Village News
VILLAGE NEWS - May 2013 by Anthony Hughes
We are looking for a new correspondent to the Gazette & Herald. If you are interested please contact Anthony Hughes (720966).
Christian Malford Village Website. Visit the village website for details of village events, clubs and societies. There is a notice board and a list of useful telephone numbers and local services. To include your event within the village diary send your item to email: parishclerk@christianmalford.org.uk
Geoffrey Hewitt
Sunday, 7th April saw a packed church in Christian Malford say farewell to Geoff and Chris Hewitt following Geoff’’s decision to retire from full-time Ministry.
It was, at the same time, both a sad and joyous occasion; sad that Geoff and Chris are leaving us but joyous in the warmth and love that those present extended to Geoff and Chris for their new life in retirement in Evercreech. A communion service was followed by a shared lunch during which Geoff and Chris were presented with gifts from their parishioners.
Geoff and Chris joined us some ten years ago and working with our church community, he quickly established a fine reputation as a committed, caring and hardworking Parish Priest. Many people across the benefice have been grateful for his patient, concerned consideration of personal and family difficulties. For couples wishing to enter marriage his friendly and direct counselling has been invaluable.
Always ready to challenge, Geoff has endeavoured to lead by empowering those within our community to address their strengths and help in many ways within the Sunday service routines.
About two years ago Geoff became quite seriously unwell with a rapidly failing heart valve. Quite naturally this caused his family a great deal of stress and worry. Fortunately, this problem was repaired and, after a period of recuperation, Geoff was able to return to work, gradually building up his strength as time went by. However, he has recently found it more difficult to maintain the level of personal commitment to his post that he really wished so felt that it was time to explore the possibility of retirement.
We most warmly thank Geoff for his dedication to, and work in, our communities and pray that he and Chris will enjoy a long and fulfilling retirement. His presence and work within our communities has been a blessing.
Geoff’s retirement is now in the final stages of completion which leaves this Parish and Benefice in a time of ‘Vacancy’, an indeterminate period of at least a year or perhaps longer. The process of filling the vacancy has now started and, as part of that process, everyone is invited to a meeting with Bishop Lee at Sutton Benger church on Saturday 4th May at 09:15. See note below.
Vacancy Process Meeting - 9.30 - 11am on 4th May Bishop Lee and Melanie Griffiths from the Diocesan Development Team will be coming to Sutton Benger Church on 4th May (refreshments will be served from 09.15) to explain and begin the process leading we hope to the appointment of a new Priest in Charge of the Draycot Benefice. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Wiltshire Good Neighbours - At the heart of your Community
Wiltshire Good Neighbours is a scheme that works in partnership with Community First, Age UK and Age UK Salisbury and is funded by Wiltshire Council. Their role is to help older vulnerable adults to stay comfortable in their own homes for longer and aims to bridge the gap between their clients needs and desires and the services that are available but not always accessible. The service is free. By referral only, they will either phone or visit the client to chat with them about their needs. The scheme can provide information on: Where to find financial advice about benefits, transport for health related journeys or shopping, healthcare needs, safety issues such as home security and fire safety, social activities and meetings in your area (and transport to and from), how to find trusted local traders and keeping warm during the winter months.
Jenny Plummer
Good Neighbour Co-ordinator
Mob: 07557922028
Email: chippenhamgnc@communityfirst.org.uk
Christian Malford News
The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council. Tuesday, 14th May starting at 7:30pm in the village hall. See the Village website ( www.christianmalford.org.uk ) for more information.
Women’s Institute. The May meeting will be on Thursday 16th at 7.30pm in the village hall. Yvonne Brunton will be inspiring us with the work of the Dorothy House. Afterwards will be our Resolutions when we will debate ‘The decline of our high streets and town centres’. A warm welcome is waiting if any new ladies wish to join us. Contacy Sally Purkiss on 720077.
WI Coffee Morning in aid of Dorothy House. The WI have arranged a coffee morning at the village hall on Wednesday, 22nd May between 10.30am - noon to raise funds for Dorothy House. All welcome. Please support this very worthy cause
The Luncheon Club. This excellent and much appreciated club will meet once during May, on Tuesday 14th at 12.30pm in the village hall. Contact Angela Hamilton on 721091 for further information.
Mobile library. The mobile library will visit in May on Tuesdays, 7th and 21st stopping outside the village hall between 2.10pm and 2.40pm. The library offers story tapes, CDs and videos as well as books for adults and children. The van has wheelchair access and users can reserve items not on the van.
The Friends of the Church. This group raises money to support the maintenance and upkeep of this historic building. The AGM is to be held on 22nd May at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome. It is not a requirement that a person attends church - all that is required is an interest in preserving this building. For further information please contact Anthony Hughes on 720966.
Christian Malford School – Clerk to the Governors. We are seeking to appoint a competent Clerk to the Governors to support our friendly team of Governors. You will need to attend 6 governors meetings per year to take minutes which take place at school during the early evening. You will be required to work closely with the Chair and Headteacher to ensure all DfE and LA requirements of the Governing body are met. Keyboard skills and access to a computer linked to the internet are essential. You should be organised, self-motivated, and a good communicator. The majority of our correspondence is by email so you must be confident in the use of email and internet.
For further details and an application form please contact Camilla Glass, Admin & Finance Officer admin@christianmalford.wilts.sch.uk
or telephone: 01249 720496 (email preferred)
BJ Big Band / End of the Track Concert. The Friends of the Church extend their warmest thanks to the BJ Big Band and The End of the Track for providing a hugely enjoyable musical evening in a packed church on the 5th April which raised almost £700 for the Friends. It was an excellent evening and the music and singing was greatly appreciated by the audience. We had arranged the church to accommodate the eighty people who had purchased tickets but about forty people turned up and paid at the door which rather threw our arrangements into disarray! However, it ensured a packed church which the playing and singing fully deserved. An excellent evening.
Village Annual Spring Clean. Saturday, 11th May. Meet at the village hall at 9am where refreshments will await you. The council will provide, hi-viz jackets, gloves and plastic bags. Please come suitably dressed (with your own gloves if you would feel more comfortable with them). Contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, Martin Helps on 012479 467045 or e-mail parishclerk@christianmalford.org.uk.
In advance of 11th May it would be very much appreciated if all residents could take a little time to pick up any litter around their property (and maybe that of any elderly neighbours), paying particular attention to the underneath of hedges litter has tends to collect.
Malford Allotmenteers. The 2013 AGM for Malford Allotmenteers will be held at 8:00pm in the Village Hall on Thursday, 23rd May. At the meeting outline proposals for an allotment site in the village will be discussed and all villagers who are interested in becoming allotmenteers will be very welcome.
Recreation Ground. The official opening of the new facilities at the Recreation Ground has been scheduled to take place on Sunday, 12th May at 2:00pm. The Parish Council looks forward to your support on this occasion.
Brush with Art. The group normally meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month in the village hall between 6.30pm – 9.30pm, price £4.00 including refreshments. Please contact Sharon Hunt: 01249 720611 or Lynne Patchett 01249 720272 or email brushwithart@hotmail.co.uk for more details.
Friends of Christian Malford School
invite teams, families and individuals to take part in
The Wacky Races
Sunday, 19th May at the village hall starting at 11am.
Fancy dress welcome, wheels but no engines allowed!
Registration forms available at the village shop
BBQ and refreshments
£2 per person entry entitling you to £1 voucher redeemable at the bar or BBQ
If you cannot enter the race, join us for the BBQ and bar from 11am
All funds raised will be donated to
Christian Malford School and Wiltshire Air Ambulance
Friends of Christian Malford School. Thank you to everyone who turned up on the 2nd March to partake in the cakes and hot drink whilst having their car washed. We hand washed 41 cars and sold a number of cakes raising £290.00 in the process. Hard work for those involved but a great amount raised for the school!
At the end of last term the children were busy decorating hard boiled eggs to take part in the Easter egg decorating competition, giving Mrs Cook a hard task to judge a winner for each year, but she did! Congratulations to the winners.
Before the Easter holidays the children were lucky enough to have Anna Durrant, a local photographer, talk to them in assembly on the composition of a ‘good’ photograph. Now Anna has the pleasure to judge the photographs taken by the children over the holidays of their ‘favourite view’.
There is a lot of planning going on at the moment to re organise and improve the garden area within the school grounds. With money raised by FOS the school will soon have a garden area fit for growing vegetables and flowers and a quiet area for the children to reflect.
It’s all hands on deck organising the WACKY RACE event. We are planning a fun event involving dressing up, scooting round the back lanes on various contraptions and back to the villager hall for a BBQ and drink. We hope as many of you as possible can join us for a day filled with fun. Please visit the Christian Malford website for more details.
Village Plan – Help to shape our Village’s Future. It is 8 years since Christian Malford established a Village Plan and the time has come to bring things up to date to reflect the current view of villagers.
Athough this is being initiated by the PC it is intended that a cross section of villagers will contribute their ideas, expertise and time to set the future direction of Christian Malford and help it continue being a great place to live. Initially we want to build a team representing the diverse interests in the village that can gather data about the future needs then develop and implement plans for the benefit of all villagers.
All contributions will be very welcome and we want to gather support from the village societies, the young and old, new arrivals, long term residents and businesses. No matter how much time you can spend, please step forward and contact Kevin Watson in the first instance (kevinbeaglewatson@gmail.com / 01249 721147)
Golf. Are there any golfers in CM who would like to play golfers from Sutton Benger in a Ryder Cup style format over two days. If interested contact Kevin May at CM shop, 01249 720647, kevin.may64@btinternet.com
The Village Fete, Barn Dance and Hog Roast with Fireworks
Saturday, 13th July
Civil war re-enactment & traditional village fete
Traditional fete stalls, foam pit, greasy pole, children’s games, maypole dancing,
competitions, cream teas and much more. 2-5pm. Adult £1. Under 16’s free.
A fantastic family day.
Barn Dance, hog roast & firework display
An evening of dancing to music by ‘Five Bar Gate’ followed by a fantastic
firework display. 7pm-midnight. Adult £6. Under 16’s £1.
Please visit www.christianmalford.org.uk/ for all the details including price reduction details for tickets purchased in advance. Tickets will be available from the shop in June
Help wanted
You can help set up the fete on the day and help clear up the following day - full details will be provided next month. In the meantime, the following stalls would like your support::-
Tombola. Bottles of all shapes and contents - Anthony Hughes, Yew Tree House, Church Road
Books - Marlen Snelders, 32 Lime Trees.
White Elephant stall - Shirley Palmer 740627. The Luncheon Club are running the stall but require storage space to store donated items - please give Shirley a ring if you can offer storage space. Help will also be required to run the stall at the fete, again please ring Shirley if you can help.
Plant stall Start planting seeds, bulbs, take cuttings, etc., for this stall - Roger Carter 720810
Cake and produce stall The WI would like donations on the day for the cake and produce stall ( ie: cakes, biscuits, pasties, sausage rolls, fruit, vegetables, jam, marmalade, pickles etc.)
Entrance gate Volunteers to help out on the gate for a short period of time taking tickets or money - contact Mary on marydavies75@btinternet.com.”
And the competitions
Why nor show off your hidden talents and skills in the fete competitions? There are over 60 classes covering cookery , flowers , fruit and vegetables , art work, photography and more. Classes are for all abilities and include children/teenager sections.A competition listing and entry form was enclosed in the March parish magazine ( a pink sheet) but more copies are available from the village shop or Ruth Haynes , 2 Church Road, CM. The competitions, including entry dates and times are all on the pink sheets, judging will take place on the morning of the fete with all winners and entrant displayed during the fete afternoon.
Women’s Institute Gillian Hinton was thanked at our March AGM for her six years of energy and enthusiasm as president. She instigated many exciting new WI clubs. Art, gardening, knit and natter, cards and book club. Hidden talents have been exposed! Also stepping down from the committee were Nichola Thurston Smith, Barbara Veitch, Helen Tarry, Phillipa Hayward and Jo Fawcett. They all contributed so much in helping Gillian to have such a vibrant group. The ‘reins’ are now in the capable hands of Jenny Johnson along with some new committee members, who will be trying to keep up the standards!
Simon Williams, an ex police officer, gave us a superb talk about the Great Train Robbery at our April meeting. If you want to steal money bags from a Royal Mail train, choose the second carriage as it is the HVP (high value post) coach! In 1963, they took, in today’s money, £41 million in 121 sacks. Simon showed us many details including where food was stacked in the farmhouse hideout, the monopoly played with the vast haul of money, and where it was hidden. Only a sixth was ever recovered. Virtually all the gang had tragic ends to their lives.
Christian Malford Primary School. Mandy Cook, Headteacher writes: This has been a very busy term at school – and both staff and children have been fighting coughs and colds, but still forging ahead with all the exciting things that have been happening. In February the children had a visit from the Quantum Theatre company who staged “The Story that wrote Itself” this helped children with their story writing structure and language and was hugely enjoyed.
On Red Nose Day, Year 6 boys organised a mufti day, games and challenges, and a treasure hunt followed by a cake sale after school. Over £100 was made to put towards the appeal.
Years 5 and 6 continue to have drumming lessons once a week and are learning samba drumming at present. They gave a fantastic performance recently which was appreciated by all who saw it.
The School is also extremely proud to be announcing the arrival of a PlayPod which has been financed by a lottery fund grant. This is a small shed which is filled 6 times a year with all sorts of scrap ranging from tyres to material to cardboard, which the children can use in an imaginative and constructive way with adult support. Our MDSA’s and some of our TA’s have received training for this. We are the only Primary School in North Wiltshire to offer this type of creative play, so we are very proud of this!
The Friends of School have, as ever, been very busy. They staged a car wash in March which raised £290 – thank you to everyone who came to have their car washed and eat the lovely cake while they waited! For Easter, they organised an egg decorating competition which was judged after our Easter Service. The winners were Louise Ward, Leon James, Bethany Hourihane, Jack Derrick, George Lewis, Amelia Curnock and Charlie Shaw. Congratulations to all of them! We also said goodbye to Geoff at our Easter Service - he will be greatly missed by us all.
This term, we can look forward to some fantastic photography in the school, as the Friends of School are organising a Photography Competition which will be judged by Anna Durrant, a local photographer. We hope to have a splendid gallery on show following this.
The Friends of School have also arranged The Wacky Races on Sunday 19th May which will hopefully be a magnificent fund raiser for both the School and the Air Ambulance.
May sees us taking part in the Small Schools Tournament in Seagry where we will enter teams for netball and football and our Year 5’s and 6’s are off to Braeside Educational Centre in Devizes for a week which is always great fun.
Finally, Christian Malford Primary School is working towards becoming a member of the Bristol Diocese Multi Academy Trust in order to secure the future of the school within the village and support our school improvement. We are very excited about this new venture
Acorns News It seems Spring is finally here!
Since returning from the Easter break the children have been learning about mini beasts. We have been in the woods looking for them with magnifying glasses under rocks and dead wood and the children have built mini beast houses which they will visit each week to see if the mini beasts are moving in.
IIn the setting the children have grown cress and will soon be planting beans which we hope will be harvested later in the year.
We would like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the PCC of All Saints Church for purchasing our new projector and projector screen and also for fitting it. We look forward to showing you more presentations about our pre-school in the future. In the meantime, the films that we made showing the children in the various learning environments can be seen on our website – www.acorns-preschool.org.uk.
We would also like to welcome our latest new starter – Emre – we’re really glad you could join us!
A couple of dates for your diary - on 2nd May the children will be taking part in the "I want to be…. challenge" to raise funds for Save the Children. They will be sponsored to dress up in something that depicts what they would like to be when they grow up. We will be holding an Open Afternoon on 25th June from 1.30pm. Contact Acorns on 07816 280 810 for more details. However, there is no need to wait until then to have a look around. To arrange a visit please contact Paula Jenkins on the above number.
A reminder that our Toddler Group meets every Friday morning during term time. We meet from 9.30 to 11.30 in Christian Malford Village Hall. Parents, grandparents and carers with pre-school age children welcome. We have a safe soft play area for babies, books, puzzles, dressing up clothes, mini kitchen, cars and train track to name but a few. We also have craft, music and singing sessions every week. Entry is £2.00 for one child, 50p for each child thereafter, and includes a drink and healthy snack. Tea, coffee and biscuits are also available for the grown ups.
We are now taking registrations for September 2013 and January 2014. Contact us soon to ensure you get your preferred sessions.
Dauntsey Vale Link Scheme (DVLS). The DVLS is a good neighbour scheme covering Dauntsey, Brinkworth, Christian Malford and Foxham which goes far beyond just driving clients to/from medical appointments. Other helpful assistance includes shopping, visit to the hairdressers, walking the dog, small DIY tasks in the home, help with forms and letters, visiting a friend in hospital or at home, taking you to meetings and events (DVLS, Parish Council, Planning, WI, PROBUS etc), reading a book or newspaper, small jobs in the garden, taking small pets to the vet providing that they are adequately restrained.
If you would like to make use of the scheme please ring and chat to our Co-ordinator (01249 891746) to discuss your requirement. Even if we are unable to help you, he may well be able to give you details of someone who can.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED The DVLS has lost a number of volunteers in the last three months, which coupled with an ever increasing demand, is beginning to seriously impact on our ability to provide the desired service. If you think that you could assist and give a couple of hours a week or month to help someone in your community or would like to find out more about the scheme please contact Clair Fairley on 01249 721278
Probus Club. The Club held its AGM on 4th April, at which David Mortimer and David Meyrick were replaced by Ian Bell and John Webb as Speakers' Secretary and Secretary respectively. We then enjoyed an informative talk by Brian Barber on Radio Stations under fire in Liberia, West Africa. The staff of the Foxham Inn put on another enjoyable lunch. The next meeting of the Club will take place at the Foxham Inn on Thursdaym 2nd May starting with coffee from 11 am. The meeting will start promptly at 11:30 am to cover any business. This will be followed by a talk by John Jameson-Davis on Secrets of Forgers. Lunch will be served at 1 pm.
There are still a few vacancies and should you wish to join our friendly band or would like to find out more about our PROBUS Club - please contact a Committee Member: Nigel Fairley (721278), John Webb (720216), Steve Purkiss (720077) or Ian Bell (720950). Applicants from neighbouring villages most welcome!
Christian Malford Parish Council
The following represents a précis of the minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 2nd April. Those present included Councillors Depla, Fairley, Fawcett, Mortimer, Pepper and Watson.
Local Government Elections – 2nd May 2013
There were 7 nominations for the 9 seats on the Parish Council and, accordingly, all 7 persons are duly elected to serve with effect from Thursday 2nd May 2013. They are Kevin Assinder, Stephen Depla, Jo Fawcett, Philip Hines, David Mortimer, Lesley Pepper and Kevin Watson.
The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council is confirmed to take place on 14th May 2013 starting at 7:30pm. Please check the Village website ( www.christianmalford.org.uk ) for more information.
Planning
The Parish Council resolved to raise no objections on the planning application in respect of 4, Lye Common. For details in respect of all of the Parish Council’s responses to planning consultation visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/DCOnline
SpeedWatch
The apparent lack of progress with regard to the Parish Council’s application to be included in the County’s Community SpeedWatch scheme was raised in the Public Forum. It seems that a number of changes in staff at Wiltshire SpeedWatch has probably contributed to the lack of progress in this regard.
Recreation Ground
The official opening of the new facilities at the Recreation Ground has been scheduled to take place on Sunday 12th May at 2:00pm. date to be confirmed. The Parish Council looks forward to your support on this occasion.
It was confirmed that the improved road signage in the vicinity of the entrance to the Recreation Ground would also include road markings on Parish Council-owned land where it emerges from the Rec.
Annual Spring Clean
The Parish Council is still looking for partners to work with on the annual village spring clean, which has been scheduled for Saturday 11th May. If you/your organization would be prepared to offer your services on that day, would you contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, Martin Helps, who can contacted on 012479 467045 or e-mail parishclerk@christianmalford.org.uk
In advance of 11th May it would be very much appreciated if all residents could take a little time to pick up any litter around their property (and maybe that of any elderly neighbours), paying particular attention to the underneath of hedges litter has tends to collect.