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Community Reports - March 2009 |
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Notice of the Annual Parish Meeting
Tuesday, 5th May, 7.00pm
in the Village Hall Meeting Room
Purpose of the Annual Parish Meeting
All Parish and Town Councils throughout England are required by law to hold an annual parish meeting at this time each year. The purpose of calling this meeting is so that the Council can explain what it has been doing over the last year and provide an opportunity for community groups and electors to share information on activities and items which they consider are important to the people of Pucklechurch Parish.
Who can attend the meeting?
Anyone may attend but only registered electors of Pucklechurch may speak.
Will I be able to ask questions and make suggestions?
Yes, any registered elector may ask questions of the Council. These will usually be answered by the chairperson, by the parish clerk, or a designated councillor. An elector may also make suggestions and comment on anything pertinent to the people of the Parish of Pucklechurch. This will be welcomed and is the whole purpose of the meeting.
Who will chair the meeting?
Omar Beg, the Chairman of the Parish Council, will chair the meeting. If he is not able to attend, the meeting will elect a chairperson from amongst those electors present.
Will parish councillors be there?
Usually the parish councillors do attend and will speak if need be. But the purpose of the meeting is to enable the electors of Pucklechurch parish to have their say. Councillors will listen with interest and, as electors themselves, also have the opportunity to raise questions and make comments if they wish.
Will notes be taken of the meeting?
Yes, a written record of the meeting will be taken and will be presented at a future meeting of Council for their consideration. The minutes will be published on the Pucklechurch Community Website. The minutes for the 2007 meeting may be viewed at www.pucklechurch.org/html/parish_council.html
How long will the meeting last?
As long as necessary (within reason). It depends on those present, the number of questions, and the length of the discussions. Generally, the meeting lasts no longer than 2 hours.
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St Thomas à Becket
Easter and Holy Week Services
- Sunday, 5th Apr Palm Sunday
10am, Family Communion
3pm, Messy Church
- Short acts of worship. Arts & crafts. Refreshments. Donkey procession. Something for all the family.
- Thursday, 9th Apr Maundy Thursday
8pm, Holy Communion
- Friday, 10th Apr Good Friday
10am, All-age Worship
- 2-3pm Last Hour at Cross
- Sunday, 12th Apr Easter Sunday
10am, Festival Family Communion
St James the Great, Abson
- Sunday, 8th Apr Easter Sunday
11.30am, Holy Communion
Jumble Sale
Saturday, 7th March, 2pm, Community Centre. Books, bric-a-brac, cakes and refreshments, plus raffle.
Concert with String Quartet & Choir
Friday, 3rd April, 7.30pm, St Thomas à Becket church. Cheese & wine. Tickets £6.
Lent Course
"Fresh Expressions of Church"Begins Thursday, 5th March, 7.30pm, St Thomas à Becket church. Continues March 12th, 19th, and April 2nd.
The Scarecrows Are Coming Back!
After last year's successful scarecrow competition, we have decided to run it again this year on the same bank holiday weekend. The dates are Sunday, 3rd May, and Monday, 4th May. Please put these dates in your dairies. The theme will be real historical characters. Keep an eye out for posters around the village. Every household will have information put through their door at the beginning of March. The leaflet will explain things like whom to contact to enter, closing date details, information about the trail competition, and the programme for the two days.
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Pucklechurch Cricket Club
Pucklechurch CC is an extremely social and family-orientated club. We operate from the Community Centre Social Club and changing rooms and play our senior home games (3rd XI) on the Rec and at Fry Club (Keynsham). Social functions for the season to date have included a race night, barbecues, discos, and a day sat on the terrace at the Social Club watching the cricket and enjoying good company.
We currently run three Saturday senior sides and a Sunday afternoon development team. Our youth teams consist of U11, U13, U15 and U17, and all play within the Bristol & District Youth League. All our coaches are fully CRB checked.
We are always looking for new players of all ages and our pre-season coaching sessions, for current or potential players, are as follows:
- Seniors King Edmund School, Yate, Thursday 6-8pm commencing 26 February for 10 weeks with Coach Damian Forder (additional Level 3 coach, former Glos CC) Cost £3 per session
- Youth (U13-17) King Edmund School, Yate, Saturday 10am-12 noon commencing 21 February for 10 weeks Cost £1 per session (subsidised by Pucklechurch Revel -- Thanks!)
- Youth (U11s) This age group consists of children from ages 8 to 11 (must be U11 at 31 August 2008) - Training will commence Sunday, 5 April, 10.30am-12 noon - Held indoors at the Community Centre; will start with a soft Kwik cricket ball, although competitive cricket will be played with a hard ball
All training will continue Thursdays and Sundays as appropriate until the end of August. Subscriptions are kept to a minimum of £15 youth (no match fees) and £25 senior. For further details, please contact Vicky Freestone on 937 3227.
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Changing the World
The Changing the World initiative is all about taking small actions that add up to big changes. Our organisation has linked up with 19 well-known charities to provide ideas for fundraising activities.
The Guides decided to raise funds for Crisis, a charity that supports homeless people. The theme was socks, a symbol of the charity which highlights the foot problems the homeless often suffer. The girls acted and recited their way through an hour’s entertainment, which included a fashion show of girls parading in a variety of interesting sock combinations. Extra funds were raised through selling 'smelly socks' (baby socks filled with lavender), drinks, and homemade cakes. Over £100 was raised and forwarded to Crisis. The girls received ‘Changing the World’ badges for all their hard work. Leader Judith said, "The girls planned everything themselves and have been so enthusiastic throughout. Making our girls aware of problems on our own doorstep broadens their horizons and helps them empathise with others."
1st Pucklechurch Brownies made bookmarks and delicious fruit cocktails and sold them to raise awareness of two charities: Safe Internet Access for Antigua and Book Aid International. Leader Lynn said, "The girls had so much fun making the cocktails and running their Caribbean Island Café that they have now started working on a third charity." The Brownies are recording their lives through photographs, which they will use to compare their lives with those of Liberian girls for Plan UK's 'because I am a girl' campaign. Their exhibition will raise money for building a school specifically for girls in Liberia, who presently receive no education.
A warm welcome goes to our new leader, Ellie, who is currently working on her Adult Leadership Qualification.
2nd Pucklechurch Brownies are supporting the WWF through the One Planet Challenge, looking at endangered species with a special emphasis on turtles. They will be holding a bring-and-buy sale to raise both funds and awareness.
2nd Pucklechurch Rainbows are taking part in the Global Adventure, a new resource that helps them explore our world. They’ve made tasty Lamingtons from Australia and played Rainbow tag and parachute games. Now they’re making Russian dolls and will be playing a dice game with them.
1st Pucklechurch Rainbows have taken advantage of our extreme weather and enjoyed a snowball fight. Now, before anyone thinks this may have been dangerous, let me explain! It was with scrunched up newspaper, but produced just as much fun and shrieking! For many, this will have been their first experience of enough snow to build snowmen and have days off school.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Our Senior Section girls are working hard towards their Duke of Edinburgh awards and have been to Tytherington for their first aid module.
Ros Abbott
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Grace Church, Westerleigh
Invites over 50s to enjoy
a free cooked meal and short talk
First Wednesday of every month at 12.30pm
The chapel is located on the left after the railway
bridge leaving Westerleigh, heading for Yate
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Happy Circle
Are you at a loose end on Tuesday afternoons? Would you like to join a friendly group for entertainment, games, and quizzes? If the answer is yes, please come along to the Community Centre at 2pm on Tuesdays where a very warm welcome awaits you.
Our trip schedule for 2009 includes:
May 5th, 10am-6pm, Moreton-in-the-Marsh
June 2nd, 9am-7pm, Stratford-on-Avon
July 7th, 9am-7pm, Exmouth
August 4th, 9am-7pm, Weymouth
September 1st, 9am-7pm, Windsor
October 6th, 9am-7pm, Lymington and the New Forest
December 5th, Christmas shopping in Cardiff (times to be advised)
For more information, please contact Liz Archibald on 937 4054.
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Pucklechurch Parish Council
Chairman's Notes
Play Facilities
It is not often that the Parish Council is offered money with no strings, but it's happened. Before Christmas, some of the older children from Pucklechurch School wrote to South Glos Council suggesting that play facilities in the village were less than adequate. Their letters were passed to Mike Follett, the Play Development Officer for SGC. At the time he was in negotiation with another council regarding some lottery funding earmarked for play facilities that SGC had received. His talks with that council broke down for logistical and practical reasons, however; but because of the children's letters, he decided to contact us to ask if he could talk with us about using the grant in Pucklechurch.
Mr Follett attended our council meeting in January and gave a short presentation. Councillors asked many questions about risk assessment, the size of possible facilities, who would manage the works, etc. We agreed to have SGC set up a working group of councillors (Sarah Turley and Alan Holder) and others to investigate the best way of using the grant. The total amount available is £30,000, which must be used by 31st March 2010.
This is a great opportunity to further develop play facilities in Pucklechurch, which probably wouldn't have been offered without those letters from our schoolchildren. Well done to those children who wrote and set the whole project in motion! I will keep you informed on how the project proceeds in the coming months.
Parish Precept
As you know, part of your Council Tax bill is the Parish Precept. This is what parish councils add to the bill to fund work within the local parish. It constitutes a small percentage of the total bill. Our precept has been one of the lowest in the area. Of the five parishes that surround us, we have the second lowest rate of £1403 at band D, of which £25 goes to the parish.
Each year SGC suggest a level of increase in keeping with national council inflation. This year they have proposed an increase of 3.9%, which we agreed. Next year we also need to address matters that will benefit the whole community. As you know, the Village Hall, whilst being well used, has a problem with the rising costs of operation, maintenance, and repair. Then there is the challenge of the proposed makeover, which we hope will deliver a building that will be of great value to the village for many years to come. With this in mind, we agreed to set aside a sum of money that could be accessed by the Community Association and the project team. The total is £3,000, which represents between 20 and 30 pence a month extra on each Council Tax bill (between £2.40 and £3.60 a year, depending on tax band). The Council are well aware of the financial pressures most people have, but we think this is a small price to pay to ensure that the Village Hall can continue its vital role in our community. It will also enable the makeover project team to call on funds for their work in coming months. None of us like paying more tax than we have to, but I hope you will agree that the increase, which represents less than a price of a stamp a month, is justified not only for our immediate benefit but for the benefit of future users of the Village Hall.
Omar Beg, Chairman
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Pucklechurch Scouts
 Our Beaver colony continues to swell, with 18 now on the register. To end last year we had a great night with Pirate Pete as he told his stories of the sea. This term we have been looking at what do in an emergency. We practiced bandaging each other, and to prepare us for when we are older Scouts, we practiced tying slings using our neckers -- you never know when you may get caught out! We celebrated Chinese New Year and recently enjoyed the snow by creating our own indoor snowball fight using paper snowballs. They're less cold, you know, and much easier to clean up! If you would like to know more about Beavers, please contact Sarah on 957 1266.
 At the end of last term, the Cubs teamed up with the Beaver colony for a Christmas party dressed as pirates for Pirate Pete and his stories of the sea. This term we have studied the Chinese New Year. We spent a couple of nights creating Chinese dragons, which we paraded around the site. (This will help with our badge work.) We went ice skating with the Explorer Scouts in Bristol, although we could have done this in Oaktree Avenue! For our last meeting before half term, we will be cooking Chinese style, woks and all! If your son or daughter is between 8 and10½ and interested in joining Cubs, call Steve on 0787 213 7609
 The Scout Troop continues to grow, with eight on the register. We finished the end of 2008 with a night at the bowls with refreshments to follow at Pizza Hut (or is it Pasta Hut now?). The hero of the night was Will Workman-Ruff who scored in excess of 100 -- well done, Will! Recently, the group spent two nights at Castle Quarry Tytherington training for first response in first aid with all now in receipt of their certificates. After half-term, we will be learning how to use and maintain lamps and use gas appliances in readiness for camps later in the year. Also coming are hill-walking weekends and sailing part II. If you would like to join us, we meet on Wednesdays, from 7.15-9.00pm. To join Scouts, call Tony on 957 4119.
 The Group Executive –- since we last wrote, we have been working extremely hard to improve the facilities in and around the Scout hut. We were very fortunate to have received two sums of money towards the upkeep of the hut; one from the Parish Council and the other from the Revel Committee. The Parish Council paid for a new and improved access path from the car park, and Revel funds helped to improve the heating within the building -- not only to keep the place warmer but reduce our carbon footprint by installing a timer device to avoid wasting energy. We also added some frost heaters in the toilets to prevent frozen water pipes – maybe just in time for this winter!
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
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PCA & Social Club Senior Members' Party
 On Sunday, January 18th, the PCA and Social Club committees jointly hosted the annual Christmas meal for all senior members and their spouses or partners. It was extremely well attended this year. The food and wine was much appreciated, especially as it was served by committee members in their best evening attire.
After the eats, there was a disco of '50s and '60s music which got many people up on their feet dancing and reliving their youth. At one stage, guests were treated to a rendition of Abba songs by some of the W.I. ladies.
Altogether, it was a lovely village occasion much enjoyed by everyone who attended.
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Twinning Association - Improving Your Franglais
Franglais is the mixing of English and French words in the same sentence to try and convey meaning. For many of us in Twinning, it is the main means of communication during a French visit, along with the French trying to speak English and the English trying to speak French. We become more fluent after a drink or two! Franglais is definitely more entertaining when in a group.
Over the Easter weekend and through to the following Wednesday (April 11-15), Twinning members will again host families from Pringy, the village near Paris that Pucklechurch has been twinned with for the past 20 years.
Twinning continues to flourish, and this trip will involve 44 visitors, including 18 teenagers. Over the years many families have been involved with Twinning, and their children have benefited from experiencing the different culture and way of life in France. They have also enjoyed being with and trying to communicate with French children (perhaps you saw the photographs in the last edition of Pucklechurch News).
We are always looking for new and younger families to join the Twinning Association. Language should not be a barrier -- there are many long-standing members who speak little or no French but who have enjoyed visits and friendships for a number of years.
Twinning meeting dates are posted on the Pucklechurch website, so please come along if you want to find out more, or contact Val Broom on 937 2025 or Ann Smith on 937 2030.
In the meantime, here are some examples of Franglais to entertain you:
"Sur votre bicyclette, mate" -- response from an English girl to a French lad she didn't fancy
"Le Rogue Trader" -- as The Independent described the man who cost Societe Generale billions
"Je suis un rock star" -- attributed to Bill Wyman
"Deux bieres, s'il vous plait, as vite as vous aimez" -- two beers, please, as quick as you like
“Two chien chaud and a coke, s'il vous plait" -- two hotdogs and a coke, please
"Je voudrais un top-up" -- I want a top-up
"OK, OK. Je ne suis pas DEAF" -- a favourite item of Kington franglais (with apologies to Miles Kington, un gentleman et un scholar)
Lyn Smith, President
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 Pucklechurch W.I.
January 2009 saw Pucklechurch W.I. celebrate its 72nd birthday. Celebrations took place in a Thai restaurant with delicious food accompanied by a demonstration of Thai dancing.
Monday, 2nd February, dawned cold and wintry but the planned coffee morning in aid of the Macmillan Nurses Appeal and Marie Curie Cancer Care went ahead. Members, family and friends were able to watch a demonstration given by the Pampered Chef, who prepared a ham broccoli savoury ring. A bring-and-buy table and cake stall were also available. We were joined on this occasion by Catherine Le Roy, who works as a Marie Curie Nurse and was brought up here in Pucklechurch. Her parents still live here, and her mother Marian Dawson is one of our longest serving WI members. Catherine called in to join us before going on to Clarence House for a reception with Prince Charles in aid of the appeal.
Future events that members and friends can look forward to include:
- 22nd-25th March, Liverpool city break
- 5th April, Blake in concert
- 18th-22nd May, North Wales
- 12th June, Visit to Kelmscott Manor and Burscott Park
- Visit to Waddesdon Manor (date to be advised)
- 12th November, Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace
Monthly speaker and other events are posted at the beginning of every month on the W.I. notice board outside the post office and on the Pucklechurch website.
Norma Pratt, President
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