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Community

New Facilities for St Bartholomew’s

The new loo and kitchenette for St Bartholomew’s Church has been a mammoth undertaking, but the sparkling new facilities were officially opened on Saturday 7th January by Councillor Paul Potter, the Chairman of Mole Valley District Council; our minister Jonathan Willans; myself; Mick Lock, our amazing builder; and his beautiful little granddaughter Isla.

St Bartholomew Church Leigh New Facilities
Isla, Mick Lock, Jonathan (with “Hooray” cake!), me, and Councillor Paul Potter

Vicar Jonathan expressed his delight that Leigh church has these facilities which means the church will be able to reach out more into the community. The Cosy Corner coffee morning held on every 2nd and 4th Monday morning from 10.30-1230 is the first of these supportive initiatives. The Vicar expresses his personal thanks to all who laboured along side him for 20 years to achieve this aim. He especially thanks Mick Lock the craftsman builder, Peter Joyce as project manager and Eileen Winstanley, John Worsfold among others.

Progress has not been easy, and has been made all the more difficult by the loss of our architect, Roderick Maclennan, in his battle against cancer. Not only did Roderick project manage the build until his untimely death, but being the good Christian that he was, he provided constant encouragement.

The resulting facilities are a triumph, and look as though they have always been a part of our beautiful church. The side wall with its window had to be completely taken down and moved outwards between the side buttresses so that we didn’t lose precious space at the west entrance. Every block was numbered and placed in its original position. Horsham tiles had to be found to mimic those on the existing roof. Finally, the tiles in the west entrance had to be completely lifted and relaid in the porch area to lose the 100mm drop, and to allow for a completely flat surface for ease of access. During the course of the works it was found that the porch had sunk in one corner, and this has now been underpinned with concrete to provide many more centuries of use.

This project has been a tribute to so many people. To Mick Lock and his boys, who soldiered through without an architect; to the members of the PCC for their unfailing support; to Sue and Douglas Frost for their fundraising efforts and their successful attempts to put St Bartholomew at the heart of the Leigh community; to Jonathan and Sharon for providing support whenever needed; to Paul Potter and our local councillors for their political underpinning for the project; to our wardens Eileen Winstanley and Keith Bryant, always there to assist and encourage; to Colin and David for managing the money; to my long-suffering wife, Alison, for putting up with my obsession; and of course to Isla for cutting the ribbon.

St Bartholomew Church Leigh New Facilities
External wall – each block was numbered to replace exactly as original

St Bartholomew’s has not been able to function properly without a loo and a kitchenette. We know that people have turned away the chance to hold a wedding or a funeral because of a lack of these facilities. We can now work on drawing people in not just for worship, but also for a number of new activities which will give the church the chance to become where it should rightfully be – at the heart of the community!

Peter Joyce

Deputy Warden

 

King Charles III Coronation Planning Meeting

King Charles III’s Coronation Celebration

Leigh Parish Council is hosting a meeting, inviting residents and groups to come together to discuss potential events and opportunities that could take place in Leigh to mark the occasion.

This informal, initial meeting will be on Monday 30 January at 19:30. It will be held at the Cricket Pavilion on Bunce Common Road.

The King’s coronation will take place on Saturday 6 May, 2023. Monday 8 May will be a celebratory bank holiday. This means that there are three bank holidays in May next year: Monday 1 May, Monday 8 May and Monday 29 May.

All are welcome to join us! If you are unable to attend but would like to put forward any suggestions or volunteer your time however much, please email through to leighparishcouncil@gmail.com so you can be included.

WI January trip to London

W.I are planning a trip to London, hiring a coach on Saturday 7th January to go to London for the day. It will leave the Village at 8.30am and return leaving London at 4.30pm.

The coach drops and picks up at Marble Arch.

The cost is £18 per person, and there are some spaces still available to fill the coach.

Please let Judy know if you would like to join the outing by the end of November – to judith_bartley@hotmail.com or phone on 01306 611472.

It is open to all not only WI members.

Leigh Cricket Club – Players Wanted

Leigh Cricket Club welcomes players of any ability, gender and experience; those who want to play every week or just occasionally.  The Club plays a mixture of village league and friendly matches from April to the end of September.  Most are competitive but they always have fun.

Platinum Jubilee tree planting

On 19th March the Leigh and District Cottage Garden Society planted a commemorative tree to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Year on the village green.  With thanks to Chairman of Surrey County Council Helyn Clack for her support, as well that of other local councillors, cottage garden society members and villagers, not to mention the enthusiastic help of some smaller members of our community.  The tree is a Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) which it is hoped will be an attractive feature at the heart of the village for many years to come.

Mark Dobell
Mark Dobell

Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer Vacancy

Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

(8 hours per week, pay dependant on experience)

Leigh Parish Council is seeking to recruit a new part time Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer.

The Clerk is required to prepare the agenda for, attend and to produce the minutes of all Council meetings and the Annual Parish Meeting. They are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the council and all its assets, managing the Council’s finances in accordance with Government Accounting Regulations and be responsible for the Council’s communication through the website and newsletters.

The position is home-based but will require a commitment to attend ad hoc meetings and some site visits, mainly within the Parish.

The Clerk needs to be an effective communicator, have robust IT skills and be able to manage the Councils finances accurately and securely.

The post will be based on a salary range of SCP 18-23 (currently £13.21 to £14.67 per hour) determined by qualifications and experience.

The job description and person specification can be accessed here.

To be considered for the position or for more information, please contact the clerk at leighparishcouncil@gmail.com.

LEIGH SOFT BALL CLUB ARE LOOKING FOR NEW/NOVICE PLAYERS FOR THEIR RECREATIONAL SOFTBALL TEAM

If you are new to softball then the best way to described it is to say it is a cross between Rounders and Baseball but the important thing is it is a mixed game and we play for the exercise and to have fun. Our age group ranges from 15 to 69.

Soft Ball is a good way to keep fit, there is quite of bit of running/jogging involved be it when you are fielding or batting. It does not matter if you are not very good at hitting a ball or catching a ball as the emphases is on having fun.

If you have never played before then do not worry, the rules are very simple to learn and we are a very social group more interested in having fun than playing a competitive sport. Family groups of mixed age and sporting ability are very welcome.

We play on the Cricket Ground it Leigh (RH2 8NP) every Thursday evening during the summer months, weather dependant from about 18.30 till 20.00. Our local Pub, The Plough supports us by providing a snack/meal after every game for a very reasonable price. There is also a very small charge for playing each week which goes towards paying for our Insurance.

For more info please either text or ring Mike on 07708 614090

or email mike.harrison52@btinternet.com

Have your say on Police Funding

Would you be prepared to pay a little extra to support our policing teams in Surrey over the coming year?

The Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend is asking the public to fill in a brief survey and share their views on whether they would support a small rise in council tax so that policing levels can be sustained in communities across the county.

The Commissioner said that like all public services, policing is facing a significant rise in costs in the current financial climate and in order to maintain the current position, an increase of some kind will likely be necessary.

The public are being invited to have their say on whether they would agree to pay an extra 83p a month on an average council tax bill.

The short online survey can be filled in here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/YYOV80/

The survey only takes a few minutes to fill in and will be open until January 4th.

From the Belfry – Our tribute to Prince Philip (Saturday, 10th April, 2021)

About 12 noon on Friday 9th April, the sad news was announced that Prince Philip had died. The national community of bell-ringers agreed that we should ring a single bell at 12 noon the next day. It was agreed that Leigh should join this national event.
It is traditional to ring the Tenor bell with one strike for each year of life. For Prince Philip, that is difficult to do by chiming the bell. Therefore, we were given the option to raise the bell and ring it in the English way but half muffled, 99 whole pulls (hand-stroke and back-stroke).
Shortly before midday, Helen and I fitted the muffle and raised the Tenor bell. At 12 noon precisely, the ringing started with Helen counting most carefully. Following tradition, I rang slowly, with the last 5 whole pulls slightly slower to indicate his “retirement” years. It took 11 minutes 34 seconds to complete.
We thank Adria for announcing our tribute on the Leigh web site and sending out a news flash – it was just in time for several people to join our tribute by coming to listen. We greatly appreciate their support. We also thank John Squirrell (Reigate bell-ringer) for recording the tribute – he has sent me the last part with his spoken note (2 min file) and confirmed his agreement that we shall send it to the Leigh web site.

For a list of all the bell ringing tributes to Prince Philip click here
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