NEWS ROUND


I get quite a bit of feed back from my little column from far and wide; it seems that the 'News' is read by more than just Wellesbourne! Many thanks to all who emailed in response to 'charity bags' and apologies for not replying to everyone. Also to 'Home Supplies' for having the stickers: they have a few left if you would like one. The general consensus seems to be, some clothes do get to a charity, but we are far better going direct to the charity shops and Air Ambulance tell me they will be opening soon in Stratford.

Halloween will be upon us in a few days and 'Trick or Treat' knocking at your door. Fairly harmless fun for most but if you would prefer no callers, stickers are available from ‘Home Supplies’ in the Precinct.

Are you a pedestrian? Well of course we all are, but some more so than others, especially if you are pushing a wheelchair, buggy or pram whatever, and this is where we drivers need to be a bit more considerate. Do YOU EVER park on the pavement? Now be honest, sometimes we think, well the road is narrow or there is a double yellow line and I shouldn't be on the road or it is just more convenient and ‘no one walks round here anyway’. HOWEVER, it is illegal, dangerous and generally thoughtless! How would we feel having to squeeze our wheelchair past a car or just walk into the road?

Pavements are for pedestrians and we must not compromise them by putting our cars in the way. So it is up to you, no one will remind you, definitely not the police, so let's all try and be a little more thoughtful as to where we leave our cars.

Thanks

Frankie Stuart, Chairman, Neighbourhood Watch 01789 841819
frankiestuart @virginmedia.com

Wellesbourne in Bloom

Life has been very hectic for Wellesbourne in Bloom with the announcement of yet another gold award, our third in a row and the preparations for the launch of our Community Spaces National Lottery funded “St Peter's Church Wildlife Project”, a project which has been 4 years in the making. We are so grateful to all our helpers as the six of us couldn't possibly achieve what we have without them.

Our launch for the wildlife project was a huge success. With displays of the project, crafts for the children such as clay beastie making, stain glass window making and not forgetting the “St Peter's Church” fridge magnets and badges that were made not only by the children, but were methodically coloured in by the adults as well, it was a huge success.


The new “eco-bench”

The ribbon was cut by Michael Twite of Michael Twite Landscapes who has been our lead professional and helped us so much with his expertise and rescuing in times of need. Over 100 people came to visit the project launch and the new eco bench was something that visitors were intrigued with. We have had so much help with the project from so many people: the Lions laid the wildflower turf over the eco bench and surrounds like “Carpet fitters R Us“.

The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust have been our project managers and we cannot thank Julie and Amanda enough for all the hard work they have put in. The new church gates have gone in and we have some more wildflowers and bulbs to go in and some of the plants that were planted at the Police Station are finding a new home at “Chedham's Yard“ as we have been invited to join the “Chedham's“ gardening group and are keen to help where we can.

All the summer bedding has to be removed and we start again with the winter bedding and planning for next year so it never really stops.

A heartfelt thank you to all those people who have helped us with our “Bloom” campaign and the church project.

Heather Sims, Chairman Wellesbourne in Bloom

St Peter’s Tiddlers

We really love this half term at preschool. The run up to Christmas is always very special and great fun.

However, before then there is plenty of opportunity to play and learn. As Autumn approaches we will be looking for changes outdoors and bringing things in from outside to help us learn about shapes and counting. We will be planting spring bulbs and beginning a new project all about birds. We have a nest box in our outdoor area which we hope will eventually contain a small camera to allow us to see what is happening inside.

We will be learning about Diwali, the festival of lights with opportunities to try new foods, dress up and make diva lamps from clay. We will also be learning how we can help others.

This half term we will be supporting children in need with a bake sale. Cooking and decorating cakes and biscuits at Tiddlers is good fun but it's even better when we can do it to raise money for those less fortunate than ourselves.

Fundraising has begun! Tiddlers are hosting a Smartys fashion show on Friday 9 December at 7.30 in the village hall. Tickets are £5 and include a glass of wine. Anyone who has attended one of these events before knows what good fun they are. Staff will be modelling again this year! Snap up some high street bargains, up to 70% off retail prices.

Tickets from Claire 01789 841091.

Tiddlers pre-school is tucked away in the Church Centre next to St Peter's. If you are interested in this happy village pre-school for your child you need to fill in a waiting list form. These are available from the notice board in the Church Centre or from Karen on 07876 764160. We can then send you a prospectus or you can visit the pre-school any weekday morning in term time after 9.30am and watch us learning through play.

Wellesbourne & District

I expect most of you have started to prepare for Christmas and getting plans in place, well the Lions are no different: it is one of our busiest times of the year.

Our first big event to look forward to is the switching on of the Wellesbourne Christmas lights, which will take place on Friday 25th November at 6.30pm. There will be a number of stalls and refreshments available in the village hall.

From Monday 5th December through to Friday 16th December we will be out and about around the district with Santa and the Christmas floats. A schedule giving details of Santa's whereabouts will be published in next month's news. Every day will be supported by a different local charity and each charity will receive a share of the money collected each evening, so please give generously.

The final pre-Christmas events is, ‘Carols in the Precinct’, which takes place at Wellesbourne Precinct on Monday 19th December. The event has become a fixture in the ‘Lions calendar’. More & more people are coming along each year to have a good old sing-a-long, so put it in your diaries.

Before the Christmas events, we will be holding our annual fun afternoon for the older residents in our community, at Kineton High School, on Saturday 5th November at 1.30pm. This is a free event for the over 60's and transport is available from around the district.

A couple of recent events to report on – First was the young people's disco, which took place on Friday 23rd September. There was a good turnout and all the kids seemed to have a really good time. Following this success we will be holding a second disco on Friday 28th October with others likely in the coming months.

Second was the raft race presentation night at the Wild Boar in Warwick. Anamazing £12,000 was presented to Graham Fulford from the Graham Fulford charitable trust, which raises awareness about prostate cancer and offers free testing sessions in the local area.

This was the sum raised from the annual raft race, which took place in June in partnership with Shakespeare Lions from Stratford. A special mention is given to ‘The Rocky Horror 6 Crew’, who are regular winners of the trophy for, ‘The raft that raised the most money’, as they surpassed previous records by raising over £3,500, not forgetting everybody else who participated. A big thank you goes out to everybody who took part, helped in the event, gave us their time or dipped into their pockets. Next year's event will take place on Sunday 17th June, just in time for the Olympics!!

Lion Andy Stokes

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