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Will the Village Hall Turn Green? Probably not.
So what are the prospects now? Events are moving quickly so it is possible that by the time you read this much more may be known. The planning decision has been hastened and is now due on or shortly after 24th November, while industry groups have mounted three legal challenges to the implementation date for the cuts seeking an injunction to put it back and seeking judicial review of the way the process has been implemented. So there is a slim chance that the project may go ahead on the original basis. Even with the proposed 55% cut in returns the project would still deliver a net financial benefit over 25 years, but only a third of what it would otherwise have been. Also the payback period would extend to around 13 years. Nevertheless a return of £25,000 over 25 years is not to be sneezed at! However, there are many other calls on the money earmarked by the committee for upgrades and maintenance to the hall and the sum required would be substantial, so the solar power project will have to be assessed for priority against all the other candidates; we shall have to wait and see. Peter Giles
Rural Arts Update We have held two events recently, to cater for audiences of all ages. In September, Ministry of Entertainment (Kate McNab and Ross Harvey) presented “Mrs Gerrish’s Rear Window” to a large and appreciative audience. This was a private booking, so was a bit of risk as it was not underwritten by Rural Arts Wiltshire. However our faith in the Ministry and our loyal followers was rewarded. The show was a cross between Alfred Hitchcock and Carry on Constable, and included some very funny moments and a few plot twists and turns. Some of the musical numbers were hilarious, with Kate ably singing Edith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rien” as Mrs Gerrish was behind bars. The audience were well entertained throughout the show. In October, Craig Johnson as Squashbox Theatre presented “The Sea Show” to a happy and noisy crowd of youngsters and their parents and, in some cases, grandparents. Craig had a good rapport with the children and kept them entertained. One young member of the audience told me “I liked the sea squirt best – I got wet!” Our first attempt at presenting a family show seemed to go down well. We are now planning events for next year. The first booking has just been confirmed: Saturday 25th February: Bowjangles “The all singing, all dancing string quartet! Bowjangles combine fiery musicianship with energetic dance moves, vaudeville comedy and four part harmony singing in a dazzling stage show which will leave you spellbound.” Find out more: www.bowjangles.org. Make a note in your 2012 diaries! If you would like to give feedback or comment on any of the shows, or know more about Rural Arts Touring, please get in touch: 01249 750362 or valerie.young9@btinternet.com. Valerie Young
Village Emergencies I am the Community Emergency Volunteer (CEV) for the Parish of Kington Langley. Working with both the Parish and Wiltshire Councils. The government have been seeking to put in place in each community the means of meeting and dealing with emergencies that may arise should the normal Emergency Services not be able to attend immediately. My role as the CEV is to organise and coordinate an emergency plan to deal with any such occurrence. I have with the Parish Council over recent years been involved in Parish Exercises organised by the Wiltshire Council Emergency Planning Department in which we have looked at how we might deal with various emergencies in our village should such things ever happen. I have also attended Emergency Rest Centre Training Meetings and trained as an Emergency Community Chaplain. We have over the years put together a list of various people with expertise and equipment that could be needed in an emergency. We need now, particularly in the light of the Governments “Big Society” plans and cutbacks that seem to be coming, to update and extend that database. So: 1. Do you have equipment at your disposal that you have the knowledge to use that could be needed in an emergency ie tractors, chain saws, rowing boat, 4x4’s, diggers, winches, cranes, etc., etc? 2. Do you have skills that could be needed in an emergency ie are you a doctor, are you or have you been a nurse, police officer, in the fire or ambulance service, in the armed forces, a qualified First Aider etc? 3. Even if neither of the two options above are you, are you willing to be part of a team to help others in the village who may be in need? If any of the above relates to you or you want to discuss what you have to offer would you please contact me. Hopefully we will never be called on and we won’t be faced with any such emergency, but we do need to be prepared just in case. The information you give will only be held by myself and a few other relevant people in the village. Rev John Schofield, 6 Ashes
Lane, Kington Langley, SN15 5NP
KINGTON ST MICHAEL VILLAGE SHOP Our vibrant community run shop continues to thrive thanks to the ongoing support we receive from both our own and Kington Langley village. The self service Post Point, which offers a full postal service with no need to queue or pay for parking, remains an essential part of our business. In 2010 we expanded our range of locally sourced produce, which included free range chicken portions, beef mince and joints, bacon, ham, home made jam, honey and cake. This year we have invited local craftspeople to display and sell products which range from silk scarves, chalk boards, jewellery, wrought ironwork, pottery and the famous ‘spuddy bag’ as sold in Lakeland in Bath. KINGTON LANGLEY SCARECROW FESTIVAL Kington St Michael Village Shop very much enjoyed being part of the Kington Langley Scarecrow event last year, meeting old and new faces and offering tasting samples of local produce. It goes without saying that we are very disappointed not to be able to take part in this event again this year as those volunteers that are available are committed to the Kington St Michael Church Fete which is also being held on the same weekend. VOLUNTEERS WANTED Can you spare a couple of hours a week on a regular basis – or even occasionally? Our village shop needs more volunteers to help keep it running smoothly. We’ve got a great band of people working for us, but are always looking for more to join the team – especially when the holiday season starts! If you can help, please leave your name and contact number with the volunteer on duty in the shop, or telephone Avril Balmforth on 01249750671. (You won’t be thrown in at the deep end but will work alongside one of our experienced volunteers until you feel able to work alone.) Shifts: Monday to Friday: Morning 9am – 11am and 11am – 1pm Afternoon 1pm – 3pm and 3pm – 5pm Saturday: Morning 9.30am – 1pm but can be split. NEW LOW PRICES: Mere Trout Farm: Smoked Trout Terrine 8oz was £4.15 new low price £3.95 Smoked Trout Terrine 4oz was £2.35 new low price £2.15 Brookfield Cottage Vegetarian Ready Meals: Nut Roast new low price £4.38 was £4.85 Bean Ragout new low price £4.36 was £4.81 Leek Croustade new low price £4.99 was £5.60 Fragrant Thai Curry new low price £4.93 was £5.45 Lodge Farm home made ready meals: All puddings new low price £2.80 was £3.00
Kington Langley Tennis Club 2011 See the dedicated page for our village Tennis Club - please click here
JUSTICE FOR ALL?
Currently the Legal Services Commission fund Wiltshire Citizens Advice Bureau to the sum of £250,000 each year. It is proposed that legal aid funding will be drastically cut, which will result in your local bureau losing their housing, debt and benefits specialist caseworkers. Vulnerable people will be left unsupported as they try to deal with their complex problems. Justice for All is a campaign which seeks to ensure that everyone is treated fairly under the law, no matter who they are, how much money they have or where they live. Please sign up on their website at www.justice-for-all.org.uk to register your support as they try to persuade the Government to review the proposed cuts. Katherine Bloomer
Village
Emergencies The government have been seeking to put in place in each community the means of meeting and dealing with emergencies that may arise should the Emergency Services not be able to attend immediately. My role as the CEV is to organise and coordinate an emergency plan to deal with any such occurrence. I have with the Parish Council over recent years been involved in Parish Exercises organised by the Wiltshire Council Emergency Planning Department in which we have looked at how we might deal with various emergencies in our village should such things ever happen. I have also attended Emergency Rest Centre Training Meetings and trained as an Emergency Community Chaplain. We have over the years put together a list of various people with expertise and equipment that could be needed in an emergency. We need now, particularly in the light of the Governments “Big Society” plans and cutbacks that seem to be coming, to update and extend that database. So: 1. Do you have equipment at your disposal that you have the knowledge to use that could be needed in an emergency ie tractors, chain saws, rowing boat, 4x4’s, diggers, winches, cranes, etc., etc? 2. Do you have skills that could be needed in an emergency ie are you a doctor, are you or have you been a nurse, police officer, in the fire or ambulance service or in the armed forces or are you a qualified First Aider etc., etc? 3. Are you fit and willing to be part of a team to help others in the village who may be in need? If any of the above relates to you or you want to discuss what you have to offer would you please contact me. Hopefully we will never be called on and we won’t be faced with any such emergency, but we do need to be prepared just in case. The information you give will only be held by me and a few other relevant people in the village. Rev John Schofield, 6 Ashes Lane, Kington Langley, SN15 5NP tel. 01249 758864 email. cev_klangley@btinternet.com
Dance to Live! with Kington Langley’s own Dance2Learn One Dance, one Net, one Life (As seen at the Scarecrow Ceilidh & Gazette & Herald!) We offer fun Salsa
& Bachata classes for individuals or small groups. Acquire a new skill for life and give a child the chance to live! Tel: 07841 775351 www.Dance2Learn.org (All proceeds go towards funding charitable works)
The Draycot Cerne Church Plate In 1995 when the parish church of St James’s Draycot Cerne became redundant and closed, its fine silver plate was transferred to the parish of Kington Langley and Draycot Cerne. Consisting of three pieces, a flagon (of archaic design) a chalice and a patten, the plate bears the hallmark of 1702 and the crests of the Leach and Long families. These items were a gift from Lady Dorothy Long (née Leech, 1621/22 – 1710) of Draycot House, the daughter of Sir Edward Leech of Shipley, Derbyshire, who married Sir James Long of Draycot shortly before the Civil War in 1640. The chalice apparently poured so badly that Canon Meers - and every subsequent vicar - used the Kington Langley plate instead for communion: the Draycot plate was thus out of use for some considerable time and was eventually placed in the bank for safe-keeping. This year it has been placed on public display at the Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre, where it is on permanent loan. The plate will nevertheless be used on feast days in St Peter’s, Kington Langley. In his book Hand of Fate: The history of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire, Tim Couzens writes: “We know from Lady Dorothy’s letters and her will that she was exceptionally well educated and a strong patron of the arts, commissioning family portraits, poetry, and furniture by the best makers. She was also a collector of medieval curiosities and made at least one donation - of an ivory crozier's head - to the founding collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The gift to St James’s Church fits with Lady Dorothy's strong religious beliefs. She corresponded with Bishop Brian Duppa, among others, on the best way to instruct her eldest son, James Long - later of Athelhampton House in Dorset. It must have been a deep disappointment to her that he rebelled against this strict upbringing, converting to Roman Catholicism and leading a fairly dissolute life. After the sales of 1915 and 1920, the break-up of the Draycot Estate and the demolition of Draycot House - and with the exception of the memorials in Draycot Church - the silver remains one of the most tangible reminders of this once great Wiltshire family". Framed photographs of the silver plate will be placed in both St James’s and St Peter’s churches. Simon Cooper
Langley Chase Flock Finest organic rare breed lamb and mutton We have a real passion for producing award winning lamb fed by the best food – ancient organic pasture, enriched by sunshine and rain – exactly as nature intended. Lamb and mutton make wonderful dishes at Christmas with the traditional joint, slow cooked tagine, boned and rolled saddle of lamb – hassle free, easy cooking. Lamb boxes can be sent to any address making a perfect Christmas present, also boxed chorizo salami, complete with greetings message. Consistent winners in the Organic Food Awards over 10 years. 01249 750095 Langley Chase Organic Farm, Plough Lane, Kington Langley
You CAN Make a Difference! Perhaps you have seen the regular adverts in this magazine calling you to consider becoming a volunteer at the Citizens Advice Bureau? I thought you might like to know what happens if you answer that call – can you REALLY make a difference? In 2005, as Aidan turned one, I started the training programme with CAB. Once a week for a couple of months I met with a group of other volunteers to learn about how the CAB works, and to ground myself in the world of Law, benefits, and so much more. In 2006 I started on the rota – let loose on those who walked through the door! It was scary at first, but the team of staff and volunteers are very supportive and encouraging and soon you fall into a rhythm – and 4 years on I find I’m one of “the old hands”. In fact, you’d be surprised how many of your neighbours volunteer too...
Parking On Kington Langley Registered Commons For Special Events If you live close to one of the village Registered Commons and are expecting large numbers of visitors for a party or special event, please contact the Chairman of the Parish Council via the Parish Clerk, Mrs. Sue Webb clerk@kingtonlangley.org Under the Commons Registration Act 1965Act and the Road Traffic Act 1988 s 34 it is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle upon Common Land. There is a penalty of £50 for parking on Registered Commons without permission, so please ask the Parish Council first! We will normally grant special permission for parking on the Commons and give you guidance that will help ensure safe circumstances for your visitors and other road users.
New Village Reference Page This page was
beginning to get too big - but there was lots of useful information on
there. I have therefore created a new "Village
Reference" page, and transferred all of the useful information to
this new page.
Photographs Please The village website is steadily developing, but it would be great to have more pictures. Please send your photographs to: - or post prints to Graham Trickey at 3 Fairleigh Rise, Kington Langley. SN15 5QF Page updated on 22/01/2012 |
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It
is with very mixed feelings that I share with you the news that I
shall be leaving Langley Fitzurse School at the end of April next
year. This has not been an easy decision to make, as leading such
a special school is both a privilege and an amazing personal
learning journey, and there is still much I would like to achieve
for the school before I go.
Readers
may have seen planning notices outside the Village Hall. The
committee had been looking into solar photovoltaic power for
several years, carried out a competitive tender, and on 10th
October decided to go ahead with a 10kW installation. A planning
application was submitted on 14th October and funding is in
place. But on 31st October the Government announced a
‘consultation’ on proposed cuts of 55% in the return offered by
such systems with the cuts to be implemented from 12th December,
six weeks before the consultation ends and the day our planning
decision was originally due.
When
you hear about cuts in Legal Aid funding, I wonder what your
reaction is? Do you think that the system is being abused, and
lawyers are feathering their nests, while undeserving people exploit
the system? Please think again...
I
am the Community Emergency Volunteer (CEV) for the Parish of Kington
Langley. I have been fulfilling this task for several years now,
appointed by and working with the Parish Council and Wiltshire
Council.
