Netherfield

St. John the Baptist, Netherfield: We are holding a quiz night on Tuesday 16th October in the church, starting at 7pm. Teams of 4 are needed, and the prize is a group of wine. The price is £10 which includes a ploughmans supper. Proceeds are towards the running costs of our lovely church. Everyone is welcome, please book early. Contact Paul Smith on 01424 774233. Our Autumn Fair is on Saturday 27th October, from 10-12pm. There will be lots of stalls, such as jewellery, bric-a-brac, haberdashery bargains, children’s games and a raffle and tombola,. Tea and coffee included. £1 the door, children free. Tables are available for £10, Thanks a lot. Gillian.

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: Don’t forget that the Library is open on Wednesday between 2 and 4 o’clock. As usual there is a great choice of titles on offer and these are there just waiting for you, our customers, to come along and borrow and read at your leisure. Tell your friends too. It costs you nothing, as it is our free service we offer to our community to replace the mobile unit that was axed to save money. You can browse, sit, relax and read and enjoy a cup of tea at the same time. What could be better? Pass & Move Football: The next Match is on Sunday 14 October ap at the Village Hall. The doors open at 9am and tea, coffee and bacon rolls, or a cheese tasty will be available.

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: After working all day in front of a computer screen attempting to put the world to rights, one needs the opportunity to relax and forget the pressures on our daily lives, even for a couple of hours. I can do this on a Monday, either by working in the garden, snipping here and there, or playing badminton in the evening, putting my prowess in the sport to the test. The crash, bang, wallop of a successful shot, placed out of reach of one’s opponent, allows an immense feeling of pride to manifest itself, even if only for once in the evening. Well you can’t win them all. That is what draws me on a Monday. As I walk across the car park at Claverham, this is the thought that I harbor as I attempt to make myself look credible for the rest of the evening. The will is there it is just that these days, the will sometimes does not mirror the actions that are perpetrated on the courts. I sometimes have difficulty getting the racket from one position to another, to ready my stance for the next speeding shuttle, which is sure to appear from any of my opponents. They have the same intentions as me, to win. That is a strong desire within every player and what makes the game so special for us all. Phew! Now that the reflective bit is out of the way, in order that I can make this bit of nonsense sound at best, ephemeral, I can get on with the action. The things you have to do to pad this stuff out. Numbers are increasing overall, now that the Winter is here. Twelve again this week including two of our lady members, namely Jo and Sandra. Their presence allows the odd game of mixed doubles to be undertaken. In my view, equal numbers of both sexes brings more finesse into a match rather than just power. It reminds me of the times I watched Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson on the television winning tournaments and achieving International success at the World Championships in 2006. Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end. I should use that line in a song.. Unfortunately, one of our number, Chris, had strained his back and was unable to continue after the first hour. Pulling and stretching is very much a feature of badminton, so it is essential that the body is not tested too much if a problem appears. Anyway, all you potential members, please come along and join us so we can get you into the way of having something to do on a Monday night. Remember, if you are interested, we are operational on a Monday night from 8 – 10pm. It costs £5, or £2.50 per hour and for that you get it all thrown in, that is, court fees and shuttlecocks. Just arrive at reception and ask Andy for Roy or Maurice. That is three names you have learned already. What could be better?

Reflections on a garden: My good lady and I were washing and wiping up after breakfast on Monday morning when we noticed a mound of earth being created in our lawn, right before our very eyes. Every couple of minutes it grew by a centimetre or two and was beginning to make a perfectly half-ball shape of granular soil, contrasting wildly to the lush green surroundings of the lawn, which had been mown the day before. What could it be, I hear you say? Miners from Australia who had lost their compass, a right load of frackers searching for shale gas or a shiny, black furry animal with a long snout and dodgy sight, known as a mole. Yes, you guessed it, it was a right load of frackers. I jest, it was a mole. For years we have seen their progress stopped by the roots of our leylandii, from crossing the border between us and the field next door, due, I might add, to be developed even though it is green belt. However, in the last couple of months, the earthen barrier has been broken and mounds have appeared in the flower bed in front of Gracelands, our patio area named, if you read this column regularly, after The King, Elvis. Whilst these intruders remained in the flower bed, the mounds did not present a problem. It was nature in action and could be tolerated, sort of. However, now is the time, with the mole breaking the boundary of what is acceptable, that I should be thinking seriously of a mole-skin waistcoat. It is okay everyone, I am just joking, I would never harm a mole to make a waistcoat, gloves maybe. Joke! Seeing this action, my good lady and I decided to make a closer inspection of the happening. The mole must have heard our approach as we seemed to be waiting for ages before any further soil was pushed to the surface. So as it came up, in the hope of seeing the little miner, I pushed the earth off the top and exposed a small aperture through which their harvest was mounding. Unfortunately, no mole was in sight. Whilst it had not been my intention, all activity within the hole stopped too and we were just left with a brown patch on the lawn. Say ahhhh! More next week........

Contact: If you have any stories or articles of interest that will give our readership a reason to buy the paper please contact me on email at [email protected]. Call 01424838410 and ask for Maurice or text 07957588172