Community, Parish Council & Village
The Winter Bird Walk 2023 takes place on Saturday 4th March at Hillhouse Wood with Steve Hallam leading. Walkers should meet at the Old Church at 10 am (weather permitting). We advise wearing stout footwear and warm clothing & with a warm drink in a flask. Walkers can expect to see a range of resident woodland and meadow species as well as some winter visitors. Last year the walkers saw or heard:
Continue reading “Winter Bird Walk 2023 -will a Waxwing show this year?”
For the first time since 2018, the Friends of St Mary’s Old Church are holding a Candlelit Service in the Old Church. Following the success of their Mulled Wine & Mince Pies event, the Friends look forward to welcoming you on Sunday 18th December at 2:30 pm. The service is free and open to all and there’s now dedicated car parking opposite the church. Reverend Heather Wilcox will lead the service.
In 2019, the Friends were able to hold a Carol service but, because of redecoration works at the time they could not run it by candlelight. Since then, of course, the services have been unable to run due to Covid. So do come along and welcome this annual tradition back to the village.
Next Friday 16th December Vocal Zones Choir invite you to join them to celebrate Christmas. The event starts at 7:30pm in St Mary’s Church, New Church Road.
As well as the singing, there will also be wine and mince pies! Entry is free, there will be a raffle with some great prizes to be won.
Next Sunday, 27th November, the Friends of St Mary’s Old Church invite you to enjoy Mulled Wine & Mince Pies with them. This event will also afford you the opportunity to renew or join the friends.
Octavia will be performing during the event, which runs from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Octavia is a ‘sub-group’ of Quire.
Continue reading “Old Church Invite to Mulled Wine & Mince Pies”
The Environment & Highways Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 8th September 2022 with topics including:
The Friends of St Mary’s Old Church are holding a quiz at Orpen Hall on 8th October. All funds raised will go towards the continued upkeep of the Old Church. Renovations have gone well but more remains to be done so the more you raise the closer we get.
Why not call your friends now!
The Friends work supplements the support of national charity, The Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which is responsible for the preservation of this and over 350 other redundant churches in England.
Following the success of their Spring Pantomime, “They came from Mars and landed outside the Farndale Avenue Church Hall in time for the Townswomen’s Guild’s Coffee Morning” is an unabashed comedy.
Directed by Michael Poole, this hilarious comedy written by David McGillivray and Walter Zetlin Jr. will, according to one reviewer “laughing until you cry”.
Continue reading “They Came From Mars – An Orpen Players Comedy”
There will be a Commemoration Service for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in St Mary’s. It will start at 6 pm on 18th September. It would be great to see representatives at that service from all the organisations within the village. This is a service for the whole community to come together.
A Book of Condolence is open at the New Church from 9am to 7pm each day. Flowers can be left by the flag at the Orpen Hall (no plastic wrappings please).
The next Local History Group meeting will learn about Essex Lights of which there are many. From Harwich, down the coast and into the Thames Estuary. Peter Jones will be presenting the history of these Lighthouses in the Orpen Hall on Wednesday 14th September at 7:30 pm.
Members cost is £2 and non-members £4 which includes refreshments.
Other talks coming up inlcude:
The Group’s last meeting in Orpen Hall on April 13th, was to hear about the history of the Minories in Colchester. This Grade II listed building is believed to have been built in the Tudor period but with subsequent modifications, in mid-18th century, turning it into the elegant Georgian building you see today.
Continue reading “Essex Lights – A History Club Talk”
After the delay of two years the Open Gardens 2022 Event finally took place on Sunday, 12th June. Organised by the Gardeners Club, eleven generous owners, together with the allotment holders, opened their beautiful gardens or vegetable plots to almost a thousand visitors (lots of photos to view on the West Bergholt Hub).
The weather was fine and sunny and the village was buzzing as people walked between the various sites. The Orpen Hall was the busy central hub with the plant stall and refreshments. It proved to be so popular that preserves sold out and most of the plants and the supply of cakes had to be topped up on more than a few occasions!
Continue reading “Open Gardens 2022 & Other Gardeners Updates”