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The Pucklechurch community website |
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News and Features June 2009 |
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The Annual General Meeting of the Pucklechurch Community Association on May 12th marked the end of an era. Les Bence -- who served on the PCA Council and Executive for many years and has been chairman for the last six -- did not stand for re-election, saying that at his age (75) he deserved to hang up his PCA hat. PCA Treasurer Tina Symons resigned after 14 years on the Council and Executive. Both deserve a big thank you for their important work in keeping the Community Centre going for so long. The Treasurer's Report for the last fiscal year showed that the Community Centre made a small profit (about £600) for the year ending in April 2009, despite the increases in rates and utilities. Tina put this down to people being more aware of the need to turn off lights and the fact that the portable heaters were stored away this winter and used only when absolutely necessary. Because the financial situation was so precarious this past year, the Parish Council granted the PCA a £3000 float to cover bills if and when it might be needed. Annual elections were held for the offices of Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Alan Holder was elected Chairperson, Peter Lugg was re-elected as Vice Chair, and Liz Archibald was re-elected as Secretary. As no one at the meeting offered to take on the role of Treasurer, the new chair recruited a new Treasurer from the community at large. As we go to press a person has stepped forward for the job but has not yet been confirmed, stay tuned for more news. Jacki Berry |
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The Happiest Place in the Parish: Hill View Road One of the many findings of the Community Plan is that the residents of Hill View Road are the happiest in the parish with where they live. Many more findings will help our community improve and meet residents’ expectations. The Community Plan Steering Group is pleased to report that significant progress has been made over the last months. Although the final plan has still to be completed, two of the working groups -- Environment and Sustainability -- are now sufficiently advanced to be released, as are the detailed results of the survey. These documents and files are now available to be viewed on the Community Website: www.pucklechurch.org Survey Results (click here...)
Working Group Reports (click here...) Working group reports contain three sections: a detailed analysis of the current situation based on the survey and other data sources, a vision of where our community should be in five to ten years time, and finally an action plan of how to get there. The following two reports are now available in draft form:
What next? The team are in the process of finalising the Traffic and Community Spirit sections of the plan. When this is complete, a summary plan will be developed, printed, and distributed to all households in the parish. Help Needed Do you use the buses? The Traffic Group's next task is to analyse the data on public transport and to formulate an action plan for the future. The group would like people who use our local buses to join the group and to help shape the proposals. If you are interested, please call Martin on 937 4437. Martin Smith, Chair Community Plan Steering Committee |
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Get snap-happy this summer! The Revel Committee are once again sponsoring the Bob Stone Memorial Photography Competition and will offer cash prizes in three age groups and two categories: Age groups: Categories:
Entries are due in by September 21st. The competition is open to amateur photographers who are residents of Pucklechurch, Shortwood, Abson, Westerleigh, Hinton, Doynton, and Dyrham and any student attending Pucklechurch Primary School. Rule sheets will be available at the Revel stall on Revel Day and from the school, the Pucklechurch Post Office, and Mike Walker's Newsagent over the summer. The exhibition and prize-giving will be held on Sunday, 11th October, in the Village Hall. This year there will be a new prize for the "best-of-the-rest", awarded to the image chosen by visitors to the exhibition from among the photos that do not receive a prize from the judges. |
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Do you buy food at one of our local shops or always go to a supermarket? If you choose the supermarket because you think it's always cheaper, think again. An informal survey of prices conducted on a single day in May showed the following for a list of common products.
Of course, it might be difficult to buy everything you need from the few local shops that remain in Pucklechurch, but rather than pop down to Sainsbury's for a few necessities, why not try buying local? It could be cheaper, especially when you add in the cost of petrol to drive to Emerson's Green, Yate, or farther. The local shops in Pucklechurch -- Anstee's Bakery, Cotswold Edge Farm Shop, Pucklechurch Local Store, the Post Office, and Michael Walkers -- need our support to stay in business. If there's some product you think they should carry, ask them! They will be far more inclined to accommodate your requests than a big corporation. There are other reasons to buy your food from local producers too. For example, buying local produce from local shops contributes far more to our local economy than buying from a huge business whose profits go to far-flung shareholders. Buying local goods is good for the environment because they rack up fewer "food miles" -- the distance your food travels from farm to table -- than supermarket goods, and they use less packaging too. Local foods are also fresher than supermarket foods -- the eggs in the farm shop may have been laid the same day you buy them, for example. So try local. It's good all the way round.
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What a wonderful community event! From Aristotle to Einstein, Boadicea to Pankhurst, Jesus to Desmond Tutu, the 2nd Annual Scarecrow Competition organised in aid of St Thomas à Becket Church brought out an impressive list of H-list celebrities. This year's theme was historical characters, and it clearly brought out the community's creative side as well. It was fabulous to see so many people out and about in Pucklechurch on a bank holiday weekend -- meeting, chatting, and admiring their neighbours' handiwork. A map of locations and a list of clues led contestants round the village to guess the identities of 57 scarecrows. There were joint winners who got all answers correct: the McCollom family and the Toms family. All contestants had the opportunity to vote on the best scarecrow, and the winner was the Gibbs/Ball family, who created Buzz Aldrin, complete with lunar landing module. Rachel Goodchild, the event organiser, reported that the event raised £2,000 for the church funds. "I would really like to say a huge thank you to the Scarecrow Committee for all their hard work and to everyone involved," said Rachel, "One got a real sense of what community is about." See all the answers and photos here... |
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This year’s Revel Week will be held from 12th to 20th June. (click here for full details) In a departure from recent years, Revel Week events will start with the Beer Festival on Friday 12th June. Revel Day is 20th June and the theme is “TV Programmes Past and Present”. During Revel Week in mid-June, there will be a string of events:
Details of all events may be found in the Revel programme, which is being distributed free with this edition of Pucklechurch News. Revel Day On Revel Day itself, the Revel parade will assemble in Hill View Road, where judging starts at 11.30am. The Parade will follow last year’s route via Castle Road, Westerleigh Road, Parkfield Road and Homefield Road before returning to Castle Road via Shortwood, Abson and Feltham Roads. In the arena, we will have the City of Bristol Band -- Bristol’s top brass band. The Black Panther Cheerleaders join us again for a display of coordination and agility, and the day will conclude with children’s sports. You don’t have to run away from home to join the circus! The children’s area should be even more popular this year with a circus skills workshop. All you budding unicyclists, jugglers, and clowns can come and get lessons from the experts. The traditional Punch & Judy returns, as does the many pocket money stalls and children’s games. Giant kites and pony rides will ensure that there is plenty to do for the children. Around the field we will have a fun faire, Scouting Village, food vendors, and many other traditional stalls. And don’t forget the popular WI cream teas in the Scout Hut, and the Craft Fayre and teas in the Village Hall. Raffle tickets are on sale now. With a first prize of £100 (donated by Cameron Carpets), a second prize of £50 from A. Nichols (Cow Mills), plus many other great prizes, this is a raffle not to miss. Revel Sponsors (click here...) |
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The Pucklechurch News team has received funding from the Parish Council to update the Village Directory this year. A new directory will help you find local suppliers for everything from food and drink to decorating and plumbing. Remember that buying local puts the money you spend back into our own community. We will be contacting village groups and businesses that appeared in the last directory for updated information over the summer and hope to produce the new directory in time for distribution in September. If your group or business was not in the 2007 directory and you would like to be in this one, please contact Jacki Berry for an application form (editor@pucklechurch.org or 937 4437). Listings are free for local businesses of any kind. How good is that? |
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A good old-fashioned day out for all the family! Saturday, 27th June Behind St Anne's church, off Siston Lane Cream teas, birds of prey, live music, |
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