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Community Reports June 2009

St Thomas à Becket
Pucklechurch Twinning Association
Parish Council Chairman’s Notes
Pucklechurch WI
Girlguiding Pucklechurch
Scouts

St Thomas à Becket

Services

• Sunday, June 7th Trinity Sunday
  10am, All-age worship and
  renewal of baptismal vows
• Sunday, 14th June 6.30pm, Revel Thanksgiving Service
  with well-known hymns, readings and prayers.
  Suitable for all ages.
  Why not come along and join us?

Saturday, 4th July, 2pm (in church if wet). Strawberry cream teas, games, stalls, and raffle. Books, bric-a-brac, cakes and plants for sale. Proceeds to church funds.

Pucklechurch Twinning Association

The latest visit from our twinned village of Pringy took place over the Easter weekend when we were able to accommodate 39 guests, 15 of whom were under 19. It is encouraging to see the interest and enthusiasm of the youngsters, both English and French, and particularly the way that they mix together at all the social functions. The arranged activities were vibrant, with everyone joining in and having a thoroughly enjoyable time with the youngsters totally involved with the adults and each other. If you want your children to lose inhibitions, gain confidence and involve themselves in a different culture and language in a safe environment, joining Twinning will provide that experience.

After arrival in late afternoon, Saturday and most of Sunday was spent with host families. On Sunday evening, the Social Club was used to provide games for the youngsters and any adults who wanted to attend. In the end most of the people involved in the visit took part. Monday evening saw the usual reception in the Village Hall with everyone enjoying the disco provided by Kevin Watkins.

We have now displayed the two Twinning Charters that were signed for the 20th Anniversary. Thanks to the Church Council, they are mounted on the wall in St Thomas à Becket Church either side of the plaque presented by Pringy for the 10th Anniversary of Twinning.

Twinning always welcomes new members. We have a full programme of social events throughout the year (see the Pucklechurch Community Website calendar). Some of these events are purely social and are intended to give prospective members an idea of what we are about, whilst others are fundraising activities.

We are now making preparations for Revel activities and will be running the “Café du Pringy” and the boules competition on Revel Day. Please stop by and see us.

If you are interested in joining Twinning or would like more information, please contact either Val Broom (937 2025) or Ann Smith (937 2030).

Lyn Smith, President

Parish Council Chairman’s Notes

Congratulations to all who took part in the Spring Clean. In addition to Parish Councillors and Guides, many other people joined the annual clean-up around Pucklechurch this year. As one of the last to finish, I counted at least twenty black bags in the skip plus other items.

 Gail Boyle provided refreshments for volunteers, and I am told that the number of people participating was noticed by many other villagers. We will run the Spring Clean next year, and I hope that even more of you will be moved to join in!

If anyone wants to look after an area of Pucklechurch (or Shortwood) during the year, please let Diane Bailey know.

You may be aware that the power cables that used to be in the centre of Pucklechurch have now gone, together with the tall metal pole which used to be between 1 Abson Road and 2 Westerleigh Road. The cables in the centre of the village are now underground, and the four cables on Abson Road/Feltham Road have been replaced by a single cable. Council have written to Western Power for arranging the work.

The annual meeting of parishioners was held on Tuesday, 5th May. Unfortunately the meeting was thinly attended. Apart from my brief review of the Parish Council’s activities, the rest of the meeting was a celebration of the activities from nine other groups, including the cricket and football teams, Guides, Twinning, and Revel, to name a few.

There are many groups who do a lot for the village who have never given a report. The meeting is always held in early May, so please look out for the date in the March 2010 edition of Pucklechurch News and ensure that YOUR group comes along and tells the rest of about your activities. Pucklechurch is a lively place, and the more who know what is available, the more will join in!

Omar Beg, Chairman

Pucklechurch WI

Members and friends of Pucklechurch WI had a city break in Liverpool. Although cold and blustery, we had an enjoyable time. Some relived the Beatles experience, and we took a trip down Penny Lane. Others discovered the cultural wealth of the museums and the contrast of the two imposing cathedrals. We sailed down the Mersey with the tune of the same name ringing in our ears before entering the tranquil Port Sunlight Garden Village -- home to Sunlight soap -- and the Lady Lever art gallery full of priceless treasures.

At our April meeting we were pleased to welcome two new members to our Institute, and we were all entertained by our speaker D Elsbury, who reminisced about the 1950s.

The May meeting saw three new members joining us, and we had a discussion about the plight of the honey bees.

By the time you read this, members and friends will have spent a few May days in North Wales.

This year's WI & Gardeners' Club Produce Show will be held on Saturday, 12th September, starting at 2pm in the Scout Hut. Produce Show schedules are now available for 50p.

Norma Pratt, President

Girlguiding Pucklechurch

As we near the start of Girlguiding UK’s centenary in September this year, I am delighted to report that over 100 girls regularly enjoy Guiding in our village. They are supported and encouraged by a dedicated band of around 20 leaders, who provide a safe, girls-only space for them to grow and develop into caring citizens. So what have they been up to?

2nd Pucklechurch Rainbows have been tree hugging in Dyrham Park… and climbing trees too! They’ve also planted some trees in connection with their Woodland Trust project for 'Changing the World'. 1st Pucklechurch Rainbows have planted cress in eggshells and are also working on the same tree project as the 2nd Unit.

1st Pucklechurch Brownies celebrated Easter with a party and are continuing to work on their charity 'Plan -- because I am a girl.' Lyn said, "They are very enthusiastic and have taken some really good photos for the exhibition we are planning shortly." The exhibition will highlight differences between the lives of girls in our country and in Liberia. Monies raised will go towards education, which is presently denied most Liberian girls.

2nd Pucklechurch Brownies put on a super show with lots of Abba songs and dances, interspersed with information about tortoises. Leader Emily has pet tortoises and is concerned about their welfare, particularly illegal importation. The Brownies raised nearly £100 for the Tortoise Protection Group. Leader Omie said, "The girls worked out their own dance routines and were really enthusiastic about the whole thing. We are very proud of their efforts."

Due to the severe winter weather, the Guides' weekend at Badminton had to be postponed until March, but the theme remained the same, and the girls belatedly celebrated Chinese New Year with lighted lanterns floating upwards into the night sky, eating with chopsticks, and filling red envelopes with happy secret messages.

I recently visited Guides to show them the more formal uniform I wore when I was a Guide and the inspection that went with it. Who remembers having their tie checked for a reef knot at the back and a highly polished badge pinned on centrally? What about pocket inspection, clean hands and nails, and polished shoes? (Did you quickly rub your shoes on your socks for a quick shine?) I told them about my camping days and the more basic tents and latrine arrangements we had and just took for granted and then found out this was for their Traditions of Guiding badge! I must be getting old!

The Senior Section is working on a Red Cross fundraising project and is arranging a rock-climbing session. They are also having an evening of karate, so don’t mess with them! Congratulations and best wishes from all of us to Eilidh, our Senior Section leader, and Rob on the birth of their first child, a beautiful little boy called William.

In October three of our Guiding adults visited Mrs Eileen Pitman in Doynton. She was 108 yrs old, had been to school with Lord Baden-Powell’s sister Agnes, and started up a Guides unit in Doynton. This was one of the earliest Guide companies in our area. The visitors recorded her memories of early Guiding. Unfortunately Mrs. Pitman died in April, and Eilidh, Sue and myself, plus other local Guiders in uniform attended her memorial service on 2nd May. The original flag for 1st Doynton Guides was in the church, and we were asked to form a colour party leading out the congregation after the service. This was indeed an honour and inspired several people to speak to us about their Guiding memories.

As our centenary approaches, I invite former Brownies and Guides to get in touch and share memories and photos please, so we can build up a unique, local record of our wonderful movement. Thank you.

Rosalind Abbott

rosabbott@hotmail.com, 937 2157

Scouts

Beavers have been busy this term with lots of badge work being undertaken. We had a fantastic time at the St Georges Day parade at Woodhouse Park, where we joined the other district Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. We decided to run couple of sideshows. The rocket launching caused a stir when we kept losing the rockets in the trees and bushes. Fortunately, we had some tall helpers! We also ran a toss-the-welly game, which proved very popular with those who like a challenge -- the sweets as prizes helped the game along too. We are planning our Revel float soon and need adults to help. If you can lend a hand, do speak to one of the leaders. If you would like to know more about Beavers, please contact Sarah on 957 1266.

The ever-growing Cub pack have been busy in the hut. One night we spent making and decorating kites (helping toward our art badge), which we took to Dyrham Park the following week to fly. We also took along some more professionally made kites, as it can be windy up there! During last term we also sent away our leader Akela to Gilwell -- Scouting HQ -- for a week of training and development. He returned full of enthusiasm and brimming with ideas that we hope to put into action over the next few months. We went to the St Georges Day parade at Woodhouse. With our Beaver and Scout friends, we ran toss-the-welly and rocket launching activities and also had time to enjoy lots of exciting activities put on by other groups. If your son or daughter is between 8 and10½ and interested in joining cubs, call Steve on 0787 213 7609.

Following the success last summer in their sailing RYA level 1, a few members of the troop have just completed their level 2 certificates in sailing in Bristol docks. This means they can now go sailing independently, so keep out of the water for now! During the last term the troop have worked on badges and had fun evenings of music and cooking in the hut. If you would like to join us, we meet on a Wednesday, from 7.15-9.00pm. To join Scouts, call Tony on 957 4119

The Group Executive reports that work continues on the hut with a successful bid for grant aid to improve the security and access at the front door. (This will hopefully be fitted during the early summer.) Members of the group spent time sorting through the tent stores during the spring and have removed anything that is not needed. It also meant that a review of the condition of the tents and camping equipment could be undertaken. This identified the need to replace existing tents and acquire additional tents and equipment for the group. We will be looking at raising funds for this over the next few months.

And finally, the Scout Hut is available to hire for small private parties, with all income supporting our cause. To find out more about hiring the hut, call Gail on 937 2838.

Dale Dennehy