th November, at the Marist Centre at Nympsfield. It will be led by Brother Steven, CSWG, coming to us from an Anglican community on the south coast. Nympsfield offers a welcoming and prayerful atmosphere, and the cost of £13 for the day includes coffee and tea, and an excellent cooked lunch, with a contribution towards our speaker's expenses. The day will start at 10, with coffee served from 9.30, and will end at 4. The size of our group will be limited, so don't delay in booking a place. Cost need not be a barrier for anyone who would like to come, - if it's a problem for you have a word with one of the clergy.

O Come All Ye Faithful!

As an Advent study course, we're planning a series of three evenings of discussion and Bible study based on Advent hymns and Christmas carols. These will be on Tuesday evenings 28th November, 5th December and 12th December, in St Nicolas' Church Room. If time or place is impossible for you, let us know in good time and it might be possible to arrange a second group.

More Kinds of Learning

In addition to what we organise in our own parish, here are some other events which might interest you.

St Peter's, Leckhampton

The Parish Fellowship at St Peter's is again presenting a series of lectures. Visitors are welcomed, and two people who went there from Prestbury last year found the journey very worthwhile. The meetings begin at 8pm, in the Church Cottages, next to the churchyard. This year's subjects are:

Tewkesbury Abbey - Autumn Study Series

Oxford University

You might like to spend a day at Oxford University. The Department of Continuing Education offers courses on a wide range of subjects, with no qualifications required beyond interest in the topic. Among this year's dayschools several focus on themes of faith, church buildings or church music; many of the speakers are widely known as scholars and authors. All the following courses are on Saturdays, and take place at Rewley House, in the centre of Oxford:-

More details available from Beryl Elliott or contact Rewley House direct, on 01865 270380. The only personal experience I have of Rewley House was a Local History course, but I can promise you that the other students were not high-powered academics, just a cross-section of ordinary people sharing a particular interest.

Children's Festival at Gloucester Cathedral

Last Saturday, 7 children from Sunday Club went to Gloucester Cathedral. It was a special day for children from different Parishes to join together. We learnt about when Jesus was a child, about 12 years old. There were lots of activities to do. The three Zones were called Jericho Zone, Bethany Zone and Jerusalem Zone.

There was a clown to show us tricks and Anna and I had to help him. He showed me how to cut off the end of a cigarette. Then I had to put my finger in the guillotine, he pretended to cut my finger off, but he didn't.

In the different Zones, we listened to a story and tried to spin a plate. I made a scroll and tasted some Jewish food. We also went on a huge inflatable slide outside on the College Green. We ended the day with songs and prayers.

Parish Meeting

Updates were presented, followed by discussion, on three subjects: Youth Work in the Parish; the transition from ASB1980 to Common Worship; and St Nicolas' church ceiling. There was also a question from the floor regarding All Saints' Parish.

Harvest Barn Dance

Apologies to those who were looking forward to this, but it had to be cancelled due to low numbers. As you will note elsewhere in this Magazine, the Ministry Leadership Team have been discussing possible reasons for the poor response. Also, the Pastoral Care and Common-Life Committee would like to hear of any suggestions for next year's Harvest Social. However, some people intended to come, but had not bought their tickets! Let this be a lesson!! If you are asked to sign up for something, or to buy tickets for something, please do it straight away, not after we've had to cancel!

Marriage in Church after Divorce

At its meeting on 30th November, the PCC will be discussing this subject in order to make a response to the Diocesan Synod about the new report from the House of Bishop's Working Party, 'Marriage in church after divorce'.

As Fr Michael noted in his sermon on 8th October, this is a very difficult issue, which can cause some deep-rooted and often very painful emotions. It is also an issue which is very relevant in our society today. Therefore we, as The Church, need to be clear about how we respond to the question of the remarriage of divorced persons in church and why we respond in a particular way.

The PCC would be very grateful to receive anything which might help with their discussions. If you would like to make any comments, you can send them in writing to Kay Porter, ℅ The Vicarage, or speak to one of the Clergy or to a member of the PCC. This can of course be done confidentially and, if you prefer, anonymously. Please make any response before 19th November.

St Nicolas' Hall

1. Would you like to join the Hall Committee and help to run this valuable asset? We usually meet four times each year.

2. We are looking for a paid, short term temporary cleaner during the coming months. The work will be for up to 41/2 hours, each Friday, from noon.

Free Times at St Nicolas' Hall

Because of the sudden closure of the Playgroup at St Nicolas' Church Hall the following times are available for regular or occasional bookings:-

Making Music

The Double Bass

People who know will sometimes let slip that the Double Bass is the last surviving member of the Viol family in the modern orchestra. They won't often tell you how difficult it is to get on a 'bus with one. Its grand proportions and magnificent figure strike you long before you ever hear a note, and seem to excite comment from even the most bashful bystander. If I had a penny for every time someone has felt the need to stop me in the street to say "Oi, that's a big violin!" or "I bet you wish you played the flute!" I'd have £3.64.

The Double Bass, or Contrabass, is a stringed instrument sometimes also known as the String Bass, Steam (as opposed to Electric) Bass or the Big Fiddle. I have been known to call it other things from time to time (see above concerning 'buses). The strings are tuned in fourths (not fifths like the violin family) which helps anyone attempting to play the thing to span the vast distances between notes on the fingerboard. This and the sheer brute force required to tame the beast means that the weaker third and fourth fingers are not used separately except when you are showing off in the higher positions where the notes are much closer together or when harmonics are the order of the day.

There are usually four strings of varying weight and thickness stretching from the scroll to the tailpiece over the neck and the bridge, and these comprise about twenty-five feet of steel, copper, gut, nylon, or plastic, according to the sound you require or whatever you could afford last time one broke. The bottom string is tuned to E, an octave below the bass clef, but some instruments have five strings (down to a B) or an extension on the fourth string that goes up to the top of the scroll on a special fingerboard played with keys (down to C so as to sound an octave below the 'cello).

Strings don't break often, but when one goes you have to change them all or the new one sounds too bright. This costs a lot. (They are about £20 each, and that's for a cheap set). It is important not to undo them all at once because the sound post will fall out and you then have to spend all afternoon with a coat-hanger in the f-holes trying to get it back in place. You only do that once.

The physical challenge of playing (and transporting) the DB and the inexpressible skill required to place the fingers correctly make this by far the most difficult instrument of all. But it is more than that: it is an attractive piece of furniture, a conversation starter, a support when waiting for a 'bus, an instrument with shoulders to slap when the conductor walks in (if you can't clap and hold a bow at the same time) and it floats. You can play it with your fingers (pizzicato), with a bow (unbleached), or with your teeth. You also need some sticky rosin to help the bow hairs stick to the strings and a filthy rag to wipe them when it gets too much.

I have been playing the Bass for about half of my life, all over the place and for many different orchestras and bands. Recently, I have enjoyed being part of the "Blue Diamonds" and the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra and any ensemble brave enough to ask me. A Bass player will never struggle to get into an orchestra, since their comparative rarity ensures that they are always in demand. This means that you don't even have to be very good, either, which is quite reassuring.

The experience, especially when playing symphonies, is that of hearing the whole orchestra building up on top of you, a fascinating approach to hearing and understanding a piece of music. Most composers have no idea how to write for the Bass, but Brahms can sometimes be good and Dvorák knew a thing or two, especially in his New World Symphony where the Bass has a part all to itself. Often, the Basses will reinforce what the 'cellos are playing, but leaving out the fiddly bits. This means that we have plenty of bars rest to share a joke or a quick swig with the timps and the brass.

Amongst my favourite pieces are Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, Debussy's Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune, Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony (especially the pizzicato movement), and Dvorák 9 in E minor, not to mention Sullivan's score for the Mikado, but that's another story. My favourite piece of all, however, is L'Éléphant from the Le Carnaval des Animaux by Saint-Saëns.

The Double Bass is cumbersome but good company, quite impractical, but warm and friendly with it, an instrument that you feel in your bones and love in your heart as you struggle through life together. You don't really choose it, it chooses you, and you don't so much play it as have a relationship with it, like a brother, sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but always there.

Up in the Gallery

Churches show the architectural styles of past centuries. Each age adds something, a transept, a tower, a spire, a screen; depending on funds, as well as fashion. Styles change: often fabric or embellishments to churches were removed. Ornate pulpits, pews, rood screens, wall paintings all often fell victim to changing fashion. West galleries were also removed from many churches when the musicians they accommodated were no longer required.

The hey-day of the gallery was the 18th and early 19th century. They were built over the west end of the church nave, reached by narrow stairs or ladder, so that the musicians could play the music composed for use in church. Called the Quire, the group would include violins, bass viols, cellos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, trumpets and serpents. Often the leader of the group would write the music: contemporary composers also wrote west-gallery music. But most of these works have been lost.

The Quire accompanied psalms and canticles, and played anthems. Hymn-singing in church was a development of the 19th century initiated by the Wesley brothers and Methodism. Before this it was considered that only texts from Scripture could be sung in church. The Quire played and sang carols at Christmas, but outside the church. They played at festivals, harvest dances, weddings etc.

The musicians, who were often labourers and artisans, received a small payment for their services. They had to buy their instruments, strings, reeds, music, which they wrote out by hand on paper with hand-ruled lines! Local 'VIPs' such as the Rector, Churchwardens, wealthier Farmers and Lord of the Manor would make an annual contribution towards the musicians' payment. These 'mini-orchestras' had a twofold effect as well as providing church music: they encouraged people without education opportunities to take up music-making, and they increased attendance in the churches by attracting musicians' family and friends to come along. Two 19th century novelists wrote about the Quires: George Elliot in 'Scenes of Clerical Life' and Thomas Hardy (who played in one as a young man) in 'Under the Greenwood Tree' and 'Two on a Tower'.

Pipe organs were built into churches from the 19th century onwards. The 'Oxford Movement' encouraged altar-centred worship. The result of these innovations meant the musicians were no longer required. The players were dismissed, causing hard feelings in some, and the west galleries were pulled down unless they were required for installation of the pipe organ. In Stanton church the surviving west gallery contains the organ. A recent Radio 4 topic outlined the mystery of a church organ in Walsingham parish church blown up after the Quire was dismissed. But in most parishes the changes were uneventful!

Local churches with a gallery include Bishops Cleeve Parish Church and Stanton. Oddington Old Church shows the signs of a west gallery which was taken away. At St. Mary's Prestbury records show that there was once a west gallery and a barrel organ was placed there. When the new organ chamber off the chancel was constructed the gallery must have been removed. It would have been situated under where the present organ lies.

Groups of musicians have broadcast on radio the sound of west-gallery music, delightful listening, but these recordings are rarely available for sale. A group called 'Psalmody Hyperion' have published a CD called 'Vital Spark of Heavenly Flame' which is the only recording of this interesting era of church music I know of.

What happened to those musicians from small towns and rural communities? As one door closes, another opens. Music-making by enthusiasts re-emerged in the Brass and Silver Bands of the 19th and 20th centuries. The bands attached to the big industrial 'Works' may not survive, alas, but those attached to local communities are still blowing strong!

The Bellringers' Day Out

On Saturday 23rd September a group of bellringers set off in their cars on a trip to ring at towers in North Worcestershire. Most were Prestbury ringers who had not got other commitments that day. The date had been chosen because our bells were not needed for weddings. Two former Prestbury ringers came to join us from Sussex and several ringers from other Cheltenham towers were also invited.

The first tower visited was that of St Andrew's Church, Ombersley, at 9.30! A short coffee break followed then we all raced to the Church of St Peter, Astley, where everyone enjoyed ringing the six bells, three of which had been cast in 1728 by the same foundry as our six heaviest bells, i.e. Rudhall of Gloucester. (Our own bells date from 1748.) Next on the list was the tower of St James, Hartlebury, where Bertha Hardman had rung in 1940. While some of the group then lunched at the local pub, we enjoyed our picnic on the river bank at Bewdley, our next venue. Bertha was happy to listen to us ringing the 15cwt ring of eight where she had also rung in 1940. The next church on our itinerary was St Peter's at Cookley. Here we enjoyed cups of tea after the ringing and donated to their gift day. We then proceeded to Wolverley, a church with a lovely view over the canal. We sat in the churchyard enjoying the glorious sunshine waiting for the church to be unlocked. Our final ring was outside Worcestershire at Alveley in Shropshire. It was 6.30 by the time we finished and a small group of cars retraced their steps along the main road and were seen to all pull in to a large car park, which their drivers had spotted on the way. In accordance with bellringers' custom some refreshment was taken. Everyone returned home safely, and once again the Bells of St Mary's, Prestbury, rang out joyfully on the following morning! A wonderful time had been had by all.

Poetry from the Infant School

The children at St Mary’s Infant School recently celebrated National Poetry Day. The older children wrote a poem each, while the younger children worked together to produce one poem from the whole class.

I love Mummy Because………

I love Mummy because she tickles me,
I love Mummy because she cooks my tea,
I love Mummy because she cuddles me,
I love Mummy because Mummy loves me.

By Blue Class (Reception)

Look at Mummy

Look at Mummy,
She gives us sweets,
She does the washing up,
She brings us treats.

By Red Class (Reception)

Night Sounds

When I lie in bed
I think I can hear
The owl hooting in a tree
I think I can.
And I think I can hear
The trees swaying to and fro.
But I have to be still.
So still.
All the house is sleeping.
Except for me.
Then I think I can hear it.

By Daniel, Purple Class (Year 2)
(Based on a poem by Berlie Doherty)

Something In The Classroom

I saw a skeleton
I saw it twitch
I saw it move
And wiggle its hips
I saw it walk
I saw it dance
I saw it chase the teacher out.

By Yellow Class (Year 1)

Something in the classroom

I saw a mouse.
I saw it move.
I saw it scuttle.
I saw it run.
He found a hole.
He went back in.

By Orange Class (Year 1)

It’s Autumn, It’s Autumn.

It’s autumn, it’s autumn –
When everyone has water-fights!

It’s autumn, it’s autumn –
When everyone goes swimming, outside!

It’s autumn, it’s autumn –
When the last snow clears from the paths
And people set out their water-slides!

It’s autumn, it’s autumn –
When you’d give your right hand
For an ice-cream-mars

It’s autumn, it’s autumn –

Isn’t it?

By Thomas, Green Class (Year 2)

Prestbury Parish Magazine

November 2000

Youth and Children's Workers Child Protection Training

St Nicolas' Riders ...

... St Mary's Riders

Why Bother?

What happens to the money?

'Parenting Teenagers'

Bible Study

Common Worship

Parish Quiet Day

O Come All Ye Faithful!

More Kinds of Learning

St Peter's, Leckhampton

Tewkesbury Abbey - Autumn Study Series

Oxford University

Harvest Barn Dance

Free Times at St Nicolas' Hall

The Double Bass

All Saints' Tide

St Nicolas' Patronal Festival

Three Counties Coffee Chain for Cancer 2000

Wine and Cheese Evening

Prestbury Women's Institute

CARDS FOR GOOD CAUSES

Christmas Ideas

Prestbury Parish Magazine - November 2000