CHADRA

Just to keep you all on your toes the CHADRA committee has decided that a change in copy date will help newsletter production. This is particularly apparent with the October issue when poor old Marion has a house full of 800 copies of the newsletter for collation surrounded by boxes of poppies for distribution to sellers ahead of Remembrance Day. Not to mention the fact that Angela dedicates so much of her time to Bristol Gang Show and is never there to help! To save her the trouble of having to construct a ‘newsletter wing’ on her house copy date is being moved forward to 6 October and quarterly thereafter. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.

You will be pleased to hear that Geoff's laser eye surgery was a success and he too is now enjoying a life free of contact lenses and glasses – except for sunglasses!!

You will remember the article provided by Ken Parker about Pounds and Keeps in the last issue. He has kindly submitted a follow up on the Churchend Hydraulic Ram for publication. Unfortunately due to the limits of our stapler I am unable to include it in this issue – I get my hand slapped if there are more than 16 sheets of paper! I will endeavour to ensure it is included in the October issue or perhaps we should get a bigger stapler! Many thanks Ken – it is much appreciated. “100 issues ago” has also been a victim of these circumstances. Space permitting both will be with us in October.

Revd Robert Pestell mentions changes ahead in his article. Robert, thank you for your contributions to the newsletter – please pass on copy dates to your successor to ensure St John's continues to be part of our newsletter. Wishing you all the very best from the CHADRA committee.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable summer
Regards, Hilary

Next Copy Date – 6th October 2006

3

The picture on the front of this issue is, once again, from our resident artist Derek Leahy. It is a lovely drawing of the cottages opposite the church of St James at Churchend, Charfield.

We thank you very much Derek and your prize will be with you soon.

“Prize?” I hear you cry, “What's that all about?” – We give a prize to anyone who supplies us with a picture on the theme of “me and my village” that is published in the newsletter. What a lovely way to pass the time in the garden over the summer – drawing, sketching whatever you like. Pictures should be 16cm square and must be in black, white and shades in between so that it can be easily copied for the newsletter.

Go on, you know you want to! Please drop your pictures in to x Berkeley Close with a note of your name, telephone number and age (for those of you under 21!) and then wait and see if you're in print in our October issue.

Barbara Adams has been the Treasurer for the CHADRA committee for the last eight years and has taken the decision to stand down at the end of this year. She has done a sterling job, though she insists it is not that onerous, but due to so many other commitments she has made this decision. We are delighted that she will be staying on the committee.

So, you know what is coming next, don't you … The CHADRA committee are looking for a Treasurer. We do not need a trained accountant by any means – though that should not stop you from joining us if you are one! The committee meets four times a year and the job includes collating the income from the newsletter sales – collected by our distributors, banking the advertising income – invoiced by Joan, settling invoices received by the committee and producing end of year accounts. Please give Barbara a call if you would like more information and to volunteer your services – 01454 26xxxx.

Well, did that get your attention? Tyndale Choral Society is happy to welcome new singers to all sections, soprano, alto, tenor and bass, but is particularly in need of MEN.

Did you see ‘The Singing Estate’ on Channel 5 recently? It was another ‘reality’ show, in which Ivor Setterfield (conductor) formed a chorus of 40 from raw recruits on the Blackbird Leys Estate in Oxford – an estate which has had its problems over the years – of all ages and backgrounds. They rehearsed for about 12 weeks and then joined a youth choir to sing some Carmina Burana (Orff), and G4 to sing ‘You'll Never Walk Alone’ (Rodgers and Hammerstein), in the Albert Hall. They made a decent fist of it. But that wasn't the important bit. The significant thing was that, in spite of some niggles and tantrums and tears, they all found the experience fabulous (who wouldn't, in the Albert Hall, in full fig?) and they are continuing to run the chorus after the filming stopped.

Singing with others can be exhilarating – physically, spiritually, emotionally. It's a very social thing to do. The music can be very challenging, and requires concentration and regular practice, but, when it all comes together and you know you've made some magic with music, there's nothing quite like it! In concert performance, the audience is part of this experience, an experience 4which is unique, because no two live performances are ever the same.

The Tyndale Choral Society has just started rehearsing for the November concert (Mozart Requiem, Elgar's For the Fallen, excerpts from Handel's The Ways of Zion do Mourn), and if you would like to dip a toe into the waters, please ring me.

We have a choral apprenticeship scheme for young students (year 10 and above) – check out our website.

We are also holding a workshop and performance of Brahms Requiem on 30 September at St James', Dursley; singers pay, the audience is invited to attend for free!

Please visit our website (www.tyndale-choral-society.org) for further information.

I look forward to hearing from you –

Julia O'Connor-Beach
Hon. Secretary, 01454 26xxxx

PS – would the person who removed our concert sign from the top of Charfield Hill at the end of June please be kind enough to return it? We DID have permission from South Glos Council for it to be there, and our publicity secretary is a very unhappy bunny.

Do you use Amazon or Musicroom?

By clicking through from our website, the Tyndale Choral Society (registered charity) will receive a small commission on any purchase you make – AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOURSELF.

Bookmark it! http://tyndale-choral-society.org/TCS-R2/TCS-Shop.html

Thank you!

Having decided as a family that we would like to take on an allotment and grow some of our own vegetables, spend some time together and get some exercise we were somewhat disappointed to find out from Charfield's neighbours in Wotton, in the person of Wotton Town Council, that not only is there a waiting list for an allotment, but that as we resided in Charfield there was no point in putting our names on it. Preference is always given to Wotton residents and that as such it was unlikely that we would ever reach the front of the queue anyway!

Rather than give up we were wondering if there were any other people/families in Charfield who would be interested in taking on an allotment. If sufficient people were interested then I would be willing to approach Charfield Parish Council/South Gloucestershire Council with a view to finding out if they had any appropriately sized parcels of land available that could be set up as an allotment area in the Charfield area.

I realise that getting something like this off of the ground is a mammoth job but someone has to start somewhere – so if you are interested then please give me a call on 01454 26xxxx or email me at xxxx @ charfield.com.

Stuart Pentland

Lots of fun activities were planned for the summer term to keep the children busy. With the World Cup and Wimbledon, the staff had ready-made topics to plan around. World Cup Wall Charts, flags and making their own world cups kept boys and girls alike very busy. They made tasty cheesy footballs 5and flag biscuits, as well as doing some very creative flag design with “Hama” beads. The children have also had a go at many of the fitness challenges organised by the staff which included skipping, catching and running to name a few. You can see the certificates festooned in the Foundation Room as evidence of our super-fit children!

As ever, thanks must go to our dedicated team of staff, in particular to Pat, Joanne and Georgina, who have worked brilliantly together through some difficult times in recent months. They couldn't have done this without the support of Paul, Laura and Amy and our thanks go to them all, for everything they do. Their commitment to providing a first class service to the parents and children is second to none, as is their enthusiasm for providing a fun place for the children of working parents.

Summer Holidays

We are currently taking bookings for the summer, with some periods looking busier than others, so the message is – book your places now to avoid disappointment! If you are not registered to use the club, all you have to do is pop along to the Foundation Room, pay your one-off £10 registration fee, (no matter how many children you have), and then you can book places on a first come first served basis.

As ever the staff have done us proud and have planned a wealth of varied, fun activities and crafts. Themed around British Children's Literature and following on from HRH's 80th Birthday garden party, the staff will be organising challenges, competitions, and treasure hunts around some well-known names and old favourites. We usually have visitors throughout the summer who provide activities, games, shows or crafts to keep the children occupied – if you want to find out more about what is planned just call the staff on the number below.

Childcare Places

We currently have places at the club for children, but with a recent flurry of new registrations, the situation will change over the summer and there are waiting lists for some days from September. So if you're thinking of starting a new job or returning to work, why not pop in, pay us a visit and put your children's names down on the list soon, to avoid disappointment.

Admin

Club opening times – Breakfast club: 7:30am to 8:40am; After School Club: 3:10pm to 6:00pm; School holidays and Inset days: 7:30am to 6:00pm. The Holiday Clubs remain popular, particularly on in-set days, so early booking is essential to avoid disappointment.

If you want to find out more information about the Club, contact the Club Manager, Pat Loveridge on 07816 23xxxx or 01454 26xxxx or call into the Club at The Foundation Room in the School grounds during opening hours.

Julie Macnamara

Charfield Baby and Toddlers Group continue to meet every Thursday during term times at the Charfield Memorial Hall from 1000.

We have a vast selection of toys, craft and musical activities to entertain the children and lots of parents to meet and support one another. Admission is £1.10 for adults and 50p for children, which includes refreshments for all.

We are always on the lookout for active parents to assist with the organisation. 6Our craft and music organisers are leaving in the summer for pastures new – so please contact Yvonne Kershaw, Faith Tinley or Tony Murphy for further information.

Thanks to Charfield Service Station, IFA Systems and MJ Fews for their very kind and generous recent donations.

Tony Murphy
Charfield Baby and Toddlers Group

Another year gone and we're all looking forward to a long hot summer. We remain popular and we would like to thank everybody who helps us to make Rainbows such brilliant fun for the girls.

This term we decided to look at nature, activities ranged from animals, their habitats and food, through butterflies and squirrels towards a walk up to Wotton Hill. The Rainbows particularly enjoyed the walk, we collected leaves and seeds on the way and everyone made a bookmark.

Our finale to this term has to be a Rainbow Sleepover!! The girls were allowed to bring sleeping bags, torches, teddies and dress up in their PJ's!. We sang lots of songs around the campfire (pretend!) and drank hot chocolate with marshmallows. This all took place during a normal session (Mon 4–5 pm) in the village hall.

Andrea and I are already planning next terms activities when we will be celebrating 20 years of Rainbows. New Rainbows are always welcome to come and join us. Have a super summer.

Kathryn Schofield (01453 52xxxx)

[Graphic: Friends of Charfield Primary School]

I know it's been said before, but my, doesn't the year fly by!

Since the last edition, The Friends have had to bid farewell to Karen Williams, who due to work and family commitments has had to resign as Chair. Karen and Barry have given a lot of their time and effort to the Friends for which we are very grateful. We wish them well with all their plans.

The school has received a great deal of support from The Friends of late, obviously the fantastic play equipment is now in full use, we have also provided medals for various sporting activities, prizes for the W.A.L.K. scheme competition, shelving units for the infant reading books, and guided reading books, refreshments for Macbeth, and the Girls Football Tournament.

We were also delighted to support Mrs Windram with a £250 donation for the music/craft week. The children had a fabulous week, everyone within the school worked so hard to make it a really interesting and fun week. I know our donation made it possible for it to be a really good event for all the children in the school.

It's very satisfying as Chair to see all the hard work and efforts put in by the Committee and parents/carers of the school put to such good use within the school. We work as a Team on the Committee and would be lost without 7the support of all the parents, friends and family and to all those within the village that support all the lovely events that we put together, so a big THANK YOU to you all for your continued support.

Speaking of lovely events, I am writing this article on the Monday following the Village Summer Fete. We were pleased to work with the Hall Committee to ensure that the village had a Fete again this year. Thankfully the weather was kind to us and the numbers flocked in to support a really lovely afternoon. Special thanks to Graham Pedley for all his hard work and to Chris Messer, Rosemary Matthews, Alison, Collette, Liane and to all our wonderful helpful volunteers from the school and committee who worked so hard to make it such a good afternoon. With everyone's generous support both the Hall and the School will benefit.

Looking ahead we are putting our shopping evening together, which will take place on Wednesday 18th October, keep an eye on your letter boxes for further details!

The Friends have the opportunity to raise funds through ‘Suttons Seeds’, who have a beautiful brochure of seeds and bulbs. Any orders placed with Suttons Seeds through the school will result in 20% of the total order going to the school. Anyone wishing to receive a brochure please contact me on 01454 26xxxx and I will be happy to drop the details to you.

Also we have been approached by the Clarks shoe shop in Thornbury, ‘Thomas Ford’ who are offering to donate 50p to the school for every pair of children's shoes bought from their store. If you happen to be in Thornbury getting ahead for the Autumn term, then let them know your child attends Charfield Primary School and they will pass a voucher to you to be passed to the school office.

Finally! I am looking to stand down as Chair at our AGM in October, Stuart Pentland a parent from the school has kindly agreed to Co-Chair with another volunteer if we can find somebody. The school benefits so much from all our fundraising, which ultimately improves the school environment for all our children. PLEASE if you would like more information on what the role entails I would be happy to speak to you. Just call me on 01454 26xxxx.

Have a good summer!

Lisa Wiles
Chair

Keith and I had been to the Garden Centre. On our return the Chadra Newsletter was in the porch. We had a cup of tea and Keith was reading it. After a while he put it down. “Well,” I enquired. “Have you read all of it?” “Yes,” he replied. “What about my bit?” I asked. “Not as funny as normal,” he said. Well my balloon had been pricked. I stormed out into the kitchen. As you know, my adoring public, when I'm off the boil, I can't write at all, let alone give you a giggle moment. I went back into the lounge, “Us literary people have to be nurtured you know.” He just looked at me.

On the following Tuesday, Sophie and I met up for a swim. We hadn't even hugged. “Read that,” I said. I was driving, she started laughing. Hooray. A couple of days later, Lisa Wiles stopped me at school. “Great article,” she said. Molly Taylor phoned. More praise. Yippee, here we go again.

What's in a name? In my last piece I wrote about my hairdresser. Now I always say, “Hello, Nick, how are you?” 8and I say to her Mum, Beryl, “Is Nick coming around?” Seeing it written down, the name looked very male, but I'll tell you one thing, NICKI is definitely all female!!!!

I know these ring pull tins are handy but those full of baked beans are lethal. When you're wearing an apron you're OK, but a nice new white T-shirt, fatal.

I've got to mention a couple of my buddies, Mel and Trace, they're feeling a bit you know what.

The service engineer came into school to fix the photocopier. “There,” he said, “you're all toned up.” “Wow,” I exclaimed, “can you do anything for me?”

I hate wasting money, especially when it's as much as £3.50!!! I needed a new passport. The forms arrived and I set off to get the dreaded photos done. I had read the do's and don'ts and went into Tescos. I had some ghastly snaps done but what the heck. Keith said, “Oh they'll be fine.” In the same tone he had discussed my jottings!!!! I got back home and Lawrence said, “These won't do, your teeth are showing.” Have you ever known me with my mouth shut? He turned over the rules and regulations sheet. Of course, I had only read the front. Have you seen this updated list? Don't look away, have your hair across your face, spectacles half way down your nose, wear a hat, be in shadow, be blurry and, finally, DO keep your mouth shut. So off I went again. I was in Morrisons this time. Far nicer instructions and chatty voice guiding you in the booth. Well the snaps arrived looking, in my mind, far too dark. So I've now spent £7.00 on me looking grim. Oh yes, I've just remembered. On the first lot of photos, I looked quite glam when I left home and didn't look too bad on my return, but what had happened in the middle? Obviously Newport is not too fussed, my passport's arrived and when the time comes, can buzz off.

Well folks, I'm a bit weary. Lawrence's fab girlfriend is here from New York and we've had some fantastic gatherings but I do hope this will give you a bit of grin.

Wishing you a wonderful Summer.
Best Wishes, Maz.

Editor's Note. Maz we love your articles – the newsletter would not be the same without them! Please don't ever give up on us.

Minister Rev. Philip Hopes Tel: 01453 84xxxx
Sunday Worship 11 am.
Sunday Kings Kidz's 11 am.
Family Worship – 1st Sunday of each month at 11 am.
Prayer and Bible Study Tuesday's at 8 pm.

The Pencil Maker

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.
Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No 9matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.
Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.
And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart.
– Author Unknown

The members of our childminding group recently completed their First aid course – we won't have to worry about that for another three years. The course lasted for six weeks and we were fortunate that we were able to do the training in Charfield with a tutor coming out to us.

We are all looking forward to the summer break from our normal routines and have taken the opportunity to plan visits for the children. Some of us have children starting school in September, we hope we have helped to prepare them for school and wish them all well. With children going off to school some of the childminders will have vacancies, so if you are looking for registered childcare please contact Teresa Wildman on 01453 84xxxx or speak to any of the childminders.

The last few months may appear to have been reasonably quiet on the hall front but I can assure you all that the committee have been very busy working in the background, continuing to raise funds to improve the hall.

Our main focus continues to be both the hall appearance (internal and external) and hall security. As I have mentioned before, we have funding secured with the Parish Council and more recently from this fine publication(!), to improve security in and around the hall and you can expect to see these improvements moving on apace in the coming months. We are extremely grateful to both organisations for their support of our activities.

We have additional funds in place as well now thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Midsummer Ball committee. This was held at the Bristol Golf Club at the end of June and was a well attended and hugely enjoyable evening. Not only that but £1700 plus(!) was raised for the hall. This was a fantastic result and I would like to express our thanks to the ball committee, to all those who attended the event and to all of you who bought and sold raffle tickets. The money raised is earmarked to be used to purchase much needed new tables and chairs for the hall.

We have also just had another hugely successful Summer Fete, organised in conjunction with the Friends of Charfield School committee, Again my thanks to Graham Pedley, Lisa Wiles and 10everyone else involved in organising this event. Thanks also to all of you who attended and supported the event and those who gave their time on the day to run stalls, sell raffle tickets and do the dozens of other jobs needed to help this event run smoothly. Time does not allow me to give you a final figure of the funds raised but once again this money will be used to make the hall into a more pleasant and hopefully, viable venue.

Now some news of forthcoming events – we intend to hold a Promises Auction at the hall in late September or October and we have Kick the Cat (of Band in the Barn fame) appearing at the hall on Saturday 11th November. More information regarding tickets etc will be available on both these events in the coming weeks.

Finally (the boring bit!), please remember that the hall and the playing fields are one of the few amenities that our village has. There are still many tasks to be completed at the hall and within the playing fields. If you feel that you could offer support, expertise, materials or just as importantly ‘a pair of hands’ please contact a committee member, you wouldn't need to come to meetings just be available to help when required.

Please respect this facility and continue to support events held at the hall and consider using it for your own events and functions. Thank you.

Tim Hill, Chairman
Charfield Memorial Hall & Playing Fields Management Committee

All profits go to support the Memorial Hall. Anyone wishing to join please contact Mr J Russell 01453 52xxxx or 07711 55xxxx

Advertising

[Advert for Add Plant]

[Advert for D.R. Vizard]

11[Advert for Greenline Tanks]

[Advert for Falcon Cottage B&B]

[Advert for Bradley Garage]

[Advert for Eclipse Hair Studio]

[Advert for Alan Hamer driving]

[Advert for Charfield Post Office]

12[Advert for W.S. Franks]

[Advert for Pat Jeanes reflexology]

[Advert for Claire Saunders]

[Advert for Colin Lane & Flooring]

[Advert for Littles Curtains]

[Advert for Learn Baby Massage]

13[Advert for Cotswold Carpets]

[Advert for Barbara Daw]

[Advert for Avon-Tech]

14[Advert for Terrys]

[Advert for Deborah Jayne Pringle]

[Advert for Safeclean]

[Advert for RK Aerials]

[Advert for PC Repairs & Maintenance]

[Advert for Manor Garden Maintenance]

15[Advert for Charfield Taxis]

[Advert for R.C. Autos]

[Advert for Relax-ology]

16[Advert for Acucare]

[Advert for Plumbtec]

17[Advert for Evergreen Computing]

[Advert for Frocks & Tails at Home]

[Advert for Laura Needham]

[Advert for Massage Table Store / Positive Pressure]

[Advert for Party From A Box]

18[Advert for MB Property Maintainance & Landscaping]

[Advert for Heather Joyner Reflexology]

[Advert for DB Refrigeration]

[Advert for Charfield Memorial Hall]

19

The following ‘Woodlands Road’ item is a brief report put together by fellow councillor Ian Kershaw, it follows after an enquiry by a parishioner into the link between Woodlands and Manor Lane.

Access Gate – Woodlands Road/Hawthorn Close.
Residents living in the above roads, as well as Manor Lane etc will probably be familiar with the gate which separates Hawthorn Close from the last cul-de-sac of Woodlands Road. The purpose is to allow emergency access to Woodlands Road should the main entrance off little Bristol Lane become blocked. The gate is kept locked to prevent vehicles from using it as a short cut. To the Hawthorn Close side is a public footpath and to the Woodlands Road side is a section of land which although not a public right of way is adopted (i.e. maintained) by South Glos Council.

It is apparent that a good number of people do use this route between the two roads, climbing over the gate in the process. This is clearly not ideal, as not only has this caused damage to the gate in the past as it is not designed for this purpose, but also prevents those less able, and in this category come not only wheelchairs but also parents with pushchairs and small children, from using it.

In view of national and local initiatives to support walking to school, the Parish Council would like to explore the possibility of making this route more accessible as a shorter alternative. Clearly the option of opening or even removing the main gate completely is not practical as it would enable vehicle access and become a rat run, but it has been suggested to replace a section of fencing to the side, approx one metre, with some form of self closing gate that could be used by pedestrians and those less able, but be a sufficient enough deterrent to prevent say motorbikes from trying to use it.

The Parish Council therefore seeks views of local residents either for or against such a proposal, or suggestions of any alternatives which would achieve the same result. It is likely that some form of scheme will happen so if you strongly disagree then now is the time to say so, and more importantly why. Please direct your comments in this instance to the Clerk (details on the back cover).

Manor Lane, Wotton Rd corner green area landscaping proposals
The Parish Council is exploring the possibility of improving the visual aspect of this area and invites comments on the plans/proposals which you will see following this article. South Gloucestershire Council will be installing a 2 metre footpath around the site to link existing footpaths which end and this would be a good opportunity to tidy the site and improve the green environment. Please send comments to the clerk.

Remembrance Sunday
After last years Service of Remembrance held around the war memorial a number of adverse comments were passed to the Parish Council concerning the organisation of the parade and the conduction of the ceremony. Whilst at the time it was pointed out that the Parish Council are not responsible for the proceedings of what has always been the province of the Royal British Legion it is recognised that their numbers are declining and in fact the Charfield Branch has now become a sub-branch of Wotton. I am sure those who are in the know will agree that this was an example of what happens when one person quietly goes about the business of ensuring all is well, by a reminder here and a word there, and when they are no longer around things become difficult.

20Whilst not wanting to ‘stand on anyone's toes’ I am willing, on a personal basis, to act as point of contact for those organisations or individuals wishing to take part this year. If contact could be made to myself either by 'phone or e-mail or through the good offices of CHADRA I will ensure that these details are passed on to the Royal British Legion. OK, I know it's only July but the next CHADRA is not due out until October and preparations should be well on the way by then. Let's see if we can make this year a service worthy of remembrance.

Paul Ashford
Chairman, Charfield Parish Council.

Landscape Design Proposal for Review

Supporting Notes:
For clarity the design is divided into 3 principle areas as shown in the drawing opposite.

Area A
This area is bounded by the existing kerbstones, the fence enclosing the electricity transformer, the new boundary fence and the existing path from the access gate to the road.

This area is to be cleared of the existing rough grass and replanted with a mixture of wild grasses and flowers thus creating a mini-meadow. The existing tree stumps will remain and will be progressively covered by the meadow plants.

In addition (and to provide a visual feature), it is proposed to erect a curved wall (height approx 5 ft) from natural stone in the position as shown in the plan. One or two trees depending on the available area are proposed for planting behind the wall to provide a soft backdrop for the feature.

The wall will be constructed to allow for the addition of mosaic/tiles with a flora and fauna theme possibly manufactured by the children of the local school. Also the wall could provide semi-natural habitats for the local wild life. The top of the wall will be set with a “cock and hen” stone finish in order to discourage climbing and sitting.

Area B
This area is bounded by the path from the gate to the road, Manor Lane, Wotton Road and the existing hedge boundary with No: 32 Wotton Road.

This area to remain essentially as is with the following additions and modifications:

Ground covering shrubs will be planted near to the raised concrete area to provide natural camouflage.

A short cut path constructed from paving stones (irregular shaped design shown in the plan) is proposed to add interest to the design. It is shown leading from the new pavement in Manor Lane, passing under the willow tree and rejoining the existing footpath in Wotton Road. The detailed design of the stepping-stones is to be decided. They will be set in the grass area at soil level or below to allow for safe mowing.

It is proposed to randomly plant bulbs over a wide area under the willow tree. This will provide a colourful welcome to the onset of spring.

In order to reduce the starkness of the existing bench and litterbin it is proposed to plant a row of flowering shrubs behind the bench.

Area C
This area embraces the new footpath/pavement that will be constructed by the Highways Agency. In the plan the path is drawn as 2m wide. 21The exact design is to be finalised by the Agency in consultation with the Parish Council. Areas that need some discussion are a) the interface at the electricity transformer enclosure between the existing Manor Lane footpath and the new path assuming that the existing fir tree remains and b) the interface with the existing footpath near to the bench (2nd July 2006)

[Graphic: Landscape Design Proposal]

22

Secure Your PC for Free – Legally!

Every day there seems to be another news story about yet another virus attacking PCs globally. As an IT Consultant I now spend a large proportion of my time clearing viruses and Spyware from PCs. But what can you as an individual do to protect your PC against these threats?

Now we have always-on broadband in the village the risks are that much greater.

You need to spend over £60 per annum to protect your PC, right? WRONG!

Every tool you need to protect your PC can be obtained, legally, for free and are at least as effective as the paid-for commercial products and in a lot of cases are more effective.

Anti-virus

The first and most important tool you need to protect your PC is a good anti-virus program. The market leaders here are Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee Anti-Virus. Both of these cost upwards of £30 per annum and are not as good at stopping viruses as the free AVG anti-virus program. This program consistently performs better in industry benchmarks and tests than the two leading retail anti-virus programs mentioned above, detecting and stopping all viruses and Trojans thrown against it, unlike the others!

AVG is free for personal use (and is very inexpensive for business use). It can be downloaded from www.free.grisoft.com. It has the additional bonus of taking up less of your system resources than the others as well.

Anti-Spyware

Spyware is becoming as much of or an even a bigger problem than viruses. Spyware can hijack your PC, allowing it to be used to send unsolicited email (SPAM) to thousands of other PCs, it can log your keystrokes to attempt to discover passwords to your financial programs e.g. internet banking, it can take over your web browser and flood your PC with very unsavoury pop-up advertisements.

There are 2 very good anti-spyware programs you can obtain and use for free;
Adaware – from www.lavasoft.com
Spybot – from www.download.com (just search for “spybot” on this site).

You can download and use either or both (recommended) of these programs for free.

Spysweeper is also an excellent anti-spyware package but costs around £20.

Firewall

This is an often neglected area of security. A good firewall will ‘hide’ your PC from the internet whilst still allowing you to use the internet and receive email. It effectively stops hackers from gaining access to your PC.

If you have WindowsXP and it has been updated to Service pack 2 then there is a firewall built into your PC. It is a very basic firewall but is certainly better than nothing at all. A good alternative to this and an essential add-on for Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows98 users is the Zone Alarm firewall, available from www.zonelabs.com. This is an effective 2-way firewall which will protect you from intrusions and hide your PC from the internet.

23Common Sense

This is your best weapon to protect your PC. The golden rules are;

• Never click on links in emails, always type the web address into your web browser.
• Never open an unexpected email attachment – it is likely to be a virus.
• Always keep your anti-virus/anti-spyware up to date.
• Make backups of your important data to CD, floppy or flash drive. Imagine your hard drive has just failed and you have lost everything on it – how upset would you be? – backup your important files regularly – it is not a matter of ‘if’ it will happen but a case of ‘when’.
• Never click on pop-up advertisements, particularly those offering anti-spyware software, stating you have an infection on your PC. These are crafty attempts to actually infect your PC when you click on them. Particularly watch out for SPYAXE as this is common and particularly nasty to get rid of.
• Run Windows Update regularly (it is on your program list).

In the next issue of Chadra I will tackle the problem of unsolicited emails (SPAM), and configuring your wireless router to make it secure and prevent it from being hijacked.

If you have any questions on the items above then please email me at xxxx @ charfield.com and I will attempt to answer your questions as quickly as I can.

Stuart Pentland

This issue has really come round fast and I am writing this only hours before the deadline. What have we done? All sections have been busy as Peter and I have hardly had a weekend at home. We don't have to attend every event but we enjoy it so much that we usually do!

So the May Bank Holiday weekend we were booked to cook for the Scouts at their Avening Green camp. It was so odd, on the evening we were sat around the campfire in our shirt sleeves and shorts wondering why it was so cold – as my Nana said “don't cast a clout until May's out” we just forgot it was the beginning of May! The Scouts camped in our two new “Khyam” tents, these were given the thumbs up by the Scouts preferring them to the old style patrol tents with their drafty doors.

At the end of May on yet another Bank holiday weekend, the Scouts have got this worked out alright, Monday off work to recover, we joined them at South Cerney, where I actually took part in the activities this time instead of being camp cook etc. It was so much fun; we went rafting, sailing, canoeing and windsurfing. Unfortunately the latter was for Scouts only, probably knew Boomer was with us and didn't want to lose any instructors. (You have to become a leader to be told that story!) But I did get in the (cold) water to support a board or two and was really pleased when the one Scout who kept saying he couldn't do it sailed off into the middle of the lake (confidently might I add), although he wasn't supposed to – a gust of wind caught him – the instructor brought him back safely.

Middle of June, County 5-aside football competition held at Woodhouse Park. We had two Cub teams entered, these were coached by two of our Cubs working towards their Silver Awards and they did a magnificent job, but we still 24didn't win – never mind. The Scouts also entered a team; unfortunately it poured down all morning and we were so relieved when they were knocked out of the game.

So back to my own section, most of the Cubs attended our Camping Skills camp on a very hot weekend at Avening Green. The Cubs were divided into three groups rotating around three activities, Peter and parent helpers worked on the Adventure badge walking the groups into Charfield using mapping and compass skills, partaking in an ice-cream at the post office before returning. Julie, Kate and parent helpers worked on the Chef Badge from which we had three course meals for two lunches and evening meal with a choice of two items on each course – we've never eaten so well on a camp. Meanwhile myself and parent helpers worked on the Camper badge putting up and taking down a Patrol tent and a new hike tent in each session – did I mention it was a boiling hot weekend?

Forgive me at this moment, as I have a story to tell. After breakfast over this weekend sausages, bacon etc were found on the floor underneath the tables, all the Cubs claimed it “Wasn't Me”. You know Mums and Dad's? Every home has one! Well I saw that person “Wasn't Me” on the Sunday lunchtime. Peter was keeping an eye on a faddy eater struggling with a roast dinner. Adults were called into the mess tent to collect their dinners and Peter was momentarily distracted. While walking into the food tent I kept an eye on this young chap, through the large windows of the tent said chappie was still pushing the food around his plate, while sat on a table behind him, a Cub who remain nameless, gathered his knife and fork together, had a suspicious look around him, lowered his plate below the table and was about to fork all the contents onto the grass below. That was until, I shouted “NO” at the top of my voice and started jumping up and down shouting “I've caught him”. The nameless Cub hid his head in shame, but did eat all of his dinner up and he is coming on camp again! If I ever write a book “It shouldn't happen to a Cub Leader” that story will be included!

Back to camps. We held our first Beaver sleepover last weekend, 10 beavers all of who will be moving up to Cubs in the next term. What a wonderful bunch, they went to bed when told, got up when told and were quiet!, ate what they were told and did as they were told. At what point do they change or were we just lucky? To add to the sleepover experience we put up the inner tents of our new hike tents, this worked a treat for the Beavers. They watched the Jungle Book film and learned all about being a Cub, when they come along to Cubs they can try it out for a few weeks then get invested straight away. All attendees were presented with their 1 Nights Away badge. Well done Beavers!

More camps to come, Cubs are camping next weekend again at Avening Green but they will be attending the Berkeley Castle Jousting event on the Saturday instead of activities on site, this should be fun. The Scouts are planning an activity weekend at Woodhouse in September and the Cub and Scouts will be enjoying A PGL activity weekend in October.

September will start our main planning for our next visit to the Fgura Scouts in Malta. We have 16 places booked so far and it's still not too late to add names to the list.

Our AGM was held this year at Avening Green, one of the local farmers allowed us to use one of his fields as a car park for which we are very grateful. Lots of badges were handed out as were leaders warrants, we also managed to recruit a few more members for the 25committee and a new secretary, speaking of which the Group would like to thank Gary Clarke for taking on the Secretary role over the last three years and we now welcome him to the other side of the committee table.

Our HQ has had new windows put in and I can confirm after a hot weekend at the Beaver sleepover that they certainly keep the heat in. They do look nice and the building is a lot brighter. We are a bit behind with the heating, although plumbers have assessed the work we are still short of the quotes essential to go ahead with the work. Ideally we would like this completed ready for next term. Then we can do some re-decorating.

We now have over 16 on our Scout waiting list and we are planning to open another Scout Troop although this is still in the planning stage. Eventually another Cub Pack will follow but only if we get new assistant leaders, there are only three of us full time and 1 part time at the moment not enough to staff another evening. The plan is for the Section leaders to be in overall charge of both evenings, planning the programme with all of the leaders to run both of the evenings with the same programme. Leaders can swap nights should their regular evening slot become unsuitable. We do need more help.

Well that's it for this term, we'll have a few weeks off and start all over again. Have a wonderful summer.

Yours in Scouting
Sandra Carnegie Cub Scout Leader

So this is it, my last piece in CHADRA as the current chair of Charfield Pre-School. My daughter is joining Charfield Primary in September so I'm stepping down. There have been a couple of candidates for the role but it hasn't been confirmed yet who will be taking over (details to follow in the next edition).

I would like to thank all the staff, committee, parents and their children for a great year. Rhiannon and I have made some great friends and it's been lovely to see behind the scenes and what a wonderful job the staff do.

We've had some good fundraisers this year, the Christmas float as always was great fun. We had an egg and spoon race for the children as well as the sponsored bike ride and not forgetting Lynda's very brave and public diet – well done all who took part in any way.

We will be holding a leavers party for the children going to School on Tuesday 18th July. This is being held at the Foundation Room. There is a Disney theme so all parents are welcome to dress up with their children. We will be having a presentation and group photo. There will be dancing and plenty of party food. It will be a great way for the children to remember the Pre-School and all the staff.

With September in mind we have decided to move our lunch club to a Monday and Wednesday. If you have a child at Pre-School (over 3) and you are interested in them attending please speak to Claire ASAP as spaces are limited. Sessions are filling fast for next term so if you would like your child to attend extra days please see Claire Beland.

I and the rest of the committee, would like to wish all the staff, new committee, children and their parents all the best 26and our continued support, We also say “goodbye and good luck” to our older children who are setting off on the new adventure.

Krissy Gingell
Chair, Charfield Pre-School

During the past six weeks the village has suffered from sporadic vehicle crime, with several thefts from motor vehicles and at least one attempted theft of a motor car having occurred.

One suspect has been arrested in connection with one of these matters although ultimately there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

More recently, during the early hours of Saturday 8 July, an offender was disturbed whilst interfering with a motor car on Underhill Road and was then detained by a member of the public but, upon his becoming extremely aggressive, was released.

One thing that is still apparent is that people are still leaving such valuables as lap-tops, cameras and wallets in their cars.

Overnight on 31 May / 1 June two quad bikes were stolen from a secured farm outbuilding in the village locality. This entailed a very concerted effort with considerable planning.

These vehicles are particularly sought after and it is essential that they be well secured as well as being protected by property marking such as Datatag. It is also worth considering the installation of an alarm on the vehicle itself or the building in which they are stored.

On a more mundane matter, but no less important, there has recently been and increase in damage to the Memorial Hall. This includes damage to the windows, damage to a cubicle door in the public conveniences and obscene graffiti on the hall, the play area and the public conveniences.

Some evidence has recently come to light regarding the identity of a suspect for some of the graffiti and this is being followed up.

Any further information will be welcomed and vigorously followed up.

PC3799 Jones

TEA PARTY FOR THE LEPROSY MISSION
SUNDAY 13TH AUGUST
FALFIELD VILLAGE HALL
FROM 2.00–4.30PM

• For most of us Leprosy is something confined to the Bible or the Middle Ages but for thousands of people today it is still a disease which not only affects the sufferers but their families and communities.
• Until 1982 there was no cure.
• But today, leprosy can be cured.
• Yet despite this thousands continue to be disabled and face rejection because they don't know that treatment is available.
• The Leprosy Mission has been caring for and treating leprosy patients for over 130 years.
• Reconstructive surgeries and vocational training programmes have changed many people's lives.
• The average cost of fully treating one person affected by leprosy is £120.

The Area Co-ordinator for The Leprosy Mission, The Rev'd Bill Hewis, will be speaking at the 11.00am service at Tortworth that day. Please come and join us.

27

Striving for excellence
Learning for Life

What a busy time we have had in school since the last CHADRA!! Here are some of the main events:

New Appointments
Following the news that Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. Tylee have taken maternity leave from the start of June and are planning to return at the start of January 2007, interviews were held to find teachers to cover their absences. We have appointed Mrs. Gaynor Harper to cover Mrs. Tylee's absence and Miss Lianne Carroll to cover Mrs. Gordon's absence. Both teachers have made a great start with their classes and we look forward to working with them until at least the end of Term 2 in December.

Staff Leaving
Mr. Norman, our Class 6 teacher and Mrs. Dunn, our Teaching Assistant, will both be leaving our school at the end of this academic year, as they were both on fixed term contracts. Mr. Norman has been appointed to another teaching post in London and Mrs. Dunn is applying to start a course in midwifery.

Both members have given the school excellent service and positively enriched the curriculum for the children. Mr. Norman, especially, has done a great job in bringing sport to the fore in our school. I am sure you would like to join with me and wish them every success in their new posts.

Mrs. Gordon – new arrival!!! ☺
I am delighted to tell you that Mrs. Gordon had a baby boy. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and both mother and baby are doing fine. I am sure you would like us to send all congratulations and thoughts on to Mrs. Gordon and her husband.

Lunchtime Supervisor News
Mrs. Meredith has resigned from this post due to her commitments outside of our school. We wish her all the very best, but will miss her of course!

We have appointed Judy de Brito as one of our new Lunchtime Supervisors. She has settled in very quickly and is adding to the strength of the team.

Sports Day
We finally got there – the weather was kind to us in the end, after having to abandon the first go, due to torrential rain! Thanks to all our parents and relatives for coming along to our Sports Day(s) and supporting the children. It was really good fun, despite the rain! Special thanks go to Mrs. Evans, Mr. Norman and Mrs. Gainer-Lane for preparing both days so well.

Celebration Of Dance
8 of our Year 6 girls took part in a Celebration of Dance at The Castle School, in Thornbury. They were in three groups and made up their own dances, which they performed on stage to the audience of Thornbury Schools and their teachers and parents. As one of the girls said, ‘it's all about fun.’ And judging from the comments at the end of the show; that is exactly what it was. Next year, we hope to be able to enter even more of our budding dancers!

Year 2 and Year 6 Sats
We have had our Year 6 SATs papers back from the markers. We are delighted by the attainments and achievements of our Year 6 and Year 2 pupils. ☺

SATs results in Year 6 for 2006 are as follows:

Level 4 is the expected level for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 – i.e. Year 6
1 pupil = 2.5%

Similarly, I am writing to inform you of our Year 2 SATs results. ☺
1 pupil = 2.8 (figures are %)

Level 2b is the expected level for pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 – i.e. Year 2

Macbeth
Year 6 recently presented Macbeth to family and friends with both evenings being sold out. This was a fantastic effort from Year 6, who made Shakespeare come alive in great style. The play featured singing, dancing, music, great acting and some very impressive performances for so many of the children, but especially Max Vizard who played the major role of Macbeth. Special mention must also go to Mrs. Gainer-Lane for all her hard work in getting the show together so well. A loose change collection over both nights raised £90 for our link school in Gambia. All in all a brilliant two nights. ☺

OFSTED
As you are all aware, we had an Ofsted inspection on 4 and 5 May 2006. The report is on the Ofsted website http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/.

I am so proud and delighted with the final report. All our gradings from the main report on pages 2 to 5 are Grade 2 (Good) or Grade 1 (Outstanding).

The first two sentences from the ‘Overall effectiveness of the school’ section on page 2, particularly mean a great deal to me:

‘This is a good school. Underachievement identified at the last inspection has been eradicated.’

This follows all the terrifically hard work that the staff and governors have put in to raise standards and pupil progress, whilst making our school a safe and enjoyable place for the children to come to.

I am thrill to to note that the inspectors judged the way the school cares, guides and supports the pupils to be ‘Outstanding.’ Also, the inspectors have been clearly impressed with the extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles, again judged as ‘Outstanding’.

You will also see that the inspectors have written a letter to the pupils, which further praises the work we do for the children and highlights the strengths of our school.

I hope you will take as much pride and pleasure in reading this report as I have.

It has been a great year, topped of by many things, especially being judged by Ofsted as being a good school – which we feel we certainly are!!

Finally
We send our special thoughts to our Year 6 pupils as they leave us to start the next stage in their education. They have been a great Year 6, who have been a credit to our school and their parents. I wish them great success and enjoyment at their new schools and hope that they continue to ‘Strive for excellence – Learning for life’

Have a wonderful summer break.

Stefan Frontczak, Headteacher

29

We have entered into the period of time in the church's calendar when the Sunday's are known as the 3rd, 4th, 5th and so on after or of Trinity. Trinity Sunday was the last major festival, following Easter and Pentecost and celebrates both the unity and diversity of God. In the Trinity God is identified as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 3 in 1 and 1 in 3.

Each aspect or person of God is important, the Father as creator, the Son (Jesus) as redeemer and the Holy Spirit as the encourager and sustainer. Each part of God is distinct and yet the 3 are bound together as a complete whole, just as there are 3 parts to us of body, mind and spirit that make us complete. The three persons of God can work independently, as Jesus did when he came into our world and as the Holy Spirit continues to be with us. Father, Son and Spirit are never separated, however, for even though they may be at work in different places their ‘oneness’ is maintained through the bonds of love that ensure unity and wholeness.

God's love is also available to us and it is this that unites families and loved ones even though we may be apart from one another through distance or death. Love is a uniting force that brings us and keeps us together and it is truly a gift from God.

The Trinity Season is identified by the colour of green as shown in the altar frontal and pulpit fall in church. We are reminded that green is about growth and that the long season of Trinity, sometimes called ordinary time provides opportunity for us to grow and develop in our understanding of God and his purposes for us. One of the exciting things about being a Christian is that we never stop learning for there is always something new to discover and the joys of new insights.

I believe that God is calling me to serve him in a new way and I have accepted the Bishop's invitation of a new post as priest-in-charge of two parishes in Cheltenham. This means that the family and I will be leaving Charfield sometime during September in order to take up my new post in October. We have greatly enjoyed living in this beautiful place but it is now time to move on after nine and half years and take on a new challenge.

At this stage it is not entirely clear how I will be replaced but I hope that you will support the arrangements that are made. The establishment of the Local Ministry Team now takes on greater significance and I hope that you will appreciate and support this new initiative. The team members are at present being decided upon and once selected will undertake a period of training with the diocese so that their future ministry will be recognised and authorised.

There are two dates that I need to let you know about. On Sunday 27th August, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Revd. Michael Perham will be leading the 10.30 a.m. service of Holy Communion at St. John's and everyone will be most welcome. Bishop Michael will also be coming to St. Mary's at Kingswood on Sunday 17th September for a 6 p.m. service to commission both parishes in their support of the Local Ministry Team – again everyone is very welcome.

The summer period is going to be a busy one for the Pestell family but I hope that you find some time for rest and refreshment and that you are able to recharge the spiritual batteries.

Have a good summer, every blessing.

Revd. Robert Pestell
Rector of Charfield and Kingswood.

30

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

Baby and Toddler Group
Yvonne Kershaw 01454 26xxxx

Bingo Club
Sue Scoble 01454 26xxxx

British Legion
David Millman (Hon Sec) 01454 26xxxx

Charfield Pre School
Clare Beland (Admissions) 01454 26xxxx
Krissy Gingell (Chairperson) 01454 26xxxx

Charfield Primary School
Stefan Frontczak 01454 26xxxx

Childminders
Teresa Wildman 01454 26xxxx

Church – Congregational
Rev Philip Hopes 01453 84xxxx

Church – St. John's
Rev Robert Pestell 01454 26xxxx
Email xxxx @ surefish.co.uk

Council – Charfield Parish
Sue Bailey (Clerk) 01453 51xxxx
Email clerk @ charfieldparishcouncil.co.uk

Council – South Gloucestershire
Sandra O'Neill 01454 26xxxx
Email xxxx @ southglos.gov.uk

Cricket Club
Diane Bradley 01453 84xxxx

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

Football Club – Juniors
Jeremy Lewis 01454 26xxxx

Football Club – Seniors
Jeremy Lewis 01454 26xxxx

Friends of Charfield Primary School
Karen Williams 01454 26xxxx
Lisa Wiles 01454 26xxxx

Foundation Room
Bryan Grantham 01454 26xxxx

Friendship Club
Mrs. M Ealey 01454 29xxxx

Keep Fit Club
Christine Parfitt 01454 26xxxx

Luncheon Club for the Elderly
Jane Higgins 01454 26xxxx

Memorial Hall
Bookings 0870 774 xxxx
Email xxxx @ virgin.net
Tim Hill (Chair) 01454 26xxxx

Neighbourhood Watch
To be confirmed