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Biddestone Broadsheet Christmas Candle Special

April 2013 No 396

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ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH BIDDESTONE As the New Year has started I wonder if there is anyone prepared to assist with the upkeep and running of the church? Duties such as the locking & unlocking, cleaning, brass polishing, flower arrangement and the Thursday coffee morning are shared amongst a dwindling number of people and it would be a great help if a few others could assist. Shared around, the commitment is minimal, perhaps only two or three times a year. . If there is any-one who could help please ring either Penny Lloyd on 716560 or Stewart Entwistle 01249 715887

Biddestone and Slaughterford Parish Council Notes from the meeting of 26th February 2013 Seven Councillors were present. No response has been received from Highways regarding completing the safety guards at the bottom of the ramp from the playing field. The Council have suggested that the Sports Clubs using the playing fields should assist in policing dogs and their owners, and that action should be taken against owners who fail to clear up behind their dogs, but so far there has been no response. It is intended that a suitably worded plaque will be attached to the metal guard round the jubilee Oak. The Council agreed a contribution of £400 to the Parochial Church Council for the upkeep of the Cemetery Extension. There were two planning applications for 5 The Bartons, Slaughterford, listed building consent to replace windows and the front porch, and a full application to rebuild the garden shed. There were no objections, subject to suitable materials being used and the original outline of the shed was unchanged. A public Meeting to explain events during filming on The Green, 9-14th March, was attended by about 50 residents. The location Manager, Andy Eliot, gave an excellent presentation and answered all questions raised. Cllr Mullens explained the arrangements for users of the buses. Any revenue received by the Council will be reserved should a contribution towards the cost of realignment of the Cuttle Lane/ Giddea Hall junction be required. Further information can be found at www.biddestonevillage.co.uk. The next meeting will be on Tuesday 26h March 2013. Tim Smith (01249 714455) APRIL OPEN MEETING Tuesday, 30th April. in the Village Hall at 19.30. This will be the last Open Meeting, prior to the election of a new council on Thursday, 2nd May.

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Libby and John Kingcome It is with great sadness that we have to announce the deaths of both John and Libby Kingcome, within the space of a few weeks of each other, John on 25 February and Libby on 14 March. Before leaving for their new home in Bristol in 2011 they had lived in Biddestone for many years, where they both played a full part in the life of the church and the village. They were much loved and re-spected. May they now both rest in peace. Many people will remember Libby and John with great fondness. When they lived in Stonecrop they embraced everyone with friendship and hospitality. We feel that it would be appropriate to create an area in the churchyard where peace and friendship can always be felt. We hope to create a seating area in a sunny position suita-ble for all ages to enjoy. This we would like to do in memory of John and Libby. It is our intention to have both a bench for adults and one for children with a carved dedi-cation. If you would like to make a contribution to the cost of the benches, please send your donation or cheque payable to St Nicholas PCC to The Old Rectory or Home Place. If you are a UK tax payer please complete a gift aid form available from Charlotte Bruce. BIDDESTONE HAS GOT TALENT Come along and they’ll prove it . See you neighbors doing amazing things, they will never seem the same again. Tickets selling well and its been a sellout in past years. Book your place with Lorena Roberts 01249 713000 ALLOTMENTS There is still time try “The Good Life” BVH&RT still have two vacant allotments for those keen to have a go at grow your own. For newcomers to tilling the earth lots of experienced friendly advice, (but little assistance) available from fellow allotment holders A Biddestone vegetable show is under consideration for the Autumn to show your turnips. Hurry spring is almost upon us.

DIARY DATE BIDDESTONE Open Gardens 15th-16thJune 2013

April 2013

Donations

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An “Extra” Ordinary week

Living in Biddestone is a bit like living in a film set sandwich, with Lacock and Castle Comb racking up the film credits. In the last few years they have been locations for War horse, Harry Potter, Star dust, etc etc. Now, 20 years after the BBC filmed a clip for “The House of Elliot” on The Green the cameras were back. This time for “The Christmas Candle”, an adaptation of a (very) short story by American Author Max Lucado. He usually writes about theological subjects, but has been top of the New York Times best seller list several times with his fiction Novels. I’ve read (well, listened to the audio book) The Christmas Candle and think it will make a great Christmas film, not quite Dickens, but a nice change from the current trend of setting seasonal films in modern times. The IMDB listing on the internet is a roll call for some of the best talent in film making. Director John Stephenson and cinematogra-pher Mike Brewster, have worked on some of the biggest films over the last few years. All sounds pretty good ! All the media attention for the film centres around Susan Boyle who is making her (big) screen début ! I get the feel-ing they will shoe horn a song in there which will be released as a Christmas single. In the States at least I think it's a good bet for a Christmas Number 1. I’m not sure about the singing skills of the rest of the cast, except maybe Saman-tha Barks who recently starred in Les Mis, but I doubt whether Sylvester McCoy, who plays the Candle maker, will be releasing anything soon. That’s the background covered, but it only tells you a fraction of what it's like to have a film set on your doorstep (quite literally at 2am on the final night of filming) I had noticed some people measuring and taking photos of the White Horse, but had assumed it was just connected with the re-opening. It was only whilst chatting to some neighbours that the subject of the impending filming came up and I felt like I was the last person arriving at a party. Like many villagers my thought jumped to being an Extra, and having a lifetime of being able to ask people if they spotted the back of my head way off in the distance for 2 seconds. I applied for the “lifting the girl up to the Christmas tree” shot. Luckily for me, Rosie Tisdale had already been cast as the girl and they wanted someone that she knew to play her dad. With her real dad having work commit-ments, I sent off the form. Unlike the rest of the extras, my role only involved a couple of minutes filming, rather than several days. At that point I didn’t know how lucky I was ! You have no idea of the meaning of “waiting around” and how cold it can be until you have watched a days filming.

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Several villagers who were “proper Extras” know the meaning of that all too well. I asked Daisey Baldry ( one of the the assistant directors) for a list of all those who were involved from the village. Here they are. Tilly Bruce, Flora Madley, Lucy Hamilton, Lucy Jiwa, Charlie Adkin, Mark Greenwood, Rosie Tis-dale and last and definitely least Me. My first experience of being an Extra was the costume fitting at the village hall. There were rows of Victorian clothes for all shapes and sizes, except for me. It was made quite clear by the nice but very honest costume lady that nothing would fit me without “taking out” and being “altered”. It seems Victorians didn’t eat enough to develop the figure of a 21st century person like me! After plenty of Ummms and hmmmms, they finally kitted me out. Then I just had to wait for my call. In preparation for the filming, two shops had to be built on the green. It was fascinating watching the process of con-struction. I get the impression there was a moment of synchronisity with many of us thinking that it was a perfect spot for a village shop !

The constant figure around the village was Andy Eliot, the Location Manager who quite miraculously seemed to learn everybody's names almost instantly and kept the whole site running smoothly. Filming was due to start very earlyon Sat 9th March, and when the sun set on the Friday night the village looked pretty much as it had 120 years before. Roads were closed, cars were gone, barrels and sacks hid tell tail signs of the 21st century. As I laid in bed on Saturday morning listening to the commotion outside, I felt slightly sorry for the Extras who by then had been at the village hall for several hours getting made up and fitted in their costumes. The first shots of the day were in front of Gable Cottage, where the famous £400 a day stunt goat was waiting along with an army of pro-duction crew, cameras and fascinated villagers. After several takes, the goat finally did as it was told and was whisked away to it's own specially heated trailer where I believe he answered fan mail and got into character for his next scene. Despite the cold, there was a palpable excitement on The Green and a carnival like atmosphere. I would estimate that almost all the villagers were out watching and chatting.

At the meeting prior to the filming at the village hall, Andy the Location Manager, had warned about taking photos, so I was nervous and fully prepared to be told where to go when I got my camera out. I didn’t need to worry though, as I soon struck up a conversation with Cindy Lockhart, wife of the Executive Producer. She was also taking photos and we soon started comparing cameras and lenses. I asked if it was okay if I carried on and she was extremely en-thusiastic and only said to avoid filming during a take. In fact, everyone was exceptionally tolerant and were inter-ested in the photos. I didn’t try to take shots of the actors as I could see that they were slightly uncomfortable with a big lens shoved into their faces, which is understandable. Far more interesting was what was going on behind the cameras, so that is where I looked for interesting shots .

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After lunch, filming moved to The Green, which had now been coated with a blanket of snow. The weather was cold enough for the real stuff, but it was actually a mix of a shaving foam like substance and powdery flakes. They filmed several shots of the shop and then a long shot of the green and a snow ball fight. It looked fantastic and sorted out my Christmas cards for the next few years. I have to say that at this stage it was clear that the extras were going to work very hard. Each shot required complex choreography.

Over the next couple of days, filming moved around The Green. To say it was cold, would be a huge understate-ment. The film crew looked as if they were making a wildlife film in the Arctic.

The actors and Extras had to brave it in the biting wind, with only brief respite from the cold in the pub. The film crew worked on meticulously and were in great spirits. On the Monday morning, the villagers who hadn’t fro-zen solid, were treated to the sight of an extremely rare 113 year old steam car.

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On Monday evening, my shot was scheduled. I turned up at the village hall just after 4pm and got into costume, (along with six or seven other extras), and sat down in the make up chair. There were several more of those Ummms and hmmmms that I got used to during the costume fitting, before being told that the shot was going to be through a window, so it didn’t matter too much ! Then we waited and waited and waited ….. A small choir was rehearsing some Christmas carols that helped pass the time. Rosie Tisdale, my co-star on the other hand, had her own dressing room with a mirror surrounded with lights ! The whole works ! When it came to our shot I was picked up from the village hall and taken to The Green where Stone Haven had been focus of attention. There were huge lights and what seemed like even more people. I was introduced to the Director, who briefed me on what I was to do. This is what he said “pick up Rosie, she puts the angel on the tree, Put her down again” ….... My dream of a Laurence Olivier performance was dashed. I cancelled my ticket to next year's Oscars..... It was equally busy inside Stone Haven with crew and then there was the set. The front room was dominated by a Christmas tree, with real candles burning, along with several others around the room that were giving off an aston-ishing quantity of smoke. Just out of sight of the cameras, I was both reassured and worried to see a man poised with a fire extinguisher. I was nervous as we did a quick rehearsal. I picked Roie up, she put the angel on the tree and I put her down again. I heard the director say “Rosie was great !! lets roll” The lights were dazzling me and the smoke was getting thicker, soon the camera wouldn’t see me at all, I thought maybe the make up lady had dropped a couple of hints. The next 2 minutes saw the start, middle and end of my entire acting career. It took just four takes and in that time Rosie went from being fascinated by the array of cameras outside, to being a super star. On the last take she put the angel on the Christmas tree then rearranged it perfectly just as the director had asked. They had allocated 3 hours to film the shot, but in the end it took only minutes. I had just enough time for the crew to take some still shots and one with Emily, then I was back on the minibus and driven back to the cold, empty village hall, where I changed, then walked back to The Green, forgotten and discarded ! The celebrity life ! Filming went on with the lovely carol singing scene, which I’m sure will look magical on screen. Tuesday and Wednesday were scheduled for night shoots, with the weather looking like it was going to get even colder. The other Extras were still being worked very hard with 12 hour days on set, plus the time to get dressed and application of make-up etc. After filming, some internal shots in The Close, attention was turned again to the shop and green. BAFTA award winning actor, John Hannah arrived and did several scenes with Hans Mathias and all the extras, who were doing a brilliant job. I was out again with my Camera, and found that the lights were so bright, it was almost like daytime. At 11pm things were winding down and I noticed a guy walking around with some serious pro-camera equipment. We started chat-ting and it turned out that he was a freelance photo journalist and had been tipped off by The Sun that Susan Boyle was going to be doing a secret shoot at midnight. He wanted to get an exclusive shot of her in her costume. I tried to explain that she had done all her filming at stanway the week before, but he was convinced his tip was good. The crew started to pack away all the gear, but he was determined to get his shot. When I went to bed an hour or so later, he was still out there! Cold and alone. The final nights' filming didn’t require any extras, so after 4 very long cold days and hard work, they were able to get out of costume and leave 1890 behind for the very last time.

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On the last night, the carnival atmosphere seemed to return with many villagers wrapped up warm watching the final scenes of filming. During the afternoon, a track had been set up outside Elm Lodge and a giant boom allowed for some elevated shots. It will be one on the key parts of the film, as a little boy lights a candle. The shot looked rather eerie in the odd lighting and could easily pass as a scene from horror film. Everything in the light was as bright as day, yet the sky remained black with stars and crescent moon. It was was quite memorable. As the evening drew on, a thick layer of frost settled over everything, but even this didn’t dampen the professionalism of the crew, or their effort to get the shot just right. The hours drew on and people drifted away, until deep in the night. There was just a skeleton crew, who huddled together in small groups around the cameras, or inside the tents. Quiet and determined. Then after a lunch break, or more aptly midnight feast of Chicken curry, they set up for the last shots. The Track was dismantled and rebuilt from my front door step, across The Green to the candle makers shop . When I said it was literally on my doorstep, I really meant it. 1am then 2am passed quietly by until a horse and cart rattled onto the green for the last shot. It's 1690, Saturday night and the bearded candle maker is finishing off his work for the last Sunday of Advent, just before Christmas. He lives in the tiny shop with his wife, after waving to a horse and cart that trundles slowly past his shop, he places two candles held in beautiful winged candle holders in the window and looks out into the silent village of Gladbry, then retires to bed. Suddenly, the darkness within the shop, gives way to a dazzling light in the centre is a shimmering heavenly figure. It leans forward and gently touches one of the candles, which in turn bursts with radiant light. And there begins the story of the Christmas Candle....... Chris Draper

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Biddestone Art Exhibition Saturday 29th June & Sunday 30th June 2013

Preview evening June 30th 6pm until 9pm

Again we had a great exhibition in 2012 and attracted lots of new artists and interest from people visiting the fete. Thanks to the Stafford family we will be using the same space again, which Im sure helped us

sell nearly £800 worth of pictures. The commission on the sales was nearly £100 all of which went to lo-cal good causes through the Village Fete.

We welcome works in most media, including

Oil watercolour pastel acrylic pencil Charcoal Gouache mixed media photographic prints

lino cuts screen prints sculpture.

This year however we will not be selling greeting cards or unframed work. Its almost impossible to keep track on sales of these in the context of the fete.

All work must be framed ready for hanging, and CLEARLY labelled with your name title of work and

price if it is for sale.

This year to cover the cost of hosting the preview evening we will be charging a hanging fee of £1 per painting submitted. Any thing left over will be added to the total raised from sales over the weekend. With

this in mind the village fete will take a commission of only 10% this year rather than 12.5%. Could I please also ask that sales made as a direct result of the fete exhibition be declared and commission paid.

The commission is extremely low and all goes to the good causes that the village fete supports. We make a huge effort to present the work in a professional way that shows it off to viewers and potential buyers.

Your honesty is greatly appreciated.

Although there is no limit to the number of works submitted, available wall space is limited so we may not be able to hang everything. We try to be as fair as possible.

All work is submitted at your risk and should be handed into me during the week leading up to the exhibi-

tion.

For any more details please contact chris draper

01249 716464 or cdraperillustration@hotmail.com

The White Horse is back open and serv-ing good beer — and a fraction cheaper thanks to Mr Osbourne. Please give it your support, nobody in their right mind wants to see a pub close — but many are!!!

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Village Link ‘volunteers transporting the Community’

Do you know anyone who might….

….benefit from our services? ….consider joining our Volunteers?

Please ask them to call one of our Coordinators on 07590 720836

www.village-link.org.uk

Village Link

…needs a new Coordinator A vital role taking turns with the other three Coordi-nators to take telephone bookings from clients and

arrange the volunteer drivers. To find out more, and to offer help, please call

01454 218362 or 07590 720836 www.village-link.org.uk

Located in an idyllic rural setting just five minutes drive from the villages of Marshfield and Colerne, North Wraxall Pre-School is a truly wonderful place for any 2-4 year old. Our bright and clean premises provide a welcoming and inspiring environment where all our children are encouraged to play outdoors as well as get involved in a huge range of structured creative and educational projects. Next term’s projects include Spring, Growing Things and Life Cycles. Our rural large outdoor spaces are the perfect environment for children to explore and play. We're surrounded by rolling fields and our neighbours are sheep! Our fully equipped outdoor toy shed includes bikes, trikes, scooters, slides, bats and balls, a croquet set and even an obstacle course kit. Our large sand pit and veggie patch are also great hits with the children. We recently introduced an accredited Forest School session – so our children now learn about the trees and wildlife they see through their windows and run through at playtime. It’s been amazing to see their eagerness to hold worms and look for rabbit burrows! We're incredibly fortunate to have an exceptional staff team. Nearly all are parents themselves, and our small ap-proachable environment lends itself to a family-type atmosphere. As well as our Forest School we offer weekly Sing-ing with Suzy, music &movement and lots of cooking! We introduce children who are starting primary school next September to learning their numbers, letters, counting and shapes through our ‘Rising 5’s’ sessions. Using Jolly Phonics we engage our budding primary school enthusi-asts, working to ensure learning is fun. Ofsted say that our children have a 'strong sense of belonging' and 'demonstrate high levels of trust' with staff, that their behaviour is 'extremely good' and that they play and explore the environment with confidence. We honestly believe that we offer a real 'home from home' learning environment. Our term time hours are 9am - 4pm Monday to Thursday, with holiday clubs running during school holidays. We’re introducing a new Friday morning Baby&Toddlers session- Wraxall Wrigglers- with singing, dancing, wriggling and giggling. It is a perfect way to introduce young children to a pre-school environment and a fantastic way to burn off some creative steam! We’d be proud to show you around our pre-school at any time - call us on 01225 891 550, visit www.northwraxallpreschool.co.uk or see our facebook page: www.facebook.co.uk/northwraxallpreschool

BIDDESTONE POSTCARDS & LETTER CARDS We have had some Biddestone postcards produced from some of the sketches by Vernon. The sets of 6 are available from a number of village sources including Margaret Bestwick and Lorena Roberts Set of 6 £2.00 With envelopes £2.50

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Friends of By Brook Valley School (FoBBVs) News

Welcome to the first update from the Friends of By Brook Valley School, Yatton Keynell.

FoBBVS is a group of volunteer parents who support the school by fundraising and organising social events. In re-cent years, we have paid for such things as the outside classroom by the school field, the sensory garden, IT equip-ment, tiered staging, stage lighting in the hall, library books, digital cameras and canopy over the reception play area. We also help to pay for the coaches to get the children to church services and fun things like crackers and party hats at the Christmas lunch.

We have had a busy year so far, with bag packing at Sainsburys to Family Bingo in the village hall. We have also sold Mothers Day presents to the children, and collected unwanted clothes for the Bag2schools collection. Each month, a different class has a cake sale, with up to £100 being made to spend on items for their class.

We have two major events happing in April. Firstly the very popular Bike Ride and BBQ at Castle Combe Race track on 25th April. Lasts years was cancelled due to heavy rain and storms, so we’re really hoping for good weather this year! Children and parents alike love cycling and scooting around the course, and eating the delicious BBQ food.

Secondly, we’d love to invite you to our Boden Shopping Evening on Tuesday 30th April (see poster). It’s a wonder-ful opportunity to look and try on all the Boden Summer ranges of clothes, and you will get an extra 20% off any items ordered. Even better, if you introduce a new customer, you get £25 voucher to spend! Refreshments will be sold at this sociable event, and FoBBVs earn commission on any orders.

If you would like any further info, please contact us on fobbvs@gmail.com

Claire Gray, FoBBVs

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THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Biddestone and Slaughterford Branch

Biddestone and Slaughterford Branch was formed in the 1920s and we proudly continue to support the vital work and aims of the Royal British Legion begun more than 90 years ago. The Royal British Legion is just as relevant today as it was in 1921, fundraising to provide vital welfare and support to the whole Armed Forces family, ex-Service person-nel and their dependants, especially those serving in the theatre of war overseas. If you would like to know more about our work, please do not hesitate to contact me, I will be pleased to help you. Your local branch would like to invite all British Legion members, past and present, family members and any inter-ested friends to our Annual Branch Dinner at The Biddestone Arms on Thursday 6th June 2013. This is the anniver-sary of D-Day and we hope to have an interesting speaker to entertain you. The meal will consist of a carvery (so you can choose what you like to eat) and a pudding of your choice. There will also be a free raffle! Full details will be available nearer the time, but if you are interested in taking up this invitation I would be grateful if you could telephone me to book your place before the end of April 2013, so that we can get an idea of numbers. Thank you. Jill Baylis (Mrs) Hon Treasurer

Record of Biddestone & Hartham W.I. meeting on 20th March 2013 Carol Millard chaired the meeting in the absence of President, Jo Hancock. She welcomed twelve members and then introduced Mr. Michael Marshman, an historian working in the Archives Dept. of the Wiltshire History Centre in Chippenham. His interesting and knowledgeable talk was on the history of Bradford-on-Avon, originally the site of an Iron Age hill fort. There are many interesting buildings in the town, and it was agreed that Mr. Marshman would act as guide on a walking tour for interested members on August 21st. After a break for refreshments, the Record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Instead of the proposed plant Sale it was agreed to have a Cake Stall on the Green during the weekend of the Open Gardens on June 15th and 16th, proceeds to go to WI funds. A clipboard was passed round for members’ offers of cakes and help on the Green. Correspondence A list of new speakers, chosen from the New Speakers Day auditions at Hullavington, had been received. There are three competitions; the Lady Denman Cup for writing an essay, a photographic competi-tion and one for a “new fruit cake recipe”, details available. WI Advisers are holding a presentation at Broughton Gifford on 13th June from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. At the next meeting on April 17th guest speaker, Mr. Kenneth Warr, will be talking about fifteen years as a televi-sion journalist. Visitors are welcome . 2pm for 2.15pm at the Village Hall. A small entry fee of £2 helps our funds .

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LADY MARGARET HUNGERFORD 17th CENTURY SCHOOLROOM AND ALMSHOUSES, CORSHAM

Visitors to these lovely buildings frequently comment on the high quality of the voluntary guided tour, lasting ap-proximately 40 minutes, given by the Volunteer Guides who come from Corsham and the surrounding area. Unfortu-nately, the number of guides has decreased and we desperately need to recruit more. If you love old buildings, have some sense of history and want to share this beautiful building with others please contact Volunteer Guide Ron Smith (Tel: 01249 701255) who organises the rota. This enables you to be on duty at times that suit you and he also trains and helps new Volunteers. At present the display material is being update and these provide a valuable source of information for both Guides and visitors. We have also adopted the William Arnold mannequin which was surplus to requirements with the re-vamp of the Corsham Heritage Centre We are open again for another full season from April to the end of September on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11.30am to 4.00pm and Friday and Saturday from 1.30pm to 4.00pm. (last tours 3.30pm.) During the winter months of October/ November/February/March the opening times are reduced to Saturday afternoons only - 1.00pm to 3.00pm. Full details can be found in a leaflet obtainable from the Heritage Centre and on our web-site info@corshamalmshouses.org.uk. Group visits can be arranged during or outside these hours. Please contact the Group Organiser, Marian King. (Tel: 01249 713486.) As a Volunteer Guide you will be joining a group of friendly, sociable people, happy to settle you in whilst you familiarise yourself with the wonderful building. Why not give Ron that call? Peter King Chairman of Volunteer Guides

In April, we will be reading Hilary Mantel’s prize winning novel Bring up the Bodies. The meeting will be at Rosemary Warchus’s home at 7.15 p.m. on Monday 15th April.

Another modern novel for May: Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

If you have any questions please phone Diane Ross-Smith on 712105.

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BIDDESTONE VILLAGE HALL AND RECREATION TRUST MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING, TUESDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2013 Present: Stewart Entwistle (in the Chair), Kris Boulton, Mike Chrystal, Alison Flint, Ashley Juniper, Colin Kempshall, Barbara Short, Ian Smith Apologies: Shelagh Ball, John Chambers, Mark Hibbert, Lorena Roberts Minutes of meeting on 15 January 2013 In minute 6(f), “August” should be amended to “April”. Regarding minute 4, Colin said he thought we agreed no refund should be made for bookings which were not taken up, but others thought the minute was correct. Colin said it was not a regular problem, and it was agreed he should go on dealing with it as he thought fit. The sub-committee referred to was the one which had been set up to discuss whether there should be changes to the way regular bookings were charged for [see minute 2(e) of 16.10.12]. Matters Arising Edward Bear Club. Outstanding amount had now been paid. Mesh under barrier. Ashley confirmed that Parish Clerk had written to the Highways Agency asking them to deal with this; no reply yet received. Possible agreement for regular users. It was agreed the sub-committee should meet to discuss this. Stewart/Lorena/Colin/Mike Dog mess. Colin said the problem was still there. Stewart thought it would take some time to change people’s attitudes; we just had to keep reminding them. Financial Update Barbara circulated copies of her Financial Report, Profit & Loss Account and Balance Sheet for January. The bank balances were as fol-lows: Current Acc. £4,317.91, Deposit Acc. £8,592.00, Playground Acc. £4,282.51. She said it had been a fairly good month for hirings, but the bad weather had not helped on the sports side, although payments should catch up by April. She mentioned that she had paid off the last of the personal loans (£160) in December, but none of the payments had been taken from the account; Barbara was asked to con-tact the people concerned. Barbara Bookings Colin reported that a Martial Arts course was now booked in on Monday evenings 6-7 p.m., and a booking had already been made for a Children’s Christmas Fair all day on 24 November. A film company had booked the Hall every day from 9 to 14 March (and possibly longer); he had negotiated a daily rate for the main hall, club room and carpark, although the hire agreement had not yet been signed. All regular users of the hall had been informed.. Filming would not prevent the Sunday football, though they might want to use the training pitch on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Colin assured Kris that they had been firmly told not to go on the cricket field. Events – past and future Ian was thanked very much for running the Quiz Night on 9 February, when £80 had been raised, plus any bar-takings Stewart asked Ian if he would be willing to do this more regularly. Ian In Lorena’s absence, Debbie Entwistle would be in charge of the Moviola film on 14 February. Stewart reported that Di Webb was trying to persuade the BBC to broadcast an edition of “Gardeners’ Question Time” in the Hall. There were several conditions, which meant that probably no profit would be made. However, Stewart thought it would be a nice event for the village, and proposed we should agree to have it. Colin said he was against not charging for use of the hall; he believed it set a bad prece-dent, and all users should pay. The fact that no profit would be made was the concern of the organisers and not the Trust. Because of the filming, Biddestone’s Got Talent would now take place on Saturday 6 April. Colin reported that there had been serious problems at a recent 16th birthday party, even though he had insisted there should be supervision from an adult; the damage deposit had been forfeited. He added that he would ensure there would be control on the door and adult super-vision at future events. Alison to write to Eileen Swannack to apologise for the disturbance. Alison Suggestions for next Bonfire Night Following last year’s event, a number of suggestions had been made as to ways it could be improved; Alison had summarised these and circulated copies. It was agreed that several were quite helpful, and Stewart proposed that we should arrange a couple of planning meet-ings about two months before this year’s Bonfire Night specifically to discuss them and allocate duties, etc. Barbara pointed out that it was necessary to order the fireworks well in advance and pay a deposit; Alison undertook to speak to David Millard about this. In the meantime, Mike would visit the Methuen Estate Office to enquire about getting an entry into the parking field. Alison/Mike Any Other Business (a) Colin reported that the Hall’s fire equipment had recently been checked, as a result of which the following had come to light. New batteries were needed for the Club Room door-stop, which he had bought. It would also be necessary to arrange for the electric wiring to be inspected, as this was 10 years overdue; this could cost £250 + VAT, and Colin would arrange for it to be done. The main problem was that the fire-escape doors had warped, and all three would have to be replaced. He had obtained one quote for white coated alumini-um doors at £1,800 per set. Colin was asked to get more quotes, and he would insist on a long-term guarantee. He added that there were also problems with the changing room doors. Mike suggested that Stonewood should be asked to look at these. Colin (b) Colin also reported that Rodney had given up cleaning the changing rooms, and he was looking for someone else. Colin Date of next meeting Agreed for Tuesday 19 March at 7.15 p.m.

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Transplanting Watching hands transplanting, Turning and tamping, Lifting the young plants with two fingers, Sifting in a palm-full of fresh loam,-- One swift movement,-- Then plumping in the bunched roots, A single twist of the thumbs, a tamping and turning, All in one, Quick on the wooden bench, A shaking down, while the stem stays straight, Once, twice, and a faint third thump,-- Into the flat-box it goes, Ready for the long days under the sloped glass: The sun warming the fine loam, The young horns winding and unwinding, Creaking their thin spines, The underleaves, the smallest buds Breaking into nakedness, The blossoms extending Out into the sweet air, The whole flower extending outward, Stretching and reaching. by Theodore Roethke

Biddestone Church in Victorian Times The recent filming in the village reminded me of an article I discovered about Biddestone Church at the History Cen-tre. “The choir was composed of the school children who did not seem very well behaved. There was a point also in the demeanour of the congregation which must be offensive to any who reverence the house of God. The men and youths of rustic congregations generally remain outside in the pathway, gaping at those who go in till the last mo-ment and seize their hats and rush out of church before the amen to the benediction is said as if they desired to re-duce the time they devoted to the service to the least possible number of minutes. At Biddestone they have also the irreverent notion which I commented upon elsewhere that the sills of the church windows are designed for no better purpose than as receptacles for their hats, of which therefore, a little heap appears in each window.” An extract from an article written for The Bath Herald in 1878 about a visit to Biddestone Church by ‘The Church Rambler’. DRS

Letters By request, the return of that favourite “The Letters Page.” This months letters are still being written but next month you could have your say.

Have a rant about traffic through the village. Say what a fantastic job the Broadsheet Editorial Committee do!

Nothing offensive, libellous or illegal — but otherwise .

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Rosie’s Plant Sale

Despite bitterly cold weather and being surrounded by generators and trucks supporting the filming of a Christmas Candle, Rosie went ahead with her Mothering Sunday plant sale in aid of St Nicholas Church. The Friends of St Nicholas Church would like to express their gratitude to Rosie for this heroic effort which raised an amazing £200 .

Gardening Club Working in the Churchyard Biddestone Gardening Club has been directing their time and effort towards enhancing the churchyard at St Nicho-las. Those who visit the church will notice two deep borders emerging, running either side of the path which are in the process of being cultivated and planted. We hope these will provide all year round colour and pollen for insects. In addition we would like to add bird boxes and habitats for wildlife.

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 FRIDAY 12TH APRIL: LES MISERABLES THURSDAY 9TH MAY: LIFE OF PI THURSDAY 13TH JUNE: HITCHCOCK For full details of films and trailers go to www.moviola.org. 

Biddestone Moviola

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Copy date 2nd Sun in month delivered to any committee member or by email to broadsheet@pobox.com

Dates for your Diary

6 Apr Biddestone’s Got Talent Village Hall 19.00 for 19.30 12 Apr Moviola - Les Miserables Village Hall 19.00 for 19.30 17 Apr WI Meeting Guest Speaker Kenneth Warr Television Journalist 14.00 30 Apr Parish Council Open Meeting 19.30 10 May Malvern Spring Show Gardening Club 12 May Open Gardens Biddestone Manor 14.00 6 Jun Royal British Legion Annual Dinner Biddestone Arms 30 Jun Biddestone Art Exhibition 15/16 Jun Biddestone Open Gardens

St Nicholas Biddestone Come to our Coffee Morn-ing every Thursday 10.30 until 12.00

Editorial Committee broadsheet@pobox.com

Stewart Entwistle (Editor) Challows House 715887

Mary Mullens (Treasurer) Parker Farm Bungalow 714399

Derek & Lynn Thornhill 6 Cuttle Lane 712367 Judy Priest 2 Little Challows 713469

Di Webb Owl Cottage 715963

Church Services for April ST NICHOLAS, BIDDESTONE 7 Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. 14 Family Service 9.30 a.m. Evensong 6.00 p.m. 21 Family Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. 28 BENEFICE SERVICE (Yatton Keynell) 10.00 a.m Holy Communion for the Sick - every Wednesday at 9.15 am ST NICHOLAS, SLAUGHTERFORD 31 BCP Holy Communion 11.00 a.m.