Fivehead Village Magazine

Fivehead Village Newsletter No. 153

FEBRUARY

2013

Parish Council Chairman

Mr

M

Cavill

281750

Vice-Chairman

Mrs

K

Beacham

281414

Members

Mrs

L

Jull

281806

Mrs

N

Cameron

281358

Mr

R

Fielding

282934

Mr

K

Male

281233

Mrs

L

Howard

282911

Clerk

Mrs

M

Knox

281341

Newsletter

Mrs

P

Price

281573

Forthcoming Village Events Weekly Mon

Short Mat Bowls

7.30pm

Parish Council Meeting

8.00pm

Mthly

1st Mon

Feb

Thurs 28th Oil Deadline

Mar

Fri

8th

Pig/Wig/Jig & Swig

t.b.a.

Mar

Sat

9th

Easter Bingo

7.30pm

Mar

Sat

16th Race Night

t.b.a.

Mar

Fri

22nd Newsletter Deadline

7.30pm

Published BI-MONTHLY BY FIVEHEAD PARISH COUNCIL

The Crown Inn Tel: 01460 281919 Email: thecrown_inn@btconnect.com Web: www.thecrowninn.2day.ws Hi all, Welcome to 2013 and Jacqui and I hope that all went well with you over the festive season and that this year will the best yet.

Let me start this year by killing a rumour. WE ARE NOT ON THE MARKET. During this inclement weather let me remind you that we do offer a take away service. We offer not just fish & chips, but also scampi, sausage and Goujons of plaice with chips. We can also do curries so, if you find yourself stuck, give us a call and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

On February 2nd we have live music from The Undercovers. This is a brand new band making their first appearance. As you an guess from the name, they will be performing covers from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s so come on down and give them some support.

With regard to the shop, we are still moving forward, albeit slowly, but are hoping to push on with this when the weather breaks.

Once again, we thank those of you who have supported us during 2012 and look forward to serving you and many more in 2013.

Steve & Jacqui

. .

Items for the next Newsletter should reach the Editor Mrs Pat Price, 7 Ganges Close, Fivehead (01460) 281573

by FRIDAY 22nd March: for distribution early APRIL ‘13 The editor cannot be responsible for any errors/omissions.

Email me on harryprice183@btinternet.com

This being the first opportunity to do so Council sends best wishes to everyone for 2013. Here's hoping the weather is kinder to us giving crops in gardens and fields a fighting chance.

The Annual Parish Meeting will be on April 30th at 8pm in the Village Hall when we are fortunate to have booked as speaker the Head of Planning (Development Control) for South Somerset District Council, Dave Norris.

He will be happy to answer questions on planning issues and will give guidance on the need to update our Parish Plan in which you can make clear what you envisage for Fivehead, looking forward. Do please make every effort to come on the 23rd as this is an important subject. We shall endeavour to keep the subsequent reports section relatively brief and there will be refreshments to follow with an extended opportunity to make your points.

Green Routine 2013 is being promoted by Somerset Waste Partnership. It is a year long campaign to help people minimise waste, save money and have fun developing positive habits with long term benefits. This link gives the monthly Green Routine themes, www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/more/green-routine-2013/ and provides further links to training, tips such as how to make good compost, sessions on "Love Food Hate Waste" aimed at helping families save up to ÂŁ50 a month, record sheets and a recycling calendar. All sorts! This appears to be something which an interested person could lead on behalf of the village or which you could dip into as an individual looking for ways to make a difference and in a small way lessen landfill. The Clerk is willing to assist but not lead due to other commitments. February's theme is "Pass it on", giving unwanted items a new home, supporting charities etc.

www.yeoviltoncommunityrelations.co.uk . This web address does what it says, gives a direct link to RNAS Yeovilton and Merryfield. It just might help you decide which would be the very best day to get away for a peaceful day by the sea or elsewhere as well as provide you with some background to "our" helicopters.

Council has been asked to promote the idea of holding a Fish and Chip Supper on Friday 17 th May in support of the Spinal Injuries Association. Lots of information and advice is available from an Elizabeth Wright on 0845 0714350 and there will be more information on the parish notice board in due course.

Could I remind you that should you wish to follow Council business the minutes of meetings are posted on the village website and as draft on the parish notice board. You are also very welcome to attend any PC meeting, usually held on the first Monday of the month at 8pm, where you are welcome to raise any relevant issues, albeit briefly please.

We finished 2012 with a splendid Christmas lunch at the village Hall, well attended and much enjoyed by all. The Club starts 2013 with a new Secretary, Ms Frances Lee and six new members.Thank you for joining us.

We have a full programme of events planned. This began on January 8th with a interesting talk , illustrated with slides, about the Galapagos Islands. Our well informed speaker Mr. George Reekie was recognised by quite a few members as a retired local schoolmaster. He talked about the Darwin connection, evolution through the ages plus the modern problems of tourism and development in these islands.

Club members are looking forward to our February lunch with its delicious menu. We hope to have a good turnout at the Village Hall.

Our next meeting at the Hall will be 5th March with a talk by Mr. Ralph Jerran on "Incorrect Polictical Correctness".

Thereafter this year we are going on day trips to Weston-Super -Mare in May, Weymouth in July, A Mystery Tour in October and Christmas Shopping in November. These trips are open to non members so do join us. Watch out for posters in the Village.

For information on outings contact : John Taylor (01460 281424) or Derek Mason (01460 281622).

For all other information contact me, Bruce Whittle (01460 281892). hall, annual subscription ₤5

CINDERELLA and the cast would like to thank all those people who braved the weather to see her live happily ever after.

We thank you all for your support which saw a record Matinee attendance on the Saturday morning.

Our storage unit has suffered vandalism which saw the roof leak causing several hundreds of pounds worth of damage to costumes scenery and our sound system we hope those responsible hang their heads in shame.

I’d like to start by thanking the village for your support in the past year. 2012 was fantastic with so many memorable events at our village hall. The last year has also seen the fitting of solar panels to the hall’s roof that are proving successful in helping us to both reduce our electricity bills whilst at the same time doing our bit for the environment.

However, Christmas now feels like a distant memory, although as I write the scene outside does resemble a Christmas card, and so it is time to look to what’s in store at the village hall in 2013. Firstly, on Saturday 16th March we are hosting a Race Night. This promises to be a really fun evening, recreating a day at Ascot or Cheltenham but with the certainty that you can stay dry! This event is still in the planning stages but be sure to put the date in your diaries and further information will be coming to your door shortly. Secondly we are planning another quiz night. These are fabulous evenings and great fun is had by all ages. Graham has once again been booked to host the evening and to tease us with an assortment of questions on a variety of subjects. Our next quiz night will take place on Friday 13th April.

Tickets cost £6.00 per person and the price includes a hot dog or a vegetarian alternative.

Teams consist of six players but please don’t be put off if you don't have a complete team.

This can all be arranged on the night. A licensed bar will be available throughout the evening but those attending are also invited to bring along their own drinks. In order to book your places please contact Richard Hadfield on 281904.

These are only the first of many planned events for 2013 so look out for what’s in store for later in the year.

100 Club Winners: December: 1st G Land (26) January:

2nd J Trowbridge (11)

3rd G Harris (70)

1st T Haddon (21) 2nd B & L Thompson (61) 3rd J&W Swinburn (75)

(First Prize £50, Second £25, Third £10) Thank you - Richard Hadfield

As I write, the dust is settling on the village Panto which was great fun and I hope that those of you who braved the cold to come and watch enjoyed it as much as those who were putting it on! It was my first experience of involvement in this and it felt like a good community experience.

I have been really struck by the sense of community that has been able to develop around The Stable in the past few months too, and I wanted to give you an update about one existing initiative and news of another one that may be of interest.

Toilet Twinning is a really creative charity that we have started to support with the tips that those who frequent the Stable have so generously left. Essentially, the money that is raised goes towards providing a proper loo in third world communities that have no access to a loo. Imagine a village like ours without a single loo ‌ anywhere! Before Christmas we reached the point of being able to twin our first loo, so we will soon find out where it is and a picture of the said small room will soon arrive to be displayed in ours! It would be great to continue this by twinning the loos in the main church building, and then, who knows where else?!

Closer to home, another initiative that we have been involved in as a church over the past months is Taunton Foodbank. It may come as a surprise to you that today, across South Somerset there are families that run into crisis such that there is no money to put food on the table. Loss of job, change in domestic circumstances and a whole other raft of factors can temporarily leave families without the ability to provide the basic necessities of food.

As the name suggests, Foodbank is a place where food is made available for people who find themselves in such a predicament. If you would like to donate to Foodbank, you can easily buy an extra couple of items from a list (which you can get from the Stable or online) and drop them in there, and we will arrange for them to be taken into Taunton. Equally, you may know someone who may need this kind of support. There are details on the church website (www.fiveheadbaptist.co.uk) and also in the Stable for how this support can be accessed confidentially, or by all means give me a call.

Rev Andy Graham, Pastor, Fivehead Baptist Church. 01460 281122

PIG/WIG/JIG AND A SWIG! 8TH MARCH 2013 TO BE HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL A FUND RAISING EVENING WITH DANCING/FOOD/BAR IN AID OF THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CHURCH MORE INFORMATION SHORTLY ON POSTERS AND THE FOLLOWING TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR TICKETS 281578 - 281328 - 281606

The committee would like to thank all those who supported our Christmas Bingo there was a good turnout and we made a profit of ÂŁ291 which will go towards the upkeep of the playing field. At the present time we are concentrating on the bottom of the field but obviously this will be costly so we have got to try and obtain some funding which is very difficult now.

Our Easter Bingo will be held on Saturday 9th March. 7.30 PM we hope we will see all our regulars plus some new players it is a great evening. The Easter one will be a Chicken and egg theme as usual i.e. Chicken dinners for house and eggs plus other Easter items for the lines and raffle.

Tracks in the mud – by Dave Laithwaite

The vastness of the winter floods has given incredible landscape views over the Somerset levels and moors. However, as the waters now begin to recede and leave bare ground behind, my eyes have been drawn to the much smaller scale of animal movements. It seemed almost impossible to miss the numerous types of footprint pressed and preserved perfectly in the muddy ground either side of the trail path at Greylake, whilst attempting the second clear up operation this winter before re-opening the reserve. I could certainly identify the deep, four toed, almost triangular swan prints. Nonetheless, it was the small mammal tracks that had me more stumped, and without an ID guide to hand I could only surmise later from one photograph and memory that the one set of tracks, for example, made up of small imprints, each 2.5cm in length, consisting five toes, and followed by a tail drag line was left by a water vole. It certainly seemed possible as they had been known to favour the spot in the past. Still, I wish now I had taken the time in making a better record- maybe through a detailed sketch (perhaps aided in its accuracy by drawing on gridlines), by taking more photos and including something better for size comparison, or best of all would have been to trial taking a simple plaster cast. Despite being such a small experience, seeing all of this made me think again about keeping an open mind ready for whatever nature can throw at me. It also spurred me on to improve my animal tracking!!! This lovely article was prepared for us by our People Engagement Volunteer, Dave. Do look out for him if you are visiting Greylake.

He’s very happy to have a chat and answer any questions, as are our other regular Information Wardens, Mike and Steve.

Despite the floods, and having had to cancel some walks due to inaccessibility to the viewing platform at West Sedgemoor, we are hoping that our February events will be back on track.

Greylake (07774 620879 / Greylake@rspb.org.uk) Sunday 10 Feb – 10-11.30am-Birdwatching for Beginners West Sedgemoor (07774 620879 / west.sedgemoor@rspb.org.uk ) Wed 13 Feb, Sun 24 Feb – 10am-12pm – Ducktastic Ham Wall ( ham.wall@rspb.org.uk) Sat 2 Feb – 11am-1pm – Duck Walk for World Wetlands Day-Family Event (01458 860494 or email as above) Sun 3 Feb – 2-5pm – New Year Wildlife Walk (01458 860449-Meare Manor Hotel) Wed 13 Feb – 2-5pm – Birdwatching for Beginners (as above) Thurs 14 Feb – 2.30-6pm – Starling Valentine’s Day Spectacular –Family Event (01458 860494 or email as above) And do visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves for future events and find out more at www.rspb.org.uk/somerset.

Stowey Road

10.14

Surgery

12.05

Langport Town Hall 10.30

Langport Shopping Precinct 12.06 approx.

Surgery

Stowey Road

10.32

Dec: Drama Group’s Storage Unit vandalised the roof was damaged, and the rain got in which caused a several hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Remember When reporting a crime or an incident Please call the following numbers: 101 - In case of emergency 999 - CRIME STOPPERS on 0800 555 111 - Your call cannot be traced and you will not be asked your name Further ways of contacting the police in your area: by Booking an appointment with your local neighbourhood team—101. emergency text number 80999 non emergency text number 81003.Non emergency Textphone: 18001 followed by 0845 456 7000.—local details are on the ‘in your area’ pages of our website. For more information and for more advice on all the above and much more please visit www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

visits Fivehead on Tuesdays – every 4 weeks.

Dates: Feb: 19, Mar: 19 St, Martin’s Close

2.50 - 3.05

Orchard Rise

3.10 - 3.25

Ganges Close

3.30 - 3.40

Webbers

3.45 - 4.00

To order fuel, fill in the form below. There is no long term commitment; you can join or leave the group at any time. The order will be placed as soon after the closing date as possible, usually the next day. Oil should arrive within a week to ten days. The next oil order will be in the June newsletter for July delivery. For the record the table below shows the savings per litre for the last three deliveries.

Date 2012

Best Price for Our group price, 500l, inc VAT inc VAT

Saving per litre in pence

July

54.86

52.50

2.36

Oct

62.48

59.85

2.63

Dec

64.58

60.00

4.58

Please post this form through the letterbox to: Dave Cameron , 18 Ganges Close, Fivehead TA3 6PG: Tel 01460 281358

by Thursday 28th February 2013 Name: Address: Telephone:

Postcode: E-mail:

(Do you wish to be billed by e-mail: Yes/No) I REQUIRE APPROX……………….. Litres of Domestic Fuel Oil (NB. Trading standards: Minimum 500 litres per household) FILL THE TANK Yes/No - Large tanks usually 2,500 litres; smaller tanks, 1,250 litres )

Any special delivery instructions:

Signed :

Date :