CHADRA

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2003

Next Copy Date – 12th April 2003

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Many thanks to Elaine Hathway for responding to our request in the last edition and providing the artwork for the cover of the first issue of 2003. Elaine has recently retired and thought she would “have a go” when she read our request. She has sketched the entrance to Manor Lane from the bottom of Charfield Hill – and we think it's excellent. Elaine, many thanks – we will be delivering your prize to you very soon.

If Elaine has inspired you all to “have a go”, please do so and let us have your picture 16 cm square (approx. 6″ square) in black and white on the theme of ‘me and my village’, along with your name, address, age and contact number. Perhaps you will be our cover artist for the next issue.

First of all, may I wish all CHADRA readers a very happy and healthy new year from Charfield Primary School.

This last term has been a very busy one for the school and here are the main ‘headlines’ from my newsletters to parents:

Remodelling
We now have three new temporary buildings and a playground next to the car park. Two of the buildings are double classrooms for our Year 3 and 4 and Year 5 and 6 classes. The smaller one is the toilet block for these classes. At the start of the autumn term staff had been extremely busy preparing these rooms, moving all the furniture out of old classes into the new ones and generally getting everything ready for the pupils for the start of their new school year. The remodelling will be done in two phases. Phase 1 will see the original school building turned into the administrative block and will start on 6 January 2003. Phase 2 will start when Phase 1 has been completed and will see the demolition of the old temporary buildings and the building of a new Key Stage 2 block, which will be joined to the main school. This will greatly enhance the school and make all areas of the school for pupils easy to move from one area to the other, all undercover. The completed work will totally remodel the school and bring the facilities truly up to date.

Mrs. Farish and Mrs. Owen
After working at this school over the last 10 years, Mrs. Farish has decided to leave her post at Charfield, in order to concentrate on other areas of her life. She has given the school excellent service and has been a much valued colleague, who we will all be sorry to see go. We wish her every success and happiness for the future.

After many, many years working as a Lunchtime Supervisor and then for the last 10 years working with Mrs. Ealey in the kitchen, Mrs. Owen is moving to another job within Charfield. I would like to thank her for all her hard work throughout this time and wish her happiness in the future in her new post.

New Teachers from January 2003
I am delighted to tell you of two new appointments to our staff, following recent interviews. Mr. Keith Bryant has been appointed to teach our Year 5 class for the rest of the academic year. He is an experienced teacher, who is keen on PE and football. He has already been in to meet Year 5 and we look forward to Mr. Bryant starting in January. Miss Marie Day has been appointed to teach our Year 2 class from January until the end of the academic year. Miss Day was working with a Year 2 class in a school in Thornbury, and finished her contract at the end of the autumn term. We are looking forward to Miss Day coming to Charfield and working with us.

Lunchtime Supervisor
Still Needed – As Soon As Possible
We have a vacancy for a Lunchtime Supervisor. We urgently require this post to be filled by someone as soon as 4possible. The work will involve supporting an infant child with special needs on a one to one basis. The working time is from 12:00–1:15, Monday to Friday, term time only. The pay has recently gone up to £5.47 per hour. If you are interested in this post please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you.

Volunteers In School
I would like to thank those of you who have already offered to help out school. If there are any more budding helpers, please don't be shy – we need your help! We are especially short of male helpers – especially on Tuesday mornings from 10.55 to 12.15 to help with transporting our children to and from Yate Leisure Centre for their swimming lessons. Please come and see me or Mrs Peaster in the office if you can spare our children and staff some of your time.

Harvest Festival / Pink Day
On Thursday, 3 October, it was our Harvest Festival day, a time of celebrating and also helping those less fortunate than us. I would like to thank our parents for their support and generosity with these two events. We raised £150 from the sale of Harvest Festival donations and this money went to Oxfam and Christian Aid. Our coffee morning and cake sale on Pink Day raised £500 for Cancer Research UK. Many thanks to everyone who helped make these days so enjoyable and successful.

Children In Need/Poppy Appeal/ Charity Shoeboxes
A great big ‘Thank you’ to all those who baked cakes to sell for Children In Need, especially Mrs. Bennett who gave up her time to help arrange the sale of the cakes at break time. In total we raised £69.50, selling cakes at 20p each, which was a brilliant effort! Our sale of poppies raised £29.09 for the appeal this year. Mrs. Peer sends her grateful thanks to those of you who joined in the Shoebox Charity Appeal. Over 80 boxes were brought in and have now been collected to send to those who are less fortunate than us. Thank you.

Book Fair
Our recent Book Fair was our best one yet! We sold over £1050 of books during the week. I hope the children really enjoy the books you have bought and keep the reading bug going all the time.

Tag Rugby Success
18 of our pupils made up two of the teams that entered the Thornbury Tag Rugby Competition. The teams were:

Both teams played so well in all their games throughout the tournament. A crunch time came in the qualifying rounds when our Team A was drawn against Team B. The match was so tightly fought that it had to go in to extra time, with Team B winning 3 tries to 2! They then went on to win the shield for the tournament. ☺

This is the second time that we have entered the tournament and come away with a cup or a shield, which is a great credit to the pupils at our school. ☺ ☺

Despite the awful weather, the children really enjoyed themselves and were brilliantly supported by their brave, cold and wet parents! Special thanks must go to Mr. Chinnick, Mrs. Britton and Mr. and Mrs. Mosley, who helped to keep an extra special eye on all the children and extra big thanks must go to Mr. Smith and Mrs. Wintle who helped to train our children for the event and coached them during the competition.

5Football News
Our football team has been in action recently on two occasions. On Thursday 31 October our team travelled to Yate to take part in a fun tournament at the Outdoor Sports Complex. The team played very well, getting better as they went on. The results were a 0–1-loss v Fromebank, a 0–0 draw v St. Mary's C of E ‘A’ team and finishing with a 1–0 win v St. Barnabas ‘A’ team.

On Thursday 21 November, we were hosts to St. Michael's Primary School, from Winterbourne. Both teams played very well and at the end of the match we finished the victors with a score line of 2–0!

The school team were in action again recently, travelling to Acton Turville to take on Trinity Primary School. Mr. Bryant our newly appointed Year 5 member of staff came and used his skills as a qualified referee to run the line as a linesman throughout the match. In a very good game, which our team controlled we managed to score in both halves. Only the excellent goalkeeping from the opposition goalkeeper managed to keep the score from being any bigger. Well done the team and thanks to the manager, Mike Smith for all his hard work!

Cross Country Success
The Brimsham Green Challenge
A series of three cross country races for primary schools in the area were held on three successive weeks over three different courses at Brimsham Green School, Yate. Martin McNeil won the event on each occasion, and the best-improved Charfield athlete was Arthur Bennett (35 places).

This was primarily a team event and overall Charfield, with 21 points, came second to a much larger school, The Ridge, Yate who gained 24 points. These races were used as training for the Primary School League races to be held at K.L.B. over the next few months and Charfield have already set a high standard to live up to! Our thanks go to Mike Smith and Kim Wintle who train the pupils and take them to the events.

Christmas at School
An enjoyable but very busy time for all the adults in school, as ever!

Our school choir practised and sang to the Charfield Luncheon Club at their Christmas Dinner. They sang beautifully, with Mrs. Windram, and were very well received by the members who really enjoyed the entertainment.

The Infants wrote and performed their own nativity this year. Quite a feat, and one that three very appreciative audiences watched and thoroughly enjoyed. The juniors had two evenings of varied and interesting entertainment, doing different activities in each of the four junior classrooms.

Christmas dinner, prepared by Mrs. Ealey and her team, was as festive and delicious as ever, and made all the more colourful with the crackers for each child that the Friends of the School had purchased.

The infants enjoyed their party in the Hall, whilst the juniors had great fun at Cattle Country as part of their Christmas activities.

We finished the term with a Christmas Carol Concert, arranged by Mrs. Windram, in St. Johns Church, with the Christmas thought being led by Reverend Pestell.

As I said, a very busy, full, but rewarding term.

Now we go in to 2003 hoping that it will be happy and healthy for all of us.

Stefan Frontczak, Headteacher

6[Advert for Greenline Tanks]

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[Advert for Bradley Garage]

[Advert for Eclipse Hair Studio]

[Advert for Alan Hamer driving]

[Advert for Charfield Post Office]

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Half time (season) is virtually over and the second half is about to get started with our five teams raring to take on the opposition!! Despite the often wet or chilly weather this does not dampen the spirit of over seventy youngsters who regularly turn out each week. Plus, of course their families who are equally committed on the touchline cheering them on …

At this stage the five teams have played over fifty matches, with thirty-four won, two drawn and seventeen defeats. Goals scored are nearly two hundred and against are just over one hundred. In detail starting with the under 10's; they remain unbeaten in all competition – won ten matches and conceded only four goals in all. A record to be proud of as they push for honours. The under 11's have only been beaten once in the League (played ten) and are on course to finish in the top two – watch this space … The older boys at under 13's and 14's are having a mixed season, however their commitment and endeavour is impressive as they strive to improve their League position. Finally, the under 15's have hit a rich vein of form. They have reached the semi-final of the League Cup (village hall – 9th February – 2:00 p.m. kick off) and have won their last six matches including the then unbeaten League leaders. On their way they have scored over forty goals and at this stage are a good bet to pick up honours at the end the season. They play in the village on a Sunday and are certainly worth watching!!

The clubs additional facilities at the Moreton Ground, in Tortworth are proving a great success. The next phase is to create another pitch for Mini League Football – children of primary school age – over the coming year.

Although next season seems a long way off, the club are considering its options. At this stage the club hopes to run teams at U 16's, U 15's, U 14's, U 12's and U 11's, the same as this season, with the possibility of additional teams if managers make themselves available – for more details call myself on 01454 26xxxx.

Finally, the club would like to thank everybody who supported both the coffee morning and family disco making them both great successes in raising club funds.

Jeremy Lewis – Secretary.

Well, I know everyone must be saying it, but can you believe that Christmas has come and gone already? We have a lot of new faces at the Tae Kwon Do club since the last edition of Chadra, but where are all of you who are feeling guilty about those few ‘extra’ mince-pies and glasses of sherry you had over the festive period?! What about those New Years Resolutions to get fit? Don't forget that we are on your doorstep, and the less distance you have to travel for your workout, the more likely you are of actually leaving the house! Don't let the cold weather put you off … we have ways of making you sweat!!!!

So, what news do we have since October …
Both Andy and I were successful in our gradings, so are now officially promoted to 3rd Dan and 2nd Dan. The hard work paid off, but I forgot how nerve-racking gradings were; after all, it'd been over 4 years since we last did one!

The British Championships were held in November, in Kettering. Nick Smith and Colin Wise entered for sparring, and both won Gold Medals after fighting their way through the rounds, in their respective divisions (Heavyweight Red-belt and Lightweight Blue-belt). Kayleigh Parker entered the Girls Middleweight Sparring, and won Bronze. Well done to them – you may have seen their faces in the Gazette?

With the end of the year, comes the Student of the Year Awards, which 1 child 8and 1 Adult receives. The two recipients this year shone above everybody else. Emily Waldron, 8, of Rangeworthy received the kid's award, for her attitude and effort at training, and her achievements at numerous tournaments. Nick Smith, of Charfield, was awarded the Adult Student of the Year, for all of his help with both Charfield and Chipping Sodbury clubs, his improvement in Tae Kwon Do and his effort and motivation. He also brings a fantastic sense of fun to the club. Congratulations to both.

The last lesson of the year, brought madness and mayhem! Silly hats, sweets, and loads of games – and that was just the Adults class!! Photos of the shenanigans can be seen on the web shortly – www.andystkd.co.uk.

This month will see the first grading of the year, which will be held after this piece has to go in for issue. News on the Grading Award will be reported in the next issue of Chadra. As well as the grading, there are two tournaments coming up in the next 3 months – the West of England and the Welsh Championships. Hopefully some of our younger martial-artists will compete, and realise how good they actually are.

Well, that's about it for this time, but it's a new year, and a lot of hard work, exercise and fun awaits us!

Rebecca Pring

At the beginning of 2003, I have to say that more and more new clients are asking to use the scheme.

Anyone can use the scheme, whether they are pensioners or not, to go to doctor, dentist, chiropody, physiotherapy, or hospital appointments if they have no other means of getting there.

Pensioners pay a subsidised fee and non-pensioners pay the full cost.

Recently I have been asked if tablets can be picked up from the surgeries in Wotton by quite a few people, so I have now extended the scheme to accommodate this request, provided people are not expecting the tablets immediately. This arose because people were asking for a lift just to pick up their medication.

In fact because the drivers are being called on more often this extra facility frees up my drivers only for appointments. There will be a small charge for this service, but don't hesitate to ring me, and I will be only too pleased to help.

Marion Smith, Scheme Organiser

We had a very busy first term with many different fund-raising events/ideas put into action.

The Quiz Night and Shopping Evening were mentioned in the last Chadra, but since November we've held a Halloween Disco which was very popular. The children made a great effort with their costumes and all looked really good – some a bit too scary.

The Firework Display was hampered slightly by the fact that we couldn't have a bonfire this year and the dreadful weather during the day. Thankfully by the evening this had improved giving us perfect dry and mild conditions. The display was a great success.

The Christmas Fair in December was very well supported. Father Christmas was kept busy all afternoon and we had over twenty different stalls and attractions. Making it's debut this year was a craft room where children could make decorations, & cards and create badges – this proved very popular.

9The Christmas Disco on the last day of term was a lovely way to round off the school term, but it wasn't the end for us.

Over the last two weekends in December we teamed-up with Eastwood Park Garden Centre to run their Christmas Grotto. They created a lovely grotto with three mechanical reindeer (and the resident cat, which liked to curl up and sleep on the bed) and we supplied the helpers and arranged for the man himself to be present – to give out presents! Thank you to everyone who gave up their time. We raised £200 for new play equipment.

Rounding off the year was a very last-minute affair. We took over the organisation of the village New Year's Eve party, giving us less than two weeks to publicise it, produce and sell tickets, hire a disco, sort out decorations etc, etc. We had hoped merely to cover our costs – we just wanted the village to be able to have a New Years Eve party. Well, I am very happy to say it was a roaring success, and we raised £120! Thank you to everyone who came, all the Friends and helpers who gave up their time, and a big thank you to Pete Tymms who acted as our impromptu DJ – his performance was, as ever, outstanding.

Whilst looking for other fund-raising ideas, we investigated the lucrative, yet fairly simple and effortless concept of recycling and came across several organisations that pay for second-hand toner, printer cartridges and old mobile phones. We have joined Operation Squirrel and this has proved to be very popular – I currently have a garage full of cartridges to be recycled!

We have also found a great scheme through ‘Schoolkitty’. This is an internet shopping scheme where parents and friends shop through the site with a percentage of the purchase price being passed on to the school. Schoolkitty has more than 160 stores, who pass on an agreed percentage of every sales, these include WH Smith, John Lewis, Amazon, Argos, Tesco and Currys.

To use the scheme you simply log on to www.schoolkitty.co.uk, where you register and select Charfield Primary as the benefiting school. Then you just click on the shop icon of your choice and shop in the normal way. It's very simple, doesn't cost the user a single penny, yet benefits the school greatly. Please bear this site in mind if you shop online.

Well, that was 2002. Looking at our diary for 2003 things don't really slow down much.

Professional chef, Phil Barnes, has promised to cook-up something delicious for us and we will be organising a Sunday Lunch sometime during March – watch out for posters.

We also hope to hold a car-boot sale, a childrens fashion show and a barbecue evening at Cattle Country.

Amongst these and other events pencilled-in for 2003, our biggest will be the Village Fete on Saturday, 5th July. Space is severely restricted at the school due to the rebuilding work, which means that temporary buildings on the school field are taking up much of the space we would need for the school Summer Fair. As no-one had again come forward to organise the annual village sports & gala day, it seemed logical for us to hold our fair on the village field and incorporate all the village clubs and concerns into one big Village Fete. Details are still quite sketchy, but we hope to have many attractions and sideshows – something for everyone, more details will follow in the next Chadra. We are working closely with the village hall committee and are also lucky to have the guidance of Janice Vardon-Smith, who has organised this event in the past.

Included in the plans is a horticultural show with vegetable and flower competitions and categories for best cakes/jams/preserves 10etc. Sunflower seeds will be attached to each programme we sell, allowing children in the village to take up the challenge of growing a competition-winning sunflower!

A possible new addition this year is Queen of the Fete. With different age categories (4–7, 8–11 & 12–16), children will enter as princesses, with the hope of being crowned Queen of her group. The Queens will then get the honour of opening next year's Fete.

All these plans and the many other ideas currently being discussed should be more definite by the next edition of Chadra.

Basically, the day is one which we hope will be enjoyed by the whole village and beyond, and which can benefit all the village clubs and organisations that make-up Charfield.

If you have any comments or would like further details of anything outlined here, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Happy New Year!

Jacqui Mitchell

It has been a while since our Scout Group has made a contribution to Chadra and a lot has changed in that time. Along with losing a Cub Leader due to relocation and the foot and mouth crisis we had to merge our two Cub Packs, also the Beaver numbers were falling and we lost the Wednesday night Colony. Lucky for us Jean, the Beaver Leader, decided to move up to Scouts is enjoying her role as an Assistant Scout Leader. The Beavers have since increased their numbers and we could start a new Colony (which would be open to girls) should we find new Leaders. Likewise the Cub Scout Pack is nearly overflowing, a new Pack (again open to girls) would be possible with the additional Adult help. So come on join in! Our Scout Troop has been very successful, they recently started a new Troop that meet on Monday evenings, led by Mike and Pauline Chinnick, (ex Beavers), and both Troops are open to girls. All our sections, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Ventures have completed a very active and interesting year. Camps were aplenty with lots of activities and challenges for the young people involved. Four of our Venture Scouts gained their Queen Scouts Awards last year and paraded before the Queen and Prince Phillip on St George's Day at Windsor Castle, pictures of our Ventures were seen on TV, in the local papers and in the Scouting magazines, we were very proud of them.

Since September last year the Scouting Organisation has been undergoing enormous changes. Early in the year we had a uniform change, since September we are following a new programme based on personal achievement and challenges and of course new badges. This month we will see the introduction of the ‘Explorer Unit’, Scouts will transfer to this section when they reach 14, they will remain in Explorers until 18 and then move on to Network Scouts until 25. Watch the press for more news!

Our wish list for the this year is, as I have already mentioned, to restart the Beaver Colony, restart the Cub Pack, improve the facilities at our Scout HQ, Talbot's End, Cromhall and at our summer site at Avening Green (painting, heating, new kitchen, toilets, showers etc.) if anyone out there can help with our list please, please contact us. We need Leaders, Materials, Money and Labour!

And finally, thank you to our dedicated Leaders, our parents and members of the Executive Committee for all the help that they have given to us over the past year.

Yours in Scouting,
Sandra Carnegie,
Assistant Group Scout Leader

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Well – that's it then – Christmas and New Year celebrations are over for another year. For us it means, the children can sleep once more in their own rooms, the fridge in the garage reverts to being used for beer, juice and bottled water instead of huge overstocks of basic groceries like cream, yoghurts, salad etc (which this year I forgot about – as it was out in the garage – and they walked out by themselves sometime over the New Year! Ugh!) and a mountain of bedding and towels required for guests can be washed and returned to the airing cupboard where it gradually over the next year works it's way to the back so I have to rummage all over again next year to retrieve it! (Actually, this year with the blooming power cuts, I had 1 day between guests to strip and remake beds and couldn't wash anything as we had no power for 14 hours! – I had to resort to ringing our friends and ask them to bring their own bedding! Well – it's a change from flowers or wine I suppose!)

One of John's presents was a head torch for running in the dark, which he is forced to do in the winter as daylight hours tend to be spent doing that inconvenient thing called ‘work’. This present really came in to it's own during the power cuts – in fact I think they should be standard issue for Charfield residents considering the amount of times we have been without power recently. I am old enough to remember the 3-day week in the 70's – the difference then was that I was young enough to enjoy the novelty of candlelit evenings and no homework given out because it was too dark to see to study!

To add insult to injury, the day after the latest long siege when I was clearing away the candles, scraping wax off the worktops and putting the camping burner back – not too far away as it will no doubt be needed before long – the electricity bill arrived! I wasn't impressed and unfortunately for Aquila (the supply company) their phone number was clearly printed on the top! I rang and asked their Customer Service department if the 3 recent cuts were connected (no pun intended!) and what the company were doing about maintenance to minimise these losses of power – I will, it appears, be receiving a letter in due course.

During the second long power cut, which was before Christmas, we realised the need for a big torch and I knew that there was one wrapped and under the Christmas tree for John's brother-in-law, Peter. I decided to take this for our use and replace it “after all, I can always get another one!” So, picture the four of us rooting around under the (prickly) Christmas Tree by the light of one candle trying to find the shape, which felt most like a large car torch. We opened at least four presents before we got the correct one and lost several gift tags through rummaging about. Oh and do you think I could get a replacement torch for Peter … of course I couldn't!

Actually, as I was clearing up I was struck by how the candles make the walls so smoky and soot streaked. I wondered how they managed to keep their houses clean before electric lighting – then I realised that probably no-one really bothered as it was so dark most of the time you couldn't see the dirty walls anyway!! Perhaps I could adopt that strategy when the house has become so untidy I don't know what to do first – if I just take my glasses off I can't see the mess anyway!

Christmas seemed to be a longer break than usual this year with the weekend in the middle and we all enjoyed having John at home for 2 whole weeks (and he didn't miss the 3 hour drive to Hertford!). On Monday 6th Jan, however, it was business as usual and he left at 5am to miss the traffic. At 8am a sleepy Andrew stumbled downstairs asking, “Where's Dad?”, “Gone to work”, I replied. “OH NO”, said Andrew. “He's not starting THAT again, is he?”

Tracy Francksen

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We are still a very active unit with girls on the waiting list. Last term we made lots of Christmas crafts to do with candles and we had a little performance for our parents at the last session of last term. This term we are travelling around the World. We are looking at Rainbows in different countries sampling international food and making unusual crafts. The girls will have their own passports and will have lots of fun playing games as well. There is also a District event in February remembering Thinking Day which is when the Guide Association remember our friends overseas.

If you have any questions please ring me on 01454 26xxxx (Judith Wenman)

More tips and ideas from The Massage Table Store

This is the time of the year when our energy levels and immune system is usually at its lowest. There are many reasons for this, the lack of sunshine and being indoors contributes considerably and many people do genuinely suffer from SAD in this country. Just ½ hour outside everyday even if it is not sunny does help, both physically and psychologically.

Our energy levels are often low at this time of the year as we do not do much exercise and then think we are too tired to exercise. Exercise stimulates the immune system and even a brisk walk every day helps. You do not have to spend a fortune in time and money going to the gym. Walk to school and back each day, ideal for the kids too, who are also subject to this and in desperate trouble of turning into overweight couch potatoes. It is scary to see the number of overweight children these days, which could very quickly turn into lots of health problems easily overcome by exercise and good food.

With the cold weather it is so easy to turn to the warming comfort foods. There is nothing wrong in moderation but we really do need to ensure that at this time of the year we do have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables or juices to build our immune system and help fight infection. Just a word of advice – do make sure you buy juice and not drink, they are glorified squash and often full of undesirable additives. Sunny Delight is the biggest marketing con in getting children and parents alike to think they are getting a true fruit drink. No way!!

Try making homemade soup for your family. It really takes very little time and you can put so many different things into soup to produce a cheap, nourishing meal for all the family. Spice it up a bit with fresh ginger which is perfect for warming and helping ward off infection. Add cumin or coriander as well as garlic or any of the onion family, and in all of your other cooking too.

Massage is an ideal stimulant for the immune system at this time of the year. If you do succumb to colds and coughs as well as taking some of the advice above, make sure you drink plenty of fluids, especially water, juices and herb teas. Use essential oils in your bath and burners too. Citrus oils, eucalyptus tea tree and ravenscar are all ideal to use.

Remember, good health is in your hands with a little help from the professionals. Come to see us, for friendly helpful advice.

Members had enjoyed the Minehead outing with Wickwar. The weather kept fine while we were there.

An autumn meal at the Tavern went down well, as did the trip to the Mall in November. Mr Hope was welcomed on the 6th November when he entertained us with gospel singing and funny stories. We rounded off the year with a Christmas Dinner at the Tavern in December.

14Our meetings in 2003 start on the 15th January and every other Wednesday thereafter at 2:30 p.m. Anyone is welcome to come for a cup of tea and a chat, and to get to know a few people if you are new to Charfield.

M. J Ealey, Secretary.

The first fund raising event to help reopen Wotton Cinema (under its new name) will be held on 25th January in Wotton Civic Centre.

The Electric Picture House was the original name of the cinema when it first opened circa 1913.

From 10–4 on 25th January members of the newly formed cinema group will be selling second hand videos, CD's cassette tapes and records.

Refreshments will be available. Anyone willing to donate unwanted videos etc. can leave them at the Red Cross shop or “Breake” in Wotton. Alternatively, I am happy to make a collection at x New Street.

Wendy Stevens, 01453 84xxxx.

For the last 7 years I have been on the parish council. Compared with people like John Poskett, 50 years a parish councillor, I'm just a new boy. On the other hand, in September I completed 40 years continuously in various aspects of government. Nothing unusual in that, but it made me think. Do I want to keep looking at the same problems, albeit from different angles, or would it be better to stand down at the election this May? After 40 years I could step aside and leave everything to younger and more energetic people.

What about you? Are you already involved in village matters? If so, perhaps you could use that knowledge and experience as a parish councillor. Or haven't you got around to being involved yet? In that case being on the parish council would give you an insight into how the community works. Either way you would have a say in the future of the parish, for example what facilities should be provided. Have a think about this, and look out for the opportunity to get your nomination papers in March.

These are my personal views and I am not writing on behalf of the parish council. But some of you may remember that at the time of the last election, when I was Chairman, I encouraged people to put their names forward. As it happened, there were 9 candidates for 9 places, so we didn't have an election. However, some of the nine were new councillors or people who had been very recently co-opted. We were fortunate that the new council included people with young families and connections with a variety of organisations. Whether or not I stand again, I would like to see an election with a wide choice of candidates. Opportunity knocks for you!

John Acton

2003 begins with the real prospect of war against Iraq and the continued threat of terrorist activity throughout the world. In our own country there has been a growth in industrial disputes and there is widespread concern about the economy and the state of the health service and our transport system. On the face of it, there seems to be little room for optimism, especially since the long lasting troubles in Northern Ireland have again come to the fore and there are other concerns like Zimbabwe and the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. All in all not a very good start to the new year and I haven't even mentioned all the personal challenges and difficulties that you may be facing at the moment.

But … there is hope, and this is one of the qualities that we all need.

15It was into a similar uncertain and volatile world that Jesus came some 2000 years ago. He didn't bring instant solutions nor bring about drastic change. For 30 years he was part of an ordinary working family and then for 3 years he became a travelling teacher and healer, revealing to people the presence of the Kingdom of God through signs and miracles. Jesus challenged the practices and structures of both faith and society and having incurred the wrath of religious leaders he was arrested, tried and condemned to death upon a cross.

Three days later, at the resurrection, he rose to new life to bring hope and encouragement to many. Such was the impact of Jesus upon a small group of people that they began a worldwide movement to bring news of Jesus to everyone. The church, though imperfect and divided, still exists to share Jesus' message of hope with others and we, at St. John's, want the news of God's hope and love to reach out and touch everyone in Charfield.

To know Jesus is to know hope. At the start of this new year may you find a place for him in your very busy lives. He can be and is the answer to all our fears and dreams. A very happy and blessed 2003 to you all.

Revd. Robert Pestell
Rector of Charfield and Kingswood

Monthly Pattern of Services at St. John's

All the Sunday services are at 9.30 a.m. so that Robert can get to Kingswood to lead an 11 a.m. service there. Those who enjoy evening prayer and holy communion according to the old prayer book are welcome to the services at St. Mary's on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 6 p.m.

There is a weekly celebration of Holy Communion at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesdays.

On the 2nd Tuesday of the month there is a service of Mini Praise at St. John's at 9.45 a.m. for Pre-school Children with their parents and carers.

Advance Notice
St. John's Annual Church Plant Sale will take place on Saturday 17th May from 10 a.m. – do make a note of this date on your calendars!

We are looking for two new licensees for the Memorial Hall. If you are interested or would like more information before committing yourself, please contact Gerry Thorn on 01454 29xxxx or 07968 90xxxx.

Here we are at the start of a new year at Toddlers after a well deserved break for Christmas. November and December became extremely busy due to all the activities which had been arranged for the children i.e. Monster Mats (giant coasters), David Elam the Photographer came and proved to be a real success, firework crafts, xmas candle decorations, xmas calendars, tree decorations, xmas cards and on the last day we arranged a party and Father Christmas himself turned up and handed out presents to all the children. Many thanks to all the people who helped organise all the craft activities as it proved to be very popular and provided many people with a lot of extra work.

16As some of you might already know and for those of you who don't, the time of year is approaching when we have to start looking to elect a new committee as the old committee will be standing down (a meeting will be held in March). The new committee will need to consist of

Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer

Toddlers can only continue with the help and support of all it's members and I'm sure that with all the mums and dads that currently come to toddlers (approx between 30 and 40) we should be able to find some willing volunteers.

If you feel you can volunteer for any of the above positions please come and see me or give me a ring on 01454 26xxxx and I will be happy to talk to you.

As this is the last article that I will be writing for Chadra as Chairman of Charfield Baby and Toddler Group, I would like to say a BIG THANK-YOU to all the people who have helped make the last year at toddlers extremely enjoyable and hopefully successful.

Finally just a reminder that we meet on Thursday mornings during term time between 10.00–11.30am in the Memorial Hall and that we cater for children from 0–3 years with their parents or carers. Each session costs £1 per adult and 20p per child (your first visit is free) and refreshments are provided for both adults and children.

Debbie Wilson

After last seasons amazing treble, this year the 1st team embarked on a new campaign in the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League after an absence of five seasons. We had a slow start, losing two and drawing one of our first three games. After this settling in period we seemed to find our feet and won the next five league games. Our home ground has certainly become “Fortress Charfield” since we have not lost here since December 2001 – a run of 17 matches (hope I've not spoken too soon!). We currently lie 6th in the league, but have games in hand on most of the teams above us and have reached the semi-finals of the County Cup. We are the only team left in the competition from our division, the other three are all near the top of the division above – so it will be a hard game whoever we play. The semi-final is scheduled for the 1st March, lets hope its at home!

The reserves have had a mixed season in Stroud League division 4, though are comfortably placed in mid-table. They have had some excellent wins against top of the league sides and lost games they have dominated to teams they would expect to beat.

The reserves reached the quarter final of their section of the County Cup, losing to a team who are riding high in the division above. To reach this stage of the competition we eliminated two teams from division 3, which was an excellent effort. This shows the potential of the side; we just need to iron out the inconsistency and we could have a formidable team.

For the first time in our history, Charfield have started a 3rd team. They were elected directly into division 6 of the Stroud League (which has 7 divisions). The decision of the league seems to be justified since we are holding our own in the league, currently lying just below half way. The team comprises mostly of young players some of who represented last seasons U16's plus a few “older heads” to guide them along a bit. We reached the 2nd round of the County Cup and the team is improving all the time.

The committee feels that starting the 3rd team was one of the best things we have 17done in recent years. The young players are a welcome addition to the club and several of them have already established themselves in the higher teams – we hope many of the others will follow in their footsteps.

We are now about midway through the season. The wet December and the recent cold snap have caused the postponement of several games so the second half of the season will be a lot busier than the first. The club has enjoyed a pretty good season to date – lets hope it gets better from now to April.

Chris Somerton, Secretary

I am pleased to report that the Pre-School continues to do well, and that we are now virtually full at every session until the end of this school year – so welcome to all our new starters.

Since my last article, we have employed a third member of staff, Lynda, who has settled in extremely well, and we are lucky to have her join the team.

We have also started a Rising 5s session one afternoon per week, and are in the process of planning another to start after February half term. These sessions are for those children leaving pre-school this July to start school in September, and is a more structured session, aimed specifically at helping them prepare for school. Our Play Leader Cathy is working closely with Mrs Peer, the reception teacher at Charfield Primary School, to ensure that we try to pass on the necessary skills. These sessions are very popular with the children who attend, and are therefore a big success.

We all enjoyed some wonderful Christmas events, which included the Friends of Charfield School's Fair where our pop-corn and candy-floss makers (Lynne Aston and her team – THANKS!!) helped raise enough money to fund a Christmas party for the children. So thank you to the Friends for letting us be there, and for the generous donations of sweets from our parents.

Our party was combined with a truly wonderful performance at the Village Hall by the children of a short Christmas Play, written by Cathy, which had the audience reaching for their hankies! They were all dressed in their pyjamas, holding their teddies … need I say more? So thank you to our children, and the staff for making it so memorable.

Next – our annual event – The Father Christmas Float. Well what can I say, except a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped to make this our best ever year yet – we raised over £600! In particular, thanks to Paul Nixon, who not only lent us his truck for the event, but gave up his time to decorate it and drive it all the way round too! We must also thank Duncan Searle, Richard Burton and Martin Aston for the construction and decorative effects; and to Mark Davies for the sound system.

A couple more thanks to say – to Jeremy of Jeremy Simmons Landscapes Ltd, for the fantastic work he has done in our Garden; to Rob Skidmore for the lovely blinds in the Foundation Room; and to Tony Pearce for the fantastic plaque and numerous other “creations” in the Foundation Room.

This term the children are continuing on their theme of the five senses, and the Pre-School has been awarded a grant from S Glos Council as part of their Healthy Eating Pre-school Initiative, so we will be using this money to plant and grow seeds in our garden, and to buy some cooking equipment.

All in all, whatever it brings, this term promises to be as much fun as the last …

Sandra Nute, Chairperson.

For admissions:
Nic Bartrop, 01453 52xxxx

18

At our December budget meeting the council considered all of the applications for grants from village clubs, associations and other local organisations. The total amount granted came to just under £4,000. It is good to see that there are so many local groups that operate in our community and it is very important that the PC provides this financial support. It is sometimes not possible to allocate the full amount that a club/organisation may have requested, but we do have to share out what is available as fairly as we can.

The provisional budget for 2003–2004 was also set at the December meeting. After considerable discussion, it was unanimously agreed that a precept of £17,000 is to be set. This figure is more than that set for the last financial year and there are several reasons for this increase. Last year we actually managed to set a lower precept (2002–2003) than the previous year (2001–2002); we did this at a time when many other councils were actually increasing their precepts. We also have to finance the ever-increasing bills for maintaining and repairing misused and vandalised equipment within our village. This is a subject that I have had to report about in several previous newsletters over the past year. Basically, we have a choice between continuing to repair and maintain the equipment, so that the youngsters in our village have a decent play area, or we allow the vandals to win by taking the equipment away. As a council, and as many other councils around the country have done, we have decided not to allow the actions of a few to destroy facilities that are there for and used by many of our villagers.

In the last newsletter I reported on an initiative to develop the site hut on Manor Lane. A site meeting was held during November, when councillors and a group of residents discussed ideas for landscaping this area. I am pleased to say that several ideas were put forward, discussed and resolved. Estimates are now being sought and considered and we will hopefully see some improvements being made to this site in the near future.

Jayne Pedley Vice Chair

Many of you may not be aware of the cost of maintaining Charfield's parish church. In the last year, 2002, the church had to raise nearly £16,000 to stay “in the black”. This was to cover normal running costs, which will inevitably rise in 2003. (We already know that the payment required by the diocese is to increase by a little over £800). The bulk of the funding is raised from giving by church members, with some additional help coming from fund raising events such as the annual plant sale.

I know that many people would like to keep the church running even if they aren't regular church-going members. With this in mind and with the hope of providing people with the opportunity for a little flutter, whilst also providing some financial support for the church and its' work, you are offered the chance to become a “Friend of St. John's”, which includes the additional chance of winning £30 every week for a full year! And all for a cost of just £1 per week for that year!

We have vacancies for a total of just 49 “Friends”. Each Friend is drawn a unique number between 1 and 49 with the weekly prize going to the Friend whose number matches the Bonus Ball Number in that Saturday's National Lottery Lotto Draw. So each entrant has just one chance in forty-nine of winning the prize each week. That compares with one chance in 13,983,816 of winning the Lotto first prize. I'm sure that you can work out which are the better odds!

Our parish church stands to benefit by just £19, whilst one Friend wins £30, each week. The only stipulation is that each Friend commits to paying for a full 52 19weeks. We shall start when we have found 49 willing Friends and their numbers have been drawn and allocated. If you are interested in becoming a Friend please contact either of the churchwardens, Margaret Clarke on 01454 26xxxx, or Bryan Grantham on 01454 26xxxx.

N. B. We already have the first few applicants so, if you are interested, don't delay.

The Foundation Room

The refurbished Foundation Room has now been in use for just over a year. It is in regular use, by Charfield Out of School Club in the early morning and late afternoon on most weekdays throughout the year and by Charfield Pre-School Group on every school day morning and, in 2003, on one afternoon of each school week. In addition it serves as a meeting room for the committees of those users and other groups including the Parochial Church Council and, of course the Foundation Governors. On Sunday mornings the children of the parish church's Sunday Club meet in the room.

While this level of use might sound to be quite sufficient there is still scope for lettings at weekends and in the evenings. It is available for meetings, children's parties and the like, although the governors have decided, after a bad experience with gatecrashers at a teenage party, to limit the party use to primary school age children. Hire fees are reasonable at £6 per hour in the colder months of November to April and £5 per hour in the warmer months of May to October.

Work on improvements to the building is ongoing. Some new double-glazed windows are due to be installed in late January and the plan for an extension to further improve the facility is alive and kicking, given that the necessary money can be raised. The Joint Committee of the user groups and the Foundation hope to tap into the National Lottery funded Community Fund for this purpose.

If you have any enquiries regarding the use of the room, or the availability of small support grants, which the Foundation may be able to make, to assist with a child's general educational needs (outside those provided by the state), please get in touch with Bryan Grantham on 01454 26xxxx or at xx Berkeley Close.

Continued Success
The Club is now in its second year and running without first year Lottery funding. The number of children attending the club has steadily increased with breakfast sessions proving to be particularly popular. On some mornings this meant bringing in an additional member of staff to maintain the correct staffing ratio. We have recently made a small increase to our fees to ensure that our costs are covered.

Christmas Fair
At the school fair we had our ever popular jar stall and face painting which raised over £100. It is anticipated that this money will be used to replace equipment.

Toys Wanted!
We are constantly replacing worn out or broken toys or seeking to add to our existing stocks. What we are particularly short of is construction toys, (e.g. Lego, Mechano, K-NEX, Playmobil). These are often expensive if bought new. Children's videos are also popular.

If anybody has any of these that they or their children have grown out of please contact the club. We can hopefully agree a price and take them off your hands. Please contact our Club Manager, Pat Loveridge. See telephone number at the end of this article.

20Relief Worker
We are looking for a local person who could occasionally help with sickness or holiday cover. Minimum qualifications are an NVQ2 or “Take 10 for Play”. Training might be available for the right person. For more details contact our Club Manager (see below) or apply in writing to Matthew Fuller, Charfield out of School Club, Foundation Room, Charfield Primary School, Wotton Road, Charfield GL12 8TG.

May Ball
We are investigating the feasibility of organising a May Ball (dinner and dance) at Tortworth Court during first weekend in May which could turn into an annual event for the village. Once we have more idea of likely support for the event we will make details available. Keep your eyes open and let us know if you would be interested …

Summer Play Scheme
During this term we organise our Summer Play Scheme for those needing childcare, more details in the next copy of CHADRA. We expect to recruit students (male or female) for the Summer Play Scheme as assistants and for afternoon sessions from September. No qualification will be required. Candidates will be at least 17 year old and we are particularly interested in someone who is keen on outdoor games such as football. For more details contact Pat.

Admin
The club opening times are: Breakfast club 7:30 to 8:40am. After school 3:10 to 6:00pm. School holidays and inset days 7:30am to 6:00pm

If you want to find out more details about the club contact the Club Manager, Pat Loveridge tel. 07816 23xxxx or 01454 26xxxx or call into the Club at the Foundation room during opening hours.

Janice Brett

It seems a long time ago now that I completed the Great North Run in October to raise funds for the Bristol Eye Hospital in thanks for their marvellous treatment of Andrew. Collecting all the money is a harder task than actually running 13.1 miles! Needless to say I now have a final total, which is £2343.16

Tracy and I are delighted and would like to thank through Chadra all those who contributed in Charfield. The money has been passed on to The Friends of Bristol Eye Hospital who will order the equipment needed. The main item is an intravenous pump for drugs, etc and the upgraded version can now be bought. The balance will be used for items for the Children's Ward. We will be attending a presentation at the hospital when it can be arranged in the near future. A big thank-you to you all once again.

Andrew in himself is fine and will continue to be monitored by the hospital to see if anything can be done to improve his vision. He received a joke book for Christmas and has been “entertaining” us with such gems as

“Why did the crocodile cross the road? Because it was the chicken's day off!”

You get the picture.

Some of you may have seen me running round the village and I have actually joined a running club in Thornbury to help me improve. My application for this year's London Marathon was unsuccessful so I am running the Copenhagen Marathon in May and the Amsterdam Marathon in October (hopefully) with my other club in Ware. Next race is the Bath Half Marathon in March so I think I will get my things on again.

Thank you all once again from Andrew.

John Francksen

21[Advert for Barbara Daw]

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[Advert for Deborah Jayne Pringle]

[Advert for Cotswold Edge Carpets]

22

Minister – Rev. Philip Hopes Tel: 01453 84xxxx

Sunday School – 11am
1st Sunday of each month Family Service – 11am.
Afternoon Worship 3pm. 4th and 5th Sunday of each month – 6pm. Worship
Thursday 8:30pm. Prayer Meeting
Friday 2:30pm. Bible Study and Prayer
Please see Notice Board for change of Service times

There is a story that comes out of the 1989 earthquake that almost flattened Armenia. In the midst of all the confusion of the earthquake, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to his son's school. When he arrived there he discovered the building was as flat as a pancake.

Standing there looking at what was left of the school the father remembered the promise he made to his son, “No matter what, I'll always be there for you!” Tears began to fill his eyes. It looked like a hopeless situation, but he could not take his mind off of his promise.

He remembered that his son's classroom was in the back right corner of the building. The father rushed there and started digging through the rubble. Other well meaning parents tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying: “It's too late!” Even a police officer told him he should go home.

Courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself. “Is my boy alive or is he dead?” This man dug for eight hours and then twelve and then twenty four and then thirty six. Finally in the thirty-eighth hour as he pulled back a boulder he heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, “ARMAND!” And a voice answered him, “Dad? It's me Dad” Then the boy added these priceless words, “I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what, I'll always be there for you’ You did it, Dad!”

That's a very special relationship between a father and his son, isn't it? You and I can have that kind of relationship with God.

There is a new chair and a new project for the PTA this year. The funds for the foreseeable future will go towards the building of an all weather social/picnic area within the school grounds. Pupils have often felt that facilities during break and lunch times are lacking. With your support I'm sure we can raise the necessary funds in record time.

Forthcoming events:
(Events are usually held in the school and further details will be published nearer the time)

Beetle Drive
Friday January 31st – KLB Drama Hall at 7.30pm

Join us for this light-hearted, FAMILY FUN EVENING, to brighten up one of the dull days of January.

There will be
♦ Prizes ♦ Raffle ♦ Bar
Cost: £1 per adult, 50p per young person

Please try to support this event! Tickets available by contacting a member of the PTA (see contact details below).

We look forward to seeing you there.

Contact:
Suzanne Flye (chair) – 01454 31xxxx
Beverley Hall (secretary) – 01453 84xxxx
Martin Coleman (vice chair) – 01453 52xxxx
Margaret Goff (publicity) – 01454 31xxxx
Paul Kelly (treasurer) – 01453 54xxxx

23Year 7 disco
(February 7th 2003) – tickets available from year tutors at £2.50 from Friday 31st January 2003

Promises Auction
(Fri 28th March 2003) – It is a few years since we organised a promises auction. Put the date in your diary and come along. You never know what you might be able to buy!

URGENT REQUEST

We have already sent out requests for ‘promises’ from local businesses, which have started to come in. However, the same request has been sent out to parents/carers/supporters of the KLB pupils and we have not had much response so far. Please think about donating a ‘promise’ yourselves. It needn't be great – a potted plant, a taxi service for an evening, a baby sitting session – anything at all would be appreciated.

An advertisement
Organised and operated by the Chair of the KLB School Governors and Charfield resident Margaret Clarke, the ‘Not the Lottery’ scheme still has a few spare places on it. The game is based on the number of the bonus ball in the weekly National Lottery. If you would like to commit yourself to a little flutter of £1 on a weekly basis over the year at the same time as raising money for the school then contact Margaret on 01454 26xxxx. You never know – it could be you winning the £30 and unlike the Premium Bonds I have met those who have won more than once!

And finally …

The PTA owns a large Marquee which is available in return for a fixed donation to the school. Measuring 25ft×14ft, a suggested donation of £60 (inc. supply and erection) is asked for the first day and £10 a day thereafter. Bookings can be taken by Margaret Clarke on 01454 26xxxx.

For further details on any of the above please feel free to contact Trevor Mason, PTA Committee Member, on 01453 84xxxx

Trevor Mason, KLB PTA

Comprehensive Performance Assessments
Over the past year, the Audit Commissioners have been assessing 150 local authorities in England and last month they published their findings, producing in their report ‘league tables’ giving, under the five headings of Excellent, Good, Fair, Weak and Poor, their assessment of each council they examined. Our own South Gloucestershire Council was one of the councils assessed and was considered worthy of the Good category. Though not among the top 22 in the Excellent category, it was gratifying to find South Gloucestershire Council in the next to the top group which consisted of 37 councils.

The assessors examined eight areas of local service including Education, Social Care (Children and Adults separately), Housing, Environment, Leisure and Use of Resources. Pretty comprehensive. Considering South Gloucestershire is a new authority, just under eight years old, I think it has done very well to achieve such a high standard of service and for it to be placed in the Good category. Of course there are, and always will be, areas where improvements in service provision could be made, but obtaining such a good performance assessment is most encouraging.

South Glos. Local Plan
The South Gloucestershire Local Plan which will cover the period up to 2011, is coming before Full Council in the near future for its final approval before being placed on deposit to await the Public Inquiry later in the year where many of its 24policy proposals will be challenged, especially I would imagine, by housing and other developers. Later with possible amendments it will by adopted and become the policy document against which planning applications and other important local issues will be judged.

Places such as Charfield and other rural communities, because of policies in the Local Plan, will, if accepted, be protected from large-scale development. The possible re-opening of Charfield Station has remained within the Plan and the site earmarked for that particular purpose. At present, no decision has been made on re-opening, but considerations of its viability are still on going.

The B4509
The B4509 which runs from Tafarn Bach at the top of Charfield Hill, through Tortworth and then to the A38 at Falfield, takes a considerable amount of heavy and fast traffic.

At present it is subject to the Standard speed limit of 60 mph along its entire length, but there is a proposal, which I am strongly supporting except for one aspect, to reduce the speed limit along the eastern end to 50 mph and then just before Tortworth Green, for it to be stepped down to 40 mph past the crossroads and the school and then to the top of Tortworth Hill, where the proposal is to increase the speed limit to 50 mph down the hill and along the flat to just before reaching the A38.

I'm not at all happy about 50 mph on this last stretch of the road, firmly believing that it should remain at 40 mph down the hill and along to the A38. The scheme has gone out for consultation with a decision to be made in February.

And Finally
For the past sixteen years, I have represented the Charfield Ward as its Member, first on Northavon District Council and for the past eight years on South Gloucestershire Council. Now approaching 79 and after much thought, I have decided not to stand for re-election next May.

Having been very much involved in local issues within my Ward and throughout South Gloucestershire, I'm sure this will mean that I will get chronic withdrawal symptoms, but I think it is now time I stepped down.

One person who will be relieved at my decision will be my wife Isabel, who, although I am sure has my welfare at heart, will also be glad to see less paperwork spread over much of the kitchen table. She will also expect my study to be kept a lot tidier than it has been over recent years. Being a bit of a squirrel, I have accumulated vast quantities of reports and other papers just in case I might need to refer to them, which of course I rarely do, and in most cases, will never do! There will be a considerable addition to the waste paper mountain in the area after May, I rather suspect.

Councillor Eddie Gadsby

Yes, we know the ground is either frozen or sodden right now but If you're keen on your garden – or just like seeing the TV programmes – why not think about coming to your local garden society? Wotton Horticultural Society starts a new programme with their AGM in January followed by a series of interesting, varied and stimulating talks and visits throughout the year.

We are a lively club and new members (or visitors) are always welcome. We meet in the Club Room in Gloucester Street (opposite the Civic Centre car park) on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm. Just come along or if you want further details ring Barbara Adams on 01454 26xxxx.

25

Since the last edition of this magazine appeared Christmas has been and gone and what is traditionally one of our busiest times of the year has passed quietly in the village. However, although crime figures within the village remain low there have been a number of incidents reported, mostly involving thefts of or from motor vehicles.

Only last weekend I attended an address in Charfield where a motocross bike had been stolen from a garden shed. That same night a Ford transit van was stolen from an address not far away and a car was abandoned nearby. The circumstances would indicate that the thieves drove to the village in an old car, which they then abandoned prior to stealing the Ford transit van and then the motorcycle, making off with the motorcycle in the back of the stolen van.

During the same weekend a garage integral to a house was also broken into on the Farm Lees estate, although the offenders were disturbed and made off empty handed.

It is often the case that valuable goods such as power tools, motorbikes etc. are kept in garages and sheds, but these buildings by their construction tend not to be very secure. If you keep expensive tools etc. in a shed or garage it is worth considering a shed alarm and security lights, neither of which are expensive. Whilst a good lock on the door is a necessity it is also worth considering chaining motorcycles or good bikes to a fixture set into the concrete floor or, again, fitting alarms to them.

Vandalism within the village, especially around the Memorial Hall, has thankfully declined dramatically over the last few months. However, only yesterday I noticed that one of the more considerate members of the community has smashed the glass front of the telephone kiosk opposite the old police house.

The skatepark and village youth club have been proposed for some time now and I have been involved in both projects. The youth club will have started by the time that this article appears and it is hoped that work on the skatepark will commence by March.

My next beat surgery will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday 28th January in the Sportsman's Bar of the Memorial Hall.

Finally, during the early hours of the morning recently a Police patrol had reason to stop a red Ford Orion motor car registration number J903ORU in suspicious circumstances in the locality. If you see this car around, particularly during the hours of darkness, telephone our call handling centre on 01275 818181 or if you think a crime is in progress telephone 999.

PC 3799 Jones

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year! It's now Sunday 12th January, I've just come back from going to Chapel and the sermon today was about how life is all one big rush and now, at the 11th hour, I am sending this to Hilary and Geoff. Yes I know I have had three months to think about it!!!!

I am now going to have a quick Archers moment. Jennifer Aldridge and her Mum, Peggy deserve an Oscar, or what ever it is for great acting on the radio. That Brian has certainly had something to think about. Do any of you listen to Dead Ringers on a Friday evening, at 6:30? They do a great impersonation of, “Oooh Noo” of Ruth.

Right then, New Year. Lawrence was DJ-ing at the Swan Hotel, Wotton. I got there about 9:30 ish and told the doorman that he had better let me in, because I was the DJ's Mum. 10:30pm came and the doors were locked. The Hotel was packed. 26Keith and I must have been the oldest by about 30 years. What was so great was, the guests were mostly Lawrence's friends, who we of course knew. It was like one of his party's, only we didn't have to worry about spilling drinks and the furniture.

At 3:30 am, after numerous Gin and Tonics, having hugged I don't know how many wonderfully spirited young people, I demanded coffee. One dutifully appeared. I then went home adorned in a pink feather boa. Later that day, when I phoned my Mum, she said she hoped that wasn't all I was wearing. I later recalled it was wrapped around a young girl who works in the Black Olive Cafe. How it came to me I do not know and yes, I have returned it.

So here we are in 2003 and a New Year can be a time of reflection. Last year, Sophie was working four miles from Hay-on-Wye. For avid readers like me, the place is an absolute dream. An abundance of bookshops and top named authors for as little as ONE POUND. We had a lovely pub lunch. It was a beautiful August afternoon. Now I have said Hay-on-Wye many times, but have never really thought about the Wye bit. Sophie said, “Shall we sit by the river?”

We walked along a towpath and climbed down a jetty area. Two chaps were dragging their canoes, from the water, glistening in their wet suits. We sat on a ledge, kicked off our sandals and our toes were resting on the smooth rocks in the flowing river. The trees billowed over us in a gentle breeze and the sun was hot. That afternoon was absolutely magical. I now know what that gentleman meant, this afternoon, at Chapel, when he said, “Stand still and take time.“

Best wishes, Maz.

[Advert for Worktwice Marketing Ltd]

Issue number 10 published in January 1978 announced an increase in the price of the newsletter from 5p to 7p.

Villagers 25 years ago were a hardy bunch! Charfield Primary School held their Christmas Service in the playground and the Scouts held a ‘Father and Son’ weekend camp in November.

There was an article from the Royal Air Forces Association and another from the local countryside officer advising on feeding garden birds during the winter. There was even a contribution to the newsletter from Father Christmas to the children of the playgroup encouraging them to be good in the coming year.

A letter to the editor complained about the taste of the water south of the railway bridge and subsequent discussions with the Water Board revealed that the pipes had a lot of dead ends on the Manor Lane estate. This meant that the water did not get flushed out properly.

Bryant Homes Ltd requested a meeting with the residents association (CHADRA) to discuss their plans to provide housing on the old brickworks site near New Street. A meeting was subsequently held at which views, for and against the development, were articulated.

Special thanks were expressed to Marion Smith for all the work she had done for the Association and the newsletter. 25 years later Marion is still making a key contribution to the Association and the newsletter.

27

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
SB = Sportsman's Bar, Memorial Hall
MH = Memorial Hall

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

28

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

Transcriber Notes

This issue was produced on 28 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: 2017-02-02.