BROAD TOWN NEWS – SEPTEMBER 2024
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING TOMBOLA ON SEPTEMBER 14TH,
Please help: bottle tombola – we are still in need of some bottles for the Macmillan Coffee Morning tombola on September 14th, so if you are able to donate a bottle or two, please give them to Ray & Margaret Manley, Annie & Nigel Crocker or Helen Greer, or bring them to the village hall on a Wednesday morning or Friday evening. As the prizes need to be labelled up well before the event, the deadline for donating bottles is Wednesday September 11th, which is a community coffee morning day, so they could be brought to the village hall then. Bottles can be any type and size at all including drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, sauces both sweet and savoury, bubble bath, shower gel, etc, or anything else you can think of in either glass or plastic. Thank you for your generosity!
CHURCH NEWS
CHRIST CHURCH HARVEST FESTIVAL We are holding our Harvest Thanksgiving Service on Sunday 22nd September at 5 pm. There will be Harvest Tea starting at 4 pm. Please come and join us. You will be most welcome, and we look forward to seeing you at Christ Church, Broad Town. Christ Church PCC.
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNINGS
Our coffee mornings will restart on Wednesday September 11th, and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone again. Please join us for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, homemade cakes and sausage rolls. If you’re new to the village, it would be great to see you, so please come along to the village hall between 10 am and 12 noon. The second September coffee morning will be on Wednesday 25th. As always, we meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday mornings of the month, and everyone is verywelcome. Saturday September 14th Macmillan Charity Coffee Morning in the village hall from 10am – 12.30pm. We are joining in with Macmillan’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ by hosting our own ‘Broad Town’s Biggest Coffee Morning’. It would be great to see as many people as possible at this event, so please come along and help us raise as much as we can for Macmillan Cancer Support. *Homemade cakes, hot & cold drinks* *Bottle tombola* *Philip Male’s nature photographs* *Made in Broad Town craft stall* *Free kids’ activities* All welcome, proceeds to Macmillan Cancer Support. Please bring cash as we are unable to take card payments – thank you!
MADE IN BROAD TOWN
Macmillan Coffee Morning Stall. Please visit our craft stall at the Macmillan coffee morning on Saturday September 14th – plenty of crafts and gifts to buy! Prices range from 50p to £15 (cash only please). Hand Painted Candles. During our last session in August, we had a lot of fun painting candles. September Meetings. Our meetings will take place on Wednesdays the 4th and 18th from 10 – 12 noon in the village hall, all welcome, the £2 suggested donation is voluntary. On the 4th, please bring a couple of old CDs with you if possible. Our sessions are always on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday mornings of the month, new crafters and hobbyists are always welcome! Please email us if you have any questions. Email: Linda Boyden lindaboyden12@gmail. com; Helen Greer hjgreer1@gmail.com
FOODBANK
September collection Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th 9.30 – 4pm at the Village Hall. Foodbanks continue to be very busy, so please be as generous as you are able.
CHURCHYARD WORK MORNING
Thanks to everyone who volunteered at the August work morning. As always, lots achieved and we still regularly receive lots of favourable comments about how well kept the churchyard is.
Come and join us on 7th September, 10 – 12. Our last work morning for this year will be on 5th October. Refreshments provided.
BROAD TOWN’S BIG BREAKFAST
In aid of Prospect Hospice on 12th October in the village hall 10:00 am to Mid-day
Hearty Combine Harvester
Two rashers of bacon, two sausages, two eggs, two hash browns, sliced mushrooms, baked beans, toast & preserves
Humble Harvester
One rasher of bacon, one sausage, one egg, one hash brown, sliced mushroom, baked beans, toast & preserves
Herby Harvester
Two Vegan rashers, two Vegan sausages, scrambled tofu, hash browns, sliced mushrooms, tomato
Drinks
Orange juice, Tea or Coffee
PAY AS YOU FEEL
Book or just come along (it would be helpful if larger parties (4+) could let us know roughly what time they are planning to be with us). Please call or e-mail Margaret margaretmanley@hotmail.co.uk or phone her on 731564
PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE
Keep up to date at https://www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk Consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) The Government is proposing to make changes to the NPPF which could have a big impact on Broad Town and other towns and villages in Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council held a webinar which is available to view on YouTube to help you understand the potential impact – this link will take you to Wiltshire Council’s YouTube channel. To review the proposed changes and provide feedback to the Government please use this link. The consultation ends at 11.45pm on Tuesday 24 September 2024. Are you planning to study a vocational course, qualification or undertake an apprenticeship from September? Wiltshire Community Foundation offers grants to young people in Wiltshire and Swindon who need support with the costs of studying vocational subjects such as business, engineering, IT, health and social care, hairdressing, beauty, childcare, cookery, plumbing, construction, electrician and many more…… Grants of up to £1,000 are available to support the cost of books, resources, equipment, study/field trips, IT and software, and travel. See the advert elsewhere in this newsletter. To learn more or to apply for a grant visit the website Wiltshire Community Foundation or use the online application form: Vocational Grant Application Form. Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan consultation You can now have your say on the Gypsies and Travellers Development Plan Document, as the consultation begins on Tuesday 20 August until 5pm on Friday 4 October. An engagement event will be held in Royal Wootton Bassett Library, 11 Borough Fields, Royal Wootton Bassett SN4 7AX on Wednesday 11 September 4.30pm – 7pm. More details are available at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-gypsy-travellers Next PC Meeting - Monday 9th September The next Parish Council meeting will be at 6.30pm in the village hall on 9th September. All are welcome and the agenda will be posted on our website and on the notice boards in due cours
SPEEDWATCH
The observant (or the speeders) may have noticed the reappearance of Speedwatch on the main road through Broad Town. Led by Chris Woodhouse, the group operates approximately weekly measuring the speed of vehicles through the village. Speeding has been an issue for many residents in Broad Town and the SID (Speed Indicating Device) has indicated that in a typical month, approximately 11% of vehicles travel at 35mph or over through the village 30mph zone. Some, significantly faster. Speedwatch is intended to be educational rather than punitive. All information recorded is passed to the Police for further action and registered keepers of vehicles exceeding the speed limit are contacted - initially with a letter explaining the potential risks and consequences of their behaviour. It is hoped that the group’s efforts will improve quality-of-life in Broad Town by allowing residents to feel safer when using the roads in the Village. Please give us a wave when you pass us by. Anyone wishing to get involved should contact Chris on: woodhousecj@gmail.com
BISHOP’S LETTER: BALMY DAYS
Dear friends Welcome to this most wistful month of the year, when we sense the shift of summer into autumn, notice the mellowing light and take stock before starting again. I do hope there has been plenty of sunshine for you between the showers! With rhythms fixed in childhood term-times, September is the ‘other’ new year, and always an opportunity for reflection. Yet we could be forgiven for facing this new season feeling more than a little unsettled, for the times are uncertain. Warfare feels close at hand, not only for those who hear the low thump of guns on Salisbury Plain. We think of the Holy Land Jesus knew and loved – and are reminded of the prophet’s cry: ‘the harvest is past, the summer is over, and we are not saved’. Facing the destruction of his land and the exile of its people, Jeremiah asks: ‘is there no balm in Gilead?’ A cry which might be echoed by dispossessed people across the globe. In spiritual songs, the Lord Jesus has been described as the balm so needed by God’s people – the soothing relief who bears our sorrows, binds our wounds and heals our soul. Those who follow and serve Christ might, therefore, see their own ministry as extending this anointing to those who need it most. To be a balm for the world: what a timely way to make Jesus known in the months ahead. May God bless you as you, in turn, are his blessing to others. +Andrew Ramsbury
THOMAS SPACKMAN EDUCATIONAL TRUST GRANT
Are you, or do you know, a young person living in the Clyffe Pypard or Broad Town area who would benefit from a grant from The Thomas Spackman Educational Trust? The Charity’s main focus is education or work-related training and apprenticeships, but The Charity may also be able to help a promising individual develop a particular talent; perhaps help fund tuition in a musical instrument or develop a sporting skill. Applying is very easy. If you wish to find out more about the application process, please email spackmancharity@gmail.com or contact Rosemary Greenway: rosygreenway@gmail.com. All formal applications need to be in by 30th September 2024. The next opportunity to apply will be March 2025
WHAT OUR S.I.D. SAW LAST MONTH
The SID has been located at the School monitoring Southbound traffic (heading to Broad Hinton) The SID counted 27,723 vehicles passing which equates to approx. 792 a day. 15% of vehicles were speeding
WILTSHIRE POLICE COMMISSIONER’S ARTICLE
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/anti-social behaviour-wardens-work-to-tackle-most-affected-areas-in Swindon
SEPTEMBER AT A GLANCE.
Wednesday 4th – Made in Broad Town, 10-12 noon
Saturday 7th – Churchyard Work Morning, 10-12 noon
Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th - Foodbank Collection, 9.30-4pm, village hall
Monday 9th – Parish Council Meeting, 6.30pm, village hall
Wednesday 11th – Community Coffee Morning, 10-12 noon
Saturday 14th – Macmillan Broad Town’s Biggest Coffee Morning, 10-12.30pm
Wednesday 18th – Made in Broad Town, 10-12 noon
Sunday 22nd – Broad Town Church Harvest Tea 4pm, & Service 5pm
Wednesday 25th – Community Coffee Morning, 10-12 noon
Friday 27th – Food for Thought Fish’n’Chips, 5-8pm, village hall car park
PLEASE NOTE that all copy to be included in the next edition should be emailed to:
BroadTownNews@gmail.com by the 22nd of EVERY month. For any queries, please contact Ray Manley 01793 731564