TheRavenNo.4 Autumn 2008

The quarterly magazine for the whole of Rainow

Village NewsSocial EventsParish Council NewsClubs & SocietiesSchool & Church

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Update on Unitary Government Situation –Cheshire EastThe new Shadow Council and the existingCounty and Borough Councils working togetherare handling the transition to the new CheshireEast Unitary Authority. The political mix of thenew Council is Conservative 58, Liberal 12 andLabour 6.

The transitionary council has a newly appointedChief Executive, Erika Wenzel, who has pledgedto “get out and about” around the wards whichmake up the new territory. Erika, a mother ofone, who lives in Wilmslow, will join CheshireEast after nineteen years at Tameside BoroughCouncil, the last four of which have been asExecutive Director (Neighbourhood andCommunity Services). The councils have yet toget to grips with how to involve Town & ParishCouncils. They are thinking of using Area Boardsas one way of involving these councils and willseek input from them on how such boards couldoperate. This would include how the involvementwould carry through into regional and sub-regional forums.

The new Authority has a big problem withresources along with the need to minimise thecosts of the transition. It will employ 14,000 people, a reduction from the present arrangements. Some of the existing staff live inWest Cheshire and many will not want to relocate so that redundancy terms will be offeredto these people and to those no longer needed.The problem has been compounded by the lackof timely decision-making by the government,which has severely shortened the time availableto carry out the programme. NeighbourhoodBoards will be set up in non-parished areas.

There will be three Strategic directors actingunder the CEO – responsible for People, Placesand Performance/Capacity. There will be a three-year period of change. The Administrative Basefor the new Council will be at Sandbach butMacclesfield Town Hall and the MunicipalBuildings in Crewe will be crucial to deliveringcouncil services.

Three main objectives for the new authorityhave been defined:Strategic leadership – more sharing and community involvement and leadership, bettereconomic development.

Effective delivery of services, possiblydevolved to other bodies including Town & ParishCouncils.

Setting a low council tax - the aim is to set it atthe lowest level in the current set-up. This is currently Nantwich and Crewe.

Free TreesMacclesfield Borough Council is looking for good homes for native trees and shrubs. Can you provide a good one? During the last fifty years, about 45% of Britain’s semi-natural woodland has disappeared. Cheshire now has less than 4% tree cover. Many of the problems our atmosphere is experiencing could be helpedby planting trees to absorb the harmful carbondioxide gas that modern society produces. If you would like to take advantage of this scheme,we do have a limited number of leaflets availableso please contact the Clerk. Applications have tobe returned by 31st October 2008.

Remembrance Day The Remembrance Day parade will be onSunday 9th November this year. The processionleaves the Church at approximately 10.40 a.m.and returns after a short service at the WarMemorial. Traffic will be stopped during the twominutes silence at 11.00 a.m.

Highways Update Councillors held a site meeting with Highwaysover the repairs and/or resurfacing of Sugar Lane.This continues as a priority for Parish Councillorsbut unfortunately Cheshire Highways does notregard this as a priority in the foreseeable future.(The criteria for intervention/repair is 50mm deep).Highways were more positive about the blockeddrains on Sugar Lane so we hope that these willbe dealt with.

E-News If you would like to join Rainow E-NEWS andget all the latest news and updates please emailyour address to the Clerk at rainowparish@aol.com. Agenda, minutes andany notices are also available on the web site foryour information.

Dog FoulingWe continue to receive complaints about dog fouling on footpaths andgrass verges. The Environment Enforcement Officer has now informed us that it is OK for the public to use the litterbins for dog waste. Please, please pick up your dog’s waste and keep our village a clean and healthy place to live in. Thank you.

Cover Photo by Hilary Nicol

Communications The Council have been working towards the repair andreplacement of the notice boards around the village.Many thanks to Cllr John Leigh for the hard work hehas put into their refurbishment and in particular thenew notice board in the Pleasance garden.

There has been a proposal by British Telecom toremove the phone box at Saltersford. The Councilhave strongly objected to its removal and we arepleased to say the Borough Council have supportedus. We are hopeful that the box will stay.

Vacancy for a CouncillorThe Council is extremely sorry to announce thatLyndsay Lomax has decided to resign her office ofParish Councillor. We would like to thank Lyndsay forall her contributions to the Parish Council and wish herall the best for the future.If you are interested in applying for the position please write to: Mrs Sarah Giller, Clerk to Rainow Parish Council, 9 Sutton Road,Poynton, Cheshire, SK12 1SU or email to: rainowparish@aol.com by Tuesday 14th October at12.00 noon.

Civic ServiceAs we went to press, the annual civic service wasabout to take place on Sunday 28th September. The Council would like to thank everyone who supported the event by taking part on the day or helping with the preparations beforehand.

Future Council Meetings

16th September21st October18th November16th December

TheRaven

Welcome to

This issue is a milestone for The Raven as it completes our first full year of publication. The grant

money from Cheshire Community Action, which provided the funds for the first two editions, is long goneand we have to stand on our own feet. Since theChristmas issue of 2007, The Raven has spread itswings and the magazine now has four more pages thanthat first issue, including at least one full page of advertisements. We rely on funds from Rainow ParishCouncil for the Council News part of the magazine andon income from advertisers or sponsors for the rest.Thankfully, a growing number of local businesses arefinding the magazine a valuable vehicle for publicisingwhat they do and all the businesses advertising in theSummer issue have continued their support in thisAutumn issue. We still need a few more so we areasking readers to suggest new potential advertisers bycontacting one of the editors or any Parish Councillor.Just give us an idea and we will do the rest. Keeping upthe production quality in this time of economic uncertainty will stretch our resources but, with the support of Rainow villagers, we are determined to keepThe Raven’s wings flapping!

Future issues will continue to focus on current eventswithin the Parish, the Rainow countryside, people

who live in the village and articles about the history ofRainow. We also plan to keep you informed on the localimpact of the emergence of the new East Cheshireauthority as it takes shape.

CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?Come out of the woodwork! Write articles or take photographs which can be used in the magazine. We want more Rainow people to play an active part in producing a top class publication.

At present The Raven is distributed to every householdby the Parish Councillors without payment and in theirfree time and we are very grateful for their efforts. If you are able to help take some of the load from their shoulders by distributing a small number of copies inyour immediate area we should be glad to hear from you.

The other way you can contribute is by completing andreturning the questionnaire which comes with this magazine. Let us know what you think and what youwant to see in The Raven.

Editorial Team: Ian Brammer (01625 426059) Bob Langstaff (01625 573761) Tony Nicol (01625 421297) Design by Mel Wilcox (01625 576182)

Your Parish CouncillorsKen Butler (Chair) 433168Mary Marsh (Deputy) 573508Ian Brammer 426059Alan Brett 576108Geoff Cooper 574878Justin Gutmann 560830John Leigh 574327John Stagg 572816Alan Taylor 575544Wendy Vernon 572812Judy Wilkinson 614650

Clerk: Sarah Giller 850532rainowparish@aol.com

Borough Councillor for RainowHarold Davenport 01663 763986

County Councillor for RainowSylvia Roberts 01625 575306

by Sue GrimesCubs at Large

You may remember that when I lastwrote we were looking forward to

an Activity Weekend in Anglesey and,when the due date finally arrived, twenty-one Cubs had a really wonderfulweekend. The highlight of the weekendwas the body boarding session in quitebig waves on the Saturday. Everyonebraved the water, even one cub whohad only recently learnt to swim! Wealso did some abseiling on the cliffs,problem solving and beach activities.

With thirty six Cubs now in the Rainowpack I have tried a new way of planningthe programme to ensure everyonegets more from the meetings by splitting them into three groups androtating round three activities. This hasworked very well with the cubs windsurfing, shooting and abseiling inturn. I chose to take the windsurfinggroup over to Astbury Sailing Centrewith visions of sitting by the lake onbeautiful summer evenings; unfortunately this was not to be with theCubs having to get off the water oneweek because of a thunderstorm!!

A big thank you to Pete Parker for

giving up three Tuesdays abseiling atTeggs Nose and to Andrew Renshawfor the shooting.

Another useful meeting was whenCheshire Police came to teach theCubs road safety and test them for theirCyclist Badge.

For the last meeting of the term wejoined up with the Beavers and Scouts(around eighty children) and enjoyedan ‘It’s a Knockout’ Competition withteams made up from each section

completing various challenges and thenenjoying a Barbecue.

We were unable to complete a hat trickin the Fete Procession where we chose‘We’re all going on a Summer Holiday’complete with a red London bus, beingbeaten into 2nd place by the Scouts(who I feel should have been the floatsection anyway!!).

In the evening we again held a verysuccessful Barn Dance and Barbecuewhere it stayed dry if not sunny andeveryone seemed to enjoy themselves.We raised just over £1,000 for Groupfunds.

A big thank you to Luke and LuluHolland for letting us use their farm andputting in a lot of hard work getting it all ready.

Just one last plea for anyone who would like to come and help as a Leader - it can be fun and without more adult help we may have to downsize the Pack!!

Anyone involved in theWI, yoga classes or

the Parish Council, orwith children who attendPre-School, Cubs, JollyTots, Beavers, Browniesor Guides, will be familiar with some of theactivities that take placein the Institute every day.

Now we’re trying to start a newgroup: a table tennis club. A couple oftables have been languishing in the

storeroom for some time and wewould like to start a club, to be heldon Tuesday nights from 8.30 to 10pm(except the third Tuesday of eachmonth). You don’t have to be anexpert and all ages are welcome.

Eventually, we may try to arrangesome coaching but, to start with, thiswill be a fun chance to play table tennis and meet other Rainovians ofall ages. If plenty of people are

interested, we will beapplying for fundingfrom the local councilto buy additionaltables for this community activity.

If you’re interested,please contact JennyKelly (tel 575787;email:

kelly.pedley@btinternet.com), dustdown your table tennis bat and markTuesday, October 14 in your diary forour inaugural night!

Even if you’re not keen on joining our table tennis group, don’t forget that the Institute can be hired for children’s parties and other private functions. The rates are very competitive and by using the Institute you will be supporting the community. Please contact Chris Marsh (tel 573508) for bookings.

Anyone for Table Tennis?

Somewhere very special...

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breathtaking views.We offer Day & Residential Art Courseswith our Resident Professional Artist.

And also Cookery Demo & Dine experiences using the finest local

ingredients led by our own Cordon Bleutrained Chef.

Gift Vouchers available and Corporate andGroup Bookings welcome.

Christmas Special: book for a party of 6 and the organiser comes free –

a Christmas party with a difference!

Harrop Fold FarmRainow

Tel: 01625 560085

www.harropfoldfarm.co.ukwww.michaelmooreart.co.uk

www.leahspantry.co.uk

Windsurfing at Astbury.

The eve of a Christmas day long pastSet in with an angry, surly blast,The flaky snow was toss’d aboutAnd driven in wild disorder’d rout;For high in the air it whirl’d aroundWhile blinding drifts sped o’er the groundAnd wide o’er the hills lay a white snow pall –But the log-fire burn’d bright at Saltersford HallOn that Christmas Eve!

John Turner from over the Cheshire PlainDrew near to the hills with his pack-horse train.His friends at Bollington urged him to stayAnd finish his journey on Christmas Day.But Turner press’d on thro’ the stormy blast,The lights of the village soon were pass’d.As he urged his team on through the white snow pallTo reach his home at Saltersford Hall.On that Christmas Eve!

He set a stout heart against the steep braesBut was baffled by wind and the snow-covered ways,Till smitten and numbed by the biting blastIn the drifting snow away he was cast.He thought of his home, and he cried “Oh God!”As he groaned 'mid the snow on the frozen sod:Then he died as he lay 'neath the white snow pallIn old Eurin Lane near Saltersford Hall.On that Christmas Eve!

Next morn there were heard on the frosty airThe bells of his horses tinkling there:The print of a woman’s shoe was seenImpressed on the deep snow’s glist’ning sheen.John Turner there slept in a cold, cold bedWith wreaths of snow about his head:His eyes had closed ’neath death’s black pallSo near to his home at Saltersford HallOn that Christmas Eve!

At the end of the last academicyear in July we said farewell to

twenty-three outstanding year-sixpupils as well as teachers MrsJohnstone and Miss Buckley. Theend of year junior drama productionof My Fair Lady was wonderful andgreatly appreciated by both childrenand parents.

At the start of September we welcomed twenty-seven new fouryear old pupils to our Receptionclass. They have quickly settled in tothe school routines and, as you cansee, they are enjoying the school’swonderful outdoor environment ontheir www. (Weekly Welly Walk!)

We are all looking forward to a busyand exciting term ahead.

Death in the Salterford Snows

Out of SchoolBallad of the Packhorse Driver’s Death

This is the second of two poemsrecording the events surrounding

the death in Ewrin Lane of John

Turner of Saltersford Hall some twohundred and fifty years ago. It waswritten by Macclesfield historianWalter Smith in about 1932. Smith’ssetting of the event on ChristmasEve comes from a letter written tohim in 1922 by a descendant ofJames Mellor of Hough Hole, whowas a relative of the Turner familyand the man who cut the originalmemorial stone. Interestingly, thispoem has a much less scandalisedreference to the mysterious woman’sfootprint in the snow than had theverses published in last month’sRaven. The piece is in the metre of apopular poem of the day called “The Mistletoe Bough”.

Rainovian

The photographs show both sides of the commemorative stone on Ewrin Lane.

by Mark Bertinshaw

Best welly forward for the four-year-olds

by Mary Meecham

Rainow WI has been animportant part of the

village community, in different ways, for all of its seventyyears' existence. This autumn it is planning a get-together for everyone ata Coffee Morning in the Institute. OnSaturday October 11th between 10amand 12am you will be welcome to meetand make friends while enjoying coffeeand home-made biscuits, and to betempted by the cake and produce stall.There will also be a raffle and lots ofnearly new books to browse through.

The programme committee has been

busy organizing next year's meetings. It includes an Open Evening featuringthe Derbyshire artist, PollyannaPickering, with her popular wildlife pictures - no doubt accompanied by adescription of her latest safari adventures. There will also be talks onthe Dark Lady of the Sonnets,Mountain Rescue dogs and a QuizNight among others.

The WI caters for members' specialinterests with groups such as the BookClub and Luncheon Club, the DartsTeam and Quilting group, and regularwalks through the summer months -

length and difficulty tailored to members' abilities. A varied programmeof outings can include a visit to an interesting building, such as GortonMonastery, seeing a "Tudor Queen"being dressed, attending a concert orplay, or a workshop on making a hanging basket. A team of gardenersalso meets regularly to maintain theTrinity Gardens in the village centre.

If you are interested in finding out moreabout the WI, the Coffee Morning willbe an opportunity to speak to members. It truly offers "something foreveryone", why not dip a toe in?

Meet theCouncillors

Name: MARY PATRICIAMARSH

Time on Council: Approx 20 years

Particular duties: Deputy Chair

Born: 2 October 1949 in Didsbury

Present Home: Church Lane, Rainow

Family: Husband Chris

Occupation: Previously modelling forLucy Claytons, now Sales Executive for Olsen UK

Hobbies: Enjoying life

The Church Youth Group’s Week Away

The church youth group’sSummer week away was a

great success. Ten of theRainow group, aged betweeneleven and fourteen, wentalong to Casterton inLancashire and joined a gathering of around a hundredand sixty young people, all ofwhom were determined todefy whatever the weathermay bring and have the timeof their lives. The week was amixture of Christian studiesand outdoor activities that

included swimming, caving,moutainbiking and climbing, allof which were especially tailored for young people.

The costs of the trip werelargely met by the income fromthe Fundraising Car Washeswhich proved so popular earlier in the year and thegroup are eager to thankeveryone in the village whosupported those events.

Steve and the gang relax after a hard day in the great outdoors.

Carole Harvey Telemarketing

New Business Development

Appointment Setting

Telephone Marketing

22 Millers Meadow, Rainow, Macclesfield 01625 573576 harveyrainow@yahoo.co.uk

ffoorr hhoommee oorr ooffffiiccee

acsinfotec@tiscali.co.uk

Computer & I.T. Solutions

Contact STUART

Commonside FarmEcton Avenue, Buxton Road,Macclesfield

SK10 1RB

01625 669750 or 07770315443

The Year Ahead with the WI

Claire de Ruiter is well known tomany of us in Rainow through her

artistic involvement in workshops atRainow County Primary School andthrough the Scarecrow Competition.

Over the last twelve months she hasbeen working towards a solo exhibition at Buxton Museum whereher large installation depicting thejourney from Rainow to Buxton via theCat & Fiddle road is on show. For theexhibit Claire has created a visualrecord of a dry stone wall using feltmade from local fleeces. She has

worked at various locations (includingpre-school, school and One HouseNursery) and people who live, workand visit the area have been encouraged to contribute to the project. People of all ages and abili-ties have each created their own felt“stone”. Trapped within each maker’s“stone” is a drawing or piece of writingrelating to their own personal journey.At the same time Claire collectedwishes to be felted into a “WishesTree” which stands guard over thewall.

This project has created an enormousamount of interest and Claire is currently receiving 15 to 20 e-mailenquiries every day from all over theworld.

Make sure you visit the exhibition atBuxton Museum. It runs untilNovember 1st.

Left: Children enjoying felting

Right: Claire’s Installation in the Museum

The Stony Road to Buxton!

At the very start of 2008many gathered in the

church to enjoy a concert ofChristmas and Epiphany musicby members of the DailyService Singers, directed byChristopher Stokes. OnSunday January 4th 2009, thesame group of musicians willreturn to give anotherEpiphany concert, again in aidof UNICEF.

This year, the theme will beChristmas through the ages,starting with some of the earliest Christmas music, travellingthrough traditional favourites and finishing with 21st centurycarols. One of the carols is an old melody in new clothing –The Coventry Carol, composed by the conductor,Christopher Stokes. Chris, who is Organist and Master ofthe Choristers at Manchester Cathedral, performs as asoloist across Britain and Europe and broadcasts frequentlyon Radio 4. We will also have the opportunity to hear one ofThe Manchester Carols, written by Cheshire musicianSasha Johnson Manning and the well-known poet CarolAnn Duffy. The first performance of this new set of carolsgained national acclaim in December 2007. There will also

be a brand new compositionby Sasha, specially written forthe Rainow Epiphany concert.

The singers come from arange of backgrounds – someare full-time professionalsingers while others combinetheir musical commitments withother jobs as diverse as wineimporting and medical writing.All take part regularly in BBCRadio 4’s Daily Service, whichis broadcast live from Didsbury.Sometimes the programme

comes from further afield: for many years the Daily ServiceSingers have provided music for the Ascension Day servicefrom St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and in Christmas1999, several members of the choir travelled to Jerusalemand Bethlehem for the Advent and Christmas broadcasts onRadio 4.

We are very lucky to welcome these musicians to Rainowfor what promises to be another wonderful evening ofmusic. We hope you are able to come to listen, support thisvery worthwhile cause and enjoy mulled wine and mincepies afterwards.

World Premieres in Rainow

Addicts of the TV Series will agree that Scarecrow

Competition winners

Simon and Judy Bradshaw were wise to keep

The Young Ones out of doors.

Carol Harvey’s very appealing cakes

were an eye-catching feature of the WI

stall at the fete.

Mayor-for-the-day

Richard Brimelow’s

official headgear could have

been specifically designed for

the efficient shedding of

rainwater on fete

day. We were chuffed to bits to see that the Rainow branch

line is now fully operational. Modeller Mike Lynch’s

wonderfully realistic setting and locos bring the

full magic of steam locomotion to his village

garden.

The Raven’ s Eye View

Rose Queen Fernley de Ruiterdidn’t let a few drops of raindampen her spirits on Fete Day.

One of our Intrepid cubs hanging on witha smile at the Tegg’s Nose outing.

Our young art critics obviously approve of the

school’s creative output on

display at the end of Summer

term. Picture sales from the

exhibition provide extra fundsfor art materials.

Fete day is all a load of footballs

as far as Tracy Warrington is concerned.

n’ s Eye View

Local gardeners will know only toowell that altitude and winds make

Rainow a challenging gardening environment. The village can nevertheless proudly boast a largenumber of gardens lovingly plantedand/or faithfully maintained by highlyknowledgeable gardeners and plantspeople. There are several “exotic”specimen trees and shrubs, so compiling a fuller list of Rainow’sunusual shrubs and trees would enabletheir future enjoyment and protection.

As a starting point, here are a few youmay already be familiar with. My parents, Barbara and Alan Holmes-Smith, who came to the village in 1947,created three gardens over almost fiftyyears, and also made a significant contribution to some of Rainow’s publicspaces. As a five–year-old I learned topronounce my first Latin plant name:Metasequoia glyptostryboides(American redwood), when we plantedone on the banking of the WarMemorial garden, slightly to the left ofthe memorial. A little later, when I was ayoung pupil at the Methodist PrimarySchool, at the Smithy Lane end ofRound Meadow, my father planted twospecial trees: on the left of the path tothe main door a Liriodendron tulipifera(tulip tree) and on the right a fastigiate(columnar) flowering cherry.

The Eucryphia they planted in the late1940s on the middle terrace at The OldVicarage, now an impressive, towering,fully-grown tree, and the mature flowering cherry at the far end of thesame terrace were planted in the late1940s. My parents were also knowledgeable about unusual shrubs:

a Garrya elliptica was planted againstthe retaining wall of Pedley House, visible from the road, and another onthe front wall of Berristall House inBerristall Lane. Above the cottage, tothe right of the kissing-gate for theGritstone Trail, an arboretum was planted in the early 1980s, whichincludes at the apex the unusual NorthAmerican shrub Fothergilla major and apine grown from seed gathered on thebanks of Loch Maree in the ScottishHighlands.

Probably as a result of our parents’horticultural commitment, both my olderbrother and I followed a career in horticulture. Neale taught for manyyears at a College of Horticulture andbecame a conservation consultant andexpert on wildflower meadows, while Itaught horticulture to learning-disabledadults, and later set up my own business – designing, constructing andmaintaining gardens for nearly 20years.

It would be interesting to walk roundthe village to establish the position and status of trees and shrubs of note, andto hear of other specimens not mentioned here. If there is a keenRainow gardener who would be interested in compiling a record ofthese plants for the benefit of presentand future enthusiasts, I would behappy to offer assistance to create aregister of Rainow’s Specimen Plants.(ed: we will pass on any information tothe author)

Top: Garrya elliptica at Berristall House

Bottom: Metasequoia glyptostryboidesbehind the War Memorial

Ever wondered what Rainow lookslike to those little green men from

Mars?

No, me neither, but now satellite pictures of the village can be seen onyour laptop or PC, courtesy of thosegood people at GoogleMaps.

One day, two or three years ago, therewas a crack in the clouds and a low-orbit satellite captured a clear photograph of Rainow which is nowaccessible online. So if you’d like to seeyour house from there, simply go towww.rainow.org/RainowGoogleMap.htmland follow these instructions:

1. Use the slider or the plus (+) andminus (-) in the top left corner to zoomin or out.2. Click on the picture so the cursorbecomes a grasping hand allowing youto move the centre of the picturearound to see the periphery.3. Click on one of the three buttons in

the top right corner – Map, Satellite orTerrain - to change what you see onthe screen. It’s the Satellite button thatgives the photographic view. Of course,Google haven’t done this just forRainow. Most of the planet betweenthe Arctic and Antarctic circles can beseen, so why not take a voyage intocyberspace? Just go towww.maps.google.com type in yourdestination and click the Search Mapsbutton. For even more amazing stufftake a look at Google Earth atwww.earth.google.com

Enjoy your trip!

“I can see our house from here...”

by Richard Leigh

Rainow’s Specimen Treesby Zephyrine Barbarachild

There were moments during the morning of the fete daywhen Diane and Billy Moss’s field looked as though a

raging hurricane had just passed through. Stalls and gazebos were blown inside out, the rain lashed anyone whodared move outside of cover, even the marquee wobbled abit and the ground was edging towards the “wellies-only”condition.

Luckily, the organising team was made of stern stuff andthey never flinched nor doubted that it would all blow over.And they were absolutely right!

In the afternoon the cloud broke, the sun peeped throughand the wind lost some its venom. And the crowds cameflocking down Sugar Lane. Nobody, it seemed, had given into the weather - but then they wouldn’t live in Rainow if theycouldn’t put up with the occasional bit of dampness anddraught would they!

The day continued along its time-honoured course with thebrass band blowing, the Rose Queens waving royally, theKerridge racers clambering, and the schoolchildren dancing.Prizes galore were won and there were cups for this andcertificates for that and the bliss of hot, sweet tea and cakes

in the marquee.

When the day finally began to tail off and even the competing dogs were beginning to look a little weary, mother nature decided that enough was enough and chose to blow a few tents over just to hurry matters along and bring the whole thing to an honourable close.

It was an excellent and memorable fete in many ways, but perhaps the most rewarding aspectsof it were the sheer determination of the organisers andhelpers not to be thwarted by the weather and the wonderfulcommunity spirit that was shown in the willingness of villagers to support the event come hell or high water.

Around £3000 was raised during the Fete and theScarecrow fortnight and this will be divided between theEast Cheshire Hospice, The Youth Organisations of the village, Older People’s Welfare, and Church Equipment.

Well done Rainow!

Rainow’s Day Out

Squeals of excitement could beheard all over the village in July

as the Guides had their first go atpitching their new tent. Pitching (andstriking) large patrol tents is a skillthat we have been unable to practise, since all the old campingequipment succumbed to damp anddecay - one ended its useful life acting as the beer tent at the churchfete. Rainow Guides have had towait to be invited to join other companies for camping, but now wehope to be able to acquire campingskills and then put them to use nextyear thanks to a Grant to buy thetent from Cheshire CommunityAction via the Parish Council.

Rainow Guides is open to any girlsage 10-14. We choose and organiseour own activities from a wide range

of ideas - recently we’ve made minipizzas, practised tracking and firelighting, tried mehindi designing,written and performed shadow puppet plays and helped at theRainow 5 Hill Run as usual by serving refreshments. At the end ofthe Summer, we set ourselves a distance challenge - how far couldwe go in a relay, covering the distance in as many different waysas we could? We dribbled footballsand hockey balls, rode a hobbyhorse, danced, skipped, rode a bikeand roller blades among other ways- and managed 12 kilometers in thehour- raising funds for the MPS society.

If you fancy meeting us, or helping,please contact Jill Hasler (572640)

Guides Go Camping

Rainow After School Club A Service to the Community

by Hilary Nicol, Chairperson

Fifteen years ago, Rainow County Primary was, for avariety of reasons, struggling. Roll numbers were down

in the low nineties (compared with today’s 190) and it wasbeginning to look as though a cut in teacher numberswould be the only way to keep the school viable. Theschool management team and the governors were determined, however, that the trend could be reversed.

Among the recommendations that emerged from the seriesof meetings was one that acknowledged the changes thathad been taking place in family life. In many families, bothparents now worked outside the village. Although there wassome excellent childcare provision in the village, it was notsufficient to meet everyone’s needs. An after-school clubseemed a practical solution and one that could beembraced within the existing school buildings. In addition tothe children whose parents were working, it was hoped toattract other children through the activities that were onoffer. It was felt that at an after school club the childrencould be offered the opportunity to try different activities not always available to them in school at that time.

And so the idea of Rainow After School Club was born. A business plan was put together after consultation withparents and teachers and start-up money was obtainedfrom the TEC and Zeneca. The Club was created as a self-financing, non-profit making organisation. It would berun as a separate entity from the school, by a voluntarycommittee of parents and governors. Its basic purpose wasexpressed in its statement of Aims:

“The aim of the Club is to provide a stimulating and varied environment where the children can experience many different activities. The Club will provide companionship and scope for the children to develop their many talents as well as providing a safe and disciplined environment in which parents can leave their children.”

In the early years of the club, a great variety of specialistteachers were invited along. Sadly, over the years, it hasbecome more and more difficult to find such specialists.This, in part, is due to the stringent checks that must be

made on all people who have access to children, making it more difficult for people to share their expertise and enthusiasm for subjects in an ad hoc way. Money alsocomes into the equation of course – specialist teachers fordance and sport, for example, have become increasinglyexpensive and this cost could only be recovered throughraising fees to parents.

So, although it was exciting to offer the children moreunusual activities like fencing, dance and drama, we tookthe view that it was more important that the Club should beprovided at an affordable price. If we could provide a happyand stimulating atmosphere, drawing on our own talents toentertain the children, then that would be the best option.

Today, the Club is still extremely popular under the guidance of our present Leader, the very talented JanetVernon, who is able to provide the children with rich andvaried experiences. Recently, Janet has been supported byour regular team of Heather Barlow and Lyn McCarthy, aswell as our volunteer treasurer Eric Moss (who has beenwith us almost from day one), with Caroline Armitt providing

back-up when needed. The club is also indebted to JanetNorman for her generous input. Over the years, we haveinvariably drawn our staff from within the village. So manypeople have helped us, either in a regular capacity or byacting as emergency back-up, it really is a community Club.

We are registered with Ofsted to take up to thirty children ateach session and we adhere to Ofsted Early Years guidelines by providing a staffing ratio of one adult to eightchildren.

The Club runs between 3.15pm and 5.30pm each weekday during term time, with children being collected bythe Leader from their classrooms. To meet the runningcosts of the Club, parents are charged £4.50 per eveningfor their first child and £4.00 for any siblings. For those whobook and pay in advance, this is reduced to £4.15 and£3.75 respectively.

Finally, like most voluntary operations, we are continuallyon the lookout for local people who are willing to join ourback-up team so if you feel you would like to contribute, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Some ‘Raven’ readers, attracted tocountry living, might like to consider a

new career in sheep farming as a meansof acquiring a greater share of the goodthings in life.

Let us imagine that a farm, with land andoutbuildings, comes to us by some outrageous stroke of good fortune. Theland would need to extend to around 250acres to run a flock of say 1000 ewes.This would keep a farmer, however vigorous, very well occupied indeed. But there would be some further requirements. For a flock of 1000 of the commonly-seen North of England Muleewes, we would need to spend about£90,000. A tractor with loader and a tipping trailer would be needed and if wewere to buy these new, the cost wouldbe about £43,000 for mid-range equipment. Further necessities would bea livestock trailer and something to pull itwith. Four wheel drive is essential and aLandrover would be the usual choice.Both of these together should be available new for around £30,000. To maintain the grasslandand to feed the ewes and any store lambs in winter we willneed a mower, hay bob and baler. The cost would be perhaps£15,000 if we get a cheap baler. There would need to besome general and handling equipment. Let’s allow another£10,000 for that. That totals £188,000 quickly spent.

Having forgotten that we would need a ram or twenty in theabove acquisition list, we’ll consider them materialised (£8000) and introduce them to our flock on November 5th.This memorable date should produce lambs on April 1st,which, come to think of it, seems quite appropriate. Hopingthat our ewes will lamb at about 170% and deducting theinevitable losses, we would produce about 1500 lambs perseason to be sold, probably at auction, when they reach aweight of about 40kg. Here some inconvenient facts intrude.The sensitive but iron law of supply and demand reignssupreme, nowhere more so than at a livestock auction. Pricesobtained vary widely and not very predictably, year by yearcomparisons showing surprising differences. In ‘normal’ yearslambs can sell at anything between £0.80 and £1.95 per liveweight kg. The best prices are obtained around May when oldseason lambs have gone and new season lambs are not yetsufficiently grown. Recently however, with the release of Footand Mouth from the Government laboratories, and the subsequent banning of exports, the glut of lambs led to pricesas low as £0.55.

From those figures our total sales turnover with all lambs sold

would be somewhere between £48,000and £117,600! Fortunately in some wayshowever, not all lambs prosper equally, so there will be a spread in time of lambsreaching a saleable weight. Also a ram,however enthusiastic, will need time to‘tup’ his quota of ewes. It is thus impossible to maximise income by selling exclusively at times of high prices.We might realistically expect to sell at anaverage price of £1.20, giving an incomeof £72,000 out of which all living and farmexpenses must be met.

There are, of course, many fixed and variable costs to be considered. A fewexamples: supplementary feed £250 pertonne, shearing £1.20 per head, rebuilding dry stone walls at £25 permetre, fencing at about £10 per metre, red diesel at £0.70 per litre. There aremany other costs which would need to begiven in voluminous and boring detail togive a proper accounting picture of asheep farm.

Flock maintenance requires much time. Our hypothetical flockwould have 10,000 hooves each needing periodic trimming, a vast and back-breaking task. Other tasks are tagging, dagging, and drenching, dipping and copper injections for theewes. Veterinary and medicine costs can amount to £2 to £3per head. Shearing can be done by contractors for about£1.20 per head, but only about 80p will be paid for a fleece.For one reason or another around 10% of the ewes wouldneed to be culled every year but might still fetch £20 at auction. That alone reduces our income by £7000.

The unremitting war against docks and thistles is time consuming and expensive and a third rogue plant, theRagwort is joining the fray. This is now much in evidence onroadside verges and since local authorities no longer bother to observe the law which requires its removal is spreading rapidly onto farmland.

One detail which must, to a large extent, be overlooked in farm accounting is a farmer’s time. If this was to be accountedfor at anything approaching a reasonable hourly rate, nosheep farm could be viable. So as a career choice sheepfarming would prove rather unremunerative. But it wouldn’tmatter. There would be no time to spend any money otherthan on the farm anyway.

However, when all is said and done, sheep farming does keep the hills around us in a pleasingly verdant condition. The reader might wish to help in this by eating more RainowLamb!

The (un)Economics of Sheep Farming

Have a Professional Studio Portrait taken at our new studio,a great Christmas gift. Bookings available from the 1st October.

Dave Wilcox PhotographyThe Picture House, South Street, Buxton, SK17 6LB

10% off for Rainow residents

Tel: 01625 560500 / 01298 72811

Mob: 07887 555065

Email: dave@drwphoto.co.uk

RAINOW CUBS ANDSCOUTS

NEED YOUCAN YOU SPARE11/2 HOURS A WEEK TO HAVE FUN, HELPAND BE A PART OF AFRIENDLY ACTIVE TEAM?

IF THE ANSWER IS YESPLEASE PHONE:

Sue Grimes01625 572751

Tony Machin01625 501296

OR

FAMILY BUTCHERSPalmerston Street,

BollingtonTel: 01625 572202

114 Wellington Road, Bollington

Tel: 01625 573172

5 Fountain Place, PoyntonTel: 01625 872154

Wellington Road, Bollington SK10 5JR

l For jazz l For comedy l For chamber music

l For professional & amateur theatre productions

l For talks l For art exhibitions

l For poetry readingsl For rehearsal space

l For classes l For hire

For more information visit our website:www.bollingtonartscentre.org.uk

or ring 573863

Common Barn Holiday Cottages

JOHN LEIGH (PLUMBING)

Plumbing & Heating Engineer

Oil & Gas u Corgi Registered

2 Hough Close, Rainow,Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 5UN

Telephone: Home (01625) 574327Mobile: 07885 819031

ROY McCARTHYCoaches

for every occasion35 - 70 SeatersTHE COACH DEPOTSNAPE ROADMACCLESFIELD

Tel: Macclesfield (01625) 425060

www.roymccarthycoaches.co.uk

FOR FREE ESTIMATES CALL

01625-821783or 07954 326863

54 Sugar Lane, Rainow,Macclesfield,

Cheshire. SK10 5UJ

A personal and reliable Painting andDecorating service,

by a local, experienced

craftsman.

Self Catering Holiday Cottages and B&B inthe Peak District situated on a traditional working sheep farm, ideally located for

exploring the magnificent scenery. We enjoyexcellent open countryside with far-reachingviews over the Cheshire Plain. We have 5B&B rooms, plus 2 self catering holiday

cottages in tastefully converted stone barns.We also run a tea shop on the farm, open daily.

For more details please visit:

www.commonbarnfarm.co.ukor 01625 574878

Wha

t’s O

nD J Massey & SonWANTED

DEAD OR ALIVEGold & Silver Items u Diamonds u Pocket Watches

u Quality Wrist Watches u Silver Items u Clocks

REWARDCASH WAITING

47 Chestergate, Macclesfield. 616133

What’s On in Rainow and BollingtonOCTOBER 200811 10am-12 Rainow WI Rainow Institute

Coffee Morning - Cake stall, raffle, books etc12 Oct - 16 Nov Verse and Views Arts Centre, BollingtonSundays 2pm-4pm Photography and poetry - Ruth Mitchel-Hill 13 7.30pm Rainow WI Rainow Institute

A Symphony of Sounds & Scenes Anthea Howell (Blue Badge Guide)

15-18 Bollington Festival Players Autumn Production Arts Centre, BollingtonFor details ring 01625 875326

21 7.45pm Mothers Union Rainow Church CentreA visit to the Holy Land – David Marriot

24 8.00pm Mikron Theatre – Fair Trade Arts Centre, Bollington£9/£7 Contact 01625 574687

25 8.00pm Bollington Chamber Concerts Arts Centre, BollingtonThe Holywell Quartet. Tickets £12/£601625 560355 or 01625 575287

26 7.30pm Old Bollington Arts Centre, Bollington Tim Boddington – slides from the archives£5/£3 pay at door

NOVEMBER 20081 11am-4pm Festival Fare - Craft Stalls Etc. Arts Centre, Bollington

Free Admission – profits to Bollington Festival 091 8.00pm Jazz at the Arts Centre Arts Centre, Bollington

Mart Rodger - Tickets £8 Phone 01625 5744105 10am Walking for Health Bridgend Centre,

Across the fields to Higher Hurdsfield Bollington7 8.00pm Bolly Comedy Club (Over 18s only) Arts Centre, Bollington

Contact 01625 56077410 7.30pm Rainow WI Rainow Institute

Annual General Meeting14 7.30pm Opus Theatre Company Arts Centre, Bollington

Tickets - £7.50/£6.50. Contact 01625 57528716 9.30am-4.30pm Playing Shakespeare Workshop Twelfth Night Arts Centre, Bollington

£10 To register contact 01625 26754518 7.45pm Mothers Union Rainow Church Centre

Howard Reeves & the Handbell Ringers29 8.00pm Bollington Chamber Concerts Arts Centre, Bollington

The Fitzwilliam Quartet. Tickets £12/£601625 560355 or 01625 575287

30 4.30 & 7.30pm Bollington Festival Music Theatre Arts Centre, Bollington Riquilda & the Bear. Tickets £6/£3 from 0161 427 2870

DECEMBER 20082 10.30am-12am Rainow NSPCC - Punch & Mince Pies Higher Fold Farm,

Contact Pat Buckley 01625 438021 Higher Hurdsfield3 10am Walking for Health Bridgend Centre,

Christmas Ramble along the Ridge Bollington 5 8.00pm Bolly Comedy Club (Over 18s only) Arts Centre, Bollington

Contact 01625 5607745 7.45pm Mothers Union Rainow Church Centre

Coffee Evening 6 8.00pm Jazz at the Arts Centre Arts Centre, Bollington

James Evans String 4 with Jonny Boston Phone 01625 574410

8 7.30pm Rainow WI - Christmas Party Rainow Institute9 7.30pm Messiah for All Arts Centre, Bollington

Tickets £5/£4 Contact 01625 26193312 8.00pm Wine Tasting – proceeds to Bollington Festival 09 Arts Centre, Bollington

£10 Contact 01625 57528712 7.30pm-11pm Church Fete Christmas Dance Rainow Institute

£10 inc. evening meal. BYO drink 13 11am-3pm Christmas Market Church Car Park/Centre

Details from John Stagg 01625 572816

We have made this list as comprehensive as space permits & it is necessarily a selection of the events we know about.If you have anything planned that you would like us to list in the next issue, please call 01625 426059.

Wha

t’s O

n

Although Jane intends tocontinue building up herportfolio of local subjects,she means also to return topainting and takes her inspiration from the paintingsof Peter Doig, who is also alandscape artist, but on amuch larger scale.

In October she will be exhibiting at the Hospice ArtExhibition at the Town Hall inMacclesfield and next springwill be one of the many people involved in theBollington Festival Artists’Trail along with other Rainowartists, including ElizabethBrimelow and Claire deRuiter.

Meanwhile, Jane maintainsher fondness for walking(around Rainow, of course!)but her wide range of interests ranges from photography, going to thetheatre and the cinema togardening; since living inRainow she has enthusiastically created agarden in the challenging andlimited spaces she hasaround her cottage.

A Printmaker in love

with Rainow

Pictures from top to bottom:

Sledging at Kerridge End

Towards Lamaload Road

Path Through the Meadow

Jane Osmond

aybe you have an attractive landscape print

hanging on your wall showing the Rainow countryside. If so, the oddsare that it was produced byJane Osmond. She has along-running love affair withRainow and many of herprints were made longbefore she came to livehere.

Originally a Hertfordshiregirl, she was a student at StAlbans Art College whereher enthusiasm for printmaking was born. Adegree in Graphic Arts at theCamberwell School of Artsand Crafts followed withpost-graduate specialism inprintmaking. Afterwards Janewas awarded a prestigiousBritish Council scholarshipthat took her to theNorwegian Academy of Art inOslo. It was on her returnfrom Norway that Jane firstdiscovered Rainow, drivingfrom Newcastle toMacclesfield where her parents had just moved.Jane decided she would liketo live in Rainow but shemoved here in stages fromBuxton Road to Hurdsfieldbefore achieving her aim tolive here when CesterbridgeCottage at Kerridge Endcame on the market. Afterseven years she still regardsRainow as a secret placeand relishes the surprise ofold friends from the southwho say, “we can under-stand now why you wantedto stay here.” Jane has twoteenage children both ofwhom went to RainowPrimary School even beforethe family had moved here.

Printmaking took priorityover painting for Janebecause she saw it as an artform that could be affordedby many more people thanpainting. Paintings areessentially one-offs whilstprints can be produced inquantity. The practicalities of

making a living and of acquiring exhibition spacealso influenced this decision. As well as producingher own output of prints, Jane has always enjoyedhelping others to learn the skills of etching andprint production and runs morning as well asevening classes for up to four people, taking themthrough to producing a finished print of their ownor beautiful hand printed cards.

M