Thanks to all that attended the Advent window this evening. (Infact some may say door) It was lovely to see so many faces and have my nephews here to enjoy too. Another great amount raised tonight and plenty more I’m sure by Christmas Eve. Daniel Webster
The following photographs by Jo Powell
Photographs by Graham Roberts on the next page (Click on “Read the rest of this entry”)
Another very cold evening, but that didn’t stop a large crowd turning out for a very special window unveiling at 13 Towrise. Lisa and Ryan helped warm us all up by providing hot cider and tasty nibbles. The traditional countdown culminated in the reveal of lovely wintry and Christmas scene featuring a beautiful tribute to Lisa and Ryan’s daughter, Isla Grace. ?. Another £29 was raised for the British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimers Society. Suzanne Hanney.
Photographs by Jo Powell.
Beef cattle safely in for the winter
Richard Fonge writes:
A month where nothing much happens in the countryside and the agricultural world. It is a month when the maintenance of hedges and boundaries are trimmed and repaired. Please take note of the excellent workmanship that can be seen in the erection of the new stock fencing up the Moreton Road and on the Barrow hill footpath in readiness for sheep grazing next spring.
We live in an area where there is a great patchwork of fields, divided by hedges .
At times landowners and farmers are blamed for the removal of hedges, but as with so many other things in life, there needs to be perspective.
In the late sixties and early seventies as the size of machinery grew, and Government was concerned about growing enough food, they produced a ‘ White Paper’ named “ Food from our own resources”. as they were concerned that within twenty five years, we would be deficient in food. To that end one of their initiatives was pay farmers a grant of up to 30% in the cost of draining, and hedge removal. In some cases it was more, as I can recollect. This increased efficiency of power and labour and increased the area of cultivatable land.
In the last twenty years a great many hedges and trees have been planted by landowners, as they are the true guardians of the countryside and feel a great responsibility to it. Please note what seems like a total disregard of our countryside by HS2 (High Speed Rail construction), where hedges and trees are bulldozed out of the way at random!
The beef cattle seen in the fields until recently are now housed for the winter, where their main food will be silage, supplemented by manufactured cake or a home mix ration. It is important that they are fed a balanced ration, for their growth and maturity into a finished product for the consumer.
Grass is analysed for its energy and protein levels, and then a supplementary feed is added accordingly. Animal nutrition is a complex subject so I will leave it at that.
I do hope these monthly notes are of interest, as my reason for writing them is to try and inform those of you new to the countryside, what is happening around you, with hopefully a bit of inside information
A true story of a retired local smallholder who was deaf and wore a patch over one eye. His two younger brothers bought him a colour television when they first came out, and when asked why: they replied. “ Our Charlie be deaf and blind so us bought him one to keep him happy.”
Finally may I wish you all a happy Christmas, with the hope that the New year is not as grim as the forecasters predict.
Richard Fonge.
A sizeable crowd braved the icy cold at Sulgrave House tonight with a Christmas elf and Christmas tree handing round some very welcome mulled wine, sausages, and other yummy treats. After a couple of technical difficulties, the picture window was unveiled to reveal a beautifully decorated room with Father Christmas and the postman taking a well deserved break at this busy time of year. The food and drink on the table looked extremely tasty.Many thanks to Angela West and her team for their hospitality. Another £15 has been raised for the Alzheimers Society and British Heart Foundation. Suzanne Hanney.
Photographs by Chris Behan
Photographs of the “unveiling party” on the next page. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry”)
Photo by Jo Powell
A very chilly night didn’t stop a good turnout at Wemyss Farm last night. Traditional and warming mulled wine along with some tasty sausage rolls and other nibbles were kindly provided by the Caves before the window was unveiled, revealing a lovely and traditional Christmas scene featuring Santa in a very impressive sleigh on his way to deliver all the children’s’ presents. Another £20 was raised for the British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimers Society. Thank you to everyone’s donations so far. Suzanne Hanney.
Phtographs by Tony Keatley
The Snowman!
Another great turnout for tonight’s window unveiling. To the music of ‘The Snowman’, the Cruickshank’s at Wykham House, Helmdon Road unveiled a lovely scene of – you’ve guessed it – ‘The Snowman’. An absolutely classic and timeless Christmas scene! Fortified against the cold by some excellent mulled wine, sausage rolls and mince pies, £32 was collected for the British Heart Foundation and Alzheimers Society. Suzanne Hanney
More photos by Graham Roberts.
See next page for photographs of the party goers (Click on “Read the rest of this entry”)
The idea of a Christingle service came originally from the Moravian Church in 1747 as a symbol of Christ’s light and love. The Children’s Society introduced it to the Church of England in 1968, and it has since become a popular service for all ages. It has featured as a Christmas Service in the Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave, for over thirty years. This year’s service on Sunday 4th December counts as “Advent Calendar Window No. 4.”
Photographs by Hywel Lloyd.
The children take a very long red ribbon from the oversized Christingle that Jo Horne had made around the church to embrace all the congregation with a huge “ribbon hug” to include them in the celebration.
and Christingle Services in previous years:
This was the very first window which was decorated in 2014. See details at the end of this item.
More photographs by Graham Roberts:
More photos on the next page (Click on “Read the rest of this entry”
From Christmas 2014 to Christmas 2021, I attended almost every “Advent Calendar Window Unveiling Party” between 1st and 24th December each year, photographing both the windows and the revellers and uploading the results on to the village website – almost 200 events in total! See www.sulgrave.org and scan down to the annual archives for 2014 and later. During December the number of visits to the website increases dramatically, with much interest in the window decorations from various parts of the world, especially the USA. Unfortunately, during the forthcoming December various family health issues will prevent me from undertaking the photography. However, I would hate to disappoint those who may be looking forward to their daily pre-Christmas visits to Sulgrave and so if interested parties could email me suitable photographs I will do my best to keep the tradition going.
Colin Wootton (Editor Sulgrave Village Website)
I am indebted to Graham Roberts for the following photographs of the first window to be unveiled – at the Star Inn – and some of those who attended on the following page:
See pictures of the revellers on the following page (click on “read the rest of this entry”.
The village having no outdoor war memorial Sulgrave’s own “unknown soldier” was temporarily removed from near the Stocks to Castle Green for a ceremony of remembrance, including the two minutes silence as the church clock struck 11.00 am and the playing of the “Last Post”.
See photographs on next page (Click on “read the rest of this entry”.)