Boxted Village Website

Village News and Events

in Boxted and Langham

---

They shall not grow old
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

---

Faces of the Village

Steve Pollington, the new editor of the St Mary and St Peter Newsletter

Steve is a relative newcomer to Boxted but has lived in Essex nearly all his life. He moved to Boxted from Long Melford in 2019 with his wife, Deborah.

Some while back Steve used to edit a history magazine but had to give it up due to the stresses of bringing up a young family, but he quite enjoyed it so when the editorship of the St Mary and St Peter Newsletter came free he thought it would be fun to take it on.

Steve presently has a number of part-time jobs including: an author of factual history books, a lecturer in early English history, a tutor in the Old English language, a cataloguer for an auction house, and a few other activities.

He is a big history fan and has his favourite periods and topics, some of which may creep into the Newsletter in due course!

---

Coronavirus update on libraries

Essex Libraries is closed for book borrowing from today (Thursday 5 November). Some libraries are continuing to offer public computer use by appointment only.

The mobile library service is temporarily paused. A new click-and-collect service will be put in place. The home library service will continue and the e-library service is still fully accessible.

Essex Registration Service and Blue Badge Assessments that take place from libraries will continue to operate.

Visit Essex Libraries for more information.

---

The latest data in Essex

See the latest Covid-19 data for Essex on our website, including cases by age band, cases by district and hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients.

---

From the archive …

Days gone by. Photos courtesy of Peter Gant, past village archivist and resident of Boxted.

The Cross Inn, which is now a private home. The first photo is dated 1983. No date on the second photo.

---

Agenda

Next meeting: Wednesday 11 November 2020 at 7:30pm

This meeting is being held via Zoom technology only ( https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81137931951 )
All welcome.

Download the draft agenda for the next meeting here

---

The Student’s Rap

Hi! My name is Cyrus
And I ain’t worried about dat virus
You see I’m quite a loner
So I’m not gonna catch da corona
What’s dat “Stay at Home” stuff they talkin’ about?
Far as I’m concerned, I never go out!
I stay in my bedroom, I cough to myself
I eat frozen chips ‘cos they good for my ‘ealth.
What’s dis about Covid? As far as I know
De only vid that matters is my video!
So yes, it’s correct you must take exercise
I do it once a day by opening my eyes;
An’ wiv dis handwashing, I know what they mean
I hand my wash to Auntie and it comes back all clean.
But seriously man, there’s one fing makes me pensive
I like lots of care, but not if it’s expensive
So keep your distance, no more hugs, protect the NHS
An’ that way all of us will have a lot less stress.

Jasper Hunt
April 2020

How many of those of you who know Jasper would have guessed he had such hidden talents?

---

With more people now working from home than ever before, you may have recently become more aware of the number of nuisance calls to your landline or mobile phone.

Robocallers are likely to have increased during lockdown, as they do not rely on human call centres.
Many of these calls are computer generated making them cheap and difficult to trace. The pre-recorded messages are often designed to scare people into handing over money or personal details—this includes the Amazon Prime scam and HMRC scams. These calls will often ask you to “Press 1 to speak to someone”.

How to stop unwanted calls

• BT: The free BT Call Protect service monitors nuisance calls and sends them straight to junk voicemail. BT says it blocks 99 per cent of pest calls.
• Sky: Free service Talk Shield stops fraudsters by insisting all callers provide a name.
• TalkTalk: CallSafe screens and blocks unwanted calls for free.
• Plusnet: Call Protect is free and blocks unwanted calls from a list that you can add to.
• EE: Landline customers can block up to ten numbers at a time using the free Choose to Refuse option, which bars the last call answered. Dial 14258 and press ** when asked to confirm.
• Virgin: You may be able to blacklist, silence or block calls, depending on your phone.
• Mobile phones: Download free apps such as Truecaller, Whoscall and Hiya to block dodgy calls and alert firms to possible scammers.
• Complain: By making a complaint about a robocall, you can help to stop them. Experts recommend directing complaints to three bodies: the ICO, by calling 0303 123 1113, visiting ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint , or writing to ICO, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF; the Telephone Preference Service, by calling 0345 070 0707 or visiting tpsonline.org.uk/complaint ; or Ofcom, by calling 0300 123 3333 or visiting ofcom.org.uk/complaints

If you or someone you know is vulnerable and has been a victim of fraud, please call Essex Police on 101 .
Report fraud or attempted fraud by contacting Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 1232040

---

Revised plans for Operation Christmas Child in Langham and Boxted

Following the latest introduction of the second lockdown in England, this of course has meant things have changed in terms of this year’s collection of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and also means our planned Packing Party has been cancelled. The good news is that we will still be having a collection of boxes which can then be sent out throughout the world. The boxes will still be delivered this season however it may take a little longer to get through to each recipient. Samaritan’s Purse are fully committed to ensuring as many children as possible can be gifted a big smile and the knowledge that they are loved and special this year, and we ask that you continue to stand with us in this endeavour.

In terms of the National Collection week, this was due to take place between the 9th and 16th of November, this however has now been changed to between Saturday 5th and Monday 14th December inclusive.

However as our drop off points (Langham Community Centre car park and Boxted Village Hall car park) were due to take place in the open if you should happen to be already planning an essential trip, you are welcome to drop your shoebox with us at the following times:

• Sunday 8th November: St Peter’s Church Boxted car park 10 – 10.25am
  and 11.30 to 12 (not Sunday 6th Dec)
• Wednesday 11th November: Langham Community Centre car park 1 – 2pm
• Friday 13th November: Boxted Village Hall car park 10 – 11am
  and Langham Community Centre car park 11.30 – 12.30
• Saturday 14th November: Langham Community Centre car park 10 – 11am
  and Boxted Village Hall car park 11.30 – 12.30
• Sunday 15th November: St Peter’s Church, Boxted 1 – 2pm
• Monday 16th November: Langham Community Centre Carpark 10 – 12

At the drop off times these are contact free and boxes can simply be placed into the larger carton box available. Alternatively they can also be dropped at our Colchester base,1 Pegasus Way, St Johns Estate, Colchester, CO4 0QG, between 10 and 4 each day. These arrangements will be the same for both next week and the revised Shoebox Collection Week.

If you or you know someone who is simply not able to join in in person this year, but wants to be part of putting a great big smile on a child’s face through a message of hope and love – why not tell them about our easy, fun tool they can use to pack a shoebox online? It takes just a few minutes and is contactless. Simply choose who to pack for, select from a range of gifts, add a personal message and make your donation. Then we’ll pack and send your shoebox gift to a child in need on your behalf. https://shoeboxonline.samaritans-purse.org.uk/

Alternatively we have currently packed approximately 65 boxes which will be sent on the parish’s behalf and donations towards the postage of these boxes can be made at http://www.justgiving.com/operationchristmaschildlwb

Many thanks in advance

Tim Clarke
07792 060597

---

Church services

• Download the service sheet here

In brief …

Your quick reference guide to newsletter regulars.

---

From 4 November, Thursday opening times for the Post Office at the Langham Community Shop will change to the afternoon, from 12.30 to 4.00 pm.

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

---

Digital help at home

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 Village Hall
Boxted Village Website
Boxted Neighbourhood Plan
Boxted Primary School
Boxted British Legion

---

Copyright © 2020 Boxted Village Website, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
boxtedvillagenews@gmail.com

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