A service to celebrate the life of Anne followed by refreshments in the village hall will be held on Friday 1 April at 12 noon. To avoid overcrowding in the church, the service is also being transmitted to the village hall.

Please conform to all current legislation and be respectful of others’ space.

To help with the arrangements we would be grateful if you could tell Joanne on 737286, beawingj@gmail.com. or Marietta, mariettaking@hotmail.com that you would like to attend.

Although we are already into February I hope it is not too late to wish a Happy New Year to everyone in Wing, while giving a brief update on recent activity from the Parish Council, which met at the end of January and previously at the end of November.

• Top of the bill, and speaking of the Council as Trustee of the Wing Village Hall charity, is to warmly welcome Sally Cox’s willingness to step forward and re-invigorate the Village Hall Management Committee. A meeting of interested villagers has already been held, at which several volunteers came forward, and you will read elsewhere about the imminent AGM which will elect a new committee for the year ahead. As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, there is a real opportunity to reinstate the Hall as the centre of village life where it belongs.

• The Council itself is still below strength, with two vacancies to fill following the resignations of Richard Tulloch last spring and Helen Cullen at the end of the year. Huge thanks are due to Helen for shouldering the burden of Village Hall administration on behalf of the Trustee over recent months, and for her initiatives in securing grant funding that has seen the Hall though the pandemic while hiring income disappeared. Richard’s and Helen’s shoes will be hard to fill, and repeated pleas for villagers to express an interest in joining the Council, whether by election or co-option, have so far not brought forward any volunteers. This really is a wonderful opportunity to serve the community in a relatively undemanding way, and to discover what makes it tick. Do please get in touch with me as Chair, or any other Councillor, if you have a little time to give. It does not matter whether you have been in the village 50 years or 5 minutes!

Other recent business of the Council has included:

• Setting the Parish Precept for the coming year; Councillors approved a small increase in the Precept to restore the reserve to recommended levels.

• Establishing a database for communication within the village by email; participation is entirely voluntary and we will continue to supplement this medium by using paper for those who prefer it. Thanks to Susannah Fish for her work on this.

• Promotion of the voucher scheme to provide ultrafast fibre broadband to houses and businesses in Wing; again participation is entirely voluntary. Thanks to Jon Roberts and Mark Sayers for their help with this.

• Liaison with Historic England and Rutland County Council regarding maintenance of Wing Maze. RCC have undertaken to make repairs to the fencing, and HE have provided a schedule of works required to maintain the maze itself. The Council is looking for a sponsor or volunteer who would be willing to keep the maze looking smart throughout the year. Thanks to Judith Oakley for her persistence on this one.

• Liaison with RCC Highways Department and Conservation Officer regarding the state of our verges, most especially in Middle Street and Church Street. Following site meetings plans will be submitted for sympathetic restoration of the verge and footpath in Middle Street. Thanks to John DeJardin for his work on this.

• Receiving the professional report on the safety of play equipment, which is under constant review. Thanks to Jon Roberts for keeping an eye on this.

• Noting the work done by volunteers to trim the allotment hedge and repair an entrance gate. Thanks to Linda Clark for coordinating these activities.

• Noting improved lines of communication with Anglian water concerning activities at the Water Treatment Works. Thanks to Susannah Fish for her initiatives on this front.

• Receiving progress reports from the Neighbourhood Plan steering group, and noting the excellent progress following the engagement of (grant-funded) professional consultants. An event is planned for the Spring to update the village on the draft plan. Thanks to Nicky Lyttelton for continuing to drive this forward.

Finally, a reminder that agendas and minutes of PC meetings are always posted on the PC noticeboard beside the bus shelter on Top Street, and on the PC website https://www.wingrutland-pc.gov.uk/. And Councillors are always happy to receive and relay the concerns of villagers.

The next scheduled meeting of the Parish Council will be on Weds 30th March in the Village Hall.

Ken Siddle (Chair, on behalf of Wing Parish Council)

Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland) was approached by Naked West, the company that makes the BBC program “Escape to the Country”, to nominate locations in Rutland that were picturesque and were thriving despite the Covid Lockdown.

As Judith Oakley had already contacted Rural Community Council to get them to call with their free real coffee van, Rural Community Council thought that Wing would be a prime candidate, so the film crew turned up at one of their visits.

We are delighted to inform you that the episode you contributed to will be airing on Monday 7th February, on BBC1 at 3:00pm. Additionally, you will be able to watch the episode on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after it has first been aired on BBC1.

Please come and share your ideas and contribute to a meeting at the village hall on Tuesday 15 February at 7pm to start planning for whatever it is Wing villagers would like to do to celebrate Her Majesty, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  The meeting will be hosted by Sally Cox, acting chair of the village hall management committee, Alice Hill, Church warden for St Peter and St Paul, Wing, and Susannah Fish, parish councillor.

Attached are two letters from Dr Sarah Furness, Rutland’s Lord Lieutenant, which are self-explanatory, who is sharing ideas for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.  She has identified a number of ideas that may inspire you. These suggestions are neither exhaustive nor prescriptive and we can obviously develop our own ideas to suit our community.

Her suggestions are:

·                Community Decoration – Week of 23-27 May 22. The intent is to promote the decoration of towns and villages with bunting and flags as well as to encourage retail and leisure outlets to dress windows in Platinum Jubilee themes.

·                Beacon Lighting – Thursday 02 Jun 22. The aim is to promote the lighting of as many beacons as possible across the county and encourage youth participation. That could include lantern walks and a piper or trumpeter playing prior to firing the beacons (9.15pm) which would be followed by social gatherings with drinks and nibbles if appropriate. In the preceding weeks, there may be the opportunity for schools to discuss The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, her remarkable reign and her service to the Nation and Commonwealth.

·                Music Night – Friday 03 Jun 22. There may be a window of opportunity to hold music events in Oakham, Uppingham and parishes on Friday afternoon and early evening.  Central to this was the idea of ‘Music in the Park’ or ‘Music Night’, which could draw on previous experiences and could include youth dance demonstrations and arts and crafts displays.

·                Hospitality Venues. Pubs, clubs and restaurants could be encouraged to screen the televised national celebrations and promote Platinum Jubilee themes. Perhaps even a ‘Jubilee Brew’ or tipple.

·                Services of Thanksgiving – Sunday 05 Jun 22. Early indications are that the Church of England will conduct special services on that Sunday. It is hoped that a formal service will be held at All Saints Oakham and that services of celebration will also take place in the many beautiful parish churches across our county.

·                The Big Lunch – Sunday 05 Jun 22. This is the biggest and single most important event to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and should promote vibrant communities in Rutland. The intent is to encourage all localities to celebrate the Jubilee with self-help street parties in an affordable and accessible manner bringing individuals, families and communities together. It should be above all a happy celebration of The Queen’s reign and the joys of being part of a wider Commonwealth of nations and peoples.

·                The Queen’s Green Treen Canopy – see attached letter

In addition, the  Rutland Show will be on Saturday 04 Jun 22. It has been confirmed that it will promote a strong Jubilee theme.

Looking forward to seeing you then with some great ideas. 

As usual in these times, please do not attend if you have COVID19 symptoms, and please Lateral Flow Test (plenty in the village hall) before the meeting and do not attend if you test positive.  Many thanks.