Iron Acton's Magazine & Web Portal AUTUMN 2017

Iron Acton’s Magazine & Web Portal

AUTUMN 2017

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Local Poyntz team: - Jon Aries, Caroline Haselhan, Jessica Hatherell, Sarah Ridler, Amanda Scott, Jane Spare, John Wright, Marilyn Wright and myself, Pamela McCoy.

Local Poyntz Photographers: - Sally Aries, Gillian Otlet

DISTRIBUTION. - As always, our thanks go to all the distributors

YOUNG POYNTZ: - Jess Hatherell is always looking for articles from the younger members of our community, so please contact her.

ARTICLES: - PLEASE, I ask that you note the closing deadline for submission of all articles, which is printed below.

WEBSITE If you would like to add any images or write something on the website, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact Jon Aries at [email protected].

FEARS AND PHOBIAS!! Lisa Hatherell has written a wonderful article about her fears/phobias, which is very moving. During my career I came across many, many people who had a serious fear of flying. Before 9/11, I would invite any nervous passengers to visit the flight deck and spend some time explaining the various aspects of flight and what makes it so safe. Sadly, due to terrorism, that is no longer possible. Lisa has done an amazing job of conquering her various fears and I am sure that, when you have read her article, you will be full of praise. Lisa, you are a star, well done!!

The deadline for the winter edition is 6th November 2017. We really need to have all articles by that date, PLEASE.

PHOTOGRAPHS Front-page image, from the Horticultural show, was by Gillian Otlet Image on page 24, from the final evening of the balloon fiesta, was by Sally Aries. Image on page 25, from the Pet Service held at St. James on 13th August, was by Sally Aries

Editor - Pamela McCoy 01454 228874 email [email protected]. Young Poyntz Editor – Jessica Hatherell email [email protected].

Printed by Jamprint Design & Printing Ltd. 01249 823950

Do you have some spare time on

your hands? Would you like to give something back to the community?

Would you like to drive a minibus or be able to drive your own car to help people? Please call 01454 Do you enjoy meeting new people 228706 for more and being part of a dedicated team? information or any If so you could volunteer for Green advice at all. We Community Travel! look forward to

Why not come in to our office to meet hearing from you. us? Join us for a drink and have a

chat about the different

opportunities we have? Green Community Travel provides safe, affordable and accessible travel for individuals and groups who are unable to use public transport and would otherwise have no other way of getting around. Any voluntary or community group which meets within the South Gloucestershire area can join our Group Travel scheme and make use of our services. We have a Ring and Ride and a Voluntary Car Service, and we also organise Day Trips.

Passengers that are registered with us can call 0845 241 0985 two days before they want to travel to book the bus.

You can use the Ring and Ride Service to go to your local Post Office, shops, hairdressers and many other destinations.

Once registered, the charge for this would be £4.00 (0-5 miles radius) with our Ring and Ride Service with a Diamond Bus Pass. Please contact us for full details of charges. We also offer Regular Bookings for our passengers. (If you do not have a bus pass you can get one from South Glos Council 01454 868686.) The initial registration for a year costs £23.00. Thereafter there is then an annual fee of

£18.00 payable each January. Passengers registering in August can pay half of the fee.

Iron Acton Parish Council

New Play Equipment The new play park at the parish meadow has now been completed and open for all to enjoy, we did experience some issues along the way during the installation through no fault of own, which unfortunately led to the park being shut for several weeks whilst replacement parts were shipped over from another country.

Allotments The allotments remain at full capacity with a small waiting list and with the help of the Allotment Society the allotments have never looked better, if anyone would like to be added to the waiting list then please contact the clerk or allotment association and your name can be added to the list, parishioners receive priority on the waiting list.

Parish Council Following a recent request, it appears that some people would like to know what the parish council does and what powers they hold so I thought it best to advise everyone on what we do and for what reasons. A parish council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish. It is the level government closest to the community, with the district authority above it in the hierarchy. As it is the authority closest to the people, parish councils are invariably the first place people will go with concerns or ideas. For this reason they are a vital part of any community. Parish councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community. Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities. It’s true to say that on their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions. But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as the borough council, health authorities, police etc). In this respect parish councils are extremely powerful. The organisations that make the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and its views will be taken seriously. Parish Councils have a wide range of powers which essentially related to local matters, such as looking after community buildings, open space, allotments, play areas, bus shelters, and much more. The council also has the power to raise money through taxation, the precept. The precept is the parish council’s share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, the district council, which collects the tax for the parish council. Councils usually meet once a month for the council meeting, to which members of the public are also invited. Meetings may last two or three hours, depending on the agenda set for the meeting to discuss. In addition to the regular meetings, councillors are required to attend other meeting representing the council, councillors are not paid for the work they do but they do it to make a difference for the Parish and community. I hope this gives a better insight as to what Iron Acton Parish Council does for you, the people of the parish and the parish its self.

Donna Ford Clerk to the Parish Council

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Iron Acton K9 Club - Barking Good Summer Show

My sister Tara and I knew something exciting was going to happen when the field and garden behind our house were all spruced up and the fencing around our play area was fixed. Then the gazebos, tables and chairs came out and even better - the BBQ - this generally means lots of yummy sausages for us. Then lots of our doggy friends started to arrive and the fun could start.

It was a lovely sunny day but a bit warm for running about. Unfortunately, my age is beginning to show so I had to let Tara get hot and have most of the fun over the agility equipment, haybale scurry, flyball and gundog retrieve but I did manage a go on the dogstacle course. All our friends had a great time and some were thinking they might even win a rosette or two. But then Paul with his Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Lexie, arrived late - but just in time to have a go at all the events. Lexie is a lovely girl and so very nearly a gundog, but she upset the applecart by being quicker on the agility course, flyball and haybale scurry than anyone else - despite being another golden oldie - so she won lots of red rosettes. Tara surprised us all by winning the gundog retrieve so Lexie didn’t quite make it a clean sweep although she did win the overall Activity Champion rosette.

Next was the best bit – the food. Lots of lovely burgers, chicken, sausages – I helped my dad, Martin, and Tris Harper Bill with the cooking – picking up any bits that fell on the ground - plus I helped clean up any leftovers from plates – just as well we had already done the running about bit.

Finally everyone was fed and watered and we could start the novelty show. There were some lovely puppies, lots of older dogs in very good condition, some very handsome boys and pretty girls, not to mention waggy tails. Tara and I had a go at the best brace but Daphne and Daisy were definitely the best – looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths and paying attention to Louise – they looked as if they knew what this show business is all about. Our friend Harry is a lovely black flat coat retriever and with his handler Ros deserved to win the rosette for Best in Show. Purdey, Karen’s Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, was handled by Lucy and her sister Megan for the day and won most appealing eyes with Lucy and was also Reserve Best in Show.

Letti with Diana won the red rosette for winning the Dogstacle course but I’m very happy to report I came second – not bad for an old girl.

Thanks to Gilly Otlet and Andy Stoneman who came along and took some photos of our lovely day, these are on our facebook page together with all the results. The winners of the novelty classes were:-

Best Junior - Ted with Helen, Best Young Adult - Harry with Ros, Best Mature Adult - Remy with Meryl, Handsomest Dog - Theodore with Abbie, Prettiest Bitch - Dolly with Mary, Waggiest Tail - Kylo with Linda, Most Appealing Eyes - Purdey with Lucy, Best Condition all Ages - Ted with Helen, Best Brace - Daphne & Doris with Louise, Dog the Judge would like to take home - Jasper with Lucy.

8 The day was great fun and raised £150 for the Seizure Alert Dogs charity. Thank you to everyone who came along and helped us to have fun and especially those who helped organise, judge and feed us, especially Gill Chapman who had the thankless task of judging Iron Acton K9 Club - Barking Good Summer Show the Novelty classes.

If you would like more information about the club please ring Sue 01454 228803 or Karen My sister Tara and I knew something exciting was going to happen when the field and garden 01454 228891 or see our website www.ironactonk9club.co.uk. behind our house were all spruced up and the fencing around our play area was fixed. Then the gazebos, tables and chairs came out and even better - the BBQ - this generally means Tummy rubs all round. lots of yummy sausages for us. Then lots of our doggy friends started to arrive and the fun could start. Rosie

Letti with Diana won the red rosette for winning the Dogstacle course but I’m very happy to report I came second – not bad for an old girl.

Thanks to Gilly Otlet and Andy Stoneman who came along and took some photos of our lovely day, these are on our facebook page together with all the results. The winners of the novelty classes were:-

8 Actonians Drama Group

th The Actonians are celebrating our 50 Anniversary this year with a production of Cider with th nd Rosie from Thursday 30 November to Saturday 2 December 2017. The play recounts Laurie Lee’s poetic memories of growing up in the Cotswold village of Slad recalling exciting outings, frozen winters, long hot summers, tyrannical teachers and the ups and downs of family life. This production will also involve members of the Junior Actonians.

Tickets for this production will be sold at 1967 prices of £5! Tickets are available from our web-site www.actonians.co.uk/boxoffice

Over the summer months there has been a programme of social activities including BBQs, a play reading, an evening sharing favourite poems, a quiz and a game of rounders. We are a very active, friendly group and are always keen to welcome new members whether you wish to tread the boards or support backstage. If you are interested in joining then please email [email protected] or visit our website.

Acton Aid Acton Aid continues to arrange successful and enjoyable events in the Parish, the surplus funds from which are used for the benefit of the broader community. A big thank you to all who attended the Mash and Proms concerts in July, and our beer festival in September. Wateraid have specifically asked that I pass on their gratitude for the fantastic sum of £1352 raised in the bucket collections at Mash and Proms. We have a couple of dates for your diary:

Sunday 15th October - Children’s entertainer, followed by Hot Dog and drink

A free (but ticketed) event targeted at kids of primary school age. 11.30 am to 13.00pm in the Parish Hall Please visit the Acton Aid website to book tickets for your children

Saturday 4th November - Bonfire night in the Parish Meadows.

Please see the dedicated advert elsewhere in this issue for full details.

Finally, can I ask that if you have any suggestions about how our funds could be spent in the Parish please get in touch with me or any Acton Aid member.

Best Wishes

Ashley Mee, Chairman

01454 228540

CHILDRENS PARTY SUNDAY 15TH OCTOBER 1130 – 1300 Parish Hall Children’s Entertainer COLIN DYMOND

SEE OPPOSITE PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS

11 Acton Aid is proud to present Bonfire Night In Iron Acton

From 5.00pm in the Parish Meadows on Saturday 4th November 2017

Tickets bought by 28th Oct:

Adults (18 yrs+) £6.00, Children: £2.00 Tickets bought after 28th Oct: Adults £7.00, Children £3.00

Raising funds for Friends of Iron Acton School, North Road Primary School and the Chairman’s chosen charity – you choose which you want to support when you buy on-line! Available online: www.actonaid.org.uk

www.actonaid.org.uk

Iron Acton Community Choir

The Proms in the Meadow this year had a Nautical Theme and the choir thoroughly enjoyed entertaining the large audience with a range of songs from “Bridge over Troubled Water” through “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid to “Beyond the Sea”. We also sang a number of pieces from “Pirates of Penzance” with the Orchestra which was great fun and, we thought, pretty successful too. We hope to be invited back for next year’s concert because we enjoy the whole event so much.

Roll on “Proms 2018”!

We are currently well resting our voices over the summer prior to the preparation for our Winter Concert which will begin in earnest in September. Watch this space for news and details of that…it will be in early January all being well and more than likely in the Church

The energy and enthusiasm members bring to rehearsals in the Village Hall remains fantastic and it is a really positive and joyous experience to work with them to learn new music and develop our skills and abilities to sing in harmony with each other. Community singing is a powerful force for good and the Iron Acton Community Choir is real proof of that. It is a privilege to work with all the singers and we manage that fantastic balance between working very hard and having a lot of fun too. We now number about 40 members in total. We meet on a Tuesday evening in the Village Hall normally at 20.30 hrs and we now pay an annual membership fee (£30) to support the running of the choir in terms of hiring of the rehearsal space and the purchase of music. Any money raised from our singing (and this does happen!!) always goes to chosen charities.

We currently have spaces within the choir in all voice parts, but particularly we would like to recruit more Sopranos and Basses. If you are interested then just let me know ([email protected]) and we’ll take it from there…or pop in to one of our Tuesday evening rehearsals and see what you think.

Rob Pardoe

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North Road Ladies Club

Since our last report North Road Ladies Club have welcomed a variety of speakers:

February – Bob Cutts gave a most interesting illustrated talk on “Bride Ships”.

March – Hugh Price spoke about “Mountain Rescue”, explaining that all the people involved are volunteers.

April – Karen Beasley from Iron Acton Garden Centre demonstrated the preparation of hanging baskets. Karen also organised a Gardening quiz and answered various gardening questions from our members.

May – We were unable hold a club meeting this month, but several members made an evening visit to Camers Gardens in Old Sodbury. On 19th May we held a Skittles Evening in Yate Town Football Club to raise funds for our chosen charity “Special Friends Club”. This was a most enjoyable evening.

June – Shaun McCormack spoke about the history and experience of being a “Queen’s Bodyguard” and was a very informative talk. On 16th June one of our members hosted an Afternoon Tea Party which was another Charity Event. The weather was beautiful and a most successful afternoon. A cheque for the total amount raised throughout the year will be presented to a representative from “Special Friends Club” at our December meeting.

July – Judi Wray-Bliss gave a talk on 18th Century Bath and this was really entertaining.

This November, North Road Ladies Club will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary with an evening meal at The Lamb Inn, Iron Acton.

Our meetings are held in Iron Acton Parish Hall commencing at 7.30 p.m. usually on the first Monday of the month. Visitors, or new members, are always most welcome. Our next meeting will be on Monday, 4th September.

June Rycroft Club Secretary.

Small & friendly family run business Luxury accommodation

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TOP GROOM City & Guilds Qualified Dog Grooming. Elm Farm Boarding Kennels Iron Acton BS37 9TF. Tel. 07708300672 Iron Acton Women’s Institute May is always the month the group discusses the national WI Resolutions. Topics to discuss this year were “Alleviating Loneliness”, helping the various care providers and local communities to raise awareness and impact of loneliness, ensuring better identification and to offer appropriate assistance and support. Also, “Plastic Soup”, to stop the accumulation of microfibres in our oceans. These microfibres are present in synthetic clothing and can eventually reach the oceans after the clothing is laundered. Studies undertaken have shown fish from markets contain the plastic microfibres as well as being found present in drinking water, beer, honey, sugar and table salt. The call is for Government and Industry (including water treatment, textile producers and washing machine manufacturers) to research and develop solutions.

After robust discussion and voting had taken place, we were ready for our dessert tasting experience. There were around eight different home-made choices and as it was near impossible to choose just one, many members thought it only fair to have several small tastings! With a small charge per portion, our coffers were boosted and it was agreed it had been a successful exercise which should be repeated before too long.

In June, members and many of their friends and family enjoyed a Sunday evening boat trip along the river from the dock area, under the Clifton Suspension Bridge to Avonmouth. The sun came out at just the right time and whilst wining and dining we heard excellent commentary from on board staff regarding the history of landmarks we passed and the wildlife we saw along the way including herons, goats and deer.

In July we were lucky again with the weather when we went for an evening walk from Frampton-on-Severn, through the village and along the canal. Although it was a leisurely stroll, we felt in need of refreshment afterwards and The Bell Inn was in just the right location to end the last social event before our summer break.

On 31 July I was pleased to join three other members who entered a quiz run by South Clevedon WI. With absolutely no expectations at all, we were delighted to finish fifth out of twenty-two teams. No prizes won but a thoroughly enjoyable and fun evening so well done to fellow 'Iron Maidens', Geri, Hilary and Maureen.

We're back in September with further speakers and parties to look forward to. We always welcome new members at any time throughout the year. If you are interested in joining us, contact our Secretary, Bridget, on 321741. We meet in the Parish Hall on the second Monday of the month at 7.30pm.

Sylvie Powell

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Tim Grubb, as you all know, has been writing fascinating articles about some of the history of this parish, which has been welcomed by a great number of you………..our thanks to Tim.

He was searching through documents in old files and boxes, in the Marshall Rooms, and came across many aged photographs. He has forwarded them to me asking if they could be included in Local Poyntz. I, like many of you, find his “Past Poyntz” articles really interesting so I was delighted to receive them and include some of them in this autumn edition. This and the following 2 pages has just 7 of the photo’s I received from Tim. The next magazine will have the remaining photo’s.

Tim, and I, would be really pleased if anyone could identify the people, put a date and/or a place for these photo’s. If you can shed any light on this, please contact either Tim or myself on the following email addresses; [email protected] [email protected]

GARDENING POYNTZ Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…. By Jo Wright

Autumn in the garden ‘Delicious autumn! My Although Autumn can be a busy time in the garden, it is also a time to take stock, very soul is wedded to to assess what has worked well this year and make adjustments for next year. Big structural changes are best started now, and of course, on our heavier soils it is it, and if I were a bird I time for some good old fashioned digging - adding lots of organic matter and per- would fly about the haps even sowing a green manure in any empty beds to prevent nutrient leaching and fix nitrogen, and that you can dig in in the spring to add organic matter –it’s a earth seeking succes- win-win! sive autumns’

Top autumn tasks - George Eliot

 Lift and divide any congested herbaceous perennials (4 years old +)

 Cut back dead growth, but leave at least 3 inches of stem for overwin- tering insects and to allow for recovery after a hard winter

 Pay attention to garden hygiene—don’t leave too much plant debris and disinfect all tools and garden structures to prevent viruses

 You can still sow leaf crops throughout the autumn, especially if you have a cloche or cold greenhouse. Why not try a baby salad leaf mix, spinach or chard?

 Take advantage of a warm soil and plant hardy annuals, bulbs and shrubs this side of Christmas for earlier/bigger plants in the Spring

There is a constant de- bate about when and how much to prune roses. On a visit to David Austin roses last year I was surprised and somewhat encouraged to hear that they prune all their roses straight after Christmas, and often (block your ears, sensitive gardeners!) use a hedge trimmer! Just ensure that you leave enough buds on each stem to allow for a hard Winter and some die-back

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www.facebook.com/organicblooms www.twitter.com/organicblooms PET SERVICE St James Church Sunday 13th August This beautiful image, which was taken by Sally Aries, is from the last evening of the balloon fiesta on Sunday 13th Aug at 2030. Sally ‘phoned Carol Groom, who dashed to the church and unlocked the tower. Thank you, Carol. PET SERVICE St James Church Sunday 13th August This beautiful image, which was taken by Sally Aries, is from the last evening of the balloon fiesta on Sunday 13th Aug at 2030. Sally ‘phoned Carol Groom, who dashed to the church and unlocked the tower. Thank you, Carol. Iron Acton Primary School News

Another year has finished here at Iron Acton Primary School and a very busy few weeks it has been. We have just said goodbye to another group of fantastic Year 6 children and wished them well as they move on to secondary school. We have also seen several of our staff move on to new positions. As a result we welcome 2 new teachers to our school in September: Mrs Alice Wood and Mr Ben Brown; we are excited by the change that September will bring.

We have been delighted to see our pupil numbers increase over the past few months and we now have 85 children on role. This is set to continue in September when 12 new Reception children join us. We will be looking to further increase capacity at the school over the next few years to ensure we remain sustainable into the future.

One of the highlights of the last term was the installation of our new play equipment. We were pleased to be awarded a large sum of money from the Big Lotto Fund as well as a contribution from Acton Aid towards this. Our PTA ‘Friends of Iron Acton’ also fundraised for this project. The children have thoroughly enjoyed using the new climbing equipment and it certainly adds a lot to our school field.

Another highlight was our end of year production ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’, which was performed by our Year 4, 5 and 6 children in the Parish Hall. The children really did excel themselves as they put on an outstanding performance which was filled with humour and superb singing and acting. We were all very impressed indeed.

As the new term approaches we will begin to think about our next set of values which this year are: Generosity, Compassion, Courage, Forgiveness, Friendship and Respect. We will explore these in detail both in school and through our frequent visits to the church.

We will also be looking to continue to enhance and shape our Iron Acton Curriculum so that the children who come to our school are provided with the best opportunities that they can be during their time with us.

Please do have a look at our new website to see what the children have been learning about and to find out more about our amazing school. http://www.ironactonprimaryschool.co.uk/

Mike Riches Head Teacher

St James the Less Church

Your local Parish Church where you are always welcome

I hope that by the time you read this the weather has improved for everyone on school holidays. It seems to happen every year that glorious weather turns unspeakable the day school finishes! Luckily Mash and the Proms happened the week before and despite the threat of storms the rain held off and a great time was had by all. Fantastic firework display rounded it all off beautifully. Many thanks to Acton Aid and all involved for another successful weekend.

The refurbished church notice board is now in place and will have up to date information of upcoming events. Service details for the week are on display in the church porch.

We have many events lined up in the Autumn starting with Only Men Allowed, a new initiative, the first meeting of which is on 6th September at the Globe in Frampton at 7.00pm. Cost £7 to include buffet and a speaker. All men in the Parish are welcome. See notice in church.

September 17th from 3-6pm is a Michaelmas Family Fun Day at St Michael’s C of E School Winterbourne.

Harvest is a busy time for many of our Parishioners and this year the church will be no exception! We have our Family Service followed by Auction on 8th October at 9.30am and in the evening at 6.00pm we will have Harvest Praise for the Benefice. These two services will follow what we hope will be a successful Harvest Supper and Barn Dance on the 7th October in the village hall. Tickets for this will be available from September from Carol and Di. Cost £10 adults, £7 school age children including Posh Ploughman’s and apple crumbles/pies.

The Family Service on November 12th will be followed by an Act of Remembrance.

It may seem as though we are still waiting for summer to start again but Christmas will be here before we know it so advance notice of our Christmas Events:

Christmas Fayre organised jointly with the school is on 18th November in the village hall from 3-5.30pm

Christingle 10th December 4.00pm- no morning Family Service

Candlelit Carols 17th Dec. 6.30pm

Crib Service 24th Dec. 4.00pm

Christmas night Candlelit service 24th December 10.30pm

Christmas Day 25th Holy Communion 9.30am

Please check times of all these services on notice sheet in December We are looking for able volunteers willing to give an hour or so once every six weeks to clean the church. Please contact churchwardens if you could spare a little time.

Administrator for the church is Kathryn Nichols for any enquiries. Tel. 01454 776518 email [email protected]

Rector: Rev. Malcom Strange Tel: 01454 775529

Churchwardens: Carol Groom 07890410540 email [email protected] Di Heal 01454 228498 email [email protected]

Details of all our services are available on the web site and on the church notice board and follow this pattern

Sunday: 1st, 3rd and 4th 9.15am Holy Communion. 2nd Sunday 9.30am Family Service. 5th Sunday is a joint Benefice Service at each church in turn at 10.00am

Wednesday 10.30am Holy Communion in Marshall Room to the rear of the church following the left hand footpath.

The Marshall Room is available for hire for meetings and groups now with a beautiful new floor and less furniture. Please contact Sally Aries for hire on 01454 228037.

A quote to ponder from a Thousand Paths to Happiness by David Baird.

“There are those who look forward to the happiness of life after death and those who would prefer a happy life before it”

We look forward to welcoming many of you over the next few months to our services and events.

FRIENDS OF IRON ACTON SCHOOL & ST JAMES CHURCH

SATURDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2.30 – 5.30pm Plenty of stalls for opportunities to get ahead of the game with Christmas Shopping Mince Pies, Mulled Wine, Hot Chestnuts School children performing Father Christmas will be taking orders!! SEE YOU THERE!! FROMESIDE CHURCHES HARVEST SUPPER & BARN DANCE SAT. OCTOBER 7th PARISH HALL 7pm - 11pm

£10 adults & £7 school age children To include Ploughmans supper and Apple Crumble custard/ice cream Bar Available Tickets available from Di Heal & Carol Groom

Planes, Trains……………Escalators

‘I am allergic to my own adrenaline’ I have often been heard to say.

Why else could I have such terror of so many forms of transport? There really is nothing to be done; it is just how I am. Forget aeroplanes, they were the least of my worries; I can’t even go down an escalator!

Avoidance was therefore the best solution much to the exasperation of my poor family who have coaxed me over many years to ‘get a grip’ in the kindest possible way. They have had to endure my agonies of terror, which has placed them in mortifying dramas where, I know, they have wished for the cloak of invisibility. Imagine having to witness your mother, confronted with no other way down but an escalator in the newly opened Cabot Circus, running with tears of terror, chased by her ever patient (well mostly!) husband – a sort of dark ‘Miranda’ episode being played out with no audience laughter.

My attempts to cure this particularly odd phobia have resulted in further humiliation for my family witnessing anything from me asking sales assistants to accompany me down those fearful, moving stairs or more lately pushing myself into getting on alone but gasping and yelping out loud as I take off – and picking on random, older ladies to hold my youngest child’s hand as I simply cannot cope with the awful responsibility of getting a child safely from embarkation to landing on the 2nd floor of John Lewis. If there are stairs to be found, then I’m there. Did you know that there are 193 stairs down to Covent Garden tube? I went up them with my poor, unwitting sister on my last visit to the Underground some 25 years ago!

So back to planes – not if you paid me £100,000,000 – let’s face it even trains are out (although I did attempt one whilst Gromit hunting in 2013) my own children ignored me whilst lovely Molly sat by me and saw me through that treacherous journey from Yate to Temple Meads as we hurtled and lurched in horror to our next painted dog.

So as my world shrank, my loyal husband worked around my curious ways. Every year, just after Christmas, we start the ‘holiday plan’. It is painful and herald’s tears, temper, denial as I tremble at anything further than Devon. The silly thing is that my poor husband is quite prepared to camp in Chaingate lane if that is what I want – but something in me always pushes him to take us at least a little further away and so we (or should I say he) venture forth with caravan to Provence. The journey is fraught with 17 hours of fear. As we endure hour after hour on the autoroute, my adrenaline prevents me from even passing the sweets to the children in the back: ‘I can’t, not whilst we are overtaking’ I plead.

‘I’m the one b****y driving’ fumes my long-suffering chauffeur.

And yet despite these scenes, and very many more, my son had always wished to fly with me, yes ME! – to have a family adventure and this has always tugged at me in an unsettling way knowing that regret would catch up with me. I used to dream, it might happen but stick a PLANE in the thought process and it would all come unstuck. We both hit a certain ‘0’ this year, our eldest turned 21 and our hard-working son was about to finish school.

If only…. but always there is that PLANE.

I have always felt ashamed and saddened that I couldn’t put my family above my stupid fears – but, no one needs a holiday it is the privilege of the few and I know that our family bond is there whether we camp in the garden or go to Timbuctoo. But this Christmas was different; there was no holiday plan.

When my beloved father died, just after Christmas, I lost my tower of strength.

Without Dad my world would have been a lot smaller. He never once judged me, he put his hand on my head when I had panic attacks until they subsided, he never seemed to mind how many times I called to be reassured – be it, stood on the ferry about to sail forth in gales or camping near the deluge that swept Boscastle away and so many more – his replies were simple and direct ‘Stop worrying it will be great, enjoy it’.

I had always talked at length to so many people about how to ‘get a grip’ but my fear was lodged deep. The 4 pilots I know have listened endlessly to my concerns offering all that they could, a book and then a suggestion to confront it head on…. YIKES!!!!

And so……. one chilly February day I found myself doing something I never dreamt possible. I shook as I dialled the Easy Jet Fearless flyers team. The amazing counselors told me that I had already taken the most major step and in many ways, that was true. I told them about all my fears expecting them to think ‘we have a right one here’ but instead they talked about how many others shared many of my fears and that whilst conquering the demon plane, I might also conquer trains and escalators- but Rome wasn’t built in a day! They seemed pretty confident that I was one of their easier cases to crack! I found myself booking the last remaining seat for a course in April, an afternoon of theory and then an actual flight the next day. They were right about one thing, I would never have booked the course if the flight was on the same day, and I felt I had the chance to escape that final ordeal if necessary.

So there it was on the calendar (a great secret shared by only a few). I don’t think David really believed I would go through with it but he coaxed me as if I would. I swung through every emotion possible during the run up; euphoria, terror and everything else in between. The fearless flyer team was always ready to receive a call and their encouragement and sensible analogies kept me sane.

They offered me the scenario that I would feel blind panic if entering a Russian exam that I had to pass with no knowledge of the language and no one to sit by me during the exam to help me pass. Failure would be the only outcome. Likewise, how could I set myself up for a flight without being taught how to cope with it? The theory day would provide me with all the tools I would need to face the flight and moreover the team would be there, by my side all the way. I reckoned if they could do this for me, then I could at least be decent enough to turn up for the theory session.

And so that fateful weekend arrived, Mayday would follow and I prayed I would survive and see my little girl as a May Queen attendant. I could have stayed at home but instead I found myself in a hotel with 150 phobics. As I walked into the foyer, groups were forming, stories being shared. There were men, women, older, younger and even a child. Many flew but hated it, a few were there for the first time and those, like me, had a long-time lapse from their last flight, mine being 23 years ago on my honeymoon to Madeira (I’m rather proud of the fact that this is in the top 10 most difficult landings!). Everyone had different reasons for being there; claustrophobia, fear of turbulence, and many like me fearing being out of control.

Like lambs to the slaughter we were ushered into big room, and I was surprised to find myself spontaneously crying and there was not an aeroplane in sight. We promised not to share the finer details of the course content and so I will keep that promise. But it was a holistic approach where nearly everyone in that room would find something that would help them. The turbulence phobic needed the physics of how a plane works and how safe they are. I got a ‘U’ for my physics ‘O’ level, so this was never going to help me- indeed the open question time revealed horrors I had never even thought of in my wildest imaginings! I guess the relaxation techniques had a huge part to play (some are used on soldiers with post-traumatic stress) and certainly learning to control the hideous, catastrophic pictures that I put in my head and replacing them with positives was life changing.

But as I left, I found myself crying desperately again and the pilot who was to accompany us in the cabin with us the next day spoke calmly to me about how he was an ordinary family man looking forward each day to coming home (and incidentally afraid of heights) and persuaded me just to show up the next day at the airport- no one would push me on that plane- it was up to me. I tried to have a normal Saturday evening; curry, casualty and a few glasses of wine!

I awoke in the wee, small hours alone as I would be on that plane and was surprised to feel neutral, certainly not terrorized. I practiced the rather odd techniques I had been taught which involved tapping oneself at speed and chanting (best not done on the plane for fear of causing mass panic in everyone else!!) and I studied the photo of Dad which would sit in my pocket thereafter.

A very good friend had been let in on the secret and was considered a better chauffer than my long-suffering husband, as I would be more likely to behave! She came into the airport at my request where I found the fearful flyers, apparently, I turned around and said ‘You can go now please Amanda!!’ and so she did, leaving me alone (I could have had a companion but decided this had to be done by me alone- no props). I have never felt more surreal in my life- calm and robotic, not terrified. I made friends with 3 other ladies and we stuck like glue together – I was very glad that their desire for us to have glass of champagne was foiled because as I said I wanted no props – just me and a plane.

Once inside, and I couldn’t quite believe I was there, a young man sat in the empty seat by me and as we took the route of no return and were flung headlong into the clouds, we held hands. With all the atrocities in the world it is easy to forget the simplicity of human kindness. I will never forget his or any of yours.

And so, the rest is history as they say….

I landed, mission accomplished, all of you have been bored many times over with my wild, exhilarated descriptions of that day but of course it was not the end but where it all began.

Here I am, some weeks later, still basking in the reflection of a glorious, family holiday of a lifetime to beautiful Portugal. I simply cannot believe I did it but I really did. I even sat in the cockpit and met my pilots (a great kindness organised by a certain, local Thomson pilot who luckily avoided having to endure flying me- I did have some moments panic when they got me to sit in their seat in case I touched something that would cause lift off – can you imagine!!!) Furthermore, can you believe I went on a Portuguese train? After an initial few minutes of terror, I realised that it was all rather boring!!!!

But I certainly didn’t do it alone because in one way or another you were all there right by my side. Your endless encouragement, last minute reassurances, texts, calls, hugs, tips, rescue remedies, Mum arriving the night before with a St Christopher, right when I was at my most vulnerable and wishing I could phone Dad and your genuine, enthusiastic backing for my success, flew that plane.

Yes, I was nervous like so many of you, but I didn’t lose control, I didn’t frighten the younger members of the family who had never flown before and I think I made my Dad proud.

As we left the airport, yet again my poor family had to endure my erratic behaviour as I manically gesticulated at every aircraft in the skies,

‘I have just been on one of those, I have just done that, and can you believe it?!!!’

Postscript: Guess what I did last week?

Yes, it is true, I went down an escalator for the first time with one of my children and she didn’t need to hold my hand, I was right there by her side as she did the unthinkable!!

Lisa Hatherell

Floral Friends

Our neighbouring village, Frampton Cotterell, has a voluntary group who have added floral attractions around their village. This has included both formal and wild flower plantings. They have secured funding for planting Frampton End Road with a variety of bulbs which include bluebells, snowdrops, wild daffodils, wood anemones, wild cyclamen and primroses. They have requested help in this project from residents of Iron Acton and this could be the springboard for us to start our own “Floral Friends”.

A number of people have already shown an interest and also Iron Acton Primary School. Anyone interested can contact me on [email protected] and I will arrange an inaugural meeting so that ideas and views can be exchanged.

John Wright

Young Poyntz

A report of a holiday to Portugal

This summer I visited the beautiful Portugal for the first time. We used Thompson to help us plan the whole trip and stayed at Salgados palm village hotel which I would recommend to anyone thinking about taking a trip to the Algarve. I loved the experience, constant sun, all inclusive ice cream and cold drinks and 10 pools to choose from, what more could you want?! As the name suggests every inch of the place was covered in palm trees which made for exotic and impressive scenery.

As much as we loved being in and around the pools all day and just generally relaxing, this is not everyone's cup of tea and we did go on a few day trips to mix it up a bit so these may appeal to you.

Firstly we went on a day boat trip called the pirates of the algarve. As Thompson had 4 representatives staying at the hotel all we had to do is pay and they sorted out a coach for everyone wanting to go on the boat ride and came on the boat with us dressed as pirates! This voyage was about 2 hours on a luxury catamaran and took us around the Portuguese coastline and into magnificent natural caves and grottos. There was a bit of a pirate performance with the "baddys" on speed boats surrounding the boat and all the children being told to shout "arrr" at them to scare them off! We landed on a quiet beach where we were provided with a delicious BBQ and snorkelling equipment that allowed me to see an array of fish, many with zebra-like stripes! This was a fantastic day out and great for all the family but there are other options that are similar, such as an adult only trip or another family one, neither of which involve pirates!

The next trip we did was to Zoomarine, we didn't do this properly as we were conscious that it was supposed to be 37 degrees and didn't want to be out all day. The attraction contains a water park, fake beaches and the main point of interest, animal shows. We chose to only attend the animal shows, have a ride on one roller coaster and then catch a taxi back to the hotel for around 3pm. I can't speak for the rest of the park but the shows we watched were well worth going to. We saw acrobats dressed as pirates doing a performance, dolphins showing their skills and swimming with their trainers and lastly sea lions who with the help of their trainers did a comedy act for us to enjoy.

Our final day out was to Lagos, a Portuguese city which we caught the train to. However, it very much felt more like a cultural town with painted tiles and stalls selling products made out of cork everywhere- pens, wallets, magnets, bags and even shoes and hats! A great place for buying souvenirs and gifts whilst also seeing authentic Portuguese culture.

I hope this article has helped if Portugal is somewhere you might consider paying a visit to in the future.

Jess Hatherell

38 Acton Aid Mash & Proms 2017

14 years on and who would have guessed the Proms in the Meadows would still be going? We have more competition than ever with festivals and events in Frampton, Thornbury, North Nibley and Chipping Sodbury and people naturally want to try different things so it would be no surprise if it had run its course but I think I can say 2017 was another success for both the Proms and the younger Mash in the Meadows.

Acton Aid always forms a separate committee for this event due to the complexity and we started back in September to ensure we had everything in place. We stuck to the same formula but brought in lots of new ideas to keep the events fresh, not least the fish & chip van for the Proms!

We had three bands for the Mash, The First Raitt Band playing music from Bonnie Raitt who have performed for us before, Slow Jin who performed cover versions of favourites including a brilliant rendition of Prince's Purple Rain and finally Sheelanagig who played high energy folk music with an Eastern European sound to it. A crowd of around 700 attended and took full advantage of the bar, coffee van, hog roast and barbeque whilst tapping, dancing and stomping to the music.

Proms had a nautical theme and we opened with The Harry Browns of Bristol performing sea shanties. Then we had young Josh Goodchild singing from his piano - he captured everyone's hearts and looked so relaxed as he performed two of his own songs and a James Arthur cover. Then we went into more familiar territory with the Iron Acton Community Choir under Rob Pardoe's helmsmanship delivering some nautical numbers including 'I do Like to be Beside the Seaside' and Ringo Starr's 'Octopuses Garden'! By this time everyone was ready for the main act, The Bristol Millennium Orchestra and soloists William Stevens and Francesca Costigan. We were taken through some beautiful pieces, all with a nautical link including a cheeky (and unscheduled) extract from Jaws complete with an inflatable shark! William and Francesca joined with the choir to perform extracts from Pirates of Penzance and were brilliant in adding some of the comedy into their singing. Francesca also humoured yours truly with a lovely rendition of 'My Heart Goes On' from Titanic. As always, the final set was devoted to a Last Night of the Proms style orgy of patriotic and traditional music to make us all proud of being British! Flags were waived, loved ones hugged and held, fireworks lit the sky and we all joined in with Land of Hope & Glory, Rule Britannia, Jerusalem etc!

Both evenings, our efforts to raise money for our Chairman's charity, Water Aid, were supported by Steve Goodfield singing his song, Turned Out Nice Again.

So aside from entertaining 1500 people, was it worth it? Well there can be no doubt - for one it kept me and my committee out of mischief for 10 months! In addition, it is a great community event bringing neighbours and families from all over the parish to share in something we can all be proud of. It also raised £1352 for Water Aid and £6000 for Acton Aid, much of which has already been committed to play equipment in the Parish Meadows.

David Hatherell

39 Iron Acton Parish Hall – Regular classes/meetings

Kathryn Hurley Dance Academy Ballet, Tap and Various http://www.thekathrynhurleydanceacademy.com Modern times/days

Music with Mummy The MUSIC with Various http://yate.musicwithmummy.co.uk/ MUMMY times/days programme will take your child on a musical journey from birth until they go to school. Ballroom Dancing Weekly private Monday and Cathie Mathews 07747 686206 lessons Friday mornings Community Cinema – Open to members Monthly - [email protected] joining from within Saturdays the parish. Monthly film for members and a matinee free for any children living within the parish Parish Council Meetings Public Monthly on the 3rd [email protected] participation Monday of the month nd WI Womens Institute 2 Monday of the Secretary – Bridget 321741 Month 7.30pm Community Choir We sing secular Tuesday evening http://www.ironacton.info/community/#community- music from a 8.30 – 10.00pm choir range of sources. Our youngest members are 17 and our oldest would certainly never be asked his or her age. Member's have to be older than 16, and to be living within the Iron Acton Parish. Ballroom Dancing Private lessons Tuesday evenings Christine and Peter Lockley - 313885 from 6pm

40 Liz Nichols Pilates Classes are Weds 9.30 to relaxed and 10.30am [email protected] friendly; you will be encouraged to work at your own pace but with challenges where appropriate.

Actonians The Actonians are Weekly a local drama http://www.actonians.co.uk/ group. They Junior Actonians – produce two Weds 6.30 – shows a year in 7.30pm the Iron Acton Parish Hall Actonians from 7.30pm

Laughter In Line Line dance club Thursdays – that is all about Sarah Cleaver – 01454 773927 having fun and Beginners 7.30pm making new friends Improvers 8.30pm

Fascinating Rhythm Junior Choir Childrens Friday Harmony choir Wendy Howse 3.45pm to 5.45 Age 7 and over [email protected]

Iron Acton Craft Group If sitting and Friday afternoon enjoying a couple 1.30 – 3.30pm Telephone June on 228760 of hours relaxing while you knit, sew etc appeals, and to be part of a lovely friendly group then please come along, bring a project to finish or start a new one!

Iron Acton Film Club

Over the summer we have been contacting our previous members and others who have previously expressed an interest in joining the Film Club. So membership applications for the 2017/18 season are coming in and we are currently preparing to show our first films on Saturday 14th October 2017. As usual all screenings will be in Iron Acton Parish Hall where we will be showing a children’s film in the afternoon (with entry free to all) and a film for members and their guests in the evening.

Members vote for the evening films and we will shortly be holding the vote for the first 3 films of the season. Details of the children’s films are notified via the local schools each month so please keep an eye open for posters at school, items in newsletters or school text messages.

If you are interested in joining the Film Club and do not have an application form, please contact either myself or Simon Cross (see below for contact details). Membership costs £25 per person for the season of 6 films shown monthly from October 2017 to March 2018.

If you have an application form and would like to join, please send your completed form together with a cheque payable to “Iron Acton Film Club” to:

Simon Cross Chairman Laburnum House High Street Iron Acton BS37 9UG 01454 228291

Hope to see you at Film Club.

Caroline Haselhan 01454 228791

The Store that has more

Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 4pm Game Farm, Latteridge BS37 9TY Tel: 01454 228109 Website: www.patrickpinker.com