Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
WHITE HORSE LIMING
Weather permitting, White Horse liming will take place on the morning of Sunday 18 May. It should be assumed that we will start at around 10am and conclude before lunchtime. Protective equipment will
be available at the site in the form of eye protection and face masks. All participants are requested to wear appropriate footwear and work gloves. If possible, they should also bring a tool that can be used for removing weeds or for spreading the lime. The event will be open to all those who wish to be involved with the only stipulation being that participants should be physically fit and in good health. Would anyone who wishes to be involved please contact Andrew Law on 07841 381301 or andrewlaw456@gmail.com. Fuller details will be provided to all volunteers. Individuals who have already declared their availability to the organizer need not do so again. Andrew Law
EASTER FOOD BANK COLLECTION
At the Village Hall Sat 5th and Sun 6th April 9.30 - 4pm. Tins of Meat & Fish - Small bags of sugar - Cartons Milk & Juice - Small jars of coffee - Biscuits – Tinned potatoes – Tinned Meat - Toiletries & Household Cleaning Products *** Easter eggs and chocolate ***
VE DAY 80TH ANNIVERSARY CHARITY PLANT SALE & TEA
Saturday May 10th, 2.30 - 4.30pm in the village hall, Made in Broad Town plant stall - Broad Town Church plant stall - Crafts and garden items - Refreshments including homemade scones, cakes, hot & cold drinks. Organised by ‘Made in Broad Town’ with help from Broad Town Church & the Community Coffee Mornings team. All proceeds to good causes – details to be announced in the May newsletter.
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
Keep up to date at https://www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk
Village tidy-up. Meet 10 am Village Hall Saturday 3rd May Refreshments and Bacon. It’s the time of year for us to give the village a spring clean. Meet at the Village Hall for a village tidy and litter pick up. We will be providing litter picker tongs, gloves, bin bags and Hi-Viz vests to teams of willing helpers. We are also looking for volunteers with spades/shovels and buckets to weed the pavements.
Refreshments and Bacon Butties will be provided afterwards as a tasty reward
Volunteers to join the Community Fund Advisory Group. A couple of the residents who have sat on the advisory group for some years are now standing down. We would like to thank John Bradley and Malcolm Holland for their valuable help and guidance over the years. We are now looking for volunteers to take their place on the panel. The Advisory Group is made up of people in the village who review grant applications and then make recommendations to the Parish Council (who remain legally responsible for the management of the fund). This allows different views to be expressed and provides an element of separation from the Parish Council. Applications are considered via email and if necessary the group requests more details before arriving at a consensus to make a recommendation. If you would like to be part of this group and play a key role in helping community ideas get the funding they need, then please contact the Parish Clerk (BTPCClerk@outlook.com)
Bonfires – please don’t burn plastic or other hazardous material. Please consider the environment and your neighbours when lighting bonfires and don’t burn plastic or other hazardous material as the smoke and smell can pollute the air around for some distance.
Next PC Meeting The next Parish Council meeting will be at 6.30pm in the village hall on 14th April. All are welcome and the agenda will be posted on our website and on the notice boards in due course.
WHAT OUR S.I.D. SAW LAST MONTH
The SID has been located at Marlborough House monitoring Southbound traffic (heading to Broad Hinton) The SID counted 28,798 vehicles passing which equates to approx. 847 a day. 8% of vehicles were speeding.
SOCIAL CLUB
The social club is open every Friday from 8:00pm and members and their guests are all welcome. If you are not a member you can join for just £3.00 for the year - just ask Trevor behind the bar. Draught beers and lagers are for sale at just £3 a pint and there is a free pool table, so why not pop in and check us out.
Food for Thought Evenings Food for Thought will be selling their delicious Fish and Chips (and burgers, sausages, scampi etc) outside the Village Hall from 5 – 8pm on the last Friday in the month: 28th March, 25th April, 30th May. On these Fridays 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 at https://www.facebook.com/FoodForThoughtSwindon. If you would like to pre-order or have any queries, they can be contacted via text, WhatsApp or Messenger on 07515 288414.
WILTSHIRE COUNCIL UPDATE
Polling day 1 May, 7am to 10pm in the Village Hall
Deadline for registering to vote 11 April, midnight - Register to vote at https://www.gov.uk/register-to vote
Deadline to apply for new postal vote 14 April, 5pm.
Deadline to apply for new proxy vote 23 April, 5pm.
Deadline to apply for voter authority certificate (if you have no photo ID) 23 April, 5pm.
Stop smoking in 2025 to improve your health, wealth, and wellbeing. Wiltshire Council have launched a new Smoke Free app to help people across Wiltshire quit smoking. Quitting smoking not only improves health, but it can lead to significantly more money in your pocket – since the average person who smokes spends around £2,500 every year on smoking. Find out more and download the Smoke Free app now https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/smokefree
VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE AGM
The A.G.M. for the Hall will be held on 28th April at 6.30pm. New Villagers are needed for the Management Committee, so why not come along to find out how you can be involved and have your say. Everyone welcome.
CHRIST CHURCH BROAD TOWN
As we are unable to hold our usual plant sale at Queen Elizabeth Cottage in May, Made in Broad Town have kindly offered us a table at their sale on 10th May. If Spring is tempting you into the garden and you have any surplus plants we would much appreciate them for our table. Do get in touch at carolyn.crocker@hotmail.co.uk or lindaboyden12@gmail.com and we can arrange a plant drop off or collection! Many thanks.
Holy Communion will be held at the Church on Easter Day April 20th at 10.30am.
VACANCY FOR GOVERNOR
Would you like to join our friendly and supportive team of governors at Broad Town School? We are looking for an additional governor to be part of our governing board at our welcoming and inclusive school. No previous experience of being a governor is needed as you will be trained and supported, all you need is a commitment and willingness to make what is an important contribution to our community. You would be involved in termly meetings that take place in late afternoons and also have a valuable opportunity to work with members of staff on a particular focus of school life. A DBS check is a requirement but otherwise no other qualification is necessary. If you are interested and would like to find out more, please contact admin@broadtown.wilts.sch.uk Thank you
FOODBANK ORGANISER URGENTLY REQUIRED
Would you be willing to organize future Foodbank Collections? If you are interested please contact Ray 01793 731564
CHURCHYARD
Thanks to all those who came along in March for all their hard work. The next work morning will be on 12th April from 10.00am to midday. More volunteers still needed please.
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING
Our April coffee mornings will be on Wednesdays April 9th and 23rd. The community coffee mornings are always on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, so please join us from 10 – 12 noon in the village hall to enjoy delicious homemade cakes, sausage rolls, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Wiltshire Wildlife trust were very grateful to receive a donation from the Community Coffee Morning for £250 towards their work in our beautiful county. Happy Easter from everyone on the Community Coffee Mornings team!
MADE IN BROAD TOWN
In early March we spent an enjoyable morning making paper flowers. Our second session was completing our cushion covers. In April we will be meeting three times, on the 2nd, 16th and 30th. There will be lots to do especially in preparation for our plant sale on May 10th, so please join us! Also, on April 9th, we will be learning to crochet. Our members who can crochet already will sit beside those folk who would like to learn the basic stitches. On the 16th there will be an opportunity to continue with crochet, prick out seedlings or enjoy your own crafts. On the 30th there may be a surprise craft idea!! Everyone is welcome to come along for refreshments and a chat, you don’t need to have any crafting skills. 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. If you have any questions, please email us, we would love to hear from you.
Email: Linda Boyden lindaboyden12@gmail.com; Helen Greer hjgreer1@gmail.com
ANDREW & DEREK WARMLY INVITE YOU TO GET INVOLVED
Andrew Law & Derek Greer have initiated a project to survey the Horse using various techniques with the aim of creating a definitive record. They have commissioned a land slip assessment which may lead to some mitigations and they are also creating a historical record of the construction of the Horse and its maintenance. The first activity that will take place is to auger the hill-figure at key points to determine the depth of subsurface chalk layers deposited across the horse. This activity will be undertaken by volunteers from the Community having received instruction from a professional archaeologist. If anyone would like to be considered for involvement in this task, please let Andrew know. Andrew Law (Phone 07841381301).
BISHOP KAREN'S LETTER
Hope is the bird that waits for dawn and sings while it is still dark. This is one of my favourite quotations, which particularly comes to mind this month as the birds start to sing melodiously and signs of colour start to appear in our gardens. The long dark months of winter are over, and we can imagine once again those hazy lazy days of summer. And as the light of the days lengthens, we enter the celebration of the Son, Easter. April is certainly the month of hope. Yet looking at our news headlines, hope feels in short supply. It is hard to remain hopeful for our planet, as world leaders vie for power, and our extreme weather systems indicate all is not well. Sitting in our crowded cathedral at the beginning of Lent speaking to Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and hearing her story of imprisonment as a hostage in Iran and injustice, I was reminded of a religious painting in the Methodist Art Collection. The painting is of the inside of the tomb on Easter morning. It shows the stone rolled away, not allowing us in, but allowing us to step out. Nazanin recalled her experience of re-adjusting to the light of freedom. Stepping out into a life of hope means adjusting to a long-term view, believing that there is more goodness to come. It means enjoying the colour now and living in the hope of all eternity. As Christians Easter strengthens our belief that hope triumphs over despair, that light overcomes the darkness, and love wins. That is our song, which together we are called to sing. Despite everything, including the differences we live with every day, Jesus is Lord, the stone was rolled away so we can walk free and know eternal life.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
28th March 5:00pm – 8:00pm Food for Thought Fish & Chips. Village Hall
2nd April 10:00am – 12:00 Made In Broad Town. Village Hall
5th April 9:30am-4:30pm Foodbank. Village Hall
6th April 9:30am-4:30pm Foodbank. Village Hall
9th April 10:00am – 12:00 Coffee Morning. Village Hall
12th April 10:00am – 12:00 Churchyard Morning. Church
16th April 10:00am – 12:00 Made in Broad Town. Village Hall
20th April 10:30am Holy Communion. Church
23rd April 10:00am – 12:00 Coffee Morning. Village Hall
25th April 5:00pm – 8:00pm Food for Thought Fish & Chips. Village Hall
28th April 6:30pm Village Hall Committee AGM. Village Hall
30th April Made in Broad Town. Village Hall
1st May Polling Day Village Hall
3rd May 10am Village Tidy Up Village Hall
10th May 2.30pm - 4.30 VE Day Anniversary Charity Plant Sale & Tea
18th May 10am White Horse Liming
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 (except December)