Author: admin

As most of you will know, in November 2022, we launched our campaign to raise funds to renovate the East Farndon War Memorial. A community based renovation team / working group was set up and they have been fantastic in organising a wide range of fundraising events, and in addition, the team have inspired the receipt of a number of generous cash donations made directly by village residents.

The renovation team have raised a massive total of £14,790.25 and everyone was very pleased to see the newly renovated War Memorial at our Remembrance Service on Sunday November 12^th 2023. At the service two wreaths were laid, Jessica Oakden on behalf of the Parish Council and Richard Everard on behalf of everyone who has donated to the renovation fund. The team has done such a great job that enough funds are available to also renovate the church gates, which are part of the village’s World War II memorial, installed in 1948.

Huge thanks go to the renovation team, (Scott Harrison, Jo Shaw, Judy Hodgetts, Jessica Oakden, Tom Knott and Caroline Burton), to everyone who has taken part in and / or attended our fundraising events, to John Smith for his work on the War Memorial, and to everyone for their enthusiastic support and generous donations.

The renovation team’s fundraising efforts concluded at the November 2023 remembrance service and afterwards, people marked this by getting together at the Village Hall to enjoy refreshments, and to view some photos in an exhibition showcasing how the year’s fundraising activities unfolded.

Please click the link below to view photos and stories from our remembrance service, the gathering afterwards in the Village Hall, the launch in 2022 and how the War Memorial looks, before and after.

https://eastfarndon.org/remembrance-sunday-war-memorial-renovation-nov-2023

Also, click the links below to view photos and stories from many of our renovation fundraising events.

WW2 Air Crash Talk /  Wine Tasting Event /  London Cenotaph to Farndon Sponsored Cycle Ride /  Coronation Beer Festival /  Quiz Night / Platinum Jubilee & East Farndon Booklet sales

Did you know that this website now includes a photo archive of many of our recent / past events. Click this link to explore further: https://eastfarndon.org/photo-archive-of-recent-village-events/

Huge thanks to the Village Hall Social Committee for organising a great evening to celebrate Diwali 2023. Everyone really enjoyed a curry from the Cinnamon Lounge in Market Harborough and a few games of Bingo, with the now legendary Tom and Jess ‘taking charge’ and calling the numbers!

Click this link to view a few photos from the event

Did you know that this website now includes a photo archive of many of our recent / past events. Click this link to explore further: https://eastfarndon.org/photo-archive-of-recent-village-events/

How do two acts of kindness in 2023 connect with two brothers who were killed during World War One ? As we approach Remembrance Sunday, we would like to especially remember two brothers from East Farndon who lost their lives during World War One: Alfred Owen Allen (known as Owen) and David Clifford Allen. 

The Allen family lived on Harborough Road, East Farndon and then at Church Cottage, Main Street. When war was declared in 1914, Owen joined the 1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, who landed in Le Havre in August that year. Shortly after this, on 15^th September 1914, Owen was killed in action, aged 21. He is buried at the Vendresse British Cemetery in France.

David had joined the Coldstream Guards Gun Regiment, and he died in Leicester on 1^st November 1919, aged 24. The family thinks he died from the effects of mustard gas poisoning during the war. He is buried in East Farndon churchyard.

The great-niece of Owen and David, Sue Grant, lives in East Farndon. In October 2023, she contacted a Facebook group connected with the Battle of the Somme, asking if anyone would be visiting the Vendresse British Cemetery. A service veteran replied, saying that he was visiting the area and would find Owen’s headstone and take a photograph. He also offered to place a wooden cross next to it asking Sue what words she would like him to write. The kindness of this stranger was very much appreciated by Sue and her family.

At around the same time, a volunteer working for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission visited the graveyard at St John the Baptist Church, East Farndon to clean the headstone of David Allen. The volunteer has a full-time job and cleans war graves across the Midlands in his lunch breaks. Again, this kindness is appreciated by Sue and her family.

For the full article regarding the men from the village who both fought and lost their lives during World War One please visit the village history page on the East Farndon website: East Farndon in World War One

Did you know that you can download free eBooks, eAudiobooks, eNewspapers and eMagazines with virtual library membership?

You can download free eBooks and eAudiobooks using the BorrowBox app (https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/books-reading-and-audio/ereads-and-audio/borrowbox-ebooks-eaudiobooks-and-emagazines) or the Libby app (https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/books-reading-and-audio/ereads-and-audio/libby-ebooks-and-eaudiobooks).

Further, the PressReader app (https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/books-reading-and-audio/ereads-and-audio/pressreader-enewspapers-and-emagazines) provides same-day access to thousands of newspapers and magazines worldwide, including UK national daily and weekend titles – all free as part of your library membership.

To get access to these services, you need to apply for virtual library membership via this link: https://northamptonshire-self.achieveservice.com/service/Joining_form_for_Virtual_Membership_of_Northamptonshire_Libraries_and_Information_Service

After many years of excellent work, Alan Langley is standing down as the Footpath Warden for the East Farndon Parish. Huge thanks to Alan for giving his time to walk our large network of paths identifying issues that need to be rectified in order that everyone can enjoy our stunning rural community at all times of the year. We are pleased to announce that Jonny Dargie is taking over from Alan and will officially become our new Footpath Warden from September 1st 2023. If you have any questions or need to report any problems with our footpaths, please email our Parish Clerk, Caroline Burton and she will pass the details to Jonny. Thank you Alan and welcome Jonny!

Dr Mark Biggin

18th May 1935 to 14th August 2023

It is with great sadness that the family of Dr Mark Biggin announces his death at the age of 88. Moving to East Farndon in 1965, Mark was resident here for 58 years and made many friends in the village.

Born in Leeds in 1935, Mark trained at Guy’s Hospital as a Doctor later working in Burton-upon-Trent and various places in England. He moved to Market Harborough in 1964, working initially at Bowden House on the Northampton Road and then at Market Harborough Medical Centre on the Coventry Road.

Mark met Shirley at Guy’s when she was training as a Nurse. They went on to have 3 children: Andrew, Alison and Helen; and 6 grandchildren: Oliver, Duncan, Ashleigh, Ella, Oscar and Matias. As well as enjoying campervan holidays, Mark loved photography, woodturning and growing sweet peas.

A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Friday, 1st September at 2.30pm at St John the Baptist’s Church, East Farndon. This will be followed by refreshments at the Village Hall. All are welcome.

Despite repeated requests and warnings, the issue of parking on pavements in East Farndon continues to be a problem. Our local Police are now going to keep a close watch and everyone should be aware that they will ticket vehices if they are found to be parking in a manner that obstructs pavements. The Police will follow a 2 step process,

Step 1 – a leaflet / letter will be left on the offending vehicle(s) warning drivers not to obstruct / park on pavement.

Step 2 – if no improvement – Fixed Penalty Notice by post AND removal of the vehicle (not one or the other).

The Parish Council has previously contacted the Police to resolve this issue which obstructs pedestrians, in particular buggies and mobility scooters. The Police advised that streets in East Farndon have no parking restrictions so vehicles can park on the road, but in any event, a space 1 METRE WIDE on the pavement should be left so people can get past safely. In addition, if a vehicle is parked on the road, especially on Main Street / Harborough Road, drivers must ensure that it is not parked on a blind bend so that traffic has good visibility in both directions. Thank you everyone!

If you have any questions, please email our Parish Clerk, Caroline Burton

There is now a new bench on the footpath in Hall Close, the field behind Redbrick Cottage. The bench was kindly donated to the Parish Council by Sue Ellis, in memory of her late husband, Mark, who lived in East Farndon and loved walking in the parish. The Parish Council extends its thanks to Sue, and Tom & Alice Joule for allowing the bench to be placed there. We hope residents will enjoy the views afforded from the bench.

Unfortunately, East Farndon suffers from people lighting bonfires on a regular basis, particularly on warm and sunny days, when residents look forward to enjoying their gardens and the surrounding countryside. The Parish Council is asking everyone to be aware of the following guidelines and act responsibly when considering whether or not to have a bonfire.

It is not illegal to light bonfires, and there are no official restrictions on when or how often they can be burned. The main concerns with bonfires in general however are safety, environmental damage, mainly from excessive smoke, any nuisance caused to neighbours or the public, and any danger to wildlife.

If you decide that lighting a bonfire is necessary then please follow these guidelines:

• When lighting a bonfire, only burn dry material. Damp vegetation does not burn well as it produces large volumes of smoke and smoulders for long periods of time. The burning of this type of waste causes the most complaints and so it should be disposed of in other ways.
• Before having a bonfire, let your neighbours know. This gives them an opportunity to shut their windows and bring any washing indoors.
• Never burn household rubbish, rubber tyres, anything containing plastic, painted materials, plywood and chipboard, foam or paint.
• Never use old engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire or encourage it.
• Avoid lighting a fire in unsuitable weather conditions – smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening. If it is windy, smoke may be blown into neighbours gardens and across roads.
• Never leave the fire unattended or leave it to smoulder – put it out.
• If a bonfire held on commercial or industrial premises gives rise to dark smoke an offence is committed. The occupier of the land and the person who caused or permitted the smoke can be taken to court and may be fined.

If a bonfire gets out of hand and becomes dangerous call 999 and ask for the Fire Service immediately.

Please be very careful about lighting fires after prolonged perios of warm, dry weather (when surrounding foliage is dry) – fires can spread extremely quickly in those conditions and quickly get out of control.

If the fire is going to be large and a ‘controlled’ burn, fire control should be notified as a courtesy on 01604 797123. Farmers, as a rule, generally do this as it means that a well intended 999 call from someone a mile away will not be responded to. (Fun Fact. If the fire service are called out by anyone to an unattended fire, they must extinguish it.)

West Northamptonshire Council have powers to deal with smoke nuisance from any bonfire and for dark smoke offences on commercial and industrial premises.

For a bonfire to be a legal nuisance WNC would consider the following:

• how much smoke is being created and does it affect nearby properties?
• what is being burnt? – the type of material being burned affects how much smoke is being produced / how noxious the fumes from the smoke are
• how often do the bonfires occur? A single bonfire is unlikely to be a nuisance even though it may cause annoyance to one or more neighbours

You can read more and also raise a compliant to WNC by clicking this link, https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/environmental-health/smoke-pollution