St Mary's November 2018 Parish Magazine

Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Finedon
Parish Magazine
November 2018
Digital Edition
1

Vicar:
Finedon Parish Church: St Mary The Virgin
The Revd Richard Coles,
St Mary the Virgin Finedon, The Vicarage,
Church Hill, Finedon, Northants, NN9 5NR
01933 681 786, Mobile 07885 967 960
email: revdrichardcoles@yahoo.co.uk
Assistant Honorary Priest Fr Peter Baden,01832 733186
email: p.baden36@btinternet.com
Reader Mr Michael Duncombe, 01536 483935
email: mikeduncombe61@gmail.com
Parish Clerk
Mrs Gill Foster Tel: 680364 (To whom first
contact for Baptisms and weddings must be
made).
Churchwardens: Mrs Jane Read Tel: 680522
Mr Neil Forster Tel: 682177
PCC Secretary: Mrs Gill Foster Tel: 680364
Treasurer: Mr Andrew Weatherill Tel: 682212
Magazine Editor: Mrs Janet Millington, Tel: 681161.
email: millingtonjanet@aol.com
(to whom all copy should addressed by
the 15 th of the month prior to publication)
Director of Music Mr Jonathan Harris Tel: 01933 779059,
Mobile 07791 664507
Email: Hjonathan83@aol.com
Deputy Organists
Mrs. Kathy Roberts
Mr Oliver Grigg
Choirmaster: Mr. Bryan Chapman Tel: 398818
Tower Captain Mr Bryan Chapman, Tel 398818
Web Site
www.finedonphotographs.org.uk/
bellringers.html
Archivist
St Michael’s Mission Room:
Dr Kaye McClelland, kayemclelland@gmail.com
Bryan & Christine Chapman
Tel: 01933 398818
Times Of Services:
Sundays
8.00 am Holy Eucharist
9.30 am Parish Eucharist.
6.00 pm Evensong (1st Sunday of the Month)
Visit us on the Web at www.stmarysfinedon.co.uk

From the Vicarage November 2018.
A hundred years ago, at 1100 hours on the eleventh day of the
eleventh month the Armistice came into force and the First World
War came to an end. That’s the tidy version of history. Of course,
nothing so cataclysmic ends so neatly, and I remember when I
visited the battlefields of Northern France noticing how many
gravestones there were marking the deaths of soldiers who survived
hostilities only to die of influenza as they awaited repatriation. And
not only soldiers. I came across a row of gravestones in Chinese
script for men from that country who had built and maintained the
railways necessary to supply the army. They too fell victim to the flu
epidemic of 1918 (which killed more than double the number who
died in conflict). And then there were those who returned. I saw a
photograph at the Historical Society the other day of members of
the Finedon British Legion in the 1930s, winners of the Haig Cup,
respectable men of substance, wearing medals on their Sunday
best, a decade after they won them and I wondered how they
managed to adapt to life at home after the violence and terror of
the trenches, or the North Sea, or Gallipoli?
It is right and proper those who fell in war; but it is important also to
remember those who survived, and survive today, but bear scars
which are not only physical but mental. I have lost count of the
number of former servicemen I have encountered living on the
street, who returned home from different conflicts and found it
impossible to settle back in to what we think of as normal life. Please
continue to support the work of the Royal British Legion, and the
regimental and service associations, and other organisations that
exist to care for men and women who made extraordinary sacrifices
for the benefit of us all. They deserve the best we can do for them.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Richard.
3

Our Worship in
November Year B
4 th All Saints Sunday
Wisdom 3. 1 – 9
Psalm 24. 1 – 6
Revelation 21. 1 – 6a
John 11. 32 - 44
Hymns
558 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
the King of creation
227 Rejoice in God’s saints, today
and all days!
232 For all the saints who from their
labours rest
Anthem: Monteverdi Cantate Domino
549 Onward, Christian soldiers
4th – All Souls’ evensong
Introit: Requiem aeternam
604 Through all the changing scenes of life
Choir Responses: O Lord hear my prayer
Responses: Smith
Psalm: 148
593 The Lord my pasture shall prepare
Canticles: Brewer in D
Anthem: Give rest, O Christ (Contakion of
the dead - 350)
Final Hymn: 516 (Tune Love Divine) Love
divine, all loves excelling
11th – Remembrance Sunday
Jonah 3. 1- 5. 10
Psalm 62. 5 – end
Hebrews 9. 24 – end
Mark 1. 14 – 20
Hymns
537 O God, our help in ages past
174 (Tune 248 Carlisle) Breathe on me,
Breath of God
427 (Tune 309 Picardy) For the healing
of the nations
Anthem: Bruckner Locus Iste; Give rest, O
Christ (350)
413 Eternal Father, strong to save
18 th 2nd Sunday before Advent
Daniel 12 . 1 – 3
Psalm 16. 15 – 16
Hebrews 10. 11- 25.
Mark 13. 1 – 8
Hymns
409 Come, ye faithful, raise the anthem
385 Be thou my guardian and my guide
386 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my
heart
Anthem: Mealor The Lord bless you and
keep you; Peace, perfect peace (553)
435 (Tune Austria) Glorious things of
thee are spoken
25 th Christ the King
Daniel 7. 9 – 10, 13 – 14
Psalm 93
Revelation 1. 4b – 8
John 18. 33 – 37
398 Christ triumphant, ever reigning
172 The head that once was crowned
with thorns
166 Crown him with many crowns
Anthem: Tallis If ye love me; In Christ there
is no east or west (477)
563 Rejoice! The Lord is King
25th – Deanery Evensong
555 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven
Responses: Smith
Psalm: 150 (Stanford)
Office hymn: 15 God, that madest earth
and heaven
Canticles: Stanford in Bb Anthem: Handel
Zadok the Priest
Final Hymn: 66 How shall I sing that
majesty
Organ Voluntaries:
4th November – Karg Elert: Nun danket
alle Gott
4th November (evensong) – Massenet:
Meditation from Thais
11th November – Elgar: Nimrod from
Enigma Variations
18th November – J.S.Bach: Toccata from
Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C BWV
564
25th November – Buxtehude:
Praeludium in D BuxWV 139
25th November (evensong) – Karg
Elert: Nun danket alle Gott

From the Records
Baptism
14th October
Noah Francis Elston
+
Funeral
28th September
Nicholas Le Count, age 70
Floodlight Sponsorship
7th October
Ann & Bryan Dickenson - in memory
of Jessie Clarke
14th October
Her sons, Tony & Peter - celebrating
the 100th birthday of Mrs Winifred
Stevenson, nee Wells, on 18th
October, formerly of Summerlee
Road & Cromer Road, who still has
fond Memories of Finedon.
21st October
Pat Curtis - in memory of Denis Curtis
(on what would have been his 92nd
birthday).
An anonymous donor - a memorial
dedication
28th October
An anonymous donor - a memorial
dedication
Harvest
Thank you for all the gifts on Harvest
Sunday. Ten small boxes of fresh fruit
and vegetables plus a few tins and
five bunches of flowers were
distributed to 15 members of the
congregation who are now
housebound or in care homes where
it was possible.
Thank you to Joyce Williams who
delivered the boxes and flowers and
to Roger Manning who also helped.
Thank you to Sue Nicholls who took
all the remaining harvest produce to
the Daylight centre.
Mothers Union
Our next meeting will take place at
the Mission Room on Tuesday 6th
November at 2.30pm. There will a
service as usual, but afterwards we
will be discussing our plans for future
events.
Remembrance
The children from the junior school
will be at the War Memorial on Friday
9th November to lay their wreath and
plant their 94 crosses at 10.50 am.
On Remembrance Day itself,11th
November, the parade will form up at
the junior school at 10.30 am for a
move off at 10.40 am. The usual
service will be at the War Memorial at
11.00 am. Everyone is welcome to
attend both events.
Remembrance
Evensong
A Remembrance Evensong will be
held in St Mary’s Church on Sunday
4th November at 6.00 pm.
100th Anniversary
1914/18 war.
A special service to commemorate
the 100th Anniversary of the ending
of the 1914 1918 war will be held at
6.00 pm on Sunday 11th November in
St Mary’s Church.
Deanery Evensong
A Deanery Evensong will be held in
St Mary’s Church on Sunday 25th
November at 6.00 pm.
The service will be following by light
refreshments.
5

Jelly Babies and Jesus
The Brownies did this presentation in
the church on Harvest Sunday.
This is a great story at any time but
especially near Remembrance Day.
(Note that you have to use Bassetts
Jelly Babies).
Jelly Babies when they were first
made were not called jelly babies but
Peace Babies because they were
produced after the 1st World War and
each colour represented a country
which fought in the war.
But we all know that it was not long
before the 2nd World War started and
because sweets and chocolate were
not essential goods, the production of
Peace Babies stopped.
But our story does not stop there, you
see after the war a man decided to
buy the factory where Peace Babies
were made. This man was a special
man, as he loved Jesus.
Not many people know the secrets of
Jelly Babies. There are symbols
hidden on each Jelly Baby which can
help us to tell others about the
wonderful love of Jesus Christ.
Black– reveals a heart which
represents God’s love for us all.
Green – you will see a baby crying
which represents God’s sadness that
people do not know of God’s love.
Red – You will see the B for blood as
Jesus died to show how much he
loved us and to show the way to
heaven.
Yellow – is wearing a yellow necklace
which represents the riches of
Heaven.
Orange – is wearing a Bum bag which
tells us we need to be prepared for
Jesus coming again.
Peace Babies
Update on the Peace Baby
presentation the Brownies gave on
Harvest Sunday.
Bassetts are repacking Jelly Babies as
Peace Babies to commemorate the
end of World War 1. Donations from
sales will go to Help the Hero’s.
Royal British Legion
May I take this opportunity following
our recent RBL Exhibition to thank all
those who contributed in any way in
making it a success.
The Revd Richard Coles for his very
kind words at the opening, Finedon
Local History Society for all their hard
work in sourcing a lot of material and
the use of The Meeting House, Branch
Members who donated stories and
pictures, and of course the visitors
without whom it would have been a lot
of hard work for nothing. Thank You
All. WE WILL REMEMBER
THEM........
Peter Eames (Branch Chairman)
Please Note... The Exhibition will
remain until Remembrance Sunday
available to view Tuesday mornings
10.00 am-12 noon.
Finedon Local History
Society
The November meeting of the society
will be on Monday 26th November at
7.30pm in the Mission Room, Well
Street, Finedon. This meeting will be
the AGM and it will be followed with a
short presentation of photos from the
society’s archives.
Admission to the evening is free.
As usual light refreshments will be
served.

Townswomen’s Guild
The next Finedon Townswomen's
Guild meeting is at 7.30 on Thursday
1st November in the Town Hall.
The speaker is Betty West, whose
talk is entitled 'The Life of Nancy
Wake'.
During the social half-hour there will
be entertainment by the Drama
Group. The competition is for
something French.
For any non-members who wish to
attend there is a small charge of
£3.00 You will be made very
welcome.
Chapel /Church Quiz
Once again the quiz night was
packed . Many thanks to Sheila for
selling the tickets, to Mrs Ann Swan,
the Question Master, who gave us
challenging questions this year, to
those who donated the biscuits and to
all who supported.
There was a bit of barracking from the
rear from a man in Holy Orders, no
names mentioned, but all in good fun.
After giving Mrs Swann a donation for
her charity, Dogs for the Blind, the
Chapel and Church each received
£65.00 .
Happydayz Nursery &
Holiday Club
Happydayz Nursery & Holiday Club
will be opening in January at the
Finedon Community Centre offering 2
-3 & 4 year funded places.
Contact Michelle 07886450069
Website: happydayznursery.com
Email:
happydayznursery@hotmail.com
7

Former Finedon
Resident 100 Years Old
Mrs Winifred Stevenson was born in
Finedon at the very end of the First
World War. Her mother was Florence
Miriam (May) Wells, the oldest child of
Frank and Ada Freestone who were
living on High Street in Finedon, close
to the junction with Rose Hill. Frank was
born in Burton Latimer and was
employed as an Army Boot Maker.
Her father was Albert Wells who was
originally a Farm Labourer at Hillside
Farm, owned at the time of his marriage
to Florence by his step-grandfather
William Russell; his natural grandfather
having died as the result of an
explosion at a blast furnace. Before
then, William had been the manager of
an ironworks in Irthlingborough.
Albert became a mine worker and, after
living for a while with his wife’s family,
they moved to a house at the bottom of
Mulso Road which they shared with
another family.
Winifred was brought up in this house,
which bordered on to the Recreation
Ground at the back and was later used
by Tommy Gore (?) in the fifties/sixties
as a car sales business.
She worked at the Ideal Clothiers on
Irthlingborough Road where she was
trained as a machinist to sew trousers,
waistcoats, etc. - in fact most of their
products. These skills became very
useful as it enabled her to make most of
the family’s clothes and later to work
from home when the children were
settled at school and needed less
attention!
The Wells family had meanwhile moved
to Summerlee Road and she was
married from here during WW2 to Bob,
who was then an Airframe Fitter in the
RAF, and who came from
Wellingborough.
Both of her sons were born at the
Woodfield Nursing Home and the
Stevenson family moved to Cromer
Road in the late forties; this was a
prefabricated concrete “semi” called an
Orlit, designed by a Czech architect and
adopted by the government as a quick
solution of the post war need for new
housing – an ice-box in winter but
otherwise a modern house.
She well remembers holidays taken
from there to the East Anglian coast,
travelling in Jess Lawman’s coaches,
and later ones to Scotland by car.
The family moved to Finedon Road,
Wellingborough in the mid sixties
because Bob, who joined the Ideal
Clothiers in Wellingborough after being
de-mobbed, was settled there and
enabled him to walk to work each day
rather than the daily bus journeys.
Winifred still retained her links with
friends in Finedon and the church there,
of which her elder brother Ron later
became organist.
She and Bob celebrated their Golden
Wedding at the Mulso Arms with family/
friends and they then went on a trip
down the Rhine.
However, sons Peter and Tony were
now living respectively at Leeds and
Hull so, when Bob died in the early
nineties, she decided to move closer to
them and now lives in a bungalow on
the outskirts of Hull. Here she joined a
“Writing Group” run by a local volunteer
which encouraged her talents in that
area and she spent many years writing
and composing poetry. She has
privately published several booklets of
her work.
She celebrated her 100th birthday there
with some neighbours and friends and
then a family meal at the weekend
which included her three greatgrandchildren.
Peter Stevenson

Herdenkings monument
Donald Barrett
On 7th November 1920, in strictest
secrecy, four unidentified British
bodies were exhumed from temporary
battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras,
the Asine and the Somme. None of
the soldiers who did the digging were
told why. The bodies were taken by
field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur
-Ter Noise. There the bodies were
draped with the union flag. Sentries
were posted and Brigadier-
General Wyatt and a Colonel Gell
selected one body at random.
A French honour guard was selected
and stood by the coffin overnight. On
the morning of the 8th, a specially
designed coffin made of oak from the
grounds of Hampton Court was
brought and the unknown warrior
placed inside. On top was placed a
crusaders sword and a shield on
which was inscribed '( a British
Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR
1914-1918 for king and country'.
On The 9th of November, the
unknown warrior was taken by horsedrawn
carriage through guards of
honour and the sound of tolling bells
and bugle calls to the quayside. There
it was saluted by Marechal Foch and
loaded onto HMS Verdun bound for
Dover..... the coffin stood on the deck
covered in wreaths and surrounded
by the French honour guard.
On arrival at Dover, the unknown
warrior was greeted with a 19 gun
salute, normally only reserved for field
marshals. He then travelled by special
train to Victoria Station London.
He stayed there overnight and on the
morning of the 11th of November, he
was taken to Westminster Abbey.
The idea of the unknown warrior was
thought of by a Padre called David
9
Railton who had served at the front
during the great war and it was the
union flag he used as an altar cloth at
the front, that had been draped over
the coffin.
It was his intention that all relatives of
the 517,773 combatants whose
bodies had not been identified could
believe that the unknown warrior
could very well be their lost husband,
Father, brother or son....
Every year on the 11th of November
we remember the unknown
warrior....At the going down of the
sun, and in the morning, We will
remember them.
Finedon Community Centre
Wellingborough Rd, Finedon
Christmas Market &
Craft Fair
Sunday 18th November
11.00 am-3.00 pm
30 varied stalls with gifts to
suit all ages and pockets!
Father Christmas in his Grotto
Finedon 1st Girl Guides
Children's Corner
Mulso C of E School Choir
Hot & cold refreshments all day
Admission £1.00 adults with
accompanied children foc
Date for your dairy
Valentine Barn Dance Saturday
16th February 2019
at the Community Centre.

Do a good
turn in the community
1st Finedon Scouts Christmas
Post.
The Scout Group will be delivering
Christmas cards in Finedon
area only (not the Sidings
or General’s corner)
Finedon Over 60’s
Meetings are held weekly in the
Bowls Club, Wellingborough Road at
1.45 pm to 3.30 pm on Wednesday
afternoons. We have tea/coffee with
biscuits, entertainment including
bingo, hoy, talks, demonstrations, etc
on a range of topics. Admission £1.00
plus 20p raffle. No membership
charge, pay if you come,
November Programme
7th Geoff Stone, slides with music
14th Hoy
21st Chris, Flower arranging
28th ‘Old time music hall’ TG Drama
Looking forward to seeing you
Coffee & Craft Sale
You are warmly invited to a Coffee &
Craft Sale at Park Road Baptist
Church, Rushden NN10 0RG on
Saturday 17th November 10.00 am to
2.30 pm.
Tickets 50p (exchange for free tea/
coffee & biscuit) from 681161.
Scout Post Boxes are
available at:
Newsagents, 83 Wellingborough
Road
Affleck Bridge Antiques, High Street
Wesleyan Chapel, Affleck Bridge
Hair Raid, Rock Road
Premier Stores, Irthlingborough Rd
From 1st December to 18th
December.
Cards 25p for FINEDON ONLY.
All proceeds go to the Scout Group.
For further enquiries ring 01933
680680.
PLEASE ENSURE THE CORRECT
ADDRESS (include house number)

Finedon Town Council
Clerk: Mrs Julia Tufnail
Office Hours: Monday-Friday Mornings
7 Amen Place, Little Addington, Northants,
NN14 4AU
Telephone 07410 633544
Email: finedonpc@gmail.com Website:
www.finedonparishcouncil.gov.uk
Your Councillors:
Laurence Harper Chairman
Terry Kendall-Torry, Vice Chair & Planning
Malcolm Ward, also WBC
Barbara Bailey, also WBC
Sally Farrell, Gill Spencer,
Gordon Swann, Stuart Cooper,
Andrew Weatherill, Mike Bentley,
Dennis Willmott, Ray Ogle, Louise
Lawrence
At the Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish
Council it was unanimously resolved that
the Council should change its name to
become a Town Council. The Council
believes that this change will give Finedon
a better stance in the negotiations which
will form part of the local council
reorganisations both currently and in the
future. You can be assured Finedon Town
Council will be looking after the interests of
it’s residents at every stage of changes.
At the same meeting it was decided not to
request the transfer of Finedon’s assets
from Wellingborough Borough Council. It
was noted that WBC had just agreed a
policy which meant they would only offer
assets on a lease basis rather than full
transfer of title.
At the meeting on 5th September it had
been resolved to request the transfer
ownership of Pocket Park from
Wellingborough Borough Council to the
Council, which was done. The Council
already maintains the Pocket Park and
awaits the outcome of this request.
Again at that meeting, the Council resolved
to object to Wellingborough Borough
Council changing Finedon’s Parish
boundary. The effect of this will take a
large chunk of Stanton Cross from Finedon
and into Wellingborough by moving the
ancient boundary of the brook to the
outskirts of the housing estate. Not only
has the Council objected to WBC but they
have also made their objections known to
the Boundaries Commission.
The Council had also been informed by
Wellingborough Borough Council of the
outcome of the final recommendations for
parliamentary constituency boundaries.
Finedon will no longer have the same MP
as Wellingborough and in future will have
the same MP as Kettering. Finedon Parish
Council did object to this change when it
was a first suggested, but to no avail.
Finedon Health Centre – Nearly 800
people signed a petition stating that they
didn’t believe that the Finedon Medical
Centre should close. They also stated that
Finedon needed and deserved a fully
functioning health centre within Finedon.
The Council delivered the petition to Peter
Bone MP who will be taking it to
Parliament shortly. Keep an eye out for it
on the local news as it will be televised!
Remembrance Day Parade 11 th
November 2018 at 11am
A new plinth has been placed in the War
Memorial gardens by the Council to mark
the 100th anniversary of the end of the
First World War. The Wellingborough
Road will be closed as usual for the
service of remembrance from 10.30am –
12noon on that day from Rose Hill to Bell
Hill.
Finedon’s Emergency Plan
The NCC’s Emergency Planning Officer
has agreed to talk at the next meeting of
the Emergency Plan Action Group in the
Town Hall on Wednesday 21st November
at 7.00 pm to carry the plan forward, all
welcome.
As usual, please feel free to contact the
Council should you have anything you wish
to bring to their attention. Providing it is
within the Council’s remit, we will try our
best to make Finedon a better place to live.
Julia Tufnail
Clerk, Finedon Town Council
November 2018
11

Star Coffee House,
Institute and Hallcontinued
As the Star complex expanded it is
difficult, without any plans surviving
and no other evidence to explain, to
be absolutely sure where the facilities
that are known about were situated.
However it is possible to make some
educated guesses. Within the Coffee
House building there was a bar/
refreshment room, this facility along
with the reading room where a
selection of newspapers and
periodicals was available, were the
only rooms open on Christmas Day
between 6-10 p.m. It is therefore very
likely that they were situated in the
same building. There was also living
accommodation for the Manager and
his family within that building. The
Coffee House was a members only
facility, and membership appears to
have been restricted to men who
were aged over 18 years. It has not
been possible to ascertain how much
membership cost or the regularity of
payments. Bearing in mind that it was
aimed at the working man, the
subscription was likely to have been
modest and could have been paid as
often as on a weekly basis.
With the building of the Men’s
Institute in 1884, the Trustees took
the opportunity to provide a range of
activities that they hoped would
appeal to the working man and keep
him away from the demon drink,
some succeeded and some did not!
Some of the activities appealed to
boys who were younger than those
previously allowed membership. This
resulted in the Trustees having to
agree changes to the membership
criteria. In November 1887 it was
agreed that boys at 15 may become
members, but would not be allowed
into the large billiard room. This
would be the first of a number of
adjustments to maximise the use of
the buildings that the Trustees would
have to make over the years.
In the early months of 1887 the
surviving Resolutions Book shows
that the gymnasium was discussed
on a regular basis. This facility is
likely to have been in existence since
the opening of the Institute, in 1884
and to have been situated in one of
the large rooms on the ground floor
of that building. It appears to have
been a popular attraction and if
non-members wished to make use of
it they were able to pay what
amounted to an admission charge
just for the gymnasium.
In December 1887 the Trustees
agreed to employ Mr Smith to attend
the gymnasium three times a
fortnight, at a cost of 1 guinea per
half year, from 1 st January 1888. Half
to be paid in advance and remainder
at the end of the contract. Mr Smith
appears to have been running
exercise classes as on the 26 th
January 1888 the Trustees decreed
that no-one under 16 was to be
admitted to the adult exercises in the
gymnasium. However lads under 16,
but over 15 could be admitted to the
gymnasium on Wednesdays and
Fridays from 7 to 8.15 p.m. and on
Saturdays from 4.30 to 6 p.m. “but
not to perform on the parallel and
horizontal bars and rings with their
ordinary boots on. All lads not
otherwise members of the Star to be
sent away clear of all game rooms as
soon as their allotted time is up at the
gymnasium.” It was also agreed that
two committee members should
always be present when the lads
were in practice, and no gloves were
allowed--- this final comment implies

the lads were boxing, or rather bare
knuckle fighting.
During the same Trustees meeting
they decided to extend the stricture
regarding the wearing of boots to all
adults, with Thomas Meadows being
requested to put up a notice to this
effect. The Trustees also authorised
the purchase of 2 dozen single sticks
and 2 of each dumb bells in weight 6,
5 and 4 lbs. It was also agreed for
safety that another bed (mattress?)
rather larger than the one used for the
horizontal bars be procured.
Despite the Trustees doing much to
encourage usage of the gymnasium
by providing the facilities, employing
someone to give exercise classes
and by reducing the age of
membership, after the initial interest
the enthusiasm for the facility seems
to have waned. By October 1888 the
Trustees declared that they needed to
“infuse life into Gymnasium”. In
December they renewed Smith’s
contract for another season. But in
October 1889 they decided that they
would only start a gymnasium class
and engage a teacher if forty names
were given in to the manager by
November 2 nd 1889. Forty names
appeared not to have materialized as
there is no further indication that
classes were provided.
The gymnasium continued in use,
with only the occasional mention by
the Trustees after they had
introduced a 1 shilling a quarter
charge for lads of 15 and 16 years for
gymnasium membership in January
1890. Presumably the facility was not
very successful as in February 1894
the Trustees decided to sell all the
gymnasium goods, the bagatelle and
the little billiard board. The
gymnasium then disappeared from
the records.
Septimus Drage to the left, trainer
George Wheatley
This is pure speculation but during
the ten years of its life the Star
Institute gymnasium may have been
used by Septimus Drage, Finedon’s
most famous bare knuckle fighter.
Drage was born in 1865, and for
several years toured with Fatty
Harvey’s fairground boxing booth. He
returned to Finedon to work as a
shoemaker, and lived out his life in a
house next to what was the Gate Inn
in High Street, dying in 1951.
More on the facilities, personalities
and politics of the Star Institute next
time.
Indonesian Tsunami
Collection
Thank you to all who contributed on
Sunday 7th October to the collection
held in St Mary’s Church for the
Tsunami appeal. The collection raised
£98.08.
A cheque for £100.00 was sent to
Christian Aid during the week.
13

In My Day
the ramblings of Hubert James
In
my
day it was about this time of year that
the colours of autumn would fade into
the stark black and white of winter
and hibernation would begin.
So once we were shut in we needed
to find something to pass the time.
Something to do when you got bored.
Board games surfaced when some
one miss spelt the problem. Now we
already had a pack of cards in the
front room sideboard, and if we had
hours to fill and didn’t mind a healthy
family argument with some lasting
division thrown in there was always
Monopoly. But I used to enjoy
something simpler; Dominoes.
Now like so many inventions the
game started in China and came to
Europe through Italy. Which is sort of
how we got it.
There was an Italian chef called Luigi
Corleone who lived on Well Street
and had a little restaurant in Burton;
Corleone’s Cafe. He brought us our
first pasta and pizza and as a novelty
would put a set of dominoes on your
table to play with while your food was
cooking. Eventually, he introduced
take away food and changed the
name of the business.
Anyway it got us all playing the game.
I remember my old Granddad
teaching me a version called 5’s-and-
3’s. Some of you will remember it.
You laid your tile then added up the
spots and got a point for however
many times the total could be divided
by 5 or 3. So 9 was worth 3 points
and if you could make 15 you could
get 8 points.
Suddenly, we all knew our 3 and 5
times table.
Course, when I say that Dominoes
came from Italy I know some of you
will be screaming “Elizabethans!” Yes
it is true that Queen Elizabeth I is
supposed to have played the game
and they reckon she got it from
Scotland. This is all because of
Shakespeare’s Scottish play.
Apparently, in an early version Lady
M enters after the murder of Duncan
carrying a blood stained domino and
cries, “Out, damned spot!” Sensibly
the Bard changed the stage direction
and also the earlier line, Is this a
domino I see before me,”
Church Monthly Draw
The results of the October church
monthly draw are as follows:
Total receipts of £242.00 are divided
equally between the winners and the
church funds.
Winning numbers for the October
monthly draw are:
1st prize 242 £60.50
2nd prize 105 £36.30
3rd prize 272 £24.20
If you would like to join the monthly
draw (£1.00 per share per month)
which takes place in the church on
the first Sunday of the month, please
contact Kathy Hobbs on 01933
398794.

Town Diary
November
December
1st
4th
7.30 TG Town Hall, Betty West ‘The life of
Nancy Wake’
10.30-4pm Christmas Fete, Mission Room
6pm Remembrance Evensong, St Mary’s
Church
1st
10-4.30pm St Mary’s Church Christmas
Tree Festival
11-2pm Christmas Bazaar, Wesleyan
Chapel
7.30 Band Concert St Mary’s Church
7.30 Jonathan Reynolds presents
‘Curtain Up at Christmas’ Star Hall
5th
6th
RBL AGM, raffle
9.45 Coffee Morning, Bowls Club
2.30 Mothers Union, Mission Room
2nd
3rd
11-4.30pm Christmas Tree Festival, St
Mary’s Church
6pm Advent Candlelit Carol Service
RBL Quiz night & nibbles/meat raffle
9th
10.50 Junior School lay wreaths and plant
poppies at the War Memorial
6th
7th
7.30 TG Town Hall, Peter & Gloria
Wright, Christmas Flavour.
RBL Christmas Party
10th
7.30 ‘Jonathan Reynolds presents
‘Entertainment At Your Service’
Star Hall
8th
15th
St Mary’s Church, Wassail Evening,
Bowls Club
Buffs Christmas Fayre, The Green
11th
18th
20th
11am Service at the War Memorial
6pm 100th Anniversary Service, St Mary’s
Church
11-3pm Christmas Market & Craft Fair,
Community Centre
9.45 Coffee Morning, Bowls Club
January 2019
3rd
February
7th
TG Town Hall, New Year Party with
Soup & Sweet
7.30 TG, Town Hall, Roy Smart
‘Any Wonderful Amy’
25th
6pm Deanery Evensong, St Mary’s Church
16th
Valentine Barn Dance, Community
Centre
26th
28th
7.30 History Society, Mission Room, AGM
& photos
7pm Parish Council Meeting, Town Hall.
Members of the public most welcome
March
7th
April
7.30 TG, AGM, Adrian Cale ‘Nostalgia’,
The ramblings of Hubert James
30th
2-4.30pm Christmas Tree Festival, St
Mary’s Church
4th
7.30 TG, Town Hall, James Burton, An
Antiques Valuation evening
St Michael’s Mission Room, Well Street, Finedon
Available for hire weekdays, Saturdays & Sundays.
Suitable for most social functions, charitable events, children's parties (no late
discos)
For all enquiries and information contact
Bryan & Christine Chapman Tel: 01933 398818
Email: bryanchapman2@aol.com
15