The Bisley News October/November 2010 www.bisleynews.co.uk editor@bisleynews.co.uk

OPEN HOUSE Everyone is welcome to come for

coffee, 11 to 12 midday Thursday 7th October Bobbie & Gerald Revell

Alexander Cottages, Througham (lifts from the Stirrup Cup 10.45)

Thursday 4th November

Olive Burkitt Hartwell Cottage, Far Wells Lane (including Christmas cards etc.

From The Centre)

BISLEY W.I. Guests are welcome at meetings

Admission £2.50

October 14th David Ballard

Things that go bump in the forest

November Date for AGM to be advised

Bisley Friendship Club

Tea Party with musical entertainment

2.30pm to 4.30pm

Wednesday October 20th

Wednesday November 17th

Tickets £2.50 from George Stores

Guests and newcomers very welcome

Village Hall events The hall will be CLOSED for

internal decoration for 2 weeks from 25th October.

FLICKS IN THE STICKS 2nd Tuesday each month

BIG BREAKFAST Saturday 13th November

BISLEY AUTUMN REVUE & SUPPER

Saturday 20th November7.30pm ‘till late

The Bisley News editor@bisleynews.co.uk

Or 01452 770222 The Bisley News is available to be

downloaded from our website www.bisleynews.co.uk.

DEADLINE December/January edition

Wednesday 17th November 9am

Or earlier if all space taken

Front Cover photos courtesy of James Whitestone Printed by MDL Kelex 01453 791400

Hundreds of people flocked to Bisley to enjoy all the fun of the village’s fete and flower show. The weather remained dry, much to everybody’s relief, and there was plenty to see and do during the two-hour extrava-ganza.This year’s openers were Lesley Green and Liz Howlett in recogni-tion of the sterling work of the Bisley Community Composting Scheme, which won the Queen’s Voluntary Award earlier this year. Both they and the flower queen Gabrielle Ponting and her attendants Georgina Arquati, Ellie Barnfield, Emma Drury, Lucy Edwards, Kate Garrett and Bethan Walters arrived at the show field in a convoy of convertible cars.Avening Silver Band ensured the event went with a swing and many villagers worked hard throughout the afternoon to provide a multitude of stalls and side shows. This year’s raffle, the proceeds of which were split between the fete and the flower show, was a real talking point. The huge number of tickets sold reflected the quality of the prizes on offer and we are very grateful for the donations from the Arbutus restaurant in London, Neil Carmichael MP, Richard Arquati from the Royal International Air Tattoo, Kier Group, Copsegrove Meats, The Bear, The Stirrup Cup and Caroline Mudd of Smallprints Jewellery. All together the fete raised a record £4,000 towards Bisley’s All Saints’ Church. “We are very grateful to everybody who worked so hard to make the event a success,” said fete committee chairman Peter Thorp. “The event is a real red letter day for many people, both those living in Bisley and beyond, and we were delighted that the weather remained dry after so many days of rain.”The fete organisers are always keen to re-ceive feedback so that improvements can be made, and would be espe-cially delighted to hear from the person who has felt it necessary to re-move the fete sign along the Cheltenham Road over the past two years. Sue Bradley has a number of items left at the fete that owners may wish to recover, including a large silver key. Peter Thorp, 770708.

Bisley Fete Review

Welcome Thirteen children started school for the first time this term. We are sure they and the two children who joined Year 1 and Year 6 will soon settle in and have a happy and successful time at Bisley School. The school is at full strength with 85 children on roll, proving its continued success and popularity. We have seen several changes to the staff too. Mrs Anne Milston has joined the school as Acting Headteacher, and we have two men on the staff – Graham Wright in Class1 and Jamie Gately in Class 2, each sharing the job with a fe-male colleague. Is this the first time the school has had two men as permanent class teachers? Fresh, Bright and Watertight With budget cuts on the horizon, the school has used its resources to make con-siderable improvements to the classrooms and developed a fantastic new out-door learning area. This provides a superb facility for the children to spend time having lessons outdoors that would otherwise have been spent in a classroom. Thanks are due once again to our amazing PTA who have been closely involved with this project and provided considerable funding for it. As any thoughts of a new building fade into the distant future, we have re-roofed Class 3 and are about to continue with Classes 1 and 2. Indoors, the classrooms have new carpets and some very old and worn tables have been replaced. After so many years of use the steps to the main entrance had become so worn that they were causing accidents. They too have now been replaced, and we look forward to them lasting for the next hundred plus years. What’s On? The school is joining with the Church’s exciting plans to celebrate Harvest. Chil-dren’s work on the theme of Harvest will be on display in the Church from 6 – 15 October. Everyone is welcome to come to the school’s Harvest Service in Church on Monday 11 October at 2p.m. The children are asked to bring dona-tions of non-perishable food (tinned, packets, dried) which will be donated to GEAR, a Gloucestershire charity for the homeless. The PTA are once again organising the annual fantastic Bisley Bonfire Night at the Pleasure Ground on Saturday 6 November Class 3 have planned an Afternoon Tea on Friday 26 September, open to all, to raise funds for Macmillan Nurses – we know it is supposed to be the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning …but in Bisley it’s a Tea Party. And finally.. Just a couple of regular reminders… please keep dogs on the lead when using the public footpath across the playground, and please remember that the play-ground is not a public play area. Ball games played out of school hours are causing a real problem – broken roof tiles, and a risk to the beautiful stained glass the children designed last term. Vera Clouston Governor

News from Bisley Blue Coat School

Christmas Greetings! It has been suggested that instead of sending Christmas cards, it would be ‘greener’ to send your Christmas greetings via the Bisley News. Should you wish to do this, there will be two options available: firstly, a ‘lineage’ advert (boxed) for £3, or a display advert of 1/6th of a page for £6. I propose that all pro-ceeds from selling space for Christ-mas Greetings go to a local charity. Please would anyone who thinks they have a deserving local charity please contact me on 770222 or editor@bisleynews.com . If people would like to take larger spaces, that can also be arranged! Yoga Classes

Lucy Arnsby-Wilson is starting yoga classes in the village hall on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 8.30pm.—every

Thursday except the 3rd Thursday in the month. Lucy uses Hatha yoga, which is suitable for all. A suggested donation of £7 per ses-sion will go towards teaching Yoga to children with special needs in Gloucestershire. Please contact her on 770183 or email specialyo-ga@gmail.com for further details Sweden calling! A Swedish/Irish couple are looking for employment as a PA/House management couple. They are ma-

ture, experienced, well presented, versatile, creative and well trav-elled. Excellent references & CV’s & photographs on request. Email jukian67@mail.com Village Sport Rumour has it that Gloucestershire have signed Louis Gegg on an emerging player contract—congratulations! And David Gibbons has had his po-lo handicap put up to –1, not bad for age 12! Flicks in the Sticks The film for October will be ‘Nine’, an adaptation of the Broadway hit with a star-studded cast including Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz. Musical tea parties for next two months

Friendship Club members have two treats coming up: a very young and tal-ented musician will entertain on his uku-lele in October (who remembers George

Formby?) and in November there’s a return visit (by popular demand) by a group of amateur singers who delighted us last Christmas. We’ve lots of room for new mem-bers; and also for new helpers (everyone gets a delicious tea, a chance at a quiz, and a free raffle entry.) Come and see what goes on !

BITS & PIECES

October 20th

Rabbit, Game, Fish or Lamb & Leek Pies Only £8.25 including veg. Bookings now being taken

Pie & Mash Night at The Bear

Following the decision of the Gloucestershire Circuit to shut this Church, we are hoping to arrange a final service to celebrate our 213 years contribution to the life of the village. Provisionally, Sunday October 24th has been earmarked for the event. Once details have been finalised, the service will be widely advertised throughout the village. A warm invitation is extended to everyone to share the day with us and mark the Church’s Rite of Passage into history. John Land But on a brighter note.(!)

Our recruitment last year is now bearing fruit with us regularly ringing all 8 bells:

furthermore, the variety of our ringing has increased greatly. Sarah will shortly be returning to Lancaster Uni-versity but Holly has just started learn-ing to ring and is making excellent pro-gress much to the delight of the rest of the band. On Saturday morning 18 December we will be attempting a full peal of 5040 changes of Grandsire Triples to celebrate Gemma & Kevin's wedding. Ringing their first full peal will be Con-nie Tongue on the treble and Tom Merry on the tenor. Later in the day the Bisley band will be ringing before and after the wedding service itself. Christmas promises to be an extreme-ly busy time for Bisley bell ringers. We have had a fantastic year's ringing so far and our 2010 annual report will be very, very long! Ian & Carole Bucknell

Closure of the Methodist Church

Bisley Bellringing Autumn 2010

A new book has recently been completed by local author Nick Thorni-croft, focusing upon the 93 servicemen from the ‘civil parish of Bisley’ who lost their lives during the First World War. The deaths span the en-tire conflict, from the early skirmishes in France and Flanders, through the major battles at Ypres, on the Somme, Passchendaele, and the final frantic Advance to Victory of 1918. Others perished in lesser known cam-paigns - Greece, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, as well as post-Armistice en-deavours in Russia and Afghanistan. The book details each individual by their date of death, and discovers their early lives, family members, civilian occupations, and the circum-stances which led them to joining up. Where possible, original War Dia-ries were consulted to establish how they met their fate, and newspaper reports of the time reveal the poignant letters of condolence sent by com-rades to grieving next of kin. The final resting place or site of commemo-ration for every man is also listed. There are a number of siblings who died on active service (including two sets of three brothers), and several of the local families were related by marriage. Some of the surnames include: BINGLE, BLACKWELL, DA-VIS, FERN, GARDINER, HUNT, MANSELL, ROWLES, SMART, STE-VENS, WEAR, WOODWARD and YOUNG. The Squire of Lypiatt Manor was one of the first to fall, and a significant proportion of the men from the area left their employment on the Estate to answer the call to arms. Other deaths include Major Raymond-Barker, R.A.F., who was one of the last victims of the famous Red Baron, and Lt. Drummond, decorated for gallantry whilst still a teenager before losing his life as he led his men into action. ‘ Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten’ Copies can be obtained via the Bisley Post Office, Ken Brown, or by con-tacting the author direct: e-mail - nickthornicroft@me.net Tel: 07769 556206. (£13 per book, can be delivered by hand in Bisley area)

‘Rural Sacrifice: The War Dead of Bisley, Eastcombe & Oakridge 1914 - 1919’

This year’s Bisley Flower Show was again a great success. Gardens and allotments were searched by the exhibitors for flowers and vegeta-bles not battered by the inclement weather preceding the Show. All 500 entries looked superb in the bunting clad marquee. The popular vegeta-ble trophy was again carried away by Robert Stevens. Mary Jarrett was so successful in the flower arrangement classes that she won no less than 3 trophies. In the baking classes the Victoria Sandwich was hotly contended but the trophy was won by Joan Brunsdon who doesn’t seem to be able to do a thing wrong in the bak-ing section! The men’s chocolate cake was well supported with David Galton-Fenzi winning the Millennium trophy. Children’s classes are always a de-light, the first prizes going to Charlie Trinder, Grace Gibbs, Minnie Galton-Fenzi, Alistair Wright, George Gibbs, Maisie Sullivan, Oliver Bradley, Eliza Mackworth- Praed and Mia Wilson. Better luck next year for all the exhibi-tors who weren’t successful, keep try-ing and your year will come! Thank you to all who contributed to make a very enjoyable day. Jean Hassall

Bisley Flower Show

The Council’s New Year The new Council year began in May when the AGM took place, the new and re-elected councillors took their seats and the Council’s Cabinet and Committees were re-appointed. This year we have started off in uncertain economic times. It is clear that the funds the Council receives from central government are going to be reduced, and our resources will be tightly stretched to provide the level of service our resi-dents expect. As much as possible is being done to reduce expenditure, rede-ploy staff and share services with other councils. At the same time there are encouraging signs of more delegation of powers to local communities (on town and country planning matters, for example), which may perhaps give local communities a greater say in the decision-making pro-cess. Our local Petition Scheme The Council recently introduced a new scheme for local petitions, giving resi-dents the right to lodge petitions on local issues with the Council and have them formally considered. This too may provide a way for residents to express their views and influence the Council’s decision-making process. Affordable Housing and Climate Change There is an increasing need for affordable housing across the District, and this remains one of the Council’s key priorities. Interesting new proposals from gov-ernment under which District Councils obtain increased power to build new council housing, and to retain the proceeds of houses which are sold for further building, are awaited shortly. Another key Council priority is to help the community minimise its carbon foot-print and adapt to climate change. An example of this in action is our Carbon Management Plan, which aims to reduce the Council’s emissions by 35% in the period 2007 to 2011. With a 30% reduction so far, the plan is on target. Surgery arrangements I shall be holding a Surgery in Bisley in conjunction with our County Councillor Joan Nash at the Stirrup Cup on Thursday 4th November at 1.30 pm. Please come along if you would like to consult us on any problem, or would like further information about any of the services or activities of the two Councils. We hope to hold further surgeries in Eastcombe and Oakridge early next year. Daniel le Fleming 01453 764837 cllr.daniel.lefleming@stroud.gov.uk

News from the District Council