The Bisley News December 2009 / January 2010 www.bisleynews.co.uk editor@bisleynews.co.uk

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.

Forthcoming Events Bisley BIG Breakfast

Saturday 12th December WI village Hall, 9.30 to 11.30

Posh Frocks & Dickie Bows

Saturday 12th December Cocktail party and live music at the Stirrup Cup

See advert in the News

Bisley Mummers Sunday 20th December

‘When the Swine Flew’ - coming to a street near you! See advert in the News.

Johnnie Memphis Trio

Thursday 31st December Live Jive & Rock’n’Roll band In the Alley at the Stirrup Cup

Tickets on sale—£20 including buffet See advert in the News

Bisley Pantomime (oh no it’s not!!!)

27th to 30th January—see advert in the News

Happy Christmas to all our friends in Bisley from The Rogers, The

Rowes and The Mobbs.

We are making donations to our favourite charities instead of send-

ing Christmas cards this year but we send everyone Seasons Greetings

with our love.

Colin & Jean Hassall are very happy to announce the engagement of their daugh-ter Amy Jean to Mr Robin Alexander Lind-say on 22nd October. Congratulations to them both. There is a picture of them below. They're on holiday in New Zealand where Rob-in chartered a helicopter which dropped them high in the mountains over Queens-town with a champagne picnic; and there he pro-posed! Cold, but romantic!!

Letters to the editor… Mea culpa My apologies for the name error in the last edition of 'The Bisley News'. The Flower Show and Fete photos should, of course, have been credited to Michael and James Whitestone. Susan Vesey Bellringing Celebrations The 3 hours of bell ringing on the afternoon of 20th September 2009 was a successful attempt at a full peal of 5056 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major by members of The Ancient Society of Col-lege Youths. The ringing was arranged to compliment the 100th Birthday celebrations of Rhoda Cowan. Chalford Tabernacle Church Walk 4 Water

Our 2nd Anniversary walk on the 11th July was certainly different! A lady called Nellie contacted me a few days before the walk to see if she could be involved. As a child in Africa she also had to carry water, walking for miles to collect it. Nellie had to wake early in the morning, tidy the house, do any jobs on the land, fetch the water, and all before going to school, this of course meant more walking or running if she was late. The water collect-ing was always a task for the girls never the boys! What Nellie wanted to do was carry a 25 litre (5 gallon) container of water on her head along the route of our walk. We arranged in the end that Nellie would join us half way at the 7 Wells in Bisley and carry half a contain-er of water. Nellie’s comment to this was that if her parents saw her doing this, they would say she was being lazy as the container should be full!

Through the wheat fields and over the styles via Wyesis way, we made our way to the Tabernacle Church for most welcome re-freshments and to listen to tales of Nellie's childhood. Some of us there tried to lift and carry the water like Nellie, but could not even lift it to our heads never mind carry and walk with it! Not as easy as it looks, with the water swilling around at the slightest move-ment! Well done Nellie!!

Although our walkers were small in number 11 adults 7 children and 3 dogs we raised £514 by Sponsorship. This money all goes to Samaritans Purse "Turn on the Tap" to pre-vent killer diseases by providing clean water filters, loos, and water pumps, for the people in Africa. Thank you so much all of you who supported us, maybe more of you will join us on the walk next year. Dorothy Ediss A bridge too far..........?! Would you be interested in whiling away those cold dark winter nights playing bridge with like minded people? Perhaps teaching beginners, or helping others improve their game? If so, please contact the Editor, and I will put you in touch with other interested parties.

A New Bobby On The Beat

Bisley has a new Police Constable assigned to us. His name is Craig Murray, and he has just started with the Safer Community scheme based at Stroud Police Station. He has quite a large rural area to cover, but is keen to do as much foot patrol as possible, so please introduce yourselves to him if you see him on his rounds. He can be contacted on 0845 090 1234, or by email on craig.murray@gloucestershire.police.uk

Flicks in the sticks Unfortunately the December film has been CANCELLED due to lack of support. There will be no film in January, as we will all be watching the pantomime! Flicks in the Sticks will return on Tuesday 9th February - look out for posters, and please support this , it really is a case of ‘use it or lose it!’

BITS & PIECES

Children’s Society Coffee Morning

Please come along and help raise money

for this worthwhile charity on Thursday 14th January, 10.30 to 12 noon at

Homeland, Vanderbreen Street. If you have a collection box, please bring it with you. Audrey French will collect your box if you are unable to attend. Tel: 01452 770235. Bisley Friendship Club Christmas meeting, Wednesday 16th De-cember. 2.30pm, Village Hall. Carols for Christmas with a popular Stroud music group—don’t miss this special tea party!

Thank you! To the very kind anonymous donor who put an envelope through my door containing enough money to cover the cost of putting Ryan’s pages in colour.

Thank you again! Richard and Jean Smith wish to thank eve-ryone who sent cards, messages, flowers and prayers during Jean’s recent illness and recovery. The support we have re-ceived has been overwhelming, and meant more to us than words can say. Thank you

Saturday 12 December

9.30 to 11.30, W.I. Village Hall

With Christmas Trees & Stalls

Usual Full English Breakfast

£5 adults, £3 children

The Bisley News New Contact details:

editor@bisleynews.co.uk

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

www.bisleynews.co.uk.

DEADLINE February/March edition of ‘The Bisley

News’

Monday 18th January

Tuesday December 1st onwards Christmas fayre menu

Saturday 12th December

Posh Frocks, Dickie Bows, Cocktail Party Live Band

Saturday 19th December

Christmas Karaoke- The “B” Factor Friday 25th December

Open 12-4pm Drinks Christmas Lunch Fully Booked

Saturday 26th December

Open All Day-Food 12-4pm

Monday 28th December Open All Day-Food Lunchtime Only

Thursday 31st December

Johnny Memphis Trio Live Rock and Roll Band in The Alley

£20 Inc. Buffet-Tickets on Sale

10% discount voucher For a Meal in January or February

With any Christmas Booking

01452 770 280 www.stirrupcup.co.uk

BISLEY TRIVIA

Interesting facts about Bisley you might not know ….

In 1981 a one off special episode of Doctor Who (A Girl’s Best Friend) was filmed in the area, including Sheepscombe, Wishanger, Miserden and Bisley. The opening scene sees Sarah Jane Smith (Dr Who’s side-kick) writing a letter on a typewriter in the main bar of the Bear Inn.

Judge Charles Coxe, who owned Nether Lypiatt Manor from 1693, has gone down in histo-ry as a cruel man. But whatever his treatment of his fellow human beings, he loved his ani-mals - in particular, his horse, Wag, in whose memory he raised an obelisk which stands in a dell to the south of the house.

On a bronze plaque are the lines: "My name is Wag, that rolled the green/ The oldest horse that ever was seen/ My years they numbered forty-two/ I served my master just and true". Apparently, Wag would make solo journeys into Stroud to collect groceries, and even rolled the lawns on his own.

In the 18th and early 19th century, at the start of the decline of the local wool trade, Bisley suffered commercially more than other villages in the area and this caused a certain level of animosity between the local villages, as the old rhyme indicates:

Beggarly Bisley, strutting Stroud,

Mincing Hampton, Painswick proud.

(or Hampton Poor, Painswick proud)

In 2003, an advert was filmed in Bisley for Weetabix, with the basis being that the bell rin-ing from All Saints church was dull and uninspired until after the campanologists had their Weetabix . The advert then showed a shocked resident and his dog listening to the bells ringing out the theme tune to the A Team.

In 1985 Angela Rippon shot an episode of the Day Out series for the BBC in Bisley, includ-ing interviews with blacksmith Norman Bucknall, investigations into the Bisley Boy mys-tery and a visit to Jayne’s Court to see the cock fighting pit (still there today).

If anyone else has interesting facts about Bisley that are not common knowledge and would like to share them please send an email to the editor.

THE SHARPENING SERVICE

For kitchen knives, garden tools and

rotary mower blades.

Please call Rupert Miles on 01452 770788

email: milesrup@btinternet.com

Christmas Opening Hours

  Farm Shop Green Shop & Garage George Stores

24 Dec  8.30 to 5.30 7 TO 3  Normal hours

25 Dec  CLOSED CLOSED  CLOSED

26 Dec  CLOSED CLOSED  8 TO 12 Midday

27 Dec  9 TO 12 midday 9 TO 11  8 TO 12 Midday

28 Dec  Normal hours 9 TO 12 Midday 8 TO 12 Midday

29 Dec  Normal hours 8 TO 6*  Normal hours

30 Dec  Normal hours 8 TO 6*  Normal hours

31 Dec  Normal hours 8 TO 5*  Normal hours

1 Jan  CLOSED CLOSED  8 TO 12 Midday

2 Jan  Normal hours 8 TO 6 

* WORKSHOP OPEN FOR EMERGENCIES 

Date  Stirrup Cup The Bear

24 Dec  All day to 1am 12 to 3, 6 to1am evening

25 Dec  12 to 4 pm drinks (lunch fully booked) 11 to 2pm drinks 

26 Dec  All day (food 12 to 4) All day (no food)

27 Dec  Normal hours Normal hours, food lunchtime & evening

28 Dec  All day (food lunchtime only) Normal hours

29 Dec  Normal hours Normal hours

30 Dec  Normal hours Normal hours

31 Dec  All day until late! 12 to 3, 6 until late!

1 Jan  All day – food lunchtime and evening All day ‐ food lunchtime and evening

2 Jan  Normal hours Normal hours

These are correct at time of going to press, my apologies for any changes made after that date. 

 

 

 

Christmas Services  

Date  All Saints, Anglican St Mary & all Angels, RC

6 Dec  Christingle service – 4pmCommunion Service – 6pm 

*6th & 13th Dec   Mass 8.30am

20 Dec  Communion – 8amCarol service – 6pm 

*20th & 27th Dec   Mass 5pm

24 Dec  Crib service – 3pm!st communion of Christmas 11.30pm 

25 Dec  Family Eucharist – 11am Mass 8.30am IN ANGLICAN CHURCH, Lots of room, all welcome 

27 Dec  Benefice service at Chalford – no service at Bisley 

 

David Pugh

Private Hire and Taxi services

Airports

Now driving a brand new silver Chrysler saloon

Leather seats and climate control

Safe and reliable (despite being Ex-Scotland Yard!)

Travel tokens accepted

Providing a quality service for over 5 years

An Executive car at non executive prices

Call 01453 840011 / Mob 07967795096

E-mail dpughchauffeuring@talktalk.net

New Governors

There have been several changes in the Governing Body this term. Judith Sales has re-tired after over ten years’ service, most recently as Chair of Governors. She was also a very active member of the P.T.A. The school would like to thank her for all the work she has done, especially in overseeing the refurbishment of the Hall and the alterations to the main building this summer. Keith Watson, Sandra Mason, Anna Reeves and Jon Smith have also retired, and we would like to thank all of them for their work on behalf of the school. The Governors represent Parents, Staff, Church, Community and the County Council. The current Governors are: Chair – Rob Barlow-Kay (Parent); Vice-Chair – Vera Clouston (Community); Mile Gibbs and Brodie Mason (Parents), Sam Por-ter and Carole Smith (Staff), Simon Richards and Susie Bromley (Church), Stella Mulli-gan (Community), and Hazel Saunders (County Council). There is a vacancy for a mem-ber of Staff.

Book Fair

Open to all. There will be a Book Fair from 30 November – 2 December in the School Hall where you can choose books for children of all ages. The school receives a propor-tion of the profit to buy books for the Library. Come along and do some of your Christ-mas shopping as well as supporting the school.

Literary Festival Visit

Class 3 enjoyed meeting children’s author Anne Fine at the Cheltenham Literary Festi-val and have just read her latest book, Eating Things on Sticks.

Christmas Activities

The whole school will visit The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury on 16 December for their annual visit to the pantomime, which this year is Cinderella. The children will entertain their fellow pupils, parents and friends. Class 1 will give two performances on 10 De-cember, Class 2 on 7 and 8 December. Contact the school for further details. Class 3 will lead the Christmas Service in All Saints’ Church on the last day of term, Friday 18 De-cember at 1.30p.m.

Thank You

A huge thank you once again to our amazing P.TA. for organising Bisley’s Bonfire Night. It is a very popular event for adults and children alike and has a fantastic reputation well beyond Bisley. The fire was huge, the fireworks spectacular, the food and drink (provided by the P.T.A. and the Playgroup) superb, and they even managed to keep the rain off until the end.

Apologies for getting the date of the Harvest Service wrong in the last Bisley News. Sor-ry for any inconvenience caused.

Vera Clouston, Governor

News from Bisley Blue Coat School

CHRISTMAS QUIZ

1. Who was the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas message to the nation in 1932?

2. Child star Jimmy Boyd sang which hugely popular 1950's Xmas song, which was initially banned by the Catholic Church in Boston because it supposedly mixed sex and Christmas?

3. Who banned Christmas in England between 1647 and 1660?

4. Who are the four ghosts in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol?

5. What liqueur goes into making a 'snowball' cocktail?

6. Which of the Wise Men was said to have brought the gift of gold for the baby Jesus?

7. Traditional in Germany at Christmas, what sort of food is stollen?

8. How many gifts are given in total in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas?

9. The words "Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume breathes of life, of gathering gloom..." come from which Christmas carol (composed by Rev John Henry Hop-kins, 1857)?

10. Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is a territory of which country?

11. John Callcott Horsley designed what first commercial Christmas item in 1843?

12. Yorkshireman William Strickland is believed to have brought the first what to Britain from North America in 1526?

13. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents" is the first line from which literary classic by Louisa May Alcott?

14. In which year did Wham get a monster hit with "Last Christ-mas"?

15. Which sultry voice was driving home for Christmas?

16. How many reindeer did Santa have?

17. Which country traditionally has supplied the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree since 1947?

18. Who wrote the Christmas story, "The Snowman"?

19. What is the name of the Simpson’s dog, adopted by Homer on Xmas eve?

20. From the Christmas Carol "Good King Wenceslas", where was Good King Wen-ceslas the King of?

Answers to: editor@bisleynews.co.uk before 31st December.

The first correct answer drawn out of the hat at the end of December wins a bottle of wine or tin of sweets (age dependant).

Last edition’s Halloween Quiz was won by Jacqui Terry of Stroud with 19/20.

Our own Susan Veysey had the next most correct answers with 17/20.

As we approach 2010, Mr Jim Dickenson of Stancombe Beech Farm Shop offers this fascinating insight into Bisley’s past, taken from Kelly’s Directory of the County of Gloucester 1910 :

Bisley-with-Lypiatt is a township and parish, 3½ miles east-by-north from Brimscombe sta-tion on the Swindon, Stroud and Gloucestershire branch of the Great Western railway, 4 east from Stroud and 102 from London, in the Mid division of the county, Bisley hundred, Stroud union, county court district and petty sessional division, rural deanery of Bisley and archdea-conry and diocese of Gloucester.

The original parish of Bisley included the village of Bussage, Chalford, Oakridge and France Lynch, but under an Order of the County Council, dated August 10th, 1894, and con-firmed by Local Government Board Order, 21st November 1894, Chalford was constituted a civil parish and includes the village of Bussage and France Lynch.

The church of All Saints is a building of stone in the Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave of three bays, aisles, south porch and a western tow-er with spire, containing a clock and 8 bells; the church was thoroughly restored in 1862, from the designs of the Rev. W. H. Lowder M.A., curate here, 1860-4, and has sittings for 500 persons. The register dates from the year 1547. The living is a vicarage, net yearly val-ue £277, with residences in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1903 by the Rev. William James Clay, B.A. of University College, Durham.

Here is also a Wesleyan chapel. The court room is used as a public room, and has a news room, supplied with daily papers and periodicals, and an attached library of about 100 vol-umes. There are charities of about £165 per year derived from Consols and land left by Mr. John Taylor in 1732, by the Ridler family in 1697, by Mr Butler in 1688, by Mr Allen in 1734, by Mr. Charles Ballinger in 1798 and by Mr Townsend in 1801, and at various other dates by Col. Olney, Col. Paine, Messrs. Wise, Woodfield, Butcher, Barkside and Tanner; there are also church lands, which have been in possession of the parish from time immemorial, but the origin of which is unknown; these charities provide for the repairs of the church, for the education of a certain number of boys, and for sundry gifts to the poor of linen, bread, coal and blankets.

In different parts of the parish are several tumuli of very ancient date, and many Roman re-mains have been found in the neighbourhood, including a Roman villa near Oakridge, and Roman altars dug out of a tumulus on Bisley Common and now preserved at Lypiatt Park.

The old manor house, now called “Over Court”, the property and residence of Mrs Gordon, was granted to the Princess Elizabeth (afterwards Queen) towards the maintenance of her estate; in 1619 it was given by James 1, for a certain consideration, to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, and was by him sold to Thomas Tayloe, clothier; fragments of Roman pottery have been found on the site.

Lypiatt Park is the seat of the Right Hon. Sir John Edward Dorington bar. P.C., M.A., D.L., J.P.; the mansion, an ancient and celebrated edifice, formerly possessed by the Throgmor-tons, is said to be one of the places where the conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot held their meetings; a letter is still extant addressed to Robert Catesbye, at Lypiatt, from William Par-ker, Lord Monteagle, and supposed to refer to this plot.

(With thanks to Susan Vesey for transcribing the text as published but in larger type!)

Bisley-with-Lypiatt – 100 years ago

EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS AND POTTERY

By John Bailey

Saturday 28th November to Sunday 6th December

To be held at Winsley Cottage, Oakridge Lynch

Featuring local watercolour paintings, painting from Cornwall and abroad.

A wide range of pottery will also be on sale including stoneware bowls, terracotta and Raku pottery

Open 11am to 5pm daily

Phone 01285 760659 for further details

THIS EXHIBITION IS IN AID OF CANCER RESEARCH

BISLEY W.I.

Guests are welcome at meetings

Thursday 14 January 2010

Guest speaker talking about

The Digital Switchover

OPEN HOUSE

Everyone is welcome to come for coffee 11 to 12 midday

Thursday 3rd December

Adam & Mo Smith Bear House

Thursday 7th January

Jo & Edwin Perry Ballagh

Cheltenham Road

YOGA

The spirit and practice of moving into stillness.

Monday 6.30pm and 8.15pm Sheepscombe

Tuesday 10am—11am

Meditation and gentle stretching Painswick

Wednesday 9.30am

Sheepscombe

Thursday 9.30am Painswick

All welcome

Call Kim on 01452 812623

I have been working for over a year with the Sustainable Energy Officer on the Warmth and Wellbeing of the elderly. This has been a great success. We won first prize for the South West Region, and last week heard we had won all areas for the competition held by NEA. (National Energy Authority).

CANAL The Canal Project now has a new Project Manager Paul Coupe, who has now been joined by Paul Williams. The Heritage Lottery Fund have signed off the Funding Agreement for Phase 1a of the Cotswold Canals Restoration. This means that the full £11.9m is now safeguarded for the project with no risk of loss of grant for work already carried out by British Waterways.

DOG FOULING Remains a problem in the village particularly where children play and walk. Please will dog owners be responsible, and clear up their dog’s mess, there are special bins around the village to deposit it in. The fine for dog fouling is now £1000. I would just like to say how good all the allotments are looking this year! Cllr Pat Carrick

Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2009

It was a chilly day with scattered showers, but the church was pretty full and the service was conducted as usual by our Chaplain the Reverend Simon Richards. Unfortunately, due to incapacity, our Branch President Mr Leo Cooper was unable to attend. At the altar the Vicar accepted the British Legion Standard for the blessing along with wreaths and sprays of poppies from Bluecoat School, the W.I. and the Parish Council. The read-ing was given by our Chairman Mr Peter Barton. At the end of the service, all members were called to muster by the parade commander, John Sutton, for the march down to the War Memorial led by our new Standard Bearer John Mayo. John was asked to keep it at a slow pace for those of us that were not too good on our legs so it was more like a wan-der than a march. All the wreaths and sprays of poppies were laid, it was good to see the three pupils from Bluecoat School laying a wreath, and the last post was played by a young lady bugler, Leanne Burnell, from the Chalford Band. After the two minute silence Reveille was played by Mike Waite on a CD from inside the Stirrup Cup. We then dis-missed and moved into the pub for some refreshment. It was so nice to see Josh Hale on parade with us. Josh has already completed one tour of Afghanistan and has now returned to duty. British Legion Annual Dinner, Friday 13th November 2009

Some 54 members sat down in the Stirrup Cup function room to a fine dinner cooked by new Chef Kate and her team. The tables were decorated with lovely displays of flowers, courtesy of Mavis Hartwell. Our president Leo Cooper with his wife Jilly managed to join us for a couple of hours and music was provided by Mr Ron Salter on his electric key-board. Ron was the landlord of the pub for many years and knew many of the members present. Bisley Branch Chairman Peter Barton made a speech summing up the year’s activities which were well attended especially the trip on the River Severn from Glouces-ter Docks. He then announced the total of our Branch poppy collection which was a rec-ord of £4306, up more than £700 on last year.

Our thanks go to Mo McDonnell and her team for making the evening such a success. Ken Brown

Stroud District Council – notes from Cllr Pat Carrick

News from the Legion (by Ken Brown)

Inflammation, what a word, it’s a word I’m sure you all know but how much do you really understand about it? I’m sure you know that it’s painful and that you can take anti-inflammatory drugs to ease the pain, but what is it exactly and how can a proper under-standing be of any use?

When we injure ourselves such as from a cut, burn, sprain or fall some of our cells are inevi-tably damaged or broken and die as a result. The same happens if any foreign bodies, such as bacteria or a splinter, enter any of our living tissues (skin, bone, lung etc) and so begins the process that is inflammation.

This process is complex and completely natural and one that is essential for proper healing and recovery to occur. It is characterised by ‘the four cardinal signs’; swelling, redness, heat and pain and begins when dying cells release chemicals that trigger a chain of events in their local environment.

What happens if say a part of your house breaks? I mean, a water pipe bursts, a window breaks or the boiler goes kaput? Annoyance, frustration, anger ring any bells? That is equiv-alent to the pain. Then you send a message, usually by phone, to an appropriate fix it man or woman; plumber, glazier etc. Under normal circumstances you would be very selective with whom you let into your home, but now with something broken you’re happy to let them in, tools in tow and all. They come in, set to work, create a mess and cause lots of con-gestion. This extra presence and activity is equivalent to the swelling, redness and heat. However, that’s all necessary for the problem to be resolved.

So that is basically what happens within us. The chemicals released by the damaged cells cause the local blood vessels to dilate (become bigger in diameter) and become leaky. Now we have an increase in the amount of blood circulating at the site of damage, which explains the redness and heat. They also stimulate local nerve endings which causes the pain. The capillaries (tiny blood vessels) becoming leaky, means that some of the bloods constituents can now enter the damaged site that would have otherwise been unable to exit the capillar-ies. Blood plasma and white blood cells (the fix it men) arrive and set to work in providing supplies and removing damaged parts respectively, causing swelling and more heat.

In summary, inflammation is the body’s way of healing after injury. The swelling and pain is nature’s way of letting us know something is not right, to slow down and to let things heal. So what can you do to help yourself? Applying cold on the affected site immediately after an injury such as a minor fall, cut, burn or sprain can help limit the amount of swell-ing by constricting the blood vessels. Heat at this stage would only serve to make the swell-ing worse and cause more discomfort. However, heat applied a few days after the injury to the muscles surrounding the injured area that have become tight as a knock on effect, can help to ease the muscles. Keep mobile, as long as it is without severe pain, as this helps the circulation move freely and aid in recovery.

Anti-inflammatory drugs work mainly by blocking the chemical messengers of damaged cells to a degree, but not completely, for if it were proper healing could not be obtained. They serve as do the above measures to limit pain and swelling. So that’s inflammation!Wesley Tan BOst,

Registered Osteopath www.villageosteopaths.com

Inflammation Information

News from The Parish Council www.bisley-with-lyppiat.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Wardens As outlined in the last edition of the Bisley News, we have been trying out the Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme and found that it has been benefi-cial to the village and will continue following the three month free trial. There is a small cost for this service but as Councillors we believe it gives exceptionally good value for money as an additional resource to the time given voluntarily by the Bisley Parish Councillors. Mobile Police Station In conjunction with the work with the local Police Community Support Officers the Parish Council has arranged for The Stroud Mobile Police Station to call regularly at the Bear Car Park, to provide information and support as required. Please use this facility if you have any queries with local Policing. The dates are as follows:December 12th & 27th at 14:30. January 7th at 14:30 and 29th at 19:00 Pavilion There is an energetic Steering Group who are pushing the long overdue rede-velopment of the Bisley Pavilion. A planning application for the agreed scheme has been put to Stroud District Council and once approved will form the basis for future fundraising efforts. The design incorporates key feature to provide a multi-use sports and community building focussing on youth activities and incorporating full disabled access. A display of the plans together with a scale model of the proposed building was on display at the Big Breakfast on 7th November and pictures of this, and the plans, are now available to view on the Parish Council Website www.bisley-with-lyppiatt.gov.uk. If you would like to help with this important village project please con-tact: Lesley Greene (770 018), Lyn Hemming (770 329), Alan Kaupe (779880), Phil Bradley (770337), Diana Chapman (770514), Gerry Baker (01453 765301 No Calling Zones The success of the Windyridge ‘No Cold Calling’ zone has led to requests for other areas of the village and these will be looked into as soon as possible. The areas under consideration are Van der Breen Street, Bearsfield, Stroud Road, Back Lane, George Street and Cheltenham Road. If you are interested in finding out more or wish to participate please contact Phil Bradley (770337) Please note that these zones do not apply to political parties as part of their legitimate canvassing ahead of elections. Message in a bottle The Parish Council, supported by Stroud District Council have been active in promoting an emergency contact ‘bottle’ for elderly or vulnerable resi-dents, particularly those living on their own. The plastic bottle, which can contain im-portant personal or medical information is stored safely in a person’s house and allows the emergency services the ability to provide necessary assistance, should an incident occur at home. If you would like to know more please contact Phil Bradley (770337) Footpaths The extensive network of footpaths around Bisley is officially managed by Gloucester County Council, however the budgets set aside for this are very small and tend therefore to be used for important safety work. As a Parish Council we endeavour to keep paths clear, where possible, however we would welcome support from those villagers who enjoy walking, by advising us of issues as soon as possible. We would particularly like to hear from anyone who would be keen to help monitor the paths and/or form working groups to improve them. Please contact Stephen Trinder, (770675), if you have any suggestions you would like to make. Windyridge Play area It is with regret that the Parish Council has been forced to close the young people’s Play Area in Windyridge, on safety grounds, due to an act of

Parish Council Update

Vandalism by teenage children. The repairs are still being assessed but unfortunately they will be extremely costly and will have to be met from vital reserve funds. (Note Insur-ance companies do not insure Children’s Play Equipment) We would implore parents of older children to keep an eye on the activities of their youngsters for the benefit of all the community.

Village Youth Meeting On a more positive note, following feedback from young people in Bisley it has been agreed that, with sufficient support, a Youth Parish Council will be set up to allow the youngsters to discuss relevant topics and suggest and implement them. An initial open meeting has been set up for 15th December in the village hall at 7.30pm and we would ask for as many youngsters as possible to come along and take part. Additionally, three people have expressed an interest in starting a youth club in the WI Hall until the new pavilion is up and running and they will also be at the meeting.

Allotments / Bisley Community Composting Scheme The Bisley Community Com-posting Scheme has raised funds to renew its old and unsafe bins. It will therefore be closed during December & January for the work to take place. Please do not drop off green waste during this period. Members will be alerted nearer the time but watch out for notices for the exact period of closure. Grow Your Own: To take up an allotment, large or small, call Lesley Greene (770018) Allotment Warden. Also the Garden Museum in Lon-don has an exhibition of ‘Grow Your Own’ until January. Get in free if you take a bag of home grown vegeables!

Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year 2010

Lesley Greene 01452 770018 Ward Chairman lesleygreene2@googlemail.com Allotments Warden Planning sub committee chairman Stephen Trinder 01452 770675 Playwarden, Windyridge trindersathome@fsmail.net Footpaths & snickets Phillip Bradley 01452 770337 Playwarden VandeBreen st phillipbradley398@btinternet.com Bins warden Peter Thorp 01452 770708 Traffic & transport peteranne.thorp@btinternet.com Norman MacLeod 01452 771089 Parish Clerk admin@bisley-with-lypiatt.gov.uk Pat Carrick 01452 770454 District Councillor cllr.patricia.carrick@stroud.gov.uk Joan Nash 01452 814516 County Councillor joan.nash@gloucestershire.gov.uk

The Parish Council meets at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of the month and parishion-ers are most welcome to attend. Please check the Parish Council website to confirm the location of the next meeting.