No 58 Brislington Community News 4th May 2024

Brislington Community News

BCN is a free weekly newsletter which comes straight to your email inbox. We respect all GDPR requirements and will never send any additional unsolicited items. We do not carry adverts and of course you can unsubscribe at any time at the click of a button.

We have been going for a year now and have around 300 direct subscribers and many more through the Brislington community Facebook pages and groups you can sign up here or use the QR code

We hope you will encourage friends to subscribe!

We are very happy to receive suggestions for material to be included in the newsletter our focus is on encouraging community organisations and activities

Spring top up Covid-19 vaccination for people at highest risk:

The NHS is offering a seasonal spring Covid-19 vaccine to people who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus. This includes people aged 75 and over (by 30 June 2024), residents of care homes for older adults, and those aged 6 months and over with a severely weakened immune system. If you are eligible, you will be invited to make an appointment by your GP or the NHS. You can also book a vaccination at a GP clinic, your local pharmacy or at a community vaccination clinic in the following simple ways:

* Download the NHS App and make an appointment

* Visit www.nhs.uk/get-vaccine to use the online National Booking Service

* Call 119 for free if you can’t get online (translators are available) There will also be walk-in vaccinations in community clinics - visit www.grabajab.net for more information. Vaccination appointments are available from 22 April 2024 while GPs started visiting adult care homes from 15 April. Spring vaccinations will be available until 30 June 2024.

Fancy a bit of light gardening at St

Anne’s House?

As Spring arrives in 2024, we are getting together with volunteers to help make the most of our outdoor space at St Anne’s House. It could be a space with potatoes, berries, and other edible goodies, as well as flowers to brighten up the space and make it more attractive for us and for wildlife.

No experience needed, sessions will involve things like planting, clearing weeds and cutting back but there will also be time to contribute to the future of the space and drink tea. Come along for as long as you like and bring gloves if you have them

Find out more here.

Upcoming sessions: Thursday 25 April, 11am - 1pm Monday 06 May, 10.30am - 1pm

Batch Cook Club: Four week course

30th April, 7th May, 14th May, 21st May

- Class time: 10am-12.30pm

- Lunch: 12.30 - 1.30pm

St Anne's House, Brislington, Bristol BS4 4AB

- Open to local residents living in St Anne's, Bristol

Have fun in the kitchen! Learn new skills and cook nutritionally balanced recipes in a series of 4 friendly classes led by Laurie and Seema from Batch Cook Club.

Each week we will explore a different theme to help you build confidence in the kitchen: - Using spices to diversify your meals

- Reducing meat / vegetarian cooking - Ideas to help reduce food waste

- Using cupboard staples in new ways

Take home up to 8 portions of the food you'll cook and enjoy a social lunch at the end of the session. Each participant receives reusable food bags, a freezer-to-oven dish and an apron to keep. The total cost for attending all 4 sessions is £5. If you would like to attend but are unable to pay, please email us about our subsidised places.

Arnos Vale Activities

Pages 13-14

The famous Arnos Vale May Fair is back on Sunday 5th with a host of our hand selected suppliers bringing you a range of products and treats!

Free entry all day! Showcasing a host of local craft and produce suppliers from our region.

Toff's Pasta | Artisan pasta and flatbreads

Honey Coast Studio | Handmade sterling silver jewellery

Homemade at 54 | Handmade, natural, vegan-friendly soaps and skin care

Hives and Herbals | Beeswaz candles, honey and skincare with eco-friendly packaging

Glass Designs | Glass and independent artist work

Boulton Spirit | Small batch spirits

Little Paisley Designs | Nature inspired, water colour illustrations

Kate Moby | Hand drawn inky illustrations inspired by the natural world

Be Sweet | Delicious chocolate fudge

Hello Cleo | Slowfashion brand

Sausagenius | Local and handmade artisan sausages

Meraki Publishing Ltd | Personalised wooden notebooks

Sweet Box Bristol | Sweets and chocolates

Pampas & Petals | Dried blooms, seasonal wreaths, posies, bouquets

The Cheese Connection | Local, handmade award winning cheeses from Somerset farms

The Crumporium | Homemade artisan crumpets

Nannie Annie | Children's clothes

Somerset Chilli Garden | Lovingly handcrafted jams, sauces, oils and salts

Wenda Bartlett Arts | Handmade prints and cards

Beraki 16.17 | Asian-style cake slices and NYC cookies

Kashcrafts | Handmade bags, modern art, cushions and more Kasasagi Jewellery | Unusual jewellery hand crafted using recycled precious metals and ethicallysourced gems

Paper Heart Productions | Original pen and ink and watercolour artwork and tiny artworks in matchboxes

Woolypots | Handmade household ceramics

Kay & Ellie Gifts | Unique, colourful flower resin jewellery made with flowers grown, picked and pressed from their garden

The Fairy Gardener | Tiny handmade, home grown living worlds in glass using upcycled planters with succulents and dried grasses

Planted | 100% natural and nutrient dense skincare, sustainably handmade in small, fresh batches and formulated to suit all skin types

It's that time of year!

Spend an evening in the fascinating company of our knowledgeable ‘Bat man’ ecologist Dan Flew.

He'll share research discoveries and facts on bats including lesser horseshoe bats and pipistrelles.

We’ll be joined by our very own resident bats at dusk. The tour will also feature a short talk by Janine Marriott, our public engagement manager, who’ll share the history of the landscape, the reasons why it's so special for bats, and how they are of such value to the cemetery and to Bristol

Book today because tickets sell fast https://lght.ly/ae12kmj

Mental Health support

Many, many, of us have times of poor mental health or need support for Alzheimer’s or Dementia. There are many opportunities for support available to us all in the following pages 16-21

Broomhill Food Club!

Broomhill Food Club runs on Tuesdays at St Peters, junction of Allison and School Rds. It is open 1-2:30. Open to everyone within walking distance of Broomhill, it saves food waste and saves you money! It is £4 for a food box, containing a variety of goods, from fridge items such as meat, dairy or ready meals, bread, cereal, tinned goods, pasta/rice, lots of fresh fruit and veg. Content of box varies each week and veggies/vegan catered for too. All served up by wonderful local volunteers!

Just turn up to join the club - there’s no commitment, you don’t need to go every week.

Thanks - Cheryl Warner, Co-op Member Pioneer

The Friends of Eastwood Farm

We are a group of local residents who have been working alongside Bristol City Council over the last few years to look after the nature reserve. Much of our work involves striking a balance between enabling visitors to get close to nature, and enabling nature to take its course. The site has water meadows and woodland that give the feeling of being in the countryside even though you are still within the city boundaries. There is also a children’s play area adjacent to Eastwood Road .The nature reserve, play area and the adjacent riverside bar (Beeses) together provide a facility that everyone in Brislington can enjoy and be proud to have in their area.

Helloeveryone,thereisnoworkpartythiscomingweekend duetotheBankhol,sowe'vemovedittothe11thofMay. Theplanistofinishtheweedingofthepathbythe playgroundandcutbackbramblesbythelowerplayground. Meetingatshedquartersat10amandifyouhaveanyweeding toolspleasebringitalong.Bringamugforteaandbiscuits afterwards.Cheersandseeyouthere!

Friends of St Anne’s Park

Looking ahead Dates

for diaries

Pages 27-30

The bereavement peer-support course is particularly aimed at local residents who are interested in setting up a bereavement peersupport group in their local neighbourhood and any community workers who can support them with this. Do you know anybody who would be interested in completing a short free online training course which will guide them through the process of setting up a bereavement peer-support group in their neighbourhood?

Start dates for the next round of zoom training, which consists of 4 modules each delivered as a 2hour workshop over a four-week period Tuesday 11thJune 2024, 6pm - 8pm (ends 2ndJuly) OR Wednesday 12thJune 2024, 1-3pm (ends 3rdJuly)

Find out more Here

Across the country, people and communities are making swaps every day to help create a safer, greener future. This #GreatBigGreenWeek, let’s #SwapTogether for good Join the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, taking place between 8th and 16th June Get involved at greatbiggreenweek.com today!

Hollywood Road (now Grove Road) 1900’s Vine House and Pilgrim Pub on the left

Community groups and activities in Brislington church halls

What a choice!

Beavers, Bingo, Brislington Carers Group, Brislington History Group, Brislington School of Dance, Bristol Concert Wind band, Broomhill Food Club, Brownies/Guides, Chair dance, Changes Support Group, Coffee morning, Craft & Hobbies Club, Creative Stitchers, Cubs, Flow Yoga, Gardeners’ Club, Hound plus Puppy Training, Karate, Keep Fit, Kick Boxing, Kung Fu, Line Dancing, Little Elephants, Little Treasures, Luncheon Club, Memory Café Alzheimers, Perform Dance and Drama, Pilates, Postnatal, Rainbows, Repair Café, Rockout Baby, Scouts, Slimming World, St Luke’s Players Drama, Story Stars, Taekwondo, Tai Chi, Time for Tots, Trefoil Guild, Zumba, Tea Club,

British Ukrainian Aid

Turning polluting vehicles into humanitarian aid for Ukraine

In an amazing project between Transport for London and British Ukrainian Aid, London high polluting vehicle owners who scrap their vehicles are entitled to a substantial payment. They can donate their vehicle (and their payment) to charity British Ukrainian Aid who will fill it with humanitarian aid – from medical kits to portable generators – and take the vehicle and the kit to Ukraine for life saving purposes

In Brislington we don’t live in the London Ultra Low Emission Zone, but we can donate to British Ukrainian Aid to fill the vehicles with life saving equipment

Donate Here

This Sunday with the bible

Every Sunday we have three short passages from the bible to reflect on. There's usually one from the Old Testament - the Jewish bible as well as Christian; one from the life of the early church after Jesus; and one from the gospel stories of Jesus' life.

Have a read Here

The Day of Resurrection may be past but we are still in the season of Easter for several weeks yet! We are beginning to look towards the birthday of the Church – known as Pentecost – on 19th May. But more about that next week.

This week Jesus sets out the most basic test of love for someone else: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Which he did

Around our Brislington churches

Annual Parochial Church Meetings

What are they?

Every year, every Church of England parish must have an Annual meeting, open to the public and announced well in advance

At these meetings, two churchwardens are elected and the electors are anyone who is resident in the parish, whatever their religion or none

Each parish church has a Church Council with elections for membership. The electors are those on the Church Electoral Roll which is open to anyone living in the parish

At APCMs, reports on activities and finances are given

The APCMs for the Brislington churches are on these dates:

St Christopher’s: Sunday 19th May at 5.00pm

St Cuthbert’s: Tuesday 21st May at 7pm

St Anne’s: Wednesday 29th May at 7.30pm

All parishioners are welcome to attend

Church services across Brislington May 2024. There’s a great choice of churches, times and types of services across the Brislington churches.

If you have not been to one yet or recently, you’ll be very welcome!

St Christopher Livestream can be seen Here

St Anne’s Church

St Christopher’s church

St Christopher's Church Hall Weekly Events

MONDAYS Time for Tots 9:15am to 11:30am Play time for youngsters, parents and grand parents 07825278045 or 07818 097926 Beavers, 5:30pm to 7:00pm 6 to 8 year olds jen@145scouts.co.uk

TUESDAYS Story Stars 10:00am; 11:00am and 12:00pm Sensory story telling for babies to 18 mths info@storystars.co.uk Yoga with Sheri 6:30pm to 8:00pm All levels are welcome 07468 438120

WEDNESDAYS Slimming World 4:30pm to 8.00pm. A friendly and active group 07867 783911

THURSDAYS Cubs 5:30pm to 7:30pm 8 to 10 year olds jen@145scouts.co.uk

FRIDAYS Perform Dance and Drama 3:30pm to 6:15pm 4 to7 yrs and 7 to 12 yrs perform.org.co.uk Scouts 6:30pm to 9:30pm. 10 to 14 year olds jen@145scouts.co.uk

St Cuthbert’s church

Did you hold a special family event at St Cuthbert’s?

Were you married there, or your children christened - or maybe there was a family funeral?

Before we begin on some major changes to the inside of the building, we have prepared a 2025 calendar with pictures of the church in its original layout. Each month has a different picture showing the church through the seasons, with room for you to write your reminders and appointments.

The calendars cost £6 and all the money raised will be used to help finance the building works.

The calendars will be available at our coffee morning on Easter Saturday or phone 07519 146241 and leave your details and we will get back to you.

St Luke’s church

Beautiful Spring churchyard around St Luke’s church

Activities in St Luke’s Church Hall Brislington

Monday

6.00pm: Every week in term time. Rainbows.

7.30pm: Every week Creative Stitchers

Wednesday

2nd Wednesday Mothers’ Union

3rd Wednesday St Luke’s Ladies

4th Wednesday Alzheimer’s Memory café

7.30pm Every week St Luke’s Players Drama Group.

Thursday

7.30pm Every week Line Dancing

St Peter’s Methodist church

Craft and Hobbies Club

Monday 19.30 – 21.00

Carol Payne 0117 9710747

We are a friendly group of Crafters who love to chat while making items for charity and family. Join us and knit, crochet, sew, cross stitch, etc.

Brislington Carers Group

We are a friendly supportive group of people who care for someone who has dementia. The meetings allow us time to discuss our caring roles and to feel genuinely listened to.

First Wednesday of each month 10.30-12.30

Louise Brown 07752 340370

Brislington School of Dance

term time only

Debbie Bassett 01761 472 109 Stagehandsdance@gmail.co

The Brislington School of Dance was established over 30 years ago by principal dance teacher Debbie Bassett who still runs the school today. Many of the students that grew up taking dance classes now send their own children here. Dancing can impart many skills that can be used throughout life.

Zum Zumba

Thursday 17.00-19.00

Gill Tippetts 0782 7441 109 Gilltip@gmail.com

Jacqui Price 0776 6467 093

Zumba is a combination of salsa and aerobics involving your entire body, from your arms to your shoulders and your feet, so you’ll get a full-body workout whilst having fun and enjoyment.

Tai Chi

Monday 14.15 – 15.15

John Bruce 0771 8745 815

Tai Chi is a set of exercises which seek to establish a balanced and relaxed body. Based on Chinese wisdom it is well known for reducing stress and producing excellent health benefits, both mental and physical.

Broomhill Food Club

Tuesday 12.30 – 14.30

FOOD CLUB | Ebcc (eastbristolchildrenscentre.co.uk)

Runs in partnership with Family Action. For £3.50 each week we offer a food parcel worth approx. £15 for anyone who lives in the local community who wants to reduce waste and save money. You are welcome to contact us.

Keep Fit

Wednesday 10.00 – 11.00

Eileen Scott 0796 9929 733

Scottyartois@hotmail.com

Improve mobility, flexibility, strength, balance and general wellbeing, whilst having fun and making new friends. All are welcome. Try the first session for free.

Bristol Concert Wind Band

Wednesday 19.30 – 21.30

Ian Maitland-Round Info@bcwb.co.uk 0117 4057369

Bristol Concert Wind Band (BCWB) has rehearsed at St Peter’s since 2001 and enjoys an excellent relationship with the Church providing concerts and playing at our Carol Services. BCWB is among the premier wind band in the Bristol area.

Nightingale Valley Community Choir

Monday 19.30-21.00

Anya Szreter 07720 390275

Brislington United Reformed Church

Brislington United Reformed Church

Websites

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St Anne

St Christopher St Cuthbert

St Luke

St Peter's (Methodist)

Brislington United Reformed Church

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St Cuthbert Facebook

St Luke Facebook

St Peter's (Methodist)

Brislington Community News

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About this weekly Newsletter

This is a weekly church and community newsletter from the Brislington churches and is available to anyone who wants to receive it. There is no charge and anyone can subscribe or unsubscribe from it just as they wish.

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The editor of this Newsletter is Guy Wilkinson guy@gwilkinson.org.uk

07515327757

The newsletter does not necessarily represent the views of the Church Councils of the Brislington churches