Edition 566 March 2024
Printed courtesy of Mrs Annette Haynes as a service to the community
Please email your entries for the April 2024 issue to: ThePennant@mail.com by 21st March 2024
Bradford Abbas Sports and Social Club
Our club is an outstanding community sports facility. Built in 1979 by villagers for villagers. Folk often ask me how the club is doing, my normal reply is ‘hanging in there, wish villagers would visit our 9-acre site more often, and become members! ‘
We are open during the day and every evening except Thursday and Saturday. Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons from 2.30pm are popular times with several members. The club can be hired on Saturdays and Sundays for family events and parties.
During the day and evenings members are able to enjoy snooker, crib, pétanque, table tennis, pool, darts, bingo, Friendship Club, fitness and outdoor family recreation, cycling, football, cricket and coffee bar.
We would love to welcome more villagers! Dare I say, use it or lose it?
Membership subscriptions provide vital funds for the future of the club (see below for details). Pop in for a beer sometime and take a look!
Alan Fall (01935 425747)
Membership details:
The Committee has decided to change the renewal date for all memberships. All yearly memberships will now begin on 1st April 2024. This is to help with the admin and keep our records up to date.
- Single Membership £15.00 per year
- Family Membership £20.00 per year
- Life members may consider making an annual donation?
Please can all renewals be done promptly. Forms are available from the club. Many thanks, the Committee
Pop-up Market
Next market in the Village Hall will be 23rd March 11 to 1 pm. The WI will be doing refreshments and there will be a variety of stalls. If you'd like a stall please email me julieswinnerton@hotmail.co.uk.
I now have a website selling the sustainable gifts, accessories, home decor and cards that I make. I'm happy to deliver in the village or you can collect from me, madebyjules.uk.
Julie Swinnerton
Bradford Abbas History Society
The next meetings will be in the Village Hall on Tuesday 26th March, 2.30pm and Thursday 28th March, 7.30pm, when there will be a presentation on ‘The Archaeological Excavations of Stalbridge House’ given by Nigel Jones. Stalbridge House was the country estate of the Walter Family, 1746-1780. Meetings are open to all at a cost of £2 each and free to members and to those under 16. The annual subscription is £10.
Bradford Abbas Variety Club – Variety Show 2024
Not long now until the show of the year! Rehearsals are underway! The Speedo’s are being pressed; vocal chords being lubricated; musical instruments being tuned; joke books being read and there might even be some other magical entertainment!
All this is being organised to provide you with a great afternoon or evening of humour and entertainment by a group of volunteers – thank you to all who have offered their help, on the stage and behind!
Show dates are: Friday 12th April at 7.30pm and Saturday 13th April at 3pm & 7.30pm at the Village Hall.
TICKETS (priced £8 per person) GO ON SALE FROM FRIDAY 1ST MARCH – available from lou.silk@hotmail.com or Greystones, Church Road, Bradford Abbas.
The Rose and Crown, Bradford Abbas
Key dates in March:
Saturday 2nd - Quiz night 8pm
Sunday 10th - Mothers Day Carvery (book early)
Thursday 14th - Steak night 6-9pm
Friday 29th -Good Friday -( Fishy Friday) 6-9pm
Saturday 30th- Easter Bingo 8pm
Sunday - Easter Sunday Carvery (book early )
For bookings please phone 01935 423199 or email roseandcrown@btinternet.com
St. Mary’s Community Trust
Thanks to everyone who came along to our Big Breakfast on Saturday 17th February in the church. Everyone had a good time and some stayed so long we almost had to throw them out at the end. Thanks to the Rose & Crown which kindly donated some of the food.
We are not planning a “Church That Rocks” event for spring / early Summer this year but please mark your diaries for a music event “The Last Rays of Summer” in the playing field on Saturday 14thSeptember. It promises to be a celebration of local musical talent.
See you soon.
Jo, Alan, Rob, Ruth, Trevor and Gary
The ST MARY’S COMMUNITY TRUST team
Bradford Abbas Camera Club
- Tuesday 12th March: Matt Phillips will present an evening of his photographs
- Tuesday 26th March: Our Macro and close up competition, judged by Alan Denison
- Meetings are at 7.30pm at Bradford Abbas Village hall, all welcomed, just turn up.
Further information at sbacameraclub.co.uk.
Mixed Ability Yoga
Saturday morning yoga continues at Bradford Abbas Village Hall 9.15 - 10.15am. So come along and join us! These are friendly and fun classes, suitable for most. Start your weekend with movement and relaxation. £9 per session.
March dates - 2nd / 9th / 16th / 30th (No class 23rd March)
For more information email emmarileyyoga@gmail.com, message on Facebook @emmarileyyoga or call/text 07884246550.
Bradford Abbas Petanque Group
The Petanque group is still going through the winter months although we have to play skittles on wet days (lucky to have an alternative). Thursday afternoon sessions start at 1.30pm during winter months. Any queries please contact Bob Taylor on 77840340799
The Friendship Club
The Friendship Club meeting this month is on Tuesday 5th March at 2.00 pm at Bradford Abbas Sports and Social Club. There is Bingo, a small draw, tea and biscuits and a chance to have a chat and laugh with fellow villagers. New members will be warmly welcomed. We always meet on the first Tuesday afternoon of the month.
Monday Night Bingo
Every Monday at Bradford Abbas Sports and Social Club at 6.45pm with eyes down at 7.15pm. Everyone 18 and over is welcome to our weekly light-hearted evening which also includes a small draw a chance to win the SNOW BALL and of course a laugh and chat, we finish just before 9.00 pm.
Yeovil Railway Centre at Yeovil Junction
- Sunday 17th March: Steam Train day with Pectin
- Easter Sunday 31st March and Easter Monday 1st April : Steam Train Day with Easter Bunny and an Easter Egg trail
- There will be our usual planned attractions, the model and miniature railways, light refreshments, shop, exhibits and displays including the Chard signal panel
- Gate open 10.30, first train ride at 11am and onwards with a lunch break (even Pectin needs a break) with turntable demonstrations at 12.40 and 2.30pm
Please see our web site for full details at yeovilrailway.freeservers.com
Bradford Abbas and Clifton Maybank Village Hall
In order to book the village hall please go to the Parish Council website (https://bradford-abbas.uk/hall) to see if the hall is available and how to book, alternatively please email bacmvh@gmail.com or ring the Booking Secretary (Tricia Chapman) on 01935 602279. Please note the new telephone number.
St. Mary’s Church, Bradford Abbas
SERVICES HERE IN MARCH - EVERYBODY IS WELCOME
SUNDAY 3RD MARCH 10am Morning Service (lay-led)
WEDNESDAY 6TH MARCH 3:30pm “Mothering Wednesday” (led by Jenny Nelson)
This is a celebration of mothers, carers, grandmas, aunties, teachers, friends and anyone else who cares for and nurtures our children. It’s for children and women and men of all ages. Come and get that Mothering Sunday glow a few days ahead of the pack.
SUNDAY 17TH MARCH 10am Holy Communion (led by David Dunning)
EASTER SUNDAY 31ST MARCH 9:30am Holy Communion (led by David Dunning)
FROM OUR ECO CORRESPONDENT
Bring nature into your home or garden. Plant a herb or flower plant as a reminder of our responsibility to steward God’s earth. As you tend to this plant, prayerfully ask God how you might nurture nature better at home.
Get to your nearest green space more often. Time spent enjoying God’s creation will help set your mind. Take a sketchbook or notebook, your Bible, or whatever helps you connect with our heavenly Father. Or perhaps God is inviting you to just bring yourself to simply sit and soak it all in.
Try out a new meat-free recipe. What we eat impacts the earth’s resources. Get creative and sample some tasty meat-free recipes.
Grow your own. What could you grow inside your home or in the garden? Who can you bless along the way?
Go plastic free for March. It’s really hard to avoid plastics when we shop. Why not try to avoid plastic packaging this month in favour of loose items or things packed in paper or card.
Let’s make 2024 a year for changing our deep-rooted habits and for caring for God’s creation in exciting new ways.
An Easter message from the Rector
A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.
Mahatma Gandhi
Many times, I have heard faith described as irrational. However, Christianity does not expect you to suspend your intellectual powers or discourage you from thinking things out for yourself. It is based on certain propositions that you might not like, and you may accept or reject them as you see fit: propositions such as there is a God, and that Jesus died and rose again for us. Accept them and the structure of the belief system is logical and rational thereafter. You are not required to assent to things that fly in the face of the evidence such as creationism (the belief that creation occurred 22 October 4004 BC). The Bible is not a ‘mechanics handbook’ for life, it is about humans’ experience of God.
However improbable it may seem, there is evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The case for it depends on various well-supported witness statements. Jesus’ followers certainly seemed to believe that they had seen Jesus alive after the crucifixion events. They believed that he had been resurrected and that his tomb was empty a few days after his death, and they told others about it. This belief empowered them to do things which were nothing short of miraculous. Of course, there is the very existence of the church itself as strong evidence.
On several occasions Jesus himself predicted what would happen to him. The cumulative case for a faith based on the events of the first Easter is powerful and compelling.
The Roman authorities at the time seemed to have been paralysed into inactivity. At no time did they try to discredit the stories circulating about Jesus’ appearances to his followers. At no time did they produce a body to refute the resurrection stories nor did they try to imply that the disciples had stolen it and hidden it.
As C S Lewis, a well-known religious author, says about Jesus:
"Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." -- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Happy Easter, Tony Gilbert, Team Rector