Helmdon voice march 2015

HELMDON VOICE
“HELLO” from the new editor
I am delighted to have been asked to say “hello” if you see me – you’re bound be the editor of Helmdon Voice, and to recognise me, as there aren’t many
I hope that you will enjoy my first long-haired men of 6’9” in the area!
edition!
I would emphasise that I do not write
For those of you who don’t know me, this newsletter – my job is merely to co-
I became Clerk to the Parish Council ordinate and oversee the production of last July following the resignation of contributions from you, the readers and
Liz Hart (a very hard act to follow!) residents of the village, so if you don‘t send me any contributions, there won’t
Although I don’t live in the village, I
be a newsletter!
do visit at least once a week, usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday It is my intention that The Voice will be lunchtime. I do visit the café on published in Spring, Summer, Autumn and
Tuesdays when I can, and it is not Winter, and the copy date for contribu-
entirely unknown for me to enjoy a tions to the Summer edition will be Fri-
pint or two in The Bell! As well as day 12 June.
being Clerk to the Parish Council in
I hope that this newsletter will serve
Helmdon, I also serve Greatworth the village well – I look forward to re-
and my home village of Tiffield in a ceiving news of all your forthcoming similar capacity. In my younger days events, as well as occasional reviews and
I qualified as a Financial Accountant, photographs of events that have already although I retired from that profes-
taken place.
sion some time ago. I have spent a
Please be patient with me for the first large part of my working life as a couple of issues—I am a novice with this musician and voice artist, and this still occupies much of my time. I am publishing software. It will get better with every issue! gradually getting to know the resi-
dents of the village – do stop me and
Please send your contributions, photographs, poems, and even jokes(!) to me by email to the-
[email address removed]
I look forward to hearing from you
Simon Loake
HELMDON WAR MEMORIAL EDITOR’S NOTE:
In November, 2014, the year of the centenary of the First World War, a WEA Local
Studies Group comprising Charles Binns, Judy Cairns, Audrey Forgham, Cec Harrold,
Danny Moody and Ross Vicars completed the study “Helmdon’s War Memorial – The
Men Behind The Names”. They would like to thank everyone in the village who kindly helped them with information, photographs, medals and death pennies. Infor-
mation can be added or amended so if you can help any further we should be pleased to hear from you.
I am pleased to be able to inform you that on 30 March
2015 I received notice that
Halmdon War Me-
morial has been awarded “Listed
Building” status.
The project can be viewed on www.helmdon.com (History Resources/ Articles/no:
82) or if you would like a black and white print-out please contact me.
Audrey Forgham
[phone number removed]
e-mail: editor@helmdon.com
Simon Loake

HELMDON VOICE—Spring 2015
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HELMDON PRESENTS…
The arts organization in Helmdon
Starting the year with two promotions for
Northants Touring Arts we saw capacity audi-
ences enjoy the Snow Queen at the school and the Budapest Café Orchestra at the Read-
we are looking forward to the next six month programme which we hope offers something for all to enjoy. We now have our own active 3-D glasses.
Fri Mar 13 Boyhood performance on Friday June 19th when we are Fri Apr 17 What we did on our holiday delighted to welcome “Scarecrow” a very pop-
Fri May 15 Argo ing Room. Look out for details of our next live ular band of local musicians formed at the end of 2006 bringing together folk, classical, rock,
Fri Jun 26 Alice in Wonderland (3-D)
jazz and blues backgrounds to create a trio Fri July 24 The Hundred-Foot Journey that doesn’t sound like just another folk band
Fri Aug 14 The Book Thief
– sure to be another sell out!
Doors open at 7.15pm and the films begin at
7.45pm.
Our monthly film club continues to thrive and
Drinks are available. Members guests may attend one film per year at a cost of £3.00. New members and guests warmly welcomed!
HELMDON PRIMARY SCHOOL
As most residents will know, Helmdon Primary School is a small friendly school which currently has
114 children on role aged between 4 and 11.
Our aim is to provide a safe happy and caring environment where children grow and develop and in which they are respected and valued. We foster a passion for life long learning with an engag-
ing curriculum to ensure all children reach their full potential. Our challenge is to develop self esteem, independence and resilience. The three words we use to sum up our intention at Helmdon are:
Inspire, Nurture, Challenge.
There have been a number of special events recently. We have celebrated Easter with a service at church and an Easter disco. We are planning a visit to the Gurdwara Sikh temple in Leamington Spa on the 20th April. Year 4 will be going on a residential trip to Irthlingborough and year 6 will have a ’kip on a ship’ when they visit HMS Belfast in June.
We are going to hold an ‘Our World’ week from the 18th May where each class will learn about the cul-
ture of a different country. They will share what they’ve learnt at the end of the week with the rest of the school and we will invite people from the village to come along. We always encourage our children to be active and have participated in various sporting competitions with other schools in our cluster, cross country, high five netball, quick sticks hockey, football. We keep children active in school by having a craze of the week for playtimes. Crazes are things like skipping, French skipping, Ukicks and skip balls.
We welcome visitors to school and are grateful for the help of volunteers. If you have time to help chil-
dren with reading or to support them with practical skills such as in design technology, art or cooking please contact us. We currently run a very popular breakfast club from 8 am and would like to offer this type of care at the end of the day. Please contact us if you are interested in offering this.
Julie Crouch Headteacher [phone number removed]

HELMDON VOICE—Spring 2015 Page 3
HELMDON BRIDGE PLAYERS
We would like to thank everyone who came to see the pantomime “Captain
Righteous and the Christmas Crisis”.
Check out the review and lots of photos on Helmdon.com
Our group could not survive without an audience, and as usual you didn’t let us down!
Our next performance will be the Summer Play in June. Keep an eye on
Helmdon.com and our Facebook page for more information nearer the time.
We are always on the lookout for new members, whether you want to be on stage or behind the scenes.
From learning lines to directing, helping with costumes and make up, lighting
PARISH COUNCIL GRANTS
Helmdon is an extraordinary village! When I took over the role of Clerk to the Parish Council in the middle of last year, I was astounded at how many active organizations there are in the village—and this, of course, has contributed to the success in the “Best Village” competition.
Every year the Parish Council sets aside in its budget a sum which is made available to village organizations in the form of grants. These can be for the purchase of new equipment, for maintenance and running costs—it is up to the organizers to put together a successful bid.and to persuade the Parish Council that the money will be well spent! The Finance Com-
mittee will review all of the bids that are received, and will make its recommendations to the full council at the May meeting. The good news is that this year the total amount available has been increased by 8% to £1350. Organisations wishing to apply for a share of this fund should contact me by email as soon as possible at parishcouncil@helmdon.com.
The closing date for bids will be Monday 11 May.
Simon Loake
IN MEMORIAM
Cec Harrold and family wish to thank all who attended Jan’s funeral on 8th January. Your pres-
ence added to the occasion and ensured that the ceremony was just what Jan wished for.
Thank you also for the very generous donations have been made to Katherine House Hospice.

HELMDON
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Helmdon Acorns Pre-School present
Put tin' on the Ritz
Join us for a traditional afternoon tea of finger sandwiches, homemade cakes, freshly baked scones and a glass of fizz. Accompanied by music of the roaring 20's, 30's and West End shows. Raffle.
Saturday 16May 2015 3:00pm – 5:00pm
The Reading Room Church Street
Helmdon
Tickets on sale 30 March
Call [phone number removed]
£12.50 per person– sorry, no chil dren.
OH RATS!!
There have recently been reports of rats in the allotments, particularly in the areas where allot-
ment holders keep poultry. Those who keep chickens and other foul at the allotments are asked to take appropriate action tio eliminate these vermin, which carry infection and disease, and are a danger to other animals as well as to humans. Let’s make sure that the allotments are a safe and pleasant environment for all those who use them!
BEST VILLAGE COMPETION SPONSORS CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
T hose of you who have been hiding under stones may not have realised that Helmdon won the Best Village Award in 2014. Thanks and congratulations are due to all those who worked so hard with the planting of bulbs and flowers, the tidying and clearing of the village, and to those who entertained the judges on the day of their visit. As well as a trophy and the priv-
ilege of not being permitted to enter the competition again the following year, the award has a prize of £250. Some of this money has been used to sponser a “Good Citizen of the
Year” award at the school. The challenge this year was to design a poster to publicise the benefits of recycling. ^The winning poster is included with this edition of The Voice – please display your copy prominently in the village!