©Kirton News 2023

The Editors Letter

September is here, with it heralds the return to School for the children, some of them for the first time, and for others the beginning of Secondary and Grammar Schools. May you all enjoy the new term.

The nights are drawing in, autumn is almost upon us, and the summer seems to have flown by. There seems to have been so much going on in Kirton during the summer months I hope you have all enjoyed some of the sunny days and the activities.

Some of you will not be surprised to hear that I have decided to sell up and return to live in the Isle of Man. All my family are there and I miss them so much. I do not have a removal date yet, but have decided to relinquish my role as Editor so that I can devote my time to packing etc. Sam Chapman will take over, so could you please send all correspondence for the magazine to Sam at: sam.chapman50@btinternet.com

Joan Woods

Kirton Brass Band

Kirton Brass Band’s Secretary will be Tony Fell who will be acting in the interim until their AGM in September when the position of secretary will be substantiated.

Tony will be taking over from Ros Sharman who has decided to resign from the position. She will be a hard act to follow, says Tony, but he will do his best to keep things flowing!
Therefore the position of Publicity Officer will be vacant which Tony was filling. Contact him on 01775762775 for enquiries.

Obituary

The band was sad to lose one of its solo cornet players, namely Eddie Edwards, who died recently from a relatively short illness. The Band and other band members from Dereham, Stamford and Kings Lynn gathered together to bid a sad farewell at West Deeping Church on Wednesday 13th July. The service was very moving as the joint players played In Perfect Peace, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven. Eternal Father Strong to Save and the band's signature tune The Kirton One Forty. Eddie who was from Gt Yarmouth was a keen musician all his life and played with various bands. He was a quiet man with a dry sense of humour and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers go to his wife and family at this sad time.

By the time you receive this edition, the band will have had a busy summer and will now be settling in for rehearsals for the coming Autumn concerts. Details can be found on the band's website: www.kirtonband.co.uk

pictured below are members of Kirton Youth Band, accompaning the Brass Band during the Annual Kirton Songs of Praise, held behind the town hall.

Spotlight on Local Business: The F Number

Some of you will know Richard Young as a popular portrait photographer, but now he’s all set to expand his business and really get the flash bulbs popping.

With over 10 years experience in Portrait, Event and Commercial Photography Richard has an impressive portfolio, but he now has something else to offer. A photography studio that can come to you.

With his ingenuity and engineering skills Richard has designed and built a complete photographic studio - in a trailer. All he needs is to be within 50 metres of an ordinary 13 amp household plug socket. The studio has lighting, backdrops, heating and all the electronic wizardry to produce top quality portraits and to enable the client to view the results, virtually instantaneously!

Individuals, couples or groups, even the family pets, can all get the ‘film star’ treatment - and at a fraction of the cost of more conventional, building-bound set-ups. And with everything he needs in one, transportable unit Richard can also offer location and event shoots.

No more standing around in a back room to snap those event guests. They can have studio-standard portraits when they arrive, or during the event... at their leisure.
And, as they say, there’s more; much more. And it’s all on Richard’s beautifully designed, user-friendly web site: www.thefnumber.co.uk

Just give it a visit. There’s a full list of prices and products on offer, as well as a comprehensive portfolio of his work.

Richard is also on location, every fortnight on a Saturday, at The Pescod Square Shopping Centre in Boston where, at a special price of £9.99 for a thirty minute sitting and free print, you can judge the results for yourself.

For further information, to book a session or a consultation Richard Young can be contacted on 07863 037 099 or by e-mail at: Richard@thefnumber.co.uk

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day". The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment". He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then. We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then? Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart-Aleck young person.

Joseph Gilbert - Just an Underrated Seafarer From Kirton

Joseph Gilbert sailed with Captain James Cook, on his second voyage around the world. And like a lot of other people from Lincolnshire, (Matthew Flinders, included) he is not that well recorded. Most people of Kirton are, no doubt, aware of Dame Sarah Swift and Sgt. Harold Jackson V.C., but has Joseph Gilbert, been forgotten ?

Joseph was born in Kirton, and was baptised in St Peter & St Paul’s church 1st June 1732. He was the youngest of the eight children of John & Elizabeth Gilbert. He later moved a few miles to Freiston, where he was married to Frances Plant, 16th November 1758, and they had four children, all baptised in St James’s church, but he made the Royal Navy his career.

By the early 1760’s Gilbert had risen to the rank of master on HMS Guernsey, and was working with a man almost everyone has heard of, James Cook. Cook was charting the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, with Gilbert’s help. He named Gilbert Inlet and Gilbert River in Labrador after him.

The two men were later to meet and work on a much larger project, that was to last three years. It was to be Cook’s second navigation around the world, and Gilbert was the master of HMS Resolution.

Cook was again to name undiscovered territory after Gilbert, this time the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific ocean. The Gilbert (and Ellice) Islands was to become a British protectorate and then a colony in 1916.

When the islands achieved their independence in 1979 they became The Republic of Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribas"). In the local language "Kiribati is an adaptation of "Gilbert". There is an island in the Republic of Kiribati called Kiritimati. The “ti” is pronounced “s” so this island is “kee-rees-mas” - or Christmas Island!

When his sea going days were over, Gilbert was master attendant at various naval shipyards, finally Portsmouth. He died at Fareham Hampshire in 1821.

Gilbert, is mentioned on a tablet to the local people with connections to Australia and the south seas in St Botolph’s church Boston, (the Stump) along with George Bass, Sir Joseph Banks, Matthew & Samuel Flinders, Sir John Franklin, Robert(sic) Richard Rollett, James Roberts, and Peter Briscoe, Gilbert is mentioned as “Astronomer of Wrangle”. The plaque is mounted on the north wall of the tower.

Kirton may have only played a small part in the early years of his life, but an important one, the place of his birth.

by John Almond

Kirton Kids Club

“How time flies when you’re enjoying yourself!” How true that is – this school year seems to have gone by so fast. The younger children have blossomed into very independent little people and the older children – especially those that are going on to ‘big school’ seem to have grown up in front of our eyes.It is a sad but happy time of year.

Sad because you have watched those children grow into the young people they are today and you know you might not see them again. Happy because you know you have had a hand in helping them become the young people they are and they have their whole futures in front of them.

But everything moves forward and new children will come into the club and we will again watch them grow, learn and become independent and we help them to do all of these things with us.

This year has seen many changes in the club – especially in the equipment and space we can now offer the children, the activities and workshops available at each session.
Kirton Kids’ Club will be thirteen in January and I personally have seen many changes but all of them have been to the good of the club and all important changes to make the club even more of a success as the years pass.

We have a good ‘Team’ around us a brilliant Committee who are on hand to advise and support the staff and a very large number of helpers who give their time freely.
We are also supported by many local businesses and charities who donate in some form or another to help us make the children’s time with us happy and full of fun.

All staff are fully trained and have years of experience in Child Care. We are all committed to making sure ‘our’ children are happy, safe and having a good time as well as learning and moving forward and achieving and developing the life skills that we all need to go out into the ‘big wide world’.

Kids’ Club is open weeks three, four and five of the summer holidays and normal term time sessions will open again the same day of the new school year.

If you wish to know any more information on any of the above or would like to look around the club – please ring 07583 762072.

Babblebooks at Kirton Library

Babblebooks is an exciting new book group at Kirton Library. Aimed at 5 -11 year olds, the challenge is to read and review 6 selected books. It’s easy to join, simply collect a bookmark from Kirton Library, select a book from the list, read then review online or in the Library.
A big fat star = fabulous 2 stars = pretty good 1 star =ok 0 stars = never, ever again.

Books so far include the hilarious Kitten Kabbodle by Anna Wilson, the revolting GUNK Aliens Nit Picker by Jonny Moon and the beautiful Sweet dreams Maisy by Lucy Cousins.

If you’re not 5-11 and you’d still like to review you can leave comments in the Rooted in Reading Community Review Book
Story time- from September Story time will be held once a month from 10.30 until 11am. The first one is on September 20th .

Kirton Youth Centre require
A Clerk To The Trustees

The person appointed would be responsible for servicing the quarterly trustees meetings which involves preparing agendas, taking minutes and dealing with correspondence. They would also be required to maintain accounts, take bookings and bill users, deal with the banking, order supplies and carry out monthly safety checks at the Centre. Required from 1st October for 2 to 3 hours per week.

Remuneration is negotiable. Applications in writing to: Mr S Graves (Chairman) 7 High Street Kirton Boston PE20 1DR. Closing Date: Monday 19 September 2011.

A reflection from
The Methodist Minister

I am waiting for the invitation! One of my 16 nephews is getting married at the end of August and I am wondering if I am invited.

He has approximately 30 Aunties and Uncles so there is no guarantee that he can invite them all, along with somewhere near 50 cousins. That doesn’t include the Bride’s family, and all their friends! Am I special enough to be included in this celebration? Well, I did book my time off work just in case!

Despite a few hints from family the invitations are rather late if we are to find accommodation on a busy Bank Holiday weekend, so along with the rest of the family I am waiting for the final decision as to who is invited. He has a difficult choice to make as he has a limited budget, so I quite understand if I am one of those who will be disappointed.
However, I have already received the invitation I really need to have ..... from Jesus.
He doesn’t pick and choose, he gives out the invitation to everyone. No budget to worry about because these invitations come free and no member of God’s family is left out. We can all be there at the big party if we want to accept this invitation because the Bible tells us that ‘God gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life’.

That’s a party I want to go to and God has promised that I can be there…….so can you!

Irena

Frampton W.I

At the July meeting we had a visit from M, a three week old hedgehog. Fortunately M brought with her Angela Smith who gave an entertaining and highly informative talk on her work with the Hedgehog Rescue.  Giving an insight into their health problems and sometimes very chauvinistic lifestyle, plus how to remove maggots and ticks!!

Delicious refreshments were provided by Mesdames Harding, Castle and Frost, which fortunately for us contained none of the above. 

Members were reminded of the forthcoming Jumble Sale, which will include a nearly new rail and a cake stall. 

This will be held at Frampton Village Hall on Friday 9th September at 6pm.  Not forgetting our 75th Birthday celebrations at Kirton Town Hall on Thursday 13th October.  

Genealogy

Are you are interested in genealogy and would like to research your family ancestors? Join our friendly group. It doesn’t matter if you have no idea where to start or where you come from, we can help you. You will need access to a computer, a lap top would be ideal; you can bring it with you. To enable you to research you will need to register with a genealogy site, we will explain this to you.

We have been researching for some years now but still call on each other for help. Look forward to hearing from you. Contact: Sue 722283, Hazel 724336 or Elsie 722636

The Kirton District Royal British Legion Needs You!

New Members are needed now to help us in our vital work providing support and assistance for Serving and Ex. Serving Forces personnel and their family. Can you give up a few hours per month to help?

Catch me if you can

A harmless industrious spider I am
Who may, if I’m lucky, enslave a small fly.
And, as flies are a menace, I just cannot see
Why the housewife’s attention is focussed on me
My web I had strung in a corner so neat.
I was patiently waiting for something to eat,
When she came along with her bright yellow duster
And swiped it away with all strength she could muster.

Coach Trip by Gladys Seabrook

We went upon a coach trip, one glorious Summer day,
The driver clearly stated, there'd be stops along the way.
Which gave to us the Vision of lovely cups of tea,
And for those who needed toilets, the chance to spend a p.
Our first stop was a cafe, for a coffee break at ten.
A welcome drink, a penny spent, then off we went again.
Way out into the country, where the trees grew green and lush,
We had to call another halt, this time quite near a bush.
But ladies get embarrassed, even when they’ re with a friend,
To squat where grasses tickle, and expose their bottom end.
So we let the men go strolling, while we looked the other way,
And thought about the toilets, nearly twenty miles away.
The men came back so slowly, while we sat there looking grim.
But the walk had made them thirsty, so our next stop was an inn.
We nipped into the ' Ladies’, but we had to form a queue,
For we numbered four and twenty, there were toilets only two.
The driver got impatient, we heard him give a shout.
But toilet locks get faulty, and they will not let you out.
So we stood there in discomfort, some were nearly on the brink,
While the men were in the bar-room, having another drink.
At last the coach was loaded, and the men were loaded too,
Which meant another hold up, where the balmy breezes blew.
At twelve we stopped for luncheon, we all ate and drank our fill,
Which made us rather drowsy, as the coach bowled down the hill.
Then old grandma on the back seat, (who is nearly eighty three),
Whispered loud enough to rouse us, "I am dying to have a pee".
Soon we reached our destination, but the wind blew up a storm,
So we went into a snack-bar, where it was quite snug and Warm.
We drank our tea and coffee, and had another snack,
Then a quick trip to the toilets, situated round the back.
We walked along the sea-front, had a paddle in the sea,
Till someone there suggested, it was time to have our tea.
Then we went back to the coach park, with our little sticks of rock,
For the hour of our departure, had been timed for six-o-clock.
There were toilets standing handy, so we formed another queue,
Which made the homeward journey, just a little overdue.
On our way at last we travelled, feeling tired and lac-a-day,
But we brightened up each time the driver stopped along the way.
We arrived back home at midnight, with a loud resounding cheer,
But we did enjoy that coach trip, we shall go again next year.

The Registers

Baptisms - We welcome into God’s family:

12th June - Matthew Kendrick / Kirtsy Bateman
19th June - Lewis Oliver Plummer / Adam Albert Judd Annabel Margaret Fyson
26th June - Lyla Rose Needham / Jake John Tetther
10th July - Maxamillian Stephen Fendyke
10th July - Ronnie Jack Sands
24th July - Lacey Jane Ambler
31st July - Angel-Leigh Harris
31st July - Archie Peter Jessop Taylor
31st July - Eliza Francis Jessop Taylor

Weddings - We ask God's blessing on:

June 25th - William Bramhill & Claire Welberry
July 2nd - Adam John Smith & Rebecca Jane Richie
July 9th - Andrew Wells & Denise Parks
July 9th - Eric Forbes & Rachael Marsh
July 23rd - Kevin Blyth & Clair Houghton
July 30th - Kenneth Halliday & Sharon Barwick

Funerals - We commend to God’s keeping:

30th June - Florence Kirkham
27th April - Rose Ivy Holmes

 

1st Kirton Guides

We started this academic year with the culmination of Guiding's Centenary Celebrations. We held a Division event at the Haven High School, which ended with every member of the movement all over the country renewing our Guide promise at 8.20pm on 20 October 2010 (20.20 20/20 2010). Those present at the event received a commemorative membership badge.

The New Year saw the girls working on various interest badges, including First Aid for which we have to thank the Red Cross for coming in to teach us. Together with the Brownies we had an enjoyable day out to Cadbury World in Birmingham, and brought home plenty of chocolate!

The lighter nights enabled us to get 'out and about'. We spent an evening at Wings Meadow, our campsite on Freiston Road for a session of archery and, whilst there, we put in some bedding plants along the side of the drive as the service part of our badges. Another evening saw us visiting the RSPB Reserve at Frampton Marsh where the Warden, after teaching us how to focus and use binoculars properly, took us out to the reed beds and to the hides to look at the wildlife.

We ended the year with a tea party to which we invited the Brownies and the Rainbows.
By the time you read this we will have been on our Summer Camp and, hopefully, have had some good weather.

If you are aged between 10 and 14 years and would like to join us, we meet at Kirton Youth Centre on a Wednesday evening between 7.15 and 8.45 during term time.
For further information contact either:- Barbara Charity on 01205 354281 or Sheila Glenister on 01205 724451.