bathford bulletin february 2012
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Bathford newsletter February 2012TRANSCRIPT
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The Bathford Bulletin
The Monthly Magazine For The Parish OfBathford
February 2012
www.thebathfordbulletin.org
Correction
Last month's photograph of Gordon Drewitt was in fact taken by
Liz Whitfield and not David Howells as printed.
We apologise for this error and any embarrassment caused.
Do you have a photo or drawing you would l ike to see on the front of the Bulletin?
We are looking for interesting or unusual ones of the vil lage; particularly any thatcapture a distinct character of the vil lage or are from an unusual vantage point. Please
send your submissions to: [email protected]
Lamb By Liz Whitfield
Sundays
8:1 5am Holy Communion
1 0:00am First Sunday - Family Service
2nd, 4th & 5th Sunday - Holy Communion
3rd Sunday - Morning Worship (No Communion)
5pm First Sunday - Holy Communion - Other Sundays - Evensong
Mondays - Thursdays
9:00 - 9:30am Prayer Time In Church
Mondays
2:00pm 2nd Monday – Service In The Community Room
Wednesdays
2:30pm Holy Communion each 1 st Weds of the month.
House Groups Details from the Churchwardens or Notices.
From the Parish Register:
Funerals 4 January Eric Ling
1 2 January Peggy Hartley
St. Swithun’s Church Bathford
Rev Jane Burgess - Telephone: 858325
email: [email protected]
Churchwardens: Derek Brown 859886 Joy Craine 85861 3
Readers: Gerry Mil ler 858402 Michael Craine 85861 3
Gil l Gilbert 858927 Dennis Pearson 858293
Everyone Is Warmly Welcome!
We have the fol lowing groups for children during our Sunday Services:
Crèche (0-3); Children’s Church (3-1 0); Rock Solid Youth Group (11 +).
Our 1 4+ youth group, 'Scubed', meets three times each month. For detai ls please ring
Michael Craine.
Page 2 The Bathford Bulletin
St Swithun's Church Winter Service Times
The St Swithun's Church evening service wil l be at 5pm during the winter unti l Sunday4 March when it wil l return to 6:30pm.
A letter from theBishop of Taunton
Celebrating our common
humanity
celebrates the Feast of Candlemas andwe hear again the prophetic message ofSimeon who declares that Jesus is to bea light for al l the nations – Jews andGenti les. I t is a radical message thatrequires al l of us, in the words of RabbiJonathan Sacks, ‘to see God’s image inthe one who is not in our image. ’
As the Bosnian born theologian,Miroslav Volf says in his award winningbook, ‘Exclusion and Embrace’, it maynot be too much to claim that the futureof our world wil l depend on how we dealwith identity and difference. So, on thefeast of Candlemas let us l ight a candlein celebration of our common humanity.
Peter Taunton
The Bathford Bulletin Page 3
I am surprised at how caught up Ibecame in the Stephen Lawrence casewhich offered some closure to his familywith the conviction of two of his ki l lers atthe turn of the year. I was a parish priestin South London at the time of Stephen’smurder and was Vicar of a parish inSurrey Docks in which racism was nevertoo far from the surface – indeed forsome black members of ourcongregation exposure to racism was adaily occurrence.
Some commentators have suggestedthat the Lawrence case marked awatershed for race relations in thiscountry. ‘Britain’, said one, ‘is a muchmore tolerant and open country. Wehave new laws to prevent the stirring ofracial hatred and our public institutionsare better representative of andresponsive to al l the people. ’ I t iscertainly true that the determination ofDoreen Lawrence to get justice for herson did lead to a root and branch reviewof policing through the McPhersonInquiry and that has seen some changefor good.
However, as Doreen Lawrence herselfhas said, ‘The fact is that racism andracist attacks are sti l l happening in thiscountry and the police should not use myson’s name to say that we can move on. ’Around the week that Stephen’s trialconcluded a young Indian, Anuj Bidve,was shot and kil led on the streets ofSalford and a young black footballer fromOldham was racial ly abused by anopposing supporter at Liverpool’sground.
Why do I raise all of this now? At thebeginning of February the church
Film Club
The next meeting of the Film Club wil l beon Monday 27 February at 2:00pm in StSwithun’s Church.
The fi lm wil l be Beaches starring BarbaraHershey and Bette Midler, an endearingstory about the friendship, spanning thirtyyears, between two girls meeting whenthey were eleven years old.
Come along and join us for an enjoyableafternoon, fol lowed by tea and cakes.
Transport available if required.
Please note new tel. no. for transport.Robert (851 390) or Pam Priston(743499).
Page 4 The Bathford Bulletin
Friends Of Bathford School
Happy New Year!
FOBS would l ike to thank everyone whohelped, supported and came along toour events last year. We had a greatstart to the year with a term fundraisingtotal of £2,757.64.
We hope you all enjoyed the BathfordChristmas CD, which raised £890.00. I twas lovely to hear the children and StSwithun's Children's Choir (not tomention the parents) singing their tracksat the school Christmas Fair andChristingle services.
We really appreciate the support of thevil lage shop in sel l ing so many CDs tohelp raise money for the school, andSteve, the hairdresser too. TheChristmas Fair made a huge £1 ,469.35,so thank you to all who attended andhelped with it.
Planning is underway for this term'sFOBS events, which include a schooldisco in February and an annual EasterEgg hunt on Saturday 31 March. Moredetai ls wil l be revealed nearer the time.
Many thanks,
Emma Horn - FOBS Chair
Fun Run 201 2 - Help Required
In 201 0, we ran for 1 mile.
In 2011 , we ran for 2km (2000m).
In 201 2, it's going to be 201 2m.
We would very much appreciate helpover the coming months from wil l ingvolunteers interested in getting involvedin the organisation of the BathfordOlympic Year Fun Run.
The run is scheduled for June but weneed to start planning now. If you wouldl ike to help (whether a runner or a non-runner) then to find out more pleasecontact: John Malone on 859022.
Quiz Night at the Parish Hall
Friday 24 Feb at 7:45pm
A fundraiser for the
201 2 Bathford Festival
Cost: £7 per person on the nightincluding supper.
To reserve places or a table for
up to six people phone:
Stan on 859344 or use the bookingsheet in the vil lage shop.
Bar & Raffle on the night.
Tables limited - don’t leave it too late!
The Bathford Bulletin Page 5
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS01 225 859007
Snow Wardens – Volunteers stillneeded. A number of people havestepped forward to join the Snow PilotScheme but we are looking for morevolunteers, particularly in Meadow Park,to help with clearing snow should itcome. The scheme is being coordinatedby 2 Council lors appointed as snowwardens and we wil l provide salt and amanual salt spreader. Volunteers wil lneed to make themselves available inadvance when there is snow; we wil lgive you 2 to 6 bags of salt. The bagsare waterproof but should not be leftoutdoors. We aim to get the salt downbefore the snow falls and BANES wil lprovide special ist forecasts 2-3 days inadvance. We aim to work in daylight.1 00 yards of level two lane highwaytakes about 1 0 minutes to spread andthe spreader wil l distribute the correctamount of salt (one tablespoon to onesquare metre). I f it is not available, usea stiff brush.
Volunteers who work with this schemewil l be insured under the Parish Councilscheme. I f you can help, please sendyour detai ls to the Clerk with your name,address, phone number, mobile phonenumber, email address. We wil l set up alocal email ing/text messaging l ist forvolunteers to keep you informed.
Litter picking. Can you help?Concerns about the amount of l itter inthe Parish have prompted someresidents to volunteer to collect l itter intheir immediate neighbourhood and theParish Council would l ike to see a teamof volunteer l itter pickers in the Parish.The council wil l provide the appropriatel itter picking tool, gloves and bags for
use by volunteers. I f you would l ike tojoin the team, please send your contactdetai ls to the Clerk and say if you wouldbe happy to volunteer to act as co-ordinator for the team.
Dial-a-Ride Service – Did you know thatthe dial-a-ride service now extends toBathford? This provides door-to-doorcommunity transport for residents whocannot access public transport. Theservice comes to Bathford on Mondaysand Fridays (except Bank Holidays)between 9:30am and 2:30pm. I t isavailable for people to go shopping, visitkey city destinations and play an activepart in community l ife. Any returnjourney wil l cost £4 and a single journeywil l cost £2. Diamond Travelcard holdersare entitled to a 50% discount. You mustregister to be eligible to use the service.To find out whether you are eligible andto make a booking call 01 225 33501 9between 1 0am and 1 2 noon. You canalso find out more detai ls at:www.bathnes.gov.uk/communitytransport
Local Jubilee Celebrations - a group ismeeting to organise and co-ordinatelocal events to mark the Jubilee. I f youwould l ike to join the group, particularly ifyou are already planning an event, thenplease send your contact detai ls to theClerk. I t is hoped to hold events in theParish and jointly with neighbouringParishes.
Jubilee Celebrations Advice AvailableB&NES have issued some usefulinformation about organising a streetparty which residents might beconsidering to celebrate the Jubilee. I fyou would l ike a copy of the advice thenplease contact the Clerk. Furtherinformation can also be obtained fromwww.bathnes.gov.uk,www.thebiglunch.com,
and www.streetparty.org.uk
Page 6 The Bathford Bulletin
to take any calls by telephone or inperson at Keynsham if there any queriesregarding blue badges or if anyoneneeds assistance in completing theirapplication;
All Blue badges wil l be printed by aGovernment contractor and sent directlyto the applicants. Anyone who losestheir badge wil l have to wait for thereplacement from the Government.BANES wil l not be able to offer areplacement service.
The administration costs of the newscheme has increased to the localtaxpayer and in early 201 2 BANES wil lconsider proposals to introduce a £1 0fee for the issue of a badge which is inl ine with al l neighbouring local Councils.I f you already have a blue badge youdon’t need to do anything. A reminderwil l be sent to you before it expires.
Date of Next Meeting – The nextmeeting wil l be held on Monday 20February 201 2 at 7:30pm in the ParishOffice, Bathford Hil l . Al l Parish Councilmeetings are open to the public andresidents are welcome to attend asobservers or to bring matters of concernto the attention of the Council in the first5 minutes of the meeting.
Ruth Holding - Clerk
Develop B&NES – Develop is anorganisation which provides support tothe voluntary and community sector.The Parish Council receives a regularnewsletter about the organisationsactivities, including opportunities forfunding etc. Any resident with aconnection to a voluntary or communityorganisation might l ike to look at thewebsite www.developbanes.org.uk tosee whether grant funding or othersupport is available for your group.
Date for your diary – the Annual ParishMeeting wil l be held on Monday 1 6 Apri lat 7:30pm in the Parish Hall , ChurchStreet. Al l residents are welcome toattend to hear about the Parish Council ’sachievements during the past year andhave your say on the Council ’s futureplans.
National changes for Blue BadgeScheme. A new Blue Badge for disableddrivers was launched on 1 January 201 2and B&NES is raising awareness of thenew badge and the changes. From 1January 201 2:
There wil l be a new national helpl ine forgeneral enquiries for Blue Badges.
People wil l be able to apply for andrenew a badge online via Directgov atwww.direct.gov.uk Those applying andrenewing online wil l be able to track theprogress of their application. Theaddress for people to use to access theonline form wil l be
www.direct.gov.uk/bluebadge.
There wil l also be an eligibi l i ty checkerfor those who want to find out if they areeligible for a badge;
Those who use the on-l ine applicationform can sign up for text and emailreminders at renewal time;
All applicants can sti l l apply bycompleting an application form andsending to the Council by post ordelivering by hand. Staff wil l be available
The Bathford Bulletin Page 7
Valentine's At Bathford Café
A Valentine themed afternoon tea wil llaunch the return of Thursday afternoonteas in the Bathford café .
This wil l be on Thursday 1 6 Februaryfrom 2pm.
Come and join us for tea crumpetsvalentine cakes and a warm welcome!
Bring your beau or just your friend oryourself.
Liz Whitfield
Page 8 The Bathford Bulletin
Bath Stone Quarries
Bath Stone Quarries is a new, largeformat, heavily i l lustrated book byBathford photographer and historianDerek Hawkins. Derek’s book exploresthe history of the stone quarryingindustry of Bath and north west Wiltshirewhich, for more than 200 years,provided the best building stone in theworld and which was essential to thedevelopment of Georgian Bath. All thisstone came from galleries one hundredfeet underground. The local area wasan important centre of this industry andhundreds of acres of such undergroundworkings riddle the hil lside aboveBathford vil lage and the fields ofMonkton Farleigh. The book isi l lustrated with over 350 absolutelybreathtaking photographs of this vastunderground complex, along withfascinating aerial photographs, maps,plans and archive images.
‘BATH STONE QUARRIES’, ISBN9780956440549, is published by FollyBooks and is available from all goodbookshops or online fromhttp://www.fol lybooks.co.uk , wheremuch more information can be found.
Bathford Village Shop
Volunteer Opportunities
Rota Assistant
An asistant is needed to help DianaSmith (tel: 858964) organise the rota forthe shop. This can mostly be donefrom home and, shared, would not beonerous.
Café Volunteers
Would you be able to offer some timeworking in our friendly café to supportthe new Manageress? The café is anexciting venture and new menus andspecial events are being planned.
Our Bathford enterprise is flourishingand joining the sociable team is, truly,rewarding and great fun.
Energy savings in Bathford
Interested in saving energy and reducingyour household fuel bi l ls?
The Bathford Energy Group hasorganised a detai led home energysurvey of one of the houses in MountainWood. This has just been completed.Please come along and hear al l aboutthe findings. The results andrecommendations wil l help everyonelearn more about saving energy andreducing bil ls in their own homes.
Tuesday 21 February 201 2 7:30pm,Vil lage café.
For more information contact theBathford Energy Group: 859022
John Malone
The Bathford Bulletin Page 9
The Bathford Society
The talk this month is by Dr Alan Dodge.His subject is the 1 8th centuryagricultural labourer and his family: theagricultural year and work, familyfinances, housing and domestic l ife,entertainment & the security of theparish welfare state.
Monday 27 February.
The talk stats at 8:00pm with coffee from7:30pm.
David Howells
Page 1 0 The Bathford Bulletin
OH YES IT IS! !BATHFORD’S ANNUAL PANTOMIME ISBACK
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT AT ITS BEST
Everyone knows the story of Jack andthe Beanstalk, or do they?! BathfordPlayers are putting on a new version ofthis old favourite during February halfterm (Thursday 1 6 – Saturday 1 8February 201 2), including a 2.30pmmatinee on the Saturday so youngerchildren can bring their parents along!
Featuring a cow (of course) with sometricks up her udders and introducing ahost of memorable characters: includinga disaster-prone comedy duo, a fairypast her prime, an evil henchman and abeautiful maiden - could there be love inthe air? The story focuses on Jack andhis adventures when he sells his cow inreturn for some beans.
Written, produced and directed by JanTatem, Bathford Players have pulled outal l the stops to ensure this productiondelivers a really memorable ‘laugh aminute’ show so you can boo, hiss, andcheer to your heart’s content.
The pantomime features many of ourexperienced actors from recentsuccessful productions, and we are
delighted to welcome new young talentto perform with us. Don’t miss thisopportunity to see the ‘old’ and the ‘new’in action during the February half-term!.New members are always welcome;there are many ways a person cansupport a production aside from acting,such as painting scenery; technical helpwith sound and lighting; costume designand prop design and construction; andmake-up.
Every January, students from BathfordSchool participate in a postercompetition to advertise our annualpantomime, and this year is noexception. We really value thiscommunity support. The winner fromeach class year wil l have their posterdisplayed in a public place withinBathford and its environs, and win a freeticket to the Saturday matinee.
Tickets wil l be on sale from earlyJanuary in the Bathford CommunityVil lage Shop; onl ine atwww.bathfordplayers.co.uk, and theticket hotl ine on 01 225 859111 . Theseproductions are always a sell-out, sobuy your tickets early to avoiddisappointment.
Jan Tatem
Exhibition of Paintings
Local artist Natal ie Game wil l beshowing paintings at the Little Gallery atBathford community shop from Saturday1 8 February. She wil l bring her sketchpad to the café on Saturday 3 Marchfrom 11 .00 - 1 .00pm and wil l be offeringto make on the spot portraits. Sheespecial ly enjoys drawing children andcan work from a photograph as well asfrom life.
Gillian Bebber
What Would You Do To Help?
The British Red Cross is holding a 2hour first aid course on 2 March atBathford Parish Hall 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
The course wil l provide a quick and easyway to learn key first aid skil ls so that injust a couple of hours you can be a life-saver! You wil l receive a certificate uponcompletion.
20 places are available. Cost: £1 0.50per person.
Contact Clr Maureen Mil lbank at [email protected] or Tel: 859250.
The Bathford Bulletin Page 11
Diary Of Events
The deadline for receiving copy for the March 201 2 Bulletin is 1 5 February 201 2Please put your items into the Bulletin Box in the Bathford Village Shop,
email to: [email protected]