Please recycle our village magazine by returning it to The George Stores, Holbrook Garage or

Stancombe Beech Farm Shop so someone else may read it. Thank you.

The Bisley News www.bisleynews.co.uk editor@bisleynews.co.uk

Bisley Friendship Club

Tea Party with musical entertainment

2.30pm to 4.30pm

Wednesday June 16th

Wednesday July 14th

Tickets £2.50 from George Stores

Guests and newcomers very welcome

Cover design and photograph courtesy of James Whitestone

Printed by MDL Kelex 01453 791400

Forthcoming Events

Red Cross Open Gardens 6th June—Wotton Under Edge Silver Band—Teas in WI Hall, all proceeds to Red Cross

Flicks in the Sticks Tuesday 8th June—’Invictus’ starring Matt Damon & Clint Eastwood

Children’s Society Coffee Morning Thursday 10th June 10.30 to 12 noon Homeland, Vanderbreen Street

Bisley Pre-school Playgroup 40th Anniversary Garden Fete Saturday 3rd July 2pm to 4pm Over Court

The Bisley News editor@bisleynews.co.uk

The Bisley News is available to be down-loaded from our website

www.bisleynews.co.uk.

DEADLINE August / September edition

Sunday 18 July 9am Or earlier if all space taken

OPEN HOUSE Everyone is welcome to come for

coffee, 11 to 12 midday

Thursday 3rd June Olive Burkitt

Hartwell Cottage Far Wells Lane

Thursday 1st July

Mavis Hartwell Prospect Cottage

Church Hill

BISLEY W.I. Guests are welcome at meetings

Admission £2.50

Thursday 10th June Natalie Mignotte

Persian & Islamic Gardens

Thursday 8th July Jeff Ford

Enamelling

Children’s Society Coffee Morning Please come along and help raise money for this worthwhile charity on Thursday 10th June 10.30am - 12 noon at Homeland, Vanderbreen Street. If you have a collection box please bring it with you. Audrey French will collect youe box if you are unable to attend, call 01452 770235. Flicks in the Sticks The Rural Cinema film for June is "Invictus", with Matt Damon and Clint Eastwood - the inspiring true story of Nelson Mandela's efforts to unite his country through the South African rug-by team. Thank you Bisley Whist players! A big thank you to the whist players who attended the whist drive in the vil-lage hall on 4th May. They made almost £200 thanks to the generosity of everyone. The Bisley News is reliant on fund raising activities and we are very grateful for everyones participation. And another thank you...... Melita Brunsdon would like to thank all her friends who sent cards and pre-sents on her 90th birthday onn 30th April. Flower Show Fundraiser A very successful lunch was held at Lower Nashend Cottage at the begin-ning of May, thanks to the great gener-osity of Caroline and John Steven. This year we are postponing our tradi-tional Wine and Cheese evening, usu-ally held at the end of July, to the Au-tumn. There are so many events happening in the village around July, hopefully it will be something to look forward to when the nights start drawing in. Look out for your Flower Show Sched-

ule, which is again printed ‘centre fold’ in the next issue of The Bisley News. We hope to top our exhibits this year with a great display. We have noticed there are a lot more allotment holders! Are you very competitive? It’s great fun and very satisfying when you see that little certificate by your exhibit. All we need now is for the weather to be kind to us! Good Luck! Bisley Pre School Playgroup We are delighted that Mrs Claire Eat-well has joined playgroup as a play assistant. She is working with Diana Chapman, our play leader on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Thursday and Friday sessions are looked after by playleader Belinda Banyard and assis-tant Kristina Cook. Thank you to everybody who took part in our bank holiday family treasure hunt, which raised just over £200 to-wards our new outdoor play area. For more information about playgroup call 770102 (mornings) Sue Bradley, chairperson. Meet your Local Policing Team Do you have any issues you would like your local policing team to tackle? Or perhaps you want to learn how you can help protect yourself from becom-ing a victim by following crime preven-tion advice? If so then why not come and meet your local Police Community Support Officer when she holds police surgeries over the coming months. PCSO Hazel Pearson will be at the George Stores on the High Street from 10am on Saturday July 10th and Sat-urday August 15th to answer any ques-tions you may have and offer crimpe prevention tips, so why not come along and meet her?

BITS & PIECES

Dear Editor, In possible answer to the question posed by Mrs Meeth in her letter to Bisley News April - May 2010 Bisley is not originally a Norman name. It predates the Norman era. The most likely proposition is that it came from Bissa, a Saxon of some influence in the area, a chieftain perhaps or a warlord. It was the practice to name land after its owner or illustrious personage associated with it. Offa had a dyke named after him, so Bissa had a ridge: Bussage (Bissa's Ridge) and a lea or field (Bissa's Lea - Bisley). Subsequently William of Burgundy doled out estates to favoured allies and loyal friends. Some of these men adopted the names of the places they'd acquired, many of them be-cause they had no proper surnames of their own. A surname is only a nickname after all. The lucky owner of Bisley was referred to as just that: Of Bisley, or in Norman French : deBisley. The surname Bisley still exists in the area ( I, myself taught a student of that name at Marling School in Stroud) but I don't know if he descended from the Norman de Bisleys or, what is more likely, from that family's servants or retainers. That too was com-mon practice in England and still is in some countries. I hope that Mrs Meeth will be encouraged to contact other Bisleys and initiate a line of research into their fortunes. Yours Jo Xuereb-Brennan, Bisley Dear Editor, My eldest son has traced our family back to 1605. The family set up business as ship-wrights on the Thames at Bermondsey in 1640 and we have some evidence that they came from Gloucester. As many people took their names from the village where they were born, it is possible that the family originated in Bisley. Yours sincerely, Patrick Bisley. Dear Editor, One of your recent correspondents wanted to know the origin of the name 'Bisley'. The earliest written reference, in a Saxon charter with a reputed date of 896, is to 'some woodland at Bislege'. The spelling has varied since, but the meaning is probably derived from the name of a man called Bisa who had a clearing in the woods here – Bisa's leah. He was possible someone of importance because we also have Bussage, which derives

from Bysrugge or Bisa's ridge, and Bismore meaning the marshy ground of Bisa. The earliest references to the de Bisley family date from the beginning of the 13th century when they were established landowners, primarily in the area of Bussage. They were minor gentry, Saxons well integrated into Norman society by this date, holding a fourth of the value of the manor of Bisley and having their principal residence where Jayne's Court is today. In 1415, the last of the resident de Bisleys died deeply in debt and the estate was sold to John de Stonehouse. Probably related were the de Bisleys of Gloucester, prominent burgesses and property owners in the city in the late 14th and 15th centuries. Best wishes, Huw Jones

Letters to the Editor—origins of the name ‘Bisley’

On 4th May a whist drive was held in the Village Hall to raise funds for The Bis-ley News. There was a good turnout and people donated very generously, re-sulting in a total of £ 193.50 being raised. The Bisley News is funded by advertising revenue and dona-tions, all of which are gratefully received. A big thank you to all who took part! Look out for posters around the village advertising future whist drives for good causes.

Whist Drive in aid of The Bisley News

Decorator / Gardener Experienced, honest

and reliable

Reasonable rates free quotations

Call 07928 982397

CONGRATULATIONS! To Olive Burkitt, Enid Brown and Melita Brunsdon who all celebrated their

90th birthdays

Bisley based Graduate Gardeners have won yet another coveted Gold Medal at the Malvern Spring Garden Show. Designer Mark Draper also scooped the ‘Best in Show’ for his ‘Youth of Old Age’ Garden. The garden was intended for a mature couple who enjoy outdoor life and prefer to use traditional materials.

It is surrounded with clipped Yew hedges, panels of Cotswold dry stone walling separated with upright Green Oak sleepers and overflowing borders planted with subtle greens with a stunning purple Cercis Canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ on one side. Natural York Stone paving and sawn York coping stones complete the pic-ture, with a stunning black rill snaking up the garden with five jets of water flow-ing into it from oak posts. A Cornus contraversa ( Wedding Cake Tree) is sur-rounded by a box spiral which forms the end of a looping ‘figure of eight’ which is the backbone of the garden.

TV gardener Joe Swift chose this as his ‘feature of the show’ and the one thing that he would like to take away with him.

Bisley boys James Rogers, Richard Banyard and Dave Brown built the garden along with Matthew Blake.

Graduate Gardeners Complete ‘Hat Trick’ of Gold

Medals at the RHS Malvern Show.

I am a cook who has been creating recipes since childhood. I discovered my cooking skills in the domestic science class at my Black Country Secondary Modern School and decided then and there to be a cookery demonstrator. It was many years before my child-hood ambition was realised and I first tested my recipes on the public when I arranged cookery demonstrations at Bear House, my 15c cottage in the heart of the Cotswolds. The publicity I generated was such that I was soon invited to write for a glossy County magazine, and broadcast cookery programmes live from a studio. My philosophy has always been to promote fresh, seasonal ingredients and a few years ago I decided to promote these under my coveted Lazy Cook title and self-published my first book – ‘Lazy Cook in the Kitchen – mouth watering recipes for the time-pressured cook’. I have since published 4 additional titles, ‘A Lazy Cook’s Summer’, ‘A Lazy Cook’s Christmas’, ‘The Lazy Cook’s Favourite Food’ and ‘The Purple Spoon’ the story of a cook, writer and self-publisher. I have personally negotiated sales of my books through major supermarkets and bookshops countrywide and have sold in excess of 20,000 copies. My first feature in the YOU magazine - the Mail on Sunday, resulted in the sale of 6,000 books. Over the years my books have been promoted in The Bookseller; The Sunday Express magazine; My Weekly; Cotswold Life; and many other national and local magazines and newspapers. National and regional television and radio appearances include an interview by Gloria Hunniford on Thames TV Open House, and BBC ‘Midlands Today’ and ‘Points West’ have filmed in my kitchen at Bear House. I have broadcast regularly with BBC Radio Gloucestershire, recordings made by the Producer in my kitchen, and live broadcasts from the studio. In 2008 I was commissioned to write for the WI Life magazine as a result of which pub-lishers Allison and Busby approached me requesting they publish my next book. As I am now a full time carer for my husband I accepted their contract and ‘The Lazy Cook’s Fam-ily Favourites’ is now in print. To buy, go to www.lazycookmosmith.co.uk. I enjoy public speaking, restaurant reviewing and judging - I am currently judging the quarter-finals of the National Rotary Clubs ‘Young Chef’ competition.

A collection of vegetables to include carrots, cauliflower and calibrese A generous 50g (2oz) Stilton cheese – grated A good handful mixed fresh herbs – roughly chopped Top and tail the carrots and cut into strips, break the cauliflower and calibrese into florets and wash all. Put into a little boiling water and boil with lid on pan until they begin to sof-ten. Strain off the cooking liquid and immediately stir in the prepared cheese and herbs, serve immediately. Lazy Cook tips – I usually cook the carrots for a few minutes before adding the remaining vegetables. If a little of the cooking liquid remains in the pan this will produce a little creamy cheesy sauce. Just one saucepan, little washing up – very ‘Lazy’ cook!

Quick Cheesy, Herby Vegetables

Lazy Cook Mo Smith A potted history of a cook, writer and self publisher

Is the act of making unrequested and uninvited visits to consumers. Very few people will actually have a legitimate reason for turning up at your home unannounced and without an appointment. However, on rare occasions some legitimate callers may call at your home. The most likely people to visit your home unannounced are utility companies attending your property to read a meter. Most of these companies operate a password scheme allowing you to register a password. Once you have regis-tered your password, any caller from the company should be asked to pro-vide the password before being given access to your property. If they cannot provide the password they are not from the utility company and should be told to leave. You should be able to find the details for registering a password on utility bills, if you cannot find the details call the customer service number and ask about their password scheme. The zones are not designed to prevent politicians from canvassing for elec-tions, religious groups and charity collectors calling. Some charities ask for donations to be left for collection, usually they will leave a bag or a leaflet and then return to collect items. If you get requests like this you should always read the details provided as not all collectors that collect in this way are act-ing for charitable purposes, often you will find that the collector is a business collecting items to sell for profit. However, residents are under no obligation to speak to anyone at the door and canvassers are encouraged to respect residents’ wishes. Market research can be undertaken. However, this should not be market re-search that includes the selling or promotion of goods or services. Where possible we would always encourage market researchers to make appoint-ments before calling. The zones do not seek to prevent legitimate charity collections, however, we would expect charity collectors to be able to satisfactorily identify themselves. You are under no obligation to allow anyone to enter your home and can re-fuse access. You should never allow anyone access to your home unless you are able to verify their authenticity and confirm that they have a valid rea-son for being there. Legitimate callers will not mind being challenged and will expect you to. Recently there have been cases of salesmen purporting to be selling fish on doorsteps and when householders have pointed out the “No Cold Calling” stickers the “salesmen” have been saying that they have an exemption from the Police. No such exemption has been given. The company involved is now in serious trouble with the Police.

The “No Cold Calling” scheme is run and administered by the Police not the Parish Council.

Cold calling

STONE roofs are a familiar sight in the Cotswolds but the number of people trained in traditional tiling methods is dwindling quickly. Sue Bradley meets one of the last of a fast disappearing breed. ROOFER Paul Beer is one of the few guardians of a language once common through-out the Cotswolds. His speech is littered with words such as Wivutts, All Ups, Short Bachelors and Long Nines that were once common parlance for craftsmen in Glouces-tershire. But people like Paul, who learned his trade from a long line of stone tilers, are a fast disappearing breed. Paul served his apprenticeship with Freeman’s of Camp, one of the country’s most re-nowned stone specialists that traded for 200 years before closing in 1977. Freeman’s trained its own masons, tilers and quarrymen who passed on their knowledge and craftsmanship from generation to generation. “Stone tiling was once a very extensive industry in the Cotswolds: At the beginning of the last century it provided jobs for hundreds of men, of which 20% would have been stone roofers,” said Paul, of Bisley Roofing. “Back then the actual roofing was done in the spring and summer, with tilers working in the quarries during the winter when the weather was not so good, but now we have to lay roofs all year round.” Few people realise when they look at traditional Cotswold roofs that two very different types of stone tile are used. Split stone tile, also known as Stonefield Slate after a vil-lage in Oxfordshire, uses a process that dates back to Roman times. “This was the tile quarried by Freeman’s in the Bisley area,” said Paul. “This type of stone was known to split when frosted and the tile seam was known as The Pendle by the quarry men. “The stones came out of the quarry in slabs of anything from two to five inches thick. “They would be stacked and frequently wetted which was vital so that its natural dampness, known as quarry sap, was not lost as this would have made the stone crusty. When the weather turned frosty the stone was laid on the ground and watered constantly. The water seeping into the laminations of the stone expanded after freezing and, with a few taps of the cleaving hammer, would separate down along the vein. All that remained to do was the final shaping, dressing and holing of the new tile, the most skilful part of the whole operation.” Other tiles used in the Cotswolds, commonly found in places such as Naunton and Tet-bury, were known as ‘Presents’. “This stone comes from the Forest Marble Vein and had already been split naturally while in the ground. Except for holing and shaping these were ready to use and were therefore ‘presents’ to the tiler,” Paul explained. “Presents are purer and more hard wearing than split tiles.” Before replacing a stone roof, Paul removes every existing tile, reshapes any broken ones that can be used again and carefully grades them using the ‘Bisley and Miserden’ measuring system of 26 different lengths. Each tile is placed into a stack with others of the same size, with every one being counted and recorded in a written log. This infor-mation enables the roofer to set his courses according to the materials he has to work with. Tiles range from the ‘Long Sixteen’ and ‘Short Sixteen’, measuring 24 inches and 23 inches respectively, to ‘All Ups’ at 6 1/2 inches. Other names include Bachelors, Wivutts, Cocks, Becks and Muffetty, with their precise size denoted by the addition of

Essencestone

the prefix long and short, and even middle in some cases. “The largest stones run from Long and Short Sixteens through to Long and Short Elev-ens, although there are no thirteens as it was reckoned to be bad luck,” explained Paul. “After Short Elevens we have Wivutts, Nines, Bachelors, Becks and so on. Wivutts should always be the tile you see in the middle of a traditional Cotswold roof. The larg-est stones lie over the eaves and the smallest just under the ridge.” Freshly quarried tiles are now in short supply and Paul has to rely on private sales and salvage yards to find sufficient stocks. But with the number of traditional stone roofers dwindling quickly, there is never a time when he is not in demand.

Does anyone know the history behind a wall hanging in The Bear? The mes-sage reads: ‘From the Landlord and Patrons of ‘the Great Stone Inn’ Northfield Birmingham, where good ale is sold by the pound and by the stone.......GREETINGS to the Landlord and all at your local ‘the Bear Inn’ at Bis-ley in the County of Gloucestershire. Let the company be merry for merry is a goodly word. Allow the golden amber ale to whet the wit then will mirth pre-vail...........March Fourth, 1950.’

Any information please contact the editor or Colin at the Bear.

Can You Help?

(Or why we must all support the local community more)

With numerous articles published in the media recently about the benefits of village life and even more about the closure of village facilities, I thought I might précis some of the comments. This article is slightly tongue in cheek, but the message is clear. Use it lose it. The modern village is defined as a small group of houses, none of which can get pizza delivered. Many urban dwellers have a secret dream of living in a beautiful collection of rose-covered cottages nestled around a wide village green and overlooked by the church spire and village pub. Many people who live in real villages also have this dream. There are typically four kinds of villager. The first, and more and more rare, are people who've always lived in the village. These people have been in the same house since the Black Death and have the same names as the ones on the village war memorial. You can tell these people because they are the ones permanently standing between you and the bar in the Bear or Stirrup Cup. These villagers want stability in the village and an easy life. The second kind of inhabitant is the retired couple. They are still physically and mentally on top form, and probably are the backbone of the 87 village societies. You know where these people live because their front gardens look as though they've been tended with nail scissors and toothcomb. They want local facilities for those days when Waitrose is closed. The third kind of inhabitant is the commuter. The commuter has left the city for the fresh air, the countryside and the bigger house. Sadly, they don't see any of these because they have to commute vast distances, leaving before dawn and returning after dark. At weekends, they travel vast distances to see friends from the city who live in villages on the other side of the country. You can recognise these people in the village because they're the ones you don't recognise. Typically, they see it an investment to live in the village (financial or psychological). The fourth kind of inhabitant is the home office-worker. These are people who, instead of working in an office, sit at home and watch daytime TV while waiting for the computer to download an email thanks to the telephone connection being one of the originals put in by Alexander Graham Bell himself. They require local facilities and services available all day, every day. Modern villages are graded not by how picturesque they are but by how many things they have in them that aren't houses. These are ranked in strict order. Top of the list is having a shop and post office. If you can get your milk, paper and pension in your own village, then you are in village heaven. Failing these, the next best things to have are a pub and school, the first vital for normal adult development and the second vital for normal child development. Without any of these, a petrol station is good, preferably one with a shop, pub and post office attached. These facilities directly affect the attraction and desirability of the village. Village shops are a modern-day Tardis. They actually sell everything supermarkets sell, but usually only one brand of each. The shop performs a variety of roles in village life dependant on the villager’s individual reasons for living in Bisley. The shop is an icon which is generally viewed with great affection. Many feel it is the “heart of the community”, an important meeting place, especially for isolated people. There is a significant loyalty to the village, village store and local businesses, however, this loyalty does wane when economic factors hit home. There is a sense that better val-ue for money for goods and services can be obtained elsewhere, with diminishing regard for the cost of getting to these remote facilities or the lack of personal services encoun-tered there. How often have you walked into a WHSmith or Tesco Express and the check

The Disappearing Village

out operator already has your usual newspapers on the counter waiting for you? Surely that service is worth a premium? The village shop is a convenience store that can be used as a source of “top-up” shop-ping (particularly for bread and milk) or for the majority of purchases caused by a desire to support the shop and prevent potential closure. In addition to food purchases, use of the Post Office and the purchase of newspapers are important as shop owners have had to expand their products and services offered to survive. Villagers should not be picking and choosing which services or products are bought based on price, but based on the future availability (or not) of these products and services. The village shop is also an important source of information on community events, hap-penings, personal information and, let’s face it, gossip. Where else would community event tickets be sold? Where else would personal ads be displayed? Where else would you hear that the postman spends an inordinate amount of time in number 12 every morning? The shop is an important outlet for local food and services. Whilst supermarkets are usu-ally selected as the main source for food shopping villagers are also keen supporters of “local foods” for the very reason such foods are perceived as the very antithesis of super-market shopping. Confused yet? This is explained by the Tesco Effect that the majority of consumers think they are too big and pushy, but some of their deals and prices are too good to miss out on. Local produce is generally fresher and more advantageous to health and “Local food” as a concept is recognised as a growing national phenomenon (the growth of farmers’ markets is proof of this) and the village shop is critical to the success of local producers. So, having facilities in Bisley such as a shop, post office, pubs, garage, etc, is of vital benefit to some villagers, as it remains their main source of purchasing. To others, it in-creases the attraction of the village, adds to the value of the area and thus adds to the value of individual houses, increasing wealth. To yet others, it is a matter of convenience, whilst not their main source of spend, it makes life easier and less hassled. Why drive 10 miles on a Sunday morning to fetch the papers, a loaf of bread and a pint of milk, when a 2 minute walk to George Stores will suffice. To other villagers it is important to use local facilities as this cuts down on commuting and emissions and aids their concerns on envi-ronmental issues. I personally have been a bit hypocritical in the use of local facilities and services, but after reading my own words, it is now time to practice what I have just preached. So, there are benefits for all types of villagers, regardless of their ultimate reasons for living in Bisley, in having some local amenities and services available on the doorstep. What we all must do now to preserve these amenities is to support them. Village life would be a lot poorer without them (and your house might not be worth as much!). Various references and articles in the national press have been recognised. Chris Gibbons

A Message from Daniel le Fleming, Council member for the Bisley Ward My thanks again to the voters of Bisley, Eastcombe and Oakridge voters for electing me as your District Councillor. I regard it as an honour to represent you on the Stroud District Council, and will do my best to serve the interests of the community as a whole, irrespec-tive of political allegiance. I hope to take as much part as I can in the activities of the local communities so that we can keep in contact and you can tell me the things I need to know. In that way I will be able to become aware of significant local issues and how best to deal with them. For my part I will do my best to keep you informed about District Council activities, espe-cially those which are of concern to our communities. If you have any issue concerning council matters or of importance to the local community, please contact me. I plan to make regular visits to each parish for this purpose, but am also available at home on 01453 764837 or on email at d.lefleming@talktalk.net. I greatly look forward to working together with you all for the benefit of our community.

Daniel le Fleming

. . . to fall in love, goes the song. Less romantically, it could go, It’s never to late to grown your own. There is still time, with an earthy plot and a bit of effort, to produce some salad stuff, sow a row of carrots, spring onions or beetroot, or put it plants (available from Country Markets in the Stroud Shambles on Fridays, the Stroud Farmers’ Markets on Saturdays, or from the Stancombe Farm Shop) of leeks, broccoli, cauliflowers and other vegetables. The earthy plot is, of course, an allotment on Windyridge. There it’s all happen-ing. Not just potatoes and cabbages but things like snap peas, runner beans, globe artichokes, peppers, sweet corn and other interesting and delicious vege-tables. Fruits too; strawberries, raspberries and currants, as well as herbs and flowers. They’re friendly folk on the allotments, always ready to give encouragement and admire everyone’s efforts. There’s discouragement too; the weeds, the slugs and the inclement weather. But these hardy folk keep going through wind and rain, looking forward to those joyous moments when they harvest their crops. Carrying home their seasonal feasts is a real reward for all their efforts. An allotment is all about eating your greens. That greens with an “s”, not an “e”. Lesley Greene is much too valuable to eat and, anyway, with all the bicycling, she’s probably a bit tough and stringy! But if you fancy growing a little of your own, give her a ring on 770 018 and she’ll sort you out your own earthy plot.

District Council Election on 6 May

It’s never too late . . .

Just when you thought you had had enough of the general election and all the shenani-gans over the past few weeks, here is a quick teaser to keep your interest up.

1. Which Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire lost his seat after 13 years? a. Steve Churchman b. Lembit Opik c. Roger Williams d. William Powell

2. Who ousted David Drew as MP for Stroud (and Bisley)? a. Neil Carmichael b. Martin Whiteside c. Steve Parker d. Alan Lomas

3. Who is the UK’s Home Secretary? a. Michael Gove b. Theresa May c. David Laws d. Danny Alexander

4. How many Prime Ministers has the Queen had during her reign? a. 11 b. 12 c. 13 d. 14

5. The Green party won their first ever seat, in which city? a. Edinburgh b. Bristol c. London d. Brighton

6. Which former home secretary lost her seat in Redditch aided by her husband’s choice in movies? a. Vera Baird b. Gillian Merron c. Clare short d. Jacqui Smith

7. David Cameron is the youngest PM in nearly 200 years, since who in 1811? a. Pitt the Younger b. Robert Walpole c. William Gladstone d. Lord Liverpool

8. Which party’s manifesto included ‘All socks to be sold in packs of 3 to prevent losing one”? a. BNP b. Pirate Party c. Monster Raving Looney d. UKIP

9. Who is the cabinet minister for Business? a. Vince Cable b. Liam Fox c. Andrew Lansley d. Chris Huhne

10. Who won the seat in (appropriately) Barking beating the BNP’s Nick Griffin into 3rd place? a. Frank Maloney b. Simon Marcus c. Dominic Carman d. Margaret Hodge

11. When did Nick Clegg become leader of the Liberal Democrats? a. 2006 b. 2007 c. 2008 d. 2009

12. How many Prime Ministers has Eton produced? a. 12 b. 15 c. 19 d. 21

13. What make of car did David Cameron travel in to Buckingham Palace? a. Rolls Royce b. Range Rover c. Toyota d. Jaguar 14. What is allegedly the date of the next general election if a fixed term parlia-ment is adopted? a. 7th May 2015 b. 7th May 2014 c. 1st May 2015 d. 31st May 2014

15. Who is the UK’s foreign secretary? a. George Osbourn b. Nick Clegg c. William Hague d. Ken Clarke Last editions Politics Quiz answers are available on www.bisleynews.co.uk

ELECTION QUIZ

News from Bisley Blue Coat School

Ascension Day As winter seemed to drag on, we thought that Ascension Day was going to be wet and cold, but after a short shower and even hail, by the after-noon the sun shone on the parade and ceremony at the Wells. In a packed Church every member of Year Six dressed in their Victorian Blue Coat uniforms took part in the Service, welcoming the congregation or reading from the Gospels. The whole school sang Easter songs and led the Hymn ‘Water of Life’. Headteacher, Miss Sam Porter, welcomed everyone to the service in Church which was led by the Vicar, Rev. Si-mon Richards and our guest, the Dean of Gloucester, the Very Rev. Nicholas Bury. A collection was taken in aid of Christian Aid which helps to provide clean drinking water for some of those in other countries who do not have clean water on tap. Avening Silver Band once again led the parade, playing familiar march-ing hymns. James Mason, Ashley Stankiewiez, Nathan Jones and Ellie Barnfield car-ried the Stars of David. They were chosen by lot from Year Six to lead the procession, followed by all the other pupils carrying letters, figures, hoops and posies. Many of those watching remembered when they had taken part in this familiar ceremony. At the Wells the Vicar and the Dean led a short service, blessing the Wells and thanking God for giving us plenty (and sometimes too much!) water. As ever, special thanks to the wonderful PTA for organising the event and providing delicious teas afterwards for both children and visitors, to those who generously provided flowers, to the parents and children who decorated the letters, figures and symbols for the Wells, to those who sponsor the band, and to all who took part in a very special day.

Vera Clouston, Governor

Parish Council Update

Traffic & Transport: We have succeeded in getting more speed management visits by the Police, especially along Cheltenham Rd/ at Windyridge and Holloway Road as traffic enters the village from Eastcombe direction. The much-awaited pavement has now been completed along Stroud Road from Windyridge to join up with the footpath at Bearsfield. This also includes a traffic-calming outcrop adjacent to Little Close with a traffic Priority system being put in place. This should have a beneficial effect on traffic speeds along that stretch of road. We will now refresh our efforts to have something similar developed along Cheltenham Road.

Pavilion: Following approval of a planning application to rebuild the Pavilion in Van der Breen St we held a meeting some weeks ago to which Van deer Breen residents were specifical-ly invited. It is fair to say that it was a “lively” meeting with free expressions of opinions being aired. However, although we appreciate there are some genuine concerns we do not feel that these are insurmountable and we look forward to continuing debate in the future regarding the project and it was appreciated by majority of the residents that the Pavilion is in need of drastic modernisation.

Play Areas: We appreciate that parents are starting to get anxious for the vandalised play area at Windyridge to be put back into use; we too share that concern. However previous cost estimates had placed this completely outside our abilities and we could not also afford the risk to the Council had someone injured themselves as a result of a safety defect within the area, especially as we know that it is not safe. However we feel, as we write this article, that we may have found a more cost-effective solution to the problem and we will continue to follow this up. However could parents in general just be mindful that vandalism does not “just happen” and some responsibility needs to be borne by both youths and parents alike when such things happen.

Resilience: Thank you to those who replied to our request in the last BN for volunteers with vehicles or just “good neighbours” however we really would appreciate a few more offers of help to make sure our village is resilient to threats caused by weather etc in the future.

Elections; By the time you read this we will have had a contested election for the Bisley Ward of the Parish Council (27 May) and we hope that you have felt able to support those of us who have been willing to stand for a further 4-year term. However we sadly say Fare-well to Stephen Trinder who, for family reasons has decided to stand down at this point. We are grateful for the enthusiasm and tenacity which Stephen has brought to his role as a Councillor and we wish Stephen, Kim and the family all best wishes for the future.

Parish Councillors:

Lesley Greene 770018 – Ward Chair/Planning/Allotments Peter Thorp 770708 Traffic & Transport

Stephen Trinder 770675 Play @ Windyridge/Footpaths Phil Bradley 770337 Play @ King George V Playing Fields/Bins/Safety

Norman MacLeod 770189 Parish Council Clerk

www.bisley-with-lypiatt.gov.uk

Parish Clerk: It is also time for us to find a Clerk to replace Norman McLeod. Norman will have served us admirably for 5-years in June and the June 2 Parish Council will be his final meeting before he stands down at the end of that month. There is a tremendous amount of work which goes with the job of a Parish Clerk but Norman has applied him-self with great enthusiasm and professionalism over his term of office and will be greatly missed by Councillors and indirectly yourselves as parishioners. We will have appointed his successor towards the end of May so we will introduce Nor-man’s replacement in the next edition of the BN.

Bisley Feoffees – An Apology Last issue we were somewhat critical of the Feoffees with regards to us securing a sec-tion of Evans Field for youngsters to play in. At no time did we intend to neither be dis-ingenuous to them nor question their integrity and if this has been an outcome of the item we apologies unreservedly. We are pleased to note they share the goal of the Council to establish such a play area. We also note that they are continuing to negoti-ate with their tenant to achieve a positive outcome. We are also mindful there are some specific issues which require further examination and we fully understand what these issues are and the approaches being taken.

Notice Board: Have you seen the new Board opposite the Bear Inn? Tell us what you think.

Mobile Police Station. The mobile police station will be visiting the Bear Inn car park on the following dates:- 02/06/10 14:30 28/06/10 19:00 05/07/10 14:30 27/07/10 19:00

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE BISLEY NEWS – JUNE 2009 -MAY 2010

£ Carried Forward to begin June 2009 2138.34 Receipts to 31st May Advertising 2499.50 Village Organisations 572.00 Postal Subscriptions 31.00 Events & Donations 168.00 TOTAL INCOME 3270.50 LESS: Printing costs 2745.54 Sundry expenses (stamps, paper etc) 110.53 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 2856.07 Balance Carried Forward 31 May 2552.77 A word of explanation You will work out from the above that each "free" copy of 'The Bisley News' costs just over £1 to print. Thankfully we have a dedicated team of volunteer distributors who do sterling work every two months, whatever the weather, delivering around 500 copies in and around Bis-ley. A few copies go to visitors via the village shop, farm shop and garage and rumour has it people drive from Stroud, Bussage and Sapperton to acquire a copy, so if you could recycle yours by returning it to those venues, it would be helpful. In an ideal world the advertising revenue would enable free space for all the village activities to be included but the rates would have to be significantly higher than the market would bear for this to happen. Across the year each page costs around £150 to produce and the money to pay for it has to be raised somehow. The advertising pays for its own pages and makes a contribution towards the front cover, parish and district council news, school news, articles and letters to the editor. The rates for village organisations wishing to publicise their own mon-ey-making events are lower than the commercial advertising rate, but it is cause for astonish-ment that some individuals and groups still consider they should have free space and are content to piggy-back on the generosity of others. There is an on-line village calendar of events for those organisations who want to advertise their events without contributing to the magazine's running costs. Like previous editors, I try to include everything that is sent in, but those who make a contribu-tion have 'first dibs' on the space available which seems only fair. There is a shortfall between the advertising income and the fabulous Elizabethan Supper at Overcourt will give the bank account of 'The Bisley News' a comfortable breathing space. 'The Bisley News' is not a profit-making venture - like all the previous editors, I am happy to undertake the work on a voluntary basis and to provide a service to the community. It is comforting to know there is a financial buffer in case the advertising revenue drops in future years.

Kate Gibbons Current Editior