CHADRA

… That Allan Hughes has volunteered to co-ordinate the tracking down of former residents of the village for the 40th Village Fayre.

… That the Memorial Hall will soon have a bouncy castle available for hire.

… That Fit and Funky is dead and gone due to lack of interest and support.

… That Charfield has lost its Guide unit and a Brownie pack due to lack of leaders. This means that young girls will have to go on a waiting list to join the Brownies.

Happy New Year! Hilary's baby arrived safely on 21st November, Mathew Ethan, and he's already got his own web site at www.wiggley.org.uk if you want to see pictures of him. The web site includes a link to the charfieldvillage site, of course.

We are happy to type pages for people who do not have access to a computer. It does, however, seem a bit inefficient where contributors are typing up their entries and we then have to retype them. Can we ask that if you use a PC that you let us have your copy on disk or e-mail, in either Word (.doc) or Rich Text (.rtf) formats. If you need any help with any of this let us know, as it will save us time in the long run.

Can we suggest that contributors explain their TLAs (three letter acronyms). In this issue we have ICT, EFL and URL, and we only understand one of them.

Finally, next copy date (12th April) is Maundy Thursday, and we realise that many of our regular contributors may be going away for Easter. Could we possibly have your articles by 5th April, so that we can get it out of the way by Easter. Our excellent chasing team will give you a gentle reminder nearer the time. Thank you, as ever, to all our contributors.

Next Copy Date – 5th April 2001

3

Lesley Rosser is well-known both locally and nationally both as a designer of other people's gardens and for her own, which has been opened to the public as part of the National Gardens Scheme for the last ten years. On the January evening that I visited Lesley, it was too dark to see her garden, so I can't tell you what it looks like – I shall have to go back in the spring when it's open.

Lesley and Alan stumbled on Urn Cottage about twenty years ago, when they were looking for a country cottage with room to make a garden. She didn't initially intend to become a garden designer. Her background was in botany and cell biology. She had studied up to doctorate level in Bristol and had followed that with a two-year research stint in Colorado, courtesy of NATO. It was the old familiar story that, when she returned to the UK, good science posts were hard to come by (nothing changes – the best researchers are still leaving in droves). Lesley and Alan didn't want to move away from the Cotswolds and Lesley began to wonder if she could put to use the garden design skills she had acquired while making her own garden. A look in the yellow pages confirmed that, at that time, there were no other garden designers in the area, so she took a deep breath and started her own business and there's been no looking back.

Lesley says that she initially regretted not having obtained a formal garden design qualification, but the upside of that has been that she has not been limited to a particular style. She tells me she doesn't have a particular style, “but people think I have”. She sees the Urn garden style as being a “slightly modern, wacky cottage garden”, but has employed a number of styles when designing for others. She has worked on gardens from twenty feet square up to an 18-acre garden she is working on at the moment.

Despite her initial reliance on experience rather than qualifications, Lesley took a number of courses over the years and has been a Full Member of the Society of Garden Designers for some time now and has been on its governing Council. Her reputation is such that she is in demand as a teacher herself. In addition to local courses, which she runs at Warners Court with Barbara Adams, she teaches practical horticulture to mature students at the English Gardening School in the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. As Course Director, she teaches, sets the students' projects and marks their work. Lesley and Barbara have also branched out recently into leading holiday garden trips. Last year they took a group to Holland and this year's Irish tour is almost fully booked. Despite the demands these enterprises make on her time (in addition to looking after Poppy, 10, and 7 year old Jonathan), Lesley is convinced it is important for a self-employed person like her to have a variety of skills.

To demonstrate this further, Lesley described various writing and editing projects she is involved with. She is Editorial Consultant for the magazine Garden Inspirations. The good part of this is that she gets to read the whole magazine free. The bad part is that it can arrive at any time and she has to return it within 24 hours. She is a member of the Garden Writers Guild and writes for magazines such as Garden Inspirations, The English Garden, and Country Living. Lesley and her garden are also the subject of articles from time to time and she has been featured on television several times, including in Gardeners World.

Lesley described the design process to me. She tells me it is much easier when the customer has a clear view of what they want. Before she looks at the plot, she spends some time talking to the clients and also takes note of what the inside of their house is like – for instance, do they go for strong colours or pastels? She then surveys the plot (with the help of a surveyor if it's very large) and she draws it and measures it. She notes good points and problems and often takes photos, for example of a view that needs to be preserved.

She then draws the plot to scale. Lesley says that, once the preparatory work is done, employing principles of good design will mean that the actual design process is relatively straightforward. With Alan, Lesley also arranges for the implementation of the scheme, even where substantial excavation and building work are involved. Some gardens can take several years to complete.

Urn Cottage garden is in Station Road and will be open on Fridays and Saturdays between Easter and the end of July, from 2–6 pm. I might see you there!

Calling all gardeners … Advance Notice of the Charfield Plant Sale!!

The date for this year's Church Plant Sale at St John's Church has been fixed for

Saturday 19th May 2001.

The new committee are working hard under Kate Ramsey's guidance and windows everywhere around the village will soon be full of seed trays and, hopefully, small plants!

The plant sale has built up a well deserved reputation for quality and value and many ‘regular customers’ travel a considerable distance. If you are a gardener, then put the date in your diary now – you can't afford to miss it!

4[Advert for Greenline Tanks]

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Charfield has lost both it's Guide unit and a Brownie pack since the summer due to lack of adult leaders.

This is a great shame and left a great hole for many young girls who had a great opportunity to meet new people and try new challenges.

If you know of anyone who would be interested in going into uniform or who would like to take on the role of District Commissioner contact Angela Smith on 01454 26xxxx for more details

I was interested to read in the autumn issue of CHADRA, the items printed from the first issue of 1975 saying the Bingo Club had been going since 1965 to raise money to build the Memorial Hall.

I would like to point out that the Bingo Club is still running to raise funds to help run the Memorial Hall. It is held every Monday evening, game starts at 8:00 p.m. and finishes approximately 9:30 p.m., everyone welcome.

We would also like to recruit a regular caller, is anyone in Charfield interested? Must be over 18 years of age.

Sue Scoble 01454 26xxxx
Wendy Taylor 01454 26xxxx
Gwen Bateman 01453 84xxxx

Editors note: Glad to hear you are still going strong. Are there any other clubs and societies in the village that do not get a regular mention in the CHARDA newsletter? Send us a few lines for the next copy date and let the rest of the village know what you are up to.

We enjoyed an outing to Weymounth with Wickwar in September and had a Harvest Home towards the end of the month. In October we had an exhibition of shell craft showing members things that could be decorated with a few shells. An autumn sale was held in November to help with the funds. In between we played bingo and word games. Members enjoyed a very nice Christmas dinner at the Tavern with no complaints.

We could do with a few more active members as we are getting a bit thin on the ground. We could do so much more with a larger club. Please think about joining us in 2001.

M Ealey

5[Advert for Falcon Cottage B&B]

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With the mid season break upon us it is now an opportunity to reflect on early season achievements and look forward to more exciting football and some better weather!!

To date, all teams have competed with great enthusiasm, and a considerable amount of effort and enjoyment for the children and parents alike – over sixty matches have now been played and thirty won. The under 16's have only lost once and are through to the quarter final of the County Cup which includes teams from all over Gloucestershire and Bristol. This game will be played on January 28th and the club is looking for a home tie – draw to be made shortly.

Plans are beginning to be discussed for the start of next season, of which teams to run in either the Stroud and District Youth League or Gloucestershire Mini League. The club will run a number of teams – team managers permitting.

Planning application is being presented to South Gloucestershire Council for permission to create a football pitch, as well as training and changing facilities and car park at the Tortworth estate. This application will complement current facilities the club enjoys at the Village Hall and at Charfield Primary School.

Finally, the club is planning the forthcoming events to raise monies for club funds – both at Leyhill Social Club – Quiz Night on Friday 26th January starting 7:30 p.m. and a 60's–70's Night with music from the band Footloose on Saturday 17th March. Details will be circulated around the village, everyone is welcome, more the merrier …

Jeremy Lewis

Thank you to CHADRA for recognising Mark's achievement in being selected for the Great Britain men's hockey team to compete in the Sydney Olympics. We would just like to set the record straight “the team failed to qualify for the second round”.

The twelve countries that qualified for the Olympic Games were placed in two pools of six teams, each team playing each other. Great Britain was in the same group as Holland, Pakistan, Malaysia, Germany and Canada. The second pool had Australia, South Korea, Poland, India, Argentina and Spain. At the end of the round robin competition, the teams then played “cross over” matches with teams from the other pool, which meant all the participating countries completed seven matches in the two weeks. Great Britain 6eventually was placed in 6th position overall, after mixed results – the target before the Games began was to finish in the top six.

Naturally, we were extremely proud of Mark, who played a key role in every game, troubling the best defenders, scoring several goals (including one in the opening game against Holland, world and Olympic champions, which was Mark's 100th Senior International cap) and demonstrating a highly competent, consistent and skilful performance throughout the tournament.

Alan & Babs Pearn

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The Memorial Hall will be taking possession of a 15ft × 12ft bouncy castle very shortly and it will be available to hire for parties within the Memorial Hall or at home. Anyone wishing to hire please call Janice on 01454 26xxxx.

Our last keep fit of 2000 finished as usual with our Christmas meal. We ate plenty of food and washed it all down with a little glass or two of something. Now through the dreary winter months we have that memory keeping us happy. Now as we stretch, skip and line dance around the Memorial Hall every Tuesday we have another thing to aim for, our next keep fit meal in July.

We all enjoy our weekly meetings at the hall. Lots of gentle exercise and line dancing. Plenty of chatting and laughing and now the good news – we still have room if you would like to join us.

Come along any Tuesday 10–11 a.m. It will only cost you £1.20 per session and you will be very welcome.

Christine Parfitt

The Village fayre and Sports day will be on Saturday 14th July 2001. It will be our 40th Anniversary. The 40th Village Fayre day – how many of you have seen all, or most, of them? I would love to hear from you with your memories of those days gone by. It would be great if we could recreate fond memories of those times.

Preparation is underway. The committee is the same as last year and they have all agreed to do it all again. We would however appreciate any help on the day itself. So if you'd like to volunteer your services for the day we would be very grateful. I asked for a volunteer to co-ordinate the mammoth task of inviting old residents back for the day. Allan Hughes has very kindly offered. So any suggestions or names and addresses to Allan please.

We would like to involve the older teenagers. So if any of you out there want to run a stall, or a stand, or have anything you wish to offer we would like to hear from you. We are also looking for someone to run a bar for the teenagers on the day. They seemed to be left out last year. Again any volunteers?

Hopefully, in the next issue of CHADRA we will let you know some of the things appearing on the day and how things are progressing.

Janice Vardon-Smith 01454 26xxxx

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7

Dates for the children's diary: Feb 9th, Mar 2nd, Mar 30th, Apr 20th, May 25th, June 22nd.

The Discos for the primary school children have now become very popular and will be back as from February. They are for children aged 6–12 years, and are run on a Friday evening from 6:30–9:00 p.m. It costs £2.00 in advance or £2.50 on the door. Tickets from Caroline Davies or myself. Sweets and Drinks are available. Volunteers are always needed.

Janice Vardon-Smith 01454 26xxxx

I am constantly being asked to arrange Discos for the 13–15 year olds. I would like to help but have quite a few commitments myself. Is there anyone out there who would take on the responsibility and organise such events and organise volunteers? With a good team behind you, you'd very much enjoy it.

Janice Vardon-Smith 01454 26xxxx

Hello, once again I have been chosen to be President of Charfield WI. Unfortunately, as with other Clubs, membership has fallen. With so many other things to do, places to go to, times change.

We are a friendly Institute, the very word Institute puts one off I must agree, we appeal to the more mature person, once the children have grown up mums left wondering – what next?

Well why not come along and see – we have many interests at heart. A thriving Sewing and Craft Circle and many other hobbies that you can join.

Mainly we meet once a month to enjoy a good speaker or demonstration, coffee and a good natter when new friendships are formed. We get together with other institutes locally. We do influence the Government on various topics at times on a national level – So why not come along? Bring your neighbour 2nd Thursday in the month at the Village hall 7:30 p.m. See the posters around the village for the speaker of your choice.

See you

Pat White

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8

Beating the Winter Blues

This is the time of year when we still have grey, damp days, the excitement of Christmas and the New Year having faded into a distant memory and we often lack energy. There also seem to be lots of colds and coughs around.

There are, however, a number of natural ways in which you can help yourself.

If you feel that your energy levels are low, one of the prime reasons is often quite simply that you are not using up energy levels enough. Going to the gym is neither easy or feasible for many so simply walking more is an easy and ideal way – especially walking the children (who themselves don't take enough exercise) to and from school. Cycling and swimming are also ideal and in fact, when all we sometimes want to do is flop into a chair, exercise is actually what your body wants and you will feel much more energised afterwards. It is all too easy to eat comfort foods as well, which in themselves make us more sluggish. A good breakfast is more important in winter than any other time and for all ages. A bowl of porridge or wholemeal toast and peanut butter with a glass or orange juice will boost your energy levels for the day ahead. Avoid sugary cereals and sugary foods in general – they will leave you more tired and hungry.

As always, reduce caffeine levels: drink plenty of water and lots of fruit and vegetables and snack on dried fruits, nuts and bananas if you have to.

Lack of sufficient light (SAD Syndrome) also affects some people leading to depression, sleep problems and lethargy. All of the above suggestions will help to alleviate the problem as well as getting to sit near a window if working in an office and going outside during breaks. Severe cases can be helped with light boxes.

Treating yourself to relaxing baths with special KAT bath oils designed to lift and pick you up are ideal and don't forget to nourish your skin and lips extra well to prevent drying. Grapefruit essential oil in your bath or massage will lift your spirits whilst clearing mind and body.

Prevention is the best cure for keeping colds and coughs at bay. Good nutrition will certainly help, especially increased amounts of Vitamin C. Give the kids a Satsuma instead of a bag of sweets or crisps. If you do get a cold, garlic is a natural antiseptic and tea tree oil (diluted) is useful as a gargle – help to destroy viruses by wiping phones and other regularly used items.

Drink plenty of liquids – one of the best is a few teaspoons of lemon juice with a teaspoon of honey and a little grated fresh ginger, topped up with hot water. Add some whisky at the right time to help you sleep. You should find this would be equally as good as patent remedies and a lot cheaper. Ginger in any form is particularly useful to help beat winter blues.

Essential oils such as eucalyptus are ideal to ease stuffy noses and lavender is good for relaxation. If you are more relaxed it gives you immune system far more chance to combat winter blues, coughs and colds. Some Bach Flower Remedies (gorse, mustard and olive for instance) can also help lift your moods. Regular massage or reflexology can also help. For more information, call in and see us at Harlequin Therapy Equipment in Manor Lane or call 01454 26xxxx.

Firstly many thanks to Lynne Edwards and Tony Pearce for volunteering as co-ordinators. Lynne will cover the even numbers and Tony the odd numbers of Woodlands Road.

Not much to report this time. At our November meeting Pc Jones said that there had been 4 attempted burglaries but that things had been very quiet over the Christmas period. Last summer 2 men were convicted of car crimes. Pc Jones is still concerned that a number of vehicles are being driven without proper tax / insurance / MOT's.

In November I attended the NW co-ordinators meeting in Bristol. PC Cy Price gave us a very lively talk about his work with young people in schools. His description of what drugs could contain (bricks or any other ground up substance) and where they have been before distribution (inside a racehorse being transported by aeroplane) etc. should dissuade everyone from illegal drug use.

Slowly but surely more use of ICT is being introduced by the police. They have 2 web sites giving information www.avsom.police.uk and www.crimereduction.org Co-ordinators can now receive messages by E-mail. If any Charfield contacts can and wish to receive E-mail messages please contact me. The police are as yet reluctant to set up systems to receive E-mail. They are concerned not only about security but they also do not have the resources to staff such a facility. They have set up a FAX however 0117 945xxxx. This must only be used to pass on low level information or intelligence. It MUST NOT be used when police response is required.

DON'T use FAX if you – need to speak to your local bobby – need to report a crime – need a police officer to call you.

9Finally there is a campaign to make house numbers / names more visible. Obviously you want any of the emergency services to get to you as quickly as possible if you call them. Some names and numbers are very pretty and ornate but can they be easily seen when needed?

Ilze Hicks

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[Advert for Cotswold Edge Carpets]

The Charfield Village web site has a complete face-lift for 2001 with lots of new features for all age groups. We placed lots of new links on the opening pages from a quality search engine with “Google” to small games for the kids. All software downloads from the site are freeware and have all been checked using the latest anti-virus definitions.

We have also introduced a download section with Internet tools offering you MP3, Web searches and great utilities like the Zonealarm firewall for keeping the wrong people out of your PC whilst on the Internet. Have you ever been accidentally cut off during a download? Then try “Gozilla” download manager, if you are cut off during a file transfer this program will log back on to the site when you next connect and resume the transfer from where it last finished. It will then scan the file for viruses unzip it and install it for you, what more could you ask.

The site of the month is available from a link on the main page and this month we have chosen the official Peter Rabbit Homepage. This site is superbly constructed and great fun for the kids; you will require a Shockwave Flash plug-in, which is a short automated download available from a link on our main page.

The featured business of the month is the Tae Kwon Do martial arts school, currently being run at the Charfield Primary School and proving to be very popular with all age groups, full details on the web site.

Are you fed up with paying for directory enquiries? try the BT link on the main page, this takes you to the ultimate UK telephone directory database which allows you search for listed personal or business numbers.

We also have a link to Microsoft Messenger Service which is a free service and will allow you to stay in touch with friends and family on line, you can even talk to them anywhere in the world via your Internet connection if you have a suitable microphone attached to your system. This program is very easy to use and will notify you when friends or family log on to the Internet, it will also allow you to transfer programs or files to each other directly rather than sending attachments through e-mail. If you wish to add Charfield-on-Line to your MSN Messenger contact list using the “Add” facility then just for this particular service we use the e-mail address charfield_on_line @ hotmail.com.

We have also purchased some other local village names of which www.wottonunderedge.co.uk and www.kingswoodvillage.co.uk are the first to become ready to use. Andrew Cope, a local resident, has been kind enough to write the Wotton-under-Edge 10site for us but we are still looking for a budding Web Master to take on the Kingswood site. The level of skill here is not important, in fact all that is required is enthusiasm, so if you have a PC with an Internet connection and aged between 1 and 100 you're qualified. We will assist you on the initial construction if required and continue to offer help for as long as it is needed.

We are still looking for links to local homepages so we can really get this site integrated into the community. Please send your URL's or suggested links to the e-mail address listed at the end of this article. There is plenty that goes on in this village and we would like local organisations to make more use of the “What's on” section which is sadly under used. All you need to do is fax or e-mail us with your event and it will be posted accordingly, remember the posting of any information on any of the sites mentioned in this article is absolutely free even for local businesses.

On a final note we are looking for old Pentium computers to refurbish for the Charfield Primary School so if you have one or any old components that can be used to upgrade their current stock all will be gratefully received, in particular the old style memory, CD ROMs, video cards and sound cards.

You can contact us on:

Tel: 01453 84xxxx
Fax: 01453 52xxxx
E-mail: info @ charfieldvillage.co.uk
MSN Messenger Service: “Add” charfield_on_line @ hotmail.com

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Watsome Farm, Charfield,
Wotton-under-Edge, Glos. GL12 8SP
Tel: 01453 84xxxx, Fax: 84xxxx
e-mail: xxxx @ aol.com

The Farm Nursery Group opened in January 1998 and is based in two converted rooms of Watsome farmhouse, with part of the garden fenced off for outside play.

We take 12 children, aged over 2 years 9 months, for five mornings and two afternoons per week, with two members on duty.

The morning session runs from 9.05am until 11.45am, the afternoon from 12.15pm until 3pm, currently on Mondays and Wednesdays, with Tuesday afternoons beginning later in the year.

The sessions are structured with tabletop activities to start off with crafts, puzzles, cooking, etc.

After a break for drinks, biscuits and a chat, the children play outside in the garden.

The last part of the session involves the children choosing from all sorts of messy play, imaginative play in the home corner, the dressing up box or the small world toys; or working on their drawing, writing or number books. Of course there is always time for stories and songs before home time.

We invite in visitors as often as possible, with the highlight of last term being Mrs Champion's Christmas cakes. Every child had their own mini fruit cake to ice and decorate. A big thank you to Mrs Champion for the huge amount of work she put in to the children's Christmas cakes, they were great fun to make and were as delicious as they looked.

Our morning sessions are all full, but we have places on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for the spring and summer terms and are taking bookings for September 2001.

11NURSERY GRANT FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS.

We are based in Gloucestershire (just) and all children in Gloucestershire are eligible for a grant of £367 per term for 5 sessions at nursery or play group if they were born before 31/8/97.

All children in South Glos born before 31/12/96 are also eligible However South Gloucestershire has very little funding for three year olds and the following conditions apply for child born before 31/8/97:-

1. Anyone on Income Support is eligible, but this grant can only be used in South Glos. e.g. Charfield Play Group, there are no cross border arrangements.
2. Anyone with a social need can apply, e.g. disability, social worker involved, EFL. This grant is available cross border.

We would urge parents to write to local councillors or MP's point out the arbitrary nature of this funding – it worked in Gloucestershire.

What I'd like to know is, is it the Mall, which rhymes with pal, or Mall which rhymes with hall? Either way I just say, I'm going down to the Cribbs. Anyway, in between Sophie working away at Brecon Beacons, she got herself a job in a really nice jewellers, at the Cribbs. One morning, 9 am, the phone rings. It's Soph. “Mum, quick, I've got my trainers on and I am supposed to be in my black smart shoes.” I wonder, at this point, whether her footwear will alter sales figures. “Anyway Mum, the bus is due soon and I can't get home in time and back to get the bus. Can you bring them down? And then if the bus comes I can ask him to wait.” Now at this stage I must tell you that I am in a pink dressing gown and heated rollers. Digressing just a bit, please recall Tracy Francksen's last article regarding finding your feet in the petrol shortage. I was now about to break all the rules. So I was to be found, driving down to the garage, U-turn in New Street and then to fling Soph's shoes out of the car window at the Tavern bus stop. She caught the bus and I had both sunscreens down, so no one could see my hair attire.

Wasn't the snow lovely and, still on the subject of Sophie's footwear, on the night of the snowfall, we were all invited out to a party. This was to give Polly Higgins a lovely send off for her new life in Edinburgh. Sophie decided to wear her new gold, high heeled, strappy sandals. These were purchased, for her Birthday, in November. Now I had asked the girl in the shoe shop, whether these shoes would do Park Street and she said, “Definitely not”, which proved to be the case because she couldn't even manage walking down to the Tavern. Anyway, there's Soph on the front door step exclaiming, “How can I get to the car?” Wearing sensible shoes and changing at the venue was out of the question. “ Oh, just walk in my footprints,” said Lawrence. We had a great evening. Soph flung her sandals off at Midnight and I'll leave you to guess how she got to the car.

Now I'm getting a bit concerned about the human being, being totally replaced. Three times now, I've telephoned either the bank or an insurance company. There is a voice at the end but it is not really a proper person. They give you options to press different numbers on the telephone and then advise you to leave your credit card number and tell you that your request will be processed in due course. There's no chance for a friendly chat or anything. What if, halfway through, you want to ask a question? I think the days of your ever-friendly bank manager are definitely over.

I was half way through a truly scrumptious sandwich of Kerrygold butter and Coopers marmalade listening to the radio. Phil Archer was in his cowshed, chatting to David, cleaning the teats of one of his prize beasts, when he said, “Isn't it wonderful she's passed her mucus test?” UGH! Don't they know it's teatime? Put me right off my crusts.

Anyway luvvies, I'm going to sign off now. My right hand supersonic person is going to do something magical to get it to Hils and Geoffs. Yes, I know what I said last time, but I have been doing other things!!!

Happy New Year. Best Wishes,
Marilyn aka Maz.

The Thornbury branch of the University of the Third Age held it's AGM on Thursday 23 November in a packed Methodist hall in Thornbury. Formed three years ago, it now has a membership in excess of three hundred, over half of who attended the meeting.

The “Social event of the Season” took place on Wednesday 17 January at Thornbury Methodist Hall at 12 noon: The “Real Millennium” Party £3 for Lunch and Punch

There is a free Lifelong Learning Event at the Chantry on Wednesday 31 January on “Looking at furniture and paintings” 11:00–3:30; advance booking is required. Following this, a course of ten meetings is being offered by Lynne Gibson of the University of Bristol on “How to interpret Art” on Wednesday afternoons at The Chantry; advance booking is also required for this.

12SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY FORUM is open to all U3A members and has no narrow definitions of the subject of its talks. As Bill Gill, the groups chairman says, “if a talk has the flavour of science or technology and it would be of some interest to the curious or the expert then we go for it”. To date talks have included subjects as diverse as “The Sun”, “The Lancaster Bomber”, “Chernobyl”, “Bridges”, “The Big Bang”, “Bee Keeping”, “The Final Clean Up – tunnelling under Bristol”, “Flight of a Feathered Kind”, “Genetics and Evolution” and “Beam Engines”. Visits have been made to Sapperton Tunnel, an Apiary, The Severn Bridge Visitor Centre and Ferry Exhibition.

Following January's discussion and video on “Global Warming”, a visit is being arranged in February to Renishaws whose business is metrology, the science of measurement.

Anyone who would like more information, to suggest topics they would like to hear about, or to give a talk about a Science or Technology topic should contact Bill Gill on 01454 41xxxx

Meetings of the Science and Technology Forum take place bi-monthly at The Chantry, Thornbury. Another Group, also meeting bi-monthly at the Chantry, is the newly formed LAW and the SENIOR CITIZEN group. The first session will be a talk on “Wills and their pitfalls” on Thursday 8 February at 10:30 a.m.

A charge of 50p is made at these meetings to cover the cost of room rental, coffee and biscuits.

Another newly-formed very popular group is THE RIVER which meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 2:00 p.m. in Oldbury Methodist Schoolroom. Following January's fascinating talk by Nick Large on with “Fossil Collecting around the Estuary” Chris Witts will be addressing the group on “The Severn Bore” on 13 February. This will be followed at a later date by a visit to see the Bore. A fossil collecting afternoon has been arranged for Tuesday 1 May.

The U3A is now able to offer a comprehensive programme of help and support to those who would like to learn more about COMPUTERS and the INTERNET. Complete beginners can learn the basics of computing before progressing, if they choose, to a programme of open learning material either on their own computers, or those available at local libraries or the Age Concern drop-in centre in Thornbury. A self-help network is already operating to deal with specific requests and problems co-ordinated by John Mason on 01454 61xxxx.

Further information can be obtained from Trevor Anderson on 01454 61xxxx.

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13

Chairman's Report

1. I would like to thank all members of the Committee, the representatives and helpers of the various projects for their hard work and continued enthusiasm.

2. I would also like to thank the Parish Council for their continued support.

3. As was mentioned at the last AGM some proposed projects fell by the wayside due to circumstances beyond our control, lack of help to take ownership for some projects and the lack of time and funds available. The Committee therefore decided to limit the projects to what was deemed achievable in the available time.

The New Millennium did not quite start as we had hoped with a firework display due to the lack of available stewards but the Committee together with the Parish Council and the Memorial Hall Committee decided that a firework display at the end of the Village sports / fete day might be appropriate. After an awful spring and a not too promising start to the summer Saturday the 15th July dawned warm and sunny. At 10.30pm as total darkness fell, we were treated to a visually awesome and spectacularly noisy display. Thank you Parish Council for funding the display and thanks to the stewards for policing the event.

4. One of our other projects, street parties, was not quite as successful as I had hoped with very few streets in the village participating. However, those streets that joined in did it in style. I managed to visit 3 of the parties and everyone was having a wonderful time. Participants had spent much time and energy in dressing up their streets with bunting, barbecues on the go, competitions for the children. (I even managed to get our own Sir Henry to judge 2 of the competitions. Again despite the awful weather, June 17th was one of the very few days where the British climate smiled on us. We even had a flyby from Concord. Our own party went with a swing and I was asked if we could have it as an annual event!

5. After much frustration at filling out the form for Lottery Funding Awards for All (it was returned to us 3 times, that's bureaucracy for you !) we were successful in obtaining funding for the Domesday Book, Time Capsule and Map. This money, together with that donated by the Parish Council has been invaluable in producing a high quality book that the village can be proud of. I cannot thank the people involved in the project enough for all their hard work but I hope that villagers who obtained a copy express their appreciation. The Domesday book was completely sold out by Christmas, so, for those of you who wonder what you have missed you will have to visit Yate Library. Funds from the sale of the book will be used to fund village projects agreed with the Parish Council.

6. Unfortunately the Parish Map had to be abandoned due to circumstances beyond our control but it may be resurrected at some future date.

7. The Joint Church Event organised by Robert on 20/21st May was a very successful weekend culminating in the dedication of the Millennium stone, kindly donated by RMC Roadstone. We were not so lucky with the weather but we had a reasonable number of villagers in attendance for the unveiling. We have still to bury the time capsule but this will be done shortly when we have completed filling it. (It is a rather large capsule!)

8. In November we had Charfield's version of the Millennium Songs of Praise with hymns chosen by Charfield Parishioners.

9. The Millennium Committee is now winding down and the only project left is the verge planting and we are awaiting help from Leyhill Prison.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their involvement with the Committee, I know I have. I have felt that I could have been a better Chairperson but hindsight is a wonderful thing but that's another story. I have met some wonderful people whom I now consider as friends and again I offer my thanks. Although I can't name individuals I would like to express my thanks on behalf of the Committee to Mark & Caroline Davies for their help in the production of the Domesday Book.

On behalf of the Millennium Committee I would like to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2001 (and a sunnier one)

Graham Parton

Jayne, Jean and Tim would like to thank all who contributed items to the Domesday Book. The books were sold out before Christmas. All those who had been involved with the production of the book were delighted at the response from many villagers – thank you for your support. To those who have missed out and would like to look at it Yate Library should have two copies purchased by South Gloucestershire.

Any remaining money, after the payment of all bills, will be put back into the village in some way. You will be kept informed.

Jean Acton.

14

Before I start, let me first apologise to anyone who suffered inconvenience, hardship or even worse because of the snow. All that not withstanding, everyone in our house (especially the smallest two!) thought that it was FANTASTIC! It was Andrew's first proper snow i.e.; “playable in” as Elizabeth described it and we were all really excited to find so much snow lying on the ground when we awoke on Thursday. The timing (for us) was perfect – John was off work for his Christmas break and therefore didn't have to go anywhere, and the children were on School holidays so no worries about whether or not school was open. We spent some wonderful hours over the 3 days of the snow sliding down the field at the side of Charfield hill; all for the price of a plastic sledge which was bought two years ago and never used – until now! What a wonderfully cheap way to spend part of the holidays and after a week of eating, drinking and relatives (and too much of all three!!) it was just what we needed. We returned home wet and starving hungry but glowing from all the fresh air and the exercise. John was unable to run because of the snow so tried to make up for it by running up the hill each time! As we walked home on the Saturday afternoon, the snow was maximising the light by reflecting the dying sun and the air was frosty and I thought how lucky we all are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

On a different note, you will not be surprised to hear that John's presents this Christmas all had a ‘running’ theme. The children bought him a luminous running vest of bright green which Andrew announced, with deep satisfaction, made John look “just like the dustbin men”!!! He also received winter leggings and a running book.

John's present from me was a little more problematical. He wanted a running gilet, which are available from all running outlets and therein lay the problem! John had specific requirements of this gilet namely that it was made of windproof material and lined with wicking fabric (most of them are – so far so good) and had an adjustable front zip and a back zipped pocket and did not come down too far at the back. This last part was the sticking point. There were a lot of gilets about that are sold for cyclists and therefore have a low back hem, which John specifically didn't want. We pored over running magazines and always came up against the same problem. The running shop in Bristol were confident that they could obtain what I wanted if I could get a stock number and make … but of course I couldn't do that because I hadn't seen what I wanted! Then one Sunday on our way to Church we passed a runner and John said “that's exactly what I want!”

So a few days later, when I saw this same man running as I was walking back from school, I accosted him, explained my quest for the perfect gilet and asked for details of his. He was very obliging (if a little bemused!) but I had to look down his neck for a label to copy down the details! So I would like to say thank you to this gentleman, I did manage to buy the perfect gilet and lets just all be grateful that it wasn't his running TIGHTS that John took a fancy to!!

Tracy Francksen.

[Advert for Barbara Ealey]

Now that all the Millennium celebrations are past I would like to thank all those who supported the various events over the past year, which turned out to be a very busy year indeed. The year drew to a close with the Christmas services and it was good to see so many people in church with the Carol Service at St. James, the Crib Service and Midnight Mass all well supported. However, it is now time to look and plan ahead and 2001 presents new challenges. During the year it is likely that the link with Kingswood will be formalised and that the two parishes will become a ‘United Benefice’ with myself as Priest-in-Charge. You will already be aware of some changes due to the new service times but, inevitably with new responsibilities, there will be other changes, if only to reflect that I cannot be in two places at the same time – although the attempt to achieve this on Christmas Eve worked rather well!

15 We all face many pressures in our world of today and one of the major challenges is to recognise that we have spiritual needs as well as our physical needs and the exercising of our minds. Our well-being depends upon us being complete people, ‘whole people’, in tune with ourselves and with others and having an inner sense of peace. It is this inner sense of peace, which I believe only comes from an awareness and relationship with God, that the church seeks to encourage and develop in the lives of all those whom it serves.

During 2001 I look forward to building and developing relationships as the link with Kingswood is established, as we continue to work with the Congregational Church and the project to refurbish the Foundation Room and set up the ‘Out of School Hours Club’ comes to fruition.

I hope that 2001 will be a good year for each one of you, a trouble free year as one message in a Christmas card put it, and may your spirituality grow and develop as you experience the peace of a relationship with God.

We look forward to welcoming you to our services at St. John's, where our main service is at 9.30 a.m. on Sundays. Details of future events and services will be available in our village newsletter with the next issue being due prior to Easter.

Revd. Robert Pestell
Priest-in-Charge.

Best Value

Have you heard or read about “Best Value”? This is another requirement that the Government has imposed on local authorities, including parish councils. Charfield is a small parish and we are spared the full implications, but we can't ignore it. The Parish Council aim to follow the principles without adding to the bureaucracy. The Council adopted the following Interim Best Value Statement at its meeting in September:

1 Charfield Parish Council notes that from 1 April 2000 the Local Government Act 1999 places all local authorities under a duty of Best Value. The Council also notes that the Government has set a threshold of £500,000 budgeted income below which any parish council is exempt from all duties of Best Value. The Government nevertheless expects all parish councils to “embrace Best Value principles and follow Best Value practices as far as possible”.

2 With a budgeted income of around £15,000, Charfield Parish Council intends to maintain its direct and uncomplicated approach to securing the provision of services and facilities for local people.

3 The Council will aim to secure continuous improvement in the way its function is carried out, having regard at all times to economy, efficiency and effectiveness. In responding to the needs of the local community, the Council will take into account that the value of a particular service may be dependent on its quality rather than its cost.

4 In order to secure continuous improvement, the Council adopts the Spirit of Best Value which comprises: challenging why, how and by whom a service is being provided; comparing performance with the performance of other parish councils and organisations providing similar services; consulting local people, including local businesses and voluntary organisations, in setting Council priorities; using fair and open competition wherever practicable as a means of securing efficient and effective services.

5 Charfield Parish Council places emphasis on consultation with, and participation by, local people. The Council will continue to encourage public involvement in the Annual Parish Meeting, the public participation item at all Parish Council meetings, and meetings and exhibitions organised by the Council and others concerning plans, policies, proposals and services. The Council will inform and consult local people through posters, the Charfield and District Residents Association Newsletter, the Press and, when appropriate, fliers and questionnaires delivered to dwellings and businesses.

6 Charfield Parish Council will collaborate closely with South Gloucestershire Council in the pursuit of Best Value for local authority functions as a whole.

As you can see, the Parish Council is keen on consulting you. The CHADRA Newsletter is an important vehicle for consultation. So can you improve on our Interim Best Value Statement, without making it more complicated? Let me or the Clerk, Catherine Holmes, have any constructive comments.

Budget for 2001–2002

In December we agreed the budget for the next financial year. We have allowed for expenditure of over £38,000. That includes £7,000 for public inquiries and £1,850 for election expenses, neither of which will be spent if the need doesn't arise. We intend to reduce the balance of cash in the Parish Council's accounts, so the income from council tax will be restricted to £15,000. That is up from the £14,000 that has been precepted annually in recent years.

16We have budgeted £6,000 for grants and donations, mainly to local organisations. Of this, £2,500 is allocated to help the Charfield National School Foundation pay for the restoration of the Foundation Room and £1,500 is allocated to the Memorial Hall and Playing Field Committee towards security and minor works at the Memorial Hall.

Vandalism

The Memorial Hall Committee and the Parish Council are faced with the continual problem of vandalism. Both organisations have to spend money to combat the problem and carry out repairs. There is a constant drain on resources, including the time put in by volunteers. All of us in Charfield lose out: our council tax is unnecessarily high, the young children are put at risk, and we will not be able to provide more facilities for the older children. Everyone knows that teenage boisterousness leads to occasional damage. We accept that. But the vindictive attacks on the play equipment, the gazebo (“bandstand”) and the Memorial Hall are a different matter.

In the last few weeks oak rails bolted on to play equipment have been smashed off, fencing damaged, the acrylic “glass” in the new public notice board smashed, windows broken, clock damaged, rainwater guttering and pipes pulled off, and the refurbished public toilets put out of use. I know of a lot more damage, but I won't go on. You don't like hearing about it and I don't like writing about it. So what are we going to do? We are reporting all incidents to the police and asking them to keep a keen eye on the area. We are looking into the possibility of security cameras. But it would be much better to encourage the young people to behave more responsibly. Do you know what your teenager is doing? Does he or she turn a blind eye to the vandals at work; or suggest to them that they are spoiling things for everyone including themselves; or perhaps walk away and tell you later? What would you do if he or she told you about someone causing damage? Would you just ignore it? Or would you report it?

On a different tack, how can we make life more interesting for the teenagers who say there is nothing to do in Charfield? Could you run a club, regular events or expeditions? Or could you just do a bit more for your teenager and his or her immediate friends?

Litter

Well, the litter situation didn't improve. It seems to have got worse. So we have put some (of your) money in the budget to fund litter picking. Thanks to the positive suggestion of one resident, there is now a litter bin on Wotton Road between the railway bridge and Little Bristol Lane. Please use it.

Skateboard Ramp

There isn't enough room available for all of the equipment the skateboarders would like, so we had another meeting with them to sort out the priorities. We have scaled down the proposals and we are inviting revised quotations from manufacturers. The Parish Council will then consult the Memorial Hall Committee before any final decision is made.

Wheelchair

Following a suggestion from the Luncheon Club, the Parish Council has bought a folding wheelchair. It is stored in the Memorial Hall and has been used to help someone attend the Luncheon Club. But it is available for any resident of the Parish to borrow for a short time to help a disabled person locally.

Manor Lane Site Hut

After many, many years of trying to get the old (and now almost collapsed) site hut removed from the Wotton Road end of Manor Lane, we have high hopes of succeeding. The owners have agreed to transfer the land to the Parish Council at no cost, other than the legal costs of all sides. (There are three parties involved, including the Treasury Solicitor, but that is a long story.) The Clerk and I have signed the transfer document for the Parish Council. It still has to be “executed”, but as soon as we get possession we shall have the hut removed and the site made safe. Then we can think about any other improvements to the land. Any ideas? Offers of help?

Problems Getting to the Doctor

Please post reply to:
Charfield Parish Council
“xxxx”,
Nind Lane,
Kingswood,
Wotton-under-Edge,
Gloucestershire
GL12 7QU

OR take it to one of the following addresses in Charfield:

• The Jays, xx New Street;
• x Farm Lees;
• xx Manor Lane;
• xx Underhill Road;
• xx Charfield Green;
• xxxx, Tafarn Bach;
• xx Charfield Green;
• xxxx, Little Bristol Lane;
• xx Berkeley Close.

DOCTORS

My doctor's surgery is in: Wotton / Thornbury / other (please write) …

Do you have any problems visiting the surgery? (Yes or no) …

If so, what problems? …

CYCLEWAY

Should Charfield Parish Council continue investigating the possibility of providing a cycleway from Charfield to Wotton via Renishaw and KLB? (Yes or no) …

If a cycleway were built, would you use it and if so how often? …

Do you have a child at, or likely to go to, KLB School? (Yes or no) …

If so, would you let your child cycle to KLB on a cycleway? (Yes/no/NA) …

Name and Address (please print): …

Your chance to have your say.

18Please complete the questionnaire on the reverse and deliver it to one of the addresses quoted

Thank you

I have been raising funds for Doberman Rescue Ltd for the last few years. In order to boost funds further, I will be running a tombola at this years Village Fayre. If anyone has anything lurking in their cupboards that they don't need (i.e. tins, bottles, toiletries, unwanted Christmas presents etc.) would you please consider donating them to this worthy cause.

Hundreds of unwanted dogs are found new homes every year, and this is only possible because of the generosity of people who care about what happens to these wonderful animals.

If anyone would like to donate items please contact me on 01454 26xxxx or 07811 89xxxx, and I will be only too pleased to collect from you.

May I take this opportunity of thanking you in advance on behalf of all the dogs who have, and will, benefit from your support.

Tracey White.

At the last meeting of the Memorial Hall Committee, I was given the opportunity of helping John Poskett with the running of the hall.

I would like to ask the people of the village what they would like to see at the hall. Some of the suggestions so far include: bouncy castle sessions for the children, coffee mornings / afternoons (everybody welcome), children's entertainment, exemption dog shows, school holiday entertainment for the children, Youth club.

These are suggestions, which have been made to me since the last committee meeting. If anyone would like to add anything, I will be more than willing to listen. Obviously, to run some of these activities, volunteers will be needed to help out. If anyone would like to help with the setting up and running of these activities, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Ours is a wonderful village, and together we can take it into the new millennium with gusto.

Mark White
01454 26xxxx or 07718 71xxxx

Following on from the negative response I received after my piece in the last edition of CHADRA I am once again giving anyone in Charfield, or any of the surrounding areas, the chance to get together and chat about our reptilian friends. I know that there 19are plenty of you out there who are interested in the scaly species, and I think it would be a wonderful idea to meet up over a cup of tea (or glass of something stronger) and exchange stories and ideas. So come on, don't be shy, I won't bite (although the same can't be said about my scaly friends).

I can be contacted at home on 01454 26xxxx, by fax on 01454 26xxxx, on mobile 07811 89xxxx or via email at xxxx @ supanet.com.

If you want any information or advice I will do my best to help you (and if I can't, I know a man who can). Hope to hear from lots of you soon!!!

Tracey White

Phew, well that's Christmas over with for another year, and what a busy and yet enjoyable time for the Baby and Toddler Group.

It all kicked off on 9th November, when our wee ones performed beautifully for Tom Patterson of Picture Perfect Photography. With our priorities clearly in place, the mums and carers enjoyed an excellent Christmas Party at the Railway Tavern on Tuesday 12th December – it was most unusual not to have a toddler strapped to your hip, demanding attention every time you attempted to speak to another adult (quite a treat, and even better, no washing up!).

Next came the toddlers' very own Christmas party, all made possible through a kind donation from Stuart Pentland, whose son Harry is a regular at the Toddler Group – special thanks to Stuart for his kind generosity. We had a hectic and fun morning of singing, pass the parcel, party food (even mulled wine for the grown ups!) and all topped off with a visit from Father Christmas, who had the patience of a saint and methodically and cheerfully gave out around 30 pressies – what a star!

Our thanks to The Railway Tavern, Cotswold Edge Golf Club, Phil Barnes, Tesco, Harlequin Therapy Equipment and Steve's Shop, who all kindly donated towards our raffle, with all proceeds going towards Toddler funds.

Time now to focus on the year ahead and the most important diary date will be the annual general meeting at the end of March. Crunch time, and once again the group is under threat of Closure.

Those of you who read my article in the spring 2000 edition will know it came as a bit of a shock to become chairperson, when my intention was to offer occasional help!! However, my colleagues and I, although depleted in numbers due to new baby arrivals and work commitments, have put a lot of time and effort into the Group, and we are now ready to hand over the reins to willing and keen volunteers.

CAN YOU HELP?

The Baby and Toddler Group is an asset to the village and is an excellent stepping stone to Play Group, and is also a useful tool for mums wishing to attend Baby Clinic, also held at the Toddler session.

We need a chairperson, treasurer, secretary, and a band of loyal supporters. If you are not already a toddler member, or are a kind soul with no toddler, but with spare time on your hands and would like more information, then please do not hesitate to call me on 01454 26xxxx. It would be great to attend the AGM confident in the Group's future.

Lisa Wiles
(Chairperson)

Due to lack of enthusiasm – the Fit and Funky sessions have been cancelled for both adults and children.

Jayne Brown 01454 85xxxx

Despite Christmas and the New Year traditionally representing our busiest time of year in the police, it has been exceptionally quiet, not only in Charfield but the whole Thornbury area.

In the last week, however, we have suffered two vehicle thefts; one, unusually, having been stolen from a secured garage.

Damage also continues to occur in the vicinity of the Memorial Hall. The money spent by the parish council on repairing this could be spent far more constructively. So if you see children causing damage stop them or call us. Any information regarding offenders would be appreciated.

On to traffic matters now, and the new traffic calming scheme has finally been completed, with the installation of electronic speed awareness signs. These can be situated in three locations along the Wotton Road and can positioned to face either way.

Although I don't believe that the council has yet monitored results, the scheme does appear to be quite effective. I know that whilst travelling through the village, when off duty as well as on duty, I 20always seem to see vehicle break lights illuminate when the electronic sign is activated.

I have recently spent a considerable amount of time targeting certain individuals in the village who persist in driving with no insurance, no tax, and otherwise than in accordance with a licence. Although few in number these people put not only themselves but other road users in jeopardy. However, some individuals appear to think that they are above the law and one, in particular, has been reported on no less than six occasions for driving with no documents whatsoever!

That's all for now.

PC Jones 3799

Minister: Rev. Philip Hopes Tel: 01453 84xxxx
A warm welcome awaits you at all of our services.

Sunday School. Sunday 11am.
Family Service 1st Sunday of each month at 11am.
Worship 3pm.
Ladies Bright Hour Alternate Tuesday's 2.30pm.
Bible Study and Prayer Friday's 2.30pm.
Group Practice 7.30pm.

• Palm Sunday – visit of Robin Berks and Family from Tyne and Weir at 3pm.
• Please note we return to 6pm. Evening Worship on Easter Sunday 15th April
• Bristol Male Voice Choir May 13th 6:30pm.

Among my presents for Christmas I received two books entitled “The small gardeners handbook” with chapters one to four containing information about ‘designs’ for the garden and chapters five to nine ‘how to get the best from your garden’, preparation for the soil with a host of information and beautiful coloured diagrams and pictures with a note at the beginning on ‘how to use this book’.

The second book “A gardeners journal” containing beautiful coloured pictures of flowers and an enormous amount of pages with nothing but horizontal lines and, as yet, nothing between them and I am wondering how many of those empty spaces will be filled with notes, etc come the end of 2001.

It is Saturday 30th December 2000. All the gardens look the same with a covering of snow, but beneath, nature is preparing for another year, and if I follow the information / instructions in book one, and if our Lord permits, I shall marvel, yet again, at the beauty of the seasons.

With book two I'm reminded of the hymn ‘count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done’. How quickly we forget, why not start your own journal(s) make notes of your walk with God through the new year. I am sure, from the end of 2001, they will surprise us at what our Lord has done. Information / instructions, why of course, we have the Bible, His manual for a beautiful life for all seasons.

May God bless us all with a beautiful New Year.

Phillip

Can you tell when this was written?

“… but it was October, when petrol became suddenly scarce and rationing was nearly brought in that the people of Charfield were most recently reminded that circumstances far beyond their control could drastically affect their lives. In the last three years the cost of petrol has doubled and so has the cost of the average motor car. This has quite altered the economics of living in the countryside.”

No, this was not written in 2000 but was part of the CHADRA study written in 1976.

Many thanks to those who offered us a copy of the study and especially to Barbara Wells whose copy we borrowed.

We do not have space in this issue for more from the Study, but we hope to bring you extracts in future editions.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and healthy new year.

November seems a long while ago now, but that does not mean that all the efforts of the collectors and those that contributed to the collection when the door was knocked have been forgotten.

I have never known such a cold wet uncharitable fortnight of weather in all the years of organising I have done. I thought that the overall total would be down completely. I am pleased to report that although only up by £1.11p, the result was wonderful. Many thanks to you all.

A lot of my collectors have called on the same area for a long time, and it is nice to know that a lot of residents wait for their usual collector to call.

This year I shall be sending off for one or two long service awards for collectors who have done 15 or 2120 years. Congratulations to you all, keep up the good work.

If there is anybody out there who feels that they would be able to join the house to house collecting team at the end of October and the beginning of November, do not wait until later in the year. Please contact me (Marion Smith 01454 26xxxx, email xxxx @ asmiths.freeserve.co.uk) after reading this copy of the newsletter.

Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing from some new collectors.

Marion Smith – Honorary Poppy Appeal Organiser

Happy new year, and may it be a healthy one for you all.

The scheme is still running well although as always I could always use a few more willing drivers to cover trips. If anyone feels that they can only manage to do local calls, rather than those further away, your help would be most welcome.

In 2000 we were able to arrange and supply 152 car journeys for people to Wotton, Dursley, Yate, Thornbury, Frenchay, Southmead, Bristol eye hospital, BRI, Gloucester and Stroud. As you can see we are quite versatile, and cover a very wide area of health care etc.

We do get the occasional blip in the system, but most of the time we are able to accommodate peoples' needs.

May I publicly thank all my drivers, and say how grateful I am to work with such nice people who usually are more than happy to drive for the scheme, sometimes with only a few hours notice.

For further information contact Marion Smith – Car scheme organiser 01454 26xxxx, email xxxx @ asmiths.freeserve.co.uk

Would it win a booby prize for the dirtiest village around?
The CHADRA committee are very sad to say it probably would

Yes, we know it's been said before but we're not afraid of saying it again. At our last committee meeting there was universal agreement that LITTER is HORRID, that we DON'T LIKE IT and that we want to CHANGE things. And we think that you will agree with us.

If you are in any doubt about what we are talking about just spare a few minutes and walk along Wotton Road and look at the verges, (which in themselves are not very pretty and maybe part of the problem). Walk along Manor Lane, through the middle of Manor estate, Station Road, Little Bristol Lane, YOUR road. If there isn't evidence of the problem near you we'd be delighted but very surprised. Whilst you're out there have a look at the houses. Do you see any that haven't been well cared for? You'll have to look very hard. Isn't it strange that in a village of houses that are cared for by their occupiers we appear to be not too bothered about what happens outside them.

WHAT CAN WE DO? We would like to get to the root of the matter, but we're not interested in pointing fingers and blaming. Those of you and your families who drop rubbish know who you are. You don't need us to tell you, but will you just think for a moment. Why do you think it is acceptable? Would you be happy if anyone else dumped their rubbish in your front garden?

Yes, we know that not all of this stuff comes from villagers – some people are quite extraordinary in the way they think it's OK to chuck their rubbish out of car windows. That side of things is going to be difficult to tackle and no doubt some will think it's funny, or clever, to add to it. Do we want to be part of this MORON culture? NO, NO and NO.

We think that if the village was clean people might think twice about littering it again. At the moment anyone looking around might just think it doesn't matter what they do because no one seems to care. BUT WE WANT TO CHANGE THIS AND WE WANT YOU TO HELP. All of you – MEN, WOMEN and CHILDREN.

So, for a start, will you think about joining the Village Spring Clean. We can't give you an exact date for this yet, except to say it will be in April – but as soon as we know we shall put plenty of posters about. We will be waiting to hear via the Parish Council when South Glos Council have fixed it – their support is important to provide gloves, sacks and a skip. Litter pickers will also be available. And to show our appreciation CHADRA will make a donation to any organisation which sends representatives to help.

Of course, you don't have to wait till then – if we can start by accepting that even though some of us may not be creating the problem, we have to be part of the solution and that may mean picking up what we see close to us. Be honest, how often have you ignored a piece of litter at your feet that you know perfectly well you could have put in the bin? Most of us have. The Parish. Council will spend some of your money to help but do we really want to see a large portion of the small amount of money they have a their disposal spent in this way? 22We would soon be complaining about other needs being ignored.

Some of you, we know, are already doing it (and probably sick to death of how it keeps returning). We APPLAUD you and encourage you to keep up the good work. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! If you want to be with like minded souls for mutual encouragement or have any ideas or suggestions on how to tackle the problem to get a permanent solution then please contact any member of the CHADRA committee.

Finally PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that YOU or YOUR children are not amongst the culprits.

SINGLY WE BATTLE BUT TOGETHER WE WILL TRIUMPH!!!!!

Our annual Firework display, which we ran for the first time at the New Blue Coat School, was a great success with everyone enjoying the brief window of dry weather in early November! Our charity account is now a little healthier after the event so if any one knows of any needy causes, please get them to drop Table a line through me.

I will be taking over as Area Chairman in April – the first Wotton Tabler in 20 years to do so. I will be heading up 26 Tables in Area 23 Severnvale with Wotton & Charfield at the southern end of the Area.( It extends as far north as Worcester.) We are hosting the next Area meeting in February in the form of a pub games night.

2001 will also see me having another go at the London Marathon on April 22nd, so I am following a new, more rigorous training programme from early January to get me into shape. This time my chosen charity is the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust which organises marrow transplants from it's donor register for very ill children and adults with leukaemia. For these people a marrow transplant is their only hope of survival. I am on the register and I was called for testing at one stage as a potential donor, but alas got no further that time. If you would like to sponsor me please contact me on 01453 84xxxx. I am organising a sweepstake this time with the closest to my finishing time receiving a bottle of whisky! My time last year was 5hrs 59mins 32 secs.

Table is very healthy with another prospective member coming from Charfield and more interesting meetings planned to take us up to the end of the Table year in April.

Every March sees ‘Round Table Day’ where all Tables are asked to do something to help the community and raise the profile of Round Table. This year, Wotton Table is going to be spending the day doing maintenance and repairs at the Bournstream site on 10th March.

Guests are always very welcome to attend meetings so please contact me if you would like to come along. A very happy new year to you all.

John Francksen

Does anyone know the Davis family who lived in Farm Lees?

Can anyone remember a Mr SJ Davis who lived at no xx Farm Lees prior to 1993? We have received some rather important financial mail for him which we sent back unopened. The company concerned have since contacted us and asked if we have any knowledge of his whereabouts that they could use to start to trace him. I said that I would try through Chadra as we bought our house when it was empty and never met a vendor. Please contact us 01453 84xxxx if you can help.

Thank you Tracy Francksen

It has been brought to my attention that an adult Green Iguana in the Bristol area is being kept in severely inadequate conditions. Everyone who knows me is aware that I campaign tirelessly to educate people in the husbandry of reptiles in order to alleviate the suffering of these wonderful animals. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to offer this iguana a home as I have several of my own and do not have any space. I will be looking after it short-term but, unless a suitable home can be found, it will unfortunately have to be put to sleep.

At the time of going to press I have very few details apart from knowing that it is an adult. I do not know age, sex, or how large it is, however, I will have all the details by the time the Newsletter is distributed.

If anyone can offer a home to this poor creature, please contact me at home on 01454 26xxxx, by fax on 01454 26xxxx, on mobile 07811 89xxxx, or via e-mail at xxxx @ supanet.com

I would prefer prospective owners to be experienced reptile keepers, however, I would be willing to help anyone who feels that they can offer a home, and are able to put in the time and effort to make this Iggy's life bearable.

Tracey White

23

My name is Stefan Frontczak and I have been Headteacher at Charfield Primary School for just over one full term and a very busy first term it has been too!

I was born in Cheltenham and after completing my ‘A’ levels, I trained to be a teacher in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where I lived for many enjoyable years. I taught in four schools in Leeds and Bradford and was a Deputy Headteacher in a Boston Spa Primary School.

I now live in Thornbury, with my wife, Judi, who is a teacher and my two children, Sophie and Adam, who are both in secondary education.

My main interests outside school, (when I get time), is listening to music. I have loads of CDs, LPs (do you remember those?) and cassettes. I enjoy all sorts of music from rock to reggae to soul and indie, and my current favourite band is The Blue Nile, who I saw at the Colston Hall when they last toured.

I have previously been a Headteacher at Christchurch Junior School in Downend and during my time there I was asked by the Director of Education to go in as an Advisory Headteacher and assume the temporary Headship of the first school in South Gloucestershire to have failed an Ofsted inspection. Although the work was extremely hard and very demanding, I nevertheless enjoyed myself very much and I felt that I contributed to help the school to turn itself around and improve.

I want to build on the many considerable positive strengths that are currently to be found in the school. At Charfield Primary School, there are various challenges that make this school enjoyable to work in. The actual site of the school, with its four main teaching buildings, is currently the subject of a major effort by myself and my Governors to get the L E A to improve the whole site. South Gloucestershire L E A is aware that the school needs to be remodelled and I was delighted to recently be asked to speak to the Education Committee to put our case forward to be considered for a government Target Fund. Although an excellent plan was written, (at very short notice), the school was unsuccessful in its bid. However, it has given the school the opportunity to raise the profile of the school to the Director of Education, the Education Committee and through the recent press reports in the Gazette, the wider public also.

My governors and myself are very keen to keep up the momentum with the L E A so that the name of Charfield Primary School is kept at the very top of the list for schools that the need remodelling.

I want the school to be known as a quality learning environment, where pupils, parent's staff and the community take real pride in the school.

We have wonderful children, very supportive parents and an extremely hard working and dedicated team of teachers. We are now seeking to improve the quality of the learning environment – the classes.

Already, we have had the whole of the infant block repainted, and shortly new vertical blinds will be fitted to these three classes, the library and also to Mrs Bradley's classroom. I am extremely grateful to the Friends Of The School who have agreed to purchase the blinds.

The next step will be the creation of a safe play area for the Under 5 year old pupils. It is hoped that this should be completed by the end of this half term.

The library is also undergoing renovation and has been re-painted. By the end of February pine wooden cladding should finish off the job.

The infant block will be getting new furniture delivered, hopefully during next half term. Smart new tables and chairs in primary colours will improve the look of the newly decorated classrooms. The final part of this phase will be to carpet the whole block and install new up to date lighting.

In the meanwhile, we will continually keep the pressure on to try to get the remodelling done that the school needs so badly for its pupils and its community.

Recently, I presented my vision for the school to my Governors, Staff and the parents. Everyone has given it a very positive response and now the hard work starts to put the vision into reality. We will do this through developing a 5-year plan for the direction that the school will need to take. All members of the school community, such as the pupils, parents, staff and Governors will have been consulted, and this will help to tailor the plan to the needs of the school.

So as you can see, there is a lot currently happening and going to happen in the school. A lot of exciting improvements are happening in the school!

Stefan Frontczak
Headteacher

24

Hello. Happy New Year! It seems ages since Christmas never mind last term.

The Christmas Bazaar held in November went well, raising £140. Face painting was particularly popular with the children. There were tigers, lions and Pokemon everywhere! Thank you everybody who supported the event. A special “thank you” goes to Wotton COOP, Steve's Shop and Charfield Post Office for their kind donations.

The Christmas Float was also a success raising nearly £400 for Playgroup. Thank you to all of you who donated so generously. Helping with the float was enjoyable but very tiring, walking for 5 hours non-stop around the village. We were just thankful the rain held off for most of the time!

The Christmas Party held on the last day of term, was as always greatly enjoyed by the children. Even Father Christmas managed to find time to pop in.

It is with regret that we have had to say goodbye to our Playleader Abigail Walker. As a consequence, we have had to temporally close our Friday session, until a replacement is found. The Children particularly enjoyed the short time she was with us.

If you are interested in becoming a playleader at Charfield Playgroup on Thursday and Friday mornings, please contact Nicola on 01454 26xxxx. You must hold either an NNEB, or NVQ3 and have 3 years experience in a pre-school setting. Competitive rates of pay will be given.

Forthcoming event – Table Top Sale is due to be held in the Charfield Memorial Hall on 27th January 2001 from 10:00am to 12noon. Please come along and support us on the day.

Our waiting list for September 2001 is now open. To ensure you get a place put your child's name down early. We often find demand for places outstrips the number of sessions available. For more details please contact Karen Tranter Tel. 01453 84xxxx.

Janice Brett
Secretary

In January 1976 issue 2 of the CHADRA Newsletter was published, and for the first time residents had to pay for it. It cost 5p for a six page Newsletter. This means that the current price represents excellent value for money!

Articles included were from the recently formed Tennis Club and Ladies Netball Club, the Luncheon Club and a thriving Friendship Club, which reported membership of 70 pensioners.

The aims of CHADRA for the coming year were reported as:
1. To complete the Village Study
2. To try to provide something for younger members of the community
3. To encourage safety in Charfield
4. To organise rambles and walks
5. To keep an eye on activities and inform interested parties.

A common theme from the newsletter is the need for willing volunteers to lead local organisations. Sound at all familiar?

I halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marks four my revue
Miss stakes eye kin knot sea

Eye strike a key and then a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased to no
Its letter perfect all the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

Wishing all our readers health, wealth and happiness for 2001

25

Please make use of this diary. Either telephone or drop a note of any additions or modifications to Geoff or Hilary Wignall (01454 26xxxx, x Berkeley Close, or xxxx @ Breathemail.net)

KLB = Katharine Lady Berkeley School
FR = Foundation Room, Primary School
SH = Charfield School Hall
SL = Sportsman's Lounge, Memorial Hall
MH = Memorial Hall

Why not put this on your fridge door or notice board?

26

If you wish to alter the entries below, please telephone Geoff or Hilary on 01454 26xxxx

Transcriber Notes

This issue was produced on 26 sides of A4 paper.

Personal phone numbers and addresses have been redacted.

Minor typographical corrections and presentational changes have been made without comment.

Digitization by Brendan O'Connor.

Last update: 2017-01-31.