February 2022

12 Buckden Roundabout February 2022 Village News Buckden WI “ Under the Bear ”: how many knew that this, the title of our talk on 4th Jan., is the translation of the word Antarctic? ‘ Arctic ’ means ‘ bear ’ and refers to Ursa Major. This was just one of the many fascinating things we learned from Hilary Blagbrough at our first meeting of the new year when she kept us spellbound with her excellent talk about her work with the British Antarctic Survey. Hilary joined BAS 19 years ago as a geological technician, pro- gressing to become Geological Collections Manager specialis- ing in micro - fossils from as much as 180 million years ago when Antarctica was much warmer and covered in vegetation. She had 4 tours of duty there over the years, culminating in managing the Bonner laboratory at Rothera base for her final tour. This meant long journeys (though sea - sick) on the RRS James Clarke, as well as being transported in one of the various BAS planes and even, on one occasion, having a go at piloting one! Hilary showed us pictures of the BAS bases from the air and of the varied wildlife to be found on land, sea and in the air in the Antarctic, from dangerous Leopard Seals to Emperor and Ade- lie penguins; Albatross to Ice - fish and Giant Sponges. She demonstrated the 20 - day ration boxes for use on survey camps and told harrowing tales of the necessary training for every eventuality – even how to lay out a body! Finally, her daughter, Jessica, served as a model for the full, many - layered out - door kit necessary on these expeditions cul- minating in two hats, an enormous goose - down outer jacket and huge, thermal - lined over - boots making movement rather tricky. It was an extremely entertaining start to the new pro- gramme enjoyed by a good turn - out of masked and distanced members. Covid permitting, we hope to meet again in the village hall at 7.30p.m. on Tuesday 1st Feb. when our speaker will be Barry Jobling. Visitors and new members will be most welcome: for more information contact Ruth, our president, on 07957 334142, or Judith, our secretary, on 07748 716709. Buckden Junior Football Club We ’ re halfway through the season already, and the lighter evenings are upon us! New CWO We are delighted to welcome Car- ol Barrett to the BJFC committee as our new Child Welfare Officer. Carol has a great history with our club, having previously been our club secretary and run her own girls team here a few years ago. Welcome to the family Carol! Dribblers A reminder of our weekly ‘ Dribblers Sessions ’ – these both run on Sundays. Our Big Dribblers (9 - 9.45am) are for children in school year 1, and our Little Dribblers (9 - 9.45 and a second session 9.45 - 10.30am) are for children age 3 – reception age. All sessions cost £1.50 per week. If you are interested in joining any of these, please contact us. End of Season Event! After a 2 year hiatus, we are hoping to have an End of Season Presentation Event for all children this year. This will be run at the end of the football season – date TBC. More details will follow very shortly so keep an eye out on our Facebook page and in here! Butler Residential. A huge thank you to Laura and Barry from Butler Residential for their support throughout the year as our Club Sponsor. If you are looking to move and wanted to support the club – you can contact Butler Residential on 01480 775355. For more information on the club, joining a team or the com- mittee please contact our Chairman Michael Lander via bjfcchairman@hotmail.com . FRIENDS IN DEED New Drivers Needed WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW DRIVERS. SO, IF YOU HAVE A CAR, SOME FREE TIME AND ARE WILLING TO HELP PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH peter.mount@btconnect.com or 07914 669967. Friends in Deed is a group of volunteers who offer help and support to residents of Buckden. All our volunteers are DBS checked and safeguarding trained. Need a lift to an appointment? There are fixed fees for this service. Please email our transport co - ordinator, peter.mount@btconnect.com or call 07914 669967 and leave your name, number, address and details of your appointment (date, time, location) giving 48 hours notice please. Need someone to talk to or some practical support? Come and chat to us at the Community Café (in the Living Stones Room in St Mary ’ s Church Buckden on the 2nd Wednesday of every month 2.30 - 4pm) or email friendsindeed@stmarysbuckden.org.uk . We can arrange home visits or phone - calls. This is a free service and can be either a one - off chat or regular chats. Want to volunteer? We are always on the look out for new volunteers. Just contact us at friendsindeed@stmarysbuckden.org.uk or visit the Commu- nity Café if you would like to know more.