Page 46 - Phonebox Magazine April 2012

NEWPORT PAGNELL TOWN
Other People’s Lives
While we fret about our economy there are millions who have far less than we and yet live cheerfully. The photograph of a little village of straw was taken in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone. The half-way dirt track in the foreground is essentially an arterial road and serves as surely as our own A5. Some half hour after taking the photograph I encountered the villagers – men, women and children – returning from work in the woodland we see beyond. I was fed to the gills with a very acceptable chicken stew whilst surrounded with laughter among the grown-ups as well as the cheeky kids who thought a white man a curiosity to be checked out to make sure I had the right number of fingers. The cart so carefully garaged in its own shack is communal property, it is their only means of transporting heavy produce. Only one woman had a little battery operated radio but that was deemed sufficient to keep them all abreast of news both local and international. For money they traded cash with other villages and such passers-by as chose to stop and parley. I was made most welcome by people who promised me that they knew full well that we in England (which they simply call ‘London and all that’) are full of woes. If we have got so much then they insisted we must be quite stupid to complain as we do so much of the time.
FOOTBALL CLUB
Newport Pagnell Town’s juniors deserve first mention this month. The Under 15s (pictured in unfamiliar black and white stripes) have reached the final of the Berks & Bucks Cup with a 5-1 win over Slough Irish in the semi- final. The final will be played on 29th April at Abingdon Town's ground. The Under 14 Tigers (photographed celebrating) have also had a very successful season, making certain of the Border Counties Division 3 title with four games still to play.
At senior level Newport’s first team ended its run of three league defeats by taking four points from two consecutive Saturday trips to Lincolnshire, with a 0-0 draw at Boston Town followed by a 2-1 win at Sleaford. A midweek home game then brought a hard fought 3-2 win over a Desborough Town team that has been strengthened by new players recently and was much better than its bottom of the table position would suggest.
Newport are currently ninth in the UCL Premier Division but have games in hand on two of the teams just above them and have several matches to come against teams in the lower half of the division, so a top six finish is still something to aim for, even with seven of the final nine league matches to be played away from home.
46 Phonebox Magazine
Forthcoming home first team matches: Tuesday 3rd April (7.45pm) Northampton Spencer (UCL Prem Div) Saturday 14th April (3pm) St Ives Town (UCL Prem Div)
...and we hope supporters will make the short trip to the away match at Kempston on Easter Monday, 9th April. (see www.clubwebsite.co.uk/afckempston for details of how to get there.)
Watch out on the Newport Pagnell Town web site, www.nptfc.co.uk/ for all club news, dates of reserve team matches etc.
Make you think? Me too. GB
west Africa urgent Appeal from oxfam
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Low rainfall, poor harvests, high food prices and a lack of pasture mean that 13 million people are at risk of serious food shortages across the Sahel region. Oxfam aims to reach one million of them.
Early warning systems have identified a range of factors that will lead to a serious food crisis in 2012. Low rainfall and water levels, poor harvests and lack of pasture, high food prices and a drop in remittances from migrants are all causing serious problems.
We are taking donations in Olney Books and Music now as well as any Oxfam shop across the country. You can also go online to donate at www.oxfam.org.uk
In other news, watch out for a brand new fun Oxfam campaign starting on the 1st of April. We’ll be asking people to donate some very specific things so watch out for details. We can’t say too much more at this stage as it’s going to launch with a full page spread in a national newspaper! But keep an eye out and join in the fun in April!
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Olney, Newport Pagnell and beyond for their continued support. It is only through donations, customers and volunteers that we can carry on helping the poorest members of our society across the globe. It really does make a difference. Thank you!