Brize Norton Parish Council Newsletter

The Communities of Brize Norton and Carterton

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Here is the text from the December 2009 Newsletter Published here with permission of the Parish Council.

Brize Norton Parish Council would like to wish all parishioners a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

ST BRITIUS CHURCH

Roof Project

CALLING ON ALL BRIZE NORTON VILLAGERS FOR HELP!

The roof of our church is in a very bad state. The wooden battens and pegs holding the Stonesfield slates are rotten and the vibration of the traffic on the Carterton Road makes the slates fall and break. We can patch and mend no more! The whole roof must come off and be re-roofed, replacing with existing slates where possible. This mammoth task will cost £113,000!

Our vicar, Rev James Maddern, at the reconvened meeting of the Friends of St Britius said that in Mozambique, where he was with his family until recently, there were very few buildings of importance (if any) but returning to the UK made him realise how vital our traditional buildings are to our communities, giving a sense of belonging and of our history. St Britius church is 900 years old, a Grade II* listed building with a stunning Norman "Tree of Life" porch (have you ever looked up and noticed it?) and the important tomb of Sir John Daubigny. We not only need the building for our worship but as the core of our village life for baptisms, weddings and funerals, something to be proud of, giving a sense of our own local history.

The Friends of St Britius have taken on the task of raising the money for the roof. We hope to obtain grants from various bodies for up to half the cost, which still leaves us £60,000 to raise. The Friends have lots of fund raising ideas, but once they start to implement them it is up to you, the villagers of Brize Norton to support them in any way you can. Everyone has different talents and abilities which we may be able to use. If you would like to join the Friends, for which there will be an annual subscription of £10 and a quarterly newsletter to keep you informed of events, please ring Phil Holmes on (01993) 843856. If even half the villagers joined that would raise £5,000 to "start the ball rolling". Also be ready with your wallet as the fund raising gets under way!

Christmas Services

Our Christmas Services start on Sunday 20 December with a Candlelit Carol Service at 6pm. The nine lessons will be read by representatives of village organisations and all children are welcome to come dressed as shepherds, angels, wise men, people of Bethlehem, etc, for the nativity tableau. Please contact Carolyn Peach on 844102 for more details of the nativity tableau. Coffee and hot mince pies will be served after the service.

Candlelit Midnight Mass will be at 11.30pm on Xmas Eve (Thursday 24 December) and there will be a combined Family Service and Holy Communion at 9.15am on Xmas Day. James asks the children to bring a present that they have received with them to show!

The Sunday Club will hold their Christmas Party on Saturday 10 January in the Elderbank Hall, from 2.30 to 4.30 pm.

Our Christingle Service will be held on Sunday 7 February at 9.15 am as part of the Family Service. We hope to decorate the oranges at Church Farm House after School on the Friday afternoon before.

James, Bill, Richard, the Churchwardens and members of the DCC wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

WIDOWS MONEY AND FUEL ALLOTMENT CHARITY

We have a small charity in the village which allows us to give a small gift at Christmas time to pensioners, widows and anyone in great need who live in the village. I shall soon be bringing the gifts round so if you qualify, and are not on my list (you haven't received a gift before) please let me know by December 10th. If you don't tell me then I don't know.

Joy Douglas
4 Squires Close, 842373

BRIZE NORTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

We are now preparing for the festive season in school. Classes are busy practising their Christmas plays. This year our younger children are celebrating the Nativity Story while our older classes perform Jack and the Beanstalk.

As part of our Christmas traditions we will be holding a Christmas Bazaar on Sunday 6th December from 2pm. We do hope you will be able to join us.

This term we have been busy developing our links with other schools. Our Comenius project with schools in Spain, France, Germany and Poland has started. Miss Perkins and I spent four days visiting the schools in Bordeaux. During this time we were able to observe teaching and learning in two schools; meet pupils, parents and staff and spent time planning our two-year project, "Sharing outdoor experiences in our way to becoming European citizens." During this school year, staff will be visiting each partner school and in May children from each of the schools will visit Brize Norton for a shared Comenius outdoor festival.

The children have enjoyed a Science and Technology week this term. During the week the children worked with visitors including an Architecture workshop and Burford Explorers. We have been working with the Science department at Burford Community College to provide additional opportunities for our children. Our Year 5 and 6 children have visited the Science Lab and got to use Bunsen burners which they thought was very exciting! Mrs Brown, a Science teacher from Burford is also working with children in Key Stage 2 each term on some exciting projects.

The School Association held a fantastic Social Night in November. This was very well attended and helped raise important funds for the school. Further events this term include:

• Christmas Bazaar Sunday 6th December 2pm
• Christmas Decorating Evening Friday 11th December 7.30pm (tickets available from the school 01993 842488).

Do continue to visit our school website. All our latest information can be found at http://www.bnschool.org

The staff and children at Brize Norton Primary School would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mr M. Smith
Headteacher

BRIZE NORTON VILLAGE PRE-SCHOOL

Please join Brize Norton Village Pre School on Tuesday 15th December at 12.00pm for the annual Christmas Fayre fundraiser. The children will be performing a Christmas musical, and there will be the usual refreshments, cake stall, raffle, Tombola and other fun things to do. All monies raised will go to supporting the pre-school and your support is very much appreciated. If you have any cakes, raffle or tombola prizes to donate please either bring them on the day or contact Kat the pre-school manager on 07769 617696.
Places are still available for the January 2010 term and you can also contact Kat on the previous number in regards to any pre school queries you may have.

BRIZE NORTON OVER 60’s CLUB

We continue to meet on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays in the month 2.30pm to 4.30pm at 4 Squires Close. We have an outing and a meeting each month. We have recently enjoyed a talk on Lundy Island by Bill and on health and well being by Shirley Wong.

Our trips have been to Gloucester Docks, a play at Witney and trip to Evesham. We also enjoyed a 4 day holiday at Weymouth. We are looking forward to our Christmas meal out at The Lord Kitchener and our Christmas party with entertainment.

Thank you to Benita, Edna, Carol and June for providing our teas and wish everyone a Happy Christmas and Happy and healthy New Year.

Joy Douglas
842373

Joy Douglas
842373

BRIZE NORTON DANCE CLUB

We continue to dance on Thursday evenings but the time has changed, it is now 7.30pm to 9.30pm. We do ballroom, latin and sequence.

Thank you to Jean and Mable who provide us with a cup of tea and biscuits. We also run Tea Dances.
2nd Sunday of the month, 2.15pm to 4.15pm in Elderbank Hall. Admission £2 + raffle. Next date is Sunday December 13th.

Happy Christmas dancers.
Joy Douglas - 842373

WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

The WI quickly got into its stride again after its supper outing to Friars Court in August. September found us slightly at odds with a visiting magistrate and a member of the probation service, about the efficacy of Community Service. This led to a lively debate, while in October our subject was the history of food from the Stone Age onwards. Moira Byast illustrated this with relishes and sauces which she had made herself and which we were able to taste before our own 20th Century tea and biscuits. For November's talk we travelled down to Australia where our speaker, Jill Bailey, helped in a study of multi coloured toads and sundry insects.

In December most of us will be going out for a Christmas dinner in Minster Lovell. Do they ever - I hear you ask - do anything except eat? Well we do and just to prove it we would like to invite you do our January meeting on Tuesday January 12th 2010 when Simon Jones is coming to speak to us in Antique Roadshow mode at 7.30pm. So bring a favourite article to the meeting and let Simon comment on it. Everyone is welcome, including men visitors, on this special occasion. So see you there!

Hazel Goldman

WHAT IS A PARISH COUNCIL AND WHAT IT DOES FOR YOU?

A parish council is the first tier of local government and the closest to the community it serves. Its councillors are elected for four years at a time and an election is only held if there are more people wanting to be parish councillors than there are vacancies available. Vacancies occurring between elections are filled by bye-election or by co-option. There is a paid parish clerk, who is the Proper Officer and the Responsible Financial Officer of the council. We hold an annual meeting in the Elderbank Hall and monthly meetings in the Pavilion, and members of the public are welcome to attend these meetings.

What does a parish council do?

Parish councils have a number of formal duties - things they must do, and a range of powers - things they can chose to do. Our Parish Council receives a very small part of the local Council Tax, about £50 per house per year on average.

The range of services provided by our parish council includes providing allotments, looking after our recreational ground, our play park and the communal areas in the village. We maintain and look after: bus shelters, public seats, and oversee the running of our village Elderbank Hall and our Pavilion. Furthermore we employ a village handyman to help to keep the village tidy, but his task at times can be great if people do not do their part. We have the power to improve the quality of community life by spending money on things which are in the interests of the parish or its inhabitants, for example providing you with this news letter 4 times a year.

Parish councils are also the focal point for local consultation on matters such as planning applications, borough council strategic planning, schools and roads. On all these issues the parish councillors represent the parish's views to other authorities such as district and county councils. An example is the new expansion proposed for Carterton which will have a major effect on our village. Furthermore, we own quite a large amount of land in the village, for example our recreational ground and the play park, which we have a responsibility to maintain. We have a large and effective grass cutting contract that we let on your behalf, and indeed this is where a lot of our income is spent. The War memorial is also our responsibility and we maintain it in remembrance of the brave servicemen that lost their lives. We endeavour to promote and to achieve a tidy and agreeable environment for us all, of which we can be proud.

All entries for inclusion in the December issue should be received by the 15th February

BRIZE NORTON PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman: Keith Glazier (843640) Vice-Chairman: Christine Naus

Clerk to the Council: Jo Webb, 18 Chichester Place, Brize Norton (840890)