FIPPENNY FIPPENNY

NEWSNEWS

T h e P a r i s h M a g a z i n e o f T h e P a r i s h M a g a z i n e o f

S t A n d r e w ' s C h u r c h , S t A n d r e w ' s C h u r c h ,

O k e f o r d F i t z p a i n e O k e f o r d F i t z p a i n e

30p

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Churchwarden Keith Bradley 01258 861735

Churchwarden Mrs Zoë Goddard 01258 861046

Church Treasurer

Robert James 01258 860523

P.C.C. Secretary Mrs Zoë Goddard 01258 861046

THE OKEFORD BENEFICE serving the parishes of:- St. Nicholas, Child Okeford, St Paul, Hammoon , St. Nicholas, Manston, St Andrew, Okeford Fitzpaine, Church of the Holy Rood , Shillingstone.

In the Blackmore Vale Deanery of Salisbury Diocese .

Closing time & date for copy is 5.00pm on the 20th of the month .

The Rector is always happy to visit people in the Benefice, whatever the reason. Please let him know on 01258 861847 if you would like a vis-it. All enquiries relating to Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals should be

directed to the Rector. The Sacrament of Penance (Confession) is availa-ble by appointment with the Rector.

Benefice Administrator, Diana J Lewis, Benefice Office, Shillingstone Church Centre,

Mon & Wed & Fri. 10.00 am - 2.00pm 01258 860652 Office Hours.

Benefice Office e mail:- okefordbenefice@btconnect.comwebsite www.okefordbenefice.org e-mail okefordweb@gmail.com

St Andrew’s Okeford Fitzpaine.

The Ministry Team Rector - The Revd Fr Darren A’Court - 01258 861847

(Off duty Friday) Associate Priest – Rev Sheila Thomas – 01258 820469

(Available Sundays and Mondays) Licensed Lay Minister - Mrs Sue Le Riche - 01258 861830

(Off duty Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday)

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I was recently tidying up my office, well the room in my home that doubles up as office, storeroom, place to dump the ironing or just a place to put things until I need them, when I found a very old copy of Patience Strong's, 'Thoughts for Every Day'. On flipping through the pages my eyes alighted on this verse written for the 4th January.

Between your house and mine, my friend, there is a well-worn way--------

A path made by your footsteps, coming, going, day by day............. Between your soul and mine there is a strange affinity ----- We are closely bound by unseen threads of destiny......... This is something that I cannot fathom or define----------

This mystery of love, my friend, between your heart and mine. Beautiful words, words that for me express the love that flows between each

one of us and our maker. Our Trinitarian God is always our friend, He/She is always wearing out a path to our front doors. Always holding out the hand of friendship to us in our daily lives, we are never alone for our Lord is always seeking us out. Oh how wonderful that love is to behold, how great the comfort when we are at peace and being held in the hand of true unconditional love.

In the coming year, let us within our lives, try to understand these words of

Patience Strong . Let us treat those we come across in our daily lives with love and understanding. Let those of us who are Christians hold out our hands to those who do not yet know how wonderful it is to have Christ in their hearts. Let’s encourage them to become our friends, so that they may be bound to Christ by the unseen threads of destiny.

Christianity is more than liturgy, wonderful though words are. I have been

privileged this last year to have been able to spend Friday afternoons in the Fo-rum school, with students who have little or no words, students who find our world hard to understand.

Oh! but what wonderful students to be around. Looking at the last line of this

poem ‘This is something that I cannot fathom or define...... This mystery of love, my friend, between your heart and mine’.

These words reflect how I see the relationship of these sometimes troubled

students with their teachers and teaching assistants, love shines through and I am

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certain that when our Trinitarian God knocks on their door, it is opened wide. We are all made in God's image, and let us never forget that lack of language,

sight, hearing or awareness will stop God treading a well worn path to our door.

Sue le Riche

Wishing every you all a very Happy and Peaceful New Year from the Fippenny News

Barbara and I would like to take the opportunity to thank every one who

makes the production of the magazine possible. All the people who send in copy, without them there would be nothing to print. The advertisers who help us to keep running. Pat at Child Okeford who, with great good humour, prints does the printing. Those who turn up to collate and staple, I know that we have a good chat and a cuppa but it still takes time, and lastly but certainly not least those stalwarts who, come rain or shine, trudge round the village each month doing the deliveries. All volunteers with cheerful faces!

The ‘Powers that be’ are always pontificating on the need for people to vol-

unteer, personally I feel that they are quite out of touch with the real world, at least in Dorset.

So, thank you all for your never failingly cheerful hard work Jane Tapping, Editor, and Barbara Pluthero, Distribution Manager

Alterations in Services at St Andrew’s from February 2014

St Andrew’s PCC have decided that from February there will be the follow-ing changes to the worship pattern, all services taking place at 10.30 am.:

2nd Sunday - Morning Worship (Non-Eucharistic) 5th Sunday - Matins

————————

On 9th February at 10.30 am, St Andrew’s will host a special Education Sunday service involving all three Church schools in the Okeford Benefice. The occasion is an opportunity to celebrate all that is good in the three schools and children and staff from each of them will be involved.

Please do come and support this special thanksgiving for the work of our benefice schools.

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We would like to say a HUGE thank you to all who supported our Christmas Bazaar and Craft Fair in aid of Myeloma UK we are proud to announce that we raised a staggering £750.00.

Brian Gillingham and Family

There are so many people we would like to thank – all those who contributed

to the very generous John Lewis gift voucher, those who gave us flowers, the

lovely picture drawn of the church, cards, those who offered us meals and hospi-

tality before, and also the group of folk who worked so hard to provide a won-

derful Bring and Share lunch in the Village Hall. It meant so much to us and

sent us on our move to Salisbury with so many precious memories. We shall

miss village life and your friendship but Salisbury is not far away and we would

really love to see you there. Please do come and visit us. We are easy to find

– being on the south side of Salisbury. With our love, thanks and prayers,

David and Marion Blackwall.

Okeford Fitzpaine Village Hall

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year brings everything you wish for.

We are very grateful for your continued support at all of our fund raising

events and are ready to do some more in 2014. Our aim is to make sure that the Hall is there when you need it, so your help

is vital. THANK YOU. I know it seems a long way ahead, but we are now planning the next Fippen-

ny Fayre which will take place at the Recreation Ground on Sunday June 15th (weather permitting)! This is our biggest fund raiser of the year so please mark the date in your brand new diary now.

But, before that we have:- a Books and bric a brac sale on Saturday March 8th

and the Spring Market on Sunday April 13th, both at the Hall, we look forward to seeing you then.

Diane Burt, Treasurer/Secretary & bookings. On behalf of the management committee

Tel: 01258 807697 or email villagehall@okeford-fitzpaine.org

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

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Parish Council News

At the moment the parish council is considering the precept for next year, as a result of changes brought in by the coalition government ie. the withdrawal of council tax benefit, and the raising and payment of that lost benefit on a local basis, the loss of revenue to the parish is £1775.51. The district council accord-ing to our MP should pass money down to us to compensate but they have re-fused to do so. At the moment we are corresponding with our MP to clarify mat-ters. At our meeting on the 7 Jan we will need to decide if we increase the parish council tax by approx £5 or cut back our spending, which will affect us in all future years. Mike Burt, Chairman, Okeford Fitzpaine Parish Council

Reply from Robert Walter Dear Mr Burt, Localised Council Tax Support Scheme – Grant 2014/15

Thank you for your email response to my letter of 2 December underlining your concerns regarding the legal position of parish councillors in relation to the above local scheme.

Although, as is expected, I have yet to receive a response from the Minister, I

understand that there has been some confusion on the matter of ‘legality’ and will endeavour to set that straight. Having made further enquiries on your behalf, I hope that this letter will now be able to do that.

To firstly give some background to your enquiry: from 1 April 2013, the

Government ended council tax benefit and replaced it with a system of localised support for householders less able to pay council tax. Billing authorities have subsequently devised their own local support schemes. Up this point, central government provided 100 per cent funding to billing authorities for the shortfall in council tax collected due to council tax benefit.

Under the new scheme, 90 per cent of the previous sum is provided. This has

required many councils, like North Dorset District Council, to draw up support schemes that are less generous than the previous national scheme. As a result, the council tax base has decreased in most areas due to some householders receiving council tax support.

Hence, where the council tax base is reduced, parish and town councils will

receive less money overall from their precept.

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Following consultation the Government decided to provide funding to billing authorities to make up the difference between parish councils’ precept amount and their new, lower, precept amount. The amount of funding provided was set at 90 per cent of the difference, reflecting the amount of funding being provided by Government for local council tax support schemes. However, the Government has not obliged billing authorities to pass the funding down.

In allocating the local precepting authority funding to billing authorities it

was, and is, the Government’s clear expectation that billing authorities will work with parish and town councils to pass down funding so that their precepts can be reduced reflecting, to a greater or lesser extent depending on local factors, reduc-tions in their council tax base. That may not be the full amount as the funding being provided relates to 90 per cent of the estimated cost of subsidised council tax benefit in 2013/14.

This is the point referred to in my earlier letter that may, I suspect, have led to

confusion regarding the need for a written agreement. It was the Government’s expectation that common ground or agreement/s would be reached, following consultation, between the various precepting authorities on future localised sup-port schemes and on what basis, if any, funding from central government would be passed down. It is my understanding that this remains the case. However, there is no regulation or guidance stating that such agreements must be formal written ones.

To clarify, you state in your subsequent email of 2 December that: ‘If we [the

parish council] were to proceed at our meeting on Tuesday to set our precept on the basis which the District council decree, we might be opening the parish council to a legal challenge by a resident, which if successful would make the councillors involved in that decision personally liable.

Parish councils are not involved in drawing up council tax support schemes,

and do not provide funding for them via the precept or from any other source. Therefore, the question of whether parish councils can precept sums that they do not directly control – and hence your concern about legal challenges from resi-dents – does not arise.

Your email continues: “The District council do not seem to understand that

using figures derived from the [council tax support] scheme they have intro-duced to reduce our tax base, is actually getting parishes to pay for the scheme.

This is a misconception as it is not the case in law that parish councils pay for

the council tax support scheme.

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The introduction of council tax support, in place of council tax benefit, caused a reduction in the tax base for council tax. This in turn caused a reduction in precept revenue for parish councils from 2012-13 to 2013-14. The Govern-ment provided funding to district councils in 2013-14 to make up for this short-fall in parish council budgets, but did not oblige district councils to pass the funding on. Whilst NDDC passed this funding on last year, they have decided not to do so in 2014-15. I have written separately to Leader of the Council, Cllr Mrs Deborah Croney, on this point.

However, this does not have any implications for the funding of the council

tax support scheme itself. Council tax support schemes are funded from the budgets of district councils, and this is accounted for in the funding they receive from central government. The reduction in taxbase resulting from the introduc-tion of council tax support affects district councils’ council tax revenue in the same way that it affects that of parish councils.

Lastly, you state in your email to me of 19 November that: “There has been

no consultation by the billing authority and certainly no agreement [to the dis-trict’s council tax support scheme]. It is our view that we should be aware and have input into whatever scheme the district is adopting and also the criteria applied.”

The district council is required to consult major precepting authorities (e.g.

police and crime commissioners and fire authorities) on the terms of its council tax support scheme. However, the legislation does not specifically require it to consult parish and town councils, simply stating that it must “consult such other persons as it considers are likely to have an interest in the operation of the scheme”.

If the district council wishes to add six pounds to the Band D council tax lia-bility on its own account, as you suggest from hearsay that it might, it is at liber-ty to do so, subject to the Localism Act 2011’s provisions for a local referendum if a rise in council tax is ‘excessive’. This would be a separate matter from the parish’s precept.

Again, I suspect this point may have become confused with my earlier state-ment about ‘agreements in place with the billing authority’, but there is no re-quirement for the parish council to agree to the district council’s council tax re-duction scheme.

I hope that this has clarified the situation for you and I will, of course, be back in touch again as soon as any reply from the Minister or Leader of the Council is received on the wider funding issue.

Kind regards, Robert Walter MP

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The Olde Bell Stores & Post Office Okeford Fitzpaine 01258 860414

General grocerieslocal produce.Photo Copier Bakery serving breadcakeswarm savouriestake-away tea & coffee

croissants on Saturdays Off Licence NewspapersTraditional sweetshop

Opening Hours Shop: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 7.30-5.30 Wed,7.30-1.00pm Sat 8.30-1.2.30

Sun closed Post Office: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9-1, 2-5.30. Wed 9-1 Sat 9-12.30. Sun closed.

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Okeford Fitzpaine CE VA Primary School

Dear All

Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year (2014)

200 years Old! As you may well be aware this is a very special year for our

school. We are 200 years old – according to the records of “The National Society

for Promoting Religious Education” there has been education here in Okeford

since 1814. 2014 will be an exciting year celebrating this achievement

Year 5 Leeson House Trip Reports

Due to Mr Johnson’s absence I accompanied the Year 5’s to Leeson House.

All the children seemed to have a great time and I was very proud of how well

they behaved and their manners were impeccable. I think they all enjoyed activi-

ties which were new to them including Night Orienteering, Team Challenges,

Pond Dipping and Environmental Art. The walk to Dancing Ledge was amaz-

ing! The children even slept reasonably well. They must have had a busy time!!

Well done to all Year 5’s!

“After a long bus journey picking up children from different schools, we made

our way to Leeson House. When we arrived at Leeson House, we went on a walk

to Dancing Ledge. Matt guided us around and told us that Dancing Ledge was

made from limestone and it was once a quarry. When we got back from the walk

we got shown our rooms before we had a fire drill. Then we went back to our

room. I was in room 1 with people from our school. Then we had dinner we had

sausages, baked beans and jacket potato. Then we went to bed, we had to have

the lights out at 10:00pm but we kept on laughing. The next day we went pond

dipping we caught a great boatman. Great boatmen can bite you! Someone else

from a different group caught a smooth skin newt; it has got an orange belly. Af-

ter we had done some pond dipping we did some environmental art. Zoe, Millie

and I were working together; we made a snake out of berries, leaves and sticks.

My favourite part was the walk to Dancing Ledge because I liked the stories

Matt told us. For example, the story of Hairy Handed Harry“. By Alanna

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“We arrived at Leeson House on a coach with children from Shillingstone and Child Okeford. When we arrived we were introduced to Leeson House staff, they were called Amy and Matt. Then we went for a walk .We went on a field trip, we spotted three Roe deer. Amy told us about the 2nd World War and after that we walked through some fields, and we went on the Priests Way. She told us how it was haunted and then we went on the Jurassic coast. We had lunch and we found some fossils and that was fun. After that we had tea it was sausages, mash and beans and for pudding we had ice-cream, strawberry sauce and fruit. We had some indoor games and orienteering in the evening. We got our PJ’s on, then we had hot chocolate and a biscuit, then we went to bed. The next day we got up and made our bed because we had a room inspection and then we went down stairs to have breakfast. Later we did environmental art and pond dipping and I made a new friend. Finally we put our belongings on the coach and we waved good bye to Leeson house”. By Harry “On Tuesday 3rd December we left to go to Leeson House. When we arrived we went on a walk to Dancing Ledge. When we came back we had to have a fire drill. We got shown to our room. I was in room 1 with the other girls in my class. After that we had tea (sausages, baked beans and jacket potato). Then we did night orienteering and team games, we were split into 2 groups. At bed time we were told to have lights out but we were giggling. At 7:30am we had to wake up to get packed, then we had breakfast (cereal and toast). After that we went pond dipping and someone found a smooth skin newt. Then we went back to Leeson House and we did some environmental art. We got on the bus and went home. I liked everything, I learnt lots and I will never forget it. I wish I could go again”. BySarah. Blanket Squares Knitted by the Knitting Club All the squares that were knitted by the knitting club have been sewn together to make two blankets. These blankets are being distributed as part of Winter Survival Project by the charity World| Jewish Relief, to impoverished Jews and others struggling to sur-vive extreme temperatures in poorer parts of the world. The project is being co-ordinated by local Christadelphien Church. The children enjoyed the chance to learn a new skill - knitting, and be able to help others less fortunate than them-selves. Well done children. Christmas Fair Thank you to all the parents who provided items for our Christ-mas Fair and to those who helped before, during or after the Fair. We are

delighted to report over £400 profit without taking account of the Raffle – I esti-

mate a profit of £700. This was a fantastic event organised by a small dedicated

band of PFA members – many thanks as usual.

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Pyramid Carol Concert – Monday 16th December at SNHS I was so proud

of the choir at the Pyramid Carol Concert. All the children sang so well and

were excellent ambassadors for our school. Many thanks to the parents for tak-

ing the children to and from the carol concert and I hope they enjoyed watching

the performance.

Whole School Christmas Lunch On Wednesday 18th December all the staff joined the children for a Christmas Lunch. We had tablecloths on the tables and crackers and hats. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get into the festive spirit and the children ate well and there was very little waste. What a lovely whole school event. Christmas Church Service On the last Wednesday night of term we enjoyed our school Christmas Carol Service in church and could the weather have been worse! I would like to thank the children who played their part so well it was a pleasure to watch. Thank you to all the parents who braved the weather and came with their children and attended the service. We all needed the mulled wine and mince pies back in school provided by the PFA to heat us up! We drew the raffle and we know that the Mathison family will have had lots to eat at Christmas because they won the lovely hamper which was our top prize. Lots of other prizes were won by various people. A big thank you to the PFA for organ-ising our raffle and special thanks to Michelle Cook-Paine who wrote to all the companies who provided the prizes. Parents’ Guide to E-Safety As I’m sure there were lots of electronic devices appearing as Christmas presents we attached a parent’s guide to keeping children safe while on the internet. Please be aware of what websites your children are using and do set parental controls so that unsafe websites cannot be accessed by them. Staffing We are hopeful that both Mr Johnson and Miss Moriarty will return to school in January. We wish them both a restful Christmas. It is such good news that Mrs Johnson is making a good recovery after such a serious operation. Many thanks to Mrs Cook-Paine and Mrs Donaldson who have both worked full time during the latter part of this term to cover staff absence. I know that the children have benefited from being taught by staff who know them so well. The children come back to school on Tuesday 7th January 2014 at 8.55am ready for a New Year and new school term. Yours sincerely, Mark Acreman Head Teacher

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Date Time Venue Price

Show Contact |No

Sat 18th 7.30 Exchange £5

Comedy @ the Exchange

01258 475137

Sat 18th 10.30-1pm Free Tea/coffee

Community Open Day Tour Building, meet local groups

01258 475137

Sun 19th 7.00 Exchange £4.50

‘Blue Jasmine’ Film (12a)

01258 475137

Fri 24th 7.39 Exchange £8,£5 u18

‘Tin’ Film Pre-view screening

01258 475137

Mon 27th 7.30 Open Mic Night 01258 475137

The Entertainment Page. What’s on in the district this month

Located within Okeford Fitzpaine CE VA Primary School grounds

Opening Times Monday to Friday 8.00am - 6.00pm

Ages 2 – 5 years. Experienced, qualified and friendly staff. Safe enclosed outdoor play area. Wide range of indoor activities Please contact the Manager Niki Carey on 01258 860023

Email: theoaktreepreschool@btconnect.com

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine. A backward poet writes inverse.

A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

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We NEED you! Have you ever thought about becoming an on-call firefighter with Dorset Fire and Rescue?

Fire stations across Dorset are recruiting for on-call firefighters – a part-time

job which could save lives.

What is an on-call/retained or part-time firefighter? An on-call firefighter is someone who is able to work part-time for D. Fire &

Rescue Service and who is able to respond to his or her local fire station when needed, to deal with an emergency. It might be someone who is in other full time or part-time employment or is a carer and is keen to support their local com-munity. Local emergency services form an important part of our community. Firefighters do a whole range of jobs from fighting fires to helping at all sorts of incidents. As a retained firefighter you might be called to floods, road traffic collisions or chemical spills as well as fires.

What kind of person can become an on-call firefighter?

Anyone can be an on-call firefighter, provided that they are over 18 and are physically and medically fit. You do not need any formal qualifications for the job but you should have good reasoning and numeracy skills. You must be someone with commitment as you could be disturbed from your work or your home at any time of the day or night. If you are able to respond from work you will need to get the permission and support of your employer. Your employer is likely to expect you to make up the time you have missed when responding to an emergency.

What kind of training do you get?

To begin with, you will have to complete a number of tests to show that you have the right skills and fitness to be a firefighter. If you are successful in these tests you will then be asked to attend an interview at your local station. Finally, you will need to attend a medical and eyesight test. Soon after your appointment you will have to travel to our Training Centre to complete a Basic Retained Training course. This course is Monday to Friday and is for two weeks. Once you have been an on-call firefighter for three-six months you will return to the Training Centre in order to learn how to wear and use Breathing Apparatus Equipment. Again, this course is Monday to Friday for two weeks. There are other training courses to gain specialist skills such as first aid and casualty care, but when possible these are at weekends or in the evenings. We provide ongoing training in the form of a drill night each week at your fire station.

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How does the retained duty system work? You do not have to work specific hours but you must be available at agreed

times of the day or night, including weekends. During the application process, you sign up to a commitment of either 90 or 120 hours each week. This doesn’t Mean you have to be on duty at a fire station. You may be at work or at home with your family during this time. When you are needed for an emergency you are “alerted” and must be able to drop anything you are doing and get to the fire station within five minutes. So do I have to be on call all the time?

No, the number of contracted hours you are on call will depend on the amount of time you can give each week. The number of hours will be dependent on your work or other commitments and will be agreed following a discussion with the station commander of your fire station.

Will I have to deal with unpleasant situations?

The nature of the work of a firefighter means that you may be asked to deal with unpleasant situations. It is difficult to train for such situations however, the training we do provide will help you prepare for and deal with an emergency. There are lots of different jobs that have to be done during an emergency. Every firefighter has different skills and strengths and these are used, where possible, having regard to the situation. On the rare occasion when you may find the emergency unpleasant we do provide help and support.

What will I get out of it?

Joining us as a retained firefighter offers a wealth of opportunity to work for your local community on a part time basis. It is an exciting and hugely reward-ing job where you will become a crucial member of a highly trained and tight knit team. The job gives you an opportunity to help your friends or neighbours in an emergency in a very real and practical way.

There are also financial rewards; you will receive an annual retainer that is based on the level of cover you are able to provide. An hourly rate is paid for training and responding to an emergency. In addition, you are paid a disturbance fee when you respond to an emergency. As an on-call firefighter you are enti-tled to annual leave and you are eligible to join the fire service pension scheme.

How do I apply?

Full details of the role of an on-call firefighter together with an application form can be found on our website; www.dorsetfire.gov.uk. If you would like any further information please visit your local fire station.

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Age Concern Blandford Forum Wills Surgery by appointment only Tuesday 28th January 2014, between 10.00 am & 12.30 pm. Age Concern, 4 Nightingale Court, East Street, Blandford

Do you need to make or change a Will or Power of Attorney? Every few months we have a by appointment surgery where individuals can come and ask an expert questions about will, power of attorney and other legal

aspects of your home and finances. This if a FREE one to one surgery given by Jerome Dodge, Principal Solicitor

at Blanchard Bailey. To make an appointment phone Age Concern on 01258 458250

They are after your MONEY, don’t get caught! 809Area Code. We received a call last week from the 809 area code. The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you, get back to us quickly. I have something important to tell you.' She repeated a phone number begin-ning with 809. We did not respond. This week we received the following e-mail: ‘Do not Dial Area Code 809, 284, and 876 from the UK., U.S., or Canada. This is being distributed all over the US & UK This is pretty scary, especial-ly given the way they try to get you to call. Read this and pass it on. They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize. In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. There are so many new area codes these days folk unknowingly re-turn these calls. If you call from the UK, U.S or Canada , you will apparently be charged a minimum of £18.50 per minute, and you'll also get a long recorded message, this keeps you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic. The charg-es afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong..

From Alice Goddard

I have heard of these types of scams before, so be wary and tell any one you know, especially any one who may be vulnerable and who finds modern technol-ogy difficult. Some one e mailed me the other day to say I had had a large amount of money in a bank in Malaysia ,… in your dreams. What to do. Ring off or delete any messages on the answer phone. E mails:- do what Ken always told me to do. Click onto Messages, click Block Caller on the drop down menu. Then click OK etc. Make sure that you on actually on the correct message to start with or you may block the wrong person.

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Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic

Sturminster Newton & Shaftesbury

Farm Animal Practice &

Domestic Pets Consultation By Appointment

8.30am-6.00pm

24 hour Emergency Care

01258 472314 01747 850500

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For Hire Mini digger– various types and siz-

es of buckets 2 ton flatbed trailer 2 ton tipper trailer

Farm Manure-bagged or trailer load Self drive hire & towed Contact: Mike Bartlett Mill Farm Bungalow Shillingstone Lane Okeford Fitzpaine

Phone 01258 861647 Mobile 07890 829645

North Dorset households double recycling rate Recycling has more than doubled since the Dorset Waste Partnership intro-

duced the ‘Recycle for Dorset’ collection service in June. In July, N. Dorset recycled 64% of household waste, compared to 30% in July 2012. Most non-recyclable rubbish is now taken to a waste treatment facility in Poole where additional recyclable materials are recovered and what is left used to produce compost. More than 34% of N. Dorset’s household waste was treated this way in July, meaning less than 2% was sent to landfill.

Food waste and garden waste goes for composting or to produce renewable energy. The range of recyclable materials collected fortnightly now includes plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper, cardboard, tins, cans, aerosols, glass bottles, jars and household batteries. These are then turned into new products across the UK.

The 7 Dorset councils formed DWP to introduce a countywide scheme to recycle more than 65% of Dorset’s waste and aims to cover the rest of Dorset by 2015. For more info go to www.dorsetforyou.com/dorsetwastepartnership DWP aims to drive down costs, reduce the amount of landfill waste and in-crease recycling from 50% to more than 65% by 2015/16.

DWP has a contract with New Earth Solutions (NES) at Canford to process the majority of the household residual rubbish by mechanical biological treat-ment (MBT). From September 2014, the Canford facility will be able to use rubbish from Dorset to produce a waste-derived fuel for generating renewable energy. For more information, visit http://www.newearthsolutions.co.uk/our-business/waste/residual/

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22

Winter Warmers, using vegetables and cheaper cuts of meat

The shortest day is past, but there is an old saying that “As the days lengthen, so the cold strengthens” and this is usually true. A good excuse for some old fashioned food that sticks to your ribs, keeps out the cold and very often does not cost a lot. A young girl I knew once called it rather sneeringly “Peasant food”, so what! It’s very good!

Market Day Savoury A family favourite this,

Pork chops or shoulder cutlets for as many as you need, 1or 2 Pigs’ kid-neys’ (optional), 1½lb sliced potatoes, 1 small apple (peeled & sliced), 1 tsp dried sage or 2 tsp chopped fresh sage, 1 tbsp tomato sauce. Teacup water. Sea-soning.

Layer potatoes and pork into casserole, sprinkling onion, sage, apple and seasoning among chops. Pour on water, mixed with tomato sauce. Cover tight-ly and cook in moderate oven for 2– 3 hours. Is happy to stay in oven longer if necessary. Or you could use your slow cooker.

Shin of Beef Casserole

2lb shin beef, trimmed and cubed, 1½ oz seasoned flour, 1½ oz lard, dripping or oil, clove garlic crushed, 2 sticks celery sliced, 1 pt beef stock, ½ pt light beer, 14oz can tomatoes, salt & pepper, gravy browning (or Oxo), sm all green pepper, seeded & diced, 2 oz sliced mushrooms.

Toss meat in seasoned flour in plastic bag, heat dripping in pan. Fry meat until golden (little at a time), add any remaining flour, cook for 1 min. Stir in all ingredients except browning, peppers & mushrooms. Add gravy browning. You can add a little water if too dry. Cover and cook for 3½ hours, simmering very slowly. Add peppers & musdhrooms, cook for further ½ hour. Check seasoning and serve with veg of choice.

“Savoury Ducks” Liver is very good for you, and cheap!.

1 lb liver, sliced, 1 large onion, sliced, ½ pt stock or water, 2lb potatoes, peeled and sliced, 2 oz bacon chopped, chopped sage, Salt & pepper.

Put layer potatoes into a greased tin or dish, then slices of liver, onions, bacon, seasoning and sage, finishing with potatoes. Pour on stock or water, dab with dripping or butter. Cook for 1½ hours in moderate oven until nicely browned. This would go well with some nice green veg.

Cheese, Onion & Potato Pie

8 oz potatoes, 2-3 oz grated cheese (I like a really mature Cheddar but what-ever you prefer), ½ an onion, chopped finely, 1 oz butter, salt & pepper, ⅛ pt(2½ fl oz ) milk. Little chopped parley.

Boil potatoes until softened. Fry onion until golden in ½ butter. Drain po-tatoes and mash well with salt, pepper, milk and remaining butter. Add onion and all but 2 tbsp of the cheese and little chopped parsley. Mash

23

well, put into a warmed, greased oven-proof dish and smooth top. Sprin-kle over remaining cheese. Brown a little under grill and garnish with parsley. Variation

Before sprinkling cheese, make 4 wells in top with back of a spoon. Break an egg into each and top with a dot of butter. Sprinkle cheese round eggs and pop into oven, Gas 5, 375°F until eggs are set, about 15mins.

Being a ‘careful’old biddy, I always try to utilise to the oven to the full when

I have it on. Main course and pudding at the same time.

Pineapple Upside-down Pudding 2 tbsp Golden syrup, 8 oz canned pineapple rings, few glace cherries, 4 oz

butter, 2 oz sugar, 2 eggs, beaten, 4 0z S R Flour, 1 tsp arrowroot. Spread syrup over bottom of a greased 7” baking dish. Drain pineapple, re-

serve syrup, arrange on the bottom. Put a cherry in centre of each ring. Cream fat and sugar. Beat in the eggs, fold in flour. Pour over pineapple. Bake in pre-heated oven 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. for 30-40 mins. Just before pudding is ready, make the sauce. Dissolve arrowroot in a little of the reserved syrup in a pan. Add rest of syrup, bring to boil stirring and simmer until clear and thickened. Turn out the pudding up-side down on a dish and serve with the syrup.

Apple & Orange Pudding

12 oz peeled, cored & sliced Apples, 2½ oz butter, sugar to sweeten, 6 oz stale cake crumbs, rind and juice 1 orange.

Melt 1 oz butter in a pan, add apple, cook until soft but not mushy, stiring a little. Remove from heat, sugar to taste. Melt 1½ oz butter in another pan, stir in crumbs, half of the orange rind and all the juice. Grease 7” sandwich tin, spread half the crumbs over base.. Cover with apple to within half inch of sides, then cover with rest of crumbs. Bake 375°F/Gas 5, for 15mins. Invert onto warm plate without removeing tin. Leaave for 5 mins. Lift off tin and sprinkle with rest of orange rind. Best hot but OK cold. Serve with cream or custard. That’s cheap enough!

Jane

24

WHEN CANCER IS DIAGNOSED

Mr. C. is 72 years old and lives alone. His wife died several years ago of breast cancer. He has two children; a son who is in Australia and a daughter who lives and works in London. Mr. C ‘s GP has referred him to the Oncology department at the local hospital where he was given a va-riety of tests and given another appointment. He was advised to take someone with him for this visit but decided to go alone. When he met with the consultant, despite his suspicions, he was still shocked when the doctor told him he had cancer. He was quite unable to take in what was said to him and when he left he could hardly remember anything that the doctor had told him. He was given a lot of leaflets containing information about his cancer but didn’t feel as though he could look at them. He didn’t want to bother his children because he didn’t know what to tell them. He felt confused, apprehensive, and depressed about his future. He would have like to have had someone to talk to but didn’t feel close enough to anyone to share his feelings. One good friend, who knew of the diagnosis, gave him a leaflet about the services offered by Dorset Advocacy and of-fered to help him make the call for help.

HOW DORSET CANCER ADVOCACY HELPED

When Mr. C. contacted Dorset Advocacy, he was put in touch with a volunteer advocate, David, who arranged to meet him in his home. Mr. C was relieved to find David a friendly and sympathetic listener. After being assured that his privacy would be respected he felt able to tell David about his fears and concerns about his illness and treatment, how to tell his chil-dren, and what support might be available. With the help of David, he developed a list of specific questions he had for his doctor. He and David went through the leaflets to gain more understanding of his diagnosis. He welcomed David’s offer to accompany him to the next appointment so that any remaining questions would be addressed.

Mr. C. then told David about his son, living in Australia, and his daughter who had a very busy life in London. Although he felt it im-portant that they know of his cancer but he did not have enough infor-mation to give them. He thought that he should know more before inform-ing them so that he could answer any questions they had. David supported this decision and they made a list of questions about sources of help and care

25

that were available. They arranged to meet again and David left a contact number so that Mr. C. could contact him should he need more help. As Mr. C. watched David drive away, he breathed a sigh of relief. Here was someone who could be a real friend and supporter who would understand his fears and could provide support. He immediately picked up the phone to thank his friend for helping him make the call to Dorset Advocacy.

Dorset Advocacy is a charitable organization which provides one to

one support, help and advocacy for people over 50. Dorset Advocacy works to provide relief for people living in Dorset with a learning, physi-cal or mental disability, and those suffering frailty through age or ill-ness. Dorset Cancer Advocacy has specifically been developed to sup-port people make informed choices and decisions about treatment and care.

For further information contact Graham Pritchard, Project Co-ordinator 01305 251033 or graham@dorsetadvocacy.co.uk Dorset Ad-vocacy is a registered charity no. 1096040

Windows A wife texted her husband on a cold winter morning: "Windows frozen." Her husband texted back: "Pour some lukewarm water over it." The wife texted back five minutes later: "Computer's completely not working now."

26

LEWESTON NURSERY Situated just outside Sherborne in 46 acres of beautiful Dorset parkland, Leweston Nursery and Prep offer an inspiring education in a happy and purposeful environment to girls and boys aged 2 to 11.

A Catholic Foundation which welcomes pupils of all denominations

Leweston School Trust Is a registered Charity number 295175

For more information please contact Chiara Damant on

01963 211010 or email: admissions@leweston.dorset.sch.uk

www.leweston.co.uk Morning and afternoon sessions and after school crèche available. Free Parent and Toddler Music

Group every Thursday 9am-11am. Just drop in!

www.rjclocks.co.uk

All manner of restoration work undertaken. From clocks, music boxes, barometers, small items of furniture to scientific instruments.

Everything from mechanical to case work.

All work guaranteed for 12 months Robert Jones, Sturminster Newton

Telephone: 01258 817 111

Mobile: 07760 385 161 Email: robertjonesclocks@gmail.com

Antique Clock Restoration Derek J Andrews

Electrical Contractors

Paul R Andrews (Partner) paulandrews@talktalk.net

7 Nethermead Okeford Fitzpaine

Dorset DT11 0TP

01258 863744 07792 613383

27

FIPPENNY GARDEN CLUB

New Year Meeting: Monday 6th January 2014 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall

‘CHEESE AND WINE’, QUIZ, AGM and SOCIAL EVENING’

Catch up with friends and neighbours over a glass or two with some bread and cheese and put the grey matter through some gentle exercise in the quiz. In addition, we will hold the usual Annual General Meeting held at this time of year.

Please bring your own beverage and glass, the food will be provided. Whether, you are an existing club member or considering becoming a

member; you can join up on the evening. Subscription cost will be £7.00 for the whole year, which is amazing value given the varied talks and events that have been arranged. Even more amazing value given that we have an outing to Castle Gardens, Sherborne on the afternoon of Monday 3rd February when everything we purchase gets a 25% discount!! This means that on this one visit alone, you can more than cover the cost of the subscription!

If you don’t wish to join the club but want to come along to one of our

meetings when we have a speaker you will be more than welcome. Cost for a visitor is only £1.00 (we’re very sociable and don’t speak latin!).

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Happy New Year

Fred (Chairman)

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On how to run your Diary for 2014 The Rectory St. James the Least

My dear Nephew Darren

So, you have just attended a course on ‘Diary Management’, to get you pre-pared for another year. If you had visited me, I could have told you all you need to know in half the time. Allow me to provide you with useful information which was probably not provided in your conference hand-outs.

First: buy the smallest diary you can find: large blank pages only encourage

you to fill them with too many appointments; the smaller the page, the easier it can be made to appear that your days are fully booked.

Second: make sure that it is of a size that will conveniently fit into any pock-

et. When dates are being arranged for subsequent meetings, you can theatrically start going through jacket, trouser and overcoat pockets. By the time you discov-er it was in your briefcase all along, all the dates will have been fixed and no one will notice you never got any of them.

Third: adopt your own private code for bookings. This means that any parish-

ioner looking over your shoulder and seeing “1.30pm PLS” or “7.30pm WTD” will assume you are attending important church meetings. The fact that they mean “Post Lunch Sleep” and “Walk The Dog” will be known to you alone – although do have alternative possibilities for your acronyms should you ever be challenged. My congregation know I am assiduous in attending the “Pauline Let-ters Seminars” and my membership of the “World Theology Directorate” is of many years standing.

Fourth: Record everything in pencil so that once you return home, you can

rub most of it out and can then deny you knew anything about those meetings you were supposed to attend – and to prove it, you can show the blank page in your diary.

Fifth: Put someone else’s address inside your diary. Should you ever have to

resort to the ultimate act and need to lose it, you do not want some Good Samari-tan returning it to you from the churchyard compost heap.

So you see, your day of flip charts and group discussions were quite wasted –

and I would gladly have presented my course for half their price. Your loving uncle, Eustace

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Okeford United Football Club :- Monthly Draw results.

December 2013 :- £50—[No.94] Chris Chaffey £10—[No.90] Tony Axe £5—[No.101] Helen Corben Many thanks to all our supporters. Anyone interested in joining our monthly draw (cost £1 per month) - please contact Allan Frampton (860083) or any Football Club member.

Friday Nothing ruins your Friday like realising it's only Wednesday.

Let’s get knitting!

Does one of your New Year Resolutions include knitting something special? Knitting seems to be back in fashion, with many people from school age to re-tirement going on to chat rooms and forums to swop patterns and pictures of their successes, and to seek sympathy over their disasters. Hollywood actress Julia Roberts enjoys knitting while on set; sales of yarn in John Lewis are up and up, and the yarns company Rowan reports a resurgence of interest in their yarns and patterns. All over the country workshops and courses are filling up. One knitting group in London which began with three people in 2005 now num-bers more than 7,000.

We already have a Sewing/Knitting Group that meets once a month in each

others homes but I must admit that we do tend to be of the more mature persua-sion. So what about you young spring chickens out there? If you would like to learn to knit I’m sure we could find some one to start you off. It’s a good way to relax, when you get more experienced you even do it while keeping half an eye on the television. So what about it? We meet in the afternoons, but if you work get the old man to look after the kids for an evening, I’m sure you could sort something out. Working with other people is fun and there can always be tea and CAKE.

Perhaps we could knit something for a charity? If you are interested, please

contact. Jane on 01258 60095 and I’ll put a piece in the next mag to see if we can stir up some enthusiasm.

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DORSET COUNTY MUSEUM

A Development Appeal has been set up to raise money for a purpose-built facility to store the Museum’s extensive collections and provide working areas for volunteers and visiting researchers. This will include a education / lecture room for use by schools and the local community. Individuals wishing to support the scheme are asked to contribute £100. For this they will receive a plaque to be placed on the Museum’s staircase, free entry to the Museum for a year and their name on the appeal donation register. The first plaque was bought by Museum advocate Paul Atterbury from the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. Paul has recently become a trustee at the Museum and wanted to show his support for the project. His plaque has been named in memory of his great uncle Lewis who died during the Battle of the Somme.

Museum director Jon Murden said, “We are hoping for a good response, the

money raised will be used to kick-start the project and we will then be seeking financial support from major trusts and fundraising bodies like the Heritage Lottery Fund.“ To support the campaign phone the Museum on 01305 262735 or see the website on www.dorsetcountymuseum.org.

“The Churchwardens and Parochial Church Council would like to extend

their sincere thanks to all those people, who ring the bells, clean the church and the brasses, tidy the church yard, arrange the flowers, make the coffee and tea, look after the security of the church, and generally keep it in a clean and presentable fashion for all our services. We are extremely grateful to Anne and Colin who provide us with music throughout the whole year and also those who organise, compiled and distribute the Fippenny News. Without all your skills and efforts, the village community would be a poorer place.”

To the above may I add my personal thanks for all you do for the church

and the community, and also for all the help you have given me on those occasions when needed it.

A Happy New Year to you and your families Regards Keith

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Closing time & date for copy is by 5pm on the 20th of the month

32

Who’s Who

Okeford Fitzpaine School Mr. M. Acreman Head 860530

Mr Ian Berry Chairman of Governors

860656

Parish Council Mr Mike Burt Chairman 807697

Mrs Sandra Deary Clerk 459863

Tree Officer Adam Saberton 861577

Footpaths Mark Paine 861719

Homewatch Mike Wood co-ordinator 860146

Transport Mrs Anthea Calcott 861071

Pre - school Niki Carey Manager 860023

Village Hall Mrs Diane Burt Secretary 807697

Mrs Diane Burt Bookings 807697

Okeford United Mr Stephen Corben Chairman 861327

Football Club Mr Allan Frampton 860083

Fippenny Garden Club Fred Philpott Chairman 863419

Mrs. Marilyn Berry Secretary 860656

Short Mat Bowling Club Mrs Barbara Pluthero 861524

Youth Club Mike Bennett Youth Worker 472368

Allotment Group Robert Loving Chairman 860966

Fippenny News E-mail jktapp@talktalk.net

Mrs Barbara Pluthero Distribution 861524

Mrs Jane Tapping Editor 860095

Shop The Olde Bell Stores & Post Office 860414

The Royal Oak 861561

Surgery Child Okeford 860687

The Hill C.O. Kate Partridge & Richard Muffett

theditorhill@btinternet.com