TALKING TURKEYS
 Perhaps you remember when there were three butcher’s shops in Ickenham. Now there is just one, but it’s a fine one; open six days a week, owned and run by Steve Williams (pictured) and his wife Lynn, and assisted by fellow butchers John Street and Paul Winter.
The shop at 3 Swakeleys Road has existed for over forty years and the Williams, who have lived in Ickenham for 22 years, took it over 16 years ago. Steve started in the profession as a Saturday boy, helping in a Hillingdon butcher’s shop, and he worked for retail outlets in the trade all over London before setting up here.
SJ Williams is remarkably well stocked. Apart from the expected range of meat products, which include Orkney beef and lamb, and free-range pork from Dorset, there is a choice of 25 cheeses, a range of pickles and preserves and –everybody’s favourite - sausages. Steve is famous for his sausages, offering eight different varieties, including the ever-popular ‘Ickenham Royals’ (highly recommended by the ICN team).
Business is seasonal. Summer calls for barbeques, with burgers and sausages in demand; the autumn chill reminds people of casseroles, and Christmas - well what else but turkeys? For sixteen years, Steve has stocked prize turkeys from David Witherick’s farm in Bedfordshire and this year the orders should be in the hundreds.
Steve’s shop is one of the village’s social centres, not least because he is a willing supporter of local causes. He regularly displays posters, and sells tickets for Church and Festival events, and otherwise assists where he can. The shop will be open on Festive Community Night – a good opportunity to order that turkey, and stock up on Ickenham Royals!
MORE TURKEY TALK
 For centuries turkeys were too expensive for common folk. Traditionally they ate roast beef, geese or boars’ heads at Christmas, with the poorest making do with rabbit. Turkeys originally came from America, with trader William Strickland importing six turkeys in 1526 which he sold for tuppence each in Bristol.
Only when the turkey farming industry developed in Norfolk did they became the nation’s favourite Christmas fare. Village signs in Norfolk commemorate the time when, rather than use road or rail transport, the poor old turkeys were walked all the eighty miles or so to London!
 AWAY IN A MANGER
Nativity Crib Scenes at the URC
Friday 10th December: 6pm – 9pm
As part of the Ickenham Festive Community Night, you are warmly invited to the URC to view the display of Nativity Crib Scenes owned by local families. Children in particular should find them appealing. We hope to see you there.
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LOOK WHO’S HERE!
 Santa made an early appearance in Ickenham on 20th November, when he turned up to greet the young (and the young at heart) at the URC Christmas Fayre. He even returned to draw the raffle at the end of the day. He was among a crowd of around 350 who attended, and helped us towards a record breaking total for the event, with takings over £3,100 on the day!
Thanks to everyone who came along to buy, everyone who manned the stalls, and everyone who made or donated items to sell. A special thank you too, to our main sponsor, Austin Residential, and to all the other local traders who supported us so well.
WHO WAS SANTA CLAUS?
  The name Santa Claus is simply a corruption of St Nicholas, a bishop in Turkey during the 4th century, noted for his fondness of children. He would give them gifts if they were well behaved. His bishop’s clothing probably inspired the now familiar red Father Christmas costume.
St Nicholas is also credited with dropping gifts of gold coins down chimneys. These, rather fortunately, landed in stockings that were hanging up to dry - hence the origin of the Christmas stocking.
A PLATINUM DAY
 John and Barbara Green celebrate their 70th (Platinum) Wedding Anniversary on 2nd December. They married in 1940, during World War II, when John was in the Navy and Barbara worked in Woolworths. John had been manning an anti-aircraft gun in the Chatham dockyards and was granted two days leave to get back to Liverpool for the ceremony.
After the war, John (now 94) started his life-long career as a gardener working for the local council where he became a supervisor. Barbara (now 90) brought up three children, one of whom died in her forties. They have a daughter in Weybridge and a son, Graham, who lives with his wife Rosemary in Ickenham. They have four grandchildren.
“I was very nervous at our wedding”, said Barbara and continued, with her cutting humour, “No wonder though, taking on someone like John.”
John still tends a plot of land behind Ickenham Cottages where they came to live eleven years ago, soon after moving to Ickenham. Barbara recently suffered a severe heart attack, a stroke and pneumonia all at once. “I don’t believe in doing things one at a time”, she jested. But thankfully, apart from poor eyesight, she’s now in good form and continues to do all the household chores. The couple are regular worshippers at the URC, where, as at the Cottages, they enjoy that vital commodity – the company of good friends.
WE’VE GOT IT ALL WRAPPED UP
 Again, groups throughout the village wrapped shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, filling them with all sorts of treats to send to children in Mozambique. A massive 192 boxes were filled, thanks to the people in both churches, Happy Days Pre-School, Jack and Jill Mother and Toddler Group, 4th Ickenham Guides, 1st Ickenham Brownies, 1st Ickenham Cubs, Breakspear School, Little Ealing School and other friends.
And we sent them on their way with a cheque for £400 towards transportation costs (worth £443 after Gift Aid). A great result!
BOXING CLEVER
So why is the day after Christmas called Boxing Day? On that day in the Middle Ages, churches would open their alms boxes, in which gifts of money had been placed. The contents would then be distributed to the poor in the neighbourhood. Even today, ‘Christmas boxes’ are still given on occasion to delivery workers such as postmen, paperboys and dustmen.
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