As temperatures drop to a more normal level, many local households will be regretting the passing
of our “Indian Summer”.

This is a time of struggle for many, families working out how to afford Christmas. Pensioners starting
to debate with themselves about ‘heating or eating’. At HEALS, we know all about these
conversations. They are happening daily in our Office in Malmesbury Town Hall.

As a local community social welfare charity, HEALS are here to help in any way that we can. We are
already the largest issuer of Foodbank vouchers. Our part time staff work long hours to help people
to sort out their debts, press landlords to do necessary repairs, help replace essential household
equipment, and help vulnerable people many with physical and mental challenges to get the support
they deserve. These demands are growing fast. We fear that need is going to accelerate very rapidly
in the New Year.

We have expanded our winter welfare programme to bring a little more festive cheer to those who
are struggling in addition to growing our Hardship Fund. Already the number of families on our
HEALS Pantomime trip is up 50%. So are the number of children being provided with a new toy and
Christmas goodies this year compared to last. The same pattern is emerging at the other end of the
age spectrum.

This is the sixth year of our Christmas Community Lunch. The number of diners have grown year on
year. This year, over 150 elderly people have been invited. The largest number ever. We also know
that for many, this is their main Christmas celebration and we will make it the best one possible!

None of this is possible without our army of volunteers, generous sponsors and donors who give at
every level. But we know we have to do more as we face up to the growing need in our community.

In response, HEALS has stepped up our work. In July, we launched our Community Frige and
Freezer to ensure that perfectly good supermarket food from the Co-op and Aldi did not go to
landfill but rather fed local people. For our Christmas Challenge, we found new sponsors to pledge
£2,000 which will be doubled by national funding to create a £4,000 war chest. The Big Give will use
this to double every donation made through them to HEALS for just one week from Tuesday 29 th
November to 6 th December. San the QR code to donate online.

You can help HEALS to help your neighbours this Winter by making a donation to HEALS during the
Big Give. Every £ of your generosity will make twice the impact for local people and their families.

Thank you

Donation Link same as QR code – https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900002O4oNFAAZ

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH MINCHINHAMPTON GL6 9BP

FRI 27TH MAY
Thomas Hardy : Wessex Love Songs
James Girling (guitar) and Lotte Betts-Dean (soprano) performing a repertoire from the long-established English tradition of music for the voice and guitar/lute by John Dowland, Henry Purcell and Cecil Sharp interspersed between works by Gerald Finzi, Robin Milford, Arnold Bax, Arthur Keegan-Bole, Benjamin Britten, Lennox Berkeley, Imogen Holst, Kerry Andrew, Henry Handel Richardson, Betty Roe and Ivor Gurney.

6:30pm (there will be a pre-concert talk at 6pm) £10-£20 

SAT 28TH MAY
Music From The Cotswolds
The English Chamber Orchestra (strings) directed by Stephanie Gonley and Patrick Hawes with Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans (harp) performing works by Herbert Howells, Gustav Mahler, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Patrick Hawes.

6:30pm (there will be a pre-concert talk at 6pm) £10-£35.

There are a limited number of Parent/Grandparent and Child (child goes free) tickets available.

musicincountrychurches.org.uk

We can’t wait to welcome people to the grand opening of Bennetts Farm Shop! We are so excited to make locally grown, raised and produced food available to people living, passing through or visiting  our much loved local area! We know our grass-fed beef has so many environmental and health benefits compared to many supermarket equivalents and can’t wait to see what people think of it. We’re also proud to be able to support other artisanal food and drinks producers, giving them an outlet for their produce.

Bennetts Farm Shop is located just outside the village of Leighterton near Tetbury, Gloucestershire at the postcode GL8 8UP. Search hires.durations.roof on what3words for the location.

The Grand Opening will take place on Saturday the 26th of March from 1pm to 5pm, is free to attend and journalists are very welcome as well as the general public! Follow Bennetts Farm on Facebook and Instagram for updates from the farmyard and more information on the other food and drink available at the shop.

We are opening our door once again for our annual Christmas Open Day, giving you the opportunity to step inside the tasty world of Tracklements.

On Saturday 4th of December from 9.30am – 1pm we invite you to bring your friends and family to our factory near Malmesbury, where you can experience the transformation of the finest ingredients into our favouite sauces, chutneys, jellies and mustards.

There will be factory tours, festive nibbles and it’s a great oppertunity to do some Christmas shopping.

Free of charge and no need to book. Visit the website www.tracklements.co.uk for our address. We look forward to seeing you there!

As part of their commitment to being environmentally friendly, Wiltshire condiment maker, Tracklements, is appealing to the local community to donate their unwanted medlar fruit this autumn. Tracklements transforms medlars, which would otherwise go to waste, into scrumptious Aromatic Medlar Jelly and donates 50p from the sale of each jar towards helping our bees.

25p from the sale of every jar is dedicated to purchasing bee-friendly medlar trees which are not only noted for their beautiful blossom but their ability to attract the nation’s much-loved buzzing insects when other blossom has faded. Another 25p from each jar will be donated to British Beekeepers Association, a charity committed to promoting the importance of the great British honeybee.

In the last year alone, the project raised nearly £1,000 towards helping the British bee and there are now 138 beautiful medlar trees planted across Britain. 

If you have any medlars you won’t be using, give yourself a buzzy boost and give British bees a helping hand in the process. All you need to do is drop them off at Tracklements (SN16 0RD) from October 1st until November 29^th.  For full details on the project and on how to win a tree, visit www.tracklements.co.uk.

If you’re short of medlars to donate, you can still support the project by purchasing the sweet, fruity jelly when it’s made in November, just in time for an autumnal cheeseboard or warming winter roasts which it partners perfectly. You’ll have a goodwill glow after eating it too!

When:

• Saturday 26th June 2021 10am – 4pm
• Sunday 27th June  2021  12pm – 4pm
  
  

Come along to see the revised plans for the new front extension of the Village Hall. There are lots of things happening:

• See an exhibition of Wildlife photography by Nick Holland
• See a display of photos of Village Hall events over the years.
• Walk around the new Community Orchard and find out about the Sustainable Sherston Group.
• Make a donation of £25 or more, to buy a butterfly (painted on silk) and have your name put on it.
  These will hang in the new entrance lobby.

To say thank you, the Village Hall committee will be offering free refreshments, to be served outside on the field.
Bring a picnic and enjoy this lovely space.
______________________________________________________________

Posted by Sherston Village Hall Committee.

In spite of all the optimism of covid vaccinations we remain in lockdown and we long to meet friends and family. We need all the support and companionship we can get. So look no further than Malmesbury and District u3a. If you are retired or semi retired and enjoy meeting people while learning something new then there are around 40 different interest groups to tempt you. Even though at the moment groups cannot meet in person some groups do meet online. 
What there is for all 400 members to enjoy are talks on Zoom now planned right through to April. These have regularly brought the community together allowing members to have a brief chat before the talks, cup of coffee in hand, in their own homes.
At u3a we maintain a sense of togetherness and community when ordinary social actvity is so stringently curtailed. 

Contact the membership secretary, Elaine Sharpe 01666 823568, become a member and enjoy the general talks. Then explore all the opportunities and get involved as soon as the present covid restrictions allow. In normal times u3a meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at Malmesbury town hall from 10 – 11.45 for tea/coffee a chat and to listen to a monthly speaker. You can find more information on our website www.malmesburyu3a.org.uk. 

February 25th. Ritual and Belief during the time of Stonehenge
John Hammond

March 11th. The Cleveland Connection: revisiting the Intriguing Story of Malmesbury’s Oilmen 
Sue Poolman

March 25th. Poetry, Feminism and Creativity 
Lesley Saunders (in conversation with Sue Hammond)

April 8th. Malmesbury in the news from the 1830s
Susan Mockler

April 22nd. The Work of Marie Curie 
Riona Houghton

This autumn, Malmesbury-based Tracklements, the award-winning condiment-maker, is appealing for locals to donate their unwanted medlar fruit which may otherwise go to waste – give yourself  a buzzy boost and give British bees a helping hand in the process!

Tracklements will transform all medlar fruit donated into scrumptious Aromatic Medlar Jelly (sensational with roast meats or a good, strong Cheddar!). Available nationwide, 25p from the sale of every jar is dedicated to purchasing bee-friendly medlar trees which are not only noted for their beautiful blossom but their ability to attract the nation’s much-loved buzzing insects. Another 25p from each jar will be donated Friends of the Earth, an International environmental charity who help protect the planet and are currently campaigning to save the bee.

If you have any medlars you won’t be using and you would like to donate them to help save the bees, all you need to do is drop them off at Tracklements (SN16 0RD) from now until 21^st November.  For full details on the project and on how to win a tree, visit www.tracklements.co.uk.

Due to the current circumstances we are putting off

the event until later in the year……

HAVE YOU EVER………………?

Danced in the Village Hall……….?

Seen a play or concert in the Village Hall……….?

Attended a meeting in the Village Hall……….?

Taken your children to a party or Craft Club or Guides in the Village Hall……….?

Joined in an exercise class in the Village Hall……….?

Played badminton, bowls or whist in the Village Hall……….?

Please come to The Village Hall on April 4^th to support “The Butterfly Fund “– set up to raise money to improve Our very much loved and utilised meeting place, right in the heart of Our Vibrant Village of Sherston.

For donations Bank details are  – Lloyds Bank 30 12 04     01406463

Thank you 

Over the course of the last year, Craig Henry has lost the ability to walk, been addicted to opiate pain killers, had spinal surgery, suffered depression and spent 34 nights living inside a hospital. Craig, who is from Sherston, has experienced a journey through public and private healthcare systems and has noted it all down in a new book.

What started as a twinge in his leg, turned into paralysing him and confining Henry to a hospital bed. The world inside the plain walls of healthcare institutions are a bizarre one, from patients smoking inside the ward to people being told they have days left to live in an amplified fishbowl of pain, confusion and fear. The Cared For gives an insight into the NHS and private healthcare systems from the perspective of the hospital bed and through a patient’s vision.

Whilst recovering from his spinal operation Craig began writing his book at home in Sherston. Having witnessed the mounting pressure on the NHS, he wanted the story to do something positive. In this, he chose to donate 50% of proceeds of the book to the hospital ward that took such excellent care of him in a hope that the money can help future patient care in that hospital.

‘The Cared For is a tale of hope in an all hating world.’

The book is available to buy from Amazon, Link Below.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cared-Craig-
Henry/dp/1089490674/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BLPL0UZKPUQD&keywords=the+cared+for+by+craig+henry
&qid=1573820330&sprefix=the+cared+for%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-1

Did you know that there is an excellent meeting place for businesses right in the heart of Our Village?
After the successful kitchen makeover, The Village Small Hall has been decorated and now has new flooring –
It can accommodate 40 seated comfortably.
With the benefit of the kitchen and cloakroom facilities next door it is the perfect venue to hold meetings or seminars, with an hourly
rate of only £8.
Contact Tony Weedon on 01666 841 377 for more details

We are excited to announce that planning has now been submitted for the new Sherston Pre-school.

You will be aware of the North Legacy announced in June 2016. Some of this has already been apportioned to the already completed playground scheme (See Cliffhanger April 2018). Following a bid process including a presentation at an open meeting of the parish council, we have been lucky enough to have been awarded £140K. We have been fundraising for the remaining projected costs and are excited to say, that whilst our fundraising is still ongoing, we are at a point where we can now proceed with this project.

The building will be owned by the Parish Council and we are excited to announce that it will be run by Pumpkins nursery, who have a track record of outstanding Ofsted ratings and a wealth of experience from their 3 existing provisions in Badminton and Tormarton and Acton Turville.

The Pre-school is expected to offer the village:

• A purpose built facility offering early years education for children of Pre-school age, from 2-5 years. Hours flexible from 8am-6pm to accommodate the working parent.
• Wrap-around care service for school aged children from Sherston C of E Primary School, including breakfast and after school care
• A Pre-school feeder provision for Sherston C of E primary school
• An additional space for the various Scout organisations to utilise when the provision is not in use, such as the evenings.

A vast amount of research has been completed on the possible locations for the Pre-school since we started working on the project nearly 3 years ago. Both existing buildings and possible land for a build around the village were considered. In conjunction with the Parish Council and the Scout Association, the group identified the location next to the Scout Hut on the recreation ground. We feel excited about what this location has to offer – proximity to the school, green space, and the heart of the village.

There will be no change to the new play equipment, but it is likely that we will need to re-locate the older rope climbing frame if planning permission is achieved – the cost of this is included in our budget. We are including provision for fencing to secure the hardstanding area outside the Pre-school from the green itself as a safety precaution due to the potential for cars to be turning in this space.

From a shortlist of three, we have awarded the design and build to a specialist company – TG Escapes. This company has a wealth of experience in educational buildings, and through them we have now submitted a planning application for a wooden, eco-style build with an enclosed play area. It will tap into existing services from the Scout hut, which will keep build costs down.

We are hoping to be up and running ready for an opening date of September 2019.

If you have further questions about this project, would like to pledge support or even make a donation to this project we would love to hear from you:

Contact:         sherstonpreschool@gmail.com

facebook page: “New Sherston Preschool”

www.facebook.com/people/New-Sherston-Preschool/100014274258655

For Pre-school or wrap-around care based queries please contact Amanda Wallis at Pumpkins:             www.pumpkinsnursery.co.uk

Planning Reference number: 19/01692/FUL

What’s on has been updated for Jan 2019!

Some highlights are:

• 1016 Pancake Eating Competition
• Sue’s Strolls
• Art Exhibition at Shear Class Salon
• Beaufort team chase

For more details see What’s on section.