CHADRA

It took four and a half hours to visit most houses in the village with the Playgroup Carol Bus. Next year longer with the Longs View development. As the village grows, so does the work of the good persons connected with this Newsletter.

Members of the production team correlate and edit, put it on computer and lay out the copy, duplicate, staple the pages together and take the Newsletters to the distributors, who deliver it to you.

You pay and read it – Simple!

After eleven years on the committee, I will be standing down at the forthcoming AGM. Thanks to everyone who has been associated with CHADRA over that time.

Mike Cheskin
Chairman

Next Copy Date – 12th. April 1994

COPY DATE – COPY DATE – COPY DATE – COPY DATE

To make sure the Newsletter is as up-to-date as possible, we allow three weeks after copy date (12th day of the relevant month) for a small band of hardy volunteers to complete the quite substantial tasks that Mike has outlined above. If we're late in getting it to you, your news quickly becomes stale and functions and events in the diary and reports miss out on the publicity and support they deserve. Over a number of issues now, we have been late. Part of that is to do with us and we are addressing those aspects. The other main cause of our lateness is that much copy doesn't get to us until well after the 12th. Please remember that Copy Date is the last date for submissions for inclusion in the Newsletter. We'll be sticking to this deadline from now on, so if you would like to submit anything for the next issue, please make sure it's with us by Copy Date – 12th April 1994. Thanks, of course, to those people who always do get their copy in on time.

COPY DATE – COPY DATE – COPY DATE – COPY DATE

Published by Charfield & District Residents' Association (CHADRA)

The diary has been in existence for just over three months. Most people have welcomed it, though very few people have contacted me with information.

The diary is now on permanent display in the Window of the Open all Hours shop in Manor Lane. It is also on the notice board in the village hall when it has not been torn up!

The objectives of the diary are:

1. To inform villagers of what is happening in their village and
2. To help village organisations find dates for their events that do not clash with others.

Anyone involved in organising anything in the village may contact me with details of their event. I will make a note of the details. Anyone else who asks me about the same date will be told the existing information.

From time to time I will print a list of events and display it in the village hall and Open All Hours.

If you have information on events for inclusion in the list, or suggestions for this scheme, please contact Brendan O'Connor on 0454-26xxxx, or drop a note to xx Manor Lane.

So here is what I have for this issue of the newsletter:

4

I have to formally say a big thank you to Vi MacLellan, who has very ably been running the 2nd Charfield Brownie Unit for a good few years. She now feels that she has to step down and so Tricia Cole will now move up to run the unit, aided by Julie Terrett.

I have also had one of my Kingswood Guide Guiders leave as she has emigrated to New Zealand. Our loss will undoubtedly be New Zealand's gain as Karen is intending to carry on guiding in her new country. Thanks to both Vi and Karen for their contribution to guiding in Wotton District.

Marion Smith
District Commissioner, Wotton-Under-Edge

Since our item in the last newsletter the Brownies have been very busy. We had an end of year concert in December entitled ‘Seasons’. The girls and Guiders worked very hard but it was all good fun. I hope everyone who attended enjoyed the performance Perhaps we will do another one in 2 or 3 years time!

We also had an outing to the Wotton Christmas Children's Play which was most entertaining, although a Pantomime would have been better. We missed all the ‘Oh no he didn't’ and ‘He's behind you’ etc.

Well hopefully Spring will soon be with us and we look forward to lots more fun meetings and outings.

If you have a daughter who would like to become a Brownie, please ring me and put her name on the waiting list.

Before I finish I would like to say a word of Thanks to Vi MacLellan who ‘retired’ at the end of last year after being a Guider in Charfield for 7 years. We will all miss her sharp wit and hard work.

Trish Cole
Brownie Guider

As my fourth year as Akela of the Tigers commences, I reflect upon the difference between the first, second and third, To run a pack takes commitment, enthusiasm and a talent for keeping twenty-four young boys happy for forty weeks of the year plus camps, days out, etc.

It happened during the first and second years, but fell away towards the end of the third. The reason? A lack of adult leaders. It requires four leaders for twenty-four boys. Last year we had only two and a half. Could you help? Do you have a boy in Beavers who will be approaching cub age shortly, or would you enjoy donating your time and talents? If so, please talk to me. Please!

The cubs went to Manor Park Hospital just before Christmas and sang carols to the patients who are mentally ill. It was quite a shock for some of them, but a good learning experience. Congratulations to Darius Cheskin for gaining his Adventure Crest award.

In the past, the matches between the Tigers and the Lions have received much space in the Newsletter. The full report of the December meeting follows:

WE BEAT THE LIONS 4–3

So, it's on to '94.

Mike Cheskin
Akela, 1st Woodend Tigers

Advertising

[Advert for Tree Top Carpets]

5[Advert for The Pear Tree Inn]

Hello everyone – I hope you had a Happy Christmas and New Year!

Last term was a great success with all the fund-raising events. We had the Autumn Bazaar, Sally and Liz had never seen so many cakes on the cake stall and a few people made some lovely gifts to sell. Many thanks to all those who contributed and all those who came and made the event a success.

Then we had the Christmas Raffle, again we should like to say ‘Thank You’ to everyone who helped by selling and buying the tickets. The lucky winner was Mr Bond of Charfield. Lists of the winners have been displayed around the village.

It was non-stop just before Christmas, because then we had the Christmas trailer. Thank you everyone who came out and supported us and those who contributed. A big thank you to Father Christmas for finding time to come and help us on such a cold and wet night.

On the last day of playgroup the children had a Christmas party, with many goodies to eat, and later Father Christmas made time to visit and give out presents. The children all sang some of their favourite songs and thanked Santa for coming.

Now for 1994. We are hoping to organise a social event for the children and their parents soon, so check the notices on the door at playgroup. We are also organising a trip to see Noddy at the theatre (see notice for details).

If you wish to put your child's name down for playgroup, please ring Liz Hill (0453 84xxxx). We hope to see you at future events and thanks again for your support.

Michelle Brassington
Secretary

We wish everyone a Prosperous New Year, and hope that Christmas was a happy, peaceful time.

The Toddlers Christmas party was a great success, attended by over 50 little ones. The children brought home-made Christmas cards to enter into a competition, enjoyed a party lunch, and had a gift each from Father Christmas, who put in a guest appearance.

The mums had a Christmas meal at the Royal Oak at Cromhall.

We organised an ‘80/20’ sale for the Playground Appeal in late November, which raised over £100 towards an item of toddler playground equipment. Many thanks to all those who bought and sold goods through this sale. Toys especially were a very popular buy!

This term we have a Mischief Clothes winter sale arranged and Red House and Usborne Book parties to look forward to. All these take place during the regular Thursday morning Toddlers session at the Memorial Hall (10.15–11.30).

The present committee is now in its last term – a new group will take over at the end of March. We need volunteers for the new committee, and anyone is welcome, including newcomers to Charfield or those who have not yet started attending Toddlers. Our motto is ‘the more the merrier’ as this makes less work for everyone. If you would like to become involved, please approach a member of the present Committee, or come along to our AGM on 9 March at xx Farm Lees, starting at 8pm.

Anne Mosley
Secretary

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As this is my last time of writing before a new committee takes over, I thought I would take the opportunity to explain to any new ladies in the area exactly what we do at the Club.

We meet once a month (every 3rd Thursday), except for August, in the Memorial Hall. On a normal meeting we would have a speaker, which can be on a wide variety of subjects. The bar is always open, courtesy of Mr Poskett, we have a raffle, and also serve tea, coffee, and a light supper. We do have ‘special’ evenings, i.e., open evenings, and an AGM, when we have a full buffet. We also have trips out, normally in June. Our Group is open to any lady, from whatever age group, nationality, or marital status (single, married, separated, divorced, or widowed).

I think I have covered everything, but if you need more information, just give me a ring on 26xxxx.

Now I have done that, I would like to say my ‘Thank You’s to all the outgoing committee for all their hard work and support over the past year. A big thank you to Mr Poskett for manning the bar for us every month and, finally, Good Luck to Julie for her coming year.

It just remains for me to say I hope all the ladies that came to the Christmas meal had as enjoyable a time as I did. Boy, did I suffer the next day.

It's been fun over the past year, and, once again, best of luck, Julie.

Elaine
(0454) 26xxxx

December is always a very busy month for everybody as preparations are under way for Christmas, and the same goes for WI members. We had a skittles match to play and we were practising our item in readiness for the Village Sing. There was also our WI Christmas party and the County WI Carol Service which was held at St Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol, so you can see that our run-up to Christmas was pretty busy. And now, as I write this, it's just a few days before our first meeting of 1994.

As usual, we have a varied programme planned for the coming year and ladies of any age are heartily invited to come along. We particularly look forward to welcoming ladies from the many new houses in our village. Our immediate programme includes “These boots were made for talking” (walking from the Solent to the Severn); the Birthday Party; Aromatherapy. See the village diary for dates.

The Avon Federation of WI (of which we are a part) organises a number of different events, visits, and sporting opportunities which are open to members and, occasionally, to family and friends. The Avon Federation produces a monthly newsletter which gives full details of all the events and other interesting items. Browsing through it recently I found this little snippet: “Thought for the New Year … there are no strangers, only friends who have not met before!”

The WI meets on the 2nd Thursday of every month in the Memorial Hall.

Guilda Ludwell

Wanted:

People with interesting, entertaining, unusual, informative, exasperating or amusing jobs, hobbies, pastimes, clubs, societies, views, news, comments, jokes, stories, reports, articles, activities, holidays, expeditions, likes, dislikes … !

You Need: A pen & 15 minutes before April 12th … We Offer: Space in the Newsletter

Thanks to all 18 of you who came on the Family Amble on Boxing Day. Due to a decent frost, we didn't sink to our knees in mud, and it was a pleasantly sunny morning. The new foot-plate on OCH8 was very much appreciated. Thank you, Reg.

There is still no news regarding the diversions of the footpaths OCH22 and OCH26: British Rail seems to have put it on hold for the time being. Having got everybody's approval, they then do precisely nothing. Exasperating.

If you are the adoptive parent of a path, please will you walk your path and carry out a maintenance check? Please report back any difficulties quickly – due to local government changes, we are going to lose the Avon County Council Footpath Wardens Workshop and we should therefore get our stiles and footplates sorted out pronto, before the supply disappears.

J O'Connor-Beach
Footpath Warden (Voluntary)

I have been asked by Allan Burberry of the AWT to mention that there will be another work day at the Charfield Nature Reserve on Sunday, March 13th, starting at 9.30am – fencing is to be installed, and help would be appreciated.

If you are at all interested in the Reserve and would like to know, for example, where it actually IS*, or would like to come along and help the working party, please telephone Allan on 0272 26xxxx, or myself on 0454 26xxxx.

It is sad to think that a reserve in our own parish receives no support from any of us and is maintained by good people from Thornbury, etc. Perhaps this year will see a change!

Julia O'Connor-Beach
0454 26xxxx

* It's actually just North of Huntingford Farm, near the railway bridge, but not that easy to find, so give me a call for detailed directions.

8

A very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year to you all! Herewith an update from the committee:

200 Club

A 200 Club is run for the benefit of the charity. Membership costs 20p a week (£10.40 per year) per number. The numbers are drawn at each management committee meeting and there are 52 weekly prizes (£250, £100, 11 × £20, 39 × £10). Want to join? See Cath Bindon at the ‘Open All Hours’ or phone the Secretary (Julia, 26xxxx).

Cricket Store

You might have noticed a brick building being erected on the playing field. This is the long-awaited cricket store with hard-standing for supporters in wet weather. This was funded separately from the Village Hall.

Proposed Project – Path and Planting

The committee has applied for a grant from Northavon District Council to help pay for a tarmac path from Katherine Close to the car park at the side of the Sportsmen's Lounge. The grant will also cover landscaping of the same stretch. This should be of great benefit to those wishing to walk to the Hall from the Katherine Close entrance – no more muddy shoes – and improve the look of the area. BUT – isn't there always a ‘BUT’? – the project is very much subject to receipt of the grant. The grant is subject to the project being supported actively by the community. No community involvement, no grant. You can help by joining in with the planting of the trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Please let the Secretary have your name so that, when the time comes, you can be contacted. If you assume that someone else will make the effort, there will be NO grant, and NO path, and NO landscaping. Over to you!

Play Area

As is reported elsewhere in this newsletter, the sub-committee has now disbanded. The main committee has thanked the sub-committee on behalf of all villagers for all that they have done. What it has cost them in time, effort, nervous energy, and worry, does not bear thinking about. The fruit of their labours is a safe play area for all ages, with seating for parents and grandparents (some seats yet to be installed), and with landscaping which will, in time, afford a pleasant setting and some shade. It is an asset to the village to be proud of and to enjoy.

We still have to do some fund-raising to (a) finish paying for the installation and (b) keep the area maintained. The bark is an expensive item, and the pits will have to be topped-up at least once a year. So, any ideas?

[Advert for Pinmill Auctions Limited]

9[Advert for Worktwice Limited]

Summer Fayre '94

The Summer Fayre will be held on Saturday, 16th July. To mark the Centenary of Charfield School and the Parish Council, it will have a Victorian theme and stalls will be, it is hoped, of a traditional nature. Plans are underway and the organisers desperately need offers of help – help either in the planning stages or just on the day itself. Please call Ken Parfit (0453 84xxxx) to register as a helper.

We will have the usual full sports programme (courtesy of Mike Smith); a new addition for this year is a photographic competition (Paul Birt in charge); and Mr Sreeves has promised that Charfield School will play an active part. The flower show will not be held on the day of the Fayre due to lack of support over the last few years. (If there is enough interest, a flower show could be held separately.)

Regarding the TUG OF WAR, we would like to keep it as a village tug of war competition, but if we haven't enough teams (8) entered by 1 June, we will have to spread the net wider and invite ‘foreigners’ to come and take the prizes. It only needs one person from each major road in the village to get 8 neighbours together for it to work. The Woodlands Road team did us proud last year – the gauntlet has been thrown down to Farm Lees, Manor Lane, Underhill Road, Horsford Road, et al, so please give it some thought. Otherwise the binmen walk off with the beer. Again.

Please remember that the Main Hall and the Sportsmen's Lounge are both available for private hire at very competitive rates. (The Bar can be open if required.). For information please contact the Bookings Secretary, Mrs Poskett, on 0454 26xxxx.

Many thanks to all who have helped in the running and supporting of the hall and playing field in 1993. If you feel you have a skill or a little time to offer in 1994, please contact any member of the committee (there are 19 of us – so the odds are, you know at least half a dozen!).

Your Management Committee:

Elected members: C Bindon, Jeff Hall (Vice-Chairman), J Poskett (Chairman), J Gillett (Treasurer) C Preston.

Co-opted members: Jane Hall, M Knighton

Representative members: J Barnett, D Bradley, W Clothier, B Curtis, G Fowler, B Gillett, S Griffiths, J O'Connor-Beach, K Paffit, D Saunders, C Slowley, S Vale, M Westlake.

Quiz Night IV

Oh yes, just when you thought it was safe … Please register your teams with the Secretary (26xxxx) – diary date: Friday, 18 February. There is no guarantee of a decent prize – just an evening of brain-teasing. And all for a good cause, namely, your hall and playing field.

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Advertising

[Advert for Dave Rumbold]

For those in Charfield who did not know it (and I suspect that is quite a few!), the village forms part of the local Round Table's catchment area.

What is Round Table? Well, Round Table is a club for young men aged 18 to 40. It provides an opportunity for members to meet on a regular basis and take part in a diverse variety of activities including: social events; sports; international visits; community service; and making new friends. Started by Louis Marchesi in Norwich in 1927, the movement has expanded to 1200 clubs in Great Britain and Ireland with around 20,000 members. It is also established in over 40 countries.

Wotton-under-Edge and District Round Table was founded in 1969, with 1994 seeing us celebrate our 25th ‘Charter’ or birthday. The majority of members reside in Wotton, obviously, but I wave the flag for the ‘District’ membership which also covers Kingswood. We currently are 19 in total, with a second Charfield resident, Peter Crighton of Woodlands Road, to be inducted in 1994.

Unfortunately you cease to be a ‘Tabler’ after the age of 40, and you can then join what is known as ‘41 Club’. There are a few 41 Club members living in Charfield.

There is a parallel organisation for ladies too, known as Wotton-under-Edge and District Ladies Circle, which caters for wives and partners of Round Tablers. Ladies leaving Circle after the age of 45 can then join a club called ‘Tangent’, which is the ladies' equivalent of 41 Club.

Enough of the history and explanations. Where can I go to experience a meeting of this organisation (which I would recommend without hesitation), I hear your cry? Wotton Round Table meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at the Star Inn, Wotton-under-Edge, 7.30 for 8pm. There is a dinner meeting on the 5th Tuesday of a month. Please use me as a contact if you are interested in attending a meeting and I will be happy to take you along as a guest. We also organise outside visits to enjoy the better weather.

I will stress we believe in CHEAP, enjoyable Tabling to serve the community, and that we are an unpretentious bunch of normal blokes with NO funny handshakes or uniform. One of the commonest misconceptions of Table is that we are somehow connected with the Masons or Rotary. We are not.

Wotton Round Table organises a large bonfire and firework display in Wotton every year, indeed you may have bought a programme from me on your doorstep! Recently, we have bought new rounders equipment for Charfield School and contributed to the children's play area fund.

I hope you have found this article interesting and please contact me if you would like to see for yourself on 0454 84xxxx.

John Francksen
Honorary Secretary.

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Many thanks for all who supported the house to house collections in November by either collecting or contributing. The total for the house to house collection was £732.76 and with the monies from wreaths ordered and the St John's Church collection on Remembrance Sunday, our contribution to the fund from Charfield was £1015.45. A very worthy amount, I am sure you would all agree. Thanks also are due to Mr and Mrs Gillett for the part they played in helping to count the money collected.

Marion Smith
Honorary Organiser

Congratulations to the production team of CHADRA for putting out such a very smart, professional-looking newsletter – I was most impressed! I know a lot of hard work goes into the production and distribution of CHADRA and I'm sure I speak for many when I say how much your efforts are appreciated. CHADRA is invaluable as a means of keeping people informed about village issues, events, and organisations and is a perfect way of letting newcomers know what is going on in the village.

On a personal note, I'd like to especially thank the editors, Mary and Carolyne (and, previously, Jenny Peaster), for ploughing through all the playground reports I've done over the past 18 months, some of which have been of truly epic proportions and must have taken ages to type. Thanks very much to all of you!

Regards
Mandy Bird

Ingredients

4oz margarine
3oz castor sugar
4oz chopped dates
4oz Rice Krispies
8oz cooking chocolate

You will also need a swiss roll tin or something similar – approx 7″ × 11″ × 1″ deep.

Method

Melt the margarine in a saucepan with the castor sugar. Add the chopped dates and cook gently until mushy. Take off the heat and mix in the Rice Krispies – you may need slightly more than 4oz: the mixture needs to be quite stiff. Press into the swiss roll tin and place in the fridge overnight.

Melt the block of cooking chocolate and pour over the date mixture. Return to the fridge overnight (or until the chocolate has set).

Carefully cut into 20 slices or 40 squares.

Make sure you make plenty, because it won't last long!

Diane Julian

[Advert for Happy Shopper – Open all Hours]

12

Recently, I was approached with a view to teaching, part-time, at a College of Further Education. The prospect was mildly interesting although the pay rates offered led me to consider it very close to being charity work. Still, it seemed a good idea, a chance to broaden my experience and meet a new group of people. So, with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, I accepted.

The first day turned out to be a bit of a shock. The room I was to use had evidently been designed by Le Corbusier – definitely the brutalist school of architecture, all raw concrete and unplastered walls. The heating system appeared to be only for show and, what with all of the pieces of equipment scattered around, the general impression was that of trying to teach in an abandoned factory.

If the room was a challenge, the students, when they arrived, were a puzzle. Start with an introduction, I thought, after all, that's what I generally do when lecturing out in the field. Ask them to say who they are and talk about themselves, where they work, what they do, etc. It's generally a good way to break the ice, but not this time. The actual teaching turns out to be hard work. It's not the subject matter, it's the lack of response. I suppose the problem is that I have been spoilt. I usually lecture to mature people who have specifically come to hear what I have to say. These customers are different. They generally do not have the experience to know what to ask and are therefore quite passive.

I suppose for 18 year olds they are typical in that it has not yet dawned on most of them that they need to put effort into life in order to get a return from it. It would be unfair to suggest that they lack motivation – some of them travel long distances to attend the College. It is just that their motivation is unfocussed. They are there because someone suggested that they could benefit from the education that they will receive and they perceive, perhaps only dimly at this stage in their lives, that this is the right thing to do. They strike me as being betwixt and between, neither men nor boys, neither responsible adults nor irresponsible teenagers. Their potential, though obvious to adults, is not at all obvious to themselves.

How best, then, to help them make the transition that will take them from passive recipients of knowledge to active contributors to it? A stick and carrot approach would seem the best way forwards. Be firm in what we are doing, define the acceptable standards or their performance, but take every opportunity to praise, develop, and expand any contribution that they make to the process. I wish it was as easy to do as to say! Maturity comes into play. One student just will not speak. Ask his name, and a barely audible reply whispers forth. Ask him to draw a conclusion from the facts put in front of him and a hand covers his face and a painful silence descends on the room. The longer it lasts, the worse it becomes. What can he be thinking of? Surely it's obvious that 2 and 2 must equal 4. It is to everyone else in the room, so why not him? Does he think, or has his experience of home, school, and work conditioned him only to receive information? Others are more confident. A general question always gets a response from them while some are frankly contemptuous of the question. ‘Why bother to ask that question?’ their faces say, ‘the answer is too obvious for us to deign to reply. Please do better next time. In fact, don't ask, just get on with it and then we can all go home.’ Somewhere between these extremes the rest of the group straggles along the path to knowledge, maturity, responsibility, and confidence.

It has been an interesting day, a new challenge, a realisation that they are me, at the age of 18. Perhaps I need to reconsider my approach – how did my lecturers help me through that time? Up until now it had never occurred to me that they did.

Malcolm Thomas

13

Puzzle Page

14

We all know, sometimes by sad and tragic experience, that the passing years bring changes to our lives; sometimes changes are for the better and are welcome. It is interesting to notice that the Church, in spite of the changing habits in society, still plays a part at the ‘sharp end’ of what must be called the most significant experiences of human life. I refer to the birth of a new life, a marriage, and a death. It is at such times that, even if we had not thought of God for years, we are reminded that some life events touch the deep places or our ‘soul’ – an area of our lives where the deepest things dwell.

We cannot explain away the sense of wonder that comes with the gift of a child, nor the strange deep wonderings that come with the unique pain of losing one (in death) who is dear to us … do they still exist? where and how? Perhaps most of all, Shall we meet them again? These are questions that go on being asked by successive generations, bringing our thoughts to the frontiers of life. The experiences of birth, marriage, and death, are bound to be significant to all of us, without exception. It is (and has been for many years) my privilege to share these events with many people, and to try and see, and share with them, what they show us about God and His sharing in our lives.

Changes … and the passing years. For very many years there has been a Church magazine in this area, and covering this village. It has gone back until at least the last century. I have before me at the moment a copy of July 1962. At this time the magazine covered Badminton, Little Badminton, Acton Turville, Charfield, Chipping Sodbury, Old Sodbury, Cromhall, Hawkesbury Upton, Horton, Little Sodbury, Rangeworthy, Tortworth, Wickwar, and Yate. Quite an area! At that time even Tortworth had its own Rector.

Certainly times have changed in our parishes as far as the Churches are concerned. When news was coming in every month (the magazine was a monthly one) from such a wide area as that indicated, an interesting picture could be drawn of life in this area. As time went by, different groupings took place for the magazine. Yate even went into another diocese (Bristol), and recently it was just Kingswood and Charfield left to share it. In December it suddenly finished: no one could be found to continue it. And there was not even one more edition in which to mourn the passing of what was once an interesting and significant publication.

There have been a few ‘near misses’ like this over the CHADRA Newsletter, which, happily, is still in existence. Perhaps we should be warned that such things DO happen, and be aware that we all need to play our part in guarding against such an eventuality. Our village Newsletter serves a very important need and we must do our best to support it, and one way can be our gratitude to those who are at present producing it. THANK YOU.

Because of the demise of the above-mentioned magazine, I am going to indicate briefly the usual pattern of our Sunday services and a few other matters.

Sunday Services – all services begin at 10:15.

1st Sunday of month: Eucharist

2nd Sunday of month: Family Service

3rd Sunday of month: Eucharist

4th Sunday of month: ‘Morning Prayer’ – a service of an informal nature.

This pattern of services provides far more variety than is usual in parishes, to encourage wider participation in a parish of varied people. To make sure, please check with the noticeboard at the front of the Church. It can be seen clearly from the pavement in Wotton Road.

DO come and meet with us. We all need some shape to our lives, some awareness that our lives mean something. These days we all fill our lives so full with activity that we rarely stop to examine what we are doing and why we are doing it; and what will be the point of it all in the end. ‘Worship’ marks a point in our lives where we stop, and breath, and see where we are, and why. It is a re-creative experience which gradually instils a point of view about the whole of life.

Of BAPTISMS and MARRIAGES: one of the results of a greatly enlarged (and still expanding) village is an increase in the number of these events. 15 I have always done my best to fit in with requests of these for specific days. I shall try to do my best to do so, but with more, it becomes increasingly difficult. It is sometimes difficult to arrange, for example, baptisms at a few weeks notice (often to coincide with another family anniversary). In many parishes baptisms are held on a particular Sunday of the month. It has not come to that here yet, largely because the Rector has only one parish at present, but it probably will. Meantime I will try to accommodate to requests, but don't leave it till the last moment! As far as weddings are concerned, several people in recent years have come to see me two years before the proposed ceremony. That is longer than has been necessary in the past, but there is nothing like being in good time and it is as well to realise that these and other engagements do get fixed quite often well into the next year.

On a wider front, may I say that if anyone wants to see me about any matter, please let me know. Try a phone call or drop a note through my letterbox (don't forget your phone number – it sometimes happens!).

The New Year will have passed before you get this, but you have my best wishes for the part that is left; and, without you knowing it, for the bit that has already passed!

Ken Grant

At a recent funeral, the parents of the young man who died, sadly aged only 35, asked that there should be ‘no flowers by request’, but that donations might be given towards Church expenses. I am pleased to say t1hat this resulted in a total of £512.35. Another funeral also resulted in nearly £100 being donated.

Although there is always a plate put out on such occasions, it often results in very little, sometimes nothing being donated.

As Treasurer, I would like to thank those concerned for their thoughtfulness.

These are very difficult and expensive days for any Church. We have to find over £10,000 a year to keep a priest in this Parish, plus the cost of repairs, heating and lighting etc. all need to be found. These costs amount to around £300 a week, with only 25 people giving regularly. Obviously, we are finding it difficult in meeting this commitment, so that the financial help given on the occasions mentioned above is greatly appreciated, as is any other contribution.

We are glad that our village has the use of a lovely Church, and hope that others will see it as an asset and a ministry that is worth preserving.

John S Swan
Treasurer, St John's Church

[Advert for CHIM Chinese in Wotton]

16

As I said at the end of the last report, the sub-committee has now been formally disbanded, having achieved all that we set out to do, so this is our final report! Huge sighs of relief all round the village, not least from all of us on the sub-committee. It was in April 1992 that the idea of a sub-committee (of the Management Committee) to look into updating the play area was first suggested and in the 20 months since then, there has been a great deal of time and energy expended by all of us and a very extensive campaign of fund-raising. However, looking at the finished result, we think it has been worth it and we hope that there is now something for every age group in this rapidly expanding village. There is certainly no doubt that it will be well used.

As ever, there has been more fund-raising and we have the following people to thank:

£262.94 was raised at the November Hobby Horse Night, which was a hugely enjoyable evening. Thanks to all the companies and businesses who sponsored races, to the Venture Scouts who were the ‘jockeys’ and to Chris Steele, who was an excellent MC and compere. The few people who went had such a good time that there may be another one in the Autumn.

£50 was donated from the door money of the Christmas Craft Fayre.

£238 was raised at the Christmas Children's Bazaar and family photographic session. Many thanks to Margaret Gargett who organised everything and to everyone who helped on the day and donated ‘as nu’ toys and games. Special thanks to Mike Cheskin who was an excellent Santa once again.

£531.78 was raised from the Christmas Grand Draw and the 1st Prize of £100 was won by Mr Reg Baker of Manor Farm; 2nd prize of a Tesco's hamper was won by Mr Kingscote of Churchend. Many thanks to Philippa for organising the draw so efficiently once again, to all who donated prizes, and those people who kindly sold tickets round the village and at work.

The Plough Inn's final total of donations comes to a magnificent £640. Many thanks to Len and Margaret and all the regulars at the Plough.

We thought it would be useful to publish a final statement of accounts so that everyone can see exactly where the money came from:

Grants and donations from Councils and non-village Companies:

Contributions from village organisations and fund-raising activities:

EXPENDITURE

NB – Tarmac area (by the basketball posts) will be done during 1994 if fund-raising allows.

During the last 20 months, there has been a core of staunch supporters without whom many of our events would have been unqualified disasters. They were always there and they kept us going when we might have otherwise given up. They know who they are and we would like to thank them sincerely for their unstinting support and encouragement.

And so it only remains for us to say a final big THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the new playground, to remind everyone to look after it, keep an eye on things, and report any damage to the Management Committee. The playground bark will require an annual topping-up and other maintenance, so please support any future fund-raising events at the village hall which will ensure that the playground is properly maintained, as well as the Hall buildings and playing field.

Have a healthy and prosperous 1994!
The Playground Sub-Committee (Retired)

[Advert for New Face Hair Studio]

18

Puzzle Page Answers

19

I suppose we'll have to scrub her bottom and paint it with anti-fouling again soon. For that, she'll have to take the ground while the tide goes out. She'll lie like a dead thing, leaning against the harbour wall while we scurry about to get it all done before the tide returns.

[Graphic: Boat]

But when it does, she'll lift off the bottom and come alive again, gently nudging backwards and forwards against her ropes as if all the time testing to see if they still hold her captive.

And when we cast off and haul them in she'll be free – with that special kind of freedom, to lift and settle as she rides the swell, to heel as she takes the breeze, to take us wherever we set her heading.

When we bought her, she needed a lot doing to her, so she hasn't taken us very far yet. Dartmouth was the limit of her travels last summer. But this year – God willing – she'll take us across the Channel for our summer cruise.

One sunny (we hope) summer morning we'll be up at five o'clock, breakfast, catch the Shipping Forecast at five to six, and if it promises a fair day (we're only fair-weather sailors) we'll up anchor and point her at the horizon.

The crossing settles into a routine. Every hour, on the hour, I give the stern-tube greaser another tweak while Kate reads the SATNAV and goes below to plot our position on the chart (SATNAV is a marvellous little box of electronics which continuously calculates latitude and longitude from radio signals broadcast by satellites as they orbit across the sky many miles above our heads. Accurate to within 200 yards, it makes lazy navigators of us.)

In between times we sit with our feet up. I'm usually doing the crossword while Kate reads a book. The auto-pilot keeps us on course. We keep an eye open ahead, just in case, but most of the time there isn't much to see. At intervals, Kate disappears below and comes up with cups of coffee, or cups of soup, or massive cheese rolls – even the odd can of beer, bless her heart.

Somewhat more attention is needed when we reach the shipping lanes. Here the big ships plough along the Channel in a continual procession, first the West-bound ships, then, ten miles further on, the East-bound. This sometimes requires some nice judgement – can we get across ahead of this one or should we turn and pass astern of it? We usually give them the benefit of the doubt and cross behind them – ten thousand tons of steel thudding along at 20 miles an hour won't be able to slam on the brakes if we get it wrong!

As the day goes on, the line of pencilled crosses Kate has plotted on the chart forms a letter ‘S’, crossing and rejoining our course line as the tide has carried us down-Channel and then up-Channel. With evening approaching, we can see our first destination on the other side – Alderney. Soon we are entering Braye harbour. We pick up a mooring. Now we can relax. We're tired but elated: we've done it again.

Bill Ramsay
Orchard Close

20

[Advert for Alan Hamer Driving]

The mighty planners with all their wisdom
Suffer from short sight –
They allowed a field in New Street
To become a building site.
I think they were too blind to see
The problems that they'd cause
With all the increased traffic
That never seems to pause.
They give no consideration
To the residents who live there –
With all the dirt and noise, disruption
It's such a dreadful nightmare.
If the planners lived down here
They'd think both long and hard,
But I don't think they'll ever care –
It's not in their back yard!

Ethel Williams 1993

Whether or not one has been used to living in an area of County Councils, District Councils, Town and Parish Councils, or urban areas given the status of ‘City’ by Royal Charter, this is the year when the recommendations made by the Local Government Commissioners on Local Government Reorganisation will be considered by the Government.

Certainly one factor noted by the Commissioners was the value of local contact through Parishes in rural areas and the Commissioners recommend that urban areas too should be Parished. Furthermore both the Commissioners' Report and the Dept. of the Environment ‘Green Paper’ on ‘The Future of Parish and Town Councils’ have indicated a more positive role for Local Councils when unitary authorities are established as a result of reorganisation.

The generic title ‘Local Councils’ was given in the Local Government Act 1972 to include both Parish and Town Councils – the latter being a large Parish Council entitled to resolve itself into Town Council status with the privilege of re-designating the chairman as mayor. Even so, a Local Council should not be regarded as the 3rd tier of local government, implying that it is controlled by a higher authority. Indeed, it would become the 2nd tier, should County Councils be dismantled and unitary authorities emerge.

In the Centenary Year one can then reflect upon the evolution of village government from long before the Norman Conquest, as one ‘lifts the veil’ from the past. Subsequent to an earlier system of Frankpledge, Courts Leet, and so forth, there eventually emerged the Baronial Feudal Courts. Then, slowly but surely, replacing the earlier patterns, Vestries. These Vestries were not established by Act of Parliament, their powers and their composition were not defined in any law; there was no rule about who could attend the meetings or who could preside – but yet, by the latter part of the 17th century, they had come to be, together with the Magistrates of the County, the rulers of rural England.

21[Advert for VideoSound Services]

As the true forerunners of the modern Parish Council, these Vestries were responsible for the general well-being of the village. They looked after the poor, the old, and the sick; they maintained the Church and the churchyard and managed the village pound. They waged constant battles against sparrows, foxes, and hedgehogs!

For these various purposes they nominated from among themselves the appropriate officials to serve on an annual basis as: overseers of the poor, surveyors of the highways, churchwardens, sextons, keepers of the Parish Pound, Parish clerks – and in many cases the constables (the type of appointment the Home Secretary has sought to reconstitute against Local Council opposition).

There was a common, but not universal, custom for the substantial ratepayers of the village to meet once a month – sometimes in the Church Vestry, but more often in the local inn. Ale would normally be provided out of the Parish Rates – the amount of which would be settled at the meetings over which the Rector would commonly preside. The Vestry clerk recorded the minutes.

To the people of a village In the 18th Century, the real government was not the Cabinet or the Parliament, but the Parish Vestry!

The system (if it can be called a system) worked well enough in most of the villages, but less well in the towns, where ‘self-elected select Vestries’ became a national scandal due to corruption. Efforts by Parliament to reform the abuses never achieved a majority vote and it was many years before Parliament was forced to take action due to the post Napoleonic War unemployment, the cholera epidemic, and the spin-off of the Industrial Revolution.

The Vestry meetings were unable to cope and parliamentary statutes created other types of local bodies: Poorhouse Guardians, Burial Boards, Highway Boards, Library Commissioners, School Boards, and Local Boards of Health, whereby the Vestries ceased to be the general government of the village but continued with the remnant of its duties including looking after the church and, say, providing a fire engine.

In 1871, a Bill was introduced to replace the Vestry by a Parochial Board whose chairman would represent the Parish in all matters. NO progress was made due to a need to update Parish boundary anomalies. For instance, it was noted by a Select Committee that 782 of the 5453 Parishes in England and Wales had less than 50 inhabitants, 150 Parishes had between 10 and 20 inhabitants, and 98 Parishes less than 10!

The Local Government Act 1888 created County Boroughs from the larger towns and established County Councils from the historic counties. It transferred the initiative for Parish boundary reform to the County Councils. Yet the Parish Council 22 Movement was growing. Non-conformists saw the proposed Parish Councils primarily as a spearhead of their attack on the established church, and with it taking control of parochial charities out of the hands of the clergy and the churchwardens, providing village halls which would, unlike church halls, be available to all denominations and unseating the parson as the ex-officio chairman of the erstwhile Vestry.

By 1890 though there were 4 main definitions of a Parish: the Ecclesiastical Parish, the Civil Parish, the Poor Law Parish, the Highway Parish. More often than not, their boundaries did not coincide.

On March 21 1893 the Local Government (England and Wales) Bill was introduced. Subsequent readings dealt also with the establishment of Urban and Rural Districts (from the previous Sanitary Districts) and also debated what duties should be left with the proposed Parish Council. The argument resolved itself into a discussion with those who favoured a small unit whereby the ordinary labourer could participate in local affairs, and those preferring a bigger area because it meant that those with more leisure could travel to a district centre.

The Local Government Act was passed on March 5, 1894. It did not abolish Vestries, rather it transferred their civic functions in rural Parishes to Parish meetings and Parish Councils.

Vestries survived as Ecclesiastical Bodies until 1922 when the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure established a Parochial Church Council in every Ecclesiastical Parish, and transferred to it ‘all power, duties and liabilities of the Vestry of such Parish relating to the affairs of the Church’.

Even today though, in some Parishes, powers which do not relate to the Church may survive under ancient endorsements on Schemes of the Charity Commissioners.

An Easter Vestry is still summoned when churchwardens are elected.

(Rev) David W Parker
Charfield Parish Councillor
Chairman and Vice President,
Avon Local Councils Association

[Advert for Taylor Made Services Plumbing]

To the residents of Charfield who pass the playing field on a cold Saturday afternoon without a glance at the handful of stalwarts huddled on the touchline watching the local teams striving to gain two more elusive points in the struggle to move up the league table, it may come as a surprise to know of the great tradition of the Charfield Football Club.

There has been a football club in the village since the beginning of the century, with records dating back to 1890. A founder member of the Wotton-under-Edge Silver Cup Competition with the honour of winning the trophy in 1909, with a team consisting of such well known local names as C Crew, J Philpot, H Beames, H Philpot, G Bull, F Merrett, J Davis, F Goscombe, H Long, J Smith, F Cooper, and Vice-Captain H Merrett.

In those days, the changing rooms were in the small room at the rear of the Congregational Chapel, with the pitch behind the King's Hall. The competition became known as the Dursley and Wotton League after the introduction or a local bus service, which enabled the team to travel as far afield as Cam, Dursley, Stinchcombe, Kingswood, Synwell, Coaley, and, of course, arch rivals Wotton. The club progressed into the Stroud and District League with more than an average amount of success.

23A golden era in the 1950s saw the team win the Division One Championship in 1949/50, 1951/52, and 1957/58, and finishing runners-up in 1956/57 and 1958/59. In the 1959/60 season the club were the proud winners of 3 trophies, namely the Stroud League Division One, the County Cup and the Berkeley Hospital Cup. The squad consisted of the following players: B Mann, J Beames, R Beames, J King, B Amer, T Goscombe, S Webb, D Beames, D Gladding, J Clifford, D Bennett, D Merrett, B Reeves, K Eacott, W Carter, J Clulow, J Maclaren, and J George. Centre Forward Stan Webb reached the magnificent total of 106 goals scored in the season.

It is noticeable how some of the names have channelled through the years and crop up in both teams. One of the officials in the 1959/60 team photographs is Mr Jim Davis, the oldest living member of the football club, a life member for over 50 years. Another long-serving member as a player, Secretary, now a Vice President, Mr W Beames, is now residing in Cam but is still a supporter of the club. Mr John George, an ex local school headmaster, now a Gloucester Football Association member also serving on the management committee of the Northern Senior Football League, is also a long standing member as a player, Treasurer, and a Vice President.

Currently, the football club consists of two teams, a reserve team being formed in the early 1950s, catering for the promising youth in the village, and gaining immediate success by winning the Stroud League Division 3 in 1954/54. The first XI were promoted to the Gloucester Northern Senior League in 1959 where they have remained to date.

Charfield FC has always had a keen youth policy, with perhaps the most pleasing achievement taking place in the early 1960s when a very successful under 16 side nearly as a whole moved into the reserve side, and then became the majority of a successful first XI, which, for several years, took the team into the first division of the league. It is hoped that the current committees can form a closer working relationship between the Youth teams and the Senior club which will reach the same possible conclusion.

Should you have moved into the village in the last 20 years, you could be living on one of the many old football pitches used in previous years. Houses in Cotswold View off Horsford Road are built on a pitch as are the houses in Underhill Road. With a look to the future, with the benefit of excellent changing rooms and social facilities and a good playing surface which must match up with any in the area, we are now looking to success again on the field to carry on from last season, when the Reserve side, against notable opposition, were successful in winning the County Intermediate Cup.

There will always be a welcome for any budding stars or otherwise, or just come along for a social evening. If you think you can help in any way, contact the Secretary (see back page). We like to think that we are a family club, with wives and children involved. We can even boast that in the middle thirties, the Charfield team consisted of four sets of brothers, namely, Lionel and Seymour Spill, Reg and Lawford Smith, Bill and Perce Starkey, and Fred and Charlie Mann. Who says we're not a family Club!

Clive Starkey

[Advert for Harlequin Homecall]

24[Advert for Patrick McNally Builder]

Much has happened since the last time that the Parish Council wrote an article for the Newsletter. We have been involved with discussions about the Unitary Authority and where North Avon will eventually be and who we shall be linked to. Recommendations have gone to the government that North Avon and Kingswood become one authority which in turn would change its name to South Gloucestershire. However, we can but wait and see. What will the powers on high eventually do and how much will it cost us?

Moving to much more local issues, we have been negotiating with various landowners in order that a new footpath be laid from Woodlands Road to Little Bristol. All permissions have now been granted and we await the start of the project in the not too distant future. Other projects in hand are the discussions taking place over land at the entrance to Manor Lane and Wotton Road. Many concerns have been voiced over the safety of the old site hut on this piece of land and the Parish Council are looking into the ownership in order that we might acquire the land and put things right. We are also trying to acquire permission to put up a bus shelter at the bus stop on Wotton Road near the entrance to New Street. This would provide some weather protection for children waiting for school coaches in the mornings and bus passengers throughout the day. The footbridge over the railway line, which we have been waiting for many years, is due to be started in the very near future now that all permissions have been granted.

Apart from these important issues which the Parish Council are currently involved in we have also voiced our opinions on Churchwood Quarry and its restoration, and the delay in the reopening of Charfield station. All these matters are in hand and I will keep you informed as to the results.

At present we are keeping a close eye on the brook running under Woodlands Road, or over and through peoples garages as it was just before Christmas. There will be a site meeting this month to see what long term solutions can be put into action.

Because of its involvement in so much of the village life we are only to pleased to welcome parishioners to our meetings so that they can see at first hand what is going on. We meet in the Sportsman Lounge at the Village Hall on the second Tuesday in the month. There is a public participation slot so that you can voice an opinion if you wish, or write to our Parish Clerk about matters which concern you.

I am sure that I have not covered all that I had intended in this article but I am being pressed to get a move on. Someone is waiting to copy this straight into the Newsletter. So before I get into trouble for holding the whole process up, I will finish and wish you all a rather delayed Happy New Year.

25

It is my turn to write the NW item for the Newsletter and to report that slowly but surely our Watch is progressing. Unfortunately, though, there have been intruders into houses in Woodlands Road in recent months. This brings me to an item that the committee has been discussing. Obviously those in the immediate area of Woodlands Road should be informed that a burglary has taken place, though this should not include names and house numbers (those concerned may not wish for that sort of publicity), but currently our view is that, unless the police are looking for particular information and believe this may come from a wider area, the whole village would NOT be informed. We are interested if you have any views on this matter.

Neighbourhood Watch signs (15) have been purchased and suitable positions identified and the relevant people and organisations notified. It is necessary to be insured, just in case a sign falls on anyone, to get permission from BT to put a sign on a telephone post and also inform the police and highways for general approval. The signs are expensive and we may need more in the future.

Property marking – The Watch has bought 30 diamond tipped engravers, ceramic markers and ultra violet markers. Most contacts now have these and they are available to NW members to borrow. The police strongly encourage the marking of property for a number of reasons such as (a) it makes stolen items less marketable, (b) recovered property can be easily returned. As you can imagine, nothing annoys the police more than when they ‘know’ an item is stolen property, but because they cannot prove it, they have to return it to the thieves. Please bear in mind that ultra violet is only temporary, it fades in light. Visibly marked property may discourage its being stolen.

Some items the police have brought to our attention:

a) protect your bike – lock it up, mark the frame, record the details.

b) Tarmac: beware of workmen offering to cover driveways at cheap prices. On completion, the price is not the one quoted.

c) Self-defence training for women – courses are being run at Southmead Police Station. Anyone interested should contact Inspector Stella Aldworth on 0272 45xxxx.

d) Postcode your caravans and disable them when not in use.

e) Watch out for bogus door-to-door salesmen. Some will tour the area selling items (anything from fish to double glazing) when their motive is to spend time in an area looking around for soft targets. If anyone arouses your suspicions, ring the police at Staple Hill (0272 62xxxx) giving detailed descriptions and vehicle registration numbers, if possible. They will be only too happy to check it out.

Contacts Meeting – A meeting of contacts has been arranged for Monday, 21 February in the Sportsmen's Bar of the village hall, at 7.30pm. We look forward to seeing contacts at this meeting.

Neighbourhood Watch AGM – a meeting for all the village has been arranged for Monday, 11 April. The agenda will include a guest speaker and the election of a new committee. Further details to follow.

Finally, any of you who have not had somebody round asking you to join the Watch have probably not got a volunteer in your area. So how about it? Can 'we have some more volunteers, please?

[Advert for Bradley Garage, WUE]

26

Sundays: Sunday school at 11 am.

Family Church on the first Sunday of each month.
Communion is also observed after evening worship on the first Sunday of each month.

Ruth's Sermon

Who or what is a Christian? Does one have to be a member of a Church? No, I don't think so. There are people I know who have never been baptised or confirmed. Does that matter? Of course not! It is noticeable that some are very caring people and willing to help with any task, however lowly. One of the above was quite prepared to help us with our Christmas Concert. To no avail – we had to cancel. Think on this, and be observant of non-members who endeavour to do their share.

I cannot be serious for the whole article, so I will relate a couple of letters spotted in my daily paper: ‘My daughter-in-law was taking some flowers to her local church with her grandson, aged 3. On arrival, the door was locked and he asked, “Has God gone out, Nan?”’ ‘At our school, the pupils go to the nearby Church several times a year for special services. On seeing the collection plate at the door, a child in my class said, “Do we have to pay to go out?”’

I am not sure who wrote this little poem, but it seems apt.

If the winter is mild at the moment,
Be thankful for bright days of grace,
If the weather is simply just awful,
Let sunshine be seen in your face!

Preachers:

February

6 am: Mr T Emerson. pm: Mr Parry
9 Mr M Greenslade
16 Rev P Hatton
23 Mr D Crewe
30 Mr B Smith

March

6 am: Mr E Stuart. pm: Mr E Rust, Mr A Williams
13 Mr M Douglas
20 Mr M Cameron
27 Mr H S Spill

Forthcoming Event

Good Friday, 1 April, 2:30pm, Kingswood Choir.

May I wish you all a happy and peaceful 1994.

Ruth.

For full details, including the 38 other prizes, see the notice in the window of Open All Hours.

27

[Advert for The Plough Inn]

28

Tel Nos commencing 84 use STD code 0453, all others use STD code 0454. If any information shown is incorrect, please contact the Editors as soon as possible so that amendments can be made before the next issue.

Baby Sitting Circle
Lisa Tucker (Secretary) 26xxxx

British Legion
Mr J Poskett (Spokesman) 26xxxx

Brownies – 2nd Charfield
Mrs T Cole 84xxxx

CHADRA
Mr G Blower (Hon. Sec.) 26xxxx

Charfield Primary School
C F Sreeves (Headteacher) 26xxxx

Childminders
Mrs P Loveridge (Secretary) 26xxxx

Congregational Church
Miss M Turner (Sec) xx Charfield Green

Council – District
Mr E Gadsby (Councillor) 26xxxx

Council – Parish
Catherine Holmes (Clerk) 84xxxx

Cricket Club
Mrs D Bradley (Secretary) 84xxxx

Football Club
Chris Somerton (Secretary) 84xxxx

Friendship Club
Mr E Orton (Chairman) 26xxxx

Guides
Tonia Williams (Leader) 84xxxx

Hall Management Committee
Mr J Poskett (Chairman) 26xxxx

Keep Fit Club
Mrs S Colla (Enquiries) 26xxxx

Ladies Club
Mrs E Popham 26xxxx

Luncheon Club for the Elderly
Mrs J Higgins 26xxxx

Mothers & Toddlers
Anne Barnett (Secretary) 26xxxx

Neighbourhood Watch
Rev D Parker (Co-ordinator) 26xxxx