Twerton & Whiteway News, July 2018

Twerton & Whiteway News

July 2018

Newsdesk: joewillscofield@hotmail.com

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Parents: Make Lunch dates and play days – page 10 Twerton Rainbow Guides – page 5 Circulation: 3,200 households

FULL MOON PUB RAISES £200 FOR HOSPICE CARE CHARITY

AT EASTER a donation of £200 was sent from Twerton to regulars turned up for the draw. When all the prizes had been Dorothy House Hospice Care: the outcome of a raffle held won, the amount raised for Dorothy House was totalled up and came to £155. Rachael the landlady then said that the pub would one afternoon at the Full Moon Pub. round this figure up to £200.

The raffle at the Twerton pub was creatively put together with prizes of about fifteen chocolate eggs, each one coming with a cuddly toy tied to it by means of a colourful ribbon.

Characters like Minnie Mouse, Mario and Peppa Pig, were among the prizes to be won in the raffle which had clearly been designed to delight the children.

Tickets had been selling at £1 a strip and a gathering of pub

Pictured above are Rachael with one of the prize winners. The raffle was devised by an older gentleman named Norman and there are plans to repeat it next year in aid of another local charity.

This year's chosen charity, Dorothy House, provides compassionate care and support to people with a terminal illness, serving Bath and North East Somerset as well as parts of Wiltshire and Somerset.

BATH CITY FC’S proposed redevelopment of Twerton Park, the issues – pages 8 and 9 THE NEWSPAPER THAT FOLLOWS THE PEOPLE

THE TWERTON POOR HOUSE AND THE WORKHOUSE MUCH OF our local history isn't for people who don't like to hear sad stories from the past. The Twerton Poor House and the Bath Union Workhouse, belong to eras when care for the poor was about providing the barest necessities and nothing more.

THE POOR HOUSE The origins of the Poor House go back to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) who ruled that every parish must look after its own poor. People unable to support themselves were given payments of poor relief, which came from a property tax called the poor rate levied upon others in the community.

Usually the poorest or most infirm people were moved to the local poor house to be provided for there.

Times were also hard for the adult residents of the poor house.

On 10th March 1862, the Western Daily Press reported the suicide of an occupant, which had a lot to do with harsh words spoken by the officer appointed to administer him poor relief: The body of Richard Brooks, 80 years of age, who resided alone in an apartment at the Old Poor-house, Twerton... was discovered on Wednesday afternoon last hanging from a cord to a nail in the wall of his room... From the evidence brought before the jury they are of opinion that Mr W. Davis, the relieving officer, was unnecessarily harsh in his last interview with the unfortunate deceased.

In the 1830s, the number of people receiving poor relief across Britain was on the rise. New laws called upon parishes to group into unions and jointly build workhouses where the poor could be sent to eat, work and sleep. So in 1838, the Bath Union Workhouse was built at Odd Down and largely took over from the Twerton Poor House and other poor houses in the city.

THE BATH UNION WORKHOUSE Conditions inside the Bath Union Workhouse were dire. A visit by the British Medical Journal in 1894-5 gave a damning report, finding among other things that the accommodation was overcrowded and unclean, and that many inmates were ill. In the space of just two months there had been fourteen deaths.

Left: the Twerton Poor House in around 1904.

Right: The same view today with the Gemini Hair Studio on one side.

In Twerton it is unclear where the original poor house was. But by the 18th century it stood at the entrance to Twerton Farm, near where the Gemini Hair Studio is today. Pictured above, the Twerton Poor House was later converted into dwellings called King Edward’s Buildings.

What would the Twerton Poor House have been like inside?

Almost certainly very spartan, with bare floorboards and just a few sticks of furniture. In Victorian times, it was divided into twelve apartments with a different household living in each.

In Twerton the fear of becoming destitute and having to go to the workhouse, hung over the heads of the poor. Poorer children used to be taunted that they would be sent there. Parents might warn

rebellious youths that they would end up in the “Rocker” (the workhouse).

These details are recalled in the 1995 historical play about Twerton, The Southside Sisters, which is available on Youtube.

People in the Twerton Poor House would have had access to Thankfully, the a few basic foods like bread, eggs and mutton, but luxuries like tea would have been out of the question. For clothing they would emerging welfare state finally did have depended on donations from the church. away with the poor house and In some parish poor houses, the occupants were given work workhouse. This to do to earn their keep, but there isn’t any record of that going story ends in 1939, in Twerton. However, pauper children were often sent to work when the Bath in the Twerton cloth factory (the woollen mill) to prevent them Union Workhouse being a burden on the parish. In the factory there were cruel St Martin’s Hospital at Odd Down was formerly was turned into punishments, long hours and early deaths. Most likely some the Bath Union Workhouse. This stern looking St Martin’s Hospital. children of the Twerton Poor House went on to meet this fate. building was the workhouse entrance.

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THE HUT NURSERY IN TWERTON THE HUT is a small friendly nursery and pre-school in Twerton, tucked behind the convenience store at Newton Road.

It features a special soft play room and a new sensory room for children to explore sights and sounds. There's also a garden area with lots of equipment to help children learn through play.

One of the merits of The Hut is its flexibility. For example, it can accept children that parents want to drop off one week on and one week off. And if necessary, parents can take a child there half an hour before start time, or collect half an hour A little boy from after finishing time.

Redland Park The important thing is explores the Hut to talk to staff about your needs. The Hut is also more affordable than some other nurseries.

HAYLEY MALLON STILL GOING STRONG IT WAS lovely to see Hayley Mallon singing at the Old Crown in Twerton in April.

The last time that Twerton & Whiteway News caught up with Hayley, she was singing with her husband Pat Mallon at the White Horse in 2014. Pat’s health was in the balance and it was hoped that he would recover but, sadly, he passed away on Boxing Day the same year.

The children are given healthy food like carrot sticks to eat, and staff eat their own meals with the children to promote social skills.

The day is divided into different parts. There's a Quiet Time when children can rest or sleep on a low bed.

There's also a Story Time every day, held in the cosy reading corner at The Hut. Costumes and objects associated with the story are used to bring the story alive to the young listeners.

The Hut takes children aged 0 to 4½ and accepts childcare funding. There's a maximum of fifteen children which means that each child gets plenty of attention. The Hut is open from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday, but from September it will be open from 8am to 6pm all year round.

If you would like to find out more about The Hut, please call: 01225 571511.

The Hut outdoor play space

Hayley Mallon singing at the Old Crown Pub in Twerton in April this year

Hayley had always thought that if anything happened to Pat she would be unable to carry on singing. But in the end, she decided to continue as a solo act. She says, “Lots of people said I should go on for Pat’s sake and in his memory.”

Her first gig singing on her own took place in February 2015 at the Trinity Pub, Bath, with friends and family all around. Hayley says, “I wondered if I was going to fall to pieces – I was so nervous and emotional. But the atmosphere and the friendship got me through.”

Hayley sings a range of music including rock, reggae and hits from the 60s and 70s. Pat was a country & western singer and wrote a song of his own called Let the Love Pat Mallon was raised in Whiteway and sang in local pubs Flow.

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Medieval Hog Roast at Ye Olde Crown, Twerton A FUN MEDIEVAL event was held at the Old Crown Pub in Twerton High Street early in June, to celebrate the pub's grand reopening after its refurbishment.

This was a chance to dress up medieval style and take part in some laid back revelry in the pub's back garden. There were quite a few regal looking ladies, a hangman, a medieval bailiff, a monk, a pirate wench, and landlord Andy Waters was dressed up as a jester.

A gentleman did try to give some renditions of Wurzels songs but having supped many a pint, could only produce sounds a fair bit harder on the ear than the Wurzels themselves.

Later, a guitarist came and performed well with a mix of well-known songs and his own compositions. He survived having a plastic sword lobbed in his direction while in mid song.

Scores of people called into the pub throughout the summery afternoon, keeping the pub's young barman Jason working energetically for hours to serve everyone.

A hog lay roasting away on a grill for many hours; though people were slow to feast on the pork so some of it found its way into pub rolls by the evening.

There were some very solid medieval stocks and fitting your head into them risked getting pelted with wet sponges.

A gazebo had been set up for live music with varied results.

LABOUR PARTY JUMBLE SALE: A CHANCE TO TALK WITH RESIDENTS THE LABOUR PARTY brought a jumble sale to Twerton Village Hall in April, as a way for residents to connect with the Bath Labour Group and enjoy an 'old-school' community event.

Organised by the Labour Party Women's Forum, money raised from the jumble sale was to be given to good causes in the community.

Some residents took the opportunity to talk about local issues of concern. The subject of family-sized homes in Twerton being converted to HMO's (houses of multiple occupation), usually for university students, was a hot topic.

Pictured below right, are Labour representatives Rachael Willis, Lesley Bees, and Councillor Joe Rayment who is one of Twerton's two councillors.

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 04

The red 'tree' in the photo is meant to represent Prime Minister Theresa May's magic money tree. The argument here, was that the Government somehow finds the money to bomb Syria even as it presses on with big spending cuts. On the back of 'bank notes' people wrote what they would rather see the money spent on and tied these to the tree.

A jumble sale with a strong political flavour.

WHAT ABOUT SOUTHSIDE? WITH BIG CUTS coming to the Southside Youth Hub, a community event was held in June to discuss the future of Southside and plans to keep it running.

NEWS IN BRIEF TWERTON RAINBOW GUIDES

Three winning posters were picked out by Bath MP Wera Hobhouse – and these have been printed and copies fixed to fences in key spots, such as entrances to parks, to tell people to pick up after their dog.

From the 1st of October, the Council will no longer be funding the Southside building, staff or youth work.

But the existing youth work team are thinking of going independent of the Council and forming what is called a "staff mutual". Then they would continue the work at Southside by applying for funding from various funders like St John's Hospital.

The plans have support from the two Southdown churches: Southdown Methodist Church and St Barnabas Church.

Adam Pitt (pictured above) is a curate at St Barnabas Church. He commented: "I would like to see the team working with St Barnabas to develop Southside into more than it is."

Earlier this year St Barnabas Church organised some holiday play for children at Southside.

The community event in June was designed in part to gather the thoughts of residents as to what they would like to see at Southside. There were activities to do using paint and clay, as well as free cakes and drinks from the cafe.

A Rainbow Guides unit for girls aged 5-7 has recently opened in Twerton, based at St Michael's Church. Rainbows are the youngest section of Girl Guiding in the UK and many go on to become Brownies when they reach the age of 7.

You can register your interest for Rainbows online at: www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/

Sarah has also set up a group called Twerton & Whiteway Wombles which does regular litter picks around Twerton and Whiteway. Find out future litter pick dates on the Twerton & Whiteway Wombles Facebook group.

OVERGROWN GRASS A lot of people have been annoyed at the way the Council hasn't been cutting the grass on roadside verges as often as before, leaving the grass to get very long at times.

Also there's a Girl Guiding Fun Day at Bath City Farm on Saturday 14th July from 11am to 3pm. So you could find out more and whether your child would enjoy Rainbows type activities by going along to that.

LOCAL ACTIVIST TACKLING DOG FOULING AND LITTER Local activist Sarah Moore has taken steps to address dog fouling in the Twerton and Whiteway area after residents complained that it was on the increase. Sarah invited children at Twerton Infant School, St Michael's Junior School and Roundhill Primary School, to design posters discouraging dog fouling.

The Council's Parks Department, which is responsible for cutting the grass, states that the mowing regime has been reduced to meet budget cuts. The department has fewer staff to maintain green spaces.

So now, verges, open spaces and playing fields are scheduled to be cut every 4-6 weeks, and public parks every 2 weeks. More information about grass cutting can be found at: tinyurl.com/yc63swq8 .

BATH CITY FARM INDOOR CAFE?

Staff will find out some months from now, whether they get permission to proceed with their above plans for the Southside Youth Hub.

Bath City Farm have had a planning application approved to build an indoor cafe.

This would be a large building separate from the existing ones – and able to serve meals made with the farm's own produce. But the farm still faces the challenge of raising all the money needed to build it. Currently the farm has a small outdoor cafe called the Trough which serves simple snacks and drinks.

SCHOOL OFSTED REPORTS Twerton Infant School received an Ofsted rating of "good" in March this year. But unfortunately Roundhill Primary at Southdown was given a rating of "inadequate" in May.

Send in a story...

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 05

Reclaiming Rosewarn Park HEY CLAY, FUN EVENT Fun events held at Rosewarn Park show just what a great resource the playing field is for everyone to use – especially if it is kept in good nick.

In March, Whiteway took part in a national celebration of clay called Hey Clay! that was held at venues across the UK. At Rosewarn Park, lots of children made pinch pots or coil pots on the clay tables.

Others were learning how

THE BIG CLEAR UP In March, a group of Whiteway residents braved the cold and snow to conduct a big clean-up of Rosewarn Park. Joining them were a team of staff volunteers from the social landlord Curo and the land maintenance firm Idverde (pronounced eye-dee-ver-day)

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to throw a pot on the portable potters wheel. The pots were later fired, ready to be reunited with their creators at the Love the Park event in May, when they could be planted with flowers.

The event was hosted in partnership with Bath City Farm and the farm kindly brought along its two miniature Shetland ponies for everyone to see.

Hey Clay! was the first community event to be held in Rosewarn Park after the big clear-up in the field carried out some days beforehand. The whole area looked so much better without lots of litter and fly-tip catching the eye as it did before. It was noted that many children had come out to play in the cleaned up play area ahead of the event.

So this was a good confidence builder for the community and for the active residents taking the lead in bringing these improvements to Whiteway.

that Curo employs to manage the ground at Rosewarn Park.

Everyone worked for hours to remove litter, dog fouling and fly-tipped stuff that had been dumped behind the hedges. The commitment shown by the Curo volunteers was quite touching: Fifteen of them turned up, all unpaid, with some of them having travelled all the way from Bristol to help out.

The Whiteway residents determined to transform the park from a fly-tipping area to an enjoyable community venue

LOVE THE PARK Following on from the Hey Clay! event in April, there was a chance in May to show Rosewarn Park some love by joining other Whiteway folk for an afternoon of planting, exploring and enjoying this great open space.

Called Love the Park, there was a focus on looking out for wildlife with kids' wildlife activities, making potted gardens and giving away free wild flowers to get Whiteway blooming.

Pots made at the Hey Clay! event in March were presented to their makers, to be planted up with flowers.

There was also a spot to sign up for the Blooming Whiteway Front Gardens Festival. This has become an annual competition to create the most attractive looking front garden in Whiteway, with prizes to reward different categories such as "best garden for birds" and "best edible planting". Find out more about the competition at: www.bloomingwhiteway.com .

Other Love the Park activities were going on as well.

Football coach Jim led the footballing activities and Bath City Farm were back again for more action with the ponies. A great little rockery was built in a corner of Rosewarn Field – but unfortunately some sad individuals have since vandalised it.

The Love the Park event also got a visit from Bath MP Wera Hobhouse who came along to encourage the efforts of everyone involved in doing positive things with the park.

MP Wera Hobhouse with resident Claire Loder, one of the lead organisers of Love the Park

IMPROVING THE PARK

the Park event. Some very positive things coming... Will keep you all updated."

Now that Rosewarn Park has been tidied up and community events are being held in the space, moves are afoot to improve the park some more.

Several Whiteway residents involved in improving the park are Val, Ian and Steff. If you live in Whiteway yourself, why not lend the Whiteway Community Association your support? Join their Facebook group and look out for things you could do to help.

The play compound with swings etc hasn't been in the best of state of repair, and early in the year Curo officers made a site visit with some residents to see what needed doing.

Kellie Ostler is an Estates Advisor with Curo’s Community Services Team. During the Love the Park event, she heard people's ideas as to what they would like to see happen at the park.

A short while later, Kellie wrote on the Whiteway Community Association's Facebook group: "Hi everyone! Just to let you know I met with Idverde’s planning team today to discuss improvements to Rosewarn green space. This is on the back of the suggestions made at the Love

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 07

TWERTON PARK REDEVELOPMENT “A FAIRER DEAL PLEASE”

Student blocks Residents had already voiced considerable opposition to having student blocks where family homes could be built instead. Yet still the football club proposed in April to build tall student blocks at Twerton Park – with only a small plot of ground given to much needed social housing. The club also failed to show how such blocks would loom above the High Street.

Parking problems The proposed redevelopment would build over much of the carpark at the football ground, causing parking issues around Twerton whenever matches are on and lots of fans arrive in cars. Parking would be made even worse by the students accommodated at Twerton Park bringing their cars to Twerton.

The Magic Wok takeaway Residents were also saddened to hear that the club’s partner, Greenacre Capital, planned to remove the Magic Wok takeaway as part of the associated redevelopment of Twerton High Street.

Protesters in Twerton High Street in May

RESIDENTS were motivated to hold a small scale protest near Bath City Football Club on the 12th of May, in reaction to the football club's proposals to redevelop land around Twerton Park.

Mr and Mrs Tang have run this popular takeaway for 19 years, and many people feel that they should be relocated to operate on the Twerton Park site.

A petition of names has been raised to save the Magic Wok UPDATE Although nobody was against the idea of redevelopment in itself, the football club's proposals revealed in April1 were considered unacceptable for a number of reasons, the main issues being to Greenacre Capital has since put in a pre-planning application to discuss with planners new proposals for developing Twerton do with the proposed student blocks, parking problems and the Park, but at the current time (26th of June) the document isn't potential loss of the Magic Wok takeaway. publicly available. Word has it that the proposed accommodation block is still very large but without the height originally feared.

Strength of feeling had built up on the Facebook group:

Proud of Twerton, Whiteway and Southdown, leading to this protest timed to coincide with events held at Twerton Park as part of the Bath Festival. Flyers were given out to people in Twerton High Street as well as people entering Twerton Park.

1 Proposals shown at the April drop-in sessions and in the online consultation materials at: tinyurl.com/yb44kgmm .

There is talk of compromise, but the football club is heavily in debt and wants to build a lot of student accommodation as this is the most profitable to rent out. The club is looking at the possibility of hiring other carparks in the area for fans to use, to alleviate parking problems associated with the redevelopment.

LUNCH CLUB AT QUEBEC A NEW weekly lunch club will be starting at Quebec in Twerton, beginning with a launch party on Wednesday 4th July from 12 noon to 1pm.

Following on from that, a lunch club for older people will run every Wednesday from 11.30am to 2.30pm, costing five pounds, with transport available if needed. , The organisers, the Time Bank, are not only looking to recruit older people to join the lunch club. They would also like local people to join as volunteers helping with the food prep, serving drinks, welcoming group members and joining in the games/activities etc. To find out more please call the Time Bank on: 01225 442813.

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 08

Aerial view of Quebec taken by Twerton resident Andrew Moore

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS

OPINION

CHILD CARERS IN OUR REGION

What to make of Bath City FC's plans to redevelop the Twerton Park football site? The story has positive and negative points, so here's a look at both.

Twerton and Whiteway have over 80 registered young carers aged 5 to 17. This article by the Carers' Centre explains what a young carer is and what support is available to them.

Twerton Park redevelopment: the negatives

“Good morning,” says Becca, 10, waking her mum Nicole. “Here’s your codeine and your cup of tea.”

It seems that the football club began by trying to bring in the biggest money spinning development possible, based on building large student blocks at Twerton Park. But too little regard has been shown for the wishes of local residents. For example: • In November, residents voiced strong opposition to student blocks.1 But still the club released proposals in April that suggested building big student blocks on the site.

• And why has a pre-planning application already been submitted before the next consultation stage with residents? It doesn't seem a healthy sign.

The football club has also had the appearance of trying to minimise objections from residents. For example: • Issues such as the potential parking problems that would be caused by the redevelopment, have not been made clear to residents by the club.

• In April the club invited residents to: "share their ideas on what the scheme, particularly the community hub, could include... (emphasis added)".2 Do these words steer residents away from thinking about issues such as parking and student blocks?

So there's been a contradiction between the club's claim to want residents' feedback, and its tendency to do its own thing and not be upfront about objectionable issues.

Twerton Park redevelopment: the positives The redevelopment of Twerton Park is potentially a very exciting opportunity for Twerton, reworking bits of untidy land and giving part of the High Street a makeover.

Part of the redevelopment will include community facilities which could be of benefit to lots of local people.

The redevelopment should also secure the future of the football club in Twerton, as well as stopping the pitch from being sold and built over.

Bath City FC is in a tight spot and needs this redevelopment in order to survive. But the club can't just ride roughshod over the surrounding community. There's now widespread recognition that more listening and a better compromise are needed. Send the club your views by emailing: redevelopment@bathcityfootballclub.co.uk .

1 Some residents spoke at an open meeting in November. The football club was also shown an opinion poll at: tinyurl.com/yd2amxny and the results of the poll were printed on the Letters page of the Bath Chronicle.

2 Bath City FC quoted by news sources: tinyurl.com/y783mrd3 .

Becca (pictured above) is a young carer, one of about 4,000 officially recognised across Bath and North East Somerset and Wiltshire – although the unofficial figure is thought to be far higher. A young carer is a child or young person who helps to look after someone at home, because that person is ill, disabled, managing addiction, or frail.

Becca’s mum has fibromyalgia, a condition that causes pain and stiffness, meaning that she often needs Becca’s help simply to get her through the day.

“My mum doesn’t really want to move a lot when it’s hurting, and sometimes I can’t even hug her,” explains Becca. “It’s hard because I have to take on more responsibilities than other kids.”

The Young Carers group is part of the Carers’ Centre and is a service that supports around 600 young carers aged under 18, including Becca. There are also special projects for young adult carers aged 18 to 25. The service works with schools, health and social care services and other charities, to identify and support young carers. Its aim is to shine a spotlight on young carers in the hope that more of them will seek support and be recognised for the additional burdens they carry.

The service includes counselling, breaks, support groups and one-toone support. One aim is that its outreach work will encourage the whole community to recognise and identify young carers and realise that support is available for them.

Young Carers Officer Steve Newman explained: “We need to raise awareness of young carers in our community, to ensure they know their rights and understand what support is available. Young carers can be isolated, have trouble making friends, or struggle to balance school, sleep, worries and a social life with their caring role. This is why the services we offer are so vital.

The young people we work with are really inspiring in the amount that they manage at such a young age.”

Another of those child carers is Alex, a 12-year-old boy who helps to care for his sister. He told us how the support services really help him: "Young carers are forced to grow up quickly by their circumstances and have to take on more responsibility than other children our age. The team know what we go through every day and can help us. They give us a chance to relax, have a break and enjoy ourselves. Being a young carer can be very isolating, but the Carers’ Centre helps us meet other kids who understand us, whose ‘normal’ is more like ours.”

If you or someone you know is a young carer, you can contact the Carers' Centre by calling: 0800 0388 885. The Carers' Centre on the Lower Bristol Road TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 09

THE SWIFTS HAVE RETURNED! AT THE beginning of May, the skies over Bath saw the return of swifts from their wintering quarters in central Africa. They are with us for three months, leaving again for Africa after nesting in our local buildings.

But all is not well with swifts in the UK which have reduced by 51% since 1994.

MAKE LUNCH DATES MAKE LUNCH is about giving children and parents a free hot meal and activities to do at times in the school holidays. Lots of families are discovering and enjoying going along to Make Lunch.

To clarify the situation in Bath, the RSPB Bath Local Group carried out a survey of swifts in Bath in 2017. This is being repeated in 2018 to confirm and enhance data collected last year, so any sightings of parties of swifts flying and screaming at rooftop height around buildings, or flying into gaps in roofs or buildings, will be welcomed.

Please contact Stewart Owen (01225 333132, email bathswifts@gmail.com) or David Robertson (01225 834424, email dirobertson43@gmail.com) if you have any sightings in your locality to be confirmed and recorded.

In addition, please contact Stewart or David if you would like to discuss the possibility of installing swift nest boxes at your property. (Stewart is has just installed some swift nest boxes in the tower of St Mark’s Community Centre, Widcombe.)

Make Lunch is planned for the following dates starting at 11.30am (all the dates fall on Wednesdays):

We know of several swift nest sites in the Twerton and Whiteway area, but please help us find out more about your population of swifts so that we can help them!

1st August at Southdown Methodist Church 8th August at St Michael's Junior School, Twerton 15th August at Southdown Methodist Church 22nd August at St Michael's Junior School 29th August at Southdown Methodist Church

David Robertson, Group Leader RSPB Bath & District Local Group and Bath Swift group

(Southdown Methodist Church is the one at the top of the Hollow.) To find out more phone: 07493 939859.

TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC On 20th August 10.30am - 12.30pm there will be a Teddy Bear's picnic in the garden at Southdown Methodist Church (weather permitting) designed for pre-school children and their families. Please bring a picnic, teddy and rug – drinks and toys provided.

COMMUNITY PICNIC

Swift photo by Pau Artigas CC BY-SA 2.0, tinyurl.com/yafubs2j

On 25th August 11.30am - 2pm there will be a Community Picnic at St Barnabas Church (the church near the bottom of Roundhill). People are invited to bring a picnic, plus a picnic rug or folding chairs. Drinks and cakes will be provided. There will be a Bouncy Castle, face-painting and a variety of outdoor games available – and it's all free!

FUN DAYS COMING UP

FOR OLDER GENERATIONS

Girl Guiding Fun Day on Saturday 14th July at Bath City Farm from 11am to 3pm. Hosted by Girl Guiding Bath. Try out adventurous activities and find out more about what it means to be a Rainbow, Brownie or Guide in 2018. Open to all ages.

An event for elderly people and those who journey with them, on 29th September at Southdown Methodist Church.

The event is called 'Embracing Life - as the years go on' and will take a look at the opportunities and challenges as people age. It will run from 9.15am to 12.30pm and will include a keynote speaker and workshops on a variety of topics such as positive approaches to ageing, and issues of intimacy, identity and meaning.

Bath Area Play Project's summer play days will be running on Monday 6th August at Bath City Farm, and on Monday 13th August at Pennyquick Park, Twerton. Both from 1pm to 4pm.

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 10

IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT ENGLAND LOST THEIR GAME

....Faith Spot....

ENGLAND lost a match and now it's being taken out on you.

That lady on the back of a fiver

That's the experience for a worrying number of women as domestic violence increases while the World Cup is on. The cause is a combination of drinking and TV football getting men's adrenaline flowing.

Now that the new plastic fivers have been introduced, the picture of Elizabeth Fry (shown below) has been removed from the five pound note. It's a shame, as she is one of the heroines of history – a woman who fought for better conditions in Britain's prison system and became known as the "angel of the prisons".

If you are a victim of domestic violence, it's within your power to put a stop to it. Refuse to believe any tale that tries to put the blame for it on you.

Take a first step by talking to an advisor; there are a number of agencies that can help. A local one is Next Link, which is always listed in the Directory below.

Phone Next Link on: 0117 925 0680. Or chat online to a support worker at: nextlinkhousing.co.uk/contact/ If you are unsafe and need immediate help, call the police on 999.

In the 1800s prisons were dark and brutal places, designed to punish prisoners rather than change them. Elizabeth Fry started visiting London's Newgate Prison most days, offering comfort to the female prisoners and teaching them hygiene and how to sew.

She also read bits of the Bible to the women.

Then they used to ask who this person Jesus Christ they were hearing about was.

People began to notice a positive change in the prisoners, and Elizabeth Fry's work was copied in other prisons. Reforms that she fought for – like having female prison officers for female prisoners – were also introduced.

Elizabeth Fry is an example of someone who dedicated her life to Christ and saw the Spirit of God work through her to change the situations of others. Not everyone has got off to the best of starts in life; but nobody has fallen so far that they can't turn to God and have him renew them and appoint them as a servant in his Kingdom.

BATH CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL At the Parade Gardens 28th July from 1pm to 5pm Lively worship music and stories of lives that have been transformed by the love of God www.bathchristianfestival.co.uk

DIRECTORY Age UK Provides care and support services for older genera�on people.

Phone: 01225 466135 Alcoholics Anonymous Phone: 0800 9177 650 Benefits, Housing and Council Tax Support Visit the One Stop Shop at Manvers Street, or phone: 01225 477777 Carers’ Centre Supports people who care for someone that needs extra day-to-day help. Located on the Lower Bristol Road in Twerton.

Phone: 01761 431388 Ci�zens Advice Bureau Free, confiden�al informa�on

and advice on issues including money, legal, consumer and other problems. Visit the One Stop Shop at Manvers Street, or phone: 0344 848 7919 Chris�ans Against Poverty Offering free debt advice and help.

Phone: 0800 328 0006 Council Connect For help with a range of Council services including waste, parks, roads, ligh�ng and planning etc.

Phone: 01225 394041 Curo The main local social landlord Phone: 01225 366000 (enquiries) or 01225 366111 (repairs) DHI Bath based charity suppor�ng people facing homelessness, drugs and alcohol issues.

Phone: 01225 329411

Genesis Furniture Project Sells furniture, white goods and clothing to people on low incomes and benefits, including the elderly and students. Call in at 31a West Avenue, Oldfield Park, or phone: 01225 421111 Gingerbread Offers free advice, training and prac�cal help to single parents.

Phone: 0808 802 0925 Next Link / Renew For women and children experiencing domes�c abuse.

Phone: 0117 925 0680 Chat online to a support worker at: nextlinkhousing.co.uk/contact/ If you are unsafe and need immediate help call 999 NHS 111 A fast and free 24-hour health advice helpline.

Phone: 111

Off the Record Provides informa�on and support for children and young people.

Services are free and confiden�al.

Phone: 01225 312481 Shelter Housing advice for all situa�ons including emergencies.

Phone: 0808 800 4444 Social Services Phone: 01225 477000 (enquiries) or 01454 615165 (out of hours emergencies) or 0808 800 4444 (Shelter 24-hour emergency housing advice) Southside Family Project Supports families to deal with issues like physical disabili�es, domes�c abuse, substance abuse and mental health problems.

Visit the office at Mead House, Wedgewood Road, Twerton, or phone: 01225 331243

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 11

LOCAL BOXING SHOW THRILLS CROWD

Twerton & Whiteway News

BATH City Boxing Club organised an exciting End of Season Show at Twerton Park in May. The big Randall's community room at Twerton Park was hired and filled up to capacity with boxing enthusiasts.

There were some familiar faces, like Joe Gardener who trains youngsters where Bath City Boxing Club have their base at the Representing Bath, Roundhill Centre, Patrick Hastie won his Southdown. bout against a Bude boxer A squad of boxers from Bath City Boxing Club and the University of Bath, took on opponents from clubs in Bristol, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

One exciting bout was Bath boxer Patrick Hastie’s battle against a tough opponent from Bude. Hastie fought southpaw, producing good sharp boxing to win by unanimous decision. Another victor was Xerox Wiseman in his bout against a University of Bath student. Wiseman deployed all his boxing skills and was rewarded with a unanimous points decision. Well done to all the boxers.

Follow Bath City Boxing Club at: facebook.com/bathcityboxingclubsouthdown .

TWERTON AND WHITEWAY TEAM WIN FOR A FOURTH YEAR A SIX-A-SIDE team comprised mainly of Twerton and Whiteway lads, have won their Soccersixes league for the fourth season running.

Called Southside FC, the players are: Sean Evans (Haycombe Drive), Richard Quick (Rosewarn Close), Tom Ward (Poolemead Road), Jack Rowlands (Boyce Close), Tommy Paget (Walwyn Close), Gary Jones (Southdown), Garrinton Jones (Bloomfield).

“TWERTON BOOK” REACHES THIRD PLACE A TEENAGE NOVEL based on Twerton and Whiteway, has been in the top thirty best sellers in the Oldfield Park Bookshop at Moorland Road for many weeks. At one point it reached third place and is still among the top ten most popular books.

The novel is set in modern day Twerton and Whiteway, but walks back in time to visit the grim Twerton cloth factory. People have been calling in at the bookshop and asking, "Is that the Twerton book?" Copies are on sale for £4.99.

Their final game of the season, against Westside FC, resulted in a 3-1 win!

TWERTON & WHITEWAY NEWS PAGE 12

© Joe Scofield 2018