Week beginning April 28th 2003

Diamond Wedding celebration for Hedon couple : on April 29th 1943, when the world was at war, Audrey and Frank Barton were married at St James's church, Doncaster. Audrey, born in Doncaster and Frank, born on the Isle of Wight, moved around for a while after their marriage - Frank worked for a year down the pits in Doncaster and then as a Police Constable for another four years - until eventually Frank set up his own business with a garage on Brazil Street, Hull, and the couple moved to Willerby. Even in those days travel across the city was difficult, so the family moved to Hull. Frank's garage moved to bigger and better premises on Hedon Road and Frank and Audrey moved into Hedon, where they have lived ever since. The couple will be celebrating their Diamond Wedding on May 2nd with their family - they have two sons - and friends who are travelling to join them Hedon from all over the country. Amongst these will be the chief bridesmaid and another bridesmaid from their wedding, and the page boy, who was only five years old at the time! I'm sure you will all want to join me in congratulating the happy couple and wishing them many more years together.

Keep Fit with Crèche : a new session of Keep Fit classes starts on Tuesday 29th April at the Alexandra Hall, St. Augustine's Gate, Hedon and runs every Tuesday from 9.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. New "keep-fitters" are invited to come along, as well as returning members of the group : these sessions are particularly suitable for people with children as there is a crèche available and the session times mean it is possible to collect children from the nursery and primary schools at lunch time.

Oh to be in England ….. "Home Thoughts From Abroad - "Oh to be in England now that April's there…" - is one of my favourite poems, learnt by heart at school, and the recent spell of wonderful weather reminded me of it, with the chaffinches singing in my garden and the trees breaking at last into "tiny leaf," so over the Easter weekend I settled into what I thought was going to be a lovely peaceful afternoon's gardening. How wrong could I be! The peace was soon shattered by the sound of guns, muskets and cannon fire reverberating round the village, not just occasionally but virtually non-stop for the whole three-day holiday weekend, culminating in an incredibly noisy Easter Monday. The concussion waves from the big cannons rattled my windows, set car alarms off and sent my dog heading for cover to cower under the bed. Eventually I gave up trying to enjoy my garden and headed indoors, where I had to close all the windows so that the double-glazing could at least muffle the sound to some degree. I cheered along with the crowds at Fort Paull when I heard the final bugle-call played, signalling the end of the occasion. Don't get me wrong, the Fort Paull museum has a lot to offer the visitor - the static displays are excellent and well worth a visit, and I LOVE the falconry displays (birds like it quiet too…) and archery - archery is good, bows and arrows - nice and quiet…., and I even like the vintage cars (they may not be silent, but at least they don't explode!) But I'm afraid re-fighting various wars with such enthusiasm and noise isn't for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting a bit less volume! Is it too much to ask to want to be able to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in my own home on a weekend?
For those of you who also think there's enough warfare in the world without grown men playing at war, here are the non-violent displays we can look forward to at Fort Paull this summer : April 27th : Vintage Car rally; May 11th : Alfa Romeo Club of Great Britain display; May 24th - 26th (bank holiday weekend) The Feudal Archers; June 14th / 15th : East Riding Caravanners Club; August 3rd : Charity It's a Knockout in aid of Kidney Dialysis; August 16th - 18th : Autotrail Owners Club; September 14th : Vintage Car rally; September 27th / 28th : American Car rally.

Church Services for Sunday 4th May :
Hedon : St. Augustine's Parish Church : Holy Communion service at 9.30 a.m.
Hedon Methodist Church, Church Lane : morning service at 10.30 a.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 : Holy Communion at 11.00 a.m.
Paull Methodist Church, Main Street : no service this week (services on alternate Sundays - next service at 3.00 p.m. on May 11th)
Preston: All Saint's Parish Church : Parish Communion at 11.00 a.m.
Preston Methodist Church : morning service at 10.30 a.m.