the west ashton magazine west ashton page 7 magazine parish council matters (continued) this year....

The West Ashton Magazine Issue 32 September 2011

Keeping you up-to-date in West Ashton, Rood Ashton, East Town and Dunge www.westashton.org.uk

Photo Paul Workman An unexpected visitor September 2010

The West Ashton Magazine

The West Ashton Magazine is published quarterly by the West Ashton Parish Council. WAPC has devolved full authority for the magazine to an independent volunteer Editorial Group formed for the sole purpose of producing this magazine. The intention is to inform and entertain the residents of West Ashton. The magazine is distributed free of charge to all residents of West Ashton village. The Editors warmly invite you to submit reports, articles and photographs relating to past or future village issues and events, or any subject that may be of interest to the readership. We prefer typed or electronic material. Photos will be returned on request. All material published in The West Ashton Magazine, including adverts, editorials, articles and all other content is published in good faith. The West Ashton Magazine accepts no liability for any errors or omissions and does not endorse any companies, products or services that appear in the publication. All material is accepted on the understanding that it is copyright free. The West Ashton Magazine accepts no liability for any subsequent copyright issues. The West Ashton Magazine cannot accept responsibility for and does not endorse views expressed by contributors. We want the content of the magazine to be primarily editorial, but we will include small advertisements for local businesses based in West Ashton. The West Ashton Magazine does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of claims made by advertisers. No part of the magazine may be reproduced without the prior written consent of The West Ashton Magazine. Editor Jo Watkins 30c Bratton Road, West Ashton, Trowbridge BA14 6AZ Tel: 01225 753196 email: [email protected] Assistant Editor Paul Workman 33, Bratton Road, West Ashton, Trowbridge BA14 6AZ Tel: 01225 766998 email: [email protected] Production Team Produced by Peter Hughes 01225 765782 Printed by Mike Stainer 01225 760982 ISSN No.: 1742-6685


Editorial

West Ashton Village Festival Monday 9th – Sunday 15th July 1991. Mon Village school sports evening followed by a barbecue. Tues Skittles in the Village Hall with ploughmans supper and bar. Tickets £2.50. Wed Choral evening in the church with The Swindon Orpheus Choir conducted by

John Young, Headmaster and West Ashton children. Donation plate. Thurs Festival whist drive in the Village Hall. Admission 60p. Welam House, Fun Bowls Adults 50p for 6 balls with prize. Clock golf for all. Fri The Manor House, flower festival preview. Finger buffet + wine Tickets £7.50 Sat The Church, Manor House, Welam House 10am-6pm Viewing of floral displays.

Tickets £1.50 for all venues. Manor Farm car boot sale, 10am-1pm Admission 10p. School festival fete. Admission 10p. Variety of stalls and other attractions. West Ashton Art Class display & History of West Ashton display in the Village

Hall. Donation plate. 10am-6pm. Exhibition of Village Life, 25 Bratton Road, 10am-6pm. Donation plate. Cream Teas in the Grange and Welam House 2.30-5.30pm. Oakstone Farm, Festival Clay Pigeon Shoot with prizes. East Town Farm Barn Dance with supper & bar, 7.45-midnight. Tickets £3.50. Sun W. Ashton Art Class display & History of West Ashton display Village Hall.

Exhibition of village life, 25 Bratton Road. Both 10am-6pm. The Church, morning service 10.30am. Viewing of floral displays 12 noon-6pm.

Steeple Ashton Doxology Choir 3pm, traditional and modern music. The Manor and Welam House, viewing of floral displays 10am-6pm. The Grange and Welam House, Cream Teas 2.10-5pm.

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O ur cover features an incident that occurred near the crossroads in September last year. Unusual

perhaps, but then the crossroads, mundane in themselves, seem to be the scene for ever occurring incidents and have a disappeared history – see inside. After our own village royal wedding ‘taster’ celebrations, the buzzword is now next year’s Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Take a look at our ‘Spotlight on’ article inside, and all will

be revealed. 20 years ago it was felt that the church, school and village hall were drifting apart. As a result, a week’s festival celebrations were put together with the participation of what were then the prominent village organisations. Here is the resulting programme, quite amazing bearing in mind the size of the village at the time.

Jo and Paul


New Plastic bottle and cardboard recycling service

A s you may have seen in the Coming Soon leaflet that dropped

through your door in July, Wiltshire Council is introducing a new plastic bottle and cardboard recycling collection service across the county from the autumn. In the West, the new plastic bottle and cardboard recycling collection service will start at the beginning of November 2011, with new blue-lidded bins being delivered to households throughout October. Residents will receive an instructional leaflet and collection calendar information through the post shortly before the bins are delivered, explaining how to use the service and when to put the blue lidded bin out for collection. For those residents who have a bag collection at the moment you will receive 2 new re-useable bags for this service. Please note plastic bottles and cardboard can be mixed in the bags. If you have not received your blue lidded bin or re-usable bags by 29 October 2011 please contact us 0300 456 0102 or email [email protected] For more information please visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/waste or phone us on 0300 456 0102. Further information about the service changes will be given out at the following roadshows: 3rd September – Trowbridge Carnival, Trowbridge Park, 10 – 5pm 5th October – Morrison’s, Warminster, 10 – 2pm 6th October – Trowbridge Town Centre, 10 – 2pm 7th October – Sainsbury’s, Bradford on Avon, 10 – 2pm 8th October – Asda, Melksham, 10 – 2pm


Parish Council - New Chairman Emerges Richard Covington, our newly appointed Parish Council chairman, gave us a brief pen picture of his background:-

I was born and grew up in Salisbury attending local schools, leaving St Thomas'

Boys School at 16 to commence an Electronic R&D apprenticeship at Boscombe Down; my first year was at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern. Having successfully completed my apprenticeship, I went on to further academic study, during which time I met my future wife Jean. We were married in July 1974, living in Bath for a brief time, before buying our first house in Trowbridge in 1975. In October 1974 I joined ICL as Customer Field Service Engineer, and continued working in the IT industry for 35 years in various capacities; Account Support, Sales and finally Information Management Consultancy. Our three sons, all of whom went to West Ashton School, travelled to the school in shared cars (novel eh!), and we finally moved into the village in 1999. We have one granddaughter, and next year promises to be quite busy with our eldest and youngest son's weddings. For interest we both enjoy walking and have been to

Nepal twice, 2008 and 2009 trekking in the Annapurna Sanctuary, and to Everest Base Camp, on the last trip, rounding it off with a visit to the Taj Mahal (photos in previous magazines). Our other hobbies include squash, photography (a bit more than snaps, see front cover September 2010) and cycling, culminating each year with a long weekend cycling trip at the beginning of September. It will be 130 miles around Northern France this time, which I admit is less than usual - must be age.


Members

After many years on the Parish Council and Chairman for the past 15 years Peter Westlake has decided to step down, if it had not been for developing health problems he would have been happy to continue, particularly in view of the very interesting times ahead. However, rather than taking a well earned rest from what can be quite demanding responsibilities Peter has agreed to be vice-chairman for which I am very grateful for his continued support. It promises to be a very busy time with Wiltshire Council’s:- “Core Strategy 2011 to 2026”; “Wilts and Swindon Waste Site Allocation”; “Land West of Biss Farm”.

At the July Meeting David Richards was welcomed as a new member, David recently moved into Shepherds Drove, and has kindly agreed to represent the Parish Council on the Neighbourhood Policing Team.

Planning Application

Land West of Biss Farm

The application has been resubmitted by Persimmon, which is an indication they are likely to appeal for non-determination by Wiltshire

Council. The Parish Council was successful in having the original application called in for Planning Committee review and have had delayed twice through lack of Highways information and ensuring they did a Transport Assessment. Persimmon’s agent has done so, but doesn’t address any of the current issues about volume of traffic. The Parish Council continues to object to this development, which has had outline planning permission for nearly 12 years now. There are already many empty business facilities in the area, and with the loss of jobs at the White Horse Business Park, a growing trend suggesting this business park is really not needed. There is also consideration being given to allow “Waste Recycling” on the Business Park as well, which if the Core Strategy gains approval will be slap in the middle of a 2,500 housing development. Waste site allocation will be for a large building enabling Wiltshire Council to tip and sort waste under cover and then transport for recycling.

Wiltshire Core Strategy 2011-2026

The Core Strategy has been published and was going through its consultation phase until 8th August

Parish Council Matters


Parish Council Matters (continued) this year. The impact on West Ashton is significant, with the 2,500 houses (as mentioned above) built to the boundary of Biss Wood and the Business Park, then another employment area between Yarnbrook and North Bradley. It is proposed to leave a small green belt along the A350, which, if it ever happens will be utilised for A350 road improvements (don’t hold your breath). Oh, and another School in the area, which will put all secondary schools in the south of the town. It does make you wonder what planet the planners are from. The Parish Council attended the Core Strategy exhibition on the 13th July 2011 in Bridge House, Trowbridge, and a very low key affair it was, being not particularly well advertised by Wiltshire Council. The Parish Council held a meeting on the 28th July to finalise our comments on the Core Strategy, which will, as you would expect, be a continued objection to building yet more houses on what is also designated as functional floodplain. This is in part defined as land with an annual probability of flooding of 5% or in an extreme (0.1%) flood. Oh, and by the way, West Ashton is considered a large village by Wiltshire Council - I hope that brought a chuckle.

Highways

By the time this edition of the magazine reaches you, Bratton Road should have been resurfaced after many years and many letters to the Highways Department complaining about the state of the road. The next step of course with the road having a new surface will be to encourage the Police to crackdown on the speeders and to see if we can expedite the electronic speed warning sign which was promised. We have also applied to have the traffic speed monitoring system installed (metro count) so hopefully that will have some success.

Recreational Area-East Town Lane

Following a full discussion it was unanimously agreed to write to Wiltshire Council accepting their offer to take on maintenance of the “Play Area”, on the clear understanding that the proposed maintenance money be deposited in the Parish Council’s bank account. Also confirmation be obtained that ownership of the land would also be transferred to the Parish Council. This will enable us to take a local view on how the Play Area is maintained and the type of play equipment provided.

Richard Covington-PC chairman.


Village Hall News

T he family night on the evening of the Royal Wedding turned out to be a

great success, with many villagers enjoying an entertaining evening after a day in front of the Television. The Curling was enjoyed by adults and an enthusiastic group of children. The Sunday lunch on 22nd May saw over 30 people sitting down to an excellent 3 course lunch produced by our professional caterers, followed by tea or coffee. The was a similar level of attendance at the family night on 25th June, with those present enjoying a game of skittles and excellent sandwiches. We are now hoping for fine weather on 23rd July when the hall is having its summer BBQ. After that is an event we hope you will all attend – the opening of the new meeting room on 3rd August, preceded by the Annual General M e e t i n g . A s w i t h m a n y organisations, there are a small group of people who put in a tremendous effort and this is true of the Village Hall. We need some new blood on the committee, particularly as we are loosing at least one member, we need new ideas, new voices and people with different worldly experience to help manage

the hall. By the time you read this we will have our new committee and will be well into shaping events for the coming year. The fact that the AGM has passed does not mean you have to wait until next August – just mention your offer of help and you will be welcomed with open arms. After the AGM, the next event will be the flower and vegetable show on 3rd September. So in the past twelve months, we have widened the entrance to the car park, rebuilt the pillars and the wall several times, increased the car parking space, painted the gable ends and built a new extension, in addition to running a series of monthly events and hiring out the hall on an almost daily basis – not bad for a small committee in a small village.

Ron Pybus Secretary, West Ashton Village Hall

Village Hall 50 Club Winners May – Mrs Lis Mercer, Mrs R Rowsell, Mrs R Piggott June – Mr Tony Mair, Mrs Jean Covington, Mrs V Mitchell July – West Ashton WI, Mrs Margaret Matthews, Mrs Jean Covington


Village Hall Extension

A s I write in July, the extension is within days of completion. There were a few hiccups to begin with as

excavations uncovered one or two unexpected items, but since then the build has gone exceedingly well up to the point of fitting the electrics. The electrician, in making tests of the existing power load, identified that we were overloading the fuses controlling the power coming into the hall. The electricity board agreed to fit another supply, but failed to show up until four days after they were booked. The electricity supply company insisted that we needed a new meter, even though we already had a meter that was more than powerful enough, and then arranged to come on a date we had previously specifically stated which had to be ruled out due to other commitments and the hall being booked.

Hopefully Thursday 21st July will see the power to the rest of the village dimmed as we test out our new supply. (It appears that the power supply to the village is on its limit and if anyone else needs any significant amount of power, there will need to be a major village upgrade).

The biggest problem has been with the double glazing supplier. We were promised delivery within four weeks. It took them seven weeks to supply the windows and door. The main door became a joke after they fitted the frame only to find that they did not have all the parts for the locking mechanism. This was the start of my nightly trip to the hall to park my car as close as possible to the door, after each event, in order to secure the building. We were told that the missing parts were being delivered the next day. One week later, the fitters arrived with the parts, and fitted the locking mechanism – but as I write this article, several days later, there are still no locking plates to finish the job.

It is not all disaster. There are two good things. Firstly an excellent meeting room and secondly Gary Winstone a most helpful and tidy builder. (See inside back cover for details).

Finally thanks must go to Pam Norris, who seemed to be constantly bringing coffee and cake over for Gary and Josh. If they were missing I could always find them at Pam’s.

Ron Pybus, Village Hall secretary.

Is a major upgrade needed to our village power supply?


Pillars of the Community - the Ongoing Saga

I knew as soon as I mentioned the pillar in the last magazine article I was tempting fate. A few days

after the last magazine appeared, one pillar and the plant container was damaged by a driver who selfishly drove off. Plan B came into operation and we constructed two very heavy solid concrete pillars, only to have one knocked over even before I was able to paint it. This was repaired one week later and then both were painted, only to have a car drive into the other pillar two days after it had been painted. It stood the force of the impact and only needed a

bit of TLC and repainting. Again the selfish motorist drove off. There have been many fun moments watching visitors parking in the car park. The number of near misses is unbelievable. We have already had one car hit the steel pillars holding up the sleepers on the rear wall, but best of all was the lady who complained how difficult it was to get her mini into the rear car park, just minutes after the 12 wheeled concrete cement mixer with six cubic meters of readymix on board, had emerged from the same car park, with ease.

Ron Pybus, Village Hall secretary.


Hello and Goodbye - keeping you posted

I n May, we said goodbye to Sean Greenland our friendly and helpful

postman for the last six years. Sean had a routine transfer to pastures new. His hobby is long distance running, which is just as well with our widespread round. We welcome Henry Stevenson to his new ‘patch’.

Hercules bid Farewell to West Ashton

O n July 1st, these Hercules

aircraft flew over the village on their last journey from RAF Lyneham en route to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Photo Ron Pybus


The Crossroads

I n issue 15 (June 2007) we featured an article by Cyril Sweetman about the West

Ashton stretch of the A350 in bygone times. To accompany our intriguing pictures concerning the crossroads we asked if Cyril could tell us more about the troublesome junction.

In the early 20th century the road we know as the A350 was a lot narrower and was ‘surfaced’ with tar and gravel but not to the high standards of today. At the crossroads the intersection was also much narrower and straighter, without the ‘tapering’ corners. However, although Bratton Road (formerly known as Main Street), the lane from Trowbridge,

and the Melksham/Warminster Road have all existed in some form for a very long time, it appears the crossroads have not.

If you travel towards West Ashton from Trowbridge, just before you get to Larkrise Farm, the road ‘doglegs’ to the left. On a map from 1817 it clearly shows that the lane at this point carried straight on, emerging onto the line of the A350, roughly where the houses begin on the Trowbridge side. It is not known when the road configuration was changed but it is possible it was done to aid the increasing traffic coming down to Trowbridge from Bratton and Edington.


(Another) Accident at the Crossroads

Where Orchard Close stands there was, naturally enough, an orchard and further over stood the Red House, believed to date from Elizabethan times. Also, at the beginning of WW2 and in case of invasion, a defensive trench was dug on this side of the junction looking out over Trowbridge. On the other side of Bratton Road, near the lane up to the church, was a shrubbery. The old photograph of the entrance to the lane, probably taken in the 1920’s features a handsome wall and one of a pair of wooden gates. Cyril reckons the wall was about 8ft high and that the gates were never

closed as far as he can remember. On the Trowbridge side of the A350 was a septic tank for the village and a garden for the Rood Ashton estate gatehouse. During the war years the crossroads were a regular meeting place for local lads on a Sunday afternoon.

The unfortunate reputation for the crossroads to be the site of regular accidents is nothing new, as minor bumps and collisions have apparently always taken place from way back.

Paul Workman

Ron Pybus sent in this photo of yet another recent accident on the A350, this time involving a police car. The Air Ambulance was called in to take the injured police officer to hospital.


Bloomin’ Fantastic

T he setting up of a spectacular Flower Festival on a massive scale took place on Monday, June 13th. Many of

you may know Salisbury Cathedral where this event took place. Its foundations were laid in 1220 and work was completed 38 years later.

It was a great privilege for the three of us, Marlene Pike, Daphne Peat and myself to be invited to represent St. John’s church West Ashton in this week long festival on such a massive scale. Can you imagine 500 hundred flower arrangers sharing 10,000 flowers, all arriving to complete in one day various tasks throughout the entirety of a vast cathedral? For me, it was hugely exciting, such a buzz of activity, and to be surrounded by so many exotic blooms of different shapes and colours with so much perfume in the air. The cathedral was filled with many like-minded

people from flower clubs and churches throughout the Diocese of Salisbury. We were part of a larger group who were allocated the tasks of assembling a total of 24 crosses representing the loss of our soldiers during the first world war, and commemorating Sir Stanley Spencer, a famous English painter whose work depicted wartime themes. To see the paintings and find out more, ‘Google’ Sandham Memorial (Stanley Spencer). Geoff Watkins very kindly made the bases and cross structures in doweling for each of us, and we then covered the crosses in either willow, bamboo or cornus (dogwood). Thank you Clive (Edwards) for

helping Marlene. We were then able to create our own designs using lilies, lisianthus and freesias, all in white. The entire result was truly magnificent, and was printed in colour in many of our national newspapers.

We are all members of N.A.F.A.S. – the National Association of Flower Arranging Society. For anyone interested in flower arranging, contact me on 01225 755866. Our Melksham club is great fun and we meet monthly, often with a national demonstrator, sometime international. I would be delighted to take you along to share this delightful hobby.

Holly Westlake, Bratton Road. Footnote, Holly and a couple of other members of her flower club were also asked to judge Melksham in Bloom.

Marlene; Daphne; Holly


Larkrise Farm News Time of year again to have the sheep sheared, BUT as soon as we did, it rained! And being all turned out now they were definitely feeling the cooler weather, even the lambs couldn’t understand what had happened to their mums! I must say what a wonderful tribute in the last magazine to Terry Baker. I regret to having never met Terry but I am sure he was a real gentleman and feel we are definitely doing the right thing in purchasing a portable milking machine and Jersey cow to remember him by. Our Year 11 students, many who have been with us for over a year, will sadly be leaving this month - we shall definitely miss them. I know a couple of them will be going on to Lackham College for Animal Management. I would just like to wish those student s who are leaving us all the best in the future, and hopefully we have helped them to have the confidence to fulfil their goals. We are now in the process of starting up a Riding for Disabled group on the farm, we have four wonderful horse and ponies that have been approved which have enabled us to go ahead. Gilbert Green, owner of Biss Wood, has given us permission to use the wood and install a gate between the farm and the wood. Sue

(who works with me) and I are at the moment going through training as Instructors with the Saxon Group over at Widbrook Grange, Bradford on Avon. The group of volunteers that run the group is wonderful, nothing is too much trouble, especially with the amount of questions I have asked. As you can imagine we have had lots of enquiries regarding the Riding with the parents of the students and clients already attending the farm signing up for lessons.

Wendy Self: Farm Manager

Leanne Clark, who works with the stock, tries her hand at shearing. Shall resist the urge to mention Specsavers.


West Ashton School

I am pleased to report that just prior to the summer holiday, the school was inspected by

OfSTED, and we were judged to be good in all areas, apart from attendance, where we were judged outstanding. This represents an improvement on our last inspection and reflects the hard work of the governors, parents, local community, staff and above all the pupils of our school. A massive well done to everyone involved. Our end of year festivities went with a bang, the highlight being the end of year production – Annie. We also said farewell to our Year 6 children and whilst we will miss them, we know that we have given them the best possible grounding to succeed in secondary education. We have also achieved well in our KS2 statutory tests. Again, a huge well done to our Year 6 children and their teacher (Mrs Barber) and teaching assistant (Mrs Turton). Whilst we value our academic success tremendously, we also place much emphasis on the care, guidance and support we offer our children which is largely based around our Church of England School ethos. We absolutely believe that the

pastoral element of our work aids our children in reaching their full potential. To finish with I would like to draw your attention to a couple of events the school will be hosting for the village. Firstly there will be another meeting about parking on Thursday 6th October at 6pm in the school. Please also be aware that we will be hosting computer lessons for anyone wishing to develop those skills starting Thursday 20th October 7-8pm in the school. I hope you all enjoy the summer. Don’t forget to pop in with any suggestions you may have on ways to strengthen links between village and school. Children return to school on 5th September 2011. Jonathan Barber, Headteacher West

Ashton Church of England (VA) Primary School.

Contactable on 01225 754354 Or email

[email protected] or [email protected]


Good News?

T his week West Ashton school said goodbye to the latest batch of Year 6 leavers who will be going on to

secondary schools in the autumn. At the Annual Leavers Service at St John’s church, amid many tears (and not just the children’s!), each of them was presented with a very colourful hardback edition of the ‘Good News Bible’. I asked the children if they knew why this particular translation of the Bible is called the ‘Good News’. The theological reason is that our word ‘gospel’ translates the Greek word ‘euangelion’ which means good news. However, I would also want to say that the whole Bible is good news – the best. I felt it was important for the children to hear this because many voices now would argue that the Bible is at best irrelevant and at worst downright harmful. This makes me sad because literally millions of people’s lives have been changed by reading this one book. This year we have been celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, one of the cornerstones of English society and literature. Melvyn Bragg, in the Prologue to his celebration of it, writes:

“You may be a Christian. You may be anti-Christian, or of another religion, or none. You may be an atheist fundamentalist and think the Bible is monstrous, a book to be dismissed or derided. But whoever you are in the English-speaking world, I hope to persuade you to consider that the King James Bible has driven the making of that world over the last 400 years, often in the most unanticipated ways.” (Melvyn Bragg, The Book of Books, Hodder and Stoughton 2011)

Another reason people dismiss the Bible is that it is not an easy book to understand. I told the school children how, at their age, I was given a Gideon’s Bible and encouraged to read it daily. At first I found it an impenetrable book from a distant past with which I felt little connection. What I did not know then is that we need the help of God’s Holy Spirit to understand Scripture. Later, after I had asked Christ into my life and experienced the Holy Spirit, I picked up that Gideon Bible again. This time my experience could not have been more different. The words leapt off the page and spoke to my situation as if they had been written yesterday. I can now honestly say that for over 35 years the Bible has spoken to me regularly and powerfully like no other book I have ever read. I commend it to you as I did to those Year 6’s as the face the challenges and opportunities of the next stage in their lives.

Allan Coutts


West Ashton School - Another Blooming Good Result

Our school gained impressive results in the schools judging section of Trowbridge in Bloom in July with joint first in the best window box/container section, first in the special garden projects and joint second in the allotment/vegetable garden section. Another successful school fete was held in June, when a profit of £1,300 was made.


A Capital Day Out

S ix villagers recently enjoyed a coach trip to the

various Olympic venues and a tour of the East End redevelopment which will benefit greatly from the games. The photo shows the main stadium and partly finished Olympic sculpture/tower. Also included in the tour was a visit to the absolutely amazing and very colourful multi-ethnic shopping centre – and a good time was had by all.

Jean Platts Orchard Close

L – R Ian Robertson, Jean Platts, Michael Cronan, Betty Cronan, Jim Platts,. Front – Jean Robertson

Thanks

A huge thank you to everyone who supported my cream tea afternoon in June. Very grateful thanks to Lis

Mercer for taking control of the raffle and raising a very respectable £76. I can thoroughly recommend Margaret Moore's coffee sponge cake which, at £1 per slice, raised £8. Thank you Margaret. The total amount raised was £343.50 for Alzheimers research given to RICE (Bath) Research Institute for Care of the Elderly researching into memory problems, dementias, parkinsons etc., and with only 13% funding from the NHS is dependant on corporate funding, fund raising, legacies etc. The weather may have been overcast on the day and somewhat chilly, but the friendship and

camaraderie in the garden was bright and sunny. Again - thank you.

Wendy Bartlett, Bratton Road.


West Ashton WI or ‘Ladies In Lavender?

T he WI enjoyed a topical issues evening in May where we discussed and voted on two issues currently in

the news, that of factory farming and whether our libraries should be closed or not. Our delegate, Margaret Moore, accompanied by Jo Watkins, travelled to Liverpool for the national WI meeting and to register our votes on these two subjects. The WI does hold some sway on such matters and we like to think that our feelings are noted by those in power; but who knows! On July 5th we visited Tyntesfield House together with husbands, friends et al. The rain started as we approached Bristol in our coach, but eased very shortly after our arrival and then stopped altogether. Tyntesfield staff met our coach and issued us with tickets on arrival and some of us walked and some bussed down to the house. We all met up again at 1p.m. for lunch in the restaurant (although this part was not so well

organised – despite knowing that 32 of us would be descending upon them) I hope overall that everyone enjoyed the day. On 13th July we visited a Lavender Farm at Faulkland, where we had a walk around the lavender fields which were in full bloom and a talk on how the oil is extracted; this was followed by refreshments and time to look at the products in the shop all made from the various varieties of lavender. A most enjoyable summer’s evening. We also had a cinema trip to see ‘Bridesmaids’. Our programme for the remainder of the year is on the village notice board and is also published in the village magazine each month – if you feel like joining in any of the evenings please be assured you will be made most welcome. We meet in West Ashton Village Hall at 7.30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

Lis Mercer, President

Ladies at Leisure


Ladies at Leisure (continued) West Ashton Ladies Skittles Team

A s the autumn draws near, we West Ashton ladies prepare for another season of skittles. Week

commencing September 5th sees us bowling the first balls of the skittles season. Alternate home matches are a Wednesday night at Spencers. Last season was not a good one for the team, which has resulted in us now going into Division II. All we ask is good

health and weather, and we will be on the upward trend once more. We will be pleased to see new players who may wish to join us. May I take this opportunity of wishing Edna Morse and the Ladybirds good luck for the coming season.

Betty Cronan, Captain. Betty’s contact details are always on the inside back page.

West Ashton Wives Group We had a very jolly meeting in May with ladies bringing lots of varied and interesting items from their past. Our coach trip in June to Swanage Railway with a ride on a steam train to the seaside was enjoyed by all. Luckily, the weather was kind to us. Hope to see you all on the first Wednesday in September.

Sylvia Preston.

The Ladybirds Skittle Team The 2010 /2011 season was almost a rerun of 2009/ 2010. The ladies of the Ladybirds skittle team enjoyed good company and conversation whilst doing their best to knock down more skittles than the opposition. The season started well and between September and December we were up there at the top of Division One in the Melksham Ladies Skittles League, but from then on we were on a downward spiral and relegation stared us in the face. Fortunately we managed to stay at twelfth position out of fourteen, and so as only two teams go down we should be staying in Division One next year but no! The powers that be have changed the rules and this year three teams will be relegated so down we go into Division two after all.

Unfortunately we have lost some of our faithful long service players this year and it now seems unlikely that we will be able to continue at all. We urgently need new players and will be very sorry if we cannot play this season but if not perhaps we could rejoin the league for the 2012/13 season. My thanks to all our ladies for their support, to Edna Morse for captaining us so well, to Ursula for keeping us solvent, to Sarah for being such a cheerful, reliable putter up and to Laurie for always making sure the alley is ready for us and putting it away afterwards. Our best wishes go to Sylvia, Pat, and Joan, many thanks for being so reliable, for your good company and of course for your regular high scores!

Jackie Bradley


Spotlight on - Lucy Pullen

T hanks to the public-spiritedness of people like Lucy whose grandmother

died of breast cancer, the news has just been released that scientists are on the brink of finding a cure for this terrible disease. For the last seven years, by either running or walking, Lucy has raised thousands of pounds towards breast cancer causes and

Cancer Research. Her two children have also joined her since the age of four. She has been participating in the Race for Life since 2004, and this year will be her sixth London Moon Walk, attracting over 19,000 entrants, a marathon of 26.2 miles, which has to be walked (quickly) - her best time to date being 6hrs 15 mins. If anyone is interesting in


Spotlight on - Lucy Pullen (continued) entering the Moon Walk 2012 they are more than welcome to contact Lucy as entries don’t have to be in until September/October 2012. Sponsored by a bra company, every entrant, male or female must wear one which has to be on show, (they can be very useful to carry spare change fellas), this year’s theme being ‘A Walk on the Wild Side’. Lucy sported a ladybird bra but declined to wear it for the photo shoot due to the nippy June evening, but if you take a peek at the charity’s website, you’ll spot her kitted out. She has also run the Bath half marathon and also a 10k marathon across the Badminton estate, to name but a few of her races. Last but not least, one of her greatest achievements was organising a charity ball for Dorothy House, raising over £4,000. When at her peak of fitness, she trains 38 miles per week, her next walk being the ladies only Midnight Memory Walk, a distance of ‘only’ seven miles. You don’t have to be super fit to take part in any of these activities, just active. None of this could have been achieved without the full support of husband Kevin and her children Charlotte and Ellie. Lucy spent her first 21 years in West Ashton, and

only returned two and a half years ago to live near her father. Working as a teaching assistant at The Mead primary school, she loves West Ashton and its beautiful surroundings, but thinks we could do with a pub. After her dry run organising the popular Orchard Close Royal Wedding Street party, which appeared centre fold in The Western Daily Press, not to mention our own West Ashton Magazine, she now has her sights firmly fixed on the Royal Jubilee celebrations in June next year, when she hopes to bring the whole village together. A free village event, it will take place in the field between the school and the church. There are plans for entertainment, a fancy dress competition for children of all ages, a bonfire, barbecue – the list goes on. If you have any ideas, or would like to offer your support, a donation – indeed anything that would add to the celebrations, contact Lucy tel no 01225 769031. Keep your eye on the magazine for future developments.

Jo Watkins


Another Spotlight on - Bratton Road Drains

I can’t think of many less glamorous jobs than repairing storm drains, but John, Dan and Steve spent a week in Bratton Road in July busy doing just that before the road was resurfaced in August. It wasn’t just a matter of digging up the road, ‘hi-tech’ cameras were pushed along the drains to discover where the damage lay – you could call it an endoscopy for drains. Our trio soon became

familiar faces, even receiving an invitation to join the WI on their trip to Tyntesfield. Regretfully they had to decline due to work commitments. Anyone taking bets on how long it will be before the road is dug up again after resurfacing? Jo Watkins


Music for a Summer’s Evening

I t is wonderful when a small Church has been

decorated with flowers and has a full congregation. The ambience that is created is one of tranquillity and gentleness which cannot be experienced in any other forum. That is how it was for the 'Music for a Summers Evening' to celebrate the restoration of the church organ. As well as the splendid organ recitals by David Davis, everyone enjoyed the singing by Jane Butler, the poems by Pauline Tiller who is well known for the verses she has written about Wiltshire life, the violin recitals by father and daughter, Ian and Naomi Gibbon, and the gentle notes of the flute as played by Josephine Clarke. It was unfortunate the sound system misbehaved, for it was very difficult for people at the rear of the Church to hear the very interesting readings by David Ovens and Gwynne Evans, which was disappointing. The system will need

to be tested to find out what the problem was. To bring the evening to a close, the refreshments provided by the ladies were excellent and rounded off a most enjoyable occasion, and I am sure the good folk of West Ashton appreciated the support for the evening received from the members of the Church of St Thomas in Trowbridge.

Peter Westlake Bratton Road

David Davis, guest organist


Miscellanea

J ust a thought, with the approach of autumn and the darker evenings it would be good if people could look at any shrubs/trees

overhanging the pavements to see if they need trimming. Similarly, if you intend to light a bonfire in your back garden, do make sure your neighbours haven’t hung out a line of washing. Please ensure that your fire burns up fully and extinguish it within a reasonable time - don’t leave it smouldering away for hours on end, and remember that throwing waste from your chicken shed onto a smouldering bonfire is not conducive to good relations with your neighbours either..

CALLING ALL SURFERS – SILVER OR OTHERWISE

FREE WEEKLY COMPUTER CLASSES START IN WEST ASHTON SCHOOL

THURSDAY 20th OCTOBER 7-8pm

Trowbridge Lions Bottle Stall

A big thank you to all those who kindly donated to the Lions bottle stall on the Veterans weekend. I am sure you will wish to know that thanks to people's generosity, we managed to collect over 350 bottles which resulted in us raising over £500 on the day. This money will go towards funding the Lions various activities in helping the less fortunate in Trowbridge including day trips for young single parent families to Paultons Park, Longleat, Avon Valley Country Park, a pantomime trip and various events for the elderly including a canal trip, trips to the Arc Theatre, and a late late Christmas dinner.

Thank you again for your tremendous support which assists the Lions Club of Trowbridge to continue their help to the less fortunate in the Trowbridge area. If you would like to find out more about Trowbridge Lions you can visit our web site www.trowbridgelions.org or call me on 01225 762684 Graeme Dunn, Bratton Road

Cancer Research UK, Trowbridge Committee We would like to thank all of you who came to our cream tea on Saturday 25th June. Many thanks also to Lis Mercer for the loan of her kitchen and garden, you helped us raise £287.30.

Sylvia Preston, Orchard Close.


Useful Information Village Hall activities Dance Class Dee Dee Wilde – 01380 871608 Ballroom Dancing Mr. Kevin Burge 07933 771205 ALW School of Dance Children inc pre-school, Miss Amy Watts 01225 774849 Archaeological Group of Trowbridge Mr. Keith Turner 01225 703087 Dolly Mixtures Art Class Mrs. Kay Norris 01985 840157 Dog Training Mrs. Rosemary Banfield 01380 870574 Ladybirds Skittles Team Mrs. Edna Morse 01225 755809 Tai Chi Mr. Brian Wooding 01985 213474 Whist Drive Mrs. Joan Vince 01225 755535 Wives Group Mrs. Marlene Pike 01380 870272 WI Mrs. Lis Mercer 01225 766287 Yoga Mrs. Angeline Nicholson 01225 777452 Bookings David Petrie 01225 752311 Builder Paul. New build, extensions, renovation specialist, alterations. 19 Bratton Road Tel: 01225 753997/07799 563347 Builder Gary Winstone 01225 751023 Electrician Chris Parnell 01225 764874 or 07875 372940 Handyman CORGI-registered domestic appliance fitter, painting and decorating, plumbing and other odd jobs Garry Tucker 01225 353268 or 07711 837419 Garden Maintenance Cleaning Service: David McLoughlin 07792 121647 Library Mobile Library Van visits Orchard Close alternate Fridays 1.40-1.55pm. Logs & Marquees Logs for sale/ Marquee hire for all your outdoor events. Rob Pike 01380 870808 Milk Bullings Dairies deliver Tel: 01225 776494 Newspapers Seend Post Office deliver Tel: 01380 828250 Police Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Village Co-ordinator Mr David Bradley 01225 754100. Neighbourhood Policing Team PC Mark Hough & PCSO Neil Usborne can be contacted on the main Wiltshire Police tel no 0845 4087000 Parish Council Chairman Mr Richard Covington Tel: 01225 761904 Clerk Mrs Carol Hackett Tel: 01225 760372 Refuse Collection days vary - seek local advice. Community skips in Canal Road, Trowbridge for larger items. Seamstress & Soft Furnishings Clare Humphries, curtains, dressmaking and alterations Tel 01225 767703 Mob 07929 122631 St. John's Church Services Sundays 10.30am. Rev Allan Coutts Tel: 01225 754826 West Ashton Boomerang Taxi service. Mon-Sat West Ashton to Trowbridge £1.20 one way. Morning pickup 9.30am, return 12 noon, afternoon pickup 12.10 return 2pm. Tel 01225 753218 to book. West Ashton C of E Junior School Headteacher Mr Jonathan Barber Tel: 01225 754354 West Ashton Ladies Skittles Team Mrs. Betty Cronan 01225 755908


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September Sat 3rd Flower/Vegetable Show. A Village Hall event. Mon 5th School starts autumn term. Wed 7th Wives Group, Village Hall 7.30pm, History of and Sewing. A talk by Judith Spencer. Sat 17th Cabaret Night. A Village Hall event. Sun 25th Harvest Festival service, 10.30am in the church. Wed 28th WI, 7.30pm Village Hall. ‘Being Happy’ a talk by Nigel Linacre. This meeting is open to visitors. Fri 30th Mr and Mrs B’s Quiz Night at the school.

October Sat 1st Harvest Supper, Village Hall 7pm for 7.30 start. Tickets £12.50 from Sylvia Preston. Wed 5th Wives Group Village Hall 7.30pm. Birds in Your Garden (recommended) a talk by D & T Townsend. Thurs 6th Meeting in the school 6pm to discuss parking in the village. Thurs 20th Free weekly computer classes, 7-8pm start at the school. Sat 22nd Western Night. A Village Hall event. Wed 26th WI, 7.30pm Village Hall. A Quilting Demonstration by Marion Bevan.

November Wed 2nd Super Duper Bonfire Bingo Night at the school. Wed 2nd Wives Group, Village Hall 7.30pm. Beetle Drive. Fri 11th Armistice Day Supper. A Village Hall event. Wed 23rd WI, 7.30pm. Village Hall 7.30pm. ‘Looking At Life’ a talk by Jean Collens.

December Sat 3rd Murder Mystery Evening. A Village Hall event. Sun 4th Childrens Christingle service 4pm in the church. Wed 7th Wives Group, Village Hall, 7.30pm. Carols and Seasonal Music. A Talk by David Chatterton. Fri 9th Village Christmas Concert, 7.30pm in the church. Sun 18th Carol Service, 10.30am in the church. Wed 21st WI, 7.30pm Village Hall. Christmas Party with Pot Luck supper. Sat 24th Midnight Service, 11.15pm in the church. Sun 25th Christmas Day Service West Ashton Church 10.30am. Sat 31st New Years Eve Dance, Village Hall. A Village Hall event.

the west ashton magazine west ashton page 7 magazine parish council matters (continued) this year....

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