Week beginning March 17th 2003

Preston Friendship Circle : The next meeting of the Preston Friendship Circle will be on Tuesday March 18th at 8p.m. in the Methodist Church Hall, when the speaker will be Mr. Peter Key, on the topic of Cottage Gardens, illustrated with slides. As always, everyone, particularly new members, will be most welcome at this meeting.

Coffee Morning in Hedon : The Multiple Sclerosis Society are holding a Coffee Morning on Saturday March 22nd in Hedon Methodist Church Hall, Church Lane, between 9.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. The cost of admission will be 50p and there will be a Raffle, a Tombola, a cake stall and a Bring and Buy stall. For further details you can email the organiser on simoncox.beverley@virgin.net or ring me at the number at the top of this column and I will give you a contact number.

Royal British Legion : I have just had a phone call from a delighted chairman of the Hedon Royal British Legion's Women's Section to inform me that the national organisation at last has a new President. The Royal British Legion's Women's Section, whose 70,000 members help to raise nearly £1 million for its welfare fund each year, is honoured to announce that HRH The Princess Royal has agreed to become its next President. The Princess, a life member of the RBL Women's Section for some 25 years, took up her new post on March 1st this year. She now heads a vibrant organisation which offers women friendship and companionship and provides a range of welfare assistance to those needy women who are either themselves ex-servicewomen or the wives, widows or dependents of ex-servicemen. The National Chairman of the RBL Women's Section said, "It is so important for a national charity such as ours to enjoy the patronage of such a high-profile member of the Royal Family. The death of the Queen Mother, our hard-working and valued President for more than 78 years, left a huge void in both our organisation and in our hearts. I am delighted to welcome our new President. We look forward to working with her to ensure the work of the Women's Section remains as relevant today as it was 80 years ago when it was formed."

Football First! Holderness Rangers (which is NOT a football team but a group of older Guides, aged 14+) took advantage of a generous offer from the new KC Stadium and went to watch Hull City last weekend. As Saturday was International Women's Day, the Stadium authorities had offered free tickets to women's and girls' organisations (and the Guides obviously qualify in that respect) so the Rangers jumped at the chance and went along to see what it was all about. For all but one of the girls it was a "first" - the first time they'd ever been to a live professional football match - and they were suitably impressed, with the Stadium and its facilities at any rate. The football itself was another matter : as my father would have said, "one more goal each and it would have been a draw," and the general opinion was that even if they'd had a ball each they couldn't have got it into the net, but the girls had an enjoyable afternoon and would like to thank the Stadium management for giving them the opportunity.

Preston Show : as previously announced in this column, the Preston Village Show is on Saturday 19th July 2003 at the Sandhill Country Park, Preston, and although this seems a long way away yet, planning is already well under way. The show is always successful but at the moment there are still a few vacancies for craft stalls etc. A small fee is payable but it is well worth the price. The stalls will be in a marquee alongside the main produce tent, a position which will attract a large number of visitors. If anyone would like a stall please contact R. Fenwick on 01482 898467 as soon as possible to reserve a place. Maybe you have something you would like to put in as an exhibit, alongside the vintage cars, steam engines, local photographs and pictures etc.? If you ring now they will be able to make room for you. Also, there is an annual tug of war - an event extremely popular with the crowds. Do you know a team which is stronger than last year's winners? Are there any men out there willing to show their strength? Come on, get together eight strong men (or women!) and give it a go! There is a small entry fee and prizes for the winners and runners up. One more thing - the tug-of-war rope actually went missing last year, and the show committee are appealing for anyone out there to lend them a suitable rope, please! Contact Dot Wright on 01482 827157 and leave a message on the answerphone if you can help. If there is any way at all that you think you can help with the show, please contact either of the above numbers. The show is a busy day and some kind of assistance is always needed.

Venue needed in Hedon or surrounding villages : The Thorngumbald Choir, an eighteen-strong mixed group of singers from the Hedon area, have been practising weekly for some time a cantata for Lent and Holy Week entitled "The Passion of Christ," by Percy Fletcher. The cantata is now up to performance standard and all the choir lacks is a venue at which to perform it! They are willing to travel to anywhere within reason and make no charge (although of course donations towards expenses are always acceptable.) If you would like the choir to perform the cantata for you or your group and have a suitable hall (and piano - the choir comes complete with conductor and accompanist) then please contact the conductor, Mrs. Jean Gray, on 01964 622250 to make your booking. I can personally vouch for the choir - I used to be a member - and can promise you that they will put on an excellent performance.

"Broadband Heroes" : a routine Executive Committee meeting of the D-Tec computer group is being held on Thursday 20th March. These meetings are always open to visitors and the broadband issue will be up for discussion. A submission has been delivered by the group to the Parliamentary Select Committee on broadband in the rural areas and copyright to the submission now belongs to them. However, with their permission, it has now been published on the D-Tec website at: www.d-tec.org . MPs are to examine whether the government is doing enough to ensure that fast Internet access is available in rural areas. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee announced a new inquiry on Thursday 30th January 2003 which will consider what demand there is for broadband in rural communities, what provision already exists and what is planned. The Government Regional Development Agency web site is at www.onenortheast.co.uk where their policy for connectivity is very clearly set out. Anyone who wishes to come along on the 20th March will be most welcome but please let the organisers know in advance : email ChickGen@compuserve.com for the details of the venue : presumably anyone who feels strongly enough about this important issue to want to attend the meeting will have internet access and so will be able to make contact that way!

The Mystery of the Missing Bus Stops : this is another phone query I've received - I can't remember when I was last on a bus myself, but having been asked I went and had a look and yes, the bus stops seem to be evaporating into thin air! I refer, of course, to the situation created by our beloved roadworks on Hedon Road, more specifically to the area around the labyrinth which is the Saltend Roundabout. We who live out here in the wilds of Holderness are getting used to the constantly shifting roadworks, the ever-changing pattern of the traffic cones and the excitement of daily dicing with the traffic as we plunge across the roundabout en route to Paull, but until recently we thought that at least our public transport system was sacrosanct. Not so, it appears - as the new road evolves, bus stops appear and disappear, or re-site themselves overnight. Travellers have to scramble over heaps of rubble to board the buses, or jump off them into ever-spreading lakes of mud and then weave their way through the traffic as they cross the road. At least there is no major problem there : it is hardly a case of dodging speeding cars, as any rush-hour commuter will tell you! The new bits of road are being built with lay-bys which will presumably eventually have bus stops permanently sited, but meanwhile, let's all play Spot The Bus Stop!

Church Services for Sunday March 23rd 2003
Hedon : St. Augustine's Parish Church : United Benefice Service at 10.00 a.m., conducted by Rev W. H McLaren.
Hedon Methodist Church, Church Lane : morning service at 10.30a.m., evening service at 6.30 p.m.
St. Joseph and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Baxtergate, Hedon : Daily Mass times : Sunday 10.30 a.m., Monday 9.15 a.m., Tuesday 9.15 a.m., Wednesday 7.30 p.m., Thursday 9.15 a.m., Friday 7.30 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m.
Hedon Pentecostal Church meets every Sunday at 10.30 a.m. in the Jubilee Room of the Alexandra Hall, St. Augustine's Gate; a Sunday School is also held at 10.30 a.m. every Sunday.
Paull : St Andrew's Parish Church : United Benefice Service at Hedon, at 10.00 a.m. (see above.)
Paull Methodist Church, Main Street : no service this Sunday (services held alternate Sundays at 3 p.m; next service Sunday March 30th.)
Preston: All Saint's Parish Church : No details of services for Preston in this month's Deanery Magazine, but if the current pattern of services is adhered to there should be a Holy Communion Service at 9.30 a.m. - please check locally to see if this is correct.
Preston Methodist Church : morning worship at 10.30 a.m., afternoon service at 2.15 p.m.

The interregnum at Hedon and Paull Parish Churches is coming to an end as Rev. Howitt, takes up his post in a couple of weeks time. Both churches wish to extend their thanks to all clergy who have stood in, and everyone else who has kept the churches going with weekly services in the meantime, especially Rev. W. McLaren.