Edition 556 April 2023
Printed courtesy of Mrs Annette Haynes as a service to the community
Please email your entries for the May 2023 issue to: ThePennant@mail.com by 21st April 2023
Bradford Abbas Parish Council
FUTURE PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
- The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Tuesday 4th April in the Village Hall. This is your opportunity to hear what the Parish Council has done this year and also your opportunity to have some input into proposing future projects that the Parish Council could consider.
- The meeting after that will be held on Tuesday 2nd May and it will be the next Ordinary Parish Council Meeting. All meetings start at 7.00pm and are held in the Village Hall.
Sandra Hillier, Bradford Abbas Parish Clerk, www.bradford-abbas.uk (Please note we are having issues with the bradfordabbaspc@hotmail.co.uk address, so please use this address: bradfordabbas@dorset-aptc.gov.uk until further notice. Apologies for the inconvenience.
St. Mary’s Community Trust
Saturday 6th May , THE CHURCH THAT ROCKS - Coronation Day
At lunchtime, come and enjoy a street party in Church Road as many people did last year for the Queen’s Jubilee. Bring your own garden chairs from home and a picnic lunch or you could buy BBQ food from the Rose and Crown.
Later in the afternoon, the W.I. will be serving afternoon tea in the village hall and late afternoon / early evening the Pre-School will be running a BBQ.
From 4pm, enjoy live music in front of the church and – when night falls – inside the church. SMCT will run a bar in the church.
There is no fee to enter this event but we ask all who come to make a donation to help with the costs of staging the entertainments. Any surplus we make goes towards local good causes, including the annual cost of our village defibrillators.
We are happy to work with any other village organization which wishes to get involved with other activities.
The Church That Rocks 2 with live music in the playing field will be on Saturday 9th September.
Jo, Alan, Rob, Ruth, Trevor and Gary, The ST MARY’S COMMUNITY TRUST team
Bradford Abbas Variety Show
The Bradford Abbas Variety Show will be held on Friday 14th April at 7.30pm and on Saturday 15th April at 7.30pm. There is also a Matinee performance on Saturday 15th April at 2pm.
Tickets are on sale and are available via the Box Office on 07834 547578, at Bradford Abbas Sport Club and also at the Rose and Crown, priced at £7.
Proceeds from the show will be donated to any village organisation that is able to help with the show by performing Front of House duties, so if you’d like some money, get in touch!
St Mary's CE Primary School, Bradford Abbas
Make a difference to St Mary’s Primary School - become a governor!
We are looking to recruit new parent and foundation governors for our school. Why not join us and make a real difference to securing even better opportunities and outcomes for children living in and around our area?
Local Governors have a key role in creating a strategy for teaching and learning, they work collaboratively with the headteacher and support the headteacher and staff well-being. All to ensure we can provide the very best education for our children. No experience of governance is necessary as training is provided by the Trust, although a background in education would be desirable due to the remint of the Local Governing Body (LGB). Governance is not an opportunity to pursue personal agendas.
Local governance is a rewarding role with a commitment of five meetings per year, these take place on Fridays at 1.15pm, plus additional school visits to really get to know the school. You will work with our existing friendly team of governors and be part of a wider group of over one hundred local governors across the Trust.
If this sounds interesting, please email brida.skipworth@sast.org.uk to arrange an informal chat with the Headteacher and Chair. We look forward to hearing from you.
Neighbourhood Plan Update
We would like to thank everyone who took the time to reply to the household survey. We are now in the process of inputting and analysing the data. Once that is completed, we will be using your responses to formulate policy areas. At that point we would really welcome people to come forward and help out with specific tasks in those policy areas i.e. Community, Climate change and water management, Business services and economy, Housing and planning, Traffic, road safety and transport and Environment. To offer your help, please contact our neighbourhood plan secretary Kitty kse1946@gmail.com, or leave a note with your contact details in the designated box in the phone box.
Telephone Box News
Thank you for your continuing support and your generous donation of books. Our books for children are tremendously popular and again we would be very grateful for any books for children that you can spare.
Plans are well underway for the ‘Telephone Box Coronation’ display (following the great success of Her Majesty’s corgis for the Platinum Jubilee). May we ask for any donations of spray cans or pots of gold paint that you may have left over from Christmas. Please leave them in the telephone box or any donation through the door of Gardener’s Cottage (next to the telephone box).
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you over the Coronation Weekend.
The Telephone Box Team
Bradford Abbas Allotment Holders Association
We are keen to invite you to join our community. We have full plots and half plots available, with the opportunity now for a shed or green house. Renting an allotment gives you the chance to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, as well as improve your physical and mental health among new friends. Whether you are already a keen gardener, recently retired and looking to get stuck into something or have a family and wish to spend some quality time outdoors, getting a plot is a way in which you can stay healthy and save a fortune. Please contact Jane Purchase at pugbury@gmail.com
Bradford Abbas Women’s Institute
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 18th April 7.30pm in the Village Hall when we will have our Annual General Meeting, It has come around very quickly indeed this year! Annual Meetings give WIs the opportunity to review the previous year’s programme of activities, tie up any business from the last year and make plans for the future.
We would like to invite all women and girls interested in joining in fun activities and events, making friends, getting involved in Public Affairs and campaigning, and we have access to lifelong personal development opportunities. Come along, you are very welcome. WIs come in all shapes and sizes and our members can be involved in the way that suits them.
The Rose and Crown, Bradford Abbas
Opening hours:
- Monday CLOSED;
- Tuesday 5 - Close (Drinks Only)
- Wednesday 12-3 & 5-close (Drinks), 12-2 & 6-9 (Food)
- Thursday 12-3 & 5-close (Drinks), 12-2 & 6-9 (Food)
- Friday 12 - close (Drinks), 12-2 & 6-9 (Food)
- Saturday 12 - close (Drinks), 12-2 & 6-9 (Food)
- Sunday 12 - 6 (Drinks), 12-4 (Food)
Thursday Night Steak Night (Every week) - 2 8oz rump steaks and a bottle of wine for £30.00
UPCOMING EVENT – Saturday 29th April 2023 - The Bradford Abbas Beer Barrel Race (Teams of 8)
For more information and Booking forms please email roseandcrown@btinternet.com. All funds raised are to be split between Bradford Abbas Pre School and Bradford Abbas Church.
After the Race & Trophy Presentation, the fun continues into the evening with Beer, Virtual Horse Racing (table bookings advised) Raffle and Disco!!! A day not to be missed.
70s Charity Evening
A date for your diary….Following the great success of the 80s charity night in aid of Weldmar Hospice, we have decided to put on another event. This year the theme is the 70s with all proceeds going towards Parkinson disease. This event is going to be on the 22nd of July, more details to follow on tickets etc … And donations will be greatly received.
Jemma, Tania, Sarah 07956918792
Pop-Up Market
The Pop-Up Market is held in the Village Hall on the third Saturday of each month, 11am until 1pm. We have eggs, jams and chutneys, flowers and plants, pet and bird foods, bread, Avon, VivaMK household goods, handmade cards and gifts, homemade cakes and cookies, the Candy Cabin van and fruit and veg.
We also have a smaller market every Tuesday in the pub car park, 2.30-3.30 pm.
Bradford Abbas History Society
Our next meetings will be in the Village Hall on Tuesday AFTERNOON 25th April at 2.30pm and Thursday EVENING 27th April at 7.30pm. Barry Brock will be giving a talk entitled, “Sherborne Curiosities” in which he will be explaining, with illustrations, some unusual and interesting features that are around Sherborne which we all take for granted as we pass them by.
Meetings are open to all at a cost of £2 per person per meeting or free to History Society members (annual subscription £10) and to those 16 and under.
The Friendship Club
The Friendship Club meets on the first Tuesday afternoon of the month at 2.00pm at Bradford Abbas Sports and Social Club. There is Bingo, a draw, tea and biscuits and a chance to have a chat and laugh with fellow villagers, new members are welcome.
Monday Night Bingo
Every Monday at 6.45pm with eyes down at 7.15pm at Bradford Abbas Sports and Social Club.
Everyone 18 and over are welcome to our weekly light-hearted evening which also includes a small draw with a chance to win the SNOW BALL and of course a laugh and chat. We finish just before 9pm.
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 IN APRIL AND MAY
EVERYBODY IS WELCOME – PLEASE DO COME ALONG. WE ARE ALWAYS DELIGHTED TO SEE NEW FACES.
PALM SUNDAY 2ND APRIL 10am Welcome to Worship (lay-led)
EASTER DAY: SUNDAY 9TH APRIL 8am Holy Communion (led by Jenny Nelson)
We know this is very early, but with clergy having to conduct multiple services over Easter, it was 8am or nothing. If you come and join us, we will reward you after the service with an Easter breakfast (buns, croissants and similar goodies).
SUNDAY 30TH APRIL 10am Holy Communion (led by Jenny Nelson)
At 11am on 30th April (immediately after the service) we will hold our APCM (our annual meeting of parishioners). This is when you get to decide how your church is run in the coming year. If you are a regular or an occasional member of the congregation at St Mary’s, please do come and take part.
SUNDAY 7TH MAY 4:30pm Evensong (with choir, celebrating the King’s coronation)
SUNDAY 21ST MAY 10am Holy Communion (led by David Dunning)
On weekends when we are without a service in Bradford Abbas, we encourage villagers to join a service at one of our neighbouring churches. These are posted on the notice boards outside the church.
ABER VALLEY MALE VOICE CHOIR concert Saturday 20th May, 7pm start
Venue: St Mary’s Church, Bradford Abbas
Our friends from the Aber Valley MVC will be with us again for a marvellous evening of music. Ticket price £8. Tickets available from Alan Fall (tel 425747) or from the church (come in on a Saturday morning 10 to 12 when our pop-up café is open).
Bar run by SMCT open from 6pm. After the concert you are welcome to enjoy the company of the choir at Bradford Abbas Sports Club where there will be more singing.
COME AND SING Saturday 3rd June
Venue: St Mary’s Church, Bradford Abbas (raising funds for St Michael’s Church Beer Hackett). Following last year’s successful Come and Sing event, there will be another this June. If you wish to take part in the choir (rehearsals through the day and an evening performance), there are sign-up forms available at the church (see table just inside the door).
If you enjoy choral music and would like to be in the evening audience, make a note in your diary now. This will be a real treat for you. Ticketing details will be published via The Pennant in the coming weeks. (Bar run by SMCT)
A Message from Tony Gilbert, Team Rector
It would seem that everyone needs something or someone to believe in, to inspire them, whether they know it or not. Perhaps a person we would like to emulate or the worthiness of a cause that we might like to align ourselves with that energises us and helps orientate our lives. It appears to be hard-wired into the human psyche that everyone needs this kind of inspiration to function properly. Law and order gurus often tell us that many young criminals have turned out the way they have because they have never had an adult figure, they could trust, to set them an example or teach them a set of values that they could aspire to. Time and again people in the public eye are encouraged to set a good example for their fans for this very reason.
Surveys have shown that for many, the cult of celebrity has become more important than religion for moral guidance and today people are more inclined to listen to a footballer or media influencer than they are to someone who might actually know about the subject. Ardent fans are often less likely to believe ill of their favourite celebrity with no first-hand knowledge, believing that they must be good. Even in the face of evidence to the contrary they tend to judge them less harshly than they might judge their nearest and dearest.
Studies have also shown that one of the great defences against this kind of self-delusion is religion. At this time of year as our thoughts turn towards Easter what better thing is there to believe in than in an incorruptible God who cared so much about every single one of us, no matter how high or lowly we are, that he came to share our life in the person of Jesus and, in the end, to die for us? We celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day, with its promise of eternal life for all. Now that is something far more inspiring than any earthy celebrity and much more likely to orientate our lives in a good way.
Happy Easter