Editor:Shauna Greed ‘Catalina’ Church Road, Sparkford, BA22 7JZ email: s_greed@yahoo.com |
| SPARKFORD PARISH COUNCIL REPORT The last Parish Council meeting was held on 11th May. The following planning decisions have been received: · 09/01013/FUL The erection of a dwelling and two
garages; one to serve Lone Pine and one to serve new dwelling. Lone Pine, Church Road,
Sparkford. Mr. and Mrs. G. Tate APPROVED The following planning application has been received:
Prior to the Parish Council Meeting, the Annual Parish Meeting was held and Mr. Justin Crawford was re-elected as Parish Chairman with Mr. Trevor Tuck being re-elected as Vice-Chairman. Reports were given by the various parish organisations; the Playing Fields Association, the Parish Hall Committee, Sparkford Copse Trust, Neighbourhood Watch, 3rd Sparkford Scout Group, and the Sparkford Cricket Club. Reports were also presented on behalf of the District Council, the County Council, and the Sparkford Parish Council. A reminder to all parishioners that elections take place on
Thursday, 4th June, for your local County Councillor and also European MEP. IN MEMORIAM – THE LATE FREDERICK JAMES WARREN (1928-2009) Fred, as he was known to everybody, came to live in Sparkford early in 1971, and quickly went about making friendships with all whom he met. He quickly became involved with parochial activities both with the village and the church. His involvement with the church was very much appreciated at that time as he was soon associated with the thriving Sunday School. In parish affairs, he was very active and was duly elected as a parish councillor and through this he was soon to become a District Councillor at South Somerset District Council – a post he held for many years and highly respected by the electorate in the surrounding villages for whom he represented. Fred was elected as Peoples Warden within the church in April, 1983 – again a position he held with high esteem until a change of circumstance following the death of his wife, Molly, in March, 1997, saw him resign. He will long be remembered by his many friends in Sparkford and it was fitting that, after his death, his ashes were brought back to be laid in the grave with Molly. SPARKFORD NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH The Summer BBQ will be held at Weston Bampfylde Village Hall on
SATURDAY, 4th JULY . Please come. There has recently been the theft of a large
number of police uniforms. Incidents in which it is believed that criminals have used
these uniforms have already occurred. This highlights the necessity to verify the identity
of all callers by means of asking to check their identity cards and photos. THE SPARKFORD COPSE TRUST - AGM NEWS The Sparkford Copse Trust held its Annual General Meeting on April 23rd. The Committee and members present expressed satisfaction with the way that the woodlands managed by the Trust are providing enjoyable facilities for the villages of Sparkford and Queen Camel, enabling them to enjoy the natural surroundings and wildlife that these woodlands provide. However, considerable concern was expressed at a recent development that has seen the repeated intrusion of motorcycles and, on one occasion, a quad bike. This has damaged some of the ground cover of Sparkford Hill Copse and made many of the footpaths difficult to use in wet weather. The use of motorised vehicles is not permitted in the Copse. Notices have been displayed to this effect but they have been torn down, presumably by these motorcyclists. PCSO Thelma Mead, who attended the meeting, reported that she, and
other support officers, have started to patrol the Copse area, and on several occasions
have asked motorcyclists to leave. She advised the meeting that if anyone sees people
riding motorcycles or damaging the Copse, they should ring the Police Contact Number, 0845
456 7000, as soon as possible and either she, or Police colleagues will come to the area
and seek the people involved. ‘BLUEBELL DAY’ WAS A RESOUNDING SUCCESS! Bluebell Day - once again another very successful day! Thank you, all of you, who helped in any way. As I have said before, without all of the willing helpers, we could not have run the day. We were lucky again with the weather. A total of 711 people came and we made a profit on the day of £1,900. Since then, we have received additional donations, bringing the total up to £2,060! This has gone to the ‘South Somerset MIND User Forum Group’. Thank you all, once again. Anne and Reg Aldworth ‘DUCK RACE’ FUN! This year’s Duck Race will be held on SUNDAY, 7th
JUNE, at 3.00pm (access to the river via footpath next to SSDC garages, off Church Road,
Sparkford). Cream teas, refreshments, tombola, and plants for sale. £1 per duck –
see if your duck wins one of the £10 prizes! Everybody welcome. Donations of cakes,
scones, and tombola prizes would be very much appreciated - please see Elaine Harcourt or
Helen Brazier. We look forward to seeing you at the races! DISPLAY AND SALE OF PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS A wide range of paintings and drawings by members of the Sparkford
Art Group will be on display and for sale from 11.00am to 6.00pm, on SATURDAY, 20th
JUNE and SUNDAY, 21st JUNE, at the Sparkford Parish Hall. We hope that you will
enjoy supporting this local activity. CASH BINGO IN THE PARISH HALL Once a month, the Cary Comedians Carnival Club hold a Cash Bingo at the Sparkford Parish Hall. 7.30pm Start, Doors open at 6.15pm. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The next bingo night will be FRIDAY, 26th JUNE. We hope to see you there. COUNTESS GYTHA SCHOOL SUMMER FAYRE & QUEEN CAMEL VILLAGE WEEKEND The Countess Gytha Primary School is having its annual Summer Fayre on SATURDAY, 20th JUNE, (12.30pm start), at the Queen Camel Playing Fields. There will be various stalls, food, bouncy castles, raffles, and fun to be had by all the family! Do come and show your support for the school. Then, on SUNDAY, 21st JUNE, the church will be hosting its own ‘Songs of Praise’. There will also be other events throughout the village over the course of the weekend, so please come along and share in the community spirit. MYSTERY BLACK TOM WREAKS HAVOC IN SPARKFORD BY NIGHT There have been reports of an all-black, shorthaired tomcat roaming the streets of Sparkford by night. This cat is of a good size and sports a red collar. Reports of his havoc come from around the church end of Church Road. Apparently, this tomcat likes to terrorise other cats in the vicinity, even entering through cat-flaps, not his own! He is also leaving a fowl scent, marking what he believes is his territory. Now, by no means, does anybody want harm to come to this creature; he is actually a very handsome cat and is simply doing what tomcats do! A suggestion to remedy this predicament is simply that the owner or owners of the cat please get him neutered. Thank you. QUEEN CAMEL (MORNING) W.I. - MAY MEETING A small but ’happy’ band of members met for our May speaker, Revd. Teed, or so she christened us, anyway. This bright and bubbly septuagenarian kept us enthralled with her anecdotes as she explained the highs, lows, pitfalls and problems of her thirty odd years of life as an ordained minister of the Methodist Church. This branch of Christianity started ordaining women into the ministry in the late 1950s and yet she still met with some difficulties in her early years. However, she had us in hysterics with the talk, ‘Here we go a Vicaring’ that showed her talent for public speaking, so necessary in her work. This followed on from our business meeting and coffee and, before we knew it, the time had come to say farewell to our W.I. friends for another month. Our talk next month, is on cheeses and our speaker comes with samples! If you would like to join us for a meeting, you would be made most welcome. We meet at the Queen Camel Memorial Hall, on the first Tuesday of the month, at 10.00am. If you would like to speak to someone about us, please ring Carole Carter, press officer, on 01963 220608, or Jo German, president, on 01935 851592. ANNUAL GRANNY TREK 2009 FOR CHILDREN’S HOSPICE SOUTH WEST The fourth Annual Granny Trek for Children’s Hospice South West was held at Charlton Farm on 26th April and was a resounding success. Six hundred walkers took advantage of the fine weather to tramp through the bluebell woods and those tackling the six miles found the new route through the Tyntesfield Estate most enjoyable and far less taxing than previous years. It is hoped that last year’s total of £38,000 will be surpassed and huge thanks are due to the Rotarians of Bristol Severnside who do so much to help with the organisation and manning of the event. However, even more gratitude goes to all those who took part and gave generously of their time and money. Next year’s date for your diary: Sunday, 25th April, 2010 www.grannytrek.co.uk THANK YOU I would just like to thank all my friends and neighbours who have been so caring and thoughtful these last few weeks. For their cards, visits, and messages, it helped such a lot to think so many were thinking of me. I’m glad to say I’m feeling so much better and gradually getting out and about again. Jane Chappell VALE OF CAMELOT: HANGING BASKETS/TUBS AND PYO
STRAWBERRIES! BED AND BREAKFAST
BRAMBLE & SAGE: DELI ON THE FARM A superb country shop! Purveyors of luxury
delicatessen foods, fresh meats/cheeses, bread/milk/eggs, fine chocolates and gifts, and a
remarkable selection of local fruit preserves, chutneys, honey, cider – and so much
more! Enjoy a nice coffee or tea with friends in the café. You are most welcome to drop
by and experience for yourselves Sutton Montis’ deli on the farm, Bramble &
Sage. EDITH BENNETT’S MEMOIRS* *This account comes, not from Edith Bennett’s memoirs, but from a 1918 Press Report. On Tuesday last, Messrs. Wainwrights and Heard, surveyors and land agents, of Shepton Mallet, held an important sale of a residential and agricultural estate, known as Sparkford Hall, comprising a small but attractive country residence, situated within charming pleasure grounds, and in a well-timbered park, together with various rich dairy farms having good houses and buildings, known as Brooklands, Manor and Home Farms, also Sparkford corn and grist mill, several small holdings, with numerous cottages comprising the greater portion of the village of Sparkford, the whole extending to nearly 530-acres, which was divided into no less that 48 plots. (Next month – The price it raised) |
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