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.

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Monday 6.30pm and 8.15pm

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Tuesday 10am—11am

Meditation and gentle stretching

Painswick

Wednesday 9.30am

Sheepscombe

Thursday 9.30am

Painswick

All welcome

Call Kim on 01452 812623

OPEN HOUSE

Everyone is welcome to come for coffee

11 to 12 midday

Thursday 1st April

Wendy Skinner

Fidges Lane, Eastcombe

Lifts available from The Stirrup Cup 10.45

Thursday 6th May

Ken & Pearl Lucas

The Bungalow, Vanderbreen Street

BISLEY W.I. Guests are welcome at meetings

Thursday 8th April

Wendy Hill

Edward Elgar

Thursday 13th May

Pat Chase

The Vine Project

Forthcoming Events

Flower Show Marquee Fundraiser Tuesday 4th May, Lower Nashend Cottage, 12.30—see advert

Flicks in the Sticks Tuesday 13th April—Julie & Julia

The Bisley News Supper Friday 28th May, Overcourt—don‘t miss it!

The Bisley News Whist Drive Tuesday 4th May, 7.30pm—see advert

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

The Bisley News

editor@bisleynews.co.uk

The Bisley News is available to be down-

loaded from our website

www.bisleynews.co.uk.

DEADLINE

June/July edition

Tuesday 18 May 9am

Or earlier if all space taken

Front cover courtesy of James Whitestone, and sponsored by

The Bisley Methodist Church

We’ve gone global!! My name is Diana Meeth (nee Bisley) and I came across your paper while I was looking for Bisley references on the computer this morning. What a fan-tastic newspaper; I felt involved in the whole town and was wishing I was clos-er to visit the osteopath! Some thirty years ago while holidaying in England I visited Bisley with my husband and young son and we chatted to the very friendly and helpful people. We were looking for Bisleys but were told that there was no longer anyone with that surname in the town. I believe the family came to England at the time of William the Conqueror and the spelling was slightly different. Do you have information of the origin of the name? Reading your newspaper I had quite a sense of belonging, pretty silly, I know. Your town sounds wonderful and maybe oneday I'll get back and visit again. I'll keep in touch via the paper on the inter-net. Diana Meeth (Bisley) Sydney NSW Australia ** If anyone has any information on the name ‘Bisley’, please let me know—Editor

Exhibition raises £674 for Charity John Bailey‘s recent exhibition at Oakridge raised £674 for Cancer Research. John would like to thank everyone for their inter-est and support.

Local History Document on of-ferThe following document is looking for a home with someone who is interested in local history. It is currently in Italy, and weighs 1.6 kg . The current owners do not want paying for it, they would just like it to go to a good home. “Abstract of the Title of the Trustees of the Marquis and Marquise of Lasteyrie to cer-tain Freehold Messuages Farm Lands Tithe rent charges hereditaments situate in the parishes or places of Stroud and Bisley and

elsewhere in the County of Gloucester and Wadley Littleworth and Thrupp in the Parish of Gret Faringdon in the County of Berks. Crowdy and Son, Faringdon, 1891‖.

We had it among the deeds of Rectory Farm House.

Best regards,

Dr. Leonarda Marazzi Ridler

Italy

**If interested, please contact the editor

Found: dainty green ball shaped earring with gold pattern (Sainsburys ‗Tu‘ range). Collect from George Stores

Bisley Friendship Club

Will be on Wednesday 28th April in the Vil-lage Hall, 2.30 to 4.30 with a musical Maes-tro. Tickets £2.50 from George Stores. There will be Surprise Entertainment at the May meeting on Wednesday 19th May.

Lambing time

Spring is here, and the police have issued a press release to remind us all to keep our dogs under control whilst walking in fields which have sheep and lambs in.

Flicks in the Sticks

The film for May is ‗Julie & Julia‘ starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams—described as ‗a delicious film with a perfect blend of humour and drama‘...........it‘s a 12 certifi-cate, so take the kids as they‘re on holiday, or leave them at home with your partner and go with the girls!

Thank you Bisley W.I. A big thank you to the Bisley W.I. Members, and to their February speaker Huw Jones who have donated £30 to the Bisley News instead of paying Mr Jones for his talk. See the advert on page 2 for times and dates of W.I. Meetings—visitors welcome.

District Councillor Retires Our representative on Stroud District Coun-cil, Pat Carrick, will not be seeking re-election in the forthcoming local elections on 6th May this year. Sadly Pat has had to take this decision because of illness in her

BITS & PIECES

family. Pat has been a very active District Councillor following her election in 2006 and is a well known and popular person throughout the Bisley, Eastcombe and Oa-kridge ward. Daniel leFleming has been adopted by the local Conservatives to stand in place of Pat. Daniel, was previously the District Council-lor for this ward from 2002 to 2006, is an experienced and able administrator, cur-rently chairman of Age Concern Stroud and is deputy chairman of the Citizens Advice Bureau. He is looking forward to continuing the good work that Pat has been doing over the past four years. Pat says: ‗I very much regret having to stand down from the District Council, due to family illness, but I am very pleased that Daniel has agreed to stand for the ward.‘

All Saints’ Sunday School Sunday School is beginning on Sunday 21st March. Thereafter it will be held on the third Sunday of each month in the meeting room, during the service, for school aged children. Plans are afoot for a children's area within

the Church, to be used by children and their parents during services. (Initially, toys will be provided for pre-school children to use with their parents on the carpeted area near the Font).

Easter Services at All Saints’ Good Friday: 12 noon: procession of the Cross, starting from the Catholic Church, led by the Revd. Simon Richards. 2 pm ‗The Last Hour‘ in church, led by the Revd Richard Bryant Easter Sunday: 8.00am Holy Communion 11.00am Family Communion

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This is the second in a new series of articles written by Sue Bradley,

taken from memories of people who have lived in Bisley for a number

of years. We hope you find them interesting!

THE OUTBREAK of war in 1939 affected Bisley in many ways; not least in the departure of many of its young men. Some, like Ivor Gardiner‘s second oldest brother, did not come back. ―Arthur was killed in Burma in 1942,‖ Ivor recalled. ―My mother had a sixth sense that my brother had died before she was told officially.

―She used to say that a funny feeling came over her. Another Bisley lad to be killed was the son of Fanny By Gaslight author Michael Sadleir who lived at Througham Court.‖

Life in Bisley during the war was tough but Ivor remembers how there were some posi-tives too, such as the community spirit shown by people who would go to the WI Hall once or twice a week to pull apart old knitted garments and use the wool to knit socks, balaclavas, gloves and other items to send to the troops. ―Those who couldn‘t knit were encouraged to roll the wool. Some of them could knit like machines.‖ People would also support the war effort by donating any spare cash to a large bomb shell that stood in Bisley for many years. On it was painted an image of Hitler and the invitation to ―choke the bugger‖.

―The fuse hole was turned into a mouth and people would throw money into it. Every now and again the money would be taken out and sent to the forces fund. My brother could pick up the bomb and carry it on his shoulder! He used to take bets from people to put it on his shoulder and walk about with it.‖ Ivor recalls how the bomb almost didn‘t make it to Bisley, however. ―The bomb was brought to Bisley by Mary Gompertz. Mary came to the village to be a helper to Susan Swan, who was related to the Bowes-Lyons and was a distant cousin of the Queen. Mary was always dressed in overalls, like a bloke, and you rarely saw her in a skirt. Her grandfather designed Christchurch in Chal-ford. During the war she eventually became chief air warden. She was in Gloucester when they obtained some unexploded bombs that had been dropped in Tunley and Painswick. She asked the bomb disposal people if she could have one of the bombs after they had defused it and put one in the back of her car – a little old Morris 8. On her way back to the village she suddenly realised she had better take it back – it hadn‘t been defused!‖

The war brought many new faces to Bisley, not least in the shape of men from the search light battery at Nash End. ―The search light was run by the Royal Artillery and people from all over the globe were sent to it. They had no baths up there to begin with and my mother used to tell them they could come and have baths at our house. We had to carry water from the seven springs and boil it up in a copper before pouring it into the old tin bath in the wash house.‖ Ivor particularly remembers men like Tommy James, a native of St Ives in Cornwall who became a particular friend of the family. ―We made a fuss of Tommy. He spent more time at our house than the army camp and used to sleep in my bed! Tommy‘s family had my mum to stay in St Ives and she ended up staying there for 18 weeks!‖ Another man who made a particular impression was the cook Emmy Owen who had the loudest voice anybody had ever heard. ―You could stand in Bisley and hear him singing at Nash End. The soldier boys used to chivvy him on.‖The end of the war was marked by great celebrations in Bisley, which left their mark for some years afterwards. ―We had a big bonfire in New Inn Square. The road surface melted and there was a huge hole there for ages!‖

Recollections of Bisley – by Ivor Gardiner

Oh! I‘m a Bisley boy at heart

For I was Bisley born and fed

Not far from the chapel church yard

Well that was how it was said

It was in the late Twenties

That my mum and dad had come

To live in Southend Cottage

And make it our family home

Mind you, Old Adolf made a mess of it

Those bloody Nippons too

Your monument and epitaphs

Will confirm these sad eras for you

I‘ve yoked water from the Seven springs

Hoping the bucket would not leak

Because we were very clean you know

We had a bath nearly every week

I‘ve often gone Sunday walking

Looking for the elusive birds nest

And have chased the girls round Joiners Lane

- You can guess the rest

I have crept into the Vestry

When the girls polished the Altar brass

And hid behind the cassock curtain with them

To let old ‗Cork‘ the Verger pass

Who were the girls then?

Well now let me see

One name began with ‗K‘ I think

And the other one with ‗C‘

I‘ve been down the school cellar

And peeped up through the floor

When those above were being taught by

The Misses, White, Cross or Gilmore

I can recall the windmill up Calfway Lane

And the well being sunk for it to serve

Was in the bucket to go down once

But the foreman lost his nerve

I‘ve scrogged apples from ‗Paul Meads‘

Sleighed down its wintry banks

And helped block the stream at Crickety Mill

It was just one of our silly pranks

Oh! I‘ve done my share of stooking corn

And when threshing, cut the bonds, fed the drum

Have chopped a few spekes for thatching

And somehow missed my thumb

I remember the King George playing field gates

When they were just a tree

Port wine Charlie Smith made them for

His Majesty, you and me

I recall the playing field being shared with

Mr Skinner‘s cows or sheep

And have often shovelled up what‘s good for roses

Before the Ref could blow a peep

I‘ve dug my share of the allotments

When others were kicking about

And had to dig another spit or two

Before being allowed my dubious skills to flout

I‘ve got a photo somewhere of me dressed

As Bisley A.F.C Mascot , and I had won a prize

In a Doug Clarke shirt and Tich Millin nicks

That my Mum had cut to size

I‘ve tagged firewood up from Battlescombe

On old rickety pram wheels

And blistered my hands not a little

I know just how sore it feels

Rolled many a wheel from Gilbert Hook‘s at the Pike

For Blacksmith Davis to fix its new band

And struck very many hammer blows

Just to lend a hand

‗Hey‘ Mr Davis, I‘m older than him

So how is it he is taller? I can hear it said

―Simple, Sonny really, He was kicked up the back-side

Whilst you were patted on your head‖

Kilminsters and Browns are remembered

Also the Post Office, Police Station and the Co-op

Pa Taylors, Bill Larners and Percy Cook

At Sas White‘s little corner shop

Oh! I‘ve quenched my thirst in the pubs of the time

The George, The New Inn and The Bear

Playing many a pub game and lost a few too

And have stuck up on the skittle alleys there

While shepherds watched, sung the Bisley way,

Always appeals to me

But not being a Pavarotti I can only growl

Ten to one on Bisley and where will they be?

I‘m pleased to be a country lad

With memories to unfold

No doubt I will have forgotten some

Must be getting old

Well now that you have got this far

I hope you‘ve enjoyed what you have read

My compliments to you whoever from the scribe

Truly Bisley born and bred

Ivor Gardiner

Busy Bisley Lad

During the publication period of this edition we will either have had a general election or the date would have been announced. So this month, we have a political quiz to keep you amused during the party political broadcasts. 1. Which Labour leader did The Sun refer to when it wrote that if Labour were to win the General Election, the last person to leave Britain should turn out the lights? a. Neil Kinnock b. John Smith c. James Callaghan d. Tony Blair 2. Who was the first Party Leader, to face Margaret Thatcher, in Prime Minister's Ques-tion Time, a. Harold Wilson b. Michael Foot c. Tony Benn d. Dennis Healey 3. Which prime minister was one of 17 children? a. Lord Palmerston b. Robert Walpole c. Henry Pelham d. Earl Grey 4. Who said when asked if he had smoked dope: "No. But if I had, you can be sure I would have inhaled." a. Paddy Ashdown b. Tony Blair c. Oliver Letwin d. Iain Duncan Smith 5. Who said: "I buy a lot of CDs - for music, for classical music and other music; modern, up-to-date music"? a. Estelle Morris b. Gordon Brown c. Iain Duncan Smith d. Charles Kennedy 6. What did Margaret Thatcher usually have for breakfast? a. Cabinet ministers b. An apple and a vitamin pill c. Alpen d. Grapefruit and coffee 7. Who came back from Guadeloupe to deny that Britain was in crisis? a. John Major b. Norman Lamont c. Harold Wilson d. James Callaghan 8. What was Geoffrey Howe's dog called? a. Bullet b. Treasury c. Budget d. Margaret 9. Which football team does John Major support? a. Chelsea b. Arsenal c. Huntingdon Harriers d. Manchester United 10. Which prime minister had to escape from a public meeting disguised as a policeman? a. Winston Churchill b. John Major c. Harold Macmillan d. David Lloyd George 11. Which prominent Labour politician ‗led with the left‘ after an egg throwing incident? a. Frank Dobson b. John Prescott c. Peter Hain d. Charles Clarke 12. Which politician is known as the ‗Beast of Bolsover‘? a. Glenda Jackson b. Ed Balls c. Dennis Skinner d. Geoffrey Robinson 13. In 1968 Enoch Powell gave his infamous ‗Rivers of Blood‘ speech where? a. Worcester b. Cheltenham c. Bromsgrove d. Wolverhampton The answers to last month’s Oscars quiz can be found on www.bisleynews.co.uk.

POLITICS QUIZ

Thanks to everyone who supported our fundraising event for the Flower Show Marquee. An evening of fun and intrigue was enjoyed by all. A traditional ―bangers & mash‖ supper was much appreciated in the interval thanks to the hard work of Phil Bradley. A big thank you must go to the ―actor suspects‖ Shown above) who managed to stay in character whilst being interrogated by the teams of sleuths! The theme was Lord Beechings murder at a small railway station called Bisley Halt and the hall was transformed to portray this. We are very grateful to Malcolm Dalley who wrote the script and who was the MC for the evening. Approximately £700 was raised.

Watch out for our next fundraising event!!

Flower Show - Murder Mystery Supper

Flower Show Marquee Fundraiser at Nashend

Caroline Stephen invites you to

Lower Nashend Cottage

to enjoy the Spring bulbs and have lunch

12.30pm, Wednesday May 5, 2010

2 course lunch with wine £15

Tickets from Caroline 01452 771041 or 07774 274792

We are holding a

To raise funds for The Bisley News

W.I. Village Hall Tuesday 4th May, 7.30pm

Raffle Prizes Entrance £2

includes tea, coffee, soft drinks & biscuits

BLANK

BLANK

The Bisley Boy – Fact or Fiction?

It is documented that Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, lived at Over Court for a while as a young girl. The house then belonged to the wives of Henry VIII in turn. The legend states that Princess Elizabeth visited her cousins at Berkeley Castle, contracted typhoid and returned to Over Court where she died. Her attendants Thomas Parry and Mistress Ashley were horrified and feared the wrath of the king, her mother having had her head chopped off somewhat earlier. In fear, they substituted a boy from the village (as they couldn‘t find a suitable girl) who was then brought up to be ―Queen‖ Elizabeth. The actions of Thomas Parry and Mistress Ashley had not passed unnoticed by the Bis-ley villagers, and so began the record of the Boy May Queen, to continue, it is believed, up to the late nineteen-fifties. For over three hundred years, each May Pageant repeated a strange event. The May Queen was always a boy, dressed in an Elizabethan girl's cos-tume. There were no scribes then to record the happenings in a small village, but events were woven into song and dance lest they should be forgotten. It is feasible that in Bis-ley's history there was such an event and the memory was kept alive down the centuries by re-enacting the story every year. When the Bisley Bluecoats School building was constructed on land given by the then owners of Over Court, a stone coffin was found and inside was the body of a young girl, dressed in beautiful clothes in a Tudor style. The body was reburied in a location now unknown and Thomas Keble rekindled the speculation about the Bisley Boy anew. (He subsequently retracted his story.) Queen Elizabeth often asserted that she was a man in a woman‘s body, so could the legend be true?

She was never seen naked by anyone She was never examined by a doctor during her life She wore ruffs at the neck, possibly to conceal an Adam‘s apple She wore heavy makeup to cover a bad skin – or was it a beard? She is portrayed as wearing dresses which made her look very flat chested After the ‗substitution‘ she had beautiful teeth, whereas as a very young girl she

loved sugar and had extensive tooth decay She suddenly became very good at Latin and Greek – no mean feat She had a huge supply of wigs and was never seen without one She never married despite a great political necessity to produce an heir She gave the throne on her death to the son of her great enemy – Mary Queen of

Scots – a very odd thing to do in the light of history Her favourite pastimes were violent in nature – bear baiting and similar And of course, she kept her suitors at bay

However, historians dismiss the claims as pure fiction and say there may be a medical explanation. In Bram Stoker‘s book, ―Famous Impostors‖ he stated that the substitution took place, with a boy called Neville, who was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII and therefore had some of the king‘s features and colouring, notably the red hair. If you attend the Bisley News dinner at Over Court, it may be possible to see the room where Princess Elizabeth died. The coffin is still in the garden, but without its lid.

For all your plumbing

needs

Call Chris on:

01452 546573

07825 991559

Car Boot Sale Bisley Blue Coat School Playground Saturday 24th April 10am til 12pm

Teas, Coffees, Bacon Rolls, Raffle Prizes

£5.00 per car to sell. Gates open 9.30 for setting up. (Proceeds towards Bisley Blue Coat School PTA funds.)

Ascension Day is on Thursday 13th May this year. Teas, coffees and home-made cakes will be served, as usual, at the school after the procession and the dressing of the wells. We hope that you will be able to join us for the celebration.

JOIN BISLEY JUNIOR CRICKET

Bisley Cricket Club is looking for players to join a new Under-13 side this season. Games will be played every Sunday from 9

th May and start at 9.45 am.

There will be one more free indoor jun-ior coaching session at Thomas Keble school on Friday, 9

th April from 6.00 to

7.00 pm, before the sessions move out-doors to the Van Der Breen Street play-ing field. For more details, please con-tact

Gerry Baker on 01453 765301

or bakersofbisley@msn.com

Without your help, we will soon need to make cuts to Stroud Citizens Advice Bureau‘s services. Our grants from Stroud District Council, and other local councils have been a great help to us, but many of them have frozen over recent years. At the same time the demand for our services keeps going up and up.

However, enough people donating £5 a month for this worthwhile service would secure your local CAB. Will you be one of our sponsors please?

We are a lifeline, giving many people from all walks of life the information and practical

help to deal with their problems, when they don‘t know where else to turn. The advice is free, confidential and available to all. Will we still be around when you need us, or will the door be closed?

Some of the queries we have dealt with recently;

I‘m about to be evicted, can you help me keep my home?

I am a student and want to work abroad. How do I go about it?

I‘ve had a stroke, but now I‘ve returned to work, my manager is trying to get rid of me. What can I do?

My ex-partner won‘t let me have contact with my children, how can I get to see them?

Can I bring my 85 year old neighbour in to see you? She doesn‘t seem to have enough money to manage on and has stopped using her fire.

I have been made redundant and now can‘t keep up with my debt repay-ments. How do I pay my creditors?

How can I get an Enduring Power of Attorney?

DID YOU KNOW? Stroud and District CAB is a registered charity and it relies on local fundraising to survive. There are fewer than 5 full-time paid staff to keep the entire service running. More than 40 CAB volunteers give their time entirely free of charge each week.4000 people from across the district came to us for help last year.

HOW TO HELP What will help us MOST, is on-going payments made by Standing Order; we then know that we can maintain our present service year by year.

In this Bisley News are Standing Order and also Gift Aid Forms. Please do not hesitate to contact one of us if you need more information.

Vera Clouston Stella Mulligan Shelagh Utley

770616 770214 770614

Keep your Citizens Advice Bureau open

Readers may recall we mentioned this in the Parish Council notes during 2007 and early 2008 following the Water Shortage.

Then we predicted that severe weather could cause us some local difficulties and we asked then if people who had access to 4WD vehicles, tractors etc could let us know their details so we could perhaps help people obtain food and other provisions (prescriptions for example).

Vulnerability is normally applied to people who may be older, sick or in some way infirm, living in isolated locations or of course the very young, however in the case of us becom-ing ―snowed in‖ and unable, for example, to reach the shops, then we all become vulnera-ble. Perhaps on such occasions only tractors and 4 Wheel Drive vehicles can help us. We look forward to hearing from you soon, so we can put our list of resources in place.

Communication has improved tremendously now since the water shortage as the Parish Clerk is the focal point for the SDC and County Council departments and he in turn in-forms the Parish Councillors so we can cascade information around our village.

We proposed then an internal ―cascade‖ system where your 4 parish councillors will have the main contact with the Clerk and we will then pass information through to a number of community contacts who will themselves inform further tiers of the community, until we have reached everyone. This system will also work the other way around; resulting in more focused and speedier communication within the parish.

We are therefore anxious to hear from you if you would like to take on that area of re-sponsibility as a community contact on behalf of a group of people. Just provide your contact details and some idea of which part of the village and surrounding area you will be covering.

For those of you with internet access the Bisley-with-Lypiatt website will be used to en-sure up to date information is available on any emergency and we will have a ―Resilience‖ web page for your help.

Peter Thorp – 770708 or peteranne.thorp@btinternet.com for any offers of help.

Resilience – helping us to help ourselves and each other

Family May Bank Holiday Treasure Hunt

Monday May 3rd

from 10am

Starts and finishes at the George V Playing Fields in Van der Breen Street, Bisley, and follows a route around the village

First prize: family ticket to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge

£2 per entry – everybody welcome!

Hot refreshments available

Organised by Bisley Pre-School Playgroup

For more information call Sue Bradley on 01452 770337.

Our nanny-state harangues us almost every day about what we should and, more often, shouldn‘t do. Don‘t eat so much, don‘t drink so much, don‘t smoke at all, don‘t drive your car unnecessarily, and on and on. And then there‘s: think road and air miles. Eat local food and help the British farmer; eat imported food and help and foreign farmer. One answer is to wear a t-shirt which reads: ―I‘m on two diets. The food on one is not enough‖.

Another answer, apart from holding up a two-pronged fork, is to grow your own. There is absolutely nothing like the taste of freshly-dug new potatoes (with lots of butter) or newly-picked runner beans or peas (with lots of butter). With an allotment, which can be as big as small as you like, you can grow vegetables, fruit, salads, and herbs, or almost anything you like, expect perhaps leylandii. You could even keep hens or bees. You‘ll then know where your food comes from and what is has, or has not, been sprayed with.

The allotment old-timers grow marvellous crops, and last year‘s newcomers did spec-tacularly well. They‘re still eating their cabbages, sprouts, broccoli and leeks, amongst the other over-wintered vegetables. Two hours a week will keep a reasonably-sized plot going, once it has been dug over or rotivated. Worth a try? Give Lesley Greene a ring on 770 018. She will introduce you to the allotments and help you choose your plot. Plant your ―earlies‖ in March and you could be eating those tasty new potatoes in June.

Heather Amory

There was a planting day in February when villagers planted 17 Gloucestershire

indigenous apple trees. Two pear trees are due to be planted in March.

Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know

Bisley Community Orchard

Congratulations Congratulations to our Head, Miss Sam Porter, on her appointment as Head at Leck-hampton Primary School in Cheltenham from September after six very successful years at Bisley. We shall all miss her, and she will miss us, though we are sure she won‘t miss the winter journeys from Cheltenham. This week Governors begin the process of appointing a new Head.

Zoo time The whole school recently visited Bristol Zoo as part of Book Week when they all read (or re-read) the delightful stories of Elmer the Elephant by David McKee. (For those not familiar with the stories, Elmer is not like the other elephants in the jungle – he is a multi-coloured patchwork elephant).

Classes 1 and 2 studied colour and pattern in the animal kingdom, while Class 3 learned about conservation of animals, birds and fish from the polar regions. Following the visit, they had a colourful dress-up day when they celebrated wearing different col-ours instead of all wearing their Bluecoat uniforms.

Staff win lottery?

Sadly for them, it was only in the imagination of the children. All three classes enjoyed a session with the Helen O‘Grady drama school, acting out the excitement of the Staff winning the lottery, then their disappointment at finding it was all a mistake.

Gifted and talented pupils This Government scheme provides extra opportunities for a small number of children with a gift or talent in a particular subject area. Here this is offered through the local cluster of schools sharing days devoted to a subject. Four Bisley pupils have taken part in days for Music and Art, Further days are planned for Maths and Writing.

Easter The school will celebrate Easter with an Easter Egg Hunt in the churchyard followed by the end of term service in Church on Wednesday 31 March at 1.45p.m.

Vera Clouston, Governor

News from Bisley Blue Coat School

Traffic & Transport: Stroud Road: At long last we seem to be reaching a point where work will start on the footpath from Little Close – Bearsfield. Persistent badgering by councillors and dedicated work by Gloucestershire Highway‘s John Kay has finally cleared the project to proceed.

Police activity with speed cameras has been evident recently, particularly in the 20 mph zone around Holloway Road. We continue to press for a staged speed reduction from 60 mph along the Eastcombe road into the village boundary.

Spring Clean: Yes, again it‘s time to give our village streets, lanes and hedgerows some TLC. So Saturday 17 April has been declared ―Bisley Spring Clean Day‖. We‘ll start with a bit of breakfast in the form of bacon butties and tea/coffee in the Village Hall from 8.30-9.30 then on our way with, black bin liners, picking up sticks and fluorescent jackets (all supplied by us) for an hour or so. If you want to help give Peter a call please (for catering and equipment purposes!).

This is really important as it keep our village looking clean and tidy and a better place to live.

Elections: There may yet be another issue of the Bisley News before the Parish Coun-cil elections which we anticipate may be in late May or early June, however if being a Councillor appeals then let any of us know, or simply look for the Notices on the Village Notice Boards.

Communication: Hopefully you may have seen the new Community Notice Board (corner of School Lane/George St), apart from the Parish Council section it has two pan-els, one for Community use and the other for use by the 3 Churches. These are for ad-vertising events within the village (and we include the pubs in this group), not for profit making business advertising. All we ask is that you remove notices once your event has passed. The Parish Council has also donated its older Notice Board for use by the com-munity. It is now relocated inside the WI/Village Hall perimeter fence.

Finance: At the January meeting the Parish Council set a 0% precept increase. How-ever at a recent Town and Parish Council Forum at Ebley Mill it has become apparent that your District Council is trying to pass a number of their responsibilities down to Parish level, something we had not budgeted for and which we will, therefore, resist.

Village Design Statement (VDS): You should all have received a questionnaire related to this; if you have returned the form with any additional comments, ―Thank You‖, if not we will assume you are content with our approach. However it is not the Parish Council‘s VDS but yours, as a number of you have commented previously on what is important to you in terms of Planning, Landscapes, Wildlife, Environment, Economy and Highways.

Parish Clerk Vacancy: Norman MacLeod has served us in exemplary fash-

Parish Council Update

ion for almost 5 years now but with other community duties (inc Treasurer to All Saints‘ Church) he feels it is time to pass the baton over to someone else. Nor-man will stand down as of 30 June so if anyone is interested in applying for this job then please, in the first instance, call Norman for an informal discussion about the job, which does carry a salary. (771089)

Evans Field: We appear to have reached the end of the road (not to mention our patience) with this . Neither the Feeofees or the local tenant farmer who only takes a crop of hay from the field each year, seem willing to provide a short-term lease of the top section where we wanted to provide a much needed play space for youngsters. Obviously the youngsters will need to make the perilous journey down Cheltenham Road and up Van der Breen St to the King George V field if they want to stretch their legs and kick a ball about or some similar healthy activi-ty. A very sad outcome indeed, after four years of negotiation by your Council-lors.

Allotments: We took a great step forward recently following long discussions with the Charities of Ancient Parish of Bisley we now have a Community Orchard of indigenous Gloucestershire apples established. We are in progress of planting some Blakeney Red Pear trees in the Orchard. Very many thanks to all who have helped make this possible.

As Spring has sprung the potential to do some healthy digging and grow your own produce is very tempting, so if you don‘t already have an allotment but wish to start one then give Lesley a call (770018).

R.E.A.C.H. We had the pleasure recently of meeting Matthew Haynes who is developing an initiative focused upon low level offenders and developing ways in which to not only rehabilitate them but change their personal behaviours and atti-tudes. The initiative is in the very early stages but we wish Matthew and his team all best wishes as they settle on the old Selsey Herb site on Hayhedge Lane.

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