CHADRA

… That the charfieldvillage website has had over 2000 visitors.

… That the Football Club had one of its most successful seasons ever.

… That the Guide Pack may have to close if another leader cannot be found.

… That John Francksen raised £2257 for the Children's Wish Appeal – but did he finish the race? See inside for the full story.

… That Stefan Frontczak, Headteacher at Downend School in Bristol, will be taking over as the Headteacher for Charfield School in September.

… That Worktwice are offering discounts on printer cartridges to readers of this Newsletter.

… That Wotton Red Cross are looking to hold local first aid courses.

… That Marilyn got her article to the Newsletter 10 days before the deadline!

… That Janice Vardon-Smith is trying to organise aerobic sessions at the Memorial Hall.

… That the Church Plant Sale raised £1500.

… That the skateboard ramp has been deemed a very high risk by RoSPA and is to be removed.

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Welcome to the Summer Newsletter, which happens to be the 100th. In future issues we are thinking of looking back at the articles 100 editions ago.

Unfortunately, this quarters copy date has, as always, coincided with the Village Fayre. This means we are unable to bring you full coverage of the activities and results. Hopefully most of you will have been there and so would not need to hear about it from us.

Whatever your plans this summer, we hope you have a great time and look forward to hearing all about it in your copy for the next edition (by the 12th October!)

Next Copy Date – 12th October 2000

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Summer is upon us once again and Dab Hands is open as usual. In addition to the 0–5 yr. olds, during the holidays we welcome school age children as well. Come and join us at Charfield Memorial Hall 10am to 12pm and give yourselves and the children a break. There is a lot to do and play with, we are always pleased to see new faces. The opening dates for this summer are as follows:

Monday July 24th, 31st, August 7th, 14th, 21st & Thursday August 31st (change due to bank holiday). Every Monday thereafter.

We hope you all enjoyed the summer fayre and met some of the childminders at our stalls. Our next fundraising event will be the photographer for your family portraits. Always a popular event, it will be sittings by appointment only. Please contact Lesley on 01453 84xxxx for a time to suit you. You don't have to have children to take advantage of a photographer in the village. Perhaps there is a wedding anniversary or a special birthday you would like a memento of. It's a great idea for a Christmas present or a record of 3 or 4 generations of the family. Put the date in your diary Saturday October 7th and call for that appointment.

Looking ahead to finance our Christmas parties we anticipate the return of the Early Learning and Woolworth catalogues. Let us take the strain of some of your Christmas shopping. They will be available from Dab Hands or a childminder nearer to Christmas.

Charfield Childminders Group have both full and part time vacancies at the moment. If you require registered childcare in the village please contact Lin on 01454 26xxxx. Hope to see you at Dab Hands or at our photo session in October.

Lin Scanlon

The summer (such as it is this year) is now in full swing, and preparations for the coming season are already well underway. Training has begun, pre-season friendly matches are being organised and everyone at the club is eagerly looking forward to resuming football again.

Last season was one of the most successful we have had in recent years with the first team finishing in second place in Stroud League division 1 and winning section B of the Stroud Charity cup. The final was played at Stonehouse on 17/5/2000 against Kings Stanley. Having played with the wind in the first half we turned round 1–0 down, and I must admit I was getting worried. However the manager's team talk certainly seemed to do the trick as in the end we ran out comfortable 3–1 winners.

The reserves also had a successful season, being promoted to division 4 of the Stroud League and like the first team they also reached the final of their section of the Stroud Charity cup. They played the week before at Slimbridge against one of the Stonehouse teams. Despite us taking the lead, the game ended up 1–1. Extra time produced no more goals, which meant that the final was decided by a penalty shoot out. After taking our penalties with the aplomb of Holland in the Euro 2000 semi final, we had to be content with the runners-up spot.

Everyone at the club is keen to pick up where we left off last season and have another successful year. It would be nice if Charfield could be the Stroud League Champions.

At the moment training takes place on the playing field on Wednesday evenings, anyone interested is welcome to come and join us, or contact me for more information on 26xxxx.

Chris Somerton, secretary

The Charfield Neighbourhood Watch AGM was held on the 17th of April. We had a very interesting speaker from the Air Support Unit talking about the work of the police helicopter. It did seem a shame that so few from the village came to support the evening, I did believe we advertised it well throughout the village. Was it lack of interest? Or was it because it was an AGM? By the way I am still waiting for a volunteer to be the Woodlands Road co-ordinator. A few people in the village 4cannot do everything for the majority. Please can I have a volunteer.

Perhaps you rely on CHADRA articles to keep you informed? Well if that's the case I shall not disappoint and write a little about the talk.

The helicopter was bought in 1995 and is run jointly by Avon & Somerset and Gloucestershire police forces. It covers an area of 3000 sq miles and at speeds of 140/145mph can get to an incident in 20 to 25 minutes. When there it can search an area of 1 sq mile in 12 minutes. If it is dark its lights can light up an area the size of 2 football pitches. A major success for the helicopter is the reduction of car pursuits and ram raids. Prior to the use of the helicopter there were 6 or 7 car pursuits a day – now there around 40 a month and it is much more likely that vehicles will be recovered intact and not burnt out. Night work is difficult. All sorts of things show up as heat sources – compost heaps, manholes, electricity substations up poles. The perspective when looking down from the helicopter at 1500ft gives little clue of heights – a piece of video showing those on the ground looking for a man up a tree was highly amusing. The criminals and those trying to track them down are learning new tricks. To round off the evening we were shown some fascinating and sometimes almost unbelievable video clips. Criminals trying to behave normally hoping that they have not been spotted!

There continues to be a small number of incidents in the village, but there continue to be shed/garage break-ins. The police would like us to pay as much attention to the security of sheds and garages as we do to our houses.

Ilze Hicks

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At the risk of becoming a regular contributor, so many people have asked me how we got on on Marathon Day that I thought I would put finger to mouse again!

The day of the London Marathon dawned bright, clear and cool – perfect conditions for the run. Elizabeth and I left home at 7 am with our good friends Tina and David Primrose and had an excellent drive onto London (almost worth getting up so early for!)

5Once we had parked and got the Tube we found ourselves in another world – full of race supporters, all clutching the same route that I had photocopied from the Running Magazine. We had originally aimed to see John at the Cutty Sark (5 miles) but as we were on the tube heading there, an announcement was made that due to the number of people trying to do the same, the station nearest the Cutty Sark was closed! We decided to be clever and get off a stop earlier and walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel … but this too was closed one way, for safety reasons. I tried to reason with the attending policeman because, after all, the tunnel had been the suggested alternative route over the tube's tannoy but he wasn't going to either change his mind or offer any help. By this time I was getting frantic because I knew that John would be scanning the crowd for us.

As we had almost certainly missed him at 6 miles, we decided to head to our next pre-arranged point of 12 miles which was Tower Bridge but the tubes heading there were so crowded that we just could not get on. Luckily, by then I had had a phone call from my friend who lives in Kent (Sue) who had spotted him at Tower Bridge and, more importantly, he had seen her so I knew that John would not feel alone (if you can be alone on the midst of 30,000 runners!)

We decided to cut our losses and head to Mudchute (18 miles) which is where I had absolutely promised to be because John and I had discussed that if he was going to ‘hit the wall’ it was likely to be around 18 miles and he would need our support.

Once at Mudchute we found a good spot and settled down to wait. The last of the elite men were still going past and we saw the wheelchairs (and we clapped until our hands were sore). After an hour, we were joined by John's Tabler supporters, Richard and Rob, who cheered me up by telling me they had seen John at Tower Bridge so, after all, he had had support at both pre-arranged spots, although I did wish it had been Elizabeth and I that had seen him!

We knew we would have a reasonable wait so started on our picnic. When Tina got out a banana, a passing lady runner literally snatched it from her hand gasping “Oh, thank you so much”. This lady was probably mortified the next day but then, running does something to you!

So we stood at Mudchute and we waited … We saw thousands of runners and were really impressed by the fancy dresses – fairies, batman, Elvis, a toilet, and a rhino. But no John. We got very excited because Rob and Richard were able to tell us that John had been about 10 minutes behind the rhino so we got the banner unfurled again “Go, John, Go” … and we waited …

Many more runners passed us including Frank Bruno (and his minder), Roger Black and the chap from Blue Peter whom Elizabeth recognised but I wouldn't have known him even if he hadn't been sweaty and red faced! But still no John. Eventually we realised that there were at least 12 rhinos, all identical, running for the Worldwide Fund for Nature so that particular piece of information regarding John's running position was a red herring (or rhino!)

As the crowd of runners began to thin, all our friends started to say that he may have been forced to withdraw but I just knew him better than that. We hung on and then finally after almost two and a half hours of waiting he came slowly in to view!! We were all ecstatic and gave him a huge cheer. He looked quite grim and seemed to be having trouble with his leg and was clutching more water bottles than he could sensibly run with. He stopped and we all gave him a pep talk (and I consolidated the bottles to two full ones and not 4 half empty ones). Apparently he had become dehydrated and got cramp in his leg, which had held him up considerably. I ran with him to the top of the hill (so I can now say that I have run in the London Marathon!) and then he seemed to gain some energy and was off. We dashed over the road to catch him again as the course bends round and then headed full pelt to the Tube to see him again at Cannon Street (23 miles).

We popped in to a pub for a drink (it was amazing how many pubs had put on special events to support the Marathon) and then went to The Embankment (25 miles). Unfortunately for us, John had recovered so well that he beat us to it and we missed him there but our friend, Sue, did see him and so we headed to meet him at the finish in the Mall.

6Virtually his first words to us were “I will do a better time next year” and I don't doubt him one bit!!!!

Tracy Francksen.

Firstly I must thank everyone for all the complimentary e-mails we have received regarding the site it makes all the effort worthwhile. We are now nearly seven months down the line and well in excess of two thousand visitors who hopefully found what they were looking for and getting any local information they needed.

The front end of the site has had a face-lift and there are a number of new useful additions such as a direct link to the Met Office giving you up to date weather information including satellite images and long-range weather forecasts. You can also browse through a copy of the Gazette or find anything anywhere using the SCOOT search engine all from the links off the front page.

We receive a lot of general enquiries and are therefore placing a bulletin board on the site to allow people to post requests; this will be running by the end of July along with a Chat Room which will allow people to talk live any where in the world.

For all those people without a computer we can also receive e-mail for you and forward it in a text format. Most names are still available and the address is very simple, all you need to do is to phone us to check the availability of a name on 01453 84xxxx and away you go. The best name to chose would be something like your Christian name and surname all lower case as one word followed by @ charfieldvillage.co.uk for example yourname @ charfieldvillage.co.uk. As with all the services associated with this site there is no charge.

We openly encourage your opinion on additions or changes, which will allow the site to become more community driven. There are quite a number of local organisations that could benefit from the free exposure we offer and as things progress we hope they will take advantage of this. In short this is your site and regardless of age your opinion counts and no request goes unanswered.

There are only a few rules, if you are under the age of eighteen we must have your parents written consent to include any images of yourself and anyone including quoted or copied text must have the owners permission. It has been necessary to include these conditions to voluntarily comply with the demands of Internet. We will be including full terms and conditions on the site this quarter.

Contacting us couldn't be easier try us on:
Tel: 01453 84xxxx Fax: 01453 52xxxx
E-mail xxxx @ charfieldvillage.co.uk
URL: www.charfieldvillage.co.uk

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7

Puzzle Page

8

ARE YOU AGED BETWEEN 18 AND 65?

Have you got a few hours to spare a week to help young people in the community?

If you have answered “YES” to these questions you may like to read further.

Charfield Guides have been running in the village since 1983. They meet every Wednesday during term time in the village hall from 7.15pm–9.00pm.

They are a small group of girls aged 10–14 who are very keen, but Rosemary Meek who has been Guider and leader for many years is giving up at the end of this term. Unless another person willing to go into uniform is found, then unfortunately the unit will have to close.

Because of insurance reasons and other commitments, I am unable to run it on my own. If someone else can be found, we will carry on. It will be a shame to see the unit close, as the girls have lots of enthusiasm.

We are sad to see Rosemary go, and will miss her greatly. She has put many years of hard work into the unit and into Guiding in general.

Also within the District we are looking for a District Commissioner. This is a person who holds the District together and deals with the paperwork etc.

If you would like more details or feel that you could help in some way please do not hesitate to contact me.

Angela Smith, Guider – 01454 26xxxx
email: xxxx @ asmiths.freeserve.co.uk

Looking after yourself and feelings

Do you sometimes feel that you are unable to cope, feel uncertain about things, worried or afraid, oversensitive or other feelings? All of these very common feelings can be helped with Bach Flower Remedies.

They are used for negative states of mind and emotions, which turn to positive feelings when the correct remedies are taken. Bach remedies are a wonderful adjunct to all forms of treatment, working on emotional and mental levels. They help in coping with the ups and downs of life and are equally effective on animals and children. As they work with animals and small children who do not have psychological hang-ups or preconceived ideas they must work!

Choosing and using the remedies can take time. Some of the descriptions for which remedies are recommended are not always flattering and it may be hard to accept or recognise certain traits in ourselves. It is better to discuss with someone who sees you in a different light or trained professional. Also it is worthwhile trying to establish the root cause of your problem, or current state of mind.

The remedies are very easy to take – just a few drops in water or direct on to your tongue. The great thing is that they do not have any side effects or interfere with medication.

The following are a few examples of how the remedies have helped various situations.

• J. wanted to go abroad but had a terrible fear of flying. Mimulus was recommended and since then flying is no problem.
• D. was lacking in tolerance and was impatient about some matters. Impatiens moderated this tremendously.
• G. had suffered a marriage breakdown and was very resentful to the situation. Willow helped her to come to terms with it.

Many people will be familiar with Rescue Remedy. Never go anywhere without it! Perfect for emergencies, traffic hold ups, bad news, whatever. Rescue Remedy really helps you to face the situation with a better frame of mind.

To discuss further and to see these, come in and see us at the showroom, Avon Road.

Millennium Stone
As Chairman of the Parish Council, I was honoured to unveil the Millennium Stone in the grounds of St John's Church. That was part of the May weekend of events organised jointly by the local churches. There is a lot more of 9the Stone under the ground than is visible above. The same applied to the weekend events: people put in a lot of effort behind the scenes and I would like to thank them, and particularly Rev Philip Hopes and Rev Robert Pestell, on behalf of the village. Grateful thanks also to RMC Wickwar Quarry for providing the Stone and, most importantly, inserting it carefully into the hole that had been dug.

Skateboard Ramp
A number of young people are working on ideas for a new skateboard area. By the time you read this, we should have had another discussion meeting (on 12 July) to look at the latest suggestions. Then the Parish Council and the Memorial Hall Committee will have to decide whether it is feasible to go ahead with the project. As always, finding the money will be a big problem.

Meanwhile the Parish Council has reluctantly decided that the existing skateboard ramp should be removed as soon as possible. Following this year's annual inspection of the playground equipment, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has advised that it is “Very High risk” and said that it is too near the fence. If people always used it sensibly, and the skaters wore the protective clothing, which is advised, the Council might have left it until a replacement had been sorted out. However, that is not the case, and the ramp will be removed to protect the young men (mostly) from their own actions. We know that many young people will miss this facility, whether they use it for its intended purpose or as a climbing frame or as a seat with a grandstand view, but on balance the safety argument wins.

Millennium Mugs
Every household in the Parish has now been offered a free Millennium Mug. Councillors have personally delivered them. You might be surprised by the range of greetings we had when we knocked on people's doors! We are now sorting out the orders for additional mugs.

Litter
One resident responded constructively to my homily in the previous edition of the Newsletter. She pointed out that there is no litterbin on the footpath side of Wotton Road east of the school. It hadn't struck me that the bin outside The Tavern had been removed during the refurbishment. Apparently that bin was privately owned. South Gloucestershire Council has agreed to provide a replacement and the Parish Council will be suggesting a suitable site, possibly near the railway bridge.

Providing and emptying litterbins is one thing. Using them is another. You only have to look at the play area on the Playing Field to see that. Charfield may not be the prettiest village in England, but it is pleasant, thriving and superbly located. Let's look after it and encourage a bit of pride in the place where we live.

John Acton

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10

Many thanks to everyone who has supported us this year at our various fundraising events, and those local businesses who have kindly given us such generous and much needed donations. We especially wish to thank the following for their kind donations:

• The Pear Tree;
• Charfield Garage;
• MEB;
• Charfield Football Club; and
• Mark Davies, Surround Sounds.

We also received a generous donation from Charfield Parish Council, which enabled us to buy a new carpet for the Playgroup, which was kindly supplied by Cotswold Edge Carpets.

We are recruiting a third Playgroup Leader to join the Playgroup in September, and will then be opening up an extra session on Friday mornings from 9.15 am to 12.00 pm. If there is sufficient demand for places at the Playgroup later in the year, we will open up a further session after Christmas on Mondays from 9.15 am to 12.00 pm. For further information on our admissions policy, or for a copy of our Prospectus, please contact Karen on 01453 84xxxx.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 14 September at 7.30 pm at the Playgroup, and we hope that as many parents as possible will be able to attend. We are always looking for volunteers to join the Playgroup Committee, or as helpers at our many fundraising events, so if you would like to join the Committee or help out in any way, please let us know.

Marion Sankey, Secretary

Most of us at some point in our lives will come across an accident or emergency situation – would you know what to do? Maybe you did first aid years ago – can you remember it or are you sure procedures haven't changed?

Wotton Red Cross are looking to hold a public first aid course later in the year, and are appealing for interest. The course will run over approx. 14 weeks on a weeknight. It is a recognised certificated course and any one is welcome. Certificates should be renewed every 3 years so if yours has run out, or if you are a youth leader or if you just have a general interest and want to be prepared for the worst please contact Karen Vaughan, xx Severn Close (01454 26xxxx) for further details.

If you would like to be more involved in first aid matters, Wotton Centre would also like to hear from you. We meet in Wotton Civic Centre at 8 pm on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month. You do not need to be first aid trained to come along (we can do that as and when you are ready) and you would never be put in a situation you didn't want to be in.

Currently our 15 unpaid volunteers are out on duty every weekend through the summer (travel expenses given). If we had more volunteers, then we could share the load and have more free time. Duties are not compulsory – you can pick and chose the ones you can attend. (Minimum time required: 10 hours a year). We have a variety of activities at our meetings ranging from guest speakers on HIV/Hepatitis to Simulations of Accidents all of which are a lot of fun – it all helps prepare you to keep calm and deal with any situation facing you. You never know when you might need these skills.

For any further details on the above please contact Karen (01454 26xxxx) at xx Severn Close. Karen will happily give anyone a life to the meetings if they would like to come along a few times to see what its all about!

Why is it that when you are cruising around Charfield village in a stretched limousine at 4:20 on a Friday afternoon, there's no-one out to see you. Yes I know they have blackened windows, but mine was wound down and I was hanging out screaming and waving. Anyway, this is partly the reason for my missing the last newsletter sell-by-date. I was drunk. It was my neighbour, Beryl's birthday and part of the celebration was this mega brill car to transport us to and from the special luncheon. Then later on was further partying and then the next day was my birthday, so, needless to say “my bit” had left my thoughts. So fans – apologies.

Right then, what's been happening? Well my body has certainly been suffering lately. Last 11November, a 12 inch Maglite torch, complete with batteries, fell on my big toe. The pain was indescribable. Keith said to go to hospital to have it drilled to release the pressure. Well that was definitely out of the question, so hobbled for weeks. A new nail is now growing, quite an odd shape mind. I won't tell you what happened to the old one in case you are having your tea! Then, in April, I was so busy looking at this lovely gift-wrap I had bought, I fell off the post office step. My ankle swelled, turned a lovely shade of black and blue, so that put paid to tap dancing for a few weeks. Then three weeks ago, I got bitten by some gruesome insect. The bite was enormous and I ended up taking anti-biotics and, furthermore, I'm not going to tell you where it was.

I'm reading a little book at the moment, called, “Clear your clutter with Feng Shui”. Apparently, if there is a load of junk under your bed, then your energies can't flow! It also say's why do people keep their expensive cars on the drive and their old bits and pieces cosy and warm in the garage! On that subject, I shall say nothing.

I think the newsletter preparers are going to have a little surprise this time. It's the third of July and Lawrence is typing this to email to Hilary and Geoff. He is off on holiday next week, and as you all know I still need assistance with this mega invention. Mind you I do not feel completely inadequate where computers are concerned. There has been some right old blunders made lately, of national importance. On the last day of the tax year, 5th April, no figures could be retrieved from the Stock Exchange, I believe. A few weeks ago, the funding into which monies had been invested for people who had opted out of SERPS, had millions wiped from it. Who shall answer for this? Mr Nobody, I suppose. Then two weekends ago the software used by air-traffic control had failed, so no planes could take off, and then some bright spark managed to contaminate business networks with the Love Bug!

Anyway, I must not get too stressed about all of this. I shall plod on in my own little way and still marvel at the wonders of nature. I am of course referring to the women who, in rain torn Mozambique, gave birth to her baby, in a tree!!!

Take care. Marilyn.

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[Advert for Pat Jeanes reflexology]

12

Although this summer's weather has been somewhat disappointing, some stalwart players of the club have managed to play on a fairly regular basis. We would very much like to welcome new members and a possible attraction could be the reduced fees for this year:

• Adults £10
• Couples £18
• Juniors/Students £3
• Families £20

Our court is now quite smart, having been resurfaced and colour coated last year, so we think our fees represent good value for money. And what could be nicer than a friendly ‘knock’ on a summer evening only a stone's throw from home.

Hopefully Wimbledon has inspired some of you to wield a racquet either as a beginner or improver. If so, please do ring Nicola (26xxxx) Ilze (26xxxx) or Wendy (84xxxx)

It was kind of those readers to mention that we were not in the last issue of the Chadra Newsletter. The returns collections are much better, as we are now getting a regular trickle, so existing donors, keep them coming.

Now, what about the rest of you? When are we going to stop throwing the empty cartridges away and start collecting them? Turn that trickle into a flood.

Also, anyone out there wishing to raise money for your organisation, charity, school, church or clubs it is very easy to turn these waste products into money. We already regularly pay money to cadets, scouts, brass bands and many charities.

You all work somewhere, or know somebody who works on a computer. They use these cartridges. So if any reader would like to save for his/her cause please phone me or Sue Cripps for full details.

We also need more staff to work as Campaign Advisors. It is mainly telephone work but we can be very flexible with regard to hours. Two hours per day to full time at good hourly rates, and you could even walk to work! For more information phone Frank on 01453 84xxxx.

We are offering special rates to Chadra Newsletter readers on inkjet/laser printer cartridges. Some prices are listed below, but phone Lea Watson on 01453 84xxxx for more details and to arrange delivery.

• HP laser 4 series HP original price £88.00 our price £28.43 saving £59.57
• HP deskjet 51626A HP price £21.30 our price £11.25 saving £10.05
• HP deskjet 51645A HP price £22.20 our price £11.33 saving £10.87
• HP deskjet 51625A HP price £22.60 our price £14.33 saving £8.27

Our Rainbow unit has now been running for four years and is as popular as ever. The girls aged between five and seven years enjoy making things such as wooden spoon puppets, moving ballerinas, and sea monsters made out of doughnuts! We have had some excellent help from Charlotte and Hannah who are in the middle of doing their bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. At the end of term we are having our annual get-together with the two Wotton Rainbow units at Watsome Farm. We will be playing games, playing with the parachute and having fun on the bouncy castle.

Next term we will continue to make exciting things, plus a trip to the Fun Hive. At the end of the term we will be having a joint Christmas party at Wotton Town Hall.

We do have a waiting list, but if your daughter would like to join please ring me on 01454 26xxxx.

Judith Wenman

The Farm Nursery has now completed its third year and numbers continue to grow. In the summer term we ran seven sessions per week, and although 28 children have left us for school, we will continue with seven sessions in September.

We had a very successful trip in June, taking two coaches of Nursery and Play group 13children on a day out to Court Farm Country Park, with its Shires and Shetlands, lambs to feed, deer, owls, pigs and goats. Luckily the sunshine came too and the children made good use of the adventure playground, trampolines, and tractor rides.

Our annual Garden Party will have taken place on 21st July and the children have been busy making and painting giant junk models to exhibit in the garden; so far we have a rocket, a yacht and a racing car.

We are taking bookings for September for children over two years and nine months old, although some sessions, which run from 9.05am–11.45am daily and 12.15pm–3.00pm Monday and Wednesday, are now full.

Nursery Grant

We would like to remind parents that if their child's fourth birthday falls between 1st September 2000 and 31st December 2000 then they are eligible for grant in the Spring Term; these are worth about £6.25 per session of the nursery or play group fees for up to five sessions per week. Everyone is entitled to the grant and we have the forms and make the application, so don't miss out.

Grants for three year olds is gradually being introduced and Gloucestershire has two thirds funding, but we have yet to be told how this will be allocated – probably to the most needy areas first before full funding for everyone is introduced – the deadline for this is 2002.

Chris Bennett

The ‘in word’ in the Diocese at the moment is ‘clustering’, where groups of parishes ‘cluster together’ to support one another through shared resources and joint services and events. A recent cluster has been formed locally following the departure of the parish priest from the neighbouring parishes of Kingswood, Hillesley and Alderley with Tresham. I have been asked to take responsibility for Kingswood whilst David Russell, at Wickwar, is looking after the other parishes. The changes provided the opportunity to consider how best to make use of all the resources available and David and I have agreed that we will work across the parish boundaries building up the life of the church using the skills, abilities and resources that we have at our means.

For us in Charfield this means a growing link with Kingswood and an increasing awareness that we are part of a larger group of parishes working together for one another's benefit. The immediate impact has been to rearrange some of the service times. The time of the main service at St. John's has, therefore, been brought forward to 9.30 a.m. apart from the 2nd Sunday of the month when All Age Worship remains at 10.15 a.m.

Whilst an earlier start may not appeal to everyone it does have the added advantage that the rest of the day is free, and in a climate where many people like to go out to visit family and friends on a Sunday this may prove to be an attractive change. During school terms the Sunday Club will also meet at 9.30 a.m. leaving the rest of the day free for the family.

St. John's will again be running a Playscheme during the Summer and the planned dates are Wednesday 23rd–Friday 25th August and Tuesday 29th August–Friday 1st September. There will be an all day activity on the 1st September and the All Age Worship on the 10th September will feature items from the Playscheme. Full details will be found on information sheets and application forms that will be available from the church porch. Following a successful time two years ago with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we shall continue with further adventures in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Our monthly service of Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m. for the next two months (6th August and 3rd September) will be held at St. James' Church, Churchend, reviving an earlier tradition of summer evening services at the old parish church – everyone is welcome!

Thank you to all those who helped in any way with the Joint Church Weekend on the 20th and 21st May, despite the weather it was an enjoyable time and we have a Millennium Stone that the village can be proud of.

Have a enjoyable and restful summer!

Revd. Robert Pestell,
Priest-in-Charge.

14[Advert for M A K Services]

[Advert for Martin Farrell Garden Design]

[Advert for Harlequin Therapy Equipment]

I would like to thank all those who made this year's sale such a success. The takings this year were over £1500 on the day of the sale, with some small amounts later adding to the total. Although this does not take account of expenses, this still leaves a good sum towards Church funds.

Thank you if you helped in any way, whether by growing, transporting, selling or buying our plants. We hope you are all happy with your purchases.

I said last time that I could not continue with the same system as has existed for the last 15 years. The event has grown so much over the years, that it is now too much for one person to manage alone. We already share in the growing of the bedding plants and we now need to set up a team to share in all the jobs. Some jobs need some gardening experience, but many need little or no gardening skills.

We already have a few people willing to be part of the team, but need others if the burden is not to become too great for any of these. Whether you are a regular Church attendee or not, your participation would be much appreciated. It can be fun to share in such a project that is a service to the whole parish, as well as providing much-needed funds for the upkeep of your Parish Church.

All you need to grow a few hardy plants is a few square feet of space in the garden. These only need watering if the weather is too dry and protection from slugs!

I have agreed to co-ordinate next year's sale, but still hope someone will offer to do this in future. I can never stop completely, as I enjoy it too much, so I will always be there to offer help and advice if needed. If you are willing to help, even in a small way, please contact me on 01454 26xxxx.

Kate Ramsay

We have 23 members at the moment many of whom enjoyed the mystery tour which stopped at Stow-on-the-Wold for lunch. We also enjoyed a trip to Weston with the Wickwar 15Group. If we had more members we could organise more day trips but it is not possible with our small number, owing to the cost of the coach hire.

The Rev Hopes entertained us with his singing and chat and members enjoyed the sugar craft talk and the wonderful display of cake decorations.

We still play bingo and rack our brains with quizzes.

Our ‘bring and buy’ is booked for July 19th and we usually have a Harvest Home in the autumn with an auction of the vegetables after, to help swell the funds.

M J Ealey (Secretary)

Are you bored? Think there's nothing to do around here? You're not looking hard enough!

Here's just a few of the things you can do:-

CANOEING ♦ SAILING ♦ CAMPING ♦ DANCE ♦ ATHLETICS ♦ ARCHERY ♦ FIRST AID ♦ FOOTBALL ♦ JUGGLING ♦ MUSIC ♦ RIDING ♦ SQUASH ♦ PHOTOGRAPHY ♦ ARCHAEOLOGY ♦ HEALTH & STYLE ♦ ZOOLOGY ♦ TENNIS ♦ SWIMMING ♦ MAP READING ♦ WALKING ♦ ART ♦ CONSERVATION ♦ COMPUTING

It's all just around the corner at the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards Scheme when you go for gold, silver or bronze.

It's challenging, rewarding and fun. So why not come along to the Thornbury Award Centre open night on:

Wednesday 20-SEP-2000 from 7-30 onwards.

We are in the Open Award centre at the bottom of Rock Street car park, Thornbury, behind “The CLUB”.

The 39th Charfield Village Fayre and Sports Day, which took place on 15th July 2000, was a great day I'm sure. I hope it was an enjoyable day and the weather was good and that you are looking forward to next years which will be Charfield's 40th.

I would like to thank all members of the Fayre Committee: Trish Coles, Trish Davies, Lesley Frankham, Liz and Brian Wright, Caroline and Mark Davies and Kim Wintle and Mike Smith (who again did the Sports). They all gave their ideas, time and energy free of charge.

I would also like to thank those companies who donated money and supported the day and to all other organisations and charities that gave up their time.

A special thank you goes to Trish and Cliff Davies who not only did the prize draw but spent many a spare moment on the design and the lay out of the program and I'm sure you'll agree they made a terrific job.

My job as co-ordinator was made so much easier thanks to the support of the committee and the support I received from many members of the community.

Thank you all very much. Let's look forward to next years Fayre and make it a 40th to remember.

Janice Vardon-Smith

For taking on the suggestion of the Millennium Committee we would all like to thank Margaret and Ken for organising a terrific street party on 17th June.

It had been fingers crossed all week for nice weather and we could not have been luckier, instead of sheltering from the rain we were looking for shade from the sun.

It all kicked off mid afternoon with a couple of competitions for the kids – decorate your bike and decorate an egg. Not to be outdone by the youngsters one of our more senior residents did a splendid job decorating her motorised scoota.

Fun and games ensued including a treasure hunt, musical chairs and much bouncing on the Bouncy Castle (enjoyed as much by the adults as the children!). A quiz pitting one side of the Close against the other was a close fought affair with the smallest margin of victory going 16to the ‘evens’. A game of rounders kept those busy who did not sit themselves down in front of the television (conveniently position in a front garden) to watch that ‘other kick off’.

The barbecues provided nourishment late into the evening making an excellent end to the day.

If you, like us, took time out to spend with the rest of your street, we hope you had as much fun as we did!

Residents of Berkeley Close

I have contacted a lady who does Jazz aerobics for both adults and children and who is willing to come to the Memorial Hall for a couple of sessions a week (Adult, child or both).

She also does body conditioning, toning and health and nutrition. Before she commits herself we need to find out whether there is much interest for such an activity within the village to make it worth her while. She runs classes in Yate, Thornbury, Bradley Stoke and Kingswood, Bristol and all the classes are well attended.

I would like to hear from any interested parties, both adult and child alike. Let's get some life into the Memorial Hall!

Janice Vardon-Smith 01454 26xxxx, xx Berkeley Close.

The big day finally dawned and, as I waited in my holding pen at the red start in Greenwich Park I realised that this was the culmination of the past year's training. I had over £2000 pledged towards my charity, Round Table Children's Wish, which should be ample motivation to finish the 26 miles 385 yards. I had stayed the previous night at the Novotel in Hammersmith as part of a special package organised by Weston Running Promotions, which is designed to take all the stress out of the weekend and something I would do again.

The weather was bright and sunny and a complete contrast to the last few days of rain and cold. I had had my picture taken with Round Table President John Fraser, warmed up, used the toilet umpteen times and put my rucksack on the baggage lorry. I checked my number 37432, and my microchip attached to my shoe, which kept track of my times around the course. I carried a water bottle made up with “Liquid Power” which was the official London Marathon isotonic drink being handed up, and a PowerBar for emergencies (which was needed later!).

When the gun went at 9.30am I waited … and waited until we could start to shuffle forward and make our way out of Greenwich Park for me to cross the start line ten minutes later! My plan was to try to stick to ten-minute miles to conserve energy for the second half and I did this quite well. There was a marvellous atmosphere and many costumes to admire and also admire the people for running in them! Rhinos (x12), birthday cakes, Batman, (x3) fairies, Elvis (x2), clowns, a tree and even a London bus brought colour and novelty to the masses of runners which numbered over a record 32,500 starters.

Going round the Cutty Sark at 6 miles I saw Table Chairman Richard and by the 13.1 mile halfway point I was still going strong. Tiredness was beginning to creep in however and I had to stop by a kindly St John's Ambulance lady who massaged my legs and told me to get more fluid into me. I had been taking water bottles (and avoiding the discarded ones) at every mile but I needed more so I took two from then on. I also ate my PowerBar and wished I had brought more as it made me feel better. I then saw Tracy and my Wotton Round Table friends at Mudchute (18 miles) just as I was walking and clutching an armful of water bottles. This lifted my spirits no end! They were just the people I needed to see!

I resumed running after a brief stop with my “backup team” and felt better as I emerged from the Isle of Dogs and headed back down the other side of the Highway towards Tower Bridge for the second time. Going down the Highway the first time at the halfway point I saw runners going the other way who had covered 21 miles and that had a depressing effect on me! Past the Tower of London across the cobbles (ouch), through the underpass running with fellow Tabler Rob Marrow (thanks Rob) and along the long, straight Birdcage Walk towards the finish. I just about remember 17seeing Buckingham Palace on my left, sharp right into the Mall and I could see the finish! The commentator was saying we had to get over the line to be inside six hours so I sprinted and only remembered as I crossed the line that I had ten minutes in hand from the start!

I collected my medal (which felt as though it weighed a ton!), goody bag and foil blanket then headed over to the baggage lorry to retrieve my rucksack. Waiting over at the tree marked “C” my friends turned up along with Andy Hollyoake of Chippenham RT and John Sands of the Children's Wish Charity who congratulated me but I don't remember much about it! My time was 5 hours 49 minutes 32 seconds and I finished 29,415th compared to winner Antonio Pinto of Portugal who beat the course and European record with a time of 2 hours 6 minutes and 36 seconds!

As I rode home on the coach I reflected on a job well done and was already thinking of April 22nd next year, watch this space … !

John Francksen
Wotton-Under-Edge & District 974 & Area Sports Officer

P.S. On May 30th I presented a cheque to National CSLO Andy Hollyoake on behalf of Round Table Children's Wish for £2257. That was a very proud moment.

[Photo: Cheque being handed over.]

One toddler asleep for a quick nap, I've decided to put pen to paper to create a masterpiece for the next CHADRA newsletter, but any new or newish mums out there will probably sympathise when I tell you this effort took me ten attempts!!! Eighteen months on and still my post-natal brain is the size of a pea, and I'm told by the experienced mums who take pity on me, that it only gets worse!!!

Thanks goodness then for the Charfield Baby and Toddler Group, where for an hour and a half each week I don't have to apologise too much for not always managing to phrase a paragraph accurately, let alone sing in tune when attempting to lead the singing.

For those of you out there, who aren't aware of our existence, we are a totally voluntary run group of Parents and Carers, who seek salvation once a week with our 0–3 year olds on a Thursday morning, during term times between 10–11:30 a.m.

The Toddler group is a good opportunity to meet other mums, dads and carers, but more importantly allows the children to learn to interact together through play, crafts and very wobbly singing!

The Group runs very much as a team effort, with all hands on deck! We would however struggle each year to continue without the loyal support of Charfield Parish Council, Renishaw, M.J. Fews, Charfield garage, the Railway Tavern and Eclipse Hair Studio. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to there organisations for their kind generosity.

It's been a busy few months, what with Bouncy Castles at Easter, David Elam the photographer excelling himself again with the toddler portraits in may and already we're preparing to finish for the Summer Term with an informal Teddy Bears Picnic – oh well it'll soon be Christmas!!!

Lisa Wiles (Chairperson) 01454 26xxxx

We are now half way through this millennium year and I for one am still waiting for summer to arrive!

The Joint Church Event that took place on the 20/21st May was a great success despite the variable weather. Saturdays events included the unveiling of the Millennium Stone by John Acton, Chairman of the Parish Council and the displaying of the Time Capsule. The weekend culminated in a joint church service accompanied by the group ‘Sure Foundation’. Everyone attending had a wonderful time and 18credit most go to Robert Pestell for orchestrating the event.

The street parties that took place on the 17th June went well. The sun shone, the wine flowed and the gastronomic delights took all afternoon and evening to consume! Concorde even put in an appearance for a flyby. What more could people want? Well, can we do it again next year please? … Thank you to all those who organised parties, sorry if I didn't manage to get round to taking your photos. As I'm writing this the summer fayre, with the long awaited Millennium fireworks, is upon us so my fingers and toes are crossed for fine weather. Most of the Millennium projects are near fruition. The Domesday book is awaiting binding and the only remaining project is that of the village verge planting which we are hoping to commence in the autumn with the help of Leyhill Prison. Any donations of native plants e.g. foxgloves, primroses or bulbs would be appreciated.

The Domesday Book is a limited edition so if you haven't already ordered your copy then do so quickly by either contacting myself or any other committee member. A bargain at £5. Thank you to everyone who has committed time and support for our Millennium projects. Have a great summer (if we ever get one) and happy holidays.

Carol Parton. Chairperson Millennium Committee.

[Advert for Deborah Jayne Pringle]

[Advert for Barbara Ealey]

[Advert for Cotswold Edge Carpets]

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Puzzle Page Answers

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Following my article in the last CHADRA Newsletter a number of meetings have taken place to further the plans to develop the Foundation Room and use it as a venue for an Out of School Hours Care Facility for school children. The Charfield National School Foundation Charity Governors have agreed to provide an initial £7,000 and are seeking additional funding for the remainder of the £25,000 that it will cost to replace the roof.

A parents committee has been established to prepare a grant application for the Out of School Hours Care and further meetings are planned in the future.

Robert Pestell
Chairman, Charfield National School Foundation.

Minister: Rev. Philip Hopes
A warm welcome awaits you at all of our services.

Sunday School. Sunday 11am.
1st Sunday of each month at 11am. Family Service.
Worship 6 pm. (Sunday services will start at 3 pm from October 8th)
Ladies Bright Hour Alternate Tuesday's 2.30pm
Bible Study and Prayer Friday's 2:30pm.
Group Practice 7.30pm.

October 1st Harvest Thanksgiving Services 11am Family Service 6 pm (when we shall be joined with friends from Ebley and Kingswood).

Gifts of produce to Cyrieans. Gift Day Saturday Sept 30th, the chapel will be open from 12–4 pm to receive gifts for Church Funds and produce for harvest.

Millennium Birthday Celebration

On Saturday afternoon at the Millennium Birthday Celebration, our allotted time span was the years from 1600 to 1800 and our subject cookery. Everyone involved did some research on the period and shared their ideas and information. We decided to recreate a Georgian kitchen from a picture dated 1790 and we all turned up dressed in period costume copied from the servant girls in it. As a birthday treat we brought along with us home-cooked traditional ‘Cornish Farings’ and home-made wine to hand out to all the visitors and for the especially brave – yes! – genuine boiled pigs trotters.

Anyone that wished to could try their hand at mixing up the ingredients for yet another old recipe – ‘Dapstones’, in genuine Georgian utensils, and having them cooked on a genuine 20thC camping stove – we were in the middle of a field after all, and our fireplace wasn't a fully functional replica! They smelt and tasted delicious.

[Photo: Women in Georgian kitchen outfits.]

On Sunday morning during the joint service held in St John's Church, all the children worked together in the Memorial hall to compose the lyrics for a chorus and made their own instruments to accompany themselves in their new song.

The ‘Churches Together’ Service in the afternoon with ‘Sure Foundation’ was very well supported with Mike Hawkins, our guest speaker, sharing the Word of God. Refreshments at the close of the service afforded opportunity for a time of fellowship, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to the collection in the Post office and in Steve's shop for the leaving gift to the post lady Anne Young.

We were able to present her with two single garden seats purchased from Leyhill prison.

Let us hope we now get some good weather so that she can make good use of them in her garden.

Once again many thanks.

Marion Smith, Collection organiser.

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As the summer term and yet another school year draws to a close I have been asked to write a report for this edition of the Chadra newsletter.

I will start by informing you about some of the activities, which have taken place during the term.

Firstly, we have been working on the theme of helping others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This has almost happened by accident as several opportunities have come our way.

Following the receipt of an advertisement about Red Cross Day which involved wearing red as opposed to our usual school uniform, it was decided that we should take part. A total of £72 was raised and forwarded to the charity.

Subsequently we were approached by a parent who wondered whether the school would be interested in sponsoring a child in Pakistan. Having considered the information carefully the idea was presented during school assembly. The children appeared to be keen to help and Mrs Pickford is currently working with a committee of Y5 children who are putting together some ideas and a programme of events which will raise the money we need to support this. The first event is to be held at the end of term but as the committee is responsible for the advertising, I will leave that to them!

The same week that we had agreed to undertake this sponsorship, my neighbour approached me and asked whether the children would help provide some basic equipment for three schools that she had visited during a charity walk in Peru. We have agreed to participate in this project and the children are bringing in pencils, crayons, felt pens, paper, etc. which she will then take with her when she next visits in September.

Participation in these projects will hopefully make the children more aware of the plight of others and realise how lucky they are. They have much for which to be thankful.

As part of the school's Millennium projects, the children have provided pieces of work which have been published in Charfield's special Millennium book. We have also provided some artefacts to be included in the Time Capsule. These are items the staff and children considered to be representative of school at the beginning of the 21st century. We have also had a whole school Millennium photograph taken.

All the usual summer events are also taking place. Classes are involved in educational visits to various places. These trips are of great value to the children. Some of the pupils have participated in the District Sports and done very well for both themselves and as representatives of the school. Our own Sports Day is to take place during the last week of term – weather permitting!

The Y2 and Y6 pupils have now completed their SATs. We have received the results of the Y2 children and they have done extremely well. They should feel very proud. We are still awaiting the results of the key stage 2 Maths test, but the results received for English and Science are also very good. We are proud of these achievements which reflect the efforts of both staff and pupils.

Education is once again undergoing change. In September we have the introduction of Curriculum 2000 which is described as the “restored” curriculum. This curriculum is said to offer more flexibility and be more skills than knowledge based.

Other changes are also afoot. Mrs. Wren will be leaving us at the end of term as she and her family move away from the area. We thank her very much for her contribution to the school during the last year and wish her well for the future.

In September we welcome Mr. Frontczak who takes up his new post as Headteacher. I am sure this will be the start of a new and exciting era for the school.

As usual the PTA have been very active, supporting the school in many ways. I would like to thank them publicly for their hard work and commitment. It is really appreciated by all those involved in the school.

That just leaves me to say a big thank you to everybody who has supported me during my time as Acting Headteacher, and in particular the staff and children. I have enjoyed the last 22two terms and now look forward to seeing Charfield School move from strength to strength.

Mrs. Richardson
Acting Headteacher

You may recall from the last issue that, thanks to the generosity of local and parish councils, and local businesses, we now have a new printer for producing the newsletter.

As a result, the dot matrix printer we used to cut the stencils for the old duplicator is no longer needed. This printer (a Star LC24-100) whilst not being state-of-the-art, is perfectly useable, and compatible with any modern PC.

The Chadra committee has agreed that we would like it to go to one of the village organisations. So, if any of the local organisations would like a free printer, give Geoff and Hilary a call on 01454 26xxxx, and we will give it to the first organisation that calls.

Last issue we did not have any space to fill in at the end of the newsletter, but this quarter we are pleased to announce the return of “student bloopers” …

Early Modern History

When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, they were greeted by Indians, who came down the hill rolling their war hoops before them. The Indian squabs carried porposies on their backs. Many of the Indian heroes were killed, along with their cabooses, which proved very fatal to them. The winter of 1620 was a hard one for he settlers. Many people died and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for all of this.

Modern History

One of the causes of the Revolutionary Wars was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. During the War, Read Coats and Paul Revere was throwing balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking and the peacocks crowing. Finally, the colonists won and no longer had to pay for taxies.

Delegates from the original thirteen states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two signer of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin had gone to Boston carrying all his clothes in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. He invented electricity by rubbing cats backwards and declared “a horse divided against itself cannot stand.” Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

George Washington married Martha Curtis and in due time became the Father of Our Country. Then the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the Constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.

Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest President. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. When Lincoln was President, he wore only a tall silk hat. He said, “in onion there is strength.” Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address while traveling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an envelope. He also signed the Emasculation Proclamation, and the Fourteenth Amendment gave the ex-negroes citizenship. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theatre and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in the movie. The believed assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposedly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career.

Meanwhile in Europe, the Enlightenment was a reasonalbe time. Voltaire invented electricity and also wrote a book called “Candy.” Gravity was invented by Isaac Newton. It is chiefly notable in the Autumn, when the apples are falling off the trees.

Bach was the most famous composer in the world, as so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was very large. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. His music was very loud.

Have a great Summer.

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Please make use of this diary. Either telephone or drop a note of any additions or modifications to Geoff or Hilary Wignall (01454 26xxxx, x Berkeley Close, or xxxx @ Breathemail.net)

KLB = Katharine Lady Berkeley School
FR = Foundation Room, Primary School
SH = Charfield School Hall
SL = Sportsman's Lounge, Memorial Hall
MH = Memorial Hall

Why not put this on your fridge door or notice board?

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If you wish to alter the entries below, please telephone Geoff or Hilary on 01454 26xxxx

Transcriber Notes

This issue was produced on 24 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: 2017-01-30.