Netherfield

A View of Lent: Have you given up anything for Lent? It is difficult to find something meaningful when luxuries are few, and every penny counts with the rising cost of living bearing down more and more. My husband and I thought it was about time we gave up those little brown plastic coffee cups and went back to ground coffee once again. So I hunted out our Cafetiere, that had been hiding in a cupboard, bought some lovely ground coffee from the Village Stores, who bag their own, and made us both a fantastic cup of coffee, No looking back there then, but what about tea bags too? So now it’s loose tea as well, but we have to look for another teapot as our old one has seen better days. The remains of our tea-break are all put into the compost bin, so the changes we have made, are not just for lent but always. Gillian.

Netherfield Hall Zumba Class: Wednesday nights 6-8pm. Come and get fit and enjoy dancing.

Netherfield Village Hall Future Events: Netherfield Village Hall will be holding one of its regular Jumble Sales on Saturday 6th April from 10am-11.30am at Netherfield Village Hall, Netherfield Road, TN33 9QB. As usual there will be clothing, bric a brac, toys, books and much more – which will be on sale to everyone at bargain prices. 50p admission for adults, children free. A second Children’s Activity Morning is being held on Wednesday 29 May from 10-12.30 with In2Play attending as before. They were a big hit last time. This will also include a play worker bringing along some activities together with a visit from Emma at FSN. The children will be provided with a light lunch. Summer Fete/Music Event on Saturday 27 July. Race Night September 7 or 14. Further details as they become available. Make these a date in your diary!

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: We have been inundated with books from our very generous community and at the moment this has caused something of a log-jam while we try to sort through the donations. Therefore, I would ask those people who are preparing to bring their books along, will kindly be a little patient and hold onto their donations for a week or two. Thank you.

SERVICE DATES FOR BRIGHTLING MOUNTFIELD & NETHERFIELD: All services are held jointly for the whole benefice.

APRIL 7th Morning Worship MOUNTFIELD 10am - 14th Palm Sunday Eucharist BRIGHTLING 10am - 19th Good Friday liturgy MOUNTFIELD 11am - 21st Easter Sunday Celebration MOUNTFIELD & BRIGHTLING 10am - 28th Eucharist NETHERFIELD 10am. MAY 5th Baptism BRIGHTLING 11am - Everyone is welcome at all services

Reflections on a garden: At this time of year our plot has a profusion of colour. A fair bit of the palette, is caused by an abundance of primroses, elephant’s ears, lesser celandine, white bells, some daffodills and of course myosotis, or in plain English, forget-me-not. There is also a swathe of pulmonaria – blue ensign - sprouting in the most unlikely of places to add that dark contrast to the bright clumping effect of the primroses and hellebores – Winter roses, which add a bit of ornamental grace and diversity to the garden.

However, it is the primrose which I find the most synonymous with Spring. I must admit that when I find one of these wayward plants, which has managed to self-seed in the lawn or other areas of the garden, I carefully remove from its situation and re-plant where the spectacle will be appreciated, much to the less than full approval of my good lady. Oh well, that is life.

I know you are, my reader, keen to know how the erection of the shed is progressing. Having filled, glued and generally secured the outer shell of the building, hopefully, against the wholesale intrusion by animals and insects, I have now finished the lagging of the walls with loft insulation. To complete the internal enhancement of this potential man-cave, I have held this wool-like membrane in place with good old-fashioned hardboard and some panel pins. Joins have been obscured by batons, to make it look smart, and if I was to paint it, I reckon it would look like a palace. I have been thinking that maybe I should carpet the floor, put an armchair and a heater in, and with a TV situated in the corner, it would provide a refuge against the stresses and worries of the world, but maybe that is taking it too far.

Anyway, it is now ready to be restocked with those essential items such as historic tools, re-cycled nails and screws, hinges, nuts and bolts and a plenitude of other “must keep” items, which can cope with any emergency, both internal and external, in the house and garden and which have taken a lifetime to accumulate. I am sure that the majority of the male population of this and every other country in the world, will totally understand the necessity for this type of fall-back “guard” against the problems one encounters throughout life. I just think that maybe I have not explained, to my good lady, the advantages that this type of structure can bring.

Oh well, more next week........