Phyllida Bradshaw

Phyllida Bradshaw the wife of the former vicar of Upchurch died recently (aged 92).

Phyllida, who was confined to a wheelchair lived with her daughter Jennie for the last years of her life in the village of Eythorne in Kent. She was a much loved and respected lady here in our village of Upchurch, supporting her late husband the Reverend 'Mac' Bradshaw. She was leader of the the Brownies, and also the founder of 'Upchurch Young Wives' group, which still meets to this very day.

Her funeral will be a small private family arrangement, taking place in Sandwich, following which her ashes will be buried beside her husband here in Upchurch.

Bryan Veale

Space

Battle's Over - A Nation's Tribute at Upchurch Recreation Ground

For more information - visit: www.brunopeek.co.uk

Upchurch Parish Council

Space

Upchurch Gabriel November 2018 Issue - Ham Green, Wetham Green, Susans Lane Areas

Unfortunately, the usual distributor for the above (and surrounding) areas is unable to carry out delivery of the November Gabriel. If you occupy one of the affected residences you may collect a copy from the Costcutter Newsagent in the village.

Please accept apologies for any inconvenience caused.

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO NEIGHBOURS WHO MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET OR BE UNABLE TO COLLECT COPIES PERSONALLY

Many thanks

Dave Candy [Editor]

Space

Upchurch WI & Wives Group Silent Auction & Coffee Morning - Amount Raised and Thank You

Thank you to everyone who supported this event on Saturday 3rd November.

£550 was raised for the Village Hall Improvement Fund.

Any items unsold were donated to the Sense Charity shop in Rainham.

Wendy Pitts - Upchurch Women's Institute

Space

November News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

Before talking about November I must say what a fantastic month October turned out to be. After such a long hot and dry summer the garden burst into flower in October. The roses gave a great Autumn show and the perennials have finally caught up after the summer and will hopefully continue until the first hard frost. The runner beans produced a massive crop in the first half of the month and couldn’t be picked quick enough before going stringy. Lawns are improving but have taken a hammering this year and will take a bit of time in the Spring to come good.

Aim to complete planting spring bulbs in November with Tulips the last to go in and complete winter bedding and containers. Continue with tidying the entire garden, pruning back perennials and sweeping up leaves as the weather permits. If your roses had blackspot then discard the leaves and do not compost. This is also a good month to plant bare-rooted trees, shrubs and roses.

Start lifting parsnips after the first frost as this converts the starch into sugar and gives them a sweet flavour. Also divide mature clumps of rhubarb once they are dormant. Prune apples and pears but do not touch plums (winter pruning encourages disease). Tidy up the greenhouse, prune the hedges and light the fire.

That’s about it for me in the garden unless the weather stays unusually good in which case I will do some fence repairs. So it is time to reflect back on the year and start making plans for next year. Firstly, I have had it with tomatoes after another poor year. Germination was slow in the spring and the seedlings struggled to gain any size and like last year hormonal damage produced distorted plants with little flower. The spring onions also failed with virtually no germination. The marrows were great but produced such a glut that I do not know what to do with it all, so time to cut back on the number of seedlings. This will create extra space to try some sweetcorn next year and I will go for a super sweet variety. I am also growing suspicious of some seed suppliers as seed only remains viable for a limited time, so I am changing to DT Brown.

The new perennials finally came good in the Autumn but again poor seed germination has resulted in fewer plants than expected and in some cases no plants at all. So it is time to switch to plug plants for flowers and increase numbers from cuttings.

One last project is to consider ground cover for the shady patches underneath the shrubs which isn’t as easy as it may sound and will require lubrication of the brain cells.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

Space

1000 Knitted Poppies at St. Mary’s

The video may not be visible in your Email version.

If not, watch it at the link here >> http://bit.ly/2qqaOuO

The video may not be visible in your Email version.

If not, watch it at the link here >> http://bit.ly/2qtG7VU

Remembrance Sunday - November 11th 2018 marks 100 years since the end of The First World War.

As a special commemoration, the 5 ladies of the Kitting Group, along with their partners have decorated the railings and a new military style commemorative arch at St. Mary's with a 1000 knitted poppies.

The group have been busy for 9 months knitting the poppies which they attached to the railings and new arch on Saturday 3rd of November 2018.

Constructed from wood, the arch was designed and built by Jim McAlpine and finished in NATO Green by Terry Lewis. The arch's metallic military design and shape compliment the entrance to the church perfectly.

A small memorial with purple knitted poppies to commemorate the animals that died during the conflict has written on it:

'Purple poppies commemorate the animal victims of war, of which there were many

Animals in war are not heroes, they are the victims

THEY SHOULD BE REMEMBERED TOO'

Upchurch Matters

Space