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The Bathford Bulletin

The Monthly Magazine for the Parish of BathfordJuly 2013

www.thebathfordbulletin.org

We are always looking for interesting or unusual pictures of the village; particularlyany that capture a distinct character of the village or are from an unusual vantage

point. Please send your submissions to: enquiries@thebathfordbulletin.org

Overall Winner of the Annual Scarecrow Competitionwhich took place on Saturday 15 June. Made by the school children.

More details inside. Picture from David Howells

St Swithun’s Church BathfordRev Jane Burgess ­ Telephone: 858325email: jane@stswithunsbathford.co.uk

Churchwardens Gill Gilbert 858927 Robert Wolsey 851390Readers Gerry Miller 858402 Michael Craine 858613

Gill Gilbert 858927 Dennis Pearson 858293Everyone is warmly welcome!We have the following groups for children during our Sunday Services:Crèche (0­3); Children’s Church (3­10); Rock Solid Youth Group (11+).Our 14+ youth group, 'Rock on Saturday', meets three times each month.For details please ring Michael Craine.

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Sundays 8:15am Holy Communion10:00am First Sunday ­ Family Service

2nd, 4th & 5th Sunday ­ Holy Communion3rd Sunday ­ Morning Worship

Evening Service 6:30pm First Sunday ­ Holy Communion3rd Sunday ­ Evening Prayer

Other Sunday evenings at Bathampton or Batheaston ­ please check website andnotice board for times and venues.Mondays ­ Thursdays 9:00 ­ 9:30am Prayer Time in ChurchMondays 2:00pm 2nd Monday – Service in Community RoomWednesdays 2:30pm Holy Communion each first Wednesday at

Shockerwick House.House Groups Details from the Churchwardens or Notices.Visit www.stswithunsbathford.co.uk for up to date details of all events and services.

WELCOME PACKS are available for all newcomers to the village.Contact Pam Priston on 743499.

process is apparently calledcryopreservation ­ in the slim hope thatthey can be brought back to life whenscience allows. In the West now weexpect our health service to provide themeans for us to live longer whatever ourfragility.Graveyards are sobering reminders ofour mortality, and not just graveyards.Charles and I were recently enjoying astunning headland view in Devon whenwe noticed a group of benches, each ofwhich had been given in memoriam ofindividuals, none of them older than 21.We may no longer die of chills but we arefar from immortal.The wonderful hope of the Gospel is ofcourse that there is more to life than thismortal life.....and it doesn’t havecryopreservation in mind! So while weenjoy and celebrate life at this beautifultime of year let's be grateful for each daywe have, make the most of all theopportunities given to us and continue towonder about the life beyond this one.For more about Nelson's sister's gravesee the history section on St Swithun'swebsite, or the leaflet in St Swithun'schurch which was kindly produced by theTARS group who publish historicalinformation.With love and prayersJane

BATHFORD VILLAGE CHOIRRehearsals every Thursday eveningat 7:45pm in the Parish Rooms.11 July will be our last rehearsal untilSeptember.

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From the Vicarage.....My first historical hero was Lord Nelsonand one of my earliest childhoodmemories is of visiting HMS Victory. I amexcited now at the prospect of visiting thenew Mary Rose museum this month,these two great historical gems now lyingin close proximity at Portsmouth Harbour.When I arrived at St Swithun's I wasdelighted to find a connection with LordNelson here: as many of you will know,his sister Ann is buried in the churchyard.It seems that their clergyman father wasa good friend of the vicar of St Swithun'sand would spend winters in Bath. PoorAnn's demise sounds as though it camestraight from a Jane Austen novel: sheapparently left a ballroom immediatelyafter dancing and caught a chill, dying atjust 23 years of age. It isincomprehensible to us today thatanybody should die from a ‘chill’; withantibiotics and modern medicines we sooften take good health for granted andcan imagine that we are immortal.Children often tell us such interestingthings and I was told by a child recentlythat lobsters are immortal! Well I certainlyknow that at least a few weren't since Ihad enjoyed them on my dinner plate!Sure enough though, one website Ifound, courtesy of Google, describedthem as 'eating, moulting, and growingmachines with no sign of aging.'However an accompanying article, whileagreeing that lobsters can live to somephenomenal age, thought that they toosuffer from bacterial infections in old age,in a very similar way to us and that this iswhat eventually kills them.From the earliest times it seems man hasa longing for immortality. Indeed, onepaper this week reported the plans ofthree Oxford academics to have theirbodies frozen at the point of death – the

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CHURCHYARD NEWSThe mowing season is here again and weare incredibly grateful to Martin Wrightand the small team of people who mowthe churchyard. They did a tremendousjob last summer when, in spite of all therain the churchyard was kept beautifullybut as ever, a job like this is so often leftto a few so if you feel you could offer theodd hour to help please contact Martin(858047).Trees were pruned in the winter and moreivy removed, again adding to the generalgood appearance of the churchyard butthere are still jobs to be carried out in thecoming months, including­ replacing the rotten gate at the top ofthe churchyard­ replacing the canopy over the effigy ofSt Swithun­ conserving the historic listed box tombsin the churchyard­ repairs to the wall.All these things cost money and we areaiming to raise about £9000 to maintainthe churchyard.Keith Masdin has kindly offered to help usto do this and the first fund raising eventwill be the St Swithun's Day Market onSaturday 13 July from 11:00am­3:00pmso do please come along and support thiseffort (see opposite).We then look forward to an auction in theautumn: if you have any objects lyingaround the house that might be worth a

little bit that you are willing to donate tothe auction please contact Keith(858042).The churchyard is our village churchyardand very precious to many, so we dowant to care for it well. If you would liketo help practically, or could help with anyof these events, or with writing grantapplications for the repair of the historicbox tombs, or indeed would like to leavea legacy to help maintain the churchyardin the future, I would be very pleased tohear from you.Jane Burgess

BATHFORD PARISH HALLMANAGEMENT COMMITTEENew members are warmly invited to jointhe Parish Hall ManagementCommittee to ensure that facilities andopportunities currently provided by ournumerous organisations continue to beavailable in an uncertain future.Meetings are held every two months; thenext meeting is scheduled for Thursday18 July at 7:30pm in the Meeting Room.Shirley Beazer, Secretary, Parish HallManagement Committee

BATHFORD FILM CLUBThe next meeting of the Film Club will beon Monday 29 July at 2:00pm in St.Swithun’s Church.The film will be SHALL WE DANCEstarring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandonand Jennifer Lopez.A business man facing a mid­life crisis,signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.Do come along and join us for anenjoyable afternoon’s entertainment,followed by tea and cakes.Transport available if required. ContactRobert Wolsey Tel : 01225 851390.

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TODDLER WORKSHOPOn behalf of many parents and carersover the last eight years we would like tosay a huge thank you to Amy Tapscott forall the fun and frolics we’ve had in herToddler Workshop. Many of us would sayit was the highlight of the week (!) andwill be sorely missed.

St Swithun's Festival WeekendVILLAGE MARKET

atBathford SchoolSaturday 13 July

11.00am to 3:00pmVarious stalls, including fresh fruit andveg, books, jewellery, cards, cakes,plants, tombola, and many more.Ploughman's lunches and refreshmentswill be served.All money raised will help to undertakevital work to maintain the churchyard andits artefacts.It is hoped to make this a truly villageevent at the school ­ all are welcome, weare catering for all ages, bargains to behad. Enquiries regarding having a stall,please contact Keith Masdin (01225858042; kmasdin@toucansurf.com).

ST SWITHUN'S DAY SERVICEAND PICNIC

Sunday 14 July at 11:00am at BathfordSchool followed by Picnic on the SchoolField, with bouncy castle. Everyone isvery welcome.

SCARECROW COMPETITIONThe eagerly awaited judging of theannual Scarecrow Competition tookplace on Saturday 15 June. With 20entries, the judging team – JudgesMartin Wright and Wendy Chambers,photographer David Howells andchauffeur Mike Smith, travelledthroughout the village identifying variousentries in the three categories –'traditional Wurzel Gummidge’ style,‘anything goes’ and ‘children’s’ entries.Competition was stiff with some veryinnovative and imaginativeinterpretations of the themes. Withinhours of the final decisions being made,a Scarecrow Trail sheet withphotographs was prepared and madeavailable in the shop. Once again manythanks to all who participated, throughentries or purchasing the Trail sheet(donated to the Community Shop).Particular thanks to David Howells andMike Smith for the speed of turn aroundon the Trail – whilst it was still hot!!!

PARISH COUNCIL NEWS01225 859007

clerk@bathford.netwww.bathford.net

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Examples of the type of projects are:­ a neglected plot of land planted up for allto enjoy­ establish a community orchard­ more trees for the local school­ free trees for residents' gardens.If you are interested, or know anyone whomight be, please contact Adam on 07739737274 or visit the websitewww.moretreesbanes.orgDate of Next Meeting – The next meetingwill be held on Monday 15 July 2013 at7:30pm in the Parish Office. Residents arereminded that all Parish Council meetingsare open to the public and residents arewelcome to attend as observers or to bringmatters of concern to the attention of theCouncil in the first five minutes of themeeting.VILLAGE HOUSING SURVEY 2013Rural Housing Services are working withthe Parish Council on a survey to help usunderstand the housing needs of thecommunity in order to influence newdevelopment that might take place in theparish in years to come.The survey is mostly aimed at identifyinglocal households in need of an affordablehome but without moving away from thevillage, and has been commissioned byCuro who own the existing social housingstock in the village.Survey Forms will be distributed in earlyJuly and everyone is encouraged to readthe accompanying letter, complete the formand return it in the pre­paid envelopeprovided.If you'd like more information, or havequestions, there will be a drop­in VillageConsultation event between 3pm ­ 7pmon Thursday 18 July in the MountainWood Community Room.

NOTES FROM BATHFORD PARISHCOUNCIL MEETING 17 June 2013A4 Box Road closure – From 1 July forfive nights between 19:00 and 07:00 aportion of A4 Box Road will be closed totraffic and parking. This will affect the areawhich extends from the London RoadEast/A4/A363 roundabout at Batheaston inan easterly direction to its junction with un­named road to Middlehill (by railwaybridge). On­call emergency vehicles willbe assisted through the site.The Folly Field fencing ­ Residents willbe delighted to know that funds are inplace and wheels are now in motion repositioning, style and cost of additionalfencing in the area around the RugbyClubhouse and entrances/exits either endof the field. The introduction of a field gateto be erected on the boundary of thebridleway will also be costed. Stage Oneproposal is to install fencing and a gate atthe junction of the clubhouse and hut andbetween the play area and clubhouse.Stage Two will be to instal a field gate andpedestrian gate to close off the top cornerof the field .More trees for Bathavon North – A treegiveaway from BANES! Adam Gretton ofthe BANES ‘More Trees for BathavonNorth’ initiative has contacted the ParishCouncil in the hope of initiating/supportingtree planting projects in Bathford.

Contact details: Jon Cooper, Clerk.01225 859007 clerk@bathford.netwww.bathford.net

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THE SUMMER FETESaturday 6 July

12:00pm ­ 3:00pmBathford Primary School,

Dovers Park, BathfordCome and join us for fun and frolics onquad bikes, the bouncy castle and thechildren's assault course. Stalls withbooks and toys, candy floss, nearly newclothes, plus try your skills at skittles, orthe penalty shoot­out. Food and bar.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CLASS 4It’s nine o’clock and the clanging of theschool bell echoing around the playgroundsignals the start of another day. Hurriedly, wesay goodbye to our parents, form crookedlines and troop into school. Once coats arehung up and sandwich boxes and book­bagsare stashed we settle down to work.Usually, there is a short task on the smart­board to warm our brains up while ourteacher calls the register. And then it’sLiteracy Hour. For some, it’s our favouritesubject and we speak, listen, read and writeuntil, eventually, it’s time for Assembly.And then it’s playtime. Hooray! This ofcourse is the best part of the day. Theplayground fills with happy, joyful children.Noise levels rise and footballs and tennisballs begin to fly to and fro. Children climb,run and skip and then, all too soon, the bellrings again and it’s back to work.Our next lesson is Maths and you may besurprised to learn that most of us really enjoyit. It’s fun, it’s challenging and there’s asense of achievement when we learn newskills and get lots of ticks in our books.Now its lunch time (yum yum!) and aplaytime which is even better than morningplay because it’s much longer. Theafternoons are filled with various subjects. Itmight be History, DT, Geography, Science,Art, ICT, French or RE depending on the dayor term. But the one we enjoy most is PE.Finally, the day comes to its end. Coats,sandwich boxes and book bags are collectedand we troop out into the playground to meetour parents. And that is what a typical day inClass Four is like.

Bathford school children enjoyed afantastic evening at Castle Combe for aRace Track Night. It was a beautifulsunny evening and there was somevery speedy pedalling and scootingaround the track. Well done to all thechildren for cycling safely and thankyou to parents who organised it andeverybody who came. We raised afantastic £320 for more playgroundequipment. See you there next year.

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Bathford CommunityShop and Café

MANAGER REQUIREDA vacancy has arisen for the post ofManager of Bathford Community Shopand Café.The position has the key role ofmanaging the shop and café and thesmall team of staff and experiencedvolunteers.Key requirements are retail experienceand good financial and IT skills, togetherwith excellent people skills to maintainthe working relationship with thevolunteers and other members of thecommunity who support the shop.Hours negotiable between 25 ­ 35 perweek, but you need to be flexible,including some early starts, to ensurethe shop is properly staffed at all times.Salary c£17,000pa dependent on hours.Please contact Kevin Mortimer on01225 859186 for details and a full jobdescription. Full details also on ourwebsite www.bathfordshop.net.Deadline for applications is 8 July.

BEFA (Bathford Enterprises for All) is anequal opportunities employer and welcomes

applications from all sections of thecommunity.

The Little Gallery at BathfordCommunity Shop and Café will beshowing work by WENDY BATT fromthe beginning of July.Wendy is a painter, printmaker,calligrapher and teacher and lastly anallotment holder. A Bath native, Wendywas schooled and grew up here,returning after ten years away doing herart school training, working on windowdisplays and then teaching in school andfinally in adult education.With her family now grown up, teachingand making pictures has become themajor part of her life. Wendy teachespainting at private classes and local artgroups who ask her to do a session withthem on a particular subject."I love to draw the familiar, the domesticand the landscapes of the places I visit,and this is a small selection of theetchings that are made and printed atBath Artist Printmakers studio, and allare based on the drawings I have made."Wendy has been a member of Bath ArtistPrintmakers, now based in Larkhall,since it began. They run coursesthroughout the year, so keep an eye onthe door of the studio in UpperLambridge Street, next to The TitfieldThunderbolt, as well as on the website.All works are for sale, and if you preferan unframed print, you can order one bygetting in touch throughwww.bathartistprintmakers.co.uk, orphoning or texting Wendy on 07929318568.

BEFA+ ­ a subgroup of BathfordEnterprise For AllThe BEFA+ group was formed in 2007 inorder both to support the commercial aimsof BEFA (Bathford Enterprise For All)which runs our local shop, and to focus onits wider objectives ie to encourageinitiatives of benefit to the local communityand environment.Examples of such initiatives are creatingthe Little Gallery in the Café to display thework of local artists; promoting fair tradeproducts in the shop; surveying thegeneral needs of the community in relationto the shop, and in particular the needs ofresidents with limited mobility with a focuson access and social inclusion.The aim of the group is to provide anincubator for ideas for community andenvironmental projects and to supportinitiatives arising from them.If you would be interested in learningmore, floating ideas or joining the groupyou are welcome to attend the next openmeeting at 8:00pm on Thursday 4 Julyat 22 Church Street, Bathford. Contactnumber 858490.And remember the Summer Specialdemo before our summer break with IanGreen from Wiltshire Tea.7:00pm ­ 8:30pm Tuesday 9 July.

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AUSTRALIA vs BRITISH ANDIRISH LIONS ­ 3rd Test

On the big screen at Avonvale RFC11:00am on Saturday 6 July

Breakfast refreshments available

GENTLE EXERCISE CLASSMondays 11:00am ­ 12:00

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29Bathford Community Rooms

All ages and abilities welcome£3 per person

For more information contact Sophie07843 643112

Diary of Events ­ July 2013

PLEASE NOTEThe deadline for receiving copy for the August 2013 Bulletin is 19 July 2013.

Please email enquiries@thebathfordbulletin.orgor put them into the Bulletin Box in the Bathford Village Shop