Letters to the Editors
Farewell to The Red Lion
Dear Editors
Many of your readers may wonder why we are leaving The Red Lion after 6 happy years. The reason is that the average stay of any publican is 5-6 years. After that we begin to need a new challenge. We will be very happy to see all our old customers - with money! - at our new location. The attraction of a Free House with a river frontage will, we hope, be difficult to resist. Thank you for all your company and support.
Village Lunch
Dear Editors,
Thank you very much to all those who came along to the first Village Lunch of 2007. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and it was good for everybody to sit down and have a chance to chat and catch up with each other's news. People were very generous too and £86.50 was raised through donations so thank you for your company and contributions. I do hope there is another lunch soon!
National Children's Home Donations
Dear Editors,
I would like to thank the residents of Tothill Road who recently made donations to the National Children's Home during a house to house collection. A total of £40 has been passed on to the National Children's Home.
Thank you all once again.
Foreign Currency for the Arthur Rank Hospice
Dear Editors,
Thank you to all of you who have donated foreign currency to the Arthur Rank Hospice. It is much appreciated and they are very grateful. They are still collecting it so if you are tidying out some drawers or cupboards and come across some coins or notes please do put them through my letterbox. (The letterbox is in the front door, which is right round the driveway at the back of our house!) All the money raised from the sale of the foreign currency helps to fund the Hospice at Home fund. Hope you can find plenty of notes and coins - and thank you very much, in advance!
That Tiger's Meeting
Dear Editors,
I would like to register my disappointment at the non-appearance of anyone from
the Crier at the excellent Burwell Tigers presentation in the Village Hall
tonight.
They did a lot of work, laying on full colour brochures, teas and coffees, arranging chairs, greeting visitors and so on; only to get little support from Swaffham Prior as a village. I understand that the Crier only appeared today and the advert was placed towards the rear, but that does not excuse the Crier's total absence from the evening. If I were a Tiger's committee member, I would feel that the Crier has only a marginal interest in the Recreation Field development. I was ashamed to be there for such a poor turn-out for such an important event.
I would like to point out that two Parish Councillors attended the meeting and the Chairman sent his apologies. A member of the Sports & Social Committee attended and that Chair also sent his apologies. The Red Lion was represented, as were two local neighbours, with another sending apologies. The Parish Council Clerk and her husband were also in attendance and contributed much to the evening. Despite many posters ("Many" as in non-singular?! Eds) being displayed around the village for at least two weeks, nobody from the youth club, school, church (any of them), cubs (at any level), Village Hall committee or PTA attended, despite the oft-stated aim (in the Crier) of the Tigers to contribute (for free) the facilities available to those groups.
I found surprising that the Crier was so disinterested, considering that it was the Crier reporter at a Parish Council meeting that advised the Tigers to book the main hall in the first place because of the "likely large village interest"; thereby incurring them with additional unnecessary expenditure, as their original plan was to hold the event at the Lion, which I feel would have been much more successful in terms of coverage.
All is not lost, however. I have persuaded the Tigers Committee to contribute a monthly article to the Crier entitled "Tigers Diary" and I hope that this is given somewhat more prominence and attention than has been shown to date. The Lion has copies of the brochures for anyone to peruse and retain at their will. Also, there is a sign-up sheet for people willing to help in any way they can - from a local electrician to someone who can fix a mower, to someone who is willing to supply sheer "grunt" on a Sunday morning, to someone who will merely turn up with a flask of coffee for the workers.
Anyone who sees the brochure will realise that the Tigers are substantially relocating their whole operation to Swaffham Prior and making the field available to Swaffham Prior residents free of charge - from 7 year old school kids to 70 year old kite flyers. I sincerely hope that Swaffham Prior inhabitants will come forward now and show their willingness to pitch in - after all, the Tigers are only a youth football club, so they need all the help they can get.
As a final thought, there is a plan to install an artificial wicket in-between the soccer pitches, so perhaps one day the "cricket field" can once again host a game of cricket.
Well, we hope Steve can allay the committee's fears (Crier disinterest) with a copy of February's issue (Editorial lead, Back-cover Inside this Issue lead, article, advert, Our Reporter etc.) or indeed a reference to our web-site, where a further Browse Our Archives reveals 39 Tiger hits.
But the meeting-date fell awkwardly for the only-just-out Feb Crier, and given the list of in-the-know attendees it does seem likely that despite best efforts most AWOLs just did not know. The editors, with founder- and many-years-loyal Tigerplaying son would particularly have liked to be there, but were away. We would have gladly sent Photographers/ Sports Correspondent if only we had 'em,, and so we rely as ever on our loyal readers who will of course send us copy anyway, as indeed you have - ish! Roll on Tiger Diary! Eds
Lewinski v Everitt (The Shakespeare Saga)
Dear Eds,
I would very much like to air a suggestion as to how the above can be resolved and some points as to why it MUST be resolved.
The Issue
Whenever I read an article in our village rag, I am afraid there are three words which make me instantly loose interest in the subject, but only if two of the three are used!
The dreaded words are all surnames and they are Everitt, Lewinski & Shakespeare!
The pattern goes for me as follows: the title catches the imagination, followed a quick reference to the author, if either of the first two names appear, I generally read on, but as soon as I come across the latter, interest is lost! Am I alone in this?
I must say that I genuinely enjoy articles from both of these esteemed contributors, but I must ask this, is this subject of interest to anyone else in the village and does it have any relevance to community of Swaffham Prior? (Hardly, save that the disputed author was none other than local Lord-of-the-Manor Edward de Vere, Viscount Bulbeck, his greats-great grandma Isobel de Bolbec having founded some paltry little place in the back of beyond, um, Swaffham Priory. Eds)
As no one else has joined this debate I believe the answer to both these questions is a resounding NO In a age when being aware of ones "carbon foot print", I must ask you, how many trees have been sacrificed to vent differences of opinion on this matter, only to potentially end up a litter about which Contributor Lewinski ends writing even more about!
The Solution
At the forthcoming Village Festival I suggest that our two noble agitators agree to settle their difference of opinion in a well proven manner for resolving such arguments.
I urge them to take up the Challenge of "Trial by Combat".
At a designated time and place, they can meet before the Village and fight it out. The winner's point of view will be considered the correct one, and there will be no more need for inclusion of any such articles in any future issue of our village magazine! (I would like to write here, upon pain of death, but upon pain of Editorial Exclusion would be more appropriate).
As duelling with swords or pistols is not allowed any more, they could box or wrestle, but it is up to them really, tiddley-winks perhaps. But whatever the challenge and whatever the result, never again would "that third surname" or reference to it, appear in an article written by either of them.
If any readers have suggestions for the nature of the "Challenge", I am certain the Editors and the readership, would be interested to know!
Love Kisses
PS: With regard to the Hockey Match, as A.A.M. could not work it out, this year I was dressed as "The Fairy from the Top pf the Christmas Tree"!
I thought the wig, tiara, wings and wand might just be enough of a clue! Shakespeare would have got it straight away!
And More...
Dear Editors,
I have just received my spangly new Crier for February, and eagerly flipped through it. I am dismayed that despite several letters imploring you not to, you yet again appear to have wasted over two pages of the letters section to some absolute, total, complete and utter schoolboy drivel about a subject of which 99.99% of the village do not give one iota.
Can I please add my voice to implore you to stop encouraging these people by wasting trees printing this garbage. It is not big, it is not clever, and sadly it is not even remotely funny.
Are readers asking for Editorial CENSORSHIP?? We don't do that stuff. If we did, you might like it even less! Eds