May begins and ends with a bank holiday, which is always rather nice, and with the spring well established now, and as we look towards the summer, we might hope that the bank holidays won’t disappoint us and will produce some good weather, perhaps even giving us the opportunity for a BBQ or family picnic.
80 years ago on 8th May earlier generations celebrated the end of war in Europe, or VE-Day as it was dubbed. As BBC Radio, and the Newspapers, announced the news, workers left their buildings to join in ad hoc celebrations in the street. Later they would organise street parties as well.
In that spirit of celebration, whilst at the same time commemorating the losses, West Bergholt PC are joining many others in organising (free) events on this date.
The following free events are being hosted by the Friends of St Mary’s Old Church in 2025.
Sunday 11 May – Talk by local historian John Worland on ‘The First Elizabethan Witch Trial’. 2.30pm – free refreshments
Sunday 8 June – Talk by Adam Wightman, Director of Colchester Archaeological Trust on ‘The Former Essex County Hospital Site’’. 2.30pm – free refreshments
Sunday 20 July – Summer Songs of Praise Service – 2.30pm – free refreshments
Sunday 30 November – Mulled Wine & Mince Pies with the Octavia Singers – 11am-1pm. This event is also an opportunity to register or reregister as a Friend of St. Mary’s Old Church
Sunday 21 December – Candlelit Carol Service
As usual everyone is welcome, there’s free parking and free refreshments including a glass of prosecco. Entry to all events is free but the Friends welcome any donations made on the day (cash or card). This will support the ongoing upkeep of the beautiful 1000-year-old church. We look forward to welcoming you there. For more information, or if you wish to tell us you’re coming, please email [email protected].
At both of the following events there will also be an opportunity for a Q&A session.
Meeting on 17th March 2025, the Planning & Development Committee first agreed the minutes from the previous meeting. The committee then discussed three Planning Applications for extensions to existing properties in Valley Crescent, Hall Road and Colchester Road. They supported all three although with some conditions attached to two of them. They also noted 3 decisions from CCC on prior applications.
Read the official minutes below.
Minutes of the Planning and Development Committee Meeting
Held on Monday 14th April 2025 at 7.30pm in the John Lampon Hall
Following the Winter Bird walk, Steve Hallam will be leading two guided walks in the coming weeks:
Spring Flower Walk – starting from St Mary’s Old Church at 2 pm on 26th April, &
Dawn Chorus, also from St Mary’s Old Church at the somewhat earlier time of 3:45 am on 10th May. This walk affords the opportunity to see Nightingales and many other brilliant dawn choristers. For this walk you should bring warm clothing, stout footwear, a flask of hot drink and a torch.
The links above are to reports from previous walks. We recommend you wear strong boots or wellies since you may well need to walk through long wet grass!
The Friends of Hillhouse Wood is a group of local residents who work with The Woodland Trust to look after this beautiful remnant of ancient woodland. You will also be able to see them at the Village Fete on Saturday 14th June.
Winter Bird Walk 2025
One aspect of observing nature that makes it so compelling is that you never know what you will see and hear. Will it surpass expectations, or disappoint? As mentioned in previous years, this winter bird walk is the one that has the potential to provide ‘thin gruel’. Over the years there seems to be reduced numbers of over wintering birds in this area, especially earlier on in the season. This is why the date of the walk has moved back by a few weeks.
Unduly Pessimistic
This year, I had done some preparatory surveys in the days before the walk, and had seen relatively little. Nevertheless, 14 people came along, which was very pleasing. I thought that I should ‘manage expectations’ but, as it turned out, I was being unduly pessimistic.
The Parish Council has a vacancy for a Village Hall Caretaker to be based at the Orpen Memorial Hall. This is a permanent, part-time, position with a minimum of 8 hours per week. Salary is from £15.08 per hour (FTE £29,093) and benefits from a pension scheme and, of course, holiday entitlement.
For further information on the role please read the job summary
Closing date for applications: 30th April 2025
To apply, please submit a CV or letter, please to:
This month’s news starts with Revd Anne’s (farewell) themed on the call for good luck – “Touch Wood”. Following this, you can find out about events including:
“April showers bring May flowers” 🥀 is a saying we may have heard, and it is usually true. The wet, dreary weather we tend to experience in early spring gives way to a beautiful array of flowers in vibrant colours as time passes. The flowers bloom, or vegetables and trees bear fruit later in the season, because of the rain that falls on them – or in very dry periods the water that we give them.
The West Bergholt Volunteer of the Year 2024/25 Award!
Do you know a volunteer who deserves to be celebrated for their outstanding contribution to West Bergholt?
Whether they’ve
spearheaded a local community project,
organised impactful events,
raised charitable funds, or
been a supportive mentor through their volunteer work,
… we want to hear about them.
Nominees must reside in West Bergholt or have carried out their volunteer work within the community. Age is no barrier – we welcome nominations for volunteers of all ages! Form & details are below.
Last Years’ Winner
Announcing the result at the Annual Parish Meeting, Cllr Butcher noted that having had a number of nominations to be the recipients for this year’s award one person stood out:
