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PAGE 21Christmas Carol Service - Sunday, December 21st at the church of St. Lawrence at 4p.m. Seasonal refreshments will be served after the service.Thursday, December 25th - The Christmas Day service at Chicheley will be at 11a.m. In the distant past November, the fifth was known as fireworks night rather than the grander Guy Fawkes Day. The fireworks were purchased in Newport Pagnell, I think probably from Fred Friday%u2019s shop which was located on the High Street opposite to the church. His business could perhaps best be described as selling household goods, bicycles and children%u2019s toys. He was a member of the Magic Circle and would entertain his younger customers by making their small change appear and disappear by sleight of hand. He was typical of the small business that has been replaced by the Online system, but this is not the correspondence to discuss that further. Much of the fun was the building of a bonfire which required collecting dead wood from the hedgerows with a bit of judicious hedge cutting to add to the pile. The bonfire was located on the field just beyond where the children%u2019s play area is now situated. Then on the fifth, unless it was a Sunday, the bonfire and fireworks were lighted. All of this was not as spectacular as the firework displays that are now held in the area but we children had fun and satisfaction that we had made a splendid effort to celebrate what I later discovered as I grew up was a pretty gory episode in our country%u2019s existence. A more sombre event will take place on Sunday the 9th of November commencing at 10:45 a.m. In the centre of the village for the annual Remembrance service with a short service and the laying of a poppy wreath. There will be similar services in SCAN churches but at different times and in the local towns of Newport Pagnell and Olney, but we are always pleased to welcome anyone to join our Chicheley residents at this important occasion. The wayside Cross where the wreath is laid was originally intended to remember the eight men of Chicheley who lost their lives during the 1914- 1918 World War but now I think it is considered as a way of remembering all those who have lost their lives in Conflict since then.That is all for this month except to say that in December%u2019s magazine I hope to be able to give you details of how the Village Hall Committee is looking to help you to keep warm in the first few months of next year.DavidThe selected dates are Saturday, January 17th., Saturday, February 21st and, Saturday, March 21st. On each day, the lunch will be available between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. So that we can arrange the provisioning of the food could you please let us know if you would like to come along and join in, by telephoning me on 01234 391371 by the beginning of each of the weeks. How about giving this a try?Christmas will soon be here, we shall make merry, the churches will be full, and you can decide for yourself whether you want snow or not. But before then there is the tricky problem of selecting Christmas presents. When I was younger, a long time ago, I enjoyed receiving the Christmas Annuals which contributed to a love of reading books both for gaining knowledge and also simply enjoyment. I have also discovered in the past few years the pleasure of listening to someone reading a book to me using audiobooks which now have become quite popular with people of all ages. The ability of voice actors to read and change the voices to suit the characters in the book is quite remarkable. Of course, it does not have to be an actor but could be a parent or grandparent reading to a child or perhaps the child reading to their families or friends. That is also a gift which does not cost very much but can give a great deal of pleasure to the listener and I guess also to the reader. The tricky bit is to select books that appeal to all ages. The next magazine you will receive will not be until the end of January 2026 so now is the time to say thank you once again to Julia and Elaine and Mike for doing all the hard work in producing these magazines all of which contain comment and information in one nice, shiny package. Felicity and I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a good new year.DavidPAGE 23