More information regarding Shalstone HERE
Firstly, a huge thankyou to everyone who joined the congregation on 21 December for the carol service – a special mention also to all the readers, to Pam for the music and to those who brought refreshments. It was a great opportunity to gather as a community during the darker months when we do not normally see each other so much outside.
Many thanks in addition to everybody who picks up rubbish from the verges, hedges and ditches when walking up, down and around the village, to keep our local environment tidy and pollution free.
Looking ahead, the Benefice Palm Sunday service will be in Shalstone on the fifth Sunday of March. There will therefore be no services in April, but two in May. The first Sunday in June will be the Pet Service, time tbc.
Please do keep an eye on the various noticeboards for upcoming village social events.
Services coming up in church
• Sunday 1 March – 9.00am Family Communion
• Sunday 29 March – 10.30am Benefice Palm Sunday HC
• Sunday 3 May – 10.30am Village Worship
• Sunday 31 May – 10.30am Benefice Holy Communion
• Sunday 7 June – Pet Service time tbc
Church cleaning
March - Elspeth and Trisha
April - Amanda and Kathy
May – Fiona and Janet
Cogitations…The Old Codger aka GPP
Lunch with the King and a Ride with the Queen
We had, in the mid-thirties a Rector of Shalstone, who went on to become Rector of Sandringham. He and his wife were great friends of my parents. They came to stay for a couple of days when my brother and I were hungry teenagers. Father warned us that we were not to gobble our food as our guest was one of the slowest eaters ever known. They arrived, and how true this was!
When he went to Sandringham it was, as it is today, usual for the Rector to be invited to lunch at the "Big House" after Divine Service on Sunday morning. At 1 o'clock, the gong rang and the company went to the dining room. Grace was said by the Rector. The King was served and then the Queen - and lastly at the bottom of the table, the Rector. The King finished his roast beef and all the plates were cleared away. The same for the pudding - Poor old Rector had barely started his first mouthful before his plate was whipped away. At 2.30 he would mouth his thanks and return to his Rectory for a late lunch.
It was this same Rector who took with him a girl from Shalstone, who worked for him in The Rectory and wanted a change. This girl eventually married a Sandringham gamekeeper and lived in a cottage on the Estate.
The Atkins family has had connections with Shalstone for years and years. Rosie Atkins went to stay with her aunt, who lived on the Sandringham Estate during the school summer holidays. She was out walking on her own one day and, all of a sudden, a big black shiny car stopped by her at the Lodge gate. In that car there were three very well-dressed ladies and a smart chauffeur. One of the ladies asked Rosie who she was as she had not seen her on the estate before. Rosie explained that she was staying with her aunt, who was in service on the estate. The lady then asked Rosie if she had ever been in a car, to which Rosie replied that she had not but that she would like to, very much. So, the ladies made room for Rosie and she was driven to Sandringham House and back to the Lodge, having waited a while by the big house while one of the ladies popped in to gather up some things that had been left behind. The three ladies were, in fact, the Queen and two Ladies in Waiting. At the end of the Summer holidays, Rosie went back to school and wrote down what had happened. The teacher didn’t believe her and told her off for telling fibs. However, after making further enquiries, the Headmistress discovered that Rosie had been telling the truth and the teacher had to apologise!