Spring 2021 Issue: 12 Funded by Englishcombe Parish Council

Times Spring 2021 Issue: 12 Funded by Englishcombe Parish Council. Welcome to the twelfth edition of the Englishcombe Times!! 2021 has arrived and COVID 19 has been with us for over a year. But thankfully vaccinations are now being rolled out across the country, and talk of an ease of lockdown regulations fill the air- waves. Sadly in January we learnt that our Parish Clerk would be leaving us. I would like to thank Kathryn for her service to the parish since 2009, especially for her help in proof reading the editions of the Englishcombe Times.

Goodbye from your Clerk In an article submitted to the Englishcombe Times last year on life as a parish clerk I started by saying that after working for Royal Mail for seventeen years in a variety of sales and mar- keting roles I became Englishcombe’s parish clerk. Well I didn’t make seventeen years but after twelve years in the role it is time for me to move on. I also work as a clerk in two other parishes so I have made the decision to now reduce my workload to the two remain- ing parishes. Therefore I still might see some of you when you attend meetings external to the parish council including the three different chairs I have worked with during my time in Englishcombe. I wish my successor many best wishes and good luck. Kathryn Manchee Visit the Parish Website: englishcombe.net

Have you seen this man?

This is George Cox, born in Englishcombe in 1792. He married Phoebe Ponting, born 1798, also in Englishcombe. They had a son, George. He had a son Thom- as, who had a son George, who had a son George, who had a son George, and he is my dad.

George and Phoebe must have moved away, because they died in Lyncombe and Widcombe parish. George had been a farm labourer at one point. The photograph is a little spooky to me, because George looks so much like my younger brother. George’s parents, William and his wife Mary (nee Hillman), were born in English- combe, married and buried there. And there the story runs dry. I know nothing more about William and Mary. Their parents must have lived in the village; maybe their grandparents did also. How many generations of Coxes lived and died there? I read the history of the village written by Jean Manco. What intrigued me were the pictures of people with the last Cox taken in more recent times. I see Coxes living there in 1995. Could it really be that my Coxes had petered out or moved away, and a new, unrelated set moved into the village? It seems unlikely. Perhaps there are Coxes, and Hillmans, and Pontings still there? Twenty and some years ago, I moved to Texas for work. I have two sons born here in Houston. For them, and for my need to connect to my roots, I have been exploring my genealogy. There is something that is drawing me to Englishcombe. Somehow I feel it is an important part of my heritage. So I ask you; do you know George Cox? Are you a Hillman or a Ponting, or a de- scendant of them? Please reach out to me at [email protected] Russell Cox

Ready, steady, census Census 2021 will provide a snapshot of modern society Households across Englishcombe Parish will soon be asked to take part in Census 2021. Census day is 21 March 2021. The census is a once-in-a-decade survey that gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941. It will be the first run predominantly online, with households receiving a letter with a unique access code, allowing them to complete the questionnaire on their computers, phones or tablets. “A successful census will ensure everyone from local government to charities can put services and funding in the places where they are most needed,” Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, said. “This could mean things like doctors’ surgeries, schools and new transport routes. That’s why it is so important everyone takes part and we have made it easier for people to do so online on any device, with help and paper ques- tionnaires for those that need them.” Census day will be on March 21, but households across the country will receive letters with online codes allowing them to take part from early March. The census will include questions about your sex, age, work, health, education, household size and ethnicity. And, for the first time, there will be a ques- tion asking people whether they have served in the armed forces, as well as voluntary questions for those aged 16 and over on sexual orientation and gender identity. Results will be available within 12 months, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations. For more information, visit census.gov.uk.

Padleigh Brook

‘I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.’ John O’Donohue, unfinished poem.

The brook is birthed through Fuller’s earth, in the dark of Vernham Wood, hidden in the bowl of the deep valley end. This bowl is shel- tered beneath where once the Romans built their Fosse Way. I wonder whether any of the tired marching soldiers, on route from their ships in England’s south coast, marching to northern garri- sons, stopped here and slipped down into the valley’s hollow, for shade and to collect fresh spring water. Padleigh leaves the Romans marching north, and the later miners digging Fuller’s earth, which will line the nappies of the pampered baby’s bottoms of Victorian England, to make its journey west. Down past Hoggen’s coppice with middle wood to its south, where survivors from its pheasant farm can still be seen and to the north, Eastover coppice where workers from the Bath stone quarries would come to freely gather coppiced wood, for winter warmth and summer poles to grow their beans. Deeper now the river burrows under the steep slopes that divided medieval tribes. Barrowe-juxte- Inglescombe, reaches out from Woden’s dyke, the northern boundary of the seventh century Saxons. While to the north is Barrowe-juxte-Bathe, an older hill fort on the other side. Here where an 18th century manor house would catch fire in the early 19th century to be re-built in 1851 as a gothic castle home, decked out with accompanying glass houses. 1851, the year of Crystal Palace and hot house mania. Bar- row’s green houses would go on to breed new daffo- dil bulbs such as ‘Fortune’ and ‘Inglescombe’ and be- come the centre and home of Ware’s nurseries. These sent out flowers by train to London’s markets and to win medals at Chelsea flower shows.

Now the river gurgles under a new wooden footpath bridge, close to where a stone bridge once stood. Who crossed the older bridge, we can only wonder? Cattle, sheep farmers? Perhaps this was a route for an old drover’s track further up the hill? Padleigh then burrows deeper still between Breach wood and the new Sirius wood. Here the valley is rich with the scent of ransom with its wild garlic smell in spring, with white flowers lighting up the dark forest floor. Higher up the bank are Breach wood’s bluebells, interspersed with yellow aconites and white wood anemones. In some years in late April, St George’s mushrooms raise their head at the base of Breach’s oaks and ashes. Some trees grow out of their ancestors’ old trunks, creating growing sculptures and, according to my granddaughters, houses for elves and fairies. Where Woden’s dyke runs darkly through the wood the badgers have dug their sett, deep into the bank, now adorned with small slag heaps of badger dig- gings. Along the paths run mount jack deer and through the branches grey squirrels swing. At the woodland edges bobbing rabbits run and the occasional hare can be seen running for cover as humans are spotted. Above the tall canopy fly and hover buzzards and sparrow hawks, looking for prey. Sometimes they are harried by crows and rooks, defending their homes and young. Padleigh flows out from the dark woodland glade into Padleigh ’s bottom where the pub is long closed, and the kennel’s dogs no longer bark. Padleigh flows on pass Washpool lane, where the good women of English- combe would come to wash and dry their clothes. Above the washerwomen stood the moated Culverhay castle, ‘enclosure of the doves’, a reward to Nigel de Gourney, for services to the new Norman rulers, and no doubt to keep the locals in their place.

Here to the north once glistened in the sun, Wares Nurseries in Haycombe Vale, with acres under glass, and little railway tracks running through them. Ware’s, one of the two largest employers this side of Bath, along with Fuller’s earth works above Padleigh’s source.

Above Culverhay castle lies Englishcombe, the Angle’s valley, appropriately named, as the Saxon dyke runs through St Peter’s churchyard past its Norman tower. The church’s ancient stone walls sheltering a bambini (swaddled baby Christ) and a thousand years of village voices singing hymns and carols. Nestled close by are a 13th century tythe barn, local farms and school, mill stream and mill wheel, no longer working. The stream flows on from Englishcombe through Padleigh’s wood, towards its sister village, now both Duchy owned, of Newton St Loe. But before it reaches there, its waters are conjoined with Newton’s brook flowing down from Priston’s mill. To- gether these two streams flow north as one, passing west of Twerton’s Victorian worker’s suburb, then on under the London – Bristol ‘trunk’ road, to join the mighty Avon, flowing westwards to the sea. Peter Hawkins January 2021.

Englishcombe Parish to host first Community Tree Nursery

With tree planting high on everyone’s Climate Emergency list of things to do, More Trees BaNES (a not-for-profit Community Group) has launched its first community tree nursery in the parish. With the price of saplings rising, the idea of the tree nurseries is to bring people together to help provide More Trees BaNES with free, locally grown, native trees. The site is now up and running at Barrow Mead Farm and will be managed by volunteers from Blooming Whiteway. Adam Gretton, from More Trees BaNES said: “We have lots of tree planting volunteers, but we keep being asked what more people can do. This project is about bringing people together who want to make a small contribu- tion to tree planting. Firstly we are bringing together people who have plots of land with local community based volunteers. Next we have to reach out to gardeners, so this year, instead of chuck- ing saplings growing in your garden onto the compost heap, why not pot them up and bring them over to the nursery at the end of the summer? The volunteers will grow them on next year, ready for us to plant on one of our planting projects.“ Clare Loder from Blooming Whiteway said: “We’re very excit- ed to be taking on the day to day management of this community tree nursery. As well as the weeding and watering, we’ll be gathering seeds from local woodlands, and helping to re-home small trees and saplings donated by the public. It is so important that we don’t just import trees to meet our climate goals when our local woodlands, hedgerows and gardens can supply us with all the seeds and saplings we need.” If you can help, why not contact https://moretrees.earth/or https://www.bloomingwhiteway.com/, or get in touch with Matt McCabe at Barrow Mead, on 07711 047267. Help can also include funding, website skills and admin.

EXPLORING YOUR OWN DOORSTEP

“Every cloud has a silver lining”. This is one of my favourite sayings when reflecting on difficult times. If you were to apply it to these Covid times what would be your silver lining? New skills learnt? DIY tasks finally accomplished? Your garden in its best condition ever?! For me, one of the silver linings would have to be the chance it has given me to explore the area on my own doorstep. To divert off my normal path and venture down footpaths without knowing exactly where they lead! We are so lucky in this country to have an incredible network of footpaths and living on the outskirts of Bath we are exceptionally blessed with beautiful and peaceful country- side surrounding us.

Growing up in Englishcombe I enjoyed exploring many of the trails around the village. Despite living in Odd Down today I regularly return to see my folks in the village whom I am lucky to have my social bubble with. During these lockdowns I have foregone my normal route to Englishcombe and enjoyed exploring new routes through the fields and woods. If you happen to see a trail of muddy footprints on Rush Hill – I may be the guilty culprit! As we head into spring I can’t wait to see the blankets of bluebells and wild garlic transform the woods into different colours and smells. If you’re not familiar with the local footpaths, maps of the public footpaths around Englishcombe can be found on the Englishcombe parish website (www.englishcombe.net). When out exploring just remember to respect the farmers land and to wear boots – its muddy out there! If you’ve exhausted the local trails and would like to try a new area to explore, during my free time (which lockdown has given me plenty of as I am a local tour guide!) I have developed a self-guided audio walking tour of the Bathwick estate and canal in town. It’s my favourite walk in the centre, away from the main crowds and full of fascinating facts and stories which I tell on the audio tour. You just need a phone and headphones. It only costs £4.25 so if you fancy learning a bit more about Bath and combining a trip to the centre with your daily exercise then please visit my 8 website for more information: http://www.bathinsidertours.co.uk/bath-audio-tour- pulteney-and-canal Stay safe and happy exploring! Daniel.

Are you fed-up with doing the same old walks? Walking in Somerset www.walkinginengland.co.uk/somerset is the website for you! With hundreds of walks to download and print, free, it also has books of walks, contact details for all the walking groups in the county and much more. Whether you want to walk on your own or with a group all the information is there in one place. John said ‘There is so much walking information on the web but it is difficult to find. Walking in Somerset (part of the Walking in England suite of websites (www.walkinginengland.co.uk) – one for each county in England) has brought it together in one place so whether you are walking from home, or away on holiday, you will be able to find a walk suitable for you’. With walks from half a mile to twelve miles plus long, and a note of suitability for pushchairs and wheelchairs, everyone can find a walk to enjoy. So home or away, check out the websites and get walking! John Harris www.walkinginengland.co.uk email: [email protected]

Photos by Rory Dinwoodie 9

How Blessed we are.

We are each sitting in our own homes, with hardly any contact with the outside world during this Covid 19 Pandemic. The wonderful NHS who have always done a magnificent job and saved my life in particular, many times. Working all hours and risking themselves for our sakes, to try to put an a end to this horror. Some of us feeling weighted down with loneliness, working from home and fitting in home schooling. Trying to get a slot for the shopping delivery. The masks, the shielding. Self- distancing. The terrible death-count, Friends and family getting ill, the new rules. our bubble and wondering when will it finally be over. Shops and businesses going to the wall that were previously thriving. Our lives uprooted and changed beyond understanding for over a year. We think quietly ‘When will this end? Will we ever see normality? Where will we all be in the aftermath and how can our country bear the price it has cost us.’ On Sunday last, I got a phone call from my daughter in law, breaking her heart and hardly able to say the words “ My 50-year-old Son has had a massive heart attack.” She was awaiting an ambulance and had been, for some time. After an hour and many prayers, my Son was collected ( by this time, cold pallid, and blue looking) by the paramedics. He was rushed to the BRI from Timsbury and they fought for his life. By the time they got a crew in to do an angioplasty and put a stent in, he had been in the clutch- es of this massive attack for 3 hours. Hours later I got the wonderful news, he was safe and in the ward, but of course exhausted. Amid this Covid pandemic, the angels at the BRI had saved my darling son. Of course no one could see or visit him there but he came home yesterday relieved to be alive and praising our Brilliant National Health system. Thank God for all these wonderful self-sacrificing men and women who saved my son and millions of others. Thank you God. Patti Broom 27/01/21.

The Jab Well I’ve had the vaccination! Ageing isn’t all bad news as far as I’m concerned and it was all very civilised and orderly at the Pavilion last week. I didn’t have to trample or elbow my way past any frail and hesitant people in the queue ahead of me – it was straight in and straight out. And it was the Astra Zenaca one, so when people recoil from me in horror in future it is for some other more hurtful reason than fear of Coronavirus. I do respect other people’s right to make their own decisions about their treatment, however I personally never had any doubts about being vaccinated and was sur- prised to hear that there were any. Someone mentioned the Russians planting something and I wondered why the Russians would go to so much difficulty and ex- pense when the cheapest method of harming us would probably be to advise us against taking the vaccine. Someone else mentioned tagging by the government. Now I can empathise with anyone who doubts the honesty of governments. I don’t trust them any further than I can spit, but we need to dump our computers, smartphones, smart tv’s and ad- dresses if we really want to go off the grid. I do trust the NHS, however. Most of my family work in it and I do take their advice and turn to them before I accept what the government tells me is safe for Christ- mas. I was also fortunate to be born only a year after a war which saw rationing to prevent the population from starving and ensured all babies had free milk, orange juice and cod liver oil, so that it has been said that my generation is probably the healthiest ever. (That was a government that I look back on with admiration. How did a government which was bankrupt after a devastating war manage to set up such a wonderful system as the NHS?) I remember as a very young child being visited by my doctor who presented me with a pink sweet and told me with great authority how lucky I was to have it, as it was very new and would make me better. He called it penicillin. I was vaccinated as a child and a teenager at school against horrible childhood dis- eases, some of which have now been eradicated worldwide, and I made sure my children were vaccinated as well. I may not always agree with what my doctors say, but on the whole I accept the sane ones know a lot more about health than I do and would never knowingly harm me. I asked my great uncle once what people did before we had the NHS. He said ‘They died’. Nina Beaven 11

BEE Kind! News from the Old Acorn Barn Oh how we are missing our days at the Old Acorn Barn in Englishcombe, since once again being confined to our homes during the latest lockdown. However, you may like to know that beautiful Englishcombe continues to inspire our thoughts and activities with our adults with learning disabilities even when we can’t meet in person at the barn. Before Christmas we bought apple juice from Matt and Jane as a thank you to all our wonderful volunteers. In passing Jane mentioned her bee hives and how the bees huddle together over the winter to keep warm and stay alive. This made us reflect on how we still needed to find ways to ‘huddle’ and encourage and keep each other positive in this testing time. Each day we have been offering our barn ‘makers’ 2 Zoom sessions. In the morning we share news and how we are feeling, enjoy quizzes or games and share an inspi- rational thought for the day. We have thought about how bees work together, the preciousness of each drop of honey and about how bees can sting when they get stressed and angry and how we can be a bit like that too! In the afternoon, the focus is music, dance and drama. Different interpretations of ‘The Flight of the Bumble Bee’ have featured and we have explored bee-inspired dances ranging from ballet to hip-hop. We have quite a playlist of corny bee-themed puns .... I’ll BEE there for you, You Should BEE dancing and some tracks by Sting, of course. I have also been meeting a few of our makers who cannot engage with Zoom or who feel especially isolated. We tend to walk around Victoria Park or along the river, looking for signs of spring! We have also delivered activity packs to work on at home .... these have included making pizzas and using vegetables to decorate the top to look like flowers that might appeal to a bee, baking honey cakes, bee-themed word puzzles, a group hon- eycomb collage and bees wax candles. This has been a difficult time for our vulnerable makers and their parents and carers who are not getting any respite at the moment, but it has been a wonder to see how we have managed to ‘huddle’ and laugh and care and find joy in small things. Some things we want to carry forward from this pandemic time ..... Thank you for being such a wonderful community to be based in .... we can’t wait to get back! For more information about the Life Project or to receive our monthly newsletter email: [email protected] Sarah Couchman

Victorian Glass (1837 - 1901)

The 22nd January 2021 marked the 120th anniversary of the death of Queen Victo- ria. As a historian and collector, the Victorian era is the most appealing to me. It is the second longest reign in English history and witnessed the world’s first Industrial Revolution, which combined with the strength of the British Empire, saw the rapid growth of cities and factories, resulting in many collectable innovations. Glassmaking was probably discovered about 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia, developed by experimentation with other high heat industries, including ceramics and metalworking. Excavations from the library of Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.) contained instructions for glass making: ‘Take 60 parts sand, 180 parts ash from sea plants and five parts chalk’. This recipe has remained unchanged ever since! Fast forward a few thousand years and the Victorians were mass producing glass vessels, used for almost anything. Some of my most common finds today are medicine and alcohol bottles and on one of my recent digs I unearthed a collection of oyster shells, champagne flutes and opium vials- that would have been some party! Just as in ancient times, glass makers would add metal oxides for colour: cobalt and copper for royal blue and turquoise respectively and are still used today. In 1872 Hiram Codd of London, a soft drinks manufacturer, introduced a design for carbonated drinks: the glass was thick to withstand the internal pressure and a pinched ‘Codd neck’ chamber housed a glass marble which pressed against a rubber washer, creating an air and water tight seal. Production stopped in the 1930s and complete bottles are rare, as poor children would smash the bottles to get the glass marble inside - they usually played with much cheaper clay marbles and so by having expensive glass marbles, they appeared to be rich. Hence they are such collectors items! Some of the most elaborate and decorative were medicine bottles but they served only to fool the consumer into thinking they were getting a quality product. ‘Quack medicine’ was prolific in England and America in the 19th century, containing all sorts of ingredients, such as arsenic, sulphur, opium, mercury, petroleum, cannabis, cocaine and even cow’s blood, with users easily ending up addicted or dead! ‘Quacks’ 14 even made up illnesses, in order to sell their so-called cures: such as ‘internal slime fever’ affecting the kidneys, cured by Swamp Root, whose only active ingredient was in fact alcohol.

Any English village dating to the Victorian era or earlier would almost certainly have had a communal tip for all the household rubbish, including glassware. On grass verges, hedgerows, allotments, property boundaries and even in your own gardens, you can often see fragments, usually characterised by much thicker glass than is used in today’s bottles. The chances are you have stumbled upon an old tip of some description, that may be worth a dig! By Finley Lacey

Where’s Grandma?

The computer swallowed Grandma In desperation, I asked Jeeves Yes, honestly, it’s true! My searches to refine. She pressed “Control” and “Enter” The reply from him was negative, And disappeared from view. Not a thing was found online.

It devoured her completely, So, if inside your “Inbox” The thought just makes me squirm . My Grandma you should see, She must have caught a virus Please “Copy”, “Scan” and “Paste” her Or been eaten by a worm. And send her back to me!

I’ve searched through the recycle bin And files of every kind, I’ve even used the Internet But nothing did I find.

The Old School Community Hub.

The school was built in 1872 for 90 children. Shortly after it was hit by disas- ter. The schoolmaster murdered his wife and, perhaps hoping to conceal the crime, set fire to the school. However, the school was rebuilt and throve. In its early years it would have provided the whole education for most of the children of Englishcombe. Few children at that time continued to study after the age of 12. Later in the 20th century it served the community equally well purely as a primary school. The children of Englishcombe continued to be taught here until the school was closed in 1985 by Avon County Council. Alleging falling numbers, which was incorrect, as a reason to save money in one of their cutback campaigns! John Davis took on the tenancy, and has run it as a Community Centre ever since. In that time it has been used for Flower Festivals, Village Weekends, Coffee Mornings, Sharing Meals, Birthday Parties, Christmas Festivities, Bon- fire Nights, Parish and Parish Council Meetings, to name but a few. The Englishcombe Library has now been set up there, and hopefully when the COVID regulations are relaxed it will be open to use. 23rd December saw Truspeed install their super fast broadband (fibre to the door) connection to the Old School, making it The Old School Community Hub. The full advantage of this is not possible until the COVID regulations are relaxed, however a WiFi Hotspot has been created so you can logon in the Old School Car Park. Both 2.4G & 5G connections are available. SSID: oldschoolhub or oldschoolhub5g Password: mistertim2020

Englishcombe Times Catch-up. Englishcombe Parish Council agreed to a Christmas Tree being put up on the Village Green at its December meeting. A tree was donated and collected from Mark Pope, and the necessary hole dug to sink the trunk in. A chimney lining was concreted into the hole and the old corner stones set around to form a solid base. A squad of three managed to get the tree into the hole and in a rock solid upright condition. Four hundred LED lights were wound around, and festive ornaments appeared to decorate the tree. Despite some bad weather, it survived until being taken down in the New Year. Carols around the Christmas Tree took place on a wet and windy Wednesday night, with an Open Air Carol Service at St Peter’s Churchyard getting much the best of the weather. The Chapel had their usual Christmas Eve Midnight Service, but this year in the open air , so- cially distanced in the Marquee. John normally dec- orates the Chapel but this year was limited to the space in the Marquee. The New Year was seen in with the usual fire work displays. 2021 has so far given us snow But spring is on its way!! We hope!!

Services at St Peter’s Church are Cancelled until further notice.

Online Alternative:

St Philips & St James Church Virtual Services https://stphilipstjameschurch.org/virtual-services

Either copy the link to your browser or go to the Church Tab on the Parish Website englishcombe.net and click on the required Link.

At present St Peter’s has no Minister.

St Peters Contact: Church Warden Robert Law 07775122917

David Burleigh. David Burleigh was vicar of Englishcombe and St Barnabas from 2001 until 2010. He and his wife Janet came from a rural parish in the diocese of Truro in Cornwall and lived in St Barnabas Vicarage. He was a very caring and learned gentleman, and led us in many house groups and discussions, in our homes as well as in the church and vicarage. The first summer he was here was to be our last Flower Festival to coincide with a visit from Bishop Andy Rad- ford who was a previous vicar here in the 1980’s. David and Janet had two grown up children, a son and daughter who both married and each had a child while their parents were here, one of whom, Rachel they shared the care of. Janet was very talented in the theatre and arts, and took part in special festivals and services. David took the marriage service of Christopher Hancock, and prepared Peter Hancock and Suzannah Wyatt for confirmation with help from Ali Green. He also led us, with Ali, on a retreat weekend to “Lyndons” in the Forest of Dean, where we had many studies and activities including looking for bats at night! David and Janet were greatly missed when they left to live in Frome on retirement, but by then his health was suffering and he wasn’t at all well. David had been the Adviser for the Paranormal both in the Truro and Bath & Wells Diocese. He died on 1st February, aged 78, after a short stay in Dorothy House. His funeral took place on 22nd February, and he is to be interred in St Barnabas memorial garden at some future date. May he rest in peace. Jill Wyatt Churchwarden at that time

1992-1995 Assistant Curate of Birkenhead Priory 1995-1999 Team Vicar in the Liskeard, St Keyne, St Pinnock, Morval and Bradoc Team Ministry 1995-1999 Priest-in-Charge of Duloe with Herodsfoot 1999-2001 Rector of Duloe, Herodsfoot, Morval and St Pinnock Truro Diocesan Adviser for the Paranormal 2001-2010 Vicar of St Barnabas’s, Bath, with Englishcombe 2006- Bath & Wells Diocesan Adviser for the Paranormal

Trusty Companions. An old cowboy was riding his trusty horse followed by his faithful dog along an un- familiar road. The cowboy was enjoying the new scenery, when he suddenly remembered dying, and realized the dog beside him had been dead for years, as had his horse. Confused, he wondered what was happening, and where the trail was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall that looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, the wall was broken by a tall arch topped by a golden letter "H" that glowed in the sunlight. Standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like gold. He rode toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. Parched and tired out by his journey, he called out, “Excuse me, where are we?” “This is Heaven, sir,” the man answered. “Wow! Would you happen to have some water?” the man asked. “Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some iced water brought right up.” As the gate began to open, the cowboy asked, “Can I bring my partners, too?” “I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.” The cowboy thought for a moment, then turned back to the road and continued riding, his dog trotting by his side. After another long ride, at the top of another hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a ranch gate that looked as if it had never been closed. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. “Excuse me,” he called to the man, “Do you have any water?” “Sure, there's a pump right over there. Help yourself.” “How about my friends here?” the traveller gestured to the dog and his horse. “Of course! They look thirsty, too,” said the man. The trio went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with buckets beside it. The traveller filled a cup and the buckets with won- derfully cool water and took a long drink, as did his horse and dog. When they were full, he walked back to the man who was still standing by the tree. “What do you call this place?” the traveller asked. “This is Heaven,” he answered. “That's confusing,” the traveller said, “The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.” “Oh, you mean the place with the glitzy, gold street and fake pearly gates? That's hell.” “Doesn't it make you angry when they use your name like that?” “Not at all. Actually, we're happy, they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.”

Chapel Update. Over the Christmas period the Chapel held its usual seasonal services, with a nativi- ty play and Christmas Eve Midnight open air service in the marquee with social distancing and no singing. After giving sterling work during the year, the marquee was then taken down. At present Sunday Services are conducted by telephone. If you would like to take part, please contact Eddy on 07876651647. Normal services depend on COVID restriction changes to be announced. For updates check on the Parish Website & Noticeboards.

Highway & PROW Issues Resolved.

Damaged Washpool Lane Bridge Railings. Complete new railings fitted.

Handrail by the Salem Chapel unstable. New post fitted.

Tree fallen down across footpath BA11/6 (bottom of Padleigh Hill). Cleared.

Chairmans Report.

Coffee Mornings Update. Dependant on COVID regulations being relaxed. Normally Thursdays 11:00 to 1:00. For updates check on the Parish Website & Noticeboards.

Library Update. Dependant on COVID regulations being relaxed.. The Parish Website & Noticeboards will carry any updates.

Get ready for Bath’s Clean Air Zone Bath’s clean air zone is set to launch on Monday 15 March 2021 to urgently cut air pollution in the city. From this date, certain higher emission vehicles will be charged to drive in the zone. This excludes private cars and motorbikes which will not be charged. Check if you’ll be charged You can now check whether your vehicle will be charged using your vehicle registra- tion number at GOV.UK’s Central CAZ Service: www.gov.uk/cleanairzone. The service will also tell you whether a national exemption applies.

Reporting Problems e.g. Fly Tipping to the Council If you have any issues such as fly tipping that need reporting to BANES Council the parish council clerk is happy to receive these and pass them on. However the easi- est and quickest way to raise concerns is directly to BANES Council via their Fix My Street facility. To access this facility please click on Report It at the top of the BANES Council website’s home page https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/ You can then report issues online in the following categories · Roads and pavements · Rubbish and environment · Drains and flooding · Public spaces and parks How to report a problem on Fix My Street (https://fix.bathnes.gov.uk/) 1. Enter a location in Bath and North East Somerset 2. Locate the problem on a map of the area 3. Enter details of the problem 4. Confirm the report and Bath and North East Somerset Council will investi- gate

If you are not receiving Parish Council communications and would like to, please contact the Parish Clerk asking to be put on the Email Register. Email address is [email protected]

If you would like your friend or member of your family remembered in the English- combe Times, please contact Mr Tim at [email protected]

Planning Application News The parish council has responded to consultations on the following planning applications since the last issue of the Englishcombe Times was published. For each application outlined is the current status of the application with B&NES Council planning department. Planning Application REF 20/03065/FUL 15 Innox Grove Installation of a new LPG tank to the front garden. WITHDRAWN Planning Applications REF 20/04072/FUL and REF 20/04073/LBA: Westvale Priston Road Priston Bath Conversion of barn into two bedroom dwelling for use as a holiday let (tied to the house). APPROVED

Depending on COVID Restrictions. What’s On in the Parish. Check on Parish Website & Village Noticeboards for Updates. Coffee Mornings usually Thursday’s 11:00am-1.00pm at The Old School, English- combe. COVID regulation dependant. Salem Chapel Services usually every Sunday. In Chapel or on telephone. March 2021 1 7:30pm Parish Council Zoom Meeting. For access contact Parish Clerk or joining details available on the agenda published on the village noticeboard. April 2021 12 7:30pm Parish Council Zoom Meeting. For access contact Parish Clerk or joining details available on the agenda published on the village noticeboard. 29 7:30pm Thursday—Annual Parish Meeting—Subject to regulations in force at the time. May 2021 10 7:30pm Annual Parish Council Meeting. Depending on whether meetings can take place or not. If not then Zoom Meeting. For access contact Parish Clerk or joining details available on the agenda published on the village noticeboard.

FROM THE EDITOR This is the twelfth issue of the Englishcombe Times, initially funded by a grant received by Englishcombe Parish Council from Bath & North East Somerset Community Empowerment Fund, to be delivered to every house in the Parish. The next issue for the Summer is scheduled for June If you have any articles for this issue, please let me have them by May 18th. If you do not want to receive a copy, again, please let me know so you can be removed from the delivery list. Further copies will be available to download from the Parish Website www.englishcombe.net Contact : Mister Tim on email address: [email protected]