Parish MagazineThe magazine is edited by Chris Bivand, and published by Eardisland Parish Council six times a year.
You can download the latest issues using the menu on the right, or clicking the cover image below. The magazine will open in a new browser window.
You will need Adobe Reader which you can download here.
Latest Issue - January 2010
EDITORIAL
It is with regret that I have to inform you that this is the last edition of the Eardisland Parish Magazine that I shall edit. By the time you read this I shall have resigned in a letter to the Chair of the Parish Council, Serena Askew.
I would like, briefly, to explain my reasoning. I have always tried to include items in the magazine which are directly relevant to villagers or which may be of general interest and information. Part of the editor's responsibilities is to make decisions about content; not an easy matter when one considers the variety of interests represented in the parish and the increasing volume of information received. Within this context, I thought about the inclusion of the Bishop's letter, finally concluding that it was not appropriate for this parish magazine. A key factor was that a Bishop writing such a piece necessarily has to make it very general, and the more general, the more distant it is from any particular community. It was for this reason that I decided to discontinue the publication of the letter and put a note to this effect in the December edition of the Eardisland Parish magazine. This was not done without thought, and indeed I wrote to the Chair of the Parochial Church Council (also Serena Askew) on 4th November 2009 explaining my thoughts and adding that the Bishop's letter is unlike Nigella's letter which combined a religious view with immediately local matters. Of course, if a new incumbent is appointed, then the Vicar's letter will resume now that Nigella has departed. I also suggested that the church would be a better and more logical conduit for the Bishop's letter and the associated items that come with it than the magazine.
Please bear in mind that I am impartial about the inclusion of the Bishop's letter and if representations had been made directly to me to continue the letter, I would have given the request(s) very serious consideration. It is important to understand that my resignation is NOT about the Bishop's letter as such, but about what happened subsequently.
In January, I found that the Parish Council agenda for January, item 7c Parish Magazine, stated 'To discuss correspondence from the PCC'. What correspondence? I had received no messages about any letter from the PCC, by post, email or telephone.
I wrote twice to the Parish Clerk asking for a copy and was told that he would have to consult the 'Chairman' and then replied that 'The correspondence was sent to the Parish Council for them to deal with therefore it would be improper to show it anyone else until the Parish Councillors have seen and discussed the contents.' This would have been entirely right if the Councillors had seen the letter, but it was not circulated to them before the Parish Council meeting, nor did it appear on the list of correspondence at the end of their agenda.
It is for this reason that I did not attend the PC meeting. Under the rules, I could have been prevented from saying anything under item 7, since the public forum was earlier on the agenda under item 5. Had I been asked to attend the PC meeting and/or submit a report I would willingly have done so, but I had no contact from the PC (apart from a flat refusal to show me the PCC letter).
The Parochial Church Council letter was distributed to the Councillors when item 7c was reached and was read to the meeting by Serena Askew – who had declared an interest as Chair of the PCC. You will be interested to know that the PCC 'letter' is just four paragraphs of text – there is no address, no date and no addressee. It is not signed by anyone. It is, therefore, unattributable to PCC members.
At the time of writing - Sunday 24th January, I have received no communication either from the Parochial Church Council or from the Parish Council. The Parish Council meeting was Thursday, 14th January – 10 days ago.
That the PCC did not have the decency at least to let me know of their concerns is a matter for their conscience.
For the Parish Council, in the form of the Chair and Clerk, effectively to keep the PCC's letter secret, even from the Parish Council's own members until the agenda item at the meeting itself, is nothing short of bizarre.
I hope my record of service to the community shows that I have at all times tried to be flexible, to accept criticism and recommendations as a matter of routine, to consider the opinions of all, and to do my job in a fair and just manner. Ultimately my decision to resign has been shaped by the way this matter has been handled. Public service should be open and transparent, carried out with courtesy and in a responsible way.
Finally, and most importantly, I wish to thank all of you who have so generously written articles, braved weather to deliver magazines, or have contributed in other ways. It is the quality of your input that has made my job such a pleasure and an honour.
Chris Bivand