CHADRA

Well it seems we have a bumper issue this month – I was in danger of having to leave something out to ensure I complied with the maximum size we can collate. I would like to welcome, and thank, the contributors who have submitted articles for the first time and say thank you to everyone who provides articles on a regular basis. I know I say it every time, but without you there would be no newsletter.

You may be relieved to hear that we have decided to delay copy date for the next issue to 12th January so that you can at least have a little time to return your lives to normality following the festive season. If you haven't yet got your 2008 diary to diligently write this in, don't worry, I will send email reminders as usual.

I would also like to welcome back Julia O'Connor-Beach to the committee. Julia has volunteered to take on the role of treasurer, but I'm sure many of you will remember her as the previous editor of the newsletter. On behalf of the committee, I should like to thank Barbara Adams, our outgoing treasurer, for all her hard work over many years.

I can't believe that, as I write this, there is only 12 weeks of 2007 left. Where does the time go?! And on that subject; I should like to be the first to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2008.

Regards, Hilary

Next Copy Date – 12th January 2008

3

The artwork for the cover of this issue is of the old Post office in Station Road and has been drawn for us by James Warren, age 10. Thank you very much James – your prize will be with you soon.

As always, if you fancy being a ‘published’ artist – all be it on the village newsletter – we are always pleased to receive your contributions. Pictures or photographs are always welcome – no more the 16cm square please and in black and white.

Did you know that there is a Steiner Kindergarten local to you based at Cromhall Village Hall? The Mulberry Tree Steiner Kindergarten runs four mornings and two afternoons every week and also offers holiday care. It is fully OFSTED registered, receives nursery vouchers and is open for three to seven years olds. We also run a toddler group near Yate and Nailsworth. It is the only provision like it in the area, families come from many nearby towns and villages, including Wotton, Thornbury, Cromhall, Yate, Charfield and Falfield.

So what can you expect from a Steiner Kindergarten? The focus of the kindergarten is on creativity and imagination rather than facts and learning goals. It is a holistic, organic and nurturing environment.

One parent commented: “I know without a doubt that the careful thought behind every detail of the kindergarten life has a positive impact on my daughter. It weaves its magic around her and brings out the best in her, allowing her to flourish and bloom.”

The kindergarten is run by Clare Benson, a fully trained Steiner Teacher, along with an assistant. The kindergarten is always a hive of activity but is never over stimulating. In a Steiner kindergarten the children learn through imitation and imagination. The rhythm and routine of the morning is very important. It helps the child feel safe and secure in the knowledge of what to expect next.

The child will be drawn into the kindergarten with a carefully prepared main activity: Painting on Monday; baking on Tuesday, modelling on Wednesday, drawing on Thursday. After that comes free play with toys made of natural materials. The children might play with simple dolls in the home corner: Or become involved in building an elaborate house boat out of tables, stands and cloths. This time encourage initiative, co-operation and imagination. The children will all help each other with tidying the room ready for circle time. Circle time takes place with seasonal singing and rhymes. Next comes snack time with a fully organic food, prepared together and then a walk, whatever the weather, in the lovely countryside around Cromhall. The morning finishes with a simple story and goodbye song.

Are you a lady who is interested in walking? Then join our walking group on the third Tuesday of the month. We meet at 10.00 a.m. and start our walks from the Charfield Memorial Hall car park.

It is a very informal group, with walkers turning up when they can. Throughout the summer we take picnics on our travels and in the winter we stop for a 4pub lunch generally at the end of the walk.

We would welcome any ladies who wish to join us, so if you want to know more about us please ring on 01454 26xxxx.

Heather Joyner

Have you ever thought about foster caring?

This is not a question you hear every day, nor is it a something that many people contemplate in their lifetime. And why should they? The public perception is that it is an onerous task, an unnecessary life-changing event and definitely something that other people get involved with. So, how can I address all these points and present reasons why people should seriously think about foster caring and, once completely convinced, then make that first step by contacting me? I shall try to do this below:

Foster caring will always be regarded as an onerous task to those outside the process because it involves taking in a child or young person who needs care. It is, by its very nature, something extra that needs to be done. These children need to be looked after by people who can offer them a nurturing, positive environment and it is carers who can offer this that we are looking for.

Fostering a child or young person will change your life, as will introducing anyone, or anything different, into your lifestyle and household. This is why any carers, when being assessed, are as prepared as possible for the time when a child arrives.

Yes, other people do get involved in foster caring and they are supported every step of the way by this authority. As the ultimate welfare of the children is our responsibility it is in our best interest that the foster carers we attract, assess, approve and, very importantly, retain are people we can trust, call upon and know will provide the best care for the children. In exchange for this we offer generous fees and allowances, structured training, interaction with existing foster carers and continuous, ongoing support.

I'm not going to tell you it's easy, or that it isn't challenging; what I will say is that the opportunities are there to not only help the children and young people attain their goals but, at the same time, develop your own fresh aims and targets in life, which are rarely easy or unchallenging.

August
148 Mr W Scott  £25
278 K Bath  £10
284 P Tims  £10
181 M Ealey  £10

September Quarterly Draw
201 K Bourne  £50

September
278 K Bath  £25
273 D Smith  £10
159 J Beams  £10
130 K Williams  £10

5October
165 K Stainthorpe £25
256 D Moore  £10
227 P Beresford  £10

104 to be redrawn in November

Anyone wishing to join the 200 Club, please contact Mr J Russell on 01453 52xxxx or 07711 55xxxx

Things continue to be very busy at the hall. Bookings and hall usage continue to grow. We have had a number of successful events recently including a quiz, organised by Margaret Gargett, and a dance, organised and promoted in conjunction with the junior football club. Thanks to all those who helped and supported both events. By the time you read this, we will have held a jumble sale in mid October and plans will be finalised for our Casino / Vegas Night, at the beginning of November, when Elvis will indeed be “in the building!”

We also hosted the Village Fayre in July and this was a very successful event held on one of the summers few dry days! It was a little damp underfoot in places but with a few late adjustments to the plan everything seemed to run pretty smoothly. The event was not as well attended as in previous years but takings were up and this is all thanks to the organising committee and all those, too many to mention, who gave up their time to help on the day.

The eagle eyed amongst who may have noticed some external changes at the hall. We have had much of the guttering replaced, thanks to a very kind grant from the Parish Council, and we have also placed some boulders at the back of the hall. These were kindly donated by Cemex, and we hope they will perform a joint function of an additional security barrier for the hall but also will “soften” the somewhat bleak exterior. Additional planting may well be added in these areas to continue to improve the aesthetics of the hall.

We have also now secured all the necessary funding to install a disabled toilet in the main hall. This will be installed in a part of the current ladies facilities and is a much needed addition to the hall. It is very important to our future to have such facilities and this will go a long way to continuing to making the hall a more attractive venue for all. We hope to complete this work over the next few months with as little disruption as is possible to current users.

I'll end my piece with the usual plea – the hall is a charitable organisation totally dependant on generating our own revenue to pay for repairs and improvements. It is run by a small, dedicated band of individuals who care about the hall and the village. If you have some time to give, however little, please get in touch as we can never have enough help and support. Thank you.

Tim Hill, Chair

It was a bit strange coming back after the summer break as so many of ‘our’ children had moved across the playground to the primary school. After a quiet start though we have been getting busier, with new children joining us nearly every day for the last couple of weeks. The new children have settled in very quickly, and are having fun and enjoying the activities and making new friends.

We are now running at full capacity, with 5 morning sessions, 3 afternoon rising to 5 sessions and 1 lunch club session. To meet demand for places we may consider running an extra afternoon session on a Wednesday, moving the current lunch club session to Friday.

6We have gone through a transition over the last 12 months and now have a positive, dedicated pool of staff working with the children, with the primary school citing this year's intake as one of the best ever being the best reward we could have received for the hard work we put in over the previous year.

Over the next school year we will be working much closer with the reception year in the primary school, with joint activities and reading sessions as well as introducing South Gloucestershire's first buddying system between the two settings, it's all very exciting!

We have a completely new committee this year and we cannot thank them enough for stepping forward and for the hard work they have already put in.

Each fortnight we work with new themes and this term will be covering themes including Colours, People who help us, Halloween, Fireworks Night and Christmas.

Our biggest fundraiser of the year is the Christmas Float and we will be going around the village again this year on 16th December. We look forward to receiving your support on the night!

From Viv Kerner (not) the Vicar.

I have to be (not) the Vicar because although I wear the plastic strip of my ‘dog collar’ I'm part time and unpaid. The official vicar will be living at Wotton under Edge. BUT, most people call me Vicar and that's fine!

In the last edition there was a warm welcome to me and Steve (the vicar's wife … well every vicar has one and I'm no exception) … Steve takes it all very well and has already made Marmalade to be sold in aid of church funds. He's also good at cakes! We both look forward to working in the village and have already been to a wedding reception, harvest supper and other social gatherings.

We welcomed about 30 people to the Rectory on our two Open House sessions … coffee, tea and cake were demolished and I was able to meet new people and chat with some youngsters too. We hope to repeat this in the New Year.

The church is a lovely building and we'd like to see more people inside it. There is a huge demand on our time and many activities happen on Sundays. The school are having their Harvest celebration at the school but we're hoping that whatever work the children produce will be displayed in church. Mums and dads and grandparents will be able to pop in and look at it. We'll try to be there to give you tea or coffee too.

Our pattern of services has slightly altered and we will be having two services each month which will be more ‘child friendly’. Dare I say that? The first will be a Story-teller Eucharist (communion) on October 14th … that may have already happened by the time you read this; and the fourth Sunday in the month will be also All Age. I always think that ALL services should be all-age, but an official title gives me the chance to use my bag of goodies and get youngsters involved.

Our other two services will be Parish Eucharists. If you would like to come to one of the services, please don't be put off by the word Eucharist. The service is where we share the bread and wine … 7communion … and for those who don't receive this, I give grapes!! They're symbolic of the wine that Confirmed people receive and rather than go away from the altar rail empty handed, I think it's only fair to be given something … so grapes are the choice.

Our All Souls service is on Friday 1st November at St. John's. See the notice board for details please. This is when we remember those who have died recently. We can offer prayers, play or sing selected music and read anything which is relevant to you, as well as lighting candles for them. If someone you know and loved has died, and you'd like them to be remembered, please let me know.

We have our Remembrance Service at 10.45 on Remembrance Day, 11th November and our Scouts will be on parade. They are already making plans for the Annual Jumble Sale in early March, so if you're clearing out the cupboards, please let us know. Don't throw things away … they can be just what someone else needs. Speaking of which … we have an old oak chest of drawers if anyone is interested. Small donation to church funds welcomed.

Christmas looms before the next edition and we'd like to take this opportunity of inviting you to our church services. There will be various services to celebrate this time of year and they will include the Carol service with our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, our Parish Carol service, the Crib service and of course ‘Midnight’ Eucharist on Christmas Eve, and the family service on Christmas Day itself.

Christmas seems to become more commercial each year. We have a simple rule in our house … we only spend £5 on any presents, with the exception of the children. The older children find they've been ‘given’ chickens or water pumps through World Vision. The tinies still get gifts they can open. By spending so little we really have to give thought and effort to finding something worth having. It's often so easy to go out and spend, spend, spend, and then we give and receive things we don't need and don't always want.

As we all move through the darker mornings and evenings of Autumn, may we all look towards Christmas with pleasure and not dread.

The last edition didn't mention God once. I haven't really either, so I'll close by saying that our aim is to fill the Church with the village and the village with the Church. If you're out and about, pop in and see us either in church or at The Rectory, we'll do our best to come and see you too. May God bless you all in your busy daily lives.

Viv Kerner

Calling all older folk in Charfield and Cromhall.

Did you know there is a Friendship Club in Charfield? We meet in the sportsman's lounge in the village hall on alternate Wednesday afternoons where we enjoy a chat, cup of tea and cake, a game of bingo or a quiz – a very enjoyable couple of hours.

No problem if you are unable to get to the hall, transport is provided by willing volunteer drivers. Why not give us a try? Make new friends.

See you there – for more information contact Muriel Ealey on 01454 29xxxx.

Pat White.

8

Absolute Beginners Class.

What a cracking year the TCS is having! A successful July concert in Wotton, a fabulous September workshop in Dursley, and now we look forward to our November Elgar concert with a super concert orchestra (again in Dursley).

Truth to tell, we are still high as kites after the workshop; with over 40 singers from other choruses we rehearsed Fauré Requiem and Cantique de Jean Racine and Handel's As Pants the Hart all afternoon, and then performed the works in a free concert to a very happy audience.

I can't begin to tell you what it feels like to sing such music; for me, it's a dream come true. I thought I lacked the skills to read the music adequately, and that I'd never get through an audition for any choral society. Then I read about TCS in the CHADRA newsletter … the rest is history. There were no terrifying auditions, and I have had the chance to improve my skills. I practise like billy-o, and there's certainly still room for improvement, but I am able to participate fully in all the concerts.

Wouldn't you like to sing with us? If you haven't ever read music off the page, and feel that your singing could do with some work, then perhaps our Absolute Beginners Class, 2008 (ABC) is the answer. You can attend a course of 10 lessons from January to March, giving you the basic skills then join the TCS in its rehearsals for the summer concert. Sopranos to basses and all points between are welcome.

If you just want to listen; then come to our 10 November concert in St James', Dursley, when we will perform Elgar's King Olaf – it tells the story of the 10th century king of Norway who, when he wasn't invading Essex or marrying someone, brought Christianity to his country.

Apologies for the last issue, I totally forgot about the Chadra deadline, Peter and I went on a week's holiday without Scouts, Cubs or Beavers, bliss! Our camps this year were a bit wet and sometimes very windy.

Our trip to Malta in April wasn't as hot as it usually is at the time of the year, in fact I think it was warmer in this country. We were made to feel very welcome by the Fgura Scouts and when we parted there were many tears from both sets of youngsters. Email addresses were exchanged and many are still in contact. The Group is looking forward to their visit in the summer of 2009 and we are already planning for our next trip in 2010.

The St George's day celebrations in Bath were a hit with the attending youngsters and their families, the day was marred a little by our coach driver not knowing Bath, he obviously wasn't a Scout. Following the ceremonial gathering in the Royal Crescent we all returned to Victoria Park ate lunch and took part in the different activities available. Our human fruit machine raised £27 towards the Scout charity of the year, “Scouting in Nepal”.

Our next event was the “Ton of Fun” county centenary camp at Woodhouse Park, weather forecast, wet and windy. Our group had the second largest group attendance and our district had the largest district attendance in the county. Peter stepped in at the last minute as the Sub Camp Chief for our district and did a marvellous job keeping happy the 19 Scout and Guide groups and the 60 day visitors of Beavers and Brownies. I did the paperwork for all of the above – yuk. Thanks to Phil Barnes and a team of parent helpers from the different groups we managed to cater for 377 people and not have too much food left over, a feat we really don't want to do too often! Over the three days there were plenty of activities for the youngsters to take part in including a cinema, IT room, climbing, archery, shooting, woggle making, grass sledging etc. Our sub camp was lucky enough to receive a visit from our Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, who braved the wet and windy weather on the Sunday. Many of the youngsters were asking “who is he?” Ah … Blue Peter memories and Duncan Dares spring to mind.

Our new tents held up very well and it was a good job they did as two weeks later the Cubs held their Pirates Camp. It started off rainy but cleared up and was quite hot on the Sunday when all the cubs had to walk the plank into the shark infested paddling pool. Well it was plastic insect infested as we only had the leftovers from Halloween last year, the cockroaches were scary though.

I think it was two weeks later the tents appeared again, this time at Malvern with the Scouts, horrendous winds and lashings of rain. It didn't stop the youngster's enthusiasm and all had a great time. If you ever get the chance to see the bloke that swallows anything and the man that “botty burps” to any tune you wish and blows arrows out of the same aperture, don't, as they are both disgustingly horrifying but somehow mesmerising at the same time, still the Scouts thought they were great.

The summer is over, the Cubs are now meeting back at the HQ, and until bonfire night the Beavers and Scouts are still shivering at Avening, have they forgotten we now have heating! The Cubs and Scouts are staying at the wonderful St Briavel's Castle for the second time at the end of half term – let's hope we have a nice dry weekend for this one.

Sad news, we have lost a cub leader, Kate, otherwise known as Hathi, is concentrating on her new business teaching Kumon English and maths in Wotton (she's very good!!), but welcome Mowgli, Mark Reeves who has offered to 19step in. The Scouts unfortunately will be losing Karen Muir (Chil) who has been with us since her boys were in Cubs (at least 7 years) we wish you well Karen and thank you for all you have done. Is anyone interested in assisting Mike Rickwood (Boomer) on a Monday evening, 6.30–8.30pm?

The Group will be holding its family Carol Service on Wednesday 13th December and we do apologise if it clashes with school events but we do have a large intake from different schools and it's hard to fit in with everyone's plans.

I'm afraid all the sections are still full. Allison Trueman is doing a marvellous job with the waiting lists but we still have far too many names and no places. We do advise parents of boys and girls of under 6 to put their names on the Beaver waiting list as soon as possible as once over 6 there is very little chance they will get a place in the Group at all.

Wow, hello! Chadra time again. I've been rummaging around the house for my snippets of mad info and general stuff to tell you about and I can't find them. This all stemmed from Sophie's wedding. The first shock was when the catering lady asked for a CLEAR kitchen. Even when we were rebuilding the back of our dear cottage, many years ago, nowhere was ever clear.

Well I can't find any notes so I shall just write to you in my normal fashion. Sophie and I were at Nicki's salon, drinking Bucks Fizz, getting ready for the fab day to come. I know I've told you about some of the day but not this bit. Dear Kirsty, Soph's best mate from school and bridesmaid, called in, before her turn to be glamorised, asking if we needed anything as she was going into the shops. “Branston Pickle,” I said. I thought that later in the evening, after all the lush food had been digested and guests were still whooshing about the place, they might all fancy something else to nibble, plus those who would be turning up on the Sunday. So I bought cheeses, French sticks, lush breads from Hobbs, etc. My Mum nearly had a fit climbing into bed that night surrounded by dustbin bags, clean of course, of sundried tomato and black olive specialities. Anyway on the eve of the wedding, I suddenly exclaimed to Keith “Branston Pickle”. Well, of course, he said, don't worry. But, of course you do, worry, that is. Nicki was photographing every fab move and breath taken of our preparations and so I now have, in the wedding snaps, a photo on Nicki's shelf, of two brilliantly placed jars of you-know-what.

I am, by now, absolutely sure that all you lovely people that tell me that you read this, might be just a teeniest bit exhausted with the pickle drama. I shall press on.

On another note about our Sophie, and Bob's of course, fab day were the flowers. We went to Mandy (Robinson, if you don't know) in Wotton and Soph had a good old chat about colours and what flowers were in, etc. Mandy, if anyone reading this is not familiar with your wonderful floristry, they will be now. You did a fantastic job.

Right then, what else has been happening? Oh yes, striding across the school playing field and out of all that expanse of grass, my ankle twisted in the tiniest of holes. I stumbled over, feeling a right twit. Helen, one of my work mates soon had me feeling like one of the kids, foot up on a chair, administering an ice pack. And then, I had to have a cyst cut out. In the summer of 2000, I had an insect bite and when it had heeled up, it left a small lump. Anyway, THIS summer it decided to go all horrible. I won't say too 20much in case you're having your tea but suffice to say, Keith kept calling me Sigourney, you know, Aliens 3. Ugh. So I've missed two weeks of tap dancing because of my stitches. Oh, what a drama queen. So I'm writing to you now and then off in a jiff to jiggle about.

I had a right old week, last week, at school. You know what it's like, everything goes all peculiar. Lovely Hannah, who I help at school has got a laptop. Wow, I'm now getting on like a house on fire with all this fab software that's available, downloading this and that. However the other week I could be found running up and down the corridors, hounding out my dear workmates, waving saved documents I didn't want AND a MEMORY STICK!!!! I even phoned Lawrence, yes, on the other side of the Atlantic, who incidentally, is still loving life in New York, has got himself a great job with Apple, but couldn't calm me down when saying, just right click and delete.

Oh well folks, I had better sigh off. Dear Hils and Geoff will be having a fit when they see this. It's gone all into paragraphy bits I haven't asked it to. I've just looked at the clock. Must dash, got to squidge in the old leotard. If I think of anything else whilst I'm shuffle ball changing and maxiford, I'll tell you later.

Hello, I'm back. That last bit was Wednesday evening and it's now Friday morning!!! I did have a laugh on Monday night. I went to darts, collecting Mel and Trace on the way. I was wearing an old navy fleece and whilst discussing the need of a new jacket for winter said that I only wore this for walking the dog AND in the dark. I watched “What not to wear” on Tele last night, they would have had a fit. Anyway we went to darts, had a great night playing against the chaps from the Fox at Hawkesbury. At the end of the evening, they all shot off home and I went to get my faithful old jacket. It had gone. One of the men must have grabbed it, in haste, and now had left his “old navy fleece”, which, I must say, is just a small fashion notch up from mine.

It's an absolutely fantastic morning, all beautiful sunrise and everything. So I shall sign off now, wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! That was a shock wasn't it? Time whizzing by and all that.

Best wishes, Maz

Minister Rev. Philip Hopes
Tel: 01453 84xxxx

Services for December
2nd 11 am. Family Service – Pam Dix
9th 11 am. J. Brand. Sunday School
16th 10.30 am. Joint Service at Kingswood Congregational Church – Puppets
23rd 11 am. Family Carol Service Rev. Philip Hopes
25th 10 am – 10.30 am. Family Christmas Celebration Rev. Philip Hopes
30th 11 am. Rev. Philip Hopes. Sunday School
Tuesday's at 8 pm. Prayer and Bible Study.

Dear Friend, Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Have you written your present list?

Are you looking forward to Christmas OR will you be glad when it's all over? Is this what Christmas is really all about? Do you know? I can give you a really Happy Christmas! You see – I am Jesus, Gods' only Son and this is my Christmas message to you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not die but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Now this is why presents are given at Christmas – It's not because the Wise Men gave Me gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The wise men brought the Christ Child, born the King of kings, precious gifts because they believed, like the shepherds, the Babe of Bethlehem was God's gift of a 21Saviour from sin for them! Yes, I am God's free gift to you, but like a present, I must be received. How? Come to Me. Believe in Me. Ask Me to take away your sin because My Father sent me to die on the cross for you. Be truly sorry. My Father will forgive you and you will receive the gift of eternal life – the best gift ever!!! Believe in Me and receive Me into your life – “that your joy may be full” John 15:11 Happy Christmas! Love you, Jesus.

To learn more start to read God's word in the Bible each day. Ask for God's help by talking and listening to Him each day. Other Christians will help you, too. Here's a prayer you can pray if you really mean to follow the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart for the rest of your life.

“Father God, I am sorry for all the bad things I have done. Forgive me; and thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying on the cross to take away my sins. Please come into my life with Your Holy Spirit. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.”

Have a wonderful Christmas, from all the fellowship at the Chapel.

There have been recent incidents locally whereby offenders have gained entry into homes by claiming to be from various utilities or organisations. Please, do not let anyone into your home unless you know or expect them, and always check the identity of persons claiming to from utility companies. If you suspect a caller is not genuine, call 999. Keep rear doors locked when answering the front door so that no one can enter via the back door whilst you are distracted at the front.

As darker evenings are upon us, please consider ‘timer’ sockets to illuminate your home in the early evening. This will take away the ‘empty’ look prior to householders returning home from work.

The initial meeting to form the Safer Stronger Community Group for Charfield was held on 18th September, and a committee will shortly be formed to run the group. When the Committee is ‘operational’ we will hold our first public meeting to prioritise issues which affect your community. These issues can be Police related, housing issues, environmental, educational, health care or any other service. Watch this space for the date for the first meeting.

Beat Surgeries will be held in the Sportsman's Bar at the Memorial Hall on the following dates between 18h30 and 19h30.
Tuesday 9th October
Tuesday 13th November

Your Policing team
PC Lee Bainbridge
PCSO Sean McKinnon
PCSO Haley Harrison

Located in the Foundation Room on Charfield Primary School Premises.

Summer Update
Summer holiday 2007 proved to be successful for Charfield Out of School Club with a slight increase in users compared to last Summer. It was good to meet some new faces. Thank you for your support!

September 2007
The prices for the club have been reviewed and are as follows:

Term-Time:
AM session 7.30am – 8.40am, £3.85 per child.
PM session 3.10pm – 6.00pm, £6.50 per child.

Holidays and In-service days:
Half Day 7.30am – 12.30pm, £14.00 per child.
22Half Day 1.00pm – 6.00pm, £14.00 per child.
School Day 7.30am – 3.30pm, £16.20 per child.
Working Day 7.30am – 5.00pm, £19.20 per child.
Working Day 7.30am – 6.00pm, £21.00 per child.

Note: 20% discount for subsequent children from the same household. (Only for users registered before 31st July 2007). Please speak to the Club Manager, Pat Loveridge, on 07816 23xxxx, if you would like to register your child/children. There are still a few vacancies.

Club Staff
As of September we very much welcome, Jessica Gibbs (New Play Assistant), and the return of previously employed staff, Hannah Morris (Relief Play Assistant), and Gemma Brown (Relief Play Leader). Best wishes to Joanne Loveridge (Play Leader/Play Assistant), who during a ten week sabbatical, is participating in a Raleigh International programme based in Malaysia.

Many thanks to all the staff for their hard work and commitment during the summer holidays!

AGM
We held our AGM on Thursday 13th September at 7.30pm.

The meeting was extremely poorly attended resulting in 2.5% of members, (excluding directors) present. It was an opportunity for the existing directors to provide a presentation about the past years performance of the club, and also when the current director's are able to resign and re-elect from their positions. It was identified that as from 11th October 2007, the club will be short of two directors, due to the resignation of Jess Gainer-Lane and Janice Brett. Many thanks to you both for your support during the last year!

For the club to continue to open for business it is a legal requirement to have at least five directors. Hopefully, on Thursday 11th October 2007, when we reconvene at an EGM in the Foundation Room, we will have found two more volunteers.

If any parents/carers are interested in joining the existing directors, please contact Pat Loveridge on 07816 23xxxx or Nicola Derrick on 01454 26xxxx, for further information. We are always looking for volunteers. Currently, we would very much welcome a Secretary and Events Coordinator. Many thanks to all for their continued support!

Nicola Derrick, Secretary

Rainbows is continuing to be popular and all our girls are having loads of fun.

This term we are working towards staging a Craft Exhibition to be displayed in the hall for all parents to come and see. We have been making clay pots – the talent of some of the Rainbows is incredible and the attention to detail immense. We have looked at still life – drawing bowls of fruit and making picture frames decorated beautifully.

We will be going on a walk to collect items to make a Rainbow statue as well as looking at how to sew and display our craft exhibition.

In December we are joining up with all the Rainbows in the county to go and see Dick Whittington at the Theatre in Cheltenham as part of our final 20th Birthday celebrations – and then it will be Christmas – is life getting faster!!!

If your daughter would like to join Rainbows and have loads of fun please contact me.

Kathryn Schofield (01453 52xxxx)

23

Striving for excellence
Learning for Life

Here are some of the extracts from some of our newsletters, so far since July:

Staff Changes
Staffing changes have taken place recently. We welcome Mrs. Ruth Noall, who is teaching Year 5/6 and Mrs. Rebecca Rolfe, who, with Mrs. Bradley, is teaching Year 4. We wish them every success and happiness at our school.

Have Your Say … The Results Are In!!
As you may know, we are currently in the process of writing our new Strategic Plan for 2008–2013. We have consulted with parents and pupils, staff and governors about the values that they believe should be to the fore when constructing the new plan. A steering group has been formed comprising of parents, staff, governors and the school Senior Leadership Team. Work has started and the group aims to have the plan ready to start in January 2008.

During the week starting Monday 16 July, I sent out a short questionnaire with regards to what was felt to be good about our school, needed improving or was missing in our school. I sent it out to our pupils, parents, governors and staff to gather their views, to help us develop the Strategic Plan appropriately. I was very pleased that so many pupils, parents, governors and school staff responded.

I analysed the responses and they are now going to form the direction of our new Strategic Plan that will start in January 2008.

Here is a summary of the main points arising from the responses. As you can see, there are many positive points about our school, which is great, but we also want to continually make it a better place for our pupils and so we are now more aware of what needs improving!

PUPILS
Good
39% Healthy school
33% Adventure playground
29% Staff
Needs improving
20% School dinners: choice/portions/quality
20%  Behaviour of minority in class
8% Toilets
Missing
32% Swimming pool
9%  More playground equipment
8% Male teacher
6% Bike shed
6% Tennis court
5% Football goal/nets
4% Swings
4% Trampoline

PARENTS
Good
31% Good teaching
22% Facilities/buildings/outside space
19% Healthy school
17% Caring/ approachable
14% Happy children
14% Community feel
8% Communications
8% Clubs
Needs improving
15% Communications/
quicker notice of trips
11% School meals including portions
5%  Inconsistency in homework
5% Smaller classes
5% More personal end of year reports and feedback
Missing
20% Male teacher
14% More sports in school

GOVERNORS
Good
Happy/friendly/sense of belonging – community
Behaviour
Caring/approachable/positive attitudes
Buildings
Safe learning environment
Teaching staff and support staff – commitment
24The Friends
Needs improving
Higher achievement
Sports – competitive
More extracurricular activities
Parental involvement
Community/business links
Blowing our own trumpet
Communication to parents
Pupils taking responsibility for their belongings
Missing
Male teachers

SCHOOL STAFF
Good
Caring staff
Hard-working staff/team
Needs improving
Creative curriculum
Awareness of diversity
Storage of shared resources
Communication sharing from meetings
Use of Classroom 8 as a resource room
Collective worship
Missing
Whole school collective worship
More singing/dancing

These responses will help to make our school a better place in the future and will form the back bone of our new strategic plan. Thank you.

The Friends Annual General Meeting
The Friends of Charfield primary School held their Annual Meeting recently.

The Friends have always been a fantastic group of people to work with. They have a real sense of fun and purpose and quite simply want to be able to help the school and of course, the pupils as best they can by providing all those extra enrichment items that we can't afford out of our school budget.

The school and the opportunities that we can offer to our pupils would be a lot less if it were not for The Friends. Just think of the Adventure Playground that the children enjoy so much, the lovely Library furniture, all the guided reading books that help the children to learn to read, financial support with visiting theatre groups, purchasing new science resources, helping to develop the outside classroom for our youngest pupils, buying Christmas presents for KS1 and Christmas trips for KS2, books for our leaving Year 6 etc. etc. The list goes on and on!

Also, The Friends put a lot of events on, not only to raise funds for the school, but also to give something back to the community. Many events are social, such as the quiz nights, barn dances, firework night, Chocoholics evening, Summer fair etc. etc. Again the list goes on!!

I am delighted to say that the response to join the committees and take on positions of responsibility this year has been brilliant!! We now have 2 co-chairpersons, 2 deputy co-chairpersons, a treasurer and secretary and lots of volunteer general members.

Any parent of a child in this school, is automatically a member of The Friends and if you wish to help The Friends in any way, please contact either of our 2 joint chair persons – Lisa Burner or Helen England. Thank you!!

Music Evening And Jump For Heart
Following our Music Evening in July, we collected £67.59 and Jump Rope For Heart raised £254.25. Also many thanks to Mrs. Windram for all her work in these two events – very much appreciated! ☺

Table Tennis Table For Sale
We currently have a quality Dunlop Rollaway table tennis table, in excellent condition, which is surplus to our needs and needs a good home. If you would like to buy it, please call in and see me or phone the school on 01454 26xxxx. Thank you.

Stefan Frontczak, Headteacher

25

The new football season has started with great promise. At the end of September all four teams recorded wins in the same week. Not that I'm biased; but the Under 11's team has perhaps shown the greatest improvement with 4 wins on the trot during which they have scored 16 goals and only conceding one! The Under 16s and 15s are also continuing the success of last year whilst the Under 12s are putting in a good string of results together which is seeing them move up their league table.

Behind every great team and organisation though is a bunch of unsung heroes who volunteer their time and resources to ensure that the kids of the village have the opportunity to play and enjoy the game of football. We are lucky in Charfield to have people who are prepared to organise sports and help out not only with the junior and senior football teams, but also the tennis and cricket clubs. From the junior football teams perspective we have a very willing and capable Committee without whom the 4 teams they represent would not be playing week in and week out. A good few of the Committee members no longer have kids playing in the teams but they are still willing to help and support the Club. The Managers are perhaps the most visible part of that Committee and they are kept particularly busy for about 9 months of the year during the build up to and during the season. For the off season as well some of the teams also enter competitions to help keep the interest and enthusiasm going.

Charfield Junior Football Club is a non-profit making organisation with all the funds raised through sponsorship, player subscriptions and match fees going back into the club to pay for equipment and improvements to the facilities. Although the Club puts on a number of fund raising events during the year, such as the now annual beer festival, we are always on the look out for new sponsors. If you have a bit of spare money available please get in touch!

If you would like to join or help the Club in any capacity please contact me on 01454-26xxxx. Thank You.

Nigel Cloke,
Club Secretary/Under 11s Manager

On most peoples minds at the moment are the various contentious planning applications that are under review at the moment.

The 3 quarry applications. John Acton who is representing the Parish Council attended a site meeting at the quarry with S. Glos sites inspection panel and other interested parties. John has done sterling work ploughing through all the proposed planning documents. John has tried to gain clarification on various points on how data in support of the application was acquired. These were not forthcoming prior to the site meeting. Due to these concerns and others a decision on the first two applications (extended hours of working etc) has been deferred until October 11th. The third application regarding the extension is still to be discussed.

The 14 proposed flats at Little Bristol Lane. As you have probably noticed the site has been cleared. Planning permission has not yet been granted although the planning officer has a ‘mind to grant’ permission. The application is on hold until the necessity of affordable housing has been investigated. Sandra O'Neill is hoping to get the application ‘called in’ … so watch this space.

26Other items of interest:-

Burial Ground. Land next to the existing burial ground at Church End was donated to us by Lord Ducie. To conform to planning standards we must undertake risk assessments to ensure the site is fit for purpose. After having what is called a Tier 1 Risk assessment this resulted in the site being declared medium risk (but only just). This means that the site requires a Tier 2 risk assessment with bore holes to ascertain the ‘real’ risk of contamination to the surrounding water courses. Unfortunately this comes with a price tag of around £6000.

However, we have made a considerable saving on land purchase and other sites in the village are also likely to fall into the medium risk category. A decision as to whether to proceed or not has been deferred until all councillors have read the report and the budget process has commenced.

Manor Lane Landscaping. After a very positive meeting with Stuart Bardesley who is the Countryside officer from S. Glos we were enthused to move forward with our plans for landscaping the area. A plant list has been drawn up which includes plants that are indigenous to the area and are wildlife friendly as we are looking for funding from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Funding.

Remember the Parish Council represents you, the villagers of Charfield. If you have any concerns or questions about what is happening in the village then contact one of the Parish Councillors or e-mail the clerk.

The council often asks for feedback but usually gets little, if any. So if things don't always go the way you'd like, its probably either due to the lack of interest, it is considered to be of little importance or you are content with things as they are.

Carol Parton, Councillor

Even though the typical British Summer weather continued to do its best (or worst!) to ‘drown’ our enthusiasm for the game, the court still had a great share of bookings over the late summer and the recently cleaned surface proved its worth being a distinct improvement to grip and bounce.

The Ladies and their ladder continues to be a backbone of the club, with regular games being played and enjoyed by some 19 in the league. Contact Rita Wadsworth on 01454 26xxxx to join in the ladder.

The Ladies Doubles was completed on the 7th October with an exciting final between Debbie Pringle & Julie Phipps v Karen Riley & Judith Watkins. In a rollercoaster match full of long rallies and passionate commitment, Deb & Julie ran out eventual winners with a scoreline of 6–2, 6–2, that did not do justice to the brave battling of Karen & Judith!

In the Youth section sixteen entrants contested the Championships and there were some really good matches. Angus Brown did very well to beat Charlie Hitchings, a former champion, and was unlucky to lose to Martin McNeill in a close contest. Likewise Adam Spiers almost beat eventual Champion Jonathan Rosser in the Quarter Final. The Final was a good contest with Jon Rosser emerging as a clear but narrow winner by 6–4, 6–4.

The Men's league started well but has struggled to gain momentum due to holidays & weather, but I am hoping that those still with games to complete will support the effort and start the ball rolling again. If we can do this we can finish with a Champion of Champions final with the top two from the two men's leagues fighting it out for the prestigious title.

The quarry operators, CEMEX, are currently applying for planning permission to extend their operating hours and extend the area to be quarried towards Charfield. The objections received against these planning applications from residents of Charfield express a great strength of feeling against these changes. It is obvious that we have all been affected by the quarry operations in one way or another. However, there has been reluctance to write or contact the authorities to express these concerns. Many of us assumed that:

1. The Council were pro-active in monitoring major industrial workings;
2. International companies working among small communities in the UK would keep within the law;
3. Companies would strive to be good neighbours with local residents by striving to improve practices and be responsive to complaints, especially when working in a controversial and environmentally unfriendly industry.

It came as quite a surprise to a group of us who have been active in organising opposition to the quarry's workings to realise that these assumptions are absolutely not true, in my opinion.

Lesson 1 – Find out what is allowed
The Council have not enforced the limitations that they placed on the quarry when they granted the planning permission previously. This is the norm and perhaps it isn't a surprising state of affairs when you consider the amount of planning that is approved and the range of restrictions that are placed on various individuals and organisations planning approvals. So one of the lessons learnt is if you have a concern about anything going on around you write to the Council to find out whether it is lawful. The Council 28relies on individuals to police the planning restrictions and inform them of any breaches.

Lesson 2 – Find out what is not allowed
CEMEX has ignored almost every planning restriction placed on them – they have over extracted, they have exceeded their permissible working hours and they have saturated our roads with their traffic. They have continued to work the hours they want even when the transgressions were made public and they admit to intending to continue to work the unsociable hours in the future. I admit that, even as a local resident, I was not aware that they had operating limits imposed on them. All I noticed over the last couple of years was an increase in noise, light and traffic pollution from the quarry. So the second lesson is get to know the limitations placed on any potential problem development near you. You are within your rights to see any application and any subsequent approvals including the limitations and restrictions that the Council have placed on it. Many recent planning documents are available on-line at the S. Glos website.

Lesson 3 – Tell someone about it
Do not assume that the Council works as a joined up organisation. If you write to the Planning Office with a complaint that has implications on highways, housing or environmental health your letter will NOT be passed to those departments. If any of you have raised complaints about the quarry in the past and directed them to the wrong department in the Council then it is in that department that they stay. All the objections registered against the planning applications which raise environmental health issues have not been passed to that Department by Council officials. Although members of The Wickwar Residents Action Group and Churchend Residents have directed the Environmental Health dept to the comments that many of you have made about dust and dirt from the quarry, we do not always have feedback that our information has been acted on. Hopefully these will be followed up. However, if you really want your concerns to be registered direct your issues again to the most appropriate department:

Breaches of planning – Planning Enforcement
Traffic – Highways Department
Health issues – Environmental Health
Planning comments – Planning Department
Operational annoyances, – Cemex management (plus selection of above)
Traffic obstructions – Police

Additionally always keep your Parish Council and Ward Councillor informed of your concerns. They are supposed to represent you and are obliged to help you.

As I write this we do not know the outcome of the current planning applications. However I would suggest that if you experience any concerns which you think are linked to the quarry that cause YOU a problem from now on, you should write to the Council and say exactly what the problem is. Remember, if you don't tell them then they will almost certainly not do anything about it. Emailing through their web site is quick and easy and a written complaint has real impact; it becomes a statistic, it is something they have to respond to, it is an official record of nuisance. Try to give as much detail as possible; dates, times, extent, location etc.

All these lessons learned can be applied to anything that concerns you in the village. We cannot possibly expect the Council to defend us against problems they don't know about so if we give them the opportunity to put things right and then they don't – we can then criticise them with impunity.

Yvette Andrewartha,
Churchend Lane

29

Having written in the last three publications of the newsletter, stories concerning the adventures of some of old Charfield's male characters, I thought it was time a lady had a mention, this lady, unlike some of her male counterparts, was a well known character for all the right reasons, her commitment to the village, and indeed to the country in two world wars, was simply remarkable, and I doubt if we will ever see her like again. The lady I am referring to was Miss Rosa Witts, she lived in Laurel house, just a few yards from the old Y.M.C.A. Hut, [predecessor of the new village hall] where she reigned supreme for many years in spite of the fact that it was supposed to be a young mans Christian association. I will try to give you a list of the work groups, associations, and committees that she belonged to, not only within the village, but also in the community at large. I find that exact dates are very hard to determine.

• In the 1914/18 war, Miss Witts was a Red Cross nurse – V.A.D. [voluntary aid detachment] Gloster Regt.
• A pioneer member of the British Legion, [W.U.Edge branch] Ladies section, and was their chair person for many years, she also attended London conferences as their delegate.
• Received the Haig cup at a London conference, for services rendered, and was the first winner of the Godley Trophy, also for services rendered.
• Made lecture visits to the Preston Hall.
• Helped at poppy making factories.
• Was a member of the Beavers for 30 years, allowing them to use the top story of the Witt's coal office [now demolished] as their headquarters.
• Organised Flag Day collections until 1954, for the soldiers, sailors & airmen's association.
• Organised, and went on the first pilgrimage to the [1914/18 war] Battle Fields of France.
• Organised whist drives, plus other entertainments for charities, during the 1939/45 war.
• Miss Witts was also member of the Hut committee, and worked in the canteen serving service men and women stationed in and around Charfield, was also the storekeeper.
• She was also a member of the W.V.S. and the A.R.P. doing her share of night duty during air raid alerts.
• Organised poppy day collections until 1953.
• She was also the first woman member of the R.D.C, and a grammar school governor for 28 years.
• She was an active member of Doctor Barnardo's Homes for 40 years, and secretary of the Young Helpers League for many years.
• Miss Witts also took catechism classes at Charfield School.
• When, eventually retiring from the ladies section [W.U.Edge branch] of the British Legion, Miss Witts was presented with a clock, inscribed, “In appreciation of long and devoted service, from all members of the ladies section, W.U.Edge branch, of the British Legion”.
• Miss Witts also organised whist drives etc, for the Royal College of Midwives, and for over 50 years was a Sunday school teacher.
• She was also a member of the church choir for over 60 years.
• For many years, Miss Witts was a member of the district nursing committee, and was the first lady chair person of the Parish Council.
• She was also a J.P. [Justice of the Peace].

Miss Witts, after the death of her father, ran the “Witts Coal Company” almost single handed, until selling out to the “Thomas Silvey Coal Co”, just before the last world war. I think it is very sad that this unusual lady, Miss Rosa Witts, will soon have no one left in the village who knew her, so she will be completely forgotten, therefore I am very pleased to have been 30allowed the opportunity, through this newsletter, to permanently record her work within the community for all to wonder at.

Miss Witts was a strict disciplinarian, and many were the times that my mates and I were chased from the old Y.M.C.A by her after catching us having a crafty game of snooker or billiards while under age. No one could become a member of the association until reaching the age of sixteen, but be that as it may, if Miss Witts wasn't around, the caretaker would often look the other way allowing us to sneak in.

We rarely stayed long however, because the radar eyes of Miss Witts could see right through the wooden walls of the old hut, and as she flew in, we flew out, only a very brave or foolish lad would stop to argue with this determined lady. I wonder what she would think of today's society, “not a lot” I would imagine. Some of the details of Miss Witts community work, may be a little vague, but it's the best I could do with the material available to me, so I hope that readers can make some sense of my a rather fragmented attempt, to bring an unusual lady's lifetime of work in the community, to every one's attention.

Life wasn't all work for Miss Witts, she did, on the odd occasion, play snooker with her niece Lucy, but snooker was one thing that she was not very good at, in spite of the fact that she had a good teacher in Mr Perry, [Charlie to every who knew him] who taught many of us how to play snooker properly. Charlie Perry worked in the signal box at Charfield for many years and was a very good snooker and billiards player. The reason why Miss Witts was not a very good snooker player was really quite obvious – she had little time to practice.

“Disappearing plums, and strange looking eggs”, in the next Newsletter, I hope to “eggsplain” what this means, – and yes, I do watch Coronation Street.

Ken Parker.

I have always had a lifelong interest in cycling as my first attempt to get fit came from joining a cycling club years ago when I was at school. I joined the Addiscombe CC in south London, a club better known for producing 24 hour time trial champions (400 odd miles in a day?) but with a growing youth section. So my idea of heaven is July when “Le Tour” is on and the television coverage is much better these days. So when I heard that the first two stages of this year's tour were to be held in Britain this year I had to see it.

It started with the Prologue time trial which this year was an 8km course around the streets of central London. The next day's road stage would take the 180-odd riders from Greenwich to Canterbury and across the channel to France to resume racing there. The advantage of watching the prologue is that you see the riders individually, as they are racing against the clock so the shortest time wins the first yellow, or leader's, jersey of the Tour. With a road stage the cavalcade and riders flash by very quickly so you don't get to see a great deal. I travelled up with some friends on the Friday ready for the prologue on Saturday afternoon. We stayed at an inexpensive (for London) hotel near Victoria, and after a leisurely breakfast headed for Hyde Park. “The Village” was a collection of stands and attractions designed to entertain the crowds with all manner of cycling paraphernalia and French cuisine. This included a London 2012 area where I entered my personal goal of completing a marathon for every letter of my surname by then onto the 2012 website. I also met the world record triple jumper Jonathan Edwards (see picture opposite) who was very interested in me running marathons, and thought it was far too far for him! As he said his longest run was to the sandpit!

We sorted out a good spot by the Serpentine and opposite one of the big screens so we could keep up with the TV 31coverage as well. The weather was glorious after the recent floods and we were thoroughly entertained watching all the riders. The Swiss Fabian Cancellara won with the only ride inside nine minutes with Britons Bradley Wiggins and David Millar further down. We saw all the sponsor's vehicles driving round the course beforehand throwing out freebies to the crowd. Many people sat on deckchairs in front of one of the large screens enjoying the spring sunshine. We choose to stand for about six hours (it takes a long time for 180 riders to ride round individually) by the crash barriers taking it in turns to get food and drink. I bought the obligatory Tour T shirt (yellow of course) and headed for home having had a great day out.

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

Baby and Toddler Group
Alex Montgomery 01453 84xxxx

Bingo Club
Sue Scoble 01454 26xxxx

British Legion
David Millman (Hon Sec) 01454 26xxxx

Charfield Pre-School
Donna Allen (Play Leader) 07866 04xxxx
Colette Walker (Chair) 01453 84xxxx
Melanie Davis (Admissions) 01454 26xxxx

Charfield Primary School
Stefan Frontczak 01454 26xxxx

Childminders
Sarah Gazzard 01454 26xxxx

Church – Congregational
Rev Philip Hopes 01453 84xxxx

Church – St. John's
Vivienne Kerner 01454 26xxxx

Council – Charfield Parish
Sue Bailey (Clerk) 01453 51xxxx
Email clerk @ charfieldparishcouncil.co.uk

Council – South Gloucestershire
Sandra O'Neill 01454 26xxxx
Email xxxx @ southglos.gov.uk

Cricket Club
Diane Bradley 01453 84xxxx

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

Football Club
Nigel Cloke 01454 26xxxx

Friends of Charfield Primary School
Lisa Burner 01454 26xxxx
Helen England 01454 26xxxx

Foundation Room
Bryan Grantham 01454 26xxxx

Friendship Club
Mrs. M Ealey 01454 29xxxx

Keep Fit Club
Christine Parfitt 01454 26xxxx

Luncheon Club for the Elderly
Jane Higgins 01454 26xxxx

Memorial Hall
Bookings 0870 774 xxxx
Email xxxx @ virgin.net
Tim Hill (Chair) 01454 26xxxx