Editorial from Andrea Wood, Newsletter Editor
Regular readers of this column will know that I have spent most of my married life living abroad. In 30 years I have lived in some of the most hostile and God forsaken places on Earth. Just recently I was asked which was my favourite posting. Thinking about the answer made me realise that our best postings were in the most hostile locations and that forced me to wonder why. The answer is that these locations offered the strongest sense of community. When illness struck, you could rely on your neighbours to look out for you and when it was time to say farewell to departing friends, the community laid on the most extraordinary parties. Everyone had a strength to offer whether they were musically gifted, great cooks, good organisers, superb tailors or simply financially generous. And that is one of the things we can also celebrate here in Cheriton – there is a great sense of community.
We are not anonymous modules living separately from each other, we are known to each other and this is something to celebrate. In order to retain this community spirit we need more shoulders to bear the burden of organising. Many of our annual activities, enjoyed by so many, are organised by a few dwindling volunteers so if you have the occasional few hours to spare, please do think about volunteering, we’d love to have you on board!
Cream teas and elections
We have another exciting month ahead, you can learn how to make a plant support out of willow, or enjoy a cream tea courtesy of the Parish church. Of course there are the local Elections on May 2nd where we will have the opportunity to elect our District Councillors. Please note that there will not be an election for the Parish Council as there were not enough candidates to force a contest!
A big thank you to the Spring Cleaners
I have been asked to pass on thanks to the parish council for organising the Spring Clean and to all the volunteers who contributed. Ditches have been cleared and litter has been dispatched and the whole village looks clean and tidy.
Village emergency declared
Has anyone seen the red, gingham tablecloths from the Village Hall? They have probably been taken home to be washed by some kind soul but if they could be returned ASAP, the committee would be very grateful!
Articles of interest
If you have a hobby, area of interest or expertise in a specialist area that you would like to share with the community via the newsletter we would love to hear from you. I am always on the look out for information that may be of interest to our readers so do please get in touch.
Newsletter print run
Finally, we have had a number of comments regarding availability of the newsletter. Please can you let us know if the supplies ran out before you could get your copy? If so please can you ring anyone on the production team so that we can consider printing a few more copies?
Andrea Wood, Newsletter Editor