Twyning Bulletin the Newsletter of Twyning Parish Council No

Twyning Bulletin The Newsletter of Twyning Parish Council No. 121 June 2014

Two great local photos by Paul Jackson cover photo by Clive Stanley *

2 Comment Please read carefully the Neighbourhood Development Plan. This will affect everyone in this village. It is from page 4. This is a very important time for you all to feel involved. Both our local Parish Action Groups RAID and RAGE have written with updates on their work for us all. Ps 22 and 26. Now is the time to support TRAC and think about what you can do to help with their summer fete. p28 There are many other villagers who volunteer to keep our village the pleasant place it is: All the various societies and clubs, leaders, governors, footpath clearers, litter-pickers and organisers. To them and anyone I have not mentioned - Thank you. Andrea Walton Editor

What’s On

Sunday 29th June: Beating the Bounds Picnic and walk. p 10

Weekend 12th and 13th July ‘Twyning Reflects’ on WW1 p 17

Saturday August 2nd Family Fun and Charity Cricket Day on The Village Green p 18

Sunday 3rd August 11.00am WW1 Commemorative event at the war memorial p 16 Saturday 23rd August 7.30pm Family Barn Dance p 23

Bank Holiday Monday 25th August The TRAC Summer fete p28

Parish Council Meetings

June 16 Village Hall 8pm

July 21 Village Hall 8pm

September 15 Ann Townend 8pm

3 TWYNING NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN Introduction

In response to a number of inquisitive housing developers who have recently taken an interest in our village, the Parish Council has decided to take preventative action and introduce control measures in order to guard against inappropriate development. These control measures will be intro- duced through The Localism Act and Neighbourhood Planning Regula- tions,

Communities like our village have the right to undertake Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs). These are simply documents - produced by the community for their community - containing maps, lists and policies. They focus on shaping new development, so are based on land use and planning issues around practical things such as:

Design of buildings Traffic management Utilities Affordable housing Sites for facilities e.g. shopping area, school, play area Provision of walking and cycling routes Where new allotments go Wildlife and landscape areas The main stages are: STEP 1: Get started - decide on the area to be covered by the plan, submit your application to be a Designated Neighbourhood Area, set up your steering group and your NDP structure and budget requirements. Apply for a grant from ‘Locality’ STEP 2: Identify Issues - check on policies you must conform with, gather information on demographics, land use designations, stock take of facilities plus local surveys as appropriate e.g. retail, traffic.

4 STEP 3: Gather opinions - hopes, issues, and challenges and use these to produce a vision and objectives. STEP 4: Generate options for solutions and test these. This may involve consultation, site assessments and/or surveys. STEP 5: Draw up policies and actions and draft the NDP. Follow through with a mandatory consultation with the community. STEP 6: Submit the NDP to the local authority for a further mandatory consultation stage. STEP 7: The local authority organises and pays for an examination of the NDP. STEP 8: The local authority organises and pays for a referendum. If more than 50% of those voting vote ‘yes’ for the NDP then it becomes a statutory planning document - one that communities will use to support or challenge planning applications. Where are we now?

We have completed STEP 1. Our village area has been officially ‘designated’ and now appears on the list of Parishes that are going though the NDP process. This hopefully will be recognized by developers, who may go elsewhere and find an easier target. We have now set up a Steer- ing Group and have received confirmation that our ‘Locality’ grant has been approved. The Neighbourhood Development Plan team is shown below:

Denis Murray Chairman Collette Wright Administrator Jeremy Horsfall Theme Lead - Environment Louise Holland Theme Lead - Facilities & Services Geoff Cowper Theme Lead - Road Traffic & Transport Phil Griffin Theme Lead - Housing & Design Wez Marlow Theme Lead - Economy Bill O'Dell Web Site Liz O'Dell Communications Dave Henstock Statistics

5 Theme Group Support Leads

The above is the core team, behind them administrators, and people with particular skills and expertise that will be invaluable to the success of the NDP. We are now well on the way with STEP 2 and by the time you read this article, many of you would have visited the Village Shop and been ap- proached by a member of the team to carry out a small survey, thus com- mencing STEP 3 of the NDP process. Surveys are very important in the NDP process, as it is evidence that we have consulted Parishioners and obtained their views on what they would like for our village. You can expect more surveys and meetings over the coming months, which I hope you will take part in, giving you the opportunity to contribute your views on what you want for our village. If you wish to be more involved in this exciting venture, then please contact myself, or any member of the NDP team. Denis Murray Chairman – Twyning Parish Council

Twyning 100 years ago and the impact of the outbreak of the 1st World War

Almost everywhere you look especially on TV and in the newspapers there are reminders of 1914 and the outbreak of the First World War. Whatever you may feel about this and there are mixed feelings about the commemoration of this chapter in our history, no event in recent times has had such an impact on each and every village of our land.

Watching some of the excellent programmes on the BBC, I seem to have learnt more about the events of 1914 than I ever did at school! The de- scent into warfare was and is both alarmingly human and terrifyingly costly. Recently I looked at the names of those from Twyning who went out to war and those who did not return. Some of you may feel that these events are best consigned to history. But I believe that confronting our history is the best guard against history repeating itself. (Cont. on p 17)

6 YOUR TEWKESBURY BOROUGH COUNCILLOR KEEPING YOU IN TOUCH

TEWKESBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL – COUNCIL TAX Tewkesbury Borough Council has frozen its part of the council tax for the fourth year running. This means for 2014/2015 local residents will be paying the same council tax as they were in 2010/2011. The council agreed to set its budget at £8.7million for 2014/2015 which includes taking a Government funding cut of 13.6% from last year.

TEWKESBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL – JOINT CORE STRATEGY Tewkesbury Borough Council voted on the 7th April 2014 to approve the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) for the next stage of pre-submission consultation. The JCS is a Development Plan that sets out the identified need & location for housing and employment up to 2031. The JCS will see 30,500 homes built across Tewkesbury, Cheltenham & Gloucester during this period. This plan has been very divisive and was only agreed by the ruling Administration on the Authority with all other groups voting against, (voting was 18 – 15). The main concerns being expressed at the meeting were over the significant loss of green belt land that is proposed, flooding and highways. We will now have to wait to see if the Govern- ment Inspector agrees with these concerns!

FLOOD DEFENCE SCHEME MOTION Following the floods in January & February I tabled a motion calling for a ‘detailed & comprehensive Flood Defence Scheme to be prepared for the Borough of Tewkesbury’ and then to be forwarded to the Government accordingly for funding to help protect our residents from ongoing & future flooding. I was very disappointed that the ruling Administration on the authority voted against this motion on the night and it was therefore lost. However, as always I will continue to fight for better flood protec- tion for local residents.

Cllr. Gordon Shurmer Borough Councillor for Twyning Tel: 01684 772780 E-Mail: [email protected]

By now most of you will have seen this logo around the village, and understand what it is about. For those who are not sure, the Neighbourhood Devel- opment Plan is a nation-wide project to encourage communities to get organised in order to present a unified and evidence-based plan to their local authority. The statutory status of Twyning Neighbourhood Development Plan will give the residents of Twyning Parish more of a say in future developments, regeneration and conservation over the next 20 years. It will spell out to service providers and developers how we would, and would not, like our area to develop, as some change is inevitable over the next 20 years. We have put together an initial survey, which has already had 86 responses.

Thank you to all those who have responded, your views are much appreci- ated and so too are the offers of your help. We will be in touch shortly. Volunteers on the Twyning NDP Steering Group are concentrating on 5 main areas: Roads and Transport, Housing, Facilities and Services, Our En- vironment, Our village Economy. Theme based groups are currently being set up and if anyone who has not yet volunteered but would like to be involved in a theme group, please email the administrator at [email protected] or get in touch with a parish councillor, who will pass on the details. You are most welcome to join our team. We are all in this together.

Our next steps are to gather and collate a wide range of information within the 5 main areas and then based on this information to establish where we are now. We will then develop an in-depth survey, to collect the views, aspi- rations, wants and needs of all the residents. We need to canvass all age groups in all areas of the parish in order to be truly representative. Everyone is invited to have their say, whatever that view may be. A plan will be then drawn up and presented to Tewkesbury Borough Council.

Please look out for a big survey coming your way in the late summer, but if you want to keep up to date and informed of the process, please go to www.twyningvillage.co.uk and look for the regularly updated NDP link. If you are not online but would like to stay informed, please contact any Twyn- ing parish councillor to be put in touch (Contact Details on the notice-board outside the shop). Thank you for your support. The NDP Steering Group.

8 www.twyningvillage.co.uk is the new home for the Parish website. The interactive diary allows relevant dates to be displayed on the appropriate pages, so a Scouting event would be displayed on the Scouts page if it was in the diary. The Parish Council has its own pages, and the rest of the village is invited to email: [email protected] with suggestions and ideas for the site. Any local events that are being organised for the village should be recorded in the diary so everyone knows what is going on.

JUBILEE BENCH The Jubilee Bench was commissioned using the small amount of money that was left over from the donations given by the villagers of Twyning for the Jubilee celebrations. Many thanks to local business Metalscope, who made the bench and to local builder Lance Jones, who recently installed it for us. I hope many of you will get a chance to go down to the river to see the bench and spend a little time sitting on it and remembering the great weekend of celebrations that we had here in Twyning to mark Her Maj- esty Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Lorna Herold

Beating the Bounds Sun 29th June 12:30 On the Green Who likes picnics and beautiful summer walks? Who likes breathing in fresh air, and time to be quiet? Many of us!

So come and enjoy a picnic followed by a family-friendly walk around the village with “pauses for thought”. It'll give us a chance to be quiet, think about the beauty of creation and surrender our cares.

Why is this happening? In ancient times, people walked the boundaries of their village (the parish bounds) to pray for the village. Children beat the boundary markers with sticks. So it was called Beating the Bounds. We can't walk all the parish boundaries but we can walk to the main parts of the village.

When and where? 12:30 on the Green, on 29th June. Bring picnic, water and sun cream (!) for a 4 km walk round the village footpaths, (shorter buggy- friendly route also available).

Questions? Contact Alex Cole (long- time Twyning resident) 07787 112629 or [email protected]

This replaces the Village Footpath team Summer walk

10 Visit to Twyning – March 2014 Although I am now living in Vermont, USA, from 1946 to 1955 I lived in Twyning and at the end of March I paid a weekend visit to refresh memories from my boyhood. When my father left the army at the end of WWII, he took a job at the sand and gravel pit in Ripple and moved the family to Twyning. I recall that for the first month or so we lodged in Brockeridge Cottages, which at that time still had no electricity and no piped water. We then moved to Merriman’s Close on Hillend Road where we had about two and half acres of orchard, market garden, attached cottage, barn, stables and pig sties. We had electricity but our water came from the well at the front of the house. So soon after WWII, Twyning was largely still as it had been before the war. Anyone who has read John Moore’s books Brensham Village or Portrait of Elmbury, or Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie, will have a pretty good idea of Twyning and Tewkesbury at that time. There were several memorable characters in the village, and one was Sid Davies, market gar- dener, carpenter, coffin maker and undertaker, who lived by himself in a house further up Hillend Road. He deliberately left the front of the house looking like a ruin “So it don’t attract the tax man”. With our pigs and chickens constantly escaping through the hedges around the orchard and having to be recovered, my father soon found that it made good sense to keep a couple of barrels of scrumpy in the stables for neighbours as re- ward for their recovery missions and open to anyone who needed to slake a thirst. I can see that much has changed in the village. The avenue of ma- jestic horse chestnut trees at Brockeridge has gone, as have similar big trees on the Green. Narrow lanes festooned with brambles have been re- placed by tidy bungalows. The M5 and M50 have brought Twyning well into commuting distance from urban centres such as Birmingham and Bristol and the village has seen significant development. Merriman’s Close and Nut Orchard are very different, and yet as I drove around Twyning, Hillend, Puckrup and Churchend, there is also much the same. Long may it remain so. After Twyning Council School, in 1948 I attended Tewkesbury Grammar School at first when it was still in the building opposite the Ab- bey and later at Southwick Park. From the Grammar School I gained a scholarship to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and began a career

11 as a naval officer. By 1978 I was at the British Embassy in Washington DC, and then began a second career working for the United Nations in New York until finally retiring (I retired three times) in 2004. Together, my two careers included: chasing Soviet submarines in the North Atlan- tic; a season in the Antarctic; UN peacekeeping operations in the Balkans; destruction of Saddam Hussein’s weapons in Iraq; negotiations in eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union; and working with the US military in multilateral exercises in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and other countries in south-east Asia. Now retired, my wife and I live in Vermont, USA, and I continue to have fond memories of boyhood in Twyning. Some of my school friends from that era still live in the village and to them and to all current residents I send my warmest wishes. Derek Boothby [email protected]

It is so nice to have a response to my request for more information of Twyning in days gone by. Keep those articles coming. A Walton Ed.

Coming soon to a church near you!

The Eleven O'clock service A service that lasts no longer than forty min- utes, is geared towards children and young families, with modern worship songs and where you will feel welcome, regardless of how old you are!

Starting on 18th May, and on every third Sunday of the month after- wards, in St Mary Magdalene Church, Twyning at, yes, you guessed it, 11 o’clock, but if you’d like refreshments first then you are very welcome to join the earlier congregation in tea, coffee, squash and biscuits from 10.30am.

So, please do come along to try a very different style of worship and see what you think!

12 TWYNING RELIEF-IN-NEED CHARITY

In the past various residents of Twyning gave money or gifts in kind to help support the poor and needy of the village. Various charities were formed and Trustees appointed to administer the funds. Recipients often received their support in the form of coal being delivered

One of the charities was the Edghock Charity resulting from a will made in 1662. Richard Edghock, a Yeoman Farmer, lived at Fountain Farm (now known as The Fountain). In his will he left the house and farm land to his childless daughter and her husband. After their death the house and land was to be let and half the income to go to the poor and needy of Twyning and half to the Vicar. Trustees were appointed to administer the Trust which continued to let the property until 1915. At that time permis- sion was given by the Charity Commissioners to sell the house and remaining land and the proceeds were then invested. During the 1970's it was decided to merge all the other charities with the Edghock share and so Twyning Relief in Need Charity was formed. The charity has an income of about £300 per annum. The Trustees decided several years ago to support some of the organisa- tions in the village. A donation is made each year to the school, lunch club, guiding group and scouting group. The money can help those who might otherwise not be able, for financial reasons, to take part in some of an organisation's activities; the Trust also makes grants to some individuals. Any parishioner can approach a Trustee and ask for help. On a per- sonal note: My husband and I bought The Fountain in 1965 and after some research became aware of the Edghock Trust. A few years later I was invited to become a Trustee.

Trustees The Vicar of the Parish Mr John Brookes Mrs Monica Gray Dr David Herold Mr Godfrey Page Mrs Helen Randall Mrs Sarah Palmer (new Trustee to be appointed)

Monica Gray Trustee and Clerk.

13 THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY MAGDALENE

How important is hospitality? Twyning village is renowned for its friend- liness and part of that has to be hospitality. Whether it’s inviting people into one’s home or simply making space to have a chat with our neighbours, hospitality is what makes a community. When I was a curate in Farnham a parishioner told me of a time when he was standing on the station platform, waiting for the 7.05am train when he noticed a man further down the platform whom he vaguely recognized. The man returned his gaze as if he, too, knew him but not from where. They started to talk, asking whether they were members of the same squash club, golf club until finally they realized that they were, in fact, neighbours. Telling me this, the man was disturbed about how he hadn’t known his neighbour and determined from then to have a social event and invite his neighbours to build up a sense of community. ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Jesus was asked. He went on to tell the story of the Good Samaritan where a Jew, in trouble, was helped by his deepest enemy, a Samaritan. I can’t imagine that there are such deep hatreds in Twyning village and there are plenty of social events that enable us to all come together. Some that the church is organizing in the next few months are a ‘beating the bounds’ walk in conjunction with the chapel, an opportunity to find out what was happening in the village during the First World War and many more - please see the notice boards for more details and all are welcome. Meantime we look forward to a good summer – with perhaps some rain at night to satisfy the farmers! With every blessing Barbara

Twyning Parish Community Minibus The Parish Minibus is available for use by residents of Twyning parish subject to a very modest contribution to running expenses. It is a 17 seater Mercedes Sprinter and comes fully insured. It can be used for a wide range of social occasions, such as Sporting Events, Club Outings, Wed- dings etc. the Minibus is available on self-drive basis (albeit with age re- strictions) but we may be able to provide a driver on occasions. For enquiries and bookings please contact:- Martyn Ryland 01684 298415. 07771688177 [email protected] 14

A great place to live- our village of Twyning The people are nice - friendly and kind It is always so peaceful and that's just the beginning Its beauty and style come easy to mind.

The houses are neat with green all around So why, I must ask and so much deplore Those who drop litter and those who pass round Ignoring the waste right outside of their door

There are bottles and cans with paper in mounds But bins for this filth stand near and ignored So come good people each pick up a few pounds And drop no more dross - as I have implored.

Ken Sherrin

NB Free Poo Bags are available at the Village Inn.

We organise a monthly social club for sight impaired people. The club, TEWKESBURY VIPs, meets between 2pm & 4pm on the first Thursday of every month at Tewkesbury Baptist Church.

It’s an opportunity for people who may have difficulty getting out, and are possibly a bit lonely, to enjoy a social occasion. Specifically trained volunteers can bring members to meetings, for a small charge, where we have some entertainment or a talk.

Students from Tewkesbury School help at meetings and provide delicious cakes. .NEW MEMBERS WELCOME

Please contact me, Christopher Chapman, 01684 293527, [email protected], if you or someone you know would like to join in.

15 TWYNING VILLAGE HALL

The Annual General Meeting was held in February and, sadly, our Chair- man John Reynolds stood down. We have a great deal to thank John for as he was “in the driving seat” for the refurbishment of the hall in 2011 and beyond. Unfortunately John was unable to chair most of our meetings last year due to ill health. Happily he is now recovering but feels that he should step away from the Chairmanship, therefore we now need a new Chairman. If anybody fancies taking on a role with the Village Hall Management Committee please make yourself known to one of us (details below). Our meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month (not Au- gust or December). We were entertained by Rich and Sam McMahon “Beyond Borders” on 4th April and although the gig was not well supported the people who did attend were very enthusiastic and said they hoped the duo would return in the future. Hopefully by the time you read this publication we will have a working hearing loop in the Hall to enable those with hearing aids to be able to hear what is being said at public meetings. Also there will be a micro- phone system built into the hall to enhance sound throughout the room for those people who do not suffer hearing loss. Christine Skelton Hon Sec. Tel 297493 Maggie Ball Hon Treas. Tel 292550

In consultation with Rev. Hesketh and P.C. we hope to have a WW1 commemorative event at the war memorial on Sunday 3rd August at 11am. This will be in the form of a short service, as drawn up by the Church of England for just such an event.

Rev. Hesketh is happy to officiate .

Geoff Cowper

16 ST MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH

Weekend 12 & 13 July – ‘TWYNING REFLECTS’

1914 – one hundred years ago...... Twyning goes to war. We shall reflect in flowers, music and words during the weekend of 12 & 13 July life in Twyning during the Great War 1914 – 1918. Maps and pictures of our village will also show how residents lived and worked at that time. Who went to the war, who returned, who never returned. We will reflect on: accounts by local people of their family history 100 years ago relating to Twyning and stories of present residents, not related to Twyning, but linked to 1914 – 1918 Please visit our Church on: Saturday 12th. July between 10.00am and 5.00pm Or Sunday 13th July between 1.00pm and 5.00pm. Admission free On Saturday evening at 6.00pm there will be a concert by the Silurian Choir which will feature music from that era and there will be an opportunity for the audience to join in to sing some of the songs from that time. Tickets £10 (children free) are available from Margaret Bailey, Birds Farm (01684 298268)

(cont. from p 6) The second weekend in July, St Mary Magdalene Twyning will be commemorating what was happening in this village 100 years ago. The plan is to see the village as it was 1914, through flowers and music. Have you or your family any pictures or written memories that could help us to capture this village at such a momentous point in its history? If you have, do contact me. I trust that as spring moves into summer in Twyning it is worth reflecting on how this village has changed in 100 years and whether these changes have made us more or less vulnerable to repeating history.

Ron Hesketh Associate Priest

17 TVCCG Presents!

The Twyning Village Community Charity Group are pleased to report that they were able to present their 3 chosen charities for fundraising last year with a total of £3,750.00. Representatives from Cancer Research UK, CLIC Sargent and Sue Ryder received cheques for £1,250.00 each at a presentation evening at the Vil- lage Inn in January. We actually raised a grand total of £4,000, the remaining funds acting as a local community pot for those in need and a credit balance for this year. But we couldn’t have done all of this without your support and would like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters, both individuals and businesses, who helped us to raise this amazing amount. As for this year, we have already chosen our 3 charities: The British Heart Foundation (as we all know someone who has been affected by heart dis- ease); Local charity Cobalt (who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year with an appeal to raise 500K towards a new state of the art PET/ CT scanner for early cancer and dementia diagnosis); and Cloud 9, which provides funding for holidays for children with life limited illness and disability, administered by The Pied Piper Appeal based at Gloucester- shire Royal Hospital. We hope that you will agree with our choice of charities for this year and hope that we can count on your continued support and look forward to welcoming you to our various fundraising events this year which are as follows: 30th May 2014 Best of British Family Games Night at The Village Inn 7.00pm. 2nd August 2014 Family Fun and Charity Cricket Day on The Village Green. November 2014 Date TBC Race Night at The Village Inn.

Gloucestershire Rural Communities Council Has a Village Agent covering Twyning, amongst other villages:

Dave Cooper can help over 50s with many issues including Home safety Checks, Pensions and Benefits, Home Adaptations for the disabled and keeping warm. If you need any more information then ring him on: 07810 630244

18 Beyond Borders at the Village Hall

In Beyond Borders, singer/songwriter Rich McMahon took us on a musi- cal journey through traditional Irish songs, excellent self-penned songs, and covers from well-known artists as diverse as U2 and Leonard Cohen. Touching on themes of emigration and immigration, and accompanied by a visual backdrop of images of cities in years gone by, along with archive film footage of Ellis Island and the Empire Windrush, the central premise was that people – and music – move beyond borders, taking cultural in- fluences with them wherever they go, which blend and evolve over the years. The whole show was pulled together with ease by the gentle Irish banter of its creator – a man who is clearly comfortable with the audience and loves what he does. His remarkable voice and his ability to switch genres (and guitars!) are a testament to his immense talent. Accompanied at times by his sister Sam, this was a show with something for everyone – thought-proving, but also a great night’s entertainment which the audience clearly enjoyed. Let’s hope he comes back! Fiona Thornton

19 TWYNING PLAYERS SUMMER PLAY

‘ROLE PLAY’ BY Alan Ayckbourn 15, 16, 17 May

Comedies are not for everyone but those who like a good laugh really enjoyed an incredibly funny play – Alan Ayckbourn at his best. It was a little slow to start, but as the storyline unfolded the audience was gently drawn into the plot. This could be a hard play to get the timing right and I believe Twyning Players really achieved this by choosing just the right seven performers. I absolutely loved the interplay of the two mothers, such opposite characters, but the blend and abilities of these two talented actors, Patti Cane and Hazel Smith, really did their roles justice. The two younger female parts, performed by Jodie Hopkins and Katie Preedy, were lighter hearted and amusing and I felt these actors have much to offer in the future. That just leaves 3 remaining players. Nigel Guilding, as I’ve never seen him before, in a rather quieter role. Our rela- tive newcomer, Phil Hodge, had so many words to learn that I particularly admire his memory – I never heard a single prompt throughout the whole performance. And last, but not least, well done to Mark Shaw playing the Northern husband. This was another triumph of a performance for Twyning Players working with this incredibly funny script. All ably directed by Ian Southall and produced by Nici Khor. This performance was a marriage of talent and ability throughout. More please! Pippa Roome

TWYNING PLAYERS CHAIR: Georgie Thwaites 17 The Mayalls, Twyning, GL20 6DT ( 01684 291808 : [email protected] SECRETARY: Carol Chapman Anvil House, Church End, Twyning,GL20 6DA ( 01684 293527 : [email protected] TREASURER: John Salmon 8 The Mayalls, Twyning, GL20 6DT (01684 292368 : [email protected]

20 In our February 2013 edition I wrote about Mary (known as May) Hunt. Now she has celebrated her 100 birthday. Ed. Dennis Murray writes: Christine and I called round to Mary Hunt’s home this morning and on behalf of the Parish Councillors wished her a very happy 100th birthday and presented her with a bunch of flowers we councillors agreed to buy her on this special event. Mary was looking fit and well and in good conversation. Mary was extremely proud to have received best wishes from the Queen, particularly on St Georges Day. Mary has been living in the village since 1945: we spoke at length of the many changes that have oc- curred , and fond memories she has over her years living in the village. Mary did make a point that she was almost the youngster in the family: she has two sisters who she corre- sponds with regularly - one is 106, the other 109 years old !!!! Twyning Playgroup has been having lots of fun this term. It all started back in April with the Easter Fayre, which was held in Twyning School. There were lots of games to play, and chocolate and cake to eat. Thank you to everyone who helped and supported our fun Easter Fayre. The kids have been enjoying a fabulous water/sand table, which the Tewkesbury Rotary Club kindly bought for us. This table is transport- able and is often taken outside for the kids to play with. The reading corner has been made super comfy with the addition of a new miniature arm chair, and the art corner will have a new injection of life thanks to Nisa who nomi- nated us as their charity this year. A cheque presentation was organised outside the shop with all the kids and lots of fun pictures were taken and hopefully we will be headlining the Gloucestershire Echo. Playgroup has got a busy time ahead organising the end of year trip, sports day and variety show. Its all go go go as our pre-schoolers get ready to leave playgroup and head for school. Annie Siddel is our new chair and with her new committee and new wave of children I'm sure will do a brilliant job. Victoria Kelly

21 UP-DATE ON Residents Against Gravel Extraction

RAGE has not been sitting idle in recent months and weeks. We have continued protesting on behalf of the Village about the proposed despoiling of the land along Pages Lane by sand and gravel extraction. So that a comparatively very small amount, 90,000 tonnes, can be extracted, the lives of Twyning inhabitants could be disrupted and blighted. Large numbers of letters of ob- jection have been received by Gloucester County Council. 451 were sent in the first time and 170 the second time. They confirm that letters are still coming in and not all have been included in these figures. Why was there a second time ? Simply because one year after the deadline for the application to be submitted, the applicant had to send in another 249 (!) pages of information to complete what he had failed to do originally. This second voluminous document still has various significant failings.

The letters sent by the Community show many points of view. We have noted from some of the letters that there is a fear that, just like the previous mining at Church End, dust blown on the prevailing wind made putting out the washing in Twyning Green impossible. The danger of 114 lorries weigh- ing 32 tonnes entering and leaving the junction of Pages Lane and the A38 every day is seen to be a worry, especially in the middle of the 1100 car movements per day when villagers come and go. Walkers, horse riders and children will not be protected sufficiently you have said. When it’s finished they plan to dump waste to fill up the hole underneath what is currently Grade 1 agricultural land. Then, when they’ve finished, they plan to leave ‘ponds’, but these will have no public access, yet no safety plans are in place to protect children who may inquisitively venture in. You can see why RAGE has had to be vigilant on behalf of all who live in this green and pleasant corner of Gloucestershire. The Group is checking anything and everything. We also noted that The Church End Conservation Area boundary is within a few metres of this proposed pit and that nowhere in the whole country has a pit been allowed so close to habitation. The nearest property is 5 metres away. The noise and dust will be intolerable for all who live here or pass by. Planning Committee Councillors will come and inspect the site before they meet to make the decision, now postponed from May to July. If we publicise the date of that visit perhaps you might come along and support the ‘NO’ vote by just standing around and showing your (silent) feelings. A crowd of villagers would show the solidarity of all who just don’t want this damage, destruction and danger. Michael Cole 22 Keep Twyning Tidy We have recently been on holiday to Malaysia and Thailand and saw less litter in three weeks there than, as in the photo, we can collect in one walk along Page’s Lane. When you add this regular haul to that collected by other village volunteer litter pickers, it’s shameful. If you care enough about the environment in which you live to help keep it clean and tidy, let’s work together to educate, encourage and challenge those who don’t care and just expect someone else to clear up after them. Tewkesbury Borough Council has lots of support available including:  Supply and collection of litter bins and litter picking equipment for village events  Supply of equipment for village community litter picks equipment and induction for individuals who would like to carry out regular litter picks For more information contact Naomi Cole, 01684 272186, [email protected]

Chris Chapman, Volunteer Litter Picker

THE social event of the year is back!!!! Put on your checked shirts, grab your partners by the hand and come along to our: FAMILY BARN DANCE With music from “O Cajunal Playboys” And your caller for the evening will be the ever popular Chris Mulvey Saturday 23rd August 2014 The Marquee on the Green 7.30pm-11.30pm Licensed bar applied for It really will be an evening for the whole family so please put the date in your diary and come along and support us Ticket prices held! Adult £13.00 Child 12 yrs and under £5.00 Tickets available from Lorna: 294292

23 Twyning School – at the heart of our community….

Do you remember your school motto? If you are near my age (no concern of yours!), it was probably in Latin and displayed on your badge. ‘Fiat lux’ was mime. At least by the time, I left I realised it wasn’t advertising an Italian car! Today our schools are looking for something more akin to a strap line (defined as a short catchy sentence that represents an enter- prise). Whatever you call it Twyning School wants one which will inspire its pupils. If you have any good ideas let me know or any of the governors.

The Head Teacher, Richard Vaughan, and his staff work incredibly hard to keep up with the endless stream of requirements which aim to foster educational excellence. The task of the governors, should you wish to join us, is to monitor every aspect of school life and ensure pupil and staff alike are challenged. However, I still think the best measure of a school is the number of parents who want their children to have a place at that school. Twyning School is never short of pupils and the governors continue to monitor the possible challenges of an expanding village. One of the more immediate challenges for the Head and staff is self-assessment. If they have got it right, and I’m sure they have, Twyning School is very firmly in what Ofsted grade as ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features. Ofsted inspection might be soon but I doubt if it can ever capture the ability of our small school to offer a wide range of activities both in and out of the classroom.

The school’s Easter Service was very well attended as was the Easter Egg Hunt. In sport, the Cross Country team finished second overall in the area championships. Two pupils represented the District in the County Finals and were well placed. The Tag rugby squad finished third in the Chelten- ham Festival and won the District Cup; as did the School Football team. The school also took part in a Sponsored Swim for Sports Relief 2014, at Cascades Pool. Classes 3 and 4 were visited by the local Police Commu- nity Support Officer who delivered sessions about Internet Safety. A successful ‘Green Week’ took place for all matters Eco and the school is currently applying for the coveted Green Flag Award. Just some of the recent headlines in the Head Teacher’s report.

24 As I write it feels like Summer and the children have been making good use of The Green for sports…long may it remain so. Maybe ‘at the heart of our community’ as per my title… isn’t a bad strap line! Whether you are a parent or not, a good way to get to know our school is through the recently updated web site www.twyningschool.co.uk.Could you be a school governor? If you want to know more talk to any of the governors listed on the website and we will gladly tell you what’s involved. Ron Hesketh – Community Governor

25 RAID Residents Against Inappropriate Development We are a Parish action group opposed to the predatory high density developments proposed by Messrs Persimmon & Newland Homes who are seeking to build in excess of 100 dwellings within a 500m radius of the village centre. We greatly appreciate the tremendous support received from Twyning residents. At the last count:Persimmon: 402 residents had submitted written responses to the Borough Council:394 (98%) were Opposed, 5 Supported & 3 were Neutral. Newland Homes: 243 residents had submitted written responses to the Borough Council:239 (98%) were Opposed, 2 Supported & 2 were Neutral. This represents an overwhelming endorsement of our stance & resident’s concern on this matter. We understand both the Newland Homes and Persimmon application will go before the TBC Planning Committee on the 24th June. “However these dates have not been confirmed and could possibly change”. On the 4th Feb 2014 RAID conducted a traffic survey in order to provide direct evidence of existing traffic levels and to enable the impact of the proposed housing developments to be forecast. In particular the traffic volume passing the pinch points outside the school and shop, where traffic levels are already a problem at peak times. Taken together the developments would increase traffic past the school by about 23% to 1,700 vehicles a day! (More information about this is available from the Author) Severn Trent has now committed money and resources to determining the exact cause of our sewage problems. With regard to the flooding and surface water issues it would seem that both applications have a number of issues & technical flaws which could prevent the developments from being deliverable in their current form. We believe that all issues are resolvable in the long term but that the TBC may have to apply some pretty strict planning conditions prior to occupa- tion. In regard to build density, character & layout, there has so far been little significant movement in the form of concessions by the developers. The total absence of open spaces & amenity areas remains the same for both schemes. Equally there has been no give from the developers with regard to our environ- mental, school capacity, safety & sustainability concerns. We are NOT opposed to the construction of new residential housing in the Par- ish and recognise the need for affordable homes. The Persimmon & Newland development proposals should be viewed in the context of overall development in the village. Unfortunately the very laudable Neighbourhood Development Plan will be too late to influence these two applications. Low density development scattered around the village would be much more appropriate for a rural environment than these proposed urban style, high density developments. RAID has committed a great deal of time, effort & money toward protecting our rural village from opportunistic developments. We very much hope that we can continue to count on your support. David Stokes Chairman RAID Email: [email protected] 26 Home Cricket Fixtures June to August

Games start at 2pm at Puckrup except as noted:- June - Wed 4th (6pm), Sun 8th, Sat 14th, Sat 28th, July - Wed 2nd (6pm), Sat 12th, Wed 23rd (6pm), Sat 26th, Sun 27th (2.30pm), August - Sat 16th, Sat 30th.

The ground and clubhouse are available for hire. Family celebrations, children’s parties, group events, sports activities are all welcome.

Contact Chris Rogers Mobile 07580672820

2013 was a very successful year for TRAC and membership numbers rose from single figures to over 50 , plus Tennis Club members and the pupils of Twyning School. We worked hard on promoting the site and we hope to welcome more new members in 2014. We have built strong rela- tionships with Twyning School and their new PE teacher and are pleased that TRAC is being used more and more by the children. We gained per- mission from the Parish Council to use the site above the courts and play area for sports such as football. We are hoping to maintain the area further over the summer so that the school can use it for athletics. In May last year we ran a very successful "Back 2 Netball" Campaign and now have over 25 members. Some of the girls even entered a tournament with other the "Back 2 Netball" groups in the area and came away victori- ous. (photo on p35)Netball is held every Wednesday 8pm -9pm, to anyone over 14 years, all abilities are welcome. The costs of running TRAC are immense and most of our funds are gained either through grants, which take a great deal of time applying for, and the village fete. We are therefore very grateful to all members of the TRAC Committee who continue to put in huge efforts for the benefit of TRAC, and to all those who attend the fete for their continued support. Recently the site has been subjected to 3 separate acts of petty vandalism. Please can we ask you all to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to a committee member. For further information visit www.tracsport.org

27 Twyning Village Fete

This year’s fete will take place on Bank Holiday Monday 25th August 2014 from 1pm to 4pm. We endeavour to put on an event which has something for everyone to enjoy. There will be a beer tent, car boot, charity stalls, side-show attractions and all the usual kids’ stuff. Food-wise there will be our fantastic barbecue, refreshments in the marquee and the ice cream van. We will have entertainment in the main arena and our ever popular Tug of War and Egg Throwing competitions. It truly is a fun day for the whole family so please do come along and support us! In the Marquee, along with the refreshments, we shall have our competitions which provide a real focal point for visitors to the fete to enjoy. There are plenty of categories to choose from this year, so no excuses! Entry forms will be available from the Village Shop, so please pick yours up soon! If you would like to hold a stall on the day please contact us and let us know your ideas. The fete is a great opportunity for you to raise funds for your cause; all we ask is that 10% of your takings are given to the fete organisers. We require written confirmation of your desire to attend so that we can allo- cate an area for you. Helpers If you would like to get more involved in the run up to the fete or you can spare an hour or two to help out on the day we would love to hear from you. Many hands make light work!

For further information contact: Lorna 294292

Competition Categories (TBC please see entry form) UNDER 6 YEARS BEST FANCY DRESSED VEGETABLE MINI GARDEN- prepared on a dinner plate. 6-12 YEAR OLDS PLATE OF 6 HOMEMADE BISCUITS HOMEMADE ROBOT MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS LANDSCAPE PAINTING/DRAWING- Any art materials/ medium may be used TEENAGERS BEST DECORATED CAKE- Theme "Summer" CANAPE

28 OPEN CLASSES PRESERVE- SWEET PRESERVE – SAVOURY HOME MADE BEVERAGE/WINE PHOTOGRAPHY- Title "Take a break" GREAT TWYNING BAKE OFF 12. BEST VICTORIA SANDWICH CAKE Only made from the following ingredients 6oz Margarine, 6oz Caster Sugar, 6oz Self raising flour, 3 eggs and Raspberry Jam filling 13. CHOCOLATE CAKE made by a man 14. 4 SCONES 15. HOME-GROWN TOMATOES - one dish of 5 (will be tasted) 16. MEDLEY of 3 HOMEGROWN VEGETABLES 17. SPECIAL FLORAL ARRANGEMENT CLASS Design and create an arrangement inspired by & celebrating The Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow. Space allowed 20" x 20" - height unlimited. Flower & plant materials must pre- dominate. Twyning Wine Club The January Club meeting was our wine drive. There were some very good home made wines, both from original ingredients and also those made from grape juice which can be purchased in commercial kit form, producing very tasty results. At the end of the evening, the wines were judged and a cup was awarded. At the February meeting, members had a very entertaining speaker who spoke on the theme of the boatbuilding history of Tewkesbury. On occasions such as this, members bring their own wine and we have an accompanying snack of cheese and biscuits. At the March meeting, one of our members gave a presentation on the topic of Spanish wines. We gave our best guess of the areas of origin, type of grape and even the price. To complete the evening, we had accompanying food with a Spanish flavour. In April the Club frequently holds a skittles evening, with a supper being available. This provides an opportunity to have fun or to be competitive, depending on your approach. The Club usually meets at the Village Hall on the third Wednesday of each month. New members are most welcome, and if you are interested in joining or sampling our hospitality, please contact: Jean Turner 01684 772053 Secretary, Twyning Wine Club

29 Twyning Tennis Club

The tennis season is well under way with many activities planned for different groups. Coaching continues with Simon on a Monday evening for the children and on Wednesday and Friday mornings for adults. On Sunday May 11th the annual tournament will be held in memory of Tom Spry. Members will be able to compete and the winner will be awarded a fine trophy. Tom was a dedicated member of the club, who played regularly and when unable to play came and supported with his wife Ann. The Club have fitted a plaque, to remember Tom, on the bench where he sat and watched his favourite game. An open day is being organised for Saturday June 28th and all are welcome. Hopefully by the time this is written the courts will have been resurfaced, weather permitting. Tennis is thriving in Twyning! The ladies are competing in the Glouces- tershire Summer League, with three teams being entered again, an amazing achievement for a small club. There are plenty of opportunities for all to play so come on down. Either give me a ring or come and see us on a club night, Tuesday or Thursday at 6.00pm. All welcome. Hilary Davies 01684 299350 …………...French Club………….

French Club continues to meet on a Wednesday evening once a month. New members are always welcome. Come and enjoy good company, conversation in French, and a glass of wine. Ring for dates and times. Hilary Davies 01684 299350

Twyning Over 60s Lunch Club

After the festive season we started meeting again on 10th January. Since then we have all enjoyed some excellent meals with our friends in the Village Hall. There are still a few vacancies so why don’t you join us on Fridays when a two-course meal and a coffee are served at 12.20 pm at the very reasonable cost of £3. At least give it a try, we are sure that you won’t be disappointed.

Sam Haycock at 15 Paxhill Lane, or on 293890 30 Explorer Scouts

Extreme ESU have been busy with activities since the last bulletin entry. 11 of our explorers went on a weekend trip to London, to compete in Mo- nopoly Run, a scavenger hunt challenge around the centre of the capital, and camping at Scout Park. We are well into expedition season now. 4 more of our explorers have successfully completed their Silver DofE Expedition, exploring the River Wye by canoe, for 3 days. Last weekend, we had 22 explorers out on the Black Mountains doing their Bronze DofE practice expedition and 4 older explorers further west in the Brecon Beacons doing navigation training for their Gold DofE. A great time was had by all and the weather was kind to us. Not so when Martyn and Dan did their mountain leader/ supervisor assessment weekend on Dartmoor, with torrential rain and gusts up to 50mph. We now know that there is no such thing as ‘waterproof’. They do say “If it isn’t raining, it isn’t training.”

We are very grateful to many members of our community as you supported us in our awards this year. Thank you to all those who offered their knowledge, at our international evenings, and also to the Church, for allowing us to take part in a very successful faith activity. These activities join with the DofE to make part of the Chief Scout and Queen’s Scout Awards. Next year is the 23rd World Scout Jamboree, which is being held in Ja- pan. Gloucestershire is sending a contingent of 27 young people, and 2 of our explorers, Sophie Essex and Sarah Thickett, were selected to go. It will be a fantastic experience, and we will be helping them with some fundraising.

Dan Orchard, Explorer Scout Leader 01684 298788 [email protected]

Photos on back cover

31 Twyning Scout Group – Ian Palmer 01684 296842

Please find a brief summary of our activities below. We are always keen to find new uniformed leaders and currently that is especially so in the Scout Section. Please get in touch if you think you can help.

Beavers (6 to 8) –Tuesday 6pm Kevin Tyson 295026: twyningty- [email protected]

The term started with a visit from our local WPCO which was linked to our Friendship Challenge Badge and particularly enjoyed by the Beavers when they were allowed to set off the siren in the Police Car. We also had the investiture of new Beavers, Jensen, Robin, & Jack.

As part of the Healthy Eating Badge our Young Leaders organised making some fruit smoothies with the Beavers , and we spent a couple of weeks learning about the benefits of health & fitness – with the Beavers keeping food diaries of what they had eaten for a week.

Anne Green returned to instruct Beavers on elementary First Aid, allowing Beavers to complete the first part of their staged First Aid Badge. This will lead them to more advanced stages as they move up through Scouting, and the Beavers showed their usual enthusiasm, (as illustrated ).

Izzie and Willow, our Young Leaders managed to squeeze in a games and challenges evening, and we made some Mothers’ Day cards, prior to our RSPB visit to Highnam Woods as the second part of our Environment Partner- ship Badge at the end of term.

32 The Beavers heard why looking after our environment is important and saw deer tracks, Woodpecker holes - and those quiet enough might have heard Chiff Chaffs and Nightingales, in between trying to find as many muddy puddles to jump in!

We are grateful for the support of all our leaders and Young Leaders. Many thanks to Steve Barker who has joined us as a regular adult helper and we look forward to getting outside again during the summer, as well as planning for our camp in tents at Cranham near Painswick later next term.

Cubs (8 to 10) – Thursday 6:15 – Dave Green 296284 : [email protected]

This term we saw the Cubs completing their Global Challenge. They learnt about Shelter Box, water aid day and recycling. A Boy Scout from America visited us and the cubs researched some information about different countries.

The Cubs also worked towards their home help badge cleaning shoes and silver, as well as cooking themselves beans on toast and washing up!

In March we had our pack holiday at Cranham and the Cubs gained badges in astronomy and science. We learnt about electrical circuits and experimented with different methods of propulsion including Alka Selza rockets. They brought home lots of ‘spacey’ craft and some homemade yogurt. They also enjoyed a muddy nature hike worm hunting and Joe even caught a fish.

They made some lovely cards for Mother’s Day and all promised to do a good turn for their mums. We ended the term with a walk to Tewkesbury and enjoyed chips by the river. As always many thanks to Dave, Mark, Louise and Sally who help plan and organise an active programme for our enthusiastic cubs. Thanks also to Katy and Sophie our young leaders

Scouts (10 to 14) - Thursday 7:30 – Lorna Herold 294292 : [email protected]

This term the Scouts have worked on improving their DIY skills and, as well as having a very informative session led by Kevin Tyson and Gary Quinn on how to change plugs, fix a tap washer and how to stay safe, they spent an evening making bird boxes (which have been located around the village). Each Scout then had to carry out their own DIY project at home, under the guidance of their parents and provide photographic evidence of their labours. If ever you need a bit of painting, shelf fixing or fence repairing done then look no further because we can put you in touch with just the right people for the job!

Ella, James, Eleanor and Amaya took part in the County Cooking Compe- tition and did a fantastic job, coming third. Well done! The term ended with an evening ice skating and luckily everyone came away in one piece!

Thankfully summer is just round the corner and the Scouts will be out and about much more, pitching tents, building camp fires and orienteering. We are also hoping to have a local weekend camp where the Scouts will be canoeing along the river as well as taking part in other exciting challenges. Also later in the term the Scouts will be getting a chance to further their archery and rifle shooting skills as well as continuing to work on their community badge. Thank you to anyone who has helped and given support over the term to enable a full programme to be provided for the Scouts.

34 Sam and Anita Haycock with the Lord Lieutenant, Dame Janet Trotter, after she had presented them with their British Empire Medals in St Mary Magdalene Church Twyning on Sunday, 27th April.

Back to Netball

Explorer Scouts in the Black Mountains

Twyning Players in Role-Play

The Wine Group

The Footpaths Walking Group