CHADRA

Summertime is always a quiet time but one event we all remember was Sports' Day which was a great success. Now that the winter evenings have come the local clubs will start meeting again with a variety of programmes, some details of which you will find in here.

We would like to wish our ‘Lollipop Lady’, Mrs. Graham, a speedy recovery after her recent operation. We are pleased to hear that we have been allowed to have a ‘stand-in’ while she is convalescing. Let's hope that Avon never come to the decision that Somerset have made and take our Lollipop Lady away altogether.

Don Smith
Chairman – CHADRA
xx Avon Road.

The hectic summer term seems long ago and old news does not make for interesting reading.

I am sure those parents whose children participated, appreciated the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Bradley and their helpers with the holiday play scheme. I understand it was very successful and the weather, of course, was no problem. Sixty to eighty children took part in such activities as crazy golf, badminton, croquet, darts, swimming, painting and modelling, indoor games and in the adventure playground.

We have begun the new school year with about 260 children and, after more years than most care to remember, the two rooms in the old building freshly painted. Economy measures found necessary by the County Council may well begin to bite during the next year and the improvements effected during the last year or two could be the last for some time. We are still hoping that an assembly hall will materialise from somewhere, even if it is prefabricated and second hand.

D.A. Malpass
Headmaster
Charfield Primary School

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A sudden drop in the temperature of the weather at the time of writing this, makes the thought of Christmas not quite as bizarre as would be the case if we were still, as until recently, sweltering in the abnormal conditions we have been experiencing. But this will be the last chance in a Chadra letter to wish you a happy Christmas and we do so from the Church as we also invite you to our annual service of Carols and lessons. This will be held on Sunday, 19th December at 3 p.m. We hope that many of you will come as a family (the time makes this possible) and enjoy what is a happy and moving experience. Do try it if you haven't, and if you feel ‘alone’, ask a friend to come with you. I think we can have a happy and more meaningful Christmas if we stop for a while to think what it is about and try to see what significance it may have for us today.

We have a very tall chimney to the rear of the Church which used to be part of our old heating system. Unfortunately, it has developed a dangerous lean and may fall in a strong storm. We have to remove this danger by shortening the chimney which is likely to be an expensive job needing scaffolding and the lowering to the ground of the large Cotswold stone blocks. As we are not paying our way we have no capital sum to do this job and are hoping and praying that we shall be helped by people in the parish. We have a ‘Chimney removal’ fund (the first one I have heard of!). Perhaps some readers may like to help in this undertaking. Most people like to have a Church in the village and would not like the chimney stack to fall through the roof!

The Chadra letter is a great way of hearing about the various organisations in the village and I hope its circulation will steadily increase.

Sincerely, Kenneth G. Grant
(Rector)

All people of the village will be most welcome.

The Harvest Thanksgiving Services are on Sunday 3rd October.
Morning Worship at 11.00 a.m. will be led by Mr. P. Isaacs
Evening Worship at 6.00 p.m. will be led by Mr. J.J. Rose.

We have a Gift Day on October 2nd and gifts of fruit and vegetables will be very acceptable. They will be distributed after the Sunday service to the Salvation Army. Also gifts for church funds will be very welcome.

For further details please contact:-

Miss Turner
xx Charfield Green.

The Chairman of Young Wives, Mrs. Ethel Graham, is recovering from a recent operation and I know many people would wish to join me in wishing her a very speedy recovery and a swift return to her well known position outside the school gate as the ‘Lollipop Lady’.

Our calendar for the next three months is again an interesting one. October 21st features a representative from Pleasance and Harper, Jewellers, with a selection of jewellery and a film about the mining and cutting of 3diamonds.

On 18th November we have a speaker from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association which promises to be a very interesting evening.

December brings us once again to our Christmas party. Can I remind our members who haven't yet paid their subscriptions we should appreciate them doing so at the earliest opportunity. We should also be very pleased to welcome any new members.

We also have our annual trip to London on 13th November and the cost will be approximately £2 per person. Anyone interested in going please get in touch with me at Falfield 4xx or Mrs. Lyn Thurlow at Falfield 4xx as soon as possible to reserve a seat and avoid disappointment later.

Jill Hendy – Secretary
xx Durham Road.

The Charfield and District Friendship Club for Senior Citizens, which was formed six years ago is still the largest club in the district, we meet once a fortnight on Wednesday afternoons at 2.30 p.m.

We have a successful season of coach outings to various places of interest; some afternoons speakers come and some bring slides which are much enjoyed.

But we are finding it difficult to find people to entertain us in the afternoons and would be grateful if anyone could help us out.

L.M. Derham (Chairman)
xx Charfield Green.

The Club continues to flourish and this ‘session’ we add to our activities Snooker, Swimming and Caving and the Monthly ‘Discos’ are, of course, very popular.

New members (Secondary School age) are always welcome – some (more) adult volunteers to act as chauffeurs for our Swimming Trips (to Yate) are desperately needed.

Our A.G.M. is on September 30th at 8.00 p.m. in the Village Hall.

Alan Husher
xx Manor Lane.

Camping
During the last two months the Scout Troop has had two important camps. The first one being a Competition Camp run by Severnvale District Scouts. On this camp Woodend were represented by three patrols. The weekend consisted of three main sections:

1. Camping standards
2. Scoutcraft projects
3. Cooking.

In this competition we came 2nd, 4th and 13th out of 21 teams.

The second camp was our summer camp. This was held at Youlbury National 4Camp site near Oxford. On this camp we took 25 scouts from Woodend and 10 scouts from Falfield Scout Troop. During the week we took part in many activities, e.g. swimming, hikes, pioneering (building objects using ropes and poles) and also came first in a cricket tournament against troops from all over England and Wales.

Future activities for the troop include – Autumn Fayre 2nd October, 1977, Post and Press Camping Competition (this is run by Avon County Scouts) on 25/26 September. Patrol leaders and assistant patrol leaders trip to Manchester and Blackpool Lights 1/3 October.

Several weekend activities will take place throughout the winter period and next summer the main camp will be held either in Scotland or Austria. Any boys aged 11 to 16 are welcome to join the troop or, if aged 16–20, we would like to see a few more join our Venture Scout Unit. This unit does many activities on their own and of their own choice. Of course, the ultimate target of all scouts and ventures is to obtain the Queen's Scout Award which is the highest award in the Movement.

Since the last newsletter the TIGER PACK of the 1st WOODEND CUB SCOUTS have had an enjoyable weekend Camp at Avening Green; all Cubs and Leaders really enjoyed themselves. After the Holiday Break we are now looking forward to a packed programme for the winter. Autumn Fayre – Oct. 2nd. at Charfield, Swimming Gala – Oct. 16th, Football Matches with other Packs, Bonfire Display – Nov. 6th and lots of Handicraft to be done in the coming months.

Mrs. Rita Jones was presented with her Warrant as Assistant Cub Scout Leader on Tuesday, 14th September by Mr. Allen Cross, District Commissioner. Good Luck, Rita, in the future.

The Charfield Brownie pack meets every Tuesday in the Village Hall from 4.30 p.m.–5.45 p.m. Further details from:

Mrs. Pedgett, xx Little Bristol or
Mrs. Green, x Horsford Road. Tel. W.u.E. 3xxx.

With two weekends of cricket left we can look back on a reasonably successful season. Although, we were not as successful in the Gloucester League as we have been in the past, we at least held our position in Division 2 after being promoted from Division 3 at the end of last season. The disappointment of our league results were more than compensated for by the results of matches played on Sundays. Results to date, with 4 matches remaining are:-

17 Won   11 Drawn   17 Lost

A number of new members have joined the club this year and under the ‘fatherly’ guidance of our Chairman and Sunday skipper, Reg Baker, they have become keen and valuable members of the club. We hope that a similar influx will materialise next season.

5Two of our players achieved outstanding individual success during the season:- John Nixon won the ‘Ronson Award’ for batting performances in the seven Gloucester Leagues. Brian Gibbs scored his maiden century, 110 not out, against Longlevens.

Finally I would like to take advantage of the newsletter to advertise our ‘End of Season’ dance which is to be held at the village hall on 8th October. Tickets costing £1 each are available from any member of the club.

A.J. Freegard
Secretary.

The Society desperately needs more drivers with a couple of hours to spare for helping with Meals on Wheels deliveries. Petrol allowance is provided. We have a chance to increase delivery to 3 or 4 days a week providing enough drivers come forward. For further details please contact either:-

Mrs. K. Jotcham, Falfield 2xx or
Mrs. K. Davies Falfield 5xx

The committee and members of the club are organising an evening of Victorian “Music” Hall, on Saturday, December 4th. Entertainment will be provided by a group of semi-professional musicians and there will be a buffet Supper. Bar facilities are to be available throughout the evening, which is from 8 p.m. until midnight. We envisage that this will be a bright, pre-Christmas evening, where there will be audience participation not only in the singing, but also hopefully in Victorian-style dress. There will be prizes for the most appropriately Victorian costumes and the most outstanding hat! Tickets are £2 per head for the entertainment and Victorian Christmas Supper – these will be available from mid-October from Lynne Harris, x Station Road, Charfield (tel. Wotton-u-Edge 3xxx), or any member of our Luncheon Club. We look forward to seeing you on December 4th.

There will be a Jumble Sale in aid of the Luncheon Club in the Village Hall on October 23rd – please support this generously.

A new branch of the Citizens' Advice Bureau will be opening in Wotton-under-Edge early in October. This will provide free information and advise on any question and is entirely confidential. The Bureau will be open on Thursdays in Berkeley House, Long Street, Wotton-under-Edge, and details of opening date will appear shortly in the local press.

After their successful production in May, Charfield Amateur Dramatic Society are to start rehearsals of their next production which is to be a III Act Comedy.

New members would be very welcome for both on stage and back stage. Anyone interested please contact the Secretary, Pat Simkiss, x Underhill Rd. or telephone Falfield 6xx.

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Charfield Playgroup will be holding a balloon race on the Playing Fields on Saturday October 9th 10.30 a.m.–1.00 p.m. Pony rides and several stalls will also be there.

A suggestion has been made that it would be a good idea to have a Toddlers' Club where mums and toddlers (aged 1–3) could meet once a week or fortnight for an hour or so. If anyone is interested in this idea would they please contact Mrs. Judy Golding, xxx Manor Lane, Falfield 5xx, so that she can see if it is worth looking into the possibilities of forming such a club.

John Tully, x Orchard View, Falfield, Wotton-under-Edge, Glos.

John Tully was born in the Parish of Cromhall in an area of land (Whitfield) that was subsequently transferred to Falfield parish in 1954. Aged 47 and married with one child, he was educated at Tortworth School and maintained his links with the school when he became Treasurer of the successful swimming pool committee. He has been a member of Falfield Parish Council since 1964 and the old Thornbury R.D.C. since 1965. He was elected to Northavon District Council in 1973.

On leaving school he worked with the B.B.C. Music Library at Hill Court where they were evacuated during the war. He joined the Home Office in 1949 and is now employed at Leyhill Prison. Hobbies:- he played cricket for 22 years and enjoys reading and serious music, but says that he doesn't get much time for either these days.

On behalf of the National Children's Home I would like to thank all those who so generously supported the house to house collection in Charfield. Our final total was £39 for which we are most grateful.

Mrs. P. Thorne.
Local Secretary.

What did you think of this year's Sports' Day and Gala??? Let us know. The committee is hoping to form a special Sports' Day Committee and any information, ideas and particularly help is desperately required. Without additional help, this event which has been part of village life for 16 years may not take place next year. Many people think this would be a loss, but do you think strongly enough to become involved, even in a small way?

Please contact – Mrs. J. Hughes, x Berkeley Close. Tel. Falfield 6xx

The Village Hall needs a number of fairly small repair jobs doing to it, and as usual this means MONEY being spent. After the recent expenses incurred by the new extension to the hall there is no cash available for 7these jobs.

At the last Hall Management Committee Meeting it was decided to try and form a committee which will be prepared to run some fund-raising schemes and we are now looking for people with some ideas and a bit of spare time to put these into practice.

Don't forget that without our Village Hall a large number of organisations would not be able to function in Charfield and most of us would be sorry to lose them. If you are prepared to help please contact – Anne Taylor, tel. Falfield 3xx or Jackie Husher, tel. Falfield 4xx.

Sirs,
It was obvious to any sane person attending the meeting to discuss the proposed village plans, that overwhelmingly the opinion of the vast majority was for “RESTRICTED” growth. Since then CHADRA (Charfield and District Residents Association) published the result of a documented house survey which again comes out overwhelmingly in favour of RESTRICTED growth – almost 90%.

One question I would like to ask is – What is our parish council doing? For, despite the above public opinion, they have done ‘Nothing’ and said NOTHING. Do we have a parish council? It almost seems as if there is a secret we of the village should know.

They should have picked up the very strong public opinion and started pushing to do their job and represent the wishes of the people.

OR DO THEY?

A. Resident.

Have you seen a copy yet? Was your reaction “I didn't realise that Charfield had a history” or “There are some things in the Village that I shall look at with a different eye now” or even “I thought the Future section was a bit biased”? Whatever your reaction, thank you for reading it and making it worth all the work that we put into it.

The first 150 copies are now all accounted for and we shall be running off a further 50 soon. If you would like one of these or have any critical comments please contact a CHADRA committee member or ring Jon Barrance on Falfield 5xx. The Information sheet will be available through village organisations and local shops.

We held an Open Meeting at the end of August to discuss the Alternative Development Options suggested by Northavon Planning Department. As a result a team was set up to prepare, deliver and collect a questionnaire asking villagers to indicate their preference for minimum, intermediate or maximum development of the village. Of the 570 questionnaires delivered 8to each house in the parish only 207 were received beck (due in part to the fact that we only had 4 days to collect them). The results were:

Minimum	178
Intermediate	19
Maximum	3
Void	7
	207

We have sent the results to the Northavon Planning Department, together with some of your comments, and have stated that, in our view, there is overwhelming support in the village for the minimum growth option.

Everyone had an opportunity to see the Planners' exhibition and to attend the Public Meeting; it was good to see a full village hall for the meeting.

We were very disappointed to see so few at our meeting to discuss and set up a Street Warden Scheme in the village. Nevertheless, those present were very keen on the idea and Mr. Bernard Brooks of the Bristol Link gave us plenty of ideas. Mrs. Lynne Harris, x Station Road, tel. W.u.E. 3xxx, and Mrs. Julie Hillier, xx Manor Lane, have agreed to explore the possibilities of organising such a scheme and anyone interested is asked to contact one of them.

The CHADRA A.G.M. will be held in the Village Hall on Thursday 25th November at 8.00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. Nominations for committee should be handed into Mrs. Daphne Williams before the meeting.

As many village organisations will be having A.G.Ms. etc. in the next few months, CHADRA would be very grateful if they could be kept informed of any change of secretary to try and keep the information sheet as up to date as possible. Thank you.

Can you please let us have any contributions for the next newsletter no later than Sunday 12th December.

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.

Transcriber Notes

This issue was produced on 8 sides of A4 paper.

Personal phone numbers and addresses have been redacted.

Minor typographical corrections and presentational changes have been made without comment.

Digitization by Brendan O'Connor.

Last update: 2016-11-19.