Community, Parish Council & Village
The Friends invite both members and non-members to attend on Wednesday 13th December in the John Lampon Hall at Orpen Hall. Refreshments will be served from 7 pm with the meeting opening at 7:30 pm.
Jonathan Jukes, Woodland trust Officer, will give a talk after the formal business has concluded.
The next Local History Group meeting will learn about The Minories in Colchester. Max Fox will lead this meeting which will take place on April 13th starting at 7:30 pm. Max has been a Tour Guide in Colchester for 28 years, a former Minories manager for Colchester Institute and a traveller through many ruins who has a passion for history.
As ever, all are welcome for a modest charge of £2 for members and £5 for visitors. Next month the group start their summer visits, the first being to Harwich Museum on Wednesday 11th May. If you would like more information about talks or visits please contact [email protected].
Despite being unable to meet up since early 2020 the Gardeners’ Club have tried to keep in touch with members; they have done this via email newsletters and also through a self drive visit to Strandlands, Wrabness. Strandlands is an NGS garden; the visit gave them a chance to meet in the lovely setting of an unique, natural garden overlooking the estuary. They also had a stall at the Village Fete in July to publicise the group and to attract new members. They reassured visitors that they are a very informal and friendly club of enthusiastic amateurs; their joint ambition being to gain inspiration and advice from interesting and experienced speakers.
Now that Autumn is rapidly approaching, with shorter days and cooler weather and with the ending of social gathering restrictions we plan to resume monthly meetings from September. They have already booked a full programme of speakers for 2021/2022 dependent upon Covid regulations. All being well, they look forward to being back in the Orpen Hall on Monday, 20th September at 7.30 pm. They look forward to welcoming existing and new members. The full programme will be available at that meeting; it will include a very short AGM and a talk by Roger Pawsey, a rose grower.
After that, on 18th October, Richard Grant, Head Gardener from Madingley Hall, Cambridge will be their speaker. In November they will be learning how to make a Christmas Wreath and they will finish the year with their annual Christmas Quiz evening in December.
Although West Bergholt is a substantial still growing village, it has an interesting history. Members of the active Local History Group continue to investigate, research and document it. They usually meet at the Orpen Hall on the second Wednesday of each month from September through to April, except December. In the months of May through to August they try to arrange group visits to places of local historical interest.
As with most groups, the COVID-19 Pandemic interrupted group activities since March 2020 but, hopefully, that is now changing.
25th AGM of Friends of Hillhouse WoodThe 25th AGM of the Friends of Hillhouse Wood is on Wednesday 11th December 2019. Starting in the Orpen Hall at 7.30 pm, refreshments will be served from 7.00 pm. The Friends will welcome members and non-members alike.
Following the conclusion of formal business, there will be a talk given by John More, Essex Wildlife Trust’s Living Landscapes Co-ordinator.
2019 has seen 4 organised walks; some snippets and links to the full articles are shown below: Continue reading “25th AGM of Friends of Hillhouse Wood”
This has been, and is, the schedule of the Local History Group. Buses in January, Military Hospital in February and now AGM and Working Life on March 13th. First, a brief heads up on the first two, very good, talks:
Transport of DelightThe was the first meeting of the New Year with Alan Skinner talking about Colchester Buses – a century of service. Alan stated that he was no expert on the subject of local transport, but he certainly was very knowledgeable about the history of the buses in Colchester and the surrounding villages; he gave a well-illustrated presentation and welcomed additional information from audience members. This was Alan’s second visit to the history group his first subject was the history of “Greyfriars”.
In February Paul Byrne spoke about the history and origins of the Military Hospital in Colchester. He explained how it developed to play a major role in helping soldiers from the Boer War and later WW1 men with mental illness now recognised as PTSD. The hospital was also used for civilian patients’ in later years when the Essex County Hospital was no longer large enough to cater for the growing population. An interesting insight into the part that Colchester played over the years helping all military personnel.
AGMThe Local History Group’s AGM starts at 7:30 pm on Wednesday 13th March in the Orpen Hall.
Peter Jones will introduce some archive films about Working Life after the AGM.
Members are asked to get in contact if they are willing to stand for the committee or help with refreshments. Subscriptions for 2019/20 are now due – great value at just £10.
For further information please contact Gill Poole on 01206 240512 or email [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”].
The 24th AGM of the Friends of Hillhouse Wood is on Wednesday 12th December 2018. Starting in the Orpen Hall at 7.30 pm, refreshments will be served from 7.00 pm. The Friends will welcome members and non-members alike. The draft agenda is as follows:
The 2018 Care Network AGM takes place in St Mary’s Church Hall on 18th April starting at 7:30 pm. Now in its 31st year, the Care Network provides a vital transport service for those who have difficulty in making what are mostly medical appointments without support. The meeting is open to all village residents, so why not come along, show your support and hear about the group’s achievements. Continue reading “AGM of Care Network”
Life on the Farm in WW2After the formal AGM, Peter Jones will introduce a short film called “Life on the Farm in WW2”. As in WW1, growing food in the British Isles became very important as importing food from abroad became increasingly difficult.
In Continue reading “Life on the Farm in WW2 & History Group AGM”
Cake & Prosecco? Care Network hits 30The 30th Care Network AGM will be held on Wednesday 19th April at 7.30pm in the John Lampon Hall. Members will celebrate this special anniversary with invited guests including some of the original founding volunteers. Cake and prosecco, and maybe more, will also be on offer. The meeting is open to all residents of the village, so come along and show support and hear about Care Network’s achievements. Continue reading “Cake & Prosecco? Care Network hits 30”