Open Gardens weekend 20-21 June

What a fantastic weekend it was!  Personally I was amazed by the talent shown by our local gardening enthusiasts.  One visitor summed it up for me by asking 'Why is your village so gorgeous?'.  All our visitors got a warm Nocton welcome and I didn't hear a single word that wasn't completely positive.  A huge 'thank you!!' to all concerned and particularly to the organisers for supporting All Saints to the tune of £756.58.

Please click here for a review of the weekend.

Latest Nocton Doodle

Click here for the summer edition!

Open Gardens weekend

It's almost upon us!  Our first Open Gardens weekend!  Let's hope it's the first of many.  There will be ten gardens open featuring 'cottage style', formal and wild flower gardens.  Admission is £3 per person by programme available at the church, where there will also be a plant stall  Refreshments are available at two of the gardens.  Proceeds towards supporting the upkeep and improvement of village amenities including the Village Hall and All Saints Church.

Gardens and the church will be open 11-5 on Saturday 20 June and 11-4 Sunday 21 June.  We look forward to seeing you.

Trinity Sunday service - 31 May at 10.30 am

Trinity Sunday falls on 31 May.  Being the fifth Sunday of the month, we are having an extra special Group Service which will be at 10.30 (not our usual 9.30).  Not only will we be joined by the congregations from Branston and Potterhanworth, we will also be welcoming our neighbouring benefice, Metheringham with Blankney and Dunston.  Please join us as we worship together.

Notice to all residents from the Parish Council

(I don't normally post non-church notices, but this is important for everyone)

NOCTON PARISH COUNCIL

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Tuesday, 19th May at 7.00 p.m. in the Village Hall

All residents are invited to attend this meeting to discuss with your parish councillors two important issues which affect the future of our village:

Replacing our Village Hall – come and hear the results of the recent consultation and find out more about the next steps in this exciting project.  There is still time to have your say!

Neighbourhood Plan – together with our colleagues in Potterhanworth we are to prepare a Plan which, if adopted, will help shape the future of our village in the way that we, not others, want!  This will be a formal document which developers will have to take note of if they want to build in the village.  The Parish Council needs the community’s support in preparing this Plan so please come along to find out what’s involved and how you can help.

This will be a very informal meeting lasting no more than an hour or so and wine and soft drinks will be available.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Private Reuben Horton remembered (killed in action 30 January 1915)

Over the next 4 years the bell ringers at Nocton Church are going to attempt to ring a half muffled quarter peal to commemorate the centenaries of the deaths of the 12 Nocton residents/natives who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War.  The plan is to ring these quarter peals on the actual anniversary of their deaths if possible.

Sadly we have realised after doing our research that we missed the anniversary of the first Nocton resident/native to be killed during the Great War and so to correct this mistake the bell ringers are planning to ring a half muffled quarter peal on Saturday 30 May 2015.  The ringing will last around 45 minutes and will have the mournful sound of being rung half muffled, which gives a loud stroke followed by a quiet stroke (effectively an echo).

Private Reuben Horton was the son of Ellen Horton of Ten Row Nocton and was married to Florence Ada Horton.  He served during the Great War in the 1^st Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own).  He was sadly killed in action on 30 January 1915 aged 35, making him the first Nocton resident/native to be killed during the Great War.  His name appears on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Belgium on the panel 3 to 4.  He is also remembered on the War Memorial on the west wall at the back of Nocton Church and on a plaque in his memory at the east end of the south aisle in the Church.  A half muffled quarter peal will be rung on the bells at Nocton Church in his memory on Saturday 30 May 2015.

Spring Sunday lunch

Around 30 people came to the fantastic Spring Sunday Lunch on 19 April.  Advertised as 'all you can eat', it certainly lived up to its billing and no one went home hungry!  A range of delicious quiches, salads and desserts made for a winning combination with plenty on offer for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.  The company was fantastic too and there was a real buzz of people enjoying themselves.  Best of all, the event raised over £200 for our lovely village church.  Many thanks to the three stalwarts who did all the work behind the scenes organising the event (you know who you are!!), all those who contributed food, raffle prizes etc, and everyone who bought a ticket!  This was the second year of this event - let's hope it's not the last!

Annual Parish & Parochial Church Meetings

These were held on Tuesday 14 April.  Six members of the congregation attended along with Rev Les Whitfield.  Liz Murray was elected unopposed as the (sole) churchwarden.  Carol Bennett, Nicholas Bennett, Ruth Eagle, Doreen Green, Chris Howard and Ann Kennedy were elected unopposed to the Parochial Church Council.  We look forward to serving the community of Nocton in the coming year.

Latest Doodle

Click here!

Easter

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

This is the day Jesus Christ, God's beloved son, rose from the dead and brought the gift of forgiveness and eternal life to all who would like to receive it.

Church open

Have you ever wanted to visit our lovely church but not found it open?  The church will be open on Friday afternoons between 2 and 4 pm until the end of October.  Please drop in and see us!

Easter Day - 11 am service

There will be a celebration of Easter on Easter Day at All Saints at 11 am (not 9.30).  There is also Commemoration of the Last Supper tonight (Maundy Thursday) at 7.30 pm.

Please join us!

Irish evening

Thanks to Carol Bennett for this report.

There was lots of toe tapping, singing, clapping and dancing when Gone to the Dogs played Irish music, only 11 days after St Patrick's Day!  There were green shamrocks hanging from the ceiling, and over 60 people (many of them wearing green) got into the spirit (or perhaps it was Guinness, served by the Social Club).  The violin, guitar, penny whistle and voice combo were known to Nocton residents from their appearance last year on the village green for the annual picnic, and it was great to hear them again.  The Irish stew, soda bread and apple pie supper went down a treat and a good time was had by all.  Thanks to all who helped to raise over £450 for Nocton Church.

Spring lunch

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting (APM) and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) - the church's AGM - will be held on Tuesday 14 April at 7.30 pm in church.

Why two meetings, you may ask?  The APM is to elect the two churchwardens who will serve for the following year.   Anyone on the civil electoral register – anyone entitled to vote in government elections – or on the church electoral roll may attend the meeting.   The APCM immediately follows and is to receive the accounts, the fabric report and the report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), and to elect the PCC and sidespersons for the following year.  Anyone on the church electoral roll is entitled to attend.  We have six elected members of the PCC.

Please join us on 14 April! We promise not to elect you as PCC member or sidesperson unless you actually volunteer!