Friday 18th May 7:30 pm

A chance to see the great Spielberg film: War Horse – a heart-moving story of a friendship between man and horse set against the backdrop of the Great War.
Bar/refreshments.
Certificate 12A – not suitable for children younger than 12 yrs.
Tickets: £5/concessions £3 from Sue Hunter-Jones (01761 472908), or buy online from www.priston.org.uk/festival.

Profits in aid of the Priston Festival.

The service this year was devised by the women of Malaysia and the theme was” Let Justice Prevail”.    The idea of women gathering together in prayer for the world started 125 years ago and this huge wave of prayer now involves 170 countries and is translated into over 60 languages.   The first celebration starts at dawn in the island of Tonga, and moving west, reaches its last destination 24 hrs later in an island off the coast of Alaska.

Representatives from each of the village churches took part and the address was given by Angela Martin.

Report by Malcolm Tucker -  Picture by Elaine Martin

Mr and Mrs Nott spent the first ten years of their marriage in Timsbury before moving to Hartlepool in 1972. Two years later they returned to the West Country to Mr Nott’s home village of Farmborough where they have lived ever since.  They have three children, Jacqueline, Sally and David and five grandchildren, Matthew, Luke, Rosie, Jay and Harry. They will be joined by the family for a special meal on Saturday.

After serving his apprenticeship as a plumber Mr Nott spent his working life in the builders’ merchants field. During that time he opened up a new depot in Hartlepool for the Brickhouse Dudley group and was to become MD of the South West region for Drainage Castings. In 1987 he established his own business, Radstock Plumbing and Heating Supplies which he ran until it closed in 2002. Mrs Nott worked at the Clark’s factory in Westfield until the family came along.

Mr Nott is well known in the local sporting world. At present he is chairman of the Radstock and District Billiards and Snooker League and secretary and playing member of Timsbury Snooker Club. He has been a key member of Timsbury Cricket Club as player, captain, chairman and in recent years as groundsman. He was captain of Farmborough Football Club and player and manager of Timsbury Athletic. He now enjoys a regular game at Farrington Golf Club.  Mrs Nott says much of her life revolves around the family but she enjoys gardening and TV and used to play short mat bowls. The couple enjoy their holidays together particularly cruises.

Report by Malcolm Tucker

Timsbury District Councillor, Doug Deacon, (Ind ), commented, “I have been in discussion for a long time to get this frequently used footpath resurfaced which will improve this part of the village. I must thank Sheila Petherbridge and her team from Bath & North East Somerset Council, Public Rights of Way Department, for their help and assistance in completing this village project.”

Report by Malcolm Tucker

After taking early retirement from Imperial Tobacco Mr Webber moved to Camerton with his wife Kath in 1972 and it was not long before he became fully involved in village life. During his period as clerk he set up and chaired the Police Parishes’ Liaison meetings and was auditor for four different Parish Councils. He also set up the Camerton newsletter. His other great love was Timsbury Horticultural Society where he acted as secretary and Flower Show secretary for more than 30 years.  He is now a life vice –president.

Mr Webber said, “ I am delighted that the Horticultural Society continues to flourish and I would like to think I helped to build it up to what it is today. I loved my time in Camerton and it was a real wrench to leave. My illness meant that I had to leave without saying a proper goodbye and it has been great meeting up with so many old friends again.”

Mrs Hutton said,” Terry was a stalwart of this Parish Council and village for many years guiding through  many different chairmen , always seeking to get the best service and provisions for the village. We are very grateful for his unstinting hard work and the Camerton batch is a lasting legacy of his contribution to Camerton. He is ‘ Mr Camerton’ and a very difficult act to follow. We are all very sad that he has left us”.

At the special party Mr Webber met many present and former District and Parish Councillors and friends from the parish. He was presented with a David Fisher painting, “Let Battle Commence”, an album of 100 photos of Camerton and a bottle of Combe Hay wine.

Report by Malcolm Tucker

Phillida Russell from the WI said, “We feel strongly that rural communities are often the first to suffer cutbacks despite our contributions through Council Tax. There are many instances where rural areas suffer from double taxation and the Parish Council becomes responsible for services that in towns appear to be paid for by the District Council. Is the same thing happening to our mobile library? “

Amongst those taking part in the demonstration was village rector, the Rev Chris Hare.

He said, “ I fear that councillors have a tendency to put the city of Bath first before those who live outside the city particularly in the rural areas.  There are many elderly people in villages such as Timsbury who cannot get to a library easily as bus services are so infrequent.  I know that many young families rely on the mobile library to get reading material for their children and again taking a number of children into a town or city library is extremely difficult.  I urge the council to ensure that rural areas are not penalised and to continue with the mobile library service”.

Report and Photo by Malcolm Tucker

The following good news has been reprinted from this is Somerset:-

Village communities have welcomed news that the mobile library service visiting  rural areas in Bath and North East Somerset has been saved. The service had been due to be axed by the council but there was a change of heart following a campaign and a petition signed by 860 people, organised by Conservative councillors.

At the council’s budget-setting meeting last Tuesday, Conservative councillors tabled an amendment to the authority’s budget which restored funding for the mobile library and called for the service to continue.

Despite originally proposing to axe the mobile library, the council’s ruling Liberal Democrat Group accepted the Conservative amendment to the budget.

Conservative councillors, who have been campaigning against the Liberal Democrats’ plan to withdraw the area’s mobile library, have hailed the decision as a major victory for  residents.

However, they have said that they will continue to press the council on its importance to prevent it coming under threat again in future.

Councillor Martin Veal, the Conservative shadow cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “This decision marks a great victory for all those campaigning to save our area’s mobile library, and particularly for all the elderly residents and young children who value this service.

“The strength of support among  residents was made clear to councillors by the hundreds of people who signed our petition calling for the service to be saved, as well as all those who attended public meetings and engaged in the council’s own consultation.

“Our amendment to the council’s budget restores the funding required for the mobile library to enable it to continue.  However, we will continue to stand up for the mobile library and argue its importance to the council so that it is not threatened again in future.

“We would support innovative ideas to ensure the mobile library remains viable for the future, such as expanding the council services it provides, but simply withdrawing it would leave too many vulnerable residents isolated.”

The news was welcomed by Independent councillor for Timsbury Douglas Deacon, who said  villagers were regular users of the service.

Mr Deacon said: “It is an important service for the elderly and infirm who rely on it because they cannot get to a library.

“A good many people use the library service and its more than about choosing books, people meet up there and enjoy the companionship.”

In Wellow the service is not used just by the residents themselves but by pupils from St Julian’s Primary School who use the service as a resource whenever it was in the village.

Villager Mike Clarkson said he was delighted that the council had listened as it was clear that the alternatives being suggested as a mini library  was not viable.

He said: “The best replacement for a mobile library is a mobile library.

“It’s not just about elderly people but families with small children who go along to the mobile library.

“It serves the whole community and not everyone is able to get into Bath or Radstock.”

]]> http://www.timsbury.net/library-update/feed/ 0 http://www.timsbury.net/operation-sunshine/ http://www.timsbury.net/operation-sunshine/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:00:13 +0000 Rod Watts http://www.timsbury.net/?p=8317 A group of friends who meet together at Connies, the Timsbury tea room have been producing clothes to send to Africa as part of the Operation Sunshine project.

Operation Sunshine is a Christian charity that sends practical aid directly to people in parts of East Africa who are struggling against starvation, deprivation and disease, in conditions of desperate poverty. The South West branch is based in Tavistock, Devon and  each year it sends five or six 40-foot shipping containers filled with goods which have been donated.

The Timsbury group led by Sarah Abernethy-Hope has already made over 20 children’s dresses and in the latest session devoted its time to making shorts for youngsters.

Ms Abernethy-Hope said, “ I first heard about Operation Sunshine when a friend of mine was making clothes at an activity week at Wellsway School. I thought it would be great to get involved and so with a group of friends we set about producing clothes for the African children. We are very grateful to Connies in Timsbury who have allowed us to use their premises and have made us so welcome”.

Report and Photo by Malcolm Tucker

The children were given a tour by the enthusiastic and knowledgeable Writhlington School pupils. They experienced greenhouses of different temperatures and were fascinated by the variety of different and colourful orchid species. Pupils drew some of the orchids and worked with the students from Writhlington  to take and plant orchid cuttings.

Year One class teacher Debbie  Bellinger said, “It was lovely to see the children working together and my class really enjoyed the adventure and learnt a lot of new things.”

Report by Malcolm Tucker

In 2012, Timsbury Theatre Group will be supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The Group’s next production is ”Party Piece”, a comedy by Richard Harris, which will be on stage at the Conygre Hall from 12th to 14th April.

Report by Malcolm Tucker