Community, Parish Council & Village
Congratulations to Rick Cranfield, assistant headteacher at Heathlands Primary school, who completed 600 hours of training over 6 months which enabled him to run the London Marathon in 4 hours 11 minutes.
Various activities have taken place in the wood including a bluebell walk attended by 60 people, an early morning dawn chorus and next month a summer butterfly, dragonfly and insect walk guided by Joe Firmin and Philip Smith is planned.
Christian Aid Week, which ran from May 9 to May 15, raised £2,001.2 from collections around the village and the Hunger Lunch.
West Bergholt businessman Andrew Ross was a guest on the Dave Monk show on BBC Essex on 13th May, 9am – noon.
On Sunday 16th May, Joe Firmin and Philip Smith will lead a walk, offering a chance to see nightingales and many other brilliant dawn choristers. If you haven’t tried this you’ll find it a rewarding and delightful experience at a very special time for the wood’s varied birdlife. Please bring warm clothing, stout footwear, a flask of hot drink and a torch. Meet at the Old Church at 3:45am.
The next meeting of the Gardeners’ Association is on Monday 17 May at 7.30pm in the Orpen Memorial Hall.
President Pat Moran welcomed members to the meeting. A letter had been received from St Helena Hospice thanking everyone for their home made cakes.
Letters and phone calls from visiting WI’s thanked our W I for the enjoyable Fashion Show.
There will be a stall at the village fete at Heathlands Primary school on Saturday 19 June. Helpers and contributions of cakes and preserves are required.
The resolution for food to be labelled with the country it comes from not where processed was unanimously carried. The president will attend the National AGM in Cardiff to vote for this.
Simon Gallup, a blue badge holder spoke about Flatford and Constable Country. With the aid of two screens his audience could compare Constable’s paintings and how in some cases the countryside has changed.
The annual outing on July 7 is to Carter’s Vineyard which includes lunch; £15 payable next month. Congratulations to member Marie -Louise Fuell who won the Essex Tea Time Quiz.
June 2 meeting welcomes Mrs Diana Pettit with her talk on the ‘History of Jewellery.
Christian Aid Week runs from May 9 to May 15. Volunteers are required to deliver and collect envelopes please call Susan on 01206 241431 if you are able to help.
The Hunger Lunch this year is being held at the Methodist Church Hall at 12 noon on Sunday 9 May.
The next coffee morning takes place in the Methodist church hall on Wednesday 12 May from 10am to 11.30am. Various stalls including greetings cards. Last month raised £30.
At the recent Colne Valley Flower Club meeting National demonstrator, David Thompson, made a return visit with his arrangements entitled Pot Luck. He impressed his audience with exotic blooms and a stunning array of containers which he had collected during his career.
Members brought along arrangements on the theme of Fit For a Queen. These varied from traditional to crowns, handbag and a delicious cake. Although not a competition, members voted with coins for their favourite design which will be added to the club’s chosen charity for this year.
The next meeting at 7.30pm in the Orpen Memorial Hall on 19 May will see Julie Woods from Cambridge with her title Popcorn. Members are reminded that the annual plant sale takes place this month so all contributions most welcome.
This year’s annual parish meeting is taking place on Wednesday 28th April in the John Lampon Hall at Orpen Hall. Starting at 7pm, items up for discussion include faster broadband services and the village design statement.
During the evening refreshments will be available and there will be an opportunity for you to have informal one to one discussions with your Parish and Borough Councillors.