Dear Friends,

I’m sorry for the delay in getting this article on line, but it’s been a combination of illness and lack of access to the computer due to building work a home.

The continued lack of rainfall in October means we are in line to have experienced the driest year for maybe 50 years. One of the brightest sights along the canal is the work of the Wirral Rainbow Community Narrowboats which continue to offer day trips for senior citizens, disadvantaged and special groups from around the area. They aim to give their guests the opportunity to experience the peaceful tranquility of the canals, countryside and wildlife. The narrowboats are crewed by trained volunteers and can usually be seen from April to October on our section of the canal. In 2014, they were awarded a Living Waterways Award for Community & Volunteering, by the Canal and Rivers Trust.

During the month I had the pleasure of walking along the canal to Rowton Bridge with John Merrill, who is Britain’s marathon walker, an amazing man who has rewritten all the rules for long distance walking, with amazing feats of endurance in the UK, Europe and other parts of the world. He was intrigued by the name Egg Bridge, and he could see why they are called that, when we approached Rowton Bridge. I was delighted to point out some skeins of Icelandic pink footed geese and some redwing, the first of the winter. We also met Brian Beech who told me excitedly that barn owls are nesting near the farm, the first time for many years, and I saw three ringed necked parakeets flying from west to east along the canal. Well, screeching rather than just flying. I hope that these “escapees” are not going to establish themselves in this area, as they can be very destructive to both vegetation and other wild birds.

You will notice that I’ve taken pictures of what I’ve always known as an “Alpine” flower, first of all growing in the pavement near the Sainsbury’s roundabout, as well as in gardens the village. This beautiful tall flower with clusters of bright yellow flowers on its stem seems to be increasing its range, and although as I said earlier primarily a mountain flower, I have seen it along the banks of the canal at Llangollen as well as in Christleton.

The Harvest Services at St James’ were well attended, by both school and congregation and a large amount of canned and packeted produce was donated for use in the Local food Bank. This seems to be the best way of helping those in most need. The church was beautifully decorated by Janet Brown and friends, including two traditional harvest loaves, each complete with a mouse hiding in the strands of corn.

Sadly this month we paid tribute to the life and work of Phil and Pat Hodges, for over sixty years of service to the community, with a filmed tribute to them, followed by a fully illustrated talk, by myself, about the “Sensational Isles of Scilly”. Phil and Pat loved gardens, and I felt that this special “floral topic” would have met their approval. The funds of £1,060 raised for the Church Development Fund from the occasion, were swelled by the donations from the purchase of a number of Phil’s paintings, kindly donated by the family.

We also said farewell, to two other, well known Christleton villagers. Ben Williams and David Bull. Ben was 95 years old and had lived in the village with his beloved wife Jean, who died earlier this year, for almost sixty years. I guess it was heart failure in the end, as he missed Jean so much. Ben was an outstanding engineer and superb craftsman, and his work in creating clocks and decorative boxes will live long in the memories of his family and friends. He was also very generous with his gifts of these special handmade items, and his skill was recognised countywide, by his regular prizewinning woodcraft entries at the Christleton, Nantwich and Cheshire Shows. He was also a delightful man, with a sharp mind, and even at the end of his life, could tell stories about any aspect of engineering, his upbringing in Hooton and Ellesmere Port, and his life and travels with Jean & family, for as long as you would listen. We will miss both Jean and Ben at the Local History Group, where they were members for over fifty years.

David Bull, was also a well loved member of the local community, who lived in Plough Lane and then Village Road for over forty years. David had initially studied at Aberystwyth University and later returned there and several other Universities as a visiting Professor, after an exciting career with Shell Chemicals as a scientist specialising in fires and explosions. He was often called upon to investigate and find solutions to these by both the Company and the Government, in the UK and Worldwide. He worked in Switzerland for many years, where he made lifelong friends. He was a proud family man, served in many ways within the Christleton Community, at the Primary School and St James’ Church. He edited the Parish Magazine when it was put together by the cut and paste method at the Primary School. He also trained as a Magistrate and served on the Chester Circuit.

One of his hobbies was sailing and he loved sailing his large yacht each summer around the Greek Islands. He loved travelling and being with his family, and they supported him as much as they could. He loved all his and Pat’s children and grandchildren, and they had great fun creating special occasions for them, especially at Christmas. David had suffered from a brain tumour a year or so ago, and although he seemed to be coping well, but at a slower pace, he suffered two strokes which caused his death. He had lived life to the full, and his funeral reflected the part music had played out in his life. The Church was full for his service, and Pat his wife, supported by their children and grandchildren knew they were in a place reflecting the love people had for David. His service was conducted by Rev. Dr Stefan Collier, and the organist was Graham Eccles from Chester Cathedral, supported by two Cathedral Choir Boys and an augmented Church Choir.