BROAD TOWN NEWS – OCTOBER 2022
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
CHRISTCHURCH BROAD TOWN
On Raising a Harvest October is often Harvest season in the churches and villages of this Benefice. On the fields and fruit trees the reality is that much of the harvest has long since been safely gathered in – as I drive or walk around the villages in late September there are boxes of apples, plums and beans and marrows (often previously known as courgettes earlier in the season) with signs beseeching people to help themselves. Produce shows and conkers and autumn colouring in the trees ready us, as the leaves fall, to let go of the harvest that is behind us. Space to reflect on what has been fruitful can be useful before we give thanks – for although the harvest of the fields brings gain, the harvest of lives sometimes only comes through loss – sometimes in the setting down of roles and tasks; sometimes in the final harvest of the “Grim” Reaper. Death can indeed be grim. Yet, sometimes, in the ripeness of years, as with our farewells to the Queen, amidst loss there is a deep awareness of gratitude for love shared and service given. Autumnal harvest is redolent with endings and yet replete with thankfulness and beauty. Watching the leaves I find myself thinking of the courage displayed in letting go of all that has brought sustenance and connection through the life of the tree as the leaves become individual shapes of colour that flutter and fall to the earth – it can be hard to set aside all that has given us significance and purpose and entrust the future to others. Those self-same leaves will over time become the mulch that enriches the soil and it is the nature and substance of the earth that provides the place where this year’s seed is rooted and nurtured to become next year’s harvest. A sower went out to sow… some seed fell on good soil and when it grew it produced a hundredfold.
Reverend Rachma Abbott
CHURCH SERVICES
The only service for Broad Town in October is an Evensong on 23rd October at 6.00pm.
If anyone is interested :- It is Lyneham patronal festival on 2nd October at 10.30am.
Commemoration of the Departed is at St. Bartholomew’s in RWB on 30th October at 4.00pm
BROAD TOWN CHURCH APPEAL
After many years of voluntary service to Broad Town Church, both Clive and Margaret Green are planning to set down their service as Treasurer and Churchwarden in early 2023. We realised when we met recently that we have always been able to rely on the generosity of this community when our church building or its churchyard has needed your help - you helped us raise a roof if you remember. Now we need to raise people more than anything else for the moment. Are you someone who could help us as Treasurer - there are some things that are different or unusual about church funds but we can support you as you learn those things from Clive or from the other Treasurers in the group. Are you the person who will be our next harvest help? We need you!
Thanks, Rachma and the PCC of Broad Town Church
QUEEN ELIZABETH II - R. I. P.
Broad Town shares the great sense of loss felt by the whole Country, the Commonwealth and indeed the whole world at the passing of Her Majesty. The Queen was a truly remarkable lady and her death has created a feeling of enormous loss. In the words of Paddington Bear: “ Thank you Ma’am”
B.T. SHELTER
From 1st October the shelter will become a “Wall of Gratitude”. What are you grateful/thankful for? Why not place your ideas, thoughts and pictures on the wall? Post it notes and pens will be available, if you need them. Let’s fill up the wall and show our gratitude.
FOODBANK
The next village collection will be on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October at the Village Hall – 9am to 4pm. The Foodbank is particularly in need of the following: Long Life Milk Long Life Juice Small bags of Sugar Small Jars of Coffee Biscuits Tinned Potatoes Tinned Meat Toiletries and cleaning products Your generosity is always very much appreciated.
PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE
Due to the period of National Mourning for Her Majesty, the September Parish Council meeting was cancelled. The next meeting will be 11th October at 6.30pm in the Village Hall.
ARE YOU SUPPORTING A YOUNG PERSON WHO IS INTERESTED IN STARTING THEIR OWN BUSINESS OR ALREADY RUNNING ONE?
Wiltshire Community Foundation is working in partnership with the South West Enterprise Fund (SWEF) to provide business grants of £2,000 to young entrepreneurs in Wiltshire and Swindon that are aged between 18-30. More details are available on the website: www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE: MARLBOROUGH ROAD BETWEEN NEW ROAD AND GOLDBOROUGH HOUSE
Wiltshire Council has made an Order to close temporarily to all traffic: Marlborough Road, Royal Wootton Bassett; from its junction with C15 to its junction with New Road. To enable: Thames Water to carry out the connection of a new commercial supply and associated works. Alternative route: via C15 – C120 – C131 – A3102 – New Road and vice versa. The closure and diversion route will be clearly indicated by traffic signs. This Order will come into operation on 24th October and the closure will be required for 5 days.
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNINGS – OCTOBER
It was lovely to see so many of you returning to the regular coffee mornings on September 14th after the summer break. A book of condolence was available for villagers to sign in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and we very much enjoyed a visit from some of the children from the village pre-school who presented us with a thank you card for the donation of £100 that the coffee morning committee awarded them from surplus funds. The village primary school has recently received a similar donation, and it's great to be able to give the younger members of our community a helping hand! Our October coffee mornings will be from 10am to 12 noon on Wednesday 12th and Wednesday 26th in the village hall so please come along to enjoy our homemade refreshments! Our usual tempting selection of coffee/tea/hot chocolate, homemade cakes and sausage rolls will be available so please come along and have a cuppa and a chat! If you are reading this before the end of September, then please don't forget to come along and support our fundraising coffee morning on Wednesday September 28th in aid of Macmillan. We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesdays September 28th, October 12th & 26th.
POLICE AND CRIME COMISSIONER PHILIP WIILKINSON
I’ve now been ‘in the job’ of PCC for a year, and if there is one thing that’s been made abundantly clear to me, it’s that your confidence in policing is not where I want it to be. Whilst there are clearly some exceptional individual officers, overall, there have been gaps in the service you receive. In the past year, I have made practical steps to address them, such as the purchasing of effective technology such as drones and ensuring more officers are deployed to the rural crime team. The damage done by crimes such as hare coursing, criminal damage and theft have a massive impact on the rural community and history shows that at times of recession, farms become targets. I regularly speak to farmers and I’m all too aware of the reasons why you feel that reporting crime is not worthwhile. In my Police and Crime Plan, I’ve committed to ensure Wiltshire Police takes these crimes seriously and deals with them effectively. This is why I’ve taken steps to ensure the rural crime team has the capabilities and staffing it needs. As part of this commitment, Wiltshire Police has introduced online crime reporting specifically for rural crime. The form takes about ten minutes and is picked up by the same people who answer 101 calls. It’s vital that to build up an overall picture and identify patterns of criminal activity, all crime is reported, no matter how small it may seem. As this has only recently been introduced, I welcome your feedback about how the system is working. It’s only through working together that we can stop these crimes from happening and make Wiltshire a safer place to live and work. https://bit.ly/reportruralcrime Contact Information EMMA MORTON Head of Communications and Engagement Wiltshire OPCC 07384 820760 emma.morton@wiltshire.police.uk
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
BT Shelter 1st Oct
Lyneham patronal festival 2nd Oct 10.30am.
Food Bank - Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th Oct at the Village Hall – 9am to 4pm.
Parish Council -11th Oct at 6.30pm in the Village Hall.
Coffee Morning - October 12th & 26th at the Village Hall 10am-12pm
Broad Town Church Evensong 23rd Oct 6pm.
Road Closed –24th October for 5 days
Commemoration of the Departed at St. Bartholomew’s in RWB - 30th Oct 4.00pm.
NEWCROFT ELECTRICS
I am a local Broad Town based domestic electrician, offering a high quality and friendly service.
Happy to take on small and medium sized electrical projects but not full rewires.
Lights, sockets, EV chargers, outdoor power, fuse box replacement, fault finding etc.
Happy to visit your house to provide free quotations
5 * rating on google and Bark
Call: Alan on 07899 797948
Web: www.newcroftelectrics.com
email:Alan.Beard@newcroftelectrics.com
Registered with Napit, fully insured, 6-year warranty on workmanship
SOUL CAKE RECIPE
Brief History for Soul Cakes:
Soul Cakes are an old British treat said to date back to the 1800s. They were made on 'All Souls Day' (also known as Halloween/Samhain etc… ).
Soul Cakes were made to commemorate the dead. Beggars would go from door to door singing or praying for Soul Cakes in return. This tradition continues today as modern day ‘Soulers’ are now known as 'Trick or Treaters' who go door to door asking for a sweet treat.
Recipe for Soul Cakes
(makes about 18)
To make this recipe, you will need:
450g Plain Flour
1.5 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Pumpkin Spice (recipe for pumpkin spice is below)
5.5g Salt (almost a tsp)
175g Caster Sugar
170g Butter
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
60g Plain Yogurt (egg yolks can be a substitute)
140ml Milk
100g Raisins
SOUL CAKES
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice. Mix until evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, add the butter, sugar and vanilla and beat till smooth. Once smooth you may add the yogurt.
- Next add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine them. Add half the milk and mix again. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients with the rest of the milk and mix again. Now add and stir in the remaining flour.
- Add the raisins to the mixture.
- Place the dough in the fridge for around 1h 30mins (or till firm).
- Roll out the dough to around 1cm thick, then use a large cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough (this should make around 18 soul cakes). Score the top of each soul cake with a cross.
- Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and place the soul cakes on top. Brush milk on top of them and sprinkle some sugar on top. You then want to place the soul cakes back in to fridge for another hour (till firm again)
- After the soul cakes have chilled, preheat your oven to 200°c fan/gas mark 7. Once preheated place them into the oven for 18-20 minutes (till golden brown).
- Once cooked, leave to call, the soul cake should be a spongy yet biscuity texture.
When cooled, enjoy!
Recipe for Pumpkin Spice:
3 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1.5 tsp Ground Mixed Spice
1.5 tsp Ground Cloves
The deadline for items for the newsletter should be with Ray by the 22nd of EVERY month: Ray Manley 01793 731564 or e-mail raymanley1@btinternet.com