CREATON WI

Our meeting on February 12th will be on Zoom at 7.30 p.m. with guest speaker Geoff Lambert on 'Canal Mania'.

Geoff will be returning, accompanied by his dog, for our “in-person” meeting in the United Reform Church on April 9th at 7.30 p.m.; this talk will be about the amazing medical detection dogs.

Non-members are very welcome at both meetings. For a Zoom link, or for more information, please contact

President, Daphne Clark, 01604 505546 or email wicreaton@gmail.com.

Don’t forget to check our Events Diary for more information on events in all our villages and surrounding area.

CREATON WALKING GROUP

The Creaton Walking Group were lucky with the weather in December, as you can see from the photo. The sun shone and the fields were not too wet - well not all of them! The eight mile walk went from Little Brington to Whilton and Long Buckby before a celebratory Christmas meal in the Saracens Head where the walkers were joined by their supporters. The walkers were delighted to be joined on the walk by a cocker spaniel who was on doggy day care and would like to become a regular!

The New Year’s Day walk took place on the 2nd January to take advantage of the weather and included a coffee break at Pitsford reservoir.

January saw the walkers in Leicestershire enjoying the rolling countryside and the delights of the Langton Arms in Church Langton. The walkers were very pleased to be joined by four visitors from London who were spending the weekend in Creaton. If you enjoy walking, we meet at Creaton lychgate at 10am on the second Saturday of the month.

Next walks are on:

8 February

8 March

Over The Counter (at Creaton Village Shop)

A massive thank you to all our customers for supporting your local community shop over the Christmas period. We had record sales on one day and high sales most days. Both the Post Office and the shop were extremely busy and we appreciated customers' understanding, as we tried to serve everyone as quickly as possible.

Our local baker in Market Harborough closed between Christmas and New Year, so, to make sure our customers could still get fresh bread, our own team of bakers baked wholemeal, sourdough, baltic and crusty rolls every day, in addition to the regular in-house baking of baguettes, croissants and other delicious pastries

Social media has been increased to ensure customers know of new products and any deals we are offering.

Thanks to you pre-ordering, we were able to get orders out quickly and when you wanted them. Remember we will deliver and are also happy for you to pre-order for a collection at a time to suit you, not just at Christmas.

Have you tried one of the new local cheeses, in the increasing range of cheeses available?

Are you ready for Valentines? Creaton Village Shop has some ideas to help you find a gift for your loved one.

A big thank you to all our staff and volunteers for helping us throughout the year. If you can spare a couple of hours a week or a fortnight and like working within our local community ask at the shop about becoming a volunteer.

In the week prior to Christmas the shop ran a promotion with samples available of different canapes each day, made from ingredients sold in the shop. Social media reported on this daily with photographs. They were very popular with customers, especially the 3 cheese souffles and duck pate on cucumber. Massive thanks to Claire Morrell for the promotion, for baking and preparing all the canapés and for encouraging customers to try them and buy the ingredients. It all made for a very festive atmosphere and showed the versality of the shop's range.

Finally, we can deliver firewood/coal? If you need to top up your winter stockpile we can deliver locally for free.

Creaton Singers

December was a joyous month of singing for the Creaton Singers, but tinged with a little sadness as the singers bade a fond farewell and thanks to Glennis Ambrose, their long-serving and inspirational Musical Director.

The 17th December was the culmination of a hectic December including singing at the Welford Christmas Tree Farm which is always a pleasure, and helping with the singing at Cottesbrooke Carol Service, where they sang John Rutter's Angel Carol.

On Tuesday 17th December the Creaton Singers were joined by many villagers to sing carols on The Green and also to stop by and wish Mary Abbott a very happy 100th birthday.

The singers then carolled their way to the URC to put on a Winter concert, Glennis' final concert as Musical Director. The URC was packed and, thanks to the generosity of the audience, £457.91 was raised for Baby Basics in Northampton, a charity which provides Moses baskets of essential items for new parents and newborns in vulnerable situations. The concert included a number of favourites and seasonal items with much audience participation! The performance of The Twelve Days of Christmas including the actions can be viewed on YouTube!

At the end of the concert, in thanks to Glennis for everything she has done, the Creaton Singers sang 'Thank You for the Music' with words specially written for the occasion, also on YouTube. It was a real 'handing over of the baton', as Jamie Milburn, the incoming Musical Director kindly agreed to accompany the singers. The Creaton Singers are doubly fortunate in that Glennis is not actually leaving but instead will be singing, something she has wanted to do since first joining many years ago! Also, finding a new Musical Director after a lengthy process has finally proved successful and Jamie Milburn, a teacher from Malcolm Arnold School and Musical Director of Long Buckby Community Choir has agreed to take on this role.

The new year brings an exciting start, so if anyone is interested in joining the Creaton Singers, we meet every Tuesday from 7:30pm to 9pm in the URC. Come along for a taster session.

Crib Nib

Ann Hanson

16th March 1940 – 9th January 2025

Mum lived in Creaton for the last 41 years and she loved the village.  After retiring, she became a busy member of the village community, when she began taking her granddaughter Charlotte to the Ducklings playgroup and then once Charlotte started school, mum became a school governor and then Chair of Governors. Mum loved being part of the school community and was heartbroken when the school closed a few years ago. Mum helped every year at Creaton in Bloom, serving the teas and cakes and then in the last few years, being the guardian of the takings! She enjoyed flower arranging and was a stalwart of the Church flowers rota, and she was always very modest about her arrangements, saying, ‘I hope it will do’, when they were always beautiful. Mum was always keen to be part of a quiz team at the Village Hall, with the sport and music rounds always her forte.

Mum was always out and about in her car, visiting friends and family and it was very hard for her to lose her independence last summer. In the last few months, when her health issues started, a trip across to the coffee shop was a highlight, chatting with her village friends and keeping up with all the latest news. She was also a frequent visitor to the new Jomidar restaurant and often mentioned how lovely the staff were to her, particularly when her health began to deteriorate.

When she first went to hospital in November after breaking her leg, she was positive and upbeat, telling the doctors that she needed to get well as she had a lot of life left to live and was looking forward to running around on her newly reinforced leg. Unfortunately, this was not to be, but we are comforted that she did not suffer and was very well looked after by the staff at Danetre Hospital.

We are heartbroken to have lost our wonderful mum, but our memories are many and will be long lived. The funeral will take place at St Michael’s Church, Creaton on Thursday 20th February at 11:30.

James & Kate Leach

A Marathon Challenge for Ollie

My name is Ollie Perrins-May and I am currently in my first year studying law at Nottingham University. Through the uni I have been given the opportunity to run in a marathon in November 2025 to raise money for HFT – a charity which works with people with learning disabilities and their families. Everyone has a right to the best life possible but people with learning disabilities face obstacles and challenges that are hard to imagine. You can read more about the work HFT do on their website: www.hft.org.uk.

The marathon I am running is said to be the most iconic and most difficult marathon in the world. I will be running a gruelling uphill climb for over 20km and a total elevation of 820ft (equivalent to the height between the ground and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower) through the humid city of Athens.

I am planning to do some fundraising events in the Summer while I am home from University so watch this space for details. I would also be hugely grateful if anyone can spare any donations to support my effort and spur me on with my training.

You can donate via my Just Giving page or through the collection box in Creaton Shop. All support very much appreciated.

Thank you!

St Michael and All Angels, Creaton

Creaton PCC is delighted to be able to announce that we at last have the funds and are able to proceed with some long planned projects.

We are very grateful to the Denis Alan Yardy Charitable Trust for their very generous grant which will enable us to proceed with the restoration of our lovely Victorian pipe organ. The pipes and keyboards will be removed on 10th February and Cousans Organs anticipate that the restoration work will be completed by Easter Sunday, 20th April 2025. This is marvellous timing as we hope to include an organ recital as part of the celebrations for the 800th Anniversary of the foundation of the Church in 2026.

We also plan to complete the re-ordering project initiated by the late Simon Bown. We have a Faculty (permission) to erect an oak and heritage glass screen across the lower half of the bell tower. As there will then be a clear view into the tower from the Church we need to improve the appearance of the ringing area by building some discreet storage cupboards. The Jacobean altar rail which currently is across the tower arch will be repaired and moved to the entrance to the side chapel.