History of St Pauls, Whiteshill still available

I have only just got around to reading the great little booklet "History of St Paul's Church, Whiteshill and The Church of the Holy Spirit, Paganhill" by Keith Davitte and the Whiteshill Parochial Church Council. It is full of info about the church and also shocking stories like the murder in Arlingham in 1873 of Amelia from Stokenhill Farm, Whiteshill. The book is still available free to local people from the Paganhill Post Office, Village Shop and a few other places.

Sign of dire times: Food Bank comes to Stroud

One in four are now in fuel poverty in the UK - this is an issue I have worked on locally - chairing the inquiries that led to the Energy Strategy for the Council (see here). Sadly that will do far too little to tackle the growing problems - 30% are now in poverty in the UK - we hear that by 2020 some 3.3 million children will live in relative poverty while 3.1 will be living in absolute poverty according to analysis by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies ie the longest sustained rise in child poverty since the 80s.


Edwina Currie says she can't believe anyone goes hungry in the UK - well she is so so wrong - see a useful piece in The Guardian here that shows Child Poverty Action Groups research. In Stroud a small group of local Christians have been working to set up a Food Bank. This is an ecumenical group with full backing of Churches Together in Stroud. I give this a huge, huge welcome as in the charity I work for I have already come across people in dire situations who would benefit from this short term help......

A Food Bank collects non-perishable foodstuff and through a voucher scheme distributes it to those in need. The vouchers would be given out by clergy, CAB, GPs and others who help less fortunate people. The aim is to provide food to help over the short term until statutory provision can be arranged. There are already a growing number of these banks across the nation supported by local Churches and the Trussell Trust. Locally our Churches have given harvest produce to the Stroud Foodbank.

But oh how sad - what a sign of the times that we have to have such banks....here is a comment from Positive Money:

The basic rules of economics do not require child poverty  -  or indeed any other kind of poverty.
It is the present rules of finance, not the rules of economics, which encourage poverty, by insisting that the number of financial units lent into existence by profit-making private businesses should determine both the level and nature of economic activity and the distribution of purchasing power.
The rules of  economic prosperity are very different from those of finance.  The rules of economic prosperity do not state that financial scarcity rules, ok.  The rules of economic prosperity put money firmly in its place by requiring that anything which is physically possible and socially desirable should be made financially possible.

The Government may have inherited a situation where the money isn’t there: but it should stop acting helpless and ignoring the basic rules for a thriving economy. Instead, it should accept its responsibilities, and legislate for a stable money supply, issued free from any debt at source, and spent into circulation on projects which increase the nation’s real wealth.

Sadly the situation is also dire in the US. More than one out five American children live in poverty while one of all 6 Americans live in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 15.1 percent up from 14.3 percent in 2009. Income rates are also down - see here. Meanwhile I came across a staggering fact that 30 million tons of food was dumped in US landfills in 2009!

Sacred Light: don't miss!

"SACRED LIGHT. CHRIST & A GATHERING OF SAINTS." Exhibition by Greg Tricker at Gloucester Cathedral from 5 March – 5 May 2011.  

Over the weekend I was fortunate to be in Gloucester Cathedral to see the great number of works by Nailsworth-based Greg Tricker - love his stuff. Here is what the exhibition leaflet writes: 

"Greg Tricker’s profound and simple style of painting is rooted in a mystical innocence of spirit, akin to the folk art tradition. His exhibition focuses on the theme of Christ’s journeys: Nativity, Ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection and on the journeys of a gathering of saints: Mary the Mother of God, St Francis, St Clare and St Bernadette. The show will pull together some of the themes the artist has been working on for the past few years."

His works which included wood carvings and stained-glass seem to tell so much more about a story - suffering, joy and more are all there - I will need to revisit this exhibition as there is too much for one visit. I particularly loved the Joseph of Arimathea carved from oak. I was also very lucky just to catch Greg as we were leaving and here a little more about his work. See details of exhibition here. 

I did come across this collection of photos on Flickr here - not sure if they have been 'approved' by the artist but they give a flavour. Apols but text and font does not seem to be obeying me in this blog entry - apols for presentation!

Black Christ in Nailsworth

I have been meaning to blog on this for a while as I think it is great - and doesn't get enough publicity locally....in St Georges' Church, Nailsworth there is a great mural and a painting of the black Christ.

It really is worth a pop in if you haven't seen them....

Photos: mural and then painting

The mural is by local artist, Sir Oliver Heywood, who has since died - and is designed to be looked at as you leave Church - rather than about the life and teachings of Christ it covers the community and their activities - including 'Everyman' and 'Everywoman' - a fog around the man's head represents the stuff unresolved on our journeys. You can read more in the Church.

The other bit I like is the painting by Lorna May Wadsworth - she uses the fashion model Tafari (I'd never heard of him) to be her Jesus in The Last Supper - she says she didn't want to do a picture that would look like the 'received wisdom' of what it should look like.

Indeed many communities have had Christ in their own image- not sure why we are getting the underlined text now but can't seem to switch it off - anyhow in the 60s some black activists wanted nothing to do with a white Christ - but it started in the US with slavery. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X also raised the issue - it is said Martin Luther King 's theology made Christ a liberator of African-Americans but Malcolm X made Christ's skin color an important component to the theology of the Black Christ (Hey we lost those underlined bits now!).

Some reseachers like Albert Cleage claim Christ was black. As always Wikipedia has a discussion on the topic - see here.

Festival of Talents in Randwick

The Festival of Talents in Randwick was wonderful today in Randwick Church - I missed the craft workshops yesterday due to work - but several residents have said how great it was to try out stuff - and children especially seemed to enjoy.

Photos: two below of exhibits - one a shot of Ebley Mill which was part of the Kimmins Mill collection and the other of photos of local residents

It is great that folk have the energy and time to put on such community events - indeed such events are what make our community - a huge thank you to all involved.

Festival of Talents in Randwick

The Church are planning two weekends of activities to coincide with the Stroud Deanery Festival "Think Twice" about all the gifts we enjoy. This is a great idea at the Randwick Church and Village Hall on 2nd and 3rd October and the following weekend.

Photo: Randwick woods this last week - love them!

October 2-3 there will be an exhibition (some of it "hands-on") in the Village Hall (Saturday only) and in the Church (Saturday and also Sunday afternoon), ending with Village Praise at 5.0pm accompanied by the Music Group from Whiteshill (Mervyn Cave and friends). October 9th (Sat) they have a Children's Craft Afternoon in the church and a Harvest Supper in the Village Hall (evening). Here's some of the advert:

Come and try your hand at Patchwork, Knitting or Fabric Craft (Saturday)

Come and see an exhibition of pictures

Learn more about Randwick from the Historical Association Archives

Admire Cross stitch and Needlework

Listen to the visiting Bellringers and the Young People’s Music Group (Saturday)

Create a poem or a flower arrangement (specially for children – Saturday)

Join in some Sports on the field (Saturday afternoon)

If you should feel hungry there will be coffees and light lunches in the Church and teas in the Village Hall (on Saturday)

Teas will be available in church on Sunday.

Then the following weekend: October 10th (Sun) there will be a Family Service at 10.30m and a Harvest Songs of Praise (with the Randwick Choir) at 6.30pm.

For more information telephone Catherine Kingzett on 751088 or Isabel Stanley on 750207.

Living Churchyards

Updated 8th June 2010

At the Parish Plan morning in Whiteshill last month I learnt more about a national project to create 'Living Churchyards.' I have written on this blog about the threats to our wildlife from a whole range of factors like industrial farming practices, the relentless growth of urban developments and more - see most recently my blog on International Biodiversity Day here. Well here is a project that is trying to create more oasis of wildlife....

Photos: St Pauls Churchyard, Whiteshill - what a wonderful place of wildlife and beauty - so many cowslips and orchids on their way...

Churchyards have become in some ares the only protected eco-systems where remnants of the local flora and fauna can survive. The ‘Living Churchyards’ project has been described as not so much a vision of the dead rising up as the dead providing sanctuary for species whose living space had been cut back.

I understand more than 6,000 British churchyards run their small plots of land as sacred eco-systems – without pesticides, and mowing the grass only once a year – ensuring that birds, reptiles, insects and bats can thrive. In Stroud for example there is a particular scheme with the Global Bee Project to protect an earth bank where solitary bees regularly nest.

I was interested to hear that some local people were looking at how we can enhance still further our local churchyards. Already St Pauls in Whiteshill do a great job but what else could be done? We recently had a meeting of the new allotment association and we had Jessie Jowers from the Global Bee Project share some of her enthusiasm about solitary bees - well I am sure we could do lots more in our churchyards. I am hoping that perhaps the Parish Plan work might lead to a local group that can take forward such ideas - already living in our valley we have a surprisingly huge number of wildlife experts.....but it isn't always the experts we need! Anyone interested do get in touch with me....

See also my previous blogs regarding yew trees in churchyards - in particular the fantastic Portbury Yew here. I also learnt here that a project in 1999 took cuttings from Yew trees that were alive at the time of Christ and planted them for the new Millennium - more than 8,000 were distributed to churches!

Another interesting site with info is Caring for God's Acre which works primarily in Herefordshire, but can provide information that is relevant to locations throughout the UK. Lastly an article here by David manning on living churchyards.

Updated 8th June 2010

I have just heard from The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) who picked up my link above to their website - here is their comment: "Many people come to our website (www.arcworld.org) after having searched the web for the term “Living Churchyards”, probably because our website is one of the first that appears on Google when this phrase is typed. However the information we have is not as up-to-date as we would like it to be, and does not as yet include links to all of the wonderful activities already being done under the Living Churchyards umbrella. It is a project that ARC is very fond of and that we have supported in the past. We would now like to support it further by creating on our website a brand new page on Living Churchyards that will act as a platform for those seeking to know more; as a hub of information/ contact details/ stories/ links and resources for those who wish to get involved or learn more. To give an example of one enquiry, I recently received a phone call from a photographer asking for a list of Living Churchyards within the UK, so that he could visit them and take photos for a project he was doing. I could not provide him with a detailed answer, and would like to know if such an inventory does exist, and if so where can it be found? If you have any relevant information about Living Churchyards in general and/or more specifically in your area, I would be very grateful if you could contact ARC, so that the new ARC web page can be filled with useful information for those seeking to get inspired by this wonderful project."

Susan Freck and the Stroud Choral Society

Hey I had no idea that the Stroud Choral Society is the second oldest choral society in the UK - apparently Halifax, beat us to the oldest title. What I have also recently discovered is that Puckshole resident Susan Freck wrote all about them in her book 'Stroud Sings' - this was a Millennium project that took three years of research - a social and musical history from 1834 to 2000.

‘Stroud Sings’ is available through members of the Society - or by e-mail to stroudchoral@btinternet.com. The book can also still be purchased at the Museum in the Park.
Anyway the Society began in the first part of the nineteenth century following the opening of the Subscription Rooms in October 1834.The book contains snippets of everyday life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries together with the trials, tribulations and successes of the Choral Society. Early concerts in the Subscription Rooms were regarded as tremendous social occasions of great importance. However apparently there was one occasion in 1845 when the Choral Society, singing at Cirencester, was paid £40 to go away!
Here's more about the book:

Concert goers in the 1860’s were incensed by the state of Street lighting in Stroud. Going home after concerts, they complained that the gas lights where either too close together or more infrequent than angel’s visits. The renovations of the Sub Rooms in 1869 caused further anguish to the Stroud populace. The renovations were taking far too long and costing too much! By a curious twist of fate, Mendelssohn’s ‘St Paul’ was the last concert given before the closure in 1869 and the first choral concert given in the opening week following the recent renovations in 2000.

Readers will enjoy the one-man campaign in 1868 by someone using the pen-name Ex-Impresario. Over a period of many weeks he urged The Journal readers to take notice of his ideas in order to raise the standard of choral music in Stroud to international levels. Maybe professional musicians may know, or be able to guess at, the identity of Ex-Impresario.

Getting carried away on 1904, The Stroud Journal declared, in bold letters and quite erroneously, that ‘The Choral Society had died of ambition’ as it was impossible for a small town such as Stroud to continue putting on concerts that involved an outlay of £100 each.

The open-air concert in Stratford Park, Thursday 18th July 1907

Far from having died of ambition, the Choral Society rose to many challenges of the twentieth century. Though one problem, that of singing with their backs to the audience in the Parish Church, took many years to solve!

During WW2, the Society ‘did its bit’ by staging concerts on Sunday afternoons to avoid blackout difficulties. These concerts were immensely popular, with queues stretching from the Parish Church down the length of the High Street waiting to get in.

Under Sammy Underwood, their conductor for over 50 years, the society went from strength to strength. Composers used the society to showcase new works. Famous soloists such as Isobel Baillie, Janet Baker, Heddle Nash and April Cantelo came to sing. Amanda Roocroft, of international acclaim, gave her first professional performance with the Society in 1986.

The Society has supported charities throughout both centuries, singing as early as 1851 to raise money for the Casualty Hospital and supporting the new Stroud Hospital from 1873 onwards. During the latter part of the twentieth century, the Society has supported the Hospice movement, in particular, Cotswold Care.

Although the Society has uncovered much of its history there still remains some secrets and mysteries to be explained. Perhaps a future reader may be able to throw light on some of those unsolved questions.

See more at their website here. Plus details of their next concert on 21st Nov - see here.

Window in memory of Denise Cole

When Reverend Denise Cole died a year ago at 66, she left a big impression. She was an amazing woman. After being cured of multiple sclerosis during a walk through the Holy Land, she went on to be ordained as a minister in 2000 and she served as assistant priest to Reverend Brian Woollaston in Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill and was involved with many local projects.

Now there are plans for a memorial stained-glass window in her name. The Rev Brian Woollaston is quoted in The Citizen on Monday this week saying: "As a layworker and a priest, she gave so much which touched and transformed many lives. To commemorate her life, her family would like to put up a small window in St Paul's at Whiteshill. It has the permission of the parochial church council and as it is anticipated to cost around £2,500, we are suggesting testing the idea with pledges, rather than donations, to see if it is feasible."

To make a pledge to help make this possible call Rev Woollaston on 01453 764 757.

News: schools, lane closed, housing, convent, SVP and more

A quick round up of some bits and bobs of local interest:

Photos: Woodcraft Folk Willow Elfin group rafting in Chalford this evening and below Open Studios exhibitions closed on Tuesday - a truimph - well done to all who made it possible.

The Vine Tree pub fundraiser for Mesothelioma UK - well done to Naomi Hawkins and all who raised money for the charity by designing and selling calendars and more.

Stroud District's Land Availability Assessment - this evening after work I was off to make rafts with Woodcraft Folk - see photo - then arrived slightly late for the Policy Panel on land availability in Stroud - basically Stroud District Council have appointed consultants Roger Tym & Partners to undertake a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) for the District. The study should provide up-to-date information on the future housing potential in the district up to 2026 - and will form part of the evidence base on housing potential. It will also inform the emerging Local Development Framework and will contribute to how the housing provision figures in the South West Regional Spatial Strategy can be met. Lots of stuff then and important. It includes a list of sites, cross-referenced to maps showing locations and boundaries of specific sites plus an assessment of the deliverability/ developability of each identified site (i.e. in terms of its suitability, availability and achievability) to determine when an identified site is realistically expected to be developed. Plus the potential quantity of housing that could be delivered on each identified site or within each identified broad location (where necessary) or on windfall sites (where justified) and the constraints on the delivery of identified sites with recommendations on how these constraints could be overcome and when. Of course of most interest is where the housing is going - will for example Ruscombe fields be included? However this is only about availability not whether it will be developed - lots more needs to be considered but it is an important step that I will be following up....

The Lane closed in Randwick - Highways have alerted me this afternoon to the fact that they will be undertaking vegetation clearance/maintenance works at Randwick School Retaining Wall. This work is "to enable inspection work to be carried out on the wall and any required repairs to be undertaken thereby ensuring the future stability of the retaining structure, and therefore the safety of road users and residents. The works are programmed to start on the 27th July 2009, should last for approximately 3 days. There will be a no parking policy in the vicinity of the work while the works are being undertaken, though all access to local properties will be maintained. Prior to the vegetation clearance a contractor will be carrying out herbicide spraying during the week commencing 6th July 2009. This work will not require and any traffic management or road closure but we request that consideration be taken whilst driving along The Lane during this week to ensure the safety of the workforce."

Randwick Mayor to Visit Randwick - yes Mayor Bruce Notley-Smith of the City of Randwick in Oz is due in the village later this month - more details soon.

Belties at Risk - front page of the Runner had news that the Belted Galloways cattle, a traditional rare breed at the field at the top of Ash Lane have been put at risk by the litter and fires - cows are inquisitive and will seek out new things in their environment - this threatens their mouth and feet. The Runner asks us to either let those lighting the fires know about the impact of their actions or to please report fires to the National Trust warden on 01452 810052 or teh Community Police Officer on 0845 0901234 - these cattle are v important as they help ensure that our grasslands remain full of wild flowers and wildlife.

Whiteshill Primary School - Pupils will sing and dance in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Cotswold Playhouse on the evenings of 7th July and 8th July. The children were inspired to put on the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic after seeing a performance of the musical at the Bristol Hippodrome earlier this year.

Randwick CofE Primary School - reports in local papers show that it has made a good impression on an Ofsted inspector who found pupils' academic and personal development was outstanding. Here is what Stroud Life had to say: The 84-pupil school was marked good in its overall effectiveness after a visit by Shirley Billington. She said: "This is a good school. Pupils do well academically and their personal development is outstanding. Pupils make a first rate contribution to the school and local community, showing a keen awareness of the part they need to play in the wider world." If that was not enough, Randwick school was then judged outstanding when a second inspector – Muriel Griffiths from the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools – toured its classrooms a month later. "Randwick is an outstanding church school. Christian values underpin the whole life of the school and ensure that everyone feels cared for and valued," she reported. "There is a delightful family atmosphere that permeates the whole school. The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Randwick as a Church of England school are outstanding." Headteacher Fiona Montacute said everyone was delighted with the outcome of both inspections. "They help build a picture of Randwick as an outstanding church school," she said."Randwick is a small village school and special to everyone involved within it. It is great to have the opportunity to celebrate our achievements both within the school and the community."

More Hall Convent Open Day - I missed it this year but by all accounts it was great - the nuns even turned their talents to Morris dancing during the annual fete. Here is the local press report: "The Indian and Sri Lankan sisters from the Benedictine Order of Grace and Compassion twirled, jumped and hopped to the admiration of visitors to the fundraiser. The sisters also made spicy samosas to their own recipe that were served as tasty snacks to the crowd, said More Hall spokeswoman Joanna Boddington. More Hall, founded in 1968 in Cashes Green, is home to half a dozen nuns led by Sister Elsy and cares for 10 elderly men and women. The fete provides money for extras for residents. This year's event drummed up £1,000 and will be used to provide raised flower beds in the garden.

Stroud Valleys Project - who have just celebrated their 21st birthday have also just got a grant of £5,000 to run wildlife workshops and surveys at The Lawns and Hamwell Leaze (booth on the Ruscombe Brook) along with a couple of other sites.

Visit to the Methodist Church, Stonehouse

Thursday night last week I was invited as the speaker to the Methodist Church in Stonehouse (see photos) - and asked to fill the 90 minute session with Climate Change and local solutions. It always feels like a privilege to speak to a group - for people to give up their time to listen - it was only the second time I've spoken about climate change in a church (see last time here).

I gave some of the flavour of the last talk but a little more about climate change and lots more about the things that are going on locally - and while there was plenty to scare and make fearful it was the facts as far as the science knows and also I tried to focus on the hope - so much has changed in the last few years - indeed over the weekend I helped send out a letter about Obama from Martin Whiteside as he wasn't able to use his internet connection - see it here. I like the last line which is adapted a little from a Caroline Lucas quote: "In politics, 'hope' is a powerful driving force. This is a new start for US and global politics, and Barack Obama is to be congratulated on a breathtaking journey which is far from over."

At the end I finished with a quote from John Wesley that I've always liked: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Then questions - David Drew arrived in time for those - and then it was a much-needed cup of tea and some interesting discussions - one of those with several of the audience about being about whether nuclear power is the answer - of course it is clear cut to me - nukes wont be ready before 2017 and we need to act now - spending money on them means less available dosh to invest in the efficiency and renewable measures needed - of course there are many other reasons - some of which Gerald Hartley covers in his letter in response to one in the SNJ - see here - Gerald has been selected to fight the County seat in this area this May - he has already been helping me deliver some leaflets - I hope we will see more of him.

Randwick: Nativity, Parish cheques, Puckshole and our hall

This blog has all sorts of gaps in over the last weeks - I am realising that it is v hard to keep up to date with all local news - anyhow here is a brief bit re last night - it was Randwick School's Nativity Play and Carol Service in Randwick Church - very nice indeed - that was followed by Randwick Parish Council meeting.

Photos: Nativity and below cheques being presented to local groups

It was a short meeting - an hour - a race through stuff including my bit as a District Councillor - a brief mention of the results re the bank along Church Road being saved and the latest re Puckshole...

Puckshole flooding

I've had various conversations over last weeks about proposals there - CCTV camera work shows the culvert a Acres Place is very blocked - we now need discussion re replacing grill, cleaning culvert or even building a new on - of course the more sustainable option would be to build attenuation ponds rather than a new culvert - ie slow storm waters down so they don't rush on down the river adding to problems elsewhere - but more work is still needed to assess what is best as the situation is confused by the Wheelers Walk outlet there which is eroding the bank and increasing flows....the good news is that the District Council are actively seeking solutions to these problems.....but more discussion needed.

Fund Raising project

Other items at the Council meeting included Randwick Village Halls request for grants each year so that they can use that to get a loan for the planned new toilet block - no decision made until more info - but at this pointy it is worth mentioning the Village Hall Fund Raising project - pay £10 a year for 8 draws a year with top prize possibly around £100 - to enter ring Morton Watkins on 751248. They are hoping to raise £500 a year to aid the wonderful hall.

Other items covered the latest moves to sort out the Guide Hut, 20 is Plenty, Committee structures for the Parish and more.

Cheques and wine

At 8pm the meeting was closed and the Parish cheques were presented to various representatives who attended.

You'll see the photos of Parish councillors dishing out the cheques to Chest Foundation, Randwick Revellers for a lighting rig for the hall, More Hall Convent for furniture, the school to repair some vandalism and the local Historical society to help with their latest book project.

After that it was time for wine and nibbles -great to chat to various folk - then home - it seemed darker than ever and I stumbled along the footpaths to get home.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day today - on BBC Radio 4 this morning I heard Jonathan Bartley being interviewed - he made some thought-provoking points that chimed with my thinking - see his article here. As someone who wears both white and red poppies (see here) I have met disgust and even anger at wearing the white poppy - this is to completely misunderstand what it is about.....the trouble also is, as Jonathan Bartley points out, Remembrance Sunday shows only too clearly that double standards are alive and well - indeed remembrance sits uncomfortably with some of the church’s own teachings and beliefs, not to mention the positions it has taken on recent conflicts.

Here is some of what he writes: "If we accept the Remembrance Day rhetoric, that soldiers laid down their lives to give us the liberties we enjoy today, then surely that must include the freedom to choose how we remember the dead, and say what we believe? Indeed, it does a disservice to their memory not to allow such choice and conscience to be expressed. Remembrance Sunday needs to experience the liberation to which it pays lip service. The church should be the freedom fighter to bring it. But in the absence of a few more Runcies, the tyranny of partial remembrance looks set to continue its reign for a while yet."

The Christian tradition insists that all are equal in the sight of God. True remembrance requires that the dead on all sides are brought to mind. At 11 today I didn't get a proper chance to show respect but have made time since then - it has been very moving to hear the various tributes in the media today and indeed this last week.

My speech for Harvest Festival

A wee while ago I was approached to do a speech on the environment at the Harvest Festival at Whiteshill Church - I wasn't sure - not done that sort of thing before - but agreed after giving myself a wee bit of time to think about it - anyhow this last week I have been thinking up what to put in the speech and scribbling notes - yesterday evening I put it together - wished I'd given it more time but it seemed to go very well this morning - some 50 plus people attended including many familiar faces.

Photos: Church leaflet advertising event and photo below of the church in the Village hall as the roof is being fixed in the church itself

Indeed quite a number of folk spoke to me afterwards to thank me - it was an honour to address the congregation - and I have to say that a couple of the ideas below come from Caroline Lucas Green MEP, a couple of other bits from Andrew Simms from the New Economics Foundation and the bit about the 'gathering storm' from a Margaret Becket speech last year.

It was interesting looking at how Harvest Festivals have developed over time - of course humans have celebrated since they took to farming several thousand years ago, but the modern British Harvest Festival in churches only began in 1843. That was thanks to the Reverend Robert Hawker, a vicar in Cornwall who invited his parishioners to a special thanksgiving service for the harvest. Anyway here are the notes I used although I didn't quite stick to them all the time...

Harvest Festival speech

I must start with a big thank you for inviting me here to speak. Many will know me as a local resident, a local councillor, a green campaigner or perhaps as a member of the Gloucestershire Churches Environmental Justice Network?

I've not had the privilege of addressing a congregation such as this before, so I hope that what I am going to say is appropriate - it is certainly from the heart.

Harvest time is our opportunity to give special thanks for the abundance around us - to celebrate the food and riches of the land. In Britain where food and clean water are plentiful for most people, many Harvest Festivals in recent times have included in their celebrations an awareness of less fortunate people across the globe. Many of us have taken action or given money to try and tackle the injustices that people face - the damaging policies imposed on poorer countries, crippling debt, war, deforestation, child slavery and poverty.

How can it be right that there is a child dying from hunger somewhere in the world every 5 seconds. How can that be? And now linked to all that, we are starting to grasp the enormity of climate change.

I don't find this easy. Every new bit of news seems more terrifying than the last - the Greenland ice sheets are melting, the Great Barrier Reef is dying, the Arctic ice could have disappeared within 5 years, a third of species face extinction and millions face drought and famine.

These reports fill many of us with fear. I certainly feel scared by these reports. Indeed, one could argue that if you don’t find it scary, you haven’t really understood it. However we mustn't let this fear paralyse us - or trigger some shut-off mechanism that stops us from taking actions. We need to find room to digest the realities and also to see that despite the horrors there are many signs of hope - real hope. We can stop irreversible climate change - but we need to act fast - and time is running out.

Many of you will have read in the national press in August, that based on conservative estimates, a group of global warming experts have said that we have only 100 months to avoid disaster. 100 months to avoid disaster.

Many people have reacted asking: 'how can we be sure these scientists have it right? There are countless computer models and scenarios and isn't this just part of some natural change? Temperatures have gone up and down in the past?'

Of course it is not an exact science but the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and it's in-depth analysis by 2,500 of the world's top climate scientists is in no doubt that we are responsible for climate change and that we need to act with all urgency. Every new piece of research confirms the need to act with all haste. This change is quite different from anything seen on the planet before.

Indeed in 928 articles on climate change published in peer-reviewed journals in ten years, not one of those articles doubted the cause of global warming - yet more than half of articles in the popular press have done just that. It is no wonder if our press keeps questioning the science, that many of us may still have doubts about how dangerous climate change might be. But even if we do have doubts can we really take the risk of not acting?

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, is the highest it has been for the past 650,000 years. In just 250 years, as a result of the coal-fired Industrial Revolution, and changes to land use such as the growth of cities and the felling of forests, we have released billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The science shows that if these gases accumulate beyond a certain level - often termed a "tipping point" - global warming will accelerate, potentially beyond our control. This would be catastrophic for life on Earth.

It is time to act. We have less than 100 months before we could reach such a tipping point for the beginnings of runaway climate change. Everything we do now matters. And, possibly more so than at any other time in recent history. Let us not be remembered as the generation that monitored it's own demise so minutely and did so little to tackle climate change.

So what can we do? What must we do?

Archbishop Rowan Williams has said "For the Church of the 21st Century, good ecology is not an optional extra but a matter of justice." Yet as individuals we cannot realistically change the nation's energy, food and transport systems on our own. As the Archbishop has said, it is for governments to be prepared to take difficult decisions on climate change.

So how can we support - and challenge - our politicians to do this? To take those difficult decisions? To make the radical changes we need? We must tell them - write to them, meet with them and let them know that we cannot accept their business-as-usual approach. We cannot accept their plans to expand air travel or build more coal-fired power stations. Former US Vice President Al Gore has even called for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of anymore of these coal plants as he sees them as so damaging.

There are signs that politicians are listening, Gordon Brown this week created a new department for climate change and energy. This is a great step and I sincerely hope that it will lead to the decisive actions on climate change we need, but I know we have much more to do than this. It is for example unacceptable to still argue that because we are under pressure economically we cannot address climate change. As Bishop Browning said at the recent Lambeth conference: “This is a short-sighted position because we will pay...the price we will pay if we don’t act is so much greater.”

Of course Britain cannot act alone but it is delusory to think that developing countries will fundamentally change until wealthy countries take a lead. Let us not forget that a significant share of those CO2 emissions from countries like China and India are to make products that we consume here. And already it is the poorest who are paying for our CO2 emissions. Oxfam show that the average Somali is about 100 times more likely to die from events caused by climate change than the average American, despite emitting roughly 16,000 times less carbon.

But apart from getting our politicians to act there is much we can do locally. We have already seen many actions. Individuals, businesses, councils and organisations are all starting to play their part.

Randwick Village Hall which opened last month, is the country's first carbon neutral village hall. Some 12 eco-homes also opened locally last month to encourage others to take similar pioneering measures - like adding to their homes solar thermal systems, wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems or extra insulation. Indeed one of the most important measures we can all take is to cut our carbon emissions by seriously insulating our homes.

What else can we do? Save on the food miles by growing more foods locally and supporting local producers. We have two excellent local farm projects which people can join for a weekly box of local organic food. Stroud Farmers market won best Farmers market in the UK award and has now been shortlisted for the BBC food Oscars. We also have our own wonderful village shop - and in the Playing fields the Parish Orchard. Some in the Parish are working to ensure we have some local allotments.

What else? Eating less meat - 70 per cent of the world's agricultural land is now used for rearing farm animals - and many are inhumanly factory farmed - if we all ate less meat that would mean less CO2. The University of Surrey suggests this week that too avoid runaway climate change we need to all ration meat to 4 modest portions a week and one litre of milk.

What else? We have to think about how we travel and whether travel is necessary. Enjoy the beauty of our local Cotswolds rather than travelling further afield. We can switch off our TV and other equipment rather than using the stand-by mode. We can recycle and compost. Support the charity shops and car boot sales. We can look to buy the most energy-efficient products. Best of all though is to consume less.

So there is more that each of us can do - and there is plenty of advice available. I would urge people to take the actions they can - better still take those actions together with others as we are stronger together.

We cannot now avoid significant climate change so while we must work to avoid that 'tipping point' of runaway change we also need to build resilient communities that will cope with the coming challenges like the floods we saw last year. The credit crunch is already hitting the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities. More than ever we need to look out for each other and strengthen our communities.

This summer in Bread Street over in Ruscombe we had a wonderful street party with music, food children's games and even a bread competition - we put it on to get to know each other better - sadly in many of our communities many of us are either alone or leading such busy lives that we hardly know who we live next door to - yet caring for our neighbours and fellow human beings goes hand-in-hand with looking after the planet.

Tackling climate change may seem impossible.

Yet history is full of examples of things happening that previously seemed impossible. The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union or the ending of apartheid in South Africa. Indeed Britain achieved astonishing things while fighting and recovering from the second world war. In the six years between 1938 and 1944, the economy was re-engineered and there were dramatic cuts in resource use and household consumption. We consumed less of almost everything, yet were more healthy.

It was Churchill who perceiving the dangers that lay ahead, struggled to mobilise the political will and industrial energy of the British Empire to meet those dangers. He did so often in the face of strong opposition. Climate change is the gathering storm of our generation. And the implications - should we fail to act - are even more dire.

The best way to avoid the things we fear, is to get on with the job of stopping them happening. If enough people lead the way then the politicians will be forced to follow. These are difficult times but I am confident that we can see them through if we all work together.

I'd like finish with a verse from the poem 'Providence' by George Herbert in 1633. I heard it on the radio this week when the Bishop of Liverpool discussed how Herbert's image of the bee is a suitable one for a sustainable economy. Here's nature showing us how to make a profit without there always having to be a loser: a truly sustainable harvest.

Here it is:

'Bees work for man; and yet they never bruise
Their master's flower, but leave it, having done,
As fair as ever, and as fit to use;
So both the flower doth stay, and hony run.'

Thank you.

Reverend Denise Cole: sad loss

I was very sad to hear last week about the death of the Reverend Denise Cole - she was until very recently assistant the priest at Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill - and covering lots of the work as Father Brian was completely laid up with a bad back - she joined many of the local Parish events and always had time for everyone. Below is the obituary from todays Citizen. She will be sorely missed. Condolences to the family and friends - the funeral will be Tuesday.

Reverend Denise Cole obituary: Saturday 13 September

HUMBLE servant of God and simply "the best" mum, the Reverend Denise Cole is to be mourned by clergy and laity at her funeral in Stroud. A wife and mother whose miraculous healing led to her becoming a priest, Mrs Cole, 66, will be remembered at a service at Whiteshill Parish Church on Tuesday afternoon. Mrs Cole, who only retired in the summer, died suddenly at her home in Whiteshill on September 7. Ordained in 2000, after she was earlier cured of multiple sclerosis in Jerusalem, Mrs Cole is survived by her husband of 44 years John, three children and eight grandchildren. "She was the best mum anybody could have," said Rev Cole's daughter Sharron. "We shared a lovely time the day before she died." Mrs Cole was until recently assistant priest at Whiteshill, Randwick and Paganhill. In an interview with Stroud Life three months ago she explained her healing in the Holy Land when she struggled on sticks to finish a walk along the path Christ is though to have taken to his death. When she reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was buried and rose again, her degenerative illness vanished. "That was my conversion," said Mrs Cole, who confounded doctors by her recovery. The Rev Ian Gobey, who worked at Whiteshill with Mrs Cole, said she would be hugely missed: "She was fantastically strong in her faith, humble and quiet but totally centred on her ministry of people," he added. "I have always quoted her as an example that healing does happen." The Rt Rev John Went, Bishop of Tewkesbury, said: "My memory of her would be somebody with an immensely deep faith that shone out of everything she was and did.

More on the wonderful Portbury Yew

On 12th Feb this year I ran a blog about the Ancient Yew Group (see it here - scroll down) - it inspired me to look out the Portbury Yew when I was last on my way to visit family. I'd intended to add a follow-up blog with these photos of the yew in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin, just outside Bristol, but a problem with the digital camera meant only last week was I able to extract the photos.....it really is a wonderful wonderful tree....

Let me remind you - in the last blog I quoted from the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 29th December 2007 and an article entitled "Raiders of the lost bark:the last crusade."

I quote James Douglas again: "The truth is that a yew is the oldest living organism any of us is ever likely to see. To illustrate the point, we drop in on the Portbury Yew, in the village churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, just outside Bristol. A man painting the lychgate confides his fears that the old tree “won’t last much longer, because it is completely hollowed out”. But while the inner heartwood may indeed have rotted so thoroughly as to leave a damp, cavern-like inner chamber, it is actually very much alive and thriving. The canopy above is broad, thick and soaring. The knotted and gnarled bark, beneath its dry flakes, has beautiful flat, flowing, multi-coloured strips from shades of orange to grey. If Paul Gauguin ever turned his idiosyncratic art to painting a tree trunk, it would surely have looked something like this.

But most remarkable of all, about 10 feet up within the “cavern”, two fat, trunk-like shoots have burst out from the inner bark and, over countless decades, reached down to implant themselves in the soil. “As the remainder of the outer trunk rots away, these internal roots will grow up as trees themselves within the shell,” explains Hills. “Sometimes, with yews, we cannot be sure whether we are looking at the original tree, or one that started life within a decaying, older stem.”

All this makes the species the subject of endless conjecture about age. The oldest tree in Europe is said to be the Fortingall Yew in Scotland, considered between 3,000 and 5,000 years old. The Portbury Yew has a notice saying it is “thought to be” 2,000 years old. Tim, who is regularly called upon to pronounce on the subject, refuses to speculate. “Since its heartwood decays, it becomes impossible to give an accurate figure. All I usually say is that, with a girth of l6ft, you are probably looking at 500 years, and 700 to 1,000 years or more at 20ft.”

One interesting factor I came across while seeking further info - is that the church at Portbury has a most interesting boiler according to this website here!

Other facts came from this website here - like the Vikings used Yew nails for their longboats, an extract of the yew is used in cancer treatments, yew is great to make longbows - indeed the demand for such weaponry in the Middle Ages led to a decline in the species..... there has been much heated discussion as to why the Yew is so often found in churchyards - some say it is the deep-dark green, almost eerie and shady presence of the tree. Other say because it is the tree of death, due to its poisonous chemistry, or that it was put in churchyards, where it would not be accessible to life-stock to grow wood for the longbows. Christian scholars have associated it with Christ as 'the tree of the cross' or with the theme of resurrection. However, the evidence is now overwhelming that the Yew was the archetype of "The Tree of Life" to people all over Europe eons before Christ was born...

Anyway enough of all this - too late now and work tomorrow...

Watercolour of local churches on sale

240 churches will be on sale in Gloucester Cathedral this April including the local Parishes. Retired chartered surveyor Alec Brown is reported in the local papers to have travelled the length and breadth of Gloucestershire to produce watercolours of more than half of the county's places of worship.

Photo: Randwick Church taken from SNJ

Nearly all of Alec's work has been turned into prints, postcards and Christmas cards, and sold to raise money for Gloucester Cathedral and the children's charity The James Hopkins Trust, but this entire collection of churches has never been displayed publicly before. Now, just over a year after Alec's death, his daughter, the Rev Helen Sammon, is organising an exhibition and sale of her father's work in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral from April 5 to 12. For more information log onto: www.RABwatercolours.co.uk

Ancient Yew Group

I was delighted a while back to get an invite via the diocese, to a meeting of the Ancient Yew Group at Westonbirt in March - but was v disappointed to already have another meeting on that day so will miss it - Yew have fascinated me - well no, any big trees fascinate...

Photo: Painswick Church

Painswick's churchyard is famed for its yew trees which date back over 200 years. Indeed some were planted as long ago as 1714. They are kept immaculately clipped - and every September, the "clypping" ceremony takes place - but not with garden shears. The word is from the Saxon "ycleping", meaning embracing, and this ritual is, in fact, a service of dedication when villagers hold hands to encircle the church. The Yews number 99 - no more and no fewer. - and anyone in Painswick will tell you that any hundredth tree planted will fail to thrive and will die - killed by the Devil himself.

The Ancient Yew Group would take less interest in such young trees - they have been counting the nation's yews - and are interested in the ancient yew - which by the way may be 1,000 years old or more, as opposed to a mere "veteran yew" with just 500 years to its name. Painswick's Yews barely rate!

Sadly we are losing Ancient Yews all too rapidly - at least 150 have been lost in the past couple of years. The reasons given for chopping them down include concern about "health and safety", accidental fires, overpruning, and overgrowth. The Ancient Yew Group say these reasons "are not acceptable" - I couldn't agree more.

They envisage a better, safer world for yews, with legal protection, a national consultancy on their care and feeding, research funding for studies into their growth patterns and history, a charitable trust for their conservation and somewhere, some day, a neglected churchyard bursting with yews, to be home to an ancient yew information centre with, let's hope, a teashop, perhaps serving cakes...

Indeed the destruction of yew populations all over the world means that the UK can now be regarded as “a Noah's Ark for the conservation of ancient yews worldwide.”

This is an awesome responsibility, and places a considerable burden on the Church. As owners of more than 80% of these trees, the Church becomes “the guardian and custodian of our ancient yew heritage.”

The Ancient Yew Group has already amassed loads of info about ancient yew trees - their latest figures show that of our 450 largest girthed yews (above 20ft) 48% are found in English Churchyards, 34% in Welsh churchyards, and only 18% at non-churchyard sites. Since most of these trees are likely to be approaching, or are more than 1000 years old, we need to ensure that there is no further unnecessary loss of these botanical treasures.

In the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 29th December 2007there was a good article entitled "Raiders of the lost bark:the last crusade." I enclose it below;

James Douglas on the group fighting to save Britain’s venerable yew trees — a heritage for the world

A new history of the yew tree describes Britain as a veritable Noah’s Ark of outstanding veterans. According to its author, Fred Hageneder, we have the highest density of them in Europe. Worldwide, the only comparable stands are those in Turkey and the Caucasus, which, unlike our own gloriously accessible giants, are largely concentrated within impenetrable mountain forests. “Britain,” he says, “has a special responsibility to protect these trees because they effectively belong to the world’s, not just our, heritage.”

Tim Hills, co-ordinator of the Ancient Yew Group, which lobbies to raise the awareness of the trees’ unique but fragile British heritage, supports Hageneder’s view that it’s time outstanding examples of the species received a special form of “Green Monument” designation.

Currently, Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) are rescindable if a tree is thought to be dead, dying or dangerous, a hopeless protective mechanism for an aged yew that, to the uninformed, can sometimes look just like that. In any case, they are seldom placed on churchyard trees, which is where around 80-85 per cent of Britain’s oldes examples are to be found.

Yet yews are where nature and history coalesce most exactly. Our ancestors, marvelling at the miracle of a tree that could grow so old and keep its greenery all year, revered them and used them as meeting places. This naturally led to the building of churches at these important sites. Many surviving yews predate their associated churches, making the present loophole in heritage protection all the more deplorable. Partly, this may be due to some negative traditions bound up with the tree. When I meet Hills, he is steaming over a recent episode of The Archers: “One character rang up the vet to report four dead cows. I immediately thought: ‘Oh, here we go, more propaganda about deadly yews.’ Yet every farmer I’ve met has long been aware of the dangers of the leaves to livestock.’”

This association of yews with death and poison is widely exaggerated. In fact, for many European mammals, they are a food source. Mixed woodlands containing them attract higher bird numbers than those without. The thrush family so thrives on the fleshy scarlet “fruits” (arils) that mistle thrushes fiercely assert territorial rights over them, thus preserving access to a personal, late-winter ration.

While dense, light-denying canopies deter vegetative growth beneath them, the notion that they poison the soil is nonsense, says Hills. “I’ve seen trees with cyclamen and orchids, as well as ivy and elder, growing within a few feet of the trunk.”

The fact that some people find yews morbid and oppressive doubtless derives from their familiar location in churchyards. “All the gravestones around them are a reminder that one day it’s going to be you,” agrees Hills. But a less doomy twist would be to view them as symbols of rebirth or immortality.

The truth is that a yew is the oldest living organism any of us is ever likely to see. To illustrate the point, we drop in on the Portbury Yew, in the village churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, just outside Bristol. A man painting the lychgate confides his fears that the old tree “won’t last much longer, because it is completely hollowed out”.

But while the inner heartwood may indeed have rotted so thoroughly as to leave a damp, cavern-like inner chamber, it is actually very much alive and thriving. The canopy above is broad, thick and soaring. The knotted and gnarled bark, beneath its dry flakes, has beautiful flat, flowing, multi-coloured strips from shades of orange to grey. If Paul Gauguin ever turned his idiosyncratic art to painting a tree trunk, it would surely have looked something like this.

But most remarkable of all, about 10 feet up within the “cavern”, two fat, trunk-like shoots have burst out from the inner bark and, over countless decades, reached down to implant themselves in the soil. “As the remainder of the outer trunk rots away, these internal roots will grow up as trees themselves within the shell,” explains Hills. “Sometimes, with yews, we cannot be sure whether we are looking at the original tree, or one that started life within a decaying, older stem.”

All this makes the species the subject of endless conjecture about age. The oldest tree in Europe is said to be the Fortingall Yew in Scotland, considered between 3,000 and 5,000 years old. The Portbury Yew has a notice saying it is “thought to be” 2,000 years old. Tim, who is regularly called upon to pronounce on the subject, refuses to speculate. “Since its heartwood decays, it becomes impossible to give an accurate figure. All I usually say is that, with a girth of l6ft, you are probably looking at 500 years, and 700 to 1,000 years or more at 20ft.”

Many old specimens look messy, or “past their best”, and some are felled as a result. “Unfortunately,” says Hills, “the churches of England and Wales have no specific policy guidance on their treatment. Parochial church councils seldom have the expertise to look after them and too often the chosen option is to lop off naturally drooping branches, which may be centuries old themselves, or cut down the tree entirely.”

Even when, as at Portbury, a yew is clearly cared for, funds can be tight; and if it is a choice between repairing the roof or surgery on the old yew, it’s the latter that will lose out. Hills believes it is time central funding was made available for parishes to get advice and information from fully qualified tree surgeons. But in the meantime, he urges anyone concerned about a tree to contact the group before taking action. Otherwise they could be lopping off a branch of history.

Yew: A History by Fred Hageneder is published by Sutton (01453 883300) at £25.

LOG IT
+The Ancient Yew Group has recorded 440 yews with a girth above 20ft, and a further 470 whose girths are between 16ft and 20ft.
+ While 750 of these are in churchyards, an increasing number of survivors are being discovered in the wider landscape.
+The group maintains a gazetteer of examples on its website. It is keen to hear from the public of any further examples, particularly those with trunks l4ft in circumference, or any with hollowed out interiors. See www.ancient-yew.org