December 2019 - January 2020
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DECEMBER 2019 - JANUARY 2020 Keevil Airfield, 6 June 1944 – D-Day In June 1944, less than a mile from the centres of Keevil and Steeple Ashton, our local airfield – ‘RAF Keevil’ – was deeply involved in D-Day operations. In the September, it played its part in the Arnhem air assault. As the end of 2019 draws near, we remember those who served 75 years ago – and we are privileged to have a copy of the boyhood recollections of someone who, during 1944, was living on the edge of RAF Keevil. CONTENTS December 2019 - January 2020 Pages 39-42 Bryan writes 46-47 Catholic news 3 Christmas Greetings Back cover Church Services 12 Films 11 Forget-me-Nots 13 Friends of SA 22-23 From the Archives 44-45 Methodist Church 4-6 Parish Council 16 Robbie writes 15 RBL 21 Sage 13-14 Shop 7-8 St Mary’s Church 37 Village diary 32 Village Hall info 11 WI Newsletter Deadlines for 2020 January 21st; February 18th; March 24th. Items for the February newsletter should be received by Tuesday 21st January. They should be sent to Mrs Helen Montague-Smith, 1A Butts Lane, Steeple Ashton or by email to [email protected] All published items solely express the views of the author and are the copyright of the author and the newsletter unless otherwise stated. The Editor would like to remind you that it is up to you, the readers, to supply all news and copy for the newsletter. The sender’s name and address need to be received before printing. Telephone 01380 871285. Inquiries for advertisements in the newsletter should be made to Sarah Dennehy on 01380 870731, email: [email protected] Please send your ads by email if possible. Please note, we do not deliver flyers for advertisers. Editorial Hello everyone - I can’t believe that another year, of newsletters, is nearly over. This is the 10th and last for 2019! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and wish you all the best for 2020. Kind regards - Helen Christmas Greetings Wishing all a Happy & peaceful Christmas Anne Howard A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my friends and neighbours in Steeple Ashton, from Mary Ashby Wishing my neighbours and many friends in the village a very Happy and peaceful Christmas. All the best for 2020 from Rene Jefferies We wish all our friends and Neighbours a very happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and New Year. Richard and Susan Cottle Wishing family and friends a Happy Christmas and a good New Year Margaret & Derek Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with love and best wishes Richard and Moira Matthews Wishing all our friends a very Happy Christmas and bes wishes for the New Year from Pat & Jill Awdry & Family With very best wishes for a Happy Christmas & New Year. Jean A merry Christmas and very happy New Year to all friends and neighbours, with love from Paul and Adrienne Hale I wish all my friends in the village a Happy Christmas. Jayne Glaysher Wishing all our friends in the village a Happy Christmas and New Year from Jayne & Peter Wishing all my friends in Steeple Ashton a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!!! Caren Felton Tony and Alison Evans wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and Healthy New Year Seasonal Greetings and best wishes to all Friends, Neighbours and Villagers. From Jo, Peter and Penny Hornsey The Trussell Trust - stop UK hunger If you wish to send money to this charity instead of buying Christmas cards, your cheque should be made out to PCC of Steeple Ashton (marked Trussell Trust on the back) then the money will be sent to the Trussell Trust. Sue Cottle 3 STEEPLE ASHTON PARISH COUNCIL A message from our Chairman: “Dear villagers In 2019 we said goodbye to our clerk – Leon Karas; and welcomed our new clerk – Nikki Duke. In 2020 we will start the year with a councillor vacancy (which will be advertised in January) as Caroline Quartley stands down. So, any interested candidates should look out for the vacancy or contact our clerk for more information. In the meantime we are heading towards Christmas and our Tree Lighting event, and hope you will join us there, especially as Father Christmas has taken time from his busy schedule to come along………………………to enjoy our mulled wine and nibbles, and to meet the young children. All the councillors on Steeple Ashton Parish Council would like to wish you all a very merry festive season and a joyous new year.” Francesca Buffery-King: Chairman CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SWITCH ON SUNDAY 8th December at 5.30pm Come and enjoy mulled wine, savoury treats, mince pies and a Christmas singalong. Father Christmas himself will be pushing the button and giving out a few treats along the way. We’d love to see as many of you as possible. Council Meetings: The minutes for all meetings are posted on the website and on the village noticeboard next to the Longs Arms and at Newleaze bus stop. Please remember, these meetings are open to all – you would be very welcome to come and sit in while we discuss issues that affect all. The public is invited to speak openly at a set point in the proceedings. If you have an issue you need to talk to us about, you can also email the Clerk – details below – who will ensure the right person is detailed with your query. Village Survey: The survey is now closed, and we are diligently inputting the hard copy data onto our online survey platform. Thank you to all of you who contributed. Results will be published soon and plans for setting up Working Groups will be put forward to those who left their contact details. Thank you to the many of you who have volunteered to be involved in plans going forward – it is very encouraging. All change at the Parish Council: We thank our outgoing Parish Clerk Leon Karas and Councillor Caroline Quarterly for their services to the Parish Council, pictured here receiving leaving gifts from the Chairman. We will miss them! 4 Introducing our new Parish Clerk: “Hello, my name is Nicola Duke and I am the new Parish Clerk for Steeple Ashton Parish Council. I have been working in local government for nearly 20 years and am Clerk to a number of parishes in West Wiltshire. I am a Fellow of the Society of Local Council Clerks and a qualified Clerk. I have been working in Steeple Ashton since September and am enjoying getting to know the village and our parishioners. I am in the Parish Office every Wednesday from 9.30 – 11.30, so please do pop in and say hello. I am very much looking forward to working with the Parish Council to support the community. If I can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.” New PCSO: Meet new PCSO Adam Almond (left). He will be the Melksham Rural PCSO covering our area. At the moment he is being mentored by Janet Gould (right) so you should see a bit of them both around the village. Do stop them and say hello! 5 Planning: Planning applications are considered at Parish Council Meetings and Planning Issues Only Parish Council Meetings. There is an Open Forum for members of the public to comment on planning matters prior to their consideration. All minutes are posted on the website and the village notice board. At the time of publication, there are no new applications. Parish Council Meetings (Mondays at 7.30pm in the Village Hall Skittle Alley): ALL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND THESE MEETINGS. December 2nd Planning Issues Only Parish Council Meeting January 2020 6th Main Parish Council Meeting February 2020 3rd Planning Issues Only Parish Council Meeting Parish Council Office: (2 St Mary’s School, High Street) The Clerk will be in the Parish office on Wednesday from. 9.30 - 11.30am. Nicola Duke, Clerk to the Parish Council, can be contacted on 01380 871454 or email [email protected]. All Councillors have live @steeple-ashton.co.uk email addresses which are also posted on the website. Find us on Social Media! Through the Parish Council page and Steeple Ashton Village Discussion Group, we cover many topics of interest to our residents. Please be assured that this page is monitored regularly, and we take all requests seriously, actioning where appropriate. We also have a group called ‘Steeple Sells’ for those of you that would like to buy and sell things locally – this is not a page that is part of the Parish Council policy or procedure, just a natural extension of social media activities. We would love you to get involved – search for ‘Steeple Ashton’ on Facebook. If you are a village group and need help with your social media or village event promotions, please get in touch with Pippa at [email protected] or 871578. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mobile Library Visits: Longs Arms, 11:00 – 12:00; Ashton Common Bus Stop 15.45 – 16.10 Wednesday 04; 18th December 2019 Wednesday 01; 15th; 29th January, 2020 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~ www.steeple-ashton.co.uk ~~~ 6 From St Mary’s… The Ministry Team - of Fr Oliver, Fr Tony, Richard and Simon, serving the parishes of Steeple Ashton and of North Bradley, Southwick and Heywood - wishes all readers a Joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year. You can read Fr Oliver’s Christmas message, together with a note of the special services for Advent and Christmas Day in and around Steeple Ashton, in the Steeple Ashton Christians Together Christmas card that accompanies this Newsletter.