BROAD TOWN NEWS – JULY 2025
Keeping everyone in touch with what is going on in and around our parish.
CHRIST CHURCH, BROAD TOWN
Services for July are as follows: 13th July Morning Service at 10.30am, 27th July Communion at 10.30am
All in the Church, everybody welcome
CHURCHYARD WORK MORNING & VILLAGE SHELTER
Thank you to everyone who volunteered at the recent churchyard work morning, and to those who have decorated the now summer-themed village shelter. All your hard work is very much appreciated.
BROAD TOWN FOOD BANK
GIVING FOOD TO THOSE WHO NEED IT Sat 28th & Sun 29th June
Urgently needed: Small jars of coffee, Sugar (500gms/1kg) Tinned Fruit, Tinned Tomatoes Tinned meat - meatballs, corned beef, spam, hotdogs etc Tinned vegetables - peas, carrots, sweetcorn etc Tinned puddings - rice, sago, semolina, custard, angel delight, jellies Always needed Non-perishables (tins & packets) Long Life (milk & juice) Thanks for your generosity in continuing to support people in need. Please drop off any unopened & unused items to the Village Hall.
BROAD TOWN WHITE HORSE RESTORATION GROUP LIMING 2025
A belated thanks to all of those volunteers from the community who turned out on 18 May to weed and lime the White Horse. Blessed with good weather, a thorough job was carried out that left the Horse looking better than it has for a long time. Comments have been received from a number of sources complimenting the horse’s appearance and as a village, we can be proud of our efforts. Thanks are also due to the Horton Brothers at Cockroost Farm for procuring and delivering the lime, Broad Town Brewery for supporting the event and the Bluefield Solar Farm for granting the funding necessary to buy the associated resources.
SURVEY PROJECT Hopefully readers are aware of the survey project that has been initiated to record the White Horse in response to the threat posed by last year’s landslip. Guided by local chalk figure expert Garry Gibbons, requests for grants have been submitted to the Bluefield Solar Farm and to the North Wessex Downs National Landscape to fund the professional support necessary to complete the task to archaeological data standards. The five elements of the project are: Task 1. A topographic survey using drones and GPS. Task 2. An assessment of land slip risk and hill figure condition including an auger survey and a specialist survey of slope and land slip activity. Task 3. A historic review of the hill figure involving the exploration of existing records and their expansion through the collection of new information and oral testimony from the Community. Task 4. Preparation of the data sets for curation in the Archaeology Data Service, the Wiltshire Historic Environment Record and the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. Task 5. Dissemination of results through talks, exhibitions and information panels. This will include a presentation to the Broad Town community on the evening of Wednesday 30 July. The good news is that our requests have been met, and funding is now in place to initiate the work. It is intended that work on Tasks 1 and 2 will start imminently. All of the funding is conditional on volunteer input throughout the project, and we will be looking for helpers to assist in the work. As the tasks and timings are confirmed, requests for assistance will be sent directly to regular helpers and via Facebook to the wider community. The chance to work on original archaeological research on your own doorstep rarely arises so please volunteer. Please contact Andrew Law or Derek Greer if you have any queries about the project: Andrewlaw456@gmail.com; dgreer05@gmail.com
JULY LETTER FROM THE RIGHT REVEREND KAREN GORHAM, BISHOP OF SHERBORNE
Some of the joys of a bishop’s ministry are Confirmation Services, we have had a good number so far this year and many more in the diary. The service is both corporate, as the congregation prays for each candidate, and personal, as each candidate makes promises, is prayed for and is anointed with oil. The words of the anointing remind all of us who have been confirmed that God calls us by name. This Pentecost we launched across the diocese a simple ‘Rule of Life’ as part of our discipleship and vocation work. Being called by God means being called to discipleship. Simply put a ‘rule of life’ is our response to what God has done for us. It takes some the teachings of Christ into our own lives. Therefore, we continue a life of inner transformation through prayer, Bible reading, and regular worship; and we contribute to the transformation of the world through generous giving, seeking justice and using our time and talents in the service of God. This all gives us the opportunity to consider our response to God’s love, to the one who calls us. It may be that the Holy Spirit is nudging us to serve in particular ways in the life of the local church, or to live out our Christian life more courageously in the world. Do pick up a postcard from your local church if you have not already been given one and be part of our diocesan vision, not only Making Jesus known but being called so all may flourish and grow. Bishop Karen
‘MADE IN BROAD TOWN’ CRAFTS & HOBBIES GROUP
It has been lovely to see so much creativity and socialising going on during our recent sessions, and also to welcome some new people to the group. Thank you to Heather who recently led a very enjoyable session on flower crafting. Our July sessions will be on Wednesdays July 2nd & 16th with an extra one on the fifth Wednesday of the month, the 30th, all from 10am – 12 noon. Everyone is welcome to come along for refreshments and a chat, you don’t need to have any crafting skills. We’re very friendly, and if you do feel creative there are always activities available for you to try. We ask for a £2 voluntary 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
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNINGS
Thanks to your generosity this year we have recently been able to make donations of £200 each to Dressability and Christ Church, Broad Town. Dressability is a Swindon-based charity who adapt clothing. Through engaging with the challenges faced by their range of clientele on an individual basis, the team at Dressability’s focus is on making a positive difference to the lives of individuals living with disabilities. From jeans to jackets, dresses to dungarees and skirts to shirts, the constant whirr of sewing machines in their busy workroom, enables clients to wear user-friendly clothing in which to feel good in – promoting independence and wellbeing.
Our Village church will be using their donation to make much needed improvements, and letters of thanks have been received from both recipients.
Fundraising Coffee Morning – July 23rd. Our July coffee mornings will be on Wednesdays the 9th and 23rd. On the 23rd we are hoping to see as many people as possible at our fundraising coffee morning for Breast Cancer Now (formed by the merger of Breakthrough Breast Cancer & Breast Cancer Campaign). As well as some sumptuous summer homemade cakes, there will also be a raffle and a ‘bring and buy’ sale on this morning. We would love you to bring along and donate any items that you think others would like to buy whether its homegrown fruit, vegetables, plants or flowers, home baked cakes or preserves, jigsaws or crafted items (but please no books or ornaments). Thank you!
Police visit to Coffee Morning Thank you to PCSO Kelly Hillier who visited our coffee morning on May 28th, and who answered many questions and queries from villagers.
The community coffee mornings are always on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month (except August), so please join us from 10 – 12 noon in the Village Hall. Coffee mornings are a very informal way of meeting others in the village, having a chat whilst enjoying delicious homemade cakes, sausage rolls, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. If you haven’t been before why not give it a try, we would love to see you.
SOCIAL CLUB
The social club is open every Friday from 8pm and members and their guests are all welcome. If you are not a member you can join for just £3 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: 27th June, 25th July, 29th August & 26th September. 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. 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. If you would like to pre-order or have any queries, they can be contacted via text, WhatsApp or Messenger on 07515 288414.
PARISH COUNCIL
Keep up to date at https://www.broadtownparishcouncil.org.uk
Annual Audit The Parish Council has successfully completed the annual audit with only a few observations and no recommendations. The Auditor’s report is available on the PC website in the Funding & Accounts page under the 2024/25 financial year.
BROAD TOWN PARISH COUNCIL AUDIT Notice of Public Rights for Inspection of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 As per the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, Broad Town Parish Council has made its Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) for the year 2024-25 available for inspection by any person interested, together with all accounting records; books; deeds; contracts; bills; vouchers; receipts and other documents relating to these records. If you have any issues to raise or wish to see the full accounts, please contact the Parish Clerk on btpcclerk@outlook.com. In accordance with the guidelines the full accounts will be available to view for 30 working days between 11th June and 22nd July 2025.
The next Parish Council meeting will be at 6.30pm in the Village Hall on 14th July. 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 School monitoring Southbound traffic (heading to Broad Hinton). The SID captures traffic travelling in ONE direction only, so the below figures represent approx. half of the overall traffic in both directions. 15,619 vehicles passed the SID which equates to approx. 822 a day. 14% of vehicles were speeding
WILTSHIRE POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONER NEWS:
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/wiltshire-pcc-hears-views-of-young people-at-youth-commission-workshop
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/pcc-working-with-local-charity-to fund-activities-reducing-violence-and-serious-harm
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/pcc-parish-column-keeping communities-informed-with-digital-tools
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/youth-workers-funded-by-opcc have-positive-impact-on-young-people-in-Swindon
https://wiltshirepcc-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/communities-positively-impacted by-projects-delivered-to-reduce-serious-violence.
JULY AT A GLANCE:
Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th June – foodbank collection, outside the Village Hall
Wednesday July 2nd – Made in Broad Town, Village Hall 10am
Wednesday July 9th – Community Coffee Morning, Village Hall 10am
Sunday July 13th – Church service 10.30am, Christ Church
Monday July 14th – Parish Council Meeting 6.30pm, Village Hall
Wednesday July 16th – Made in Broad Town 10am, Village Hall
Wednesday July 23rd – Fundraising Community Coffee Morning 10am, Village Hall
Friday July 25th – Food for Thought Fish ‘n’ Chips, outside the Village Hall
Sunday July 27th – Church service, Christ Church 10.30am
Wednesday July 30th – Made in Broad Town 10am, Village Hall
Wednesday July 30th – Discovering Broad Town’s White Horse talk – 7 for 7.30pm, Village Hall
PLEASE NOTE e-mail any queries or articles for publication to broadtownnews@gmail.com by the 22nd of the month except December.