Dear Sir,
I very much enjoyed listening to the CD of Martin Garner’s talk on Endowment Scholars’ Day. It was interesting to hear so many facts about Ewelme and the church that I had not heard before. Some of these contradicted knowledge that I had gained from Fred Greenway. (See Editor’s note below) For example, Fred always said that the name Ewelme was derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Aewilme’, which (he said) means five fingers, or a hand’s breadth, and referred to the depth of the brook. But, as anyone who knew him will know, Fred was nothing if not a good storyteller, and this might well have been made up by him!
Also, as a Winfield, I thought that Martin missed a good opportunity to link the Suffolk village of Wingfield with the fact that Winfields still live in Ewelme. Or, in the words of Prister-Crutwell’s account of Ewelme: “Some of the retainers of William and Alice de la Pole from Wingfield in Suffolk followed them to Ewelme as is betokened by the various families of Winfield residing in Ewelme to this day, who still preserve their East Anglian type.”
I was very disturbed to hear that Ewelme Manor has been vandalised. How sad, and how extraordinary that Ewelme Trust should leave empty a building so closely linked to Ewelme’s (and indeed England’s) past. I am not in possession of the details, of course, but it does seem to me that perhaps the trust members should be forced to make good the damage out of their own pockets. That might concentrate their minds on their responsibilities.
David Winfield, Switzerland
(Fred Greenway will only be known to a few of the more ‘elderly’ villagers! We have much to thank Fred for. He ran the former village shop which is now ‘Quiet Waters’ next to the old garage site. He was sub-postmaster at the King’s Pool post Office as well at RAF Benson. He lived – at different times - at four houses in the village and transformed the garden beautifully in each case. He wrote plays – ‘Corpses Don’t Need Brandy’ – and was a member of the ad hoc Ewelme amateur dramatic society and organised topical theatrical revues in the old Rifle Range on the site of the present Village Hall during World War II to keep up morale. He sang in the choir as well. He was a knowledgeable, amusing and interesting man who also knew how to stimulate the minds of young people. He was very much ‘an original’. The Editor)
Dear Sir
The Ewelme Horicultural Society would like to thank everyone who supported the Skittles Evening. It was attended by 70 people, 24 of whom were children, which was fantastic. Compared to most present day technological games, skittles is a very old and simple game to play, but still the young people seemed to enjoy this as did the older generation.
The profit from this event has given us a great start to raise the funds for the hire of the marquee for the Ewelme Flower Show in August, an event for the people of Ewelme and surrounding villages.
A big thank you to the editor of this magazine, Peter Lemaire, who was, as always, the main 'kingpin' of this event.
Angela Harrison, Kingfishers, Ewelme
Dear Editor,
I was walking my dog recently, which happened to be chasing a hare. A man, who said he was the gamekeeper, aggressively threatened to shoot it because it was not under control. I felt quite intimidated by this man and obviously worried for the dog. I understand that other women have been victim of similar threats.
Later having thought about the situation and having talked to others, I thought that this man might be overstepping the boundaries of what is right. I consulted the “Defra” website which set out the relevant legislation, in this case, ‘The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953’. It quite clearly stated that, to be guilty of an offence, a dog must be chasing livestock in such a way that it could reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering. The definition of livestock includes: cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry. Game birds and hares are not included.
Therefore, if others are unfortunate enough to be confronted in a similar way, they might wish to point out that he might well be wrong and out of order.
Clare Dickens, Ewelme
Dear Sir
I was at the Parish Council Meeting when Mr Brian Benson resigned. As you read from Brian’s letter in the last News, the village residents, I think, would be in complete agreement with his views. Sadly, this was also the view of the Parish Council, the Chairman has since met officials, asking to have a gate put into this fence. At the meeting however, so many people were talking at the same time that this was not made clear. It was most unfortunate and I would just like to say ‘Thank You’ to Brian for all the time and effort he has given to our village.
On behalf of the Friends of the Watercress Beds can I please write a few words about our Annual Quiz Night. This is probably the most popular night of the year. Thank you for all contacting me for tickets and once again making the evening a sell out. We all love our Question Master very much, BUT we have got to make sure the entertainment stops and the results and presentations to the winning six, happens by 10:30pm. You had either left by 11:00pm or you had fallen asleep. Please all come again next year, we promise to have you home by 11:00pm.
Cynthia Winfield, Burrows Hill, Ewelme