An exhibition of ongoing research into those from the Giddings who served in the Great War has been mounted in St Michael’s Church.
The exhibition will run from Friday 7th November until Thursday 13th November, and will be open from 8.30am – 4.00pm each day.
Lots of visitors attended, some bringing information and others seeking it. The History team had prepared displays and information boards showing properties around the village both past and present.
Questions were posed about who lived where and when, dating of photographs and maps was another challenge.
A separate display highlighted those Great Gidding residents who served in the First World War, who survived and more poignantly who perished.
A new feature this time round was an archeological dig to find out what lay beneath the top soil of Great Gidding. See photos.
To help fortify visitors a “Tea Room” was set up in the Small Hall.
Lots of thank you’s to all the visitors on the day, the History Group team, Mr & Mrs Alexander for hosting the dig, Phil Hill for his archeological expertise and for running the “dig” Joan Chiswell and team for running the “Tea Room” Sawtry History Society for the loan of photographs and material and all the folks who provided pin boards for the displays.
However think the biggest thank you should go to Patrick Ellis who has lifted the lid on village life both in recent and distant past. His book and continuing studies have enthralled many in the village and beyond.
A time-lapse film recording all the activity surrounding the very successful History Day. I hope you will see this as a record of the day and as a historic document in its self. It will be interesting to see how a You tube video and other digital media helps historians of the future.
For the technical aspect the camera used was a Brinno TLC 200 mounted on a tripod and set to record a picture every second (NB. The video has been speeded up by 200%). The lighting was just daylight and the normal hall light. The camera aperture is F1.2 with a fixed field of view of 140°.
With a lyrical Greek dancing display by Deni, Mary & choreographer Jan, and music throughout the evening played by the jolly Palmerston Ukelele Band, the taverna, beautifully decorated by Margi, jumped and zorbassed late into the night.
Great Gidding Village Hall decorated for Greek Night by Margi Comeau and helpers
Enjoyed Andrew’s Greek Night Moussaka? Learn his secrets…
HDC has now confirmed their waste collection arrangements for the Christmas period 2014. Every householder will be receiving a magnetic bin card as they did last year which shows these changes, but meanwhile you can download our handy pdf file.
The Jubilee Wood is in need of some ground maintenance. The area to the right of the main entrance is encroaching onto the grass ride. A five metre band from the entrance to the central grass area needs to be cleared, leaving just the planted trees.
You will need to bring loppers, shears, pruning saws and stout gloves or whatever you have in your garden maintenance armoury.
This work will commence from Saturday 15th November and for the following 3 Saturday’s starting at 10am for a couple of hours or however long you can give. I’m sure we can arrange a coffee break for 11am
Michael
Autumn is now here. It’s a great time to get out & about walking, cycling or riding.
Blackberries are out in abundance, with sloes coming to their fullness. Just think of those fabulous blackberry & apple pies not to mention the amazing sloe gin that can be passed around with friends on winter evenings.
I’ve just been out walking with my pruners. There are many blackberry brambles that have grown across pathways & stiles. It’s not a bad idea for folk to do likewise as its a great help. The council usually cut the grass pathways, but they don’t have funding for trimming. So really it’s up to us as walkers & riders to do our bit. Actually it’s quite fun as you’re out in the countryside seeing all that’s going on around you.
Something I did find upsetting was the amount of Dog Fouling on some of the pathways. The bridle way that’s recently be given a lovely new surface leading to the black bridge & the brook was awful. If you see anyone allowing their dog to foul please let me know as it is an offense. Further more it is a serious health hazard, should children come into contact with it.
I’m often asked why it’s OK for horses to excrete on the roads. Well, a well mannered horse & rider should keep their horse moving whilst it does this, so as it is easily washed away by rain. The other thing is that the composition of horse droppings is usually pure grass or cereals orboth. So these break down very quickly, not like a meat based foul. Neither does it carry dangerous bacteria or worms. ( there may be worm infestation, but not dangerous).
However, it is against the law for riders to let their horses mess on the pavements- they shouldn’t be on them anyway! If they do, clear it up.
Happy Autumn,
Rachel
Despite very few people in the parish of Great Gidding having any direct link with farming these days its still an important event in the farming calendar. As with every harvest the weather dominates harvesting decisions and this year was no different. A good sunny start in late July followed by an iffy August. Finally harvest was wrapped up in early September under gloom laden skies.
Video: Michael Trolove
Great Gidding grown wheat could well be in any number of foodstuffs that you find in your pantry, larder, fridge, freezer, cupboard or secret stash for chocolate bars. We’re talking corn syrup derived from wheat starch, flour for baked products and wheat based breakfast cereal.
Photos of the new Neighbourhood Watch signs that have been placed around the village.
Come and browse beautiful handmade Christmas gifts.
See Santa in his Grotto!
Mulled wine and hot dogs at the bar
All proceeds to St Michael’s Church Restoration Fund
Location: Village Hall, Great Gidding
Start Time: 16:00
End Time: 19:00
Date: November 15th 2014
What a show it was this year! Considering how difficult the weather has been at times we were a little apprehensive about how many entries we would get but we shouldn’t have worried. There was a wonderful array of vegetables and fruit and a great increase in entries for the jams, chutneys, baking, and bottles of homemade wine and sloe gin.
When the marks were added up, it was a very close run thing in many of the categories so next year the cups could be changing hands again. We also had many more children enter this year who showed fantastic technical skills as well as marvellous imagination and artistic talents. Thank you to all the show entrants for making it so interesting for the rest of us.
Excellent barbecue rounds off the day
Altering the format this year was a bit of a gamble but the BBQ proved to be a great success and no wonder, with the excellent organisational abilities and cooking of both Andrew Underwood and Dick Downer (at least I think it was them behind the smoke). Thanks to them we were all well fed and I can personally vouch for the vegetarian choice, halloumi cheese and aubergine wrap – delicious!
Raising funds for Village Hall and the Friends of St Michael’s Church
Although all the costs have not yet been accounted for as we have to have the cups engraved for the new winners, it looks as if we should have made over £300 including a much appreciated contribution from the parish council which helped us keep the cost of the food down and stage a really fun village event for all the family. The proceeds will be distributed between the Village Hall and the Friends of St Michael’s Church, two charities that look after the fabric of two special buildings in this village. Our profits were also increased by the generous donation of Bruce Jordan’s handmade fort which reached £25.00 by auction, thank you Bruce you have made somebody’s grandchild (and the show committee members) very happy!
A final note of thanks to Maurice and Margaret Armstrong, two stalwart members of the committee who worked so hard to make the event the success that it was and also to our judges who also had to work so hard this year with the increased entries!
Report by Sue and Patrick Jarvis
Winners of the Classes
Overall Winner Amelia Hodson
Vegetables/Fruit Amelia Hodson
Baking Brenda Williams
Jams/Chutneys Steve Knowles
Flowers Sue Shepherd
Craft Mich Woodley
Children Tilly Warren
And the Giddings website says special thanks to Sue & Patrick Jarvis and everyone involved in making it such an enjoyable event for the Giddings and surrounding villages.
Gallery
