Cotton QuarterlyCotton Parish Council Village Newsletter

Spring 2016

Saturday 18th MarchVillage Litter Pick

Meet Cotton Village Hall10am

Equipment provided

Come along and help spruce up the

village ready for Spring

Open MeetingCotton Village Hall

Thursday 7.30pmInformal open meeting for the public to ask questions and give ideas about

the village. All welcome.Presentations by village organisations

Refreshments served

‘STOP PRESS’

Cotton Parish Council

The Parish Council were disappointed by the decision of Mid Suffolk District Council Planning Department to approve outline planning permission for the development on Broad Road. It feels that many important points that the Council put forward were not fully considered. In light of MSDC’S decision Cotton P.C. are contacting Bacton P.C and Wyverstone P.C. to investigating the possibility of conferring over the detailed proposals from the developer when they are presented.

The Parish Plan which was undertaken several years ago is now under review and it is proposed that an informal meeting be held where residents will be able to discuss progress with Councillors and make suggestions prior to the Annual Parish Meeting.

Several ideas on how to improve the appearance of the bus shelter in Cock Road have been put forward and will be discussed at future Council meetings. These include glazing the window openings, painting the interior walls, placing flower tubs at the entrance.

Arrangements for the financing of the renovation of the War Memorial are in an advanced stage and it is hoped that work will commence in the not too distant future.

The position of the village map outside the Church has been a cause of concern it has been decided to move from its present position, hopefully it will be re-sited adjacent to the notice board by the churchyard gates.

The compiling of the Cotton Quarterly, which Jeannie & Tony Hutchinson have done since its inception, has been taken over by Kirsty Pollintine & Danielle Whitmore. The new contact email address for articles is: cotton.quarterly@outlook.com

They will be pleased to receive any information you have and ideas for the Quarterly.

Welcome to the Spring 2016 issue of the Cotton Quarterly Newsletter.

Cotton’s Parish Councillors are:-

Chairman Mr. Peter Gibbs Tel:- 01449 781308 email:- peter.gibbs@talk21.com Vice Chairman Mrs.Sarah Wenban Tel:- 01449 781095 email:-sarahwenban@hotmail.comCouncillor Mrs. B. Ellis Tel:- 01449 780007 email:- ber.35@hotmail.comCouncillor Mr. D. Williams Tel:- 01449 781645 email:- sanddwilliams@btinternet.comCouncilor Mr. C. Tester Tel:- 01449 782134 email:- ctnego2@aol.comCouncillor Mrs. M. Cocksedge Tel:- 01449 780491 email:- cocksedge191@btinternet.comCouncilor Mr. E. Knight Tel:- 01449 257381 email:- Elliott.o.knight@gmail.com

Mid Suffolk District Councillor / Suffolk County Councillor Mr Andrew Stringer Tel:- 01449 780339 emails:- andrew.stringer@midsuffolk.gov.uk / Andrew.Stringer@suffolk.gov.uk

Parish Clerk Mr Colin Hall Tel:- 01449 781400 email:- cottonparish.clerk@gmail.com

The Council thank Jeannie and Tony plus their team at Polstead Press for all their efforts over the last 7 years.

Colin HallClerk to Cotton Parish Council

Village web-site www.cotton.onesuffolk.neton Facebook ‘Cotton Parish Grapevine’

N.B. Copy for the Summer Newsletter by end of May please to:cotton.quarterly@outlook.com

Friends of Cotton ChurchReg Charity 1053483

Spring 2016 Update

Thanks to everyone who turned up to our annual Christmas bash, we were proud to host the singing talents of the very popular Edmund Octet and this year they were up to full strength.

The show happened among the decorated St Andrews festooned with greenery. Many thanks to the Bullock family for the donation of the tree, this year we had to trim the bottom to stop it hitting the roof.

It is wonderful to start a year knowing the works to the Chancel Roof having reached a conclusion, earlier last year the FCC pledged £20,000 of funds towards these vital works. We all had our fingers crossed during the reroofing that no nasty surprises would crawl out of the woodwork. It is a huge relief that our worst fears did not materialise. The reroofing is one of the original reasons that the FCC was formed; it is immensely satisfying to see the roof looking beautiful as well as secure.

Thank you to the PCC and all concerned with coordinating this project.

This year we will start by prioritising what works we need to fund to make sure St Andrews can continue to inspire future generations.

Andrew Stringer Chairman F.C.C. 01449 780339

Christine Tester Secretary 01449 782134

Cotton Village Hall

NewsThe village hall this Christmas looked very festive thanks to Rick Roper who donated to the church and the village hall all the decorations from his Night Club. Looking towards the summer we are considering if there should be a village celebration to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday, however we would require a great deal of support in its organisation also help on the day, If you believe this to be an event to celebrate and wish to participate contact me. (John Doherty 781083). The Ladies toilets are in need of a complete makeover and we are seeking Plumbers/Builders to give us quotes. If you are interested or know of someone who would be willing to do so please contact me as above. Our Christmas Quiz raised £244-00 thanks to all who participated.

The idiots of Cotton have returned and have wrecked the rear lights to the Village Hall. t’s your Hall, so if your Kids know who is responsible, have a word and suggest it’s a far more community minded to report

Ithese idiots rather than protect them with their silence. It’s your property they are spoiling

John DohertyChairman, Cotton Village Hall

What’s onMarchCafé 5th Zumba 7th 14th 21st 28th Circle Club 2pm 8th 22ndAfrican Drums/Dance 8th 22ndDog Training 15thVPA 16thPrivate Party 19th Village Hall Meeting 23rd

AprilZumba 4th 11th 18th 26th African Drums/Dance 5th 19thCircle Club 12th 26th Café 16th Dog Training 19th VPA 20th

MayAfrican Drums/Dance 3rd 17th 31stElection Day 5thZumba 9th 16th 23rd 30th Dog Training 17th V.P.A 18thCaravan Club 20th 21st 22nd A.G.M Village Hall Committee 25thDance 28th

Cotton Community Circle Café and Club DatesMarch – June 2016

Venue: Cotton Village Hall, Blacksmith Road, Cotton

Saturday 5 March 10am – 12noon Community Circle Café Tuesday 8 March 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 22 March 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 12 April 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 26 April 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 10 May 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 24 May 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubSaturday 4 June 10am – 12noon Community Circle Café Tuesday 14 June 2pm – 4pm Community Circle ClubTuesday 28 June 2pm – 4pm Community Circle Club

Cotton Community Circle Tuesday Afternoon Club

We are a social group and we meet at Cotton Village Hall on the second and fourth Tuesdays of most months from 2pm until 4pm.(NB: No meetings during July, August and December 2016.)

So why not come along? You choose – board games, darts, table tennis, plus a collection of books and DVDs to swap. And there’s always friendly,

lively conversation! Coffee or tea, biscuits (and sometimes cake) are available. What’s not to like? Bring your friends!

All this for only £1.00 per person.

For more information, ring: 01449 781083

Cotton Community Circle Café Volunteer Help Needed!

Most of you know about the Community Café which happens at Cotton Village Hall approximately every 6 weeks on Saturday mornings. We are fortunate that we have a band of volunteers who spend the morning helping in the kitchen, washing up, serving food, taking money and clearing up afterwards. Believe it or not, our volunteers have great fun. As our Irish friends might say, “It’s good craic!”.

Now that the Café has really established itself in people’s calendars, we could do with a few more volunteers to join the group. Do you fancy joining us? Even if you have no previous experience of this sort of thing, don’t let that put you off. We can easily show you what needs to be done and the whole atmosphere is one of mutual support, laced with some good old banter – and free tea or coffee too!

So, please think about this and have a word with John, Ann or Christine on the phone numbers given below if you are interested.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

John Doherty, Ann Doherty: 01449 781083 Christine Bertoloni: 01449 780035

Parochial Church CouncilSt Andrew’s Church Cotton

In mid-January the representatives of the parishes within the Bacton benefice, which includes Cotton, were fortunate to be in a position to consider two applications received for the post of our new Priest-In-Charge; both candidates were selected for interview and these were carried out in Bacton on 19th January; at time of writing we await the decision as to whether one of the candidates will be proposed for appointment by the Bishop.

Our works under the grant scheme have stalled somewhat following a rapid and successful chancel re-roofing reported in the last issue. The design and approval of a drainage scheme is throwing up differing professional views which need resolution; we also need to have a clear idea of costs so we know whether any plan is affordable from the remaining grant money and to that end the architects have been instructed to go to tender on their present design scheme.

On a blustery morning in late January, PCC member Geoff Toole and myself met with a technical team from the Guild of Suffolk Bellringers to further examine the issues which currently prevent ringing at St. Andrews. We are hopeful that if we can obtain funding of up to £3,000 for materials (the Guild would provide the labour) and official sanction to strengthen the existing structure, we may yet hear these wonderful bells again. We are also much in need of a new guide book to the church and the FCC a while ago commissioned an excellent text by the renowned Roy Tricker under the editorial direction of Peter Wenban; publication has

been bound up with a possible HLF Grant application which is no longer viable. So we are looking to support a new initiative to promote publication of a Guide in saleable form.

We intend to repeat our car boot sale on the village hall field but also have the hall for a table- top sale and access to the other facilities indoors (more on this will be advertised nearer the time in the summer).

Easter Services at Cotton will include a benefice Maundy ThursdayEucharist at 7p.m. and Family Communion on Easter Day at 11.00 a.m.

I hear talk of fixing the timing of Easter; don’t hold your breath!

Mervyn WalkerChurchwarden

Bacton & Cotton Local History SocietyMeetings - 7.30 pm in Bacton village HallMembers £ 2 Non-members £ 3

Tuesday, 15th March“Barnados foster children in Suffolk 1890 - 1950”Thousands of Barnados children were boarded out in East Anglian villages over this 60 years period. Peter Davidson explores some of their stories with especial reference to his village of Wickham Skeith and other local villages.

Tuesday, 19th April“The Domesday Book “When William the First found that our country’s financial reserves were almost empty he proposed an assessment of his subject’s lands so that taxation could fund a permanent military force. The result was The Domesday Book in which not even an ox, cow or pig was left out as William Doig will tell us !

Tuesday, 17th May“ Barley, Malt and Muntons”East Anglia with its easy working soil has a long history of growing barley and of the making of malt for the brewing industry. Andy Jones of Muntons will tell us about the company’s long history as a major produce, its global business and its other products such as beer, wine and cider making kits.

Cotton & District Village Produce Association VPA meetings in Cotton Village Hall beginning at 7.30 with a cuppa and biscuit to end.

16th March - talk by Mr. Sean Reid the Outdoor manager at Ickworth House ‘ How the gardens of Italy have influenced the Gardens at Ickworth’

20th April and 18th May - Meetings to be confirmed

15th June - Evening visit to Furze House, Rushall, Nr. Diss. Refreshments

For more information: Jane de Beer 781594 or Chris Marston 781567

Neighbourhood Watch Report

Police in Mid Suffolk are reminding motorists not to lave valuables in their

vehicles, especially on display, and ensure vehicles are locked when left, even for a very short period, after a spate of thefts.

Between 3rd and 19th January there were around 27 thefts from vehicles and 10 thefts of vehicles in the Mid Suffolk area, mostly from Stowmarket and Stowupland areas. Most have occurred during the hours of darkness and early morning. Items stolen include iPods, iPhones, sunglasses, a purse, cash and backpacks. So if you value your property, don’t leave it on display and lock your vehicle even when on your own driveway. Call police on 101if you see anything that looks suspicious such as persons hanging about and looking around near vehicles or property. If you think a crime is being committed then call police on 999.

The Home Office is launching a campaign to raise awareness of the 101 police number.

The campaign is to remind people that the should call their local police on 101 for non-emergency issues. More than three quarters of 999 calls received by police are for non- emergences, such as people reporting their vehicle has been stolen, their house has been

burgled, or wanting to discuss anti-social behaviour in their local area. So to help the police tackle crime effectively, the public is being reminded that they should call 101 to speak to the police when there isn’t a crime being committed or a risk of violence to life.

The 101 system replaces individual force numbers. A call costs just 15 pence no matter how long your call is and is cheaper than most force’s local numbers. So use the 101 system for non-emergency calls.

Let’s keep Cotton crime free.

Tony Craighill. Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. 781917.