Cropwell Cinema (19-3-14)
Easter Event (5-3-14)
What was in like in the WW1 trenches? (6-3-14)
Next Tuesday evening ... (5-4-14)
Look out! (16-3-14)
When you go out to work or shopping, who keeps an eye on your house? When you go on holiday who notices if parcels or papers left at your door make it obvious that the house is empty?
The one person you don't want watching is a burglar!
No one I know has the time to look out for you all the time so, I suppose, that's it; we just have to keep our fingers crossed that our house is safe when we are not there. Well no, there is an alternative: you and your neighbours can look out for each other. That is the idea behind the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
The scheme has been operating in Britain for over 30 years. It has even been working in Cropwell Bishop, you can see some signs on display. However, it is not happening everywhere in the village and even where it has been set up in the past, people have moved away and the scheme sometimes exists in name only.
Neighbourhood Watch need not cost you any money but it does need people to get it off the ground and keep people informed of what is involved. As a first step, a meeting has been arranged for next Monday at the Old School. See the poster below.
Every Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is unique. You and your neighbours decide how many homes will be in your scheme—it could be half a dozen, a cul-de-sac or a section of a road. There are no National Coordinators telling you what to do but there are people who have experience of what the Scheme involves. You will hear from some at this meeting.
So, come along, it won't cost you anything but you could end up with a greater sense of security.
Tony Jarrow
St Giles—see what needs to be done (11-3-14)
Come along and see some of the structural problems for yourself; speak to members of the Church Council; make a donation to help restore and improve the church in readiness for its 800th birthday in 2015.
Our target is £80,000, which is £100 for each year of the life of our parish church.
Maybe you’d like to sponsor a particular year for your contribution?
Every donation, large or small, will make a difference as we pull together as a village to restore our parish church to full and improved use, for us and for future generations.
Donations can be dropped off to one of the following:
-
The Rev’d Bronwen Gamble, 2 Dobbin Close
- Mrs Hilary Tabron (Church Warden) 8 Cropwell Butler Road
- Mr Max Jordan, (Treasurer) 5 Springfield Close
Please make cheques payable to Cropwell Bishop PCC.
Stop Press
As I write this on 11th March, contributions are already coming in which, with Gift Aid added, have topped £1000. Thank you!
Hilary Tabron
School Holiday Cinema (11-3-14)
What's on this Saturday? (23-3-14)
It's not Cricket .... (12-3-14)
Holme Lock—update (10-3-14)
Please note that the Open Day for Holme Lock (see article of 5-3-14 below) has now had to be canelled. Technical problems are being experienced: they can't keep the water out of the Lock!
Tony Jarrow
Holme Lock Open Day (5-3-14)
Just a reminder that you can venture into the massive 10m deep drained lock chamber of Holme Lock near the Watersports Centre on Sunday 16th March. For more details, see the article posted on 15-2-14 (click on the 'Earlier News Story' for February 2014).
Tony Jarrow
Langar Tip — more information (28-2-14)
Following on from yesterday's announcement (see below), I have been provided with a bit more information by our County Councillor, Richard Butler.
He says that "he and his colleagues are continuing to have discussions at County Hall, and elsewhere, to try to find a realistic answer to the big problem that would be created for us in this area, if it does close." He urges us to continue using the Tip to demonstrate how much we need it.
If use of the Tip were to drop off, it would suggest that it is not as essential as those of us who signed the petition to save it, said it was. So, if there is to be any chance of Notts County Council having second thoughts, however slim, we must continue to make full use of it.
Tony Jarrow
Langar Tip to Close (27-2-14)
Notts County Council today approved the closure of the Recyling Centre at Langar. However, it will remain open for the rest of 2014 and into next year.
Tony Jarrow
1914 (27-2-14)
What do we know about the young men—and, as far as I know, they were all males, who left their home in Cropwell Bishop to go and fight in the First World War?
Well, in terms of raw statistics, quite a lot—and I am indebted to Anne Terzza for collecting together all the information for me. Before listing the names of individuals, I think it is worth reflecting on some points.
- I appreciate that probably many of you had no ancestors living here 100 years ago: I certainly didn’t. However, I don’t doubt that virtually all of us had ancestors affected by the War, no matter where they were living in the World at the time. The experiences of Cropwell Bishop are probably typical of many towns and villages and so are worth considering to get a feel for that traumatic time in human history.
- A total of 94 boys and men from Cropwell Bishop fought in the conflict.
What might this have been like for the community?
I don’t have enough data to be precise, but let’s assume that about half of the 94 were young enough to have left Cropwell Bishop School at some time between 1910 and 1917. That is, on average, around 7 boys per year during that time.
Looking at old photos of the School and its pupils at that time, I am guessing that maybe 20 pupils left School each year: that’s around 10 boys.
That suggests that each year during those seven years, of the 10 boys who left School each summer, 7 would go to the Great War. A shuddering thought. - Of the 94 who fought, 11 died.
- Of those 11; 5 died in Action, 4 died of Disease and 2 died of Wounds.
My first reaction to these figures, was “thank goodness 88% returned home safely”. However, that surely is not the true picture.
How many returned home suffering the effects of gas?
How many lost limbs or were physically disabled?
How many were mentally disabled?
I suppose we will never know.
Below is most of the data collected by Anne Terzza: lack of space prevents me displaying more information.
As you look through the list, you will probably recognise the family names of people still living in the Village. Spot how many roads and buildings in the Village have names based on someone from these families—although not necessarily the member listed below.
Tony Jarrow
|
Surname |
Intial |
Year Enlisted |
Year died |
Cause of Death |
1 |
Barratt |
F |
1914 |
|
|
2 |
Chamberlain |
S |
1914 |
|
|
3 |
Clarke |
O |
1914 |
|
|
4 |
Cooke |
J |
1914 |
1915 |
Action |
5 |
Fogg |
T |
1914 |
1918 |
Disease |
6 |
Fogg |
W |
1914 |
|
|
7 |
Foster |
E |
1914 |
|
|
8 |
Hall |
G |
1914 |
|
|
9 |
Hall |
S |
1914 |
|
|
10 |
Hall |
W |
1914 |
|
|
11 |
Kemp |
A |
1914 |
|
|
12 |
Lacey |
H |
1914 |
|
|
13 |
Parnham |
C |
1914 |
|
|
14 |
Porter |
J |
1914 |
|
|
15 |
Richards |
R |
1914 |
|
|
16 |
Sheppard |
J |
1914 |
|
|
17 |
Thompson |
W |
1914 |
|
|
18 |
Warrington |
C |
1914 |
|
|
19 |
Widdowson |
C |
1914 |
|
|
20 |
Widdowson |
R |
1914 |
|
|
21 |
Wood |
H |
1914 |
|
|
22 |
Hall |
J |
1915 |
1918 |
Action |
23 |
Hardy |
R |
1915 |
1918 |
Disease |
24 |
Parnham |
A |
1915 |
|
|
25 |
Parnham |
CHAS |
1915 |
|
|
26 |
Parnham |
S |
1915 |
|
|
27 |
Parnham |
W |
1915 |
1918 |
Wounds |
28 |
Richards |
E |
1915 |
|
|
29 |
Richards |
G |
1915 |
|
|
30 |
Shelton |
H |
1915 |
|
|
31 |
Shelton |
T |
1915 |
|
|
32 |
Sheppard |
A |
1915 |
|
|
33 |
Tomlinson |
E |
1915 |
|
|
34 |
Trusswell |
E |
1915 |
|
|
35 |
Walker |
S |
1915 |
|
|
36 |
Wood |
F |
1915 |
1917 |
Wounds |
37 |
Barlow |
T |
1916 |
1917 |
Disease |
38 |
Burrows |
G |
1916 |
1917 |
Action |
39 |
Burrows |
H |
1916 |
|
|
40 |
Carter |
H |
1916 |
|
|
41 |
Cluro |
J |
1916 |
|
|
42 |
Crockford |
A |
1916 |
|
|
43 |
Downs |
S |
1916 |
|
|
44 |
Hall |
W |
1916 |
|
|
45 |
Hallam |
F |
1916 |
|
|
46 |
Hampson |
J |
1916 |
1918 |
Disease |
47 |
Harrison |
T |
1916 |
|
|
48 |
Kemp |
J |
1916 |
|
|
49 |
Knight |
G |
1916 |
|
|
50 |
Knight |
W |
1916 |
|
|
51 |
Loach |
T |
1916 |
1917 |
Action |
52 |
Mitchell |
H |
1916 |
|
|
53 |
Parnham |
H |
1916 |
|
|
54 |
Parnham |
W |
1916 |
|
|
55 |
Rawlings |
R |
1916 |
|
|
56 |
Sheppard |
H |
1916 |
|
|
57 |
Slater |
J |
1916 |
1917 |
Action |
58 |
Smith |
G |
1916 |
|
|
59 |
Spencer |
H |
1916 |
|
|
60 |
Spencer |
J |
1916 |
|
|
61 |
Starbuck |
J |
1916 |
|
|
62 |
Walker |
T |
1916 |
|
|
63 |
Walker |
W |
1916 |
|
|
64 |
Zanker |
A |
1916 |
|
|
65 |
Atter |
R |
1917 |
|
|
66 |
Fogg |
H |
1917 |
|
|
67 |
Hampson |
J |
1917 |
|
|
68 |
Harrison |
C |
1917 |
|
|
69 |
Hopkinson |
W |
1917 |
|
|
70 |
King |
B |
1917 |
|
|
71 |
Loach |
W |
1917 |
|
|
72 |
Morris |
G |
1917 |
|
|
73 |
Shelton |
F |
1917 |
|
|
74 |
Simpson |
C |
1917 |
|
|
75 |
Skellington |
J |
1917 |
|
|
76 |
Spaulding |
H |
1917 |
|
|
77 |
Thornton |
A |
1917 |
|
|
78 |
Tinsley |
A |
1917 |
|
|
79 |
Walker |
V |
1917 |
|
|
80 |
Warrington |
G |
1917 |
|
|
81 |
Bagnall |
W |
1918 |
|
|
82 |
Barlow |
E |
1918 |
|
|
83 |
Cope |
W |
1918 |
|
|
84 |
Dawn |
A |
1918 |
|
|
85 |
Downs |
A |
1918 |
|
|
86 |
Hall |
V |
1918 |
|
|
87 |
Hampson |
G |
1918 |
|
|
88 |
Hibbett |
R |
1918 |
|
|
89 |
Johnson |
J |
1918 |
|
|
90 |
Julian |
W |
1918 |
|
|
91 |
Mackley |
W |
1918 |
|
|
92 |
Morris |
H |
1918 |
|
|
93 |
Rawlings |
H |
1918 |
|
|
94 |
Warrington |
H |
1918 |
|
|
Go to Cinema: Feel Good! (21-2-14)
Entertainment 100% (15-2-14)
Be Creative! (4-3-14)
Quiz Night (2-3-14)
A great 'Cropwell Quiz Night' at The Old School on Saturday evening. Well done to the 'Springfield Team' that won again yet again.
Photos by Mel Stanley
The First Mini Bus Evening Out To Bingham (25-2-14)
Those who went on the first ‘evening out’ minibus trip to Bingham last Wednesday had a good time. With no responsibility for driving, I was able to enjoy a couple of pints of Ale (The Lancaster Bomber was good) and Glyn and I had a delicious meal in the Upstairs Grill Room of the Horse and Plough. The food, prepared by 2 young chefs, was excellent and prices seemed reasonable for the quality provided. Later we met friends in the Butter Cross (Wetherspoons) before catching our minibus back to Cropwell at 10.00pm
There are a number of alternative eating places now available in Bingham. At the top end the Yeung Sing has good Chinese food and the Bingham (previously The Wheatsheaf) advertises some pretty up-market cuisine. I believe the Chesterfield is about to reopen its restaurant as a carvery. The Piano has become the Circle Eatery and might be worth a try for lighter meals, and of course the Wetherspoons provides excellent value pub grub and drinks. A little further out of town at the bottom of Tithby Road, The White Lion also does pub meals.
Many thanks to Parish Clerk, Jan Towndrow, and the Parish Council who organised the evening minibus trip with Belvoir Private Hire. The next trial evening trip to Bingham is on March 5th (7.00 pm from the Cabin). Tickets at £4 return are good value and further trips will be arranged if there is sufficient support to cover the cost. Please give it a try.
John Greenwood
Thanks for your support .. (17-2-14)
Quiz time (14-2-14)
Canal News (updated 15-2-14)
On Saturday March 1st, a group of Loughborough University Students are coming to the Grantham Canal to start, what is hoped will be, a regular monthly event to clear the section between the A46 and Kinoulton Road near the Gypsum works.
It is early days yet, but this could lead to the eventual re-lining the bed of the canal so that it will once again hold water. The Canal & River Trust are very positive about the future of the Canal and relations between them and Grantham Canal Society have never been better!
So, if on 1st March anyone from the village, or elsewhere for that matter, wishing to spend a day in the fresh air doing something useful, will be very welcome down at the Canal. Hopefully it will have stopped raining by then!
Start around 9.30am finish when worn out or 5pm, whichever comes first—weather dependent of course. No particular skills required, just old clothes, sturdy footwear and gloves (the tougher the better). More precise details when available.
For lots more information about the Grantham Canal, visit their website at "www.granthamcanal.org".
If you are interested in finding out, first hand, what it is like inside a lock when there is no water in it, you should make a note of the Open Day at Holme Lock, River Trent, next to the National Watersports Centre on Sunday 16th March, 2014.
Venture into this massive 9m deep drained lock chamber and talk to Canal & River Trust experts about how they carry out lock maintenance. A fascinating chance to see what it takes to keep YOUR waterways working.
10-4pm; last entry 3:30pm.
Please wear sensible, sturdy footwear. No pre-booking required.
Tony Jarrow, with thanks to Ian Wakefield
1914 (13-2-14)
The word 'great' can mean 'wonderful' and it can mean 'very big'.
As a child, I had assumed that the Great War of 1914-18 was some wonderful enterprise until I understood that I had the wrong meaning.
My impression now, from books and news reports, is than many politicians and leaders at the time were equally confused.
Those soldiers who sailed across the channel must have quickly found many better words to describe the conflict.
The photograph on the right is of a man who experienced that "Great" War at the front.
He is Frederick Hallam, who served with the Sherwood Foresters and Notts and Derby Machine Gun Corps.
He was taken prisoner but served with honour and disabled in the War. He was honourably discharged 3rd Dec 1918.
If he hadn't survived, this photo would not have been passed on to me by Anne Terzza: he was her grandfather.
Sadly, how many photos of young men like this one were doomed to became final memories?
Tony Jarrow
(Thanks to Anne, of Cropwell Bishop, for the photo and story)
Ready Steady 60s Night (9-2-14)
Clearly, everybody enjoyed themselves at last nights event at The Old School. A great night!
Mel Stanley
Fast Broadband for Cropwell Bishop? (7-2-14)
When it comes to talk of "high speed internet", do you:
- sigh when others talk about downloading from iPlayer in minutes rather than hours
- groan when friends say they watch movies and football live over the internet
- hear stories about superfast internet reaching 95% of the population and suspect that the 5% that won't get it either live in the Scottish Highlands or Cropwell Bishop
- wonder if the provision of the internet via radio waves within the village (via "Ineedbroadband") will hinder the possibility of a fast service via BT
If you do share these concerns, then I have good news for you: we are going to get a faster broadband service and it is likely to be sooner than you thought.
Cropwell Bishop Parish Councillors are at the forefront of efforts to provide our village with a fibre optic link between our Telephone Exchange at Cotgrave and the Cropwell Bishop "BT box" on Nottingham Road, just down from the Memorial Hall.
Currently, our internet speed in the village is mainly limited by the distance we are from the Exchange. By linking us to Cotgrave by a glass fibre effectively brings the benefits of a nearby Exchange to our village. That fibre can transmit far, far more information than metal wires can.
To reach our homes, signals would still have to travel along the existing copper wires in the village but because this distance will be much less than the 3 miles to Cotgrave, the internet speed in your home should be much faster than at present.
Parish Councillor, Colin Bryan (of Cropwell Electronics) recently attended a presentation by Notts County Council and BT. I interviewed Colin this morning and I am able to report that:
- faster broadband is coming to Cropwell Bishop
- by April 1st 2014, you should be able to check when it will reach your post code
- exactly which villages in the County will get it first could depend on any engineering obstacles. The fact that there is ample room to site a new "Fibre-cable Cabinet" next to our existing "BT Box" is in our favour
- to get the fibre cable from Cotgrave, it would be literally 'blown' down the existing ducting. Hopefully, a survey by BT will reveal that 'our' ducting presents no obstacles
- the eventual internet speed you get in your home will depend on a number of factors including: your distance from the BT Box and your Provider (BT, Talk-talk, etc). Promised speeds may be on the conservative side; actual speeds could 5+ times faster: we just don't know until we get it.
So when will all this happen? Well, at present, no one knows, but we are no longer talking in terms of decades. We need to think in terms of a year or so, but then again, it could be just months away.
To see the Report by Parish Councillor Colin Bryan, click on the "Cropwell Bishop Parish Council" box in the right hand column on this CropwellBishopPlan page. Colin will be our "Digital Champion" and he and other Parish Councillors will be working hard to encourage an early completion date for our Cropwell Bishop.
As soon as more information is available, I will report back.
Tony Jarrow
Neighbourhood Watch (6-2-14)
Post Office Opening Times (3-2-14)
You don't need me to tell you that our village Post Office is now located in the Co-Op, but do you know its opening times?
I had assumed that they were the usual 9am to 5pm but I have just discovered I was wrong. The Post Office Counter is open for business from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday, and 7am to 8pm on Sunday.
So, in an evening, you can pack your parcels, take them down to the Co-Op to be weighed and post them—there and then.
Then you won't need 'Post-its' to remind you to go to a Post Office (somewhere near work?) to post them the next day.
Hope that is useful information—or maybe I am the last person in Cropwell Bishop to make this discovery!
Tony Jarrow
Local Footpath Changes (30-1-14)
The building of the new A46 road has inevitably affected the route of several local footpaths. Notts County Council has now published maps showing their new approved routes.
There are four maps relating to the Cropwell Bishop section of the road and you can download them from this website. First click on the Walks tab above, then, on the Walks page, near the foot of the right-hand column, you will find links for downloading pdf copies of the four maps.
Tony Jarrow
dot com (29-1-14)
I sometimes give email addresses on this website. Unfortunately, 'internet spammers' have the software to search for the characteristics of an email address and then go on to send you unsolicited emails.
Currently, I don't think it is a big problem for us on this website but, even so, I am taking steps to eliminate it as a possible future problem. From now on, I will type out email addresses without the 'at' or 'dot' symbol. For example, my email address will appear as:
amjarrowatmacdotcom
(I aim to use colour to highlight the effect.)
The downside of this is that if you copy and paste the email address into your email program, you will have to replace the red text with symbols before you send the message.
Tony Jarrow
1914 (29-1-14)
A hundered years ago. Too long ago for any of us to remember, and only the older ones around will remember parents or grandparents who lived through the events of 1914 to 1918, whether at home—or away.
We can't imagine what it was like—or maybe we can imagine. Below is a photograph of the Cropwell Bishop Cricket Team of 1910.
The Memorial Hall exists as a reminder of those times and the Memorial Hall Committee is already making plans to commemorate the100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The weekend of August 3rd-4th is the date and over the coming months they will be releasing more details.
In the meantime, they welcome any suggestions and involvement from the Village community and its organisations. Some of you may have photographs, memorabilia or other information relating to those times. The loan of anything of interest would be very much appreciated. Your treasured photographs could be copied for use in any display.
The person to contact is Pam Barlow (if you don't know Pam, you can make contact via me).
Thanks to the Cropwell Bishop Heritage Group who released this photograph on their CD.
Tony Jarrow
Memorial Hall Quiz (26-1-14)
Little Grey cells at work for the winning team at last night's Quiz at the Memorial Hall.
Mel Stanley
Theft of "Your" Property! Can You help? (21-1-14)
There has been a theft of Cropwell Bishop Parish Council Machinery from the Container at The Memorial Hall.
Some time between Friday evening and Monday morning the Cropwell Bishop Parish Council container sited at the Memorial Hall was broken into.
Thieves broke through two locks to steal the village equipment used by our Ranger/Lengthsman.
The items stolen were:-
- Large Asuka Hand Mower, Product Code: TN21605XAH
- Billy Goat Street Sweeper, Serial Number: 070813320
- Large STIHL Strimmer, Serial Number: 176899437
- STIHL Vacuum Blower, Product Code: STSH86CE
- STIHL Hedge Cutter, Product Code: STHS81RCE 24
- Transparent Combination Measure: Product Code ST0000 881 0123
If anyone offers for sale any items to match this description to anyone in the village please would you check product codes or serial numbers located on the machines.
If any codes match please contact the Police or me on: 0115-989 4656.
Thank you
Janice Towndrow (Parish Clerk}