Cottenham Newsletter

We’re very excited about the new venue for Cottenham Toy Library’s soft play sessions! From this autumn onwards our Friday morning sessions will be at the Cottenham Community Centre! We also have a new time of 11.15am to 12.30pm. The hall at the centre is bright and spacious, and has more room for all our fantastic equipment. Plus, while your under 5’s are exploring and enjoying themselves, you are welcome to bring in a tea or coffee from the cafe next door… perhaps head there for lunch after your kids have let off steam and had a good play?! We run two sessions every month for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Sessions are £2 per child, £1 per child under 1 year (babies in arms with siblings are free) or £3 per family. There is a £5 annual membership fee for the academic year. Whether you’re a regular at our sessions, or just pop in occasionally - please, please, pretty please (with a cherry on top) could you spare just 10 minutes to help with either ‘setting up’ at 11a

More guests than you expected for Christmas dinner?  Searching for unique stocking fillers or a bargain on a designer label for a special present? Or on the look-out for something no-one else will be wearing this season?  Pop into the Hospice’s charity shop, on the High Street in what was the old Post Office.  There are some great bargains to be had and lots of quality items on sale. They’ve got well-priced glassware, crockery and cutlery (handy if you’ve got more people turning up for Christmas lunch!) as well as a lovely range of Christmas cards on sale, including five local scenes: Kings Parade, Trinity Street, Histon, Ely and Wisbech. Grab yourself a delicious Christmas puddings (small, medium and large) or browse the kid’s, men’s and womenswear. Be sure to look out for ‘Arthur’s Label of Love’ highlighting those designer and signature pieces which could make a stunning present to someone special this Christmas or wow everyone at the office party! Pay the shop a visit

Dear Editor, I was warned recently that Cottenham people make up what they don’t know. I think everyone everywhere could fall prey to this which is why transparency is so important for government at all levels and why David Jenkins, one of our former County Councillors, and I have been campaigning for the County Council’s relevant Committees not to hold secretive meetings about their aspirations for development in Cottenham. David, with help from the County’s Monitoring Officer and some legal advice, managed to change this recently. This item should be open to the public now, as it always should have been. Of course, sometimes, however hard you try to be transparent, some people prefer to make things up. Good legal advice and representation has a part to play in planning applications too.  It has been clear since the public meeting in 2015 that Cottenham people, in general, do not welcome large developments partly because they usually come without the necessary infrastruct

Come and join our friendly group.  We have lots of different activities including craft/chat/cards group, competitions, poetry group, darts group, walking group, a variety of speakers, coffee/tea events, garden parties and we participate in village events.  We would be pleased to see you.  More information from Jill Ballard 250605 or Margaret Briggs 250870 Events: December 13th 2017  Christmas Party  and competition. January 10th 2018   Life in the army - Lucy Lewis - The first Female Bomb Disposal Expert.  Competition.

Rural Travel Hubs:   Following an initial call last year for parishes to suggest how public transport links could be improved, six villages including Oakington have been working with South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) and the Greater Cambridge Partnership to explore how rural travel hubs could work in practice to get more people out of their cars, using public transport, cycling or walking.  Oakington Parish Council may be able to take this opportunity to address some unintended consequences of high demand for Busway services, and its ambition to change the Citi 6 bus route will benefit more than just Oakington. Including a cycleway to Cottenham could widen the benefits even further. Buses:   I have been calling for a root-and-branch review of bus services into, out of, and especially around Cambridge.  I was prompted by: the Bus Services Act 2017, which gave combined authorities with directly elected mayors the opportunity to explore bus franchising in their areas;

We are starting to get our plan together for next years Road Run. For those who have not heard of it before, we gather approximately 300 vintage and classic vehicles on Cottenham Green and then travel through the neighbouring villages collecting funds for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity. Last year's Road Run The 2018 event is to take place on Sunday 22 April 2018 At present we are waiting to hear from the Northstowe planners as to whether we can use the old airfield road, However even if we have to change the route we will still need a group of motorcycle marshals to get us round safely and on time. If you think you can help being a motorbike marshal we would be grateful if you would contact us on  vivien.lampard@ntlworld.com We will also need a few people to help as village marshals to guide the vehicles, this is vital in Cottenham, Willingham, Over, Longstanton, Swavesey,Oakington and Histon. Please contact us on the same email address. We managed to

If you’ve not been along to Cottenham’s very own Community Cinema yet you’re missing out on a hidden gem of village life. Meeting once a month in the fantastic environment of the Coffee Shop, we have screened an amazing mixture of movies over the last three years.  We have a massive screen, exceptional sound quality and an excellent bar.  Each film is preceded by a short introductory talk, and people have the opportunity to stay around for a conversation at the end if they wish. It would be great to see you there. We also have a great, fun team who organise it so please get in touch if this is something you’d like to become a part of too. Our upcoming films are: Dec 3: 2pm Family Xmas Cinema: Home Alone 7 for 7:30pm: Baby Driver Jan 14 7 for 7:30pm: The Big Sick

If you’re looking for something a bit different as a stocking filler this Christmas, why not try the new album ‘fragments’ by Clive-Upon-Sea, the artistic alter ego of Rev Simon Oliver, Cottenham’s Methodist minister. The album is one of the products of the Arts Night which has been meeting in the Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop over the last few years (and was actually co-founded by the current editor of this esteemed publication!). The group meets twice a month on Sunday nights to explore life, art, philosophy and faith through the creative arts. We are mostly a bunch of singers, musicians and songwriters, but we’ve also had poets, photographers, artists and story writers amongst our number has hosted an Arts Night. Do get in touch if you’d like to come along. It’s a really great, low key event. The sorts of issues we have explored over the past few years have ranged from Sex, God, Death and the Devil to Summer, Childhood, Christmas and Hangovers! The album features 12 of

Have you ever wondered what your neighbours get up to behind closed curtains? Well, if you hear tuneful scales or musical phrases drifting across the streets of Cottenham, your neighbour may be one of the many Cottenham residents practicing to sing with Choir 2000. Founded (you guessed it) in 2000, Choir 2000 has over 100 singers drawn from local communities. The Choir sings classical repertoire, often involving professional soloists and full orchestra. Many of Choir 2000’s members sing to stay mentally and physically fit, as well as to have a lot of fun while giving something back to their local communities. To find out more about Choir 2000 visit www.choir2000.org or hear the choir in action in December. Choir 2000’s next concerts are on the 8th and 9th of December. T he Choir will perform Dvorak’s Organ Mass and 3 Motets by Bruckner . The concert will also include Carols for All, which is your chance to come all ye faithful , and sing the first noel and bring some joy to

Annual 2 nd Cottenham Scouts Jumble Sale Cottenham Village College Saturday, 20 January 2017, 1.00–3.00 pm Please help us to raise vital funds to support 2 nd Cottenham Scout Group. We are looking for donations of the following: Clothes (no underwear/tights please) Linens Books in good, saleable condition (no magazines please) Toys Bric-a-brac Time: volunteers are essential. Please get in touch Please note we are unable to accept donations of large items of furniture or televisions. Items can be dropped off at the front of Cottenham Village College 9.00am-11am on the day. We also offer a donations collection service for the elderly and disabled – please email us at: 2ndcottenham@googlemail.com or telephone 01954 200165 to arrange for collection on the day. Thank you for your support.

Cottenham Walking Group Please come and join our free walks, meeting at 11am every Tuesday in  Cottenham  library.  Everyone, whatever ability, is welcome to join our Sustrans Volunteers for fun, cheerful company  and gentle exercise. The walks are mostly between  2 and 3 miles long and take  around an hour. We also have occasional walks slightly further afield, in locations such as Histon, Cambridge and Chesterton, that have easy bus access. These are normally on the last Tuesday of the month. Please speak with the Volunteers for details of these. Details are also available about 2 weeks before the excursion in Cottenham library. We hope you can join us and look forward to meeting you, Claire (Walk Leader) The traditional Boxing Day Holly Walk will take place this year as usual on Tuesday December 26th. This is an easy stroll of about three miles towards Rampton and back. We meet at the Broad Lane / High Street junction at 10.30am and should return at about 12.00

I have often said in this column that the world of birds is full of surprises, and the past few days have been no exception. You may well have already heard of the wandering young swan in Cottenham. This bird eventually turned up on the roof of the Village College, and presumably provided a welcome distraction for students and staff alike. This bird was finally rescued by an official of the RSPCA and no doubt returned to a more suitable place. Another surprise was experienced by a family in the village when they heard a loud bang on a window and found that a green woodpecker had flown straight into the window and had suffered mild concussion. The bird was given some TLC and recovered. The third surprise was when a lady in Lambs Lane rang me up to tell me that she had had a pied wagtail in her garden with a yellow head. This was a new one for me, but after some research we discovered that young pied wagtails sometimes have a yellowish head in the autumn before taking on full plum

All Saints’ Church, Cottenham Sunday 3rd December Sunday 10th December Nativity Story. Plus a fantastic brunch. BOOKING ESSENTIAL AS WE ARE ALWAYS FULL. simon.oliver@cantab.net , www.revcoffee.net Facebook: revcoffeecottenham Twitter: @revcoffeeccc Sunday 17 th December 8:30 am: Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) 10:30 am: Parish Communion (with Sunday School and Samuel Group) 4:00 pm: Christingle Service in aid of the Children’s Society Wednesday 20 th December 3:00 pm: Nativity service. Children under 6 are invited to come dressed as a character from the Christmas story for this short family service. Sunday 24 th December Christmas Eve 8:30 am: Holy Communion (Common Worship) 5:00 pm: Christmas Eve Carol Service. Come early to this traditional carol service as the church is always packed.   11.30pm: Midnight Communion to welcome in Christmas Day Monday 25 th December Christmas Day 8:30 am: Holy Communion