THE PARISH CHURCH OF STOKE
DAMEREL (ST. ANDREW & ST. LUKE)

For the 10.00am Parish Eucharist  for today click here

Rector: Revd Keith Robus RN
Telephone No: 01752 509724

Email: keith.robus@btinternet.com
www.Stokedamerel.church
www.facebook.com/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 29th January               Presentation of Christ in the Temple

THIS WEEK'S READINGS IF YOU ARE ILL OR NEED TO GO INTO HOSPITAL
Please ring for support:-
Revd Keith: 509724
Wendy: 218432

Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms
are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
The sick:-
Thea, Pat, Andy, Diana, Janice, Keith, Martyn, John.
The long term sick and infirm:-
Terry and Pat, Revd Peter Warland, Janet, George and Audrey, Michael, Claire.
The Ministry Team:-
Father Keith, Wendy, Ruth, Fiona and Marilyn.

RECENTLY DEPARTED
We give thanks for the lives of Grace Robus
and Audrey Smith.
Audrey’s funeral service will take place in
Stoke Damerel Church on Tuesday 31st
January.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CANDLE

If you would like to have the candle lit for a week
for a particular prayer / thanksgiving /
commemoration, etc., please send a £5 donation to
Debbie Smith, clearly marking your donation as
being for the candle. Details of your intention can
be emailed to:- sarah.lundstrom@virginmedia.com
so that a mention of the commemoration, etc., can
appear in the Sunday Sheet.
This week the candle burns for Penny Barnard in
memory of her mother, Elizabeth Leith, whose
anniversary occurs on 28th January.

RECTOR’S RAMBLINGS
Stoke Damerel Parish Church is a hybrid church
open for public worship and private prayer and all
services will be live streamed.

By attending a live streamed service, you give
implied permission to have your image captured
on CCTV and to be broadcast as participant in the
liturgy.

Sung hymns and organ music
The Church of England, working with St Martin
in-the-Fields and the Royal School of Church
Music, is delighted to be providing a resource of
rights-free music for use on streamed services.

In order to watch the livestreamed services please
‘click’ on this link to
make your way to YouTube site:
https://www.youtube.com/c/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 29 January              Presentation of the Lord in the Temple
End of Christmastide
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist

Tuesday 31 January
1100 Funeral of Audrey Smith

Wednesday 1 February
1000 Holy Eucharist

Sunday 5 February            3rd Sunday before Lent
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000  Sung Parish Eucharist

Fundraising Team Resurrects
During the period of COVID, the work of the
Fundraising Team went into abeyance. Fund-
raising still took place and funds were raised.
However time has come when we need to share
the love and the weight of organising and running
our future events. At the PCC meeting, it was
agree to resurrect the Team and a meeting of
interested people will take place over a simple
soup lunch in the Rectory (6 Underhill Road
PL3 4BP) on Monday 13 February 1200 noon.
I will offer an open invitation to interested persons,
I will also however tap one or two people on the
shoulder by way of personal invitation...beware
the knock

Sea Cadets
For the first time since February
2019, a face-to-face training event
will take place on Whale Island in
Portsmouth for the Chaplains of the
Sea Cadets Corps. We have over
35 chaplains coming from across the country and
from overseas to participate in either the Initial or
Advance course. As Corps Chaplain I am involved
and having to liaise with the Chaplain of the Fleet
(COTF), Captain – Sea Cadets and with the Sea
Cadets Staff Chaplain.
(I dare not remind the COTF that 35 chaplains
works out to be half his branch – I have between
150-160 chaplains). With so many chaplains
across the country this offers the Youth
Organisation excellent pastoral care.
Thank you for letting me be thank and encourage
these hidden gifts.

Name dropper
“I do hate it when people will name drop”, as I
said to the Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop
of Canterbury, last Tuesday on the eighth floor of
the new Lambeth Palace Library. He calls his
Armed Forces Chaplains to share the Eucharist,
Lunch and an Address once a year, and this year
I was able to attend.
He always appreciates his chaplains, but this year
he was clearly moved by his visit to Kiev and the
recently recaptured Kherson. He spoke of not
being a stranger to seeing third world countries in
a state of war. Visiting Kiev and Kherson shook
him as they were both cities so similar to London;
but on a war footing. He has been to places of
atrocities before, however Kherson being so close
to home disturbed him greatly. I may share more
of his address in church on Sunday, and if anyone
is interested face to face.
He also spoke of the recent announcements made
by the College of Bishops which was also
enlightening.
What was evident was his need for our prayers
and support as he shoulders the world face of the
Anglican Church. Please say ‘one for him’ in
your prayers.

Ash Wednesday 22nd February
As we begin our journey of Lent together there
will be two opportunities to come and be ashed.
There will be a Eucharist at both 1000 and 1800
(sung).
Alpha will also commence at 12 noon with a
simple soup lunch somewhere in the church
complex.
Is God calling you to attend?
Father Keith

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN JANUARY
Liz Neil.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN FEBRUARY
Ruth Jordan, Tony Barnard, Father Keith,
Christina Richardson.

CHURCHWARDEN'S WARBLINGS
Spring

Primroses already!!
The daffodils are not far off opening in the
church yard. Spring is definitely in the air.

Isn’t he cute?

Isn’t this little chap just the smallest and cutest
mini dog you have ever seen? A bit of detective
work will reveal his doting owner!

VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY
Last autumn, I received a text from American
friends who live in California. I drove them around
Scotland (2000 miles) last year and they were
wondering if I would like to join them as their
guest on a Norwegian Cruise Line vacation for two
weeks. How could I refuse: although I admit to
some deliberation as air fares around Christmas
and New Year are rather expensive.
I decided this was a gift I could not turn down so
booked a return flight with Virgin Atlantic to Cape
Town and two nights in two different hotels before
and after the 12 day cruise. On the second day my
friends engaged a taxi driver who took us to the
Cape of Good Hope and a super tour all around the
local coastal areas, including a boat trip to see a
colony of seals and a beach which is a penguin
habitat.

At the end of the cruise, the same taxi driver took
us to the Stellenbosch area and we visited the
beautiful Graff winery. Cape Town is a very
attractive town, but many outlying areas are very
poor indeed and known as “townships” which are
served by illegal electricity. Indeed, on land we
experience “load sharing” when there is no
electricity for quite a few hours. Outside my hotel,
in the park just opposite, there were people living
under tents and plastic covers. Many of them stand
at traffic lights, trying to sell whatever they can.
There is a big divide between the “have’s and the
have nots”. Once we were at sea, we were just
mixing with the “have’s”.

The ship was the Norwegian Jade with 1000 crew
and 3000 passengers. On this occasion, there were
considerably fewer guests on board. The crew was
made of 54 different nationalities, mainly from the
Philippines and India, then South America and the
Caribbean with very few Europeans. The senior
administrator came from Ukraine. The staff were
extremely pleasant and very helpful.
My friends had purchased an “on board drinks
package and fine dining choice”................so I
was pretty spoilt in the “stateroom” next to their
deluxe suite with their own butler. We enjoyed
some lovely meals in the Italian, French and
Japanese restaurants I must say, with excellent
service. The ship was rather splendid with four
lifts fore, aft and amidships. There were activities
every minute of the day and evening, but as my
friends are a decade older and have varying
mobility challenges, so we had a very leisurely
time. They retired each evening quite early and I
took advantage of the entertainment: singing
groups, bands and shows in the bars and theatre.

The voyage moved east up the coast of South
Africa, and stopped at three places where we took
excursions: three of which were to game reserves
and we were fortunate enough to see many wild
animals, except the leopard and cheetah!

Our final destination was Durban which looked a
very interesting town. We were driven through the
centre and along the coast to a small holiday resort.
The ship then turned back towards Cape Town, and
we rounded the Cape of Good Hope and up the
coast of Namibia. We stopped in two places, the
first of which we had tenders to get ashore.
Luderitz was inhabited by mainly Germans at one
time, and the only tourist attraction was a “ghost
town” which was about 30 minutes drive across
some very barren and rocky desert. The town used
to be a thriving diamond mine, until much larger
“rocks” were discovered on the other side of the
Orange River.

The buildings were all abandoned and include the
shop keeper’s house which was furnished as it had
been during these times, a skittle alley, a sausage
making factory, a little development of houses set
apart from the centre where workers, who had
swallowed diamonds, were sent for the necessary
period after which the owners were able to reclaim
their property! The second town we visited was
Walvis Bay which is the second largest place in
Namibia, after the capital Windhoek. Here we took
a catamaran to visit a sand bar about 6 nautical
miles away, on which lived colonies of seals
numbering some 50, to 100 thousand: very noisy
and smelly. Fascinating! It was fun to be on a boat
on which pelicans landed, and a seal jumped on
board!

In the little port were various tourist shops but the
most interesting ones were around the back where
Himba ladies were selling small wooden animals.
The ladies have a particular hairstyle, sort of braids
which are covered in reddish clay.

Whilst this part of Namibia is very barren and
desert like, apparently other areas are beautifully
green.

We spent the next night and day at sea and arrived
back in Cape Town first thing in the morning. It
was really wonderful to see the Table Mountain
again as we came into port. Once back on land, we
spent two days in the Camps Bay area which is
beautiful.
All good things come to an end, and Virgin
Atlantic brought me safely home. Twelve hours in
the air enabled me to watch three films and 2.5
episodes of the brilliant portrayal of the Salisbury
poisoning. It has to be said I was thankful to be
home safe and sound, and grateful for Fr Keith’s
blessing before my departure. It all seems a long
time ago in the hazy past, as we busy ourselves for
an increasingly popular Burn’s
Supper.................. surrounded by haggis,
carrots, swedes and mashed potato!
Marilyn Goldsbrough

ARE MORE BIRDS VISITING NOW?
You may have noticed that this weekend (27th,
28th, and 29th January) is when the ‘Big Garden
Birdwatch’, organised by the R.S.P.B., takes place.
Anyone wishing to take part can get all of the
necessary information on how to become involved
at -
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/
birdwatch/
All that is needed is to count the number of birds
of each species that land at one time, at the chosen
location, during any one hour, on one of the three
days. The location can be anywhere you choose,
for those with a garden this would most likely be
where they would undertake the count. Others,
without a garden, can still undertake their count on
a balcony or in a park.
This survey is now the largest wildlife survey in
the world. The first of these events took place 44
years ago, in 1979. Last year 700,000 people took
part and submitted their findings to the R.S.P.B.
Their website has plenty of information for those
watching for birds during the chosen hour and tips
on how to attract and identify birds can be found
there.
Since the first bird count was undertaken, the
website notes that about 137,000,000 birds have
been counted. Over the years the results have
given an indication as to how the different species
are faring. They give the example of the
Greenfinch which was the eighth most sighted bird
in 1979 but which, by 2022, was down to number
nineteen. This is because Greenfinches are
susceptible to a disease called Trichomonosis, as
are Chaffinches.
Once everyone’s findings have been submitted and
collated, the results will be issued later in the year,
alongside a list of the top ten birds. Last year the
most sighted bird was the House Sparrow,
followed by Starlings, Blue Tits, Woodpigeons,
Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Great Tits, Robins, Long-
tailed Tits and Magpies.
In our part of the Southwest, even with all of the
bird feeders available and having the advantage of
being located next to woodland, we do not have
any House Sparrows or Starlings visiting at all,
which is a shame because both species are full of
character and cheering to see. Long-tailed tits are
also fascinating to watch, and we used to see large
groups swoop through the Magnolia tree,
chattering all the time. Unfortunately, in the last
twelve months we have only seen three or four.
Thankfully, we do see many of each of the other
birds on the list. We are also fortunate to receive
regular visits from Great Tits, Coal Tits, Carrion
Crows, Rooks, Jackdaws, Thrushes, Nuthatches,
Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Blackcaps, Wrens and,
occasionally from a pair of Goldcrests. These are
the smallest of the birds to be seen in this country,
weighing about 5 grammes and about the same
size as a 20 pence coin. Being close to the sea, we
are also frequently visited by Herring Gulls,
although we do not feel fortunate when they
descend on the garden in an attempt to grab as
much of the food on the bird table as they can,
frightening all of the other birds away in the
process. However, should they land whilst we are
undertaking our count, they will be included.
Below are a few of the birds which have landed
within our garden or the adjacent wood recently.
Should they do so again when we are undertaking
our count, they will be included.




Tony Barnard