CHADRA

Welcome to the spring edition of your CHADRA magazine. As great swathes of the country are flooded, Charfield in the main seems to have remained fairly safe. However our fields are sodden and rivers swollen and still the rain is coming down, so we are not out of the woods yet!!

We have lots of news on the proposed new housing development in the village. News from the village organisations, and many other articles to keep you up to date with village life.

Follow Clean Up Green Up Charfield's lead and sow poppy seeds to commemorate 100 years since the First World War.

Got your Panto tickets yet? Don't forget CADS performance of Jack and the Beanstalk February 7 and 8.

Ensure you get your copy of CHADRA delivered every quarter to your door, contact Marion Smith to reserve your copy today.

Friday 28th February 2014
Charfield memorial Hall
Quiz starts at 8pm, Doors & bar open at 7.30pm
Ticket price £5.00 inc a hot dog supper, tickets available from Steve's Shop or call 0789173xxxx

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Next Copy Date – 6 April 2014

If you would like to write an article for the next issue, or make comments on articles published, please e-mail these to xxxx @ gmail.com

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A happy New Year to one and all, and I hope that 2014 is a good year for everyone.

The important news at this time is at the meeting of the full Council on 11th December the Core Strategy was formally adopted by the Council. The Core Strategy is the main planning document for South Gloucestershire which makes provision for 28,000 new homes, including affordable housing until 2027. The majority of new housing will be located in the northern fringe, Filton, Patchway etc with new developments planned for Thornbury, Yate and Chipping Sodbury to support those towns.

The strategy is also the vision for economic development, employment, transportation and infrastructure for the new developments and the creation of enterprise areas that will have the potential to deliver major employment opportunities.

The adoption of the strategy also confirms that South Gloucestershire Council has a five year land supply for housing. This was a point that was being exploited by developers attempting to develop in several areas. The Council will now be able to guide development to the areas where it is suitable, and be able to protect the other areas including the rural area from inappropriate and undesirable development.

One of the more interesting points of the strategy is one of the principles of the rural transport package which is the safeguarding of 0.84ha of land at the former Charfield Station and adjoining land to the south east, for the provision of a passenger railway station and car park/interchange.

Whilst this is down to priorities and could be years away I now intend to escalate this investigation to ensure that this much needed project is considered for a future phase of Metrowest. South Gloucestershire Council is working with Bristol City, B&NES and North Somerset, to get Government funding for Metrowest which is a commuter rail service for the Greater Bristol Area.

I feel that this is the only form of public transport that will ease the congestion on our busy roads.

John O'Neill

The worst journey in the world was how Winston Churchill described the “hell run” of the Arctic convoys as they attempted to supply the Soviet port of Murmansk with much needed civil and military equipment for the beleaguered Russian people.

The convoys travelled in almost perpetual darkness hunted by the German U Boats with crews using pick axes to chip the ice constantly from the ships to keep them afloat. 104 merchant and 16 military ships were sunk with 3000 lives lost. When ships went down it was quick and little chance of survival for those who entered the icy water.

The physical and psychological pressure on the crews was enormous as they battled the elements and the enemy. Despite this it took the Government sixty years to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution that the crews made to the war effort with the creation of the Arctic Star in 2012.

I am pleased to say that one of the recipients who received the Arctic Star recently was Harold Cornock more popularly known as John who lives on Wotton Road, Charfield. As a member of the Royal Navy John completed three voyages on HMS Dido on the Arctic 4convoy run, which was an outstanding contribution.

It is to people like John that we all owe a debt of gratitude.

John O'Neill

I'm typing this frantically in order to meet the deadline, after such a splendid late winter's day. Although spring certainly isn't anywhere near, you can somehow feel the latent urge in the trees, in the ground … lots of green stuff at least thinking about bursting into action. It'll be a while yet, and the horrendous winter storms we've seen (but happily thus far avoided being directly involved in), may yet have a surprise for us. However, as the month progresses you may see little shoots appearing in the verges; a blessing from the CUGUC folk, who were out late last year planting bulb after bulb, and have recently been tidying up the Hall car park and environs. Do consider getting involved personally, either by volunteering or by fettling your own gardens … with support we can have Charfield looking at its best this year. Our thanks to all the CUGUC team.

Your Parish Council has just met to determine the budget for the forthcoming financial year, and set the parish precept – that part of the Community Charge that is paid to us. I'm very happy to be able to say that we have managed to contrive a slightly higher budget this year but without raising the precept! I know the amount we take from you is small (and thankfully no-one ever complained), but after a few years of increasing the precept it feels good to take a little less this time. In part, we've been able to do this because projects have successfully completed or, like the burial ground, are very close to being self-financing. It's allowed us to consider looking at other large expenditure projects that we might like to work towards, like the MUGA (written about by Councillor Kershaw elsewhere) or Allotments (which I know is a matter of some interest to at least some of you). Keep an eye out for news on these initiatives.

In the next year, South Gloucestershire Council will be requiring a £35 annual top-up payment from residents if they wish to retain their green bin, into which garden waste such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings etc is generally put. Now, in times when every little extra cost matters, perhaps many of you will consider handing back your green bin, which begs the question – where will you put all that green waste? In my mind, another question arises, about less community minded folk (not from around here of course) who may simply fly tip in a conveniently out of sight spot. But back to you, and me, and everyone in Charfield who are far too lovely to do criminal stuff like that … what do we do, post-green-bin? Well, some of us perhaps have space for compost bins, and perhaps might even have a bit of extra capacity to take (by agreement!) some of our neighbour's green waste …? How about it, Charfield community? Might we talk to our neighbours, broach the subject, make the offer, ask the question? Or, if you intend to retain your green bin but don't always fill it, might you offer a bit of space in it to your neighbours?

Also elsewhere in this issue is a press release from South Gloucestershire about the new streetlights that have been installed throughout the village. These LED streetlights are a logical progression in our drive to reduce energy expenditure and greenhouse emissions, and also reduce the amount of light pollution. I have had feedback from a number of residents – not all totally positive in fairness, but the vast majority's view is that the lights are “better” than the old yellow sodiums. The coverage is more localised, so your gardens might lack the light you are used to, but it seems a clearer light to walk by and drive by. And 5if you've been watching Stargazing Live on BBC then no doubt you've noticed the night sky is so much easier to see!

Of course, after speaking about imminent planning applications in the previous CHADRAs, we had two significantly large developments come up for comment recently. In each case, for reasons that will probably be obvious, your Council objected to them. The grounds for objection were individual to each application, but at the top of the list were the lack of additional infrastructure – poor roads, few shops, worse public transport, a lack of much local employment, even services essential to the village that are accessed in a different county such as doctors and dentists. It's hard to see how many of these issues could be addressed by the addition of a couple of hundred houses and so it is hoped the Council will agree and not grant permission. Judging by the comments on the planning site and also the Village Plan, most of us like the village the way it is, and would accept some development but not any so large as these. We await decisions.

One last thing before I end, and relevant to the local road system … Even though it did not occur in Charfield parish, the fatality on Wotton Road at the end of the year was terrible and our hearts go out to the family and friends of those affected. Please stay safe out there in 2014.

Mark Rosher – Chairman
Charfield Parish Council

As many may be aware, two separate applications have been made to South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) by different developers which could add 171 homes and a 60-bed Dementia home to the village. When you consider that there are only around 1,000 homes currently in Charfield, that is a significant increase by any stretch of the imagination. The two applications are for 140 homes at ‘Charfield Green’, on the left as you enter Charfield from Wotton, close to Renishaw and behind the plastic recycling plant. The other site, close to the Primary school, is for 31 houses and a Dementia home.

So, why are so many housing developers interested in Charfield? The answer is simple. It is due to opportunistic developers ‘trying it on’. The developers have no genuine interest in the village, us as residents, or the impact their proposals will have. Yet each application, by law, has to be seriously considered by SGC on an individual basis. And the more effort and more convincing the developer's submission, the stronger their case becomes, especially if residents do not object. Developers will argue that if residents do not object, they are actually in favour of their application.

The developers in question, especially the one proposing homes at Charfield Green, spend their time looking at sites on the outskirts of villages around the country, employing professional businesses who produce very detailed reports on all manner of subjects which (from their perspective) fully support the need for additional houses. These very comprehensive and wordy documents cover all manner of topics – including traffic, environment, employment and transport – and do a great job in justifying why the development should proceed. Yet there is no connection or relevance to the village and the residents. Essentially these applications are speculative, but they still have to receive full consideration from SGC, who then have to justify why the application should not proceed.

Of particular note, very little reference has been made in these applications to the Village Plan – where it is mentioned, the 6Plan is used to support the application! The developers pay no heed or address the main areas raised in the Plan in relation to important issues such as traffic and transport and the need for future development. The proposed developers of Charfield Green state that the addition of 260–270 additional vehicles would have limited impact on traffic. The total number of proposed additional houses contradicts the vast majority of residents who either want no development at all or small developments which retain the feel of the village and are supported by current facilities. When looking at the type of houses proposed in the Charfield Green application, the majority are 4 or 5 bedroom houses, with no smaller 1 bedroom homes at all.

Unfortunately, despite all the excellent work done in producing the Village Plan, its relevance and the importance placed on it when considering an application is limited. There are far wider issues that have to be considered by SGC – the developers will point out that the Plan has no real standing and they will stress the generic need for housing as dictated by the government. The developer does not care where they obtain planning permission, be that Charfield or any other location in the country, all they do when they succeed is sell the land on with the planning permission to national builders.

So where does that leave us? Certainly the fact that we have a Village Plan is better than not having one at all. It will also help us that SGC have already identified other areas within the county where they would prefer development to take place (called the Core Strategy). Hopefully these will be sufficient to lead to the refusal of these development applications. If only it was that simple and clear cut. The developers plough vast amounts of money into preparing applications and do not take refusal lightly. It is hoped that SGC will refuse the application, but this is in no way guaranteed.

If, as a village, we do not see the need for these developments, then we need to tell SGC. There is still an opportunity, however there is very little time as the applications are already being considered. So if you wish to comment this needs to be done now. There are three ways you can do this – you do not need to provide lots of detail, simply object and state your concerns, for example not in line with the Village Plan, not in line with the Council's Core Strategy, traffic concerns, road safety (both are near blind bends), lack of local employment, insufficient amenities, or any other reason you think is relevant.

1. Send an e-mail to – xxxx @ southglos.gov.uk. You must quote the planning reference (PT13/4182/O for Charfield Green and/or PT13/3541/O for the site by the Primary School). You must also add your name, but do not need to provide your address.
2. Write to South Gloucestershire Council, Planning Applications, PO Box 299 Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 0DR, quoting the references above.
3. To view the applications in detail and comment, input the relevant planning reference on the SGC website developments.southglos.gov.uk/online-applications. When the application is selected there is a ‘Make a Public Comment’ button towards the top right of the page.

Unfortunately if, as residents, we do not take this opportunity to comment today directly to SGC, we are playing into the hands of developers. The planning process is full of legislation and developers use this to their advantage. Even if an application is refused at the first stage there is an opportunity for the developer to appeal. But let's face that if 7it arises. In the meantime it is left to individuals to provide comments direct to SGC – the more there are, the stronger the case will be in our favour.

Andrew Petty

Three-course dinner,
Live Band – Spectrum Party Band,
Raffle and Silent Auction

Saturday February 22nd 2014
7.00pm for 7.30pm – Carriages 12.30am

Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel
Westminster Suite
£45.00 per person
Dress: Black Tie or Lounge Suit
Contact Steph Pearce
01454 26xxxx/0777997xxxx
xxxx @ virgin.net

[Graphic: Couple dancing]

In aid of the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (No: 1121300)

2HAY or not 2HAY

We are very much hoping that your answer to the 2HAY or not 2HAY question is – 2HAY, of course. So what does saying yes involve? Simple – the idea is that every resident of the village donates at least 2 hours of their time to a volunteering activity within the village. Ideally we'd love you to support CUGUC for your 2 hours but really every activity run by the community for the community helps CUGUC meet its purpose of creating a better place to live and work. Our modern lives have become increasingly busy and it is difficult to find time to help neighbours and the community. 2 hours should be feasible for everyone and would make such a difference to the village. If you really can't find the time to roll up your sleeves and help, how about a donation equivalent to that time to CUGUC?

I hope that you will have noticed the changes to the car park of the Memorial Hall. The CUGUC volunteers working on that site have been nothing short of amazing. They have been clearing away the years of rubbish, cutting back overgrowth and removing dead and dying plants. We always knew it was going to be a challenge but it has more than tested that definition. Huge thanks go to Vanessa, Elaine, Isabel, Barbara & Mike for their help so far. To put in context the amount of effort this team has expended since September take a look at these figures:

250 hours of labour
10 trips to and from the tip
Moved 30 builders bags of rubbish

Their efforts certainly haven't gone unnoticed: a group of local workmen had been so impressed watching the CUGUC team working on site that they stayed on after their shift to give them a couple of hours extra help.

CUGUC have also donated a number of spring bulbs to the Out of School Club, which the children will have planted by now. We were very lucky in having some of the bulbs donated to us from Eastwood Garden Centre, for which we are very grateful. We will look forward to seeing these in bloom in a few weeks' time.

It seems a distant memory now but the AGM on the 11th November 2013 was enjoyed by all. Enjoyment and AGMs may 8not seem synonymous but we did have a great evening. The business element was short and sweet followed by the presentation of our first Special Contribution award, which went to Tom and Kath Davis who have litter picked every week in the village for over 40 years. Real unsung heroes! Then we all took part in a horticultural themed quiz while enjoying nibbles and refreshments.

[Photo]

Don't forget to let us have your ideas, comments, donations, offers of help. Details of how to contact us are detailed below and on the contact page at the back.

Yvette Andrewartha
Chair CUGUC
www.charfieldparishcouncil.org.uk/####
email: xxxx @ gmail.com

On a stormy Monday evening Steve was busy in the shop (in Manor Lane, in case you are new to the village) and Cathy was in their little office typing at a rate I can only envy. She honed this skill in her early working days when she worked for the AA – the motorists organisation, she was quick to point out – and that was before a stint at a bookmakers, Renishaw's and the British Red Cross. ‘Yes’ called Steve, between customers, ‘she's been about a bit’.

Steve hasn't. He worked first for the butchers chain, Dewhurst, and when, 25 years ago, they both decided they wanted to take on something for themselves, took ownership of the Manor Lane shop. ‘We are very different,’ said Cathy. She likes to work behind the scenes, keeping the books in order, sorting the VAT and tax and keeping up to date with employment legislation, jobs that she occasionally does for other people. ‘Steve is the one who enjoys the front of house, serving the customers, chatting and laughing. I'm not like that. He's the one who gets up at 5.30 to sort the papers’. Seems a pretty good partnership to me.

Although I've lived in the village since 1980 I'd quite forgotten that there was a separate newsagent until Steve said it was 13 years ago that they took over The Kiosk and enlarged the shop. Those were the days when they delivered papers – something that stopped about 4 years ago. ‘We didn't have much choice. Youngsters could no longer be employed before 7.30 and the school bus left at 7.40. And then there was the problem of the sheer weight of the weekend papers! In reality it took a lot of pressure off us, and actually business improved as when people come to collect their papers they often buy other things,’ Steve said with a wide smile.

Two big events are coming up for Steve and Cathy, and they seemed excited about them both, though for Steve there was no contest for his favourite. Skiing. He absolutely loves it, despite the limitations of knee replacements, whilst Cathy says she is very good at the apres ski. They will be off at the end of January for his fix, then it will be back to make changes in the shop to accommodate their new venture – the Post Office counter.

From March 3rd at one pm we will be able to carry out all our usual post office transactions in Steve's Shop, but with one big difference, timing. The counter will be 9open for exactly the same hours as the shop so if you run out of euros at 11am on a Sunday morning, no problem. Forgot to tax the car?, it's 7.15 am and you need to get to work, call in and get it sorted. A parcel to get off on Bank holiday Monday? Easy peasy. ‘As long as it's not ginormous’ said Cathy, slightly apprehensively. Michelle from the old P.O. will be dedicated to the counter for 16 hours a week, but everyone who works there will be trained to cope at other times.

I was curious to know how this all came about. Cathy explained that there was a knock on the office door one day and an official from the Post Office asked if they had ever thought about taking on a P.O. Their reaction was immediate and unanimous. NO! But then when they realised that John and Sandra (O'Neill) intend to retire, and the village would be without a P.O. they reconsidered and agreed. Now they are calm about the changes but I detected a little edge of excitement underneath.

There had been a time, not that long ago, when they were hoping to sell and move on. However when the sale fell through they had a time of re-assessment and decided that they would stay but needed to make changes. ‘I felt I was almost owned by the village’, said Steve, ‘and knew that we would have to do things differently if it was going to work‘. What they did was to make sure that they had proper time off and so whenever they can they are off on their motorbikes. Both of them had motorbike licences before they learned to drive cars (though their first car was a Reliant Robin three wheeler because that could be driven with a bike licence – I had a quick vision of a young Del boy, of course). I made the mistake of assuming that Cathy rode pillion but was swiftly corrected. ‘No indeed. I have my own bike, a Harley Davidson. It's true I tend to be a fair weather rider whereas Steve is out, whatever the weather, on his Kawasaki Vulcan. We don't race about – our idea of a good day out is to potter our way to Bibury or somewhere similar.’ And then there is horse riding and Cathy's involvement with the Wotton Guides. There are no Guide members in Charfield which seems rather sad as they have a great time (see Cathy's article elsewhere in this issue). ‘At one time we used to worry about leaving the shop, but then we realised that nothing that bad can happen, and anyway help would never be far away so we are much calmer about it now’ explained Cathy.

These two met when they were 11 and, apart from the odd falling out in the teenage years, never seriously doubted their future was together. Now their two daughters have grown up and lead their own lives. ‘they are completely different,’ Cathy mused. Maddi, who works for NHS 111 (the successor to NHS Direct, is the adventurer and at 25 has already spent a year in New Zealand and plans to go back shortly. Dani at 23 likes to keep much nearer to home. She lives in Wickwar and works for a Ships Chandler in Avonmouth.

And then, just as I was putting away my notebook and pencil, Cathy said, ‘Steve's dyslexic, badly so – it runs in his family.’ I know quite a lot about this – it runs in our family too and I understand just how hard it is to deal with sometimes. ‘Yes,’ said Steve, ‘Of course, when I was at school they still didn't understand much about it and I was classed as thick. They didn't seem to notice I was pretty good at maths. I find it a real struggle to get through a book but I did manage Lord of the Rings a while back. I don't read the newspaper headlines though.’ With the vision of the lurid headlines of many of our daily papers I thought this might well be a good thing, and admiration that anyone who finds reading a trial would even attempt Tolkien, I finally packed up and after a very cheerful hour with these two ventured back out into the storm.

Barbara Adams

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CHADRA pays tribute to Rosa Gunning who passed away very recently, and also to Ken Parker who passed away on Boxing Day.

Rosa and Cliff Gunning
In appreciation of good neighbours

I moved to Charfield in 1989, and my neighbours introduced themselves over the back fence; a white haired gentleman with beatific expression, and a smiling and giggling matronly figure with brown button eyes and a taste for floral dresses. After confusing Brendan's and my names and calling us Brenda and Julian for a while, and reheating some coffee for me which turned out to be prune juice (now THAT was a minefield of social etiquette to negotiate), we settled into a pleasant relationship involving the consumption of much tea and, thankfully, real coffee, and I loved to listen to stories from their life.

A couple of anecdotes I recall:

• During the 1939–45 war, Cliff was on fire duty, posted away, and Rosa was on her own bringing up the family. As things become tougher as the war dragged on, an onion for flavouring your stew was apparently as good as treasure. Rosa had a stew on the stove top one day, complete with onion, and her neighbour sniffed it out and expressed her envy. Rosa immediately fished out the onion from the pot, and handed it over the fence to the neighbour so that she might extract a little of the flavour.
• Rosa had organised a very successful fund raiser, and an ambitious eager young chap was trying to make his mark and wished to emulate her methods. He came round for tea and a chat to pick her brains, Rosa said he perched on the edge of her settee, full of bubbling enthusiasm, but she doubted whether he would be much use at fund raising … whatever happened to Jeffrey Archer?

Rosa and Cliff loved Britain and all it had to offer in the way of holidays and days out, they could not for the life of them understand the lemming-like rush for airports and shopping malls. Why would anyone wish to know foreign countries before getting to know their own back yard? Lovers of gardens and the great outdoors, the Lake District was, I think, their spiritual home; they were both great walkers in their day, and Rosa was hugely frustrated when tackling the fells was no longer possible due to advancing years.

Cliff was an architect with the local authority, Rosa worked in the clerical field. On retirement, they moved from Essex to Charfield to be near their daughter and grandchildren. Rosa and Cliff had worked hard in support of many organisations throughout their lives, ranging from the UN to the Abbeyfield Society, and also threw themselves into village life once they arrived here. Cliff served on the Parish Council and was chairman for a time; he also was Treasurer of CHADRA for many years. Rosa was editor of the newsletter from July 1983 to January 1988, covering issue numbers 37 to 50. I truly cannot recall the list of other organisations they supported locally, but there were many.

Both Rosa and Cliff were the type of people who would always seek to assist anyone facing a difficulty in a very practical way; sympathy didn't butter any bread, it was about tackling problems and making a real difference. Many had cause to be grateful for their advice; I am personally indebted to them for suggesting the Abbeyfield Society House in Chipping Sodbury as a suitable home for my ageing grandmother; she loved it there and enjoyed her last two years very much.

Cliff and Rosa were a devoted, solid couple, true soulmates, and there is no doubt that the loss of Cliff in 2001 hit Rosa very hard indeed. Thereafter Rosa 11found companionship and support particularly with the Society of Friends for the remaining years to her passing, not long after celebrating her 100th birthday, in November.

Good hearted people, who made a difference to those who knew them.
Good neighbours to all.

CHADRA and the Parish Council arranged for a tree to be planted in memory of Rosa at the corner of Manor Lane. The tree had been proposed to celebrate Rosa's 100th birthday. Members of the family attended the planting ceremony.

[Photo]

Ken Parker 1926–2013

Although you may not have recognised Ken, most of you will know him through his many contributions to the Newsletter. Writing articles and poems for us gave him great pleasure during his retirement years, as indeed it gave us pleasure to receive them.

Sadly, Ken died on Boxing Day after a short illness, leaving his wife, Shirley, of almost 60 years. Most of those years together were spent in their house in Newtown and both of them were born and had grown up in the village. Ken attended the village school in the days when the children were educated there up to the age of 14. He had passed the exam to go to KLB but as his father had died when he was 2 life was a struggle for his family and he was unable to go.

Ken's first job was at the Bone Mill but he left to join the railway, a job that he enjoyed until Mr Beeching took his axe to the system, after which he went to Inchbrook Printers in Kingswood. After his retirement 23 years ago he was able to spend more of his time in the garden and pursuing his passion – he loved pigeon racing and had many trophies marking his successes. It was an interest they both shared, (Shirley was secretary of the pigeon club that used to be in the village) and she recalls many happy hours sitting in the garden waiting for them to return.

But Ken, more than anything, was a good neighbour. He was never happier than when he could help anyone who needed it, quietly and without fuss. He was a true gentleman and will be greatly missed.

CHADRA

Mark Rosher recalls a conversation with Ken about how Ken came by his name. –
“During the first world war an Aunty of mine married a Cornish Life guard, they lived near the village of Kenwyn, and regularly attended Kenwyn church. To cut a long story short, my Aunt's husband was called into the navy and sadly, was one of the first to be killed in action when H.M.S. Monmouth was sunk by German Battleships. My Aunty, never got over this terrible event, and to top it all, she also lost her young son through illness. When she knew my mother (her sister) was expecting me, she made my Mother, promise to call me Kenwyn after the church she and her husband attended; my Aunt's husbands name is on the Charfield war memorial, G.F. Neal, they spent a short time living in Charfield before he joined the navy.”

Mark

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Staff, pupils and governors of Charfield Primary School are celebrating an outstanding performance in the standards achieved by children at this top-performing school. Charfield's children progress so well that it is ranked in the top three per cent of all (21,370) primary schools nationally.

When the primary school league tables were published on 12 December 2013, it was revealed that Charfield is one of the top four primary schools in South Gloucestershire and one of the best-performing schools in the country.

Dafydd Lawday, Headteacher, said: “We have been focused on doing the right things, doing them well and doing them consistently. We knew that our children had performed well in the SATs and had exceeded our targets for the year. When we received our Value Added score of 101.9 we expected to perform well in comparison to other schools. However, to be in the country's top three per cent is extremely satisfying.”

Jason Lugg, Chair of Charfield Governors, said: “These results are a tribute to the hard work and commitment of staff and pupils who well deserve this success.”

The school's results speak for themselves. Charfield's pupils exceeded the national average of 75 per cent with 96 per cent achieving the expected Level 4. Pupils exceeded the national progress rates too with 100 per cent making the expected progress in maths and writing and 96 per cent in reading.

Melanie Warnes, Executive Headteacher, speaking on behalf of Castle School Education Trust, the sponsors of Charfield, said: “These results are the mark of an outstanding school. Charfield has well and truly shaken off the label of special measures. Parents know from their child's experience that Charfield is a successful school. Indeed we have received an increase in parents requesting places at the school since September. Children here have a bright future indeed.”

Jason Lugg put the remarkable turnaround of the school down to strong leadership at all levels, high expectations and investment in high quality teaching. “We have been relentless in our focus on our children achieving the very best. The school now awaits Ofsted to formally recognise that success.”

Source South Gloucestershire Council

St John's Church are looking for volunteers to help us ensure that the successful May Plant Sale can continue next year.
We need people who can
• plant and nurture seedlings
(preferably in a heated greenhouse)
• prick them out into individual pots
We can then pass them on to church members to tend until the Plant Sale
(or you could continue with them yourself if you want!)

Seeds, compost, trays etc can be provided – what we lack are the growing conditions and the time and skill to ‘start them off’. We need help from January ( or March for pricking out) and you can take as many or as few seeds as you like.

Please contact Tracy on 0797142xxxx for more details.

13

Don't let things drag you down.
To-day, if you want a meaningful life,
as much as you can avoid trouble and strife.
Whatsoever is lovely, pure and good,
think on these things – as you know you should.
Now kindness in life is in short supply
if an opportunity presents itself don't let it pass by,
be proactive, don't wait to be told
and don't let a warm heart grow shrivelled and cold.
Exercise friendships, its so good for you
and you will have strong friends for all your life through.
Every day is important, just look and see
as each day is a step nearer what one day you'll be.
Then, when at the end of your life you review
all the things that you have managed to do,
you'll have friends and acquaintances, all quick to say
how you would often brighten their day,
and how much you are valued too.
I think so …
Don't you?

David Kington. 22/10/13.

Charfield is to be the first area of South Gloucestershire to be lit by LED street lights, in the first stage of a district-wide roll-out of the new technology that will begin later this year.

Nearly 300 new lights will be installed in Charfield during January, reducing the parish's street lighting costs from £11,000 to £3,500 per year and cutting related carbon emissions from 45 to 10 tonnes.

Work to install the new lights will begin on 6 January and is scheduled to run until the end of the month. The new technology will then be gradually installed in all of South Gloucestershire's 30,000 street lights from May 2014, as part of a rolling investment programme over the next decade.

Head of Streetcare for South Gloucestershire Council Mark King said: “This is an exciting new phase in our drive to reduce South Gloucestershire's street lighting-related energy costs and carbon emissions.

“Just as most residents have now swapped inefficient incandescent light bulbs in their homes for low-energy alternatives, we are also moving to install our own low-energy, low-cost LED lights that will make a big difference to our street lighting energy bills and C02 emissions.”

Mark Rosher, Chair of Charfield Parish Council, said: “Charfield was the first parish in South Gloucestershire to move to part-night lighting. We found this to be a successful initiative that reduced South Gloucestershire's energy costs as well as returning the night sky to us.

“By going further and moving to LED lighting we will save even more energy, which is not only good for reasons of cost but also for reducing our carbon equivalent emissions. Lighting the right places, at the right times, makes perfect sense and we are proud to pilot this technology with South Gloucestershire Council.”

LED lights are fast becoming the norm for local authority street lights as they consume about 60 per cent less energy than older sodium lights and last four times as long.

The advanced technology in the new lights offers a number of benefits including the ability to dim their output 14when required, in order to further reduce energy costs.

The lights are also known to help reduce light pollution by directing their beam more effectively at the ground, cutting down on light ‘overspill’ to the side and above.

Detailed plans for the introduction of LEDs were approved by South Gloucestershire councillors in September 2013.

Residents with questions about the new units can find out more at www.southglos.gov.uk/LED

Source South Gloucestershire Council

Firstly, what is a MUGA? Regardless of whether it is pronounced ‘Mooger’ or ‘Mugger’ it stands for Multi Use Games Area. Many people will have seen these elsewhere, it is an area of hard surfacing surrounded by fencing, into which are incorporated 5 a side football goals and basketball hoops, with markings being laid out on the surfacing for these and sometimes other games.

Feedback from the village via the now adopted Parish Plan has supported the idea that a MUGA would be a welcome addition to Charfield, this is also strongly supported by both the Parish Council and the Memorial Hall Committee. The particular benefits would be a dedicated all-weather area for our young people to ‘let off steam’ and reduce the risk of inappropriate use of the tennis court, or use the walls of the Hall or fencing of the tennis court as a goal mouth, all of which has caused damage in the past.

Villagers will be aware that responsibility for the Children's Play area at the Memorial Hall rests with the Parish Council, funding for maintenance of the facilities come from the Council Tax Precept. When Capital improvements are required the PC is limited by what it can spend and must obtain funding via grants and donations, which can often take a long time to achieve.

However Charfield finds itself in the fortunate position at present in that the developers of the houses at Kings Meadow behind the Congregational Church, as part of obtaining planning consent, are obliged to pay to the local authority, South Glos Council, a contribution towards the provision and enhancement of open space and play facilities in the vicinity. This is known as a Section 106 agreement. Whilst this money could technically go to anywhere in the authority's area, the PC have successfully fought for a sizeable chunk of the funds, which will cover the majority of the costs of the MUGA.

The PC has worked together with South Glos to produce a specification which has gone out to tender, returns in early February. Depending on what figures come in will determine how much additional funding will be required from other sources and ultimately a start date on site, however it is hoped very much that the project will be completed sometime in 2014.

So where will it be? We have to work with the limitations we have, not just of the existing play equipment and physical items such as trees, but also the requirements of the football and cricket clubs. The MUGA will sit next to the skateboard park area, on the site previously occupied by the wooden trim trail and wooden hut, items both long past their sell-by date and a source of continued maintenance expenditure. It will be approximately 22m × 15m, smaller than a full 5 a side pitch but still of a good size and the biggest we could realistically achieve taking into account budget restrictions and other factors.

We are convinced a MUGA will be a significant addition and improvement to Charfield Memorial Hall and Playing 15Fields and will be enjoyed by our young people for many years to come. We will provide updates in future editions of CHADRA and will also be consulting with neighbours to the park, but if you do have any specific comments please contact the Clerk.

Ian Kershaw (Vice Chairman – Parish Council)

I hope your Christmas was everything you wanted it to be. I had a whole week of seeing family members and loved every minute. Christmas week started with the traditional candle-lit carol service at St James's in Churchend. The church was packed as we sang carols whilst salivating at the smell of mulling wine in the background. One new idea was facing the four points of the compass as we prayed for the various parts of the world! A traditional part was breaking light sticks near the end of the service. These were then hung in the tree outside where they glowed in rainbow colours in the night.

As I write, we've just had the Epiphany service, where we heard about the three kings or wise men and the gifts they brought to the baby Jesus, and considered whether we were using our own gifts to best advantage.

During the period covered by this issue of CHADRA we will be working towards Easter, which is on 20 April. Don't forget Shrove Tuesday – pancake day – on Tuesday 4 March. Lent then begins on Wednesday 5 March, Ash Wednesday. We mark this with a service for all five parishes in the benefice and this year the service will be at St John's at 7.30pm. On Easter Sunday we will have a family-friendly service followed by the now traditional Easter egg hunt. Fuller details of Easter services will be available on the church noticeboard nearer the time.

Mothering Sunday is on 30 March and our 9.30 service draws a good congregation of families celebrating the love of their mothers.

We have set up a reading group with surrounding parishes and this had its first discussion meeting at Charfield Congregational Chapel in January. It will meet monthly from 10.30–12.00. The first book discussed was Easter, a novel by Michael Arditti with an amazing cast of characters ranging from a holocaust survivor and an African princess to AIDS patients and Queen Elizabeth II. If you are interested in taking part in future sessions, contact Chris Mason on 01454 26xxxx or e-mail xxxx @ btinternet.com.

Other initiatives to watch out for include a Traidcraft stall and a monthly good cause to support. We hope to start both of these soon. All the churches in the area (Wotton Deanery) will be holding their annual joint service at St John's Chipping Sodbury on Sunday 2 February at 6pm. All are welcome.

To contact the clergy, call Rev'd David Russell on 01454 29xxxx or Rev'd Chris Mason on 01454 26xxxx or email xxxx @ gmail.com.

Sue Thorn
PCC member

The following information was received from the Clerk, Charfield Parish Council.

DO YOU HAVE A CHILD / CHILDREN AT EITHER STROUD HIGH OR MARLING SCHOOLS?

If you live in Wickwar / Charfield / Kingswood / Wotton under Edge (or surrounding villages) and would like your child to travel by private minibus to and from Stroud High / Marling School each day please contact us …

16We have spare seats on a 6 or 11 seat minibus. Please call:

Penny Cutbill (01454) 29xxxx or
Katherine Brenner (01454) 29xxxx.
Seats will be issued on a first come first serve basis.

Sat 1st March At 2pm
Charfield School Hall
Proceeds To
St Johns Church

St Johns Church Charfield, is holding its annual Jumble Sale.

All donations of jumble will be gratefully received.

Doorstep collections will be made during Friday 28th February.

Please leave any jumble out first thing (clearly marked!). You can also deliver jumble to the Church on that day, or direct to the school on jumble sale day from 10:00 am.

Your continued support is much appreciated.

1st Charfield Rainbows
Monday 4.15pm–5.15pm at Charfield Village Hall, for girls 5 years–7 years old.
We are always looking for helpers so if you know anyone with an hour to spare please get in touch. As spaces are in short supply, if you have a daughter coming up for 5 years old, please call to get her name on the list.
Contact Emma on 0789192xxxx or xxxx @ hotmail.co.uk

2nd Charfield Brownies
Tuesday at Charfield Village Hall, for girls 7 years–10 years old.
We are hoping to do lots of fun things to celebrate the Big Brownie Birthday this year including a PGL holiday and a possible canal boat holiday if we can raise enough money!!!
We have some spaces at the moment, if your daughter would like to join please call.
We are in need of more helpers if anyone is interested?
We meet term time Tuesdays from 5.30pm–7pm.
Leader Nicki Brain: mobile 0774311xxxx or xxxx @ msn.com

2nd Wotton Guides
Thursday 7.30pm–9pm at Wotton Baptist Hall (Autumn Term) for girls 10 years–14 years old.
Last term we went to South Cerney Water Park, and had fun messing around in the water, we also had our Christmas Sleepover, and ended the term Ice Skating at Cribbs.
This Term we are planning to put on a show, go on a penny hike, go bowling as well as looking at healthy lifestyles.
Contact xxxx @ hotmail.com

Senior Section
We are aiming to start a Senior Section Unit (girls aged 14+) in Wotton – Thursday nights – times and location tba.
17To add your daughter's name to the list, or for further details, please contact Sarah Cocker on xxxx @ hotmail.com
If you would like your daughter to join Girlguiding UK please contact the relevant leader, or go to http://www.girlguiding.org.uk /get Involved/register your daughter.

Before I write another word can I wish you all on behalf of C.A.D.S a belated happy New-Year, and thank you for all the love and support you have shown us these past 12 months.

We have a busy year ahead and by the time you read this, hopefully, you will have come along and watched our 2014 family panto of Jack and the Beanstalk. We always like to listen to your comments and views (both good and bad) and the most asked is … when will there be another panto for the grown up boys and girls of the village?!?

Well I am pleased to say we have managed to put together the story of Dick Whittington aka Big Dick!!! A risqué panto only for grown up boys and girls. Those of you lucky enough to get tickets for our last adult show Sinderes!!! You will know it's definitely not for the easily offended or little boys and girls. As I write this we haven't confirmed a date yet but it will be around the end of April start of June time, so keep your eyes peeled for the poster as this show will sell fast!!!!

But before all that and a date I do have is C.A.D.S first ever live music event extravaganza!!!!! Live for 1 night only at Berkeley Power Station Social club on Friday the 21st February starting at 8.00.

We have Dick King (Britain's premiere Elvis impersonator,) The Musicals show featuring classics from all your fave West-end shows including Phantom, Les Miserables, Spamalot and many more. And if that's not enough there is also a Disco to finish!! Tickets cost £5 and are available from Steve's Shop, The Garage and any CADS member. ALL takings go towards future productions!! So come and join us for a laugh a sing and a dance, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Steve Pickin on behalf of the CADS family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break. It went by so quickly!! Lots to look forward to in 2014.

We would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who supported the Pre-School Santa Float. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and continues to be so as our door-to-door walkers collected almost £500 this year. As some of you may know from previous years the Santa Float would not be possible without the hard work and dedication from the committee members. So THANK YOU to you all.

As we move into the forthcoming fundraising calendar the Pre-School will be holding the Quiz night on Friday 28th February. As always the quiz is based around a theme … this year's theme is … FRIGHT NIGHT It's going to be spook-tacular.

We've got a busy term ahead of us as we will be concentrating on Literacy, and continuing with Personal, Social, and Emotional Development. At the end of January we will be celebrating Chinese New Year with the children.

As always we are relying heavily on fundraising and marketing the Pre-School in and out of the village … So Why not join our Lottery Club? Enter our monthly 18prize draw and win a cash prize! This is a great way for grandparents, aunties/uncles and family friends to support Pre-School every month … as the saying goes, “you have to be in it, to win it”!

We will also be collecting your old CD and DVD's again this year. Please look out for the collection points around the village. This has always been a big success for the Pre-school we would be grateful if you could think of us first throwing any out.

If you would like to chat about registering your child as a new starter, or about extending your existing hours please call Debra on 07966 61xxxx. We are currently planning for September intake, so it's never too late to start thinking about registering your child. We have also opened up some of our sessions to welcome children from 2 years old (no potty training required!), so again please call or e-mail us at (xxxx @ gmail.com) for more details.

We would like to congratulate Charfield Primary School for their outstanding performance in the national standards league table. Well done to all the staff, parents and to the children for all their hard work to bring the school back up to the status we all believed it deserved.

Finally, on a sad note, last term we had to say goodbye to one of our longest serving members of staff: Suki Landa. During her six years working with us, Suki has been extremely highly regarded by our children, parents, committee and staff alike. She has been a reliable and high-performing member of our team, and she will be greatly missed by us all. She has always gone the extra mile to make sure that the children in her care were settled, happy, and given every opportunity to grow and learn at their own pace. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work and dedication, and we wish her the very best of luck in her new endeavours.

Karen Stainthorpe. – Chair

A Happy New Year to everyone in the village from the staff and committee of the Out of School Club. We hope that 2014 proves to be a successful year for all our village organisations that work so hard to make Charfield such a great place to live.

Following the AGM and then an EGM, I am pleased to report that the Committee now has a new Chair. Vicki Shepherd and Rachel Smallwood have jointly taken on the role of Chair and Rhian Witham and Nicky Melville have joined as general members. Jenny Dormer and Jill Fallows have remained in post as Treasurer and Secretary. As a committee we are positive about working together and have many ideas about how to build on the success of previous years.

The club has been busy fundraising with a jam jar sale at the school Christmas fair that raised £150. At the same time the staff organised a grand draw for a fantastic Christmas hamper. This was won by Ann Hazel and raised £102.50. The drive for fundraising is set to continue and the committee is planning to hold a jumble sale on 1st March. Look out for our flyers and posters around the village. It's a great opportunity for a clear out!

Don't forget our club is open to all children attending school up to the age of 13. During term time we are open from 07:30 until the start of school and after school until 18:00. During holidays and In Service Training days we are open from 07:30 to 18:00. We are even open if the school is closed due to snow. Check out the school website for more details www.charfieldschool.org.uk and follow the links. Please give it a go, we are sure your children will enjoy it and you will be impressed!

19Thank you once again to everyone who has used the club in 2013 or who has supported us with fundraising activities. Also a huge thanks to our dedicated staff, who work so hard for the children at all times. We look forward to a successful 2014.

The Out of School Club Committee

Dear Charfielders
Yet again, we were blessed with a fine sunny morning; very lucky, as the rainy days which preceded it didn't augur well. It poured the day after, too! Has it stopped, since?

The village hall provides the venue, and the CHADRA team members are now old hands at this event; we served 166 butties to members of around 54 households in 35 minutes. Owzat! We experimented this year with a barbecue to cook the bacon – worked a treat! (Thank you, Elizabeth and Chris!) The hall and car park were filled with gathering families and chatter – we even spilled into the field in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the photos taken of the huge parade up the Wotton Road to the memorial won't reproduce here very well – but it was a fantastic sight.

With butty money and donations, less the cost of the food, we were able to send £433.47 to Help for Heroes. Thank you indeed all who scoffed butties, or who otherwise donated to the cause in cash or kind. Over the five years, we have sent £2,577 to Help for Heroes. You should be very proud of that, but also proud of the attendance at the memorial. It is a deeply affecting ceremony, and all the more powerful for marking the two minute silence with your community.

As the period of centenary reflection on the 1914–18 war begins, it is good to think that our wounded and damaged are less likely to be thrown on the scrap heap, ignored and disrespected, as they were back then. No NHS back then; no physical rehab or retraining to speak of; Dickensian mental health institutions. Help for Heroes, and the other very laudable and active charities, will continue to be needed – more's the pity.

The National Service of Remembrance was originally conceived as a commemoration of the war dead of the Great War (First World War) but after the Second World War the scope of the ceremony was extended to focus on the nation's dead of both World Wars, and in 1980 it was widened once again to extend the remembrance to all who have suffered and died in conflict in the service of their country and all those who mourn them.

2014 is the centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, and much will be written and broadcast on the subject, but nothing will be more meaningful than your attendance on November 9th at the village ceremony.

So, see you there?
The Butty Team

[Photo]

The Clean Up Green Up Charfield team are planning to sow poppy seeds around the village in acknowledgement of the 100 year anniversary of WW1.

20

Not sure about choral singing?
Either to sing it, or to listen to it?

Why not come and hear an informal sing-through of an exciting oratorio – for FREE*?

On February 22nd Thornbury Choral Society will hold a workshop on Mendelssohn's ‘Elijah’, and at about 4pm will sing through a selection of the work to piano accompaniment. Soloists will be extremely talented students.

It will liven up a winter Saturday afternoon, and be a relaxed way to see if choral concerts are your cup of tea. Do join us at 4pm at Thornbury Baptist Church in Grovesend, Thornbury BS35 2EG, just by the main car park. You will be very welcome.

*no tickets required, but a retiring collection will be made in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation.

For further info, contact Jos Gregson on 01454-41xxxx or visit http://www.thornburychoralsociety.org.uk

See you there!

A Happy New Year to you all.

The start of the year has already proven a busy and less happy time for the RNLI with crews involved in searching for people washed out to sea by the storms that have lashed our coasts, and helping those whose homes have been inundated or cut off by flood water. Please spare a thought (or if so minded a prayer) for the volunteer crew, for those to whose aid they have gone, but most of all for the families and friends of those whom the rescue services were not able to find or save.

Branch AGM
The Branch Annual General Meeting will be held at the Star (in Wotton) and has been provisionally scheduled for Tuesday 25th February starting at 8:00pm. Anyone wanting to know more about the RNLI or the activities of your local branch is most welcome to attend. Please contact me for confirmation of the date and time

Dursley Male Voice Choir Concert
On Saturday 5th April, the Dursley Male Voice Choir is performing an evening concert in the Victoria Rooms, Clifton, Bristol in aid of the RNLI Portishead Boat House Appeal. Their special guest star is Wynne Evans – a very fine tenor – albeit perhaps better known to the nation for his moustachioed appearances on commercial TV! (Yes, I do mean those adverts). The evening will be hosted by Geoff Twentyman (BBC Radio Bristol).

As reported in the last issue of CHADRA, the Portishead Boat House Appeal aims to fund a new RNLI lifeboat station at Portishead (near Portishead Quays Marina). This appeal is being run jointly with the Portishead Lifeboat Trust with the aim of their replacing their current cramped facilities and less-well sited facility with a new RNLI lifeboat station and their being “adopted” to form the crew. Once operational, this will become the nearest RNLI lifeboat to us in Charfield.

For those who appreciate fine choral singing, tickets (priced £20) are now available: on-line from www.dursleymalechoir.org.uk; or by telephone from Ticketsource (0844 870xxxx – booking fee of £1.50 applies) or from members of the Dursley Male Voice Choir.

Adult Presentations and Education Update
I continue to provide illustrated talks on the activities and or history of the RNLI to adult groups and to visit schools and youth groups to talk about the RNLI and 21related topics (often in support of a class or school project).

I have two adult talks scheduled (one in Hawkesbury and the other in Stroud, but would welcome the chance to go and talk to others. I do not charge for these talks – but a collection or donation in aid of the RNLI is always welcome. If your group would be interested in such a talk (whether for this year or next) or would simply like to know more – please contact me.

The education volunteer team would also welcome the chance to go and talk to more schools and youth groups. If there are teachers or youth leaders who would like a visit or would simply like to know more, please:

• look at the education pages of the RNLI website
• http://rnli.org/safetyandeducation/Pages/Safety-and-education.aspx or
• contact me (through the Branch website or via my home telephone number);
• or contact the RNLI education support team via the RNLI website (above) or by e-mail to xxxx @ rnli.org.uk

John Barnett – 01453 84xxxx (Charfield)

Well it is Christmas Eve as I sit here writing this piece for CHADRA, so it is a good time to look back at another year in the life of the village hall. Thanks to the hard work of the management committee and trustees, things continue to improve at the hall. Bookings are up and the hall – certainly in the week – is busier than ever. This is great to see and we very much appreciate the support of our regular users.

Please support our events whenever and however you can when you see them advertised.

We have a Rural Arts event in April – a folk duo, Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston. They are actually appearing in Wotton in February, so catch them there first, enjoy it, tell your friends and all come to the hall in April.

As I'm sure many of you are well aware the hall car park has always been a popular location for anti-social behaviour (ASB) involving noise, nuisance and littering. You may also have noticed work being carried out, particularly on the far side of the car park adjacent to Newtown. This is the work of the Clean Up, Green Up team (CUGUC) who are working with the hall to try to reduce ASB and improve the look of the car park generally. If you have any comments or ideas on the work being carried out, or want to help out, please contact either the hall or the CUGUC team.

You may also remember that the hall has, for the first time this year, been given some precept money directly from the Parish Council. We have now begun a schedule of works using this money. The hall was closed for 2 weeks over the Christmas and New Year period allowing the construction of a new ceiling in the main hall and the installation of modern, efficient lighting. Yes the days of the old, flickering, if they work at all, strip lights are no more. At this point I must thank our regular users for bearing with us over this period and understanding that the work could not be done piecemeal and total closure was the only option.

So, a New Year beckons and perhaps a time to think about a resolution for 2014. Can I suggest one for you – in 2014 support and get involved with your village hall (and playing fields) like never before! The AGM is fast coming round – at the beginning of May – and we could always do with more help and support. We would particularly welcome those with Health & Safety or Buildings Management knowledge and experience but enthusiasm will do for starters!

22I'll finish by saying a few thank you's – Thank you to all the hall committee for their hard work & support, to our “staff” and to all our users. Thanks to the Parish Council and CHADRA for their support of the hall – financial and otherwise. And, if you came to a hall event in 2013, I thank you as well.

All the best for 2014,
Tim Hill. – Chair

Sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine, I am writing my first CHADRA article as Chair of the new committee, I'd like to start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year from all of The Friends.

I would also like to thank the outgoing members of the committee for all of their support and hard work over recent years and to say a huge thank you in making us newbies feel so welcome. Along with Tim stepping down as Chair (although he is still supporting me as much as he can), Marie, Kirsty and Sharon also stood down. Along with myself there are a few new faces with Steph Ward stepping in as Secretary, Rhian Witham and Liz Drury sharing the Vice-Chair duties and Heather Stoakes supporting Sarah with the treasurer role. There are also a number of other new general members to welcome as well, which is great news that we are expanding our team.

Since the new committee was elected in late September the year has been very busy for us. November wouldn't be November without the Charfield School Fireworks Night, we were blessed with proper bonfire night weather nice and chilly with a beautiful clear starlit sky!! Yet again, we had a myriad of helpers and committee members on hand to help make it a really enjoyable evening, we hope you enjoyed seeing a fantastic professional fireworks display provided by CTS and enjoyed the BBQ and drinks available on the night. As a result of everyone's support the event raised just over £750 which was a fantastic result after some unexpected costs arose in the form of various insurances.

Also a huge thank you to everyone that came and supported our Christmas Fair this year you helped make it such an enjoyable event with a lovely atmosphere and lots of happy children (and adults). Thank you to everyone that helped out as well, especially with the organisation beforehand and the merry band of volunteers who helped on the day and to all who donated raffle prizes – your generosity was greatly appreciated. Well done to all of those who successfully managed to find all of the reindeers in the Great Charfield School reindeer hunt, it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves on the day, made even more special with the arrival of Father Christmas! The event was another great success with just under £1,000 being raised.

Last but by no means least I would like to say a big thank you to the team led by Adrian Fallows who braved the weather to help set up and run the Christmas tree sale – raising over £650 during the day which is another fantastic success, thank you for buying a tree from us this year.

Whilst The Friends have been busy raising money we have also been spending it through the requests raised by various members of the school staff.

As well as helping to continue funding the redevelopment of the adventure playground, you have probably noticed the outer sections have now been replaced. We will be shortly embarking on the redevelopment of the inner section as I am delighted to say we have sufficient funds to complete this final part of the project. Watch this space as the finalised design will be revealed soon. This project has been a huge undertaking for us but I am delighted to say the committee has risen to the challenge set by the School and delivered a fantastic playground for the children to enjoy in the years to come!

With the above in mind we are also waiting on applications for a number of 23community grants and charity matched giving initiatives – whilst I appreciate we are experiencing tough times, if you work for a company that runs such a scheme and are stuck for a worthwhile cause to support then please do get in touch!

In terms of fund raising for the first part of the year we are looking into holding another film night for the children in the school (hooray I hear all you parents say, child free for a couple of hours). A number of committee members have also signed up for the Bristol 10K race in May (including me). We are going to organise a ‘Just Giving’ site for us to raise funds for the school and sponsorship would be very welcome. If you would like to run with us please feel free to get in touch and I can provide you with details on how to enter.

We will be looking at running Charfest again this year, if anyone has any ideas about the schedule of events on the day or has some thoughts on ways to entertain the audience with side shows etc. please feel free to let me know.

In the meantime, another way that you can help The Friends is through Easy Fund Raising. The way it works is that when doing your online shopping, rather than going to that company's own website, you access it through the link below, we then receive a percentage of what you spend via the site, it doesn't cost you a penny! It couldn't be simpler to get involved you just need to register using the following link;
www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/friendsofcharfieldschool.
There are over 2000 retailers listed including Amazon, John Lewis, M&S, Ebay and Argos etc. so the next time you are online please try it out, we have already managed to raise over £800 to date through this scheme!

If you are reading this and want to get involved in The Friends then it couldn't be easier, all you need to do is to come along to the next committee meeting and get stuck in! Drop me a text if you'd like to know when the next meeting is taking place.

I look forward to keeping you informed of all our future events.

Dave Ashby
Friends of Charfield Primary School
07904 02xxxx

The 200 Club is a lottery which raises money for the Village Hall.

All members pay a yearly subscription of £12. Once subscribed, they get to choose a number which is theirs for the year. Every month it is entered into a drawer with cash prizes of £25 and 3, £10 prizes. Once a quarter we have an extra special prize of £50 (whooo I hear you all shout).

In our last meeting it was decided that from now on ALL 200 club members will also be entitled to discounted ticket rates to certain Village Hall events. This will be indicated on the advertisement for the event, so keep your eyes peeled!

We are fast approaching the end of the financial year which is when we will be restarting the 200 club for 2014–2015. There will be an event happening at the end of March to say a MASSIVE Thank you to our current members.

If you are interested in joining or you are already a member and want to subscribe now for 2014–15 then please contact Liam on 07947 43xxxx or email him on xxxx @ gmail.com or look out for the dates of the event in March (posters to follow).

Here are the winners for the last quarter.
October
£50 – (224) Jack Lloyd
£25 – (168) Mr Radford
£10 – (195) Mr Blackie
£10 – (103) Mrs Willmott
£10 – (118) Mrs P Russell
24November
£25 – (227) Mrs P. Beresford
£10 – (149) Tracy Trevelyan
£10 – (121) Tim Hill
£10 – (235) Graham Pedley
December
£50 – (198) Sarah Edwards
£25 – (248) A. Wilson
£10 – (224) J. Lloyd
£10 – (246) A. Hill
£10 – (139) Mrs M Taylor

Thank you!

With the passing of time,
Our village is no longer sublime
Alas, it is suffering from the ravages of time.

The old Church still stands upon the hill,
Silent, but tranquil still.
The Church-yard, now without a space,
Is no longer a peaceful resting place.

The cows in the meadow can no longer be seen,
Due to the new housing forming a screen,
Views of the hills have become obscure,
And some folks find this difficult to endure.

Trees and hedgerows have been replaced with paths,
And dogs are walking all over the grass.

Cars and lorries take their toll
As up and down the hill they roll.
Passing the School causing confusion,
We certainly no longer have seclusion.

The Village Hall still remains,
But even that has seen major change
Car Boot Sales and the like,
Are now quite a familiar sight.

We no longer have a Village Green,
The trains rush by, but do not stop
However, we still have 2 Village Shops.

Maybe it is a pity we have such a changing scene,
But, with passing time, so I am told
This is what the future will hold,
More development yet to come,
Where will all the people go for fun?

Rosa Gunning (1999)

Advance notice of the next Charfield BIG Spring Clean

Saturday 26th April 2014 10am–2pm
Refuse sacks, gloves, litter pickers all provided
Come along and help keep the village tidy – even a half hour helps!

Please Meet in the Car Park of the Memorial Hall

Charfield Parish Council

[Graphic: Litter picker]

Charfield & District Residents Association

Our AGM will take place on 18 March 2014

7:30pm 70 Wotton Road, Charfield

The CHADRA team would like to invite Charfield residents to come along to the meeting, find out how the association works, how to get involved, make suggestions for future work, or simply meet the team.

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[Advert for Well Fed Birds]

[Advert for Ovenu]

#[Advert for Acucare]

[Advert for Pass & Totterdell]

[Advert for Evergreen Computing]

#[Advert for Kopperz]

[Advert for Oak Tree Nursery]

[Advert for Charfield Memorial Hall]

#[Advert for Tunevalley Studio]

[Advert for Add Plant]

[Advert for Ashworthy Cattery]

[Advert for The Farmers Table]

[Advert for D.R. Vizard]

[Advert for Tree Care]

#[Advert for New Street Garage]

[Advert for Steve's Shop]

[Advert for At Home Curtains & Blinds]

[Advert for Cotswold Edge Carpets]

#[Advert for Greenline Tanks]

[Advert for Falcon Cottage B&B]

[Advert for The Edge Health & Beauty]

[Advert for Buddug Green reflexology]

[Advert for Elcombe Fire Wood]

[Advert for Bradley Garage]

#[Advert for Sara Stone Travel Counsellor]

[Advert for RK Aerials]

[Advert for Manor Garden Maintenance]

[Advert for CHADRA Newsletter]

[Advert for PC Repairs & Maintenance]

[Advert for Alan Hamer driving]

#

January
29th Mobile Library

February
7/8th CADS Pantomime
11th Parish Council Meeting
12th Mobile Library
21st CADS @ Berkeley Power Station
22nd Charity Ball Gt Western Air Ambulance
26th Mobile Library
28th Pre School Quiz Memorial Hall 7.30

March
1st St John's Grand Jumble @ School Hall
1st Out of School Club Jumble
4th Shrove Tuesday
11th Parish Council Meeting
18th CHADRA AGM
26th Mobile Library
30th Mothering Sunday

April
8th Parish Council Meeting
20th Easter
26th Parish Council Big Spring Clean

✍

Village Hall Regular Activities

CUT OUT THIS PAGE AND PIN IT TO YOUR NOTICEBOARD

#

If you wish to alter the entries below, please telephone Isabel on 01454 26xxxx
or email xxxx @ gmail.com

British Legion
David Millman (Hon Sec) 01454 26xxxx

CADS (Charfield Amateur Dramatics Group)
Steve Picking 07583 56xxxx

Charfield Pre-School
Debra Davidson (Manager/Admissions) 07966 61xxxx
Email:- xxxx @ gmail.com
Louise Sydney xxxx @ gmail.com

Charfield Primary School
Dafydd Lawday 01454 26xxxx

Church – Congregational
Nicky Lanyi 01454 26xxxx

Church – St. John's
Rev Chris Mason

Clean Up Green Up Charfield
Vanessa Cole
Email

Council – Charfield Parish
Hannah C Saunders (Clerk) 01454 29xxxx
Email clerk @ charfieldparishcouncil.co.uk

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

Cricket Club
Chris Shearwood 01454 77xxxx

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

Friends of Charfield Primary School
Dave Ashby (Chair) 0790402xxxx
Email xxxx @ yahoo.co.uk

Foundation Room
Bryan Grantham 01454 26xxxx

Junior Football Club
Nigel Cloke 01454 26xxxx

Keep Fit Club
Christine Parfitt 01454 26xxxx

Luncheon Club for the Elderly
Jane Higgins 01454 26xxxx

Memorial Hall
Bookings 07774 41xxxx
Email www.charfield.org
Chairman Tim Hill 01454 26xxxx