January 2010 Newsletter
Contents
Click on the item to go to the article. |
Editorial CommentAre the years getting shorter? Christmas seems to come around much quicker than it used to. My thanks to all our contributors this month. Have a great Christmas and don't forget to come along and join the Kingfisher Church outside Budgens for some Carol Singing on Saturday, 19th December from 12:30 'til 13:30. If you have a news item or event you would like to share in the next newsletter, please send your contribution via email to To ensure we have the largest possible distribution, please would you forward this newsletter on to friends and neighbours and encourage them sign up to the emailing list via our website - |
From our Chairman
Hello again everyone. It is some considerable time since I have made a contribution to the Newsletter, but with Christmas fast approaching, now seems to be a opportune time to write again.
It has turned out to be another hectic year. We have carried out numerous small routine maintenance jobs, but have also completed a number of larger improvements as well. These include a new sign over the main entrance, provision of two new enclosed notice-boards, replacing of a lot of damaged and leaking guttering, installation of CCTV cameras, sorting out and re–arranging the external store cupboards, re–painting external woodwork, and re–painting many of the rooms.
We have acquired a new modular stage, and some skirt curtains that hide the supports – see the accompanying photograph. Hilperton Parish Council made a generous donation towards the stage itself, and our secretary, Pauline Marples, generously donated the money for the curtains.
We had wondered if the so–called credit crunch might reduce the use of the Centre, but bookings are holding up well and we have recently had several enquiries from possible new user groups.
In preparation for the re–opening of their Trowbridge store, Iceland hired two rooms in the Centre for all their interviewing and initial training. This provided something of a windfall for us, and has enabled us to consider paying professionals to do the more difficult jobs. These include altering the emergency exit doors down the side of the building to reduce vandalism in the porchway, improving the emergency lighting, repairing ducting in the loft, and some plumbing changes.
We are also working with the Social Club to provide a new sign over their entrance door. Paying for these jobs will use some more of the windfall, but will allow us to concentrate on finishing off the remaining small jobs over winter, and be well placed to pick up the next batch of larger improvements in the spring.
Well, it just remains for me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. All the best to everyone.
Paxcroft Mead News
There are still issues in the lower Paxcroft area, between Painters Mead and Cornbrash Rise. We are actively investigating a series of criminal damage to vehicles in the area where the offenders have ‘keyed’ numerous cars.
This is now a Trowbridge sector priority and all officers now include Paxcroft in their patrol strategy. We still need information however. We have a few suspects but little evidence at this point, so I would ask that you ask everyone to call is if they hear anything.
People seem reluctant to inform us of this type of offence thinking that we will not do anything. This is not the case. As it is a series, it has the highest priority and everyone will get a call. We would like all incidents reported as it builds a better picture. All offences will be put to the offenders when we get them (which we will).
Wiltshire Council Core Strategy Consultation
Several members of the Forum Committee went to the recent exhibition at Trowbridge Civic Hall about the Core Strategy Consultation, Wiltshire 2026, and have to report a distinct lack of intelligible explanation.
We were therefore very grateful to see a summary of the proposals, as they relate to Hilperton, on Ernie Clark's website: www.ernieclark.org.uk, under the heading, Good Planning News for Hilperton. Ernie Clark is the independent local councillor for the Hilperton Division of Wiltshire Council, and therefore represents the area of Paxcroft Mead which falls within Hilperton.
Thus encouraged, I have posted an update on the consultation on the Forum website.
Residents can respond to the Consultation until 5.00pm on December 31st 2009:
| By writing to: | Spatial Planning, Economy and Enterprise, Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8JN |
| By email: | spatialplanningpolicy@wiltshire.gov.uk |
| Online: | use the online system |
| By phone: | 01225 713489 |
We urge you to make the effort to respond to the Core Strategy. The Forum will be making a response and we would be very interested to hear your views, in the usual way through the Contact email form.
Improving our green space
Following up concerns about the maintenance of hedges etc. raised by members at the Open Meeting in October, the Forum has been in contact with the Open Space Management Team at the Council. They have helpfully provided maps showing the hedges, shrub beds and grassy areas which they maintain. If you know of a problem area, visit the Forum website and use the relevant map to describe its location.
There are some residents who have responsibility for the maintenance of hedges beside their houses, though not part of their land, because their houses are beside a footpath. The Open Space Management Team recognises that this is not an ideal situation, but it is council policy. If you are in this situation and you are finding it a problem, please visit the website.
Recycling at Hackett Place
A further concern raised at the meeting was the recycling facility at Hackett Place. We had a meeting with representatives of the council Waste Management Team and Hills Ltd, who manage the site. The Waste Management officer readily admitted that the underlying problem is that the facility is too small but, since it is on private land and enclosed, there is little prospect of extending it.
The representative from Hills Ltd confirmed that his operatives collect from the site on a daily basis, plastic one day, cardboard the other. He observed that they find the site most untidy on Mondays. He asked us to advise residents to do as much recycling as possible midweek. At times when the facility is full (as it may well be, with Christmas coming) it is worth knowing that there is an alternative local recycling facility at Semington Turnpike.
In the long term, the council is looking at the possibilities for including cans and cardboard in its roadside collection scheme.
For further information, to get more involved or to raise an issue, you can contact the Forum online at www.paxcroftmead.org/forum.
Christmas Recycling – some useful tips
Top Ten Tips for Recycling this Christmas
Christmas is a wonderful, festive time. These Top Ten Tips to reduce, re–use and recycle will help you avoid being wasteful, and may even save you money this Christmas.
- Your Black Box recycling collection day will change over Christmas and New Year. Remember to check the online collection calendar for details of when your black box will be collected, at www.recycleforwiltshire.com/calendar.
- Much of the waste left over after Christmas can be recycled at your nearest Household Recycling Centre. You can even recycle anything from old Christmas Trees and old electrical items there.
- Don't forget to tell your guests where your recycling bins are and what goes in them when they stay over this Christmas.
- Instead of sending a conventional Christmas Card, why not send a Recycling E-Card? You can decorate your own card electronically on www.recyclenow.com.
- Look out for gifts with packaging that can be reused or recycled easily. Gift bags, instead of wrapping paper, can be reused again and again.
- A good way to reduce wrapping waste is to use the beautiful art of ‘furoshiki’, a Japanese–style of wrapping presents with fabric which can then be reused. You can find a ‘how to’ on www.recycleforwiltshire.com
- Christmas and New Year are perfect times for dinner parties and you may need to cook for a large number of people. Use the Love Food Hate Waste Perfect Portions Planner for advice on how portion sizes – it'll save you money and food waste on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
- If you're looking for new ideas for using up left-over food there are plenty of recipes from top chefs on www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
- After your Christmas Dinner remember that you can put food waste into a food waste digester. Check out www.recycleforwiltshire.com for details of how to buy a food digester for your garden at a discount rate.
Jack Pope's Letter from America
November has come and gone and what a glorious November it was weather–wise. True the nights were cold – down in the 20s F and most mornings there was a good frost. As the sun rose (and most days in November were sunny), the day warmed up to the 50s or even the 60s some days. Everyone expects snow to come in November. In 2008, when we went to pick out or Christmas tree for later cutting, we were walking in several inches of snow. This year there was no snow in November. In fact, we set a record for the number of days without receiving an inch of snow – 277. With the wonderful weather I did a lot of walking a Beaver Lake Nature Center. I have now walked more than 400 miles there and am well on my way to 500.
One of the major events in November is our annual Thanksgiving Day Holiday. This is a day for families to gather together and to recall the things they have to be thankful for. It is a common belief that the first Thanksgiving Day occurred in 1621 following the first successful harvest by the Colonists in Massachusetts and has been an annual holiday every since.
Actually, the first feast wasn't repeated, so it wasn't the beginning of a tradition. In fact, the colonists did not even call the day Thanksgiving. To them, a thanksgiving was a religious holiday in which they would go to church and thank God for a specific event, such as the winning of a battle. On such a religious day, the types of recreational activities that the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians participated in during the 1621 harvest feast, dancing, singing secular songs, playing games, wouldn't have been allowed. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims minds. The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long.
The event was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. After that first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists, Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonists and neighboring Indians. In 1623 a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed in New England by annually celebrating thanksgiving after the harvest.
During the American Revolution a yearly day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and by the middle of the 19th century many other states had done the same. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November, which he may have correlated it with the November 21, 1621, anchoring of the Mayflower at Cape Cod. Since then, each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941)
Since then we have continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. Many people have or take the Friday as a day off so as to make a long weekend. It is a time for families to get together, often traveling long distances. It is also a time for feasting – we all eat way to much. This year Susan and I went to my daughter's for the day and joined them for the Thanksgiving dinner. We had a traditional dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, corn, broccoli green beans and apple or pumpkin pie with ice cream for dessert. We did take time to recall our many blessings and to give thanks for them.
November is when the Canada geese begin to migrate south for the winter. They are in no particular hurry to leave as they are finding plenty of food in the cut corn fields and, with the nice weather, there is lots of open water. It is not unusual to see several thousand geese on Beaver Lake. Colder weather will be here in December and the lake will freeze over and the geese will be on their way. Snow will also be here soon and it will be a winter wonderland at Beaver Lake. It is very enjoyable to walk, snowshoe or ski in the snow covered forests there.
Susan and I are very thankful for the many wonderful friends we made during our time at Paxcroft Mead. We send best wishes to all there.
Forthcoming Events
Mead Club Events
Christmas Programme
| Thursday 17th December | Xmas Quiz with seasonal food and mulled wine. Bar open 7:30pm-11pm, quiz at 8:30pm, 50p entry. | |
| Thursday 24th December | Xmas Eve disco with carol singing and mince pies. Bar open 7:30pm till late. | |
| Christmas Day | Bar Open at lunchtime 12pm until 2pm. | |
| Boxing Day | Wii gaming evening in the bar and on the big screen. Bar open 7:30pm till late. | |
| New Years Eve | New Year's Eve Disco - tickets and prices TBC. Bar open 7:30pm till late. |
Christmas Raffle
| First Prize |
| One bedroom apartment in Spain for one week (excluding flights) |
| …… |
| Christmas Hamper |
| Paintball for 8 people (excluding ammunition) |
| W H Smith Voucher |
| Indian Meal |
| Child's Dyson Vacuum Cleaner |
| Wines & Chocolates |
| Plus many more great prizes |
| …… |
| Tickets are now available from the Mead Club bar during opening hours. |
| …… |
| This year the proceeds will go to local charity Alzheimers Support and Dorothy House. |
Kingfisher Church @ Christmas
St James' Church – Christmas Events
Sunday December 13th – Communion with Nativity Play
at St James Church 10.30 am.
Thursday December 17th – Dorothy House Service of Light
at St James Church 6 pm. A service in commemoration of the work done by the Hospice and in memory of loved ones lost to cancer.
Sunday December 20th – Service of Nine Lessons and Carols
at St James 6.30 pm.
Thursday December 24th – Crib Service
at 5.30 p.m. when the children bring the holy family to the crib.
Thursday December 24th – Midnight Christmas Eucharist
where the celebrant will be Right Reverend Stephen Conway, the Bishop of Ramsbury.
Victorian Trowbridge
Starting on November 28th, Trowbridge Museum will be opening a new exhibition entitled, “Victorian Trowbridge”.
The exhibition which runs through to April 24th, 2010, features Important People, Terrible Crime (including the Notorious Rode Murder - as featured in the novel, ‘The Suspicions of Mr Witcher’) and many social and religious topics relating to Victorian Trowbridge.
Throughout the exhibition there will be a programme of activities for the children.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE Normal opening Tue–Fri 10.00–4.00, Sat 10.00–4.30. Disabled Access is available.
For further details on any of our exhibitions ring the Museum on (01225) 751 339 or email c.lyall@trowbridge.gov.uk
Trowbridge Walking Forum – December 2009
The Trowbridge Walking Forum walks are designed to provide gentle and sociable exercise and are suitable for all ages and abilities.
Wednesday walks are approximately 2 to 3 miles and there is usually a choice of an easy, level walk and one that may include fields and stiles. On Mondays, walks alternate between a longer route of 4 to 5 miles with stiles and some hills, and shorter walks of less that 1½ miles that are mostly on paved paths.
The programme for December 2009 is shown below:
| Day | Date | Type | Route Options | Starting Point | Grade |
| Wed | 2-Dec | Moderate walk | St Margarets and Canal | Canal Car Park (down Baileys Barn, off Moulton Drive, next to canal bridge near Sainsburys) | S M 4m |
| Mon | 7-Dec | Short walk | White Horse Business Park followed by mince pies at Silver Street Lane | B & Q car park, Bradley Road, Trowbridge | E 2m |
| Wed | 9-Dec | Xmas Lunch at the Mill at Rode NO WALK |
|||
| Mon | 14-Dec | Longer walk | Seend canal walk | Three Magpies, Sells Green | P M S 4m |
| Wed | 16-Dec | Moderate walk | Beckington and Orchardleigh | Park on street near The Woolpack, Beckington | S M 3½m |
| Mon | 21-Dec | Short walk | Southwick Country Park | Southwick Country Park CP | E 1½m |
| Wed | 23-Dec | Moderate walk | White Row Farm, Beckington | Park in road outside White Row Farm. Road leads off of A36 Beckington Roundabout | E S 2½m |
| Mon | 28-Dec | Longer walk | Westwood to Wingfield | Westwood Manor NT Car park | S M 4½m |
| Wed | 30-Dec | Moderate walk | Rode and Tellisford | By the church in Rode Hill, Rode | E 2½m |
| Walks start at 10:30AM Bus timetables are at www.traveline.org.uk | |||||
| Short Walks: approx 45 mins, no stiles, mostly paved paths. Moderate Walks: approx 60 to 75 mins, mostly field paths, usually stiles. Longer Walks: up to 2 hours, stiles, some hills. | |||||
| Key: E: Easy walking. H: Moderate hills. S: Stiles. M: Can be muddy. P: Pub lunch possible. s/c: shorter route possible. | |||||
For more information visit www.whi.org.uk/trowbridge or contact Alan & Anne on 01225 760492, David on 01225 755639, Mike on 01225 766668 or Pat & Charles on 01225 753735.