I will start by congratulating Robin Woods on the presentation of the last newsletter, many people have commented very favourably upon it.

I am delighted to report that we have been given several donations for which I must thank you. Among the donations received are £25 from the North Wolds Lions and £50 from the Bosville Arms 5’s and 3’s domino team, also some donators who wish to remain annonymous. We appreciate very much the donations received without which we would not be able to carry on.

As I pointed out in last month’s issue the newsletter is a very important part of village life and with the donations we’ve received we’ll be able to continue for a while longer. Any donations large or small are gratefully appreciated.

Through the newsletter may I ask some of the village children not to pick the daffodils growing round the village. Please leave them to grow on the grass verges so that everyone can enjoy them. The person who asked me to print this spoke to the children involved, so I hope this will be an isolated incident.

I went to see the flowers in the church over the festival period - WELL DONE everyone involved, the flower arrangements looked very pretty and colourful. A point that is echoed by Joan Jackson later on in the letter.

Has anyone a favourite cookery recipe or any gardening tips they’d like to share? If so let me have them to print. Has anyone any tales they can tell about the village of recent times? I can remember Marton Lane being just a lane with no dwellings on it and from Mr and Mrs Algars down Eastgate it was just a grass field. I can only go back thirty years in the village and to us newcomers someone must be able to go back further. If someone can relate a little tale I will gladly put it on paper for you.

Through the newsletter I would like to welcome Mrs Jean Kitching to the village, the first resident on the site of Donna Farm, Long Street. I hope she will be very happy in her new home.

Barbara

On Easter Saturday on a cold but dry morning about thirty adults and children turned up at the Bosville Arms at 10 am to do a sponsored walk in aid of the Children’s Playground. The route was approximately 5 miles long and went along Burton Fleming road, turned towards Little Argham, round Shoulder of Mutton to just short of High Caythorpe. We then cut across towards Leason’s sheds and then down to the main Brid road and across to Dark Lane. From there the route carried on round the village and finished at the Bosville. All the route was public roads and footpaths.

The amount declared that people were walking for was in excess of £500. To date just over £400 has been collected and we are looking forward to receiving the outstanding money in the near future. There will be a meeting of interested parties to decide on the best way of using the money in the near future. All those concerned will be informed of the date of the meeting as soon as possible.

Thanks to all those taking part and those who supported them.

Pete Gray

We have a large number of very willing and helpful ladies who keep the inside of the Church looking beautiful by taking turns on rotas to clean the Church and arrange the flowers. We are most grateful to them for their hard work and it is much appreciated by us all and by the many visitors who come.

Are there men out there who are willing to do the same? We are now looking for volunteers amongst the men of the parish to help keep the Churchyard in pristine condition. We have got new mowers and require operators who are willing to give up one or two afternoons or evenings during the cutting season to use them - many hands make light work. Please men, can you help us out by contacting Frank Algar John Reed.

The Easter Flower display was admired by all who came to view them. Many thanks to all those who worked so hard to make our Church look so beautiful and thanks to all who gave and helped

serve refreshments. A total of £276 was raised.

Rudston Diary Dates:- Fri. 13th May - Group meeting at 7.30 pm at Mr. Musk’s, Kilham

We have very great pleasure in announcing that The Rev. Stephen Cope has been appointed as our new vicar. He is presently assistant curate at St.Matthew’s Church in Northampton and will be moving up here during the school holidays in August and will be inducted at Kilham Church on August 6th. He has sent the following piece for the newsletter.

That’s what they keep telling me now. What they forget is that I spent most of my early life living on the edge of Ilkley Moor, so at least I have got some idea of what Yorkshire is about.

I was born in Birmingham and moved north when I was about six. After school I went to University at Oxford and stayed on to work there. While there I met Alison, also studying, and we were both members of the University Ballroom Dance Team. One year the coaches made us partners - the perfect cover for courtship!

After graduating, I worked as a computer typesetter attached to the Oxford University Computing Service and after we married, Alison joined me in the business. She then took over while I trained for ordination at Chichester. After that, my first curacy was in Newmarket ( will I be spotted in Beverley or Redcar? or making too many trips to diocesan offices in York? ); then I was asked to go to St. Matthew’s, Northampton, to help them through their centenary.

I have been for a few years Secretary of the Rural Theology Association, a national and ecumenical outfit ; an address in East Yorkshire will give me more credibility than a postcode in NN1!

We have three children, Hannah, Rebekah and Esther, who will be six, four and one when we reach you. In such spare time as we get, we both enjoy a game of crib and I also enjoy dominoes, apart from the usual interests of gardening, music and reading.

We look forward to a long, busy and happy time among you.

Stephen Cope.

Women’s Fellowship meets on Tuesday 17th May at 7.30 pm at the home of Joan and Hazel Conner. The Rev. Jack Reed will be coming to talk to us. Mrs M. Reed will be the leader and hostesses Joan and Hazel Conner. A warm welcome is extended to members old and new.

I would like to congratulate the Rudston Church Choir, the Harthill Singers, Clive Barmby, the organist and Peter Mawer the conductor for their performance of the Crucifixion on Palm Sunday.

It was beautifully sung and very moving.

Congratulations also go to the ladies and one man who decorated the Church for Easter. They gave joy to a lot of people.

Many Thanks

Joan Jackson.

Sessions concluded with a "butterfly" tournament which was won by Julia Hoyland with runner-up Lauren White and Elizabeth Sellars in 3rd place. The most improved player was Grace Chatterton. Congratulations to Elizabeth and Penny Sellars, Andrew and Rebecca Wells, Grace Chatterton, Julia Hoyland, Lauren White and Jessica Moorfoot who have all gained their Yoplait Tennis Award Badge 2. We all now look forward to moving outside onto the new tennis courts.

Did you enjoy playing tennis when you were at school? If so, re-discover your tennis racquet or even buy a new one and join Rudston Tennis Club. All are welcome, young and not so young!, beginners and experienced players.

Weather permitting coaching for juniors ( beginners and improvers ) should start early in May with the courts opening for general use at the end of May. Membership forms and further details are available from Chris White, Mike Sellars and Jane Crossley. The fees for this season are:- Adult - £5.00, Junior - £2.00, Family - £10.00.

Coaching for junior members will be held on Mondays ( 6.30 - 7.30 pm ) and on Saturday afternoons any junior members can come along and play under the supervision of an adult member. At all other times juniors under 13 years must be accompanied by an adult or older child who will be responsible for them. Sunday afternoon play will be for families - come and have a go even if you have never played before. On Friday evenings the courts will be reserved for adults only to play on. All members can of course play on the courts at other times too, weather permitting.

A date for your dairy - Sunday June 19th - a lunchtime barbecue at Low Caythorpe. More details later....

At the last meeting, detailed plans for the conversion of the Chapel to a private dwelling were discussed. Broadly speaking this appears to be a sympathetic conversion and the Parish Council had only two observations to the Planning Department. One related to windows, and the other to outside drainage.

Next meeting - 4th May 1994

I am making a list of all crime that takes place in Rudston, so to help with this task I need the help of everyone in the village. If you see anything that YOU think is different please tell your co-ordinator or let me know. The Idea is to see if there is a pattern to any one type of crime. eg; whether certain nights etc. It does not matter how small the detail is you report as I will then decide to log it or not. The thing is it is no good sitting in your arm chair thinking you are safe because we have Neighbourhood Watch signs up. Neighbourhood Watch does not work on its own it needs YOU to make it work, so please help and report everything you see that is different. If it is a vehicle that is involved PLEASE note the registration number as nothing can be done without it.

Are you fed up with unwanted mail, circulars etc dropping through your letter box? Did you know that you can have your name removed from mailing lists? If you would like to be removed from such lists then write stating your name and address to:

Mail Preference Service

Free Post 22

London

Please if you have anything to report tell your co-ordinator or report direct to me - Julia Overfield

Remember, Neighbourhood Watch will not work without you!

At the meeting held in the Village Hall on 6th April, it was agreed, weather permitting, that the Green would be open on 24th April.

Election of Captains.

‘B’ team Captain - P. Scruton

‘C’ team Captain - J . Ward

The election of the ‘A’ team Captain was left in abeyance but is now K . Stevenson.

All club members will be entered for the appropriate competitions: The Algar Cup, the Wilson Pairs Cup and the Rhead Trophy for Ladies, unless I have been informed otherwise.

Three teams have been entered in the Driffield Association League and one in the Wednesday League. The Philip Proctor Memorial Competition to take place on two Sundays in every month has now been distributed. There is still time to put your name down to play in the Driffield Association League if you have not already done so.

The Club Domino will be on 1st May at 2.00 pm and the usual refreshments and raffle prizes will be appreciated.

The Green maintenance rota and the Pavilion cleaning rota have also been distributed but if your name is not down but you would like to help please contact me.

We have entered three teams for the Driffield Association Knockout Competition. ( See notice board for rules )

INDOOR BOWLS

The Norma Collis Memorial Cup was won by D.E.Corner. Runner up - The Dawson Shield by E.Booth. The Stevenson Cup by D.E.Corner and R. Proctor.

Non members of the Bowling Club will be welcome. Fees are 50p per game per person. Club Bowls are available.

Secretary:- Pauline Warters.

John and Cheryl Gibson are proud to announce the marriage of their daughter Karen to Stuart Fynn on 16th April. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Mr Algar and everyone at the Church for all their help with the arrangements at the Church and also to the Bosville Arms for the excellent reception. - Thank you all.

I am enclosing a cheque for £25 from the North Wolds Lions to go towards the cost of keeping the newsletter going.

A letter has recently been sent to the Rudston Parish Council with the offer of £200 to be spent on something that would benefit the village. We have done this with all the villages in our area.

Also:-

The six schools in our area - which includes Boynton - will benefit with the offer of £100 to go towards the cost of an educational summer outing.

As well as spending money, we do raise it, and on the 17th May. a Tuesday, we have a Pig Bingo in Rudston Village Hall - Eyes down at 7.30 pm.

No sooner had the text of last month’s article been handed in with a comment about the lack of frogs when my pond and several others were suddenly colonised. The spawn that was laid has now hatched but the long strings of toadspawn, laid later on, have yet to produce tadpoles. Much of the spawn however never has the chance to hatch if it is laid in ponds with fish present since many species find it a delicacy.

With Spring being reluctant to arrive this year many creatures have only recently shown themselves. Bats have only just emerged and although a hedgehog was wandering about one night when sleet was falling, few have been seen, yet one was recently a road casualty near Thorpe Hall. Only three species of moths and a small white butterfly have been added to this years record since last month and insect populations have generally been low. The number of roe deer in the area seems not to be low though with into the teens being seen together.

Most birds have paired up, goldfinches being a notable exception but this seems more to do with daylength than with weather conditions. Several are at nest with perhaps the best record being that of a long-tailed tit. The long-tailed tit is the earliest breeder of all the tit species, building a complex and intricate nest about six inches tall with an entrance hole towards the top at one side. The nest is usually constructed of moss woven together with cobwebs and hair and lined with a huge number of feathers. The particular one seen is about five feet from the ground in the fork of a willow sapling which is growing in the middle of a pond, though they are more commonly found higher and where thorns offer some protection. One particular bird, the mistle thrush, has already bred successfully with records of a pair breeding two fully fledged and well grown youngsters on my lawn.

Some migrant birds have arrived with the chiff-chaff and the willow warbler leading the way and there has been a report of a cuckoo being heard. Swallows have been reported from close by the area but they have not yet arrived in the village as far as I know. At the same time winter visitors have been passing through on their way north with a large flock of fieldfares in full breeding plumage staying in the area for a couple of days and with them was a solitary redwing. One or two grey wagtails, badly named since they have a yellow breast but slate grey upperparts, which are purely winter visitors, are still to be seen and on the 17th April a large bird of prey with jesses attached was reported being mobbed by smaller birds.

On the 14th April during the early evening with a strong north-east wind blowing and the skies dull and threatening a pair of ducks were seen on a local pond. Their identity was not immediately obvious and to save them being put to flight the observer furtively moved away and encouraged his dog to do likewise. Binoculars were produced and identification guides were consulted. The identification guides to the ducks of Great Britain and Northern Europe proved useless so reference was made to the guides covering North America and those covering areas further south in Europe and Asia. These gave no clue as to the identity of the ducks and consequently a detailed description was written and a sketch made showing the relevant identification features. A Bridlington naturalist and his wife were invited to help and bring photographic equipment. Quite a few minutes were spent with four pairs of binoculars attempting to get a good view of the ducks which were moving backwards and forwards behind a willow tree and eventually it was decided that the ducks had escaped from some ornamental collection. The photographic equipment was prepared before the light ran out altogether and it was thought advisable to ask neighbours not to come out of their back door and disturb the ducks until photographic evidence had been secured. In the meantime another naturalist arrived from a nearby village with his binoculars and telescope.

My wife arrived back from her mission next door with a big grin on her face to announce that the ducks were plastic and attached to pieces of string. - Thanks Tim.

If any Senior Citizen needs a prescription collected from their doctor, or have one at home to take to the chemists, Mr Allan Stephenson will do so. Allan goes into Bridlington every week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so if you need his help contact him at his home, either Mondays or Wednesdays after 6.00 pm.