December 2009 - West Ashton Village

The
West Ashton
Magazine
Issue 25
December 2009
Bratton Road in the snow earlier this year
Photo Paul Workman
Keeping you up-to-date in West Ashton,
Rood Ashton, East Town and Dunge
www.westashton.org.uk
The West
Page 2
Ashton Magazine
he West Ashton Magazine is published quarterly by the West Ashton Parish
Council. WAPC has devolved full authority for the magazine to an independent
volunteer Editorial Group formed for the sole purpose of producing this magazine.
The intention is to inform and entertain the residents of West Ashton. Views expressed
are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Parish Council or
the Editorial Group.
T
The magazine is distributed free of charge to all residents of West Ashton village. The
Editors warmly invite you to submit reports, articles and photographs relating to past or
future village issues and events, or any subject that may be of interest to the readership.
We prefer typed or electronic material. All photos will be returned.
We want the content of the magazine to be primarily editorial, but we will include small
advertisements for local businesses based in West Ashton.
Editors & Production Team
Jo Watkins 30c Bratton Road, West Ashton, Trowbridge, BA14 6AZ
Tel: 01225 753196 email: [email protected]
Paul Workman 33, Bratton Road, West Ashton, Trowbridge, Wilts. BA14 6AZ
Tel: 01225 766998 email: [email protected]
Produced by Peter Hughes
Printed by Mike Stainer
ISSN No.: 1742-6685
01225 765782
01225 760982
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 3
Editorial
he magazine is generating quite a
bit of interest in the history of the
village, and we're pleased to be
receiving even more old photos and stories
of what life was like in those times. You
may like to know that Wiltshire and
Swindon History Centre now take our
magazine, so we are logged for future
Wiltshire folk to research and enjoy. It is
also worth reminding readers that the
magazine is included on the village
website, the address of which is on the
front cover. Sadly, thieves broke into the
church and village hall, causing damage
and stealing property, so try and keep an
eye on your neighbour's property,
especially if they are going away over the
T
Christmas period. Although the weather
has been a mixed bag this year, community
events are on the up and up. There is a
mixture of activities to suit most people in
the Village Hall, a grand opening of new
classrooms at the school, and even a trip to
the Albert Hall organised through the
church. In this edition, to celebrate our
sixth birthday we're holding a competition,
and you'll also be reading an article which
includes a baby called Geezer. A Merry
Christmas to you all from the magazine
team, to our contributors for keeping us
informed, and last but not least, our
delivery team for delivering us to you,
Jo and Paul
Lost!
I am a black and white, extremely friendly, little kitten who has lost my way home!
Anne and Little Nan (10 Orchard Close) are looking after me but would dearly love to
see my family again. 01225 754322
Thanks
53 guests attended St. John's excellent Harvest Supper. Ty Butler from Compassion (child
sponsorship charity) gave a very interesting and informative talk. The auction was, as
usual, entertaining and hilarious, and a total of £410.50 was raised and donated to
Compassion. Many thanks to everyone who supported this event.
Sylvia Mills.
A CHRISTMAS CONCERT
in
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, WEST ASHTON
by
CANTAMUS
ON
TUESDAY 8TH DECEMBER 2009 AT 7.30pm
TICKETS £4 FROM JO WATKINS 01225 753196
TO INCLUDE A GLASS OF MULLED WINE AND MINCE PIE
CHILDREN UNDER 15 FREE
PROCEEDS TOWARDS CHURCH ORGAN FUND
Page 4
The West
Ashton Magazine
Letters
My niece is one of the children who are
fortunate to attend West Ashton Church of
England School. On several occasions I
have observed Mr Barber, quietly amongst
the children, chatting to them and their
parents. At other times I see him running
along the football pitch encouraging the
school team and on the first day of term
getting the children going with jumping
exercises.
Highlights of the year have included the
roaming Carol service, complete with
William Cousins as Joseph
donkey, around the village and the end of
term performance of 'Joseph' Every single
child and adult who participated or helped
in the production deserve a huge round of
applause, it was the best performance we
have seen in a long time.
So thanks are due to Mr Jonathan Barber
and the great team behind him. His
leadership may well be remembered by
those attending the school well into their
adult life.
Julie Edwards, Rood Ashton.
Photo Jo Watkins
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 5
WAM Christmas Competition
What Is It?
This photo was taken in China by
Geoff Watkins. Answers please on a
postcard to either Jo or Paul by
January 10th. We're pushing the boat
out this time, as first out of the hat will
receive a £5 garden centre voucher.
The lucky winner and correct answer
will appear in the March edition.
While we're on the subject of mystery
objects, keen gardener and flower
arranger, Holly Westlake of Bratton
Road, identified the wild flower
growing in Sylvia Griffith's garden as
phacelia. Apparently it is great for
attracting hoverflies and bees into the
garden, but alas, its name reminds
Holly more of a skin complaint than a
flower.
Hi Jinks at Hallow’een
Lucy Cadwallader
(centre), Bratton
Road, and friends go
Trick or Treating
Photo Jo Watkins
Page 6
The West
Ashton Magazine
Parish Council Matters
1. Planning Applications.
New applications remain thin on the
ground with residents improving their
homes rather than searching for new ones.
One can never say never, but it does
appear that the opportunity for further
development in the village is very limited
which will lead me onto the Core Strategy
for this area in Wiltshire which I will refer
to later.
large housing development may be
proposed for the Yarnbrook area, but if that
is true, some major work on the A350
through West Ashton and Yarnbrook will
be essential and that may be the catalyst
for such work to be carried out. The
detailed information will be available in
November, which will enable me to give
you a more detailed report in the next issue
of the magazine.
The Charles Church Development in
nearing conclusion with only three homes
remaining to be sold and, with the market
improving by the time you read this I
would not be surprised if all the houses
were sold. From the silly house prices we
saw a few years ago, these homes seem to
be very good value for money. I am
optimistic therefore, that the development
of the recreational area to the side and rear
of the estate will be completed next year,
and around the same time the road
improvements which will include the
movement of the speed limit further up the
road towards Bratton and traffic calming
measures will be in place as well. If we
can also fund and obtain the speed
indicators (SIDS) as well, that will be a
good result for the Parish Council.
2. Neighbourhood policing.
I referred earlier to the Core Strategy
which is the local development plan
primarily for the next 6-7 years, but it also
goes through to the year 2026 when a
completely new one is generated. Much of
course can and will change over the longer
term, but in the short term I think we can
anticipate that further development will
take place from Paxcroft Mead swinging
round to West Ashton Road, and I will not
be surprised if plans are recommended for
the left on the West Ashton Road from the
Trowbridge direction, but the land on the
right may be protected as it serves as a
flood plain. I have also heard that a very
The new rural tasking group seems to be
settling down well and it is good to see a
greater police presence in the Village. If
you see one of the officers sitting in their
car outside the village hall, please do not
be reluctant to speak to him or her for they
are keen to be known in the village by the
people who live there.
3. New Faces.
We have a new Parish Councillor, and I am
most grateful to Margaret Workman for
volunteering to take up the vacant position.
Margaret and her husband Paul have lived
in the village for just a few years but have
taken an active role in many of the village
activities. Paul, as well as being co editor
of the magazine, is also a working artist
and has become involved through, and
with, Ron Pybus in the Village Road Art
Show.
The other new face is our new County
Councillor Francis Morland, who was
successful as an Independent candidate in
the recent election for our ward which
consists of Yarnbrook, North Bradley,
Southwick, Hilperton and ourselves. Some
of us have known him for many years and
he certainly puts his heart into his council
work and I am sure he will be a very good
representative for us.
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 7
Parish Council Matters (continued)
4. Mobile Library Service.
For many years now we have been blessed
with the mobile library service
which is used when the library visits West
Ashton every other Friday, and parks up in
Orchard Close at 1-40pm. It is pleasing
that the service is well used, for as we
know these days, if you don't use it, you
will lose it. However I have received an
enquiry from someone at the top of the
village who would like to know if the
library could also park in that vicinity as
well. Our Clerk Carol Hackett has spoken
to the Library Service who say they use a
yardstick of 5 people wanting the service
before they would consider such a request,
so now it is very much up to you. I for one
would use a top of the village service, so if
you would also like to have this service,
please let either Carol know on 760372, or
me on 755866 as soon as you can after
receiving the magazine.
5. Winter, Christmas, New Year and all
that.
With the dark nights with us, please keep
your eye out for your neighbours to make
sure they are safe and sound. Check if you
have any shrubs overhanging the footpaths
that need a haircut, for walking into bushes
when it is dark, cold and mucky can easily
cause someone to take a tumble. There will
of course be events on in the church, the
school and the village hall, so please keep
your eye out for those and support any that
you can, for the good folk who work so
hard in organising events in the village,
rely on you for your support. The members
of the Parish Council would like to wish
everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy,
Healthy and prosperous New Year, and
would like to thank on your behalf all
those involved with the production of our
wonderful magazine, the quality of which I
know is the envy of many parishes in the
area.
Peter Westlake, Chairman, West Ashton
Parish Council
Traffic congestion in Bratton Road caused
by a large meeting held in the Village Hall.
Photo Paul Workman
The West
Page 8
Ashton Magazine
John Wesley at Freshford
ne of my favourite places to walk (and
for a pub lunch!) is the village of
Freshford, just over the border in
Somerset. As well as being a very pretty place,
I have always found it easy to feel God's
presence and pray there. A while ago, I think I
discovered why: John Wesley (founder of the
Methodist movement) and his brother Charles
(who wrote over 6000 hymns) both made
several visits there. On one occasion, John was
preaching out of doors (as he usually did) near
to Freshford Church. A rich local landowner,
who didn't approve of him, paid to have the
church bells rung to try and drown him out.
returning to England in 1738, he had an
experience of God at a meeting in Aldersgate
Street in London. Some call this his
'conversion' but I believe it was an experience
of the Holy Spirit (in his own words, 'I felt my
heart strangely warmed'.) Anyway, it radically
changed his life and he began preaching in the
open air all over the country. With his brother
Charles and a few others, he began a movement
which even secular historians say completely
changed this nation.
However, it was labour lost, for my voice
prevailed, and the people heard me distinctly.
Nay, a person extremely deaf, who had been
unable to hear a sermon for years, told his
neighbours with great joy, 'That he had heard
and understood all, from beginning to end.'
I am as strong at eighty-one as I was at twentyone; but abundantly more healthy, being a
stranger to the headache, toothache, and other
bodily disorders which attended me in my
youth…It is now eleven years since I have felt
any such thing as weariness… I dare not impute
this to natural causes: it is the will of God.
O
I feel that where godly men, full of the Holy
Spirit, walk, it leaves a residue and later
generations can pick it up (like Elisha picking
up Elijah's mantle). So every time I walk
through Freshford, where I know John Wesley
walked, I pray that any of his anointing that is
still there in the ground will come onto me.
Here are three things I admire about John
Wesley that I would love to emulate.
1) His life was built on the Word of God. He
was a 'preacher's kid' as were both his parents.
His father was an Anglican Vicar (Samuel
Wesley, Rector of Epworth, Lincs.) as his father
before him had been. His mother Susanna was
also a vicar's daughter and an amazing woman for one thing, she had 19 children! So John
couldn't help being seeped in the Bible from the
word go, like the wise man in Jesus' parable
who built his life on the rock.
2) The Holy Spirit changed his life. John was
ordained, like his father, and went to America
to preach the gospel, but didn't succeed. On
3) He got better as he got older. This is what
Wesley wrote as an old man:
In over 50 years of ministry, he is estimated to
have ridden 250,000 miles and preached 40,000
sermons, often to 1000s of people at a time. All
over the country, they started churches (called
societies) and small groups (called classes)
which transformed 18th Century Britain
spiritually, morally and socially.
Allan Coutts
Acknowledgement: quotations are from Wesley's
Journal quoted in 'Freshford. The History of a
Somerset Village' by Alan Dodge (Freshford
Publications 2000).
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 9
The Big Sing 2009 (BBC Songs of Praise)
Photo: Geoff Watkins
n the sunny afternoon of Sunday,
13 September a party of combined
congregation and friends from the
Churches St John's and St Thomas'; left
Trowbridge heading for the spectacular
Albert Hall, London for an evening's
hearty singing of many a well known
hymn. An air of anticipation and
eagerness filled the coach, even when an
accident on the motorway made our visit
10 minutes late of the start time of 6.00
pm, the sense of occasion over took any
misgiving. Three editions were recorded a Songs of Praise being shown on Sunday,
25 October and the Christmas Special
being televised Sunday, 13 December.
Extracts will also be shown in June when
the "Big Sing Extra" will be screened.
The recordings featured four of the nation's
finest choirs and the Big Sing Orchestra
and conductor were amazing. Soloists on
the night were: Bryn Terfel (famous Welsh
bass baritone); Ruby Turner (Soul and
O
Gospel Singer); Jodie Prenger (winner of
2008 BBC talent show as Nancy in
Oliver); Amy Nuttall (from ITV
Emmerdale) and The Soldiers (Three
serving soldiers who will be returning for a
further tour of duty in Afghanistan, singing
for the Army Benevolent Fund). These
boys, although obviously very nervous of
the occasion, received a standing ovation
for their singing and a sincere sense of
emotion filled the Albert Hall. The
infamous Albert Hall organ was a joy to be
heard. Aled Jones superbly presented and
sang during the night's proceedings. To
experience the atmosphere of the great
building, combined with the participation
of wonderful singing, seemed to capture
the evening as a sense of joyous worship.
No one wanted to leave and were all
prepared to do it all over again - well
maybe next year!
Jean Robertson
Page 10
The West
Ashton Magazine
West Ashton School
ix weeks into the new school year
and so much to tell you about:
Harvest Festival; Extension of the
Offices; Clubs; the formation of our
School Orchestra and visits to Trowbridge
Library. To begin with however, I would
like to give you an insight into some of the
managerial aspects of school life. As I am
sure you are aware, schools are statutorily
obliged to be inspected by the Office for
Standards in Education, Children's
Services and Skills - or OfSTED for short.
From September this year, the inspection
process has, from OfSTED's point of view
at least, become more rigorous than ever
before. Of course, there is a real need for
schools to be accountable for the work
they do as this helps to raise standards.
However, I personally feel that OfSTED
puts too much pressure on a system that is
already struggling to cope with the ever
increasing demands of the other
government department that has
responsibility for state education - The
Department of Children, Schools and
Families (DCSF). That aside, where the
inspection process has got it right, is in its
expectation for schools to demonstrate that
they have robust procedures in place for
safeguarding the children in their care. In
practice, this means that schools have to
have written policies in place that protect
children and keep them as safe as possible.
As a school, we are fully committed to this
aspect of our work and we are vigilant to
the signs that may indicate that children
could potentially be in danger. We would
ask you to be vigilant with us, and if you
can think of any ways in which children's
safety can be improved, please don't
hesitate to let us know.
S
On a totally different note, Harvest
Festival was a triumph and the children
and their families as always were
extremely generous, donating produce that
helped to raise around £400.00. The choir
excelled themselves and sang a mixture of
modern and traditional hymns which gave
real meaning to the service.
It occurred to me at the Harvest service
how much the local community like to
hear the children sing. This was also
apparent when we opened the new
classrooms last year. Because of this, we
are trying to put on a community event on
Friday 23rd April 2010 - St George's Day,
when we are intending to invite villagers
into our school to hear the choir sing, the
orchestra play and quite possibly view
some art and watch some dancing and
have a community tea party. We also
intend to have a separate leaver's
production for villagers. Details of this
will probably be available after Easter. We
do hope as many of you as possible will be
able to attend. In order to keep you fully
informed, we will continue to display all
school activities on the school notice
board.
You will be pleased to know that we have
nearly completed our new office block and
it will finish the external refurbishment of
the building. It will provide extra office
space for myself and my admin officer as
well as a larger staffroom for my hard
working colleagues. I know for some of
our neighbours this latest work has caused
you some inconvenience and I would like
to offer my apologies for this, but I know
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 11
West Ashton School (continued)
you will all agree with me that it was
work that desperately needed doing!
This term, we have started running a
number of new clubs for the children to
attend after school. These include
gardening, art, dance, cheerleading, sports
and golf. We are also able to offer parents
the opportunity to bring their children to
school from 07.45am. All this activity
provides extra opportunities for our
children and hopefully has the spin-off
benefit of reducing the amount of traffic
coming to school at one time. I would also
like to offer a 'club' to the village if it
would be of any use to you. Namely, I
would like to open up our computer suite
for general use. I would be more than
happy to teach the basics of producing
Microsoft Office documents, web
browsing and emailing. If you are
interested in this, could you please let
either the school know, or Jo Watkins.
Of great excitement have been two new
initiatives for this year. Firstly, thanks to
the help of Mrs Claire King, a professional
musician and parent at our school, we are
able to run a school orchestra for any child
that is interested. This is a fabulous thing
to offer as it brings music alive for our
children. Secondly, we are able to take
children down to Trowbridge Library so
they can experience how a real library
works, a skill that I feel is diminishing fast
because of the internet. In both instances,
you only have to look at the children's
faces to see how much joy they are getting
from these activities.
That's all for this edition, but as always, if
you have any suggestions or would like to
raise any other issues with the school, you
know where to find us.
School Holidays
Holidays
21st December 2009 - 4th January 2010
15th February 2010 - 19th February 2010
2nd April 2010 - 16th April 2010
3rd May 2010 (Bank Holiday)
31st May 2010 - 4th June 2010
26th July 2010 - 1st September 2010
Teacher Training Days (School Closed to
Children)
22nd February 2010
22nd and 23rd July 2010
Contact Details
Jonathan Barber
Headteacher West Ashton Church of
England (VA) Primary School
Contactable on 01225 754354
Or email [email protected] or
[email protected]
Page 12
The West
Ashton Magazine
Ladies at Leisure
The Ladybirds Skittles Team
continued: he Ladybirds was formed in 1971
by myself and Lou Saxby. The
original members were myself
(Captain), Lou (Vice Captain), Stella
Woods (Secretary and Treasurer), Hilda
Griffin, Val Harris, Pat Norgrove and
Edna Morse. I can't remember the other
players - a long time ago now, but I do
remember that we were never very good
and usually ended up in the bottom
division. I left in about 1978 (I think) and
Edna took over as Captain, so well done
to her for doing such a great job for all
these years. It is certainly true that we
didn't want to be called West Ashton B,
so after a great deal of argument, The
A cup dated 1934, presented to Gladys
Ladybirds was decided upon.
Drewett, Edna's mother, captain of West
Ashton's first ladies skittle team
Karen Oatley,Southwick.
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Back to Church Sunday
e had a good
congregation at the St.
John's Harvest Family
Service, and it was a pleasure to
see people from Trowbridge and
other areas. The service was
lovely, the flowers in the church
were beautiful, and it was nice to
have children who joined in with
us. Alan, Jean, David and I wore
our 'Welcome' T-shirts. After the
service, tea, coffee and cakes
were served, and it was pleasant
chatting to people we don't often
see. I hope they will come again,
Rev Allan Coutts flanked by churchwardens David
they will be very welcome.
Ovens and Sylvia Mills.
Sylvia Mills.
Left front - Jean Robertson, Secretary St. John's PCC.
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The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 13
More Ladies at Leisure - WI News
West Ashton W.I.
nce again the W.I. can report a
number of very enjoyable
meetings, hearing about or doing
things that we would not or indeed could
not do at home. In August we planned a
picture quiz around the village followed by
a "Pudding Club" supper; for the
uninitiated this is supper of a large variety
of puddings, usually of the traditional type.
We had sticky toffee pudding, rice
pudding, apple tart and real custard, trifle,
syrup sponge, and apple suet pudding to
name but a few. It has to be said that diets
were thrown out of the window and we all
tucked in with gusto. The walking picture
quiz which was to have preceded this had
to be cancelled due to the rain, so no
mitigating circumstances could be
claimed!
O
We also held a breakfast meeting in the
village hall in September, ostensibly to
tempt in some new members. Sadly we
did not have too many takers, but the few
who joined us for a croissant and coffee I
hope enjoyed their visit and may come
along to a meeting in the future.
which we had read along the way. The
dinner cooked by the college students was
delicious and the play too was enjoyable.
The W.I. has bought a hot cupboard for the
kitchen in the village hall at a cost of some
£600. We are delighted to be able to
support the hall which provides the village
with some very entertaining evenings all
through the winter season.
Our annual Christmas Party usually has a
chosen dress code. We have had black and
white, purple dress and red hat from the
well-known poem about a lady of a certain
age! This year the suggested code will be
something "sparkly". So if you see us
heading for the village hall on December
16th we will all be in sparkling form!
Anyone who would like to join us is very
welcome, our meetings are held in the
village hall on the fourth Wednesday of
every month. Please give Margaret Moore
or myself a ring for further information.
Lis -766287, Margaret -767569.
Lis Mercer, joint president with Margaret
Moore.
The book club continues to meet once a
month and in October went to the college
for dinner and a visit to the Arc theatre to
see Under the Greenwood Tree; a book
West Ashton Wives
he new season started in September
with an enjoyable evening of
Wiltshire songs and poems with Mr.
Victor May. In October, Emma Harrington
from The Energy Saving Trust, showed
T
members ways of saving money and also
the environment. Do come and join us for
happy fellowship in the coming months.
Sylvia Preston
Page 14
The West
Ashton Magazine
Paul Pursey - Iron Man Challenger...
An article featured in an earlier edition about
Paul's preparation for the 70 Wild Miles
Glencoe event. This is what happened on the
day.
he weekend surrounding Saturday 6th
June saw Paul, Emma and Tom Pursey
take to the Highlands in Scotland. The
destination was Glencoe with its stunning
mountain landscape. Paul was there to compete
in the "70 Wild Miles" Triathlon which is
regarded as one of the toughest events of its
kind in Britain. The event is run to help fund
the children's charity "CLIC". Consisting of a
47-mile cycle ride, 10-mile canoe section and
13 mile half-marathon, this challenge is a
favourite with both professional and amateur
competitors alike. Paul's good friend Gordon
Gooch from Edinburgh has founded and
organised the event for 20 years and suggested
(after a few beers!) he give it a go. Paul duly
agreed and has spent the 3 months leading up to
the event in a rigorous training programme.
Paul said, " I started to get my general fitness
up by a month of intense cycling. I then bought
a kayak and practised twice a week, that was
hard on my arms shoulders and legs. I knew
that on the day I would have to do it and in a
good time, so technique was important. The
running was equally hard - it's so boring!"
T
The day of the event saw rain falling at the start
of the cycling. Paul said, "clothing was a major
headache. I opted for a lightweight jacket and it
paid off. After 30 minutes the sun came out and
I dried out quickly and helped by the fact that
on the downhill sections I was registering 60
miles an hour!" The canoe section was a major
safety concern for the organisers. The wind had
increased steadily through the morning with
foot high waves coming down the sea loch.
After a delay of an hour the conditions had
improved slightly, allowing the event to
continue.
The last event of the day consisted of a
gruelling 6.5-mile downhill run, turnaround,
and back up again! Paul said, "the down hill bit
sounded easy...wrong! By the time I reached the
turnaround point, my calf muscles had thought
I'd finished! Back up the twisty mountain
course seemed forever. In my mind, the finish
line was always around the next bend. That was
the toughest section for me. When I crossed the
line it felt great to finish, but I was exhausted.
From the 160 or so that started only a handful
had pulled out. It was a great day for a worthy
cause".
Although at the time of writing, the overall total
raised on the day for the charity "CLIC" had
not been tallied, Paul's total was £630.00. Many
thanks to all who donated in the form of
sponsorship. If you missed the sponsorship
form in the village hall it's still not too late!
You can call Paul on 01225 753997 and donate
to this worthwhile cause.
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 15
Larkrise Community Farm News
Photo Jo Watkins
Guinea fowl with three of her own chicks and two white 'fostered' chicks.
e have been so busy here, it is
difficult to know where to start.
We had a visit from Jack the
Gloucester Old Spot Boar, who paired up
with Babe our Gloucester Old Spot sow.
Babe was very troubled when Jack first
arrived, giving him the run around and
playing hard to get. However, they soon
settled down in the wallow of all places,
love blossomed, and it came to the point
that Jack never left her side. Alas, all good
things must come to an end, and Jack had
to go back to his owner. Hopefully we will
hear the patter of tiny trotters within the
next three months - I will keep you
informed. Sadly, we lost one of our
German micro pigs, Socks, who fell ill
with pneumonia last winter, and never
really recovered, so we felt enough was
enough and had to let him go. Welly his
sty mate now lives next door to Babe.
W
We also lost our admin lady Clare this
month (not the same way as Socks though
I am pleased to announce). No, Clare felt it
was time to move on, so we now welcome
Jenny Fritchley whom some of you might
know through Clarendon College, as Jenny
worked there for many years. We are now
lucky enough to have her here answering
the phone and greeting the many visitors
we have.
Wendy Self, Farm Manager.
Page 16
The West
Ashton Magazine
West Ashton Youth Club’s 4th Anniversary
Back row - Margaret Griffin, ?, Jean Beaven, Mary Shrapnel, ? Holland, Pat Lott, Peter Watts,
Edna Drewitt, Jim Chaldicot, John Morse, Gerald Griffin, Douglas Berrett, Vince ?, Max Perry.
Next row - June Oatley, Irene Wheeler, Phyllis Moore, ?, Marina Berrett, ?, Doreen Morse, ?, Iris
Derrick, Peter Morse, Lily Barnett, Brenda Bull, Hettie Pike, Daisy Barnett, ?, ?, Edith Corp,
James Rudd, ?, John Rogers,
Next row - Mrs Dennis Griffin, Mrs Shrapnel, Mrs Berrett, Mr Tom Corp, Miss Lydia Hallam,
headmistress, Rev Douglas and wife, Mr Gadd, Pop (Italian prisoner of war), Front row - ?,
Valerie Sutton, Eileen Griffin, ?, Peter Lott, Wilfred Griffin, Brian Sweetman
Does anyone know how 'Pop' acquired this nickname and why, and more to the point, does anyone
remember him?
Sylvia Mills remembers that those were the days when social evenings, concerts and a variety of
events were organised for children and young people in the Village Hall. If the village continues to
expand with more children coming to live in the village, she hopes that these events will once more
take place.
Flowers Farm
This photo, courtesy of Richard
Oatley, brother of Barbara and
June, was taken in the early 1960s,
showing the old farm, which no
longer exists. Ashton Heights has
since been built on the site, with
Westholme, front left, and 'Flowers
Farm' bungalow on the right, now
no 22, then the home of the
Sweetman family.
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 17
La Vie Française
wenty years ago this September we set
off on holiday to visit friends who had
recently retired to the south west of
France. Little did we know that it would be the
start of our "vie Française". Most people buy a
picture or ornament as a momento of their
holiday but not the Heards … we came home
having signed the procuration to purchase a
derelict barn in the Gers! 'Mon dieu' many
people cried!
T
So started a renovation project which saw us
having to sue a rogue English builder through
the French courts which delayed the project for
some 2½ years. We finally finished the first
phase of the renovation in 1996 to the
amazement of the locals, and in 2005 saw
completion following the building of the
balcony.
These days we are fortunate enough to spend
longer periods of time there and have
wonderful neighbours and friends in the village,
as we do here in West Ashton. Over the years
family and friends have enjoyed the house as
well, the most recent being Chris and Margaret
Moore who we hope spent an enjoyable week
there in June.
So on the 19th September think of us as we
belatedly celebrate our silver wedding and 20
years of "la vie Française" with our friends in
France.
Neil and Roe Heard
Before and After photos
Page 18
The West
Ashton Magazine
West Ashton School, Memories from John Harris
was at West Ashton C of E school during
1942 and 1943, after attending two primary
schools in Bristol and one in Midsomer
Norton. These movements were started by a
German bomb in our backyard in Bristol in
November 1940. My father was a railwayman
and when he was moved to Westbury he bought
the cottage number 7 Bradley Road Yarnbrook.
I was 9 years old when I started at West Ashton
and I left to go to Trowbridge Boys' High
School five months before my eleventh
birthday. Despite the war it was a very happy
time for me, though no doubt quite different for
my parents. A nine-year-old lives in a narrow
world and has no knowledge of what is outside
his own boundaries. An example of what I
mean is the time when a group of us children
were walking from Yarnbrook to school one
morning and we saw an aircraft in the trees of
the orchard on the corner of the crossroads,
where Orchard Close is now. We noticed it but
did not have the curiosity to find out more
about it. I have only discovered quite recently
that the plane was a Whitley bomber, and that
fortunately none of the Canadian crew was
killed.
I
It was on that crossroads at the bottom of the
hill that Miss Hallam, our headmistress,
brought a group of us older children one
afternoon to stand by the entrance to Rood
Ashton Park to see Queen Mary (who was
staying in Bath) driven past on a visit to Rood
Ashton House. We duly cheered and probably
waved flags as she swept into the drive. We
were supposed to be waiting for her to return
but we must have been misbehaving because
Miss Hallam ticked us all off and took us back
to school. Although I think we all called her
"Miss" Hallam I wonder whether she was
actually "Mrs" Hallam. I seem to remember she
had a baby daughter with an unusual name; my
younger sister Eileen called the child "Geezer".
I do remember that soon after I had left West
Ashton school I went into Rood Ashton park
and played football with Doug Berrett and
Percy Doel near the school. Too near! I broke
the glass in the upper part of the bay window
behind the teacher's desk in the big room. I had
grown so used to calling my teachers in
Trowbridge "sir" that in my nervousness I
called Miss Hallam "sir" when she appeared.
Apart from the bomber in the trees there were
other signs of wartime. At West Ashton
crossroads a deep trench had been dug in the
grass verge of the corner by the orchard. The
excavated soil formed a bulwark in front of the
trench which was to provide cover for any
defending soldiers. There was a similar trench
at the Yarnbrook crossroads, diagonally
opposite the filling station. We had a daily
ritual of jumping over the trenches. Then one
day we arrived at school to find the park full of
British soldiers with army lorries and
camouflage netting. In our lunchtime some of
us went over to where there was a clump of tall
pine trees close to the vicarage garden. The
troops were under the trees brewing tea. They
gave me a mug of hot tea lavishly sweetened
with spoonfuls of condensed milk. They let me
hold a rifle and asked who my teacher was.
"Miss Hallam" I said innocently. "Well, ask
Miss Hallam if she would like to come over
here and see us". When I passed the message on
I did not understand why she was cross about it.
I also remember that on one occasion (or was it
more?) I had a lift in an army vehicle from
West Ashton to Yarnbrook. 'Autre temps, autre
moeurs!'
The school kept rabbits in a couple of hutches
at the back of the school and we took turns to
clean them out and were encouraged to bring
scraps like dandelion leaves and carrot tops for
them. They would eventually be prepared for
the pot to supplement the meat ration and their
fur used to make gloves. One day some rabbits
escaped from their hutch and I and some other
children were given leave to search for them in Rood Ashton park! There were no hedges or
fences then and we children were free to
wander in the park during lunchtime. Of course
we did not find any rabbits but we enjoyed a
few hours in the sunshine in the open air.
Hot lunches were delivered in tall steel
canisters though some children like me took
sandwiches. We had milk crates delivered too,
with one-third pint bottles for our free morning
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 19
West Ashton School, Memories from John Harris (cont.)
milk. The milk bottle tops were discs of
cardboard with a small disc in the middle which
could be pushed out to receive a straw. If you
pushed too hard or were unlucky the whole top
got pushed into the bottle and there was an
eruption of milk which could go anywhere. We
washed the bottles in basins in the porch that
led into the Big
Room. There was no running water in the
school and many times I had to fetch water
from the village pump across the road and
down the hill a little way, next to where the
Griffin family lived. One day I was on such an
errand, carrying a bucket, when the vicar's wife
appeared from the vicarage. "I've lost my cat"
she said, "have you seen him?" "No I haven't" I
said. This provoked a thunderous reply such as
Mrs Proudie would have made: "When you
speak to me you call me Madam!" I never
forgot that.
Physical activity was in the open air as we had
no hall. There would be rounders in the park or
PT (now PE) in the playground. We would be
lined up to do exercises. We boys, who all wore
short trousers, removed our shirts, and the girls
stripped to knickers and vests. No PE kit in
wartime. Occasionally we weeded the
headmistress's garden but we had our own
pieces of allotment just inside a field at the top
of "Big Hill" leading down to Yarnbrook. There
we grew salad vegetables, lettuce, onions,
radishes and carrots as I recall.
We had a weekly visit from the vicar for
"Vicar's Scripture" which now seems a mildly
blasphemous title for his lesson. He dictated to
us and for me it was really an exercise in taking
dictation as I did not understand a word of what
I was writing. There were also visits from the
library van when our stock of library books
would be removed and replaced by a fresh lot.
They were always hard-backed books with
leather spines and bound in a forbidding brown
or navy. Miss Hallam was very keen for us to
borrow books, which were kept on shelves in
wall-mounted cupboards at the back of the Big
Room. I always looked out for a new 'Just
William' book.
One day there was a ceremonial opening of
new swings and a seesaw near where the gate
from the school lane opened into the park.
There were grown-ups there whom I did not
know, together with Miss Hallam, while some
of us older children stood in the background. I
think we felt this playground equipment was for
the infants rather than us. We usually preferred
to play among some huge logs cut from an old
tree which had come
down half way down to the church. Large
pieces of bark would cover spaces between the
logs to form a den. Nearby was a huge horse
chestnut offering a plentiful supply of conkers
in season.
I remember Beryl Westley well, mentioned in a
previous issue of the magazine and Brenda Bull
with whom I once had a fight. She won when
she banged my head against the clothes pegs in
the porch. But I have forgiven her. I also
remember Yvonne Moore and her brother
Brian, the Griffin children, especially Gerald
and Margaret and Johnny. I sat next to Pat Lott
and we frequently giggled together.
One final comment. Somebody asked about the
plot of the school play "The King's Pocket
knife". I was amused to see the photo of the
cast in the last issue, as I played the king. The
plot was that the king loses his pocketknife and
gets all his court, soldiers and elves to hunt for
it, all without success. Finally the king falls
asleep and somebody (the Queen?) finds the
knife in his pocket where it was all the time.
My wife swears I was cast in character. We
performed the play on the lawn of the vicarage.
Happy days!
Footnote:- Perhaps the photo 'Church Party in
the School Playground c1942' which featured in
a previous edition, was in fact the ceremony of
the new swings and seesaw - eds.
The West
Page 20
Ashton Magazine
Ride & Stride 2009
THE WILTSHIRE HISTORIC
CHURCHES TRUST - 'RIDE AND
STRIDE 2009'
ur two veteran cyclists, Richard
Ovens and David Chatterton, set
off on Saturday September 12th on
a late summer's morning, sponsored by
friends and congregation. St. John's church
has always supported this event,
particularly as over the years the Trust has
made many generous grants when our
church has been confronted with expensive
repairs and maintenance. Our intrepid
cyclists managed, with some Gift Aid
donations, to raise over £500 to be shared
equally between St. Johns and the Historic
Churches Trust. Richard visited almost 30
churches, being dropped off at Salisbury
Cathedral, travelling through the Wylye
O
Valley and eventually ending up at West
Ashton. David visited 18 churches starting
at West Ashton, and finishing at
Westwood, and enjoyed hearing a little of
the history of each church and of the work
and fellowship of the various
congregations. The aim was to cycle to as
many churches as possible. A total of 10
cyclists 'reported in' to our church. Our
magnificent East Window was much
admired, sponsor forms were signed and
refreshments provided to our thirsty
travellers by the ladies of the parish. Many
thanks to David and Richard for all their
hard work - all in all a good and
remarkable day was had by all.
Sylvia Mills and David Ovens
(Churchwardens)
What A Load of Rubbish
ur fly tipper has been at it
again, polluting our lovely
countryside. A favourite spot
seems to be the grass verge in East
Town Lane. To report fly-tipping or
fly-posting call 01225 776655 or
0300 4560100. Alternatively log on
to www.wiltshire.gov.uk, and follow
the links to fly-tipping where you
can make a report. Enforcement
officers have successfully traced
back several fly-tips, resulting in the
items being removed at no cost to
the authority. This also includes flyposted notices and signs.
O
Jo Watkins.
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 21
The Lions Club of Trowbridge
joined Lions just over a year ago, having travelled
for many years in my job. I had long had a desire to
help put something back into the community and
had helped Jayne (my wife) in the past with various
charity events. I decided that the Lions offered me the
best opportunity, and would give me the opportunity to
make a difference.
The Lions Club of Trowbridge has at its heart the
intention to make the community it serves a better
place to live in, and does this with a variety of
programmes, concentrating most of its efforts on
helping people in our own community and especially
the following groups:
Families and in particular children. In the last year we
organised:* Holidays in the Club caravan sited by Brean Sands. 18
families benefit each year.
* Coach trips each year to Weymouth and other
attractions.
* A visit to Trowbridge Pantomime for 130 children +
families.
* A Food Voucher worth £20 is given to 100 families at
Christmas.
* We take our turn on the Soup Run, twice a month,
providing soup, sandwiches, a hot drink and the facility
for social contact.
* Fund and serve Christmas Dinner for the homeless
day centre.
* Have an annual collection of "tins" for distribution by
the Salvation Army as food parcels and to provide food
for Alabaré to provide hot meals at their centre in Duke
Street.
The Elderly and Disabled
* Each Lion looks after and organises outings to
Trowbridge shows, car drives with a fish and chip
supper, a trip on the canal.
* We have served annual dinners for charities, now
unfortunately closed so are looking for other disability
clubs we can help.
* We organise, cook, serve and provide entertainment
for the elderly in January.
* We organise and cook a BBQ for the Gateway Club in
July.
*Each month we make a donation to the Dorothy House
Home Carers Support Team in Trowbridge.
* We respond to a great number of very varied personal
appeals, and when we can't help we guide the
appealers to other local sources of help, nationally and
internationally.
I
We also donate to national and international projects,
some of which include 'Alert tags' for people with
allergies and dangerous/life threatening medical
conditions, and 'Message in a Bottle' scheme for elderly
people in their own homes.
This Christmas will be a busy time, out on the streets
with our Christmas float collecting from early
December and outside Tesco's on the run up to
Christmas. On 3rd December, I will be asking
customers at Asda to donate tins from their shopping
towards food parcels.
Internationally the Lions were founded in 1917, and
aim to rid the world of unnecessary blindness.
Trowbridge Lions ran a Pig Roast to this end and raised
over £400. We also award grants. Since 1968, the Lions
Clubs International Foundation has awarded more than
US$660 million to support Lions humanitarian projects
around the world.
Lions is an open society of men and women who
simply believe in helping others while having a lot of
fun. We do as a group what we cannot hope to achieve
on our own, to serve our fellow man, and to make the
world a better place. Our motto is simple, but says it all.
"We Serve". If you are thinking of joining us or would
like further information, please call me on 01225 762684
Graeme Dunn, Bratton Road
Page 22
The West
Ashton Magazine
Village Hall Report
VILLAGE HALL AIMS TO GO
GREENER.
but from July 2010 non-villagers will have an
increase of £1 per hour.
t the October Committee meeting it was
agreed that the hall should seek up to
£21,000 of funding from a variety of
sources to dramatically reduce our carbon
footprint. And additionally reduce our running
costs.
HALLMARK
There is a national scheme for Village Halls
called HALLMARK. We know that we are up
to standard (and in many cases, higher than the
standard, so we have applied for the hall and its
systems to be assessed. This will take place on
27th November 2009. It is not just the quality
of the hall, but the management and systems we
have in place to ensure that the hall is well
managed. The Hallmark scheme is similar to
the star rating for hotels, except that, in the long
term it will be a requirement to have Hallmark
to get grants. We are only being assessed for
the first 2 levels, but we know that we meet all
the criteria for the highest level - Hallmark 3.
Unfortunately the National Assessment system
for Hallmark 3 still has to be finalised by the
Village Hall's Association. We have offered to
be the first in the County to be assessed.
A
The proposal is to locate a series of
photovoltaic panels on the roof (They will not
be visible from either the field or the road) to
produce electricity both for our own needs in
the hall, and when we have excess to sell it
back to the National Grid.
We have already had an offer of a grant from
the National Lottery to cover the cost of an
environmental impact review, but we are
working closely with Southern Solar to produce
the grant applications for the outstanding
£21,000.
The Committee have agreed to spend up to
£5,000 from its own funds and several grant
applications have already been made for local
funds.
Not only will this provide us with a reduction
in our carbon footprint, which has increased
with the use of the hall by more and more
people and organisations, but we aim to use the
system and facilities to create environmental
training for local children in schools and adults
in the general community.
The hall has already been insulated to the
highest standards and we have an
environmental policy on display to which
everyone hiring the hall should adhere. If we
can get the grants in place the target is to have
the system up and running before the end of the
financial year.
NEW CHARGES
There is no change for villagers hiring the hall
EVENT SUCCESS
The last 2 events, the Italian Evening and the
Murder Mystery have both been booked up as
soon as the signs went up. We have been selling
out with the same speed that the Glastonbury
Festival for 2010 sold out, so if you want
tickets for any future events get your order in
NOW. A list of events for the next 12 months
has been circulated to every property and there
are a few copies available in the hall and it is
also displayed on the outside notice board.
Ron Pybus
Secretary to the Village Hall
West Ashton Village Hall 50 Club Winners
August - Carol Griffiths, Richard Covington,
Margaret Moore
September - Pauline Mair, Holly Westlake,
Clive Edwards
October - Sheila Jones, Dorothy Rogers, Lis
Mercer
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 23
Village Hall Activities
hen you walk in, soothing music
plays in the background, a burning
joss stick perfumes the air, and you
are surrounded by an aura of peace and
tranquility. 20 years ago, Angeline Nicholson
took up yoga to relax, to get away from the
pressures of everyday life, and was so
impressed with the impact it had on her, she
ended up a fully qualified member of the
British Wheel of Yoga for teachers. I always
assumed that yoga was either an interest for
young, fit, svelte, leotard-clad ladies able to
contort themselves into tortuous positions, as
well as a relic of the 'John Lennon/Maharishi'
swinging sixties era. You couldn't be further
from the truth. Yoga is suitable for all sizes and
all ages, in fact, one of Angeline's pupils is well
into her seventies. Preferring to consider herself
'steering' rather than teaching, she makes sure
she has sufficient knowledge of her pupil's state
of health before starting her classes with the
crucial breathing exercises which immediately
improves posture, and before undertaking the
various positions designed to keep the body
supple and strong. Yoga is non-competitive,
very much geared to the individual and only to
what the body is capable of doing, and is
especially useful to those suffering from aches
and pains. It is particularly crucial to older
people to retain mobility and also from a
mental and physical aspect, as the spine starts
to shrink and crumble with the ageing process.
A slow, progressive practice, she says it is
important to 'listen to' and know what your
body can comfortably achieve, without 'going
for the burn' so fashionable in the past.
Angelina practices the classical Hatha yoga,
originating in India some 4,000 years ago.
Patanjali the written yoga sutras, and the yoga
bible, likens the mind to a 'cage of chattering
monkeys', and enables you to switch off and
achieve inner peace and harmony in the body
and mind in today's busy world. In fact this is
the main reason why yoga is taken up along
with the added advantage of flexibility and
strengthening of muscles.
W
Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, and married to
George, Angeline moved into Shepherd's
Drove, the new Charles Church development, a
Angeline (right) with a member of the group.
year ago. Starting out as a hairdresser, she
specialised in trichology, eventually working in
Trowbridge College, where she developed the
beauty department, and through various career
moves finished as principal of Lowestoft
College of Further Education involved with
training people to work on the North Sea oil
rigs. 12 years ago, as it was time for a career
change, and as beauty and fashion are closely
related, it was a toss up between starting up a
lady's fashion shop or running a hotel for dogs,
as Angeline also works for an animal charity.
George was very much in favour of the shop,
otherwise he could see himself as chief kennel
cleaner. Luckily for the ladies in the area, she
decided to open a lady's fashion shop 'Match' in
Trowbridge.
Totally committed to this ancient practice, yoga
has played a major part in enabling Angeline to
pursue and succeed in her life and careers.
Jo Watkins.
Page 24
The West
Ashton Magazine
Biss Wood
(continued from previous edition)
o continue with the long Long
tenure of the wood between 1629
and 1930. In the records of the
coppicing, it is seen that a tithe was paid to
the Parson of Steeple Ashton. I now want
to consider a botanical mystery. When the
acknowledged guru of ancient woods, Dr.
Oliver Rackham, visited Green Lane wood
in 1993 he posed a conundrum and this
equally refers to Biss Wood. He noted
'the remarkable feature of the wood, which
calls for explanation, is the large number
of oak coppice stools in a heavy clay soil
where the woodland to be expected would
be ash-maple-hazel (with plenty of maple)
and having only standard oaks [i.e. single
stem trees grown for timber]'. He
suggested it might be explained by the fact
that the wood is surrounded by extensive
common land - Ashton Common - and by
overgrazing by cattle breaking into the
woods. He admits 'this is rather
hypothetical' and 'it would be helpful to
know whether these peculiarities …occur
in woods not surrounded by common land.
I have a much more convincing
explanation. First, the structure is repeated
in Clanger Wood which is not surrounded
by common land. Second and most
importantly, concerns the rise of the
tanning industry. Rackham notes in his
classic 'The history of the countryside' on
p.92 -' throughout history the bark of the
oak - other trees will not do - has been
used for tanning leather… the trade went
on quietly until 1780 when there was a
sudden boom in leather … from 1780 to
1850 the tanyards were no mere users of
by-products but a gigantic industry …
T
thousands of acres were maintained as oak
underwood in which timber production
was sacrificed for a greater yield of bark
[only the young coppice trees are used]'.
In our area the important leather works of
J & T Beaven was established at Holt in
early 1790. The Long archives between
1810 and 1816, which are, unfortunately,
the only relevant surviving ones after
1756, record an appreciable income from
bark amounting for about one quarter of
that from 'ordinary' coppice products
compared to a negligible amount recorded
in the earlier years, Thus 26 tons were sold
in 1815 and 21 tons in 1816. F & T
Beaven is now closed, and the records are
lodged in the County Archive Office. The
ledgers from 1871 to 1876 actually record
the sources of the bark delivered and from
1874-6 these include the Long estate.
Unfortunately the sources are not separated
in later years. Crust oil tanning was being
introduced in the second half of the 19thC,
but it is recorded a large amount of oak
bark tanning was still being carried out in
1896 at Holt, but by 1920 this method had
been completely superseded (Vic. Cty.
Hist. Vol iv). When bark extraction
ceased, the oaks were allowed to grow on
into large trees. Of course the coppice oak
trees in Biss are the result of regrowth
from the clear felling in Biss following the
break-up of the Long Estate in 1930 and
not from the time when bark removal
ceased.
Gilbert Green
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 25
Scrummy Snax Border Café
o some outsiders West Ashton may
appear as a straight up, straight down,
one street kind of a place. Many of our
residents know of the knooks, crannies and 'far
flung' corners of our little community but even
so some things may still escape our experience.
T
Departing the increasingly fraught traffic light
intersection on the A350 in the direction of
Melksham, you will have seen the hand written
sign inviting you to imbibe at "Mary and
Nigel's Scrummy Snax". Standing in the lay-by
on the left hand side of the road, this prominent
snack bar sits just inside the West Ashton
Border.
The owners Nigel and Mary, have been in
possession of the business since January 2009,
taking over from a lady called Jinny who had
run it for the best part of six years, taking it on
in turn from a lady called Sandy who had set it
up in about 1989.
Nigel took on the little business, having decided
that he had had enough of his job as an area
sales manager in the building industry and has
since built a growing reputation for good food
and a welcome respite for weary travellers.
"Scrummy Snax" is open all the year round,
save for Sundays and Bank Holidays and
attracts all kinds of road users including
tourists, bikers, continental and local truck
drivers and army personnel. Such is the good
reputation of the little snack bar that one
customer has been known to make a detour
from his regular route from Wales just so that
he can enjoy a cuppa, a bite to eat and a chat
with Nigel! Another customer is famed for his
enjoyment of 'The Full Monty', a BIG
breakfast, TWO at a time and in order
accommodate this Nigel has had to get in a
BIGGER plate than his biggest plate!
Mike Wilmot, from Keevil, has been using the
snack bar for years and explained that if you
call in on a Saturday you'll find the place to be
full and buzzing. Regular and old customers
meet up each week, creating a sort of a loose
'Club' and each year they all go off to the Forest
of Dean for a Christmas 'jolly'.
So it just goes to show, the next time you pass a
lay-by café, there may be a lot more going on
than you think.
Paul Workman
The West
Page 26
Ashton Magazine
Travel Matters
op aboard for the RUH - to book
this service phone 08456 525255,
then press option 2, by 1000 the
day before travel. To travel on Monday,
please book your journey no later than
1000 the Friday before you wish to travel.
This service operates between 0720 and
1730, and does not run on Saturdays,
Sundays or public holidays. Use the
service to attend hospital appointments,
accompany someone to hospital, visit
someone you know in hospital, or get to
work at the hospital. Single £8.60, return
£12.20. FREE bus pass holders only pay
£5 single or £6.50 return fare.
H
ust a reminder that the West Ashton
Taxi Service, details on the inside back
page, is still operating. Bus pass
holders go free, otherwise the charge is
£1.20 per person and 60p per child one
way. If you use the morning run, it's
always worth knowing that you can return
at 2pm instead of 12.00 if you want to stay
in town longer. Don't forget, if you don't
use it, you'll lose it.
J
Snow-Woman (Our Page 3 Lady - displaced)
Photo: Rowena Heard
MAPLE BUILDERS
NEW BUILD.EXTENSIONS.
RENOVATION SPECIALIST.ALTERATIONS
RING PAUL, 19, BRATTON ROAD
TEL: 01225 753997/07799 563347
The West
Ashton Magazine
Page 27
Useful Information
W.I.
Wives Group
Ladybirds Skittle Team
Whist Drive
Tai Chi
Art Class
Dance Class
Yoga Class
ALW School of Ballet
Builder
Regular events held in Village Hall:
Joint Presidents Mrs Lis Mercer Tel: 01225 766287
Mrs Margaret Moore Tel: 767569. Meeting fourth Wednesday
of the month, 7.30pm
Mrs Marlene Pike Tel: 01380 870272
Meeting first Wednesday of the month Sept-May, 7.30pm
Mrs Edna Morse Tel: 01225 755809
Fortnightly on Tuesdays September -March
Mrs Joan Vince 01225 755535, second and third Saturday of
the month 7.30pm.
Mr Brian Wooding Tel: 01985 213474, Mons 10.15-11.45am
Dolly Mixtures, Mrs Kay Norris Tel: 01985 840157. Last
Friday in the month from 10am.
Dee Dee Wilde Tel: 01380 871608, Tuesdays 10.30-11.30am
Mrs Angeline Nicholson, 01225 777452
Miss Amy Watts Tel: 01225 774849. Adult classes Mondays 7-8pm
Children’s classes Tuesdays 4:30-6:30 pm
Paul. New build, extensions, renovation specialist, alterations.
19 Bratton Road Tel: 01225 753997/07799 563347
Cleaning & Ironing
Michelle, Domestic Bliss Tel 01225 781432 or 07708372770
Electrician
Chris Parnell 01225 764874 or 07875 372940
Handyman
CORGI-registered domestic appliance fitter, painting and
decorating, plumbing and other odd jobs Garry Tucker 01225
353268 or 07711 837419
Library
Mobile Library Van visits Orchard Close alternate Fridays
1.40-1.55pm.
Milk
Bullings Dairies deliver Tel: 01380 830458
Newspapers
Seend Post Office deliver Tel: 01380 828250
Police
Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. Village Co-ordinator Mr
David Bradley 01225 754100. Neighbourhood Policing Team
PC Rebecca Nixon & PCSO Ellen Wickenden can be contacted
on the main Wiltshire Police tel no 0845 4087000
Parish Council
Chairman Mr Peter Westlake Tel: 01225 755866
Clerk Mrs Carol Hackett Tel: 01225 760372
Refuse
Collection days vary - seek local advice. Community skips in
Canal Road, Trowbridge for larger items.
St. John's Church Services Sundays 10.30am. Rev Allan Coutts Tel: 01225 754826
Village Hall
Bookings Mr David Petrie Tel: 01225 752311
Washing Machine Repairs Pete Marshman Tel: 01373 864083
West Ashton Boomerang Taxi service. Mon-Sat West Ashton to Trowbridge £1.20 one way.
Morning pickup 9.30am, return 12 noon, afternoon pickup 12.10
return 2pm. Tel 01225 753218 to book.
West Ashton Church of England Junior School
Headteacher Mr Jonathan Barber Tel: 01225 754354
Page 28
The West
Ashton Magazine
Coming Attractions
What’s On in West Ashton
December
Wed 2nd
Thurs 10th
Sat 5th
Tues 8th
Wed16th
January
Tues 6th
Sat 23rd
Wed 27th
February
Wed 3rd
Sat 13th
Wed 24th
March
Wed 3rd
Fri 12th
Wives Group, Village Hall, 7.30pm, Anecdotal Look at Life, a talk by
Jean Collens, also raffle, wine and food.
School children singing carols around the village.
Christmas Cabaret, supper with entertainment and music. Tickets £10
7.30 for 8pm. A Village Hall event.
Christmas Concert, St. John's Church, 7.30pm, with mince pie and
mulled wine. Tickets £4, children under 15 free, from Jo Watkins
01225 753196.
WI Christmas Party with West Ashton School Choir and Pot Luck
supper. Village Hall 7.30pm.
Wives Group, New Year Bingo, Village Hall, 7.30pm
Church v Village Hall skittles match. 7.30 for 8pm. Tickets £5 to
include Ploughmans's Supper. A Village Hall event.
WI 'Travels in India' a talk by Sarah Buttenshaw. Village Hall 7.30pm.
Wives Group, Village Hall, 7.30pm, 'We Need Bees, Do Bees Need
Us?' a talk by Mr and Mrs Clark.
Valentine's Dinner/Disco, wear something red. 7.30 for 8pm. Tickets
£10. A Village Hall event.
WI, 'Three Remarkable Women', a talk by Hazel Gillingham. Village
Hall 7.30pm.
Wives Group, Village Hall, 7.30pm. 'Tools with a Mission' with Mr.
Knott.
Red Nose Day Family Night with skittles. Hot dogs. Bar from 7.30pm.
Free entry, no tickets required.
Tickets : Village Hall events - Sylvia Preston (01225) 765858