Community, Parish Council & Village
General news items
This edition of St Mary’s News starts with Daffodils & Hope and then continues with:
As March beckons, spring bursts onto the scene. The words of William Wordsworth might come to mind as we see the daffodils emerging from beneath the ground:
Continue reading “St Mary’s News – the Daffodils & Hope edition”
The Environment & Highways Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 9th February 2023 with topics including:
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?”
First, Voter ID, but if you want to skip to A12 Roadworks starting on 4th February, click this link. If you want to see where all upcoming roadworks are visit this page on our website. If you are wondering what the unusual smell is click this link.
The Council Elections taking place on 4th May 2023 will be the first at which registered electors will need to show an approved Photo ID in order to vote. If you don’t have a valid ID you can apply for a free Voter ID Card.
Your Photo ID doesn’t have to still be ‘in date’ as long as it still looks like you so expired Passports etc… can still be used.
Continue reading “News Update – the Voter ID Edition”
This edition of St Mary’s News starts with “hopes for 2023″Love is all around me”, and continues with other news including:
‘I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes, Christmas is all around me and so the feeling grows’
… say the lyrics of the Christmas film, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary, Love Actually.
It doesn’t seem five minutes since we were celebrating Christmas, and yet in the world of advertising and card manufacture, we have definitely moved on, into a season more appropriately linked to the original lyrics of the song, first performed by the Troggs in 1967 ‘I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes, Love is all around me, and so the feeling grows.’
Continue reading “St Mary’s News – the “Love Is All Around Me” edition”
The Environment & Highways Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 12th January 2023 with topics including:
This edition of St Mary’s News starts with hopes for 2023, and continues with other news including:
A New Year Reflection from Revd Heather
With each New Year, comes a time of reflecting back on the past 12 months, and a moment to look ahead and dream about what the future might hold.
Continue reading “St Mary’s News – the hopes for 2023 edition”The recent unexpected and rapid change in weather caught us short. Despite this the Snow Patrol, with their usual efficiency, stepped in to mitigate risks as much as they could – more about them later.
We saw, perhaps 2″ of snowfall in West Bergholt, meanwhile our webmaster reported nearer 4″ falling in just a few hours; he lives in Brentwood! By contrast, Greenstead and St. Johns had virtually none.
Continue reading “White Christmas or a Weather Crisis?”
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.