Community, Parish Council & Village
There are just two fixtures this weekend with the Under 9s away against Layer Colts in the End of Season Trophy and the Under 13s at home against Wivenhoe Youth (KO 10am).
Join the Friends of Hillhouse Wood for their regular Bluebell Open Day & Spring Nature Walk from 1pm on Sunday 22nd April. The Friends’ display at the Old Church will feature information about the wood and offer a chance to collect maps, nature trails and quizzes on the wood for both adults & children. Weather permitting, guided walks, led by Joe Firmin, will start at 2pm and be repeated as necessary, to see the Bluebells and other spring flowers, butterflies and spring bird life, possibly early nightingales. Refreshments are available.
… Frances Mount’s topic at the West Bergholt Gardener’s Association meeting at 7.30pm on Monday 16th April in the Orpen Memorial Hall.
The president Susan Leng welcomed members and thanked all who brought cakes as our annual contribution to St Helena Hospice Colchester.
The July outing will visit the Van-Dal factory and shop in Norwich with free time to follow. Contact 01206 240854 to book a place on the coach.
As part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations the W I is organizing a card with verse competition which will be professionally printed and sent to the Queen from the village of West Bergholt. Forms will be available from the Co-op later this month.
Erika Cole presented the completed photograph album recording the W I’s 90th birthday celebrations during 2011.
Mrs Paula Short was welcomed with her talk on The Artists who Painted Horses.
The Under 9s were in ‘end of season trophy’ action at home to Brightlingsea Regents. Bergholt took the lead mid way through the first half, Jonah Murray hitting home. However this was against the run of play against a very impressive Brightlingsea team who had a couple of very promising players on show. Brightlingsea equalised soon after Jonah’s goal, the striker heading in a good cross. Brightlingsea then went further ahead just before half time with a confident shot from their number 11. The second half saw Bergholt try and get into the game and they had a couple of good attempts just go wide, and the Brightlingsea ‘keeper also saved well on at least 2 occasions. However Brighlingsea scored their third and final goal on the stroke of full time. Final result: Bergholt Heath 1 – 3 Brightlingsea Regents.
Our Under 13s were in the semi final of the League Cup, Vs Heybridge at Wivenhoe Town FC. Bergholt made what seems to be their customary slow start and were a goal down inside 3 minutes when a Heybridge striker picked up a clearance and with no Bergholt player closing him down, hit an early shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. Bergholt slowly got their game going on what was a very hard and bumpy pitch and equalised via an Antonio Sabini free kick which he curled round the wall, and despite other players trying to get a final touch, it bounced into the net. Half time 1-1. The second half started with Bergholt changing formation to 3-5-2 to get hold of the midfield, and they had much better possession. However a defensive slip from a huge (foul?) throw into the area saw Heybridge retake the lead against the run of play. Bergholt pressed forward and around 10 minutes from time again equalised with Leo Tiffney converting a cross at the far post. Almost immediately Heybridge retook the lead in controversial circumstances. The Bergholt Keeper leaped to catch a high long ball and was jumped into by the striker. Rather than give a foul the referee singled for a corner which was taken quickly and bundled into the net with the ‘keeper still looking a little unsteady. Bergholt threw caution to the wind to try and get a third equaliser but were caught on the break with a couple of minutes to go, the tall Heybridge number 10 rounding the ‘keeper and slotting home. Final score: Heybridge Swifts 4 – 2 Bergholt Heath. Bergholt ‘man of the match: Ollie Sanderson.
Just one match for Bergholt Heath this weekend. Our Under 13s won 2-0 away to Heybridge Swifts in the A league. The game started slowly for Bergholt, with Heybridge attacking quickly with their tall no.10 involved in most moves. Bergholt held firm and at last started to get their game going. Bergholt took the lead with their first decent passage of play after around 15 minutes when a quick incisive passing move involving James Hirst, Leo Tiffney and Ollie Sanderson saw Antonio Sabini receive the ball on the edge of the area, neatly side step 2 defenders and fire the ball into the roof of the net. Five minutes later it was 2-0 when Ollie Sanderson hit a superb looping shot over the goalkeeper from at least 20 yards. The rest of the first half passed comfortably for Bergholt.
The start of the second half saw Heybridge step up their tempo and attack Bergholt. In fact for the first 5 minutes Bergholt didn’t get out of their own half! As Heybridge pressed more players forward, gaps appeared on the break and both Mickey Whittle – one on one with the ‘keeper – and Gianni Sabini who put his shot well wide, missed golden opportunities to extend the lead. The last 10 minutes saw another period of play exclusively in the Bergholt half and with 30 seconds to go Jamie Bowden superbly slid in to clear the ball off the line to preserve the clean sheet.
Final result: Heybridge Swifts 0 – 2 Bergholt Heath. Bergholt Heath ‘man of the match’: Jamie Bowden.
The Under 9s played their first game in the “end of season trophy”, away to Marks Tey. They comfortably won 3-0, with Jonah Murray scoring at hat-trick.
The Under 13s were the only other team in action, away to Bures in the league. An end-to-end game saw Bures take an early lead when some hesitant play by both defenders and the goalkeeper allowed the Bures striker to lob the Bergholt ‘keeper. This early set back seemed to hit Bergholt hard and Bures continued to dominate. With 5 minutes of the half left, against the run of play, Jake Adams won Bergholt a free kick just outside the Bures penalty box and Antonio Sabini blasted the free kick into the Bures net for the equaliser. Just seconds before half time Bergholt won a corner which was crossed powerfully into the box for Jake Adams to head into the roof of the net. The second half started with Bergholt looking much sharper and within two minutes it was 3-1, Antonio Sabini scoring his second goal with a well taken first time shot from just inside the area. However this setback spurred Bures on and they started to have the lions share of possession. The Bergholt defence looked fairly secure until 10 minutes from time, when the ‘keeper fumbled a cross-shot and the defender could not prevent the ball from crossing the line for 3-2. The final minutes saw Bures pile forward and they equalised from a large slice of luck when a Bergholt clearance hit a Bures player on the back and looped up and back over the defender to fall at the strikers feet, who made no mistake to bury the ball in the back of the net. Final result: Bures 3-3 Bergholt Heath. Bergholt ‘man of the match’: Antonio Sabini.
Our Under 9s finished their league season with a 1-1 draw at home to Marks Tey. Thomas Whitlow scoring the Bergholt goal. Next week they start in the ‘end of season trophy’.
The Under 13s were also at home, to Boadicea Dynamos in the quarter Final of the Open Cup. Despite only having the bare 11 players, mainly due to 2 clashing heads in training on Saturday and suffering concussion(!), and another out with a broken arm, Bergholt were 4-0 up at half time through a brace each from Leo Tiffney and Owen Bernhardt. The second half saw Bergholt tire a little with no subs available. Boadicea pulled a goal back before Gianni Sabini scored on the break just before the final whistle. Final score: Bergholt Heath 5 – 1 Boadicea Dynamos. Bergholt Heath ‘man of the match’: Owen Bernhardt.
Our Under 14s and Under 16s both postponed their matches due to lack of players being available.
Finally the Under 18s were away to Little Oakley Reds and for the second week running could not put out a full team. This week with only 9 players they were beaten 4-0. A respectable result considering.
The president Susan Leng welcomed everyone to the Fashion Show staged by Viyella and Country Casuals. WI’s from 6 neighbouring villages had also accepted the invitation as well as local visitors. 10 members volunteered to be models wearing a selection of clothes from casual to formal wear with a commentary giving the audience more details of materials etc.
Members are reminded that the meeting on 4 April is when cakes for St Helena Hospice are required (bought or homemade).
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| Spring Lane Bridge |
Later this year, provisionally early August onwards, Essex County Council (ECC) will be replacing the bridge in Spring Lane. This bridge has been deteriorating for some time and subject to a weight limit. Engineers now believe replacement is the only viable option. The proposed replacement will be programmed for a 28 week duration, which will require the road to be closed at the bridge for the entirety of the scheme. A temporary footbridge will be available for cyclists and pedestrians.
The new structure will be designed to modern standards and have a design lifespan of 120 years. Whilst ECC appreciates the existing bridge is a particularly nice form of structure, it is not fit for use and will pose a risk to all users if the issues with it are not addressed. Nonetheless, they are looking at ways of incorporating the design of the existing bridge into the new structure; however this is in the early stages and subject to budgetary constraints.