News in Brief

Jean Goes to the Palace

Jean Weatherington, together with many people from Barnwell, went to Kensington Palace to a party held to celebrate Princess Alice's 100th birthday.

The Queen and many of the Royal family were present, and Jean had a very enjoyable and memorable time. 

Smallest Angel

The school play 'It's the Smallest Angel' proved to be a delight with the children performing twice to a packed hall of parents and friends. The PFA raised £127 during the performances.

Parish Precept

The Parish Council has agreed to set the parish precept at £14,000 for 2002/03.

This will add about £5 to the community charge for a band D property. 

Children's Page

Q: Where does Tarzan buy his clothes?

A: At a jungle sale!

Q: Did you hear about the squashed glow worm?

A: It was de-lighted.

Twelfth Night Concert

On Saturday 5 January, Warmington Church was packed with young and old. We all enjoyed the varied programme of entertainment provided by musicians, singers, actors and readers. These were Warmington residents with only one or two from further afield. The programme included the Chocolate Monkeys' debut performance and an amusing version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was good to see so many young people performing so confidently, not least pupils from our school. The evening was rounded off with hot chocolate and muffins.

Jennie Davey

Riverside Ramblings

The church and the Castle site are the most dramatic features in Fotheringhay and there are plenty of tales to tell about them. No known illustrations of the Castle exist. Could it be that the Tudors suppressed any drawings? Fotheringhay had been a Yorkist stronghold; Tudor claims to the throne were slight. Elizabeth had a great spy network; did she want to obliterate Fotheringhay from the collective memory after the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots?

"In my end is my beginning", prophesied Mary. The "beginning" could have been successful invasions from Spain or France. Where would Elizabeth's kingdom have stood then? Queen Elizabeth has recently been voted Britain's most successful monarch by Radio 4 listeners - but her undoing could have begun in Fotheringhay!

Walking towards Warmington the remnants of an ancient hedge tells another tale and an old pollarded oak still stands guardian on the path; it probably once marked a boundary. Then over the old railway line, on to Warmington Lock and across the water meadows towards the Mill. The willows pollarded three springs ago have a new lease of life, as has the Mill in its new role, and the willow poles we planted are growing into healthy trees. A track alongside the bypass and a left turn brought us to a hanger, the strip of woodland which slopes to the river. Here Cheryl talked about the benefit to insects and birds of ivy-clad trees. "Don't remove ivy from tree trunks", she urged. "It does more good than harm."

Then through a muddy gateway - and into a time warp! An eighteenth century landscape spreads before one's eyes with sheep grazing on ridge-and-furrow grassland and the big house across the valley. (A New spinney has recently been planted; the anti-rabbit plastic tree-guards looked wrong in such a scene.) Turning for home we passed Elton Mill, wondering if that, too will find another purpose.

We then followed the "permitted path" along the bank towards Fotheringhay. This was probably the route taken by Lord Byug and his friend, Colonel Bertie, in 1790, when "knowing no further than Elton" they "soon became bewilder'd, when we plung'd through the water at the mill; then, passing along a causeway by the river, at last came to a strong stile that was to be leapt." Byng's pony "knock'd his hinder leg ... and it seem'd much hurt." And so they arrived in Fotheringhay with a limping horse. No-one was limping as our party of walkers completed the circuit with requests for another guided walk in 2002. 

Juliet Wilson