Misterton & West Stockwith village news

28th March

misterton stockwith

Thursday 28 March 2024

RESIDENT RECEIVES BASSETLAW ACHIEVER’S AWARD (+ PIC – also for West Stockwith resident’s award, below)

Local historian, David Seymour, received a Bassetlaw Achiever’s Award at a ceremony in Retford Town Hall (20 March). David is a retired history teacher and, since moving to Misterton, has made it his overwhelming interest to research local history (including the neighbouring village of West Stockwith). He curated an exhibition, with accompanying free booklet for all households, marking the 100^th anniversary of the end of WW1 when 42 Misterton people lost their lives. He has written numerous books, including one on the history and significance of Misterton’s former major employer, Newell Dunford. He leads well-supported history walks as part of the Chesterfield Canal’s annual walking festival, takes part in history lessons at Misterton Primary School, and is always available to talk to groups in and around Misterton. He collects items of interest relating to village history so that there is a legacy to pass on to future generations. He has made – and continues to make, a huge contribution to the village.

David is pictured with (from left) Stephanie Baines from West Stockwith, and Chair of the District Council, Cllr Debbie Merryweather. Stephanie received an award for leading a funding campaign to raise the money necessary to make major repairs to the roof of the village’s Georgian Church. The £25,000 work was completed in mid-2023. She has also embarked on further fundraising to strip down, re-plaster, and re-paint the interior. Her tenacity at keeping the village Parish Church fit for use now and in the future should be rewarded.

VILLAGE ENTERS BEST-KEPT VILLAGE COMPETITION

Misterton Parish Council has agreed to enter this year’s Best-Kept Village Competition. Run by Notts Campaign to Protect Rural England, the competition highlights the beauty and community spirit of villages and recognises the efforts of local communities in caring for their environments. The competition is open to parish and town councils for all villages with a population of under 10,000. Nearby Everton was a winner last year.

Here’s how to help. Judges will look at houses, gardens, hedges, and frontages. They will look at community facilities, like bus shelters, telephone kiosks, playing fields, playgrounds and equipment, green spaces, verges and gutters, the canal towpath, churches and churchyards, notice boards and notices, footpaths, street furniture, the school, and surroundings. Businesses are included, too: shops and advertisements, pubs and parking areas, farm buildings and farmyards, work entrances. Finally, obvious community effort is another area of interest to judges.

The preliminary round of judging is between Monday 3 and Sunday 30 June 2024. The village with the highest judges’ scores in each section will be declared the winner of that section and entered into the final round. The runners-up in each section will also be chosen. The final round of judging is between Monday 8th and Wednesday 31 July 2024. The winning village in each section will be judged here for the ‘Best of Notts’ Award. The winner will be announced at the AGM of the Nottinghamshire Association of Local Councils.

BASSETLAW ACTION CENTRE: UPDATE

Bassetlaw Action Centre (BAC) is continuing to provide:

community transport for essential journeys – health appointments and shopping, for example
housing advice services, which are telephone-based primarily but face-to-face appointments are also available
a menu of Befriending services – including group befriending, telephone befriending, face to face and peer befriending
the Staying Well Programme (6-week self-management course for people with a long-term condition) available both virtually and face to face
Get Out Get Active (GOGA) service encourages people to become more active and will continue to offer one-to-one support
home support service – a domiciliary service to help people who are just starting to struggle at home (this is a paid-for service)
minibus trips – including the newly launched lunch club trips.

BAC would like to hear from anyone with a few hours to spare, who would like to volunteer to support the Action Centre to deliver essential services to local older and vulnerable people. In particular, BAC is looking for more local volunteer drivers to help people to get to health appointments and for shopping. Volunteers are paid 45p per mile for every mile they drive on behalf of the scheme.

For further details on any of the above please contact BAC on 01777 709650 or by e-mail (enquiries@actioncentre.org.uk). Further information can be found on the website: www.bassetlawactioncentre.org.uk.

DIARY DATES

Mondays

Poppy-making craft group, The Misterton Centre & Library, 10.00-11.30am

2nd Tuesday each month

Coffee morning, Church Room, 10.30am. Freshly baked goodies—and friendly faces! £2 plus raffle

Thursday 4 April

Coffee Morning, Misterton Methodist Hall, 10.00-11.00am

Mobile community shop, 10.30am – 12 noon, outside the Parish Church

Sunday 7 April

Service of Holy Communion, Beckingham Parish Church, 11.00am

Wednesday 10 April

Service of Morning Prayer, Church Room, 10.00am

Rhyme & Play Time, Misterton Library, 2.30-3.15pm

Thursday 11 April

Learn to cycle safely session, Sports Field, Misterton, 9.30-11.00am or 11.00am-12/30pm. Ring 01909 533 533 for further details and to book

Saturday 27 April

20^th anniversary celebration of Five Villages First Responders, Methodist Hall, Misterton, 10.00am-1.00pm

Monday 30 April

Closing date for nominations for Misterton Parish Council’s Village Champion awards

Saturday 11 May

Art exhibition by local art group, Brushstrokes, Church Room, Church Lane, Misterton, 11.00am-3.00pm

WEST STOCKWITH NEWS

Thursday 28 March 2024

Contact: 01427 891376

ANNUAL SPRING CLEAN

Twenty-one residents, adults and children, turned out on Tuesday 26 March for the annual litter-pick and spring clean. Around ten bags of rubbish were collected along with an empty plastic jerry can, part of a plastic storage box, and a bag of garden rubbish left by the bottle bank. Please dispose of your waste properly and keep the village clean and tidy after residents’ efforts! Refreshments for volunteers were provided in the White Hart afterwards – and Chair of the Parish Council, Jonathan Downes, thanked all those who had helped.

RESIDENT RECEIVES BASSETLAW ACHIEVER’S AWARD (+ PIC – also for Misterton resident’s award, above)

Churchwarden, Stephanie Baines, received a Bassetlaw Achiever’s Award at a ceremony in Retford Town Hall (20 March). Stephanie is the sole Churchwarden of St Mary’s Parish Church, West Stockwith. Almost single-handed, she has led a funding campaign to raise the money necessary to make major repairs to the roof of this Georgian Church. The £25,000 work was completed in mid-2023. Not content with stopping there, she has embarked on further fundraising to strip down, re-plaster, and re-paint the interior. This will mean raising a similar amount of money. The work will be done sympathetically, and in line with Diocesan guidelines, to retain the character of this unique building. Her tenacity at keeping the village Parish Church fit for use now and in the future was rewarded. Stephanie is pictured (left) with Chair of the District Council, Cllr Debbie Merryweather, and David Seymour, a local historian from Misterton, who also won an award.

20^th ANNIVERSARY OF 5 VILLAGES FIRST RESPONDERS

The Five Villages First Responders (FVFR) celebrates its 20^th anniversary with a coffee morning on Saturday 27 April. The volunteer responders work alongside East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) in the local villages - the life-saving scheme was launched 20 years ago and has continued to serve the local community with the team of First Responders called to over 3200 medical emergencies over those 20 years. The group responds to calls in West Stockwith, Misterton, Beckingham, Walkeringham, and Gringley on the Hill, and many other locations across North Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

The FVFR team is holding a celebration coffee morning on Saturday 27 April 2024, from 10.00am to 12noon at the Methodist Hall, High Street, Misterton DN10 4BU, followed by a free public awareness session on how to perform CPR and use a defibrillator from 12noon until 1.00pm. Everyone is invited to come along for a hot drink and slice of cake to celebrate 20 years of this vital local voluntary organisation.

For further information about FVFR or the 20th anniversary celebration, please visit the website at www.fvfr.co.uk, e-mail contact@fvfr.co.uk, see the team’s Facebook page, or contact Group Co-ordinator Martyn Johnson on 07866 567 600.