BROAD TOWN NEWS – NOVEMBER 2023
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
BROAD TOWN CHURCH
Services for November:
5th Communion 10.30am (followed by refreshments)
12th Remembrance Service 10.50am
26th Patronal Festival 10.30 am (followed by refreshments)
The Church Carol Service will be held Wednesday 13th December 7pm. Followed by Mulled Wine and Mince Pies. Work Morning - Thank you to everyone for their support in October and throughout the year.
Janet Wain RIP 17 June 1950 – 11 October 2023
It is with great sadness, that we report the recent death of a long-standing Broad Town Villager – Janet Wain. Our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with Robin, Ben, Julian, Oscar and all the family at this sad time. At the time of print the funeral arrangements were still to be finalised.
Harvest Festival and Foodbank Harvest was celebrated well in Broad Town with Church Harvest Festival, Food Bank Collection, School Harvest service and a very successful Harvest Supper which raised a magnificent £604 to help keep your Church open. Thanks to everyone who supported these events.
Next Foodbank Collection will be 9th & 10th December.
Future fundraising events • Friday 24th November – Beetle Drive.
Saturday 2nd December – Christmas Craft Coffee Morning.
2024 February – Pancake Coffee Morning, March - Bingo Night courtesy of Trevor, April - Art Exhibition in Church,
May - Judy’s Plant Stall, June - Open Gardens and Cream Teas.
BROAD TOWN FOOTPATH GROUP
The Footpath Group met again on Saturday 30th September with the task of installing two kissing gates on footpath BTOW32 south of Little Town Farm. This activity is part of a plan to create a walk around Broad Town which can be followed without having to negotiate any stiles. Funding for the two gates had been provided by the Good Energy Fund, via the Parish Council, to whom we are most grateful. A good turnout meant that the team made light work of the task and had the two gates installed in less than three hours. A perfect end to the morning was provided by Tracy Holland, Annette Moore and Sue Morse who delivered excellent bacon rolls, lemon drizzle cake and coffee to the hungry workers. Anybody wishing to see the authoritative map of public rights of way can find it on the Wiltshire Council website at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/recreation-rights-of-way . a new gate which hopefully will have been installed during the Group workday on Saturday 14th Oct. This concludes the Group’s activities for 2023 but new dates will be issued for 2024. If anyone is interested in joining in with this worthwhile activity, would they please contact Malcolm Holland at: malcolmholland567@gmail.com
LOCAL VEHICLE THEFT
We are issuing a reminder for people to keep their vehicles secure following a series of thefts from unlocked cars in the rural areas around Swindon. In the last few days, we have received a number of reports of cars being targeted and items stolen after they were left unlocked. PC Matthew Price said: “All the reports that have come in have resulted from vehicles that were left unsecure. In particular, it has been the villages around Swindon which have been targeted, such as Wroughton, Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett.” “I’d like to remind everyone that even if you don’t live in an urban area like Swindon, it is still important to protect yourself and keep your vehicles and belongings secure. It may sound obvious but please remember to lock your vehicles when you leave them, even for a second, and never leave any valuables or presents on display in your vehicles.” “You should also avoid leaving your car open and unattended, even briefly and on your own driveway.” Other steps to keep your vehicle secure include: - Park in a garage if you have one, and when out and about, aim to park in a well-lit and open area - Invest in a steering wheel lock - Beware of keyless thieves who will attempt to steal vehicles using “relay theft” where thieves use digital devices to pick up your car key fob's signal and 'relay' it to the car, which then opens. For more information on keeping your vehicle secure, visit Preventing car and vehicle theft | Crime Prevention | Wiltshire Police
WHAT OUR S.I.D. SAW LAST MONTH
The SID has been located at Chapel Lane monitoring Northbound traffic (heading to RWB), The SID counted 32,019 vehicles passing which equates to approx. 915 a day. 14% of vehicles were speeding.
Actions arising from our SID are:
1. A Police enforcement check took place 10th August. The Parish Council are also in discussion with the Police and Crime Commissioner initiative to use SID intel to resource enforcement checks.
2. If you want to improve the safety and quality of life for everyone in Broad Town, please give Chris Woodhouse a call on 07790815616. If we get enough volunteers, we’ll set up Community Speed watch to work alongside the various enforcement initiatives.
GET KIDS READING!
Are you struggling to know what to buy children in your family this Xmas? If so, why not give them a quality book or magazine subscription? The Book Trust Website: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/ has a book finder which takes you to the very best of children's books and by simply clicking on an age range you can browse themes and recommendations. Alternatively, how about a subscription to an educational magazine? • Okido (3-7yrs) - Arts and Science: www.okido.com • Whiz, Pop, Bang (6-12yrs) - Science: www.whizzpopbang.com (6-12) • The Phoenix (7-14yrs)- Comics- Art, Reading and Writing: www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk- A weekly magazine that’s packed with incredible comics, drawing guides, and plenty more that inspires kids to get reading, writing, and drawing! • Aquila (7-14yrs) Arts and Science: www.aquila.co.uk – Aquilla has been publishing for 30 years! • The National Geographic Little Kids (3-6yrs)- Geography: www.magazine.co.uk/magazines/national-geographic-little-kids-magazine From Broad Town School Reading Advocate.
MADE IN BROAD TOWN CRAFT & HOBBIES GROUP
Our ‘Made in Broad Town’ mornings are continuing to be popular, and it’s been lovely to see some new faces recently. A wide range of hobbies and crafts takes place during the meetings and it’s always interesting to see what people are up to! However, you don’t need to be creative as everyone is welcome to come along for refreshments and a chat, we’re a very friendly bunch, and if you do feel creative there are always activities available for you to try. We ask for a £2 donation please, to help cover hall hire and refreshment costs. There will be three meetings in November as we will be taking advantage of the 5th Wednesday (as well as the 1st and 3rd), to prepare and price items we have made in readiness for the sale at the Church Christmas Coffee Morning on December 2nd.
We are still looking for donations of any craft materials and plywood. Please bring them along to the village hall or if you contact us, we can collect them from you. Thank you!
So, the dates for November are Wednesdays the 1st, 15th and 29th. Please join us from 10-12 noon in the village hall. Linda and Helen Email: Linda Boyden lindaboyden12@gmail.com & Helen Greer hjgreer1@gmail.com
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING
It was great to see so many people coming along to our Macmillan coffee morning on September 27th. It was a very busy morning and the total sent to Macmillan was £150, so a big thank you for your generosity! A letter of thanks has been received from the charity to express their appreciation. On October 25th we held our Wiltshire Air Ambulance fundraising coffee morning. This proved to be a very successful and enjoyable morning with £150 being raised from refreshment donations and a raffle. We were also lucky enough to have a visit from Marsha the Mascot, and her visit was not only enjoyed by the children at the coffee morning, but also the adults! A special thank you to Lauren, Margaret & Jim who manned the Air Ambulance sales table, where an additional £150 was taken, and to Marsha the Mascot for making our coffee morning a very memorable one! Thank you to everyone who supported our coffee morning, and also to all the children who came along to meet Marsha and who busily coloured in pictures of the Air Ambulance helicopter, response car, and mascots! Our November coffee mornings will be on Wednesdays the 8th and 22nd, so please come along to enjoy delicious homemade cakes, sausage rolls, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE - Email: btpcclerk@outlook.com
An updated version of the Community Information Leaflet has been placed on the website at Community Information – Broad Town Parish Council together with a printable version. Please can you take a look and let the Clerk know of any changes or additions.
The Parish Council is looking for a location to site a secure storage facility which could be used to house equipment and any emergency weather kit such as gel sacks, road signs etc. The recent flooding events have reinforced the need for such a facility and if you know of any suitable locations, please let the Clerk know.
Next PC Meeting - Monday 13th November The next Parish Council meeting will be at 6.30pm in the village hall on Monday 13th November. All are welcome to attend these meetings and the agenda will be posted on our website and on the notice boards in due course.
ROAD CLOSURE
26th – 30th October The C415 by Goldborough will be closed for a period of up to 4 days from 26 October. The diversion is via Bushton/Clyffe Pypard and Highden Lane to Broad Hinton (and vice-versa). Further details are available at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highways-road-closures.
BROADTOWN SOCIAL CLUB EVENTS
The nights might be drawing in but here’s some events to entice you out to have fun with friends and neighbours. Friday 24th November – Beetle Drive And now for something completely different… With thanks to Rosie and Andrew Law we have Broad Town’s first ever Beetle Drive. Very popular in our surrounding villages, so this is a chance to find out what the excitement is about. A truly family fun event, with prizes at the end of each round for whopping the “you-know-what” off friends and neighbours! Not only can you enjoy yourselves, but you will be raising money for a great cause. Last few seats available to reserve now, so check out the poster for details of how to reserve your place.
Food for Thought on site that night for takeaways (and eat ins). What more could you ask for?
Friday 22nd December - Community Carol Singing. Get into the festive spirit with mulled wine, mince pies and a good old sing song. Food for Thought on site for takeaways (see poster for details).
Sunday 31st December – New Year’s Eve party What’s in store? • Dance the night away with live music from the Dog House Band (guaranteed to fill the floor) • Bring in the New Year with Big Ben on the big screen • Bring your own table food! • Tickets £10/adult, £5/U16 to include entertainment, a free standard drink and automatic entry into a free prize draw to be made on the night. We won’t mug you to buy raffle tickets! (See poster for details.) Tickets available to pre-order from 13th November by email fromannebroadtownveday@hotmail.com or txt 07916701844. Payment and collection of tickets within one week of booking at the Social Club on Friday evenings (cash or card) or on a different day by separate arrangement with Anne (cash only). And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, the Social Club will open as normal every Friday evening from 8 – 11pm for reasonably priced drinks and snacks, convivial company and free pool and darts.
Broad Town Social Club Annual General Meeting (AGM) The AGM will take place on Friday 17th November 2023 at 7pm in the Village Hall. Why not come along to find out what we do and how we do it, hear about our financial situation and put forward questions or ideas about future events. EVERYONE WELCOME!
Food for Thought Evenings When Food for Thought are on site the Social Club opens at 5pm through to 11pm for you to enjoy your takeaway in the Village Hall with a drink or two. Feel free to bring your own cutlery and crockery if you wish but please take it home with you afterwards to wash up! Menu on Facebook along with details of how-to pre-order to avoid the queues. (https://www.facebook.com/FoodForThoughtSwindon). For vegan, GF and other dietary requirements please contact them directly to discuss. They have limited space to carry stock but will gladly try to meet all requests.
A LETTER FROM BISHOP KAREN
Praying for the People God Knows We Need This autumn it has been a joy to institute and licence a record number of clergy to new posts and as well as being the beginning of new ministry for individuals, communities and parishes, these services represent the culmination of months of careful work. The appointment of clergy is one of the most important tasks of being a bishop, overseeing the right person appointed to the right place, not only fulfils the vocation of parish and priest, but also ensures faithful ministry now and in the future. Sometimes the departure of a parish priest is sudden, sometimes it is planned whatever, the period of vacancy ensures time is taken to review the needs of a particular place or places, of a particular church or churches, to make sure that the defined task is realistic and forward looking. This can involve vision days and consultations with Patrons and other interested parties. The role needs to be accurately defined and the drawing up of a profile and advert a careful process, bearing in mind that some weeks well over forty church leadership posts are advertised nationally in the Church Times. The recruitment and appointment process, co-ordinated by the archdeacon and our local office, involves careful managing, as applications arrive, shortlisting takes place and interviews and visits are organised. Patrons, parish representatives all participate in what is ultimately and most importantly a task of prayerful discernment as references are sought and read, candidates welcomed, and a day of interviews held. Presentations are made, homilies preached, and the local school visited. Then following appointment all the necessary checks are made before an announcement and plans for moving take shape, including the preparation of the house and organisation of the licensing service itself. As often is the case much hard work proceeds a joyful celebration. Prayer is essential, and so often the temptation is to ask for the person we all think we want, when rather than trusting that God will provide the person God knows we need. I am forever thankful for all those who at the end of these processes come to the diocese to serve the church faithfully as priests. We welcome those who have arrived recently and continue to pray for parishes in, or soon to be in, vacancy. +Karen
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Made In Broad Town 1st, 15th, and 29th Nov.
Church Communion 5th Nov.
Coffee Mornings 8th, 22nd Nov.
Remembrance Service 12th Nov.
Parish Council Meeting 13thNov
Social Club AGM 17th Nov
Beetle Drive 24th Nov.
Patronal Festival 26th Nov.
THE DEADLINE FOR ITEMS FOR THE NEWSLETTER IS THE 22ND OF EVERY MONTH.
Send items to: Email- BroadTownNews@gmail.com, or for any queries contact:- Ray Manley- 01793 731564