Community, Parish Council & Village
Vocal Zones Choir invite you to join them next Friday 20th December for a Christmas Singalong Concert. They always enjoy this festive event and hope that you will too. Choir director Emma Bishton has selected a variety of carols and Christmas songs for your pleasure, come and enjoy! They will invite you to join in with some of the perennial favourites:
Continue reading “Singalong with Vocal Zones for Christmas”
Once again the Friends of St Mary’s Old Church are holding a Candlelight Carol Service in the Old Church. The Friends look forward to welcoming you back on Sunday 15th December at 2:30 pm.
The service is free and open to all and there’s now dedicated car parking opposite the church. One of St Mary’s ministers will lead the service.
The Friends are also looking for someone to pump the church organ during the service, so if anyone is interested please contact Nicole Long on 01206 240443.
The 30th AGM of the Friends of Hillhouse Wood is scheduled for Wednesday, 11th December 2024, at John Lampon Hall within the Orpen Hall Complex on Lexden Road, West Bergholt. The meeting will commence at 7:30 pm, with refreshments available from 7:00 pm. Both members and non-members are invited to attend.
At the end of the formal proceedings there will be the opportunity to raise issues and engage in discussion (whilst finishing the refreshments!)
This month’s news with Revd Heather’s Christmas Message on the Perfect Gift. Following this you can find out abougt:
… the usual listings of services and contacts.
As I write this, it is the 11th November, Remembrance Day. Yesterday in our churches, we remembered, lest we forget, the sacrifice of so many that we might know peace and freedom in our time. But as is always the way, the world is pushing us on, and we are being bombarded by Christmas adverts on the television and through social media. It seems hard to imagine, that we could ever forget that Christmas is coming.
Continue reading “St Mary’s News – The Perfect Gift Edition”A dry, still, November Saturday morning saw 15 enthusiastic people come together at St Mary’s Old Church. They had come from as far away as Chelmsford to enjoy our now annual guided ‘fungi hunt’ walk. This year they were led by one who set their level of expectations by confirming that as there are over 15,000 species of fungi in the UK, he had no intention of being dogmatic in any identifications. He was working on the principal that anything found, if eaten, would cause severe illness or even death! (You’re not getting the writer into a Coroner’s Court.)
So, on that basis we started in the Church graveyard where we found numerous Waxcaps (probably Golden Waxcaps).
Meeting on 11th November 2024, the Planning & Development Committee first reviewed actions from the previous meeting. These included confirming submission of updates to the Neighbourhood Plan. The committee then discussed 4 applications, variously in Bures Road, Mumford Close, Chapel Road & Scarletts Chase. All four were supported.
Read the official minutes below.
Continue reading “Planning & Development Committee – 11th November 2024”
The Environment & Highways Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 14th November 2024 with topics including:
Read the official minutes below.
Continue reading “Environment & Highways – 14th November 2024”
The Friends of St Mary’s Old Church are holding two events over the coming weeks.
The Friends invite you to join them for Mulled Wine & Mince Pies at St Mary’s Old Church on Sunday, 24th November. This free event runs from 11:30am to 1:30pm and all are welcome! The highlight of the day will be an enchanting performance by Octavia, members of Quire, from 12:30pm to 1pm.
Continue reading “Mulled Wine & Abbey Road”
The Friends will be going on a “fungus hunt” to seek out elusive fungi next Saturday 16th. They will aim to find a variety of mushrooms and toadstools in and around the wood, and explain something of their fascinating life cycles and why fungi are essential for a healthy woodland. They will also keep an eye out for visiting winter birds.
Nearly 20 hunters scoured the woods, hedgerows and fields last year and were rewarded with some stunning finds. You can see the report, including a video slideshow of their finds, here.
The walk will start at the Old Church, leaving at 10am on Saturday 16th November. The walk will take in Hillhouse Wood and surrounding hedgerows. You should wear strong boots or wellies, as you may encounter wet conditions underfoot !
Read on for a report from the last guided walk on 28th September.
Eight of us scoured Hillhouse Wood and surrounding fields for evidence of nature’s bounty. We were rewarded by finding nearly fifty species of plants showing fruits or flowers. However, I believe that this walk is arguably mis-named, in that we usually see more flowers than fruits. This proved to be the case again this year.
Continue reading “Autumn Flowers and Fungi”
We start the Advent experience of Posada (a Mexican tradition). Following this we look at:
… the usual listings of services and contacts.
Posada originates from Mexico where people dress as Mary and Joseph and re-enact the journey to Bethlehem, travelling from house to house asking for a place to stay (the word Posada means an inn). In recent years, this idea has been modified by churches in this country by sending the figures of Mary and Joseph and the donkey from house to house during Advent.
Continue reading “St Mary’s News – The Posada & Shoebox Edition”