Boxted Village Website

Village News and Events

in Boxted and Langham

From the archive … the icing on the cake

Above: Queenie Sizer, once Headmistress.of Boxted Primary School. Photo taken by Peter Gant,

Taken in 1977 this photo of Queenie Sizer shows her decorating a cake in Boxted Village Hall.

We are guessing that this was for the 1977 WI ‘Bake Off’ cake event that was featured in last week’s newsletter.

Can anyone recollect what years Queenie was the headmistress at Boxted Primary School?

WI Zoom party

Better late than never … below shows a photo of Boxted Wi’s 2020 ‘Covid’ Zoom Christmas Party which we forgot to add last week – sorry!

Let’s hope that everyone can soon meet in groups and drink their champagne in the proper manner.

Boxted Parish Council on Facebook

BPC is pleased to launch its Facebook page. Visit us at
https://m.facebook.com/Boxted-Parish-Council-102851281860032/ .

The link is also provided at the bottom of this newsletter every week.

Church services

Both St Mary’s Langham and St Peter’s Boxted are now open for private prayer.

A weekly service is streamed via Zoom 

• March 21, 2021 at 10:00 am – 11:00 am
• March 28, 2021 at 9:15 am – 10:00 am
• April 4, 2021 at 10:00 am – 11:00 am
• April 25, 2021 at 9:15 am – 10:00 am

This week’s Zoom link is available at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88066393276?pwd=Z25OMWtBVDBVWEw3ZEpHZ0hYYXpJZz09

Meeting ID: 880 6639 3276
Passcode: 909659

Download this week’s service sheet here

https://lb-churches.co.uk/streamed-services/

National Day of Reflection – 23 March

As we approach the anniversary of the start of the first lockdown on 23 March we are drawing your attention to the National Day of Reflection being organised by Marie Curie. This is supported by the Church of England and more details can be found in the attached link.

https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-churches/national-day-reflection

Some ideas in the link include:

– Using the prayer postcard or sending a card for anyone who has been bereaved
– An act of prayer for families
– Lighting a candle at 8pm

Covid tests

About 1 in 3 people who have contracted Covid-19 won’t display any symptoms, while still being able pass it to other people they come into contact with. Consequently, regular testing of those people without symptoms is important to help stop the virus spreading and to protect our loved ones. As lockdown restrictions gradually ease we all need to play our part to help better protect one another. In an effort to increase the levels of testing for people connected to the education system, the government have therefore made twice-weekly testing kits available for people without symptoms.

Free Rapid Lateral Flow Tests Are Available For:

• Secondary school pupils and college students
• Staff of primary and secondary schools, nurseries and colleges
• Households, childcare and support bubbles of nursery children, primary and secondary-age pupils and college students
• Households, childcare and support bubbles of staff of nurseries, primary and secondary schools, and colleges

To find out more about this initiative, what the eligibility requirements are and how you take the test, please visit the rapid lateral flow test guidance page . It provides details about testing for households and bubbles of pupils, students and staff from the Department of Health & Social Care.

To Order Your Free Test Kit Visit  https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

Essex County Council have issued a press release explaining what this important development in mass testing means for the households of school pupils. To read this message from the Director of Public Health in Essex, Dr Mike Gogarty and the Director of Education, Clare Kershaw then please see the attached PDF bulletin .

For information on the current status Covid-19 rules and restrictions visit gov.uk .

Boxted resident Robert Spittal is raising funds for the NHS Healthcare Workers Foundation. He writes:

“Recently I had my Covid-19 vaccination … or “jab”. My visit to the local NHS vaccination centre was well communicated, well organised and the people on duty – many of whom were volunteers – were organised, informed, helpful and polite. They clearly care deeply about what they are doing. There was a short socially-distanced queue but the entire process worked well and took less than 30 minutes – 15 of which were spent in the “Observation Area” following the vaccination.

While waiting in the Observation Area I had an idea. A simple one but it may just allow us to give something back to NHS workers who are working so hard and selflessly throughout this horrible pandemic whether working directly on C-19 care or the wider case workload.

The idea?  When we visit a restaurant, coffee shop, hairdresser or even use a taxi we often leave a tip for the person who served us. This is a personal choice we make to say “thank you” for the service we have received and is a tangible and immediate expression of our appreciation.

What if  … there was the same opportunity for us to say “thank you” to the NHS workers that have worked so hard and endured so much simply because it is their job … or because they have a sense of duty or … because they care? Care about us. All of us. Strangers they have never met before yet immediately and unquestioningly look after … for as long as it takes to make a difference.

That’s it. Let’s each give a tip to the NHS workers as a thank you for our “jab” and for all they have done an continue to do for us.

Below are the links to the JustGiving page where you will find a little more detail and the chance to make a donation if you would like to.”

Robert Spittal is fundraising for Healthcare Workers’ Foundation

Boxted bridge update

Spitalfields Life article on George Double, builder of Boxted Bridge

Detail of ‘View from Boxted bridge’ by John Nash c 1950 (courtesy Government Art Collection)
We are hugely grateful to The Gentle Author for publishing this article in Spitalfields Life on Monday. https://spitalfieldslife.com/2021/03/15/george-double-builder-of-boxted-bridge/

The petition has 4800 signatures. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY! We continue to campaign to save Boxted bridge from demolition and the need for an impartial review of options to repair it.

A dedicated email address ( boxtedenquiries@essexhighways.org ) has been set up to support the public with any questions relating to the structure that are not already answered on the webpage.

The full website address for the Boxted Bridge project is:
https://www.essexhighways.org/transport-and-roads/highway-schemes-and-developments/highway-schemes/boxted-bridge-wick-road-boxted-colchester.aspx

For more information and to sign the petition to save the original structure of Boxted Bridge, please head to  https://www.change.org/p/essex-county-council-save-our-bridge

In brief …

Your quick reference guide to newsletter regulars.

Mobile library

Following the latest Government guidelines the mobile library service is suspended until further notice.

To keep up to date with any changes please visit the Mobile Library Service website

Thursday opening times for the Post Office at the Langham Community Shop are from 12.30 to 4.00 pm.

Monday opening times remain the same at 9.00 am to 12.30 pm.

Remember that this service is still available online. Michael Smith at Colchester Borough Council is still offering digital support via a remote service. See the Council’s webpage  or, for further information.

• Colchester 01206 282 452/ Clacton 01255 686497
• Email:  Digitalaccesssupport@colchester.gov.uk

Useful links:

Boxted Parish Council
Boxted Parish Council on Facebook
Boxted Village Hall
Boxted Village Website
Boxted Neighbourhood Plan
Boxted Primary School
Boxted British Legion

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Our mailing address is:
newsandevents@boxted.org.uk

Newsletter editor: Angela McLauchlan : Design and layout: Shirley Szymanek