Old Sodbury Times
Old Sodbury Times Issue 82 May 2020 Dates for your Diary: Lockdown Edition No 1 No Events due to Firstly a HUGE THANKYOU to everyone who has helped out the ‘vulnerable’ Covid19 lockdown residents in the village. In particular, all those who have helped get shopping or prescriptions and especially Nikki Waterlow and Darren Hales who organised the support network in the village.
This newsletter will be different, as everything is, due to Coronavirus. There are no events so we will concentrate on things we can do. We cannot ask our deliverers to send round hard copies even if we could get it printed. So this will be available on line to those email addresses we know. Please pass it on to anybody in the village that you have email contact with. Darren will put it on the village hall website. It will be available as a hard copy on the village noticeboard on the green. Also we will put one page on each pole up Cotswold Lane and Chapel Lane. So have a walk and read day. Here is a quiz to start you off. Please find 27 figures of speech in this picture e.g. To spill the beans. The answers are on the back page. If you get all 27 you are a genius, 20-27 brilliant, 15 –20 brainy, 10-15 average. Now try a walk –see inside pages.
Keep well and safe everyone
200 Club Winners March No 193 Mr J Nuevo £25 April Not Drawn Yet
Welcome to the Baldock family, Nick and Clare, their children, Jack (15) and Cerys (10) who recently moved into Haresgrove, Cotswold Lane Clare writes 'In March, literally one week before the COVID-19 lockdown started, we moved into Haresgrove. Despite this, several of our new neighbours have found ways to make us feel very welcome and introduce us to village life. Our particular thanks to the lovely John and Sue Leah who helped us with a few unexpected moving in issues! We haven't travelled far, moving from Chipping Sodbury, where we have lived since 1999. We have some connections with Old Sodbury already; our daughter was christened in the church and I brought her to Sunflower Toddlers group, where we got to meet and have subsequently kept in touch with several lovely Mums and chil- dren. Cerys for the last year has attended the village school and enjoys it very much. Jack attends Chipping Sodbury School. When life returns to normal, we look forward to meeting more of you, in closer proximity than 2 metres! In the meantime, you may see us out walking our dog, Buddy. PAGE 2 OLD SODBURY TIMES
Old Sodbury School by Jenny Jackman We had a wonderful start to 2020. The children had been focusing on “Lights Camera Action” and had several exciting visits for this topic. They enjoyed a science day with the Science Boffins including lots of bangs and slime. There was also a robotics coding morning and a visit from a female Custody Sergeant to talk about British Values, Citizenship and Empowering Women. The school has set up an orchestra with our local alliance schools and the children are busy rehearsing together to perform a concert. The older children have created their own flip books as part of their art and the younger children learnt about materials by building houses for the three little pigs and trying to blow them down. This term we are studying the Titanic. The children chose this topic and are very excited to be learning all about it. Our children and families have adapted well to the new way of working in the current crisis. We are all facing unexpected challenges, and the children have astounded us with their adaptability. We are sad that trips and outings relating to our topic are cancelled and so disappointed we won’t get to see Mrs Webber-Brown in the stage production of Titanic at the Redgrave Theatre. We hope that all our families and neighbouring community are managing, had a lovely Easter, as much as was possible, and we look forward to being back to normal and seeing you again as soon as possible.
1 2 3 4 5 Cryptic Crossword 6 Across 1. Hilly Lane. 7 8 6. Laugh at double ditch.
7. Dry raid goes wrong. 8. Excavated man heard. 9 10 11 9. Local hole, short man needs bolt back- wards. 12 13 12. Instrument sounds wrong. 13. Times are backward. 14 14. Well, I own that. 15 16 15. Figure this crossword number. 16. A cuppa and a plant right. Down 1. Man takes on the Spanish Lane. 2. Rower sounds alternative. 3. Town turf in the ground. 4. Ancient village with 3 across. 5. A pub animal. 9. Mate makes calm. 10. Not far done arranging inter- nally. 11. A way in two other clues. Primroses and Celandines in the Churchyard OLD SODBURY SCRAMBLE On Sunday 1st March, Old Sodbury School PTA put on their annual 5K cross-country run to raise funds for the school. After a wet, windy (& some- times snowy) start to the day, we were thrilled that as the runners arrived the sun came out and stayed out for the entire event. All 150 places were sold out and there was a fantastic atmosphere as the runners braved the slippery slopes and muddy terrain. A big WELL DONE to our winning male and female, Ben Rawlins and Caroline Nicholas. There are so many people to thank for making the morning such a fantastic success and for helping raise over £1500 for the school. Firstly, a massive thank you to the landowners and farmers John Edgar, Andrew Roach and Anthony Febry - without your kind permission to use the land we wouldn't have an event. We're so very grateful for your support. To our sponsor, Naomi Hales, of Footworks Bristol, Chiropody and Podiatry Clinic. You overwhelmed us with your generosity. Thanks also to Marshfield Bakery for kindly donating the most delicious flapjack to keep up the energy levels of the runners (& the spectators). With thanks to Gemma at the stables for ensuring all gates were open and for your patience with noise on the day! To all the marshals, especially those of you from The Village Committee, who again came to our rescue! A personal thank you from myself to Darren Hales, my silent partner (!) who took none of the credit despite doing loads of work behind the scenes with our facebook page and website. You made my life so much easier! We hope to see you all again next year! Alex Curry (Old Sodbury School PTA)
Walking Many of us are doing our ‘Exercise’ walking around the village. Now that the weather has generally dried up we would encourage you to take advantage of the wonderful network of footpaths we have nearby. They are extremely well maintained and thanks must go to South Gloucestershire Council Rights of Way Team supported by the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens. If you do find any problems do let us know and we will report them to the R.O.W. team. Two walks can be down loaded from The Cotswold Conservation Board website: https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/MWS-Sodbury-Final-v3.pdf https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Walk-11-Old-Sodbury-Circular-Walk- FINAL2.pdf In addition to giving the route they also tell about such things as rabbit farming and translating the bible. On the next page we give a steep, adventurous walk close to home. The first part is steep and can be slippery in wet weather so do beware. That part is for the fit and able. The second part is less demanding except there is a steep pull up to the church. Follow the waymark arrows; yellow for footpath ,blue for bridleway. Where a right of way leaves any road it is a legal requirement to have a fingerpost similar to the picture below. Whatever you do please follow the Countryside Code listed below:
The Countryside Code -Respect, Protect and Enjoy Respect other people Consider the local community and other people enjoying the outdoors Leave gates and property as you find them and follow paths unless wider access is available Protect the natural environment Leave no trace of your visit and take your litter home Keep dogs under effective control and pick up dog poo. If sheep are in the field make sure your dog is on a lead close to you. Enjoy the outdoors Plan ahead and be prepared Follow advice and local signs 2 15 16 3
17 1 14
13
4 5 11
7 6 12 10 9 8
A Walk with Views—3 stiles– 1 mile Start at The Village School point 1 -walk up the Cotswold Way by the side of the school. Just beyond the first kissing gate take the gate 2 on the right and go uphill. Look out for the stile on the right in the bushes halfway up the hill. Enter the wood at 3 Between 3 and 4 climb steadily uphill with a gorge below you on the right. This is where sledges and carts used to bring corn down from the top lands to the farms and Old Mill for processing. In Spring the wildflowers on the banks are wonderful. At the junction of paths just beyond the steps turn sharp right to arrive at 5 - another stile and a superb view out to the west. Return down the slope to a stile at 6 and Church Lane 7. TAKE GREAT CARE CROSSING THE ROAD. If you are tired return along Church Lane to point 1 using the pavement. Otherwise turn left and go a short distance along the road to an entrance just before a steep grass bank. Turn right and go through the kissing gate to enter a field at point 8. Cricket used to be played in this field, as you go down the hill can you spot the levelled cricket pitch at 9. Go through the old kissing gate 10, turn right by the village hall and TAKE CARE going through the car park to exit onto Cotswold Lane at 11. CAREFULLY cross the road and walk down the pavement to the Green at 12. Join the Cotswold Way by turning sharp right, go through the farmyard to a kissing gate at 13. Go diagonally across the field to another kissing gate at 14. Here you will notice the field alongside the hedge is raised Was this an old trackway? Go through the kissing gate and immediately ahead of you are the remains of Mediaeval fish ponds point 15. Constructed ponds were used to keep fish to eat, particularly in the winter when food was in short supply. Going steeply up the hill you will notice bumpy ground point 16. Was this the site of the Mediaeval Court Farm ? In Victorian times the Church Mediaeval floor tiles were ripped out and broken tiles were dumped in this field. Go through the churchyard point 17 to return to the start of your walk. While the adults of the world entertain themselves with Zoom chats and quizzes, Facetime videos and dusting off their bikes for exercise, the children of Old Sodbury have been coming up with imaginative and novel ways of entertaining themselves. You may have come across some of their new pebble members of FOSSA- ladybird, slug, bee and butterfly, while on your daily walk around the village. They have been everywhere from watching the views up at the church, to hanging out down by Dodington Estate! Taking full advantage of the sun we have been blessed with, the children have been pacing/ scooting the lanes admiring the artwork that's been updated in the windows . Look out for any new ones in the future, and a few bears waving hello. The challenge for the children has been getting used to home schooling. Old Sodbury school and all parents should be commended for the efforts they have gone to, to make this as seamless as possible, so the children continue learning and the parents, stay sane! Whether they are learning Maths from a text book, or life skills in the home it's all important for their growth and development... and have they been missing their friends? Well if they have, they’re making up for it by posting letters and having their own Facetime chats. Children are more resilient than we sometimes think. Olivia Withers ISSUE 82 OLD SODBURY TIMES PAGE 6 OLD SODBURY W.I. STAY AT HOME, this is the advice for keeping safe from the dreadful Coronavirus, therefore no WI meetings in March or April or for some months to come. Our talks on Queen Victoria and Avon Wildlife are postponed until next year and the “Murder Mystery” dinner will take place sometime in the future when we can socialise again! We are so thankful to live with beautiful countryside around us and we appreciate the kindness of friends and neighbours at a time like this. Hooray! for social media and technology which enables us to keep in touch with family and friends. Our members are in contact by email and have been encouraged to be creative at home to produce craft items to sell at a future fundraising event. Some members have been making bags and hairbands for the NHS nurses and doctors who are doing such a magnificent job caring for the very sick. It has also been suggested that we “phone a friend” as we are aware that some people we know can be anxious and lonely at this time. Our Book Club readers have finished reading “The River at Night” by Erica Ferencik, a gripping thriller about women stranded in the wilderness by a river in flood! Now our readers are spring cleaning their book shelves for personal favourite books to read or are visiting our local telephone box to enjoy books donated by village friends. Ed: It has been tidied up by Darren so please use it. We look forward to meeting again when it is safe to do so, but in the meantime we keep busy and hope that everyone will keep safe and well Sue Leah
Sodbury Wildlife and Nature Following the planting of almost 100 trees on The Ridings recreation area, more tree planting around Old Sodbury continues. With the kind agreement of the Batten family, approximately 50 trees have been planted in the field behind Colts Green Road. These are a mixture of Oak, Cherry, Rowan and Birch. The trees were planted at the end of March by Pauline and Richard Wilson, together with Julie and Steve Spooner. As the trees grow and mature they will enhance the existing hedgerows. Steve Spooner
Sodbury Short Mat Bowls Club Our Village Hall is in lockdown! So no games to play. Competitions are postponed, to take place another day. Early in March was the last time we bowled, And Village Hall committee came and they rolled! The challenge was great, never mind the score, Tea and cake for the players who could want more! Mondays are quiet, for friends at the Bowls Club Stay at home now, get fish and chips from the pub! Old Sodbury Football Club Since the last report, the club have played only one game; that was the local derby against Tormarton. In a poor game the team ran out 3-0 winners with goals from Jamie Yarndell, Ben Weaver and Jay Dwyer. Since then all football was on hold for 3 weeks. Then the F.A. in London, who run the leagues, called a halt to all grass roots football. Our league are saying there will be no promotions or relegations this season. This is a blow because our club have won all 16 matches and were 12 points clear of any rivals. The league may adjust some divisions due to some shortage of teams, so we are hoping we could be one of the lucky ones to move up a league. The club hope everyone keeps well and safe in these difficult times and hope to see you next season if all goes well. Many thanks Laurence Walker
Village Hall Notes- Village Hall Developments by Ian Rowlands Needless to say there are few things to report from the Village Hall in the current lockdown. Most regular groups cancelled prior to the official directive and from 23rd March the hall is closed to all bookings. We were pleased to be able to host the distribution centre for the village ‘boredom boxes’. Many thanks and congratulations to the Waterlow family for thinking of this initiative to provide some much needed mental stimulus to those self isolating. Sadly the lockdown means that we had to cancel or postpone two big Village events. Comedy Night, fully sold out, had to be cancelled but should be back for April 2021. Village Day, scheduled for Saturday 6 June is most unlikely. We hope it might be re-scheduled for September, but a final decision will be made in May. One bit of good news was that we were eligible for a rates rebate and a small grant from the government which will help towards the running costs during this period with no income. We are also still planning for the kitchen extension, but with absence of fund raising opportunities at this time, the project is very much on the back burner. We hope you are all keeping safe and well during these very different times and look forward to being able to welcome you back to the hall in the not too distant future. Rules permitting, it could be one heck of a party!
Spring Cleaning Quiz Answers As you walk around the village, do notice how tidy it is and thanks to those who, on Spring Clean Day, went out independently to pick up litter. Thanks also to those who are continuing to do a litter patrol on a regular basis. Here we see a collection
found near Colts Green
Lane 11. Near 10. Tame 9. Dog 5. Old 4. Sodbury 3. Oar 2. Chapel 1.
Down:
True 16. One 15. My 14. Era 13. Liar 12. Tunnel 9.
1. Cotswold 6. Ha 7. Arid 8. Dug Dug 8. Arid 7. Ha 6. Cotswold 1.
Crossword Answers Across:
Please send your news to Pauline Wilson Tel: 310540 Email [email protected] or Michelle Dash Tel: 07955 170321 Deadline for July edition is 15th June. For Village Hall bookings: Carol Rowland Tel: 314923 or [email protected] THANK YOU TO ALL who have helped with this edition. WE ALWAYS WELCOME MORE CONTRIBUTORS Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed or implied in this publication are not necessarily those of the editors. Any articles submitted are on the basis that they can be edited and must not be anonymous.