May 2025
Welcome……
Around the village it’s a pleasure to see all the gardens coming into bloom again. The drive into the village from the A15 toward the church is particularly delightful with that avenue of trees. It reminds me of a welcoming green guard of honour. Our garden is a bit what Monty Don would call “organic”. I’d like to tell you that it has been planned that way but it has a mind of it’s own and me and the bees love it!
Did you enjoy the sight of the old Delaine buses trundling through the village the other weekend? I’m of an age to remember a smoky upper deck, conductors laden down with a satchel and a ticket machine and drivers who could double-clutch. Now there’s a lost art for you!
Finally, it was my best mate’s birthday last week so I bought him an elephant for his room. He said “Thanks!” I said, “Don’t mention it”.
Editor
Useful Contacts
Parish Clerk - Laura Davies
rippingalepc@gmail.com 07780496440
Chairman - Barry Ross
chairmanrpc4@gmail.com 07740151601
Vice Chair, Emergency team liaison, Flood response team - Tony Creek
tonycreekrpc@gmail.com 07886622349
th July 2025 - Tickets £5.00
VILLAGE FEAST 2025
SATURDAY 12TH JULY
JUBILEE PLAYING FIELDS 11.30am - 4.30pm l Entertainment /Stalls /Exhibitions /Raffe/Food & Beer tents
l Vehicle / Classics Show
This year - including ‘Interesting Machinery’ and also Cars / Motorbikes / Scooters and Tractors etc
For details please contact: phillipmclean07@googlemail.com or call 01778 440509 l Competitions
Baking / Preserves / Garden / Flower Arrangement / Craft / Photography / Art
For entries please contact: rippingalefeastcommittee@gmail.com DOG SHOW- FRIDAY 11TH JULY AT THE BULL INN 6.30 - 7.30pm
Best Rescue / Waggiest Tail / Prettiest Pooch / Best Owner Look-alike / Golden Oldie - Dogs over 7 years
Best Young Handler - Children under 13 years
Pre-register: rippingalefeastcommittee@gmail.com or 6.00pm on the day -£2.00 entry
Stall holder applications contact: rippingalefeastcommittee@gmail.com CEILIDH BAND TICKETS: Adult £5.00 (1 primary school child free then £2.00 - all with adult) - to buy tickets visit: wegottickets.com - The Elusive Black Dog Ceilidh Band, email elblckdg@aol.com, or call 01778 440444, 07973 711746 (mobile text or phone)
Digitally challenged?…..
We’re hoping to run a series of short articles regarding online security. It will be aimed at those individuals who don’t have a family member or friend to keep them safe and aware. If there’s anything in particular you’d like included that would help you, contact us at the Newsletter address above.
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Parish Council News…
1. VE 80 – (See report on back page). Congratulations to all those involved in the organisation leading up to the VE80 events and we hope that those that took part enjoyed it.
2. Emergency Plan – Cllr Creek has completed the update to the Emergency plan and it will be updated on the Parish Council Website after some formatting. This is a live document however, it is generally updated on an annual basis. Thanks to all that helped with its compilation.
3. Road Safety – The Parish Council was disappointed with the decision that the stretch of East Street between Doctors Lane and Station Street did not meet the criteria to make it a 30mph zone, especially as it would be simple to do, just by removing 2 signs! This stretch of road is used by walkers, with and without dogs on a regular basis. Needless to say that the Parish Council will continue to lobby for this to happen, along with the entry to the village by the allotments, which is also a hazard in our opinion. Please can ask residents to be mindful of the speed limits within the village, as they are there for everyone’s safety.
4. Village Maintenance. - As you probably know a large part of the budget that the Parish Council manage is used for village maintenance. This ranges from hedge and grass cutting, to dog bin emptying and even play equipment. The finance committee has ensured that the budgets are in place to do the planned works throughout the year. Now that the finer weather is with us and everything seems to be growing at rate of knots, we will ensure that the village is properly maintained. However, activities like hedge trimming and tree pruning are restricted during bird nesting season (roughly March to September) to prevent disturbance to nests and eggs.
5. Rippingale needs more Councillors - At the last Parish Council meeting, we were saddened to announce that Cllr Catt had tendered his resignation due to personal reasons. Although Chris will be
remembered for organising the Christmas Tree at the church, there were many other actions that he was responsible for and he will be greatly missed.
Rippingale Parish Council has vacancies for councillors therefore, if you:
· are looking to do something rewarding · care about our community
· want to make a difference
· wish to represent Rippingale residents
then please consider joining us as a councillor. No qualifications or experience are required.
Parish Councillors are volunteers who give up their time to represent their community; manage buildings and community spaces; decide finances to deliver services; influence and shape development policies for the parish; comment on Parish planning applications; improve the quality of life and the environment in their local area; work to identify issues which are important to the lives of the residents; work to bring about improvements through local projects; lobby other service providers; work in partnership with other parishes and agencies, and, most importantly, work with the community and residents they serve.
Although unpaid, training is provided, and expenses can be claimed in certain circumstances.
For further information, eligibility criteria, and an application form, please contact Ms Laura Davies, Clerk to Rippingale Parish Council by email: rippingalepc@gmail.com
6. Next Parish Council Meeting - The next Parish Council meeting will be held at the Village Hall on the 9th June at 7pm. All village residents are welcome.
Tony Creek
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St Andrew’s Church…….
Since writing the last article for the Newsletter I have had a spell in Boston Hospital of just over a fortnight. I would to thank everybody who offered help support, prayers and best wishes at this moment in time. It was greatly appreciated. Now all I have got to do is make a recovery which is going to take longer than I envisaged. Again very many thanks, Jonathan. (Churchwarden)
Community Coffee Morning 6th May
The latest Coffee Morning continued the trend of a very enjoyable morning of drinking coffee and eating cakes! As usual we had fresh vegetables on sale at very reasonable prices, the highlight being the first new potatoes of the year, lovely! We were pleased to see some new faces and would encourage any village residents to pop in to a coffee morning - we’re sure you’ll enjoy it
VE Day Service 8th May
Our most recent service was a VE Day service held on the evening of VE Day itself, 8th May .
The Church was looking resplendent with bunting both inside and out, as well as two Union Jack VE Day Banners, one each side of the entrance door. It was truly decorated for the occasion!
The Rev Tim Wright took the service and made it such an interesting and moving occasion, from his leadership of the Hymn singing to the introduction of short, real stories of those involved and affected by the War. Overall, it was a lovely service which all in attendance will remember for a long time. Thank you Tim .
The Service was followed by refreshments provided by the Parish Council, the cakes were truly delicious! Thank you to all involved for making this such a memorable occasion. It was a real pleasure to be a member of the congregation at this service .
Quiz Night 10th May
The VE Day quiz held on Saturday 10th May in the Church, was a good night of entertainment and
enjoyed by all who attended. Seven teams took part and gave their brains a good workout to answer questions set by quiz master, Chas Mayhew. Subjects included Music, Sport, Geography, General Knowledge and more, with two rounds based on World War Two. It was a very close competition with a nail- biting finish!
The team called Can’t Remember (and that’s not being forgetful, that was their name!) won on a tie-break question.
Make sure you join us for the next community quiz to be held in the Church. It is open to everyone and you may be amazed at how much trivia you remember!!
Reminder of coming up events
• Annual Parish Church Meeting (the AGM) will now take place in Rippingale Church on Thursday 29th May at 7.30pm. (This is a rearrangement following the cancelling of the 1st May meeting.)
• Community Coffee Morning at the Church 10.15 Tuesday 3rd June (and every first Tuesday thereafter) come on down!
• Meeting of the Friends of Rippingale Church (FORC) 7.30 pm, Tuesday 3rd June
Jonathan Newell
Books of the Month…..
Recent 99p reading bargains on Kindle:
The Little Liar by Mitch Albom - an emotional roller coaster of a journey from Greece to the killing camps in Poland. How one young boy, who never lies, gets it all wrong and then sets out to put it right. A frighteningly brilliant story from the author of “Five People You Meet in Heaven”.
Hope Street by Mike Gayle - a missing mother, a home and community that’s about to be demolished for a new “development” and the son’s concern that his mum won’t know where to go when she comes back. Enter a journalist on a mission and we have a heart warming story.
The Broken River by Chris Hammer - Australian crime thriller from one of their best authors. Great characters, an atmospheric small town Australia and lots of twists and turns. Who’s the baddy? Who’s your daddy? You might need a couple of ready meals handy so you don’t have to put this down!
Paige Turner
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Our VE 80 Celebrations….
The weather was cold but that did not stop our community coming out to celebrate VE 80. Bank holiday Monday saw families, neighbours and friends enjoying picnics and traditional games on the Jubilee Playing Fields. A full church celebrated VE 80 day on Thursday with a joyful service of celebration, remembrance and thanks led by Tim Wright. This was followed by eating delicious, mouthwatering cakes and pastries baked by the lovely ladies of our village. The event culminated in the lighting of the beacon by Ben and Tim of J E Atkinson & Sons Farmers. Lastly, on Friday many of us ate traditional fish and chips at the Bull Inn and Leo did a sterling job keeping the village fed. Lots of lovely memories were made and a big thank you to everyone that volunteered to make it happen.
Annette Lumb
Rippingale and District Women’s Institute Life Savers and Big Prizes…….
Rippingale Village Hall was being used for voting this month so we held our meeting at the Five Bells in Morton instead. Charlotte prepared a lovely buffet for us which we all enjoyed, especially as it was a free treat for our members! We were also able to buy our preferred drinks to go with it.
Our job this month was to discuss the resolution, chosen from 90 thousand submitted by WI members nationwide, entitled 'Bystanders Can Be Lifesavers’. This proposer would like to see an increase in public confidence and training in CPR and to see an improvement in the access to d e fib r i l l a t o r s . T h e r e w a s a l i v e l y d i s c u s s i o n among members which resulted in everyone voting for our delegate to the WI Annual Meeting to vote for the resolution.
A £10,000 prize in the WI Lottery was the incentive for members to buy a ticket though some would be quite happy with other prizes including a cruise for two, a cordless hand and food mixer, a heated airer from Lakeland, theatre tickets for two etc,. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
After some notices and reminders of future events the raffle was drawn and the meeting was closed. Our next meeting will be on 5th June in Rippingale Village Hall from 2-4pm when we will be flower arranging with Pat Gray. If you would like to join us or would like more information call Janet on 07552 699848 or go to our website radwi@btinternet.com
Janet Morris
F.O.R.C. Friends Of Rippingale Church… Family Easter Egg Treasure Hunt Quiz……
The church was well prepared for an afternoon of family fun with two chaps in frilly aprons manning the refreshment stall. There was also a second hand book stall, craft stall, children’s activity table and a plethora of cakes to buy and take home for afternoon tea. Sixteen family teams turned up to collect a village quiz pack and set off to try and answer the questions and clues from different locations marked on a Rippingale map. Upon returning each team handed in their answer sheet for marking and were presented with a goody bag of chocolate Easter eggs.
Our very own Rose Royal, Soren Grew, presented prizes to the winning team, the second place team and there was a special prize for the team scoring the least points, for their sportsmanship.
There were so many positive comments about the number of families coming out for the afternoon and enjoying themselves. Full marks to those who contributed, books, cakes and of course, their time to ensure the event was a success, both socially and financially, with a final profit close to £430.
Chris Petz