The first weekend of November is going to be busy!
There’s a Halloween party in the Plough and Fleece tonight (friday), A “Time to Remember” service in the church tomorrow and the event of the year with the Horningsea Bonfire on Sunday!
Do not forget to give any feedback on the Parish Council’s proposals for traffic calming which will be discussed at the meeting on the 26th.
…and congratulations to the Plough and Fleece’s Petanque team for a double win! They won the cup (again!) and came top of the league (again!).
A Very Short Nativity followed at about 12 noon by Holy Communion
Sunday 11th January, 16.00
Village Service
Christmas Tree Lighting
Sunday 30th November
Kickoff the traditional Horningsea Christmas on the 30th November when we light the Christmas Tree then the next event is the Candlelit Carol Service.
Horningsea’s Candlelit Carol Service
Sunday 14th December at 18.00
The annual service Carols by Candlelight will be on Sunday 14th December at 18.00. Working parties will have been decorating the church with hundreds of candles which will be lit, alongside the oil lamps. The Carol service is very traditional … children will sing the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City, the Horningsea Young Persons Orchestra will play a specially adapted piece, Fen Edge singers will sing a lesser known carol and the congregation will sing well known and favourite carols. In between the singing the story of Christmas will be read in the traditional readings and children will carry lanterns to the crib for a blessing. Come early to help light the candles and to get a seat, wear something warm as the church is always chilly! After the service there will be mince pies and mulled apple juice or mulled wine – contributions of mince pies always welcome!
This splendid small choir will present a concert of Christmas music on the Friday evening of 19 December. Entry will be by donation. Take time out of this busy weekend to sit, listen and contemplate beautiful music.
A very short nativity
Sunday 21st December, 10:30
Children of all ages and their families are invited to come and join in a Very Short Nativity on Sunday 21 December. The Christmas story will be read as children dress up and take part. No one has to learn any lines. We will need one grumpy innkeeper, one Mary and Joseph but as many shepherds, angels, Wise People as we can muster. The whole event will only last about 15 minutes or so.
There will be refreshments at the end.
Then, at about 12 noon, there will be a short service of Holy Communion for anyone who would like to stay on.
Saturday 1st November at 15.00 at St Peter’s Church Horningsea
If you have a family member or friend who you would like to remember, then come along to this quiet reflective service. There will be a chance to light a candle and put a flower in a vase in their memory. They may be someone who died in the last year or so, or who died many years ago who you remember with affection. It is always a very moving service.
Remembrance Day service in Horningsea
Sunday 9th November at 10.15 in St Peter’s Church – 10.45 at the War Memorial in the Jubilee Gardens
The annual service of Remembrance for those who fought and lost their lives in War will take place at usual in Horningsea. Representatives of all the Village societies will lay wreaths of poppies, the Last Post will be sounded on the trumpet, the names of the fallen from the village will be read and this year we will include James Farmer, the USAF pilot who died on Quy Fen 80 years ago. John Wilson has researched the stories of each of these men and this year he has asked that names should be read by younger people in the village. If you live in the house where they lived, if you are of the age of those who went to war, if your parents, grandparents or great grandparents took part in one of the World Wars, if your family came as refugees to escape the conflicts …would you be willing to read a name? If so please contact Lindsay on churchwardenhorningsea@gmail.com. Representatives of the various Societies in the village are asked to volunteer to lay the wreaths – Parish Council, HRA, Hall and Green trust, Friends of Horningsea Church, the Monday Hub, the PCC ….
The 80th Anniversary of VE and VJ Day reminds us of the hardships suffered by our parents, grandparents or great grandparents. It is also an opportunity to remember those who are still suffering from wars and conflicts all over the world in 2025 – and to give thanks for those who work for peaceful solutions to these conflicts.
Monday 20th October, 10:30 – 12:00, Horningsea Village Hall.
Horningsea Community Hub is discussing it on Monday October 20 — so come along for information and bring your questions!
We’ll have Will Plant, Digital Inclusion lead with Connecting Cambridgeshire to guide us through the switch, which is all about upgrading traditional phone lines.
The UK’s traditional phone network is being switched off by January 2027, meaning all traditional landlines will move to a digital system.
The switchover will mainly affect people who:
Don’t have an internet connection at home
Rely on a traditional landline (not already using a digital phone service)
Use telecare and personal alarm systems (such as fall monitors or lifelines)
But don’t worry, Will has information and top tips on what you need to do.
Come along on the 20thth October. Our hub runs 10.30 to 12:00 at Horningsea Village hall
As usual the Herald has and update from Horningsea Parish Council, Church times plus events at both our superb pubs!
Very sadly Jenni Hill, who started the trend of Horningsea newsletters and was a core member of the HRA, died in July. Inside are a few words about her.
Sunday 14 September at 16.00: Village Service, Creation tide and Climate change games in the churchyard
Wednesday 17 September at 20.30: Night Prayer or Compline
Sunday 21 September at 10.30am: Holy Communion
Services for October:
Sunday 5 October at 10.30: Harvest Festival
Sunday 12 October at 16.00: Village Service
Wednesday 15 October at 20.30 Night Prayer or Compline
Sunday 19 October at 10.30: Holy Communion
Concert by the Zephirus Recorder Quartet
Saturday 4th October, 19.30, St Peter’s Church
If you think that the recorder is an instrument that school children learn to play and is therefore simple and limited in its range, you are wrong! The Zephirus Quartet play a huge range of Recorders, of all shapes, sizes and tones! The concert will include music from around the world – England, Italy, Germany, Africa and America. There will be poems in between the pieces. It will be a gentle yet stimulating evening of music. Tickets are not required but you are asked to make a donation to church funds.
Harvest in Horningsea
Sunday 5 October at 10.30, St Peter’s Church
The fields around Horningsea are being ploughed and no doubt seed is being scattered for winter crops! The traditional Harvest Service at St Peter’s Church Horningsea will be on Sunday 5 October at 10.30 when we will sing the well known harvest hymns and listen to the readings. The church will be filled with flowers, fruit and vegetables from gardens and allotments in the village – if you can help decorate the church on Saturday 4th Oct please contact Liz. During the service we hope to have reports from our farmers about the 2025 harvest – it is always interesting to hear how the crops we watch growing during the year have done. This year we had a very dry spring and summer so I expect we will hear that yields were down on previous years ….
We will invite all the children – (and in fact everyone!) to bring something the have grown or made up to the altar for a blessing.
After the service the produce will be sold and the proceeds sent to Farm Africa. This reminds us that however hard our lives are, there are many, many people who are much worse off and who can benefit from some basic help – often a water pump can make all the difference to a village.
October is Black History Month
On Wednesday 22 October at 19.30 at St Peter’s Church, Reverend Sharon Byrne, our curate who is also the Bishops Adviser for Racial Justice, will be talking about the links between Horningsea and the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the 19th Century. In particular what is known about George Gurney, “ a negro, born in Kingston Jamaica, aged about 8” according to the Baptism register, who was baptised in Horningsea in 1807 and the story of Moses Roper, an escaped slave who came and lectured in the school room in Horningsea on 8 January 1861. The report on the lecture describes Moses Roper’s attempts to escape “which he succeeded in doing by secreting himself in the woods; he was captured and bound in irons; several times he was sold, and made many attempts at escape and eventually succeeded in getting away. Having learned from his master the direction of the Polar star, he followed it and ultimately made another escape.” Moses Roper’s book “Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper” which sold over 38,000 copies by 1848, was on display in the Fitzwilliam exhibition “ Resistance, Revolution, Abolition”.
You can also look at the two “ African” heads that were carved on the windows in Victorian times. Why are they there? What do they represent?
Join us at 19.30 on 22 October for a fascinating evening.
Join us for a fun filled afternoon of traditional apple pressing on Saturday 13th September from 2pm on the Village Green.
Help turn this year’s apple harvest into fresh delicious juice, don’t forget to bring empty bottles if you want to take juice home.
Everyone is welcome to join us for what is always a great village event.
Organised by the Horningsea Residents Association.
Here’s some photos from previous years. The event has now been running for sixteen years. Skipping only two years. Once due to Covid and in 2023 when there were hardly any apples in the village to press!
